《Pursuing Immortality》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1: Phoenix Mountain Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu It was early summer time in Bai Town. Bai Town was an average county-level city in Northern China. It had two or three big streets and a poption of 700,000. Nothing stood out here in terms of economic advantages and perhaps the only sight worth mentioning was Phoenix Mountain five kilometers to the south of the town. Phoenix Mountain was a stretched out part of the Changbai Mountains. It covered an area of over 300 km2 and its main peak rose to around 1000 meters above sea level. The mountain was not a tall one, but contained some perilous yet strikingly beautiful peaks as well as serene scenic spots. Back when they were developing this area, no one knew what made the designers arrange the paths in such a ridiculous way that visitors often lost track of where they were going. After looking around in utter confusion, they might then discover an iron ring embedded in some gap between the rocks, where the climbers would have to bend to squeeze themselves through. Either that or one might have just jumped onto one rock from another only to realize in frustration that they were facing a dead end! However, it was exactly because of this peculiarity of its settings that Phoenix Mountain had managed to attract a considerable amount of fans and be a popr tourist site in the province. ¡°The Old Bull¡¯s Back is right ahead. Let¡¯s take a break here to regain some strength.¡± ¡°Captain Jiao, is the Old Bull¡¯s Back really that tough? Aren¡¯t you just trying to scare us off?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to believe my words. You¡¯ll understand once you¡¯re up there.¡± A group of people climbed the stairs as they conversed. The team included both male and female members, all wearing identical caps. The team leader was a guy in his thirties. He was strongly-built and his face was covered with unkempt stubble. Had he been a little more handsome, he might be someone worth considering by the opposite sex, though he would have to be careful not to get mistaken for an old uncle. [1] The spot they chose to rest at was a clearing near the top of the mountain. From there, another long staircase stretched ahead, leading to the Old Bull¡¯s Back. It wasmon practice that a clearing at a scenic spot would contain a resting area, which in turn would have some vendors. There were two types of vendors ¨C those that ran a legitimate business and paid the management monthly fee for their utility bills, and the peddlers¡ªmostly local vigers who sold bits and pieces on their own. The same went for this clearing. Two benches were set on the left and a stall, with its own set of small tables and chairs, was set on the right. The team had more than a dozen people in it and their arrival had made the clearing rather boisterous. There were not enough chairs for all of them, so some were standing, some were crouching, and some even took out their pic nkets and sat on the ground. Two girls, one taller and the other one shorter, did not want to crowd together with the group and scuttled away far to the right. The stall here was somewhat shabby-looking. Products such as instant noodles, ham sausages, pickles and bottled water were arranged neatly on a square table and two thermos bottles were set on the ground. Next to the table was a small stove with a pot on it which contained some boiled sweet corns. The stall owner was a young man, sitting on a folding stool and turning over the tea eggs in another pot. [2] The two girls looked at each other and felt ufortable about sitting in the owner¡¯s corner without buying anything, so one of them asked, ¡°How much are the tea eggs?¡± ¡°One yuan fifty each.¡± ¡°¡­¡± They exchanged a look and were a bit surprised by the normal price. Many restaurants in town were selling these at 2 yuan each these days, which was way too much. ¡°We¡¯ll have two eggs and two bottles of water, then.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± The stall owner answered and quickly put everything in a stic bag before handing it to the girls. ¡°That¡¯s 8 yuan in total.¡± ¡°There you go.¡± As actual customers who bought something, the girls now felt justified and sat down on the stools. They weren¡¯t exactly hungry, but the food was already here, so they might as well eat it while it was still hot. ¡°Wow, howe they smell so good!¡± The eggs looked nothing special with the eggshells on, but once the taller girl peeled the shells off and revealed the dark-colored eggs underneath, she smelled an exceptionally pleasant aroma. ¡°Hey, fe, you didn¡¯t put anything weird in it, did you?¡± The shorter girl also sniffed at it. ¡°It was only some bay leaves, chrysanthemums and liquorice, so don¡¯t worry,¡± the stall owner replied. ¡°Huh?¡± The two girls looked at each other with nk faces. They obviously knew those were traditional medicines, but had no idea that they could be used to cook eggs. They did not care that much, though¡ªas long as the ingredients were not harmful. They each took an egg and had a nip. The eggs still tasted they way eggs should taste, only, these two had a fresh saltiness to them and were incredibly delicious. There was even a slightly minty sweetness lingering between their teeth. People of the north preferred salty foods and people of the south preferred sweet ones. Too much of either taste would be as bad as having too little and these eggs had the perfect bnce. After swallowing down thest bite, the two girls winked simultaneously, which meant, ¡°we¡¯ve learnt some new trick!¡± It couldn¡¯t be helped. As foodies/DIY freaks, whenever they found some unusual food, they had to have it right away. The two girls thus found this trip worthwhile. They were now whispering between themselves on the side and would nce at the stall owner from time to time. ¡°I want to try cooking it tonight as soon as we are back in town.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to buy some ck tea, then. Which is better? Yunnan ck tea or Keemun?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s have a bit of both. I¡¯m not sure where we can get liquorice, though.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about liquorice either. But chrysanthemum, that¡¯s a totally different story.¡± ¡°Watch yournguage! Why, where did he get these ideas? That owner looks quite young, but he¡¯s a really good cook.¡± ¡°Hehe, now that you¡¯ve brought it up, he¡¯s actually a cute guy after taking a closer look.¡± With these words, they couldn¡¯t help but turn around and stare at the guy openly. Their eyes swept across the guy from head to toe. The man was in his twenties and was a tall fellow. He was a bit too thin though, and almost seemed frail. His slender neck and prominent corbone somehow brought a soft feeling to his features while the straight nose added a chiseled look to his face. His eyes were the most attractive feature, reminiscent of feline eyes and deeply set. The flick of his eyshes reminded them of a cloud brushing across the moon. The girls felt their hearts skip a beat. They had not only tasted some delicious tea eggs, but also discovered a handsome guy. Please, that was like killing two birds with one stone! ¡°Hey, let¡¯s take a photo of him to show off after we go back.¡± ¡°Of course! My social media ounts are ready for the post!¡± With one girl egging on, the other took out her cell phone immediately and was focusing on the stall owner, who happened to lift his head at that moment and saw what they were doing. He stopped them at once, ¡°Please don¡¯t do that!¡± ¡°Ah?¡± The shorter girl paused, without realizing it. ¡°We¡¯re sorry¡­¡± The owner smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t make me a web celebrity.¡± ¡°Teehee!¡± The two girls sniggered and broke intoughter. They had only thought the owner to be some good-looking viger with little education, but those words indicated that the man wasn¡¯t just about looks. They were about to start a conversation when the team leader shouted, ¡°Everyone, did you rest well? Let¡¯s move on!¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay with that!¡± ¡°We should have been on the move long ago. It¡¯s getting dark!¡± ¡°How much further? If someone can take me down the mountain on his back, I¡¯ll give that person 10 yuan!¡± A mor rose everywhere around as the team regrouped in a chaotic manner. The two girls were a bit disappointed but waved the shopkeeper goodbye and ran back to the crowd. The team leadermanded loudly with a wave of his hand, ¡°ss, it¡¯s time to move on!¡± Almost in the blink of an eye, the group left the clearing like a passing tornado, leaving behind them ground covered with fruit cores and sunflower seeds¡¯ shells. The stall owner seemed to be used to such a scene. He wiped the tables clean in silence, picked up a few empty bottles and swept away the litter on the ground, stuffing them all into a trash can nearby. After he had finished tidying up the area, he sat back onto the folding stool and waited quietly for the next wave of tourists to arrive. It was already afternoon now. The early summer air was still cool and the weather in the mountains was all the more ufortable. Phoenix Mountain was densely vegetated and the sunlight wasrgely blocked by foliage, making the surroundings dusky and dim. That group walked for about twenty minutes and arrived at the Old Bull¡¯s Back, the most renowned scenic spot on Phoenix Mountain. The so-called ¡°Old Bull¡¯s Back¡± was a naturally formed ridge between two deep valleys. Not a single stair was constructed on the ridge and the climbers had to move forward holding onto the iron railings alone. When it snowed and the ground was frozen, the ridge would be impassable. The unusual danger of this ridge even surpassed that of the Cang Long Ridge of the Mount Hua in terms of intimidating tourists. [3]. ¡°¡­¡± The group stopped to watch the arched ridge. Clouds and mist coiled up in the distance and the ridge seemed endless. They felt their legs aching just by looking at it. ¡°Captain Jiao, of all the crap you¡¯ve bragged about, this one was actually true.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I can pass through that. I already feel dizzy even looking at it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going. That looks so scary!¡± Some members were thinking of backing out as they beheld the view before them. Realizing that, the team leader immediately tried to encourage them. ¡°Guys, this is the first time our outdoor group participated in an activity as a team. We have to go through with it and bring it to a sessful close. The way down the mountain is right after this ridge. It¡¯s nothing, just close your eyes and you are on the other side!¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right? Close my eyes and I¡¯ll at the bottom of that valley.¡± ¡°Yeah right, and open your eyes again you¡¯re in heaven.¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± While everyone was talking at once, one of the more excited guys yelled, ¡°Enough with the talking! Let¡¯s do it! I¡¯ll go first!¡± He then grabbed the iron railings and stepped hard onto the ridge, advancing fast up the slope. Seeing that he was climbing up without much difficulty, the rest of the team gave their approval one after another. ¡°He¡¯s right, let¡¯s hurry up. Anyone who¡¯s not afraid should just go ahead.¡± Before long, most guys had climbed onto the ridge while the girls were still a bit hesitant. Most of them managed to gather their courage and walked onto the ridge, though. The two girls who bought tea eggs were the only ones dawdling. ¡°Boss, we two really can¡¯t go up there. We¡¯ll return by the way we came.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that. You¡¯re the only two left. Come on, get over it! Life is a challenge¡­¡± Before the team leader had time to ssh them with some Chicken Soup for the Soul, the two girls had already turned back and ran away without paying any attention to his words, leaving behind a farewell, ¡°Boss, we¡¯ll see you at the mountain gate!¡± ¡®Damn it!¡¯ The team leader had no one toin to and had be thest one to climb up the ridge. He then slowly caught up with the rest of the team. [1] ED/N: The narrator is making fun of the man¡¯s appearance, saying he looks older than his actual age and that only women who¡¯re into older guys would fancy him. [2] ED/N: Tea egg is an egg boiled with vorings that may include ck tea. [3] ED/N: Huashan, in other words Mount Hua; it¡¯s the westernmost of the Five Sacred Mountains, and can be found in Shaanxi; it has certain religious significance, and is known for its dangers (the route up the mountain is named as one of the most dangerous hikes in the world). Canglong means Azure Dragon¡ªit is its other name, to be exact. Chapter 2 Chapter 2: Something Odd Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ording to their original n, they should be getting off the mountain at three o¡¯clock and, after a four-hour trip back, they would return to the provincial capital at seven o¡¯clock which would not be toote an hour. However, the team had been hanging around in random ces all the way, stopping here and there to have some fun. As a result, they were dyed a lot. Having separated themselves from the rest of the team, the two girls strolled along the way they came from. Daylight hours in the mountains were short. It was only four o¡¯clock and the dusk was already setting in. They could barely feel the warmth of the sun. The further they went, the more nervous they became. Everything looked suspicious in the dim light. The mere rustle of wind brushing the leaves would make them jumpy. ¡°We should have gone through with the ridge. There¡¯s still a long way ahead.¡± ¡°It¡¯s toote for that now. Let¡¯s just keep moving.¡± ¡°Oh my, I¡¯m scared. Hold my hand, please.¡± The two girls walked hand in hand and went down the stairs gingerly. It had taken them twenty minutes or so to climb up, but the way down somehow seemed longer. The woods werepletely silent and not one animal made a sound. They had lost track of time by the time thest few steps of stairs finally appeared in the front. Along with them came a discernible sound. It was one which indicated people were ahead, which lifted their spirits instantaneously. ¡°Oh my god, I¡¯m scared out of my pants!¡± ¡°Stop bullshitting. Walk faster!¡± The two of them ran down thest few steps inrge strides and arrived at the clearing from before. The two benches and the stall were still there. The owner seemed to be closing up and was walking around, putting things away. Seeing theming, he was a bit surprised. ¡°Why are you back?¡± ¡°The Old Bull¡¯s Back looked too dangerous. We were too afraid to go forward.¡± ¡°Are you going to return by the same way you came?¡± The owner seemed amazed. ¡°Yes, we are. How long will it take?¡± ¡°At least two hours¡­¡± The owner gave them an honest answer. Seeing the bitter and miserable expression on their faces, he paused for a second and added, ¡°I know a shortcut, though. It¡¯ll save you quite some time.¡± ¡°En?¡± The immediate reaction of the two girls was not excitement, but alert. In such a remote and forested mountain, the only people around were themselves and this man. Should something happen, the girls would have no one to turn to. The owner realized what they were thinking and stopped talking. After an awkward moment and some embarrassing silence, the two girls finished exchanging ideas with their eyes. The taller one asked, ¡°Where is that shortcut you mentioned before?¡± ¡°Take a right turn at the Immortal¡¯s Pool, walk for a few more minutes and you¡¯ll find it. That path is not paved, but it¡¯s easy to walk. Follow the path and you¡¯ll arrive at a great square at the mountain gate,¡± the owner did not mind their attitude and gave them detailed directions. ¡°Will, will there be things like snakes around there?¡± The shorter girl was still very cautious. ¡°No, just a lot of mosquitoes. By the way, this is for you¡­¡± The stall owner took out something small out of his pocket and handed it to them. ¡°It¡¯ll keep off the mosquitoes.¡± The girls put their heads together and looked at it closely. It was a dark-grey cloth pouch the size of their palms, its opening tied up by a couple of strings. After feeling it with their hands, they found it contained something round inside. The girls were quite confused. They were about to ask the owner when they saw him bend down and take a shoulder pole before putting it onto his shoulder with a strong push. One end of the pole had the stove and pots hanging from it, while the other end had tables, chairs and boxes; it all looked very heavy. [1] ¡°Well, I have to go as well. Bye!¡± As thin as he was, the owner had remarkable strength. He waved them goodbye with his left hand and walked into the woods with a steady gait. After a couple of turns, he was nowhere to be seen. ¡°¡­¡± The girls remained frozen where they stood, their eyes open wide as they were visibly dumbfounded. They were both speechless for quite a while. ¡°Quack! Quack!¡± A breeze swept past them. Along came the cries of birds from some unseen corners; the dark woods rustled and whispered, just as if some mountain ghost was approaching through the waving branches. ¡°Let, let¡¯s go, shall we?¡± ¡°Yeah, I agree with you!¡± They both shuddered and left the spot half-running. *** The so-called ¡°Immortal¡¯s Pool¡± was nothing but a shabby pond. Calling it a pool was an overstatement. Before the sunlight had totally disappeared from the woods, the girls quickened their pace and took an immediate right turn at the Immortal¡¯s Pool. A mountain trail was indeed where they were told it would be. Although it was not paved, the ground was quite solid. The trail wound deep into the woods. They hesitated for a few seconds and decided to go in. The trees were much denser further along the trail and the ground was overgrown with weeds. They did not dare look around and walked fast all the way as if they were running for their lives. The taller girl was a bit bolder and walked in the front. The shorter one was rather timid and held tightly onto the hem of her friend¡¯s clothes. ¡°Ah!¡± All of a sudden, the girl in front let out a cry with clenched teeth and stopped abruptly. The other girl almost bumped into her and was startled. She immediately asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°¡­A snake,¡± the taller one squeezed out an answer. ¡°A snake?¡± Before the shorter girl had time to parse what she had been told, she stretched out her neck and looked to the front. Sure enough, a green snake about half a meter long was coiling itself up by the side of the trail, resting with its eyes closed. ¡°Ah!¡± The shorter girl also screamed, much louder than her friend did. As the saying went, don¡¯t do something stupid or you¡¯ll regret it. The green snake lifted its head and noticed them. It then jerked back to life and slithered towards them in a sliding movement. Its moist and slick skin scraped against the grass, creating a rustling sound, both bizarre and creepy. [2] ¡°What, what should we do now?¡± ¡°I have no idea!¡± The girls were almost sobbing. They wanted to run away, but their legs were shaking uncontrobly and they could do nothing but watch in terror as the snake approached them. Three meters, two meters, one meter¡­ The snake was about to reach them when it suddenly stopped. It remained rigid at the spot for a while as its vertical pupils seemed to notice something it detested. The snake then turned around and slid away across the grass. Seriously?! They were on the verge of breaking down and their minds had been so overloaded due to excitement that they almost cked out. After quite some time, the taller girl managed to make a sound. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Quickly!¡± ¡°Yeah, right!¡± As the adrenaline pumped in, their jog turned into running, and then into a wild rush. They paid no attention to their surroundings and the only sound they could hear was the whooshing wind brushing against their ears. They had no idea how long they ran for and only realized they had arrived at a big square after they rushed out of the woods. It just so happened that their team had just climbed down as well. The team leader was taken aback at first, then went all excited and said aloud, ¡°Oh my, I¡¯m so d that you¡¯re all okay. I was getting really worried after you two ran off. The sun was setting and it was such a long way back. I was about to call the police¡­¡± He bbered on for quite a while before asking them, ¡°By the way, how did you get down so fast?¡± ¡°We asked a local for directions and took a shortcut,¡± replied the taller girl. ¡°Wow, awesome!¡± The leader gave them a thumbs up. Now that everyone was here, the team was getting ready to leave. Mountain climbing activities usually finished in the afternoon and people seldom stayed on the mountain thiste. The parking lot was almost empty with only a handful vehicles left. After the group scrambled onto the bus, the high-spirited team leader stood at the front of the bus and announced, ¡°Everybody, I hereby announce that the first group activity of Shengtian Outdoor Social Group ising to a sessful close¡­ Let¡¯s look forward to our next gathering!¡± ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°p p!¡± ¡°What an unforgettable evening!¡± The team members werevish in their praises. Some cheered, some apuded and some even started to sing. The two girls sat in the back and did not get swept by the joyous atmosphere, especially the more timid one who gulped down arge bottle of water before recovering from her fear and anxiety. Sheined in an indignant tone, ¡°Liar! Didn¡¯t he say that there were no snakes?¡± The other girl was more reasonable. She pondered and said, ¡°Maybe, maybe he was afraid that we would be too scared to go that way.¡± ¡°He¡¯s still a liar! What if we were bitten by snakes¡­¡± She stopped talking abruptly and looked at her friend. The two minds thought alike as they took out the pouch in a hurry. After untying the strings, they emptied the pouch and three brown pellets rolled onto their hands. They were the size of longan fruits and looked like some sort of medicine. ¡°What are these?¡± The timid girl touched the pellets with great curiosity. ¡°They look like¡­¡± The other once moved closer and sniffed at them. She suggested with an uncertain tone, ¡°Some sort of incense?¡± [1] ED/N: To put it simply, he put a stick on his shoulders, and that stick had tworge packages hanging from its ends. If you google ¡°shoulder pole¡± in google images you will be able to see what it looks like if you haven¡¯t seen one yet. [2] ED/N: ²»×÷ËÀ¾Í²»»áËÀ is inte ng which usually means ¡°serves you right for doing sth stupid.¡± Slightly modified to fit the context. Chapter 3 Chapter 3: Gu Yu (Part One) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu To the outsiders, small mountain cities all shared somemon qualities such as being quiet, idyllic and free of all disreputable things. The truth was, they were the same as any other ce. People there were also busy with their lives, no freer and having it no easier than others elsewhere. Nowadays, one had to be rich to live a carefree life. Those who were poor and carefree were good-for-nothings. Gu Yu was neither rich nor a good-for-nothing; he was merely a hard-workingborer. Currently, he was carrying the load on his shoulders while walking down the mountain along another trail. After reaching the foot of the mountain, he walked for several minutes and arrived at a dirt road. If the mountain gate was considered the front, this road would be at the side of the mountain; it was known only by the locals. Each morning, the peddlers would rush to this spot by tricycles, take their stuff up the mountain on their shoulders and return here in the evening. There was a single house by the dirt road, which belonged to an old widower. His job was to keep an eye on the vehicles of the peddlers¡­ if those tricycles could be counted as vehicles, that is. ¡°nk!¡± Gu Yu was a bitte today. Pushing open the gate of the yard, he noticed that his lousy tricycle was the only one left. He strained his neck and shouted, ¡°Uncle! Uncle!¡± Gu Yu called out twice but got no reply, so he clung to the window and peeked into the room. The old man was reclining on a couch, his shrivelled lips opening and closing half-consciously. One couldn¡¯t tell if he was awake or asleep. He made no further noise but piled his stuff onto the tricycle. He then picked two tender corn cobs and several eggs, gently leaving them in the central room, and left the courtyard. The dirt road was quite hard to ride on as the numerous bumps and hollows were making the tricycle bounce up and down. After a short ride, Gu Yu arrived at a primitive-looking residential area. Most of the dwellings here were bungalows and tile-roofed houses; scattered among them was a handful of two-story houses. The houses were interlinked bynes and alleys, which wound about like abyrinth. Far to the east of this area, though, the skyline was filled with tower-like blocks, which belonged to the downtown of Bai Town. With the urban expansion in the recent years, many small viges had gone through reconstruction works and were now in an awkward state of being neither rural not urban enough to belong to either group. The farnds were gone and viges were no longer ¡°viges¡± but ¡°residential districts¡±. This ce used to be called ¡°Phoenix Fair¡± in the past few decades, but had be known as ¡°Phoenix Residential District¡± now. It was located in the westernmost part of Bai Town, one with broken houses and impoverished residents. The authorities obviously would want to keep up the appearances, hence the basic municipal constructions, such as running water, digital television, broadband services and other public facilities were still intact. However, neither the young nor the old could figure out what good would it do to set up fitness climbers, rowing machines and simr devices in the vige. Why would anyone turn and twist on some crappy iron wheels? ¡°Oh, Xiao Yu is back. I¡¯m making dumplings today, I¡¯ll give you someter.¡± ¡°Thank you, auntie. I was just thinking about it yesterday. Your cabbage dumplings are my favourite.¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯re such a sweet talker. Go home and have some rest now.¡± ¡°Thanks. You take care as well.¡± After exchanging some pleasantries with a chubby middle-aged woman, Gu Yu stopped at a small courtyard. Inside the courtyard were three old tile-roofed houses. The central one was the main room as well as the kitchen, having an east wing and a west wing on either side. A road paved with brick rubblesy in the middle across the yard with a few rows of scallions nted on its both sides. A toilet and a storage room each took up a corner of the yard. Some firewood and corn cobs were lined along the foot of the walls. There was no need to lock this ce up, so he didn¡¯t need keys. After parking the tricycle, he entered the room. It would be an idle night for him. There were enough tea eggs for tomorrow and the corn cobs would be cooked freshly on the mountain, requiring no prior preparation. He cleaned himself casually and started to work on his ount book. With the weather getting warmer, tourism was showing signs of an upturn and Phoenix Mountain had been seeing an obvious increase in the number of tourists. Gu Yu¡¯s business had been doing well recently with a daily profit of about 80 yuan, which would round up to a monthly ie of over 2000 yuan. With the peak seasoning soon, he was looking at a potential monthly profit of 4000 to 5000 yuan. Gu Yu was ted with the result of his calctions. He was just putting the ount book away when he heard someone calling outside. ¡°Brother, my mum has sent me to give you some dumplings!¡± The door curtain was lifted up and in came a young girl with big eyes. She was wearing simple yet tidy clothes and had a round face. A bowl of dumplings were held in her hands, still steaming hot. ¡°Come, let me take that!¡± He intercepted the bowl at once, setting it on the folding table. ¡°Have you finished dinner already? That was fast.¡± ¡°They are still eating. I¡¯m done.¡± ¡°On diet again?¡± ¡°Uh huh. Look at my face,¡± she squeezed her chubby face. ¡°Well, how many times have I told you¡­¡± Gu Yu sat at the edge of the brick bed and lectured her, ¡°You look adorable. Don¡¯t follow those chiseled faces in your ss blindly. Do you know what a healthy pretty girl shoud look like?¡± Gee! The young girl twitched her mouth, obviously not taking his words seriously. However, she then sat down across the table with a beseeching look, her big eyes blinking in a pitiful way. ¡°Go ahead and y!¡± He could not help but yield. ¡°Whee! Thank you, older brother!¡± The girl scuttled away and ran near the television, where a table was set with an old-fashionedptop sitting on it. She fiddled with it expertly and, before long, the sound of iing messages from various software started to jump out one after another. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu shook his head, picked up a dumpling and swallowed it in one bite. The young girl was called Fang Qing, and was the 15-year-old daughter of the chubby auntie with her high school entrance examinationing soon. She was a lively girl and enjoyed having all sorts of fun, especially surfing on the inte. The living standards of her family unfortunately meant they couldn¡¯t afford aputer though, so she would oft sneak out ande here to use hisptop. Theptop was a gift from Gu Yu¡¯s grandfather; he bought it when Gu Yu got into university. The cabbage-and-pork dumplings filled an entire king-sized bowl, but it was nothing in front of the enormous appetite of a young man. Gu Yu ate them all up effortlessly while she was ying. About 40 minutes passed when she turned around to have a look. She stood up in the most reluctant manner. ¡°Brother, I should be heading back.¡± ¡°Ok. Thank auntie for me.¡± The young girl took the bowl and Gu Yu stood up to see her off. When they reached the central room, Gu Yu suddenly said, ¡°Oh, just a second.¡± He then fetched his keys and opened the door to the west wing. Fang Qing watched with a curious look as he entered the only room with a lock. As long as she could remember, that room had been kept locked¡ªno one knew what he was stashing inside it. Before long, Gu Yu came out with an incense case in his hand. ¡°Mosquitoes areing out these days. This is for you.¡± ¡°Ah, my mum was talking about this. I almost forgot!¡± Fang Qing knew how amazing this stuff was. Light up one each night and the house became mosquito-free. It did not even produce any smoke! Gu Yu walked her to the front gate and returned to the house. After cleaning up the dinner table, he turned on the television and sat in front of theptop. ¡°The silk as beautiful as the glory of dawn was made by weaving maids after enduring hardbor for days and nights up to the point of blinding themselves. Those luxurious and magnificent bearskins were the result of humble hunters lying in bitter cold snow and waiting for several days in a row before they could catch an animal. As for the priceless mermaid tears¡­¡± A dialogue came out of the television, greatly annoying Gu Yu. Heined, ¡°There¡¯s nothing except for Ji Guanlin.¡± He turned to nce at the screen and added, ¡°And those goddamn drawn-on t brows!¡± [1] He couldn¡¯t be bothered to watch. Returning to theptop, he clicked the mouse several times, logged in, and clicked again. The website opened slowly, revealing amunity site for incense-makers. The small site was established by a group of incense lovers and mainly used by themselves. Gu Yu was a lurker. He was seldom active on the site but was acknowledged as a guru among the users. Watching his online buddies fighting over some form or mixture ratio was one of the few hobbies of Gu Yu. He logged into the forum and happened to see a new post. He clicked it. It read: ¡°Ahrrrrrrrrrr! Never take it for granted that the sealed incense bottles are good enough to stop the insects! I¡¯ve only bought these first-ss roses two days ago and they are already in tatters. I can¡¯t decide if I should just throw them away or keep them. Ahrrrrr! My heart is bleeding!¡± The photo of what was left of the roses was posted below. The poster¡¯s ID was ¡°Great Strength Makes Wonders¡±, which belonged to an active user who also happened to be a cute girl. Gu Yu had nothing else to do at the moment, so he casually typed a few lines in reply. ¡°Flowers and herbs are easily infested with insects. You can add some deoxidant in the bottle and put some Lingling incense around the bottle.¡± When he checked backter, the girl had replied his post with lightspeed. ¡°Ah! I can¡¯t believe my eyes! Guru Deep Cloud had noticed me!!!¡± [2] Right. Gu Yu¡¯s ID was called ¡°The Cloud is so Deep That He is not a Virgin¡±. Not very appropriate. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Gu Yu smiled, but did not respond again. The next second, a sound reminded him that he had an iing message, which read, ¡°The Wake-up Incense fromst time is used up. I¡¯ll order another one. From: Xiaozhai.¡± The message was from an old acquaintance on the forum; the two of them had chatted a few times. A while ago, she mentioned that she was feeling dizzy andcked spirit. Gu Yu asked for her address and sent her a box of Wake-up Incense. He meant to give it for free, but she unexpectedly returned his favor with some gift money. He was in need of some extra cash at that time and epted the money without any pretentiousness. They had befriended each other but knew little about one another. Gu Yu only knew that her name was Jiang Xiaozhai. To Gu Yu, her name sounded like a reflective poem from Du Mu. ¡°The water nearby looks as if it is connected to the distant Xijiang River, whose rumbling sound could almost be heard from here. The shadows of the pine trees surrounding this little house were almost level with the clouds. I wish someone could teach me to y the flute, so that I could ride on the spring breeze and y with the bright moon.¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll let you know before I send it.¡± Gu Yu replied to the message right away. She did not write him back, but a few minutester, Gu Yu¡¯s cellphone reminded him that he had received a 200-yuan red packet. ¡°¡­¡± He pursed his lips. She was quite an efficient girl. Judging by appearances, making money off incense seemed easy. However, that was not the case. Making incense by hand involved numerous cumbersome procedures and was very time-consuming. The cering stage alone would take up several days, hence the marketing strategy of FMCG was not applicable to him. Therefore he could not run an online business, but work on individual orders only. He would ept one order at a time from a market that could not get any ¡°nicher¡±. [1] ED/N: It may seem confusing, so let me clear it up: Ji Guanlin is some TV dude¡¯s name. Or maybe a program¡¯s. [2] ED/N: Senpai noticed me! Chapter 4 Chapter 4: Gu Yu (Part Two) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu In fact, there wasn¡¯t much to say about Gu Yu¡¯s life. If anything, it was probably a sad story about how an orphaned left-behind child was brought up by his grandfather. Gu Yu¡¯s grandfather was not native of this area and only settled down here in the 1980s. He knew next to nothing about farm work, but was an expert incense maker. Apart from selling incense on his own, he was also an incense supplier for the Ziyang Temple up on Phoenix Mountain. However, as business of that Taoist temple grew, handmade incense could no longer meet their needs. They turned to an incense manufacturer instead. They¡¯d charge 900 yuan per stick for those long, tall and thickly built incense rods. Gu Yu had been learning the craft since he was little and was genuinely fond of it. He had grown to be exceptionally good at it as well. He worked hard at school and had always been a mature and assiduous child. Later, he was admitted into a university in the provincial city, but after two years of study, his grandfather suddenly fell into a grave illness. He dropped out of school and returned home without any hesitation to take care of his grandfather. Sadly, after spending all their savings and getting into debt, his grandfather still passed away, leaving behind only this little courtyard and a roomful of incense recipes. The only luck he had was that he encountered no dispute over his inheritance, which he received in a smooth manner. Gu Yu was left in an awkward situation. A college dropout was probably no more useful than a junior college or vocational school graduate. Bai Town was a small ce with limited job opportunities. The more decent employers would never hire him. After some consideration, he made up his mind and became a peddler on the mountain. With the local protectionism, his business costed next to nothing. The only thing he had to bear were the hardships. And hardships he could bear indeed. He would go up the mountain in daytime and do odd jobs at night. It had been over a year now; he had not only paid off all his debts, but also managed to save some money. ¡°Ticktock, ticktock!¡± The clock on the wall sounded like a machine that needed oiling, its hands moving reluctantly. Gu Yu turned off theptop, filled a basin with water in the kitchen and started to wash his hands. He had long and slim fingers with neatly clipped nails. He did not use any soap, but only rubbing his hands slowly in the water, as if trying to clean every inch of his skin. He then pushed open the door of that room. [1] The light was turned on and a different world was lit up. It was tidy,pactlyid out, and had a unique mysterious feeling to it. Three sides of the room were lined with huge wooden shelves filled with rows upon rows ofbeled bottles and cans. There had to be a few hundreds of them. Tworge boxes were sitting in the corners and a square table, on which all kinds of odd-looking toolsy, was set in the middle of the room. This was Gu Yu¡¯s workroom and no other person had ever set foot in here. He needed to produce the Wake-up Incense Xiaozhai ordered as soon as he could. The so-called ¡°Wake-up Incense¡± could clear and refresh one¡¯s mind, as well as help one concentrate. It was categorized as a medicinal incense. The best time to make incense was at night, when other people would not be disturbed by the process and the maker himself would not be disturbed as well. It was said that the incense possessed ten virtues, which included affecting spirits and gods, cleansing of body and soul, making friends in silence, snatching moments of leisure from this mortal life, getting rid of filth, etc. Tranquility was the basis of them all. Gu Yu walked around the shelves and took several bottles and cans before he sat down at the table. Once he settled down, his temperament changedpletely. He looked serene and focused, with a hint of unrestrained aura about him. Well, unrestrained as in ¡°a canoe drifting unrestrained with the breeze in the smooth water¡±. ording to the inte, making incense was equivalent to burning money, for almost all recipes would involve agarwood and sandalwood, both extremely expensive; it was also hard to find the genuine ones. However, the incense recipes he inherited from his grandfather seemed to belong to a unique faction and had been improved by his grandfather over the years. These recipes seldom contained materials such as agarwood and sandalwood, but would usemon ones instead. For instance, the Wake-up Incense was formted from Acorus gramineus, Chinese Atractylodes, mint, Tuber Fleece Flower Stem, Amomum cardamomum, borneol, and a type of round-leaf nt that grew on Phoenix Mountain. Apart from the extremely tedious first-stage preparation work, which was the processing of incense powder, incense-making could be divided roughly into five steps: mud-blending, molding, shape-adjusting, drying in the shade, and cering. The cans were already filled with ready-made incense powder and sticky powder, so he started from mud-blending right away. To put it in a simple way, mud-blending was to mix sticky powder with incense powder, kneading them evenly into a ball the same way as one would when making dough. The sticky powder was usually made from elm bark, which had little scent and was highly adhesive, but only a little was needed each time. The ash of most incense sticks in temples would not break off after the sticks were burnt, which was the result of putting too much sticky powder. Those were incense sticks of very poor quality. Gu Yu took out a porcin bowl and put in the mixed powder. He then added water drop by drop and stirred the mixture while adding more water. When the water was used up, the mixture became a dough-like substance. After that, he used a spoon to press the dough from the rim to the center, to mix it more evenly and increase its density. So far so easy. The next step was the key one¡ªmolding. When making incense sticks, many incense makers these days would stuff the incense mud into a syringe and push the stick out one by one, just for the sake of convenience. However, sticks made this way were of poor quality because the squeezed-out sticks were not dense enough and would produce much more smoke when ignited. The best way was to knead it into shape with one¡¯s bare hands. Incense formting and the kneading of incense sticks were the most important skills in incense-making. ¡°Wheeze¡­¡± Gu Yu sat down by themp and took a deep breath, which made him even more cid. He tore down a small piece of dough, put it onto the wooden board and started kneading it vertically with a finger. A horizontal motion should never be used, for only vertical kneading could adjust the direction and diameter of the stick. He was absorbed in his work, putting all his attention into that finger. He was not watching it, but feeling it. He could feel that little piece of incense dough extending, bing thin and elongating under his finger; it was as if he was controlling it with his mind. It was a subtle procedure. Those who had practiced Tai Chi would know about ¡°listening to the energy¡±. Kneading incense had a simr feeling. One had to let the skin of the finger ¡°listen¡± to the strength and reaction passing through the incense dough. There was a saying: to knead the incense was to nurse one¡¯s mind. Long story short, stay calm. [2] Time ticked by and the night grew deeper. Gu Yu finally stood up and exhaled slowly. It took him such a long while to knead fifteen sticks. They were about ten centimeters long and were as thin as toothpicks. He cut the sticks into the same length and put them onto a t piece of paper. He then covered them with several other pieces of paper, which would help quicken the drying procedure. He would wait until tomorrow for the sticks to bepletely dry and stored them in the small cer in the yard. It would then take around half a month for the scent of all spices to fuse together, reducing any pungent odoring off the incense. This was only the first batch and he was going to make sixty sticks in total. That was why not many incense makers were left nowadays. The process costed too much energy and many found it not worthwhile. *** Gu Yu made thirty sticks that night and did not go to bed until veryte into the night. However, he still got up on time the next morning, skipped breakfast, put his stuff together and took off on his tricycle. He was barely out of the door when he ran back into his room and grabbed three incense pellets that could expel vermin. The pellet was harmless to humans, but snakes, bugs, rats and ants abhorred it. They would avoid the smell in every way they could. He would not go into the mountain without them. The ones he had yesterday, well, he had given them to those two girls¡ªthat¡¯s why he had to get back once he remembered he had none left on him. ¡°You look tired, Xiao Yu.¡± ¡°Yeah, I did not sleep very well. Have you eaten?¡± ¡°Not yet. I¡¯ll grab a bite after going up.¡± ¡°En? You¡¯re selling souvenirs today, Old Wang? What happened to your meat skewers?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t get hold of a duck. I¡¯ll take a rain check.¡± As the bbing went on, half a dozen tricycles emerged from the alleys, which then formed a natural line and moved towards Phoenix Mountain. They were all peddlers without formal employment. Had they managed to find some odd job today, they would not go up the mountain. When no other job was avable, they would return to their stalls. They would sell anything from fakemb skewers to wholesale souvenirs, including even cucumbers and tomatoes they grew themselves. You name it, they had it. This line of business was almost exclusive to people from Phoenix Fair. Even those from the east, south and west parts of the town would be kicked out by the crowd and have their stalls smashed when they tried to sell on the mountain, let alone the outsiders. Gu Yu followed the team in silence and listened to the middle-aged uncles bragging about all kinds of things along the way. They soon reached the yard of the old widower. Everyone found a spot for their tricycle and started to climb the mountain. They still formed a line and walked one after another. They each had their one selling spot and would not take another¡¯s ce. Gu Yu was still thest in the line. A man in his forties was in front of him¡ªhis surname was Fang and Fang Qing was his daughter. ¡°Xiao Yu, I¡¯m so worried about my girl¡¯s studies these days. Do you think she can get into No. One High School?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve looked at her exam papers. To be honest, the hope to get in No. One is a bit slim. I think getting into No. Two should be no problem at all, though.¡± No. One, or Number One High School, was the most prestigious high school in the province; No. Two was nowhere near it. ¡°My, if only she was half as smart as you are! Remember how good you were back then? You were the first person to go to a university in our vige.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, uncle. The high school entrance examination is a month away and she still has time for somest-minute study. Plus, it¡¯ll all depend on her performance in the actual exams¡­¡± With the load on his shoulder, Gu Yu wasforting the poor father all the way up the mountain. The Fang family had always cared for him, even when grandfather was still alive, and Fang Qing had always been like a little sister to him. However, she really wasn¡¯t interested in studying at all. Even if it was No. Two, there was still only a fifty-fifty chance of her being admitted. The two chatted all their way up and it took them quite a while to reach the hillside. Those people previously walking in the front were nowhere to be seen now. ¡°Squeak!¡± ¡°Coo, coo!¡± As they walked, a squeak came from somewhere, sounding anxious and worried. The two stopped to look around. Uncle Fang pointed to one side. ¡°Over there!¡± Gu Yu followed his finger and looked towards the dense woods on the right. A big grey squirrel was entangled in a cluster of grass. Not far from it, a green snake was slithering towards it. [1] ED/N: Yep, ¡°that¡± room. No further description given in this sentence. The following paragraphs make it obvious that it¡¯s about that closed room from a while before, though. [2] ED/N: ¡­and knead the incense, lol. Chapter 5 Chapter 5: An ident Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Squeak!¡± The green snake was getting nearer, but the squirrel was tied up tightly by the grass. Seeing that its struggle was in vain, its squeals were bing harsher. ¡°Uncle, wait a second.¡± Uncle Fang did not care about animals. He waved his hand and was about to leave. Gu Yu, on the other hand, could not bear to see the squirrel get hurt. He put down his load and walked into the woods. The dense grass rustled under his feet as he stepped onto it. Both animals sensed his arrival and turned in his direction. ¡°Coo coo!¡± The squirrel struggled more fiercely now, but the green snake poked its forked tongue in an irritated way, for it smelled a scent it found both familiar and repugnant. Gu Yu did not think much of it. With the incense pellets in his pocket, he approached the animals. However, as he moved near, he was surprised to find that the snake was only agitated, but did not flee from the scene as snakes usually did. What? This did not make sense! Had the pellets expired? No, they shouldn¡¯t. These were freshly made. As he was trying to figure it out, the green snake hissed with its tongue out again. It ignored the human being nearby and kept moving towards its prey, as if it felt some fatal attraction from that squirrel. ¡°Gosh!¡± Seeing this, Gu Yu immediately picked up a long twig, ready for a confrontation. Sensing his threat, the snake lifted its head abruptly and contracted its ck vertical pupils. Snakes¡­ there was something particrly sinister and savage about these cold-blood creatures. Gu Yu knew what he was up against, for he had had his fair share of snake beating on this mountain ever since he was little. He sped the twig tightly and stared at the snake¡¯s most tender spot. Just then, a stone was thrown from behind him, which brushed past the green snake andnded with a thump. ¡°Wow, oh!¡± Uncle Fang was yelling wildly as he approached quickly from behind, holding more rubble in his hand. His movement was a bit funny, but his manner was imposing. The green snake was taken aback by the neer and stopped to estimate the possible oue of putting up a fight. In the end, it looked away and retreated reluctantly. ¡°Hiss!¡± Somehow, Gu Yu felt his hair standing up on his back. Thest nce the green snake gave him had an undisguised hatred in it. An animal should not be capable of feeling such emotions! He shook his head to calm his mind and moved to untie the squirrel. Luckily, it was not hurt, only a little stiff from the struggle. The little creature strolled around and was alive and kicking again. ¡°Well, you¡¯re safe now. Go back to your peanuts!¡± He stood up and waved a yful goodbye. However, the squirrel put its front paws together and bowed at him. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was dumbstruck. One weird animal was an ident. Two at a time was just too weird! He was lost in his thoughts for a while. When he looked up again, the little creature was long gone. ¡°Xiao Yu, stop staring nkly. Let¡¯s go!¡± Uncle Fang was yelling his lungs out from the other side. Gu Yu came back to himself and replied, ¡°I¡¯ming!¡± ¡°There used to be a lot of snakes around here when you were little. They have been killed off, though. It¡¯s been quite some time since Ist saw one. Where did that onee from?¡± ¡°The mountain is a huge ce and they could be hiding anywhere. The snake had a beautiful color, though. Each of the spots on its body was of a different color!¡± The two talked about the incident as they walked. The event had already taken enough of their time so they did not stop for a second time but continued walking all the way until their respective destinations. *** ¡°Three tea eggs and two bottles of water.¡± ¡°Here you are!¡± ¡°How much are the corn cobs?¡± ¡°Three yuan each. Five yuan if you buy two.¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll have two, then.¡± ¡°Hey, fe, could you take a picture for us?¡± ¡°Sure. Where?¡± Gu Yu held the camera and took several photos for a couple cuddling beside the rail, revealing no trace of bad attitude a single guy like him would feel and show at the scene. He said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± ¡°Thanks, mate!¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± It was past noon in the resting area below the Old Bull¡¯s Back, the most crowded time of the day. The tourists would start climbing in the morning and an average speed would bring them to this area around this time. Thergest resting area on Phoenix Mountain was halfway up the hill, where the tourists were thergest in number and where most vendors would gather. Gu Yu joined the businesster than the others and could not get a spot there. He had to move some distance uphill to open his stall. There were both advantages and disadvantages in doing so. Although his spot was a remote one, it was the only resting area at such a high altitude¡ªhe had nopetition here. The benefit of the warm weather was apparent. There were even more tourists today and, before two in the afternoon, Gu Yu had almost sold all his goods. The only things left were a few eggs with broken shells and a rtively small corn cob. After three groups of tourists came and went one by one, the boisterous scene had finally quieted down. As usual, he took the broom to tidy up the garbage scattered on the ground and picked up a few empty bottles. It was not because he was more cultivated than the others; he simply couldn¡¯t stand a dirty and disorderly environment. To put it bluntly, he was a clean freak. It was ridiculous. Being a clean freak would be a normal thing for a rich man, a white cor, a teacher, or a university student, but¡­ a peddler on a mountain? Please, you do not belong to the same world! ¡°nk!¡± Gu Yu tossed an empty bottle into a woven bag, which had already contained quite a few of them and would be worth several yuan. He sat down on his folding stool and started ying with his cell phone while waiting for customers. It had probably been past the peak time as there were no other tourist groups, only some idle tourists strolling in twos and threes. He could not be bothered to sell anything else, so he picked up that corn cob and ate it for lunch. ¡°Ah, let¡¯s have bad luck together and whoever draws the superior super rare card is a traitor!¡± Cell phone signal was pretty good on the mountain. He yed a game for a while and finished it with a sour face, apparently having bad luck in drawing cards again. ¡°Squeak!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Squeak!¡± When he was stuffing the corn cob into the garbage bag, he heard a familiar sound. He turned around and saw the big squirrel from the morning crouching behind him. ¡°Crouching¡± may not sound like something a squirrel would do, but it did. It was standing on bent rear legs with a straight upper body. Its head swayed back and forth, reminding one of a big-tailed wolf. The most amazing thing was, it was holding a dark-red fruit with its front paws. Seeing that the human being had noticed it, the squirrel let go of it paws and the fruit dropped on the ground in a rolling motion. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu watched it in silence. ¡°¡­¡± It stared back at Gu Yu in silence as well. An awkward silence fell again. After a while, realizing the human being was probably not smart enough to understand it, the squirrel bent down and poked the fruit with the tip of its nose. The fruit then rolled to Gu Yu¡¯s feet. ¡°Are you here to show gratitude? Can I have a white fox, then? A squirrel looks like something on the lower end!¡± He crouched down and picked up the fruit as he whined. It looked a bit like a hawthorn, with smooth and delicate skin and no observable spots. There was also a faint fragrance about it. ¡®Would I turn into something weird if I eat this thing of questionable origin?¡¯ The name of a whole bunch of famous ¡°philosophers¡± passed through his mind in that instant, such as Billy Herrington, Sanada Yuto, Tristan, etc¡­ ¡®Oh my god, it¡¯s so exciting! ¡°Coo coo!¡± Seeing that Gu Yu was hesitating, the squirrel became impatient and started jumping around and being noisy. He pondered for a bit longer and decided to just go with it. He knew all of the nts on the Phoenix Mountain and this thing wasn¡¯t among the poisonous ones growing here. He still gave it a good wash, though. After all, for a squirrel to carry it all this way, the fruit could stay nowhere but inside its mouth. After rinsing it for several times, he brought the red fruit to his mouth and swallowed it down without chewing. He had no idea whether it was sour, sweet, bitter or tart. After the red fruit entered his mouth, it felt like the thing vaporized into a cooling sensation without digestion. It went down to his belly, entered his internal organs and filled all his limbs and veins¡­ Every cell and every channel of his were gradually nourished. The feeling was pleasant and sweet beyond description. As the wonder deepened, Gu Yu¡¯s countenance was drained of color little by little, as if his vitality was leaving his body. The strange feeling inside his body had made him forget everything else, even the normal ability to think had disappeared. However, a hint of his consciousness remained, resembling a me wandering around inplete void and darkness. Meanwhile, the cooling sensation was still moving inside him. The two were like a couple of contestants, neither willing to give up and dissipate first. No one knew how much time had passed before the cooling sensation could no longer continue. It moved downwards like a silver dragon; its destination was Gu Yu¡¯s Dantian. If he could see inside himself right now, he would notice a streak of white Qi twirling and circling around his Dantian; it was as if a sphere of white mist had been formed there. ¡°¡­¡± A good whileter, Gu Yu opened his eyes and was rather baffled to find himself lying on the ground. Luckily, no one else was around. He stood up swiftly and shook his head. He felt his head clear up and even his spirit was lifted, making his eyes light up. The branches swayed in the wind, the grass thrived and there were butterflies dancing among the flowers. The world had never seemed so delicate and full of life. He had no idea what exactly happened, but it must have been something miraculous. ¡°Squeak!¡± The high-pitched voice echoed out again. He looked at the big fat squirrel crouching on the ground, watching him with a tilted head. An uncontrobleint burst out of his chest. ¡°What the hell! I¡¯ve lived for 21 uneventful years and you¡¯ve rewritten everything just like that?!¡± Chapter 6 Chapter 6: Change Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu What kind of trick was that! What started as a realistic urban life novel had now changed with a snap of a finger. Gu Yu had no idea about the critical condition he was in just now. All he could think of was the unstoppable surge of sarcasm, apanied by some jitter and excitement. One could not me him, though. The world view built during the 21 years of his life was now in the trash can, and a promising young man who had always believed in scientific development was suddenly thrown into the spiritual world. ¡®Calm down! Calm down, myself!¡¯ He grabbed the folding stool and forced himself to sit down on it, trying his best to recall the experience from a moment before. After he ate the red fruit, it turned into a cooling sensation and wandered around inside his body. He seemed to have lost consciousness, but could still sense it a little bit despite that. The cooling sensation should have sunk into his Dantian and became a small lump of, well, unusual substance. He couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on it, but only felt it vaguely. ¡°I need to think it through. Normally when things like this happen, I should firstly¡­¡± He muttered a few words and rolled up his sleeve, revealing a section of his arm that looked quite fair. He then rubbed the skin, but neither did dead skine off nor was there any foul smell. ¡°Well, like I said, a squirrel was so low-end! Others can have their body cleansed and skin beautified. Why didn¡¯t that happen to me?¡± Gu Yu curled his lips. Seeing that no tourists were going toe anytime soon, he sat on the grass in a cross-legged position and closed his eyes. He was not someone who would refuse to face reality. Of all the ideas that thronged his mind, this one seemed to be most reliable. That¡¯s right, he chose the nigh universal method, which was meditation. Generally speaking,mon folks would need some practice to achieve the meditating state. However, Gu Yu was not amon man. He had been making incense since he was little and the decade-long practice had already tempered his mind well enough. Within a few breaths, he had put his sarcasm aside and became calm and serene again. Breathe in¡­ Breathe out¡­ He breathed deeply in a constant rhythm, keeping his mind clear and his consciousness pure. At first, nothing seemed to have changed. Gradually, though, a faint fluctuation simr to air flow started to emerge and float around in a slow motion, twining and winding. This faint fluctuation felt simr to the strange lump inside his Dantian. Gu Yu continued with his meditation and felt the fluctuation getting stronger, but it would not approach him, nor would it enter his body. After a while, he opened his eyes, feeling delighted and regretful at the same time. He was delighted because, if he deduced it right, the fluctuation and the lump inside his Dantian were spiritual essence of heaven and earth. What he felt regretful about was that although the red fruit helped him greatly in detecting the spiritual essence, it did not enable him to learn any cultivation method and he could not make use of the essence. That feeling sucked! It was like going through untold hardships to learn the Dead-body-herding Technique only to find out that, all of a sudden, sea burials were all the rage now. Or, like working yourself to death to master tomb raiding and having to turn whatever you obtained over to the authorities. Or maybe like bing the struggling hero of a novel, winning all European film festival awards, marrying a in chubby girl and the author decided to finish the book right there. ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu half smiled and half sighed. They were right. Life usually did not work out as you would like it to. He was a gentle person, not quite prone toints. Seeing that the squirrel had been crouching beside him all this time, he couldn¡¯t help but ask it, ¡°For a creature as spiritual as you are, you must have eaten plenty of precious materials of heaven and earth. Where did you get this fruit? Is there anything else there? ¡­Stop staring. Do you know that you are not following the basic rules?¡± As he grumbled on, the squirrel only tilted its head and showed no sign of understanding his words. ¡°Well, whatever¡­¡± Gu Yu stood upright and bowed solemnly facing the squirrel. ¡°Brother Fatty, that was such a valuable gift and I am the one in debt now. Thank you so much!¡± Fatty my ass! Your whole family is the fattest of fatties! Luckily the squirrel could not understand his words, or it would take him by the throat right there. It only knew the human being had bowed to it, which made it squeak happily and jump all over the ce. Gu Yu smiled at it. Seeing that it was gettingte, he told the squirrel, ¡°Well, I have to go now. I don¡¯t have anything for you today. Tomorrow I¡¯ll bring you some food.¡± Having said that, he put his hands to his mouth and made a gesture of eating peanuts. Strangely enough, the squirrel understood him this time and swayed back and forth like a big-tailed wolf again. Gu Yu quickly put his things together and loaded them onto his shoulder. He was instantly surprised. The heavy load now felt incredibly light and he lifted it without breaking sweat. He knew very well that it must¡¯ve been because of the spiritual essence and waved at the squirrel, ¡°Bye bye, Brother Fatty!¡± ¡°Squeak!¡± The squirrel waved back with its paw and they went their separate ways. *** Gu Yu walked down the mountain as if he grew wings. He did not feel hungry when he got back home. However, after a second thought, he still cooked himself a simple meal, which consisted of fried bean sprouts with meat and spinach soup. He had lived alone with his grandfather since he was little and the two had always depended on each other. He grew to be excellent at household chores and had even mastered sewing. When the meal was ready, he took a bite gingerly and tasted it carefully. He then said to himself, ¡°The taste is still the same and I have no problem eating it. Not bad!¡± He couldn¡¯t help it. He was afraid that he would lose interest in all mortal food. If that was the case, he might as well turn into a muscr Aniki. [1] While he was having dinner, little Fang Qing sneaked in to use the inte again. Her spirit soared when sitting in front aputer. Seeing this, Gu Yu frowned. He wanted to talk to her about it, but feared that it would turn into a lecture. He picked his words carefully and said, ¡°Qing Qing, how is your revision going?¡± ¡°It¡¯s going nowhere. I have no issues with the stuff I should know. Those I didn¡¯t understand, I still can¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Are you sure of yourself, then?¡± ¡°Nope. I know myself. I¡¯m counting on my luck when the actual examse.¡± She was thoughtless and carefree. ¡°What if, I¡¯m just saying, what if the exam result turns out not satisfactory? What are you gonna do then?¡± He added. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­¡± Fang Qing finally turned to look at him and the expression on her face changed a little. ¡°I¡¯ll go to a technical school, then.¡± A technical school? Gu Yu fell silent. Secondary specialized schools, vocational high schools and technical schools were hardly famous for their professional standards and academic atmosphere. The public schools were rtively better, while the private ones were the worst: alcohol abuse, violence, skipping school to visit inte cafes, promiscuous sex¡­ you name it. The most serious problem was that one could learn absolutely nothing in such schools. He looked at Fang Qing again and did not know what else to say. The girl had neither the will nor the quality to work hard. There was nothing he could do about it. ¡°Fang Qing! Fang Qing!¡± Just then, someone called outside the gate, which startled the young girl. She immediately said, ¡°My mum¡¯s looking for me. I have to go home now, brother!¡± She ran out of the door in a scurry. Gu Yu couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh. It did not feel right to let her use theptop. However, if he did not allow her to use it here, she would probably sneak into an inte cafe, which would be even worse. He could not quite tell Uncle Fang about it either, since it would definitely result in a domestic disturbance. All in all, it was a worrisome affair. After dinner, Gu Yu rested for a short while and walked into his workroom again. He was going to finish the rest of the thirty sticks of Wake-up Incense. He mixed the mud,id it on the kneading board and put his finger on it. The touch had a totally different feeling today. If felt like the incense mud had stuck to his skin and fused with it. Its density, consistency, texture and even smell were vividly projected in his consciousness. This time, it was no longer an illusionary and imaginary consciousness, but one that was bright and concrete, as if it was alive. Gu Yu was slightly surprised, but he dismissed the distracting thoughts right away and started kneading, repeating the movements he had done a thousand times before. The secluded small room was filled with an ancient and mysterious air. As he kneaded on, the incense slowly extended and thinned under his fingers, which was finally molded into an evenly shaped and gleaming incense stick rich in color. It was a beautifully crafted artwork. ¡°This¡­ looks amazing¡­¡± Gu Yu put his hand down and looked carefully at the incense stick. He even surprised himself. While he was kneading this stick, he did not feel he was ¡°making¡± something, but rather ¡°creating¡± it instead. After gaining experience for over a decade, he had advanced from focusing on his hand to his heart, from emphasizing on the technique itself to his state of mind, from being a trite crafter to a spiritual artist. It was an advancement in all areas. He could not force himself to stop such an interesting process of creation and took another pinch of incense mud right away, starting to work on the second stick. It took him only half the time he needed yesterday to finish the thirty sticks tonight. The sticksy neatly on the kneading board, looking especiallyforting. Gu Yu did not feel tired. As usual, he covered the sticks with a few pieces of paper and waited for them to dry in the dark. The sticks from yesterday werepletely dry now. He put them onto a tray and took it to the yard to lift up a board with the tip of his toe, revealing a small cer beneath. That was the good thing about living in a vige. You could never find a ce to dig a cer in the city. This one had been here for quite some time now. His grandfather made it in his time. It was a standard incense storage cer. He jumped in and ced the tray on a shelf. After half a month, the pungent odor would disappear and the Wake-up Incense would be ready to use. It was early summer time and the nights were getting longer. Night closed in on the entire Phoenix Fair. Stars twinkled as barking of dogs and chirping of bugs filled the air together with the faint sounds of quarreling couples and crying children. Looking to the east would give you apletely different view. Vehicles streamed incessantly on the brilliantly illuminated streets, and shops were still open, weing their high-spirited young customers. One city, two different worlds. Gu Yu stood in the empty courtyard for a while and did not return to his room until temperature dropped a bit. He fell onto his bed but feltpletely awake. He stared at the ceiling in the darkness. Everyone who had a remarkable encounter would be full of excitement, though they expressed it differently. Gu Yu was an introvert, aka, a surprise package. He did not show his feelings explicitly, but it did not mean he would not be agitated, excited or confused. Having lived as a physically and mentally healthy straight man for 21 years, he was now led into a mysterious new world by a squirrel. It felt rather odd. He yearned, and was determined, to push open that door and to see the exciting world on the other side, even if the road leading there was rough, dangerous, and covered with thorns and brambles. [1] TL/N: This part actually referred to three famous inte novels. The first one I¡¯m not so sure, should be something well-known, though. The tomb-raiding one was µÁĹ±Ê¼Ç (in the adapted film, the story was altered and the main characters were patriots of some sort, retrieving relics for the authorities instead of stealing them), and the third one was ÎÄÒÕʱ´ú (by the same author, where the in chubby girl was ·¶±ù±ù£©. [2] ED/N: Dunno wtf it¡¯s doing here, but I know Japanese enough to confirm it¡¯s indeed Aniki that¡¯s written there¡­ for those unfamiliar with the term, it¡¯s a respectful way to say ¡°older brother¡±; it¡¯s also used to refer to a gang¡¯s boss by his underlings (if he¡¯s male). Probably some kind of reference. Chapter 7 Chapter 7: A Buyer Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Early morning. Gu Yu¡¯s house. Gu Yu woke up from his meditation in the room where the spices were stored and smiled with resignation. ¡°Well, it still isn¡¯t working.¡± For the past week or so, he had spent all his spare time trying to sense the spiritual essence. He even found some so-called ¡°methods for training internal strength¡± on the inte, in hope that at least a small part of it would be of use to him. However, all his efforts had been futile. The spiritual essence remained floating in the air and would not get any nearer. It was safe to say that apart from bing agile and strong with an exceptionally clear head, there was not much difference between Gu Yu and othermon folks. He knew well enough that he would never cross the threshold to the cultivation world without the right method. In fact, it baffled Gu Yu greatly that the background setting of his world had changed so drastically. He had been living a normal life in a modern society, so where did Brother Fatty get that red fruit? Were there any other precious heavenly treasures growing somewhere? He wanted to figure it out more than anything else. Unfortunately, the squirrel neither understood his words nor showed any intention to lead him to where it found the strange fruit. Luckily, he was familiar with incense-making. Ever since that night, he hade to realize that his state of mind while making incense faintly corresponded to some spiritual experience. Each time hepleted a piece of work, he would find his consciousness a little more condensed, although only by the slightest amount. His old self would never be able tell the difference, but with the help of the spiritual essence, he could sense even the faintest change now. ¡°Ticktock! Ticktock!¡± The shabby clock still ticked reluctantly, as if with much effort. Gu Yu stood up and stretched himself in the courtyard for a while first, then moved on to prepare for today¡¯s sale. He had given up on the instant noodles and ham sausages, which took forever to sell. There were a few bags of pickles left. The bottled water was a necessity and tea eggs were his core merchandise. The corn cob sales were rtively stable at around 20 pieces a day. Apart from those, he was holding another box in his hands, which contained three perfumed sachets. Now that he could make incense much faster and he was using the process as a kind of cultivation, he had made more products than before. Inside the sachets were ready-made mixed spices. The sachets could either be ced at bedside or carried around. There was a slight floral scent to them. Gu Yu left hometer than usual on purpose and cycled to the foot of the mountain, then climbed up on his own at an unhurried pace. Halfway up the mountain, he put a finger into his mouth and whistled. Almost as soon as the sharp whistling sound fell, the woods rustled with a scuffling noise and a big grey squirrel rushed near him. ¡°Morning, Brother Fatty!¡± He greeted the squirrel, who squeaked back and jumped onto his shoulder pole with agility that did not match its size. The load dropped suddenly to the right. Gu Yu grinned and started making fun of the squirrel again. ¡°My, you should watch your weight. You¡¯re at least one to two kilos heavier. Aren¡¯t you ashamed of yourself? Look at the other squirrels. How are you supposed to find a wife looking like this? Or are you actually female?¡± ¡°Thump! Thump!¡± He would not shut up, annoying the squirrel. It jumped hard several times, almost overthrowing the load he carried on the shoulder pole. The two climbed up the mountain together in this way and reached the clearing where he always sold his wares. Once they arrived there, ¡°Brother Fatty¡± bolted up a tree with a swooshing sound and crouched down as usual. Gu Yu unloaded his stuff, set up the boiler and quickly prepared his stall. Fire was lit and corn cobs gurgled in the boiling water. Inside the pot on the ground were cooked tea eggs, surrounded by charcoals to keep them warm. He then casually took out some peanuts and threw them up the tree, one kernel at a time. His aim was pretty urate, but Brother Fatty was even better. It stuffed the peanuts incessantly into its mouth. Its cheek pouches were like pockets of Doraemon, one couldn¡¯t tell where the food went. After feeding the squirrel, he sat back on the folding stool and picked up a stic bag in which were some pancakes he madest night and which would be his breakfast today. Had someone passed by at this moment, they would witness a scene where a guy was nibbling on pancakes, apanied by a peanut-gnawing squirrel. The two would evenmunicate with some indiscernible sybles from time to time, looking incredibly hrious. ¡°Wait for me, Xiao Fei.¡± ¡°Hurry up. Here, take my hand.¡± Before noontime, a young man stopped at the end of the stone staircase, turned around and grabbed a girl by her hand. He deliberately pulled too hard and dragged her into his arms all of a sudden. The girl was a little shy and struggled squeamishly, ¡°Knock it off! Let go of me!¡± ¡°Why? I¡¯ll carry you up.¡± The young man would not let her down and half carried her to the clearing. He looked around and said, ¡°There are some chairs. Let¡¯s sit there for a while.¡± The girl also nced around and saw the little stall. She immediately shook the guy off. ¡°Stop messing around. We are not alone here!¡± ¡°So what? It¡¯s not like we¡¯re breaking thew.¡± ¡°Whatever!¡± She rolled her eyes at him and did not follow him left, but walked to the right instead. The guy trailed closely behind her. The two walked to the stall and skimmed through the petty-looking merchandise, then said with a slightly offish tone, ¡°Two bottles of water and a corn cob, please.¡± ¡°The corn cobs are two for five yuan, do you¡­¡± ¡°No, thanks. Just one, please.¡± ¡°That¡¯s eight yuan in total.¡± The guy did not have any change and handed over a one-hundred-yuan note. Gu Yu winced. Such banknotes annoyed him the most. He zipped open his little waist pocket at once and started to dig out five-yuan and ten-yuan notes for change. He usually did not take much cash with him, so after scraping for a while, he was still two yuan short. He was a little embarrassed, ¡°Well, that¡¯s all the change I¡¯ve got on me. Why don¡¯t you buy something else?¡± ¡°Forget it, like there¡¯s anything to buy here!¡± The guy took over the ny-yuan worth of change and put it back into his pocket impatiently. Gu Yu would not take advantage of him, so he picked up a bag of pickles and a tea egg. ¡°These are worth two yuan. Please have it.¡± ¡°I told you to forget it. You are such¡­¡± ¡°Ah!!!¡± Before he could finish his sentence, his girlfriend screamed. He asked immediately, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°That little squirrel is so cute!¡± The girl was pointing at a grey squirrel on the tree and her eyes were almost sparkling. The guy rolled his eyes in annoyance. ¡°Please¡­ Haven¡¯t you seen a squirrel before?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the same. Look how pretty this one is! Oh, I want to feed it¡­ Hey, fe, do you have any peanuts?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu hesitated and looked down at the peanuts in his boiler. ¡°Yeah, but¡­¡± ¡°Come on, give her some! Here¡¯s the money!¡± The guy doted on his girlfriend, but was not as patient with anyone else. He took out a twenty-yuan bill and smacked it on the table. Seeing this, Gu Yu had no choice but to hand over a handful of peanuts. The girl took a few kernels with excitement and ran to the tree. She held up her hand and said, ¡°Come, little squirrel. Have some peanuts.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Brother Fatty tilted its head and hesitated. It gave Gu Yu a sneaky look and seeing that he nodded back, it ran down the tree right away. The squirrel was still trying to restrain itself and acted as if it did not want to have close contact with human beings, but only did so for the delicious peanuts. It was ying the role of a timid and shy squirrel, squirming around and refusing to eat. To the girl, such behaviour was adorable beyond imagination. Sheughed and said, ¡°Haha, don¡¯t be afraid. It¡¯s not poisonous. Come here! Theses are just for you!¡± After much temptation, Brother Fatty minced forward and picked up a peanut, gnawing on it skillfully. ¡°Look, Xiao Fei! It¡¯s eating! It¡¯s so cute. I want to take one home.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Seeing that she would not shut up about it, Gu Yu was silently embarrassed: my dear squirrel friend, does this thing we pulled off count as a scam? While Gu Yu was being sarcastic, the guy was even more desperate. He could not imagine a man like himself crouching beside his girlfriend and ying up noisily to a squirrel. He had no choice but to pretend to be sightseeing nearby, ignoring themotion. After ncing around, his eyes returned to that shabby stall with its cheap bottled water, glossy red tea eggs, corn cobs too well-cooked to bite in and miserable-looking perfumed sachets¡­ Wait a minute? Thest item did not fit in with everything else. The guy paused and looked closely again. Three perfumed sachets were indeed disyed in a box under separate transparent covers. ¡°Hey, fe, what are these?¡± ¡°Theses are Fresh Petal Incense. You can carry them in your pockets, or put them on a night stand. Do you want to have a look?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± Gu Yu grabbed a towel and carefully wiped his hands clean. He then opened a transparent cover and picked up a sachet. The guy took the sachet using both hands and gave it a little sniff. His countenance changed immediately. Next moment, he was picking up the sachet by its opening with his right hand and holding its bottom with the left, as if he was carrying a treasure. His arrogance waspletely gone and he seemed incredibly solemn now. He then lowered his head to smell long inside the sachet. A cool and refreshing scent slipped in through his nostrils, diffusing slowly into his mind. The smell was sweet but not cloying, delicate but not weak. Just like a wild flower growing on an unknown cliff, swaying with willowy movements in its own rhythm despite being battered by wind and rain. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu stared at the guy with unblinking eyes, feeling a bit nervous. Incense-making was so time- and energy-consuming that he had only used the product himself or made some on special order. This was the first time he took them up here for sale. The sachets were here all day yesterday without being noticed, but the customer this time seemed promising. After some time, the guy looked up and there was a natural,fortable and pleasant feeling about him all of a sudden. His eyes were sparkling, even more so than when his girlfriend discovered the squirrel. He asked, ¡°How much is this?¡± ¡°Sixty yuan.¡± Gu Yu felt that should cover for his effort. ¡°Great. I¡¯ll take them all!¡± Chapter 8 Chapter 8: The Zeng Family Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡®Huh?¡¯ Gu Yu stared nkly for a while before he moved his eyes up and down, sizing the guy up. The young man was about the same age as Gu Yu. He had quite a light skin tone and there was a harsh feeling about the way he looked at people. He had a matching light-grey sportswear with the top zipped open and wore a pair of fawn climbing boots. Gu Yu recognized those boots immediately. They were thetest style of Jack Wolfskin and were sold for at least 5000 yuan a pair. He was not a frequent inte shopper and preferred to browse through all sorts of online shops, quite simr to women¡¯s neverending window-shopping trips. The guy in front of him was obviously a rich ¡°second generation¡±, but that was not the point. The most important thing was, he could recognize Gu Yu¡¯s incense. He was happy to sell incense to those who could appreciate his work, but had to sell it to those who couldn¡¯t appreciate it all the same. For someone like Gu Yu, who wanted to make money but was unwilling to yield to reality, this rich kid was a godsend! ¡°These three are all Fresh Petal Incense. One would be enough for you.¡± He reminded his customer. ¡°That¡¯s alright. Bag them all for me, please. By the way, do you have any other scent?¡± Asked the young man. ¡°Sorry, no. These are the only ones,¡± Gu Yu put the sachets together and closed the lid. He handed them to the guy. ¡°That¡¯s 180 yuan in total.¡± The guy paid up at once and took the case in his hand. He then pondered for a few seconds and asked, ¡°Hey, mate, did you make these?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°What did you put in there? It smelt reallyfortable.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m really into it. Why don¡¯t you name a price and sell me the recipe?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He tried his best to act innocent and ignorant, but Gu Yu only smiled at him without saying a word. What the hell! The guy felt incredibly embarrassed and a bit ashamed at the same time. He managed to calm himself down before losing his temper, then turned around and called out, ¡°Xiao Meng, stop ying! It¡¯s time, we should leave!¡± ¡°Just a moment, it¡¯s almost finished eating.¡± ¡°If we don¡¯t leave now, we¡¯ll miss lunch!¡± Those words were very convincing. The girl immediately patted the crumbs off her hands and waved goodbye to the squirrel before walking slowly towards him. Seeing that her boyfriend was holding a case, she asked curiously, ¡°What do you have there?¡± ¡°Some incense.¡± ¡°What incense?¡± She asked with a nk face. ¡°Well, um, you know about the perfumed sachets ancient people took with them? It¡¯s just like those.¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯ve definitely been tricked! How can you find anything decent in a ce like this? It must be full of chemical stuff,¡± the girlined in a whisper. ¡°I¡¯m not so sure about that¡­¡± The young man looked back. The owner was cleaning the peanuts shells on the ground with a broom. The squirrel made a few mocking sounds and jumped back up the tree again. He turned back and lowered his voice, as if murmuring to himself, ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll have to count on these tonight.¡± *** It was evening time in Bai Town. A silver Land Rover was parked on the side of a street. In it sat a man and a woman, who were none other but the couple on Phoenix Mountain from earlier. The young man took out a sachet and unsealed it carefully. The sachet opened revealing the powder inside, which was light-brown in color and extremely finely milled. The granules were plump and even, having a light fragrance. He picked up one with his fingertips and studied it closely. He frowned only to rx his eyebrows after a moment, and even licked it with his tongue all of a sudden. His girlfriend watched him with a baffled look and finally could not stand him any longer. ¡°Zeng Shufei, what on earth are you doing?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± He came to himself and replied, ¡°I want to see what¡¯s in it.¡± ¡°Have you figured it out, then?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. Some of the ingredient are so strange, unlike¡­¡± ¡°m!¡± Before he finished the sentence, his girlfriend pushed the door open and left the car. ¡°Gosh! Xiao Meng!¡± He went after her in a hurry and grabbed her by the arm. ¡°You know this is a crucial time for me now. My elder sister and I arepeting against each other with everything we have right now and my father can not make a decision. If I can make my grandmother happy this time, I¡¯ll probably nail it!¡± ¡°With this?¡± The girl pointed at the humble-looking powder. ¡°Well, you won¡¯t understand¡­¡± The young man also stared at the powder with an indescribable look. The guy¡¯s name was Zeng Shufei; his girl was called Li Meng. The two had been together for two years now. His grandmother was from Bai Town. She had a son and was widowed at a young age. She was then motivated by the period of reform and opening-up and left the town to make a living. His grandmother was quite a capable woman. She made her own career in the provincial city and established apany dealing in building materials. Zeng Shufei¡¯s father was called Zeng Guoxiang; aside from Zeng Shufei, he also had a daughter, Zeng Yuewei. Shufei¡¯s father inherited their grandmother¡¯spany, and Shufei and Yuewei also worked in thispany after graduating from a university. The two were both talented young people and it was hard tell who was better. Their father wanted to promote one of them to a project manager. One position, two equally loved children¡ªit was a difficult choice. Hence, the decision had still not been made. As for their grandmother herself, after her retirement, she bought a big house and moved back to Bai Town to live an easy life. She was into incense-making in recent years. Today happened to be her birthday and a bunch of people gathered to celebrate with her. The Zeng siblings both had a simr idea¡ªthey wanted to use this asion to try to impress their grandmother. Zeng Shufei himself was genuinely fond of incense, regardless of things like family influence or trying to please his grandmother. This Fresh Petal Incense¡¯s smell was peculiar and unconventional, hence he decided to bet on it. The two stayed in the car for a long time and he still couldn¡¯t figure out the ingredients. Seeing that it was gettingte, he had no choice but give up trying. The Land Rover traveled along the main road for some distance, then turned into an alley and parked outside a restaurant with an impressive front gate. A ck que with golden characters hung above the gate, big rednterns apanying it on both sides. Recognizing the brand of the vehicle, the waiter put on an obsequious smile and opened the door for them at once. ¡°Wee. Do you have a reservation? I¡¯ll show you the way.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother.¡± Zeng Shufei replied coldly, took Li Meng by her hand and went straight upstairs. The rejected waiter retreated to the door, looking embarrassed. They arrived at apartment on the second floor. After pushing open the door, they found a dozen guests already sitting inside. ¡°Good evening, grandmother! Hello dad, mum! Hello uncle and auntie!¡± He greeted everyone in turn. When he came to a girl with short hair, he paused and smiled, ¡°Hey, sister!¡± ¡°You¡¯re sote, Xiao Fei! We¡¯ve been waiting for you!¡± That was none other than Zeng Yuewei. She had delicate features, but simr to her younger brother, there was a harsh feeling about her. After her indifferentment, their aunt suddenly came up to them and took Li Meng by her hands. She said to grandmother, ¡°Auntie, this is Xiao Fei¡¯s girlfriend. I¡¯ve only met her once but havee to like her so much. Here, don¡¯t you think she¡¯s a perfect match for our Xiao Fei?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re Xiao Meng, right? Come here and sit next to me. Xiao Fei, youe here, too.¡± Granny Zeng was not very tall and had a kind face. She waved to the couple to let them sit down and added, ¡°Xiao Meng, I¡¯ve heard so much about you from Xiao Fei. He said you were gentle and pretty. Now that I¡¯ve finally met you, oh my, my grandson indeed has very good taste!¡± ¡°Thank you, grandma. Xiao Fei is a very nice boy as well,¡± Li Meng was a bit reserved. ¡°I heard that you are still a student?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m in a graduate school now.¡± ¡°Any future ns?¡± ¡°Well, my major is Chinese, so I might get a teaching qualification and be a teacher.¡± ¡°Good. It¡¯s excellent to be a teacher and educate others. I didn¡¯t put enough effort in my studies when I was young, and had a rough time because of that. Good, you have granny¡¯s support.¡± ¡®Bitch!¡¯ While they were chatting happily, Zeng Yuewei snorted silently to herself. Her brother had deliberately brought his girlfriend here to please the olddy. Despicable! She had just broken up with her boyfriend and could not just bring a man out of the blue. Luckily, she had a different card up her sleeve. As a matter of fact, the siblings used to be very close to each other and their ipatibility started appearing muchter. It couldn¡¯t be helped. For apany worth billions, no one could stay indifferent. Everyone in this room were family members and not a lot of pleasantries were needed. The atmosphere was quite lively. Granny Zeng was retired, but the judgement and experience she gained through decades of fiercepetition in the business world did not fade away. She could obviously tell that the junior family members were nning something. She could not be bothered to meddle with them. As long as things looked fine on the surface, she would rather y the role of a kind olddy, especially with her grandson and granddaughter. To her,petition was necessary, but it could not cross the light of breaking family bonds. After much feasting and toasting, Zeng Guoxiang stood up as the head of the family and said, ¡°I¡¯ll have a few words. Today is mother¡¯s birthday, as well as a family gathering. We¡¯ve all been busy with our lives and it¡¯s a rare asion that we can get together like this. Here, let¡¯s have a toast. We wish her long life and happiness!¡± The crowd stood up one after another, addressing the birthdaydy ordingly. ¡°Happy birthday, mum!¡± ¡°Happy birthday, auntie!¡± ¡°Happy birthday, granny!¡± sses clinked and wine was swallowed clean. Grandmother was the only one nipping at her warm wine. Zeng Yuewei felt it was the right time and brought out a gift box. She said with a smile, ¡°Granny, I got this specially for you. It¡¯s nothing expensive, but it took me a lot of effort to find it. I hope you¡¯ll like it.¡± ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t have to do that. I know you¡¯re a thoughtful girl¡­ Wei Wei, I¡¯ll open it then.¡± Grandmother took over the gift box and opened it. In it were a brocade box and a long incense tube. After opening the two containers, a dark-brown string of wooden beads was in the box; the tube contained some incense sticks. The olddy knew her stuff. Seeing that the beads were full of luster with natural patterns and the scent was elegant yet longsting, she immediately knew it was of high quality. Sheplimented, ¡°That was very thoughtful of you, Wei Wei. That¡¯s the underwater agarwood from Qiongzhou, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Granny is so good at this. That¡¯s correct!¡± Zeng Yuewei leaned in and pursed her lips into a smile. ¡°I went to Qiongzhou myself to pick the raw material and almost got tricked. The incense sticks are also top-notch Soothing Incense, very suitable for you.¡± ¡°Oh, very nice.¡± The olddy nodded. She was pleased, but did not express it explicitly. After putting the gift away, she looked expectantly at Zeng Shufei. Chapter 9 Chapter 9: An Expert Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The so-called ¡°ything circle¡± had a fairly long history that could be traced back to the ancient times. Dozens of small articles, including gourds, walnuts, purple y wares, folding fans, brush pots, jade wares etc., all had a significant amount of fans. Incense-collecting was an activity that gained poprity in the past several years. There were few experts in this field and their skill was difficult to improve; adding to the fact that the items were rtively expensive, there usually had been a fixed number of fans. Among them were two types of collectors. One group preferred hand strings. They would visit a producing area and purchase raw materials on their own, picking out crude spices that could be either genuine or fake, much in the same way as jade-betting. Judgement and luck were the only things they counted on. The other group leaned towards incense. They would find incense sticks, pellets and powders of the highest quality and burn them with brass censers in quiet rooms. They would enjoy the scent by either drinking tea alone or gathering a few friend to enjoy it together. However, either group of collectors had little to do with incense-making itself, for making incense meant work and skills of the craftsman, while incense-collecting was a lifestyle. Agarwood was an extremely rare incense and had a great medicinal value as well. That being said, it wasn¡¯t until the modern times that spectors started to market it fervently, making it sound like a precious material of heaven and earth. [1] ording to people in this circle, agarwood was categorized into seven types: beaten-down, underwater, under soil, termite-eaten, living body, nk wood, and Kynam. Among those, nk wood was the cheapest and Kynam was the rarest toe by. As for underwater agarwood, there were two exnations of its origin. One referred to the raw material falling down into swamps and sinking into the mud, which was then biologically dposed and dug out of the swamp. The other exnation imed ¡°underwater¡± meant that the raw material had a high density and could sink underwater. Either way, it was a rtively precious type that was more easily avablepared to others. The string of beads Zeng Yuewei presented was in great condition and worth at least several hundred thousand yuan. Zeng Guoxiang had always been a strict father and was rarely indulgent with his children. Such an incredible amount of money could almost bankrupt her. However, it was exactly because of that that her gift had surprised those at the table, making them immediately think highly of her. She was secretly very pleased with herself as well. Hearing her grandmother¡¯s inquiry, she smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Xiao Fei, what gift did you get for granny? Let us have a look.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Before Zeng Shufei even took out the sachets, Li Meng was already panic-stricken. She was from a well-off but simple family, which did not have all thoseplicated rtions. However, she was a smart girl and could see both the overt measures and covert tricks exchanged around the table. She did not have the slightest idea about incense and only saw the sachets as fraudulent crap. Worrying for her boyfriend, she was overwhelmed by anxiety. ¡°I took Xiao Meng to climb the mountain today and came by this Fresh Petal Incense. The smell was quite special, so I bought it for granny,¡± with that being said, Zeng Shufei took out a small box and handed it over. ¡°Well?¡± The olddy took it over and found a dark-blue sachet inside. It was crudely made and the fabric was not even made of silk but a piece of shabby cloth. She found it rather curious and thus opened the box and lowered her head to smell it. With just one sniff, she felt a sweet, refreshing sensation which filled her heart. In that instant, she felt the people and room surrounding her fade away and the only thing she could sense was the carefree and elegant fragrance. What was more amazing was that, within that lightheartedness, there was also a slight high-hearted pride. The savoring of incense consisted of three stages, which were the appraisal of ingredients, smell and inner meaning, also known as implication. From identifying the ingredients to enjoying the smell, then to understanding the inner meaning of the incense, each stage was a level higherpared to the previous one. The first two were tangible and could be described explicitly, but thest one would depend on one¡¯s state of mind alone, which was often subtle and ineffable. The incense grandmother was holding indeed possessed inner meaning reminiscent of such qualities. The name ¡°Fresh Petal¡± reminded one of a sage within the mountains, one who spared no attention for the worldly affairs, casting aside all mundane concerns and living alone. ¡°¡­¡± Holding the sachet in her hand, Granny Zeng remained silent. After quite some time, she looked up slightly and put away the sachet in silence. The crowd did not know what was going on and exchanged nces in confusion. Zeng Yuewei had aplicated look on her face while Zeng Shufei tried hard to keep calm as he was clenching his sweaty palms tightly. Finally, Zeng Guoxiang popped out the question. ¡°Mum, what is it? Is there something wrong with the incense?¡± ¡°Oh, not at all.¡± Grandmother waved him off and turned to her grandson. ¡°Xiao Fei, where did you say you got these?¡± ¡°On, on Phoenix Mountain.¡± ¡°You mean, Phoenix Mountain here in Bai Town?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right!¡± ¡°How much is this?¡± Zheng Shufei paused and said awkwardly, ¡°They were sixty yuan a sachet and I bought three of them.¡± ¡°Xiao Fei, you have such a nerve bringing a gift of mere 60 yuan. Grandmother would not me you if you came here empty-handed. You didn¡¯t have to make do with such crap!¡± Zeng Yuewei understood the situation perfectly well and did not make a sound. However, one of the aunts at the table who was on her side could not hold her provocative tongue. To everyone¡¯s surprise, the olddy scolded right back at her. ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± She then asked Zeng Shufei again, ¡°Where are the other two, Xiao Fei?¡± ¡°Here, here they are!¡± He immediately handed over the other two sachets and confessed, ¡°I opened one of them, trying to figure out the ingredients.¡± ¡°You did? Which one?¡± Hearing that, Granny Zeng unsealed the sachet at once to pour the powder onto her palm for a closer look. She said a little whileter, ¡°What do you think the ingredients are?¡± ¡°Um, I could only recognize jasmin. As for the rest, I have no idea.¡± ¡°Besides jasmin, it probably also contains croton roots. As for the rest¡­¡± She shook her head and sighed, ¡°I have no idea, either. This incense is different from anything I¡¯ve seen before. That¡¯s so strange.¡± The statement surprised all those present, for the olddy was pretty perceptive when it came to incense and had made quite some aplishments in only a few years, making a name for herself within the incense-collecting circle in the province. If she deemed it strange, then there had to be something distinctive about it. Noticing the apprehensive looks in the room and the somewhat intense atmosphere, she smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not angry. I am just being emotional. Aside from the ingredients, the incense-making technique alone¡­¡± She picked up a pinch of the incense powder and loosened her fingers. The powder then streamed down her fingertips like fine sand. There was a special softness to its texture. Grandmother leaned back and sighed involuntarily. ¡°I would never have guessed there was such an expert in a small ce like Bai Town!¡± He did it! Seeing grandmother¡¯s reaction, Zeng Shufei waved his fists vigorously under the table. The risk was worth it! Trying hard to conceal the satisfaction, he nced over at his elder sister, whose face was drained of all color and had to force a smile despite her indignation. ¡®Haha!¡¯ That scene had made him even more satisfied. He decided to strike while the iron was hot. ¡°Granny, if you are interested in that guy, shall I go to Phoenix Mountain tomorrow again and bring him to see you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! Oh, I¡¯d never think of that if you hadn¡¯t mentioned it.¡± The olddy was incredibly excited because of the idea and added, ¡°Go up there first thing in the morning. Tell him that I¡¯m too old and weak toe to him, or I would definitely visit him myself. By the way, be polite. Don¡¯t act like a spoiled kid!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ve recognized him as an expert, of course I¡¯ll be polite,¡± Zeng Shufei knew when to behave himself. ¡®Damn it!¡¯ Zeng Yuewei showered her younger brother with murderous looks. However, on a second thought, she immediately added, ¡°Granny, let me go with Xiao Fei tomorrow. I want to meet that expert as well.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The olddy gave her a nce and agreed. ¡°Ok, you two can go together.¡± ¡®Damn it!¡¯ Now it was Zeng Shufei¡¯s turn to re at his rival. Originally ,he was the only one who could recognize that owner; now that his elder sister was on the team, who knew what trouble she would cause? However, the Queen Herself had spoken and he could do nothing but follow her orders. The family dinner was richly supplied with schemes and tricks, each with its losses and gains. Luckily, by the end of the dinner, grandmother asked casually, ¡°Guoxiang, what¡¯s Xiao Fei doing in thepany now?¡± ¡°He¡¯s mainly in charge of the strategy department and hase up with some good ideas. He¡¯s doing pretty well.¡± ¡°Well, if he has the ability, you should not be too harsh as a father. Give him some encouragement when needed.¡± ¡°Absolutely.¡± While the olddy might have retired from her post, the stock was still held tight in her hands. There was also a whole bunch of senior employees loyal to her in thepany. Zeng Guoxiang was a CEO at most and had to turn to his mother for decision on major affairs. The siblings had bothered him for quite some time and it seemed that, for now, the olddy was leaning towards her grandson. He was more than happy to give him an opportunity. ¡°Crack!¡± It waste into the night. In the hotel bathroom, Zeng Yuewei was taking her makeup off with the makeup remover. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. In the end, she smashed the bottle onto the floor. The one-thousand-yuan bottle shattered all over the ce. That was not enough to stave off her anger. She kicked around violently and did not stop for quite some time. She couldn¡¯t help it. It was a crushing defeat! She had put such painstaking effort into obtaining the beads and had everything nned out so well. Who¡¯d have thought that that guy chose not y by the book? The hell with that Fresh Petal Incense crap? What could be so amazing about it? Zeng Yuewei was never into incense and she only got into the circle to please the olddy. She knew very well that grandmother had agreed to let her ride along to save her dignity, as well as to keep her younger brother in check. Nheless, her younger brother still gained the advantage first. ¡°nk!¡± She kicked away another piece of broken bottle with irritation and thought angrily to herself: let¡¯s see what sort of lousy expert this guy is! *** What was happening in another room was a totally different story, though. Clothes were thrown everywhere and the bed was all tumbled, with two naked bodies lying in each other¡¯s arms on top of it. Even during the drowsy moment after lovemaking, Zeng Shufei could not hide his excitement. Holding his girlfriend in his left arm and a cigarette in his right hand, he was puffing out one smoke ring after another. Li Meng watched him in resignation and tried to remind him, ¡°Xiao Fei, it¡¯s too early to be optimistic now. You can¡¯t say for sure that you¡¯ll be the manager.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the closest thing to a done deal.¡± He extinguished the cigarette and said with aughter, ¡°You¡¯ve seen granny¡¯s attitude. The moment we bring the guy to her, the deal¡¯s sealed.¡± ¡°What are you gonna do when you find him? Win him over to your side?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too early for that. After they meet, if granny really appreciates this guy, then I¡¯ll make my move. By then, it¡¯ll depend on what my sister and I can offer him.¡± Zeng Shufei got excited again and pressed himself against her. As he kissed her, he said, ¡°This idea could actually work. I need to get along well with him first.¡± [1] ED/N: Modern times as inte Qing Dynasty (2nd half of 19th century) and times before establishment of PRC (possibly excluding WW2) Chapter 10 Chapter 10: Way Too Deep in the Clouds Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Phoenix Mountain, the following day. The two siblings took off immediately after they got out of bed and didn¡¯t even have time to eat breakfast. They arrived quite early. Other than them, there was only the first batch of individual tourists, who scattered around as they climbed up the mountain. Zeng Shufei took Li Meng with him and the two were cuddling and snuggling all the way, which was half out of habit and half on purpose. Zeng Yuewei was a regr gym-goer and did not find mountain climbing too difficult. Witnessing their intimate act, on the other hand, annoyed her and made her very grumpy. In the absence of any elder, the two no longer bothered to keep up the appearances. They either ignored or taunted each other. Li Meng was left in a rather awkward position. She had to constantly mediate between the siblings, worrying that they might start a row. When the three of them reached the resting area halfway up the mountain, quite a few vendors had already set up their stalls there with all their gear out. They took a brief rest and resumed their journey half an hourter. The weather was quite pleasant that day. The gentle breeze and mild sunlight brought a hint of coolness to the air. As they climbed higher, the view around them changed along with the altitude. Row upon row of verdant trees grew lean and slender along the slope; the deep valley was void of all mundane noise. Looking up the mountain, they found clouds and mist linger around the mountaintop. Such a view would bring peace to even the most fickle person. It was Zeng Yuewei¡¯s first trip here and she gasped in admiration, ¡°I¡¯d have never thought that Phoenix Mountain would have such an artistic atmosphere.¡± ¡°Bear that in mind, coz you¡¯ll be crying in a minute. I hope your legs won¡¯t give up on you when we get to the Old Bull¡¯s Back.¡± Her younger brothermented indifferently. ¡°¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t be bothered to react and turned to Li Meng. ¡°Xiao Meng, is that guy really a peddler?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. He was selling stuff up there yesterday. I also met a little squirrel there. It was super adorable.¡± ¡°If he was that good at making incense, why would he be a mere peddler on a mountain?¡± She still couldn¡¯t bring herself to believe it. ¡°Maybe, maybe different people have different ambitions,¡± Li Meng answered casually, her mind still on that little squirrel. ¡°What ambition?¡± Zeng Shufei retorted in a scornful tone. ¡°Incense-making does not bring bread to your table. Traditional craftsmanship is declining. To help it with media campaigns, marketing andworking all requires funding. Apart from those supported by world cultural heritage or government projects, the rest all live in poverty.¡± ¡°Well, then there are only two exnations for that,¡± Zeng Yuewei darted a look at him and ridiculed, ¡°Either the guy is a fool, or the local authorities are more stupid than him.¡± ¡°Humph!¡± Zeng Shufei snorted, but did not contradict her, for the answer was too apparent. Had the rtive departments been clever enough, they would notice this skilled master and take him seriously. Together with the tourist resources, formally promoting the incense-making craftsmanship would benefit both sides. Even if this guy did not have any inheritance worth mentioning, they could easily make up some stories. Promotion, spection and provocation¡ªsuch process had worked for numerous folk arts with questionable origins. The siblings concluded the topic ording to their own logic and resumed their cold war. After walking for another while, they finally arrived at the staircase leading to their objective. Li Meng called out cheerfully, ¡°It¡¯s right up there. Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Xiao Meng, if you really like it that much, why don¡¯t you get a hamster when we go home?¡± Zeng Shufei had seen right through her. ¡°Hamsters are nothing like squirrels! All they do is eating!¡± ¡°That squirrel did nothing but eat as well!¡± ¡°You just don¡¯t get it!¡± The young couple squabbled as the three of them climbed up the stairs. The slope was rather steep and it took some real effort going up. The sky felt closer and clearer the higher they climbed. White clouds floated casually above them, pure and gleaming. It took them quite some time to reach the top of the staircase. ¡°Phew¡­¡± After climbing those stairs two days in a row, Zeng Shufei was drained of his strength. While he was panting, his elder sister looked around and asked anxiously, ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°Just over there, to the right¡­¡± ¡®¡­what?!¡¯ He stopped right in the middle of the sentence and could not make another sound. The clearing, the benches, the bushy old tree¡ªeverything was the same as yesterday, except for the stall owner. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s impossible!¡± Zeng Shufei spluttered and walked around the clearing, searching for the man. He was astonished and irritated, while his sister was adding fuel to the fire by pressing on incessantly. ¡°Well, do you know his name?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Do you know where hees from?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Then I suppose you don¡¯t have his phone number either?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zeng Yuewei pointed at him. ¡°How can you be so stupid? You juste for this guy without knowing a single thing about him?¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough! Aren¡¯t vendors like him staying in the same spot everyday? How was I supposed to know that he wouldn¡¯t be here today?¡± Zeng Shufei yelled back. ¡°What are we gonna do now? Where can we find him?¡± ¡°Why on earth should I know?¡± Things got quite intense for a while. Li Meng looked at the two in turn and tried to mediate. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, maybe he¡¯s just not here yet. Let¡¯s wait here.¡± With that, she forced her boyfriend to sit down. Zeng Yuewei paused and sat down on a bench as well. She was agitated herself, but also secretly pleased to see her brother make a scene. There was nothing they could do now but wait. As time passed, more tourists arrived at the clearing. Those who came for the first time would not find any difference, but the regr climbers would mumble to themselves, ¡°Well, I think there used to be a stall here?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. The tea eggs were really good. I was going to buy some today.¡± ¡°Maybe he quit. Ah, he was quite a nice young fellow.¡± Several groups of tourists passed by the clearing and the ce finally quieted down. Apart from a sanitation worker who showed up to change the ck garbage bag, not a second soul came up after that. After quite a while, Zeng Shufei took out his cell phone to check the time and lost his temper. ¡°It¡¯s nearly noon now. He should have been here a long time ago!¡± ¡°Maybe he just can¡¯t be bothered toe up today. Well, we¡¯ve climbed all those stairs for nothing!¡± Zeng Yuewei did not want to spend another minute here. She stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going down. Keep waiting here if you want to.¡± ¡°Xiao Fei¡­¡± Li Meng felt her stomach crying in starvation and looked at her boyfriend anxiously. Zeng Shufei struggled for a little while and finally said helplessly. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s go.¡± The three of them then returned in low spirits. When they reached the Old Bull¡¯s Back, he was disappointed again, for his elder sister did not even blink and passed the ridge without any hesitation. Li Meng, on the other hand, was so frightened that he had to drag her all the way through. Today included, the siblings had been held up in Bai Town for three days. They each had their own projects in thepany and could not be away for too long. They were nning to close the deal today, but the guy had unknowingly evaded thempletely. With much going on in their heads, the two looked sullen and did not hold any conversation on their way down. They reached the big square at the mountain entrance, which was packed with boisterous tourists, past noontime. Zeng Yuewei was about to leave when she nced around casually and saw a sanitation worker in orange coveralls cleaning up garbage, looking somewhat familiar. An idea suddenly came to her and she turned to the worker as ast resort. She called out, ¡°Uncle!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The old man was startled. ¡°I was just wondering, how long have you been working here?¡± ¡°Five, five years,¡± The old man looked confused as he gave his reply. ¡°Well, are you familiar with the vendors on this mountain, then?¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± He nodded. ¡®Good!¡¯ Hearing this, Zeng Shufei ran towards them, dragging Li Meng behind him. His sister asked again, ¡°In that case, do you know the young man selling stuff by the Old Bull¡¯s Back?¡± ¡°The Old Bull¡¯s Back¡­¡± The old man turned thing in his head and recalled, ¡°Oh, you mean Xiao Yu! He is such a nice person, always talking with me. I don¡¯t even have to clean his spot as he would clean the ce himself. Sometimes he would give me things to eat and drink. Why, are you looking for him?¡± ¡°Exactly. We need to talk to him, but he was not there today. Do you know where he could be now?¡± Zeng Shufei asked. ¡°Where? Well, I can¡¯t say for sure, but¡­¡± The old man squinted with a smile and said in a husky voice, ¡°He¡¯s definitely on this mountain!¡± Chapter 11 Chapter 11: An Invitation Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Eastern area of Phoenix Mountain, a cemetery. The cemetery was not far from Bai Town¡ªcloser than the mountain gate if one took another county road to get there. It consisted of two areas. The outer one was constructed earlier and not well-nned, giving the area a rather haphazard look. Among the stone tablets and white marble tombstones were some miserable-looking wooden boards that belonged to the poor families, who could only afford tiny burial spots in the corners of the cemetery. The inner area was much better. Rows upon rows of graves were neatly arranged and all had identical square bases, which were left hollow for cinerary caskets. This area had been empty only a few years ago, but was now lined with tombstones. Gu Yu arrived on a bicycle with a bamboo basket fastened to the backseat, containing some paper money and paper ingots. A stic bag was dangling from the handlebar, filled with incense, candles, cigarettes and some wine. He parked his bike at the entrance and walked to the innermost area, carrying all things in his hand, stopping in front of one of the tombstones. The white tablet was engraved with ck text, which said: Tomb of Dear Grandfather, Gu Xiuye. He took out three incense sticks and ignited them with an indifferent face, inserting them into a dainty censer. The sticks were of the usual type, only that he had put in all his effort into making them. There was nothing fancy or tricky about them and they smelled just right for this asion. He did not bring any flowers or fruit, for this ce was full of scavengers. They would snatch anything without hesitation, from pretty flowers and small wine cups to even the fruit dedicated for the deceased. Nowadays, even the cinerary caskets were being stolen, used as a new ruse for extortion. Aside from the three sticks, he also lighted a cigarette and set it on the side, then moved on to burn the paper money. Despite the call from the authorities for a more civilized way to pay respect to the deceased, the tradition remained important for many Chinese people. Visiting a graveyard without burning some paper money would simply make the living people feel bad. The two bundles of yellow paper and a bag of paper-made golden ingots were quite easy to burn. Streaks of ck smoke rose up and faded away into the air. Gu Yu picked up a twig to gather the ash and looked around casually. The cemetery was located at the foot of Phoenix Mountain and was separated from the outside with a brick wall. The eastern area of the mountain had not been developed. One could only find grotesque rocks, overgrown weeds and unkempt trees on the mountain, full of the rough and unrestrained aura of the wild world. Qingming Festival had not arrived yet and so not many people were here at the cemetery today. It was Gu Yu¡¯s grandfather¡¯s anniversary today. He stayed for quite some time and did not leave until all paper money was burnt to ashes. He then turned to the outer area where another tablet was, under which were the ashes of his parents. His parents had been migrant workers since his early childhood and he had no idea what their jobs were. He could only recall that, one day, some fellow viger brought back a message that some ident had killed seven or eight people, among whom were his parents. Since then, he had been living alone with his grandfather, until thetter passed away two years ago. He had little memories of his parents left, nor was there much emotional attachment he felt. However, he still couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit sorrowful and lonely when thinking of them from time to time. Gu Yu burned some more paper money for his parents, but did not go straight back home after that. He slung the bamboo basket over his shoulders and walked around the cemetery, trying to find some incense materials on the mountain. Phoenix Mountain¡¯s resources were quite abundant and many things that grew there were good for incense-making. What he was looking for was a fragrant round-leaf nt with white flowers. Because its leaves resembled dog paws, the locals called it ¡°Dog Paw Grass¡±. Grandpa had studied this nt for years and discovered that it was somewhat sweet, with a mild nature. After being processed, it would exude an extremely diluted calming smell, making it a perfect ingredient for the Wake-up Incense. ¡°Whew!¡± Pinching his thumb and index finger together and sticking them to his mouth, he blew out a whistle, which reverberated exceptionally vividly in the deserted, quiet woods. He then walked for some distance and whistled again. Gu Yu looked around, but Brother Fatty was nowhere to be found. He reckoned it was having fun somewhere, maybe even enjoying a postcoital tristesse in its little nest. The eastern part of Phoenix Mountain was left in a rather primitive condition and the ground was hard to traverse. Thanks to Gu Yu¡¯s agility though, he walked the slopes as easily as walking on a level road. The Dog Paw Grass flourished in this area and he filled his bamboo basket to the rim in no time. While he was at it, he picked up some other incense materials as well. The air here was much fresher than on the north slope, so Gu Yu took his time taking a break. He found a limestone to sit on and immersed himself in the spiritual essence of heaven and earth again. He was bing very skilled in meditation now. As the saying went, the true emptiness came from desiring nothing and the ultimate tranquilityy in apletely still mind. Gu Yu found the description of the state fitted himself to a tee, probably because of his disposition and what he had been through. He would wake up each time with a peaceful and concentrated mind, as if he had been rejuvenated. ¡°En?¡± Only, this time something felt different. Gu Yu opened his eyes sooner than usual with a doubtful look. That slight fluctuation might have strengthened a little bit, yet it might as well have stayed the same. The change, if there was any, was way too weak to say for sure. He couldn¡¯t help but frown. Ever since he swallowed that red fruit, nothing miraculous had happened. On the contrary, things were only getting more mysterious and chaotic. He actually missed the ordinary and carefree life from before all this happened. This cultivation thing was bing more and more of aughing matter¡­ He sat sulking on the limestone, resting his head against his arm. Tree branches and leaves were swaying in the asional breeze as the sunlight forced itself through the dense foliage. In the dim light, tall weeds thrived on the slope and butterflies floated among the flowers. Not far from the limestone were branches some birds perched on. A small cloud of insects flew around them; they were called midges, or ¡°small biting midges¡±. They would show up in the summer and attack human beings, using every opportunity they got. One couldn¡¯t even begin to tell how annoying these insects were. He had noticed those little fellows for a while and could not be bothered to deal with them. However, the little ck cloud was flying nearer and nearer. They were almost buzzing at his face when they took a sharp turn, bypassed him and flew away. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu blinked and unknowingly felt inside his pocket. He did not forget them¡ªthe parasite-expelling pellets were indeed on him! Why weren¡¯t they working these days? He had had them tested before. For animals with an acute sense of smell such as rats, the pellet would repel them from five to six meters away. Even those with less sensitive noses would turn away within a two- to three-meter radius. The insects had never gotten so close to him! He didn¡¯t think there was something wrong with the incense itself, therefore the only exnationy with the midges, whose incense resistance was growing stronger. ¡°Can those small biting midges eat precious materials of heaven and earth?¡± Well, he didn¡¯t even believe the conclusion himself. That just sounded ridiculous¡­ *** ¡°So, this is Phoenix Fair. Why does it look like a gutter?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think residential areas like this still existed in Shengtian. I guess this is what a small town looks like.¡± Towards evening, a Land Rover stopped at a crossing in Phoenix Residential District. The door opened and out came one man and two women, who were none other than the Zeng siblings and Li Meng. They got a rough idea of where Gu Yu lived from the sanitation worker and hurried there to pay a visit. When they set eyes on the area, the siblings had finally agreed on something this time. To say this was a less well-off neighborhood was an understatement. Even a Cavalier would attract a lot of attention here, let alone a Land Rover! They posed around for a bit and started to ask around for the actual address. The neighbors here were quite familiar with one another and they got the address in no time. After turning and zigzagging in thebyrinth of alleys for a while, they finally saw an old courtyard¡ªso old in fact that even the white tiles on the front gate were chipped. The front gate was open. The three looked at one another and entered, calling out ¡°is anyone home¡± as they walked in. ¡°Anyone home?¡± Gu Yu had just got back and was processing the Dog Paw Grass in the west wing. The early-stage incense-making procedures were extremely tedious. Based on different characteristics of the spices, as many as a dozen procedures could be applied to them, including boiling, steaming, frying, cauterizing, soaking, etc. just to get rid of the unpleasant odors. The Dog Paw Grass had a stenchy smell and therefore needed soaking for around two hours in the water with temperature of 30 degrees Celsius. He had just started soaking the grass in a bucket when he heard the voices of someone who entered the yard. He lifted the curtain to take a look and frowned. mming the door behind him, he walked out of the room and asked, ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± Wow! The couple did not react to Gu Yu¡¯s appearance. Zeng Yuewei, on the other hand, was taken by surprise. She hade here with the intention to probe, question and incur some wrath. Now that she had met the guy, other things aside, his appearance alone seemed gentlemanly enough. The guy stood there with a straightened back, having long legs and a t belly. His lips were rtively thin, with a mild and unyielding quality to them. He wasn¡¯t exactly a masculine guy, but there was something very pleasant with about his young body. After all, females with a masculine quality were bing more popr nowadays and it was getting harder to find a man with some machismo. She fought back her emotion. Although her dislike cause her to be in a bad mood, granny¡¯s affair was the pressing matter here. Fearing that his elder sister might jeopardize the opportunity, Zeng Shufei seized the initiative and asked, ¡°I bought your incense yesterday, don¡¯t you remember me?¡± ¡°Yes I do. Why are you here?¡± ¡°May we go inside?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu hesitated, but eventually stood aside and let them in. ¡°Come in, please.¡± After that, they all entered the room. The siblings were smart people. They did not show any contempt for the primitive-looking shed, but were instead full of sincere interest. Especially with that brick bed, onto which they sat and felt all over, as if knowing a thing or two about it. Gu Yu did not have the time for pleasantries and asked bluntly, ¡°What do you need me for?¡± ¡°Let me introduce myself first. My name is Zeng Shufei. This is my girlfriend Li Meng and this¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m Zeng Yuewei and he¡¯s my younger brother!¡± She needed no introduction from other people and asked with a smile, ¡°What¡¯s your name, hot stuff?¡± ¡°Um, it¡¯s Gu Yu.¡± ¡°Yu? As in fish?¡± ¡°No, as in ¡®beautiful jade is carved out of raw stones¡¯.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The two were immediately reassured. That expression could at least prove that the guy was not a dumb good-for-nothing. Zeng Shufei decided toe straight to the point. He said with a smile, ¡°Mr. Gu, I¡¯ll be honest with you. Yesterday was my grandmother¡¯s birthday. She is an incense lover so I showed her the sachets I bought from you and she liked them very much, and would like to meet with you. However, her age and health unfortunately doesn¡¯t allow her toe in person, so I¡¯m here today to invite you to our home to meet with my grandmother.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu was somewhat surprised and picked his words carefully. ¡°I¡¯m d and honored that she liked my incense, but surely the meeting in person is unnecessary? Plus, I have my own affairs to attend to.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay, we¡¯ll wait for you. My granny is that type of person who would not let go of something easily once she sets her mind on it. We would fail our mission if you do not go back with us and she would keep asking for it. She mighte here herself if she runs out of patience. After all, it¡¯s only a casual meeting to have some chat. It won¡¯t take up much of your time,¡± Zeng Yuewei added. ¡°Exactly. We¡¯ll drive you to and fro, meals included! Top notch customer service!¡± Zeng Shufei chimed in. ¡°You have no idea what we¡¯ve been through. We were up on the mountain this afternoon and only found this ce after talking to a sanitation worker. Please at least show somepassion?¡± Li Meng added thest straw. ¡®OMG!¡¯ Hearing all those speeches, he found it impossible to turn them down and could only reply, ¡°Please wait here for a while. I have some materials that need processing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s totally fine. Please don¡¯t mind us.¡± With that, Gu Yu brought out three sses of water and some fruits for them before retreating to his room to continue with his work. He still found it rather baffling, though. What kind of granny was this that she had to see him in person? While he was busying himself in the west wing, the other three were waiting in the east wing for the next two hours. Zeng Yuewei felt a splitting pain in her buttocks, for she had done nothing but sitting around today. Just as she couldn¡¯t wait any longer and was about to go grab the guy, the door finally opened. Gu Yu walked out and washed his hands. He apologized, ¡°Sorry, it took longer than I thought.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. Ready to go now?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The four of them then took off in the trio¡¯s vehicle, heading directly towards the eastern town. Chapter 12 Chapter 12: A Discussion on Incense (Part One) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Bai Town had a long history. It was established as a city in the 1990s and new districts were assigned to it in the past decade. Bound by the Grass River, the area to the west was the old town, where old stations, small hotels, pedicure shops, dodgy restaurants and other such establishments proliferated in the streets. The new town was to the east of the river, which was packed with new real estate, neatly arranged high streets, prettyndscape and rows upon rows of government buildings. [1] The Land Rover drove across the river at a leisurely speed. A little bit further down the bridge, the street suddenly widened and the buildings ahead seemed to brighten up. Before long, the vehicle turned into an alley and gradually came to a stop. Gu Yu got out of the car and nced around. In front of him was not a vi, but a small courtyard built with ck bricks. Upturned eaves protruded from the ck-tiled roof and there were big trees in the yard. The house had a charming antique taste to it. Prices ofnd in Bai Town were not that high, but a property like this still was not affordable to just anyone. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside. I don¡¯t want to keep granny waiting.¡± Zeng Shufei opened the electronic lock. As soon as he set foot in the courtyard, he called out, ¡°Granny, I¡¯ve brought that expert!¡± Soon after his words echoed out, an olddy walked out of the house, wearing a Chinese-style blue shirt dotted with neutral-colored patterns and ck cloth shoes. Her grizzled hair was decorated with a single hairpin, giving her a casual and calm look. After a brief introduction, the olddy smiled warmly at Gu Yu. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, Mr. Gu, I¡¯ll call you Xiao Gu from now on. Here,e in, please!¡± ¡°Thank you, Granny Zeng. You can call me anything you like,¡± Gu Yu gave her a slight bow and walked half a step after her. They entered the main hall and took a seat each. After a female housekeeper served the tea, Granny Zeng spoke first, ¡°Please forgive my selfishness, Xiao Gu, but when I smelled that incense yesterday, oh my! I wished I could meet with the expert who made it right there right then, hence their visit today.¡± ¡°You tter me. I¡¯m nowhere near an expert.¡± ¡°That was not ttery, you certainly are an excellent incense maker. That incense of yours was nothing like what I¡¯ve smelled before. If you don¡¯t mind me asking, from whom did you learn your skills?¡± ¡°It runs in the family. I took it after my grandfather.¡± ¡°Your grandfather?¡± The olddy grew curious and asked, ¡°Was he a local from here?¡± ¡°Well, not exactly. He came to live in Phoenix Fair 30 years ago¡­¡± Gu Yu picked his words carefully, telling her about his grandfather. His story made the olddy sigh with pity. ¡°I have just moved to the provincial city when your grandfather got here. Now that I¡¯m back to where I belong, he has¡­ well, I guess that¡¯s just fate!¡± Granny Zeng was a kind olddy and chatted about trivia just as an elder would with her junior family members. They both had a good sense of propriety and the conversation revealed some personal information on either side without being intrusive. The siblings helped with entertaining the guest and would join the conversation from time to time. Their main task, though, was to observe Granny Zeng¡¯s attitude. After chatting for awhile, the olddy invited Gu Yu to see her collection. They all walked out of the main hall and went into a side room in one of the building¡¯s wings. The moment he set foot in that room, Gu Yu was astounded. The grandmother indeed loved her incense. The room was decorated with a dazzling array of beautiful things from various hand strings, figurines of Buddha and raw materials to censers, incense tes and incense spoons. Long story short, the room was packed. Gu Yu was well-practiced in incense-making, but limited by his economic status, he did not have much experience in appreciating incense ythings. Now that he was given the opportunity, he couldn¡¯t help but feel secretly amazed. ¡°This is a Lotus Bronze te. I was really fond of it in the beginning, but after bringing it home, it somehow felt t.¡± ¡°This incense spoon was made from mottled bamboo. The design was quite clever. It looks good even just for disy.¡± ¡°This jade incense holder is made of a gourd. I can¡¯t remember where I found it. I thought the shape was quite special and bought it.¡± He followed her gesture and saw a little single-scoop gourd which was iid with white jade around its top and bottom. Small holes were opened at the top, where incense sticks could be inserted. ¡°This censer was made in the Longquan ceramic kiln of the Song dynasty. It has taken me a lot of effort to get a hold of¡­¡± The olddy picked up a cdon censer with a clear ze, mellow and round in its shape. Adding to it the bright and gleaming appearance, this piece was beyond doubt genuine. She was exceptionally fond of the censer and became more talkative now. She smiled and said, ¡°The weather will be warmer in a few days and the Huian wood will match it perfectly. That wood is clear and refreshing by itself and burning it with this censer from the Longquan kiln¡­ Oops, you are the expert. I shouldn¡¯t have been showing off like this.¡± ¡°Not at all, it¡¯s my first time seeing it as well,¡± Gu Yu hastened to exin. The so-called Huian wood was a type of agarwood found in Huian. It had a bitter and cooling sensation, which was quite worthwhile for savoring. Matching its refreshing smell with the the cool ceramic of Longquan kiln would bring out the best in them both. Since Gu Yu had never had such experience before, he watched everything with sparkling eyes as he stared motionlessly at them. For someone as tactful as Granny Zeng, who could tell what sort of person the young man was just by looking at him, she thought to herself that despite his exceptional skill in incense-making, the guy was not all that special in other aspects. However, with her life experience, she did not feel any contempt towards him, but was giving out even more detailed exnation now, especially when she arrived at several treasured pieces. She did not take the group back to the main hall until quite some timeter. ¡°What do you think of my collection, Xiao Gu?¡± The olddy asked. ¡°I was really impressed. That was such an eye-opening experience,¡± Gu Yu said wholeheartedly. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve put a lot of effort into gathering all those things.¡± Granny Zeng had problems with her back and would lean back whenever she sat down. She said in a half-smiling and half-sighing tone, ¡°I¡¯ve spent the first half of my life working myself to death and now have finally retired. You know what? Ever since I set foot in the incense circle, I find myself get calmer each day. Several of my old friends are also into incense-burning now and we would get together every now and then. How did that saying go? Oh, find a moment of leisure in a busy life. I have to burn some incense everyday now, or I couldn¡¯t even sleep well¡­ ah, I didn¡¯t get much education in my youth. Now that I¡¯m old now, I¡¯m pretending to be an arty person. That¡¯s just ridiculous.¡± ¡°Granny, that¡¯s not pretending. You are an elegant and refined person! Who says old people cannot appreciate incense?¡± Zeng Yuewei was quite a smooth talker and was always ready to say somepliments. ¡°Exactly. You are not alone in this. Even I myself feel much calmer when I asionally burn the incense,¡± Zeng Shufei added. The atmosphere seemed harmonious and happy for now, yet Gu Yu remained polite and reserved, as if refusing to fit in. Zeng Yuewei was eager to check the guy¡¯s standard and asked at once, ¡°Mr. Gu, since you are such an exceptional incense maker, could you share some thoughts on incense-burning?¡± ¡°I have no idea. I¡¯m merely a craftsman,¡± he smiled. ¡°You¡¯re being too modest. For someone who could make such excellent incense, how¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, Wei Wei. Let go of it.¡± The olddy gestured Zeng Yuewei to stop and told the housekeeper to start preparing for dinner. She then turned to Gu Yu, ¡°Xiao Gu, fate has brought us all here today and I can¡¯t let you go without serving you some food.¡± ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll thank you in advance.¡± Since the dinner was already being prepared, he had no choice but to agree to stay. The housekeeper was quite efficient and the table was set a little whileter. They did not prepare new dishes specially for him, and only added his portion to their usual congee and pickled vegetables. Gu Yu was no longer holding himself back now and enjoyed the dinner a lot. After dinner, Granny Zeng unexpectedly asked the other three to leave and let Gu Yu stay with her. The Zeng siblings were overwhelmed and had mixed feelings but dared not disobey their grandmother. They could only exchange contact information with Gu Yu and leave with worried minds. Evening, in a quiet room. This room was beside the main bedroom and had a ssic and graceful feeling to it. In the middle of the room were some tables and chairs; a tea set and some fruit were on the table. Calligraphy and painting scrolls hung on the wall on one side of the table, while some incense was burning in a censer on a tea table on the other side. Gu Yu sat at the table and realized that the olddy wanted to talk to him in private. He waited while sipping tea. As expected, after the olddy took her time to digest her dinner, she said with a smile, ¡°Xiao Gu, I¡¯ve asked you to stay behind so we can have a chat. After all, it¡¯s not easy to find someone who really understands incense. The question that Wei Wei threw at you just then, I think you were holding back from saying something. Could you share it with me? I really want to hear your opinion.¡± ¡°Um¡­ in that case, I¡¯ll speak my mind. Please don¡¯tugh at me if I get something wrong.¡± Since he was asked again, he had no choice but give an answer. He straightened up and started speaking as he chose his words carefully, ¡°There are numerous types of incense out there and they can be roughly divided into two categories. One is for savoring, and the other is for medicinal use. What you referred to just then should belong to the second category. Medicinal incense can indeed calm one¡¯s mind and help one sleep. However, they should only y an assisting role and one should not depend on thempletely.¡± ¡°Oh? Why is that?¡± The olddy was curious. ¡°Nowadays, people usually burn incense to calm their mind and soothe their nerves. However, mind-calming is a long-term process and cannot be achieved overnight. We worry about so many things in daily life and so much is going on in our heads. In order to calm one¡¯s mind, one needs to unblock oneself first. To some extent, there are only two types of activities in our daily life. One is socializing and the other is handling affairs. When associated with others, we should be neither servile nor arrogant. We will broaden our horizons, obtain knowledge, and umte wisdom in the process. In handling our own affairs, we have to be conscientious and responsible while keeping ourselves focused, so as to take in the merit and pleasure of them. Bearing such attitude to life in mind, one could gradually calm themselves down, achieving a refreshed state of mind with thorough understanding of things around him. As for medicinal incense, we can burn it to preserve our health and for enjoyment, but we should never trust it blindly and never think we are iplete without it. Frankly speaking, about those who scheme against one another, those who struggle to make a living, those who are always experiencing mncholy and shifting moods as well as those who detest the world and its ways¡­ do they expect their worries would simply go away by igniting an incense stick? That is just, well¡­¡± He shook his head with aughter. ¡°¡­¡± Granny Zeng was surprised by his words at first, then pondered them and was now looking at the young man appreciatively. She overthrew her earlier opinions in that instant. This young man was not only exceptional in incense-making, but had remarkable disposition and character as well! She knew her family affairs better than anyone else. Although she had retired, the business itself, the change of policies and the maintenance of herwork, including her son and grandchildren, all required her constant attention! She knew very well that burning incense was not a calming act, but was her attempt to search for a ce to rest. She was taking shelter in the process. For someone as experienced as her, Gu Yu¡¯s words sounded much more meaningful. She responded immediately, ¡°Xiao Gu, for a person of your age, you¡¯ve thought everything through so thoroughly. What was that ancient saying? Oh, if a manprehends in the morning, he would wee his death in the evening without regret!¡± Gu Yu felt very awkward and said hastily, ¡°Granny Zeng, you¡¯re too generous with yourpliments. I¡¯m sure you know all these already, but your hands are just tied by the reality.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu¡¯s sudden words left the olddy deted. Her previous strength and pride seemed to disappear abruptly. Being tied up by the reality¡ªthose words stabbed her like a sharp knife. For all these years, neither her son nor her grandchildren ever spoke of such things. Yet now, it was an outsider who pointed it out. She was overwhelmed by emotions and went speechless for a while. Realizing he had crossed the line, Gu Yu picked up his cup in embarrassment and busied himself with his cup of tea. Some timeter, the olddy returned to herself and asked, ¡°By the way, Xiao Gu, you were saying that there are two categories of incense. What do you think of the savoring type?¡± [1] ED/N: Can be interpreted as either river of grass or a river named Grass, but since there¡¯s some bridge, it should be thetter. Chapter 13 Chapter 13: A Discussion on Incense (Part Two) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu With those words, she took out a sachet, which was none other than the one Zeng Shufei bought from Gu Yu. ¡°This Fresh Petal Incense, for example, got me thinking all night yesterday and I still couldn¡¯t figure out the ingredients. To be honest with you, incense has been my hobby for three, four years now, during which time I have gathered quite a few excellent materials and considered myself to be a connoisseur of some sort. However, after I smelled your sachet, I felt all my past efforts were in vain.¡± ¡°Well, it contains 25g of clove bark, 50g of jasmine, 50g of spikenard, 50g of croton root, 25g of chrysanthemum, 100g of guaiac wood, and 25g of magnolia,¡± Gu Yu was not holding anything back and directly enumerated the ingredients. ¡°Grind each of those into fine powder. After concocting them into a mixture, it will give off an orchid-ish scent.¡± ¡°Orchid? That exins the inexplicable characteristic I found in the scent. So that¡¯s why¡­¡± Clutching the sachet in her hand, the olddy talked to herself, realizing now where the subtle implication came from. She then smiled and added, ¡°Xiao Gu, even if the others figured out the ingredients, it¡¯s very unlikely that they¡¯ll be able to duplicate the Fresh Petal Incense.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± He didn¡¯t try to show his modesty this time. The most intriguing thing about incense-concoction was that through mixing seemingly unrted materials, a unique aroma could be created. For instance, when bold rose and intense styrax were put together, they would release an overpowering fragrance. However, when adding the serene agarwood and solitary camphor seeds to the mixture, what would it turn into? The answer was straightforward. It would remind one of the end of spring, when all spring flowers would eventually wither. Countless types of incense existed around the world, each with its unique smell, nature and character. The same went for all the incense makers out there, who all had their own inheritance, technique and understanding. Gu Yu could create an implication that resembled a secluded orchid in a deserted valley, leading a life above the mundane affairs. However, the same ingredients would not amount to the same product in another incense maker¡¯s hands. As for the recipe Zeng Shufei inquired about yesterday, Gu Yu could not be bothered to deal with him then. That guy had his intention written all over his face. Gu Yu chose to tell Granny Zeng now because the olddy did not see it as a source of profit. In return, his gesture had also won much appreciation from Granny Zeng, who flipped through the materials again and paused unexpectedly. She asked in a surprised tone, ¡°Xiao Gu, it seems there¡¯s no agarwood in your recipe?¡± ¡°Why should there be any agarwood in it?¡± He did not quite understand the question. ¡°Isn¡¯t it supposed to be used in concocting¡­¡± The olddy stopped halfway through her sentence. Gu Yu blinked. It then dawned on him and he replied, ¡°Granny Zeng, I see what you mean. Precious spices such as agarwood, sandalwood, ambergris and musk had been highly praised since the ancient times. That tendency continued to modern days, especially with themercial spection, which had made agarwood and sandalwood a must-have in incense-making, otherwise the product would be deemed cheap. You are someone from a wealthy background and use expensive incense. What you¡¯ve learned, the gifts you were given and the products rmended to you, were all expensive ones.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t say that there¡¯s anything wrong with that, for a school of incense makers do use that concept. The spices are given the status of emperors, subjects, assistants and supplements, and then concocted ordingly. The mellow agarwood possesses a cultivated quality, which could harmonize the dispositions of the other materials, thus it is deemed an ¡®emperor¡¯ and frequently used. However, there are other schools of incense makers, who prefermon spices that can also produce excellent effects.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± Granny Zeng asked immediately. ¡°Such as¡­¡± Gu Yu looked around and set his eyes on the fruit te in front of him. He picked up four pieces of fruit with his dexterous hand andid them in a row on the table. He then exined with a smile, ¡°For example, take some lichee shells, papaya seeds, orange peels and pear dregs. Dry them out in the air and grind them into powder, then add some honeyed water to the powder and roll it into pellets. Put the pellets in some vessel and steam over fire. Then, you¡¯ll get Junior Four-Integration Incense.¡± ¡°Junior Four-Integration¡­¡± The olddy murmured and, lost in thought, stared at those fruits. Agarwood, sandalwood, ambergris and musk were called the four great spices. There was a recipe where one took an equal amount of each spice and mixed them together. The final product was called Four-Integration Incense. Yet the incense made from fruit peels and residuals was good enough to take the name ¡°Junior Four-Integration¡±, which was an undisguised sarcasm and criticism. Gu Yu did not stop there and continued with his examples. ¡°You can also take some Arborvitae seeds and scald them briefly in boiling water, then immerse them in wine and seal the vessel for seven days. After taking them out and drying them out in the air, you can burn them in bronze censers. That¡¯s how Cedar Seed Incense is made. Mash some orange leaves and seal them in a small jug together with a few pieces of bamboo. Put the jug over fire and steam it, then use the bamboo pieces as an incense. Fume them with gentle heat in a censer. The smell is delicate, sweet and refreshing. In fact, spices can be found everywhere. Take that tree in the yard as an example. When the barkes off on its own, grind it into powder and you¡¯ll get some excellent rosin. Materials should not be categorized ording to their price. The only genuine criteria are one¡¯s preferences. Steaming agarwood essentially has no difference from steaming dried tangerine peel. If one cares too much over which spices are ¡®better¡¯, he would only make himself look vulgar.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Granny Zeng listened and watched him speak all this time without uttering a single word. After quite some time, she let out a deep sigh. ¡°Xiao Gu, I should be the one whose mind got blown away today!¡± Her im was not without reason. Having been involved in the incense-collecting world for several years, only today did shee to realize that her past experience was only superficial. The traditional incense ceremony was experiencingrge gaps in its inheritance and few ancient techniques were actually passed down. The so-called incense-enjoyment in the market wasrgely made up by businesses using bits and pieces of the real thing, so as to cater to the needs of rich people and incense collectors. Why was it called an enjoyment? It was to remind you not to take it too seriously. It was only for fun. Think about it. Who would not enjoy themselves when holding an orchid worth hundreds of thousands, a couple of walnuts that would cost a couple hundred of thousands, or a string of million-yuan Kynam beads? After saying all those things at a stretch, Gu Yu slowed down and took a look at the time. He then said, ¡°Granny Zeng, it¡¯s gettingte. I still have errands to run at home and should get going.¡± ¡°What? You¡¯ve got me all excited and you are thinking about leaving now? That¡¯s just not right!¡± The olddy joked and added, ¡°Xiao Gu, I had a good time today. Thank you foring. However, I still have a presumptuous request. I want to ask for some incense from you.¡± ¡°What incense do you need?¡± He asked. ¡°Anything will do, as long as it¡¯s from you.¡± Wow! That was an incredibly favorable statement. He couldn¡¯t help but warm up to the olddy. ¡°No problem. When do you want it?¡± ¡°Take your time. Just let me have it when you¡¯ve finished¡­ A Hui!¡± The olddy suddenly called out and a woman in her thirties showed up, holding a small box. She took it in her hand and smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything appropriate for the asion, so please take this as a small thank-you gift.¡± ¡°Oh my, you shouldn¡¯t have! That¡¯s too much, Granny Zeng. I really can¡¯t take it!¡± Gu Yu stood up hastily and declined. ¡°Sit down, sit down. Please hear me out¡­¡± She made a downward gesture with her hand and said, ¡°For one thing, I really like you and want to give you this as a wee gift. For another, I can¡¯t let you work for free, so this is also an honorarium. That¡¯s a two-in-one present and you have no reason to refuse.¡± ¡°Urh¡­¡± One should not decline a reward from an elder as it would make him look hypocritical. He had no choice but to ept it. ¡°Thank you so much for the gift.¡± *** Gu Yu arrived there early in the evening and did not leave until past 10 PM. Even so, Granny Zeng was still not willing to let him go. She found this young man modest, polite and with an unassuming manner, which made her appreciate him from the bottom of her heart. The olddy offered to give him a ride home. Seeing that it was quite some distance away, he epted. After Gu Yu got home, he took some time cleaning himself and attending to his own affairs. He forgot all about that gift until he had gone to bed. He was stunned to find out what it was when he opened the box. It was none other than the jade gourd incense holder. Oh please! He only gave it a few extra looks and the olddy noticed it! He was impressed by Granny Zeng¡¯s acuteness and could not resist the attempt to check its value online. He was shocked for a second time. For something so tiny, the holder had a price tag of ten thousand yuan. ¡°Ouch¡­¡± Gu Yu yed with it in his hands and couldn¡¯t decide whether he shouldugh or cry as he thought, ¡®I¡¯d rather you give me ten thousand yuan in cash!¡¯ Chapter 14 Chapter 14: A Date Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Other than three new phone numbers in his contact list, the meeting with Granny Zeng did not seem to cause much change in Gu Yu¡¯s daily life, if there was any at all. The Zeng siblings had work to attend to and returned to Shengtian on the following day. The two of them thought alike, both intending to befriend Gu Yu. However, there was a subtle difference for Zeng Yuewei, who had suffered humiliation from the Fresh Petal Incense and she had been holding some grudge ever since. It turned out she had no one to vent her anger on now, for the olddy thought of Gu Yu highly. As the saying went, the same food could bring up all sorts of different people. The siblings had both the talent and intelligence to achieve great things, but were at the same time quite narrow-minded. Comparing to Granny Zeng¡¯s generosity and broad vision, they still had a long way to go. As for Gu Yu, he was greatly impressed by Granny Zeng during their meeting. Now that the olddy was asking for an incense, he would naturally put his heart and soul into it. The olddy was used to burning expensive incense and now wanted something creative and interesting which would at the same be appropriate for her age. He turned it over in his mind and eventually came up with one. The only problem was that the chief ingredient was hard toe by, at least not within the boundaries of Bai Town. That same evening, Phoenix Mountain. Gu Yu put away his stall and said goodbye to the squirrel as usual. Brother Fatty seemed very busy these days and no longer crouched up in the tree to ¡°run scams¡± with him. It would disappear and reappear now and then, acting in the most mysterious manner. He was incredibly curious. Unfortunately, the two of them could notmunicate, which very much frustrated Gu Yu. He had evene up with ridiculous ideas such as teaching the squirrel to read and write. ¡°Bye bye, Brother Fatty!¡± ¡°Coo, coo!¡± The squirrel squeaked and did not dawdle around as usual. It scurried up the tree and disappeared in a few jumps. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu¡¯s mouth twitched and he walked down the mountain, carrying a shoulder pole on his shoulder. He himself was actually in a hurry as well for it had been half a month since he made those Wake-up Incense sticks and they were ready to be taken out of the cer today. He was eager to get home and examine the product. The way back home was uneventful and he soon reached Phoenix Fair. It was almost dinner time. Smoke was curling up from kitchen chimneys as pots and pans nked and jangled in every home. Each family was creating its own aroma of food. He was still cycling when he suddenly slowed down, for two figures were blocking the way to the alley in front. One of them was Fang Qing, and the other was a guy of her age. The two seemed to be arguing. Fang Qing had a reluctant look on her face. The boy wanted to grab her hand but was shaken off. Gu Yu frowned and called out, ¡°Qing Qing!¡± ¡°Brother!¡± The girl looked up and ran to him as if she had discovered her savior. She asked with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re back! How was business today?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± He did not answer her question, but pointed at the boy. ¡°He is, he¡¯s my ssmate¡­ Hey, don¡¯t mind him. Let¡¯s go home!¡± Fang Qing propped herself up the three-wheeler and sat on the edge of the cargo. She had guilty written all over her face and was obviously hiding something. The boy was unwilling to let go. He even ran after them for a short distance, but was not brave enough to speak up all this time. After cycling for a short while, Gu Yu asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on between you two?¡± ¡°What? Nothing!¡± ¡°Qing Qing, does your big brother look like an idiot? What on earth is going on?¡± He pressed on. The young girl lowered her head and replied in a timid tone after a long pause. ¡°If, if I tell you, you have to promise me not to tell my mum.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He wouldn¡¯t even dignify that request with an answer. Fang Qing pursed her lips and went on. ¡°His name is Lin Junlong and is not doing well at school either. He has a rtive in Shengtian and we¡®ve agreed to go there together to find job if neither of us gets into high school¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s bullshit! What job does a fifteen-year-old girl like you can find?¡± The idea irritated Gu Yu. He then asked, ¡°What was that all about, then? All the grabbing and struggling?¡± ¡°I, I regretted and didn¡¯t want to go any more. He came to look for me¡­¡± She lowered her head even further and kept fiddling with her fingers. ¡°Why did you regret?¡± He was curious. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave my mum,¡± the girl replied. Whatever! Gu Yu couldn¡¯t figure out whether he should be angry or amused at the answer. He resigned to persuading her, ¡°Stop thinking about all that stuff. The most important thing for you now is to study. The exams haven¡¯t even started yet and you already think you¡¯ll fail?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen all my lousy exam papers¡­ I would like to go to high school, if my grades are good enough¡­ My family doesn¡¯t have much money¡­¡± Fang Qing rambled on and they reached her home before long. She jumped down from the cargo swiftly and stressed, ¡°Brother, please don¡¯t tell my mum! Please!¡± ¡°Fine, fine. I won¡¯t tell her. Promise!¡± He waved her goodbye and cycled away after seeing the girl enter her house. There was nothing he could do. Other shorings might bepensated for with other things, but not grades. The high school entrance examination was only half a month away. The incident had spoiled Gu Yu¡¯s moodpletely. He walked into the yard withnguid steps and lifted the trapdoor to the cer with a nking sound. In no time, he came up holding two trays in his hands. He then took them into his workroom and examined carefully under themplight. After cering, the color of the sticks faded a bit, turning from dark brown to a lighter shade. The sixty Wake-up Incense sticks were made in two batches. The first was of the same standard as before, while the second was of a striking quality. The main ingredient of incense sticks was wood powder, therefore the finished product would usually have a texture resembling rough pores. However, it was not the case with this batch, which did not have that dryness, but felt like those Pocky chocte biscuit sticks with a slightly varnished look. He couldn¡¯t help but scratch it with his finger. With a single stroke, he found the stickpact and smoothly patterned. There was a wonderful suppleness about it. ¡°Well, well!¡± Looking at these thirty sticks, Gu Yu felt that incense-making had never been so fulfilling. He fought back the impulse of lighting up a cigarette and put all sticks in two separate boxes. He then checked the time. It was twenty past six in the evening. ¡°I think she should be off duty now¡­¡± He returned to the east wing and slouched on the brick bed. Taking out his cell phone, he started typing right away. ¡°The Wake-up Incense is ready. I¡¯ll have it delivered first thing tomorrow morning¡­¡± After those words, he suddenly paused and deleted the second sentence with a vexed look on his face. He discovered that incense forum about a year ago and started to get involved. It was also around the same time that the name Xiaozhai began to show up from time to time. She had some very insightful points on incense-making and the discussion would attract Gu Yu¡¯s attention every now and then. The two gradually became friends. They weren¡¯t exactly acquaintances and could only be counted as ordinary inte pals. It was not until recently when he asked her for her name and address to send her the Wake-up Incense that they became more ¡°familiar¡± with each other. Engage in conversation when needed, remain invisible when nothing happened and send group greeting messages when festivals arrived¡ªthat pretty much concluded their contacts. Xiaozhai did not leave him with much impression, only that the way she typed showed strong personality. He also noticed she was very efficient in handling business. He did not think much of it before, but tomorrow he was going to a market in Shengtian to purchase some materials, so¡­ Should he meet up with her? Gu Yu pondered for a few moment and quickly typed on his cell phone. ¡°It just so happens that I¡¯ll be in Shengtian tomorrow. If you are avable, I can bring you the incense.¡± He sent the message and tossed the cell phone aside, waiting in a half-anxious, half-calm state. It felt like forever before the phone dinged. The reply read, ¡°Was that your pick-up line? (smile)(smile)¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu¡¯s mouth twitched. That girl had the most unpredictable train of thought in the world. He replied at once. ¡°Come on! It¡¯s just that I¡¯m going to the medicine material market tomorrow and can bring you the stuff in passing.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± She sent a rabbit emoji with a pity face and added, ¡°I was just thinking what ruse would you use, if you ever have to make up an excuse.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°And nothing. Judging from yourck of youthful vigour and the asional inexplicit showiness, you should put it out directly as, ¡®Xiaozhai, since we¡¯ve known each other for so long, let meet in person. Ho ho ho¡­¡± He sniggered. He broke into aughter and replied, ¡°Am I really that stupid? Luckily, you don¡¯t have to figure that out now.¡± ¡°Not necessarily. I still have toe up with a reason to refuse you. Give me three seconds.¡± What? Unconsciously, Gu Yu turned to look at the clock as the mechanical second hand ticked once, twice, three times¡­ Almost instantaneously, a message showed up on his phone: ¡°I can¡¯t think of any. (sad) (sad) (sad)¡± Damn it! He was being yed! The trick hadpletely baffled Gu Yu and he did not know how to respond for quite a while. That was an outrage! Stop talking about my ¡°pick-up line¡±. You were so familiar with you own! Generally speaking, when girls were asked to go out for the first time, they would show some reservation even if they were more than willing to say yes. Most girls would evade the invitation with a few pleasantries and then ept with some pretended shyness. The intellectual type would remind guys tactfully, saying things such as the weather would be good the day after tomorrow, I would probably need to wash my hair, and white shirts were my favourite. The unsophisticated girls would respond in a carefree way, stressing things like certain restaurant had the best spicy pot. [1] All the types above were easy to handle. The experienced and sophisticated girls were the most baffling ones. Guys nned to lead the way and posed as someone special, yet they would end up realizing the girls were already way ahead of them. That was so frustrating! Totally! Luckily, Gu Yu was not intending to impress Xiaozhai with any trick and only found the girl interesting. Since he did not know what she looked like, he was looking forward to the meeting, being somewhat curious. They soon decided on the time and ce for their meeting and ended the conversation. Gu Yu then packed his stuff and was ready to go to the provincial city the next day. [1] ED/N: What we put as ¡°intellectual type¡± referred to girls interested in or working with art and literature, which probably is supposed to give the impression of them being culturally refined¡­ doesn¡¯t make much sense in the West so I went with the closest thing I could think of. Chapter 15 Chapter 15: Xiaozhai Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Cloudy day. The city of Shengtian. Outside Shanhaiguan Pass were four provinces with over a hundred cities varying in scale, among which Shengtian was one of the most outstanding cities. Ever since its establishment 2000 years ago, the city had gone through numerous developments and evolutions but remained the most important and historical city in northeast China in terms of political, economical and cultural influence. At eleven in the morning, Gu Yu threaded his way through the steam of people at the exit of South Station. The first thing he did was take in a deep breath before a disgusted look immediately swept across his face. The city was never famous for its air quality, but the odor was stronger than ever now. One could tell the level of pollution in the air just by breathing alone, which was beyond repellent. Needless to say, the concentration of spiritual essence here was next to nothing. Gu Yu had spent two years in a university here and was familiar with the public transportation. He directly set off for the nearest subway station and bought a 3-yuan ticket there. He had a tight schedule today. It took him four hours to reach Shengtian by bus from Bai Town and he was meeting Xiaozhai at 11:30. He then needed to visit the medicine material market in the afternoon and thest bus back to Bai Town was at five o¡¯clock. He could travel by train, but Bai Town was a mountainous region and high-speed railways were not set up there. The only trains there were the old-fashioned green carriages; their swaying and nking movement could whisk one¡¯s brain into scrambled eggs. It was Friday and while it wasn¡¯t the rush hour yet, the subway was still packed. Gu Yu stood steadily in a corner as his eyes wandered around from time to time. Most of the passengers were young people wearing thinyers of clothes suitable for this time of the year. They chuckled and giggled, whispering to one another¡ªstandard carefree urban youngsters. To be honest, each time he visited Shengtian, he always felt some mncholy, as if mourning for his unfinished university life. Those two years were rather short, but it had been the happiest and most eye-opening period in his life. Well, the life he was living now was eye-opening as well, only on a totally different level. He was cultivating towards immortality now! ¡°Buzz, buzz, buzz!¡± While he was immersed in his thoughts, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket, which turned out to be a message from Xiaozhai. ¡°Where are you now?¡± ¡°On the subway,¡± he replied. ¡°Get off at Yuexiu Park and go to the square. I¡¯ll wait for you there.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Gu Yu smiled, for a subtle sense of pleasure was rising inside him. Being told ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you¡± by a girl would somehow give one the illusion of being handsome and attractive. He exited the subway thirty minutester and Yuexiu Park was right in front of him. He had arrived in the city center, where towering buildings nked the streets and incessant stream of vehicles streamed to and fro. The park, on the other hand, was a wild profusion of vegetation, inserting itself into a grey desert of concrete like an oasis. Following the brick pavement, Gu Yu arrived at the park entrance where a square was in a short while. He looked around, crossing out all males and screening out those middle-aged aunts, then fixed his stare on a girl in red and a girl in pink. He suddenly couldn¡¯t think straight. Instead of giving her a phone call, he was going to resolve to ¡°eeny, meeny, miny, moe¡±. He was about to lift his finger when a clear and bright voice with a faint ent called him from behind. ¡°Hi there!¡± Gu Yu turned around and felt dazzled by a pair of dazzling, crystal-like eyes. She had long hair, tied at the back of her head, and was wearing a long sleeve shirt with its first button undone. Her porcin corbones were perfectly aligned, extending all the way up to her neckline and behind her ears. She wore a pair of cropped trousers, revealing her delicate ankles, and on her feet was a pair of beige walking shoes. As she lifted her eyes, the tender and pure feeling they gave off was like a reflection of a blissful early summer. ¡°Hi!¡± He responded. It was a universal truth that members of the ¡°good looks club¡± would always be attracted to one another. Although this was their first meeting, they identified with each other instantaneously. Jiang Xiaozhai tilted her head and smiled. ¡°Shall we shake hands?¡± ¡°That¡¯s too formal,¡± he said with a grin. ¡°You have a point. Let¡¯s go, then.¡± With that, she walked a few steps towards Gu Yu, who then noticed her height. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Exactly how tall are you?¡± ¡°177 cm. You?¡± ¡°I¡¯m 183.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s quite satisfactory.¡± Oh ho! She had stuck to the subject and did not diverge, suggesting height was not the most important aspect and what mattered was the length (of a certain body part), which surprised Gu Yu. Heughed, ¡°I thought you were going to start an inappropriate topic.¡± ¡°Being indecent online is charming; doing that in reality will make one a rascal.¡± Jiang Xiaozhai did not have a handbag with her. Sticking her hands in her pockets, she rolled her eyes at him as she strolled along. ¡°Uh¡­¡± Fine, he could say nothing in defense. Yuexiu Park was quite spacious with hills,kes and resting pavilions. A lot of artistic elderly people were singing, dancing and ying musical instruments all over the park, making the scene rather boisterous. The two passed through the park and arrived at the other side of the road, where a shop was. The name of the shop was written inrge text, which read ¡°True Taste Potato Noodles¡±. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was speechless. He asked timidly, ¡°Are we going to eat here?¡± ¡°Yup, it¡¯s really good.¡± Jiang Xiaozhai pushed the door open and walked in. He had no choice but to follow her in. He was thinking of eating somewhere proper. After all, it was the first time they saw each other. However, now that she had chosen the ce, he could only go along with her. ¡°Three delicacies, mixed two-type, mildly spicy.¡± Xiaozhai was obviously very familiar with the ce and ordered right away. He looked at the menu on the wall and said, ¡°An original mixed two-type, mildly spicy, please.¡± ¡°That¡¯s 23 yuan in total.¡± ¡°There you go!¡± He handed out the money. The restaurant was packed. They were quite lucky to find a table that was just vacated by a leaving customer. The waiter wiped the table clean and Jiang Xiaozhai sat down at the table at once, stretching out her long legs, not caring about anything else around them. Gu Yu sat down across her at the table and took out two boxes from his bag. ¡°Here, take these.¡± ¡°Why are they in separate boxes?¡± She opened one at random and was satisfied with his steady standard. When she moved on to open the second one, she froze for a second or two. The thirty Wake-up Incense sticks were disyed neatly inside with a serene texture to them, resembling a piece of art. She sniffed them again and asked in surprise, ¡°Did you make these as well?¡± ¡°En.¡± ¡°Very nice.¡± She put down the incense box and made a traditional obeisance gesture with a smile. ¡°Then congrattions on the improvement in your skills!¡± ¡°Well, I identally¡­¡± ¡°Number 47, number 48!¡± Gu Yu was just about to tell her when the waiter called out their order numbers at the top of his voice. He hurried over and took back two portions of potato noodles. They were served in small stone pots. The steaming hot noodles were covered by a thinyer of glossy red chili oil. The so-called ¡°mixed two-type¡± actually referred to potato noodles mixed with wheat noodles. Other ingredients included mushrooms, tomatoes and quail eggs of sorts. The food was indeed very delicious. Gu Yu was already hungry and gobbled down his food. [1] ¡°Do youe here often?¡± ¡°Whenever the food in the canteen bores me. Oh, there, mypany is in that building,¡± she pointed with her finger. He followed her hand and saw a red building which stood out among those around it. When he sent her the incense for the first time, the address she gave him was an international tradingpany of some kind. In a word, a very prestigious title. ¡°What do you do?¡± He asked casually. ¡°Strategy and design. Commonly known as copywriting and art editing.¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Gu Yu chuckled and said, ¡°Then I¡¯m a scenic area logistic personnel and a self-producing businessman.¡± ¡°Nice. That¡¯s very urate.¡± The girl nodded, appearing all serious. She then added, ¡°I¡¯ve been really busy recently and had a lot of pressure. Luckily your incense is here now.¡± ¡°Do you burn it everyday?¡± ¡°Yup. This stuff works so well. I¡¯m relying on it.¡± ¡°They are only boosters. You have to adjust your resting time and do more exercise,¡± Gu Yu advised her. ¡°Everyone knows what is the right thing to do, but few can actually follow it to a tee.¡± Jiang Xiaozhai chewed through a string of noodles and evaded the subject. After that, she looked into her own pot and Gu Yu¡¯s in turn, then suddenly asked, ¡°Why, is that enough for you?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Gu Yu was more than halfway through his noodles and, to be honest, that pot was not quite enough for him. He was thinking about ordering another pot when Xiaozhai stood up and trotted to the counter. Before long, she made it back with two bottles of soda, a baked bun with marinated meat and two roasted sausages. He did not express anybored politeness, but took a bite at the bun straight away. Exactly who should pay the bill when going out with unfamiliar people of the opposite sex was a perpetual debate. Generally speaking, guys should be prepared to take out their wallets, but what was important was that girls should not take it for granted, unless they were gold diggers or were ready for some more intimate act shortly after. Anyone with an average EQ would show gratitude, yet the smart girls would do better. They would make you feel good after spending money for her. For instance, when the two went to a KFC and the guy bought a whole bunch of food, the girl bought two custard tarts or two cups of sundae halfway through the meal. Or, when they went to an amusement park and the guy bought entrance tickets and lunch, the girl suddenly paid for the fare on the return journey. And so on and so forth¡­ It was not to say that guys minded spending money, only that they cared about girls¡¯ attitude. Jiang Xiaozhai was a smart girl who made Gu Yu find the meal very pleasant. Before long, his pot was empty and the bun and sausage eaten up. He was thinking about sitting for a bit longer, but Xiaozhai checked her watch and said apologetically, ¡°I have a meeting this afternoon and only have 15 minutes to walk around.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take a walk in the park, then. It¡¯s on your way back,¡± he was being very considerate. With that, they walked out of the door. As soon as they were outside, they found the light dimmed as the clouds above darkened and the wind got stronger. She looked up and mentioned casually, ¡°It¡¯s probably going to rain.¡± ¡°Yup, the weather forecast said it was going to be rainy today. I have my umbre with me,¡± he patted his backpack. ¡°Weather forecast?¡± Jiang Xiaozhai gave him a repelling look andmented, ¡°You are indeed very old-fashioned.¡± ¡°Nope, I¡¯m just being cool.¡± [2] Gu Yu made a sarcasticment on himself while felt his heart skip a beat. Maybe it was because of that meal together, but he found the two of them were much closer than before. There was something called ¡°three great illusions of life¡±¡ªcultivation can make me immortal, I can draw a superior super rare card, and she likes me. In this moment, Gu Yu had experienced all the three of them. [1] ED/N: Yes, potato noodles, it wasn¡¯t just the bar¡¯s name. It may be surprising for anyone in the West (myself included), but apparently cereals are not the only kind of stuff you can make noodles from. [2] ED/N: Reference to the previous chapter, the part where she sms-ed about his showiness. He¡¯s referring to the other party¡¯s words here. Chapter 16 Chapter 16: Osmanthus Falls by the Side of the Idle Man Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Past noon time. In the park. Probably because of the overcast sky, the elderly people dancing and singing in the park had scattered a bit by now. The park was rather heavily vegetated and small animals could often be spotted here and there, and magpies would sweep across the branches from time to time and soon disappear into the woods with a fluttering sound. Gu Yu and Jiang Xiaozhai walked for a short distance and saw two girls turn onto their way from another path. Recognizing them, Xiaozhai waved and called out, ¡°Wukong, Liu Nai!¡± [1] The two girls hurried near and sized Gu Yu up with a pretended picky look as theymented in an exaggerated tone, ¡°Wow, Xiaozhai, is this your boyfriend? Quite cute!¡± ¡°Exactly, introduce us! Shall we have dinner togetherter?¡± ¡°Well, where have you been?¡± She neither admitted nor denied, but only smiled back. Other people could not tell from her response, but these two knew her too well. They immediately got the hint¡ªnope, not her boyfriend. The two lost interest in the guy at once and one of them shook the stic bag in her hand. ¡°We just got back from the supermarket and bought some snacks¡­ Well, we¡¯ll leave you here. The meeting¡¯s in the afternoon, don¡¯t bete.¡± The two girl came and went like a passing tornado, soon disappearing into the distance. Xiaozhai then exined to Gu Yu, ¡°Those were my colleagues. We¡¯re quite close.¡± ¡°Do all your colleagues have unique names like those?¡± Gu Yu hadn¡¯t said a word until now and was still somewhat distracted. ¡°Use your head. Those were nicknames.¡± ¡°Right. Do you have one, then?¡± ¡°Take a wild guess!¡± That was the most pain-in-the-neck answer he could get. Seeing the helpless look on Gu Yu¡¯s face, sheughed and asked, ¡°Are you going to the medicine material market this afternoon?¡± ¡°Yes. I need some osmanthus.¡± ¡°Osmanthus? Well, there they are.¡± She pointed to awn ahead of them to the right, where several osmanthus trees were nted. The osmanthus nts had several variations, including golden osmanthus, silver osmanthus, reddish osmanthus, and monthly blooming osmanthus. The first three bloomed in autumn, while thest one would bloom all year round. Those on thewn were the ones blooming monthly, which were growing really well. Their branches were d with strings of little flowers as they swayed lightly in the breeze. [2] ¡°What I need is the silver osmanthus. Those won¡¯t work for me,¡± Gu Yu nced at her expression and exined, ¡°Recently, I received an order from an elder to make some incense for her. The golden and reddish ones have too strong a scent to use as ingredients. Fragrance of the silver osmanthus fits my recipe the best. The monthly ones could also work though, especially these that are only half-blooming. Pick some and mix them evenly with honey, then seal them in a porcin jar and cer for a month. When you use them, put the flowers on a fire instion board and hang them above a small me. The osmanthus would then give off their fragrance slowly as they bloom further. When they were fully open, the fragrance would¡­ Hey, what are you doing?¡± Before he finished his lecture, Jiang Xiaozhai was striding straight into thewn with her exceptionally long legs. She answered him without turning her head. ¡°I¡¯m going to pick some flowers!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®huh¡¯ me. Come and help.¡± ¡°Why, don¡¯t you have a meeting to go to? You¡¯ll bete.¡± ¡°Forget it. Come over here! Quickly!¡± She was already under the trees and beckoned him over. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu had confusion written all over his face. This girl was unbelievable. You could never predict her next move. He had no choice but to dawdle towards her. ¡°I¡¯ll keep watch. You pick the flowers,¡± She was very concise. ¡°Are there any aunts with red armbands around here? I¡¯m feeling a bit guilty at the moment,¡± he looked around, finding his own appearance quite nasty. [3] ¡°You¡¯re on the lookout, then. I¡¯ll pick the flowers!¡± Osmanthus trees were not very tall and Xiaozhai was not a short girl herself. She could almost reach the flowers standing on her toes. She browsed through the branches and picked out one dragged down by a heavy string of flowers, then stretched out her arm towards it. Gu Yu watched her fingers lift higher and higher. She was almost there when a loud voice suddenly came from behind them, ¡°Hey! What do you think you¡¯re doing? Don¡¯t you know picking flowers is forbidden here?¡± Well, it just so happened that one of those ¡°aunts¡± was on the patrol. She stood on by the path and scolded loudly at them, ¡°Where do you work? With that bad manner, I need to have a word with your supervisors¡­¡± ¡°Run!¡± Jiang Xiaozhai was quick to react. She grabbed Gu Yu and started running right away. ¡°Hey! How dare you run away! Stop right there!¡± The aunt got angry and hobbled along after them. There was no way she could catch up to the two, though. Just look at those two pairs of long legs! Their footsteps scrunched along the gravel road and the two were soon out of her sight. They ran past thewn, the resting pavilions, the little bridge, and the spring pond. They did not stop until they reached the exit. They weren¡¯t exactly out of breath from the running, but only a bit flustered. After checking behind, they were relieved to find that aunt did not have the ability to teleport. The two looked at each other without the cliche understanding smile. Only that the girl noticed her hair had gone loose and she tied it back again. ¡°¡­¡± After a few seconds of silence, Xiaozhai half turned to the other side and gestured, ¡°Mypany is just across the road.¡± The exit was right beside the road, across which stood the red building. Gu Yu was reluctant to say goodbye but did not let it show. ¡°Well, thanks a lot for today.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°Just being polite.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jiang Xiaozhai rolled her eyes and gave him a wave. ¡°Bye bye!¡± ¡°Bye bye!¡± Gu Yu watched her cross the road without looking back at him. The white shirt disappeared at the corner of the road. *** Afternoon. The Pine Park. The Pine Park was in the southern suburb of the city. It used to be a small vige as well, but waster incorporated into the city. This area was rather far from the city center and did not have much developmental advantage. The only aspect worth mentioning was thergest traditional medicine wholesale market in the province. After a bumpy bus ride, Gu Yu finally made it to the market. The sky remained dim and cloudy without any rain, not even a shower. It seemed that a heavy rain was brewing. He was a little concerned, for the weather forecast said a moderate rain would turn heavyter today. By the look of it, a heavy rain was to be expected. He involuntarily quickened his pace and walked into the medicine material trading center. The interior was simr to a farm produce market with stalls aligned closely to one another and bags filled with raw or semi-processed medicine materials piled up on the ground. The ce was neither empty nor packed, for the demand for the traditional medicines was not small and rtively stable. Gu Yu browsed through a few stalls and stopped at one of them. It was quite a big one, with a lot of bags, mainly dealing in herbal and floral materials. ¡°Any silver osmanthus?¡± ¡°Do you need dry flowers or powder?¡± ¡°Dry flowers.¡± The stall owner picked up a small sack with air-dried silver osmanthus in it. Gu Yu felt the flowers between his fingers and sniffed them, finding the fragrance rather pure and the flowers wless and intact. He then asked, ¡°How much for half a kilo?¡± [4] ¡°That one¡¯s 246. I also have some at 180 yuan.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have 200g of this kind, please.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± The stall owner could spot an expert right away and did not try any tricks. He measured out 200g of silver osmanthus flowers for Gu Yu immediately. Seeing that the materials here were of rather high quality, Gu Yu then also bought some borneol and mint. While the stall owner was busy with Gu Yu, his eyes suddenly flickered, for he recognized an acquaintance within the crowd. He then called out, ¡°Oi, Old Li, you are here again today?¡± ¡°I have to. I¡¯ve used up the stuff fromst time.¡± ¡°Have you figured it out, then?¡± ¡°Not yet. I¡¯ve even invited some experts over. They said because of the excessive rain this year, the bees were cranky. Hell, I¡¯ve been a beekeeper for twenty years and things have never been so frustrating.¡± The old man was in his fifties and had a distressed look. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to talk and left soon after that. Their conversation seemed to remind Gu Yu of something. He asked casually, ¡°What was that about, boss?¡± ¡°That old man is a beekeeper and his bees keeping out and stinging people these days. He then had to treat those people, which costed him quite a lot money, but the bees would still sting others. He heard that the traditional medicine might work for him, so he woulde around from time to time¡­¡± The owner was obviously a gossip type and gave out all he knew within no time. Gu Yu took the materials he bought and put them carefully into his backpack. There was a thoughtful expression on his face. [1] TL/N: Wukong as in the name of the Monkey King, Liu Nai as in ¡°flowing milk¡±. [2] TL/N: In order, they are: thunbergii,tifolius, aurantiacus, and semperflorens. [3] TL/N: Spontaneous or semi-official security management organizations aremonly found in residential areas in Chinese cities. They usually do not have uniforms and their members are mainly retired elderly people. The red armbands are used to differentiate those members from civilians. [4] ED/N: The Chinese buy and sell in jin, which is half a kilo, not in whole kilograms. Since we¡¯re using metric units, we¡¯re going to use kilograms, but stick to counting things per 500g for vor. Chapter 17 Chapter 17: Wudao River Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Gu Yu¡¯s backpack was made from waterproof cloth. Even so, he still added several protectiveyers so as to prevent the materials from getting wet. He left the market. After another bumpy trip back to the intercity bus stop, he got on the returning five-o¡¯clock bus. His seat was in thest row and there were only two empty ones left. Leaning on the window, he watched the city of Shengtian, which reminded him of an exhausted giant elephant, outside the window. The bus slowly pulled out of the station. Gu Yu blinked and suddenly found a few drops of water on the ss. The heavy rain that had been brewing all day finally arrived when he was leaving the city. The weather forecast was pretty urate. As the bus drove away from the downtown area, thunder was rumbling overhead and the rain was getting heavier. When they reached the entrance of the expressway, the outside was misty because of the downpour and everything turned into a blur. ¡°Ssh!¡± ¡°Crackle!¡± Gu Yu listened to the raindrops knocking against the window and couldn¡¯t help but feel worried. The rest of the passengers also stopped talking, reducing their conversations to asional whispers only. ¡°Ding!¡± His cell phone beeped at an iing message, which was a greeting from Jiang Xiaozhai. ¡°Got on the bus yet?¡± ¡°Leaving Shengtian now. Are you off work?¡± ¡°About to leave the building.¡± ¡°Overground traffic should be quite busy now. It¡¯s better to take the subway.¡± ¡°Not just yet. I¡¯m going to the park first.¡± ¡°What for?¡± He was curious. ¡°To pick flowers, of course. That aunt can¡¯t be still there waiting for me.¡± ¡®Er¡­¡¯ Gu Yu was speechless and could not think of a line to reply. Another message came in right after that. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s such a temptingly wretched act, sneaking around and picking flowers in this heavy rain?¡± ¡®Do I¡­¡¯ He was now admiring her from the bottom of his heart and typed on his phone, ¡°Big Sis, you are something!¡± Nothing happened for a while and Xiaozhai sent him a photo about ten minutester. It was featuring a branch of monthly osmanthus with yellowish to light-white flowers, dripping with water. The hand holding the branch was slender with well-proportioned muscles. It was graceful, yet still possessed certain strength. That hand brought a sense of surprise, admiration and flutter to his heart, which he managed to hold back as he replied in a yful tone, ¡°Very pretty. You¡¯ll have a bad influence on the kids, though.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll donate a sapling to the park then, as my repentance.¡± ¡°Count me in and make that two.¡± ¡°Forget it. I¡¯ll be responsible for my own act. Hey, don¡¯t you think what you said was¡­¡± ¡°Such a cliche!¡± ¡°¡­such a cliche!¡± Gu Yu pursed his lips and hit the ¡°send¡± button. Those three words appeared on both screens at the same time. Following that, he got a yellow smiling emoji from Xiaozhai. They went on chatting like this and Xiaozhai would reply intermittently at various intervals. He looked out of the window from time to time and could barely make out the condition of the road outside. It would take the bus four hours to reach Bai Town at its usual speed, but the rain was slowing them down. It had been two hours since they left Shengtian and they weren¡¯t even halfway through the journey. Before anyone knew it, the bus had left the expressway and turned onto a vige road, crisscrossing among viges and towns. Another ten minutes passed and the conductor called out, ¡°We¡¯re at Wudao River now. Anybody getting off?¡± [1] ¡°Me!¡± An old man stood up, holding a sack in his hand. He was no stranger, being none other than the beekeeper Gu Yu saw in the medicine material market. Wudao River was the name of the town under the jurisdiction of another county. It was not very far from Bai Town, only about 35-40 km away. After the old man got off, the bus drove on and soon entered a mountainous region. The sun had long set and the darkness outside was threatening to devour everything. The only dim light came from the vehicle¡¯s swaying headlights. Xiaozhai was busy with her own stuff and Gu Yu had been leaning back in his seat, feeling a bit drowsy. He was drifting off when the bus stopped abruptly with a creaking sound. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°A traffic jam, I guess?¡± ¡°Well, better not be an ident.¡± As the passengers babbled on, the bus driver got off to take a look. He ran back andined angrily. ¡°Sh*t! The road in front is blocked. I don¡¯t know what happened there.¡± Speak of the devil. Incessantints immediately broke out among the passengers. Nothing they said would change the situation though. The crowd waited for a few minutes and there was a knock at the door. A policeman in a raincoat got on the bus and gestured for the passengers to quiet down. ¡°Please be quiet. Andslide has taken ce ahead and the road has been blocked. This section of the road is very dangerous at the moment. Due to the possibility of anotherndslide urring, we are now requesting all vehicles to turn back to avoid potential casualties.¡± As soon as these words left his mouth, the passengers went into a frenzy. ¡°We¡¯re almost there and have to turn back now?¡± ¡°Exactly! It¡¯ll be midnight when we reach Shengtian. Where are we supposed to stay for the night?¡± ¡°D*mn it! What a rotten day!¡± The policeman was rather patient and did not lose his temper at all. He went on, persuading the crowd. ¡°Ipletely understand how you must feel right now, but it is for everyone¡¯s safety. It¡¯s better to have a rough day then getting hurt or killed, right? Plus, the road is blocked off. No one can make it through.¡± Everyone knew what was going on pretty well. They just had a hard time epting it. After some further nagging and gabbing, the policeman got off and moved on to the next vehicle. The driver had had enough and smacked his coat hard. ¡°Enough with the ranting! Do you want to spend the night in the mountains or what?¡± The crowd lowered their voices at his words. Before long, the police started to direct the traffic and instruct the vehicles to turn around. The bus drove after an SUV, which seemed to be venting bitterness through its exhaust pipe. Gu Yu was extremely frustrated himself and was wondering where he could spend the night. Shengtian was an expensive city. Even small inns there would cost him around a hundred yuan per night. Should he spend the night in an inte cafe? As these random thoughts went through his head, he suddenly noticed an inhabited area ahead where sparse lights could be seen. He paused for a few seconds and asked, ¡°Excuse me, is there any motel in Wudao River?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve lived there before,¡± the driver sounded quite confident. ¡°Please let me off there, then.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going back to Shengtian?¡± ¡°That¡¯s too far. I¡¯ll make do here for the night.¡± ¡°That could work. It¡¯s closer to Bai Town from there.¡± The driver was quite earnest and stopped the bus by the road after giving him some instructions. Gu Yu jumped out. As soon as he opened his umbre, raindrops started smashing against it like spluttering firecrackers. ¡®Gosh!¡¯ He put the backpack in his arms and held the umbre with one hand, then ran toward the town center. Wudao River was such a small ce that it had only two streets, crossing each other perpendicrly in the middle. Most shops were closed and only a few restaurants were still open. The driver remembered it correctly and Gu Yu indeed found a motel following his instructions. Pushing the door open, the counter was right in front of him with a nk bed behind it. A middle-aged woman was slouching on the bed, watching TV with a bored expression. ¡°Any empty rooms?¡± ¡°One person?¡± The woman nced at him. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°We have 40-yuan rooms and 60-yuan rooms. Which do you want?¡± ¡°May I have a look first?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The woman picked up some keys and went straight upstairs. Her attitude was somewhat austere, causing Gu Yu to twitch his mouth as he followed her into a room. It was incredibly small, with two nk beds, a shabby and outdated television, and no bathroom. ¡°This one¡¯s 40 yuan per night. The toilet is in the hallway. Do you want to see the 60-yuan room?¡± Asked the woman. He felt the bedding and found it quite dry, then replied, ¡°No, thanks. I¡¯ll take this room.¡± ¡°The deposit is 100 yuan. Come downstairs to check in.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± After finishing all that, Gu Yu returned to the room and locked the door. He checked the medicines, which were kept dry, first. Hey down on the bed and flipped through the TV channels halfheartedly. He was going to tell Xiaozhai about his rotten experience tonight, but held himself back on a second thought, feeling the two of them not intimate enough for that. The reason he got off at Wudao River, was partially to avoid running to and fro between the cities, but was also because of the incident he heard about earlier today, which had aroused his curiosity. [1] ED/N: I was surprised myself; I corrected to ¡°driver¡±, but having second thoughts, I put the raws into a dictionary and it actually spat out ¡°ticker seller¡±¡­ apparently it¡¯s not a driver but another person onboard. The trantor used the word conductor, but in the British English meaning, hence I changed it to a simr word (we¡¯re all using American English). TL/N: Before buses were equipped with self-service ticket machines, Chinese buses all had one (sometimes two, if the bus was a two-carriage one) ÊÛƱԱ on board and somehow in the English textbooks they were usually called ¡°conductors¡± instead of ticket-sellers. I guess it was to indicate that they did more than just selling tickets (e.g. instructing passengers to be aware of pick-pockets and give seats to the elderly and pregnant women)? They are lessmonly seen in the cities now, but long-distance buses between small towns still have them. Chapter 18 Chapter 18: The Old Man Li Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°The project is ready atst. I¡¯m bringing it to the boss tomorrow.¡± ¡°Is your boss a man or a woman?¡± ¡°A young madam, of course. Hey, doesn¡¯t that expression make a girl sound gentle and beautiful?¡± ¡°Yeah, losing the ¡®young¡¯ totally changes the effect though. A ¡®madam¡¯ is someone running escort services.¡± ¡°Haha! The same goes for ¡®elder brother¡¯, which sounds considerate and with good manner, whereas a ¡®bro¡¯ is someone who delivers your take out.¡± ¡°¡®Little sister¡¯ sounds so cute and clever, but ¡®sis¡¯ is the girl giving you a foot massage.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so right¡­ Hey, what about ¡®little brother¡¯?¡± It was the nickname for the male member! Obviously, Gu Yu could not point that out. He went speechless for two seconds, unable to think of a response for that intentionally inappropriate question and chose to change the subject. ¡°You work for so many hours everyday, no wonder youck energy all the time. If nothing else, you should at least have enough sleep.¡± ¡°Sleeping is a luxury to me. By the way, I¡¯ve just burnt a Wake-up Incense stick and am now resurrected with full HP. It¡¯s like I¡¯ve got a plug-in on.¡± [1] ¡°Well, sounds great. I¡¯m d they work for you.¡± ¡°The smoke was really pretty as well, too bad I forgot to take a picture. I¡¯ll show you an image of the ashester. The texture was amazing.¡± ¡°Great, I haven¡¯t even seen it myself yet.¡± Their conversation stopped there and Gu Yu did not get a reply after that. Jiang Xiaozhai probably had errands to run again. She was a standard urban female¡ªfashionable, cheerful, fast-paced and with a positive attitude from head to toe. Gu Yu, on the other hand, was a much iner person. Other than the habit of hiding his excitement, he was almost a stark contrast to Xiaozhai. It actually surprised him that the two of them had gotten along so well, which proved that on some deeper level, their characteristics must have had something in tune with each other. He put down his cell phone and sat there in boredom. ¡®Ah, so bored.¡¯ The television did not have a set-top box [TL/N: i.e. no cable]. Only three to five local channels had programs and the rest were nothing but white specks. asional coughing or footsteps could be heard in the hallway, probably belonging to other tenants here. It was pitch dark outside the window. Apart from dim streetlights and shadows of the passersby, Gu Yu couldn¡¯t make out anything else on the street. The town of Wudao River was as remote and deserted as its name suggested. [2] After a few minutes, Gu Yu was so bored that he simply adjusted his mood and sat down in a proper position. He cleared his head and calmed himself down, resolving to assume a tranquil state of mind. As soon as he started meditating, he found the spiritual essence around him cluttered and wild, as if unruly musical notes were ying by themselves in a frenzy. ¡°¡­¡± The spiritual essence on Phoenix Mountain was rtively mild and wasn¡¯t even close to the savage kind here. Not prepared for the situation, Gu Yu almost dropped out of his void state of mind in the moment he felt it. Fortunately, he had a stable temperament and was able to slowly calm himself down. Yet after he sensed the essence more carefully, something felt different. Within its restlessness, he thought he could hear a weird sound. Something was making a gurgling and rustling noise. It sounded both far away and very close. One moment it was barely audible and the next moment it was clear and distinct again, resembling the movement of tidal waves. ¡°Um¡­¡± Gu Yu was finally distracted and lost his calmness. He opened his eyes abruptly, feeling both irritated and helpless, with an impulse to scratch the wall, ¡®Who can tell me what the hell is going on here? Spiritual essence existed in this world. Fine, I¡¯ve epted that idea. Why was it in such an agitated and bestial manner, then? Am I on the track of apocalyptic mutation, where I would upgrade through sleeping with other people¡¯s girlfriends, collecting sex ves, building my own harem and gaining enlightenment walking the path of Sawagoe Tomaru? [3] Please, my kidneys would fail within no time!¡¯ He scratched his head and soon gave up on giving vent to the sarcasm filling his thoughts. He took another look at his phone. There was still no message from Xiaozhai. It was just past nine o¡¯clock, which was not toote of an hour. After a brief moment of utter frustration, he finally decided to go out and find something to eat. He only had some bread and a soft drink before getting on the bus and they did nothing to fill his stomach. Hunger set Gu Yu on the move, and he went downstairs immediately. The woman was still watching TV and asked in passing, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Having dinner. When do you close up?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± the woman replied. It meant there would be someone at the counter around the clock. She probably slept on that nk bed every night, which was a tough way to live. Gu Yu held up his umbre and walked out. He tried to figure out which way was which, then walked towards the direction with the most lights on. The streets were filled with small puddles. He jumped around them and reached a restaurant. Inside sat another customer, who was none other than the beekeeper, Old Li. Three times in one day, that was one hell of a coincidence. ¡°Hi there, what can I get for you?¡± The restaurant belonged to a middle-aged couple. Gu Yu browsed through the menu and made his order. ¡°Rice served with shredded pork and green pepper, please.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve ran out of green pepper.¡± ¡°Rice served with eggnt, then.¡± ¡°No eggnt either.¡± He went speechless and lifted his eyes. ¡°What do you have, then?¡± ¡°Only some fried pancakes left.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have that.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± With that, pans and spoons nked and ttered in the kitchen, apanied by the rushing sound of stir-frying. Within a few minutes, a te of tasty fried meat with shredded pancake was on the table. He asked for a ss of water and ate his food while sizing the old beekeeper up. Old Li was not that old, but had a withered look to his face, which was shrivelled from all those wrinkles. He was a swarthy man and was wearing very old clothes and muddy-colored rubber shoes. The dishes on his table did not look very appealing¡ªnothing but a ss of liquor, a te of peanuts and a te of dried bean curd. The old man was quite familiar with the shop owners. After serving Gu Yu, the three of them resumed their chitchat. ¡°As I was saying, it was just too weird. As wild as the bees are, they can¡¯t fly around stinging people all day long. Stinging someone who was messing with their beehives is one thing and such people deserve it, but they would even go after random people walking on the street. D*mn!¡± The old man was obviously in a bad mood. He nagged on foul-mouthed and gulped down some more liquor. The owner tried to soothe him. ¡°Don¡¯t be angry. Didn¡¯t the experts say it was raining too much and there were a lot of cloudy days this year¡­?¡± ¡°Experts my ass. I know better than they do.¡± ¡°See, there¡¯s that temper of yours again.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu listened to their conversation and was bing all the more curious. Apparently, creatures on Phoenix Mountain were getting weirder everyday. The same thing was happening to Wudao River, which was 35 km away, and the situation here seemed even worse. He wanted to have a look himself, but needed an excuse. He then chimed in, ¡°Uncle, are you a beekeeper?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The old man was still nursing his grievance and paused at his question. ¡°Do you have any honey left? I want to buy some raw honey.¡± ¡°Do you live in town? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen you around before,¡± the old man asked. ¡°I¡¯m from Bai Town. I¡¯m here to run some errands.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I still have some left. If you really want to buy, I¡¯ll sell you at 15 yuan a kilo.¡± ¡°Um, is it ok if I take a look first?¡± ¡°You people from the city always have questions. My honey is the purest. Other people collect honey daily, but I collect once a week. It¡¯s the best!¡± Despite his chattering, the old man did not refuse Gu Yu. ¡°It¡¯s toote today. Come tomorrow. I eat breakfast here everyday, we¡¯ll meet up here.¡± ¡°Great. Sorry for the trouble,¡± Gu Yu smiled. Before Gu Yu realized it, he had stayed in the restaurant for quite some time and had long finished his fried pancake. After deciding on his ns for the next morning, he stood up and was ready to leave. The old man stood up with him and mumbled, ¡°Ok, that¡¯s enough liquor for tonight, or I won¡¯t make it back.¡± By the look of it, he was already tipsy with an unsteady gait. The two paid their bills and walked out, the old man ahead of Gu Yu. While pushing the door open, the old man lost his bnce and stumbled. Gu Yu hurried to his side and steadied him. ¡°Uncle, are you ok?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. Can¡¯t drink as much as I used to, that¡¯s all.¡± The old man waved him off and smacked the door open. The light outside the restaurant was on, which dispelled the darkness of the rainy night in a small area. Old Li was standing at the edge where the light met the shadow. His rough face was covered by a half-lit and half-obscured effect, as if wearing a bizarre mask. Right at that moment, Old Li suddenly twisted his neck in such a way that it seemed his bones werepletely shattered and his flesh was turned 180 degree around. A grin emerged on his face as he made a creepy smile at Gu Yu. ¡°Young man, the streets are slippery on rainy days. Be aware of where you¡¯re going!¡± [1] ED/N: Plug-in as in like one in an inte browser etc. As for HP, I¡¯m exining for that 1 person in 1000 readers who has question marks floating around their face now, it means Hit Points or Health Points and refers to health of a character/yer in a game. [2] TL/N: Wudaohe Town = ¡°Five Rivers¡± Town [3] ED/N: A character from a Japanese series of games and anime, of which the most notable would likely be School Days. Yep, yandere harem one, or so I¡¯ve heard since I dropped it after 2-3 eps, bored. As for thest sentence, it¡¯s likely a much broader reference. Chapter 19 Chapter 19: Haunted Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Hiss!¡± Seeing that face, Gu Yu felt a chill creeping up his spine, cracking all the way to the back of his head. Instinct told him to run away at once, but before he had time to react, the old man¡¯s face changed back, bing swarthy, old and in again. ¡°¡­¡± He froze on the spot, not sure whether he had been seeing things, or the dim light had obscured his vision. ¡°Cough¡­ cough!¡± The old man coughed in his husky voice, which sounded as normal as any human being¡¯s. He then said, ¡°Young man, I¡¯m going home now. Remember to meet me here tomorrow!¡± With that, he wandered off in his drunk and swaying gait. ¡°Ssh!¡± The rain hadn¡¯t stopped, but was not as heavy now. Gu Yu watched the stooping figure disappear into the darkness, forgetting to hold up the umbre in his hand. He then suddenly came to himself and immediately left that ce. Not a single soul was on the street apart from himself. He ran all the way back to the motel along the half-lit road. By the time he got back, he was almost soaking wet. The female owner was still in front of the television. Seeing he was back, she only gave him a nce. Gu Yu, on the other hand, was feeling much reassured now, as if the existence of living people in this little motel had made it the safest ce on earth. He was about to go upstairs when he paused and asked, ¡°Sister, may I ask you about something?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Do you know the beekeeper, Old Li?¡± ¡°Yeah, what about him?¡± The woman was still speaking in that rigid tone. ¡°He, he¡­¡± Gu Yu hesitated and did not know how to proceed. The woman suddenly went on, ¡°He died a few days ago. What about him?¡± ¡°Dead?¡± He shuddered. ¡°That¡¯s right, he even had a funeral,¡± she was very certain. ¡°¡­¡± Almost in an instant, Gu Yu felt his throat hurt with a burning sensation. An indescribable pressure emerged from somewhere at the same time, pressing against his chest. He let out a few shallow breaths and dared not think further. The only thing he could say was, ¡°Sister, could you get me a ride now? Any vehicle will do. I need to go back to Bai Town.¡± ¡°Now?¡± The woman asked incredulously. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Now!¡± ¡°At this hour of the night? There¡¯s no car¡­¡± ¡°Is 400 yuan enough?¡± He took out all his cash and smacked a wad of bills on the counter. The woman hesitated at the sight of the money and said reluctantly, ¡°I¡¯ll try. You go pack your stuff first.¡± ¡°Great. Please hurry up!¡± After those words, he stomped up the stairs and returned to his room, packing his backpack in a flurry. The quiet and gloomy room looked the same as before. The window ss was still blurry. A motorbike drove past the motel outside, its headlight shing briefly across the window before it was gone. As the engine¡¯s sound faded away, the room felt darker than ever. ¡®The woman said he was dead, then what did I see back there? Who did I see this afternoon? Even if he was a ghost, how could he walk around in broad daylight? Wait, that¡¯s not important. I need to leave here first!¡¯ He wrapped up the medicine materials withyers of packages as various ideas wandered through his mind. Just as he finished packing, slow and heavy footsteps came from the silent hallway, as if someone was stamping on wooden boards. Moreover, each time the foot was lifted or set down, it gave off a sticky and strenuous sound. ¡°nk!¡± Gu Yu turned around abruptly. As the sound closed in, he could smell something weird in the air. He had always had a sensitive nose, which was now only making his fear worse. The reason being, he could detect a stench of rotten flesh from that smell in the air. He was puffing and panting now. His heart was thumping wildly as he fluttered around but failed to find anything that could be used as a weapon. There wasn¡¯t even a chair in the room. ¡°Bang! Bang!¡± Just then, the footsteps stopped outside his door and a husky voice said with aughter, ¡°Young man, didn¡¯t you want to see my honey? Why are you leaving now?¡± ¡°What, what on earth are you?¡± Normal people would have fainted in terror by now. Gu Yu managed to maintain hisposure and slided the window open quietly as he asked the question. ¡°I¡¯m Old Li. We saw each other in the restaurant just then.¡± ¡°I heard you had somethinging up and was leaving in a hurry, so I¡¯ve brought you the honey. My honey is excellent. The others collect theirs every day, but I only do so once a week. My bees are of very good species as well¡­¡± The thing was talking in an unhurried tone, as if the person inside were already a prey in its grasp. Gu Yu made no response, only moving slowly towards the window. ¡°Young man, why don¡¯t youe out here¡­ fine¡­ since you¡¯re not opening up, I¡¯ll bring the honey to you.¡± The words were hardly out of its mouth when a sticky liquid started gurgling in from the crack under the door. It was a mixture of red, white, and yellow substances, which had an intense stench. ¡°Retch!¡± Gu Yu felt his stomach churning and covered his mouth hastily. What he was witnessing reminded him of a man being tossed into a meat grinder, his bones, minced flesh, and internal organs flowing out all at once mixed with blood. If he had fantasized about confronting the thing before, this scene waspletely beyond hisprehension. He stepped onto the table right away and, with another stride, he was by the window. The motel was a two-story building, which was neither too tall nor too low. He took a glimpse outside but could not distinguish between the puddles and the solid ground. However, there was no time to think it through. He swung himself out of the window and jumped down. He bent his legs slightly and leaned his body forward. As he was hitting the ground, he used the momentum and rolled over, then stood up at once. Conversations from a TV program could still be heard from the ground floor. He did not stop to talk to the female owner, but ran towards the main street without turning his head around. ¡°Anybody there? Anyone? Anyone at all?¡± Gu Yu shouted at the top of his voice, which sounded incredibly loud in the dark night. A few lights were still lit along the street, but no one seemed to be inside. Everything was dead silent. After running for a little while, he found that restaurant ahead of him on the left. He quickened his steps, feeling a bit hopeful now. When he got to the door, Gu Yu turned his head in a hurry to look inside. Through the stic door curtain, he could see the owner couple sit side by side behind the count, beckoning at him in a unified rhythm. The corners of their mouths had split open, forming the same creepy smile the old man had shown. ¡°Ah!¡± His heart almost stopped at this sight and he was instantly drained of all his strength. He almost copsed to the ground and stumbled backwards. He could not stand it anymore as he cried out. If he guessed it right, he was the only living person in this town¡­ Gu Yu was utterly confused. What the hell was going on?! Wudao River had turned into a ghost town for no reason and was haunting him alone? Had he chosen to go back to Shengtian, probably none of these would have happened. What should he do now? He could not fight back and had no way to escape. He was cornered. In that instant, emotions like regret, fluster, confusion, and even anger filled his mind, but he had not once considered giving up. Gu Yu did not know his way around here, so he chose to run along the street. He did not let his guard down for even a second, for he had a distinctive feeling that the rotten stench was following him at an unhurried pace. Together with it was that huskyughter. ¡°Hehe, young man, you run really fast. I¡¯m an old man and my legs don¡¯t work that well. Have some pity on me¡­ or not. My home is right ahead. I have plenty of good honey there¡­¡± The voice spoke as if it was teasing a rat, full of chilly and dark enjoyment. With those words, Gu Yu felt the street narrowing down and the buildings on either side vanished all of a sudden. Dark shadows appeared in the front, which was a number of rolling hills. ¡°Ssh!¡± It was still raining. He felt colder than ever and his legs were getting heavier. Gu Yu was rattled and finally fell to the ground with a thump. ¡°Shit! The hell with it!¡± After falling down, Gu Yu was not despairing¡ªa sense of aggressiveness was forced out of him instead. He smacked the ground hard and stood up at once. Looking around, he found himself on a muddy dirty road extending all the way from the east. On the west side were the low hills, heavily vegetated with dark woods. The branches rustled and swayed in the rain, reminding one of a mountain swarming with ghosts and monsters. ¡°I need to find, find something¡­¡± Gu Yu was very anxious, but the anxiety had only made him calmer. The ce was so dark that he took out his cell phone, trying to use the light to find some weapon. He identally nced at the screen and paused. A tiny green sign was beaming on the top of it, reminding him of an unread message. ¡®Huh?¡¯ He suddenly felt all this extremely ridiculous, for the appearance of this green sign did not make sense at all. Holding back his fear and ignoring that voice, he opened the message and found out it was from Xiaozhai. The content was empty, though. Above it was the chat log from before. The time he received that message was disyed as 9:20 pm and it was 11 o¡¯clock now. ¡®Wait a minute!¡¯ Gu Yu¡¯s eyes flickered as numerous thoughts flew across his mind, being quickly formed into shape and sorted out. After he¡¯d finished chatting with Xiaozhai, he happened to check the time, which was 9:05 pm at that time. He then started meditation, sensing the agitated spiritual essence and hearing the weird tidal sound. Later he was hungry for no reason and went out to the restaurant, where he met Old Li. About 15 minutes passed from the end of their chat to his meditation. That was to say, when his meditation started, Xiaozhai¡¯s message arrived almost at the same time¡­ However, why didn¡¯t he hear it then and only noticed it now? Why didn¡¯t it have any content? He analyzed it quickly and realized something. The truth was almost there. ¡°Hehe, why did you stop running? That¡¯s right, we¡¯re here at my house. I¡¯ll treat you well. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll be good honey yourself.¡± The voice went on as it got closer, soon at his face. ¡°Retch!¡± Gu Yu pursed his lips and almost threw up again. The thing in front of him was nothing close to a human being. It looked like an almost-burnt-up candle, resembling a product of wicks, wax and oil being grinded to a mush then coagted together. It did not have a mouth, but was enunciating every word: ¡°Brat, you¡­¡± Gu Yu interrupted before it finished sentence, ¡°I know what you are.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± That thing used a different tone for the first time, seemingly surprised. ¡°You¡¯re neither Old Li, nor a ghost. This is not a hill and not your home, either. I¡¯m still in Wudao River, which has not turned into a ghost town. Everything here¡­¡± All those unreasonable things could be exined now. His eyes were bright and clear now and the fear was gone. He smiled, ¡°None of these is real.¡± ¡°Boom!¡± With that, the space around him contorted and gradually blurred, eventually fading away. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu opened his eyes and found himself still in the quiet little room with the dim light. It was wet and windy outside. Raindrops were crackling against the ss, the TV was off and his cell phone was blinking with iing messages on the bed. ¡°Phew¡­¡± He let out a long breath. Cold sweat had covered his forehead. Chapter 20 Chapter 20: A Discovery Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Ssh!¡± The downpour outside did not show any sign of stopping anytime soon, but seemed to have washed away the illusionpletely. Gu Yu¡¯s mind had calmed down, but his body was still not working properly. It was twitching slightly from the hypertension he experienced earlier and it took a while to slowly suppress that motion. He picked up his phone and opened the chat box, which had an actual content this time. It was a photo from Xiaozhai. A bronze te in the shape of plum blossom was scattered with fine silver incense ashes, as if a thinyer of snow had fallen on it. It looked incredibly beautiful. The message was sent at 9:20 and it was 9:30 now, which was to say, for all those weird things he went through, only 10 minutes passed in reality. ¡°As if a lifetime had passed¡± was such a cliche expression, but it also was exactly what Gu Yu was feeling right now. Gu Yu was not in the mood for chatting. He replied with some pleasantries and sat back onto the bed, trying tob through the incident. Judging by the time, he was dragged into a vision-like world either when he started meditating or when he heard the tidal sound. Xiaozhai sent the message almost at the same time, which created a loophole in the vision. From then on, everything that happened to him, from feeling hungry, going out for dinner and meeting Old Li who turned into a monster to running for his life etc., was all false. It wasn¡¯t until he noticed the loophole, which was the iing message, that his fear subsided and the illusion was broken. ¡°Cluck!¡± He smacked his lips and found this thing notplicated indeed. A mere message was enough to infiltrate that strange world and make the person trapped inside aware of it. Aside from giving children nightmares, he really couldn¡¯t think of anything else it could achieve. Well, that was only some unting afterthought after a narrow escape. He knew very well that if he failed to notice the abnormality in time and was taken out by that rotten mush, he would very likely be dead by now. As for the reason behind that vision, it was quite obvious. It must have had something to do with the agitated spiritual essence and the aggressive bees. Therefore, he still had to find Old Li¡­ ¡°Yuck!¡± The idea of seeing the old man gave him a shudder and his body immediately felt stiff again. He couldn¡¯t help it! That was so gross! Ever since Gu Yu made friends with that big squirrel, the way he thought about things was bing more ¡°unscientific¡± each day. However, that seemingly wild guess of his was actually not far from the truth. [1] He sat for a bit longer and finally realized he was soaked in sweat, so he took out his toiletries and walked out. The hallway was rather dimly-lit and the walls were all worn out. The sound of TV and people talking could be heard in other rooms from time to time. Both the washroom and the toilet were at the end of the hallway. He went to the toilet first and then entered the washroom. Another man was already inside, having no shirt on and wearing boxers only. He was humming as he shaved. He looked at the sweaty Gu Yu and,paring thetter¡¯s appearance with his own ¡°dress code¡±, could not refrain from asking, ¡°Mate, do you feel warm?¡± ¡°Yeah, the rain made it a bit stuffy.¡± ¡°Take your shirt off, then. It¡¯s much cooler this way!¡± The guy patted his chest and swiped his face, then left the room humming. Immediately after that, a woman¡¯s voice wasining in some room, ¡°Why did it take you so long to shave? Did you drop dead there?¡± ¡°I was trying to shave clean, or you¡¯llin it¡¯s prickly¡­e here!¡± ¡°Aiya! Lock the door first!¡± [2] ¡°Ha¡­¡± Gu Yu chuckled. For the first time in his life, he found humanity so warm and reassuring. After cleaning himself up, he hanged up his vest to let it dry andy down on the bed, but could not fall asleep even after tumbling around for a long while. He decided to take out his phone and typed a few words, ¡°Asleep yet?¡± ¡°Trying.¡± ¡°Well, I just want to say thank you, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you said once this morning?¡± ¡°That¡¯s different. Anyway, thank you.¡± ¡°Sigh. You know what? Guys who keep secrets are so gay.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± She sessfully choked him with a single sentence. He was speechless again. *** The following day, early morning. The weather turned out to be really nice. The sunlight was pleasant and the air was pure and fresh after the rain. Filthy water covered the ground, making it extremely muddy, but it could not stop the enthusiastic crowd. The only food market in the east side of the town was already packed with people at this early hour. The ce was bustling with activity. Gu Yu found this liveliness rather pleasant. He was going to find a ce to eat but could not find a breakfast shop after searching around. He then picked a stall in the market and sat in the open air. Four deep-fried dough sticks and arge bowl of watery tender bean curd with extra chili made him a very cheerful man, as if the ¡°salty party¡± had finally taken out all the heretics and the whole world had joined in the jubtion. [3] He returned to his motel after breakfast. The woman was eating from a bowl by the counter and asked him casually, ¡°Checking out today?¡± ¡°Yeah,ter.¡± Gu Yu paused there and asked, ¡°Sister, at what times do buses to Bai Towne?¡± ¡°There¡¯s one at 10:30, one at 14:00, and another er at night.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± He pursed his lips and was about to go upstairs. However, his legs would not move and he stopped there, as if struggling to say something. Seeing that he was not moving, the woman asked in surprise, ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± He struggled for a moment longer and finally asked, ¡°Do you know a beekeeper called Old Li? I want to buy some raw honey from him.¡± ¡°Sure. Follow the road directly to the west from here. There is a small house at the end of the road. He lives there.¡± ¡°All right. Thanks.¡± Gu Yu went upstairs after getting the address. He was not actively looking for trouble, but had learned some insights after the weird experiencest night¡ªcultivation was like sailing against the current, in which one would seek opportunities and fight against destiny. An idea could lead to many consequences, especially when life and death were involved. Based on the experiences from Phoenix Mountain, the spiritual essence would never be agitated like that for no reason. Maybe something was interfering with it. This trip to Wudao River could be the opportunity he was looking for. Twenty minutester. Gu Yu came downstairs with his backpack and checked out. He then turned directly west. The road was rather remote. He could see a few shops on roadside at first, but soon there was nothing but a deste stretch ofnd. On either side of the road were only some old brick and tile factories, which were enclosed by balustrades. They all seemed quiet and deserted. Gu Yu could not tell if there was anyone inside. After walking further west, the ground elevated, revealing a sparse grove. There was a small courtyard by the road and a man was handling beehives in the yard¡ªit was none other than Old Li. Seeing the surroundings, Gu Yu was even more convinced now. That vision was based on this ce and made some contortion for an exaggerated effect so as to terrify people. However, if that was the case, it seemed like he was led this way on purpose. For a moment there, he found the will of heaven very unfathomable. It took him quite a while to retrieve his thoughts and call out, ¡°Uncle!¡± ¡°Yes?¡± The old man raised his head and there was neither wax nor rotten flesh on it. He had the most in face there was. He asked, ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± ¡°I heard that you had excellent honey here and I want to buy some.¡± ¡°How much do you want?¡± ¡°May I have a look?¡± ¡°Come inside!¡± With that, Gu Yu entered the yard. The old man seemed to be in low spirits and led him slowly into a back room. Pointing at a jar of amber-colored honey, he said, ¡°That¡¯s all I have left, about one kilo.¡± He picked up the jar affectedly and examined it. ¡°Uncle, your business is going really well. With all those bees, you almost sold out all your honey.¡± ¡°Sold out? This kilo was the only thing I collected this week. The business is dying,¡± the old manined. ¡°How can that be? With so many bees?¡± He was fishing. ¡°They are useless. They either go out and sting people, or fly around in that grove¡­ To be honest, I¡¯ve raised bees for 20 years and have never seen things like this.¡± ¡®The grove?¡¯ Gu Yu was sensitive enough to catch the key word. ¡°What are they doing in the grove?¡± ¡°You got me. I went up there a few days ago to check but found nothing¡­ s, if they go on like this, I¡¯ll have no bees to keep at all!¡± The old man was so frustrated that he would pour out his grievances at every chance he got. Gu Yu felt pity for the old man. He wasn¡¯t nning to buy any honey before he came here, but now bought a jar instead. He then consoled the old man a bit and left the small courtyard after a while. He took a route where the old man could not see him and sneaked inside the grove from the other side. As soon as he entered, a swooshing sound erupted from somewhere, which was threatening to pierce through his brain like a sharp, fierce arrow. ¡°Oh!¡± Gu Yu immediately steadied himself and kept his mind alert, fighting back the harassment with all his effort. Fortunately, the piercing sound gradually weakened and turned into a rustling noise, which was exactly the tidal sound fromst night. It was more distinctive and intense than before, as if it was right beside him. The vision did not turn up this time. He tried to sense the direction and vaguely felt it came from the northeast. The grove was rather small and he could almost take it all in with one nce. He ploughed through the ground twice but found nothing. On his third round, something finally caught his eye. He hurried up and crouched down. After pushing aside some weeds and rubble, a white crystal in the shape of a fishbone revealed itself. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Gu Yu picked it up without any difficulty and watched it closely. He couldn¡¯t help but smile, ¡°You are behind all this, aren¡¯t you?¡± [1] ED/N: I believe that the Chinese often say ¡°it is not rational!¡± when they see something that is contrary tomon sense (at least in novels with modern setting lol). The same phrase can also literally mean ¡°not scientific¡± (the one and only right trantion as far as any MTL is concerned), which trantes to the English ¡°unscientific¡±. Long story short, it¡¯s a wordy. [2] ED/N: Some of the readers may be familiar with it, it¡¯s a sort of exmation expressing wonder, shock or admiration. There are several simr phrases in Chinese (including aiyo or what often appears in trantions as ¡°ah¡± at the end of some sentences¨Cthere¡¯s actually no ¡°h¡± there, it¡¯s there so that those who don¡¯t know Chinese can pronounce it more or less correctly), Korean (aigo etc.) and Japanese (oya, ara, and others). [3] TL/N: Refers to a pretended hostility between those who think certain types of food are only ¡°proper¡± when sweetened and those who think the same food only ¡°proper¡± with a salty vor. The two groups are respectively called ¡°sweet party¡± and ¡°salty party¡±. Some typical ¡°controversial¡± food includes the watery tender bean, traditional Chinese rice-puddings (ôÕ×Ó) and glutinous rice balls (ÌÀÔ²). Chapter 21 Chapter 21: The Fishbone Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Past noon, a sunny day. On the mountain road from Wudao River to Bai Town, a bus was slowly advancing. Thendslide had been cleared up, but since the earlier bus was cancelled, many people had to board now, making it extra crowded. There were no empty seats avable by the time Gu Yu got on and he did not have an opportunity to sit down until the bus reached Sandao River. Yup, the towns along the bus route had some very straightforward names, from Yidao River and Erdao River all the way up to Wudao River, as if the person naming them could not be bothered to think of something better! [1] Shengtian was a big city built on a in, yet there were some mountainous regions around it, especially in the southeastern area. Setting off from Wudao River, Bai Town was the fourth town down the road¡ªfrom there, if one drove on to the mouth of Grass River, then went down 400 km until they reached the city of Dongyun, they would be travelling in the mountains all the way through. It was also the most prosperous tourist route in the province. After a night-long rainfall, the verdant mountains nking the road were washed clean and thriving with vitality. Gu Yu was admiring the view as he leaned on the window. However, without realizing it, he kept stroking that fishbone with his right hand. The object was about 10 cm long and 5 cm wide. It was silvery white in color and the material it was made of was neither stone nor jade¡ªGu Yu had no idea what it was. The reason he named it ¡°fishbone¡± was that its shape reminded him of an abstract form of fish¡ªit had a triangr tip, a forked middle part and a fan-shaped tail. Gu Yu found a string and hung it around his neck. In others¡¯ eyes, he was only wearing a weird ne. Because of his tight schedule, he did not have much time to brood over it. He only knew that the fishbone somehow gave him an intimate feeling¡ªnot physical, but more of a spiritual one. That was not funny! ¡®I almost died therest night, and you¡¯re acting all innocent now?¡¯ Putting his mocking remarks aside, he actually learned something from that experience. The life-threatening visionst night was a kind of a trial and if one managed to survive it, they would eventually find this thing. Judging by the reaction of people like Old Li, Gu Yu didn¡¯t think they were able to sense the energy. After stroking it for a while, Gu Yu put the fishbone back under his shirt and thought to himself, ¡®If everything goes as nned, the spiritual essence in Wudao River will gradually calm down and the bees act normally again. I should probablye and make sureter when I have time.¡¯ To be honest, although he had been expecting difficulties and obstacles ever since he started cultivating, this was the first time that something actually happened to him. It went without saying that the impact of the incident was significant, which had also brought about a subtle change in his mindset. In modern society, one would show consideration for others¡¯ feelings and leave room for their possible mistakes, for suchpromise was not life-threatening. The worst that could happen to one was losing a job, breaking up with a girlfriend, being unable to afford their own house, offending one¡¯s boss, being stuck up in the stock market etc¡­ Thus, expressions such as ¡°a matter of life and death¡± or e hell or high water¡± seemed way too irrelevant and distant. However, the cultivation world was a totally different story. The road was far, without an end in sight. Along this road, one had to pursue the truth and was often confronted with the cruelty of the choice between life and death. Worldly affairs seemed evanescent; one¡¯s life could be ended at any moment even if one lived up to a hundred years, turning into nothing but ashes and dusts. All effort might turn out to be futile in the end and the entire lifetime would be wasted for nothing. If one did not have enough tenacity in their pursuit of the truth, it would probably suit them better to be satisfied with small pleasures and live an ordinary life. Gu Yu might seem indifferent and aloof facing most things, but there was great stubbornness buried inside him. This trial turned out to be very effective¡ªin the sense that it had brought out this stubborn nature of his. *** It took the bus just over an hour to cover the 70-km-long road and arrive at Bai Town. After he got home, Gu Yu had a nice long sleep before anything else. He did not get up until dusk and found the rest very rxing and therapeutic. He had a simple dinner and started to process that 200 grams of silver osmanthus he¡¯d bought. The golden osmanthus had too sweet a fragrance, while the scent of the silver osmanthus was much fresher. For an elderly person like Granny Zeng, a shy scent would not be suitable. He took 150g of silver osmanthus first, ground it into fine powder and baked it slightly until it was dry. The powder was then set at the bottom of a doubleyered jar. A few pieces of dried ginger were put on top of the powder to get rid of the odors and intensify the fragrance. He then sealed off the porcin jar, which needed to be cered for three days before the incense powder inside would be up to standard. The remaining 50g was pounded into paste first before he added 25g of liquorice and three salted plums before pounding it again. The mixture would be squeezed into incense cakes the size of bottle caps, also to be cered in a sealed porcin jar. The incense cakes could be used to make tea or soups, especially thetter. Add an incense cake to boiling water and one would get Divine Smell Water, which would regte the flow of vital energy and nourish the lungs. The cakes were a gift for Xiaozhai, for the girl had a very stressful job and no time to exercise at all. Judging by her irregr routine, she was surely experiencing stagnation in the cirction of her vital energy and was straining her nerves. The Divine Smell Water would be perfect for her. To some extent, incense-making and traditional Chinese medicine had much inmon. Gu Yu did not consider himself an expert, but he still knew a thing or two about the basics. After he finished all the preparations, night had already set in outside. Gu Yu went out into the yard and locked the gate, which was very rare for him. He then returned to his room and locked that door again. The bedroom was unlit and he had drawn the curtains of the workroom closed, leaving only a dimmplight. He sat on a rush cusion and fretted over the fishbone in his hand. What should he do with it? ¡®Should I deliberately knock myself over the corner of a table or a chair to get my head bashed and bleeding? Alternatively, should I drop a ss for no obvious reason and have my hand cut by the shards? Oh,e on, these things require some serious maneuvers! You have to act all clumsy and absent-minded, but in fact be secretly overwhelmed by excitement. Be a scheming bi*ch and follow the script to a tee, only then will the treasure take in the blood and choose you as its master.¡¯ ¡°Tsk!¡± He shook his head while clucking his tongue and got rid of that idea right away. In that case, he was left with but one choice. Gu Yu hung the fishbone back on his neck, closed his eyes and began meditating again. His body was fading into nothingness as his sensation drifted away, leaving only a hint of consciousness. The spiritual essence was still floating and circting cidly in the air with the same familiarity as before. After a little while, an unusual fluctuation surged out of the fishbone and held itself slightly aloof from Gu Yu. It appeared to be probing and sizing Gu Yu up. Another moment passed before it finally confirmed its target and whooshed near, drilling directly into his brain. ¡°Zoom!¡± Gu Yu felt a shock go through his head, as if someone had knocked a great bell beside his ears. After the vibration stopped, a piece of information emerged in his mind. It was neither in the form of texts nor an image, but was a direct expression of its meaning. ¡°Yin and Yang are the fundamental Daos of heaven and earth, the order of all things, the origin of all changes, the starting point of life and death, and the dwelling of gods and deities. Hence, those pure and positive exit through upper orifices and those turbid and negative exit through lower orifices. Yang is in charge of the smells and Yin of the vors. vors rely on the body, the body relies on smells, smells rely on the vital essence, and the vital essence relies on transformations; the vital essence feeds on smells and smells feed on vors, while transformations create the vital essence and smells create bodies¡­ umte the vital essence and the goal is to open up the abstruse. Once the essence goes through all extra-meridians and after one has trained their body to perfection, one could be considered an immortal on earth. To train one¡¯s mind, one has to start from manipting physical phenomena and make sure their soul was held pure and intact. Once one achieves transformation in both the body and the soul, one will be free to fly among all the mountains in this world¡­ Excessive use of the ears will weaken the vitality, excessive talking will hurt the essence, excessive use of the eyes will exhaust the mind. Retrieve your eyes and introspect; turn your ears to listen to yourself; stop talking and save your vigor. Concentrate your mind on your Dantian and clear your head of all distracting thoughts, so that your mind would take in the vital essence, which fits the primordial state before you were born¡­ Elegant mountains stood tall and straight with tiers upon tiers of peaks, verdant and beautiful. The vitality filled heaven and earth. White cranes resided in the mountains and Blue Luan Birds stopped by the pavilions. Irises and orchids were giving off delicate scents. It was such an auspicious ce¡­¡± It felt like forever before he opened his eyes, which remained unfocused, as if he was still pondering over the message. The origin of that fishbone was unclear and its contents were full of clutter, without any logical order. It contained cultivation methods, personal insights, and even some baffling observations and travel notes. Judging from the ethereal scene it described, the ce did not appear to be of the mortal world. The impact of this message was more intense than that of the red fruit by a hundredfold. It was like a loud bang, which sted away all of Gu Yu¡¯s apprehension and confusion. A most splendid and colorful world had jumped right in front of him, into which he waspletely absorbed and unable to extricate from. ¡°Woof!¡± ¡°Arf! Arf!¡± Faint barking sounds of neighboring dogs echoed outside. It was past midnight, but Gu Yu remained wide awake. With great effort, he suppressed his increasing excitement and delight so that he couldb through the contents carefully and see which ones were of value to him. [1] TL/N: Sandao River actually means Three Rivers. As for the rest, they follow the same pattern, ¡°one river¡±, ¡°two rivers¡±, ¡°three rivers¡±, ¡°four rivers¡± and ¡°five rivers¡±. [2] TL/N: MC actually calls the item a ¡°big-tailed wolf¡±, which refers to a smug/self-righteous person. The ¡°big tail¡±part refers to their showiness. Chapter 22 Chapter 22: Consuming Six Natural Essences Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Spiritual essence was the foundation of all cultivation. Therefore, the first thing to do when one entered the cultivation world was to check whether or not their body could hold spiritual essence inside. ording to what Gu Yu found out through the fishbone, this first step was called ¡°awakening of the spirit¡± and was usually performed by a senior member, who would infuse a streak of spiritual essence into the entrant¡¯s forehead to identify their innate quality and train their mental force. Only those with wonderful innate quality could make the spiritual essence flow inside their bodies and hold it for a long time without it scattering. Simrly, only a tenacious spirit could maintain rity and tranquility of the mind, keeping the spiritual me from extinguishing. Only by fulfilling these two criteria would the spiritual essence gradually sink into one¡¯s Dantian and be concordant with one¡¯s body, leading to the sessful awakening of one¡¯s spirit. Those who failed to do so would either be drained of all their spiritual essence, or lose control of their mind. The former was somewhat bearable. Thetter, on the other hand, would cause dementia or destroy one¡¯s spirit and soulpletely, turning one into a vegetable. For any mortal man who wanted to join the cultivation world, the awakening of the spirit was the priority among priorities. If a senior member was present as a guardian, the process would be fairly safe. Those who actually had to brave the danger were the neers who had stumbled onto some treasure and recklessly decided that they would take things into their own hands¡ªthey were simply bringing disaster on themselves. ¡°Yikes!¡± Seeing this part of the information, Gu Yu gasped involuntarily as he feared for the possible dangerous situation he could have fallen into. He recalled the time when he swallowed the red fruit and the two sensations fought against each other. Luckily for him, he had a rtively tough state of mind, which helped to keep his consciousness intact. He had no idea what it meant back then. Now that he came to think of it, he had survived a most perilous trial. What hecked the most right now was the understanding of the cultivation system as a whole. Being introduced to the awakening of the spirit had given him some tantalizing glimpses of the cultivation world, but the amount of information was very limited and he was still ignorant of everything else. That was only a section of the information in the fishbone. The part that followed recorded the most valuable contents. He had been disgruntled with not having a cultivation method and the fishbone just happened to contain one¡ªthe method of consuming six natural essences. The so-called six natural essences came from the glory of dawn, the midday sunbeam, the cliffside spring where the sun set, the midnight mist, the ck sky, and the yellow earth. As it went in the poem, ¡°One would appease their hunger by consuming six natural essences and quench their thirst with the midnight mist. The midday sunbeam was what one rinsed their mouth with and the glory of dawn was to be held in one¡¯s mouth without swallowing. To keep one¡¯s spirit clear and pure, one had to take in the spiritual essence and get rid of all things filthy.¡± [1] In in words, this cultivation method was to temper one¡¯s physical body, mind, spirit and soul with the spiritual essence, whose density had peaks and troughs in the natural world. The pattern of this fluctuation was determined by seasons and the climate. One was to: consume the glory of dawn in spring, taking in the red and yellow essence at sunrise; consume the cliffside spring in autumn, taking in the red and yellow essence at sunset; consume the midnight mist in winter, taking in the essence of north at midnight; consume the midday sunbeam in summer, taking in the essence of south at noon. As for the essences of the ck sky and yellow earth, the fishbone only said, ¡°They are the origin of all essences and had not been seen for thousands of years.¡± ¡®If you say so¡­¡¯ Other than that, there was also a conjuring verse, which should allow one to create a vision like the one Gu Yu was dragged into. The instruction seemed rather profound and learning it required great concentration. He decided to put it aside for the time being. Even so, he was rejoicing and went all ecstatic like a kid with his mouth full of sweets. He could not wait to try out the method now. Gu Yu checked the time, which happened to be midnight. He quietly walked into the yard and sat down facing north. The so-called ¡°consuming midnight mist in winter¡± meant it would benefit one the most during the winter, not that one could cultivate it during winter only. He pushed out his chest slightly and breathed normally, keeping his body unbent and his mind undisturbed. His Baihui, Shanzhong, and Huiyin were aligned in his mind as he held his tongue lightly against his pte, his teeth touching his lips. Above him, the moon shone brightly in the sky. He focused on turning his mind and spirit inward, feeling his body as rxed as a cotton boll. [2] He silently activated the magical form and opened his mouth. As he made a swallowing motion, the spiritual essence wandering in the air changed for the first time. It turned into something reminding one of streaks of white threads, which slid down his throat and eventually gathered in his Dantian. Immediately after that, he breathed out slowly and then repeated that process. At some point, when he was taking in the spiritual essence again, Gu Yu suddenly shuddered. With that violent shaking, all his orifices were opening and closing. A melting sensation flew smoothly through Gu Yu and his mind was filled with an exceptionally pleasant feeling. The key to the method of consuming six natural essencesy in the motions of intake and release. The former was to take in the spiritual essence of heaven and earth so as to temper one¡¯s entire body from head to toe. The breath would then be released, and taken in again with another wave of spiritual essence. With time, one¡¯s mind, spirit and soul would all be enhanced and a solid cultivation foundation would be established. The night wasing to an end as the moon hung low in the western sky. Gu Yu had finally stopped cultivating. He sat meditating in silence for a moment before regaining hisposure. After opening his eyes, a ticklish sensation swept across all his body hair and orifices. He felt he had been in a trance and had sweated profusely. The joy he felt was beyond description. ¡°Uhh¡­¡± His lips twitched as he held back his voice with some difficulty. Had it not been a quiet night now, he would definitely shout out his excitement. He felt he was ying a puzzle game. Although he had only solved the entry level and had no idea of either what levels there would be further up thedder or what mighty magical or supernatural power was waiting for him, the fulfillment and satisfaction he was feeling now were absolutely unparalleled. Why did people choose to be cultivators? To show off, of course! Sorry, that was not the correct answer. Of course they did so to be immortal. Then what were they bing immortal for? Gu Yu¡¯s answer was to be free and explore the unknown. The decades-long life of mortal men had so many restrictions that one had no choice but to follow the rules and be a drop within the society. However, with an endless life and limitless power, one could naturally break these shackles to appreciate all the wonders of the world and do all things as one pleased. It was not until this moment that he had truly entered the cultivation world. That being said, Gu Yu was not someone aiming at overturning the world and making a saint out of himself. He found such goals too unrealistic and felt it suit him better to start from something more attainable. For instance, he could learn to identify a cross-dresser with but a glimpse, get a girl¡¯s bra without taking her clothes off, enter a world renowned for easy sex, make all his ultimate delusionse true, h h h¡­ Ok, those should be enough to be considered as contributions to mankind. *** The following morning. At the peak of Phoenix Mountain, Gu Yu was sitting on a limestone, facing the rising sun, its half still below the horizon. As he exhaled, a wisp of almost invisible, thin vapor was blown out. The vapor rolled about in the air for a long time without dispersing, as if it was a living creature. Gu Yu then opened his mouth again, swallowing it back. Repeating this procedure again and again, his vital energy and body functions would be enhanced and his mental faculties strengthened. By the time the sun had risen above the horizon, Gu Yu had also finished his exercise. He barely slept at all sincest night and hurried up here before the sun was up, for he had to start cultivating before the sun had risenpletely. However, after a whole night of excitement, he was rather frustrated and in low spirits right now. It was not because of anything else but the idea that had just urred to him, ¡®I have to consume the essence at sunrise, midday, sunset, and midnight! What the heck? Is this how cultivation is supposed to work? Whoever¡¯s up there must be taking me for a fool, right?¡¯ If he followed the instruction, he would have to spend the majority of his day cultivating instead of tending to his business. Come on! No business meant no money, and no money meant no bread on the table! ¡®I¡¯m merely a pedler. How am I supposed to live with that?¡¯ ¡°Oh my¡­¡± He walked down the peak sighing. Within no time he was off the Old Bull¡¯s Back and returned to his stall. Now he knew why out of the four essential conditions for cultivation¡ªmoney,panion, method, and location¡ªmoney was the first one to be named. He was barely setting off and had already be keenly aware of its importance. Of course, he could totally ignore the material well-being if he decided to forget about everything else and be a vagabond cultivator with no roof over his head and live in the wilderness. However, that obviously was not an option! Gu Yu shook his head and set up the stall with his nimble movements, then stewed the corn cobs in the pot with some water over a zing charcoal fire. Before long, a pleasant aroma wasing out of the pot. ¡°Coo, coo!¡± Brother Fatty arrived, as if attracted by the smell. It whizzed out of the woods and jumped onto Gu Yu¡¯s shoulder right away, rubbing its big tail all over Gu Yu¡¯s face. ¡°Aiya, aiya, your hair has split ends!¡± Gu Yuined and pulled it down to the ground, then casually fed it a few peanuts. It was only a day since theyst saw each other and Brother Fatty already seemed to miss him very much. It bounced up and down in excitement, trying to jump onto Gu Yu again, and he had to drag it down each time. Just as these two were struggling with each other, Gu Yu¡¯s cell phone rang all of a sudden. He took it out and noticed the call was from someone unexpected. It was Zeng Yuewei. [1] TL/N: Taken from ³þ´Ç, Chu Ci, or Verses of Chu. [2] TL/N: Baihui, the ¡°Hundred Convergences¡±, an acupuncture point located on the crown of the head. Shanzhong, the ¡°Chest Center¡± or ¡°Chest Altar¡±, located in the middle of the chest. Huiyin, the ¡°Meeting of Yin¡±, located in the center of the perineum. Chapter 23 Chapter 23: Zeng Yuewei Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Shengtian, New Century¡¯s headquarters. [1] New Century was one of the most remarkable chain zas in northeast China, expanding its business through allrge- and medium-sized cities in the four provinces. Its trustee was called He Zun, a business tycoon well-known in the whole nation. The He family was based in Shengtian, where its members were on familiar terms with people in both political and business circles. They were considered to be among those who had climbed to the top of the social hierarchy. It was a Friday afternoon. In a reception room on the 7th floor, Zeng Yuewei was waiting for someone, sitting on a sofa and fiddling with a coffee cup. She was without her usual elegance and sophistication, looking rather anxious instead. Ten minutester, she said to the buxom secretary again, ¡°Excuse me, but could you ask him to hurry up?¡± ¡°Mr He is in a meeting. He¡¯ll be here as soon as it¡¯s finished.¡± The secretary had a pretty smile and replied in the most polite tone. The only thought that came into Zeng Yuewei¡¯s head, though, was to ssh her with a bowl of water from the Ganges. ¡®What the hell? I saw you walking out of that office half an hour ago shaking your boobs all over the ce. Do you think I¡¯m blind or something?¡¯ She sipped the coffee indignantly and plonked the cup on the table. Just then, a voice came from outside, filled withughter. ¡°Why, who has pissed our Wei Wei off this time?¡± The voice was awfully greasy, which reminded one of a fat guy jumping out after 30 minutes spent in sauna and giving his body a good shake¡­ yuck! Just imagine that! Following the voice, a man in his thirties walked in. He was not bad-looking, but had a forbidding look to his eyes. He sat down in a swaggering manner. ¡°I¡¯ve told them before, I should be informed immediately whenever you¡¯re here no matter what I¡¯m doing at the moment. They just wouldn¡¯t follow my orders. Don¡¯t worry. Tell me who has given you the cold shoulder, I promise I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s totally fine. I¡¯ve only just arrived myself.¡± Despite the railing and cusses in her head, Zeng Yuewei put on a smile and said, ¡°Mr He¡­¡± ¡°Hey, call me Brother Tian!¡± ¡°Brother Tian¡­ I¡¯ve brought you the detailed n you asked forst time. Please take a look.¡± She took out a thick stack of paper and pushed it cautiously towards him. The man flipped through it carelessly and tossed it aside. ¡°Right, I¡¯ll look into itter.¡± Seeing that he could not even be bothered to exchange pleasantries, Zeng Yuewei bit her lips and kept trying. ¡°Brother Tian, this project will benefit us both. I hope we could both take it seriously and reach an agreement as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Of course, but this is a major case, I can¡¯t take the liberty to make the decision just like that.¡± The man still actedpletely unconcerned. Seeing that she was about to speak again, he pressed his hands together and stood up, moving next to her and dragging her into his arms. ¡°Wei Wei, you know how I feel about you. Why go through all the trouble? All you have to do is say yes and our deal is done.¡± ¡°Brother Tian, you¡¯re always making fun of me. We still don¡¯t know each other very well. You have to give me some time to think it over,¡± she squeezed out an answer. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll give you some more time. Remember, though, there is a limit to my patience.¡± The man patted her shoulder and added, ¡°I have a party in a few days. Why don¡¯t youe with me? As you said, we don¡¯t know each other well enough. Let¡¯s work on it, then.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zeng Yuewei¡®s pupils contracted, but she soon returned to her normal self and said, ¡°Ok, then.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the spirit! Put on something nice for the party. Don¡¯t make me look bad in front of everyone¡­ Well, I have other things to attend to. We¡¯ll see each other next time.¡± With that, he stood up and saw her off. Five minutester. Zeng Yuewei went downstairs and returned to her car. She did not switch on the engine, but only sat there in silence. After quite a while, she pounded violently at the steering wheel, making loud banging sounds. She was defeated in thest battle against her younger brother and Zeng Shufei ended up being promoted to director. Despite her title, deputy director, the real power each of them possessed was poles apart. That man just now was He Tian, the sessor of New Century. The He family was constructing a new za in the southern suburbs and needed arge quantity of building and decorative materials. She took the initiative to take charge, regarding it a chance to turn things around. If she managed to close the deal, the reward would not be a mere promotion. Unfortunately for her, the representative of New Century just happened to be He Tian, who had an unbridled temperament and was living an extremely seedy life, being quite infamous in his circle. He fell for Zeng Yuewei the first time they met and had since then been very explicit about his eagerness in getting into bed with her. Zeng Yuewei might be a scheming woman who craved power, but she would not cheapen herself like that. To close a deal by sleeping with someone like him? She would rather bash her head against a wall. Since she would not yield, He Tian had suspended the project. He had a long list of potential partners to choose from and the Zeng family was only one of them. Of course, he was very experienced in such things and was breaking down Zeng Yuewei¡¯s resistance piece by piece. Zeng Yuewei knew very well that she was taking a precarious, high-wire act, but was unwilling to give in just yet. ¡°Ding-dong! Ding-dong!¡± While Zeng Yuewei was sulking in her car, she was interrupted by the ringing of her phone, which turned out to be a call from her obnoxious younger brother. She picked up the phone impatiently, ¡°Yes? What do you want?¡± ¡°What do I want? We were supposed to leave at four o¡¯clock and it¡¯s already five now. Where are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m busy!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care how busy you are. You can¡¯t just¡­¡± ¡°Oh, shut up! I¡¯m on my way!¡± She hung up the phone and quickly got the car started, driving directly towards the south of the city. When she reached the highway entrance, a Land Rover was already there, waiting for her. Seeing that his older sister had arrived, Zeng Shufei drove onto the highway right away without even a greeting. Zeng Yuewei followed him. Both were driving fast. Maybe it was a family tradition, or maybe they were just trying to impress the olddy, but they would both visit their granny every so often. They would evene and go together to show that they were ying fair. After driving for over three hours, the two entered Bai Town¡¯s downtown after the long summer night set in. Dinner at Granny Zeng¡¯s home was ready. She was d to have her grandchildren there and the three of them sat around a small table, enjoying an affectionate family dinner as usual. Despite living in a small town, the olddy was well-informed of what was going on outside. She asked, ¡°Wei Wei, I heard that you are in charge of the deal with New Century now?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. They are building a new za and it¡¯s going to be a big deal. I want to have a go.¡± ¡°People of the He family are not easy to handle. I¡¯ve had dealings with He Zun before. He is definitely a piece of work. He Tian might be young, but he¡¯s his father¡¯s son. You have to be really careful!¡± ¡°Granny, I know what to do. Your granddaughter is a smart girl. I¡¯m the one fooling other people, not the other way around.¡± Zeng Yuewei put up a rxed face as if nothing had happened. It was partly because she was not ready to give up yet, and partly because the He family was so powerful that it would make no difference telling her, as it would only make granny worry. Zeng Shufei picked up some food with his chopsticks and interrupted, ¡°Granny, is the incense you ordered here yet? I thought I could have a look.¡± ¡°Not yet. I¡¯ve told Xiao Gu to bring it whenever it is ready. I¡¯m not rushing him.¡± ¡°Wow, you¡¯ve gone out of your way to give face to such a young fellow. He must have done something amazing to deserve this.¡± ¡°Be nice. He really knows his stuff,¡± she replied. Then, something suddenly dawned on the olddy as she said, ¡°Oh, by the way¡­ I want to invite him over again some other day. It was very interesting talking to him; it entertains me.¡± ¡°Forget about some other day. I¡¯ll ask him now,¡± Zeng Yuewei reached for her phone.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t. It¡¯ste today, call him tomorrow,¡± The olddy stopped her. Before long, they finished the dinner and the siblings chatted with granny for a bit longer before they went to bed. There were too many guestsst time when Granny Zeng was celebrating her birthday and they had to live in a hotel. Now there was only the two of them and they could spend the night in the house. The night grewte. Fully awake, Zeng Yueweiy in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She had desired to excel more than others ever since she was little. She had beenpeting against her younger brother, her ssmates, and her colleagues. When she saw a guy she liked, even if he already had a girlfriend, she still felt the urge to make him her own. With her intelligence and her family background, she had been almost unrivalled. However, this time she had hit a brick wall. The strength of her opponent was beyond her reach and there was also that disgusting man to deal with. For a moment there, Zeng Yuewei felt utterly confused. *** When Gu Yu got the call the next day, he was ying with the squirrel. The caller was rather straightforward, telling him that the siblings were there to see their grandmother, who wanted to invite Gu Yu over for a simple meal. He had been nning to tell Granny Zeng about the progress of her custom order and agreed to the invitation without much thinking. They set the meeting time at night. That night, an ivory race car arrived at Phoenix Fair and beeped its horn. Gu Yu walked out of a deep alleyway from the other side. He paused a bit before opening the car door and getting on. Zeng Yuewei had reddish short hair. She was wearing a sleeveless chiffon blouse and a pair of jeans, which entuated her straight legs. She was not as tall as Jiang Xiaozhai, but still had a slender body. With her minimalist clothes, she looked very modern and capable. She watched as Gu Yu sized up the interior of the car, then patted the steering wheel. ¡°What do you think of the car?¡± ¡°Nice,¡± his reply wasconic. ¡°Mr Gu¡­ oh, this is the second time we meet and addressing you like that sounds so distant,¡± she lifted the corner of her mouth and showed a perfect smile, hinting at something at the same time. To others, this smile might look incredibly charming. Gu Yu, on the other hand, was slightly put off by it, for it was too perfect. The expression in her eyes, the way she talked, her tone, and even the parting of her red lips were calcted exactly to the right level. Generally, only two types of people would smile like that¡ªpublic rtions personnel and escorts. He was not exactly surprised, though, for the woman had always given him the impression of being a smooth character and a sweet talker. She remained that way today. However, maybe he was imagining it, but¡­ there was an almost dejected look to her eyes. Gu Yu did not give it much thought and replied, ¡°Just call me by my name. I¡¯m not reallyfortable with ¡®Mr¡¯ either.¡± ¡°Great. I¡¯ll call you by yourst name from now on, then. Well, I¡¯m three years older than you, so if you don¡¯t mind, you can call me Sister Wei.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Gu Yu gave her a look and ignored the proposition. They soon reached the Zeng manor. The olddy was as hospitable as ever and weed him in the yard. She greeted him, ¡°Xiao Gu,e,e. We¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± ¡°Granny was just talking about you. I was thinking of picking you up myself¡­¡± It was thanks to Gu Yu that Zeng Shufei was able to get the promotion. Naturally, he felt close to Gu Yu and was trying to put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°How¡¯s everything recently? Anything new that can surprise me again?¡± ¡°Things are going just fine. I don¡¯t have anything new just yet.¡± He discreetly evaded Zeng Shufei¡¯s hand. He was very ufortable with physical contact like this. ¡®What if he¡¯s a closet gay?¡¯ They entered the dinning room as the conversation went on. The meal was much more sumptuous this time, but Gu Yu did note here for the feast. He had a few bites and said, ¡°Granny Zeng, I¡¯ve collected all the necessary materials and can start in a few days. Counting in the cering time¡­ Well, I can bring you the incense after 20 days.¡± ¡°20 days?¡± The olddy thought for a moment and her face suddenly brightened up. She said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s great! Oh my, the timing¡¯s perfect.¡± He had no idea what that was all about and could not be bothered to ask, since she was rather implicit. The siblings, on the other hand, winced at the same time and exchanged nces with inexplicable looks on their faces. [1] ED/N: Can also mean 21st Century. Apparently it¡¯s amon name for establishments and businesses in China. Chapter 24 Chapter 24: A Second Date Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Being the economic center of northeast China, Shengtian was full of tycoons, locally known as ¡°Tuhao¡±. It they were to be categorized ording to their power and influence, the Zeng family would belong to the ¡°below-average¡± group, while the He family would be somewhere in the upper level. Granny Zeng spent half of her lifetime engaging in fierce business wars and had made quite a few enemies. Of course, she had also made some intimate friends, among whom were real estate developers, industrialists and financiers. They were all simr in age to Granny Zeng and the majority of them had likewise taken a back seat, handing their businesses to the next generation. Some time after their retirement, they made it a thing to get together every six months, taking turns to host the gatherings. These old friends would take the opportunity to chat over tea as well as exchange some inside information. After several years, this alliance became well-known among the various cliques and could even influence the trends of certain industries. This summer, it happened to be the Zeng family¡¯s turn to be the host. The siblings were well aware of theing event and realized from Granny Zeng¡¯s expression that she was going to show the incense at the Summer Tea Party. The two were immediately growing covetous, for all families had ns for their future generations and one of the goals behind the gathering was to provide an opportunity for the junior members to built their ownwork. However, the olddy had not given the green light to them since they started working in the family enterprise and they had not attended any of these gatherings yet. Gu Yu obviously had no idea of these arrangements. He simply made the incense as required by the customers and gave little thought to everything else, considering what they would do with it their own business. However, once the olddy had made up her mind, she became all childish and started beating around the bush. ¡°Xiao Gu, are you going to make burning incense or perfumed sachets?¡± ¡°Burning incense.¡± ¡°Burning incense sticks?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m making incense pills to burn in censers.¡± ¡°So, so this incense¡­¡± He had no choice but replied, ¡°Granny Zeng, you¡¯re an expert yourself. An incense should be appraised at the scene. If I tell you in advance, what¡¯s the point of savoring the actual thing?¡± ¡°Right, right. I ask too much.¡± The olddy realized she was being impatient and poured some wine for Gu Yu herself. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll toast you. Thank you in advance for the incense.¡± ¡°You tter me! I do not deserve the honor!¡± He stood up hastily and clinked Granny Zeng¡¯s ss with a bow. ¡°Buzz!¡± Just then, Zeng Yuewei¡¯s phone vibrated. Her countenance changed slightly after ncing at the number. She then stood up and said, ¡°Excuse me, I have to take this call.¡± With that, she walked out of the dining hall and ran to a corner of the living room. The other two at the table did not pay much attention, but Gu Yu¡¯s chopsticks froze in midair. He had been working hard on the method of consuming essences, which had significantly enhanced his senses and mental faculties. As a result, he was picking up Zeng Yuewei¡¯s intermittent voice from the other room. ¡°Hello, Brother Tian¡­ I¡¯m having dinner with my granny¡­¡± ¡°Haha, stop making fun of me, Brother Tian. How could I possibly¡­¡± ¡°He Tian! I¡¯m trying to do business with you, not selling myself to you!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± A few lines into the conversation, her voice became high-pitched all of a sudden, taking Gu Yu by surprise. By the sound of it, some undisguised sexual harassment was going on over the phone. If someone went over now, they would discover Zeng Yuewei scarlet with rage, trying hard to fight back the anger in her voice. The man on the other side of the phone was still bantering in a mocking tone. ¡°That was an outrageous statement, Wei Wei. I would never force a woman. She has toe to me willingly, or it would ruin the mood.¡± ¡°Then what on earth do you want?¡± She growled. ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m just letting you know that I¡¯ve already had the clothes sent to you and I¡¯m picking you up in the morning, the day after tomorrow. Be sure to wear it.¡± Before she could respond, he went on, ¡°Come to think of it, you¡¯re perfect for the asion. Isn¡¯t your old granny an incense collector? That friend of mine is really into it these days as well and has gone through the trouble to hold an agarwood exhibition with all sorts of raw materials. You know more than I do in this field and of course I¡¯m picking you as my girl¡­ well, that¡¯s it for now. I¡¯ll see you then.¡± ¡°ck!¡± He Tian hung up the phone. Zeng Yuewei clenched her fists and puffed. His words implied that, sooner orter, she would willingly crawl onto his bed. She stifled her emotions and returned to her normal self by the time she returned to the dinner table, all chatty and jolly. Gu Yu would nce her way every now and then, though. He knew the way he pried into her private business was very improper and was feeling apologetic and sympathetic at the same time. One might appear all morous, yet actually, everyone had their difficult moments. The dinner finished just after 8:00 pm and Gu Yu took his leave, not staying longer. The olddy asked Zeng Yuewei to drive him back again, looking as if she was brooding over some new ideas. Hence, the two were in that small race car again. The journey back was a bit dull. Despite her efforts to try to find new topics, the anxiety in her eyes was only growing more prominent, making Gu Yu rather embarrassed. The two did not know each other well enough to let Gu Yu pity her. Yet knowing the position she was in right now, Gu Yu still found it awkward to be around her. ¡°I¡¯ll drop you off here. Thank you foring today.¡± When they got to Phoenix Fair, Zeng Yuewei stayed in the car and gave Gu Yu a slight wave of her hand. He smiled and got off, still seeing that dejection on her face out of the corner of his eye. He walked a few steps into the alley and turned back all of a sudden, then knocked at the car window. She scrolled it down and leaned out in surprise. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I just want to ask, are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Zeng Yuewei flinched, feeling surprised and confused at the question, as if those eyes had seen through herpletely. She paused and smiled, ¡°I¡¯m fine. A bit tired and absent-minded, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯m going home then. Bye bye.¡± Gu Yu also gave her a wave and disappeared slowly into that dim alley. *** The moon had risen to the middle of the sky and not a sound could be heard in the yard. Gu Yu was not consuming essences tonight, but was organizing some of his recent discoveries. The so-called ¡®essence of Hangxie¡¯ was the mist found at midnight. Although Phoenix Fair didn¡¯t really have a nightlife, this was still a densely popted area. He could slip by with only a couple of cultivating sessions, but breathing vapor in and out in the yard everyday would almost certainly expose him, sooner orter. Therefore, he had given up cultivating at this hour for the time being and stuck to the absorption of essences during early morning, midday and evening. As for now, he was silently uttering the conjuring verse and concentrating the spiritual essence in his body into his right index finger. He then pointed that finger forward. ¡°Woosh!¡± A subtle fluctuation suddenly emerged, simr to white milk being added to ck coffee, carrying along a flow of air in a smooth manner, creating a breeze. About two meters ahead, white paper on a wooden shelf pped in the wind unceasingly for quite some time. He then held back his finger and the breeze disappeared immediately. This act had consumed most of the spiritual essence in his body, but he was quite content with the result and nodded to himself involuntarily. The criteria of mastering the control of spiritual essence was to be able to wield it flexibly and smoothly, without any stagnation, as well as to release and retract it freely. Speaking of the general basics of cultivation, the hardest part was the awakening of the spirit, which was always a narrow escape from death for the survivors. Once one sessfully awakened the spirit, they could start learning the method of consuming essences. Mastering this method depended on talent as well as diligence, either of which could lead to sess. After two days of practice, he had grasped the basics of cirction of spiritual essence and what he needed to do next was to practice more until his skill was perfected and the consumption of essences achieved. Gu Yu currently had twoplete sets of verses, one being the method of consuming six natural essences, which was the basics amongst basics. The other one was the mystical conjuring verse, which he had not studied thoroughly enough to perform. That was to say, he had no offensive skill at the moment! There was no sadder thing than to aspire to be sword-wielding cultivator yet be bound to end up a healer. He was certainly aware of the danger this situation represented and would ponder over the issue every now and then. He even bought a book on acupoints and meridians. After numerous experiments, he actually came up with a ¡°move¡± that did not really feel like a ¡°move¡±. Well, it was better than nothing. Gu Yu recorded his experience in a notebook and stashed it away before going into the east wing. He had been gathering the essence at sunset and would not return home until veryte. With the high school entrance examinationsing soon, Fang Qing was nowhere to be seen and had not visited him for quite a few days. Gu Yu walked around in the room. Feeling he had nothing better to do, he took out his phone and typed, ¡°What are you doing now?¡± A quick note: this type of greeting was only applicable between casual acquaintances of opposite sex who had left good impression on each other. It was saying implicitly that ¡®I really want to convey my feelings right now but don¡¯t know what to say, so I¡¯m trying to make a conversation.¡¯ If the other person was willing to talk, they would answer and then throw another question at you, ¡°What about you?¡± If they were a passive person, you would only get an answer and you had to keep trying. If the person on the other end could not be bothered to talk to you, the only response you would get would be, ¡°well, nothing.¡± In this case, you should probably abandon all hope. Don¡¯t try other moves, for you are out, period. Even fallback people have more hope than you. He was watching TV as he waited for a reply. A few minutester, the girl messaged back. ¡°I thought it¡¯s about time to get a message from you.¡± Good! Gu Yu felt like the top and bottom reversed in that instant, for the girl never yed by the book. He realized that when they were chatting, he would surrender to her within a few lines with no hope of ever freeing himself. Gu Yu had acknowledged his fondness for her and abandoned all pretense. He went on directly, ¡°I¡¯ve made some incense cakes, I¡¯ll bring you some another day.¡± He said ¡°bring¡± instead of ¡°send¡±. The girl grasped the key word right away and replied with vexation. ¡°In that way, what am I supposed to thank you with?¡± Another message came in immediately after that. ¡°By the way, there¡¯s an agarwood exhibition the day after tomorrow. Are you interested? Lunch¡¯s on me.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± He pursed his lips and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you have work to do?¡± ¡°The sponsor is a client of ours and we have to help with the media campaign. Just call it exploiting the official authority.¡± ¡°All right, then. I¡¯lle in the morning, the day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not waiting for you this time. You¡¯ll have to find the ce yourself.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Gu Yu did not hear He Tian¡¯s words in that phone call and had no idea Zeng Yuewei was also involved in this event. He was simply rejoicing after making a second appointment. As a matter of fact, he did not have much experience with girls when growing up¡ªa short-lived puppy love during high school, a girlfriend he had slept with during university, whom he naturally broke up with after his grandfather got sick, and that¡¯s it. Jiang Xiaozhai was one year older than him. She had graduated from the best university in Shengtian and both of her parents were public servants. She was a top-notch girl, be it in terms of her looks, disposition, education, or family background. He wasn¡¯t actually thinking about their future or trying to get anywhere with her. It was rare for him to meet someone he could get along with and he couldn¡¯t help but want to be close to her. As for Xiaozhai¡¯s attitude, he found it rather unpredictable. She talked like an experienced woman who has seen it all, but one could still see her pure inner self. He yearned for that cleanness and purity she possessed. If the fishbone was a mystery, Xiaozhai was a sin, making him restless and ready for trouble. Chapter 25 Chapter 25: The Agarwood Exhibition (Part One) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Zeng Yuewei felt she had degraded herself. Despite being repulsed by He Tian, she still put on the clothes he sent and put up with his molesting, all for that one percent chance that she might get to seal the deal. The quality of Zeng¡¯s products was excellent enough to partner up with anypany. Only, these days decisions were not made purely on the basis of objective facts, for the power sometimesy in the hands of some rather obnoxious people. Therefore, when she ttered into He Tian¡¯s car wearing a red dress and 7 cm heels, she felt like a high-end escort. ¡°Ha! I knew this dress would suit you! Actually, there was also a white one, but with that thorny rose vibe of yours, white just does not seem right. It¡¯s not like you are a weepy white lotus kind of a girl.¡± He Tian sized her up with his unscrupulous eyes while he was driving, as if he wasmenting on a piece of exquisite art. Zeng Yuewei could not be bothered to start a conversation and only said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave as soon as the event finishes. I won¡¯t need you to drive me back.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t do. I¡¯ve made reservation at the Crystal Pce. Have dinner with me. Oh, I¡¯ve heard the suite there is really good, shall we try it?¡± ¡°He Tian!¡± She turned her head abruptly and was almost shooting mes with her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m just kidding! Don¡¯t be so serious!¡± Being an aplished flirt with a lot of experience, he cated Zeng Yuewei right away and switched the subject to some background information on the event. He Tian had a childhood friend called Li Yang whose family had been working inprehensive industry and recently expanded to include real estate business. Like He Tian, Li Yang was moving to the front seat in the family business and starting to participate in decision-making and operational affairs. The hype over agarwood in recent years had gotten that fellow thinking. Using incense as the theme anding up with a concept of ¡°delighting in tranquility¡±, he had been focusing on establishing a high-endmunity and even held an agarwood exhibition for it. In doing so, he could expand the scope of his business, as well as draw some attention to the project before itunched. The exhibition was held in a museum in northern Shengtian. The ce was quite far away and it took them over 20 minutes to drive there. The museum was a spacious four-story building. Banners had been hung over the front gate, along with flower arrangements and hot-air balloons on either side. The two got out of the car and walked in without showing an invitation. The service staff was obviously well-trained as they were recognized at once and ushered in with a bow. After entering the building, Zeng Yuewei was somewhat surprised to find quite a number of visitors, among whom were people from printed andwork media, as well as TV reporters. To their right, a man was talking confidently in front of a camera¡ªhe was none other than Li Yang himself. The guy had a pair of ck-rimmed sses on and his slightly chubby figure gave him an amiable look. After pouring out his words for a few minutes, he got rid of the reporters and approached them directly. Having greeted his good friend, he turned to Zeng Yuewei. ¡°I presume this is Miss Zeng?¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr Li. I¡¯ve heard so much about you,¡± she put on that trademark public rtions smile again. ¡°I¡¯m a nobody. My friends are too kind, that¡¯s all. I¡¯ve been told that Miss Zeng is an expert in agarwood and I¡¯m hoping you could teach me a thing or two today.¡± ¡°You tter me, Mr Li. I should be the one learning new things here today!¡± After exchanging some pleasantries, Li Yang noticed that some other acquaintances had arrived. He moved closer to He Tian and whispered, ¡°Go to the fourth floorter. I need to take care of some stuff first.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. Off you go!¡± He Tian waved him off and took Zeng Yuewei to wander around the museum. Li Yang, on the other hand, left them to entertain distinguished guests, the press, and even some average elderly visitors. He did not have a mboyant attitude but rather a diplomatic one. Well, at least he was paying attention to everything that needed taking care of. Li Yang was taking a break after busying himself for quite a while. A female voice suddenly came to his ears. ¡°Mr Li, may I take a photo?¡± ¡®Eh?¡¯ He turned around and felt his heart skip a beat. He had to pause for a second before replying. ¡°You are¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m from Tianbao. I¡¯m here to help with the event today.¡± [ED/N: An ad agent, probably] ¡°Right. Of course you can take my picture. How¡¯s Mr Zhao?¡± ¡°Thank you. Mr Zhao is abroad right now, he would certainly be here today if not for that¡­ um, Mr Li, just standing there is fine,¡± the girl instructed him briefly. ¡°Ha, sorry about that.¡± Li Yangughed and stopped posing intentionally, changing to a natural posture instead. The girl finished taking photos and added, ¡°We¡¯ll be making some brochures and will probably need your kind advice then.¡± ¡°Of course. Tianbao and I go back a long way and I have full confidence in you. By the way, what¡¯s your¡­¡± ¡°Oh, here¡¯s my card,¡± she took out a business card and handed it to Li Yang. ¡°Jiang Xiaozhai? That¡¯s a very nice name!¡± Seeing the name on the card, Li Yang couldn¡¯t help butpliment it. He then handed out his card in return and reminded her, ¡°We¡¯ll have a small event on the fourth floorter. Do check it out if you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai winced. She wasn¡¯t aware of such an arrangement in her schedule. It soon dawned on her, though, that it should be an event for some inner circle. She then replied, ¡°Thank you very much, Mr Li. I¡¯ll make sure to attend. I still have some errands to run and will leave you in peace now.¡± With that, she left him. Li Yang remained standing absent-mindedly, still following that figure with his eyes, making no secret of the possessiveness in them. Coming from a rich and powerful family, he was never short of women. Even so, he had always distinguished sex from rtionships and only had two girlfriends he took seriously at the moment. When he met Jiang Xiaozhai today, however, something stirred within him. On the other side, Xiaozhai searched around the hall several times before she finally found the person she was looking for, who was stuffing herself with snacks in a corner. She asked in a worried tone, ¡°Liu Nai! Have you finished your work? All you¡¯ve been doing is eating!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ damn you! Don¡¯t use my nickname in front of so many people!¡± A chubby girl cramming her mouth with foodined unintelligibly. ¡°What should I call you, then? Right¡­ Panpan!¡± [1] ¡°Puff!¡± A cloud of biscuit crumbs was spit out of the girl¡¯s mouth. She couldn¡¯t help it. Her real name sounded even more embarrassing. She hastily washed the biscuit down with some water before growling at Xiaozhai, ¡°Call me Xiao Pan! Xiao Pan! Xiao Pan!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so grumpy. I¡¯ll buy you some milk powder candy after this.¡± Xiaozhai grabbed her by the cor and pulled her out of the corner like dragging a puppy. ¡°Come with me to the fourth floor.¡± ¡°What are we doing in the fourth floor?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that Li Yang had a whole bunch of raw incense material here? If I¡¯m guessing it right, he is going to have a live-cuttingter. We are very lucky that he actually invited me.¡± ¡°Cutting the materials? Oh my gosh!¡± Panpan was immediately enthused and started running right away. ¡°What are we waiting for? I¡¯ve always wanted to see that!¡± ¡°Be careful! Don¡¯t get clumsy and trip yourself!¡± Xiaozhai sighed and sauntered in her wake. The so-called jade-betting, incense-betting and walnut-betting were no longer unheard-of performances nowadays. However, for most people, they were still more of an urban legend. After all, the collectors and themon people belonged to two different worlds, and might never cross paths. When nts were wounded, they would repair the damage by secreting a kind of oil, which was an incredibly slow process. A thinyer of oil was only observable after one or two years. The color would deepen in one or two decades and would only became mellow and even after thirty to fifty years. Those hundred-year-old materials of the highest grade would even entirely turn into oil,ing inside out. Thisyer of oil was the so-called ¡°incense¡±. The incense-betting consisted of taking a piece of wood and determining the quality of the incense inside by looking at the color of its cross-section. An oil-covered cross-section did not guarantee that there was oil inside. Even if there was oil, it might not be thick or even enough. The worst would be to open up the wood and found it to be hollow. Everything depended on one¡¯s judgement as much as on one¡¯s luck. Same as in jade-betting, one¡¯s fortune would be determined by one cut. Everyone had curiosity in them. Given the chance, they would never miss something like this. Xiaozhai was fond of incense herself and such an event was right up her alley. After sending a message to you-know-whom, she took Panpan to the fourth floor. [1] TL/N: Panpan (ÅÎÅÎ) was the name of a famous panda in China. It was the mascot of the 11th Asian Games held in China in 1990. Chapter 26 Chapter 26: The Agarwood Exhibition (Part Two) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Because of the flourishing of incense market in the recent years, various incense materials had been suffering from excessive consumption. Fragrant rosewood (Dalbergia odorifera) as young as twenty years of age was already hard toe by, let alone old underwater agarwood. It was with great effort that Li Yang obtained a wide variety of raw materials for the exhibition, such as agarwood, arborvitae, padauk, redwood etc. One of the reasons they were here was to make up for theck of top quality wood. The disy of the materials was considered a private event that wasn¡¯t open to public. Those invited were mostly rtives, friends and potential customers. Many small business owners were into incense-collecting nowadays. They might not be able to afford the most expensive ones, but sshing a few hundreds of thousands would not be something they would think twice about. Hence, the crowd was not overly big¡ªjust a little over one hundred people, at most. When Jiang Xiaozhai led Panpan onto the fourth floor, they were stopped at the entrance. Xiaozhai waved a card at the guard who then let her in right away. Not all cards were equal¡ªthe luxurious golden card she was holding was a proof of being a friend of Li Yang. The two girls walked in and found themselves inside a big hall. Timbers were piled here and there, divided into categories. Besides the timbers, there were also operating tforms on which the materials could be opened at the scene. Next to the hall was a tea room, where the guests could rest and talk in private. Li Yang saw hering in but did not greet her right away. He walked to the front of the room and gestured with his hands to attract everyone¡¯s attention instead. ¡°Everyone, please be quiet for a moment. First of all, I¡¯d like to express my gratitude to all of you foring here to attend this exhibition. In return, I have racked my brain preparing for this event. Among you, there are experts on incense, those who know little about it and those who want to be admitted into this circle. It doesn¡¯t matter which type you belong to, for there is only one rule in material-cutting¡ªthere¡¯s no turning back once the knife makes its way through. You are having a lucky day if the material is excellent, but please don¡¯t be upset if you end up getting an empty one. Everyone here is a powerful and influential figure in one field or another and it¡¯s not worthwhile to take these ythings too seriously. All right, I will stop speaking here. Have a nice time.¡± After that, he approached Xiaozhai with a smile, ¡°Miss Jiang, I almost thought you were noting.¡± ¡°Oh, I was held up back there. This is Xiao Pan, a good friend of mine.¡± Li Yang shook hands with Panpan and went on, ¡°Which incense is Miss Jiang interested in? I could talk you through some of the things here.¡± ¡°Um, I don¡¯t really know much about incense. We¡¯ll look around ourselves.¡± ¡°No problem. Feel free to walk around. Do let me know if you need anything.¡± He still had that amiable look and did not insist on tagging along but left them right after speaking those words. Panpan found it strange and asked, ¡°Why, aren¡¯t you an expert in these things?¡± ¡°I might be an expert, but he doesn¡¯t need to know that,¡± Jiang Xiaozhai answered casually. ¡°Humph!¡± Panpan pursed her lips and added, ¡°What if he decided to follow us around?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be my escape n, of course.¡± Xiaozhai stretched out her arm and pressed Panpan to her chest with aughter. ¡°I¡¯ll say you¡¯re having your period and need an emergency evacuation.¡± ¡°Ew! Gross!¡± The two girls giggled all their way to the red sandalwood (Pterocarpus santalinus) corner, where timbers of different length and diameter were neatly disyed. Some had a jet-ck outeryer, while the trunks of others remained a taupe color. Most guests were circling around the agarwood and only a handful of people were in this corner, amongst them a bald middle-aged man¡ªthe sole customer. However, by the look of it, his knowledge on incense was very limited as he had a rather baffled look on his face. Panpan had no idea about incense whatsoever, so she just watched Xiaozhai approach the pile of timbers and walk around it. It took her a while before she picked up a meter-long piece. She gave it a good knock and gently stroked the outer bark, then asked, ¡°May I have it sliced open?¡± ¡°You may after purchasing it,¡± replied the staff. ¡°In that case, forget it.¡± She did not linger and left the corner right away. Panpan chased after her and asked, ¡°How was it? How was it?¡± ¡°That one¡¯s pretty good,¡± she pointed back. ¡°How good?¡± ¡°By your standard, good enough to trade for quite a few visits to the saut¨¦ed crab in hot and spicy sauce restaurant.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you buy it, then? You don¡¯t have enough money on you? Take mine,¡± Panpan urged her. ¡°That piece was over 10 kg at least. At 250 yuan a kilo, that¡¯s over ten thousand yuan in total and half a kilo of the material can make one string of beads at most. The beads sell at one thousand per string, which is next to nothing after subtracting the processing cost. Plus, I don¡¯t even like the sandalwood.¡± ¡°Tsk! You¡¯re as self-willed as ever!¡± Panpan was speechless and could do nothing but nod. Feeling she wasn¡¯t tall enough to express that clearly, she also hopped up to help emphasize her feelings. They weren¡¯t trying to lower their voice and had let the bald man hear their every word. He hesitated for a few seconds and pointed at the piece, ¡°This one. I¡¯ll take this one!¡± ¡°No problem.¡± The staff quickly measured and weighed the material while the bald man paid with his card and took the wood to the work tform right away, where an old master waited for customers. It just so happened that he was the first customer to have an incense material cut open today. Seeing this, the others swarmed near to watch, talking all at once. ¡°They say that nine out of ten pieces of sandalwood are hollow. This one does not look promising at all. I say it¡¯s a bad one.¡± ¡°Hard to say. Maybe it will have fish-scale patterns full of golden stars!¡± [1] ¡°Ha! If he were that lucky, he might as well try it in the stock market.¡± The crowd buzzed on, but it did not affect the old master¡¯s work at all. He scrutinized the wood and sliced off a thinyer with a de first. When the reddish interior was revealed, he then sshed it with a special ¡°revitalizing water¡±, which immediately made the patterns on the surface apparent. ¡°Woah!¡± The crowd eximed in amazement. The material had a pure base color with me-shaped patterns. What was more, eighty percent of it was also covered in golden stars! The so-called golden stars were mineral precipitations in fibers of tree trunks, which would form star-like solid crystals with a golden luster. The value of a material would differ greatly depending on whether it had golden stars or not. Now that it was opened, someone called out immediately, ¡°Old Zhang, let me have it. How much did you pay? I¡¯ll double that!¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯m an idiot or what?!¡± The bald man wiped his sweat away and turned around to retort. He seemed very nervous¡ªnot because of the money, though. It was simply his first time doing this and he found it incredibly exciting. He urged on, ¡°Master, don¡¯t stop!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The old master darted a look at him and set up thethe. With a jarring cutting sound, a section of the material was cut off, revealing the cross-section. The crowd hurried near to take a look. Ouch! It was a pity. The golden stars only covered a thin section and could not be found further in. There were even ck veins in the wood. ¡°F**k!¡± The bald man felt very unlucky now. He forced out his words, ¡°Master, go on!¡± The third cut was even worse, which gave him a hollow in the wood, taking up at least half of the cross-section. The next two cuts were the same. The sixth cut was better, as the color of the oil was mellow¡­ about a dozen cuts were made in total in the end, one third of which were hollow ones. That actually was a pretty good oue. They meant it when they said nine of ten sandalwood pieces were hollow. The old master consoled him, ¡°Not bad. You¡¯ll have a dozen strings of beads out of these. Your money was well spent.¡± ¡°Ah, such bad luck!¡± The bald man would not stop sighing. It wouldn¡¯t take too long to make the material into beads and he decided to have it processed right away. His first incense-betting had made his heart all aflutter with feverish excitement. After calming himself down, the fellow suddenly realized, ¡®Damn, that young girl really knows her stuff!¡® In that instant, he decided to ride on her coattails and searched around in a hurry, then scuttled off in Xiaozhai¡¯s direction. *** ¡°Wei Wei, how does this one look?¡± Meanwhile, in the agarwood section on the other side of the hall, He Tian was pointing at an old underwater agarwood. ¡°¡­¡± Zeng Yuewei frowned slightly and ignored his overly-familiar form of address. She took a closer look at the material, which was a bulky one,id on the stand like a piece of broken tree trunk. It was covered by a brown-and-ck outer bark. The ck part was the oil and the brown was created when incense wood fell into marsh and chemical reactions urred, forming a new pattern. The agarwood materials all came in as a whole, without any exposed cross-sections. One could only judge the quality of the interior through the outer bark, oil color and the position of the center of gravity. Her knowledge on incense was sketchy at most, but she would not admit to that here and said hesitantly, ¡°I believe it is a piece of underwater material from Kalimantan. The oil looks plump and the condition seems excellent as well.¡± ¡°Miss Zeng is indeed true to her name!¡± She had barely finished her sentence when Li Yang appeared by her side with hispliment. ¡°This material was indeed from Kalimantan and I bought it for 700,000 yuan. It will be the highlight of today. I wonder who will have the guts¡­¡± ¡°Guts?¡± He Tian nced around and mocked him, ¡°You expect that from these hillbillies? I¡¯ll be the one saving your ass if no one else wants to pay for it. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be such a shame for you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so mean. It¡¯s our friendship you¡¯re talking about. Shame on me, shame on you.¡± ¡°F**k! Your thick face is the only thing you have that I was never able to match since childhood. You¡¯re¡­ what are you looking at?¡± He Tian was babbling on, but his friend was already slipping away, scanning the hall with his eyes. He followed those eyes and saw two girls wandering around not far from them. One was tall and slim, while the other was short and chubby. He Tian saw through him immediately. ¡°What now? A new one?¡± ¡°Not exactly. I don¡¯t really know her yet,¡± replied Li Yang. ¡°Then hurry up. How much effort do you want to put in?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zeng Yuewei also noticed that fresh-looking girl. She knew very well that she was Li Yang¡¯s prey. Judging by the influence and background he had, the girl was doomed. She felt she could rte to her because of the situation she herself was in as she suddenly felt sad and powerless. She made an excuse to stay away. ¡°You guys go on, I need to go to the restroom.¡± After she left, Li Yang asked with aughter, ¡°Stop mocking me. How are you two getting along?¡± ¡°If it were not for her old grandmother, I¡¯d already have her in my bed by now! Women like her are much better than those random girls out there, though. So interesting to handle!¡± He Tian snorted and went on, ¡°Where is that woman from?¡± ¡°An employee of Tianbao.¡± ¡°What are you waiting for, then? I¡¯m telling you, all women like money. The only difference is that some pretend they don¡¯t and some don¡¯t pretend. Why, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re in it for real?¡± ¡°True, women like money, but it all lies in the approach you use. The thing youck most is subtlety¡­¡± Li Yang took his eyes off Xiaozhai and beckoned at a staff nearby. He whispered some instructions and the staff went away to make preparations. Hearing his arrangement, He Tian made a disdainful look but could not be bothered to argue with his friend. *** The betting went on for over an hour. At first, everyone was cautious, but with excellent materials being cut open one after another, the atmosphere began to heat up. Two work tforms were operating without stop, cutting timbers with jarring sounds. There were exmations and swearing mixed with the noise as well. Betting was in people¡¯s nature. It did not matter what they were betting on. As long as it involved the pleasant sensation of unpredictability, sooner orter one would be addicted. Xiaozhai and Panpan were two exceptions in that excited crowd. They had been wandering around absent-mindedly¡­ well, followed by an insignificant bald man. He had been following the girls for what seemed like eternity and did not see them make any move at all. Just as he was about to give up, they finally stopped in the fragrant rosewood area. Xiaozhai browsed the pile. She lifted up a big one first and put it down after taking a look. She then found a smaller one and seemed satisfied with it. She went straight to the staff, ¡°Weigh this for me, please.¡± The staff measured and weighed it for her immediately. ¡°This is a spongy rosewood material from Qiongzhou. The length is 53 cm, as for diameter, it¡¯s 10 cm at the thicker end and 4 cm at the thinner end. It weighs 3.5 kg.¡± She bought it right away. It wasn¡¯t that expensive, just over four thousand yuan. All incense toys went from being purely articles for collection to be an investment, then a spection and finally a hype, until the bubble burst eventually. The year beforest was when the price of the fragrant rosewood was at its peak, at 9,000 yuan a kilo. It then plungedst year. The buyer would not even consider a price of 900 per kilo. The price had recovered a little bit this year, back to over 1,200 a kilo. The fragrant rosewood of Qiongzhou consisted mainly of the glossy rosewood and the spongy rosewood. The spongy type was mostly found in the southeast, containing less oil but having prettier patterns, while the glossy type grew in the west, having a higher density and containing more oil. To put it simply, one had better-looking patterns and the other had better texture. Which was better? It all depended on one¡¯s preference. Xiaozhai had been strolling around as if she was in a food market and was now making a purchase without any hesitation. Both Panpan and the bald man were taken by surprise and Panpan even tried to talk her out of it. ¡°Are you sure of this? Don¡¯t rush it. That¡¯s half your monthly sry¡­¡± ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing. Let¡¯s go!¡± She pulled Panpan into her arms and nced back intentionally, which made the bald man rather awkward. As the two girls walked towards the working tform, a buxom woman got there first with a microphone and announced, ¡°Everyone, please be quiet. In return for your participation and enthusiasm, Mr. Li has decided ad hoc to add a lucky draw to today¡¯s event. We¡¯ll provide a number te for each guest here and let Mr. Li make the draw. Except for the most valuable item here, which is this 700,000-yuan underwater agarwood from Kalimantan, the winner can pick any incense material in this exhibition and take it away for free!¡± [1] TL/N: Fish-scale and golden star are two types of rare patterns that appear on red sandalwood. Chapter 27 Chapter 27: The Agarwood Exhibition (Part Three) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Woah!¡± ¡°That¡¯s so generous of Mr. Li!¡± ¡°Oh my, that¡¯s it for me then. I never win anything.¡± The crowd was ted at the announcement. After all, incense materials were of great value. The Immortal-Attracting Incense (Acronychia peduncta) of Qiongzhou, for instance, was thought to be a recent phenom in the circle, its price as high as 1,500 to 2,000 yuan per kilo. Soon after that, waiters went around the hall to hand out the number tes. Jiang Xiaozhai got one with the number 23 and Panpan got the number 48. When everyone received their tes, Li Yang walked onto the stage, shuffled around in the box and picked out a number. He announced with a smile, ¡°Number 23!¡± The buxom woman joined in immediately and called out, ¡°Congrattions, guest Number 23! Please show us where you are. Let me see, is it a gentleman or ady¡­ oh, a stunningdy it is. Pleasee up here.¡± ¡°Wow, it¡¯s you! Hurry up there!¡± The winner herself barely showed any response, but Panpan was already rubbing her hands together in excitement while rushing Xiaozhai to go on stage. Vexed by the turn of events, Xiaozhai had no other choice but to walk up there, feeling like a circus animal. ¡°Congrattions, Miss Jiang!¡± Li Yang shook her hand, looking all sincere and smiling. ¡°You can pick any item from this hall.¡± ¡°Anything else but that piece of agarwood?¡± She asked. ¡°Of course, but¡­¡± He paused and said in a half-joking tone, ¡°Please don¡¯t pick something like the mountain date tree (Ziziphus montana) on purpose. I¡¯ll be mortified.¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Someone guffawed in the crowd. The buxom woman even echoed, ¡°Exactly. This youngdy has to choose something nice. Don¡¯t let Mr. Li¡¯s kindness go to waste.¡± ¡®Damn you!¡¯ All Xiaozhai wanted to do now was to cuss the hell out of her. That was actually what she had been nning on doing to avoid his ¡°kindness¡±. However, since they had pointed out in advance, it would look too deliberate to choose a cheap item now. She hesitated for two seconds and strode directly towards the area where the Immortal-Attracting Incense was disyed. After taking a few rounds, she crouched down and started knocking around the timbers in a mdroit manner. ¡°Does she think she¡¯s buying watermelon or something? What¡¯s with all the knocking?¡± ¡°Rookie mistake. Just look at her, this must be the first time she¡¯s ever been to such an event. ¡± ¡°That¡¯s just in dumb luck!¡± Some femalepanions of small business owners stood on the outer circle and were chattering away, all green with envy. They didn¡¯t care much for the incense, but were grudging over the fact that Xiaozhai was noticed by Li Yang. With the power and influence the Li family had, they would choose to be Li Yang¡¯s least favorite mistress rather than a wife of some small boss. On the other side, Xiaozhai had stood up and pointed at a piece of wood. ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯ll take this one.¡± The crowd turned their heads in unison. The incense material she picked out was about half a meter long, its thickness simr to one¡¯s arm. The entire piece was covered by a ckish red color and the oil was so rich that it almost looked glossy. A few streak-like patterns were packed together in a corner of the cross-section, which without doubt had formed half a ¡°ghost face¡±. [1] ¡°This piece is of great quality. She¡¯s got some good taste!¡± ¡°Not bad at all. That¡¯ll give her at least a couple of beads.¡± ¡°How much is it going to be worth, then?¡± ¡°For a ¡®lover set¡¯ of different sizes, eighty thousand at least.¡± ¡°Whew!¡± Those words turned many onlookers even more covetous, while some were secretly regretting, ¡®If only I had struck first!¡¯ ¡°Miss Jiang has a very good taste. Do you want to open it now?¡± Li Yang was very happy with how things turned out and congratted her himself. Xiaozhai pondered for a moment and nodded, ¡°Yea, cut it open, please.¡± With that, the crowd scuttled towards the working tform, jamming around it. The old master picked up the material and sized it up closely. He then gave Xiaozhai a strange look without saying anything. After the machine was set, he started cutting. The jigsaw was switched on and the wood was pushed steadily towards it. The saw de made contact with the material, making a jarring sound. The fracture widened and finally, the first section was cut off with a thud. The old master picked up the section and put it on the table. ¡°A big ghost face!¡± ¡°Holly sh*t! She got a big ghost face!¡± ¡°That¡¯s even better than thendscape pattern!¡± ¡°This girl is so damn lucky!¡± Looming before them was an intact ghost face on the cross-section. ck oil lines had fused into the deep red wood, demonstrating the nature¡¯s power to create some of the most magnificent wonders. Seeing that, He Tian put his hand on Li Yang¡¯s shoulder andughed. ¡°Very nice! You¡¯re almost there!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the subtlety I was talking about. Your methods are so primitive.¡± A smile emerged on Li Yang¡¯s kind face as he was very pleased with himself. He turned to look at Xiaozhai and saw her blushed cheeks. Needless to say, she was overwhelmed with excitement. What else could she feel. She was lucky enough to win a prize, and even more so in choosing an excellent piece of incense. With two happy events in a row, anyone would not be able to resist the temptation and feel somewhat attracted to the provider of that good luck. From attraction to fondness, then to the ultimate intimacy, those were the only logical things to happen¡­ Almost everyone at the scene was bearing that thought in their mind, except for Panpan, who was twitching her face in a near-agony manner. She was actually wailing inside, ¡®Sister, please! At least try to act like you mean it!¡¯ Forget about the crowd. The old master had ced the wood in the right position and made a second cut. With a flip of his rough hands, the second section was taken off. The onlookers werepletely intrigued by now and nced at it in a hurry. ¡°Ouch! A rotten core!¡± Someone called out right away, unable to hide the pity in his voice. This second section was still a big ghost face. Unfortunately, a trail in the center of the pattern was rotten, resembling an ink stain in the middle of a white sheet, which was very ufortable to look at. ¡°Such a shame! Big ghost faces are really hard toe by!¡± ¡°Exactly. That piece is wasted. Not sure if she still can make a set of beads out of it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Smile froze on Li Yang¡¯s face before he even had time to react. He Tian was embarrassed as well and swore under his breath. The old master was as calm as ever, setting the saw and making the third cut! ¡°F**k, rotten again!¡± Another person shouted. It was even worse with this section. Not only had the core rotten, the area around it was mostly corroded as well. Then came the fourth cut! ¡°Sh*t! Rotten again?¡± ¡°Is it going to be like this all the way through?¡± ¡°Very likely. None of these sections were good.¡± The fifth cut followed! The sixth one! The seventh! *** When the master finished cutting, it turned out that most of this piece of Immortal-Attracting Incense was rotten. The reaction of the crowd had moved from shouting and wrangling to speechlessness. In the end, some even chuckled at Xiaozhai¡¯s difiture and sniggered under their breaths. ¡°I knew it. She can¡¯t be that lucky. My god, this is so funny!¡± ¡°Just look at that face. Haha! She had iting!¡± ¡°With that in face of hers, money will never fall into her pockets!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Li Yang¡¯s lips were twitching and he was on the edge of losing control over his expression. He was an incredibly shrewd person and never showed his real emotions to the others. He Tian was the only one who knew him well enough to tell that despite that smiling face, he was nowhere near Li Yang in terms of craftiness. Li Yang had had everything nned out in advance. The lucky draw was obviously a cover for giving her the gift. Even if she ended up picking the inest nk material, she would still owe him a favor. As it turned out, she had chosen a piece of garbage from inside out. Now she not only owed him nothing, but was actually giving out a feeling that she was swallowing down the humiliation in silence. It was the most awkward scene. People became boisterous and were talking all at the same time. All sorts of rumors were flying around and things were getting out of hand. Seeing that, He Tian raise his voice, ¡°Enough with all your rubbish! Leave us alone! Go back to whatever it is that you were doing!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The crowd went silent right away. They knew very well how bossy this mister could be. He¡¯d kick anybody¡¯s ass if he wanted to. By then, Li Yang had resumed his harmless face and approached Xiaozhai. ¡°Miss Jiang, that was so unexpected. I¡¯d never thought that would happen.¡± ¡°Mr. Li, that was not your fault. I just had bad luck. I¡¯m very happy to win the prize alone. I will feel very guilty if you go on ming yourself,¡± Xiaozhai ignored all the talks going on around her and replied in the most diplomatic tone. ¡°Well¡­¡± He squeezed out a smile and for the first time in his life found women baffling. ¡°Do you have anything else that you want to see?¡± ¡°Yes, there are still a few things we haven¡¯t got around to see.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll leave you to it, then.¡± After Li Yang had left, Panpan sneaked near her and eyed her up closely, with her nose poking into Xiaozhai¡¯s cheek. ¡°What are you doing?¡± She peeled Panpan off her face. ¡°I would totally fall in love with you if you were a guy!¡± Panpan said with twinkling eyes. ¡°You can still fall in love with me now.¡± ¡°Go to hell!¡± Panpan gave her a light punch and asked in a low voice, ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve got to ask you this. Did you pick a rotten one on purpose?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that good. It was bad luck, that¡¯s all,¡± she was all serious. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t like a windfall like that? A real treasure worth at least tens of thousands. Why would I say no to that?¡± She still replied in a serious tone. ¡°Tsk! Like I know what¡¯s going on in your head! You¡¯re impossible!¡± Panpan grumbled out these words and did not pump her for further details. *** While Jiang Xiaozhai was getting all the spotlight and having fun teasing her friend, Gu Yu had just crawled out of the long-distance bus station. He then took the subway and a bus, arriving at the museum fatigued after the long journey. As he made his appearance with that backpack at the museum entrance, he stood out as a Minecraft character would in the world of Final Fantasy! He paid 20 yuan for the ticket and made his way inside. The first floor was whererge agarwood sculptures and artwork were disyed. Authenticated raw materials were on the second floor, ranging from underwater, under soil, beaten-down and Kynam to other types. Other incense materials were on the third floor. The fourth floor he could not ess¡­ He had no choice but to call Xiaozhai, who showed up after two minutes and sniggered the moment she saw him. One could not me her forughing, for this scene reminded her a lot of a poor rtive from the countryside who came to the city to make a living with a luggage taller than himself, only to be stopped at the entrance of an office building and had to wander around. ¡°¡­¡± Seeing her smile, Gu Yu looked down involuntarily at his clothes and admitted in resignation, ¡°Well, not my poshest look, apparently.¡± ¡°What happened to the clothes you worest time?¡± ¡°I had them washed and they are not dry yet, so I just randomly picked something out.¡± ¡°Then you have an unbelievable taste in choosing what to wear.¡± Xiaozhai led him in and went directly to the tea room where Panpan was waiting. Seeing Gu Yu, Panpan couldn¡¯t help giving Xiaozhai a dubious look, but thetter could not be bothered to respond and introduced the two to one another. Gu Yu sat down and asked, ¡°Are they betting on materials here?¡± ¡°Yep, almost over.¡± ¡°How did it go?¡± ¡°Boring. Nothing good enough¡­ oh, I bought this. Take a look,¡± she handed him the fragrant rosewood she bought. He took the wood and noticed that it was a newly produced spongy type. The outer bark was yellowish and scattered with only a few uneven oil marks. There was only a tiger pattern on the cross-section at the thicker end. Unlike his skill in incense-making, he was far more ignorant when it came to rare materials. He extended a finger and swiped it on the material from one end to the other. A streak of agile essence followed his finger and scanned the interior of the wood. He could tell that it was rather dense andpact with few hollow spots. Gu Yu lifted his hand and said honestly, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a hollow one, but I really can¡¯t tell if it has oil inside or not.¡± With that, he was about to give it back. ¡°No need¡­ ¡°Holding the teacup in her right hand, she made a little push with her left hand. ¡°This is for you.¡± [1] TL/N: A type of pattern formed on woods, which was left behind by the growth of a branch. Chapter 28 Chapter 28: The Wind Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡®Huh?¡¯ Gu Yu was surprised by the gift but did not say anything, knowing that she would exin herself. As expected, after sipping at her tea, Jiang Xiaozhai smiled, ¡°I¡¯ll have another two boxes of Wake-up Incense. Furthermore, I enjoyed those you brought mest time and felt I should express my gratitude, or it wouldn¡¯t feel right.¡± Seeing that he was about to decline, she stopped him. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s not for you. I¡¯m showing respect to that te of silver frost.¡± In the rainy night in Wudao River, the stick burnt to the end and the ash covered the entire plum blossom bronze te, reminding one of snow and frost¡­ it was an indescribable moment shared by the two of them alone. Since she said that much, Gu Yu found it impossible to turn down the gift and could only ept it. He then opened his backpack and took out a porcin jar wrapped in a stic bag. ¡°These are the incense cakes. They are not ready to be used yet. Open them in two days and throw one in when you make soup next time.¡± He was about to hand it to Xiaozhai. However, after weighing the jar and seeing the outfit she was in, he retrieved it and said, ¡°Well, I¡¯ll hold onto it for you for now.¡± ¡°Teehee!¡± Panpan wasughing uncontrobly beside them. ¡°Oh my, you guys are so cloying that it¡¯s giving me a toothache!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was a little embarrassed at thement. Jiang Xiaozhai, on the other hand, did not know what the word ¡°bashful¡± meant. She smiled at her friend, ¡°Panpan, open your mouth.¡± ¡°Why?¡± The girl was a bit confused and opened her mouth slightly. The next moment, a smooth and slender finger swiped across the tip of her tongue, leaving behind some tea stems. A bitter taste immediately made its way into her mouth and took over her taste buds. ¡°Yuck! Bah!¡± The girl grabbed the ashtray and spat into it. Sheined angrily, ¡°Do you have a death wish?¡± ¡°Tea stems are good for your toothache. Feeling better now?¡± Asked Xiaozhai with aughter. ¡°Humph!¡± Panpan was no match for her at all, so she folded her arms and sat back in her chair, making sure not to make a sound from then on. It was almost noontime. The betting had been going on for over two hours and wasing to an end now. These a hundred or so people were very generous with their money, managing to open half of the raw materials. A lot of good stuff was discovered, though no rare treasures among it. Unexpectedly, the 700,000-yuan old underwater wood did not end up in He Tian¡¯s pocket, but was purchased by a bald guy. It was then cut open at the scene and turned out to be not only full of oil, but containing a tiger pattern as well. For a material of that size, the buyer could at least make twenty strings of beads out of it. Considering the current market price, the bald guy made a pretty sweet deal. By then, apart from those with some wrapping-up to do, most guests had already left. The two young masters and Zeng Yuewei of course remained behind and made their way towards the tea room. Zeng Yuewei spotted Gu Yu right away. She was about to greet him when she realized the awkward situation she was in and swallowed her words. The sharp-eyed He Tian noticed her reaction, though. ¡°Do you know them, Wei Wei? Let¡¯s go have a chat, then!¡± Before she had time to say anything, he dragged her over to that table. Seeing that, Li Yang adjusted his sses and followed them with a confused face. ¡°Mr. Li! Mr. He!¡± Xiaozhai was the first to react and stood up immediately. Panpan was only half conscious of what was going on and followed suit. Gu Yu had no idea who the two men were and only nodded at them. ¡°Wei Wei, introduce us. This is¡­¡± He Tian was making that cloying and weird sound again. Zeng Yuewei bit her lips and resigned herself to making the introduction. ¡°This is Gu Yu, a friend of mine. This is Mr. He, He Tian, and this is Mr. Li, Li Yang.¡± ¡°Hello, nice to meet you.¡± Gu Yu held out his hand, neither humble nor pushy. Li Yang gave him a slight shake while He Tian paid no attention to his gesture, asking instead, ¡°Is he your friend as well, Miss Jiang?¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s my friend.¡± ¡°Ha, what a coincidence! This young fellow has a lot of friends and all of them just happen to be pretty girls.¡± He Tian¡¯s tone was rather harsh. He then sized Gu Yu up, realizing that despite his dowdy clothes, Gu Yu was very good-looking and was giving off a serene feel just by standing there. One had to admit that people with this type of temperament irritated these rich second generation kids the most. It was safe to call them their archenemies¡ªthe feud between them would never be resolved. That was just how the world worked. An idea dawned on He Tian right away as he said, ¡°Enjoy yourselves. We¡¯ll go inside.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Li Yang did not talk much. However, when he caught the glimpse of the fragrant rosewood in Gu Yu¡¯s hand, a gloomy look immediately appeared on his face. After those three entered their private room, Gu Yu asked in confusion, ¡°Who are those people?¡± ¡°They are NPCs that you can get super equipment from,¡± Xiaozhai leant on her chin and said slowly. [1] ¡°What?¡± He turned to look at her. Expressing with one eye ¡®Sis are you serious?¡¯ and the other ¡®Do I look like an idiot to you?¡¯ He was about to make some of his favorite sarcasticments when Panpan interrupted, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s this hour already. Shall we go and have lunch?¡± Xiaozhai ignored her and asked Gu Yu instead, ¡°Do you want to have this cut open?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll cut it when I go back home. It takes too much time here¡­¡± He paused and said awkwardly, ¡°Um, I need to go to the toilet.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll wait for you downstairs.¡± Xiaozhai took over the fragrant rosewood in the most natural manner, in the same way that a boyfriend instinctively took his girlfriend¡¯s handbag when she needed to use the bathroom. Panpan was frowning, though. She found the man too gay to be a match for her girl. [2] *** The two went downstairs while Gu Yu went to the bathroom on his own. It just so happened that when he walked out, Zeng Yuewei was walking in. As soon as she saw him, she pulled him into a corner and asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°I was meeting up with my friend.¡± ¡°Forget about your meeting. Listen to me now. Go to the bus station and buy a ticket back to Bai Town,¡± she looked rather anxious. ¡°I¡­¡± He was utterly baffled. Seeing that she pointed at the private room not far away, it dawned on him right away. He asked in amazement, ¡°Have I pissed them off in some way?¡± ¡°Tsk, do you think they need a reason to mess with someone? I know people like them too well. They are having a bad day and you just happen to be a punching bag nearby. Anyway, go back as soon as possible. You¡¯ll be fine once you¡¯re on that bus.¡± Zeng Yuewei was sincerely trying to warn him. However, the sincerer she was, the more absent-minded Gu Yu became, for the conversation in that room wasing clearly into his ears. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve let Old Dog know. He¡¯s an expert, he¡¯s never screwed up.¡± ¡°Nothing went well ever since this morning, damn it! That woman was giving me an attitude since the minute she got into my car. If she pisses me off, I don¡¯t give a damn who she is!¡± ¡°Well, I thought you said you were taking it slow?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a limit to that! Her olddy has some connections, but it makes no difference to me. Just some extra effort if things get out of hand. Hear me out here. What¡¯s her deal anyway? She knew very well that I was holding her up but she still tried to get close to me. Is she pretending to say no when she wants to say yes?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s more like weing you with an intention to refuse.¡± ¡°Whatever! She knew I wanted to sleep with her. Instead of running away, she was following my orders. She¡¯s asking for it!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu fell silent. Zeng Yuewei was even more anxious now. ¡°What are you waiting for? Don¡¯t be afraid. The worst they can do is to have some thugse after you. If you leave now, they won¡¯t find you.¡± Meanwhile, the conversation in the room went on. ¡°Just admit your defeat. That woman is no angel. The way I see it, she picked that rotten one on purpose just to shirk you.¡± ¡°Not necessarily. Maybe she really doesn¡¯t know anything at all.¡± ¡°Did she tell you that? Come on, is it your first time with women? You can only believe half of what they say. If it were to me, I¡¯d just take her. I really hate that attitude of yours.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called bonding.¡± ¡°F**k! Bonding my ass!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu listened in silence, suddenly finding this turns of event rather strange. The woman in front of him was strong-willed and scheming, but she was not a bad person. The two men over there had morous looks, sessful careers and significant social status, yet there was nothing good in them. Right now, this woman on the verge of falling into an abyss was wholeheartedly trying to help him. Those two men were deciding his destiny today in their usual way, just like grinding an ant. Gu Yu had lived 21 years, which was not long enough to provide him with a lot of life experience. He was far from seeing through the so-called affairs of human life and human nature. Yet at that moment, he suddenly learnt something. It wasn¡¯t an epiphany, just some understanding of the world. *** Inside the private room, the two men had changed their subject. To them, those were just petty things that they would not waste much time on. As they talked, He Tian felt a cold sensation on his arms, as if a breeze had swept past him. The coldness moved downwards and dissipated. He rubbed his arms, feeling a bit strange. ¡°What¡­¡± Before Li Yang could finish his sentence, he also felt a coldness at his neck. Unlike He Tian, he looked towards the doorway first and realized that the door was ajar. Zeng Yuewei did not fully close it when she went out. He stood up and closed the door and felt it again before returning to his seat. He smiled, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just the wind.¡± [1] ED/N: NPC, Non-yable characters,puter-directed characters in games. One of the ng meanings in English is ¡°unimportant characters in life¡±, so perhaps that¡¯s what the author meant, since it was in English in the raws. [2] ED/N: Yep, ¡°her girl¡±, and ¡°gay¡± was in the raws in English as well. Chapter 29 Chapter 29: He Tian Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu BFF¡ªit was such a great term. [ED/N: = best friends forever, in case you have doubts.] She ys a series of significant roles in a girl¡¯s life¡ªcatfightpanion, lesbian girlfriend, home wrecker¡­ you name it. Other than those, one of the most important functions of a BFF was to help distinguish good men from bad ones. When a girl went on a first date with an unfamiliar guy or some inte pal, she would usually bring her BFF along. If she showed up alone, it would mean one of two things: either she was silly and innocently sweet, or she trusted the guy a lot. Neither of those were applicable to Jiang Xiaozhai, though. She simply had enough faith in herself and believed she could cope with any situation on her own. It wasn¡¯t weekend and attending the exhibition counted as a business trip for the two girls, which meant they couldn¡¯t just send Panpan back alone. Gu Yu certainly did not mind herpany and asked her to join them for lunch without any insincerity. Although Xiaozhai mentioned earlier that she was going to buy him lunch, with that piece of fragrant rosewood in his hand now, it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate to let her pay the bill. Hence, the three of them did not walk far but picked a nearby restaurant. Panpan had kept a steady gaze on Gu Yu with her widely open eyes ever since he picked up the menu. cing an order in a restaurant was telltale hint regarding a guy¡¯s taste and disposition. A table full of expensive dishes was shouting ¡°uncultured and vulgar¡±, while a meal consisting of budget dishes only would indicate he was nothing but a cheapskate. A man worth considering should order a variety of dishes, ranging from meat to vegetables and in the right proportions, for it would at least prove he had adequate intelligence and some principles. Yet some guys managed to avoid being ssified as either of the types mentioned above¡ªGu Yu was one of them. ¡°I¡¯ll have a stir-fried broli, a mushroom and bamboo shoot soup, and a bean sprout sd, oh, just mildly spicy, please¡­¡± He ordered those three and handed the menu to Panpan with a smile. ¡°There, what would you like to eat?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Panpan took over the menu and gave Xiaozhai a sneaky look, which would trante as ¡®not bad at all, he has nailed it so far¡¯. Exactly! What the girls cared most about was not how much money a guy had or how willing he was to spend it; even his IQ was not all that important¡­ the ultimate prerequisite was, ¡®He cares about me!¡¯ Gu Yu had just demonstrated that. Everything he ordered was Xiaozhai¡¯s favorite, things she had mentioned casually during their conversations. The ultimate trick here was the so-called ¡®my opponents might have a myriad of different methods, but I¡¯ll defeat them with a single move¡¯. Panpan then ordered another two dishes, both cheap ones. After all, she could tell from the guy¡¯s appearance that he was not the well-off type. The dishes were soon served and the three chatted away as they ate the food. The ¡°division of work¡± was apparent for this team. During the ¡°interrogation¡±, Panpan was the one shooting all sorts of questions at Gu Yu¡ªranging from questions about where he came from and how he made a living all the way to his height, weight, and the size of his house. If it were up to her, she would even have him answer how good he was in bed. Gu Yu, on the other hand, found the questions so awkward that he had to ignore a few and answered the rest with much embarrassment. Xiaozhai barely spoke during the lunch, but was watching them with a delightful smile. The ¡°interview¡± went on for an entire hour and Panpan did not let Gu Yu off the hook until the lunch was almost over. It was long past noon and the two girls needed to go back to work, so they made no further arrangements with Gu Yu. The three bid each other farewell right there, outside the restaurant. Gu Yu left for the long-distance bus station while the two girls were heading back to work. By then, Panpan had swapped her previous friendly attitude for criticism and persuasion. ¡°Sis, what are you doing with a guy like that? Ok, he¡¯s cute, but cuteness does not bring food to the table. Have you heard about his background? He lives in a vige¡­¡± ¡°I believe that¡¯s a county-level city.¡± ¡°Whatever! They¡¯re the same thing! They don¡¯t even have buildings taller than two stories! How does pit toilet sound to you? Even if things work out for the two of you, well, have you ever heard of a thing called ¡®long-distance rtionship¡¯? It¡¯s ¡®long distance¡¯ we¡¯re talking about here! The rate of failure is like 99.9%. Are you sure you can make that work? Let¡¯s say you two work it out and decide to tie the knot. Are you going to move to Bai Town, or is heing to Shengtian? Moving to Bai Town means abandoning your current life; having hime to Shengtian is cing his head in a noose. He didn¡¯t even finish university, what is he gonna do here? I know you have your own house and everything. Well, that¡¯s like having him married into your family¡­¡± She bombarded Xiaozhai with her lecture and only then realized that her dear friend was not taking any of that in. She was vexed. ¡°Sis, what do you think? Say something!¡± ¡°Nothing, just go with the flow,¡± Xiaozhai smiled. ¡°F*ck! I hate it when you say that! You¡¯re killing me here!¡± Panpan was frustrated by that stone-cold shoulder she smashed into and would not talk to Xiaozhai for the rest of their trip¡­ *** ¡°Creak!¡± The bus turned up at the station and Gu Yu jumped out as soon as the door opened. With that backpack on his back and the wood in his hand, he looked rather bizarre and was attracting quite a few nces from the passers-by. Actually, he also felt he had wasted a good opportunity. If he could roll around in the dirt and lie down by the side of the road with the wood in his arms, he was sure he could earn some dinner money, if not more, by posing as a beggar. The ce he got off at was called ¡°Old Crossing¡± and was only a few hundred meters away from the long-distance bus station. The South Station of Shengtian had a long history and had gone through quite a few changes. It was now covering a very wide area. Old Crossing, for instance, consisted of numerous smallnes and alleys, all of which were tiny streets closely packed together. Together, they took up an area asrge as an urban vige and to the taxi drivers, anywhere within it was the same as ¡°in front of the station¡±. A stranger to the city might not be able to find the exit even after milling around here for thirty minutes. Gu Yu used to take bus trips all the time between Shengtian and Bai Town when he was in university and knew the area like the back of his hand. ¡°Puff¡­¡± Old Dog puffed out some smoke and dropped the cigarette butt to the ground, then ground it with his foot. He kept his eyes on the figure not far ahead of him as he beckoned at his hatchet man and followed Gu Yu cautiously, acting all natural. ¡°Old Dog¡± was his moniker, and his real name hadn¡¯t been used for years. Back when He Zun was starting his own enterprise, Old Dog had been following him and doing his bidding. The He family was into real estate business, which involved housing demolition and resettlement, both being things that could result in disputes. The usual order of solving these problems was to let the developers deal with it first and if they failed, the authorities would then take over. When even the authorities could not work it out, the ¡°gentlemen of the society¡± would make themselves useful. With some maneuvering behind closed doors, anything could be eventually settled. It was during that period that Old Dog moved up the food chain and became He Zun¡¯s right-hand man. However, after the He family had their business legitimized, they wiped away all blemishes in their record. Thanks to his long service to the family, he managed to get a swivel-chair job in thepany. He was essentially doing the same thing as he always did. If something could not be solved on the table, He Zun and He Tian would leave it to him. Old Dog was using much milder approach these days as well, seldom making a bloody scene. After all, it was a society ruled byw now. He tried his best to avoid all the hacking and killing. The task given to him today was an impromptu one. Taking care of this skinny boy was a piece of cake. His stalking started right after Gu Yu left the restaurant. He then followed him on and off the bus until Gu Yu reached Old Crossing. Old Dog wasughing on the inside, for this ce was simply perfect. He could get away easily even if he killed someone here, let alone sort a guy out. The scraggy fellow would probably fight like a five-year-old. He was turning the idea over in his head as he followed Gu Yu, ¡®Break an arm¡­ oh, no, make that two ribs, that should do the trick.¡¯ These days, even the scoundrels had to be unconventional. They needed to know things like how slight injury, minor injury and serious injury were ssified so that they could do their job ¡°properly¡±. Just as he was thinking it over, Old Dog was delighted to find an alley ahead of him. He was very familiar with this area and knew the alley had a dead end¡ªa perfect spot to beat someone up. ¡°Now!¡± He ordered in a low voice and quickened his steps, wanting to knock Gu Yu down from behind. However, he had only advanced a few meters when the fellow turned into that alley on his own. Oho! Could it get any easier than that? Old Dog and his underling were trotting by now. They each took out a brass knuckle and put it on the right hand. They got to the entrance of the alley within no time. However, when they looked inside¡­ ¡®What the hell? Where is he?¡¯ Low residential houses nked the alley and all the doors were closed. A tall wall stood at the end, but not a soul was in that alley. At that moment, Old Dog could not believe his eyes. It was at most ten seconds between the time when the fellow turned into this alley and when he got here. Where on earth could he have gone in that brief moment? ¡°Brother Dog, what do we do?¡± The hatchet man was also worried. ¡°Look around! See if he is hiding¡­ holy crap!¡± Before he finished his sentence, Old Dog ran to the tall wall hastily and stared at a mark on a brick. It was quite some time before he spoke again. ¡°Is he a man or a goddamn monkey? How could he jump over such a tall wall?¡± *** ¡°Phew!¡± Gu Yu got on a bus at an unhurried pace, still carrying his backpack and the wood. The bus took him all the way to the train station in the north of the city. ¡®They couldn¡¯t have followed me this far, could they?¡¯ The moment he walked out of the restaurant, he felt two sets of eyes lock onto him and then follow him all the way to Old Crossing. Therefore, he took a detour and escaped in the mostid-back manner, deliberately leaving behind a shoe print. That tall wall might seem impossible to scale to other people, but doing so was as easy as killing a fly for him. As a matter of fact, with the physical fitness and sensory sensitivity Gu Yu had now, as long as he did not run into some pain-in-the-neck stuff such as an ancient martial art user, an esper, a martial art master, a soldier king or something along those lines, ordinary people would pose no threat to him at all. [1] However, he did not want to trouble himself with an unnecessary confrontation. So what if he could defeat those people? That would be telling them ¡®Yea I¡¯m awesome like this. Come and challenge me.¡¯ Things would take a downward spiral from there. Defeating a small boss would draw the big boss out, then some elder¡ªall the way to their ancestor. He would end up digging up the ancestral grave of their family. ¡®Come on! I¡¯m not the hoodlum here! I won¡¯t pick up a watermelon knife and hack my way to Peni East Road. I¡¯m a busy man!¡¯ [2] *** That night, in a hotel. A shirtless He Tian was lying on arge andfortable bed, and water was running in the bathroom. He had dinner with Zeng Yuewei and drove her back only to return here with another woman¡ªhis ¡°friend with benefits¡± tonight. Sex was probably the only thing he couldn¡¯t get enough of, for he was a textbook example of a womanizer. After a while, the sound of running water stopped and a woman walked out, wrapped in a white towel. She had a slim face, doll eyes and a curvaceous body¡ªin a word, it was a typical inte celebrity style. ¡°Brother Tian!¡± The woman standing by the bed had bent herself into a tempting pose and called out in a tender voice. ¡°Come to me, babe!¡± He beckoned. ¡°I won¡¯t. When are you buying me that race car you promised? You¡¯re always lying to me,¡± the woman was smart. She knew exactly when to ask for her rewards. ¡°Haha, I¡¯m taking you shopping tomorrow. Come up here now!¡± He Tian had been drooling over Zeng Yuewei without lying his hands on her all day and needed to vent that lust of his since long ago. Seeing that the woman was acting pretentious, he was going to swoop in, but then his phone rang all of a sudden. He picked it up and said in an irritated tone, ¡°Hey, what took you so long? How did it go?¡± ¡°Mr. He, I¡¯m sorry. That fellow was very sneaky and ditched us. Ah Si and I have been waiting around the station all this time and he was nowhere to be found. That¡¯s why I did not call you earlier,¡± it was Old Dog who called him. [ED/N: Ah Si is the hatchet man] He Tian¡¯s face darkened, ¡°So, you got nothing?¡± ¡°Well, he seemed to have been heading towards the long-distance bus station, so I suppose he¡¯s not from around here. But it could also be that he had spotted us and was leading us on¡­¡± ¡°Smack!¡± Before he could finish, He Tian¡¯s cell phone was thrown away, making the woman jump. ¡°Rubbish! Good for nothing!¡± He swore a few times, then turned to the woman suddenly. ¡°Come over here!¡± He then grabbed her by her hair and pressed her down. Not daring defy him, the woman took off his underwearpliantly and start to serve him between his legs. ¡°F**k! Ouch!¡± He Tian screamed and kicked the woman away. His entire body was tensed up as he rolled around on the bed, wailing in misery. [1] ED/N: About the soldier king, that¡¯s the literal trantion; it probably refers to sth along the lines of ¡°the most epic uber super duper strong Chinese soldier whom even USmandos like Rambo wouldn¡¯t be able to win¡±. Also, other things like espers mentioned here may not appear in the novel, treat them as examples. [2] TL/N: The 1st sentence is a quote from the 1996 Hong Kong movie ¡°The God of Cookery¡±, or ¡°Ê³Éñ¡±, starring Stephen Chow. Chapter 30 Chapter 30: A Pain in the¡­ Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Brother Tian!¡± The woman crawled onto the bed on all fours with her hair all disheveled. Her head had gonepletely nk with fear and could think of nothing else as she kept asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Ah! Ah, ah!¡± He Tian could not hear her, for he was almost passing out from the pain. He felt his member on the verge of bursting. An unbearable pain was gushing out from his private parts and spreading to the rest of his body. All his nerves were twitching violently. ¡°Brother Tian! Brother Tian!¡± The woman called his name a couple of times again but did not dare touch him. She stared nkly for a moment before realizing what she should do. She grabbed the phone and dialed a number. ¡°Hello, room service¡­ yes, it¡¯s me! Something is wrong with Brother Tian and he is suddenly in a lot of pain. Come quickly¡­¡± She hung up the phone and looked at He Tian, her face drained of all color. Only when she unconsciously wiped her forehead did she realize that her body was soaked in sweat despite the shower she took earlier. The man in front of her was the crown prince of New Century. If something happened to him here, she would be a cement block at the bottom of the canal! Overwhelmed with fear and bewilderment, she sat shivering on the chair. It felt like a lifetime before she heard someone thumping at the door. She immediately rushed over to answer it. She had opened it just a crack when a group of people led by the hotel manager violently rushed in, the door banging loudly against the wall. They were all in panic as well. It couldn¡¯t be helped, for this hotel belonged to the He family. ¡°What happened to Mr. He?¡± The manager checked on He Tian and asked in a quivering voice, ¡°You didn¡¯t mess him up with drugs, did you?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t! We were just getting started and Brother Tian went like that! You have to believe me, Mr. Zhang! I didn¡¯t do anything¡­ you have to believe me!¡± The woman whimpered. ¡°Fine, fine. There¡¯s no time to talk about that right now. Old Liu, have you let the hospital know yet?¡± ¡°All set. Their director is leaving for the hospital from his home right now.¡± ¡°Good! Oi, you people, put some clothes on Mr. He and carry him downstairs!¡± The manager was a person with quite some resolution, but it did not help him much here. He Tian was holding tightly onto his private parts, contorting his body in all sorts of frightening positions. Those people tried their best for quite some time and still couldn¡¯t put on a pair of pants for him. In the end, they had no choice but to wrap him up in a bigforter and carried the whole thing onto a wheeled stretcher. He Tian was still screaming under the cover, reminding one of a pig on its way to the ughterhouse. They went down in the elevator together. Arge vehicle was waiting for them, which headed directly towards the hospital. They ignored several red lights in a row and rushed to the hospital as fast as they could. On their arrival, they were hurried into the emergency room, where the hospital had already finished their preparations. By now, He Tian¡¯s symptoms seemed to have subsided a little and he wasn¡¯t crying out as loudly as before. This hospital had a close rtionship with the He family and nearly all its medical directors had arrived, soon proceeding to examine He Tian in an organized manner. The manager and the woman were waiting outside, both extremely nervous. They would exchange a look from time to time, but had nothing to say to each other. They knew very well that He Tian had He Zun to back him up. It was an open secret in Shengtian that He Zun was behind He Tian, and who didn¡¯t know how much blood was on his hands? They dared not even think about running away. They might still have a chance to live by telling the truth and making amends by aplishing some merits. If they tried to escape, however, there wouldn¡¯t be enough of them left to call it a body, let alone two! It was getting veryte. Time crawled by. Just as the two were waiting in torment, the elevator opened and out came a burst of rapid footsteps, following which was a thick-browed man in his fifties. ¡°Cha¡­ Cha¡­ Chairman He!¡± The manager bolted up right away and stuttered out a greeting. The woman also jolted, but could not make a sound. ¡°¡­¡± He Zun gave him a wave and turned to the woman, his face full of imperiousness. He stared at her for quite a while beforemanding, ¡°Tell me. Leave nothing out.¡± ¡°Yes, yes¡­¡± The woman dared not be ambiguous and reported every detail from checking into the room, He Tian¡¯s answering Old Dog¡¯s call and going frenzy with rage, to his sudden pain in certain area after her oral ¡°service¡±. He Zun did not say anything after she finished and only pondered with a frown. A whileter, the light of the operation room switched from red to green with a ting and two doctors walked out. ¡°¡±Chairman He!¡±¡± ¡°How¡¯s A Tian now?¡± [1] ¡°The pain is mostly relieved and he is rtively stable now. It¡¯s just¡­¡± one of the doctor paused and said, ¡°Chairman He, pleasee this way.¡± The three of them then entered a room nearby and the doctor locked the door behind them, still looking rather hesitant. ¡°Do tell me. It¡¯s all right,¡± He Zun was getting impatient. ¡°Ok. I will exin it briefly. What happened to Mr. He is called cavernous nerve damage and spasm. It is usually caused by long-term excessive sexual activities and the abuse of stimting drugs. It takes a long time to umte and the symptoms would not appear just overnight. Based on the blood test result, Mr. He has probably taken some kind of medication today, which set off the sudden spasm, causing severe pain.¡± So that¡¯s what happened! Hearing that, He Zun fought back his anger and asked, ¡°Is that all?¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s more¡­¡± The other doctor added in a hurry. ¡°From a traditional medicine point of view, what happened to Mr. He was a result of Chong Mai [TL/N: meaning ¡°Prating Vessel¡±] deficiency. Chong Mai is in charge of one¡¯s vital energy and blood, as well as the reproductive function. If onecks sufficient vital energy and blood and has a deficient Chong Mai, but still has an over-active sex life, his private parts could suffer from damage and affect his fertility¡­¡± [2] ¡°What?¡± He lost control at those words and grabbed the doctor near. ¡°Say that again?¡± ¡°Please calm down, Chairman He! He was only talking about individual cases. If treated properly, Mr. He can still make a recovery,¡± another doctor mediated immediately. ¡°He can recover?¡± ¡°Yes! Yes, of course! Please trust our medical technique!¡± The doctor was lying through his teeth. ¡°Humph!¡± He Zun only let go of the doctor after hearing that. He had had numerous mistresses in his lifetime and had lost count of his illegitimate children. However, He Tian was his favorite. The idea of him being sterile would certainly scare and enrage him. At the same time, as a father, he also regretted a lot that his son did not live up to his expectations. Not only was He Tian a womanizer, he paid no attention to his own health as well. Basically, he had iting. He managed to control his temper and warned the two, ¡°Remember, not a word of it must reach anyone else!¡± ¡°Of course! Of course!¡± The two doctors nodded vigorously. He Zun snorted and turned to leave the room, but turned back before he reached the door. ¡°What if someone else did this to him? Do you think such a possibility exists?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± The two hesitated for quite a while and replied cautiously, ¡°In that case, whoever did it would need at least a year of preparation to make it work, for what happened to Mr. He was caused by a very slow umtion, and wasn¡¯t acute.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He Zun nodded and pushed the door open. He then went to the ward to check on He Tian who was lying quietly on a hospital bed, either asleep or still unconscious. He Zun did not disturb him and left for the corridor after a few minutes. His entourage was guarding every exit while the manager and the woman were still fixed to their chairs and dared not make any movements. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to deal with them and went to stand by the window, feeling irritated. After a while, he called out, ¡°Old Han.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± A middle-aged man appeared beside him quietly. ¡°Find out all people that kid had contact with over the past month.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The man left at themand. That was very typical of He Zun. When something happened, his first reaction was not to find out why, but rather ¡°Who the hell tried to mess with me?¡± As a result of his social status, there was bad blood between him and a lot of people. However, this incident with He Tian was way too sudden to be a coincidence, even if there was no clue to it whatsoever. Furthermore, the hospital had given quite a few medical exnations, which orded perfectly with his luxurious and dissipated lifestyle. The only discrepancy was that his symptoms were a bit more violent than usual in such cases. Well, the ¡°bit¡± part became an ambiguous area which neither parties dared to confirm. Even the most awesome person was limited to his upbringing in the modern world. Under such circumstances, things that came to his mind first were ¡°illness¡±, ¡°poison¡± or ¡°lifestyle¡± instead of other aspects. It was a result of psychological inertia. Little did He Zun and his son knew, though, that just a couple of hours before He Tian was rushed into the hospital, the Li family also went chaotic, although the situation there was not as intense. [1] ED/N: Stuff like ¡°A¡± is a form of endearment, though it may appear as an actual name (if not in real life, then at least in a novel). Basically, it¡¯d be more or less the same if he called him Tian¡¯er, Tian Tian or Xiao Tian (Small Tian). However, ¡®er is used mostly towards girls or one¡¯s sons, and Xiao Tian is something even more endearing that maybe his grandparents would use. In other words, A Tian is something which, ording to this author¡¯s personal dictionary, would be ¡°least gay¡± out of those four options. I don¡¯t even mention Tian Tian, since such nicknames would likely only fit a girl, and sound like bullying when aimed at a guy¡­ [2] ED/N: By ¡°vital energy¡± they refer to his Yang, if it¡¯s easier to understand this way. Chapter 31 Chapter 31: A Set of Eyes Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Li Yang returned home to have a rest after the agarwood exhibition. He had been busying himself for the past few days so he took a nap when he got home. However, after he woke up, he found both of his legspletely stiff. He could still feel them, but they just wouldn¡¯t move. He called out for help at once and had himself sent to the hospital in a hurry. After an examination, he was told that the symptom was a result of pathogenic dampness and heat, as well as stagnation and blood stasis in his meridians. The doctor could not pinpoint the exact cause and only said it was induced by overworking, which caused deficiency in the spleen and weakened his vital energy. The Li family certainly would not ept such a diagnosis, but there was nothing they could do, for they had tried every medical method there was and they all came up with that same conclusion. It was not incurable, though. Taking medicine daily together with acupuncture and chiropractic therapies might give him a chance for a slow recovery. The panic-stricken Li Yang was almost terrified now. Everything had been fine until he woke up from his nap and he was paralyzed. No one could stay calm when such thing happened to them. His father, Li Yan, also rushed to the hospital. Just as He Zun, his first reaction was ¡°Who did this to my son?¡± The news of heirs of the He and the Li families falling ill on the same day had ¡°trouble¡± written all over it. Despite all the precautions they took, word of it still got out somehow. Thus, the most popr subject in the ¡°Tuhao¡± circle the next day was that He Tian and Li Yang had turned against each other over a woman and came to trade blows, which sent both to the hospital¡­ [1] Never mind all those gossip and rumors, the two families only found the incident abnormal. One of them falling ill could have a reasonable exnation. When it happened to both of them, that could not be a mere coincidence! That night, in a club. He Zun and Li Yan sat across the table in a private room, facing each other and both looking rather gloomy. The two were actually close friends. He Zun skipped the pleasantries and asked directly, ¡°How¡¯s Xiao Yang now?¡± ¡°He still can¡¯t move his legs. The hospital had drawn up a recovery n for him. Well, I guess we¡¯ll have to try it out for the time being. Is A Tian feeling better?¡± ¡°He¡¯s awake now, but what happened was too much for him¡­¡± He Zun shook his head and did not want to go into details. He went on, ¡°Old Li, what do you think of this incident?¡± ¡°Normally, we should trust the test results, but what happened was so fishy that it just keeps me wondering.¡± ¡°I felt the same. A Tian might be a self-indulgent kid, but he is only in his early thirties, how could his health deteriorate so fast? By the way, I had my people look into it and here¡¯s what they have found so far,¡± with that, he tossed over a man folder. Li Yan opened it and found He Tian¡¯s itineraries during the past three days, every person he had contact with included. The file was put together in a hurry and the information was not disyed in the most careful way. Dozens of names were listed in it, ¡°Gu Yu¡± and ¡°Jiang Xiaozhai¡± among them. However, one of the names stood out the most, underlined with a red pen. ¡°Zeng Yuewei? Oh, that girl of the Zeng family,¡± he took a while to recall the name. ¡°A Tian¡¯s secretary said he saw Zeng Yuewei a lot recently and the two seemed quite intimate. As far as I know, though, the girl was not all that into A Tian. The three of them were together yesterday.¡± ¡°Do you think she¡¯s involved?¡± Li Yan frowned and seemed to disagree. ¡°I can¡¯t think of a way that would let her achieve so much all at once.¡± ¡°How the hell am I supposed to know!¡± He Zun suddenly raised his voice, appearing all agitated. ¡°A Tian is wrecked now. If someone is indeed behind this, I swear I¡¯ll find that person and cut him up into little pieces!¡± ¡°Calm down, Old He. Here, have some tea.¡± As the saying went, an apple never fell too far from the tree. Li Yan was the scheming type just like his son. He poured a cup of tea for He Zun and asked, ¡°So, from what you have said, do you think Zeng Yuewei is the prime suspect?¡± ¡°No, there must be someone else. You know very well that those two have made quite a few enemies along the way. I think we should investigate it together.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The two fell into silence after that, worried by their own thoughts. After a while, Li Yan said, ¡°Old He, you don¡¯t suppose something evil was involved, do you?¡± He Zun was surprised by the question, but soon sneered at him. ¡°Are you that superstitious?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I believe in such stuff, just that this whole thing was so unexpected. Think about it, apart from ¡®them¡¯, what can induce sickness at any time without any sign beforehand?¡± ¡°So, you want to¡­¡± ¡°A friend of mine lives in Taiping County. He is on friendly terms with a Taoist abbot and we could invite him here to have a look.¡± [2] Taiping County was about 300 km to the north of Shengtian. Located there was Lotus Mountain¨Cit was a magnificent mountain with a long history, considered the most renowned mountain in the province. Numerous Taoist temples and abbeys were found all over the mountain. Incense sticks were burnt vigorously day after night there and they were also the most popr site for the believers and practitioners. He Zun pondered over the idea and found it harmless. He then gave his approval. ¡°Then let¡¯s invite him over. If he really can do what he says, we won¡¯t send him back empty-handed.¡± ¡°Great. About Zeng Yuewei¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ll follow her around for a couple of days and find out what¡¯s she up to.¡± *** ¡°Ding-dong! Ding-dong!¡± ¡°Ah ah ah!¡± In an office, Zeng Yuewei¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by her ringtone. She pushed aside a pile of blueprints and dug out her cell phone. ¡°Yes, mum?¡± ¡°Where are you now?¡± Her mum sounded anxious. ¡°Working overtime, why?¡± ¡°He Tian and Li Yang are both in a hospital. Did you know that?¡± ¡°When did that happen?¡± She was taken by surprise. ¡°Yesterday. One of them got in in the afternoon. Rumor was that he was paralyzed from waist down. The other one was hospitalized in the evening. I heard that, well, his fertility was damaged.¡± Her mum could not bring herself to say things like ¡°problem with his private parts¡± and used a euphemism instead. ¡°They, they were both fine yesterday,¡± Zeng Yuewei was shocked and dumbfounded at the same time. ¡°That¡¯s the problem! Weren¡¯t you with them yesterday?¡± ¡°I only went to the agarwood exhibition, had tea with them at noon and ate dinner with He Tian in the evening, then I went home¡­ why, what did the doctors say? They are not suspecting me, are they?¡± ¡°Forget about the doctors. With the usual ways of handling problems of those two families, they will definitely let it out on some innocent people. I¡¯ll have your dad talk to someone about it.¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t do that!¡± Zeng Yuewei might be confused right now, but she was not stupid. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. If you go around talking to people, I would look guilty.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. That was silly of me. In that case, you, you¡­¡± ¡°Hell, it¡¯s not like they¡¯ll start killing people and setting fires. We¡¯re in a modern society now. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take extra care.¡± They talked a bit longer after that before Zeng Yuewei hung up. She was still utterly confused, but was overwhelmed with an uncontroble excitement at the same time. That son of a bi*ch had irritated her so much these days. So he was barren now? Hoho! *** Bai Town, a drizzly morning. It had been sprinkling nonstop since early that morning. Raindrops pattered on the windows and were drifting freely in the air in the courtyard. There was something natural and exquisite about the scene. Gu Yu did not have the luxury to sit down and appreciate the view. Old houses like his were easily affected by the damp weather, not to mention all the incense he kept here. He rose very early this morning and ran to the west wing to make sure everything was watertight and work on it if it wasn¡¯t. He then checked all the tiles on his roof to make sure they wouldn¡¯t be washed away by the rain. It had been two days since he got back and he had been busying himself ever since. As it happened to be a rainy day today, he decided to take a day off and did not go into the mountain for his cultivation. As for what was going on in Shengtian, Gu Yu had no idea whatsoever. After overhearing that conversation the other day, he sent out two streaks of spiritual essence when he passed the private room, corroding the two young masters¡¯ meridians without a trace. Bodies of average people were notpatible with spiritual essence. If the essence was guided, it could indeed benefit their bodies¨Cotherwise, it would only harm them. The little trick Gu Yu invented was based on this characteristic, damaging Li Yang and He Tian duo¡¯s meridians, and naturally leading to their current plight. Frankly speaking, he had not only found those two evil, but also felt them viting the interests of himself and his friends, especially Zeng Yuewei. Ever since that girl warned him and told him to run away, he had started considering her his friend. As the saying went, the moment one stepped into the cultivation world, no matter how peaceful a temperament they had, they were no longer the same as themon folks. That was why he skipped any half-assed measures such as face-pping and used his ¡°deadliest¡± weapon right away. The clock struck eight o¡¯clock. Gu Yu had finished his breakfast and walked out of the door, carrying that tightly wrapped fragrant rosewood. Uncle Fang wasing towards him from not far away. He greeted, ¡°Uncle, out on a job?¡± ¡°Just some physical work. I¡¯m on my way there. What are you up to?¡± ¡°Oh, a friend gave me some wood material and I¡¯m taking it to the factory.¡± ¡°Wood material?¡± Uncle Fang gave that stick a glimpse and did not ask further questions. Instead, he said, ¡°Xiao Yu, I see that you are not really into your business these days. Why, something wrong? Do let me know if you need any help.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just had a few orders and was busy making incense.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good¡­¡± The two walked out the alley together and Uncle Fang added, ¡°Boy, you used to be Phoenix Fair¡¯s boy wonder. It was such a pity for all of us that you couldn¡¯t finish school. Please don¡¯t do anything indecent. If you need anything, just ask. We¡¯re all here for you.¡± ¡°Ha, please don¡¯t worry, Uncle. I know what I¡¯m doing.¡± With that, the two went separate ways at the main street. Gu Yu proceeded north and soon reached the suburbs, where a wood processing nt was¨Cit was the factory he¡¯d mentioned earlier. It was a rather small business and was doing all it could to make ends meet. He entered the nt and found it quite empty. Junk and waste were piled in the corners, exposed to the weather. He looked around and found an old master in a warehouse. ¡°Uncle, do you cut materials here?¡± The old man looked at him over his reading sses. ¡°What material?¡± ¡°This one.¡± He drew the cloth open and revealed a pale-yellow log. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s fragrant rosewood, isn¡¯t it? Sure, we do!¡± The old man¡¯s attitude took a U-turn. He moved closer for a better look and became rather excited. The two agreed on the price right away and the old man set up the operating tform, ready to start. This wood Xiaozhai picked was a spongy type, it had less oil and emphasized on the patterns. The old master had been stuck in Bai Town his entire life and did not have much experience with rare materials. Hence, he took this job rather seriously as he switched on the jigsaw and pushed the wood towards it carefully. With a tearing sound, a section was cut off. Gu Yu picked it up and was taken aback. He did not have high hopes for the material yet he hit the jackpot on the first cut. The palm-sized cross-section had a pure oil color and was covered with vivid patterns. ck stripes arranged themselves into even, concentric circles. A dark spot resembling a human eye was right in the center. The second cut gave him the same result. ¡®Holy crap!¡¯ Gu Yu was dumbstruck this time for real. It was a set of eyes! The so-called ¡°set of eyes¡± referred to the instance when the material was made into beads and arranged into pairs. Each bead would have a dark spot¨Cthe ¡°eyes¡±. The old man also shuddered. He looked up and asked, ¡°Shall, shall I go on?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The third cut followed, then the fourth one¡­ when he finished atst, the material could roughly be made into two strings of beads, one 1.8 cm in diameter and the other 1.2 cm. With the current market price, the two strings would be worth at least 100,000 yuan. ¡°Young man, thanks to you, I got to see some good stuff today!¡± The old master was almost rejuvenated and started processing the beads without further instructions from Gu Yu. Gu Yu, on the other hand, was leaning against the door and watching the drifting rain with some mixed feelings. ¡®Did she know, or was it just dumb luck?¡¯ [1] ED/N: See chapter 24. Tuhao refers to the rich, especially tycoons, local tyrants and nouveau riche. [2] TL/N: ¡®Tanping¡¯ means ¡®peace and tranquility¡¯ Chapter 32 Chapter 32: A Fake Method Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Gu Yu turned the idea over in his head and decided not to ask Xiaozhai anything¡ªeven if he did, she would probably reply with some casual remark or a joke anyway. The girl had the most peculiar disposition Gu Yu had ever seen. After spending some time with her, Gu Yu was beginning to grasp her way of thinking. However, he couldn¡¯t stop fantasizing at the same time. The girl had given him a piece of wood that could be made into a pair of bead strings, which just happened to be one for a man and one for a woman. He had actually thought about giving the 1.2 cm string to Xiaozhai, but managed to fight back the impulse with some effort. After all, they were only friends now and neither of them had expressed their feelings towards one another explicitly. Using the ¡°matching outfit¡± trick prematurely could make him look frivolous and offend the girl. It took him ten years to study incense and he started making it two years ago, during which period not much profit hade out of this business and he was barely making ends meet. However, things had taken a turn for the better recently. First, there was that jade gourd incense holder given to him by Granny Zeng, then came the fragrant rosewood bead strings from Xiaozhai which could be worth over 100,000 yuan with the current market price. They were both marvelous gifts, but he would rather have something more substantial! He only had 10,000 yuan on his bank ount. With his daily cultivating exercise, he was having less and less time for tending to his stall. It it carried on like this, he would have been drained of his assets sooner orter. Gu Yu did not care much about money or wealth, but that did not mean he was aloof from material pursuits or someone pretentious. As long as he could maintain a reasonable living standard, he would leave everything else as the way it was. However, that standard had been raised, which was giving him a sense of urgency. Finding a way to increase his ie led Gu Yu back to his specialty¡ªincense-making. His product was first-rate at most in the past. After setting foot into the cultivation world, though, he had raised his incense-making skill to a whole new level, and very few people could prove a worthy rival for him. Take the Wake-up Incense Xiaozhai ordered as an example. It would excel over anything of its kind no matter where he chose to sell it. Being an economically advanced city, work pressure in Shengtian was enormous, which would provide Gu Yu with a lot of potential customers. Based on his current productivity, he could make up to sixty sticks in one night, which was his limit. The time spent on incense concoction and cering, on the other hand, was less flexible. Both processes were time-consuming and required patience. It would take at least twenty days for a box of incense to go through the process from early-stage preparation to being taken out of the cer and the maximum capacity of the cer was thirty trays, which was equal to fifteen boxes of incense sticks. It was impractical to expand production when it came to handmade incense, which instead meant he had to stick to niche markets and high-end customers. What Gu Yucked in the past was a medium ofmunication, but that had been made up for now. After all, he now knew people like the Zeng siblings, who belonged to the central figures among the trendsetters. Gu Yu wanted to fully exploit such an opportunity, so he made four boxes of Wake-up Incense sticks, hoping he could find some time and talk to them about it. Several days passed by like this and he lived pretty much the same way as before¡ªcultivating, working on his stall, making incense, going round and round. The spiritual essence in his body, which sank deep within his Dantian like a faint mist, remained barely detectable. The spiritual essence surrounding him did not get any thicker either, although he had the impression he could see a very subtle increase in it, which was faintly discernible. *** Night, Phoenix Fair. Wisps of smoke rose from the kitchen chimney in the little courtyard of the Fang family. Pans and pots were clinking and nking inside. Needless to say, dinner was being prepared. Uncle Fang and Aunt Fang did not have regr working hours, hence they did not have a fixed dinner time at home. Today, both hade backte. Fang Qing was starving before they got home and decided to cook on her own. The saying that the children growing up in poor families learned to manage household affairs early was true. Mature or not, Fang Qing knew her way around the house. ¡°Done!¡± Fang Qing held the wok by its handle and gave the food inside a fewst stirs, then put it onto a te. On the dinner table in the back room, two dishes were already set¨Chomestyle tofu and fried julienned potatoes. Her parents were firmly seated on the brick bed and showed no intention to give her anypliments. To them, what their daughter did was perfectly normal¡ªFang Qing thought the same. She grabbed a stool and picked up her chopsticks, ready to have dinner. Just then, someone called outside, ¡°Uncle, Aunt, are you home?¡± ¡°Xiao Yu¡­¡± Aunt Fang recognized his voice at once and rushed her daughter to answer the door. ¡°Your big brother¡¯s here!¡± ¡°nk!¡± The girl almost knocked the chair over as she ran out to wee Gu Yu. She then followed him back into the room. Uncle Fang was about to get down from the bed as he greeted Gu Yu. ¡°Here, eat with us.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve just eaten.¡± He patted the paper bag in his hand and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m here for Qing Qing. Aren¡¯t the high school entrance examinationsing soon? I have a few sets of practice test papers for her.¡± ¡°Oh my, thanks for thinking about her.¡± ¡°See that, you wicked little girl? Everyone is worried about you. If you end up a good-for-nothing, you¡¯ll disappoint all of us!¡± ¡°Pish!¡± The girl twitched her mouth as she snorted lightly with undisguised annoyance. Uncle Fang red, ready to start his lecture. Gu Yu intervened in time. ¡°Don¡¯t be angry. Please return to your dinner and I¡¯ll talk her through the papers first. It won¡¯t take long.¡± With that, he pulled Fang Qing by her arm to the west wing and took out an incense box and a perfumed sachet. The girl watched him in confusion. ¡°Where are the papers?¡± ¡°Where on earth would I get those? I¡¯ve made these specially for you,¡± he opened the box and in it were eight incense pills. ¡°Burn one pill each night. The exams are a week from now and there are enough to cover you till then. Take this sachet with you from now on until the examination day.¡± ¡°What are these exactly?¡± The girl fiddled with them, feeling curious and annoyed at the same time. ¡°You don¡¯t have to know what they are. Enough is to say that they¡¯ll benefit you. Tell me, do you want to have a good grade?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± ¡°Then follow my instructions. Remember though, don¡¯t let your parents find out.¡± ¡°Ok¡­¡± Fang Qing trusted himpletely and did not even ask for an exnation. ¡°Well, I should go now. Pull yourself together. Be confident!¡± He gave her some encouragement and left as quickly as he came, just like a passing wind. Both incense pills and the sachet worked in a simr way, which was to clear one¡¯s head, calm down the mind and keep one focused. With Fang Qing¡¯s usual grades, No. One High School was beyond her reach and she might get in No. Two with some luck. As long as she did not freak out and performed normally in the exams, she had a good chance of getting in. He considered her his own younger sister and could not bear to see her fail. This incense had cost him a great amount of energy. In cultivating terms, he had spent some of his own essence and blood. After returning home from the Fang¡¯s, Gu Yu entered his own yard. He looked around then pushed the gate closed with both hands, locking it up with a clunk. He then locked the bedroom door and the door of the workroom in turn. Even the curtains were drawn close. In that instant, the light was slightly dimmed. A faint herbal aroma lingered in the air, giving the room a quiet and mysterious atmosphere. Gu Yu sat on a rush cushion and took out the fishbone again. Having studied it for the past few days, he had more or less grasped the meaning of that conjuring technique. Tonight, he was going to look into the details. Ever since the pre-Qin period, records of conjuring techniques had been found in ancient texts, such as, ¡°The King of Huainan took great interest in alchemists, who all presented him with their conjuring skills. Lines drawn on the ground would turn into rivers; a pinch of soil would rise into mountains; by breathing in and out, one could change the seasons and one¡¯s coughing would transform into rain and dew¡­¡± [1] Another example would be, ¡°In regions south of Yangtze River was a foreigner from India, who could reattach a severed tongue and spit out fire¡­¡± Spitting out fire was not imusible, for it was nothing but a party trick. As for drawing out rivers and creating mountains from pinches of soil, that sounded more like fairy tales and was probably pure fabrication. No matter what wording they used, the texts were all emphasizing the feelings of the audience. However, that was not the case with the fishbone. The so-called ¡°seven emotions and six sensory pleasures¡± all originated from one¡¯s mind. The profound conjuring skills were hard to understand thoroughly and master while the iner ones could be activated and deactivated at any given moment. Only those who realized that conjuring was no different from life and death in reality could learn the techniques. This technique was called ¡°Boundless State¡±. With a single idea, everything became boundless and timeless. Triggered by one¡¯s emotions and sensory pleasures, one would be dragged into a vision. If the conjurer didn¡¯t stop it, that person had to see through the illusion on their own, otherwise they would be trapped in it forever. Just as that rainy night in Wudao River, when the fishbone had used Gu Yu¡¯s fear as the trigger and dragged him into that vision, during which time Gu Yu had been hunted by a monster and ran for his life until he realized what was really going on¡­ ¡°Tsk!¡± That incident had somehow given him constion, for it might seem like an auxiliary skill yet it obviously could be used in an aggressive manner as well. Pleasure, anger, sorrow, joy, love, hate and greed¡ªno one could escape those emotions and desires. Therefore, they could cover a great area and almost leave no blind spots. The only limitationy in the conjurer¡¯s spiritual essence. Those with remarkable skill could trap the enemypletely and even be able to control the passage of time in the vision. Those less skillful, on the other hand, might only be able to maintain the vision for a brief moment. This piece of information was very brief. It only totaled up to a few hundred words when Gu Yu wrote it down in his notebook. However, he was treating it very seriously, reading it repeatedly. He couldn¡¯t help it, for this was the very first formal technique he had ever learned, which in his mind was as important as the first woman he¡¯d slept with. Mixed feelings of delight, solemnity and loss of self-control had taken over him, together with an unexinable sense of vulnerability. Well, speaking of vulnerability, it reminded one of that familiar saying in Mary Sue fiction¡ª¡±it had hit the softest spot of his heart.¡± ¡®Ok¡­¡¯ Ever since he started consuming the six essences, Gu Yu had got used to reduced sleeping hours, and he wasn¡¯t exactly sleepy either. The purpose of sleeping was to rest one¡¯s body and mind, but consuming the essence did a much better job in achieving the same result. What was more, with the newly-obtained technique, he was so excited that he decided to stay up all night studying it. However, as he made his way through the notes, he frowned in disappointment, for he realized that the fishbone had only provided him with the cultivating methods¨Cwithout any furthermentary. That led to a lot of unanswered questions, such as if one died in the vision, what happened to their body in the real world? In what form did people exist in a vision? Were they spirits or something else? If the person being dragged inside had a mind way too powerful, would the conjurer suffer from a bacsh¡­? Gu Yu sat idly for quite a while and let out a sigh in the end. ¡°Well, that¡¯s probably a fake method I got here.¡± [1] TL/N: Qin Dynasty was the first dynasty of Imperial China,sting from 221 to 206 BC; The King of Huainan = a noble title during the Han dynasty in China. ED/N: PC bunch call it BCE now, not BC (in case someone didn¡¯t get it); that aside, Qin¡¯s founder, Qin Shi Huang, was the first guy who unified China or something like that. Chapter 33 Chapter 33: The Old Taoist Priest Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Taiping County, Lotus Mountain. Mountains in northeastern China were all to some extent linked to Changbai (TL/N: ¡°Forever White¡±) Mountains and Lotus Mountain was no exception, belonging to a stretching branch of Changbai. It was not as tall as Phoenix Mountain, but took up arge area. Lotus Mountain had 999 peaks, just one peak away from a whole thousand, hence it was also known as the ¡°mountain of a thousand lotus flowers¡±. The most famous tourist spot on the mountain was the naturally formed stone statue of Buddha in a valley in the northern part of the mountain. It was 70-meter-high, with a vivid face and urate proportions. The statue was in a sitting position, leaning to the right. As the story went, on the day it was blessed, believers who came numbered tens of thousands. The day started cloudless and sunny, but then yellow snowkes started falling down all of a sudden. Some people from the crowd then exined that those were not snowkes, but yellow sand brought along by the south wind, for paving the ground with yellow sand was a sign of Buddha¡¯s arrival¡­ Yuck! Stuff like that should not be treated seriously and the stone did not even look like Buddha. It was nothing but a far-fetched imagination andmercial publicity. Anyhow, Lotus Mountain was still the most popr scenic area in the province. It was a hot afternoon. Along the wide and solid mountain trail, three people were walking slowly. The one in the front was a short and tubby man in his fifties. He was puffing and huffing, but would not stop to rest. They paid no attention to the view and walked straight up the mountain, as if they were on some sort of a mission. They climbed halfway up the mountain, then passed a resting area and finally came to a fork on the trail. One branch was the main route, while the other had a sign with an arrow on it, which said ¡°Wuliang [TL/N: meaning ¡°immeasurable¡±] Temple¡±. ¡°Damn, we¡¯ve finally made it! I¡¯m exhausted!¡± The fat middle-aged man wiped away his sweat, his voice cracking. The two hatchet men dared not make anyments and only followed him in silence. They took a right turn and walked up a slope. About two hundred meters in, a small templeplex was in front of them. The temple gate towered aloft the reddish-brown walls. Looking up, they could see the main hall, which was nearly ten meters tall. It was constructed with ck bricks and gray tiles with carved beams and painted rafters. In short, it was a stately and magnificent building. In front of the main hall was a pond and five trees which were all so thick that one could barely wrap their arms around one. The yard was cooled down by the clear water and all the greenery. The rear rooms were each used purely as abode where Taoist priests and practitioners lived. A natural cave was to the right of the main hall, out from which flowed a spring. The water was sshing down from a dragon mouth embedded in the opening of the cave. At first nce, this Taoist temple was nothing like those vulgar and shy ones out there, but reminded one of a breath of fresh air. However, a closer scrutiny would reveal that those trees were loaded with red-string pouches, all being tossed up there when people came here to make wishes. As for the pond, two thickyers of coins covered its bottom, probably enough for the down payment for a small apartment. Apart from those, a big stone was also set up in the middle of the yard¨Con it was a gleaming donation list, and the first name on that list was none other than the fat middle-aged man¡¯s name, Wang Yao. This fellow used to be in the army and had served together with Li Yan. The two had kept in touch all those years. A couple of days ago, he received a call from Li Yan, telling him about what had happened to Li Yang and He Tian, then asking him for a favor. He was a busy man himself and had been tied down by other matters until today, so he decided to pay a visit in person. Wang Yao was a VIP here. As soon as he entered the front yard, a young Taoist priest came out to greet him with a deep bow. ¡°How¡¯syman Wang been recently?¡± ¡°Very well, thanks. I¡¯m here to see the abbot, could you please let him know?¡± ¡°Sure. Please wait a moment.¡± As the young Taoist priest turned to report to the abbot, Wang Yao wiped away his sweat again. ¡®Talking to these people is so tiring!¡¯ A few minutester, the young priest came back. ¡°Pleasee this way.¡± He left the two hatchet men in the yard and followed the young man inside, who took a turn and led him into a quiet room deep within the temple. He tidied up his clothes, put on a much more solemn face, then knocked at the door. ¡°Rat-a-tat!¡± ¡°Enter!¡± Wang Yao pushed door open and went inside. It was a in and neat room with a simple and unsophisticated style. A gray-frocked old Taoist priest was sitting inside, ramrod straight. His hair and beard were both grizzled, but he had rosy cheeks and very few wrinkles on his face. Hearing Wang Yao¡¯s steps, the old man opened his eyes. ¡°Tsk, tsk!¡± Despite having seen them many times before, Wang Yao was wholeheartedly amazed each time. Not a hint of cloudiness could be found in those eyes. Instead, they were bright and clear in an implicit manner, and as translucent as the eyes of a little child, making him cluck his tongue in amazement. ¡°Priest¡­¡± He abandoned his usual high and mighty attitude and satpliantly on a rush cushion, then fell into silence after a sigh. ¡°You were here just seven days ago, so I presume you¡¯re here for something very important today?¡± The old priest had a clear, rich and calm voice, which sounded reassuring. ¡°I indeed have an important matter. The sons of my good friends had fallen victims to a plot against them. We couldn¡¯t figure out¡­¡± ¡°Then I¡¯m of no use to you.¡± Before he could finish, the old priest held up his hand and interrupted him. ¡°These things have their own ce in the world and are managed by their own authorities. What you should do is to call the police. Moreover, I¡¯m a Taoist priest, I do not care for worldly conflicts.¡± ¡°Exactly! Exactly! But what happened this time was so weird that they had no one else to turn to, hence I¡¯m here to ask for your help.¡± Wang Yao nodded and went on before the old man could respond. ¡°There are two victims, both very young. Neither of them had any serious illness before and were both quite healthy. However, on the same day, one was paralyzed in both legs and the other became, well, impotent.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± The old priest was suddenly interested. ¡°Did you say that they suddenly fell ill, without any signs?¡± ¡°Yes! Yes! Completely out of the blue!¡± ¡°What did the doctors say?¡± ¡°Something called stagnation and blood stasis in the meridians. Also, there was a damaged Chong Vessel, which affected the fertility¡­¡± Wang Yao replied with fractured sentences. ¡°¡­¡± Hearing that, the old priest closed his eyes slightly and stroked his long beard, deep in his thoughts. Seeing his reaction, Wang Yang prodded on. ¡°The way I see it, those two young men were probably bewitched. Didn¡¯t we use to have ¡®Five Great Immortals¡¯ back then? Maybe the two had provoked the ire of something like that? [1] You are a capable man and an expert in the art of healing. My illness was cured by you a few years ago. I¡¯m sure that with your presence, all evil spirits would be expelled right away.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The old Taoist priest ignored hisment and let out a sigh after quite some time. ¡°All right, I¡¯lle with you. Let¡¯s see what supernatural being is making trouble out there.¡± ¡°Dear me, that¡¯ll be great! When are you ready to depart?¡± ¡°We can leave tomorrow.¡± ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll make the arrangements and pick you up at the foot of the mountain tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± *** ¡°Ah, ah¡­¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Brother Tian¡­ you¡¯re awesome¡­¡± The woman¡¯s hair tangled around her shoulders and blush had suffused her face. Her moaning was tender and soft yet sounded natural at the same time. That acting skill had definitely taken after the Stanivski¡¯s system, which was coherent, profound and precise, as well asying equal stress on explosiveness and infectivity. A less experienced man would notst more than two minutes with her. What was more, with her cooperative performance, he would be given the utmost sense of achievement. That was because the one thing guys could never tell for sure was if a woman hade for real or just pretended to. He probably was feeling all mighty thinking he had given his partner a really good time, but the truth was, she just wanted it to be over with. He Tian could not tell if she was acting either. He was simply agitated. The longer she moaned, the more irritable he became. Come on, his member would not respond to women at all. Even he himself did not believe she was like that because of him. That blind anger was mounting inside him. Finally, he lifted his hand and pped the woman on her buttocks. ¡°Ouch!¡± The pain took the woman by surprise. Before she had time to react, she was violently knocked over and another p came down right on her cheek. ¡°Brother Tian¡­¡± She covered her cheek and blood was oozing out from the corner of her mouth. She was confused and scared. ¡°Get out! Get the f**k out!¡± He Tian scrambled out of bed, grabbed an ashtray and threw it at her. He then started to pick up everything and smash it all over the ce. Finding him going mad, the woman did not even put her clothes on, but held them in her arms and ran out of the door. ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Smash!¡± ¡°nk!¡± A whileter, when there was nothing left in the room to destroy, he finally stopped and sat on the bed, panting. The past few days were a nightmare to him¨Che was just like an experienced driver who suddenly had his driving license revoked. He was miserable and bewildered. He was beaten down at first, but his condition improved slightly after that, which encouraged him to keep trying to get his machismo back. However, each attempt had merely be a further blow¡­ He was already a very tough man¨Cin the meaning that he had not yet lost his mind or gone psycho by now. ¡°Ooh¡­¡± He Tian tried to cry, but failed to shed any tear¨Ca typical life of a cannon fodder. Just then, an indistinct ringing sound came from somewhere. He fumbled around and pulled his cell phone out of his suit in the closet. ¡°Hello, Brother Tian, Chairman He asked you to go back home tonight.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°Well, I heard they had invited an old Taoist priest over to treat you.¡± [1] TL/N: Five Great Immortals¡ªa superstitious belief in five type of animals, which were basically demonic fairies (ED/N: think of them as youkai, since I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s what they were, considering that youkai were at least partly a Chinese ¡°invention¡±). These animals were: fox, weasel, hedgehog, snake and rat. Chapter 34 Chapter 34: A Clue Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Evening, the mansion of the He Family. A vehicle approached from afar and slowly came to a stop outside the front gate. The car doors were opened and out came two men¨Cthey were none other than Wang Yao and the Taoist priest he invited. He Zun and Li Yan had been waiting in the courtyard. On their arrival, the two fathers rushed up to meet them. ¡°Haha, you haven¡¯t shed a kilo.¡± ¡°You look the same as before too¡­ hello there, Chairman He, it¡¯s been quite a while since west met.¡± After greeting Li Yan, Wang Yao shook hands with He Zun before introducing the priest. ¡°This is Priest Mo, the abbot of Wuliang Temple on Lotus Mountain.¡± Li Yan and He Zun kept theirposure while studying the priest with their eyes. In spite of his white hair, the old Taoist priest had a youthfulplexion and clear, bright eyes. The gray frock he wore was antiquated, but it gave him an aura of someone who did not belong to the secr world. Both Li and He were business tycoons with plenty of experience in evaluating people and they had seen enough brainless pretty faces to recognize one. Judging he wasn¡¯t one, He Zun put on a smiling face right away. ¡°We are both very honored that Priest Mo coulde here in person! Pleasee in!¡± With that, they all entered the main hall, where Li Yang was waiting in a wheelchair, appearing rather depressed. After each taking a seat, none of them went down to business straight away, but started chitchatting instead. Li Yan led the conversation. ¡°I¡¯ve heard so much about the true immortals of Lotus Mountain and am finally given the honor to meet one today. Priest Mo is indeed worthy of his reputation. May I ask which Taoist branch does Priest Mo belong to?¡± Priest Mo answered with a smile. ¡°I am a disciple of Patriarch Zixu from the Southern Sect of Quanzhen School, which has been established by the founder for around a thousand years.¡± [1] ¡°¡­¡± He Zun felt the corner of his mouth twitching. That introduction sounded so out of ce that it sounded as if the old priest was going to spit a flying sword out of his mouth and start making clouds and summoning rain. He did not believe in those things and only considered them as deliberately mystified tricks. Li Yan on the other hand appeared to be quite interested, and went on asking, ¡°I only knew that the Quanzhen School consists of the Southern and Northern sects, but am rather hazy on the details. Since we rarely get an opportunity like this today, could Priest Mo tell us more about it?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Stroking his long beard, the old priest smiled. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll give you a brief introduction. Taoism nowadays mainly consists of two schools, which are Zhengyi and Quanzhen. Zhengyi was founded by Celestial Master Zhang, and includes branches such as Maoshan, Lingbao, Qingwei, Jingming etc. Founder of the Northern Sect of Quanzhen School was Patriarch Chongyang, who had seven disciples, known as the Seven Masters of Quanzhen, among whom were Ma Yu, Tan Chuduan and Qiu Chuji. The Southern Sect was established by Patriarch Ziyang and the lineage had been passed down from Patriarch Cuixuan, Patriarch Zixian, Patriarch Cuixu and Patriarch Zixu in turn. Together they were known to theter generations as the ¡®Seven Masters of the North¡¯ and ¡®Five Patriarchs of the South¡¯. [2] Both sects emphasized on the practice of Neidan, which meant the two branches actually originated from the same source. As a result, the Southern Sect merged into Quanzhen School duringte Yuan Dynasty period, greatly improving the prestige and influence of thetter, which made it possible for Quanzhen to be the leading force of all Taoist branches in China. [3] I became a Taoist priest in the region south of the Yangtze River when I was little and had traveled all over China before I was forty years old. I then settled down on Lotus Mountain, where I established a temple and started to take in disciples¡­¡± At this point, Li Yang interjected, ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, Wuliang Temple has been built for over thirty years. I was wondering how old¡­¡± ¡°Hoho, I¡¯m 75 years old now.¡± The reply astonished everyone present, for the priest showed no sign of belonging to that age group at all. If he were to dye his hair ck, he would definitely pass as a middle-aged man. Weighing and considering the priest¡¯s words to himself, He Zun couldn¡¯t help but take their guest more seriously. ¡°Beep-beep!¡± ¡°Vroom!¡± Just then, they heard a vehicle arrive outside. He Tian walked into the room. ¡°A Tian,e here. This is Priest Mo.¡± He Zun beckoned at him and was about to introduce him. However, that fellow showed no interest in their guest. He walked right up to Li Yang and sat down beside him. ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are. I¡¯ll be on my knees thanking you if you can cure us. Otherwise, with that attitude of yours, don¡¯t me me foring down on you with heavy hand.¡± His disposition had always been perverse¨Cafter his private parts failed, though, he had totally abandoned his normal self. ¡°You!¡± He Zun lost face due to his son¡¯s act and was about to scold him. The old priest waved his hand and smiled, ¡°Nothing is absolute in this world. I can¡¯t guarantee anything. Well, let me have a look at your affected parts first.¡± ¡°Snort!¡± He Tian snorted and turned to look at his buddy. Li Yang looked even worse than He Tian and was so dispirited that he barely seemed alive. One was affected in the legs and the other in the private parts. Naturally, the former one got the attention first. Li Yan crouched down and rolled up his son¡¯s trousers. Those legs were so pale that there seemed to be no blood flowing through them. Priest Mo took a look and felt his pulse before giving the conclusion. ¡°The meridians are indeed damaged, with stasis in the vital energy and blood.¡± He then also crouched down and put his fingers on Li Yang¡¯s calf. He pinched hard and asked, ¡°Does it hurt?¡± ¡°No,¡± Li Yang shook his head. ¡°What about here?¡± He moved 1.5cm up and pinched again. ¡°Doesn¡¯t hurt either.¡± ¡°Here?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Li Yang frowned. ¡°It¡¯s sore and aching.¡± The old priest nodded and took out a rolled-up pouch from his chest pocket¨Cin it were dozens of silver needles, varying in diameter and length. He selected a long, thin needle, sticking it into that acupoint. He then picked up another needle, which was different from the previous one in that the tip was three-edged, one which was specifically used for bloodletting so as to release the excessive heat. With a slight turn of his hand, some blood gushed out, the color of which was considerably dark, almost a ckish purple¡­ After repeating the process for several times, Priest Mo finished the check-up in half an hour or so. ¡°Priest, how was it?¡± Li Yan asked hastily. ¡°If nothing else, that young man will have a very simr condition. Both are suffering from damage of their meridians.¡± ¡°Can they be cured then?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be very hard! If they can be treated with daily acupuncture therapy together with directing vital energy into their bodies through chiropractic, maybe their condition can be improved.¡± The old priest was not willing to go too far into that subject. He put away the rolled-up pouch and sat back down. ¡°Your spection was not unfounded. Someone has indeed done this to them. Moreover, this person is very skillful in what he did, not something that can be easily dealt with¡­ did you say that they had fallen ill all of a sudden?¡± ¡°Yes, very suddenly,¡± said Li Yan. ¡°Before that, did they have any physical contact with anybody?¡± ¡°What sort of contact?¡± He Tian could not help but ask. ¡°Anywhere on your body would do, as long as that person touches you with his hand.¡± ¡°F**k! How the hell am I supposed to remember that?¡± He was cursing again. ¡°¡­¡± The others did not bother to react to that. He Zun did not believe in all this at first, but was now wavering. He probed, ¡°Priest, do you think it could be some evil magic?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not anything that dark, just a special method, that¡¯s all. If that person wanted it to work, he must have touched them with his hands. You can follow that clue¡­ oh, it would not have taken too long for the effect to show up, so he should have made the contact on that same day.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The two fathers exchanged nces. They both looked delighted, for that had narrowed down the suspects significantly. He Zun added immediately, ¡°Please stay here for a few days and I¡¯ll let you know as soon as we find something.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I¡¯ll stay at Taiqing Temple for the time being,¡± the old priest waved at him. [4] Taiqing Temple was a Taoist temple in downtown Shengtian and was often frequented by the believers. There used to be a series of rules for those wanting to ask for a short stay in a temple. The person had to be dressed in tidy clothes and call out, ¡°To lord in the reception¡¯s office, please have mercy on me!¡± He could only enter after the people in the reception¡¯s office gave him their approval. Upon entering, there would be some more questionsing, such as, ¡°Where did the Old Taoist Brothere from?¡± with the reply being ¡°The humble disciple hase back from a visit to this or that ce and is going back to my permanent residence,¡± or, ¡°Which branch does the honored guest belong to?¡± to which one should answer, ¡°I¡¯m a disciple of the branch X.¡± After that came the retreat ceremony and paying respect to the cooks, only then could the person sessfully take temporary residence in the temple. Of course, all those procedures were not applicable to Priest Mo. Being the abbot of Wuliang Temple, he would only get the warmest wee at whichever Taoist temple he went to. After staying for a while longer, Priest Mo stood up and took his leave. Li Yan was going to apany the old priest on the vehicle to Taiqing Temple. He Zun and the rest of the group followed them to see the priest off. Just as they walked out of the front gate on the first floor, someone screamed over their heads. ¡°Ah!¡± They all looked up and saw a ck shadow smashing down from the second floor right above He Tian. None of them had time to react and He Tian was so dumbstruck that he forgot to dodge. That thing was about to crash on to He Tian¡¯s head when a wide sleeve flew over, catching the shadowy thing on its bottom and flipping it around. The gray sleeve moved as freely as a floating cloud as it pped onto the ground with a shake. ¡°There you go!¡± With a soft remark, the thing swooshed back to the second floor andnded steadily on the balcony. ¡°Hiss!¡± Only then did the group of people realize with shock that the thing that had fallen down was a huge painted porcin flower pot, together with a house maid that was still shaking from the shock. [1] TL/N: Zixu = ¡°Purple Sky¡±; as for Quanzhen, or È«Õæ½Ì, it¡¯s a branch of Taoism. The meaning of Quanzhen can be tranted literally as ¡°All True¡±. [2] TL/N: Zhengyi = ¡°the Orthodox Unity¡±; Celestial Master Zhang = also known as Zhang Ling (ÕÅÁê), or Zhang Daoling (ÕŵÀÁê), an Eastern Han Dynasty Taoist figure; Maoshan = ¡°Grass Mountain¡±; Lingbao = ¡°Sacred Jewel¡±; Qingwei = ¡°Pure Tenuity¡±; Jingming = ¡°Pure Light¡±; Patriarch Chongyang = ¡°the Wang Chongyang¡± (ÍõÖØÑô) that appears a lot in wuxia, an actual historical figure that lived in the 12th century, a Chinese Taoist and one of the founders of the Quanzhen School in the 12th century during the Jin Dynasty; Patriarch Ziyang = ¡°Purple Sun¡±, also known as Zhang Boduan (ÕŲ®¶Ë), a Song Dynasty schr; Patriarch Cuixuan = ¡°Green Abstrusity¡±; Patriarch Zixian = ¡°Purple Virtue¡±; Patriarch Cuixu = ¡°Green Sky¡±; about the patriarchs, their real names were respectively Shi Tai (ʯ̩), Xue Shi (Ѧʽ), Chen Nan (³Âéª) and Bai Yuchan (°×Óñó¸). All four were Taoist figures of Song Dynasty. [3] ED/N: Neidan is ¡®Inner Alchemy¡¯. It¡¯s the, well, let¡¯s call it philosophy, of making human body into a cauldron and using it to refine dan(s) (for example jindan, which is golden core, yep, the same as the realm¡¯s name in many stories), and that¡¯s what many Chinese actually tried to do (in contrast, western alchemist tried to do stuff like creating homunculi or the philosopher¡¯s stone and turn crap into gold). Long story short, Neidan is ¡°cultivation¡± most(?) cultivation novels describe. [4] TL/N: Taiqing = ¡°Great rity¡±. Chapter 35 Chapter 35: Cultivating the Truth By Utilizing the Illusory World Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The ability the old priest exhibited had amazed everyone. The flower pot was quite heavy, not to mention that it had fallen down quite rapidly and unexpectedly. Yet with a casual swing of his frock sleeve, the pot flew back to the second floor. He Tian, who had barely escaped the fate of ending up with his skull cracked open, was busy staring with his mouth open, thus he did not even have time to feel scared. Both He Zun and Li Yan were visibly moved, for they had witnessed the whole process and knew with absolute rity that what the old priest performed was no party trick, but solid skill instead. ¡°Aiya!¡± Wang Yao¡¯s reaction was the most exaggerated. He had always believed in the old priest and was even morepletely convinced after this, going as far as to change his way of addressing him. ¡°Old Immortal, what you demonstrated just now¡­¡± ¡°I was only utilizing the inner essence¡­¡± The old priest did not want to go into details on that subject. He walked across the courtyard and stopped at the front gate. ¡°I¡¯ll bid you all farewell here. Please go back.¡± ¡°All right, we¡¯ll visit you some other day, then. If you need anything, please let us know and we absolutely willply with your request.¡± They exchanged some more pleasantries before the old priest got into the vehicle and headed towards Taiqing Temple in downtown Shengtian. He Zun went back inside and scolded the maid harshly for her carelessness. He then called He Tian over and said, ¡°As you have seen, the priest was indeed a capable man. Work with him! Don¡¯t act like a spoiled kid!¡± ¡°I know. It¡¯s nothing but a manhunt, no?¡± He Tian slouched on the sofa and replied in an unimpressed tone. However, he was actually taking the whole thing very seriously now. ¡°Everyone going to that exhibition are a suspect. Just check them one by one.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so goddamn stupid!¡± He Zun blurted out a rebuke. ¡°What do you think our He family is? I¡¯ve already done that; however, if we do it again, it may bring us some trouble¡­ Old Han!¡± He summoned his subordinate to fetch him a file and tossed it to He Tian. ¡°See it for yourself!¡± He Tian picked it up and found it to be a few pages worth of names, all of which were guests at the agarwood exhibition that day. Nearly half of the names had been marked, indicating those people had had contact with him. ¡°Old Wang, Fat Hu, Old Chen¡­ I don¡¯t even have to think. I¡¯ve definitely touched their hands.¡± He started off with a few people that he knew well and went on from there. ¡°Tang Zheng, Zhang Lei, Tang Hui, Xiao Shan¡­ I¡¯ve also shaken hands with them.¡± As a matter of fact, he knew most of the people attending that exhibition, which meant he had to exchange pleasantries with them. However, He Tian was used to having things his way and would sometimes pick on someone for no obvious reason, so he could not say for sure either. After confirming a dozen of guests, he moved down the list. ¡°Zeng Yuewei¡­¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ He clenched his fists because of his mixed feelings towards that woman. For one thing, he regretted that he did not sleep with her before he became impotent. For another, that fact had filled him with anger and shame; he was almost burning with a frenzy of rage. ¡°She was with me the longest that day¡­¡± With thatment, He Tian nced at thest three names on the list. He frowned, ¡°Jiang Xiaozhai? Panpan? Can¡¯t remember those two¡­ Gu Yu, f**k!¡± He smacked the file onto the floor and yelled, ¡°That fellow was damn lucky that day. He¡¯s doomed! Mark my words!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make any more trouble now. Focus on the most important thing!¡± He Zun did not like the disposition of his son at all. However, there was nothing he could do about it. After all, that was his own flesh and blood. He picked up the file and asked, ¡°Did those three have physical contact with you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think so?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. I couldn¡¯t be bothered to shake their hands.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He Zun nodded and did not pose any further questions. He seemed to havee up with some idea as he called Old Han over and gave him a brief instruction. He suddenly asked, ¡°Are you staying here tonight or going back?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going back, of course. It¡¯s so boring here.¡± He Tian stood up and took his car keys. Waving them in his hand, he said, ¡°Well, I¡¯m off.¡± With that, he walked out in that dilly-dally manner of his. He Zun also habitually concealed that little bit of emotion he exhibited and resumed his usual big shot attitude. *** That night, Taiqing Temple. The temple was located in the busy city center and its ownership was equally divided between the government and the religious institution. The time when this temple was a ce for Taoist followers to lead a life of few wants and ambitions was long gone now. The modern facilities and luxurious guest rooms foryman practitioners alone were evidence enough to show the general atmosphere here. Inside a room of quietness, Priest Mo was sitting cross-legged with closed eyes. After rushing about for the whole day, he remained calm and cid without any sign of fatigue. He felt slightly out of ce, though, for this room was way too mboyant. [1] The wooden table was made of red sandalwood and he could smell the finest benzoin in the air. Even the rush cushion he sat on was made from the slow-rebound material. ¡®Come on! That¡¯s a cushion to sit on, not a pillow. Do one¡¯s buttocks need that much care?¡¯ Wuliang Temple also ran a business, but the pure rooms there were simple and in. They were specifically used for practicing Taoism. Priest Mo could not help it. If he was simply an ascetic Taoist in the remote mountains, he could live his life any way he wanted. However, if misfortune struck him and the government just happened to like the mountain he lived on and wanted to turn it into a tourist area¡­ well, that was it! First of all, he had toplete all formalities¨CReligious Administration, Land and Resources Bureau, Taoist Association¡­ you name it. Then there was the requirement of his all-out cooperation with the government; with a mountain, there should be a temple and with a temple, a capable person was needed to run it, so that tourists could be attracted there and increase the ie. The old priest did not care for the worldly affairs, yet he was still living his mortal life. How could he detach himself from it? As a result, he had to put up with a money-stink-filled Wuliang Temple while carelessly exining the praying sticks for the local tycoons and keeping on practicing Taoism on the side. Of course, he was unwilling to part with the status and fame it had brought him. However, in times like this, he should be considered as someone with a steadfast Taoist belief. ¡°Knock, knock! Knock, knock!¡± While he was sitting in meditation, someone knocked on his door. The old priest woke up from his meditation and frowned slightly. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Priest Mo, our abbot invites you over. He wants to share some experiences with you.¡± ¡°It¡¯ste now. I¡¯m going to bed.¡± ¡°Well, in that case, I will leave you to your rest.¡± After the person outside left, the old priest sighed to himself in resignation. He had met the abbot of this temple once during a Taoist symposium. The man had no talent whatsoever and cared for nothing but currying favor from bigwigs and grabbing more money. He despised that man, yet he was well aware of the fact that his behavior was amon phenomenon nowadays. Having been interrupted, the old priest was not in the mood to continue his meditation. He stood up and walked to the window. Looking out, he could see a bright moon hanging high in the clear night sky. A small garden was outside his window and the moon had cast a silver glow on all flowers, grass and leaves. It was the height of summer and mosquitoes were flying around in clouds. A mosquito was loitering around the screen window right now. It would fly ornd here and there, making a faint buzzing sound. ¡°¡­¡± The old priest had stood there for quite some time. One could not tell if he was watching the moon or the garden. Suddenly, he bent his fingers and flicked forward. ¡°Bang!¡± Across the screen window, the mosquito was knocked away with a thud. It rolled around in the air but did not fall down. It was only after a few seconds that the mosquito finally smashed to the ground. That flick of his finger was a perfect utilization of the force of his Qi. The way he mastered it reminded one of the martial arts experts depicted in wuxia novels. Of course, what he used was not the internal force, but purely the Taoist method of nourishing one¡¯s Qi. Old Priest Mo was an apprentice of the Southern Sect of Quanzhen and the branch he belonged to was established by Bai Yuchan, whose Taoist monastic name was Patriarch Zixu. The Five Patriarchs of the Southern Sect differed in their ideology, but in general, their ideas were alike, all focusing on coordinating spiritual and physical life as well as cultivating the truth by utilizing the illusory world so as to obtain the Great Elixir. [2] The spiritual life depended on one¡¯s spirit, while the physical life depended on one¡¯s essence and Qi. Taoist practitioners cultivated in Three Treasures, also known as Three Jewels. The inferior method worked on the ordinary spirit, Qi and essence, which made it an acquired exercise. The superior method worked on the primordial spirit, Qi and essence, giving the exercise a congenital quality. The approach the Southern Sect adopted was to start from the acquired, working one¡¯s way towards the innate and from intentional action to action with no intention, which would lead one to the path of obtaining the Great Elixir. This method was extremely demanding on its disciples as they could not have any leakage in their essence, Qi or spirit. Old Priest Mo had been following his teacher ever since he was little and had remained a virgin till this day. His initial sess did note until he hit seventy, which helped him to recuperate his appearance and physical health, as well as achieve longevity. Hence the impression of He Zun and others, who thought he had the eyes of a young child, which had an implicit brightness to them. ording to ancient texts, all of the Five Patriarchs had lived for several hundred years until they ascended to heaven and became immortals. Zhang Boduan, the first patriarch, was even said to have taken lessons from immortals such as Chen Tuan and Liu Haichan. [3] These types of records were called myths. However, Old Priest Mo believed every word of it and had spent decades practicing it himself. He had reached his limit and would not see any improvement for the rest of his life, let alone obtaining the congenital Qi. Taoism seemed to be flourishing right now, but it was only in the form of receiving more material worship. He traveled all over China when he was young and had made acquaintance with nearly everyone in the Taoist circle. However, among all those people, less than one in ten thousand had made a sessful entrance into the cultivation world. He had never expected to run into one in this incident. Judging from the affected area, the person¡¯s approach was none other than damaging the meridians with his inner Qi. As they would say in the street, to achieve such an impact, the person must be a supreme expert. Unfortunately, little did he know that that fellow was nowhere near an expert, but a pretentious single guy who liked to hide his passion inside. [1] ED/N: Room of quietness¡­ the literal trantion is actually ¡°calm¡± room, but it¡¯s probably one of those special names that already has a not-quite-literally trantion to English established, or whose name isn¡¯t a literal one (like skyscrapers do not actually touch the sky yet whose name indicates so). It¡¯s clearly used as a name afterwards, which makes ¡°calm¡± unfitting, though. Anyway, just think of it as a fancy (or not) room where priests practice. [2] ED/N: Great Elixir, literally Great Dan. Probably rted to golden dan; I surmise it¡¯s something like a final cultivation realm before ascension ording to the original Neidan stuff, or some other key realm. [3] TL/N: Chen Tuan was a Taoist sage also known as the ¡°Sleeping Immortal¡±; Liu Haichan was also known as Liu Hai (Áõº£), or Haichanzi (º£ó¸×Ó), ¡°Master Sea-Toad¡±, who was a Daoist immortal. [4] ED/N: Also, if anyone felt it strange that they obsessed over ¡°heavy pot¡± but didn¡¯t notice the maid (she fell down indeed), try to think of the mentality of those characters: they¡¯re high and mighty big fishes, what do they care about some pleb? Plus, the pot was about to fall down on the head of one of them, who is 1000 times more important in their eyes. Hence, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a small clumsiness on the part of author, or if the author is being sneaky like that (in literature, many things are not being mentioned FOR A REASON, so it¡¯s hard to say which is it)¡­ I just ask you not to pass it off as the former without any second thought. Chapter 36 Chapter 36: Emerging Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Zeng Yuewei had experienced some serious mood swings recently, but in general, her life was good. Days were peaceful and quiet without that annoying fly whom she dared not provoke and had to offer herself on a te to from time to time. However, they were still pursuing the shopping mall project and the Zeng family had already removed her from the job, fearing that the she might be implicated. It was a pity that her value would not be appreciated, but it also helped her to make the decision. At least, she was no longer troubled by her conflicting feelings. She arrived at thepany early in the morning as usual and walked into her own office. The room was a bit small. It was actually a ss-separated space set up in the office area and not a proper room. Zeng Yuewei put down her handbag and started cleaning up. She had a very strong sense of privacy, thus the old cleaningdy was never allowed here¡ªwhat Zeng Yuewei disliked more than anything else was having anyone trespass on her territory. She finished tidying up in a moment, just in time before other staff started toe in. She took out some loose tea leaves and was about to go get some hot water, when the security called out, ¡°Sister Wei, you have a parcel!¡± ¡°Coming!¡± She was slightly surprised, for she did not make any purchase recently. She came over and found the parcel rather small. Looking at the receipt, she saw that the telephone number of the sender belonged to Gu Yu. She brought the parcel back to her office and opened it. Inside it was a small box, in which nine incense pills were arranged neatly. Confused, Zeng Yuewei picked up her phone and dialed Gu Yu¡¯s number. The call was immediately put through and Gu Yu answered it with a question. ¡°Hello, have you received the parcel?¡± ¡°Yes, I did. What are those?¡± ¡°I need to ask you a favor,¡± Gu Yu sounded a bit awkward. ¡°What favor?¡± Her interest was soon aroused. ¡°Well, among your colleagues and friends, is there anyone suffering from great mental stress? My incense works very well on promoting sleep and maintaining vitality¡­¡± ¡°Ah, so you need me to advertise them for you?¡± She interrupted. ¡°Um¡­ yes. I could use a bit of extra cash these days,¡± he was getting more embarrassed but still told the truth. Zeng Yuewei picked up an incense pill with her fingertips and studied it while she asked, ¡°So, are these your major product?¡± ¡°There are two kinds. One is the incense pill and the other is the incense stick. The sticks need a few more days of cering. I¡¯ll send them to you once they are ready,¡± he exined. The two became closer after the agarwood exhibition and were officially friends now. Zeng Yuewei had been worried all along that harm mighte to Gu Yu from He Tian, hence when she heard that that son of a bi*ch had gone impotent, she was happy not only for herself but also because Gu Yu had escaped from his ill fate. Ever since she was introduced to Gu Yu, her attitude towards the guy had been changing. She started off wanting to challenge Gu Yu, then gave up her aggressive attitude, and after knowing this guy a little bit more, she finally realized that he was an utterly simple man. Apart from making incense, he hardly had any other skills. ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem. What¡¯s your minimum price?¡± Zeng Yuewei chuckled. ¡°Well, for a box of six incense pills, I want to set the price at 200 yuan and the incense sticks are 500 yuan per sixty sticks¡­ the price can be lowered if they buy in bulk¡­¡± ¡°Stop right there!¡± She found him hopeless and gave him a price directly. ¡°400 for the pills and 1200 for the sticks!¡± ¡°What? Won¡¯t that be too much?¡± Gu Yu asked in surprise. ¡°Tsk! Do you have any idea how much money people spend on tension-relief medicine? This is nothing,¡± Zeng Yuewei taunted him mercilessly. She then grinned. ¡°Now, how big of amission am I going to get from you?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu went speechless. He had no talent for business, period. Normally, things like this would proceed as such¡ªthe seller gave his base price to an agency and let thetter work their magic, and the difference between the base and final price was where themission came from. However, with Zeng Yuewei¡¯s family background, she could not care less about it. Hearing Gu Yu stutter and splutter on the other side, she stopped teasing him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just buy me a lunch some day.¡± ¡°Ah, thank you, then.¡± ¡°No problem. Bye.¡± After hanging up, Zeng Yuewei pursed her lips without knowing it. She had incense utensils right here in the office, so she picked one pill up to try it out right away. The utensils were of a set, which included a dozen of incense wares such as incense tongs, incense spoon, incense slicer, duster, censer, silver leaf pot, etc. She fetched a palm-sized bronze censer and filled it up with special incense ash calcined from diatomite, then heated up a small piece of charcoal until it turned red and buried it into the ash. After that, she pierced the ash with a thin chopstick to make a hole, which was then covered by a mica te. The incense pill was ced upon the te. This was called the indirect method of burning incense. By using the charcoal and incense ash, this process would not produce any smoke. Zeng Yuewei had gone through the trouble of learning it from an old master, which had admittedly fooled quite a lot of people. A couple of minutester, she held the censer in her left hand and enveloped it with her right hand to gather the scent. A tranquil and pleasant smell drifted out of the censer and filled her nostrils. She felt as if a light breeze was brushing against her face and the scent reminded her of a bright moon revealing itself from behind the clouds. ¡°¡­¡± Zeng Yuewei breathed in deeply and closed her eyes to enjoy the aftertaste in satisfaction. The incense was indeed out of the ordinary. In fact, she began to think the price she set was still not high enough. After taking three deep breaths in, she put the censer down next to her and started working. Either the incense was doing its job, or it was a psychological effect¡ªanyway, she was in an excellent form today. Her thoughts were swift and she was extremely efficient in her work. Before she knew it, it was almost noon. She stretched her arms and checked on the incense pills, which had only shrunk by a third. Zeng Yuewei put a file together and dialed a number from herndline. ¡°Leqi,e in here for a moment.¡± Shortly after that, there was a knock at the door and a girl with level bangs came in. ¡°Sister Wei, you wanted to see me?¡± ¡°Take this file with you and have a look. Make it into a PPT. We¡¯ll use it in the meeting this afternoon.¡± ¡°No problem,¡± the girl answered with a giggle. Leqi was in her early twenties and was with thepany only for a short while. She was a smart and sensible girl as well as a smooth talker. Zeng Yuewei was getting along with her quite well. She took over the file but did not leave right away. Instead, she gave the censer a glimpse and asked, ¡°Sister Wei, are you burning incense there?¡± ¡°Yes. Are you into this as well?¡± ¡°Only a bit, I¡¯m just messing around with it. May I smell it?¡± ¡°Sure, there you go.¡± Zeng Yuewei held up the censer and the girl lowered her head to take a few sniffs. She appeared to be rather excited. ¡°Wow, I¡¯ve never smelled anything like it. Sister, where did you buy it?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. A friend gave it to me.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± Leqi was obviously disappointed, still staring at the censer with pitiable eyes as she turned to leave. Seeing that, Zeng Yuewei picked up two pills casually and said, ¡°Fine, enough with your puppy eyes. Take these. Let me know if you like them. My friend is searching for potential customers.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sister Wei. I knew you¡¯re the best!¡± The girl soon left the office and returned to her own seat. She carefully put the pills in a box and went back to her work. Before long, the clock hit twelve o¡¯clock and people in the office area were fidgeting and moving away from their desks one after another. A girl next to Leqi called out, ¡°Qi Qi,ing for lunch?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to the canteen today. I¡¯m meeting a friend,¡± she answered with a smile. ¡°All right, we¡¯re off, then.¡± After all colleagues in her department had left, Leqi stood up and went downstairs in the elevator, then ran to a cafe across the road. The interior was gracefully decorated with a slightly dim light. Two couples were snuggling in their seats. She looked around and found the person she was looking for in a seat in the innermost corner. ¡°Uncle Han!¡± She greeted. ¡°Mhm.¡± Across the table from her sat a middle-aged, average-looking man. The so-called ¡°middle age¡± did not say much about how old he really was, for he could be anywhere between forty and fifty. He had an indifferent expression and did not say another word after the ¡°Mhm¡±. Leqi was quite used to his manner. She ordered some food for herself and said, ¡°She didn¡¯t do much yesterday. She spent all day in thepany and went to sing karaoke with us in the evening. She went home immediately after that and nothing out of the ordinary happened. She was still in the office this morning. There seemed to be a new project and she wanted to put her talent to a good use there. Oh, right, she received a parcel this morning, probably incense. I saw her burning incense just then.¡± ¡°Burning Incense?¡±Old Han frowned. ¡°She was burning this.¡± Leqi took out the incense pills and pushed them to Han. ¡°I use them sometimes, just for fun. This stuff is top-notch. She said a friend gave them to her.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The middle-aged man picked it up and sniffed. He nodded, ¡°Good, they could be useful.¡± Seeing that her effort was not futile, the girl was delighted and swarmed the man with clever ttery. She was a neer with little sense of belonging to thepany. With all the attractive promises the He family gave her, she became their informer without a second thought. After that, the middle-aged man gave her some more instructions and left by himself. *** That night, in a vi. Holding a censer in his hands, Li Yan breathed in deeply and let out a turbid breath before turning his head reluctantly and said, ¡°This is extraordinary, amazing! To call the maker of this incense a master is not a praise high enough.¡± ¡°Exactly. This stuff did not interest me that much, but this one is so, so unexpectedly¡­¡± He Zun agreed with Li Yan from beside him and almost felt he had exhausted his vocabry. Both were tycoons who had been given all sorts of peculiar gifts, among which were arge amount of agarwood, sandalwood and various incense products. Despite all the stuff they had seen, they were utterly stunned by this incense pill. Just then, Uncle Han, who was waiting on the side added, ¡°Zeng Yuewei received nine pills in total and that friend of hers was thinking about making it into a long-term business.¡± ¡°Can we trust the person reporting to you?¡± He Zun asked suddenly. ¡°That person is very easy to control and has a shallow mind, her information should be credible.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good¡­¡± he nodded and turned to Li Yan. ¡°Old Li, what do you think?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been following them around for several days. The others all seemed normal and that Zeng girl was the only one who showed any signs of being connected to the incident. We have to stick to her even if that is not a clue at all, or we are left with nothing,¡± Li Yan sighed. ¡°¡­¡± He Zun did not respond, but only stared at the censer and pondered. After quite a while, he ordered, ¡°Bring us the car. We¡¯re going to Taiqing Temple!¡± ¡°Now?¡± ¡°Yes! Right now!¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Uncle Han hurried out to prepare the car and the three hit the road within a couple of minutes. It was veryte. Only a handful of vehicles and pedestrians were still out. They drove all the way to the red-walled and green-tiled Taiqing Temple and found the front gate already locked. The sizable templeplex was indiscernible in the dim light. ¡°Knock, knock, knock!¡± ¡°Bang, bang, bang!¡± Uncle Han knocked on the gate first, then started to bang at it with the knocker. After a while, the priest on the night shift rushed out infuriated and bellowed, ¡°At this hour of the night, who the hell¡­ oh my, Chairman He! Chairman Li!¡± The two ignored his instantaneous change of attitude and initial vulgar outburst. They requested straight away, ¡°We¡¯re looking for Priest Mo.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± The priest was taken aback. He was quick-witted and immediately said, ¡°Priest Mo is probably still up. Pleasee in!¡± With that, they entered the temple, led by the priest who was babbling on. ¡°The Old Immortal was awesome. Even our own abbot had to bow and pander to him and he did not even bother to return the pleasantries. He can sit in the meditation abode for a whole day without moving. That¡¯s such an amazing ability. We are holding a religious ceremony next month here in the temple. We are looking forward to your gracious presence, if you could spare us some time.¡± Soon, they reached the backyard and stopped in front of a meditation abode. The priest went up to knock on the door. ¡°Old priest, Mr. He and Mr. Li are here to see you.¡± Immediately after that, a deep and energetic voice came from inside. ¡°Come in!¡± Chapter 37 Chapter 37: High School Entrance Examination Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu [ED/N: There are many (sometimes long) footnotes for this chapter, but they mostly describe stuff like historical characters, their works, idioms and so on, thus they can be skipped. Only number 4 and 5 are of some major importance]. After the priest withdrew, Li Yan and He Zun went in, leaving Uncle Han outside to guard the door. The abode was used purely for meditative purposes and did not have a single chair. The two ended up sitting awkwardly on rush cushions. The old priest was right across them, sitting ramrod straight and as firm as Mount Tai, with an imposing manner that demonstrated his character. [1] ¡°Priest Mo has been living here for a few days now, how¡¯s everything?¡± Li Yan asked. ¡°Hoho, you¡¯vee here at this hour of the night, so I presume you¡¯ve discovered something?¡± The old priest did not answer him, but threw a question back instead. ¡°Nothing can hide from your eyes¡­¡± He Zun took out the remaining incense pill and passed it to him. ¡°Please have a look at this.¡± Holding the pill in his palm, the old priest sniffed at it first, then felt it between his fingers. Taoist temples also used incense for religious purposes and would stockrge quantities of incense sticks and burning incense. Priest Mo would usually participate in incense-making himself and could be counted an expert. He found the incense rather unusual at the first nce. The pill was mellow and full with a firm texture. There were no hollows or pores in it. No man-made marks could be found on the little ball and it almost looked as if it was formed naturally. He stood up at once, walked to the wooden table on one side, cleaned away the benzoin that was still burning and reced it with the incense pill. He did not use the indirect burning method. As the pill was heated, a faint smoke coiled up in the air. It would take a short time for the incense to start working. A minute or soter, all three of them smelled something pure and rxing which seemed to dispel the cloudiness in their heads and lift their spirits instantaneously. ¡°¡­¡± The old priest took a deep breath and his countenance changed slightly, as if he was unsure of something. He breathed in for another couple of times and returned to his rush cushion, starting to meditate with closed eyes. The other two exchanged looks in confusion, but dared not disturb the old priest and could only wait in embarrassment. Silence fell over the room. The only sound remaining was that of long and vigorous breathing, whose rhythm seemed to create a slight sucking effect that drew the fleeting smoke closer. The face of the old priest somehow turned blurry behind the smoke. Quite some time had passed before he opened his eyes and asked in a somewhat eager tone, ¡°Where did you get this incense?¡± ¡°From one of the targets. Her friend gave it to her.¡± ¡°Can this friend be found?¡± ¡°I think so¡­¡± He Zun paused, but could not hold back his query. ¡°Priest, is there any problem with this incense?¡± ¡°Yes, a big one, but I¡¯m not at liberty to tell you in detail.¡± ¡®Excuse me?!¡¯ He Zun was not very happy with that answer. Seeing that, the old priest simply gave him a direct exnation. ¡°Mr. He, I was only here because of the unusual medical conditions of your sons, which have aroused my curiosity. I did not make any promise, nor am I a member of your goon squad. If you do find this incense maker, whether he did things to your sons or not, I will pay him a visit. As for your grudges against each other, I¡¯ll leave them to yourselves.¡± It might sound harsh, but he was just being frank. He had never promised to solve all their problems and they were the ones begging for his help. Sensing the atmosphere turning stiff, Li Yan intervened hastily, ¡°What you said was totally right. You are free to tend to your own business, and we¡¯ll take care of our own.¡± He Zun squinted and restored his calmness right away, then nodded with Li Yan. With that, the two got up and bid the old priest farewell. Hence, the old priest was left on his own. He was now watching the censer with mixed emotions¨Che was pleasantly surprised and expectant, but also feeling uneasy and anxious at the same time. The heritage of the Southern Sect had been passed along for over a thousand years since Zhang Boduan founded it. However,paring it to the long history of mankind, it was nothing but a mote. Chinese mythology contained countless stories and one of the patterns they formed was that the more ancient a story was, the mightier the beings in it would be; the more recent the times when a story took ce, the moremonce it became. Examples of the most ancient stories were ¡°Kua Fu Chasing the Sun¡± and ¡°Jing Wei Trying to Fill the Sea with Pebbles¡±, then came the ones such as ¡°Purple Air Coming from the East¡± and ¡°A Fish in the Northern Ocean¡±. After that were legends of Ge Hong and Zuo Ci, all the way to Wang Chongyang and Zhang Sanfeng. In a word, the standard of the myths had seen some serious downgrade throughout history¨Cfrom the enchanting story of the creation of the world in the beginning, to the petty Maoshan [2] tricks that could only be used to raise evil spirits and catch adulterous lovers in the act. When it came to the modern times, even those tricks such as sticking bare hands into electric sockets or inserting a coin into a sealed bottle without breaking the ss were seen as myths, while those who made a living as entertainers were considered masters! Let¡¯s put it this way. Back in the ancient times, when the productivity was low, people had little education. Hence, they worshiped natural and mysterious forces. With social and scientific development, mankind was enlightened and realized many things could be tested and verified scientifically, which naturally led people towards rational thinking. That was one way of putting it. To the theists, though, during the thousands years of human history, there must have been numerous magnificent events that remain unknown to us. The passing on of the entire Taoist systemrgely depended on ancient books and mythologies¨Cnot the most urate method. In the Southern Sect alone, Zhang Boduan wrote ¡°Wuzhen Pian¡± and Bai Yuchan wrote ¡°On the Diagram of Wuji¡±, both of which were tangible records. Meanwhile, anecdotes were likewise passed down. For instance, Boduan was said to be matching magical powers against a monk once. They both sent their primordial spirits away from their bodies, which set off towards Yangzhou together. They had agreed that the first to arrive needed to pick a flower to win the match. The monk¡¯s spirit got to Yangzhou first, but failed to pick the flower. Boduan was the second to arrive, but could casually pluck a viburnum flower from the branch. Boduan said, ¡°I¡¯ve coordinated my physical and spiritual life and cultivated with the magnificent method of the Great Elixir. My true spirit can be materialized, which makes it a Yang spirit. You only focused on the physical aspect and ignored the spiritual one. The speed of your cultivation might be fast, but it is of no use. You only have a Yin spirit.¡± Wasn¡¯t that an amazing ability? The man was awesome. However, four sessors down to Bai Yuchan, the only things left were theories and there was no substance to them. No distinguished names were mentioned in six to seven centuries, let alone the exhibition of mighty powers. It was the most bizarre history. Old Priest Mo had read through every ancient text he could find and still could note up with an exnation. He had traveled all over China in his youth, calling on various masters. However, those senior cultivators who had lived for over a century had been simply meditating in a tranquil and profound manner while leading a regr life. They were not using any cultivation techniques. Even so, he still believed in the existence of the ¡°Immortals¡± without a shadow of doubt. It had urred to him that he might be stuck in the acquired stage for the rest of his life¡­ however, it just so happened tonight that he undoubtedly smelled something from that incense, which was strange, peculiar and filled with brightness and vitality. *** In the small hours, on the peak of Phoenix Mountain. The light still seemed a bit dim and in the coldness, a thriving greenness was brewing and being reflected by what was the mountain top. It resembled an enormous icy jadeite, embedded in the sky and filled with a detached and indifferent atmosphere. The midnight mist umted throughout the night had not yet fully dissipated, while the glory of a new dawn was just sprouting. Now was the time when two essences melted into each other as night turned into day. Sitting on a giant ck stone, Gu Yu felt as if everything else had gone silent and his spirit was the only light left. Even his presence was bing less discernible, as if fusing with the natural surroundings. Clouds overhead moved with the wind and color of the sky changed as time went by. He had lost count of time when a faint trace of redness lept out of the distant horizon, like a blob of ink dropping into the water. It expanded and fanned out, soon taking up half of the sky. Sensing this in his mind, Gu Yu opened his mouth and spat out a wisp of vapor slightly denser than the one before, which then danced in midair in a way that a young snake would. It maintained its shape and did not dissipate even after a while. He then opened his mouth and swallowed the vapor back. He kept repeating this process until the red sun rose high on the eastern sky; the rosy clouds of dawn had long disappeared when he opened his eyes slowly. Looking up into the distance, he found himself amidst a boundless sea of clouds. The morning sunlight nced off the clouds, turning them into colored ze. Beneath him, countless cliffs sprung up from the ground, each one more beautiful than the other; rows upon rows of trees covered the mountain, transforming into verdant screens. ¡°Whew¡­¡± He stood up and could not hold back the smile on his face. He seemed to be in excellent condition today. ¡°Condition¡± was a magical term. It not only referred to various states of health, but also suggested whether or not one gotid in time and what position was used, as well as psychological factors such as if one managed to hit the jackpot after gettingid. [4] When everything mentioned above was achieved, one would truly be in an ¡°excellent condition¡±. Obviously, with the fact that Gu Yu was still a single guy at the moment, ¡°excellent condition¡± was referring to a sessful cultivation exercise which had given him a sense of satiation and a pleasant feeling of fulfillment. He stood on the ck rock for a bit longer, looking around, then turned to leave. The mountain was silent. Most creatures were still sleeping and the only things active were the worm-searching early birds. He walked for a while and heard a rustling sound in the woods on his right, followed by a few chirrups from birds. He turned to look and saw a ck-and-purple titmouse with a pure white chest. It circled around in the air andnded on a branch. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu blinked and moved towards it quietly. He stopped when he was about seven steps away, which was the maximum distance for his skill to work. He then lifted his arms and his loose sleeves pped suddenly along his movement. ¡°Whoosh!¡± An invisible fluctuation instantly enveloped the bird. He felt as if a high-power water pump was connected to his body, rapidly draining him of his petty reserve of spiritual essence. Almost simultaneously, the bird who wasbing feathers with its beak went rigid all of a sudden and the look in its eyes turned dull. However, the next second, it be all happy and cheerful again, pping its wings and hopping around on the branch. It waspletely unaware of its bizarre behavior. Several breathster, the vision ceased on its own. The bird went through another round of confusion as it looked around, unable to figure out what had just happened. ¡°Em, that was better¡­¡± Gu Yu observed it for a bit longer and got what he needed, then went down the mountain. The vision required elements of the seven emotions and six sensory pleasures to lure one in. Animals did not have as many emotions, but they were endowed with the basic pleasure, anger and fear. Ever since Gu Yu started learning this skill, he had been dying to find someone to experiment on, which was not that easy a task. Randomly picking someone and imposing ¡°Moon Reader¡± on them might result in idental death, which was also not the biggest problem¨Cif the person survived, your identity as an conjurer would be exposed. Unless you could find someone close to you¡­ well, that would not actually guarantee anything, for the whole process was way too scary. [5] As a result, small animals in this mountain were having a hard time recently. Luckily, he was not trying out the great fear technique. Gu Yu returned to Phoenix Fair a little past seven o¡¯clock. He did not return home, but walked into the Fang family¡¯s courtyard straight away. The Fang couple was anxiously preparing the stationery for Fang Qing, while the girl herself was savoring her breakfast on the brick bed, appearing extremely calm. Seeing Gu Yue in, she put down her bowl and chopsticks immediately and ran to him. ¡°Brother, I thought you were noting.¡± ¡°How could I? This is a very important day for you. Is everything ready?¡± He smiled. ¡°Well, I am¡­¡± The girl darted a resigned look at her parents, who were still fumbling around. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Gu Yu chuckled. They couldn¡¯t help it. No parents could stay calm on the day of their child¡¯s high school entrance examination. [1] TL/N: Mount Tai, or ̩ɽ is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located in northern China. ED/N: Hence everyone can recognize it when they see it, unless they have some face-pping in store for them, ordered by either author, MC, or the readers. [2] TL/N: a branch of the Zhengyi School as mentioned in Chapter 34); As for other things in this paragraph: Kua Fu or Kuafu (¿ä¸¸) is a giant in Chinese mythology who wished to capture the Sun. Jingwei (¾«ÎÀ) is a bird in Chinese mythology, who was transformed from the Yan Emperor¡¯s (Ñ×µÛ) daughter. After the girl drowned when ying in the Eastern Sea, she metamorphosed into a bird called Jingwei, who is determined to fill up the sea by continuously carrying a pebble or twig in her mouth and dropping it into the Eastern Sea. The story of ¡°Purple Air Coming from the East¡± (×ÏÆø¶«À´) refers to a legend rting to Laozi. Laozi, or Lao-Tzu (ÀÏ×Ó, literally ¡°Old Master¡±) (ED/N: Btw, Laozi also means ¡°father¡±, as in ¡°I your father¡± omnipresent in xianxia, lmao¡­ well, thest character has a slightly different pronunciation, but you write them the same) was an ancient Chinese philosopher and writer. He is known as the reputed author of the Tao Te Ching, the founder of philosophical Taoism, and a deity in religious Taoism and traditional Chinese religions. Legend had it that before Laozi arrived at Hangu Pass (or º¯¹È¹Ø, a strategic Qin-dynasty pass and the site of many battles during the Warring States and early imperial eras), themanding officer of the pass noticed purple air approaching from the east, which indicated a sage wasing their way. Laozi then indeed arrived on the back of a ck ox. The expression haster be an idiom describing auspicious signs. ¡°There is a fish in the Northern Ocean¡± (±±Ú¤ÓÐÓã) is a quotation from the ancient Chinese text Zhuangzi (¡°×¯×Ó¡±), which contains stories and anecdotes that exemplify the carefree nature of the ideal Taoist sage. Named for its traditional author, ¡°Master Zhuang¡± (Zhuangzi), the Zhuangzi is one of the two foundational texts of Taoism¡ªalong with the Tao Te Ching¡ªand is generally considered the most important of all Daoist writings. Ge Hong (¸ðºé) was a minor southern official during the J¨¬n Dynasty of China, best known for his interest in Taoism, alchemy, and techniques of longevity. Zuo Ci (×ó´È) was a legendary personage of thete Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. It is imed that he lived until the age of 300. Zhang Sanfeng (ÕÅÈý·á) was a legendary Chinese Taoist (possibly born during the Southern Song dynasty) purported to have achieved immortality. ) [3] TL/N: ¡°Wuzhen pian¡±¨Cmeaning ¡°Folios on Awakening to Reality/Perfection¡±, a Taoist ssic on Neidan-style internal alchemy; Wuji¨C ¡®ultimate¡¯; Yangzhou (ÑïÖÝ), a city on the north bank of Yangtze River and historically one of the wealthiest cities in China.) [4] TL/N: ¾´Òµ¸£, or the ¡°dedicated happiness¡± refers to a lucky draw on Ö§¸¶±¦ app during spring festival time, which involves collecting five different types of ¸£ (happiness) character to enter the lucky draw, among which ¾´Òµ¸£ is the hardest to collect, not much unlike an ssr card. ED/N: The author is talking about an app on one hand, and about gettingid on another if you¡¯re confused. [5] TL/N: Moon Reader = Ô¶Á, or Tsukuyomi, a very powerful illusionary technique in the manga Naruto; Ĥ·¨Ê¦ is aical way of saying ħ·¨Ê¦, or a magician; it¡¯s tranted to English as ¡°mogician¡±, and if you want to find out more, just read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moha_culture Chapter 38 Chapter 38: Unfriendly Visitors Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The high school entrance examinations started slightlyter this year as they did notmence until the end of June. Spanning over two and a half days, they consisted of seven subjects, two of which wereprehensive written exams. Starting fromst night, Bai Town was on a war footing. The preparation was not as frantic as during the college entrance examination, but it was not an event to be neglected. Aside from local students, those from subordinate viges and towns were also taking their examination here in Bai Town. With their parents to apany them, the town was swarmed with the sudden inflow of people. Fang Qing was taking her exams in another middle school not far from her home. After everything was ready, the four of them set off together. Her parents walked in the front, followed by Gu Yu and the girl. ¡°How are you feeling these days?¡± He whispered. ¡°I feel awesome. My memory is much better than before. Anyway, I remembered a lot of exercises,¡± the girl was not sure how to express what she was feeling. ¡°That¡¯s good enough¡­ oh, have you put away the sachet?¡± ¡°Yes, I left it at home.¡± Gu Yu nodded. It was better that way. It would be such a shame if the sachet wasbeled as some cheating instrument in the exam room. Those two types of incense were no magical cure, but simply helped one focus without giving the person too much pressure by improving one¡¯s capability for clear thinking. Judging from her words, the girl was much more confident these days. The four of them soon arrived outside the school gate, which was not yet open. All kinds of students and parents nked the street. Bai Town had only two public high schools and the rest were all private schools. Most kids would go to either No. One or No. Two High School. To the locals, there was no third choice. Uncle Fang and Aunt Fang were unbelievably nervous. They tried toe up with something encouraging to say but did not know the appropriate words. All they could say was ¡°don¡¯t be nervous in there¡±, ¡°just do as you usually do¡±, ¡°you mustn¡¯t put pressure on yourself¡± and so on¡­ Fang Qing responded casually to their lecture and was sighing to herself inside, for she really was not nervous at all. Ten or so minutester, the loudspeaker announced that it was time to enter the exam rooms. Fang Qing waved at them, ¡°Dad, mum, I¡¯m going in. Brother, I¡¯m off!¡± ¡°Em, I¡¯ll wait for your call,¡± Gu Yu waved back. It wasn¡¯t until the girl went in and disappeared into a building that her parents stopped craning their necks trying to catch a look of her. He offered a few more soothing words and left them¨Cit would be perfectly normal for the parents to wait there, but his presence would be rather awkward instead. This fellow was not working on his stall again today. He headed home straight away. Locking himself inside the west wing, he started concocting the raw materials. Zeng Yuewei had turned out to be an awesome middleman. The day she received those pills, she managed to find him a customer, who was also a young girl. They befriended each other on the social media and the bubbly girl kept throwing all sorts of question at Gu Yu. In the end, she ordered one box of incense pills and sticks each and paid 1600 yuan without hesitation. Gu Yu sighed with emotion at her purchase, impressed by city slickers¡¯ generosity and their emphasis on the quality of life and mental rxation. However, he was well aware that his own mentality remained at a low standard and was as stingy as ever. Before he knew it, it was noontime. When Gu Yu finished preparing enough material for five portion of incense, his phone rang on time. ¡°Brother!¡± As soon as he picke up, Fang Qing¡¯s vigorous voice rushed into his ears. ¡°Wow, your voice is saying ¡®I did really well¡¯,¡± he chuckled. ¡°Absolutely, or I¡¯ll be letting you down.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t let your parents down.¡± ¡°Aiya, I know that! You know what, I think I nailed that readingprehension. As for myposition, haha, do you know what is it like to be overwhelmed by inspirations?¡± ¡°You are doing it right now¡­¡± The two chattered on for a while before the girl hung up and went to eat lunch with her parents. Chinese examination took ce in the morning andprehensive science examination was in the afternoon. If her feeling towards Chinese exam was rather abstract, the answer to how she did inprehensive science was much more specific. Regarding those questions she knew the answers for, she had very likely given the correct ones. If she could not give full answers, her thoughts were usually going in the right direction and she could at least put down a part of the solution, earning herself one or two more points. One of two points might seem like nothing, but they would be the only thing she could depend on to move her rank higher on the final grade list. That night, the Fang family invited Gu Yu over and Aunt Fang cooked dinner herself. It was nothing fancy, just a small celebration on the good start of Fang Qing¡¯s examination. What the Fang couple wanted more than anything else was for Fang Qing to get into university and settle down in the city in the future. They did not want their daughter to live as humble a life as theirs in this dump. Many people nowadays were saying that studying was useless. As a matter of fact, study was always useful, regardless of what era it was. However, the real differentiating factor did not lie in one¡¯s knowledge, but their wisdom. The feelings of the Fang family were rather infectious. Gu Yu was also delighted that he could be of some help. Needless to say, they did not go overboard with the celebration and were content with a simple meal. After all, they still had one and a half days to go. *** The next morning. Several jeeps were driving along a highway. They were all big, powerful vehicles and looked rather intimidating when standing side by side in a row. Three men sat in the leading car. Despite their ordinary outfits, there was a cruel look to their faces. In short, they were not the easiest people to get along with. ¡°Brother Bao, what do you think the boss meant?¡± A young man with brush cut hair and square face asked suddenly. ¡°Are we going to negotiate with him, or just beat the hell out of him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure either. Just follow the orders,¡± replied a middle-aged man in the back seat. ¡°Why the hell did we bring that old priest along? I say, he¡¯s just a fraud,¡± the driver added. ¡°Watch your tongue!¡± The middle-aged man shouted and scolded them, ¡°That priest is a real master. Even the boss respects him a lot. I¡¯ve seen with my own eyes back in the vi. A humongous flower pot was crashing down and he smacked it back with a flip of his sleeves. Can you do that?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hearing that, the other two pursed their lips and did not reply, obviously not believing any of it. The middle-aged man was called Sun Baosheng, the head of security of the He family. He used to practice martial arts for a few years and was a level-headed person. Such a temperament was greatly appreciated by He Zun. The younger two were Yu Tao and Wu Xiaoshan, both low-level hatchet men working for thepany. They led the way in the first vehicle while He Zun, Li Yan and Old Priest Mo sat in the second one. Leqi had led He Zun to Gu Yu. Through his associates in the police force, He Zun managed to obtain Gu Yu¡¯s address. The two fathers decided toe themselves and see just what sort of person the guy really was. If he was not guilty, they would befriend him¨Cotherwise, they would take their revenge right away. The vehicles entered downtown Bai Town just past 10 a.m. They stopped by the street and Old Priest Mo changed to another vehicle, leading several people to Phoenix Fair straight away. He Zun and Li Yan, on the other hand, turned to head towards the new district, where Granny Zeng lived. The olddy had finished her breakfast and was savoring her incense at home. A rumbling engine sound suddenly came from outside her front gate. Before she knew it, two men had entered the courtyard. She was immediately rmed, not only for their presence here, but also for the purpose of their visit. Both men were business tycoons of Shengtian. What could be so important so as to draw out them together? ¡°Old Sister, how have you been recently?¡± As soon as they met, He Zun greeted with aughter. Granny Zeng was more than ten years older than them, so he had to show some respect¨Cat least on the surface. The olddy was no ordinary woman. She regained herposure at once and weed them with a smile. ¡°Well, such rare visitors! Pleasee in!¡± With that, the three went inside and the nanny served them with tea and desserts. Li Yan nced around and praised, ¡°You sure know how to enjoy your life. The two of us are working ourselves to death out there.¡± ¡°With those business empires of yours, of course you cannot just put everything aside like I did.¡± After exchanging the pleasantries, the olddy asked, ¡°May I ask why you two are here today?¡± ¡°Oh, we heard that there is an excellent incense maker here in Bai Town, so we are here to see him today, and also to pay you a visit,¡± Li Yan replied casually. ¡°¡­¡± The answer was making Granny Zeng even more unsettled, for their attitude was not saying ¡°visitors¡±, but rather indicated that they were here with the purpose to punish someone. She flinched inside, suddenly recalling what happened to He Tian and Li Yang a while back. Her granddaughter was also embroiled in that incident¡­ the longer she pondered over it, the more frightened she became. Could Wei Wei be actually involved? How was Xiao Gu dragged into it? While she was still deep in her thoughts, He Zun asked, ¡°You¡¯re from around here and a fan of incense yourself. I presume you¡¯ve heard about that master?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve actually met a few times.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. I¡¯ve already sent some people to invite the master over. If you don¡¯t mind, we¡¯ll take the liberty to use your house for the meeting today. What do you think?¡± ¡°That sounds excellent. I¡¯ll ask them to prepare lunch now. We are going to have things liven up today,¡± the olddy could only try to settle problems as they came along. ¡°Hehe¡­ here, have some tea,¡± He Zun smiled and poured two cups of tea as if he was the host here. Pushing one cup towards Granny Zeng and sipping the other himself, he added, ¡°It¡¯s still early, let¡¯s wait.¡± Chapter 39 Chapter 39: The Disparity in Cultivation Levels Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Screech!¡± Two jeeps stopped at the intersection outside Phoenix Fair. Their doors opened and old Priest Mo came out first. He flicked his eyes to take in the dpidated and shabby residential area, then marched into an alley. Sun Baosheng followed behind¡ªtogether with Yu Tao, Wu Xiaoshan and another two hired thugs, a five-men goon squad. He Zun had given them specific instructions that the old priest would be the one calling the shots, but they must bring that guy back no matter what. By this time of the day, the parents had all gone to work and their kids were at school. The only people around were those elders sitting outside their yards or at the alley entrance¡ªthey were all startled by this bunch. Outsiders seldom set foot in Phoenix Fair, let alone a group as out-of-ce as them. Two old men immediately started their discussion in hushed whispers. ¡°Oh my, they¡¯re here to make trouble, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Not necessarily. Maybe they¡¯re from the demolition office.¡± ¡°What are they doing with a Taoist priest, then?¡± ¡°To observe the Feng Shui, of course.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯ve got a point.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Old Priest Mo kept his face straight and showed no reaction to thements¨Che only quickened his pace. Following the ascending number tes on the doors, he soon found a small courtyard. He stopped outside the gate and ordered, ¡°You guys wait here. I¡¯ll go in and have a look first.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Sun Baosheng replied. After that, he pped his sleeves and went in. Studying the courtyard with his eyes, he found three tidy tile-roofed houses with corn stalks piled by the wall and sun-dried chilli pepper hanging down from the eaves¡­ everything seemed very ordinary. He advanced cautiously, one step at a time. Halfway into the yard, the door opened with a squeak and a man came out. ¡®Wow!¡¯ Seeing the person, the old priest could not help but feel amazed. The Neidan practices nowadays all focused on coordinating the spiritual life with the physical one. The essentialsy in abstemious diet, regr working and resting hours and not overworking oneself. Only with a calm mind could one¡¯s Qi be evenly distributed, which in turn would enable one to concentrate¡ªonly through concentration could one obtain abundant essence. When one was endowed with sufficient essence and Qi, they would naturally achieve longevity. Such qualities, when reflected through one¡¯s appearance, would evoke the most direct impressions in ordinary people. ¡®Wow, this person has very bright eyes and jet ck hair; his ruddyplexion looks incredibly healthy.¡¯ However, cultivators would sense something entirely different. Take the host here as an example. His essence and Qi were almost in a perfect condition and no matter what environment he was in, he would definitely stand out with that detached manner of his. Having seen his fair share of people, old Priest Mo had never encountered someone like this. More importantly, he was such a young man. ¡°Old priest¡­ old priest!¡± ¡°Ah?¡± He was lost in his thoughts and only came back to himself after Gu Yu called him twice. Priest Mo bowed involuntarily. ¡°Please forgive my rudeness.¡± ¡°Are you here for alms or looking for someone?¡± Gu Yu smiled. ¡°May we talk inside?¡± ¡°Sure. Pleasee in.¡± Gu Yu turned sideways while his nce flicked past those men waiting outside. He let Priest Mo in without any hesitation, for it really did not bother him. They didn¡¯t seem to havee here with a friendly attitude, so he might as well poke around first. The two entered the east wing. Gu Yu found having a Taoist priest sit on a brick bed somewhat inappropriate, so he fetched Priest Mo a chair. He then went on to boil some water to make tea. After all was settled, he started by asking, ¡°May I ask where the priestes from?¡± ¡°Myyman surname is Mo and I¡¯m from Wuliang Temple of Lotus Mountain.¡± ¡°Wuliang Temple?¡± Gu Yu blinked and grinned. ¡°I have never been to Lotus Mountain, but have heard so much about it. The reason you¡¯re here is¡­¡± ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Priest Mo ignored the question and stroked his long beard. Instead, he said, ¡°Back then in the courtyard, I could see that there was not a single streak of murky essence in you and your spiritual light is of an implicit kind. Being someone as young as you are, such cultivation achievement is indeed impressive.¡± ¡°I appreciate yourpliment,¡± the fellow saluted him with his hands. ¡°¡­¡± The old priest restrained his temper and asked, ¡°How does the youngyman think of me?¡± ¡°You look very healthy as well, all hale and hearty,¡± he appeared to be rather serious. ¡®All hale and hearty¡­ hale¡­ and¡­ hearty¡­¡¯ The old priest almost choked on his breath. That sounded like something you¡¯d say to an aunty dancing in a public square! As he was not sure what Gu Yu¡¯s deal was, he was thinking of probing him with some questions first. However, this utterly shameless fellow was only acting all innocent. [1] At this, he simply stood up and cut to the chase. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll speak my mind. Nowadays, indecency is widespread in our Taoistmunity. People are blinded by their desire for wealth and value profits more than anything else. There aren¡¯t many cultivators of my generation left. The youngyman is also a cultivator yourself and I¡®ve made this special trip here today just to share some of our experiences.¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Gu Yu was sneering inside. ¡®With all those able-bodied men and the gship jeeps, what kind of special priest are you? You might appear sage-like and know your highfalutinnguage, but you¡¯re nothing but a hypocrite!¡¯ As a matter of fact, he could already tell the ins and outs of the old priest while they were still in the yard. The old man had managed to cultivate his Qi, but could not introduce spiritual essence into his body. Hence, he remained lingering in the world of mortal men. Had theye on friendly terms, he would be more than willing to share with them. After all, cultivation was a lonely job. Yet it was obvious that they were here to look for trouble. ¡®And you think I¡¯ll just hand myself to you on a te? Do you think I¡¯m an idiot?¡¯ Therefore, after the old priest finished his spiel, Gu Yu did not even hide his indifference and only said with a smile, ¡°Well¡­ the water¡¯s boiling, let me serve you a tea.¡± With that, he disappeared into the kitchen immediately and busied himself with teapots and cups. Old Priest Mo was left where he was. Hearing the nking sounds of kitchenware, he felt the muscles on his face twitching. He was actually a very contradictory man. He wanted to pursue the Great Dao but was reluctant to leave the mortal world; he believed in the existence of Taoism, but felt there were no cultivators left in this world and he had reached the top. He might seem a virtuous man, but was actually inted with pride. Yet now, facing this young man, the old priest felt shame and annoyance, as if his pretense had been seen through. It was further apanied by an acute twinge of envy and fear. Seven, eight minutester, Gu Yu came back with a kettle and poured the water into a big blue-and-white porcin bowl. Hot vapor immediately rose up from it. He pushed the bowl towards the old priest and smiled, ¡°I don¡¯t have good tea here. I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°I used to travel all over China in my youth and called on various masters. I know very well that the only way to maintain our Taoistmunity is to keep in touch and share our experiences¡­¡± ¡°I heard the view at Lotus Mountain was marvelous. I¡¯ll definitely visit there sometime.¡± ¡°The youngyman is such a talented cultivator. I wonder which Taoist branch do you take after?¡± ¡°Please have some tea. It¡¯ll get cold in a minute.¡± ¡°Snort!¡± Old Priest Mo had been babbling on all this time. Realizing this fellow was only messing around with him, he finally smacked the table with his palm and said in a cold voice, ¡°Enough with the talking. Sinceyman yourself is so stubborn, I have no choice but to force your hand. Let¡¯s see what you are capable of.¡± ¡°Hey, wait a minute!¡± Gu Yu found this old man a pain in his neck. This priest could have made it in that he was here to pick on Gu Yu in the first ce. After all the beating around the bush, it still came to a hand-in-handbat. He said with resignation, ¡°Force my hand or not, I only have one question. How did you find me?¡± ¡°Through the incense pills you made.¡± The incense pills? He was suddenly rmed and figured everything out immediately. He had only sent his incense to two people recently¡ªJiang Xiaozhai and Zeng Yuewei. Since it was the incense pill they mentioned, they must have obtained it from Zeng Yuewei. The force behind it could be none other than the He and Li families. He did not feel the least bit of fear, but was very regretful, for his indiscretion had implicated a friend. He asked at once, ¡°How is Zeng Yuewei now?¡± ¡°Zeng Yuewei? I have no idea.¡± The old priest became impatient and answered with a frown. He was secretly gathering his strength, preparing to make his move. ¡°You have no idea?¡± Hearing that, Gu Yu¡¯s longshes flicked. He stood up slowly with these words. ¡°Hiss!¡± In an instant, old Priest Mo opened his eyes widely. He sensed a sudden gush of coldness, which then rushed all over his body. He lifted up his neck slightly and retracted his shoulders, as if the closer the young man was to assuming a fully standing position, the smaller he himself felt facing him¡­ in the end, he was so overwhelmed by an oppressive feeling brought about by the disparity in their cultivation levels that he could not even move a little finger¡­ [1] TL/N: ¡°¹ã³¡Îè´óÂ衱 refers to the aunties (and uncles, sometimes even younger men and women) doing physical exercise in autonomous groups (usually in the evening, after dinner). Dancing in public squares was one of the mostmon exercises they participate in (and usually the most lively but noisy one) . The priest was unhappy about rting him to the aunties for they can be considered as being boorish and poor in taste. Chapter 40 Chapter 40: Confrontation Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The old priest¡¯s words led Gu Yu to think that Zeng Yuewei had been hurt in some way, causing him to release his aura in an instant. Old Priest Mo was actually quite innocent, for he was indeed unaware of what was going on behind the scenes. Those hands that were supposed to be taking action were now rigid and stiffened, capable of nothing but sticking tightly to the sides of his body. His stooped shoulders were bending forward even further, as if all his flesh and bones were copsing inward with creaking sounds. Having devoted himself to arduous cultivation for seventy years, the inner Qi he had umted could still circte with much difficulty. However, once it came into contact with the pressure wrapping around him, it vanished without a trace in the same way as a stream would disappear into the ocean. Innate Qi! Almost instinctively, that term came into his mind and he did not have the slightest doubt in his judgment. That was the level he had been pursuing for years without sess! The old priest was both surprised and terrified, for he was well aware of the difference in their strength. When he looked at Gu Yu again, he waspletely overwhelmed by his terror and said in a panicking voice, ¡°Layman¡­ no, senior! Senior Gu! I really had no idea! They gave me the incense, which I found unusual and spected that it was likely made by someone from the cultivationmunity. They were in charge of the secret investigation and I have never heard of this Zeng Yuewei you mentioned!¡± ¡°They?¡± Gu Yu paused but did not reduce the pressure imposed on the priest. ¡°Tell me everything.¡± ¡°Yes! Yes!¡± The old priest felt the pressure getting heavier, as if he would be crushed into a pulp at any moment. He added immediately, ¡°A friend of Li Yan is a pilgrim of my temple and he was the one who came to me seeking my help. I heard him describe the symptoms of He Tian and Li Yang, got curious and followed him to Shengtian. I treated the two and told them to follow the lead. They probably had already fixed their target by then, which had led them to the incense pill.¡± ¡°What lead?¡± ¡°It was, it was the method you used¡­¡± the fellow had strained himself trying to withstand the pressure. By now he was soaked in sweat with a contorted face. ¡°Oh!¡± He figured things out in his mind and was somewhat rmed at the same time. When he decided to damage their meridians with his inner Qi, he thought such tricks would be undetectable. However, that did not turn out to be the case. He immediately pressed on. ¡°Apart from this team of yours, who else is in Bai Town?¡± ¡°Both He Zun and Li Yan hade with us, but it seemed¡­ it seemed they were going somewhere else. They said they would be waiting in some ce.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Pondering it over in his head, Gu Yu knew exactly what to do next. He then waved his hand. ¡°Thump!¡± Instantly, the old priest felt the pressure disappear. His body rxed and he copsed into the chair. It was after quite some time that he managed to let out a long breath, feeling as if he had just escaped from death. At first, his intention ining here was to confirm,municate or even engage in some form of apetition, which turned out to be nothing but a demonstration of his inferiority. His cultivation of seventy years was easily surpassed by a young man. As humiliating and frustrating as it was, when he finallye to terms with it and looked beyond it, he was overwhelmed by an iparable excitement. He thought he was never going to even have a glimpse of the innate state in his lifetime. Yet now, a living example was right in front of him. There was a world of difference between the acquired and innate states, in the same way as there was a world of difference between a child and an adult or a cherry-boy and an experienced seducer. That was an overpowering disparity at the most fundamental level. Well, it somehow eased the embarrassment of his defeat. It was a wake-up call for the old priest, altering his attitudepletely. Putting his dignity aside and abandoning his condescending manner, he asked eagerly as soon as he came to himself, ¡°Senior, if you would allow me to ask, have you reached the innate state?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Gu Yu could not helpughing, finding the old man rather unbelievable. ¡°Do you want to have another round?¡± ¡°No, no, I did not mean to offend you! It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve been pursuing Tao all my life and finally got a chance to meet a master. I would turn in my grave if I cannot get an answer,¡± he actually meant that. Gu Yu gave it some thought and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know what your orthodoxy says, but from what I¡¯ve been taught, there is no such thing as the difference between the acquired and the innate.¡± ¡°Oh? That¡¯s¡­¡± That raised a lot of questions for the old priest, but he knew very well that Gu Yu had already been kind to give him an answer at all. He went on, ¡°Anyhow, in the cultivation world, whoever makes the achievement first is respectable. Senior has been a master living in seclusion and was disturbed for no reason. Please allow me to make it up for you.¡± ¡°No need for that!¡± Gu Yu was well aware of the meaning of such request. He found the shameless old priest a pain in the ass as he grabbed his phone and put it in his pocket. ¡®Actually, I think I should pay them a visit, in case something like this happens again in the future.¡¯ At that, he picked up his keys and put on his shoes, ready to go out. ¡°Senior! Senior!¡± The old priest called after him and followed him in a haste. *** Outside the courtyard. The other five were pacing around in boredom. The old man had been in there for quite a while and they did not know what was going on, except for a few faint yells they heard from inside. Several times, the ill-tempered Wu Xiaoshan almost lost control and broke into the yard, but was stopped by Sun Baosheng each time. Sun Baosheng had faith in the old priest¡¯s capability. Besides, the boss had instructed them to follow Priest Mo¡¯s orders. A little whileter, they could finally hear someone moving inside. The door opened and the two came out together, which was quite unexpected. ¡°Brother Bao, what¡¯s going on here?¡± Yu Tao asked in a whisper. ¡°He probably nailed it. Anyway, just keep your eyes open!¡± The two walked near as they spoke and the old priest put on his sage-like appearance again. Heughed, ¡°Sorry about the wait, do pardon me.¡± ¡°Priest, he¡¯s¡­¡± Sun Baosheng pointed at Gu Yu. ¡°Well, Mr. He wanted to meet thisyman and theyman himself just happened to want to see Mr. He as well. We can all go together.¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Sun Baosheng found the exnation somewhat bizarre, but still let Gu Yu climb into the vehicle. After all, his mission would thus be aplished. Meanwhile, in the Zeng manor. Granny Zeng had been entertaining He Zun and Li Yan with small talk all this time. What appeared to be drinking tea while chit-chatting was actually a bunch of overt attacks mixed with covert tricks. The panic-stricken olddy felt as if she was sitting on needles and spikes. She had more or less figured out what was going on¨Cthe target today was Xiao Gu alone and her granddaughter was only the foil here. Choosing her house as the venue was their way of sending a warning, as well as hinting that Zeng Yuewei was let off the hook. They arrived here after 10 a.m. and appeared to be very rxed at first. However, as time ticked by, they could not help but be agitated. Around noon time, there was finally some movement outside, followed by a clutter of footsteps. He Zun calmed down slightly and smiled. ¡°It seems our guest is here.¡± ¡°I wonder what he looks like,¡± added Li Yan. The olddy did not know what to say and forced out a worried smile. As the footsteps approached, several people came in from the yard. Walking in the front was Old Priest Mo, who was followed by Sun Baosheng, Wu Xiaoshan and Yu Tao. To the right of the old priest, about half a step behind him was a tall and slender young man. As soon as Gu Yu made his appearance, two set of eyes immediately fixed upon him. Gu Yu was indeed a good-looking man. Both He Zun and Li Yan were instantly amazed, but their countenance only turned even more malicious after that. ¡°Granny Zeng!¡± Gu Yu greeted the olddy first, then turned to the other side with a smile. ¡°I presume these two are Mr Li and Mr He?¡± ¡°Snort!¡± The calmness of Gu Yu had enraged He Zun, whomented coldly, ¡°Very bold indeed!¡± ¡°Hehe, you two havee all this way for me. The least I could do is to show up in person.¡± He grabbed a chair and thumped into it, as careless and casual as he always was. ¡°Fine! At this stage, all I want to ask you is¡­¡± He Zun leaned forward and stared at Gu Yu closely as he squeezed out his question one word at a time. ¡°Did you do this?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve pretty much figured out the answer. Why bother asking me again?¡± ¡°You!¡± That was as good as a ¡°yes¡±. Their faces darkened at his response. They were almost sure that it was his doing, but hearing Gu Yu admit it himself sent their rage to a new height. He Zun reacted to it more violently¡ªhe would tear Gu Yu into pieces with his own hands if he were given the chance. ¡°A Tian has never done anything to you, how could you be so cruel?¡± Chapter 41 Chapter 41: Confrontation, continued Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡®Never did anything to me?¡¯ The corner of his mouth twitched; he could not be bothered to argue with these Tuhao. ording to their choplogic, they were muddled when they attacked others, but any attack on them was always so merciless and cruel; when they set someone up but the plot backfired, they would be the wrongly treated party, but when the same thing happened to another man, he totally deserved it. He hated quarrels and wrangles, for they would yield nothing. Therefore, after He Zun shouted out those words at the top of his voice, a brief moment of awkward silence fell over the room. Gu Yu sat unmoved on the chair and made no effort to respond¨Che even yawned. ¡°You¡­¡± Seeing his reaction, He Zun felt his every internal organ explode with rage, even his voice was shaking, ¡°Fine, I see you¡¯ve got some nerves! You¡¯d better keep that tough look till the end and don¡¯t beg on your kneester!¡± ¡°Mr. He¡­¡± Granny Zeng shuddered with fear. She was about to mediate, but decided to remain silent after turning the idea over in her head. As fond of that young man as she was, she could not offend the He and Li families for him. Despite her age and experience, the olddy still feltpletely at a loss in the current situation. Thanks to her quick-witted nanny, Granny Zeng was dragged back to the back room as soon as the nanny smelt trouble in the air. ¡°Mr. He, Mr. Li!¡± It was Old Priest Mo¡¯s turn to feel unsettled. He said to them, ¡°The two young gentlemen must have misbehaved in some way and theyman was only disciplining them as a warning. Moreover, I am fairly confident in treating their symptoms. How about you give this poor Taoist some face and just let it go?¡± ¡°What?¡± He Zun was surprised by his standpoint. Why was he suddenly on that guy¡¯s side? However, he had no time to ponder over the question and only waved his hand. At his beckon, Sun Baosheng and the other two approached them. Li Yan also stood up and said coldly, ¡°Boy, I don¡¯t care why you did it. You¡¯ve whacked my son¡¯s legs and I¡¯m taking away yours today¡­ A Yang!¡± A man walked out at hismand. He had a square face, keen-witted features and was missing half an ear. The man was Li Yan¡¯s bodyguard. Although he was only one man, when it came to fighting, he was more than Sun Baosheng and his hatchet men put together. These four experienced thugs each took up a corner with quite some tacit understanding, surrounding their prey from all sides. Gu Yu, on the other hand, remained slouching in the middle, acting all silent and resigned, resembling amb destined for ughter. ¡°Swish!¡± Sun Baosheng reached into his chest pocket and was the first one to draw out a dagger. He approached Gu Yu slowly, yet could not help but feel weird. He had ¡°taken care¡± of quite a few people over the years, but had never met someone as calm as this guy. This type of person was either really stupid or had something or someone to back him up. Having encountered various people and circumstances over the years, being cautious had be his instinct. Although he was marching forward, he had left enough room for himself to maneuver, in case that man made any sudden movements. ¡°Boy, you¡¯re such a goddamn poser!¡± As the most impatient one, Wu Xiaoshan could no longer hold himself in check and walked to Gu Yu¡¯s side with a few strides. He yelled, ¡°No one is going to save you today. You¡¯re not going anywhere after offending Chairman He!¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Wu Xiaoshan had barely finished the sentence when he heard a long sigh. He winced and looked up at once. The young man¡¯s face was obscured, as if a thin fog had been blown over him by the wind. As the fog got thicker, Wu Xiaoshan blinked and that man had disappearedpletely in front of his eyes! ¡°Hiss!¡± Wu Xiaoshan was getting goosebumps all over his body as his looked around like a headless chicken. ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°Where did he go?¡± ¡°Find him, damn it!¡± ¡°Buzz!¡± The others also saw it clearly, sending the room into chaos. Yu Tao even ran into the courtyard and returned soon afterwards anxiously. He was panting with fear. ¡°No one¡­ no one is outside¡­ our, our men are all gone!¡± ¡°¡­¡± He Zun and Li Yan exchanged a look, detecting a trace of fear in each other¡¯s eyes. Li Yang was the first to react. He ordered hastily, ¡°A Yang,e here quickly!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± A Yang ran back to the two bosses and took a defensive position. He even drew out a pistol. It took Li Yan a great effort to obtain that weapon¨Cnot a powerful one, but useful enough to solve a lot of problems. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°What? What¡¯s going on?¡± Right at that moment, Wu Xiaoshan screamed and copsed to the floor with a thump. On his right leg was a strange-looking ck snake, which was biting deep into his flesh. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Snake! There¡¯s a snake!¡± ¡°Help!¡± In the split of a second, crying and shouting rang out one after another. A crazy number of strange snakes covered with tiny scales was flooding in from everywhere¨Cfrom under the sofa, through the crack in the door, from outside the courtyard, or even some unknown ce¡­ they squeezed, crushed, twisted and twined, blotting out the sky and covering the ground. Together, they reminded one of an undting ck carpet. As they stuck out their two-pronged tongues and made the usual hissing sounds, those in the room felt something slimy and sticky was crawling across their heart. ¡°Help!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bite me!¡± ¡°Ah, ah!¡± Almost instantaneously, Sun Baosheng and the other two were swallowed by the sea of snakes. Squirming ck meat strips were draping down from all three of them who were crying their lungs out. ¡°A, A Yang¡­¡± Huddling up in a corner, He Zun and Li Yan were smitten with fear and scared out of their wits. Their usual arrogance and bossiness were nowhere to be found. ¡°Yes, yes¡­¡± It had taken every bit of A Yang¡¯s willpower to keep him from copsing. Seeing several strange snakesing their way, he managed to level the pistol in his hands, ready to fire with his shaking hands. The next second, he was consumed by horror. The pistol seemed to have melted down and transformed into a thin, long and strange snake with ck scales¨Cits tail wrapped tightly around his wrist as it turned its head swiftly and bit into the back of his hand. ¡°Ah!¡± He pitched headlong to the ground and rolled around a couple of times, then the only movement left was the instinctive twitching of his muscles. ¡°p!¡± The strange snake fell to the ground right in front of He Zun and Li Yan. It kept it upper body straight and upright and stared at the two men coldly with those vertical pupils inside the dark yellow eyes. Behind it, the nest of snakes was closing in, ready to surround them and attack. ¡°Thump!¡± ¡°Thump!¡± He Zun and Li Yan tried to run to the back, but their legs had gone limp and their feet had gone to sleep. They stumbled to the ground together and could not move. The only thing they could do was to watch the snakes rush near and devour them. ¡°Aaaah!¡± ¡°Help!¡± ¡°Help me!¡± The two men were covered by ck snakes and would like nothing more than passing out at this instant. However, they had remained conscious, which made them lucid enough to feel the sharp venomous fangs biting into their flesh, breaking through the thin skin, blood vessels and muscles until they prated into their bones. Travelling along their blood vessels, the venom reached their limbs, hearts and brains. Every nerve felt numb, painful and was wearing away¡­ it was as if they were watching themselves die little by little. They did not know how much time had passed. Just as the feeling was fading away, both men felt their consciousness dimmed, then a thin streak of light nted in. As the intensity of the light gradually increased, they were slowly regaining their conscious¡­ ¡°Smack!¡± He Zun opened his eyes in a sudden and sat there with zed eyes for half a minute before fumbling over himself frantically. ¡°It¡­ it¡­¡± He suddenly realized that he was still in the Zeng manor, every bit of his body intact. Shortly after that, there was another ¡°nk¡±. This time, it was Li Yan who slipped down the sofa. His face was drained of all color as he sat there, panting. It took them quite a while to put themselves together, but the fear had been rooted so deep into their minds that they could not tell whether they had returned to the real world or not. Both Granny Zeng, who was sitting across them, and the hatchet men standing around were watching them with weird looks. ¡°Mr. He!¡± Just then, a clear and prating voice called out. Hearing that, both men shuddered and turned towards it cautiously. It was from that young man. He was still slouching on that chair and staring at them with those nice eyes¡ªthey were the same as he first came in, as calm as a smooth sea. Chapter 42 Chapter 42: Senior Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu He Zun and Li Yan were under the influence of Gu Yu¡¯s trick even before they summoned their minions. Everything they saw after that was an illusion. Drawing two people into his vision at the same time was Gu Yu¡¯s current limit. Essentially, joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, sadness, fear or shock all worked the same way. If one had to makeparison, though, fear would doubtlessly be the most powerful emotion. During Gu Yu¡¯s daily practice on small animals, since he meant no harm, the emotions he imposed on them were either happiness or joy. For instance, he would create illusions for them such as encountering a pretty female or running into a pile of delicious worms. Today was the first time he ever used fear to induce the vision, which turned out to be very effective. It was a pity that he could only create a vision for a rather short period due to his limited strength. Otherwise, they might not be able toe out alive. ording to the fishbone, the mighty ones could draw into a long dream tens of thousands of people all at once, who would then be living their whole life in an illusion without ever realizing it¡ªa true limitless and eternal world. Despite the fact that He Zun and Li Yan had woken up, the overwhelming fear seemed to have remained in their minds. Hearing Gu Yu¡¯s voice, they shivered and shuddered, feeling too scared to answer. ¡°Mr. He!¡± Gu Yu picked up the subject following the timeline in the real world and asked, ¡°You are the one who brought me here today, what do you want from me?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± What He Zun really wanted to ask him at the moment, was ¡®What bloody creature are you?!¡¯ However, as soon as he looked into those deep and indifferent eyes, he flinched inside and replied in a shaking voice, ¡°No, no, I don¡¯t want anything. It was all a misunderstanding! A big misunderstanding!¡± ¡°Yes, yes! Exactly!¡± Li Yan also nodded feverishly and added hastily, ¡°We¡¯ve heard so much about your excellent incense-making skill and arranged this special trip here to call on you. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Gu Yu tilted his head. ¡°Right! Exactly!¡± ¡°Definitely! Nothing else!¡± The two gestured in a flurry to deny that there was any other possibility. ¡°¡­¡± The others stood gazing at one another, speechless. Granny Zeng waspletely baffled and the goon squad was even more confused. ¡®What¡¯s going on here? What happened to our arrogant, bullying and power-abusing bosses? Why are they suddenly as terrified as cowardly dogs?¡¯ The two fifty-or-so years old business tycoons were now huddling on the sofa like helpless kids, which looked hrious yet creepy at the same time. The minions were embarrassed and angry but dared not make a sound. The only person who seemed to have an idea of what was going was old Priest Mo, who was stroking his beard again. Gu Yu was secretly watching the two men and after making sure that they were indeed scared out of their wits, he said, ¡°I feel very honored to have you twoe all this way just to see me. Unfortunately, I still have some errands to run today and don¡¯t have time to¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok! No Problem! We¡¯ll find some other time!¡± ¡°Exactly. We won¡¯t keep you here any longer and will take our leave now.¡± ¡°Old Sister, sorry for our intrusion today. We¡¯ll definitely visit you another day to apologize properly.¡± With that, He Zun and Li Yan stood up. While still rambling on, mumbling some random formalities, they hurried their steps and slipped out of the courtyard right away. Seeing their retreat, Old Priest Mo gave Gu Yu a slight nod. ¡°I myself shall leave as well.¡± That was neat. This whole bunch of people was rushing away in the same way as they had rushed in. No one could have seen thating. ¡°Xiao Gu, that was¡­¡± The olddy sat in the hall, still not fully recovered from the confusion. After going through all the upheavals today, she could not think of the right words to express her feelings just yet. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everything¡¯s fine.¡± Gu Yuforted her and smiled. ¡°Your incense is almost ready. I¡¯lle back with it in a few days¡­ well, I should get going.¡± ¡°Hey, Xiao Gu! Xiao Gu!¡± The olddy ran after him but could not keep up with his steps. She could only watch him leave. Somehow, for a minute back there, she thought he looked rather detached¡ªnot in an indifferent way, though. He reminded her of someone standing behind a curtain of thin fog, obscured and elusive. She couldn¡¯t understand why He Zun and Li Yan¡¯s attitude changed so drastically, but had no doubts that it must have had something to do with this young man, who was now looking more mysterious than ever. *** ¡°Priest! You must know the answer. What on earth happened back there?¡± Inside a luxurious hotel in Bai Town, as soon as Li Yan set foot in a suite, he started imploring for an answer. They did not return to Shengtian right after leaving the Zeng manor, but came to this hotel, which was one of the properties of the He family, instead. The two men dismissed their underlings and asked old Priest Mo to stay behind so as to get the truth out of him. The old priest was stooping to ttery in front of Gu Yu, but had retrieved some of his confidence when faced with their begging. He asked in reply, ¡°What did you see?¡± ¡°He, he just disappeared into thin air¡­ then there were so many snakesing from everywhere! There must have been tens of thousands of them!¡± He Zun gestured with his hands, his agitated tone mixed with a hint of panic. ¡°Everyone was covered in snakes, rolling around and screaming¡­¡± Li Yan added, ¡°Then A Yang¡¯s gun also turned into a snake. We fell down to the floor¡­ they crawled onto us and bit us. I could still vividly¡­¡± At that, they both stopped talking abruptly, recalling the misery of being swallowed by ten thousand snakes. ¡°¡­¡± Old Priest Mo managed to retain hisposure with much self-constraint, but tempestuous waves were billowing underneath. ¡®That was surely Taoism! The real Taoism itself!¡¯ Having been pursuing it strenuously his entire life without any sess, he was finally given the opportunity to witness it. Overwhelmed with a myriads of thoughts, he stood there absent-mindedly, as if in a trance. ¡°Priest?¡± ¡°Priest?¡± He did not recover from the chaos in his emotions until they called him several times. Calming down, he said, ¡°At this point, I guess I should let you know the truth. That Senior is a master who is not concerned with this mundane world. What you went through was a conjuring skill of his.¡± ¡°A conjuring skill¡­¡± The two manughed in disbelief and felt their world overturned in that instant. It was quite a while before He Zun was able to make a sound again. ¡°Are you saying that there are immortal men in this world for real?¡± [1] ¡°Hoho, ¡®immortal men¡¯ isn¡¯t the exact term I¡¯d use.¡± While they were at it, Priest Mo thought he might as well reveal a little bit more. He exined, ¡°We are people of the cultivationmunity, each following his own teachings. People like us have always been present in this world, but there are only a handful of us and youmon folk do not have the ability to identify one even if you meet them. I am in no wayparable to that young master. I myself will thereby give you two a piece of advice: it¡¯ll only do you good to let this thing drop right now and not cause any otherplications. He has skills unfathomable to you. Offend him and you are putting your life at risk. And remember, under no circumstances should you let others know about it. Otherwise, the entire Taoistmunity will be disturbed and start its own investigation. By then, you cannot even be sure of your safety, let alone those worldly power of yours.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Another round of silence fell over the room. Li Yan replied, ¡°Thank you for taking the trouble to educate us. Please allow us to think it through.¡± ¡°All right. I myself will stay here for a couple more days and won¡¯t be going back with you. I¡¯ll bid you farewell here.¡± With that, he flipped his sleeves and left. The two miserable middle-aged men remained behind to rack their brains. Should they wait for an opportunity to take revenge? The priest couldn¡¯t make it clearer. Should they try that, they would not even realize what hit them when they die. Thinking back to their sons¡¯ symptoms and those densely packed ck snakes, well, they dropped the idea immediately. How about leaking out the news? They did not need others to tell them the answer to that. They might be somebody in Shengtian, but they would be nobody on a national scale. They still cherished their lives and were not at all that eager to provoke the true giants. In that case, it seemed that admitting their defeat was the only choice left. Forget about their whacked sons and the cheeks that got pped¡ªeven if they were swollen with humiliation! They might be feeling oppressed and treated unjustly, but¡­ Having experienced the hustle and bustle in this mortal world for this many years, the two men were incredibly adaptable to just about any circumstances. Considering this incident from another angle, they had actually obtained a rather favorable position! That young Immortal would not meet just anybody! They didn¡¯t need much. As long as they could make a slightly better impression on the young master, the fortune would be turning to their side. Achieving immortality would be too long a stretch, but surely longevity should be something attainable? Just look at old Priest Mo¡­ To these men, could there be anything more tempting? *** Gu Yu was unaware of what was going on in those people¡¯s head. For one split second back there, he was considering eradicating them all. Unfortunately, he did not have the required strength and the aftermath would be difficult to cope with. Both He and Li families were influential in Shengtian. Having the two die at the same time would bring way too much trouble for him to handle. After calming himself down, he broke out in cold sweat involuntarily. He hated the idea of ¡®looking down on all creatures¡¯, yet could not help but lean towards it. Gu Yu did not want to turn into a condescending and pretentious being. Obsession, love,passion, persistence, abhorrence, longing, sorrow, pain, struggle, hesitation¡­ he would not exchange any of these emotions for the world¨Cotherwise, what fun was there left to live in this world? He got back home from the Zeng manor in the afternoon and went on concocting the incense. By evening, the second exam day for Fang Qing was over and the Fang family invited him over for dinner again. ording to the girl, she did pretty well again today. The only subject left was theprehensive arts exam tomorrow, which mainly consisted of mechanical memorizing stuff and was a strong point of Fang Qing. The girl was full of confidence. Getting in No. Two High School should not be a problem at all. Gu Yu did not leave the Fang family until six in the evening. As soon as he reached his own gate, he saw a dark figure standing in his yard. Moving closer, he recognized the old Priest Mo. ¡°You are still here?¡± Gu Yu found that rather strange. ¡°¡­¡± The old priest¡¯s facial impression was a telltale sign that he was struggling on the inside. He seemed to clench his teeth when he dropped down to his knees with a thump. ¡°Senior, please direct me towards the right path!¡± [1] ED/N: There is a joke that cannot be tranted: TL/N: About thatugh¡ªthe expression ¡°ºìºì»ð»ð¡± is equivalent to ¡°¹þ¹þ¹þ¹þ¡±, but is moreical. The pinyin of both expressions start with letters ¡°hhhh¡± (hong hong huo huo, ha ha ha ha), which would produce a list of words to choose from when you use a Chinese input. ¡°ºìºì»ð»ð¡±es out further up the list than ¡°¹þ¹þ¹þ¹þ¡± and it just sounds funnier in Chinese. On its own, ¡°ºìºì»ð»ð¡± means ¡°prosperous¡± or ¡°flourishing¡±. Chapter 43 Chapter 43: Understanding Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Having a strong sense of belonging to the Southern Sect, old Priest Mo did not even mention doing something like switching his allegiance and following a new teacher. Even so, Gu Yu was still startled by his act and helped him to his feet immediately. ¡°Please stand up first!¡± ¡°Senior¡­¡± ¡°Fine, fine, let¡¯s go inside, then we can talk!¡± People were passing to and fro outside his house¡ªwhat would they think of him when they saw an old man kneeling at his doorstep? Making sarcastic remarks in his mind, Gu Yu led Priest Mo into the house. However, as soon as they set foot in his bedroom, the old man who had bent his legs was about to annoy Gu Yu with his kneeling down again. Waving his right hand, Gu Yu emanated a gush of energy, stopping the old man halfway, making him stuck in an awkward half-crouching position. Gu Yu frowned. ¡°Just cut to the chase, enough with the posing.¡± ¡°Yes, yes¡­¡± The old priest brazened it out with aughter and found himself a stool to sit on. ¡°Mr. He and Mr. Li have gone back to Shengtian. Rest assured, I¡¯ve let them know enough of what¡¯s going on so that they won¡¯t bother you again.¡± ¡°Why are you still here?¡± Gu Yu did notment on that subject. ¡°I intend to stay a few more days here in Bai Town, hoping that the Senior could give me some advice,¡± he bowed slightly to show respect. The old priest was considered an enemy before but, after all, he didn¡¯t actually do Gu Yu any harm and was behaving appropriately now. Gu Yu bore no ill will towards him, yet being well aware of his own situation, he declined, ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m qualified to offer you any advice. Judging from you age, you should have been practicing cultivation for many years. Needless to say, you must be remarkably experienced and knowledgeable. There is no way I amparable to you in that.¡± ¡°Senior!¡± The old priest was getting anxious and added, ¡°I started cultivating when I was five and have been practicing for seventy years now. I cannot say that I have experienced no distraction all these years, but I definitely am an assiduous and diligent cultivator. The one thing I have always wished more than anything else for is to meet a true Immortal in person. As long as you could let me have a glimpse of your wonderful technique, I¡¯ll do anything you ask!¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, Gu Yu could not help bute up with an idea. He smiled, ¡°In that case, let¡¯s forget about the ¡®give you advice¡¯ and ¡®do anything for me¡¯. We¡¯ll just share our experiences and confirm one thing or two for each other.¡± Being a worldly-wise man, the old priest figured out the meaning behind Gu Yu¡¯s words at once. He replied without any hesitation, ¡°That¡¯ll be great. Should the Senior have any inquiries, I¡¯ll try my best to answer them for you.¡± ¡°Hehe, great.¡± Since they were going to have a long talk, Gu Yu shut the door and windows and poured two sses of water for the two of them. What he currentlycked the most was some systematic, theoretical and basic knowledge. After brewing his questions in his head, he asked, ¡°Which Taoist school does the priest belong to?¡± ¡°I am from the Southern Sect of Quanzhen, whose founder was Patriarch Zixu.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve read somewhere that Taoism seems to contain many branches and sects, could you fill me in on that?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Sipping the water, Priest Mo went on, ¡°Taoism has been established for over two thousand years. At its heyday, there were five great sects and over a hundred branches. However, most of those sects and branches are long gone by now. The only major schools left are Zhengyi and Quanzhen, which are in charge of Taoistmunity in northern and southern China, respectively. Together with other regional branches, there are only 62 branches or sects in total. The sect altar of Zhengyi is set at Mount Longhu [TL/N: Dragon Tiger Mountain] in Jiangzhou and that school specializes in talismans and prayer rituals. The talismans can be used for summoning gods, exposing ghosts, repressing and exorcising evil spirits, curing diseases, as well as expelling evil influences. The prayer rituals are performed through Taoist rites, which could remove ill fortune for the believers and give them blessings. Zhengyi consists of numerous branches, two of which are the most important¨Cthey are Lingbao School of Gezao Mountain and Shangqing School of Mao Mountain. Together with Tianshi School of Mount Longhu, they are called the Three Mountains of Talismans.¡± The old priest had given simr exnations to He Zun and Li Yan, but was nowhere near as thorough, for it involved a lot of Taoist secrets. Yet facing Gu Yu, he was not withholding anything. ¡°The Northern Sect of Quanzhen leans towards deep meditation, while the Southern Sect emphasizes more on the practice of Taoism. Zhang Boduan, the founder of the Southern Sect, did not care for the talismans, but focused on Neidan instead. When the sect was passed down to Shi Tai, the second generation sect chief, the practice was further developed, which enabled the cultivators to umte their essence and transform their Qi. Theposition of the innate Qi will lead one towards obtaining the Great Dan¡­ When it came to Xue Shi, the third generation sect chief, the practice was improved and perfected even further¡­ The fourth chief, Chen Nan, received the Jingxiao Great Thunder Taoist Scripture from an Immortal, enabling the disciples to practice Neidan and Thunder rites at the same time¡­¡± ¡°Wait a minute!¡± After a lengthy introduction, Gu Yu finally heard something exciting. The name ¡°Jingxiao Great Thunder Taoist Scripture¡± sounded so impressive that he asked immediately, ¡°What exactly are those Thunder rites?¡± The old priest seemed rather disconste at the question and sighed, ¡°I have no idea. To tell you the truth, after the vicissitudes of thousands of years, many secret techniques have faded into oblivion. Even the conjuring rhyme of Neidan practice of the Southern Sect was almost lost during all the turbulent and tumultuous times.¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Gu Yu paused and sighed involuntarily with him. The old priest then went on with the introduction, going through the Taoist history, current situation, conditions of each sect, et cetera, with him. When he finished, Gu Yu finally had a general idea of the Taoist world. He was drawn first to the talismans of the Zhengyi School. The practice of talismans was to channel one¡¯s energy onto the symbol paper, which would then take corresponding effects. There was a Taoist saying that went, ¡°The talismans¡¯ shape and form do not matter, for the Qi is what makes them effective.¡± ording to the old priest, there were around 50,000 Taoist disciples in China; among them, less than one in a thousand was a real cultivator. Mount Longhu was also heavilymercialized. People over there were very keen on promotion campaigns and the mountain was swarmed with philistines. ¡®However, they cannot draw real talismans, but I can definitely try! Moreover, with those small sects little known to anyone, surely they should have some special inheritance.¡¯ Other than that, Gu Yu was reassured now that what he had learned should havee from the Taoistmunity and was closely rted to the Southern Sect. The differencey in the fact that the Southern Sect used the acquired elements as the foundation of cultivation. The Three Treasures originated from and would circte inside one¡¯s body. Only after being umted to a certain extent could they connect to the essence of heaven and earth, which was the innate state mentioned by the old priest. Gu Yu¡¯s method of consuming the six essences, however, started off by taking in the spiritual essence of heaven and earth directly and using it for himself. There was a world of difference between the two approaches¡ªas much as the difference in devotion one could observe between the tag-along gamers and the ones who actually spent fortune on it. [ED/N: aka golden warriors] As for other legends, such as elevating oneself into the sky in broad daylight or ascending to heaven and bing immortal¡­ well, there was no way for him to verify those and he would simply ignore them for the time being. After all, he did learn something from this conversation; at least he had some idea of the origin of the fishbone now. As long as he followed this lead, he would make sense of everything sooner orter. As the verbose exnation came to a halt, old Priest Mo took another sip of the water and was now watching Gu Yu with the most eager look. Although somewhat embarrassed by the old man¡¯s reaction, Gu Yu knew exactly what the priest wanted from him. ¡°Well, I can certainly try, but I can¡¯t guarantee it¡¯ll work.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. Whether it¡¯ll work or not, our destiny has already been set.¡± ¡°Sit tight, then.¡± With that, Gu Yu stood up and put his left hand on his shoulder, then slowly sent in a streak of spiritual essence and let it circte inside his body. He could not yet separate his consciousness from his physical body and could only opt for this rather cumbersome approach. The old priest sensed a gentle, cool sensation flowing through his meridians. Holding back his excitement, he closed his eyes and waited in silence. ¡°¡­¡± A couple of minutester, Gu Yu let go of his hand, absorbed in thought. He detected a lump of inner Qi in Priest Mo¡¯s dantian¡ªa very dense lump, for that matter. Yet it was obviously different from Gu Yu¡¯s, which was rather thin but light, quick and floaty, as though there was life in it. Priest Mo¡¯s Qi was vigorous and forceful, but itcked certain vitality and seemed stagnant. That was probably a demonstration of the difference in their cultivation levels. ¡°Senior¡­ Senior!¡± Seeing that he had stayed silent for so long, the old priest feltpelled to call out. Gu Yu came to himself. ¡°I¡¯ve done some probing and as far as I can tell, with what you have umted, it¡¯s only a matter of time before you reach the innate state. You don¡¯t need to worry.¡± ¡°But I¡¯ve been cultivating for seventy years, how much longer do I have to wait?¡± ¡°It could be three to five years, or it could happen the next moment. It all depends on you.¡± He carefully chose his words and added, ¡°If you ask me, I would suggest you try leading a real austere cultivation life. It might help you.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, Senior.¡± Hearing that, the old priest couldn¡¯t help but felt dejected and only replied with a brief acknowledgement. Gu Yu was having mixed feelings as well. The thing that one pursued for a lifetime without any sess might be obtained by another at a hand¡¯s turn and the only exnation for that was fate. However, Gu Yu was telling the truth just then. As Taoist disciple, the old priest would not part with the worldly desires. Such act was simply notpatible with cultivation. If he could see through that, the perfection of his current stage would take its course, naturally raising him to the innate state. Chapter 44 Chapter 44: The Mischievous Kid Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The problem with the old priest was that he could not see things clearly on his own, but would not bepletely convinced by advice from others either. Determined that the senior did not tell him everything, Priest Mo had set his mind to stay here for a little while longer. In spite of being the abbot of Wuliang Temple, he did not have to deal with any routine tasks at all. His subordinates included a temple supervisor and eight errand-men in charge of the guests, housing, storage, ounts, scriptures, ceremonies, main hall and reception office, respectively. Nothing would require his personal attention. That was to say, he could stay in Bai Town for as long as half a month and no one would be looking for him. He had requested explicitly to be allowed to live for a short period in Ziyang Temple of Phoenix Mountain so that he could consult a senior and share experiences. ¡®Consult my ass! How am I supposed to cultivate with you beside me on the mountain?¡¯ The idea had given Gu Yu a terrible headache. The old man was hopelessly shameless and had decided to pester him no matter what. Gu Yu found him most obnoxious, but there was nothing he could do about it. After finally getting rid of the old priest, Gu Yu calmed himself down a bit and busied himself with incense-making again. Speaking of that, Zeng Yuewei had some awesome friends¨Cthey had ordered fifteen boxes of Wake-up Incense and seven boxes of incense pills these past days. With the price she had suggested, that is 1200 for the incense sticks and 400 for the pills, he could make a profit of over 20000 yuan with this batch. The only downside was that the job would be quite monotonous. Forming 900 incense sticks in total, he might as well start a fire with it. Bing a peddler was ast resort back then. Now that a better alternative was avable, naturally his attention turned elsewhere. This was only the first batch and if he could have a steady stream of customers, the peddler life would be history forever. To Gu Yu, both He Tian and He Zun were names of the past. As it turned out, though, a big surprise was waiting for him the next day. The following morning. Gu Yu finished his morning exercise and stopped by the food market to get some groceries, then toddled back home with the bags. He had just turned into the alley when he saw three fellows hover outside his house. Noticing Gu Yu, they called out in unison, ¡°Mr. Gu!¡± He took a closer look and realized the man in the front seemed to be the personal hatchet man of He Zun. Just as he was trying to figure out why they were here, the man said, ¡°Chairman He and Chairman Li had sent us here to express their apology. Here is a token of their regard, please kindly ept it!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, take them inside! Quickly! Quickly!¡± ¡°Hey, wait a minute¡­¡± Before he had a chance to stop them, the other two men carried the things they brought into his yard at an amazing speed. That man gave him a slight bow and went on, ¡°Mr. Gu, do help us out here. We are only foot soldiers following the bosses¡¯ order. If you don¡¯t take these, it¡¯s our asses that¡¯ll get kicked when we go back¡­ so, that¡¯s all, we¡¯re leaving!¡± That was it. After the no-nonsense announcement, the three men went away swiftly in the same no-nonsense style, leaving Gu Yu with little time to react. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu stood there dazed for quite a while before he went inside and walked around the pile of gifts. There weren¡¯t actually that many things. They had brought six boxes of various sizes in total, which looked rather conspicuous outside his door. ¡°Yoho, Xiao Gu, you¡¯ve bought a lot of stuff. What¡¯s the asion?¡± Perfect, just the thing he needed right now. A passing neighbor saw the pile of boxes and asked at the top of his voice. ¡°Well, they are from a friend, from a friend!¡± Gu Yu replied nervously and moved everything into his room in a flurry. Unable to restrain his curiosity, he unboxed them. Wow! The first thing he took out was a small ornament in the style of a lonesome boat, likely made from agarwood. There was also a jade te in the shape of a pair of fish¨Cthe material felt smooth and moist with a bright and limpid appearance. One could tell from a glimpse that it was of top quality. These two were the chief objects and the rest were just misceneous stuff. He Zun and Li Yan were very thorough and thoughtful. The gifts they sent were of some value, but not so precious that they would be impractical. They even included a couple of gift cards, one of Bai Town Mall and the other of Shengtian Mall. Gu Yu could not tell how much money each card was worth, but the amount should be substantial. The action of sending him gifts was no more than an attempt to please him and build up a rtionship with him. Once he epted the gifts, they would send another batchter. In the course of time, a stable demand-supply rtionship would be established. When they were in actual need of his help, he would not be able to say no. Therefore, Gu Yu wrapped everything up the way it was and put the boxes into a corner, nning to return them through the Zeng familyter on. After taking care of that, he browsed the inte for a while. When it was almost time, he went into the kitchen, starting to wash and trim the vegetables for cooking. Fang Qing¡¯s exams finished today and she wasing over for lunch. The girl did well, which was a greatfort for Uncle and Aunt Fang. They had job to do in the morning and had left Fang Qing in Gu Yu¡¯s hand. Gu Yu bought a kilo of streaky pork specially for today¨Cthe meat was from the real ck-haired free range pigs. He threw the pork into a pot to thoroughly scald it, then took it out and chopped it. He heated the oil in a wok and put the pork in. After adding a rock candy, he stir fried the meat and used dark soy sauce to give it color. When the water was boiled, he poured some yellow rice wine and threw in ginger slices, star anise and some hot pepper. He lowered the heat to a medium level, stewing the meat slowly. Twenty minutester, an aroma filled the air. Another twenty minutes passed and he added in quail eggs and carrot chunks. In another ten minutes, he turned up the heat to reduce the liquid. His timing was perfect. As he was loading food into tes, the girl was calling outside, ¡°Brother, I¡¯m home¡­! Wow, that smells so good!¡± As soon as Fang Qing stepped inside, she snuffled around. ¡°Brother, you are the best. My mum never makes braised pork for me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because she¡¯s worried about your weight.¡± Gu Yuughed and brought the dishes to the table. Aside from the braised pork with eggs, there was also a bunch of assorted vegetables mixed with sauce¨Cone meat dish and one vegetable dish. He filled their two bowls with cooked rice and sat down. ¡°How was the exam this morning?¡± ¡°It was the easiest, all reciting stuff,¡± the girl was full of confidence. ¡°Wow, in that case, No. One High School wouldn¡¯t be a problem, then?¡± Gu Yu teased. ¡°Hehe, I¡¯m not that good. Anyway, I¡¯m definitely not going to a vocational school!¡± After getting the load off her back, Fang Qing was the happiest girl today. She couldn¡¯t stop her bbering. ¡°The best student in my ss cried after the exam today. Oh my, he was hanging onto his mother right outside the school gate¡­ he¡¯s so weak. Even I¡¯m better than that! And that Lin Junlong, he didn¡¯t even bother toe to the exam today. I don¡¯t even have to guess how he did.¡± ¡°Is he still going to find a job?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°Definitely! I asked him before the exams. He said he had an uncle in Shengtian, who has a repair shop there. He could probably get 500 yuan a month working for his uncle.¡± ¡°So little?¡± ¡°How much did you expect for him to earn as an apprentice? He¡¯ll earn more in the future.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± They chatted on throughout the lunch, finishing the entire te of braised pork and the assorted vegetables dish until only some broth was left. While Gu Yu was cleaning away the table and washing dishes, Fang Qing, restless from a stuffed stomach, was wandering around the room. She turned around and saw the pile of gifts. ¡°Brother, what are those?¡± ¡°They are for someone else, don¡¯t meddle with them.¡± ¡°Brother, what¡¯s this little gourd for?¡± ¡°It¡¯s used for burning incense.¡± ¡°Brother, when did you get this pair of bead strings?¡± ¡°Qing Qing, why don¡¯t you use theptop for a while?¡± He was getting a headache from all the questions. ¡°Sure!¡± Fang Qing sat down right in front of theptop and swiped the mouse. The screen came back to life and on its bottom right corner was a minimized chat software. She clicked on it secretively. Just as the software erged, a beeping came along, making the girl start. Luckily, Gu Yu was washing dishes out in the kitchen. Even if he heard the sound, he would probably think it was for Fang Qing. Feeling uneasy, Fang Qing was about to close the window. She nced at the avatar and noticed, ¡®Hey, this person is in the ¡®special attention¡¯ group.¡¯ ¡°Tsk tsk, the restless hormone, ah!¡± She knew her big brother too well to know that he would not take meaningless actions, which meant he must care a lot about this person. Just as the saying went, ¡®Teenage girls would ruin the world.¡¯ She rolled her eyes and gave the avatar a quick and nervous click. A dialog window jumped out with a line on it, ¡°What are you doing now?¡± Being an experienced inte roamer, Fang Qing knew every trick there was in chatting. She immediately typed back, ¡°Just finished lunch. You?¡± ¡°About to have a meeting. Our apartment is having a team-building activity, we are going to discuss which ce we should go to have some fun.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The mischievous girl had no idea what team-building was, but that would not stop her from being naughty. An idea suddenly came to her mind and she replied, ¡°Come to Phoenix Mountain then. It¡¯s not far and you¡¯ll have a lot of fun here.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The person on the other side went silent. After a few seconds, a question popped up in the window, ¡°Who are you?¡± Chapter 45 Chapter 45: She¡¯s hitting on him again Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The puckish girl found it hard to describe her feelings right now. It reminded her of wrapping up a game character in a set of super equipment, ready to show off and have a bit of fun only to be instantly annihted the moment she stepped out of the novice area. The person on the other side was way to experienced for her to handle. She gazed at the screen for a while and decided to give up. She called out to Gu Yu. ¡°Brother,e here!¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Aiya, juste here!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Gu Yu came into the room, totally in the dark of Fang Qing¡¯s deed. The girl was standing there with a smile that looked rather fawning. ¡°I¡¯m going home, just to let you know.¡± ¡°Already? Stay for a while.¡± ¡°I need to tidy up the room. See ya!¡± With that, Fang Qing picked up her stationery bag and trotted out without looking back. Gu Yu was baffled. He turned around casually and noticed the screen that had lighted up. ¡®Sh*t!¡¯ He sat down at once and skimmed through the brief conversation, falling speechless over the ¡°Who are you¡± part. Bloody hell, they shoulde up with regtions against these devilish brats, just so that the miserable adult victims could get some protection. ¡®Yes, those with excess hormones are the ones that need special care!¡¯ Xiaozhai did not say anything else after the question. Gu Yu turned things over in his head and picked up his cell phone instead, sending her a message. ¡°I was washing dishes. That was from my neighbor, a naughty kid.¡± A couple of minutester, he got a reply in bold, ¡°Oh!¡± [ED/N: in bold as in typeface] ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu put on a grimace. ¡®It¡¯s over for me. I¡¯m challenged by the ultimate quest of chatting .¡¯ If a girl gave you a in ¡°Oh¡± as a reply, it could only mean one of the three following things: 1. What you said did not interest her at all. 2. She was unhappy, but would not name the reason. If your coaxing was not right to the point, she would be even more unhappy and aim even harsher words at you. This vicious cycle would continue until she became hungry and wanted to go out for dinner. These two circumstances were the moremon ones and the third one rarely happened, which was: 3. She was flirting with you¡­ Despite having had a girlfriend in the past, Gu Yu was only as experienced as a driver who had just got his driving license. He was scratching his head, trying to find a subject and managed to squeeze out a question with much effort. ¡°Are you in the meeting now?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Reached an agreement yet?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°The incense is ready. I¡¯ll deliver them to you.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡®What the heck!¡¯ He was at a loss. After racking his brain again, he came up with another question. ¡°How could you tell it wasn¡¯t me?¡± The reply this time was finally in full sentence. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t take the initiative to invite me.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Because you tend to get cold feet.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®What?!¡¯ Ignoring the ¡°cold feet¡± part, he felt his heart skip a beat. Did she just drop a hint for him? She did, right? Right? He hesitated for two seconds and resolved to suggesting, ¡°Phoenix Mountain is very picturesque and not far from Shengtian. It¡¯s affordable with free reception and tour guide¡­ I mean, do you want toe here?¡± ¡°Sounds nice, we¡¯ll have to discuss it, though.¡± ¡°Cool. Let me know when you¡¯ve decided.¡± Sending that out, he tossed the phone aside and was going back to wash dishes. He had barely stood up when a message appeared. ¡°All set. Going on Saturday, back on Sunday.¡± ¡°Huh? I thought you were having a discussion?¡± He was dumbfounded. ¡°We did. I¡¯ve been in charge of organizing team-building activity of my department.¡± ¡°Smack!¡± Gu Yu blinked and failed to control his impulse as he thwacked the mouse on the table. ¡®I¡¯m still angry!¡¯ ¡®I want to lift the table and throw it aside!¡¯ ¡®I can just punch you on the chest with my cute little fists! Sis, could you go easy on the flirt? My heart is too weak to handle it all at once!¡¯ He had given up trying toe up with a retort and admitted his defeat. ¡°Send me the staff listter and I¡¯ll book hotel rooms for you. It¡¯ll be cheaper than doing it as a group on a website. And the entrance tickets as well, I can probably get a 50% discount for you.¡± ¡°All right.¡± Thirty minutes or soter, Xiaozhai sent a list. Apparently, there were a lot of people in her department. There were 26 people on the list, 14 men and 12 women¨Cquite neat for the double room arrangement. The list also came with a plimentary¡± ID card number of Xiaozhai. Gu Yu secretively noted it down, just in case he might need it some day. It was Monday and he had plenty of time. Procrastination was not part of his nature, though, and he grabbed his phone, starting to call people who could help. Gu Yu did not have special connections and his contacts were only old ssmates from middle school and high school, who had scattered around, working in all trades and professions in Bai Town. *** ¡°Xiaozhai, take a look at this n.¡± ¡°Put it there. I¡¯ll read itter.¡± Making a sketch with nimble movements, Jiang Xiaozhai replied without lifting her head, but then sensed that the person was not leaving. Looking up, she asked, ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Tsk, you¡¯re such a poser!¡± Throwing an arm around Xiaozhai¡¯s neck, Panpan whispered into her ears, ¡°Taking advantage of your position to chase after a guy in broad daylight, how can you still be so calm?¡± ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± She sat up, reached for a snowy-white bone china cup and sipped some tea. [1] ¡°Just admit it! Isn¡¯t that Gu so-and-so in Bai Town? Why, you are for real?¡± If craving for gossip could set people on fire, Pan Pan would have already been in mes by now. Xiaozhai threw her a piteous look, as if saying ¡°you fool¡±, and said, ¡°I¡¯ve gotpletely no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Tsk, you¡¯re no fun at all!¡± She pursed her lips and wandered back to her seat. Speaking of Tianbao, it was a big-timepany here in Shengtian, which started off as a tradingpany and expanded its business to manufacturing industryter, and even built its own factories. The department Xiaozhai was in mainly worked on customer demand. She was the deputy leader of the design team, one of the elites. It wasmon knowledge for designers that first parties were all idiots with a perpetual discontentment over the ns¡ªnot grand enough! At the moment, Xiaozhai was working her a*s off for certain first party. She had only started working a year ago and had already won the trust of many colleagues. One could imagine how much effort she had put into this job. Working overtime had almost be a routine and today was no exception. It was past eight o¡¯clock in the evening when she wrapped up and most cubes were empty by now. She stood up and stretched herself, then grabbed a box in which were two pale-yellow cakes. They were handmade osmanthus cakes, the real deal. She picked one up and bit into it, then walked out holding the box¡ªshe seldom ate her dinner on time and this would be counted as a meal. She exited the building and headed straight towards the subway station. Her home was not far, about a 15-minute ride. Both of her parents were civil servants and bought her an apartment quite a few years ago. She herself also had a well-paid job and was thinking about buying a car recently. Considering the living standard of Shengtian, she was living her life as she pleased. Adding to that were her exceptional good looks, which had attracted quite a lot of implicit and explicit affection in thepany. She got home at around nine. Her 100-square-meter t was exceedingly spacious. The decor of the t was tasteful, simple and elegant. It was not excessively furnished. The only special setup was a mini-bar in the corner of the living room, where a ss shelf was lined with a variety of beverages. Jiang Xiaozhai took a shower, changed into somethingfortable and went straight into the study. One side of the room was aputer, while the other side was taken up by a tall bookshelf. Hundreds of book were stacked on the shelf¨Cmost of them had signs of having been read. Beside the bookshelf was a small couch and a wooden table was set next to it with an incense te and incense tube. Shey on the couch with a book in hand. Just as she was going to open the book, a message came in with a beep. ¡°Hotel and entrance tickets all done.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The corner of her mouth rising, she typed with her right hand, half-smiling. She casually stretched out her left hand and picked out an incense stick, fiddling with it between her fingers. The thin stick rolled and turned, but did not snap or break. As it moved around smoothly, a strange rhythm seemed to emanate from it. [1] ED/N: Bone china¡ªfine white porcin made from a mix of y and bone ash. Chapter 46 Chapter 46: ident Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The high school entrance examination was over and July arrived. In terms of tourism, the busiest season started in full swing from May and would not die down until November each year. Students made up a great part of the tourists during this time. With themencement of summer vacation, they would loiter here and there like swarms of grasshoppers. Leaving Shengtian from the southeast, the firstrge region one woulde across was the scenery of Bai Town. Centered around Phoenix Mountain, a dozen scenic spots could be found in this area, such as the Red River Valley rafting, Green Creek water cave, Small Tang, Ravine Hot Spring and peach blossom of Hekou Town. Together, they made a busy and diverse tourist route. [1] The secondrge region started from Hekou Town, extending all the way to the seaside city of Dongyun, and the view there was of apletely different style. Having been opened up for over a decade, the tourist industry had long established its own fixed system. As July approached, numerous barnyard businesses and the rted industries were getting restless, ready to make full use of the season. July 2, a sunny day. In the resting area halfway up the mountain, tourists were passing to and fro in groups, all hustling and bustling. Every peddler was hawking their wares at the top of their voice. Some even plugged in loudspeaker boxes and bombarded the area with agricultural heavy metal just to attract more customers. [2] ¡°Cucumber, freshly picked drnd cucumber, one yuan each!¡± ¡°Home-grown vegetables, all green-food standard! Juicy tomatoes, won¡¯t you have one?¡± Fang Qing was straining her neck, shouting from a stall. On the ground by her feet were several baskets, half of the vegetables in them already gone. Business was going well. Next to her was Uncle Fang and the stove he was looking after was decorated with frizzling grilled squids. He would give Fang Qing a nce every now and then. Having finished her exams, the girl didn¡¯t have much to do before school started and thought she might as well use the free time to help her parents out. With that clear and melodious voice of hers, customers were attracted to her stall like a ceaseless stream. The girl was a smooth-talker herself and her baskets were getting emptier at an unbelievable speed. After busying herself for quite some time without taking a break, Fang Qing finally got a minute to sit down. She picked out a tomato whose skin was scratched and bit eagerly into it. ¡°Here, hungry, aren¡¯t you?¡± Uncle Fang passed along a grilled squid on a stick and said with a relieved tone, ¡°It¡¯s great to have you tag along. I wouldn¡¯t be able to handle all this on my own.¡± ¡°Dad, take a rest. There aren¡¯t so many people now,¡± smiled the girl. ¡°Em, all right.¡± Uncle Fang also sat down and grabbed a towel to wipe away his sweat. Fang Qing was alternating between the tomato and the squid, apparently enjoying her food in high spirits. She then asked, ¡°Dad, business is going so well these days, why isn¡¯t brothering to his stall now?¡± ¡°He says he¡¯s been selling incense and there are quite a few buyers. He would probably stoping here for good.¡± Looking at his own daughter, Uncle Fang could not help but sigh with emotion. ¡°Your brother might seem a brooding and passive man, but he knows what he¡¯s doing. After his grandpa passed away, he came through everything that had been thrown at him on his own. Capable men like him can deal with anything, anytime. You see, it¡¯s only been two years and he¡¯s set his life back on track again. Therefore, Qing Qing, you have to study hard. That¡¯s the only way you¡¯ll be someone¡­¡± ¡°I know, I know. Don¡¯t you get tired of telling me that eight times a day?¡± The girl was listening carefully to her father in the beginning, but was soon starting to feel annoyed. Her old man was the best, but he just wouldn¡¯t stop lecturing her with all those talks. ¡®Study hard, study harder!¡¯ Come on, of course she knew that, but it was not like she was cut out to be a good student! Thanks to Gu Yu, she passed the ordeal of high school entrance examinations, but she still had three years of high school to go through, and after that, there was the university entrance examination, during which thepetition would only be all the more fierce. While she might seem all jolly and merry, there was actually a lot going on in her head. ¡°¡­¡± The father and daughter both stopped talking and ate their food in silence for a while. *** This resting area could lead in all directions with branch roads on all sides. To the left was a footpath and ten minutes along it would lead one to a tform where the tourist could admire the mountain peak on the other side from afar. The upper part of the mountain resembled a human being, while the lower half looked like a toad. It was given the name: ¡°Immortal Man Fishing a Toad¡±. To the right of the area was a wide road, leading to the only temple on Phoenix Mountain, namely, Ziyang Temple. After the peak hour passed, the peddlers were nowhere near as busy and the agricultural heavy metal had also stopped. Fang Qing and her father were chitchatting sporadically when they heard the noise of a disturbance, which wasing from the direction of Ziyang Temple. ¡°What¡¯s with all the noise?¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°Is there a fight?¡± The peddlers stood up one after another, all straining their necks towards that direction. The most nosy one among them trotted away to see themotion and came backter to inform the crowd. ¡°Damn! Someone¡¯s been bitten by a snake!¡± ¡°Seriously? You can still find a snake nowadays?¡± ¡°Good gracious! I¡¯ve got to take a look.¡± Hearing that, five to six people jumped out. Unable to constrain his curiosity, Uncle Fang said to Fang Qing, ¡°Stay here, I¡¯ll go have a look.¡± With that, these people ran to the road on the right. A man was lying on the ground with a weeping woman beside him. Around them was a whole bunch of onlookers, all trying to offer some advice. ¡°Call the management office. Tell them to send someone up now!¡± ¡°The management won¡¯t do, call the police!¡± ¡°What the hell are the police going to do with this? Call an ambnce!¡± Uncle Fang squeezed into the crowd and looked at the man. Jeez, the guy had his eyes tightly closed and was drained of all color. A bite mark was on his right leg, which had turned purple-ck. He could not stand all the fuss and bellowed, ¡°For god¡¯s sake, stop crying! The man is dying! Go get someone from the management office!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll call Old Li. You guys move back! Don¡¯t stand around him!¡± ¡°Old Fang, I¡¯ll go find someone from the temple!¡± The townspeople were so squeamish. In situation like this, these hillmen were much more capable. They immediately divided themselves into two groups¡ªone group left behind to help take care of the man, while the other made off at once towards the temple. They reached the temple gate in no time. The young priest was taken aback by the news they brought as well and went in immediately to inform his superior. The majority of Taoist temples in northern China followed Quanzhen, while those in the south were mostly under the leadership of Zhengyi. Ziyang Temple was no exception, which was also a branch of Quanzhen. Taoist branches was able to further divide into new sects aste as a century ago. Ever since the Taoist association came under the jurisdiction of the government, however, no new sects were allowed to be established. The current abbot of Ziyang Temple was Chen Qiulin. He became a Taoist priest at the age of fifteen, passed the headdress ceremony at twenty and was now in his early thirties. The so-called ¡°headdress ceremony¡± was a Taoist ritual where a Quanzhen disciple was formally admitted as a priest. In Zhengyi, this ceremony was called ¡°passing down thew¡±. Chen Qiulin was a shrewd man with a sharp business sense. He had managed to double the ie of the temple in a mere couple of years. Right now, he was ying chess with old Priest Mo in the backyard. The young priest stumbled in in a flurry. ¡°Abbot, a tourist has been bitten by a snake just outside our temple!¡± ¡°What?¡± Chen Qiulin sprang to his feet and the first thing that came to his mind was ¡®He¡¯d better not die, or my name would be implicated¡¯. He asked hastily, ¡°How¡¯s the person now?¡± ¡°Not good. They asked if we have any herbal medicine.¡± ¡°Where would I get any herbal medicine, and even if I do¡­¡± ¡°Smack!¡± Old Priest Mo could not listen to his bbering. He tossed the chess piece on the table and said, ¡°That¡¯s ok, I¡¯ll go have a look.¡± ¡°Really? Thank you so much, Uncle-master!¡± Chen Qiulin¡®s worry turned into joy right away. He was familiar with Priest Mo¡¯s remarkable medical skills and bowed to express his gratitude immediately. After that, they went outside. The man was still lying unconscious on the ground. Old Priest Mo felt his pulse, fed the man a pill and took out his needle pouch to treat him. Before they realized it, a dozen silver needles were stuck into the man¡¯s body and legs. His final step was to insert a long, three-edged needle into certain spot. With a squelching sound, ck blood oozed out. ¡°Um¡­¡± The woman waspletely dumbstruck, covering her mouth with her hands and daring not make a sound. After fiddling around for quite a while, the old priest let out a sigh of relief. ¡°The venom is quite potent, but he¡¯ll live.¡± ¡°Thank you, Priest! Thank you so much!¡± The woman acted as though she would give him a kowtow, even her voice was breaking. Immediately after that, someone shouted again. ¡°Here, here, make way!¡± With that, a junior official of the management office moved near, bathed in sweat from answering to the emergency. The woman came back to life at once, bellowing at him like a madwoman. ¡°What shitty scenic spot is this? Of all the ces I have been to, I¡¯ve never heard of anyone being bitten by a snake! If anything happens to my husband, you can never make enough amends to us!¡± ¡°Please calm down.¡± ¡°Calm down? How can I calm down? Your negligence caused this, how can you be so righteous?¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough! Do you want to save him or not?¡± The junior official shouted back and then asked, ¡°Can someone give me a hand? Let¡¯s carry him to the cable car station.¡± ¡°Here, let us help!¡± Being a warm-hearted man, Uncle Fang found several other men and carried the man away at once. Old Priest Mo did not care about all the bustle going on over there. He was curious of one thing, though. ¡°Are snakes and insects easily found in this mountain?¡± ¡°Used to be. They were cleared once when the area was designated for development. I haven¡¯t seen anybody bitten by snake for years,¡± replied Chen Qiulin. ¡°Oh¡­¡± The old priest nodded. He did not like the boisterous scene here and returned to his backyard. About an hourter, the fellow arrived at the hospital. His life was not in danger and only needed some follow-up treatment. Of course, there was still another thing they needed to rify. ¡°Were you able to have a good look at the snake?¡± ¡°We were justing out of the temple and felt there was something by the side of the road. Before we had time to see it clearly, my husband was bitten¡­ it looked like, like a green snake,¡± said the woman. ¡°A green snake?¡± The doctor scratched his head. The description was way too general to identify the species. Moreover, the mostmon snakes found in northeast China were short-tailed mamushis, rock mamushis, tiger keelbacks and some sea serpents. Snakes with apletely green body was extremely rare. While they were confused by the description, the junior official was busying himself reporting to his superior. With a tourist injured in the scenic spot, some form ofpensation was necessary. The problem was to determine the amount. Furthermore, there was the publicity issue. They could negotiate with the press media, but what about twitter and instagram? The golden season was just getting started and here came the head-on blow. How did such thing happen?! [1] TL/N: Hekou = river mouth, Small Tang is a hot spring [2] TL/N: Agricultural heavy metal is the nickname given to a type of Chinese pop music characterized by its vulgar and cheesy style, but miraculously quite popr in small cities and towns. Chapter 47 Chapter 47: Catching the Snake Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Just as expected, almost every tourist at the scene had taken pictures of or videotaped the ident, posting it on their social media ounts. Famous as Phoenix Mountain already was in the province, when added to the fact that it was peak season at the moment, it wasn¡¯t surprising that the photos and videos have been shared by an insane amount of people. Even some major media and official ounts joined retweeting the news and cautioning their viewers. The provincial TV was tipped off and wasted no time in sending reporters to the hospital and interviewing the people involved. The municipal government of Bai Town responded quickly. The person in charge of the management office came forward, sending out a unified message: they would take full responsibility for the wounded person and remove the potential threat to public safety. Usually, incidents like this would upy the front pages for a few days at most before they became forgotten. However, two more tourists ran into a venomous snake the following day. The first person was rather lucky. Probably because of the size of the crowd, the snake dared not make any reckless move and someone even managed to take a photo of it. The other one was not as fortunate and was bitten in the calf. The attack took ce on a path going downhill¡ªno old priest was around to answer the emergency this time. Boy, they did not see thating. The management office sent the person to the hospital in a flurry, but could not name the exact type of the snake. Luckily, they were shown the photo and after repeated observation, the specialists identified it as an extremely rare kind of bamboo viper. The specific anti-venom serum was not avable in the local hospital and had to be brought from Shengtian. Anyway, it was a mess. One snake-biting incident was something to crow about, multiple attacks for two days in a row, on the other hand, were something genuinely horrifying. The impact instantly was amplified by the inte, raising the topic to one of the top three hot issues on various websites. ¡°Those who are going sightseeing be aware! Be sure to avoid Phoenix Mountain! The most important thing should be repeated three times¡ªThere are snakes! There are snakes! There are snakes! ¡± ¡°Awesome. Where is this Phoenix Mountain? I want to check out the snakes.¡± ¡°Careful there, that bro upstairs, you might end up getting ¡®checked out¡¯ by a snake.¡± ¡°Exactly, with that ¡®gifted¡¯ throat structure of snakes, it¡¯ll be a waste of resources just to ¡®check it out¡¯!¡± ¡°Wow, what a pretty green snake! Xiao Qing, where is your big sister? Take me to her, please!¡± [1] ¡°Guys, seriously, snake¡¯s bite can kill you.¡± ¡°That is a strange-looking snake, though, almost too pretty. Somebody please tell me more about it!¡± Jokes aside, the direct consequence was a forty percent decrease in the number of trips to Phoenix Mountain booked through travel agencies and group buying sites. Daredevils did exist among us, but most people still cherished their lives. At that, the municipal government could no longer sit still and called for an emergency conference. Morning, in a conference room. With the deputy mayor in charge of the incident taking the lead, a long row of officials from relevant departments sat along the table. They even invited a specialist as the speaker for the asion, significantly raising the standard of the conference. After everyone was ounted for, the deputy mayor gave a brief introduction and signaled the specialist to begin. The big screen was switched on, exhibiting a picture of a snake, which was characterized by arge head, thin neck and tiny scales on the top of its head. The snake was of an emerald green color from head to tail and a pair of vertical pupils were glistening somberly from its yellow eyes. It was an exquisite creature. The specialist cleared his throat and started speaking. ¡°Snakes such as this are called bamboo vipers¡ªverymonly seen in southern China, they have also been spotted in Changbai Mountains and its surrounding areas. The amount of venom they release when biting is as little as 15 mg and a fatal dose requires an average of 100 mg. Therefore, despite multiple incidents of disablement among the existing snake-biting victims, seldom is the injury fatal. However¡­¡± The specialist¡¯s tone turned grave as he continued. ¡°Based on our test results and blood samples, the potency of this snake¡¯s venom has exceeded that of normal bamboo vipers. One bite from it without prompt treatment, and one¡¯s life is in danger.¡± ¡°¡­¡± People were gazing at one another with nk faces. Being bitten by a snake was one thing, but being bitten to death was a matter on apletely different level. The deputy mayor¡¯s face also darkened as he pursued, ¡°Have you found out the reason?¡± ¡°Not yet. We can only look into the specifics after catching that snake,¡± replied the specialist. Hearing that, the deputy mayor knocked on the table and gave a direct order. ¡°Old Li, I¡¯ll leave the task to your scenic spot. Set up a snake-catching team as soon as possible. Old Zhang, your people will cooperate with them. You have two days. Can you finish the job on time?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Officials of the scenic spot and public security bureau answered to the request promptly and exchanged secretive nces, both groaning inwardly. The snake-catching activity did not have a specific department responsible for it and was normally left to agricultural, forestry or even firefighting departments to deal with. Moreover, the mountain was covered in dense vegetation and unmarked paths, thus they would have a hard time finding people just to gather a searching team. The deputy mayor followed with another question. ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, the first victim was saved by a Taoist priest?¡± ¡°Yes. That priest had some medical skill and treated him with acupuncture.¡± ¡°Is that priest from Ziyang Temple?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the abbot of Wuliang Temple on Lotus Mountain and is here on temporary stay.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± The deputy mayor was slightly surprised and his tone turned much more polite after that. ¡°Pay him a visit, then. It¡¯ll make it easier for us to ask him for further assistance should we need it.¡± ¡°Yes, yes!¡± ¡°Definitely!¡± About ny years ago, the government invited the chiefs of all sects to Baiyun [TL/N: ¡°White Cloud¡±] Temple in the capital city topile a ¡°General Registry of Cultivation Sects¡±, noting down all 62 Taoist sects as well as establishing the Taoist association. It was under this asion that the 62 sects received official qualifications from the government and fell under control of the association. Apart from those 62 sects, there were others that were leading a reclusive and austere life, holding themselves aloof from the earthly world, not willing to ept the ¡°amnesty¡±. As a consequence, they were regarded as ¡°amateurs¡± or ¡°unqualified¡±. Wuliang Temple was renowned in the province and as its abbot, Priest Mo had been endowed with a long list of titles, which made Phoenix Mountain too in a ce inparison. After settling the issues above, the others also offered their suggestions such as strengthening safety promotional activities in the scenic spot, assigning patrol personnel, equipping hospitals with more anti-venom serums, etc. In the end, the deputy mayor concluded, ¡°Tourism is the pir industry of Bai Town and we are to be particrly fastidious with its rted issues. I hope everyone will raise their awareness and unite in this time of trial so that we can get through it smoothly. That¡¯s all. The meeting¡¯s over!¡± The crowd bustled out; trailing behind it were the two fellow sufferers. Old Li crinkled his face and said under his breath, ¡°Old Zhang, the boss has set us a very difficult task this time.¡± ¡°Exactly. How are we supposed to find a single snake on that vast Phoenix Mountain? My entire police force won¡¯t be enough!¡± Old Zhang alsoined. ¡°Hey, do you think those people of Phoenix Fair might be of some help?¡± The idea suddenly dawned on Old Li. ¡°You¡¯re right! They spend every day on the mountain and know their way around. We¡¯ve asked them for help when developing the mountain back then.¡± Old Zhang¡¯s eyes brightened and made the decision right away. ¡°Good, I¡¯ll send someone over now!¡± *** That night, Phoenix Fair. In the courtyard of the Fang family, the couple had just said goodbye to a policeman with fawning smiles. Uncle Fang was nodding ceaselessly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not difficult at all. I can definitely sort it out for you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. We¡¯ll drive here and pick you up tomorrow.¡± The couple did not return to their room immediately after the police left. Aunt Fang was a bit anxious. ¡°Can you do it? I say we stay out of it. Don¡¯t get yourself into trouble.¡± ¡°Tsk, don¡¯t you remember what I was like back in the day? I can use a snake for my new belt. Plus, I will only be there to give a hand. They have all those police around!¡± Uncle Fang paused and gave the room a glimpse, then went on, ¡°Our girl is going to high school. I should take every chance to earn some money.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Aunt Fang opened her mouth, but did not say anything in the end. [1] TL/N: ¡°Xiao Qing¡± here refers to the famous Chinese legend ¡°Madame White Snake¡±, or ¡°Legend of the White Snake¡± (°×Éß´«); the big sister is the Madame White Snake herself. Chapter 48 Chapter 48: Bad Luck Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Early morning, twilight. The empty mountain was still and quiet. All living creatures had yet to get up and it was theziest hour of the day. However, a sudden rustling sound broke the silence of the dense forest as the branches were parted, revealing a group of people. There were six of them in total and the one leading the way was none other than Uncle Fang himself, having his cuffs and the bottom of his trouser legs tightly tied up and clutching a pair of pincers in his hand. Another man was walking half a step away with a powerful searching light in hand. The rest of the team scattered behind them; two had string bags, one held a wooden fork while another one was carrying a medicine chest as he scattered some yellow powder along the way. It was a snake-expelling powder specially concocted by the specialists, which was supposed to drive away all snakes and insects. Phoenix Mountain was quite vast, so the team decided to use this method to narrow down the avable space for the snake bit by bit so as to flush it out. Bamboo vipers were crepuscr snakes which preferred weak light and would normallye out in early morning and evening. In hot months like July, they would usually move to live in cooler and darker ces. The scenic spot had organized two teams in total. One team was sent to investigate the main routes while the other worked deep in the woods and searched along the unmarked paths. Uncle Fang had proven himself an experienced hignder. [1] The interwoven paths seemed all in a muddle to the others, but he knew them like the back of his hand, which had saved his team a lot of trouble. The one with the searching light was a policeman called Song Chao. Being a lively young man, he was especially talkative. He had managed so far to restrain himself from speaking a word, but when the snake was still nowhere to be seen, he could not help but start bbering. ¡°Old Fang, where are we now?¡± ¡°We are below the Old Bull¡¯s Back, about 1.5 to 2 km from the stairs. This area is what we call a ¡®grass stockade¡¯. See, a lot of tall and thick grass grows around here. If the cattle can be herded up here, I¡¯m sure they can gain an extra 3 kg weight at least.¡± The team looked around and saw that they were surrounded by lush weeds, some as tall as their waist. The one with the medicine chest was much prudent and warned, ¡°Xiao Song, look out. This is a perfect hiding ce.¡± ¡°Oh, I will!¡± Song Chao replied and winked at Uncle Fang, apparently not concerned at all. They walked a bit further and were about to exit the stockade when Uncle Fang suddenly stopped and turned to look into another direction. He yelled, ¡°Over there!¡± ¡°Swish!¡± Song Chao quivered and switched on the searching light involuntarily. A streak of blinding light shot out, extremely distinctive in the dim mountain. If the snake was caught in the light, it would definitely be dazzled and cuddled up in a heap. The others were quick to react too. The one with the wooden fork led the way, followed by the two holding string bags. They closed in cautiously and swiftly. However, as they got to the spot, all they found was a shivering yellow-haired mountain rat. ¡°Dear me, that was a waste of my excitement!¡± Song Chao turned off the light andined, ¡°Old Fang, could you please make sure before shouting out? Switching on and off like this is very power consuming.¡± ¡°Sorry, my bad, I did not see it clearly,¡± Uncle Fang also felt embarrassed. This little episode had livened up the stiff atmosphere and everyone was much less nervous. The one with the medicine chest was the team leader; he checked the time and said, ¡°Ok, we¡¯ve been here the whole morning. Let¡¯s find a ce to eat.¡± ¡°The cement road is not far ahead. We can find chairs there,¡± Uncle Fang made out the direction. ¡°All right, we¡¯ll take a break there.¡± The six of them then moved forward to the right. In less than twenty minutes, the dense woods thinned down and the horizon seemed to be opening up. They could faintly make out a main road ahead. They had brought their food with them and their stomachs had been grunting for long. Song Chao took off his thorn-proof gloves and ran out in the front like a show-off. ¡°Don¡¯t you try to take my seat. I¡®ll need a sleeping berth for myself. My feet are going¡­¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Before he could finish his sentence, a green shadow pounced at him like a streak of lightning and he could only watch it approach. Even his brain did not have enough time to react, let alone his body nerves. He felt the back of his hand going numb, which sensation was then reced by a sharp pain, throbbing violently in his blood vessels. The shadownded and swished into the thicket as though it had already chosen an escape route beforehand. With a few turns of its body, it was nowhere to be found. Such a turn of event happened in the matter of a few seconds. The rest of the team was too shocked to think, they only came to themselves with a shudder after seeing Song Chao drop to the ground. They ran to him in a flurry. A young man brimming with energy minutes ago had now gone into shock. The wound was scorching hot, turning purple-ck before their eyes. ¡°F*ck!¡± The leader swore. He dug out the first aid medicine and fed it to Song Chao. The other members contacted their department to arrange immediate evacuation to send Song Chao down the mountain for further treatment. Uncle Fang was utterly frightened as well. They were just getting started and one man was already down. He was secretly overwhelmed with fear. After they carried Song Chao to the bench, the leader asked in a rancorous tone, ¡°Old Fang, you were the closest, did you take a good look?¡± ¡°No, that bastard was so fast. It disappeared in the blink of an eye!¡± ¡°Damn it! If I ever catch it, I¡¯ll skin it alive!¡± ¡°Captain Liu¡­¡± The one with the wooden fork suddenly called out, but hesitated. ¡°Speak your mind!¡± ¡°Well, it feels, it feels like that bastard had this all nned out. It had probably been following us since the grass stockade and only jumped out when we let our guard down,¡± the man chose his words carefully. ¡°And that powder does not seem to repel it at all,¡± added another man. ¡°What?¡± The captain shuddered and did not dare to consider it further. However, the more he restrained his thoughts, the wilder his imagination became. ¡®If that was indeed the case, this thing is so d*mn funky!¡¯ *** Suffering a setback on their first day, naturally the snake-catching activity came to a halt. Especially with the fact that the wounded this time was a policeman¡ªa proper civil servant, which had escted the graveness of the incident. Just as Uncle Fang and the team were getting ready to go down, several hundred meters away on a tree, a green snake was hissing with its two-pronged tongue stuck out, its color seemingly more exquisite than before. After lying still for a while, it slithered down like a beautiful silk sash. The ground was covered in snake-expelling powder, which did not at all hinder the snake. It slid away on top of it and moved directly deep into the mountain. It was indeed a bamboo viper; its ancestors might have migrated here from Changbai Mountains. It had always kept a low profile and yed its role of a decent snake. However, at some point, it started to feel an aura wrapping around and nourishing it. The intelligence of a snake was not advanced enough for it to figure this thing out. All it could tell vaguely was that hunting was bing easier and its movements were much faster. Living creatures had only two instincts¨Cto survive and to reproduce. Right now, the green snake had a third one¡ªcraving. It craved for this mysterious aura and had be incredibly sensitive to anything containing simr sensation, such as a flower or a fruit¡­ they were supposed to be its and its alone, yet a godd*mn fat squirrel waspeting against it. Everything was going smoothly on the mountain for the green snake, but recently, it could sense the aura be more agitated everyday, even affecting itself. Together with the fact that the two-feet creatures wereing inrger batches these days, the snake just wanted tosh it out on someone, so that it could relieve some of that anxiety. The green snake was slithering forward. Suddenly, it came to a halt and lifted its upper body. ¡°Coo-coo!¡± On a tree not far away, a big gray-haired squirrel crouching on a branch like a farmer was greeting it. ¡°Hiss!¡± ¡°Coo-coo!¡± Despite making utterly different sounds, the two animals seemed to bemunicating with each other. After exchanging these indiscernible sounds for a while, the green snake was suddenly enraged and swooshed up the tree. Keeping an eye on the snake, the squirrel saw iting and leapt onto another tree right away, then disappeared into the woods. Staring gloomily into that direction with its vertical pupils, the green snake also slid away a whileter. *** Meanwhile, in his home in Phoenix Fair, Gu Yu was moaning and groaning. The incidents of two tourists being bitten were front page news in Bai Town, which he obviously was aware of. He also knew about the snake-catching teams, and only did not expect Uncle Fang would be involved. What was bothering him now was that he could not go onto the mountain for his cultivating exercise. If he were spotted, they would probably lock him up and turn him into ab rat. However, more importantly, tomorrow was Saturday¡ªXiaozhai wasing. [1] ED/N: I know that this word is usually used capitalized to refer to hignd Scots, but it is nevertheless (albeit rarely) used to mean anyone living in simr areas, and that is unexpectedly the only rtively close trantion of the term used by the author (it could also be ¡°mountain person¡± but it sounds like some kind of dayum yeti, so nope). Chapter 49 Chapter 49: Team-building Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Ever since the idents, Gu Yu had been trying to tactfully persuade Xiaozhai to change their destination. However, her bunch was full of typical shirkers who would consciously avoid making any decision if they could help it¨Cthey had chosen Phoenix Mountain, so Phoenix Mountain it was. Left with no other choice, he could only do his best to ensure their safety. The next morning, a bus was driving slowly along the mountain road leading to Bai Town. There were over twenty passengers on the bus, all quite young with the oldest member only in their early thirties. They set off before dawn and had all fallen asleep once they were on board. Now that they were approaching their destination, everyone more or less revived. ¡°Xiaozhai, where is your friend waiting?¡± A woman seated in the front turned around unexpectedly and asked. ¡°He¡¯s at the long-distance bus station. We¡¯ll see it as soon as we arrive at the downtown area,¡± replied Xiaozhai. ¡°Em, let him ride with uster. We¡¯ve given him quite a lot of trouble already,¡± the woman said. The speaker was He Shan, director of the department. Single and unmarried, she was your archetypal city slicker¡ªwhite cor, backbone employee and one of the elites. [1] She could always draw a clear line between personal matters and professional ones and despite being scrupulous at work, she was very easy to get along with in private and hence was held as a prestigious figure in thepany. He Shan had barely finished speaking when a voice came from behind. ¡°Exactly, let us all take a good look, see if he is as handsome as we expected.¡± The speaker was a good-looking and voluptuous girl, yet herment came out rather harsh. Her name was Zhang Xiaoru, and she had joined thepany in the same year as Xiao Zhai but was notparable to thetter in terms of either poprity or capability. Consequently, she had always found Xiaozhai disagreeable. At her words, other colleagues also joined in the jeering. ¡°Xiaozhai, how did you two meet?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not your boyfriend, is he?¡± ¡°A male confidante at least if not a boyfriend. Who else have you seen her this close with?¡± Among the booing and hooting, one man alone had a gloomy face. When the noise gradually died down, he couldn¡¯t help adding in, ¡°Xiaozhai, what does your friend do for a living?¡± ¡°He is¡­ sort of a craftsman,¡± smiled Xiaozhai. ¡°There are all kinds of craftsmen out there. What does he make? Weaving straw sandals or making sugar paintings?¡± Before Xiaozhai could reply, Panpan stood out in defense and retorted, ¡°Hey, Tang Shuo, what did you mean by that? Are you saying that straw sandal weavers or sugar painters are somehow inferior to you?¡± ¡°Whew, that¡¯s not what I meant. I was just asking, that¡¯s all,¡± Tang Shuo shrugged his shoulders and stopped talking. ¡°¡­¡± Others made faces. Everyone knew about his feeling towards Xiaozhai and saw at once that he was sensing a threat. Another twenty minutes of a bus ride and they finally entered downtown Bai Town. The bus drove a bit further, then the building of the long-distance bus station came into sight. The bus stopped and the door was open. Leaning on it, Xiaozhai waved, ¡°Hey there!¡± ¡°Swish!¡± The crowd strained their necks as once, their heads turning to the door in unison. A white and clean trainer stepped onto the stairs and with a deft movement, a man got on board like a summer breeze. Apart from Zhang Xiaoru and Tang Shuo, the rest of the team took up the role of Xiaozhai¡¯s family members, eyeing Gu Yu with undisguised curiosity. Other things aside, Gu Yu¡¯s appearance was almost impable. The silence was only maintained for a moment before someone shouted out, ¡°Dear me, destiny has drawn you two together across thousands of miles!¡± The rest of the crowd chided in and jeered. ¡°Hug! Hug!¡± Some goofier colleague even stood up, patting and poking the others, ¡°Everyone turn around! The following scene is now suitable for children!¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu watched them in utter bewilderment. What sort of crazy colleagues were these people? However, for Xiaozhai¡¯s sake, he could not lose face. He introduced himself in a natural and poised manner. ¡°I¡¯m Gu Yu, a friend of Xiaozhai and also your local tour guide for the next two days. Nice to meet you all.¡± ¡°Hello, handsome!¡± ¡°Wow, nice voice!¡± ¡°p p!¡± Ok, he had no idea why they were apuding. Just put it this way: a bustling scene was never boisterous enough to the onlookers. He Shan appeared to be the only normal person, for sheughed and said, ¡°I¡¯ll call you Xiao Gu, then. Thank you for going through all the trouble for us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, my pleasure.¡± With that, he nced around, trying to figure out where to sit. Xiaozhai lifted her eyes and looked to her side. Gu Yu paused for a second, then obediently sat beside her. ¡°Poof¡­¡± Covering her mouth, Panpan was trying very hard not tough out aloud. *** The bus stopped outside a hotel with the name ¡°Holiday Vi¡±, which had a pleasant environment and reasonable prices. The 26 people shared 13 rooms among them. It was 8:30 a.m. when they arrived. He Shan gave them an hour to get ready and asked them to assemble at 9:30 for the climbing. Inside their room, Xiaozhai and Panpan were sorting out their clothes when a knock came at the door. Panpan went to answer it and found Gu Yu outside. ¡°I hope I¡¯m not disturbing you.¡± ¡°Of course not. Come in,e in!¡± ¡°Oh, I heard that you haven¡¯t eaten, so I brought you some food,¡± he was carrying a stic bag. ¡°You heard? Yeah, right!¡± Panpan threw a quick nce at Xiaozhai and took over the bag. In it were two corn cobs, two tea eggs and two cups of hot soy milk. She smiled, ¡°Thanks, that¡¯s very thoughtful of you.¡± She had some biscuits on the bus, but being a foodie, she would not let any food go to waste. Panpan slouched happily on the sofa and started peeling an egg. Gu Yu stood there and nced around. On the bed were two pieces of pink,ced, almost see-through¡­ thump! Before he had time to savor the scene, aforter was thrown over, just happening to cover them all up. Xiaozhai casually concealed Panpan¡¯s ¡®disgrace¡¯ and put away her own clothes, then turned to Gu Yu with a smile. ¡°Gone up the mountain these days?¡± ¡°No. The number of orders has been growing. If I can get a steady stream of customers, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll work the stall any more.¡± ¡°En, that¡¯s great.¡± With that, she also picked up an egg and knocked it lightly. At her pinch, arge piece of the egg shell was cracked open. Many girls preferred to have longer nails, but her hands were left the way they naturally were, looking neat and pleasant. Panpan paid no attention to their conversation and gulped down the tea egg in a couple of bites. She then eximed, ¡°That was delicious! Where did you buy it?¡± ¡°I made them myself.¡± ¡°Wow, you¡¯re an expert! Bonus point!¡± The girl was struck by his cooking. ¡°Uh¡­¡± He was a bit embarrassed. It would not be appropriate for him to stay in the room of two girls for too long, so Gu Yu only had a few words with them and left them for the time being. Time soon came to 9:30. After taking their rest and finishing their breakfast, everyone showed up on time. The twenty-or-so people squeezed in the lobby. He Shan gave them a pep talk first and Gu Yu also reminded the team, ¡°I presume you¡¯ve all heard about the snake-biting ident. There is some danger in going into the mountains after all. The atmosphere up there is a bit tense and there are quite a few patrolmen, so please follow meter. Because there are a lot of unmarked paths in the mountain, make sure not to wander off alone and please be careful.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the fun in that? I was thinking about hiking and trekking!¡± Tang Shuo provoked. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu nced at him and found the man a dimwit. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to answer and moved on to instruct the team to set off. Being ignored in front of everyone, all sorts of expressions were shing across Tang Shuo¡¯s face and his hostility towards Gu Yu had only aggravated. *** All leaders behaved more or less in the same unreasonable way¡ªthey knew exactly where the problemy but still would not let go of the immediate interests. The snake problem was no exception. Now that a policeman was wounded, the situation had instantly escted to a new level. However, they did not want to close the mountain for the tourists. As a result, they were selling tickets and sending in a crazy amount of people at the same time, trying to beef up the security. The ident had indeed scared off some people, but it had also attracted some other tourists. Some even made special trips to Phoenix Mountain just to see the snake. The same went for the team led by Gu Yu. At least three people could not hold back their excitement at the thought of the snake. Gu Yu was having a headache. These people had been in the city for so long they had no idea what danger was¡ªsuch spoiled kids! [1] TL/N: For anyone interested, there is only one and not 3 terms used (i.e. °×¹Ç¾« here is an abbreviation for °×Áì,¹Ç¸É,¾«Ó¢.) Chapter 50 Chapter 50: Green Snake (Part One) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Team-building involved activities designed to motivate employees and enhance their cohesion. The reality, though, was that most of these activities had turned into beer and skittles. For an enterprise of Tianbao¡¯s scale, the annual staff turnover rate was always significant, hence the necessity of team-building activities appeared. The bus arrived at Phoenix Mountain around ten o¡¯clock. The amount of tourists seemed to have reduced to some extent, but there was still a bustling crowd at the mountain gate. Gu Yu fetched the tickets and led the team in. They walked in twos and threes, but not too far apart. He led the way with He Shan, Xiaozhai and Panpan, exining as they walked, ¡°There are few cultural relics here in Phoenix Mountain. Apart from a pavilion built by a schr in Qing Dynasty and a Taoist temple, the rest are all parts of naturalndscape. But the mountain routes are very steep here, so please be extra careful.¡± ¡°It¡¯s actually my first time here. I heard that the Old Bull¡¯s Back is especially steep?¡± He Shan asked. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the most famous tourist spot.¡± Gu Yu looked back as he talked. Seeing that the team was scattering behind, he added, ¡°Remember to save some strength. There is no resting area in this part and the nearest one is halfway up the mountain.¡± His clear and rich voice floated gently in the air and could be heard vividly even by the person at the end of the line. A fat guy obviously short of exercise was already breathing heavily after climbing dozens of stairs. He strained his neck and shouted, ¡°How long till we reach the halfway?¡± ¡°About an hour, so keep it up!¡± Gu Yu grinned and turned back, only to find Jiang Xiaozhai staring at him with unblinking eyes. Taken by surprise, he asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You seem to have really good lungs.¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright, it¡¯s thanks to my frequent exercise.¡± Gu Yu felt his heart racing. Because the team had stretched out quite far behind, he decided to use spiritual force without realizing it. No one but Xiaozhai had noticed that. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Xiaozhai nodded, nomittal to his answer, then resumed her chitchat with Panpan. Climbing alone was a pleasure; climbing with a crowd was annoyance itself. The narrow path was crawling with tourists who had to line up to pass through many narrower sections. The crowd was moving forward at a slow pace. Warning signs were set up along the path and patrolmen were going to and fro in groups in the thick woods nking the road. These fellows found it a novel sight and could not help themselves from discussing animatedly. ¡°Hey, it seems the snakes are real. I wonder if we¡¯ll get to see one.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a wild snake before. The snake looked fabulous on the photo, almost like a spiritual creature.¡± ¡°You two are unbelievable. From what I¡¯ve heard, that snake is super venomous. One bite and you¡¯re finished.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a wuss. What are you afraid of? There are so many of us. Plus, we have our guide. He¡¯s super dependable.¡± ¡°Dependable my ass!¡± A jarring voice interjected, which was from none other than Tang Hao himself, who went on taunting, ¡°He¡¯s nothing but a local man. What can he do? If the snake does show up, he¡¯d be scared out of his mind as well.¡± Zhang Xiaoru added in immediately, ¡°I say he¡¯s a total poser. All this is just for wooing a girl, right?¡± That was it! One in love with Jiang Xiaozhai while the other disliked the same person, the two miraculously managed to form an alliance when talking about Gu Yu. The other colleagues found them rather annoying and tacitly kept silent. They walked for quite some time like this and finally reached the resting area halfway up the mountain. Closely-set stalls lined the ground and the area was packed with tourists, all bustling and hustling. ¡°Everyone, take a rest here. To the left is a scenic spot and there is a temple to the right. Take a look if you¡¯re interested.¡± ¡°Come back here in 40 minutes. Don¡¯t go too far!¡± Gu Yu and He Shan reminded the team in turn, which then broke up joyously. Gu Yu nced around, then ran to a stall and greeted, ¡°Hello, Uncle Fang!¡± ¡°Howe you¡¯re a tour guide now?¡± Uncle Fang was busying himself grilling the squids as he threw out a question. ¡°Just taking care of some friends, They¡¯re here on a trip. I thought you were working on catching the snake, why are you here at the stall today?¡± ¡°Well¡­ here, that¡¯s ten yuan in total!¡± Uncle Fang passed out some squids andid out some new ones, then said, ¡°I was up here yesterday. You wouldn¡¯t image what had happened. Ad was bitten right in front of my eyes. Let me tell you¡­¡± He looked around and lowered his voice all of a sudden. ¡°That snake was the one we ran into together that day. It has definitely be a spiritual creature! I¡¯ve taken out a lot of snakes in my youth and was never afraid of any, but not this time. I backed off right there. I¡¯d like to stay alive for a bit longer.¡± ¡°Exactly, safety is the most important thing. The business is going so well these days and you can make it up with a few days of extra work.¡± Hearing his story, Gu Yu consoled Uncle Fang at once and had formed some idea of the situation. Just then, Panpan ran towards him, dragging Xiaozhai behind her. She grinned, ¡°Hey, we¡¯re going to that temple, wannae?¡± Before he could answer, Uncle Fang¡¯s face brightened up and asked, ¡°Xiao Yu, are these your friends?¡± ¡°Well, this is Jiang Xiaozhai and this is Panpan. This is Uncle Fang.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, Uncle Fang!¡± Uncle Fang was exalted with the two polite girls. He beamed and said, ¡°Hello, hello! I don¡¯t have anything around here as a gift. Here, take these two squids¡­ You guys are of the same age, you should hang out more often¡­ I¡¯ve watched Xiao Yu grow up. The boy is excellent¡ªgood-looking, tall¡­¡± ¡°p!¡± Gu Yu covered his face with his hands in shame, wishing he could disappear right there, right now. *** The three entered the temple. While Xiaozhai was apanying Panpan to have her fortune told, Gu Yu found an excuse and ran into the backyard. He grabbed a young priest. ¡°Excuse me, is there an old priest here on temporary stay?¡± ¡°There is. What does theyman want?¡± ¡°Please let him know that Gu Yu is here to see him.¡± The young priest eyed him in suspicion and said, ¡°Ok, please wait here.¡± Shortly after the young priest went in, old Priest Mo walked out in a hurry, looking surprised and joyful. ¡°Senior!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside,¡± he stopped the old man from bowing. ¡°Ok, ok.¡± They then went into a quiet room in the backyard and the old priest still hadn¡¯t fully contained his excitement. ¡°I wonder what instructions does Senior have today?¡± ¡°I heard that you treated the one bitten by the venomous snake?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Anything strange with the venom?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± the old man stroked his long beard and appeared to be in disbelief as well. ¡°I used to catch snakes myself for medical use and was quite familiar with the behavior of various snakes. However, I have never seen anything like the venom of this snake before. I heard that it was a bamboo viper, but bamboo vipers do not have such a potent venom.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hearing that, Gu Yu pondered in silence. He noticed a while ago that the spiritual essence on the mountain was bing more agitated every day and even some animals were affected. He had been worried all this time if some cliche, Resident-Evil-style apocalyptic catastrophe wasing. So far, nothing was pointing in such direction. Apart from the abnormal snake, all other animals remained well-behaved. Had the green snake kept it to itself, he would not care to meddle with it. However, with that crazy aggressiveness towards humans, he could not afford to have it wandering around. ¡°Senior?¡± The old priest did not get a reply, so he continued, ¡°I presume that the snake is somehow unusual?¡± ¡°Hoho, that snake is a very spiritual creature and I would like to meet it myself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m at the senior¡¯s disposal, should you require my service,¡± he dered his stand immediately. ¡°Em, that¡¯s very thoughtful of you.¡± After sorting that out, Gu Yu quickly returned to the front yard to meet the two girls. Panpan was looking into her fortune in romance. It just so happened that she had drawn out a Peach Blossom stick [1], which had satisfied her so much that she wasughing her head off. They returned to the resting area and found the others well-rested. He Shan asked the team to gather together so that she could do a headcount. As she counted on, she suddenly asked aloud, ¡°Hey, where is Tang Shuo?¡± TL/N: In traditional [Chinese] concepts, peach blossoms are often rted to love and romance. Chapter 51 Chapter 51: Green Snake (Part Two) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Where is Tang Shuo?¡± ¡°Has anyone seen Tang Shuo?¡± ¡°Nope, haven¡¯t seen him all this time.¡± Realizing they were missing one person, He Shan started looking up and down the resting area hastily and took out her phone to call Tang Shuo, but no one picked up. She was the team leader and should anything happen to Tang Shuo, she would be the one taking all responsibility. She was going to call the police. Gu Yu stopped her. ¡°Don¡¯t panic. A lot of people are patrolling the mountain. I¡¯ll ask them for help.¡± With that, he asked part of the team to remain where they were and the rest to follow him. This part of the mountain was a key patrolling area to which quite a few people were allocated. It didn¡¯t take them long to find some patrolmen. He Shan filled them in on the situation and the captain was also worried. ¡°Do you have a general idea of where he is now? With all these people in your team, no one knows where he has gone to?¡± ¡°Well, I think, I think he said the view over there looked nice and he was going to take some pictures,¡± a girl thought back for a while and pointed in a certain direction with some hesitation. ¡°F*ck! What the hell was he thinking!¡± The captain followed her fingers and saw that she was pointing towards the thickest woods on the mountain. He cursed at once and picked up his walkie-talkie. ¡°Attention! Attention! Lunch break is over! Lunch break is over! A tourist has gone missing, probablyst seen to the northwest of the resting area, to the northwest of the resting area¡­¡± He Shan and her team all felt slightly embarrassed. Seeing that he had finished giving orders, they added immediately, ¡°We¡¯re so sorry. If there¡¯s anything we can do to help, please don¡¯t hesitate to ask!¡± ¡°You¡¯re helping me by staying out of my way. Wait here!¡± The captain was most annoyed and was about to leave. Right then, someone next to him spoke out, ¡°I¡¯m from Phoenix Fair and know the paths well. Could you bring me along?¡± ¡®Em?¡¯ He turned to Gu Yu and looked up and down at him. Finding his face somewhat familiar, the captain said, ¡°Follow me. Don¡¯t fall behind!¡± With that, the leader left in a hurry. Gu Yu reminded the others, ¡°Sister He, if there are no news right away, you guys can go back first. I¡¯ll be in touch with you.¡± ¡°Thank you so much, Xiao Gu!¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee. See youter.¡± Gu Yu set off at once towards the direction mentioned earlier. He Shan and the others were following him with their eyes when a figure leapt out of the crowd and ran into the deep woods. They were petrified. ¡°Xiao Zhai, what are you doing?¡± ¡°Go back and wait for me there!¡± Jiang Xiaozhai did not even look back, and only left them with a forceful wave of hand. *** She ran fast and caught up with Gu Yu in no time. The fellow jumped at her appearance. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°To get a new experience, of course!¡± She answered in a rightful manner as she grinned, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t give you any trouble.¡± ¡°But, but¡­¡± ¡°Enough with the ¡®but¡¯. Let¡¯s move!¡± She took the lead and started off. Gu Yu winced with anxiety, but could only guard her cautiously from behind. The two found the patrol team while the captain was assigning tasks. Seeing Xiaozhai, he frowned. ¡°She¡¯s from Phoenix Fair as well?¡± ¡°Em, yes. We¡¯re neighbors.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The captain gave Xiaozhai a look and did not make any furtherment despite his discontentment. He went on with giving orders, ¡°Xiao Zhang, take some men and follow this path. Xiao Li, you guys go along this¡­¡± Gu Yu gave it a quick look and could not help interjecting, ¡°There¡¯s a trail. If we march towards it, we could easily round the snake up, saving us a lot of time.¡± ¡°Oh? That¡¯s even better!¡± The captain was not a narrow-minded man. Hearing Gu Yu¡¯s suggestion, he reassigned the team at once. The patrolmen were divided into three groups, with the third group having the least members. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were assigned to it. The two were given the thorn-proof gloves and set off with the group. [1] Although the captain said ¡°to the northwest¡±, it was a general direction at best. The area was vast and frightfully deep, with rows upon rows of trees. Those dense and intricate branches sticking out in all directions seemed to never end. Jiang Xiaozhai was dressed in mountain-climbing outfit with her hair tied back into a ponytail, looking valiant and agile. Gu Yu walked behind her. As he watched the ponytail sway along her movements, he could not get over his doubt¡ªthe girl was not an impetuous person, why did she act so strangely this time? However, now was not a good time for him to ponder that question. He focused his mind and tried to sense any movements in their surroundings. The other three people in the group had grown very quiet, anxiety obvious on their faces. The bosses came up with some idea on a whim and the foot soldiers would be working their asses off. It would not be such a big deal if they could not catch the snake, but a tourist had gone missing and they would be the ones getting all the me if he wasn¡¯t found safe and sound. ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Rustle!¡± In the silent woods, the only noise was the dry crackling sounds of their footsteps on the grass. The five of them walked for some time and Gu Yu stopped suddenly. He thought he heard an extremely faint electronic beeping and waved his hand at once. ¡°Over there!¡± ¡°Em? I don¡¯t hear anything,¡± another person also tried to listen. ¡°Trust me. It¡¯s just over there.¡± He was confident in his senses and led the way to the left. The rest of the group could only follow him. After brushing aside a few bushes, a cell phone was indeed lying on the grass with a lighted up screen, showing an iing message. The guy walked in the front picked it up and examined it. ¡°It was probably dropped here in panic.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t that snake kill with one bite?¡± Someone found it strange. ¡°Maybe he noticed it before it could attack, that was why he ran away. Ok, that¡¯s not what we should be concerned with. Just be careful!¡± Since his personal belongings were here, he himself should not be far. After walking around the area following various subtle traces, someone called out suddenly, ¡°There!¡± The group ran to the spot in a hurry. A man was lying unconscious on the ground¡ªhe was none other than Tang Shuo. He wore a short-sleeved T-shirt and there was a visible wound on his arm. Judging by its color, he had been like this for quite some time. Right now, saving his life was the most important thing. Two men were working on putting Tang Shuo on the back of one of them while the third one looked around and saw an SLR camera on the ground not far from them, and moved to pick it up. He walked towards it. Just as he was bending down, a green sh swished near. ¡°Ah!¡± His instinct was to dodge, but the snake was unbelievably fast. The man screamed and dropped to the ground while clutching his neck. Before the others had time to react, the culprit disappeared with another swishing sound. ¡°Xiao Wang!¡± His two colleagues who had witnessed the whole process were fuming in rage. It had never urred to them that the green snake had been lurking around them the whole time. ¡°I¡¯m going after it!¡± Gu Yu hade such a long way for the green snake and obviously would not give up now. With those hasty words, he dashed into the thick wood. Xiaozhai blinked and followed him as she did before. ¡°Come back! Come back here!¡± The other two were going mad. They had two wounded people over here who required immediate medical attention while those two bastards out there had done nothing but creating more trouble. Seeing that the two were disappearing in the distance, there was nothing they could do but call in some support. ¡°The tourist is found. The tourist is found, wounded and unconscious. A team member is down as well. Those two are pursuing the green snake. We need backup! We need backup!¡± *** The green snake was escaping at a tremendous speed. With the natural advantage brought about by its body¡¯s shape, it was sliding across the ground in all kinds of cunning and slippery movements. Gu Yu had his conjuring skill, but it could only been performed within a certain range. The snake was all over the ce. It then disappeared into some concealed corner and was nowhere to be seen. He was forced to stop and observe carefully. ¡°Rustle!¡± Just then, the sound of footsteps came from behind. Branches were pushed aside and Xiaozhai had caught up with him. ¡°Tsk!¡± Gu Yu was seldom angry, but today he was. If he were to confront that snake all by himself, he had no doubt that he could nail it. However, with a girl on his side, he was not sure how things would turn out. Especially when the girl herself showed no concern on her face at all, beaming and smiling as if she was out on a pic. ¡°Could you stop messing around? I¡¯m trying to catch a snake. This is not a yground!¡± He growled involuntarily. ¡°Oh, so you want me to go back on my own?¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Gu Yu almost choked on his own breath. ¡®Are you kidding me?¡¯ Send the girl back alone and she would be killed in the matter of a few minutes. Being speechless for a while, Gu Yu finally sighed, ¡°Anyway, be careful. That snake is extremely dangerous.¡± ¡°I told you, I won¡¯t give you any trouble.¡± Xiaozhai pursed her lips and grinned again. ¡°But, there is one thing I¡¯m really curious about.¡± ¡°Curious about what?¡± He was taken by surprise. ¡°How can you be so sure that you will catch the snake?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Thement seemed to have the effect of freezing time. As the two young people looked into each other¡¯s eyes in this dim and secluded dense forest, something weird and subtle was filling the air between them. He had to admit that, based on the impression the girl had given him so far, he could not think bad of her, let alone raising his guard because of what she said. However, the question was making his hair stand on end. He gazed into those clear and piercing eyes, failing to provide any answer. ¡°Snicker!¡± Jiang Xiaozhai chuckled all of a sudden, breaking the stalemate. Her smile reminded him of a cloudless sky casting light on all mountains and ins. ¡°Never mind, go find your snake.¡± ¡®Never mind my a*s! What the heck do you mean by that!¡¯ Gu Yu wanted to release his sarcasticments onught here, but the current exceptional circumstances did not allow him to be distracted. Maybe it was because of that question, but they could now both sense a faintly discernible embarrassment, apanied by a ¡°well, I¡¯ve discovered your little secret¡± feeling which was often found between a girl and her not-yet-out-of-the-closet gay friend. Therefore, after walking a bit further and finding the traces too jumbled to follow, he resolved to put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. ¡°Whee!¡± ¡°Whee!¡± Before long, something was hopping and running near, making rustling sound. Then, a fat squirrel appeared out of nowhere and flung into his arms. ¡°Aiya! Aiya!¡± Gu Yu could never figure out how it could look so dexterous when climbing a tree but feel so heavy in his arms. ¡°Squeak!¡± ¡°Coo-coo!¡± It had been a while since Brother Fatty was summoned and it was expressing its excitement andints with all the noise it could make. Only after it stopped squeaking did it turn around and discover Jiang Xiaozhai¡¯s presence in surprise. This was the first time that Gu Yu called for it without any scruples when other people were around. Xiaozhai was just as surprised as the squirrel was. ¡°Is this your pet?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s my friend.¡± Rubbing the squirrel¡¯s neck, Gu Yu chuckled, ¡°You can call it Brother Fatty.¡± ¡°Brother Fatty?¡± Watching the highly intelligent squirrel, Xiaozhai smiled andmented, ¡°Hehe, in that case, I want one for myself as well.¡± [1] ED/N: I¡¯m not into such things so I don¡¯t know the English name of such gloves (if there¡¯s any), but if you google this ·À´ÌÊÖÌ× you will see the pics of the gloves. They look like some thick gardening gloves to me, I guess. Chapter 52 Chapter 52: Green Snake (Part Three) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Gu Yu had summoned Brother Fatty in order to let it help them with finding the snake. However, theirmunication was obstructed by thenguage barrier as usual and Gu Yu had to resolve to using bodynguage. As a result, he was making hissing sounds one moment and twisting his hips and bending his waist the next. Xiaozhai was cracking up on the side. Probably, it had been a while ago that the squirrel got his idea, and it was simply pretending not to just to watch him keep embarrassing himself. Several minutes had passed before it ¡°coo-cooed¡± and leaped swiftly up a tree. After disappearing for a few minutes, it showed up again and pointed to a direction with its paw. ¡°Great, we¡¯ve found it!¡± Gu Yu rejoiced. He turned around and slowed down his speech instantly. ¡°Stay behind me.¡± ¡°En,¡± chuckled Xiaozhai. Right after that, the two followed the squirrel in search of the snake. In less than ten minutes, Brother Fatty crouched on a branch and waved its paw. Gu Yu halted immediately and whispered, ¡°We¡¯re almost there. Don¡¯t startle it.¡± They made their way forward noiselessly right away. After brushing aside some branches, a green snake was indeed coiled up under a tree, its eyes tightly closed and motionless. Apparently the fleeing just then had exhausted it. Its possible attack did not scare Gu Yu, who only worried about its running away. Fleeing meant pulling away, which in turn would make it impossible to conjure an illusion. The maximum distance from which he could use it was seven steps. Closing his mouth tightly, Gu Yu approached it one step at a time, breathing shallowly as he moved. ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Rustle!¡± He was almost close enough to make his move when wind just happened to sweep across the woods, sending all branches swaying and shuffling. The green snake opened its eyes abruptly and those vertical pupils fixed right onto Gu Yu. The cold-blooded creature did not even hesitate for one single second. It coiled up then sprang out instinctively, swishing far into the distance. ¡°Brother Fatty!¡± Gu Yu did not waste time cursing, but called out instead. The squirrel got his message instantaneously and started pursuing from above straight away. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai followed suit. ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Rustle!¡± The green snake fled desperately for its life, skimming over weeds and bushes nking its path. It remembered that human¡ªthe one that saved the squirrel back then. As vindictive as this snake was, it knew better than to stay and fight. That man was surrounded by a dangerous aura it could not afford to go against. When in distress, all living creatures would flee to a hiding ce they found the safest. The snake might seem crazy, but its escape route was very clear. It was heading towards the deepest corner of Phoenix Mountain. Seeing it getting away, Brother Fatty also became frantic and galloped from one branch to another like a meatball. With the advantage in its physical strength, it finally shortened the distance between them after a prolonged chase. The squirrelnded with a thump, blocking the way ahead. ¡°Coo coo!¡± ¡°Hiss!¡± The snake and the squirrel were old rivals and confronting each other under such circumstances had only served to aggravate their conflict. Brother Fatty seemed to try to stop the green snake from getting through, while thetter was grumpy and frightened, not willing to engage in a fight at all. The two archenemies seemed to be sharing a secret hidden in the deep part of the mountain ahead of them. ¡°Squeak!¡± Realizing its squeal was to no avail, Brother Fatty arched its back, set its stout hind legs firmly on the ground and stuck out ten ck ws with a swish. The squirrel was so good at acting cute that people tended to ignore the fact that it got strong teeth and sharp ws. Seeing that the squirrel was taking the offensive, the green snake released its ferocious self. It smacked its tail and turned into a green sh, biting at its opponent. The squirrel had been on guard against such move. It swung into midair and brandished its right paw at the snake¡¯s tender spot. ¡°Ssss!¡± The snake made an unbelievable twist of its body, dodging the strike in time, then bent its neck and bit at the squirrel from an impossible angle. They fought on like this for a few rounds, but neither gained the upper hand. The green snake¡¯s agitation seemed to be growing. It could not afford to be stalled here any longer. When the squirrel struck with its ws again, madness flickered in the snake¡¯s dark yellow eyes as it remained stiff and took the hit without attempting to dodge it in the least. ¡°Scratch!¡± The tips of the ws scraped across the damp snake skin, making a noise that would bring out one¡¯s goosebumps. Fresh wounds appeared on that green body and the snake stuck out its two-pronged tongue in agony. However, this also created an opportunity, which it grabbed at once as it wrapped itself tightly around the squirrel. ¡°Squeak!¡± Brother Fatty did not expect its opponent to fight so desperately. It gnawed and scratched, but could not break loose. The green snake opened up its mouth widely, revealing the blood-red interior embedded with two barbed venomous fangs, ready to bite into the squirrel¡¯s neck. ¡°Peep¡­¡± Brother Fatty closed its small eyes, waiting to die. ¡°Screech!¡± As if time had been stopped, the snake froze in mid-air in front of the squirrel in a weird pose, its face perplexed. ¡°Oh my gosh!¡± ¡°Luckily we made it!¡± ¡®Holy crap!¡¯ Gu Yu was almost swooning with fright. He hurried near and pulled Brother Fatty out, then took a look at the snake. He could only maintain the illusion for a short period. Equipped with neither a string bag nor a weapon, he had no tools to capture and kill the snake. In that case, the most straightforward way would be to send a streak of spiritual essence into its body and directly destroy its internal organs. He made up his mind at once. Just as he was about to proceed, a slender and fair hand stuck out from aside and stopped him. ¡°Hey, can I have this snake?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Your squirrel looks like so much fun that I want one for myself as well,¡± Xiaozhai grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous! This snake is super venomous. Stop messing around!¡± He was vexed. ¡°I mean it¡­ well, where did I put it?¡± She unzipped her backpack and ransacked inside, then added, ¡°It¡¯s not like we can run into something as spiritual as this one every day. It¡¯ll be such a pity to kill it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no room for discussion. Move away.¡± ¡°Ha! There it is!¡± As they were bickering, the illusion wore off. The green snake shook its head, unable to figure out what had happened; it only knew that the current situation did not look good. It turned around and was about to flee. Gu Yu was so flustered and exasperated that he almost thought of smacking Xiaozhai. Just then, she put a small gadget between her lips and gave it a slight blow. ¡°Whew!¡± ¡°Whew¡­ wheeze¡­ whew¡­ ¡± A peculiar rhythm consisted of short and shrill sounds rang out abruptly, resembling something between a whistle and a bamboo flute. At this, the green snake copsed to the ground after slithering for merely half a meter, as though hit by a spell. ¡°Sizz!¡± The snake always had human-like facial expressions, which at the moment became more vivid than ever. It rolled around as if in excruciating pain, crunching the weeds and rubbles around it. ¡®F******ck!¡¯ Gu Yu stared at this with his mouth open. What the hell was that? A bright and pretty youngdy had nailed the snake and was scraping the floor with it! He had sensed for some time that Xiaozhai was nomon girl, but he had never thought she could be this ¡®special¡¯! Xiaozhai left him aside and yed the flute as she pleased. The tune turned from being pressing and intense to melodious and soothing, which was quite pleasant to the ears. Finally, the flute stopped and the green snake was lying limp on the ground, barely alive. The girl sauntered near and crouched down with a chuckle, ¡°Ready to give up?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The snake stuck out its two-pronged tongue, unable to make any sound. Those vertical pupils that usually looked so gloomy were now filled with deep fear. ¡°If so, eat it.¡± Xiaozhai reached into her backpack again, took out a ck pill after some fumbling around and handed it to its mouth. The snake hesitated for a while and lowered its head in the end, swallowing the ck pill as instructed. ¡°Good boy.¡± She picked up the green snake and tossed it inside her backpack as though she had just found a one-yuan coin on the ground. ¡°Done. Let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡°Wait! Wait!¡± ¡®Just like that?!¡¯ Gu Yu went frenzied and almost shouted out, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re also a¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Do you know what I was going to ask you?¡± ¡°No matter what your question is, I¡¯m not.¡± Xiaozhai watched Gu Yu¡¯s bitter face and broke intoughter. ¡°Let¡¯s go back first, then we can talk. Can you find the way back?¡± Gu Yu could not say no to her. He couldn¡¯t help it; the girl knew him too well. He looked around and found it rather strange. ¡°Well, that¡¯s odd. I¡¯ve actually never been here before.¡± Taking in their surroundings, he said in an uncertain tone, ¡°This should be an area stretching deeper into the woods. The trees are less dense over there and there could be an opening. How about we¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, the squirrel, who had been huddling between his arms acting all dispirited and nagging for attention, suddenly came back to life. It darted up a tree and pointed to the right, apparently showing them the direction of their return journey. ¡®En?¡¯ Gu Yu found that rather strange, for this little fellow was never this active; adding to his suspicion was the fact that it was avoiding direct eye contact¨Cstandard telltale sign it had a guilty conscience. He noted down this ce in his head and waved with a smile. ¡°Thanks a lot this time, Brother Fatty. I¡¯ll treat you to something delicious some other day.¡± ¡°d to meet you. Hopefully we¡¯ll meet again some day. Bye bye!¡± ¡°Coo coo!¡± Followed by the squirrel¡¯s eyes, the two left the woods. *** ¡°Where have you been? Is everything alright?¡± The troublesome pair was halfway back when they ran into a patrol team, which was searching for them in utter anxiety. The leader had forgotten about getting mad at them, but only inquired about their safety. ¡°We¡¯re fine, just ran out further than we expected. Luckily, I knew my way back.¡± ¡°What about the snake?¡± ¡°We couldn¡¯t find it. The snake was so fast. There was no way we could catch up with it,¡± Gu Yu put up an upset face. ¡°Well, you weren¡¯t hurt, that¡¯s the most important thing. Your friend has been taken to the hospital and the wound was not serious. You guys should get back, too.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The two couldn¡¯t not help but feel apologetic towards these people. They nodded and thanked them. The return journey was uneventful. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai got down the mountain, returned to the hotel and reunited with their friends. In her decade-long experience as an employee, He Shan had never encountered such a stressful situation. It was only thanks to her tough mentality that she did not pass out from her anxiety. Tang Shuo¡¯s family was on its way here and a dispute over the trifles was expected, such as arguing overpensation for the on-the-job injury. After the incident, the team was not in the mood to sightsee anymore and waited only for the returning journey back to Shengtian early tomorrow morning. Without anyone noticing it, time hade to three o¡¯clock in the afternoon. Gu Yu did not get involved in theirpany affairs and waited alone in the lobby¡­ well, not exactly alone, for he had a backpack with him. No matter how long he scratched his head for, he could note up with an exnation¨CXiaozhai had definitely not cultivated any spiritual essence, or he would have found out by now. He could not detect any Qi from the sound of the flute either, which made it safe to conclude that she was not a cultivator. Then what had happened to the green snake? Why did it go limp all of a sudden? ¡°Tsk!¡± Gu Yu smacked his lips, feeling rather dejected. Ever since he met Xiaozhai for the first time, he had felt there was something indescribably attractive about her; it was intoxicating and impossible to resist. Now that he came to think of it, this attractiveness probably originated from that atmosphere of mystery surrounding her. Women were drawn to mysterious men¡­ and vice versa. He sighed and pulled the backpack nearer, giving the inside a quick peek. The snake coiled up inside, silent and resigned, apparently having epted its fate. ¡°Click ck!¡± Rhythmic footsteps came from somewhere at this point. It was Xiaozhai,ing downstairs. She had changed her mountain-climbing outfit to a white shirt, cropped trousers and a pair of low-heeled sandals. ¡°Sorry I took so long,¡± she smiled. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s all right¡­¡± Gu Yu took a quick look at her and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t this outfit the one you wore when we first met?¡± ¡°Hehe, you¡¯ve got good memory.¡± Xiaozhai picked up her backpack and threw it over her shoulder. ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°Well, are you hungry?¡± ¡°I will be in two hours,¡± she checked the time on her watch. ¡°In, in that case, do you want toe to my house and try my cooking?¡± He probed. ¡°Good idea!¡± Xiaozhai was not burdened by the suggestion at all. [1] [1] ED/N: Indeed, the raws say ¡°burdened¡±¡­ the author of this novel is quite fond of putting some things indirectly, so I guess she meant that Xiaozhai was without apprehension etc. when faced with MC¡¯s invitation; like, if she was worried or sth it¡¯d be a burden on her mind. Chapter 53 Chapter 53: Enquiry Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Gu Yu¡¯s act of inviting Xiaozhai back home might seem bold, but they both knew that it was because they needed somewhere private to talk. The two hailed a taxi and reached their destination almost in no time. The digit on the fare meter remained unchanged at the g-down price, which was five yuan. When they showed up at the intersection of Phoenix Fair, the neighbors were running around spreading the news: Xiao Yu had brought home a young woman! Good gracious! Almost instantaneously, mischievous kids were sticking their heads out from behind yard gates and street corners; some even peeked over the courtyard walls. The enthusiasm the neighbors exhibited was almost intimidating. The undisguised staring was probably an experience they would never encounter again in their lifetime, adding to which was the utterly groundless gossip. ¡°Dear me, the girl is so pretty. A bit too tall, though.¡± ¡°She¡¯d be perfect if she were shorter, with legs not as thin and a wider pelvis.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t Xiao Yu bring back a girlfriend a while back? I heard that was a rich one, she even drove a sports car. ¡°Bullshit! Even I would not take a girlfriend like that. That colorful hair definitely did not belong to a decent girl.¡± ¡°Exactly! This one is so much better, and pleasing to the eye as well.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu felt the corner of his mouth twitching throughout the whole time, as if he was having a stroke. Xiaozhai, on the other hand, kept herposure and wore that impabledylike smile all the way to his house. His small courtyard with red walls and the three tile-roofed houses stood quietly as it always was. Someone not used to rural life would find some novelty in courtyards like this, but there was only familiarity in her eyes, as well as affection. The two entered the yard and Xiaozhai took a casual tour to the kitchen. Shemented with a chuckle, ¡°You¡¯ve kept it quite tidy.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let things go messy just because I live by myself.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that room for?¡± She pointed at the west wing. ¡°I make incense there.¡± ¡°Ok¡­¡± She did not ask to look and he did not offer to let her in there either. They only walked into the main room together. Xiaozhai unzipped her backpack and took out her newly obtained pet. The green snake had recovered much of its strength after the long rest and started hissing with its tongue the moment it was brought back under the light. It admired its master in awe and gave the other human being an undisguised hostile look. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Gu Yu could not care less about its attitude. It should consider itself lucky enough to be still alive. He asked, ¡°Are you taking it back to Shengtian?¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to keep it in your home?¡± ¡°Where else?¡± Xiaozhai lowered the snake down to the ground and patted its head, which looked as exquisite as a jade sculpture, ¡°Go ahead and have some fun. Don¡¯t scare anyone.¡± ¡°Hiss!¡± The hissing sound seemed to be the green snake¡¯s reply to her. It then twisted around and slithered out of sight. ¡°It, it¡­¡± Gu Yu still could not quite get over with this turn of events. Xiaozhai, on the other hand, had seated herself onto the brick bed with two long legs dangling over the edge and touching the floor. Sheughed, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s a good boy now.¡± The girl was very rxed while Gu Yu had been thrown into a flutter. He was overwhelmed by so many doubts that he did not know where to begin. This fellow struggled for ages before squeezing out a question. ¡°You know how to catch, scratch that¡­ you know how to control snakes?¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Then why did you keep it from me?¡± He was referring to the fact that she had concealed her ability when they were back in the mountain, which worried and distracted him. ¡°Didn¡¯t you keep things from me as well?¡± The girl retorted unintentionally, which was interpreted by Gu Yu as somethingpletely different. He almost jumped up. ¡°You knew it all this time!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Xiaozhai watched him in amazement, saying ¡°what¡¯s so strange about me knowing it¡± with one eye and ¡°I indeed knew it all along but teasing you was such fun, what was wrong with that¡± with the other. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu crumbled and flinched under her eyes, feeling like a blockhead. She had a point. With all those secrets of his, who was he to ask her for candor? At that moment, he was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of frustration¨Cit was like posing and acting mysteriously to impress a girl only to find outter that she had seen through him from the beginning and was only ying along. ¡°This is what we¡¯ll do now¡­¡± Xiaozhai probably could not bear to see him so miserable and suggested, ¡°It seems we both have a lot of questions, then let¡¯s take turn asking each other and we have to give answers, unless it involves secrets. How does that sound?¡± ¡°I can do that.¡± He thought it over and agreed with a nod. ¡°You go first.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± He put formalities aside and asked straight away. ¡°Is snake-controlling a form of Taoist technique?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just a skill in general sense,¡± Xiaozhai replied honestly, then asked, ¡°How did you learn to practice Taoism?¡± ¡°I saved Brother Fatty by ident. It then brought me a red fruit and I started to sense Qi after consuming it. On the day we met for the first time, I spent the night in Wudao River and obtained an ancient artifact. A Taoist technique was recorded in it.¡± Gu Yu finished answering and went on, ¡°Since you¡¯re not a cultivator yourself, how did you see through me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve read relevant content from an ancient book. Your characteristics fit to a tee, and there was the incense you brought me the second time. It was so shy that you might as well tell me in person,¡± Xiaozhai answered him in a matter-of-fact tone. ¡°The technique you performed on the mountain, what was it?¡± ¡°Can I not answer that?¡± He hesitated. ¡°Of course.¡± They went on like this for quite a long time. However, Gu Yu came to realize that Xiaozhai had managed to answer his questions with one or two sentences, but had thrown questions at him to which he either had to give lengthy exnations or not answer at all. ¡®You¡¯re still ying bloody tricks on me at this stage¡­¡¯ well, he would never admit that he had been outwitted. As a result, when it was his turn to ask again, the fellow paused for a few seconds before he said, ¡°Uh, I want to hear about your background.¡± ¡®Nice one!¡¯ Xiaozhai blinked, which meant ¡®You¡¯re finally starting to learn!¡¯ She wasn¡¯t going to conceal it anyway and replied in a crisp manner, ¡°My parents are from downtown Shengtian while my paternal grandfather lived in the countryside. I was brought up by my grandfather alone. Because of my poor health since I was little, I was apprenticed to a master in the vige who was an expert himself. Not only did the master nurse me back to health, I had also learned a lot from the person. Ny years ago, when the government and Baiyun Temple held the ceremony to register 62 Taoist Sects, they were recognized as qualified establishments. But there were other reclusive branches and sects that did not want to ept the amnesty, among which was the one I followed. I¡¯m afraid I cannot tell you its name and historical origins, though.¡± Probably getting tired from remaining in one position for so long, she simply took off her shoes and sat cross-legged on the bed and grinned at Gu Yu, who was sitting on the chair. ¡°The inheritance of my sect is copious yet jumbled; the part recording the Taoist techniques has been lost, leaving behind only the petty tricks such as appraising wood and controlling snakes. My master¡¯s dying wish was to retrieve the missing parts and get a glimpse of the utmost Great Tao. I¡¯ve been trying to collect fragmented scrolls and ancient books for the past two years but hade up empty-handed. Then, you showed up.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was silent. With the precedent in the form of the old Priest Mo, he was not all that surprised, but was only having a hard time epting the fact that such a thing could happen to her. ¡°Hiss!¡± Just then, a faint sound rang out in the room. The green snake had enjoyed itself wandering around ande back. ¡°Hop up!¡± Xiaozhai held out her hand. The snake leaped up deftly and wrapped itself around her right arm, resembling a delicate emerald ribbon. With the speed and venomousness of the green snake, if she ever fell into a dangerous situation, it would be a very effective weapon. Seeing this, Gu Yu couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°You¡¯ve concealed yourself perfectly so far, why did you expose yourself all of a sudden?¡± ¡°For one, I like this snake and want it as a pet.¡± ying with the snake, Xiaozhai gave him the matter-of-fact-tone reply again. ¡°For another, you¡¯re such a slowpoke. I had no other choice but to make my move first.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Gu Yu found it impossible to refute. He then seemed to think of something and was about to ask. The girl interrupted with impatience. ¡°You¡¯ve asked two questions already. It¡¯s my turn now.¡± ¡°Oh, I forgot about that¡­ what is it you wanna ask?¡± He was embarrassed. Xiaozhai held her cross-legged position and gave him a sulky look. ¡°When are we going to eat? I¡¯m hungry.¡± Chapter 54 Chapter 54: The Human Touch Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Xiaozhai preferred vegetarian dishes¡ªa little bit of meat was all right, butvish food was definitely a no-no. Cooking was a hobby of Gu Yu¡¯s and he would often keep all kinds of ingredients around. Today he made braised eggnt, lightly spiced tofu, fried asparagus and a bowl of lotus root soup. Dusk during summer time was still imbued with daylight. One could only detect the slightly dimmed sunlight through a ss window from inside. Gu Yu did noty the dishes on the round table today, but set up the brick bed table, which had not been put in use for quite some years, instead. It was his grandfather who had the table made; it was rectangr in shape and had four short legs. The board was made from old elm wood, its patterns already ckened. The two young fellows in their early twenties crossed their long legs and sat there eating on a brick bed. A snake reposed itself beside the girl, sticking out its two-pronged tongue every now and then. It was the most peculiar scene one could imagine. ¡°Are you all going back tomorrow?¡± Gu Yu inquired. ¡°Sister He might stay behind.¡± ¡°Is Tang Shuo¡¯s incident sorted out alright?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll depend on thepany¡¯s approach. Anything will be fine as long as there is enough money.¡± Xiaozhai sipped her soup and grinned, ¡°How about you people? Still catching snakes?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be a few days before things quiet down. They¡¯ll need to make sure that the mountain ispletely safe¡­¡± With that, he was about to say something else but hesitated. He pondered before saying, ¡°Well, I¡¯m rather curious about that flute of yours. May I have a look?¡± ¡°There you go!¡± Xiaozhai took it out of her backpack and tossed it over. Gu Yu promptly caught it with his hands and looked closely. The flute was quite a thin and short one. Its style was rather bizarre with a couple of knuckle-like bumps. It was of a grayish white in color and was made from a special material, very smooth to the touch. ¡°Is it made from bones?¡± He was not so sure. ¡°Uh huh, from the wing bone of ipiters.¡± ¡°What are ipiters?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a general term for birds such as ck eagles or crested goshawks. You¡¯ve got to use a super-duper ferocious bird.¡± [1] ¡°Super-duper ferocious?¡± He could not helpughing, finding the description somewhat adorable. Gu Yu gave it back after ying with it for a while. He was aware that the flute was only an instrument and the keyy in the way she yed it and that ck pill. However, those were secrets of her sect and it would be inappropriate to ask any further. Their feelings towards one another were rather tricky to describe at the moment. On top of their mundane friendship, they had found amonality of both being Taoist followers, which on one hand had brought them closer, while on the other hand made both hold back, feeling it not yet the appropriate time to open up their hearts. In general though, Gu Yu trusted Xiaozhai. Xiaozhai put away the bone flute. She almost finished eating and asked casually, ¡°What¡¯s your n next?¡± ¡°n? I haven¡¯t actually given it much thought.¡± He shook his head and sighed, ¡°I obtained the Taoist technique by sheer ident and have since then been shown a world beyond imagination. All I can think of now is to learn more and enjoy the splendor to a fuller extent. For a ce as remote as Phoenix Mountain, we could find spiritual creatures like the squirrel and the green snake; imagine the countless mountains out there all over the country¡ªthe Eastern Mountain [TL/N: another name for Mount Tai, or ̩ɽ.], Mount Emei, Mount Qingcheng, Luofu Mountain¡ªwhat marvelous view would I find there? And what inheritance do the sixty-two Taoist sects and all those secluded ones have? Oh my, I do want to see them all.¡± ¡°Then hit the road!¡± Xiaozhai interjected teasingly. ¡°Do I look like a hotheaded teenager to you? To set off in a whim?¡± Gu Yu retorted in a vexed tone. He put away the dishes and went on babbling. ¡°To be honest, with my daily cultivation exercise, the more effort I put in, the more uneasy I be. Once you enter this world, it¡¯s hardly possible to turn back. But if I¡¯m stuck in this state for the rest of my life, how regretful would that be? I¡¯m not willing to, for I¡¯d regret it too much. It is said that cultivators are beyond this world, but the way I see it, cultivation is as down-to-earth as anything else. Themon folks care about basic necessities of life such as clothing, food, shelter and means of traveling, while we cultivators are concerned with money,panion, method, and location¡ªall bi- or multteral factors. As long as you need resources andmunication, you will have to stay in touch with this society. Take my wish to travel as an example. How could I do that if I have neither the spare time nor the money for the travel expenses? I cannot fly.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The girl listened in silence, for she knew that she was the only person he could talk to about these things. Gu Yu had been brooding over such thoughts and was finally able to express his feelings. He went on gabbing and bbering, not realizing his verbosity until quite some timeter. He stopped talking with embarrassment. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Xiaozhai chuckled. Unknowingly, she was getting to know him better now. He might be the only person in this world with a real understanding of Taoism, yet he was able to maintain such natural state of mind. He looked forward to his future, held reverence towards the Great Tao and was persistent in pursuing it. The rarest quality of his, though, was that he did not lose that human touch. As the girl turned these thoughts over in her head, Gu Yu was feeling rather awkward himself. He did not utter a single word as he washed the dishes and cleaned the table. After that, he was suddenly struck by an idea and became serious. ¡°By the way, do you remember the ce you caught the snake?¡± ¡°Yeah, what about it?¡± ¡°Something there struck me as really odd and I want to check that ce out. The spiritual essence in the mountain is getting more restless every day and the animals are considerably affected . It was the green snake acting out this time. Who knows what else is brewing in there?¡± ¡°Restless?¡± Xiaozhai blinked and asked, ¡°Which ces have you visited since you could sense the essence?¡± ¡°Shengtian has the thinnest spiritual essence, barely detectable. That thing was haunting Wudao River at first, which made the essence rather agitated. After I subdued it, the essence has quieted down.¡± Gu Yu could see what she was getting at, hence the brief exnation. He added, ¡°Anywhere else, the essence was perfectly normal, therefore the problem must be at this mountain. You¡¯ve tamed that green snake, which can be a great help for me. Can youe with me?¡± ¡°No problem. After the incident this time settles down, you can pick a time,¡± Xiaozhai was quick to promise. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll be in touch¡­¡± After that, he suddenly waved his hand and lowered his voice, ¡°Someone¡¯sing!¡± The girl reacted with lightning speed. As soon as she opened her backpack, the snake swished in. The next second, someone called out from the yard, ¡°Brother!¡± ¡°nk!¡± The door was pushed open and in came Fang Qing. She bounced and skipped, acting all innocent. ¡°Why, you¡¯ve got a guest?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was utterly embarrassed by her acting skill. ¡®You are terrible as a scout.¡¯ He introduced them, ¡°This is Sister Xiaozhai. This is Fang Qing, daughter of Uncle Fang.¡± He stressed each words so that Xiaozhai took his hint immediately that this was the mischievous kid pretending to be Gu Yu online the other day. Fang Qing had never met Xiaozhai before and was no longer pretending as she eximed in an exaggerating voice, ¡°Wow, sister, you¡¯re so pretty!¡± ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re an adorable girl yourself.¡± The older girl held the younger one by her hand and smiled, ¡°I heard you are about to go to high school?¡± ¡°Yeah, the entrance exam has just finished and school starts in September.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. Here¡­¡± Xiaozhai wiped her hand across her backpack as she spoke and produced a small pendant. She smiled, ¡°This is for you. I wish you every sess in your studies and good luck with everything.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± The wooden pendant was exquisite and finely-made. Fang Qing found it very lovely, but she still turned to look at Gu Yu. She only epted it after seeing Gu Yu¡¯s nodding approval. ¡°Thank you, sister!¡± Oh my, it only took a couple of minutes for the little girl to fall head over heels for the big sister and start snuggling up to thetter affectionately. Gu Yu watched her in resignation and asked, ¡°Do you need something from me, Qing Qing? If it is theptop you that you want, you¡¯ll have to wait a while.¡± ¡°Oh, right¡­¡± Fang Qing almost forgot why she hade. She replied hastily, ¡°Mum cooked something nice today and asked you toe over. Sister, why don¡¯t youe, too?¡± ¡°Smack!¡± He buried his face in his hands. Could Uncle and Aunt Fang be more obvious? He sighed, ¡°We¡¯ve just finished our meal. Say thanks to your mum for me.¡± ¡°Huh? You¡¯ve already eaten?¡± Fang Qing was disappointed and then made a clumsy effort to remedy it. ¡°In, in that case, how abouting over to my ce and have a chat, sister? You¡¯vee all the way here.¡± ¡°Not today, I¡¯m leaving now.¡± Xiaozhai stood up, squeezed her round face and chuckled, ¡°Say thank you to your mum for me. I¡¯ll visit you some other time.¡± ¡°Okay, then I should be back for dinner¡­¡± Fang Qing pouted and trotted away. After she left, Xiaozhai swung the backpack over her shoulder and said, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. I should get going.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see you off,¡± Gu Yu hurried to grab his keys. ¡°Stay put. We¡¯ll meetter anyway.¡± She waved at Gu Yu to stop him and strode out of the door. [1] ED/N: Wikipedia says that most of those ipiters (which seems the Latin name of the genus) are sparrowhawks and goshawks, although some of them that are living in America(s?) are just called hawks. Genus is a group of very simr species, btw (to put it simply). Also, let me drop a sentence of exnation regarding the title. What the author means is that MC didn¡¯t grow cold and indifferent towards ¡®mere¡¯ mortals and mundane world despite bing a cultivator, and isn¡¯t trying to separate himself from the mundane. Chapter 55 Chapter 55: Summer Tea Party Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Xiaozhai went back to Shengtian, taking the green snake with her. However, the people of Bai Town had no knowledge of this, not to mention that five people had fallen victim to snake-biting so far, Tang Shuo included. Reports of the incident were fermenting online and the press joined in criticizing local authorities. Even officials at higher level in the government were holding the authorities of Bai Town ountable. Municipal officials of Bai Town were so bogged down by the buzz that they finally determined to close down the mountain. Unfortunately, such an attempt would only prove to be futile. The tumult would go on for at least half a month and only subside gradually after the public safety was reassured. For Gu Yu, though, the most valuable oue of this incident was discovering Xiaozhai¡¯s true identity, which had helped to clear up much of his previous confusion, such as the fragrant rosewood she gave him. As it turned out, she had indeed picked it out deliberately. That piece was worth a hundred thousand yuan and she gave it to him without batting an eye. When Old Priest Mo revealed his identity to Gu Yu, he was a little surprised at most¡ª¡¯So, cultivators do exist in this world.¡¯ However, when Xiaozhai made the same im, he was secretly rejoicing over it. It was said that the greatest paths were always walked alone and those superior beings were void of all feelings. But was their life that awesome? To achieve immortality alone was to watch the evanescence of worldly affairs and the changes brought by time all by oneself. There would be no family, friends, orpanions around¡ªnot even emotions such as love, hate, happiness and joy were avable¡­ to live forever in such a manner would be a bit too boring. Mid-July, sky had just cleared up after a shower. The air quality in Bai Town had always been excellent. After the rain, the air was even more pleasant now that some moisture in the atmosphere had been restored, dispelling the dry heat of summer. Early that morning after breakfast, Gu Yu arrived at the Zeng manor with tworge bags. The courtyard looked even quieter and more beautiful after being moistened in the fine rain, especially the trellis of cbash in the corner, which was blossoming and bearing fruit. Little cbashes were hanging here and there along the vines, all green and luxuriant. [1] Gu Yu found the view rather intriguing and halted his steps ever so slightly. The nanny, who was cleaning the main hall, looked up and noticed him. She called out at once, ¡°Granny, Xiao Gu is here¡­e in, kiddo. The yard is too cold to stay in after the rain.¡± ¡°Good morning, Sister Zhang!¡± He greeted and strode into the house. The nanny was in her forties and had a sweet temper. She had shown much care for Gu Yu once they became more familiar with one another. Shortly after he took a seat, the olddy came out with a smile, ¡°I was practicing calligraphy. Have you eaten yet?¡± ¡°I have. What font are you practicing?¡± ¡°The running hand, the cursive script, the official script, the seal character¡ªyou name it. I¡¯m good at none of them, anyway,¡± the olddy made a self-depreciating remark. Then, she asked, ¡°Xiao Gu, since you¡¯re here today, I presume that the incense is out of the cer?¡± ¡°Em, I took it outst night. Here.¡± He took out a box and passed it over. Granny Zeng opened it and found six pale incense pills disyed inside. They were the size of longans and were glistening in a jade-like luster. Before she couldment, Gu Yu pulled over arge bag and went on, ¡°These are from Mr. He and Mr. Li. I have been quite busy recently and did not have time to bring these over until today. May I trouble you with returning them to where they came from?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± the olddy was slightly taken aback and replied tactfully, ¡°The gifts are from them to you. Won¡¯t it seem inappropriate if I am the one returning them?¡± ¡°Hoho, that¡¯s fine. They won¡¯t say anything.¡± Gu Yu put on a peaceful, smiling face, yet the olddy felt her heart skip a beat. She changed her mind and agreed, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll keep them here for the time being.¡± Granny Zeng was well aware of He Zun and Li Yan¡¯s bizarre behavior the other day. As much as she was astonished, she couldn¡¯t help wondering¡ªexactly what ability did this young man possess that could make those two tycoons yield to him in a matter of minutes? Being a worldly-wise woman, she was on more intimate terms with Gu Yu after that event even when she knew nothing about the ins and outs of the matter, for it was in line with her principles to befriend this young man. The olddy understood that their bondy in incense-making. If she wished to maintain their rtionship, she would have to work in that direction. Therefore, she sniffed the pills and led on the subject. ¡°Xiao Gu, what is this called?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Moon-Side Incense, but I find that name rather pretentious. You can pick whichever name you like.¡± ¡°How should I burn it?¡± ¡°Sit around a censer on a moonlit night and burn it slowly with tender heat. It¡¯s better to be apanied by several good friends with fruit and tea,¡± Gu Yu¡¯s professional attitude disappeared after two sentences. He returned to his casual tone as he grinned. ¡°Of course, it won¡¯t have to be as painstaking as that. Those are just tricks to add in some fun. It will burn the same way even with you watching TV while eating hotpot.¡± ¡°Oh my, you naughty kid¡­¡± the olddy jabbed him lightly with her finger and put away the incense attentively. She paused and went on tentatively, ¡°Xiao Gu, to tell you the truth, some of my old friends areing in a couple of days and this incense is to be used for the asion. If you have time,e and join us. Wei Wei, Xiao Fei and the others will be there, too.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Gu Yu pondered and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure whether I will be free or not. Please send me a note on that day. I promise I¡¯ll let you know even if I¡¯m noting.¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll do that,¡± the olddy did not press on. After finishing his business, he stood up and was ready to leave. Halfway across the courtyard, he paused and said, ¡°Granny Zeng, your little cbashes over there are growing quite nicely. I was wondering if I could have one.¡± ¡°Treat yourself. Take the entire vine if you need it,¡± waved the olddy. ¡°Hehe, in that case, thank you so much.¡± With that, this fellow turned to the cbash trellis and looked around. He ended up choosing a small cbash about 5-cm-long with clear skin and a well-bnced shape. The diameter of its two bulges was almost equal. The jargon for this type of shape was ¡°equal happiness and richness¡±. [2] Those with arger top and smaller were called ¡°happiness and richness arriving¡± [3], and those with a smaller top andrger bottom were the mostmon ones, which were called the proper shape. Fancy cbashes were of a great variety. Those shorter than 8 cm were categorized as ¡°hand-twisting cbashes¡±. Gu Yu used to y with one himself, but had unexpectedly lost it. Picking one here was on the spur of the moment. Most people y with a cbash by covering it with ayer of walnut oil first then rubbing it with a nnel cloth. If it¡¯s done for long enough, the color of its skin would turn from green to red, and then purple. The n he had in mind though was to nourish this cbash with the spiritual essence. By ying around with it between his fingers and palms, he could also practice the control over his spiritual essence. After leaving the Zeng manor, Gu Yu went to the nearest express delivery office with his other bag. He hadpleted the first batch of the order of 15 boxes of Wake-up Incense and 7 boxes of incense pills and was going to send them out today. Zeng Yuewei¡¯s friends were affluent people who did not think twice over that amount of money. The payment had already been transferred to his online bank ount, which was more than enough to cover his living expenses for a while. Old Priest Mo would drop his jaw over such news. He would never imagine the man he admired greatly would have to worry about how to make a living. ¡®In his mind, the benefits I enjoy should be proportionate to my capability¡­ he is right to think in this way. However, maybe it was exactly because of this idea that the old priest could still not make the breakthrough after so many years.¡¯ *** Two dayster, dusk time. The usually quiet Zeng manor was alive and boisterous all of a sudden. Small vehicles lined up outside the gate¨Call low-profile vehicles, inconspicuous yetfortable to ride in. The house normally upied by Granny Zeng and the nanny alone was now receiving more than twenty guests. Luckily, it was spacious enough to hold them all. The five families of Lei, Xiao, Zhang, Sun and Zeng had always been quite close. Although the older generation had retired and the family businesses were ran by their juniors, the connections remained solid. An unwritten agreement among the five families was that they would gather together every six months, each taking turn to host the event¡ªthis had turned into the Winter and Summer Tea Parties renowned in the business circle of Shengtian. The middle-aged parents did not participate in the parties¡ªthe ones attending were grandparents and their grandchildren only. The other four families all sent their young members. Needless to say, Zeng Yuewei and Zeng Shufei were here to represent the Zeng family. Right now, Zeng Yuewei was enjoying herself talking to a young man by the cbash trellis. The tall man had sculpted features and spoke in a crisp manner. He was a member of the third generation of the Lei family and one of those most beloved by his family members. His name was Lei Ziming, a childhood friend of Zeng Yuewei. He had been abroad for the past few years and only returned at the beginning of the year. As they were talking, Zeng Shufei approached them and blurted out, ¡°Has he picked up yet?¡± ¡°Nope. Granny called again?¡± ¡°You bet! He¡¯s not answering my calls either. God knows what he¡¯s doing!¡± Zeng Shufei was disgruntled. Lei Ziming was curious about their conversation. ¡°Are you looking for someone?¡± ¡°Em, someone we came to know recently. Granny wants to invite him over.¡± ¡°That arrogant already? The olddy has to invite this person?¡± He made an exaggerated face. ¡°¡­¡± Zeng Yuewei rolled her eyes at him and replied, ¡°Not in the way you put it. That man is just weird, hard to get a hold of.¡± ¡°Wow, to hear thating out of your mouth has made me want to meet this person even more!¡± Lei Ziming was excited. [1] ED/N: Perhaps it will be easier to understand if I say it¡¯s a vine with bottle gourds growing on it. [2] TL/N: The pronunciation of cbashes (ºù«) in Mandarin is H¨² Lu, which is simr to that of happiness and richness (¸£Â»)¡ªF¨² L¨´ (the pronunciation of H and F is simr in pinyin), hence the connection. [3] TL/N: Reversed, or µ¹, has the same pronunciation as the character µ½, which means the arrival of sth/sb, hence the trantion. (ED/N: µ½ is also a verb and has several other meanings, but they¡¯re irrelevant here). Chapter 56 Chapter 56: Moon-Side Incense Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Have you found him?¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s not picking up.¡± ¡°Oh, off you go, then.¡± Granny Zeng brushed her grandson off after a few words and went back to the small living room in the back, where four elderly people of simr age were seated. They appeared to be your average next-door grandparents, but after a closer look, their countenances were marked with experience and stateliness one would find on veterans. ¡°Exactly what are you up to? You¡¯ve gone out twice in such a short period already.¡± Old man Lei got along with Granny Zeng the best and was not one bit careful with his wording. Heined, ¡°After all this time we waited for you to host the party, you just had to hold it in this dump. Now that we¡¯vee, you wouldn¡¯t even talk to us¡­¡± ¡°Cut it, cut it! Stop your nagging already!¡± Old man Xiao was in the habit of disagreeing with him. He waved to interrupt old man Lei, then turned to Granny Zeng and asked, ¡°Is there any problem?¡± ¡°Not at all. It¡¯s just that I wanted to invite a young friend here today, but can¡¯t get hold of him,¡± smiled the olddy. ¡°Oh?¡± With that, the two from Zhang and Sun families were drawn in and joined the conversation. ¡°Is it that Xiao Gu you mentioned before?¡± ¡°You certainly did not save yourpliments for him. If he doesn¡¯t turn out to be as capable as you described, I hope you¡¯re ready to lose some face.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too early to tell. I¡¯m still not sure whether he wille or not. Well, enough about that¡­¡± The olddy served tea for all and switched the subject, talking about recent policy changes and the market environment instead. The other four found such issues much more familiar and the conversation went on in a lively atmosphere. Such was the main purpose of the Summer Tea Party. Even the moderately ambitious businessmen nowadays were pursuing multi-industrial development. The five people here each started in a different field and had all established their own enterprise by now. They would naturally seek close cooperation to achieve win-win result for all. At their age, the way these elderly behaved was not all that different from young children. Half of their serious conversation was reced with bickering and squabbling. Before long, Zeng Yuewei came in after a knock. ¡°Granny, we¡¯ve talked to him. He said he¡¯sing tonight.¡± ¡°What was Xiao Gu doing?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t say, seemed busy.¡± ¡°Ok, I see.¡± After Zeng Yuewei went out, old man Lei was the first to be disgruntled. He grunted, ¡°This guy is really puffed up!¡± ¡°It¡¯s called ¡®respectable¡¯ for those with real talent,¡± wrangled old man Xiao as always. Old Sun chuckled, ¡°Hoho, that¡¯s a very special young friend you¡¯ve got there.¡± ¡°You¡¯re quite right. The youngsters nowadays all have strong personalities,¡± Old Zhang added. ¡°¡­¡± What more could Granny Zeng say? These old friends might seem amiable, but with their status, it was inevitable for them to have some temper and pride. They saw Gu Yu merely as an incense maker who was not appreciating Granny Zeng¡¯s favor by stalling for so long after being repeatedly invited. One could not me them for thinking this way. After all, they had not witnessed for themselves¡­ The olddy shook her head and sipped her tea. Meanwhile, in the main hall and courtyard outside, the younger generation was busyworking among themselves as well. Being forthright in character and with the most influential family background, Lei Ziming was set to be the center of the focus. Right now, he was introducing a girl to the rest of the crowd. ¡°Here, let me introduce you. This is Uncle Xiao¡¯s niece. She¡¯s just got back from abroad, a top student for real.¡± ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Xiao Yuanyuan. It¡¯s my first time here and it¡¯s nice to meet you all.¡± The girl was slender and had a lovely face. Despite her schoolgirl-like appearance, the others would not underestimate her, for anyone attending this gathering was bound to be a talented young member of their families. Xiao Yuanyuan was not a talkative person, but was rather good at making conversation. It did not take her long to mingle into the crowd. Only a handful of girls were here today and after making a round, she approached Zeng Yuewei. ¡°Sister Wei Wei, I¡¯ve heard so much about you from Brother Ziming and finally have the chance to meet you today. You¡¯re as pretty as I was told!¡± She said wholeheartedly, apparently meaning every word she said. Zeng Yuewei was scornful inside. ¡®I recognize an angelic b*tch as soon as I see one.¡¯ She put on a smile and replied at once, ¡°You tter me. You put me to shame with that diploma from a business school.¡± [1] ¡°Sister, you¡¯re so much better than me. You started helping out your family business at such a young age and I¡¯m still sponging off my family.¡± Looking as harmless as a dove, Xiao Yuanyuan went on, ¡°May I ask what is Sister Wei Wei in charge of in thepany?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say I¡¯m actually in charge of anything. I mainly work on marketing ns.¡± ¡°Marketing ns? That¡¯s great! I want to ask a favor from sister¡­¡± Before Zeng Yuewei could respond, she continued, ¡°I¡¯m thinking about opening a red wine bar, but I know very little about this business. Could you help me with some ideas?¡± ¡°Red wine bar? Like a saloon sort of thing?¡± Zeng Yuewei was a little surprised. ¡°Something like that, where people could taste wine and talk.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Zeng Yuewei grasped the idea immediately. She was talking about a small private club where people could store their wine, take girls over to flirt and do other pretentious stuff of sorts. She couldn¡¯t refuse her tantly and had to say, ¡°In that case, let¡¯s exchange phone numbers and we¡¯ll talkter.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sister Wei Wei!¡± Xiao Yuanyuan grinned and was going to make the best use of this opportunity. She added with a smile, ¡°You grew up with Brother Ziming, which makes you an older sister of mine as well. You have to look out for me from now on.¡± ¡°Hehe, no problem!¡± Zeng Yuewei rolled her eyes in her mind while giving Xiao Yuanyuan an eight-teeth wide smile. *** As they chatted on, the night slowly fell. The five old friends talked for quite some time before they strolled out of the small living room with smiling faces, which suggested that their conversation reached a satisfying conclusion. Granny Zeng had some cooks hired in advance and prepared a vegetarian meal. The dishes by now had been set on tables in the dining room, the main hall and rooms in both wings. Their previous parties were held in venues such as saloons, clubs or vis. But this time, not even a decent night club existed in a remote dump like this. The youngsters were full ofints, which they had to conceal. They endured being in this ce by thinking of it as a one-day trip to the countryside. After the dinner, the five elderly moved to the side wing together, where a table and tea were set. Granny Zeng opened up the wooden door to a quiet and pretty courtyard. Above them, a bright moon shone high in the sky. She followed Gu Yu¡¯s instruction to a tee, but the others found it hard to withstand. Old man Lei was tugging at the rush cushion he sat on and could not find afortable position. He could not hold back his criticism. ¡°Why, living off the mountain for the past few years has turned you into a vegetarian Buddhist?¡± ¡°Exactly! All these are so hard to get used to! We didn¡¯t have to go through so much trouble before,¡± Old Xiao and Old Li agreed for once. Granny Zeng could not be bothered to retort. She held the tray and put it under the eave. On it were a censer and an entire set of utensils. She ignited the charcoal into fuming heat by herself and put in three pills of the Moon-Side Incense. By now, the others had stoppedining. Granny Zeng had been bragging about the incense for the past two weeks, showering it withpliments. Inevitably, they too were intrigued. Normally, it would take about two minutes for the fragrance of the incense to be sent forth, yet they still could not smell anything after a while. ¡°It¡¯s not expired, isn¡¯t it?¡± Old Lei could not help asking. ¡°Is it hot enough? I¡¯ve got a lighter here,¡± chimed in Old Xiao. ¡°¡­¡± The olddy was wavering. She had been bragging about it so much that if it failed to work now, she would be mortified! She hurried near to check only to find the charcoal burning at the right temperature. Then why¡­ ¡®What?¡¯ She froze as a barely detectable fragrance reached her nose. At first she thought it was just her imagination, yet after taking a sniff, the aroma was indeed there. She was not the only one smelling it. The other four further away also detected it and focused. The fragrance bore a trace of cold and clear air, which in turn led to a faint sweetness. The two sensations fused and intertwined in a natural and prating manner. ¡°¡­¡± The four exchanged a look and nodded to themselves. Only an expert could use a single move to demonstrate his true talent. The way this incense was ¡°introduced¡± was striking enough to prove the maker a master. The thought had not yet went away when their expressions suddenly changed in unison, for the aroma was growing stronger¡ªto the extent that it almost felt solid as it twirled around each of them in turn¡­ It was only until then that the incense revealed the true meaning it bore. ¡°This is¡­¡± ¡°It¡­¡± It was not a cold night, but the five of them shuddered violently. They felt their pores opening slightly and, without realizing it, a solitary coldness seeped through them, which was to be found neither in their bodies, nor in their minds, but was thousands of miles away in the clear and bright moon. The five people looked up involuntarily, only to find the moon as bright and pure as a suspending mirror. The silver light sprinkled on the censer and lingered around the faint smoke, then drifted away together into the courtyard. The night clouds dispersed, leaving behind the nk canvas of the sky. The moon and thend on earth seemed to add radiance to each other. In this small courtyard, dewdrops were just forming and the autumn wind had yet to turn chilly. Shadows created by the moonlight paved the ck brick ground, resembling the cold and lonely moon overhead, and the frost-coated white osmanthus flowers. ¡°¡­¡± The five of them sat dazed under the old eaves and were flooded with a sudden idea: there was no evening more pleasant than this one in a year. *** They had lost count of time when the fragrance finally died away. When they came to themselves again, they still felt somehow lost in that scene, regretting that the moment was too short, yet the night ahead was too long. As they were sighing, a faint sound interrupted their trail of thoughts and they all looked up. ¡°Creak!¡± Enveloped by the moonlight, Gu Yu pushed open the gate to the yard. [1] ED/N: The literal trantion of the term is quite interesting, ¡°green tea b*tch¡±. As you might¡¯ve expected, it¡¯s ¡°a girl who seems innocent and charming but is actually calcting and maniptive¡±. Chapter 57 Chapter 57: Making Friends Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu After the first batch of Wake-up Incense and incense pills was received, someone tried one out at random, not expecting much from it, but it turned out to be such a pleasant surprise. Those who made their first order to humor Zeng Yuewei were now jumping on the ship most eagerly. Within two days, Gu Yu received another ten orders, which kept him busy preparing materials the whole day and he was not able to make time toe untilte. In fact, he did not care forbels such as ¡°magnate¡± in people, but only followed his instincts instead. The Zeng family had left him with a good expression, hence his decision to make friends with them. Just as what he said to Xiaozhai, a mortal man or a cultivator, as long as one needed resources andmunication, they could not stay away from environmental factors. He was only at the entrance of the cultivation world and not in obvious need of anything just yet, but who could say for sure that it would remain the same in the future? He did not belittle fortune and power of the secr world, for they could prove extremely useful every now and then. *** Back to the Zeng manor where the fragrance had dispersed into thin air, the five elderly remained immersed in the heavenly imagery, unable to extricate themselves. They then watched Gu Yu enter the yard bathed in the moonlight. For a split second, that image reminded them of an immortal, banished into this world. They remained in a trance-like state for quite some time before the olddy came to herself first, standing up to greet him, ¡°Hello, Xiao Gu!¡± ¡°Granny Zeng, I was really busy today and am a bitte for the party,¡± Gu Yu was mildly apologetic. ¡°Notte at all! You are right on time!¡± The olddy behaved in a childlike yfulness as she grabbed him by his hand and led him into the wing-room, apparently very pleased with herself. ¡°Come, let me introduce a few friends to you.¡± ¡°This is Grandpa Lei.¡± ¡°This is Grandpa Sun.¡± ¡°This is Grandpa Xiao¡­¡± Gu Yu greeted them in turn, acting as natural as always. The behavior of the other four, however, was rather remarkable. They abandoned their previous nonchnce and were now outshining one another in terms of their enthusiasm. They had all grown to be fond of incense after retirement, but were no better than Granny Zeng in their expertise. Granny Zeng herself had been overwhelmed with amazement back then, let alone these four who werepletely unprepared for the experience. The impact the incense left on them was much more profound. ¡°Xiao Gu,e here¡­¡± Old man Lei pulled Gu Yu to his side in a somewhat unashamed manner and asked, ¡°How did you make incense like that? I¡¯ve bought a fair share of incense myself and have never encountered anything so, so¡­¡± ¡°Insightful!¡± Old man Xiao finished the sentence for him. ¡°Exactly! Insightful! That¡¯s the word I was looking for!¡± Old Lei savored that description and found the word appropriate indeed. He grinned, ¡°The effect of your incense was almost eerie and I felt a chill running down my entire spine. The smell went away but it somehow lingered. How did you make something like that?¡± Maybe it was a question out of his mere eagerness at the moment, or maybe he was simply ying dumb. Either way, he was asking directly for the ingredients of the incense. Barely knowing this old man, Gu Yu smiled back without any answer. Old man Zhang found the conversation rather awkward and interjected, ¡°Xiao Gu, I heard that it was called Moon-Side Incense, may I ask where the name came from?¡± ¡°Oh, there was a schr named Xu Xuan in the Five Dynasties, who was a master incense maker himself. Whenever there was a moonlit night, Xu would sit alone in the atrium and burn a fine dose of incense. In the course of time, he grew to call this incense he made the ¡®Moon-Side Incense¡¯. The recipe waster scattered and passed down among themon folks, from whom my grandfather then inherited. He altered the recipe slightly, giving the incense a clearer and brighter aroma¡ªspeaking of which, the incense-making skill sort of runs in my family.¡± Instead of attributing the skill to himself, Gu Yu gave all the credit to his grandfather. As expected, the other five sighed at his exnation. ¡°Oh my, what a pity!¡± ¡°Such a shame that we were not able to meet him!¡± ¡°Senior Gu was definitely a grand master just by the sound of it. Sigh!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Bowing his head slightly, Gu Yu pursed his lips at his little prank. The so-called Moon-Side Incense was concocted from materials such as white wood incense, storesin, clove, nutmeg, rue, cogon grass, etc. The aroma of the incense would drift far and wide, molding one¡¯s temperament and calming the nerves, therefore it was usually burnt in studies, zither rooms, meditation rooms, as well as spiritual ces. When the recipe was passed onto Gu Yu¡¯s grandfather, he found it too serious and not elegant enough. As a result, he added silver osmanthus to it. After Gu Yu inherited the recipe, he found some other deficiencies in the aroma and the further improvement had endowed the incense with an underlying sentiment of ¡°present people could not witness the ancient moon, yet the same moon today used to shine over the ancient people¡±. As said before, incense-savoring consisted of three stages: the appraisal of ingredients, smell and inner meaning¡­ thest one was almost indescribable, for it involved spiritual factors much in the same way swordsmanship worked in wuxia novels¡ªregardless of how well one mastered their swords, their opponents, who had grasped the inner meaning of the sword, would always win almost instantaneously. It went without saying that incense-savoring required corresponding environment¨Cthe higher the quality, the more numerous the requirements. The chilling autumn night air felt as cold as water on one¡¯s skin. As the bright full moon hung high overhead like a floating mirror, it was time to burn a dose of Moon-Side Incense. When the pleasant aroma lingered in the air with you sitting quietly in the yard under the bright moon, all earthly turmoil was put aside. Such was the delight one obtained from incense. There were things that the other five people might never understand, but it did not stop them, especially the four neers, from holding Gu Yu in high esteem. Without knowing it, their impression of this young man had changed from an incense maker to a close young friend. *** As they were deep in conversation, the younger ones of the five families were rather baffled by the turn of events. Their elders were acting all weird to begin with, but now they were holding this young man as a distinguished guest after his arrival. Lei Ziming smacked his lips andmented in amazement, ¡°Mark my words, that fellow is definitely an able man of some sort, otherwise my family¡¯s old man would not treat him so intimately with that temper of his.¡± ¡°He¡¯s been there for so long. Aiya, I want to talk to him as well,¡± almost instinctively, Xiao Yuanyuan acted out in her pettishly charming manner. ¡°Drag him here, then!¡± The young master of the Sun family said casually. ¡°Really? You go ahead,¡± chuckled Zeng Yuewei. ¡°Oh my, not me!¡± He backed out at once. Eyeing Gu Yu, Lei Ziming finally could not hold back any longer and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± With that, he strode fast towards the wing-room and pulled the wooden door wide open. Grinning, he said, ¡°My elderlydies and gentlemen, you¡¯ve been keeping the guy for quite some time, can we borrow him for a while?¡± ¡°Haha, you naughty brat!¡± Old man Lei rebuked with aughter and said to Gu Yu, ¡°Don¡¯t mind him, Xiao Gu. That¡¯s my grandson over there. If it¡¯s not too much trouble for you, do go with him and teach those young ones a thing or two, or those little brats will always think so highly of themselves.¡± ¡°Exactly. You must be bored after hanging around with our old people for so long,¡± said Grandpa Sun. ¡°Not at all. I want to make more friends myself. In that case, I¡¯ll go with him.¡± Chuckling, Gu Yu got up and went out of the wing-room. ¡°I heard you¡¯re 21 and a few years younger than me. I guess you wouldn¡¯t mind being called a ¡®younger bro¡¯? Here, let me introduce you¡­¡± Being a fairly straightforward guy, Lei Ziming stretched out his arm and was about to wrap it around Gu Yu¡¯s shoulder. However, Gu Yu disliked physical contact and dragged himself forward slightly, as if unaware of Lei Ziming¡¯s movement, and the arm fell onto the empty air. ¡®Huh?¡¯ That fellow found it a bit strange. He was reaching out to Gu Yu from behind, did he dodge it by ident or had he sensed it? A couple of steps away was the main hall. As the two of them entered the room, a dozen people hustled nearby, gathering around them; among them were grandchildren of the direct line of the five families, as well as more distant rtives such as various cousins. Every Tuhao was different. He Tian was of a kind which was not the same as Zeng Yuewei¡¯s. Lei Ziming himself was yet of another type. As soon as Gu Yu entered the room, he found the atmosphere rather pleasant. A few words with the group had left him with an even better impression. [1] At least the young members of the five families were well bred. Even Xiao Yuanyuan, the extra-pretentious one, seemed rather tolerable. On the other hand, these people were curious about him as well, talking all at once, probing into his background. Gu Yu carefully chose which questions he¡¯d respond to, deliberately hiding his capabilities. The conversation did notst much longer before someone found it uninteresting and turned away, back to their small groups. Lei Ziming remained at Gu Yu¡¯s side, apparently taking a lot of interest in him. After he felt they had made enough small talk, he produced a golden membership card all of a sudden and grinned, ¡°Young Bro, my friends and I have set up a shooting club, the genuine stuff. Come by and have some fun when you have time.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Gu Yu¡¯s face brightened up, finding the suggestion somewhat appealing. Setting up a shooting club might sound improbable, but with the right connections, it could be easily arranged. By saying ¡°the genuine stuff¡±, Lei Ziming had made it quite in¡ªthey were using real guns and bullets. Gu Yu really wanted to see the power of a gun. In other words, he wanted to know if he would be able to take an enemy out at gunpoint while avoiding being injured at the same time. He might never run into such incident, but it would do him no harm to be prepared. Therefore, he took the card and replied, ¡°Thanks a lot. I will definitely go have a look sometime.¡± *** The same night, in a residential building in the faraway Shengtian, smoke was curling up in the air in a bright-lit room. An incense stick was burning on a table in the study, beside whichy the green snake, dozing off with its eyes closed. Burying herself in a huge pile of manuscripts, Jiang Xiaozhai was sorting out some notes. The manuscripts contained handwritten pieces, photocopies, as well as fragments of yellowing ancient texts, all of which were in traditional Chinese characters and vertically set with little punctuation. They would give one a headache just by looking at them. [2] However, Xiaozhai appeared to be very familiar with them and wasbing through the papers methodically. These were ancient scrolls and fragmented texts she collected in the past few years. Thanks to her father who was in charge of a cultural department, collecting these manuscripts had been made much easier. ¡°Ha¡­¡± After quite some time, she was finally able to wrap it up. Laying several manuscripts on the desk in front of her, Xiaozhai gave out a long sigh in relief. [1] ED/N: Let me remind you, Tuhao means rich and influential guys, such as young masters and other simr¡­ species. [2] ED/N: As some of you may know, the Chinese used to write from top to bottom, right to left. Those who have seen original manga in Japanese will know what it looks like, for this is the same way of writing. Probably the Japanese took it from China, but the Chinese stopped using it, unlike the Japanese. Chapter 58 Chapter 58: Back to Normal Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Jiang Xiaozhai pushed back her chair and got up, pouring herself a ss of water. Hearing the noise, the green snake opened its eyes at once and nced curiously at its master, who had walked to the window and sat down on the protruding area by the bay window. Leaning on the ivory panel, she turned her head casually and just happened to look into those vertical pupils. She could not help smiling, ¡°Come up here!¡± ¡°Sizz!¡± The green snake slid down the wooden table and slithered towards her, leaping up when it came to the window and coiling up in her arms. Xiaozhai held it in a way one would cuddle a cat and asked, ¡°You¡¯ve been here for a couple of days by now, have you gotten used to this ce yet?¡± ¡°Hiss!¡± ¡°Hehe, I see you¡¯ve been quite at home. Good girl.¡± She patted it on its head. Yep, you¡¯ve heard it right, the green snake was female. After ying with it for a while, Xiaozhai turned to look out of the window, her countenance growing serene. On the window ss was the reflection of herself and the warmmp light, apanied by the cool and refreshing moon overhead. Leaning on the window, Xiaozhai appeared as though she was traversing back and forth between two worlds. One meter away from the window was that wide desk, on which were the scattered pile of manuscripts and the four sets of files she separated out, eachpiled into a thick stack and marked by a red pen. The first said ¡°2200¡±, the second ¡°1794¡±, the third ¡°1056¡± and the fourth ¡°589¡±. The numbers represented the years. [1] As arge amount of Taoist scriptures and books was lost throughout various dynasties, the remaining records were extremely scattered and unsystematic. She had been copying and making extracts from various texts, and by optimizing the information she managed to get hold of, she finally sorted out a thread of ideas that was clear enough to follow. Contained in the files were historical data, legends, folklore, as well as her own deductions¡ªnotably the newly founded ones after contacting Gu Yu. She was going to bring the manuscripts to Bai Town and study them with that guy. It wouldn¡¯t involve any Taoist skills in particr, but was only to verify and make some supplements to the evolution of the Taoistmunity. All those thoughts went through Xiaozhai¡¯s head as she sipped her ss of water, which was soon finished. She turned to one side and grabbed her mobile with a sweep of her long arm. She then sent out a message, ¡°How¡¯s everything over there?¡± A couple of minutester, she got a short reply, ¡°Mountain still closed.¡± ¡°¡­¡± She blinked and asked, ¡°You with a friend now?¡± Another several minutes passed before he replied, ¡°Em, in a party right now, so many people are here.¡± Seeing that, she decided to let him be and only sent an ¡°OK!¡± back. After the brief chat, Xiaozhai saw the time and put down the green snake, ready to wash up and go to bed. It was nine o¡¯clock at the moment, an hour neither too early nor particrlyte. For many female city slickers, the night had just started. Xiaozhai, nevertheless, was not one of them. She was actually rather monotonous, not in terms of her lifestyle, but in the sense of spiritual integration and enjoyment. She had a colorful life¡ªgoing to the cinema, listening to music, following the newestic release, ying billiard, growing flowers, shopping, fishing¡­ you name it. However, that was as far as her devotion went. She would not invest much energy into any of those activities, let alone being infatuated with them. It was just as that time when she ran back to the park in the rain to pick the osmanthus flowers, which spoke volumes about her principles: go with the flow and follow her own heart. ¡°Ssh!¡± Time came to 9:40 p.m. when the sound of the sttering water stopped and the bathroom door opened. The green snake, who had been wandering outside the door curled up immediately. Xiaozhai came out with her hair hanging loosely on her back. She casually picked the snake up by its tail and carried it all the way to the bedroom like this. As soon as the snake was back on the floor, it slithered onto the windowsill. Moonlight shone onto its emerald skin, creating an eerie yet beautiful image. Xiaozhai did not reach for her cell phone again, but slumped into her king-size bed right away and said into the darkness, ¡°Good night!¡± ¡°Hiss!¡± *** The party in the Zeng manor started at dusk and did not finish until well past ten o¡¯clock at night. The attendants would stay in Bai Town for the night and go back to Shengtian the following day. Driving Gu Yu back home after the party, Lei Ziming expressed adequate surprise at Phoenix Fair. As forthright as he might appear to be, Lei Ziming was in fact remarkably shrewd. In general, he was a person worth befriending. When Gu Yu was leaving the party, the four elders all implied tactfully that they wished to have a set of incense made by him, which he found hard to refuse. He attempted to evade the request by saying he was rather busytely and might not be able to produce the incense anytime soon. The four behaved in the most thoughtful manner and replied that they were not in a hurry at all. They were all extremely slick people and Gu Yu could not tell what effect would their being low profile produce. What he could think of for now were things like being gradually introduced into their circle or his incense bing more renowned¡­ If the Zeng, Lei, Xiao, Zhang and Sun families could maintain this amicable and appropriate attitude, he did not mind deepening his contacts with them. After all, what he needed were the resources and possible assistance this group could bring him. Of course, the benefit would be reciprocal. To put it inly, his incense was treated as something to be worshiped by the families. *** A few days after the party, the tension in Bai Town was gradually eased. The municipal government finally held a press conference the other day, briefing the public on the progress of snake-catching in the closed-down mountain area, as well as how the five injured werepensated. Because of the publicity of this incident, the conference had attracted much media coverage and even the provincial TV station sent people to attend. The government obviously attached much significance to this event. The scale of the conference was self-exnatory considering the name tag set on the table, which belonged to the deputy mayor himself; he showed upter and started to read off a script after a brief greeting. ¡°After the incident of snake-biting on Phoenix Mountain, the municipal government of Bai Town, the tourism bureau and the scenic area management office proactively addressed the issue¡­ after a ten-day period of closure, the inspection of the mountain has produced significant results. With zero casualty of the personage involved, they finally captured the culprit behind the idents. Please take a look¡­¡± With that, a photo showed up on therge screen, disying a scene of a snake beaten to death. ¡°¡­¡± Numerous reporters at the conference stared at the picture with heads filled with roaring protests, yet their faces were all covered by a forced smile. The previous picture of the snake had vividly showed an exquisite emerald creature. This one, on the other hand, was almost mangled beyond recognition, not to mention that it was half-buried in the grass. One could barely make it out as a green snake. The truth did not matter. They would report whatever the authority said. After all, their travel expenses had been well covered. In fact, the government officials did not have much choice either. The ten-day search around the mountain brought no results and they had to consult the specialists beforeing to a possible conclusion, which was that, realizing the situation was turning against it, the snake might have, well, moved away¡­ What the government needed was to calm down the public; the truth was irrelevant. Vouched for by the specialists, they lifted the ban on Phoenix Mountain and reopened the scenic area. Obviously, in order to highlight their achievement, a copycat green snake was presented to the press. ¡°After coordinating andmunicating with the three wounded tourists, we¡¯ve reached an agreement ofpensating each victim with 100,000 yuan. Regarding the two police officers, because their injuries were incurred while on duty, they would each bepensated with an on-off constion payment¡­¡± The deputy mayor then announced the handling of the five wounded, who had received very different treatments. Throughout the entire conference, the authorities and the press were well aware of each other¡¯s objectives and both parties acted with tacit understanding. Little time was left for Q&A and the conference was over after another few lines from the officials. This public announcement had undoubtedly led to another wave of discussion, with a lot of questions raised on the inte, suspecting the authenticity of that snake, but it was all futile. Both the government and the media had confirmed it, end of the story. Not to mention that after Phoenix Mountain was reopened to the tourists, no further idents had urred, which seemed to confirm the official version regarding the snake¡¯s demise. However, to Gu Yu, everything seemed to have just started. He called up Jiang Xiaozhai and the two of them decided to search for the truth in the mountain¡¯s most remote depths this weekend. [1] ED/N: There¡¯s actually another calendar used by the Chinese, in which the 1st year of the era isn¡¯t the one 2017 years ago, but over 4000 years ago. There are apparently 3 versions, so ¡°normal¡± year 2015 is actually 4712, 4713, or 4652 in that Chinese calendar. I¡¯m not sure about the specifics, but it seems to be somehow rted to Chinese New Year and Chinese Lunar Calendar; just look up Chinese New Year on wikipedia and you¡¯ll find it there. Anyway, not sure if those numbers she wrote are years in this Chinese calendar, or if the author simply didn¡¯t bother/forgot to mention BC/AD stuff. The numbers may have not referred to dates, but age of the materials in years as well. TL/N: the meaning of the numbers will be exined in the following chapters, so wait and see. Chapter 59 Chapter 59: Explore the Mystery Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu As the saying went, as long as one kept calm, one would not feel the heat too much. Gu Yu had always found the saying usible. Probably as a result of working at incense-making all these years, he seldom felt hot growing up, even in the height of summer when the temperature reached as high as over 30 degrees Celsius. ording to the weather forecast, the temperature in Bai Town today would exceed the historical high of the corresponding period, reaching as high as 35 degrees. He was waiting dispassionately outside the long-distance bus station, wearing a short-sleeved top, cropped trousers and white trainers, disying those well-proportioned calves of his. To say a guy had nice calves might sound gay, but it was true¡ªthose calves looked perfect, from their muscle tone to the skin texture, and were full of an explosive power. [1] In other words, you¡¯ve got an excellent stallion over there. ¡°Hey, over here!¡± Ten minutes or so into his waiting and Gu Yu spotted that figure from afar. He couldn¡¯t help it, for her height made her stand out from the rest of the crowd. Walking among the mortals, Xiaozhai stood out like that Young Master Void lying on a doolie lifted by those four ¡°great beauties¡±, looking as indescribably weird as it was remarkable. [2] Xiaozhai walked near with her backpack. He looked up and down at her and asked in amazement, ¡°How did you get through the security check?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like they would frisk me,¡± she ridiculed him and turning her head slightly, she chuckled, ¡°Xiao Qing,e out and say hello.¡± [3] ¡°Hiss!¡± At her request, an emerald-colored snake head sprang out from behind her left shoulder, sticking out its two-pronged tongue like a show-off, then sank back immediately. The snake was rather long, but Gu Yu could not detect it by looking at Xiaozhai and had no idea where it had been hiding. However, due to his tendency to always focus on the less important aspects, Gu Yu¡¯s lips twitched involuntarily as hemented, ¡°Xiao Qing¡­ that¡¯s a convenient name.¡± ¡°Not really, it has another name, a proper one.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°Zhuye,¡± she put on a serious face. [TL/N: meaning ¡®bamboo leaves¡¯] ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was speechless. Zhuye Qing, a ¡°good¡± name indeed! [TL/N: it means ¡°green bamboo snake¡±, and is the name of the green snake¡¯s species] After exchanging some glib remarks, the two left the station and walked into a supermarket. As they would be dealing with unknown circumstancester and not sure when they could return, they had to go into the mountain fully prepared. Wheeling the cart, Gu Yu took things like bottled water, food, lighter, bandage, etc., from the shelves; Xiaozhai, on the other hand, gathered a whole bunch of stuff between her arms and dumped them into the cart in one go. They were salt, sugar, spicy sauce, a fruit knife, pic cloth¡­ add a tent and they could go camping on the mountain. He was almostpelled to tell her off, but fought back his words in the end. After all, youngdies should not be made to lose face in public. *** Afternoon, the sunlight was beating down vigorously. Phoenix Mountain had just reopened to tourists and there were only four or five buses on the rather deserted square at the foot of the mountain. The staff in the scenic area, though, was better-behaved than ever before. They provided thorough and satisfactory service and were quite enthusiastic¡ªevery effort was made to turn the situation around as soon as possible. ¡°Chirp!¡± ¡°Gurgle!¡± On an unrecorded path known to few travelers, the woods nking the trail werepletely still and dust speckled the dim light as it shone through the deep forest. Every now and then, chirrups of insects and the sound of a babbling stream would break the silence. The sun was blocked by the dense branches and under the dome of canopy, a mysterious little universe seemed to have been created in this forest. However, in this seemingly secluded area, a man and a woman were marching on rotten leaves; they were none other than Gu Yu and Jiang Xiaozhai. Having to avoid the others, they took a detour by walking along this deserted trail on the west side of the mountain. The green snake was slithering around them. It would be up in the trees one moment and chasing after insects the next. From time to time it would return to its master and hang around her arm. Having been confined to an urban dwelling for several days, it was as happy as a silly roe deer now that it was back in the mountain. After walking for some time, Xiaozhai, who seemed to find the surroundings rather uninteresting, asked, ¡°Hey, why aren¡¯t you calling for the squirrel?¡± ¡°It behaved strangelyst time and I think it might have known about that ce for a while by then, but did not want me to go there. I would rather steer clear of that squirrel for the time being.¡± ¡°What would you do if it tries to stop you?¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ll see about that¡­¡± Gu Yu was obviously worried about the same thing. Vexation crept up his face as he continued to lead the way. The winding trail stretched all the way deep onto the mountain. The first section was easy to walk, but about halfway through, the path turned steep with slippery ground. It was even getting harder to find a foothold. ¡°We don¡¯t have to rush. Be careful and don¡¯t trip. You¡­¡± Afraid that she might miss her footing and tumble down, Gu Yu turned around, trying to remind her. As it turned out, the road condition did not bother her to the least bit. Marching out with her long legs, she walked far off in a couple of strides. An idea struck him suddenly as he recalled that time when he was chasing after the snake. She could catch up with his speed even back then. He could not help but ask, ¡°Have you learned Kungfu before?¡± ¡°What?¡± Xiaozhai lifted her eyes and smiled, ¡°Not exactly. Just some small tricks to enhance my physical strength and carry out attacks.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± He was very curious. ¡°Such as¡­¡± The girl looked around and suddenly put the fingers of her right hand together, pointing into the bushes with a snapping sound. Ordinary people would not even be able to see her movements. Thanks to the acute senses of Gu Yu, he managed to follow it as she held her five slender fingers together resembling a bird¡¯s bill, which then pecked out at a tremendous speed, picking down a light-pink mountain flower. After that, she passed it casually, ¡°Here, it¡¯s for you!¡± ¡°¡­¡± With that, before our guy had time to recover from his wonderment, he was thrown back to his distressed state as he said in a vexed tone, ¡°This behavior of yours is really making me not know how to react.¡± ¡°Hehe, suit yourself.¡± Xiaozhai took back the flower and yed with it between her fingers. She exined briefly, ¡°This trick is called ¡®pping of Green Sparrow¡¯. It¡¯s nothing special, really, you just have to be fast. I¡¯ve been practicing it since I was little. As a result, my fingers are VERY FLEXIBLE!¡± Thest two words were made very inappropriate by the way she put it. ¡°Geez!¡± When a girl turned shameless, there was nothing one could do about her. Our guy found it impossible to retort and had to clear his throat and change the subject. ¡°Um, why does your sect sound like the Carefree Sect? You know everything and you are keen on good-looking people. I bet your master was handsome as well.¡± [4] ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Xiaozhai could not be bothered to evenment on his crude flirting lines and only answered by saying, ¡°The teachings I have been following are rather special. The founder of my sect was interested in a wide variety of things, and mastered them all. Having been passed down for many generations by now, the number of tricks in my sect is only gettingrger.¡± The two of them were talking more freely when they got together this time. She continued, ¡°ording to my master, there were twelve Taoist skills and twenty-four ordinary skills in my sect. Unfortunately, the Taoist ones were all lost and there are only five known ordinary skills now.¡± ¡°Which Taoist skill is the most powerful one, then?¡± He was extremely interested in this aspect. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai nced sideways at him and grinned, ¡°That would be the ¡®Dragon-snatching Internal Technique of Five Thunders¡¯.¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Gu Yu shuddered at the name. ¡®Damn it! Why does she get to have an awesome, grand, top-notch sort of name for her skill? Is it a fad now to have girl DPS and boy healers?¡¯ [5] As he was ranting silently in his head, Xiaozhai continued after a pause. ¡°By the way, there¡¯s something I want to talk to you about. I have been sorting out some manuscripts these days and found some very interesting stuff. We can look into them together after we get back.¡± ¡°No problem. I¡¯m quite free.¡± He did not give it much thought. The two of them chatted away as they walked and soon reached anding halfway up the mountain. Gu Yu made out the direction from there and they arrived at a small clearing an hourter, which was exactly where they caught the snake. ¡°It should be over there.¡± He pointed to the northeast and Xiaozhai followed his hand. From where they stood downward, far out into the distance, some trees were apparently much shorter than those around them. There appeared to be a valley. ¡°¡­¡± They exchanged a look and concentrated their minds. However, just as they stepped out towards there, a familiar voice rang out, ¡°Coo coo!¡± Gu Yu¡¯s face sank. Brother Fatty had indeed showed up, jumping down from a tree with a thump as itnded right in front of them, blocking their way. [1] ED/N: Good news, guys¡ªthis is a novel written by a woman, if you forgot. So, no yaoi/danmei or whatever it was called. I hope. [2] TL/N: Young Master Void and the four ¡°beauties¡± are referring to characters in a Chineseedy film called ¡°Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons¡±. ED/N: As for doolie, just google it in google images, you¡¯ll see a few pics of something you can carry someone on. [3] TL/N: ¡°the little green one¡± ED/N: Not sure if Chinese arezy about naming pets, or if it¡¯s some cultural thing, but you often see pets being named Little ck, Little White, Little Green, etc., in ReadNovelFulls. I remember seeing the same thing in God and Devil World or whatever it was called, or in the War Sovereign¡­ or whatever it was called :3 read too much to remember the exact titles. [4] TL/N: Thement on Xiaozhai¡¯s sect was referring to the description of the Carefree Sect (åÐÒ£ÅÉ) from Jin Yong¡¯s wuxia novel, ¡®Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils¡¯, or ¡°ÌìÁú°Ë²¿¡±. [5] ED/N: In the unlikely case someone is unfamiliar with those terms, DPS is iirc Damage Per Second and refers to members of the team in games whose task is to deal damage to enemies (usually without taking their enemy¡¯s hits), while healers are of course the support from behind the front lines, recovering theirrades¡¯ injuries. Chapter 60 Chapter 60: The Valley Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Generally speaking, those on the chubbier side tended to have amiable personalities and would not be offended even if their love handles got pinched. Being a fatty itself, the butterball squirrel had always had a mild temper and seldom showed any agitation. However, right now, the squirrel was squatting on the ground in front of them, its fur all puffed up and eyes widened with a hint of rage. ¡°Hiss!¡± The green snake, on the contrary, was happy to see the squirrel. It slithered near all bubbly and bright, its two-pronged tongue thrusting in and out in a mischievous manner. Brother Fatty threw a sideway nce at it. Realizing this fellow had been ¡°incorporated¡± by the two humans, it struck at the snake with its paw. ¡°Ssss!¡± Seeing thising, the green snake dodged by sliding sideways and continued acting smug and cocky. The squirrel paid no further attention to it, but stared at Gu Yu alone instead. ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡± Xiaozhai stood aside and instructed Gu Yu to solve the situation. Having no other choice, Gu Yu bent down and probed, ¡°Brother Fatty, could you let us pass?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bring you something yummy tomorrow.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I really need to go there. Could you stop messing around?¡± ¡°¡­¡± No matter what he said, the squirrel remained where it was, refusing to budge. Seeing that it was turning into an awkward stalemate, Gu Yu resolved to bow all the way down and beseeched wholeheartedly, ¡°Brother Fatty, it was thanks to you that I am who I am today. I know I should not put you into difficult situation like this, but this thing is so important that it might affect so many people and I must get it done. Please let us pass.¡± With that, he kept that bowing position and stayed as motionless as the squirrel. Neither of the two would give in and it seemed to take forever before the expression of the squirrel softened as a hint of resignation flickered through its eyes. Making a few squeaking sounds, it turned around and dashed up a tree. ¡°Brother Fatty!¡± He hurriedly called after it, but got no reply. Apparently, the squirrel was really upset. Gazing after the disappearing squirrel, Gu Yu turned back after some timeter and sighed, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°You are an interesting man,¡±mented Xiaozhai who had been observing the two on the side, the backpack now returning to her shoulders. ¡°Brother Fatty is my friend. It was a naughty little thing, but sensible at the same time. It must have its reasons to stop me and I could not just force my way through,¡± Gu Yu only found its behavior understandable. ¡°Well¡­¡± Xiaozhai curled her lip, not clear if it was out of approval or amusement. With the squirrel out of their way, the two quickened their pace and headed directly towards the valley. Gu Yu had never been to this part of the mountain before and found the vegetation here rather primitive-looking with no trace of man-made development. The perilous terrain could have put the patrolmen off when the mountain was closed down and those ckers might have skipped this area entirely. ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Rustle!¡± As always, Gu Yu led the way. He noticed that the branches were bing denser as they advanced and he could barely make out the ground halfway into the valley. However, a machete was not necessary for him who snapped and hacked with his hands, clearing out a path by sheer force. Walking for about half an hour, they both found the slope getting gentler and the altitude of the terrain much lower by now. Looking around, they noticed that, without knowing it, the tall trees surrounding them had been reced by shorter bushes, along with clusters of thorny undergrowth, which densely cluttered and covered the ground. The ckish color had given them a gloomy and eerie look. ¡°What is this ce?¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t many tall trees here. Why is it still so dark?¡± ¡°Buzz!¡± They had stopped to take in the surroundings when they heard a faint noise, which turned out to be from a few weird-looking ck insects, flying straight at Xiaozhai. ¡°Smack!¡± Seeing this, the green snake bending over her shoulders swung its tail and took out most of the insects with one swipe. Xiaozhai, on the other hand, struck out and drew back her right hand with lightning speed, pinching an insect between her fingertips. Apparently not finding the dead insect revolting at all, she looked closely at it and said in a surprised tone, ¡°Isn¡¯t this mosquito a bit too big?¡± ¡°It looks like some sort of mutation. I wonder how many of these are around here. Judging by the environment, they might even have changed their behavior¡­¡± Gu Yu moved closer andmented. However, before he could go into details, his face turned pale. Grabbing her hand, he started running. ¡°Run! Quickly!¡± ¡®What?¡¯ She waspletely at a loss, but knew him well enough to not take his action as a prank. As it turned out, her eyes widened the next second at what wasing. ¡°Buzz!¡± ¡°Hum!¡± Swarms of ck fog gushed out of the dark shadows, each consisting of hundreds of ck mosquitoes, all pping their wings and sticking out their mouthparts, sending out a putrid smell that made their stomachs turn. ¡°That was a very urate prophecy. Aren¡¯t you going to count them?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you still have time to tease me right now!¡± The two of them bickered as they scampered wildly at full speed. They were certain that whoever got caught up in that ck fog would be sucked dry in a matter of minutes. ¡°Buzz!¡± Seeing them running away, the pping of the mosquitoes quickened. It might have been a long time since these insects set their eyes on fresh meat and blood. Those thickly dottedpound eyes were now filled with extreme hunger and thirst, as well as a desire to devour. ¡°Woosh!¡± ¡°Titter!¡± The noise swooshed past their ears, half like a blowing wind, half like an eerie chuckle. They dared not turn around to look but ran as fast as they could while watching their footing at the same time, for the ground was covered with rotten leaves and vines which had turned into a mud-like substance. Their feet could sink into it if they were not careful enough. ¡°Over here! Over here!¡± Gu Yu did not panic in all this confusion, but was making out the direction in rtive calmness. However, as soon as he called out, Xiaozhai cautioned him suddenly, ¡°Watch your front!¡± He looked up involuntarily and cursed out at once. A small cloud of ck mosquitoes just happened to block their way. ¡°Go away!¡± Irritated, Gu Yu swiped his hand wildly, sending out a streak of spiritual essence which fluctuated and covered the entire space in front of them, leaving no gap. The ck mosquitoes all went rigid as though their brains had been frozen, then dropped to the ground in a shower of crackling sounds. He dared not take them lightly and used his chief ability straight away, which had exhausted his spiritual essence, causing him to stumble forward. ¡°Watch out!¡± Xiaozhai steadied him at once and, with a swift movement of her hand, she became the one leading the way. The two of them leveraged against each other like this for the rest of their journey and when they had lost count of the time, they finally broke out of the thorny woods after multiple narrow escapes. They dared not rx just yet but turned back to watch the path they hade out of, which had been covered by the thick woods. The mosquitoes had gathered together by now into a vast cloud of ck fog suspending in midair, which was moving restlessly in ce, not advancing but unwilling to let go of the fresh blood ten steps away. ¡°Phew¡­¡± Gu Yu let out a breath of relief and said, ¡°Luckily, their living habits have changed and they can¡¯te out of there easily.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t jinx it. What if you trigger a g? They might just fly out!¡± [1] Despite her teasing words, Xiaozhai examined Gu Yu carefully. Apart from streaks of bloody scratches on his arms, he appeared to be fine. She then asked, ¡°How are you feeling now? Can you walk?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. We can¡¯t rest here even if we need to.¡± With that, they resumed walking, neither mentioning the hand-holding incident just then. Such was how the free-spirited youngsters should behave¡ªthey always acted ording to circumstances. The entire journey seemed to have been split into three parts, the middle one being the perilous thorny woods, while the starting and ending parts gentler terrains. After another half an hour, they finally brushed aside thest curtain of branches and were weed by a dazzling light, as if the sun hade out in the end. ¡°What¡­¡± Both were baffled, for they had expected atrocious-looking swamps swarming with poisonous insects yet were instead presented with pleasant sceneries with pretty valleys and shallows. In front of them was an exquisite small valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides. Two streams crossed each other, forming a fish-shaped pattern and a small alluvial area was created between them, on which grew an exceptionally verdant tree. ¡°Let¡¯s check it out.¡± Xiaozhai was about to move near, but seeing Gu Yu remained frozen on the spot, she could not help asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°The density of the spiritual essence here¡­¡± He took another deep breath and confirmed, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the densest I¡¯ve ever encountered.¡± ¡°Be more specific.¡± ¡°If the density in Shengtian is a zero, Wudao River would have been a one and Phoenix Mountain a two¡­¡± Gu Yu¡¯s face brightened up as he went on, somewhat feverishly, ¡°¡­Then this ce has a five, more than double that on the mountain!¡± [1] ED/N: g was in English in the raws. Yep, it¡¯s a Japanese concept (or at least it often appears in stuff like anime and manga). For those unfamiliar with it, g is something like a new possibility, and you saying or doing something may trigger it. There was even one anime about a guy who could see them, Kanojo no g o oraretara (iirc) or something like that, though I barely remember anything about it. The mostmon examples would be a love g (like, one person says or does something and another falls for them) and a death g (like someone is going into a dangerous situation and says what they will do after theye back alive, and those words jinx it and they die). Chapter 61 Chapter 61: The Old Tree Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Two essential factors when cultivating were resources and one¡¯s natural endowments. Spiritual essence was considered a type of resource¡ªthe most fundamental one, for that matter. If this ce was as essence-abundant as Gu Yu depicted, practicing cultivation here would be much more efficient than in the outside world. This discovery excited him because it was relevant to the essence-consumption cultivating method he adopted. However, Xiaozhai appeared to be as excited as he was, despite hercking any Taoist skills. She smiled, ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± ¡°I do have reasons for my reaction, but why are you so happy about it?¡± He found her expression strange. ¡°Difference brings changes, which are what makes this world wonderful.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu could not draw his eyes away from her. Other people in her ce might be upset, envious, or even dispirited to the point of faltering, but not her. She simply stood there, expressing herself in the most frank manner. This ce was rather secluded and not even a hint of breeze could be detected. Low vegetation scattered the perimeter, giving the valley a peaceful yet peculiar feeling, much like a motionlessndscape painting. Nothing seemed out of the ce but that old tree, which was way too conspicuous. ¡°¡­¡± The two exchanged a look, then approached it tentatively. Feeling the soft soil beneath their feet, they reached the streams without running into a single living creature. The two streams were around four meters in width each and were amazingly clear. The water originated from somewhere afar and separated into two streams here, which flowed around the alluvial shoal, merged back into one, then ran into the distance. The only water body in the one-hundred-kilometer area was the Grass River and the two here should be its tributaries. Gu Yu looked around and snapped a short twig, which he stuck into the water; his entire arm went in along with it. Withdrawing the twig, he gave his estimate, ¡°The water¡¯s just over one meter deep.¡± The long-legged duo had no problem wading across the stream. If it were a kitschy kind of script, by now the girl should roll up her trousers, revealing those bare, smooth legs, sshing water everywhere and drenching her clothes. What Xiaozhai did, though, was lifting her hand and tossing her backpack over the stream. Following that, she made a small step forward and her slender figure leapt up like a human-sized bird andnded on the other side effortlessly, as though she was treading on air. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu curled his lips and followed suit, jumping across the water without any difficulty. Speaking of jump, the world record of standing long jump is 3.476 m, and 8.95 m for normal long jump. These two were no athletes, but that was not something we should be concerned with here. Enough was to say that they had amazing physical strength. After arriving on the other side, they started to examine the old tree closely. The tree had an exceptionally thick trunk, so thick that five people would have to spread out their arms to wrap around it. Numerous branches and twigs stuck out from the tree, with wide leaves growing from them. The one tree alone had created such a sizable shade. What was the most special about it, though, was the obvious vitality it exhibited. ¡°Hey, look at that!¡± Gu Yu¡¯s eyes fixed upon a spot and he lifted his hand to point at it. Following his finger, Xiaozhai looked up and saw two green, round fruits, apparently quite heavy. They hung down from a branch, jiggling in the air. Xiaozhai blurted out, ¡°Is that what you ate?¡± ¡°They are of the simr shape. I suppose so.¡± He gave them a few looks and chuckled, ¡°So, the fruit Brother Fatty gave me must havee from here. Xiao Qing must have also eaten them to be as spiritual as it is now. Haha, they are taking this ce as and of their own.¡± ¡°In that case, Brother Fatty was stopping you to protect its food?¡± Feeling the rough bark, Xiaozhai wandered slowly to the other side of the tree. ¡°Maybe. It could be afraid that we would pick too many¡­ hey, that¡¯s not the reason!¡± He stopped in mid-sentence involuntarily and shook his head. ¡°Brother Fatty is no Scrooge and it definitely did not try to stop us for that. Could it be that it knew the danger of this ce and was worried about us?¡± He could not figure it out just yet and was mumbling to himself when Xiaozhai called out suddenly, ¡°Come here! Quickly!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Gu Yu walked around to the other side and was immediately taken aback by the sight. Scattered behind the old tree were piles upon piles of bones¡ªapparently, they have been there for quite a long time, for it would take rather long for the soft tissue to dposepletely. ¡°These are¡­¡± He prodded them with his foot and said in an uncertain tone, ¡°This seems to be a bird and that one a rabbit.¡± ¡°There are also snakes, rats, hedgehogs, even a frog¡­ oh, this one is the most impressive¡ªan owl.¡± Tossing out a skull carelessly, Xiaozhai picked around in the pile of bones with the manner of an experienced doctor. ¡°You¡¯ve got every small animal of this mountain here.¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ That was a weird and creepy way to put it, but she was not aware of the peculiarity of her wording and added, ¡°They have probably fought against one another for the red fruit.¡± ¡°Very likely, but there¡¯s another possibility,¡± Gu Yu also crouched down and sighed. ¡°Those who won have eaten the red fruit. Unable to withstand the energy it contained, they also died in vain.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Both fell silent at this. Countless lives were wasted here judging from the size of the bone heap. They did not understand how the red fruit worked and had no idea what immortality was. Following their instincts alone, they sprang to take the ce of the killed ones and lost their lives here, one after another. People outside the mountain lived their lives in numbness and animals on the mountain fought their fierce yet tragic fights. To the long cultivating journey, this was only the beginning. ¡°Hiss!¡± Probably affected by the oppressive atmosphere, even Xiao Qing stuck out its head to recall its kins, taking the opportunity to peek at the unripe fruit. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Flicking it on the head, Xiaozhai sighed with a grin, ¡°You lucky one!¡± Gu Yu also smiled in approval. Undeniably, this old tree was where the spiritual essence was the most concentrated. Brother Fatty and Xiao Qing were freeloaders who had eaten the fruits, and with sheer luck, survived the backfiring of the energy, hence obtaining their spirituality. To show its gratitude, Brother Fatty gave Gu Yu one as a gift. Of course, other mysteries remained unsolved. Why on earth was the spiritual essence here exceptionally dense while it was thin in the outside world? The two of them were utterly puzzled. After taking another few rounds, they found nothing else out of the ordinary and had to give up. Before knowing it, they had spent half a day outside since their departure and it was already four o¡¯clock. Days were long in summertime and the sunlight had yet to fade. After all the tossing about, they both felt hungry. Xiaozhai opened her backpack, taking out various stuff, ready to start a fire and cook. Gu Yu, on the other hand, hesitated and said, ¡°You know, I have to recover, or the journey back will be very hard.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright. I¡¯m an excellent cook.¡± Xiaozhai knew what he was getting at. Those frantic ck mosquitoes were such a handful that he would have to use his Taoist skill again. The girl got herself to work right away. She snapped down some twigs and picked some stones, then made a cooking stove out of them. After that, she took out two stainless steel lunchboxes, pouring water into one of them and adding in a handful of fine dried noodles. Heating up the other one, she peeled open the oil seasoning bag and smeared a thinyer of oil inside the lunchbox. She then added in some sauce and other vorings, and sprinkled in some fine sugar. After all the ingredients were fully mixed together, a sticky paste was ready. With these preparations done, Xiaozhai dug into her backpack and produced a cucumber, which she held in her left hand. With the fruit knife in her right hand, she was demonstrating her previous im. She was indeed telling the truth¡ªher fingers were VERY FLEXIBLE! With the de flying up and down, the cucumber was turned into thin slices, which swirled into the lunchbox. As she was making the make-shift noodles with soybean paste, her eyes lingered on Gu Yu not far out, who was sitting cross-legged by the river with a countenance as still as water. His usual hidden enthusiasm and joker-ish manner were nowhere to be seen, reced by an out-of-this-world atmosphere lingering about him. Gu Yu did not try to hide anything from Xiaozhai. He breathed out and a long streak of white tide tumbled out onto the stream, which maintained its shape and form above the water without scattering. He then breathed in and the white silk of substance was back into his stomach. As he repeated this process, a light mist seemed to suffuse the air above the cool water, as if enshrouding it with an immortal essence. ¡°¡­¡± This is the first time he ever cultivated in front of another person, and the first time she ever saw real Taoist practice. They were each attending to their own business without disturbing the other person, yet were at the same time well aware of each other. The light and the color of thisndscape fused harmoniously together under the pale blue sky. Those two people were bing a part of this picturesque scene. Chapter 62 Chapter 62: The Importance of a Companion Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Cultivating in this valley gave Gu Yu a sensation he had never felt anywhere else. Not only was his Qi circting more smoothly, his exhausted spiritual essence was recovering at a noticeable speed. This ce with over a double density surely was a blessed spot¡ªat least a knock-off one. The effect was evident. Numerous small animals had lost their heads as they fought for the fruit alone, until the only thing left of them was a pile of bones. Had human cultivators learned about this ce, imagine what turmoil they would set off. ¡°¡­¡± He sat by the stream for a period neither too long nor too short before opening up his eyes. Snuffling, he blurted out, ¡°Do I smell soybean paste noodles?¡± ¡°Here, you¡¯re right on time for it.¡± Xiaozhai had spread the pic cloth on the ground. Handing him a lunchbox, she asked, ¡°Already recovered?¡± ¡°Yep, faster than I expected.¡± Looking into the lunchbox, he saw plump noodles wrapped in a sauce which was of perfect thickness. He grinned, ¡°Never thought I¡¯d be able to eat soybean paste noodles here.¡± ¡°Never ill-treat your stomach unless you can¡¯t help it.¡± Picking up a stick of noodle with a small fork, Xiaozhai tried it andmented in a less than satisfied tone, ¡°This paste is a bit dry. I¡¯ll choose another brand next time.¡± Her words made Gu Yu think that the noodles did not taste so good. However, two bites into the noodles and he was amazed. ¡°This is really good. You¡¯re too harsh on your food.¡± ¡°Hey, I like the way you put it. I¡¯ll give you a thumbs up for that.¡± ¡°Of course, every word from the bottom of my heart.¡± He meant it; Xiaozhai had nailed the noodles. Especially by pairing them with the cucumber, the cool and refreshing taste was mixed into the warmth of the noodles and the watery tenderness enveloped the softness. The texture was almost velvety smooth in the mouth. The two bickered on as they ate their meal, turning the asion into a pic. What was more, with the uniquendscape here, they almost felt as if they had entered an idylld secluded from the outside world¡­ or would have felt that way if not for a pile of bones on the ground not far from them. Xiaozhai was not a big eater and set the lunchbox aside after eating half the noodles. She asked unexpectedly, ¡°By the way, what were you practicing just now?¡± ¡°The method of consuming natural essences.¡± ¡°The method of consuming natural essences?¡± She was visibly moved by the name. Gu Yu found her reaction strange and asked, ¡°You¡¯ve heard of that name before?¡± ¡°Yes, it was included in my research¡­ what was the thing you did to those mosquitoes, then?¡± She had asked about it before when they were catching the snake and this was the second time she brought it up. He was no longer concealing it and replied honestly, ¡°It was a conjuring skill called ¡®Boundless¡¯.¡± ¡°Conjuring skill? Haha, I thought it was an immobilizing one,¡± Xiaozhaiughed in spite of herself, looking somewhat amused. ¡°Come on, did it seem that cheap?¡± Gu Yu was embarrassed. He could not me her though, for each time he performed it, the influenced party acted as if they werepletely muddled, which did remind the onlookers of an immobilizing trick. He ran the words over in his head and tried to exin, ¡°This skill would use one¡¯s emotions as the inducer to drag one into an illusion, hence the stunned look on their faces. I¡¯m not experienced enough to perform it for long and can only maintain the vision for a couple of breaths¡¯ time.¡± ¡°Could one die from it?¡± ¡°Well, the description of this skill was way too brief to make it clear and I haven¡¯t tried to kill with it either,¡± he replied with resignation. ¡°You talked about using one¡¯s emotions. Are you saying that you can control them?¡± Xiaozhai asked another question. ¡°It¡¯s not quite controlling them, but I can direct them¡­¡± Gu Yu finished the noodles and put down the lunchbox. ¡°To put it inly, I can nt a seed in your mind, releasing certain emotion of yours. It could be happiness, sorrow, horror or surprise.¡± ¡°Awesome!¡± Hearing that, the girl¡¯s eyes were flickered with excitement. ¡°Try it on me!¡± ¡°No way! That¡¯s too dangerous!¡± Gu Yu was taken aback and refused her right away. ¡°What¡¯s so dangerous about that? Aren¡¯t you supposed to guide me?¡± ¡°The answer¡¯s still no. What if something goes wrong?¡± ¡°Stop worrying about the ¡®what-ifs¡¯. You should think ¡®what if we made it¡¯.¡± The debate went on for a while and he failed to talk her out of it. In the end, he resolved to saying, ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll give it a go. I¡¯ll withdraw the illusion at once if anything does not seem right.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Xiaozhai moved to another spot, crossed her long legs and sat down, keeping her back ramrod straight. ¡°Ready¡­¡± Still secretly vexed, Gu Yu bent the fingers of his left hand, then flipped out. A wave of fluctuation enveloped Xiaozhai instantaneously. The girl watched his movements. As soon as his fingers flicked, she sensed that her consciousness was intruded by a magical energy, which then led her thoughts and logic towards certain direction that she found reasonable under the influence. [1] That was as far as she could sense for herself, then everything became a blur all of a sudden. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu kept his eyes fixed on her, extremely anxious. The girl¡¯s countenance was calm and smooth like water without a single trace of delight, which surprised him very much, for the seed he nted should produce happiness and joy and she should only see happy things in the vision. Why couldn¡¯t he detect anything from her? As all sorts of spection went through his head, Xiaozhai came to herself as her eyes refocused. ¡°How was it?¡± He asked immediately. ¡°How long was I in there?¡± She replied with a question. ¡°Usually I could maintain the illusion for as long as six breaths, but it only took you three to wake up. Just as I suspected, the way this skill works depends on the state of the influenced party. The more powerful their minds are, the shorter the illusion willst.¡± ¡°Yes, that sounds reasonable.¡± She nodded and added, ¡°This skill almost activated instantaneously with no warm-up time. I could feel my mind being interfered with, which should work as a suggestion, convincing people that what they see in the illusion are real. I experienced something and met some people in there. Then all of a sudden, I found them ridiculous. As soon as that thought came to me, I was out of it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± A light suddenly shed in Gu Yu¡¯s mind, as if the clouds were brushed aside, revealing the moon behind them. [2] Of the four cultivation factors, namely money,panion, method, and location, money was ranked first andpanion second¡ªit was not limited to couples, but also included other rtionships such as teachers, friends, family members and students. Why had he not been able to fully understand the conjuring skill after obtaining it for such a long time? He had no cultivationpanion! The person he needed had to be trustworthy, sharemon understandings with him, have a mind strong enough to withstand the illusion and the ability to depict it precisely afterwards¡­ in other words, Xiaozhai was pretty much the only one that fitted all the requirements. With her description, Gu Yu grasped the power of the Boundless immediately¡ªit did noty in the ability to create illusions, but the fact that it could insert a sense of false reality into one¡¯s head, making people confuse it with the real world. It also helped him to answer the question: if one died in the illusion, what would happen? The answer was, their minds would be eliminated as a result! Even if they survived in reality, they would remain in a vegetative state. In this case, the rating he gave to the power of this skill was raised significantly right away. When his spiritual essence was abundant enough, he could take lives as easily as flipping his hand. That time when He and Li were thrown into the illusion with the snakes, they were not killed even after seeing themselves mangled, which was exactly a demonstration of Gu Yu¡¯scking power¡ªhe could not push them hard enough into believing that ¡°I am dead¡±. From here, could he assume that the truly powerful cultivators were strong enough to manipte the illusion to the extent that they could y the mortal world in the palm of their hands? ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Realizing that, Gu Yu stood up at once and bowed to Xiaozhai. ¡°Thank you so much!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it!¡± Chuckling, Xiaozhai sat where she was and epted his gratitude with no intention to decline it. He then straightened up and after some hesitation, asked again. ¡°Well, what did you see in there?¡± ¡°¡­¡± As soon as his words came out, the smile on her face faded as she shook her head, ¡°It was nothing.¡± ¡°¡­¡± They had been getting along so well, but it turned into pure awkwardness because Gu Yu could not keep his curiosity at bay. Their conversation was much sparser after that. Seeing that it was gettingte, they packed their bags and got ready to go back. As the saying went, one should not trek the mountains after dark. They should get themselves to somewhere safe before the sun setpletely. With the experience of their journey in, the two of them wasted no time when they entered the thorny woods and started running wildly right away. Those ck mosquitoes recognized the two cocky passers-by from a while ago and were immediately agitated, starting a maddening pursuit after them. However, the two came prepared. Knowing the way they were going by now, they jumped and hopped in the dark woods like two human-sized birds. Within no time, they were more than halfway through the forest. In the end, Gu Yu did not even have to use his illusion trick and they made it through the perilousnd with the help of their physical strength alone. [1] ED/N: It¡¯s pretty unclear about this logic, but it was certainly in the raws (it wasn¡¯t even a Chinese word, but a loanword, and the pinyin luoji suggests it may be one taken from English (loanwords from EN to CN are always pretty strange, like dishi = ¡®taxi¡¯). I surmise that it means that MC has the power to make her find something illogical logical (so for example, while washing your hands before a meal is logical, he could influence you to think that it is washing your hands DURING the meal that is logical instead). [2] ED/N: Long story short, it¡¯s a poetic way to say that he suddenly understood something he was unable to understand for a long time. Chapter 63 Chapter 63: Investigation (Part One) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Whizz!¡± ¡°Whee whoo¡­¡± Before the darknesspletely set in, the empty mountain already felt still and deserted, without signs of any humans. The fluttering, tired birds were returning home at thiste hour, their wings making a rustling sound¡ªthe only noise one could hear around here. However, on a wild path, a whistling sound suddenly rang out in series. The sounds came out piercing and clear, which were sent far out before they died away in the dense foliage. Silence then returned to the woods. Putting down his fingers, Gu Yu sighed, ¡°I think Brother Fatty¡¯s really angry. It won¡¯t answer me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll send Xiao Qing to get round it,¡± chuckled Xiaozhai. ¡°Get round it? Are you sure Xiao Qing is not there to pick a fight?¡± The idea was giving him a headache. ¡°Trust me, fighting also works well to ease the tension.¡± With that, the girl flipped her arm and the green snake, which slipped to the ground like running water, watched its master with a puzzled expression. ¡°You¡¯ve been shut in at my ce for quite some time. I¡¯ll give you one day off ande to pick you up tomorrow.¡± ¡°Ssss!¡± The green snake turned into a happy puppy at her words, spinning around her at her feet, all bubbly and bright. After Xiaozhai nodded in consent, the snake turned around and slithered into the bushes, reeling and swaggering. Gu Yu had always found themunication between the two amazing. He could not help but ask, ¡°How can it understand your words?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t, but it can grasp the meaning. The snake-controlling skill of mine requires very spiritual snakes, or they would be useless toys even if I take them in,¡± Xiaozhai continued her slow descent down the mountain while giving Gu Yu exnations. ¡°My master used to have a white snake for thirty years. When my master passed away, the snake was still well and healthy, but it dived into a campfire and killed itself.¡± ¡°Its loyalty is worthy of respect,¡± Gu Yu sighed. Something else then dawned on him. ¡°Oh, by the way, where was the vige you used to live in?¡± ¡°It was called Songjiang River, by Changbai Mountains.¡± ¡°Changbai Mountains?¡± He was mildly surprised, for he had expected it to be somewhere around Shengtian, but it turned out to be in the neighboring province. He then asked, ¡°So, you were your master¡¯s only pupil?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Picking a leaf and ying with it between her fingers, Xiaozhai said, ¡°My master was rather young back then and was living alone, apanied by no one but the white snake. I stayed with my master for seven years before going back to Shengtian. After that, we would only meet a couple of times each year. When I got into high school, I became even busier and only managed to see my master at the deathbed. It felt wretched.¡± ¡°Yea, that sounds so lonely, living without a wife and children.¡± ¡°Wife and children?¡± Xiaozhai turned back and nced at him with a grin. ¡°I never said my master was a man.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡®Oh my!¡¯ Our guy was utterly embarrassed. He decided to keep his mouth shut and walk in silence from now on. After the two exited the thorny woods and walked halfway down the mountain, they were in safe zone from there onwards. The unrecorded path they were walking on was the one Gu Yu used when he climbed the mountain with his merchandise back then, and he knew it like the back of his hand. Therefore, they were in no hurry at all and took their time strolling down the mountain. When they finally reached the mountain foot, the sky was only slightly dimmer than when they left the valley. The surrounding area was as deserted as always. No dwellings other than the small courtyard of the old widower stood across the road. The two of them walked down the bumpy dirt road, their backpacks on the shoulders and their arms and legs covered in scratches. The quietness here was even more palpable than on the mountain as it hadpletely concealed the downtown mor and not a hint of the bustling of the city not far away could be detect here. The light faded as they walked on. Looking up, Gu Yu saw an inky blue sky looming overhead like a boundless dome. The bright moon hanging above was the only source of light. He blurted out, ¡°Hey, do you think there are immortals up there?¡± ¡°Only rocks and pits made by rocks,¡± Xiaozhai also raised her head. ¡°Then what are we doing here?¡± He was less certain of himself now. History had been proceeding for thousands of years and with the advanced modern technology, all those great legends were debunked by the Apollo program alone. ¡°We?¡± Without the least hesitation, Xiaozhai smiled, ¡°We are making history, obviously!¡± *** After getting down, they found a clinic to have their wounds treated. Luckily, the thorns were not poisonous and they were fine after applying some medicine liquid to the scratches. Gu Yu did not book any hotel room beforehand, for he was not sure when they would finish the job. They walked into a hotel now and asked for a standard room. Neither of the two was hungry, so they went upstairs to their room right away. He waited in the hallway while Xiaozhai entered first to change her clothes. She changed into a white T-shirt, loose cks and a pair of slippers. Despite her remarkable height, long, straight legs and smooth skin, Xiaozhai never wore anything that would expose her legs¡¯ shape ¡ªlet alone those skin-tight leggings, she didn¡¯t even wear stockings. Having met her a few times by now, Gu Yu had never seen her wearing anything shorter than knee-length. Now that the two were sitting on a sofa, the threatening-yet-harmless day was finally behind them. Returning to the normal world, both were able to rx down. After a brief chitchat, Xiaozhai grabbed her backpack and dug out the files, ¡°Take a look at these and we¡¯ll talk.¡± ¡°What are these?¡± Taking over the files, the red mark caught his eyes first. He asked, ¡°Are these historical times?¡± ¡°Em, I¡¯ve divided them into four stages based on the historical period.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± He nodded and started reading carefully by themp. Judging by the historical period of the first manuscript, the material should be recorded down over 2200 years ago. Reading the first sentence, Gu Yu felt his heart racing. ¡°From what I have heard, immortal men who could unify themselves with heaven and earth and grasp the meaning of Yin and Yang existed in the ancient times. By regting the cirction of essence and Qi through their breathing, controlling their minds so as to dispel all distracting thoughts, they could coordinate all muscles into a harmonious state. As a result, they could achieve longevity and live as long as the world itself, without an end. This is the way their Dao was established¡­¡±[1] Gu Yu raised his head involuntarily and looked towards Xiaozhai. The girl was sipping water from a white porcin cup, acting as if Gu Yu was not even in the room. He fought back the urge to ask her and resumed to his reading. *** What Xiaozhai had been sorting out was the development of the system of Taoist practices throughout history. When the Taoist schools were mentioned nowadays, Quanzhen and Zhengyi were the two sectsing to mind the most. Quanzhen focused on the practice of Neidan while Zhengyi on talismans. It might seem that those were the only two choices. However, that was not the case. In the period before Tang Dynasty, little was mentioned on the practice of Neidan. Concerning Qin Dynasty, Xiaozhai had separated out the first stage of Taoist practices and named it the ¡°ancient period¡±, which in turn consisted of two parts, namely, the pre- and post-Spring and Autumn period. In the pre-Spring and Autumn period, the concept of the ¡°immortal world¡± did not exist and there was only the ¡°human world¡±. The heaven, the earth and the humans each acted ording to their own naturalw. The heaven and earth were created for the sake of human beings, who would adopt the Great Dao themselves. The humans could cultivate towards four types of beings: the Perfected Men, the Supremes, the Deities and the Saints. The Perfected Men were those who had risen above the tripartite division of the universe. They could exist for eternity and witness the creation and destruction of worlds. They were known as Heavenly Immortals to theter generations. The Supremes could live for as long as the heaven and earth allow them. They would achieve longevity and good health. To theter ages, they were known as Earthly Immortals. The Deities possessed remarkable physical and spiritual forms. They could not avoid death, but would not meet their end for as long as thousands of years. They were known as Immortals. The Saints could utilize spiritual essence, with which they could nourish their body and live as long as the human body permitted. They were called Human Immortals. Another type of special beings, who could escape death by cultivating their primordial spirits, existed as well. They could materialize in broad daylight and use other substances to form their physical bodies. They were of the same standard as the Earthly Immortals in terms of their cultivation level, but did not have the physical strength of thetter. To theter generations, they were known as Ghostly Immortals. After the Spring and Autumn period, the concept of the immortal world became popr and the belief in following thew of the human world waned. The previous methods were partially lost and partially passed down anonymously among themon folk, and then picked up by the Taoistmunity. With some mix-and-match, a series of Taoist cultivating methods were created, such as the Immortal Swordsman method, the Nether Immortal method, the method of refining Qi through a focused mind, etc. During this period, the aim of cultivation still mainly emphasized on achieving longevity of the physical body and keeping both one¡¯s body and one¡¯s mind in excellent shape. Few records existed of this period and Xiaozhai had loaded the pages with references and her own spections. However, she pointed out one thing in particr, which was the so-called concept of ¡°greatness lies in simplicity¡±. The methods the ancient cultivators adopted were extremely simple and did not contain the unnecessary bits and bobs. The second period started from over 1700 years ago, which was named the ¡°Ancient Immortals¡± period. The Taoist methods had declined further and the chief cultivating approaches were pigu and consumption of essences. ording to a certain Taoist scripture, ¡°Grass eaters are good at walking but foolish; meat eaters are strong but ferocious; grain eaters are intelligent but have shorter lifespan; those consuming essences evade death and be Immortals.¡± [2] ording to the description from another record, ¡°This man who keeps a jujube seed in his mouth can go on without eating for as long as five to ten years. He could also remain living without breathing or moving for as long as a hundred days to half a year, appearing to be no different from a corpse.¡± To put it inly, he consumed the spiritual essence between heaven and earth instead of actual food. These methods were less powerful and contained more trivial details than they did in the ancient times; they were nheless still orthodox approaches. Following these methods, cultivators could live up to several hundred years with youthful appearances and seldom aged. The master cultivators could turn into immortals, elevating themselves and flying away, sometimes even bringing their pets away with them. Simrly, it was also during this period that the Waidan practices started to crop up. [3] The Waidan practice was the alchemy technique. The scripture ¡°Divine Pills of the Great Pure Golden Liquid¡± contained three volumes, which emphasized that only through consuming the golden pills could one mimic thew of the heaven and achieve longevity. Such argument was in stark contrast to the cultivation system of thew of the human world. What was stranger, though, was that inte Han Dynasty, a fellow called Wei Boyang wrote a book named ¡°The Kinship of the Three, in ordance with the Book of Changes¡±, which systematically expounded on the theories of Neidan and Waidan. Furthermore, he had also denounced any Taoist method other than the Neidan practice as heretical, dering them ¡°revolting and missing the pivotal point¡±, which deemed them heterodox tricks that would never lead to longevity. 1] ED/N: Have you ever wondered why it¡¯s sometimes Dao and sometimes Tao, everyone? Actually, they¡¯re the same thing. There are two versions because it¡¯s not quite ¡°D¡± the Chinese pronounce saying it, or should I say, it¡¯s ¡°D¡± pronounced in a way the English would pronounce ¡°T¡±, by which I mean that it¡¯s aspirated and quieter (not quite sure if it¡¯s voiceless). And, despite the pronunciation, pinyin says D and not T. So, there¡¯s a war going on among the academics, one side saying it¡¯s Dao, another saying it¡¯s Tao. In the end, it¡¯s just personal preference, and while Daoist and Taoist are both used just as often, Tao is rarer than Dao so I thought it¡¯d look more natural, at least to the ¡°senior¡± readers. [2] ED/N: Some may already know it, but pigu refers to fasting. In most novels, once cultivators level up enough, they can survive for weeks or months without eating. The author hints at something else, that is fasting in order to cultivate (there sometimes appears the motif of immortals or cultivators being unable to eat earthly food lest it contaminates their bodies with impurities, it¡¯s likely that or simr). [3] ED/N: As opposed to neidan (internal practice), waidan refers to external practice. If I got it right, then neidan is simply cultivating like in most novels, and waidan is cultivating by consuming alchemical pills only, without absorbing any other energy. There may be more differences, though, plus the author mayter reveal her own view on that instead of whatever I can find on wikipedia, so this concludes my exnation. Chapter 64 Chapter 64: Investigation (Part Two) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Dan¡± means ¡°single¡±. [1] The concept of ¡°one¡± was very important in the Taoism. One meant ¡°single¡±, which was in turn equivalent to Dan. This connection demonstrated the process of evolution and branding throughout the Taoist history. Therefore, the so-called ¡°Dan-bearing¡± in Taoist jargon was referring to a state when the Qi inside one¡¯s body was mellow and plenty enough to dispel the pathogenic energy, prolonging one¡¯s life. Another example would be the term ¡°Yuan Ying¡±[2], which was referring to the recovery of one¡¯s original simplicity; by condensing one¡¯s vital essence inside one¡¯s body, one could create another self in pure-energy form, as primordial as a baby. However, as time passed, these concepts were misinterpreted byter generations. Dan-bearing was tranted into the production of a tangible ball resembling a ss marble, while Yuan Ying became a bouncing and vivacious little man. Bullshit. Let¡¯s talk about ¡°The Kinship of the Three, in ordance with the Book of Changes¡± by Wei Boyang again. He proposed to practice both Neidan and Waidan. By using the human body as a cauldron, one could nourish Qi inside one¡¯s body. Combined with consuming Jindan [TL/N: ¡°golden elixir¡±] as an external source, one could achieve immortality. This argument contradicted the mainstream theories at the time, therefore when the book came out, it did not attract much attention from his contemporaries. Simrly, also in Han Dynasty, the Taoism started to shift from a philosophical school towards a religious or more superstitious one. Sects like the Way of the Celestial Masters and other less organized ones were formed, among which were the sect Xiaozhai belonged to¨Cthe Ancient Immortal Sect. The third period came around a thousand years ago and was named the ¡°Transformation¡± period. The period several centuries after Han Dynasty saw the most prosperous years of the cultivationmunity. By Wei-Jin period, Waidan and essence-consuming methods had be the mainstream practices, while Neidan practice turned underground, passing down secretly among themon folks. Cultivators of this period were divided into three grades. ording to the ¡°Immortal Scripture¡±, ¡°The first-rate cultivators can lift themselves into the sky and are called Heavenly Immortals; the second-rate ones travel freely among famous mountains and are called Earthly Immortals; the third-rate ones would be rid of their bodies only after physical death and are called Corpse-shedding Immortals.¡± The so-called Corpse-shedding Immortal referred to the phenomenon when one left the mortal world leaving their body behind, or when the body disappeared but left behind some object as a recement. ording to the records, ¡°Some man in the capital was released from his physical form. When his coffin was opened several days after his death, only a walking stick was found lying in it.¡± This depicted one of the corpse-shedding methods, which was carried out through a walking stick. It went without saying that ascension into heaven by corpse-shedding was considered a third-ss technique and was gradually abandoned as a result. After that came the Sui and Tang Dynasties, when a great line-up of cultivators such as Zhong Liquan, L¨¹ Dongbin, Chen Tuan and Zhang Guo started to look into the practice of Neidan, supplementing and perfecting the method. The inheritance of Waidan and essence-consuming practices suddenly fell out of favor while Neidan practice prevailed in the society again, to such an extent that it seemed almost ready to rece every other kind of Taoist skill. ¡°The Kinship of the Three, in ordance with the Book of Changes¡± was worshipped as the foundation of all Dan scriptures and numerous sects began to prosper during this time period. The fourth stage started over five hundred years ago and was named ¡°Near-ancient¡± period. By then, Neidan practice had unified the Taoistmunity, to which the chief conflict was represented by thepetition among various sects and schools. The Quanzhen School was founded in the north, where Qiu Chuji was teaching the Taoist theories in the Yuan Dynasty of Mongolia, who had been granted the power to take charge of the Taoistmunity in China. While this was happening in the north, in order to counteract the rise of Quanzhen, the Way of Celestial Masters of Longhu Mountain, Shangqing School of Mao Mountain and Lingbao School of Gezao Mountainbined into a single sect, namely the Zhengyi School [TL/N: the Way of Orthodox Unity], acknowledging Celestial Master Zhang [TL/N: Zhang Daoling] as the sect leader. As a result, the arrangement of Quanzhen ruling the north and Zhengyi leading the south was formed. However, the Southern Sect founded by Zhang Boduan was also incorporated into Quanzhenter, providing thetter with an unparalleled publicity at the time. The Neidan practice method during this period had been thoroughly perfected and refined, which had resulted in two sets of theories, namely the ¡°Yang spirit¡± and the ¡°transforming the essence into Qi and Qi into spirit through cultivation, so that the spirit could return to its virtual state¡±, both of which had been much bragged about throughout history. However, it marked thest bit of glory of the Taoism. From then on, only Priest Sanfeng [TL/N: Zhang Sanfeng] stood out as a sh in the pan and the religion itself had fallenpletely into decay. *** The Taoist system could be generalized as follows. The Ancient period was characterized by the emphasis on longevity of the physical body, which had slightly fallen out of favor in the Ancient Immortals period, but the cultivators still paid a lot of attention to enhancing their physical bodies. The Neidan practice did not exist in these two periods. When the Transformation period arrived, the concept of Neidan was on the rise. Quanzhen School had basically denied the possibility of achieving immortality in a physical form. Despite the im of refining both physical and spiritual forms, cultivators of this time were preferring one form over the other, failing to treat them equally in cultivation. ording to the Neidan practitioners, the ultimate score one could achieve was the release of the Yang Spirit, which was to escape from one¡¯s physical body and ascend to heaven in the form of one¡¯s spirit alone, obtaining longevity. Despite the long life one could achieve through this method, it was not an orthodox practice, for without a physical body, one would have abandoned the opportunity of ever approaching the Great Dao. It would be even harder for them to push their cultivation level further and reach the heavenly immortal state. Moreover, the concept of Yang Spirit was hardly a convincing one. Apart from sporadic deeds of Zhang Boduan, little records exist on the matter. The Neidan advocates had probably realized this as well, and as a result, any cultivator passed away who had lived long enough was deemed to have ascended to heaven and be an immortal. It was their spirit that had flied up into heaven anyway. Since it was invisible to any onlookers, there was no way to prove or disprove it. To summarize, the Taoist cultivation system had shifted from the human world to the immortal one, and from consuming essences and Waidan to Neidan practice and releasing Yang Spirit, which was only bing a shabbier and shoddier path. *** ¡°Phew¡­¡± Finally having read all the files, Gu Yu involuntarily let out a long breath. Looking up, he saw Xiaozhai lean on her chair, bathed in a softmplight. The darkness had set inpletely outside the window. In a split second, he almost forgot where he was. ¡°Have some water.¡± Xiaozhai had prepared some drinking water for him in advance. Pushing the ss gently towards him, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a moment to let it sink in.¡± ¡°En.¡± Taking up the ss, he sipped some first, then tilted his head back and drained itpletely. He couldn¡¯t help it. Right now, various world views were swimming in his head and he could no longer tell true from false. Everything felt unreal. He had talked to old Priest Mo some time ago, when thetter had a lot to say on the subject. Being a disciple of the Southern Sect, Priest Mo naturally took his own sect¡¯s side. ording to him, the Southern Sect was unparalleled and Zhang Boduan the grandest Taoist founder of his times. The methods of Yang Spirit and Coordination between Physical and Spiritual Life were the most orthodox approaches there existed in the whole wide world. However, from the filespiled by Xiaozhai, he could detect an implicit disdain towards Neidan practitioners. Take Yang Spirit as an example. Come to think of it, wasn¡¯t it simply a variation of the Corpse-shedding Immortals? It should be rated even lower than the Corpse-shedding approach, actually. After all, thetter could take their bodies with them and leave behind an object as a recement. The Yang Spirit practitioners, on the other hand, had to dump their bodies in the physical world. As scarce as his spective knowledge already was, he was in an utter state of confusion due to the impact of reading through the files. He did not manage toe up with a question until quite some timeter. ¡°This stuff you havee up with, are you sure about its uracy?¡± ¡°Those are 40% textual research and 60% spection of my own.¡± She answered frankly, then added, ¡°There are a few things that I am quite certain of, though. First, numerous cultivators indeed existed in ancient times. Second, Wei Boyang did not write his ¡®The Kinship of the Three, in ordance with the Book of Changes¡¯ out of the blue. Something must have changed.¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± Gu Yu¡¯s face brightened up and he followed Xiaozhai¡¯s train of thought. ¡°I found it very strange when I was reading just then. The essence-consuming method was in vogue at the time and there were frequent records on people ascending to heaven. The skill itself did not appear to be problematic and the authorities showed no intention to obstruct it in any way. There was no reason for him to research into Neidan practice, which was far more inferior to essence-consuming.¡± ¡°It has really puzzled me as well. But ever since I met you, I was able toe up with a few guesses.¡± Looking at Gu Yu, Xiaozhai asked all of a sudden, ¡°Did you say that you could consume natural essences?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°In that case, can you tell if the spiritual essence has been there since the ancient times, or did it just appear out of the blue?¡± ¡®What?¡¯ The question took Gu Yu by surprise, but he immediately saw what she was getting at. Startled, he said, ¡°Are you saying¡­¡± ¡°Yes! In the Ancient period, cultivating skills were of a minimalist style and with unmatched power. However, they were extremely picky when it came to the cultivation environment. All revolutions and reformations inter generations were carried out to lower that standard. Therefore, I think Wei Boyang realized that the spiritual essence was waning as time passed. If they continued to follow the legacy of ancient skills, when the spiritual essence in this world was used up, it would be the end of the entire cultivationmunity.¡± Xiaozhai paused, then continued her exnation. ¡°Later practices such as Waidan and Corpse-shedding were all in one way or another exploring methods to get rid of one¡¯s physical body. In the end, Neidan practice managed to unify them all. Maybe it was indeed able to open a new path, but you have to realize that only the theories were recorded in the Taoist world, for the cultivating methods themselves were passed on orally from one generation to another. Taoist sects were engaging in fierce conflicts at the time, both externally and internally. Quanzhen School alone had dozens of branches and every sect was scrambling for fame and fortune. A lot of sect leaders themselves were inadequate in cultivation, but still instructing disciples. One could imagine what oue this would bring about. In the several centuries after Priest Sanfeng, not a single figure worth remembering arose from the Taoistmunity. In my opinion, this was partly due to the loss of Taoist skills and partly because of the drying up of the spiritual essence. Modern times have seen enough chaos caused by various wars and the Taoistmunity has gone into seclusion to find some peace and quiet. It was not until ny years ago when the modern state began to take shape and the Taoist association was established that various sects reemerged.¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Gu Yu could not help but interject at this point. ¡°I am practicing the essence-consuming method now. So, it might indicate that the spiritual essence in this world is recovering?¡± ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Blinking, Xiaozhai did not answer him straight away, but chuckled instead. ¡°Do you know what we are doing here now?¡± [1] TL/N: The Chinese characters µ¤ and µ¥ have the same pronunciation, hence the equivalence between the two. On their own, µ¤ means ¡°pill¡± and µ¥ ¡°single¡± in the context here, but as any other Chinese characters, they do have other meanings. ED/N: Long story short, µ¤ normally refers to pills but the author emphasizes it¡¯s another meaning she is talking about. [2] TL/N: Literally ¡°primary infant¡±. Chapter 65 Chapter 65: His Own ssification Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu If what Xiaozhai deduced was correct, then countless predecessors had been searching up and down since the Ancient Immortals period, struggling to find a way out for theter cultivators so that the cultivationmunity would have a chance of survival. Unfortunately, in spite of all the efforts they put in, Heaven¡¯s mandate and the general trend of world events were factors too powerful for them to fight against. Taoist practices had declined to such an extent that cultivators had to go through the acquired state to return to the innate one and were dependent on the aid of external forces, but as soon as the spiritual essence dried up, nothing could save them from extinction. To theter generations, all the magnificence and historical vicissitude might fill their hearts with emotions, but that was as far as they would be affected. To them, those ancient events might as well have taken ce in another universe; so what if such spectacr people used to walk the earth? Therefore, the recovery of the spiritual essence would be the most practical concern. Had the deduction been true, they would have something to look forward to in the near future. The sweet-talking of old Priest Mo had made Gu Yu assume that the essence-consuming method could be traced to the Southern Sect. Now that he came to think of it¡­ holy crap! He was cultivating with a method originating from none other than the Ancient Immortals period! Xiaozhai¡¯s question just now reminded him immediately of her words, ¡°We are making history, obviously!¡± The im sounded childish and smug when he first heard it , but now¡­ ¡®Ha!¡¯ He felt as though a little me had burst to life in the deepest corner of his heart. Burning as feebly as it might seem, it radiated with all the determination he could muster. Turning his eyes towards Xiaozhai, he was looking at her from an entirely different perspective now. She was his teacher as much as she was a friend. Gu Yu remained quiet for some time and stood up all of a sudden, bearing a very solemn countenance. ¡°What are you doing?¡± The girl was startled by his behavior. ¡°I¡¯ll cut to the chase. I¡¯ve got nothing to thank you with apart from the essence-consuming method. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡­¡± ¡°Stop right there!¡± Xiaozhai waved him off with aughter. ¡°I have my own inherited methods to follow. Are you trying to get me to betray my sect by learning yours?¡± ¡°But that ¡®Dragon-snatching Internal Technique of Five Thunders¡¯ has been long lost. You cannot guarantee that it will turn up any time soon and you may miss the opportunity of ever getting into the cultivation world,¡± he tried his best to persuade her. ¡°A heart of Dao is one of the most important things for a cultivator. Taking an easy way out will definitely shake my foundation and something will go wrong sooner orter.¡± ¡°My suggestion is not a shortcut. Fate has thrown the method on myp and I¡¯m giving it to you as a gift now, which makes it a lucky coincidence for you.¡± ¡°Tsk, that¡¯s pure sophistry!¡± Of the two fellows here, one wholeheartedly wanted the best for the other, while thetter was acting the most obstinately. After going back and forth with this seesaw struggle for a while, Xiaozhai lost her patience and had to conclude the debate by saying, ¡°Hear me out here. I¡¯m traveling to the south some timeter. Since you¡¯re so eager to express your gratitude, how abouting together with me?¡± ¡°No problem, any time.¡± He nodded right away, then asked, ¡°Why are you going there?¡± ¡°I was going through Taoist scriptures recently and ording to them, the thunder techniques originated from Northern Song Dynasty, created by Wang Wenqing, the first patriarch of Shenxiao Sect. Wang crossed arge river and was wading through wild marshes when he ran into a person of extraordinary talents who taught Wang ¡®The Technique of Paying Respect to the Emperor with Flying Memorials and the Book of Commanding Winds and Thunders with Whistles¡¯.¡± [ED/N: Yep, a title this long.] Xiaozhai sipped at her water and went on. ¡°However, Shenxiao Sect had a deputy sect leader called Lin Lingsu, who was also recorded in the scriptures. It was said that when he was traveling along the western Luo River, he met a Taoist priest who had be Lin¡¯s fellow traveller for the next couple of years. One day, the priest passed away; in the sack he left behind, there were three books called ¡®Jade Books of Five Thunders¡¯.¡± ¡°¡®Jade Books of Five Thunders¡¯? Did they have anything to do with the ¡®Dragon-snatching Internal Technique of Five Thunders¡¯?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure that they are rted. All I know is that Taoist skills of a particr sect are usually passed down in a consistent manner. Even if improvements are made throughout history, the principle should remain the same. For a situation like in Shenxiao where the sect leader and his deputy obtained their individual thunder techniques and started off with two separate systems¡­ it was simply too strange. ording to my master, my sect originated from the early Tang Dynasty and the Taoist skills were lost during the Song era, which was about the same time as when Shenxiao obtained theirs. Therefore, I want to go there and have a look. The sect of Shenxiao has declined severely, though. They do not even have a sect altar now. We would have some hard time locating it.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Hearing that, Gu Yu smiled. ¡°I was thinking of going out somewhere myself and have not been able to make some time. Now it just seems the right opportunity.¡± The two of them decided on the time of departure right away. As soon as the winter came and the snow started falling, they would set off to the south. They talked deep into the night, supplied by an endless stream of topics. The spection on the recovery of spiritual essence could not be confirmed just yet. After all, they had only seen it at Phoenix Mountain. After some discussion, they agreed that they would pay more attention to news around the country, especially those involving unexpected incidents of animals attacking humans, hoping to learn a thing or two through them. Gu Yu did not leave until well past 11:00 p.m. Back to the lobby, the service on night shift watched him sympathetically. Those checked in to get intimate would have finished what they were here to do and left a long time ago; those who were here to spend the night should be enjoying the post-coitus rxation in their rooms now. For someone to turn up downstairs at this hour, there was only one exnation: they had ran out of condoms! *** The small courtyard, a bright moon overhead. The weather still felt a bit hot and the bedroom windows were left open to let the cool night breeze in. Insect-repelling incense was burning inside the room. Blue smoke coiled up in the air, then fanned out and faded into the air outside. Lying in bed, Gu Yu was wide awake as he gazed at the moon, lost in thought. After lying sleepless for a while, he thought he might as well get up. Switching on themp, he went to the west wing and took out his study notes, then sat down at the desk with a pen in hand. As incredible as the impact this night had brought him, a few new ideas also came into his head. With the fading of the Taoist skills, the inheritance of all sects was on the decline, which was a most grievous trend. On the other hand, spiritual essence might reemerge in the mortal world, promising prosperity. With such a sharp contrast, it did not take a genius to recognize the looming storm. He himself, nheless, had taken a great stride forward long before any of the phenomena mentioned above took ce. A lot of things felt ambiguous to him previously. However, after their conversation, many of his doubts were rified. The essence-consuming method, for instance¡ªhe had always thought it a very basic stuff and was expecting to go through Base-building, Golden Elixir, Yang Spirit, etc., as his cultivation level advanced¡­ he couldn¡¯t help it¡ªthe side-effect of too much daydreaming. As it turned out, those were all theories of Neidan practice, the ¡°transforming the essence into Qi and Qi into spirit¡± stuff included, which were all nonsense in the eyes of cultivators of Ancient and Ancient Immortals periods, as thetter would use one skill throughout the entire time, directly achieving the Great Dao. Therefore, simple as the essence-consuming method might seem to be, the implications it held were extremely profound. Gu Yucked the basic knowledge and understood little of systematic theories. However, now that he was the only person in the whole wide world who knew something about the essence-consuming method, nothing would be a problem for him: ¡®I am the system. What I say is the theory!¡¯ Under themp light, in a quiet room. Gu Yu was scribbling rapidly with his pen, already producing a voluminous page with an impressive title ¡°A Discussion on Consuming Six Essences and the ssification of Levels¡±. Based on Xiaozhai¡¯s manuscripts and his own experience, he also managed toe up with a set of theories. First of all was the ssification of the cultivation levels in general, which he did not change and kept at five levels, namely Heaven, Earth, Deity, Human and Ghost. The Heavenly Immortals established themselves for eternity, witnessing the establishment and destruction of the whole universe. The Earthly Immortals were as resplendent as the sun and the moon. They were not concerned with anything and their magical power and remarkable ability could shake heaven and earth. The Immortals were remarkable in both physical and spiritual forms. They could live for hundreds, or even thousands of years. The Human Immortals could nourish their appearance and health, which enabled them to live as long as the human body allowed. The limit of their lifespan, ording to Gu Yu¡¯s spection, was somewhere around two to three hundred years. The Ghostly Immortals had no tangible bodies and could notunch physical attacks; neither could they raise their cultivation level. After that came the cultivation process and secondary levels of Human Immortals. The first step was as recorded in the fishbone, which was the awakening of the spirit. However, he added a few lines of exnation: before the actual awakening took ce, one had to stabilize and nourish their Qi and blood, as well as learn to calm one¡¯s mind through meditation. After that, when the vital essence was vigorous enough, infuse a streak of spiritual essence into one¡¯s body to open up the innate abstruse. Once this procedure was sessfully performed, Qi was obtained. After obtaining Qi, the second step was to temper one¡¯s body and spirit. With the swallow-and-spit method, one had to strengthen their blood, flesh, muscle and vessel little by little, tempering their mental faculties at the same time; it had to carry on until the entire body became a great abstruse which could produce the innate Qi, by which time only could one¡¯s body be considered a thoroughly innate one. The third step was to reach the perfection of the innate body, namely the Taoist body of a Human Immortal. Gu Yu had not yet achieved the level of an innate body, which meant that when his spiritual essence ran out, he had to supplement it from an external source. Once he reached the innate level, his spiritual essence would recover by itself as he moved around. The essence-consuming method emphasized on the coordination between physical and spiritual forms, both of which were meticulous processes in themselves. Cultivation of the physical aspect was rtively easy. Cultivation of mental faculties, on the other hand, was an extremely time-consuming process. He could barely draw on his mental power right now, let alone turn his vision inwards or use that power to inflict physical injury on others. The rtionship between Qi and spirit was, well,parable to the one between the government and the Partymittee. Take operating a magical instrument as an example. The amount of Qi would determine how long one could operate while the spirit would determine the manner of one¡¯s attack. After sorting out those, Gu Yu came up with five shoddy secondary levels based on his cultivation and deduction. Enlightenment of the mind (introducing Qi into the body); Refinement of the form (tempering the physical body; opening up extra-meridians and apertures); Concentration of the spirit (using mental force externally; using it to control objects tounch attacks); Spiritualization of the body (full-version innate body); Human Immortal. Chapter 66 Chapter 66: A Shopping Trip Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The stuff Gu Yu hammered out might not be appropriate and could even be faulty, yet didn¡¯t all systems and ideologies start from something crude then got improved and perfected over time so that the systems could get established and ideologies passed on? The above-mentioned were only the secondary levels of the Human Immortals. The Deity, Earth and Heaven ones were yet toe! In reconstructing the essence-consuming method in a period when Taoist skills were in terminal decline, Gu Yu tried his best to keep his exnation coherent with little ambiguity, and made sure the choice of words was close to modern terminology. To some extent, he was leaving his own mark in the long history. Despite a sleepless night, our fellow remained full of spirit and energy on the following day and ran out for his cultivating exercise early in the morning. Before long, Xiaozhai also showed up on the mountain by herself. They wandered around for a bit, then picked up Xiao Qing and went back together. Xiaozhai boarded the bus back to Shengtian at noon, leaving her manuscripts behind for Gu Yu. Gu Yu put the files away, taking them rather seriously. He had been rereading them every single night, each time discovering some new detail (or gossip, if you prefer) read between the lines, especially the implicit strifes among various sects, which were as good as the juicy conflicts in an emperor¡¯s court. Take the sect of Shenxiao mentioned by Xiaozhai as an example. The sect was founded in Northern Song Dynasty, which was in fact a branch of the School of Zhengyi. Of the two leaders, Wang Wenqing had a good reputation, and Lin Lingsu did not. Lin was a rare specimen of a priest who interfered with the politics. Taking advantage of the trust and fondness the emperor showed him, he discriminated against those who held different views, colluded with treacherous court officials, and indulged himself in hedonistic activities, all of which only exacerbated the political corruption. Later, overtaken by his arrogance, he challenged the crown prince in a direct confrontation, which eventually enraged the emperor and Lin was dismissed from office. As notorious as Lin Lingsu was, under his influence, Shenxiao was able to rise into a despotic force of the time. However, it declined almost as quickly as it came to power. Nowadays, only a few disciples of the sect could be found¡ªif any at all. *** After Xiaozhai left, Gu Yu resumed his previous pace of life. Cultivating. Eating. Threading his incense. ording to his ssification, he was merely a cultivator of the Refinement-of-form level¡ªlong way to go before achieving the Human Immortal state. He was now getting up before dawn and went up straight to the ck boulder at the mountain top, taking in the first streak of purple energy emanated by the sun. After that, he would cross the thorny woods and continue his cultivation under the old tree, where he would consume the midday sunbeam at noon and the cliff-side sprint at sunset. The old tree was too far off on the mountain¡¯s depths, so he decided to take food with him and spent his entire day out there, doing nothing but sitting in meditation. By the time he returned home, night would already set in and he had to start making incense sticks. Such repetitive routine would drive any other people crazy in a couple of days, but Gu Yu knew better than that. There was no shortcut in practicing the essence-consuming method. Of course, he realized that rxation and adjustment were also necessary and would give himself a day off every now and then. He would use that time to go out and do some shopping. Before he realized, mid-August time hade and the summer heat was gradually fading. The city remained much the same as before with everyone dreaming their daydreams. Grass River ran nonchntly across Bai Town, cutting it into two halves. The old districty in the west and the new one where a new housing project waspleted this year on the east side. It was opening for sale this day in a shower of crackles and splutters from the firecrackers. Outside its gate a stage had been set up with a host and singers from the countryside performing one after another,plemented with boisterous lucky draws and promotion activities. [1] ¡°Baby, baby, baby oooh. Like baby, baby, baby oooh. I thought you¡¯d always be mine¡­¡± [2] Gu Yu stood away from the crowd and watched the performance earnestly for a while, finding it rather amusing. A young woman with a wild hairstyle¡ªwhich looked as though it was burnt crisp by the heat¡ªhad blue veins bulging on her neck, yet miraculously, she still managed to put on an enthusiastic smiling face. It was remarkable. After the song was finished, he turned swiftly away and left the spot. Along the road to his left, the high street was only a short distance away. It was around six- to seven-hundred-meter long and was nked by all the shops one needed on its both sides. In the middle section was an impressive small square, where thergest department store in Bai Town could be found. [3] He entered the department store. Instead of going upstairs, he walked into a cafe on the first floor. He ordered an ice-cream and searched randomly for a seat. [4] Two tables were put side by side with four chairs around, one of them already been taken by two girls. He sat down by the other one. Ritualistic formalities ruled the modern society. For instance, one must not attend to their food until the picture was posted on instagram. Gu Yu was not a rule-breaker. He took a photo and sent it to Xiaozhai. It was after a few minutes when his phone dinged. Pecking at his ice-cream with a little scoop, he clicked the message open without paying much attention. ¡®Poof!¡¯ The ice-cream almost spurted out of his nose. What she sent him was a high-definition, uncensored, full-frontal picture of a fellow. Half of his body was badly mangled into an indiscernible bloody mush scattered with white bone residues and pieces of yellow fat tissue. ¡°Where did this happen?¡± He was feeling a headache. ¡°Jiangzhou, the Master Ridge. Gnawed by a wild boar, or so they said.¡± ¡°Now why on earth would a wild boar do that?¡± ¡°It came down from the mountain to mess with the crops. A group of people encircled and chased after it, then the wild boar got angry and went crazy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nothing unusual. Why did you send it to me?¡± ¡°To disgust you, obviously!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Fine, he raised his arms in surrender. ncing at his strawberry sundae subconsciously, the red, squashy, sticky sauce¡­¡®Retch!¡¯ While he was having a miserable moment, the two girls at the other table were having an exciting time. Even since he sat down, those two did not stop texting each other. Nowadays, male beauty consumption was far more prominent than the female counterpart. Bolder girls would askplete strangers for group photos if they were a handsome male. [5] These two were obviously of the subtle type. After exchanging a few more messages, the one sitting opposite of Gu Yu held out her phone sneakily and pretended to take a selfie. Tilting her phone to a side, she was actually aiming at Gu Yu instead. She found the right angle and adjusted the focus and tone of color. That profile of his was perfection itself! The girl was chuckling inside. Clicking the shutter, she could not wait to see the photo. Damn! The guy just happened to shake his head at that moment and turned the photo into a blur. The other girl moved near and tried to help. Well, the next photo could almost qualify for a horror film. ¡°¡­¡± Pursing his lips mischievously, Gu Yu stood up and left the cafe swiftly. *** His main task today was to find an outfit and a pair of sturdy shoes; both were for the uing long journey to the south. The male clothes were on the fifth floor. Taking the esctor, he nced at the sign when he got to the fourth floor, which said ¡°Recreation & Entertainment, Pool Table, Video Games, Gym, Taekwondo¡±. An idea suddenly dawned on Gu Yu. He paused, then turned towards the Taekwondo gym. As soon as he walked in, the girl at the reception weed him with a smile. ¡°Hello, sir. Membership card, please.¡± ¡°This is my first time here. May I look around?¡± ¡°Well, in that case, please take this temporary card and return it in an hour. We are holding a teaching ss today, right in there. You can have a look.¡± ¡°Ok, thank you.¡± Taking the green card, he walked inside immediately. The gym was quite spacious, with an eye-catching boxing ring. It was also equipped with a practice area, a changing room, and a shower room. In the practice area, several members in Taekwondo jackets were teaching a bunch of little kids. He moved closer quietly and stood at thest row, listening carefully. Do remember that Gu Yu still had a long way to go before he could use his mental force externally and he would have to depend on his conjuring skill until then. Once his spiritual essence was exhausted and he could note up with a vision, he would have no choice but fight hand-to-hand. He was in excellent shape in terms of his physical strength, but he had never tried learning martial arts before and knew very little about specific moves and exerting his power. Having nothing better to do at the moment, our fellow walked in all d and diligent in the hope of learning a thing or two. [1] TL/N In case anyone is wondering, the Ïç´å¸èÊÖ here are not singers of country music (as in, the genre), but are referring to singers of a rustic, dowdy or even cheesy styled pop songs. Remember the ¡°agricultural heavy metal¡± from previous chapters? [2] TL/N: I thought using this song of JB¡¯s might help in grasping the vibe of this ¡°countrified¡± music. The song quoted in the raw is called ¡°°®ÇéÂòÂô¡±(Buying and Selling Love) and the lyrics roughly say ¡°You were the one to break up with me first, but are not trying to coax my back by saying I¡¯m your true love. Love is not something you can buy and sell like that¡­¡± It used to be (maybe still is) a song very popr in the pubs and bars in small tourist towns. [3] ED/N: I thought that due to singing JB¡¯s song, the performer turned into a man and ran away¡­ in case anyone else had a simr impression, let me rify: it was not JB¡­ I mean, it was not the performer who left, but MC. The performer stayed where she was. [4] ED/N: To all of you BrE speakers out there, not the British first floor (American 2nd), but the ground floor. Dunno why, but Americans and Brits count floors in a different way¡­ [5] ED/N: As in, handsome guys would be in greater danger of being hit on by the opposite sexpared to beautiful girls. LoL. Chapter 67 Chapter 67: Frills Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°We talked about the front kick a couple of days ago and you¡¯ve learned it really well. Today I¡¯m going to teach you another basic use of legs in Taekwondo, the turning kick. I¡¯ll demonstrate first. Watch carefully¡­¡± ¡°Remember two key points when doing a turning kick. First, lift your knee, and second, turn you hip; it¡¯s so that the impact is made with your instep. Now, let¡¯s do it step by step¡­ thrust against the ground with your right foot, shift your stance to the left, then bend your right knee and heave it upwards¡­ grind against the ground with your left foot and make an inward turn; turn your hip, yes! Now kick out your right leg!¡± It was weekend and the gym was filled with students, mostly teenagers. Two tutors were leading the group, one man and one woman. The man would demonstrate first, followed by the woman, then they would repeat the moves again together. The reaction of the teenagers was somewhat hrious. The older kids were rather serious; the younger ones, however, were rolling around on the floor, enjoying themselves; the tutors paid little attention to the ckers. Watching the group for a while, Gu Yu found what they were teaching rather shy, with little substance. He was going to slip away quietly when one of the tutor said, ¡°Next, we¡¯ll invite a student toe up here and have a brief pair exercise with me¡­ any volunteers¡­ oh, that gentleman over there, are you new here? Do you wanna have a go?¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ He hesitated for a second or two. Finding the suggestion harmless, he replied, ¡°Well, ok.¡± With that, he walked to the front and the female tutor put a protective gear around his arms. Sheforted him, ¡°You can block the strike with your armster. Don¡¯t worry, we know when to stop.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s just to give you a feel of it. We might have a new student if it interests you,¡± grinned the male tutor. Gu Yu was simply going along with it. He lifted his arms as instructed, as if he was really putting his mind into it. ¡°Here we go!¡± Shouting, the male tutor struck out at Gu Yu with a turning kick, his move precise and swift. Judging from his posture, the strike looked rather vigorous, which was approaching, approaching¡­ and poof! ¡°¡­¡± To be honest, Gu Yu was utterly embarrassed¡ªhe might as well be bitten by a buzzing mosquito. He was hesitating whether or not to stumble back or make a few shudders when the fellow asked, ¡°How did that go? I was holding my strength back.¡± ¡°Oh, it was great!¡± Heplimented it despite his actual feelings. ¡°That¡¯s how you would kick in a match, faster than the previous demonstration. Have you all seen it clearly?¡± That fellow asked the bunch of kids. ¡°No, it was too fast!¡± ¡°Wow, our tutor is awesome!¡± The guy was very pleased with the feedback and turned to Gu Yu again, ¡°Here, you try it!¡± Before Gu Yu could decline, the tutor had ced himself on guard. Seeing that, Gu Yu took off his protective gear and tried hand it over, but got waved off. ¡°That¡¯s ok. Bring it on.¡± ¡°Then get ready.¡± Gu Yu moved a few steps back. Putting his left foot behind and right foot in front, he went over the instructions he heard just then. Cultivation could clear one¡¯s mind and improve intelligence. To put it inly, it gifted one with an eidetic memory, enabled one to draw inferences about other cases from a single fact, and gave one a clearer head. He might act foolishly next to Xiaozhai, but was a fairly dependable guy under other circumstances. He shifted his stance, lifted his right knee, turned his left foot 180 degrees inwards and turned his hip in the same direction as well¡­ a perfect replication of the tutor¡¯s demonstration. Leveling his right foot with the floor, he straightened the back of his foot. ¡°Good, very good. You¡¯ve remembered all the moves and are using it very¡­¡± ¡°Smack!¡± ¡°Woosh!¡± The faint, crisp, crackling sound came first; immediately after that was the swoosh that ripped through the air. The guy choked on his words, feeling the hair standing up on his back. Instinct told him to dodge, yet he was consciously aware of the fact that there was no way he could evade this. ¡°Watch out!¡± The kids had no idea what was going on, but the female tutor was scared out of her wits. She shouted with a broken voice. However, that guy was frozen on the spot as he watched a blurry shadow smashing at his face. He closed his eyes involuntarily, ¡®I¡¯m finished!¡¯ ¡°Woosh!¡± He was sure he was going to have his head cracked open, but the swooshing sound stopped abruptly in front of him. All he felt was a stirring of his hair and a cooling sensation on his face. After that, a chilliness crept up from his spine, rising all the way to the back of his head like an exploding firecracker. If he was appalled to start with, by now he was truly terrified. ¡°¡­¡± Opening his eyes a few secondster, he saw the man standing peacefully in front of him, as if nothing had happened. ¡°Thanks for the instruction. I won¡¯t keep you any longer. Bye bye!¡± Returning the protective gear to the female tutor, Gu Yu politely bid them farewell. ¡°Bye¡­ bye bye¡­¡± The two astonished tutors waved their goodbye in a flurry and watched Gu Yu walk out of the gym. *** As a matter of fact, Gu Yu was a bit disappointed. He had heard that Taekwondo was nothing but frills and today¡¯s experience had proved that im to be true. It seemed they did not pay much attention to the application of power, physical strength, or the control of muscles, but only emphasized on kicking as high and as showily as possible. Well, it might not be a bad exercise for female students, for at least it could tone the muscles around the waist and legs. Bai Town was too small. There was only one shabby school of physical training in the town with no martial art schools or gyms at all. He needed to take a look in Shengtian. He resumed going upstairs as heined inwardly, venting his disappointment silently. He searched around in the men¡¯s clothes and the outdoor section in turn, and atst purchased an outfit at a medium price range, a pair of sturdy shoes and a multi-purpose waterproof backpack. Those three items alone cost him almost ten thousand yuan in total. [ED/N: Roughly 1,500 USD] He was not solely buying them for theing journey, though, for he expected he would be nning a lot of outings. *** Evening, in the small courtyard. An aroma of food was spilling out from the kitchen, the source of which was a pot over the stove. Inside it was a long bean stewed with a pancake, a traditional dish of northeast China. Basically, long beans, potatoes and spareribs were stewed together in a pot, with arge round in-flour pancake covering all ingredients underneath. [1] The pancake would be cooked by the rising steam and soaked with the broth of the stew in the process, making it incredibly chewy. ording to Gu Yu¡¯s deduction, by the time one achieved a spiritual body, one¡¯s desire for food would be significantly reduced. If one managed to reach the Human Immortal state, they would no longer require food to sustain their vitality. Therefore, foodies should not even consider cultivation, for the absence of desire for food would kill them! Right now, Gu Yu was sitting by hisptop, looking up recent news reports. ¡°In a safari park in the capital city, passengers of a small vehicle opened their car window by mistake and were surrounded by multiple ck bears with their paws sticking into the vehicle. Thanks to the management crew who showed up on time, an ident was avoided.¡± [2] ¡°In a zoo in the city of Yongshang, a man climbed over the park wall in an attempt at ticket evasion andnded inside a tiger enclosure. He provoked the tigers and was mauled to death.¡± ¡°A viger from Willow Town was bitten by a snake. Thanks to the timely rescue¡­¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Combing through all reports that looked promising, none of them turned out to be relevant. He did not save any of them. ording to the spection of the two, the so-called recovery spots of the spiritual essence should all be found in ces near mountains and rivers, which were most likely to be tourist areas easy to find. Between him and Xiaozhai, a dozen of news reports had been collected, which could either be what they were looking for, or simply false rms. They were connected to each other by one characteristic, namely animals going crazy all of a sudden and causing casualties. After reading through the news, Gu Yu realized the stew should be ready by now and went into the kitchen to turn off the heat. The pancake was lifted out of the pot first and the rest of the content was poured out in one go. Oh my, the air was filled with the aroma rising out of the steaming stew. The spareribs were so nicely cooked that they almost seemed glittering and translucent. After setting the table, he grabbed his phone, thinking of calling the Fang family over for dinner. However, before he dialed their number, his phone rang first. ¡°Hey, Bro!¡± Out came the voice of Lei Ziming, as resonant as always. ¡°What are you up to? Eaten yet?¡± ¡°Just about to.¡± ¡°Well, our shooting club is holding an event tomorrow. Come around if you have time. We haven¡¯t met again after seeing you off the other day. Your great wits have short memories. The gold card I¡¯ve given you is going to waste!¡± Lei Ziming reminded him half-jokingly. ¡®Right!¡¯ Gu Yu blinked. He had indeed forgotten all about it. [1] ED/N: At first I thought the person tossed a pancake into the stew, and I was like wtf¡­ then I sighed with relief at the next paragraph which didn¡¯t sound like it, but was ruthlessly face-pped by theter part of the chapter where it¡¯s obvious the pancake was in fact tossed into the stew. Just google pancake stew or pancake soup and you¡¯ll see some examples of how it may look like. TL/N: Well, it¡¯s not really a ¡°pancake soup¡±. Basically, the pancake works as a ¡°lid¡±, a bit like the puff pastry over a soup. For to who are interested, here is the link of a photo of what the stew looks like http://h2.bytravel/shop/head1/24908.gif [2] ED/N: Safari park is a kind of zoo where animals live inrge enclosures and you can drive your car inside to observe them from nearby. Chapter 68 Chapter 68: The Shooting Range Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The shooting club was set up by Lei Ziming and some friends. It just so happened that a buddy of his had a military background. The club might seem to be a private business, but it was actually state-owned. With a series of lobbying, they sessfully opened a shooting club with real ammunition. The so-called event was in fact a get-together of a group of friends who were gathering there to try out firearms. Gu Yu agreed to attend right away, for he was curious about the power of bullets and the potential injury they could inflict upon him. Ever since the snake-catching incident and his long talk with Xiaozhai, he had been eager to develop new means of attack as well as broaden his knowledge on various subjects. It was through sheer luck that he was able to make a move before the great tide struck down. However, for a world as wide as the one he was in, countless talented people had to be out there. He was not that arrogant to assume that he had be an unparalleled being. Instead, he had always been vignt and remained diligent. The next day, he set out for the shooting club without telling Xiaozhai about it. Shengtian, the long-distance bus station. As soon as Gu Yu walked out of the exit, he noticed an incredibly conspicuous SUV parked across the road with Lei Ziming who was smoking with a bored look behind the wheel. Seeing Gu Yu, he called out immediately, ¡°Bro!¡± ¡°Sorry for the inconvenience. You didn¡¯t have toe all this way,¡± he walked to the car, greeting Lei Ziming. ¡°No problem at all! Get in!¡± Forthright as always, Lei Ziming invited him into the SUV and asked as he started the vehicle, ¡°So, how¡¯s everything? What have you been up totely?¡± ¡°Nothing really. Make incense, sleep, just pissing my time away.¡± ¡°Ha! The way you put it! I envy that lifestyle of yours; not bound by any fixed upation and with a good attitude towards everything¡ªunlike us. We are hustling and bustling all the time. As impressive as we might look, one slip of the foot and we are in the ditches.¡± ¡°Well, the life of others always seems better. At a closer look, you¡¯ll still find yours is the best.¡± ¡°Not exactly. If he is given the chance to exchange his for mine, I guarantee you he won¡¯t hesitate for a single second.¡± Lei Ziming lifted his chin, pointing at a ¡°master magician¡± who was ying the role of a beggar with broken legs. ¡°You¡¯ve got a point,¡± Gu Yu broke out inughter. The two chatted away as the vehicle drove to the west. The club was a long way out. They were almost out of the city¡¯s boundary when the SUV turned into a side road, approaching a stretch of buildings ahead. They first passed a big front gate, hanging on which was a te that read ¡°XX Weapons Research Institute¡±. One kilometer in and the building of the club was finally in front of them, named ¡°Shengtian Shooting Range¡±. [ED/N: XX was in the raws.] Other people would have to register before entering, but not them. The staff hurried near to greet them and made a 90-degree bow. ¡°Good morning, Mr. Lei!¡± ¡°En. This is a friend of mine, Mr. Gu. Take good care of him!¡± ¡°Absolutely! Come in, please!¡± The two entered the building and approached an exhibition first. It was a dim room with all sorts of firearms disyed; they were roughly divided into two types: sport weapons and military weapons. The military ones required a letter of introduction from one¡¯s workce to handle. However, it was only a matter of formality. A letter from any workce with an official seal would do. Gu Yu was not a military enthusiast. His university was rather stingy in setting up the military training as well. The students were not even sent to a military camp but were runningps in the sports ground on campus. He had little knowledge on the subject and was listening to the introduction of a female staff member. ¡°We are equipped with most of the ssic models here. The most poprs ones are the QSZ-92 and the QBZ-95. If you are a first-time user, I would rmend M16 or FNC, which would provide you with a stronger impact when shooting¡­¡± As the girl talked on, Gu Yu nced at the price list on the wall. They offered three packages here: Package A cost 999 yuan with 20 bullets for AK47, 10 bullets for QBZ-95 and 16 bullets for Type 54 pistol, and so on, and so forth. Packages B and C were pricier, but had more bullets allocated to them. Roughly, the bullets were at 15 yuan each. It might not seem much, but we were talking about handling a gun here. One jerk and billions of one¡¯s offspring were down the drainage. [1] The girl finished her introduction and asked, ¡°Which weapon would you like, sir?¡± Gu Yu gave it a thought. The chance of ever being confronted with a rifle was slim, therefore he said, ¡°I¡¯ll take a QSZ-92.¡± ¡°Ok, please follow me to the shooting range.¡± Lei Ziming had his own gun reserved for him and was off to have fun after giving Gu Yu a shout. Led by the girl, Gu Yu entered the shooting range, where each person was allocated with their individual target. In front of him was a ss window, by which a 9mm QSZ-92 was ced and chained to the spot. One could only shoot the weapon by sticking one¡¯s arm into the opening in the window and holding the gun¡ªvery reassuring as far as safety was concerned. Behind the window were targets set ten meters away and the range was surrounded by barren hills on all sides. Passing over the earmuffs, the girl gave him some further instructions, such as leveling his arms with the ground, keeping the three points aligned, watching out for the recoil, etc. Gu Yu followed her words and looked out into the range at the target¡­ well, the target seemed way too clear in his eyes so there was no challenge in it at all. He didn¡¯t even have to think before pulling the trigger. Sparks spurted out of the barrel with a loud bang. In a split second, a bullet hole appeared at the center of the target. ¡°Excellent! That¡¯s a 10!¡± The girl¡¯s eyes were wide open. What the hell was going on? His hand was as steady as a rock, not flinching at all. ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Ten!¡± ¡°Ten!¡± After firing three shots in session, Gu Yu paused and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the range of this pistol?¡± ¡°For precise strikes, ten meters. Its effective range is fifty meters and if you need to shoot something 100 meters away with it, well, may the force be with you,¡± replied the girl with a sh of humor. ¡°In that case, could you change the target to a 50-meter one?¡± ¡°Well, sure!¡± She nodded after a brief pause. After all, this guy was a friend of Lei Ziming. She pressed a button and the target moved further out along the sliding rail. Fifty meters might not sound like much, but it was actually pretty far. Gu Yu gave it a quick look. That was more like it; at least it promised some challenge. ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Nine! The aim was slightly skewed upwards.¡± ¡°Eight! A bit too low.¡± ¡°Ten! Perfect aim, keep at it!¡± ¡°Ten!¡± ¡°Ten!¡± He wasn¡¯t even listening to herments, adjusting his aim with his mental power instead. He soon got into the groove and was hitting the bull¡¯s eye with every single shot. The girl was almost freaking out by the time Gu Yu finished his first magazine. ¡®Didn¡¯t you say this was the first time you ever handled a gun? Are you kidding me?¡¯ Having been working here all this time, she was pretty urate in these things. The guy was shooting at the 50-meter target with a handgun! Only those expert shooters wereparable to him. Checking the target that had been pulled near, Gu Yu saw that the ring in the center was pitted with bullet holes and only a handful of shots were not perfectly aimed. He was secretly satisfied with the result. If he were the one holding the weapon, within a 50-meter range, he could pretty much hit any target he wanted to. If the weapon was in someone else¡¯s hand, as long as his opponent was not a SWAT team member or another specialist of that sort, middle- to long-distance shooting would not pose much danger to him. ¡°Do, do you want another round?¡± The girl came to herself and stammered out a question. ¡°No, thanks. I¡¯m going to look around, please don¡¯t let me keep you.¡± Smiling at the girl, Gu Yu walked out of the shooting range. Lei Ziming was still busying himself among some crackling sounds. Gu Yu could not tell what weapon he was trying out over there. After some wandering around, he walked into a hall. Seeing a sofa set at the corner of the wall, he went over to take a seat. However, barely had his bottom touched the sofa when a frown appeared on his face. His Qi was activated by a chilliness creeping up his back¡­ On the other side, a group of people walked this way from the flying saucer ranger, each holding a red dot shotgun. They were led by a man slightly older than Lei Ziming, who was not very tall, but had a stately gait that suggested someone with military training. Passing the hall, that man swept the room with his eyes and asked randomly, ¡°Who¡¯s that? Never saw him around here before.¡± ¡°A friend of Ah Ming, I think? He was saying he¡¯d introduce some guy to us,¡± replied a buddy of his. [1] ¡°Ah Ming takes the guy quite seriously, I suppose. He¡¯s never brought anyone here before,¡± added another. ¡°Seriously or not, he¡¯s not the one calling shots. These days, every Tom, Dick and Harry are trying to squeeze through these doors!¡± ncing at Gu Yu with undisguised contempt, the man raised his gun barrel half-intentionally and pointed forward. ¡°Let¡¯s sound out this guy and see if he¡¯s as capable as they said¡­ ¡± ¡°Gak!¡± He stopped talking abruptly, for that guy had turned around and darted a look at them. With that look came an intangible stir of the air, which reached him instantaneously and exploded with a loud bang. He was enveloped by an immense pressure right away. ¡°tter!¡± He felt suffocated and lost all his strength. The gun was dropped to the ground, and slipped a few inches away. ¡°¡­¡± The man was dumbstruck, unable to utter a single word. He was trained in the art of attack and defense, as well as shooting. Having seen his fair share of big shots from the army, he was able to recognize a genuine powerhouse by their aura alone. It was a mysterious concept. If he had to describe it, he wouldpare himself to a wolf and a military elite to a tiger. This guy over here, however, was a dragon! [1] TL/N: Yep, the author is using an ¡°inappropriate¡± pun here, again. [2] ED/N: About that Ah, firstly, it¡¯s actually just A but most EN speakers may have problems pronouncing it right and thus most trantions add -h, and secondly, it¡¯s an endearment of sort. Kinda like Little, or Small, or like the Japanese -chan added to a Japanese nickname, only in front of the name. Chapter 69 Chapter 69: Yuan Peiji Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Yuan Peiji was a man in his thirties. With a senior army officer as his grandfather, he was considered a third-generation military descendant. Being aggressive ever since he was little, he had spent a few years in the army and was indeed a capable man. With that background of his, it was inevitable that he¡¯d walk around carrying an air of arrogance about him. Nevertheless, he was marked by his utter respect towards powerhouses. What was more, he was a honest sort of guy, never stabbing anybody in the back. It was because of this quality that he and Lei Ziming became friends. The shooting range was Yuan Peiji¡¯s territory. He had invited his buddies over today simply to have some fun together. Lei Ziming arrivedte because he went to pick up Gu Yu. Yuan was shooting flying saucers with his friends before running into Gu Yu and was annihted in a matter of seconds¡ªa miserable experience that no one else could understand. ¡°Are you OK?¡± ¡°What¡¯s with the gun-dropping?¡± ¡°Hey, what are you doing? Let¡¯s go!¡± His friends were not affected and were watching him in surprise. Unable to exin the pain he was in, Yuan Peiji clenched his teeth, struggling to ward off the pressure. His face turned from yellow to red, then was drained of all color, which looked rather frightening. Just as he was unable to hold on any longer and on the verge of copsing to the ground, the force around him was suddenly lifted. The next moment, he felt free as a bird. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± Puffing and panting, when he turned to look at that guy again, there was only horror in his eyes. The ancient martial arts were nowhere to be found nowadays. The only bits that had not been lost were handed over to the state, which were in turn given to the army after some improvement to be used as a special training course for soldiers. During his several years in the army, he had heard people mention every now and then that there was a time in history when martial arts flourished in China¡ªin that era, a certain master could win fights hands down, defeating the enemies with his aura alone. As a result, Yuan Peiji was mistakenly assuming that Gu Yu was a disciple of some hermit master. He immediately adjusted his attitude and strode towards Gu Yu, greeting him loudly from afar. ¡°You¡¯re Ah Ming¡¯s friend, right? Nice to meet you. Wee to our shooting range.¡± ¡®Huh?¡¯ The buddies on his side were amazed. That was aplete turnaround from his attitude a few minutes ago. Wasn¡¯t he going on about sounding this guy out just then? Seeing them approaching, Gu Yu didn¡¯t hold back the mocking thoughts of his. ¡®Now why did you point your gun at me? I¡¯m one of those people that would even frighten myself when I go wild!¡¯ As much as he would like to ridicule this man, he had to put on a polite face and replied, ¡°I¡¯m Gu Yu. Lei Ziming is still inside. You are¡­¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m Yuan Peiji. This is Jiao Peng and this is Tang Jialin¡­¡± After introducing everyone in turn, they were sort of acquainted. It was at this point that Lei Ziming showed up, his mind still lingering over whatever he was doing over there. Seeing what was going on, he was slightly taken aback, thenughed out aloud. ¡°Haha, I told you this fellow here would get along well with all of you guys. See, was I wrong?¡± He moved closer to Gu Yu, all bouncing and d. ¡°How was it, Bro? Have another few rounds if you like it. That 92 of yours was too soft.¡± ¡°92?¡± Hearing that, Yuan Peiji chimed in, ¡°Indeed, that one won¡¯t do. I¡¯ve got a sniper rifle here, wanna try it?¡± ¡°No, thanks, I¡¯m quite alright¡­¡± Gu Yu was about to turn him down when an idea suddenly dawned on him. He asked, ¡°Well, do you have one of those ces here, the ones where you can test the power of a weapon?¡± ¡°Of course! This way!¡± They were not the least bit suspicious over his request and the entire group moved to another range, where Gu Yu was told, ¡°Here, this is the testing area. AK, Desert Eagle, 54¡ªyou name it. Take your pick!¡± Gu Yu nced around and saw that it was another vast empty area with simr equipment, only that the targets were reced by steel tes. He replied, ¡°I¡¯ll take a 54, then.¡± ¡°Nice! Very patriotic!¡± Yuan Peiji gave him a thumbs up; it was hard to tell whether he was fooling around or sincere. They sent someone to prepare the gun for him right away. Before QSZ-92 came to the market, Type 54 had been the standard issue weapon known for its fierceness. A 4-mm-thick, homogeneously structured steel te was set within a ten-meter distance. Gu Yu held the pistol in his hand and in a series of loud bangs, the magazine was emptied. When the steel te was pulled near to be examined, oh my, every single bullet had pierced through it! He then tried a rifle at a fifty-meter range with a 6-mm steel te, which still got pierced by the bullets. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Our fellow smacked his lips, his previous contempt towards modern firearms disappearing with this discovery. To hell with all the fiction, films, and TV series. Anyone fantasizing about blocking a bullet with flesh and bone could try it themselves! *** What would happen when a 7.62 mm rifle bullet passed through a human body? To begin with, a small opening would be left on the skin before the impact damaged the internal organs and exited the human body at a speed of 570 meters per second. The st would leave another wound at least 12 cm in diameter. As a result, Gu Yu had to ept the fact that even cultivators who possessed spiritual bodies could not confront firearms directly, let alone those still in the Refinement of the form stage. Only after one reached a level of Human Immortal or above, or was equipped with some sort of talisman, would one not be threatened by a bullet¡­ probably. That being said, cultivators had their own advantages, such as predicting their enemies¡¯ moves beforehand. ¡®As soon as you start to bear hostility towards me in your mind, I can sense it. Then, I can either conjure up an illusion or close in at full speed. After that, K.O.¡¯ Of course, it would also depend on other factors such as the specific terrain, environment, etc. Anyhow, Gu Yu did note all the way here for nothing. He now had a rtively clear idea of firearms. They chatted for quite some time in the club. Yuan Peiji was a proud man, but as soon as he epted someone, that person would be his friend right away. It was not the case with the rest of the group, though. Hearing that Gu Yu was merely an incense maker with no background whatsoever, they instantly turned away. It was especially obvious with Jiao Peng, who was only acknowledging Gu Yu to humor Lei Ziming. Before they knew it, it was afternoon already. Yuan Peiji acted as the host and treated the group to the rooms in the best hotel of the area. He had his own private room there, to which the five of them filed in. Before anything was said, five pretty girls in cheongsam walked in, arranging the tableware with nimble hands. They did not leave right away after the bowls and chopsticks were set, but each stood behind one guest, massaging their shoulders in a practiced manner. [1] ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu could not stand the cloying fragranceing from the girls. He frowned involuntarily. Noticing this, Yuan Peiji beckoned the girls to leave right away. ¡°That¡¯s enough. We won¡¯t be needing you today. You can all leave.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The chance of getting any tips today was gone. The girls exited the room swiftly with disappointed faces. The room felt much less crowded right away. Dinner was servedter, on which they feasted in a friendly atmosphere. They were all hard drinkers. Before long, they had ran through two bottles of liquor. Yuan Peiji was an interesting man in terms of his hosting style. Feeling that they were acquainted well enough by now, he filled his ss to the rim and stood up. ¡°Mr. Gu, I¡¯m a straightforward man and I always speak my mind. I offended you back there and please ept my apology. I¡¯ll empty my ss first!¡± With that, he tilted his head back and drained the ss. Lei Ziming was secretly surprised. Yuan Peiji had been addressing Gu Yu as Mr. Gu ever since the start, which was very rare considering his usual temperament. After that, Yuan went on. ¡°I myself am interested in only three things: drinking, fighting, and making friends. All three are here today. I¡¯m happy! There¡¯s one thing I must make clear, though. You said you are an incense maker; I believe you. But, I won¡¯t buy it if you say you¡¯re nothing but an incense maker. Now, I need a word from you. What exactly do you do?¡± ¡°What do you think I do?¡± Gu Yu grinned. ¡°Just answer the damn question. Don¡¯t beat about the bush!¡± Next to them, Jiao Peng did not like the way Gu Yu talked and sneered. ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to answer?¡± He darted a look at Jiao Peng. ¡°You!¡± That bloke had long since found Gu Yu an eye sore. As the liquor took effect, he smacked the table and stood up. Moving a few steps closer, he went, ¡°Boy, hooking up with Ah Ming doesn¡¯t make you a somebody!¡± ¡°Do sit down.¡± Gu Yu gestured with his hand. The others could not tell if he made contact with Jiao Peng, and only saw that Jiao Peng stumbled back in a series of rapid, thumping steps, then slumped into a chair with a thud. ¡°¡­¡± Blinking, Jiao Peng did not even realized what had happened, making the scene all the more weird and funny. However, Yuan Peiji¡¯s face brightened up. He had been specting about Gu Yu¡¯s background all this time and was more reassured by this: he was definitely a hermit master! [2] [1] ED/N: If someone doesn¡¯t know of the dress known as cheongsam, go google it. Also known as qipao in pinyin, you can look it up under this name as well. [2] ED/N: Do note that the English word hermit is usually rted to Christianity and most of ¡°western¡± hermits are saints, people living away from sin, temptations and other sh*t, or some ascetics (thetter still religious, but not necessary Christian). However, there was obviously no Christianity in China of old times and so the Chinese understand the word hermit with emphasis on living away from society (or while concealing one¡¯s identity within the society), and in this case, most hermits seem to be martial arts masters (though this may be a recent association created through wuxia etc). Chapter 70 Chapter 70: Favor and Gratitude Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu In a moonlit courtyard. Enclosed by high walls and paved with square bricks on the ground, the courtyard was decorated with well-arranged flowers and bushes; among them stood several streetmps, beaming with incandescent light. Under themplight were two moving figures, one of which was making vigorous and forcible movements, his imposing swings stirring the air. By contrast, the other figure was strolling idly around the yard in easy and graceful paces. ¡°That¡¯s freaking impossible! Again!¡± Seeing his strikes being futile once more, Yuan Peiji jumped back rapidly, his words interspersed with curses. He was apparently vexed and enraged by his defeat. Barely had he stopped talking when he strode forward, extending his right fist out and charging directly at Gu Yu¡¯s face. Gu Yu, on the other hand, made a deft turn at the approaching fist, moving around and cing himself behind Yuan Peiji. Instead of being taken by surprise, Yuan was delighted with where Gu Yu was standing right now. Thrusting himself again at Gu Yu at once, Yuan bent his elbow, jabbing it at his opponent¡¯s chest. It was a dirty yet effective move which could be broken down into two steps. The elbow blow came first, followed by a fierce swing of the forearm,shing viciously at the opponent¡¯s crotch¡ªhence its name, the ¡°Crotch-smacking Hand Movement¡±. It was one of his favorite moves and he had mastered it through repeated practice with that fighting hobby of his. However, his elbow jabbed into empty air and his forearm had nothing to p upon. Turning around, Yuan Peiji saw that Gu Yu had long since moved meters away from him, which sent him bursting into a fury. ¡°Mr. Gu, I know you have no regard for me whatsoever, but you can¡¯t keep evading without making any attacks! What sort ofpetition is this? At least let me know what hit me!¡± In fact, it was not that Gu Yu would not attack; he only wanted to find more about the pattern of military attack and defense skills, hence the dawdling and stalling. By now he had observed long enough and with Yuan¡¯sint, Gu Yu replied, ¡°All right. Get ready, then.¡± ¡°Bring it on!¡± That fellow was greatly irritated by Gu Yu¡¯s behavior so far and wanted nothing but throw himselfpletely into a fight. As it turned out, he only had time to square himself up before a figure moved to his side in the blink of an eye. Sticking out a slender finger, Gu Yu dabbed Yuan¡¯s arm lightly. ¡°Ouch!¡± He felt his arm going numb first, then pierced by an unbearable pain. His entire right arm was incapacitated. ¡®Bloody hell!¡¯ Cursing under his breath, his vexation was amplified ten folds by now. Of course, Yuan Peiji was not one of those people who could not afford to lose. Fighting back the pain, he said, ¡°I¡¯m impressed! Mr. Gu, you are indeed an ancient martial arts powerhouse!¡± ¡°Ancient martial arts¡­¡± Gu Yu felt the corner of his mouth twitching. ¡®Well, whatever you say.¡¯ Back at the dinner table when Jiao Peng suffered from the public humiliation he brought onto himself, he yed the part of an innocent victim after being smacked into the chair, slumping on it for quite a while. Seeing what Gu Yu was capable of, Yuan Peiji was thinking even more highly of him. The incident was handled with a single statement from Yuan: ¡®Nothing ever happened.¡¯ After dinner, Yuan Peiji earnestly invited Gu Yu to his house, hoping to have a chat with him. Knowing Yuan¡¯s military background, Gu Yu also wanted to learn a thing or two from this guy and epted his invitation. Shortly after they arrived home, that bloke suggested apetition. Then¡­ well, there was no ¡°then¡±¡­ Gu Yu walked to Yuan¡¯s side now, picked up his arm and gave it a rub, eliminating the painpletely. Filled with mixed feelings, that bloke walked into therge room in silence. He downed half a bottle of XO before thumping it on the table. [1] ¡°I joined the army as a teenager and stayed there for five years. I would not say that I stood above the rest of myrades-in-arms, but I did learn some solid stuff. However, I¡¯ve juste to realize today that what I¡¯ve learned was nothing¡­ worthless!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that. The militarybat skills must have their own merits. If it¡¯s not against any rules or regtions, I actually want to learn from it myself,¡± smiled Gu Yu. ¡°Forget about the rules. I¡¯ll get you a teaching n tomorrow. Just don¡¯t show it to anyone else.¡± Taking another gulp, Yuan Peiji went on, ¡°What the army teaches are skills for actualbat. The unarmedbat takes only a small portion and most of the skills involve using weapons such as short sticks and daggers.¡± ¡°Short sticks?¡± The mention of those got Gu Yu interested. He asked, ¡°Do you have one of those here? Could you show me a few moves?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± The fellow agreed without any hesitation. Fetching a short stick, he started waving it around in the living room. The length of a short stick was simr to that between one¡¯s wrist and shoulder. When holding it, one should keep their hands a hand-breadth away from the end of the stick,monly known as ¡°holding back a trick or two¡±. [2] Yuan Peiji¡¯s demonstration was extremely simple. His leg movements were mainly single steps and quick short steps, while shing, sweeping, upward flipping and jabbing were the only means of attack. As unappealing as they might seem, they were extremely practical in actualbat. Gu Yu watched carefully as the fellow made his incoherent exnation peppered with strength-issuing mechanism and techniques. Take the movement of wrist-rotating as an example. When making an inward strike with a short stick, one¡¯s wrist should shake and rotate anti-clockwise, and clockwise when striking outward. In that way, the stick would move more smoothly and freely, enhancing its explosive power in the meantime. Secretly, Gu Yu was pleasantly surprised. That was exactly what he had hoped to see here! *** With the exceptional power of the conjuring skill and its ability to defy any defensive mechanism, its effect could be so disturbing by the standards of mundane world that Gu Yu could not use it liberally. Consequently, he needed a rtively usible identity as a cover, such as the one that guy over here had mistakenly thought he had¡ªthat, well, ancient-martial-art powerhouse which sent Gu Yu¡¯s eyes rolling. Gu Yu¡¯s physical fitness had enabled him to grasp and apply any moves skillfully as long as he understood the principles. Because of that, Yuan Peiji almost performed the role of a perfect teammate here, providing Gu Yu with things he needed the most. Together with the gun-testing earlier, Gu Yu now felt he had owed Yuan a lot of favors. That fellow, however, went on with his demonstration and did not stop until quite some timeter. ¡°Now how was that?¡± He asked. ¡°Awesome!¡± Gu Yu offered hispliment. Standing up, he said wholeheartedly, ¡°It¡¯s been a long day and you¡¯ve helped me a lot. Thank you.¡± ¡°Nah!¡± Not thinking much of what he had offered Gu Yu, Yuan Peiji said, ¡°You¡¯re a capable man yourself and I like you. These two are reasons enough for me to lend a hand. Plus, those were just lousy little favors.¡± ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Gu Yu smiled and went on asking, ¡°Do you have any training room here?¡± ¡°Yes, of course!¡± ¡°Take me there, please.¡± ¡®En?¡¯ The fellow led Gu Yu there despite finding the request rather strange. The training room was set in the basement; it was an incredibly spacious room with all the equipment one needed. As soon as they entered the room, Gu Yu locked the door behind him, turned around and ordered, ¡°Take off your clothes!¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± The fellow jumped at these words. Fear crept up his big face for the first time. ¡°Oh, take off you top. I want to have a look at your meridians,¡± realizing the expression he just used was misleading, Gu Yu corrected his wording. Reassured, Yuan took off his top, revealing his muscr body and sitting down cross-legged as requested. Gu Yu put his palm on Yuan¡¯s back and sent in a streak of faint and gentle energy, sensing it attentively. Probably as a result of practicing martial arts throughout the years, Yuan was in great shape physically and had few internal injuries too. He was gifted with abundant essence and blood and had wide meridians. As it turned out, he was well-endowed in this aspect. [3] After that, Gu Yu moved his palm downwards, slipping all the way down to Yuan¡¯s tail bone. ¡°Hey¡­¡± Yuan Peiji squirmed, feeling ufortable with the gayish touch of that hand. However, immediately after that, a hot sensation gushed out from where his cyx was, then flowed into his every limb and meridian. ¡°Mr. Gu!¡± He cried out involuntarily. ¡°Calm your mind!¡± With his face as unmoved as still water, Gu Yu ordered in a low voice. The fellow quivered inside, then his head resumed its rity, as if under a spell. Such state went on for a few minutes. Yuan felt he was itchy all over and the torment was almost unbearable. Just as he thought he could no longer stand it, the palm lifted slightly, then gave him a p. ¡°Boom!¡± The hot flow exploded instantaneously. The powerful impact sted open some abstruse, clearing out a pathway for his essence and blood. He felt happiness and lightness he had never experienced before, which filled up every neuron of his instantly. Gu Yu had not finished yet. The palm moved upwards, sweeping all the way up along the backbone and stopped at the back of his neck, and then came another p. ¡°Ah!¡± The fellow finally cried out aloud, which had brought him the utmost rity and he felt his body was cleared of all burdens. Even an idiot could realize by now that an enormous gift had been dropped onto hisp. Yuan Peiji settled his mind slightly, then bolted up and turned around, bowing all the way down, showing full courtesy. ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± He had changed his way of addressing Gu Yu, which said a lot about his attitude. ¡°Haha, you don¡¯t have to do that.¡± Gu Yu waved casually, lifting Yuan up. He had opened up an abstruse for Yuan with his energy, which would make thetter¡¯s essence and blood more exuberant and enhance his physical strength. He was doing it to return the favor, but if one had topare the two, what he had given Yuan was obviously much more generous. The favor was immediately interpreted as a debt of gratitude. Yuan Peiji straightened up and the look in his eyes could be summarized with one sentence, ¡®Should you need me any time from now on,e hell or high water, I¡¯ll be at your service.¡¯ [1] ED/N: XO was in the raws. Most likely it refers to Extra Old (cognac). [2] TL/N: The term literally meant ¡°leaving out a hand¡±. ED/N: It¡¯s a fairlymon phrase in CN, and means you aren¡¯t using your full strength (ace in the sleeve) right away should you need to use itter, and to avoid the opponent finding out about your full strength (ace in the sleeve). [3] ED/N: Think not injuries caused by attack but rather damage caused by impurities, unhealthy lifestyle, environment pollution and so on. Chapter 71 Chapter 71: Looming Chaos (Part One) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The Refinement-of-form state was essentially scouring the human body with spiritual essence of heaven and earth so that the meridians and abstruse would be opened up. As far as martial arts were concerned, secret methods might be used in early days to achieve the same result, but counting on such approach nowadays would be nothing but a fool¡¯s daydream. With Gu Yu¡¯s help, one of the main abstruse of Yuan Peiji was opened up by external force. Other things aside, his vital energy alone had seen significant improvement in its vigor. The fellow was greatly thankful and kept his word, fetching the teaching n for Gu Yu without any dy. The pages were indeed filled with theoretical knowledge and Gu Yu had to extend his stay for another day to make sense of the principles on muscr strength, control and movement, as well as some practical moves. In spite of his far-above-average physical fitness, the power he could issue was not limitless. In cases where there were multiple enemies and differentplicated situations, he needed to save as much strength as he could. Yuan Peiji suspected nothing, considering the incident simply as a powerhouse visiting the grass roots, a spree-of-the-moment thing. Two dayster, Gu Yu returned to Bai Town and resumed his cultivating life as before: consuming essence at dawn, noon and dusk, making incense at night, and studying fighting techniques in between. Based on his own characteristics, he had managed toe up with a set of simpler and more direct techniques. Apart from unarmedbat skills, he was also greatly drawn towards the use of short sticks. Short sticks were convenient to use and easy to hide¡ªalmost as spectacr as the folding stools, the most renowned among the seven famous weapons. [1] Asking Xiaozhai for help, Gu Yu obtained a piece of wood and trimmed it into a 45-centimeter short stick which could be used for shing, sweeping, upward flicking, cutting and jabbing. ¡®Whatever moves my opponents use and wherever they are positioned, all I need is to touch them with the tip of my stick¡¯, which sounded very much like what Ah Fei would do. [2] In general, life was peaceful and quiet. The only disturbance came in form of Yuan Peiji, who would show up at Gu Yu¡¯s door every few days, asking for instruction. In the end, Gu Yu had to give the guy¡¯s butt a good kick to have Yuan leave him alone. As a matter of fact, in the Shengtian-Bai Town territory, those on friendly terms with the families of Zeng, Lei and Yuan were pretty much covered as far as safety was concerned. However, safety was not what Gu Yu was after. He needed stability. *** Southwest China, Shu Zhou, Tuling County. Ge Vige, like numerous other viges of its kind in Shu Zhou, had nothing worth mentioning about it. People here had been making their living working in the farnd for generation after generation. The only thing that might make this vige stand out was that the poption here was muchrger than elsewhere nearby¡ªthergest in the county, for that matter. It was nighttime. Without any streetmps, the ce was pitch-ck and dead silent. The faintest light could be detected through windows of various houses. However, in the courtyard of Ge Chao, one of the vigers, the lights were zing, apanied by the din of beating drums and blowing trumpets. Ge Chao¡¯s old mother passed away the night before. She had left her testament on her deathbed: she wanted her dead body to remain intact. Inyman terms, she did not want to be cremated. Despite the decades-long promotion on the reform of funeral and interment from the state, burials had not been eradicated. In remote rural regions, burial was still a popr practice. Needless to say, Ge Chao fulfilled his mother¡¯sst wish and even sent for two Taoist priests to perform the ceremony. ¡°By the decree from the Supreme Lord, I hereby release your soul from purgatory; all ghosts and spirits, beings born in every means will be indebted to this grace. Hear me out whether you died with or without a head, killed by a spear or by a knife,mitting suicide by drowning or hanging. Be it a public or private death, or death incurred by unjust treatment, all creditors, debtors, youths demanding others¡¯ lives¡­¡± Right now, inside the central room, those two priests were chanting ¡°Song of Deliverance and Rebirth¡±. They were an old priest and a young one. The elder was in his seventies, his whiskers and hair all gone white. The young priest was about seventeen to eighteen of age, wearing an impatient expression as he chanted on. In front of them was a coffin in whichy an olddy in her shroud, looking serene and peaceful. It took them quite some time to repeat the song a few times and they finally opened their eyes after they finished. The young priest stuck his head out to take a peek andined, ¡°That man is such a miser. At least he could offer us something to eat.¡± ¡°Maybe he just forgot. Don¡¯t grumble,¡± chided the old priest. ¡°No he didn¡¯t. I saw it with my own eyes that he was going to have dinner. He¡¯s starving us on purpose!¡± The young priest protested. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± The master was about to scold his disciple, but seeing that thetter was indeed hungry, his words eventually turned into a sigh. Standing up, he walked out of the room and happened to run into Ge Chao, who was passing and hurried over to ask, ¡°Priest, everything all right?¡± ¡°Well, I was wondering if we could have something to eat.¡± Being a very bashful man, he found it rather embarrassing to ask. ¡°Oh, I almost forgot. I¡¯m so sorry!¡± As if the idea had only just crossed his mind, Ge Chao led the two into another room in a hurry and offered them coarse vegetarian dishes chiefly consisting of rice, Chinese cabbage, and tofu, which did not spoil the young priest¡¯s good appetite. While he was eating, he asked, ¡°Master, how much can we earn this time?¡± The old priest answered by holding up a finger. His pupil frowned and yelled, ¡°So little? Why doesn¡¯t he keep the disy for another couple of days?¡± ¡°Mind your words. Now eat!¡± Fearing that others might hear them, the old priest gave him a smack on the head. Traditionally, the coffin should be kept in the house for three to seven days before burial. Being well aware of the impropriety of evading cremation, these people had shortened it to one day only. However, from the priests¡¯ perspective, fewer days meant less money. Those famous schools and sects could not care less over this little amount, but not them. After dinner, the two returned to the main room and resumed chanting. ¡°Song of Relieving and Reborn¡± was extremely lengthy and they had to repeat it 49 times. The young priest found the job abhorring and was closing his eyes and dropping his head in a while, as if falling asleep. The old priest could do nothing but turn his body to cover up his pupil¡¯s act. After keeping vigil for a whole night, Granny Ge¡¯s coffin was ready to set off for the graveyard the next morning. Large vehicles had lined up outside the house already. The hearse led the way, followed by the rides of the obedient offspring, the band, and funerary human figures and horses, etc. [3] ¡°Thank you for all the hard work. Please take this as apliment.¡± Ge Chao thrusted a few notes into the old priest¡¯s hand. Smiling wryly to himself, the old priest bowed to thank his hirer, ¡°Thank you,yman.¡± When the appropriate time came, the fleet of vehicles set out, throwing joss paper into the air as they drove on, which drifted and swirled in the wind. The two priests, on the other hand, got on a bike and zigzagged towards the opposite direction. After a 30-minute ride, they reached the outskirts of the town, where a little temple stood. The courtyard had a single row of rooms, enclosed by walls too mottled to recognize the original color. The wooden gate was as dpidated, and was held closed by a big padlock. The two got off the bike and the young priest went to unlock the gate when his hand slipped suddenly. ¡°nk!¡± The bike smashed onto the ground. Shaking with anger, the old priest bent down and coughed till his face turned scarlet. The reason for their reaction was staring at them from the wall: a circle had been drawn on it and written in the center was arge ¡°Demolish¡±! ¡°Master! Master!¡± The young priest ran over to help his master by the arm, then opened the temple gate. The interior was even shabbier. The main hall consisted only of one room where the figures of Taoist patriarchs were worshiped. Wing-rooms were set on both sides. To the right was the bedroom and to the left was the kitchen with a toilet. The surname of the old priest was Li and he was the abbot of this temple. Despite the poverty-stricken state he was in right now, he actually had a glorious ancestry. The School of Zhengyi was the chief Taoist establishment in the south. Being a branch of Zhengyi, the sect of Mao Mountain alone had 108 subdivisions, namely the 36 upper Mao Mountain sub-sects and 72 lower ones. Apart from those, there were also other subdivisions such as the Hall of Twenty-four rities and the Sect of Three Ghosts, etc. The sect the old priest belonged to was descended from lower Mao Mountain. The upper and lower sub-sects of Mao Mountains were not the same thing. The former studied the proper talismans, which could dispatch ghosts and gods alike and bid wind and rain at will. Thetter, on the other hand, worked on insidious practices, which were marked by their creepiness and malevolence. However, by now not much of the legacy of this sect was left. The few remaining talisman skills and ult techniques were kept safely inside the old priest¡¯s head. He had been the head of this temple in Tuling County for twenty years. Being a quiet and weak-willed man, his only pupil was an orphan he adopted, whom he named Li Suchun. In a dump like this, even themon folk was struggling to make ends meet, let alone his tiny temple. Worshipers were few and otions fewer. The master and pupil scrambled along on the government subsidies and the little money they could get on performing ceremonial jobs behind closed doors. [1] TL/N: Thement on folding stools is taken from the lines of the 1996edy ¡°The God of Cookery¡±, or ¡°Ê³Éñ¡±, starring Stephen Chow. [2] TL/N: Ah Fei, or °¢·É, is a character from Gu Long¡¯s wuxia novels, the Flying Daggers series, who is nicknamed ¡°the flying swordsman¡±. [3] TL/N: The funerary human figures and horses are examples of the painted ¡°3-D paper models¡± to be burnt at the altar or graveyard, so that the dead could enjoy them in the other world. Chapter 72 Chapter 72: Looming Chaos (Part Two) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Hard as their life had been, they managed to get by. The only problem was that a housing project was to be carried out in the town these days and the developer had circled out a piece ofnd which included the area the temple was built on. The old priest had been putting painstaking effort into keeping this temple going for his entire life, there was no way he would agree to move. After a few rounds of negotiations, which were to no avail, the developer had lost all their patience. The big ¡°Demolish¡± outside was their ultimatum. It wasmon knowledge that once the developers had their eyes on a piece ofnd, they would have their properties built even if God himself was sleeping on it! Already in poor health, the old priest turned even weaker after the fit of anger. He had to take a long rest in bed before recovering his strength. Beckoning Li Suchun to his side, he sighed, ¡°I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll lose the temple. As your master, I¡¯m such a weak man. I can¡¯t even provide you with a roof to live under.¡± ¡°Sob, sob¡­ please don¡¯t say such things. You¡¯ve raised me single-handedly¡­¡± The young priest was quick-witted and restless, but held great respect towards his master. Hearing the old man¡¯s words, tears immediately trickled down his face. ¡°This is a Taoist temple. Can they tear it down that easily?¡± ¡°Sigh. Even the cultural relics could not escape such fate, what can a Taoist temple do?¡± Falling deeper into dejection, the old priest said, ¡°A friend of mine is in the city. You can transfer to his temple. It¡¯ll at least give you a ce to stay.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t youing with me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m too old to move. I don¡¯t want to, even if I can.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t stay here alone. What if, what if¡­¡± ¡°Hoho, don¡¯t worry.¡± The old priest let out a huskyughter and sat up with difficulty. ¡°Our sect has been declining for generations and by now there are only a handful of talisman skills and ult techniques left. You¡¯ve learned how to make talismans already. I¡¯m going to teach you the rest of it today.¡± ¡°Master!¡± His tone almost reminded Li Suchun of someone arranging funeral affairs, which made the young pupil cry out. The old priest suddenly put on a serious face and scolded, ¡°Kneel!¡± ¡°Master!¡± ¡°Kneel!¡± The pupil could not disobey his master and knelt down by the bed. The sect of Mao Mountain originated from Wei-Jin Period, which belonged to the Transformation period. Disciples of the sect would also consume essences, but apart from using them for their bodies, they would also apply them to objects, namely the talismans, which were numerous in kind, quick to take effect, and very powerful. Because of these characteristics, the use of talismans was very effective in attracting followers. The application started off with high-end and ssy measures, which was the case of advanced talismans such as the Red Cloud, Firmament, and God Destroyer. After the spiritual essence faded, the lower-Mao-Mountain approaches were invented, recing the spiritual essence with human¡¯s essence and blood to activate talismans. Degraded, what the talismans were capable of was limited to low-end measures such as implementing undead insects, home-guarding and clothes-cleansing. ¡°Suchun, I¡¯m going to teach you the ult technique of refining corpses. This is the core skill of our sect, so listen carefully!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The look on the young priest¡¯s face was stern and serious. Substantial content like this was always passed on orally from one generation to the next in the Taoistmunity and rarely was anything written down. The old priest repeated it several times and asked, ¡°Have you learnt it by heart now?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then repeat it to me.¡± Li Suchun recited what his master had told him, word for word. Finding no error in his recitation, the old priest nodded. ¡°This technique has been passed down in our sect for several centuries with few examples of sess. Nowadays, we can no longer practice it freely¡­ sigh. Leave it at that, then. Anyway, just think it a souvenir. Wherever you might be in the future, don¡¯t forget you¡¯re from lower Mao Mountain.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Li Suchun banged his forehead loudly on the ground as he bowed down. ¡°Thump-thump-thump!¡± At that moment, there came a knock on the door. The pupil went to answer it and as soon as he saw the person outside, hatred and anger took over his face. It was none other than a manager from the developmentpany, who had been here several times before. The man walked straight in and seeing the old invalid slouching on the bed, he couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Why are you doing this to yourself? To bepletely honest with you, the price we offered was very reasonable indeed. Why don¡¯t you take the money and travel around with you pupil, or find another temple to stay? Doesn¡¯t that sound nice?¡± ¡°Not another word. I¡¯m not leaving.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen what¡¯s written on the wall outside. Aren¡¯t you going to even consider it?¡± ¡°Do whatever you want with me.¡± ¡°In that case, I¡¯ve got nothing else to say. We¡¯ll see about it tomorrow.¡± The man asked a few more questions, then left in a hurry. Li Suchun was terrified for his master and tried to persuade the old man with all his effort. However, the old priest had made up his mind. He was gravely ill and did not want to go on living like a parasite. As long as his pupil had a ce to go, there was nothing else he cared about in this world. Early next morning, he sent Li Suchun packing and seeking refuge with that friend of his. *** ¡°Hey, have you heard? Somebody died in our town¡ªthat old priest in the temple.¡± ¡°What? Howe he suddenly died?¡± ¡°The demolition deal, of course. They were going to make money and he was in the way. Oh my, they said the huge forklift squashed directly over him. So brutal!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t anybody going to say something?¡± ¡°Who would? If that pupil of his were still here, he might get somepensation. Now that the pupil has ran away, the money, hehe¡­¡± In a street in the town, two aunties were talking feverishly over the hottest of recent topics. Not far from them, a young man in a casual outfit was shivering slightly. The man was none other than Li Suchun himself. He was heading for the city but could not bear to leave his master behind and turned back before he reached the city. By the time he got to the temple, all there was left were rubbles and debris. His master was nowhere to be found. He knew the chance of finding his master alive was slim, but would rather hang on to thest string of hope¡ªthat was until he heard the words from others. He was overwhelmed by hatred and regret in that instant. He regretted that his cowardice had stopped him from taking his master with him and the target of his hatred was of course those developers. For a teenager who barely reached his adulthood, he had experienced the unjust death of the person closest to him. An emotional turmoil was unavoidable. He vowed secretly to himself: ¡®I will avenge my master!¡¯ *** Midnight, in a graveyard. In the woods not far from Ge Vige, a dozen grave mounds protruded out of the ground, buried under which were those elders who passed away and did not like the idea of cremation. This creepy and gloomy ce was rarely visited even in broad daylight, let alone in the middle of the night. However, right now, Li Suchun was digging hard into a grave with a spade. ¡°Phew¡­¡± Ten minutes or so into the process, he leaned on the spade to take a rest. The soil was almost scraped away, revealing half of the coffin. He dug further for a while and the entire coffin was finally out in the open. Lifting up the lid peevishly, he found Granny Ge inside. Despite having been buried for several days, she was not giving off any rancid odor. ¡°This is help from heaven!¡± Li Suchun was as terrified as he was delighted. ording to the corpse-refining technique, he needed to find a corpse of a person with a Yin birth chart, who had also died in the Yin hours. Because of the ceremony he performed in the Ge family, he happened to know the eight characters of the horoscope of Granny Ge. After that, if the corpse decayed very quickly, it would not be qualified for the technique. Those that showed no sign of decay after several days would be fit for his purposes. He dared not linger for long. Taking out arge woven bag, he put the corpse inside, closed up the grave and erased all traces. He then carried the bag to a low adobe which he had rented. ¡°Clunk!¡± Locking the door behind him, Li Suchun fell to the ground in a thump. The horror of grave-digging and corpse-stealing was only starting to creep up inside him now. It took him a while to recover, after which he stood up and fetched a basin of clean water, then put the corpse down t on its back. Watching the corpse now, he could detect a streak of indistinct regret. That was very impetuous of him! He didn¡¯t even know how reliable this technique was! However, the corpse was out of the grave now and it wouldn¡¯t do him much good to regret it now. Being someone meant for great things, he miraculously calmed himself down and stripped the corpse of its shroud in utter serenity. It was the eeriest scene one could image. In a dim-lit shabby room, a young man was holding a piece of soft cloth, meticulously wiping clean the body of an old woman. Granny Ge had been a tiny woman when she was living and death had shrank her body even further. Her sallow skin wrapped around the bones without a single trace of muscles. With the make-up on, her face had be the most pleasant feature. The corner of her mouth was even slightly lifted, as if a smile was spreading across the face¡­ Chapter 73 Chapter 73: Looming Chaos (Part Three) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Of the Corpse-refining technique of lower Mao Mountain, the first step was corpse-selecting, then came the corpse-cleansing. After those two steps, one had to find a location with a ruinousyout to bury the corpse, covering its chest with a Yin Eight Diagram [TL/N: or Bagua], so as to speed up the process of gathering Yin energy. Then, every seven days, burn a Corpse-refining talisman at the burial site and kill a rooster at midday, sprinkling its blood on the soil. This was because midday was the period in a day when Yang energy was the most powerful and rooster belonged to the element of Xun Wood [TL/N: as in an Eight Diagram], whose crowing just before dawn started the production of Yang energy of the day, making it an animal enabling Yin to turn into Yang and it itself a Yang creature endowed with some Yin property. Therefore, the blood of a rooster could melt down Yang energy, transforming it into its Yin counterpart. Repeat this procedure for a cycle of 49 days and the corpse would bepleted refined. The old priest had left his life¡¯s savings to Li Suchun, along with some talisman paper and apparatus. He rented a dpidated house with the money and spent every penny thriftily, putting all his mind into refining the corpse. Struck by the most miserable ident, the boy had managed to turn the situation into an incentive, bringing out the best of himself. He was indeed as bold as he was meticulous, and could bear his pain patiently. 49 days passed like this. In the small hours of the morning, the early sun had yet toe up. By the faintest daylight, Li Suchun brought himself to a cove, where the ridges around looked broken and shapeless. Apart from a stream flowing straight down the mountain, the ce was barren and t, with no undtions at all. At the back of the cove was a dim and gloomy spot encircled by the ridges, which was the so-called ruinousyout in Feng Shui. The dragon (mountain ridge) leading to the ce and the water flowing away from it were both of Yin property, making it a ¡®guardless¡¯ spot. On his arrival at the burial site, Li Suchun stood still and waited in silence. When dawn finally peeped into the cove with the first beam of a rising sun, he rapidly excavated the corpse, took out some talisman paper, bit into his finger and drew a Spirit-channeling talisman with his own essence and blood. He then ignited it and stuffed it into the mouth of the corpse. After that series of work was done, he stepped back and stared into the air in front of him, unblinking. It was just as his master had said, it had been centuries since anyone seeded in refining a corpse. He had no idea how his attempt would turn out. He could only take a bet. ¡°¡­¡± Two minutes passed, but to Li Suchun, it felt like two centuries passing instead. Beads of sweat trickled down from his forehead onto his eyebrows, hanging there as if they were on the edge of a cliff. ¡°Thump!¡± All of a sudden, the corpse seemed to have moved. Fearing that he was imagining it, he rubbed his eyes and looked into the pit again. ¡°Thump!¡± ¡°Thump!¡± The corpse that had been dead for over a month was indeed twitching at the bottom of the pit, thumping and thudding as it moved. At the same time, Li Suchun had a distinctive feeling that a strange connection had been established between the corpse and himself. ¡°I did it!¡± Chanting the spell at once, he put the index and middle fingers of his right hand together and pointed to the front. ¡°Up!¡± ¡°Boom!¡± The corpse stood straight up without bending any of its joints as ash and dirt slipped down its body. It was as short as it ever was, but the sallow skin had turned grayish white. The joints on its limbs were abnormally rigid and extended out from its fingertips were ten shiny, ck fingernails. ¡°I¡¯ve done it! I¡¯ve done it! Hahahaha! Master, is that you who sent me the blessings from above?¡± Li Suchun was caught in a fit of guffaws first, then burst into tears. ¡°Master, I shall avenge you, I promise!¡± Generally speaking, the opening of a historical period or a new era could be frequently attributed to individual factors, which in turn were backed by all sorts of causalities. Being a disciple of lower Mao Mountain, the idea of refining a corpse only came to Li Suchun after he was overtaken by grief and resentment derived from the miserable death of his family member. However, had this tragedy taken ce a few years early, he would never have seeded, for there was no Yin energy around back then. As a matter of fact, Yin energy was a variation of the spiritual essence. He stumbled into the opportunity when the spiritual essence started to recover. identally, he had seeded in creating the first genuine zombie of the past few centuries. *** Nighttime, at the outskirts of the town. In the construction site of the new housing project, the foundation had beenid down, and upon it, the houses were going to be built. The site was cramped with all sorts of building materials, leaving only two spots less crowded, one of which set the crane, while the other was the living quarter for the workers. The makeshift houses were put together by blue-striped white boards. They were easy to disassemble and could almost ¡°live on the go¡±. There were six to seven rooms in total, each with eight tenants. All rooms were well-lit at the moment and the air inside was filled with noise and excitement. ¡°Four twos!¡± ¡°Two Jokers!¡± ¡°Damn! Howe you have something bigger than mine!¡± ¡°Hahaha! Just pay me the money!¡± Inside one of the rooms, three men were ying cards. A bald, burly fellow had just won a very big pot and the broad smile had made his face as crinkly as a chrysanthemum. The other two paid their share with utter reluctance and while the cards were being shuffled, one of them asked suddenly, ¡°Brother Qiang, are we gonna be alright after burning that old priest like that?¡± ¡°Nah! Nowadays, who would give a damn about an old priest?¡± The baldy was the one driving the forklift; he went on in an unconcerned tone, ¡°Plus, our boss is a big shot. Look at me. The worst part was a couple of days in jail and I¡¯m out as a free man.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a point. y on!¡± The discussion stopped there and the three men went back to their cards. After another few hands, luck seemed to have abandoned the baldy and he kept losing. Unable to suppress his vexation, he smacked his cards onto the table and said, ¡°Let¡¯s take a break. I need to take a leak!¡± ¡°Brother Qiang, you are not trying to run away, are you?¡± ¡°Exactly. What if you nevere back from the toilet?¡± ¡°F**k off. What kind of person do you take me for?¡± Walking out still cursing, the baldy randomly picked a corner and started emptying his dder. Halfway through it, he felt a chillness approached him from behind and he was enshrouded in a creepy and weird sensation. ¡°Sizz!¡± He shuddered. Putting his trousers back into order, he was about to go back when he felt somethingnd on his shoulder. By the dim light on the site, he noticed an extra obscured shadow appearing on the wall in front of him. ¡°Who is it?¡± The baldy turned around abruptly and his heart stood still with fright. He only had time enough to let out a scream. ¡°Ah!¡± Inside, the others were stillughing and chatting when they heard the shriek outside. They scurried out and got to the corner where the baldy was. One of them took a nce and turned to throw up violently. The others also felt hair standing up on their backs, for the baldy was dead on the ground with his chest ripped open, leaving a bloody hole the size of a bowl. *** Tuling County, a hotel. A dinner party had just finished and out stumbled a group of people, exchanging pleasantries and bidding farewell with thick tongues. After quite a few rounds of bullshitting, people started to get into various vehicles and leave by batches. In the end, only two were left outside, who were none other than that manager and the vice-president of thepany. [1] They then also got into a vehicle and drove towards the hotel they lived in. ¡°The job was very well handled this time. Although there was a minor ident, in general everything turned out satisfactory. Chairman Zhao was pleased as well.¡± ¡°It was all thanks to Mr. Zhang that the job was done. I¡¯m simply a foot soldier.¡± ¡°Ha, don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get your fair share once the project ispleted. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Zhang!¡± As soon as they got into their car, the drunken behavior they had exhibited disappeared at once. The vice-president was the man in charge of this project and the manager was a trusted follower of his. The scale of the project this time was exceptional, including not only residential areas, but also corresponding business quarters and high-tech zones. The municipal government had attached much significance to the project. The hotel where they lived was on the north side of the county. It was excellently equipped, but the location was rather remote. After a few minutes, the car turned into a big yard decorated with ponds and trees. In the innermost corner stood the hotel building. [2] However, just as the vehicle entered the yard, it came to a sudden stop with a screech. ¡°Why aren¡¯t we moving?¡± The vice-president asked. ¡°Someone is standing in front of the car,¡± replied the driver. The vice-president darted a few looks and ordered, ¡°Go have a look.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The driver got out, smashing the door closed behind him, and ran towards the figure. Seeing that the person was wrapped by a ck cloth from head to toe, he found it rather weird and asked, ¡°Who are you? Move aside, you¡¯re in the way!¡± Silence. ¡°I¡¯m talking to you! What are you doing here?¡± Irritated by theck of reaction, the driver pped it over its face. ¡°Answer the bloody question!¡± ¡°Smack!¡± His palmnded on the person¡¯s face, but thetter did not flinch. The driver felt this heart skip a beat. Judging by the sensation from his hand, the person¡¯s face was iron-hard, not a bit like human flesh. Frightened, he turned to run back to the car. However, coldness reached the back of his neck and that was thest thing he ever felt. *** Major case! Definitely a major case! Four people had died in a row in a matter of days, one of which was an important figure renowned even in the business circle in the city. With this case, all police officers in the city became active, following every lead, trying to catch the killer. Of the four victims, three had their hearts carved out and one had his neck stabbed, all too horrible to even look at. No witnesses were around the crime scenes and no camera picked anything suspicious. The most obvious lead would be that scratches could be found around the wounds, as if the perpetrator had used some sort of sharp ws. To assume these were deeds of an animal would be unrealistic. It would be equally unlikely to assume a human was holding a weapon. What existing weapon could pierce one¡¯s chest with a single strike and carve out the heart instantaneously? If the wounds were inflicted by human body itself, the conclusion would sound even more far-stretched! Consequently, the case was moving towards the most peculiar direction. Southwest China was characterized by its rolling hills and numerous sinister and weird legends, which had influence on people residing in the region as a whole; they started to mention things like witchcraft, undead insect, etc. Although they were all denounced, no other evidence could be found either. Fortunately, the killer had stopped killing and seemed to have slipped away. The abnormalities of this case had been reported to authorities of higher levels and waited further research. [1] TL/N: The manager that had visited the old priest at the temple. [2] ED/N: The raws say kes¡± but I think ¡°ponds¡± makes much more sense. After all, how big is this dayum courtyard? Chapter 74 Chapter 74: Introspection Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu During the ny years this modern state was established for, the government had always considered maintaining the stability its top priority. [1] The total poption of the five provinces in southwest China amounted to over four hundred million people and Shu Zhou took up only a tiny portion of it. To the outsiders, despite being widespread over the inte, the cases were regarded asmon homicides. Not a hint of the heart-digging and scratch marks were mentioned. Internally however, the authorities were taking the cases very seriously, for something very special had been extracted from the victims¡¯ blood and flesh samples they tested¡ªa poison. Let¡¯s now turn our attention to Bai Town for a change. Before anybody realized, it was the end of October, whente autumn brought with it the cool breeze. The impact of the snake-biting incident had died downpletely and the mountain had seen a recent surge of tourists which only subsided some days ago. It had been a while since Old Priest Mo returned to Lotus Mountain. He had indeed showed his sincerity by staying here for over a month. However, he was on the wrong side, which made him an antagonist from the very beginning. Moreover, he was a Neidan practitioner. Having epted the logic of the Taoist history Xiaozhai proposed, Neidan was but heresy to Gu Yu! Thus, there was nothing left to talk about between them. It was just as the saying went, birds of a feather flocked together. Fang Qing had started high school and seemed to have turned much more mature overnight. Her grades were still mediocre, but at least she was willing to put some effort into them now. High school graduates were almost guaranteed to get into a college nowadays. Even if it was a third-rate one, she would stille out with an undergraduate degree. Uncle and Aunt Fang were breaking their backs in their work. Fang Qing¡¯s growing up would be apanied by a long string of expenses from the tuition fee and job-hunting to buying house and getting married¡ªall expensive activities. Gu Yu, on the other hand, had sold a few batches of incense these days, making a profit worth tens of thousands of yuan. Besides, because he and Lei Ziming were closer as friends now, the unabashed Old Man Lei started to press him for his incense almost on a daily basis. In the end, he had to make some Bili Incense for him. Its recipe was created by alchemists of the Southern Dynasties. The incense was of the medicinal type and did not have any special fragrance, but was characterized by its ability to expel any unpleasant energy. When Old Man Lei received the incense and burnt it, he was not all that satisfied with it in the beginning. However, one week into it, he could feel that a lightness filled his body, as though all burdens had been lifted. It was only by then that the fellow came to realize the benefit of Bili Incense. Back then when Granny Zeng asked for incense from Gu Yu, she thanked him with a jade incense holder in the shape of a gourd, which was worth ten thousand yuan. Being a practical man, the old man told Lei Ziming to transfer 50,000 yuan to Gu Yu¡¯s ount directly. Even that amount did not feel adequate to Old Lei. After all, no amount of money wasrge enough to exchange for one¡¯s health. Gu Yu epted the money nevertheless, for family members of Zeng, Lei and Yuan were people he tried to make friends with. Moreover, he was in need of some extra cash right now. This was not a time to y pretentious. Adding to the money he earned from previous orders, he now had over 100,000 yuan in his bank ount. He withdrew 20,000 yuan and gave it to Uncle Fang, then stopped epting orders from individual customers. In the secluded valley, under the old tree. The autumn air felt especially cold on the mountain. However, the valley was as warm as always. The foliage and branches of the old tree remained luxuriant without the slightest sign of withering. Comparing to the decadent and bleak view in the surrounding area, this ce felt like a nevend unknown to the outside world. Gu Yu was sitting under the tree now, practicing the essence-consuming method with his swallowing and spitting motions. Ever since he obtained the method, he had been practicing incessantly on refining his form and concentrating his mind. The refinement had seen some significant improvement, but nothing much hade out of the concentration-of-mind practice. As long as five months had passed and yesterday, he finally detected a slight bounce of his mental force. He felt it in his head immediately: ¡®I will surely achieve something today.¡¯ ¡°Ha¡­¡± ¡°Ha¡­¡± He swallowed and spat, taking in the dense spiritual essence, slowly refining his physical and mental forms in the process. Circting the energy inside his body in this way, when his usual finishing time came, he did not stop his exercise, but tried to activate his mental force and turned his sight inwards. His mental force, which usually would only give the slightest vibration, had altered its behavior today, reluctantly bing active. Immediately after that, he felt as if a magnifying ss had emerged in his mind, moving closer and closer. Behind the lens was a universe which was being erged as the blurred image became vivid. To put it inly, mental force enabled one to see and control with their minds. As for now, Gu Yu had for the first time ¡°seen¡± the interior of his body, which he thought would be dripping with blood, but turned out to be a ce filled with resplendent colors instead. It was a magnificent pce filled with misty visions, to which Dantian was the throne. Spiritual essence consisted of mingled Yin and Yang energy twirling around inside the pce, which was connected to meridians all over the body. Under the throne were five lumps of energy in five different colors, representing the five internal organs of human body. Records in a Taoist scripture said, ¡°Through the inward contemtion, one could see the five internal organs as if they were musical instruments. Their five colors would be very distinguishable.¡± Another one said, ¡°When one looks inward at one¡¯s heart, they would find the heart iprehensible; when one looks outward at one¡¯s physical form, they would find it merely a shell; when one looks further into the world to observe other things, they would find them mere objects of our own creation.¡± The five elements existed inside human bodies: red represented fire, which was the heart; yellow represented earth, which was the spleen; white represented gold, which was the lung; ck represented water, which was the kidney; green represented wood, which was the liver. And Dantian was where Yin and Yang blended together. The whole setup had indeed created a small universe inside one¡¯s body. ¡°¡­¡± It seemed forever before Gu Yu opened his eyes, yet he remained silent. The introspection he carried out just then had brought him some new thoughts. The five elements existed in all things on earth and the spiritual essence consisted of Yin and Yang energy; the human body had five internal organs and Dantian blended Yin and Yang energy together. The world atrge and human body corresponded with each other. The so-called Human Immortals could channel the ¡°Great Universe¡± with the individual one, by which the internal energy could be purified and elevated so that a higher level of life could be achieved. Cultivation was the process of promoting the level of life. *** Evening, Shengtian. In the dining room of Jiang manor, Xiaozhai was having her monthly family reunion dinner with her parents. On the table were a braised eggnt in y pot, a ribs and lotus root soup and two other vegetable dishes. All three had very elegant table manners, especially the parents, who were eating in an almost demure and courteous way. Father and Mother Jiang were in charge of culture and education departments respectively, both holding senior positions. One would expect to hear chatter andughter over normal family dinners, but not this one. The three of them ate in silence, as though there was nothing for them to talk about. It was not surprising, actually. The daughter was living somewhere else for seven or eight years while she was little. By the time they got her back, she was old enough to go to middle school. After that came the university entrance examinations and they feared thatmunication would distract her. When finally it was time for her to go to college, she would live neither on campus nor at home, but rented a ce and lived on her own. Therefore, the daughter had spent only a handful of years around her parents even if reckoning in all the scraps of time. Not only that, to her parents, Xiaozhai was never a sharp-minded girl. They could not pinpoint exactly what it was about her, but she simply was not the same as other children. As a result, her parents still felt her distant and unfamiliar, or even mysterious. The three went on eating like this. Unable to withstand the awkwardness, Mother Jiang tried to start a conversation. ¡°Xiaozhai, did you work overtime again yesterday?¡± ¡°En, it was after nine o¡¯clock when I got home.¡± ¡°What is yourpany busy with these days? Why are you always working overtime?¡± ¡°We are working on a project and there are not enough people, so there¡¯s a lot of workload.¡± ¡°Oh, in that case, you can rx a bit after it¡¯spleted?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Xiaozhai blinked. As carefree as she was, she could not help hesitating when facing her parents. ¡°I was about to talk to you on that. I¡®m quitting my job.¡± Mother Jiang¡¯s chopsticks froze in mid-air. ¡°Have you found a new one yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not switching my job. I just got tired of it and want to go out for a while.¡± ¡°Nonsense¡­¡± Father Jiang was not happy with what he heard. Mother Jiang gave him a kick under the table and smiled, ¡°That sounds nice. You can take the time to rx. Find a new job when youe back, or don¡¯t if you don¡¯t want to. It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll live on your sry.¡± ¡°Harrumph!¡± Father Jiang snorted and did not press on. ¡°Where are you nning to go?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go to Jiang Zhou first. It¡¯ll be a long trip. There is a lot of ces I need to visit,¡± replied Xiaozhai. ¡°Jiang Zhou?¡± Mother Jiang gave it a thought and asked suddenly, ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t Little Xiaojin attending a university there?¡± ¡°Yes, she should be in her second year now.¡± Father Jiang nodded and instructed, ¡°In that case, go pay her a visit on your way. You two haven¡¯t seen each other for quite some time.¡± ¡°Well, ok.¡± Xiaozhai answered reluctantly with a grimace. Jiang Xiaojin was the daughter of her second uncle. At 19 years old, the cute, gentle, and adorable girl was exactly what one would expect from a super duper pretty (devilish) teenager (brat)! [2] [1] TL/N: The dates, time, and names of cities and provinces in this novel are part-factual, part-fictitious¡ªsuch as the ny years here. [2] ED/N: Yep, the author inserted () there like that. Chapter 75 Chapter 75: Before the Departure Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Shengtian, a rainy day. The pitter-patter rain was not heavy, but felt distinctively cold on the skin, as though reminding one of the approaching winter. The streets looked bleak and chilly with their rushing pedestrians. Gu Yu was sitting in a taxi. On his left was an enormous backpack, while an elderly driver was babbling in the front. ¡°Young man, have you just got back from a trip?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m about to leave for one.¡± ¡°Oh, then you must be heading south. Are you going to Jiao Zhou or Qiong Zhou?¡± ¡°Jiang Zhou.¡± ¡°Whew, let me tell you something! Jiang Zhou is even colder than here. They have no central heating and the air is so damp. My wife is from the south. Back then when I visited her family, honestly, I almost broke up with her because there was no central heating over there¡­ speaking of which, it¡¯s so strange that people from the south always assume us northerners can stand colder weather. They have no idea we depend solely on our well-equipped warm clothes¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was utterly speechless. The garrulous driver nagged on with no sign of ever stopping. Gu Yu was too polite to givepletely no response and could only hope to reach his destination soon. Both Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were well prepared for this long journey and today was the big day. They were taking an evening train and it was only noon right now, which would give them another four to five hours before setting out. Such a gloomy and cold day was not fit for strolling outside, so Xiaozhai gave him an address to go to, which was where her home was. A girl as stunning as Xiaozhai had invited him over and even offered to cook lunch herself. What could it mean? Nothing! Although Gu Yu had engaged in bodily-fluids-exchanging activities at his girlfriend¡¯s home when he was in a rtionship back then, it was not the same thing here. What was between him and Xiaozhai was purely tonic and nothing more. Their thoughts were of the noblest kind and they could open their hearts to each other (although in his mind, it was something else Gu Yu wanted to open). Traffic was good today. About a quarter of an hourter, the taxi stopped outside a housing estate. Walking after a resident, he entered the estate and found Building No. 5, then went up by the lift. ¡°Knock knock knock!¡± The door opened after several taps, but no one was behind it. He found it rather strange when the head of a snake poked out, sticking out its tongue like a little show-off. ¡®So it was you!¡¯ At a closer look, Gu Yu saw that the snake had coiled itself around the lock, the door handle entangled by its tail. As it stretched and retracted its tail, the lock wastched and utched. ¡°Xiao Qing, fetch the slippers!¡± Right at that moment, a voice came out of the kitchen, which sent the snake slipping down to the floor in a whoosh. It slithered to the shoe rack and picked out a pair of brand new man-style slippers with a swing of its tail. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was dumbstruck. He blurted out as soon as he walked in, ¡°Is your pet a dog or a snake?¡± ¡°Dogs are useless. They are noisy and troublesome.¡± Xiaozhai shuffled out in her slippers, wearing an apron. A dish was in her hand. ¡°Wash your hands there ande back here to eat. Put your bag over there.¡± ¡°Ok¡­¡± This was his first time here and the proper etiquette was essential. He did as he was told. Entering the main living room, he could not help but look around. The t was spacious and the interior design had created an impression of space, striking the visitor with a ¡°Wow!¡± effect, as if one¡¯s spirit was lifted and mind enlightened. When he finished cleaning himself, he returned to the table to find four vegetable dishes alreadyid out. Xiaozhai asked, ¡°Do you want a drink?¡± ¡°All right, but nothing too strong.¡± ¡°How about some sake?¡± ¡°Sake¡¯s fine.¡± She ran to the mini-bar and found a bottle of mild sake, then screwed it open between her fingers. The two sat facing each other, each holding a small wine cup and giving themselves best wishes with an air of importance. ¡°Bon voyage!¡± ¡°Have a nice trip!¡± ¡°Clink!¡± The cups met and the sake was drained. Gu Yu helped himself to a dish andmented, ¡°En, your soy bean paste noodles were delicious, but this is even better.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very nice of you. Have another one!¡± Xiaozhai poured some more for him. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Heughed in spite of himself and had another round with Xiaozhai. ¡°I¡¯ve never noticed this hobby of yours before.¡± ¡°I only like to drink at home,¡± she poured a third cup and grinned. ¡°I like to drink on my own or drink with you.¡± ¡°Clink!¡± Our two fellows had only just sat down, but had already downed three rounds of liquor. It was almost unbelievable. Neither of them felt awkward at either of their homes. Today was no different. They ate, drank, and chatted on. Naturally, the conversation turned to the uing trip. ¡°¡­in its middle period, the person most worth mentioning in Shenxiao was Sa Shoujian. Rumor had it that this man had studied Taoist skills under Wang Wenqing, Lin Lingsu, and Zhang Jixian (the Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain). What he learned were the Jujube Spell Technique, the Ghost-yielding Fan of Five Lights and the Thunder Technique. Among the three, the Jujube Spell could cure diseases, the Thunder Technique could expel evil spirits, eliminate demons, and manipte the weather, while the Ghost-yielding Fan could bring people back to life. Sa Shoujian then traveled wide and far to propagate the belief of his sect, which gave birth to the sub-sects of West River and Tian Shan. However, of the lines of inheritance of Wang Wenqing and Lin Lingsu, the only sects left now were Qionglong Mountain and Yuzhen, and I couldn¡¯t find anything on thetter. Therefore, the route we are going to take this time is to go to Qionglong Mountain in Jiang Zhou first, then the sect of West River in Shu Zhou. After that, depending on what we find there, we might go to Tian Shan,¡± Xiaozhai exined her n briefly. ¡°Zhang Jixian also put in a lot of effort into establishing Shenxiao and Longhu Mountain, they also have a thunder technique. Shall we have a look there?¡± Gu Yu asked. She gave it some thought and said, ¡°Not yet. After all, that¡¯s the birthce of the Way of the Celestial Masters. A lot to deal with if fights break out there.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a point.¡± Yup, they both knew it very well that this issue could not be resolved in a peaceful manner. Aside from those three locations, four other ces were listed as primary suspects for the recovery spots of the spiritual essence, which they needed to check out. They were Tianzhu Mountain in Qian Zhou, Emei Mountain in Le Zhou, Huping Mountain in Shimen, and Wangwu Mountain in Ji Zhou. To sum it up, the journey would take them from south of the Yangtze River to southwest China, then to the northwest before they would be directed to the Central ins. They would cover a distance of nearly ten thousand kilometers. [1] It would be an immense project! The two dawdled and dallied in finishing their meal, then washed the dishes together. After Xiaozhai showed him around the t, they sat down chatting in the study. They were in no hurry whatsoever. There were more than three hours to go. Something suddenly came to Gu Yu and he said, ¡°By the way, I can look inward now.¡± ¡°How does it feel?¡± Xiaozhai was very excited at the news. ¡°When I checked my interior, it turned out to consist of lumps of energy, totally different from what they say in modern medicine. The five internal organs were five energy lumps of five different colors and Yin and Yang energy blended together at my Dantian. The meridians were corridors the Qi and blood circted in¡­ the body as a whole was like a big factory, each part attending to its own duties. I could finally grasp some of the mysteries in consuming essences.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai seemed to be moved by this description and fell deep in thought for a while. She then asked, ¡°Can you use it externally?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t tried.¡± ¡°Try it now!¡± She stood up at once. ¡°You have to move away a bit.¡± Gu Yu was actually thinking about the same thing when he mentioned it to her. After Xiaozhai walked out of the study, he closed his eyes. It was even more difficult than looking inward. He could barely activate his mental force to have it make an outward scan. The sensation of it was very strange as well. He felt an extra pair of eyes were suspended above his head, looking around in awkward movements. However, the field of this vision was extremely small. He could only make out a circr area around him. Other than that, everything was behind a ck fog. ¡°I can¡¯t sense you, move closer.¡± ¡°Rustle.¡± Faint footsteps came from the other side. ¡°Still not anything. Closer.¡± ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Closer.¡± ¡°Huff¡­¡± Gu Yu¡¯s face tickled, making him jump. He could now ¡°see¡± Xiaozhai right in front of him, lowering her head. The face looked so pure that it was almost transparent. Her breaths were long and slow, with a moist warmth to it. The expression in her eyes, however, was a mischievous ¡®Watch here, your big sis is flirting with you¡¯. ¡°Back off! Back off!¡± Gu Yu surrendered at once. After the experiment was over, he said with some vexation in his tone, ¡°I could do it with some struggle, but it was very exhausting for my mind. I could cover an area within three meters from me.¡± ¡°Three meters?¡± Xiaozhai pondered over it and shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s too close. We could make it that far with our senses alone. We won¡¯t need this for the time being.¡± ¡°How did you feel, then?¡± He was curious as well. ¡°Like I was being peeped at, from inside out, very vivid, very ufortable.¡± ¡°Can you be more specific?¡± ¡°Like during the self-study period, you suddenly find you ss teacher looming outside the rear window.¡± ¡°Yuck!¡± Gu Yu got what she meant right away. To say it was ufortable was an understatement. That was f**king frightening! [1] ED/N: 10,000 km sounds pretty abstract, so let me give you some numbers: equator is a bit over 40,000 km long, China¡¯s sea coastline should be roughly around 12-14,000 km iirc, and Chinesend border is slightly over 22,000 km in total and is the longestnd border in the world. Forparison, Russia has and border of slightly over 20,000 km (Russia¡¯snd border is much more straightpared to China¡¯snd border, that¡¯s why thetter¡¯s actually a bit longer). For furtherparison, the river of Nile has almost 7,000 km in length and is the longest river in the world (some mor it¡¯s Amazon instead though). Chapter 76 Chapter 76: ¡°Bonnie¡± and ¡°Clyde¡± Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu There were four railway stations in Shengtian, one on each direction. Among those, the North and South stations were the key transportation hubs through which nearly all traffic arteries inside and outside Shanhai Pass were linked. The pair rushed to the North Station at dusk. Xiaozhai led the way through the security check, Gu Yu in her wake. Tossing her bag onto the conveyor belt, Xiaozhai beckoned at Gu Yu with her hands behind her back, who ¡°switched on¡± his mental force swiftly and directed it towards the innocent female security inspector. ¡°Please form a line and go through one at a time¡­¡± Detector in hand, the girl was about to scan Xiaozhai when her heart throbbed unexpectedly and she felt extremely ufortable. Frowning, she swept the detector randomly across the air and certain passenger sneaked past her in that moment. The next second, the feeling disappeared without a trace. How peculiar. ¡®Well, I probably did not sleep too wellst night.¡¯ The girl exined to herself, then scanned Gu Yu carefully and only let him pass after making sure that no rm was set off. ¡°¡­¡± Our pair of culprits pursed their lips knowingly at each other at the same time and slipped away with their bags. The waiting hall of the station was remarkably spacious. The half-sphere-shaped ceiling was supported by criss-cross beams, forming a unique structure as grand as a dome. All ticket entrances were packed with passengers of every age group and gender. A hubbub of voices flooded the entire hall. After a fruitless search for a vacant seat, they resolved to stand outside the crowd instead. Both having huge backpacks over their shoulders and wearing crisp outfits, the long-legged pair stood there like tritons among minnows, attracting much attention from the passers-by. The train they were taking was an Ordinary Express one (TL/N: as opposed to the Direct Express trains), which would take them to their destination early next morning after over ten hours of travel. A short whileter, they heard the announcement. ¡°Train No. XXX from Shengtian to Jiang Zhou is now ready for ticket-checking¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Having reminded Xiaozhai, Gu Yu joined the line and had his ticket ready for boarding. Because of the incredibly long route of this train, the tform was packed with passengers. Their seats were in a 4-seater scheme in Car No.12 and facing them was a couple in their fifties. ¡°Make way! Let me pass!¡± ¡°Hey, you¡¯ve stepped on my foot! Move on!¡± ¡°Please help me lift the bag up¡­ oh, thank you!¡± The mor went on inside thepartments and only quieted down slightly after the train moved out. Communication between Gu Yu and Xiaozhai was instantly reduced to a minimum. With all these people around them, they couldn¡¯t say anything substantial, yet neither was the prittle-prattle kind who enjoyed idle chit-chat. In the end, they both leaned backwards and rested with closed eyes. ¡°¡­¡± The old couple opposite them found it rather strange. The good-looking young couple was pleasing to the eyes and they were hoping to strike up a conversation during this long journey. As it turned out, the two were rather distant and did not seem to wee greetings from strangers. ¡°Rumble!¡± ¡°Rumble!¡± Before long, the train left Shengtian behind and gradually took up its speed, making a special sound as it moved along¡ªprobably one of the most familiar ones to the ordinary people. Countless men and women had returned home, gone to school, gone on business trips, searched, lost¡­ each with their individual stories, all apanied by this noise. Of course, the peddling sound of ¡°beer, beverage, bottled water; peanuts, sunflower seeds and eight-treasure congee¡± was practically standard issue on a train. As this boisterous yet harmonious atmosphere continued, night set in outside the windows. There were no signs of any cities, but an endless stretch of bleakness and destion. Lights were switched on in thepartments, outlining dim shadows on the window ss. Sitting idly for hours on end inevitably resulted in fatigue. The passengers had gone quiet with tired expressions. The uncle opposite them seemed to be hungry, and produced a bag of peanuts which he ate with beer and marinated eggs. ¡°Screech!¡± ¡°Choo!¡± Many hours seemed to have passed before the train stopped at a small station. The attendant reminded loudly at the doorway, ¡°We¡¯ll be stopping for five minutes. Anybody who wants to take some fresh air, please be quick. Don¡¯t bete toe back!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go take a cigarette break.¡± ¡°Buy me a tea egg while you¡¯re at it.¡± ¡°Watch out for your bag!¡± Everyone was talking all at once. Quite a few male passengers got off to take some air and some new passengers went on board soon after that. ¡°Hey!¡± Holding a water bottle, Gu Yu was looking out of the window in boredom when Xiaozhai gave him a nudge. He turned around and saw a bloke with a crew cut walked into the carriage carrying a bag. Everything about this man lookedpletely ordinary¡ªeverything but his bag, which was huge and stuffed full, but judging from the way the man carried it, it felt, well, light. Immediately after him walked in another fellow who was short and lean, with an evasive look. The two appeared to not know each other, but turned to stand on either end of the carriage, blocking both exits. ¡°¡­¡± Exchanging a knowing look, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai shrugged simultaneously. *** ¡°Rumble!¡± ¡°Rumble!¡± It was deep into the night and the train rattled on. Sleeping overnight on a train was a wretched experience, regardless of whether one spent it on a hard seat or on a sleeping berth. Most passengers were nodding their heads in drowsiness by now and only a handful remained awake by ying with their cell phones. After an attendant finished another round of routine check-up, the crew-cut guy and the shorty stood up suddenly. Standing beneath the luggage rack, the crew-cut man zipped hisrge bag open, which was filled with nothing but a few stacks of old newspapers. He had long since picked his target. Reaching out with his left hand, he snatched over a small backpack a little way off and stuffed it into his empty bag rapidly. In their line of work, this trick was called ¡°content recing¡±. The shorty, on the other hand, took up a much more ¡°high-tech¡± approach. Strolling along the aisle with much easiness, he would sweep his hand slightly every time he passed a mark. Cell phones and wallets then fell out like ripe fruit. With a wiping motion, anything dropped down would disappear into the shorty¡¯s pockets and their previous owners were still swaying in half-asleep, totally unaware of his deeds. The ng for this trick was ¡°digging from sleepers¡±. Hierarchy existed in all upations. For pickpockets, the most junior staff stole with bare hands and those using a razor de were experts. It could get even ¡°better¡±. The title of ¡°Industrial Giants¡± went to the train-hopping burrs. Pickpockets who operated on trains would usually get on board with short-distance tickets, do their thing and slip away right after. These were veteran thieves who knew better than to linger. After stripping off several marks, they turned around, ready to hide away in another carriage. However, the shorty had just walked a few steps away when something tiny ripped through the air and hit him. All he felt was a pain at the back of his right knee, which sent he kneeling to the floor with a thump. ¡°F**k!¡± He cursed under his breath and struggled to stand up. But this time his back took the hit and he fell on his face because of the pain,nding on the legs of a passenger. ¡°Snore¡­ oh¡­ who? Who¡¯s that?¡± A fatty was snoring with his face upward and opened his eyes with a shudder. Looking down, he found a man burying his head between his thighs¡­ ¡°What are you doing?¡± The fatty shrieked. Realizing things were going south, the crew-cut guy turned to run away, but got it even worse. He fell to the floor and smashed face down. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Is there a fight?¡± The passengers were woken up by the noise and stuck out their heads in confusion. One of the girls with sharp eyes suddenly pointed at the shorty and called out, ¡°He¡¯s a thief!¡± The others turned towards the man and indeed noticed three cell phones stuck around his belt. With that, the carriage seethed with excitement at once. ¡°Isn¡¯t that my phone?¡± ¡°Damn, my wallet¡¯s gone as well!¡± ¡°Call the railway police! Now!¡± ¡°Pin them down! Do not let them run away!¡± The chaos continued for quite some time until the railway police finally arrived at the scene. Because of the irrefutable evidence, the next station along the route was immediately notified and the culprits were to be escorted into custody. The chief attendant arrived in person for a series of apology and constion. He then inquired, ¡°Who discovered those thieves?¡± ¡®Swoosh!¡¯ All heads turned to look at the fatty. ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t me, I¡­¡± Sweat was trickling down his face. ¡°Thank you so much! May I have you name and phone number please? We must have a publicmendation for your good deeds!¡± Ignoring his exnation, the chief attendant went up to the fatty and shook his hand fervently. ¡°Such a nice young man. Thanks to him, nothing was stolen.¡± The old couple were also among the onlookers. After seeing enough of the bustling and stirring, the uncle turned his head back, ready to return to his snack. He called out with utter confusion, ¡°Hey, where did my peanuts go?¡± Chapter 77 Chapter 77: Jiang Xiaojin Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Gu Yu eventually bought a bag of peanuts and some other food at dawn. On the surface, he treated the uncle with the food he bought, but was actually returning a favor. [1] Making smalltalk with the uncle, he learned that the old couple lived in Shengtian while their son had settled down in Jiang Zhou. Their daughter-inw had just given birth to a baby and they were going there for a visit. Gu Yu did not talk much other than saying they were tourists, but it did not erase the knowing smile on old couple¡¯s faces. For to them, the younger ones appeared a perfect match. The train pulled into the station shortly after six o¡¯clock and they bid farewell to the old couple. Walking out of the station, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were immediately enveloped by the mmy air typical to the South, which felt cold and sticky on their faces. ¡°Your younger sister¡¯s indeed not here to pick us up, how ¡®thoughtful¡¯.¡± Looking around, he failed to hold back a sarcasticment. ¡°She¡¯s either sleeping or has just walked out of a night club at this hour.¡± Xiaozhai also found her younger sister a pain in the neck. ¡°Her father, my dad¡¯s second younger brother, is a businessman. She was seldom disciplined as a child and her family spoiled her. We used to y together when we were little, but have fallen out of touch now.¡± ¡°In that case, have you set the time to meet up?¡± ¡°Tonight, her treat.¡± With that, they hailed a taxi and headed directly for the hotel they booked, where they each took a room and settled down, then walked around the city around noontime. Jiang Zhou was not a big city, but was exceptionally advanced in terms of its economy. Together with its ample cultural background, the city was a regional splendor. The urban area had been nned in such a manner that the old and new intermingled¡ªsmall bridges with flowing water of the old district and skyscrapers of the new blended with each other wlessly. Qionglong Mountain stood 20 km away in the west suburb of the city. With an altitude of over 300 m, the mountain dominated the rest at the east bank of Lake Tai. Shi Liangsheng, the first patriarch of Qionglong Sect, was a person of the end of the Ming Dynasty period. Rumor had it that he had managed to get his hands on the Thunder Technique of Shenxiao. ording to the record, ¡°He moved to Qionglong Mountain, the old haunt of the lords of Mao Mountain, and had it renovated.¡± The notion of ¡°renovated¡± was especially interesting. A Taoist temple already existed before Shi arrived, which was a shrine of Three True Lords of Mao (the first patriarchs of the sect of Mao Mountain). However, after Shi Liangsheng set his foot in Qionglong, he drove out the disciples of Mao Mountain and established the sect of Qionglong Mountain of his own, on top of which he expanded the temple and changed its name to Shangzhen instead. (TL/N: literally meaning ¡°the primary truth¡±, the term is used to call top-ss immortals in Taoism.) The fact that Mao Mountain and Shenxiao engaged in internal strife despite both belonging to Zhengyi was proof enough of the disturbing ethos of the time. The position of the sect leader waster passed down from Shi Liangsheng to Hu Deguo, then in turn to Pan Yuangui, when Qionglong was at the height of its power and splendor, taking the head of all sects in southeast China. It was not until a century ago when a great fire destroyed most of its buildings that the sect took a severe blow¡ªit had never quite recovered since then. The Shangzhen Temple we see today was a result of recent reconstruction. The pair had a nice, long stroll, indulging themselves with beer and skittles while messing around with each other like any ordinary young couple out on a trip. Before they knew it, evening set in and they arrived at Songhe (TL/N: meaning ¡°pine tree and crane¡±) Pce Restaurant. It was one of the most famous restaurants in Jiang Zhou, which was located on a pedestrian street in the old town. The interior decoration was quite distinctive; the Chinese ssical aesthetics could be observed from the overall decor to the tiniest details. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were sitting by a table empty of nothing but a pot of tea. They weren¡¯t exactly in the mood for feasting either, for they were discussing their itinerary tomorrow. ¡°What are you going to say when you see that disciple?¡± He asked. ¡°I¡¯ll just say it outright. These things would be easier with direct approaches.¡± She sipped her tea and went on, ¡°We may not be able to find one anyway. There are living disciples, but we know next to nothing about them.¡± ¡°What about asking your sister? She might know something.¡± ¡°Yeah, right. She¡¯d given up bar-hopping for a month to avoid climbing a mountain.¡± With that, Xiaozhai suddenly waved at someone and called out, ¡°Hello, Xiaojin!¡± Following her hand¡¯s movements, Gu Yu saw a girl about the same height as Xiaozhai sauntering into the restaurant. She wore a cropped leather jacket and paired it with ripped jeans and boots that reminded him of the jaw of a shark. She clopped near and slouched into a seat across the table. Tossing her purse aside, she grinned, ¡°Well, my big sister has finally decided to reveal her man! Nice choice! I¡¯d give him a 10 out of 10 for his looks.¡± ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Gu Yu, a friend of Xiaozhai,¡± our fellow stood up to greet her. ¡°Friend?¡± She measured him up and down with her eyes and asked purposefully, ¡°There are a lot of kinds of friends. Which one are you?¡± ¡°Well, I wish I knew the answer as much as you do.¡± He took the chance to send out a flirting line. ¡°¡­¡± The two simultaneously turned to look at the person in question after that, but were received by a nonchnt face sipping at her tea. Tsk! Jiang Xiaojin was disappointed by Xiaozhai¡¯s response and went on, ¡°You must be older than me, so I¡¯ll call you Big Brother, then. Are you from Shengtian as well?¡± ¡°Sort of. I live in Bai Town.¡± ¡°Never heard of the ce. What do you do for a living?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a wechat businessman,¡± answered him with a straight face. [2] ¡°Ptff!¡± The sister (-inw) was almost choked by her own spit. She was about tosh out in ridicule when Xiaozhai stopped her. ¡°I¡¯m ready to ce the order.¡± ¡°Why, do guys now also sell¡­¡± Gesturing, Xiaojin tried to continue with herment. ¡°I said, let¡¯s order some food!¡± Xiaozhai smiled. Oh my! The pretty smile on her big sister¡¯s face had made Xiaojin shudder involuntarily. As if recalling her childhood memory of being dominated by Xiaozhai, Xiaojin opened the menu as she was told. Lowering her head to read, her face was no longer covered by her hair. She had exquisite features, but was undermined by her freckle-covered skin. The heavy makeup she wore also gave her a garish look. Flipping through the pages, she beckoned a waiter over and ced her order. ¡°We¡¯ll have a sweet and sour mandarin fish, a sauteed shelled shrimp, a whitebait and water shield soup, a stewed eel pudding in sizzling oil, and a bamboo shoot soup with fresh and pickled streaky pork¡­ that¡¯s all.¡± Food here in Songhe Pce was quite pricy. The mandarin fish was 168 yuan, the shelled shrimp was 118 yuan, and other dishes were of varied prices. The girl was very generous. She ordered three hot dishes and cold ones, all specialties of the restaurant. She then asked, ¡°Sis, I thought you were working somewhere. Why are you suddenly travelling around?¡± ¡°I quit.¡± ¡°Wow! Awesome!¡± The whimsical girl got excited over Xiaozhai¡¯s words without any warning and went on, ¡°I thought about quitting school all the time but just don¡¯t have the nerve. And you quit your job just like that. That¡¯s amazing!¡± ¡°Talk to your dad. Maybe he¡¯ll say yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to fall for that. I¡¯m perfectly happy living like a good-for-nothing.¡± ¡°Hehe, do you have sses today?¡± ¡°I do. I stayed up toote clubbingst night though, and cannot be bothered to go.¡± As the sisters chatted on, Gu Yu made his own observation on the side. Despite her apparent indifference, Xiaozhai was very tolerant towards her younger sister and doted on her. As carefree as Xiaozhai was, the only time she would let her emotions show was when she was around her family. It did not take long for the dishes to be served. Gu Yu tried them and found the food delicious indeed. The three finished the dinner at around eight. Jiang Xiaozhai did not even flinch at the 1000-yuan bill and paid it with her phone. She gabbed on as they walked out. ¡°I honestly have errands to run today. One of my besties got dumped and I¡¯m needed forforting, consoling, and counseling. I¡¯ll show you guys a good time tomorrow, promise. Brother Gu-whatsoever, listen up! Hanging out with my big sister in public means you stand some chance. Keep at it! I have faith in you!¡± She walked to a red SUV and right after she opened the door, her phone rang. Digging it out of her pocket, her face darkened as soon as she picked it up. ¡°What? That son of a bi*ch still got the nerve to give you problems¡­? Are you an idiot? Stay away from him¡­ fine, fine, I¡¯ming right now. Stay where you are!¡± Getting into her car still swearing, Xiaojin seemed to be in a hurry and drove off without saying goodbye. The two stood where they were, feeling a bit dumbfounded and a sense of babysitting suddenly took over them. Gu Yu chuckled, ¡°Should we go with her?¡± ¡°Yeah, I think we should¡­¡± Xiaozhai sighed. [1] TL/N: In case anybody forgot, Gu Yu ¡°borrowed¡± the uncle¡¯s peanuts the night before to stop the thieves. [2] TL/N: ¡°Wechat¡± is a social media app in China (a bit like whatsappbined with facebook) and ¡°wechat businessman/businesswoman¡± can be a derogatory term, for a part of these people are very well-known for selling dodgy products using the tform. Chapter 78 Chapter 78: Sister-in-trouble Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Manman, it¡¯s all my fault. Please give me another chance! My dear Manman, you know me better than anybody else. You¡¯re the only one; always have, always will be. There¡¯s nothing between me and her. I only broke up with you because I was so mad the other day. Please forgive me! I mean it!¡± In a small shop near Jiang Zhou University, a young man with a fairplexion was holding a bunch of roses while pestering a girl non-stop. Wang Manman was her name. She was not very tall, but had excellent proportions with a plump figure, smooth skin and amply endowed body. It wasmon sense for those with sufficient ¡°experience¡± that girls with figure like hers were ideal to go to bed with. One could almostpare it to eating juicy beef balls. [1] However, right now, her face had gone scarlet with anger. Glowering, she said, ¡°Yang Guang, how can you have the brass to say such things? Weren¡¯t you the one brandishing that woman in front of me? Weren¡¯t you the one who broke up with me? Now that you are dumped, I be your girlfriend again?¡± ¡°Manman, I wasn¡¯t thinking straight back there. You know me, I just like to fool around, but you¡¯re always the special one for me.¡± Having no sense of shame whatsoever, the fellow giggled and tittered, still trying to ster himself onto her. Wang Manman did not want to make a scene in the public. She was about to leave when he blocked her way. ¡°Move away!¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t!¡± ¡°Move!¡± ¡°Manman, I¡¯m truly sorry!¡± The fellow totally ignored his dignity and got down on one knee. Holding up the roses, he said, ¡°I won¡¯t get up unless you forgive me!¡± ¡°You¡­¡± The girl had always been meek and gentle, knowing little of throwing out tough words. While she was shaking with rage, a few onlookers in the shop were kicking up a fuss just for fun. ¡°Give him a chance. He¡¯s kneeling on the floor.¡± ¡°Yeah, admitting the mistake is the ultimate virtue. Now go get a room!¡± Pursing his lips, Yang Guang was secretly glowing. He knew his former girlfriend too well and had chosen this way to take advantage of the weakness in her personality. He was about to force her back into his arms when the vroom of car engine came from outside. ¡°nk!¡± The shop door was mmed open and Jiang Xiaojin stormed in, greeting Yang Guang with a nicebo of kicking and pping. ¡°Screw you! Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you harass my Manman!¡± ¡°Hey! Oh, f**k!¡± Taken by surprise, Yang Guang slumped to the floor. Xiaojin¡¯s punishment did not stop there. She kicked and kicked, her long and hard heels making Yang Guang wish he had nevere here in the first ce. The bunch of roses were rags and tatters by now. Heaving himself up and scrambling away, he dashed out of the shop and pointed at Xiaojin, ¡°So you think you¡¯re so tough, huh? Let¡¯s wait and see!¡± ¡°Wait my ass! F**k off!¡± Picking up a chair, she was about to smash its down at him. The fellow dared not stay any longer and stumbled away. The others were petrified. What a perfect specimen of ¡°female warriors¡± of the northeast. They feared nothing on earth and were not shy about their shiny armor. Wang Manman herself was watching themotion open-mouthed and only found her voice back after a long time. ¡°Jin Jin, you¡¯re awesome!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m awesome, you¡¯re just too weak. If only girls could get tougher, the Earth right now wouldn¡¯t have even half as many shameless bastards.¡± Kicking the roses aside, she prompted, ¡°Hold your praise. We should leave now. I won¡¯t be surprised if that son of a bi*ch came back with his buddies.¡± With that, the two girls got on the car, heading towards the ce Xiaojin rented to stay away from all the fuss. However, they were only a block out when they realized they were followed. ¡°That was fast!¡± ncing at her rearview mirror, Xiaojin pressed the elerator, trying to get rid of the car behind them. The other driver appeared to be an old hand as well and trod upon their heels. The pursuit went on for another two blocks when they reached a quiet street. Another vehicle suddenly appeared from the front, screeching to a halt as it blocked their way. She was forced to stop her car in the middle of the road. Five to six people came out of the two cars, Yang Guang among them. By sheer luck, a few buddies of his were having dinner nearby, and came to his aid at a phone call. ¡°Jin Jin, what are we gonna do?¡± Grabbing her best friend by her clothes, Wang Manman felt her heart jumping out of her throat. ¡°Call the police quietly. I¡¯ll buy us some time.¡± As impetuous as Jiang Xiaojin might be, she was a smart girl. After giving Manman the instruction, she got out of the car. ¡°Hey, you have some guts! I was thinking of wasting that lousy car of yours!¡± Still sore from the injuries earlier, Yang Guang tried to give off a pompous air with his contorted face, which turned out to be a hrious look. ¡°Haha, I¡®ll get told off by the school at most for beating you up. Smashing my car, you¡¯ll end up in detention,¡± Xiaojin sneered with disdain. ¡°Did you get your ¡®badass 101¡¯ from gangster movies? I¡¯m standing right here now. What are you gonna do to me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Awkward silence. She was quite right. These men were all students from universities either locally or in other cities. The hot-headed bunch stopped the girls without much thought, now what? An idea came to Yang Guang¡¯s mind and he tried to steer the argument for his own benefit. ¡°You¡¯re not talking yourself out of this. Do you think you can walk away like this after kicking me up back there? You wish!¡± He turned round and said, ¡°You guys bring up the rear. If anything goes wrong, it¡¯ll be on me.¡± ¡®Damn!¡¯ Xiaojin found things did not look too bright for her now. She was betting on their indecisiveness but had overestimated their sense of shame. As expected, the buddies immediately rxed their faces at Yang Guang¡¯s words. ¡°You sneaked some hits on me back there, but you won¡¯t be that lucky this time.¡± Holding up his fists, Yang Guang sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll know when to stop. Like you said, I¡¯ll get told off at most, or cover the medical expenses.¡± ¡®Shit, shit, shit¡­ I¡¯m finished¡­¡¯ Watching Yang Guang close in one step after another, Xiaojin was moaning inside. It was not like she had learnt the martial arts or something. There was no way she could fend off an adult male. Involuntarily, she felt a sense of regret, ¡®Sigh, if only I had not got so excited back then. I promise I¡¯d keep calm if I were given a second chance.¡¯ ¡®Told you so!¡¯ If her older sister knew these thoughts, she would sneer in contempt. This cycle had been repeated countless times ever since Xiaojin was little. She got into trouble, regretted, got into trouble again, and regretted again¡­ devilish brats were called ¡°devilish¡± because they were incorrigible! ¡°Where¡¯s that arrogance of yours now? Why are you so quiet all of a sudden? It¡¯s still not toote to beg.¡± Yang Guang walked up to her, teasing and taunting. Staring at the man, Xiaozhai¡¯s hand found its way into her pocket where a string of keysy; they had a pair of small scissors attached to it. If fight indeed broke out in the end, she was going to stab someone with them. ¡°Hehe!¡± Yang Guang was the basest kind of scumbag. Raising his hand, he was about to p her over her face. Some of those standing behind were cheering for him while the others frowned, but none stood out to stop him. ¡°No¡­¡± Covering her hands over her mouth, Wang Manman sat inside the car, not knowing what to do. The palm was going tond on her face, when suddenly¡­ ¡°Crack!¡± Something seemed to fly near from afar and smashed right into Yang Guang¡¯s face. His entire body was swept up as if hit by a great force, reminding one of a salted fish flying across the air. Before he even had a chance to scream, he fell heavily onto the ground and passed out. ¡°Ah Guang! Ah Guang!¡± ¡°Who the hell did this? Come out!¡± Everything instantly went chaotic. Some ran to check up on Yang Guang and others tried to look for the culprit. Everyone was shouting and yelling at the same time. Being the most sharp-eyed person at the scene, Xiaojin hopped and bounced, calling out, ¡°Sister, Sister!¡± ¡®What?¡¯ Following her voice, the crowd saw two figures behind the vehicles. They had no idea how long the two had been there. With their backs to the light, their faces were unrecognizable. Both were tall and lean, resembling two shadows. ¡®They must be with the girls!¡¯ The buddies exchanged looks and somewhat held a grudge against Yang Guang. By now, they had no choice but to fight. ¡°Let¡¯s take them on together!¡± The five men fluttered near without any formation, assuming the extra number of people would give them advantage in the melee. On the other side, one of the shadows stepped out of the light, revealing a face as if it had just been conjured out by magic. It was none other than Gu Yu, who was holding a twig in his hand; one that he just picked up from the side of the road. ¡°Boy, you asked for it!¡± The one of those who dashed to the front threw a punch at Gu Yu¡¯s face, while thetter who lifted his hand swung down, knocking the man on his head. ¡°Ah!¡± The man¡¯s fist was still in mid-air when he got hit. It was stupidly painful. Immediately after that, Gu Yu dodged the kicking foot of another man and sent his twig forward. The man backed down clutching his chest in confusion. ¡°Smack!¡± ¡°Ouch!¡± As if strolling idly in a courtyard, Gu Yu wandered around the five men, knocking one after another with the twig like ying whack-a-mole. His movements seemed so slow, yet they just could not evade it. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°F**k! What the¡­ ouch!¡± After swarming towards Gu Yu and Xiaozhai, the five men swarmed away like rats to their hole. One of them finally learned from this painful experience and crouched down holding his head between his arms. He called out, ¡°Brother, Brother, please stop! Please stop!¡± Seeing this, the rest of the group also followed suit, crouching down and begging for mercy one after another. ¡°Boss, please stop! It hurt so damn bad!¡± ¡°Boss, we surrender, surrender!¡± Gu Yu only stopped at these words and asked, ¡°So what happens after you surrender?¡± The quick-witted one replied at once. ¡°We, we¡¯ll never give her any trouble from now on. In the future, we¡¯ll keep distance and never show up when she¡¯s around!¡± ¡°You can go.¡± He waved the twig. ¡°Yes, thank you, Boss!¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Carrying Yang Guang with them, the group slipped away swiftly. Seeing them leave, Wang Manman got out of the car and tugged at her clothes. ¡°Are you ok, Xiaojin? I was so scared!¡± ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine. That scumbag won¡¯t bother you from now on. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Patting her on the head, Xiaojin then turned around and ran towards the other two. She knew all too well that she was going to be scolded and did not greet her sister. Instead, she ran to Gu Yu straight away. ¡°Wow, brother-inw, you are awesome!!!¡± [1] TL/N: Beef balls are made from finely pulverized beef and have a bouncy feeling to them. The ¡°juicy¡± refers to a type of beef ball with liquid fillings inside, which would spurt out when one bites into it. Chapter 79 Chapter 79: Qionglong Mountain Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Gu Yu became panic-stricken after being addressed as her ¡°brother-inw¡±. Turning his head involuntarily, he only saw a calm-faced Xiaozhai, whose feelings towards that term of address he could not tell. He immediately replied, ¡°Don¡¯t call me that, ¡®brother¡¯ is totally fine. We¡¯ve been looking everywhere for you. What was with those people anyway?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all that asshole¡¯s fault. He would not let go of my dear Manman, so I kicked the sh*t out of him¡­¡± Xiaojin told them what she reckoned they should know and introduced Wang Manman to them. ¡®What the heck!¡¯ Judging from her description, Gu Yu had deemed Yang Guang a fiendish, spoiled youngster who couldn¡¯t care less about clearing his own mess. As the saying went, he who loved a girl also loved her sister; Gu Yu inevitably tried to lecture Xiaojin. ¡°Do think before you act in the future. You are all still students. If things get out of hand next time, how are you going to get yourself out then?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, I heard you!¡± Greatly impressed by Gu Yu¡¯s rescuing hand, Xiaojin was even bothered to give him a response. She then added, ¡°Brother, have you learnt Kung Fu before?¡± ¡°Sort of.¡± ¡°Wow, how many men can you handle at a time, then?¡± ¡°It depends. There¡¯s no set standard in these things.¡± ¡°Then, then do you know how to use a sword? And that thing you did with that twig, what was that move called?¡± She was indeed very interested and would not stop bombarding Gu Yu with her questions. While Gu Yu was busy with his perfunctory attempts to satisfy her curiosity, Wang Manman suddenly interjected. ¡°Jin Jin, the police areing. What are we going to tell them?¡± ¡°Oh my gosh, I nearly forgot that!¡± Smacking her forehead, Xiaojin acted all responsible and said, ¡°Let¡¯s wait here and tell them what happened. It should be fine. Sister, you guys go back first.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Xiaozhai turned to leave, but only went a few steps away before turning her head around with a smile. ¡°By the way,e to my ce tonight.¡± ¡°Sister¡­! My DEAR Sister!¡± The girl¡¯s face was immediately crinkled with vexation. She went all puppy-eyed and put on a sorry face, which Xiaozhai ignoredpletely and left promptly, dragging Gu Yu behind her. Xiaojin was still whining and groaning by the time they were out of sight. Wang Manman found her reaction rather strange. ¡°Your big sister seemed nice. Why do you look like you¡¯ve just stepped on a lego brick barefoot?¡± ¡°You have no idea! We were ymates when I was little and whenever I made a mistake, she would¡­ eek!¡± As if struck by something unthinkable, Xiaojin shuddered and stopped in mid-sentence. She silently lit a candle for herself in her head. *** Spiritual essence in Jiang Zhao was slightly denser than in Shengtian¡ªprobably a one on a one-to-ten scale, making it just about enough for one to cultivate here. Gu Yu spend the entire night meditating in his room and did not feel like sleeping at all the following morning. It had been a quiet night¡ªthat is, if he did not take into ount the weird noiseing from the room next door all this time. It sounded like something between aughter and a weeping and he could not tell if the person was being tickled or beaten. Anyway, it went on for quite some time. Gu Yu had some faint idea that it should be some vicious (or indecent, if you like) measures the older sister used to ¡°take care of¡± the younger one. [ED/N: The brackets part was in the raws] Xiaozhai¡¯s sect was extremely mysterious. ording to her, they had twelve Taoist skills and twenty-four ordinary ones, among which five ordinary skills survived. However, Gu Yu knew next to nothing about them apart from snake-controlling, wood-appraising, and that one move from the ¡°pping of Green Sparrow¡±. She was not all that harmless as she might appear to be and Gu Yu found the idea of her trying her hands on her younger sister very usible. [1] The next morning, sunny weather. Gu Yu finished getting ready and walked out of his room with the backpack over his shoulders. The door of the next room happened to open at the same time and out strolled a girl, who greeted him, ¡°Morning, Brother!¡± ¡°Well, morning¡­¡± He was slightly hesitant. The girl was none other than Xiaojin, but she looked like a different person from yesterday. With her long hair hanging loose on her shoulders and not a single trace of makeup on, the skin on her face looked smooth, bright and soft. The youth and sweetness emanating from her almost had a reckless feeling to it. Especially her eyes, which were so bright and fierce. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Noticing his confused face, Xiaojin couldn¡¯t help asking, but realized almost immediately. She pointed at her cheek andughed. ¡°That was a fake freckle look. I painted the little dots myself. It¡¯s very trendy now.¡± ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know that.¡± Coming to himself, Gu Yu could not hold back hisment. ¡°You look much better now. That look yesterday was too ¡®shamate¡¯.¡± [2] ¡°Tsk! I¡¯ll choose whichever way I look. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m doing it to please other people!¡± The moment she raised her voice, that girl from yesterday reappeared and she became a little punk again. Before long, Xiaozhai came out and the three of them went downstairs for breakfast. They were going to visit Qionglong Mountain today. Gu Yu was concerned with taking Xiaojin along, yet Xiaozhai had no such misgivings. Since the two sisters seldom saw each other now, they might as well take the chance to hang out. After breakfast, the three of them headed straight towards the western suburbs. Qionglong Mountain only took up 12 square kilometers in its area and was not exceptionally tall either. It was thanks to its proximity to the city that the mountain got developed. It was more like a vast leisure and vacation park rather than a scenic spot, and was most frequently visited by the locals. The mountain was filled with man-made tourist sites with names like Cultural Garden, Lakeview Garden, Reading Terrace, etc. A winding road was built around the mountain, leading for the mountaintop. Xiaojin drove the vehicle halfway up the mountain and they walked from there on. Halfway up the mountain was an imperial road, allegedly once traversed by some emperor. The road was nked by quiet, beautiful surroundings where verdant bamboos grew in great numbers. When a fresh breeze blew gently, the bamboo leaves rustled softly in the wind. Without man-made noise, the empty mountain almost had a poetic feeling to it. The three of them walked for fifteen minutes and reached the end of the imperial road. In front of them stood Shangzhen Temple, which looked magnificent, built in ordance with the hillside. The main buildings were arranged along the central axis from the east to the west and from the lowest to the tallest, all with a single eave and built with bricks and tiles. Up across the front gate was a que with text written by certain emperor himself. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai exchanged a look, both finding it a bit strange. Quite a few tourists were climbing the mountain around them, but most passed the spot right away, paying no attention to the temple. A couple even curled their lips for some unknown reason. ¡°This Shangzhen Temple doesn¡¯t seem too popr around here,¡± chuckled Xiaozhai. ¡°It sounds like they are speaking with a Jiang Zhou ent. They might know something,¡± added Gu Yu. With that, both darted a look at Xiaojin¡­ well, never mind. It was no use asking her anyway. Whatever answer they might get, since they were already here, they might as well look around. Two adults walked up the stairs with the little brat. There were 77 steps in total. The first hall on their way up was the Three Mao Hall, where the Three True Lords of Mao were worshiped, which they found uninteresting and climbed on after a brief tour. Next came the main hall of Shangzhen Temple, the Tower of Pure Trinity. ¡°Pfft!¡± They bursted intoughter at the sight of the tower. The Tower of Pure Trinity was a three-story building with as many as seven ques hanging on it. The first floor was the Jade Emperor Hall, where the Jade Emperor was worshiped. The Hall of Auspicious Day was on the second floor and the shrines were for Doumu [TL/N: meaning ¡°Mother of the Dipper¡±] and sixty Tai Sui. ording to the Taoist Scripture, sixty Tai Sui under themand of the Celestial Venerable of Doumu took turns to perform duty in the mortal world, taking charge of people¡¯s destiny and fortune. The one on duty was called General Tai Sui, who would became the guardian deity to all those born that year, hence the necessity to worship him. The third floor was where the Three Pure Ones were enshrined. Why were theyughing, you might wonder. Anyone with the slightestmon sense would know that since the ancient times, the rule had been ¡°one god (or, one lump of gods), one hall¡±. The halls could only be arranged horizontally in a row or a ne, never on top of one another. The order of the halls was represented by main hall and side halls, not floor numbers. The way Shangzhen had put it, 64 immortals were squeezed into one building with the Jade Emperor working as a doorman and sixty Tai Sui residing on top of him! [3] ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai went speechless after theughter, finding local people¡¯s attitude somewhat understandable. Just then, a woman appeared from behind the hall with a box of incense sticks in her hand. Seeing the three of them, she hopped near at once and grinned, ¡°Is it your first time here? Go in and light some incense. It¡¯ll help with your career and keep you safe. Donate any amount as you see fit.¡± ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Xiaojin asked. ¡°My hometown is in the countryside. My mother got illst year and I came here to pray. A few days after I went back, my mother recovered. Ever since then, I woulde here all the time. I bought these incense sticks and I¡¯ll give them to you for free. I wish for nothing but bring more worshipers for the immortals.¡± ¡°Free? For real?¡± Xiaojin blinked. ¡°Absolutely! Here, take these!¡± The woman picked out three sticks and thrust them into her hand. She went on hard-selling, ¡°Listen to me, my little girl. There¡¯s no need to go to the first and third floors. You only need to pray to your birth star; it¡¯s the most effective¡­ you see, everyone has a birth star, that¡¯s the one guarding your¡­¡± After finishing her line, the woman darted a look at the other two but decided she¡¯d be better off leaving them alone. She soon walked away without further conversation. Xiaojin would never fall for such scam herself, but only found her ruse so unoriginal that she wanted to make a fool out of these people. She was afraid that her sister and brother-inw might not want to go through the trouble, but the two only said, ¡°Let¡¯s go up there and have a look.¡± [1] TL/N: For those not familiar with anime terms, ¡°¸¹ºÚ¡±, or ¡°Haraguro¡± (meaning ¡°ck-hearted¡±, or ¡°ck belly¡±) describes characters that appear to be cute on the outside but are cruel/scheming/maniptive on the inside. Despite the negative connotation, it¡¯s not necessarily a derogatory term. [2] TL/N: Shamate is a Chinese transliteration of the word ¡°smart¡± and a Chinese subculture, whose followers look like twisted versions of a crossbreed between visual kei and goth subculture (and with very questionable taste). Here¡¯s an article about the shamate ¡°fashion¡±: https://.buzzfeed/kevintang/meet-shamate-chinas-most-hated-subculture?utm_term=.ho0lDkdmR#.kmO1AEgv6 [3] ED/N: Jade Emperor is a sorta big boss of Chinese deities. Think Zeus, Odin, etc. He is one of the Pure Ones. Chapter 80 Chapter 80: Undeserved Fame Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu There were indeed very few tourists in the temple. As a matter of fact, apart from a couple taking pictures on the stairs, the three of them were the only ones inside. The Jade Emperor Hall was not particrly interesting and Xiaojin only stuck her head in to take a brief look before moving on swiftly to the next floor up. The second floor was the most spacious one; enshrined in the front was a Doumu statue with four heads, three eyes and eight arms, each holding a magical instrument. It was nked by sixty Tai Sui deities equally divided on both sides, all so vivid that they were lifelike in appearance. That was the Hall of Auspicious Day. ¡°Excuse me,ywoman¡­¡± As soon as they stepped in, a young priest came up to them and asked Xiaojin, ¡°Are you here to light the incense?¡± ¡°I am!¡± ¡°In that case, you might want to choose a high-quality one. It¡¯s on the pricy side, but would do you good in your health, wealth, and love life,¡± sales pitch flowed out of the priest like a cracked dam. ¡°Burning a high-quality incense can guarantee so many blessings for me?¡± Xiaojin was amused. ¡°Well, the immortals are very spiritual beings. They¡¯ll know whether your prayer is sincere or not. We mortal men have no means to reach them other than lighting incense and kowtowing to show respect. Therefore, what incense you choose bes very important. Burning high-quality ones will guarantee your prayers be heard by the immortals, which will enable them to give us thorougher blessings¡­¡± The priest let loose a flood of eloquence, spurting out little droplets of spit as he spoke. He went on and on about karma and fortune (or misfortune), associating them with the benefit of burning high-quality incenses. Xiaojin was teasing him in the first ce and would never take his bbering seriously. She only replied, ¡°It won¡¯t be necessary. These work just fine for me.¡± Seeing his sweet-talk was to no avail, the priest changed his target and turned to greet the other two. ¡°Hello,yman andywoman¡­¡± ¡°Hello, priest!¡± He barely said hello when Xiaozhai greeted him with a traditional salute gesture. She slipped her left thumb through the gap between her right thumb and index finger, touching the base of her right ring finger. Her right thumb was in a bending position beneath the left one, touching the tip of her right middle finger. Her two hands formed a shape resembling the Taiji diagram. [1] It was called the Zi-Wu hand gesture, a Taoist etiquette passed down from ancient times. [2] The meaning behind the gesture was that the left side was of Yang quality, representing vitality, while the right side was of Yin, suggesting an intention to kill. By wrapping Yang around Yin, death was overpowered by life. Taoist priests on screen greeted others with fist-and-palm salutes all the time. In fact, there were two othermon greeting gestures, one being the hand-cupping gesture and the Zi-Wu gesture the other. ¡°¡­¡± The priest was taken aback by Xiaozhai¡¯s gesture and as if trying to hide his guilty conscience, he didn¡¯t have the heart to continue the conversation, but backed away to where Xiaojin was instead. ¡°Obviously, we won¡¯t force you to buy one if you insist on burning those. Here, let me show you how to worship your birth star.¡± He then asked Xiaojin¡¯s date of birth, found the corresponding Tai Sui figure, and started lighting incense and kowtowing. ¡°What was that all about?¡± On the other side, Gu Yu asked under his breath. ¡°He¡¯s a knock-off,¡± Xiaozhai answered in a whisper, ¡°he dared not return my salute, which means he has no idea what to do.¡± ¡°A fake priest?¡± Gu Yu darted a look at the man and shook his head. ¡°This Shangzhen Temple really does not deserve its reputation.¡± ¡°Hehe, since we¡¯re already here, we might as well look around.¡± Xiaozhai chuckled and turned to observe the row of deity statues. She asked unexpectedly, ¡°Hey, which one is your guardian deity?¡± ¡°Mine is¡­ well, it should be this one.¡± He moved a few steps away and stood in front of a statue. It was a star deity with a schrly appearance. He wore a green rope and looked gentle and elegant. In his hand was a jade Ruyi. [3] His name wasbeled on a te: Tai Sui Bing-Yin, the Great General Geng Zhang. [4] ¡°Nice. He takes after me a lot.¡± He was greatly satisfied with this discovery and looked to the left. Since Xiaozhai was one year older than him, it went without saying that the one up the line was her guardian deity. He looked up and guess what! That star deity was wrapped in a bright red robe gown and carried a majestic look. However, he had a rather conspicuous hairstyle. He was bald apart from two symmetrical horn-shaped buns on either side of his head.[TL/N: Think hammerhead shark. Rece the eyes with buns.] The statue had a ruddy face and was holding a red-tasseled spear in his right hand. Despite thebel ¡°Tai Sui Yi-Chou, the Great General Chen Cai¡±, his fancy, unruly look rather reminded one of certain lotus-root-rted figure in a mid-life crisis. ¡°That¡¯s awesome. Your guardian deity is Nezha!¡± [5] Gu Yu was cracking up. Having been ¡°overruled¡± by Xiaozhai all this time, he finally found something about her that he couldugh about. Surely he would not let go of this chance easily. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai was utterly speechless¡ªpartially for the guffawing idiot over there, partially for the idiotic statue itself. *** While they were messing around on the other side, Xiaojin had finished praying with the incense. Standing up, she asked, ¡°Do I need to make a donation?¡± ¡°It¡¯s totally up to you. The immortals will be informed of your wishes ordingly,¡± replied the priest with a straight face. ¡°Ok.¡± Hearing that, she dug out a one-yuan coin from her pocket and inserted it into the donation box, which hit the bottom with a ng, loud and clear. ¡°Thank you. Kindness knows no bounds!¡± The priest miraculously held his posture and did not seem to be affected at all. He went on, ¡°Currently, there is a master on short-term stay in our temple. If you wish to pray for blessings for your family members, please proceed inside.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like that!¡± Xiaojin was going to say yes to anything anyway and dly walked into a small room, where she found tables, chairs, and a hatchet-faced priest. As soon as he saw her entering, he put on a smiling face and said, ¡°Write names here, your wishes are sure toe true.¡± Her mouth twitching, she made up two names on the spot and wrote them down on a yellow paper notebook. ¡°Are these your parents? Well, rest assured, we will chant the scriptures and say the prayers for the well-being of your entire family.¡± Flipping through the notebook, the hatchet-faced priest revealed pages upon pages of tourists¡¯ names, below which numbers were written. He exined, ¡°Here, these are the amounts all thoseymen left us to pay their regards. The amount of donation we ept here is from 99 yuan to 9999 yuan. I see that you have a rather pleasant face. A donation of either 999 or 699 will do.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have that much money on me.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to give 99 yuan at least. We chant the scripture once a day for 99 days. That¡¯s as little as one yuan per day.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it was up to me? In that case, I¡¯ll donate 10 yuan. A perfect ten.¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t do that!¡± The hatchet-faced priest¡¯s face darkened immediately and threatened, ¡°Let me be clear with you. It you do not donate enough, it will be very bad for your family!¡± ¡°But I only have 10 yuan on me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have friends with you? Borrow some from them.¡± ¡°Nah, we aren¡¯t that close. It¡¯ll be too awkward.¡± This seesaw went on. Xiaojin made a fool of the priest with a straight face and would not pay up. Seeing that he was going nowhere, the priest put on a stern look and said, ¡°There¡¯s no other way, then. You have shown no sincerity and the immortals would surely not give you any blessing.¡± With that, he picked up the pen and crossed out the two names. What the heck! Xiaojin had been taking the whole scam with much indifference ever since the woman gave her the incense. However, the priest had gone too far this time. Luckily, she did not give any real names, or she would be murderously angry by now. Even so, she could not put up with this behavior. ¡°Smack!¡± Banging the table, she leapt to her feet and yelled, ¡°You people are ridiculous! If I don¡¯t pay up, you¡¯ll just cross out the names like that? I¡¯ve seen nasty stuff before, but not as disgusting as that!¡± ¡°This is a quiet ce. Please leave.¡± The hatchet-faced priest could not be bothered to argue and beckoned her to leave. ¡°Quiet my ass! Can Taoist priests behave like this? Are you even a real one?¡± Having full confidence of Gu Yu¡¯s backing her up, the young sister-inw demanded, ¡°Show me your Taoist priest certificate, or I¡¯ll report you!¡± ¡°Huh!¡± Such im made the priest restless. He called out, ¡°Xiao Zhang! Xiao Zhang!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The door opened and the young priest came in. ¡°This one is causing trouble here. Throw her out.¡± The hatchet-faced priest pointed at Xiaojin, who would never let herself be wronged if she could help it. Before the priests could make any move, she ran out of the door on her own first. ¡°Sister, Brother, they¡¯re all yours!¡± Yelling and running, she was not nervous in the slightest bit, but was rather enjoying herself¡ªafter going through all the bullsh*t, she finally felt avenged. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were still bewildered with what was going on when Xiaojin dashed down the stairs, followed by a priest who bellowed at them, ¡°Don¡¯t cause trouble here. No one will get out unscratched if things got out of hand. Go away. Bug off! Leave before I call someone. Now!¡± So that was what happened. The two of them saw at once that their devilish brat had stirred up some trouble again. She was such a pain in the neck. They did not want to engage in a conflict for nothing and had to turn around to leave. [1] TL/N: The ¡°×Ó¡± (year of Rat) and ¡°Î硱 (year of Ox) in the raw are elements of Earthly Branches (µØÖ§) or Animal Zodiac, a Chinese system of reckoning time. The branches could be used in various ways. When arranged on one¡¯s palm, it could be used for fortune-telling. An illustration of how they are arranged could be found here: https://kevinchanbazi.wordpress/2014/07/19/bazi-rtionship-earthly-branchbination/ [2] ED/N: Just google in google images and you should be able to see it somewhere on the first two pages. [3] TL/N: Ruyi, or ÈçÒâ literally means ¡°as desired¡±. It is a curved decorative object that serves as a ceremonial scepter or a talisman symbolizing power and good fortune. [4] TL/N: Bing-Yin is the year number under the time-reckoning system of the sexagenary cycle, aka the Stems-and-Branches or ganzhi (¸ÉÖ§). [5] TL/N: Nezha is a protection deity in Chinese folklore. ording to the legend, hemitted suicide and was brought back to life via a new body made from lotus root, hence the mentioning of ¡°Åº°Ô¡± in the previous paragraph, which is also homophonic to ¡°oppa¡±, the term used in Korea for girls to call men older than them. Chapter 81 Chapter 81: The Disciple Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Having sessfully ridiculed the swindling priests, Xiaojin finally found this trip somewhat delightful. However, the delight onlysted for about ten minutes before turning into irritation. Mountain-climbing was never among her favorite activities to begin with, not to mention all the cultural relics, which only aggravated the annoyance. Shangzhen Temple was filled with halls and towers, each looking not that much different from the next one. While Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were enjoying themselves touring among all the buildings, Xiaojin could not take it any longer. As for now, she was mewling to her sister for the fifth time. ¡°Sister, let¡¯s go. I¡¯m starving! It¡¯s eleven o¡¯clock already! Time for lunch! I can see restaurants over there and I heard the whitebaits here are the best. There won¡¯t be any tables left if we don¡¯t hurry. Dear Sister¡­¡± Xiaozhai remained unmoved by Xiaojin¡¯s bugging and pestering. Gu Yu, on the other hand, found her pitiable and tried tofort her. ¡°There¡¯s only one ce left. After that we¡¯ll go have lunch.¡± ¡°By the time you¡¯re done, I¡¯d be either starved or bored to death¡­ well?¡± Mumbling to herself, Xiaojin suddenly grabbed Gu Yu and hauled him some distance away. She whispered to him, ¡°Brother, this won¡¯t do! You have to hurry up and rise above her. When you be the head of the household, she¡¯ll have to do anything you ask her to!¡± ¡°Come on, how am I supposed to achieve that?¡± Wrying his face, our fellow retorted with a string of questions. ¡°Say I could ¡®handle her¡¯, how does that make me the head of the household? Even if I get the title, do you think she¡¯ll start listening to me? Of all people, you should know best what your sister¡¯s like.¡± ¡°Bro, have some ambition, will you?¡± Xiaojin went on prompting him to do as she said. ¡°Hear me out. From now on, I¡¯m your ally. If there¡¯s anything you want to know, all you need to do is ask. I¡¯ll give away as much as I can!¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± He tried to refuse, but could not resist the temptation and gave his tacit consent in the end. ¡°That¡¯s a deal! Here!¡± Xiaojin lifted her hand and gave him a fist bump. The little rogue had her own ns. Although she was attending university in Jiang Zhao, her family would like her to go back to Shengtian in the future and find a job there. Being in the same city with Xiaozhai meant endless oppression for Xiaojin, so naturally, she would need a helping hand. Xiaozhai paid no attention to the pair muttering on the side. The overallyout of Shangzhen Temple was fairly straightforward. The Three Mao Hall, the Tower of Pure Trinity, and the Hall of the God of Wealth formed the central axis as well as divided the temple into three areas, each scattered with some secondary buildings such as the Hall of the God of War, the Hall of the God of Literature, etc. They had seen most of the scenic spots by now and were about to enter thest one through a double wooden door. Just then, Xiao Qing, who had been hiding somewhere quietly all this time suddenly stuck its head out from behind Xiaozhai¡¯s shoulder and hissed with its two-pronged tongue. Xiaozhai was surprised and gave it a tickle under its chin. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Hiss!¡± Xiao Qing kept its gaze on the wooden door. An aura inside seemed to make it ufortable. ¡°You two,e back here!¡± Seeing this, she beckoned at the two. As those two fellows ran back towards Xiaozhai, Xiao Qing disappeared again with a swoosh. Without any exnation, Gu Yu realized something was amiss just by reading Xiaozhai¡¯s expression. He grinned at the young one, ¡°Xiaojin, if you don¡¯t want to stay here, you can go to the restaurant first. Get some seats for us while you¡¯re at it.¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll be down there in a minute,¡± added Xiaozhai. ¡°Great. I¡¯ll take the order without you, then!¡± Blinking, the girl found their behavior a bit odd, but did not ask further questions and trotted away on her own. Once she waspletely out of sight, the two walked past the threshold. Behind the door was a ck-brick-paved courtyard with a pristine look. In its southeast corner grew an old tree, under which was a stone table with chairs. A building stood at the center of the courtyard with a que hanging up across its front, which said ¡°Hall of the Celestial Master¡±. There were side halls on either wing and three houses at the back, presumably a living quarter. They could see no one in the yard. It was a rather quiet and beautiful ce. They had just stepped into the main hall when a green sh materialized. It was Xiao Qing, who had lost its patience and came out from hiding. It wound itself around Xiaozhai¡¯s arm, acting extremely agitated. ¡°I think something has scared it?¡± Gu Yu asked in surprised. ¡°There must be something special in here,¡± Xiaozhai frowned. The two nced around. The interior of the hall was rather simple and crude. The only implements here were stuff like worship table, altar, and ever-burningmps. On the altar was a statue of Celestial Master Zhang; an incense burner was set in front of the statue, where blue smoke was curling upwards from three burning incense sticks. Gu Yu turned around and pointed towards a direction suddenly. ¡°Take a look at that.¡± Xiaozhai followed his fingers and saw a yellow talisman on the door frame. The rune drawn on it formed a simple pattern resembling a downward spiral. She moved one step closer towards it. As expected, Xiao Qing became more irritated, its two-pronged tongue quivering incessantly. Gu Yu walked up to the door and put his hand on the talisman. A little whileter, he said, ¡°I can detect a special aura,¡± pondering, he added, ¡°it feels like a Taoist skill, but not exactly that. I think it¡¯s activated by some unusual method and can expel evil energy¡­¡± ¡°This is it! Shi Liangsheng has visited Longhu Mountain to study talisman skills. The disciple must be here!¡± Xiaozhai was excited. She had anticipated a fruitless trip, but it turned out that there was light at the end of the tunnel. However, the green snake had reached its limit and was helplessly pleading to its master. Seeing this, Xiaozhai shook her arm. The green snake dashed away with a whizz. ¡°Cough¡­ ahem¡­¡± Just as they were going to explore the ce further, coughs came from behind the statue. Immediately after that, a scrawny old priest with a wizened face strolled out, and was taken aback by the sight of the two. He then greeted them, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I have been a poor host. I was meditating in the quiet room. I hope you are not offended by the neglect.¡± ¡°Senior Priest, please ept my salutation.¡± Xiaozhai greeted him with the Zi-Wu gesture again, saluting the priest. Gu Yu was not of Taoist descent, so he saluted with the hand-cupping gesture that could be used by both Taoist disciples andymen. ¡°¡­¡± The old priest was startled at first, then various expressions shed across his face before he returned the greeting with a Zi-Wu gesture. ¡°So, a young member of ourmunity. Pleasee inside.¡± With that, he led them in. A small door behind the statue opened, leading directly to three houses. The three of them entered the guest room and each took a seat before the old priest asked, ¡°May I inquire where does the young friende from?¡± ¡°Ie from Shengtian.¡± ¡°May I know the young friend¡¯s surname?¡± ¡°My name is Jiang Xiaozhai.¡± ¡°Can I have the pleasure to know who your master is and which sect the young friend belongs to?¡± ¡°Rules of my sect forbid me from revealing those names to the outside world. I do hope you can understand.¡± After answering those questions, it was her turn to ask. ¡°Do I have the honor to know the senior¡¯s name?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the twenty-first generation disciple of my sect. Myyman name is Tan Chongdai.¡± ¡°Senior Tan, Jiang Xiaozhai is here to pay respect.¡± By now, the genteel greeting ritual following the traditional etiquette was finallypleted. Gu Yu watched all this with curious eyes. Back then, when he met old Priest Mo, the greetings were exchanged so slovenly that it felt very vulgarparing to this. After the introduction, Tan Chongdai served two cups of tea for them and said, ¡°I made these from wild tea trees myself. It¡¯s nothing special, but it has a pure and fresh taste. Please try some.¡± Gu Yu took a sip. It was slightly bitter at first and the bitterness spread out once the tea slid down the throat, then an unusual aroma of tea started to surface. ¡°Great tea!¡± Hemended. ¡°Great tea indeed,¡± echoed Xiaozhai. Tan Chongdai was very pleased with their praise and took a sip himself. He appeared to enjoy the tea a great deal. His wrinkles seemed to smooth out, taking away much of the sorrow on his face. ¡°To be honest with you, this remote and unknown corner of mine has few worshipers and it¡¯s been years since I had visitors. You are both very young, but I can see you are both aplished cultivators. It¡¯s a great happiness for me to have you here.¡± ¡°The senior¡¯s talisman skills are very profound. We should be the ones showing admiration,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Ho ho¡­¡± The old priest chuckled meaningfully. It was obvious. Two junior cultivators showed up at his doorstep, who seemed the type one did not want to be trifled with. There must be something they wanted from him. Both sides had realized by now that the day might not end peacefully. However, neither was going to show their hand. Having chatted discursively on all sorts of irrelevant things, Gu Yu suddenly asked, ¡°Old Priest, we wereing in from the front just then and ran into several fake priests there. Who are those people?¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Tan Chongdai sighed despite himself. ¡°To tell you the truth, the Three Mal Hall, the Tower of Pure Trinity, the Halls of the God of Literature and God of Wealth have all been contracted out and those are hired men. The little bit of Taoist scriptures and literary quotations they know have allowed them to run their scam out there. It was thanks to my status as a disciple that I managed to keep this small courtyard after much struggle.¡± ¡°Contracted out?¡± The two looked at each other in bewilderment. They had heard such rumors, but were still amazed to witness the real thing. Xiaozhai asked, ¡°Do you mean that this hall is the only thing left of the legacy of Shangzhen Temple?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The sorrowful look returned to Tan Chongdai¡¯s face. ¡°The young friend is correct. Of the three-hundred-years worth of heritage, this hall and myself are the only living remains of Qionglong Mountain.¡± Chapter 82 Chapter 82: Confrontation Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Shenxiao had Wang Wenqing as its first patriarch, but Lin Lingsu and Zhang Jixian also made remarkable contributions to the establishment of the sect. Lin provided the sect with the ¡°Jade Book of Five Thunders¡±, while Zhang Jixian was the thirtieth generation Celestial Master himself. The fact that he would humble himself to help Wang with setting up a sect suggested there might be an element of investment in it. As a result, the teachings of Shenxiao were diverse, with three separate lines of inheritance descending from Wang, Lin, and Zhang respectively. By the time Shi Liangsheng came along, the thunder techniques had gone through such serious decline that only scattering bits were left of the legacy. Shi had no choice but to go to Longhu Mountain for help and learned the talisman skills there. It was only after that that he was qualified to set up a sect of his own. Another three hundred years had passed since then and this courtyard was what was left of the sect. As for contracting out a Taoist temple, that wasmon practice almost everywhere. As long as the contractors paid the agreed amount to the scenic area management and the local Taoist association each year, they could operate the temple as they saw fit. Things like fake priest would be not at all surprising. Tan Chongdai used to have a pupil back in the day, one who could not endure the austere life and secrized himself. The old priest had tried to take another pupil, but couldn¡¯t find anyone suitable. In the end, he had to live alone in the Hall of Celestial Master, spending his days waiting for the end toe. Hearing this, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai sighed for the old priest. No wonder the man walked around with a gloomy face; he must be full of pent-up frustration. The old priest¡¯s years of loneliness were finally broken today by visitors. Before he knew it, he was deep in conversation. After two rounds of tea, he finally said, ¡°I am content with simply having you here to talk to. But I still need to ask, exactly what are you here for?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu remained silent while Xiaozhai replied after some hesitation. ¡°We are here today because we want to borrow the inherited secret techniques of your sect.¡± ¡°How dare you!¡± Tan Chongdai lept up to his feet, his face darkened with anger. The favorable opinion he had formed of the young couple earlier waspletely gone. He had spected about their intentions, but never expected them to be this bold. From the way she put it, she obviously did not mean the written theories, but was referring to the real cultivating method itself. Did she take it for something that could be lent out to any random person? The ignorant junior¡¯s attempt on the fundament of a Taoist sect would surely be in vain! The atmosphere changed drastically. Tan Chongdai swung his wide sleeves with a grim face and said, ¡°Please leave. Meeting your request is out of the question!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was somewhat embarrassed. Xiaozhai, on the other hand, remained adamant. ¡°It regards the inheritance of my own sect and I would not have asked if I had another choice. And I promise I¡¯ll give it back as soon as I finish reading it.¡± ¡°Humph!¡± The old man snorted, too indignant to reply. The girl went on, ¡°If there¡¯s anything you wish for, why don¡¯t you tell us? We¡¯ll try our best to fulfill it, and in exchange, we get to see the techniques. How does that sound to you?¡± ¡°Exchange? How self-assured of you! What if my answer is no?¡± ¡°In that case¡­¡± Xiaozhai also rose to her feet. ¡°We¡¯ll have no other choice but to take it by force.¡± ¡°You!¡± Tan Chongdai was surprised and infuriated. He was enraged by the youngsters¡¯ defiant manner and taken aback by the way she put it, for he had never met anyone who could speak of their roguish ways so frankly. ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s see what you have got there!¡± Realizing a confrontation was unavoidable, his manner changed abruptly. His gaunt figure seemed to straighten up on its own. Thinking high of his own status, the old priest set his feet in position and stood still, waiting for his opponent to make her move first. The position he assumed followed the ¡°Gang-Dou Steps¡±, a basic leg movement of Zhengyi. [TL/N: Dou (¶·) means the Big Dipper, while Gang (î¸) refers to the handle of the Big Dipper.] It contained over thirty varieties and could be used either in conjuring rituals or ordinarypetitions. The one the old priest performed was called ¡°Gang of Divine Tiger¡±, whose moves resembled tigers dashing down a mountain, very powerful and bold. ¡°Senior, sorry about this!¡± Xiaozhai did not hesitate and strode out, her long legs bringing her several meters forward at once. She was right at the old priest¡¯s face within no time. Pinching her long, white fingers together, resembling a bird¡¯s beak, she pecked at his eyes. Howe she was that fast?! Tan Chongdai had been standing upon his dignity. He shuddered at the strike and made some Gang steps hastily, barely escaping the fingers¡¯ attack. Xiaozhai then stretched out her left hand, which spread out like the most exquisite orchid. With a smooth move, she brushed at the old priest, her manner leisurely yet fierce at the same time. ¡°Clunk!¡± The leg movement the old priest used was not known for its agility and the room was rather small. Within seconds, tables and chairs were bumping into each other while the old priest was dodging the strikes in a fluster. Xiaozhai had only made two moves and he was already on the losing side. Each sect had its own specialty; some emphasized on physical training while others did not, but all sects would teach some basic forms of movement. The hard style martial arts were never a specialty of Zhengyi and Priest Tan had underestimated Xiaozhai to begin with. As a result, Xiaozhai was soon making rings round him. Gu Yu watched on the side and was secretly admiring Xiaozhai¡¯s leisurely manner. He was right to think the ¡°pping of Green Sparrow¡± only one of a series of movements, which on the whole should be aplete set of physical body refining technique. He was growing all the more curious about Xiaozhai¡¯s sect, for it seemed incredible! They had Thunder Techniques, could control snakes and their hard style martial arts were so eye-catching that the sect must have had a blessed fate. Turning his attention back to the duel, he saw that the old priest was reaching his limits and on the verge of being defeated. Xiaozhai charged again while the old priest had lost his bnce slightly. Taking the advantage of it, Xiaozhai¡¯s porcin handnded right on his chest. Tan Chongdai thumped backwards rapidly, his back hit the wall with a thud. ¡°Nice, very nice! I see you are an extraordinary youngster!¡± His gaunt face contorted violently, apparently infuriated. Fishing out a yellow talisman from his chest pocket, he smashed it onto his right shoulder with a facial expression that said ¡°this is very expensive stuff¡±. The appearance of his arm was as ordinary as before, yet something inexplicable seemed to have wrapped around it. Gu Yu¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he warned, ¡°Watch out!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai also concentrated on the old priest¡¯s movements. When he approached her, she lifted her hand and pecked at him again. This time, however, Tan Chongdai showed no intention of either dodging or evading, but raised his right arm to take the hit. ¡°nk!¡± There came a crisp sound. It was a sh of human flesh, but sounded like a collision of metals or stones. ¡°Ouch!¡± Xiaozhai flung her hand in the air as she stumbled back for half a step. It was quite painful. She knew the power of her pecking better than anyone else, yet that arm felt as though it was wrapped inside an armor, which was imprably hard. Zhengyi had a talisman named ¡°Golden Armor¡±. Once attached on somebody, no de or spear could harm the person. However, after centuries of decline, the effectiveness of the talisman was also significantly reduced; by now, it could only work on a certain part of the body for a short duration. At the price of his own essence and blood, the old priest had managed to make two pieces of the talisman. The event today was costing him an arm and a leg. ¡°You do not get to do as you please just because of your little achievements. I¡¯ll teach you a lesson on behalf of your master!¡± Gaining the upper hand, he showed no mercy to his opponent. Carrying out Gang of Divine Tiger, his limbs swiped forcefully in the air with extraordinary momentum. ¡°Hee!¡± Grinning with a smallugh, Xiaozhai turned to evade his attack at once. Taking advantage of her own nimbleness, she dodged, shifted, leapt, and twirled in the room, sneaking in an attack every now and then. She was sure that the effect of the talisman would wear off soon, so she dragged the old priest into a dogfight. After a while, the old priest was indeed getting impatient. Grinding his teeth, he took out another piece of talisman and was about to put it on. ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Right at that moment, a figure breezed into the small area and stood between the two. Xiaozhai backed away immediately, but the old priest would not let it go. ¡°There¡¯s no point fighting on like this¡­ sorry about this!¡± Holding Tan¡¯s arm, Gu Yu emitted his spiritual essence and bang! Tan Chongdai stumbled back with thumping steps and was pushed against the wall again. ¡°You, you¡­¡± The force he felt did not enrage him, but had brought horror to his face instead. He blurted out, ¡°Are you a disciple of Quanzhen? Have you reached the innate state?¡± *** Quanzhen and Zhengyi had been arch-rivals for centuries and knew one another through and through. Tan Chongdai had reacted in exactly the same way as old Priest Mo; both found it hard to believe. After all, it had been over a century since there was any record on innate state. Right now, he was overwhelmed by a mixture of feelings. He was still a sect leader himself, but had barely kept his feet against a girl and was defeated by a boy in a matter of seconds. Fury and grief engulfed him. Yet in those emotions, there was a hint of relief and self-constion, ¡®He has reached the innate state. There was no way I could be his match!¡¯ His head was riddled with all sorts of emotions; he stood dazed at the spot after shouting out that one sentence. In the end, Gu Yu broke the ice. ¡°I¡¯m not from the Taoistmunity and this is not the innate state.¡± He straightened the tables and chairs, then gestured with a sweep of his hand, ¡°Old priest, please take a seat.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Tan Chongdai felt rather humiliated, but he had enough self-awareness to realize that he should take the chance when Gu Yu was giving him an out. He took the hint and the three of them resumed their seats as if nothing had happened. Gu Yu said, ¡°We really did not have another choice. We do hope you could understand.¡± ¡°I¡¯m inferior to you in skills. No need to apologize on that.¡± The old priest was quite adaptable to circumstances. He went on, ¡°One thing I don¡¯t understand is that you two are already aplished cultivators, what do you want my heritage for?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re not at liberty to tell you that. Now, may the old priest consider our offer?¡± Gu Yu grinned. Such undisguised roguish behavior! They would beat you first before proceeding to negotiating, and if you would not yield, they would beat you again¡­ what could Tan Chongdai do? He was bing a desperate man! Yet after a brief moment of silence, he spoke again. ¡°There is only one thing I want to ask you¡ªexactly where are you from? If you could exchange that information with me, I¡¯ll hand you the secret techniques myself. Otherwise, you would never find them even if you turn this ce upside down!¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± The stakes were high and Gu Yu was quite hesitant. It was Xiaozhai who replied, ¡°We can¡¯t give you the answer right away. We need time to consider it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯lle back another day.¡± ¡°Sorry about the disturbance today.¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Tan Chongdai was both vexed and amused. ¡®How could you pretend nothing ever happened after you have practically taken this ce apart?¡¯ He saw them off with a grim face and closed the door behind them, feeling he had seen enough visitors for a day. Returning to his room, he sat still for quite some time before the feeling of grievance started to subside. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Recalling Gu Yu¡¯s capability, he sighed involuntarily. Under current circumstances, those who would not give up on cultivation must have their minds set on the Great Dao. He had discovered a possibility to reach a higher level, but it would be at the cost of the heritage of his sect. Such dilemma was not conceivable to ordinary people. *** Coming out of Shangzhen Temple, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai turned to the restaurant on the mountain, where Xiaojin was driven mad by the long waiting and showered them with another round of jibber jabber. The three of them resumed their sightseeing after lunch and returned to Jiang Zhao in the evening. At night, in the hotel room. The sisters had taken their showers and were now lying in bed, watching TV. Both of them were very tall, 177 cm and 175 cm respectively. Wrapped in white bathrobes, they vividly reminded one of two mermaids. ¡°Mountain-climbing was so boring. I wouldn¡¯t go there in a million years if it weren¡¯t for you two. Ah, the whitebait we ate for lunch was so delicious. Howe you have so much energy. I¡®m exhausted! Aiya, I¡¯m a little hungry. The dubbing is so lousy! Sister, can we go out to have some spicy hot pot?¡± Xiaojin was a chatterbox. She could miraculously hop among all sorts of irrelevant topics, which could drive one nuts. Xiaozhai had been ignoring her this whole time. Checking the time, she suddenly sat up and got out of bed. ¡°You go sleep first. I¡¯m going out for a while.¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Next door,¡± she changed into her daytime clothes. Sweet Mother of Jesus! Xiaojin bolted up in bed and shrieked with sparkling eyes, ¡°Wow, Sister, you¡¯ve finally got your head around!¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Xiaozhai did not like that expression. She walked to Xiaojin and held her up by the cor. ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°I, I did not say anything¡­ ah, I was saying, if you have time, buy me some spicy hot pot! Sister, it hurts, hurts¡­¡± the little rouge immediately begged for mercy. ¡°Go to bed. Eating before sleeping is bad for your health.¡± After ¡°racking¡± Xiaojin with her sisterly authority, Xiaozhai went out. ¡°He-he!¡± The little rogue¡¯s face immediately became lively. Putting on a jacket, she trotted out after Xiaozhai. She looked around to make sure no one was around, then stuck her ear to the door of the neighboring room, hoping to hear the talking (or groaning, if it were up to Xiaojin) inside. [1] [1] ED/N: As you may have already noticed by now, the author enjoys such ambiguous jokes being put into brackets between other words in a sentence. Not sure, but it may also be wordy-based. Anyway, this is another such instance. Chapter 83 Chapter 83: The Secret Record Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu When Xiaozhai went into the room, Gu Yu was reading. He bought a book on their first day in Jiang Zhou from some random shop and would read a few pages when there was nothing better to do. ¡°Is the book good?¡± She asked. ¡°Don¡¯t expect too much. I only read to kill the time. It¡¯s readable, if you ask me.¡± He put a marker in the book, then put it squarely on the bed stand, making sure it was not skewed to any side before asking, ¡°Is Xiaojin asleep yet?¡± ¡°Not yet. She¡¯s watching TV.¡± She sat down on a chair and said, ¡°She¡¯s probably exhausted after today¡­ hm?¡± ¡°¡­¡± They both halted, and after staying silent for a second, Gu Yu walked to the door and yanked it open. ¡°Ouch!¡± Xiaojin, who was eavesdropping with her face t against the door lost her bnce and stumbled in, rolling and tripping. Gu Yu moved aside and the little rogue fell on her knees with a thump. Sensing two pairs of eyes gazing at her, Xiaojin put on a shameless face and giggled, ¡°Well, I won¡¯t be bothering you. I¡¯m off to bed. You guys continue with whatever you were doing!¡± With that, she lept up and ran out, mumbling all the way back, ¡°What kind of ears do they have anyway? How the heck did they hear me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was speechless. He closed the door without anyment and returned to his seat. When a man and a woman had a room of their own, regardless of what they might do next, chances were that hot water would be involved. There are kettle and sses in the room but they¡¯d rather not use it. What if someone had been boiling underwear in it? Luckily, neither of them were the hot-water-only type. Xiaozhai took a sip of bottled water and asked, ¡°What do you think of the old priest¡¯s terms?¡± ¡°Actually, before you came in, I have been thinking of something.¡± Gu Yu did not answer her question, but turned to talk about something else instead. ¡°Suppose one day this world is filled with spiritual essence and the Taoist skills reappear, what do you think it would look like?¡± ¡°Ha, it¡¯ll probably look like the TV series. Sects and schools are established everywhere,peting for the Great Dao and cutting each other¡¯s throats,¡± chuckled Xiaozhai. ¡°But couldn¡¯t they exchange ideas, make progress, and create the future together?¡± ¡°They certainly could. Since it has not yet happened; any assumption is usible.¡± Xiaozhai was apparently very interested in this subject. ¡°I don¡¯t know what the future will be, but what I do know is that I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Looking forward to blessed spots, uncharted ces, and spiritual mountains?¡± He chuckled as well. ¡°Those, and rare treasures, pellets, magical formations, killing people from a thousand miles away and swooshing through the air riding a sword.¡± ¡°The riding sword part might be problematic.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°What if you bump into an airne?¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Xiaozhaiughed. She then rose to her feet unexpectedly and bowed to Gu Yu. ¡°I see what you mean. Thank you foring this time.¡± ¡°I wanted this myself, and it was also to return the favor.¡± ¡°A favor can weigh as much as Mount Tai if you value it so, otherwise it could be nothing to you. Anyway, thank you.¡± The two went on with this enigmatic wording, which might make no sense at all had a third person been present. After all, they knew what they were talking about. *** Two dayster, Qionglong Mountain. The two visited the temple again, this time without Xiaojin. There were still no more than a handful of people inside Shangzhen Temple. A couple of hapless tourists were being bamboozled by the fake priests. They went straight into the rooms behind the Hall of Celestial Master. Tan Chongdai closed the door and waited nervously and eagerly. When Gu Yu started talking, the old priest was wishing he would agree as much as wishing him to refuse. He would obtain information on cultivating to a higher level if Gu Yu agreed and would not have to reveal the secret of his heritage if Gu Yu refused. ¡°I cannot tell you everything about my background¡­¡± Gu Yu started by that statement, then went on, ¡°But I know very well what you want.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Tan Chongdai winced, not sure what that ambiguity meant. He asked, ¡°So, what are you going to do?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Looking at the old priest, Gu Yu sighed to himself, then waved his hand. ¡°Snap!¡± As if the light had been switched off, the old priest felt his mind go dark and his surroundings seemed to have been turned upside down. In a sh, he was in another world. ¡°This, this is¡­¡± Tan Chongdai turned pale with fright. The world in front of his eyes had no tangible form, as though it was floating in mid-air. Clouds stacked up under his feet, which were held together by a virile energy. The clouds were soft to step on, but could support as much weight as one could imagine. Looking up, he could see jade terraces and splendidly decorated grand towers, which had gone through vicissitudes of thousands of years. They were built upon the vital energy of Great Dao; high above as the buildings might be, they did not look imposing. Aside from those, the ce was also brightly lit from the splendor of rare treasures. With the Green Birds hovering overhead, it was indeed a divine abode. On the jade terrace above the highest heavens sat a divine being, whose figure was blurred and face indiscernible, yet whose prestige was so magnificent that one could not help but be moved. Then, the divine being seemed to wave their hand. Instantly, the world changed drastically as clouds rolled in tidal waves, gathering towards one spot where they umted and became heavier and heavier. Without any warning, the chunk of clouds cracked, revealing a crevice from which appeared the body of a dragon, whose roaring reverberated in the air. Then came some other sounds, ¡°Boom! Boom!¡± Streaks of purple lightning wrapped in divine light struck down, which would stop at nothing and threatened to destroy all things on earth. Tan Chongdai felt goosebumps break out all over his body and he was filled with surging excitement and anticipation. He was about to move closer to kowtow, but realized that he could not move his body. As anxiety took hold of him, his mind went dark again. When he reopened his eyes, he realized he was still sitting in the guest room. *** Tan Chongdai sat still for a little while, as if in a trance. When he saw the young man in front of him, everything became clear in an instant. His hollowed face twitched slightly and the muscle on his neck trembled. A faintly discernible agonized sound was squeezed out of his throat: ¡°Weep¡­ weep¡­¡± The next moment, the old priest started sobbing, which was growing louder and finally became a hoarse wail. ¡°Time waits for no man! I don¡¯t want to believe this! This cannot be the end for me! Sob¡­ I don¡¯t want to give up!¡± His face was crumpled up by all the wrinkles, giving him an almost deformed look, yet the aura of utter grievance was emanating from his body. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai watched him in silence. They did not expect his reaction to be this strong and could not help but feel touched. Tan Chongdai wanted nothing but to raise his cultivation to a higher level. Therefore, Gu Yu conjured up a vision and dragged him into the one ce his heart desired most. In his illusion, Tan saw the divine clouds of all heavens, the stately Immortals and the ultimate thunder techniques. Yet it only dawned on him when he came back to reality that everything he just saw was made up by that young man. The Great Dao! The TRUE, Great Dao! Being the leader of a sect, Tan Chongdai was perceptive enough to grasp at once what Gu Yu had revealed. What he had learned caused the meltdown and his crying ¡°Time waits for no man!¡±. The millennium before his time was a flourishing age for cultivators, but he was not born to the time. Now that Taoist skills were resurfacing, he was having one foot in the grave. He did not know if he could live to the day when he could see it with his own eyes¡­ For a cultivator, the sadness and despair of missing such an event surpassed anything else there was. Tan Chongdai took his time crying and calmed down a bit after a while. He stood up and bowed low at Gu Yu. ¡°Young Friend, thank you very much!¡± ¡°Senior, you don¡¯t have to do this!¡± Gu Yu held him up immediately and seated him in a chair. ¡°Young Friends, you have my word. I will never tell anyone about this.¡± Tan Chongdai wiped away the tears with his sleeves and fumbled out a few pages of thin paper, then handed out with trembling hands. ¡°Here are the secret skills passed down in my sect. Now it¡¯s yours.¡± ¡°Thank you, Senior. I¡¯ll give it back as soon as I finish,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Sigh, what¡¯s the point of returning it. You can have it.¡± The old priest had experienced more excitement in the past two days than everything put together in his entire life, which had significantly affected his state of mind. His original n was to take the inheritance into the grave and set an end to the legacy of Qionglong Mountain. But knowing that the Taoist skills wereing back, he could no longer give up on his sect. ¡°I¡¯m too old to travel freely; the greatest regret of my life was not having a suitable pupil,¡± Tan Chongdai¡¯s face was clouded by sorrow. ¡°The fact that you were willing to reveal such great matter to me means that you must not be narrow-minded people and that you were doing this out of desperation. Therefore, I have a presumptuous request. In your future journeys, if you happen toe across children with nice natural endowment and temperament, could you teach them the secret skills on my behalf? In that way, when I move on to the other world, I would not have to face my antecedents in shame.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Exchanging a look, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai answered in unison, ¡°We won¡¯t betray your trust.¡± ¡°Good, good.¡± After letting go of this obsession, Tan Chongdai found the energy flow inside him much more smooth now, giving him an idle and rxed feeling. These three had gone through quite a few twists and turns since they became acquainted. They talked, got physical, and talked again; they even almost became friends in the end, which only proved how unpredictable life could be. *** Despite what he¡¯d revealed to the old priest, what Gu Yu had held back was much more inparison¡ªsuch as the method of consuming essences¡ªfor the stakes were so high that if it got out, the entire Taoistmunity could be at his heel. Xiaozhai took the secret record. She did not read it until they left Shangzhen Temple and found a secluded spot. The record was obviously written down recently. The heritage of Qionglong Mountain was very likely not passed down in written form but was all in the old priest¡¯s head. That was why he made the im that they would not be able to find it even if they turn the temple upside down. They sat on a bench under a tree. No sound of men could be heard, only a stream was gurgling past them. Xiaozhai unfolded the pages and saw that the text did not contain a lot of words. The record started by saying: ¡°The fundament of the skillse from the Dao and the Daoes from the mind.¡± It then went on: ¡°The East is given the number three, the South two, the North one, and the West four. Together, they are the origin of all great numbers. The Center is denominated with five. Thunders operate in the air in the center of heaven and earth, hence the name ¡®Five Thunders¡¯. Thunders are the crux of heaven and earth and represent themands from heaven. The supreme power they have enables them to dominate everything within the three realms and nine levels of the universe! Thunder skills are innate Dao and the God of Thunder can be found within oneself. Those using the Five Thunders Technique to eliminate haunting spirits would apply the technique based on the Great Dao, corresponding to the profound theories. Coordinate water and fire while making metal and wood ur simultaneously, so that one is rid of the mortal frame and deified, bing a paramount immortal. Arrange the five Qi in the middle Dantian and gather all one¡¯s spirit. One has to think like a dragon, act as unrestrained as a dragon, and dominate all things in the world like a dragon. Summon thunders in one¡¯s palms and embody the universe within oneself¡­¡± Reading this paragraph, Xiaozhai kept mumbling to herself, ¡°Think like a dragon, act as unrestrained as a dragon, and dominate all things in the world as a dragon; dominate all things in the world like a dragon ¡­¡± Gu Yu was worried and curious. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What is it? Anything wrong?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just that my master had told me some bits and pieces of theories, which sounded very close to this record.¡± She lost control of her emotions and her voice cracked. ¡°Gu Yu, the thunder skills of Shenxiao is indeed closely rted to my sect.¡± ¡°Are you saying¡­¡± ¡°Exactly! The Book of Thunder of Wang Wenqing and Lin Lingsu, where on earth did they get it?¡± Clutching the thin paper, Xiaozhai said, ¡°One of them must have had contact with the patriarch of my sect.¡± After that, she resumed reading in a hurry, but the look on her face changed slightly as she turned the pages from side to side. ¡°This is it¡­ this is it? These sentences are the only things left of the thunder skills of Qionglong Mountain?¡± Gu Yu took over the paper to have a look. She was right. Only half a page was about the thunder skill and the rest was on making talismans, praying rituals, incantations, Gang Steps of Divine Tiger, etc. He did not know whether he should cry orugh at that moment. These few lines were the only thing they got after everything they had gone through? However, they did learn something. At least they were following the right lead. What they were looking for was in Shenxiao. It was safe to say that their days would be very busy. With Xiaozhai¡¯s temperament, if Shenxiao really was the one robbing her sect of its inheritance, she would take it back from them even if she had to search through all the mountains in this world! Chapter 84 Chapter 84: Leaving Jiang Zhou Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°To think like a dragon obviously refers to a mind-nourishing method. The thing you imagine when you nourish your mind must be a physical object, hence the dragon here must exist physically.¡± ¡°Nonsense! Are cool breeze and moonlight tangible? They were used for inward contemtion before. And what about the ¡®dominate all things in the world like a dragon¡¯? Obviously it is talking about a state of mind; it¡¯s a metaphor.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a metaphor. It should be something real.¡± ¡°It must be a metaphor¡­¡± ¡°Knock knock knock!¡± Inside the room, the two were engaging in a fierce argument, a stark contrast to the usual indifferent and peaceful atmosphere between them. However, a knock came from the door suddenly, followed by Xiaojin¡¯s voice, ¡°What¡¯s going on in there? You do realize you can always vent those passion on each other, right? Why use words when you can get physical? My ears are aching from all your talking!¡± ¡°Huh!?¡± The two were all hyped up and she had to show up at this moment for some ¡°sisterly love¡±. Well, she had iting. Xiaozhai reached the door in a couple of strides and yanked it open. Squeaks and whines streamed in. ¡°Sister, I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m so sorry! Ah, that hurts, hurts! Forgive me¡­ I¡¯m on my way, right now¡­¡± Then with a loud bang, the door was closed and all was quiet again. The two also took a break, rxing their minds in the meantime. The paragraph from Tan Chongdai¡¯s secret records was probably something along the line of a general principle. Because it contained no specific cultivating method, the two of them had to deduce things little by little. If they were to take the words literally, the text was basically saying: ¡°Wood belongs to the East, fire the South, metal the West, and water the North; together with earth in the Center, they make up the Five Elements of heaven and earth. The thunder is umted from the Five Elements, hence the Five Thunders. Thunders carry out themands of heaven and earth with utmost authority, dominating over any living creature within three realms and nine levels of the universe. And, ¡®dominating¡¯ means ¡®to absorb¡¯ as much as ¡®to terrify¡¯. That is to say, once the thunder technique is unleashed, the practitioner could absorb power from the surroundings as well as make everything bow to his power. When one reaches perfection in the thunder technique, he will be immortal.¡± The above paragraphs were quite easy toprehend. Five Thunders corresponded to the Five Elements and five internal organs, which had something inmon with Gu Yu¡¯s ssification in that both connected the internal Five Elements with the external ones. The difference was that while Gu Yu used it to temper the physical body and concentrate the spirit, the secret record used it to breed the thunder energy. Xiaozhai¡¯s sect originated during early Tang Dynasty when the essence-consuming method had not yet declined. All sects and schools would draw lessons from the method, hence what the secret record suggested made sense. Everything was understandable apart from thest sentence, namely the ¡°think like a dragon, act as unrestrained as a dragon, and dominate all things in the world like a dragon¡­¡± part. They had been racking their brains over it and still could not reach a consensus. Did the dragon refer to the divine being soaring above all heavens? Or was it a metaphoric expression of a certain state in the same way as ¡°Dan-bearing¡± and ¡°Yuan Ying¡± did? Apart from that, they also made another discovery. They hade to realize that recorded in the text was aprehensive system of the thunder technique, because the idea of ¡°inward contemtion¡± was mentioned. What was called ¡°visualization¡± in Buddhism was ¡°inward contemtion¡± to Taoist followers¡ªit was a secret method to nourish and refine the spirit. The cultivation of the mind was extremely difficult. Aplete set of inheritance usually came with corresponding spirit-nourishing methods. The reason why Gu Yu¡¯s Method of Consuming Six Essences was iplete was theck of a spirit-nourishing method. On a whole, the information they acquired was so limited that these were the only things they coulde up with. In the following days, they visited the temple daily to exchange ideas and discuss theories with Tan Chongdai. The content of their discussion was substantial this time. Since the old priest counted on them to find a pupil to seed his legacy, he was no longer hiding anything from them and exined in details about skills, talismans, and incantation. Call it returning a favor orpensation, the fact was that Gu Yu helped Tan with dredging the stagnated Qi and blood in his body, while Xiaozhai even came up with a few body-tempering moves and left it to the old priest. With these two approaches, other things aside, the life expectancy of the old priest was extended for another three years at least. They arrived in the little courtyard rather bossy, even assuming an arrogant air sometimes. Yet as the events unfolded, it was quite hard to tell now which of the two sides was the debtor and which the creditor. *** Before they knew it, the two had stayed in Jiang Zhou for over a week. They hardly went out for any sightseeing, but werepletely upied by the lousy business of Qionglong Mountain. Xiaojin woulde over whenever she did not have sses and sleep over in her sister¡¯s room. After a couple of days, she became quite close with Gu Yu, for while the big sister ¡°terrified¡± her all the time, the brother-inw doted on her. The little rogue was seldom disciplined¡ªif at all¡ªduring her childhood and left home for school when she hit puberty. Rebellious and ostentatious behavior was unavoidable. However, she could tell who were the people that genuinely cared for her. That is to say, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai held a very special ce in her heart. She could not help but feel attached to them. Overcast, cold rain. In the waiting hall of Jiang Zhou Railway Station, Xiaojin looked grumpy, for those two were leaving. To make it worse, they showed no sadness at parting whatsoever, but were deep in conversation in a low voice again. ording to their itinerary, they were heading for Tianzhu Mountain in Qian Zhou to examine the condition of spiritual essence there. After that, they would turn southwest and go straight to Shu Zhou. Qian Zhou was not far, only a four-hour ride by train. Not many people were waiting for the train either. After whispering to each other for a while, they finally noticed the low-spirited younger sister. ¡°What¡¯s all that about? It¡¯s not like we¡¯ll never see each other again.¡± Seeing that Xiaojin pursed her lips with watery eyes, Xiaozhai could not help but tease her. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you are going to cryter.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± She was a sentimental kid, but would never admit it herself. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see you guys off. It¡¯s been a week since Ist had fun.¡± ¡°Hehe,e to Bai Town for your winter vacation. I¡¯ll show you a good time,¡± Gu Yu chimed in with a smile. ¡°It¡¯ll be ages before the winter vacation¡­¡± Eyeing him, Xiaojin suddenly grabbed his arm and dragged him to the side. She whispered, ¡°This alliance between us has not achieved anything yet. But don¡¯t give up. You have to work this thing out; think of it as a life-and-death struggle. You¡¯re leaving and I have nothing for you to take away but this little intangible ¡®cultural heritage¡¯. Take it as a parting gift.¡± With that, she fumbled out a ck pen and wrote something down on his palm. ¡°What is it?¡± He was confused. ¡°Never mind what it is. Just memorize it. It¡¯lle handy some day!¡± She gave him a solemn promise. The three chatted for a while more when the announcement suddenly sang out, ¡°Dear passengers, Train No. DXXX from Jiang Zhou to Qian Zhou is now ready for ticket-checking¡­¡± ¡°Ok, that¡¯s our train,¡± Xiaozhai lifted her backpack off the ground. ¡°You should go back. Drive carefully,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Em, bye bye!¡± The kid stood there and did not leave until they passed the checkpoint and walked onto the tform. They boarded the train and found their seats. The carriage was not fully loaded¡ªabout a third of the seats was empty. Xiaozhai leaned against the window, texting someone on her phone. Having nothing better to do, Gu Yu looked at his palm again. On it, Xiaojin had written ¡°75d, 64, 38¡±. He could not see any pattern in thisbination and had no idea what Xiaojin was getting at. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Xiaojin had finished texting and asked casually. ¡°Nothing¡­¡± He flipped his hand to conceal his palm, but she still managed to steal a glimpse. The girl then said, ¡°Well, those are the sizes of my bra, my waist and my shoes.¡± ¡°Pfft!¡± Gu Yu choked on his spit. ¡®Sis, do you mind not giving away such information with a nonchnt face?¡± Right now, all he could think of was to rush back and give that young butt a good kick. He was then overwhelmed by embarrassment, self-conscious with the position of that hand, which ended up hanging awkwardly over his leg. Xiaozhai seemed to notice none of this. She asked suddenly, ¡°Hey, what was the bra size of your ex-girlfriend?¡± ¡°I, I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you bought underwear for her before?¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°Did she have nice breasts?¡± ¡°Stop! Stop right there!¡± He wholeheartedly did not want to continue this subject. Wrying his face, he asked, ¡°Can you ask something else?¡± ¡°Sure¡­¡± Xiaozhai paused and asked again: ¡°Which do you prefer eating, bamboo shoots or steamed buns?¡± [1] Gu Yu, ¡°¡­¡± ED/N: Thunder doesn¡¯t have a plural form in English, but we had to take some liberty with that because the trantion would lose part of its meaning otherwise. [1] TL/N: The ¡°bamboo shoots¡± and ¡°steamed buns¡± are ¡°inappropriate¡± puns referring to the shape of female breasts. Chapter 85 Chapter 85: Qian Zhou Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu If there was anything that Gu Yu could never bring himself to deny, it would be this: Xiaozhai was a veteran. Exactly how ¡°veteran¡± was she? Well, pick any subject and she would know about it, while you might not be able to follow every topic she raised and would have to feel abashed for yourck of creativity. That was what Gu Yu felt now¡ªabashed, to such an extent that he rarely spoke during the train ride and was reflecting on himself in silence the entire time. The train rumbled on for over three hours before entering Qian Zhou territory. The city was located in a mountainous region and not highly urbanized. Looking into the distance, all they could see were small viges and towns inserted in the foldings of the mountains, reminding them of jigsaw pieces. Another ten minutes and the train pulled into the station. The two did not waste any time wandering around, but rented a car and headed directly for Tianmen [TL/N: meaning ¡°the gate of heavenly pce¡±] Town, which was right at the foot of Tianzhu Mountain. Tianmen Town had a long history and numerous historical buildings could be found in the town. Tens of thousands of people relied on the mountain to make their living. They had booked their rooms with a B&B, whose houses were adorned with corbel steps and small gray tiles. It was a typical three-sectionpound and was arranged symmetrically along the central axis with three aligning rooms across the width. A hall was in the middle, on either side of which were rooms. In front of the hall was a courtyard, which provided natural light and ventted the rooms. Together with the surrounding high walls, there was a self-satisfactory beauty about this space. The B&B belonged to a family of five¡ªthe grandparents, the parents, and a teenage daughter. The wife was in charge of the household. She was a dumpy and jolly character whoseughter resounded in the rooms. ¡°Wee, wee! We knew you wereing and have made the room ready for you.¡± She led them to a standard double room. The bedding was newly changed and the bathroom was sparkly clean. Gu Yu was about to nod his approval when something dawned on him. ¡°Sister, didn¡¯t I book two single rooms?¡± ¡°Well, unfortunately, the one you booked was upied until this morning. I don¡¯t know what they did in there, but when they checked out, I found out that they had crushed my bed. One of the legs was broken and I did not have time to fix it! It¡¯s still nting to one side,¡± exined thendy. ¡°Do you have other rooms?¡± He asked. ¡°We only have two singles and this one is the only double room left. Do you want to take a look at the suite? It has separate rooms.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Gu Yu was going to pose another question when Xiaozhai interjected, ¡°That¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll take this one.¡± ¡°Great, pleasee over here to check in.¡± Thendy grinned widely. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll refund you the extra amount. It¡¯s our fault. I¡¯ll sent you a fruit bowlter, on the house.¡± Since Xiaozhai had expressed her approval, he didn¡¯t argue anymore. After checking in, they returned to their room and had a brief rest. They then sat by the table and studied the mountain route they were going to climb the following day. Both behaved normally without any of the ¡°blush and palpitation¡± cliche. That was just how things went sometimes. If one started to get self-conscious, then everyone would find it awkward. No one would give it another thought if all assumed a rxed attitude. Tianzhu Mountain consisted of two parts, namely the West Pass, and the East Pass. The west side had beautiful sceneries, while the east side was more perilous to climb. Normally, tour groups would only take their tourists to the West Pass. The East Pass was a hikers-only region. ¡°Let¡¯s enter from the west entrance. We¡¯ll go through Snow in June, Stockaded Vige of South Pass, Paradise Valley, Green Dragon Pavilion¡­ and finally make camp at Alchemy Lake. It¡®s close to Tianzhu Mountain Vi and we can stock up our food there.¡± Gu Yu gestured with a pen over the map and continued, ¡°The day after tomorrow, we¡¯ll set out from Alchemy Lake early in the morning. We¡¯ll pass Green Dragon Pond, Flying Dragon Peak, Immortal-greeting Peak, Thrush Ridge, Echo Terrace¡­ and finally get to High Ladder of Wonder Valley. It¡¯ll be a perilous journey. Apart from the trekkers, hardly any tourists ever walk the route.¡± ¡°Based on what we learned from Phoenix Mountain, the node of spiritual essence should be somewhere deep on the mountain. Tianzhu covers an area of over five hundred square kilometers, so be prepared for a long camping trip. Alchemy Lake will be an important base for us. We¡¯ll estimate the distance from it and return to theke in time for provision.¡± Xiaozhai also took up a pen and made a few swipes over the map. She then added, ¡°By the way, what do you sense here?¡± ¡°The spiritual essence is very dense here, slightly more so than on Phoenix Mountain. I think we¡¯ve guessed it correctly,¡± replied Gu Yu. ¡°Good. Hopefully we won¡¯t leave here empty-handed.¡± They had passed over thirty train stations so far and had been recording the density of the spiritual essence for every one of them. The criteria was pretty straightforward: 0 denoted non-detectable; 1 was the minimum level possible to support cultivation; 2 meant satisfactory; 3 meant good; 4 equaled excellent; 5 made it a node. For instance, Shengtian scored 0, Wudao River a 1, Bai Town a 2, and the old tree in the valley a 5. All thirty-or-so ces they recorded had zeros and ones, but not Tianmen Town, which scored as high as 3! This indicated that if there was indeed a node on the mountain, it must have surpassed that of Phoenix Mountain. *** Night, Tianmen Town. It was a small town with an advanced service industry. There was even a side street cramped with raunchy pink facade shops, from which ¡°physical therapists¡± dressed in all styles were ready to offer their bubbly personality and genuine affection. [TL/N: in case anyone does not see what the author was hinting at, the ¡°service quarter¡± was referring to a red light district.] Gu Yu and Xiaozhai went out for dinner and walked about the town in passing. They had only just got back. cing arge ck bag on the table, they started to take things out of it one by one. Taken out first was a thick stack of talisman paper, then came out an inkstone, an ink stick and two writing brushes. Apparently, having nothing better to do, they decided they would try to learn drawing talismans. The bag of bits and bobs was bought in the town. Cinnabar was what they actually needed, but they had a hard time finding the pure one and had to use ink instead for the time being. ording to Tan Chongdai, the talisman and the incantation were an organic whole. One could not use a talisman without the incantation, and vice versa. Talismans were divided into five grades, namely golden, silver, purple, blue, and yellow, with golden talismans being the most powerful. They could also be categorized into seven types based on the application methods. Some examples were carrying-on talismans (portable ones), digested talismans (to be burnt, put into water and drunk), sticking-on talismans (to be attached to one¡¯s body and used indoor), decocted talisman (to be cooked with medicine), buried talisman (to be buried underground), etc. The School of Zhengyi used to have thousands of talisman types, but not anymore. Take the inheritance of Qionglong as an example, the only five types left were the Golden Armor, Bone-melting, Snake-expelling, Miscarriage-preventing, Bedwetting Cure talismans. The original Golden Armor Talisman was to be activated by spiritual essence and no de could physically harm the wearer. The existing one was the degraded version, whereby one would activate it with essence and blood, significantly reducing its effectiveness. What the Bone-melting Talisman did was self-exnatory. It turned bones into liquid. Snake-expelling Talismans were to be stuck to the doorhead and the house would be free of snakes or mice. Such a talisman was the reason Xiao Qing got agitated the other day. As for thest two types¡ªdon¡¯tugh¡ªthey were real talismans as well. Curing diseases, saving lives, giving blessings to one¡¯s luck in wealth and domestic safety, and making sure one¡¯s love life went smoothly¡­ those services had always been Zhengyi¡¯s core business. Hundreds of talismans were invented for curing diseases alone, covering difort from abdominal pain, eye pain, and dog bite to chills, fever, etc. They spread the the talisman paper on the table, rubbed the ink stick on the inkstone until the ink reached certain consistency, and started the incantation. ¡°This water is no ordinary water. One drop onto the inkstone, and clouds and rain are to follow in an instant. Patients will be cured of all their diseases once drinking this water. The evil spirit will be annihted. Obey at once!¡± It was called the Incantation of Water-cleansing, followed by the Paper-cleansing and Brush-cleansing ones. Only after finishing the three incantations did they pick up the writing brushes and start drawing the talisman, which was a tedious procedure. Starting from the top, the talisman could be generally divided into four parts: the heading, the edict, the gut, and the ending. They first drew three patterns at the top, which looked like three ticks. It was called the Triple Purity Heading, the mostmonly used one. Below that, they wrote down two ancient characters, which meant ¡°the edict¡±. After that came the most important part, namely the gut of the talisman. The function of the talisman, be it curing diseases, home-guarding, deity-inviting, or asking for rain, would depend on what they wrote in the gut. They were making Golden Armor talismans, therefore they wrote down a forbidden character: Gang. [ED/N: Gang = î¸ and it refers to a part of the Big Dipper and a god who¡¯s supposedly living there] The so-called forbidden characters were a writtennguage invented by the Taoistmunity for their internal use. They were obscure,plicated, and were used to refer to various Immortals. The ending camest on the bottom of the paper, whose odd pattern reminded one of a cardiogram. Above generalized theposition of a talisman. It had to be drawn at one stretch and no stopping was allowed. Both of them were bright and knew their Taoist concepts well. They had no difficulty in keeping their minds focused, but were not quite used to the practice as beginners. Before long, they both finished drawing and burst intoughter after ncing at the works of each other. Despite making the same talisman, the drawings came out very differently. Gu Yu¡¯s had a delicate and distant feeling, looming behind which was a vast world. Xiaozhai¡¯s, on the other hand, felt free and unrestrained, but also full of irresistible fighting spirit. ¡°Obey my order. Go!¡± Gu Yu picked up the talisman between his fingers and yelled a goofy line. He then smacked it onto himself. ¡°Come on, hit me.¡± ¡°There you go!¡± Xiaozhai stuck out a finger with a straight face and jabbed quickly at his chest. Our fellow let out a cry andmented with a grimace, ¡°Nice strike!¡± They just couldn¡¯t help it¡­ Some couples spent their time together shopping and watching films; some liked to spend their time with more intimate activities. While these two, well, probably preferred cultivating together. [1] They then drew another several talismans, trying to familiarize themselves with the patterns. Around nine o¡¯clock, they heard a moring from the courtyard. Some drunkard was making a scene and thendy was trying to appease him. A whileter, the shouting stopped, but a knock came at the door. ¡°Rat-a-tat-tat!¡± Gu Yu went to answer it and found a capable-looking man in his twenties outside smiling at him. ¡°Sorry about that. My friend overdid it when drinking. I hope we did not bother you too much?¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. Are you here on a trip?¡± ¡°Yes, we are going onto the mountain tomorrow.¡± Xiaozhai also walked to the door at this moment and the three chatted a bit. That fellow was Zhao Jiu, a white cor from Shu Zhou who enjoyed outdoor activities. He had set up an outdoor activity society and would go on trips when he was free. He brought eight backpackers with him this time. They were here to hike on Tianzhu Mountain. The fellow was quite a bit into making friends. After learning the two were going up tomorrow as well, he invited them to join the team. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai found the invitation an optional extra and left him with their phone numbers. After Zhao Jiu left, the night grew darker. Silence finally fell upon the three-sectionpound. All human voices had quieted down. The courtyard was illuminated by twonterns, whose dim light created faint reflections on the white screen windows. ¡°Scratch!¡± Gu Yu struck a match and lit a Calming Incense. It was rushed out before the journey; it could help with sleep, as well as expel mosquitoes and other insects. Xiaozhai leaned on her bed reorganizing the survival kit, which contained apass, bandages, wound treatment medicine,pressed biscuits, and other bits and bobs. After that, she checked the time and said, ¡°It¡¯ste. Do you want to take a shower now orter?¡± ¡°You go first. I¡¯ll sort through some stuff.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± She agreed and walked into the bathroom with her pajamas and towel. Xiao Qing swooshed out from some unknown corner and coiled up outside the bathroom like a guard, with ¡°You shall not pass!¡± written all over its body. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Despite having witnessed such behavior several times, Gu Yu was still amazed by it. This snake-controlling skill was fantastic! The snake was slightly problematic when going through security checks, but other than that, it was an indispensable sovereign remedy for daily life and getting away with murder! [1] TL/N: here¡¯s another pun from the author. The ¡°pping for love¡± part in the raw was referring to sleeping together, for the pping sound is ¡°Å¾Å¾Å¾¡± in Chinese, which is also a metaphor for having sex (you know, the sound of bodies shing into each other). Chapter 86 Chapter 86: Rumor Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Ssh!¡± The sound of flowing water in the bathroom went on for over forty minutes, followed by a ten-minute-or-so quietness, then the door creaked open and out came Xiaozhai, steam rising off her body. Probably because of the hot water, her cheeks and neck had turned pink, as though a white porcin vase was tinted with a smear of rouge. ¡°Hiss!¡± Seeing hering out, Xiao Qing automatically slithered to the side. Gu Yu was reading. He looked up and rose from his seat. ¡°Are you done? I¡¯ll go take a shower, then.¡± ¡°The shower head is a bit loose. Don¡¯t twist it too hard,¡± she reminded him. ¡°Ok.¡± He replied and walked into the bathroom with a bag. Generally speaking, if a guy was spending more than forty minutes in the shower alone, he was either a cross-dresser or gay. Gu Yu, needless to say, was your average straight man. He finished his shower, washed his face, and brushed his teeth in thirty minutes. Growing up sleeping on a brick bed, he was not in the habit of wearing pajamas, but went to bed in tank top and underpants. However, that outfit would look inappropriate in front of his femalepanion today, so he put on a pair of long johns and a short-sleeved T-shirt instead. Xiaozhai scanned him up and down when he walked out wearing those, then chuckled without making anyment. They needed to rise early the next morning and neither was in the mood for a chat. They went to their separate beds soon after that. ¡°Click!¡± The light was off and darkness set in. The room seemed to be shrinking and expanding infinitely at the same time, wrapping the two inside. ¡°Good night!¡± ¡°Good night!¡± ¡°Hiss!¡± Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai slept in the same bed separated by a bowl of water. These two, however, shared a room with a snake coiling up between their beds. [1] *** The following morning. Zhao Jiu showed up very early, knocking at their door. The two did not think it mattered too much and joined the team. Tianmen Town was about 2.5-3 km from the west entrance. Those travelling with light baggage could well walk the distance. However, these were backpackers. With all their tents and sleeping bags, a vehicle was necessary. Inside a minibus, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai took their seats next to the door. The other passengers, three women and six men, were all from Shu Zhou, each with a sessful career and a heart for adventure. The atmosphere was quite lively with all the tittering and giggling. ¡°Are you tourists or hikers?¡± One of the girls asked. ¡°A bit of both. We are amateurs, just here to have some fun,¡± smiled Gu Yu. ¡°Well, I sort of guessed it since you didn¡¯t bring a tent. Tianzhu Mountain is famous among hikers, especially the East Pass track. A lot of peoplee here every year,¡± said the girl. ¡°The East Pass is closed now and the east entrance is deserted. That¡¯s why they all choose to enter from there, no tickets needed,¡± added a guy. Gu Yu was taken by surprise at this. ¡°Then, why are you¡­¡± ¡°Oh, we didn¡¯t buy a ticketst time and thought we should do it properly this year,¡± exined that guy. ¡°Is that so¡­¡± The corner of Gu Yu¡¯s mouth twitched; he kept his opinion to himself. ¡°Damn!¡± Right then, another guy who was ying with his phone suddenly shouted, probably excited over a news notification. ¡°They¡¯ve just determined that case to be homicide. Like we need them to tell us that?! Can it be anything other than a homicide? The police are so ipetent!¡± ¡°It¡¯s been twenty days, isn¡¯t it? I heard they still have no clue at all?¡± Someone else chimed in at once. ¡°I¡¯ve always found it strange. A big shot like that died and there¡¯s no uproar? That¡¯s just fishy!¡± Everyone was eager to get a word in. The discussion roused Gu Yu¡¯s curiosity and he asked, ¡°What homicide?¡± ¡°It happened some time ago. Four developers died during a demolition job.¡± ¡°Three! Three developers died, the fourth one was a forklift driver.¡± ¡°I heard they took apart a Taoist temple and an old priest died. Tsk, tsk¡­¡± Zhao Jiu interjected at this point. ¡°You know what, one of my colleagues has a friend in the police force who was on duty that day. ording to him, the body was so mangled that it did not look like something a man could do,¡± he gestured with an exaggerated face. ¡°I heard that the heart was gone and there was a big hole in the chest, like it was carved out by a w¡­¡± ¡°Ohe on! Have you been ying Resident Evil or something?¡± ¡°Exactly, zombies are not our local specialty.¡± Zhao Jiu¡¯s theory got sneered at by the others, who found it ridiculous. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai, on the other hand, exchanged a look and saw the surprise and doubt in each other¡¯s eyes. They knew about this incident, but had no idea what was behind it. Zhao Jiu did not seem the bragging type. If what he said turned out to be true, then they would have a serious problem. *** Shu Zhou, Xiahe Vige. Xiahe Vige was under the jurisdiction of Luobi County, about 100 km away from Tuling County. This vige was even more poverty-stricken and had only a measly poption. A hundred or so households were scattered deep in interwoven alleys, as if confined in little squares. A single county road that was barely wide enough passed outside the vige. Night had set in. In a convenience store by the county road, Liu Changhe had just seen his mahjong buddies off. It was the only convenience store in the vige, which he had ran for over a decade. Recently, two automatic mahjong tables were added to the store and he had been ying deep into the night every single day. After bolting the door, he picked up the broom and started sweeping the floor, ready to go to bed. ¡°Bang bang bang!¡± Right then, someone hammered at the door. ¡°Who is is?¡± He asked. ¡°I want to buy a bottle of water.¡± ¡®Huh?¡¯ Liu Changhe hesitated. The voice was unfamiliar and sounded a bit coarse. He walked to the door, holding the broomstick. A shadow was standing outside. He could barely make out the form of a young man through the frosted ss. He was a very cautious man. ¡°What water do you want? I¡¯ll hand it to you through the small window.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The man went silent for a few seconds before replying, ¡°I need five bottles of water and five loaves of bread. Please bag them.¡± For no obvious reason, Liu Changhe instinctively felt ufortable. He bagged the things swiftly and thrusted them through the window. ¡°Here, that¡¯s 25 yuan.¡± ¡°Swish!¡± The bag was drawn out instantly, reced by a ghostly pale hand holding two notes. He identally touched the fingers and shuddered, for they were icy cold. He grew even more terrified and gave back the change in a hurry, then snapped the window closed. Faint footsteps came from outside, which soon disappeared. The person seemed to have left. Staying in the room alone, Liu Changhe felt the whole thing was giving him the creeps. He grabbed his phone, ¡°Hello? Xiao Bo, do you think you can¡­ nothing, I¡¯m just bored and want to talk to you.¡± ¡°F**k, I¡¯m in bed already. Move your ass over here if you want to talk!¡± Xiao Bo hung up. ¡°¡­¡± He wavered. After quite a while, he ground his teeth and made up his mind. Carrying a shlight, he walked out. Nights in rural areas were always pitch-ck. He walked into an alley, the dim torch lighting his way. Over twenty households were located in this alley and a grove grew on its other end. Beyond that was the wildnd. Xiao Bo lived in the deepest corner of the alley. Liu Changhe fumbled his way to the courtyard and identally shed the torch across the perimeter of the grove, revealing two figures standing upright. One of them reminded him of the customer earlier. He suddenly turned his head around. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Liu Changhe shuddered with terror. The man had a ghostly pale face, which looked gruesome and creepy. The other figure was wrapped in ck cloth with its face hidden away. Seeing it was Liu Changhe, the man frowned, the look on his face vaguelyced with killing intent. ¡°¡­¡± Time seemed to have stopped. He dared not even move his little finger, as if waiting for a verdict. That man remained silent for a while and turned back his head, still motionless, then disappeared into the woods. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± Panting, Liu Changhe started banging on the door. ¡°What the hell, you really havee! What¡¯s the matter with you today?¡± Xiao Bo came out with a coat hanging over his shoulders,ining all the way. Liu Changhe could not bring himself to banter with him after narrowly escaping death. ¡°I, I think I just saw a f**king ghost!¡± [1] TL/N: Liang Zhu (Áº×£), or The Butterfly lovers, is a Chinese legend of a tragic love story (star-crossed-lover type of tragedy). ED/N: Think Romeo and Juliet. Chapter 87 Chapter 87: Search Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu After killing those four people, Li Suchun did not run to his master¡¯s friend. All he could think of was to leave Shu Zhou as soon as possible. It would not be an issue if he were alone. However, traveling with a zombie could be rather problematic. Transportation such as buses and trains was immediately ruled out. Because of its fear of sunlight, they also had to stay hidden during daytime and travel at night. The main roads were too risky and thus the deserted country paths were their only option. They could not cover much ground in the night and had to find ces to hide before dawn. As a result, he was still making slow progress on leaving Shu Zhou after so many days. He exhausted the money his master left him during the previous week. Luckily for him, he bumped into a few drunken countrymen and frisked them after knocking them unconscious, which provided him with quite some cash. The Corpse-refining Technique of his sect was ssified into six grades. ording to the records, the first five grades were white, iron, bronze, silver, and golden corpses, leaving a nk spot on thest one, to which there was no information at all. To ¡°upgrade¡± a zombie, the owner had to find a ce with four Yin elements to cultivate it and facilitate it with magical instruments tainted by evil spirits of Yin quality. The olddy was now only a white corpse with a lot of limitations. Whenever he wanted to use it to attack, his best choice was to make a surprise attack against his target. Li Suchun had been spending time with the white corpse round the clock, so it was inevitable that he would be contaminated by corpse energy. Mao Mountain used to have Qi-nourishing methods to strengthen the practitioners, but these methods had been lost. Within a month, his face had gone dreadfully pale with reddened pupils. The way he talked and behaved had all be gloomy and eerie. Corpse energy would not only affect one physically, but also have an impact on one¡¯s personality. He had taken four lives at such a young age and found himself indifferent towards the act of killing people. In the moment when he spotted Liu Changhe, for example, the idea of killing the man had indeed crossed his mind. Fortunately, evil was not in the youngster¡¯s nature and he managed to resist the impulse. It was a moonless, windy night. The wilderness seemed to stretch on endlessly. A man and a corpse walked under the inky sky, carrying with them destion and loneliness, as if they had been abandoned by the entire world. Li Suchun was inadequately dressed for this weather, but showed no signs of feeling cold. He walked ahead, tearing at the bread with his hands and darting looks in all directions constantly. The white corpse hopped behind him. Luobi County was to the northwest of Shu Zhou, not far from the city boundaries. After Luobi, another dozens of kilometers away was the neighboring province. With muchnd and few people, it had even more mountains than Shu Zhou, making it the ideal hideaway. ¡°Halt!¡± After walking for some distance, Li Suchun suddenly waved his hand and the white corpse stopped at hismand immediately. He inclined his head to listen carefully, then looked into the distance. As expected, along the main road that extended out from the wild meadow, a flickering dot of red light seemed to be moving. His face changed abruptly, knowing all too well what the light was. Making a conjuring gesture with his fingers, hemanded, ¡°Quick!¡± With that, he quickened his pace and the white corpse elerated along him. That image looked hrious yet horrifying. *** Xiahe Vige. Wearing a coat across his shoulders, Xiao Bo wasining to Liu Changhe, ¡°What¡¯s gotten into your head today? As if dragging me out of bed in the middle of the night is not enough, you had to call the goddamn police? Why did you call them for such a petty thing?¡± ¡°They did not look like decent folks to me and I was scared¡­ anyway, the call¡¯s already been made. It¡¯s not like I can take it back, no?¡± Puffing on a cigarette, Liu Changhe was quite annoyed as well. Heforted himself by saying, ¡°They don¡¯t like to respond to cases at night, though. I¡¯m not hurt or anything, maybe they won¡¯t be bothered toe.¡± As soon as he finished that sentence, the sound of sirens approached and was at their door within no time. Then, someone hammered at the door. ¡°Bang bang bang!¡± ¡°Coming!¡± Xiao Bo cast a stern nce at the weakling nearby and hurried to answer it. Two police officers were standing outside, who asked him directly, ¡°Did you call the police?¡± ¡°Well, the person who called is inside. Pleasee in.¡± Xiao Bo lead them into the room. Feeling uneasy, Liu Changhe smiled apologetically and replied, ¡°Sorry for making youe all this way. Yes, I made the phone call. ¡± ¡°¡­¡± The police gave him a nce with incredibly serious faces, then said, ¡°Tell us everything you saw¡ªin detail.¡± ¡°Ok, ok.¡± He dared not keep things from them and repeated the story carefully. The police confirmed his statement over and over again, focusing on the appearance of the person in question and his oddness. After that, Liu Changhe gathered his courage and asked, ¡°Well, you seem to mind this person very much. Is he a wanted man or something?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask questions you¡¯re not supposed to ask! Don¡¯t make irresponsible remarks either! Starting and spreading rumors is punishable by detention!¡± The police browbeat him. As soon as they were out of the yard, one of them dialed a number immediately. ¡°Hello, is that Director Wang? We¡¯ve found a possible suspect!¡± *** Tianzhu Mountain, the High Ladder of Wonder Valley. The High Ladder was in the East Pass scenic area. Staircases had been chiseled out along the rock face, leading all the way to a giant boulder on the top. Dpidated railings were set up on it, which circled out a tform where one could appreciate the view from above. This ce was not open to public and was practically deserted on normal days. However, right now, a man and a woman were climbing the stairs. ¡°Thump!¡± Gu Yu was in front. He leapt right onto the boulder when he was a few staircases away. Xiaozhai followed him and reached the top easily as well. Both stood on the tform, taking in the cliffs, peaks, steep mountains and tter hills, which were decorated by tall trees of various degrees of green, lofty mountain hazes, and the scattered streams and ravines. The magnificence and grandiosity of the East Pass outssed that of the West Pass. Their minds were not focused on sightseeing, though. After looking into the distance on all directions, they took out a map and started ticking and drawing on it. ¡°Green Dragon Pond, no; Echo Valley, no; High Ladder, still no¡­¡± Gu Yu crossed out several spots in a row and sighed involuntarily, ¡°This mountain is too big; we might not finish our search until next year.¡± ¡°Cheer up, we¡¯ve made a third of it so far,¡± encouraged Xiaozhai. ¡°Two days and only a third¡­ sigh, let¡¯s continue¡­¡± shaking his head, he was nevertheless not dispirited. After climbing the mountain, they soon separated from Zhao Jiu and his team, spending one day in the West Pass and another in the East Pass, but both ended up being a fruitless errand. The area of Tianzhu Mountain was well over 500 square kilometers and the scenic area took up only less than half of it. They still had all those undeveloped areas to cover. Gu Yu had divided the entire mountain into twelve regions. They had only searched four so far. It was shortly after noontime and the sun was shining brightly overhead. After a brief discussion, they decided to explore deeper into the mountain and would find their camping spot in the evening. They descended along the High Ladder and returned to Echo Valley, then traveled northeast along an unmarked path. Xiaozhai held a dagger in her hand, cutting a mark on the tree bark every now and then. The deeper they walked, the more vividly they could sense the nature¡¯s power. All kinds of unruly and unrestrained nts filled their sight, growing so tall and thick that they almost blocked out the sky. Here, the two human intruders were the aliens. Over 300 types of wild animals inhabited Tianzhu Mountain. On their way in, they spotted many animals such as kestrels, Asian bullfrogs, and owls. Some they could recognize, while others they could not. The animals here did not have much contact with human beings and were not scared off by the two. They stayed just far enough away to observe these two curious creatures. ¡°That owl back there was so pretty. The color of its feathers was very rare.¡± While speaking, Xiaozhai waved her dagger and an unknown poisonous insect was cut in half. ¡°I rather like kestrels. They are so dumpy¡­¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± With a twig in his hand, Gu Yu also picked up a small snake trying to ambush them and sent it far into the air. ¡°Kestrels are so ugly; even pheasants look better than them¡­ if you really like them that much, I¡¯ll catch you a kite after we get back.¡± They chatted on as they walked. About forty minutester, they stopped abruptly, for a peculiar creature showed up in their front. It was about the size of a sika deer with dark brown fur and a white tail, which easily caught their attention. Behind its eyes, long hair covered the part from its forehead to its neck, as if it was wearing earmuffs, giving it a dorky look. The creature seemed rather timid and stood watching them from afar. Any movement from the two, and it would probably scamper right away. ¡°Is that a musk deer?¡± Xiaozhai was unsure. ¡°I think it looks like a dumb roe deer,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Are you kidding me? Roe deers are so much more adorable.¡± ¡°Whatever. Let¡¯s catch it and have a look.¡± Staying with Xiaozhai for these days had made Gu Yu loosen up a bit. With that, he made his move, dashing out into the distance with a few strides. ¡°Chirp!¡± The animal jumped in fright and turned to run away. Unfortunately, it did not make very far before staggering like a drunkard and falling to the ground. The two walked near and looked around the innocent creature for a while, finally reaching the conclusion that it was a ck barking deer. ¡°Sigh, poor little thing, off you go!¡± The two lost interest at once. Patting the animal on its head, they carried on with their search. The ck barking deer shook its head and remained confused for a while, then disappeared into a thick growth of grass, still dumbfounded. Chapter 88 Chapter 88: The Node Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The moon rose to the top of the trees. The night air felt cool as water on the skin. The birds had long since retired to their nests, leaving behind a quiet mountain where everything seemed to have fallen asleep. The only sounds remaining were the night breeze and flowing brooks. The water ttered down the mountain rocks, reminding one of broken crystals. Behind a low mound, two campfires had been started. Above one of them were two lunchboxes, bubbling inside which were some wild vegetables and beans. Some branches were set up upon the other one, holding a skewered fat hare over the fire. The hare was almost ready to eat. Grease dripped down from it asionally, issuing sizzling sounds as it fell into mes. Gu Yu picked up some salt and chilli powder between his fingers, sprinkling it evenly onto the hare. When the meat turned golden, he tore down a piece and tasted it. ¡°The hare¡¯s ready.¡± ¡°I¡¯m almost done here, too.¡± Xiaozhai passed him a lunchbox. They both tried the food of the other¡¯s and nodded in unison. They had brought somepressed biscuits, but the taste of those was just terrible. They tossed them aside after the first meal. Xiaozhai was familiar with various nts and was in charge of gathering, while Gu Yu hunted. He could not bring himself to kill the rarer animals, so they fed themselves on hares and pheasants. With enough drinking water and condiments, these two could stay in the mountains for a lifetime. Tearing down a hind leg, Gu Yu casually brought up the homicide case Zhao Jiu mentioned earlier. ¡°What do you think? Man-made?¡± ¡°Hard to say. There are simply too many secret Taoist skills. Lower Mao Mountain had skills such as breeding undead insects, raising children¡¯s spirits, and refining corpses, all of which were capable of killing people in that way. It doesn¡¯t matter, though. We¡¯re going to Shu Zhou anyway. We can poke around while we¡¯re at it.¡± Xiaozhai picked up her lunchbox, wanting to take a sip of the wild vegetable soup, but put it down before reaching her mouth. ¡°I¡¯ve finished mine.¡± ¡°Want some more?¡± He chuckled. ¡°Yes.¡± Gu Yu took up his lunchbox and poured half of it into hers. She preferred mild food and ate more vegetables, while he had no such preference and would eat just about everything. Before long, they finished their dinner. Gu Yu went to clean the utensils by the stream while Xiaozhai moved the firewood away andid an evenyer of twigs on the ground where the campfires had been, then covered them with a thin nket. The ground had been heated by the fire and the nket was soon as warm as a toast. It was like sleeping on a brick bed of northeast China. Shey down with her clothes on, leaving some room for Gu Yu. However, when he got back, he did note up to the nket, but sat a few meters away and started cultivating. ¡°Creak!¡± ¡°Snap!¡± Gu Yu sat upright and concentrated, releasing his mental power, having this little camp entirely under his control. The me licked at the dry wood, which cracked with crisp sounds. Xiaozhai¡¯s eyes were closed and she seemed to be sleeping soundly. Soon, it was midnight. He spat and swallowed, consuming the essence of midnight mist. The green snake stayed close to him, hissing with its two-pronged tongue, apparently stealing a ride. The midnight mist transformed into streaks of white thread, wrapped inside which was the energy of Utmost Yin from the moon. Together, they were absorbed into Gu Yu¡¯s body, circting inside him and nourishing his orifices. In the end, Yin and Yang merged at Dantian. ¡°Ha¡­¡± ¡°Ha¡­¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ All of a sudden, Gu Yu stopped his spitting and swallowing, for he seemed to detect a faint sound, as if some padded feet were pacing somewhere. He opened his eyes and patted Xiao Qing, reminding it to watch over its master, then went to check out the noise on his own. He heard it right. A pair of luminous green eyes peculiar to felines was glimmering a short distance away. The eyes belonged to a big cat, a beast of prey somewhere up the food chain in Tianzhu Mountain. It was a clouded leopard. Staring at the human, it considered pouncing on him, but its animal instinct was telling it that this man was not a creature to be trifled with. While it was hesitating, Gu Yu picked up a twig and dragged it across the ground. ¡°Scrape!¡± The twig made a ridge in the soil with a high-pitched metallic sound. There was something fierce about it. ¡°Go y somewhere else. Don¡¯te any nearer,¡± he waved at the leopard. ¡°¡­¡± The clouded leopard looked at him, then moved its eyes to the line on the ground. It meowed, turned around, and ran away. Yes, you heard it right, that was exactly what leopards sounded like. Getting rid of the big cat, Gu Yu returned to the campfire and sat down by it. Xiaozhai mumbled, half asleep, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Nothing¡­ go to sleep.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± She turned overzily. *** Before realizing it, they had spent four lousy days on the mountain. As the unexplored area on their map got smaller, they were bing more agitated by the day. For four whole days, they had been searching and burrowing at every step, seeing nothing but the endless chain of mountains. It was a test on their patience. This day, when their lengthy search was fruitless again and it was already past noontime, they decided to take a break and prepare lunch. They camped near a small river, where the clearing was wide with an open view. Gu Yu caught a pheasant and Xiaozhai had picked some wild fruit. She was washing them by the river at the moment. After washing them clean, Xiaozhai bit into one and fed another to Gu Yu. She sighed suddenly. ¡°We should have downloaded an app awarding the users on how many steps they walk beforeing here.¡± ¡°Exactly. A few more days in this ce and we¡¯d earn enough for a down payment,¡± Gu Yu joined her, sighing. ¡°The good news is, there are fewer and fewer ces left for us to search.¡± ¡°Yeah, which means we¡¯re getting closer and closer to our destination.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The two exchanged a look. There wasn¡¯t much they could say but theseforting lines. Gu Yu crouched down by the river, cut the pheasant open, and sshed water on it to clean away the entrails that had stuck together. As they were carried away by the flowing water, the air was tinted with a faint smell of blood. Xiaozhai turned her head from one side to another in boredom. Suddenly, her pupils contracted as she warned Gu Yu, ¡°Watch out!¡± ¡°Ssh!¡± The words had barely left her mouth when a strange-looking fish leaped out of the water, biting at Gu Yu¡¯s fingers with a wide mouth lined with sharp teeth. Frowning slightly, Gu Yu pressed down his left hand and gripped its fin with a snap. Lifting his arm, the fish was twitching on the riverbank after a quick swing. ¡°It¡¯s a¡­¡± Gu Yu held it up and after a long observation, he said with an amazed tone, ¡°It¡¯s a snakehead, isn¡¯t it? Howe its head is so big?¡± It should be. The body features fit the description of a snakehead, but its head was enormous. Paired with the sharp and protruding teeth, it looked like something out of a nightmare. ¡°These teeth look like they belong to the piranhas. Is there a mutation or something¡­ wait a minute?¡± He paused, then turned his eyes to Xiaozhai. They saw what the other was thinking right away with brightened faces. They had ran into a nest of abnormal poisonous mosquitoes on their way to the old tree. Thisrge-headed snakehead could well be their clue this time. Therefore, they finished their lunch in a rush and started searching upstream. About thirty minutester, they finally found a natural cave at the foot of a steep cliff. The water was flowing out from it. ¡°The spiritual essence is insanely dense here. This must be it!¡± Gu Yu sensed it and was reassured. After some preparation, they entered the cave. The wide opening seemed to indicate a shallow cave. Despite the dim light inside, it was not too dark. Rubble piled on the riverbank, forming a barely walkable ground. They were extremely cautious and watched their breathing closely. Any sign of difort, and they would back out at once. ¡°Tick tack!¡± Water was dripping down from above. Various peculiar fish threw themselves out of the water, all appearing ferocious and frightening with their mouths wide open in a threatening manner, before falling back with a plop. The cave was indeed not deep at all. Dozens of meters away stood the end. The two of them steadied themselves against the stone wall, amazed by the surroundings. They had reach a cul-de-sac, where the cave had be more spacious. The most unusual scene was a smallke, at the center of which was an area of gurgling water, as if an underground spring was about to surge up. ¡°Finally!¡± Seeing this, they both sighed with relief. ¡°How is it?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Gu Yu took a deep breath, then emptied his lungs in excitement and anticipation. He did not answer. Instead, he gestured a ¡°six¡± with his hand. Chapter 89 Chapter 89: Prepare for War Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The density of the spiritual essence node here in Tianzhu Mountain reached a six, the highest Gu Yu had encountered so far. Unfortunately, with the abundant water here, the smallke had taken up the entire space, leaving no room for them to stand. If they wanted to observe it closely, they would have to dive into theke. At the current temperature and with so many weird fish in the water, it would be suicidal diving in. It also meant that even if they managed to take over this cave in the future, they would need to carry out quite some construction work here before it could be turned into a suitable cultivation site. They stood some distance away, taking in the surroundings carefully. No abnormality like the red fruit from the old tree could be found save for the fact that the stone wall around theke was white and shiny, which seemed a bit strange. Picking up a cobblestone, Gu Yu hurled it at the wall. The sound from the collision was neither a muffled thump nor a feeble tter. Instead, it came off as a crisp ¡°nk¡±. He found it rather unusual and asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t that sounde when you hit metal?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai also picked up a rubble and threw it at the white wall on the other side. The impact produced another ¡°nk¡±. She shook her head. ¡°The internal structure might have changed from the contamination of the spiritual essence. If only we could carve out a piece of it.¡± That being said, they had neither the means to cross the water nor the proper carving tools. All they could do was take some photos. They had long since lost all signal on their phones and it was thanks to the multiple portable chargers they¡¯d brought that they still managed to use their phones at all. Before they realized it, the sun was setting when they exited the cave. Gu Yu fumbled out a notebook, noting down the location of this ce. The pages were cramped with text and road maps, almost including all areas of Tianzhu Mountain. Drawn in it were water sources, areas haunted by beasts of prey, suitable camping sites, dangerous road sections to watch out for¡­ everything that needed paying attention to could be found in the notebook in great abundance. Apart from those, they had also arrived at two conclusions: Firstly, they did not know if it was pure coincidence, but the nodes were all found in rtively secluded areas and were guarded by mutated creatures. Secondly, it was something regarding the earlier spection on the recovery of the spiritual essence. Well, it was no longer a spection. The human civilization had survived until this dayrgely depending on the wisdom and legacy of the ancestors. Regardless of the form they took¡ªbe it passing down with written records, by images, or orally, the very first generation who came up with these ideas was greatly able and virtuous people. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were not among the sages, but it went without saying that this notebook was incredibly valuable. After a four-and-a-half-day trudge, they finally found the node. They took their time moseying back to their camp and spent another day and a half to walk out of the mountain. Together, the search had taken them exactly six days in total. They returned to Tianmen Town and without resting, they rented a car to Qian Zhou, where they found a small hotel and got a room, ignoring all proprieties. Once inside, they slumped onto their bed and fell asleep. It was well over ten hours when they finally woke up. By then the hotel owner was panicking and on the verge of banging on their door and calling the police. They only felt ¡°fully recharged¡± by the following noon. *** ¡°You two are unbelievable! I haven¡¯t heard from you for almost a week and neither of your phones was working. I nearly called the police! Time toe clean. Where have you been? Hey, you couldn¡¯t have stayed in a hotel this whole time, could you? OMG, you guys are fierce!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai held the phone away from her ear and only answered after Xiaojin finished sting out her exmations. ¡°Nothing happened. We went into the mountains to look around and only just got out.¡± ¡°Who in the right mind would stay in the mountain for seven days in a row? Do you think I¡¯m an idiot or have you two be smurfs?¡± [1] Xiaojin was furious. Had the mobile signal been a tangible line, she would crawl all the way out here to strangle the two with her own hands. Xiaozhai was well aware that her reaction stemmed from her anxiety over their well-being. It was rare that she did not try to force Xiaojin to be quiet, but tried to calm her down with gentle words. After quite some time, Xiaojin hung up, still feeling indignant over the two troublesome rogues! After cating the kid, she turned to ask Gu Yu, ¡°Have you looked it up yet?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll need to transfer three times to travel from Qian Zhou to Shu Zhou by train. That¡¯s just too much fuss. Let¡¯s go to Lu Zhou first and take a direct flight from there,¡± replied Gu Yu. ¡°Ok, let¡¯s do that,¡± she nodded. ¡°Then I¡¯ll book the tickets. We¡¯ll leave tomorrow.¡± Qian Zhou was their ry station, where they had stayed for the past two days to rest and reorganize. They couldn¡¯t take a shower in the mountains and had to trudge for almost 50 km daily, crossing mountains and rivers in dirty underwear. The journey had taken them six entire days. One could imagine the situation down there. *** Shu Zhou, Luobi County. There was an ancient town in the county, which was built over 600 years ago. In the town was an ancient street, which ran longer from east to west and shorter from south to north. Looking down from above, the street resembled a unique and peculiar big boat, hence the name ¡°Ship-shaped Street¡±. A Temple of Spiritual Official stood at the east end of the street and at the west end was a skyntern pir. In the middle of the street was an opera tower backed by a memorial archway. On either side of the tower were long rows of tile houses with protruding eaves,monly known as ¡°cooling rooms¡±. In spite of the rapid change brought by social development, some from the older generation still preferred to stay here, drinking tea, listening to the opera, picking their ears, smoking tobo in the cooling rooms¡­ enjoying in peace theirst few years in the mortal world. Today was a big day¡ªat least for the elderly¡ªfor both a fair and a drama were taking ce. People from all nearby viges would gather here for antern drama, which was a favorite of the locals of Shu Zhou. In the county police station, however, the atmosphere was unusually solemn. All officers with a higher rank were present. The station heads themselves were taking the lead to hold an emergency conference. One of them said, ¡°We are on a tight schedule here and I¡¯ll make it quick. Two things: the first one we all know, which is linked to the fair today. Make sure to keep everything in order and prevent stampede idents and keep an eye on petty thefts. Secondly¡­¡± He paused and went on, ¡°ording to tips we received from the popce, two suspicious characters with secretive behavior are sneaking around recently. It is very likely that they are involved in major cases. These two have been seen roaming around Luobi. Therefore, starting from today, the entire county is going into a state of emergency. Keep all intersections and passageways under guard. Under no circumstances should we allow these two to escape!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The others listened to the announcement with nk faces. They were going into war without any substantial evidence. Wasn¡¯t that rather hasty? Right away, someone asked, ¡°Director Chen, what exactly have they done? How far should we go with this? With what approach?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask unnecessary questions!¡± The officials themselves were troubled by the task as well. Glowering at the one asking the question, Director Chen said, ¡°The bottom line is, those two have to be brought in unharmed. Figure out the details yourselves.¡± After that, the conference went on by allocating specific spots to each group and team before concluding. The crowd remained befuddled and went into an animated discussion. ¡°What¡¯s with the funny instructions these days? We¡¯ve just been told to watch out for suspicious characters and today the order bes making arrests right away!¡± ¡°Exactly. Anyone knows anything about this? What on earth is going on?¡± ¡°I heard the orders came from above. Got something to do with that homicide case.¡± ¡°The homicide case? As in, the one in Tuling County?¡± ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case, what¡¯s with all the secrets? We are given nothing but a bloody snapshot!¡± The man speaking smacked a piece of paper onto the table, which was an imitative portrait simted byputer based on Liu Changhe¡¯s description. The man on the paper looked rather young, with a ghostly pale face, narrow eyes, a straight nose, and very thin lips. Separately, his facial features looked nothing out of the ordinary. However, when brought together, they created a gloomy face that was very disturbing to look at. ¡°Whatever, stopining!¡± ¡°Man, the bosses smacked their lips and we are running till we drop. Let¡¯s move!¡± [1] TL/N: The mention of the smurfs is rted to the Chinese theme song of the TV series, which opens with a line roughly tranted as ¡°a group of smurfs live in a remote ce beyond mountains and seas¡±. Chapter 90 Chapter 90: Firefight Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Countryside, in the woods. Reasonably lush trees upied the area, growing in sporadic clusters in this wildnd, and had somehow managed to link up into a single stretch. A few dirt roads wound through the woods, scattered by scraps and litters, as well as several shallow cesspools giving off a strong odor. It was safe to say that no love birds would choose such surroundings to get passionate. However, Li Suchun liked it here, for it was the most ideal hideout. He arrived before dawn, found a shady mound, and dug a shallow pit. He then let the white corpse lie in it before covering it up with a thinyer of soil. To finish up, he gathered a great amount of twigs and leaves, then covered the pit, making the disguise look as natural as possible. On any ordinary day, he would proceed by either looking around nearby or catching up on sleep by the white corpse, feeding on bread and bottled water only. He would spend the entire daytime guarding the corpse. Ever since he became a fugitive after killing those people, he had spent every single day like this, from sunrise until dark. But not today. Sitting down by the mound, Li Suchun held a water bottle in his right hand while his left hand clutched his trousers involuntarily, even shivering slightly. After bolting away from Xiahe Vige, he had been haunted by a sense of threat since then, as if a was closing in; he felt like a fish in the, a rat in the hole. He was well aware of the consequences of letting Liu Changhe live the other night, which for him could mean a big trouble. At his age, he was yet to gain enough experience to deduce what measures the police would take. His instinct alone was making him restless. ¡°Gulp!¡± Taking another sip of the water, Li Suchun strained the empty bottle, which crunched in his hand. To reach the neighboring province, he had to make a detour around Luobi. His two options were to go around from either the west side or the east side. He was about to push on with his journey tonight, but had turned rather hesitant by now. Pondering for long in silence, he suddenly tossed the empty bottle aside, dug out a ragged nket from his woven bag, and huddled himself up like a beggar by the mound. What¡¯s with all the fuss! He had no other way out. For him, it was either moving on, or staying where he was. While there might be a glimmer of hope in continuing with his journey, remaining here meant starving to death¡ªprobably even before the police got to him. Winter had just arrived and the sun was setting early. Li Suchun was so used to the loneliness and waiting that the sky seemed to darken before he even realized how long the day had been. When thest streak of sunlight vanished onto the western horizon, the woods instantly fell into gloominess. Only then did Li Suchun open his eyes; he had kept himself as still as a dead man. Folding up the nket, he looked around to make sure no one was watching, then made a conjuring gesture with his fingers. ¡°Up!¡± With that, the white corpse broke through the soil, bolting upright in front of him. Looking at this hideous, primitive zombie with a faint smell of blood, warmth and a sense of security welled up in his heart. He said softly, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± *** With the technology and resources of a mere county, finding two people could be extremely difficult without knowing their exact whereabouts. Lingbi was surrounded by intricate terrain with uneven, undting ground and low hills covered by dense woods. Limited by their manpower, the police could notunch a full-scale manhunt, but only guard the exits of all passageways, spreading their men out by grids. Following the arrangements of the county police station, all groups moved into action at noontime that day. The surveince went fruitless after half a day. The first shift had been relieved and the second batch was on guard at the moment. Being the less fortunate ones, Big Liu and Xiao Zhang were allocated to the night shift, which meant they would have to stay up the whole night on a dirt road by Por Vige and could not rest until the following morning. The dirt road might seem nothing out of the ordinary, but it was the only way leading to Luobi. That was to say, if those two people were indeed in the area, they must walk this road at some point. Xiao Zhang was a young man in his twenties and this was probably his first time to be assigned to a task like this. He was constantlyining. From time to time, he would dart a look towards the direction of the county town, grunting, ¡°Sigh, the drama must have started by now¡­¡± ¡°Why? Got a date tonight?¡± Big Liu, a veteran police officer, asked in passing. ¡°I was going to take my girlfriend shopping and watch the drama. It turned out neither was going to happen. She¡¯s mad at me at the moment.¡± ¡°Give her some sweet talk, then.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not talking to me. She¡¯s not answering my phone calls and would not return my messages. What am I gonna do?¡± ¡°Well, girls are just like that. She¡¯ll be alright tomorrow.¡± Tapping the ash of his cigarette out of the car window, Big Liu chuckled, ¡°My mother-inw¡¯s birthday is today and I¡¯ve already booked the restaurant. So what? You¡¯ve got be there when there¡¯s a case.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a mother-inw. It¡¯s like having your fish in a pot, a done deal. Not me, I¡¯m still fishing!¡± Xiao Zhang eximed. ¡°Haha, you and your sassy jokes. How many fish have you got with that slick tongue of yours?¡± Finding the young man¡¯s witty remark amusing, Big Liu retorted jokingly. Veteran police officers were experienced enough with such tasks and knew how to save their energy, but Xiao Zhang was not familiar with the skill yet. A whileter, he fidgeted in his seat, bing all the more agitated. He said suddenly, ¡°I need to take a leak!¡± With that, he got out of the car with a shlight, walked a bit further into the wildnd, and started emptying his dder. In order to stay unnoticed, the headlights of the car were not switched on. They were surrounded by darkness. On the other side of the wildnd was Por Vige dotted with sporadic lights. Tall and thick weeds flourished in the nearby area. Stirred by the night wind, they undted in the darkness like gentle waves. Zipping up his trousers, Xiao Zhang was on his way back to the car when he suddenly stopped. North wind was blowing tonight, which meant the thick growth of grass should lean to the north in unison. However, one particr spot seemed to have broken the evenness. Straining his eyes in the dim light, he indeed made out an indistinct figure hopping up and down, rising and falling in the grass, which looked extremely weird. ¡°Atta boy! Gotcha!¡± Hotheaded, he flipped his shlight and shouted, ¡°Who¡¯s there? Stop!¡± With that, he took after the dark figure. ¡°God damn it!¡± Seeing this, Big Liu, who was sitting in the car, cursed and scrambled out hastily. The normal procedure under such circumstances was to contact their superior asking for backup and pin down the suspect while waiting. But the little bugger just rushed out like that, sh*t! ¡°Stop!¡± ¡°Stop right there!¡± Xiao Zhang was in hot pursuit across the wildnd, fumbling for his electric prod while running, shouting at the same time. He flitted past the wild grasses, which left painful scratches on his skin. By now, he was able to discern the shadow he was chasing. There were indeed two people, one running, the other one hopping. Yes! Hopping! As bold as he was, Xiao Zhang could not help faltering. ¡®That¡¯s just creepy! What the hell is that?¡¯ After some chasing and running, the person in the front seemed to be losing his strength and slowing down. Xiao Zhang was about to catch up with them when the man suddenly stopped, then shouted in a clear voice, ¡°Go!¡± The creepy person following him turned around unexpectedly and leapt out in a whoosh,nding themselves right in front of Xiao Zhang. ck, glossy ws made a snatch at him. Hair on Xiao Zhang¡¯s back stood up at once. Without realizing it, he held up the electric prod across his chest. ¡°Ah!¡± Hit by a tremendous force, he was sent into midair and flew backwards. His chest was badly mutted and Big Liu could not tell if the young man was still alive. ¡°Xiao Zhang!¡± Seeing this from behind, Big Liu was filled with rage and took out his gun right away, ignoring the instructions of the officials. The echo of the gunshot reverberated in the silent night, lingering on in the air. ¡°Bang!¡± The bulletnded in the grass by the strange person, sting out a cloud of rubble and dirt, scraps of grass flying in the air. ¡°¡­¡± The man in the front seemed to be startled by this, and stuck out his fingers and shouted again, ¡°Go!¡± Here was an illustration of how a veteran differed from a newbie. Fixing his gaze upon the dark shadow, Big Liu held the gun with both hands and steadied his breathing. In the blink of an eye, the person was by his side and raised their ws again. At that moment, he pulled the trigger. ¡°Smack!¡± The bullet hit the person¡¯s chest urately, but the sound came out muffled, as if the bullet had dug into a pile of withered, lifeless meat. The impact sent the dark shadow sliding back stiffly, but it stopped a short distance away and stood there as if it was not hurt at all. ¡®What the f**k is this thing!¡¯ Staring open-mouthed, the same question crossed Big Liu¡¯s head with the same level of horror! He knew the power of his gun too well to doubt if the bullet could put a hole in a body at such close range, but this thing was totally unharmed! While he was dazed, the dark shadow leapt out again. ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Thump!¡± Big Liu was smashed away as well, his gun falling on the ground and himself unconscious. ¡°Come out, now!¡± ¡°What happened? I think I heard a gunshot!¡± ¡°Over there! Let¡¯s take a look!¡± At that moment, Por Vige stirred. Lights were switched on one after another with people shuffling around. ¡°¡­¡± Li Suchun watched the two police officers in silence. In the end, he only picked up the gun and walked towards another direction, disappearing into the darkness. Chapter 91 Chapter 91: Arrival Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Useless! You¡¯re all good-for-nothings! There were so many of you and only two of them. How could you let them escape? Not only were two officers wounded, a gun is also missing! One gun, four bullets! Do you have any idea what that means?¡± Inside the office of a county leader, an official was yelling and banging on the table with a scarlet face,pletely ignoring proper manners. Sitting across the table were chiefs of relevant county departments. They could not utter a single word at the reprimand. It was indeed a frustrating incident. Had the people of Por Vige not found them in time, both police officers would have died at the scene. Even so, they were still lying in the ICU, with their lives hanging in bnce. It was terrible! Losing both of them would make this a major case and there would be disciplinary actions taken against a lot of people. The chiefs lowered their heads and listened in silence, which irritated the official even further. He bellowed again. ¡°Say something; make suggestions! Aren¡¯t you all so good at ying with words?¡± ¡°¡­¡± They made a faint attempt to smile while exchanging knowing looks, all too smart to set themselves up as a ready target. ¡°Fine, fine¡­¡± Anger brought grimughter out of the official. He was about tosh out at them again when someone tapped at the door and his secretary entered, announcing with a slightly flurried look, ¡°They, they¡¯ve sent someone from the city!¡± ¡°What?¡± The official¡¯s face darkened abruptly. He had only reported to the municipal authorities this morning and they had already dispatched people here at noontime. Exactly how serious was the situation? He was pretty fed up by the whole thing himself as well. With his level of clearance, he had no ess to the ssified information and could only follow orders. He not only had almost lost two men, but was also given a tongueshing by his superior with no clear reason whatsoever. Such thoughts crossed his mind as he stood up, ready to wee the visitor in person. The door opened again and a group of four or five people poured into the room. ¡°I, I didn¡¯t know you wereing.¡± Seeing the man leading the team, the official shuddered with terror. The other people also rose to their feet right away, almost too frightened to breathe. ¡°¡­¡± The man darted a look at him and made noment. Instead, he gave a direct order, ¡°From now on, I¡¯m the one calling shots here.¡± *** The sun shone brightly. White clouds lingered in the sky. On a long-distance bus from Shu Zhou to Luobi, two fellows were looking out of the window in boredom. They had had enough sightseeing during their journey so far¡ªthe view outside did not interest them all that much. The only things that stood out were the red steel pipes on either side of the road, all as thick as water buckets. They had no idea what they were used for. Gu Yu had been eyeing them for quite some time, but could note up with an exnation. He mumbled, ¡°What on earth are those?¡± ¡°Is this your first time here?¡± An auntie sitting nearby interjected and exined to them enthusiastically. ¡°They were used for transporting salty water. Luobi used to be a salt production county. The pipes would carry the salt to Wuqiao (TL/N: meaning ¡°five bridges¡±) Town. The water was processed there and made into well salt, then sold to other ces.¡± ¡°Do they still use them for that now?¡± ¡°Not anymore. You can buy salt anywhere nowadays!¡± The auntie chuckled. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± Politely, Gu Yuughed with her. The bus drove for another while before reaching the intersection towards Luobi County, where two police cars parked by the road. A police officer beckoned at the driver. ¡°Stop for inspection!¡± Bewildered, the driver opened the door as ordered and a police officer got on board. ¡°Sorry for the hold up. It won¡¯t take long. Please take out your ID cards for inspection.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They weren¡¯t here when I came yesterday.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Rumblings ofint broke out among the passengers, which the police ignored. One by one, he checked their ID cards. Everyone else checked out, when it was Gu Yu and Xiaozhai¡¯s turn, the police noticed their registered permanent residence. Shengtian? The city was in northeast China, several thousand kilometers away. ¡°What are you doing here in Luobi? The police officer asked. ¡°Travelling,¡± replied Gu Yu. ¡°Travelling?¡± Scanning them with his eyes, the police was convinced by their backpacker outfits. He handed them back their ID cards and instructed, ¡°Take care of yourselves out there. Come to us if you need any help.¡± ¡°We¡¯re done here. Thank you for your cooperation. You may go now.¡± ¡°Cooperation my ass!¡± Cursing under his breath, the driver started up the bus and drove on. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were here because on the Ship-shaped Street in the ancient town of Luobi County, there was a Temple of Spiritual Official. ording to ¡°Treasured Admonition of Patriarch Sa¡±, ¡°Sa Shoujian used to travel to the westnd and Longxing to preach. He gave out money and made medicine to help the people, umting merits and virtues to achieve the Great Dao. He passed doctrines to an iron figure and obtained the thunder books of the Jade-centered Thunder Mansion. He promoted the teachings and educated others on behalf of the gods. With the Jujube Incantation and talismans, he helped a lot of people.¡± The westnd mentioned above was referring to Shu Zhou. As for the iron figure, that was a pupil of his, named Wang Shan. The Jujube Incantation was a Taoist skill the specific practice of which was lost. Basically, he blessed jujubes with their seeds removed. The patients would be cured after eating the jujubes. For every jujube, he charged seven copper coins only. Of all the ie he earned each day from blessing over a hundred jujubes, he would keep seventy coins and give the rest to the poor, so as to achieve the utmost virtue by doing good deeds. Wang Shan, his pupil,ter inherited Xihe Sect and became an aplished cultivator himself. He was listed among the five hundred Spiritual Officials and was imed to be the number one protector of Taoism. The Temple of Spiritual Official in Luobi County was devoted to Wang Shan. The county also imed itself to be the birthce of Xihe Sect. Sa Shoujian had traveled a fair amount, leaving his legacy along the way. Many imed to be his pupils, but one could not tell the real ones from the impostors. Since Luobi County also made such im, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai decided to take a look. *** Getting off the bus, they found a random hotel and checked into, well, two separate rooms. After a brief rest and reorganization, they went strolling on the streets. They sensed an unusual atmosphere; looking around, they could see the locals walking around sharing an air of tacit understanding. The gossipy look of ¡°have you heard¡± was written all over their faces. A few others dressed ordinarily were lingering at various crossings and intersections, keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings at all times. Having nothing better to do, Xiaozhai counted these people. On their way from the hotel to the Ship-shaped Street, they had passed at least six of them, whom they suspected to be inclothes. There was no fair in the ancient town today, but the streets were still full of hustle and bustle. Peddlers took up their respective spots along the streets, advertising their wares. ¡°Ironed rice cakes!¡± ¡°Cooked glutinous rice, rice cakes wrapped in leaves, very good price!¡± ¡°Cheap mutton soup, ten yuan per bowl!¡± Shops nking the streets were equally boisterous, if not more so. Loudspeakers were sting ¡°agricultural heavy metal¡± from every single window. There were shops selling everything from garments and snacks to general merchandise, as well as hotels, teahouses, shoemakers, etc. Among those, teahouses were the most numerous; there was over a dozen of them. They walked into one. The waiter came up to them immediately with a grinning face. ¡°Please have a seat. We have dried fruit, preserves, tea, and confectioneries. What would you like?¡± ¡°A pot of green tea and two tes of dried fruit, please,¡± said Xiaozhai. Gu Yu, on the other hand, looked out to the street at a stall, where mutton soup was being stewed in arge pot and big pancakes sizzled on a t pan. ¡°May I eat the mutton soup here?¡± He asked. ¡°Of course!¡± The waiter replied without hesitation. Thus, Xiaozhai drank her tea while he enjoyed his mutton soup. Both were content. A few others were also in the teahouse, all elders chatting with an ent they could not understand. Being familiar with the hospitable and talkative characteristics of Shu Zhou locals, they started a conversation on purpose. ¡°Public order is very well maintained here in Luobi. I¡¯ve seen several police officers along the way.¡± ¡°Exactly. Of all the ces we¡¯ve been to, this is the only time our ID got checked. Such a fuss!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not fair. Surely no one likes the trouble, but it was to ensure our safety.¡± ¡°¡­¡± As they yed out their script, the elders were indeed hooked. One of the old men couldn¡¯t hold back hisment and interjected, ¡°Are you two tourists? To tell you the truth, it wasn¡¯t like this before. It just so happens that it all started today.¡± ¡°From what I heard, something happenedst night and several policemen were dead,¡± another one chimed in. ¡°You got it wrong! My nephew went home after the dramast night and was woken up in the middle of the night. He heard them saying someone fired a gun and didn¡¯t dare to go out. Someone else went, and came back talking about two people on the ground covered in blood¡­¡± yet another third elder provided his urate version. While the grandpas got themselves excited, our two unabashed fellows listened quietly. However, the story was bing weirder as they listened on, with mentions of scratch marks and mangled bodies, reminding them of the homicide case. Fascinating. These two had apparently turned into the perpetual schoolchildren, running into idents wherever they went. [1] [1] TL/N: ¡°the perpetual schoolboy¡± is a nickname given to the anime character Edogawa Conan. Chapter 92 Chapter 92: Development Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The two of them had managed to gather some information during their short visit to the teahouse. If they had suspected it right, the culprit behind the homicide case should have fled to Luobi by now. This could be problematic. Judging from the situation on the streets, the police had obviously made their arrangements, trying to take the man down right here in Luobi. However, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were simply so interested in this case that they had to verify with their own eyes whether or not it was the deed of a Taoist disciple. The conflict of the interests would inevitably lead to some collision. As the saying goes, the swordsmen would vitews with violence. Actually, this statement could be expanded to include all those who capitalize on their capabilities, using them to challenge social rules. Back then, when Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were still in Shengtian, they had their respective social identities¡ªhim a peddler and her a white cor. The conclusion of the recovering spiritual essence was yet toe and they lived their lives in ordance with their social status. Now, after quitting her job and abandoning his peddling career, they had spent over twenty carefree days on the road. Bounded by nothing and bringing out their true selves, they were each gradually developing a new state of mind. As a result, this case was simply another troublesome incident to them. They did not have the slightest inclination to worry or be evasive; fear had left thempletely. When Gu Yu and Xiaozhai left the teahouse, it was still hours away from sunset and they decided to head for the Temple of Spiritual Official right away. The temple was on the eastern end of the Ship-shaped Street, a rather conspicuous building. The current abbot was called Wang Ruoxu, an alleged direct descendant of Wang Shan. He was quite a renowned figure. Rumor had it that he was an expert in prayer rituals and Feng Shui practice. He had been invited to various ces to survey the scenes and had produced nothing but convincing results. Arriving at the temple, they saw that Celestial Master Sa and Spiritual Official Wang were enshrined in the first main hall, on both sides of which were side halls worshiping the Three Pure Ones, Emperor of Shu Han the Royal Uncle Liu, the God of Wealth Zhao Gongming, and Emperor Wenchang. Hardly any pilgrims were visiting the halls at the moment and the yard was only watched over by two Taoist priests. They looked around and found nothing out of the ordinary, then moved on to the backyard, where they were weed by a drastic change in setting. To their surprise, worshiped here were the Buddha, the Children-sending Guanyin, the Bodhisattva Manjusri, the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, and the Eighteen Arhats. What was more unbelievable, this yard was also managed by two Taoist priests. That was convenient! The scene was giving them a headache. This exined the couplets hanging on the columns of the temple gate: Seeking knowledge from Buddhism and Taoism; Delivering all living creatures from torment. Very equal opportunity indeed¡­ ¡°Excuse me, are you here to light incense sticks or to have your fortunes told?¡± They probably had sauntered for too long, for a chubby priest felt the need to approach them inquiringly. ¡°Oh, we¡¯re here for your abbot, Priest Wang Ruoxu,¡± replied Gu Yu. ¡°The master has just gone out. May I ask what is this about?¡± ¡°We heard that Priest Wang is an expert in Feng Shui. Our boss is going to open a newpany and wants to invite Priest Wang over to have a look,¡± he gave his readily made excuse. ¡°Oh?¡± Checking them up and down, the chubby priest saw that in spite of their young age, the two looked rather impressive. Smile crept up his face immediately. ¡°The master won¡¯t be back for a while. Pleasee inside and have some tea.¡± With that, he led the two into the guest room, where they could sit down and discuss the topic in detail. The chubby priest reminded them more of a sly businessman rather than a Taoist disciple. He grinned, ¡°May I ask what line of business are two guests in?¡± ¡°We are from the north. Our boss wanted to start up a fur business. As you may know, choosing the right spot is really hard these days. We¡¯ve had a monk pick a piece ofnd for us. But we were about to start building when they told us someone had died there. The whole thing was so ridiculous!¡± Gu Yu said. ¡°We heard that Priest Wang is very capable with his skills and has never let anybody down in viewing Feng Shui. That¡¯s why we¡¯ve traveled all the way here for his advice,¡± Xiaozhai added after Gu Yu. She then asked, ¡°Are you a pupil of Priest Wang? Do you mind give us a tip or two? Like, how much does Priest Wang charge usually?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s hard to say. The importance of Feng Shui varies from one person to another. You are wee to pay more if you find it worthwhile, although the master wouldn¡¯t mind if you find it trivial either. Early this year, apany from Lu Zhou invited the master over and the director was a very straightforward man. He transferred half a million to our ount up front. When thepany opened and the business thrived, he wired us another half million. That was karma. Those who show gratitude will be rewarded.¡± ¡°Oh, I see!¡± ¡°As long as the master can point out a treasured site for us, money is not an issue at all!¡± Our two fellows were enjoying themselves ying the roles they assigned to themselves. The chubby priest was particrly courteous, for the Feng Shui requests were always brought to them by important clients. Every time the master closed a deal, he was able to scrape off some leftovers, filling up that little coffer of his. Unfortunately, little did he know that his master was stranded in an office at the moment, trembling with fear. *** ¡°Well, dear priest, please take a seat!¡± After scanning the priest with his eyes for a considerable moment, the man finally produced a half-smile. ¡°Oh my, thank you!¡± As if being granted a presidential pardon, Wang Ruoxu sat down on the edge of a chair, barely resting his bottom on it. As the saying went, as vast as the world seemed, the authority of an official was always vaster. Wang might walk around with an enigmatic pretense, acting like a figure of importance. In the presence of people in positions of real power, however, he was no better than an ant. In fact, he was terrified. He had been summoned to the county government out of the blue and recognized this big shot as soon as he entered the room. Mind you, for most people, this man was a figure only appeared on television. ¡°Sorry about the impromptu invitation. We are on a rather tight schedule here. I¡¯ll apologize first for any inconvenience we might cause you,¡± said the man again. ¡°That¡¯s totally fine, no inconvenience at all.¡± The man did notment on that response, but continued by asking, ¡°I heard you are from Xihe Sect and have also studied in Mao Mountain as well?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I used to be a disciple of the School of Shangqing in Mao Mountain.¡± ¡°You belong to a sect already, why did you turn to another one?¡± ¡°Xihe Sect has little inheritance of its left, and I had to, had to¡­¡± Wang Ruoxu stammered awkwardly. ¡°I see¡­¡± The man nodded, as if he had understood. He then asked, ¡°I heard there are some strange magical skills in Mao Mountain, could you tell me more about it?¡± ¡°Well, Mao Mountain actually consists of upper and lower sections. The so-called strange magical skills are usually from Lower Mao Mountain, which contains seventy-two branches and their Taoist skills are peculiar and sinister. There are skills such as Ghost Nursing, Nail Cursing, Straw Figure Stabbing, Corpse Refining¡­¡± As he exined, Wang Ruoxu was actually panicking inside. While the government encouraged freedom of religion, they cracked down on feudal superstition at the same time. What he mentioned above just happened to be the targets to be stricken down. He was utterly confused, not having the slightest clue of what this official¡¯s intention could be. After his introduction, the man fell silent for a while, then asked suddenly, ¡°Did you mention a skill called Corpse Refining?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°From your point of view, is it possible to find a zombie nowadays?¡± ¡®Geez!¡¯ That question raised the hair on his back. He did not dare to give an answer. ¡°Don¡¯t be so nervous. We¡¯re just talking here,¡± the man appeased him with a smile. ¡°Well, well¡­ the requirement on refining a corpse is extremely strict and there hasn¡¯t been any record of it for hundreds of years. I can only say that it is possible, but I really cannot say for sure,¡± he replied anxiously. ¡°If they do exist, where usually can we find them?¡± ¡°ces where Yin energy converges¡­¡± Wang Ruoxu stopped talking abruptly, realizing in that instant that he was summoned here to help. Seeing the change in his countenance, the man also straightened his face and said in a solemn tone, ¡°The matter at hand is so vital that we can not afford a third person to know it.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, I understand,¡± he answered hastily. ¡°Good. We¡¯ll start tomorrow. You can go back and make some preparation.¡± With that, the man raised his voice and called out, ¡°Xiao Wu!¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± A person pushed open the door and came in. ¡°See that the priest returns safely.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The two left the room right after that, leaving behind the big boss only. Silence fell again in the room. He lit a cigarette and walked to the window while smoking. Through therge window, he could see the streets and buildings of the new town. The ancient town was further out. ¡°Puff¡­¡± He let out a cloud of smoke, looking apprehensive. The whole thing was way too strange. Modern technology had been around for hundreds of years, yet a seemingly ordinary homicide case led them to a zombie. That was just ridiculous! He himself would not believe it. Those higher up in themand chain were also divided. Half of them found the idea preposterous, while the other half was inclined to support the hypothesis. Orders from above were that they should try their best not to resolve to violence. Wang Ruoxu was also mentioned, saying that he could be of help. As much as he disliked the old priest, he had to follow orders. Chapter 93 Chapter 93: Rubbernecking (Part One) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Master!¡± ¡°Master, you are back!¡± Wang Ruoxu returned to his temple, where he was greeted by his pupils. Hearing his arrival, the chubby priest went out in a hurry to report to him. ¡°Master, you have two visitors. They wanted you to view Feng Shui for them. They have been here for some time.¡± ¡°I see. Keep thempany for a while longer.¡± As irritable as he felt right now, he could not turn down a potential business opportunity. He changed into another outfit in the quiet room and reorganized himself, then strode into the guest room with a weingughter. ¡°I apologize for keeping you waiting this long!¡± ¡°That¡¯s totally fine. A capable man like Priest Wang is worth waiting for.¡± While exchanging pleasantries, Gu Yu attentively made a quiet observation of Priest Wang. The man was glowing with health, had a potbelly, and was rolled in fat¡ªin short, a roly-poly sort of figure. Such appearance disappointed Gu Yu greatly. This man was just another damp squib! All cultivators differed from ordinary men in one way or another. Take Tan Chongdai for an example. Although he could not consume essences, they could still spot on him a unique aura without much problem. Gu Yu gave Xiaozhai a subtle signal; she responded with a wink, indicating she knew what to do. ¡°I was told that you are here for Feng Shui inspection?¡± ¡°Yes. Our boss wants to start a fur business, breeding animals and processing products with his own factory.¡± ¡°Fur business? Oh my, that¡¯s destruction of a lot of life, a trespass against thew of heaven!¡± Wang Ruoxu sighed affectedly and went on, ¡°You havee to the right ce. The Feng Shui inspection is not a superstitious concept, but has scientific basis. Everything has mental aura of their own, be it human body, a nt, or a building. The so-called Feng Shui is to seek and point out the auspicious energy that is beneficial for human bodies while avoiding the evil one that is harmful for us. This process is to tend to luck and escape from evil. If you are to produce with your own factories, you would be involved in a lot of killing and the grievance caused in the process itself is a powerful evil energy.¡± ¡°Oh? How can we resolve it, then?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°In Feng Shui, we believe that Qi brings life and without it, there¡¯s death. It¡¯s very simple, actually. All you need is a ce with vital energy. It¡¯s called ¡®taking advantage of Qi and bringing out life¡¯.¡± Wang Ruoxu appeared to be a vainglorious man who could not restrain himself from showingcency. ¡°As a matter of fact, I am the best you can find in Shu Zhou in the skill of finding the right site by observing the circumstances.¡± ¡°Haha, your fame is the reason we¡¯ve traveled this far.¡± In order to probe him further, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai put up a lengthy crosstalk performance. Xiaozhai seemed to know one thing or two on Feng Shui and could always find the right question to ask. The priest was so intrigued that he even made an exception to borate on his answers. Wang Ruoxu might know nothing about Taoist skills, but he was indeed quite aplished in Feng Shui. After their conversation, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai made the excuse of having to ask for instructions from their boss and said their goodbyes. Wang Ruoxu did not mind all the much. Such business always had an element of randomness to it. He did not expect to close every deal walking into his door. However, once out of the guest room, before they walked away, Gu Yu¡¯s ear twitched suddenly when he picked up an indistinct conversation from the room. ¡°Prepare my luggage. I¡¯m leaving early tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Where to this time, Master?¡± ¡°Nowhere new. I¡¯m only going to Luobi.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of going there? Who invited you? I could refuse them on your behalf¡­¡± ¡°Shut up! That¡¯s not for you to ask!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu told Xiaozhai what he had heard and while talking to each other, they walked out of the Temple of Spiritual Official. When they were outside, however, they paused for no obvious reason. They were originally supposed to return to the hotel, but turned to walk towards another direction instead. Gu Yu spoke again only after they were a block away. ¡°Why are those two inclothes observing the temple? Is it possible that Wang Ruoxu was with the police?¡± ¡°Very likely. This thing turns out to be even more fussy than we expected,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°So, tomorrow we¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go back first.¡± After making sure no one was following them, they made a few swift movements and disappeared from the street in a sh. Meanwhile, standing by a telegraph pole across the temple, those two men were discussing under their breath. ¡°They are not locals, right? Who are they?¡± ¡°I think they¡¯re tourists. Their IDs have been checked out.¡± ¡°Shall we follow them?¡± ¡°Nah, let¡¯s just focus on the priest, making sure he doesn¡¯t give us any trouble.¡± *** The current situation was ratherplicated. Basically, Li Suchun was in direct confrontation with the authorities. However, at a closer look, the forces also consisted of Wang Ruoxu and his pupil, and our two rubbernecks. Back in the hotel, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were collecting their thoughts. ¡°Everyone has their own objective. The murderer would want to escape, the police needs to catch him. Wang Ruoxu seems to be following orders, probably against his will¡­ as for us, we are just onlookers, so we¡¯re out of the equation for the time being,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°I agree with you on everything apart from Wang Ruoxu.¡± Frowning, Xiaozhai said, ¡°He¡¯s supposed to have studied in Mao Mountain. That¡¯s the birthce of Shangqing School. After spending so many years there, all he can do is viewing Feng Shui?¡± ¡°Are you saying¡­¡± ¡°Anyway, we need to keep an eye on him in case he has something up his sleeves.¡± ¡°In that case, we need to get up early tomorrow as well. Let¡¯s follow Priest Wang around first. Oh, by the way, we¡¯d better rent a car.¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll do thatter. The police probably have not found the murderer yet. Things¡¯ll getplicated with them tagging along. We need to find that person before they do.¡± ¡°And after that?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see then. After all, we¡¯re just onlookers.¡± *** Night. The moonlight was smooth and cool as water. At the foot of a low hill was a level ground with a tumbledown look. Li Suchun was standing there, gripping a yellow talisman between his fingers while chanting, ¡°By the majestic Yin and Yang and thew of Nine Chapters, once this talisman is carried out by the imperial edict, all Yin energy shall be at mymand. Obey at once, go!¡± ¡°Boom!¡± As soon as he finished those words, the talisman burst into me without being kindled. Paper in general burnt very fast. The talisman, however, burnt faster. Starting from the head, the me consumed the entire talisman in the blink of an eye. The green-and-red me devoured the talisman paper rapidly without any trace of ashes. When the faint fizzling finally stopped, the talisman was also gone, as if it had disappeared into thin air. Nothing seemed to have changed. However, had Gu Yu been here, he would doubtlessly sense the rapid converging of Yin energy from all directions. To be more precise, the energy was gathering into the ground in front of Li Suchun. While confronting the police the other day, the white corpse was shot. Although it was an undead creature, the bullet hole in its chest had decreased its power. Therefore, he had buried it in this ce where the Yin energy was condensed and ignited a Yin-gathering Talisman to help with its recovery. If things went as nned, in another day, the white corpse would be as good as new. ¡°Ruffle!¡± Fumbling out a bag of bread from his pocket, Li Suchun tore open the package and munched on it. With his disheveled hair and ragged clothes, he looked more of genuine beggar than a real beggar. His eyes, though, still shone with unyielding light. He had barely reached twenty and had already gone through so many hardships. It was amazing that he still managed to hold up. Actually, he was not all that concerned. Of course he would like to escape, but if not, he would simply fight to death! *** The following day, early in the morning. Ship-shaped Street of the ancient town was deserted. The only shop opened for business was the one selling breakfast. People were shuttling in and out, holding huge food steamer with their hands. ¡°Beep beep!¡± A ck car¡ªan outdated model¡ªdrove near, stopping outside the Temple of Spiritual Official with a screeching noise. A head stuck out of the car window. ¡°You¡¯ve had a long night. Go back to catch some sleep!¡± ¡°We¡¯re ok. You¡¯re up!¡± The two inclothes who were on surveince the whole night waved at them and walked away with fatigued gait. The man got off the car and tapped at the temple gate, which was opened shortly by a priest, who asked hesitantly, ¡°You are¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m here for Priest Wang. Is he ready?¡± ¡°Oh, he¡¯sing. Please wait a moment.¡± The priest was obviously informed in advance and received the man with great courtesy. A few minutes after he went in, Wang Ruoxu showed up with his chubby pupil. ¡°Sorry to disturb you at such early hour, priest.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright. Let¡¯s go.¡± With that, the three got into the car and headed for the county center right away. Once there, they were joined by quite a few others and the fleet drove towards the suburbs in a line. Chapter 94 Chapter 94: Rubbernecking (Part Two) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Feng Shui had a long history. The concept started thriving in Wei-Jin period and consisted of two major schools, namely the Form School established by Yang Yunsong inte Tang Dynasty and the Compass School founded by Wang Ji in Song Dynasty. The Form School emphasized on searching for the right mountains, observing water, seeking mounds, and selecting sites. The good or bad luck was to be determined by the Qi of the ce. The Compass School, on the other hand, took ideas from Bagua and five stars to determine the interactions of the three key positions (the entrance, the main room, and the kitchen) and six matters (doors, corridors, stoves, wells, beds, and toilets) of a dwelling. In simple terms, the Form School was good at field work, while the Compass School did better job indoors. Wang Ruoxu might have the appearance of a pudgy businessman, but he was indeed an aplished Feng Shui expert well-equipped with knowledge of both schools. Right now, he was holding apass while exining to the others with anguage as in as possible. ¡°Mountains stand to the east of Luobi and a hundred steps or so past the mountain peak, the ridge starts to take the form of a dragon. The water is on the west, its source is at a low altitude and of a hollow shape, making it an auspicious sign. Back when the town was built, Feng Shui experts were invited here and designed a ship-shaped street with the bow facing the east and the stern the west, while the body of the ship spanned from the south to the north, enabling the ship to cut through the wind and waves, making the settlement the most prosperous ce in the surrounding area. However, the mining in the eastern mountains has destroyed the terrain and the reservoir happened to be built on the star position of the energies of vitality and prosperity. As the saying goes, the dragon lord on a mountain would not descend into the water and the one in the water would not go up a mountain. Once the dragon-formed ridge goes into the water, the dragon bes a loach. The Feng Shui setup of this ce has been damaged, that¡¯s why the county is getting poorer every year¡­¡± ¡°Humph!¡± That official from the other day had attached much weight to this operation and even took the trouble toe in person. He snorted coldly at Wang Ruoxu¡¯s words. ¡°So ording to you, the fact that economy of Luobi is not doing well has nothing to do with the industries or the policies, but is the result of Feng Shui alone?¡± ¡°No, no, I wasn¡¯t thinking straight. That¡¯s not what I meant!¡± Wang Ruoxu cringed. He was so busy showing off that he had forgotten who he was dealing with. ¡°¡­¡± The big boss shot a nce at him and did not haggle over his answer, but asked, ¡°You told us to drive east. Are you saying that the ce is on the east?¡± ¡°When the ridge of dragon is damaged, a ruin must be left behind. If my deduction is correct, the ce we¡¯re looking for is in the east,¡± said Wang Ruoxu, as if ill at ease. ¡°You¡¯d better find it as soon as possible. Our schedule is very tight and we can¡¯t afford to waste any time.¡± ¡°Yes, of course. I¡¯ll do my best.¡± The two were the only passengers in this car; the chubby pupil was on another vehicle. The driver had been driving in silence, but was actually also thinking that the fatso was talking rubbish. He was from the army and a real soldier. Not only him, all the buddies taking part in this mission were military personnel. The police force appeared to be in charge, but they were in fact pushed aside as the logistic support. To be honest though, they were all somewhat disgruntled. They considered themselves elite soldiers, yet were now assigned to catch some unknown creature? Come on! They were all brought up in a proper atheistic background. There was no way they would believe in such nonsense. *** At eight o¡¯clock in the morning, the motorcade stopped somewhere on the east side. They found themselves at the foot of a mountain of medium height, which upied a somewhat vast area. Half of the leaves around them was turning yellow and with the pavilions, terraces, and ancient roads scattered around the mountain, there was a dpidated beauty about it. A few centuries ago, Luobi had three pces and five temples, which attracted numerous worshipers. The buildings wereter destroyed one after another. It was not until thirty years ago that the locals raised money among themselves and reconstructed one of them, the Guanyin Pavilion, which was right on this mountain. ¡°Tsk, something¡¯s not right!¡± Lifting his eyes and looking up to the mountain top, Wang Ruoxu felt a chilly sensation for no obvious reason. He mumbled in bewilderment and suspicion. Seeing this, the official asked, ¡°What have you found?¡± ¡°Not yet, I¡¯m still looking¡­¡± He gave an ambiguous reply, then seeing that the center cross lines were fixed, he turned the inner te with his thumb. As the inner te rotated, the heaven dial turned with it until the maic needle stopped moving and ovepped with the red line in the heaven dial. (TL/N: basically this is a description of how a Feng Shuipass, or Luopan, works. ) He measured the trend of the mountain and the Yin-Yang quality of the ridge before examining the terrain carefully. Only then did he confirmed, ¡°This should be the right ce. There must be a dpidatedyout.¡± ¡°Good. Xiao Wu!¡± The official bade a man over. ¡°Go get prepared.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The man withdrew to carry out the order, taking a few people to go up the mountain first. Before long, signal was sent out from above and two vehicles were driven to the intersection. They were going to close the road. ¡°Let¡¯s move out!¡± A few men led the way, with Wang Ruoxu and the official walking in the middle and another few people at the rear. Wang Ruoxu kept his eyes on thepass, growing all the more anxious as they walked on. He felt an uneasiness that he could not pinpoint. It was quite some time when a white jade memorial archway popped up in the front, which had ¡°Iron Mountain¡± written across it. ¡®Oh my!¡¯ He almost smacked his own head. How could he forget it? Iron Mountain was the name of this mountain, whose location was a strategic point that had been fiercely contested over by military forces throughout history. ording to an ancient text, ¡°When the county of Ling Zhou was established, Iron Mountain, which produced iron ore, was found 35 km to the southeast of the county. Military Marquise Zhuge Liang used the iron to forge weapons, which were so hard and sharp that they were good enough to be used as articles of tribute.¡± And about fifty years ago, some viger dug out a stone tablet which was engraved with the words ¡°Zhuge Liang the Military Marquise has refined iron here!¡± ¡°Geez!¡± Wang Ruoxu broke out with goosebumps, already regretting that he had epted the task. Feng Shui contained many notions involving evil auras, such as the Five Yellow, the Two ck, and the Three Azure evil auras, etc. And since all things belonged to the five elements, the evil auras were no exception. Iron belonged to Metal, which meant it was endowed with the evil aura of Metal. The kingdom of Shu Han had concentrated the strength of the entire country to refine iron here. Just imagine the scale of that. How many ironwares had they made? Not to mention that those were weapons aiming to take lives on battlefields! The evil aura should have dissipated after one thousand years, but one never knew. [1] That was ¡°perfect¡±¡ªa Yin-gathering spot on top of the evil aura of Metal, this thing was going to be a handful! *** ¡°Slow it down! Go slowly! You¡¯re freaking me out!¡± In an old white car, Gu Yu was gripping the handle while yelling in an exaggerated and frightened tone. ¡°Oh, shut up! I¡¯m only going at 100 miles per hour!¡± [ED/N: ~160 km/h] Behind the wheel, Xiaozhai was stepping on the clutch, shifting gears, then punching the elerator proficiently. The car swooshed past a truck. She had her own driving license, but never got round to buy a car. Now that she got an opportunity to practice, well, she was free as a bird. After dashing on like this for quite a while, she found some traffic cameras set up on a pole overhead across the road and slowed down the car, then drove steadily like ady. Gu Yu straightened up in his seat and sighed, ¡°I need to take up driving lessons after we go back. I¡¯m not letting you drive again.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you learn it when you were in college? I got mine when I was in uni,¡± asked Xiaozhai. ¡°I was going to, by got sidetracked when something came up. I thought about learning it when I was selling stuff in the mountain as well, but didn¡¯t have time to do it.¡± After saying that, he suddenly chuckled, ¡°Well, I don¡¯t actually have to learn it. We¡¯ll probably be able to fly soon. What do I need a car for?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Darting a look at the fellow, Xiaozhai also sighed, ¡°s! You men change as easily as eels sliding into holes.¡± [2] ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu was bing very good at grasping her thoughts. He asked teasingly, ¡°Am I thinking too much or did you just say what I think you said?¡± ¡°Nope, you did not overthink it.¡± The girl admitted it frankly and stepped on the elerator again, chuckling at the same time, ¡°You are luckier than a lot of people, though. At least you¡¯ve been where the eel has visited.¡± [3] ¡°Pfft!¡± Turning his head to the other side, Gu Yu was seriously considering jumping off the car. Following a general direction, they were soon a long way off. Farnds grew denser on either side of the road and they could make out some viges and houses. A little whileter, they saw a low hill rising out of the horizon. They knew they were almost there. To get to the low hill, they had to turn into a branch road. However, when they reached the side road, they found it blocked by a barricade and guarded by a police car. A police officer gestured at them, then approached them when they came to aplete stop. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°We, we are tourists. We heard there¡¯s the Guanyin Pavilion here,¡± stammered Gu Yu. ¡°Oh, the road is closed today. Please go back.¡± ¡°Will it open tomorrow?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. We¡¯re only following orders.¡± ¡°Oh, thank you.¡± Xiaozhai turned the car around and drove away, then stopped at a remote spot. Exchanging a look, they shrugged in unison: field trip it is, then. [1] ED/N: While it¡¯s ¡°aura¡±, it¡¯s not exactly it either¡­ it¡¯s pretty hard to exin, but think of something between a ghost and an aura¡­ should be closer to thetter, but I won¡¯t be surprised if it turns into or spawns an actual ghost. [2] TL/N: ¡°÷­±ä¡± is aical variation of ¡°ÉƱ䡱, which means ¡°fickle¡± (the two sound the same). The thing with the eel originated from a piece of real-life news where a female blogger live-streamed herself ¡°ying¡± with an eel. [3] TL/N: ¡°At least you¡¯re not a virgin any more.¡± Chapter 95 Chapter 95: Rubbernecking (Part Three) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Iron Mountain was not very tall, but took up a vast area and was next to a great reservoir. The surrounding area was covered in luxuriant vegetation. Man-made b stone paths trailed through the woods. There were also numerous wild tracks and old roads. The official had brought with him a special task force. It was the team¡¯s job to take down the target, while the police was in charge of checking the perimeter and dealing with the logistics. The keynote of this operation was explicitly expressed as: ¡°Search in small groups, do not disturb the general public, and subdue the target with a single strike.¡± Dividing the squad into two teams, the official had one team stay with him and Wang Ruoxu while the other one spread out to check for suspicious people and any traces of recently dug ground. ¡°My goodness, the extent of damage to the dragon ridge is more severe than I expected. The mountain is filled with evil Yin energy¡­ sigh, my only hope is that the corpse is not yet refined, or we may not leave this ce alive today¡­¡± Right now, Wang Ruoxu was wandering around the mountain, holding thepass while mumbling bizarre things to himself. The soldiers in defensive formation around him were disgruntled. The presence of the official and their sense of discipline were the only things that kept them from losing their temper. The official himself was also getting anxious, and could not help urging, ¡°How is it going?¡± ¡°The situation is ratherplicated here. I¡¯ll need a little bit more time.¡± Wang Ruoxu replied gingerly. Momentster, he seemed to have detected something when he pointed into the distance, ¡°Try there.¡± He led the team to a clearing and some men went over to examine the ce right away, and even dug around with shovels. They then reported back, ¡°Sir, we didn¡¯t find anything!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The official¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Priest Wang, we really don¡¯t have much time. You¡¯d better hurry up.¡± ¡°Yes, of course!¡± Swallowing his curses, Wang Ruoxu wiped away his sweat with his sleeves. *** ¡°Han Dapeng to the team, Han Dapeng to the team¡­ no abnormality over here, no abnormality, over!¡± ¡°Neither here, over!¡± ¡°The same at my postion, over!¡± ¡°Remain vignt and keep looking!¡± ¡°Copy that!¡± Sticking the walkie-talkie back into his pocket, Han Dapeng bent over slightly, his eyes roving about the surroundings. This was a standard position during battle readiness¡ªto search for clues from the faintest traces was not all that difficult in theory. All you had to do was to look for footprints and observe the ground and the leaves and branches. A dozen men fanned out and searched their respective areas. The section allotted to him seemed to be in order and he had found nothing out of the ordinary so far. ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ He stopped abruptly, for he heard faint footsteps to the northwest. It was definitely not one of his teammates! Frowning, Han Dapeng looked around and spotted a big leafy tree. He then climbed onto it, hiding himself among the leaves. One could not make him out unless they looked up and watched carefully. ¡°Rustle!¡± The sound was getting closer. He held his breath, waiting for the interloper. ¡°Swish!¡± The thick growth of grass was disturbed, and out came a young man and a young woman. Both were tall and slender, with an easiness to their movements. ¡®Are they tourists?¡¯ Han Dapeng hesitated, but was immediately resolute again. No matter who these people were, the orders were to take down any intruders. The two were chatting randomly down there, facing him sideways. He could not make out their faces. Patient, he remained hidden, fixing his gaze upon them. When they were finally under his tree with their backs to him¡­ ¡®Now!¡¯ Thrusting against the trunk with his strong calves, he pounced down headlong. With his knees slightly bent and spreading his arms widely, the momentum gained by this move was so incredible that once he got these two under his grip, they would be subdued instantly. However, he was almost on them when the two sidestepped away from each other simultaneously, as if they had eyes on the back of their heads. ¡®They knew where I am all along!¡¯ Han Dapeng was shocked, but his movements did not slow down. He bent forward even further, then with the impetus gained, hended with a roll. ¡®Whiz!¡¯ He took out his dagger as soon as he bounced back to his feet, ready for close quartersbat. He thought he had distanced himself from this opponents, but his blood chilled right away, for a ghost-like figure had been standing by his side the entire time. A pain ran through his skull and Han Dapeng went unconscious. ¡°Thump!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Putting down his hand, Gu Yu was quiet for a few seconds before crouching down and running through Han¡¯s stuff. ¡°It might sound like boasting, but I¡¯ve just knocked out someone from the special forces.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve really gone for it¡­ hey, that¡¯s a nice dagger.¡± Xiaozhai also took a look. She picked up the dagger and gave it a fancy spin. The de glistened wickedly. After ying around with it for a little while, she put it back and said, ¡°It seems the mountain is swarming with their men.¡± ¡°We need to be careful. Let¡¯s try not to engage in fights if we can help it.¡± ¡°And don¡¯t blow our cover. Oh, here¡­¡± Xiaozhai suddenly pulled two drama masks out of her bag and handed on over. ¡°Take this!¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°To wear it, obviously!¡± Putting it on, her entire face was concealed. He could only see a grimacing clown now, which was rather creepy. ¡°Seriously?¡± He asked helplessly. ¡°Of course!¡± She nodded. Her majesty had spoken! Gu Yu had no choice but to put on a mask as well, which turned out to be a painted face riotous with color. Now they had really be Bonnie and Clyde. *** ¡°The team to Birdie, the team to Birdie! Do you copy, Birdie!¡± ¡°Hey, hey¡­¡± Shortly after they left the spot, another soldier arrived from deeper on the mountain, running close with a walkie-talkie in his hand. He saw from the distance that his buddy was lying on the ground and quickened his steps. ¡°Dapeng! Dapeng!¡± Reaching Han Dapeng, he checked the unconscious man swiftly and was relieved¡ªluckily, the man was only knocked out. He then checked the surroundings and spoke into his inte, ¡°Attention all units, two hostiles have been spotted. They are bothbat capable and should be still somewhere on the northwest.¡± ¡°Has the target shown up, ck Canine?¡± ¡°Not sure. One of them seems to be a woman.¡± ¡°A woman? See if you can catch up with them. If not, go back to carry out your task.¡± ¡°Yes, Captain!¡± At the same time, the team leader staying with Wang Ruoxu reported immediately after the message. ¡°Sir, someone seemed to have broken into the restricted area on the mountain. The situation is getting rather dangerous. Would you please consider descending the mountain?¡± ¡°Oh? Are they with the target?¡± The official asked. ¡°We are not sure yet. All we know is that they have a certain level of fighting capability.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The official pondered and came up with a provisional solution. ¡°Here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do. I¡¯ll wait in the Guanyin Pavilion up there while you gather more men. We¡¯ll search the entire mountain!¡± Such an order was to make sure they would be ready for anyplications. Their strategy today was hence changed. With that, the team leader escorted him up to the Guanyin Pavilion and left some men behind. The gate was shut and the jittery abbot was to keep the official entertained. The police outside the mountain was informed of the order, and came up at once as backup while at the same time calling for urgent reinforcements from the county. A police car dashed away, causing many turning heads. *** ¡°Puff¡­ puff¡­¡± Panting and wheezing, Li Suchun was running desperately across the mountain. After hustling about for several days in a row, he was on the verge of exhaustion already. The running only brought him more staggering and stumbling, but he dared not stop. Just then, he had brought himself to the Guanyin Pavilion in the hope of finding some food, but only found the front gate closed and the atmosphere tense. Li Suchun realized instantly that the ce was not safe! He ran back in a haste. There was a hint of resolution in his fluster. His eyes were fixed upon a spot deep in the mountain, as if something was there that could settle him down. He was still running when he failed to pay enough attention the ground and his feet got entangled in a section of withered vine. He stumbled over with a thud. Before he could get up, a rustle came from the bush ahead, which was then brushed aside, revealing two strange figures wearing masks. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Time seemed to have frozen. The three exchanged various looks; some were tentative, some exciting, some alerted. It was after some time that one of them spoke with aughter, his voice clear and rich. ¡°Well, how lucky we are.¡± Chapter 96 Chapter 96: Rubbernecking (Part Four) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Iron Mountain was under aplete lockdown and off-limits to all unauthorized personnel. Yet here he was, a pale and haggard teenage boy whose identity was as in as the nose on his face. Of the vast area this mountain took up, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai just happened to run into him first. That was sheer blind luck. ¡°He looks a mess. This is awkward.¡± ¡°He can¡¯t help it. After all, he¡¯s been running all this time.¡± ¡°I think he¡¯s hungry. You got any food?¡± ¡°I think so.¡± While they were talking in whispers, Li Suchun remained in the same position as when he tumbled over, ovee with horror. The creepy clown and painted face masks aside, just by standing there together, these two people were giving him a desperate feeling, which told him that there was no use trying to run away. Without the zombie, hisbat capability was really¡­ wait a second! Blinking, Li Suchun slowly got up to his feet and inconspicuously reached to one side of his waist while acting all natural. He asked, ¡°Who are you people?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The two did not answer. The clown, however, fumbled in his bag and dug out something, which he threw at him, ¡°There you go!¡± ¡®p!¡¯ Without realizing it, he caught the thing and was dumbfounded. It was a bar of chocte. ¡°Who on earth are you?¡± He asked again. ¡°Eat. Then we¡¯ll talk.¡± The painted face seemed to have chuckled, who then asked, ¡°Do you need some water?¡± What the heck! Exactly what was going on here? Li Suchun was all jumpy and jittery before this, but this sensation had been interrupted by these two and he felt his head was spinning for no reason. Unable to tell whether these two were friend or foe, he moved a few steps away from them, tore open the package and downed the chocte in two bites. The sugar and energy from the chocte somewhat soothed his difort and those two did not even move a finger during this time, which led him to let his guards down a little bit. ¡°I think you¡¯ve realized by now that there is a whole mountain of people chasing you. How about we talk somewhere else?¡± The painted face said. ¡°Fight with me or let me go. I have nothing to say to you,¡± he said gruffly. ¡°Go? Are you going to get your little zombie?¡± The clown asked. ¡°You¡¯re with them! I knew it!¡± His eyes wide open, Li Suchun took up the gun in a whoosh. He was about to point it to the front when he felt something heavy on his wrist. Lowering his head, he found a green snake coiling around his right wrist. He had no idea how it got there. The snake hooked its tail around his finger, whichpletely stopped him from pulling the trigger. Fixing its dark yellow, horizontal pupils on him, the snake hissed with its blood-red two-pronged tongue, as if ready to bite. The teenager had seen his fair share of twists and turns, but never was he pinned down in the matter of seconds such as right now. He was, nheless, exceptionally bold, and managed to keep his handpletely still, which in turn did not give the snake an excuse to make a move. ¡°What exactly do you want from me?¡± Li Suchun asked in a coarse voice. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. We just want to take a look at your ¡®work¡¯,¡± replied the painted face. ¡°Suppose I say no to that?¡± ¡°They¡¯re searching the mountain right now. It¡¯s just a matter of time before they find it. All we need to do is sit aside and watch,¡± the clown was indifferent. ¡°¡­¡± Furrowing his brows tightly together, the teenager fell silent for a few seconds before giving in. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll take you there.¡± ¡°Well, smart move!¡± The clown crooked his finger, beckoning at Li Suchun, who replied with a snort and tossed over the pistol. *** As a matter of fact, ideas such as acting on behalf of the Gods to perform righteous deeds, or ¡°justice should always be served¡± had never crossed their minds. This teenager had doubtlessly been a killer, but there was a string of distinctive causalities behind his acts. The intrusive demolition led to the death of the old priest, which was why the developers were killed. After that came the fleeing and hunting¡­ just as the saying went, Karma is a bi*ch and it¡¯s a small world, after all. They had no intention to judge right from wrong in such an event; it was beyond their capability. All they wanted was to see the zombie. Their earlier guess had been vague. They suspected creatures from infant ghosts and undead insects to even the Five Ghosts. However, after some probing around, they decided it was a zombie. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Li Suchun!¡± ¡°Which Lower Mao Mountain sect are you from?¡± ¡°Humph!¡± ¡°Where did you get the corpse?¡± ¡°Humph!¡± The teenager led the way in the front, unable to show the slightest resistance. Our two fellows walked on either side of him, teasing the boy from time to time. He would only reply to a few questions and ignore the rest, as ifpletely resigning to his misfortune. In fact, he was secretly very curious himself. After a while, he could no longer hold back and asked, ¡°Are you Taoist disciples as well?¡± ¡°Humph!¡± ¡°Why are you looking for a zombie?¡± ¡°Humph!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Li Suchun crinkled up his face wryly. ¡®How can someone as capable as you two be so childish!¡¯ It was strange. Although he had been subdued, he did not feel much animosity towards the two. For him, these two people were much nicer than the developers, the police, or even that Liu Changhe. The three of them threaded through the woods, taking great care to evade the pursuers with precise movements. The hiding ce seemed to be incredibly secretive. The road took them zigzagging down a slope towards somewhere around the reservoir. While they were still walking, the painted face slowed down to a halt. The clown asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Something¡¯s not right. The further we walk in that direction, the stronger an evil aura I can feel.¡± ¡°An evil aura?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how to describe it. Maybe an evil energy?¡± ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s evil energy?¡± Unexpectedly, Li Suchun was startled by these words, and asked hastily. To refine a corpse, one had to know Feng Shui and the terrain. He had learned bits and pieces from the inheritance of his sect, but his knowledge was nowhere near that of an expert such as Wang Ruoxu. He was able to find a proper burial site, but failed to detect the evil energy. ¡°I think so.¡± Suddenly realizing his question, the painted face asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me your zombie is buried over there?¡± ¡°What would happen when a zombie absorbs the evil energy?¡± The clown also asked. ¡°I really can¡¯t say. Maybe¡­ maybe it would mutate,¡± he was even more vexed now. *** ¡°Don¡¯t miss the area over here. You, go check it!¡± ¡°Keep focused! Don¡¯t fool around!¡± Around the perimeter of Iron Mountain, a team of police officers was scanning the area carefully. At themand of the official, all avable units had been dispatched here, enhancing the strength of the task force significantly. The team consisted of over a dozen members. The leader was called Guo Tao, a junior level officer of the police station. They were in charge of sweeping the west side of the reservoir, which was a rather heavy load. The reservoir was as big as ake¡ªit spanned for 5.7 km, with a water storage capacity of 2890 cubic meters. As the thirdrgest water conserving project in Shu Zhou, theke was Y-shaped with a few small isles in it, which were all barren. Their lengthy search was in vain. Those on familiar terms with Guo Taoined, ¡°Brother Tao, it¡¯s getting dark. How much longer do we have to keep at it?¡± ¡°Just hold on for a bit longer. Our buddies in other teams are still working hard. We can¡¯t be left behind!¡± ¡°Then at least we have to know what we are looking for. After all this time, we don¡¯t even know what the target it¡­¡± While they were bickering, some team member called out from not far away. ¡°Brother Tao, we found footprints here!¡± ¡°Where?¡± Guo Tao rushed to the spot. Brushing aside some thick growth of withered grass, he arrived at a big tree, where a pair of faint shoe prints was. One could easily miss them if they did not look closely enough. A team member was squatting down and measuring them with special equipment. ¡°The dirt is very fresh and these were made very recently. They should belong to a male¡ªnot very tall and a light person¡­ it¡¯s a preliminary match for the suspect.¡± ¡°Good! This is great!¡± Guo Tao was excited and rounded up his men at once. The team flustered around, preparing for the next move. Some even took out their guns. The scattered footprints trailed into the distance. Following the traces, the team walked on for some time before stopping at a ce. ¡°¡­¡± Guo Tao frowned. Somehow, this ce was making him extremely ufortable. All nts were withered and the hills seemed shattered. There was not a single trace of life. Up ahead on a level ground with a rtively open view, they could see a spot with obvious signs of digging. Shaking his head, he chased away the uneasiness. Great excitement took over him now. ¡®I¡¯ve hit the jackpot!¡¯ Chapter 97 Chapter 97: Rubbernecking (Part Five) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Team to Command, team to Command! On west side of the reservoir, opposite the fifth deserted isle and about 800 meters into the woods, anomalies were detected! Repeat, anomalies were detected!¡± ¡°Any sign of the target?¡± ¡°Not yet. We¡¯ve searched around following his footprints, so this should be it.¡± ¡°Ok. You guys are free to act adequately to situation for now, wait for us toe over.¡± ¡°Roger that!¡± Putting away his walkie-talkie, Guo Tao started to assign tasks to his men. ¡°Xiao Wang, take a few people with you; you¡¯ll be on the look-out. Old Zhang, let¡¯s dig and see what¡¯s in it.¡± ¡°Tao Zi, the boss did not say anything about taking action,¡± Old Zhang hesitated. [1] ¡°Acting adequately to situation means to improvise,¡± Guo Tao did not think much of it and grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If anything goes wrong, it¡¯s on me. Otherwise, the credit goes to the entire team!¡± Since he had put it that way, the rest of the team found it pointless to dissuade him. Picking up their tools, they started emptying the pit. The burial site was not too big an area and before long, the outline of a seemingly oblong object was revealed. They kept digging, taking great care not to damage that thing. Guo Tao stood on the edge of the pit, gazing down anxiously with impatience. Sweat trickled down his forehead and he blinked involuntarily. When he opened his eyes again, he seemed to notice something strange about the light. Turning around and looking into the distance, he saw what remained of the setting sun. The dim glow had tinted the branches with a faint red color. ¡°Tsk, is it just me or it¡¯s getting cold?¡± A cold shiver ran through Old Zhang suddenly. He rubbed his arms in spite of himself. ¡°Hey, now that you¡¯ve mentioned it, I feel cold as well,¡± added a colleague. ¡°This ce is not possessed by some evil thing, is it?¡± Someone was making a joke out of it. ¡°Don¡¯t say such stuff! Knock on the wood!¡± Being a veteran police officer, Old Zhang was very popr among his co-workers and the joking one was kind enough to follow his order, knocking on a tree trunk while grinning cheekily. At that moment, the ones cleaning away the dirt called out in a low voice. ¡°Here we go!¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ The team turned their heads in unison. Inside the shallow pit was a human-shaped object. It was considered an ¡°object¡± because of the thickyer of ck cloth wrapped around it. They could not tell what was underneath it. ¡°Tao Zi, what now?¡± Old Zhang asked. ¡°¡­¡± Guo Tao pursed his lips. In for a penny, in for a pound. He said, ¡°Unwrap it!¡± With that, two men tugged at the ck cloth, peeling it from the object. The first things they saw was a pair of dirty embroidered shoes with delicate patterns and solemn colors. After that, two legs put tightly together were revealed. They seemed dry and hard, and were all bones and skins. Moving upwards, they noticed that the figure was dressed in dark-toned shroud and there was a bullet hole in its chest. When the cloth was finally removed from the head, exposing the face, the two men slumped down backwards and shouted, ¡°What is this thing?¡± The team all shuddered. It was none other than the face of an old woman. Ghostly pale in color and with a slightly protruding mouth, the facial expression was very strange. She did not look dead to them, but rather like someone asleep, as though she would wake up at any moment. ¡°Brother, Brother Tao, let¡¯s, we¡­¡± Xiao Wang could not even make a coherent sentence, but was stuttering in broken utterances. The turn of events also crept Guo Tao out, and he instructed hastily, ¡°Back away, back away. Nobody touch it!¡± The crowd drew back in a flurry, apparently all horrified. Theoretically speaking, the criminal police should be so used to dealing with dead bodies that they would not be terrified by them. However, this one was simply way too strange, so much that it was beyond any logical sense. ¡°¡­¡± Silence fell over the ce. Some exchanged looks every now and then, but would immediately turn away their heads. They had no idea where the backup was and every minute felt infinitely long. By now, the sun hadpletely set, rendering the woods gloomier, as if a gray fog had set in. No one wanted to stay with this unknown thing and they were all counting on Guo Tao toe up with an idea. Old Zhang said, ¡°Tao Zi, shall we contact them again to see¡­¡± ¡°Flutter!¡± The sound of pping wings broke off his words. It was a birding backte, probably heading for its nest. A dozen pairs of eyes could not help but follow it, watching it hovering around and diving low, almost flitting past the shallow pit. ¡°Squeak!¡± A blurring figure seemed to sh across the air. The bird let out a cry, as if frozen in mid-air. When the crowd was still wondering what had happened, the bird exploded into pieces like a burst balloon. ¡°Watch out!¡± ¡°Everybody on your guard!¡± Startled, Guo Tao yelled at the top of his voice with a shudder. Without noticing anyone else¡¯s reaction, he took out his gun first. Holding up the gun and trying to aim at a target, he saw a dark shadow leapt out of the pit andnded in front of Old Zhang in an instant. With a sweep of its ws, Old Zhang became shreds of meat like a piece of cut-up tofu. ¡°Ssh!¡± Bloody, sticky mush of intestines fell all over the ground. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Zap!¡± A female police officer cried and shouted, as if having lost her mind; someone was shooting blindly. Xiao Wang was the quickest to react and ran for his life. But he only made a few steps before a pain pierced him. Looking down with much difficulty, thest thing he ever saw in this world was a sharp w with a faint golden glow. ¡°Old Zhang! Xiao Wang!¡± Guo Tao was struck dumb by the horror. The next second, utmost sense of danger enveloped him. Directed by instinct alone, he rolled on the ground, turned around and took a shot. ¡°Bang!¡± The bullet hit the target, but the thing only swayed and grew all the more ferocious. ¡°Roar!¡± It let out a beastly snarl and leaped forward again. The ws shed all the way down without the slightest resistance. Guo Tao turned into shredded meat, just like Old Zhang. With the two team leaders dead, the rest scuttled around in greater panic. Only a handful of them still had the courage to shoot. However, that thing was moving so fast that a single leap would bring it across a long way. There was never enough time to dodge. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Momentarily, the woods were filled with screams, turning it into a gory ughterhouse. Blood and scraps of flesh sshed everywhere, painting the thick growth of grass, the bushes, and the branches red. These human beings were defenseless in front of this unintelligent vicious beast. *** ¡°Quickly!¡± ¡°Shots were fired! Something¡¯s up!¡± Moving along the reservoir, a team of people was quickening their steps, running to help out the other team. They had just passed the fourth deserted isle when two people dashed out of the mountain,ing towards them crying and shouting. ¡°What¡¯s going on? What happened to you?¡± The team leader came to their aid at once. ¡°A zombie!¡± ¡°There really was a zombie!¡± ¡°Dead! They¡¯re all dead!¡± The two people were delirious by now, howling with incoherent words. The captain¡¯s face darkened immediately and ordered, ¡°Get ready forbat!¡± ¡°Roar!¡± He had barely finished the sentence when there came another growl. The white corpse galloped out of the woods,nding right in front of them. ¡°Hiss!¡± Wang Ruoxu drew back his breath, his face turning green. It was definitely not his lucky day today! This was not just a zombie, but a zombie that had absorbed the evil energy of Metal! Of the evil energies of the Five Elements, the Metal was the most ferocious one, for it represented the desire to kill and ughter! Having been tainted, the white corpse had gone berserk and was driven by its desire to hunt for fresh blood alone. ¡®This is it. I¡¯m finished.¡¯ Wailing and sighing in whispers, Wang Ruoxu hauled his pupil backward sneakily, ready to flee the scene at any moment. The captain was startled at first, but soon calmed down. Raising his hand, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t panic, keep moving¡­ watch out!¡± The white corpse would not stand still like a dummy and wait for them to empty their magazine before attacking. Sensing the presence of fresh prey, it grew more savage and pounced at them in the blink of an eye. ¡°Scat away!¡± Shouting, the captain grabbed the teammate next to him and rolled several meters away on the ground together. The one standing on the other side, however, was less fortunate. A young soldier failed to dodge in time and was caught by the shing ws. They smashed right onto his head, which exploded, blowout-style. His brains¡ªtogether with bone shards and other odd pieces¡ªsttered with a loud bang, then fell to the ground in a shower. [1] TL/N: Simr to ¡°Xiao (Small, Little)¡±, ¡°Lao (Old)¡±, and ¡°Ah¡±, adding ¡°Zi¡± to one¡¯s given name is another way of addressing people, usually indicating the speakers are on very familiar terms. Chapter 98 Chapter 98: Rubbernecking (Part Six) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Roar!¡± ¡°What the heck is this thing¡­ ah!¡± ¡°Bang! Bang! Bang!¡± Along the embankment of the reservoir, abrupt gunshots cracked in the air, mingled with all kinds of shouts and ravings. The embankment only was, well, as wide as an embankment could be, and the size of the team made it difficult for them to disperse quickly enough. Packed closely, they were a flock of sheep to the white corpse. It was a one-sided ughter. ¡°Bang!¡± One of the soldiers shot it on the knee cap, but was immediately smacked away, flying into theke in a parabolic motion. ¡°You bastard, I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Another one pounced at it from the back, wrapping his arms and legs around it and trying to cut its throat with a dagger. However, there came a crisp noise of metal striking against metal, and the next second, the man¡¯s head was smashed into a mush. No de or bullet could hurt this thing. Its ws were gleaming gold and were way sharper than they used to be. With every sh, a life would be taken. Before they realized it, only a dozen members were left of the team, including Wang Ruoxu and his pupil. ¡°Gnash¡­¡± Witnessing the massacre carried out by this ferocious being, the captain grit his teeth so hard that he was on the verge of breaking them. Still, being an elite soldier he was, he soon found its weak spot: every time it was hit by a bullet, it would pause and sway slightly for a second. ¡°Keep your distance from it and shoot at will! Bullets can affect it!¡± ¡°Move away from it and keep shooting!¡± He shouted at the top of his voice. Hearing hismand, the team members scattered away at once, running further into the distance while shooting. He was on the right track. Had they been in an open terrain and with enough long-range weapons, they could probably wear this thing down by concentrating their fire. Either that, or they could use some heavy weapon which could nail the zombie with a few rounds. Unfortunately, the battlefield today was way too cramped and they needed time to distance themselves from the white corpse, which could catch up with them with a single leap. ¡°Roar!¡± In the matter of a few seconds, another two soldiers were killed. ¡°Ah! I don¡¯t want to die! I don¡¯t want to die!¡± The chubby pupil copsed. Shouting like a maniac, he started running away. He couldn¡¯t help it¡ªthe scene had made a great impact on his mind. Despite of the lengthy description, all those took ce in the matter of only a few minutes, after all. ¡°Mingtong, watch where you¡¯re going!¡± Wang Ruoxu went pale with fear. He was about to run after his pupil, but the white corpse arrived there faster. The chubby pupil was opened up like a gift box. The yellowish grease spurted out with flesh and blood, piling up into a little mound. ¡°Mingtong!¡± Wang Ruoxu cried in agony. His favorite pupil had just died in front him. A murderous look shed across his face as he fumbled out a yellow talisman from his chest pocket. It was an evil-subduing and ghost-expelling talisman given to him by his sect¡¯s seniors before he left the sect¡ªthe downgraded version, of course. At this moment of crisis, he had to abandon his selfishness and handed it out. ¡°Stick this onto it. It¡¯ll work!¡± Coming close to the captain, he shouted frantically. ¡°Ok!¡± The captain darted him a look, took over the talisman and dashed out without any further question. While the other team members distracted it, he threw himself onto the zombie,nding on its back. Sticking out his right hand, the talisman was smacked right onto the middle of its forehead. He then freed himself from it, rolling down its back. ¡°Roar!¡± As soon as the talisman made contact with its skin, fizzling white smoke started rising from it, as if it had been set on fire. The white corpse was in great pain, and waved around its ws frantically, its growls vibrating in the air. ¡°Will it work?¡± Various expressions shed across their faces. They were starting to get hopeful when a sound rang out, ¡°Zap!¡± The talisman exploded and turned into ashes. ¡°Damn it! The evil energy is too powerful!¡± By now, Wang Ruoxu was so startled and frightened that his face was drained of all color. It had been over a thousand years since Zhuge Liang the Military Marquise cut into this mountain and smelted iron here, yet the remaining evil influence was still strong. The captain kept fighting on, but was growing despaired inside. This team that had been under hismand for two years was going to be annihted today! *** Meanwhile, on another low mound less than a hundred meters away, three people had just hurriedly arrived. Taking in the current situation, the clown smacked his lips in amazement. ¡°That was some scene. We¡¯rete.¡± Li Suchun felt his head spinning and said in a quivering voice, ¡°How, howe it, it¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know? Then what are you gonna do down there?¡± The clown asked. ¡°I, I¡­¡± ¡°Stop it, enough with the saucy talk! Let¡¯s go help them!¡± The painted face was forthright. She then grabbed the teenager and hopped off the mound with him. Shrugging, the clown followed suit. On the embankment, Wang Ruoxu was crumpled into a heap on the ground when he saw three people galloping out of the woods. Among them was a teenager, who hesitated for a moment at first, then put his fingers together and made a genuine finger gesture of Mao Mountain. ¡°Hear the edict. Stop!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The ravaging white corpse jolted suddenly. In its chaotic and dark consciousness, a feeble strength of rule was trying to restrain the killing desire that had originated from the evil energy of Metal. That energy was characterized by its will to kill and would stop at nothing and because of no one. Naturally, it would not follow the order. ¡°Stop!¡± Seeing that it would not obey him, Li Suchun¡¯s face darkened and hemanded again. ¡°Roar!¡± After a brief stalemate, the white corpse spurted out a foul, bloody mist all of a sudden, as if it had broken out of some shackles. It then turned abruptly, pouncing at Li Suchun. ¡°Pfft¡­¡± Spewing blood, Li Suchun opened his eyes widely. When a zombie turned against its master, thetter would also suffer from a bacsh. Right at that moment, he felt a slender palm on his shoulder, which hauled him backwards forcibly and the zombie¡¯s lunge hit empty air. Immediately after that, the hand resembling an orchid held the fingers together into a sharp point, then struck out with a finger, a palm, and a fist in session. ¡°Thump! Thump! Thump!¡± With the momentum of one strike and three attacking methods, the impact was added onto one another and the zombie was hit on the chest three times in a row. The white corpse could not bend its knees. It was forced backwards in a bolt upright position, and slid backwards with the soles of its shoes making jarring, rough noise after itnded. It then steadied itself, yet appeared not to be wounded at all. ¡°It¡¯s indeed a handful!¡± Seeing that her attack was to no avail, the clown fell back at once. ¡°My attack didn¡¯t work on it. Your turn!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The painted face was speechless. He took over the white corpse while the clown ran to the captain and asked, ¡°Do you have ropes?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Ropes!¡± ¡°Yes! Yes!¡± The captain came to himself only just then and fumbled out a bundle of rope. It was military-issue, with high ductility and strength. ¡°Thanks! You guys spread out!¡± With that, the clown ran back towards the zombie. ¡°¡­¡± The captain was bewildered. ¡®The power of that thing is limitless, yet you two are going to y BDSM with it?¡¯ Feeling skeptical, he looked towards them again, but was immediately surprised. Over there, the painted face had managed to pin down the white corpse all by himself. In that narrow space, he was moving swiftly like a ghost around the zombie, smacking it with his palms every now and then. That thing was brandishing its ws wildly while roaring and snarling, but could do nothing to turn things around. In fact, the painted face was vexed by the situation as well. This opponent had neither consciousness nor emotions and he dared not rashly attempt conjuring illusions. Hand-to-handbat was his only choice. However, the most annoying Boss to face in closebat was an enemy good at attacking and with a lot of HP. [1] Luckily, although it could jump very far, it was hopeless at dodging and turning in close quarters. ¡°Here!¡± The clown arrived and tossed him the rope. The painted face caught one end while the clown held the other. Holding either end, they started to shuttle back and forth like a pair of butterflies. Soon, the rope was wrapped tightly around it. ¡°Roar!¡± The white corpse struggled with all its strength, but could not break out of it. ¡°Now!¡± ¡°p!¡± One end of the rope restrained the legs, lifted upwards, while the other end restrained the upper body and was pulled down. The white corpse smashed onto the ground, wiggling like a big fish. It was the first time that it was struck down ever since they opened fire today. ¡°This, this¡­¡± Watching them, the captain was shaking. He had experienced a lot of astonishing things today and his world view had been renewed time and again. He was not the only one with such feelings. Everyone present wanted to ask the same question with fright: ¡®What world did these twoe from?¡¯ [1] ED/N: ¡°Boss¡± was in English in the raws, so it¡¯s prolly a gaming reference. Chapter 99 Chapter 99: Rubbernecking (Part Seven) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Running into the zombie without warning, this team was flustered and in confusion, which let the zombie gain the upper hand. What was more, the terrain was to their disadvantage, and they could not put their skills to good use; add to that the fact was that their firearms had little effect on the zombie, and they were almost annihted. Had they been adequately informed and prepared, they could take down the zombie within minutes. Obviously, with everything that had already happened, there was no point in pondering the alternatives. Night had fallen. Theke sparkled under the moonlight. What had taken ce on the bank, however, had nothing to do with natural beauty. Massacred bodies were scattered all over the ce, paving the ground with blood and soaking the stone bricks dark-red. The team leader rounded up the surviving members and stayed far. Wang Ruoxu kept a little distance from them, staring at the battleground in a daze. From the hills behind them came some indistinct sounds. The other teams were probably rushing to their aid. Right in front of them, two people and a corpse were still engaging in a fierce struggle. Gripping the rope in his left hand, the painted face clenched his right fist and pounded down at its head. ¡°Thump!¡± The roar was interrupted. It was about to snarl again when there came another strike. ¡°Thump!¡± ¡°Thump!¡± His fist tamped down continuously onto its face like a piledriver. The impact had smashed the bricks beneath the zombie into crumbles. ¡°¡­¡± Watching it from afar, odd looks crossed the faces of the team members. The strikes felt as painful as they were satisfying. However, after hammering down several sessive blows, the painted face stopped abruptly. He recalled when hepeted against Tan Chongdai the other day. His spiritual essence was able to blow away his opponent in one go, yet now, although the zombie was taking his blows passively, his efforts did not result in any substantial damage. Not only that, he also felt a prick on the back of his hand, as if it had been cut by some sharp-edged energy. ¡°Roar!¡± Having taken numerous blows all this time without being able to fight back, the white corpse was overwhelmed by a murderous desire. It could no longer hold it back and struggled with all it had. ¡°Fall back!¡± The two stepped back hastily. Dirt and soil rose in plumes and the dust filled the air. That thing stood up again. As the rope loosened, it regained freedom and engaged the two people once more. Dust wreathed around in the air and everyone was moving in every direction. It was a chaotic fight. ¡°What now? What shall we do?¡± ¡°Even they can¡¯t kill it!¡± Seeing this, the crowd was terrified. Finally someone was able to subdue it, but still could not inflict any harm. It was then that Wang Ruoxu came to himself with a jolt, who shouted into their direction at the top of his lungs. ¡°This won¡¯t do! It has absorbed the evil energy of Metal and you have to deal with that first. Otherwise, nothing will work¡­!¡± ¡°Get to the point!¡± Dodging a shing w, the painted face yelled with vexation. ¡°Release via water, burn with fire, or exhaust by wood!¡± Wang Ruoxu had shouted himself hoarse and gave them the briefest instructions possible. Burning with fire was self-exnatory. However, starting a fire here would be suicidal. This ce was surrounded by woods. ¡®Exhaust by wood¡¯, what the heck was that? They had no idea how that could be done, so the only way left was¡­ ncing at each other, they exchanged ces again, then each picked up one end of the rope, tying the zombie up once again. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Scratch!¡± Dragging the white corpse on the ground, the two ran straight towards theke. The body of the zombie grazed against the ground, leaving behind a shallow furrow along the way. The closer they got to theke, the more violently the white corpse was struggling. It did not know what was going on, but could sense that an utmost danger was iing. When they were less than five meters away, it snarled suddenly and the evil energy of Metal poured out from its body. ¡°Watch out!¡± Even with their power, they were losing control over it. Seeing that the zombie was about to break free, the painted face circted his spiritual essence frantically, concentrating it in his arms. ¡°Up!¡± With all their strength, they threw the zombie straight into theke. ¡°Roar!¡± Once in the water, the zombie seemed to be panicking. Theke bank was not too far away and it flopped about, trying to hop ashore. The two people leaped out, each pressing onto one of its shoulders. ¡°Stay there!¡± ¡°Thump!¡± As if Iron Mountain itself had copsed, the sound seemed to weigh a thousand tons. The next second, they were all in the water. Once at the bottom of theke, they felt as if they were in a different world. Sounds became meaningless and their vision was blurred. They dared not let go of the rope and kept gripping it tightly. The white corpse was still struggling. Its roars issued no sounds in the water and only allowed dirty water gush into its mouth. Slowly, its strength weakened. The golden glow on its ws was disappearing. *** Theke was as smooth as a mirror, glistening under the moonlight. Had they not seen it with their own eyes, they might doubt if it ever happened in the first ce. After they sank into the water, everything went quiet. They stood on the bank, burning with anxiety, yet no one dared to make any rash move. All eyes were fixed on the surface of theke, which likely contained the greatest of expectations they¡¯ve ever felt. ¡°¡­¡± Li Suchun was there as well, standing not far from Wang Ruoxu. In fact, the idea of sneaking away had indeed crossed his mind just then. However, after a second thought, he realized this ce was surrounded by government people. Where could he go? What was more, he no longer had the white corpse. After being a fugitive for so long and being dealt so many heavy blows in his life, the teenager could not bear it any more. They had lost count of time. Maybe it was a few minutes¡ªbut it well could have been a few hourster that theke¡¯s surface was rippling again. ¡®Someone¡¯sing out!¡¯ The crowd felt their hearts jumping out of their throats. Who woulde up? Everything would be fine if it were those two. However, if it turned out to be the zombie, they were doomed. ¡°Ssh!¡± The ripples expanded out, then with a ssh, two weird masks surfaced. ¡°Ha¡­¡± The crowd let out their breath in relief. They were saved! While they were at ease, those two were disgruntled. They had set out to watch the fun, yet ended up cleaning up other people¡¯s mess. It was so not worth it. They swam ashore, pping and thumping. With their soaked clothes, one could smell their discontent and grievance a mile away. ¡°Thank you¡­ that, the zombie?¡± The captain fought back his shame and asked. ¡°In theke,¡± the painted face pointed to the water. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you bring it out with you?¡± A soldier asked. ¡°¡­¡± The clown gave him a look saying ¡®Are you nuts?¡¯ and said, ¡°Fish it out yourself!¡± ¡°You!¡± The soldier was about to get angry when he suddenly remembered what they had done, then backed off without another word. The two of them could not be bothered to deal with these people. After reorganizing themselves, they were ready to leave. The captain stopped them unexpectedly. ¡°You can¡¯t go yet.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Those two masks had very imposing presence, making it difficult for him to talk to them. He forced an excuse out of himself, ¡°Please cooperate with our investigation. Moreover, you¡¯ve done us such a great favor that we need to show our gratitude.¡± ¡°Not interested!¡± They turned to leave. ¡°Stop right there!¡± Pointing his gun at them with a swift movement, the captain said, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry about this, but we really can¡¯t let you leave!¡± ¡®Excuse me?¡¯ They found the man unbelievable. Shaking their heads, they could not wait to leave these people. ¡°Stop, or I WILL shoot¡­ ah!¡± The captain was delivering his ultimatum when he screamed and dropped the gun. The others watched in bewilderment. However, immediately after that, another two soldiers holding up their guns cried out in turn, as though they had been bitten. Within seconds, a sh of greennded on the ground. They only realized now that it was a small snake d in bright-green scales. ¡°Hiss!¡± The green snake darted them a look, apparently very satisfied with itself. It then twisted around and followed those two, looking all jolly. The clown spoke again. ¡°Your people should be here soon. The snake is extremely venomous, so I¡¯d get those wounds treated as soon as possible if I were you!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The faces of those bitten were drained of all color while looking at the two with terrified eyes, as though they just witnessed a pair of gods or demons. Wang Ruoxu was frightened and puzzled at the same time. With him overwhelmed byplex emotions, one could not tell what was going on in his head. Li Suchun stood where he was in a daze, his gaze fixed upon those receding figures. His lusterless eyes were now flickered with an unexpected radiance¡ªlonging. Chapter 100 Chapter 100: Aftermath Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu That night was meant to be frightening and filled with sorrow. Lights were aze throughout the night under Iron Mountain. Nearly a hundred people were divided into two groups¡ªone was to clean up the battlefield while the other was fishing the zombie out of the water. Neither was an easy job, and buried under everyone¡¯s nonchnt faces was a mix of multitude of feelings. Blood and flesh were scattered everywhere in bits and pieces. There were even scraps of human flesh up on the tree branches, and it all had to be cleaned up. The parts that were too fragmented could only be gathered together and sent away for incinerationter. Those that were more intact would be identified and given a proper burial afterwards. Numerous machines and vehicles were called in, which pumped water directly from theke and washed the ground over and again. The streaming currents flushed away the bloodstained dirt. Gone with the ckish-red foul water was the smell of blood that had filled the air. The noisiest spot was in the middle of theke, where the artificial lighting was as bright as daylight, all blindingly radiant. Many stood on the deserted isles and boats that were motionless on the surface of the water. Everyone was waiting anxiously. Before long, someone working underwater emerged and gesticted with a funny look on their face. A machine rumbled to a start and the fishing was slowly raised out of the water. ¡°Ssh!¡± When the thing was finally out of the water, everyone cried out in surprise. ¡°Is that the zombie?¡± ¡°Is it dead?¡± ¡°Dunno, I reckon it¡¯s still alive.¡± The official givingmands from the shore could not remain calm either. Anyone who had seen it for the first time would be greatly shocked. Staring at the zombie in the, he was filled with hatred and terror. This was the thing that had killed as many as twenty-eight people tonight! It was because of it that he had to run around frantically firefighting and almost lost his position! With such a pivotal matter, no one dared to keep it unreported. When he received the information in the Guanyin Pavilion, he went silent for as long as five minutes before dialing a number and reporting to his superior on his own. His superior was stupefied all the same, and could only reply by saying, ¡°Deal with the aftermath properly and wait for the further notice.¡± By waiting for the further notice, he was saying ¡®you¡¯re the man to take the me, the only uncertain thing is in what manner¡¯. ¡°Careful! Careful now! It¡¯s hitting the ground!¡± A mor erupted from the other side. The machine with the hanging fishing was ready to move it ashore. Seven or eight special force police officers held up their guns and would fire their weapons if anything went wrong. Several other men guarded the official and watched the scene from afar. The zombie was tossed onto the embankment like a big fish. As soon as its back hit the ground, it twitched violently, lifting up its upper body and falling back down soon after. ¡°Back away! Back away!¡± The crowd was greatly rmed. ¡°¡­¡± After a few more seconds of waiting, however, it did not move again, but was lying there peacefully instead. Someone bolder moved closer and jabbed it with his gun. It remained motionless. More people came up to it and tied it up tightly with ropes, then put it in a sealed iron crate. The crowd was dispirited. Without looking closely at this thing, they did not even know if it was still alive. ¡°Bringg! Bringg!¡± Just then, the official¡¯s phone rang. He walked to a quiet corner and picked it up, almost too nervous to breathe while listening to the voiceing from the other end. ¡°How are the wounded soldiers?¡± ¡°They have been sent to the hospital. Their wounds were not life-threatening.¡± ¡°What about that Li Suchun?¡± ¡°He is very weak and seemed to have spat out some blood. He was almost passed out when we found him. He is also in the hospital now.¡± ¡°Good. Take him back as soon as he¡¯s recovered enough to move¡­ and that thing as well¡­ oh, and that priest Wang.¡± ¡°Yes! Yes!¡± The official replied promptly before asking tentatively, ¡°If I may ask, what is going to happen to me?¡± ¡°Humph! With the disaster you¡¯ve brought us, things are getting out of my hand now! Don¡¯t worry too much, though. I¡¯ll do my best to work it out. Tie up the loose ends properly and leave the rest to me¡­ oh, have you found those two mysterious people?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve sent people to look them up, but they have yet to report to me.¡± ¡°Good, keep an eye out for them.¡± A couple of minutester, he hung up the phone and let out a relieved breath. His eyes moved from theke to the opposite shore, then to the vast and pitch-dark Iron Mountain. Suddenly, a strange feeling welled up in him. Somehow, he sensed that the world was changing and a great curtain was drawn open before his eyes. *** Government¡¯s control of information was always beyond the imagination of the general public. The local people only had a vague idea that there had been an incident, but werepletely in the dark of exactly what had happened. Families of the casualties had been pacified ordingly and those participating in the search and clean-up were all tightly monitored. Shortly afterwards, these people were transferred and reallocated together to a newly established department. After several days of recuperation, Li Suchun was sent to Luobi County together with Wang Ruoxu. Iron Mountain and the reservoir, on the other hand, were now both military-controlled zones, upied by an army unit transferred from Shu Zhou. Guanyin Pavilion, the previous tourist site up on the mountain, was closed for obvious reasons and the abbot was allocated elsewhere. Of course, these arrangements were all the aftermath yet to happen. Speaking of Gu Yu and Xiaozhai, they took a rental car as soon as they returned to the county town and headed for the neighboring city that very night. From there, they bought tickets and boarded the train for Le Zhou. Early next morning, while those people were still bustling around winding up the job, these two were already sleeping in a hotel in Le Zhou. They gained nothing on the trip to Shu Zhou¡ªall they aplished was to exhaust themselves. They would rather keep trudging in Tianzhu Mountains for another seven days in a row than encounter that thing again. Wang Ruoxu was an expert in Feng Shui, but he definitely did not have the Inner Skill of Five Thunders. As for that Li Suchun¡­ They never considered getting involved with that person from the beginning. There was no reason to. They took Tan Chongdai¡¯s inherited skills by force, for it was relevant to Xiaozhai¡¯s sect. However, they were no bandits who would grab any skill manualsing into their sight. Moreover, they had learned what they needed to know already. All that teenager was capable of was the Corpse Refining Technique. Refining corpses was simply degraded and gross. They would rather y with Cabbage Patch Kids¡ªat least they were clean, soft, had flexible joints, and wouldn¡¯t get dirty easily. [1] As was mentioned before, they had no particr goal other than to take a look at the zombie. It was not like Li Suchun was their best friend, why should they stick around for him? However, little did they know, the brief encounter the other night had made an indelible impression on the teenager. *** Early in the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly. Waking up from a sound sleep, Xiaozhai stretched herself involuntarily, feeling well rested. She propped herself up slightly and found Gu Yu bending over the table, drawing on a map. By his side on the tea table, rice congee, eggs, and several steamed buns with vegetarian stuffing were set. ¡°Have some lunch. They¡¯re still warm.¡± Hearing her getting up, Gu Yu said without turning around. ¡°When did you get up?¡± Xiaozhai got out of the bed and washed her hands. Knocking lightly on the egg shell and slicing her finger around it for a couple of times, she got a perfect white boiled egg. ¡°About an hour ago. Did you rest well?¡± ¡°You could say so.¡± Chewing the egg, she moved closer to him and realized it was a hypsometric map of Mt Emei packed with routes and scenic spots. She said with a worried tone, ¡°It seems like this ce will take us forever.¡± Tossing his pen aside, Gu Yu joined her in sighing, ¡°It¡¯s only our fourth stop and we¡¯ve still got the mountains of Tianshan, Pinghu and Wangwu to cover. Sigh, you either never leave home or you never get to go back.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Both went quiet. Despite the great significance of their search, the process was somewhat difficult to endure. It was quite some time before Xiaozhai spoke again with a chuckle. ¡°You know what, the drawing can wait. Let¡¯s go take a walk.¡± ¡°Ok, I could use some air.¡± Putting away the map, Gu Yu rose to his feet and added, ¡°Well, any idea what Le Zhou is famous for? We could go and check it out.¡± ¡°Actually, I did look it up before our departure¡­¡± Stuffing half an egg into her mouth, Xiaozhai mumbled, ¡°I heard the fiscal terrorists here are very well-known.¡± ¡°What?¡± He was confused. ¡°Fiscal terrorists! Fiscal terrorists!¡± [2] [1] TL/N: ¡°ÃÀÀÖÍÞÍÞ¡± are a brand of cute little dolls quite popr in some Asian countries, but with the description of being ¡°fair, soft, flexible, and dust-free¡±, the author is actually hinting at the silicone type preferred by grown-ups. [2] TL/N: physical therapist ED/N: Not sure but I think it¡¯s about soand employees or rted stuff lol. Chapter 101 Chapter 101: Physical Therapist Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu It was a truth universally acknowledged that every city had a pedestrian mall devoted specifically to rip the non-locals off. The same principle applied to a particr zone that men went to ¡°release¡± themselves. Le Zhou was a mere fourth-tier city by the standards of its economic development. However, situated at the foot of Mt Emei, the city managed to put on an appearance of prosperity. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai walked about aimlessly and found nothing particrly interesting. They were ready to return to the hotel by the time dusk set in. Passing a street, they found plenty of health saloons lining up on either side, all with exquisite facade and spacious interior in spite of the narrow front doors. Some of them had already lighted up their shop fronts. ¡°Wanna have a foot massage?¡± She took a look and made a suggestion out of the blue. ¡°Well¡­¡± Fighting against his inner conflict, he replied, ¡°Anything will do for me. Have a massage if you¡¯re tired.¡± ¡°In that case, let¡¯s go! My treat!¡± Xiaozhai could not find anything better to do and dragged him into a salon out of boredom. ¡°Wee!¡± As soon as they set foot in the shop, a slender waitress greeted them with a smile. ¡°Are you two here for a massage?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Upstairs, please.¡± They went to the second floor and walked into female and male rooms respectively. This floor was for the customers to wash themselves and get changed in individual private rooms. Gu Yu found this rather unusual. He was from the North where public bathhouses were open spaces packed with men of different sizes, chatting and prattling while cleaning themselves. Back in the university he used to have a ssmate from the South who was scared out of his wits the first time he went to a bathhouse. After squirming for a long time outside, he ended up going in wearing his underpants and did not even dare to bring a soap. That was his first andst visit to the bathhouse. From then on, that ssmate would only wash himself in his dormitory. No one would go so far as to say that all ces were like that. But generally, the northerners preferred open-spaced bathhouses, while the southerners liked their individual cubes. Gu Yu took a brief shower, changed into a bathrobe and went up to the third floor, which was taken up by a lobby and private rooms. Both male and female customers were walking around. He found a room andy down for a while before Xiaozhai showed up. She was wearing a white bathrobe, revealing arms and shins even fairer than the white cloth. ¡°Would you like to have a massage?¡± A waiter came up to them and asked. ¡°Yes, and a pot of green tea, please.¡± ¡°No problem¡­¡± The waiter paused before asking, ¡°Does thedy need a masseur?¡± ¡°A masseuse.¡± ¡°Sure, please wait a moment.¡± After he left, Gu Yu switched on the small television and asked randomly, ¡°Do you get massages often in Shengtian?¡± ¡°Depends on my mood. Maybe once every two or three months.¡± ¡°Oh, I went to bathhouses quite often back then, so I didn¡¯t really go get massaged.¡± ¡°Those with girlfriends do not have the need for massage salons.¡± ¡°Tsk, I meant the proper massages!¡± Thement was giving him a headache again. ¡°Aren¡¯t all massages proper?¡± Xiaozhai retorted with a surprised look. ¡®Whatever!¡¯ He wouldn¡¯t dignify that question with an answer and turned to watch TV on his own. Before long, a tap came at the door and two masseuses entered. One was in her early twenties with rtively pretty features, but wearing so much makeup that her face looked muddy. The other was in her thirties with slightly curled hair and a curvaceous body. Her almond-shaped eyes glistening with moisture. The woman put down her small case and smiled. ¡°Good evening. Would you like a package or a massage on a particr part?¡± ¡°Just a foot massage.¡± ¡°Yes, no problem.¡± Her smile was not disturbed to the slightest. Dragging over a stool, she sat down opposite Xiaozhai. The younger one did not speak much and turned to serve Gu Yu. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai exchanged a look, both somewhat amazed. The woman would score a 75 on a 1-100 scale at most, but once she smiled, she reminded them of a pink peach blossom in the spring breeze. She was charming but not showy, and was enchanting in a non-vulgar way. To put it short, she looked stunning. ¡°Is this your first time here?¡± Her nimble fingers were rubbing and squeezing Xiaozhai¡¯s feet with the right amount of strength. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s our first time here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I did not recognize you two. I never forget the face of a customer.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°He¡¯s so handsome and you¡¯re so pretty. How could one forget anyone that good-looking?¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± They both chuckled. She was obviously trying to tter them, but her expression did not make them feel repulsed. What was more, with her soft voice, even her fawning words sounded more pleasant. Gu Yu could not help but look at her name tag, which had a ¡°3¡± written on it. Being sharp-eyed, she smiled at this, ¡°My surname is Du and I¡¯m No. 3. My little sister here is Miss Wu and she¡¯s No.6. She does not talk much, but is very good at her job. It¡¯s a pleasure to serve you two today.¡± The younger one smiled at her words and grew more attentive with the massage. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were not the type of people that would dive into conversations with random strangers, but chatting with this woman was indeed very enjoyable. The subject of their conversation went from Emei and Bodhisattva to kidney therapy and gallstones, chattering away about anywhere and anything under the sun. Before they realized, forty minutes had passed and the woman was finishing up the treatment by applying an evenyer of essential oil to the feet. She then smiled, ¡°All done. Please let me have a look at your wrist tag.¡± Xiaozhai flipped her wrist and the woman said, ¡°Ok, we¡¯ll leave you here! We look forward to seeing you again!¡± With that, she left the room with her co-worker. Gu Yu checked the time and found it still quite early. He asked, ¡°So, what now? Do you wanna go back or hang around for a bit?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s stay here for a while. It¡¯s not like we¡¯ve got anything to do back in the hotel.¡± Xiaozhai yawnedzily and slouched back down. *** After leaving their room, the woman had yet to return to the lounge when a waiter called after her. ¡°Sister Hong, I¡¯ve been looking for you. That customer have been waiting for ages!¡± ¡°Which room?¡± ¡°No. 6!¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯m on my way. Thanks.¡± Du Hong sent herpanion back first and turned to the other corridor herself. She walked into Room Six, where the only furniture was two beds. A middle-aged man was lying on one of them, and grinned at her, ¡°Hong Hong!¡± ¡°Aiya, what did I tell you about not using that name? It sounds so cloying.¡± Despite her apparentints, Du Hong approached him with deft movements, lowering her limp body into his arms. ¡°Haha, they know all about us here. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re afraid of anyone hearing it. Hong Hong! Hong Hong!¡± ¡°You¡¯re unbelievable¡­ I¡¯m leaving!¡± She made a gesture as if to stand up. The man held her down at once and appeased her, ¡°Ok, ok, I won¡¯t call you that.¡± The rtionship between these two had evolved in a way most fitting thew of development of such things. That was to say, they had turned from a customer-masseuse pair to a frequent visitor-mistress one. One was in it for the money while the other for the pleasure. They had formed some sort of emotional bond, but exactly how genuine their feelings were? Well, not that much. As the two chit-chatted in their sickeningly sweet manner, Du Hong extended out her hand, as if unknowingly, and stroked the inside of his thighs lightly. ¡°Hiss!¡± The man shivered. A ticklish sensation rose inside him, which spread out to every pore of his. He kept on talking, but his eyes were filled with anticipation. He longed for the hand to reach into his pants and twiddle, rub, push, pull and lift as usual¡­ the five fingering skills worked well into one another, bringing him the most sensational experience. However, Du Hong seemed to have other ns and kept her hand near his crotch. Her fingers were pressing down lightly to some seemingly acupoints. ¡°Hong Hong!¡± The man was tingling and squirming with the aroused desire. ¡°Take a leave tonight.¡± ¡°Why? You can¡¯t hold it back anymore?¡± Du Hong giggled. ¡°You naughty girl. Where did you learn stuff like this? I¡¯ll give you a good spanking tonight!¡± ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s still so early. And what about my quota?¡± ¡°You won¡¯t go unpaid. Bill me for a 368-yuan package.¡± ¡°I knew you¡¯re the best!¡± She moved closer and gave him a loud kiss. A short whileter, Du Hong came out with the bill and went to the foreman to ask for a leave. She was wearing an odd smile all the way back to her dormitory. ¡®That lousy book actually works. I¡¯ll try again tonight¡­¡¯ Chapter 102 Chapter 102: The Tattered Book Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Why do I have a feeling that everything is working against us?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t doubt yourself. Your feeling¡¯s right! We have been haunted by bad luck wherever we went ever since we left Shengtian.¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Standing on the square outside the mountain gate, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai found themselves surrounded by a world wrapped in white snow. They could not help but curse wholeheartedly¡ªdamn it! Weather forecast nowadays was pretty urate. The sr term Xiaoxue [TL/N: meaning ¡°snows a bit¡±] arrived two days ago and the temperature dropped dramatically in the South. Shu Zhou was already getting chilly when they were there. Early this morning, however, when they arrived at Mt Emei in a rush, they were unpleasantly surprised by the fact that snow had been falling there all night. This was just perfect! The idea of climbing Emei in the snow would be so poetic, so romantic, so¡­ exhausting! Emei had an area of over 150 square kilometers, four mountain peaks, and thousands of sites to explore¡­ it meant they had to trudge around the mountain for days on end with inadequate food and clothing, and would freeze their a*ses off. The only good news was that there were over thirty temples scattered around Emei, which could all provide them with food and shelter. While they were sulking, others were all greatly excited by the view. Plenty of tourists came here specifically for the snow-coveredndscape. The square outside the mountain gate was packed with hundreds of tourists. The racket they raised was no less boisterous than that of the busy season. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Gu Yu sucked in a lungful of air, then exhaled a long breath, which formed a lump of white mist in the air. ¡°How is it?¡± Xiaozhai inquired in a discouraged tone. ¡°I¡¯d rather find a 1, but unfortunately, it¡¯s a 3.¡± He was talking about the density of the spiritual essence. If it reached a 2 in the surrounding area, it was very likely that there was a node in the mountain. ¡°Too bad. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Keep an eye on our provisions; don¡¯t let them run too low. There might not be too many animals left up there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. We¡¯ve got monkeys, don¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Eww, that¡¯s gross.¡± Squabbling, they marched out together and made their way onto Mt Emei with the sea of flowing tourists. *** Morning, Le Zhou. When Cheng Gang finally left the hotel, his knees still felt weak. At the age of forty-three, he was a regr gym-goer and a vigorous man. He never had problems with satisfying a woman in bed. Du Hong and him had slept together for quite a few times by now¡ªas often as two to three times a month. She was a natural sex-kitten and had given him great pleasure every time they were in bed. Last night, however, she was a subus. He almost thought he was going to be sucked dry. Reaching the parking lot with shaky legs, he got into hisrge SUV. A few seconds after he started the vehicle, his phone rang. ¡°Hey, got up yet?¡± Du Hong¡¯s soft chuckle came from the other end. ¡°I just left the hotel. Are you at work?¡± ¡°Yeah. No customer is around now and I thought I¡¯d give you a call. Remember to eat your breakfast, or your stomach will get worse.¡± ¡°I know, I know. I¡¯m on my way right now¡­¡± Cheng Gang paused for a second and added, ¡°Take a lunch break tomorrow. I¡¯m taking you to Tianxing.¡± [TL/N: Probably the name of a department store.] ¡°Are you really going to buy me that? I was only joking yesterday. That bag is so expensive. Don¡¯t waste your money on that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be the one judging whether it¡¯s a waste of my money or not. For you, nothing is too expensive.¡± ¡°Oh my, you spoil me. What if I cannot live without you?¡± ¡°Then stay with me. It¡¯ll be like having a kitten or a puppy for me.¡± ¡°Screw that! You¡¯re so mean!¡± The cloying talk went on for a while before he hung up. All of a sudden, he felt wrapped by an indistinct warmth. Cheng Gang started from nothing and had umted a wealth in tens of millions over the past decade or so. His wife had been by his side all this time. By now, she had lost her looks like a worn-out yellow pearl. Like many other numerous sessful men, he started to take mistresses and Du Hong was only one of them. If he had topare, he actually preferred this maturest woman over the others. He had started this affair with a clear principle: a wife would always be a wife and a mistress would stay a mistress. Yet now, after a night overwhelmed by lust, he found the woman almost indispensable to him. *** The health salon, the female dormitory. To call it a dormitory would be an overstatement. They were essentiallyrge rooms equipped with eight bunk beds. Each room was popted by sixteen inhabitants and the air inside had a stale, funny smell¡ªthe result of a mixture of various low-quality cosmetics. Du Hong was sitting on her bed putting on makeup in front of a small mirror when someone yelled in the corridor, ¡°No. 3! No. 3!¡± ¡°Sister Hong, you were called!¡± On the bed next to hers was the girl who spoke little¡ªshe reminded Du Hong. ¡°I haven¡¯t finished my makeup yet. You can go instead. Say I referred you and he¡¯ll let you do it.¡± ¡°Oh, thank you, Sister Hong!¡± The girl replied and got up with her small case. Before long, Du Hong finished making up, and realizing she was the only one in the room, she lifted a corner of her bedding, revealing a tattered ancient book. The cover and some pages in the middle were all missing. The name was nowhere to be found. It was by sheer coincidence that the book came into Du Hong¡¯s possession. A while ago, that girl¡¯s grandfather passed away; he used to live in the countryside and travel far and wide in his youth, collecting a considerable stack of books. After the old man died, the rtives sent arge box of books to the city and asked the girl to sell them in the second-hand book market. It just so happened that day that a leg of the table in the dormitory was broken and she took out a book at random to ce under the leg. The table waster exchanged for a new one and Du Hong flipped through the book when she saw it lying around. The book was extremely old and written in traditional Chinese characters. She thought about throwing it away, but decided to keep it after seeing plenty of illustrations inside, which reminded her of ancient pornographic drawings. Some were of the sexual intercourse between men and women, illustrating all sorts of positions. One had an erected member drawn on it,beled with names of various parts. There was a simr one with a male body on it, also densely covered with notes. Moreover, there was also one on female body and lesbian sexual techniques. Du Hong had a high school education and was cultured enough to read it. She was hooked at the first nce. It took her some great effort to trante the text into modern Chinese. She then realized that it was an ¡°academic book¡± for teaching women how to satisfy their male and female sex partners! Wow! That was something! Feeling skeptical, Du Hong learned a technique on rubbing acupoints and a move called ¡°peachyplexion¡±. The result of applying these moves was¡­ well, let¡¯s just say that all participants were greatly satisfied. With the first sess, she immediately considered the book an utmost treasure. She was a physical therapist. Satisfying men was essential in her career. The book had dozens of pages and she managed to understand most of the contents, but not thest few pages. The text was very obscure, and even the illustration looked strange. Both the male and female bodies were drawn on by various thin lines and numerous little dots. Especially thest illustration, in which the woman was on top of the man with a mysterious and eerie face that would give one the goosebumps. She reminded one of a female mantis done with mating and now ready to bite its bedmate¡¯s head off¡­ ¡°No. 3! No. 3!¡± Du Hong read a bit longer when she was called again, to which she replied, ¡°Coming! I¡¯ming!¡± She stashed the book away, straightened her clothes and got up to leave. There were over forty masseuses in this ce and the number of customers one could serve every day varied from four to over a dozen. Everyone was on their own. Du Hong was definitely among the most popr ones, and got called continuously. She entered a private room and saw that it was another regr customer of hers. They had been flirting with one another all the time, but had not slept together yet. She came up to the man wriggling her tiny waist. They teased and flirted with each other effortlessly; the atmosphere felt intimate. After a brief massage, she suddenly suggested, ¡°Brother, I¡¯ve just learned a new skill, do you want to try it?¡± ¡°Sure. I can give you some suggestions after that.¡± The man was quick to agree. ¡°Hehe, if you find it ufortable, I won¡¯t charge you for that.¡± With that, Du Hong started to touch and press around his crotch just like yesterday. ¡°I, I was only away for half a month and you¡¯ve improved a great deal!¡± ¡°Hiss!¡± Chapter 103 Chapter 103: Du Hong Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Du Hong was having her moment, befitting her name. [1] She was fairly popr before, but now, she was the ¡°it-employee¡±. In merely three days, she rose to the number one masseuse of the salon. It had bemon scene that seven or eight customers would line up for her at a time. She was often too busy to serve all customers and had to ask that non-talkative girl for help, and thetter as a result made quite a lot of extra cash. The other masseurs watched all this in envy. They tried to find faults with her, directly and indirectly, but it was to no avail. Their skills were simply not as good. It was early December now and as usual, the salon was going to rank the therapists it employed by their performance in the previous month, giving them some incentive by giving out bonuses. Needless to say, Du Hong was at the top of the list and received arge bonus, which she took while others eyed her enviously. The performance of the second ce was nowhere close to hers, let alone the third. ¡°Keep at it, everybody. Take sister Hong as your example¡­ Fei Fei is the second this time, such a pity. Work hard next time!¡± ¡°p! p! p!¡± After the awkward ceremony was over, Du Hong went up to the manager and said, ¡°Brother, I have some errands to run and need to go out in the evening.¡± ¡°Are youing back tonight?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Sure, go ahead!¡± Being the star employee made her request easily granted. Having obtained the permission, Du Hong changed her clothes, went downstairs, hailed a taxi and went straight to the hotel. ¡°Knock knock!¡± She stopped outside a room on the seventh floor and knocked lightly. Cheng Gang opened the door, and held her up as soon as he set eyes on her and gave her a passionate kiss. ¡°What took you so long? I was dying waiting for you.¡± ¡°Aiya, stop messing with me. Put me down first.¡± ¡°You have to make it up to me for keeping me waiting.¡± ¡°Sweetheart, at least let me take off my coat.¡± ¡°No need for that. It¡¯s my birthday today and I¡¯m calling the shots!¡± ¡°Hey! Stop it¡­¡± The noise grew weaker at first, but then became louder, turning into waves of groans. What took ce in there wasparable to a gale sweeping away the fallen leaves and a downpour ravaging the leaves of banana trees. After a passionate rolling in the hay, Cheng Gangy in bed, fatigued and satisfied. Holding the woman¡¯s soft and smooth body between his arms, he could not help but eximed, ¡°Hong Hong, you¡¯re absolutely awesome.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°You¡¯re sucking my bones dry.¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯re making it sound like I¡¯m a White Bone Demon. I¡¯m a little goblin at most, whom no one wanted.¡± She caressed the chest of the man. ¡°¡­¡± Cheng Gang shuddered instinctively at the touch, but looked rather distressed. After a long moment, he asked, ¡°Hong Hong, how long have we known each other?¡± ¡°Five years. It¡¯s been four years since I first slept with you.¡± She found the question rather strange. Raising her head, she asked, ¡°Anything wrong? Why the sudden question?¡± ¡°If, I mean if I were divorced, would you stay with me?¡± The question was unexpected. ¡°¡­¡± Du Hong was the one surprised now, but she immediately replied with a chuckle. ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. I don¡¯t want you to leave your wife and child. We¡¯re fine like this.¡± ¡°Haha, yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± Cheng Gang blurted that out on a whim and regretted it as soon as he said it. Since the woman had shown him a way out, he was more than happy to pretend nothing had happened. Du Hong, on the other hand, was burying in his chest, blinking her pretty almond-shaped eyes with an indescribable expression in her eyes. This man had been acting very strangelytely. They used to only see each other a few times each month, but he was bing extremely attached to her, buying her bags worth tens of thousands without a blink. He wouldn¡¯t even go home on his birthday and spent the night in a hotel, which had never happened before¡­ In fact, she was pretty sure that it was the effect of that tattered book. Just now, when he mentioned getting divorced out of the blue, she actually fantasized about that idea for a moment. After all, who wouldn¡¯t want to settle down? Of course, with years of work in her industry, she was no longer an innocent girl. She would never let that thought show. The night passed in passion and lust. The following morning, they left the hotel separately as usual. When Cheng Gang got home, he found that instead of going to theirpany, his wife was waiting for him in the living room. ¡°Where were youst night?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you already? I was at a party with my friends!¡± ¡°Is that so? You spent your birthday night partying with friends and left me and your child at home? Fang Fang stayed up until midnight, hoping to see you taste the cake she made herself. And what did you do? Youe back only just now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight with you at this early hour.¡± Cheng Gang lost his patience. He was going to rest for a while at home but had abandoned the idea by now. ¡°I¡¯m going to thepany. I won¡¯t be home for dinner.¡± ¡°Bang!¡± He mmed the door after him. His wife went pale with rage. She had always known that her husband had affairs with other women, but they used to be tolerable and within a certain limit. This time, however, it was different. She felt threatened. ¡°Hello? Is that Xiao Li?¡± Calming herself down a bit, she dialed a number. ¡°Yes, get someone to find out for me which b*tch he is losing his head over!¡± With some instructions, she hung up, brewed in hatred. ¡®When I find you, you¡¯re finished!¡¯ *** ¡°Watch out!¡± ¡°Crack!¡± A protruding stone slipped off the cliff after being stepped on; it rolled down with snow and dirt. Gu Yu lost his footing on the left side and was dropping abruptly. He pushed against the cliff with his right foot hastily, which allowed him to bounce away half a meter. He then bent his legs slightly andnded on the solid ground with a deft movement. Xiaozhai, who was almost at the top, was relieved to see his safending and, pressing her palm against the cliff, leapt onto the top. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu shook his head and had to start his climbing from the bottom again. It was after quite some time before they both stood on top of a steep cliff deep in the deserted mountains and looked into the distance. The snow was quite heavy. The tips of the pine trees and stones were all covered by ayer of white, which was glistening with a golden glow under the sunlight. The Peak of Ten Thousand Buddhas was very eye-catching on the horizon. Its bold cliff soared above the others, rising abruptly from a t terrain. A bronze hall stood on its top, towering aloft alone like a deity. ¡°There¡¯s nothing here and we have to head towards that direction.¡± ¡°Luckily, Emei is not that vast, or we¡¯d die here.¡± ¡°Hey, if we start one of those outdoor survival livestreams, we might get a lot of viewers. It¡¯s such a waste of resources walking all by ourselves here.¡± ¡°Forget it. You don¡¯t have the looks of an inte celebrity.¡± They bantered on, their breaths turning into white steam in the air. Both were panting slightly. After examining the terrain, they marched further onto the mountain, trudging in deep snow. They had been on the mountain for three days. The scenic spots of Emei were mostly lined up along two routes. From Qingyin [TL/N: ¡°crystal sound¡±] Pavilion, the Front Route was to the left, which ran through the Monkey Zone, Hongchun Level Ground, Ny-Nine Bends, etc. To the right was the Back Route, leading to the Temple of Ten Thousand Years, the Elder¡¯s Level Ground, and other ces. They had examined all scenic spots thoroughly and found nothing out of the ordinary. The Monkey Zone, however, had turned out to be slightly problematic. The mountain was swarming with monkeys, whose main habitat was the Monkey Zone. Most of the monkeys had been trained by the management people, some of which were dodgy enough to instigate the monkeys to pester the tourists so thattter would buy food to feed the monkeys. Gradually, the monkeys grew used to such behavior and their unruliness was out of hand. The monkeys were the most dangerous especially during winter, when there were fewer tourists around and the former suffered due to their hunger. People had to pass the area in pairs and hide their belongings. Under no circumstances should they carry anything in their hands. When they walked past the area, a girl did not fully zip up her backpack and a monkey jumped onto her back, rampaging through her stuff. The girl was crying in terror, but dared not move. Gu Yu flipped his fingers inconspicuously and the monkey went rigid on the spot, and almost died. The management personnel tried to hold Gu Yu responsible by ming him for causing the scene. It was thanks to the testimony from the crowd that the matter was dropped. Simr to their exploration of Tianzhu Mountain, they had divided Emei into seven regions and investigated them one at a time. Based on the experience they¡¯d gained earlier, they mainly focused on enclosed areas such as caves, underground caverns, and secluded valleys, which had improved their efficiency greatly. They kept moving until well into the afternoon, when they found a level area to set up their camp. There wasn¡¯t much game avable during winter and Gu Yu caught some fish from the freezing river. Xiaozhai stuck to her wild vegetable soup. Before long, the lunch was ready and they each dug into their respective fish and vegetable dishes. Both were getting bored. As beautiful as the snow-wrapped mountains were, the view grew less impressive as time passed. The monotonous stretch of whiteness felt nd. The roasted fish was crispy and tender and the vegetable soup tasted refreshing and sweet. The aroma of both dishes filled the air. While they were dining in vapidity, the trees rustled and something fell down with a thud. They looked up and saw a little monkey about 15 cm tall, covered by white fur and with a swarthy face, its gaze fixed upon their food. The white monkey was exceptionally spiritual and was acting like a greedy human childpletely captivated by something delicious. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± It was a delicate situation. A moment passed when Gu Yu sighed, ¡°Why do they always show up when we¡¯re eating?¡± ¡°It¡¯s apliment on our cooking!¡± Xiaozhai put down her lunchbox, sliding it across the slippery ground. Gu Yu also picked up a roasted fish, a not-too-hot one, and tossed it over. ¡°Squeak!¡± Catching it between its front paws, the white monkey took a skeptical bite. Its ugly yet adorable face lightened up into a grin and it went on making woo-woo noises in excitement. Let¡¯s refresh our memory. Nodes of spiritual essence were characterized by: one, an enclosed environment; two, mutated creatures. The two watched the monkey as it danced around in joy, and the joy was mutual. They smiled, ¡°Good boy, take your time. After you¡¯re fed, you¡¯re going to take us to your home.¡± [1] TL/N: Hong (ºì) literally means ¡°red¡± and could also take the meaning of ¡®being very popr¡¯. Chapter 104 Chapter 104: Green Paradise Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu As spiritual as the white monkey might be, it was still an innocent cub and was soon swept off its feet by their coaxing. It was a piece of cake. All they did was being nice to it, in the same manner as when one asked a girl out and satisfied all her needs. The nicety would simply make her feel guilty for not getting a room in the end. Consequently, after gorging on the delicacies, the white monkey got up to its feet and took the initiative to lead the way, its stomach plump and round. They could not tell the gender of the little monkey, but it was scarily agile, traversing the mountains and woods as if running on level ground. Had the two been less able, they would have lost track of it soon. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were running at full speed. The slope they passed was getting steeper and they ended up climbing up a wall, stopping on a protruding horizontal rock. ¡°Squeak!¡± The white monkey stopped briefly. It turned around and squeaked at them, then leapt off, disappearing from their sight. They hurried near and looked down. The ce was surrounded by steep cliffs, enclosing a lower ground in the center. Beneath was a wild profusion of vegetation, which grew densely together, forming a small forest. ¡°How high up are we?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°The trees are blocking my view. I can¡¯t say for sure, probably over twenty meters.¡± ¡°Good. The ropes areing in handy.¡± Xiaozhai fumbled out a bundle of rope, which they bought in Shengtian and had not got a chance to use up till now. They tied it around a stump and let the other end fall down the rock. They then put it around their waists and thighs, descending slowly by thrusting their feet against the stone wall. It wasn¡¯t particrly difficult; anyone with a minimal amount of training could manage that. Before long, they hit the ground. Looking up and taking in the surroundings, they were instantly amazed. It was a feeling of ¡°the moment¡±. It wasparable to when an ignorant teenager who had entered a girl¡¯s bedroom for the first time, or an overtime worker returnedte and looked up to find lighting out of his bedroom window, or a drunken stranger to the city stumbling out of a tavern, stunned by the moonlight coloring everything silver. From the vast world of whiteness, they had fallen into a green paradise without warning. It was a clear, tranquil, and otherworldly ce. There was not a single trace of disturbance or trespassers. Every single tree was tall and straight, as if they had been here since the beginning of the time, free from all the changes in the outside world. ¡°¡­¡± Landing in this world left them in a trance. They did note to themselves until the white monkey squeaked again. The little thing was squatting on a branch blinking its big eyes, apparently quite impressed by their physical capability. ¡°Thanks! We¡¯ll treat you to something nice if we run into each other again!¡± Gu Yu beckoned at the monkey, then started to breathe in the spiritual essence of the ce. Shortly after, he gasped in admiration. ¡°It should be somewhere between a 6 and a 7, slightly denser than in Tianzhu. This would be a perfect spot for cultivation, though. I¡¯m almost thinking of moving here.¡± ¡°Watch out, what if you trigger a g? You might just end up living here¡­ check the other side.¡± [1] The forest was fairly small and they covered the area in half an hour. It was a mystical ce. The little monkey was the only living creature here. There was little of the smaller vegetation apart from some sparse grass. The big trees seemed to have hogged all the nutrients. ¡°These are all Red Dragon Trees. The wood beneath the tree bark ispletely red and very hard. It¡¯d take a hundred years for them to grow this thick.¡± Xiaozhai patted on one of the big trees, her eyes filled with joy. ¡°How do theypare to the tree on Phoenix Mountain?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°That one is what we call an ¡®old leather skin¡¯. It¡¯s got plenty of branches and leaves and the wood is very ductile. Good for making clubs, sticks, orrge spears.¡± Shaking her head, Xiaozhai sighed unexpected. ¡°Sigh, I¡¯m getting a stronger feeling everyday that we¡¯re understaffed. With an extra pair of hands, I could bring a piece of this wood back.¡± ¡°What for?¡± He asked in amazement. ¡°To make swords.¡± ¡°Swords? You know swordy?¡± He was indeed surprised. ¡°A little. Steel swords are off-limits nowadays, but I figure wooden ones should be fine. This wood is the right material.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re ying with everything pointy or with a sharp edge¡­¡± The revtion dawned on Gu Yu. He went on, ¡°Snaking-controlling, wood-appraising, that hand movement of yours, and now the swordsmanship, what¡¯s thest one left of the five ordinary skills you mentioned?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the fun in telling you everything right away?¡± Xiaozhai chuckled. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ He would be hopelessly speechless when faced with such teasing before, but now that they had been together long enough, he was getting better at talking back. ¡°In that case, would I lose all the fun after you show me everything?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see at that time.¡± ¡°Then why did you tell me that just now?¡± ¡°Because I felt like it!¡± ¡°¡­¡± *** ¡°Ma¡¯am, you can¡¯t go up there! Ma¡¯am¡­¡± ¡°Get lost! Du Hong,e out! You have the guts to steal my husband and you¡¯re suddenly ashamed of yourself now?¡± Inside the salon, all hell broke loose on the first floor, apanied by shuffling footsteps. In an instant, the footsteps moved up to the second floor where they stopped briefly and moved further up. ¡°Du Hong! Du Hong! Come out, you little who*re!¡± A well-dressed woman in her forties was yelling frantically, her fine clothes unable to disguise her sallow face. The customers looked on, the masseurs and masseuses took pleasure in Du Hong¡¯s downfall, and the waiters were blocking the woman¡¯s advance with all their effort. ¡°Ma¡¯am, please leave now, or I¡¯ll call the police!¡± ¡°Your employee is sleeping with someone¡¯s husband and you dare call the damn police?¡± The woman was extremely imposing. One could tell she had had her fair share of hustling around. She was about to yell again when the crowd parted, revealing a woman with long hair. ¡°Are you Du Hong?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¡°p!¡± The woman pped her without a single word. Du Hong was taken by surprise and her right cheek flushed, the hand print clearly visible on her face. ¡°You who*re! Have your parents brought you up to be so shameless?¡± The woman would not let go easily and went on cursing. ¡°If you like sleeping with men so much, don¡¯t massage them, be a full-time hooker already! You who*res are always acting like little virgins!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Du Hong was confused, both from the p and the condemnation. Judging from the woman¡¯s expression, she realized that she was Cheng Gang¡¯s legitimate wife. Du Hong was never a shrewish person. Her specialty was in being gentle and understanding. There was no way she could start a verbal contest with his wife. ¡°Enough with that face. Who are you sniveling for?¡± Seeing Du Hong¡¯s reaction, the woman grew angrier and held out her hand, trying to hit Du Hong again. The owner of the salon hurried near at this moment and tried to soothe her, ¡°Sister, please calm down! It¡¯s all her fault, but after all, this is between you two and we¡¯re trying to run a business here. Would you be so kind and take this outside?¡± ¡°Humph!¡± The woman gave him a sideway look and said, ¡°Mark my words. If you dare contact my husband again, I¡¯ll strip you naked and drag you through the streets!¡± With that, she left, leaving behind a crowd of animated onlookers as they discussed the drama. ¡°Ok, this thing is over. Get back to whatever you were doing!¡± The boss felt his head was going to explode. After getting rid of the crowd, he said with vexation, ¡°Ah Hong,e with me.¡± Taking Du Hong back to his office, he said nothing but smoked one cigarette after another. After a while, he said, ¡°Ah Hong, you¡¯ve been here for so long and we¡¯re practically friends. But you¡¯ve seen what happened today. It¡¯s bad for business. I really can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Brother, I won¡¯t make it difficult for you. I¡¯ll quit,¡± replied Du Hong calmly. ¡°Sigh. I feel bad for doing this to you. Stay here for the time being, until you find a new job.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. I¡¯ll pack my stuff now.¡± With that, she returned to her dormitory promptly, weed by the cutting remarks from her roommates. That younger sister was the only one showing kindness by asking, ¡°Sister Hong, what did the boss say?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I won¡¯t be working here any more. Keep up the good work.¡± Stroking her hair, Du Hong smiled, ¡°Aiya, don¡¯t cry. You have my number. Call me if you miss me.¡± Quickly organizing her belongings, she put everything in a suitcase and went to the ountant. The boss was kind-hearted enough to give her three months worth of basic sry. After everything was sorted out, she walked out carrying the suitcase. It was only then that she wiped the tears off her face. Standing by the street, Du Hong had the strong feeling that nothing was predictable. An hour ago, she had a job and a roof above her head; an hourter, she had no idea where she would stay for the night. [1] ED/N: I think it¡¯s already appeared once¡­ anyway, for those unaware, g is a turning point (usually something you do or say) that leads to a particr event/development. It can be negative (jinx), but could also be positive. Chapter 105 Chapter 105: Each on Their Own Path Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Du Hong did not turn to Cheng Gang for help. Cheng Gang had indeed been nice to her and she was to some extent feeling attached to him. However, the attachment was not persuasive enough for her to hang onto him shamelessly and confront his wife. Despite her gentle and meek appearance, she had longe round the idea: I live at the mercy of men and men can be found everywhere. Thus, she found a small inn to make do for the night and was sitting by another man the following noon. ¡°Thank you so much for helping me, or I wouldn¡¯t even have the money to buy lunch.¡± Inside the dining hall of a private club, Du Hong was cutting up a medium rare steak. She wasn¡¯t very good with knife and fork, but still maneuvered them with elegant movements. ¡°Make yourself at home. I know we¡¯re not exactly friends, but one ought to lend a hand when there¡¯s an emergency, not to mention when a beauty like you is involved.¡± The man was in his thirties and quite tall. There was a shrewdness and capable feeling about him, typical of a businessman. His name was Chen Cai. He was the owner of this club and a customer of Du Hong. She called everyone in turn for helpst night and Chen Cai was the most sincere one. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Du Hong smiled and went on, ¡°Have you made your decision, then? You know my background. I¡¯ve been doing this ever since I started working. Your reputation is safe with me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a celebrity in this line of work. I should be the one ttered to have you here.¡± Chen Cai took out a contract and pushed it towards her. ¡°Here¡¯s the contract. Have a look.¡± ¡°Oh my, so formal!¡± Du Hong did not see thating and almost jumped when she read through the contract, which explicitly said she was to be the head waitress of the health care department with an annual sry of 300,000 yuan. There were other preferential terms such as monthlymission and year-end bonuses. ¡°This, this¡­ Brother Chen, I¡¯m only here to be a masseuse. You¡¯re putting too much faith in me!¡± She made a somewhat deliberate gesture to express her jittery emotions. ¡°I¡¯m willing to give you that sry, you¡¯re an employee worth that much. If everything looks fine, sign itter,¡± Chen Cai waved her off. ¡°In that case, thank you¡­ Big Brother.¡± She paused after the ¡°thank you¡± before addressing him differently, her eyes flickering brightly while she chuckled, biting her lip slightly. ¡°Ugh, cough! Cough!¡± Chen Cai was stunned by the enchanting charm she naturally radiated and had to cover his flurry with coughing. He cursed to himself, ¡®This woman is alluring like a witch!¡¯ After the employment rtionship was settled and the two were on more friendly terms, he briefly talked her through the setup of the club. It was quite well-known in Le Zhou, and provided a series of services from dining, amodation, and leisure activities to entertainment. Because of the privacy it provided, dignitaries took up arge proportion of the customers here. After some chatting, Chen Cai sighed, sending out an air of vexation. ¡°Since you¡¯ve said yes to the offer, we¡¯re on the same boat now. I¡¯m gonna be honest with you. Business seems good here, but you never know how tough things can get unless you¡¯re the one running it. Like a while ago, when I tried to expand the business to include other projects, those sons of a bi*ch have been stalling for months without giving me their approval. What am I supposed to do?¡± ¡°Ask them out and talk things through, then.¡± ¡°I did! I¡¯ve set up a banquet tonight in the Oasis¡­ hey, since we¡¯re on it, why don¡¯t youe with me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± It dawned on Du Hong that this was his real goal! She was going to be the tool he used to knock on various doors for his benefit. Women in this line of work used to be called social butterflies. Now, they were known as ¡°female public rtions¡±. She did not feel insulted. After a brief contemtion, a broad smile appeared across her face. ¡°No problem. Brother Chen, I¡¯ve been ttered by your favor and I¡¯ll do everything I can to return it.¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m happy to hear it! Here, let me make a toast to you!¡± Chen Caiughed. *** ¡°We are so honored to have Director Zhao here tonight, I¡¯m excited beyond words! Everything I want to say shall be expressed in this liquor. I¡¯ll empty my ss first to show respect!¡± Inside a private room, Chen Cai was holding a ss of white spirit in his hands. Bowing slightly to a man on the seat of honor, he downed the spirit in one gulp. ¡°Nice! Very nice!¡± ¡°Oh my, Xiao Chen still carries his liquor like a gentleman. Not me, not anymore.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because Director Zhao has been worn out by the heavy workload, unlike us idlers. We are in no position to be your equals.¡± Various people sat around the tables. There were government officials, businessmen, and those from the media. Everyone was shouting at the same time, centering around that official. Du Hong only stood up after the first round of toast had finished. She smiled, ¡°Director Zhao, it¡¯s my first time meeting you today. I hope you¡¯re not offended, but I feel very close to you even though we just met. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll make a toast to you as well.¡± ¡°One toast is not enough. Make it three!¡± ¡°Exactly, you¡¯re the only woman here. You have to show your sincerity. Have three!¡± The rest of the crowd jeered on. Du Hong wiggled her slim waist at the words, showing the adequate amount of shyness and grievance. ¡°Director Zhao, these men are so mean. I know you¡¯re the good one.¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s enough. One ss will do!¡± The gaze of the director was fixed upon her fair body like a hook. ¡°I knew you¡¯re a gentleman. I¡¯ll drink it up first!¡± Du Hong tilted her head back and emptied the ss. She smiled and went on, ¡°Here, let me refill your ss.¡± With those words, she filled the ss to the rim and handed it gently into his hand. In the brief moment when their hands touched, she tickled his palm with her pinkie. ¡°Nice, nice¡­¡± The director shuddered, feeling as if a bug had fallen into his chest and was crawling around. Even the spirit did not taste the same now. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Seeing this, Chen Cai pursed his lips inconspicuously. The old fool cared for neither money nor fame, but had a soft spot for women. Maybe the liquor was too strong, or the beauty was too intoxicating. Director Zhao with a great capacity for liquor on normal days was tipsy only after a few rounds today. Noticing his condition, Chen Cai said immediately, ¡°Director Zhao, how are you feeling? Shall we drive you back now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m alright, just a bit dizzy.¡± ¡°In that case, how about going upstairs and taking a rest. We¡¯ve had a suite ready for you. Ah Hong, take Director Zhao to his room. See that he gets everything he needs!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Du Hong¡¯s eyes lost focus for a split second beforeing to herself again. She smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I got it!¡± After that, she supported the director to his feet, her body leaning against his, and walked slowly out of the room. After the two left the room, everyone went quiet. It was after some time before someone said, ¡°Bro, that was neat! Where did you find a vamp like that?¡± ¡°Haha, it was pure luck. She handed herself to me.¡± Chen Cai was quite satisfied with himself. ¡°Geez, that was awesome!¡± The admiration was genuine. For people of their status, Du Hong was a treasure that could solve a lot of problems. *** Chen Cai indeed had sharp eyes; the woman was a top-grade stunner. She was able to keep a quasi-dignitary away from his home all night, drowning him in her tenderness and even extending his stay to the following morning. It wasn¡¯t untilte into the afternoon when Chen Cai got a call from Du Hong. He went to pick her up himself. She showed no trace of tiredness whatsoever. Instead, she was in high spirits and looked all the more alluring. She sat on the back seat and Chen Cai would dart a look at her every now and then from the rearview mirror. Looking at her was somehow giving him palpitations. He said, ¡°Ah Hong, you¡¯ve done me a great favor this time. I don¡¯t know where to begin to say thank you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to. We¡¯re family.¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯re right. Then I¡¯ll skip the courtesies¡­ oh, you¡¯re still looking for a ce to live, right? I have a house nearby and nobody¡¯s living there right now. It¡¯s got the furniture and everything. You can move in right away.¡± ¡°Great, I¡¯ll skip the courtesies as well.¡± ¡°Of course, you do that.¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Running her fingers through her hair, Du Hong turned to look out of the window, lost in her thoughts. The people she got involved with earlier were small business owners, whom she had considered people of importance. However, after yesterday, she realized that in the eyes of those with the real power, those businessmen were nobodies. Without realizing it, her state of mind was changing. What Chen Cai offered her was a tform where she could meet all sorts of big-shots. As the saying went, each was on their own path and each with their own fate. Some worked hard on themselves, some had connections, some depended on their cruelty and mercilessness, but all she had to depend on was that tattered book. It depicted all the corporal pleasures there were in this mortal world. No man or woman could resist what took ce in the sheets, which was why the book was invaluable. It had be the focal point of her attention now. She was even considering to find someone and trante thest pages into in, modern mandarin¡­ ¡°Hm?¡± While she was going over the idea in her head, she let out a little cry of surprise. On the pavement outside, two young passers-by were walking in their direction. Their clothes were filthy and they looked fatigued. However, there was an aura about them that made them stand out from the crowd. She recognized them at the first nce. They were none other than that couple who had came to her for a foot massage. She was right. With their looks, she would never forget their faces. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Chen Cai noticed her long silence and could not help asking. ¡°Nothing. I saw a young couple out there, very good-looking.¡± ¡°Good-looking? They can¡¯t be more good-looking than you!¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± The vehicle drove on, passing the two. Gu Yu suddenly turned his head, apparently struck by something strange. ¡°Someone was watching us from that vehicle. ¡°Someone we know?¡± ¡°I think it was that foot massage woman, that No. 3.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Xiaozhai also looked towards that direction and chuckled in a half jocose, half indifferent tone. ¡°Nice car. I wish her a brilliant future!¡± Chapter 106 Chapter 106: An Important Meeting Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu There was a ¡°Method of Yellow and Red¡± in Taoist theories, which was also called the ¡°bedroom arts¡±. This ¡°art¡± was roughly the equivalent of sexology of ancient times, which covered aspects such as the basic knowledge, the skills of sexual activities, treatment of dysfunctions, conception, etc. It also linked sex to cultivation by iming that in the process of sexual intercourse, a beneficial energy was produced, which could prolong one¡¯s life and eventually lead to immortality. The ancient people were awesome! They could cultivate in bed. How unbelievably enjoyable must that be. However, as time passed by, the real technique of the ¡°cultivation in couples¡± was lost. Instead, many obscene methods were invented, which the Taoistmunity would not tolerate. Kou Qianzhi of the Northern Wei Dynasty used to say, ¡°The Great Dao is meant to be refined and non-aggressive, it would never permit such acts!¡± And ording to Ge Hong of Jin Dynasty, ¡°The act of sex alone will not lead to immortality, nor can it expel misfortune and bring blessings.¡± When time came to Song Dynasty, the bedroom arts became even more perverted, inventing practices such as using aphrodisiac substances, drawing energy from others during sexual intercourse and mesmerizing women through sex, etc., which had been sought after by harems ofrge families and emperors, as well as those fond of obscene knowledge. Hence, such practices had been passed down throughout history without exhaustion. Depicted in the tattered book that Du Hong had picked up was none other than the method of drawing energy from one¡¯s sex partners. The book started with specific techniques, followed by the corresponding manual. By drawing energy from males to nourish themselves, eventually, the females would be rejuvenated and be prettier, whereas their partners of the opposite sex would have vague ache in their loins and legs and be in low spirits, as if they were ¡°used up¡±. ¡®Are your kidneys worn out? Do you want to give them a ¡°reboot¡±¡­¡¯ No, no, this is not that kind of novel! [1] As mentioned before, everyone had their own path to follow. Old Priest Mo¡¯s Neidan, Tan Chongdai¡¯s talismans, Wang Ruoxu¡¯s Feng Shui, Li Suchun¡¯s corpse-refining, as well as Gu Yu¡¯s essence-consuming and Xiaozhai¡¯s Thunder Technique were all paths they chose to walk. Du Hong was no different. In a time like this when opportunities and risks coexisted, nobody¡¯s sess or failure would raise a brow. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai did not think much of their two encounters with the woman and little did they know how high this woman would climb up in the near future. Before anyone realized, it was mid-December. The duo left Shengtian in early November and had been travelling around for over a month by now. Xiaozhai¡¯s parents were calling more often, urging her to return home for New Year. Gu Yu was missed as well. Among the callers were Uncle Fang, Fang Qing, Granny Zeng, and Zeng Yuewei¡ªjust to list a few. They inquired from time to time about his whereabouts and general well-being. What else could the two say? Their reply was always ¡°we¡¯re still travelling and having a good time¡± and ¡°we¡¯ll be back soon¡±. After Mt Emei, they took their time resting in Le Zhou. As usual, Gu Yu recorded their journey in Emei in a notebook. Together with the one on Tianzhu, the notes were three centimeters thick. In them, he recorded in detail the road maps and locations of the nodes of the two mountains, as well as the resources they explored in the surrounding areas of the nodes, such as the stone wall of Tianzhu and the trees of Emei. That¡¯s right, they called those ¡°resources¡±. The resource structure of modern human society consisted of coal, petroleum, natural gas, or even reserves of the talented manpower. However, with the current situation, they might not have to wait long before the concept of resources changed into rare nts, iron ore rich with essence, or spiritual mountain ranges¡­ It was a delicate period. When the old rules had not been broken and the new ones were yet to be established, themon consent was: firste, first served. They carried on as nned. There were three more stops: Pinghu Mountain in Shimen, Wangwu Mountain in Ji Zhou, and Tianshan Sect of Patriarch Sa. They would visit Pinghu and Wangwu first, leaving Tianshan, the most important one, as thest. They learned next to nothing in Qionglong Mountain and Luobi County. If Tianshan were to fail them as well, then Xiaozhai would have little hope inpleting her Dragon-snatching Internal Technique of Five Thunders. Of course, little did they know that during this period, an important meeting was being held in the remote capital city. *** ¡°p!¡± The zing incandescentmp came to life, the abrupt brightness shooting directly at Li Suchun¡¯s face. He jolted, lifting his head as he broke out from a trance. Seated in a chair, he was surrounded by thick and solid high walls of an empty room. Directly in front of him was a one-way mirror, keeping him from seeing whoever was on the other side. ¡°Time¡¯s up. Now, have you made up your mind?¡± A voice came out of the speaker; it sounded majestic and dignified. ¡°Yes, yes I have. I¡¯ll do what you asked.¡± Li Suchun¡¯s eyes were unfocused, as if he had suffered much psychological torture. ¡°Good! Bear in mind that with the crimes you havemitted, we could execute you ten times and even more! However, the state is in need of people with special talents and you are granted the opportunity to redeem your crimes by serving the country. As long as you work with us, we¡¯ll make sure you are rewarded ordingly.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Twitching his lips, the teenager remained silent. Behind the ss, a white-haired old man stood in the center of the control room¡ªhe was the one talking to Li Suchun. He was about to go on when his bodyguard approached and reminded him in a whisper, ¡°Chief, the meeting is going to start.¡± ¡°Em, I see.¡± The old man waved his hand, ¡°Watch him closely. Keep an eye on his psychological state.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The specialists in the room replied immediately. The old man left the control room and went upstairs in a lift. After passing through many corridors, he finally arrived at a conference room, where eight people were already seated. One was in the seat of honor, with three on the left and four on the right. He sat down on the fourth chair on the left side. ¡°Sorry foringte, but the good news is, that kid gave in.¡± ¡°Humph! If it were up to me, we¡¯d break him the tough way already. The hell with your diplomatic carrots. Totally a waste of time!¡± The second on the right snorted. ¡°That kid would yield to soft approach and not the tough hands. What if he¡¯s determined to give up on his life?¡± ¡°Giving up on his life? You¡¯re giving him too much credit¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough. We¡¯re here for the meeting, not squabbling!¡± The host knocked on the table. When those two quieted down, he instructed someone, ¡°Read it!¡± The private secretary sitting at the back stood up at once, a document in hand. ¡°First, it has been agreed that the Bureau of Investigation and Management of Abnormalities and Unusual Persons is to be established. The bureau will be under direct jurisdiction of the central government. One Chief, two Deputy Chiefs and seven departmental heads are to be assigned to the headquarters, with an unspecified number of basic level personnel and peripheral workers. A total of thirty-six sub-bureaus are to be set up in local areas, centering around major cities of different regions, with the same personnel structure as mentioned above. Those selected for the bureau should fulfill the following requirements¡ªbeing loyal to the country, having flexible mind, being highly adaptable and capable of epting new things¡­ The name of the bureau should not be revealed to the outsiders. The bureau is nominally under the jurisdiction of municipal governments. At times of crisis, all local governments are to follow the decisions of the bureau!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The eight people were somewhat disturbed by the announcement. They were all quite high up on the power pyramid of the country, almost directly below the five State Councilors. Apparently, their superiors had attached much more importance to this matter than they had expected. If this bureau was sessfully set up, the power granted to its officials would be limitless! The secretary paused for a second and went on reading. ¡°Second, starting from today, all domestic official media should pay attention to the guidance of public opinion. The local governments should be in charge of the specific methods and relevant trainings. Third, starting from today, pay close attention to Taoist and Buddhist associations and their various schools and sects. Make efforts tomunicate and exchange ideas on a frequent basis, so as to better understand them. Fourth, regarding Li Suchun, it has been permitted in principle that research and experiments are to be carried out in Base 308.¡± There were ten points in total and when he finished, the room was dead silent. After a long while, the host said, ¡°So, our turn now. Any suggestions or ideas?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± The second on the left spoke first, ¡°Can we organize a Taoist symposium and start a consolidated investigation?¡± ¡°That¡¯s too high-profile; there might be a leak. We could start with more specified targets. Isn¡¯t there a Baiyun Temple in the capital?¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll get on with it!¡± The second on the left nodded. ¡°That priest Wang reads the situation well. I think we could count him in,¡± the fourth on the right added. ¡°Agreed. Oh, by the way, have you analyzed the information he offered?¡± The host asked. ¡°We have. In theory it sounds usible, but actually¡­¡± The fourth on the right seemed to find the words ridiculous as he went on, ¡°ording to him, the Corpse-Refining Technique has six levels and the final one is missing. The first five are called white, iron, bronze, silver, and golden in turn. Bronze corpses are intelligent enough to understand ournguage and the golden ones are not much different from human beings, but are powerful enough to turn mountains into level ground.¡± ¡°Ha! That sounds like immortals to me!¡± The third on the left blurted out, but immediately realized the inappropriateness of the remark and shut up. ¡°Cough, cough!¡± The host coughed and switched the subject. ¡°How are things going on Iron Mountain?¡± ¡°Samples and data were already sent back and we¡¯ve been studying them over here. So far, we found nothing out of the ordinary.¡± Frowning, the fourth on the left chose his words carefully, ¡°But in my opinion, these changes must have been stimted by something else. Something we could not detect.¡± ¡°I agree with you, but the bosses ask for substantial evidence, so let¡¯s keep studying them¡­¡± The host also had no choice but to follow orders. He went on asking, ¡°Oh, another thing, I heard that two unknown persons were also at the scene. Where are we on that?¡± ¡°I have something here.¡± The second on the right flipped open a file. ¡°Based on investigation of the local police, a man and a woman turned out very suspicious. They arrived in Luobi on the day before the event and checked into a hotel. The following day, they rented a car, which they returned in the evening when they checked out of the hotel abruptly. ording to the information provided by the railway system, they left for Le Zhou by train that same night and have not been spotted since.¡± ¡°Ok, we don¡¯t have anything solid on them yet, but follow that lead anyway.¡± The host contemted for a moment and said, ¡°These two people sounded very problematic to me.¡± ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll make some arrangements.¡± It was a very long meeting. After everything was arranged ordingly, the host suddenly sighed. ¡°Guys, we¡¯ve been enjoying these peaceful times for too long. I don¡¯t care what grudges you hold against one another or what power strife there is, this matter concerns the fate of our country. If I find anyone put their personal motives before the greater good, jeopardizing our mission, I will not tolerate it!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Thest sentence came out with such an imposing manner that everyone else stood up, moved by the solemnity. *** Following the decree of the meeting, the local governments moved into action. The foremost task was to put together that Bureau of Investigation and Management of Abnormalities and Unusual Persons, or BIMAUP for short. It was a major project. Other forces in the governments immediately reacted to it, probing for information implicitly and explicitly, which was all to no avail. Shu Zhou was the quickest one. All personnel involved in the operation that day was assigned to the bureau and thanks to the effort of his patron, that scapegoat official actually benefited from the incident, bing the, well, Deputy Chief of BIMAUP in Sichuan Province. Meanwhile, those higher up in the chain ofmand also sent people out to follow up on investigating into Gu Yu and Xiaozhai while looking up their families. Based on the information provided by the wounded soldiers, the authorities established various personality models, from which they drew a conclusion: These two people had the characteristics of ancient chivalrous swordsman. They preferred an unfettered lifestyle and disliked restraints, especially the coercion from authorities. As a result, guideline of the superiors was to make friendly contact andmunicate with them like equals. Those sent to make contact were also to be carefully chosen. They had to be extremely amiable, if nothing else. It was at this time of great uncertainty that our super duper capricious pair rushed their way into Shimen territory. [1] TL/N: quoted above is a famous line of Chinese TV advertisement. Kidney is associated with virility in traditional Chinese medicine and this product is basically a tonic for the ¡°overworked¡± kidneys. Chapter 107 Chapter 107: A Miao Vige Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Shimen was in Xiang Zhou, which belonged to Hubei Province in the south¡¯s central region of the country. [1] Founded ny years ago, the country had thirty-six provinces with vast territory, abundant resources, and an enormous poption. [2] Xiang Zhou had a rtively low poption density. There was a distinctive boundary between the city and the wooded mountains. The developed region was on the east side, while the west remained in its backward state, filled with primitive terrains unchanged for millennia and clusters of viges living by their traditions passed down since the ancient times. Together, these boundless and lofty mountains were known as ¡°the West of Hunan¡± and Shimen was the gateway of this region. ¡°Beep beep!¡± Along a meandering and rugged mountain road, a worn-out car was moving slowly with Xiaozhai behind the wheel. She suddenly pressed the horn and stepped on the brake. ¡°Damn it!¡± Gu Yu hopelessly pushed open the door and got off the car, shooing away a bamboo partridge from the middle of the road. The bird gave him a despising look, made a series of ¡°kut-kut-kut¡± and fluttered onto a low rock. ¡°Everything is turning spiritual these days. Men no longer scare them!¡± He grunted as he got back into the car. ¡°You wish. If only they could all be spiritual,¡±mented Xiaozhai. ¡°Tsk!¡± Gu Yu smacked his lips and said nothing in return. There was nothing they could do about it. They were struck by a sad fact when they arrived at Shimen¡ªthe density of spiritual essence here was a mere 1. Well, not 1. To be more precise, it was somewhere between a 1 and a 2. The existence of a node was only possible if a 2 was detected in the peripheral area, which meant they would probably find nothing abnormal in Pinghu Mountain. However, since they were here already, they might as well take a look, even if it was just to make sure. Transportation in Shimen was extremely inconvenient and a mini-bus only ran twice from the county town to various viges every day. They had missed the second one that day and had to wait till the following morning if they wanted to go out there. They did not like the idea of waiting around doing nothing and decided to drive there themselves with a rental car. It was only after they hit the road when they realized how upsetting the reality was. The route was so confusing and the ce was incredibly far away! As soon as they drove the lousy car into the mountains, they had no idea where they were going and which way they hade from. With their current speed, they would need a lot of luck just to find a ce to spend the night before dark. ¡°Beep beep!¡± Xiaozhai drove on for some distance, turned around a bend and honked again. This time, it was because a girl wearing folk costume was walking slowly ahead. She turned around and waved at them with a smile. Xiaozhai drove up to her and stopped the car. The girl spoke her mandarin with a strong ent, ¡°I¡¯m going to the stockaded vige over there, could you give me a lift?¡± ¡°Sure, hop on.¡± ¡°Thank you so much!¡± She climbed into the back seat, the small bells hanging around her waist jingling along her movements, which attracted much attention from the two. The girl was 15 or 16 years of age, had fair skin and a silverb buried in her hair. She wore a wrap-up-styled top with a wide cor and a pair of long blue trousers. An odd-looking insect was embroidered on her cuff. Gu Yu shot a few looks at the little insect and grinned, ¡°Are you from a Miao vige?¡± [3] ¡°Yes. Go over that mountain and cross a river, then you¡¯ll see our vige. I went to town to buy some stuff today and returnedte. Luckily, I ran into you guys¡­¡± The girl was brisk, and so went on rambling, ¡°Oh, by the way, my name in mandarin is Long Tang and my family name is Ghob Miel in Miaonguage.¡± ¡°What?¡± The two were baffled. ¡°Ghob Miel,¡± repeated the girl. [TL/N: Basically, an impossible pronunciation to the mandarin-speaking crowd.] They got it the second time. It sounded something like ¡°Ge Mi¡±. The Miao people in Xiang Zhou consisted of twelve ns, or twelve major Miao surnames, which had evolved into countless other family names. After years of blending and changing, corresponding mandarin surnames were introduced into the system. Ge Mi corresponded to Long in mandarin. After introducing one another, Long Tang asked, ¡°Are you tourists?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯re going to Pinghu,¡± replied Xiaozhai. ¡°Pinghu? That¡¯s so far away, you won¡¯t get there before dark. Why don¡¯t youe to my vige? We have lodgings and ces to park your car.¡± It seemed she would speak out whatever came into her head without any reservations. Gu Yu was curious. ¡°Do you have visitors from outside as well?¡± ¡°Of course. We have a lot of visitors in the summer, we sell them little ornaments we made ourselves, then we would sing and dance together. It¡¯s off season now. It¡¯s too cold and nobodyes at this time of the year.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The two exchanged looks and Gu Yu smiled, ¡°Great, we¡¯ll go check out your vige.¡± *** With the road¡¯s condition like this, even the most experienced driver dared not let go of the brake. The lengthy journey went on for forty minutes with Xiaozhai driving slowly; finally, houses appeared outside the car¡¯s windows. As the road grew smoother, more signs of people started to show. They arrived at Long Tang¡¯s vige in the evening at longst. It was called Baiqing [TL/N: ¡°white and green¡±] Stockaded Vige, its poption close to one thousand. It was thergest Miao Vige within the 50-km radius. The ce was surrounded by mountains; wooden stilted houses built onto the side of a mountain were well-arranged along the slopes. Five flower-streets threaded through the vige. Guarding gatehouses with wooden piles and tiled roofs were built on the east and west. All courtyards and gateways in the vige were paved with ck gstones. A clear stream flowed past the vige in the front, across which was a wooden bridge. A stone mill, a grain mill, and a waterwheel lined the river bank. The shabby car drove into the vige without attracting much attention. Following the instructions of Long Tang, they drove directly towards thergest wooden building. The girl got off the car and led the two inside, shouting, ¡°Uncle! Uncle!¡± ¡°Behave yourself. What¡¯s with all the yelling? Didn¡¯t you go to town?¡± With a soft reprimand, an old man with a white beard and a slight hunchback came out. He was in casual clothes¡ªa ck shirt buttoned-down in the middle by eleven cloth buttons, which had a straight hem in the front and a curved one on the back. The trousers he wore were very wide at the bottom of the legs. ¡°Uncle, I almost did not make my way back before dark today. It was thanks to them¡­ this is brother Gu Yu and this is sister Xiaozhai. They¡¯re going to Pinghu and want to stay in the vige tonight.¡± Long Tang exined with a drumfire of sentences. The old man looked them up and down and said impatiently, ¡°Go! Go ahead!¡± ¡°Thank you, Uncle!¡± The girl dragged them out and said in a whisper, ¡°Uncle has allowed you to stay. That¡¯s just the way he is. I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Is he the n elder?¡± Gu Yu asked with curiosity. ¡°We don¡¯t use that term here. Uncle is daddy¡¯s oldest brother and the Kuan Chief of the vige. The viges nearby all have to obey him¡­¡± With her exnation, they came to realize that the Miao people had their own social system and the terms they used differed from one region to the next. The term ¡°Gou Lang¡± was used in Qian Zhou and the leader was called Lang Chief, whereas in Dian Zhou it was called ¡°Cong Hui¡± and the leader Cong Chief. Here in Xiang Zhou, they used the term ¡°He Kuan¡± and their leader was called Kuan Chief. A He Kuan¡¯s domain usually consisted of several to dozens of viges. Rules were made and various officials elected, including a head, a few deputies, a ¡°tiger man¡± (the military chief), a Nuo master (the priest), and a ¡°sensible elder¡± (the one with judicial responsibilities). Although the modern country had been established for ny years, this ancient system was still operating and had be an effective supplement to government¡¯s administration and legitions. It seemed that Long Tang had quite a high social status. Her father was the Nuo master and the secondrgest wooden building in the vige was her home. Compared to the chief, her father was much nicer, and weed the two guests. After greeting the two big shots, the girl then led them to the lodging, which was also a row of wooden buildings. They were built along the river and the picturesque view was right outside the windows. Long Tang was enthusiastic, and insisted on paying for them. After some pushing and pulling like a real adult, she lost the battle and did not get to spend her money. They paid the deposit and she apanied them upstairs. Chuckling, she said, ¡°Brother Yu, you are eating at my houseter. We¡¯re having fish in sour soup today.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t let us trouble you. We¡¯re fine eating here.¡± ¡°No trouble at all. I have to thank you both.¡± The girl was obviously fond of good-looking guys and showed much more enthusiasm towards Gu Yu than Xiaozhai. Thetter could not be bothered with this and walked around the room on her own. She then walked to the window and pointed abruptly towards a direction, ¡°Hey, that person looks so strange!¡± Long Tang came up to the window to see. Her face darkened and she said in a serious tone, ¡°She¡¯s not good. Don¡¯t go near her.¡± ¡°Oh? Who is she?¡± ¡°She¡¯s the woman of grass ghost.¡± [4] [1] TL/N: Most Chinese cities, provinces and areas mentioned in this novel are called by alternative names, some of which could be tranted into their corresponding actual names, while for others it is impossible to do so. Not using real names could be a way of avoiding possible disputes, or simply to increase the novelty of the story. [2] TL/N: As apparent as the fact that the novel is set up in China, the author called the country by the name of Xia, which is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese history, probably for the same reason as listed above. The figures in this paragraph are also altered. [3] TL/N: The Miao is an ethnic group in the South of China, one of the 55 official minority groups. [4] TL/N: ¡°The woman of grass ghost¡± is a literal trantion of the term. Grass ghost, or ¡°²Ý¹í¡± is the term used by the Miao people to call ¹Æ, the undead insect. The woman of grass ghost is the host of undead insects. Chapter 108 Chapter 108: Woman of Grass Ghost Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ording to certain written records, ¡°Put various bugs and snakes in a container and keep them in it until only a single living creature is left. That creature is called the ¡®undead insect¡¯. It has the ability to confuse people and could be introduced through food or drink. It could do great harm to the victims.¡± The Miao people were experts in raising undead insects, which were called ¡°grass ghosts¡± in the Miaonguage. Since the insect raisers were all female, they also went by the name ¡°women of grass ghost¡±. The practice of raising undead insects was not part of the Taoist skills, but originated from the witchcraft culture, which was to some extent simr to the techniques of Mao Mountain. ording to the customs of the Miao people, every vige must have its own woman of grass ghost. However, with the passage of time, few sessors of this skill remained. The one of Baiqing Vige was the only woman of grass ghost within a radius of a couple of hundred km. These women had special status in their ns. On ordinary days, they were despised by their nsmen and excluded from every activity. However, when necessary, the n had to turn to them for help. As a result, they usually lived alone and developed unsociable and entric personalities. Those more perverse would release undead insects at people showing the slightest disrespect towards them. The one Xiaozhai spotted, nheless, was a very pretty woman. Her long hair was coiled into a bun and she had eyes like flowing water when she stood by the stream and watched the wooden buildings from afar. She struck Xiaozhai as being odd because there was a frail and sickly look about her, as if she was possessed by something that was sucking her blood dry. Long Tang apparently disliked her. Sticking her head out of the window, she shouted, ¡°They¡¯re my guests. Go away!¡± ¡°¡­¡± That woman was happy to see Long Tang¡¯s face, but was immediately upset by her words. She turned around and left without a word. ¡°She¡¯s my older sister. The woman of grass ghost took her away when she was five and she has been like this ever since. Anyway, stay away from her.¡± Long Tang spoke with a mixture of feelings, then went downstairs without another word. After she left, Xiaozhai looked out of the window and suddenly giggled, ¡°So, Brother Yu, what do you think?¡± ¡°Pfft!¡± Gu Yu was greatly embarrassed. ¡°Stop messing around!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not! This is such a charming ce, but not as charming as the Miao girls. Why don¡¯t you stay here and get married? I¡¯ll travel to the Western Regions and get the sacred texts on my own. By the time Ie back, you¡¯ll probably have made a baby monk.¡± [1] ¡®Whatever!¡¯ He did not bother to talk back, but only thundered into the bathroom with a bag in hand. He mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower!¡± ¡®Such a boring man!¡¯ Xiaozhai shrugged and leaned against the window pane, stretching out her long legs. Xiao Qing slipped out from hiding, slithering around on the ground happily, apparently very satisfied with the surroundings. She looked around in boredom while ying with her pet. *** Before they realized it, dusk had set in. After dinner at Long Tang¡¯s house, they returned to their lodging. Evenings in Miao viges were dull. Basically, nightlife was non-existent. They chatted for a bit and went to sleep in their separate beds. The cool, deste moonlight lit the quiet room. Faint blue smoke was rising from the half-burnt Soothing Incense. ¡°Hiss!¡± All of a sudden, the coiled-up Xiao Qing raised its upper body and slithered onto the window pane in spite of itself, as if drawn to some unknown attraction. Wrapping its tail around the handle, it pulled the window open slightly and went through the narrow gap in a swish. It slithered its way through the wooden buildings, reached the ground outside, then swam across the stream and finally disappeared in the woods. Deep inside the woods on an open space, that woman of grass ghost was heating up a bronze cauldron, which had a round body with a narrow opening and wide bottom. A campfire was strutted up under the cauldron. In her clenched fist was some green powder, which she added continuously into the cauldron. Streaks of white mist kept rising out of the opening. Meanwhile, rustling sounds wereing from every direction of the woods. Countless ck shadows wriggled in the moonlight, falling over one another to crawl into the bronze cauldron. Among them were spiders, scorpions, small snakes, and centipedes, all of which were hideous and terrifying venomous creatures. Seeing that the bronze cauldron was almost filled up, the woman¡¯s face brightened up. Soon afterwards, however, the joy turned into excruciating pain. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ ah!¡± Her eyes were tightly shut as her body convulsed in pain. Underneath the fair skin of her face, something protruded in a wavy motion, as if a living thing was scurrying around. ¡°The all-mighty King Pan, I beseech your blessing. Help me¡­¡± The woman gritted her teeth, streaks of blood oozing out of the corner of her mouth. With much difficulty, she pointed at the cauldron. ¡°Boom!¡± In that instant, as if the fire had grown more furious, the substance inside the cauldron started to sizzle and bubble. Together with the frantic hissing from the venomous creatures, the sound could chill one to their bones. The hissings gradually ceased after quite some time and the woman did not look as pale as before. She pointed with her finger again and an indiscernible shadow flit across the air, then seemed to retreat into her body. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± She panted and gasped for air, like someone who had escaped death by the skin of her teeth. ¡°Hiss!¡± Right at that moment, another sound came from somewhere in the front, startling her. A small snake d in emerald scales emerged. Our little fool had found this ce following the scent, but arrived in time only to find the job already wrapped up. It shook its head, apparently not happy with how things turned out. The woman¡¯s face brightened up. Such a spiritual snake was very rare. If she could take it back and raise it, then put it inside the urn of undead insect at Duanwu [TL/N: the 5th day of the 5th lunar month] of the following year, the natural endowment of this spiritual snake would surely enable it to win out, which would make it into an excellent Undead Insect of Yin Snake. The Undead Insect of Yin Snake would take its shape once inside the victim¡¯s body. It would take the form of either a snake or a soft-shelled turtle, which would then gnaw its way around inside the human body. This type of undead insect was worse at nighttime, when Yin Snakes would arrive with the wind and get ess through the pores on one¡¯s body. With it, the victims were attacked from both inside and outside. It was pointless trying to find a cure. ¡°Hiss!¡± Xiao Qing was used to its ostentatious manner backed by its master and had be ignorant of the real danger. It only saw the woman rise to her feet and smile at it. The next second, it found itself flowing in the air¡ªyes, flowing was exactly the word to describe it¡ªand being drawn quickly towards her. Xiao Qing went frantic instantaneously, wiggling and waggling with all its effort, which was to no avail. When it was close enough, the woman stretched out her hand to grab it when something flew near with a shrilling sound, ripping through the air. ¡°Smack!¡± A pebble hit the back of her hand. Xiao Qing fell to the ground and turned to run away at once. ¡°Sorry about that, but that snake is mine. You can¡¯t have it.¡± Two people came out of the woods along with the greeting¡ªnone other that the couple from the lodging. They walked to the middle of the clearing, exhibiting no malice, but only apparent curiosity. ¡°What was the thing you used just then? Was that a type of undead insect as well?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°¡­¡± The woman frowned. Her red lips trembled slightly; she seemed to be mumbling something. A solemn look suddenly crossed Gu Yu¡¯s face. Concentrating the energy in his palms, he grabbed at the air in front of him with his right hand, paused a little, then grabbed again. ¡°Holy sh*t!¡± It was unbelievable. He felt a slight prickle on his palm, like he had been stung by something. The invisible creature ran into a brick wall with him and turned to dash at Xiaozhai. Flipping her fingers, Xiaozhai twirled her shiny dagger in the air and held it in front of her. ¡°nk!¡± The sound reminded one of a roaring dragon, which disturbed the night sky. The woman went pale with terror¡ªthese two people could fend off her undead insect. She was about to strike again with all her effort when she heard someone calling her name. ¡°Long Qiu!¡± ¡°Long Qiu!¡± So, the woods turned out to be a popr spot for tonight, which was receiving its third group of visitors now. The shuffling footsteps approached them quickly and a whole bunch of people appeared all at once, with Long Tang on the lead. Behind her were two young men and on the back of one of themy a boy. ¡°Brother Yu, Sister Xiaozhai, why are you¡­¡± The scene took Long Tang by surprise. She then said angrily, ¡°Long Qiu, you¡¯re hurting people again!¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t¡­¡± The woman seemed to be very tolerant towards her. The aggressiveness from earlier was nowhere to be found as she denied in a flurry with hers hands waving around. ¡°Don¡¯t lie! I see your cauldron right there!¡± ¡°She¡¯s telling the truth. We couldn¡¯t sleep and decided to take a walk. We only ran into her by ident.¡± Gu Yu came to Long Qiu¡¯s rescue. ¡°Humph!¡± Long Tang only stopped using her then. She darted a despising look at the cauldron and said, ¡°Xiao Shan has a tummy ache. Have a look.¡± ¡°Ok¡­¡± Long Qiu lowered her head and came up to them. She let the boy lie t on his back and touched his abdomen. ¡°When did the ache begin?¡± ¡°He was fine at dinner, but woke up in the middle of the night saying his tummy ached. We took him to you right away,¡± replied a man. ¡°It¡¯s probably something unclean he ate. Follow me.¡± With that, she led the crowd deeper into the woods and stopped outside a wooden house. The others dared not move any closer. She entered alone and came out momentster with a raw egg and a red thread. Long Qiu tied the thread around the egg, then sliced her sharp fingernail across the fair, tender skin of her forearm. Blood droplets oozed out. After that, she let the blood trickle onto the egg. The dark red droplets slipped down the egg shell, being gradually absorbed by the red thread. This went on for a little while before she lifted up the boy¡¯s top and rolled the egg on his abdomen. The crowd all had funny looks, which were a mixture of fear and anticipation. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai watched the process, forgetting to blink. They found it a fascinating and novel practice. The energy involved belonged to another system, something utterly different from the Taoist one. A couple of minutester, Long Qiu asked, ¡°Is the tummy ache gone?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± answered the boy, lifting his little face. ¡°Hehe, remember, from now on, don¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Aiya, that¡¯s great, very nice. Come, let¡¯s go back to bed. Thank you for that!¡± Before Long Qiu had a chance to finish her sentence, the man held up the child and threw out the words in a hurry, as if he was to run for his life. Long Tang also came up to them and said, ¡°Brother Yu, let¡¯s go. Everything is sorted out here.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Neither of the two moved, which puzzled Long Tang. Xiaozhai turned around at this moment with a grin. ¡°That egg of yours, may I have it?¡± ¡°Em?¡± Long Qiu looked up, a hint of surprise shed across her dispirited face. Before knowing it, she was handing Xiaozhai the egg. ¡°Hehe, thanks!¡± Xiaozhai smiled at her, then rose to her feet and left. They had no desire to go back to sleep now. After they left the woods and returned to their rooms, Long Tang could not hold back herints any more. ¡°Why did you take that? It¡¯s unclean.¡± ¡°In what sense do you mean by ¡®unclean¡¯?¡± It¡¯s, it¡¯s¡­ aiya, don¡¯t break it!¡± Seeing Xiaozhai break the eggshell with a knock, she scuttled to the other side of the room and dared not watch it. The two found her behavior peculiar. The egg fell into the cup with a tter and they moved closer to look. There was nothing wrong with the egg white. The egg yolk, on the hand, was not yellow anymore, but a lump of white substance. ¡°Eww!¡± Even they found it gross. It was a pile of wriggling white worms. ¡°Are these undead insects?¡± Xiaozhai was curious. ¡°Not exactly. They are actually, em¡­¡± Long Tang tried to find the right words. ¡°They are actually the energy making people sick, which has been expelled by the undead insect. Yes, that¡¯s what they are.¡± The two winced. It was fascinating. That sickening energy could be materialized into actual thin white worms. Gu Yu blinked and chuckled, ¡°If you are not in a hurry to get home, stay for a while and tell us about it. We¡¯re very interested in that.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯m not really sleepy anyway.¡± Since Gu Yu himself had invited her to stay, naturally she would not say no to that. She went on, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t know much about it either. All I know is that there are many kinds of undead insects. Some can hurt people and some can save lives. There used to be a woman of grass ghost in every vige, but nobody wants to learn the stuff anymore. Long Qiu is probably thest one.¡± She was a little upset when Long Qiu¡¯s name was mentioned. Her voice lowered. ¡°We used to have one of those women in our vige, a very old woman. She was afraid of the stuff going uninherited and went to talk to uncle. He let her pick a pupil from five viges and sister became the chosen one¡­ she was not always like this¡­¡± [1] TL/N: Xiaozhai is teasing Gu Yu with a plot taken from the book ¡°Journey to the West¡±, or ¡°Î÷Óμǡ±, which is also known by the title ¡°Monkey¡±. In it, Sun Wukong, the monkey and the most powerful disciple of Tang Sanzang (the monk, the master, and the nominal main character) would joke about leaving the master behind with some covetous female character to get married and have ¡°little monks¡±. Chapter 109 Chapter 109: Long Qiu Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Once a woman of grass ghost knows how to inject an undead insect into others, she has to infect someone with one every so often, otherwise the poison from the insect will break out inside her. If she needs to release an undead insect and cannot find an outsider at the time, she¡¯ll harm someone from the vige.¡± Inside the room lit by a single dimmp, the girl continued her narration. ¡°Is that why you¡¯re all afraid of Long Qiu?¡± Gu Yu seemed to have some idea. ¡°Not exactly¡­¡± Long Tang went on after a brief pause. ¡°Women of grass ghost all have their Undead Insect of Life, which will stick to them for the rest of their lives. The previous woman of grass ghost here had an Undead Insect of Insanity for one. Once someone made contact with the insect, it would crawl into their brain, making the person go crazy. But she did not do that to harm others. Once she put an undead insect into someone, she would direct the person¡¯s family towards someone who could get rid of the insect, then she would secretly tell that person the method of expelling the insect. But¡­ but it was not the same with sister. She was so talented that she subdued the Undead Insect of Golden Silkworm to be her Undead Insect of Life.¡± ¡°What would a Golden Silkworm do?¡± Seeing that she was faltering, Xiaozhai pressed on. ¡°¡­¡± The girl was silent for a few seconds before giving the answer. ¡°It eats people.¡± ¡°What?¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were shocked. They finally understood the vigers¡¯ hostility towards Long Qiu. The Undead Insect of Golden Silkworm we¡¯re talking about here waspletely different from a Golden Silkworm King. The former was an invisible insect, while thetter was the king of silkworms, which had a golden body and was twice the size of ordinary silkworms. Nuo masters of the Miao people used to consume Golden Silkworm Kings, for allegedly they could promote one¡¯s cultivation. ¡°The Undead Insect of Golden Silkworm is very smart. It can do everything for you. But at the end of each year, it must eat a person. Sister got the Golden Silkworm the year beforest and almost killed someone when she could not control it. Last year, another one almost died again. After that, they drove her away from the vige. Because this type of undead insect is incurable once infected.¡± Long Tang¡¯s voice grew lower. ¡°Sister said she had found a way to suppress it, but no one would believe her.¡± ¡°How?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She shook her head. The atmosphere grew somber at the cruel reality. They chatted randomly about this and that for a bit longer before Long Tang returned home. The two observed each other in silence for a few moments and Xiaozhai said, ¡°That cauldron is the key.¡± ¡°Yes. I think she¡¯s been using the venomous creatures to promote blood production and fed the Golden Silkworm with blood. Unfortunately, it would only cure the symptom, not the disease.¡± ¡°Sigh, poor woman¡­¡± Xiaozhai sighed suddenly, sympathizing with Long Qiu for the things she had gone through. No wonder she looked so sickly and frail when she first spotted her. The Golden Silkworm would devour the essence and blood of its host when it failed to eat a person for the first year. The amount it devoured would double if it failed to eat someone the following year again. This would continue until it ate someone or the host died, which would take the life of the Golden Silkworm with her. Such thing was easy to say, but one had no idea how much suffering it involved unless they were the ones enduring it. After the truth was revealed to them, the two admired and pitied Long Qiu for her experience. However, with the great matter at hand, they had to put her aside for the time being. The following morning, they left Baiqing Vige and drove on towards Pinghu Mountain in that shabby car. *** Afternoon, in a cottage in the woods. Long Qiu was sitting on a wooden stool, steadying a stone container with her left hand while holding a medical pestle in her right and pounding down on some herbs, from which the green powder from the previous night was made. The powder would give off an aroma after being heated, attracting venomous insects. She was wearing her hair loose today, and it hung down from her shoulders like a stretch of ck waterfall, covering one side of her face. The side not concealed by her hair was more exquisite than the picturesque view of western Hunan and befitting the characteristic of the region. Buried under those delicate features, however, was an evesting feeling of depression. With the lessons learned from the previous two years, she now knew that the Golden Silkworm tended to break out at year ends¡ªthat was, thest ten days of December. Unlike any other undead insect, the Golden Silkworm was a spiritual being. For example, if one wanted to transnt rice seedlings, all they needed to do was to demonstrate with one rice shoot and it would finish the rest of the field. If one kicked their shoes on the threshold when returning home, the next time they set eyes on that spot, the dirt would be gone, for the Golden Silkworm was extremely keen on keeping everything clean. The Golden Silkworm was invisible, but also a shape-shifter. It would take the form of a snake, a frog, or a small child running around wearing red panties. With it as the Undead Insect of Life, those hosts not powerful enough would find themselves bound by an unequal treaty, under which the insect would be the one taking the lead. Such an undead insect was surely hard to handle. Long Qiu had experimented for thousands of times before realizing the blood produced with the promotion from the venomous creatures could relieve its side-effect. ¡°Thud, thud, thud!¡± It took Long Qiu quite some time to finish grinding the herbs. She rose to her feet to put it aside. A couple of steps out, she gritted her teeth suddenly. The nearly unbearable pain returned. ¡°Oh¡­¡± She groaned in pain. Putting away the stone container with her shaky left hand, her right hand gripped the table so hard that her fingernails buried into the wood. Just then, someone called her from outside. ¡°Sister Qiu!¡± ¡°Sister Qiu!¡± Long Qiu shuddered and shouted hastily, ¡°Don¡¯te in!¡± ¡°Sister Qiu, I¡¯m here to thank you. See, I brought you some nice food.¡± ¡°Go away, now!¡± She stumbled away, trying to run to the back rooms, but she was toote. Xiao Shan, the one with the tummy-ache, had burst in holding a basket. He was too young to understand anything and ignored all the warning from adults. The scene inside made him jump. ¡°Sister, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Long Qiu was whimpering by now. ¡°Ah!¡± A great force knocked Xiao Shan down, who passed out at once. The Golden Silkworm floating in mid-air was about to pounce at him; it had been long since it feasted on blood. Long Qiu stared at Xiao Shan fiercely and shouted with all her effort. ¡°Get back here!¡± With that, a splitting headache ran through her skull and she was unconscious as well. *** ¡°Ssh!¡± Someone poured a basin of water onto her face. Maybe the pain was overwhelming, or maybe she simply did not want to wake up, she felt the darkness surrounding her cracked and she could faintly make out someone crying. ¡°It¡¯s her doing! Ah Bao and Ah Ni were not enough for her and she had to hurt my Xiao Shan today. Kuan Chief, I¡¯m counting on you to make the right decision today!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯ve given her two chances already. She¡¯s just too malicious to change.¡± ¡°She might be living outside the vige, but that¡¯s still not far enough. We feel unsettled almost every day.¡± ¡°Exactly. We have to go into the woods sooner orter.¡± Everyone was talking at the same time, followed by a cold silence. Shortly afterwards, a voice both familiar and strange said, ¡°Nothing serious has happened to Xiao Shan, but we cannot ignore the ident. The undead insect of Ah Qiu is indeed very hard to control and it can be a great threat. Here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do. Let¡¯s lock her up in the temple first. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll summon the heads of the other viges and we¡¯ll decide what to do then.¡± ¡°Humph! We¡¯re letting her off too lightly!¡± ¡°If it were up to me, I¡¯d send her to the county and they would throw her into the jail right away.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough. Go back to your own business. You two, take her to the temple.¡± Immediately after those words, Long Qiu felt herself floating up like a feather. She had flown a long way before falling onto the dry, hard ground again. Her mind was in a whirl for a long time, then she opened her eyes with much difficulty. Everything was dim around her. Scant sunlight filtered in through the framed window, forming little dots on the ground. The room was not spacious; it was barely big enough to hold a few people. All sorts of odd objects lined the wall on either side. On the shrine in front of her, a figure was worshiped. It was none other than the patriarch of all minority ethnic groups in the Hubei area, Panhu himself. ording to the records, in remote antiquity when Emperor Ku (a.k.a Gaoxin Shi) was at power, his queen had an earache for three years and a worm was eventually removed. It had an appearance simr to a silkworm and the queen raised it in a te. In time, the worm turned into a dragon dog with a resplendent fur and was wrapped in brocade. Gaoxin Shi was greatly pleased with the dog and bestowed upon it the name ¡°Longqi¡± and an alternative name ¡°Panhu¡±. Later, the Quanrong n rose in revolt and Gaoxin Shi promised to grant any who could decapitate the Quanrong general with manor estate, gold, and the princess as his wife. Consequently, Panhu returned after biting off the head of the general. The emperor had no choice but to marry his daughter off to Panhu. After Panhu passed away, his descendants flourished and were known as the tribes of the South. This legend was widely known among people of the southwest and south central China. In many areas inhabited by Miao people, a Temple of King Pan would be set up for sacrifice and celebration rituals, or to exercise domestic discipline. ¡°Argh!¡± Lying on her stomach, Long Qiu struggled to raise her head and look at the figure in the front. Suddenly, color drained from her face as pain several times more intense rushed through her body like tidal waves. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Her body tensed up and she shriveled and shrunk like a withered flower. She was murmuring to herself. ¡°The almighty King Pan, I beseech your blessing, I beseech your blessing¡­¡± Chapter 110 Chapter 110: Rage Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Evening, a drizzle. Winter here did note with snowfalls, but cold rains only. Such rain was now falling on the people¡¯s skin, the wooden buildings, and even moistened the ck gstones. The sticky dampness had enwrapped everything. ¡°Beep! Beep!¡± A shabby car drove out from deep inside the mountains and moved gingerly along the winding mountain road. Its dipped headlights were on, the blurry beams prating the misty rain. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai had spent an entire day at Pinghu Mountain ande back empty-handed. The spiritual essence there was very unstable. He detected 1 in some spots and 2 in others, but never a 3. They did not make it into a thorough exploration. After a brief search, they were reassured that there was no node on the mountain and started to make their way back. It took them more than half a day to return to Baiqing Vige again. They decided to spend the night in the vige and check up on that poor girl. ¡°Hey, about that Undead Insect of Golden Silkworm of hers, can you help her on that?¡± Xiaozhai suddenly asked while driving the car. ¡°That¡¯s an Undead Insect of Life. I suspect it is a matter of life and death for her in some way and we probably cannot remove the thing by force. We¡¯ll see about that. We can stay for a few more days if necessary.¡± ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s had a pretty rough life¡­¡± Before long, they reached Baiqing Vige territory, where the car drove down a slope straight away and stopped outside the woods. They found the wooden cottage, but strangely, the door was unlocked, with no one inside. After searching in the woods and having found no one there either, they drove into the vige. It was pitch dark. Only a few wooden buildings had their lights on and they checked every house in turn. It just so happened that the tummy-ache boy was writing at a table, whom they spotted and called, ¡°Xiao Shan!¡± The boy had a bandage wrapping around his head and looked somewhat sluggish. He ran out towards them. ¡°Brother, Sister, why are you back?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve finished our work and want to stay a few days here. Where is everyone?¡± ¡°They all went to the temple. There is some meeting.¡± ¡°The temple?¡± ¡°The Temple of King Pan, of course. It¡¯s just on the south side; it¡¯ll take you just a few minutes. Sister Long Tang is there as well, but they wouldn¡¯t allow me to go.¡± ¡°I see. We¡¯ll take a look ourselves. Hey, what happened to your head?¡± ¡°I, I¡­¡± The question apparently scared Xiao Shan, who stuttered, ¡°I bumped it by ident.¡± ¡°Ok, then we¡¯re off to the temple. We¡¯lle back and y with youter.¡± They found what was going on a bit strange. Hopping into the car again, they drove towards the south of the vige. *** The Temple of King Pan. The lights were zing. The square outside the temple was packed with people from the old to the young, but no children were present. A circle of torches had been ignited around the periphery with waterproof covers above the the mes. Six people stood in the middle, with Long Tang¡¯s uncle taking the lead. The others were heads of viges nearby. With her privileged status, Long Tang got herself a ce in the front row, although she looked somewhat dispirited. Twenty meters ahead of her stood the scarlet temple gate, which was tightly shut. It was pitch ck inside and painful cries wereing out from the temple, each sound louder than the previous one. ¡°Ah¡­ ah¡­¡± They crowd felt the hair standing up on their backs at the screams. Long Tang¡¯s uncle remainedposed. Sweeping the crowd with his eyes, he nodded to the other five people and said loudly, ¡°Descendants of the Miao people! Today we are holding a He Kuan meeting in front of King Pan. The reason for the meeting is none other than Long Qiu herself. I presume everyone knows by now that Long Qiu is the woman of grass ghost in the vige, who has taken in an Undead Insect of Golden Silkworm that she could not control¡­ she almost killed someone the year beforest. The same thing happenedst year and this year, it happened again. It was just yesterday that she almost got Xiao Shan, the boy from Ah Xiang¡¯s family, killed! As the Kuan Chief, I must give you all a satisfying exnation! After a discussion with the other five heads, we¡¯ve decided the punishment Long Qiu would get¡­¡± He paused, then went on. ¡°In ordance with the n rules, Long Qiu will be whipped twenty times and banished from the Miao viges, forbidden from approaching within a 50-km radius. She is not allowed to return for the rest of her life! Any objections?¡± Instantly, the crowd that had been silent erupted with exmations at his words. ¡°She¡¯s just a girl. Can she take twenty whips? How would she live if we banish her? Won¡¯t she die out there?¡± ¡°A girl? Have you ever seen a girl killing other people? She¡¯s nothing but a woman of grass ghost!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The Kuan Chief is merciful enough. We¡¯ll all be killed if she remains here!¡± Everyone was talking at the same time. Only a handful of people expressedmiserations, while the majority thought she was not punished enough. Long Tang bit her lips. She really wanted to reason with her uncle, but knew too well that this was not the ce for her to speak up. She had mixed feelings towards her sister; she feared and detested her, but could not abandon the care she held towards Long Qiu at the same time. She was at a loss what to do. In spite of thews of this modern society, the idea of patriarchal ns remained deep-rooted in many ces. When there was a dispute, the reverence for n heads and n rules was much more prominent than thew. The hubbub went on for some time before her uncle gestured everyone to quiet down. ¡°Good. Since the majority approves the decision, we¡¯ll carry out the punishment right now.¡± With a wave of his hand, a few strong young men strode out and made to the temple gate, ready to enter. While they were unlocking the gate, there came a ¡°vroom¡± of a car and before anyone realized what was going on, a shabby car rushed at them. The frightened crowd scattered dodging the car, which then came to a halt and out came a man and a woman. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai had arrived. Long Tang ran to them first. ¡°Brother Yu, have you finished your work?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve just finished it. What¡¯s going on here?¡± He asked. ¡°We¡­ we¡¯re dealing with Long Qiu.¡± She dared not call her sister in front of the nsmen. ¡°Dealing with her?¡± The two frowned slightly with the expression. Xiaozhai asked, ¡°May I know exactly how are you going to do that?¡± ¡°Who are you? It¡¯s none of your business!¡± ¡°Exactly. What are these two outsiders doing here? Kuan Chief, throw them out!¡± ¡°Knock knock!¡± Long Tang¡¯s uncle knocked on the ground with his walking stick and said in a somber tone, ¡°They are right. It¡¯s a n affair. Please leave.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that. It¡¯s not like we get to see such stuff everyday. Count us in. While we¡¯re at it, why don¡¯t you let us hear about your n rules. We¡¯ll let you know if they sound just and fair,¡± grinned Xiaozhai. ¡°How dare you!¡± ¡°What do you think this ce is? Your behavior is outrageous!¡± Her words agitated the crowd, who started their scolding with everyone talking at once again. Long Tang was anxious. She feared that a conflict might break out and said in a low voice, ¡°They¡¯re going to whip sister and drive her away from the mountains¡­ it¡¯s not something you can control. Please, leave now!¡± ¡°¡­¡± There was silence, a cold silence. Ever since the two knew each other, they had never seen the other one getting mad. But at that moment, the look in their eyes had turned from astonishment to incredibility and rage, then got taken over by a bottomless darkness. ¡°You guys, throw them out! Ah Man, open the gate!¡± Seeing that the two would not move, Long Tang¡¯s uncle called out with impatience. Seven or eight strong men leapt out, eager to get some action. ¡°Uncle, don¡¯t¡­¡± Fear had drained Long Tang¡¯s face of all colors. Among those present, some were frightened, while others were excited. Together with the screamsing from the temple, the scene was an exquisite depiction of living hell. ¡°Boy, it¡¯s toote for you to leave now¡­¡± A burly fellow came up to them and staring at the tall, slender Gu Yu. He figured he could throw this young man out with a single sweep of his muscr arm. ¡°Whoosh!¡± The next second, however, the burly fellow felt his vision go blurry and a shadow flitted past him, threaded through the crowd, and arrived right outside the temple gate. The shadow made another swift movement and those two ready to open the gate cried out in pain, then were thrown away andnded right at the feet of the Kuan Chief with two thuds. ¡°Bang!¡± Gu Yu kicked open the wooden gate and dashed in. It was extremely dark inside. The figure of King Pan stood aloft, nonchntly overlooking what took ce among his people. Long Qiu was rolling and howling on the ground. She faintly sensed someone entering the temple and mumbled, ¡°Don¡¯te near me, don¡¯te near¡­¡± At those words, Gu Yu paused briefly and grabbed at the empty air the same way as he did the other night. Something invisible bumped into his hand. ¡°Whoosh!¡± The spiritual Golden Silkworm recalled this tough guy and retreated immediately after its failed attack. Only then did Gu Yu crouch down. He had no idea what to do and could only inject a streak of spiritual essence into Long Qiu, which chased after the Golden Silkworm along the protruding skin. ¡°Ow¡­¡± The excruciating pain had made Long Qiu wish she were dead. Suddenly, a warm flow rushed through her body, which soothed her blood, flesh, and meridians. She felt much better right away. Meanwhile, all hell broke loose outside the temple. The n chief was hitting the ground with his walking stick and roared in anger. ¡°This is outrageous! Outrageous! These outsiders are breaking into our sacred temple!¡± ¡°What are you doing standing around? Get him out of there!¡± A vige head shouted. ¡°Move! All of you!¡± The other head chimed in. ¡°Whoosh!¡± A dozen men marched out of the crowd, ready to go get the intruder. Right at that moment, another shadow shed by and stood right in front of the gate. Despite being alone, she reminded them of a de-wielding cavalry, imposing unimaginable pressure on them. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± An odd look appeared on Xiaozhai¡¯s face; one could not tell if she was amused or enraged. ¡°You think you¡¯re such a responsible Kuan Chief! You¡¯re capable of bullying a girl but not treating your people¡¯s wounds and diseases, so you forced her to learn the undead insect practice. You used her without any concern when you needed her and threw her away when she was no longer needed. Is this the moral and rule of your n?¡± ¡°That¡¯s for our people to decide. You¡¯re in no position to meddle with it,¡± replied Long Tang¡¯s uncle coldly. ¡°Your people? You¡¯ve been stuck in these mountains for so long that you understand nothing else.¡± ¡°How dare you! We are the descendants of King Pan, protected by the king himself, the spirit of the mountains, and the gods of snakes and undead insects. Our bloodline will live forever!¡± ¡°Protected? Good¡­¡± Xiaozhai could not be bothered to continue this pointless argument. Flipping her fingers, the bone flute hanging at her waist was in her hand. She lifted it to her mouth, ¡°Whiz¡­¡± A string of sharp and short sounds floated out of the flute, carrying a peculiar tune, which instantly filled the vast square. ¡°What¡¯s she doing?¡± ¡°Never mind, go get her!¡± A dozen people exchanged looks and continued closing in on her. The Kuan Chief kept his gaze on Xiaozhai, overwhelmed by humiliation. The sacred temple of the Miao people had never been intruder by outsiders, nor had a He Kuan meeting been spoiled like this! ¡°Take this woman and that man and¡­¡± He growled at the top of his lungs. Suddenly, he paused, for he could hear some distinctive sounds right behind him. The bushes shook and bent with rustles, as if something was slithering across the ground. He turned around abruptly, his lined eyes opening up widely as he cried out in terror, ¡°Snakes!¡± ¡°Snakes! So many snakes!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Right away, screams rose one after another on the square. The crowd was petrified. Countless wild snakes had woken up from their sleep and slithered out of the bushes, the underground caverns, and even falling down from the branches. There were snakes of all sizes and lengths among them¡ªthe green ones, the red ones, the yellow ones, the spotted ones¡­ you name it. All were hissing with their two-pronged tongues, turning the square into a pit of ten thousand snakes. ¡°You, you¡­¡± Long Tang¡¯s uncle was so frightened that his voice broke, ¡°You¡¯re a woman of grass ghost, too!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see how your god of snakes will protect you now¡­¡± Xiaozhai put down her bone flute. She was genuinely enraged tonight and used her mightiest move right away. Ten thousand snakes came to her call and the only ones being left alone were Long Tang and her family. Long Tang herself was in a daze by now, staring at the scene as if in a trance. Had brother Yu and sister Xiaozhai revealed their true self only just now? They had lost count of time when Gu Yu walked out of the sacred temple with Long Qiu in his arms. He nced around and said only, ¡°She¡¯s alright for now, but we need to find a ce to have her treated ASAP.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Ignoring all those howling all over the ground, they returned to the car straight away. Xiaozhai blew the flute again and the snakes stopped their movements, then shook their heads and slithered back, having no idea what had just happened. ¡°Vroom!¡± The shabby car¡¯s engine was started, and headlights shot into the endless night rain as it drove away. Long Tang could not hold back anymore. She broke into a short sprint after the car, shouting, ¡°Sister, take care of yourself!¡± Chapter 111 Chapter 111: A New Teammate Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Hum¡­¡± Long Qiu slowly opened her eyes and was dazzled by the pleasantly warm sunlight. She saw dark window curtains, one half of which was drawn close and the other half open. Sunlight beamed in through the opening, seemingly real yet illusory at the same time. She moved her body slightly; the pain had been greatly eased. She then took in her surroundings: a small room with small tables, a time-worn mirror, and a TV set. Everything felt simple and peaceful. By the TV set was a narrow door, which had been kept shut. She could hear an indistinct sound of conversationing from behind it. The speakers seemed to have noticed her waking up and the voice stopped. The door was then pushed open. ¡°You¡¯ve been sleeping for two days, you¡¯re finally awake. How are you feeling now?¡± Gu Yu smiled. ¡°Two days? You, you¡­¡± Long Qiu took a moment to collect her thoughts before recalling who these two people were. She then asked, ¡°How did I get here?¡± ¡°Basically, they were going to whip you and throw you out of the mountains, so we brought you back here,¡± replied Xiaozhai. ¡°They were going to drive me away from the mountains?¡± Long Qiu¡¯s face saddened. As reluctant as she was, she could only believe what they said for she knew too well what her nsmen were capable of. She asked, ¡°How did you get me out?¡± ¡°We took you by force.¡± ¡°They¡­¡± She went on hastily. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯ll live.¡± Xiaozhai frowned slightly, wishing Long Qiu did not show concern for those people, but she chose not say anything. Gu Yu sat on the other bed opposite of Long Qiu and said, ¡°Let me introduce ourselves. I¡¯m Gu Yu and this is Jiang Xiaozhai. We¡¯re Long Tang¡¯s friends. I¡¯ve managed to suppress the Golden Silkworm inside you for the time being. Check your left wrist.¡± Long Qiu was surprised and felt incredulous. The Golden Silkworm was so powerful, how could this man speak of suppressing it? She raised her left hand with uncertainty. On the fair skin of her wrist, there was indeed an insect-shaped red mark that had not been there before. ¡°It, it¡­¡± ¡°I know little of the undead insect practice and dared not do anything reckless. I wanted to ask you, is the Golden Silkworm removable?¡± He asked. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Once the Golden Silkworm is inside me, I live, it lives, and I die, it dies with me,¡± slowly, she shook her head. ¡°Tsk!¡± An awkward look crossed Gu Yu¡¯s face. After pondering for a minute or so, he said, ¡°Our original n was to nurse you back to health and try our best to get rid of your Golden Silkworm. After that, if you want to see the outside world, we¡¯ll give you some money and bid you farewell. But with what you¡¯ve just told us¡­ I¡¯m sorry, but if you still cherish your life, then you¡¯ll be stuck with us¡ªI have to reinforce that seal every couple of days, or it will break out again.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Everything was happening so fast and a tangle of matters was pounding Liu Qiu¡¯s head. She did not know what to say and fell silent. ¡°We¡¯ll give you some time to sort things through. We¡¯ll be outside.¡± Xiaozhai sighed and dragged Gu Yu out of the room. Instantly, silence filled the room. Long Qiu remained seated alone on her bed. Despite her frail appearance, she was a tough girl inside, or she wouldn¡¯t have withstood the pain for three years and even discover a way to ease it. However, what was going on right now seemed so miraculous that she had a hard time believing it. She sat in a daze for a long time, reorganizing her thoughts. *** They were in a suite of a hotel in Shimen. Both bedrooms contained two beds. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were sitting quietly in the outer room right now, one reading a book and the other ying with the phone. Suddenly, the door to the inner room was pushed open and Long Qiu walked out. ¡°Straightened out your thoughts yet?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°Yeah.¡± She still felt a bit weak when she wobbled near and sat down on the sofa. In a low voice, she said, ¡°But I have a few questions to ask.¡± ¡°Sure, shoot away,¡± replied Xiaozhai. She paused for a second or two and asked the first question, ¡°Who, who on earth are you?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± They both chuckled. Gu Yu did not answer, but swept Long Qiu from head to toe with his mental power. Long Qiu shuddered, feeling she had been seen through from inside out. Xiaozhai waved her hand and Xiao Qing swooshed out, then threw itself on Long Qiu¡¯sp, frisking joyously. Her eyes were wide open as she eximed, ¡°You¡¯re cultivators my master used to talk about!¡± ¡°Your master has seen cultivators before?¡± Gu Yu was surprised. ¡°No, she read about them from some ancient text.¡± Their willingness to reveal their true identity was evidence enough of their sincerity and Long Qiu did not pursue that matter further. ¡°My second question is, what are you trying to do?¡± ¡°It¡¯splicated. I¡¯ll try to be thorough¡­¡± Gu Yu then exined everything with words as concise as possible. The girl was brought up in the mountains and had never set foot to ces beyond Shimen. She knew next to nothing about the outside world, let alone secret like this. She marveled at what she was told without realizing that her eyes were getting brighter and brighter as the narration went on. She couldn¡¯t help it. No one could. The attraction of that mysterious world was irresistible. About a quarter of an hourter, Gu Yu finally finished his monologue. Long Qiu sat in a daze for a moment, then stuttered, ¡°Myst question is, if I join you, am I, am I¡­¡± ¡°Ha!¡± Xiaozhai moved to her side at once, throwing her arm around Long Qiu¡¯s shoulder with aughter, ¡°You¡¯re our teammate, of course! Till death do us apart!¡± ¡°Till death do us apart¡­¡± Long Qiu repeated those words and her nsmen returned to her mind again. She was overwhelmed by a mixture of feelings. As a matter of fact, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai did not whimsically jump the gun with that decision. For one, they were indeed in need of an extra pair of hands. With just the two of them, many things were holding them back. For another, they were impressed by Long Qiu¡¯s quality when she demonstrated that she would rather endure the pain herself than hurt others. Reassured by these two reasons, they had pretty much considered her their new member when they brought her back. Long Qiu thought the ¡°initiation¡± was over, but Xiaozhai was only getting started. She grinned, ¡°You finished? Good, it¡¯s our turn now.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± The girl was a little nervous. ¡°What do you want to know?¡± ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m twenty.¡± ¡°Call me sister!¡± ¡°¡­¡± A funny look crossed her face, but she obeyed and addressed her, ¡°Sister Xiaozhai.¡± ¡°Good girl. How tall are you?¡± ¡°174 cm.¡± ¡°Now tell me your weight, cup size, waist, and your shoe size. Your Brother Yu is very keen on those numbers¡­¡± ¡°Stop right there!¡± Gu Yu shooed Xiaozhai away and said in vexation, ¡°Ignore her! Well, what is happening now is that your Golden Silkworm is locked away and cannot be used. Do you have other undead insects on you?¡± ¡°I do. In theory, as long as her body can take it, a woman of grass ghost can take in as many undead insects as she wants. I have another two. One is the Undead Insect of Needles. It can make people feel their hearts being stabbed by ten thousand needles. The other one is, is¡­¡± She suddenly became shy as she mumbled. ¡°¡­Is an Undead Insect of Love.¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve heard about that one! Does ite in pairs? You would keep one and give the other to your lover? The one that betrays the love would die?¡± That name attracted Xiaozhai¡¯s attention, who prompted with great excitement. ¡°Something like that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s awesome! After we¡¯re done here, we¡¯ll go back and open a ¡®Lab of Love¡¯. Girl, we¡¯re gonna be RICH!¡± ¡®What the hell is she talking about?¡¯ Long Qiu had thought them to be very capable people, but now, she was not sure about their reliability. ¡°Cut it. Long Qiu, please go on,¡± Gu Yu felt the phantom headache wasing back. ¡°Well, because the Golden Silkworm was so powerful and also the one linked to my life, the needle one was too afraid toe out. Now that the silkworm is locked away, I can start using the needle one.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t that affect you?¡± ¡°Actually, the ordinary undead insects only break out every a couple of years. The cycle of the Undead Insect of Needles is three years and I can take that.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Gu Yu was lost in his thoughts after hearing that, as if pondering over some ideas. After a while, he said, ¡°In fact, I have an idea. I¡¯m not sure if it makes any sense, but I¡¯ll tell you anyway. Let¡¯s say the energy you have is a 10 and the Golden Silkworm has to consume 2, that would obviously make you miserable. But what if your energy level is 100? Will the Golden Silkworm still have an impact on you? Let¡¯s take it further. Suppose your energy can reach a level high enough, is it possible for you to subdue it for good and stop the backfire forever?¡± ¡°Are you saying¡­¡± Long Qiu felt her heart skip a beat. ¡°Exactly. I think you¡¯re too weak and it¡¯s time to strengthen you up.¡± *** ¡°Outrageous! That¡¯s outrageous!¡± In the temporary control room in Xiang Zhou, a man was roaring in the same angry words as the Kuan Chief before. He was in his forties and had fierce eyes. Pounding hard on the table with his fist, he calmed himself down a little bit before asking, ¡°How are those mountain people now?¡± ¡°There are a lot of injuries, but luckily, no fatalities. We¡¯ve taken samples of the snakes. Most of them are not venomous.¡± Holding a file in his hands, the assistant went on, ¡°Based on the investigation, that woman was able to control snakes. Judging from how things turned out, she was not totally merciless.¡± ¡°Ha! Are you saying we should thank her for that?¡± Anger had brought a sneer out of that man. ¡°Well¡­¡± The assistant did not know how to answer the question and went quiet. At that moment, another man sitting on the sofaughed. ¡°Calm down, Old Li! They did it to save a life. The approach might be a bit aggressive, that¡¯s all. Don¡¯t forget the policy we¡¯re told. We¡¯re supposed to be amiable.¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard you, be amiable. Well, I¡¯m not nice like that. It¡¯s all yours!¡± The hot-headed Old Li walked out on them just like that. Ever since their superiors showed their interest in the duo, they had been tracking them. It did not take long for them to find a lead and they had been following them all the way to Xiang Zhou. They were still in the early stage now and found it premature and risky to approach the two. However, no one expected them to be so bold, making such a scene. The two men in charge each represented a faction, each with its own standpoint¡ªone of which suggested a peaceful resolution while the other thought suppressing the two a good idea. The one that remained in the room arranged some wrapping up work and said, ¡°That¡¯s everything. You can leave now and ask him to see me.¡± The assistant left the room and another man walked in shortly after that. ¡°There¡¯s been a change of n and you have to make contact earlier than that. Remember, pay extra attention to you manner.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Chapter 112 Chapter 112: The Three of Them Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Xiang Zhou, in the hotel. The door to the outside was tightly shut with Xiao Qing coiling up at the doorstep, guarding it, while in the inner bedroom, Long Qiu looked at Gu Yu with uncertainty and asked, ¡°Are you sure you want to try this?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°But, but¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just do it!¡± ¡°All right.¡± Cowardice was not part of Long Qiu¡¯s personality. Her lips then started moving; she seemed to be mumbling something in Miaonguage. Undead insects struck in the most amazing way¡ªit waspletely untraceable. The host made no movement suggesting that anything had been unleashed whatsoever and one never knew what hit them. It sounded almost like the strange poisons of the ancient times. However, Gu Yu had his mental power to depend on, which he could use to scan the air around him and detect distinctively that an odd energy was charging at him. He made no resistance and let it prate deep into his body. A couple of secondster, he jolted violently and cried out in pain uncontrobly. ¡°Ah!¡± It felt like someone was putting a long and thin steel needle under his fingernail, then jabbing into his nail bed forcibly. What a sensation! Long Qiu fluttered at his cry. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t stop!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The girl had to stand there and watched him with concern. Gu Yu held on despite the pain. Soon, that one needle seemed to increase to two, then three¡­ it was not only under his fingernails now, but was spreading out to other parts. Finally, he could no longer stand it and shouted hastily, ¡°Stop it!¡± Xiaozhai shed out her dagger and swooshed to his side. Long Qiu instructed, ¡°The left index finger!¡± ¡°The right little finger!¡± ¡°His right shoulder!¡± ¡°The left rib!¡± Following her instructions, Xiaozhai slit the skin of these spots open. ckened blood oozed out from the wounds. Gu Yu circted his spiritual essence frantically, which soon forced out the poison. A couple of minutester, the blood flowing from the wounds was red again. Xiaozhai then took out some medical spray and bandages, wrapping up the wounds. ¡°That was incredible. It felt even more impressive than the Golden Silkworm!¡± Our fellow eximed after recovering himself. ¡°Actually, the Undead Insect of Needles just feels more painful. It¡¯s not all that potent and it is extremely afraid of strong liquor. Amon way to cure someone infected with this insect is to soak them in a wooden barrel filled with strong liquor and some herbs. Stay in the barrel for a few hours every day for three days in a row, and they are as good as new. If not, the victims will suffer from the pain of having ten thousand needles drilling into their hearts and eventually die from it,¡± exined the girl. ¡°Is there an effective range to discharge it?¡± Xiaozhai also asked. ¡°The attack should work as long as I can see you face clearly.¡± Wow! They were both pleasantly surprised. The practice of undead insects was indeed worth its fame of being a secret skill passed down throughout time. There was nothing else like it. However, the shoring was just as apparent. The Undead Insect of Needles had limited amount of energy and could only be used twice a day at most, each attack focusing on one person only. Overusing it would lead to exhaustion and eventual death of the insect. Such limitation did not apply to the Golden Silkworm, which could be used for infinite amount of times. However, it ate people in exchange and its infection was incurable. They were content enough. This skillset of Long Qiu almost seemed to be obtained specifically for plotting against people, assassination, and interrogation! What was more, she even had some medical skills. *** They stayed for two days in Shimen after rescuing Long Qiu, then went to Xiang Zhou. From there, the three of them were heading for Ji Zhou, exploring the Wangwu Mountain region. However, before their departure, they needed to stock up on some necessities, and buy Long Qiu some new clothes while they were at it. The girl came out of the mountain with nothing but the Miao costume she had on her. Xiaozhai had lent her some clothes, but they were too big for her. Afternoon, in the mall. Outside a women¡¯s lingerie shop on the fourth floor, Gu Yu sat waiting on a sofa, not feeling out of ce in the least. Xiaozhai was picking out underwear for Long Qiu inside. The wall was covered by bras and underpants of different sizes, colors, and styles. Teenage boys passing by would steal a look from time to time, which would turn them as ¡°pompous¡± as little poodles. [TL/N: As you may know, poodles are famous for their ¡°virility¡± and readiness to ¡°ride¡± just about everything.] Xiaozhai nced around and asked, ¡°What size are you?¡± ¡°I, I¡­¡± The girl blushed, too shy to answer. She had hardly visited any department stores growing up, let alone one selling this sort of merchandise. ¡°You have been measured before, have you?¡± Xiaozhai was amazed, sighing, ¡°I can¡¯t believe and with total ignorance of bras still exists in this world¡­ excuse me, I need a measuring tape here!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to. Anything will do for me.¡± Long Qiu was getting even more bashful. ¡°Anything will not do! Trust me!¡± Fetching the measuring tape, Xiaozhai took a few samples and dragged her into the fitting room with the briefest instruction, ¡°Strip!¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Folding her arms in front of herself, Long Qiu shook her head. ¡°Come over here!¡± Xiaozhai was losing her patience. Her fingers fluttering around like blossoming orchid, those forty-eight movements of her sect were put to good use. Before Long Qiu had time to react, her coat and sweater were taken off. ¡°Sister¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t move, or I¡¯ll strip you naked!¡± ¡°I, I¡¯m going to release the undead insect¡­¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± A few meters away, Gu Yu could hear their every word. He then sighed for no obvious reason. Inside the fitting room, when her embroidered blue dudou [1], thest piece of her tops, fell down, the view reminded one of a bright, cool moon being revealed from behind thin clouds and a plum branch unburdened of snowkes. The fair skin was dazzling in the light, decorated by those little cherries. ¡°Tut tut tut!¡± Watching the almost perfect bosom, Xiaozhai was full of admiration. ¡°Here, let me measure for you.¡± She wrapped the measuring tape around her gently and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be shy, this is the most normal thing. You were shut in the mountains for too long and have to get used to the outside as soon as possible. Take in your surroundings¡ªthe crowd, the environment. Feel it yourself.¡± ¡°Do I have to learn from them?¡± Long Qiu asked in a whisper, despite the tickles. ¡°Why do you ask that?¡± ¡°Because, because back when I was in the vige, I always felt I was different from everyone else. Nobody liked me. I want to try, to see if I can live in the same way as they did¡­¡± ¡°Xiao Qiu!¡± Xiaozhai suddenly interrupted her, her face sterner when she spoke again, ¡°Do you know why they disliked you?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Of all the people there are in this world, who may fear nothing and no one, there is one thing that frightens them all. That is someone unlike them. You¡¯re bullied when you¡¯re too weak; you¡¯re beaten down when you¡¯re too strong; you¡¯re ndered when you¡¯re too good¡­ they will only feel safe when you¡¯re almost the same as them. Only then will they leave you alone, therefore¡­¡± She helped Long Qiu into a light-pink bra, shook her head and took it off. ¡°There are those who choose to drift with the flow and those who walk their lonely path. Which do you want?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Long Qiu was not weak-minded. She was only limited by her past experience and hence had an inadequate world view, the outlook of life, and the sense of worthiness. She looked indecisive. ¡°Quickly, choose! Do you like the pink one or the white one?¡± She prompted, holding two bras. ¡°What?¡± The girl was baffled. *** It took Long Qiu forever to pick two sets of lingerie. Xiaozhai then bought her some other outfits. She expressed her gratitude, which she felt even more so deep inside. She had only just joined them, but they were treating her like family. Their kindness was genuine. Before long, evening had set in. They went down on the esctor, each carrying arge bag. Having walked around the mall for half a day, Long Qiu was still delighted and curious about everything. She was no longer as reserved as in the beginning and was chitchatting with Xiaozhai, feeling much closer to thetter. Gu Yu was left out of their conversation and could only interject every now and then. However, when they were halfway down the esctor, his heart leapt. He felt something. Turning around, he indeed found Long Qiu frowning in pain. ¡°Go to the first floor!¡± Xiaozhai realized what was happening at once and ran down the esctor, dragging Long Qiu behind her. They found a fast food restaurant on the first floor, chose a seat in the corner and sat down. Gu Yu took the girl¡¯s hand and felt her wrist with his fingers. The Golden Silkworm was restless, ready to break loose. He said nothing, but only circted his spiritual essence and sent it into her body streak after streak, mending the damaged seal. The way it worked was actually very simple: force the Golden Silkworm to her wrist with the spiritual essence, then wrap the insect up and lock it there. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Long Qiu leaned her cheek against her right hand and let her hair fall down, blocking her face from others¡¯ eyes; she was deadly pale by now. It took some time before the Golden Silkworm quieted down again. She felt the pain subsided and looked up. What she saw was giving her the palpitations. Gu Yu was holding her hand (actually, her wrist) in his and was watching her with those nice eyes, which were filled with concern. It was an awkward scene. To any passers-by, they were definitely a young couple madly in love, who could not let go of each other¡¯s hands even over a quick meal. ¡°¡­¡± Long Qiu lowered her head in silence again, her look even more indescribable than before. It had only been three to four days and the Golden Silkworm was breaking out and required re-sealing. ¡®Does this mean I have to, have to stay by his side a lot?¡¯ The mind of a teenage girl was the most forthright and the most intricate at the same time. Xiaozhai, who was sitting next to her on the right, was relieved to see her recovery: ¡®Good, she¡¯s OK! (Hello! I¡¯m still here, you two!)¡¯ [1] TL/N: Dudou ¨C literally meaning ¡°belly wrap¡±, a traditional Chinese form of bodice worn as an undershirt. Chapter 113 Chapter 113: Fitting In Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Ji Zhou, Wangwu Mountain. Wangwu was to the northwest of Ji Zhou, and was said to be the top of the Ten Great Blessed Spots of Taoism; it had once been the holynd of Quanzhen School. However, somewhere between the dynasties of Ming and Qing, there no longer appeared any records of Taoist priests inhabiting the mountain anymore, and nowadays, the same old cliche where the buildings were revamped and developed for tourism purposes took ce again. The three of them arrived here from Xiang Zhou. As it turned out, being a protagonist did not guarantee good luck. The spiritual essence here was as thin as the previous ones. After wandering around the mountain for a day and a half, they found nothing. Their spection of four existing nodes was only half correct¡ªboth Pinghu and Wangwu had failed them. With what they had discovered so far, there could be only three spiritual essence nodes in the current world. Of course, they could exclude those that were yet to be found. It was noontime now. They had set up a camp in a clearing and finished their lunch. Right now, Xiaozhai was standing on the side, teaching Long Qiu a series of simplified body-refining movements, which were simr to the ones she taught Tan Chongdai, but slightly more profound. It was something she derived from the forty-eight hand movements of her sect. They were perfect forying foundation for Long Qiu. Long Qiu was in extremely poor health. Her forehead was shining from sweat after just a few movements. Born a tenacious girl, she would not yield to the hardship, but kept practicing without muttering a single word ofint. Gu Yu was sitting on a ck stone not far from them, drawing and writing something. They had passed around two hundred cities, towns, and viges from Shengtian to Wangwu, which he was summarizing and rearranging right now¡ªnot by the administrative areas, but based on the densities of the spiritual essence. He wrote down numbers 0, 1, 2, 3¡­ all the way up to 6, each taking up an area, which was smeared by a circle of a different color. Together, these ces took up about one fifth of the area of the country and among them, three ces stood out, which were Phoenix Mountain (5), Tianzhu Mountain (6), and Mt. Emei (6). Centered around these three, the spiritual essence radiated out to the surrounding areas, giving them rtively higher levels as well. Phoenix Mountain: Bai Town (West)¡ªYidao River¡ªErdao River¡ªSandao River¡ªSidao River¡ªWudao River Bai Town (East)¡ªGrass River Mouth¡ªDongquan Town¡ªFive Dragons Ridge¡ªLangtou County Areas to the south and north were omitted. Tianzhu Mountain: Tianmen Town (North)¡ªYuchong Town¡ªLongwan County¡ªthe city of Shiqiao Tianmen Town (South)¡ªThunder God Ridge¡ªLiangquan County¡ªthe city of Changpu Areas to the east and west were omitted. Mt. Emei: The city of Mt. Emei (North)¡ªJieshan Town¡ªGanshui County¡ªthe city of Yinma The city of Mt. Emei (South)¡ªWudu Bridge¡ªHonghua County¡ªWusi River Areas to the east and west were omitted. The radiating radius of Bai Town was around 90 km and 150 km for the other two ces. These were systematic, interrted and resourceful areas. There were plenty of other sporadic spots scattered among them, with densities of either a 1, or somewhere between a 1 and a 2. ¡°¡­¡± Scanning the diagram, Gu Yu suddenly shuddered with fear. These might be the only three special regions in the country and one of them was his hometown. With the density of the spiritual essence growing higher, the area radiated by the nodes would also berger. After Shengtian, or even the entire Liaodong province was covered, what situation would that bring? With its two billion people and an immense social system, what changes would the country face? He was sure of two things, if nothing else, which was the redistribution of resources and the reestablishment of rules. To be more specific, he was thinking about the allocation of resources and rules between cultivators and ordinary people, cultivators and the authorities, cultivators and other cultivators, ordinary people and the authorities, as well as among ordinary people themselves. It would further involve a series of factors, including economic structure, cultural concepts, the idea of values, etc., all of which he could not detach himself from, for he was part of this society. ¡°Ha¡­¡± After going through all those jumbled ideas in his head, Gu Yu raised his head to examine the position of the sun and called out, ¡°Xiao Qiu,e here. It¡¯s time for your exercise.¡± ¡°Coming!¡± Long Qiu had only just finished the lesson with Xiaozhai. She ran to Gu Yu at once without taking a break, her forehead covered with sweat. The sun was high up in the sky. The midday sunbeam was the strongest at this time. Gu Yu sat on the ck stone swallowing and spitting, consuming essences as usual. Long Qiu sat down next to him. Despite having witnessed it many times, she was still amazed by this practice. She was not consuming the essence, but kept her back straight and tried her best to clear her mind and get rid of all disturbing thoughts. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai spared no efforts in training the girl¡ªwith one taking care of the external work and the other the internal skills¡ªso as to fortify her vitality energy as quickly as possible. To be able to consume the essence, one¡¯s mind had to be enlightened first. In other words, her spirit needed awakening. Having been adopted by the previous woman of grass ghost since she was little, Long Qiu had been dealing with various venomous creatures and bullied by her nsmen when growing up. As kind as her nature was, the negative emotions brought by these experience were ingrained in her subconsciousness. To clear one¡¯s mind was to get rid of all unnecessary thoughts. If one¡¯s mind wandered off during the awakening of the spirit, their Qi would very likely be deviated, resulting in insanity and madness. Therefore, Gu Yu had instructed her to practice meditation first, during which process she would learn to understand things of this world. Only after her state of mind was elevated to a certain level would he start teaching her properly. By now, Gu Yu was her friend as much as a teacher to her. A cool breeze brushed through the woods. The sun was nting above. After a long time, they opened their eyes in unison and Gu Yu looked at the girl. ¡°How was it this time?¡± ¡°Better than this morning,¡± answered Long Qiu. ¡°Keep at it. You¡¯re a very perceptual person. You need a little bit more self-confidence, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what sister¡¯s been telling me, saying I don¡¯t trust myself enough.¡± She blinked, feeling a bit shy. Turning around, she realized that Xiaozhai was no longer in the campsite¡ªshe probably wandered off somewhere to have fun. She hesitated but managed toe up with the question, ¡°Brother, why isn¡¯t sister learning the essence-consuming method?¡± ¡°Because¡­¡± Gu Yu paused for a second, slightly surprised by the question, then smiled, ¡°Because she has too much pride.¡± ¡°Pride?¡± The girl was lost. ¡°She is so proud of her sect, her master, and herself that she would never ept an alien skill. There are people who would take a detour, lean on other people¡¯s power, or abandon their principles. But there are those who are not like that. They would chisel their way out through a stone wall if they have to.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t understand. Hasn¡¯t sister epted your help? Isn¡¯t that sort of leaning on you?¡± The girl was somewhat baffled. ¡°Haha, that¡¯s different.¡± Gu Yu paused, then revealed his assessment of Xiaozhai in a frank manner for the first time. ¡°Back then when I got the spiritual fruit by ident, I had no idea what proper stuff looked like. She helped meb through the cultivation system and theories. Without those manuscripts, I¡¯d still be knocking about outside the cultivation world. For some time, I had the idea that maybe she had found out my secret from the very beginning, but had held back on purpose. If she needed your help, she would repay the favor in advance by ten folds, or even a hundred folds, so that you wouldn¡¯t be able to refuse her. Anyhow, I have my own objective this time; I want to have an idea of the secret skills of various sects. So, it¡¯s not really leaning on anybody, but helping each other out. After all, the path of cultivation is too far and too difficult to walk alone.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Long Qiu nodded, probably understanding only half of the words. She was secretly feeling envious, not towards any specific person, but the way these two were around each other. ¡°Rustle!¡± At that moment, the branches were brushed aside and Xiaozhai emerged from behind the bushes, then tossed two fruits at them. ¡°These taste really good. Try it!¡± Long Qiu caught one in her hands. The little fruit was crimson and round with droplets of water trickling down its skin. Sitting in her palm, it looked glittering and translucent. She bit into it. The fruit was sour and sweet with a refreshing taste and felt tender, which made her mouth go watery. ¡°Very nice. Finish this and we¡¯re leaving this mountain.¡± Gu Yu tasted his as well. ¡°We¡¯d better get to Ji Zhou tonight and spend our night there.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve checked. It¡¯ll take us over thirty hours to get to Tianshan. Why don¡¯t we take a ne?¡± ¡°Still¡­ oh, by the way, Xiao Qiu, you haven¡¯t been on a ne before, have you?¡± ¡°No, no, I haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll take a ne! How are you holding up? Can you make it out of the mountain?¡± ¡°I can. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Long Qiu¡¯s eyes turned from Gu Yu to Xiaozhai and she was suddenly very happy, as if a seed had been waiting to sprout in her and that moment, it blossomed. Chapter 114 Chapter 114: Sissy Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The thirty-six provinces in this country each had their own characteristics. The province of Henan exceeded all others in terms of its poption. Ji Zhou was only a medium-sized city in the province. Even so, the tidal waves of the crowd still impressed the neers with its imposing force. The three of them managed to get back to the downtown area just after eight o¡¯clock in the evening and checked into a hotel. They used to get one room when there were just two of them, but had to have two rooms now, one of which was upied by the two girls. Long Qiu did not have her ID card with her, but had remembered her ID number, with which she got herself a temporary identification paper. After rearranging themselves briefly, they went out again to have dinner. They did not walk far and chose to eat in a barbecue restaurant on the next street. Long Qiu was taken away from her family when she was only nine. Although she had been to the city before, most of the times, she still behaved like an innocent child. Right now, she was staring curiously at the ingredients in the cupboard. To be more precise, she was eyeing the skewered worms. ¡°Hello, sweetheart, can I challenge you to one of these? The roasted centipedes are 30 yuan a skewer, the scorpions 20 a skewer, and the grasshoppers and budworms are 5 yuan each.¡± Attracted by her remarkably good looks, the waiter could not help but try to flirt with her. ¡°Are these wild insects?¡± The girl asked. ¡°Of course not. No one wants to eat the wild ones, they¡¯re not clean. These were all artificially bred. Would you care to have a taste, sweetheart?¡± ¡°Such low-grade creatures. No wonder they¡¯re nothing but food¡­¡± Mumbling to herself, she paid no attention to the waiter and trotted back to their table. Xiaozhai had just finished with the order and asked, ¡°What were you talking with him about?¡± ¡°About the worms.¡± ¡°Do you pity them?¡± ¡°Not really. That¡¯s just how the natural selection and survival of the fittest works. It¡¯s no one¡¯s fault.¡± ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re picking up the idioms real quick,¡± chuckled Xiaozhai. ¡°You¡¯re teasing me all the time.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not. I only want to cuddle you all the time¡­¡± While the two girls were giggling and tittering, Gu Yu sat opposite them, busying himself with his phone. A whileter, he said, ¡°Ok, our flight tomorrow afternoon is booked.¡± ¡°How long is it going to be?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°Less than five hours. It¡¯s a direct one.¡± ¡°Good, I hate transfers.¡± ¡°No, not good at all!¡± The expression on Gu Yu¡¯s face was one he seldom exhibited, which was a worried look a stay-at-home parent would have over household affairs. ¡°Do you have any idea how much money we¡¯ve spent so far?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be a hundred thousand yuan 1 , can it?¡± Blinking, Xiaozhai was having a bit of a guilty conscience herself. ¡°That was a pretty good guess, actually. I did some calction just now. The ne tickets has made the sum reach exactly a hundred thousand!¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Hanging her head, she sipped her tea, pretending she had heard none of those words. ¡°Listen to me! If we keep spending money like this, we wouldn¡¯t have enough left for our return tickets!¡± ¡°Why, this tea is pretty good¡­¡± ¡°Hey!¡± They proceeded into their routine banters, which Long Qiu was not familiar with. She fluttered at once. ¡°Am I spending too much of your money?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. We two are too free-handed.¡± Gu Yu tossed his phone aside in frustration, feeling utterly vexed. They had been travelling for around two months now and thought little of their expenses until he made some calction of their overall spending, which made him jump. He had savings of seventy thousand yuan, and she sixty. With them idling away in their pleasure-seeking manner, it was like that saying: like wind blowing away the egg shells, when the money¡¯s gone, one feels at ease. For instance, with Long Qiu, they bought her a couple of outfits and a cell phone, which cost them just a little under ten thousand yuan. They would rent a car, hire a driver, eat good food in various cities, and sleep infortable hotels all the time¡­ All in all, as much as our two fellows could take the hardship trekking the mountains, they were equally indulgent in the civilized world. The lives they led inside and out of the mountain were pr opposites. *** ¡°Kick his a*s!¡± ¡°Screw you! Do you know whose shop this is? Think yourself a somebody, are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m not going to lower myself to the same level as you people. You¡¯re so impolite.¡± ¡°F**k! That way he speaks is so annoying. Beat the hell out of this piece of sh*t!¡± After dinner, when the three of them walked out of the barbecue restaurant, a row was breaking out next door, which was also a barbecue ce. There had probably been some disagreement and a group of people had circled around some fellow, kicking him together. They were all burly men with a northern ent. The one taking the beating in the middle was shouting incoherently while burying his head in his hands. ¡°A gentleman should reason things out and does not resort to force. Where are your manners? Ouch! Ouch! I¡¯m telling you, hitting people is against thew. Ouch¡­¡± He had a squeaky and high-pitched voice, which sounded neither particrly male nor female and was quite ufortable to the ear. [1] It was none of their business to begin with, but those men had blocked their way and the guy seemed miserable, so Gu Yu spoke up. ¡°If it¡¯s not that big a deal, give him a break.¡± ¡°Who the hell are you? Wanna get your a*s kicked or what!¡± One of the men shouted. ¡°Someone¡¯s calling the police. You¡¯d better scat.¡± He couldn¡¯t be bothered to handle these men himself and pointed at a passer-by who was on the phone. Seeing this, those men uttered something foul-mouthed and each gave the guy another kick. ¡°Boy, it¡¯s your luck day. Keep your head down and your mouth shut from now on.¡± ¡°Keep my mouth shut? Your food is bad and I can¡¯t have an opinion? Bah!¡± The guy rose to his feet and spit after them, then turned to the three, ¡°Aiya, you guys are godsend. They are animals!¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± The look on the faces of the three were identical, which said explicitly: such a sissy! Up close, they saw that the man was in a gaudy outfit with a pair of noisy, pink tforms and yellow-ish hair. He had three piercings on his left ear and rtively delicate features, but his face was so powdered up that it looked like a painted wall. The weird silence lingered in the air for a few seconds before Gu Yu said, ¡°We¡¯re off. You¡¯d better have yourself checked in a hospital.¡± ¡°Not so fast. You guys saved my life. I¡¯ve got to thank you properly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s really not necessary. Bye bye!¡± ¡°I knew there are still good people in this world. Thanks a lot!¡± With that, they went their separate ways. However, the separation did notst long. They realized with surprise after a short distance that they were going in the same direction. The effeminate man¡¯s face brightened up. ¡°Where are you guys going? I live in Jianhu Hotel.¡± ¡°That¡¯s such a coincidence. We live there as well,¡± Long Qiu found much novelty in a man like him. ¡°Aiya, that¡¯s wonderful. I¡¯m a tourist here and only just visited Wangwu Mountain yesterday. How about you guys?¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t been there yet. We¡¯re going tomorrow,¡± replied Gu Yu. ¡°Wangwu Mountain is really nice. Remember to visit the site of that altar, it¡¯s beautiful. It¡¯s such a pity that I have to leave tomorrow. Oh, here, take my name card.¡± The sissy handed him a pink card. Gu Yu took it, which said ¡°Lu Ningning, Artistic Director of Tianxue Artistic Styling Studio¡±. Lu Ningning? Gu Yu¡¯s mouth twitched. A very suitable name. [TL/N: The name sounds very feminine from a stereotypical point of view.] ¡°I¡¯m a stylist and have a studio in Jiang Zhou. If you happen to be in the area someday, do let me know. I¡¯ll show you guys around.¡± ¡°Haha, no problem.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just saying that to be nice. I mean it. One ought to return a favor by ten folds regardless of how trivial the favor is. If you guyse to visit, rest assured, you¡¯ll see some proper hospitality¡­¡± The fellow was a chatterbox and would not shut up for even a second on their way back. He only left them after they arrived at the hotel, apparently still reluctant to say goodbye. Long Qiu followed him with her eyes and chuckled, ¡°That¡¯s an interesting man. He¡¯d actually be very handsome if he did not dress himself in that way.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The other two did notment on that, but touched each other¡¯s hand lightly, both finding the man somewhat peculiar. Xiaozhai took another look at his card and realized the studio was not far from Jiang Zhou University, so she dialed Xiaojin¡¯s number. ¡°Hello? My dear Sister, you finally remembered you¡¯ve still got a younger sister out here.¡± ¡°I need to ask you something. Is there a Tianxue Styling Studio near your campus?¡± ¡°Yup. I¡¯ve actually had my hair done there before. What about it?¡± ¡°Have you met the owner?¡± ¡°I have. Kinda cute, but a real pansy. It gives me the chills just hear him talking.¡± ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°Lu something, I think¡­ that¡¯s right, Lu Ningning. He got dumped a while ago and I think he¡¯s out travelling somewhere. What on earth is going on with you?¡± ¡°Nothing, gotta go.¡± ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t use me like that! F**k!¡± ¡°Brrr¡­ brrr¡­ brrr¡­¡± [1] TL/N: Simr to conservative values in other societies, beingbeled ¡°neither like a man nor like a woman¡± (²»Äв»Å®) under many circumstances in China is still considered a great insult and denial to the person¡¯s identity and character. Chapter 115 Chapter 115: A Night Out Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The airport, in the lobby. There weren¡¯t too many passengers around. At least, it was not crowded enough to make the hall boisterous. In some areas, it almost seemed quiet. The brother had went to change their boarding passes and check in their luggage, while the sister had wandered off somewhere without leaving a word. A puppy-eyed Long Qiu sat alone on the bench, carrying two small bags. She was not actually bored, for she was ying one of those old-school games on her phone: Dou Dizhu. [TL/N: literally meaning ¡°fighting thendlord¡±. It¡¯s a card game quite popr in China.] She was terrible at the game and lost a hundred thousand beans in the blink of an eye. [TL/N: ¡°beans¡± are the ¡°currency¡± used in the game app.] She was about to start another round when someone nearby called out, ¡°Aiya, gorgeous, is that you?¡± ¡®Em?¡¯ Long Qiu looked up to find a giddy Lu Ningning standing in front of her. A little red handbag was dangling on his arm when he came up to her twisting his hips and chuckled, ¡°Is this fate or what? We¡¯re running into each other all the time. I¡¯m going to Guangzhou, what about you?¡± ¡°Em¡­¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai prepped her on answering questions like this yesterday, but she was a bad liar and had to change the subject. ¡°Your travel n is all over the ce. Isn¡¯t Guangzhou several thousand kilometers away?¡± ¡°Sigh, don¡¯tugh at me, but to tell you the truth¡­¡± Lu Ningning let out a seemingly genuine sigh and said in a sad voice, ¡°I¡¯ve just broken up with my boyfriend and my heart is like shattered ss right now. I¡¯ve given myself a half-month-long vacation. I decided to visit all the ces we¡¯ve been to when we were together. Guangzhou is myst stop. We became lovers there.¡± B¡­ b¡­ b-boyfriend? Wow, that was an idea way too modern for the girl from the mountains. She did not hear anything else after that word, her head buzzing with the revtion. ¡°Here, this is him.¡± Lu Ningning dug out his phone and showed her several pictures. In them, two pretty boys were cuddling and hugging each other, with lots of kisses and winks. ¡°I¡¯ll have to delete all of them when I get back. Sigh, my heart aches just by looking at them¡­¡± He was pouring out his heart incessantly,pletely ignorant of the girl¡¯s reaction. Long Qiu felt a tickle all over her body and could barely sit still to listen to him. All she wanted now was to get away. ¡°Xiao Qiu!¡± At that moment, Gu Yu got back after the check-in and was surprised to find Lu Ningning there. ¡°Hello, howe you¡¯re here?¡± ¡°Teehee! Like I said, it must be fate! We¡¯re taking nes at simr hours. I say, aren¡¯t you guys going to Wangwu Mountain?¡± Lu Ningning giggled. ¡°We had a change of n.¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s a big change. You¡¯re flying there¡­ aiya, I need to go through security check now. I¡¯m off. Promise me to let me know when you¡¯re in Jiang Zhou. Bye bye!¡± Lu Ningning went swiftly away, flirtyughters trailing behind him, which gave Long Qiu the shivers. When they met up with Xiaozhaiter and she told them about the encounter, all three were at a loss. It was most unusual for Lu Ningning to show up out of the blue like this, but no evidence suggested that it was intentional. They never told him anything about their real n, including the flight number, their destination, etc. Even the tickets were only just boughtst night. What was more, Xiaojin had verified his identity. The man was indeed a stylist from Jiang Zhou. It was an intriguing thing. Could it really be a coincidence? They boarded the airne, still baffled. The three sat on the same side somewhere at the back of the ne with Long Qiu, who was apparently very excited, by the window. She pulled up the window shade and could not stop watching the view outside. The ne took off and the journey was uneventful. Gu Yu sat between the two girls, feeling the reality hard to swallow, for nothing was making any sense. Sitting to his left shouldn¡¯t be a fearless power woman, but the daughter of the governor of a province, a straight-A damsel who had graduated from some famous university abroad with an abnormally high IQ; she should be gentle and understanding yet someone who had never fallen in love with a man before and the only reason she was flying in economy ss was to prove that she was an approachable person. And on his right side, there shouldn¡¯t be a poor little thing infested with bugs, but some heiress of a business empire she had helped to build, who had a body to die for and a heart of volcano hiding beneath her coolness. She should have never met a man in her life either and only sit in an economy ss to observe the life of ordinary people. [1] ¡®Yeah, that sounds more like it!¡¯ *** ¡°The two showed no obvious signs of anti-government behavior and my preliminary conclusion is that we can establish some form of peacefulmunication. They had some suspicion about me, but could not find my true identity. The extra woman, that is, the Miao girl they rescued¡­ she has a red mark on her left wrist, which does not fit the description from our interrogation¡­ no, I cannot tell what her ability is just yet. She is in poor health and rather simple, in the sense that she has limited knowledge of the outside world. The three of them appeared to be very close, not typical for those newly acquainted¡­ we only found evidence of camping sites in Wangwu, nothing unusual. They¡¯re on a flight to Urumqi, probably heading towards Tianshan. We can make our next move based on that. Judging by their itinerary, they must be looking for something¡­ that¡¯s too risky, these people have very acute senses¡­ fine, but make sure the people involved are very discreet! If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll leave you here.¡± Inside a concealed room in the airport, Lu Ningning had just finished his briefing. Straightening his clothes, he strode out of the room, not a trace of that femininity detectable on him. *** ¡°Zoom!¡± The airne burst out of the clouds, descending gradually along with the strong turbulence. The scenery of thend beneath turned from blurry to distinctive. They could even make out ant-sized vehicles running along the toothpick-sized roads. Urumqi, a grand city. It had been the gateway of the western frontier for thousands of years and with the economic development, the downtown area was no less prosperous than any ind cities. Immediately outside the city center, however, the scene took a sharp turn towards. With the background of the bleak scene with shabby houses and abandoned construction sites, there were the towering snow mountains that erupted out of the horizon. It was part of the eastern Tianshan Mountain, the periphery of Bogda Shan. ¡°Hiss, it¡¯s so cold here!¡± Long Qiu wrapped her down jacket tighter around herself, taking in a winterpletely different from what she was used to in the mountains. It was freezing. Gu Yu showed some concern. ¡°We¡¯ll definitely be going into the snow mountains this time. I¡¯m not sure you can take the cold weather.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine. Climbing a snow mountain can¡¯t hurt as bad as the Golden Silkworm, can it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the same. You¡¯ll see.¡± While they were talking at the rear of the small team, Xiaozhai walked ahead alone, as if she could no longer hear them. She had been behaving oddly ever since theynded, very unlike her usual indifferent self. ¡°Brother, why does sister seem unhappy?¡± Long Qiu asked quietly. ¡°She¡¯s not unhappy. It¡¯s just the stress. If this cees up empty again, the manual for the skills of her sect is gone for good,¡± replied Gu Yu in a similiar low voice. ¡°I see¡­¡± Looking at the figure walking ahead, the girl suddenly said in an adamant tone, ¡°I¡¯ll help sister find it! I promise!¡± ¡°Haha, we¡¯re counting on you.¡± Watching her serious little face, Gu Yuughed despite himself. There was nothing much they could do about it, for the search here was going to be much more difficult than any of their previous experiences. The sects of Qionglong Mountain and Xihe at least had tangible locations; Tianshan Sect, however, seemed as though it had been wiped off from the face of the earth. There was no mention of it in the Taoist association website, let alone a specific address. Their n was to reach the city of Dakang at the foot of Bogda Shan first, then they would make some enquiries, such as checking the local chronicles in the municipal library, or visiting the local Taoist association to see if they could find a lead there. The three of them took an airport bus to the city center, then a bus to Dangka, a municipal-level city with a mere poption of 300,000. One couldn¡¯t help but be amazed by the low density of poption in the west of China. They arrived at nighttime and checked into a hotel. As usual, the two girls shared a room and Gu Yu had one by himself. Long Qiu was exhausted. Xiaozhai tucked her in and got dressed herself, arriving outside Gu Yu¡¯s door. A few seconds after a ¡°knock, knock¡±, Gu Yu showed up neatly dressed. ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t be able to wait,¡± he said grudgingly. ¡°You¡­¡± Seeing him all prepared, Xiaozhai winced at first, then smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± [1] TL/N: the description of these two kinds of females are probably sarcastic remarks regarding female characters surrounding the male protagonist in certain type of novels. ED/N: In other words, the author¡¯s making fun of cliche female leads / harem members. Chapter 116 Chapter 116: A Lead Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The religious bureau of Dakang was in the west side of the city, itsck of lucre suggested by the scanty appearance¡ªthe buildings were lower, the entrance was a barred iron gate instead of an electronic sliding door, and even the location was some scruffy alley, unlike the spacious courtyards on main streets the other institutions had. Even the old janitor here felt inferior to others in the line of his job¡ªthe sry was so small. It was just past eight o¡¯clock in the evening and Old Man Zhang was making his rounds upstairs as usual. After making sure the doors and windows were all securely locked, he went back to the first floor. The janitor¡¯s room was lit by a dimmp. A pot of liquor, two bags of pickles, and a time-worn radio were all thepany he had to pass the long, lonely night with. Little did he know, right behind the building, two dark shadows were sneaking closer. ¡°Will that camera pick us up?¡± Xiaozhai pointed at a streetlight by the road. ¡°Maybe on that side. Let¡¯s go up from here, then.¡± ¡°You go open the window first. Here!¡± She magically produced two pieces of ck cloth and Gu Yu tied one around his face reluctantly. Vo! He was like Don Juan himself¡ªthe ¡®flower thief¡¯ version, though. [1] Moving back a couple of steps, he shrank himself into a small shadow, then eyeing the smooth, even wall, he swung himself up. That single jump brought him halfway up the wall. He then used what Xiaozhai taught him, spreading his fingers out and sticking his palms to the wall like sucking discs. The friction created at that instance gave him the momentum to charge out another few meters upwards. Stretching out his left hand, he grabbed the window sill and pushed against the window with his right hand. ¡°tter!¡± The bolt on the window slid open. Xiaozhai then followed suit and climbed swiftly up in the same way. The two snuck into the room silently like two nimble ck cats. It was the only way. They could apply for a library card to borrow materials, but the files of the religious bureau were not essible. In order to find a possible lead, they had to y the cat-burrs tonight. With their faces covered, our two fellows shed back and forth with their little shlights and soon found the archive on the third floor. They shook the lock loose in the same way as before and entered the room, then started searching. Dakang was a city with a long history, with records of a temple as early as a thousand years ago. Taoism used to prosper here, but waster eradicated. There were currently two considerablyrge temples in the city, both located in Tianchi [TL/N: meaning ¡°heavenlyke¡±] scenic area. One was called Iron-tiled Temple of Happiness and Longevity. Chen Xinrong was the current abbot, who was the twenty-six generation of disciple of Longmen Sect of Quanzhen School. He had moved out here and settled down. The first patriarch of Longmen [TL/N: meaning ¡°dragon gate¡±] was none other than the prominent Immortal Changchun [TL/N: meaning ¡°forever young¡±], Qiu Chuji himself. The other one was a Temple of the Queen Mother, where a figure of the Queen Mother of the West was worshiped, apletemercial gimmick. There were other smaller temples in the area, but Tianshan Sect was not mentioned anywhere. They did not give up and checked each record in turn in a chronological order. Finally, they found something relevant. Yang Jiye, the famous general in the Northern Song Dynasty, had a descendant called Yang Yiming, who was taken in by Wang Shiguang, a follower of Ge Hong¡¯s teachings, as a pupil. Later, Yang Yiming traveled far to the Western Regions and lived a secluded life there, devoting himself to meditation andprehension of philosophical concepts. Yang Yiming had a son called Yang Yantian and when thetter came of age, Sa Shoujian happened to be travelling in the region, then joined Yang Yantian in his seclusion and meditation. Together, they established the sect and set up rules, giving it the name ¡°Tianshan Sect¡±. Ge Hong, the renowned expert in cultivation, had dabbled in a wide range of theories and his works covered aspects from essence-consuming and Bigu [TL/N: Taoist fasting technique] to Waidan and Neidan [TL/N: ¡°external alchemy¡± and ¡°internal alchemy¡±], etc. His most prominent writings, nheless, were studies in Waidan. As a result, the inheritance of Tianshan mainly consisted of two types of skills, namely the Shenxiao Technique from Sa Shoujian and the Dan Technique of Yang Yantian. The first generation of disciples was none other than the female Taoist priest Immortal Duyan [TL/N: meaning ¡°through the smoke¡±], who was the daughter of Yang Yantian and Sa Shoujian¡¯s pupil. The second generation was Duyan¡¯s pupil, Priest Iron Shoulder. The third generation was a man named Zhang Zhiping, a former pupil of Hao Datong. Heter converted to Tianshan and took the title of Priest Danfeng [TL/N: meaning ¡°carrying the wind¡±; Hao Datong was a famous Taoist priest and the pupil of Wang Chongyang, the founder of Quanzhen School. And so it went on for the next eight hundred years or so. Thest disciple who made a public appearance was Priest Sima, and that was over thirty years ago. After that, none had been heard from the sect. That was everything they had on Tianshan Sect. The two of them learned next to nothing on their night out and returned to the hotel in resignation. By the time they got back, our little Long Qiu was sound asleep, knowing nothing about their nocturnal activities. The next morning, they went to the library to examine the local chronicles, which were actually revamped a couple of years ago, covering areas including local history, geography, customs, culture, etc. After taking forever to slog through the pages, they finally picked up a paragraph among the densely packed timelines, which was jotted down as some sort of folklore. It talked about an event taking ce in a small vige. A female herdsman went intobor on a pasture and a young man who happened to pass by helped deliver the baby. The young man had some medical skill and managed to keep both the mother and the child alive. Afterwards, someone teased him, saying ¡°How could a man get himself involved in such foul energy?¡± He replied, ¡°A kind heart has its own virtue. I¡¯m a Taoist priest.¡± The man¡¯s surname was Sima and this incident urred twelve years ago. *** ¡°The geographic environment of Dakang can be divided into three sections. The mountainous region is in the south, where vast areas of fine meadows are. They are the most important pastures in the summer. In the middle is in country, which is where we are right now. It¡¯s the main producing region of grains and cooking oils. In the north is the desert. The region is sparsely popted and the supplementary winter pasture.¡± Inside a room, a map was spread out across the table and Gu Yu was giving a detailed analysis with a pen in his hand. ¡°ording to the records, it was summertime, so the vige should be within the summer pastures. There are three towns with sixteen viges in the south. There are over 20,000 inhabitants and we need to examine them all. It might seem very general, but it¡¯s actually more specific than you think. This Sima guy had stayed for a while in the vige, so he must have left some traces behind.¡± Gu Yu drew a circle on the map and went on, ¡°By the way, Xiao Qiu, stay behind in the city. You don¡¯t have toe this time.¡± ¡°I am going with you!¡± The girl protested with vexation. ¡°Be reasonable. You¡¯re still too weak. If anything goes wrong, you¡¯ll be holding us back.¡± Xiaozhai dissuaded her with intentionally harsh words. The girl resisted with silence at first, then seeing this was to no avail, she pursed her lips and epted the arrangement reluctantly. The two then busied themselves with preparations. Long Qiu watched it on the side, suddenly feeling herself utterly useless. She was a tough girl, though, and readjusted herself quickly. She then came up to them, trying to make herself useful. *** ¡°Man, you¡¯re finally back!¡± ¡°Haha, you voracious creature! Here, I bought a full bag of these just for that stomach of yours.¡± ¡°Wow! Very generous!¡± In a residential building across the street from the hotel, the room was packed with a bunch of people, who emptied the bag in a series of crunching sounds, revealing a dozen cup noodles. They were starving and could not wait for the noodles to be properly soaked, but dived at them almost as soon as they poured in the hot water. One of the fellows kept his eyes on the hotel entrance while holding the cup noodles and said, ¡°I¡¯m gonna be honest with you. I¡¯ve been doing this for over ten years and have never seen someone so freaking acute. I used to keep a distance of five, ten, or twenty meters tops when I followed people before, but not this one. I went after him for a few steps this morning and that guy turned around and gave me a look. I broke into sweat. I was lucky to not blow my cover.¡± ¡°You¡¯re great at this. That¡¯s why you¡¯re needed here. Otherwise why did they make you the team leader?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather they didn¡¯t. This team leader is worse than being a bureau director. Have you forgotten what they taught us in sses? The sense of duty!¡± ¡°Haha, exactly, the sense of duty!¡± *** Meanwhile, in another office somewhere else, a different group of people were amazed. ¡°Are they batman or what? No camera caught them!¡± ¡°The doors and windows are all intact and the locks were not tampered with. Oh, they even watered the flower in passing.¡± ¡°If our equipment was not advanced enough, I¡¯d think the house was haunted.¡± ¡°Cut the crap. Are the test results back yet?¡± ¡°Yes. Based on the files and books they examined, the fingerprints and the press marks on the pages, they should be looking for a ce called Tianshan Sect, located somewhere among the towns in the south and central regions.¡± ¡°Good. Make the report, saying that it is highly likely that they will be taking action soon.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± These two groups of people consisted of men of various ages with all sorts of ents. They only got to know each other a few days ago, when they were transferred here from all over the country, each with a skill set of their own. Their task here was to keep surveince and follow those three fellows. They now belonged to a single workce with a rather new title: Second Department of BIMAUP, Beijing HQ! [1] ED/N: Flower thief is a figurative expression for a rapist. Dunno if it¡¯s supposed to entuate the ¡°womanizer¡± part of Don Juan or some new dirty joke. TL/N: The term ¡°flower thief¡± has a slight euphemistic tone to it, indicating the culprit¡¯s certain ¡°taste¡± in women. At the end of day, they are nothing but rapists, though. Chapter 117 Chapter 117: Shuimogou Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Bogda Shan covered a vast area asrge as 1700 square km. The entire mountain area could be divided into three sections by the altitudes. The section from 700 to 1700 meters above the sea level was the hignd area of the front range, which was rich in minerals and covered by luxuriant forests. It was the most important resource output area in Dakang. The section with an elevation of 1700 to 2800 meters was the mid-mountain zone consisting mainly of summer pastures and tourist sites. This section was where Tianchi was situated. Above that was the section with an elevation of over 2800 meters, which was covered with snow all year round and where ciers could be found. Various rivers that ran through Dakang originated from here. Bogda Peak stood towering above them all, with a height of 5445 meters. As a result, most residents of south Dakang lived in the hignd area and the mid-mountain zone. The poption of any town varied from a few thousands to ten thousand, which made the number of upants in each vige a couple hundred at most. The poption density here was indeed very low. It was a brightly sunlit day. The sun beat down fiercely¡ªa weather characteristic of a teau area. The cloudless blue sky unfolded above their heads, neither too low nor too distant, which was joined by the giant pirs of snowy peaks at the horizon. Grass on the pastures had withered by now, leaving behindrge patches of grayish stubble. The recent snowfall had not fully melted away, and the remaining snow gave thend a look of irregr jigsaw puzzles. Threading across this immense pale gray was a man-made asphalt road, which, unexpectedly, had a timeless feel to it in such surroundings. Two backpackers marched among such a view, enjoying an ease of their minds. ¡°Not renting a car was not such a bad idea after all. We can at least enjoy the view this way.¡± ¡°Self-constion is the specialty of the poor.¡± ¡°Come on, work with me here, will you?¡± The duo walked at an unnaturally fast pace along the road while bantering with each other. Xiaozhai seemed to like the ce a lot and let out an exmation, ¡°I wish I could live here. Life here would be so happy.¡± ¡°You said that about every ce we¡¯ve been to. Give it a break,¡± Gu Yumented sarcastically. ¡°Haha, do you know what struck me the most these past two months? I used to dream of having a small cabin of my own, but now¡­¡± Maybe it was because of the pressure she felt recently, but once in the wild, she let herself go, which was something that rarely happened. Stretching out her arms, she called out, ¡°I want a snow mountain, with trees and streams and flowers and grass and bears and eagles and snow and clouds!¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± She suddenly raised her voice and shouted aloud, her exmation stretched long and floated far into the distant sky. ¡°Ah!¡± Gu Yu joined her in the shouting. His voice intertwined with hers, then dissipated into the wilderness. Their reaction was driven by a hippie/pubescent crisis sort of impulse. Had thewn been soft enough, such an episode would likely be preceded by a little ¡°lie-down¡± activity. As it turned out, however, some rude guy ruined it all. ¡°Zap!¡± An abrupt gunshot came from somewhere ahead, together with indistinct snarls. The two winced at first, then rushed out, heading in the direction the sounds came from inrge strides. ¡°Bang!¡± They reached the scene a short whileter. A herdsman taking cover behind a motorcycle was firing a shotgun. Up ahead was a pack of teau wolves, known for their ferocity and cunningness. Food was hard toe by in the winter, not to mention that it had been snowing. Driven by their hunger, the wolves had ventured out to the residential areas for food. When the great development took ce several decades ago, the government had organized wolf-hunting operations. Nowadays, with the decrease of wild wolf poption, the government had set up protection zones for them instead. It was just so confusing for the people. This pack was a rtively small one, consisting of seven or eight wolves, all thin and bony with savage looks. Two wounded members were lying on the ground. They rushed out to help without giving much thought. Spotting them from afar, the herdsman shouted something at them, looking anxious, ¡°sadfadg! @&$*%^!¡± Whatever that meant, they could not understand a single syble¡­ ¡°Growl!¡± One of the wolves that was muchrger, apparently the pack leader, growled at once. Two wolves stepped back from the front line and turned to handle the neers. Each taking one on either side, they pounced at Gu Yu and Xiaozhai respectively, baring their white fangs. Gu Yu made no attempt to dodge, but clenched his fist and struck the wolf directly on its head, making a muffled thud. As the saying went, bronze head, iron back, and tofu waist. The head was the toughest part on the body. However, with his strike, the wolf whimpered as its forehead was smashed in. The broken skull sunk into its head and impaled the brain. It copsed to the ground like a pile of dead meat. K.O. ¡°Tsk!¡± Gu Yu even had spare energy enough to make a sarcastic note of himself. ¡®This is not the self-image I expected. I¡¯m supposed to be an immortal swordsman in an elegant white robe, not this one-punch superman.¡¯ There wasn¡¯t much he could do about that. Thebat style was determined by one¡¯s techniques. Without conjuring a vision, he could only fight by directly confronting his opponents. The ce where Xiaozhai¡¯s battle urred, on the other hand, was apletely different picture. Moving sideways swiftly, she dodged the wolf¡¯s ws. Then, with a sh of a sharp de, blood spurted out of its throat before itnded on the ground. The blood sshed around, reminding one of red plum blossoms in the snow. She was not done yet. The dagger twirled around and flew out again. This time, an old wolf eager for some action was nailed to the ground, its coarse whimpers sounding like broken bellows. It was worse than being dead. ¡°Aroo!¡± It took almost no time at all to see three of its wolves down. The pack leader was quite a smart animal¡ªseeing that things were going south for them, it issued amand for retreat. ¡°Don¡¯t let it go! It will take revenge!¡± The herdsman yelled, which Gu Yu and Xiaozhai understood this time. Gu Yu¡¯s body reacted before his brain could. Bending down and picking up a stone, he hurtled it out, which hit the wolf on its hind leg. ¡°Aroo!¡± The leader limped, still making effort to run away. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai caught up with it without difficulty, took some rope out of their bag and tied it up into a neat bundle. ¡°Wow oo aah¡­¡± The herdsman ulted, firing out a string of that unknownnguage again. It was before sometime when he finally turned to speak in Mandarin, ¡°You have captured a wolf king alive. You are warriors!¡± ¡°Are you hurt?¡± Gu Yu felt his temples throbbing. ¡°I¡¯m fine. My name is Shiriahun, thank you for saving my life!¡± ¡°Is your vige nearby? We are actually on the way to visit one.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s great. I¡¯ll give you a ride! Let me drive you there!¡± They introduced one another. The herdsman was extremely enthusiastic and was persistent in his invitation. In the end, the three people were on their way, riding a single shabby motorcycle. Gu Yu obviously had to sit in the middle, being squeezed and squashed like a human sandwich. The five dead and injured wolves were left behind and they only took the alive one, which was dangling at the rear of the motorcycle, looking more than miserable. *** The entire Western Regions were multi-ethnic and Dakang was no exception. The vige they arrived at was called Shuimogou [TL/N: meaning ¡°watermill ditch¡±] whose vigers made their living through animal husbandry. The pastures varied from season to season. Spring and autumn pastures were of medium to low rate, while the summer ones were first-rate. The winter pastures were of a special kind, which were used as supplementaries. Shiriahun¡¯s herd grazed on the north side. He wasing back home to pick up some stuff today when he ran into the wolves. The motorcycle caused a sensation when driving into the vige. Urchins in fur coats pointed and screamed at the wolf, while swarthy herdsmen with red cheeks trailed after them. After all, dead wolves were amon scene, but not an alive one. Houses of this ethnic minority [TL/N: although not specifically named, the ethnic group here is probably the Uyghur] were usually of one of two kinds¡ªthose fit for the pasturing area and those for the agricultural area. Yurts were the main type of houses on pastures. They were easy to relocate, disassemble, and reassemble. However, the government had nned out permanent pastures nowadays and the yurts were no longer a necessity. The other kind were rectangr houses with skylights and t roofs, where fruit and grains could be dried under the sun. Inside, kangs were built [TL/N: the heatable adobe sleeping tform, in case anyone couldn¡¯t remember what a ¡°kang¡± is] and recesses were dug out in the walls to ce food and appliances. In the wintertime, the houses were heated by fire-heated walls or heating stoves. Each household had their own courtyard filled with flowers, fruit trees, and other nts, all very neatly organized. Shiriahun rode into a courtyard and exchanged a few words with an old man with white beard. Thetter walked up to them and saluted them with a gesture particr to their ethnic group. ¡°Thank you very much for saving that young man!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. It was nothing, we¡¯re d to be able to help.¡± ¡°Modesty is a virtue. I heard you wanted to spend the night here. We wee you, our honorable guests.¡± The old man spoke in an outdated fashion, which sounded somewhat peculiar. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were here to investigate in the first ce and took advantage of the invitation. What they had in mind was to find a ce to sleep and ask around about Tianshan Sect. However, they had underestimated the hospitality of the vigers. To wee their guests, they held a BONFIRE DINNER! You heard it right! One of thosemonly seen in reality shows, where a bunch of people circled around the fire dancing awkwardly, some overdone sentimentality was provoked, followed by a long-shot from the air, showing a bonfire moving away from the camera and disappearing into the hazy night, supplemented by a chicken-soup-for-the-soul off-screen voice¡ªthat sort of bonfire dinner! To say that Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were about to burst into tears was not an exaggeration. Such event annoyed them more than anything else. However, it was hard to turn down a warm-hearted offer like this and they had to attend despite their utter embarrassment. That evening, apart from those staying behind to take care of the winter pastures, everyone showed up on the big square of the vige. A bonfire was set up in the center and long tables were lined up in a row. Hard liquor, roasted nang [TL/N: nang is a kind of crusty pancake (staple food of the Uyghur people) ] and milk dough drop [TL/N: a milk product favored by people of several ethnic groups, it looks like little lumps of ¡°crystallized¡± milk] were served. They had even ughtered a few sheep for the asion. On a biting cold winter night like this, one¡¯s breath turned into white steam in the air after swallowing down a mouthful of meat. The steam rose again after washing down the meat with some strong liquor. It was like cultivating. As for the wolf, well, it had turned into their dinner by now and thergest piece was now lying in Gu Yu¡¯s bowl. ¡°Thank you for saving my elder brother!¡± While Gu Yu was focusing on his food, a girl with long, thick braids came up to him for a toast. She had dark skin and rtively delicate features. ¡°d to help, you¡¯re wee.¡± He stood up in a hurry to return the courtesy. ¡°I¡¯m Ayhan. The door of my home is always open to you.¡± The girl drank her bowl of liquor bottom up, announced her name and went away briskly. ¡°Hey, why didn¡¯t she toast me?¡± Xiaozhai was amazed; she even held up the bowl in her hand. Immediately after her words, a sturdy man approached them and said in a thick nasal voice, ¡°Shiriahun is my buddy. Saving him is the same as saving me. Thank you!¡± With that, he gulped down a full bowl of liquor and blurted out, ¡°I heard you were very bold and powerful. I like vigorous women.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai felt her mouth twitching. ¡°These vigers have an interesting way ofplimenting people.¡± At that moment, someone ran near and whispered into the old man¡¯s ear; he waved the person off and said to them, somewhat displeased, ¡°My dear guests, they found the bodies of the wolves gone when they went to pick them up. I¡¯m very sorry about that.¡± ¡°Oh, probably people from other viges took them.¡± Gu Yu was indifferent to the news. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. People here follow the rules. Only those who killed the animal can take the body and no one will tamper with other people¡¯s game. This must be the deeds of outsiders.¡± The old man was very assertive. ¡°That¡¯s ok. We¡¯ve got the leader anyway and the wolf pack won¡¯t be able to retaliate.¡± He turned to appease the old man, whose face lightened up slightly at the words, instead. The old man then said, ¡°Wolf fangs are the most precious part of a wolf. I¡¯ve asked them to have them polished and hand them to you tomorrow. The fangs are magical treasures. With them, you will be blessed by deities of the snow mountains.¡± ¡°Haha, we appreciate that, thanks!¡± That was something which actually interested them a lot. The weather was so cold that the banquet broke off a whileter and they did not get a chance to ask about Tianshan Sect. The two of them spent the night in the home of an auntie. The house was not very big. The walls were draped with felt nkets and so was the floor. The stove was radiating merrily. Heat rose up and prated the surface of the kang, making them asfortable (or rather, restless) as pjacks flipped around in a hot pan. Theyy side by side, fully clothed. Xiaozhai stretched herself and suddenly said, ¡°It¡¯s so annoying!¡± Gu Yu replied in a whisper, his eyes still closed, ¡°We¡¯ve got our own business to mind. Ignore them¡­ for now.¡± Chapter 118 Chapter 118: A Word of Advice Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°A baby born on a pasture¡­ em, I do recall such an incident.¡± The next day, in his room, the old man puffed at his crudely made cigarette, which was yellowish in color with a poignant smell, and said slowly, ¡°I think it was over a decade ago. It did not happen here in our vige, though, but in Quanshui [TL/N: meaning ¡°spring water¡±] Vige.¡± ¡°Quanshui Vige? How far is it?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°About thirty minutes on a motorcycle. I can take you there,¡± said Shiriahun. ¡°That¡¯ll be great. Thanks so much!¡± ¡°You saved my life. That¡¯s the least I can do.¡± The young man gave them a good-natured smile. The old man stood up at this moment and picked up two pendants from a tray, which were two curving wolf fangs. They were slightly yellow in color and hollow at the roots. The fangs had distinctive side ridges and a blood groove lined the insides. They were both about 4-cm-long, had a smooth surface, and were perfectly intact. Each wolf had four fangs, and the upper two were the more precious ones. After being pulled out, the fangs were easily cracked. Therefore, a crack-free fang that was also longer than three cm was definitely a rare thing toe by. ¡°For as long as I can remember, I seldom saw fangs as fine as these. You are both blessed by the deities of the snow mountains. I wish you all the peace there is!¡± The old man handed them the pendants, which were already threaded through with red and ck strings respectively. The red one was for Xiaozhai and the ck one for Gu Yu. Both were so fond of them that they had a hard time putting them down. After that, they bid their farewell to the vigers and set out on their bumpy trip towards Quanshui Vige on the shabby motorcycle. The two viges could pass as twins, only that Shuimogou had a bit more inhabitants. Shiriahun took the initiative to be their guide and led them into the vige. He stopped an aunt at random and asked, ¡°Auntie, we¡¯re here to look for someone.¡± ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± ¡°The one, the one gave birth on the pasture¡­¡± The answer dawned on the aunt before he finished his description. ¡°Oh, you mean Aygul. Her house is over there.¡± ¡°Thank you, Auntie!¡± Their names were taken directly from theirnguage, mostly using words referring to heaven and earth, the sun and the moon, as well trees, flowers, nts, or even gold and jewels. ¡°Shiriahun¡±, for instance, meant ¡°lion¡±, while ¡°Aygul¡± was ¡°moonflower¡±. It took them no time to arrive at a courtyard where a thickset woman was working inside. Shiriahun called out to her. ¡°Sister, I¡¯m from Shuimogou. These two guests want to see you.¡± They all talked in this tactless manner, which could sound impolite at times. Aygul was the same. She strolled near and asked, ¡°Why do you want to see me?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were still not used to this manner. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but may we talk inside?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± With that, they entered her house. Sitting down, Gu Yu asked, ¡°We want to ask about a certain person, the one who helped you deliver your child. Do you still remember him?¡± ¡°Of course. What do you need him for?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a friend of mine and has been missing for many years. It took us a great effort to find some information about him, that¡¯s why we¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t actually know his name. I only know his surname was Sima and he hade back a couple of times after that. He also gave Erkin an amulet. Erkin!¡± She beckoned a little boy with curly hair over and pointed at a pendant hanging around his neck, ¡°That¡¯s the one.¡± The two looked at it closely. It was a green, round jade te with Yin-Yang fish drawn on the front surrounded by four traditional Chinese characters¡ªeach for one direction. Together, they read ¡°Annihte demons. Expel evil.¡± A forbidden word was written on the back, which tranted as ¡°Thunder¡±. Good gracious! Xiaozhai was pleasantly surprised. This man was doubtlessly the disciple of Tianshan Sect. Gu Yu, however, was only surprised, for a very familiar energy was fluctuating around the jade te: the spiritual essence. That made no sense. He had examined the city of Dakang already, which came up with a 0! Based on his past experience, the theory on nodes and radiation ranges was definitely correct. But, where did the spiritual essence on this jade tee from? The two brooded on their separate thoughts and it was after some time when Xiaozhai asked, ¡°Do you know where he lives?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Somewhere in the mountains, I think.¡± ¡°Please try to remember. Does anythinge back to you at all?¡± ¡°He lives in the mountains¡­ oh, he said the ce was beautiful, a green valley in a snow mountain.¡± ¡°What about the location? A general direction, maybe?¡± ¡°I think, I think it¡¯s to the southeast of Bogda Peak.¡± ¡°When was thest time he came here?¡± ¡°About seven years ago. I haven¡¯t seen him for a long time.¡± The woman could not give them an explicit answer, but only some vague recollection. After a lengthy enquiry, they could not get much out of her. Leaving her house, both Gu Yu and Xiaozhai looked dispirited. Gu Yu was worried. ¡°I guess our only option is to go into the mountains.¡± ¡°It¡¯s always the worse-case scenarios we end up predicting¡­ why can¡¯t our positive predictionse true instead?¡± Xiaozhai shook her head. ¡°Are you nuts?¡± Hearing their n, Shiriahun went into a frenzy immediately as he shouted, ¡°No one dares go into the mountains during winter! They¡¯re full of hungry bears, wolf packs, leopards, and terrible avnches!!! You have no food and don¡¯t know the direction! You¡¯ll never make it out alive!¡± ¡°We will if you are our guide,¡± teased Gu Yu. ¡°By the love of the supreme deities of the snow mountains, I still have my parents and a younger sister to feed! I haven¡¯t even married!¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± Xiaozhai also burst into aughter. She then looked at Gu Yu and, after reading his thoughts, she straightened her face. ¡°As a matter of fact, there is something we need your help with.¡± ¡°Anything, as long as you don¡¯t ask me to go into the mountains.¡± ¡°We have another friending, but she¡¯s in poor health. Can we leave her at your ce for a few days?¡± ¡°No problem. She can stay for as long as she wants. My younger sister can take care of her.¡± ¡°Great!¡± The two thanked him wholeheartedly. He was indeed a nice fellow. *** Later that day, they returned to the city of Dakang and brought Long Qiu to Shuimogou. The decision was an impromptu one. They had no idea how long they would be gone for and it would not be safe to let Long Qiu stay in the city alone. Moreover, there was a Golden Silkworm that needed sealing up. Gu Yu doubled up the lock on the insect, which should get her through for the next three to five days. Shiriahun had returned to the winter pasture. His mother and younger sister were at home, and were both very kind. They liked Long Qiu as soon as they set eyes on her. The night before their departure, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai summoned the girl with a seriousness they had never exhibited before. ¡°Xiao Qiu, we¡¯re being followed by someone at the moment and we don¡¯t know what their purpose is. But, you have to promise us one thing,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Yes, of course!¡± The girl nodded at once. ¡°After we¡¯re gone, they might try to contact you. I¡¯m not worried about your capability at all, but you¡¯re a simple girl. Don¡¯t give them your trust easily. If you feel threatened, use your needle insect. If the threat feels great, do not hesitate to use the Golden Silkworm when you can!¡± Our two fellows did not notice the people of the Second Department following them before. It was only after the old man mentioned the dead wolves being taken and deeming it the doing of some outsiders that they became aware of them. They would take Long Qiu with them were it not for her poor health. The little weakling would be frozen to dead out there. ¡°I¡­¡± The girl hesitated at his words. Releasing the Golden Silkworm would eliminate all her pain, but at the price of other people¡¯s lives. ¡°Promise us. Your safety is the most important thing. Without us around, you have to protect yourself,¡± added Xiaozhai. ¡°Brother, Sister¡­¡± Long Qiu was frightened by their this-might-be-ourst-words tone and asked puppy-eyed, ¡°Aren¡¯t you, aren¡¯t youing back?¡± ¡°We are, of course we are! We¡¯re just saying this in case anything unexpected happens.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll be waiting for you. I promise.¡± Chapter 119 Chapter 119: Snow Mountain Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Bogda Shan, early in the morning. Snow leopards preferred to descend from the mountains at this hour. In the daytime, they sunbathed on bare rocks high up in the mountains and would follow the trodden-out paths at dawn or dusk to moors and valleys at lower altitudes to seek their prey. One was now threading through the withered grass with its back arched; its footsteps were soundless thanks to the thick pads on its paws. Stealthily, it pushed forward until it reached the top of the rocky cliff, then squinting its pale blue eyes slightly, it scrutinized the prey below. It was a fully grown snow leopard, its grayish white fur speckled with ck dots and circles. The leopard was over a meter long with a thick and long tail. Snow leopards were extremely good at jumping. A single leap could take them down a rocky cliff three to four meters tall. It was their mostmon way to ensure an instant kill. The two victims-to-be were totally unaware of its presence. The leopard watched for another minute and decided to take action. Thrusting against the ground with its hind legs, its giant body cast a small shadow. Its sharp ws glinted coldly in the sunlight, then¡­ ¡°Thump!¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Watching the big cat that hadnded face down, smashing a pit in the ground, Gu Yu shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re lucky that we¡¯ve just finished our breakfast, or you¡¯d be in bits and pieces by now.¡± He rubbed the head of the big cat who was still immersed in a vision, its eyes filled with a bizarre horror. Xiaozhai covered up the campfire with some dirt, put away the pots and pans, and said, ¡°I must get a piece ofnd of mine own some day just to keep these big guys. It¡¯s so vexing, being unable to take them away with me and having to just stand around and watch.¡± ¡°Open a zoo, then. I¡¯ll be selling clothes right next to you.¡± [1] Gu Yu remarked with sarcasm, then leaped onto the big rock and looked into the distance with binocrs. ¡°The color is changing towards that direction. I think we¡¯re almost at the edge of the forest belt.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t get any food once we are out. We need to get prepared.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll catch some snowcockster.¡± [2] They had invented a rather crude way to preserve food. The animal meat was scraped off the bones first, thenpressed repeatedly by Gu Yu with the help of his spiritual essence. When the meat became an extremely solid, dense ball, they would dig a hole on the ground and bury it, which would freeze it rock-solid in no time. They could then break off a chunk of it easily for cooking. Toss it into the water, heat it up, and they would get a broth that was not exactly fully boiled. It was quite convenient if you could look past the somewhat gross way it was made. Apart from that, they had also brought with themrge quantities ofpacted rations and ignition fuel. They were currently at the mid-mountain zone, below the altitude of 2800 m. Vast coniferous forest and other hignd vegetation covered the ground. Had it been summertime, they would even find the spectacr view of ciers encircled by forests. However, in a cold winter like this, all trees were encrusted with ice and not a trace of green was in sight. Based on that tiny bit of information they managed to extract from Aygul, the disciple of Tianshan Sect was probably living in a valley, which meant the ce should be surrounded by mountains, hence their general target: southeast, mountains all around, a lower ground. Therefore, they cast about the mid-mountain zone for two days and only decided to move upwards after the search came back empty. Wrapped in thick mountaineering suits with a huge bag on each of their backs, they plodded through the forest belt, taking extra care to avoid a row of yellow houses, for that was an observation station set up by the government. They had almost lost count of time when an open space suddenly jumped into their view. The ground elevated abruptly, revealing a magnificent belt of cier. They had reached the high mountain area of Bogda Shan, and with thin air and covered by snow all year round. Unbroken chains of snowy mountains stretched into the distance. Looking around, they saw cracks, holes, ditches, and icefalls¡ªas deep as a hundred feet straight down¡ªeverywhere. This ce was probably essible in summertime. In the winter, however, it was a death zone. *** ¡°Damn! They really had the balls to go in!¡± ¡°They have not a single piece of equipment for that.¡± ¡°To tell you the truth, after following them around the past few days, I¡¯m officially admiring those two, and I haven¡¯t ever admired anyone.¡± After Gu Yu and Xiaozhai disappeared from sight, a few people suddenly sprang out from the edge of the coniferous forest belt. After a hubbub ofints, one of them asked, ¡°Boss, are we going to follow them?¡± ¡°Not anymore. It¡¯s more than we can handle now.¡± The leader of the team did not look happy. Unwillingly, he said, ¡°Report this. See what they¡¯re gonna do about it.¡± These fellows were also people of the Second Department, who had been shadowing the two ever since they arrived at Dakang. They were the ones who took away the dead wolves. The wolves were sent to the specialists, who were petrified by the way they were killed. The skin and fur of one wolf was intact with its skull shattered, while another one had a precise cut¡ªalmost as clean as one inflicted by a machine¡ªon the throat, which just happened to sever the artery. They had ran tests on figures such as the hardness of a wolf skull and how great a strength would break it¡­ with such analysis, they coulde up with a general scale to evaluate their fighting capability. The authorities had had a number of mishaps in evaluating the duo. Wang Ruoxu and the soldiers offered an extravagantly colorful description on their fight with the zombie. However, those higher up were incredulous. A zombie that had taken out twenty-eight people was nailed into theke defenselessly by mere two people, just like that? However, they did not have to wait long before Xiaozhai summoned those thousands of snakes. This time, the authorities were provided with solid evidence¡ªthey had the Miao people and their blood to take samples from. And now, they were presented with wolves those two had killed. It was the most telling piece of evidence so far, for the dead bodies would not lie. Based on the above-mentioned information, the authorities were able toe up with a rtively reliable (or, an opinionated) evaluation: extremely good at hand-to-handbat, expert in using a dagger, able to control snakes,ck of ranged-attack method, and limited means of making attacks. The BIMAUP was still at an early stage and could not have a clearer understanding of their abilities. In short,pared to Li Suchun, these two fellows were the more capable ones. Therefore, after the team leader reported the turn of events, an instruction was sent out promptly: reinforcements were sent out and the team must stay where they were, waiting for the duo toe back down! *** Whiteness, an endless stretch of whiteness. It seemed to be the only color left in thisnd. Even the blue of the sky was somehow painted over by a thickyer of decadent gray. ¡°Hoo¡­¡± A gust of wind stirred the air suddenly, setting off plumes of white fog. They were granules of ice crystals, formed by loose snow being swirled up into the air. The two turned around, their backs taking the force of the wind, and only turned back after it quieted down. Gu Yu noticed that Xiaozhai was panting slightly and asked, ¡°You all right there?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, for now. Not so sure if the temperature takes a dive after dark.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s walk a bit further, then we¡¯ll find a ce for the night.¡± ¡°Em.¡± With spiritual essence circting inside him, Gu Yu took the bitter coldness slightly better than Xiaozhai, who, despite her remarkable capability in martial arts, had the body of a mortal after all. Wrapping her suit tighter around herself, she looked around as she marched on. Those snow mountains towering aloft had been there for tens of thousands of years. They seemed to have filled up the entire space; she could be stepping towards the end of the world. Walking in this ce, she was forgetting where she came from and where she was going. Time itself seemed to have disappeared. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, having you running around with me for so long,¡± she blurted out. ¡°What made you say that all of a sudden?¡± He was surprised. ¡°It¡¯s so boring climbing these mountains, we¡¯ve got topensate for it by saying something even more boring, no?¡± ¡°Then how about taking the boredom further? Like, what are we going to eat for dinner?¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s indeed very bor-¡± ¡°Crash!¡± Before she could finish her sentence, the earth beneath her sank, cracking wide open around her right foot. She fell straight down with chunks of ice and snow. ¡°Xiaozhai!¡± Gu Yu flung himself towards her, but one step toote. The giant dark opening stared back at him. ¡°Crack!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± Falling down with the copsingyer of snow, Xiaozhai was extremely quick to react. She found her ice ax and jabbed it hard into the ice wall, scratching out a series of ¡°SCREEEE¡± that would give one the creeps. The ice wall was slippery and hard, so the friction was minimal. She barely managed to stop falling after another few meters. Looking down, she saw only darkness beneath her. She then steadied herself with her right hand and fumbled out a shlight with her left. With the light, she realized she was almost at the bottom of the ditch. Retracting the ice ax, shended on both feet. She was in another world. At that moment, Gu Yu¡¯s calling came from above. She raise her head and shouted back, ¡°I¡¯m ok. Come down here and see for yourself!¡± ¡°¡­¡± A couple of minutes went by without a sound from above, then a rope hung down and Gu Yu slid down with it. ¡°Is this a cirque?¡± He shed around with his shlight as well. It was quite spacious down here. The ce had ice walls on three sides and the fourth one was left open, which looked like the entrance of a dark tunnel. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a secondary iceyer. The snow fell heavily over such a short period of time and covered it up with a thinyer. This is where¡­ hey, look at that!¡± She suddenly moved. [1] TL/N: It is referring to one of thergest wholesale markets in north China, Beijing Zoo clothing wholesale market, which is next to Beijing Zoo, as the name suggests. [2] ED/N: This is actually a legit name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowcock Chapter 120 Chapter 120: Priest Lingxiao Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Xiaozhai suddenly swished her shlight in a direction. Gu Yu followed the movement with his eyes. Under the faint light, he saw an irregr circle on the ice wall, within which there were some indistinct carving marks. The marks were barely detectable and mostly eroded by the ice. They were probably there forever and were bing part of the ice wall. They had to be deep and wide to begin with to be able to maintain any form at all. ¡°It¡¯s a¡­¡± He walked closer and followed the lines with his hand. After tracing it repeatedly, he said with amazement, ¡°I think it¡¯s a character, and kind of familiar¡­ oh, right, it¡¯s that forbidden word on that amulet.¡± ¡°Thunder? Haha, it seems we¡¯ve stumbled into the right ce.¡± Xiaozhai was delighted. It was clearly an artificial carving and had something to do with Tianshan Sect. They took their time to reexamine their reasoning. ¡°Based on our deduction so far, Tianshan Sect should be in a basin somewhere in the cier zone. This tunnel may not be the front entrance, but likely a backdoor, or even a secret passageway to be used as ast resort,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Not necessarily. It could well be a secret shortcut just for the sake of convenience. Anyhow, it¡¯s been a while since anybody walked through here. And about that forbidden character, what do you think it¡¯s there for?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°Maybe it was left there by previous sect members, for protection and defense,¡± chuckled Gu Yu. ¡°Yeah, it could be. They had magical power back then.¡± With that, they turned their shlights towards the tunnel, trying to see beyond the entrance. The tunnel was as dark as an abyss. The light was devoured a few meters into the opening and darkness resumed beyond that. They did manage to make out something, though. The wall-less side was indeed a natural passageway leading to some unknown ce. Both of them were audacious beyond extreme and slipped into the tunnel without any hesitation. However, a few steps into the tunnel, they were seized by a sudden panic. All lights, be it the sunlight, the reflected light from snow and ice, or their shlights, were snapped shut in an instant. The sense of space seemed non-existent here. On all sides, they were wrapped in a darkness void of anything else. The ceiling was infinitely high above, the bottom infinitely deep beneath, the walls on either side infinitely distant¡­ ¡°Hiss!¡± Gu Yu shuddered despite himself. Stretching out his left hand, he found a smooth and slender hand and held it. The fingers of that hand tightened up around his in return. Holding hands, the two calmed down slightly. They shook their shlights hastily and the beams returned. It was after quite some time before they could barely get used to their surroundings. The icy surface was extremely slippery under their feet. They dared not miss their footing, for the terrain was sloping downwards. If they missed their step and fell down, they had no idea what corner they would be rolling into. They found another several forbidden characters along the way. Some said ¡°Thunder¡± and others they could not recognize. They had lost count of time by now. The only thing they knew was that they were going lower and lower beneath the ground level. They couldn¡¯t help wondering, ¡®Are we going into the center of the earth?¡¯ At that moment, however, the circle of light from the shlight suddenly moved closer, erged, and stood still. ¡®What?¡¯ The two paused. They had hit a dead end. An ice wall stood abruptly at their face. ¡°The end of the tunnel already?¡± Xiaozhai would not ept that. Fetching her ice ax, she jabbed at the wall and frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s very thick.¡± ¡°Step back!¡± Gu Yu touched the ice wall, then felt the snowyer above head. He poked a circle of holes on the wall with the ice ax, clenched his fist, and there came a bang. ¡°tter!¡± The tunnel around them shook slightly and chunks of snow showered down. A circr hole appeared on the ice wall, big enough for the slim duo to squeeze through. The passageway continued behind the wall. A short walk away, the ice and snow subsided, reced by taupe bare rocks. By the time they reached the exit, they were walking in a rock cave instead. ¡°Over there!¡± A sh of light dazzled Gu Yu once they were out of the ice tunnel. Grabbing Xiaozhai, he ran towards the exit. *** Aygul was right about a green valley in a snow mountain. The passageway opened up to a small valley on about the same altitude as the mid-mountain zone, or even lower. The surrounding mountains had stopped the cold air, secluding the valley from outside, as well as keeping it warm. The tunnel should be the back way, for they noticed a small piece of farnd and a few vegetable plots with a small river meandering through. On the river bank were trees and weeds. They could make out several cabins in the distance. ¡°This is a strange ce¡­¡± Gu Yu spoke suddenly after looking around. ¡°Picked up some spiritual essence?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. There is definitely some spiritual essence here, but it¡¯s blocked up by something and cannot be released. It feels chaotic. Come, let¡¯s go over there and have a look.¡± They carefully walked around the vegetable plots and came to the cabins along the dirt road. There were three of them and looked out-dated, but not ancient, probably the product of the 70s or 80s of thest century. Wooden fences were built around the houses, encircling a courtyard. The yard was kept neat and clean. Apparently, someone was living here. They were about to go in when a voice came from inside the house, ¡°Guests! How rare!¡± ¡°Creak!¡± A door was opened and out came a man in his thirties. His clothes were worn-out and there was nothing special about his features, yet there was a radiance about his eyes, which were bright and lofty at the same time. ¡°Huh?¡± He nced towards them and his eyes met Gu Yu¡¯s. They both let out a soft cry. The man had started off with some haughtiness, but his countenance changed a little at this. A smile appeared on his face as he said, ¡°I see I have two friends from our Taoistmunity here. Pleasee in!¡± ¡°Sorry for intruding like this!¡± Unexpectedly, Gu Yu beat Xiaozhai in entering the house and gestured at her inconspicuously with his hand. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai blinked, alerted by the hint. The interior of the house was kept simple and unadorned. A room of quietness was in the east wing and a bedroom with a kang in the west. After each taking a seat, they exchanged names. The man said, ¡°I¡¯m Sima Che. I have taken theyman surname of my master and given myself an alternative name ¡®Priest Lingxiao¡¯ [TL/N: meaning ¡°reaching the clouds¡±]. I¡¯m afraid it sounds rather pompous.¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai immediately expressed their disapproval of thatst bit of statement and they exchanged some more courtesies. After that, Sima Che asked, ¡°May I inquire how did you get here?¡± ¡°We came from the northwest.¡± ¡°Oh, Shuimogou. I was there seven years ago. How¡¯s the child?¡± ¡°He¡¯s fine. We got our lead after seeing that amulet.¡± ¡°Hoho, I personally delivered him into this world back then, which was some predominated fate. For that, I gave him that spiritual talisman.¡± Sima Che appeared to be rather at ease, talking about things all over the board without asking any serious questions. After another while, Xiaozhai finally said, ¡°Senior Sima, there¡¯s something I do not understand.¡± ¡°Please, feel free to speak.¡± ¡°Ny years ago, the government held a major ceremony in Baiyun Temple, certifying sixty-two qualified sects, and Tianshan Sect was among them. However, after a single sighting of your honorable master thirty years ago, no news has been heard about your sect ever since. I mean no disrespect, but if I may ask, why did you hide away from the world?¡± ¡°Hoho, our sect has always been in the border area with few disciples. By the time my master was the leader, I was his only pupil. The temple of our sect was in the northwest, but unfortunately it disappeared in an avnche. My master would not dispute over such trifles with the government and took me here to live a secluded life. As a matter of fact, this ce is also an enclosed cultivation site of Tianshan Sect, only that no one else knew about it. After my master passed away and I became the only disciple of our sect, I found it even more unnecessary to go through the trouble¡­¡± Sima Che was quite frank about it. He then turned to Gu Yu and smiled, ¡°Besides, with all the confusion of the mortal world, one is better off living a cultivation life. Don¡¯t you agree, Fellow Daoist Gu?¡± Chapter 121 Chapter 121: Terms Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°The mortal world may be chaotic, but it¡¯s the best ce to experience life and train oneself. Without knowing the secr world, how could one strengthen the heart of Dao?¡± ¡°My heart is the heart of Dao, which is firm in itself. Why should it be certified by all those feckless things? Cultivators ought to sever themselves from worldly matters. By attuning themselves to the rest of the world, wouldn¡¯t they be tainted?¡± ¡°Severing from worldly matterses after one obtains the Great Dao. If all abandon the mortal world before achieving Dao, how is the world to be made up? How are life and death be decided?¡± ¡°The world runs on itself, and life and death happen when they happen. What do all mortal beings have to do about them?¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Gu Yu chuckled and did not lead on the debate after the initial probing questions. ¡°Well, let¡¯s not dwell on that. To tell you the truth, we¡¯ve intruded on you like this because there is a favor we need to ask from you.¡± ¡°Well, what¡¯s the rush? Guests have arrived from afar and surely I have to show my hospitality.¡± Sima Che interrupted him and smiled, ¡°This might seem an impoverished ce, but it actually provides me with everything I need. You guys just wait here.¡± With that, he got up and went to the kitchen. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai tried to offer some help, which Sima denied persistently. The two had to go back waiting in the back room. Before long, a few simple dishes were on the table. He had raised just about everything in this valley, from vegetables to cattle. The grains were especially delicious. Irrigated by the melted spring water from the snow mountains, they tasted chewy and sweet. Sima Che appeared to be very hospitable. Maybe it was the result of having lived in solitude for so long, but he gave the impression of wanting to discuss all sorts of philosophical questions with them, to the point of abandoning sleep and rest. ¡°After my master passed away, I lived here alone for twenty-five years. I would go down the mountain often in the first five years to observe the outside world and the people living in it. After that, I decided to put all my heart into cultivation. So I sealed off the exit and finally, I made some minor achievement. Oh, do you know about the skills of Tianshan Sect?¡± ¡°Not really. We only know that they came from Immortals Sa and Yang,¡± replied Xiaozhai. ¡°That¡¯s right. Patriarch Sa had Shenxiao Technique and Patriarch Yang had techniques of Neidan and Waidan. During the eight hundred years my sect was passed down, it was able to learn widely from the strength of others. Unfortunately, by the time my grandmaster inherited the sect, little was left of the skills. As for the one I have been cultivating with, it¡¯s called ¡®Heel-pressing Technique¡¯.¡± ¡°Heel-pressing Technique?¡± ¡°This technique nurtures mind while enhancing one¡¯s physical body. The physical strength helps to nourish the mental power. The profound knowledge eventually integrates men with nature¡­¡± Sima Che went on to exin some of the manuals and theories which the two had never heard of before, making them click their tongues in wonder. Yin Qiao Mai [TL/N: Yin Heel Vessel] was the general hub between Ren Mai [TL/N: Conception Vessel] and Du Mai [TL/N: Governing Vessel]. Yin Qiao was linked to the brain on one end and Yong Quan [TL/N: meaning ¡°Gushing Spring¡±, an acupoint at the bottom of one¡¯s feet] on the other. Both the gathering and dispersing of one¡¯s vital Qi had to go through this orifice. When the acupoints of the upper body were sessfully linked to the bottom ones, the harmonious Qi would naturally ascend, promoting the positive energy while eliminating the negative. Water would materialize from fire and flower blossom in the snow. As the saying went, ¡°When Qi circtes freely between Ren Mai and Du mai, the body is full of vitality¡±. [TL/N: Niwan, or mud ball, is a Taoist term for the brain.] All in all, when Yin Qiao Mai was unobstructed, all vessels were clear as open roads, which would unburden one¡¯s body and mind, as well as carrying forward and moralizing one¡¯s inner self. As for the specific manual to carry out the technique, he mentioned none of it, for it was the secret knowledge of the sect. ¡°Your respectable sect is indeed rich and long in its culture. It was a great eye-opener for both of us,¡± praised Gu Yu. ¡°Fellow Daoist is too modest. You¡¯ve reached the innate state and I¡¯m still a step away from it. I¡¯m the one who should be impressed.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The atmosphere turned rigid at those words. Gu Yu was not surprised to see Sima Che point out the fact bluntly, nor was Xiaozhai stirred. That was right! The two men had sounded each other out the minute they set eyes on each other. In spite of his young age, Sima Che was more advanced than old Priest Mo in his cultivation level, almost as close to reaching the innate state as one could get. That was why he abandoned his arrogance when he saw Gu Yu and started treating them politely. To reach the innate state was not exactly a matter of difficulty. After practicing the Neidan Technique for his whole life, old Priest Mo still had a long way to go from it. Without the Essence-consuming Method and at his old age, Tan Chongdai had little hope in achieving it with the remaining of his days. Li Suchun was backed up by the authorities, whose possible patronage would promise him a bright future. As for people like Wang Ruoxu and Du Hong, they only had fate to depend on. ording to Gu Yu¡¯s ssification, there was no such term as an ¡°innate state¡±, but only Enlightenment of the mind¡ªRefinement of the form¡ªConcentration of the spirit¡ªSpiritualization of the body¡ªHuman Immortals. When one achieved the Spiritualization of the body, which was aplete version of an innate-state body, they were so close to Human Immortals that other cultivators were not evenparable to them. With that being said, Sima Che must have possessed excellent natural endowments and was very well aplished in the Heel-pressing Technique. He was only in his early thirties. Given enough time, he would be out of the novice vige for sure. What did that mean? It meant he would be able to sense the spiritual essence as well¡­ oh, scratch that. It was possible that he was faintly aware of the existence of the spiritual essence already! Gu Yu¡¯s trail of thoughts stopped at the green jade te Erkin was wearing. Sitting beside him, Xiaozhai had no idea how many things had passed through his head in merely a few seconds. Sima Che went on, ¡°I have been living alone in the mountains for so long and it¡¯s so rare to have a fellow cultivator here. Since I¡¯m lucky enough to have you here today, I hope you don¡¯t mind me asking, what method is Fellow Daoist practicing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m using the Essence-consuming Method.¡± ¡°Oh? The Essence-consuming Method of the ancient times?¡± Sima Che¡¯s fingers gave an involuntary jolt at the words. ¡°Exactly.¡± ¡°Oh my, Fellow Daoist is indeed a very fortunate man. I wonder if the method was inherited from a master, or¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not at liberty to answer that question.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s all right. I¡¯m the one who¡¯s being abrupt.¡± Sima Che was not at all offended by that reply, but sipped his water and smiled quietly. He was certain that these two people must need something from him. Unsurprisingly, Xiaozhai was the one to break the ice after a short while. ¡°Senior, we are here this time because there¡¯s a question we need to ask you. The Thunder Technique of Shenxiao in your sect, did the disciples of your sect manage to pass it down?¡± ¡°We did! Only that it is way too profound and I¡¯m not talented enough to learn it,¡± Sima Che winced slightly, then replied with a smile. ¡°Well, may we take a look?¡± ¡°Well¡­ you do realize that such secret skills are the most precious treasures of a sect. They¡¯re not for the eyes of outsiders.¡± Sima Che appeared to be quite embarrassed. ¡°We understand that. If there are any specified terms, do name them. We¡¯ll give them some consideration beforehand,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Oh?¡± Sima Che¡¯s eyes flickered and assumed a posture of thinking the words over, then smiled, ¡°You¡¯vee all the way here and it must have been a tough journey. Here¡¯s what I can do¡­ my terms are very simple. Let me have a look at the Essence-consuming Method and I¡¯ll let you have the Thunder Technique with pleasure.¡± ¡°That¡¯s out of the question!¡± Before Gu Yu said a word, Xiaozhai refused the proposal at once. ¡°There¡¯s no way we¡¯ll agree to that!¡± ¡°In that case, I could only say sorry to your request.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take it slowly. It is a matter of great importance and we all need some time to think it through,¡± Gu Yu said in an appeasing tone. ¡°Yes, you have a point. Please take some rest here and we¡¯ll talk tomorrow morning,¡± smiled Sima Che. After all the hustling about, the sun had set a long time ago. Sima Che seemed to have the ability to see things in the darkness, for there were lighting tools in this ce. They did not sleep in the room of quietness on the east wing, but insisted on starting a fire on the clearing outside the house and making up a bed with twigs and nkets. Both of them then squeezed onto that tiny bed. The heat prated the twigs and warmed up their backs with the ideal amount of heat. It was very cozy. The valley was indeed a treasured ce and even the night here was not very cold. The fact that they were surrounded by stretches of snow mountains at the moment could only make one feel amazed. Lying by the dancing me, Gu Yu spoke suddenly, ¡°You know, you didn¡¯t have to stop me. It was fair, one of ours in exchange for one of his.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t use your thing-¡± Xiaozhai was about to argue when a hand reached over and knocked on the back of hers. She took the hint immediately and seamlessly turned the second half of her sentence towards another direction, ¡°-for the exchange. It won¡¯t be fair for you.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve known each other too well to talk about fairness, haven¡¯t we? The purpose for our trip this time is to open up our eyes and exchange some ideas. It¡¯ll be great if we can do the swap. We¡¯ll just live with it if we can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Maybe he has some difficulty we can help with?¡± ¡°What difficulty can he have here. We¡¯ll have no choice but go back empty-handed if this thing doesn¡¯t work out¡­¡± While he was saying all this, Gu Yu wrote two words on her palm: spiritual essence. Chapter 122 Chapter 122: Danger Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°It seems we won¡¯t reach an agreement.¡± ¡°Sigh. In that case, we¡¯ll take our leave now. Someday, fate might bring us together again.¡± Gu Yu sighed and turned around, ready to walk out with Xiaozhai. Sima Che sat on a chair, his eyes darting swiftly around. They had just finished another round of negotiation, which was to no avail. They wanted to see the Thunder Technique, but were unwilling to swap it for the Essence-consuming Method. He himself actually needed the exchange more than they did. The wearer knew where the shoe pinched. Now that Tianshan Sect was passed down to him, the only thing left was the Heel-pressing Technique. It was the ideal manual toy a foundation and one could cultivate with it up to the innate state. What would happen after the state was reached? There was not one word on that! By contrast, the Essence-consuming Method was widely adopted by immortals of the ancient time. Words had it that it could support a cultivator up to the Human Immortal state. Having devoted himself to cultivation for the past thirty years, even his dreams were about immortality and transcending to heaven. Now that the hope to realize his dreams was at his grasp, how could he miss a chance like this? Our young duo did such a nice job in their little two-man act that Sima was convinced that they were not all that interested in the Thunder Technique. Seeing that they had risen to their feet, he could not help but said, ¡°Please don¡¯t leave so soon!¡± [1] ¡°Anything else?¡± Gu Yu turned around. ¡°The Essence-consuming Method is such a unique piece of legacy that Ipletely understand your unwillingness to show it to others.¡± An idea came to Sima Che¡¯s head that instant and he grinned, ¡°How about this? There is something that has been bothering me. If you could help me solve it, I¡¯ll show you the Thunder Technique all the same. How does that sound?¡± ¡°It sounds usible, but we need to know exactly what your problem is first.¡± ¡°Certainly. Please follow me.¡± With that, he led the two out of the house to the easternmost end of the secluded valley, then meandering up along a ridge. The ground of the ridge was not paved and there was a narrow path trodden out after long years of use. They kept walking for a very long time, until the greenery faded out, reced gradually by ice and snow. When they looked down again, the valley was tiny underneath. They then climbed up another slope and stopped at it top. ¡®So here it is!¡¯ Gu Yu realized with a kind of dull shock. He had sensed a suppressed sort of spiritual essence the moment he entered the valley, as if something was blocking it, and he had been looking for it ever since. Once up here, they now saw a small moraine-dammedke below the slope. A so-called moraine-dammedke was formed when a cier melted and receded on it edge, leaving behind debris which piled up and formed a depression, partially blocking a riverbed. The frosty-lookingke was as smooth as a clear mirror, ayer of white mist hanging over it, too dense to disperse. Bare ck rocks surrounded theke, which were made of partially stone and partially jade. What surprised him the most, however, was a widespread of fluctuation created by the spiritual essenceing out of theke, which was ready to gush out, but was suppressed by something even more powerful. The spiritual essence was the product of nature and a purest form of energy on its own. Current scientific equipment could not even detect it, let alone pin it down. ¡®Damn, what the hell is in thiske?¡¯ None of the excitement and flutter inside him was detectable from the indifferent look on his face. Sima Che had not a clue of what was going on in Gu Yu¡¯s head and asked, ¡°Fellow Daoist Gu, what do you think of this ce?¡± ¡°This natural creation is indeed extraordinary.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°You want me to go down there and have a look,¡± grinned Gu Yu. ¡°Haha, I knew you were the right people for this job!¡± Sima Cheughed. ¡°To tell you the truth, this valley is the secluded cultivation site of my sect and thiske is the most valuable existence of the entire valley. ording to the records of my sect, Patriarch Sa used to live in seclusion here to meditate on profound philosophical questions and left behind a most precious treasure. Sect seniors of the past had carried out multiple explorations of the area, which were all to no avail. However, starting from several years ago, I have been vaguely sensing something weird going on in theke and the mist also rose up, as if theke was haunted. I thought about going down and check it, but was held back by my limited capability.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu frowned slightly. ¡°This is the treasured site of you sect. Won¡¯t it be inappropriate for an outsider like me to nose around?¡± ¡°With the declining of the Taoistmunity nowadays, we should abandon our prejudices more than ever and work together with sincerity. Fellow Daoist Gu has achieved the innate state and maybe you will be able to find a clue. If there really were some rare treasure down there, wouldn¡¯t it be a reckless waste of God¡¯s creation to have it sinking there and wasting away?¡± The brief lecture had covered everything from major principles to careful little thoughts, making it almost irrefutable. However, the better it sounded, the more hypocritical it felt. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai gave Gu Yu a look and shook her head inconspicuously. She would not assume the worst out of people, but neither would she assume the best. It was just that when a thing could not be exined by normal reasoning, there must be something fishy about it. Gu Yu held his head low, as if deep in thoughts, while his mind was all over another matter¡ªhe was right, Sima Che could faintly detect the spiritual essence, although the man could not grasp the exact idea and depended greatly on his spection. The raw material of that jade te was probably dug out somewhere around here. Seeing that the duo both kept their silence, an eager look shed across Sima Che¡¯s face. ¡°Fellow Daoist Gu, what do you think?¡± ¡°I¡¯m ok with diving in, but there¡¯s some information I need to know beforehand. Let¡¯s go back and talk it through.¡± ¡°Great!¡± *** Let¡¯s trace back to eight hundred years ago when Sa Shoujian travelled to Tianshan and co-founded Tianshan Sect with Yang Yantian. The Yang Family had established themselves in this ce and naturally attached great importance to the sect, but not for Sa Shoujian, who was merely passing through. Sa left the area after living here for a few years and went on with his travelling. In his old age, he traveled all the way to Fujian, which was almost the southernmost corner of the country, and was said to achieve enlightenment there and be immortal. The so-called most precious treasure was probably not left there on purpose for theter generations to find, but a mere creation at a whim, which was yed with before being tossed into theke. Tianshan Sect had gone through five dynasties and men had been salvaging for it throughout the ages with the hope of obtaining it andying foundation to achieve the Great Dao. By the time Sima Che took over, he also dived in after detecting the abnormality in theke. However, he never managed to pass the first two meters. ording to him, theke water was of an extremely high density, resulting in exceptional buoyancy. He was exhausted shortly after diving in. It was indeed frightening. ¡°Theke must be a node of the spiritual essence. That thing should be a genuine piece, for it could lock in the spiritual essence tightly without letting out a single streak.¡± Inside the valley, Gu Yu spread out his mental force in case Sima Che was eavesdropping, and exined to Xiaozhai. ¡°He wants the treasure for himself and we be hardbor?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll exchange. As long as he can show us the Thunder Technique, I have no problem giving him a hand.¡± ¡°Ha, I hope he¡¯s not bluffing.¡± They put the rope into order, adjusted their clothing and made preparation for going into the water. Sima Che was in his room the whole time. They had no idea what he was busying himself with. They met again in the afternoon when Sima Che came out holding a wooden box. He smiled, ¡°I have written down the Thunder Technique on a scroll and put it in this box. Don¡¯t worry, I will keep my promise.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu scanned it with his mental force. There was indeed a scroll of paper with words on it inside the box, which looked like a manual of some sort. He frowned slightly, then unknotted his eyebrows with a smile, ¡°I hope so.¡± The three of them returned to theke. Gu Yu tied a rope around his waist and the other end was tied on a big rock with Xiaozhai watching over it. Standing on the blue-ck rock, he leapt out and dived into theke with a flop. ¡®Hiss!¡¯ The moment he hit the water, an unbearable freezing sensation wrapped around him from all sides, seeping forcibly into his bones. He circted his spiritual essence frantically, and it ran through his body and counteracted much of the coldness. Bai Town had plenty of brooks and he had been ying in them ever since he was little, making him quite a good swimmer. However, the density and buoyancy of the water here were both abnormal. A single wade that would normally carry him out for a few meters could barely move his body at all here. It was like swimming in a giant blob of jelly. The deeper he dived in, the more difficult it became. He was wearing out only three to five meters in and he moved quickly back, pulling the rope at the same time. Seeing the sway of the rope, Xiaozhai pulled with all her strength and Gu Yu¡¯s head popped out of the surface with a ssh. A campfire had been set up beforehand and Gu Yu warmed himself up by it. Sima Che asked in a hurry, ¡°Fellow Daoist Gu, how are you feeling?¡± ¡°I¡¯m all right, just need to rest a little.¡± ¡°What¡¯s in theke?¡± ¡°I have no idea yet. I was only able to go down for three to five meters beforeing up.¡± ¡°ording to my master, the seniors were able to dive very deep into theke, but still found nothing. It was after the white mist showed up that the water started to go weird. If you find it too much of a trouble, then¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok, I¡¯ll try againter.¡± After a brief rest, Gu Yu returned to the water with a series of experiments by entering theke at different spots. Gradually, he grew used to the environment in theke and was able to dive deeper down each time. By the time he was in for the fifth time, the sunlight was fading. ¡°Gurgle¡­¡± The sound of water characteristic to thiske sang into his ears. Broken pieces of ice surrounded him, glistening with a dim blue light. The buoyancy grew stronger deeper down. After a few vigorous dashing-down, Gu Yu finally made it all the way to the bottom of theke. The scene was not something he had expected. Instead of bare ground, the bottom of theke was covered by strange, unknown water weeds. The verdant nts intertwined and swayed, reminding one of ancient remains abandoned by time. It was a soundless and eerie scene. All of a sudden, an unusual fluctuation disturbed his mental force and disappeared in the blink of an eye. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu opened his eyes widely and swam towards the direction it came from, his heart thumping loudly. If he sensed it correctly, he had experienced simr fluctuations before¡ªfrom none other than the fishbone from Wudao River! We need not borate further on the meaning on that fishbone: the iplete Essence-consuming Method, the vision-conjuring skill, the anecdote and travel notes¡­ it hadid the foundation of his cultivation road. This thing here, however, just happened to be on top of a node and suppress the spiritual essence for some reason. What could be in there? Almost instantaneously, a thought that frightened him came into his head, which he shook off right away. He brushed aside the curtain of water weeds with much difficulty. Gu Yu fumbled around with his hands for a long while before discovering that thing. It was a palm-sized ck object, almost as inconspicuous as a square stone. On top of it carved something resembling a dragon with gaps on its body, which was used as a handle. This¡­ should be an ancient seal. Gu Yu paused briefly, then refocused his eyes and grabbed the body of the dragon. He pulled. It did not budge. With more strength, he pulled again. ¡°Gurgle¡­¡± The sound of flowing water grew louder abruptly, almost like rumbling thunder now. He dared not tarry. Concentrating the spiritual essence on his right hand, he lifted for the third time. ¡°Boom!¡± Sheets of water weeds were cut in half at mid-length, as if being neatly reaped by a gust of wind. A st of air spewed out from beneath the ancient seal, instantaneously gashing open theke bottom. The flow of water had transformed intorge drops of water, which rolled around Gu Yu. The dense and chaotic spiritual essence was visible to the naked eye. In the form of white marks, they shed frantically into the entire moraine-dammedke. ¡°Bang!¡± A drop of water knocked into Gu Yu like a cannonball, which he failed to dodge. The impact sent him into a backflip. He barely managed to steady himself and realized the situation did not look good for him. Carrying the ancient seal in his hand, he swam upwards. *** On the bank, Xiaozhai watched as theke burst into life. One moment it was all peace and quiet and next moment, all hell broke loose. She acted before she could think and wrangled with the rope, which was tossed around under the impact, making it impossible for her to hold on. She shouted, ¡°Need a hand here!¡± Sima Che was still ying the onlooker and only came to her aid after her calling. With both of them at the rope, it was finally pulled out of the water a little bit at a time. Several breathster, a figure flew out andnded ashore. A series of loud bang followed him, as if something was exploding. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± Gu Yunded on all fours, gasping for air. After wandering around for all this time, it was the first time he felt a danger at this level. Sima Che was the first toe to himself. He flung himself over inrge strides and grabbed the ancient seal. ¡°It¡¯s, it¡¯s¡­¡± He looked closely at it for a moment, his face taken over by interchanging crying andughter. His hoarse voice said, ¡°The Seal of Patriarch Sa, it¡¯s the Seal of Patriarch Sa¡­ Master was telling the truth, sob¡­¡± Seeing Sima possessed by this frantic state and crumpled to the ground without moving, Gu Yu yelled at him, ¡°It¡¯s not safe here! We need to move! Now!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Ssh!¡± Barely did he finish that sentence when a deafening sound came from within theke. Half of the water was in the air, then poured down as if Milky Way itself was dumped out. Instantly, the hundred-square-meter area was drenched. Immediately after that, thunder rumbled above, as if bolts of lightning were striking down from all heavens. The sound was so magnificent that even Sima Che was awakened from the trance. The three of them raised their heads in unison and let out a sigh: we¡¯re finished! [1] TL/N: the two-man act, or Ë«»É, is a type ofic show with one speaking or singing while hiding behind the other who does the acting. Of course, the term is metaphoric here, on the duo¡¯s singing to each other¡¯s tune. Chapter 123 Chapter 123: Avnche Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Boom!¡± ¡°Rumble!¡± It was not the sound of thunder, but a random light snore from the lonely and colossal deity of snow mountains who was stirred by these nonentities in its sound sleep on thisnd frozen for eternity. By extracting the ancient seal, Gu Yu released the lump of spiritual essence that had been long under suppression. The deafening sounding out of theke was like exploding bombs, shaking the massif of the mountains loose, and an avnche followed. Unlike ferocious mud-rock flows, earthquakes, or floods, there was something beautiful about an avnche. The three of them looked up and saw theyer of snow at the mountain peak snap suddenly. Tiers upon tiers of snow tes and chunks started moving, as if onmand. It was like the deity was shaking off a white robe. The next second, however, the white robe turned into white sand, and then white waves, which were dumped onto them head on, stirring up rolls of clouds and blotting out the sky. ¡°Run!¡± One of them shouted. Two figures started descending at full speed and another one followed suit in a flurry. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai¡¯s minds nked out. The only thing they felt was the biting wind screaming at their ears. They did not run along the ridge, but jumped down into the mountain creeks, flitting and hopping among protruding bare rocks and dirt bed. Sima Che held the ancient seal tightly between his arms and was not much slower than the two. The inner Qi he had umted during his thirty-year cultivation was concentrated into his feet as he ran frantically for his life, frightened out of his wits. The wooden box containing the paper scroll fell to the ground with a thud and was instantly devoured by the snow. ¡°Rumble!¡± ¡°Boom!¡± Behind them, the roaring sound was growing louder and closer, as if the earth was cracking open. In the dim sunlight, the waves of snow looked like stars falling down from all heavens and silver dragons dancing in the air as they came down in torrents along the mountain slopes. Driven by the silver dragons were white clouds of snow powder. It was like treading on clouds. The snow of the avnche was sliding down from thousands of meters above, gathering tremendous momentum which would cause a violent vibration of the air, forming a st simr to the shock wave from an explosion. It was powerful enough to destroy everything. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± The howling wind had been mixed into the sound of their breathing and they could not tell whether they themselves were breathing in or out. Gu Yu sensed the chasing force behind them raging more than ever as an unprecedented smell of death enwrapped him. All of a sudden, an idea dawned on him and he shouted, ¡°Run across the slope! Stay away from its path!¡± ¡°To the south!¡± Xiaozhai realized that as well and replied immediately. It might seem slow a reaction, but in fact, it had only been a few minutes after Gu Yu got back ashore. The incident had happened so suddenly that their minds were all muddled up. The two turned and fled to the south right away. Sima Che still managed to save some energy and turned with them without giving it much thought. ¡°Boom!¡± The avnche was advancing faster as it descended; the human strength was nothing inparison. Despite the little time they managed to buy for themselves, they were losing out to the power of the nature. The st of air was going to throw them off bnce. ¡°Hold onto me!¡± Gu Yu¡¯s heart leapt. Grabbing Xiaozhai with one hand, he flew past a rock in front with all the strength he could gather. Before even hitting the ground, he concentrated all his spiritual essence to his back, then bent down, holding Xiaozhai between his arms in a protective position. Immediately, there was a ¡°Bang¡±! ¡°Crackle! sh!¡± They had escaped from the central area, but even the st at the edge of the avnche was able to strike the big rock into pieces. The crumbs flew up into the air, then fell down in a shower of stones, which all smashed onto Gu Yu¡¯s back. A sweet and puckery taste rose up from his throat as blood threatened to spurt out of his mouth. He fought it down forcibly, then everything went ck. ¡°Rumble!¡± The st of air was followed by waves of snow, roaring past them along with countless chunks of ice and rocks. The two of them were a lone boat in a storm, threatened to sink at any moment. One second, two seconds, three seconds¡­ It seemed forever when, after an endless torment, the sound finally moved away. *** ¡°Ow!¡± Held between Gu Yu¡¯s arms, Xiaozhai did not feel much of the impact. She opened her eyes and saw darkness surrounding them. Looking closely, she realized that they had been covered up by the surging snow lumps and were now beneath ayer of snow. ¡°Gu Yu! Gu Yu!¡± She called out, but got not reply. She moved closer in a hurry and rubbed her nose against the tip of his. Good, he was still breathing, and she could detect his heartbeat. He had only fainted. What just happened was too rmingly dangerous and her head was filled with fog. The only feeling she could process right now was the most straightforward one: she had survived a natural disaster. After a brief rest, she started wriggling around, getting out of that narrow space and digging at the snow with all her effort. Human body temperature would drop rapidly once buried under snow. Half an hour was long enough to be life-threatening. Xiaozhai¡¯s right arm was pinned down by the narrow space and she had to work with her left hand alone. She thrusted herself upwards as she dug along. With more room for her to maneuver in, moving around became easier and her right hand was able to join in. They were not buried too deeply and it did not take her long to reach the surface. Xiaozhai dragged Gu Yu out and moved further away from the spot, fearing a possible second copse. Standing on the mountainside and looking down, the view beneath had undergone a tremendous change. The green valley was buried in oblivion¡ªthe houses disappeared, and gone together were the trees, farnds, vegetable plots, and rivers. The only thing in sight were tens of thousands tons of snow, turning the valley into a snond. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± She heaved a soft sigh and started looking around. She still had an ignitor with her; now she needed something to start a fire with. ¡°Help¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± She paused. ¡°Help¡­ help me¡­¡± Several cries came out in a row, as if someone was calling for help. The voice was indistinctive and carried here and there by the wind. She followed it and stopped by ayer of snow. ¡°Senior Sima?¡± ¡°Yes! Please help me, Fellow Daoist!¡± ¡°Hold on!¡± Xiaozhai started digging again, with Sima Che scratching at the snow from the inside. By the time his upper body was out in the open, he was almost frozen numb. ¡°Thank you! Thank you, Fellow Daoist Jiang!¡± Sima Che scrambled out of the snow pit, filled with rejoice of the narrow escape and the panic afterthought. It was in dumb luck that had protected him. After being thrown into the air by the st, he fell directly into a snow pit and came out unscratched. ¡°Where, where is Fellow Daoist Gu?¡± he gasped. ¡°He¡¯s over there. We need to start a fire.¡± ¡°I know where to find some firewood.¡± With that, they searched for twigs together and started a campfire. Another while passed before Gu Yu regained consciousness. His face was pale. ¡°How are you feeling? I have examined you. Your bones are all fine,¡± said Xiaozhai hastily. ¡°Probably¡­ probably some internal organ was injured by the impact¡­¡± he was breathing unevenly and seemed rather weak. ¡°Then stay put. Don¡¯t move around.¡± ¡°How are things looking now?¡± he asked. ¡°The tunnel entrance is blocked by the snow, the valley¡¯s all gone and so are our food and equipment, which were in our backpacks.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that fellow doing?¡± ¡°He says he was going down to have a look. He still has the thing you got out of theke.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Gu Yu nodded, then added for no reason, ¡°Be careful.¡± ¡°I know.¡± At that moment, Sima Che climbed back to the mountainside and copsed to the ground in a heap. He whimpered, ¡°It¡¯s over. This ce was the secluded cultivation site of my sect for hundreds of years and now it¡¯s all over¡­ I¡¯m over¡­¡± ¡°Fellow Daoist Sima!¡± Gu Yu leaned against a short tree and pointed at a direction opposite the entrance. ¡°Now is not the time to think about those things. Do you know where going in that direction will lead us to?¡± Sima Che was stumped for a moment before replying, ¡°Also snow mountains. The nearest vige is a long way out, about four days¡¯ walk.¡± Four days? Both Gu Yu and Xiaozhai frowned. This meant they were stranded in a hopeless situation. Injury impaired their movement and, more importantly, they had no food! *** Night. Darkness hadpletely set in and they were surrounded by an inky ckness. The only light came from the fire. Without the warmth of the valley, the temperature slumped and the coldness was unbearable. They were all extraordinary men, who had remained calm in their current situation and exchanged ideas on finding a way out. Finally, they reached an agreement¡ªexcavate the shelters first, then find food and equipment. With their basic needs secured, it was only a matter of time before the entrance was dug open. With that thought in mind, their current status did not seem all that untolerable. As for the exchange, no one had mentioned it yet. Maybe they had forgotten about it, or maybe they ignored it on purpose. ¡°Crackle!¡± The me licked the twigs, which burst with crisp sounds. Sima Che sat by the fire and studied the ancient seal closely. The ancient records of his sect called it the ¡°Seal of Patriarch Sa¡±. It was said to contain the Taoist Skills and lost knowledge of Sa Shoujian, as well as fragments of his insights. By obtaining the seal, one hadid a foundation for achieving the Great Dao and there was a hope of bing immortal. However, no matter how many times he turned it around, the thing looked like nothing but a ck stone to him. He was at a loss in regards to its usage, but he was in no hurry. After all, they were stranded here at the moment. On the other side of the fire sat Gu Yu and Xiaozhai. Gu Yu was meditating with his eyes closed, but he was not consuming any essence. The spiritual essence here was sharp and chaotic. It would very likely kill him if he inhaled it. It would probably be forever before it quieted down and turned mild. Therefore, he was only regting his breathing in themon way, nourishing his internal organs and meridians with his own spiritual essence, trying to recover as soon as possible. After quite some time, he opened his eyes. Turning around, he caught the bright eyes of Xiaozhai. ¡°Get some sleep. You¡¯ve got work to do tomorrow,¡± chuckled him. ¡°Forget it. I can¡¯t sleep.¡± Xiaozhai shook her head, looking worried. She said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m worried about Xiao Qiu.¡± Gu Yu also became anxious at her words, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s been four days!¡± *** ¡°Xiao Qiu, time for dinner!¡± ¡°Let me help!¡± Inside a house, Ayhan carried the dishes to the table and called out for Long Qiu, who hurried near to help Ayhan with bowls and chopsticks. Ayhan¡¯s mother had gone to the pasture and the two girls were left alone at home. They got along quite well and sat closely together, chatting along as they ate. There was only so much the girls could talk about and the subject naturally fell onto those two after a while. Ayhan was a simple and generous girl who always spoke her mind. It was inevitable that she would talk about the time of their return. Long Qiu replied with a smile, but could not conceal the profound anxiety in her eyes. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai had left some money with Shiriahun¡¯s family to cover her expenses. They had also given Long Qiu some money, but she found nothing to spend it on in this small vige. Her seal wouldst for five days at most. If they did note back by the day after tomorrow, the Golden Silkworm would break out. She was a stubborn girl and had made up her mind for long. Tomorrow night, she would leave alone and go into the mountains to search for her brother and sister. It would be great if she managed to find them. If not, she would die in the snow mountains. It was better than hurting the vigers by ident. Meanwhile, inside a station somewhere between Shuimogou and Bogda Shan, several men were deep in discussion. ¡°Captain, it¡¯s been four days. Those two must have died in there.¡± ¡°Hoho, I won¡¯t buy it. They couldn¡¯t have died like that. I¡¯m sure they¡¯lle out.¡± ¡°Tell you what, I don¡¯t buy it either. If it were not for this uniform I¡¯m wearing, I would actually envy those two. Such an unrestrained life!¡± ¡°Ha, that thought of yours is very dangerous!¡± As they bickered on, footsteps approached. ¡°Captain, we¡¯ve received an oral instruction!¡± ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°Wait two more days. If the target still does not show up, start the operation at once!¡± Chapter 124 Chapter 124: A Deadly Counterattack Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu A dim morning sunlight peeped out from behind the horizon, shining again on the endless white snond. The campfire from the previous night had extinguished and Xiaozhai was reviving it. Because there was no room for them to stay below, they had cleared out a small area up here as their temporary campsite. Sima Che walked around and came back sighing. ¡°I¡¯ve checked everywhere. There¡¯s nothing to eat.¡± ¡°Sigh, if only we had a pan or a pot, at least we could have some hot water to drink.¡± ¡°Yeah, it seems we¡¯ll have to work on an empty stomach.¡± Sima and Xiaozhai exchanged some small talk, putting up an easy-going atmosphere, while Gu Yu was sitting aside adjusting his breathing with closed eyes. His internal injury could not be taken lightly, but wasn¡¯t life-threatening either. All he needed was a nice ce and some good rest. However, a nice ce was exactly what they did not have at the moment. Clearing his head of all unnecessary thoughts, he turned his mental power inward. Five lumps of air of different colors seemed to be floating in a lightless universe. Beside them, a streak of white vapor was moving slowly. With every cycle the vaporpleted, the lumps of air recovered by a little bit. In doing so, a thinyer of illumination glowed all over his face. The changing radiance looked magical, making any onlooker admire it in silence. Sima Che watched him with admiration and envy. He could not help but ask, ¡°Fellow Daoist Jiang, is this the Essence-consuming Method?¡± ¡°Yes. He¡¯s treating his internal injury now and can¡¯t be disturbed. Let¡¯s go down.¡± ¡°Oh, sure!¡± The two descended to the valley and located a digging zone, which was three times the size centering the spot where the houses used to be, for they could not have been destroyed standing still, but should be thrown into the air, then scattered around. They had no digging tools and had to use their bare hands. The valley was extremely cold, the snow colder, and their naked hands the coldest of all. It did not take long for them to turn red and numb in the freezing weather. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± Shocked repeatedly yesterday, having little rest over the night and adding to the fact that they were working on an empty stomach, Sima Che was quite out of form at the moment. He straightened up and looked in the direction of Jiang Xiaozhai. She was panting for breath as well, but did not for a moment stop digging. She was absorbed in her work. As a matter of fact, Sima Che had put all his attention on Gu Yu before and did not think much of the woman. Right now, however, he found it necessary to reevaluate her and drew the most straightforward conclusion: she was not all that ordinary. ¡°Huh?¡± While he was lingering on his thoughts, Xiaozhai let out a soft cry and dragged a wooden board out of a snow pit about 15 cm deep. She chuckled, ¡°Lucky me. This could be our shovel. There you go!¡± Lifting up her arm, she tossed the board at Sima Che with a swish. ¡°¡­¡± Sima Che was taken by surprise. He might have been cultivating in seclusion, but he did not forget the basic social customs. ¡°You should take it, I¡­¡± He swallowed the other half of the sentence resentfully, for the woman had taken out arger board. ¡®What the hell!¡¯ The feeling he had now was a peculiar one. Sima Che, who had always thought little of amorous affection, was filled with unspoken criticism towards the duo now. ¡®Exactly how have you two been getting along with each other?¡¯ Before they realized, it was noontime. The bright sunlight shone down on the entire valley. Everything was radiating resplendently with a golden hue. The area they singled out was correct and their forage had turned out quite fruitful. Among their harvests were broken pots, rags, ss shards, and what was left of a water tank. They had kept all of them. After all, they were under exceptional circumstances at the moment. Maybe they would turn out to be useful. Sima Che paused slightly in his digging, then sped up. A chunk of snow was soon cleared away, revealing a green jade casket the size of a cigarette box. It was made from the same material as that jade te, taken off from the mutated rock surrounding theke. ¡°¡­¡± He darted a look at Xiaozhai, hid the jade casket into his chest pocket stealthily, and resumed digging. Xiaozhai waspletely unaware of his findings, for she had found something herself as well. Clearing away the snow with all her effort, she tugged forcibly, dragging out an object¡ªher backpack. Unzipping the bag, she saw that some of the contents were damaged, which she paid no attention to. Also in the backpack were several bags of super-concentrated wheat flour, soybean flour,pressed biscuits, and those raw meatballs they made themselves. ¡°I found food!¡± she lifted up the bag and shook it. ¡°What do you have in there?¡± Sima Che ran to her at once, also delighted by the discovery. With food, there was hope. They immediately abandoned their digging task and returned promptly to the campsite. Gu Yu was staring at the fire in boredom, feeding it with a piece of wood every now and then. He saw the two return from a distance away as they tossed everything on the ground with a ng. He was amazed, ¡°Howe you two look like scavengers?¡± ¡°We did not scavenge. These are our precious.¡± ¡°Get out of the way!¡± Xiaozhai would not stay idle for even a minute. She ced a wooden board on the ground, dried a ragged nket over the fire and covered the board with the nket. They even brought back half of a square pillow. Within no time, she had build a makeshift cot. ¡°It¡¯ll work for the time being. I¡¯ll make you a better one when we find some bedding.¡± She supported Gu Yu with her hand and let him slouch on the bed, half leaning. It was indeed much better than a wooden pole. After that, she strutted two pots over the fire, one to cook flour paste and the other meatball. The wheat flour was remarkable. One bag of it would give them a full pot of paste. The meatball was beyond description. The heat, the fat¡­ it was mouth-watering. They were all famished. For a while, no one said a word. All there was were the slurps and swallowing sounds of the three people. After the meal, seeing that the sun was still yet to set, Sima and Xiaozhai went down the mountain again. Their first day of digging was fruitful. Not only did they find the other backpack, but more importantly, they finally dug out a shovel, well, the head of a shovel. Instantly, they found their chances of survival increase greatly. The only problem was that the food was not exactly ample. Had there been another ident, there might not be enough for all three of them. *** ¡°Crackle!¡± The me licked at the dry twig. Everything else was in the darkness. Another night had fallen. Sima Che was absorbed in the only recreational activity there was at the moment¡ªhe was still studying the ancient seal. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were on the opposite side as usual, whispering with their heads close together. ¡°I wonder what Xiao Qiu is doing right now.¡± ¡°You know what she¡¯s like. She¡¯s probablying into the mountains to search for us.¡± They couldn¡¯t help it. If threatened, Long Qiu might follow the order of her brother and sister, releasing the Golden Silkworm. If not, she would never hurt the vigers, but choose to endure it all by herself. Having been locked away for so long, they knew how frantic it would be without even having to think about it! In a way, it was quite interesting. Being stranded in the snow mountains, the two of them worried not about their own circumstances, but cared only about the girl outside these mountains. After a brief silence, Gu Yu seemed to remember something and called out suddenly, ¡°Fellow Daoist Sima!¡± ¡°What is it, Fellow Daoist Gu?¡± Sima Che looked up. ¡°We were all busy with staying alive before and did not have the chance. Now that we¡¯ve got time, I need to ask. Since you¡¯ve got the ancient seal, what about the thing you promised us? You haven¡¯t forgot it, have you?¡± ¡°Haha, Fellow Daoist, please don¡¯t make fun of me. You know I¡¯m not that sort of person who would forget about his own honor for the sake of gold!¡± Sima Che replied immediately at Gu Yu¡¯s remark. ¡°However, I had dropped the box in the brooks and have no idea of its whereabouts at the moment. And we have no pen here. As much as I want to give it to you, I can¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°Senior, did you write down the Thunder Technique yourself?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°Exactly!¡± ¡°In that case, you can recite it to us. We can remember it,¡± grinned her. ¡°That, I¡¯m afraid, would not be very appropriate.¡± Sima Che shook his head and said, ¡°I have written it down following the ancient books of my sect. I¡¯m afraid I might make mistakes reciting it. How about we look for it again tomorrow? It would be better if we could find the book recording the secret skill. If not, I¡¯ll recite it to you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a point. We¡¯ll have to work hard tomorrow again.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯ste. Let¡¯s all go to bed.¡± Our two fellow turned off like a switch at the words. Gu Yuy on the cot with Xiaozhai next to him, lying on nothing but a piece of ragged cloth. ¡°Crack!¡± The campsite fell silent right away. They had put in plenty of firewood beforehand. The dancing me separated the two sides. Sima Che gazed at the other two across the fire. He reached into his chest pocket and touched the thing inside. *** The following day, noon. Xiaozhai and Sima Che continued with their digging. However, they seemed to have exhausted all their luck yesterday and found next to nothing so far. Nothing useful came out of their search. Xiaozhai simply abandoned the area surrounding the wooden houses and moved a few meters closer to the tunnel entrance. Her face brightened up with her digging, for she pulled a half-bedding out of the snow¡ªthere was only half of a usual bedding left. It was dded thickly with ice and felt as hard and solid as a gstone. ¡°This is nice, much better than that lousy nket.¡± She turned around and called out, ¡°Senior, I need to go back. The bedding needs drying asap!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go, then. You can save some strength.¡± Sima Che came up to her, showing his apparent concern. ¡°Ok, thank you for taking the trouble, Senior.¡± Xiaozhai did not turn him down. ¡°In a situation like the one we¡¯re in, nothing can be troublesome. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Taking over the bedding, he ran swiftly up the mountain. Arriving at the campsite, he found Gu Yu still meditating with his eyes closed, as ifpletely unaware of activities of the outside world. Quietly, Sima Che put down the bedding. A glint of hesitation and struggle shed across his face, then the cold and gloomy look took over. He advanced carefully one step at a time. When he reached the campfire, Gu Yu opened his eyes abruptly. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Sima Che¡¯s heart leapt and he forced himself to remain poised. Before he could think of an excuse, Gu Yu looked into his eyes and said, ¡°You want to kill me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He winced, then squinted and made another step forward. Gu Yu showed no sign of panic and kept on asking, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He remained silent. ¡°Because that Thunder Technique is a fake and you don¡¯t have the genuine one?¡± ¡°You knew it all along?¡± Finally, he replied. ¡°Nope. I was only specting, but now, I¡¯m sure.¡± Gu Yu¡¯s face was indifferent and one could not tell what he was thinking. ¡°Where is Xiaozhai?¡± ¡°Still down there. Don¡¯t worry, though. After what we¡¯ve been through together, I¡¯ll bury you two in one grave.¡± Sima Che¡¯s voice was growing colder. Exactly, he never had the Thunder Technique to begin with! Ever since their encounter, he had been bluffing. Knowing that Gu Yu was in an innate state, he had been trying to take advantage of Gu Yu¡¯s cultivation. The paper scroll in the box was nothing but a coge of bits and pieces taken from various manuals of his sect. He was well aware of the consequences should Gu Yu see through his little scheme. However, with what he was to gain, nothing else mattered. He was nning to stall for as long as he could. After the two came after himst night, though, he decided to strike first and gain the upper hand. His n was to take out Gu Yu first, then get rid of Xiaozhai, who he thought to be harmless. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Hearing this, Gu Yu sighed softly and said, ¡°If you went after her first, at least you would die such a miserable deathter.¡± ¡°Humph! Bluff all you want!¡± Sima Che had walked past the campfire and was only a few steps away from Gu Yu. He shook his arm, producing an arrow of fast-moving air from his sleeve. It was a demonstration of his power, one that was infinitely close to the innate state. Almost simultaneously, he opened his mouth, revealing a green flicker. Something was going to be shot out. This was his true deadly weapon! It was a sinister secret skill that he invented after years of research. He had been most scrupulous. Gu Yu was suffering from internal injury and had difficulty getting about. It was a perfect opportunity for him. Unfortunately, little did he know that that fellow¡¯s specialty was never hand-to-handbat. ¡°Ah!¡± The green light flickered and was distinguished in a sh. Sima Che screamed instead. His body convulsed, twisting into an unnatural angle from head to toe, instantly shortening him by a half. He tumbled to the ground, scratching at his skin with both hands non-stop like an insane person while wailing and howling. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ don¡¯t bite me¡­ ah!¡± His nails had sunk deep into his flesh, cutting out bloody gashes so deep that his tendons and bones were showing. One could hardly bear the sight. Gu Yu sat cross-legged not far from him. There was pity in his eyes at first, which was then reced by a bottomless darkness. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Help me, help!¡± Within a few breaths¡¯ time, the screams weakened and Sima Chey t on the ground, like a dehydrated dead fish. He was covered by blood, almost as good as dead. He wouldn¡¯tst more than two hours if left there untreated. ¡°He just had to try¡­¡± At that moment, Xiaozhai came back. She gave Sima Che a nce and covered her mouth, retching slightly. ¡°What¡¯s with the gory scene?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu looked sullen and did not answer. After all, it was his first time killing someone with his own hands. Xiaozhai of course understood his feelings. She herself was having a hard time taking it in as well. Dragging the man aside, she asked, ¡°What are we gonna do with himter?¡± He closed his eyes slightly and replied with a somewhat mournful sigh, ¡°Bury him¡­¡± Chapter 124: A Deadly Counterattack Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu A dim morning sunlight peeped out from behind the horizon, shining again on the endless white snond. The campfire from the previous night had extinguished and Xiaozhai was reviving it. Because there was no room for them to stay below, they had cleared out a small area up here as their temporary campsite. Sima Che walked around and came back sighing. ¡°I¡¯ve checked everywhere. There¡¯s nothing to eat.¡± ¡°Sigh, if only we had a pan or a pot, at least we could have some hot water to drink.¡± ¡°Yeah, it seems we¡¯ll have to work on an empty stomach.¡± Sima and Xiaozhai exchanged some small talk, putting up an easy-going atmosphere, while Gu Yu was sitting aside adjusting his breathing with closed eyes. His internal injury could not be taken lightly, but wasn¡¯t life-threatening either. All he needed was a nice ce and some good rest. However, a nice ce was exactly what they did not have at the moment. Clearing his head of all unnecessary thoughts, he turned his mental power inward. Five lumps of air of different colors seemed to be floating in a lightless universe. Beside them, a streak of white vapor was moving slowly. With every cycle the vaporpleted, the lumps of air recovered by a little bit. In doing so, a thinyer of illumination glowed all over his face. The changing radiance looked magical, making any onlooker admire it in silence. Sima Che watched him with admiration and envy. He could not help but ask, ¡°Fellow Daoist Jiang, is this the Essence-consuming Method?¡± ¡°Yes. He¡¯s treating his internal injury now and can¡¯t be disturbed. Let¡¯s go down.¡± ¡°Oh, sure!¡± The two descended to the valley and located a digging zone, which was three times the size centering the spot where the houses used to be, for they could not have been destroyed standing still, but should be thrown into the air, then scattered around. They had no digging tools and had to use their bare hands. The valley was extremely cold, the snow colder, and their naked hands the coldest of all. It did not take long for them to turn red and numb in the freezing weather. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± Shocked repeatedly yesterday, having little rest over the night and adding to the fact that they were working on an empty stomach, Sima Che was quite out of form at the moment. He straightened up and looked in the direction of Jiang Xiaozhai. She was panting for breath as well, but did not for a moment stop digging. She was absorbed in her work. As a matter of fact, Sima Che had put all his attention on Gu Yu before and did not think much of the woman. Right now, however, he found it necessary to reevaluate her and drew the most straightforward conclusion: she was not all that ordinary. ¡°Huh?¡± While he was lingering on his thoughts, Xiaozhai let out a soft cry and dragged a wooden board out of a snow pit about 15 cm deep. She chuckled, ¡°Lucky me. This could be our shovel. There you go!¡± Lifting up her arm, she tossed the board at Sima Che with a swish. ¡°¡­¡± Sima Che was taken by surprise. He might have been cultivating in seclusion, but he did not forget the basic social customs. ¡°You should take it, I¡­¡± He swallowed the other half of the sentence resentfully, for the woman had taken out arger board. ¡®What the hell!¡¯ The feeling he had now was a peculiar one. Sima Che, who had always thought little of amorous affection, was filled with unspoken criticism towards the duo now. ¡®Exactly how have you two been getting along with each other?¡¯ Before they realized, it was noontime. The bright sunlight shone down on the entire valley. Everything was radiating resplendently with a golden hue. The area they singled out was correct and their forage had turned out quite fruitful. Among their harvests were broken pots, rags, ss shards, and what was left of a water tank. They had kept all of them. After all, they were under exceptional circumstances at the moment. Maybe they would turn out to be useful. Sima Che paused slightly in his digging, then sped up. A chunk of snow was soon cleared away, revealing a green jade casket the size of a cigarette box. It was made from the same material as that jade te, taken off from the mutated rock surrounding theke. ¡°¡­¡± He darted a look at Xiaozhai, hid the jade casket into his chest pocket stealthily, and resumed digging. Xiaozhai waspletely unaware of his findings, for she had found something herself as well. Clearing away the snow with all her effort, she tugged forcibly, dragging out an object¡ªher backpack. Unzipping the bag, she saw that some of the contents were damaged, which she paid no attention to. Also in the backpack were several bags of super-concentrated wheat flour, soybean flour,pressed biscuits, and those raw meatballs they made themselves. ¡°I found food!¡± she lifted up the bag and shook it. ¡°What do you have in there?¡± Sima Che ran to her at once, also delighted by the discovery. With food, there was hope. They immediately abandoned their digging task and returned promptly to the campsite. Gu Yu was staring at the fire in boredom, feeding it with a piece of wood every now and then. He saw the two return from a distance away as they tossed everything on the ground with a ng. He was amazed, ¡°Howe you two look like scavengers?¡± ¡°We did not scavenge. These are our precious.¡± ¡°Get out of the way!¡± Xiaozhai would not stay idle for even a minute. She ced a wooden board on the ground, dried a ragged nket over the fire and covered the board with the nket. They even brought back half of a square pillow. Within no time, she had build a makeshift cot. ¡°It¡¯ll work for the time being. I¡¯ll make you a better one when we find some bedding.¡± She supported Gu Yu with her hand and let him slouch on the bed, half leaning. It was indeed much better than a wooden pole. After that, she strutted two pots over the fire, one to cook flour paste and the other meatball. The wheat flour was remarkable. One bag of it would give them a full pot of paste. The meatball was beyond description. The heat, the fat¡­ it was mouth-watering. They were all famished. For a while, no one said a word. All there was were the slurps and swallowing sounds of the three people. After the meal, seeing that the sun was still yet to set, Sima and Xiaozhai went down the mountain again. Their first day of digging was fruitful. Not only did they find the other backpack, but more importantly, they finally dug out a shovel, well, the head of a shovel. Instantly, they found their chances of survival increase greatly. The only problem was that the food was not exactly ample. Had there been another ident, there might not be enough for all three of them. *** ¡°Crackle!¡± The me licked at the dry twig. Everything else was in the darkness. Another night had fallen. Sima Che was absorbed in the only recreational activity there was at the moment¡ªhe was still studying the ancient seal. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were on the opposite side as usual, whispering with their heads close together. ¡°I wonder what Xiao Qiu is doing right now.¡± ¡°You know what she¡¯s like. She¡¯s probablying into the mountains to search for us.¡± They couldn¡¯t help it. If threatened, Long Qiu might follow the order of her brother and sister, releasing the Golden Silkworm. If not, she would never hurt the vigers, but choose to endure it all by herself. Having been locked away for so long, they knew how frantic it would be without even having to think about it! In a way, it was quite interesting. Being stranded in the snow mountains, the two of them worried not about their own circumstances, but cared only about the girl outside these mountains. After a brief silence, Gu Yu seemed to remember something and called out suddenly, ¡°Fellow Daoist Sima!¡± ¡°What is it, Fellow Daoist Gu?¡± Sima Che looked up. ¡°We were all busy with staying alive before and did not have the chance. Now that we¡¯ve got time, I need to ask. Since you¡¯ve got the ancient seal, what about the thing you promised us? You haven¡¯t forgot it, have you?¡± ¡°Haha, Fellow Daoist, please don¡¯t make fun of me. You know I¡¯m not that sort of person who would forget about his own honor for the sake of gold!¡± Sima Che replied immediately at Gu Yu¡¯s remark. ¡°However, I had dropped the box in the brooks and have no idea of its whereabouts at the moment. And we have no pen here. As much as I want to give it to you, I can¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°Senior, did you write down the Thunder Technique yourself?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°Exactly!¡± ¡°In that case, you can recite it to us. We can remember it,¡± grinned her. ¡°That, I¡¯m afraid, would not be very appropriate.¡± Sima Che shook his head and said, ¡°I have written it down following the ancient books of my sect. I¡¯m afraid I might make mistakes reciting it. How about we look for it again tomorrow? It would be better if we could find the book recording the secret skill. If not, I¡¯ll recite it to you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a point. We¡¯ll have to work hard tomorrow again.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯ste. Let¡¯s all go to bed.¡± Our two fellow turned off like a switch at the words. Gu Yuy on the cot with Xiaozhai next to him, lying on nothing but a piece of ragged cloth. ¡°Crack!¡± The campsite fell silent right away. They had put in plenty of firewood beforehand. The dancing me separated the two sides. Sima Che gazed at the other two across the fire. He reached into his chest pocket and touched the thing inside. *** The following day, noon. Xiaozhai and Sima Che continued with their digging. However, they seemed to have exhausted all their luck yesterday and found next to nothing so far. Nothing useful came out of their search. Xiaozhai simply abandoned the area surrounding the wooden houses and moved a few meters closer to the tunnel entrance. Her face brightened up with her digging, for she pulled a half-bedding out of the snow¡ªthere was only half of a usual bedding left. It was dded thickly with ice and felt as hard and solid as a gstone. ¡°This is nice, much better than that lousy nket.¡± She turned around and called out, ¡°Senior, I need to go back. The bedding needs drying asap!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go, then. You can save some strength.¡± Sima Che came up to her, showing his apparent concern. ¡°Ok, thank you for taking the trouble, Senior.¡± Xiaozhai did not turn him down. ¡°In a situation like the one we¡¯re in, nothing can be troublesome. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Taking over the bedding, he ran swiftly up the mountain. Arriving at the campsite, he found Gu Yu still meditating with his eyes closed, as ifpletely unaware of activities of the outside world. Quietly, Sima Che put down the bedding. A glint of hesitation and struggle shed across his face, then the cold and gloomy look took over. He advanced carefully one step at a time. When he reached the campfire, Gu Yu opened his eyes abruptly. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Sima Che¡¯s heart leapt and he forced himself to remain poised. Before he could think of an excuse, Gu Yu looked into his eyes and said, ¡°You want to kill me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He winced, then squinted and made another step forward. Gu Yu showed no sign of panic and kept on asking, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He remained silent. ¡°Because that Thunder Technique is a fake and you don¡¯t have the genuine one?¡± ¡°You knew it all along?¡± Finally, he replied. ¡°Nope. I was only specting, but now, I¡¯m sure.¡± Gu Yu¡¯s face was indifferent and one could not tell what he was thinking. ¡°Where is Xiaozhai?¡± ¡°Still down there. Don¡¯t worry, though. After what we¡¯ve been through together, I¡¯ll bury you two in one grave.¡± Sima Che¡¯s voice was growing colder. Exactly, he never had the Thunder Technique to begin with! Ever since their encounter, he had been bluffing. Knowing that Gu Yu was in an innate state, he had been trying to take advantage of Gu Yu¡¯s cultivation. The paper scroll in the box was nothing but a coge of bits and pieces taken from various manuals of his sect. He was well aware of the consequences should Gu Yu see through his little scheme. However, with what he was to gain, nothing else mattered. He was nning to stall for as long as he could. After the two came after himst night, though, he decided to strike first and gain the upper hand. His n was to take out Gu Yu first, then get rid of Xiaozhai, who he thought to be harmless. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Hearing this, Gu Yu sighed softly and said, ¡°If you went after her first, at least you would die such a miserable deathter.¡± ¡°Humph! Bluff all you want!¡± Sima Che had walked past the campfire and was only a few steps away from Gu Yu. He shook his arm, producing an arrow of fast-moving air from his sleeve. It was a demonstration of his power, one that was infinitely close to the innate state. Almost simultaneously, he opened his mouth, revealing a green flicker. Something was going to be shot out. This was his true deadly weapon! It was a sinister secret skill that he invented after years of research. He had been most scrupulous. Gu Yu was suffering from internal injury and had difficulty getting about. It was a perfect opportunity for him. Unfortunately, little did he know that that fellow¡¯s specialty was never hand-to-handbat. ¡°Ah!¡± The green light flickered and was distinguished in a sh. Sima Che screamed instead. His body convulsed, twisting into an unnatural angle from head to toe, instantly shortening him by a half. He tumbled to the ground, scratching at his skin with both hands non-stop like an insane person while wailing and howling. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ don¡¯t bite me¡­ ah!¡± His nails had sunk deep into his flesh, cutting out bloody gashes so deep that his tendons and bones were showing. One could hardly bear the sight. Gu Yu sat cross-legged not far from him. There was pity in his eyes at first, which was then reced by a bottomless darkness. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Help me, help!¡± Within a few breaths¡¯ time, the screams weakened and Sima Chey t on the ground, like a dehydrated dead fish. He was covered by blood, almost as good as dead. He wouldn¡¯tst more than two hours if left there untreated. ¡°He just had to try¡­¡± At that moment, Xiaozhai came back. She gave Sima Che a nce and covered her mouth, retching slightly. ¡°What¡¯s with the gory scene?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu looked sullen and did not answer. After all, it was his first time killing someone with his own hands. Xiaozhai of course understood his feelings. She herself was having a hard time taking it in as well. Dragging the man aside, she asked, ¡°What are we gonna do with himter?¡± He closed his eyes slightly and replied with a somewhat mournful sigh, ¡°Bury him¡­¡± Chapter 125 Chapter 125: Finally, something Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu There was a new grave at the southeast corner of the valley. A snow mound and a worn wooden board tombstone were all there was to this grave. Not a single word was written on it. Even if some fortunate man stumbled into this ce yearster, they would have no idea who had been buried here, or that this ce used to be a green valley. Mourning Sima Che after killing him was neither pretentious nor hypocritical for the two. They would not judge Sima Che on a basis of being good or evil, for he had only done a thing many others would choose to do in pursuing interests. Therefore, what they expressed was destion¡ªa deep sorrow and loneliness they felt as fellow cultivators. In the afternoon, the campsite. Xiaozhai had gone down to the valley to dig again, leaving Gu Yu, who looked somewhat out of form, sitting on the makeshift cot. Having been mending his internal injury for the past few days and having forced himself to conjure a vision, he had consumed more than half of his spiritual essence. He had yet to reach the Spiritualization of the body and could not produce spiritual essence on his own, but had to depend on external sources, which was not exactly something reliable at the moment. He dared not make any rash move and had to ration what was left of his own essence. At the moment, Gu Yu was holding two objects in his hands: the green jade casket and the Seal of Patriarch Sa. He studied the casket first. It was the size of a cigarette box with a slidable lid, which seemed to be carved out of one single chunk of jade stone. Inside were two jade needles around 5 cm long, which were slightly thicker than embroidery needles and thinner than toothpicks. They were sharp-pointed on both ends, blueish green in color, and shone coldly in the light. Judging by the interior space of the casket, there should have been three needles at the beginning. One had been used¡ªit was none other than the green sh in Sima Che¡¯s mouth. That pal had secluded himself in Tianshan for years and stumbled upon the iceke and the mutated jade stones. He then expended painstaking efforts to produce these three jade needles. With some secret method, he could hide the needle in his mouth, enabling him to use them for surprise attacks. Unfortunately, before he could have a chance to carry one out, he was killed by a conjured vision. Gu Yu could not figure out the way to conceal it in his mouth and the jade needles were rather valuable, so he thought it better to keep them for the time being. After checking out the jade casket, he picked up the Taoist seal. It reminded him of the fishbone, in the sense that they both gave a bleak and ancient feeling of the remnants of a splendor long dissipated. This seal, however, was much more intact. Looking closely, he could make out some Taoist patterns carved on its four facets, which could be talismans or formations. These patterns were probably the reason the seal could suppress the node. One might never know the reason Sa Shoujian left this Taoist seal behind. It was likely that Sa himself did not anticipate a node appearing in the future time, let alone that someone of theter generation closely connected to Shenxiao Sect woulde here and obtain this seal. ¡°¡­¡± After ying around with it for quite some time, Gu Yu gingerly let out a streak of spiritual essence and probed the seal with it. As soon as the spiritual essence made contact with the seal, it was devoured like a stream disappearing into the sea. Blinking, he gave up this method right away and turned to another approach. He activated his mental force, carefully separated out a thin branch and scanned the seal gently with it. This time, there came a response. As if he and the seal were adjusted to the same frequency with matching signals, the Taoist seal opened its vast and remote self up with no resistance. Gu Yu felt his consciousness go dark. In front of him was a sky full of stars, as deep as an abyss. *** Xiaozhai panted as she made her way back to the mountain side, a shovel in hand. The shovel looked rather weird, for she had found a stick of wood and stuck it into the shovel head, then bound it tight with a rope. Anyway, it did its job for now. Arriving at the campsite, she saw Gu Yu meditating close-eyed with the ancient seal in his hands. She did not disturb him, but started cooking the broth on her own. It was when the pleasant aroma of the meat filled the air that Gu Yu opened his eyes, still half immersed in what he had seen. He turned his head and saw Xiaozhai busying herself with cooking despite her hardbor earlier. He could not help but feel guilty and blurted out, ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve checked out the tunnel entrance. It¡¯s not buried too deeply. With some luck, I might dig it open tomorrow.¡± She was never the sort of girl who needed kissing, petting, and cuddling to keep going. Ignoring Gu Yu¡¯s guilty conscience, she only asked, ¡°How¡¯s your injury?¡± ¡°Not looking too good. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to make my recovery after we¡¯re out of here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all right. We are both still alive, which is good enough.¡± Xiaozhai handed him a bowl of soup and asked again, ¡°By the way, got anything out of that thing?¡± ¡°A little. The jade needles in the casket seem to be some sort of hidden weapons. They can be ejected from one¡¯s mouth extremely fast. In close quarters, they¡¯re almost impossible to dodge.¡± ¡°How strong are they?¡± ¡°Not sure. He has used it as his killing move, so it must be powerful. As for this ancient seal¡­¡± Holding the seal on his open palm, Gu Yu suddenly straightened his face and said sternly, ¡°Jiang Xiaozhai, I have a Taoist skill here. Do you wish to learn it?¡± ¡°Will it make me immortal?¡± Xiaozhai asked with aughter. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Nope, don¡¯t want it!¡± ¡°You senseless girl! Come to my bed at midnight! 1 ¡± ¡°With you?¡± Xiaozhai scanned him from head to toe with her eyes and remarked with wholehearted contempt, ¡± By the time you¡¯re finished, my cup noodle is probably not soaked soft. The normal kind, that is. I won¡¯t humiliate you with the one with kimchi 2 !¡± ¡®Tsk! You haven¡¯t tried my ¡°hard¡± and ¡°soft¡± tactics¡­¡¯ Pursing his lips, Gu Yu refrained from that retort and automatically acknowledged his defeat. Speaking of the Seal of Patriarch Sa, it actually contained three manuals: ¡°Shenxiao¡¯s Tinkling Jade Book of Great Thunder¡±; ¡°On Alchemy¡±; and ¡°On Refining Instruments¡±. The first was aplete book and the other two titles were randomly named by Gu Yu himself. Thetter two contained nothing but a few lines, recording the recipe of a certain type of Dan and the refining method of a Taoist instrument, probably the spree-of-a-moment thing. ¡°Shenxiao¡¯s Tinkling Jade Book of Great Thunder¡±, however, was none other than the cultivation manual Xiaozhai had been strenuously searching for. ¡°Thunder Technique is an innate way and the spirit of thunder a spirit within oneself. The Qi is in harmony with the spirit and everything goes back to where they started. Whether one is walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, the Qi moves around in an unbroken manner. In that way, it will be nourished and be magnificent enough to cast spells. With the vital Qi of oneself,bined with the creation of heaven and earth, one could summon clouds, rain, and thunder at will. The Five Elements originate from Yin and Yang, and in turn, Yin and Yang are divided into Five Elements. Men can gather the energy of Yin and Yang from the Five Elements, and by circting the energy, Five Thunders are made. The Five Thunders each belong to one of the five internal organs. Only by concentrating the energy of the five internal organs into one ce can one master the Great Dao and the magical effect of Five Thunders. Wood Thunder of the East locates in the liver pce, Fire Thunder of the South in the heart pce, Metal Thunder of the West in the lung pce, Water Thunder of the North in the kidney pce, and Earth Thunder of the Center in the spleen pce. The energy of five internal organs invigorates, maintaining one¡¯s original pure character. Such tranquil state is referred to as being ¡°passionless¡±. By severing oneself from five ¡°passions¡±, a Taoist form of quiescence is achieved and an emotional perceptiveness is ready for the use of the Great Dao. Such is the subtlety of the Five Thunders¡­¡± In in words: Thunder Technique is the fiercest. The process of cultivating the Five Thunders is like the legendary ¡°severing of the three ill temperaments¡±. Of Wood Thunder, Fire Thunder, Metal Thunder, Water Thunder, and Earth Thunder, one needs to cultivate each one of them until they reach the state of ¡°passionless¡± in all five. It is only by then that they will have achieved an initial sess. Of all the Taoist skills out there, they all led to the same goal, only by different means. Essentially, they were trying to make the human bodymunicate with heaven and earth, resulting in connecting the individual small universes to the big one. Therefore, this so-called ¡°passionless state¡± was just another way of saying ¡°innate state¡±. Gu Yu was cultivating with everything put together, while the Five Thunders divided them into five stages. Both ways would lead a cultivator to be a Human Immortal. Beyond that were the real Immortals, characterized by their ability of emanating their magical power in both physical and spiritual forms. Rted topics could also be found in the ¡°Tinkling Jade Book of Great Thunder¡±, exining things from how to meditate to how to learn the magical powers, etc. This was in line with the general principle they found in Qionglong Mountain: to meditate like a dragon, be unrestrained like a dragon, control over everything like a dragon¡­ This finding further proved the origin of Xiaozhai¡¯s sect, which was definitely connected to Shenxiao Sect. ¡­Before Song Dynasty, essence-consuming dominated the cultivation practice. After Song, Neidan practice took over the market share. The Thunder Technique they had just found, however, had noticeable traits of the essence-consuming method, while the theory of Neidan was also peeking out of the lines. That period of revolution, or Tang Dynasty to be precise, just happened to be the time when Xiaozhai¡¯s sect was founded. With the ample empty space in the the two¡¯s heads, they had alreadye up with a love-and-revenge drama where Wang Wenqing or Lin Lingsu took the credit of creating the skill by killing its previous owner, then white-washed their name and established a sect of their own. As for the other two records, the Dan was called ¡°Essence-gathering Dan¡±, which could facilitate one¡¯s cultivation. The instrument was called ¡°Whisk of Tranquility¡±, which was nothing but a horsetail whisk that was said to dispel evil and help with avoiding ill fortune. The names alone suggested that they were mere basic appliances, which exined why there was so little description. Needless to say, it was already a surprise beyond any expectation. Had she not been exhausted, Xiaozhai would very much like to hop onto a tree like a real monkey. Gu Yu was delighted as well. This was theirst stop and finally, they found what they came all this way for. ¡°The Dan recipe hase just about the right time. We both can use it. As for the horsetail whisk¡­¡± Xiaozhai frowned, ¡°Does it mean we have to be Taoist priests in the future?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think so? Can you imagine me waving a whisk around wearing a one-piece?¡± ¡°Well, that¡­¡± Gu Yu thought about that picture and said with embarrassment, ¡°Later, we¡¯ll talk about thatter.¡± The little gain they had found had kept them busy throughout the night and their excitement did not subside even when morning came. They couldn¡¯t help it. Such exhration and satisfaction of obtaining a treasure by ident was unparalleled. With this, they were drawn even closer to each other. Apanion was not just there to guide and instruct. More importantly, they were there so that, when in plight, one did not have to face it alone and could face it with someone they could trustpletely. Take what was happening now as an example. If someone other than Gu Yu had found the Taoist skill of Patriarch Sa, would he tell Xiaozhai all the same, leaving nothing behind? Or even, would he perhaps get rid of Xiaozhai just to keep this legacy all to himself? This level of trust was what ensured their growing intimacy this whole time. Chapter 126 Chapter 126: A Night in the Wilderness Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu It was the fifth day. Shuimogou at night was docile like a newborn, slumbering in the arms of the huge mountains. Of the nearly one hundred households, only a handful still had their lights on. Among those was the Shiriahun¡¯s house in the east. ¡°I¡¯m done! Let¡¯s go to bed, it¡¯ste.¡± On the warm kang, Ayhan had won another round of the card game and was yawning uncontrobly. Opposite her, Long Qiu swept the cards together and said with a smile, ¡°Ok. I¡¯ll put these away. You go lie down first.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to it, then.¡± Having entertained Long Qiu for all this time, Ayhan was so sleepy that she tumbled to her bed right away. Drifting off, she felt the light turned off and a soft body lie down beside her. The next minute, Ayhan was soundly asleep. It was dark and quiet in the room, yet an indistinctive agitation was pulsing in the air, as if some restlessness was flowing around. Suddenly, Long Qiu¡¯s eyes flipped open as she called in a whisper, ¡°Ayhan? Ayhan?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Met with no response, she crept out of bed, got dressed noiselessly, and put a little note she wrote beforehand on the table. After all these, she stood in the doorway and looked back. She could see nothing in the darkness, but she knew a figure was on that kang; she would probably remember her kindness and goodness for the rest of her life. She paused there for a few seconds, then pushed open the door carefully and walked out of the courtyard. The vige was as still as an ink stick, sitting deep, serene and old in the night. With a bag on her back, she kept her pace walking through this little but warm ce, and made her way into the wilderness. Once in the wild, the first thing that hit her was the coldness, before the vastness took over. She was instantly overwhelmed by the two sensations. Staring into the pitch-ckness surrounding her, she was dazed for a moment, unable to figure out her next move. She had chosen to leave at thiste hour instead of daytime so as to avoid disturbing the vigers, for they might start searching for her, or even call the police. Death was not on top of Long Qiu¡¯s list; she was going to find her brother and sister. For that purpose, she had made some preparation in advance. Unzipping her backpack, she was going to take out her shlight when something cold swept across her wrist. Xiao Qing had wrapped itself around her arm. ¡°Haha, I almost forgot about you!¡± Rubbing the green snake on its head, she chuckled, ¡°I thought I was going to be all by myself. Luckily, I still have you around. You can¡¯t stay with me for very long, though. You¡¯ll have to leave when day breaks.¡± ¡°Hiss!¡± Xiao Qing could not understand what she was saying. It only lowered its head and rubbed against her arm. It was way too cold in the snow mountains and Xiaozhai was afraid that Xiao Qing might be frozen to death out there, so the snake was left behind in the vige. After spending the past few days with Long Qiu, it had fallen head over heels for the girl, hanging around her with all the gentleness it was capable of expressing. With the green snake as herpanion, Long Qiu¡¯s spirits were much lifted. She had figured out the route she was to take in advance and was now staggering her way towards the mountainous region. If Li Suchun were here, those two might strike up a conversation. The nocturnal walk under a dark sky and surrounded by vast wilnds with no one around save for a non-human creature that could not return her unteral conversation was utterly tormenting. She walked like this for over half an hour and was getting closer to the mountain pass. However, she suddenly stopped dead as a low moan was let out. ¡°Ow!¡± Just then, she felt the Golden Silkworm jolted. It was breaking out earlier than she had expected. ¡°¡­¡± Biting her lips, Long Qiu crouched down and let the green snake slip to the ground. ¡°Thank you for keeping mepany these days. I need to leave now and you should leave as well. Remember, don¡¯t let others catch you. Don¡¯t go into the mountains either. It¡¯s too cold in there. If I get through this alive and find my brother and sister, we¡¯lle back for you.¡± ¡°Hiss!¡± Sensing that she was saying goodbye but unable toprehend her words, Xiao Qing stuck out its two-pronged tongue repeatedly, refusing to leave. ¡°Go now!¡± ¡°Go, quickly!¡± ¡°Hiss!¡± ¡°You¡­ ow!¡± While urging Xiao Qing, she felt the Golden Silkworm jolted again. Promptly, she turned around and darted off. Xiao Qing tailed after her persistently and would not be left behind. In the end, she was half crying, ¡°Please don¡¯t follow me any more. It WILL eat you!¡± *** In the temporary station halfway between Shuimogou and the mountains, members of Team Six of the Second Department were fast asleep. The row of houses looked like an observation post and were all painted yellow. In the front was a small square with a g pole. Just by looking at it, no one would expect a bunch of ¡°burgeoning activists¡± were hiding inside. ¡°Boss, wake up! Wake up!¡± The team captain, Old Qin, was dreaming while slouching in his bed when one of his men shook him awake. Opening his eyes, he saw Xiao Liu, who was on surveince duty. ¡°What happened?¡± his heart lurched at the look on Xiao Liu¡¯s face. ¡°No. Three, No. Three has left the vige and is moving towards the mountains!¡± ¡°When did that happen?¡± ¡°Just now!¡± ¡°Quickly, get everyone!¡± Immediately, all members were dragged out of their beds and lined up in two rows while still half asleep. Old Qin¡¯s words were brief and to the point. ¡°Target No. Three is entering the mountains. The situation is critical. We¡¯re setting out now!¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± Everyone was fully awakened by the scale of the problem. Their superior had left the instructions to shift their emphasis to target No. Three only when the survival of targets No. One and Two was hard to predict. However, now that No. Three was also on the run, no one dared to take the me should she go missing as well. The decision was made at once. Two men would stay behind in the base and the remaining dozen left promptly together, hurrying off into the vast wilderness. *** Long Qiu could neither shoo Xiao Qing away, nor pin it down, unless she used the needle undead insect. Appearing all simple-minded, Xiao Qing followed her stubbornly,pletely unaware of her feelings. After plodding on for another while, the scenery before her eyes transformed abruptly. The vastness disappeared, reced by a giant shadow, towering over the wilnd like dark colossus. ¡°Phew¡­¡± Letting out a breath in relief, Long Qiu was about to march into the mountains when the sound of engines came from behind. She turned around and was dazzled by the bright headlights. ¡°Vroom! Vroom!¡± ¡°Vroom!¡± The roaring of powerful engines reverberated in the darkness. Vehicles had stopped in front of and behind her, closing her in. The engines were then switched off altogether as many people got off, their silhouettes lined white by the light. ¡°Who are you people?¡± she shaded her eyes with her hand. ¡°That¡¯s not important. All you need to know is that you need to cooperate with us on an incident. Pleasee with us,¡± said Old Qin. ¡°No, I¡¯m not going with you!¡± Clenching her small fists, Long Qiu recalled the people her brother and sister had mentioned. ¡°Haha, don¡¯t be nervous. We mean no harm.¡± Old Qin seemed to have had ready ns and smiled, ¡°You¡¯re entering the mountains in the middle of the night to look for those two people, aren¡¯t you? I promise you, as long as you work with us, we¡¯ll help you search for them. With our ample manpower, it¡¯ll be a piece of cake.¡± ¡°¡­¡± One had to admit, their preparation beforehand was very adequate, which hit Long Qiu on her soft spot right away. She was indeed moved by the proposition, but could not decide if she should trust them so easily. ¡°Ah!¡± At that moment, someone screamed and copsed to the ground. ¡°Snake!¡± ¡°There¡¯s a snake!¡± ¡°She can control snakes too!¡± ¡°Swish!¡± The atmosphere tensed up immediately. Six or seven guns were raised, aiming at Long Qiu in unison. Another four or five were sweeping the ground, ready to take out Xiao Qing. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt it!¡± She panicked and shouted. ¡°We don¡¯t want to make it difficult for you, so you¡¯d better put that snake away. My team member is wounded and needs immediate treatment. Stop stalling!¡± Old Qin¡¯s face darkened as he asked sternly, ¡°Let me ask you again: are youing with us or not?¡± ¡°Let ite to me first.¡± She pursed her lips. ¡°Okay!¡± Old Qin gave a wave and the guns were lowered. Xiao Qing slithered happily to Long Qiu. To be honest, Long Qiu herself was not prepared for situation like this and was at a loss. She fell silent. Across her, a dozen pairs of eyes were fixed on the girl, some curious, some probing, some appreciating her looks, while others abhorred by the snake-controlling ability. Minutester, Old Qin grew impatient and gestured the tranquilizer gun to be prepared. He was going to take her away by force. When the rifle was set up and before they got a chance to shoot, the skinny girl fell into a violent convulsion and a wavy pattern bulged from under her skin, as if something alive was running around. ¡°No¡­¡± Long Qiu copsed to the ground, her fingers digging deep into the snow and hard dirt. She was biting her lips so hard that blood was oozing out. She wailed. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡± Chapter 127 Chapter 127: Golden Silkworm Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Ah¡­ ah¡­¡± Held at gunpoint of a dozen firearms, Long Qiu dropped to the ground without warning and started wailing, her screams ripping through the dark night. One could feel the excruciating pain just by listening to the sounds she was making. Members of Team Six were startled at most, only Old Qin was visibly stung as he shouted, ¡°Fall back! Fall back now!¡± Some team members were yet to digest themand, but the instinct of following orders made them drop back several steps in unison. Xiao Qing also shivered as an utter fear enwrapped it. With a whoosh, it disappeared into the darkness. The incident earlier at the Miao vige was covered up by the government. They had carried out investigations, interrogating each of the Miao people in turn. The conclusion was that the man was a fierce hand-to-handbatant, the woman a master summoner, and the undead-insect girl a carrier of a spectacr undead insect which was said to be able to eat people. The notion of ¡®said to be¡¯ had summarized the whole idea. Everything was in rather general terms, for there were no recorded images and no one had been eaten so far. The Miao people could only specte, producing a vague idea: well, that thing is very dangerous and it wille out when the woman screams. The inheritance of Grass Ghost Women from one generation to the next had always been extremely secretive. Naturally, it wouldn¡¯t be an inheritance if everyone knew how it worked, would it? Long Tang seemed to be the only one with some idea, but for some reason, she had held herself back. As a result, these guys here only had half-baked knowledge of the matter and some even doubted its authenticity. After all, the undead insect did not sound as profound and awe-inspiring as cultivation. It was a bug, that¡¯s all¡­ As mentioned before, the Golden Silkworm was incredibly spiritual and needed to consume a person every year. It would ¡®settle the ount¡¯ with its host at the end of each year and act out when its appetite was not satisfied. However, once the current year passed, it would fall back into following orders starting from a new year and attend to the ount again at year end¡­ and so on and so forth, until it sessfully ate someone or the host was drained of her essence and blood and died, killing the undead insect with her. Such was the habitual nature of Golden Silkworms, orw of existence, using a more exaggerated term. Now that Gu Yu had sealed it off for so many days, forcing it to change its behavior, the consequence would not be too hard to imagine¡­ ¡°Ah!¡± Long Qiu remained huddled up on the ground, her shrill cries filling the air. Seeing her in such pitiable state, the team members were at a loss what to do. Xiao Liu asked, ¡°Boss, what should we do?¡± ¡°What the hell are you doing all standing around! Tranquilizer, shoot!¡± Old Qin was decisive and ordered with a wave of his hand. One of the men aimed at Long Qiu with an anaesthetic rifle. In it was a highly potent drug that could cause instantaneous loss of consciousness. He raised his finger and was about to pull the trigger. At that moment, however, the scream stopped abruptly as Long Qiu gave a violent jolt, theny dead still. What had just happened? The gunman was puzzled slightly. The next second, his right hand felt lighter in weight and empty, as if the gravity had stopped working. Unconsciously, he looked down at his gun. The scream he let out was more blood-curdling than those of Long Qiu¡¯s. ¡°Ah¡­ my hand! My hand!¡± ¡°Old Gong, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Is there another snake?¡± Other team members turned around and realized that the right hand of the man was gone, in the same way that part of a picture was cleaned away by an eraser. It had disappeared into the thin air, leaving behind no trace at all. Immediately after that, the emptiness expended swiftly to his right arm, right shoulder, right cheek, all the way to his entire upper body¡­ it was as though an invisible monster was tearing at and devouring the man. ¡°tter!¡± The gun fell to the ground and slipped away. On the spot where its owner used to stand a few seconds before, an entire person was wiped out from the face of the earth, leaving behind no blood, no bones¡­ nothing at all. ¡°Old Gong!¡± ¡°Zap! Zap! Zap!¡± Other members of the team were infuriated and went into a shooting spree. The bullets flew into the night sky and hit the hard ground, but the only oue was the spattered dirt and the dents the bullets made. Being one of the top-grade undead insects, the Golden Silkworm was usually worshipped by whoever managed to get their hands on it. However, it just happened to find a host like Long Qiu this time, who had not only starved it for three years in a row, but also found a way to lock it up. Right now, when it finally broke free, the undead insect went into aplete frenzy. ¡°Zap! Zap!¡± The guns went on firing. Once attacked, the Golden Silkworm became even more savage. It turned into an invisible sh of light and whizzed straight out. With a bang and a cloud of blood mist, one of the team members who was shooting shuddered. He had seen his own chest punched through, revealing a hole the size of a fist. He fell to the ground with a thump and was dead before he could feel the pain. ¡°Help!¡± ¡°What is this thing?!¡± Some were running away crying, some took cover behind the vehicles. One of them was quick to react, he ignored the order of taking her in alive and raised his gun, aiming at Long Qiu. As it turned out, before he could pull the trigger, he had be the primary target of the Golden Silkworm. His skull was neatly drilled through from his left temple to his right. ¡°Krrr¡­ krrr¡­¡± Xiao Liu wormed his way back to the vehicle, squeezing his 180-cm body into the backseat and hid away from the scene outside. He was frightened, really frightened. He was so nervous that an unnatural noise was forced out of his throat. He was no soldier, but a member of the police force before being transferred to this unit. All the major cases he had worked on before were nothing inparison to what was happening now. The screams outside came into his ears loud and clear. That thing took advantage of its invisibility and was ughtering the team like a reaper. Xiao Liu did not believe it when he heard about it at first. Now, he finally understood what exactly was an Undead Insect of Golden Silkworm! ¡°Help!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Poof!¡± In this wilnd, the dazzling beams of light were surrounded by all the darkness out there, creating a strange sense of harmony. Under the light, however, were sshes of blood, which obscured the light as they drifted profusely to the ground like a scarlet drizzle. Not far off, a blush of color rose onto Long Qiu¡¯s pale cheeks despite her unconsciousness. Vital energy and blood seemed to be invigorated inside her. Undead insects were in a symbiotic rtionship with their hosts¡ªthe stronger the host, the more powerful the undead insect, and a powerful undead insect would feed host back in return. ¡°¡­¡± Xiao Liu kept himselfpletely still. He had lost count of time¡ªit could have been a matter of minutes perhaps¡ªwhen everything fell silent all of a sudden. Sticking his head out a little, he gingerly got off the vehicle after seeing no motion outside. The surviving team members also moved in, terrified and confused. They did a head count: there used to be eleven of them and now there were only five. ¡°Boss, have you guys taken it out?¡± Xiao Liu asked with a shaking voice, resisting from looking down at the ground. ¡°No, it disappeared on its own. I don¡¯t know what happened.¡± Old Qin¡¯s lips were shivering as well. He had held his ground and remained in the battlefield. He actually thought he was going to be killed. The narrow escape was unexpected. He had no intention to me Xiao Liu for his desertion and only said, ¡°Move. Let¡¯s go check it out over there.¡± They advanced carefully, one step at a time. Long Qiu was lying on her side, apparently still unconscious. The team was slightly relieved at the sight. Right there, someone suddenly aimed his gun at her head and was ready to fire. Old Qin pressed down the gun barrel and shouted, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± ¡°Avenge them!¡± ¡°We need her alive!¡± ¡°But she has killed so many of our people!¡± the man roared, blue veins standing out on his neck. ¡°Follow your orders! We are bringing her in alive!¡± Old Qin clutched his wrist with an increasing strength. The two men stared into each other¡¯s eyes for a long time before that man spat on the ground and dropped his gun, still full of hatred and anger. ¡°Take her to the car!¡± Old Qin waved. Immediately, another two hatred-filled men lifted Long Qiu into a vehicle. The five people then divided themselves into two groups, one of which left for Dakang that very night, where they would regroup before heading to the city of Urumqi. Being the center of the Northwest, Urumqi would have the adequate facilities and capability to handle this incident. The other group was to stay put and wait for reinforcements. With another six people dead, there was much cleaning-up to do for sure. ¡°Vroom!¡± The vehicle drove among the wilderness, guided by nothing but the headlights. Old Qin was driving himself. He would dart a look at the girl in the rearview mirror every now and then. In spite of her unconsciousness, the girl was putting a tremendous pressure on the others in the vehicle. He was furious, panicked, shaken, and curious at the same time. The undead insects, the Taoist skills, all those strange and inexplicable things were really incredible! Fortunately, it seemed that she was unable to control it. Otherwise, today would have¡­ sigh! Old Qin was filled with a mixture of feelings. Little did he know, however, that after the feeding spree the Golden Silkworm had enjoyed itself with, it had long retreated into its host. Despite breaking her vow of not hurting people, Xiao Qiu was able to control it now. *** Simr to the incident in Iron Mountain, what happened that night was soon covered up and suppressed by the authorities. It was even easier than before. The ce was a no-man¡¯snd in wintertime. No one would ever know about it as long as the members of Team Six kept their silence. As a matter of fact, the authorities found the incident humiliating. It was the first special task after the BIMAUP¡¯s establishment. The result was, well, a Pyrrhic victory. Had it not for the undead insect¡¯s unexined retreat, Team Six would set an embarrassing record of ¡®the shortest time taken for a team from setting up to being annihted¡¯. BIMAUP was a novel creation. They were still trying to find a way to operate and make it work. The start this time was a rotten one. They had kept the temporary station and left a few men behind to keep surveince. Although, the emphasis was not shifted to the city of Urumqi. After all,pared to Li Suchun¡¯s zombie, the undead insect amazed them more. Invisible, undetectable, and capable of killing with a strike, what a lethal weapon was that! Three dayster, the Bogda Shan region. The snow was gleaming white and now a profound silence prevailed over all. In the vast forest of coniferous trees, two figures were moving at full speed, each step bringing them forward by a long distance. If it hadn¡¯t been for the footprints they left behind, one would take it for the legendary skill of ¡®passing the snow with no trace¡¯. ¡°It¡¯s been eight days. What do you think Xiao Qiu is doing right now?¡± ¡°She¡¯s probably in the mountains by now. Keep an eye on the surroundings. We might spot her.¡± ¡°We¡¯d have made it back a long time ago if it were not for the avnche!¡± ¡°We¡¯d never get the seal if it were not for the avnche either!¡± The duo was none other than Gu Yu and Jiang Xiaozhai, who were hastily making their way back after digging the tunnel entrance open. Both were incapable of holding a proper conversation at the moment due to their agitation. In the end, they decided to shut up and focus on running as fast as they could. It did not take them long to reach the periphery of the mountains. They could make out the in in the distance. They slowed down a little bit, taking care to look around. ¡°There!¡± All of a sudden, Xiaozhai stopped and turned to another direction. She stood still at a thick growth of withered grass and called out with certainty, ¡°Xiao Qing?¡± ¡°Hiss!¡± As expected, a green snake swooshed out right away, diving into her arms. Had it been able to cry, it would have drowned itself with tears. ¡°What are you doing here? Where is Xiao Qiu?¡± ¡°Hiss!¡± Xiaozhai gestured around and the green snake replied by twisting its long body here and there, as if making a description. A momentter, her face grew stern. ¡°Xiao Qiu is not in the mountains¡­ there were a lot of people¡­¡± ¡°A lot of people?¡± Gu Yu¡¯s heart sunk. Without doubt, he knew what that meant. The two frowned as they strained their brains before they continued talking after a long consideration, ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll find anything in Shuimogou, not sure about Dakang either. Do you think they¡¯ll send her to Urumqi?¡± ¡°Could be, or the capital city.¡± ¡°The capital¡­ Urumqi¡­¡± Gu Yu was growing all the more frustrated. Either of the two cities was a formidable giant to them, something they had no way to stand against. That being said, they must go to Xiao Qiu¡¯s rescue. They only needed to find the right way. To some extent, since they had brought Long Qiu out and he put the seal on the Golden Silkworm, she was their responsibility. Moreover, they had made the promise: till death do them apart. Chapter 128 Chapter 128: Initial Contact (Part One) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The city of Urumqi, morning. Zhao Lei had always been an early riser and today was no exception. Dressed in a in and simple casual outfit, he sauntered into a breakfast shop. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re here!¡± the owner greeted him. ¡°Just those three things as usual!¡± ¡°Sure. Go find yourself a table.¡± He walked right in and sat down in a corner. The shop was packed with people of all genders and age groups, each with their own characteristic. Zhao Lei, however, managed to blend into the background as if he were invisible. His most conspicuous quality was probably his inconspicuousness. With his average features, average stature, and average outfit, it would require extra attention to even realize his presence in the crowd. Such people were usually marginalized in their workces. Fortunately, he was not your average employee. Currently in his thirties, Zhao Lei had been a in-clothes police for over a decade. He had yet to participate in anything major, but had carried out hundreds, if not thousands, of minor tasks from tracking, shadowing, and keeping surveince to cracking down on pickpockets, etc. He was an expert in at least one thing, if nothing else, which was to see through a person by their appearance. It was not an ability to be taken lightly. Of all the upations there were in this world, be it a fisherman casting a, an old peasant working with his hoe, or a swordsman drawing his sword, they all followed the samew: repeating the simplest move for ten thousand times until one became an expert at it. Zhao Lei was the same. He was friendly towards his colleagues, rtives, and children, even to the point of showing weakness. However, when facing petty thieves, somehow he became this figure to be revered. Too bad for him that all of those were history now. A short time ago, Zhao Lei, who had little hope of being promoted before retirement, received a transfer order out of the blue, moving him to a newly established department. Once there, they were given centralized training to begin with, where government personnel came in to give them lectures, bombarding them with talks of ¡°loving thy country, loving thy people¡± before moving on to crush their existing world view to a crumble. We¡¯ll skip the specifics. Let¡¯s just say, they¡¯re not in Kansas anymore. The name of their unit was changed ordingly. It was now Team Four of the Third Department, BIMAUP Urumqi, and nominally under the jurisdiction of the municipal government. There was no name te to indicate this unit outside a small building in the governmentpound, which was their current office. They had one director, two deputy directors, and seven departmental heads. The unit consisted of Investigation Department and Operation Department, each containing several teams and peripheral employees, thetter also known as ¡°temps¡±. The elite worked in thepound and the hired helpers walked the street. To Zhao Lei, he was merely transferred from one grass-root unit to another. It all added up. To be honest though, he was holding some grievance. He liked his old in-clothes job. In this new unit where everything was so mysterious and secretive, he felt blindfolded. Nothing seemed normal. Take this Operation Department as an example. He had not met a single colleague from the department so far. It seemed to be ran by a handful of people, each one sneakier than the next. And there was all this nonsense the lecturer had been telling them. Many would not believe them and there was much discussion among the colleagues. Even the name ¡°BIMAUP¡± was unpopr; it sounded like a skeleton in the closet. ¡°Slurp!¡± Zhao Lei raised the bowl to his lips and sipped at the preserved egg congee, which warmed up and settled his stomach. Also sitting on his table were four steamed stuffed buns and a dish of stewed dried tofu. These were his daily choice of breakfast. He took a few bites of his bun and looked up in passing. Someone happened to walk past the shop at that moment. The figure flitted past the doorway and disappeared. Zhao Lei widened his eyes instantly. Leaving a ten-yuan bill on the table, he hurried out of the door, then grabbed his phone and dialed a number, ¡°Hello, Captain Chen, they¡¯ve showed up again!¡± ¡°What? Showed up? Again?¡± the voice on the other side sounded thick with sleepiness. The captain was probably awakened from his sleep. ¡°Targets No. One and No. Two!¡± ¡°nk¡­ ah!¡± A series of shing sounds came out of the phone as the captain roared, ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Absolutely!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lose them. I¡¯ll report now!¡± *** Zhao Lei had not been given any task ever since his transfer. He was bored to death on a daily basis. There was an opportunity a while ago, which was to follow someone, something he was an expert at. The superior had named a few men, him included, but the arrangement was revoked impromptu and they were reced by another bunch of men. The captain told himter that those were the superiors of their superior, staff of the HQ in the capital city. He could find nothing to say in reply. Whatever workce one was in, they would never escape the conflict between local offices and HQs. However, this incident had provided him with some basic information on those two fellows¡­ in a word, they were miraculous. The duo were off the grid for a time, presumably dead in the mountains, before they made the unexpected appearance again. It was a sunny morning. Erdao Bridge 1 was the busiestmercial area in Urumqi, packed with specialty stores selling goods of various ethnic minority groups. The most famous one among them was doubtlessly the Grand Bazaar on the southmost end. ¡°Grand Bazaar¡± was ¡°fair¡± or ¡°farm product market¡± in Uighur. Right now, the tall and slender couple were just exiting the Grand Bazaar carrying bags. In them were odds and ends they just bought. Zhao Lei was indeed a man of much experience. He managed to tail the two so far and stayed behind them at an adequate distance. The pushing crowd did not seem to bother him at all. As a matter of fact, he found their behavior rather strange. The two targets seemed to be at ease and were really enjoying the shopping trip. They looked here and there among the shops and did note out until over an hourter. After that, they got on a bus. Zhao Lei followed them up, acting cautiously as amon passenger. As the bus drove on, he realized it was on an outbound route, carrying them further away from the city. The two only got off at a small station just outside the second ring road. Arge stretch of worn-out factories, most of which was lying idle,pleted the scene. The dpidated buildings were encircled by barbed wires and an old genitor was hired to guard the gate and keep an eye on those trying to steal the scrap iron. ¡®Is this their hideout?¡¯ Zhao Lei found this queer as he followed them for another short distance. All of a sudden, those two quickened their pace and turned at a pile of rubbles. He hurried after them with quiet steps and turned left as well. ¡®Where are they?¡¯ ¡®Sh*t!¡¯ Seeing no one ahead, Zhao Lei realized he was spotted. He immediately tried to retreat, but then everything went dark. *** ¡°After all the bragging and boasting you drown us in on a daily basis, what did you do when the crunch came? Huh?¡± In thepound of the municipal government, Director Tong was banging on the tableshing out as he sat in his office of the local sub-bureau. ¡°I was told you had set up a station in the mountains, did you get to stick to the targets? I was told you had a back-up n in Dakang, where the hell is the back-up? They just marched into the city like that! And who spotted them? Someone not from our team!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The two deputies sat across the table, both pursing their lips, seemingly not concerned at all. That was just the way it is. The HQ sent people down here and the local office had to give way,ing in second on all matters while waiting upon the honorable guests with a smiling face. The director might seem infuriated, but he could well be chuckling with satisfaction inside. In politics, strifes and forming ties were the mostmon activities. There were simply so many factions. Therge ones divided into small ones, with in turn consisted of individuals each with their own interest. It was a mess. Even those of the same system were not of one mind. Of course, they shared the same big goal and all had to work to aplish the mission. After venting his anger, Director Tong felt much relieved and asked, ¡°Have the people of the HQ found out about this?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve reported to them. Their instruction was also to keep the two in sight and wait for further instructions.¡± ¡°Instructions¡­ humph! Is this Zhao Lei reliable?¡± ¡°Should be. He was a police officer for many years. This is what he has always been doing.¡± ¡°Can you confirm his whereabouts now?¡± ¡°Yes. The cell phones we issued all have automatic positioning and right now, they should be¡­¡± ¡°Knock knock knock!¡± Just then, there came a knock at the door and a fellow from the monitoring center walked in. ¡°Sir! The signal of Zhao Lei had remained still in a building material factory on western Second Ring for ten minutes. We request further instructions.¡± Chapter 129 Chapter 129: Initial Contact (Part Two) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Ten minutes? Director Tong¡¯s face darkened. ¡°I see. Go back to your post and wait for orders.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± After the man was gone, he waited a few minutes before saying, ¡°You go report it to¡­ nevermind, I¡¯ll go myself.¡± With that, he walked downstairs and left the small building hastily, then entered another building. He stopped outside an office and knocked. ¡°Come in!¡± The man inside looked up and greeted him with a smile. ¡°Oh my, it¡¯s you, Old Tong. Howe you¡¯re here yourself?¡± ¡°Director Mu, something hase up and I¡¯m here to report.¡± Director Tong kept his face straight and there was obvious reverence in his voice. The mor and contempt earlier were long abandoned. At first, the person the HQ dispatched was a departmental head. Now that they had captured Long Qiu, a deputy director was sent over right away. That was an exceptionally high-ranking official. In case anyone forgot, the HQ of BIMAUP was directly under the jurisdiction of the central government. The deputy director was called Mu Kun and had quite some connections in the capital city. Director Tong dared not be negligent in any way and briefed him immediately. After he finished, Mu Kun was silent for a minute or two before asking, ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°From the information we¡¯ve gathered so far, they did not seem to be prone to rash actions. The events today feel deliberate. It almost felt like they were exposing themselves to us on purpose.¡± ¡°I agree with you. Now that we¡¯ve got that woman, I think they are getting restless.¡± ¡°What do they want, then?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll need further observations to answer that. Anyway, we¡¯re in no rush. Send some more men to investigate. Keep it low-key.¡± ¡°Shall we request the assistance of the police force?¡± Director Tong asked. ¡°¡­¡± Giving him a quick look, Mu Kun chuckled, ¡°Old Tong, you should consider changing your way of thinking. What¡¯s the point of having BIMAUP if we are asking for help all the time? Last operation did incur some loss, but we¡¯ve only just been formed recently. Wait and see, haha¡­ well, I won¡¯t keep you any longer.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± Director Tong¡¯s heart lurched at Mu Kun¡¯s half-intentional reminder. He immediately withdrew from the office. Newly established, despite its organizational structure and numerous personnel, the BIMAUP was far from perfect in many aspects, notably its ideological construction. Most people here had no idea what they were supposed to do. In other words, the result of a decades-long modern education was making it hard for them to ept the existence of those ¡°things¡±. Judging by Mu Kun¡¯s attitude, this strange facility was not just for show¡­ Being much higher up in the chain ofmand, Mu Kun was able to stir Director Tong¡¯s mind with a merement made in passing. *** When Zhao Lei slowly regained his consciousness atst, he found himself lying on the ground with both hands and feet tightly bound. He took in the surroundings a little, which seemed to be an abandoned old warehouse with high ceiling and a deserted interior. He had no idea how long the ce had been empty for and only found it covered with dirt. ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± A nice voice greeted him. Turning around his head, he saw the couple in question. The woman even had a bag of roasted seaweed snacks in her hands. A crunchy chewing sound was flowing out of her eating mouth. ¡°What are you doing? Do you know you¡¯remitting illegal detainment?¡± Panicking inside, Zhao Lei put up aposed appearance and even managed to raise his voice, berating the two. ¡°Illegal detainment?¡± The woman chuckled and teased him, ¡°In that case, you¡¯vemitted illegal shadowing¡­ oh, right, there isn¡¯t such an offense.¡± She ridiculed herself right away, then resumed her munching. The man appeared to be more normal as he squatted down and asked, ¡°May I have your name?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Biting his lips, Zhao Lei answered in a harsh tone, ¡°Wu Xing!¡± ¡°Are you a police officer?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°And what is your job exactly?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a in-clothes officer.¡± ¡°Why were you following us?¡± ¡°I was ordered to. I don¡¯t know for what.¡± Gu Yu kept his gaze on Zhao Lei, believing nothing thetter just said¡ªthe man had no credentials of any sorts on him and carried two cell phones, both encrypted with a coded lock Gu Yu had never seen before. And the man imed himself a mere in-cloth officer¡ªlike that would fool anyone! ¡°We don¡¯t want to hurt you, so you¡¯d better cooperate with¡­¡± Gu Yu was moving on to his next question when he paused suddenly, then hurried to the window and peeked out. ¡°Someone else ising. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± ¡°Make it quick,¡± replied the woman. Before Zhao Lei knew it, the two were left alone in the warehouse. Zhao Lei was ted¡ªhis colleagues had to being to his rescue. He said, ¡°You guys had better let me go before you make a big mistake. It¡¯ll be apletely different story by the time they force their way in.¡± ¡°Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!¡± ¡°I know you are not bad people and you¡¯re doing this because there¡¯s no other choice. Give yourselves in and you¡¯ll be treated with leniency.¡± ¡°Crunch crunch¡­¡± ¡°Ah! Ah!¡± The crisp sound of chewing seaweed went on, joined in by a series of crying of pain, which was carried vividly into Zhao Lei¡¯s ears. His face froze halfway through his persuasion, then the gate was pushed open. Our guy came back dragging a bunch of people¡ªall passed out¡ªlike dead meat. ¡°Do we still have any rope left?¡± he asked. ¡°Nope. Leave it to me.¡± pping her hands to get rid of the seaweed crumbs, the woman gathered the men into a pile, then stuck out her slender finger, poking and jabbing them here and there. ¡°Ah!¡± Those poked screeched right away as they woke up from their stupor. They tried to struggle, but found it impossible to move at all. ¡°Don¡¯t squirm. It won¡¯t hurt if you keep still,¡± exined the woman. ¡°You, you people¡­¡± The neers acted as if they had seen a ghost. Their poor cranial nerves had yet to react to the current situation. ¡®I haven¡¯t even brushed my teeth this morning and the entire team is bundled up here?¡¯ Then, they saw the man stuff a towel into Zhao Lei¡¯s mouth before turning back to them and asked, ¡°Do you guys know him?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The team gave him a silent reply,pletely ignoring the question. ¡°Sigh, we really don¡¯t want to extort a confession out of you, so it¡¯s better if you guys just work with us.¡± The woman sighed and waved her hand slightly. A green snake slithered out of nowhere, crawled its way up to a man¡¯s body, and coiled up on his chest. The blood-red two-pronged tongue was stuck out, so close that it almost touched the man on his chin. ¡°Don¡¯t! Don¡¯t do anything stupid!¡± The man was scared out of his wit but dared not move. His face went scarlet from holding his breath. This snake was known far and wide by now. It even had its own file and record in BIMAUP. Word had it that it was extremely venomous. ¡°I¡¯ll ask you again. Do you people know him?¡± Seeing that the threatening ¡°forey¡± was working, Gu Yu asked again. ¡°Yes! We do!¡± the man replied hastily. ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°Zhao, Zhao Lei!¡± ¡°Are you the police?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re from the BIMAUP.¡± ¡°Em¡­ em!¡± Zhao Lei held his eyes wide open in protest. He would choke the man if he could. That¡¯s just the way things were. No matter what world one was in, only two types of people were out there¡ªthose who fear death and those who do not. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were genuinely surprised to hear the answer. They did not know how many forces wereing after them, which was why they exposed themselves on purpose so as to lure out anyone following them. They had thought it to be the police, but were wrong and found a mysterious organization instead. ¡°What is this BIMAUP?¡± Gu Yu asked. *** ¡°Sir! We have lost contact with several members of Team Four!¡± ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Six!¡± ¡°Give me the details.¡± ¡°There was no violent struggle and no shots were fired. We have lost contact with them less than a minute after they entered. Our people have surrounded the factory and are waiting for instructions.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± After the briefing, Mu Kun pondered for a moment before saying, ¡°Get me a car. I¡¯m going there.¡± Chapter 130 Chapter 130: Initial Contact (Part Three) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Beep! Beep!¡± A fleet of ck cars made their way across the second ring bridge and stopped outside the gate of the building material factory. Adding to the four vehicles that had already been there, much of the open space outside the gate was taken up now, making the picture rather crowded. ¡°Director!¡± ¡°Director!¡± What was left of Team Four gathered around to greet the neers, who were led by two men. One was Director Tong, their direct boss, the other one they saw only for the first time. Judging by Tong¡¯s bowing and scraping, the man should be the rumored ¡®imperial envoy¡¯ sent by the HQ. ¡°What are we looking at?¡± Mu Kun came directly to the point. ¡°They are still inside. We can detect no movement and do not know what they are doing. We¡¯ve had the entire factory area surrounded and swept. There are no residents nearby,¡± replied the team captain, who had came up to Mu Kun. ¡°Good, very thorough.¡± Mu Kun nodded his approval and went on, ¡°Have youmunicated with them over the loudspeaker yet?¡± ¡°We have. There was no response.¡± ¡°No response?¡± He pondered for a moment and examined the terrain, then pointed at a small window high up on the warehouse wall. ¡°Can you go in through there?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°In that case, make another assault. Easy on the firepower.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± The captain promptly returned to his team, giving out orders and making arrangements. Mu Kun, on the other hand, raised his head slightly and looked at the half-hidden warehouse with an emotionless face. As a matter of fact, the n of the HQ was to have Investigation Department gather information and act as the assistant team while leaving the tough battles to the Operation Department. Exactly what did that mean for members of the Operation Department? Well, since they were handling unusual persons, they themselves had to have the adequate capability. Incidents such as this one should be the problem of the Operation Department¡¯s people. Unfortunately, they were unable to recruit anyone talented enough and the department was an empty shell at the moment. A couple of minutester, the captain finished mapping out the n and deployed a team of eight with himself on the lead. They stealthily made their way near the warehouse first, then slung a rope and climbed to the small window. Mu Kun observed from afar with binocrs. The team removed the window ss noiselessly, giving them entrance into the building. They then swiftly moved in through the opening one after another. Their agility and adroitness would leave any onlooker wondering in amazement. It was indeed an elite team. The first wave they sent inprised a single man¡ªZhao Lei himself¡ªwho was probably stranded in the warehouse at the moment. The second waveprised four people, and for some unknown reason, they were unexpectedly taken out. This third wave was increased to eight well-equipped men holding firearms. They should return with at least some sort of information. That was why Mu Kun remained holding the binocrs to his eyes while waiting for the team¡¯s feedback. However, five seconds passed and nothing happened¡­ Then, five seconds turned into five minutes¡­ There were no shots fired, no shouting, and no sounds of any struggle. Nothing came out of the warehouse. The window looked like the gaping mouth of a monster, pitch-dark and bottomless, ready to lure in its willing victims, who would be swallowed and digested in its stomach until nothing was left. ¡°It, it¡­¡± Director Tong shuddered. Any sound of a struggle would be better than this dead silence, which was creeping him out. He turned to Mu Kun involuntarily, hoping to get some hint, but only to find Mu Kun somewhat agitated as well and pacing around despite himself. The opponent had taken up a stronghold, seized hostages, and was extremely capable in their martial prowess. What was worse, this incident was taking ce in a downtown area¡­ okay, it was almost out of the second ring road, but it was still downtown Urumqi! Apparently, such a situation was the toughest to handle. It was almost impossible to solve unless they brought in a rocket and bombed the entire warehouse to the ground. Okay,e on, no one in the right mind would ever consider that. More importantly, it was far from a life-or-death situation. ¡°Hand me the loudspeaker!¡± With a high-powered loudspeaker in hand, Mu Kun pondered on the wording and was ready to give a speech. Before he had a chance to open his mouth, however, the warehouse gate parted from the middle. ¡°nk!¡± It was open. The entire group was taken by surprise. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ Immediately after that, a man walked out. One of the team members shouted right away, ¡°Don¡¯t shoot! It¡¯s Zhao Lei!¡± ¡°Oh? Let him through.¡± Mu Kun found it rather strange as well and beckoned Zhao Lei over. ¡°¡­¡± In the subtle silence, Zhao Lei approached them across the dusty ground. He was walking slowly at first, then his pace quickened as he started trotting. Soon, he was outside the yard. ¡°What happened to you? What do they want?¡± Director Tong asked at once. ¡°Director, Director Mu, they want to speak to you.¡± Ignoring Tong, Zhao Lei handed an encrypted phone to Mu Kun right away. ¡°They have interrogated us and know much about your identity. There¡¯s no casualty on our side.¡± ¡°Good, well done.¡± Mu Kun¡¯s eyes flickered as he dialed a number following Zhao Lei¡¯s instructions. Three secondster, the phone was picked up by someone with a clear and bright voice. ¡°Hello, is that Director Mu?¡± ¡°Is that Mr. Gu?¡± ¡°So, you guys know a great deal about me,¡± the man chuckled. ¡°Who knows what scene you¡¯ll cause if we cannot even find out information as basic as this,¡± Mu Kun chuckled back. ¡°Haha¡­ well, let¡¯s cut to the chase. Shall we have a talk?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°Sure. Are youing out, or shall I go in?¡± ¡°There are so many of you. I think you shoulde to me.¡± ¡°I can do that.¡± ¡°We¡¯re looking forward to meeting you.¡± ¡°Click!¡± The phone was hung up after that. ¡°You cannot go in there. It must be a trap!¡± Old Tong got the general idea of their conversation¡¯s contents and tried to stop Mu Kun anxiously, ¡°I¡¯ll send for more people. There must be a way to take down this warehouse!¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Mu Kun waved him off impatiently. ¡°They are not stupid and have no reason to harm me. If they really were against us, with their ability, do you think any of those people would still be alive? Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s a sign that they aim for peace talks. You all wait here. I¡¯ll go in and have a look.¡± ¡°My goodness! If anything should happen to you, then, then¡­¡± Old Tong was driven insane. He ignored Mu Kun¡¯s instructions and urgently ordered a few gunmen to escort thetter. Mu Kun did not refuse the gesture. After all, the safer, the better. After that, four men entered the factory, followed by the concerned eyes of a whole bunch of people. Inside was an open area. Dust swirled in the air and formed yellow hazes of sand from time to time. The three gunners kept their guard around Mu Kun and approached the warehouse with their hearts in their mouths. One step, two steps, three steps¡­ the first half of the trip passed uneventfully. When they were five steps away from the building, however, the gate nked open again. Two shadows flew straight out like giant birds. The gunners were frightened out of their wits and raised their guns to shoot. As it turned out, before they even had a chance to touch the two figures, they all thumped to the ground one after another. Immediately after that, the two people held Mu Kun by his shoulders and backed away at an amazing speed. ¡°Bang!¡± The gate was shut again. If it were not for the three unfortunate ¡®victims¡¯ on the ground, what had just happened was almost like a hallucination. ¡°This is a disaster! I¡¯m finished!¡± Old Tong almost copsed to the ground. He realized that his career had juste to an end. *** Mu Kun was in his fifties and a former soldier. He used to be a fierce fighter in his youth, mastering everything from handling guns to hand-to-handbat. He did not let go of those qualities even after he became an official with a desk job and had kept his body in good shape. Nevertheless, he found himselfpletely defenseless during that brief engagement just then. He felt like a poor chicken gripped between the ws of an eagle. He was shocked, somewhat humiliated, and even detected a rare uneasiness in himself. By the time he came to himself, he was inside. The warehouse was empty except for a few rotten wooden boards, tables, and chairs. In the eastern corner, a bunch of people were piled up like turnips. Those were members of Team Four. Despite their sagging spirit, they weren¡¯t injured in any way. As for the two standing right in front of him, they were none other than Gu Yu and Jiang Xiaozhai themselves. They had created a series of uproars from Shu Zhou to Xiang Zhou, then to Urumqi. Even government officials high up in themand chain were shocked and the emphasis on these two had been increasing ever since¡­ until they became their prime targets! ¡°¡­¡± He sized the duo up and the duo reciprocated his gaze. The atmosphere turned awkward as the three pairs of eyes met. Everything had happened so fast that none of them was ready for it. What Gu Yu and Xiaozhai nned was to grab some foot soldier and extract some information. Unexpectedly, they found about BIMAUP and even managed to lure out a King of hearts. Mu Kun, on the other hand, had started off with the superiorityplex typical to government officials¡­ only to be met with a most straightforward approach. Vo! Here he was, on the other side of the looking ss. Mu Kun revealed nothing on his face. Inside, however, there was a storm going on in his head. Specialists of the bureau had gathered a great amount of information, piling up a stack of paper as thick as 15 cm, just to analyze and establish a psychological model of the duo and their personalities. It was of vital importance. To some extent, the oue had set the basic attitude of the government. If the duo were found to be potentially anti-society or anti-humanity, the authorities would spare no effort to take them down by force. If the duo were deemed immature, foolish,ckingmon sense, and inexperienced in interpersonal rtions due to their sudden rise from the bottom of the social structure after a lucky windfall of some sort, the authorities would naturally resolve to both mild and severe measures. The toughest type to deal with, however, were those like these two. They had independent awareness and minds, were attracted to an unrestrained life, held no obvious hostility, and even had the willingness to fight crimes as vigntes¡­ ¡°Oh my, I¡¯ve heard so much about you!¡± After a brief silence, Mu Kun¡¯s face softened as he put up a friendly smile. ¡°I have been wanting to meet you two for a while. Now that we¡¯ve finally met, you guys are indeed everything they imed you to be.¡± ¡°You tter us. There¡¯s no tea around here, sorry about that.¡± Gu Yu had deemed Mu Kun a man of experience and made his own pleasantries sound sincere. Xiaozhai followed suit and shook the bag of seaweed in her hand, ¡°This is all we have. Want some?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Mu Kun felt his lips twitching. Even with the foreknowledge of the psychological model from the specialists, one could only feel exactly what a pain in the neck these people could be when they met them in person. The small talk went on for a minute or two before Mu Kun asked, ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve brought me here for chit-chat. Get to the point. What are we going to talk about?¡± ¡°Not with you. You¡¯re here to pass on a message for us.¡± ¡°To whom?¡± he frowned. ¡°The highest rank officials you have ess to,¡± grinned Xiaozhai. That was some statement! Enraged by their words, Mu Kun almostughed. ¡®I can see the goddamn prime minister if I need to, but why should I be your messenger?¡¯ his face darkened slightly. ¡°Are you mocking me?¡± ¡°No offense, Director Mu, but what we need to talk about is beyond your pay grid,¡± replied Gu Yu in a serious tone. ¡°¡­¡± At those words, the tension was raised. The three of them were on one side of the building and the pile of turnips on the other side could hear nothing they were saying. All they could do was blink. Their fate was no longer in their hands. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai felt somewhat helpless about their situation. They would never get in touch with the government if they had any other choice. But now, they had to. For one, they had taken Long Qiu. For another, judging by how the state of affairs had been developing, they would eventually cross paths with these people. It was only a matter of time. The modern society was nothing like the ancient one, where one could find some secluded forest and hide away for the rest of their lives. To put it inly, nowadays, everything belonged to the state, cultivation resources included. From the action the authorities took so far, they had obviously obtained some sort of information, after which they would keep digging until they got the whole picture. Conflicts existed naturally between private resources and state control. Rather than waiting for the authorities to act against them openly, they decided to have an above-board talk while they still had a thing or two up their sleeves. How to approach it was vital. They were the disadvantaged side. Taking the initiative and seeking out the authorities was no different than turning themselves in. Therefore, after some discussion, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai decided to take advantage of the incident today and let the authoritiese to them. At least in that way, they would seize the apparent initiative. ¡°Humph!¡± Mu Kun snorted suddenly after a brief pause. He replied with an obvious sneer. ¡°The saying ¡®ignorant individuals are those breaking thew¡¯ is talking about people exactly like yourselves. Just because you¡¯re talented in some way, you think you can do as you please, ignoring thews of the state! We haven¡¯t even started with the thing you did in the Miao vige and you are taking hostages today. Do you have any idea what a felony you¡¯vemitted? Instead of realizing your criminal conduct and surrendering yourselves to thew, you fantasize about making a deal? You think too highly of yourselves! What do you think qualifies you to negotiate with the government?¡± Those were extremely harsh words. He kept his gaze upon the two, for such authoritative manner and disdain would usually generate a tremendous psychological pressure. ¡°Hoho, of course we¡¯re qualified¡­¡± Gu Yu¡¯s mood was not affected at all, as if he had seen through Mu Kun¡¯s little trick. He replied unhurriedly, ¡°¡­Because I¡¯m the only one that can lead you the thing you want most.¡± Chapter 131 Chapter 131: Ready for Negotiation Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu There was one question the government could not find an answer to no matter what. Be it Li Suchun and his zombie, Maoshan Sect and its talismans, or even things like the undead insects and snake-controlling, they all came down to one question at the end of the day¡ªwhat brought such change? When this modern state was established ny years ago, reorganizing the Taoist scriptures was among the first things the government carried out in the beginning. The so-called ¡®men of great virtue and might¡¯ of the Taoistmunity were also summoned at the time, yet all turned out to be nothing butmon folks. When the Taoist association was set upter, the government had also let things slide and the organization was as good as non-existent. To most government personnel, the only thing those Taoist priests were capable of was to bamboozle money out of the government¡¯s pockets. Recently, however, they suddenly discovered that ¡®Hey, people have actually cultivated something out of those Dan and talisman practices!¡¯ and in case anyone wondered how they felt about that, it could be generalized with three letters: WTF! Following the instructions of their superior, the BIMAUP visited Baiyun Temple in the suburbs of the capital city. Founded in Tang Dynasty, the temple was originally named Tianchang Temple 1 . Later, when Qiu Chuji became the head of the Taoistmunity of the entire country following the imperial decree, he settled down in the temple and renamed it Changchun Pce 2 , which then became the center of Taoism in the northern China. It was not until Ming Dynasty when its name was officially changed to Baiyun Temple. After the foundation of the modern state, the temple was also made the site of the Taoist association. The director of the BIMAUP paid a visit in person, which even startled the current abbot, Li Qing. After summoning a few relevant individuals and studying the matter in private for days, they came to the conclusion that something intangible must have caused the change. They hade up with a few options and the spiritual essence was one of them. The term ¡®spiritual essence¡¯ wasn¡¯t a modern one. ording to the ¡°Eulogies on the Paintings of ¡® ssic of Mountains and Seas 3 ¡®¡±, ¡°The pair of beasts guarded the gate of the emperor, which inhaled and exhaled the spiritual essence, looking vigorous and firm.¡± The authorities were actually on the right track. They had remained uncertain only because they could not detect it. And now, when Gu Yu made that im, even a man as experienced as Mu Kun could not keep hisposure. The ¡®thing¡¯ was fundamental to them. Only after they understood the basis could they move onto the superstructure. Mu Kun knew the value of it too well. He forced himself to calm down before asking, ¡°Are you telling the truth?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see when we start talking.¡± ¡°No, I need proof first.¡± Mu Kun shook his head. He needed to take precautions, for if this man was lying and he reported it without checking first, he would be med as much as these two. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Gu Yu gave him a look and let out an involuntary sigh, which sounded soft and gentle. Mu Kun was at a loss of his reaction and stared at him in return. He then realized that the sigh was extremely longsting. It lingered in the air for a very long time. Gradually, the sigh turned into an exhtion and the breath materialized into something tangible. It was no longer colorless, but was pure white now. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Gu Yu then opened his mouth and exhaled a streak of white steam, which twirled, tumbled and soared in the air like a dancing dragon. Immediately after that, the dragon dived and made its way straight at Mu Kun. There was no time to dodge. Mu Kun watched as the white steam flew at his face, stopped abruptly before reaching him, then was slurped back like a river flowing backwards. ¡°You, you¡­¡± He swayed. Even his fingertips were shaking. His voice seemed to choke on itself, making him incapable of making a sound. ¡°Like I said, the thing you want¡­ I¡¯m the only one that can lead you to it.¡± By ying around with the spiritual essence he exhaled, Gu Yu had sessfully had the situation under control. ¡°Director Mu, do you believe me now?¡± ¡°Humph!¡± It took Mu Kun a full five minutes before he regained hisposure and replied coldly, ¡°I hope you know the consequences if any of your information turns out untrue!¡± No individual was powerful enough to withstand the fury of the giant machine known as the government. He gave them a warning and went on, ¡°I can pass on the message for you. In the next few days, you¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be in Urumqi for the next few days. Come find us when your people are here,¡± replied Xiaozhai. ¡°Okay!¡± Mu Kun was a decisive man. He gave them both a meaningful look, turned around and called aloud as he left the building, ¡°Attention everyone! We¡¯re pulling out!¡± ¡°What?¡± Despite hearing the order loud and clear, Old Tong could not help but double-check. ¡°Everyone, retreat! Now!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Completely baffled, Old Tond had no other option but to carry out themand and ordered those surrounding the warehouse to return to the unit. A couple of minutester, he led a team and broke into the warehouse. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were long gone by then, leaving behind the pile of turnips crouching in the corner, all shaking and shivering. Honestly, many people were very steamed up after today¡¯s event. They had hurried out there only to lose a dozen of their men as captives. The only thing that came out of their humiliation was that their opponent had left the scene unscratched. Such a burning shame! However, the humiliation was not Mu Kun¡¯s concern at the moment. Back in his car, he was racking his brain right now. It was indeed a matter well beyond his pay and he would have to wait for decisions from above¡ªalthough he doubted they would reply with anything other than a yes. Long Qiu should be closely guarded as well, in case this was a diversion and those two were going to rescue her. What was more, that streak of Qi was for real! Did that mean that fellow had cultivated to a rather high level? ¡®Speaking of which, when they grabbed me, why did the gunners all fall to the ground? Those two did not make physical contact. It must be some sort of ability, we need to pay attention to that¡­ Wait a minute?¡¯ All of a sudden, an idea dawned on him. Jiang Xiaozhai had family in Shengtian and if they could round them up as a leverage¡­ no, no. He immediately abandoned that thought. It was the worst of the worst. Had they done it, it would be openly dering war. Judging by the characteristics of those two, they would very likely put up a life-and-death struggle, bringing everything and everyone down with them till the end. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± The thought brought an involuntary sigh out of him. To make negotiation feasible, two principles had to be followed: value and strength. The value of their information was apparent. As for their strength, it might not beparable to that of the state as a whole, but it also depended on the specific circumstances. Take today as an example. They were capable of killing everything on scene, Mu Kun himself included. They could even fight all the way into the governmentpound, annihting the governing body of Urumqi. Yes, the state could afford such loss of manpower, but who would take the responsibility for such a loss? How would the negative effect be remedied? To the leaders of the highest level, stability was always the first and foremost issue. *** Mu Kun returned to the capital city, bringing with him the disturbing news whose effect were yet to take ce. As for Gu Yu and Xiaozhai, they had actually settled down in Urumqi as they promised, spending their days shopping, dining out, and even going to the cinema once. Life was good for them. They were not worried about Long Qiu, for they believed the authorities were smart enough to keep her safe before reaching an agreement with them. They had been correct. Long Qiu was in custody for four or five days at most¡ªnot even long enough to pass her observation period. Right now, our girl was locked in confinement and spending her gloomy days eating and sleeping. Her life was not all that miserable ifpared to that of Zhao Lei¡¯s, who was still in charge of keeping surveince on Gu Yu and Xiaozhai, in case they decided to cause some scene again. He had never been assigned to a job as lousy as this one before. He stalked the duo when they were out shopping¡­ and they even ordered his share when they sat down eating. And you call that surveince!!! In the end, he had given up tailing them and exposed himself willingly. The three of them would even sit down and have a chat from time to time. All in all, the duo had reached a temporary tacit agreement with the authorities. The two sides kept an eye on each other without disturbing either side¡¯s daily life. Such a subtle bnce was maintained for three days before it was broken and the tension rose again. For, someone was finallying down from the capital city. The person they sent did not seem an official that high-ranking. Even the roads were not closed when the car furtively drove into thepound. However, those with insider information were restless at the person¡¯s arrival. The man might not be of a high position, but he had been endowed with much power. With the title of the head of the coordination group, he was solely responsible for the negotiations this time. In the ancient times, such a person was called¡­ the imperial envoy. Chapter 132 Chapter 132: Extortionist and Savvy Shopper Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The weather was mild today. There was plenty of sunshine and the trees had stayed quiet. It was the perfect day to go out in a light-colored padded jacket. The sun would wrap one up and slowly drive out the dampness and gloom that had seeped into the bones until all that was left was the cozy warmth. Right now, Xiaozhai was slouching back on a bench, looking asid-back as a dozing orange tabby cat that had just finished its meal. Behind her was a dried fountain and department stores were in her front. On either side of her were the underground passages¡ªshe was right in the middle of a shopping center za. ¡°Here you go!¡± With a soft call, two paper bags swooshed towards Xiaozhai, who readily caught them and found the bags a little bit scalding. As it turned out, they were an apple pie and a red bean pie. In Gu Yu¡¯s hand was another stic bag. He did not go to Xiaozhai right away, but turned around and called out to someone, ¡°Hey,e and join us!¡± ¡°Oh, okay¡­¡± Zhao Lei, who was tailing them conspicuously not far away, replied to his greeting with utter embarrassment and awkwardly came up to them. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai shared a bench while he sat on the other, nibbling at the pie Gu Yu bought him. ¡°What took you so long?¡± Xiaozhai took a bite of her red bean pie and steam swirled out of the opening right away. The soft pastry left behind a few crumbs at the corner of those pink lips when the pie left her mouth. And here went the opportunity to finesse! When you were dating a girl and the good opinion was mutual, a typical probing move went as follows: with a tissue¡ªif you happen to carry one and are quick enough to get it out of your pocket¡ªor your bare hand¡ªif you have nice hands and there is no dirt under your fingernails, wipe her lips clean. If she epted this without dodging, you were safe to move to the next level, such as holding hands (or get a room, eventually). At the end of the day, it still depended on whom you were dealing with. By now, Gu Yu had lost count of his ¡®finessing¡¯ that had been smashed to pieces by Xiaozhai¡¯s brick wall and he did not even bother to look. He only replied, ¡°There was a lot of people, so I¡¯ve been lining up.¡± ¡°A lot of people? Oh, it¡¯s Sunday today.¡± Seeing that he would not fall for it, Xiaozhai pursed her lips and wiped away the crumbs herself, then turned to the other side, ¡°Hey, why aren¡¯t you getting the day off?¡± Zhao Lei had been enjoying his pie and said miserably, ¡°How am I going to get my day off when you two are still walking around? I¡¯m lucky enough to have someone else cover the night shift, or it would take me less a month to die a premature death following you two around the clock.¡± ¡°Haha, we¡¯ll be off in a few days. You¡¯d have a full night¡¯s sleep then,¡± grinned Gu Yu. ¡°I¡®m thanking you in advance for that!¡± Zhao Lei made a cupping gesture with his hands, apparently very sincere. He was actually filled with mixed feelings. They had started off as enemies and he even got bound up in confinement by the two. The situation had changed swiftly after that and the two categories of ¡®friend or foe¡¯ were not enough to define their rtionship. Instead, it was something too sophisticated for him to describe¡­ ¡°Ding-dong! Ding-dong!¡± While his thoughts were all over the ce, his phone suddenly rang. Zhao Lei straightened his face and picked it up. ¡°Yes, Director Tong! Yes, ok, I understand¡­ you have my word. Bye bye!¡± The conversation was brief. Hanging up the phone, he said, ¡°Just to let you know, the person from the capital has arrived. Director asked me to tell you that there is going to be a banquet at the guest house of the provincial government today and you two are invited.¡± ¡°In that case, please tell him for us. We¡¯re not going!¡± ¡°Sure, I will definitely¡­ what?¡± Zhao Lei was utterly baffled. ¡°Did you just say you¡¯re not going?¡± ¡°Yep, you heard him right. If they want to talk, let theme to us. We¡¯ll set the time and location,¡± Xiaozhai had moved on the the apple pie. ¡°That, that¡­¡± Zhao Lei was dripping with sweat by now. Being a man working inside the government system, he was instinctively sensitive to the official authority. If it were him that got invited by the director, he would be dashing at the opportunity like a puppy going after its stick, not to mention that the man from the capital was involved. ¡°We¡¯ll make it easy for you. Call them and say that we¡¯ll be waiting for them in our hotel at eight o¡¯clock tonight.¡± Gu Yu found Zhao Lei a decent man and tried to appease him. ¡°I, I¡­ you guys wait here!¡± Zhao Lei ran out swiftly to keep some distance from the two and made a rather long phone callprising numerous ¡°yeses¡± and ¡°oks¡±. When he came back, he said, ¡°The boss has agreed. But, they said the hotel is too noisy and crowded and they¡¯d like to meet in the tea house nearby.¡± ¡°The tea house?¡± The two exchanged a look and nodded, ¡°That¡¯ll do!¡± *** ¡°Outrageous! This is outrageous!¡± In his office in the local sub-bureau, Old Tong was exceptionally outraged as he bellowed, ¡°Who do they think they are, huh? They should be thanking the state for the leniency to consider negotiations at all and now they areing up with conditions? This is an utter contempt for thew!¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Mu Kun could not be bothered to react to the charges. Old Tong had pulled some strings to get in the BIMAUP. He had his merits, but he was way to rigid in his thinking, still holding onto the ancient mindsets. The reason for hisshing out was simple: the imperial envoy had arrived and naturally he had to make himself noticed. With his own safety secured, he could afford to use others for their faults in front of his master with the most dramatic manner, so much so that he could even burst into uncontroble tears and appear to be ready to crack his own head open on a pir¡ªsuch behavior was called the science of showing one¡¯s loyalty. While the directors sat around the room, a man was seated in the host seat. He was none other than the ¡®envoy¡¯ that had just arrived at Urumqi. The man was in his forties¡ªeven younger than Mu Kun was¡ªand the ck-rimmed sses gave him a learned and refined look. ¡°Haha, Old Tong, do calm down.¡± He had a nice voice and was smiling. ¡°Our two young friends are very smart. They know they are disadvantaged and decided to y some tricks. It¡¯s all understandable. Since the negotiation has been made certain, the formality is not all that relevant. After all, the leverage is the key.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, I quite agree with you. We need to show our generosity.¡± Old Tong changed his manner at the snap of a finger. Unlike the idiotic Tong, Mu Kun knew better and asked anxiously, ¡°Have you really decided to go in alone? We can hardly absolve ourselves from the me should anything happen to you.¡± ¡°Like you said, those two are very capable people. The number of helpers I bring with me won¡¯t make a difference. I can¡¯t take an armored division with me, can I?¡± The envoy was at ease and evenforted him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They are smart enough to know what can be done and what cannot.¡± ¡°Then, then at least take Xiao Wu and his men, just in case.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡± The envoy checked his watch for the time and saw that eight o¡¯clock had yet toe. He sighed softly despite himself. ¡°To tell you the truth, after hearing so much about these two in the capital, I actually am looking forward to the meeting¡­ all right, I¡¯ll leave you guys to your business. Let me know when the timees.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The two men dared not dy and left the room right away. *** The same night, eight o¡¯clock. The tea house was not far from the hotel and the two-story building was of a considerable size. Tea houses were generally branded as being high-end. The interior environment was nothing like the restaurants, which were boisterous from everyone talking loudly at the same time. It was already quiet enough on ordinary days. Had it not been for the cars parked outside, one would not be able to tell if there were customers inside. Today, of course, there were no other customers. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai arrived precisely at eight o¡¯clock and walked in from the front gate. A man in suit was already waiting for them. He bowed slightly in greeting, ¡°Please proceed to the second floor!¡± They went upstairs and were led into a private room by another man in suit. Inside were seats for four and a table with zisha 1 teawareid on top. On a wooden side table, incense was burning in a censer. A middle-aged man was in the host seat, skillfully carrying out the Fujian tea ceremony. He filled three cups with tea and greeted them, ¡°Just about the right time. Take a seat, please!¡± The two sat down. Gu Yu did not touch the cup, but inhaled first andmended, ¡°Nice incense!¡± ¡°How do you know the incense is nice?¡± the man smiled. ¡°It is tranquil, beautiful, and elegant. I can sense an implicit and refined culture in it. If I may take a guess, is it the Xuanhe Dragon Garden from Ming Dynasty?¡± ¡°I was told beforeing here that Mr. Gu is a master incense-maker. Now I see that that fame is indeed well-grounded!¡± Xuanhe was the reigning title of Emperor Huizong 2 of Song. The Snowy Dragon Garden was the most celebrated tea in Song Dynasty that had long been lost by now. Xuanhe Dragon Garden, however, was an incense created by an incense-maker of Ming Dynasty imitating the idea of the famous tea, which was specifically used in tea houses and could be served together with tea. The man was mildly surprised to see him hit the bullseye with his first guess. ¡°Burning incense has always been a hobby of mine and it¡¯s been a pity that so few could share my appreciation. We¡¯re years apart in our ages, but I see that we can be fellow incense-appraisers.¡± ¡°You tter me. We¡¯ll see about that after today.¡± Gu Yu returned the pleasantries before finally sipping his tea. It had a well-rounded taste and there was a natural fragrance of orchid about it. The tea was also of top quality. ¡°Tsk!¡± Xiaozhai also took a sip, but herment was apanied by the shake of her head. ¡°Pedantic! So pedantic!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Both men winced, but understood immediately after that. The man realized right away how Mu Kun must have felt during his previous encounter with the two. Covering his flitting embarrassment, he changed to a formal manner. ¡°Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Wang Qi. With the trust of my superiors, I am to take sole responsibility for the issue at hand. Since you have taken the initiative, I presume you must have your own consideration. We have also carried out some careful discussion on our side. We do hope this meeting will turn out sessful.¡± ¡°Of course, that hope is mutual.¡± After the tone was set, they got down to business. Wang Qi began with a smile. ¡°You two are known far and wide by now. From Luobi to western Hunan, then to Urumqi, the noise you¡¯ve raised was ever louder. Even those very high up have noticed. We meant no harm by following you all this time; it was solely out of the appreciation of talented people. As you might know, the BIMAUP was only just founded and we would be more than happy to have people as able as you two on board. Of course, you will be treated as we see fit with your value.¡± ¡°Pfft!¡± Gu Yu burst outughing. Howe the lines of offering amnesty to the rebels stayed the same throughout all the eras? Unfortunately, they were not least interested. He refused right away, ¡°Thank you, but the career of a bureaucrat really doesn¡¯t suit us.¡± ¡°Fine youths like you ought to serve their country. Your work will be rewarded generously. Please reconsider the offer.¡± ¡°Everyone has their own ambition and I don¡¯t think you should force one upon others.¡± A few rounds went on like this and Gu Yu turned down each one of them. Wang Qi¡¯s attitude remained unchanged, keeping his friendly smile all the time. One could only desire things of one of the three categories: money and women, fame, or power, and the government had a n for every one of them. For the enlisting of these two rebels this time, for instance, the bosses had drawn a bottom line: as long as they agreed to join the bureau, they would be transferred to the capital right away and a new team was to be set up specifically for them. They would be given positions equivalent to deputy directors. It was indeed a generous offer. The BIMAUP was under direct jurisdiction of the central government and just imagine what it meant to promote one straight to the level of a deputy director! He could not show his cards just yet and the probing had to go on for another few rounds. ¡°Well, I won¡¯t press you on that. I was just trying to let you see that what you did earlier had disturbed the social stability greatly. You injured dozens of people in the Miao vige alone. Should it be brought to the court, do you know what consequences you¡¯re facing?¡± ¡°Hey, I thought thew also gives rewards for the merits?¡± Xiaozhai interjected suddenly. ¡°We have caught the zombie for you. If not for us, your men would have been wiped out. The rest can wait, give our share of rewards for that first.¡± ¡®What? Such a vixen!¡¯ By now, Xiaozhai had left such an impression on Wang Qi. However, he was not angry. That was just the way negotiations were. Eighty percent of the time, the two sides were disputing over the trifles, the real deal was only revealed in a single instant. When he reorganized his thoughts and was ready to talk again, Gu Yu spoke. ¡°I say, Mr. Wang¡­ I have no idea what position you hold and the way this talk has been going on was really awkward. I¡¯ll just cut to the chase. The reason for this meeting today is to sort out two things: what you want and what you can offer, versus what we want and what we can offer. Once we all see that our terms meet, an agreement is reached. Am I correct?¡± ¡°Haha, indeed. That was very straightforward of you!¡± Wang Qi abandoned what he was going to say, leaned forward slightly and asked, ¡°In that case, you go first. What do you want?¡± ¡°First, release Long Qiu.¡± ¡°I see. Go on.¡± He acknowledged the request without an affirmative answer. ¡°Second¡­¡± Gu Yu looked into Wang Qi¡¯s eyes, his own pupils as dark as pools of ink. He smiled, ¡°I want Phoenix Mountain.¡± Chapter 133 Chapter 133: Agreement Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The development of the human society had also been the process of advancement on the understanding and utilization of resources. In the beginning, resources were limited to raw material in the agricultural society, where the material was used to build production tools so as to improve the productivity. By the time the industrial age set in, various types of energy were included in the pool of resources, which werebined with the raw materials to build new types of tools. When the modern era arrived, information became the ¡°it-resources¡±. Together, raw material, energy, and information had coalesced and infinitely broadened the scope of social productivity. However, a new type of resources had just emerged, which was not only strange, but also had the potential to reshape the society. Human beings themselves at this point realized that they had little understanding of this new substance, let alone the ability to put it into use. As a result, the concept of resources in this area had returned to zero and people were back to the age of raw material. Where did the raw materiale from? From nature itself. Nature provided human beings with the raw stuff andbor turned the material into wealth. With the umtion of wealth, the society would develop and grow. Above was the fundamental logic behind the issue, which the government had a thorough understanding of. That was why they were so eager to find that thing¡ªto obtain a monopolistic position with a strong hand. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai had also figured it out. Hence after much consideration and discussion, they came up with their previously mentioned terms. ¡°You want Phoenix Mountain?¡± Such a request had finally cracked the unshakeable friendly mask of Wang Qi. A sh of astonishment flickered through his eyes. ¡®Wanting a mountain¡¯ could be interpreted in many ways, from the mining rights and the tourism development rights to various other rights of usage. Needless to say, the one he feared the most was the right of ownership. ¡°Mr. Gu, that was a bold request! How dare you speak of it in my presence¡­¡± ¡°Hey, not so fast with thebeling yet!¡± Before Wang Qi could browbeat Gu Yu into backing off with a threatening line, thetter interrupted with a chuckle. ¡°We know how far we can go on this and provoking the government is not something we want. Those are the only two terms we have. How about telling us what you want?¡± The previous conversation had given Wang Qi a rough idea of Gu Yu¡¯s style. He stopped beating around the bush and posed a straightforward question. ¡°If I may ask, what method are you using for cultivation?¡± ¡°A Qi-refining method of Danding 1 Sect, obviously. It¡¯s sort of a secluded Taoist branch. Sorry for not being able to tell you more, but I¡¯ve got the rules of my sect to follow.¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s fine¡­¡± Wang Qi was only asking in passing and did not expect to get a solid answer to begin with. After all, that was not the purpose of this meeting. What was more, with the ample Taoist resources controlled by the government, they did not mind missing this little bit. He then turned to say, ¡°What I want is rather simple. That is, everything you know.¡± ¡°Hoho, that is a rather bold request as well.¡± Gu Yu picked up the teapot and poured another three cups of tea. The guest, as it seemed, was supnting the host. ¡°Here, please have some tea!¡± The aroma of the tea was very rich, which after two rounds of adding water remained as distinctive as in the beginning, and the aroma lingered even longer in the mouth. By now, both sides had named their demands and it was time topare the cards to see which side had the upper hand. ¡®You need information from me, but whether or not I will satisfy you depends on what you will offer. What you will offer in turn depends on the value of my information¡­¡¯ It might sound confusing, but to put it inly, it reads ¡®You¡¯re happy, I¡¯m happy.¡¯ ¡°Everything is too generalized a term. Let¡¯s talk about more specific things. How¡¯s Long Qiu now?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°She¡¯s right here in Urumqi andpletely fine. However, you probably don¡¯t know it yet, but she has killed as many as six people just outside the mountains. Six men, all of which were our elite members!¡± Wang Qi announced with spontaneous emphasis. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were genuinely surprised by the news. They had expected some lethal strike from the girl, but not killing six people! By releasing this piece of information, Wang Qi was implicitly saying that Long Qiu hadmitted a major crime and they needed plenty of cards to get her out. After a moment of silence, Gu Yu said suddenly, ¡°If I may ask, your research so far hase up empty, hasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Never underestimate the capability of a government,¡± Wang Qi was vague in his answer. ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu took little notice of his ambiguity and went on. ¡°Actually, I can tell you right now what is the thing that you have been questioning about, which is also what we came all this way to search for.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± Wang Qi kept his unblinking gaze on Gu Yu, whose lips then parted and gave his answer in a few words, ¡°The recovery of the spiritual essence and the reemergence of Taoist methods.¡± The recovery of the spiritual essence! Wang Qi jolted. It was none other than one of the several conclusions the authorities had drawn, which was now finally confirmed. The ¡®reemergence of Taoist methods¡¯ part, however, was even more informative. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this statement alone was enough to determine the strategy and orientation of the government, upon which a series of arrangements would be deployed. Now he understood why these two were confident enough to negotiate with the government. This man seemed to be telling the truth when he imed himself the only one able to detect the spiritual essence. Up to now, every statement either side made was shifting the bnce. The bargaining chips were added and deducted all the time. A thousand ideas shed through Wang Qi¡¯s head and he changed the subject again. ¡°In that case, what do you think about the changes that are going to happen?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be an irresistible and inevitable trend; one can only face it head-on. Everything will change with it: resources, social structure, ideas, cultures, etc. You people know better than I do. I won¡¯t embarrass myself by showing off in front of the experts.¡± ¡°Then how about you two?¡± ¡°Us? We seek nothing but cultivating our way out.¡± Seeking cultivating their way out¡­ Wang Qi turned the words over in his head. He needed not to be a cultivator to detect the firmness, struggle, courage, and resignation in them. Without realizing it, his opinion on the duo was shifting towards the positive side. However, he still had a job to do. ¡°Mr. Gu, I empathize with you, but we¡¯re never reaching an agreement on these alone.¡± ¡°Oh, of course there¡¯s more to it.¡± Gu Yu produced a notebook and handed it to him, ¡°Take a look at this.¡± Somewhat baffled, Wang Qi flipped it open and read the following lines on the first page. ¡°The spiritual essence is the produce of nature and can be categorized on the basis of its density, where 0 denotes non-existence; 1 is the entry level, aka the minimum level to support cultivation; 2 is satisfactory; 3 is outstanding; 4 is excellent; 5 qualifies for a node. Nodes are locations where the spiritual essence is extremely concentrated and the density level peaks. They have a radiating effect, with radii that vary from dozens to hundreds of kilometers. Furthermore, it is spected that the density of the spiritual essence is not a fixed one, but is increasing, which is noticeable at all nodes. The radiating areas of the nodes will continue to expand. This journey has taken us all over the country, covering a distance of as many as five thousand kilometers during the process. Of all the 296 cities, towns, and viges of various scales, we have recorded the spiritual level of all in this notebook¡­¡± A few paragraphs were enough to amaze Wang Qi; even his fingertips were shaking. He quickly flipped to theter pages and saw that as said in the beginning, there were records on every ce¡ªfrom the 21 locations in Shengtian area all the way to the south, moving past Ji Zhou, Lu Zhou, and Jiang Zhou, then to Qian Zhou and Shu Zhou before the track took a 90-degree turn, stopping at Urumqi in the northwest. This notebook was invaluable! It was like those men of the nationalnd surveying department. They might seem unimportant in appearance, but to the state, they were all valuable beyond measure. With this notebook, the government could steal a march, taking a firm control of the resources in advance. ¡®Hey, wait a minute!¡¯ Wang Qi flipped through the notebook over and over again but had found ratings only up to 4. There were no 5s. He asked despite himself, ¡°What about the nodes? Why aren¡¯t they noted down?¡± ¡°Not so fast. Let¡¯s make sure of one thing first. Is this valuable enough?¡± Xiaozhai asked. It took them quite a few days topile the notes. Unlike the original one, information on the nodes had been omitted. ¡°¡­¡± Now was the critical moment. Wang Qi steadied himself immediately and let out a soft sigh. He shook his head again, ¡°It is good info. As for whether it is good enough, it¡¯s still too early to tell!¡± The remark made Gu Yu frowning. ¡°Mr. Wang, you¡¯re being very stingy in showing sincerity!¡± ¡°On the contrary, I am as sincere as I can be.¡± Putting down the notebook, Wang Qi paused briefly before going on, ¡°I¡¯ll cut to the chase as well. I have a couple of questions.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°Is Phoenix Mountain one of the nodes?¡± he asked. ¡°It is.¡± ¡°How many nodes are there in total?¡± ¡°Noment for now.¡± ¡°In that case, how are the other nodes inparison with Phoenix Mountain?¡± ¡°They¡¯re all as good, if not better.¡± Wang Qi nodded to show his approval. Wise decision. If they took away the best node instead, leaving the inferior ones to the government, it would be like openly dering war. He added immediately, ¡°Are you lording yourselves over the area by taking the mountain?¡± ¡°Like I said, not so quick with thebeling. That¡¯s too big a hat for us. Think of us as contractors. All we want is somewhere peaceful and quiet to cultivate in, with no disturbance from the outside.¡± ¡°Us included?¡± ¡°Especially you people!¡± ¡°So, if we do this your way and at someter stage we need something from one another again, what will happen then?¡± ¡°We exchange! We¡¯ll trade some of our things if we need something from you and vice versa.¡± ¡°Like what we¡¯re doing now?¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± He had to ask. To politicians, where these people stood was a matter of principle. Being wful neutral¡¯ was the bottom line for the government and any attempt to cross that line would lead to annihtion at all cost. Wang Qi had by now a thorough understanding of their attitude, which was ¡®talk about interest, not feelings¡¯. The two sides would even have to guard against each other. At this early stage, making contact was thest resort for both sides. With the growth of either side until they were strong enough to overpower their counterpart, the situation would not be the same. A couple of questionster, Wang Qi announced, ¡°I am granted with sole responsibility for the negotiations, but the proprietary rights of a mountain are in question and I still have to ask my superiors for instructions.¡± ¡°How long will it take?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be as quick as possible!¡± ¡°Two hours, or no deal.¡± Gu Yu reached out and retrieved the notebook. Wang Qi had to force himself to remain in his seat so as not to grab at it. At this point, the main purpose of the negotiations was over. To the government, it would be a favor done at a small cost. Phoenix Mountain was Gu Yu¡¯s hometown and cultivation site to begin with. All the authorities were doing now was going through a legal procedure, which would give them a whole set of spiritual essence map in return. The government thought it quite a bargain. As for Gu Yu and Xiaozhai, they had traded their two months worth of effort for Long Qiu¡¯s exoneration, as well as an officially recognized right to a mountain. They might seem to have lost greatly on the deal, but in fact, they kept the pivotal practicing methods to themselves, especially the method of consuming essences! The government was currently focusing on the spiritual essence alone and paid little attention to the methods. After all, they thought that with the Taoist association at hand, any manual or method would be within arm¡¯s reach at theirmand. Mu Kun was actually aware of something shady about the deal, but he couldn¡¯t stand against the unified mindset of his superiors¡ªsuch was the perception gap between the two sides. The authorities were too used to the influence of Quanzhen and Zhengyi. Gu Yu, on the other hand, was secretly jeering. It was beyond doubt that he himself was the only individual who could carry out the essence-consuming method. As long as the state did not know about this fact, everything would be fine. What was more, they got to keep the newly obtained Dan- and instrument-refining methods. When Phoenix Mountain became their property, they could make it into their private cultivation grounds and keep the resources of the node to themselves. As the saying went, the early starters are early in every step. With their talents, they would easily rise above others even if the society turned into a cultivation-based one in the future. That notebook had its value, but one had to realize it. As the density of the spiritual essence increased, some other people would eventually be able to detect it as well. By then, the government would start doing the same thing. They were only taking advantage of their early start and used it to make a deal. So, these two thought it quite a bargain as well. After everything was settled, Wang Qi was still somewhat unreconciled to the oue and made hisst-ditch attempt. ¡°You both are such talented people. Won¡¯t you consider joining us at all?¡± ¡°To pursue after the Great Dao is our only aspiration. We hope you will understand.¡± ¡°I will. It¡¯s just such a pity. To be honest, I really think you two¡­ well, that incense is ready.¡± He nced over in passing and rose to his feet unexpectedly. Walking to the wooden side table, he carefully removed the lid of the censer and took out a few pieces of charred incense with a pair of tweezers. That was how the Xuanhe Dragon Garden worked. The most unusual characteristic of this incense was that after the fragrance dissipated, the incense itself could be brewed with tea. Wang Qi was obviously an expert in using this method. Putting the incense pieces into the cups, he poured in some more hot water. Instantly, an exotic fragrance filled the air. The wonderful aroma had a lingering finish. Tea and incense had fused perfectly into each other. Gu Yu smelt it and smiled, ¡°If things turn out good today, we might actually be fellow incense-appraisers.¡± Three cups were filled again. Each taking a cup, they exchanged a look and made the gesture of a toast, ¡°Enjoy!¡± Chapter 134 Chapter 134: The Return Journey Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The armypound, certain research institute. The soldier on duty pressed a button and with a soft buzz, the seemingly-vulnerable-but-actually-solid gate was opened just a crack. Long Qiu marched out with her backpack. Having been deprived of sunlight for the past few days, she squinted involuntarily once outside. After the moment of blurry vision passed and her normal eyesight returned, she spotted two familiar figures at once. ¡°Brother! Sister!¡± Her face lit up immediately as she ran ecstatically towards them. Before she could find the right words to express her exhration, however, her heels had left the ground. Someone had lifted her up. ¡°Sis-Sister, let me down!¡± Holding Long Qiu up, Xiaozhai was turning around in circles. Flustered and abashed, Long Qiu was crying out in surprise at a low voice. ¡°What¡¯s the hurry? Upsy-daisy is a must for reunion.¡± Xiaozhai only carefully put the girl down after two whole turns. Long Qiu was unscathed as promised, just a bit pale. ¡°Ahem, ahem!¡± A staff standing on the side drew their attention with coughs; trying his best to ignore their antics, he asked, ¡°Mr. Gu, what else can we do for you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all, thank you.¡± ¡°Shall I arrange a car to drive you back?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be necessary. The hotel is quite close, we can walk there.¡± ¡°In that case, feel free to contact me should you need anything. I¡¯ll leave you here.¡± The man did not insist, but went back inside thepound promptly. The family of three had much to talk about after their temporary separation. A short distance away, they saw a small restaurant by the side of the road and decided to take a rest there. Long Qiu was in rather high spirits. Starting from the day the two left Shuimogou, she recalled her time with Ayhan, her missing them so much, the sneaking-out at the fifth night and leaving the money behind for Ayhan. She then moved onto her being surrounded by the Second Department and the rampage of the Golden Silkworm. ¡°It was so painful and all my strength was gone. I passed out. When I woke up again, I was in a small room. Then someone told me that, that I had killed six people¡­ sob¡­¡± She was suddenly agitated, finding the statement rather hard to digest. Xiaozhai reached out and drew Long Qiu into her arms. Sheforted her, ¡°The insect just happened to be breaking out at that moment. It was either them or you. That¡¯s the way life is. Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself. It¡¯s all in the past.¡± ¡°But I killed those people.¡± ¡°That¡¯s OK. Don¡¯t think about those things now.¡± Gu Yu gave her a ss of water and asked, ¡°So, can you control it now?¡± ¡°At the moment, yes. I¡¯m just afraid that it¡¯lle out again at the end of this year.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Everything will be fine once you learn the essence-consuming method and subdue the Golden Silkworm for good.¡± After much constion from Gu Yu and Xiaozhai, Long Qiu was finally feeling better. Before long, their dishes were served. Having been confined in a room for days, Long Qiu almost had a feeling of being reborn at the sight of the ordinary food. ¡°Brother, Sister, how did you get me out?¡± she asked as she helped herself to the food. ¡°It¡¯s quiteplicated. We¡¯ll tell you about it when we¡¯re back at home,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Home?¡± she blinked, not quite grasping the meaning of that term. ¡°Yep, we¡¯re taking you back to Shengtian tomorrow,¡± chuckled Xiaozhai. Shengtian! Long Qiu shuddered instantly; the news made her as nervous as filled with expectation. After all, she was ¡®scavenged¡¯ out of a ditch and the idea of going to their hometown was making her fidgety. Her reaction amused Xiaozhai, who could not help but start teasing Long Qiu, ¡°Xiao Qiu, there¡¯s something you should know. I myself live in the city of Shengtian, while this man lives in a county town¡­¡± ¡°County-level city! It¡¯s a county-level city!¡± A certain fellow tried to correct her. Xiaozhai ignored him and went on. ¡°We live dozens of kilometers apart and that¡¯s very far. So, you have to decide now. Are you going to live with him or with me?¡± ¡°Ah? Do I have to make the decision now?¡± Long Qiu crinkled up her little face, apparently tormented by the request. ¡°Yes, you have to choose now, because we¡¯re going back tomorrow,¡± Gu Yu chimed in. ¡°But, but¡­¡± Long Qiu¡¯s eyes darted back and forth between her brother and sister, while thetter two straightened their faces and gave her the looks of recruiting coaches of The Voice. After quite a while, the girl was still unable to make up her mind. She suggested timidly, ¡°Can I take turn to live with both of you?¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t!¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± ¡°Then, then can we all live together?¡± she made another timid suggestion. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a very constructive idea.¡± Xiaozhai squeezed her cheek and turned to Gu Yu, ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu would not even dignify that question with an answer. He made a gesture as he called out, ¡°Excuse me, bill please!¡± The unabashed duo had teased the little girl quite a bit while they had nothing better to do and soon forgot all about it. Our poor Long Qiu, on the other hand, was still torn by the question when they walked out of the restaurant¡ªwas she going to share a bed with either of them in turn, or were they all going to sleep together? *** As for the follow-up of the negotiationsst night, Wang Qi had contacted his superiors right away and reported the rted issues. The response came back promptly with a couple of instructions. As long as those instructions were followed, all of Gu Yu¡¯s requests could be granted. Thus, the three of them stayed up all night and reached an oral agreement right there in the tea room. That was the only way. The government would never write such thing down on paper. The government promised to release Long Qiu immediately and give Phoenix Mountain to Gu Yu and Xiaozhai. They would have the right of possession and usage, as well as ims to profits of all resources on and of the immediate perimeter of the mountain. In in terms, they became government contractors. Gu Yu was required to provide aplete map of the spiritual essence and assist the authorities with the development work on the nodes. His service would be remunerated, of course. Two points were worth ruminating over. First, by giving them Phoenix Mountain, the government did not grant them with a ¡°right of ownership¡±. That was nothing unexpected, for thend was always state-owned, there was no room for alteration there. Second, no definite time limit was named. Both sides knew very well that the cooperation was only temporary. The expiration date would change with the shift of power on either side. It could be five years, ten years, or extended infinitely. So far, only four nodes had been found. Both Tianzhu Mountain and Mount Emei had a density of 6, while Phoenix Mountain had a 5. The spiritual essence in Tianshan was still chaotic and it would take a few years for it to calm down. Phoenix Mountain might have a low rating, but that was of no concern to Gu Yu and Xiaozhai. Low as it might be, it was a genuine node, and they had it all to themselves. As a matter of fact, now that the mountain suddenly became theirs, they were somewhat at a loss. Being a scenic area and a popr tourist destination, they needed a n for Phoenix Mountain¡­ as for the government of Bai Town, it was pissing away its time with no aspirations whatsoever, but these two ¡°majesties¡± were thrusted into its hands out of the blue¡­ all of these issues would require coordination. They would need some time to think them over. Before they knew it, it was the following day. The three of them left for the airport early in the morning for an early flight. In the departure lounge, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were amazed at the view of the scattered passengers. It wasst November when they were herest time and it was already January now. The past two months had left them with a sentiment beyond description. In these two months, they seemed to have abandoned all previous social rtions and burdens in their lives. Life for them had been carefree like never before. The feeling was so wonderful that it was almost like a drug, its wonderfulness engraved into their bones. Now, they were going back to the city under a gradual change. They had no idea what they would be facing. Both were deep in thought, but not our innocent Long Qiu, whose fair and smooth cheeks moved as she chewed her gum. She had been looking here and there the whole time. ¡°Hm?¡± she suddenly let out a soft cry. ¡°What is it?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°That man, we¡¯ve met him before.¡± She pointed with her hand. Not far from them, a young man with a handsome face was standing ramrod straight. They did not recognize him at first, but at a closer look, the face indeed seemed familiar. Seeing that the three of them had noticed him, the man walked straight up to them and greeted, ¡°Good morning!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose it¡¯s a coincidence this time?¡± Gu Yu grinned. ¡°Certainly not. I¡¯m sort of a personal escort.¡± ¡°What shall we call you? Still Lu Ningning?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°Haha, let me introduce myself officially¡­¡± He offered his hand, not a trace of the feminine behavior from earlier left. He smiled, ¡°I¡¯m Zhang Hongru, the full-time liaison officer for you two. I¡¯ll be stationed in Bai Town from now on. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you need anything.¡± Chapter 135 Chapter 135: World of the Mortals Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Zhang Hongru, a 25-year-old man with heavy features and a handsome-ish face. He used to be an intelligence agent of certain security bureau and acted on orders to get acquainted with the two. He had taken the ¡°temte¡± of Lu Ningning for his imitation. Lu Ningning was a real person who was indeed the owner of a styling studio near Jiang Zhou University and a feminine man that had been travelling around the country healing his broken heart. Zhang Hongru took over Lu¡¯s entire background and became the very image of thetter. Anyway, those two had never met Lu Ningning before. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were not at all offended by the revtion. Instead, they found it rather amusing. They did not mind the ¡°full-time liaison officer¡± either, for it was nothing out of their expectations. The government was bound to station someone nearby for the convenience ofmunication. Now that Zhang Hongru was rid of his disguise and revealed his true self, the young, talkative, and candid man had left them with a much better impression. Afternoon, Shengtian Airport. Returning to the city after two months, they found it noisy and morous as always. The streets were still crowded with people and traffic and the only difference was that the air quality seemed much better. It was right in the middle of the central heating season in the north. With boilers of all sizes turned on all at once, the city would usually look like the ultimate spell of ¡°Great Smog¡± had been cast upon it. This year, however, something was different. The sky was still misty gray, but a hint of liveness and fluidity was apparent. The stifling feeling and stuffiness was gone. The three of them walked out of the arrival hall, fatigued after the journey. Gu Yu looked up at the sky and noted in silence, ¡®The speed of the nodes expanding is faster than expected. Maybe we don¡¯t have to wait long before Shengtian bes cultivation-able as well.¡¯ Long Qiu, however, was filled with curiosity as she took in the surroundings. She announced out of the blue, ¡°Brother, Sister, I like it here.¡± ¡°And you based that decision on an airport?¡± Gu Yu chuckled. ¡°Yes, my feeling tells me, this is a very nice ce.¡± ¡°Haha, feelings are the least reliable things.¡± Xiaozhai rubbed her head. The three got to the airport bus station together. A bus was just pulling out and the next one was slowing down while approaching the stop. A few more people were in the line. They stood by the side of the road and said a brief farewell. ¡°We¡¯re going straight back home.¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll go to the bus station first.¡± ¡°See ya!¡± ¡°See ya!¡± Looking into each other¡¯s eyes, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai extended their arms at the same time and hugged lightly, both taking in the most familiar warmth and scent of one another. The intimacy was brief. They soon let go of each other. Explicit words were no longer necessary between the two. ¡°Bye bye!¡± Gu Yu got on the bus, while Xiaozhai hailed a taxi for Long Qiu and herself, going into a different direction without hesitation. ¡°Hey, Brother!¡± Long Qiu was struck dumb by the quick turn of events and only came to herself just now. She asked hastily, ¡°Why did he leave us?¡± ¡°You are going home with me first. We¡¯ll go to him in a few days.¡± ¡°What?¡± Our girl had been tearing her hair off with whose home she would be staying at all this time, but as it turned out, the decision had been made for her already. This was how her life would be from now on. Two experienced drivers versus a newbie¡ªshe would need a while to get used to that. Gu Yu sat down on the bus. Before long, Zhang Hongru also got on and beamed at him, ¡°Hello, Mr. Gu, may I join you?¡± ¡°Sure, but we¡¯d better sit somewhere else.¡± With that, they walked towards the end of the bus and sat down in a corner of thest row. Six or seven passengers scattered around in the front seats. Soon, the bus drove slowly out of the airport. Zhang Hongru looked out of the window, taking in the boundless winter scenery of the north of the country. He smiled, ¡°It¡¯s my first time here. I might have to bother you every now and then for some advice.¡± ¡°With pleasure. I guess we¡¯ll have to meet up on a regr basis from now on, we don¡¯t have to be so formal all the time.¡± ¡°Haha, in that case, I¡¯ll be straightforward.¡± Zhang Hongru paused, then asked, ¡°Mr. Gu, what are you going to do about Phoenix Mountain?¡± ¡°To be honest, we haven¡¯t figured it out yet. But, we have a general idea. First of all, the tourist area will stay. I¡¯ll do some survey of the mountain and find a route to divide it into inner and outer sections.¡± ¡°I was worried for a moment that you might close the mountain off. In that case, the local government would have a hell of work to do.¡± Zhang Hongru let out a breath with relief. There wasn¡¯t much he could do about it. Nominally, the entire mountain was Gu Yu¡¯s. If he decided not to go on with the tourist site, the mountain would have to be closed down and the local authorities had to obey, however disgruntled they might be. ¡°How are you going to run the outer section?¡± he asked again. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly running it; I don¡¯t have the time. You guys will still be running it on a daily basis.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll talk to them about it.¡± By that, Gu Yu was saying: the inner section was restricted area and no entry was allowed. The outer part would be held in trust to the government with the tourist area unchanged. They would split the profit. Don¡¯t despise Gu Yu for being vulgar. Money and wealth of the mortal world were key resources at the early stage of cultivation. That brief conversation had decided the fate of Phoenix Mountain¡¯s scenic area along with that of hundreds of people making a living out of it. In case you were wondering how Zhang Hongru would proceed from there, it was a piece of cake. Being a specialmissioner, he had the right to act first and report afterwards. The bus drove all the way to downtown Shengtian. The long-distance bus station was among the stops¡ªthey would get off there and make their way to Bai Town on another bus. The two remained seated in the back row, deep in conversation. Zhang Hongru suddenly remembered something and said, ¡°By the way, if you guys are thinking of building new lodgings, we can help you with that.¡± ¡°Actually¡­ well, we¡¯ll see about that,¡± nodded Gu Yu. New houses were a must. They would be built either under the big tree or on the clearing by the two rivers. There was enough space. Of course, there was a Ziyang Temple in the outer mountain, but he wasn¡¯t nning to drive the current residents away, nor was he going to move into the scenic area. Since Zhang Hongru had raised the subject, Gu Yu could not help but sink in thought. He would need at least three meditation rooms for daily cultivating practice. There should also be three bedrooms along with living rooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, the whole shebang¡­ oh, don¡¯t forget the Dan- and instrument-refining rooms. All in all, they would need a dozen rooms at least. That was quite some project. They could never carry it out all by themselves. He could read between Zhang Hongru¡¯s lines. The ¡°help¡± would no longer be a friendly favor, but something in line with Gu Yu¡¯s own words¡ªan exchange. *** Evening, Phoenix Fair. Everything here looked exactly as he had left it¡ªpeaceful, serene, and amiable. Houses lined the criss-crossingnes and sporadic lights were turned on here and there. Gu Yu walked slowly towards his own courtyard with a huge bag on his back. A cultivator he might be, but the old life did not repel him. The petty household affairs, the daily necessities and errands¡ªthe world of mortals had its ownsting appeal. When he reached his own home, he found the lights on; someone was inside. He pushed open the gate with a deliberate loud noise and there came an immediate shout from inside, ¡°Who is it?¡± Gu Yu smiled at the voice. ¡°Qing Qing, is that you?¡± ¡°¡­¡± There was a silence for a few seconds¡ªthe person inside was probably stunned, then came a shriek that made Gu Yu¡¯s hair stand. ¡°Ah!!!¡± A girl rushed out, shouting as she ran towards him. ¡°Brother? Wow, it¡¯s really you. You¡¯re finally back!¡± She plunged at him and rolled around between his arms, words flowing out of her mouth. ¡°Where have you been? You were away for over two months. If it were not for your phone calls, we¡¯d have called the police!¡± The uproar had stirred the neighborhood and everyone wasing out to watch the bustle. ¡°Yo, Xiao Yu is back!¡± ¡°I heard you went to the south to do business. How was it? Businesses are hard to run these days.¡± ¡°No, he wasn¡¯t. He was travelling. Haven¡¯t you ever heard of outdoor activities?¡± ¡°Hadn¡¯t he gone off, getting married somewhere? I heard he had left here for good, marrying himself into some girl¡¯s family.¡± ¡°Oh shut up! Xiao Yu is not that type of boy!¡± In the hubbub of excited conversation, Uncle Fang and Aunt Fang also joined in, exhrated. It took Gu Yu forever to send all the neighbors away¡ªalong with a huge dog¡ªbefore returning to his ce with the Fang family. Someone had obviously been keeping things in order. The rooms were spotless and theptop on the table was switched on; Fang Qing was using it just then. After everyone took a seat, Uncle Fang naturally followed up with a string of questions. Gu Yu smiled as he replied, ¡°I was just travelling around with friends and talked about some business ideas on selling incense while we were at it. Now that I¡¯ve acquired a stable distribution channel and good profit, I might be away a lot.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good! Don¡¯t worry about the house, we¡¯ll keep an eye for you.¡± After some more chit-chat and being reassured that Gu Yu was all fine, the elder couple went back to cook dinner. Gu Yu filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove, then turned to the carefree Fang Qing, who was still busying with theptop. ¡°Qing Qing, has your winter vacation started yet?¡± ¡°Uh huh, just a few days ago.¡± ¡°How¡¯s high school?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right. I was the fifteenth of my ss in the final exams¡­ hey, Brother!¡± Suddenly struck by an idea, Fang Qing hopped near and asked, ¡°Did you go out with sister Xiaozhai this time?¡± ¡°I did.¡± ¡°Then how far have you got?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? What far?¡± ¡°Tsk! Have you done it?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± He nodded indifferently. ¡°No?¡± The girls eyes were wide open as she asked incredulously, ¡°You¡¯ve been out together for two months and you haven¡¯t slept together?¡± ¡°Mind your own business! Go away now, I need to get changed. Go home!¡± Gu Yu was given a headache by her questions. He lifted Fang Qing to her feet, ready to throw her out. ¡°Oh my, Brother, let me tell you something¡­¡± She pestered on as she held on to the door frame, bombarding Gu Yu at the same time, ¡°This just won¡¯t do. How long have you been single for? Finally someone actually likes you and you have to grab the chance¡­ hey, if you don¡¯t know how to hook up with girls, let me help you¡­¡± ¡°Bang!¡± Utterly annoyed, Gu Yu threw the girl out and mmed the door behind her. He turned around, unzipped his backpack, and started reorganizing his stuff. While he was busying himself with the unpacking, he chuckled involuntarily: it had been a long time since he felt this kind of warmth. *** Meanwhile, in her home in Shengtian, Xiaozhai was experiencing the same feeling. She had taken a shower and was now lying on the cot in her study, wearing loose andfortable pajamas. Incense was burning on the side table, a teacup within her reach, and the heated floor was so warm that Xiao Qing was skipping and jumping around, not thinking of hibernation at all. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± She sighed with satisfaction. The bed felt like a ma she could not part herself from. ¡°Sister!¡± At that moment, Long Qiu shuffled in after blow-drying her hair and said, ¡°I want to use theputer.¡± ¡°Sure, go on. Try to watch some TV and check the inte everyday from now on. It won¡¯t harm you to know more about the outside world.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Long Qiu sat down at the desk and switched on theputer, then scrolled through the web news with a bit awkwardness. Despite her innocent appearance, the girl was unexpectedly very interested in entertainment news, apparently finding gossips rather appealing. Xiaozhaiy on her side and watched Long Qiu from behind. She suddenly stretched out her long leg andnded on one side of thetter¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Aiya!¡± Long Qiu turned to look and saw a fair, pretty, and delicate foot by her face. She flushed despite herself. ¡°Stop messing around with me, or I¡¯ll set the Golden Silkworm on you!¡± Well, unlike the usual girly threats such as ¡°do this one more time I¡¯ll cry¡± or ¡°do that I¡¯ll break up with you¡±, etc¡­ hers was to use the undead insect. ¡°You certainly can, but it can¡¯t eat me now.¡± Xiaozhai sipped her tea and remembered something. ¡°Oh, by the way, can you take in more undead insects now?¡± ¡°Of course, as long as my body can take it. But, I don¡¯t see many poisonous worms around here.¡± ¡°There are, in Phoenix Mountain. First, we¡¯ll have to let your Brother Yu¡­¡± ¡°Ring-a-ling!¡± Before she could finish the sentence, her phone rang, which turned out to be a call from her mother. She showered Xiaozhai withints and made her an offer she couldn¡¯t refuse¡ªtomorrow, dinner at home. The phone rang again just as she hung up. This time, it was Jiang Xiaojin. ¡°Hello? Sister, I heard you¡¯re back¡­ hahaha, it¡¯s my winter vacation time. I¡¯ming to visit you!¡± Chapter 136 Chapter 136: Dan and Instrument Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Jiang Xiaojin¡¯s winter break had just started. To little rogues like herself, living with parents was as good as killing her. With Chinese New Year around the corner, her old man was also taking a break from his business, resting his body and soul at home while taking the chance to discipline his own daughter. As a result, Xiaojin was to get up at eight, go to bed at ten, eat three meals on time everyday, and no night life was allowed whatsoever. The mustang running wild was now a poodle on a leash. Of course, today she had the perfect excuse. She was going to visit her cousin! Jiang Xiaojin hopped into her old bucket of bolts and arrived at Xiaozhai¡¯s doorstep shortly after the phone call. She rang the doorbell and Long Qiu opened the door for her. Both girls were somewhat dazzled by the other one. The feeling of ¡°hello, beautiful¡± was mutual. ¡°Are you my sister¡¯s friend?¡± Being a senior member of the ¡°good-looks club¡±, Xiaojin was as double-standard as one could be¡ªthat was, depending on how good the person in question looked. She would normally have wrapped her arm around the other¡¯s shoulders by now, but the Long Qiu¡¯s appearance was so pure and delicate that even Xiaojin was more careful than usual. ¡°Um, yes, I¡¯m Long Qiu!¡± Long Qiu was in a flurry herself. She took out a pair of slippers for Xiaojin in a hurry. After all, this was Xiaozhai¡¯s rtive¡ªunlike herself, who was more like something picked off the roadside. The two both acted weird and uptight and walked in together each filled with her own thoughts. Xiaozhai was still lying down in the study, staring at the ceiling. She asked indifferently, ¡°What are you doing here at this hour of the night? Xiao Qiu, go cut open a watermelon.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± While Long Qiu went to the kitchen as tame as amb, Xiaojin went up to Xiaozhai with a sneaky tone, ¡°Sis, who is she? Your girlfriend? Wow, when did you stop being straight? You should have told me. Together, we can¡­ Mm! Mm!¡± Before she could finish her sentence, her lips were pinched together, her faced stretched into that of a giant smander. Xiaozhai could not be bothered to respond and only said, ¡°Don¡¯t outstay your wee. You¡¯re not staying here.¡± ¡°But, I am. I¡¯m sleeping here tonight.¡± ¡°No you¡¯re not!¡± ¡°Sis¡­¡± As tough as she could pretend to be, Xiaojin was flexible enough to y the weakling. She threw herself at Xiaozhai, wailing and crying, ¡°Have some pity! At home, I can¡¯t eat or sleep well. My dad even scolded me for buying a vibrator. Please let me stay here for a few days!¡± ¡°No way!¡± ¡°Sis¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m leaving the day after tomorrow. I don¡¯t have time to hang out with you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going out? Good! Take me with you. Where are you going?¡± She stuck herself to Xiaozhai, showering thetter with all sorts of pleading. Long Qiu stood at the doorway, holding a te of watermelon, and watched her ck-jawed¡ªso, people can actually mewl and act cute (or, shameless) like this? In the end, out of some unknown reason, Xiaozhai not only let her cousin stay, but had also agreed to take her to Bai Town together. That night, Jiang Xiaojin sessfully stayed over at Xiaozhai¡¯s, squeezing into one bed with Long Qiu. *** Night. All sounds were still. Sitting in the room of quietness on the west wing, Gu Yu held the Seal of Patriarch Sa on his palm as he slowly inserted his mental force into it. Patriarch Sa had left behind three records of Taoist methods: ¡°Shenxiao¡¯s Tinkling Jade Book of Great Thunder¡±, ¡°On Alchemy¡±, and ¡°On Refining Instrument¡±. Although the Thunder Technique was inherited from the ¡°Dragon-snatching Internal Technique of Five Thunders¡± from Xiaozhai¡¯s sect, Sa Shoujian, being the Taoist grandmaster of his time, was not a routineer. With the contribution of his own analysis andplements, the technique was improved and perfected. The status of a manual was determined by the maximum level its practitioners could achieve. Same as the essence-consuming method, the ¡°Tinkling Jade Book of Great Thunder¡± now could also sustain one until the Human Immortal stage. Xiaozhai had transcribed the manual, leaving the study of the other two passages to Gu Yu. A dimmp lit the room. Gu Yu had sat by themp for hours before he rubbed his temples, his spirits somewhat sagging¡ªthe side effect of using too much of his mental force. The texts were a mixed blessing. First of all, let¡¯s take a look at alchemy 1 . The Dan practice was divided intoWaidan and Neidan 2 and the one in question here was the Waidan practice. It could be traced to pre-Qin period and was not formally set forth until the book ¡°The Kinship of the Three, in ordance with the Book of Changes¡± of Wei Boyang inte Han Dynasty came out. The book gave a detailed description on various ingredients of Dans, the duration and degree of heating, as well as their effect, etc. By the time of Wei-Jin period, the practice of Waidan came into fashion, establishing a school of its own with Ge Hong the ¡°Junior Immortal Old Man¡± as its representative figure. The trend of Waidan made it all the way into Tang Dynasty, when it saw its prime. The practice then gradually waned with the rise of Neidan. There had always been two misunderstandings of the practice of Waidan. First, because the main ingredients of Dans were usually chosen among the five metals (gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin) and eight stones (cinnabar, realgar, mica, azurite, brimstone, halite, nitre, and orpiment), which were toxic during the refining process, it was rumored that many ancient people died from ¡°overdosing¡±. The truth was, just like the practice of talismans, Waidan also required an adequate level of cultivation. Nearly all dynasties had records of the sudden death of a certain emperor from consuming Waidan. The problem, however, was not with Dan itself, but the people consuming it. Infused with the spiritual essence of heaven and earth and treasured substances of nature, Waidan was the result of favorable climate, geographical convenience, and good human rtions. It was only suitable for those capable enough to control such energy. With their daily cultivation activities, Taoist practitioners had purified their mind and restricted their passions. The channels linking their vital organs werepletely unobstructed, enabling them to harmonize with nature itself. As a result, when they consumed a Dan with profound energy, they were able to assimte its medicinal property; the toxins would not affect them. What if themon folks really wanted to try consuming Dans themselves? There were certainly ways around it. In ancient times, there were medicinal pellets and powders to go with Dans. While a Dan was used for cultivation, theplementary medicines were there to ¡°detox¡±. Obviously, the potency of the two were poles apart and the toxin would still umte over time. How long one could survive would depend on their physique. The second misunderstanding was that the ingredients of a Dan actuallyprised two categories: mineral medicines and herbal medicines. ording to the book ¡°Literary Expositor of Stone Medicines¡± written by Mei Biao of Tang Dynasty, there were as many as 150mon stone medicines. Herbal medicines were as numerous¡ªat least over a hundred, and among those were ginseng, glossy ganoderma, dodder herb, and alk, just to name a few. That was where the problemy. The heritage of Waidan practice had been lost for some time after numerous dynasties for two main reasons: the practice was extremely expensive and the spiritual materials were impossible to obtain. To find a fifty-year-old wild ginseng was like a daydreame true, let alone a ginseng that had be spiritual. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Gu Yu felt he was having a headache again. Now that atst there was the recipe of Essence-gathering Dan, it turned out to be as good as nothing. To begin with, the alchemy furnace itself was impossible to build¡ªit would not do to use some random iron furnace. The ¡°six and one mud¡± had to be used, which was a substance of neither gold nor silver, nor did it contain any wood or stone. To make such ¡°mud¡±, one would need realgar solution, aluminite solution, halite, halide salt, aluminite, oyster shells from the East China Sea, red halloysite, talc, and leadpowder as raw materials. Take dozens of kilos of each to make the six and one mud, which was to be the seal of the alchemy furnace. It might seem straightforward, but there was no exact ratio of the ingredients provided! How much was ¡°dozens of kilos¡±? That was just the way these things were. The sages would pass on the knowledge of medicine but never the exact procedures. The duration and degree of heating had always been shared among a handful of people alone. After tormenting himself with various ideas, Gu Yu put the Dan recipe aside with much regret; it simply was beyond his capability. He then moved onto ¡°On Refining Instruments¡±. Recorded in the seal was aplete system of refining procedure and the product was the Whisk of Tranquility, which was the horsetail whiskmonly used by Taoist practitioners. It was said to dispel evil and help with avoiding ill fortune. First of all, a pearl was to be mounted at the tip of the whisk¡¯s handle, which represented Taiji itself. Taiji was the Great Dao, therefore when making the handle, one had to follow the idea of ¡°Dao begets One¡± (Bagua bell jar on the top), ¡°One begets Two¡± (Bagua bell jar in the middle), ¡°Two begets Three¡± (Bagua bell jar on the bottom), and ¡°Three begets all things¡± (the whisk head). The long rod was to be made from a peach tree struck by lightning. A swastika3 braided from 64 strings and 38 white horsetail strings was to be used for the whisk handle. Together, 102 strings were to be used for the handle; each string was consisted of four horsetail hairs, making it 408 in total. A Bagua bell jar was to be set on the top, the middle, and the bottom of the handle, each braided from 32 horsetail strings; 384 strings were to be used in total. Tassels were to be attached to the inside of the bell jars, which was of red and yellow in color, representing good luck and happiness. Each whisk would use 4888 horsetail hairs in total. This crude product was only a mundane object. Next came the refining manual. ording to the seal, cultivators could refine instruments with various methods and the mostmon ways were refining with fire or mental force. The fire was not just anymon me, but the unusual ones created by nature. It could be found underground, in the water, or even inside tree trunks or beneath the fur of a beast. Magical instruments refined by such fire were extremely powerful after the thorough remolding. Unfortunately, the unusual fires had disappeared for a long time from this world. Refining using mental force was not as mighty a method, but was much more convenient. Basically, a drop of blood essence was dropped into the instrument to insert the mental force. After that, the instruments was to be carried by the refiner at all times so as to temper it with their mental force. By the time the magical instrument was connected with the refiner in heart and soul, it could be stored in their ¡°house of consciousness¡±, then taken out and retrieved at one¡¯s will. The more powerful one¡¯s mental force was, the more likely it was that the refinement would seed. In turn, the refining process would also enhance one¡¯s mental force. After much consideration, Gu Yu concluded that the key to refine an instrumenty in two factors: the raw material and the mental force. The importance of thetter was apparent, but the raw material itself was also worth paying attention to. Thunderstruck woods and Bagua, for instance, were able to repel ghosts and monsters on their own; being refined into a magical instrument was an ¡°upgrade¡± of their power. After sorting that out, Gu Yu finally let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, one of the two texts were usable. There was no problem with the Whisk of Tranquility itself, it was just that horsetail whisks were not the prettiest essories to carry around. The style simply would not match. To keep an open mind was the characteristic of modern cultivators. They did not have to cling to the old system. Patriarch Sa might have provided them with a sample, but he was not obliged to follow it to a tee. He was thinking of altering the shape of the instrument. As long as it could dispel evil, anything would do. He was even considering if other materials he had could be refined into magical instruments as well¡ªfor example, those two green jade needles. Chapter 137 Chapter 137: Short-term n Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Two dayster, Phoenix Mountain. Mountain view in the north was nothing like that of the south, especially in the winter. Dead grass and withered trees rolled out inyers. From afar, one could only make out a vast sea of grayness. Unlike Mount Emei, whose name was known far and wide with tourists pouring in throughout the year, Phoenix Mountain was deserted early in winter. Until the warmth of spring returned and the flowers started blooming, no one would visit the mountain; even the travelling agencies stopped sending touring groups in. Right now, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were ascending the mountain along a winding stone-paved path. They walked past the scenic area and continued deep into the mountains. Gu Yu then looked around and let out a sudden whistle, breaking the silence of the empty mountain. Before long, scuffling footsteps approached them, together with a series of eager squeaks. ¡°Squeak!¡± A lump of dusty-colored little creature leapt out of the woods abruptly, tumbling directly into Gu Yu¡¯s arms. It was none other than Brother Fatty itself, whom they had not seen for quite some time. ¡°Poor little guy. You¡¯ve lost a lot of weight.¡± He stroked the squirrel, feeling sorry for the ¡°sized-down¡± little body. Digging out a handful of nuts from his pocket, Gu Yu apologized, ¡°Sorry for not visiting you for a while.¡± ¡°Coo coo!¡± Brother Fatty was ready to give full vent to its frustration andints, but that idea vaporized in a poof as soon as the nuts showed up. Peanuts, pine nuts, little walnuts¡ªyou name it¡ªwere all stuffed into its mouth, stretching its cheeks into ones twice their original size. Xiao Qing also slithered out, sticking out its two-pronged tongue in a showing-off manner. After travelling around with its master, it felt it had seen a fair share of this wide world, qualifying it to be someone of the ¡°upper ss¡±. Brother Fatty would not tolerate its attitude and responded with brandishing its ws. Within no time, the two started their usual mauling and tearing again. The two masters paid little attention to themotion; it was not like the two animals would lose their way. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai led themselves across the ck thorny forest and entered the valley. Everything here was the same: the t shoal, the rivers, the old tree¡­ it was quiet and windless. Of course, the feeling they had this time waspletely different. Before, they stumbled on this ce by sheer chance, but now, they were the official owners. ¡°Thend is narrower on the north and wider on the south. I think the houses can be built in the southern side.¡± Gesturing at the view in front of them, Gu Yu smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve thought it through. We¡¯ll have three meditation rooms, three bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom¡­¡± ¡°And we¡¯ll hang a te up there, with ck base and golden characters, saying ¡®Phoenix Mountain Private Lounge¡¯!¡± Xiaozhaiughed. ¡®Huh?¡¯ Gu Yu paused at her teasing tone and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Are you building a Taoist lodging or a vi?¡± She retorted and went on before Gu Yu could reply. ¡°Two or three Taoist lodgings will do. Even if we¡¯ll have more people in the future, five to six would be more than enough. With your n, we might as well build a private garden.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu was a little embarrassed. He thought that with two girls around, he should at least maintain certain standard of living¡ªsuch as ces for them to have a bath or wash their hair conveniently. ¡°Haha, I know you¡¯re doing this for the sake of our convenience, but it¡¯s really not necessary.¡± Xiaozhai stopped her criticism before going too far. She smiled, ¡°This is a ce for cultivation and making it toofortable is not a good thing. Don¡¯t worry about us. We¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll change the n.¡± Shaking his head, he leapt across the river with Xiaozhai by taking her by the hand. Theynded on the other bank, which was the wider southern side. They started by measuring the area of the clearing and agreed on building six houses: three meditation rooms with attached bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a small living room. In other words, the most basic living facilities. After some consideration, he circled out anotherrge plot ofnd nearby and marked it with twigs. It was going to be their medicine garden. With the nning all done, the two sat down under the old tree and started sorting through some information. ¡°I¡¯ve studied that Dan recipe carefully. It¡¯s not feasible in the current situation. We can¡¯t get the stuff from anywhere, be it the alchemy furnace or the ingredients¡­ And if I guessed it right, the requirement for taking that Essence-gathering Dan is extremely strict. Normal cultivators won¡¯t be able to assimte the medicinal property of it.¡± ¡°How strict? Innate state only?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°Very likely. We might not be able to eat it until we reach the innate state. Anyway, that stuff is a bit of a ¡®mathom¡¯ and we¡¯ll keep it for the time being. Let¡¯s find some wild herbs and transnt them here first, then see if they can be of use.¡± With that, they raised their heads involuntarily, both looking at the two round fruits on the tree. They were already there when they found this ce the first timest year, looking unripe and puckery at the time. They were still nowhere near getting red now, just slightlyrger than before. ording to Sima Che, theke only started acting out a couple of years ago, which was probably the time when the spiritual essence started recovering. The fruit Brother Fatty gave Gu Yu was pickedst year and it had eaten one before that. Doing some math, they deduced that it would take at most two years for a red fruit to ripen. But that only applied to the fruit. They had no idea how herbs would react to the environment. All they could do was to collect samples and experiment on them as they grew. After that, Gu Yu told Xiaozhai about the refining procedure of the Whisk of Tranquility, the specific method of refining with mental force, and his dissatisfaction with the style of horsetail whisks. Xiaozhai chuckled at his narration. ¡°If whisks annoy you that much, what are you going to refine?¡± ¡°These!¡± He took out that jade casket. In it, the two green jade needles were glistening coldly. ¡°These needles are extremely fast and have a strong prating force. They are suitable for surprise attacks, long-range attacks, as well as infiltrating from a single point. And, they are hard to detect. With the method of refining with mental force, we can pretty much refine anything as long as we have good materials to work on. As for that Whisk of Tranquility, it¡¯ll be our trial run.¡± ¡°That sounds good. I think there is over ten thousand mu of peach flower grove in Hekou Town. We should check it outter.¡± Xiaozhai had no problem with Gu Yu¡¯s suggestion. The Whisk of Tranquility was too impractical. Even if they managed to make one, where would they find the evil for it to dispel? At that, an idea suddenly dawned on her and she said, ¡°Oh, hand me the seal.¡± ¡°What are you going to do with it?¡± Gu Yu passed her the seal, somewhat baffled. Xiaozhai tossed it around a bit and chuckled, ¡°This thing can be refined as well. I bet it would feel really good to smash people with it! And those patterns on it, I always thought they look like some sort of formation. We should study it. We have few resources at the moment and we need to exhaust everyone of them.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®Okay¡­¡¯ Twitching his mouth, Gu Yu found words had failed him. They wasted no time in setting out to execute their short-term n: they would focus on cultivating in seclusion and spare some time for collecting materials. They reckoned that by the time spring came and the weather turned warm, the government would move into action, seeking out Gu Yu for the development of Tianzhu Mountain and Mount Emei. They had not forgotten that, simr to the case in Tianshan, the stone wall in the node of Tianzhu Mountain also consisted of an unusual mineral. And there were also those trees in the node of Emei, which were extremely hard but highly ductile at the same time. Most importantly, those were all spiritual substances that would be perfect for instrument-refining. *** The two stayed on the mountain for the most part of the day and did not return to Phoenix Fair until dusk set in. Xiaojin and Long Qiu hade back a long while ago after going shopping and were whining with empty stomachs. Both wailed at their return. Gu Yu hurried into the kitchen to prepare dinner and brought out four dishes and a soup. The three women and a man arranged themselves perfectly around the table on the kang. After dinner, Xiaojin and Long Qiu went back to their hotel room, with Xiaozhai staying behind. She looked rather serious, even more so than during their daytime discussion. ¡°I went to my parents¡¯ for dinner yesterday. My mom told me that she had just attended a meeting, informing her that she would be promoted by half a level. She¡¯s now second-inmand and the raise would make her the first. My dad also said that the municipal officials had talked to him and he would soon be promoted by a pay grid as well.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Gu Yu frowned slightly. Not that he had any problem with their promotion, he was just sensing some subtle maneuvering behind all that. ¡°They are not stupid. With me disappearing all the time recently, they must know it had something to do with me. They did not ask, but¡­¡± Xiaozhai sighed, ¡°They will eventually find out. I can¡¯t bring myself to imagine how they will react to all this.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu fell into silence. There wasn¡¯t much they could do. Despite the apparently peaceful agreement with the government, the two sides were in fact each acting on their own benefits and with conflicting interests. The means of the government were limitless. Any move from those people would mean that Gu Yu and Xiaozhai would be at a disadvantage. They could grant the parents high positions and the rtives wealth. Everything would be carried out with a manner of equality and all prayers would be answered. These were sugar-coated bullets. ¡°Sigh. It seems we¡¯ll have to limit our contact with the government. The more we deal with them, the moreplicated that rtionship will be. It would make everything difficult in the future¡ªno matter whether we continue to work with them or fall into an overt conflict with them.¡± ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s steer clear of them unless there is no other option.¡± ¡°What about building the houses and collecting the herbs?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. We still have the families of Zeng, Lei, and Yuan to turn to¡­¡± Gu Yu smiled. ¡°This matter of spiritual essence can¡¯t be covered up forever. It won¡¯t do much harm to let them know a little bit. They would be more than happy to help.¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯re trying to form a clique and lord over the mountain.¡± ¡°Hey, enough with thebeling. It¡¯s for survival, nothing more.¡± Chapter 138 Chapter 138: Time is Irrelevant in the Mountains Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Spring Festival came early this year. The Chinese New Year¡¯s Eve fell on a day at the end of January 1 . Like always, most people passed the period by counting down the day till their annual bonus was given out and the holiday season started, then going back to their hometown to attend a family reunion and the intolerablepany of idiotic rtives until the holiday was over and they resumed their work. To a smaller proportion of people, however, the Spring Festival this year was exceptionally meaningful. As the saying went, new year, new beginning. Nevertheless, this new beginning¡­ turned out to be too ¡°new¡±. Morning, at the foot of Phoenix Mountain. A white van was bumping its way along a rough and uneven dirt road before it came to a stop by the roadside. To the east was a stretch of field and wildnds, while the mountainsy in the west. Partially hidden among the withered woods was a winding wild path. Two men sat in the van, a driver 2 and Yuan Peiji. Thetter looked up and checked the mountains; nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He then lit a cigarette. The thin smoke filled the air in the narrow space inside the van, which turned a bit irritating to the nose. He lowered the window slightly, letting in some cold air, which met and stirred the warm air inside. The mixed flow of air fluttered against his cheeks. The fact that this grandson of some high-ranking military officer would show up in this remote countryside for no obvious reason and that he was escorting the vehicle in person was amazement itself. Yuan appeared to be rather patient. He lit one cigarette after another, showing not a trace of irritation. About half an hourter, there finally came the footsteps. His clothes damp with morning dew, Gu Yu was briskly walking down the mountain. ¡°Sir!¡± Yuan Peiji got off the van and ran towards him. He was about to call him ¡°Mr. Gu¡±, but the form of address somehow changed before it left the tip of his tongue. Gu Yu did not mind the vague attempt to show intimacy and was only surprised with their early arrival. ¡°When did you get here? I thought we said ten o¡¯clock?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve just arrived ourselves. I was afraid something might hold us up, so I set off a bit early.¡± ¡°Haha, thank you for the hard work, then.¡± Gu Yu himself had in fact arrived ten minutes ago, which he did not point out, but only smiled, ¡°Let me see the herbs first.¡± ¡°Sure, they¡¯re all here!¡± Yuan Peiji walked to the back of the van, pulled open the doors himself, and lifted two semi-closed, strange-looking cases out of the container. Through the ss tops, one could see crude medicine herb nts inside, which still had dirt on their roots. ¡°The humidity and temperature of these cases are adjustable. They can even mimic the sunlight. The roots are all intact and they are ready for being transnted in your ce,¡± exined Yuan. Gu Yu opened the cases and examined the contents. There were eighteen nts in total, all precious medicinal herbs such as ginseng, glossy ganoderma, fleece-flower roots, and dendrobes. All nts looked thriving and in perfect condition. The only thing was that they were a bit small in size¡ªbut how big could wild nts be? ¡°They¡¯re excellent. Thank you for taking the trouble toe in person.¡± ¡°You¡¯re very wee. It¡¯s not like I have much else to do.¡± Yuan Peiji¡¯s manner had taken a 180-degree turn. Unlike his previous frankness and mboyance, he was reverent and respectful towards Gu Yu now. He then added, ¡°By the way, sir, we¡¯ll leave some men behind in Bai Town, just around Phoenix Mountain area, in case you need anything in the future.¡± ¡°¡®We¡¯?¡± ¡°Yes. The Lei and Zeng families are all involved. But don¡¯t worry, they don¡¯t know all that much.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you for everything.¡± ¡°It¡¯s our pleasure. Shall I carry these up for you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok, I can manage.¡± Yuan Peiji did not insist. He watched Gu Yu as thetter carried off the cases without the slightest difficulty, ascended quickly into the mountain, and soon disappeared out of his sight. Longing and admiration flickered in his eyes. Returning to the van, he asked the driver to set off for their return journey. Comparing to the seven-to-eight-hour round trip, they had only stayed here for twenty minutes, but Yuan did not feel the job tiring at all. It was just before Spring Festival when Gu Yu called, exining to them about building lodgings and collecting herbs. The two unimportant requests had excited the old grandfather of the Yuan family. The old man held a remarkably high position in the northeastern military region and was even backed by a certain boss in the central government, who had given the old man some information on the issue. In other words, after the ¡°signing of peace treaty¡± between Gu Yu and the authorities, the government showed no intention of covering up and did not interfere with the spread of certain information (while inhibiting the rest). The ¡°informed¡± group included all official members of the BIMAUP and de facto bosses of all factions¡ªsuch as high-level provincial and municipal officials, high-ranking officers of all military regions, etc. Some marginal groups also got wind of the change; the majority of such groups were business tycoons closely connected to the political circles. Needless to say, these people were not as ¡°qualified¡± for the precise information. They only had some vague idea. To a poption base of two billion, the amount of people who belonged to such a group was trivial, but their absolute number was nheless not negligible. Therefore, when Gu Yu initiated themunication, the Yuan family acted as if enemies had arrived at their doorstep. These two were under the spotlight on a state level. Making unauthorized contact in private could well bring the family to its doom. The old man reported to his patron right away, and thetter replied by saying that any reasonable request from the two could be granted. With that permission, the Yuan family was then able to continue their tentative contact. The presence of an external conflict would ensure the authority to react in unison. However, when that source of conflict was resolved temporarily with every side living peacefully, the strife between fractions would reemerge. One example would be when Gu Yu wanted to build his lodgings¡ªthe results would turn out quite differently depending on whom among Zhang Hongru, the BIMAUP, and the Yuan family he decided to talk to¡ªdespite that the three were all government-backed. In choosing the Yuan family, Gu Yu was, among other things, trying to obstruct the work of his opponent, so as to buy some extra time for his own development. *** In the valley, by the river. On the south bank of the small river, a courtyard had been built. It was of a in and simple style in general¡ªencircled by a bamboo fence, ground paved with granite bstones, wooden cabins, etc. The three meditation rooms were built with some distance between one another. The kitchen, living room, and bathroom were there as nned. They had also built one extra room, which was to be their warehouse. Across the gate of the small courtyard was a que, which had ¡°Cottage of Pure Mind¡± written across it. They did not need a fancy name, nor did ¡°temple¡± sound appropriate, for it was only suitable for Taoist buildings. Since they weren¡¯t going to worship any immortals or saints here, after a brief discussion, they felt the word ¡°cottage¡± sounded just about right. It was very quiet in the courtyard. Xiaozhai and Long Qiu were each meditating in their own rooms. Long Qiu was not yet officially introduced to the cultivation world, but was still making early-stage adjustments. Only after her body and mind were in satisfactory condition would Gu Yu help her and enlighten her spirituality. As for Xiaozhai, she had devoted all her time to that ¡°Shenxiao¡¯s Tinkling Book of Great Thunder¡± after they got back. She barely came out of her room apart from eating three meals every day. The thunder book was aplete system teaching one how to clear their mind, guide their Qi, perform inward contemtion, put their magical ability to use, etc. It covered a lot of subjects. Right now, Xiaozhai was sitting cross-legged, practicing the coordination of mental activities and breathing. Soon, she was in a state of looking into her own mind. The method of the coordination of mental activities and breathing was a superior mind-clearing manual of Taoism. The method was all about ¡°The breathing and the mind should be active, pause, circte, and stop at the same time. By doing so, everything would be tranquil and all unnecessary thoughts eliminated.¡± After that, she followed the instructions of the jade book, starting the inward contemtion on thunder and inducing the sensation of Qi. Wood Thunder of the East located in the liver pce, Fire Thunder of the South located in the heart pce, Metal Thunder of the West located in the lung pce, Water Thunder of the North located in the kidney pce, and Earth Thunder of the Center located in the spleen pce. The cultivation sequence of five thunders was irrelevant. The inward contemtion was the only thing one could depend on. As said before, the spirit of thunder was a spirit within oneself. The Qi was in harmony with the spirit and everything went back to where they started. Whether one was walking, standing, sitting or lying down, the Qi moved around in an unbroken manner. In that way, it would be nourished and be magnificent enough to cast spells. With the vital Qi of oneselfbined with the creation of heaven and earth, one could summon clouds, rain, and thunder at one¡¯s will. After about two weeks of cultivation, she could faintly sense Qi. A lump of white vapor seemed to have formed inside her, but was barely visible, its structure tenuous and chaotic, as if it could dissipate at any moment. This lump of white vapor was Metal Thunder of the five thunders itself. Right now, it was only making its initial appearance. By the time it was stable and enhanced and achieve its original pure state, it would be able to cleanse and purify and reach the passionless state, which marked the sessful cultivation of Metal Thunder. Of the five elements, Metal represented war and punishment. Being the pivot of nature, thunder held the greatest power between heaven and earth. It was also the first and foremost killing technique of the Taoist world. And we do remember Xiaozhai¡¯s temperament, don¡¯t we? Those with a Yin quality such as Water Thunder were instantly ignored. Her first cultivation choice was Metal Thunder! *** By now, Phoenix Mountain had been divided into inner and outer sections by a barbed wire fence. Usually one would expect magical formations to do such job and the current setting indeed seemed shoddy, but that was the only thing they coulde up with. The patterns on the Seal of Patriarch Sa were way too profound for them to figure out in such short time. Leaving Yuan Peiji, Gu Yu went back to the valley with the cases. Sensing that the other two were meditating, he did not disturb them. He took out some tools out of the warehouse, then went to the medicine garden and nted the crude medicinal herbs. Some nts were already in the garden, which were allmon herbs indigenous to Phoenix Mountain. Having been making incense since childhood, Gu Yu knew incense ingredients very well, which were all essentially nts. Xiaozhai¡¯s knowledge in the area was equally ample, if not better, for wood-appraising was part of her inheritance. As a result, they both had pretty good understanding of herbs and Gu Yu had been doing an excellent job taking care of the nts. It took him quite a while to nt all herbs and when he raised his head again, it was noontime. Xiaozhai and Long Qiu were both still quiet. He returned to his meditation room, consuming the midday essence. After his vital energy was circted around for some time, he heard soundsing from Long Qiu¡¯s direction. The girl was going to cook. Gu Yu remained in his room. He fumbled out those two green jade needles and studied them closely. He had started the refining process by dropping his blood onto them and carrying them around to nourish them with his own spiritual essence and temper with his mental force. After two weeks or so, he could only observe a minimal effect¡ªthe needles shone a bit more clearly and coldly. He was in no hurry. Instrument-refining was a most tedious work. One had to remold the magical instrument with their mental force and let the instrument connect with them in mind and soul. The instrument would be tangible and intangible at the same time and eventually be concealed in one¡¯s house of consciousness, ready to strike out with a turn of one¡¯s mind. He put away the needles and moved on to study the seal, which took him another long while. Before he knew it, the sun was setting. Long Qiu had switched on the srmps. Although they were living a simple life out here, there was no need to be stingy on things like lighting. It would be idiotic to live on candles in a modern society. The valley was warm with long sunlit hours¡ªjust the ce for using sr energy. As the pleasant smell of food filled the air, Gu Yu walked out of his room. With a squeaking sound, Xiaozhai also emerged from her room. ¡°How are things going?¡± he asked. ¡°Good.¡± Xiaozhai did not say much. They went into the kitchen where the food was waiting, almost all of which were vegetarian dishes. Long Qiu aside, ever since Gu Yu and Xiaozhai moved into the valley, they found time was almost skipping past them. They saw each other only rarely every day and the days were simply elerating forward. They had never felt such way before, but now they saw what the ancient people meant by ¡°time bes irrelevant in the mountains¡±. ¡°¡­¡± They ate in silence. All they could think about was to resume their cultivation after dinner. Long Qiu looked back and forth between Gu Yu and Xiaozhai, her face resembling that of a child trying to mediate in her parent¡¯s fight. She grinned suddenly, ¡°Brother, Sister, I¡¯m almost ready. I want to refine the undead insect tomorrow.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Gu Yu pulled himself out of the thoughts on formations and asked, ¡°In that case, do you need to collect poisonous worms?¡± ¡°Not really. I saw a lot of venomous mosquitoes in the ck thorny forest and those are excellent materials. I can make an Undead Insect of Blood Mosquito out of them.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± Xiaozhai joined in. ¡°Well, it¡¯s got great prating ability and feeds on blood. Unlike the other undead insects, this one can reproduce. I¡¯ll find some human blood first and let it spawn in it, then grow into undead insect offsprings. The original one would be the mother undead insect and canmand the others.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± The two understood right away. To put it inly, Xiao Qiu controlled the mother and the mother in turn controlled its children. The venomous mosquitoes in the ck thorny forest were non-spiritual creatures and could only sting around in unorganized swarms, making a mess at most. If they could be made into undead insects, the mosquitoes would be a disciplined army, significantly increasing their power. ¡°That¡¯s a great idea. We have no magical formation to guard the mountain at the moment and a restricted area sounds promising,¡± smiled Gu Yu. ¡°It¡¯s indeed a great idea. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll take a break and help you with the refinement,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Great, I know I can do it!¡± Long Qiu¡¯s little face looked determined as she nodded affirmatively. She had always liked the ¡°buy one get one free¡± deals and was thrilled to be able to help out her brother and sister. Chapter 139 Chapter 139: Enlightment of Spirituality Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The following day, the ck thorny forest. The sun was shining brightly elsewhere outside, sprinkling the mountains with ayer of golden sheen. The brightness stopped abruptly at the edge of this forest, as if being swallowed by a bottomless pit. With the diminished light, the thick woods looked gloomy and the air was filled with a faint stench. In a clearing in the woods, Long Qiu set down a three-legged bronze cauldron, then sat down in a cross-legged position. The cauldron was custom made¡ªgenuine brass and quite pricey. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai stood behind Long Qiu and watched her with curiosity. After all, it was their very first time to ever witness the refinement of an undead insect. Long Qiu took out a handful of green powder, threw it into the cauldron, and started heating it over the fire. Before long, a strange and pungent smell wafted up from the cauldron. The smell was not pleasant to human noses, but the poisonous 1 creatures could not get enough of it. Long Qiu might seem frail in everyday life, but once an undead insect was involved, her demeanor changed into an authoritative one. Right now, with her straight face, her beautiful eyes were focused on the movements in the surrounding woods. One minute passed, which turned into two minutes, then three¡­ It seemed forever, but the venomous mosquitoes still did not show up. ¡°Take it easy. It¡¯s Saturday today; they¡¯re probably having the day off,¡± consoled Xiaozhai. ¡°Exactly. I think they¡¯re getting out of bed now. They¡¯ll show up before you know it.¡± Gu Yu also joined in. Long Qiu blushed and whined, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! They dare not show up with you two around! Go away, go away! I can do this on my own!¡± They never saw her flustered like this¡ªthe embarrassed Long Qiu looked adorable. Taking after Xiaozhai, Gu Yu also rubbed Long Qiu¡¯s head and chuckled, ¡°We¡¯re not going anywhere. Let me find them for you.¡± With that, he dashed promptly into the woods. ¡°Wait here. Don¡¯t go anywhere!¡± Xiaozhai disappeared after him with an instruction. ¡°¡­¡± Biting her lip, Long Qiu felt rather humiliated. She called out softly, ¡°Golden Silkworm, go get me some mosquitoes!¡± Themand had barely rolled off her tongue when an invisible fluctuation flew out of her body, drifting slowly to the ground. The moment itnded, it materialized into a fair-skinned chubby little kid about 30 cm in height, wearing a red dudou. The Golden Silkworm was invisible and a form-shifter at the same time. It enjoyed turning itself into snakes, frogs, or little boys just to frighten people. Honestly, when it was not going ballistic, it was quite a loveable creature. Xiao Qiu sat at where she was and waited. About five minutester, a cacophony of buzzing sounds wereing her way. ¡°Rustle!¡± Chased by Gu Yu and Xiaozhai, a swarm of mosquitoes flew out of the woods from the east side. The mosquitoes were shing and shoving in every direction, but were unable to break free because of the barrier of spiritual essence surrounding them. Poor venomous mosquitoes. They had a good time frightening the novice Gu Yu and Xiaozhai back then, but not any more. Right now, all they could do was to tolerate it. Almost simultaneously, the trees on the west side also started rustling violently. A huge cloud of ck haze emerged abruptly into their sight. Mosquitoes were pushing forward on top of one another, as if they were running for their lives. Tailing after the ck haze was the chubby kid, whose face was radiating with joy. It could not talk, but the widely opened mouth was indicative enough of its vering over the ¡°delicacy¡±. ¡°That¡¯s too much!¡± Long Qiu cried out in surprise. She fumbled out a handful of white powder in a hurry and tossed it into the cauldron. Sizzling white smoke rose into the air. As soon as the two swarms of mosquitoes were driven into the cauldron, she slit the skin on her arm and dripped in the blood, then closed the lid with a loud bang. ¡°Pop! Pop! Pop!¡± Instantly, the bronze cauldron started shaking violently, as if countless venomous mosquitoes were shing and knocking about frantically inside while tearing at each other. The noise went on without any sign of stopping. ¡°Are we done already?¡± Gu Yu asked with curiosity. ¡°We¡¯re only getting started. It¡¯ll take as long as forty-nine days for the Undead Insect of Blood Mosquito to take its shape. After that, I¡¯ll subdue it,¡± exined Long Qiu. Xiaozhai lost her interest after a minute or two. Turning around, she just happen to see the Golden Silkworm, which she found rather amusing with its ability to change into human or animal form and all. She moved near to take a closer look. ¡°¡­¡± The Golden Silkworm spotted her and the man behind her right away. The memory of dealing with those two was still very fresh! It would dly tear them into pieces had it not been for the fact that it could not overpower them! The Golden Silkworm did not want to hang around these two people. Jumping up with its short legs, it turned back into the invisible being and returned to Long Qiu¡¯s body with a woosh. Wow! Xiaozhai blinked, then turned to Long Qiu with a nosy tone, ¡°Hey, Xiao Qiu, do you think it¡¯ll start talking once it bes powerful enough?¡± ¡°I have no idea. No one¡¯s actually been able to tame a Golden Silkworm before. The hosts have always been controlled by them instead¡­ maybe, maybe it will.¡± Long Qiu was not sure herself. ¡°Tsk, it¡¯d better be! Just imagine, we¡¯ll have a chubby little boy who would chuckle and giggle this moment and eat someone the next. That sounds like an amazing character!¡± Xiaozhai was letting her imagination run wild again. ¡®Yuck!¡¯ Gu Yu winced. Just thinking of that scene was giving him the creeps. *** Before they knew it, it was March and early spring hade. One could feel the temperature rising. Phoenix Mountain was no longer its gray self, but was decorated with clusters of green here and there. After the two-month-long readjustment, Long Qiu was much more settled in her mind. Since leaving the deep mountains, she went on an adventurous trip with Gu Yu and Xiaozhai. She had seen the wide world out there, killed people with her own hands, and even fell into despair in confinement. Such events in this mortal world seemed to have passed with the blink of an eye. Observing her condition, Gu Yu thought it was time for them to give it a go. He picked a day when the peach flowers were blooming to enlighten her spirituality. The three of them gathered in a meditation room. Long Qiu was a little nervous, clutching Xiaozhai¡¯s hand from time to time without realizing it. ¡°Just meditate as you usually do. Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯m here by your side,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Em!¡± Long Qiu nodded vigorously. With that, Gu Yu and Long Qiu sat down facing each other and thetter closed her eyes, starting on the method of coordination of mental activities and breathing taught to her by Xiaozhai. This superior mind-clearing manual was indeed worth its fame. A couple of minutester, Gu Yu saw that Long Qiu¡¯s breathing had be effortless and long and her entire body was following an amazing natural rhythm. He knew she was deep in her meditation. He stuck out a finger and let its tip rest lightly against her forehead, then very carefully sent in a streak of spiritual essence. After that, he put his finger down and together with Xiaozhai, they kept their gazes on the girl¡ªit was impossible to stay calm at such critical moment. The process of cultivating was a battle against oneself as much as it was against nature and the flitting time. Even when the time hade when methods and techniques became ubiquitous, only about one in ten million people would be able to pass the threshold. The difference in natural endowment and temperament was the fundamental factor in determining whether or not one could be a cultivator. What did natural endowments consist of? Firstly, there was the innate quality of the physical body and secondly, the mind and consciousness. Take the enlightenment of the spirituality as an example. Only with the adequate innate quality could the spiritual essence make its way inside the body without obstruction and maintain its form without dissipating. And a tough mind was needed to keep the soul from missing. After sinking deep into her meditation, Long Qiu¡¯s mind was quieted down and her breath steadied. She felt a streak of cold sensation enter her body through her forehead, which then reached her internal organs and nourished her meridians, making her ticklish inside. As the tickling grew more prominent, her own consciousness seemed to be shrinking and dimmed with it, until finally, it was floating in a sea of darkness, feeble as a candle in the wind, threatened to be extinguished at any moment. She hanged on with all her effort, her face twitching slightly. Immediately after that, voices filled with sorrow or hatred resounded in her head. ¡°She killed her own nsmen. Kill her! Kill her!¡± ¡°Aaah! Don¡¯t kill me! Stop!¡± ¡°Once you be the Grass Ghost Woman, family means nothing to you. You will live a lonely life until the end of your days.¡± ¡°You killed six people! Six people!¡± The cacophony of voices echoed, attacking Long Qiu¡¯s consciousness like something erupting frantically out of an abyss. The small me of her soul flickered and swayed, enwrapped by the ceaseless waves of screams. It was on the verge of destruction. Her face grew paler as her body felt colder. The abyss of utter coldness and destion was ready to drag her down. Just at that moment, from the endless darkness came two soft and gentle voices. ¡°Xiao Qiu, whom do you prefer, your Brother or Sister?¡± ¡°Cough! Easy on the salt. Is this stir-fried celery or stir-fried salt?¡± ¡°Xiao Qiu, you¡¯re my bedmate tonight, no sneaking away!¡± ¡°Em, this character is very well written. Keep at it!¡± ¡°Brother¡­¡± ¡°Sister¡­¡± The expression on her face calmed down. Those two voices were two suns that had dispelled the darkness in an instant. As if shackles had been broken somewhere inside her, all illusions were gone and the cold sensation returned, now turning into a silver dragon slithering its way downward. It then coiled up and roamed in circles at Dantian before turning into a thin white vapor. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Gu Yu put down his hand and let out a breath in relief. He was that close to retract the spiritual essence for Long Qiu¡¯s safety. From the look on her face now, they had made it! Gu Yu and Xiaozhai waited by her side in patience. After quite some time, the girl opened her eyes. ¡°¡­¡± She sat there dazed for a brief moment, taking in the exquisite and wonderful view of this world, then shended herself in Xiaozhai¡¯s arms, her body shivering slightly. ¡°Oh my, are we ying crying babies now?¡± Xiaozhai teased her. ¡°I¡¯m not crying.¡± She tore herself from Xiaozhai abruptly. Despite her reddening eyes, she had actually held back her tears. ¡°Good. We¡¯ll let you steady yourself for a couple of days before starting you on the essence-consuming method.¡± Gu Yu was genuinely happy for her. He paused before asking, ¡°By the way, what did you see back in there?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything; I was disturbed by a lot of voices. There were the voices from my uncle, my master, and those people I killed. I almost could not make it. Then there were your voices and everything was, was fine.¡± That was the best she could do to describe it. ¡°There were only sounds, but no illusory images?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Xiaozhai was cultivating with a whole different set of methods and could not connect much to this experience. Gu Yu, on the other hand, attached much importance to it, for it was invaluable to him. With some careful study, it would definitely help to increase the sessful rate of the enlightenment of the spirituality. The voices the girl heard¡ªin more scientific terms¡ªwere the negative emotions in one¡¯s subconscious, or the inner demons, if you prefer the more dramatic expression. Except for infants, all men were subjective to negative emotions. Each individual would make contact with various people at school and in workces. Feelings such as reluctance, dissatisfaction, resentment, and jealousy were formed during such contacts, which were all examples of negative emotions. Gu Yu was no exception. However, he had the exceptional ability to make self-adjustments and eliminate such emotions on his own. With things he desired, he would pursue them with a in and honest manner. If life was a journey forever sailing against the current, he would sail it even if he only had the smallest boat. When he fell for someone wholeheartedly, he would like to spend the rest of his life with that person. Such were what ideal natural endowments supposed to be. Chapter 140 Chapter 140: Mouth of Grass River Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Hekou 1 Town, past noontime. Moving away from Shengtian to the east, five towns and a city away stood Hekou Town, from where further to the east was the territory of the city of Dongyun. Grass River ran through Bai Town and joined another major river here, hence the town¡¯s alternative name, ¡°Mouth of Grass River¡±. The town was a long and narrow ind situated at the junction of two rivers. A dam was built on the north end of the town, linking the town to the maind. There were bridges downstream of the river, which also connected the ind with the maind. There were over twenty thousand peach trees on the ind. The mountains were covered by blooming peach flowers in springtime. The brilliant purples and reds were in contrast with the green of the river, creating an enchanting picture. The local government was also vigorously promoting the development of tourism, holding ¡°Peach Flower Festival¡± at the end of April, which attracted an endless string of tourists every year. This year, however, something had to be out of the ordinary, for it was onlyte March and the peach flowers were in full bloom already. As a result, the busy outdoor activity groups started pouring in. ¡°Help yourselves and enjoy the food. We¡¯ll have some free time this afternoon and there¡¯s a bonfire party tonight. Everybody is invited!¡± ¡°Like we actually need an invitation. We¡¯ve paid for that, of course we¡¯reing!¡± ¡°Leader, I heard they had roasted a wholemb here. Let¡¯s try one of those, shall we?¡± ¡°Sure. Let me go have a look. We¡¯ll order one if the price is reasonable.¡± It was a group of around thirty people. They weree from Shengtian and arrived at Hekou Town at noon. After an ¡°all-fish banquet¡± in a country vi, they set off to tour the ind. Individual peach flower trees were glitzy and gaudy, but when tens of thousands of them were stacked together, the blossoming flowers were so bright and shiny that they reminded one of the rosy evening clouds. Trees upon trees of pink delicate buds swayed in the spring breeze like a bright-eyed maiden stretching out her slim figure. The subtle fragrance filled the air, spreading out from the hills and fields all the way to the fishing boats on the river. ¡°Move a little to your left. Good, now look at the camera.¡± ¡°Click!¡± A young woman took a photo of her parents, which she was very satisfied with. She smiled andmented, ¡°A good picture is all about the background. Just look at this tree, how pret-¡± ¡°tter!¡± She suddenly let go of her hand, dropping the camera to the ground and her body swaying a little with it. ¡°An An, what¡¯s wrong?¡± her mom asked hastily. ¡°Nothing, just a little dizzy.¡± Pressing her hand against her forehead, she felt her sight was taken up by a turning kaleidoscope. She barely managed to make that reply. ¡°It must be your low blood sugar. Here, sit down and have a rest.¡± Supported by her dad, she was led to their pic cloth, where she sat down. Her dad fumbled out a piece of chocte and handed to her. Just then, not far from them, there came some other noise. ¡°Retch!¡± ¡°Barf!¡± He turned around and saw a young couple, who were also feeling sick and started vomiting while supporting themselves against a tree. The fish, soup, and other stuff they ate during the lunch were all gushing out of their throats. The father frowned and was thinking of moving their pic spot, when he realized a cacophony of worrying voices were starting off all over them. Other team members nearby also began to run fevers, vomit, feel dizzy, or even passed out right away. The team leader rushed to them in a hurry and was frightened by the scene. ¡°Damn! It must be food poisoning!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s return to the country vi now. Don¡¯t stay here anymore!¡± ¡°Please help each other out, especially with those travelling alone.¡± Following him, the group of people stumbled back to the country vi. One of the quick tempered man yelled right away. ¡°Where¡¯s the owner? Get the f**k out here!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s going on?¡± The owner showed up, ring at whoever that was cursing, ready for a squabble. The state of the tourists, however, let him abandon that thought right away. ¡°Oh my god, I have nothing to do with this!¡± ¡°Bullshit! We were eating here only just then. Who else¡¯s business do you think this is?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not ming this on me! My fish are all natural and pollutant-free. So many people have eaten here before!¡± ¡°Help these people first. Call an ambnce!¡± Onlookers persuaded. ¡°How is an ambnce going to take all these men? We¡¯re sending them straight to the hospital. We can use the bus!¡± With that, the bunch of people scrambled onto the bus, while the shouting fellow grabbed the owner, ¡°You¡¯reing with me!¡± The owner was by now tame as a baby chicken. He dared not protest, but only pleaded continuously, ¡°Mate, I promise I¡¯ll take full responsibility if my food really did this. Just please don¡¯t call the cops, or my business is finished!¡± *** Shengtian, the municipal government district. Sitting in his office, Jiang Chaofan was furtively flipping through a book while looking up every now and then to make sure no one was watching. Despite the identical surname, he had no connection with Xiaozhai¡¯s family. Instead, his work was to some extent set against the interest of hers, for he was a member of the Fourth Investigation Department of the sub-bureau of the BIMAUP. The Investigation Department generally recruited its members from the police or military, which was exactly where he hade from. Beforeing here, he was an expert in criminal investigation. Of all thirty-six sub-bureaus all over the country, the most important ones where those in the capital city and Shengtian¡ªthe former for its capital status and thetter for those two ¡°majesties¡± residing there, whom the bureau had to take extra precautions against. Being the deputy director of the Fourth Department, Jiang Chaofan was among the middle-level cadres and had his own private office. Right now, however, the book he was holding was somewhat conspicuous. It was called ¡°The Great Dao Scripture on Truth¡±. It was a Taoist scripture openly circted in the market, talking about seemingly profound theories and anecdotes of the immortals, as well as persuading people to pursuit the Great Dao. He bought it three days ago and was halfway through it. The prose was in the ancient style, which he was unfamiliar with. Thus, despite the exnatory notes, it was still a rather difficult read. ¡°A young girl in azure clothes was riding an azure dragon, who gave the white tiger to the golden old man. The three flowers were blooming brightly in Shenxiao Manor, while two cranes lingered about Taiyi 2 Pce. With everything rted to the five elements, so came the five misfortunes¡­¡± Scratching his head, Jiang Chaofan turned the paragraph over in his mind. The ¡°Young Girl¡±, ¡°Azure Dragon¡±, ¡°White Tiger¡± and ¡°Golden Old Man¡± in the paragraph were in fact all Taoist terms. With Neidan practice, the liver was the dragon and the kidney the tiger. While in Waidan practice, dragon denoted lead and tiger was mercury. The ¡°Young Girl¡± shared the same meaning as ¡°Azure Dragon¡± and ¡°Golden Old Man¡± was synonymous to ¡°White Tiger¡±. ¡°Tsk, this is such a wordy book. Did they write in this way just to make it rhyme?¡± It took him a while to break down the meaning of the paragraph, to which he shook his head. There was nothing substantial in it and all the book wrote about were general and vague theories. Ideas that could be exined with one explicit sentence were expressed in the most bizarre way. Another few pagester, there came a creak from his door, which was then pushed open and someone walked in. ¡°Old Jiang, it¡¯s time for our meeting!¡± ¡°Ah? Ooh¡­ right! I¡¯ming!¡± Jiang Chaofan jumped. He closed the book in a flurry and tucked it behind the bookshelf as if it were nothing worth mentioning. He then stood up and asked, ¡°What meeting? Why wasn¡¯t I notified?¡± ¡°The group message has not been sent out yet. I only just got told myself.¡± The colleague was a sharp-eyed man and had actually got a good look at the book, but pretended he did not. The atmosphere between the two felt delicate as they walked to the conference room together; a tacit understanding was in the air. The recovery of spiritual essence was public information in the BIMAUP. For various reasons, different individuals got curious and started to take interest in Taoist scriptures. The superiors knew all about the trend, which they showed no intention to intervene with. However, it was not like anyone was bold enough to openly read them. The two arrived at the conference room. Not many people were there and the participants were all heads and deputies of sub-bureaus and departments¡ªall officials of middle level or above. The director in charge of the Shengtian bureau was called Xie Yuenian, a keen-witted, capable and level-headed man, much more reliable than that Old Tong in Urumqi. It was a no-nonsense asion. The projector was snapped into life and a few pictures were disyed. One of the departmental heads exined, ¡°This is the information we collected during the past two months after Spring Festival. The first one is on lcs in Wudao River, the second one magnolia in Sidao River, and the third one peach flowers in Grass River Mouth. They are all supposed to be in full bloom in April, but have decided to move the date forward this year. By the end of March, they were all in the prime of their blooming.¡± The pictures were turned away, showing a datagram instead: with Bai Town in the center, Yidao River¡ªWudao River¡ªShengtian to the east and Grass River Mouth¡ªDongquan Town¡ªLangtou County to the west. Each area was marked with a different color to indicate the density of the spiritual essence. ¡°We¡¯ve been keeping these ces under tight surveince following the spiritual essence map. Apart from the areas mentioned above, nts in other ces are also showing the sign of ripening and maturing in advance, but there were no abnormalities in most ces, except for here¡­¡± The pictures were changed again, now showing the panoramic map of Hekou Town. ¡°A tour group was there the day before yesterday. Of the thirty-or-so members of the group, over twenty exhibited various degrees of symptoms such as dizziness, fever, vomiting, and loss of consciousness. Our colleagues stationed there have reported that another small tour group showed those symptoms yesterday. But test results from the hospital showed no sign of food-poisoning.¡± ¡°Then what caused it?¡± Someone could not hold back the question. ¡°¡­¡± The departmental head shook his head. ¡°I have no idea.¡± With that answer, all faces in the room darkened. No more exnation was needed. The police could not deal with such incident, which naturally made the work of the bureau. But, to be honest, they were no more capable than the police despite their jurisdiction. That was what embarrassed the BIMAUP the most¡ªthe members were all normal people. How should they proceed with ¡°unscientific¡± incidents like this? They could not bomb it down with rocket artillery every time. As a result, the members were all troubled by a paradoxical and shameful feeling: despite the importance the state put on them, they were not all that useful¡ªat least for the time being. ¡°I think we should go there and investigate,¡± suggested a departmental head. ¡°I think not. I don¡¯t mean to be harsh, but all we can do is lose someone again.¡± ¡°What about reporting it to the HQ?¡± ¡°They certainly can send people down here. But if we keep doing that, what are we here for?¡± Everyone was talking at the same time, each with their own opinion. No conclusion wasing out of it. Xie Yuenian, who had kept his silence the whole time, frowned at the chaos. He knocked on the table to get people¡¯s attention. ¡°That¡¯s enough! I can see through each one of you. There¡¯s no need to pretend. We have to acknowledge that our capability is very limited at the moment, which is nothing to be ashamed of. I know it¡¯s a very stressful job working here in Shengtian. But looking from another angle, it also gives us a convenient ess! Problems need solving and we¡¯ll look for help elsewhere if we can¡¯t deal it ourselves. It¡¯s a legitimate solution. Don¡¯t overthink it.¡± ¡°But they, they have their own¡­¡± The deputy director tried to remind him. ¡°Exchange! I know all about that. We sure can talk about it!¡± Xie Yuenian made the decision right then and right there. Scanning the room, he said, ¡°Old Li, Xiao Jiang, I¡¯m assigning the Fourth Department to this job.¡± Chapter 141 Chapter 141: Request Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Phoenix Mountain, the northern slope. It used to be a deserted area with a barren look. Phoenix Fair was a distance away and barely anyone was living here. However, a brand-new courtyard was here now, as if appearing out of the empty air. It almost seemed not to belong here. The tiled houses had light gray roofs, ck bricks, and white walls. Through the ck iron gates, one could make out the concrete ground of the yard inside. The residence also came with a garage, which just looked like every othermon arriviste household in the countryside. It went without saying that the courtyard was a joint contribution of the Yuan, Lei, and Zeng families, which was used as their station here. Gu Yu was cultivating on the mountain and the agreement was to have himing down here once a month to collect the nts¡ªthat was also the only time they would meet him. As it turned out, today was his monthly visitation day. Representatives of the three families had been waiting long in the living room. They looked ill at ease, for two other men were also in the room¡ªZhang Hongru and Jiang Chaofan. These five people indicated the participation of four social strata. Zhang Hongru represented the will of the government, while Jiang Chaofan was the voice of the BIMAUP. The Yuan Family was bolstered by the fraction holding real power locally and behind the families of Lei and Zeng were the dependent business leaders. Being the one with the most prominent status here, Zhang Hongru waspletely at ease, sitting there in serenity. Jiang Chaofan¡¯s status was somewhere in the middle, a somewhat awkward one. Worried that the strife between those higher up on the food chain would affect them, the Yuan Family was feeling fidgety. As for the Lei and Zeng families, they were subject to the will of the others and their existence was negligible. Not a single word was exchanged among the five people as they each sat on their spot. There was a delicate repression about the atmosphere. They waited on. When the clock struck ten, Gu Yu showed up right on time. He was slightly surprised with the little crowd. ¡°You people are¡­ together in this?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The one from the Yuan Family stole a nce at Zhang Hongru. Seeing that thetter remained in his seat sipping his tea, he gathered his courage and walked up to Gu Yu with a smile. ¡°Mr. Gu, here are the new nts. Please have a look.¡± The ones from Lei and Zeng families also moved closer. ¡°Mr. Gu, we¡¯ve also contributed a little bit with it. We hope it could help you in some way.¡± These two were the key members and authorized representatives of theirpanies. Zeng Yuewei and Lei Ziming did not show up. The Yuan Family was whom Gu Yu sought after. If the two had decided to pester him, using the friendship they had with Gu Yu, thetter would have definitely thought little of them. The sense of propriety was very important. Gu Yu had not met the two representatives before, but it was not hard to guess the reasoning behind this arrangement. He smiled back. ¡°Thank you for taking the trouble. How is Granny Zeng?¡± ¡°The olddy is doing great. She also invited you to her ce when you are not busy,¡± replied the Zeng person immediately. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll go visit her when I¡¯m free.¡± He nodded, then squatted down to check the nts. There were three cases in total, all carefully prepared. They were immacte. He was not taking it for free, but had paid with his own money. Although it was not the money that the families were after, such transaction procedure was necessary. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll take them all.¡± ¡°Good, d you like them.¡± The three men were relieved. They made no further attempt of sweet-talking, but automatically moved away, leaving room for the other two men. It was not until then that Zhang Hongru put down his cup and came over to greet Gu Yu. ¡°Mr. Gu, long time no see.¡± ¡°Haha, it was a long time indeed. So, how have you been? Settling down nicely in Bai Town?¡± ¡°You could say that. Big cities have their exciting moments, but small towns have their leisurely life. I rather like it here.¡± After exchanging some pleasantries, Zhang Hongru said, ¡°The project starts on the 15th next month. I¡¯lle to pick you up.¡± ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°Tianzhu Mountain.¡± ¡°Why not Mount Emei first?¡± Gu Yu found it strange. In terms of both the density of the spiritual essence and the abundance of resources, Mount Emei ranked the first among the three, with Tianzhu in the middle and Phoenix Mountain the lowest¡ªthe chaotic Tianshan was not to be considered at the moment. ¡°I have no idea. Maybe the higher-ups have their own consideration.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll see you then.¡± Finishing his talk, Zhang Hongru did not leave, but returned to his seat and went on sipping his tea. Then it was Jiang Chaofan¡¯s turn, who darted a look at Zhang Hongru, a bit vexed at thetter¡¯s presence. He walked up Gu Yu all the same. ¡°Mr. Gu, I¡¯m from Shengtian sub-bureau of BIMAUP and my surname is Jiang.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Gu Yu would talk to the man just for the sake of that surname alone. He chuckled. ¡°Anything I can help you with?¡± ¡°Well, yes. We¡¯ve ran into this case recently and it¡¯s very weird¡­¡± Jiang Chaofan told Gu Yu about the mass poisoning symptoms of the tour group, which thetter listened to with growing concern. Zhang Hongru had stopped sipping from the cup in his hand a long time ago, his attention apparently drawn to the case as well. ¡°That is to say, you¡¯vee straight here without any investigation?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°I think you know better than anybody else that with non-scientific incidents like this, there¡¯s not much we can do there. So, we¡¯d rathere to you.¡± Jiang Chaofan was very frank. ¡°How are the residents of the ind?¡± ¡°Because everything was happening so suddenly, they are all jittery and panicky at the moment. But ording to our colleagues stationed there, no one is actually hurt so far and the residents don¡¯t want to be evacuated,¡± replied Jiang honestly. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Gu Yu gave it a thought and grinned. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll solve it for you.¡± ¡°Really? Thank you so much!¡± Jiang Chaofan was delighted with this unexpected answer. However, his prudence took over the next second and he probed, ¡°But from what I heard, you have certain principles and I was wondering¡­¡± ¡°Haha, let me figure this thing out first, then we¡¯ll talk.¡± Gu Yu smiled. At that moment, Zhang Hongru suddenly moved closer. ¡°Hey, Chief Jiang, may Ie along? It¡¯ll be an eye-opener for me.¡± ¡°Well¡­ sure, we can go together.¡± Jiang Chaofan pondered over the request for a moment and agreed. This man represented the state¡¯s will, which was way beyond that of a sub-bureau. He could not afford to offend him. *** ¡°Grass River Mouth?¡± Xiaozhai was somewhat surprised. Baffled, she asked, ¡°We were just thinking about looking for thunderstruck wood there and something just happened to go wrong in the same area?¡± ¡°Yeah, as coincidental as that. I was wondering about it myself.¡± Inside the Cottage of Pure Mind, Gu Yu told the other two about the situation and asked, ¡°I¡¯ve agreed with those people to set off tomorrow. Are youing?¡± ¡°I think not. It¡¯s a critical time for me. I can¡¯t afford the distraction¡­¡± Xiaozhai sighed, frustrated over the fact that instead of being a happy onlooker, she had to stay indoor and cultivate. The thought was driving her nuts. It was not up to her. As overbearing as the thunder technique was, it was notparable to the fast-track-like essence-consuming method. Her progress was extremely slow. Talented as she was, she had to practice hard for two month before the sense of Qi steadied and the inner Qi of Metal Thunder showed signs of materialization. The next step was to let the Qi of Metal Thundermunicate with nature so that the spiritual essence could be tempered and the real thunder created. With Xiaozhai¡¯s giving up, Long Qiu became excited. She was all sprightly. ¡°Brother, I want to go! Take me!¡± ¡°You¡¯re staying right here at home. No running around.¡± He lectured. ¡°It¡¯s ok for me to go out. I¡¯m not cultivating the thunder technique.¡± She would not ept no for an answer. ¡°Isn¡¯t your Undead Insect of Blood Mosquitoing out in a day or two? Can you be away at this time?¡± That question shattered all her hope of fighting side by side with her brother. There was no bad temper from her, however, for she never had one. She obeyed the arrangement without protesting. In that way, both girls were left behind and Gu Yu had to go alone. The following day arrived within no time. Grass River Mouth was not far from Bai Town. The group of people left in the morning and soon arrived at their destination. Hekou Town was extremely small, with a tiny poption. For generations, people there made their living solely from the ind and the river. They entered the town and were struck by its deserted appearance. It was a bleak and deste view. The appearance of the town was in stark contrast to the gorgeous pink and peachy colors covering the mountains. Somehow, the view felt almost eerie. They went to the country vi first. The hapless owner¡¯s hair was turning gray from all the worrying. Seeing them, the owner was excited andined despite himself, ¡°Good gracious! Thank god you¡¯re finally here!¡± From the notice he received earlier, he thought this was a police investigation. He was pouring out his grievance. ¡°You guys have no idea how hard my business was hit! I waspletely innocent in this. However, not only did I have to spend myst penny paying for thepensation, but also no customer woulde here anymore. I have no other choice but to kill myself in the river!¡± ¡°Bro, don¡¯t worry.¡± Zhang Hongru patted him on his shoulder andforted him, ¡°We¡¯re here to solve the problem. I¡¯ll be looking into a few things, please take your time in answering me. Has anything like this happened here before?¡± ¡°No, never! It¡¯s not only me. Of all seven country vis, no one¡¯s food had ever made a customer sick! I do not deserve this¡­¡± Here we go! He started another round of rambling. The hospital had concluded that it was not food poisoning, which the victims would not take as an exnation. They traced it all the way to where things started and the owner was to take the me. It was true when he said he did not deserve this. At this, Gu Yu interjected, ¡°If you are not to be med, then who should?¡± ¡°The peach flowers!¡± The owner gave an affirmative answer without hesitation. ¡°What¡¯s up with the peach flowers?¡± ¡°Tsk, I¡¯ve been living here all my life and I know when they should blossom and wither. It was so warmst spring and the flowers still looked shrivelled in March, showing at most some buds. This year? Just take a look yourselves. They are all over the mountains and it¡¯s so frightening. When things do not go as they usually do, something fishy must be going on. I did not have to go to university to know that! Oh, one of the woods is the strangest one. A fog was rising in it yesterday!¡± ¡°A fog?¡± ¡°Exactly. Peachy-pink fog inrge plumes. We were all too afraid to go in. That dog of Old Jin¡¯s was let loose and it ran into the fog when no one was looking. And¡­¡± He suddenly stopped talking. Gu Yu prompted, ¡°And what?¡± Fear crept up the owner¡¯s face and he seemed too afraid to describe it. With a shaky voice, he said, ¡°Come,e with me¡­¡± Chapter 142 Chapter 142: Peach Flower Miasma Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The owner¡¯s reaction rather confused them. The group left the country vi following the owner, walked along a narrow path, then arrived outside a patch of peach trees. Gu Yu looked up into the distance and was surprised by what he saw. The endless stretch of peach tree woods seemed to have joined up into one single mass and he could not make out any individuals trees or blossoms. All that was there was a peachy fog enveloping the entire area. The enshrouding mist rose into the air in rolling stretches, thick and continuous, as if colorful clouds had erupted out of thisnd. ¡°Where¡¯s the dog?¡± Jiang Chaofan was also looking around, fighting back the astonishment rising inside. ¡°It¡¯s just over there, right ahead!¡± The owner¡¯s face twisted indescribably because of something extremely disgusting one saw. He slowly lead the team in and cried out suddenly, ¡°The fog is spreading out again? It did not reach here yesterday!¡± ¡°How far was it yesterday?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°Just, just there!¡± The owner picked up a stone and threw it to a spot about two meters in front of them. His voice was shaky, ¡°Right there. And the dog¡¯s in there, too.¡± ¡°Arf¡­ nnn¡­ arf! Arf!¡± The dog seemed to have registered their voices, for barks were suddenlying out of the thick mist. It sounded shrilling, hoarse, but strangely spirited at the same time, as if the dog was in an unbearable state of pain and excitement. The team panicked a little. The peachy plumes seemed static at first, but after a closer look, they realized that the cloyingly pretty mist was rolling constantly and appeared to be expanding slowly. ¡°Mr. Gu, what do you think?¡± Zhang Hongru frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to think just yet. Let¡¯s get the dog out first.¡± Gu Yu scanned the area with his mental force and detected the dog about three meters away. His face became strained at what he saw. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll have them get us some long hooks and ropes-¡± Zhang Hongru was about to give the order when Gu Yu stopped him with a wave of his hand. The next second, Zhang Hongru realized the man who stood in front of him disappeared. Gu Yu had turned into a sh and dived into the fog. ¡°Gu¡­¡± ¡°Be careful¡­¡± The rest of the team was terrified by his move and broke into shouts and yells. Before they had a chance to finish, however, the figure slid back with a thing in his hand. ¡°Thud!¡± He tossed it on the ground and the crowd gathered around to look. ¡°Retch!¡± A younger member of the team started throwing up after a single look at the thing. The owner of the country vi even moved several paces back, refusing to look at it. As experienced as Zhang Hongru and Jiang Chaofan were with their fair share of seeing perverted scenes, those two almost could not stand it either. It was a big yellow dog, asmon as one could find everywhere¡ªonly that its skin was missing¡­ well, not all of it. A little bit of skin was still visible, which looked like a piece of rubber sizzled over a stove, shrivelled, darkened, and then stuck to the flesh like a pulp of sticky substance. The flesh itself was even worse. Blood vessels, nerves, bones, muscles, etc., all had the look of being corroded and destroyed by something. The head was rtively intact: one eye was a bloody hole now and an eyeball was dangling out of the other eye socket and swaying a little. But the most unbearable part was the fact that the dog was still alive! It was still breathing and excited in a creepy way. Certain body part between its hind legs, despite being half rotten, was still demonstrating its presence by ¡°holding its position¡±, standing ramrod straight. A frantic lust was running wild in its body, which urged it to try to stand up and ¡°poke¡± everything that could be ¡°poked¡±, like those lively poodles did all the time. Seriously, it was gross beyond description! ¡°It was lying there yesterday when we found it. None of us was bold enough to touch or kill it. We have been waiting for you people to deal with it. Is it some virus that has made the dog like this? Is it contagious?¡± The owner¡¯s face was turning green as he gathered his strength to exin. It was understandable. With the abundant information in the modern society, everyone became over-imaginative. Such a scene would naturally lead to some ridiculous, apocalyptic thoughts. ¡°Don¡¯t jump to groundless spections and no rumor-spreading! You should trust your country!¡± Jiang Chaofan warned the man immediately. He waved his hand. ¡°Get this thing back to theb! Be careful, don¡¯t make direct contact!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Right away, several men fetched some tools and took extra precaution in loading the yellow dog into a case, then carried it to the vehicle. Seeing that Gu Yu was silent the entire time, Zhang Hongru moved closer to him and asked, ¡°Mr. Gu, are you all right?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine¡­¡± He came to himself. ¡°I think this fog is highly erosive and can interfere with the mind. The effect even resembles that of the analeptics. It is indeed quite something.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s expanding, which is the most dangerous part. What do you think we should do?¡± Zhang Hongru looked grave. Without proper handling, it would mean cmitous destruction to local residents and the ecological environment. ¡°We still know so little of it. I¡¯ll go in and have a look first,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t do that! None of us can take the responsibility if anything happens to you.¡± Jiang Chaofan advised against it right away. Gu Yu might not be on their side, but there was no doubt about his importance to the government. The man was the key to many unanswered questions. No one could afford the loss if anything goes wrong. ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry. I tried it just then. The fog is intense, but it can¡¯t hurt me with just a brief exposure.¡± ¡°Mr. Gu¡­¡± ¡°Mr. Gu¡­¡± The persuasion from the team was to no avail and they had no other choice but watch Gu Yu amble in. *** The pretty pink color was everywhere in the mist. Gu Yu dived head on into the peach flower fog. A few paces in, he felt a prick on his skin, as if it was burnt by fire or corroded by a strong acid. Someone as physically strong as him could feel the sting¡ªone could imagine how potent the toxin was. He activated his spiritual essence immediately, which wrapped around his body like ayer of transparent protective film, shielding him from the toxin. He looked around. Everywhere he turned, there was only the icky pink and sweet-scented fog. He had lost his sense of direction and could hear nothing. His five senses seemed to have been limited significantly. Even his mind was going dumb. Had it been any other normal people, they would have be confused and lost the ability to think. As expected, Gu Yu had guessed it right. The fog was not only erosive, but was also able to meddle with one¡¯s consciousness¡­ realizing that, Gu Yu simply closed his eyes and used his mental force alone as the guide. Thus, within a three-meter radius, everything seemed to light up brightly. The miasma was gone, revealing the soil and peach trees on both sides. The peach trees here were significantly different from those outside. The trees were draped with bright blossoms and the branches were covered with reds and pinks. Various shades of red looked frivolously charming, as if they were creatures with their own lives. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Gu Yu was startled. The idea of being ¡°lively¡± was too bizarre. For an animal, one could argue that it might be spiritual. For a nt, on the other hand, it was just creepy. He walked up to a tree and picked a flower. At a closer look, the peach flower looked nothing out of the ordinary and there was only the slightest spiritual essence about it. He checked several more and they all turned out the same. Still not convinced, Gu Yu willed his mental force into life and a tiny green de appeared. It was less than seven cm in length and no wider than seventeen mm, but was sharp beyondparison. It hovered in midair, its little body shining coldly in the light. ¡°Woosh!¡± Immediately after that, the green sh flickered and disappeared without a trace. With another flicker, the next moment when it was spotted, it was dozens of meters away. The tremendous speed ripped through the air with a sharp whistle, setting off a gale with it. It was none other than the green jade needle, which Gu Yu had spent over two months to refine and which was also his first official magical instrument. Controlling the jade needle, Gu Yu let it run the perimeter, entering the trunks of peach trees from one side and exiting from the other. ¡°Pop! Pop! Pop!¡± The needle had pierced through six to seven trees in a row when Gu Yu realized his mental force was being consumed at a terrifying rate. Hence, he retrieved the instrument and made another round of investigation. Nothing stood out in particr. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Gu Yu sighed with relief. It was not as bad as he imagined. There were no thousand-year-old undead spiritual being or cliched formations that swore to destroy heaven and earth. Damn it, if even nts were turning spiritual in the ¡°novice vige stage¡±, would the yers have any hope at all? So, this phenomenon was simply created by peach trees alone. The spiritual essence possessed by one or two trees might not even raise an eyebrow. However, it was over twenty thousand mus 1 of trees we¡¯re talking about here! On average, eighty trees were nted initially per mu, which added up to 1.6 million trees in total across the twenty thousand mus ofnd. Packed as closely as these peach flowers were on this ind, which was right next to a node, a mutation was likely to have been catalyzed by the dense spiritual essence, giving birth to this miasma of peach flowers. Miasma was actually an awesome substance. Not only was it capable of AoE 2attacks, it could also defend an equallyrge area. It was your ¡°editor¡¯s pick¡± for guarding mountains and homes alike, acting like a show-off, or simply ying me-too. The only problem was, he did know how to take it away with him! Gu Yu turned the problem over in his head as he walked. He halted abruptly, for a tickling and irritatingly hot sensation was flowing out of his lower abdomen, which started creeping its way upwards, as if it was trying to sprawl all over him. ¡®Hm?¡¯ His inner Qi jolted at this. Next moment, when he tried to catch that sensation again, the strange tickle was gone. He shook his head. Since nothing seemed out of the ordinary and his spiritual essence was almost exhausted, he decided to leave right away. *** ¡°Mr. Gu ising out!¡± ¡°Mr. Gu, how was is in there?¡± The crowd outside had been as restless as ants on a hot pan. Seeing himing out, they all went up to him in a hurry. Gu Yu replied to none of their questions, but only took Zhang Hongru and Jiang Chaofan aside. In a low voice, he said, ¡°It was all right. I have some idea now.¡± ¡°What exactly is that fog?¡± Zhang Hongru asked immediately. ¡°A poisonous miasma produced by the peach flowers. The peach trees here have turned abnormal and we can¡¯t stay here for long.¡± He paused briefly, then went on. ¡°So far, I can think of two solutions. One is to use some sort ofrge-scale sealing spell, or we can evacuate the residents, emptying the entire ind.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t there any other way?¡± Jiang Chaofan found neither of the solution feasible. ¡°There certainly is. We can set a fire and the problem is solved for good. But are your sure that¡¯s what you want?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡®Hm?¡¯ The two men winced, but immediately realized what he meant. They smiled wryly. Even if they had the courage to burn it down, their superiors would probably reject the suggestion. The reason was simple: when there was an abundance of food avable to you, you certainly had the freedom to pick among them; however, when you were poverty-stricken and on the edge of starving to death, you would not say no even to half a loaf of a spoiled bread¡ªeven if it could give you diarrhea. Starting from scratch meant they had to build from ground zero. What was wrong with a little poisonous miasma? That was just another type of resource! ¡°¡­¡± After a long silence, Zhang Hongru finally asked, ¡°Even if we evacuate the area, isn¡¯t it still expanding?¡± ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. The miasma is created by the peach flowers and cannot be sustained without thetter. It¡¯s just a matter of strengthening the defenses and clearing the fields. Cut down all peach trees along the river bank, and that would trap the miasma on the ind. On the other hand, you can always nt more trees and link it up into a single stretch.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Both men shuddered. The half-joking yet half-serious tone of Gu Yu was making them uneasy. That was some bold statement. He was suggesting therge-scale production of biochemical weapons! ¡°That¡¯s it. I¡¯ll leave it to you guys to think that through. I need to attend to my own business.¡± With that, Gu Yu walked to a peach tree nearby and sat down cross-legged. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his own mind. The two disturbed fellows proceeded to report to their respective superiors, omitting not even the tiniest detail. After all, the situation was rather critical. Before anybody realized, the sun was setting. Golden waves glistened across the river, which was dotted by a few ducks. It was a most harmonious picture. After finishing regting his breathing, Gu Yu found his spiritual essence sufficient again. He stood to his feet, ready to go in a second time. Zhang Hongru was in low spirits, waiting on the other side for the decision from above. Seeing Gu Yu¡¯s movement, he said hastily, ¡°Mr. Gu, you are¡­¡± ¡°I havee up with an idea. I¡¯ll try to collect some of that miasma¡­ gosh, don¡¯t look at me like that. I really can¡¯t say for sure if it¡¯ll work.¡± Ignoring those two, he entered the woods again and walked deep into it, following a familiar path. He picked a spot where the miasma was thick enough and stopped. ¡®Who knows if it will work. Well, I¡¯ll give a go¡­¡¯ Gu Yu took out a small gourd. It was luxuriantly green in color and about five cm in height. It had a top lid with the remains of a curl vine. The gourd was the one he picked from Granny Zeng¡¯sst autumn. It was just for fun at that time and he had been nourishing it with his spiritual essence ever since. Because it was rather ordinary in its quality, he had not thought about refining it into a magical instrument. However, after the tempering for all this time, it was not that ordinary any more. He sat down under a tree in a cross-legged position and pinched the lid to take it off, revealing the tiny opening on the gourd. Immediately after that, he activated the manual of essence-consuming method. Being a mutation of the spiritual essence, the poisonous miasma responded to the calling, soon turning into a thin streak of pink thread and running towards his mouth and nostrils. He then let out his mental force and took hold of the thin thread forcibly. The drifting thread was swaying in all directions and very hard to manipte. He tried, retried, and tried a third time¡­ it took forever before he barely managed to guide a streak slowly into the gourd. As soon as that streak was in, Gu Yu closed the lid and sensed the miasma inside. It was well and exceptionally alive without any sign of dissipating. ¡°Haha, this actually works!¡± Gu Yu pursed his lips, slightly surprised by this achievement. The idea he came up with at a whim turned out to be feasible. Having seeded once, it was much easier to repeat the process. Following the previous example, Gu Yu collected another two streaks of miasma, which filled the tiny gourd to the brim. ¡°Not much here, but should be enough for a little research.¡± Standing up, he gave the gourd a shake with satisfaction. He was about to leave when he paused again. That baffling ticklish sensation and ufortable heat was pouring out of his lower abdomen again and this time, it was much more violent. Almost instantaneously, his throat felt dry and he could taste a sweetness at the tip of his tongue. An uncontroble desire for some passionate activity swept across his body. ¡°That¡¯s unbelievable!¡± His face turned pale with fear, which hardly ever happened to him, for he could not fight off whatever affected him! He ran at full speed and did not stop until he was out of the miasma. It was only after he recited the mind-clearing manual that the urge slowly subsided. *** It was a bright moonlit night. Three vehicles were on their way back from Grass River Mouth to Bai Town, with Gu Yu, Zhang Hongru, and Jiang Chaofan in the same vehicle. Thetter two remained silent the whole time, both very vexed by the turn of events. Burning it down or not, Hekou Town was no longer a habitable ce. The instructions from above were explicit: evacuate the residents first, then we¡¯ll discuss the rest. It was so frustrating! They were frustrated at themselves for their uselessness. They were frustrated at Gu Yu as well, for with all his capability, the man was not on their side. They were even frustrated at the government: why can¡¯t someone hurry things up and train some talented people (or Taoist priests in this case)? The journey went on in a depressing atmosphere. Everyone was preupied by their own trouble. They were almost at Bai Town when Jiang Chaofan spoke atst. ¡°Mr. Gu, thank you very much this time. Rest assured, you will be remunerated ordingly.¡± ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t exactly help with anything and I can¡¯t bring myself to ept the reward for nothing.¡± Gu Yu waved his hand and added, ¡°The peach flower miasma is incredibly poisonous and the ce is not far from Bai Town. I think you should take care of it as soon as possible. If you run into any other problems, feel free toe to me.¡± ¡°Sure, sure.¡± Those two read between his lines. It was voluntary coboration this time, for the sake of everyone¡¯s safety. As they spoke, the vehicles arrived at the foot of Phoenix Mountain and Gu Yu bid them farewell. The moon was dim now and the darkness was profound. All sounds were hushed. Gu Yu took in the deste and moonlit mountain, then started ascending. However, even he himself failed to notice that a faint trace of peachy color had just flickered across his eyes. Chapter 143 Chapter 143: Fiery Night Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Gu Yu zigzagged through the gloomy mountain tracks in the destion of this moonlit night. Above his head, the moon hung as clear and bright as a suspending mirror. He walked at a brisk pace,nding his feet on the thawing ground, grass, and stones, his figure melting into the moonlight like an elongated, carefree, and dancing shadow. Walking out of the ck thorny forest, he reached the small river and was weed by three dots of light. In the dark night, they reminded him of lonely and still specters. They were the result of Xiaozhai¡¯s twisted sense of humor. She went all the way to purchase three rednterns, hanging one on the old tree and the other two at the courtyard gate. With the long and thick candles inside, they would burn throughout the night. Had anyone identally entered the area, they would probably be frightened to death 1 even if they managed to survive the mosquitoes. It was already veryte and he could not hear a sound from Xiaozhai and Long Qiu¡¯s meditation rooms. It seemed they had both gone to bed. He did not disturb them, but went back to his room right away and turned on the light. Gu Yu did not feel like sleeping yet, so he sat down cross-legged and took out the small gourd to study it. He had collected three streaks of the peach flower miasma, which remained as it was and did not show any signs of dissipating even after leaving the peach tree woods for so long. It confirmed one of his theories¡ªa spiritual substance required a spiritual container. By ¡°spiritual¡±, he was referring to rare objects that were highly active on its own, such as the peach flower miasma, a dug-out hundred-year-old ginseng, various pellets and medicinal powders he was going to refine in the future, etc. The examples above belonged to a more advanced category, while spiritual yetmon minerals, trees, and even jade caskets and wooden boxes built from these substances were of a lower grade, hence they were only passable as containers. This finding alone could be one of the fundamentalws of cultivation. What did fundamentalws refer to? Well, in a more illustrative way: 1+1=2. Only by figuring out the most basic rules could one advance further along the path and reach a higher level. Gu Yu sat by themp and turned the emerald-like gourd between his fingers while sorting through what he knew so far in detail. The peach flower miasma was as extraordinary as it was versatile. Now that he was able to collect a little, how could he make use of it? So far, he had the essence-consuming method, could conjure a vision, refine instruments, use the hand movements he learned from Xiaozhai, there was also the talisman practice from Tan Chongdai¡­ ¡®Wait, talismans?¡¯ He blinked. Only five types of talismans were left among the heritage of Qionglong Mountain, namely the Golden Armor, Bone-melting, Snake-expelling, Miscarriage-preventing, Bed-wetting Cure talismans. He and Xiaozhai had had a fair amount of practice but found few asion to put them into use. They were set aside for the most part. Gu Yu pondered it for long and shook his head in the end. It did not look promising, for talismans and the peach flower miasma were of twopletely different systems¡­ what else had he learned? Another moment passed and his face lit up suddenly. How could he forget his very first specialty? ¡®I am an incense maker!¡¯ The scent of burning incense was diffused by air and so was the peach flower miasma. The two had this inmon. If he could figure out a way to fuse the miasma into the incense, there would be a good chance to create a toxic incense slow in taking effect and could also affect the mind. The idea excited him at once. He almost could not wait to try it out. ¡°Creak!¡± Right at that moment, the door to the neighboring house was opened and with some shuffling footsteps, a slender shadow appeared outside his window. ¡°Are you asleep?¡± ¡°Nope,e in.¡± With that, the shadow disappeared from the window and his door was opened. The personnding swiftly on his doorstep like a night fairy was none other than Xiaozhai herself. Her hair hung loose on her shoulders and she was wearing a long night gown. It was slightly tighter around the cuffs and the waistline, but was quite loose at the hem, revealing her fair-skinned and smooth calves. It was the most familiar sight to Gu Yu, which usually would not raise his eyebrow. However, for some unknown reason tonight, his heart skipped a beat and he had to look away when he asked, ¡°Why are you up?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t sleep, so I thought I shoulde over and check up on you. How¡¯s everything?¡± She slouched down opposite of him and casually stretched out her legs, which reminded him of two stems of long, straight white lotus roots. Under themp light, they seemed to be painted with the faintest pink color. ¡°Not so good. A peach flower miasma has formed there and was expanding. They¡¯ve decided to evacuate the area¡­¡± Keeping his head down, he quickly narrated the event in a low voice. ¡°Oh? It seems the rate of catalysis in the nodes is far faster than at other ces. We might get fairies and goblins in a few years.¡± Xiaozhai was also surprised by his ount of the event. She then moved closer to take the little gourd from his hands. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was feeling all the more strange as she moved near. A scent seemed to be drifting from her body, somewhat cloying and soft, which reminded him of ripened apricots. The closer she got, the harder he found it to keep his eyes open. The sweet temptation of sleepiness was getting to him. ¡°This has actually turned out to be useful. We should get more gourds from now on. And there¡¯s that old tree we can use. Cut some branches down and we can made some wooden caskets out of them.¡± Xiaozhai yed with the gourd for a while, not venturing to open it before giving it back. She then asked, ¡°So, what¡¯s the arrangement for the evacuated residents?¡± ¡°Allocate to different areas, I guess. Bai Town is the nearest and I think most people will be sent there. Zhang Hongru and his men will handle it. If things go as nned, they will probably strengthen the defenses and clear the fields.¡± ¡°But even if they could trap the miasma on the ind, it¡¯s still a potential threat that needs to be solved as soon as possible. Sigh, if only they had some relevant formations, Taoist methods, or even theories to work on, we could cooperate with them.¡± ¡°Yeah, that sounds usible. The formation left by Patriarch Sa is way too profound. There is no way of understanding it unless one had a significant amount of knowledge¡­¡± They sat opposite of each other and chatted on casually. Xiaozhai was as normal as when she came in. Gu Yu, on the other hand, felt himself getting warmer and his mouth bing dry. Something was off. Gu Yu was no virgin and had slept with a girl before, so he was well aware of his reaction¡ªthe sign of sexual arousal. Such thought had skipped him ever since he started cultivating, but somehow, it was acting out very strangely today. There was actually a very simple exnation: he had underestimated the peach flower miasma. The most potent effect of the miasmay neither in the corrosion nor the hallucinogenic quality, but in its ability to break through any form of barrier, bringing out one¡¯s lust. And lust was an instinct, not something one obtained through external aids. Theoretically, if he went on consuming essences and cultivating, the toxin would dissipate and eventually fade away in a few days. However, it just so happened that Xiaozhai walked into his room tonight. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s going on in your head?¡± Noticing that he had gone silent for no reason, Xiaozhai leaned her head forward as usual and almost brushed the tip of his nose with hers, ready to tease him. Little did she know, however, this experienced driver was heading for a ditch tonight. ¡°¡­¡± The delicate face swayed in front of him like a silver moon and something snapped in Gu Yu¡¯s mind. He reached out and kissed her full on the mouth. Her soft and rosy lips tasted like freshly made fruit stuffing; they were warm and tender. Xiaozhai was taken by surprise. She backed away slightly and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I, I¡­¡± The taste of those cherry lips only aggravated his desire. Another peachy sh flickered past his eyes as he answered with a slightly husky voice, ¡°I was thinking, can you stay here for the night?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Looking into that flickering sh, an ambiguous smile swept across Xiaozhai¡¯s face. ¡°Sure!¡± The reply brought an unnatural blush to Gu Yu¡¯s cheeks. Without knowing it, he was pulling her into his arms. As the saying went, true beauty was determined not by the skin, but whaty underneath. What it meant was that one should not judge other people by their appearance, but should instead focus on the intrinsic qualities. As correct as that exnation was, the saying was not wrong on a literal level either. The appearance of a person was essentially determined by their bone structure, which ultimately rendered how good- or bad-looking one could be. The profile of the head should be round and narrower when observed from the front. The shoulders should be t, straight, wide, and stretched out. Corresponding to the shoulders, the cor bones should have a sharp downward curve. The ribs should form a perfect upside-down triangle, wider at the top and gradually narrowing down, which was how a natural narrow waist was formed. The neck should be slender, the lumbar area was to be straight and upright with a forward curve, and the tailbone should have a backward curve. The hipbone should be slightly higher, so that the line from the waist down to the buttocks would look steeper. The requirement for the limbs were simple. The upper arms, forearms, thighs, shins, fingers, and toes all should be long and straight. The knees and calves should be able to be held together without gaps. The insteps should be narrow, the arches high, and the toes slender. In that case, one could tangle, strut, prop, and bump up and down for long without tiring 2 . Having been practicing martial arts since childhood, Xiaozhai had the perfect bone structure, which was dazzling to look at. On those bones was the muscle, which was covered by her exquisite, bright, and spotless skin. She felt as fine and smooth as a warm jade stone to the touch. ¡°Xiaozhai¡­ Xiaozhai¡­¡± Holding the soft body, Gu Yu felt he was in the clouds. As he mumbled, he swiftly removed her robe with his fingertip. Now he could feel the soft hairs on her shoulders. As if in a trance, they were unknowingly turning into animals. His hair hung loose on her neck as he buried his head there like a beast who had found a thread of water in a dark cave. He licked with his rolling tongue. She was now a bat hanging upside down from the entrance of the cave, her hiding ce deep in the mountains suddenly exposed and invaded by the beast, who was now sipping her in nips. Gu Yu was getting rougher with his movements. His hands slipped down, reaching between her legs. ¡°Gu Yu¡­¡± Tilting her head, Xiaozhai was gently holding his warm body when she called out suddenly. ¡°Hm?¡± He replied half-heartedly. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Fighting back her equally strong urge, Xiaozhai sighed despite herself. ¡°As much as I want to ride you this moment, you¡¯re SPOILING THE FUN!¡± Chapter 144 Chapter 144: Aggressive Cuddling Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu (TL/N: The original title ¡°Ñý¾«´ò¼Ü¡± literally means ¡°a fight between fairies (or some other simr magical creatures)¡± and the term ¡°Ñý¾«¡± (roughly, fairies, but not necessarily the same thing) also has an extended meaning of ¡°alluring woman¡±. Basically, the expression is a euphemism of sexual intercourse and is said to originate from the book ¡°Dream of the Red Chamber¡±, or ¡°ºìÂ¥ÃΡ±, where a not-so-bright young maid found a french-postcard-styled embroidered satchel in the garden and thought it to be a illustration of ¡°two naked fairies fighting with each other¡±.) ¡°Bang!¡± Barely had she squeezed out thest three words when Xiaozhai¡¯s right hand rose and she exerted strength with her palm. Gu Yu was instantly pushed away. With the momentum, Xiaozhai herself also stood up. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was burning like a wildfire back there and the interruption took him by surprise. The hesitation was immediately taken over by an impulse tosh out frantically, just to be rid of this oppressed urge. It was a sensation little virgin boys might find hard to perceive. Let¡¯s just call it the ultimate torture imaginable to men. His eyes darted from head to toe and back of the person right in front of him. The temptation her body emanated rekindled the desire inside him. His only thought now was to pounce at her and strip the fair body of all its covers, the same way as he peeled off the tender skin of the burgeoning willow twigs by the river when he was little. ¡°Hehe!¡± Seeing the red sh in his eyes, Xiaozhai sneered, rose swiftly to her feet, and leapt out of the room. ¡°Gu Yu,e and fight me!¡± She re-fastened the belt of her gown and beckoned with her index finger. ¡°You only get to sleep with the girl after you win.¡± ¡®What!¡¯ The toxin-induced heat rampaging inside Gu Yu was struggling for a way out. Provoked by Xiaozhai¡¯s words, Gu Yu jumped out of his room without hesitation. Xiaozhai was serious about her challenge. She approached Gu Yu with a single stride and charged at him with an open palm. Pulling in his chin and arching his back, Gu Yu swept his left arm across the air and turned his hand outwards, trying to catch her forearm. It was a move from the arrest technique. If carried out sessfully, it could instantly dislocate one¡¯s joint. He was extremely fast. However, when his finger almost reached Xiaozhai¡¯s forearm, her palm flipped over and, turning at an unbelievable angle, wrapped around his arm like a snake. Immediately after that, she shifted the point of her attack from her palms to her fingers, which stretched out, pinched together like an orchid, and stabbed at Gu Yu¡¯s eyes. Gu Yu pressed down with his left elbow hastily so as to knock into the crook of her arm. Her palm making another circle, Xiaozhai dodged his downward motion and stuck out her fingers again. In that brief moment, the two had exchanged seven to eight blows, both using the forty-eight hand movements of Xiaozhai¡¯s sect. Xiaozhai was fighting bare-footed. Her neutral-colored gown pped with the wind as she moved graceful to and fro. However, the expression on her face was nowhere near as pleasant; her solemn face looked as dark as a deep pool of still water. She was mad at Gu Yu. ¡®I have no problem with you driving over-speed a little, but no DUI. Not to mention that you are not only DUI, you are drugged and trying to get into my pants at the same time!¡¯ She would not tolerate it! The duo cuffed and kicked in the opening outside the houses, flying all over the ce and locking in a fierce struggle. Xiaozhai changed between palm and finger attacks, her dazzling movements reminding one of ten thousand petals drifting in the wind all at once and spring orchids dangling in clusters, her bearing graceful and neat. Having been taught by Xiaozhai, Gu Yu might not understand the moves as thoroughly as her, but he was fast, ferocious, and his powerful movements were like gusts of winds. Of course, both had restrained themselves from using their full power, or this courtyard would be in pieces in no time. Gu Yu was able to vent much of his unjustified impulse as he fought on and he gradually calmed down. Another few blows and he shuddered all of a sudden, like a giant bell hanging in the mountains that received a violent kick. ¡®Hey, this does not feel right! Why am I behaving like a poodle, capable of nothing but the thought of humping someone?¡¯ It dawned on him immediately that the peach flower miasma had got him¡­ ¡°Xiaozhai, stop!¡± His eyes were clear and bright again and his voice was back to normal. ¡°And you think you can just order me around?¡± ¡°Xiaozhai¡­¡± ¡°Finish this fight and we¡¯ll talk!¡± Ignoring his calls, Xiaozhai pinched her fingers together into a beak and stabbed right at his chest. Gu Yu¡¯s color changed a little at this, for that was the most powerful one of the forty-eight hand movements¡ªa single strike consisted of three consecutive attacking methods. He dared not take it head-on without protecting himself with his spiritual essence first. Cornered, he thrusted against the ground with his toes, making a hasty retreat and flying out of the yard in an instant. *** Long Qiu was woken up from her sleep at the middle of the night. Rubbing her eyes, she stumbled out of her room and saw her brother (¡°daddy¡±) and sister (¡°mummy¡±) fighting. The scene scared her. Rushing to their side, Long Qiu cried out, ¡°Stop it! Why are you fighting with each other all of a sudden?¡± ¡°None of your business. Go back to sleep!¡± Xiaozhai shouted back as she kept charging at Gu Yu. ¡°Xiao Qiu, go back inside. We¡¯re fine!¡± Gu Yu hurried to ward off the blows. ¡®You¡¯re fine? Like I¡¯d buy that!¡¯ Long Qiu might be a simple girl, but that did not mean she was stupid. Those two had ¡°not fine¡± written all over them. Torn with anxiety, Long Qiu¡¯s eyes darted between the battling duo, unable to think of a solution. Racking her brain, the young girl gritted her teeth and thought mediation by force her only way out. ¡°Golden Silkworm!¡± At her clear voice, an invisible fluctuation flew out of her body and injected itself between the two in the blink of an eye. ¡°Thump!¡± Both disarrayed, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai stopped exchanging blows, but had to fight back the Golden Silkworm first. ¡°Go back to bed, did you hear me?¡± ¡°Xiao Qiu, stop meddling with us!¡± ¡°You two, stop fighting!¡± Gosh, how their action had worried the girl! These two just would not give her a break. Long Qiu was what you called ¡°an iron hand in a velvet glove¡±¡ªthe more critical the situation was, the calmer she became. She kept her gaze on the two, searching for an opening. Xiaozhai struck out again and Gu Yu leapt up, apparently trying to jump towards the old tree. Xiaozhai was at his heels and the palms of the two met as they were both mid-air above the river. Long Qiu¡¯s face lit up¡ªthere was the opening she looked for. The two separated, both trying to turn around and find a ce tond. While they were still in the air, however, the invisible Golden Silkworm twirled and knocked into their chests. The inner Qi gathered at their chests dissipated at this and they lost their momentum. Both fell rapidly towards the water. ¡°Ssh!¡± ¡°Flop!¡± They hit the surface simultaneously, sshing water in all directions. Even the redntern on the old tree swayed at the impact. ¡°¡­¡± Long Qiu ran to the river and watched from ashore. Before long, she heard some more sshing sounds and the two resurfaced at the same time. ¡°Brother! Sister!¡± Dragging the two out of the water, she was flustered and concerned. ¡°What exactly was going on with you two? Why were you fighting?¡± ¡°Haha, we couldn¡¯t sleep and thought we could use a bit of exercise.¡± Xiaozhai was wrapped in her dripping garment, her wet hair stuck to her face in streaks. She rubbed Xiao Qiu on her head and turned to a certain fellow. ¡°Sober yet?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Gu Yu was embarrassed. That was super-duper humiliating! Having fought for that long in the middle of the night and soaked in the cold water, he was still not fully ¡°detoxed¡±, but could control himself now. Seeing Xiaozhai now, he could not find the right words and only managed to ¡°I, I¡­¡± after a long while. ¡°Good, nice to see you sober up!¡± Xiaozhai sttered her way back to her room, still not wearing any shoes. Gu Yu dared not stop her. He was pulling his hair out in trying to figure out if she was mad, angry, or infuriated. ¡°Sister, don¡¯t go to bed yet¡­ aiya, Brother, let me boil some water. You two, change your clothes!¡± Still at lost of what was going on, Long Qiu was alternating her role between a dad and a mum. Even her heart felt tired. *** When everyone finally settled down, the dawn was breaking. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai each took a quick shower, changed into dry clothes, and returned to their separate rooms. Lying on his bed, Gu Yu was still wide awake. Xiaozhai and Long Qiu¡¯s rooms, on the other hand, were as quiet as when he just got back. How should he proceed from tonight¡¯s event? He knew Xiaozhai and the way she thought. With what they had already, she would not object to take things further, but not like this. To put it in vulgar terms, it would be like when the husband of an old married couple depended solely on an aphrodisiac to get an arousal so as to get excited with his wife and ¡°got it over with¡±. That was just disrespectful . A problem required solution and he was no procrastinator. After a brief consideration, he got off the bed. ¡°Creak!¡± Leaving his room, he walked the moonlit ground and arrived at Xiaozhai¡¯s door. He asked in a whisper, ¡°Are you asleep?¡± ¡°No.¡± He got a reply. ¡°¡­¡± After a brief moment of silence, Gu Yu pushed the door open. Chapter 145 Chapter 145: Immortality and You Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu It was dark inside. After Gu Yu pushed the door open and entered the room, the light was switched on suddenly, illuminating the light white, rush matted floor. The interior was drab and the only piece of furniture was a wooden table, on which a censer was burning. The cottage was used for meditation as well as a living quarter, so it had been built as a suite of two rooms. Xiaozhai, having changed into another night-gown, appeared from the inner room with an easy grace. ¡°Getting horny again?¡± ¡°Easy on the sarcasm, will you?¡± With a grimace, Gu Yu faltered. ¡°I¡¯vee to¡­ to apologize.¡± ¡°Have you? How so?¡± Xiaozhai sat opposite him cross-legged, leaning her face on her hand, her thighs as dazzlingly fair as always. ¡°I did not expect the peach flower miasma to be so potent that it prated the defense of my spiritual essence.¡± His previous agitation all gone, he was speaking in a serious tone, ¡°Nor did I realize that it could bring the desire out of someone. All in all, it was myck of self-cultivation that caused what has happened. What I did was very inconsiderate and I wasn¡¯t thinking about your feelings. I¡¯m sorry.¡± He was objective and sincere in stating the fact as it was without trying to absolve himself from me. Xiaozhai appeared indifferent as she nodded. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll ept that. Anything else?¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re not angry, are you?¡± he asked tentatively. ¡°Of course not. Why would I be angry when you¡¯ve already apologized. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯m going to bed now.¡± ¡®Shit!¡¯ Gu Yu was rmed. That was probably the trump card of girls: I¡¯m being ironic when I say I¡¯m not angry! The calmer she was, the more urgently the guy¡¯s constion was required. If the guy walked out this second, then congrattions, he had just won himself a chance to spend the rest of his life with a silicone femalepanion. Gu Yu¡¯s brain span into life that instant as he struggled to strike up a conversation again. It dawned on him. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve got to tell you something! I¡¯ve figured out what to do with that peach flower miasma. I can make it into an incense.¡± ¡°Incense? Can you do it?¡± She was interested. ¡°I think so. The three characteristics of the peach flower miasma are its high corrosivity, its interference with the mind, and its ability to provoke sexual arousal. I can adjust the properties of the medicines based on that, reinforcing or counteracting those qualities. I can make special incense pellets, which, once inhaled, could cause hallucination, chronic poisoned, or sexual arousal¡­ hey, there¡¯s another thing!¡± He paused abruptly, as if something had struck him. He was excited. ¡°The Dan recipe! I can use that as well! Yes! Why didn¡¯t I think of that before? We might not have the furnace or the hundred-year-old spiritual medicine, but we can reduce the potency of the medicine ordingly! The herbs listed in the recipe are already avable to us, only that they are four to five years old. But we are not going to use the furnace anyway. We¡¯ll just experiment with them, see if they can be blended into the incense.¡± He raised the subject to break the ice, but ended up getting genuinely excited over the idea. He went on enthusiastically, ¡°The Essence-gathering Dan requires one to at least achieve the innate state to consume it, because of its high potency. We¡¯ll down-size it. Even with a fifth, no, a tenth of the effectiveness of the original form, it¡¯ll still do us good!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Resting her chin on her hand, Xiaozhai listened to his babbling in silence, the interest shown earlier long gone by now. When Gu Yu finally stopped talking, she remarked casually, ¡°Good idea. We¡¯ll talk about it another time, though. I¡¯m going to bed.¡± She put on a fatigued face, stood up, and was ready to leave. ¡°Wait!¡± Only then did Gu Yu realized what he had done and he called after her in a hurry, ¡°Xiaozhai¡­¡± ¡°Now what?¡± Leaning against the door to the inner room, she turned around and asked. ¡°I, I¡­¡± Meeting her eyes, Gu Yu went silent. All rtionships required a ritualistic moment. We are not talking about borate and expensive ceremonies, but something that has a mutual recognition, such as the following sentences: ¡®Will you be my girlfriend?¡¯ ¡®Do you want to be with me?¡¯ ¡®I love you!¡±I love you, too!¡¯ No matter how deep the mutual affinity was, it needed to be ¡°certified¡± via such ritual. Without it, you¡¯re never be a real couple, but friends (with or without benefits) only. ¡°I really don¡¯t know how to put it, but I just feel I have to let it out¡­¡± After quite some time, he started talking slowly. ¡°Both of my parents died when I was little and my grandpa brought me up himself. I thought I¡¯d live my life as any other ordinary person, but ended up bing a cultivator. I can¡¯t exin my feelings right now. All I know is that I¡¯m drifting further and further away from my old life and people¡ªbe it my friends or enemies¡ªare getting less and less important. Especially after we came back this time, this feeling was growing all the more stronger. I don¡¯t like it. They say that the saints are heartless and nature shows no mercy. The process of cultivation is the pursuit of immortality. Maybe by the time we be immortals, or earthly immortals, we will be no longer capable of experiencing those human feelings. We would regard all other lives as nonentities; a hundred years will be but a fleeting moment to us, and all we¡¯ll care about is to obtain the eternal Great Dao. But I¡¯m still a mortal man at this moment and there are some, some things that I cannot hold back. They are as important as cultivation and worth being cherished forever. I was under the influence of the miasma earlier, but deep down, I, I¡­¡± His voice trailed off into a pause. Xiaozhai¡¯s eyes, however, were rmingly bright now. She smiled, ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± ¡°What I have been trying to say is¡­¡± He looked into her eyes and she could see her reflection in his deep, dark pupils. He said, ¡°I want immortality, and I want you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The room grew utterly quiet; even time seemed to slow down. It seemed forever when a giggle broke the silence. ¡°Gu Yu, of all this time I¡¯ve known you, that was the best speech you¡¯ve ever given.¡± Xiaozhai finally broke into a grin. The man in front her had shared multiple life-and-death moments with her and the care and feelings they held towards each other were needless to say. As non-straightforward as he was on a daily basis, the deration just then had indeed touched her on the soft spot and tugged at her heartstrings. ¡°Sigh, too bad that the sun¡¯s rising¡­¡± Looking out of her window, she saw the first rays of the morning sun sprouting from behind the eastern mountain tops, which was to her great regret. She spun her head around, reached out her hand unexpectedly and grabbed Gu Yu by his cor. Then with a tug, she bit him on the lips. Gu Yu was yet to process the turn of events. All he knew was that he was tasting the freshly baked fruit stuffing again, which was as warm and tender as he remembered. Right after that, a streak of smooth hair brushed across his cheek and something wet and hot reached his ear. It was slightly ticklish. ¡°Wait for me in your bed tonight.¡± *** What happened then was like a gust of wind sweeping away the fallen leaves and a heavy rain destroying the banana trees. After a delightful night of bed-sharing, the two were officially couple now- scratch that, Daopanions. That being said, little had changed in the way they hung around each other¡ªat least nothing apparent enough for Long Qiu, our innocent maiden, to notice. There was no time to lose and they returned to tend the real business after their personal issue was sorted out. There were still more than ten days before he had to leave for Tianzhu Mountain. Gu Yu prepared some incense materials in advance and was going to start making the incense after he got back. Meanwhile, he also contacted the Yuan Family, asking them to build an incense cer beneath their cottage. It was during this period that he went to Grass River Mouth again, just to check on the miasma. It had expended and now taken up one tenth of the ind. At such rate, the ind would be taken overpletely by the miasma within a month. Zhang Hongru was working his a*s off. Together with the police force and the departments of civil administration and housing construction, he had taken the overall responsibility for the evacuation. Small as Grass River Mouth was, there were tens of thousands of residents in town. They were not cold numbers on a screen, but real people. To leave their hometown where they had been living for years meant they were losing their means of making a living. The prospect looked bleak¡­ who in the right mind would want to leave? ¡°I¡¯m not leaving! Who are they to tell us to move? I am not going anywhere!¡± Somewhere outside a house on the ind, a fat aunt in her forties was yelling at the staff who were trying to persuade her. ¡°The government said so and so what? Even the government can¡¯t just tell us to move with some random excuse!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve lived here for seventy years and I¡¯m one foot in the grave now. You¡¯re telling me I can¡¯t even be buried in my hometown¡­ that¡¯s ridiculous!¡± A grandfather in his seventies was scarlet with rage. He simply sat down on the ground and shouted with his hoarse voice, ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere today. You¡¯d have to kill me first!¡± ¡°Waah waah, grandpa¡­¡± His little granddaughter was frightened by all the confusion and started howling while tugging at her grandfather¡¯s clothes. ¡°I¡¯ll have no ce to live and no job. How am I going to make a living in the city, huh?¡± ¡°Thepensation is tiny. Do you really have no idea of the housing price in the cities? We won¡¯t be able to afford a toilet with the money we have. What are we gonna do? Form a band of beggars?¡± ¡°I still have a mu of field back there. How is thatpensated? That¡¯s going to be cleared away as well, isn¡¯t it? I should at least get some money for that!¡± Men and women of all ages shouted and bellowed on the tiny ind, each with their own attitude. The more agitated ones had even turned physical, ready to start a fight with whatever tools they could grab. The government personnel was bogged down by the angry crowd, but could not return the hostility with equal violence. All they could was to reiterate their reasoning. The crowd was on the verge of losing control when one of the government people jumped onto a higher tform and rang a jarring noise with a loudspeaker. It was ear-splitting. The crowd hurried to cover their ears and quieted down. ¡°Everybody, please be quiet and listen to me¡­¡± The man could be considered among those in charge. He strained his neck and shouted, ¡°I understand your unwillingness in being forced to leave your hometown and live elsewhere. But there¡¯s no other way. The government is doing this for your safety. The fog in the woods is a toxic miasma and extremely corrosive. You¡¯ve all seen what it did to Old Jin¡¯s dog. I promise you that the evacuation is only temporary and we¡¯vee up with several ns¡­¡± ¡°Solve it, if it¡¯s toxic!¡± ¡°Exactly. Why aren¡¯t you dealing with the toxin? Isn¡¯t that what you are supposed to be doing?¡± ¡°Yeah, why should we be affected?¡± Before the man could finish, the crowd erupted again. Wiping away his sweat, the fellow tried his best to exin. ¡°Of course we¡¯re going to solve it, but it needs some time. We¡¯re only evacuating the ind for your safety. Please work with us¡­¡± ¡°How long do you need? I¡¯ve seen enough empty promises before!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about other things, but I¡¯m living in three big tile-roofed houses here, howrge a ce can you give me in the city?¡± The shouting and wrangling went on simultaneously on and off stage; the chaos resumed. Right at that moment, a shrilling child¡¯s voice ripped through the cacophony. ¡°Xiao Mi, don¡¯t run away from me!¡± The crowd turned their heads in unison. It was the granddaughter of that old man. She suddenly left her grandpa and ran after her tabby cat, which was running towards the direction of the peach flower miasma. ¡°Xiao He,e back! Come back!¡± The old man crumpled to the ground, his face almost convulsing. The crowd was terrified as well. Everyone was calling at the same time. Seeing this, two police officers reacted before they could think and chased after the girl. But they started toote. The little girl was way ahead and the cloying pink fog was almost right in front of her. ¡®It¡¯s over!¡¯ The one in charge felt his blood curdling. If anything happened to the kid, he could not say what the angry crowd would do. All hell might break loose. Immediately, he gestured at the police force inconspicuously, telling them to be ready to take action. ¡°Xiao Mi, stop! Stop!¡± The little girl was running as fast as she could. With an amazing speed, the tabby cat was quickly approaching the miasma. Four meters, three meters, two meters¡­ the edge of the miasma was closing in. ¡°Woosh!¡± A green sh barely visible to the naked eyes appeared out of the blue, which flitted across the air and disappeared instantaneously. ¡°Bang!¡± A stone in the middle of the road seemed to have been jabbed by something, for it exploded for no reason. The shards then fell to the ground in a ttering shower. ¡°Meow!¡± Frightened, the cat jumped backwards high into the air, thennded with its hair all bristled. ¡°Xiao Mi! You can¡¯t just run off like that! Are you Ok?¡± The little girl caught up with the cat and grabbed it from the ground, crying and scolding. ¡°It¡¯s not safe here! Come with us, quickly!¡± Immediately after that, the two officers got to their side and took the pair away, half-holding and half-lifting. ¡°Phew¡­¡± Everyone let out a breath of relief as their hearts returned to their chests again. Then, as if none of this had ever happened, the grandfather took his little girl aside tofort her, while the rest of the crowd resumed theirining. *** On the hill not far from the scene, the peach flowers were at their full bloom. Gu Yu retrieved his magical instrument as he watched the crowd below with a frown. ¡°Exactly what is your relocation n?¡± ¡°Thank you for acting in time, or we would be in great trouble with an agitated crowd.¡± Zhang Hongru stood behind Gu Yu and was still recovering from the shock. He thanked him wholeheartedly before exining, ¡°The n is roughly like this: the neighboring viges will each take some people in, adding up to about four thousands; being a city and very close, Bai Town will provide ces for about thirty thousand people; the rest tens of thousands of people will be sent to Shengtian.¡± ¡°Thirty thousand? There are no more than a couple of hundred thousand residents in Bai Town at most, can you find that much room for them there?¡± He was surprised. ¡°Of course not. All we can do is to remodel some old warehouses and schools into temporary dormitories, and build some additional makeshift houses.¡± Zhang Hongru sighed and went on in a worried tone, ¡°Finding them a ce to live is the least on our minds. With such an inflow of people, if they cannot find a job soon, public security will eventually be an issue, which would lead to a chain of unimaginable reactions. There¡¯s not much we can do. Everything¡¯s happening so fast and we can only hope that we¡¯ll get through it this time somehow, then try to improve things gradually.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Gu Yu sighed silently. This miasma was almost a natural disaster and all people could do was to endure the suffering. ¡°Speaking of which, the excuse you gave them¡­ do you think they¡¯ll buy it?¡± he asked. ¡°They really don¡¯t have any other choice, do they? The toxin was there for everyone to see. We¡¯d rathery everything on the table than try to cover it up. It¡¯s just that they¡¯ll never guess the real reason,¡± said Zhang Hongru. Gu Yu fell into a brief silence at his words. He then said, ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind me asking, but are you ever going to reveal the truth? I mean about the recovery of the spiritual essence.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Zhang Hongru winced, hesitating to give an answer. ¡°Let me rephrase that. In your own opinion, do you want the government to go public?¡± Gu Yu did not press on. ¡°Well, only to some extent. We can¡¯t have everyone know about it.¡± Zhang Hongru gave it some thought. Gu Yu nodded, nomittal. He went on, ¡°I need information on formations. That will be on the top of our exchange list.¡± ¡°All right, I¡¯ll let my superior know.¡± Zhang Hongru nodded immediately. He realized that it would be a coboration initiated by both sides. The miasma was a threat as much as it was an asset that they all wanted a share of. As a result, one side would provide the theory, while the other would do the work. Of course, the specific exchange terms would need further discussion. ¡°¡­¡± Silence fell between them again. Watching the shuffling crowd below, they were both overwhelmed by an inexplicable mood. As if a new chapter was opening and a curtain rising, a rush of uneasiness and expectation filled their hearts. Chapter 146 Chapter 146: The Great Project Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu April, Tianzhu Mountain. Located in the south-central part of the country, Qian Zhou was part of the southern region where the weather was getting warmer already. The rolling mountains were long rid of their gloomy and bleak appearance and were instead coated in green by a wild profusion of vegetation. It was the time of the year when hikers¡¯ hearts started to palpitate and get restless at the temptation. Being one of the most popr hiking destinations, Tianzhu Mountain was unavoidably well trodden over the years. However, long before the Spring Festival this year, the local government made an announcement: the state was going to construct a new nature reserve and ecological research base and the mountain was closed for an indefinite duration; all tourists would be denied ess. Such move doubtlessly caused an uproar from the hikermunity, which was a reaction the authorities well prepared for. With a massive campaign of guiding public opinion, the tumult had soon blown over. After all, the country was more than abundant with tourist resources and the hikers could easily pick another destination. ¡°Captain speaking! Captain speaking! We are three km from the destination and we have detected no abnormality so far.¡± ¡°Keep your vignce!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The Captain put down his walkie-talkie and looked back over his shoulder. The rtively closely packed team was marching in a single file, proceeding slowly forward. Quite a few vehicles loaded with heavy equipment and daily necessities were crawling in the rear. They were in the heart of the mountains, where not a single road had been built before. After the government¡¯s decision to have the area developed, they made adequate preparations in advance and the most important one was to build a makeshift road, which at least would allow vehicles to drive in. Of the hundred or so members of the team, sixty to seventy were researchers and the rest were guards and support crew. Their destination was none other than the node in Tianzhu Mountain¡ªthat strange cave. Somewhere in the middle of the procession, Gu Yu was walking side by side with an old man. Thetter was called Qiu Guan, an academic big shot and the chief consultant of the development project. Qiu was a genuine scientist through and through, one who would not get involved in the politics or any other trifles. He was only excited over the discovery of the spiritual essence and held no particr reverence towards Gu Yu. ¡°Well, Xiao Gu, I still don¡¯t understand what exactly is this spiritual essence?¡± The old man was hale and hearty¡ªno walking stick was necessary for him. He went on, ¡°Is it a form of energy? How is it created? What¡¯s its internal structure and what carriers does it act on?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu almost broken into sweat. He was never good at science and had to try his best to describe it. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a form of energy, nor is it a physical substance. It¡¯s more like, like something to do with the consciousness.¡± ¡°The consciousness? You mean the mentality?¡± The old man wondered. ¡°No, no, the spiritual essence is the essence of nature and a product of Yin and Yang. In order to understand it, you have to jump out of the science box. It¡¯s like the concept of meridians in our traditional medicine, which are the channels for the vital essence to circte in, but both of which are things no method in modern medicine could detect. Can you deny their existence because of that? We¡¯re leaving the world of science and stepping into the metaphysics.¡± ¡°I see. Taoism brought up the idea of Yin and Yang, which in turn gave birth to the idea of spiritual essence. No instrument could detect it, because they do not belong to the same system to begin with.¡± Following Gu Yu¡¯s reasoning, Qiu Guan immediately understood. He then asked, ¡°In that case, what change will this essence bring when introduced into a human body?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s harmless with a small amount and a controlled method, which would actually enhance one¡¯s health. It¡¯s the the chaotic and uncontrolled one that would cause harm.¡± Gu Yu picked his words carefully. ¡°I believe you¡¯re able to control it, right? Here, try it on me¡­¡± With new things at hand, Qiu Guan was acting like a child, abandoning all reserve and pestering Gu Yu with pleadings. As much as Gu Yu liked the old man, there was no way he would fulfil just any random request like that. You would never ask a swordsman to demonstrate his skill by cutting open a watermelon. That¡¯s not making a joke; that¡¯s asking for trouble. He simply stopped talking. Qiu Guan was a smart man. Realizing that he had offended Gu Yu, he let go of the subject in embarrassment. The team walked on. They reached the node around noontime. The team members scurried to and fro, unloading the equipment. The n was to set camp by the river. They were only the vanguard¡ªa whole lot more staff were waiting in the town of Tianmen, ready to move in at any moment. Gu Yu checked the surroundings, which stayed pretty much the same as thest time he was here¡ªonly that the spiritual essence was denser now. The nts in the surrounding area were also growing at a frantic speed; they were thick, luxuriant, andpletely against thew of nature. The members had circled out arge piece ofnd and were building houses on both banks of the river, which was a fail-proof task. The makeshift houses were easily built by joining light-steel-framed boards and adding a roof over the top. They followed the standard of building barracks, where the guards were arranged on the periphery and the researchers and equipments in the inner section. There were also separate kitchens, canteens, and toilets. All sorts of materials flowed in incessantly. In the middle of the area, on the south bank, a giant house was built. It was the most importantboratory. Almost instantly, a construction site was set up outside the cave, where a hundred or so people carried out their assigned tasks methodically. The operation was in full swing. Without him realizing it, such a scene also excited Gu Yu. He was still unclear on how the government was going to develop the node. However, he was sure of one thing¡ªthis task could only be carried out with the power of the authorities behind it. He was also looking forward to seeing the change it would bring about. ¡°Mr. Gu!¡± At that moment, a member of the BIMAUP came up to him and pointed at a direction. ¡°Your lodging is ready. Please let me know if you need anything else.¡± ¡°Ok, thank you very much.¡± Gu Yu waved at the man and walked into his house. It was about a dozen square meters in size and consisted of an inner and an outer room each. Inside were a bed, a table, chairs, and daily supplies. It felt almost luxurious for a ce out here in the field. ¡°Ah!¡± While he was still looking around, a scream came from outside and he hurried out. It was from one of the guys in charge of cooking. He saw fish in the river and, ted, tried to scoop one out. The fish was a mutated snakehead with a head twice its original size and sharp, protruding teeth. Its face was a living demonstration of wickedness. The fish gripped the unlucky cook¡¯s right hand between its teeth and the man almost passed out from the pain. Fortunately, other men were around. They grabbed a dagger and cleft the fish in half before forcing apart its teeth bit by bit. The strange fish simply refused to die. With its body severed into two twitching parts on the ground, its mouth was still opening and closing. The man¡¯s right hand was badly mutted, the wound so deep that his bones were visible. The medics disinfected and bound up the hand. ¡°Quickly, send it to theb while it¡¯s still alive!¡± While the rest of the crowd was terrified by the incident, Qiu Guan¡¯s eyes were shining with anticipation. He instructed his assistant to gather the fish for further study. Gu Yu was also speechless. He had handed over the map a long time ago and there were borate notes on it, including all sorts of potential threats. People of the government were not idiots, they must have done some preparation in advance. That was why he did not act like a know-it-all, pointing here and there like a backseat driver. But as it turned out, idents still happened. ¡°Weren¡¯t you told there were strange fish in the river?¡± he asked in a surprised tone. ¡°Um, we¡¯ve taken sses. That was probably an individual case. The guy was careless for a moment back there.¡± The Captain was greatly embarrassed, but could say nothing other than the ambiguousment. In his head, he was cursing the wounded guy. *** Apart from the minor ident, everything else went smoothly. These specialist were scientific nuts. The camp had barely taken shape and they already could not wait to start collecting samples. Knowing the area well, the authorities had designed a small boat specifically for this terrain¡ªit was of the ideal size to sail in the river. The boat had a narrow body, tilted up on both ends. The bow was covered by hard metal te as an anti-collision device. The bottom and the hull of the boat were also enhanced with a special material. The sides were higher than usual to prevent the strange fish from jumping on board. As soon as the boat was in the water, ceaseless knocking sounds went off like a solo drumming. The strange fish dashed and jostled in the water; some even leapt out of the surface. ¡°Zap! Zap! Zap!¡± ¡°Thud! Thud! Thud!¡± Soldiers keeping guard on shore responded with a barrage of bullets. Sprays of spurting blood immediately colored the water red. The resistance of water was much higher than that of air. Ordinary bullets lost their momentum at a remarkably high rate in the water and regained little destructive ability after about one meter in. The soldiers were using conical bullets instead, which had a long nose, center of gravity in their front, and were specifically made for underwater shooting. The strange fish did not even flinch at the assault, but were getting more ferocious at the sight of the blood. Countless fish gathered around them, knocking frantically onto the small boat. ¡°Zap! Zap!¡± The soldiers dumped in another volley of bullets and the fish kept jumping up. The boat was on the verge of tipping over. That was a bit of a headache. They could not throw a bomb there, could they? The Captain frowned at it and turned around. ¡°Mr. Gu, we need your help in this.¡± ¡°Sure. Please take your men aboard first,¡± nodded Gu Yu. The superiors had instructed him to not question Gu Yu and just carry out whatever arrangement he gave out. The Captain gave his order without hesitation. ¡°Board the ship!¡± These were excellent soldiers. Despite the pping and sshing of the strange fish, they followed the order without any question and strode onto the footboard. As the first soldier walked along the board and halfway through it, a strange fish swished out of the water with an open mouth, ready to bite. Before it could reach his leg, however, its body¡ªbig-headed and short-tailed¡ªlet out a ¡°pop¡± and exploded into a bloody mist. ¡°Ssss!¡± The crowd jolted, now eyeing Gu Yu with reverence. Even those with the sharpest eyes could only get a glimpse of a green sh, which was barely discernible. It had disappeared before they could make out anything else. The soldier jumped on board, still baffled. ¡®What the hell just happened?¡¯ ¡°Keep moving! Quickly!¡± The Captain secretly let out a sigh of relief and called out. Within no time, four soldiers and two specialists were all safely aboard. Even if some fish tried to sneak upon them, they were immediately turned into popping bloody mist. Gu Yu boarded thest, making them seven passengers in total. ¡°Vroom!¡± The front engine started and the boat flitted across the water, sailing towards the cave at an unhurried speed. The rest of the team followed it with their eyes. They were staying close by the river to keep an eye on the surroundings. The scientists prepared a few detectors, which were round and the size of a washbasin; the detectors were dropped into the water. Once at the bottom, three metal legs stuck out automatically, which supported the detectors steadily as they collected the data. Before long, they reached the cave. The small boat drifted in, as silent as a ghost. The lights were switched on. Dozens of meters into the cave, their field of vision widened abruptly as a pool of water as still as a mirror jumped into their sight. It was none other than the smallke in the cave. ¡°Ssh!¡± ¡°Flop!¡± For some unknown reason, their entrance into theke seemed to have irritated the strange fish, for they were bing all the more violent. Fish of all sizes were attacking the bottom and sides of the hull like there was no tomorrow. Even with the weight of seven men, the boat was rocking left and right, threatening to topple over at any moment. ¡°Mr. Gu!¡± Guns at hand, the soldiers dared not shoot, fearing that they might cause other unnecessary trouble. They could only turn to certain fellow for help. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just keep at whatever you were doing.¡± Gu Yu lifted his eyes and an invisible fluctuation instantly extended out from where he stood. The school of fish froze in unison, but their eyes immediately glinted maliciously. They then started tearing at one another. Blood spread out under the boat; the red liquid felt thick and sticky, as if a small red mark had been miraculously embedded in theke. A few fish that managed to escape the ughter of their own kin were taken out by the green jade needle. ¡°This, this stone wall is spectacr! I can¡¯t believe my eyes!¡± Being the ones more prone to look past these things, the scientists soon shifted their focus. One of them was amazed by the stone wall under his palm and the other opened his eyes widely. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen minerals like this before. How can the surface be this smooth¡­¡± ¡°Gentlemen, you¡¯d better hurry up. We can¡¯t hold on for much longer!¡± One of the soldiers found their excitement irritating and urged impatiently. ¡°Oh! Sure! We¡¯re taking samples right away!¡± The two scientists took out a cylinder-shaped tool and switched it on. A semi-me, semiser substance struck out. They then swiped it hard across the wall. Like a de cutting into a piece of tofu, a neat chunk was carved out. Chapter 147 Chapter 147: Degree of Reactivity Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu At night, the camp was aze with lights. Exhausted after a long flight and the following trek across the mountains, the team managed to stay excited until this hour thanks to the new discovery and their craving for knowledge. On the south bank, inside theboratory, researchers sat around and a specialist was announcing test results from their experiments earlier that day. Gu Yu was among the crowd, listening carefully to his words. ¡°The strange fish is indeed a variant of the snakehead. We have taken samples from twenty individuals and obtained some data. The fish were of a length between 20 to 50 cm. The head took up about half of its body length. Two rows of teeth¡ªalong both upper and lower jaws¡ªwere found in the mouth and they were thick, long, and sharp. Preliminary estimation is that the bite force is equivalent to that of the ck piranha¡ªthe strongest among fish¡ªand about 30 times of its weight. Their habits have remained unchanged. They are omnivorous and extremely ferocious. When starved, they would even turn on their own kind. Reproduction wise, their sexual nds mature incredibly slowly, which indicates a long breeding cycle. We happened to have caught a female fish this time, which had a fecundity of around 7000¡ªmuch lower than any other kind of fish. From our perspective, it¡¯s a blessing, for the fish would otherwise have reached beyond the boundary of the river to the waters outside these mountains. The effect would be destructive to the ecosystem¡­ As for the flesh of the fish, well, we can only tell if it is poisonous or not. We¡¯ll need Mr. Gu¡¯s help for the specifics.¡± After a lengthy introduction, he suddenly switched the subject and turned to our fellow. ¡®What?¡¯ Gu Yu winced. A female researcher then showed up with a tray¡ªon it was a serving of sashimi and a bowl of fish soup. Time for a treat. ¡°Xiao Gu, before you eat, I need to introduce a concept to you, namely the reactivity of spiritual essence.¡± Qiu Guan adjusted his sses and went on. ¡°The density is the number we give to spiritual essence itself. The degree of reactivity is the number we measure when the spiritual essence takes its effect on other substances. You can just think of it as how much active spiritual essence is in it.¡± ¡°Ok, I see.¡± Gu Yu did not give much thought and ate a piece of the raw flesh under the watchful eyes of the crowd. It was smooth, tender and refreshing. He couldn¡¯t help but praising, ¡°That was delicious!¡± He than ate another piece. ¡°Could you be a bit more serious and focus on the data rather than eating?¡± The female researched had to remind him. ¡°Yeah, sure!¡± Despite his assent, he went on to eat his third and forth pieces. There was indeed a faint fluctuation of spiritual essence in the flesh of the fish, but it had no effect on him at all. But for ordinary people, especially those with poor health, it might be too much for them to handle. ¡°I¡¯ll use this as the benchmark and make it 1.¡± Putting down the chopsticks, he turned to the soup and gave it a sip. ¡°It¡¯s slightly weaker, but the difference is negligible. We can also make it 1.¡± ¡°Please be more precise, if that¡¯s possible. It can be in decimal numbers,¡± suggested a specialist. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll give it a 0.7 or 0.8, then,¡± Gu Yu replied after giving it some thought. Qiu Guan gave his assistant a look; seeing that thetter had finished recording, he gestured the speaker to proceed. ¡°The original species of this nt should be the leopard nt, a weedmonly found in the south part of out country, whose base leaves are 9 to 13 cm in length and 11 to 22 cm in width. This particr nt, however, has a length of 20 cm and a width of 30 cm, both abnormallyrger. The shape of its base leaves have also changed slightly; they have linked together and formed a rosette. In traditional medicine, it is said to be heat-clearing and detoxifying, as well as heal injuries from falls, fractures, contusions and strains. Now that it¡¯s mutated, we¡¯ll need further studies on its medicinal effect.¡± After that, the speaker handed Gu Yu the leopard nt. He sensed it and thought it over. ¡°It should be somewhere around 0.5.¡± He had tested two objects so far. The third one was a twig from a tree, which was also a 0.5. The fourth piece was a lump of mud scooped up from the bottom of the river, which he gave a 1. Those were nothing strange¡ªwhat came up next was only getting weirder. In the end, they even brought in a living chicken and asked him to give a number with a precision to the decimal point. Gu Yu was having a headache, but not as much as the scientists were! There was no other way! Modern technology was useless in detecting the spiritual essence and they had to run indirect tests on things the spiritual essence affected, such as measuring their physical, chemical, and biological properties. The truly valuable ouey in the effect they had on cultivators and this man was the only person that could answer that. Gu Yu tested as many as over twenty substances one at a time, followed by detailed records. After the prolonged forey, thest but the most important sample was finally brought in¡ªthe chunk of stone they carved out of the cave. Of course, it was only part of the chunk. The fist-sized stone had an unusual texture; even the surface of the cross-section was smooth and even. ¡°This is probably a variant of muscovite granite.¡± The speaker was uncertain. ¡°We were unable to analyze its structuralponents and could only run some basic tests. It has a density of 2790 to 3070 kg/m^3, apressive strength of 1000 to 3000 kg/cm^2, a water absorption rate of 0.13%, and the hardness of over HS 70. To sum up, the stone is very hard, corrosion-resistant, can stand tear and wear, and has a low water absorption rate. It is an¡­¡± The expression on his face was a mixture of feelings. There was disappointment, confusion, and irritation in his voice as he said, ¡°It¡¯s an excellent building material.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The crowd gazed at one another in utter bewilderment. The stonewall was the most conspicuous site within a radius of several kilometers. They all had such high hopes for it and now they were told it was a building material? Qiu Guan showed no sign of being disturbed; he only turned his eyes to Gu Yu. Gu Yu was very curious himself. He picked up the stone and secretly sensed the spiritual essence within. Almost instantaneously, his expression changed abruptly. He leapt to his feet, ¡°Professor Qiu, we need to talk in private!¡± *** The meeting was dismissed right away. The rest of the team watched in bewilderment as those two left theb and returned to Gu Yu¡¯s room. Qiu Guan was at a loss himself. ¡°Xiao Gu, what do you want to talk about?¡± Gu Yu did not give an answer, but replied with another question, ¡°Professor Qiu, how are you going to develop this ce?¡± ¡°Aprehensive development, of course.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too general. What do you need the data for?¡± ¡°The reason is simple. Whenever a new substance is discovered, we need to figure out the rules it follows so as to put it into use. Therefore we need to establish a most basic database to calcte the average numbers.¡± Qiu Guan paused and went on, ¡°In principle, with our advanced scientific technology, we could achieve effective exploitation of any new resources. But it¡¯s a different case with the spiritual essence you talked about. It belongs to a different system, where our technology is very constrained and we are disadvantaged in all aspects. All we can do is some general framework.¡± ¡°Could you be more specific?¡± ¡°As you mentioned before, a small amount of controlled spiritual essence could only do human body good and even prolong life. In that case, we need to calcte the exact number. For instance, if the reactivity of the flesh of fish is 1, then is the edible level fit for ordinary people above or below 1? What¡¯s the feasible range? We must have the most urate number and there is no room for mistakes. After we obtain the average numbers, we will extend it to utilization and keep filtering.¡± ¡°Filtering?¡± Gu Yu was confused. ¡°You asked me about the development n. Let me ask you a question: what do you think resources consist of?¡± Qiu Guan smiled. ¡°Lands, rivers, minerals, forests, the air¡ªeverything in this mountain is counted as resources.¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s correct. And what we need to do is to transform them for our own benefit. That piece of soil you saw just then, for example, had a reactivity number of 1.3. Imagine that if we were to grow crops in it and harvest the grain¡ªwhat would the number of those be? Would they be edible? If not, after we use the grain as seeds and nt them, then harvest again, the reactivity will definitely decrease. We will eventually obtain the level of reactivity we want. This process is called filtering.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was stunned. He had never thought about it that way. It was not that he was stupid. Different individuals were at different intellectual levels and exposed to different amount of information, hence their different depths in viewing things. Specialists like Qiu Guan were considering the issue from the social ecology as a whole. Qiu Guan had no intention to keep things hidden from Gu Yu. Despite being the minority shareholder in this project, Gu Yu held the key¡ªthe core technology. Their cooperation should be based on sincerity. He went on, ¡°And that was just the food. We also have other aspects that needs considering, such as that stone. Although it¡¯s only amon granite, do you have any idea how many minerals there are in this world? Over four thousand as we know of and the number is increasing each year! What will it change into if it is an iron ore? What about a silver ore? What about a gold ore? What will different types of rocks turn into? And there are those creatures. Can we achieve artificial breeding with those strange fish in the river while maintaining the reactivity of the spiritual essence in them so that we can have a steady flow of it? And the trees¡ªthe fruit trees, can we make it into a massively avable fruit through grafting so that it can be put on the market?¡± Looking into Gu Yu¡¯s eyes, Qiu Guan heaved a deep sigh, ¡°Xiao Gu, it¡¯s not development; it¡¯s building a new world!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was silent for a long while before he replied with a smile, ¡°Professor Qiu, as much as I agree with most of the things you said, I need to remind you on two things. For one, your wish is for everyone to be able to eat rice, but those upstairs might not share your view. For another, this stone is anything but amon granite. It will be the most important basic resource for cultivators!¡± Chapter 148 Chapter 148: An old friend, sort of Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Three types of lizards coexisted in sympatry in a certain desert. The sizes of their prey were staggered in ordance with the sizes of the three types so that there were no oveps. Somewhere inside a rainforest was the habitat of fourteen types of pigeons, which could be categorized into four groups based on their sizes. It just so happened that the four groups each fed on a different size of fruits. Such were the examples of natural resource allocation¡ªthat was, the difference on the choice of resources formed naturally so as to ensure the species¡¯ survival while reducing thepetitive consumption within the same species. The allocation in nature was determined by naturalpetition, whereas that of the human society was the result of system and ideology. Its single basic rule was: the dominating side would always take over the majority of the resources, leaving a less significant amount to the weaker ones. The scientist had a beautiful vision in which the resources were to be shared among all. However, he had overlooked two issues, the first being the quantity of the resources. If they failed to produce enough rice and fish for the society as a whole, the amount allocated would be decreasing progressively as they moved down the social hierarchy. The second was the thoughts of those upstairs. In other words, whether the authorities wanted to make the resources avable to the public or not. Gu Yu remained cautious on both issues. Of course, those were not his priorities and he brushed over them before moving onto the real business. ¡°About this stone, it might have been that muscovite granite, or building material, or whatever that you people deemed it was, but now, it holds significant value.¡± ¡°What value?¡± Qiu Guan was more curious than ever. ¡°The spiritual essence inside is so active that I can absorb it directly.¡± ying with the stone in his hands, Gu Yu exined, ¡°Cultivators depend on the absorption of spiritual essence in their cultivation so as to temper their body. With this, the rate of absorption will be doubled and the recovery speed increased after their spiritual essence is exhausted.¡± Qiu Guan whistled as he instantly realized the significance. The quality alone had qualified the stone as a possible value-measuring unit. It did not mean that the stone was bing a new currency. Fiat currency had no intrinsic value, but was guaranteed by the credit of the state, which enabled the money¡¯s owner to reach an agreement with the market on exchange right, hence the creation of a currency. The stone, on the other hand, had great value in itself and to exchange with it was closer to barter of primitive societies. Qiu Guan¡¯s voice was shaking as he asked, ¡°How, how reactive is it?¡± ¡°I would suggest you not to mix it up with the other stuff. We¡¯d better have another set of data for it.¡± Gu Yu pondered for a few seconds and went on. ¡°It¡¯s only been a few years since the spiritual essence recovered. As nice as this stone is, we will surely discover something better in the future. I say we use this as the benchmark and make it a 1, too.¡± ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s usible. We can improve itter.¡± After some consideration, Qiu Guan nodded to show his approval. The two stayed in the room talking for hours and did not go to bed until the dawn was breaking. Being an elderly man, Qiu Guan could not keep up with such long working hours after all and did not get up until noon time. After that, he set out to write up a long report all by himself, which emphasized on ore-mining and crop-nting. Knowing little of the ways of the world himself, the old man was nevertheless extremely responsible. He had secretly took some precautionary measures in case certain fellow decided to disregard his moral principles for the profit and do some despicable things. In the report, Qiu Guan had specifically asked the superiors to send in reinforcements for security purposes. As for Gu Yu, the man honestly did not give a damn. The importance of the stoney in its function, not its quality. He himself would rather consume the essence directly, which was faster than absorbing it through the stone. What was more, it was not likely that such stones could be easily found everywhere. There weren¡¯t any on Phoenix Mountain and Mount Emei, anyway. As for the green jade stone in Tianshan Mountain, its reactivity was too low to be considered of the same kind. *** Before they knew it, Gu Yu and the team of specialists had been working hard in the mountains for a whole week. The range of their survey covered an area with a radius of dozens of kilometers centering around the cave. Samples were brought back in a near ceaseless flow every day, which were experimented on and tested before the data was recorded. Over one thousand kinds of resources could be found on Tianzhu Mountain, which included animals, nts, and minerals. Only through original samples with such a size and abundance could a rtively crude database be gradually established. Unlike Gu Yu, who used simple numbers for categorization, the scientists had to systemize and regrize the data so as to study it as a new subject. For instance, the strange fished had been named ¡°short-tailed sawfish¡±. The stones, on the other hand, were known as ¡°spiritual stones¡± under tacit agreement. Spending these past few days with these scientists had made Gu Yu grow more interested in their work. These people were building a new world for real¡ªan unknown, brand new social formation independent of the modern society was burgeoning in their hands. *** One evening, after the sun had just set. Major construction sites on either bank remained busy. Both banks were brightly lit by artificial lightning and the rumbles and moans of machines would ring out every now and then. Gu Yu and Qiu Guan were standing by the river, studying a map. A box stood by their feet and in it were stones of various sizes and unusual shapes. ¡°We are reasonably certain that ores of this area on the south are shallowly deposited, about 100-meter deep. Ore distribution is uneven in this area on the southwest, not valuable enough to be mined. The quantity in the northern section is rtively low, but the positive side is that it¡¯s rather concentrated¡­¡± ¡°What about other minerals? Things like iron ore?¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t found any so far. Tianzhu Mountain is not a mining region to begin with and the stones here are either granite or gneiss, maybe a little bit of feldspar porphyry and that¡¯s it. We¡¯ve tested them all. There¡¯s no abnormalities,¡± Qiu Guan exined briefly, apparently exhausted. The exhaustion was felt from inside out! Had it been a coal mine they were detecting, modern technology would be more than capable of figuring out the quantity, shape, urrence, locus, and distribution of the ore body. However, it would not work on mining spiritual stones. They could find the stones all right, but could not tell if they were spiritual or not. As a result, they had divided the mountain into innumerable areas and whenever they dug a stone out, it would be sent to Gu Yu for inspection. Only after the stone was deemed spiritual could the existence of a mineral vein deemed possible. With such a tedious procedure, one could imagine the efficiency of their work. ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°p!¡± While they were still talking, a gunshot rang out in the distance, startling a few birds. Amotion followed and they could hear someone shouting, ¡°Get out of the way! Out of the way! It¡¯s a leopard!¡± ¡°There¡¯s a leopard!¡± ¡®What?¡¯ Gu Yu moved a bit closer and raised his head. There, in the middle of the crowd, a shadow was indeed going on a rampage. A starving clouded leopard had ventured near the camp for food. A soldier on patrol spotted the big cat and took a shot, but missed the target. The enraged clouded leopard went into a frenzy andnced itself into the camp, apparently determined to turn everything upside down. Several gunmen hesitated on the side, afraid of identally injuring one of their own. Someone even brought out a, nning to throw it onto the beast¡¯s head. Seeing that the leopard was extremely fast and almost reached the center of the camp, Gu Yu was ready to activate his magical instrument. Before he could take the action, another semi-bestial roar came from somewhere. ¡°Growl!¡± Immediately after that, a dark, humanoid figure dropped down andnded with a thud. It blocked the way of the beast. The clouded leopard pounced at it with its mouth open wide, ready to bite. The thing stood motionless. Only when the leopard was almost at its face did it reach out with ramrod-straight arms and clutch the animal between its hands like an eagle snatching a chicken, or an adult holding a kid by the neck. The leopard was subdued in the blink of an eye; the beast was petrified. The next second, the enormous body of the clouded leopard was torn in half by sheer force, as if it was nothing but a piece of rotten meat. The entrails sshed all over the ground; it was a most gory scene. ¡°Barf!¡± Immediately, onlookers who could not stand the violence started vomiting. That thing, on the other hand, stood motionless again after killing the leopard. No one dared to go near it. Right at that moment, a team of people emerged from a mountain trail, all capable- and vigorous-looking. The leader of the team called out, ¡°The First Division of Operation Department, BIMAUP, is here asmanded!¡± ¡®Huh?¡¯ Gu Yu blinked and could not help but look at the neers. His eyes flitted past the team leader and fixed right upon the person behind him. It was a spare, pale young man with a forbidding, saturnine look¡­ Gu Yu had recognized an old friend. Chapter 149 Chapter 149: The Authorized Goon Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Gu Yu was mildly surprised, for the man was none other than that young priest of Lower Mao Mountain, Li Suchun himself. It had been half a year since he and Xiaozhai dumped the zombie into theke and walked away, leaving Li Suchun and Wang Ruoxu behind. Now that they met again, Li Suchun seemed maturer to Gu Yu. Gloomy he might be as before, but overall, Li Suchun appeared much more level-headed now. It did not require a genius to figure out that Li and Wang must have been incorporated and carefully trained by the government after that incident. From the look of it, Li Suchun was now a member of BIMAUP¡¯s Operation Department. ¡°Just about time. We could really use an extra hand with the defense work right now. We¡¯ve already set up living quarters for you guys.¡± ¡°Yes, we will do as instructed!¡± The leader of the Operation Department team met briefly with the captain of the guards, then beckoned the young priest over and introduced him, ¡°This is Li Suchun. He has just joined us.¡± ¡°Oh! Hello, nice to meet you!¡± The captain had obviously heard about the young priest before. He weed thetter with enthusiasm and curiosity as he offered his hand and grinned. ¡°d to have you here. We¡¯re depending on you to keep everyone safe around here.¡± ¡°Hm!¡± Li Suchun replied the greeting awkwardly, squeezing out the single syble from between his teeth. It sounded so cold and frigid that one would not be surprised if the word would drop to the ground with a tter. ¡®Wow! Is that hand even human?¡¯ Shaking Li Suchun¡¯s hand, the captain felt a chill boring through his skin and flesh, seeping all the way into his bones. He almost shuddered at the sensation. Of course, he managed to fight it back and kept his good manner. To be honest, they all had mixed feelings towards these colleagues (more like goons) recruited ¡°out of leniency¡±. As much as they had to depend on these people, they were also taking precautions around them. They envied their abilities, but would also sneer at those in secret. Especially with people like Li Suchun, who just had to pick¡ªof all things¡ªa zombie to y with! Eew! Gross! After exchanging some pleasantries, the neers went away to settle themselves in while stoves were switched on in the kitchen for some extra dishes. There was going to be a simple reception in honor of the new crew. Gu Yu tagged along as a bystander the entire time, steering clear of the business. He found it somewhat strange, though, for when the team left, Li Suchun fixed his gaze upon him for quite a while. There was something weird about that look. ¡®Come on, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re BFFs!¡¯ He soon forgot about it and returned to his room promptly after dinner, ready to talk to Xiaozhai. There was no signal this deep in the mountains and it was toote to set up a switch tower now. Instead, the team hade up with various gadgets, which just managed to enable phone calls and an inte connection, although the reception was by no means stable. Many encounters in this world felt predestined. It was like a white-skirt girl falling into the arms of a white-shirt boy 1 , raw salmon being served together with wasabi, and the cave hunter that ran into the perfect starfish. Let¡¯s just say, certain rendezvous was sure to proceed into the passionate exchange of body fluids. This pair, nevertheless, was of a rare species. After that night when they finally ¡°tied the knot¡±, everything had been going on as before. They were not moving into the same bed, nor was there a second ¡°intimate encounter¡±. There wasn¡¯t even any additional physical contact on a daily basis. They had been acting so normal that Long Qiu waspletely unaware of the change in their rtionship. With the temperament of these two people, they couldn¡¯t act cloying even if they tried. Of course, they did care about each other and had agreed on the frequency they should get in touch and report the recent development on either side¡ªthat was the only way, for Xiaozhai had no reception on her side either. ¡°Hello, hello¡­¡± With all the ¡°thisshig¡± and ¡°rrrerrk¡±ing out of the earpiece, it sounded like a circus on the other end of the line. It took a while for the voice to be discernible. ¡°Hey, what are you doing there?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m drinking.¡± ¡°What about Xiao Qiu?¡± ¡°She¡¯s enjoying her skewers.¡± ¡°Ugh, are you in Bai Town?¡± He blinked. ¡°Nope, we¡¯re in Five Dragons Ridge. We¡¯re going to the hot springster. I booked us a spa hotel here.¡± Drinking, eating skewers, and a spa hotel¡­ Gu Yu looked around his shabby room, feeling a familiar headache returning. ¡°Pardon me for asking, Sis, but have I mistaken the meaning of ¡®opening hearts to each other¡¯?¡± ¡°Nope, you are right on the spot. It¡¯s just I¡¯ve taken advantage of the ¡®opening heart¡¯ asion and nned to have some fun.¡± ¡®I knew it!¡¯ He had regretted asking already. She was still able to finesse him into speechlessness with minimal effort. Gu Yu¡¯s brain was spinning as he tried toe up with a retort. At that moment, there was a sudden knock on the door. ¡°Someone¡¯s here. That¡¯s all, then. I¡¯m all fine over here!¡± He hung up in a hurry and went to answer it. It was Li Suchun. He was d in ck, which wrapped tightly around him, entuating his lean figure. ¡°Can I help you?¡± Gu Yu was surprised to find him outside. ¡°¡­¡± The young priest pursed his lips and remained silent. Gu Yu could not tell if he was unwilling or unable to answer that question. There was an odd look on his face as well. Gu Yu could tell that behind that fair countenance were ambivalence, bemusement, and expectation that Li Suchun was trying his best to conceal. ¡°Haha, why don¡¯t youe in?¡± Gu Yu smiled and let him enter. He then asked, as if in passing, ¡°You knew it was me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen your photos.¡± Li Suchun answered as he entered the room, his voice low, hoarse, and cold. ¡°Oh, no wonder.¡± Gu Yu was wearing a mask back when they met in Iron Mountain and Li Suchun did not get to look at his face there, hence that question. They both sat down and Gu Yu offered him a ss of water, then asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your zombie?¡± ¡°In the woods. I don¡¯t want it to scare people.¡± ¡°Is it the same one or have you got a new one?¡± ¡°It¡¯s new.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Gu Yu was suddenly interested. He had no idea how the Corpse-refining Technique worked, but he knew well enough that making zombies were not child¡¯s y. In order to refine a corpse, one had to find a person with a birth chart of Yin quality, who had also died on a Yin hour. Only after the corpse was able to stay undposed after several days would it meet the requirements. It was sheer luck that Li Suchun ran into Grandma Ge, for it was almost statistically impossible to find such corpse. The authorities had invested heavily to train him. Gu Yu only knew Li Suchun as a young man who had been forsaken by the world and was now offered amnesty by the government. That was it. As for whether he liked the young priest or not, if thetter had left him any good impression, or any other such petty discretions, well, they were non-existent. The reason was the same as before: he barely knew the kid! That was not how Li Suchun felt. Despite having only met Gu Yu once, that unexpected glimpse had left him astounded. To Li Suchun, the man simply flicked his sleeves and left as soon as he finished his business; no one would ever be able to stop him. Later, when he was in BIMAUP, he heard further news about the man, especially on the negotiations: this man had grabbed a mountain away from the state! ¡®Wow!¡¯ He was bing an admirer. However, with his temperament being changed drastically and the fact that he used to wear a gloomy and cold face after dealing with zombies all this time, he would never let that emotion show. The conversation went on awkwardly. Gu Yu¡¯s attention was never on Li Suchun himself and he ended up blurting out, ¡°If it is all right with you, can I have a look at the zombie?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Li Suchun¡¯s eyes flickered; there was something inexplicable in them. They left the lodging right away. Walking past rows of makeshift houses, they headed towards the woods in the distance. Trees and weeds on both banks had long been cleaned out. As the station expanded, the facilities were also improved and perfected. By now, they were going to start setting up a public bathhouse. The woods were beyond the perimeter of the camp and quite a long walk away. With Li Suchun leading the way, Gu Yu sauntered after him. The feeling of something being off grew stronger as he walked further out. Being the on the periphery of the camp, this area should be patrolled and posted with sentries around the clock. However, not a single soul was around tonight. It was as if they had left the ground vacant on purpose. ¡°¡­¡± Turning the idea in his head, Gu Yu realized what was going on immediately. When he looked at the back of the thin figure in front of him again, he suddenly felt uneasy. Chapter 150 Chapter 150: Exchanging Blows Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The two stopped outside the woods, which was already some distance away from the camp. The terrain here was fairly t and open. Illuminated by the lights from afar, the surroundings were not in aplete darkness. Li Suchun pinched his fingers together inmand and called out in a low voice. With the rustling sounds of the branches and leaves, a shadow sped out of the still woods. It had rushed out in an imposing manner. Thending, however, was rather soft. Only a thinyer of dust was raised. This single move alone was evident enough for Gu Yu to realize the improvement in its capability. He did not pay much attention to the incident earlier that day. Now that he had the chance to observe the thing closely, he noticed that there was indeed something exceptional about it. d in a ck robe, the zombie had its face covered. It was taller and more heavily-built than the granny previously and Gu Yu presumed it to be the corpse of an adult male. Both of its hands were out of the cuffs. Unlike the sharp, long nails before, this one had short fingernails, giving the hands a look closer to that of normal person¡¯s. It stood there, rigid and noiseless¡ªa being somewhere between life and death. Surrounding it was a pure, denseyer of fluctuating Yin energy. ¡°Can I take a look at its face?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Li Suchun paused, then removed the mask. Behind it was the face of a man in his thirties. It had fierce and tough features with an angr bone structure. Gu Yu seemed to notice a scar on its left side, stretching all the way from the brow ridge to the corner of the mouth. He had no idea who this man was, but was certain that it must have been someone ruthless. It was amazing that the government managed to scoop this one up. Gu Yu took another turn around the zombie andmended wholeheartedly, ¡°It¡¯s incredible!¡± ¡°You know this stuff?¡± Li Suchun found his remark strange. ¡°Not really. But I can tell that you¡¯re on the right track.¡± It was not all that difficult to arrive at that conclusion. The zombie refined from Grandma Ge¡¯s corpse was a shuffling-through job. Being a fugitive during that period also did not leave much time for Li Suchun to train his zombie. Now that the government was buttressing him with all sorts of resources, he was able to improve the zombie at a steady pace. The previous zombie was like a knockoffpared to this one standing before them. As malicious as the Corpse-refining Technique seemed, it was still a legitimate Taoist skill. One should not underestimate its capability once the practitioner reached the perfection of the skill. ¡°The Corpse-refining Technique of my sect is divided into six levels: white, iron, bronze, silver, golden, and the highest level which is already lost. At the bronze level, the zombie is able to exhibit some intelligence. It is said that the golden corpses are no different from living people.¡± Li Suchun was secretly ttered by thepliment and made a rare effort to borate on the exnation. ¡°The one before was a white corpse. It was only showing the power of an iron corpse because of the evil spirit of Metal. This one is not like that. It has really risen in its level.¡± ¡°Oh? In that case, I¡¯m looking forward to the day when it bes a golden corpse¡­¡± Gu Yu grinned and darted another look at Li Suchun, then announced suddenly, ¡°So, enough with the small talk. Bring it on.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Li Suchun was speechless for a few seconds, feeling exposed under Gu Yu¡¯s gaze; the man seemed to have seen through his every move, including the midnight visit, his deliberation in luring Gu Yu here, and in a few minutes, his own ¡°reasonable¡± suggestion in apetition, had it not been for the fact that Gu Yu beat him to it. ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it. I actually want to see what it¡¯s capable of as well. Just think it as a friendly match.¡± As if he was reading his mind, Gu Yu even threw in a few words to console him. ¡°¡­¡± What else could Li Suchun do but purse his lips in acquiescence? ¡°I¡¯m ready when you are!¡± Kicking the ground with the tip of his toe, Gu Yu flitted backwards for several meters. His feet then rested on the ground, rxed and steady at the same time. He kept his back slightly hunched, which was the most suitable position to prepare for charging. ¡°Go!¡± The clear voice rang out and instantaneously, a shadow rapidly filled Gu Yu¡¯s sight. An iparably overbearing and crushing power mmed at him with the momentum like a falling mountain, raising a shrill gust of wind with it. Gu Yu had started the fight in order to try the zombie out, so he neither dodged nor activated his magical instrument, but took the zombie head on with his physical strength alone. ¡°Boom!¡± His fist jammed right on the zombie¡¯s chest and he felt as if he had hit a tough steel te. The strong counterforce sent him stumbling back, thumping. ¡°Growl!¡± The zombie roared and leapt forward rapidly. Ten sharp ck ws flipped out of its fingertips, reminding him of the w sheaths of beasts. The glowing ws flickered and their movement seemed to have woven out an escape-proof, ready to tear Gu Yu into pieces. Gu Yu dared not take it by force. With a nimble twirling movement, he arrived at the back of the zombie and struck out with an open palm. The exertion of force hit the target full-on, the impact sending the zombie into mid-air. Li Suchun made a finger gesture hurriedly and shouted, ¡°Freeze!¡± Then, he shouted again, ¡°Go!¡± ¡®Hm? That¡¯s interesting.¡¯ Gu Yu frowned slightly, for a faint, gloomy chill was boring into the skin of his hand, which was instantly ¡°dissolved¡± by his internal spiritual essence. Back then when he beat the zombie contaminated by the evil spirit of Metal, it was a prickling sensation he felt. Tonight, the Yin energy was able to prate into his body. From the look of it, zombies were not only depending on their physical strength, but were able to attack with a unique method. That was spectacr, for such characteristic was what enabled the zombie to fight against cultivators as their equals. ¡°Again!¡± Gu Yu was in high spirits now. Circting the spiritual essence around his body, he finally focused it onto his right hand. An enormous force was bursting out of his fist. ¡°Boom!¡± The two figures shed again, the extending fist against the brandished ws. The flowing spiritual essence and Yin energy exploded abruptly at where they met, as if a bomb had gone off. Huge clouds of dust rose and flew in the air, which then turned into a small cyclone. Rocks and stones burst apart in the wind, knocking around in the woods making sputters and crackles. ¡°Thump!¡± The impact sent the zombie flying backwards before it smacked into a tree. Contorted, the trunk as thick as the rim of a bowl dished in instantly, from where the trunk started fracturing inch by inch; the cracks spread out at an insane speed. With a crack, the trunk snapped in half. Gu Yu was no better off. He was slightly at disadvantage in terms of physical strength alone. Like a kite with a broken line, he looked rather sorry as he was sent flying into the woods by the st. ¡°Roar!¡± Being one level higher than a white corpse, the iron corpse¡¯s was able to clear up its chaotic mind a little bit and it found what was happening most provocative. Just as it was going to approach the man and tear him into pieces, there came a sound. ¡°Pop!¡± An indescribable whistle ripped through the night air. A tiny green sh swished around its head and drilled through its skull from its forehead to the back of its head. The green sh flickered again and disappeared like a ghost. ¡°Growl!¡± The zombie froze on the spot, snarling and bellowing. Only this time it was not out of anger, but was the result of fear. It was an instinctive terror of destruction! Li Suchun was even more terrified, for the reservoir of Yin energy inside the iron corpse had been ripped open and the energy was pouring out like gushing water. Yin energy was imperative for a zombie. Without it, well, there would not be such a thing as a zombie! Li Suchun hurried to its side. He fumbled out two Yin-gathering Talismans and stuck them onto its forehead. He could only hope that the wound would heal before it lost all of its Yin energy. Turning around, he saw Gu Yu strolling out of the woods while dusting his clothes. Gu Yu then waved at him with vexation. ¡°I think I¡¯ve had enough for one night. I¡¯m off to bed now.¡± And off he went without even looking at Li Suchun. He couldn¡¯t disappear faster. Li Suchun stood dazed where he was as he watched Gu Yu leave. For a moment, it was like he was back at that night in Iron Mountain Reservoir. He felt exactly as before now. *** Gu Yu got back to his room. What had happened was nagging at him. It was so obvious! The discovery of the lode of spiritual stones was making some government officials uneasy. Li Suchun was simply their tool to weigh Gu Yu up. Just as mentioned before, their partnership was a very unstable one. The agreement would be instantly revoked if the stakes on either side increased significantly or something highly profitable showed up. This probing cost him nothing, but it had made him very unhappy. And when he was unhappy, he would ¡°return the favor¡± with equal unhappiness¡ªhe learned that from Xiaozhai. Therefore, he would not just let it drop. He would wait a few days, however. After the preliminary development was finished, it would be time for him to get even and renew the negotiations. Apart from that, Li Suchun also got him thinking: the saddest thing in the world was when when a fellow¡ªbe it an ordinary person, a cultivator, or even an animal¡ªhad no control over their own destiny. Of course, there was always the other side of a coin. With the government as one¡¯s sponsor, many doors would be opened, such as money, fame, resources, etc. In Li Suchun¡¯s case, he was controlling the iron corpse with ease andpletely unlike his old feeble self. He had probably been taught some Qi-nurturing method to improve his strength, as well as toy foundation for future improvements¡ªthat was where the benefity. *** After finally managing to take care of that wound, Li Suchun trudged back to the camp and went straight to the head of their team. The leader had been waiting for his return for some time. He asked eagerly, ¡°Xiao Li, how did it go?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve fought.¡± Leaning against the table, Li Suchun sat down. His face was even paler than usual from the overexertion of energy and a faint stench characteristic to zombies wasing out of him. ¡°¡­¡± Without realizing it, a glimmer of disgust flickered in the leader¡¯s eyes, for who would willingly choose a corpse-controlling fellow as their colleague? Of course, he would not let it show, but only bombarded Li Suchun with questions. ¡°You¡¯ve fought? How did it go? Who won?¡± ¡°In the beginning, he also wanted to sound me out, so it was a tie. He then used that thing and easily beat me,¡± Li Suchun was being very honest. ¡°Did you see it clearly?¡± the leader asked anxiously. ¡°No, it was too fast.¡± ¡°Are you sure? Not even a clue?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ The leader¡¯s face darkened. He went on, ¡°In that case, exactly how capable is he? How long could you hold on if he used that thing from the start?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Li Suchun was silent for a few moments before he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯d be annihted within seconds.¡± ¡®Damn!¡¯ The team leader¡¯s face was turning green, but he could not lose his temper near Li Suchun. It took him a while to fight back the frustration and he squeezed out a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. We appreciate what you did. Hang out with him more often from now on. You¡¯re both cultivators, you must have a lot of things inmon!¡± ¡°Ok. I¡¯ll go back now if there¡¯s nothing else.¡± Li Suchun replied dully, then slowly rose and left the room. *** With a tacit understanding, everyone looked past what had happened that night¡ªeven when they had all seen the mess left in the woods with all the cracked stones, snapped trees and deep holes of footprints. The authorities were utterly embarrassed. They had been fairly confident; they had the iron corpse now! Multiple tests had been ran on it before they sent it here. This zombie was an amazing specimen, both in speed and strength. Even if it could not win, they could live with a draw. As it turned out, Gu Yu¡¯s new weapon was even more spectacr and the zombie was still no match for him. The most frustrating part was that no one had been able to see what the weapon looked like so far. After the incident, the camp was as calm as smooth water and all work continued as if nothing had ever happened. Every day, new reports were sent to the superiors and new instructions sent back. Another week went by like this and at longst, a small achievement concluded this stage of their work. They had finally estimated the reserves of that spiritual stone mine. Chapter 151 Chapter 151: The Regards and the Lost Young Man Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu After a twenty-or-so-day-long survey, the research team announced their preliminary estimation: the reserve of the spiritual stones in Tianzhu Mountain was estimated at 25,400 ton. Centering around the cave, the deposit stretched out for a dozen of kilometers with an uneven density. The ore was buried between 100 to 300 meters underground. In general, it was a shallowyer mine. Exactly how significant was the figure 25,400 tons? Take the province of Annan 1 , where Qian Zhou was located, as an example. The mineral with thergest reserves was coal, which amounted to about 24.6 billion tons, the 7th highest of the country. Iron ore reserves of the province were around 3 billion tons, gold ore 150 tons, and silver ore 1967 tons, which were respectively the 5th, the 10th, and the 19th highest in the country. The figures above proved that the reserves of the spiritual stone were evident enough to set it among the precious metals. One had to realize, however, that silver and gold ores were negotiable and collectable once extracted. The spiritual stones, on the other hand, were consumables; they would cease to exist once used. Not to mention that it also possessed an intrinsic cultivation characteristic, which made it valuable beyond measure. Generally speaking, the scale of mines was categorized by the reserves and scarcity of the minerals. Take coal mines as an example. To be qualified as arge-scale mine required a minimum of five billion tons of reserves and those below one billion tons were deemed small-scale mines. In terms of gold mines, the small-, medium-, andrge-scale rock gold mines were those with reserves of below five, between five to twenty, and above twenty tons respectively. The benchmarks for alluvial gold mines were below two, between two and eight, and above eight tons. However, no such reference was applicable to mining spiritual stones, for the substance was unprecedented. Aparison of scales was only avable after some further digging and extracting. Apart from that, the research team had also circled out and a few kilometers away and divided it into several experimental plots. Fine seeds of various crops such as rice, wheat, bean, tubers, corn, sorghum, millet, etc., had long been sent out here to the base. After a team of agricultural experts arrived, the seeds were sowed right away. Considering the mostmon staple food of the country, they focused mainly on rice. There were paddy rice and und rice. The former was double cropping rice with the first cycle starting between April and May, when the seeds were sowed, and ending towards the end of July, when the crops were harvested. Und rice was single cropping and the sowing time was inte May. Both types would leave them with enough time to maneuver. As for the rest, they also had the ¡°farming¡± of the short-tailed sawfish to busy themselves with, to which there was no need to borate now. All in all, the spiritual stone mine and the agricultural experimental plots were the greatest achievement this time, and the most essential ones as well. *** The camp, inside theb. Two assistants were putting together some research data, while in the inner room, Gu Yu and Qiu Guan were locked in a fierce discussion. ¡°Despite its qualities of cirction and exchangeability, the spiritual stone would not be a new form of currency in the foreseeable future, but a very rare and valuable resource only. Therefore, its criteria don¡¯t have to be watertight. Some rough measurement would do.¡± ¡°How can it be anything but watertight? I need to know everything about them¡ªthe structure of their spiritual essence, the ratio between their reactivity and their mass and volume, and there¡¯s also the corrtion between the purity and the density¡­¡± ¡°Wow! Hold on!¡± Vexed, Gu Yu interrupted Qiu Guan whose face was scarlet with excitement. ¡°I cannot guarantee that I¡¯ll be able to detect all those properties you mentioned. Even if I could, I won¡¯t, because there¡¯s no point measuring them. To me, the stones have only one property, that is the content of the spiritual essence.¡± It was the third concept. The other two were density¡ªmeasuring the spiritual essence itself¡ªand reactivity¡ªmeasuring how the spiritual essence worked on other substances. The ¡°content¡± referred to the spiritual stone itself. With that, he picked up a palm-sized spiritual stoned and exined, ¡°This one, for example¡ªsay we make its content a 10¡ªby cutting it into ten equal pieces, each piece will have a content of 1, because the spiritual essence inside is evenly distributed. This 1 is the smallest unit of a spiritual stone. If we find other lode in the future, we would be able to makeparisons. With the same volume and weight, the higher the content of spiritual essence, the more valuable the stone, obviously.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Qiu Guan smacked his mouth, feeling even more vexed than Gu Yu. That was so crude! However, he had to admit that this simplified method was very practical, at least for the time being. Spiritual stones could not be measured by weight like gold and silver, and neither would numbers work on them like a unit of currency. It was such an abstract concept that the cultivators were its sole audience. That was why Gu Yu¡¯s opinion was imperative. Unless the government could conjure up an ability to examine the spiritual essence themselves, Gu Yu could set up the criteria however they pleased him. Pondering over the idea in his mind, Qiu Guan finally forced himself to ept the proposition. He then asked, ¡°There¡¯s another thing. Will there be wastage during the cutting?¡± ¡°There surely will be, but not too significant. It all depends on how you would want to shape them¡­ wait a minute?¡± Blinking, Gu Yu suddenly turned all enthusiastic as he suggested, ¡°How about we standardize them and make them into sycees 2 ? Future cultivators can use sycees to trade among themselves. That¡¯ll look awesome!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The old man would not dignify that suggestion with a reply. This fellow was reliable enough most of the time, but every now and then, he would suddenly put up an entirely different face, as if he was ying apletely different character. ¡°Knock! Knock! Knock!¡± While they were still talking, there came a knock on the door and an assistant entered. ¡°Sir, Professor Qin needs you there. He said there was an instruction from above.¡± ¡°In the canteen?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I see. We¡¯ll be there in a minute.¡± He stood up and was ready to leave with Gu Yu. However, thetter remained seated and eyed Qiu Guan back in surprise. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me. I don¡¯t take orders from them.¡± ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re unbelievable!¡± The old man jabbed his finger in the air at Gu Yu and left alone. After hanging around with Gu Yu for the past month, the old man actually found him rather impressive. There was only one thing that he could not look past: Gu Yu¡¯s rtionship with the government, which rmed Qiu Guan greatly. He was a pure researcher and wanted nothing to do with politics. He secretly felt sorry for the young fellow. *** ¡°Is everyone here? Let¡¯s begin, then.¡± In the canteen, Professor Qin, the other chief consultant, was seated at the front facing a room full of researchers. ¡°I¡¯ve just received a document from above and thought it to be some instruction. As it turned out, it was apliment addressing all of us from the top leader himself.¡± He smiled. ¡°Wow!¡± The room rippled with mild excitement¡ªeveryone was surprised by the announcement. Qiu Guan winced as well. Even the top leader was aware of the project; the superiors attached much more importance to this than he¡¯d expected. ¡°Ahem! I¡¯ll start reading the letter.¡± Professor Qin cleared his throat and read off a card. ¡°Dearrades, how time flew by. You have been in the mountains for nearly a month now and I¡¯m concerned about your well-being all the time. You have made great achievements in such limited time, which we will remember and for which we shall always be grateful. This project might be more time-consuming than expected, so much that three or five years might flit past before anybody realizes. I understand the hardships you endure, but I do hope everyone would be able to perceive the imperative nature of your work, whose significance is so prominent that the development and evolution of the society as a whole is concerned. As the saying goes, in unity the victory lies. Let¡¯s unite in a concerted effort and build ourselves a brighter future together!¡± ¡°p! p! p!¡± A storm of apuse set the rafters ringing, everyone was exhrated. That was the recognition they expected for their career in the academic research world. A card from the top leader himself was fulfilment enough for everyone¡¯s vanity and sense of achievement. ¡°Ok, calm down. You can savor the excitement back in your own rooms. There¡¯s one more thing¡­ in a few days, a team will be visiting us with regards from above. From what I¡¯ve heard, there will be some very high-ranking officials. The condition of the camp affects the chance of reception. So, keep your heads up and show them your spirits!¡± Professor Qin instructed the team, then turned to Qiu Guan. ¡°Old Qiu, do you want to add anything?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Ok, you¡¯re dismissed.¡± With that, the crowd shuffled out of the canteen until there were only Professor Qin and Qiu Guan left. The cheerfulness from earlier had all gone and their faces looked somewhat grave. ¡°Old Qin, isn¡¯t that a bit rushed?¡± Qiu Guan asked suddenly. ¡°Rushed? How about ridiculously impatient!¡± Professor Qin was more insightful with the matter. He was emphatic and apprehensive as he went on, ¡°I understand their eagerness. The early batch of rice will take at most three months to harvest after sowing, which means we¡¯ll get the results in July. I too would be too excited to sleep and hanging on the news if I were them.¡± ¡°If it worked out, how do you think they¡¯ll distribute it?¡± Qiu Guan asked. ¡°Is there a second way? Of course by ranks and positions, starting from the top of the pyramid. An emperor can never have enough rtives¡­ well, well, that¡¯s not for people in our position to worry about.¡± Professor Qin brushed over the matter and smiled. ¡°The good news is, however advanced those ¡®things¡¯ be, this world will still need technology to keep the wheels turning.¡± ¡°Sigh, I can¡¯t disagree with you on that,¡± sighed Qiu Guan. It had been some time since they arrived here. To be honest, what they found so far had taken quite a toll on the entire research crew, for the need of science and technology had been suppressed to a minimal level and the power of the team was shifting towards logistics and auxiliaries. What was more, the key to their studies nowy on a single individual. It was uneptable to the scientists. The jolly show Professor Qin put up just then by reading the regards aloud was also to encourage the team. They needed to realize that their work here meant they would not be leaving this year or the next; they would probably still be stationed here in three or four years. And they needed to be psychologically prepared for that. *** Meanwhile, by the river. Gu Yu was sitting on a discarded stone with a fire at his feet, over which strutted two roasted fish¡ªthe short-tailed sawfish, of course. The giant heads had been removed and the remaining 15-cm-long bodies were skewered¡ªquite a sorry-looking picture, from the perspective of the fish. Our fellow looked perfectly rxed as he sprinkled the fish with salt and chilli powder from time to time, paying no attention to the guards who were eyeing him with grievance. And eyeing was their only option, for no one but Gu Yu could tamper with the fish, deeming him the sole sawfish-eater around here. Qiu Guan had berated Gu Yu for that on multiple asions, but to no avail. Gu Yu even felt sorry for not thinking of trying one thest time they were here¡ªan epicurean our fellow was indeed. ¡°Sizzle!¡± ¡°Fizzle!¡± The me licked at the belly of the fish, soon turning the skin golden; a pleasant aroma rose from it. Gu Yu picked up a skewer and set his teeth ready when he heard footstepsing from behind. He chuckled, ¡°You¡¯re not at the meeting?¡± ¡°No.¡± Li Suchun moved closer and sat down on another rock. He then stared at the other fish in silence. Gu Yu had no intention of treating him, because the fish had not been tested and they did not know how well could an average person take it. Instead, he said, ¡°So, I guess socializing isn¡¯t exactly your thing. I don¡¯t see you eating in the canteen much.¡± ¡°I smell of dead body¡­¡± Li Suchun replied in differently, in a matter-of-fact sort of tone. ¡°In that case, you should learn to cook. At least don¡¯t abuse your own stomach.¡± Gu Yu was not going to pour the youth any chicken soup for the soul, he only chuckled. ¡°I suppose you¡¯ll still be around for a while. It¡¯s almost time for me to leave.¡± ¡°When?¡± ¡°Soon. I¡¯m waiting for someone from above to remunerate mybor.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Chit-chat was apparently not Li Suchun¡¯s forte. He paused and switched to apletely irrelevant subject. ¡°What do you want to do after you go back?¡± ¡°Me?¡± Gu Yu took a bite of the fish and said, ¡°Nothing specially, really. Cultivate together with my girlfriend, I think.¡± ¡°That clown?¡± He meant the opera mask she wore. ¡°Haha, the clown! That¡¯s her all right! Our current goal is to outlive our usefulness and turn into a couple of old and undead creatures. Oh, I forgot about the girl living with us. So, three old and undead creatures. ¡± ¡°¡­¡± Li Suchun was unmoved. Either he could not be bothered, or he did not get Gu Yu¡¯s dumb joke. ¡°What about you? What are you going to do?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°Haven¡¯t thought about it.¡± ¡°Not even a goal?¡± ¡°Goal¡­¡± Li Suchun¡¯s eyes flickered, revealing a glimmer of vacant and dispirited look. ¡°Don¡¯t think yourself as someone who has lost their freedom. There¡¯s a lot of things you can do.¡± Gu Yu finished a fish and said casually, ¡°For example, you can improve your capability and create more powerful zombies. You had a master, didn¡¯t you? Where did you bury him? Don¡¯t you want to give him a grand funeral and rebuild the reputation of your sect?¡± ¡°Master¡­¡± The words finally cracked the indifferent look on Li Suchun¡¯s face and he started mumbling to himself repeatedly, ¡°I want to give him a grand funeral; I want to rebuild my sect¡­¡± ¡°Ssh!¡± Gu Yu jabbed the iron prod into the water and brought out another fish the next second. He strutted it above the fire. ¡°There, you¡¯ve got yourself an aspiration!¡± Chapter 152 Chapter 152: Reward Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°The rice we sowed here is the fifth-generation, double cropping super rice. The yield was surveyed and the breed checked and epted only two years ago in Mei Zhou. The average yields of dry rice per mu ofte and early rice are 705.68 kg and 832.1 kg respectively, which is equivalent to an annual yield of 1537.78 kg per mu¡­ the rice we have chosen here is und rice, also from a newest breed. The survey of its yield was carried outst year when the breed was epted; the yield per mu has exceeded 900 kg.¡± In the agriculture section of the base, six team members of the goodwill mission were touring around the experimental rice plot. Qiu Guan and Professor Qin escorted them while exining various facts patiently. ¡°What¡¯s your estimated yield of these plots?¡± an official in charge suddenly asked after the introduction. ¡°Well, because the issue was an unprecedented one, we could only treat it with the optimal nting technology and experience. As for the yield¡­¡± Professor Qin paused before he went on, ¡°It is impossible to give an urate estimation. We could only suggest an expected number, which is a third of the current criterion.¡± ¡°A third? Why is the discrepancy so big?¡± Someone frowned. ¡°I say, that¡¯s the right attitude.¡± The official expressed his understanding, ¡°It¡¯s the same case as animals in the natural world¡ªthe more powerful ones are always less fecund¡ªnot to mention that it¡¯s the soil we are trying to make use of here. We can¡¯t say for sure that we would be able to harvest anything at all. It¡¯s a tough battle and we need to be prepared for the worst. No blind optimism.¡± ¡°Ipletely agree with you. We¡¯ll do our best,¡± chimed in Professor Qin immediately. It was noughing matter. This official was high-ranked enough to represent the state¡¯s will to some extent, whose intention was more than obvious. Strategically, they were eager to see the result; tactically, they would y for safety, even to the point of hiding from the spotlight. They then walked around the sections of wheat, tubers, and other crops in turn before returning to the camp. The official dismissed most of the entourage, then summoned the captain of the guards and the leader of the Operation Department team for a confidential talk. ¡°How is our Mr. Gu?¡± ¡°He¡¯s doing fine ever since he came into the mountains with us, nothing out of the ordinary. Right now, I think he¡¯s fishing somewhere.¡± ¡°Haha, I was told he was very keen on eating fish, never thought he was into fishing as well.¡± The officialughed. ¡°Well, this man is a bit old-school in his character and hobbies¡­¡± The team leader looked for the right words before he went on, ¡°He¡¯s not like your average 22-year-olds. He¡¯s also quite weird to hang around on a daily basis.¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s mild most of the time, but could make people feelpelled every now and then,¡± added the captain. ¡°How so?¡± ¡°This might sound inappropriate, but on our first day here when weunched a boat into the water and he helped us with getting rid of the weird fish, there was a moment when I felt that I was facing a, uh, creature of a, a superior form of life.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± The official winced and was lost in his thought. He was silent for a long while. ¡°Do you want to meet him?¡± the captain asked gingerly. ¡°Not yet. I¡¯m just here to call on everyone and supervise the work in passing. He¡¯s irrelevant.¡± The official waved his hand to stop the others from interrupting and continued, ¡°I know there is some form of agreement between you and him, but don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll have someone to deal with that.¡± ¡°Oh, d to hear that¡­ if there¡¯s nothing else, we¡¯ll go back to our posts.¡± The two were secretly wiping away the cold sweat as they turned to leave. Anything could happen and they were afraid of the worst. If those above decided not to pay the man for his work, he could well go ballistic the next minute and turn the base to rubble! *** With the nearingpletion of the preliminary development of the node, Gu Yu¡¯s work here was alsoing to an end. He was only needed for data collecting on the spiritual essence and what happened after that was none of his business. Therefore, life was idle for him right now. He was spending his days wandering around, or exchanging some small talk with Li Suchun. At the moment, the fellow was strolling back from ake a couple of kilometers away with a fishing pole in hand. It was a makeshift one¡ªhe had snapped a twig and sliced it into a thin strip, then made the hook out of a curled iron wire and dug out some earthworm as the bait. Things like the reel or bobber were non-existent. He did not care if he could catch anything at all. He was only killing time with it¡­ well, in Xiaozhai¡¯s words, he was enjoying an early retirement as a cultivator. ¡°Smack!¡± Gu Yu reached his own lodging and tossed the fishing pole aside. He sensed someone was inside before even entering the room. Pushing open the door casually, he saw another acquaintance from before¡ªWang Qi, the buddy he met back in Urumqi. ¡°Hello, Mr. Gu, long time no see.¡± Wang Qi rose to his feet right away with a smile. ¡°I didn¡¯t know when you would be back and took the liberty toe in first. I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°I knew it was you! Please sit down!¡± Gu Yu poured himself a ss of water from the jug on the table and talked while sipping the water, ¡°You people are very clear-cut in your responsibilities. Zhang Hongru is the stalker and you the negotiator. You¡¯re not exactly on schedule, though. I should be paid on time, even if I¡¯m just the help.¡± ¡°We needed to discuss it first. I apologize for that.¡± Wang Qi was unaffected by theint and remained smiling. ¡°I¡¯ve heard it all in the capital. It was thanks to Mr. Gu¡¯s contribution that we were able to reach such a great achievement. Please ept my gratitude.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just cut to the chase. Shall we talk here or somewhere else?¡± All the pleasantries bored Gu Yu. ¡°Wherever you think fit. I would suggest somewhere else, though. We should try to avoid any eavesdropping and it¡¯s too noisy here.¡± ¡°Sure, I happen to know a quiet spot.¡± With that, they walked out of the room. It was dusk time and the sun was half-set. People were bustling about on either side of the river in the rumbling of the machines. It was indeed very noisy. Gu Yu led the way and walked to the west, away from the camp. Wang Qi realized the woods around them were getting thicker as they walked on remoter roads. They finally stopped at the foot of a cliff. ¡°Here?¡± He looked around, finding it hard to keep an indifferent face. ¡°It¡¯s quiet, and the view¡¯s nice.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no vi-¡± Halfway through his sentence, he felt a hand grabbing at his shoulder and he was lifted away from the ground against gravity. He was rising higher, almost like flying. ¡°Wheeze!¡± Wind whistled in his ears and he was floating in a semi-conscious state. When he came to himself again, Wang Qi realized he was standing on a protruding rock. It was not very sizeable, just about enough for three people to sit cross-legged. Unknown nts grew around the rock. Looking up, he saw the cliff domineering over them. ¡°Lucky you, just in time to see the sunset¡­¡± Gu Yu pointed with his chin, motioning Wang Qi to look ahead. Without realizing it, Wang Qi looked up and splendid colors filled his sight. The space between heaven and earth seemed to have divided into three distinctive sections, which also felt perfectly fused together. The bottom part was a shade of dim, light gray, which was the bustling camp;yers uponyers of trees tinted with a mixture of yellow and green filled the middle section; over on the top was a smear of clouds in the clear sky and the nting sun was shining through it. ¡°¡­¡± Wang Qi was speechless. After years of trudging through a bureaucratic career, he could not remember when was thest time he witnessed such a wonder. It was quite some timeter when he regained hisposure, his tone a mixture of smiling, sighing and resignation. ¡°Mr. Gu, this¡­ sigh¡­¡± ¡°Why all the sighing? Quiet enough here? Let¡¯s talk.¡± At ease, Gu Yu sat down with his back against the stonewall and stretched out his legs. Needless to say, here was where he visited to consume essences. ¡°My principles have not changed¡ªwhat I want and what I can provide versus what you want and what you can give in return. It¡¯s lessplicated this time, though, because my work here is done and you¡¯ve got what you wanted. So, we just need to agree on my reward.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯d like to hear your terms first.¡± ¡°Sure. I want 3% of the spiritual stones to be extracted.¡± Unblinking, Gu Yu set his price. ¡°Mr. Gu, even if we¡¯re seesawing through unreasonable offers and counter-offers, your term is way too exorbitant.¡± It was amazing that Wang Qi could stay cool and not jump to his feet with anger. 3% of the 25,400 tons of stones would amount to 762 tons! The truth was, with strategic resources such as the spiritual stone, the state would not part with any single piece if they could help it! ¡°Don¡¯t say no yet, I haven¡¯t finished.¡± Gu Yu waved at him and went on. ¡°I would like to have the seeds and nting technology of that rice of yours, and a portion of those short-tailed sawfish, too. I also need your help in finding some materials.¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Wang Qi was so angry that he burst intoughter. ¡°Mr. Gu, are you trying to make fun of me? However important you think you are, don¡¯t act so reassured and emboldened.¡± ¡°I believe you¡¯ve misused an idiom 1 there. Let me remind you of something¡ªour cooperation is a long-term one. Even if you manage to recreate the rice and the fish, I am the one to judge if they¡¯re useful or not. And it¡¯s just Tianzhu Mountain you¡¯ve covered so far. Have you forgotten about Mount Emei?¡± Gu Yu kept his gaze and his ground. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Despite his unaffected expression, Wang Qi felt as if he had just been punched on the stomach. Luck was not on his side. All Gu Yu had was his ability to detect the spiritual essence. The government did not have a clear understanding of its importance back in Urumqi. With the surfacing of various resources, however, the significance of a certain fellow peaked. Nheless, the government had its own bottom line, which was the percentage of the spiritual stones it would give up. After all, Gu Yu had done them a great favor and needed rewarding, only not with so high a price. Gu Yu¡¯s reasoning was quite simple. He needed reserves of the spiritual stones no matter what, for they were rare resources. It was a much more peaceful negotiation with both sides having their tempers under control. Under the setting sun, the two bickered about every trivial thing like two aunties shopping in an open market. Finally, they reached an agreement. After the research team extracted and standardized them, Gu Yu would receive a payment in full of 20,000 spiritual stones. Yup, you heard it right: 20,000 pieces, not tons. Gu Yu had agreed on a basic criterion with Qiu Guan, which was that a spiritual stone with a content of 1 was about the size of a duck¡¯s egg and weighed about 250 g. Under such standard, 20,000 stones would amass to about half a ton. The research team estimated the first-year yield at around 400,000 kg. Be aware that it was the weight of the crude stones only. The figure would be smaller after they were cut into standardized spiritual stones. Then came the agreement on the seeds and nting technology. Gu Yu had abandoned the idea of raising the strange fish, for he was not sure they would survive back in Phoenix Mountain. Lastly, the government had agreed to help him with collecting some unusual materials, which Gu Yu would keep for refining instruments in the future. How would the government know what was unusual? Well, if a thing appeared odd and scientific equipment could not detect any special quality, then it must be unusual. *** The two returned to the camp afterwards. Wang Qi headed straight to the lounge of that official and after a lengthy report, he concluded, ¡°It¡¯s a major issue. As long as we do not have a high-level cultivator of our own, we will forever be dependent on him. We will always be led by the nose.¡± ¡°I agree. It¡¯s the key issue. We finally have something to build on, thanks to this project¡­¡± The official sighed after listening to Wang Qi. ¡°Send the report. Let those above know that it seems we¡¯re initiating the training program ahead of schedule.¡± Chapter 153 Chapter 153: An Invitation Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Jiang Zhou, Qionglong Mountain. The innermost courtyard of Shangzhen Temple was quiet, secluded, and pervaded with a hint of sadness. The early morning sun had lit up this corner nicely. With shuffling footsteps, a man entered the yard from the back rooms. He wrapped his clothes tighter around himself and started his physical training. Striding out following the pattern of Gang of Divine Tiger, he swiped his fists forcefully across the air with a mighty momentum. A few momentster, his manner changed abruptly as he loosened his fists into open palms and his movements softened with it. Now, he wasbining his force with a touch of softness and exerted a series of unbroken movements whose conciseness wasplimented by an implicit subtlety. The man was none other than Tan Chongdai, the abbot of Qionglong Mountain Sect. The exercise he followed was the refined version of a body-tempering technique Xiaozhai taught him. There were sixteen movements in total and the old priest trained himself diligently every day without fail; he would cut himself no ck. ¡°Thump!¡± Ready to wrap up after carrying out several sets of movements, Tan Chongdai was still in high spirits andnded hisst palm strike on a tree. He had intentionally withheld his strength, but the trunk¡ªso thick that one could just get their arms around¡ªstill shuddered, shaking down quite a few leaves with a rustle. ¡°Ha¡­¡± It was only then that he exhaled and finished his morning exercise. He felt his body full of vigor; he was glowing with health, which was in stark contrast to his old and feeble look ofst year. All cultivators had to some extent an awareness of when their time was up. Right now, he could detect distinctively that his aged body was revitalized, extending his time on earth for at least a few more years. This achievement alone was more than enough for him to look past the grudge between him and Xiaozhai. ¡°Tap! Tap! Tap!¡± Wiping away his sweat, Tan Chongdai was about to go back to his room and set the stove for his breakfast when a knock came from outside. The rusty brass knocker tapped against the wooden door, making a rather abrupt noise in the silent early morning. ¡°Who is it?¡± Drawing back the bolt, Tan Chongdai looked up and found Qin Yunfeng, the chairman of the local Taoist association, outside. Qin was a rotund sort of man. He wore sses and looked nothing like a Taoist priest. He greeted Tan Chongdai at once. ¡°Oh my, have I disturbed the senior priest¡¯s exercise? Good morning! Such a nice day!¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± Tan Chongdai¡¯s face darkened; it was a look of utter disdain. It was thanks to the instructions of this man that his Shangzhen Temple was contracted out. And because of Tan¡¯s unwillingness to cooperate, the old man had to endure quite a few shady games from the association. The regr allowance for Taoist priests, for example, was dyed on purpose all the time. Tan Chongdai had to visit the office in person and endure much bureaucratic crap from Qin Yunfeng to get the money. Tan Chongdai¡¯s opinion towards this man could be summarized with a single word: disgusting ! Right now, however, Qin Yunfeng could not put on a smile wide enough as he handed over an invitation with cloud design and the eight diagrams. ¡°I know, I know, I¡¯m not weed here. But I¡¯vee to deliver this invitation for you. Please have a look.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Tan Chongdai was slightly surprised. He opened the card and saw that it contained three lines only. ¡°The Great Dao treasures human lives and kindness knows no boundary in saving other people. Our humble sect is holding an impartment and blessing ceremony entitled ¡®Benefiting the world through the Great Dao, spreading the knowledge to all corners of the world¡¯ from June 20 to June 26. The reputation of the great virtue of yours has travelled wide and far and we will be honored to have your high reputation and glorious name with us. We hereby send our invitation with respect.¡± His eyes then moved to the signature of the sender, which said ¡°residence of the Celestial Master, Longhu Mountain¡±! ¡°This¡­¡± Tan Chongdai¡¯s heart lurched. He asked immediately, ¡°Are all sub-sects of Zhengyi invited?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I heard.¡± ¡°But the ceremonies of previous years were never of such a scale. Why is this year different?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got me there. May I have a reply from you first? Are you going?¡± Qin Yunfeng asked. ¡°¡­¡± After a moment of pondering, Tan Chongdai answered, ¡°I will attend on time.¡± ¡°Great! We¡¯ll arrange the transportation in due course. I¡¯ll leave you in peace, then.¡± Qin Yunfeng was forthright and left promptly after he got the reply. The old priesttched the door again and returned to his back room. By now he was in no mood to cook breakfast. Spellbound, he stared at the invitation. With Zhengyi and Quanzhen in charge of the Taoist sects of southern and northern China respectively, they each had their own set of rules. In the sect of Zhengyi, for instance, for an ordinary person to be a Taoist priest, the first step was to be converted, which made themy Taoists, or disciples, upon which they were permitted to live in a Taoist temple. Then came the impartment. Official dispatches of transmission issued by the residence of the Celestial Master had pointed out explicitly that all disciples should be imparted in the honor of their patriarch master, so as to carry forward and disperse the Great Dao, benefiting the mankind. It was equivalent to a formal certification. Only after this procedure could one be addressed as a Taoist priest and receive their Taoist titles, scriptures, and instruments. The third step was the imparting register. The ¡°register¡± referred to the official dispatch recording everything from official positions of heavenly gods, names and titles of immortals of all the worlds, and service and summoning of heavenly officials to the exertion of powers and conjuring of spells. Only with an official registration could one obtain their Taoist rank and position, and receive the blessings of the gods. The imparting register usually consisted of seven ranks. Initially, one was given a ¡°Dispatch of the Uppermost Three-five Officer¡±, which was of rank 6 or 7. After that was the ¡°Dispatch of the Uppermost Ordination¡±, which was of rank 4 or 5. From there, one could be promoted and given the ¡°Dispatch of Five Thunders from Supreme rity¡±, which was the secondary ss of rank 3. Above that was the ¡°Dispatch of Five Thunders from Three Caves of Supreme rity¡±, which was the standard ss of rank 3. Moving up the chain was the ¡°Dispatch of the Great Cave of Supreme rity¡±, a standard-ss rank 2 title, and the ¡°Dispatch of Three Caves of Three rities¡±, which was a standard-ss rank 1 title and also the highest there was. Each level was divided into three grades, making it 24 grades, each corresponding to the upper eight, middle eight, and lower eight views of the 24 spirits 1 . For instance, the title ¡°Dispatch of the Uppermost Three-five Officer¡± at rank 7, lower grade, would be the lowest grade of all. Ay Taoist would only be a Taoist priest after the impartment and only by passing the imparting register could a Taoist priest be called a Master. Masters were qualified to set up altars for prayer rituals, as well as establish temples of their own and take in pupils. Therefore, in ancient times, the impartment and imparting register were carried out under strict rules. Of course, nowadays, such certificates were given out as if it was a wholesale trade, all one needed was a wad of money and the right connection. As for the school of Quanzhen, they had a whole different set of rules. They Taoist stage was the same, after which came the ¡°Head-dressing¡±, which qualified one as a Taoist priest. Moving on from there was the ¡°Precept Follower¡± and one had to pass the three precept tforms for receiving theplete precepts to be one, with the three tforms being the ¡°primary true precept¡±, ¡°middle pole precept¡±, and ¡°great precept of heavenly immortals¡±, each more advanced than the previous one. This was because Quanzhen was a precept-following sect. It required its disciples to live a religious life away from their secr homes. They were forbidden to marry, eat animal products, drink alcohol, etc. The belief was that if one could not abide by precepts while pursuing the Great Dao, one would never have the opportunity to join the immortals. The initiation into priesthood was the responsibility of the abbot (Taoist abbot) of a Taoist buildingplex, who was called the Original Teacher of Initiation. Under the Original Teacher were the Impartment Teacher (the master responsible for interpreting scriptures to the precept-followers), the Disciplinary Teacher (the master responsible for supervising the precept tforms to maintain their dignified manner, as well as to stop the precept-followers from viting precepts), the Correction Teacher (the master in charge of the bearings and rules of precept-followers), the Chanting Teacher (the master in charge of reciting scriptures, leading mass, and affairs of the scripture hall), the Registration Teacher (the master in charge of giving Taoist names to precept-followers and filling in the ¡± Immortal Record 2 ¡°), the Guidance Teacher (the master to host major rites and hold position of high powers), the Duty Teacher (the errand-man to patrol the dwellings and to investigate and deal with precept followers who had broken the rules), etc. The hierarchy was clear and the ordinance was to be obeyed without question. Let¡¯s turn our attention back to the invitation Tan Chongdai had received. All sects and schools could carry out impartment on their own terms, but only Longhu Mountain was qualified to hold the imparting register ceremony. As a result, impartment ceremonies in the past were all celebrated individually by separate branches and no one had considered ¡°broadening the scope¡±. This year, however, Longhu Mountain was unexpectedly trying to gather all sect leaders with this asion. It did not take a genius to smell something fishy. Being an ¡°insider¡± of the issue, Tan Chongdai figured out right away that it must have had something to do with the spiritual essence and Taoist skills. He had no idea what tumult such a gathering would bring to the world. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± After thinking it through, the old priest took in the back room with bare walls and sighed despite himself. Being a branch of Shenxiao Sect, which was in turn a subdivision of Zhengyi, the sect of Qionglong Mountain was in fact closely connected to Zhengyi. Yet if he could speak his mind, Tan Chongdai would admit that he felt no affection whatsoever towards thetter. We talked about the cold-blooded ordinary people all the time, but in fact, the Taoist world was no warmer¡ªif not colder. Taoist sects were experiencing severe prization in their conditions, with the bigger ones indulging themselves with worldly pleasures while the smaller ones struggled to survive with their basic living standards threatened. Especially those sub-sects that were independent from the main ones, who were entirely on their own. There would be no good Samaritans. Those set their minds on pursuing the Great Dao alone, such as our old priest here, and would not associate themselves with the corrupted, ending up living a miserable life. ¡°Grr¡­¡± Tan Chongdai smiled wryly as he patted his growling stomach. He needed some breakfast now. ¡°Tap! Tap! Tap!¡± He was walking towards the kitchen when there came a knock on the door again. It was unbelievable. The Hall of Celestial Master forgotten by the rest of the world most of the time was flooded with visitors today. The old priest had no choice but to answer the door. The pleasantly warm morning sun hung high above the woods. Pulling open the two wooden boards, Tan Chongdai saw a slender shadow falling into the yard. Gu Yu greeted him with cupping hands and a smile. ¡°Senior Tan, it¡¯s been a while.¡± Chapter 154 Chapter 154: Recruiting Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Once his work on Tianzhu Mountain was done and an agreement reached between him and Wang Qi, Gu Yu left as soon as he could without hesitation. He did not go back to Phoenix Mountain right away, but stopped by Jiang Zhou, since it was not that far. As for the spiritual stones, seeds, and other stuff he asked for, it would be a while before they reach him. Right now, Tan Chongdai was pleasantly surprised to see him. ¡°My young friend Gu, howe you¡¯re in Jiang Zhou?¡± ¡°I was in Qian Zhou for a while and have just finished my business there. I thought I should take a detour on my way home and visit you.¡± Gu Yu chuckled. ¡°That is quite some detour! I never thought you would still remember an old priest like me!¡± Tan Chongdai was wholeheartedly delighted to see Gu Yu. It had been a while since he wanted to treat a visitoring from afar. They walked to the back room while chatting. Once there, Gu Yu saw that the table had been set¡ªa kettle filled with cold water was sitting on top¡ªand he apologized, ¡°Sorry for intruding in like this. Have I interrupted your breakfast?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be. Ate breakfast does not make that much of a difference¡­ please sit, I¡¯ll go set the kettle.¡± The old priest took the kettle into the kitchen and returned in a few seconds. He went on asking, ¡°Are you here alone this time? How is my young friend Xiao Jiang?¡± ¡°She¡¯s cultivating back at home and doing great. Oh, I need to apologize first. We¡¯ve been incredibly busytely and haven¡¯t got around to find pupils for you.¡± Gu Yu was abashed, for they had made a promise then disregarded it. He made a mental note to keep an eye on it from now on. ¡°Sigh, destiny has its own ways and it is not our ce to importune.¡± Tan Chongdai was slightly disappointed, but it was nothing overt. All in all, he looked rather indifferent to the news. A few minutes into their conversation and the water was boiling. The old priest went to fetch the kettle and made two cups of bitter tea. It made one sad, really, to see the leader of a sect cook his own meals and boil his own water. Gu Yu sipped his tea while scanning the room with inquisitive eyes, which suddenly fixed on a low couch set against the wall, upon which was ced an exquisite invitation with cloud design and the eight diagrams. It got our fellow wonder. He would love to pick it up, but did not want to seem rude. Noticing Gu Yu¡¯s curiosity, Tan Chongdai took the initiative and handed thetter the invitation with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve only just got this. Zhengyi is holding a impartment ceremony and I¡¯m invited to attend.¡± ¡°The sect of Zhengyi? Oh my, and it¡¯s from the residence of the Celestial Master itself. That¡¯s a celebrity all right!¡± Gu Yu¡¯s heart also lurched as he skimmed through the lines. He could not help but suspect¡ªin a time as sensitive as now, such an activity had ¡°fishy¡± written all over it. Going through it in his head quickly, he found many doubts that could not be exined, so he asked, ¡°Senior, what are they trying to achieve from this?¡± ¡°Hoho, the answer is quite simple. For the past a thousand years, do you know what has been the single word behind all the changes to Taoist sects?¡± Tan Chongdai chuckled. ¡°I have no idea.¡± ¡°Competition!¡± Tan took a sip of his tea and went on. ¡°In the ruling days of emperors who believed in gods, wepeted for orthodoxy, disciples, and the support of the court. Now that the ruling ss has changed, thepetition remains, only that we arepeting for the fame, the money, and the official positions. Of the one chairman and neen deputies of our Taoist association, Quanzhen has filled fifteen of those posts and Zhengyi five only. That¡¯s proof enough of thepetition on official positions, which would give them power and prestige! Taoistmunity nowadays is inseparable from the government¡­ no, let me rephrase that. It¡¯s already in the government¡¯s tight grip. Those closer to people above are sure to be treated favorably. I won¡¯t go into details. You¡¯re a guy smart enough to figure it out yourself. If the Taoist skills have reemerged as you said, then their intention is obvious. Unless anything unexpected happened, I¡¯m sure all sects of Quanzhen would have received a simr invitation issued from Baiyun Temple as well.¡± ¡®Wow!¡¯ Gu Yu was genuinely surprised by the deration. Poverty-stricken and frustrated the old man might be, the insightfulness of his words had made Gu Yu regard him with a different look. After all, the man was the leader of a sect. Gu Yu had also read between the lines, for the old man did not express everything explicitly. What he omitted was that with the current situation, there was no way that the two schools had taken the initiative on their own. The authorities must be behind it. After Gu Yu figured that out, he asked again, ¡°Senior, are you going, then?¡± ¡°Sure, why not?¡± ¡°But, but it¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Are you trying to say I¡¯m selling away the few years left of me?¡± Tan Chongdai was not offended. He only said, ¡°My young friend, you have your natural endowments and heavenly fortune, which I can¡¯t help but envy. On the other hand, you may never understand people like me. I¡¯ve devoted my entire life to the pursuit of the Great Dao and this may be the serendipity I was waiting for. Come hell or high water, I¡¯ll be damned if I don¡¯t at least give it a go.¡± ¡°¡­¡± After a long silence, Gu Yu bowed low to the old man. ¡°Your words are inspiring to me. Should you run into any difficulty, please do not hesitate to let us know. We¡¯ll help you with anything within our power.¡± *** Night, Jiang Zhou University. Inside a small restaurant not far from the campus, Gu Yu was keeping a lovely youngdypany¡ªthat is, the super-duper, unfathomably cute girl in her own opinion. He meant well; since he was in Jiang Zhou, he thought it only appropriate to pay the young sister-inw a visit. As it turned out, five minutes into the dinner and he had a mood set for murder! ¡°Brother-inw, why are you here all of a sudden?¡± ¡°I told you, I am only stopping by. I was away in Qian Zhou on business.¡± ¡°Then why did youe to see me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the only one I know here. Who else am I suppose to visit?¡± ¡°Then, then why are you here with me after dark?¡± ¡°Gosh, what are you getting at?¡± Gu Yu¡¯s imaginary headache had returned. ¡°I¡¯m not sleeping with you! I won¡¯t betray my sister!¡± The little rascal suddenly crossed her arms around her chest and raised her voice, trying very hard to put on an indignant face, which did nothing to conceal her mischievous look. ¡°Pffft!¡± Gu Yu spat out the water his was drinking and the other customers were eyeing him with curiosity. Fortunately, he was unabashed enough to retort, ¡°Don¡¯t tter yourself¡ªlike I¡¯d actually want to sleep with you? If it were up to me, I¡¯d be on a ne back home by now.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so d to hear that!¡± Jiang Xiaojin let out a pretentious sigh of relief, but soon realized what Gu Yu had hinted at. She was exhrated. ¡°Hey, my dear Brother-inw, by the sound of what you just said, you two have finally hooked up?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Hey, does my sister have nice buttocks? I bet she¡¯s got great skin! How did she look when she came? With that frigid-looking body, can she actually get it?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Okay, the young sister-inw was heading decisively towards the dirty details, which inevitably reminded Gu Yu of the other night when he was pressed tightly onto a roof and ¡°exploited¡±. That was some memory he would not want to recall. ¡°Stop right there! Change of subject!¡± Giving her a miserable look, Gu Yu asked, ¡°It¡¯s already your junior year, right? Any internship during the summer?¡± ¡°You bet there is. It¡¯s a school assignment. I¡¯m going to spend a few days in my dad¡¯spany, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s gonna be boring as hell. If only you and my sister can open apany or something then hire me. It¡¯d be awesome.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. To have you work for us will definitely shorten the lifespan of mypany to a few days¡­ wait?¡± Gu Yu paused unexpectedly as his thought trailed off to something else for no obvious reason. The government was already on the move and he could tell where it was heading, which was to train their own cultivators. In response, he should improve himself, as well as the strength of his team, but all he had now were three people¡­ three¡­ ¡°Xiao Jin!¡± he called out. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡­ um, I mean, if you¡¯re asked to abandon your current life and start living like¡­ like a cultivator of ancient times, would you like that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind, as long as it¡¯s interesting.¡± She was holding a cup of strawberry sundae. Her nimble tongue swirled around the cream and was swiftly drawn back; the cloying colors of tender red, fresh pink, and smooth white fused into one another for an instant. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®interesting¡¯?¡± Gu Yu shifted his gaze. These two sisters were vixens that could drive a man crazy. ¡°Things I haven¡¯t thought of, something that will surprise me or keep me wondering. Anything that¡¯s not easily solved by me is interesting.¡± Her answer was rather serious. ¡°Haha¡­¡± Gu Yu smiled despite himself. ¡°In that case,e to Phoenix Mountain when your summer vacation starts. We¡¯ve got something to tell you.¡± ¡°Please! Why do you take if for granted that I¡¯ll do as you asked? I¡¯m a busy person!¡± Jiang Xiaojin put down her ice-cream and put on a contemptuous look, ¡°Give me a reason first.¡± ¡°A reason? Well, aren¡¯t you always wondering whether or not I have learned martial arts before?¡± Gu Yu casually picked up a porcin chopstick rest, rubbed it in his palm and unfolded his hand. Granules sprinkled onto the table. Smiling at the now open-mouthed girl, Gu Yu said, ¡°Come and check it out yourself.¡± Chapter 155 Chapter 155: A New Group Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Early summer, Bai Town. A ck car drove into the downtown area, took a turn, and headed straight towards Phoenix Fair on the west side. Despite its government-issued license te, there was nothing conspicuous about the car. The driver, however, had a familiar face. It was none other than Zhang Hongru, the liaisonmissioner himself. Needless to say, the passenger in the back seat could only be Gu Yu. He left for Tianzhu Mountain in April and did not return until the end of May. The job took him as long as forty days. Being as thorough a person as Zhang Hongru was, adding to the fact that he was led to know of Gu Yu¡¯s great contribution in Tianzhu, Zhang dared not take the fellow lightly and came to pick Gu Yu up himself. The car threaded through the old town, passing dusty, dpidated buildings and the normal happy people whose hearts were numbed by all the failed struggles. ¡°Hm?¡± Gu Yu¡¯s eyes flickered at the streets they were passing through. The car was just off Hongmei 1 Street and Phoenix Fair was not far ahead. Between the street and the fair was an empty open space. This vacant lot had been there forever and was a rotten legacy left behind by a series of developers and former government officials. No one had found themselves entitled enough to do something about it and the ce had been left unattended all these years. However, Gu Yu saw that the ce had been tidied up recently. Not only was it cleaned, makeshift houses were also set up. A hundred or so white-walled and blue-roofed houses were neatly arranged, forming a little vige. Some doors were shut¡ªthe owners seemed to be out. Some of those with open doors had old people sitting at the porch, enjoying the warm sunlit hours. A young woman was washing clothes in a big wash-tub in front of her house with a three or four year old howling beside her. The woman ignored the childpletely as she scrubbed the clothes in a robotic motion. ¡°Pull over!¡± Gu Yu suddenly said. ¡°¡­¡± Bewildered, Zhang Hongru slowly stopped the car by the side of the road. ¡°Are these residents of Grass River Mouth?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°Yup, only a couple of hundred people are settled here; the majority was relocated to the north and south part of the city and the subordinate towns and viges. The Shengtian government has drawn up a n to build a few residential areas simr to those relocation ones. There were a little over sixty thousand residents in Grass River Mouth and each household was given a resettlement fee based on the floor space, area of theirnds, and size of the household. The house they purchase in the future will be at a discount price, so it¡¯s a de facto resettlement project.¡± ¡°What about their jobs?¡± Gu Yu asked another question. ¡°Well, that¡­¡± Shaking his head, Zhang Hongru sounded worried. ¡°Even college graduates are unemployed nowadays and the state is having a hard time solving that problem. Bai Town is so small that there are only a handful of job opportunities it can provide. The younger and stronger ones have all gone out to find jobs elsewhere, leaving behind their elderlies and children. Really, what choice do they have?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was silent for a moment before he reminded Zhang, ¡°Although the peach flower miasma is an anomaly brought by the recovery of the spiritual essence, we cannot guarantee that it won¡¯t happen again. It won¡¯t be too much of a problem if it is created in natural areas, but if it shows up near a residential area, incident simr to this one is bound to happen.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve considered all those possibilities, but there¡¯s only so much we can do at this stage.¡± Zhang Hongru looked out of the window and sighed. ¡°We cannot predict where it will show up next time and all we can do is to react to it passively. It¡¯s the peach flower miasma this time, and who knows what wille next? To tell you the truth, those above have considered burning that ind to the ground. It was not carried out because we were afraid there would be subsequent problems. Plus, even if we choose to set the fire, it would make no difference to these people; they would still be forced to leave.¡± Silence fell in the car as both men were overwhelmed with mixed feelings. Members of the society could be divided into different groups by different criteria and such groups all had their specific historical backgrounds. Take left-behind children 2 as an example. The total number of left-behind children in the country had exceeded 61 million, of which 79.9% were raised by their maternal or paternal grandparents, 13% by other rtives or friends, and 7.3% were undetermined or left behind without any guardian. Huge gaps existed in the economic development between different regions and there was sharp contradiction in rural areas between the increasing poption and decreasing farnd. The surplusbor became migrant workers, who could not take their children along due to various reasons such as point based enrolment scheme, household registration system, etc., which gave rise to the problem of left-behind children. What was happening now was just another example of such issues. With increasing probability of such incidents, a new group would be formed sooner orter¡ªthe anomaly migrants. ¡°You little bastard, where do you think you¡¯re going? Your dad and mom have dumped you, no wonder you¡¯re already such a little shit!¡± ¡°Sob¡­ I didn¡¯t steal you things, I didn¡¯t¡­ sob¡­¡± Just then, there was amotion in the street and when Gu Yu turned to look, he saw a little girl running out of a convenient store on Hongmei Street with a man chasing after her. The girl was about six or seven and her face was pale with fear. She ran to the clothes-washing woman, still sobbing. ¡°Xiao He, what¡¯s wrong?¡± The woman finally gave a reaction and raised her head in question. ¡°Auntie, I, I didn¡¯t steal his thing¡­ sob¡­¡± The wailing girl was frightened and could not exin herself clearly. The man caught up with her and yelled, ¡°Are you her parent? What have you been teaching her? She¡¯s bing a thief already!¡± ¡°Brother, she¡¯s not my kid. I¡¯m just a neighbor. Her grandpa asked me to keep an eye on her.¡± The woman got heated at the usation. ¡°Whatever. She took my stuff and I¡¯m holding you ountable, or I¡¯m calling the police!¡± ¡°Brother, I really am not her parent!¡± The threat of calling the police flustered the woman even more, who started waving her hands anxiously. By now, other neighbors had gathered around and murmured among themselves. ¡°Xiao He is such a nice kid, she¡¯ll never steal from others.¡± ¡°Exactly. I say it was his own fault. Losing something carelessly and he¡¯s ming the little one.¡± ¡°And that grandpa of hers, nothing would have happened if he had been taking care of his own granddaughter.¡± Everyone was talking at the same time, but no one dared stand out and reason with the man. All young adults were away and the neighborhood was filled with elderlies, children, and those without a family. More importantly, in their minds, they still felt they were under someone else¡¯s roof¡ªthe shop owner was a local. Seeing their reaction, the man grew even more arrogant and berated, ¡°I don¡¯t care which one of you is her parent. Pay me back my money, or I¡¯m calling the¡­¡± ¡°Call the police, then!¡± He was interrupted before he could finish his sentence. The crowd turned their heads in unison and saw two young men approach. One of them said, ¡°Dude, I see you¡¯ve got video surveince outside your store. That¡¯ll make things much easier. The police can y the tape and everything¡¯ll be clear. There¡¯s no need for yelling.¡± ¡°W-who are you?¡± The man lowered his voice at the manner of the speaker and thetter¡¯s car parked not far away. ¡°Who I am is irrelevant. Aren¡¯t you calling the police? Here, let me help.¡± With that, Zhang Hongru took out his phone, as if ready to dial the number. The man backed off immediately and stopped him hastily. ¡°Don¡¯t! I guess I might be wrong. We wouldn¡¯t want the policee all the way here for nothing. I¡¯ll go back and check it again. Let me check it again.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Sure, sure! Don¡¯t trouble them.¡± The man left promptly after that without even trying to give some tough talk. Gu Yu watched it from behind. Instantly, he recognized three distinctive social strata. Being the migrant, the little girl was at the bottom; the man was a local self-employed businessman and somewhere in the middle; Zhang Hongru had ¡°power¡± written all over him the moment he entered the scene. The big fish fed on the small fish, who fed on the shrimps in turn; it was such an appropriate expression. With the problem solved, the onlooking neighbors went back to their own business. Seeing that the little girl was still weeping, Gu Yu crouched down and wiped her tears away, revealing a small face smudged with dirt. ¡®Hey!¡¯ His hand froze in mid-air, for he had seen her before. She was that little girl running after the cat and almost stumbling into the miasma the other day. Zhang Hongru also recognized her and thought it quite a coincidence. He smiled at the girl. ¡°Hi, little one, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m He He.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s your grandpa?¡± ¡°He went out. He told me to stay with auntie.¡± ¡°When is heing back?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°No. I, I really didn¡¯t steal his thing. I only stood outside and looked.¡± The kindness of the two men helped He He to gradually stop crying, but she was adamant in denying the usation. The two men were trying to learn more about the situation here, so they simply took her to a nearby dumpling restaurant for lunch. The little girl was starving. She downed half a kilo of dumplings on her own and was a bit shy afterwards with her plump little stomach. The three then waited together at her home. It was not until that evening when the grandfather returned. After being told the whole story, the old man thanked them repeatedly. Zhang Hongru then asked, ¡°Uncle, where have you been, leaving your granddaughter behind like this?¡± ¡°I was at the municipal government.¡± ¡®Huh?¡¯ Zhang Hongru winced. ¡°What were you doing there?¡± The question brought an expected anger out of the old man as he replied, ¡°I went to reason with them! I was perfectly fine living on the ind. Why did they force me to move here?¡± ¡°Well, didn¡¯t they tell you about the toxic gas? It was a dangerous substance. They had to do it for safety reasons.¡± Zhong Hongru was ying the role of an innocent onlooker. ¡°Yes, I know that! But it¡¯s been over a month now and no one told us anything. When can I move back?¡± The old man grew angrier as he went on. ¡°I waited there for a whole day and saw no one. They then tried to dismiss me with a petty official when I pressed hard. I just want to know exactly what that thing is? With all those men in the government, why can¡¯t they fix it?¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Zhang Hongru pondered briefly and continued his acting. ¡°Uncle, I¡¯m going to be frank with you, please don¡¯t be offended. I heard the government had given you quite arge resettlement allowance. Wouldn¡¯t it be nice to get a ce in the city, where your children can take care of you and your granddaughter can go to school?¡± ¡°Damn the resettlement allowance! Damn the care!¡± The old man fumed abruptly, his face scarlet with rage. ¡°Her dad divorced a long time ago and has gone out for work. I raised the kid single-handedly. It was only when I wrote to him a while ago that he finally came back. He saw the money and said something about needing capital for his business¡­ he¡¯s not my son!¡± He could not go on. One could easily perceive how aggrieved he was. When he spoke again, however, it was a whimpering sort of voice. His wrinkled face crumpled up like a piece of shrivelled, dead bark. ¡°I have nothing left. If not for the child, I¡¯d just drown myself in the river. I¡¯ll return to Grass River Mouth, even if as a corpse!¡± Chapter 156 Chapter 156: Resignation Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Back in Grass River Mouth, the old man had a few mu of not-so-fecundnd and was running a little store of his own. With the peach blossom on the ind as a tourist destination, he was able to obtain a rtively steady ie every year. It was not much, but enough to sustain the life of two. Now that the ind was filled with the toxic miasma, the government chose to resettle the residents when no alternatives seemed avable. It was also ast-ditch move, for relocation meant a fundamental change in housing, employment, education, consumption level, and even social connections of all households. In all fairness, the authorities did a decent job with the resettlement by taking a thorough consideration of various aspects. The fact that the old man was going to extremes was partially because of his unwillingness to part from his hometown and partially the result of his son taking the money away. He was all wrongheaded in his fixation on finding out what exactly that toxic miasma was and when he could go back home. So much so that he was shouting at two strangers and rambling to himself at the same time, ¡°I¡¯m going again tomorrow. I¡¯m going again tomorrow. They¡¯d have to step over my dead body if they do not give me a definite answer¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± After having a fair idea of what was going on, Zhang Hongru found himself speechless. The old man¡¯s action aside, the child was innocent. With his insignificant position, Zhang Hongru knew his words would not carry much weight. All he could do was to leave some money for the old man and gave He He a few words offort before taking his leave. Immediately after starting the car, he called his superior with the suggestion that they should closely monitor the potential instability within the migrantmunity and, better still, send someone down here to counsel the old man. Such issues should not be taken lightly. A glimpse of a tiny corner could reflect the whole picture. Even if 99% of the poption were willing to ept the reality, the remaining 1% still should not be overlooked. Especially in a moment like this, when spection on the toxic miasma was running wild over the media, their countermeasure should be more careful than ever. Unlike the operation on Iron Mountain, which was a special small-scale night job and easy to handle, what took ce in Grass River Mouth involved an evacuation of 60,000 people, aplete close-down of a town, the closure of connecting provincial roads, traffic diversions between Bai Town and the city of Dongyun¡­ all those measures made it impossible to keep the news from the public. The media dared not run the story in the beginning, but they could not stop the townsmen¡¯s own brainstorming, which spread out rapidly. Two theories were drawn initially, one being a wildly fantastic apocalyptic story, which few actually bought despite all the buzz. The other one was a malfunction of some secret weapon of the army, which was rtively usible and had quite a few supporters. However, all such content was soon censored while the authorities provided the usible toxic gas theory. Specialists were also brought forward to exin to the public. Such exnation was shaky to begin with, no to mention that there were always some busybodies around¡ªeven more so were those bold and curious busybodies. Centering around Grass River Mouth, all peach trees had been removed within a radius of dozens of kilometers and an army was stationed there now. Even so, every other few days, a couple of odd visitors would be caught, who were there to ¡°case the scene¡± and weren¡¯t exactly secretive about it. Some even went so far as to broadcast live on their mobile phones their ¡°quest¡± into discovering the mystery. The mystery of Grass River Mouth had already turned phenomenal. Despite the relentless disciplinary actions against the above-mentioned people, such activities simply could not be stopped. The vexed authorities had probably cursed enough words in their heads to fill an encyclopedia. *** The car drove to the station at the northern slope, where the representatives of Yuan, Lei, and Zeng families were waiting as usual. Gu Yu noticed that the road¡¯s condition was improved again. The dirt road was reced by a gravel one, which made the drive much smoother. Had it not been for the fact that they needed to keep a low profile, the three families were more than financially capable enough to build an asphalt road. After greeting the representatives, Gu Yu made his way casually up the mountain. As the weather turned warmer, more tourists started pouring in. Gu Yu deliberately walked around the boundary between the inner and outer sections, taking in the sparse bustles and banters, as well as the curses from being blocked by the barbed wire. ¡°This wasn¡¯t here when I camest time. What the hell?¡± ¡°I was thinking of hiking the mountain. That¡¯s not happening, I guess.¡± ¡°We pay 60 yuan for a ticket and there¡¯s restricted area, how desperate are they for the money?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Shaking his head, Gu Yu quickened his steps and entered the ck thorn forest before long. The ce was the same. Tall trees were surrounded by shimmering thorn bushes, the dark mass of canopy blotting out the sun and the sky, giving the woods an eerie look. He did not think much of it and was about to go directly through it. However, a few steps into the woods, he heard a ¡°buzz¡±ing from somewhere. ¡®Hm?¡¯ They actually ventured out at this hour? Surprised, Gu Yu looked up and saw a plume of bloody fog filling the air and expanding rapidly towards him. It was made up of none other than the mutated venomous mosquitoes. They were even bigger than before, their entire bodies blood red and their mouthparts straight and long¡ªthey were almost too hideous to look at. ¡°Buzz!¡± Immediately after that, swarms of mosquitoes gushed out of the woods from his left, right and behind. The insects floated in mid-air like red clouds, their presence only partially tangible. The four groups of mosquitoes approached Gu Yu but did not attack. They only surrounded him in the center. Such a scene did not rattle Gu Yu, who only looked around and chuckled. ¡°Xiao Qiu,e out!¡± ¡°Teehee, can you find me, Brother?¡± As expected, a melodious voice rang out, which sounded fixed to a spot, but alsoing from all directions. Blinking, Gu Yu dug out a few peanuts out of his pocket and whistled. ¡°Whoosh!¡± ¡°Rustle!¡± A fatty squirrel dashed down from the top of a tree at the whistle, then leapt onto Gu Yu¡¯s arm and started stuffing the peanuts into its mouth. ¡°Gosh, you glutton!¡± Jumping down after the squirrel, Long Qiu gave Brother Fatty a quick knock on the head, which thetter ignoredpletely; its cheeks were stuffed plump with all the nuts. She gave it an earful, then waved her hand, at which the mosquitoes floated back in unison as if under an explicit order. ¡°Is that your Undead Insect of Blood Mosquitoes?¡± ¡°Uh huh, those are the offsprings. The mother insect is with me. It can move around on its own and doesn¡¯t need me to follow it everywhere.¡± She mumbled a few words in Miaonguage and a strange blood mosquito flew out of her body, which was about the size of a bottle cap. Ordinary mosquitoes only had a pair of membranous forewings and a pair of hindwings that had degenerated into bncing poles. This mother undead insect, however, had as many as four pairs of wings in total. Rather than ugly, there was a strange beauty about it, for it almost looked like something carved out of blood jade. Gu Yu eyed it curiously and asked, ¡°Do you have to feed it with fresh blood all the time?¡± ¡°Not all the time. Once a year is probably enough. I can use my own blood.¡± Long Qiu was not at all concerned and even raised her arm to bare her little muscles, ¡°See, I¡¯m very strong now.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was utterly speechless. But seeing that Xiao Qiu was brimming with health and full of vitality, he stopped worrying. As a matter of fact, having learnt the essence-consuming method and the forty-eight hand movements, she was absorbing the expertise from them both and was quite capable a fighter already; all she needed was some actual experience in battle. They passed through the ck thorny forest and walked into the small valley. Cottage of Pure Mind stood quietly as always; they were back in arcadia. ¡°Where¡¯s your sister?¡± ¡°She has closed herself in since yesterday, saying it was a critical moment and would not allow me to disturb her.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Gu Yu understood her reactionpletely. He went back to his room and slumped onto his bed. Wow! Every cell of his was at ease. Having been loafing about in the outside world for all these days, he now realized that there was nowhere else like home. Long Qiu brought in some tea and the two chatted on about the days when he was away and their day-to-day anecdotes. Before they realized, it was deep into the night. Finally, there was some movement from the house next-door. The door opened first, then came the calling of his girlfriend. ¡°Gu Yu! Gu Yu!¡± ¡®Hey!¡¯ He leapt to his feet, somewhat exhrated. As the saying went, the reunion after a brief parting is as sweet as a honeymoon and the longer a couple stayed together, the more passionately attached they became to each other. He was still brooding over the idea of a tear-soaked smooch when the voice came again. ¡°Come out here! Let¡¯s have a fight!¡± ¡®What?¡¯ Chapter 157 Chapter 157: Metal Thunder Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu A couple ¡°getting physical¡± all the time was not the same as a couple getting physical all the time. Either way, thest thing Gu Yu expected was to start exchanging blows with his girlfriend soon after he got back home. He would rather snuggle up to her with kisses and hugs, then chit-chat while sipping tea. He wasn¡¯t given any choice, however. With his girlfriend waiting outside, he had to go out and meet her. ¡°Teehee!¡± Long Qiu giggled behind her hands. Scuttling out after Gu Yu, she sat down on the threshold and rested her chin on her palm, ready to watch the fun. Xiaozhai stood ramrod straight outside. She wore a long white shirt with a loose lower hem, giving it the look of a one-piece. She had a pair of casual trousers on, revealing her ankles, and a pair of trainers on her feet. She rarely wore anything dowdy, but had her own preferred style. The awareness of certain taste was hard toe by in an environment as secluded as this. Of course, with her perfect bone structure, anything would look good on her. ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Gu Yu asked with a wryly smile. ¡°I¡¯ve made my initial achievement in Metal Thunder. Don¡¯t you want to try it?¡± She rolled up her sleeves by a few centimeters. The white cuffs were pushed up, revealing her fair skin underneath. Gu Yu and Long Qiu watched her movement and were simultaneously struck by one peculiar expression, ¡°ovepping snow¡±. ¡°But I only just got back. How about tomorrow?¡± He tried his best to put it off. ¡°Cut the crap. I¡¯m starving! Let¡¯s get it over with and we can eat!¡± She moved back to the open space enclosed by the houses. Resigned, Gu Yu followed her. They then set some distance between themselves. ¡°Here we go!¡± Raising the corner of her mouth, Xiaozhai disappeared from where she was in a poof. ¡°Woosh!¡± Turning into a blurry shadow, she dashed at him like a wind, a leaf, or a knife. The light about her seemed gilded, her momentum swift and fierce. ¡®That fast?!¡¯ Gu Yu shuddered, for it was indeed out of his expectation. His girlfriend was very quick to begin with. Now that her meridians were opened up, she was turning into a wild whirlwind, whose incredible speed almost created a vacuum suction 1 . With his sensing capability, he could only make out the rough direction of her attack. Gu Yu dared not take her lightly. Dodging hastily to the right, he struck backwards with an open palm. ¡°Thump!¡± Xiaozhai materialized on his left like a ghost. Two slender palms met and two forces of air made a muffled sound. The single strike was enough for Gu Yu to realize the extent of Xiaozhai¡¯s change. When they exchanged blows before, Gu Yu always had to hold back his strength because of her mortal physical body. This time, however, he was undoubtedly aware of the improvement in her level. She had passed that threshold. Alerted, he positioned himself properly and instantly became serious. ¡°Hoho!¡± Seeing his reaction, Xiaozhai was even more exhrated. The energy of Metal Thunder circted inside her instantaneously and a tremendous momentum was exerted, apanied by subtle flickering lightnings. ¡°Thump!¡± Their palms met again and both stumbled back for a few steps. Gu Yu felt a shock along his arm and a faint yet disruptive energy containing the rule of thunders bolted into his body from his palm. The energy ran riot, iparably overbearing, so much so that nothing in the whole wide world seemed to be able to stop it. When it bumped into his internal spiritual essence, it even managed to devour a tiny proportion of thetter. It was thanks to his abundant spiritual essence that he was able to dispel it in time. ¡®Was that the energy of Metal Thunder?¡¯ Gu Yu was secretly astounded. It was as incredible as in the legends! No wonder the thunder book said: of all the heavenly ordinations, thunder was the mightiest! But she had yet to finish. Xiaozhai raised her arm ntingly and pointed out with her fingers. Her melodious voice rang out, ¡°Thunder! Come!¡± ¡®WTF!¡¯ He was genuinely shocked. Instantaneously, he circted his spiritual energy around his body and tuned up his defense to its maximum, in case the next second dark clouds would roll over his head and heavenly lightnings strike down. One second, then two seconds and three seconds passed¡­ the sky remained dark and silent without any trace of disturbance. ¡°Ha ha ha! If I could summon thunder now, I¡¯d be fighting my way up Longhu Mountain already!¡± After a palm strike of Metal Thunder, Xiaozhai felt her breath a bit disordered and now she was having a tummy-ache from all the giggle. Long Qiu followed suit and fell over the doorsillughing, apparently having great fun teasing her brother. ¡°Tsk!¡± Gu Yu grimaced and protested, ¡°You guys are not ying by the book!¡± ¡°me yourself, you came around too quickly.¡± Xiaozhai gradually stoppedughing. Seeing that her boyfriend seemed a bit dispirited, she moved closer and asked, ¡°Are you mad?¡± ¡°Not really, feeling a bit hapless, that¡¯s all¡­¡± He waved off the subject and only wanted to go back to his room, but Xiaozhai grabbed him in time and pulled him near tofort him. ¡°There, there, I¡¯ll let you go on topter.¡± ¡®Pfft!¡¯ TMI! She might not think much of it, but Gu Yu couldn¡¯t! He turned to look at Long Qiu, somehow having a guilty conscience, as if they were shamelessly discussing which position they enjoyed the most in front of a minor. ¡°Oh my, I¡¯ve left some food for you. I¡¯ll go heat it up.¡± At twenty-one, Long Qiu already knew all there was to know about certain things. Besides, she was with an extremely experienced driver all the time and with the influence of what she constantly saw and heard, Long Qiu managed to keep herposure and disappeared into the kitchen after the announcement. Following their dinner, our two fellows naturally proceeded to their ¡°sweeping away the fallen leaves and destroying the banana trees¡±. *** After their ¡°physical contact¡± and before they went to sleep. Frankly, Gu Yu found his girlfriend perfect apart from one thing: he would probably never find her panting on his chest like a timid little woman while caressing his chest. Instead of panting, she was full of energy and not only that, she also loved having a breath of fresh air. Right now, the two were sitting on the roof with their clothes all disheveled. With a silver moon above head and rednterns hanging below, the scene was as eerie as one could picture. But the night was tranquil and a clear breeze was blowing gently. With the glistening red waves, it was quite a quaint view. ¡°The initial achievement of Metal Thunder only enables me to control the energy within my palms. It¡¯s not too effective an attack yet.¡± Xiaozhai opened her palm and released a little lightning, which looked like streaks of electric arcs hopping in her hand. They were rather pretty. ¡°Plus, the thunder technique is very spiritual-essence-consuming. Even at this scale, I can not sustain for more than a couple of strikes.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it Thunder-in-palms?¡± Gu Yu asked curiously. ¡°No, it¡¯s not the same.¡± She shook her head and exined. ¡°Thunder-in-palms is the secret skill of Zhengyi. Apart from practicing the method internally, there is also the corresponding talisman. One has to draw talismans in their palms and focus their energy into them. The human body acts as a transfer station and one borrows the natural energy of thunder to strike out. The Internal Technique of Five Thunders does not work that way. It enhances the human body so that it can generate thunder by itself and for its own usage. The thunder book did not say it explicitly, but from what I deduced, by the time my Metal Thunder reaches the state of passionless, I¡¯ll be able to release my thunder technique.¡± By release, she meant she could strike others with lightning. Gu Yu immediately saw what she meant and was already feeling sorry for whoever pissed her off in the future. Xiaozhai soon changed the subject and asked, ¡°So, how was Tianzhu Mountain?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯splicated. All in all, it was quite worthwhile¡­¡± He then described his trip in detail, including data of the spiritual stones, the negotiation on the reward, his detour to Jiang Zhao, his idea of having Xiaojin joining them, etc. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai pondered for a while at his words. ¡°From what you said, we should indeed start strengthening ourselves. I think the government will gradually move to the backstage and let the sects do their bids. Especially after they train their own cultivators, the time to reset the rules wille.¡± ¡°I¡¯m ok with resetting the rules. What I don¡¯t like is to see them indulging certain parties to disturb the old ones.¡± Gu Yu gave it some thought and continued, ¡°I actually feel sorry for those sects. The detachment they imagined in cultivation is impossible to achieve in this mortal world.¡± ¡°Well, enough with that¡­¡± Xiaozhai brushed off the subject and looked around casually. She suddenly looked up and said with wonder, ¡°Hey, just look at that moon.¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± With that, Gu Yu jumped off the roof instantly and ran swiftly back into his room for no obvious reason, his voice trailing behind him. ¡°That moon my a*s! You snuck up on mest time with that same lousy excuse. Do you think I¡¯m an idiot?¡± Chapter 158 Chapter 158: Foundation Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu We lived within the boundary of established rules from the minute we came to this world. Apart from the most basic activities such as eating, sleeping and ¡°getting it¡±, any other social behavior and social rtionship, be it one¡¯s parents and rtives, education, exam results, teachers and ssmates, life in university, homo- or hetero-sexual rtionship, job hunting, careerdder-climbing, house-purchasing and marriage, or children-bearing, etc¡­ all the way till one¡¯s time was up, everything was within aparatively stable system of rules that had been umted, developed, and eventually established after hundreds or thousands of years. Only under one condition would such system be broken¡ªwhich was a revolution in resources and technology, pushing the entire human society forward. However, a new set of rules would be formed then by repeating the above-mentioned process. Gu Yu had taken the initiative tob through what he learned ever since he returned, so as to sum up and organize his ideas for this period; it had always been one of his good habits. First of all was the general situation. By now, four nodes were found. He had Phoenix Mountain, Tianzhu was being developed, Emei was left idle, while Tianshan was closed for the time being. There was also a restricted area of abnormality, which was the peach flower miasma of Grass River Mouth. Those fully aware of what was going on included his own team, senior government officials, as well as Taoist sects controlled by the government. Since Zhengyi was gathering sect leaders to Longhu Mountain, they must have obtained certain information from the authorities. As the saying went, the economic base determines the superstructure. Only with the establishment of productivity and rtions of production could ideology emerge¡ªtogether with its corresponding systems, organizations and facilities. Nevertheless, they still had a long way to go from achieving an economic base; they only discovered new resources which were the spiritual stones, crops and the short-tailed sawfish. We could call it an embryonic stage. These were all rather abstract concepts and what he cared about more was something else¡ªthe manuals. The government focused on the big picture and considered issues on the level of resources, whereas the skills were the foothold of individual cultivators. For the past year or so, the skills he heard of and saw included the Essence-consuming Method of his and Xiao Qiu¡¯s, Xiaozhai¡¯s thunder technique, Li Suchun¡¯s Corpse-refining Technique, Tan Chongdai¡¯s smattering talismans, old Priest Mo¡¯s Neidan method, as well as Sima Che¡¯s Heel-pressing Technique. Quanzhen¡¯s approach was to move from the acquired state to an innate one. The advancement required an internal cumtive process. Zhengyi followed the teachings of the Celestial Master and carried out a practice simr to essence-consuming. Unfortunately, the method was long lost, leaving behind a waning and iplete Qi-nourishing Method. Therefore, if the government included the Taoist sects, Quanzhen would definitely dominate over Zhengyi, for the former was equipped with aparatively systematic cultivative manual. In the past few thousand years, the Taoistmunity had proceeded from consuming essence among the ancient immortals to explorations of the transition period to theplete transformation to Neidan practice, during which time the skills of cultivators had been declining consistently to adapt to the waning spiritual essence. In other words, the previous approaches were no longer adequate, hence their elimination. Even with the valuable heritage of each major sect, the thousand-year-long dynastic changes and war-ridden periods after Song Dynasty made sure that when the spiritual essence dried outpletely, little of those heritage was left. It was thanks to Quanzhen¡¯s leadership status of two dynasties that it was able to preserve the Dan methods to thergest extent. Being the constantly suppressed one, Zhengyi saw much severer disruption in its inheritance. Obviously, one should not overlook the heritages of certain secluded sects such as Heel-pressing Technique, with had their own merits. All in all, those achieving the innate state could sense the spiritual essence, but, on the other hand, only with the spiritual essence could one achieve the innate state. Otherwise one could umte as much internal Qi as one wanted, but they would never build the bridge between the body and the outside world. This became the key to have the government allow the Taoist sects on board, for it was a prerequisite to train talented people they needed. The skills could be ranked by their grade as followed: Essence-consuming Method started from the innate state, which was a very advanced starting point. It was very efficient to cultivate, but did not have much offensive capability. Thunder Technique could enable one to reach the initial achievement of any type of thunder energy and eventually to theplete achievement, which was where Xiaozhai was right now. The cultivation itself was incredibly tough, but the power gained was significant. Then came the other Neidan skills. Zhengyi came thest. Other than that, there was also different levels to consider. ording to Gu Yu¡¯s own ssification previously, the secondary levels of Human Immortals were Enlightenment of the mind, Refinement of the form, Concentration of the spirit, Spiritualization of the body, and Human Immortals1 . He himself should be in Concentration of the spirit at the moment, where one could work their mental force to external targets and wield magical instruments. After this, one should turn their entire body into one giant abstruse and generate spiritual essence on their own, so as to achieve Spiritualization of the body. This could be rather tricky, for different skills had their own levels. It did not work the same way as in an established cultivative civilization, where all levels were standardized to terms such as Lianqi (¡°training of Qi¡±), Zhuji (¡°building base¡±), Jindan (¡°golden Dan¡±), Yuanying (¡°primary infant¡±), etc. Contrary to hisplicated ssifications, Xiaozhai was much careless with her settings¡ªshe used something as perfunctory as round one, round two, round three, round four, and round five¡­ when five thunders were all achieved, one became a Human Immortal. Gu Yu was utterly shocked. Could she be less indifferent about it? It sounded like something out of a web game. *** Before they knew it, June arrived and it was the height of summer. With its reopening, tourists poured into Phoenix Mountain. The outer section was as boisterous as the inner section was tranquil; they could as well be of two different worlds. The long-stretching and tall perimeter wire became the focus of jokes, for it was over two meters in height, with sharp spikes on top, and made with thick and tough wires. All werepletely baffled and wondered what exactly was in it. Many had thought about crossing the fence and taking a look of the other side. Unfortunately, the wire was more than adequate to stop anyone with an such idea; they couldn¡¯te up the mountain carrying adder, could they? In the valley, under the old tree. With a wooden sword in hand, Long Qiu was practicing sword movements which looked simr to the forty-eight hand movements. They felt elegant, unrestrained, sharp, and fierce all at the same time. Xiaozhai was a sword-wielder, but she seldom used one and only went around carrying a dagger, for swords were too long to carry and way too conspicuous. When she instructed Long Qiu, however, she was without reservations. ¡°Swoosh!¡± The girl charged her sword forward with a whistling sound. The sword swiped a half-circle in the air and with a turn of her wrist, its tip flipped upward diagonally at an impossible angle. She then hid the sword behind the back and with it, finished her practice. ¡°Phew¡­¡± She let out a breath, looking adorable with her blushing cheeks. With her improving strength, she was gradually gaining control over the Golden Silkworm. She probably did not have to wait until the end of the year to subdue the silkworm once and for all. Long Qiu wiped away her sweat and raised her little face to look at the old tree. Hidden in its dense canopy was a swaying branch where two fruits were dangling. They were plump and reddish, apparently almost ripe. Tianzhu Mountain had its spiritual stones and strange fish. Being a node, Phoenix Mountain naturally had its own specialty. The fruit would ripen roughly every eighteen months, producing two pieces at a time, which contained powerful and pure spiritual essence. Inspired by Qiu Guan, Gu Yu intended to copy the former¡¯s move and nted the stones of the fruits first, so as to test if they could filter the energy. As for the pulp, he would try refining Dan or making incense with it, or just eat it straight away, which could also improve their capability. Long Qiu squinted at them for a while and was delighted. She leapt to the river bank, ready to take care of the herbal garden. The garden was not big, just one mu or so, and the herbs were nted sparsely. However, the medicinal nts were of excellent quality. Facilitated by the node, every single one looked healthy, strong, and full of vitality. The most promising one was undoubtedly a forty-year-old wild ginseng, which had seven pairs of leaves and was delicately beautiful. Gu Yu had scanned it with his mental force already. The ginseng was in excellent shape with an exquisite texture; its fibrous roots looked like the swift movements of calligraphy. The nt was definitely of top quality. He almost could not bear to dig it up just to see to what extent it could grow. Other than that, twottices of newly nted gourds were also quite eye-catching. The vines had covered thettices and white flowers were blossoming. The gourds would be used as containers for spiritual substances. Long Qiu spent quite a lot of time in the garden before she returned to the cottage and entered Gu Yu¡¯s meditation room. She sat down cross-legged on the rush mat and flipped through a notebook, which recorded what Gu Yu had learned from his cultivation and was rather useful to her. A whole stack of notebooks was on the low table beside the window, which were all hand-written. Recorded in them were the Thunder Technique, forty-eight hand movements, snake-controlling skill, vision-conjuring skill, wood-appraising, attack skills, etc. Apparently, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were consciously consolidating their foundation in order to establish a small force with it own systematic heritage and resource base. ¡°Hm?¡± While Long Qiu was reading, her mind was suddenly disturbed, for she could sense through the mother insect out in the ck thorny forest that someone was calling outside. Whee! The girl opened her eyes widely, feeling both excited and anxious. She scuttled out immediately¡ªwith both her brother and sister away, she was so bored! *** Outside the ck thorny forest. Holding a small box, Zhang Hongru was peeking through the branches, apparently quite troubled. The dim forest seemed to be swarmed with ghosts and monsters, refusing any sunlight its due entrance. It was his first time this deep into the other side¡¯s territory, but the aura alone was evident enough that it was some sort of defense mechanism and not to be trifled with. He did not have a choice, though. Had it not been for the urging of his superiors, he would never havee here. ¡°Mr. Gu!¡± Zhang Hongru shouted a few times but got no reply. Just as he was about to venture in, footsteps finally came from inside. ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Rustle!¡± A tall and slim figure materialized from the dimness and approached slowly. When the person was out of the woods, darkness seemed to turn into lightness in an instant and all the sunlightnded on that small face. ¡°Why, it¡¯s you!¡± Long Qiu was surprised to find him outside. ¡°Miss Long, sorry about the intrusion. I would have waited down there, but it¡¯s still quite a few days from Mr. Gu¡¯s visit. The matter at hand is rather urgent and I had toe unannounced.¡± Zhang Hongru was surprised to see her as well and he asked, ¡°Is Mr. Gu in?¡± ¡°Neither my brother nor my sister is here. What do you want?¡± Xiao Qiu asked. ¡®Both of them are out?¡¯ Zhang Hongru wondered in secret and only said, ¡°Oh, have a look at this. It¡¯s a batch of samples we have acquired in advance, I¡¯m here to show it to Mr. Gu. If the content of spiritual essence is stable and the wastage is reasonable, we¡¯ll start mass production following these samples.¡± With that, he handed her the box. Long Qiu opened it and found five stones the size of duck eggs inside. The surface was smooth, moisten, translucent, and almost glowing in a white light. The texture was rather peculiar¡ªnot a single pore was detectable; the surface was frighteningly sleek. Blinking, she grinned. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll let my brother know when hees back.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be down the mountain these days, please let Mr. Gu reply me asap. Oh, there¡¯s another thing. The seeds and farm tools are already at the station, ready to be shipped up at any time.¡± ¡°Uh huh, I got that. Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Great. Thank you, Miss Long. Goodbye.¡± With that, Zhang Hongru did not wait for Long Qiu¡¯s reply and took the initiative to leave on his own, showing no intention of probing or pestering, which rather impressed Long Qiu. She held the little box and returned to the cottage, where she hastily opened the box to check. ¡®So, this is the treasure my brother¡¯s been talking about. They¡¯re indeed very pretty!¡¯ There were only five of them. ying with them between her hands, she was almost unwilling to part with them. Chuckling, she said, ¡°¡®Spiritual stones¡¯, that¡¯s almost like snacks 2 . Are they actually be edible?¡± ¡°Woosh!¡± With that, the Golden Silkworm was in the air out of the blue and turned into a chubby kid in a red dudou again, now eyeing the spiritual stones with undisguised desire. Its master¡¯s presence was the only thing stopping it from pouncing at them. ¡°Why are you naughty again? Are you really going to eat them?¡± Long Qiu closed the box immediately and refused it. ¡°You can¡¯t have them. They¡¯re for my brother.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The Golden Silkworm couldn¡¯t speak and only blinked at its master. It did not understand facial expressions either, but was forcing out a pleading one. Its face was contorted into a weird shape, which looked terrifyingly odd. Long Qiu ignored it and ordered, ¡°Go back!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The Golden Silkworm dared not disobey her and disappeared with a poof. As a matter of fact, Long Qiu was also tempted. Being as well-behaved as she was, she would not take any reckless move. The girl picked up a stone again and yed with it, her habit of talking to herself from her days in the Miao vige still not gone. ¡°Brother said this is a treasure and a must-have for cultivators. There¡¯s even spiritual essence inside. I wonder how much is there and how it wouldpare to my own essence-consuming¡­ um!¡± She paused suddenly, showing a troubled little face, which then gradually rxed as she resigned to her curiosity. As she was mumbling to herself, she was unconsciously activating the manual. She could now feel a thin streak of spiritual essence flowing out of the stone, which was gentle and peaceful. The energy was slowly absorbed into her body, then integrated perfectly into Qihai in Dantian. Long Qiu lost the count of time and when she opened her eyes again, she was delighted to see the improvement in her Qihai 3 . However, her face wrinkled up again when she turned to look at the stone. Being drained of its essence, the white glow was gone and the stone had lost it vitality. It was now simply a lifeless substance. ¡°Brother said there are 20,000 of these. I didn¡¯t make too big a trouble by wasting one of them, I think?¡± Scratching her head, sheforted herself. Chapter 159 Chapter 159: Working Hard Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu [TL/N: in the title of the raw, ¡°¸ûÌ (ploughing) is a euphemism for ¡°doing it¡±.] ¡°Xiao He, has your grandpa gone to the municipal government again?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± ¡°Gosh, why did that Old Man He put himself through all that trouble? Poor kid, being left behind at home all by herself. Xiao He, my boy¡¯s at home, do you want toe and y with him?¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok, I¡¯ve got some washing to do. Thank you, Auntie.¡± In the relocation vige near Hongmei Street, He He greeted the aunt from next door and went to the public tab with a small basin of clothes. She then filled the basin with water, went back, and sat down in front of her house. The clothes she was washing were a mixture of hers and her grandpa¡¯s. Her seven-year-old little arms were having a hard time with the task. She used to be a naughty and mischievous girl, but had be much maturer since moving here two months ago. Some government personnel had indeed visited them after the incident that day and carried out repeatedly the usual ideological work, as well as provided them with appropriate subsidies. Her grandpa¡¯s behavior changed slightly afterwards, for at the end of the day, they still had a life to get by. He managed to get himself a tricycle and started going around the streets collecting scrap. He certainly would not get over the idea all at once. His daily visit to the municipal government had now changed into a weekly one; he simply needed the grumble. The government did not know what to do with him and had to adapt to their new weekly task: listening to Uncle He¡¯sints. ¡°Ssh!¡± He He finished washing the clothes. Panting, she poured the dirty water into the sewage, then, trying to lift the wet clothes onto the drying rack, she picked up a bracing rod only to find herself too small for the job. After much swaying and stumbling, she still could not hang the clothes up there. ¡°Hm¡­¡± The little girl¡¯s arms were aching from all the trying. Nervously irritated and aggrieved, she was about to cry when the rod was lifted by an extended hand, which easily reached up and rested the shirt on the stack. ¡°Huh?¡± The little girl turned around and saw a tall and slim young man with pretty eyes next to her. She paused, then cried out in a low voice, ¡°Hey, you¡¯re that big brother!¡± ¡°You¡¯re home alone again?¡± Gu Yu took over the rod and one by one, put up the clothes. ¡°Em, grandpa is out.¡± ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°I have. I reheated some leftovers.¡± Despite having only met him twice before, He He already felt quite close to the man who also smelt nice. She asked, ¡°Brother, where are you going?¡± ¡°Nowhere in particr. I¡¯m just walking around¡­ there, the clothes are all up. I¡¯ve got to go. Bye bye!¡± ¡°Bye bye!¡± Followed by He He¡¯s eyes, Gu Yu returned to the side of the street where Xiaozhai was waiting. She chuckled. ¡°Is that the little girl you talked about?¡± ¡°Yeah, I almost feel we¡¯re brought together by fate.¡± ¡°Nice bone structure. She¡¯ll make a good cultivator.¡± The two did not think much of it and left the ce a little whileter. Walking past Hongmei Street and a little distance away, they reached the old town long-distance bus station. Passengers were streaming in and out of the station. Together with the heavy traffic, the ce seemed exceedingly boisterous. Three taxis were waiting by the side of the road, their drivers calling out, ¡°Por Hillock! Anyone going to Por Hillock? 15 yuan a seat! 15 yuan a seat!¡± The most energetic driver was a fatso. He wore a tank top with the lower hem lifted up, revealing his fat belly. Picking out Gu Yu and Xiaozhai as potential customers, he went up to them and asked, ¡°Need a taxi?¡± ¡°How many have you got on board?¡± ¡°I will have more with you two in there. The car will be filled real fast!¡± By that, he meant he had solicited no passengers so far. Gu Yu asked, ¡°We¡¯ll have your car all to ourselves. Can we leave right away?¡± ¡°Yes, sure! You pay the money, you call the shots. This way!¡± The fatso was apparently delighted by the offer and led the two to a shabby Alto. It was a carpooling taxi that could take four passengers at most. A round trip could earn him 120 yuan. Por Hollick was a small vige near Grass River Mouth with a few hundred households. It was so remote that only one bus passed the vige once every day. Previously the main route was from Bai Town to Grass River Mouth, then to Five Dragons Ridge and the city of Dongyun. Now that there was no longer a Grass River Mouth, the traffic was rerouted to Por Hollick, which made this minor route rather popr. Four of five taxis had stopped running in the downtown area and started carpooling outside the long-distance bus station. The job turned out quite lucrative. As the car drove further away from Bai Town, the chatterbox fatso asked eagerly, ¡°Hey, where are you going?¡± ¡°Five Dragons Ridge,¡± replied Xiaozhai. ¡°Ha! I knew it. Young couples love the hot spring there. I¡¯ve driven quite a few pairs there.¡± The fatso gave the steering wheel a pat andughed. ¡°Since you¡¯re going at this hour, I guess you¡¯re staying there for the night. Good. The ce¡¯s pretty nice. I¡¯ve been there with my wife before¡­ you know what, it just didn¡¯t make sense that they locked the town up like that and forced those people to move away. Gosh, tens of thousands of people poured in after that and I thought Bai Town was bing a big city¡­ if you ask me, it can be anything. The government builds their secret weapon and we folks get to pay the price¡­¡± And he babbled on like so. About forty minutester, they arrived at Por Hollick. The small vige was incredibly popr now, for it had almost be a transfer station. All vehicles travelling the route from Bai Town to Dongyun would take a break there. Those spots where people were getting on and off had even given rise to numerous small merchants and peddlers selling soft drinks, roasted sausages, egg pancakes, etc. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai got off the car, each with a huge bag on their backs, and headed directly towards the north of the vige. Once there, they followed a township road leading straight to Grass River Mouth. The road was narrow-ish and nked by pleasant, shady trees. The view was rather nice, but unfortunately, it waspletely deserted. They met not a single soul after a long walk. It was only when they reached the main road and heard the sound of the river that they saw the barbed wire set up ahead with a sign saying ¡°Military Zone. No ess.¡± The area was also patrolled by sentries with loaded guns. The two took a detour up a small hill and looked into the distance. At the junction of two rivers was a small ind, which was covered by a pink fume halfway between a cloud and a fog. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s a gigantic marshmallow!¡± Of course, Xiaozhai¡¯s thought processes were unique as always and sheplimented it wholeheartedly. The ind was none other than Grass River Mouth itself. With the stationed troops, ordinary people would never be able to get in. To them, however, it was just one more tricky detail. They walked around the fence by going up the hill, then descended slowly. With their mental force as natural radar, their super-perceptivity, and their agility, they jumped and hopped, sessfully avoiding all sentries and crept up to the bridge. The bridge connecting the ind to the maind was about thirty meters long. With the dispersing peach blossom miasma, more than half of the bridge was covered. Only the bridgehead was guarded. Carrying their guns, the two soldiers were patrolling to and fro when their head went muddled all of a sudden and their senses all chaotic, as if their entire body was scanned by something. It was extremely ufortable. A couple of secondster, everything was normal again. The two looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. They kept the fear to themselves, deeming it the impact of the toxic miasma. *** ¡°Tsk, such a pity!¡± Xiaozhai shook her head and signed with emotion as soon as she set foot on the ind. The houses once filled with busy voices were still here, but there was no sign of a single person¡­ scratch that, not a single living creature. However, the air was filled with an enchanting light-pink fog and bright and beautiful peach trees were everywhere, as if the prettier they were, the more deadly silent this ce would be. ¡°The wood and bricks are not affected and the turf is intact. It seems the erosion only works on people and animals. Hey, how are you feeling?¡± Gu Yu examined the area and asked. ¡°I¡¯m good. The miasma is probably afraid of me.¡± ¡°Afraid of you?¡± He was puzzled. ¡°See for yourself!¡± Xiaozhai activated her Metal Thunder and struck out with an open palm. ¡°Boom!¡± The movement raised a gust of wind with a hint of lightnings. As if reacting to a natural enemy, the miasma dissipated instantly, leaving a small nk spot which was filled by the fog again a momentter. ¡®Awesome!¡¯ Gu Yu eyed her enviously. Thunder Technique cultivators must have their own add-ons! The premium yers! They were worthy of their renown as the nemesis of all things sinister and evil¡­ Had his girlfriend reached the Human Immortal state, with a few thunderstrikes, this ind would be cleared up instantly. The two walked around a little bit and went their separate ways. They were much more rxed now, for with the entire ind covered by the miasma, no one on the outside could see them. Gu Yu found a spot, took out the little gourd, and started collecting the toxic miasma. He was looking into incense-making recently and had juste up with some ideas when the miasma he collected earlier was used up. He hade back for more this time. It was Xiaozhai¡¯s first time here. After having enough fun, she found a few thick peach trees and broke off quite a few twigs. The twigs were of two kinds: one was with a length of 5-10 cm and a diameter 0.5-1.5 cm; the other kind was longer and thicker, but of the same quality and sturdiness. She then opened up her backpack, fumbled out two crude wooden box, and put the twigs in¡ªthe boxes were made from the old tree in the valley and used as containers for the time being. Xiaozhai then stuffed the boxes back into her bag. Her body froze abruptly. An irritating heat was rising in her abdomen and her cheeks were burning slightly. ¡®Hm?¡¯ She blinked. Instead of flustering, she breathed more in deliberately. The cloying pink fog drilled through her nostrils, bringing with it an itchy and numbing sensation. ¡°Are you done?¡± Just then, Gu Yu¡¯s voice came from behind her. Turning around, she noticed that he was also blushing with keen eyes. ¡°Yup, let¡¯s go!¡± Their eyes met and they pursed their lips simultaneously. They left the river mouth holding hands. Please! I have my own Daopanion now. Thest things that¡¯ll concern me are love potions! Bearing that in their minds, they doubled back, reached Por Hollick in the afternoon, and returned to Bai Town. Such was the purpose of their trip¡ªnamely, collecting some peach blossom miasma and snapping some peach tree twigs so that they could try cutting and grafting back in Phoenix Mountain. One had to admit that after witnessing the development work of the research team, the spectrum of Gu Yu¡¯s ideas was much broader now. With his current capability, they had no way to tackle the miasma. It had been a while since he asked Zhang Hongru for information on formations¡ªthetter still had not brought him anything. He could only assume that the Taoist sects had lost much of their heritage throughout the centuries. Therefore, he turned to filtering. Oh my, this concept from Qiu Guan was like a gospel. With the absence of formations, special skills and magical instruments, certain problems could be solved through agricultural technology instead. Quite a lot of wild peach trees were scattered across the inner Phoenix Mountain and there was more than enough sparend in the valley. Plus, cutting and grafting weren¡¯t exactly rocket science. As a matter of fact, the government had also thought about the same approach, but could not carry it out because of the danger of the miasma. It would not stop Gu Yu, however, for his small family of three consisted of innate cultivators and couldpletely withstand the effect. If it worked and the peach trees could keep on reproducing, they could n a belt of trees in the inner mountain, which would be their defense zone. And that was exactly why they kept it from Zhang Hongru. *** Night, in the valley. Long Qiu had prepared dinner for the three, which she left in the pots to keep it warm while she remained in Gu Yu¡¯s meditation room going through his notes. She was slightly less talented than those two, which she made up for with her diligence; she was improving at a noticeable pace. ¡°Creak!¡± She was still reading when she heard the sound at the gate. She immediately put down the notebook and ran out. ¡°Brother, Sister, you¡¯re back.¡± ¡°Yep. Have you been a good girl?¡± ¡°Ah, put me down!¡± Xiaozhai held Long Qiu up and spun her around. It was only after Long Qiu¡¯s near-exploding protest that she finally put her down casually. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai briefly cleaned themselves up and sat down to eat. Long Qiu showed them the box and said, ¡°Someone came to see you today. It was that Zhang Hongru.¡± ¡°What was he doing here?¡± Gu Yu was surprised. ¡°He brought this.¡± Long Qiu opened the box and reported, ¡°He said these are samples of the spiritual stones and asked you to see if they¡¯re up to standard. He needed your reply asap. He¡¯ll be down the mountain these days.¡± ¡°Oh? That¡¯s very efficient of them.¡± Gu Yu picked one up and studied closely, then probed it with his mind. There was some loss of spiritual essence, but not so significant that the content of the stone couldn¡¯t still be considered 1. He was reassured. ¡°Are there four only?¡± ¡°Well, there used to be five. I used one up by ident.¡± Long Qiu was abashed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. How did you feel?¡± ¡°It was slightly faster than my usual cultivation, but not too noticeable¡­¡± Long Qiu thought about it and asked, ¡°Brother, are we cultivating with spiritual stones from now on?¡± ¡°You wish. The state only has 24,500 tons in total so far, and those are crude ore. At best, they would treat them as reserves or special rewards. More lodes will show up, though. It¡¯s only when the scale is sizeable enough that they would be usable resources.¡± Gu Yu paused there and turned to Xiaozhai. ¡°Actually, we can spare some stones for cultivation only. They¡¯ll be helpful, especially with your Thunder Technique¡­¡± All three were in high spirits that night and they went on chating after dinner. Our two fellows were both feeling agitated as they chatted on. The aura around them seemed to be heating up. Even the air was filled with a pink atmosphere of forey. Long Qiu was ignorant to what was going on as she said sincerely, ¡°By the way, Brother, there¡¯s something I don¡¯t understand from you notes.¡± ¡°Where? Let me¡­¡± He was about to say ¡®Let me exin it to you now¡¯ when he felt a chilliness on his back. He forced back the words and changed his reply to, ¡°Let me exin it to you tomorrow. It¡¯s sote already.¡± ¡°Ha¡­¡± The chilliness was gone as Xiaozhai eyed him with a ¡®very clever young man indeed¡¯ sort of look. ¡°Sote?¡± Long Qiu checked the time. It was only nine. She was going to say something else when Xiaozhai stood up. ¡°Yeah, take some rest. We¡¯re tired, too.¡± ¡°Uh huh, go back to your room. Time for bed.¡± ¡°No, ah!¡± Long Qiu was mercilessly thrown out. Pouting, she mumbled, ¡°Do you think I know nothing about that? It¡¯s nothing but, but¡­¡± Her words choked her right there, unable to utter the term. The other two paid no attention to that. Closing the door behind them, they went quietly to their bed (and other things). As the saying went, the beanstalk was dripping and the night was long; the thin clouds moved aside, revealing the glowing moon; dewdrops on the berries reflected the view of flowers, which poured out into those two red lotus petals.1 Chapter 160 Chapter 160: Essence-gathering Incense Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The following day, Gu Yu went down the mountain to meet Zhang Hongru. There were no problems with the spiritual stones, which were ready forrge-scale production. What concerned Gu Yu, however, was what they would do with the odd bits cut off during the process. Zhang Hongru exined that the research team was going to use them as experiment materials for developing eco-chains. For instance, the bits could be ground into powder and sprinkled into ordinary soil or used to feed fish. The powder could also be used directly as a culture medium so as to examine whether or not it could further catalyze the bioactivity. Well, it was not like Gu Yu actually understood what Zhang said. The two did not talk for long and Gu Yu soon headed back up the mountain with the seeds and farming tools. The early season rice of double-cropping was usually harvested in July and thete rice started sowing in mid-June, followed by transnting seedlings in July and harvest in November. Unlike the in countries, mechanization would never happen in the valley. To picture Gu Yu whooshing around driving a tractor was simply ridiculous. Anyhow, the size of their sparend was so small that they would have a few mu at most. Therefore, they preferred traditional techniques and tools. While the time to sow thete rice had yet toe, they could start experimenting with the peach trees. The ideal time for cutting and grafting of peach trees was in early March when the flowers were budding and filling out. The nutrient elements were very active during this time, which would positively affect the survival rate. However, that was only a general guideline. Exactly when to start the process depended on whether or not the flowers were budding. It was June at the moment, when normal peach trees were bearing fruits, with no flowers left. Those in Grass River Mouth, on the other hand, were blossoming at full st from every twig and branch as if there were no tomorrow. The job could only be carried out by Gu Yu and Xiaozhai; Long Qiu was shooed away. After all, the peach tree twigs were toxic and what would they do with her if she identally inhaled it and became all horny? The two of them found seven wild peach trees in the inner part of the mountain, sharpened the end of the twigs with only a little remaining bark, cut open the rootstock, and slowly inserted the twigs. The ¡°wound¡± would then be tightly wrapped up byyers onyers of thin film and fastened securely with ropes. It was the mostmon grafting technique. The twig would sprout in about two weeks and the films could be removed after three months. Cutting was slightly moreplicated. The twigs of 5-10 cm in length would be soaked in amon nutrient fluid before being inserted into a perlite substrate. With appropriate watering and careful shading, the twigs would take root about a weekter. With the roots, the twigs could then be transnted into the soil and cultured. Of the twigs that had been ¡°filtered out¡±, seven were grafted and ten went through the cutting process, which made it seventeen in total. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai took the task very seriously and tended the twigs daily. For a while, it was as if they had turned into a peasant couple and spent their days carrying water and irrigating the plots. *** The meditation room. Gu Yu sat by the low table with quite a few things disyed on it, among which were pots, boxes, nks, bowls, tweezers, etc. All items were strictly arrayed and neatlyid out. There were many, but not messy. He had prepared quite some raw materials before going to Tianzhu and had studied them for long after he got back. He was struck by some new ideas today and thought he should give it a go again. The incense powder in several small pots were those of over a dozen ingredients such as Chinese lobelia, liquorice, chrysanthemum, bleti, etc., all of which were fine, mild medicines with heat-clearing and detoxifying qualities. For the sticky powder, he used to use elm bark. Now that he noticed that the bark of the old tree was far more effective as it also contained spiritual essence, he cut down a piece and ground it into a sticky powder. Poor old tree. It had lived a quiet life in the valley for god knows how many years. But ever since this fellow got here, it was covered with cuts and bruises. Gu Yu took a ceramic bowl first and, one by one, he put in the powders he had measured out; he had found out the optimal ratio after repeated trials. Clear water from the river was then poured in, followed by his hand-pressing. When the incense powder and sticky powder were mixed with water, what happened next was simr to kneading a dough. Gu Yu soon had a dough-like lump the size of an adult¡¯s fist. After that, he picked up the small gourd and took a deep breath. A streak of pink fog floated out of the spout, then twirled and twisted in midair. Gu Yu dared not take it lightly. With his mental force, he controlled the pink fog to stop it from dissipating while kneading the incense dough repeatedly with both hands. He then opened his mouth and breathed out. ¡°Ha!¡± Stimted, the pink fog seemed toe to life¡ªit turned into a thin thread and was blown onto the dough. Between his two hands, a tiny airflow field was created. The spiritual essence wrapped around the pink fog, which slowly sank into the incense dough. As he kneaded on, the lump shrank further and further and quite a while passed before Gu Yu paused abruptly. He opened his palms, revealing a light-pink incense base, whose size was only half of the original lump. With his continuous pressing, rubbing, and kneading, it had be extremely dense. The surface was smooth and even boasted a mellow brightness. He ripped a piece of it off, pressed it under his finger, and entered the state of looking into his own mind. His mental force watched in silence from above his head like a bright moon, Gu Yu sitting right beneath it. As his finger kneaded on, the incense dough stretched out, thinned down and elongated. About ten minutester, a new kind of incense stick finally took shape. The stick was evenly shaped. It had a pink hue, but was not enchanting like the color suggested. It also looked white-ish, but felt more fuzzy. ¡°I thought the Wake-up Essence was as far as I could get; I never thought I could exceed myself¡­¡± Gu Yu shook his head and sighed. If the Wake-up Essence could be considered an art, this incense had transcended the level of all earthly objects, for it possessed a quality hard to pin down¡ªspirituality. Once he seeded, Gu Yu was able to carry on the job with ease. He finally made twenty sticks when the incense dough was used up. The sticks were then carefully put into a wooden box. Gu Yu briefly adjusted his breathing. Instead of taking a break, he moved on to make another type of incense. This one was an improvement on that Dan recipe. The ingredients remained the same, but he hadrgely lowered the requirement on the age and potency. There were as many as eighteen ingredients in it, including wild ginseng, glossy ganoderma, poria cocos, dendrobe, lotus seeds, etc. An ordinary person would probably die of ¡°nutrition overdose¡± from a soup made out of all those ingredients with blood oozing out of all orifices. Worried by the potency, he added a few more medicinal materials that could adjust and mediate the effect, making it twenty-five ingredients in total. Repeating his previous steps, he made another twenty incense sticks with the same state of mind and technique. In simple terms, with his mental force and spiritual essence, he had blended all medicinal properties into one and got rid of all impurities in the process. When all these were finally finished, Gu Yu looked up and realized it was dark outside already. He pushed himself up a little from the rush-mat ground, trying to stand up, but slumped back down with a thump. ¡°Haha¡­¡± He chuckled. He was weak from exhausting his mental force and energy. He was delighted, though. The two boxes of incense sticks satisfied him greatly. He had named the first one Peach-blossom Incense and the other Essence-gathering Incense. The former was something he made at a whim. Thetter was crucial. The Essence-gathering Dan was used to speed up the cultivation process. If the Essence-gathering Incense could have the same effect, even if it was only one tenth or one twentieth of the original form, it would be able to rece the spiritual stone to some extent. With that, his people of Phoenix Mountain would have the most solid foundation! *** The end of June, Jiang Zhou Railway Station. The station was a major one and countless passengers tread on its tforms everyday. Over twenty waiting areas were all closely packed with people. In the waiting area of the trains to Yingtan 1 , despite all the bustling, everyone was curiously darting looks in the same direction from time to time. On a seat somewhere in the middle, a gaunt old priest sat with his eyes closed. He was extremely old but, strangely, even the wrinkles on his face were emanating a mystical vitality. He was a round peg in a square hole: gray Taoist robe, white socks, cloth shoes, and no luggage. Beside him was a bundle wrapped in cloth¡ªexactly like the bundles one saw in costume dramas. The old priest was none other than the abbot of Qionglong Mountain Sect, Tan Chongdai himself. It was the 19th today and the ceremony started on the 20th. There was no airport at the location and he could only take a train, which was a ten-hour ride by high-speed rail. The Taoist association drove him to the station and left him with a ticket and some allowance to cover travel expenses. It was a rare asion when Qin Yunfeng was not stingy, for he had given Tan 50,000 yuan. The man had probably got wind of Zhengyi¡¯s possible major move and old Priest Tan was the representative of Jiang Zhou after all, so he should not be sent out looking all shabby. ¡°Dear passengers, train No. G808 from Jiang Zhou to Yingtan is ready for ticket-checking¡­¡± At the broadcast, Tan Chongdai rose to his feet, his posture as upright as a green pine tree. The aura instantly made those around him jump. His face serious, the old priest strode out and proceeded to the tform. Next stop: the shrine of Southern Taoistmunity for the past two thousand years¡ªLonghu Mountain! Chapter 161 Chapter 161: Longhu Mountain Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Yingtan was a small city with a poption of just over a million and ackluster economy. Under its jurisdiction were merely two districts¡ªa county and a county-level city. However, with Longhu Mountain at its doorstep, Yingtan had emerged as a renowned tourism destination in the country. Longhu Mountain was 20 km to the south of the city. Ever since Zhang Sheng, the great-great-grandson of Zhang Daoling 1 , formally took residence there, the sect had been passed along for sixty-five generations over the past two thousand years. Although Zhengyi had never been given the role of the Taoistmunity chief as Quanzhen was, it was awarded numerous times throughout the dynasties. In its heyday, Zhengyi had ten major Taoist pces, eighty-one temples, fifty Taoist monasteries, and ten nunneries; the mountain was like a Taoist mini-kingdom. It was known as the ¡°Taoist capital¡±. However, the world changed over time and all human affairs seemed evanescent inparison. Most of the pces and temples were rubble now. The only building remaining rtively intact was the Celestial Master Temple. There were in fact two sacred ces on Longhu Mountain, namely theShangqing 2 Pce up on the mountain and the Celestial Master Temple at the mountain foot. The former was the birthce of Zhengyi, where major ceremonies and activities were held, while thetter belonged to the Way of Celestial Masters 3 , who used it as their residence and the ce to worship their gods. Morning, the railway station. The tiring ten-hour journey did not wear Tan Chongdai down. It wasn¡¯t his first time here, but many a year had psed since hisst visit. Taking in the unrecognizable city with all the high-rise buildings, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh with emotion. The customs here were of an utterly different kind¡ªfolks of Yingtan readily epted the presence of Taoists disciples, showing little, if any, surprise. Somewhere outside the exit, a few Taoist priests were waiting. Among them was a ss-wearing middle-aged priest with a refined look, who went up to Tan Chongdai first and saluted. ¡°Old Master Tan of Qionglong Mountain, I presume?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°My name is Hao Hongqing and I¡¯m in charge of the reception for the Celestial Master Temple. We are here to pick you up. Please follow me and wait a moment in the vehicle,¡± the man introduced himself. All Taoist priests had their Taoist names, which were given by their masters following the inherited generation names passed down in their own sects. Theyman family names were generally kept as they were, while the first character in the Taoist given name must follow the generation names. The name ¡°Hao Hongqing¡± indicated that the man was a disciple of generation ¡°Hong¡±. ¡°Are you still waiting for someone else?¡± Tan Chongdai followed him to the vehicle and asked in passing. ¡°Old Master Wang of Xihe Sect is alsoing. He is to arrive around the same time as you,¡± exined the man. ¡°I see. It is Wang Ruoxu 4 you are waiting for, then.¡± Tan Chongdai nodded and got into the vehicle himself. It was a very spacious seven-seatmercial vehicle. A little whileter, the door opened again. Popping on board was a plump priest with a round belly¡ªit was none other than Wang Ruoxu himself. Having long been recruited by the BIMAUP, Wang Ruoxu only took part in the event this time to nose around, gaining some idea on the attitudes of the attending sects. Therefore, he cottoned up to Tan Chongdai with a grin as soon as he set eyes on thetter. ¡°Oh my, I¡¯ve heard so much about you, Old Master. It¡¯s such an honor to meet you!¡± ¡°You tter me. The honor is mine.¡± The old priest smiled and greeted Wang with a hand-cupping gesture. He was actually telling the truth, for the fatso Wang was indeed a renowned figure of Shu Zhou from all his Feng Shui jobs. The paunchy priest got on the vehicle and sat down right next to Tan Chongdai. His little entourage of two disciples voluntarily took their seats in the back row. Seeing that Tan Chongdai was all by himself, Wang asked deliberately, ¡°Old Master, didn¡¯t you bring any pupil?¡± ¡°My sect was having a hard time finding pupils and by now, I¡¯m the only disciple left.¡± Tan Chongdai shook his head. ¡°Please stay positive. It¡¯s only a matter of opportunity. I¡¯m sure fortune will turn in your favor sooner orter.¡± ¡°Haha, thank you for your blessing.¡± While they were talking, a mor came from outside. Opening the window, they saw six or seven Taoist priests squeezing their way through the station exit, clustering around a single man¡ªwho was also an acquaintance. It was Zhang Miaoxian, the abbot of Wanshou 5 Pce in Xi 6 Mountain. The man had had quite a bumpy career path. He was a direct descendant of the Celestial Master Temple, but was defeated in an internal strife. With his superior supporter picking the wrong side, Zhang Miaoxian was sent away to Wanshou Pce and became its abbot. Wanshou Pce was the birthce ofJingming 7 Sect, which was a sub-division of Zhengyi. Being delegated there was as good as being exiled. The current Celestial Master Zhang was called Zhang Jintong, the son of the daughter of the Celestial Master beforest. His original surname was not Zhang, but was changed to itter in his life. The inheritance of the Celestial Master Temple had always been passed down through the direct line of descent and among their own kin. Zhang Jintong, on the other hand, was a descendant from a daughter¡¯s side. The fact that he was able to take charge of Celestial Master Temple was an obvious demonstration of the government¡¯s tight grip over the Taoistmunity. The domination was unchallengeable. Of course, Zhang Miaoxian was not a man to be taken lightly either. Having once been the deputy chairman of the Taoist association, the man was extremely well connected. The man had arrived with such an imposing manner that Hao Hongqing was grumbling silently to himself. Nheless, he had to show his hospitality. Zhang Miaoxian got into a vehicle all by himself and his disciples got on another. The two vehicles then started their engines and pulled away first. ¡°¡­¡± Tan Chongdai watched this in silence. Wang Ruoxu, however, was observing them with flickering eyes, revealing nothing of his mind. *** The Celestial Master Temple was located in the town of Shangqing, which was 1 km away from Shangqing Pce. The temple was facing south towards Pipa 8Peak with Luxi River flowing past its front gate. The 30,000-m^2 temple was richly ornamented with carved beams and rafters painted with a fine redcquer. It was a magnificent building. Hanging on both columns outside the temple gate was a couplet, which read: In Qilin Hall, the immortal received his guests; On Longhu Mountain, the grand chancellor took his residence 9 . The status of the temple was self-exnatory. The group of priests got off the vehicles, entered the front gate, and walked through the main hall. Looking up, they saw a pair of bell towers upying the west and east corners. Standing upright in front of them was a Jade Emperor Hall, in which the Jade Emperor was worshiped along with twelve nking heavenly lords, such as Deng, Xin, Zhang, Tao, etc. Continuing three more gates into the temple, they arrived at the private residence of the Celestial Master Temple, which consisted of three halls. The front hall acted as a lobby, the middle hall a living room, and the back hall contained the inner chambers and guest rooms. In the lobby was the shrine of three statues, which was none other than the First Patriarch Zhang Daoling and his favorite pupils Wang Chang and Zhao Sheng. ¡°Please have some rest here. Our abbot is making arrangements in the temple at the moment and will take a while beforeing back.¡± Hao Hongqing led the group into the guest rooms and exined to them one by one before leaving. The impartment ceremony would not start until tomorrow. They were among the early arrivals and there weren¡¯t many guests yet. Zhang Miaoxian closed the door behind him as soon as he entered his room, showing no intention of holding any conversations. Tan Chongdai, on the other hand, had nothing better to do after a brief rest and went to talk to Wang Ruoxu again. As they chatted on, the courtyard became noisier as various abbots began to arrive, which was followed by rounds of greetings. In fact, as these people never got the chance to meet one another,working became mandatory whenever they gathered together at a rare major event like this. It was on such asions that one got to observe the different strata. Major sects such as Qingwei and Jingming were not shy about showing their power and prestige¡ªthey would bring as many as five or more disciples as their entourage. The abbots were encircled by admirers, who would suck up to their abbots, showering thetter with shameless ttery. Their mastery of such skills would even outshine that of many a mortal men. Inparison to the above mentioned were the little ones, such as Baotian 10and Tieguan 11 , whom no one was bothered to pay attention to. They either joined forces among themselves or ignored the others. Before they knew it, it was nighttime. Surprisingly, Zhang Jintong did not show up the entire time, but the guests did not think much of it. After all, attending the ceremony was a mere excuse. Their real purpose here was to see exactly what Longhu Mountain was up to. The following morning. Tan Chongdai changed into a blue deluo, had his breakfast, and headed for Shangqing Pce with the rest of the group. ¡°Deluo¡± was a type of Taoist robe, which was simr to an ordinary one, but with wider sleeves. It was a ceremonial dress for special asions. Seventy-twoy Taoist practitioners would attend the impartment ceremony this time. They had been waiting for some time outside the great hall by now, murmuring and muttering among themselves. Quite a few tourist groups were also at the scene, snapping pictures on the side. There were even media reporters with running cameras. The group were more than used to the scene. Impartment ceremonies had long lost their solemnity, bingmercialized and an entertainment. Guided by disciples of the Way of Celestial Masters, the seventy-two people entered the hall of impartment. Inside the spacious hall, a portrait of Zhang Daoling was hanging in the middle, surrounded by wooden fences on three sides. In the back were the seats for the ceremony attendees. Before long, Taoist music rang out and three masters entered the hall, wearing yellow, green, and purple robes respectively. The one in purple was Zhang Jintong himself. The man was in his sixties, short-ish, and had a yellow and emaciatedplexion. Nothing in his appearance suggested a man of great virtue. Instead, he looked rather worn out and depressed, as if there weren¡¯t many years left of him. The so-called ¡°impartment¡± was the passing on of the knowledge on the Great Dao of salvation from master to pupils. Therefore, the pupils needed to pay respect to three masters (namely, the Supervising Master, the Imparting Master, and the Rmending Master). The three positions were usually filled by prestigious priests of a pce or temple. But this time, for some unknown reason, Zhang Jintong had decided to y the role of Imparting Master himself. Each with a ruyi between their arms, the three saluted the patriarch first, then theymen entered the hall each holding a ritual baton and saluted the three masters. At this point, the ceremony began in earnest. With the three masters stood in front and the disciples arranged neatly behind them, they knelt down in unison, paying homage to the shrine. The impartment procedure consisted of roughly three parts¡ªtelling of the precept, making oath, and the handing out of certificates. Momentarily, the hall was filled with the sound of reciting scripture passages and the atmosphere was solemn and dignified. All the other abbots watched from the side with straight faces despite various thoughts going through their heads. About an hourter, Zhang Jintong handed out the certificates to allymen and the ceremony was over. While they were taking group photos in the yard, some other disciples went around and led the abbots to a house in the backyard. The deco here was on the opposite end of the spectrum. The house was equipped with all sorts of modern facilities, with a conference room in the innermost corner. Inside it was an oval table and a giant screen. Zhang Miaoxian was the first in the line. He was about to enter when a disciple at the door stopped him. ¡°Your name card, please.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know who I am?¡± He was taken by surprise. ¡°Please show your name card!¡± The disciple repeated. ¡°My name was noted down during registration already. Why do you need to see my name card again?¡± ¡°This conference is very important and we have to take every precaution. I apologize for the inconvenience.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Zhang Miaoxian felt blood rushing into his head. This used to be his own territory before he was shoved away to Wanshou Pce. He¡¯d be damned if he ever let that pass! He had had a bumpy trip ining here at the first ce. Now, faced with such a request, he thought he was being harassed. ¡°Fine! I¡¯m not going in, then!¡± He had yet to achieve the adequate self-cultivation, or he would never get involved with the politics on a whim. Letting out a snort, he flipped his sleeves and walked out. ¡°Your name card, please!¡± The disciple paid no attention to his departure and moved on to the next one in line. ¡°Sure, just a second.¡± The next man was in his sixties and very affable. He fumbled out his invitation and Taoist priest certificate with a smile. The disciple took a look and raised his voice abruptly. ¡°Priest Wu Songbai of Shangqing, Mao Mountain Sect!¡± Hm? Wu Songbai winced. That was unexpectedly formal. There was no time for him to think it over, however. Stepping into the room, he sat down on a chair. The following one was an old man in his eighties. The disciple announced in the same manner, ¡°Priest Xue Mingxin of Zhengyi, Qingwei Sect!¡± The old man went in and sat down next to Wu Songbai. The two exchanged a look, both finding the setting rather strange. Meetings in the past were set out with name tags, tea, waiters, and cameras. None of the above was here this time. The room was as good as empty. ¡°Priest Li Jingxiu of Lingbao Sect!¡± ¡°Priest Tan Chongdai of Shenxiao, Qionglong Mountain Sect!¡± ¡°Priest Xu Yangsheng of Qingwei, Zhengyi Sect!¡± ¡°What¡­¡± The group was getting such a weird feeling from all the announcing that they even straightened their garments and put on a more serious look. ¡°Priest Cheng Xingshi of Liuzu, Lingbao Sect!¡± ¡°Priest Huang Huiguang of Jingming, L¨¹shan Sect!¡± ¡°Priest Wang Ruoxu of Sazu, Xihe Sect!¡± There were more Taoist branches and sects than one could remember, and the system was chaotic and confusing. In general, when addressing a member, the name of the chief sect came first, followed by the name of the sub-division. For instance, in ¡°Qingwei, Zhengyi 12 Sect¡±, ¡°Qingwei¡± was the chief sect and ¡°Zhengyi¡± the sub-sect. Another example would be ¡°Liuzu, Lingbao Sect¡±, in which the ¡°Liuzu¡± came from certain disciple of Lingbao Sect with a surname Liu who went out preaching, but did not want to set up a new sect of his own. Instead, he stuck with the name of his original chief sect, which made the one of his own ¡± Liuzu13 , Lingbao Sect¡±. As the disciple called out each name in turn, the priests also went in one at a time. Zhang Miaoxian could hear everything outside. Despite his temper, he wasn¡¯t really going to leave, for it was so obvious that this was going to be some event! As a result, he was in an utterly awkward situation, not knowing whether he should stay on or not. Suddenly, there was a pat on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Zhang Jintong standing behind him, who said in a husky voice, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± With that, he entered first. ¡°¡­¡± Frowning, Zhang Miaoxian eventually followed suit. ¡°Priest Zhang Miaoxian of Lingbao, Jingming Sect!¡± With the entrance of thest person, the disciple bowed low, then left the room, closing the door carefully behind him. ¡°¡­¡± Inside, the atmosphere was rather hard to describe; no one made a sound. Zhang Jintong sat at the head of the table with an expressionless face. It took quite some time before he finally started speaking. ¡°Ny years ago, the Taoistmunity gathered together in Baiyun Temple of the capital,piling the ¡®General Registry of Cultivation Sects¡¯, which included sixty-two officially qualified sects. Among the sixty-two sects, Quanzhen took up thirty-eight and Zhengyi twenty-four. Now that ny years have passed, I would never imagine that when Longhu Mountain sent out invitation this time, only seventeen sects could be found. I¡¯m afraid that sects such as Tianshan, Zhengyi of Ziji Pce, and Xiangu 14 are no longer among us¡­¡± Chapter 162 Chapter 162: Face and Soul Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Zhang Jintong sighed softly after his announcement. All sighs were not the same; it depended on who was the one sighing. Zhang Jintong was never a ¡°real¡± Celestial Master as far as orthodoxy was concerned¡ªhe was a mere figurehead propped up by those above. Moreover, Celestial Masters in the old days were always conferred by the court, which granted them legitimacy. In our modern society, the authorities would be out of their minds to confer such titles. Consequently, his status had always been rather awkward. Nevertheless, after the all these years of presiding over the Celestial Master Temple, he had indeed established certain authority. Therefore, as he squeezed the rueful, grave moan from his throat in that husky voice, the roomful of priests shuddered in unison. However, the old priest¡¯s tone changed abruptly after that, and turned unnaturally excited. ¡°I¡¯ve gathered you all here for three reasons. One is to witness the ceremony, another is to rpile the general registry of the sects. I will report to the Taoist association on the extinction of those six sects and that the remaining twenty-four of us are the only ones left of Zhengyi.¡± He paused, letting his exhration seep through like a serpent. ¡°The third is to make an announcement. After this meeting, you are to go back to your own sects and pick out your best pupils. They will be summoned by the capital shortly!¡± ¡°Buzz!¡± As if a kettle had been set up on a raging fire, there first came the bubble and burble, which grew louder until everyone was talking at the same time. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you lost me there,¡± said Wu Songbai. ¡°Could you exin what you mean by ¡®best pupils¡¯?¡± asked Li Jingxiu. The two were the abbots of Maoshan and Lingbao respectively. Together with the Way of Celestial Masters, the three were known as ¡°Three Mountains of Talisman¡± and their rtionship was analogous to that of sworn brothers. The questions they posed also expressed the ones on the minds of the others. Zhang Miaoxian chimed in sarcastically, ¡°You¡¯ve gone this far to get all of us here, why don¡¯t you cut to the chase? Enough with the mysteries.¡± ¡°The exnation is a simple one: it¡¯s time for us to show our cards¡­¡± Zhang Jintong scanned the room. Straightening his gaunt, sallow face, he announced slowly but forcefully, ¡°Fellow Old Masters, the Taoist skills have emerged!¡± ¡°Boom!¡± If their reaction earlier wasparable to boiling water, a sputtering frying pan was threatening to explode now. Apart from Wang Ruoxu and Tan Chongdai, the remaining fifteen sect leaders were all astonished and frightened in disbelief. Despite the Taoist world¡¯s overt inclination towardsmercialization, some things were imperishable. That tiny bit of remaining heritage that managed to survive in spite of numerous turmoils and cmities in the past millennia was the fundamental reason why there was still a Taoistmunity today. Why were people willing to endure the austere religious life when they had the choice to live afortable secr one? There had to be a yearning in them¡ªfor immortality, for strength, for the ability to saunter the great void¡­ Therefore, in major sects such as Qingwei and Lingbao, the past sessive abbots had made it clear that their disciples were divided into two types. One type was to specialize in making money for the sect, among whom the shrewdest ones would be considered as candidates for future abbots. For in order to have a sustainable sect, the abbot had to be good at dealing with the secr world and the government. The other type, needless to say, consisted of those truly seeking the Great Dao. Only one in a thousand, if not ten thousand, disciples would turn out to be someone with such belief and such pupils were treasures to all sects, whom they would stash away and never let outsiders know about. Both types were necessary to sustain the Taoist heritage, only that the first type was the face, while thetter was the soul. The spiritual essence had been declining at an rming pace since Ming Dynasty, resulting in the Taoistmunity¡¯s rapidly move into the era of the end of Taoist skills. The following centuries saw countless people pursuing the true Great Dao and an almost equal amount of people giving up halfway through, deeming the concept a nonsense uttered by their predecessors and the existence of Taoist skills a myth only. The remaining handful were on the verge of despair, clutching at the straws of hope. Yet today, right in this Shangqing Pce, someone announced in front of them that the Taoist skills had emerged! ¡°Do, do you mean it?¡± The eighty-or-so-year-old Xue Mingxin suddenly rose to his feet, pointing at Zhang Jintong with a quivering hand. His old yet exceptionally piercing eyes fixed upon thetter, lest he should recant the next second. ¡°I would never speak lightly of such great matters. I meant every word!¡± Xue Mingxin was an incredibly senior member among the abbots. In a haste, Zhang Jintong also stood up and bowed low at the old priest. ¡°What is your source?¡± ¡°Do you have any proof?¡± ¡°We are all old men with a foot in our graves. We can¡¯t afford any joking around on this!¡± The rest of the abbots joined in, probing and inquiring in various tones. Extending both hands forward, Zhang Jintong made a gesture of pressing down and said, ¡°My words might not be convincing enough, so please see for yourselves.¡± With that, he switched on therge screen behind him, which immediately showed the figure of a young man. ¡°Hm?¡± While they were still wondering, the young man made amanding gesture with his fingers and called out, ¡°Move!¡± ¡°Thump!¡± A giant shadow leapt into sight without warning andnded forcefully on the ground. The young man then pointed with his fingers again, at which the shadow dived into the woods. Its hands then stretched out and ten sharp ws popped out, all shimmering ck in color. ¡°Boom! Boom!¡± Like a ravaging wild beast, the thing rampaged frantically in the woods brandishing its sharp ws, slicing trees and stones like a knife cutting tofu. Broken twigs and rubble flew in all directions. After that, the young manmanded again, ¡°Stop!¡± The shadow leapt back to his side at the word and stood motionless. Its savagery and the smell of blood seemed to have rushed out at the abbots through the screen. ¡°That was¡­¡± Cold sweat was trickling down Wu Songbai¡¯s back. He then cried out in disbelief. ¡°Was that Corpse-refining Technique of Lower Mao Mountain?¡± ¡°That indeed looked like Corpse-refining Technique!¡± Wang Ruoxu¡¯s opinion-guiding came at an opportune moment as he put on a surprised look and said, ¡°But I heard the requirements of refining corpses are extremely strict and there hasn¡¯t been any record of one for centuries. Is it possible that it was a fake one?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not possible. It¡¯s got the right toughness and appearance. If I guessed it right, that one had reached the iron level already!¡± As the two discussed on, the screen went dark in a snap, while the sound still seemed to reverberate in the conference room. ¡°¡­¡± No one spoke, but they were nheless almost convinced. Zhang Jintong looked around the room and offered a brief introduction. ¡°That man was called Li Suchun, a disciple of the seventy-two schools of Lower Mao Mountain. His master has already passed away.¡± ¡°Where is he now?¡± Zhang Miaoxian asked. Zhang Jintong darted a meaningful look at him. ¡°He¡¯s in the capital.¡± The capital! The two words were self-exnatory. In in words, it was called ¡°given the choice, all talented people would prefer to serve the emperor, one way or another¡±. Once a servant of the imperial household, more than enough resources would flow in at a mere nod of their heads. With that, various Taoist skills¡ªbe it the Thunder Technique of Qingwei or talismans of Mao Mountain¡ªwould stand a good chance of resurgence. After a brief moment of hesitation, all abbots were firmly determined. When a great fortune was within hand¡¯s reach, would anyone say no to that just because there would be hardships and dangers waiting ahead? Moreover, even if they wanted to refuse, would that even be an option? Therefore, after thinking it through, they adjusted their attitudes and started asking more practical questions. ¡°Is there a quota for each sect?¡± ¡°No, the more people you could send, the better.¡± ¡°What if there is no suitable pupil in the sect?¡± ¡°You can always go yourself. Everyone will be treated as equals.¡± ¡°Apart from sending in pupils, what else do we need to do?¡± ¡°Nothing else for the time being.¡± ¡°Jintong¡­¡± Being the most senior member of the group, Xue Mingxin kept his silence the entire time, as if being preupied by some idea. He spoke suddenly at that moment. ¡°Is the same thing going on in Quanzhen?¡± ¡°¡­¡± All went quiet instantaneously. Zhang Jintong furrowed his brows and replied in a somber tone, ¡°Yes, Baiyun Temple is probably holding a ceremony at the moment as well. I don¡¯t think there is much difference in the information we received.¡± He paused briefly and went on, ¡°Fellow Old Masters, since we¡¯ve gathered here today, I¡¯ll take the opportunity to have a word with you all. Our two sects have beenpeting against each other for over a thousand years, first over the Taoist orthodoxy in the old days and now for the official status and treatment. Now that the Taoist skills have emerged, I see it as a godsend opportunity. Whether it turns out to be an inexorable doom, a misfortune, or a blessing will depend solely on our capabilities. It is something we must fight for. Once back in your own sects, you will have a few more days to think it over. On the 1st of the next month, send all your candidates to Longhu Mountain!¡± *** Jiang Zhou, Qionglong Mountain. Tan Chongdai had been meditating in the room of tranquility for a while when he heaved a sigh unexpectedly, sensing a disquiet of his mind. He thus stood up and walked to the window, gazing at the old tree in the courtyard, lost in thought. It was June and ntations were already flourishing in the region south of Yangtze River. The old tree had been there for decades and remained luxuriantly green. However, on the wall next to the tree, a vine had grown out when no one was looking, which was now dangling down like a small waterfall of flowing verdancy. The tree was nted by his master himself, while the wisteria was a recent addition. Watching them both, Tan Chongdai suddenly felt that time had changed into fluctuating sections, which were flickering back and forth before his eyes. Ever since he came back to his temple from the ceremony, Tan Chongdai had been in aplicated and hyper-excited state. Despite knowing the news long beforehand, the event this time was advocated by the government, initiated by Longhu Mountain, and participated by the entire Taoistmunity¡­ the significance was simply out of the ordinary. Being in his sixties already, as a sect leader, he felt somewhat abashed to join the pupils of other sects. However, he never doubted his determination in pursuing the Great Dao for one single second. He was ready to risk every bone of his old body just to give it a try. *** Songjiang, Taiqing 1 Pce. Xue Mingxin was sitting upright in meditation. He looked tall and straight, without any sign of sagging. Bing a cultivator at the age of thirteen, the old man was eighty-seven years old now, almost the same age as the modern state. In front of him, two men were kneeling on the ground respectfully. One was in his thirties and the other in his early sixties. The younger one looked subtly awkward, but dared not utter a word. The older one, on the other hand, had a sorrowful face as he said repeatedly, ¡°Master, please have mercy! Master, why can my junior fellow disciple go while I can¡¯t? Master¡­¡± After much pleading, Xue Mingxin finally replied, ¡°You are no longer as young and your aptitude is only of an average level. I won¡¯t be around for very long and I was intending to have you as my sessor. If you went away this time, there is no guarantee what will be of you. I am worried that it would hamper both your cultivation and your future path.¡± ¡°Master!¡± The man kowtowed nine times, his head knocking loudly on the ground, and sobbed. ¡°I became your pupil when I was little and have made painstaking effort to pursue the Great Dao. Now that a great opportunity is within my reach,e hell or high water, I want to give it a go.¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Seeing the determination of his most senior pupil, Xue Mingxin could not bear to refuse him in the end. He only sighed. ¡°Fine, have it your way. You two can go together. Now, please leave.¡± *** Jurong, the Temple of Mao Mountain. The predecessor of Mao Mountain was Shangqing Sect, which originated from the Han Dynasty era. It was not until the Southern Dynasties during the time of Tao Hongjing when the sect of Mao Mountain was formally established. Therefore, when being addressed by other members of the Taoistmunity, its name always came with a prefix, being known as Shangqing Mao Mountain. When time came to Ming Dynasty and Quanzhen expanded its territory forcefully southward, Longmen Sect, which was formed by Qiu Chuji, attacked and upied Mao Mountain, resulting in the situation where five temples followed Quanzhen, while three pces followed Zhengyi. With the establishment of the modern state, the five temples and three pces merged and together became known as the Temple of Mao Mountain, a member of the school of Zhengyi. There was also a Qianyuan Temple in the sect, which was a temple for female disciples only and a part of Quanzhen, Longmen Sect. Right now, inside a meditation room in the temple, there stood a young man in his twenties. He looked like the sober and steady kind, with a hint of mboyance about him. Opposite him was none other than Wu Songbai himself. ¡°Do you understand what I told you?¡± Wu Songbai asked. ¡°Yes, Master.¡± ¡°Any thoughts on that?¡± ¡°I will show them my capability, bringing back Mao Mountain the fame we deserve.¡± The young man was concise in his reply. ¡°Haha, good! I¡¯ve taught you well!¡± Wu Songbai was exceedingly delighted by the answer, though. He stroked his long beard. That was the way things were. Quanzhen and Zhengyi might seem equally famous, but Quanzhen was obviously the one having a better life, for it was the school emphasizing theories. Wang Chongyang maintained that Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism shouldbine together¡ªcultivating the moral character, following the precepts, and converting the mortal men. Such ideas fit the description ofw-abiding citizen to a tee, which made the moralization work of the ruling ss much easier. That was why Quanzhen had be the national leader of the Taoistmunity. Zhengyi, on the other hand, was a sect of DPS quality, whose means ranged from summoning gods, spirits, and ghosts via talismans and other instruments to various other malicious approaches. They liked to y it the tough way. Such a style was disliked by the ruling ss. Zhengyi was only awarded out of the need for stability. With the arrival of the modern society, the authorities deemed those skills as feudalistic superstition and were stealthily suppressing sects of Zhengyi, Mao Mountain in particr. At his age, Wu Songbai was indifferent to fame and wealth for himself. He had invested all his effort in this pupil, entrusting thetter with all his hopes. ¡°The inheritance of Mao Mountain is depending on you from now on.¡± Chapter 163 Chapter 163: Spiritual Rice Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu July, Phoenix Mountain. In his decade-long incense-making life, Gu Yu had never been as fidgety and expectant as today. Early this morning, he went into the backyard of the Cottage of Pure Mind, jumped into the incense cer, and came back up with two trays of incense sticks¡ªone tray of Peach-blossom Incense and Essence-gathering Incense each. After half a month of cering, all excess of energy had dissipated and the medicinal properties mellowed, rendering the former all the more mboyant and seductive, while thetter more profound andposed. Returning to his room of meditation, he ignited an Essence-gathering incense stick and sat down uprightly, meditating. The tip of the stick sparkled, slowly releasing a streak of white fume which rose and froze in midair. Instead of dissipating, it aggregated, gradually gathering into a lump of fog. The fog was of a rather peculiar consistency, which was half-gaseous and half-liquid. It seemed to have stuck to the empty air, forming a pattern that reminded one of rolling mountains. Following that, as if being drawn away by something, a thin thread of fog suddenly peeled itself away from the lump and slowly drifted towards Gu Yu, which then twirled around him, as though trying to wrap him up. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu sensed it attentively. Apart from the familiar spiritual essence, there was an additional faint aura, which was mild, affable, and seeped into his body in an inoffensive manner before fusing into his Qihai. It was about an hourter when he opened his eyes again. The incense stick was almost burnt up, with only half a centimeter left. ¡°I¡¯ve made it!¡± Gu Yu was filled with joy, for the amount of essence he took in had increased by 10%paring to his usual practice, with no abnormal side-effects. This increase might seem insignificant, but one had to realize that this incense was a sustainable source made from rtivelymon ingredients. That was to say, if one were to cultivate around the clock, they could simply ignite twenty-four incense sticks one at a time. The umted increment would be a very considerable amount over time. He had already tried cultivating with the spiritual stones, which had given him an extra 1/9 to ? of essence consumption. Therefore, he had reached his conclusion: the Essence-gathering incense was almost a perfect substitution of the stones! ¡°Haha, finally, I¡¯ve got us some guarantee¡­¡± Gu Yu was most satisfied with himself. He carefully put away the Essence-gathering Incense, then lit a Peach-blossom one. This incense stick gave off a light-pink smoke, which had a cooling sensation and smelled faintly sweet. Once he inhaled the smoke, Gu Yu turned his mental force inwards and scanned his body¡¯s interior. He could distinctively make out a streak of pink aura attaching to his internal organs and slowly prating them. He watched this for a while before circting his spiritual essence, instantaneously eliminating the smoke. Meanwhile, he also felt the faintest agitation rising inside him. Apparently, the Peach-blossom incense had two effects¡ªit worked both as a chronic poison and an aphrodisiac. However, the most remarkable characteristic of this incense was that despite being able to make people aroused and in high spirits, its toxicity waspletely concealed by the resulting exhration. That was extraordinary, for those under its influence would only think it a natural, pollution-free version of little blue pills, whose toxicity would never show up in test results! ¡°Tsk, tsk!¡± Gu Yu praised his own talent, but did not let it show. Without intending to, he had created something incredible. The incense was a dagger hidden in a smile, perfect for setting people up. *** The three on Phoenix Mountain werepletely in the dark of what had been going on in Longhu Mountain. The little family of three spent their days farming, ploughing, and bantering. Life couldn¡¯t have been better. The valley had gone through some dramatic changes. The Cottage of Pure Mind was still on the south bank with its seven well-arranged houses. On the east side of the yard were the rows of gourds, sowed in March. It was July now and they were ready to be harvested. They had chosen two breeds. One was therge bottle gourd, which was of a height between fifty and eighty cm, and the other was the medium bottle gourd, which was about fifteen to thirty cm in height. Therge ones were of nearly frightening sizes, dangling along the vines as if they had all gone spiritual and were ready to produce the Bottle Gourd Brothers1 at any minute. The medium ones matured faster, and Gu Yu picked out three of the best ones among them. The trio then each took one and pinned it on their belts so that the gourds could be nourished by spiritual essence and tempered by their mental force at all times. The bottle gourds were of an ordinary breed, but the soil itself was spiritual. Therefore, the gourds could be refined as magical instruments. Further away from the gourds was the herb garden. A few more herbs had been moved in and the garden finally looked exuberant. Arge area to the west of the courtyard had been zoned for farming, and the seedlings of thete rice had just been transnted there. In a corner of the north bank stood the ten grafted peach trees, which had yet to see some growth. To any outsider, such a view would doubtlessly give the impression of an idyllic life¡­ well, that is, if these two fellows were excluded from the picture. ¡°Thump!¡± ¡°Again!¡± Under the old tree, Xiaozhai shouted, then dashed forward and went on training Long Qiu. Pursing her lips, Long Qiu was fighting back the grievance (or delight, from Xiaozhai¡¯s point of view) from Xiaozhai¡¯s guidance. It was a sweet yet agonizing torture. After exchanging a few more blows, vexed, Long Qiu waved her hand with a whoosh. The Golden Silkworm shared the body with its host. A stronger master would benefit the insect and when it showed up this time, it immediately charged at Xiaozhai eagerly at a speed much faster than before. ¡°I was waiting for you!¡± Clenching her right fist, Xiaozhai struck out straight away as crackling lightning flickered around her fist. ¡°Bang!¡± The Golden Silkworm met the fist and could only withstand the force for no more than a few seconds. It fluctuated in the air, then turned around to flee. ¡®What the hell? I¡¯m not ying against that!¡¯ As a vicious being, the undead insect also considered the Thunder Technique as its nemesis. Anyway, it knew that this person was on the same team and would not harm its master. ¡°Golden Silkworm!¡± Long Qiu scowled at the fleeing insect, but it was already toote to ward Xiaozhai off. She could only watch the fist as it moved closer, then turned into an open palm,nded on her chest, and gave her breast a little pinch. ¡°Sister¡­¡± The girl never knew how to react to Xiaozhai¡¯s ¡°cuddling¡±. She threw a re at thetter, bit her lip, and ran back to the cottage. ¡°Hey, where are you going?¡± Gu Yu was justing out at that moment and asked in passing. Long Qiu ignored himpletely and went straight back to her room. ¡°¡­¡± He was baffled and spoke to Xiaozhai, who was running towards his direction chasing after Long Qiu. ¡°I need to go down the mountain for a bit. That incense is ready to use, you two can try itter. Oh, put the Peach-blossom Incense away. Don¡¯t let Xiao Qiu touch it.¡± ¡°Ok!¡± Xiaozhai gave a reply before dashing into the room in a frenzy. The training went on. *** Gu Yu went down the mountain, only to find Zhang Hongru waiting at the station. Seeing Gu Yu, he hastily went up to him with a bag and said anxiously, ¡°You¡¯re finally here. That¡¯ll save me the trip from going up again.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Taking over the bag, Gu Yu was visibly surprised as soon as he set his eyes on the contents. ¡°So, you¡¯ve actually harvested it?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve only just harvested it. Here are ten kilos, brought directly from Tianzhu by air.¡± In the bag were rice grains as white as polished jade. They were about twice the size of normal rice and were shuttle-shaped, with thinner tips and a thicker midriff. ¡°Ten kilos? What¡¯s your yield per mu?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°Well¡­¡± Zhang Hongru¡¯s face crumpled up as soon as the yield per mu was mentioned. ¡°103 kg.¡± ¡®WHAT???¡¯ Gu Yu was astonished. The yield per mu of its original breed was 1500 kg and Qiu Guan had estimated the output to be a third of that¡­ Excuse me, one third? Try one tenth! ¡°Two out of the five experimental plots were total failures; the seedlings have all died. From the remaining plots, we got 515 kg in total.¡± ¡°What about the rest? Bean, sweet potatoes, corn¡­¡± ¡°They did not survive either!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was speechless as well. He was aware of the difficulty involved, but had never imagined it to be this hard. ¡°I¡¯d prefer if you don¡¯t try it back on the mountain. They are eager for a test result over there, so let¡¯s just do the tasting here,¡± suggested Zhang Hongru. ¡°Sure, no problem.¡± Hence, Gu Yu proceeded to y the cook himself. He carefully spooned out half a bowl of rice, gave it some thought, and poured some back. The amount remaining in the bowl was barely enough to feed a dog. A bowl of glossy white rice was soon served. All the others were dismissed, leaving Zhang Hongru to watch over Gu Yu alone. Gu Yu sniffed at it first before taking his bite. The rice was tender, glutinous, and deliciously chewy. After swallowing it, Gu Yu felt a warm sensation surging out of his stomach, which immediately spread out to his limbs and meridians. ¡°Hm?¡± He was not sure about what he was feeling and was silent the entire time when he ate on. ¡°Why, anything wrong?¡± Zhang Hongru asked hastily. ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. It¡¯s out of my expectations, that¡¯s all.¡± Gu Yu chose his words carefully when he exined. ¡°The content of spiritual essence in the rice is higher than that of the fish, about a 1.1. But this one is very mild, so much so that it ispletely harmless and extremely suitable for human ingestion. I think you should try it.¡± ¡°Me?¡± Zhang Hongru was taken aback. ¡°You¡¯ve had some training. Your physical strength is much better than the average person¡¯s and I think you¡¯ll have no problem withstanding it.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Eyeing the ordinary-looking bowl of rice, Zhang Hongru felt his mouth watering in spite of himself. He declined eventually, ¡°Maybe not. It¡¯s beyond my job description.¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Gu Yu did not press on, but asked instead, ¡°By the way, if I may ask, how are you going to allot the rice?¡± ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t have the answer to that!¡± Zhang Hongru straightened his face at the question and became rather serious. ¡°Ok, forget it.¡± Gu Yu shrugged. Chapter 164 Chapter 164: First Movers Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Wow, that smells amazing!¡± White steam rolled out of the pot as soon as the lid was lifted up, blowing against Long Qiu¡¯s face. She ignored the heat and blinked eagerly at what was inside. They used two wood-fired ovens in the kitchen¡ªthe bigger one for stir-frying and the smaller one for cooking rice. Right now,ying inside thetter was a neatyer of white jade marbles. The rice grains were plump, even, closely packed, and well-arranged. Sniffing at it, Long Qiu¡¯s little face lighted up with satisfaction. She filled three bowls with rice and carried them to the table. Their meals had always been quite simple. Gu Yu was the cook today and he made crisp fried Tofu, cold celery dressed with sauce, stir-fried lotus root slice, and fish head soup. The preference towards vegetable dishes was getting onto him after hanging around the twodies for a while. The kitchen came with a seperatepartment, which was used as their dining room. Xiao Qiu tried the rice first and her smiling eyes be two little crescent moons. ¡°This rice is delicious!¡± ¡°Yep, I¡¯ll give it a thumbs up!¡± Xiaozhai also took some with her chopsticks, apparently quite contented. Cultivation aside, the theory of traditional medicine alone argued that there was vital essence inside human bodies. Exactly where did that essencee from? One source was from doing exercises, where the energy was the product of one¡¯s own active physical body; the other source was the food ingested, which would be transformed into energy. Therefore, ancient men were very particr in their diet. They chose different food in ordance with the different seasons and their different health conditions. A healthy diet could satisfy the daily nutrient needs of healthy ordinary people. Cultivators, on the other hand, had proceeded to a different level of living that the intake of secr foods would no longer benefit them, but would instead hamper their cultivation. Only when one reached the Human Immortal state and achieved the real pigu could they say goodbye to food once and for all. At the moment, the discovery of the spiritual rice just happened to fill the gap. The spiritual stones and spiritual rice were the reason they considered the development of Tianzhu Mountain of great significance, for they would fit into two of the most basic daily activities. All in all, it was a pleasant meal for all three of them, who kept refilling their bowls until Long Qiu ran to the pot for another time and returned resentfully with an empty bowl. ¡°We¡¯ve eaten it all,¡± announced she with an innocent face. ¡°How much did you cook?¡± Gu Yu was taken aback as well. ¡°Well, about 1.5 kg of rice,¡± recalled Long Qiu. ¡°What?!¡± An awkwardness immediately filled the air. If a mirror was strutted up in the center of the table right now, they would probably see three pigs reflected in it. ¡°Sigh. I¡¯d never imagined that one day I¡¯d feel sorry over not being able to eat rice.¡± Chewing thest piece of celery sticks, Xiaozhai looked dejected. There were only five kilos in total and they would finish them all in one day if they set their minds to it. Long Qiu was apparently worried. ¡°Brother, do you think our own plot would work? ¡°It¡¯s like a lottery. With all their experimental plots, they only came up with just over 500 kg. It¡¯s just the three of us, though. 50 kg will be enough to keep us going for a while,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°I see¡­¡± The girl nodded, then asked again, ¡°But, but with so little rice, what if there¡¯s not enough for everybody?¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Gu Yu nced at her. Instead of giving an direct answer, he replied with a rhetorical question, ¡°Xiao Qiu, what do you think people fear the most?¡± ¡°Um¡­ death?¡± The girl was uncertain. ¡°Haha, that¡¯s correct! Everyone is afraid of dying.¡± Stacking up the bowls, Gu Yu cleared the table with deft movements as he went on, ¡°This rice is no elixir, but is capable enough to boost the health of ordinary people and prolong life. Moreover, it is very beneficial for cultivators in helping with cultivation, especially for those yet to reach the innate state. The spiritual essence produced by this rice is mild and well-controlled, which is very suitable to these cultivators and can speed up their progress significantly. That¡¯s why no matter how scarce the resources are, there is never a problem of ¡®not enough¡¯. It all depends on how many people you want to include.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Long Qiu was in a daze when she asked, ¡°Brother, what are you saying? You¡¯vepletely lost me.¡± ¡°He meant it was a matter of who would eat first, the master or the goon squad.¡± In concise words, Xiaozhai summed it up urately. *** The capital, Chishui 1 Lane. Of all seven thousand plusnes in the capital city, Chishui was only one of them, and a most inconspicuous one. The only thing worth mentioning was that thisne was particrly quiet. For the area it was in was officially a dignitary-only residential area. Xue Zhao was your standard descendant of the bigwigs. His big-shot ancestors could be dated back when the modern state was struggling for its establishment. After much turbulence and turmoils, the entire family left the political world and moved into the business circle. On the surface, the Xue Family was but a big-time business empire. But to those better-informed, the connections of the family were almost boundless. Even in the capital, the family was of some renown. It was dusk at the moment. Xue Zhao¡¯s car turned into Chishui Lane and parked outside a courtyard house. A pair of drum-shaped bearing stones stood on either side of the yard gate, but was so dpidated that the pedestal was the only thing left. The gate itself was of a rather vivid color, however, apparently the result of a modern renovation. ¡°Pat! Pat!¡± A few pattings of the knocker and a woman with grizzled hair pulled the door open. She smiled. ¡°Oh my, Ah Zhao¡¯s back.¡± ¡°Auntie Chen, it¡¯s been a while. You haven¡¯t changed a bit, even looking younger than before.¡± ¡°Haha, you smooth talker! Come on in. Dinner¡¯s ready and we¡¯re all waiting for you.¡± The woman was the family nanny who had brought Xue Zhao up herself; she was even older than his parents. They did not go by pretentious addressing such as ¡°My Lord¡±, ¡°My Lady¡±, or ¡°Young Master¡±, but always used their full names or nicknames. Xue Zhao went straight into the dining room. A middle-aged man was sitting by the table reading a newspaper. It was none other than his father, Xue Ming. ¡°Dad, what¡¯s the rush? Why did you ask me toe?¡± Sitting opposite his father, Xue Zhao asked. ¡°Nothing, just want to share a meal with you.¡± His father put the newspaper down and as if half-intentionally, he entuated the word ¡± meal 2 ¡°. ¡°¡­¡± Xue Zhao took the hint right away and asked immediately, ¡°It¡¯s here?¡± ¡°Yes. They gave us 15 kg.¡± ¡°15 kg? That¡¯s as good as nothing!¡± He raised his voice involuntarily. ¡°Keep your voice down! The Zhangs only got 20 kg and we¡¯re lucky to even have some at all. How much do you think there is in total?¡± Xue Ming scolded him. ¡°Tsk!¡± Xue Zhao went quiet. The Zhang Family was much higher up thedder than his own family, yet they were only 5 kg better off. It seemed this stuff was indeed very scarce. ¡°Are we going to get it on a monthly basis?¡± he asked another question. ¡°It¡¯s a lump sum for now. We don¡¯t know what it is going to be in the future. They haven¡¯t set up the standards yet.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not going to be a per capita thing, is it?¡± ¡°Hard to say. That¡¯s actually quite possible. 100 g per person per month¡­ haha!¡± Xue Ming chuckled unexpectedly as he went on. ¡°Back when life was tough and the living standard low, things were indeed distributed that way. Never thought I¡¯d live to see it happen again¡­¡± He let his sentiments show for a brief moment before casually changing the subject. The father and the son sat there like a pair of paupers, discussing the ratio of distribution. It might seem ridiculous, but with the circle they moved around in, even a single gram was worth fighting for. Before long, Auntie Chen served the dinner. The meal started with a few simple dishes, preceded by wheaten food, and finally, two bowls of porridge. It was extremely thin. The liquid was so clear that there was barely any tackiness about it. A few rice grains floated on the surface. Auntie Chen whined as she put out the dishes. ¡°I can¡¯t for the life of me understand this menu. Why this thin congee? I mean, this is unbelievably thin. Can it even fill your stomach?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had too much dinner partiestely, need this for an internal detox.¡± Xue Ming waved at her with a smile. ¡°You don¡¯t have to wait up on us. We can take care of ourselves.¡± ¡°Fine, fine, like I want to meddle with your business.¡± Mumbling, the woman left the dining room. Only after she waspletely out of sight did the other two raise their bowls. The way they stared into the porridge was somewhat ridiculous. They couldn¡¯t help it! They were so nervous! After much pondering from above, Xue Zhao lowered his head and took a sip. He savored it between his teeth. Normal thin congee was tasteless and watery, but this one was nothing like that. The fragrant and smooth liquid slid down his throat and settled in his stomach. A few more secondster, he felt a thread of warm current flowing out from inside. The sensation reminded him of gulping down a potent medicinal liquor, but not as aggressive. Instead, it was seeping into his limbs and meridians in a mild and gentle manner. What Xue Ming felt was not much different and a mixture of emotions fleeting across his face. It was real! It was indeed as they were told! Even if they had known it all along, they still couldn¡¯t help but feel exhrated now that they were tasting it themselves. Raised as a privileged boy, Xue Zhao had always preferred modern cuisines and porridge had not been on his menu for as long as he could remember. Right now, he would not waste even one drop of it¡ªhe even wouldn¡¯t mind licking the bowl clean. ¡°Ha¡­¡± It was quite a while before he exhaled and spoke again, ¡°That¡¯s the full quota for a day?¡± ¡°Yes. They have ran some serious tests. The human body will not be able to withstand anything above this amount,¡± exined Xue Ming. ¡°Sigh, such a pity¡­¡± Xue Zhao felt sorry for such an arrangement. He paused before adding, ¡°Oh, by the way, Dad, my friend told me about a very capable man recently. They thought I should pay him a visit.¡± ¡°A capable man? Not a Taoist priest, I hope?¡± Xue Ming asked immediately. ¡°No, just some folk.¡± ¡°Good, I was afraid you would meddle with the priests. They have all been registered nation-wide and we¡¯d better steer clear of those people.¡± ¡°Tsk. Just to let you know, I¡¯m cleverer than I look, ok?¡± Xue Zhao thought little of his father¡¯s warning. ¡°It¡¯s not as serious as you put it, really. Of all these families in the capital, I bet everyone is trying something behind closed doors. I heard even those palm-readers and fortune-tellers have raised their price.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not us and we¡¯re not them!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, don¡¯t worry. I know what I¡¯m doing.¡± They talked for a little bit longer before Xue Zhao left with a small bag. In it was a third of the spiritual rice. Xue Ming trusted his son a great deal. As a result, he had forgotten to ask him an important question. For if he had, he would definitely lock the young fellow up in his room¡ªthe ce where Xue Zhao was going was called Shengtian. Chapter 165 Chapter 165: Li Daoyu Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Shengtian, in a hotel. Xue Zhao only just arrived from the airport and was unpacking in his room. He was apanied by another man slightly younger, who was giving Xue Zhao a hand while saying, ¡°Brother, I¡¯ve sorted it all out. The man will be here in a minute.¡± ¡°You were all hyped up about him over the phone. Exactly how solid is this guy?¡± he asked. ¡°Tsk, are you actually doubting me? These things usually annoy me more than anything else, but this man is the real deal. When we met for the first time the other day, before I said anything, the fellow started shooting the breeze all by himself and he was scarily urate.¡± ¡°Haha, he has probably ferreted your entire family background out beforehand and was just ying tricks on ya.¡± Laughed Xue Zhao. ¡°It¡¯s nothing like that. I was very fortunate even to meet him in the first ce¡­¡± The younger guy was a little vexed as he went on, ¡°Even if he has learned everything about me in advance, he can¡¯t do the same thing on you, can he? Wait until you meet him. You¡¯ll see if he¡¯s the real deal then.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a point.¡± Xue Zhao nodded. The guy¡¯s name was Chen Yu, a friend of Xue Zhao¡¯s¡ªor more precisely, a member of a family enterprise leeching on to the Xue Family. The Chen Family operated in Shengtian and was of simr social status as the Zeng¡¯s, only that the former¡¯s business scope was of a less popr kind and the paths of the two families seldom crossed. The Xue Family, on the other hand, was a wealthy and influential n of the capital city. Such families would always keep a low profile andmon people knew very little about them. That was why Chen Yu mentioned those things just then. Xue Zhao had quite a lot of luggage and it took him a while unpacking. Aside from all the clothes and shoes, he lifted a portable electric rice cooker out of his bag in the end, along with a bag of rice. Chen Yu almost jumped at these two items. ¡°Brother, have you been learning to cook?¡± ¡°Where did you get that idea from? My stomach¡¯s been acting outtely and the doctor said I should eat some porridge to nourish it a bit. Anyway, it¡¯s not that hard to cook.¡± Xue Zhao dropped the rice cooker on the table and put away the bag, acting all casually. Inside the bag was none other than the spiritual rice itself, which he had been eating for the past four or five days in a row, one bowl of thin porridge per day. It was indeed a heaven-sent gift. The change was apparent. He was more energetic, sleeping better, enjoying his morning glories, and with it, having a better mood in general. ¡°Ring-a-ling! Ring-a-ling!¡± Just then, the phone rang and Chen Yu picked it up. He asked, ¡°He¡¯s here. Shall I send him up?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go downstairs,¡± replied Xue Zhao after giving it some thought. ¡°Ok.¡± Chen Yu said a few more words into the speaker before hanging up. The two then left the room. His room was quite high, up on the 15th floor. During the entire lift ride, the look on Xue Zhao¡¯s face had been somewhat hard to describe. Ever since the news of the existence of spiritual essence spread out inside the dignitary circle, all families and ns had been secretly doing the same thing: employing their manpower and searching up and down the country for masters among themon folks. There were over fifty thousand registered Taoist priests in the country and the government was keeping a personnel file on every single one of them. Currently, the government was centralizing the resources and carrying out a unified training program, for it was a matter of national strategy. These families were neither bold nor capable enough to go against the state in secret. As a result, they had to opt for the second best choice and turned to themon people. There was this evesting belief that among themon people, there were the undiscovered talented men and abundant masters. Consequently, practices such as physiognomy, fortune-telling, glyphomancy, name-changing, Feng Shui, divination of ill or good luck, etc., had all grown extremely popr. Ny-nine out of a hundred times, these people were nothing but frauds. However, even with a mere 1% chance, all those families would fight head over heels to get their hands on it. Not to mentions that Xue Zhao had got wind that a few major dignitary families had actually managed to find such people, who possessed genuine power. *** Ground floor of the hotel, the saloon. Xue Zhao spotted the man as soon as he was downstairs. The man was in his fifties; he wore an ordinary short-sleeved top, flimsy trousers, and a pair of cloth shoes. At the first nce, he reminded one of an old ountant of a factory close to his retirement¡ªdespite hismonness, there was a shrewdness about him. However, when moving on to observe the man¡¯s face, one could tell there was something not somon after all, for the space between his brows was wider than usual and his eyes were much further apart. He had a very straight nose and full lips. Combined, such features struck one as ugly at the first nce, but after watching his face for a while, one would recognize a special quality about him. ¡°This is Li Daoyu and this is that friend of mine. Please, take a seat.¡± Without mentioning Xue Zhao¡¯s name, Chen Yu invited them both to sit down before ordering some tea and nuts to go with. Xue Zhao was very interested. He blurted out, ¡°Mr. Li, are you a member of the Taoistmunity?¡± ¡°I have neither a master nor a sect. You could say it¡¯s a family tradition.¡± Li Daoyu chuckled. ¡°Haha, Xiao Chen had been saying some very good things about you. Please forgive my bluntness, but what exactly is it that you do?¡± Xue Zhao was very straightforward. ¡°I can do a variety of things. What do you want to see?¡± the man answered indifferently. ¡°Is that so? In that case, how about some fortune-telling by reading my face?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Li Daoyu flicked his eyes up and watched him closely for half a minute before saying, ¡°From what I¡¯m seeing, you have a round head, short neck, andely eyes. Your brows are wide, long, full on both ends, and positioned high on your forehead. All of these are signs of wealth and rank. You¡¯re either a highly-ranked official, or someone of great wealth.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xue Zhao made noment, for he was brought here by Chen Yu, who was a tuhao himself. It would not be a long stretch to make the observations above. However, immediately after that, the man went on by saying, ¡°But you have wavy lines on your forehead and your smile lines have broken gaps, especially the right one. Forgive my impertinence, but is your mother still around?¡± ¡°Ssss!¡± Xue Zhao was genuinely astonished. His mother passed away a few years ago and only a handful of people knew about it. This man could actually see that from his face? Disturbed, he made no response. Li Daoyu, on the other hand, gave him another look and spoke again, ¡°You have a full and round jaw line with a straight line on both cheekbones. It¡¯s a sign of gaining poprity and enjoying a great fortune in mid-life. If I guessed it right, something good had happened to youtely.¡± ¡®That¡¯s it!¡¯ At these words, Xue Zhao had to hand it to the man. He stood up in a hurry and poured a cup of tea for Li Daoyu. ¡°Mr. Li is a mater indeed. Sorry about my rudeness.¡± ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry about it. There are so many frauds these days and it¡¯s a good habit to take precautions.¡± ¡°So, are you stilling working at the moment?¡± Xue Zhao asked. ¡°Nothing worth mentioning. I have a little stall selling second-hand books. It¡¯s trivial,paring to what you do.¡± ¡°With such talent, why don¡¯t you use it?¡± ¡°Sigh. I¡¯ve got my familyw to abide by and there¡¯s no room for disobedience.¡± Li Daoyu heaved a sigh and went on in a dispirited tone, ¡°Not to mention that nowadays, what I can do is considered feudal superstition. I don¡¯t want to get into trouble. Had it not been for the bond between me and Xiao Chen, I wouldn¡¯t have agreed to meet you today.¡± The conversation went on and Chen Yu was pretty much left out. Li Daoyu then checked the time and saw that it was almost six o¡¯clock. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. I should be going back.¡± ¡°Master, I¡¯ll be in Shengtian for a few days. I¡¯ll visit you again tomorrow!¡± However exhrated inside, Xue Zhao did not abandon his sense of propriety. ¡°Well, ok. Xiao Chen knows where I live.¡± Li Daoyu behaved as ordinarily as his appeared to be. Turning down Xue Zhao¡¯s offer for a ride, he returned home on a bicycle. It was the evening rush hour and the streets were crowded with vehicles and pedestrians, all bustling and hustling. Threading through the flow of cars on his shabby bike, he gave off a feeling that he was separate from his surroundings and looked rather peculiar and unique. About half an hourter, Li Daoyu stopped outside an old residential building. It was the dormitory of a certainpany built decades ago. Only some old people resided here at the moment. He rushed upstairs with a hint of eagerness. His small apartment had two bedrooms and a living room; even the balcony was filled with junk. Running onto the balcony, he dragged a huge case out of a messy pile. The case should be made out of elm many years ago. The paint outside had peeled of and the case was held by a bronze lock. ¡°Snap!¡± Once unlocked, the case was opened, revealing a thickyer of red cloth. He removed the cloth and a strange, feverish enthusiasm suddenly flickered in his eyes. Reaching into the case, he took out a wood shrine about thirty cm long. The shrine was rectangr in shape and in extremely good condition. The blood-red wood was exquisitely carved. On either side of the shrine was a line of gilded inscription, which said, ¡°The Forefather of Infinity, Three Yang and three lifetimes.¡± Chapter 166 Chapter 166: Three Yang Sect Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°All I know came from my father, who learned from my grandfather. It was a time when wars were raging everywhere. My grandfather was leading a vagrant life and begged for a living when he ran into a person of unusual abilities, from whom he learned, and then became a very capable man. Later, when our modern state was established, our line of work was harshly repressed and reprimanded for being feudal superstitions. Even legitimate religions such as Buddhism and Taoism were secluding themselves in the mountains; being amon craftsman, my grandfather had to keep his profile even lower.¡± The following day, Xue Zhao was sitting on a somewhat shabby sofa in the old residential building, listening to Li Daoyu¡¯s narration. ¡°That unusual man should have had a sect of his own, but by the time his teachings were passed on to me after so many years, many things have been lost already¡ªthat was why I called it a ¡®family tradition¡¯. He had taught my grandfather a great deal back then. Apart from face-reading, I also know a few things about scriptures, talismans, Qi-nourishing, ult science, etc. To be honest, I¡¯m quite ashamed of myself. I have learned so little of what I should know and am barely keeping the legacy from going extinct.¡± ¡°You are too modest. The way I see it, you are a master hidden beyond the mundane world,¡± Xue Zhao interjected in a hurry and added, ¡°All these amazing things you could do, are you going to pass them to your descendant?¡± ¡°Sigh. I was married once, but my wife passed away before we had a chance to have any children. Now that I¡¯m this old and not exactly well-off, I¡¯ve long given up any hope of having a child of my own.¡± ¡°How about taking in a pupil?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t say that my skills are as superb as those of the members of the famous sects, but they are effective, in one way or another. If by any chance I picked someone with evil intentions, wouldn¡¯t that make me an aplice? Sigh, I guess I¡¯ll wait and see.¡± ¡°Moral character is the key. Ipletely agree with you.¡± Xue Zhao nodded, agreeing with Li Daoyu. He then casually reached into his pocket and produced a bank card. ¡°I mean no disrespect by this, but please take it.¡± With that, he roamed the room with his eyes and added, ¡°I will find you a bigger ce in a few days. This apartment is way too old for your status.¡± ¡°Oh my, what¡¯s this all about?¡± Li Daoyu rose to his feet hastily, trying to decline, ¡°I won¡¯t ept this! Absolutely not!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a littlepliment and I do hope you could keep it. It¡¯s also to celebrate my lucky meeting with a master like you. I¡¯ll be back tomorrow¡­¡± Xue Zhao left the card on the table and left promptly. Li Daoyu went out to see him off all the way to thending. However, on returning to his room, the look on his face changed abruptly, the previous cidness and kindness all gone. The pin code was left attached to the card. He checked the ount first, in which he found 200,000 yuan 1 . The amount was nothing to Xue Zhao, but was a considerable sum to anymoner. ¡°So, that¡¯s how rich people do things. Very generous indeed.¡± Putting away the card, he was rather excited himself. He then rushed into his bedroom and opened that case again. He took out the shrine first and set it up properly before fumbling out a cloth bundle, which he unwrapped oneyer after another. In it was a 15-cm tall statue of some god, who had an old face with long eyebrows and a long beard, wore a loosely fitted robe, and held a jade ruyi in his left hand and a round te with Yin-Yang diagram on his right open palm. Li Daoyu set the statue into the shrine, ignited three incense sticks with full courtesy, and kowtowed nine times, banging his head loudly on the floor. Only after the incense hadpletely burnt out did he carefully stash away the items again. What he told Xue Zhao was true¡ªapart from the history of his previous masters and the origin of his skills. He was well aware of the details of his ¡°tradition¡±. This inheritance of his originated from Ming Dynasty; the founder was called Han Gaozhao, who went by the alternative name ¡°Old Patriarch Piaogao 2 ¡°. Han lived an impoverished life as a child and made his living through begging. By chance, he met a masterter in his life, whom he pleaded for three months before being epted as a pupil. Han then sat meditating for three years in Caoxi Cave, where he eventually attained the enlightenment and became a perfected practitioner. After achieving the Great Dao, Han Gaozhao borrowed from the doctrines ofWhite Lotus 3 and set up a civil organization known as ¡°Three Yang Sect¡±. The so-called ¡°three Yang¡± was to divide the secr world into three stages, namely the Green Yang, the Red Yang, and the White Yang, which represented the past, the present, and the future, respectively. The three stages were each administered by a Buddha, among which the Maitreya was the most revered. The purpose of the sect was to peddle doomsday propaganda, which imed that the Red Yang stage wasing to its end and the world was going to descend into chaos. At the end of the Red Yang disaster, the heyday of White Yang would arrive. Therefore, the only way to escape from this mortal world of woes and find salvation was to convert to Three Yang Sect. The organization itself was bullshit through and through. With his newly gained ability, Han Gaozhao had concocted a story by crudely mixing Buddhist and Taoist theories and conjured up one of his own. Despite itsck of recognition from the royal court, the sect had attracted countless disciples and had a broad impact. There were quite a few local activities even around time when the modern state was founded. Later, the sect was eliminated and suppressed, during which nearly all its records and secret manuals were destroyed. That was why he dared not tell the truth, but had put up a show of doing his best to make a thorough exnation. He had seen right through Xue Zhao, though. Right now, Li was ying hard to get, followed by going with the flow. As for the question of why Three Yang Sect was suppressed¡­ after a series of evolutions and degenerations, it had fallen into a rather particr type of cultivation category, which in the whole was known as: cult. *** While Li Daoyu was holding back some key information, Xue Zhao did not take his words for granted either. Once back at the hotel, with his family connections, he had run a thorough background check on the man. The conclusion he reached was that the old man and his father were indeedw-abiding citizens with no criminal history. Xue Ming also called, reminding his son repeatedly to be extra careful. After all, they were trying to cozy up to an honorable guest. In the following days, Xue Zhao would visit Li Daoyu every day, bringing with him daily necessities such as rice, flour, cooking oil, and salt, all the while making no mention of his true purpose. Li Daoyu, on the other hand, would ept everything with indifference and ignored the obvious question in the same manner. This went on until the fifth day. It was a sunny day. Outside a courtyard in south Shengtian, two vehicles were approaching slowly. Five or six people then got off in file. Walking in the front were none other than Xue Zhao and Li Daoyu. The group of people entered the courtyard, which was paved with ck bricks and decorated by luxuriant, tall green trees. The front and back yards contained eight rooms in total. The principal room in the backyard served as the living room, where they took their seats. Xue Zhao then asked, ¡°Master, are you happy with this ce?¡± ¡°What is this all about?¡± Li Daoyu was all innocent about the whole setup. ¡°Why, like I said the other day, that ce of yours was so cramped that I could not bear to see you in there, so I¡¯ve talked it over with Xiao Chen and got this courtyard for you.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Li Daoyu was about to speak when Xue Zhao interjected again, ¡°Please don¡¯t get mad. As a matter of fact, I have a favor to ask.¡± With the usual arrangement under such circumstances, now was the time to kneel down and kowtow, which would not happen to Xue Zhao. Instead, he stood up, bowed at Li Daoyu, and said sincerely, ¡°I have been admiring the profound knowledge ever since I was little and it was very fortunate of me to meet a capable man like you, so I was hoping you could teach me a thing or two.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I have my familyws to obey, which forbid me from teaching others without thorough consideration.¡± Li Daoyu appeared to be rather beaten up on by the request. ¡°Why, rules are made by people and they can be changed. I think you know what a reliable fellow Brother Zhao is. He¡¯s as sincere a man as you can get. What¡¯s holding you back?¡± ¡°Exactly. You don¡¯t have any pupil at the moment. It would be such a pity if all your skills were lost forever, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± The hatchet men egged on, lending their moral support, while Chen Yu was also helping with the persuasion. After much nagging, Li Daoyu finally heaved a sigh. ¡°Gosh, all right! I¡¯ll make it clear beforehand, though. We¡¯re not going to be master and pupil. You must be from a very influential family and I do not want to get myself into any trouble.¡± ¡°No problem. As long as you would teach me.¡± After much affectation and seesawing, the two clicked at this moment. Xue Zhao then served tea for Li Daoyu and their rtionship was official. He then pointed at the other men around and said with a chuckle, ¡°Master, they are all my people and are at your disposal. Just think them your little disciples.¡± ¡°At your service, Master. Our words still count as something here in Shengtian.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, please feel free to send us on errands and stuff. We all take orders from Brother Zhao.¡± These footmen of the Xue Family dered their loyalty in session before one of them remarked casually, ¡°Master, I always speak my mind¡­ please don¡¯t get offended! Today¡¯s such a big day and we¡¯ve got everybody here. Please show us a few tricks of yours. It¡¯ll be an eye-opener for us.¡± ¡°Hey, that¡¯s a good idea! We¡¯ve heard you¡¯re as amazing as an old immortal. Let us have a look! Please!¡± The rest of the group joined in, booing and hooting. Li Daoyu shook his head, now ying the role of a senior giving in to his younger followers. ¡°Ok, ok. Be quiet now.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Everyone stopped talking right away and five pairs of eyes were now fixed upon the figure in the front, who slowly rose to his feet, swung his arm, and produced a yellow talisman between his fingers. He then made amanding gesture with his left hand and started incanting. ¡°The primordial chaos is the most profound and the infinity is the ultimate root. By cultivating through a billion tribtions, my remarkable power is demonstrated. The gold tiger within me will respond to my body¡­ go!¡± ¡°Poof!¡± As soon as his incantation was finished, the talisman in his hand selfbusted without ignition. Immediately, there was a loud bang. From where Li Daoyu was standing eruptedrge clouds of white mists, which then spread out rapidly. Almost in the blink of an eye, half of the room was taken over by the mist. ¡°What¡¯s going on? What¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°Where are you? Where is everybody?¡± They were all startled by the whiteness surrounding them. It was like being trapped inside clouds. ¡°Roar!¡± They were starting to move around when there came the roar of a beast. An enormous figure then leapt out of the clouds,nding in front of them with a thump. ¡°Ah!¡± Chen Yi screamed with fear, pointing at the thing with a shaking hand. The rest of the group¡¯s teeth were even chattering and they went motionless with their limbs rigid. Xue Zhao reacted to it slightly better than the rest, but was also feeling his hair stand up on his back and a coldness creep up his spine. ¡°Roar!¡± The thing growled again. The sound shook away the cloud, revealing a giant tiger head from behind. It was none other than the golden tiger itself! Its tail alone was one-meter long. The golden tiger had eyes like bronze bells and its bloody maw was wide open, revealing four protruding fangs, as if it was going to swallow Chen Yu whole. ¡°Stay, stay away from me! Help, help¡­¡± Just as Chen Yu¡¯s legs were giving out and he was about to crumple to the ground, there came another bang. Miraculously, the mist disappeared instantaneously, leaving not a single trace behind. Looking up, they saw only Li Daoyu standing by the table with a face paler than before. ¡°¡­¡± They were deadly silent at first, which then turned into astonishment. When they gradually recovered from the shock, they were overwhelmed by intense excitement and admiration. Xue Zhao, who was still trying to sounding out Li Daoyu a moment ago, was worshipping the ground the old man trod on. ¡°Master!¡± Immediately, led by Xue Zhao, the five of them stood before Li Daoyu in a neat line and bowed low at him in unison. ¡°Haha, please don¡¯t do that!¡± His eyes flickering, Li Daoyu fought back the chaotic energy inside him and tried his best to raise his hand steadily. At his cultivation level, which was yet to reach the innate state, he was pushing himself to the limit by activating this talisman. The name of this talisman was Cloud-transforming Talisman, a deceptive trick. Had Wu Songbai been present, he would recognize it at a nce. It was definitely a skill of Mao Mountain, one of the low-grade ones. This trick could do no damage whatsoever and was only used as a bluff. But all that was needed in preaching was this sort of formalism, or in in terms, showing off. Of all the skills he learned from his father, he made no progress in the past few decades. He was agitated and frustrated in the beginning, but had gradually got used to it. By now he considered them a hobby and would y with them from time to time, caring little if he could get anything out of them. The Cloud-transforming Talisman was drawn by his own essence and blood. Three high-quality incense sticks were to be burnt everyday on the east side at sunrise. The talisman was to be nourished with the spiritual essence and would be ready to use in fifteen days. He had tried making it a few times before, but to no avail. He tried again the other day and felt something different as soon as he held it in his hand¡ªhe had seeded this time! After that, it just so happened that Chen Yu called him and introduced him to Xue Zhao. Attracted by Xue Zhao¡¯s background, Li Daoyu made an effort to draw Xue Zhao to him. He had no idea what made the talisman work, but he instinctively knew that his time hade! *** Carrying her huge suitcase, Jiang Xiaojin sauntered out of the airport, as if she was walking around her own garden. At 174 cm, the girl in her T-shirt and hot pants was disying her conspicuous fair, long legs, turning many heads on the way. As if that was not enough, she seemed to be endowed with a quality that even when doing nothing, she gave off an air of arrogance and unfettered spirit just by standing there. OMG, one could almost feel the urge of smacking her down and giving her a good kicking around. All in all, the sense of her presence just could not be ignored! ¡°Sis, would you please hurry up? People are watching.¡± The driver watched her strutting near as if she was walking a fashion-show; he felt his temples throbbing. ¡°Like that¡¯ll scare me with my good looks? Why are you giving me that wry face? Are you too important to pick me up now?¡± Getting into the back seat, Jiang Xiaojin went on bombarding the driver. ¡°Where do you prefer to stay on a hot day like this? To be stuck in the office, or in an air-conditioned car? You know what? Your year-end bonus is gone!¡± ¡°There¡¯s air-conditioner in the office¡­¡± The driver knew both her and that unforgiving tongue of hers very well, but could not hold back his retort. Xiaojin raised her eyebrows and was about to talk back when her phone rang, saving the driver. ¡°Hello, Jiao Jiao? Yeah, I¡¯ve just got off the ne and am heading home¡­ my vacation startedte this year. Like I have a say on that? Oh my, not today, I¡¯ve got to rest a bit¡­ tomorrow won¡¯t do, either. I need to go out¡­ where am I going? Well, none of your business. How about this? I¡¯ll give you a call when I¡¯m free. You just give yourself a good pampering and wait for me¡­ ok, got to go!¡± The caller was Chen Jiao, a high school ssmate of Xiaojin. Chen had stayed in Shengtian for her university after high school, but the two had remained quite close. They would meet a couple of times each year. Her family was into trade as well and her old man was semi-retired by now, leaving the running of the business to her older brother. And her older brother¡¯s name was¡­ Chen Yu. Chapter 167 Chapter 167: A True Recluse Lives Deep in the Mountains Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The second day after Jiang Xiaojin got back home, she arrived happily at Shengtian. Gu Yu¡¯s demonstration in the restaurant the other night, when he showed off by grinding down a chopstick holder with his bare hands and had to pay an extra ten yuan for the damage, was still fresh in her memory. In fact, she was rather curious, for her brother-inw had said, ¡°We have something to tell you.¡± Just listen to that ¡°we¡±. The message this plural pronoun conveyed could only be a picture of two nude fairies, engaging in some plunging and thrusting activities. Ok, fine. She admitted to herself that she was more curious about the cohabitation of those two¡­ ¡°Hello? Sister, I¡¯ve just arrived at the downtown area. Where are you now?¡± ¡°Oh, ok. Hurry up, then!¡± Hanging up, Jiao Xiaojin drove her little red car untingly towards Phoenix Fair. She had two cars of her own¡ªone she kept in Jiang Zhou, and the other in Shengtian. Given her age, one might not expect her to have much practice, but the truth was, she was already racing around in her father¡¯s car at the age of fourteen. Her unruly driving peaked after she got her license and she had been on a rampage ever since. Driving experience was the only thing she could beat her sister at. ¡°Beep beep!¡± The car turned into Hongmei Street and slowed down. Seeing the crowd blocking the road ahead, Xiaojin hooted her horn impatiently, but waspletely ignored. A few minutes passed and the crowd showed no sign of dispersing. Xiaojin then decided to get out of the car and have a look herself. Standing in the way were two groups of people, consisting of men and women of all ages. Everybody was shouting at everybody else. ¡°I¡¯ve told you a million times, don¡¯t dump your water to my side. Can¡¯t you understand Chinese?¡± ¡°The sewer on our side was blocked, where else am I supposed to dump it?¡± ¡°Get someone to fix it, then. Don¡¯t mess with mine! Damn! You yokels are so ill-bred.¡± ¡°Who the hell are you calling ill-bred?¡± ¡°You! So what!¡± ¡°Ssh!¡± Tension was growing all of a sudden as the squabble grew louder. The scene was on the verge of getting physical. Xiaojin had realized by now that one side seemed to be foreign to the town, while the other was local. The dispute was over some trivial matter. Ordinary young female would chose to make a detour. However, she was everything but ordinary. ¡°Hello? Is that 110 1 ? Yes, two groups of people are fighting here. Oh my, it¡¯s so violent! Just listen to the noise. My car even can¡¯t get through¡­¡± Picking up her phone, she dialed the number and started rambling. ¡°Come here quickly. They¡¯re probably getting their weapons out in a minute¡­ I¡¯m not making it up. Taking precautions, that¡¯s all¡­ I¡¯m a helpful citizen, a helpless girl. I see injustice happening and I turn to you police for help¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± As she babbled on, both groups became quiet and turned to re at her. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± a burly brute sort of a man shouted. ¡°Why should I tell you? Do you know you¡¯re in the way? What? Is this your private road?¡± Jiang Xiaojin did not even flinch and shouted back. ¡°You¡¯re all grown-ups, for Christ¡¯s sake. Save your spit! Bring it on or move! Let my car through!¡± ¡®Huh?¡¯ She sessfully irritated both sides at the same time, who all felt the urge to give her ass a good kick. However annoyed by the girl, they couldn¡¯t actually do anything about it. Besides, the police wereing. The two groups exchanged a few more insults and dispersed. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Pursing her lips, Xiaojin thumped into her seat again and swaggered her way through Hongmei Street. She was amazed at the same time, for thest time when she was in Bai Town, it wasn¡¯t this chaotic. Where did all those country folkse from? And what was the deal with those post-earthquake-looking makeshift houses? She just couldn¡¯t figure it out and drove on. Soon, she reached Phoenix Fair. Looking up, she saw a demon king-like figure standing at the street corner. It was none other than Xiaozhai herself. ¡°Sister, how long have you been waiting? I was stuck in traffic.¡± Xiaojin flew to her sister like a little toady. ¡°Not that long. I¡¯ve just got here myself.¡± ¡°Hehe, let¡¯s go, then. Is my brother-inw inside? Why isn¡¯t he here to meet me¡­ ouch!¡± She was just marching out when she was twirled around and dragged back by her sister. ¡°Not that way. We¡¯re going into the mountains,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Going into the mountains?¡± She was taken by surprise and blurted out, ¡°Have you bought a vi?¡± ¡°Yep, quite a big one, actually. It¡¯s a few hundred square meters in size, a single building with a river view,pleted and fully furnished. And it alsoes with a garden,¡± Xiaozhai answered in all seriousness. ¡°Wow, have you won a lottery or something, sharing a gigantic house between just the two of you?¡± ¡°Not just we two. Xiao Qiu¡¯s with us.¡± ¡°A threesome?!¡± Xiaojin opened her eyes widely and put on a horrified look. She immediately buried her head between her hands. ¡°Ouch!¡± ¡°To the north!¡± Xiaozhai could not be bothered to ¡°manage¡± her at the moment. She simply raised her hand and pointed out a direction. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Pouting, Xiaojin had no choice but to drive on as instructed. She expected their destination to be somewhere near. Instead, they were only driving into more remote corners. On one side of the road were the unbroken stretches of green hills, while an endless open country was on the other. There was no sign of any household at all. The girl was bing all the more bewildered. Another quarter of an hour passed and she finally saw a courtyard ahead of them on the right. ¡°Screech!¡± The car slowly came to a stop and the two got off. Xiaozhai took over the car key, tossed it to a butlering out to greet them, and said, ¡°She¡¯ll probably be here for a few days. Sorry for the inconvenience.¡± ¡°Not at all. We¡¯ll take good care of it.¡± The butler gave a little bow, apparently holding Xiaozhai in great reverence. ¡°¡­¡± Watching from the side, Xiaojin kept her silence, which was rather unusual of her. She might be reckless, but she was not stupid. The whole thing was so out of the ordinary that it was getting on her nerves. Knowing her sister¡¯s temper, she dared not ask unnecessary questions, but only followed her into the mountains. They walked on a naturally formed path nked by lush weeds and covered with a thickyer of leaf mold, which was weirdly squashy to walk on. The woods around them were incredibly thick as well. The deep forest was almost soundless. ¡°¡­¡± As they marched on, Jiang Xiaojin¡¯s face gradually crumpled up, as if she was imagining some terrifying scenes in her head. Seeing this, Xiaozhai took Xiaojin¡¯s hand in hers. Ten fair and delicate fingers then weaved together like the petals of an orchid. They walked on along the zigzagging path. About half an hourter, they stopped. ¡°Where are we?¡± Xiaozhai looked around and only saw ck woods ahead. The thick branches had blocked out all light and she thought she could see mountain ghosts flickering among the trees. To her right was the path they came from and to her left was the thick forest. Not far behind her was arge clearing, where a seemingly-newly-built switch tower stood upright. She somehow rxed a little at the presence of the tower, as if this modern object had brought her somefort. ¡°It¡¯s just inside¡­ Xiao Qiu!¡± Xiaozhai called out. ¡°Rustle!¡± Even before her voice died away, Long Qiu rushed out of the ck thorny forest, smiling brightly. ¡°Jin Jin, you¡¯re finally here! It¡¯s been a while. How have you been?¡± ¡°Haha, as beautiful as I always was.¡± Eying the fat squirrel on Long Qiu¡¯s shoulder and ncing at the indistinctive bloody mist behind her, Xiaojin could hear her own voice trembling. But she still managed to produce a saucy remark. ¡°I¡¯ll go check the peach trees. Take her inside first,¡± Xiaozhai instructed Long Qiu, then turned to her sister. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t eat you.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Xiaojin almost burst into tears. Following her sister with her eyes, she was reluctantly dragged into the ck forest by Long Qiu. Her nerves had tensed up into a thin line by now. Luckily, Long Qiu was thoughtful enough to keep the bloody mosquitoes away, saving Xiaojin from further excitement. Once they were out of the ck thorny forest, the view in front of them opened up right away, revealing the clear river, the green valley, the old tree, the fields, and a cottage sitting on the other side of the river. ¡°Is this where you live?¡± Xiaojin was baffled, for she had expected witchcraft and altars. Where did this pasture-like idyllic viewe from? There was no way she could have guessed it, though. Separated by the ck thorny forest, the view on the two sides was of stark contrast. ¡°Yes, didn¡¯t brother and sister tell you?¡± Long Qiu led her to the river and chuckled. ¡°Here, let me give you a lift.¡± With that, she waved her hand and the Golden Silkworm flew out. ¡°Ah!¡± Xiaojin cried out in surprise right away. She felt gravity was losing its effect and she was floating in the air as if something was holding her up. ¡°Ah! Put me down!¡± Her previous irritating arrogance was all gone. Waving her limbs in all directions but daring not make too sharp a movement, Xiaojin was slowly carried across the river like this. Once on the other side, she was given back control of her body andnded with both feet. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± Her face had drained of all colors. She felt today was more exciting than her past twenty years put together. However, when she turned around, she realized that Long Qiu was not with her, but was now working in the field. She even called out to her, ¡°Brother is inside. You can go in!¡± WTF! Xiaojin cursed under her breath. Having no other option, she marched into the cottage. There were six or seven rooms inside. She wandered around and randomly pushed one door open. The room was empty. She walked to another door and pushed. ¡°Poof!¡± As the door opened, a cloud of obscure haze gushed out, forming into various shapes in the air despite the absence of any wind. Immediately after that, the haze rolled, spread out, and amalgamated again, before it slithered back in, as if under a suction force. The air resumed its clearness. Then, a man strolled out of the room with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± Chapter 168 Chapter 168: The Immortals Drifting Away Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Not all people were the same. How would you react to the sudden announcement that the immortals were real after living the past twenty years meaninglessly and aimlessly? The initial reaction would probably be the same across the board, namely people would feel ridiculed, astonished, dubious, and eventually believe the im. How one proceeded after this stage would be the most telling about individual disposition and moral character. Some would take their adolescent delusions to extremes, some woulde up with detailed nning, while some others would rather stay the greasy otaku they always had been¡­ As for Jiang Xiaojin, the first thought that came to her after Gu Yu¡¯s narration was, ¡°Holy crap, I¡¯m like a super badass from now on, aren¡¯t I? My sister and her man are cultivators!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Gu Yu did not see thating, for it was way off what he had imagined. He had to ask, ¡°Do you understand what I just told you?¡± ¡°Of course! Catfight, isn¡¯t it? That¡¯s my specialty. You¡¯vee to the right person!¡± Xiaojin offered her firm and solemn promise, apparently extremely proud of herself. ¡°Smack!¡± He pped his own forehead, robbed of all words. ¡°Hahaha! I know, I know, the world is changing and everyone is turning to their own kin for help. We are all building up strength, preparing for the final battle.¡± Her irritating manner returned when she asked in that high-spirited tone, ¡°I¡¯ve got one question, though. Cultivating is pretty tough, right? What made you think I can do it?¡± ¡°Because you have the right quality.¡± With a creak, the door was pushed open and Xiaozhai entered the room. ¡°Your temperament might be a bit erratic, but that can be corrected. The natural endowment, however, is an innate thing, which is only one of the reasons. The other one is¡­¡± She strode in and sat down beside Xiaojin. ¡°Because you¡¯re my little sister.¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡± Xiaojin was instantly flustered by that remark. She turned evasive and would not meet Xiaozhai¡¯s eyes. Being three years younger, she barely knew Xiaozhai before middle school. All she heard was that she had an older sister in their hometown, living with her grandfather. It was only after Xiaozhai moved to Shengtian that Xiaojin¡¯s long dark years of living under the shadow of her ¡°dominatrix¡± started. Thepetition among kids was usually on aspects such as personality, appearance, talents, academic achievements, etc., which was also the subject of conversations among the parents. But it was not quite the same between those two, for the older sister never seemed to care about any of those, despite the fact that she excelled in all of them. To Xiaojin, there was always something mysterious and hard to grasp about her sister, almost as if a gigantic mountain was hanging over her head. Her feelings towards Xiaozhai were a mixture of fear, worship, reverence, rebellion, as well as yearning for recognition. At this moment, she finally figured out what elicited all thoseplicated emotions¡­ ¡°It seems to be a major secret, but judging by how things are going right now, it won¡¯t stay that way for very long. You¡¯re one of the people closest to me and I need your help.¡± Looking into Xiaojin¡¯s eyes, Xiaozhai asked bluntly, ¡°So, what do you think?¡± ¡°Count me in, of course! It¡¯ll be so much fun! Hey, what can you guys do?¡± The little devil was exulted. ¡°Haha¡­¡± Gu Yu chuckled and replied first, ¡°I have an Essence-consuming Method, which can enhance the physical body, and materialize the mental force. It can thoroughly remold a person, helping them to reach an Earthly Immortal cultivation level. Xiao Qiu is sort of my pupil.¡± ¡°I have Thunder Techniques,¡± was Xiaozhai¡¯s four-word answer. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Xiaojin was disgruntled and shouted, ¡°Sis, seriously? Are you aware that you two arepeting for a position?¡± ¡°Killing power speaks louder!¡± Xiaozhai gave her another four words. ¡°Tsk!¡± Gu Yu twitched his mouth, refusing to admit his envy of his girlfriend. Her thing just sounded first-ss and there was nothing he could do about it. Had it not been for the fact that it was notpatible with Essence-consuming Method, he would have taken up Thunder Techniques himself. Presently, the two exined the advantages and disadvantages of both skills and Gu Yu asked, ¡°It¡¯s all up to you. Which one do you want to learn?¡± ¡°Well, I¡­¡± Biting her lip, a hesitant look flitted across her face before Xiaojin said firmly, ¡°Thunder Technique.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Both Xiaozhai and Gu Yu were surprised, for they had expected her to choose Essence-consuming Method, which had a more advanced starting point, faster advancing pace, and was easier to practice. It turned out both of them were wrong. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Xiaozhai asked as well. ¡°Yes!¡± Xiaojin nodded, her face very serious. ¡°Haha, ok.¡± Xiaozhai stood up, tousled her hair, and smiled, ¡°We¡¯ll start tonight.¡± *** ¡°Pay no attention to the changing world and remain in a trance. Keep an uplifted spirit and be tranquil. Do not be tainted by secr affairs and people. The Void is quiet and still, and seamlessly empty. Existence and nonexistence are interrted, so are difficulty and easiness¡­¡± ¡°Smack!¡± Inside the meditation room, Xiaozhai struck her sister¡¯s hand with a bamboo ruler and scolded, ¡°Focus!¡± ¡°I am! I¡¯m meditating¡­ ouch!¡± Xiaojin tried to justify herself and got another rap. Her sister said, ¡°Yeah, right! Your eyes are losing their focus as we speak. Again!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Puckering, Xiaojin readjusted herself into the cross-legged position and half-closed her eyes. Xiaozhai started reciting again. ¡°Breathing is the key. The mind follows the breathing. They conform and be an organic whole. When all states of mind are quiet and cleared of all thoughts, one abandons the obsession on themselves and all realities¡­ you¡¯re distracted again!¡± ¡°Ouch! That hurts!¡± Rubbing the crimson back of her hand, tears were welling up her eyes. She felt she was utterly wronged. She couldn¡¯t help it. Those with an active mind were simply distracted more easily and finding it hard to stay focused on a single task. Do we need to remind you of Xiaojin¡¯s temperament? It was a wonder that she was not clinically diagnosed as ADHD. To stay motionless while cross-legged for a while was as good as killing her. Yet walking the road of cultivation was probably tougher than building the Tower of Babel. One should never assume that any random person could do it. Sit still in meditation¡ªthe prerequisite of cultivation¡ªitself would eliminate most of the candidates. As a result, training Xiaojin would be a systematic engineering project. Her habits would need forceful correction at an early stage until she could at least reach a calmed mind. Xiaozhai indeed showed no mercy. Her ruler would strike down as soon as Xiaojin started drifting off. This was repeated seven or eight times and the girl burst into tears. ¡°Sob¡­ the life of immortals is too tough¡­ sob¡­ Sob¡­ no one told me that to be immortal, I need to get my palms smacked first¡­ sob¡­¡± She wiped at her semi-real tears, but did not utter angry outbursts like ¡°I quit¡±. ¡°There, there. That¡¯s it for today. Here!¡± Xiaozhai did not press on. Taking her little sister¡¯s hands between her palms, she started nourishing them with her spiritual essence. ¡°It¡¯s called the Mind-breath Coordination Method, a very advanced mind-calming manual. You need to master it first, then I¡¯ll teach you a few tricks. You can¡¯t rush such things. I¡¯d be very happy if you can get the basics before you finish university.¡± ¡°Xiao Qiu is a newbie, too. Did she have her palms smacked?¡± Xiaojin certainly had her priorities well sorted. ¡°She¡¯s doing great! Don¡¯t assume everyone is as unreliable as you are,¡± Xiaozhai chided. Seeing that the inmed hands returned to their natural color and the heated skin cooled down, Xiaozhai blew at them and chuckled. ¡°Okay, the swelling will be gone in a minute, tomorrow you¡¯ll be the same pretty girl again.¡± Feeling the back of her hands, Xiaojin saw that they were indeed not as swollen. She paused all of a sudden, then said, ¡°Sister¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Does uncle 1 know about this?¡± she asked. ¡°¡­¡± The question stunned Xiaozhai, who then replied, ¡°I think they know what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°Then how, how are you going to face them in the future?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t thought about that¡­¡± Xiaozhai fell silent for a moment before saying, ¡°Now that you¡¯ve mentioned it, I think it¡¯s time for me to visit them. Leaving it there, this thing will eventually be a hindrance for me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± Xiaojin shook her head. ¡°Ha, you don¡¯t have to. Not yet.¡± Xiaozhai pulled her up to her feet and grinned. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go have some fresh air.¡± Walking out of the meditation room, they felt their eyes adjusting to the natural light outside. Having left the bright-lit room, the white bnce of the world seemed to have changed. Everything was a notch dimer now. Light was pouring out from every room. Together with the bignterns, the red, the yellow, and the white blended in the darkness outside, forming a tranquil and smooth luminous field. The field extended all the way to the river, across which was the old tree, where anotherttern was dangling. It wasplemented by an outdoormp. Under the tree was a table and some chairs, which were upied at the moment by Gu Yu and Xiao Qiu, apparently engaging in a chess game. ¡°Ah!¡± Xiaojin was stretching out her neck, trying to look more closely, when her feet left the ground. Xiaozhai had picked her up and flew effortlessly across the river holding Xiaojin between her arms. When they went up to the table, the other two had just finished their round. Long Qiu counted the chess pieces and was vexed. ¡°I lost again, by three pieces.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already making great progress.¡± Gu Yu chuckled. ¡°I know you were going easy on me¡­ Sister, do you want to y?¡± She was a little dispirited. ¡°Sure.¡± With that, Xiaozhai took Long Qiu¡¯s ce. The green snake was all buttering up to her, resetting the chess pieces, and another round started. It was a fierce game. ¡°¡­¡± Leaning on her sister, Xiaojin, who was never a fan of Wei-chi 2 , was now watching it with much interest. Above them, a cherubic kid in a red dudou was sitting on a branch, its short legs dangling from the tree while issuing soundlessughter time and again. Not far from it squatted a fat squirrel, gnawing at a nut. Bits of the nut skin were shuffling down as it ate on, which was met by the snake¡¯s re and hissing tongue from time to time¡­ Chapter 169 Chapter 169: Meeting the Parents Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Starting from this Tuesday, the continental warm high will take over Shengtian area, bringing forth continuous high temperatures. The maximum temperature during the day will reach 35 degrees Celsius 1 and is expected to rise to 37 degrees tomorrow, a historical high for the past fifty years. Throughout the province, as many as ten cities will experience a temperature of above 35 degrees. A high temperature alert has been issued by the provincial observatory, cautioning against heatstroke danger during such weather. Outdoor workers are advised to take precautions; children and elderly should avoid going out at noontime¡­¡± ¡°Click!¡± Inside the migrant vige off Hongmei Road, Old Man He switched off the radio and mumbled in a dry voice, ¡°Such ridiculous weather!¡± He was lying on a chair right outside his house, wearing a thin, loose-fitting T-shirt and shorts. There were no trees around to provide any shade and he was hiding in the tiny bit of shadow formed by the houses. 35 degrees on a summer day was not even worth mentioning in southern part of the country, but this was Shengtian we were talking about here! Of all the time ever since there was meteorological observation data, only thirty-three days were recorded to be hotter than 35 degrees, but two more days were adding to that record in this year alone. Such weather might not mean much to the locals, but buildings of the migrant vige were all makeshift houses with minimal sunshade and heat instion effect. Living inside was like being shut in a steaming pot. What was more, with all these people stuffed together, the high temperature threatened to breed epidemic diseases via water, food, or domestic garbage. Adding to that was the overall irritable mood, which aggravated their conflict with the locals. The number of police reports was going through the roof. The government was in a terrible fix at the moment. Not only did they set up an additional police service station, but necessities like medicines, cold drinks, watermelons, etc. were also given out periodically, which barely enabled them to maintain the stability. ¡°Grandpa, have some watermelon!¡± The old man remained lying there and in a moment, He He trotted out holding a te, on it were a few slices of red-pulped watermelon. Taking one up, he asked, ¡°Has the teacher told you when to start school yet?¡± ¡°No, not yet.¡± Sitting down beside him, He He replied like a little grown-up. ¡°I was told they needed another two or three days, just in case of idents.¡± ¡°idents? Hmph, shirking responsibilities, that¡¯s what they are doing. The school is no different from the government! There¡¯s no f**king decent men around nowadays. Everyone¡¯s pretending to be weaklings. They never do as they promised and think about themselves only. My dear Xiao He, remember this: whatever you do, be mindful and don¡¯t give away your trust easily. In that way, you¡¯ll be able to take care of yourself when I¡¯m gone¡­¡± Tending to go to the extremes these days, the old man would burst into such babbling every now and then, regardless of his granddaughter¡¯s ability toprehend his words. He He, on the other hand, was indeed too young to respond to any of that and could only turn a deaf ear to her grandfather. The boiling heat was also getting to her. She gulped down a slice of watermelon in a couple of bites and was ready to take a second piece when there came a screech. A car had stopped at the other side of the street. The door opened and out came a young man with a familiar face. ¡°Huh?¡± He He¡¯s face lit up and she called out loud, ¡°Brother! Brother!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The man caught sight of her and waved back, then walked into a convenient store. Presently, he came out with a few bottles of water, got back into the car, and left. ¡°Xiao He, do you know him?¡± The old man, on the other hand, questioned with a straight face, apparently rather taking it rather seriously. ¡°He¡¯s been to our house before. You¡¯ve even talked to him,¡± replied the little girl, somewhat amazed. ¡°Has he?¡± Furrowing up his brows, he pondered at the question and rxed his face. ¡°Well, I suppose he has¡­ anyway, you still should be careful. You never know how terrible a man he could be underneath. Keep away from the strangers from now on¡­¡± The old man resumed his habitual lecture. Poor little girl, with her parents gone when she was merely six or seven, she was stuck with an old grandfather who had gone a bit haywire. It was thanks to her sturdy nerves that she was able to endure such a life. She giggled at the old man¡¯sment and went on eating her watermelon. *** ¡°It wasn¡¯t this hot when I got here. The weather is just ridiculous!¡± Inside the car, Xiaojin uttered the same exmation before asking, ¡°Hey, Brother-inw, do you think it¡¯s a sign of the spiritual essence going crazy and the doomsdaying?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a perfectly normal climate phenomenon. Haven¡¯t you heard of ¡®global warming¡¯?¡± The question was giving Gu Yu a phantom pain in certain body parts again. ¡°Huh? That¡¯s just boring. I¡¯ve taken so much pain to be this awesome, some little bi*ch¡¯d better show up and let me kick her ass!¡± ¡°Why?¡± Long Qiu, who was sitting on the passenger¡¯s seat, was amazed by the statement. ¡°Tsk, it¡¯s called ¡®the sense of achievement¡¯. I am a natural fierce fighter, the same way you are an ultimate innocent sweetheart. Hey, have you got into any real fight before?¡± ¡°Shut up and drive!¡± ying with the her phone, Xiaozhai gave the order without raising her head. ¡°Tsk!¡± The younger sister¡¯s moment was ruined instantly. Pouting, she decided it would be best not to retort. Speaking of which, all crew were present and ounted for today¡ªthat is, all four of them. During her several-day-long stay on the mountain, Xiaojin took almost no time in epting the new setups of the world and soon familiarized herself with the cultivation method of the mind-calming manual. What she needed from now on was persistence andprehension. Starting with zero background knowledge, they could not impose any harsh requirement upon her. The baseline Xiaozhai set up for her was to achieve a calm mind first before moving on to the next step. Xiaojin was not to let cultivation get in the way of her studies, nor was she going to live in seclusion with the other three. With her minimal ability, she had a long way to go before pretending to be some master. Of course, Xiaojin was disgruntled at the arrangement. What happened to ¡°my daddy (or mommy, or brother-inw) is so awesome and I can live afortable privileged life¡±? Why did she have to work her a*s off like a dumbo? As for Xiaozhai, she was here because she needed to check up on her own home, especially her parents. To be frank, having been brought up by her master and influenced by apletely different world view ever since she was little, she was not at all that close to them. Even so, she was still their flesh and blood and the rtionship was a fetter of the secr world. If she failed to deal with the issue with an open heart, it would very like be a malicious hinderance for her. As she was going home, Gu Yu naturally had to keep herpany¡­ well, it was sort of an initiative of meeting the parents. And since the three of them were all gone, they couldn¡¯t have left Long Qiu behind, hence the girl was with them as well. They drove all the way to Shengtian and went their separate ways in the south part of the city, where Xiaozhai was to take her boyfriend home and Xiaojin led Long Qiu away to have some fun. They each went their own way. *** ¡°The heaven and earth did not exist until there was the Void. The unshakeable Void came into existence first, then we had the first Patriarch, known as ¡®Old Patriarch Infinity¡¯. This one man governed the universe, under whose governance the primordial world materialized, which gave rise to a chaotic being. The primordial world was created first, then the chaotic being. Thetter grew up, turned into a primary egg, which was also called ¡®ck Sky and Yellow Earth¡¯¡­ the pure and light energy became the sky, while the foul energy became the earth. One begets Two, Two begets Three, Three begets all things on in this world. Everything was the creation of the Old Patriarch¡­¡± In some courtyard in the south part of the city, Li Daoyu was seated high above, preaching and lecturing a bunch of disciples. The scripture he recited was called ¡°Havenless and Earthless Chaotic Void Treasured Scroll¡±, some gibberish concocted by Han Gaozhao. As mentioned before, Three Yang Sect was an illegal civil society specialized in scamming. In order to glorify his story, Han Gaozhao made up a Taoist immortal called the ¡°Old Patriarch Infinity¡± and branded himself as the first avatar of this figure. The hrious thing was, heter dered the inexorable doom of three Yang and three worlds, weaving in Buddhist theories talking about Buddhas of the past, the present, and the future, while deeming Maitreya its supreme god. Only the impoverishedmoners with little education in ancient times would buy such groundless bullshit. In a modern society like this, Li Daoyu would never dare bring out such ¡°doomsday¡± propaganda. It was so obvious that the whole story was a beguiling scheme. Hence, he had to refer to Old Patriarch Infinity as his cover story and talked about the scripture alone, without mentioning any religious beliefs. As it turned out, his n was carried out pretty well. At least Xue Zhao and his people showed no suspicion and only thought Li the disciple of some minor sect and considered him a proper Taoist practitioner. ¡°Ok, that¡¯s all for today¡­¡± Li Daoyu went through the entire text, lifted the lower hem of his robe, and was rising to his feet. ¡°Old Immortal, be careful!¡± Being the keenest toady of them all, Chen Yu rushed to Li¡¯s side to help him up. Such attitude was a great boost to Li Daoyu¡¯s sense of self-importance. Before all this, he was a mere old pauper, selling second-hand books, while they were business tycoons; their paths would never have crossed. Yet now, not only was he given a separate courtyard as his dwelling, but these people had each paid him 200,000 Yuan as an apprentice fee. He was addressed as nothing but ¡°Old Immortal¡± and these people could not show enough reverence for him. In response, Li Daoyu was holding back no more. Whatever they offered, he epted without hesitation. His reasoning was rather straightforward: fate had brought such fortune to his doorstep and he saw no reason to refuse the pleasure. If Xue Zhao and his men turned out to be earnest, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to teach them one thing or two. Xue Zhao¡¯s purpose was even simpler. He was to cozy up to the old man so that thetter could do his family¡¯s bidding when time came and he would also learn some Taoist skills in the process. The group of six left the lecture hall and took their seats in the living room. The old man sat on the seat of honor, with Xue Zhao the next one up, followed by Chen Yu and the rest of the group. One of the chubbier fellows was perspiring heavily, andined as he wiped away his sweat. ¡°Oh my, the weather¡¯s heating up without a warning. It¡¯s so hard on me. The honorable master is not like us; there¡¯s not a single trace of sweat on you.¡± ¡°Ha, so long as one keeps calm, one doesn¡¯t feel the heat too much.¡± Li Daoyu smiled. ¡°It¡¯s very easy for you to say. I don¡¯t know how to keep calm, never have,¡± replied the fasto helplessly. ¡°We cultivators should master the skill of calmness. Without it, all cultivating efforts are but empty words. It¡¯s for the same reason that I¡¯ve asked you to do nothing but meditating in the past few days since you became my disciples¡­¡± Seeing that the chubby fellow was indeed suffering from the heat, he said, ¡°Fine, fetch me a bowl of water.¡± Chen Yu carried out thismand right away and brought the bowl of water to the old man. Li Daoyu took out a talisman, which turned into a me without ignition and burnt up in the bowl. The talisman, however, left behind no ashes and seemed to have disappeared into thin air when the me was gone. The water was as clear as before. ¡°Now, drink it.¡± Li Daoyu handed the bowl to the fatso. ¡°Uh¡­¡± The fatso hesitated, but took a sip in the end. He shuddered violently, for as soon as the in water was down his throat, he felt as if he had just chewed five kilos of mint. A cooling sensation wooshed through his entire body and the heat dissipated right away. ¡°Hoho, nice! That was awesome!¡± ¡°Give me some!¡± Seeing his reaction, Chen Yu grabbed the bowl from him and took a sip as well. He reacted with the same amazement and satisfaction. ¡°My turn, it¡¯s my turn.¡± Momentarily, the five people took turns to drink from the bowl and emptied it to thest drop. As experienced businessmen, they were all worldly-wise people, so why on earth did they fall head over heels for Li Daoyu? The answery in such tricks that were beyond theirprehension. Among them, Chen Yu was the most earnest one, almost to the point of throwing himself at the old man¡¯s feet. Putting away the bowl, he suddenly remembered something and said tentatively, ¡°By the way, Old Immortal, I have a younger sister and I¡¯ve been meaning to bring her here. I was wondering if you¡­¡± ¡°We do not discriminate those searching the Great Dao by their status or gender. Of course she cane.¡± ¡°Great! I¡¯ll bring her here this evening!¡± Chen Yu was exhrated. *** Meanwhile, outside the family housing facility of the municipal government. Gu Yu straightened his clothes nervously and asked, ¡°So, how do I look? All right?¡± ¡°Uh huh, you would pass as my boyfriend.¡± Xiaozhai chuckled. ¡°Just look closely. After all, this is my first time meeting your parents.¡± ¡°I did. I¡¯ve seen every bit of your body like the back of my hand. Nothing toin about!¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Rolling his eyes, he could not be bothered to retort and started strolling in with a bag in his hand. The usual presents for the first meeting were things like nice cigarettes, wine, or tea. Since they didn¡¯t buy anything, they brought two boxes of Mind-calming incense instead, which would work wonders on ordinary people for it would help with sleep, relieve stress, as well as reduce minor infections. As they swaggered their way to Xiaozhai¡¯s home, they had no idea that Father and Mother Jiang were the ones feeling flustered and perplexed¡­ Chapter 170 Chapter 170: Ties of Blood Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu As early as a few months ago, Father Jiang was promoted by a whole pay grid and was officially among the core leadership ranks. Mother Jiang was given a simr raise and was now the first inmand of certain department known for being free from corruption. In Shengtian territory, they were now considered a high-ranking couple with much influence. Administrative changes at such level usually took ce in election years or when there was severe vition of discipline, requiring provisional supplement personnel. With all the ups and downs they had witnessed in their long bureaucratic career, they were more than clear of the proceedings of such things. However, the more they were acknowledged, the more baffled they became. It was not until the other day when Father Jiang read a ssified document that they found out the reason behind all this. Unfortunately, the two main characters of the document, as it turned out, were their daughter and her boyfriend. He never found out if the document was leaked to him on purpose¡ªwhich was almost certain¡ªand it took the old couple three days to ¡°shake off¡± the ¡°after effect¡±. ¡®Our daughter is on her way to be an immortal and is on a first-name basis with the state¡­¡¯ Rolling that statement at the tip of their tongue was simply unbelievable! The feeling was so overwhelming that when they were told that their daughter wasing home for a visit, they were flustered rather than pleasantly surprised. Especially Mother Jiang, who had been fussing about since a while ago, muttering to herself the entire time, ¡°What are we going to do? Huh? They¡¯ll be here soon.¡± ¡°So be it. Stop running around, will you?¡± ¡°How can I! What are we going to say when she¡¯s here?¡± ¡°Whatever we see fit. After all, she¡¯s still our daughter,¡± said Father Jiang. ¡°But, but¡­¡± Mother Jiang was about to retort, but decided to heave a sign in the end. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s still our daughter.¡± ¡°Ding-dong! Ding-dong!¡± While they were still pondering over the question, the doorbell rang. Mother Jiang jolted at the sound. However, being an experienced high-ranking official, she soon calmed herself down and went to answer the door. Opening the door, she saw her own daughter apanied by a young man. There was nothing strange or offbeat about thetter, who turned out to be quite pleasing to the eye. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Mum!¡± Mother Jiang¡¯s silence went on for a bit too long and Xiaozhai couldn¡¯t help but call out. Gu Yu followed suit and greeted her, ¡°Hello, Auntie!¡± ¡°Oh, hello, nice to meet you¡­ Xiao Gu, I presume?¡± Mother Jiang came to herself and hesitated before addressing Gu Yu as such, somewhat emboldened. She was having some difficulty in picking the term. Her reaction was understandable, though, for even to the ¡°imperial envoy¡±, he was known as ¡°Mr. Gu¡±. Gu Yu did not seem to have noticed her awkwardness. Handing out the small gift box, he smiled. ¡°Uh, nice to meet you. Please ept this little gift. I hope you will like it.¡± ¡°Oh, thank you! Here, pleasee in.¡± Faced with mundane pleasantries, Mother Jiang was instantly relieved. The young couple went into the living room and greeted Father Jiang with equal, if not bigger, awkwardness. Almost as soon as Gu Yu and Xiaozhai set eyes on her parents, it dawned on them right away that her parents had known about it¡ªjust as Xiaozhai had guessed! The government would never let go of such an opportunity. With the daughter as a cultivator and the parents government officials, a great space for possible manoeuvrings was opened up. All they needed to do was to offer two positions and some partial intelligence. If luck was on their side, they would win the daughter to their side; if not, such move would still make the girl think twice when the rtionship turned hostile in the future. All in all, the government stood to earn a great deal for so small a price. But then, during the boy¡¯s first visit to the girl¡¯s home, the usual procedure was for the girl and her mother to slip into the kitchen with someme excuse, leaving the boy in the living room with the father, each parent in charge of their own sex. It had almost be a fixed pattern, which even extended to the location of each group. The females would discuss the boyfriend¡¯s sry, bonus, house, career, family background, personality and temperament, health condition, and even his performance in bed and the frequency of ¡°doing it¡±. As for the guys, the subjects of their conversation could be summarized into job, position, goals, workce environment, room for development, domestic and international issues, as well as the stock market. The conversation could go on forever. Exactly when it would stop depended solely on what dishes they were preparing. Today was no different. Mother Jiang dragged Xiaozhai into the kitchen, leaving Father Jiang behind in the living room with Gu Yu, then the two men gazed at each other in a speechless awkwardness¡­ Father Jiang was a talkative man, but exactly what could he talk about with this young man? Job: cultivator. Position: chief of Phoenix Mountain. Goal: bing Heavenly Immortal. Workce environment: still early stage, extremely tough, might face confrontation at any moment. Please, that was simply embarrassing! To break the deadlock, Gu Yu said, ¡°Well, Uncle, I¡¯ve brought you two boxes of Mind-calming Incense. They can nurse your health and help with sleep. Here they are.¡± With that, he handed over the gift boxes. Taking over the boxes, Father Jiang saw that the sixty sticks were arranged neatly inside like a work of art. He couldn¡¯t help but express his admiration. ¡°Very nice. Thank you for the gift.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± And the silent deadlock resumed. At that moment, the kitchen door opened and Xiaozhai slipped out. Smiling, she said, ¡°Hey, my mom heard that you¡¯re quite a good cook and she requested your help.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Gu Yu rose to his feet immediately. Their hands touched briefly when the two brushed past each other in a tacit manner. Apparently, the female pair was also having a difficult time. Thus, the young couple regrouped and, amazingly, conversations were struck up. *** ¡°The key to fried pork in scoop is the batter. Add an egg white to the starch and mix them together into a batter, which would wrap around the pork slices evenly when you roll the pork in it. You won¡¯t have unevenyers in this way.¡± In the kitchen, Gu Yu picked up slices of tenderloin wrapped in batter with chopsticks, heated up the cooking oil to a medium heat, and lowered the slices into the oil. The meat started sizzling. He deep-fried the tenderloin until cooked with a medium heat, scooped them up, turned up the heat, and deep-fried the slices until they were crispy. Seeing his deft movements, Mother Jiang chuckled. ¡°You really are as good as I was told. Do you always cook yourself?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been doing it since I was little. I cook for her now as well, but she¡¯s not fond of meat. Hers are mainly vegetarian dishes.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Her father and I both love meat and she¡¯s not taking after us. She¡¯s more like her grandfather on that.¡± Mother Jiang busied herself with assisting Gu Yu as she went on with a smile, ¡°Xiaozhai might look soft-hearted, but she¡¯s actually very stubborn. I remember one time when she was just starting middle school and came back home for vacation, I cooked nothing but meat dishes. She simply touched none of the dishes and ate a bowl of rice on its own. Oh my, her father was fuming¡­¡± ¡°Ah? Is that so?¡± Gu Yu was immediately intrigued. He was more than willing to heard about his girlfriend¡¯s ck history. ¡°Yes! She was more stubborn than a donkey back then and no one could do anything about it. She only softened a little after she went to attend university. She¡¯s got quite a temper and you¡¯re her first boyfriend. So if she ever pushed it too far, do be patient with her.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It takes two to let a rtionship work and we¡¯re doing all right so far. At least, we haven¡¯t had any quarrels yet.¡± Scooping out the sliced pork, Gu Yu added silently in his head, ¡®Our fights aren¡¯t verbal, but physical!¡¯ ¡°Sigh¡­¡± For some reason, Mother Jiang hesitated at his remark and heaved a sigh. Women could be rather strange at times and one never knew which word would touch their heartstrings. Mother Jiang was a bit uneasy at the beginning, but gradually rxed as they chatted on. She was now observing Gu Yu from the perspective of a mother-inw and the more closely she looked at him, the more emotional she felt. ¡°She has not been with us ever since she was little, and to be honest with you, we know very little about her. But, after all, she¡¯s my own flesh and blood. To tell you the truth, this thing has been on my mindtely and I sometimes even dream about it. I thought maybe when she leaves us this time, she would nevere back¡­¡± With a linen cloth, Mother Jiang carefully wiped away the oil stain on the edge of the te, then turned to open the kitchen door. She said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m really happy that you¡¯re here to see us today, especially with you by her side.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu blinked, then carried the dish out of the kitchen. Presently, the four sat down in the dining room. There was sign of emotional reaction on Xiaozhai¡¯s face, apparently the result of the conversation between her and her father. However, all four of them were now very restrained and reserved. The tension had finally eased up during the meal. After lunch, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai lingered until well into the afternoon before they bid her parents farewell. Outside, the ring sun released its heat relentlessly. The whole city seemed slouched down under the sunshine and the air burnt by the heatwaves. The two walked hand in hand, neither of them uttering a word. It was after quite some time that Xiaozhai announced out of the blue, ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve always thought that the ties of blood are not the same as emotional ties.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°The ties of blood is an innate social rtionship. It only represents your responsibility to educate your children and support your parents, but exactly how much you are going to invest in these activities is decided by your emotional bond with them.¡± ¡°Yep, I agree!¡± Gu Yu nodded. ¡°But now, I think I¡¯ve overlooked one thing. To be honest, I don¡¯t feel that much attached to my parents, yet I¡¯ve ignored how they felt towards me. This bond is also something I should be responsible for.¡± ¡°Yep, I agree with that, too!¡± He nodded again. ¡°Do you even have you own standpoint?¡± ¡°Of course. I understand what you said. They were not contradictory.¡± Gu Yu meant it, for it was simple. Many children nowadays were sent away from their parents for school at a very young age¡ªit was natural that they did not feel attached to their parents. However, the children tended to ignore the care their parents held towards them, which needed reciprocation. Of course, we couldn¡¯t deny the fact that there were heartless parents who would abandon or abuse their own children. This did not seem much of a problem, but to Xiaozhai, it was essential. Failing to figure it out would very likely lead to the situation Long Qiu faced in her breakthrough¡ªa w in the state of mind. ¡°So, what are you going to do?¡± he asked. ¡°¡­¡± After a brief silence, Xiaozhai said slowly, ¡°I will be their daughter of this lifetime, and this alone.¡± *** ¡°Wow, Xiao Jin Jin!¡± ¡°Wow, Silly Jiao Jiao!¡± As the dusk set in, in one of thergest nightclubs of Shengtian, Xiaojin and Chen Jiao were hugging happily. They were BFF in high school and only got separated by university. Still, they would get together every summer and winter vacations and remained quite close. ¡°You¡¯ve finally made time to see me. I thought you had moved on to someone new!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I did. Here, let me introduce¡­¡± Grabbing Long Qiu by her shoulders, Xiaojinughed. ¡°This is my girlfriend. Prettier than you, won¡¯t you say?¡± ¡°Bah! Shame on you!¡± Chen Jiao gave her a disdainfulment, but she could not deny the fact that this girl was indeed stunning. With her fair skin, tiny waist, and long legs, she was almost perfect. ¡°Jin Jin, can we go out? It¡¯s too loud here.¡± Long Qiu, on the other hand, was not impressed by the surroundings. With its dim light, ear-splitting music, and pairs of men and women thrusting against one another on the dance floor doing god-knows-what, this ce was repulsive to her. This club was Chen Jiao¡¯s pick and normally, one would not be so straightforward in denouncing others when they met only for the first time, but Long Qiu was one of the Miao people and knew nothing of such conventions. She spoke her mind as she always did. Chen Jiao furrowed up her brow at the remark right away and said in a disgruntled tone, ¡°Let¡¯s go somewhere else, then. We can go to the pub in the next street; it¡¯s quieter there.¡± Barely ten minutes had passed when they left the nightclub. Chen Jiao deliberately fell back and asked Xiaojin in a whisper, ¡°Hey, where did you find this white lotus 1 ? Does she ever have fun?¡± ¡°Haha! She¡¯s no white lotus. She¡¯d scare the sh*t out of you if she wants to!¡± ¡°Hm? Are you saying she¡¯s a white lotus b*tch 2 ?¡± Chen Jiao was baffled. ¡°Pfft!¡± The remark frightened Xiaojin to the point that she covered Chen Jiao¡¯s mouth wither her hand. As mild as Long Qiu seemed, she was not all that harmless. She didn¡¯t even need the Golden Silkworm to make a killing move¡ªthe Needle Undead Insect alone could do the job! How ignorant of her earlier that she offered to try the needle insect herself; she fainted at the first strike. Both Xiaojin and Chen Jiao drove their cars and they were soon in that pub. However, they had barely sat down when Chen Jiao¡¯s phone rang. It was her brother. ¡°Hello? Brother, I¡¯m with Jin Jin¡­ aiya, I¡¯m not going. What the hell is that? What? Can I go another day? I¡¯ve just got here¡­ gosh, you¡¯re so annoying. Fine, fine, wait a minute!¡± Hanging up, she was most apologetic when she said, ¡°Well, my brother needs me. I¡¯ve got to run.¡± ¡°What for?¡± Xiaojin was vexed. ¡°To see some master, a fortune-teller sort of man.¡± ¡°A fortune-teller?¡± Rolling her eyes, Xiaojin said, ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t we go together? I want to have my fortune told as well.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Chen Jiao hesitated at the suggestion, but did not want to discourage her BFF. ¡°Ok, it¡¯s just another scam, anyway.¡± With that, they rushed out again and got into their separate cars. Chen Jiao led the way in the front and the other two followed. Long Qiu was not a big fan of such asions and asked, ¡°Jin Jin, why do we have to join her?¡± ¡°Tsk, where¡¯s your territorial awareness?¡± Driving with one hand, Xiaojin gestured with the other as she lectured on, ¡°Whose territory are we on now? Ours! Who the hell dare call himself a master when my sister and sister-inw are around?¡± Chapter 171 Chapter 171: Hail Boss Jin the well-connected! Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Night, Shengtian. Chen Jiao seemed to be heading towards some distant corner. She had been driving southwards for over twenty minutes without any sign of stopping soon. Xiaojin followed her unhurriedly. Holding the steering wheel with one hand, she even managed to touch up on her makeup with the spare one. Dotting her face several times with an eyeliner and dusting a thinyer of powder over the top, she only put away her makeup bag with satisfaction after checking her reflection in the rearview mirror. On the passenger seat, Long Qiu was burying her head in her phone when she suddenly said, ¡°Why, Brother said they¡¯d finished over there. He thought it went well. They seemed to have a good impression of him.¡± ¡°Of course they did! Who in the right mind would say no to an immortal son-inwnding at their doorstep? Where are they now¡­ damn it! Bi*ch!¡± Xiaojin hit the brakes hard¡ªa car in the front had deliberately got into her way. ¡°Gosh, no swearing.¡± Being one year older, Long Qiu naturally took up the role of the big sister. She added, ¡°I think they¡¯re at Sister¡¯s ce. Shall I ask them if we¡¯re going back today?¡± ¡°No need. They¡¯re probably savoring the moment rolling around in bed! Just tell them we¡¯re having fun out here and will be back soon. Let them hurry up and be done with it.¡± ¡°Be done with it? With what?¡± Long Qiu blinked with bewilderment, apparently not yet having enough insight into certain expression specific to the region. ¡°Just pick your favorite term¡ªlove-making, mating, conjugal sex, illicit sexual rtion, having sexual intercourse, carnal knowledge¡­ f**k! Hahaha, you bi*ch!¡± Fixing on the car she cursed earlier, Xiaojin finally saw an opening. She pressed the elerator hard and overtook it with a whoosh, showing thetter a long middle finger in passing. Another half-hour drive and they finally stopped outside a courtyard. Chen Yu had been waiting for long outside. His posture rxed on seeing his sister¡¯s car, but after noticing another car in the wake of Chen Jiao¡¯s, his brows furrowed up. ¡°Brother!¡± Chen Jiao ran happily towards him. Pulling her aside, Chen Yu lowered his voice. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you toe alone?¡± ¡°Why, it¡¯s only Jin Jin, not some random stranger. Don¡¯t make it such a big deal!¡± Chen Jiao did not think much of it, for she never believed in some hidden master. What mattered to her was not to appear stingy in front of her BFF. ¡°Yo, Bro Yu! It¡¯s been half a year, hasn¡¯t it? Still looking sharp!¡± Xiaojin also got off her car at that moment and replied to that on purpose. ¡°Jiao Jiao and I finally got to get together and I couldn¡¯t just let her leave me. I hope I¡¯m not making it difficult for you?¡± Under usual social circumstances, one could never say yes to that question no matter how unwilling they were. However, Chen Yu was behaving rather strangely today. He even hesitated for a while before saying, ¡°I¡¯m not driving you away, but please wait here. I need to go inside and ask for permission.¡± With that, he promptly went back in, shutting the three girls outside. ¡®Seriously?!¡¯ Chen Jiao was mortified. Feeling utterly humiliated in front of her friends, she made a forced smile and exined, ¡°Don¡¯t mind him. My brother¡¯s probably, probably, um¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. Masters are hard to approach like that. We can wait.¡± Holding Long Qiu by her shoulder, Xiaojin giggled out her reply, her eyes frighteningly bright from all the fun she was getting out of it. Meanwhile, inside the courtyard, Chen Yu went to the back to report. By now, all disciples had left¡ªexcept Xue Zhao. Chen Yu exined the situation briefly and asked, ¡°Old Immortal, do you still wish to see them?¡± ¡°Hoho, since fate has brought them to me, let them in, please.¡± Li Daoyu was indifferent to the extra attenders. To him, anyone from their circle was as rich and influential as the next one. He had no problem with the extra ie¡ªwho would turn the ready money away? Thus, Chen Yu went outside again and brought the three girls in. The courtyard had a bigger front section and a smaller back one, with the main hall and the lecture room in the front and the living quarters at the back. In total, it was even slightlyrger than a rural homestead. Xiaojin took in the surroundings on her way in, secretly amazed. The Chen Family was no fools. The fact that they were willing to give away such a house was proof enough that this man must be somewhat capable. She was not the least flustered, though. With two bosses backing her up, she was ready to challenge anyone! The four of them soon reached the meditation room at the back. Xue Zhao looked up and saw three girls of simr age, all looking spectacr. The one on the left was the least impressive among the three; the one in the middle had the perfect features¡­ if not for the freckles, which significantly reduced her attractiveness; as for the one on the right¡­ ¡®Tsk tsk!¡¯ Even an experienced womanizer like himself could not help but gasp in admiration, for the girl had such a unique arua about her that she did not seem to belong to this secr world. Li Daoyu was also observing Long Qiu inconspicuously. He was suddenly took over by a strange feeling, but could not pinpoint what it was. ¡°Jiao Jiao, this is old Gentleman Li and this is Xue Zhao, my good friend.¡± They greeted one another in turned and took their seats. With the presence of the neers, Chen Yu changed his way of addressing Li Daoyu as he asked with a smile, ¡°Venerable Sir, what do you see in my little sister?¡± ¡°H¡¯m, nice.¡± Scanning Chen Jiao with his eyes, Li Daoyumented, ¡°The under-eye areas are smooth; the ears are well-shaped; the mouth is small and angled. All of the above are the facial features indicating respect brought by statusful offsprings, which means much fortune wille to you with theing of your children and grandchildren. On the other hand, you have slightly expansive cheeks with protruding cheekbones and hollow temples. It¡¯s called the ¡®face of white tiger¡¯, a sign of hindering your future husband, so be aware of that.¡± ¡®What the heck?¡¯ Chen Jiao was utterly baffled. Chen Yu had grasped the main idea, though, which was that despite having sessful children and grandchildren, she¡¯d have an abominable rtionship with her husband. He said at once, ¡°Thank you, Sir! Jiao Jiao, thank the gentleman, quickly!¡± ¡°Um, thank you, Sir.¡± Fighting back her disapproval inside, Chen Jiao awkwardly expressed her limited gratitude. With the Chen Family being the Xue Family¡¯s top-one foot soldier in the Northeast, Xue Zhao waspelled to show his attitude, which led him to saying, ¡°The old gentleman is no ordinary man. Come often in the future, it¡¯ll do you good. Don¡¯t let your brother¡¯s thoughtfulness go to waste¡­¡± With that, he then turned to Long Qiu. The fellowe had had his eyes on Xiao Qiu from the beginning and was waiting for an opportunity to flirt. He had yet to open his mouth when certain person¡¯s interjection stopped him. ¡°Oh my, Master Li, isn¡¯t it? I was told you are a fantastic fortune-teller, the real deal. I guess today¡¯s my lucky day.¡± Inserting herself into the conversation abruptly, Xiaojin hopped forward and with an earnest face, she said, ¡°Master, will you have a look at me?¡± Master? Li Daoyu felt the corners of his eyes twitching. Howe that word sound so malevolent in her mouth? If things had gone as he nned, he would use Xue Zhao and his group as a beachhead and slowly expand his influence. Chen Jiao was Chen Yu¡¯s own sister and an eptable member. Her BFFs should havee from the same circle and with simr characteristics, but where did this creaturee from? He couldn¡¯t refuse at this point and had to take a brief look. He then said with a smile, ¡°From what I see, you have rosy and round earlobes, small frame and exquisite skin, all of which are signs of abundance and affluence. You must be from a fine family and have been on the fast track ever since you were little with no bumps on the road. Your philtrum is deep and straight and your lips are red as vermillion, indicating the presence of an honorable member of the society. However¡­¡± ¡°However what?¡± Xiaojin was a little anxious. ¡°Please forgive my bluntness.¡± Li Daoyu paused and went on. ¡°Your face says a lifetime without worry, if not for the moles. There are moles along your hairlines and on the tip of your nose, which are the signs of career setbacks and tendency to run into vile characters. That is to say, despite the help of the honorable person, it will notst. You will have a carefree youth but start getting into troubles when middle age arrives. The cmity will keeping. If by chance your fate is shifted by other fortune, you might die a natural death in the end.¡± ¡°¡­¡± With the speech, the atmosphere immediately fell awkward. Chen Jiao was the first to react, yelling, ¡°Hey, what the hell are you talking about? Jin Jin is perfectly fine!¡± ¡°Shut up! I will not allow you disrespect the gentleman!¡± Chen Yu chided right away. ¡°But¡­¡± Fearing her brother, Chen Jiao kept her silence in grievance. Xiaojin also put on a gloomy face and asked helplessly, ¡°Master, can you help me, then? I don¡¯t want to live myst years in despair.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡± Li Daoy shook his head. ¡°Really? Like, really?¡± She would not give up. ¡°Sigh, I could only suggest you to treat people with sincerity and be kind in attending to your affairs. Maybe a blessing wille to you as a result at an old age.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Xiaojin sighed. Then out of the blue, she dashed back to her chair, grabbed her handbag, and fumbled out a makeup removal cloth. Wiping it carelessly around her face, she revealed a fair, smooth, and tender little face bouncier than a boiled egg. ¡°Master, have a look at me again, will you?¡± Chapter 172 Chapter 172: Sneak into the Night with the Wind Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°¡­¡± Awkward. Very awkward. Li Daoyu would not for the life of him think of such a twist. How could he? After all, makeup was the most magical one among the so-called ¡± four great witchcrafts 1 ¡± in that it brought vitality to the dead and added flesh to the bare bones¡ªthe possibilities were limitless. Being a city slicker always on trend, Xiaojin was a master of the skill. As the saying went: Hail Boss Jin the experienced traveller; she might not have the curve, but she had a lot of social connections! Yabsolutely! ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Right now, our girl stuck out her spotless little face, still ying her part of a harmless spoiled child, only that the earnesty on her face was purely asking for trouble. Li Daoyu straightened up his face immediately, utterly displeased. He had always been amoner, unable to put his few abilities to good use and living the bigger part of his life in hardship. Now that fortune was finally on his side, he was a little carried away by his own importance, drifting towards his grand designs of bing fabulously rich and gathering disciples by tens of millions. With Xiaojin¡¯s messing around, a sense of being teased immediately overtook him. His voice deepened. ¡°I was only trying to show you the right path and offer an opportunity to make friends by reading your face, yet you repay me with dishonesty. That was outrageous.¡± ¡°Oh my, I¡¯m as honest as one can be! I forgot to take off my makeup, that¡¯s all. This is exactly how I look, please take another look, will you?¡± Our girl responded with yet more bullsh*t. ¡°Humph!¡± Li Daoyu would not bicker with a silly girl. Flicking his sleeves, he simply ignored her. But our girl would not be brushed off that easily and pressed on, ¡°Master, don¡¯t be angry! There are so many chatans around nowadays, I can¡¯t just trust anyone I run into, can I? How about showing me some other tricks of yours? When I¡¯m sure you¡¯re the genuine one, I¡¯ll definitely build you a shrine¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Chen Yu could watch it no longer. He stood up and shouted, ¡°I only let you in because I thought you were a good friend of Jiao Jiao. What is all this?¡± ¡°Nothing, I want to have a peek. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not weed here any more. Please leave!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so harsh. It was my bad. How about I apologize?¡± The two then stood there bickering on. Long Qiu was almost having a headache. After these days dealing with Xiaojin, she had grown to know her quite a bit. Forget about the girl¡¯s pretty ims of territorial awareness and thinking of her brother and sister, she was only doing this because it was fun! She was by nature a devilish brat and it would probably kill her to pass a day without disturbing the world with that trait. ¡°¡­¡± Xue Zhao stood aside and observed in silence, his face gloomy. This girl had showed up out of the blue and taunted them for no obvious reason; she was obviously trying to stir something up. They were only introduced as ¡°Jin Jin¡± and ¡°Xiao Qiu¡± earlier and he had no idea what their connections were. If it turned out that they were from the opponents of the Xue Family, they would be in deep trouble. Such thought was characteristic of those from families holding influential positions for generations¡ªthey were always sensing danger and animosity. He felt for his phone inconspicuously, pressed a speed-dial button, then turned back to the others as if nothing had happened. ¡°Master, I said I was sorry. Give me another chance, will you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough! Leave now, or I¡¯ll make you leave!¡± ¡°Fine, fine. We¡¯re leaving, leaving now. Don¡¯t trouble yourself to see us off¡­¡± Seeing that it was gettingte, Xiaojin felt she had had enough fun and it was time to leave. Grabbing Long Qiu, she started walking out. Once outside the meditation room, they were only able to advance a few steps before the gate to the courtyard was pushed open with a loud bang. Five men rushed in. Tough-looking, vigorous, and all with an imposing manner, they were none other than the bodyguards of Xue Zhao. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Xiaojin stopped. Turning around, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s all this?¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m just curious about your identities and want to know you better.¡± Xue Zhao also left the room and said with a smile, ¡°Work with us and you¡¯ll be on your way back home soon.¡± ¡°Oh my, are you aware that you¡¯remitting false imprisonment?¡± Xiaojin was not at least nervous about the fact that she was surrounded by five stalwarts. ¡°I¡¯ll call the police.¡± ¡°The police?¡± As if he had just heard a joke, Xue Zhao replied, ¡°You can certainly try.¡± ¡°Brother, you, you¡­¡± Chen Jiao was the most flustered. She had always livedfortably as a spoiled girl and never experienced such a scene. Chen Yuforted her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s ok. We know when to stop.¡± Outside, Xue Zhao had grown tired of all the talking. Waving his hand, he gestured his men to capture them both. The five bodyguards eyed the two skinny girls and thought little of them. Only two men stepped forward and strode near. They were within their range of attack in no time. Stretching out their hands, they tried to grab the girls by their arms. Xiaojin remained where she was and watched the big hand approach. It was almost touching her when there came a sudden bang! Like a rubber band that had been released after being stretched to its limit, the man flew backwards in an extremely strange pose and knocked into a tree in the yard. The impact shook the branches violently, shedding many leaves into the air. ¡°Ah!¡± Immediately, there came a second scream. The other man was bending forward with his right wrist snapped neatly outwards. Bare bones were protruding out of his skin¡ªhis wrist was at a right angle with his arm. In front of him stood the quiet Long Qiu, who remained unmoved, still the gentle and kind young woman as she always appeared to be. ¡°Together!¡± The other three men were shocked. Abandoning their arrogance, they swerved around and struck out at the same moment from the front, the back, and the left. Long Qiu¡¯s eyes were deep, bright, and slightly excited. She had been trained mercilessly in the valley by the ridiculously powerful couple and had few opportunities to try herself in actualbat. Presently, she revealed her two hands in orchid-like gestures, ground against the ground with her left feet, and her entire body turned a great circle around the yard. ¡°Thump! Thump! Thump!¡± The three men received a blow on their chests almost simultaneously and tumbled down all over the ce. Groaning and whining, none of them was able to stand up again. ¡°Wow, Sister, you¡¯re awesome!¡± By now, Xiaozhai had moved away from the battlefield and was cheering loudly like a little toady¡ªLong Qiu was no longer ¡°Xiao Qiu¡±. ¡°¡­¡± Rolling her eyes speechlessly at Xiaojin, Long Qiu suddenly called out, ¡°Watch out!¡± The girl turned around and her face went pale. It was the man who got smacked away previously, he had scrambled to his feet and snuck upon the rookie. With blood oozing out of his mouth and a sinister look, the man grabbed at her from above. It was an easy capture. ¡°Ah!¡± However, he jolted suddenly and felt an excruciating pain exploding inside him. The pain felt as if a thin, long needle had been jabbed into his body and stuck firmly between his bones. ¡°Ah!¡± A few secondster, the pain aggravated, as if a second needle was inserted. ¡°Eh?!¡± Xiaojin was rather frightened by the effect and jumped back with a shudder. The man was convulsing uncontrobly to the point that he looked half the size as he actually was. Completely crumpling up on the ground, the man scratched the ck brick paving the ground, leaving behind streaks of blood stains. In the end, he even started vomiting violently. The filth mixing with the blood, giving him the appearance of a mad man. In the blink of an eye, all five men were down! ¡°¡­¡± Xue Zhao was utterly baffled. He stumbled back despite himself and tripped on a cement edge, then fell back onto the wet, cold flowerbed with a thud. ¡°Well, I did not see thating!¡± At that moment, Li Daoyu strode into the yard and fixed his gloomy eyes on Long Qiu. ¡°I did not expect to see a fellow practitioner here. That was my mistake.¡± ¡°Hey, enough with all the self-praising. Just look at that old face of yours! My sister does not tell fortune!¡± Saved and unharmed, Xiaojin happily joined into the bickering again. Li Daoyu ignored herpletely and only asked, ¡°What exactly are you doing here today?¡± ¡°Nothing, just having a look around,¡± Long Qiu replied honestly. ¡°Fine! Fine!¡± Li Daoyu took it as an provocation and let out aughter with anger. He was ready to move in. ¡°Wait!¡± Xue Zhao scrambled to his feet and inserted himself between them suddenly. ¡°What did they offer you? The Xue Family will double that!¡± For the entire time, he had thought that they were sent here by the opposing families. All sorts of ideas raced through his head as he tried to adopt every possible means, soft and tough. ¡°And I promise, I will satisfy all your future resource requirements. We can send you to the capital if you want to. There¡¯s plenty of room for you to put your abilities to good use. We can work things out the same way if you want to stay here. The Xue Family has enough influence in Shengtian. I assure you it¡¯ll not do you good to make a bigger mess! This city is ours sooner orter, so as long as you say yes¡­¡± ¡°Is it?¡± A whisper suddenly floated in from the boundless, misty gloom, as if originated from forever changing directions. The moon overhead was a suspending mirror and carried by the wind, two figures flitted across the dim night sky,nding weightlessly in the courtyard. Chapter 173 Chapter 173: The Cat is out of the Bag Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The small courtyard stood in silence against the vast dark sky. The two figures leapt across the high wall like soaring birds,nding effortlessly in the yard. The man and woman were both impressive in their bearings and held their posture gracefully. ¡°Sister! Brother-inw!¡± Seeing them, Xiaojin¡¯s ears seemed to prick up as if getting a fully recharged battery. She was happily running towards them like a gamboling puppy, but was frozen by her sister¡¯s death beam of a stare after only a few steps. Xiaojin shuddered. ¡®I¡¯m finished. Old sis is angry!¡¯ The realization depressed her instantly. She swiftly hid behind Long Qiu, shrinking from sight. ¡°Brother, why are you here?¡± With a little wave of her hand, Long Qiu retrieved the Undead Insect of Needle; the man had already passed out from the pain on the ground. She was even a little surprised, for she only mentioned the address they were at earlier and did not expect to see them show up here. ¡°Look at the mess you¡¯ve made, do we have any other choice? What¡¯s going on here?¡± Gu Yu replied grumpily. ¡°Well¡­¡± Recoiling slightly, Xiao Qiu described what had happened as sinctly as she could. ¡®I knew it!¡¯ The girl was as good a troublemaker as she promised. Gu Yu heaved a sigh, looked around, andnded his eyes on Li Daoyu. He went up to the old man and cupped his hands. ¡°Old gentleman, nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Li Daoyu felt as if his sight was filled with a refined splendor, something he had never witnessed on a person before. Greatly shaken inside, he still managed to squeeze out a question. ¡°I¡¯m Gu Yu. May I ask what sect are you from?¡± ¡°Thump!¡± Before Li Daoyu could reply, Xue Zhao and Chen Yu felt their legs give up as they dropped to the ground one after another. They cried out in surprise, ¡°You are, you are the¡­¡± ¡°Have you heard of me?¡± Gu Yu found it rather strange. ¡°I, I¡­¡± Xue Zhao¡¯s face was drained of all colors as he panted for air, his chubby face covered with sweat. Of course he had been informed of certain things, but these two were supposed to be in Phoenix Mountain right now, which was 50 km away. Why did they show up in Shengtian? Xiaojin¡¯s address of the two suddenly dawned on him at that moment¡­ instantly, ¡®holy sh*t¡¯ was the only words running through his miserable head. So it wasn¡¯t a family rivalry after all, but the princess herself getting streetwise (more like breaking thew with her own hands). Gu Yu did not think much of Xue Zhao¡¯s emotional wreck and went on asking, ¡°Old gentleman, are you a member of the Taoistmunity?¡± ¡°Humph, I am under no obligation to tell you!¡± His eyes flickering, Li Daoyu would not give a straight answer. To be more precise, he dared not answer that question at all. The Old Patriarch of Infinity was his camouge formon people, but this man was obviously a fellow Taoist, who could very likely know the truth. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Gu Yu immediately smelt something fishy. The little sister-inw had struck up the trouble herself and not in the habit of being peremptory, he had arrived with the intention of making peace. Now, seeing Li Daoyu¡¯s reaction, he realized there was something behind it. Xiaozhai took a more straightforward approach. Going up to Chen Yu and lifting him up, she asked, ¡°Are you his pupil?¡± ¡°Sort, sort of.¡± ¡°You should know the answer, then?¡± ¡°We, we don¡¯t know much ourselves¡­¡± ¡®Old Immortal¡¯ was nothingparing to these two fiendish figures. Chen Yu almost choked on his own tongue as he stammered out all he knew on Li Daoyu. ¡°He only said it was a family inheritance; his grandfather had a master. He didn¡¯t teach us anything specific. We were only asked to sit cross-legged and listen to him reading the scripture¡­¡± ¡°What scripture?¡± ¡°Old, Old Patriarch of Infinity or something.¡± ¡°Old Patriarch of Infinity? Where do I know that name from¡­¡± Xiaozhai thought for a moment before the answer came to her. Turning around with a chuckle, she said, ¡°So, you people have an ¡®inheritance¡¯.¡± ¡®She knows!¡¯ At these words, Li Daoyu realized things were not looking good for him. He was decisive enough to beat it as soon as he could and turned to run towards the tall wall in the backyard. As remote as this courtyard was, there were still some residential areas around. If he could sneak into thenes in the dark, there was a good chance he could escape sessfully. From his speed, he looked nothing like a man in his fifties. However, a few steps out, he felt a gust of wind sweeping towards him from his back. ¡°Ssss!¡± His muscles tensed up immediately at this and he made a few involuntary steps, forcing himself to turn to the left and was just in time to dodge the wind with a strange posture. ¡°Hm? Gang Steps of Mao Mountain?¡± Gu Yu¡¯s snatching handnded in the empty air and he let out a small cry. ¡°Your skill belongs to Mao Mountain, why didn¡¯t you admit it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your business!¡± Li Daoyu¡¯s face changed color at this. Blue veins stood up on his temples, giving him a ferocious look. With all his strength, he swerved around and made a cleaving motion with an open hand. Then, with another few Gang Steps, he went on running towards the tall wall. Gu Yu received the iing hand at the wrist, then his right hand circled around thetter like a snake and thrusted out. ¡°Thump! Thump! Thump!¡± The impact made Li Daoyu lose his bnce. Slouching and stumbling forward, he fell into the flowerbed with a thud. It was the height of summer and the nts had grown quite thick. The bushes enclosing the flowerbed were over one meter high. Once he fell in, the man was covered by all the ntation and was nowhere to be seen. Gu Yu was about to move in when a bang came from inside. Large clouds of mist were rolling out of nowhere and, as if being inted, the mist expanded until almost half of the backyard was wrapped in it. Immediately after that, the roar of a tiger came out of the mist. ¡°Growl!¡± A giant golden tiger leapt out of the flowers with its fierce-looking mouth open, threatening to pounce at them with it awe-inspiring manner. ¡°Why, isn¡¯t that¡­¡± Gu Yu blinked, an indescribable look flitted across his face. To others, the golden tiger looked the most vigorous creature, as if it had upied the peak of a mountain and was ready to step onto the clouds and chase wind. But at the first nce, he knew instantly that this thing was a deceitful trick. There was nothing solid about it at all. Right away, he halted and breathed in deeply, his inner spiritual essence vibrating like the surface of a drum. He then opened his mouth. ¡°Ha!¡± A thin, long white thread spurted out of his mouth and like a flying dragon soaring the sky, it circled around overhead for a few rounds and swooshed down into the mist. ¡°Roar!¡± The golden tiger raised its head and howled angrily, as if it was driven mad. However, it remained where it was. Despite its ferocious appearance, it was feeble in essence. Not far from them, Chen Jiao had long fainted from all the terror, while Xue Zhao and Chen Yu held their eyes wide open, staring at what was going on in the yard. Flustered and frightened as they might be, seeing all the tricks the capable men were using, they were looking forward to see a good fight. As it turned out, as soon as the white streak was in the mist, everything was cleared away as if the ground had been swept clean by a fierce wind. The golden tiger also disappeared suddenly. On a second look, Gu Yu hade back to them with Li Daoyu in his hand. ¡°A deceptive trick as I expected. Such a pity.¡± Gu Yu put him down and asked curiously, ¡°You were using the skills of Mao Mountain the whole time. Are you one of their disciples?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Li Daoyu had activated the Golden Tiger Talisman as hisst resort to frighten the others away. Now that his trick was defeated instantaneously, he slumped down with a colorless face. Xiaozhai would not tolerate such waste of her spit and went straight into the meditation room. With the background of her sect, she knew more than enough of this man¡¯s ins and outs. A couple of minutester, she came out with a case and tossed it to the ground. Xue Zhao and Chen Yu hade to themselves by now. Moving closer, they asked tentatively, ¡°Exactly what is his, um, background?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know what to call you, idiots or someone really lucky. See for yourselves.¡± Xiaozhai opened the case. ¡°¡­¡± The two men crouched down to examine the contents. They first took out a wooden shrine inscribed with the words ¡°Old Patriarch of Infinity, Three Yang and Three Lifetimes¡±. There was also a statue of an old man, which had a rather fresh and alive posture, reminding one of the Grand Supreme Taoist Patriarch, but somewhat inappropriate at the same time. Other than those, there was also a piece of worn-out drapery made of some yellow cloth, something quitemonly seen in Buddhist temples. Thest things they dug out were two ancient books, ¡°Scripture of Primeval Chaos Three Yang¡¯s Befalling on Secr World and Ascending¡± and ¡°Scripture of Primeval Chaos Three Yang¡¯s Actualizing and Bearing Fruit¡±. Chapter 174 Chapter 174: What do YOU want? (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Cults were deemed as such for three main reasons. For one, they did not belong to any legitimate Taoists or Buddhists sects, but were purely private associations. For another, their teaching always started off as benevolent, persuading people to do good, stop drinking, abstain from sex, etc. But it then went sour to the point of defying allws and regtions. When a cult took in believers, it did not differentiate between the two sexes, for no one was to be exempted from the tribtion¡ªwhich was why the members should devote themselves wholeheartedly to exchange for a ¡°way out¡±. Once the men and women were mixed together with little regtions, all sorts of vile practices were invented. Take Three Yang Sect as an example. Initially there was a ritual of ¡°master unravelling the Fangcun¡±. The so-called Fangcun 1 was the spot between two brows. Allegedly, after death, this was where the primordial spirit left the body and ascended to the heaven. Without the revtion of the master, one had to enter the reincarnation cycle. However, this ritual was passed down for a few generations and the ¡°Fangcun¡± turned into three ces: between the eyebrows, in the middle of the chest, and below the belly button. With all those female disciples, the master was going to touch their breasts and below their belts¡­ something was bound to happen! And,st but not least¡­ Because of their simplistic teachings, such groups were extremely well epted by themoners. As a result, they were able to establish a vast foundation within a very short period of time. With their religious im, these people would set up organs of authority, build up an extensivework of disciples, and umte wealth by unfair means. The less ambitious groups would indulge themselves in earthly pleasures, while the more ¡°aspiring¡± ones, would instigate the general public into upheavals and insurgence. The most typical one was the case of the infamous White Lotus! In the case of Three Yang Sect, the core of its teaching was the tribtion of Three Yang and Three lifetimes. What did that mean? It stated that the current world was Red Yang, the one facing tribtion, while White Yang was the future world and the happy ce. Only after the current world was over could the prosperous future life begin and such was the theoretical basis for their regime-substituting propaganda and for frightening themon folk. Come on. Trying such practice under the current regime was pure suicide! Of course, being as timid and meticulous as Li Daoyu was, he had yet to perform any evil deeds. All he did so far was swindling some money out of those second-generation dignitaries and indulging himself in this and that. However, what his cult represented was too particr. No matter what he did or did not do, it would not be tolerated by the authorities. That was why Xue Zhao was drained of all color when he learned the truth. He had never imagined that who he thought to be a ¡°master among themoners¡± would have such an identity. If this incident was to be investigated further in the future and their family¡¯s rivals got wind out if, the Xue Family¡¯s name would be tarnished forever. With his unsavory background dug up, Li Daoyu¡¯s spirit was all the more sagged. When Chen Yu cast his eyes upon the old man, the previous deference was nowhere to be found, reced by pure hatred. ¡°Mr. Gu, we had no idea. We really had no idea at all¡­¡± The next thing Xue Zhao knew, he was trailing behind Gu Yu, exining eagerly to thetter. Gu Yu waved him off. ¡°Whether you had or not, it¡¯s none of my business. I¡¯m just here to find my people¡­ oh, let me check up on your men.¡± With that, he turned into the yard and examined the injuries of the five bodyguards. Three men each got a punch, one had a broken wrist, and the one got the Needle was the mostplicated case, who needed quite a bit recovery time. ¡°I want to hear nothing of the rtionship between you and him. The disagreement between us lies in these five people. You are free to express any opinion on the solution.¡± ¡°There is none. I asked them to make the move first, it was my fault to begin with.¡± Xue Zhao made that clear immediately. ¡°Well, d to hear that.¡± Gu Yu nodded and went up to Li Daoyu, whom Xiaozhai was obviously more interested in. She stayed by his side, questioning him this whole time. ¡°Since you¡¯re a disciple of Three Yang, why are you using the skills of Mao Mountain?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me Three Yang Sect is a division supported by Mao Mountain?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Or, is it possible that your first patriarch started off studying from a disciple of Mao Mountain himself?¡± Li Daoyu bowed his head in silence the whole time and only reacted at these words. He opened his mouth and with a hoarse voice, he asked, ¡°There are a few things I want to ask you about.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°Are there many cultivators in this world?¡± ¡°Not too many, but not too few, either. I can only tell you that the number is beyond your imagination.¡± ¡°Are you among the most capable ones?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too bold to assume. We try to reflect upon ourselves each day that we will pursuit the Great Dao wholeheartedly.¡± ¡°Then, then someone like me¡­¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not one of us.¡± Xiaozhai shook her head and denied him bluntly. ¡°Because it¡¯s not the Great Dao you¡¯re after.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The muscles on Li Daoyu¡¯s face jolted violently and he looked even more sagged. The old man had lived half of his life poverty-stricken. Now that he was finally flourishing, he thought he was bing some vigorous figure, but it turned out to be a short-lived dream and he was kicked into the mud again. He paused, then answered the previous questions eventually. ording to the ount of Han Gaozhao himself in ¡°Scripture of Three Yang¡¯s Hard Work towards Enlightenment¡±, at the age of fourteen, his hometown was hit by a natural cmity and he left home to stay somewhere around Hunan and Hubei for three months. His motherter worried about him so much that she went to visit him herself. Only then did he go back home with her. Once back in his hometown, his mother was ill. Unable to find any means to help her, Han Gaozhao finally decided to find a teacher and be a cultivator. He came across a Master Wang at neen. After pleading for three months, he was epted as a pupil. He then meditated in Caoxi Cave for three years, achieved enlightenment, and became a perfected cultivator. Once a capable man, Han Gaozhao put on his thinking cap and established Three Yang Sect, creating five scriptures in the meantime, among which were ¡°Scripture of Primeval Chaos Three Yang¡¯s Befalling on Secr World and Ascending¡±, ¡°Scripture of Three Yang¡¯s Hard Work towards Enlightenment¡±, ¡°Scripture of Primeval Chaos Three Yang¡¯s Enlightenment and Introspection¡±, etc. All were simple to understand and easy to get across with forged scriptures drawing farfetched analogies from the ssics. So that was it! Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were speechless at the ount. Education could indeed make a difference. Without it, even the scriptures one made up were full of loopholes. That Master Wang was probably a descendent of Lower Mao Mountain, for the things he taught were nothing more than tricks of talismans, fist movements, and the summoning of gods, ghosts, and alike¡ªall indecent stuff. It was thanks to their connection with Tan Chongdai that they knew a thing or two about the Lower Mao Mountain. Seeing the way Li Daoyu was now, Gu Yu had a rather indescribable feeling. He suddenly felt that as the great change swept over thend, most people would be discarded as stray dogs. It was remarkable that he would run into such an event by simplying in to search for someone. ¡°Hm? The house cleaner¡¯sing¡­¡± At that moment, Xiaozhai¡¯s ears pricked up suddenly and she leapt quietly up the roof to check. Indeed, several red lights were flickering near from a few streets away. It was bound to happen. Remote as this ce might be, there was a roaring tiger, some screaming, and all sorts of smashing noises just then. Some passers-by might have picked something up. ¡°You haven¡¯t done anything evil, but the situation is ratherplicated at the moment and certain people would never allow you to wander the streets. If you still want to put your head in for the Great Dao, this might not be a bad choice for you. Take care of yourself.¡± That was as much as Gu Yu could say. He turned around and was ready to leave. ¡°Sister, Brother-inw!¡± Seeing this, Xiaojin finally gathered up enough courage to move closer and said with a kitty voice, ¡°I, I didn¡¯t meant to¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk about what you did after we¡¯re back home!¡± Xiaozhai¡¯s face froze up right away, which immediately shut the girl up. ¡°Mr. Gu! Mr. Gu!¡± Realizing that they were leaving, Xue Zhao ran after them calling, which the four ignored. Taking her sister, Xiaozhai leapt over the tall wall and disappeared into the night in a split second. Immediately after that, the sound of rolling engines and shrill sirens ripped open the silent night. *** The matter was beyond the police and would be transferred to the BIMAUP in the end. As for how Li Daoyu would be handled by the BIMAUP, what would happen to Xue Zhao and Chen Yu, and what a passive status the Xue Family would fall into in the capital, none of those mattered to Gu Yu and Xiaozhai. During her drive back home, Xiaojin was jittery the entire time, as if none of her internal organs were at the right ce. Those two seated at the back seat were deadpan like two statues, uttering not a single word. Long Qiu wanted to mediate, but did not know what to say. The air was so frigid that it almost hurt to breathe. About half an hourter, they were back at Xiaozhai¡¯s. ¡°Go take a shower, everyone. Xiao Qiu, you can take my pajamas. Gu Yu, there are some clothes for you in my room. I bought them for you a while ago. They¡¯re still in the package.¡± Changing into her slippers, Xiaozhai started giving orders. The boyfriend was ok with everything. Long Qiu, on the other hand, blinked her silent condolence for Xiao Jin Jin. ¡°Sister, I don¡¯t need to stay with you all tonight. I¡¯ll just be off.¡± Sensing this, Xiaojin made herst desperate attempt to escape. ¡°Get your a*s over here!¡± Paying no attention to her excuse, Xiaozhai smashed her words into her face and walked into the study. The girl bit her lips and eventually dared not flee. She squirmed her way into the study after her sister. Chapter 175 Chapter 175: What do YOU want? (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Xiaojin was very scared. With a temperament like hers, there were only a handful people that could actually ¡°scare¡± her and even her father was not among them¡ªfor toward him, it was more like giving in,promising, or even being forced into submission because her economic lifeline was at his mercy¡­ but towards this older sister, her apprehension was genuine. The study was incredibly quiet. Xiaozhai sat on the chair and Xiaojin rested her bottom on the edge of the bed. She could hear the indistinctive sounds from other rooms, a mixture of Long Qiu¡¯s running shower and the cliche TV drama Gu Yu was watching. ¡°Sister¡­¡± Keeping her head lowered, Xiaojin dared not look into her eyes. After much stalling, she finally gathered up enough courage to ask, ¡°What are you going to say to me?¡± Leaning against the back of the chair, Xiaozhai crossed her fingers and asked softly, ¡°This thing today, do you think you¡¯ve done anything wrong?¡± ¡°I, I¡¯m sorry, it was my fault,¡± said Xiaojin anxiously. But Xiaozhai shook her head. ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant. I don¡¯t want to see you fawning on me, admitting to some mistake that you don¡¯t feel you¡¯vemitted. I¡¯m only asking you, from the bottom of your heart, do you think you¡¯ve done anything wrong?¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Xiaojin was baffled. Her first reaction was that it was a setup! But stealing a nce at her sister, she did not think it was meant to be that. After a moment of hesitation, she said, ¡°I don¡¯t think I was wrong.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I thought it was fun. And I didn¡¯t harm anybody. That Li Daoyu was humiliated at most! We were going to leave, but that Xue person tried to grab me. That was why Sister Xiao Qiu started fighting.¡± Xiaojin resolved to speaking her mind. ¡°Hm¡­¡± Xiaozhai made noment, but went on. ¡°In that case, let me ask you a question. You¡¯re a grown-up already, do you know what you want?¡± Seeing that her little sister did not quite get the question, she exined, ¡°Some people want stability, some want to be rich, others want love, power¡­ what is it that you want?¡± ¡°I, I¡­ well, it¡¯s fun! I want to live each day experiencing something new and be thrilled every minute of my life!¡± Xiaojin gave it some thought and replied seriously. ¡°Ok, remember it, then. That will be your intention.¡± Xiaozhai was even more serious. ¡°Oh.¡± Blinking, Xiaojin was at a loss. She thought she was here to get a scolding, but it turned out to be nothing. Instantly, her swaggering manner was back as she chuckled, ¡°Hehe, Sister, I thought you were going to lecture me.¡± ¡°Lecture you?¡± ¡°Yeah, you know, about virtues and manners, solidarity and friendship, be good and stuff.¡± ¡°Be good, huh?¡± Xiaozhai gave her a strange look and asked, ¡°As a businessman, your father loves his wife and daughter and has been involved in quite a few public welfare projects. But in all these years, he also pushed many apetitors to the point of bankruptcy and some of those people had thrown themselves off buildings. Would you call him good or bad? I have released snakes in the Miao vige and injured hundreds of people while saving Xiao Qiu. Do you think I¡¯m good or bad? Or some of those government officials, whose policies alternate between benefiting and harming the people, would you call them good or bad?¡± She shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no way to tell. Even if you could make the distinction of good and bad in people, how about the Great Dao? Is it a thing that is only there for the good ones to achieve, while the bad ones cannot? Remember, there¡¯s no such thing. Cultivation is a training of one¡¯s mind. What is a mind? It¡¯s the intention, the thing you want. So long as you¡¯re fixed upon that intention and would follow that path unwavered, you will eventually understand.¡± She paused for a moment to let Xiaojin digest the message before going on, ¡°That¡¯s why I would not lecture you. I will only teach you how to do things. What I want so say is, before you do anything, ask yourself this: can I walk away from it safely? You want to have fun? Go ahead. But are you capable enough to deal with the mess you made yourself? Solve it all by yourself, that¡¯s called ¡®having it your own way¡¯; having us solve it for you, that¡¯s just petty trick! Your own mess, your responsibility. me no one if you get killed by your own wrongdoing because you¡¯re too weak. We can¡¯t follow you around cleaning up your mess forever.¡± ¡®Hiss!¡¯ Those were some harsh words and Xiaojin went rigid, but eventually let it register. As a city girl, she was brought up used to be restless, loud, and shy. She had yet to correctly understand the cultivation life and the future perils she was going to face. Seeing her reaction, Xiaozhai stood up. ¡°Ok, that¡¯s all I¡¯m going to say. You will learn gradually.¡± ¡°Phew¡­¡± Xiaojin thought it was over and was going to let out a sigh of relief. However, her sister straightened up her face and added, ¡°But today, you have indeed given us a lot of trouble. You¡¯ll be punished for that.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± She puckered up her face and pleaded, ¡°Sister, how was I supposed to know that that old man was a cult member and there were some second-generation lordlings¡­ ah!¡± Xiaojin let out a scream, for her sister had poked her a few times with a finger and her body went stiff. She was then held up and ced on the bed. Xiaozhai announced her verdict. ¡°Twenty minutes. Use the time to think it over!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t, Sister! Sister!¡± Watching Xiaozhai walking out, Xiaojin had yet to understand the meaning of those words when there came a sensation. Something reminding her of the paw of a kitty had scratched somewhere inside her¡ªit could be anywhere from inside her heart, her bones, or within her blood and flesh. ¡°Um¡­¡± Her eyelids trembled. Immediately after that, she was overwhelmed by a violent wave of tingling itches, which soon took over her entire body. It was worse than dying. ¡°Ah! Sister, Sister¡­¡± She shouted at the top of her voice, trying hard to twitch her body around to ease the itches, but could not lift even a finger. ¡°Sister, please forgive me! I won¡¯t do it again! Ah¡­ sob¡­ it¡¯s so itchy¡­ sob¡­ Screw you, Jiang Xiaozhai! You just wait when I¡¯m strong enough. I¡¯ll nail you to the ground¡­ sob¡­¡± *** Xiaozhai paid no attention to her words whatsoever and had gone into the living room. Long Qiu had finished her shower by now. She then ran into the study tofort Xiaojin. Gu Yu was still watching TV. Seeing his girlfriending, he could not help but ask, ¡°Can she understand that much?¡± ¡°Much? I thought I still did not say enough. I really wanted to give her a*s a good kick!¡± Xiaozhai was genuinely angry. She was about to sit down when she suddenly moved a few steps back with sparkling eyes. ¡°Get up. Let me have a look.¡± Gu Yu followed the order obediently. He rose to his feet, stood in the center of the living room, and started posing like a model. Technically, the clothes he was wearing was a retro-style night-robe in deep blue. The color was not for everyone, but suited him perfectly. The lower hem sat 3 cm above the ankle and he wore it with the cor hanging open, revealing a bit of flesh. The whole picture had a vitality to it, like water flowing out of a tap. ¡°Very nice. I thought it would suit you.¡± Xiaozhai walked around him, apparently very pleased. ¡°When did you buy this?¡± He had to wonder. ¡°Just after we got back from Tianshan.¡± ¡°Hm? Before we¡­¡± He was a bit surprised. ¡°Haha¡­¡± Turning off the TV, Xiaozhai took his hand and led him slowly to the bedroom. ¡°You were mine, sooner orter!¡± *** After all this was solved, the family of three returned to Bai Town. The rise of Li Daoyu meant one thing only: the spiritual essence of Phoenix Mountain had spread out all the way here. Based on the standard set up by Gu Yu, the density of Shentian had reached at least 1, the basic requirement for cultivation. By now, from Shengtian to Langtou County, the several-hundred-kilometer-long route was covered by spiritual essence from the east to the west. Further out was the city of Dongyun, where Gu Yu had not visited yet and did not know the local situation. As for the government, the development of Tianzhu continued, but Zhang Hongru was showing up less frequently. There was no sign of starting the work on Mt Emei. Gu Yu had asked in passing once, but Zhang only replied by saying they were not in any hurry and it was more important to develop Tianzhu well first. Gu Yu did not think it was only in his head, but Zhang sounded much more confident now. Hm, interesting¡­ Chapter 176 Chapter 176: Qiyun Taoist Monastery Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Tianzhu Mountain, Tianmen Town. As many as tens of thousands of residents lived in the town. Thanks to the flourishing tourism industry, the service sector was also prosperous. For the past three decades, the residents had lived off this mountain. They didn¡¯t exactly live like royalty, but they had enough money to spare and life was stable. Unfortunately, such life was in the past. The government announced the closing-off of the mountain in the beginning of this year, denying any ess to unauthorized personnel. Even the monks were chased out of their temples. The townspeople¡¯s ie took an immediate dive following the change and the hotels and restaurants were among the first to be affected. The blow was too hard to bear and the folks elected some representatives to petition to the town government, which was brooding over its own worries. The order came from above and a mere town¡¯s mayor had no say in the matter. Luckily, words came from above that a research base was to be set up and around a thousand staff were to be stationed here year round, whose daily necessities would all be purchased in town. It sounded like a sweet deal, but how much could a thousand people spend? How would it everparable to over a million tourists every year? Yet that was their only option. The ¡± redhead document 1 ¡± had already been issued and they were obliged to follow it through. As a result, the townspeople shifted their priorities, pulling as many strings as they were able to find so as to get a business certificate. Old Liu was among the luckier ones. He exhausted his connections and managed to obtain a channel¡ªdelivering groceries for those on the mountain. The delivery was scheduled once every three days and the bills were paid monthly. He had ran the business for a month now. It was a delivery day today. Stuffing his small van with groceries, he set off from town and headed for the south mountain entrance. The entrance was no longer what it used to be, and was now guarded by an entire team of soldiers with roadblocks the size of a fortress. The van stopped obediently when it was close enough. The soldiers would check the vehicle and the permit first, then verify the driver. The clearance was only given after everything was checked out. Old Liu dared not make any unnecessary conversation and drove on along the winding mountain road, then turned northward. About twenty minutester, when the main road waspletely out of sight, the van finally stopped. Several people were waiting ahead, who greeted him, ¡°Hello, a bitter than usual today, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It took me a while to find all the groceries. Sorry about that. Sorry.¡± Old Liu apologized in a hurry, then passed around some cigarettes. Smiling obsequiously, he exined, ¡°I¡¯m not a farmer myself and with such arge amount, I had to go to the countryside to get everything.¡± ¡°Hm, be more careful next time¡­¡± Those men replied nomittally and casually refused the cigarettes. The van was mostly filled with vegetables including turnips, Chinese cabbages, potatoes, spinach, etc. There were even two boards of freshly made tofu and a very small amount of meat. The men unloaded the van of the baskets swiftly and carried everything up the mountain with shoulder poles. From here upwards, they had to climb up along the ck stone stairs. Above, partially covered by the dense woods, was aplex of buildings. As a local man, Old Liu naturally knew the ce. It was called Zhu Ridge, and up on the ridge was a Qiyun Taoist Monastery. Established in Ming Dynasty, the monastery had once attracted many worshippers. Later, when the Taoist culture waned, the ce was taken over by Buddhist practitioners. With the changes of the time, Qiyun eventually became a temple of Taoist and Buddhist beliefsbined together, worshipping immortals and Bodhisattva alike, such as the Jade Emperor, the Buddha, Guanyin, etc. The temple used to be ran by a group of fake monks, but word had it that those people had been driven away already. The townspeople had no idea who was living in it at the moment. Old Liu was very curious, but the best quality of the man was that he knew there were questions he was not supposed to ask. Presently, he finished handing over the load and left promptly for his journey home. The other men carried the groceries up the mountain and into the monastery. Once inside the gate, the main hall was right in the front, nked by side halls. Behind the halls were doors and passageways leading to a dozen dwellings all built from bricks and stocks, which formed into a small courtyard. Life inside the monastery was rather quiet. Men in robes walked about every now and then, all looking aloof from things of the world. They spoke softly and talked about profound theories, giving the ce an otherworldly feeling. Those men went straight to the kitchen to wash the vegetables, cut the meat, start the fire, and prepare a meal. The foodprised lightly seasoned vegetarian dishes, all excellently cooked. There was a little bit of meat¡ªmainly chicken, supplemented by pork andmb. Other than those, there was that big pot of porridge, which was cooked to a thickish consistency and was now gurgling with steam. The porridge seemed rather precious, for two men were allotted to keep an eye on it. Even before it was out of the pot, an amazing aroma had filled the air. Before long, the meal was ready. A man in charge checked the dishes and gave the order, ¡°Ring the bell!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± A man went off to carry out the order. Momentster, distant sound of the bells rang out, trailing all the way up into the white clouds in the sky. *** ¡°Dong!¡± ¡°Dong!¡± Inside one of the meditation rooms, Tan Chongdai was debating against Wang Ruoxu on talisman skills when the bell rang. Tan Chongdai paused, then said, ¡°We¡¯ll take a break. Let¡¯s continue when we¡¯re back.¡± ¡°Humph, like I¡¯ll be afraid of you after that?¡± Wang Ruoxu showed no sign of backing off. Both men were from a sub-sect of Shenxiao, and in this monastery full of intricate rtionships, the two became natural allies of sorts. Of course, old Priest Tan knew nothing of Wang¡¯s true identity, who was actually working undercover for the BIMAUP. The two left the room. There were doors to other rooms on both sides. The one on the left remained closed, while the one on the right opened and another man came out. Therge and swarthy man was in his forties, with a bit of ferocity and toughness about him. He was none other than Huang Huiguang, the abbot of Linshui Pce of southern Fujian, and the descendent of L¨¹shan Sect. ¡°Senior Brother!¡± Huang ranked slightly junior and bowed at Tan Chongdai. ¡°Haha, you tter me. It has been days since west met, has the Junior Brother learned anything new?¡± Old Priest Tan asked. ¡°Nothing worth mentioning. It¡¯s just when I think back to the days stuck in southern Fujian, I felt I was unable to see beyond my nose. It was such an eye-opening experienceing here.¡± After exchanging a few pleasantries, the three headed for the dining hall together. They were joined by more priests on the way. They were men and women of all ages, who emerged out of various doors and divided into two distinctive groups. It was obvious: one consisted of people of Quanzhen, while the other Zhengyi. This dated back to a short while ago, when all sects picked out their best pupils and sent them to the capital. Once there, they took some sses first to thoroughly understand the current situation, then were sent here to Tianzhu Mountain and settled down. ording to the statistics this time, of all sixty-two Taoists sects, only forty-seven could be found now. Basically, each sect had provided one pupil; very few managed to provide two. Those without any pupils had their sect leadering instead. However, there were quite a few frauds among the candidates, who were eliminated at the capital. In the end, thirty-six people were left, of which twenty belonged to Quanzhen and sixteen belonged to Zhengyi. After theirpetition for the past millennium, the two opponents would not rest until the other was annihted. However, under the current special circumstances, the two sides had been unprecedentedly eating, sleeping, and living under the same roof. No one found such arrangementfortable. Being the elites of each sect, the candidates all considered themselves better than anyone else. Under the control of the authorities, they dared not make too big a noise, but secretly, minor conflicts were happening all the time. Take the their diet as an example. Quanzhen had specific precepts, stating that their disciples should follow a strict vegetarian diet. It was not the case with Zhengyi. Apart from beef, mullet, swan geese, and dog¡¯s meat, they could eat any pork,mb, chicken, duck, etc., as long as it was not a fast day. Quanzhen found this despicable. Like every other day, when the dishes were served today, Quanzhen¡¯s tes were filled with greens only, while Zhengyi¡¯s tables had meat on them, looking much more sumptuous. The crowd took their seats and were about to eat when a voice came from outside. ¡°The living creatures coexist with us in this world. As men of belief, we should follow strict precepts. You people just have to eat meat, a food tainted by blood. Not only will it create filth in the body, you¡¯re also taking lives for no reason. It¡¯s ridiculous.¡± With that, a man entered the room. In his early twenties, the man had jade-like skin and a noble bearing, and was extremely handsome. Despite his young age, the crowd of Quanzhen all fixed their eyes upon him, apparently holding much reverence towards the man, for he was Lu Yuanqing, the pupil of Li Qingzhi¡ªthe abbot of Baiyun Temple. And he was the top cultivator among them all. Chapter 177 Chapter 177: Lu Yuanqing Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu By ¡°the top cultivator¡±, they meant that of the thirty-six cultivators here in Qiyun, he was the closest to reach the innate state. Lu Yuanqing was thest disciple Li Qingzhi took in and was of exceptional qualities. Li had been training Lu as his sessor ever since thetter was little. The method Lu Yuanqing used for cultivation was called ¡°Small Universe Technique¡±, one of the purest Neidai techniques. It consisted of four steps: collecting the medicine, sealing the furnace, refining the medicine, and ignition. With the vital essence of the body, activate the intrinsic essence and primordial Qi. Starting from Dantian, lead both kinds of energy up the Du vessel passing through the three meridians Wei L¨¹, Jia Ji, and Yu Zhen 1 , the upper, middle, and lower Huang Ting 2 , and the upper and lower Que Qiao 3 , before a full cycle waspleted, which was also the process of refining the essence of the small universe. The purpose of this practice was to nourish the mind with the essence while circting the ¡°medicine¡± all over the body. With Mud Ball Pce 4 as the cauldron and Dantian as the furnace, the body was ¡°sealed¡± and the ¡°medicine¡± refined. Once seeded, the body would be rid of all mdies, achieving full health and longevity, and the innate stated would be thus obtained. As the natural endowments differed from one person to the next, the method also worked differently on each individual. For someone like old Priest Mo, who was a mere member of a sub-sect of Quanzhen, he would probably get nowhere even after devoting his entire life in cultivation. Lu Yuanqing, on the other hand, was one of those one-in-ten-thousand geniuses gifted with great talent. Adding the status of Baiyun Temple¡ªthe birthce of Quanzhen, Lu Yuanqing was to some extent recognized as the leader of Quanzhen here in Qiyun. His bluntment in entering the dining hall was an explicit taunt toward Zhengyi, which naturally irritated thetter. The crowd of Zhengyi was about to retort when another voice came from outside. ¡°We raise chickens and ducks without harming their eggs or their little ones, but would consume the full-grown ones when we need to, how can that be killing? Horses offer their service with pulling carts and the virtue of cows lies in providing food for men; they would live to an old age and die a natural death, why should we bother to kill them? We don¡¯t cut down grass when it¡¯s still growing, but would harvest it when time is right, how can that be useless? Senior Brother Lu, exactly who is the ridiculous one?¡± With that, two other men walked in. The speaker was of simr age as Lu Yuanqing and also had a bright, free, and easy look about him. The man was the disciple of the abbot of Mao Mountain Sect, Chao Kongtu. The other man was a few years their senior and looked rather genial. He was the disciple of the abbot of the Way of Celestial Masters, Zhang Shouyang. He added, ¡°Junior Brother Lu, all living creatures do coexist with us, but Gods have their foreversting wills that everything here on earth is reserved and harvested ording to n. Only in that way will life on earth be inexhaustible. It was said so in one of the famous passages of the Patriarch¡¯s Instructions on Morality. Have you forgotten or have you read too much Buddhist theories that you had your basics all confused?¡± ¡°My basics are the same as Quanzhen¡¯s basics, how is it possible to have such confusion?¡± Countered by the two, Lu Yuanqing remainedposed, showing no sign of vexation. Back when Wang Chongyang established the sect, he argued that Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism should merge into one and create a separate school bybining the loyalty and filial duty concept of Confucianism, the emphasis on the mind of Zen Buddhism, and the idea of ¡°letting things take their own course¡± of Taoism. The product was infinitely in line with the golden mean of the Confucian school and conformed to the orthodox ideology, which the authorities at the time found agreeable, hence the status of Quanzhen in thetter years. Zhengyi, on the other hand, followed the traditional Taoist theories, whose core idea was that man was an integral part of nature and that the Great Dao was conditioned by the ways of nature. Followers of Zhengyi were after cultivation, bing immortal, and living a long life with good eyes and ears. There was no clear-cut solution to their disagreement. It was a majorpetition over the Taoist orthodox issue, as well as the subject of their daily debates. ¡°Haha, Senior Brother has a tough mind. Please ept my admiration!¡± Chao Kongtu was the shier one among the pair. He cupped his hands at thement, as if making a bow. However, with his lips moving slightly and a flick of his right pinky, a streak of red, fine sand consisting of numerous minute granules was ejected. ¡°p!¡± With a sweep of his long sleeve, Lu Yuanqing sent out a small gust of wind, which then twirled and blew the fine sand out of the door into the distance. With a sizzling sound, white smoke rose from the red sand-covered gstone ground, as if being licked by fire. Before anyone realized it, a small area was charred. ¡°Junior Brother, that was some quick petty trick of yours. Please ept my admiration, too.¡± Lu Yuanqing also cupped his hands. ¡°Too bad you don¡¯t even have a single petty trick. I have no problem epting your challenge if you¡¯re still not convinced.¡± Chao Kongtu grinned. ¡°They are nothing but external aims. Challenge me when you reach the innate state.¡± ¡°Humph!¡± The three all swung their sleeves in vexation and proceeded to their seats. The onlookers were long used to such scenes and took little notice of the altercation. Of the thirty-six people of the two schools, Lu Yuanqing was the top candidate of Quanzhen, followed by Shi Yui, the disciple of the abbot of Longmen Sect. Old Priest Mo was the third in line. Whereas among the people of Zhengyi, Zhang Shouyang came on top, followed by Chao Kongtu. Being the third member of the ¡°Three Mountains of Talisman¡±, Lingbo Sect did not manage to provide a good candidate and the disciple was only of mediocre quality. It turned out that Qingwei Sect had a fine pupil, whose name was Zhong Lingyu. And these six people represented the highestbat capability of the group. *** The crowd ate their breakfast in silence, each brooding over their own problems. The dishes were embellishments only and the key was the porridge. It was thicker than the one Xue Zhao cooked and was served twice daily. As cultivators, they were more acutely aware of the effectiveness of the spiritual rice. It was especially the case for disciples of Quanzhen. With the help of the spiritual rice, the practice of Neidan was elerated and they would need much less time achieving the innate state. Momentster, when everyone was almost finished eating, a stranger entered the room. ¡°Excuse me, Priest Lu Yuanqing, Priest Shi Yui, Priest Mo Haofeng, Priest Zhang Shouyang¡­¡± He named six people all at once and announced, ¡°Pleasee to the back hall after the meal.¡± With that, the man left in a hurry. ¡°¡­¡± A perfect silence prevailed over the dining hall. There was an implicit awkwardness in the air. Apart from these priests, the rest of the people here in the monastery were all service staff sent by the government. The two groups had minimal contact in their daily life and the service team also tried their best to avoid the candidates. It was their first appearance after the whole month since they arrived here. The six people were in no mood for any food and left promptly for the back hall. Someone was already waiting there. ¡°Please stay here for a moment. Priest Shi, this way, please.¡± ¡°Oh, sure!¡± Shi Yui was a shortish man in his forties. He was slightly surprised to have been called first. Following the staff, they walked through a passageway and entered another room. He felt something peculiar the moment he set foot in the room, as if a pair of eyes were staring at him from somewhere. It was probably a hidden camera. The room was empty save for a long table. On it were ten stones about the size of duck eggs. They were pure white in color and looked rather pretty with their glittering and translucent surface. ¡°This¡­¡± Shi Yui¡¯s heart lurched at this. It immediately dawned on him that these were the famous spiritual stones. He dared not take it lightly. Striding near, he picked up a stone and looked at it closely. This was obviously a test. Among these stones were probably some real spiritual stones and some fake ones, or they could be either all fake or all real. All in all, it was his job to tell them apart. ¡°¡­¡± Shi Yui closed his eyes and focused his mind, trying his best to sense the stone, but it was to no avail. It was said that spiritual essence existed in this world, yet he had no idea what it felt like. Momentarily, he put down the first one and picked up a second¡­ he held onto this one even more briefly and gave up a few secondster. He felt each stone in turn, but not a single one elicited any reaction in him. Dispirited, he realized that he was not capable a cultivator enough. He heaved a soft sigh and left the room. Chao Kongtu was the next one. He did even worse than Shi Yui. After looking randomly at the stones, he promptly announced his abstention. After that, old Priest Mo, Zhang Shouyang, and Zhong Lingyu came in turn¡­ without any exception, they all failed, unable to pick up a single stone. Finally, it was Lu Yuanqing¡¯s turn. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Letting out a breath, he walked slowly to the table, but did not reach out to feel the stones and only stood there in silence. A couple of minutester, he walked straight to the middle section of the table, staring at the four stones in his sight. These stones were all identical in their shape, size, color, texture, and weight. There was no way of telling them apart by normal senses. The only way was through spiritual essence. Lu Yuanqing¡¯s current cultivation level was simr to that of Sima Che of Tianshan Sect, which was infinitely close to the innate state. He could faintly sense the existence of the spiritual essence, but was unable to pinpoint it. Therefore, after much consideration, he simply swept across the table and carried all four stones away in his sleeves. The five other men¡¯s expressions changed color when he walked out. The government staff was also extremely excited, who said in a hurry, ¡°Priest Lu, please follow me!¡± Right away, they turned a few corners and entered yet another room. A white-haired old man was waiting there. It was none other than one of the persons in charge of the development base, Qiu Quan himself. The old man was even more exhrated, and asked eagerly, ¡°Can you tell?¡± ¡°No, not yet.¡± Lu Yuanqing had no idea who he was dealing with, but dared not take it lightly. Arranging the four stones into a line, he said, ¡°But I¡¯m positive that the real spiritual stone is among them.¡± Chapter 178 Chapter 178: The General Situation Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu After Lu Yuanqing was politely led away, the other five returned to their dwellings. The monastery only came with a handful of guest houses and the government had to arrange extra shifts and work overtime to make up for the extra rooms needed. Courtyards like the ones the five upied usually contained three houses, each taken up by two individuals, who had their separate bedrooms. Toilets and bathrooms were all equipped with modern facilities instead of those pit toilets one might find in old houses. Once back to his ce, old Priest Mo greeted his housemate, a fellow cultivator of Heshan Sect, and went back to read in his room. About two hourster, there was a ¡°knock knock¡± at the door and he went to answer it. Lu Yuanqing beamed at him. ¡°Senior Brother, is it a good time now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m quite free.¡± ¡°In that case, I¡¯ve just made a nice pot of tea. May I indulge you with it?¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ It took old Priest Mo about two seconds to realize that the young man wanted to have a word with him. He smiled. ¡°Sure. I presume that Junior Brother Shi is also invited.¡± ¡°Haha, nothing gets past you.¡± Lu Yuanqing made no attempt to deny it. The two then went to Shi Yui¡¯s yard and the three men returned to Lu¡¯s ce together. There was no one else in the room. It was a quiet and beautiful spot and as promised, there was a pot of hot tea sitting on the table. Lu invited the other two to sit down before serving the tea himself. Mo and Shi tasted the tea; a delicate fragrance filled their mouths right away¡ªa memorable taste indeed. After briefly exchanging some pleasantries, old Priest Mo put down the cup and asked bluntly, ¡°Have you just got back from the back hall?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°What do you want to talk to us about?¡± Shi Yui also had his own ideas. ¡°There is much I want to talk about, please bear with me.¡± Lu Yuanqing served another round of tea before going on, ¡°I think we all know that the setup earlier must have been a test designed by those above. It was by sheer luck that I managed to pass. There was indeed one genuine spiritual stone among the ten. Oh, I¡¯m not saying this to show off. It¡¯s just that after that, I met a very important person from the capital¡­¡± He paused briefly and went on, ¡°That person revealed one piece of information to me¡ªthis Qiyun Monastery is a temporary dormitory for now, but judging by the current situation, those above are thinking of making this ce permanent.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Old Priest Mo asked hastily. ¡°It¡¯ll be set up as a formal Taoist monastery should be on all aspects, including the precepts and regtions, the structure of personnel, the facilityyout, the recruitment of disciples, etc. And, the first to reach the innate state will be the first abbot of the monastery and will be directly supervised by those above.¡± ¡°Gosh!¡± The announcement shocked the other two men, for the amount of information this decision conveyed was immense! ording to Lu, Qiyun Taoist Monastery was going to be ced above Quanzhen, Zhengyi, or even the Taoist association. Any talented pupil the sects found in the future would be sent here for their training. That was an exceptional position! Whoever became the abbot would surely lean towards his own sect. The position also came with great decision-making authority over personnel assignment, selection of pupils, allocation of resources, promotion, etc. ¡°What about the cultivation method? Are we going to switch to using the same one?¡± Shi Yui asked suddenly. ¡°They did not mention that. I guess that, to them, we¡¯re all pretty much the same.¡± Lu Yuanqing sounded a bit dispirited, as though this aspect of the government had made him rather speechless. He then added, ¡°But I am sure of one thing¡ªthe innate state is the deciding factor. Whoever breaks through first will own the absolute sway over others.¡± It took the other two a while to let the message register, then Shi Yui came to himself and asked, ¡°So, what do you want?¡± ¡°That¡¯s very simple¡­¡± Lu Yuanqing sipped his tea and smiled. ¡°For one, we can not allow this position fall into the hands of Zhengyi. For another, please forgive my presumption, but I will be contending for the position myself. I hope that I will have the two Senior Brothers¡¯ support.¡± ¡°Humph!¡± Shi Yui snorted right away at the request. ¡°Junior Brother, we two are almost on par in terms of our capability and our Longmen Sect is not all that inferior to your Baiyun Temple. Why should I support you instead of running for it myself?¡± ¡°Almost on par?¡± Lu Yuanqing blinked. There was no taunt in his question; he was simply amazed by the confidence Shi Yui held for himself. Lu sighed. ¡°In that case, let¡¯s try each other out. We won¡¯t push things too far; it¡¯s not a battle.¡± ¡°Great! I was thinking of the same thing!¡± Shi Yui replied. Baiyun Temple was the birthce of Quanzhen in the north when Qiu Chuji preached Taoism at that time. Longmen Sect was also established by Qiu Chuji and the two sects were essentially one and the same. However, the two sects had long separated, concentrating on making each sect¡¯s own profit. Despite being much senior in his age, Shi Yui was no match to Lu Yuanqing in terms of Qi-nourishment. Seeing that thetter sat there steadily like Mount Tai, Shi shouted, ¡°Watch out!¡± With that, he shook his wide sleeves, which twirled like flowing clouds. A solid and longsting energy charged out. ¡°¡­¡± Seeing this, Lu Yuanqing lifted his right hand and slowly struck out with an open palm. It was not a fast strike, yet it reminded one of a giant warship sailing across the sea, steadily ripping the energy streak apart. Shi Yui held his eyes wide open. He watched helplessly as the hand moved near and met his own palm, upon which energy was released. ¡°Thump!¡± His arm jolted as an enormous force ran along its length. He stumbled back involuntarily. It was thanks to his solid skill that he immediately let his legs take the impact and forced himself to stand still. ¡°Crack!¡± The wooden stool he was sitting on scattered into pieces with a crackling sound and fell all over the ground. Putting down his hand, Lu Yuanqing asked in a soft voice, ¡°Senior Brother, do you want to continue?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Shi Yui looked utterly humiliated. He thought he was at least able to exchange a few blows with Lu Yuanqing, but as it turned out, the young man¡¯s capability was much more profound than he could ever imagine. Shi Yui was not a vile character. He replied at once, ¡°I am inferior in cultivation skills. You have won.¡± Lu Yuanqing then turned to old Priest Mo. ¡°Senior Brother Mo, what do you think?¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Old Priest Mo shook his head with a wry smile, ¡°I¡¯m no match for you whatsoever and there¡¯s no need for another trial. We¡¯re not from the same sect, but we all want the Taoist orthodoxy to be that of Quanzhen. You will doubtlessly have my support. However, Junior Brother, I need to remind you something. That Phoenix¡­¡± ¡°Do you mean those two on Phoenix Mountain?¡± Lu Yuanqing interrupted him and smiled. ¡°As cultivators, we each have our own fate. They have taken an early start, for which they have my admiration, but I have my own path to follow. There is now forbidding me from catching up with them.¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Hearing this, old Priest Mo was moved. Instantly, he knew what was the one thing hecked. The Heavens were in motion ceaselessly and the enlightened should exert themselves constantly. To cultivate was to ze a way through all manners of obstacles and never yield in spite of all the setbacks. With more than half of his lifetime behind him, he was drawn to the vanity of the secr world; little was left of that fierceness of his youth. It was the same when he met Gu Yu for the first time, when he was so flustered that he had abandoned all his self-awareness of being a fellow master himself. Presently, he was overwhelmed by regret and a mixture of other feelings that he was actually enlightened by such an experience. *** Meanwhile, in another room. Zhang Shouyang, Chao Kongtu, and Zhong Lingyu were secretly discussing among themselves as well. Doubtlessly, they had also guessed the government¡¯s intention. All that the authorities cared about was the innate state; the rest meant nothing to them. Despitecking in assault skills, Quanzhen¡¯s great advantagey in their Neidan method. For all theirbat-effective techniques, Zhengyi just happened have a nk spot in this aspect. How frustrating! The essence-consuming method of Zhengyi had been long lost and what was left was bare scrapes, preserved after generations of Celestial Masters¡¯ collection and reorganisation. They had little faith in achieving the innate state at all. As a result, the discussion was fruitless. Without any ready solutions, they had no choice but to write to their respective sects, exining the situation. *** ¡°That is to say, he couldn¡¯t yet sense it urately.¡± ¡°No, not yet.¡± ¡°Then how much longer will it take before he can be put to use?¡± ¡°Well¡­ ording to Lu Yuanqing, he will need to reach the innate state before he could fulfill our requirement. This process cannot be timed precisely, for it all depends on his mind andprehensive ability. Of course, our spiritual rice is there to facilitate his efforts. It should be able to reduce the time needed to thergest extend.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Inside a certain secret room in the capital city, a man fell silent for some time before saying, ¡°We can¡¯t force such things. Fortunately, we¡¯re at least on the right track. Given enough time, we will definitely have our own team of talented people.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± The man giving the report paused before asking, ¡°If Lu Yuanqing indeed reaches the innate state, then shall we¡­¡± ¡°Offer preferential treatment, of course; that includes himself and his own sect. But the general policy remains the same. Remember, to these Taoist persons, support and suppression will always be carried out together. They are there to serve our purpose¡ªthat¡¯s the key.¡± ¡°My only concern is that they might turn against us in the future.¡± ¡°Haha, when the government loosens its grip too much, someone is bound to stir. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t allow such things to happen¡­ oh, by the way, that news of setting up a Taoist monastery, have you let the word out?¡± ¡°I have hinted at it. They should be able to read between lines.¡± ¡°Em, from now on, we will not get involved unless it is absolutely necessary. Let them fight among themselves. We are only there to make sure the general direction is correct.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± The man replied and asked another question. ¡°Sir, about Phoenix Mountain, do you have any further instructions?¡± ¡°Keep everything as it was and don¡¯t make any reckless moves.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± After the man left, the official sat alone in the room, deep in thought with his eyes closed. The current situation was simple andplicated at the same time. All problems pointed to one fundamental factor: the spiritual rice. The total national reserve was a mere 515 kg, which had to be divided into three parts¡ªone for the dignitaries, one for Qiyun, and the third one for the research base. For the dignitaries, even men at his level were only given a lump sum of 30 kg. It might sound like a lot, but don¡¯t forget that he was not the only member of the family. There were so many younger generations to consider. The country needed the support of the dignitaries to maintain stability; the families needed their offspring to keep the bloodline running. From the beginning of time, members of families had always acted in groups. Consequently, after the primary and secondary distribution of the resources, the amount each individual received was barely worth mentioning. They were all looking forward to the harvest of thete season rice, whose estimated yield was 500 kg¡ªan amount enough to ease the current shortage. Then, the monastery. Those in the monastery were deemed ¡°special workforce¡± chiefly used for resources development. They were yet to be considered useful for actual battles. It was a rational decision, for the level of their Taoist skills was way too low¡ªthey would not even be able to stop bullets. As a result, the government had unconsciously ignored this aspect. However, these people had a hidden function called ¡°health-preservation¡±, or in other words, achieving longevity. This concept was even more alluring than the actual development of resources. Among the dignitaries, someone had actually practiced it themselves: purchase amon Taoist scripture, get a room, and sit down promptly for meditation. However, the practical part was always difficult. The second-generation have-it-alls simply had neither the natural endowments nor the mind for cultivation. Moreover, no one knew so far that whether or not this thing would work out. Qiyun was considered an experimentalnd for the purpose. Finally, the research base. Based on the spiritual essence map, the government had tried nting various crops in those ces, which all turned out to be failures apart from those tiny plots in Tianzhu, which yielded that little amount of rice. The researchers were conducting further experiments. For instance, they had nted ordinary seeds in spiritual soil, or nted the spiritual rice they harvested into non-spiritual soil¡­ the purpose was to observe whether or not the yield or effect would be affected. The three strata and three different groups just happened to form a chain: discovery of new resources¡ªnew resources proved effective¡ªdignitaries enjoying the benefits¡ªtraining of professional talents¡ªurgent demand for more resources. That was how expansion took ce. The government was stubbornly holding off the development of Mt Emei because they were waiting for the result from the monastery. They were gripping tightly onto the resources. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± With the train of thoughts going through his head, the man rubbed his forehead involuntarily. His expression was a mixture of fatigue and confusion. After all, no one could predict at this point what would this country turn into in the future¡­ Chapter 179 Chapter 179: The Fruit Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Probably resulting from global warming, the climate nowadays was bing all the more erratic. Spring and autumn were gradually shrinking, while summer and winter dragged on. All in all, it was either too cold or too hot, rarely pleasantly cool. It was especially the case in summertime, when the northern part of the country suffered from droughts, while the southern part was flooded. For the past several years, it had be an inevitable phenomenon. Themon people were suffering unspeakably from it, but there was little they could do. As advanced as our human society seemed, natural disasters were still beyond our control. This year was no exception. Within the province of Guandong 1 alone, several cities in the western part of the province, including Fu¡¯an, Chaoxin, and Jinyang, were experiencing moderate drought. Lingyuan suffered the most; the drought there was severe. It had been 77 days since thest effective precipitation and the dried-up riverbeds were full of cracks. Whereas in Shengtian, the number of days with a temperature above 35 degrees was record-breaking and the effective precipitation was also absent here. The northern part of the country generally grew single-season rice, which was harvested around October. With this drought, the output of the crop was certainly going to be reduced. This issue wasrgely invisible to the general public, for the press could not be bothered to run such stories. The stock market and property market were what mattered to the national economy and people¡¯s livelihood. As it turned out, people nowadays had acquired an unfounded knowledge that in our society, things like famine were unimaginable¡ªsomething never going to happen to them. If nothing else, there were still the grain-productive regions we could turn to, right? Bai Town was within one of those agricultural regions. Several urgent artificial precipitations had been carried out, but the resulting rainfall was tiny, far from being able to ease the drought. The entire city was terrorized by the scorching sun; everyone was agitated. The only ce one could find some coolness was Phoenix Mountain. It was quite unusual, for the creeks and streams on the mountain did not seem to lose a single drop of water and the ntations were as lively as always, if not more luxuriant and overflowing with life. As a result, tourists were pouring in. Some developers even had their eyes on the mountain, nning to contract for it, turning it into recreational vi zone and building their own golf courts, and so on and so forth¡­ however, the moment they tried to talk to the government about it, they were told off and shooed away. The mountain was not avable! *** Under the old tree stood the family of three. Three pairs of eyes looked up at the tree in unison. Through the thick foliage, they were finally fixed upon those two round, mellow fruits, which had turned deep red in color. After an eighteen-month growth period, they should have ripened by now. They used the term ¡°should have¡±, because they had yet to understand the nature of this fruit and could only estimate it at the moment. After eyeing it for a while, Gu Yu suddenly said with a surprised tone, ¡°Why, they seem to have grown bigger.¡± ¡°How big was the one you ate?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°About the size of a haw. This was is at least one size bigger. I wonder if there are any other changes.¡± ¡°Whatever. Let¡¯s just pick them.¡± With that, Xiaozhai thrusted against the ground with the tip of her toes and she was dangling over the branch the next moment. Gu Yu then casually tossed her a wooden case, which was the container he made out of the old tree. She waved her hand, shooing away Brother Fatty and Xiao Qing, who were hovering around the fruits. Then, slicing her finger tip lightly across the stem, the fruits were cut down from the bases and fell right into the case. She was very curious herself. So far, of all the spiritual-essence-derived objects, the spiritual rice was the mildest, which was consumable for ordinary people. The spiritual stones were the most active and could be absorbed directly. The purity and activeness of the spiritual essence in these fruits, however, had exceeded that of the spiritual stones. Once Xiaozhai was back on the ground, Long Qiu went up to her happily to look at the fruits. She marveled, ¡°Wow, they are so pretty¡­ no touching!¡± With that, her hand reached out and pressed hard against her chest. A cherubic kid was about to fly out from there¡ªhalf of its head was already out¡ªbut was stuffed back in by sheer force. ¡®Geez!¡¯ It was such an eerie picture that the brother and sister went speechless. Supposedly this ¡± gap moe 2 ¡± could be something adorable? Blocking out the picture from his mind, Gu Yu held the wooden case and mumbled, ¡°So, what are we going to do with them?¡± ¡°Eat one of them!¡± His girlfriend was very concise. ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Fruit is food, is it not? Why, are you going to make it into jam or what?¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Curling his lip, he decided to do as told. After all, he needed to feel its effect. Presently, he picked one up. The red fruit¡¯s smooth skin was glistening like an object curved from a ruby. There was also an exotic fragrance about it. Thinking back to the time when he ate the first fruit, he couldn¡¯t recall whether there were pits or not. He seemed to have swallowed it in whole and passed out right away. This time, Gu Yu took a small bite and there was indeed a kernel simr to that of a lychee. He then took a second bite, swallowing the rest of the pulp. Instantly, a streak of the purest and highly active spiritual essence passed his throat and rushed all the way down. In principle, his meridians and internal organs had been nourished for quite some time and were greatly enhanced. However, as the streak went in, he felt a subtle quivering sensation, and all his pores seemed to jolt open; he waspletely opened up. A few breathster, the cooling sensation turned burning hot, which gradually moved deeper into his Dantian. It was after much struggle that this streak was finally fused into his body. After that, when he examined his Dantian and Qihai, he found them to have expanded a little. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Gu Yu exhaled. His cheeks were slightly flushed and a thinyer of sweat covered his forehead. He exined, ¡°It was much more potent than the first time. I don¡¯t know how to describe it. It was like after an intense exercise and your body passes the breakthrough point. The fatigue is filled with this fullness, like¡­¡± ¡°Like you,st night.¡± Xiaozhai immediately got the idea. ¡®Pfffft!¡¯ He almost choked on his own spit, but couldn¡¯t exactly refute thatment. His girlfriend then praised him, ¡°You were pretty goodst night.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Ok, fine, time to change the subject.¡± Long Qiu tried her best to act innocent while Gu Yu helplessly waved his hand. He pondered, ¡°Based on our deduction, the spiritual essence started reemerging about four or five years ago and the fruit should have ripened three times during this period. Brother Fatty and Xiao Qing ate the first ones, which were the least potent. That¡¯s why they were able to survive it. I ate the second batch and sort of narrowly escaped death. This is its third time bearing fruits, which could erge Qihai directly. Therefore, I think this red fruit is bing more effective as time passes. Maybe next year it will change again.¡± ¡°Not necessarily. Maybe next year it will be back to ground zero again. This could be a periodical thing.¡± Xiaozhai was discouraging as usual. ¡°It could be. Anyway, this is good stuff. Too bad there¡¯s so few of it.¡± After sensing its effect, Gu Yu gave up the idea of making incense with the red fruit¡ªit would be a waste of Heaven¡¯s gift. These fruits were like the Ginseng Fruit 3 in the fiction. Not only could they improve one¡¯s cultivation level, they were wonderful showing-off presents to offer to the guests. The downside was its long growth period and the petty yield¡ªtwo fruits in eighteen months. Luckily, there was one other trick they could y, the filtration propagation. Whether a crop would survive or not was no longer a concern for them, for everything was growing healthily, be it the peach trees, the gourd vines, or the rice. Every nt was alive and exuberant. Especially the herb garden, which contained not only the rare medicines, but also themon ones. Gu Yu had opened up another plot, growing in it everything from eupatorium and thick-leaf croton root to angelica root and liquorice. The south bank of the river looked idyllic. They had realized by now that the four nodes each had their own treasures. Although Phoenix Mountain had neither the lodes nor the sawtooth fish, it had a great advantage nheless. The soil was good. Anything would prosper in it! Chapter 180 Chapter 180: Helping the People (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The meditation room, past noontime. On a low wooden table in the room, an Essence-gathering Incense was burning. The curling smoke had condensed in mid-air, lingering there likeyers of rolling clouds, from which a thin streak had separated itself out and slowly drifted towards Xiaozhai. With her eyes closed, Xiaozhai focused her mind and activated the Thunder Technique. A streak of perfect white energy rose out of her Lung Pce, circted in her five organs, and passed through all her meridians before reaching her right palm. ¡°Crack!¡± She held her palm out t and saw electric arcs flickering upon it. The ceaselessly changing pattern reminded her of a little universe being born and dying out constantly, all within that palm of hers. She enjoyed this experience; it gave her the feeling that everything was under control of her own sweet will. Her Metal Thunder energy had doubled in power now. Although she could not yet release it on external targets, it was effective enough. As for the two fruits, after Gu Yu ate one, she ate the other. Being a sensible girl, Xiao Qiu had given up the fruit to her sister, which Xiaozhai epted without any pretentious attempts to decline. There was much difficulty in the cultivation of Thunder Technique and she could use the extra help. As for the kernels, they had been nted right next to the fence. If they managed to grow into trees, they would be just opposite Gu Yu and Xiaozhai¡¯s houses. Thew of nature did not apply to the fruit. With its eighteen-month cycle, the harvest coulde at any season. All they could depend on was the ¡°unnaturalw¡± of the node. Six months into her cultivation and Xiaozhai found that the further she studied into Thunder Technique, the more acutely she was aware of its peerless power. The one passed down in her sect was called ¡°Dragon-snatching Internal Technique of Five Thunders¡±, which Immortal Sa improved and gave it the name ¡°Shenxiao¡¯s Tinkling Jade Book of Great Thunder¡±. The two were essentially the same. Thetter was an inheritance and development following the same sequence of ideas. Thunder Technique emphasized on the training of both the body and the spirit, which came with its own form of inward contemtion. In Human Immortal state, the contemtion was on Five Thunders, where as in Immortal state, it was to think like a dragon. The dragon was both an imagery and a specific figure. A dragon could control its size and could choose to rise or conceal itself. When it assumed arge form, it could create clouds and spit fog; turning small, it could be undetectable. Rising high, it could soar above all universe; staying concealed, it would hide itself among the rolling waves. A dragon would change when the right time came, in the same way that a man moved about the world freely after achieving his ambition¡­ One would choose their cultivation method as their temperament saw fit. As a fierce and overbearing technique, Thunder Technique was the most effective offensive method and fit Xiaozhai¡¯s temper perfectly. Therefore, she could exert its maximum power. Whereas if a gentle, timid, and hesitant person were to learn the Thunder Technique, he would not be able to put it to good use even if he managed to master it. ¡°Crack!¡± The lightning flickered in her palm shortly and disappeared. Her hand returned to its fair and smooth state. Finishing up her practice, Xiaozhai walked out of the room. One nce across the yard and she spotted her boyfriend. Gu Yu had just finished the daily cultivation himself and was crouching down in the herb garden, collecting herbs. With a small shovel in one hand and a bamboo basket by his feet, a flip of his wrist and a mint nt was scooped up out of the ground, its roots all intact and still wrapped in soil. Shaking off the dirt, Gu Yu carefully put the nt into the basket. His mouth then curled into an unexpected smile, for a breeze had just swept across his back and something warm stuck to his back. Two fair arms were thrown around his neck, brushing his cheeks lightly. ¡°Why so gentle?¡± He found it somewhat strange. ¡°I¡¯m in a good mood!¡± Xiaozhai chuckled. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to fight me when you¡¯re in a good mood?¡± He found the answer even stranger. ¡°Nope, that¡¯s when I¡¯m having a really good mood. Now it¡¯s just in good.¡± ¡°In that case, I¡¯d rather you stay in everyday.¡± Gu Yu sighed affectedly, picked up the basket, and rose to his feet. Once inside, he removed the leaves from the stems and concocted them briefly, then stored them in airtight containers. Having been around him all this time, Xiaozhai had learned enough of his work and was helping him with nimble movements. About an hourter, they finished the job and went to sit down under the old tree. They sipped their tea while watching the sun slowly sinking towards the horizon. It was the end of August already. Xiaojin had been staying at home like a good girl after that ¡°lesson¡±, waiting for the school to start. Growing up with little discipline, she was used to a ruleless life. It was just as she said herself, she loved fun and novel things. As it turned out, cultivation fit her view of the world perfectly. Hence, she had expressed her firm decision that by the time she graduated next year, she would show them a passable progress on the practice of the Mind-calming Method so as to qualify for a cultivator¡ªa very promising career in her opinion. Well, her sister and brother-inw were looking forward to that as well. They couldn¡¯t help it, for they were in desperate need of an extra pair of hands and there were so few people around that possessed the right natural endowments whom they could trust¡ªXiaojin was the only one fit that criteria. They were acutely aware of the subtle change in the government¡¯s attitude. The authorities had to be up to something behind their back and were confident that they could tip the current bnce. It was not Gu Yu and Xiaozhai¡¯s intention to oppose the government; everything they did was for self-protection and the pursuit of the Great Dao. ¡°Phew¡­¡± Taking a sip of his tea, Gu Yu exhaled and raised his head to take in the surroundings. His eyes settled upon the paddyfield on the south bank. After gazing it for a while, he suddenly said, ¡°We¡¯re harvesting in October. Are we really going to get a butch of machines up here?¡± ¡°Or what? There are only three of us. Are you expecting us to process the rice with mortars and pestles?¡± Xiaozhai retorted. It would take at least six to seven production processes to turn the unhusked rice into rice ready to eat. With modern mechanization, there were those all-in-one small machines that could unshell and mill the rice all at once; it was quite convenient. Of course, that was not the problem Gu Yu was concerned with. ¡°It¡¯ll always be a problem for us. This is not just for this year only, we¡¯ll repeat the process every year from now on. Plus, we¡¯re nting more and more stuff now. It just takes too much time doing it all by ourselves.¡± ¡°Hire someone, then. Post a message online¡­¡± Xiaozhai was suddenly in mood for some sarcastic remarks. Gesturing with her hands, she chuckled as she said, ¡°Due to the production and operation needs, our mountain is opening up for recruitment. The candidate should have over ten years of practice in sowing; both male and female candidates are wee. Priority will be given to those with excellent skills and who can stand hard word and are not easily scared. Monthly sry is 25 g of spiritual stones and a bag of rice will be given as year-end bonus.¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Gu Yu could not be bothered toment on that. Taking another look around, he suddenly realized something and asked, ¡°Why, where is Xiao Qiu?¡± ¡°Not back yet.¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost dark and she¡¯s still not back?¡± He found this rather unusual. Since they had taken residence on the mountain, all their daily necessities were specially ordered. Although they could leave the task to the Yuan Family, they would still prefer to buy things like clothes and socks on their own. As a result, they would leave the mountain to go shopping once in a while. The Yuan Family had provided them with a car and a driver specifically for the purpose, which were on call 24/7. Around noontime today, Long Qiu offered to go shopping and had not showed up again until now. Reception tower had been set up at the edge of the inner mountain, so Gu Yu picked up his phone right away to call her. She was not answering, which worried them a little. They were about to go out and search for her when Long Qiu returned swiftly; she looked frustrated. ¡°What happened?¡± Seeing that she came back empty-handed, Xiaozhai asked in surprise, ¡°Didn¡¯t you go downtown?¡± ¡°No.¡± Long Qiu shook her head and said, ¡°On my way there, I walked past Hongmei Street. Oh, not the street, but that vige. Someone was having a heatstroke there and I went in to help. Then someone else got sick, so I checked upon that one again. After that a little girl gave me some watermelon, so I went to her ce and stayed there until just now.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The ¡°parents¡± exchanged a look, both finding her reaction interesting. Gu Yu then asked, ¡°So why are you unhappy?¡± ¡°I, I feel sorry for all those people! The little girl said it was so hottely that people were fainting every day. But the hospital was full and they could not get in. They just held out by taking those bitter medicine.¡± Long Qiu paused before asking with a straight face, ¡°Brother, Sister, can we help them?¡± ¡°Why do you want to do that?¡± Xiaozhai smiled. ¡°Well¡­¡± Long Qiu raised her head slightly and looked into her sister¡¯s eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know! You told Xiaojin that cultivation is a training of one¡¯s intention. In that case, my intention says I just want to help them.¡± Chapter 181 Chapter 181: Helping the People (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°As we all know, the city¡¯s been having quite a few very hot daystely and the power consumption is hitting the roof¡­ here, let me exin to the audience a scientific fact: the capacity of our power grid is not limitless. When the power consumption is reaching the limit, the amount of electricity used will be artificially controlled, hence the ckout by time intervals and areas¡­ Please be advised that from 6pm to 9pm tonight, the power will be temporarily off in the following residential district: Hongmei Street, Phoenix Street, North of the Fourth Primary School, and South of the Stadium. Residents of these areas, please make any necessary arrangements in advance.¡± ¡°Snap!¡± Switching off the radio, Old Man He stretched out his sweat-soaked body and plodded inside, his slippers scraping against the ground. Stripping off his shorts with one tug, he scrubbed hard at his body with a cold-water-soaked towel. He only went out again when the scorching heat had left his skin. This time, he did not even bother to wear a tank top. He slouched into the rattan chair, stripped to the waist. There was nothing to be ashamed of, for men of all ages were doing the same thing. Damn it. It was the end of August already, but the weather showed no sign of cooling off. Those living in apartments had air-conditioned rooms, but what could these people do? The makeshift shafts were crammed with hundreds of people; the heat they gave off concentrated into the narrow space and would not dissipate. The area felt like a steaming sauna. Some were willing to splurge the resettlement fee on renting houses elsewhere, but more decided against it as they ground their teeth and endured the tough life. The daytime was unbearable and they took their beddings outside to sleep in the street at night¡ªa huddle of bodies lying all over the ce. The household garbage and sewage not disposed in time only worsened the picture. The area was bing more ghetto-like everyday. The government had wanted to straighten things up in the beginning, but had pretty much given up by now. All they were doing now was to wait for thepletion of the residential buildings so that these people could be shipped out. ¡°Grandpa! Grandpa!¡± The old man was still lying there when He He trotted near with a little boy. It was the grandson of their next door neighbor. The two had been ying outside and their little faces were covered with dirt. ¡°My gosh, look at your pathetic faces! Go wash yourselves!¡± Old Man He scolded. ¡°Oh!¡± The two kids went in obediently to wash their faces clean. When they came out again, the little girl¡¯s face lighted up as she called out, ¡°Sister Qiu!¡± ¡°Xiao He!¡± A tall, slender young woman dressed in white walked towards them. Her willowy gait and graceful movement reminded one of a gentle breeze. It was none other than Long Qiu, who had just gone off the mountain. ¡°Good afternoon, Grandpa He!¡± She went up to them and greeted the old man, then smiled at the little boy, who was all of a sudden very shy and dashed back home. ¡°Mhm, thank you for yesterday.¡± Old Man He was much nicer towards her¡ªthe girl was too sweet for anybody to lose their temper over. He He was even more delighted than the old man. Holding Xiao Qiu¡¯s hand, she asked, ¡°Sister, why are you here again today?¡± ¡°I want to see how you¡¯re all doing. Oh, and I brought something¡­¡± Opening the fabric bag she had strapped across her shoulder, she took out a few pouches and asked, ¡°Grandpa He, may I borrow your stove?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all yours!¡± The old man gestured with a forceful sweep of his hand. After that, Long Qiu went in, filled arge pot with water, added coal into the stove, and started a fire. She then emptied the pouches of all the scrapes of roots and stems into the pot and started brewing. The inquisitive He He hovered around the stove and asked, ¡°Sister, what is this?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Long Qiu gave it a thought before answering, ¡°It¡¯s a herbal tea I concocted myself. It¡¯ll relieve the summer heat.¡± She couldn¡¯t tell the truth, for these were the herbs her brother nted. After half a year of growth in the spiritual atmosphere, the nts now had a tiny bit of spiritual essence in them. She picked a few and found the right ingredients that very night. The medicine would not only prevent heatstroke, but also cure a series of rted symptoms. In a short while, a pleasant fragrance was rising out of the pot. The neighbors were all curious and gathered around to check it out. ¡°Oh my, making soup on such a hot day?¡± ¡°Why, isn¡¯t that the girl from yesterday? Howe today¡­ oh, herbal tea, that¡¯s the good stuff!¡± ¡°My dear, you¡¯re not from around here, aren¡¯t you? You don¡¯t sound like it. Where do you work? You¡¯re such a kind person¡­¡± She offered these people much help yesterday and most of the neighbors knew her face now. Everyone was talking at the same time. Someonemented unexpectedly, ¡°What do you know about the ingredients? You can¡¯t just mix random things together and make a herbal tea. It could make people sick.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I know a thing or two about the art of healing and this will work just fine.¡± Long Qiu was not at least irritated and replied good-temperedly. She wasn¡¯t lying. Women of Grass Ghost in Miao viges all had some knowledge of the traditional cures. After they moved to Phoenix Mountain, she had read quite a few medical books. Besides, her brother was an incense-maker, who knew very well of the medicinal properties of various nts. She couldn¡¯t cure cancer, but heatstroke prevention? That she could do. A long time passed and the concoction was finally ready. Now was the time to test their true attitude. Despite all the noise they made earlier, few dared try the herbal tea themselves. He He was indeed a brave girl. Pouring herself a bowl of the tea, she downed it in a few gulps. The light brown liquid flowed down her throat. She felt it warmed up her stomach first as she broke into afortable sweat. Immediately after that, the warmth turned into a cooling sensation. It was not a dropping of temperature of the skin, but a delightful coolness felt from inside out. ¡°¡­¡± Blinking, He He¡¯s face was nk for a second before she shouted, ¡°Sister Qiu, this tea is awesome!¡± Seeing her reaction, Old Man He also gulped down a bowl of tea. He let out a long breath. ¡°That feels amazing!¡± ¡°Let me have one!¡± ¡°Give me a bowl!¡± All of a sudden, the crowd was fighting over the tea. One after another, they went home to grab their own pots and pans. Some even took the liberty to try to pour the tea themselves. In all the hubbub over the medicine, the most strange thing happened. No matter how hard they pushed, no one could move beyond the table. The hand stuck out somehow turned to other directions without ever touching the spoon. Long Qiu stood in the middle of the bustling scene as if under the protection of a sacred light, dazing anyone who would try to stare at her. She handed out the liquid in order while exining, ¡°You can¡¯t drink too much of this. One bowl is quite enough. Anything more than that would harm your health. That¡¯s because the herbal tea is a cold-natured drink. Too much of it will bring deficiency and coldness to the spleen and stomach.¡± This went on for a while until each person had at least a bowl of the concoction. They all believed it to be some sort of herbal tea and were amazed at the girl¡¯s great medical skill. The heat had indeed dissipatedpletely from their bodies and they were all in high spirits once more. In the end, Long Qiu also poured two bowls of the medicine and took them across the street to the two police officers stationed there. These two fellows were having a hard time as well. Instead of theirfortable offices, they had to sit around in this ce every day. Seeing that a young woman was bringing beverage for them, they were overwhelmed by the unexpected kindness. Nevertheless, they were secretly suspicious inside. Where did this girle from? She looked so refreshing and sweet that they could see a sense of freedom in her smile. Could it be one of those publicity stunts? But there was no cameras around. They couldn¡¯t help it. It was so hard to be just a good person nowadays. People would either deem it a y-acting, or suspect that you had an ulterior motive. ¡°Thank you!¡± ¡°Thanks a lot!¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee. It¡¯s hard work staying here all day.¡± After they finished their drink, Long Qiu retrieved the bowls and was about to go back when she halted all of a sudden. ¡®Hm?¡¯ She felt two pairs of eyes scanning her. Looking in their direction, she noticed a man and a woman standing by a convenient store nearby. They were mumbling to each other and would dart a look in her direction every now and then. The duo stood there for a bit longer and snuck away. ¡°¡­¡± Long Qiu frowned, but did not think much of it. Mostly, she was quite fulfilled with what she achieved today. Although the neighbors¡¯ reactions weren¡¯t exactly pleasant, she would not be affected by it since she had already set her mind on it. Yesterday, when she returned to the mountain, she told her sister that there was no deeper reason for her suggestion. She simply wanted to help these people. Both ¡°parents¡± gave her their full support, only that they would not give her any actual help and had her do everything herself. However, she was delighted with such an arrangement, for they had always had her under their wings and she almost felt like an overprotected child. It was such a rare opportunity that she could do something all by herself. The three family members of Phoenix mountain each had their own aspirations. What did Gu Yu want? Just as what he had told Xiaozhai, ¡°I want immortality, and I want you.¡± Xiaozhai did not make hers explicit, but it was not a difficult guess. She desired a carefree life, doing everything at her own will. Xiaojin¡¯s was the simplest: fun. What about Long Qiu? She wanted happiness for herself and those around her; she hoped bad people doing bad things would be punished; when she saw someone pitiable, she wished she could help¡­ It almost sounded naive and even did not look like the intention of a cultivator. But that was also the most admirable quality of this young woman. Chapter 182 Chapter 182: Helping the People (Part 3) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Before they realized it, the sun was setting and thest bit of sunlight smeared the pale blue sky, tinting the clouds with a magnificent yet dolorous color. The sky was dimming, the blue watered down by a bit of gray. Old Man He went to visit a neighbor, leaving He He behind to keep Long Qiupany. The little girl had been weak and weary from the heat, but was now all energetic again after taking the medicine. She was so fond of the sister she had met only twice that she would not let go of Long Qiu¡¯s hand. He He asked eagerly, ¡°Sister Qiu, what exactly do you do?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± Long Qiu chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re a doctor, right? Your herbal tea worked so well that everyone is praising you!¡± ¡°Haha, I guess I could call myself a doctor.¡± Long Qiu digressed from the subject and said, ¡°I¡¯ll check up on you in a few days. Two more rounds of the tea and you won¡¯t have to worry about getting sick from the heat anymore.¡± ¡°Wow, really?¡± The little girl abruptly jumped to her feet, apparently exhrated. ¡°Around here, someone¡¯s fainting everyday, and it smells really awful. I don¡¯t like here at all. I don¡¯t like that bitter medicine either. All I want is for us to move out as soon as possible, but I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll get ill and make grandpa worry¡­ Sister Qiu, you¡¯re such a good person!¡± The girl was rambling a bit, but Long Qiu chuckled at her words. She gave He He¡¯s nose a little pinch and said, ¡°We¡¯ve only met for a couple of times and you already deemed me a good person?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Despite her young age, He He was sensible enough to understand a few things. Her tone was serious when she said, ¡°I¡¯ve known those uncles and aunties for ages, but when my family was in trouble, none of them came to help. We didn¡¯t know each other before and you¡¯re doing all these things to help us. You must be a good person!¡± The words felt like a little paw tickling against Long Qiu¡¯s chest, melting her heart. She was about to reply when someone yelled outside, ¡°Hey, why is the power off?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the ckout! Didn¡¯t you see the notice?¡± ¡°Oh right, I totally forgot about it. This goddamn weather, it¡¯s killing me!¡± ¡°Aiya, I forgot about it as well¡­¡± He He made a face. Rummaging through the chests and cupboards, she found a candle. She said happily, ¡°Luckily we still have one left, or I¡¯d have to go buy it.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with buying a candle?¡± Long Qiu felt He He¡¯s remark a bit strange. ¡°You have no idea what a bad person that shop owner is. He swears at us all the time, as if he¡¯s the only one from the city and we¡¯re all peasants.¡± After the candle was lit, she added, ¡°It¡¯s the only shop around here. Anyway¡­ anyway, I don¡¯t like going there.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Long Qiu did not know how to reply, nor had she ever had such experience. She stayed for a while longer and seeing that it was getting dark, she bid He He farewell and was ready to go back. He He went to see her off. They were not yet out of the vige when several people ran frantically past them, heading outside the vige and towards that convenience store. Momentster, a fracas rang out, which was loud enough to hear from the other end of the street. Long Qiu and He He were both curious and turned to that direction to check it out. Hongmei Street was also under ckout and the whole ce was pitch-dark save for a few candlelights from several shops. A crowd had gathered outside the convenience store, where a woman was crying and yelling, ¡°Give my Xiao Sheng back, you son of a bi*ch! What have you done to my child?¡± ¡°Your kid is missing, how am I supposed to know where he is? Stop f**king howling outside my door! Have some decency, will you?¡± The shop owner was scarlet with anger and appeared to be rather agitated himself. He shouted, ¡°I¡¯m just selling my stuff here, how is your child my responsibility now? Go away, go away. The shop¡¯s closing!¡± ¡°He was here to buy candy and was just gone. How dare you say you know nothing about it?¡± ¡°Many peoplee to buy stuff here. There¡¯s not even a light around, how could I know which one was your son? Leave me alone now!¡± The shop owner seemed to be having a moment of guilty conscience and was barely putting up the act of an angry man when he waved and tried to chase the woman away. The woman was not his match in physical strength and was shoved out of the door. The crowd stood around watching, their chatter buzzing in the air. It was not like they had anything better to do during a ckout. While being pushed away, the woman suddenly caught sight of something on the ground out of the corner of her eyes. She let out a fierce scream, picked it up, and struggled her way back in with all her strength. ¡°Say you have no idea where he is again! If anything happens to Xiao Sheng, I¡¯lle back to haunt you even when I¡¯m in hell!¡± ¡®Wow!¡¯ The crowd moved near to take a closer look. It was a candy with a red wrapper. The candy was only half eaten and was dropped just outside the convenience store. The indifferent onlookers were now looking at it with a different attitude. Everyone was talking at the same time. ¡°Just tell her what you know. Can¡¯t you see how worried she is?¡± ¡°Exactly. Just let her know if the kid was out ying somewhere or doing some other things. What if he¡¯s in danger?¡± ¡°Call the police! Just call the police! Enough with all the bullshit already. The fellow must be in for it!¡± Surrounded by the excited crowd, the shop owner lost hisposure right away and exined eagerly, ¡°I, I really did not see it clearly. I think a kid came to buy something and just stood there eating right away. Then he was led away by two people. I thought they were a family¡­¡± ¡®So that was what happened!¡¯ He finally told the truth. The woman went mad right away. Taking other people¡¯s child for no reason, these people had to be human traffickers! Shenced herself at the shop owner, ready to beat him up. The man dodged and retreated into the shop. Among the onlookers, some went to help the woman, while others tried to stop the fight. In a moment, the street exploded like boiling water; all hell broke loose. In the end, a voice rose above the others as someone shouted, ¡°That¡¯s enough! We are wasting time here! Call the police first and everyone start searching! You, stop making scene here. Go find your child!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, let¡¯s go search for the boy. The name¡¯s Xiao Sheng, right?¡± ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t there surveince cameras around? Go get the police to check it!¡± ¡°The power¡¯s off. The cameras are useless!¡± The crowd scattered in a hubbub and the shaken woman walked away into the distance, still crying and shouting. ¡°¡­¡± Long Qiu had stayed at the back the entire time and only moved closer now. Looking around, she picked up the candy and held it in her hand. ¡°Remembered the scent yet?¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ The reluctant Golden Silkworm protested. ¡®Sis, I¡¯m not a dog, ok?¡¯ She ignored theint and ordered, ¡°Follow the scent, quickly!¡± With her currently capability, the Golden Silkworm had no means to act against her will. It went silent for a moment and obediently pointed in a direction. Long Qiu then ran into the alley. The area was lined with bungalows and not a single soul was around in this pitch-dark night. She looked around, quickened her steps, and leapt into the air, covering a great distance with each stride. With the blink of an eye, she had disappeared into the dark alley. *** East side of the city. The ce was at the edge of Bai Town and there were barely any decent buildings around. Most undeveloped or semi-developednds were in shambles. Inside a low bungalow, a boyy unconscious on a shabby bed, his hand tied up and his mouth gagged by a rag. Next to the bed was a set of old table and chairs, where a man and a woman were seated, pping their fans loudly. ¡°I can¡¯t stand the weather here. Let¡¯s finish this job and go back to the south.¡± The man found the heat unbearable. ¡°We won¡¯t be back to the south. Brother Tao said we¡¯re moving further north.¡± ¡°Further north? You might as well drain my bone marrow. I need a break!¡± Turning around and ncing at the kid, who was still unconscious, the man grinned. ¡°Hey, what do you think that dumb mother is doing now?¡± ¡°Who cares. It¡¯s only a kid, she can have another one!¡± The woman couldn¡¯t care less. The human traffickers usually worked in two groups, one abducting the victims while the other was in charge of selling them. The abductors were the mere footsoldiers and the sellers were higher up on the food chain. For safety¡¯s sake, those above never let the subordinates know the whereabouts of the children. These two had been doing this long enough that they could score several times each month. They would cajole away the easy kids, grab the cleverer ones, and knock out the unruly ones before taking them away. They usually went for the healthy, good-looking ones, for they would sell better. These people belonged to a roaming band and had just arrived at Bai Town today. They scored on the first day. ¡°Tsk, why isn¡¯t Brother Tao back yet? I¡¯m starving!¡± The waiting was making the man impatient. ¡°It¡¯s the ckout, I think. He¡¯s probably lost.¡± ¡°This goddamn sh*thole. I won¡¯t for the rest of my life¡ª¡± Grunting, the man looked outside the window in passing and his face went pale. He thought he saw a figure flitting past the window, but it was definitely not their boss, for he did not hear a car. Seeing his expression, the woman was quicker to react and grabbed a wooden stick with nails sticking out from it. The man also picked up a steel pipe. They were alerted andbat-ready. About two secondster, there came a loud bang, as if the door had been broken by force. ¡®Hiss!¡¯ The two opened their eyes widely. The door might be wooden, but it was a very thick board. Who is this person? Immediately after that, there was a faint noise, as if a hand had snuck in and unlocked the door. Then, with a creak, the door was slowly pulled open. ¡°Rustle! Rustle!¡± The shuffling sound of soft soles against the floor was closing in. The two clutched their weapons tighter, ready to meet the enemy. ¡°p!¡± The door curtain was lifted up and the dim light inside fell upon the visitor. The two looked up and realized with surprise that it was a girl with delicate features, ck hair, and long legs. ¡°¡­¡± The two froze, for it was so unexpected that they were having a hard time understanding it. Long Qiu, on the other hand, entered the room and nced at the boy before turning towards the pair. ¡°Why did you take him?¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ The question baffled them, but it was not the right time to think it over. Having partnered up long enough, they had long established a tacit understanding. An idea came to the woman right away as she grinned. ¡°My dear girl, I think there¡¯s a misunderstanding. Look here¡­¡± She moved closer as she talked, trying to distract Long Qiu. The man took the opportunity and raised his hand. ¡°Whoosh!¡± The steel pipe smashed fiercely down, aiming at Xiao Qiu¡¯s head. ¡°Snap!¡± Long Qiu reached out, met the steel pipe with her hand, and twisted it. A sharp pain ran through his wrist and whining, the man let go of the pipe. With the steel pipe in hand, she struck out and the tip of the pipended right in the middle of his chest. The fellow felt as if he had just received a blow from a big hammer and copsed to the floor. He remained there, motionless. ¡°You¡­¡± The woman became even more agitated. She held up the stick, trying to strike Long Qiu with it, but only watched her wrist being twisted with a cracking sound and almost taking a 360-degree turn. Then, something hit her knee and she knelt down with a thump. ¡°Ah!¡± In a matter of minutes, the pair was wailing on the ground. Long Qiu untied the boy. Seeing that he was still unconscious, she held him up and decided to sneak him back into the vige. Looking at the two people, she hesitated, but finally did not finish them off. She was out of the door in no time. Not a trace of light could be seen outside. She was only a few steps away from the house when a car moved near and drove past her. She turned around to look and saw that the car had driven past that house and was moving away, she then forgot about it. Little did she know, just a few minutes after she left, the car doubled back. ¡°Creak!¡± A bald guy got of the car with a gloomy face. He cautiously went up to the house and was about to pull the door open when he halted¡ªhe had noticed the big hole on the door and heard the screams inside. Various expressions shed across his face. He stood frozen for a few seconds and turned around promptly for his car. ¡°Pop!¡± At that moment, something ripped through the air and struck the man right on his shin. With a broken leg, the man stumbled around shortly before he felt a pain on his head and was unconscious. *** ¡°Thump!¡± Carrying the baldy¡¯s fat body in one hand, Gu Yu tossed him right into the room, then patted his hand with detestation. ¡°Sigh, she¡¯s still too soft hearted and a bit green.¡± ¡°I like her soft heart. I¡¯m the cruel and merciless one.¡± While self-mockering, Xiaozhai found a sharp dagger in the car. She was pleased with the discovery. Then with a snapping motion, ¡°Crack!¡± the dagger was going to the waste bin. One couldn¡¯t me them for nosing around. The girl was on her own and the ¡°parents¡± were bound to worry. They were secretly following her the whole time and nothing escaped their eyes! Chapter 183 Chapter 183: A Nobody Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°That was the second time!¡± Inside an office of the Shengtian sub-bureau of the BIMAUP, the director Xie Yuenian smacked a file on the desk and sighed despite himself. In it was a case report on the three human traffickers. Although Long Qiu managed to return the kid secretly, those traffickers had seen her face. The police interrogated the culprits, collected the fingerprints, ran a face simtion, and located their target in no time. When they tried to pull the file on Long Qiu, however, they were told that it was ssified information¡ªthe top secret kind! Such thing almost never happened in a ce as small as Bai Town. The case was immediately reported to the municipal bureau of Shengtian, who took one look and was amazed. ¡®Holy sh*t, isn¡¯t she the girl that totally screwed Xue Zhao up a while ago?¡¯ That case earlier was such a handful for the Shengtian police. With the Xue Family, the BIMAUP, and Phoenix Mountain all involved, it was way beyond the capacity of a mere police office. Therefore, the municipal bureau had learned its lesson. This time, it couldn¡¯t transfer the case quickly enough to the sub-bureau of the BIMAUP without any hesitation. But what could the BIMAUP do? Bring her in? Who were they kidding? Xie Yuenian was helpless and indignant¡ªwhat sort of director was this! Several other major officials were also in the room, who exchanged looks and felt the pressure to share the boss¡¯s burden. Jiang Chaofan was the first to react. He walked up to the man and said, ¡°Director, should we send someone to talk to them?¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°About the case. Technically, this is a criminal case. Even if she was doing it for a just cause, we at least should question her, or even hold her in custody for a while, until the court acquits her¡­¡± ¡°Huh? Are you saying we should sent the police to take them in?¡± Another departmental head sneered at the suggestion. ¡°¡­¡± Xie Yuenian ignored thement and said, ¡°Xiao Jiang, go on!¡± ¡°Well, I mean, they¡¯re still citizens of this country, aren¡¯t they? They are making it very difficult for the government if they keep ignoring thew. I¡¯ve met that Mr. Gu twice and he seemed a reasonable man. We¡¯re not requiring him to do anything; it¡¯ll be a gesture only. Meanwhile, we can also sound out their attitude. After all, that¡¯s what the BIMAUP is built for,¡± said Jiang Chaofan. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Xie Yuenian¡¯s face brightened up. Thatst bit was right on the spot, for what concerned him the most was theck of exposure of the BIMAUP. In order to avoid being overlooked by those above and improve their activeness, they had to demonstrate one thing: we might not be able to solve anything, but we are conscientious and responsible. What was more, it would only be a talk. It would be great if they could achieve something, but they wouldn¡¯t lose anything even if nothing came out of it. With that in mind, he gestured the others to leave and only had Jiang Chaofan stay behind. He smiled. ¡°Xiao Jiang, I didn¡¯t know you have such a flexible mind. That¡¯s a very promising quality!¡± ¡°I¡¯m only taking advantage of my past experience. The other colleagues are not very familiar with the case and I have at least met Mr. Gu before.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re a humble man. Good.¡± Xie Yuenian rose to his feet, strolled around the room for a moment, and said, ¡°Since you are the one making the suggestion, I¡¯d like you to take the trouble and go see him. As the saying goes, ¡®one guest should not bother two hosts.''¡± ¡°Yes, sir! You have my word!¡± Jiang Chaofan stood at attention promptly and seeing that the boss was in a good mood, he made a military salute to amuse the man. ¡°Haha!¡± Xie Yuenianughed. He gave Jiang another look and asked unexpectedly, ¡°By the way, how¡¯s that Taoist scripture of yours going?¡± ¡®Shit!¡¯ Jiang Chaofan raised his pitch like a choked duck, his voice terrified. ¡°Director, I, I was just flipping through it. I wasn¡¯t, wasn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Why, don¡¯t be so nervous. It¡¯s just a random question.¡± Xie Yuenian waved it off. After making sure that no one was passing outside, he lowered his voice. ¡°To tell you the truth, those above are turning a blind eye on this. They wouldn¡¯t openly support it, but they are not against it either. They don¡¯t think anything woulde out of it, but it¡¯ll be all the better if someone indeed seeds. One of our own is always better than some outsider.¡± This was a natural move. Ever since the news got around the system, quite a few people were studying Taoist scriptures behind closed doors. One had to realize that the bosses were materialists. Had this happened in the past when certain institute was holding anti-science or pseudo-science attitude to the point of suppresing of ignorant and superstitious activities, every participant would be eliminated with no leniency. However, now that the Taoist skills had indeed made ae-back, the attitude was bing rather ambiguous. As clever as Jiang Chaofan was, he expressed his loyalty right away at this confidential information offered to the most trusted subordinate by his director. ¡°Understood! Thank you, Director!¡± He hesitated before his curiosity finally got the upper hand. ¡°Director, exactly how is everything going in Tianzhu Mountain? We¡¯re all looking forward to its development!¡± ¡°I heard they wereing up with something, but¡­ hey, what are you looking forward to?¡± ¡°Once the people there are trained, aren¡¯t they going to be sent to our bureau?¡± Jiang Chaofan asked surprisingly. ¡°Sent here? You people are so naive!¡± Xie Yuenian snorted and said, ¡°The best ones will go to the bosses, the less excellent ones belong to the ¡®royalties¡¯, and we will get whatever is left. I heard there are only 36 people in total. All the sub-bureaus have their eyes on them!¡± *** Under Phoenix Mountain, the small courtyard. Today was Gu Yu¡¯s out-of-the-mountain visit day again. As always, the stewards of Yuan, Lei, and Zeng Families awaited respectfully for the man, and another batch of medicinal nts were brought in. Gu Yu examined it and found it rather odd as he said, ¡°Why are there only ten nts? And their quality is mediocre at best.¡± ¡°Well, Mr. Gu¡­¡± The steward of the Yuan Family bowed and replied, ¡°We are very sorry about that, but we have exhausted the medicinal nts we could find. As you may know, these wild medicinal materials are very hard toe by, and harder if there are a few years behind them. We¡¯ve barely managed to make this batch at all.¡± ¡°Are you saying that you can¡¯t find anything anymore?¡± he asked. ¡°Well, as far as our capability goes, yes¡­ but our country is so vast that our people cannot cover it all. There must be something out there.¡± ¡°Ok, that¡¯s fine.¡± Gu Yu did not press on. He casually produced arge case and smiled. ¡°I was thinking of giving this to you today. From what you just told me, we¡¯d better settle the ounts now. You¡¯ve gone through much trouble for us for the past six months and here¡¯s a little present. I hope you¡¯ll like it.¡± ¡®That¡¯s it!¡¯ The three stewards were pleasantly surprised. That was what they had counted on for staying in this god-forsaken ce for half a year! ¡°Thank you very much, Mr. Gu!¡± ¡°Thank you, Mr. Gu!¡± They couldn¡¯t express their gratitude enough. However, Gu Yu interrupted them, ¡°Not so fast. I¡¯ve got another favor to ask.¡± ¡°Anything.¡± ¡°Please let the word out that from today onwards, Phoenix Mountain is in need of medicinal materials and unusual minerals. As long as you have the right stuff, anyone cane to us for an exchange.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± The one from the Yuan Family was a bit hesitant. ¡°Are you sure about the ¡®anyone¡¯ part?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And the terms of exchange?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be up to me.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not at the liberty to give the consent. I¡¯ll have to ask for permission first.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± With that, the discussion was over and the three left the room. Gu Yu did not have much choice. The Essence-gathering Incense required a lot of medicinal materials and the more he could get, the better. He had reached an agreement with Wang Qi back then, which said the government was to gather rare materials for him as part of the reward for the development of the node. As it turned out, half a year had passed and they had given him nothing, zilch! Whether it was because they couldn¡¯t find anything or they simply did not want to give him, it still said a lot about the government¡¯s sincerity. He was getting a stronger feeling everyday that the authorities were trying something behind his back, as if they were preparing for some major offense, about which he couldn¡¯t care less. Bring it on. As long as it was cultivation-rted, he didn¡¯t mind demonstrating how capable he was to raise hell and screw them over. After they were done, it was finally Jiang Chaofan¡¯s turn, who stood up and greeted, ¡°Mr. Gu, we meet again.¡± ¡°Haha, why, is there another abnormality?¡± He gestured the man to sit down. ¡°It¡¯s not that. I¡¯m here today to talk to you about Miss Long Qiu.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± He was interested. ¡°What about her?¡± ¡°Let me make it clear first, it¡¯s not meant to be an offense against you two. I¡¯m only here to do my job.¡± Jiang Chaofan was very smart in rifying his attitude first. He then said, ¡°I presume that you¡¯re well aware of the two incidents Miss Long Qiu was involved in. She has broken thew and we haven¡¯t done anything about it only because of her special status. But I think you do understand that the society needs stability more than anything else, which is achieved when certainpulsory restrictions are set and a public belief that there is asting safe environment is upheld. If the restriction is loosened and the belief crumbles, an all-over panic might be caused in long term.¡± ¡®Seriously?!¡¯ Gu Yu was taken by surprise, not by what the man said, but by the fact that someone was actually lecturing him on the subject, let alone from a nobody. Of course he did not need reminding that thew was a representation of the state power. To some extent, defying thew was equivalent to challenging the state. That was why, despite all his capricious acts, he made sure that he always operated within the lines drawn by the government¡ªhe never killed randomly. Thanks to that, the authorities would negotiate with him instead of terminating him right away. ¡°¡­¡± The swarthy and slick butterball in front of him had a righteous and lofty look about him, yet Gu Yu could see tension and cunningness in those eyes. The guy was obviously an opportunist, taking the chance to make himself recognized, and have his resume polished while he was at it. Gu Yu found the man dismissible and only smiled. ¡°Yeah, I get what you mean.¡± ¡°So, what¡¯s your opinion?¡± Jiang Chaofan asked eagerly. ¡°Me? I have no opinion¡­¡± Half-jokingly, Gu Yu said, ¡°It¡¯s quiteplicated. With due respect, the answer is above your pay grid.¡± Chapter 184 Chapter 184: Phoenix Mountain: Open for Business Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Had Gu Yu been a more reserved person, he would probably say, ¡°I agree with you. I¡¯ll be more careful in the future.¡± Had he been the arrogant type, he might reply, ¡°I kill people, so what? What are you gonna do?¡± Either way, it would at least show some attitude. Attitudes reflected one¡¯s thoughts and thoughts could be realized. In that case, Jiang Chaofan could take it for granted that he had achieved something and report to the superiors, getting the recognition in the process. However, it never urred to him that Gu Yu would not even let the talk happen. The fellow simply bounced the subject right back at him: ¡®You are not ranked high enough to discuss that with me. Next question!¡¯ It was so obvious! The code of conduct and legal definition of cultivators were issues to be considered on a state level. It was never meant to be the concern of a departmental head. Presently, he was embarrassed and filled with indignation, which he had no one to vent on. His dark chubby face all puckered up; it looked rather funny. Gu Yu darted him a look and suddenly asked, ¡°Chief Jiang, have you heard what I told them just then?¡± ¡°Uh, I have!¡± Jiang Chaofan winced for a second and realized right away that he was talking about collecting medicinal materials and unusual minerals. ¡°Good. I¡¯d like you to pass the word around as well. From now on, Phoenix Mountain is open for business. As long as you have the right stuff, anyone is weed.¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Jiang Chaofan jolted. For some unknown reason, this request made him uneasy. He probed, ¡°Mr. Gu, where are you going with this?¡± ¡°To trade, obviously. You bring the goods, I give you the price. If we¡¯re both happy, a deal is made. That¡¯s not against thew, I presume?¡± ¡°No, of course not. But, but¡­¡± ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry.¡± Gu Yu stood up and made to leave. ¡°I¡¯ve made a deal with Wang Qi earlier; unfortunately, he is a very inefficient man. I have to do the job myself instead.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jiang Chaofan watched as Gu Yu disappeared from his sight. He stared nkly into the air for quite a while before rushing out himself. He drove very fast when he left. *** Shengtian, the Yuan Family. The family had a military background. The grandfather held a local militarymand, the son Yuan Mei worked in the provincial government¡­ Yuan Peiji, the grandson, held no official position and spent his days messing around. Usually, they all busied themselves in their own circles, so it was a very rare asion today that the three men were all present. Having received the gift, the Yuan steward immediately brought it back to Shengtian, which was now set on the table. It was a rather cheap-looking little box and in it were ten incense pellets the size of a longan. The pellets were azure¡ªa rather unusual color. The surface was of a smooth and glossy texture, which reminded one of porcin. ¡°So, that¡¯s the gift from that man?¡± The old man had grizzled hair and a great booming voice, apparently in excellent health. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s just been brought in. We have ten, the Leis have seven, and the Zengs have five. I was told they are burning incense,¡± replied Yuan Mei. ¡°Mr. Gu¡¯s incense-making skill is handed down in his family. This incense must be special,¡± said Yuan Peiji. ¡°Haha!¡± As a military man, the grandfather was boorish and forthright. He waved his big hand forcefully, ¡°What the hell, just burn one!¡± Hearing that, Yuan Peiji fetched a censor right away. He picked up a pellet with a pair of tweezers and carefully ced it on the mica te, below which was some high-quality charcoal. He put the lid back on and went back to his grandpa. The military men had little experience with all this fuss and the grandfather was rather curious now. Three pairs of eyes all fixed upon the censor, as if their attention could make any difference. The censor remained what it was. A minute or soter, streaks of smoke started creeping through the hollows, then rose into mid-air and began to gather; the smoke just kepting. In the end, it formed a thin pir of smoke, which shot right upwards. On the top the pir was a fluctuating, beautiful blue cloud. Immediately after that, the blue cloud slowly dissipated, as if it had been hit by sunlight. The lump broke into streaks and threads, enshrouding the room. ¡®Hm?¡¯ The three men were all sitting by the table. As soon as the blue smoke entered their nostrils, they felt a faint warmth flowing all the way into their body, nourishing everything along the way. That was such a familiar sensation! The Yuan Family was quite prominent and 10 kg of the spiritual rice was their quota. The three men and a few other direct rtives had divided the rice among themselves. Burning this pellet, as it turned out, felt almost the same as eating the porridge, only milder. ¡°¡­¡± Despite the surging emotions inside, the three men remained quiet, waiting for the pellet to burn out. When it did, Yuan Mei checked the time and let out a soft cry. ¡°Ten minutes!¡± ¡°Really? As long as ten minutes?¡± the old man asked eagerly. ¡°That¡¯s correct, ten minutes,¡± confirmed Yuan Peiji. The old man was apparently shaken by the result. Momentster, he sighed. ¡°That was indeed something!¡± Comparing with the incense, the spiritual rice was not only restricted to one meal per day, the porridge was as thin as water. This incense was not as potent, but the effect was longsting, and it would not undermine one¡¯s health. The incense pellet was something Gu Yu concocted based on the Essence-gathering Incense, in which he had reduced the medicinal property repeatedly until the pellet was suitable for ordinary people. It was created purely as presents and for business purposes. Even its name was picked at random: Blue Cloud Incense. To the Yuan Family, however, it was enough to shake their world! The silence went undisturbed until quite some timeter, when the old man said, ¡°So, you said earlier that he wanted us to get the word out that anyone can go to him to trade?¡± ¡°Yes. I couldn¡¯t take the liberty to agree to that and we are waiting for your decision,¡± said Yuan Mei. ¡°¡­¡± After a moment of silence, the old man said, ¡°Tell him: yes.¡± ¡°What are we going to tell the capital?¡± ¡°Nothing. They¡¯ll understand.¡± The old man waved his hand. Behind the Yuan Family was a military tycoon in the capital city, and behind that tycoon was one of the handful of people on top of the hierarchy pyramid. When Gu Yu made contact with the families, instructions hade from above, instructing them to establish a rapport with the man. Now that Gu Yu had made his request, the ¡°currency¡± he would use for the trade would probably be these pellets. The demand was mutual¡ªGu Yu needed medicinal materials and unusual minerals, while these people wanted an elixir that could prolong their life. These people had so many agendas of their own that they were never going to follow the instructions faithfully. *** Before anyone noticed, it was September. The heat that had been ravaging the people the whole summer finally started to wear off. At the end of the month, there was even a province-wide moderate rain. Everyone was capering in the long-awaited coolness. The Yuan Family had sent Gu Yu a message, saying that they had let the word out, only that it would need some time to take its effect. Whereas in Bai Town, thanks to Long Qiu¡¯s frequent efforts, nothing major had gone wrong in the migrant vige; neither did any epidemic disease break out despite the intense heat of the summer. She was not one of those over-confident idealists who wished for world peace. She knew her capability very well; to those within her reach, she would lend a hand whenever she could. Of course, the girl was still quite green and did not understand all the rules of this society. To that, the two ¡°parents¡± had always had a positive attitude and never objected or tried to stop her. It was never a bad thing to have a kind heart. As for Phoenix Mountain, the rice in the valley was ready to be harvested. Although it was a mere two-mu plot, the picture of full, healthy, and golden spikes of rice paving the south bank was very pleasing to the eye. Right now, the family of three was standing by the plot, ready to start reaping. Long Qiu was the main yer in this activity. She entered the plot holding a sickle. Grabbing a rice stalk with her left hand, she caught it with the de in her right hand at about 10 cm from the root and pulled. A stalk was cut down. ¡°See? Cut from here¡­¡± Holding the stalk, she seemed to be talking to the empty air. ¡°Not too low, it¡¯ll make the following steps too difficult. But not too high up either, it¡¯ll damage the grains.¡± ¡°¡­¡± An invisible fluctuation responded in mid-air, nodding to her instruction while at the same time sending a message of wanting to start right away. Long Qiu found it a pain in the neck as she whispered, ¡°Listen to me. Don¡¯t eat too much. No one can save you if my brother and sister get angry. Ok, you c¡ª¡± ¡°Pop!¡± Before she could finish her sentence, with an exploding sound, the Golden Silkworm dashed right into the rice field like a wild donkey out of its leash. ¡°Woosh!¡± As if a mountain wind had swept across the field, the crops billowed and rippled like waves. With each undtion, a row of rice fell down in unison and immediately after that, as if following a tune, the next row followed suit. In a couple of breaths¡¯ time, all two-mu of rice was cut down. The distance between rows and grains was almost identical. The neatness was such a joy to behold. As it turned out, the Golden Silkworm was such a ¡± Tsundere 1 ¡± type of character. Not only was it a neat freak, it was also an OCD patient, as well as, um, a glutton¡­ for in the furthest southeastern corner, the pattern was obviously inconsistent with the rest of the field¡ªa small area of rice was missing. ¡®Ouch!¡¯ Long Qiu was petrified. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai, on the other hand, did not find it much of an issue. The Golden Silkworm was a spiritual creature and they just saw it as its sry. The reaping it could help with, but the work after that was different. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai had indeed got a few machines up into the valley, including a small generator, a shelling and milling machine, as well as a polishing machine. ¡°Buzz!¡± ¡°Rumble!¡± After the grains were sun-dried, the machines came to life, making much noise that broke the tranquility of the valley right away. The grains were loaded into the machine in bundles, where they would be unshelled. The end product consisted of two kinds: brown rice and yellow, powdery chaff. From rice grains to polished rice, the husk and the peel, seed coat, perisperm, pasteyer, and the germ¡ªwhich together took up about 10% of the total mass¡ªhad to be removed, which became the rice chaff. Gu Yu pinched some up and tasted it. It was a little rough and puckery, but edible with some maneuvering. The more important thing was, the chaff was also high in spiritual essence. ¡°Too bad we don¡¯t have any big cattle. This is the best feed.¡± Gu Yu found it a pity. ¡°Big ones we don¡¯t have, but there are two small ones.¡± Xiaozhai turned around and eyed Brother Fatty and Xiao Qing, who were ying the happy bystanders. The duo shuddered at her gaze. ¡®Are you kidding me? We don¡¯t eat pigswill!¡¯ They scampered right away. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Xiaozhai shrugged. ¡°How about making it into some solid food? We can bring it with us on field trips.¡± ¡°Yeah, good idea. Mix it with some flour and make it into pancakes. It can be preserved for a long time.¡± It took the three of them two whole days to finish processing the harvest. Setting aside the grains they saved as seeds, they weighed the rest. The yield per mu was about 215 kg and they had 430 kg of spiritual rice in total. Do recall that the yield per mu of Tianzhu Mountain was 103 kg only. Phoenix Mountain was indeed an ideal farnd. The average foodie would consume 1 kg rice daily, which made it 3 kg for the three of them each day and 90 kg a month. The spiritual rice would barelyst them till the spring sowing next year. They could finally rx now! Appreciating their small warehouse, which was filled to the brim, Gu Yu felt so hot-blooded that he chuckled. ¡°Next year, we¡¯ll open up the north bank as well and cut down a few trees in the perimeter. We should sow as much as we can.¡± ¡°Well¡­ it does feel awesome to have enough food at home!¡± Xiaozhai stretched herself, looking as content as andy. Chapter 185 Chapter 185: Humiliation Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°A pack of Red River.¡± ¡°There you go!¡± In the convenience store on Hongmei Street, the shop owner randomly grabbed a pack of Fine Red River from the shelf and smacked it on the counter. The customer was one of the old neighbors, who shot one nce at the cigarettes and red up. ¡°Are you f**king kidding me? Do I look like I can afford a 15-yuan 1 pack? Gimme the Big Red River!¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Absent-minded, the shop owner gave him another pack instead, then took the five-yuan worth of coins and dropped them into the drawer one at at time; the petty little amount nked and ttered. Ever since the other night when the kid was almost taken away, he had been ill from fright. Just imagine the pressure from all the emotional and legal responsibilities he had to have felt from ignoring an obvious wrongdoing carried out right in front of him. Had the kid not been returned, with the frantic state of the mother, he might well have been torn into pieces by the woman. The man was your typical bully with a coward¡¯s heart and a forcible-feeble personality, who would retreat into his own shell in no time when there was real business. He appeared to know his ce better these days. The migrant vigers downright loathed him; they would rather go to the shops a block away than buy from him. It was thanks to his old neighbors that he could still sell anything, or the shop would have long been closed down by now. That customer tore open the package and lit a cigarette with his shaking, scrawny hands. Swaying his shoulders idly about, he was about to waddle his way across the road when there came a ¡°beep, beep¡±. The vehicle was in a hurry and he jumped back in a haste. Looking up, he saw an SUV with a nonlocal license te, which whooshed past him. The newest model, top of the range, and 800,000 yuan 2 at least, the vehicle was swollen with arrogance. ¡°Why, that¡¯s a vehicle from Dongyun. What¡¯s it doing in Bai Town?¡± The man swallowed a four-letter word he was about to let loose and turned curious. ¡°Beep! Beep!¡± At that moment, there came another honk and a second vehicle with a nonlocal te drove past him. This time, the license te said it was from as far as the neighboring province. Its model was even shier and the bodywork was as conspicuous as a small hill. ¡®Hey!¡¯ Even the shop owner was somewhat startled. What the hell was going on? And it did not finish there. Immediately after that, there came the ¡°vrooms¡± and ¡°beeps¡± of all kinds of automobiles. In a mere couple of minutes, luxurious vehicles were streaming into Bai Town, most of which were nonlocal. Even the handful of exceptions might not have local passengers in them. ¡°¡­¡± The two men were struck dumb. It seemed like ages when the man said, ¡°Damn it! In my thirty years of life, I¡¯ve never seen anything like that here in Bai Town!¡± ¡°Where do you think they¡¯re going?¡± the shop owner asked. ¡°The only ces that way are Phoenix Fair and Phoenix Mountain. Are they a tour group? Doesn¡¯t seem so!¡± The man froze all of a sudden, then mmed his palms together. ¡°F**k, I know it! Our area is nned as a new district and those fellows are here to bring up the house prices!¡± ¡®Oh, shut up you idiot!¡¯ The shop owner spit on the ground and would not dignify that im with ament. *** In the meantime, a dozen vehicles drove in a single file, threaded through the alleys, passed Phoenix Fair, and headed further to the north. A line of green mountains stood in the distance. The vehicles then drove onto a gravel road and into a vast stretch of wilnd. Finally, they stopped outside a courtyard. Because there were so many of them, the vehicles had to be parked in a line outside the gate. The polished metal bodies were almost sparkling in the sunlight, which together looked rather imposing. The doors were opened and about two dozen people filed out. They were all young men and were obviously divided into two groups. One group was the bosses, who made no effort in hiding their signature characteristics of government officials, magnates, and military men. The other group consisted of bodyguards, who looked rather peculiar with a big suitcase in each of their hands. These were none other than the juniors of various families, who had heard about the news and showed up promptly to trade. The crowd rushed into the small building and the room was instantly packed. Yuan Peiji was among them¡ªhe was in charge of reception and coordination. These men hade from eighteen out of the thirty-six provinces of the country, everyone with a status as prominent as his, if not higher. These families were all top of their local food chains. ¡°Old Yuan, this ce is tiny . You were building a house anyway, why didn¡¯t you make it bigger? There are not even enough chairs.¡± They immediately recognized that ent and knew the speaker to be a man from the capital. The man was rather tall and sturdy, with thick eyebrows which gave him an honest and dignified look. But those who knew him better dared not take him lightly, for the man was a crafty fellow. He barely finished his sentence when a man with a northwestern ent chimed in,ining, ¡°And that lousy road, can you do something about it? We¡¯re not here for a one-off job. I¡¯ll pay for it if you don¡¯t have the money.¡± ¡°Keep your money in you pocket. Old Yuan doesn¡¯t have the money, are you kidding me? He must have left the road like that for a reason,¡± said a young man with delicate features scornfully. ¡°What reason? Who on earth would want to drive on loose stones?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about the likes of loose stones, but if it¡¯s loose women, I know quite a few.¡± ¡°Who the hell are you pointing finger at?¡± ¡°Why, what are you all ring up for?¡± The northwestern guy had a particr fondness of other men¡¯s wives and a habit of letting the husbands know about it. It was public knowledge in their circle. With the deliberate provocation from the pretty guy, the northwesterner jumped at it right away. No one tried to mediate and everyone was looking on with smirks on their faces. With their status, nobody would take the words of others at face value. They only showed people what they wanted to show, as for exactly what was in their minds¡­ only they themselves knew. As the two bickered on, the capital fellow suddenly moved closer and said, ¡°Old Yuan, I went to look around the foot of the mountain after I got off the car. That mountain track is a deserted dirt road. We can leave everything else as is, but this road alone we have to fix! How could anyone walk it?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t take that liberty. The mountain belongs to Mr. Gu.¡± Yuan Peiji shook his head. ¡°Make some suggestions! We can¡¯t have the mastering down here all the time, but should go up there and show our respect. We can then build a meeting pavilion or a meeting hall halfway up the mountain. It¡¯s not such a big deal building a few houses, is it?¡± ¡®And you think you know everything!¡¯ Yuan Peiji rolled his eyes in his mind. ¡®How do you know that I did not make that suggestion in the first ce? The man could not be bothered, what could I do about it?¡¯ Presently, the room was in a hubbub, with everyone talking to everyone else about money, fun, and women. From the look of it, this bunch was nothing but wastrels. What was interesting, however, was that no one mentioned a thing about the stuff they brought. Instead, everyone was fishing for information from the next person. The bodyguards stood behind them with motionless faces. A long time passed when a fellow checked the time and said abruptly, ¡°It¡¯s three o¡¯clock. Why is he still not here?¡± ¡°Maybe something came up. Let¡¯s just wait,¡± said Yuan Peiji. ¡°He¡¯s alwayste?¡± ¡°Not really. He¡¯ll exin briefly when he¡¯s runningte. We can¡¯t actually ask about the specifics.¡± ¡°Hey, you¡¯ve met the guy a few times. How do you feel about him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. All in all, he¡¯s no ordinary man.¡± ¡°Not ordinary? Are you saying he¡¯s like, an immortal?¡± The northwestern guy snorted. ¡°Haha¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t an answerable question. Yuan Peiji darted a look at the man and secretly felt sorry for thetter already. A while passed and there was still no Gu Yu. All their life, these young dignitaries never took ¡°no¡± as an answer. They were the ones humiliating others, not the other way around. ¡°I say, this fellow is putting on a lot of airs, isn¡¯t he?¡± The northwestern man was obviously disgruntled. ¡°A swindler, that¡¯s what he is. I¡¯m gonna be frank with you. I have nothing but money with me today. I¡¯ll shower him with itter. Let¡¯s see how much that yokel can say no to¡­¡± ¡°p!¡± He was still talking when there came a crisp sound, as if something invisible had pped him hard over his face. His giant body lurched to one side and a red mark appeared on his cheek. ¡°Who did it?¡± Bringing a palm over his cheek, the man was fuming. He was about to stand up and look around when there came another. ¡°p!¡± ¡°Mhm¡­¡± The fellow stumbled again and his other cheek turned purple. ¡°p!¡± ¡°p!¡± The invisible hand did not stop there and the face-pping continued, growing louder. Not a sound could be heard in the room. The deadpan bodyguards had long lost theirposure and the dignitaries gaped with open mouths. They could do nothing but watch the man being ruthlessly humiliated. Chapter 186 Chapter 186: Trade Fair: Prototype Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°p!¡± ¡°p!¡± The fellow was pped seven or eight times in a row before the crisp yet frightening sound finally stopped. His lean face was now massively swollen and covered with purple veins. With the swelling taking up most of his face, his nose seemed exceptionally protruding and his eyes squeezed to tiny slits; he was now a perfect imitation of a pighead. Crumpling onto his chair, the man was as much in pain as he was baffled. Despite his low grunts, he dared not¡ªand could not even if he wanted to¡ªutter a single word. ¡°¡­¡± The fellow had always left a poor impression on those in his circle and was never a popr figure. Now that his ass was being kicked, the rest of the group all watched him with strange looks on their faces¡ªthey were even secretly expecting the show to go on. ¡°Pop!¡± Right under their gaze, a fluctuation seemed to spread out in the empty air. Immediately after that, a cherubic kid materialized silently with no forewarning, as if it had just jumped out of a wormhole from another dimension. The kid was about 30 cm in height, wearing a red dudou and brandishing its naked smooth buttcheeks. As soon as it hit the ground, its face lit up into a broad grin. However, in spite of its wide open mouth, not a sound wasing out of it. ¡®What the hell is THAT?¡¯ The crowd felt their hair standing up on their backs as a chilliness rose up inside them, moving swiftly up along their spines. Those not careful enough happened to look right into the kid¡¯s eyes and at a nce of those bottomless ck pupils, they shuddered violently, utterly petrified. Fortunately, the kid showed no interests in them whatsoever. Still grinning, it ran out jauntily on its bare feet. ¡°Phew¡­¡± They all heaved a sigh of relief. The fellow¡¯s bodyguard was the only person that felt unhappy and wronged. ¡®Come on, there was nothing I could do!¡¯ ¡°Something came up when we were just setting out. Sorry for keeping you waiting!¡± Right at that moment, a voice came from outside and the speaker entered the room while they were just registering the words. A man and a woman had arrived, both with a splendor about them and looking subtly elegant. The cherubic kid was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Swoosh!¡± Seeing them, the crowd stood up in unison and greeted them solemnly, ¡°How do you do, Mr. Gu!¡± ¡°Please sit down. You guys are way too polite!¡± Gu Yu led Long Qiu into the room and gestured at the crowd. He then took one look at the pighead and said right away, ¡°This gentleman, I¡¯m afraid, would have to leave.¡± ¡°Hm¡­ Mhm¡­¡± Struggling with his swollen face, the man tried to exin himself, but was unable to make any distinctive sound. His bodyguard was quick to take the cue. Hoisting up his master, they stumbled out in a hurry. With the sole idiot out of the picture, the rest of the group was much relieved. Moral of the story: regardless of time and asion, one should never expect that everyone present was in possession of an adequate IQ. ¡°I did not expect there would be so many of you. Just to avoid any possible confusion, please take turn to show your things, one at a time.¡± Gu Yu then turned to Yuan Peiji. ¡°I¡¯ll have to borrow the room upstairs.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Yuan Peiji led them onto the second floor right away. The rest of the group exchanged hesitant looks and the man from the capital city let out a suddenughter. ¡°Let¡¯s line up, then. No one¡¯s gonna be left out, anyway. I¡¯ll take the liberty and go first!¡± With that, he climbed up the stairs with his suitcase and turned into a small room, where Gu Yu and Long Qiu were seated. ¡°Hello, Mr. Gu. I¡¯m from the Meng Family of the capital city and my name is Meng Shaohui,¡± he introduced himself. ¡°Nice to meet you. Please take a seat.¡± Sitting down across the table from Gu Yu, the ruffian act from earlier was now nowhere to be found on the man. He said, ¡°After hearing the news, we sent our men out right away and started collecting. It just so happens that the core business of my family is the trade of medicinal materials and we¡¯ve got some very rare treasure¡ªsort of an ¡®ace in the hole¡¯.¡± He opened the suitcase and pushed it lightly towards Gu Yu. Gu Yu looked into it and was rather surprised at what he saw, for inside was a sun-dried, fully processed ginseng. The stem consisted of three sections. The bottom section was cylinder-shaped and not very long; the middle section was the ¡°patterned stem¡± densely lined with date-stone-shaped adventitious root; the top section was the ¡°horse-tooth stem¡±, which contained three ¡°teeth¡±. This big ginseng was 5 cm in length and 3 cm in diameter. The five main threads of fibrous roots wound and bent into various shapes, resembling the running hand in calligraphy. Its skin was of a yellowish white and felt fine and smooth. The entire nt possessed a natural grace. ¡®This is the real deal!¡¯ Gu Yu sighed with admiration. Regret then took over¡ªif only this was a living nt instead of a processed one. One had to be reasonable, though. This ginseng was at least a hundred years old and there was no way it could stay hidden in the mountain for that long a period. As the saying went, a seven- liang 1 ginseng was a ginseng, while an eight-liang ginseng was a treasure. There was a treasured ¡°king of ginseng¡± in the country, which weighted 285 g¡ªor 9.12 liang in traditional units. What was miraculous about it was that it split into two life-like ¡± legs 2 ¡± at the bottom, deeming it a gem unequaled by any contemporaries. This ginseng was not as heavy as that, but was at least 8 liang already. ¡°¡­¡± Meng Shaohui was flustered at Gu Yu¡¯s silence. He had brought the most spectacr treasure of his family and had no idea how much it would bring them in exchange. To the mortal men, ginseng was but a medicine to treat illness. To the cultivators, however, it was also an ingredient for refining spiritual medicines. These were no ordinary medicines, though. As a work of the cultivators, one would not be exaggerating by saying that these medicines could instantly add a few more years to one¡¯s life! After a brief moment of consideration, Gu Yu finally replied, ¡°The ginseng is of the highest grade. Unfortunately, it is processed instead of being a living nt, which will affect its value. That being said, we will not be stingy, since you¡¯ve proved your sincerity.¡± With a wave of his hand, Long Qiu passed over an oblong box. ¡°If you find this eptable, we¡¯ll have a deal.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Feeling ill at ease, Meng Shaohui opened the box and found it filled with incense pellets; the amount delighted him. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Gu! Thank you so much!¡± ¡°Whatever medicinal materials you find in the future, you can bring it here. Oh, we prefer the living nts.¡± ¡°Yes, of course!¡± The overjoyed Meng Shaohui went back downstairs jubntly. Long Qiu had just put the ginseng away when the second seller entered the room. It was none other than the pretty young man. Same as Meng Shaohui, the sarcastic attitude he exhibited in the squabble earlier was safely tucked away¡ªhe was a perfect gentleman now. ¡°Hello, Mr. Gu. I¡¯m from the Bai Family of Xuan Zhou. I¡¯m Bai Bo.¡± After introducing himself, he cut to the chase right away. ¡°This is a stone we stumbled upon and the test we ran came back empty. We thought maybe we could trouble you with the appraisal.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Taking over the fist-sized stone, Gu Yu found it of an irregr shape with quite a few edges and corners. The stone was goldish red in color¡ªmainly red, with a tiny bit of golden hue. As soon as it was in his hand, Gu Yu detected a barely discernible fluctuation of spiritual essence. Unlike the neutral ones he had sensed before, this one seemed to have a natural property to it. He sensed it more carefully. It was somewhat broiling, which gave him a slight burning sensation¡­ was it fire? ¡°Where did you find it?¡± He was immediately interested. ¡°Well¡­¡± Bai Bo¡¯s hesitation was deliberate. It did not take a genius to guess his intention. ¡°Haha, the stone itself is of little importance to me. I¡¯d like to know the information you hold rather than having the stone.¡± Gu Yu knew how such thing worked and proposed, ¡°I¡¯ll trade it for three pellets of Blue Cloud Incense. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Maybe a little bit more than that?¡± ¡°Maybe, depending on the value of your information.¡± ¡°Deal!¡± Gritting his teeth, Bai Bo thought it over and agreed. ¡°My friend found it by ident when he was travelling in the ming Mountain.¡± ¡°As in ming Mountain of Huo 3 Zhuo?¡± Gu Yu was surprised. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How many more stones like this one were there?¡± ¡°Maybe a handful. He wasn¡¯t looking very closely.¡± ¡°When was he there?¡± ¡°Half a month ago.¡± ¡°Anything else out of the ordinary?¡± ¡°Urh, probably not. It felt much hotter than usual, that¡¯s all.¡± Gu Yu knew what was happening. ming Mountain was in the same province as Tianshan and only 190 km apart. The fire spiritual essence in this stone was barely detectable, which meant it was formed only for a short period. There were two possibilities. It could be that a mineral vein simr to that of Tianshan had been formed, bearing fire-attributed ores. Or, an area of abnormality simr to Grass River Mouth could be taking its shape. He was inclined to go with the second one, for ming Mountain was not a node and it would take a considerably long period to form a lode. It seemed more like an abnormality brought by the neighboring node in Tianshan. Either way, it was a valuable piece of information. Consequently, he raised the payment, which satisfied Bai Bo greatly, who then took his leave. The process went on like this. Seventy percent of them offered medicinal materials and only a few brought with them some minerals. A couple of the less insightful ones produced their ¡°treasures¡± in the form of mud lumps or tree stumps, which were sprinkled with the faintest spiritual essence. There were fourteen sellers in total. Gu Yu epted the goods from nine of them and sent the other five back. Those that managed to close the deal were delighted, while the unsessful one dared notin, but swiftly returned to their vehicles and left. All in all, Gu Yu found the trade fair worthwhile. The most valuable pieces were the old ginseng and the information on ming Mountain. Apart from those, there were also three glossy ganoderma, four fleece-flower roots, and a number of tuckahoe and dendrobe. *** Dusk time. With thest deal closed and the seller¡¯s vehicle driving away, quietness returned to the small courtyard. Gu Yu did not think much of the event, but Long Qiu had had great fun. Her brother had brought her along this time so that she could learn from the experience. Such trade fair would only happen more frequently in the future and there were only three of them. In case anything unexpected should happen, Xiao Qiu had to learn to identify the objects and offer reasonable prices. Yuan Peiji stood by as a dutiful attendant until everyone else had left. Right now, he was seeing Gu Yu and Long Qiu off. ¡°This was the first meeting and the young masters of all families were here to make their acquaintance with you. The future trades will probably be carried out by the servants only. I hope you won¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Haha, I understand. Thank you for taking the trouble today.¡± ¡°I was only doing my job¡­¡± Yuan Peiji paused and went on, ¡°Mr. Gu, we were chatting before you arrived and quite a few people said in passing that we should revamp and expand the ce a little. I think that¡¯s a good idea. After all, the group will only get bigger and a small ce may not work.¡± ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± ¡°Well, I was thinking of building something like a manor. It¡¯ll at least fit all the cars in. And the road also needs paving. We¡¯d better make it all the way to Phoenix Fair. Also there¡¯s the mountain track you use all the time. How about trimming it a little bit?¡± Gu Yu could not be bothered to make any changes before, but with what was going on, this ce was potentially a small scale trade center before long. The expansion was inevitable and necessary. Therefore, he replied after a brief thought. ¡°That sounds good. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to trouble you with all the work.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure.¡± Yuan Peiji apanied them all the way to the foot of the mountain and watched them going up. It was only then that he turned around and headed back for the courtyard. Despite not being a participant of the actual trade, he still felt his adrenalin pumping. As a matter of fact, the government would be the most capable party to set up a trading tform. However, without the core technology at the moment, the government would not be able y the key role. Moreover, with the current condition, they could only afford a limited scale of trades. ¡®Here¡¯s one sixty-year tuckahoe and two dendrobe. With a few more sealwort and you¡¯re qualified for free shipping! Airmail and fast delivered!¡¯ Come on, no one would be that stupid to take their treasures lightly. Let alone sending them by mail, they would even doubt their own escort. Therefore, all had to be done in the most ¡°primitive¡± way¡ªas in, to meet in person and barter. Chapter 187 Chapter 187: Setting Out Once More Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°So, that¡¯s the fire mineral?¡± Inside the meditation room, Xiaozhai was tossing the stone up and down, then let itnd on her palm with a thud. She chuckled. ¡°The recovery of the spiritual essence has been going on for four or five years by now and this year was particrly eventful. I was starting to wonder, of all the ces in our big country, why was Grass River Mouth the only one turned abnormal. Haha, it is happening somewhere else, finally!¡± ¡°Hey you, enough with that craving for disaster.¡± Gu Yu reached out and tried to take the stone back. His girlfriend, however, retracted her arm and his fingers grabbed onto empty air. Instantly, his hand movement changed as he flipped his hand around to catch her wrist. She unfolded her left palm, showing crackling electric arcs, and stretched it out towards his face. Unwavering, Gu Yu extended his other arm, grabbing at the stone. ¡°Crackle!¡± The electric arcs was about to touch his cheek when they vanished in a sh. ¡°Nice call! Howe you¡¯re so sure that I won¡¯t touch you?¡± Xiaozhai was curious. ¡°Who would ever have the heart to scratch such a handsome face?¡± He was being all cheeky and unting when he saw his girlfriend raise an eyebrow, which was a sign of an iing verbal assault. He changed the subject immediately. ¡°Ok, that¡¯s enough bullshi*t for today. Let¡¯s talk business¡­ that ming Mountain is not far from Tianshan. It¡¯d better be an anomaly. Because if it turns out to be a mineral vein, it¡¯ll be a nasty business. I can¡¯t figure out what to do with it. Hey, is there any Taoist skill involving fire?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Zhengyi has quite a few fire incantations and talismans, though. I¡¯m not sure about others¡­¡± Xiaozhai shook her head. ¡°Isn¡¯t there something called ¡®True Fire of Samadhi¡¯?¡± ¡°Samadhi my a*s!¡± She snorted and exined, ¡°Samadhi is a Buddhist concept. There¡¯s no such thing in Taoism. When L¨¹ Dongbin wrote his ¡®On Profundity¡¯, he was the first to introduce the idea of the True Fire of Samadhi. ording to him, the heart is the ¡®fire of monarch¡¯, known as the ¡®upper Samadhi¡¯, the kidney the ¡®fire of subjects¡¯, known as the ¡®middle Samadhi¡¯, and Qihai the ¡®fire ofmoner¡¯, known as the ¡®lower Samadhi¡¯. There is a cycle involved in all this, which corresponds with the universe¡­ wait a second?¡± She was amazed herself as she talked on. ¡°L¨¹ Dongbin was a man of Tang Dynasty and the Transformation Period. This ¡®On Profundity¡¯ was an exploration into Neidan practice, but why did he introduce a Buddhist idea?¡± The advent of doubt was unexpected and she furrowed her eyebrows, deep in thought. Mumbling to herself, she went on, ¡°ording to Wang Chongyang himself, the founder of Quanzhen was Wang Xuanfu of Han Dynasty. The inheritance then passed on from Wang Xuanfu to Zhong Liquan, L¨¹ Dongbin, and Liu Haichan in turn, which was then handed down to Wang Chongyang. But there was never any historical record talking about Wang Xuanfu except for sporadic legends. We can¡¯t even say for sure that such a man ever existed¡­ by the time Han Dynasty came along, Buddhism was introduced to the country and Quanzhen proposed a unification of three religions¡­¡± ¡°Xiaozhai?¡± Seeing that his girlfriend was talking to herself with an weird expression, Gu Yu couldn¡¯t help but gave her a nudge. Xiaozhai came to herself and smacked his thigh hard. ¡°Old Gu, there¡¯s one thing we¡¯ve overlooked!¡± ¡°You mean Buddhism?¡± He removed her hand from his leg. ¡°Exactly! There were sporadic records as early as Qin Dynasty saying that eighteen Buddhist sages came to China to preach. Our dear Old Ying Zheng 1ignored their requestpletely and threw them into the jail right away. Around midnight, some giant Buddhist warrior showed up to break them free. But themonly epted theory now is that Buddhism was introduced into China during Han Dynasty, which was also the time when the ancient immortals realized that the spiritual essence was waning. The great masters set out to find a solution, giving birth to various schools such as corpse-releasing, Waidan, sword immortal, talisman, etc. However, Wei Boyang was the only one mentioning Neidan. We don¡¯t know about Wang Xuanfu, but Zhong Liquan was a promoter of Neidan, which L¨¹ Dongbin then improvedter in his time. By the time Wang Chongyang took over, the proposal of unification of three religions simply fell into ce.¡± She shook her head and went on, ¡°I simply can¡¯t understand. All other sects had held their ground. Why was Quanzhen the only one bringing in the theories of other religions?¡± ¡°You mean, you need to nose around again?¡± Through the thicket of all her babbling, Gu Yu was right on the spot. He then said, ¡°If you ask me, sneaky bastards like the government would surely keep an eye on the Buddhistmunity. The fact that they stayed put meant there was nothing unusual.¡± ¡°They are them and I¡¯m me. The point is, I want to know!¡± Like a kid discovering a new toy, Xiaozhai¡¯s eyes were sparkling with expectation. ¡°But I was thinking of checking out ming Mountain! It could be an abnormality and I might not be able to catch up with the change even with the dy of one day!¡± He looked worried. ¡°That¡¯s easy! You go your way and I mine. Each minds their own business.¡± Xiaozhai gestured with her hands apart. Had the wordse out of another girl, the conversation might move into an endless cycle of ¡°You¡¯re mad.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Then why are you acting like this?¡± ¡°Are you so dumb that you can¡¯t tell I¡¯m mad?¡± But when Xiaozhai said they should go their separate ways, she meant it. Gu Yu gave it a thought and found the suggestion reasonable. They were not the joined at the hips type after all. He agreed, ¡°Ok, then we¡¯ll leave Xiao Qiu here to mind the house.¡± ¡®That¡¯s a deal!¡¯ Poor Xiao Qiu. She had no right to decide and had to stay behind in the mountain with her puppy eyes. *** After thepletion of the first trade fair, the next one was set to be held three monthster. Before that, the Yuan, Lei, Zeng Families and Bai Town government would busy themselves putting up buildings and other instations. Gu Yu took no interest in these activities whatsoever. The hundred-year-old ginseng had been carefully stored away. Dried ginseng like this was a non-renewable resource and he was having a guilty conscience every time he cut a piece. If only it was a living nt. He had alway thought that a most regrettable fact. There were four types of ginseng in general: wild ginseng, wild mountain ginseng, transnted mountain ginseng, and garden ginseng. Wild ginseng was the scarcest in number. They were naturally propagated nts originally growing in thick forests deep in the mountains. Wild mountain ginseng, on the other hand, was artificially sowed in the mountains. It was of a lower grade in qualityparing to the first type. Transnted mountain ginseng was cultivated by transnting ginseng seedlings into the mountains, while garden ginseng was artificially bred through and through. Rumor had it that the wild ginseng was extremely exhaustive to the nutrients in the soil. Anywhere the ginseng used to grow, the soil would remain barren for twenty years and there would be no sowing for fifty years. Ginseng was the core ingredient of Essence-gathering Incense and the most numerous nt in the valley. The type Gu Yu cultivated was a mixture of thest three types. With the level of spiritual essence in the soil of Phoenix Mountain and its exceptional effect on nts, he was curious to find out if the 50-year rule could be broken. Up till now, this ¡°ranch¡± of our ndlord¡± and ndy¡± had three major produce in terms of their yield: spiritual rice, medicinal materials, and rice chaff. The couple had nned it all out. They were going to clear out arge patch of the thick woods on the south bank, which they would solely devote to nt rice. With the ck thorny forest next to it, the north bank did not leave them with much space to expand. They were only able to clear out a thin stripe ofnd. They expected this would give them a total plot area of six to seven mu. They would not consider expanding to outside the valley for the time being, for there wasn¡¯t much suitable level ground. They only walked around the area, scattering a lot of medicinal material seeds along the way. Unlike certain immortals and masters of the legend, who would wave their hands at thend they picked out and the valleys would be filled with rare nts, birds, and beasts. They were not lucky like that. All they could depend on where their own hands. They lived their down-to-earth life gathering strength, farming thend, and sticking to their vegetarian diet. And there were those bags of rice chaff they needed to deal with, something with little value, yet they did not want to simply throw away. They finally came up with something¡ªit was not ideal, but half a loaf was better than no bread¡ªwhich was wine-making. A loss of spiritual essence was bound to ur during the brewing, but it would alle down to the degree of the wastage and the quality of the wine. They were going to give it a test run first. If it worked out, they would add another product to their list. Apart from those, the peach trees were also growing nicely. The cut branches had already taken root and grew to about a meter in height. They wondered if the trees would give them a peach blossom miasma the following spring when they blossomed. As for the outer mountain, it remained a tourist zone. Even Ziyang Temple was still where it was. The abbot was from a branch of a sub-sect of Quanzhen and aplete imbecile. He had no idea of what was going on and was actually enjoying himself very much. A few days passed as such and the preparations wereplete. It was over half a year since the couple got back, and now, they were finally setting out again. Chapter 188 Chapter 188: ming Mountain Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The border area, Huo Zhou. Huo Zhou used to have another name with ethnic characteristics, which meant ¡°thend of prosperity and opulence¡±. Yet since the area was in a basin surrounded by tall mountains on all sides, with long hours of sunshine and sweltering heat throughout the year which reminded one of fire falling like raindrops, the original name was gradually forgotten as time passed, leaving behind the nickname ¡± Huo Zhou 1 ¡± only. It was October at the moment, and the rest of the country was weing the autumn coolness already. However, with a summer as long as 153 days, the temperature here remained as high as ever. What was more, despite the scorching heat in daytime, the nights were cold. The diurnal temperature difference was huge. Gu Yu arrived at Huo Zhou in the afternoon and it waste at night already. Right now, he was lying in bed in a hotel, studying a map in his hands. This region had been themunication hub between the Central ins and Western Regions since the ancient times. Various religious group coexisted here with a diversified culture. Gu Yu circled out ming Mountain on the map first, then drew a line linking the Ancient City of Gaochang, Thousand Buddha Caves, and the Astana Cemetery. Theses four locations were rather close together and could be joined by one route. Gu Yu¡¯s original n was to visit ming Mountain only. However, with his girlfriend¡¯s curiosity (more like an heart for gossip), he thought he would take the trip in passing. The Ancient City of Gaochang used to be a vital center in the Western Regions with a massive Buddhist poption. It was said that ¡°of the thirty thousand city dwellers, three thousand were monks¡±. The city was aplete ruin by the time of Yuan Dynasty, with nothing left but ruins and remains. Thousand Buddha Caves nearby used to be the royal temple of the imperial kinsmen of Gaochang. After the itinerary was determined, he paused there and made some reconsideration, crossing out naturalndscapes such as Grape Valley and Ayding Lake, then drew a circle around Jiaohe Ruins. Simr to Gaochang, Jiaohe was also a strategic transportation point once and now a deserted town. Jiaohe was to the east of Huo Zhou, while Gaochang was to the west. Covering both ces in one day seemed infeasible. With the brief n settled, he tossed the map aside. Roaming the room with his eyes, he was suddenly struck by loneliness. After going everywhere with Xiaozhai these days, being on his own felt rather strange. Xiaozhai wanted to visit Mount Song first while he was toe to the western border. Since neither of them was giving in, they decided to tend to each one¡¯s own business. Mount Song was the closer destination and Xiaozhai should have arrived by now, but she had not sent a single word so far. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Gu Yu heaved a sigh, picked up his phone, and took the initiative to call first. A couple of secondster, Xiaozhai¡¯s voice came out of the speaker. ¡°Hello? Have you arrived?¡± ¡°Yup. What are you doing over there?¡± ¡°Saving my energy and strength for the trip up the mountain tomorrow.¡± ¡°Got any n?¡± ¡°Nope. I¡¯ll just go, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Restrain yourself a little, ok? A lot of people are going to be there, so don¡¯t make too big a scene.¡± Gu Yu was already feeling speechless. ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry. My nickname is Miss Congeniality¡­¡± Xiaozhaiughed on the other side of the line. She then asked, ¡°Oh, by the way, anybody following you over there?¡± ¡°Sure. Half a dozen at least.¡± ¡°Yeah, about the same here. You know what? We should just put everything on the table and fit everyone into a tourist group, sharing the food and living expenses. I almost pity them for their tedious job¡­¡± That was unavoidable. As the saying went, ¡°Pull one hair and the whole body is affected.¡± Once Phoenix Mountain made its move, all forces started bustling. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were not naive. They knew that the government could not be ignorant about what was going on. The fact that Bai Bo brought the stone to them was proof enough for the consent of his family, which in turn indicated the approval of the boss behind them. It was safe to conclude that any civilian activities were determined by the attitude of those above. They chatted for quite a while before Gu Yu hung up. He took off his clothes and was ready to go take a shower when there came a muffled crackling sound from outside. ¡°Rustle!¡± Someone seemed to have walked past his room on the corridor and a card was slid in from underneath the door. Why, did the hotel here also provide special room service ? He went up to the door and picked it up. On it was not the telephone number of some pretty girl, but a single line: We¡¯d like to have a talk. Pleasee to the restaurant next door. ¡°Tsk!¡± He snorted. ¡®Like I actually want to talk to you!¡¯ Exactly where did these people¡¯s confidencee from? The sneaky fellows could not even gather enough courage to face him in person! Tossing the card aside, Gu Yu happily returned to his shower. *** ¡°Anyone going to ming Mountain? 20 yuan per person! 20 yuan per person!¡± ¡°One more passenger and we hit the road!¡± The following day, in the central square of the city, several unlicensed cabs parked brazenly next to the ming Mountain shuttle buses. A bunch of drivers were promoting their ¡°service¡± loudly on the side. Individual tourists travelling alone, in pairs, or small groups were attracted by the calling from time to time, and would bargain for a better price with the driver before getting in the car and set off. During a brief period when the square quieted down a little, a tall and lean young man walked near. The only driver left asked immediately, ¡°Going to ming Mountain?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the price of having the car all by myself for a day?¡± ¡°400 yuan. You can stay there for as long as you want and I¡¯ll wait on you.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± ¡®Oh my!¡¯ The driver instantly rejoiced. Tourists like this one were the best to have¡ªgenerous and no bullsh*tting. ming Mountain was dozens of kilometers away right on the roadside. As the car drove out, Gu Yu watched the bleak scenery passing outside and silently sensed the change in the spiritual essence. The density in Huo Zhuo was a 1. Twenty kilometers out of the city and he felt nothing out of ce. After that, however, despite the unchanged number, the mildness was declining rapidly. A detectable heat appeared in the spiritual essence now, which felt disordered, drifting, and very unstable. It reminded him of the burning sensation when one put their face to a candle. ¡°My man, please pull over. I need to take a picture.¡± Gu Yu sensed the spiritual essence for a while and blurted out a request. ¡°Don¡¯t take too long. This is a no-parking zone!¡± The driver did not think much of it and the car slowly came to a stop by the side of the road. He had seen plenty of odd ¡°artsy¡± young fellows like this. As soon as Gu Yu was out of the car, he ran to a clump of bushes, felt the shrivelled leaves first, and stuck his fingers right into the soil where the roots were. A small lump of soil was dug out. Usually, the soil around the roots of a nt should be cool and moist. This lump, however, was little granules of dirt put together without any stickiness or humidity. ¡°¡­¡± He frowned at this, for the situation was worse than he had expected. This was not the normal case ofcking water. The essence in both the nt and the soil had evaporatedpletely by the overpowering heat. Gu Yu rose to his feet and looked around. Wizened trees and undergrowth were scattered around the wilnd in a well-arranged manner, as if they were exerting theirst bit of effort for survival. For some reason, the scene made one sigh and feel resigned. At that moment, the driver shouted from behind, ¡°Hey man, finished yet? Got to go!¡± ¡°Ok,in¡¯!¡± He put the soil into a bag, which he kept on his person, then returned to the car. About half an hourter, they arrived at the ming Mountain area. He could already make out a russet low mountain, which stood by the road, bare of any ntation. The car took a turn and they were inside the scenic area. Gu Yu bought a ticket, stood in the square under the mountain , and looked up. The mountain had a rough and rugged appearance, the slopes scarred with numerous gullies. Not a single de of grass grew on the mountain and birds were nowhere to be found. Bare bedrock was exposed to the sunlight inrge patches, with ayer of weathering sand on top. The sun was zing overhead, sandstone glinting brilliantly under the blinding sunlight. The scorching airstream rolled up towards the sky, taking with it clouds of deep-red smoke, which rose and coiled, reminding one of raging mes licking the sky. ¡°No wonder they call it ming Mountain. It¡¯s so goddamn hot!¡± ¡°The North is as cool as below 20 degrees. It must be well over 30 here.¡± ¡°Gosh, I can¡¯t stand it. I¡¯ve got to take off my jacket. My shirt is soaking wet.¡± There was a hubbub of excited conversation from all the tourists nearby, who were amazed by the wonder of nature. Needless to say, they had no idea a fellow among them suddenly activated his internal energy, stirring the airflow around him. The spiritual essence of the ce was chaotic to begin with and at the sudden stimtion, sts of invisible fluctuation were stirred up, which soon reached the mountain top. The clouds of red smoke up on the top took an abrupt nosedive and wrapped around our fellow like a dancing, frantic red snake, as if trying to swallow him whole. Despite being void of consciousness and life, the red snake was filled with a natural aggressiveness. It had been making ceaseless efforts to try to break into Gu Yu¡¯s body, but was scattered right away by the surging energy surrounding him. Gu Yu realized that his spiritual essence was running out at a frightening speed¡ªin less than twenty seconds, more than half of it was gone. Only then did he cease the exercise and all was in smooth water again. Having lost its target, the red snake also retreated slowly to the mountain top. Chapter 189 Chapter 189: A Mystical Force Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu To say that the scenic spot of ming Mountain was a farce would not be an exaggeration. Because of the limited space, not much was included. The only features were an underground exhibition center and a big Thermometer Square. Disyed in the exhibition center were mainly frescoes and sculptures reflecting the living condition and artistic attainments of various ethnic groups. The tall thermometer reminded one of the golden cudgel 1 and was ced in a circle resembling the shape of an alchemy furnace, recording the real-time local temperature. Apart from those, there was also a white camel that the tourists could ride and take pictures of. Also, a few vendors were selling eggs boiled by hot sand. At the foot of the mountain, a trail made of stone stairs had been built, which led all the way to the top. Gu Yu ignored all the hustle and bustle and proceeded to climb the mountain right away. Ascending together with him was a twenty-people-or-so tour group, whose tour guide was bombarding the members through a loudspeaker. ¡°ming Mountain stretches long and unbroken for over 100 km with an altitude as low as just over 500 m. Scorching hot as it may be, the massif itself is a natural dam of an underground reservoir. It blocks the underground water infiltrated from the gobi gravel belt, raising the phreatic level, which creates a spilling-over area at the northern edge of the mountain, sustaining a few oases. The renowned Grape Valley, for example, is right in a valley on the west side of ming Mountain¡­¡± 500 m was not at all that tall for a mountain. Gu Yu listened to the guide in passing and briskly reached the mountaintop. From above, the mountain looked even more weathered and timeworn. Long stretches of folds reminded one of the wrinkles on an aged face¡ªwizened and exhausted of all vitality. In stark contrast to the barren mountain were the valleys and ravines passing through. Gurgling clear springs flowed at the bottom with shady green trees, forming a long and narrow oasis. To the others, it was a scene pleasant to the eye. To Gu Yu, however, it was a ghastly sight. A fiery cloud of smoke was wheeling in the air above the oasis. It looked like a red snake flickering in and out of sight, which was waiting for its body to solidify, by which time it would swallow the arcadia below whole. By now, he was rtively certain of two things. For one, a mass amount of fire-attributed spiritual essence had been formed here and was expanding fast. For another, this type of spiritual essence was not peaceful and invisible like the normal one¡ªto a cultivator, it not only had a form and color, but was also highly aggressive and with a burning property. The result of its passing through was not a mere barrennd, but wizened earth where the soil itself was sucked dry of all nutrients. It could be predicted that in the foreseeable future, all that would be left of the area surrounding ming Mountain was a scene of utter destion without a single living soul. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± He suddenly realized that he was indeed a trouble marker¡ªand not for small troubles for that matter; they were all disasters! Ok, fine, he knew it wasn¡¯t his fault. It was just a moment of pessimism. After quite some time, Gu Yu finally looked away and inspected the small area on the top. The mountain was mainly formed by crimson sandstone, conglomerate, and mudstone and was covered by soil. He walked a few rounds and did not find any stone like the one Bai Bo showed him. ¡°Yak! Yak! Yak!¡± Just then, that tour group also reached the mountaintop; a hubbub spread out. Gu Yu was suddenly alerted, for he distinctively sensed a person removing himself from the group and walking towards him for no obvious reason. The person stopped at about two meters behind him without moving any closer. He then heard a whisper. ¡°If you wish to go into the mountain, we¡¯ll assist you in any way we can. I will be waiting downstairs for you every night, from six to eight o¡¯clock.¡± With that, the man promptly turned to leave. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu looked back and saw an average, ordinary middle-aged man returning to the group, all smiling as if nothing had happened. *** How did it feel to go everywhere secretly followed by a bunch of people? It was the most irritating and inexplicable restlessness, so much so that one felt the urge to punch the ¡°fans¡± in their faces. Things had indeed changed for Gu Yu. He only made his ¡°debut¡±st year when his name just began to get around. This year, however, he was a celebrity with people stealing shots of him in the airport. Gu Yu spend most of his day looking around, visiting Thousand Buddha Cave and the ancient cemetery after leaving ming Mountain. Thousand Buddha Cave looked even more like a hoax than the mountain. Most of the caves had been robbed and only a handful still had frescoes in them. There was nothing much in the cemetery either. Some of the tombs were even modern revamps. The mummies and artifacts inside were long gone. What was most annoying of all was the random conversation thrown at him this whole time. They would drift away after a sentence or two the same way as the fellow from earlier, all offering him some sort of help. Damn! He hated the manner more than anything! ¡®What¡¯s wrong with putting things inly? Why do people have to act so mysteriously?¡¯ Evening, downtown. After dinner, Gu Yu strolled around the city with ming Mountain on his mind. The mutated spiritual essence was so unusual that it was more potent than the peach blossom miasma. That was not it, for he had an inexplicable feeling that there was some other secrets buried in the mountain. He walked on, deep in thought. Before he knew it, he had turned into a small alley. The alley was cool, secluded, residence-free, and looked to have quite a few years behind it. Gu Yu was still walking when he blinked suddenly, for another¡¯s footsteps had joined his¡ªthe crisp sound of heels hitting the ground was behind him. ¡°Tack! Tack! Tack!¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ He had no choice but to halt and turn around. The moment his head was turned back, a vivid fiery color filled his sight. The woman was stunning. Her prominent nose and deep-set eyes were characteristic to people of a certain ethnic group. The most remarkable feature, however, where her full, moist lips. Women with full lips always reminded one of some other wet spots. That, plus her red dress and her twenty-or-so young age, making her as tantalizing as a peach, tempting you to take a bite. ¡°Tee-hee, Mr. Gu, I see I¡¯ve startled you. I¡¯m so sorry!¡± Her voice was as soft as her look suggested, which had a wet sweetness to it, but not to the point of being cloying. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°We sent our sincere invitationst night. It was such a pity that you did not join us. Now that I¡¯m inviting you in person, would you be so kind to ept?¡± The woman giggled. ¡°I see. You were the one sliding in the note.¡± It dawned on Gu Yu right away. He then said, ¡°From now on, just speak your mind. I don¡¯t like loose notes sticking around. Who are you?¡± He asked the question again. Either she ignored it on purpose or she failed to notice it, but she only replied, ¡°The thing we need to discuss with you is of vital importance. Of course, we mean no harm. With your esteemed presence here in Huo Zhou, we¡­¡± ¡°Sigh, I hate asking the same question for a third time.¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ The woman paused as Gu Yu suddenly heaved a sigh. She had no idea what was going to happen and only blinked despite herself. When her eyes flicked open, the man was in front of her face, grabbing at her with his slender hand. Her pupils constricted instinctively. She tried to dodge, but her body seemed to have been wrapped by an overbearing aura and was on the edge of trembling. She couldn¡¯t even lift a finger. ¡°Mhm¡­¡± She turned out to be a decisive woman. Biting hard at the tip of her tongue, her body regained its mobility at the sharp pain and the taste of blood. Immediately after that, she wriggled and slid out of Gu Yu¡¯s grip at an impossible angle, as if she was boneless. ¡®What?¡¯ Gu Yu was surprised, but he did not stop his hands. He grabbed at her again. The hand seemed to be moving slowly and the woman tried to dodge again. However, no matter where she ran, she was always under its shadow. ¡°Thud!¡± Restrained, her body was pinned to the wall. Her delicate shoulder des smashed onto the stone wall and almost shattered. ¡°I¡¯ll ask again. WHO ARE YOU?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t take this the wrong way, I¡­ ah!¡± With a ¡°ck¡±, her left pinky was snapped at the joint. She was about to scream when she realized she was being choked; she could not make a sound. Momentarily, the woman twitched frantically like a helpless fish out of the water. Cold sweat was trickling down her body. ¡°Ready to tell me now?¡± He rxed the energy around her. ¡°I, I¡­ ah!¡± ¡°ck!¡± Another finger snapped. ¡°I will! I will!¡± The woman dared not dally. Panting, she said, ¡°My name is G¨¹lsuruh. You can call me by another name, Wang Qian.¡± ¡°What do you need me for?¡± ¡°His Grace wants to see you.¡± His Grace? Gu Yu found it rather a nonsense. ¡°It¡¯s the year 2018 already and someone¡¯s still using that stupid title? Who is he?¡± ¡°He, he¡­¡± The woman started shaking all of a sudden, her eyes filled with a bottomless fear as if it had been branded into her bone marrow. She looked more willing to have all their fingers broken rather than utter that name. Chapter 190 Chapter 190: Two Trouble Markers Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Huff¡­ huff¡­¡± Bending down, Wang Qian panted and gasped, her eyes filled with deep horror. She checked her fingers¡ªall ten fair, tapering ones as delicate as young spring onions. With the brightlycquered nails, the shaking hands seemed to be dripping blood from the fingertips. The ten fingers had all been snapped at the joints, but howe they were all intact now? ¡°Huff¡­ huff¡­¡± She was utterly muddled. The only thing stuck to her mind was the excruciating pain. Just then, a voice came to her from somewhere ahead. ¡°You actually managed to go through all that. You¡¯re a very tough woman.¡± Wang Qian snapped her head up and realized all of a sudden that the man was still there, a few steps away from her and watching her inquisitively. Then, stepping on the cracked brick pavement, he was by her side in a few strides. The nting sunlight was cast into the alley like the first beam of street lights, outlining that slender figure of his, which almost felt unreal. The woman jolted; the horror deepened in her eyes. She had carried out numerous tasks before and was almost invincible thanks to her stunning appearance and quick mind. This time, however, the defeat came so abruptly that she was starting to doubt her own existence, or her aliveness, for that matter. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu watched her with curious eyes. The woman must have been trained, for she had refused to give in even under the situation just then. It was proof enough of the Master¡¯s deterrence¡ªhe was simply asking for a name. Speaking of which, what he activated back there was none other than the conjuring technique of ¡± Boundless State 1 ¡°. It was his official assault technique, practised dilligently with no cking. With the improvement of his mental power, his understanding and control over the conjuring technique was also growing more thorough. The monsters and snakes in his illusions before could scary the sh*t out of others, but they were a bit too shy. He now preferred the more realistic ones, from which he had expanded to other use. The one he conjured just then, for instance¡ªeven after she recovered from it, she would still have a hard time distinguishing the reality from the illusion. ¡°Mr. Gu!¡± It took Wang Qian quite a while before she managed to squeeze out her next words. ¡°We are truly inviting you with all our sincerity¡­¡± ¡°Ok, as a matter of fact, I am intrigued now.¡± Gu Yu waved at her. ¡°Lead the way.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The woman was delighted. As long as she could take him back, she wouldn¡¯t mind even if her fingers were really snapped. Broken fingers could be repaired¡ªanything was better than the Master¡¯s punishment. Right away, she led Gu Yu out of the small valley. Cities at the border were all very small. The one district and two counties under the jurisdiction of Huo Zhou had a total poption of 700,000 only. That, plus the particr custom of certain ethnic group, and nightlife was pretty much nonexistent in the area. The two of them threaded through dark streets, flitted past the sporadic pedestrians, and finally stopped outside a secluded residential area. ¡°Are we there?¡± ¡°Yes, please follow me.¡± Wang Qian led him in and walked him to a two-story vi. ¡°His Grace is inside. Please go in.¡± With that, she stood aside guarding the gate, showing no intention to enter with him. Gu Yu shrugged, pushed the door open, and entered alone. The interior was spacious andvishly decorated. Sitting in the living room was a man in his thirties, who had high cheekbones, arge and slightly hooked nose, sharp features, and equally deep-set eyes. He rose to his feet to greet Gu Yu; even hisughter sounded gloomy. ¡°Mr. Gu, finally!¡± Sigh¡­ Gu Yu was getting tired at the question that he was going to ask for the fourth time today. ¡°And who might you be?¡± ¡°You can call me Zhang Wei. I¡¯m a businessman with a little loose money to throw around. I just don¡¯t like the limelight.¡± Gu Yu was relieved that the man did not give him crap like ¡°who I am is not important¡±, or he would definitely be driven mad. ¡°You know about me, which says you¡¯re no ordinary businessman. I don¡¯t like beating around the bush, so get to the point,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Great, I like a straightforward man. The reason I invite you here is to ask for a favor.¡± ¡°To do what?¡± ¡°Take me to ming Mountain to examine something.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Gu Yu was not surprised. He only asked, ¡°And why should I do that?¡± ¡°Do you know the ancient town of Jiaohe?¡± Zhang Wei answered with a question. ¡°Not very well. I was nning to go there.¡± ¡°Haha, the Town of Jiaohe used to be the capital of the Kingdom of Jushi. It was established during the Han Dynasty, reached its heyday during the Tang Dynasty, and fell to pieces during the Yuan Dynasty. Inside the ancient town was a site of remains. You can find it somewhere around where the government offices used to be; it¡¯s a cemetery for infants. ¡°¡­¡± Something dawned on Gu Yu. He recalled he had read something along those lines while he was doing the research, only that the text was rather vague and contained merely a few sentences. ¡°The cemetery was discovered thirty years ago and at least 280 infant skeletons were unearthed. There were neither written records of the cemetery nor any way to trace its origins. The academic circle was also disputing over the subject. Some suggested gue, while others said the babies were killed by their own parents to save them from the ughter by iing enemies. A few years back, rumors even went around that there were sounds of babies crying at night. Of course, there was a scientific exnation for that: maic sand affected by the wind.¡± A strange look suddenly clouded over Zhang Wei¡¯s face as he said, ¡°I¡¯m from Huo Zhou myself and I grew up listening to these tales. They interested me greatly. It was only a while ago that I came by a schr who made a hypothesis that the cemetery was not a result of a gue, but a sacrifice. The Kingdom of Jushi was built on a vitalmunication line and plenty of cultures mingled there. Various religions such as Taoism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and Shamanism all used to preach in the kingdom, and mixed andpeted against one another; each took turn to win the trust of the Jushi royals at different times, which enabled their expansion. ording to that schr, the cemetery was the result of a sacrifice required by a certain sect, which took ce right on ming Mountain.¡± ¡°And you want to take a peek?¡± ¡°Exactly. To be honest, the moment you arrived at Huo Zhou, we realized that something must be unusual here, but we dared not make any reckless move. I havee here in person just to try to persuade you.¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Gu Yu paused a little at these words and suddenly chuckled. ¡°Nope, not enough.¡± ¡°What?¡± Zhang Wei winced. ¡°Your script was not well-rounded enough. At least I¡¯m not convinced.¡± Gu Yu looked into Zhang Wei¡¯s eyes, his tone half-teasing and half-taunting. ¡°Any other crap you cane up with to y the fool? Think harder!¡± ¡®Damn you!¡¯ Zhang Wei¡¯s face darkened at this. ¡°Mr. Gu, what do you mean by that?¡± ¡°I see no sincerity whatsoever. See ya¡­¡± Gu Yu had had enough of this nonsense. Rising to his feet, he was ready to leave. Zhang Wei¡¯s eyes flickered as various colors flitted across his face. He had taken great risk ining out here today, but there was no other way; someone above was at his neck. Seeing that Gu Yu was at the door already, he gritted his teeth and pped his hands. ¡°Woosh!¡± A few shadows dashed abruptly out of various corners of the vi area, surrounding Gu Yu in the middle. *** Meanwhile, Mount Song. Buddhism consisted of ten schools, namely the Schools of Three Treaties, East Asian Yogacara, Tiantai, Huayan, Chan, Pure Land, Risshu, Vajrayana, Kusha-shu, and Tattavasddhi. The first eight belonged to the Mahayana branch, while thest two belonged to the Hinayana branch. All ten schools above were in fact localized sects developed after Buddhism was introduced into the country, of which the Schools of Chan and Pure Land were the most influential ones. The eminent Shaolin Temple was the birthce to the School of Chan. ce like this was flooded with visitors on a daily basis and it was an extremely popr site for worshippers. Today was even more so, for a blessing ceremony was to be held. At dusk, the night was just beginning to fall in when countless worshippers and non-local tourists poured in through the mountain gate, wiggling their way up the mountain along with the tightly packed crowd. Among them was a tall woman, who moved effortlessly and was utterly carefree, as if nothing could affect her. Looking up, she took in the mountain gate and the looming grandeur beyond. A chuckle left her throat. Chapter 191 Chapter 191: Witchcraft Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The sun was setting and the night was creeping in. The residential area was arranged into your standardyout, with multi-storeys in the front and vis at the back. There weren¡¯t many vis, though, only about seven to eight in total. However, it was strange that apart from the one behind him, no lights could be seen in any other buildings, as if they were all vacant. The paved paths and green space were also deserted. The area almost felt haunted. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu realized what was going on after a brief looking-around. He then set his eyes upon the three fellows circling around him. They were two men and a woman, and all had a strangeplexion¡ªtheir ashen faces looked almost greenish. Not a single muscle was moving on their faces either. They were as motionless as consciousless corpses. ¡°Mr. Gu, I do hope you would join us. I¡¯d rather we don¡¯t ruin this friendship.¡± Looking back, Gu Yu saw Zhang Wei at the doorway, with Wang Qian at his side. ¡°Where should I begin to point out the ws in your reasoning¡­¡± Gu Yu found the whole thing an utter nonsense. ¡®You were the one to provoke me first and now you¡¯re acting as if you have been wronged.¡¯ He had nothing more to say to the man. Stepping hard against the floor, he charged at Zhang Wei. ¡®Dispatch the leader and the gang will copse.¡¯ Squinting, Zhang Wei did not panic¡ªthe man hade prepared. Wang Qian reached out and pped at something. Whoosh! A transparent gate made of unknown material fell down and blocked the way. ¡°Chink!¡± Gu Yu¡¯s fingertips knocked into it and made a crisp sound as if he had ran into something metallic. He frowned slightly and was about to try again when a noise approached from behind him. ¡°Roar!¡± With the bestial snarl, a gust of wind blew at him. ¡°Thump!¡± He casually swept his hand backwards, which was met by a palm. Gu Yu stood steadily where he was, while the other one stumbled back with stomping steps. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Somehow, the force of the impact surprised Gu Yu. He spun around abruptly and dodged sideways, distancing himself from the attacker by a good several meters. Looking up, he saw one of the men standing in front of him. The fellow was rather tall and broad, with a strange ck line on his neck. The first punch seemed to have been a cue. The other man, who was short and skinny, fumbled out a gruesome bone te, smacked it onto his palm, and started chanting. Immediately, an invisible fluctuation spurted out and wheeled in the air with a howling sound. Meanwhile, the woman also took out a strange transparent small bottle, in which were two eerie baby puppets. She pulled out the plug and blew into the bottle. ¡°Woo¡­ hoo¡­ woo¡­¡± An odd noise suddenly filled the night air, reminding one of a whimpering wind or the crying of babies, giving one goosebumps. Instantly, a sinister wind swept strongly across the clearing in front of the vi. Airstreams seemed to be gathering around in the empty air, which then turned into three streaks of ck smoke. ¡°Go!¡± The two pointed with their fingers in unison and the ck smoke dashed right at Gu Yu with a shrilling, violent scream. ¡®Is that an undead insect?¡¯ The idea came to Gu Yu, but he instantly rejected it. ¡®It isn¡¯t!¡¯ That Golden Silkworm of Xiao Qiu might look weird, but it was still a creation of heaven and earth, a product of nature itself. This, on the other hand, looked like the forced result of some sinister, secret refining method, which was filled with malice and grudge. One could smell the evil in it from a mile away! ¡°Woo¡­ woo¡­¡± The ck smoke reached him in no time and pounced at him from three directions. Gu Yu shifted sideways and stepped aside, bringing his body forward from an impossible angle. With that maneuver, he swerved around and just happened to miss the two streaksing from his left and right. He wanted to examine the substance. As a streak came at him headlong, he spread his fingers and grabbed at it. ¡°Ssh!¡± As if cold water had dropped into boiling oil or a strong acid was eating at the floor board, the ck air sizzled, rolled, and seethed as soon as it made contact with his palm. It was gnawing at everything desperately at the same time, trying to devour every bit of his blood and flesh. ¡®That was remarkable!¡¯ Gu Yu was taken by surprise. Activating his spiritual essence at full st, he closed his hand into a fist. However, the ck smoke dispersed instantly, escaped from between his fingers, and reassembled in the air. While he was secretly amazed, he had no idea that his attackers were petrified. They had tried to predict Gu Yu¡¯s capability as best as they could, but as it turned out, they had still underestimated him! The man and the woman exchanged a look and bit the tip of their tongues simultaneously. They then spat their blood essence onto the bone te and into the bottle respectively and pointed again. ¡°Go!¡± With the reinforcement from the blood essence, the ck smoke became all the more frantic and began to take shape in midair, revealing three ghostly baby faces. One was slightly bigger, while the other two were a boy and a girl who seemed like twins. All three had blood-red eyes and wide mouth, their faces hideous and terrifying. ¡°Get him!¡± the woman yelled. ¡°Roar!¡± Hearing that, the sturdy man brandished his fists and charged forward at Gu Yu, trying to pin him down at close quarters. The three ghostly faces dived down once more and momentarily, Gu Yu was trapped on all sides. Four vs one! His face serious, Gu Yu dared not take the battle lightly. It was probably the toughest fight he ever encountered since he became a cultivator. ¡°Woo¡­¡± ¡°Roar!¡± Gu Yu moved swiftly and dodged a ghostly face. The man jumped at him with open arms, trying to strap them tightly around him. Thrusting the tip of his foot against the ground, Gu Yu leapt into the air and surmounted the man in a whoosh. Before he hit the ground, however, he felt an ill wind at his back again. Gu Yu reacted before he could think. Grabbing the man by his back, Gu Yu tossed him behind with all his effort. ¡°Ah!¡± The man was caught by the gnawing ck smoke and let out a scream. His skin, blood, and flesh shrivelled and withered at an unbelievable speed. Then, with a thud, a dried-up corpse crumpled to the ground. ¡®An opening!¡¯ The woman was delighted. She immediatelymanded the ghostly faces to pounce at Gu Yu¡ªhe had justnded and not yet found his bnce. There was no way he could dodge this one! ¡°Woo¡­¡± The ghostly faces shrieked with excitement. They were almost there to swallow him whole when Gu Yu waved his hand and a green light flew out of him, crackling through the air. ¡°Pop!¡± The green light flickered and pierced right through the faces. Before the woman had time to react, another streak arrived. ¡°Pop!¡± The twin ghostly babies were pierced through and halted abruptly, as if they were overwhelmed by an excruciating pain. The form they took also weakened, which began to flicker in and out of sight. ¡°My instrument!¡± The man and the woman were terrified. A coldness was creeping up their spines and exploding in their heads. Half of that confidence they had in the beginning was instantly evaporated. ¡°Woo¡­ woo¡­¡± ¡°Bang!¡± Presently, the green and the ck shed and entangled in the air, flying all over the ce and making a dazzling scene. Controlling the two green jade needles, Gu Yu felt his spiritual essence being used up at a dangerous speed. The ghostly faces had thinned down, but they outnumbered Gu Yu by one and still had power enough to fight back. Gu Yu¡¯s thoughts spun and an idea came to him suddenly. In the air, the two streaks of green light met the ghostly faces head-on again. Just before they shed, however, the green light shifted to the side a little and flew straight at the maniptors in the back. ¡°What?!¡± Those two were scared out of their wits. ¡®Damn it, that¡¯s not how we¡¯re supposed to fight!¡± Gu Yu was counting on the tremendous speed of the needles. As expected, before the ghostly faces reached him, Gu Yu heard the sound as those two watched with terrified eyes. ¡°Pop! Pop!¡± The man and the woman¡¯s heads were drilled through at the temples. They copsed to the ground before they could make a sound. ¡°Woo¡­¡± With their masters gone, the ghostly faces circled around in confusion for a moment before they became even more ferocious. Turning around, they jumped onto their masters and started to devour the corpses frantically. The ghostly faces were the product of an extremely malicious arcane skill, made mostly from corpses of infants. They would even go as far as digging babies out of the bellies of women who died at childbirth. It was an utter offense against nature itself. As a result, the ghostly faces held great grudge against their masters. Should the masters be weakened in any way and lost control of a ghostly face, thetter was sure to turn on them! Seeing that those things were feasting on the dead bodies, Gu Yu dared not rx just yet. Sending out two streaks of energy and with some crackling sound, he smashed the bone te and the bottle. As soon as the two objects were broken, rancid ck blood gushed out. The three ghostly faces paused and turned into three lumps of ck smoke again, which tumbled violently in the air, as if they were struggling with all their effort. ¡°Woo¡­ woo¡­¡± Before long, with their unreconciled and bitter shrieks, they dissolved into nothingness in the night sky. ¡°Phew¡­¡± Only then did Gu Yu let out a breath of relief. He mumbled to himself, ¡°It¡¯s good to have a straight-A student as a girlfriend.¡± As soon as the ck smoke turned into baby faces, he had a vague idea what to do next, for Xiaozhai had mentioned something simr. He took this chance to try out his method and just happened to hit the right button. He was about to move closer to examine it when his face changed abruptly. ¡®Shit!¡¯ Gu Yu spun around and jumped back inside through a window. As expected, not a soul was in the vi. The back door was wide open¡ªZhang Wei and Wang Qian had long snuck away. ¡°F**k!¡± he cursed aloud. ¡®What the hell did they get me into? I was just an innocent passer-by! What am I supposed to do with this goddamn mess?¡¯ ¡°Ha¡­¡± Even with his mild temperament, it took Gu Yu quite a while to get rid of the vexation. Shaking his head wryly, Gu Yu went back to examine the bodies. He checked the sturdy man first, who was nothing but a mummy now. Poking around the corpse covering his nose, Gu Yu did not find a single clue. He then moved onto the man and woman operating together. Their skin was of a strange color, as if they had been living inside a cave and stayed away from sunlight all the year round. He then frisked the two bodies. Both had a ck mark on their chest, which did not look like any tattoo, but more like birthmarks. The woman seemed to be of a higher status and there was a small bead buried between her breasts. Yup, you heard it right. It was buried in her flesh all right. After a moment of hesitation, Gu Yu dug the bead out and stashed it away in his clothes. Xiaozhai had mentioned before that Lower Mao Mountain had a Spirit-raising Technique, which did not sound like anything as vicious as this. The skill this pair had inherited seemed to havee from a much more ancient period¡ªone might be able to trace it all the way to the remote ages, when such skills were called ¡°witchcraft¡±. *** ¡°Jinx! That man is jinx itself!¡± The city of Urumqi. Inside an office in the sub-bureau of the BIMAUP, that Director Tong was shouting while banging on the desk. ¡°Everything was fine when he was not here. The moment he arrived, all hell broke loose! Three people! Three people are dead! How am I supposed to write the report?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The subordinates kept their silence, all trying to steer clear of the boss¡¯s ill temper. One almost felt sorry for them, really. Thest time the duo was here, the body count came to six; this time Gu Yu visited alone and three dead bodies were left behind¡­ why, there was even a regr pattern. Of all the thirty-six sub-bureaus in the country, the one in Urumqi attracted the most attention. For one, it was right next to the node in Tianshan and was responsible for the surveince. For another, the negotiation between the duo and the government took ce here, which marked a new chapter in modern history. Director Tong was quite content with being in the limelight in the beginning. As it turned out, as soon as something went wrong, he was useless and helpless. The tongueshing continued for quite a while before the director finally calmed down a little. He asked, ¡°Any results from the investigation?¡± ¡°Not really. The identities of the three deceased came back rather unusual. There was no record on any of them. The residential area was developed by a local businessman of Huo Zhou, who has kept a low profile before this.¡± ¡°Where is the man now?¡± ¡°He hasmitted suicide.¡± ¡®What?!¡¯ Director Tong was speechless. Momentster, he said with indignation, ¡°Go talk to him again¡­ no, I¡¯ll go myself. I¡¯ll ask him exactly what is it he wants.¡± ¡°Well, director¡­¡± His subordinate gave him a quick nce and pointed towards the ceiling. ¡°He¡¯s not talking to us. He has gone directly to the HQ.¡± Chapter 192 Chapter 192: A Major Problem Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Within the ancient city of Jiaohe, relics of 1339 houses are rtively well-preserved, of which fifty-two are temples. It is a demonstration of the prosperity of Buddhism at the time. Arge Buddhist temple with an total area of 5192 m^2 can be found in the center of the city. The temple is of a central column structure, which is a characteristic absent in Buddhism of ind China, but was inherited from the ancient Buddhism itself. The city center is where the government offices used to be. The east side of the city is the densely packed residential area, while in the west side, one could find markets, workshops, and the rough ghetto. The south side of the city is taken up by mansions and grand buildings, where the officials reside. In the north are the temples and cemeteries, where an area is the most mysterious of all¡­¡± The tour guide paused a little and pointed at a site to the north of the government office section. ¡°Please take a look over there. These are hundreds of rectangr graves, which we call ¡®Babies¡¯ Cemetery¡¯. There are no names or epitaphs and it has remained a mystery unsolved.¡± Frankly speaking, tourists were not all that interested in historical sites like this. Almost none of them was paying attention to the guide and everyone was busy taking pictures. Two people among them stood out, though. Not only were they hanging onto every word, they observed the site even keener. One of them was Gu Yu, while the other one was the deputy director of the BIMAUP, Mu Kun. Both kept a solemn face as they scanned the 280 baby graves with their eyes. The graves were arranged neatly, all roughly one meter in length and half a meter in width. They could even distinctively make out the mud seal marking the boundaries between individual graves. It was only after the tour guide led the group away and no one was around that Mu Kun sighed and asked, ¡°Any thoughts?¡± ¡°Stillbing through. How about your people?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°There was an extremeck of information¡­¡± Mu Kun shook his head and went on. ¡°What we can confirm so far is that it is apact and vast organization which has infiltrated the top-level officials, or they wouldn¡¯t have been able to know your whereabouts. What was more, the organization must have been running for years, for the three dead members have obviously been trained since they were little. Plus, they have taken the risk of being exposed in seeking you out, which means the thing on the mountain must be extremely important. Their original n might have been to subdue you by force and coerce you into going there. Unfortunately, they weren¡¯t capable enough.¡± ¡°Unfortunately? Man, you sure know how to tell ame joke.¡± Gu Yu grimaced and went on, ¡°If you ask me, the solution is straightforward. All those people had facial features characteristic to a certain ethnic group. Screen your top-level offices with that criterion¡­¡± ¡°My, so many people would be involved this way. Even the top boss himself dares not proceed like that!¡± Mu Kun interrupted that train of thoughts. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear what you think.¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Fine, whatever. Gu Yu could not be bothered with the political crap and asked, ¡°Do you know what Wuxi 1 is?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Just think of it as wizards and witches. People of the ancient times worshipped nature itself and these people were responsible formunicating with nature and the gods. The origin of the practice dated way back in history. In the beginning, it was independent of all the religions. After Taoism earned poprity, Wuxi was severely suppressed in the Central ins and divided into several branches. One branch moved to the Northeast and Northwest, where they intermarried with the nomads and Shamanism was derived from the integration. One branch became part of the Way of Celestial Masters, making significant contribution to the development of thetter. Another branch reached the area where Sichuan is today and hid among the deep mountains, turning into Undead Insect masters. There are traceable records of these branches, but some small branches were bound to have passed unnoticed with no written word about them.¡± He rambled on, repeating what his straight-A girlfriend had taught him¡ªpretending to be the expert himself was great fun. ¡°You suspect that Zhang Wei and his men were descendants of Wuxi?¡± Mu Kun frowned. ¡°I can only say that it is the most probable exnation. Actually, I even suspect that this baby cemetery has something to do with their ancestors¡­¡± Gu Yu gestured with his hand. ¡°Whatever. That¡¯s not the reason I asked you toe over. I wanted to let you know, something is happening on ming Mountain.¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± A faint smile cracked Mu Kun¡¯s poker face as he said, ¡°The moment you two are out of Phoenix Mountain, the files flying to my table pile up to 30 cm every day. More than half of the capital city has their eyes on your every move. You two are like the shiniest superstars.¡± ¡®The hell with superstars. I don¡¯t take drugs or sleep with my fans,¡¯ Gu Yu mocked inwardly. He then straightened his face and said, ¡°The spiritual essence on ming Mountain has mutated into something extremely frightening. It can suck dry any living creature¡ªand even soil and rivers¡ªof its vital essence.¡± ¡°Soil and rivers?¡± Mu Kun¡¯s face darkened abruptly at the words. The effect would be devastating on the environment. ¡°Isn¡¯t there a Grape Valley nearby? Go take a look. You¡¯ll have an idea after you see the scale of reduction in grape production this year. Oh, it¡¯s expanding very fast, so be prepared,¡± Gu Yu reminded him. ¡°Maybe, maybe it¡¯s only your spection¡­¡± Mu Kun was having a hard time epting it. Someone with his position was farsighted enough to realize how great a disaster this would lead to. ¡°Throw away your wishful thinking! This is just like Grass River Mouth. No, it¡¯ll be much worse than that!¡± Gu Yu disabused him of that naive notion right away. ¡°I have told you this because you people are the only ones who can handle it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Mu Kun pursed his lips tightly. The mention of Grass River Mouth was a hint obvious enough: Huo Zhou! A city! The evacuation of 700,000 people! That was not even the worse part. The key issue was that with a migration at such scale, they could note up with any usible excuse! ¡°Is there no other way?¡± His voice was hoarse. ¡°If you ask me, the answer is no! Maybe your men can look into it and find an alternative.¡± Gu Yu looked up at the sky and said, ¡°Ok, time for me to leave. See you another time.¡± With that, he took off briskly. From behind him, he heard a distant calling, ¡°Are you going onto the mountain?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be my own business!¡± *** Gu Yu was neither a saint nor a fiend. Having realized that a cmity was upon Huo Zhou, he notified the government, which was the least he could do. Of course, he had held back certain information from Mu Kun. One of them was about Buddhism. Within the thirty-six ancient kingdoms of the Western Region, almost every individual was a Buddhist. The dissemination, root-taking, and prosperity of any given religion was built upon countless strife and struggles. With its long history, the Western Region was rich in cultural heritage. As many as eight religions had been explicitly documented, not to mention the unrecorded ones. So what made Buddhism so special that it had risen above all others? Therefore, he was haunted by this feeling that Wuxi, the Babies¡¯ Cemetery, Buddhism, and ming Mountain were all somehow linked by an invisible thread and the secret itselfy right on ming Mountain. He simply had to see it for himself. It had been three days since Gu Yu arrived at Huo Zhou. After he went back to his hotel preparing for the trip onto the mountain, he thought he should check up on his girlfriend. He dialed the number, but her phone was off. Sigh, there was nothing he could do about that. His girl was vigorously pursuing her target like a ship ripping through waves and a flying horse flitting across the sky. And he was right about it. Xiaozhai was having a swell time. *** Mount Song, Shaolin. The courtyard permanently open in Shaolin Temple was a massive, majestic buildingplexprised of seven tiers. The buildings were arranged along the central axis and starting from the south, they were the Mountain Gate, Heavenly Kings Pce Hall, Mahavira Pce Hall, Scripture Room, Abbot¡¯s Room, Dharma Pavilion, and Thousand Buddha Pce Hall. Apart from those, Forest of Pagodas was in the west of the temple; Bodhidharma Temple, Bodhidharma Cave, and Manna tform were in the north; Dharma Temple was in the south west and Guanghui Temple in the northeast, etc. The Buddhist ceremony to pray for blessing and removing ill fortunes was to be held behind the screen wall of Mahavira Pce Hall, in front of the statue of Guanyin. Led by the abbot Shi Mingzong, two rows of chief monks and numerous of devotees had gathered here, reciting passages from scriptures. The one they were chanting now was ¡°The Universal Door of Guan Shi Yin Bodhisattva¡±. By reciting it sincerely, one could be free from ill fortunes and cmities, increasing the chance of being favored by fate. The hall was way too small for the crowd and the devotees had lined up all the way into the courtyard, where they knelt down on the ground, closely packed together. Among them were also the idle visitors and kids brought along by their parents, who were looking around with boredom. There were also those who understood the words and were reciting along. ¡°If living beings who have much sexual desire constantly and reverently recite the name of Guan Shi Yin Bodhisattva, they will be separated from desire. If those who have much hatred constantly and reverently recite the name of Guan Shi Yin Bodhisattva, they will be separated from hatred. If those who are very stupid constantly and reverently recite the name of Guan Shi Yin Bodhisattva, they will be separated from stupidity¡­¡± Xiaozhai stood the furthest back¡ªyup, she was the only one standing. She rolled her eyes at the ¡°much sexual desire¡± part and could not be bothered to listen any further. Turning around, she took out a piece of ck scarf, wrapped it around her face, and started her role-y as a burr. Following the bstone path, she ran noiselessly, as light as a cat and as swift as a soaring bird. Hoisting herself up with one hand propping against the white marble railing, she slipped into the Scripture Room. Chapter 193 Chapter 193: ¡°Poor me, all freaking out¡­¡± Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ming Mountain, Grape Valley. Grape Valley was one of thergest valleys under the mountain; the narrow, long, and gently sloped gap was nked by cliffs on both sides. Winding streams flowed freely in the valley as trees gave wee shade. A poption of 9000 permanently resided here and the valley was given its name for its rich production in grapes. It was the off season at the moment, for the grapes had long ripened and been picked. Farm-stay vis lined the road were also deserted and quiet. Gu Yu had arrived early in the morning. A kilometer to the east of the entrance of the valley was the foot of ming Mountain, where the terrain was t, making it the ideal spot to start the hiking¡­ thanks to the information provided by outdoor activity groups! Gu Yu had a backpack on him, in which were nothing but the basic equipment and arge quantity of drinking water. As mentioned before, half a dozen individuals from unknown forces were tailing him. Their unknown identity did not bother Gu Yu at all. Picking out one of them at random, Gu Yu made a list and forty minutester, all his requests were fulfilled free of charge. The faddish term among the dignitaries in the capital city was: to form a tie of friendship. Gu Yu examined the valley carefully before he departed for the mountain. Here, the sign of erosion from the fire-attributed spiritual essence was even more evident. Grape trellises all over the valley and the surrounding aspen forests were being drained of their vitality. The red cloud abovehead was still wheeling in the air. All it needed was to gather enough body and obtain a shape before it readily dived down. By then, no one knew what this paradise under ming Mountain would be. Gu Yu felt it such a pity¡ªapart from psychopaths, most people would show leniency and kindness when witnessing the fading away of beauty. *** ¡°tter!¡± ¡°Thump!¡± Leaping up, Gu Yu made a few sessive taps with his feet on the mountain walls on both sides, bringing himself several meters forward in the air. He ended the maneuver with ast upward thrust, jumped over a section of broken road covered with sharp stones, andnded steadily on his feet. ¡°Ha¡­¡± He exhaled, bncing the water and energy inside him so that they would not evaporate too fast. ming Mountain was over 100 km long and he almost could not bear it after 10 km in. Outside, he felt fine, but that changed as soon as he was in the mountain. The existence of the sun had never been as prominent, as if all that was left was this red sphere which was relentlessly dumping out its heat. What was worse, the fire-attributed spiritual essence was growing denser and behaved more acutely aggressively as it did so. He could only slow down the cirction of his spiritual essence to avoid provoking it. The only reason Zhang Wei and his men went to Gu Yu for help was that the thing they were looking for could only be detected by the spiritual essence; they might even have a map. Gu Yu, on the other hand, was running around like a headless fly. Of course, he didn¡¯t put much hope in it at the first ce. Trudging for another half hour, he entered a tunnel. The tunnel had twists and turns like a war-time trench. It was wide enough for a horse to pass and the walls on either side were mottled and decadent. It ran all the way into the heart of the mountain. He did not march for much longer when the low mountain walls erupted into sharp cliffs as if they were hacked out by axes and knives, the slope perpendicr to the ground. The tunnel also grew narrower, and in the end only allowed a single man to pass through. Gu Yu looked up. Apart from the thin line of sky above head, he was surrounded by scarlet mountain rocks on all sides. He felt as if he was in a burning brick kiln. Everywhere he turned, his eyes were met with the fiery color. ¡°Huff¡­ huff¡­¡± As fit as he was, he couldn¡¯t help but pant a little by now. He took a short break, downed a big bottle of water, and estimated the distance of the return journey. ¡®One more hour. I¡¯ll turn around if nothinges up by then!¡¯ He marched on. The road grew rougher and the crevice was so narrow now that he had to walk sideways to pass. At the narrowest point, he had to remove his backpack, turn to walk sideways and tuck in his stomach so that he could squeeze through. A couple of kilometerster, Gu Yu halted abruptly, for there he had stepped onto arge stretch of shadow which interrupted the monotonous russet of sandstones. Looking up, he saw a giant rock stuck between the two walls. Sunlight had shone down through the gap, projecting the shadow of the rock onto the bottom of the valley. It was a somewhat odd picture. ¡°Hm?¡± Gu Yu blinked and was a little surprised¡ªnot because of the giant rock, though. Just then, he sensed a faint coolness, which instantly invigorated him. Not a single de of grass grew on this mountain, nor was there any bird or beast. The ce was as dry and hot as a deand. So where did that coolnesse from? He immediately started searching and finally found a crevice about 50 cm in height lower on the left wall hidden in the shadow. It was pitch ck inside and smelled funny. After a brief hesitation, Gu Yu got down on his knees, carried the backpack in one hand, and crawled in on all fours. ¡°Rustle!¡± Countless rubbles crunched under his weight, painfully digging into his abdomen. After crawling for some distance, the ceiling seemed to grow higher, so Gu Yu turned into a crouching position, which then turned into walking with his back arched. When he was finally able to stand straight, he found himself in an open cave. Inside, it was gloomy, cold, and void of all light. Gu Yu took out a shlight and casually swept it around. The cave was about the size of a basketball court and blocked on all sides by mountain walls. He brought the light upwards and something seemed to have flickered into sight. Gu Yu steadied the shlight and looked closely. ¡®Geez!¡¯ He grimaced. Heavy objects in the shape of puppets were dangling by iron chains from the dark cave ceiling. They were even swaying a little. The light happened to catch a puppet on its face, revealing a ghostly babyplexion with red pupils, a bloody tongue, and a wide mouth. ¡®Aha!¡¯ Gu Yu activated his mental force, and with a ¡°Pop!¡±, a streak of green light shed across the ceiling and severed the iron chains with a clunk. He caught the falling puppet and ced it carefully on the ground. It was rather light-weighted and an anatomically correct imitation of an ordinary baby. He had no idea what material it was made from, but whatever that was, it had managed to remain rtively intact after hundreds if not thousands of years. The surface of the puppet was covered with strange patterns simr to the mark on the woman¡¯s chest. He also found a crack on its side¡ªit seemed the puppet could open up. ¡°Huh¡­¡± Gu Yu struggled inside. It wasn¡¯t fear or anything like that, he just found the thing gross. God knows what could be inside! ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Squeak!¡± Just then, faint scuffling noise came out of the darkness, which was in one spot at a moment and all over the ce the next. Gu Yu listened carefully for a brief moment and abruptly raised his head. A steady flow of strange-looking insects was climbing down along the broken chains, each half the size of a fist with a swarthy crust, eight serrated long legs, and a lotus-shaped mouthpart secreting dangling saliva. As if they had crawled out of the deepest abyss, the insects fell to the ground in a series of ¡°thump¡± and ¡°crack¡±, and soon grew into a heap. They then dashed towards Gu Yu. ¡°Boom!¡± Gu Yu stomped the ground, frantically activating his spiritual essence, thenshed with it. ¡°Squeak!¡± The insects crawling at the front felt a mighty pressure rushing at them and halted right away. However, the thirst for blood and their instinct took over almost instantaneously. They fought off the suppression within no time and grew all the more frenzied. ¡®Good god!¡¯ Without any hesitation, Gu Yu dumped the puppet, turned around, and ran. The swarm of insects was growing bigger, and was at Gu Yu¡¯s heels. Some insects even crawled onto the puppet and started gnawing. The puppet was in bits and pieces in no time. ¡°Thud!¡± An eerie corpse of a baby rolled out, covered by a ck liquid as thick as ink. The infant was about two years old, with all limbs snapped broken. There were obvious burn marks all over its body. It was neither rotten nor mummified and there was no telling how long it had been kept there. Its blood and flesh had been mixed with a strange grease and its dying expression seemed to have frozen on its face. The look was so vivid that it was extremely hideous. Obviously, Gu Yu was seeing none of this. All he did was sprinting towards the entrance while cursing silently, ¡°These goddamn caves!¡± He had no other choice. The arched back turned into half-kneeling, then inching forward on his stomach. He had forsaken any consideration of conserving his force. The two streaks of green light covered his rear, piercing through the insects chasing after him. ¡°Pop!¡± ¡°Squeak!¡± Immediately after that, the sound of chomping and scuttling filled the space. They seemed to be feeding on those of their own. Gu Yu felt a chill creeping up his spine and bolted forward. Finally, there was a beam of light ahead. He immediately quickened his crawling, thrusted his palms against the ground, leapt out, and rolled his way out. ¡°Thump!¡± He was just out of the cave when there came a strange sizzling sound. He rose to his feet and looked back. A few insects following him had turned into pus as soon as they were caught by sunlight; the foul smell was revolting. Those behind them bustled around and stretched out their antennas tentatively, as if knowing they could not advance. After much moving about, they finally retreated unwillingly. The darkness and silence resumed. ¡®Holy smoke!¡¯ The frightening afterthoughts came to Gu Yu now. What the hell was this ce? And what were those insects all about? He had yet to meet any serious rival ever since he started cultivating. However, within the few days in Huo Zhou, he had been running into one brick wall after another. Both asions had been one against many, but for a moment, his inner crying baby still woke up and was whining ¡°poor me, it¡¯s been so tough and I¡¯m freaked out¡±. The narrow escape had made certain of one thing: Zhang Wei had to be connected to the mystery of the cave and he could well be the descendant and inheritor of it. What they were looking for were probably the relics of their ancestors. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu looked ahead. The vast expanse of red mountains seemed endless. He had a hunch that his ce was not his destination, but a halfway station only. The real secret was still somewhere deeper into the mountain. Only this time, he dared not make any reckless move. Chapter 194 Chapter 194: A Cat Burr Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu While Gu Yu was feeling frustrated and dispirited, little did he know that his girlfriend was turning Shaolin Temple upside down on her end. Shaolin Temple, the Scripture Room. The Scripture Room was revamped thirty years ago. Being a major tourist spot in the temple, it was open for visitation on ordinary days. The three-story building had a total area of over 600 m^2 and was essentially a modern library whose collection was categorized into ¡°Shaolin Temple¡±, ¡°Religion¡±, ¡°Philosophy¡±, ¡°Social Science¡±, etc. Also found in the building were multiple sections including reading rooms, storage rooms for treasured scriptures and texts, rooms for ancient books, and so on. Because of the ceremony today, all monks with official titles had gone off to attend the event, leaving behind a single monk as the doorkeeper. Xiaozhai climbed straight onto the second floor from outside, where the spacious rooms werepletely deserted. With her face covered, she walked furtively around and was mostly disappointed. ¡°Where¡¯s the sweeping monk 1 ? Or Yab-Yum? Or Durga? Howe there¡¯s nothing here?¡± she mumbled herints. She couldn¡¯t help it, for apart from the tall bookshelves and rows upon rows of scriptures and ssics, she found nothing. What was more, she saw a multimedia electronic board hanging on the wall of the main hall, which was showing flickeringmentaries in PPT slides. ¡®Come on! You¡¯re THE Shaolin Temple and the birthce of the School of Chan! Modern gadgets like this just look wrong!¡¯ Shaking her head, she took a few turns along the corridor and arrived at a special small hall. ¡°Hm?¡± Xiaozhai¡¯s face lit up as her eyesnded on a two-meter white jade reclined Buddha disyed in the center of the main hall. The figure had delicate features and graceful lines. It was lying on its side on a lotus bed. Right next to the reclined Buddha, though, was a closed wooden door and the te on it said ¡°Ancient Book Room¡±. ¡°Amitabha! Excuse my intrusion!¡± She cupped her hands at the reclined Buddha, as if she actually meant any of it. Immediately after that, she swirled around, jumped half a meter up off the floor and smacked the security camera above the door, which squeaked, creaked, and gave up. She then leaned on the wooden door and pressed her palm against the lock. ¡°ck!¡± This Ancient Book Room was a restricted area of the Scripture Room and had been equipped with a special lock, which required two key-holders to turn the keys in unison to unlock the door. The problem was solved by her sheer force, though. She pushed the door open and walked happily in. Once inside, she saw more books. Looking around, the shelves were filled with vicissitudes of history and the only existing copies from various dynasties. The most spectacr piecey on a shelf with a tag ¡°Song Dynasty block-print edition, six hundred volumes of Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra¡±. It was the treasure of the Scripture Room. Xiaozhai took no interest in any of these. She ignored all the scripture scrolls and focused only on the secret records of martial arts and skills. ¡°Sitting Positions of Twelve Statues.¡± ¡°Artistry of Bodhi Saber.¡± ¡°Artistry of Dapu Gate Staff.¡± She scanned the shelves one row after another. Suddenly, she stopped her cruising and drew out a yellow and timeworn ancient book. The title on the cover read ¡± Yijin Jing 2 ¡°. ¡°Tsk, so this book does exist for real!¡± Xiaozhai was immediately intrigued. This book was somewhat of a celebrity, especially after being depicted in numerous fictions, TV dramas, and films, which had made it a legend. Typing the name into google, the results came back with every version of ¡°Yijin Jing¡± there was. It was impossible to tell which ones were genuine, and naturally, Shaolin Temple had never made the actual content public. With great curiosity (or a heart for gossip), she flipped the book open. The opening line said, ¡°ording to Buddha Sakyamuni himself, those to reach the spiritual state and be immortal need two fundamental properties initially, which are refining and shedding¡­ by refining, we refer to the cleansing of one¡¯s bone marrow, and by shedding, we refer to the change of one¡¯s tendons.¡± That was pretty much self-exnatory and she read on. ¡°The word ¡®Yi¡¯ describes the way of Yin and Yang, which means ¡®change¡¯ in itself. The change of ¡®Yi¡¯ is the change of Yin and Yang, which in turn lies in men themselves. Live a quiet life, letting things take their own course, and one could y Yin and Yang on their palm¡­¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Xiaozhai scratched her chin. ¡®Am I reading a Buddhist ssic? A Buddhist ssic is discussing Yin and Yang with its readers?¡¯ After that, the text only amazed her more and she was having a hard time believing her eyes. ¡°Of a human body, the internal organs affect essence and spirit internally, while all the limbs and bones affect tendons, bones, and muscles. To change the tendons, the fascia needs refining first, which mainly depends on Qi-refining. However, most people does not know about fascia, which is not the lipid membrane, but the one attached to tendons. The lipid membrane is a substance in the body cavity, whereas the fascia wraps around bones. To learn this method, one must start from the tangible things so as to facilitate the intangible part¡­ the tangible body must be equipped with intangible energy. The two had to support one another without disagreement. Only then could one obtain an indestructible body¡­¡± Xiaozhai finished the introduction in no time and was stunned¡ªthat was unbelievable! The ancient people a thousand years ago had known about membranes already??? She was well-equipped with historical anecdotes of Taoistmunity, but much less familiar with its Buddhist counterpart. The mostmonly epted version was that ¡°Yijin Jing¡± was the work of Bodhidharma himself. However, from what she just read, that im was full of bullshit! Be it Yin-Yang, spirit, Qi, and essence, or the tangible body and intangible energy¡­ they were all Taoist concepts! She turned a few more pages. It was a considerably thin pamphlet and a dozen pages were filled with theories. When it was time to talk about the actual practice, the section turned out to have been lost, as if someone had torn it off on purpose. ¡°There are some pretty nasty secrets here in Shaolin. Well, scratch that, it¡¯s the entire Buddhistmunity¡­¡± she muttered to herself, her eyes glinting. Let¡¯s make clear the timeline first. Buddhism was introduced to the eastern countries in Han Dynasty, when Wei Boyang wrote his ¡°The Kinship of the Three, in ordance with the Book of Changes¡±, introducing the theory of Jindan for the first time in history. During the North and South Dynasties, Dharma came to the east and when time came to Tang Dynasty, Xuanzang carried out his westward journey. It was by this time that Buddhism had beenpletely localized, establishing the ten schools. After that, L¨¹ Dongbin brought Buddhist theories into Taoism andid foundation for the system of Jindan. Quanzhen was established in Song Dynasty, making Jindan the orthodoxical practice of the country¡­ and there was this strange ¡°Yijin Jing¡±, which was imed to be a Buddhist work, but was filled to the brim with Taoist theories¡­ ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Xiaozhai didn¡¯t know what to make of it. She simply took out her phone, snapped a few pictures, ignored the missed call from her boyfriend, and briskly turned it off again. After returning the book to the shelf, she was about to take another tour around when she heard thumping footsteps outside. ¡°Huff¡­ huff¡­¡± A big, plump monk in a yellow robe rushed hastily up the second floor. Guarding the door all by himself, he was having a good time drawing cards in a mobile game when he looked up in passing and panicked. One of the monitors had gone ck; it was the one showing the most valuable Ancient Book Room. After reaching the second floor, he did not check the camera, but ran straight towards the room. ¡°Bang!¡± The tightly locked wooden door opened at his touch. The monk jolted. When he saw the window to the right was wide open, he realized a thief had got in. He ran to the window right away, just in time to see a masked figure descending swiftly like a swallow. The monk was momentarily puzzled, feeling as if he had entered a wrong time period. ¡®What year is it now, there are still cat burrs around?¡¯ It only took him a second toe to himself, when he started yelling like an imbecile, ¡°Thief! There¡¯s a thief!¡± *** ¡°One should think of Avalokitesvara, whose sound is as the cloud¡¯s and the drum¡¯s, who thunders like a rain-cloud, possesses a good voice like Brahma, (a voice) going through the whole gamut of tones¡­ He who possesses the perfection of all virtues, and beholds all beings withpassion and benevolence, he, an ocean of virtues, Virtue itself, he, Avalokitesvara, is worthy of adoration.¡± Inside the Heavenly Kings Pce Hall, Shi Mingzong, the monk officials and the devotees were still chanting. They were at thest bit of ¡°The Universal Door¡± and would finish in two paragraphs. At that moment, amotion started from the back. The hubbub overpowered the chanting of the scripture and reached all the way to the ears of Shi Mingzong, who turned his head and darted a look. The temple supervisor also frowned and had to stand up to check. ¡°What¡¯s been stolen? Howe there¡¯s a thief?¡± ¡°I think it came from the back. What¡¯s going on?¡± The tourists standing outside heard the fat monk¡¯s shout loud and clear. Some of those already bored to death were instantly intrigued, and turned their heads in unison to look. Across the vast courtyard and between the shadows of the tall trees, a figure jumped down from a building andnded safely on the ground. The figure spun around, ran briskly around the Scripture Room like a light-footed cat, and disappeared in the blink of an eye. The guarding monks filed out from either side of the hall and chased the figure into the back. ¡°Who was that female Bodhisattva? It was very bold of her to break into Shaolin Temple at night!¡± ¡°How do you know it was a she?¡± ¡°The hairstyle, obviously! Damn, this trip is so worth it. Never thought there are still wuxia characters around nowadays!¡± Everyone was talking at the same time, all exhrated. What had just happened was worth bragging for a whole year¡­ By now, the night had set in and lights were on in the temple. Xiaozhai followed the gstone path, walking casually, and would nce back every now and then. The monks chasing after her were running their guts out, but could never shorten the ten-meter distance between them. One small step felt like the other side of the universe. They pursued for a bit longer when someone said suddenly, ¡°Senior Brother, I think she¡¯s running into the back mountain.¡± ¡°The back mountain?¡± The one leading the team was happy to hear that. ¡°Call the Warrior Monk School! Ask them for help!¡± At the back of Mount Song was Shaolin Temple¡¯s Warrior Monk School. It used to be an institute specialized in training warrior monks, but had been transformed into a martial arts school of sorts nowadays. The guarding monks were mostly graduates of that school. They contacted thetter right away and asked for backup. ¡®Good god!¡± Momentarily, the silent back mountain erupted into a hubbub with shouts through the roof. As many as over twenty shaved heads started searching the mountain with weapons such as wooden sticks at hand. These men spent their days practicing martial arts. With little opportunity to burn out their excessive energy, they were deadly bored when the news of a night burr arrived. Well, the group was formed in no time and they were ready to search the map. ¡°There, over there! You lot, go have a look!¡± ¡°How many were there? I heard there was more than half a dozen? Man, that¡¯s a pack!¡± ¡°The thieves these days are so bold. They even have the balls to rob this ce. Wait till I catch one. I¡¯ll make him¡­ hey, there!¡± One of them was sweeping the grass with his stick when he let out a sudden shout and pointed into a direction. The others turned to look¡ªa slim figure had indeed flitted past. A teenage monk was the closest. Hot-headed, he rushed near on his own. ¡°Stop running! Stop there!¡± he yelled as he ran after the figure. The thief seemed to have recognized the green in his voice and stopped a few steps away, then turned back to look. ¡°Oh my, a cute little monk.¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Gaping, the young monk watched the person drift towards him like a spirit. The eyes brighter than stars checked him out and the person shook her head. ¡°A little too rough, though. My Old Gu is much fairer and smoother¡­ I¡¯m not fighting you. Go y somewhere else.¡± With that, the person drifted away, still in that spirit-like movement, and disappeared into the woods. ¡°¡­¡± Dumbstruck, the young one watched as she moved out of his sight. He had been here for three years and had found everything they taught rather phony. He had thought about quitting, but could not make up his mind. However, right there and right then, he felt his life was hopeful again. ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Rustle!¡± Activating her energy and leaping out, Xiaozhai made a few light taps against the ground with the tips of her toes and had distanced herself from that crowd within no time. She was going to leave the mountain but seemed to have lost her way. After she left the permanent residence of the temple, she broke into a quiet grove. She took a brief moment to find the direction, turned southward, and resumed her dashing. She had traveled half the country just to observe the dynamic of the Buddhistmunity¡ªand still hoped she could run into a few capable masters. As it turned out, what she found had disappointed and frustrated her, for the Buddhistmunity was even more extravagant and boastful than its Taoist cousin. With all the unrestrained desires and their craving for worldly wealth, how could anyone expect any of them to reach the enlightenment state? Fortunately, she had learned something¡ªthat ¡°Yijin Jing¡± was very strange and worth looking into. Chapter 195 Chapter 195: Feeling Inadequate Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Two dayster, Huo Zhou. Standing in a shaded corner, Gu Yu was on the phone, bombarded by his girlfriend¡¯s satiricalments. ¡°It was just boring! So boring! There was not a single person that could stand a fight. The formidable birthce of Chan is filled with rookies! Do you know what level of security the Scripture Room had? A greasy monk, a few cameras, and that¡¯s it! Gosh! Where was the sweeping monk?¡± ¡®Probably having his ass kicked by you even if there was one¡­¡¯ Gu Yu rolled his eyes. ¡°Ok, calm down. So how¡¯s everything now? With that big a scene raised, has anybody pounded on your door yet?¡± ¡°They surely are searching for me, but I¡¯ve shut myself in to reflect on my little misdeed and they couldn¡¯t find me. Oh, by the way, I did quite a lot of research these two days and there was this post on the inte. Do you remember the Three Patriarch Temple in Tianzhu Mountain? They said the monks in it had been thrown out.¡± ¡®WHAT?¡¯ Three Patriarch Temple was the birthce of the three patriarchs of the Chan School and held an unparalleled status in the Buddhistmunity. Even that could not stop them from being evicted? Gu Yu was surprised. ¡°It seems the government is rather decisive. Do they know it for sure that the Buddhistmunity does not have its own tricks to y?¡± ¡°I cannot say about the other schools, but the answer is definitely yes for the school of Chan.¡± He heard the sound of page turning, then Xiaozhai went on. ¡°I¡¯ve been studying Buddhist ssics recently. Chan emphasizes on the will of people and one could only reach enlightenment after knowing their own heart. If that really is their standard, haha, I don¡¯t think anybody can ever achieve that goal.¡± Xiaozhai¡¯s tone was filled with sarcasm and contempt. Bodhidharma travelled east to this country during the Northern Wei Dynasty and established the School of Chan in Shaolin, which was passed down for six generations of patriarchs from Huike, Sengcan, Daoxin, and Hongren, all the way to Huineng. Hongren used to have two pupils¡ªHuineng and Shenxiu, who each believed in their own idea and would debate from time to time. The famous gatha ¡°Bodhi is originally without any tree; the bright mirror is also not a stand.¡± was the result of one of their debates. After Hongren passed away, the two pupils went their separate ways and each established a sub-school of their own. Shenxiu founded the Northern School, who believed that enlightenment was gradual and based his teaching on ¡°Meditation and Introspection Method¡±. The learning of Chan doctrines and the progress towards enlightenment both took ce gradually. Huineng was the founder of the Southern School, who believed in sudden enlightenment. The school taught ¡°Buddha is in one¡¯s own mind¡± and did not insist on meditation or introspection. Doctrine-wise, the Northern School was the orthodox one, which emphasized on taking things slowly and one step at a time. The Southern School, on the other hand, had an extremely high ¡°barrier to entry¡±, which required the most exceptional natural endowments. In other words, they wanted the wisest pupil, who could gain insight through conversations. In in words: you talk, I listen; I instantly understand my nature and my mind, then enlightenmentes and I¡¯m Buddha. However, development-wise, the Southern School had eliminated its northern counterpart. The Northern School had lost its inheritor by the end of Tang Dynasty and everything passed down on the School of Chan belonged to the Southern School nowadays. And that was where Xiaozhai¡¯s contempt rooted from. In her opinion, the School of Chan was digging its own grave. They had iting! ¡°There is so much stuff to collect on all ten schools of Buddhism. I¡¯m going to be buried¡­¡± Xiaozhai wailed. She then asked, ¡°Well, how are things going on over there?¡± ¡°And I thought you¡¯d never ask.¡± ¡°Oh my, wouldn¡¯t that make you grumpy? What am I gonna do then?¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Curling his lip, Gu Yu told her about everything from the encounter with Zhang Wei, fighting the ghostly faces, and his exploration and wretched escape in ming Mountain. ¡°I¡¯m at a loss as well. I have no idea where these people came from. But I¡¯m going to stay for a while here in Huo Zhou and collect some fire-attributed spiritual essence. I wonder if I can refine the green jade needles further with it. If it works, I¡¯ll go to Tianshan again and chop down some of that green jade stone.¡± ¡°Why are you suddenly so active?¡± Xiaozhai wondered. ¡°Can¡¯t help it. The more battles I go through, the more I realize how inadequate I am. I need to improve myself sooner orter.¡± There was frustration in his voice. After Gu Yu became a cultivator, his abilities consisted of the Essence-consuming Method, the conjuring skill, and the martial arts movements he learned from his girlfriend. Do remember that the Essence-consuming Method was notpatible with Thunder Technique, for the two required different mindset, were of different theories, and needed different cultivation methods. Neither were mere magical skills or supernatural powers, but both were major skills important enough to found a sect upon. They were Taoist orthodoxies and rarely any of those werepatible with one another. Back then, Gu Yu had suggested Xiaozhai to learn the Essence-consuming Method. Fortunately, Xiaozhai had turned him down, or she would have no choice but to repeat his experience. The conjuring skill could be used in one-to-one or one-against-many battles, but was restricted by his spiritual essence and mental force. His one charge could affect seven or eight people at most. The power of this skill dependedpletely on the conjurer¡¯s own capability. The more powerful the conjurer, the more potent the vision. The skill was recorded next to the Essence-consuming Method and there was no way it was anything mediocre. Therefore, he had never thought less of it, but the potential of the skilly in the future, not now. Other than those, there were also the two green jade needles, which didn¡¯t have much worth mentioning apart from being fast, urate, and relentless. So, here was the problem! He realized that he had very limited means of attack, which could really put him in a quandary when he had to deal with multiple unintelligent creatures such as those insects. What was worse, at a time when Taoist skills were near extinction, he did not have much choice. All he could do was to make the most of the current resources system and try his best to develop something out of it. *** The scorching sun hung high in the sky, so bright that it stung the eyes. In the valley, indolent streams flowed into the distance. There was a heaviness about the quiet water, so much so that its movement brought no pleasure to any onlooker. Even the asional breeze felt stuffy and dry, which made one restless with anxiety. ¡°Click!¡± Hanging up, Gu Yu looked around at the surrounding grape trellises. The shrivelled vines were droopy and the withering leaves were offering the tiniest shade. Aftering out of ming Mountain, he did not return to the city, but settled himself down in Grape Valley straight away. On his way back, he had collected some fire-attributed spiritual essence with a gourd, so that he could experiment with itter. He walked through the trellises, went past a recreational area, and entered a small hotel. Only a handful of guests were staying there. Of over twenty rooms, only four or five were taken. Business was not looking good. Gu Yu returned to his room, locked the door, and sat erect on the bed. He then untied a green-skinned gourd from his belt. The gourd was 12 cm in length, with a bnced shape. Its verdant color gave it a look of an exquisite piece of art. ¡°Pop!¡± He activated his mental force and a green sh materialized in front of him, which then wheeled around the room slowly in the air. Holding the gourd on his right palm, he removed the plug with his left hand. He then stirred the gourd with the spiritual essence on his right hand. Provoked, the fire spiritual essence swooshed out. ¡°Boom!¡± The air stirred violently and the room was instantly enveloped by a heat wave. It had turned into a sauna house. The characteristics of the fire spiritual essence were its acuteness and extreme aggressiveness. Controlling the green jade needle, Gu Yu harassed it deliberately. As expected, the fiery cloud noticed its mark and suddenly winded upwards, heading straight towards the green sh. In a split second, the red cloud and green sh were all over one another, entangled into one inseparable lump. Gu Yu dared not take it lightly. A swift sweep of his mental force and both were wrapped in it. He then followed the method of refining by mental force and started the refinement process tentatively. This method was to nourish the object with the spiritual essence and temper it with the mental force. The spiritual essence here generally referred to that of one¡¯s own. However, he was trying to use a foreign object to refine a magical instrument now, which was feasible in theory, but not so easy in practice. ¡°Pop!¡± Gu Yu was very focused as he stared into the air unblinking. The red cloud was extremely irritable and very antagonistic towards the green sh. No matter how hard he tried to guide it, it simply refused to calm down. ¡®Bang!¡¯ About ten minutester, with a final soft st, the red cloud was worn out and disappeared. The green jade needle also dimmed a little. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu paused, but he was not ready to give up. He closed his eyes and readjusted his breathing. When his vital essence was recovered, he unplugged the gourd, drew out another streak of fire spiritual essence, and tried again. The process was repeated three times and the gourd was almost empty. He had failed each time. Gu Yu was delighted rather than worried, for during the third trial, something started to make sense. Immediately, he released the green sh again, then watched the red cloud rise and wrap around the needle. He kept hisposure and was even controlling the green jade sh in such a fashion that it would not resist the attack. The cloud surrounded the green sh on all sides and flowed up and down. Gradually, a streak of cloud separated from the lump and appeared to be breaking into the green sh. Still controlling the green jade needle, Gu Yu opened it up to the cloud, as if weing a girlfriend. Unhindered, the cloud went deeper, then¡­ Now! His eyes flickered with a faint satisfaction, then his mental force was activated and surged at the cloud with all its force. Immediately, it jabbed into the green sh like a tenacle and wrapped around the tiny bit of red cloud. A forceful tempering began. It was very clear this time that the fire spiritual essence waspletely defenseless. It could only go with the flow as Gu Yu turned it this way and that, nourishing the green jade needle a little bit at a time. ¡°Phew¡­¡± After quite some time, he withdrew his mental force and the green shnded steadily on his palm. It was still 5 cm in length, slightly thicker than a sewing needle, and sharpened on both ends¡ªnothing seemed to have changed. However, he had sensed the difference¡ªit now had the faintest burning sensation. It worked! Gu Yu was finally relieved. That was some tough job! It was the sad thing about this skill-waning time. An expert master could at least save two hundred years of his cultivation time! Yet now, he could only find the way on his own. As a refining manual widely adopted in the ancient time, the method of refining by mental force was indeed worth its reputation. Its applicability was impressive. Gu Yu had reasoned that the fire spiritual essence had a devouring and dpidating power on all lives and living creatures, and even the spiritual essence in general. After the green jade needle was fully refined, it would no longer simply be fast, urate, and relentless, but have a fire property to it. He even imagined mining in Tianshan and refining as many needles as necessary. By then, the needles could shoot out like pouring rain. A sky filled with ¡°Pop!¡± would be the most mboyant picture! Chapter 196 Chapter 196: Dead Sand Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Be at ease¡­ at ease my ass!¡± In the lounge of the ground floor, the hotel owner spat at the experts talking in the TV and ranted, ¡°It¡¯s November now¡ªWINTER, and the average temperature is still 18 degrees 1 ! Where do you think Huo Zhou is? In the South China Sea? We¡¯re not f**king idiots!¡± ¡°Shut your big mouth! I see you¡¯re giving me a lot of attitudestely, what do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± his wife scolded him. ¡°Whatever, I¡¯m so fed up!¡± ¡°Then get the sh*t out of here! Go back to the hometown!¡± the wife chided him again, then put a piece of meat into the bowl of their kid, who was burying his face in his food and eating in silence. The family was not from around here. They arrived here a few years back as tourists and fell in love with Grape Valley at first sight. After returning home, they sold their properties for ready cash and came back to open this hotel. The money had been good. The owner was apparently a hen-pecked husband. He mumbled something in returned, but dared not talk back aloud. Thendy finished her meal in a haste and was going to clean up the table when she looked out and smiled. ¡°Hello, Xiao Gu, going out again?¡± ¡°Yup, just to have a look around.¡± Gu Yu came down from the second floor with a backpack and was heading out when he spun around and walked up to thendy. ¡°The rent I pre-paid is almost used up, right? I¡¯m gonna be here for another month, so let me transfer you some more.¡± ¡°Oh my, don¡¯t worry about it. Just make the payment whenever you see fit.¡± Thendy beamed at him. Despite the courteous words, she promptly grabbed her phone. Gu Yu scanned the QR code, transferred 2000 yuan to her, then waved his goodbye and left. The owner followed Gu Yu with his eyes and muttered involuntarily, ¡°The guy¡¯s been here for a month all on his own and going to god-knows-where all the time, he¡¯s not a terrorist, is he?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a big-time writer, and he¡¯se all the way here just to search for inspiration, you idiot!¡± the wife retorted and patted her son. ¡°Finish your food and go do your homework. Be a good student and don¡¯t be like your dad. He¡¯s such a boor!¡± *** Gu Yu ascended all the way up the mountain after leaving Grape Valley. He did not get in too deep, but stopped somewhere on the perimeter. Sitting down cross-legged on a big rock, he took out the green gourd, focused his energy onto it, and inhaled. Instantly, the surrounding red cloud erupted into life. Lumps and streaks were pushing their way to squeeze into the gourd. The gourd was soon filled to the brim. He stopped the manoeuvring and all was quiet again. ¡°¡­¡± He did not get up right away, but closed his eyes and focused his mind, sensing carefully of the fluctuation of ming Mountain. With winter at the doorstep, the expanding of the abnormality had unexpectedly slowed down significantly. He had anticipated a full-on break-out next February when a barrennd would stretch out for thousands of kilometers. The way it seemed, with this winter as a buffer, Huo Zhou might be able to hang on for a while longer. It was only lingering on itsst breath, though. Even if it could make it into the next spring, summer woulde again, together with death. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Gu Yu opened his eyes and shook his head. Only then did he rose to his feet with the gourd and returned the way he came. The gourd could hold as many as four streaks of fire spiritual essence. Because they needed to be separated and tempered one streak at a time, he was making rather slow progress. Of the entire month he had been staying here, he went into the mountains once or twice each week and aside from eating and sleeping, he had spent all his time refining the magical instrument. The change in the appearance of the green jade needle was obvious. The greenish blue was turning into deep red and while its piercingly cold edges before were proof enough of its sharpness, it was now magnificently bright, as if ayer of me was flowing through it, making it all the more awe-inspiring. He was looking forward to seeing the result as well. It seemed he was going to make something spectacr. He had had serious discussions with Xiaozhai about this magical instrument. Needles might not be the most masculine weapons to fight enemies with, but they were the most practical choice for him. Common people envied the immortal sword-wielders, which was something he could actuallye up with. Build a short sword first and nourish it with refining-by-mental-force method, which would also give him a sword moving freely as if it had its own mind and able to kill an enemy from a hundred steps away. However, there were two problems. For one, swords were much harder to control and more spiritual-essence-consuming than needles. For another, it was a flying sword all right¡ªa sword staying in the air, but he would not be an immortal sword-wielder. The real Immortal Sword-wielder Sect originated in the Ancient Immortal Period and used to be popr around Qingcheng and Emei area, but was now near extinction. It was divided into Tactic Sword and Taoist Sword. The former adopted the actual, tangible swords, while thetter deemed the innate energy as the sword. The ultimate goal of the sect was to wield the mind, the energy, and even the doctrine as the sword. The will would be so immense and powerful that there was nothing in this wide world that they could not wield. Why then would they need an external media? The so-called ¡°Sword Immortals¡± had been depicted as building an invincible flying sword out of some ten-thousand-year-old refined gold. The sword one then rode was as wide as a door nk, and they called that wielding a flying sword¡­ How cheap was that, huh? How cheap! Let¡¯s turn our attention back to the other half of the couple. Xiaozhai had been away from home this past month as well, running here and there on her own. The phone calls between the two had been sporadic and they had grown used to act alone. He found it rather nice, actually, for at least no one was stealing his duvet away at night. *** Urumqi, the research base. The ce had transformed into a small farm, surrounded by strange-looking scientific instruments for monitoring and fostering, while the ground was covered by hundreds of nts from trees to weeds; there was just about everything. Outside the ss dome covering the farm, Mu Kun, Director Tong, and the envoy from the capital had gathered here, listening to the introduction from a specialist. ¡°The one district and two counties under the jurisdiction of Huo Zhou have a total area of 70,000 km^2. We¡¯ve collected two nts and a soil sample from all 26 towns, 172 viges, and every scenic area, and have spent the past month fostering them with every means. Unfortunately, all results came back unpromising.¡± With that, the specialist gestured to his assistant, who brought forward two pots of nts and a packet of soil. In one pot was a nt with bulky stems and thick skin. It was of a yellowish-white color and had round leaves. The one in the other pot had taupe bark, dense branches with ridges but no bristle, and its leaves were spike-shaped. ¡°This one is called mouse melon and this one bell thorn¡ªboth ordinary ntsmonly found in the northwest. When we brought them back, they were extremely dehydrated. Theoretically, after being fostered for this long, they should be fully recuperated, but please take a look¡­¡± The specialist pressed a button on the remote control and a picture flickered on the screen, showing what the two nts looked like before. The group turned their heads back and forth between the picture and the nts in front of them and realized that thetter looked almost exactly the same; the improvement was barely detectable. ¡°We find it very strange, for it defies the rules of biology. We¡¯ve provided them with all the favorable conditions there are for the growth, but they simply refused to live. I cannot understand this phenomenon. Maybe it is as what that Mr. Gu said: a mutation of the spiritual essence has eroded the inside of the nts. Unless it is removed, there is nothing we can do.¡± ¡°That is to say, the nts cannot be saved via scientific methods?¡± Mu Kun asked hastily. ¡°Exactly! And that¡¯s not all. This one is much worse¡­¡± The specialist opened the small packet himself and said in a grave tone, ¡°As you may know, soil contains many nutrients needed by nts, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron, etc. Even if they are washed away once in a while, the nutrients can be recovered after periodic modifying treatment. However, this soil has had its internal structurepletely destroyed. In other words, it¡¯s¡­ dead. Yes, dead is the right term!¡± ¡°Ssh!¡± He had only just finished the sentence when the packet of sand sank a little at the opening, as if responding to his words. The withered white substancepletely void of any vitality poured out to the ground, making a faint, strange noise. ¡°¡­¡± The group watched it fall. In an instant, it had piled into a little white tower on the ground, reminding one of the vicissitudes of history dried up in the wind and a past annihted by the endless time¡ªwith a whiff, everything was lost in a cloud. Chapter 197 Chapter 197: ming Cloud Needle Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Urumqi, the first snow. Being a city in a remote province, Urumqi had always been a ce easily ignored and seldom included in anything. It had been ages since the cityst held a high-profile conference¡ªthe level of the ¡°profile¡± depended on the participants. Naturally, the higher the titles, the more important the conference. Today, however, Urumqi was probably seeing its biggest event since the city was founded. A third of the roads in the city had been closed off and the streets were lined with police officers, men of special forces, and inclothes; everyone stood ready for any possible challenge that might arise. It was a cold day. The first snow of this winter swirled and drifted, covering the streets and curbs with a thinyer of whiteness. The conference room inside a government building was warm like in spring. There weren¡¯t that many attendants. Thirty-seven seats had beenid out for the chiefs and twenty-four for the deputies, yet the room still looked half empty. Most attendants had taken their seats. The names on tes were loud enough to blow one¡¯s mind. All major yers of the thirty-six provinces of the country were here, together with several representatives from the military. ¡°Murmur¡­¡± Fighting back their doubts and curiosity, they tried their best to keep their voices low. The room was filled with a strange tension and fluster. ¡°Tack, tack, tack!¡± Before long, they heard forceful and rapid footsteps outside and immediately after that, a man in his sixties entered the room. He wore ck-framed sses and had a solemn look on his face. All sounds died down instantaneously. The man took the top seat. His eyes ran down the room and he said, ¡°I assume everyone is here. Let¡¯s get started.¡± Without either the drawls and slowness or the parallel sentences and odd modal particles usually found in speeches given by officials, this man was straightforward. ¡°You are all aware of the situation of Huo Zhou. ording to our experts¡¯ deduction, the abnormality in ming Mountain is affected by seasons. It eases in winter and returns in spring, with summer and autumn as its peak seasons. It¡¯s November 20th today and based on the nearest calction of the cycle, it will return next April, which gives us a little over four months to get prepared. That¡¯s probably the best we can get out of this worst scenario. I will hereby announce some decisions the central government has made¡­ no need to take notes, just listen. I¡¯ll talk to you individually after the meeting¡­¡± He made a pressing gesture with his hands to calm the restless audience and went on. ¡°First of all, a Steering Group on the Huo Zhou Abnormality is to be set up as of today, taking up full responsibility of the monitoring, researching, coordinating, and problem-solving on matters rted to ming Mountain. I myself will act as the deputy group leader. Secondly, twelve observation stations are to be installed within a 50-km radius around ming Mountain and twenty-four within a 130-km radius. Changes in the climate and environment will be monitored and analyzed within the radii. The data will be shared among us and a ssified information of the top level. Thirdly, since we are not sure of the spread range, we need to prepare for the worst. We havee up with a rtively thorough n on migration. Because of its length, I am not going to announce it here. We will hold a separate meetingter. Here is the general n. To start with, state of emergency will be announced in Huo Zhou and the resettlement will begin immediately following the coordinated arrangement. Other cities of Xichui 1 Province need to be prepared as well¡ªthey must be able to evacuate the cities as soon as the order is given. Of the four provinces next to Xichui, apart from the provinces of Qingning and Tanggute, Longxi and Mobei 2 both need to be prepared to receive immigrants. Cities in the center of Central ins should not neglect their responsibilities, for you are the main force in this task. Be prepared to receive immigrants at as the asion demands. Fourthly, starting from today, each province should set up their own environment monitoring group, which is to be under the jurisdiction of the BIMAUP. The groups are to be in charge of monitoring and sending early warning on mountains and rivers in their regions, especially those with specialndforms such as deserts, karst caves, underground caves, ciers, sinkholes, etc. Abnormalities have appeared on Phoenix Mountain and Tianshan already, as well as on Mount Emei and Tianzhu Mountain, which makes them the priority among priorities. Fifthly, public sentiment-wise, the guiding work needs to follow up ordingly. Propaganda departments of all provinces need to set up specialized public-opinion-guidance groups. Pay special attention to the inte; take precaution against the few who use the inte to spread rumors and terrorizing speeches even to the point of disturbing social order. Sixthly, the security level of Xichui is to be raised as of today, in case any offender attempts to incite the public and cause affrays. Any tendency of such disturbances must be suppressed at the earliest stage¡­¡± After he finished reading the announcement, the man suddenly took off his sses and rubbed his eyes, as if they were in pain. The two that sat closest to him looked more closely and realized that the man¡¯s eyes were bloodshot and his countenance extremely fatigued¡ªit could be days since hest slept. Five secondster, he raised his head again and the look on his face solemn as ever as he said, ¡°Everybody, a critical time like this does not allow any crap and I have only one thing to ask from you: make sure the orders are passed on unobstructed and executed orderly. Should any of you y tricks and bend to their selfish motives, once I find out, the person will be punished. There is no jesting in wartime!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± He finished his speech with a fierce smack of the table. The loud bang resonated in the room. ¡°¡­¡± Silence. His words were received by a room of silence. There was shock, horror, helplessness, deliberation¡­ the one thing not found on anyone was indifference. The abnormality on ming Mountain had turned up too mighty and overbearing a phenomenon. Unlike what happened in Grass River Mouth, which affected a town and tens of thousand people only, with a limited area of expansion, Huo Zhou was a city of over 700,000 residents! The number alone was negligibleparing to the colossus of the country, but these people had been ying the political game long enough to realize theplications behind this number. Meanwhile, they were growing more jittery each day. Less than a year had passed since the incident of Tianshan and everything was trailing further and further away from the world they used to know. Nobody wanted to wake up in a strange city they used to call home. The attendants scattered after the meeting. The head of Xichui Province stayed behind. He used to work with the man holding the conference and was on friendly terms with thetter, who had restrained his imposing manner in front of his old friend and let his exhaustion show. ¡°Take a break. This job cannot be rushed.¡± ¡°It has to be¡­¡± The man waved his hand and sighed. ¡°You may find my words an exaggeration, but things are actually worse than I described. You are on the front line and hold the foremost position; we cannot afford any mistake here. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll trouble you with the migration job.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my honor to serve our country. There¡¯s no trouble in that!¡± the head dered right away. ¡°Haha, my mind is at rest with you on the job.¡± The man forced out aughter and went on. ¡°I¡¯m only d that we were able to monitor this cmity to some extent, or we wouldn¡¯t have known where to begin with.¡± He was speaking the truth. Although they were not able to find the fire spiritual essence, they could deduce its existence from the state of the surrounding ntation, soil, and even something as simple as the change in the temperature. With the data and the time of the urrence of the abnormality, making preparation was possible. The man took off his sses and rubbed his eyes again, then asked, ¡°By the way, is that Mr. Gu still here?¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s still staying in Grape Valley. He has visited Tianshan as well¡ªgone off the grid for a few days. He was probably in that node to fetch something. Shall we¡­¡± ¡°Sigh, just leave it be.¡± The man shook his head. ¡°We have indeed neglected them on purpose after the Tianzhu Mountain agreement. And he has volunteered this information. Just see it as apensation.¡± ¡°Ipletely agree with you. Speaking of which, the other one was doing things on her own as well, turning every major temple upside down.¡± The head chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ve never met them before, but from what I¡¯ve heard, I quite like them.¡± ¡°Haha, these two young friends are indeed an exceptional pair.¡± The manughed as well. ¡°Let¡¯s just hope we won¡¯t turn against each other in the future.¡± *** Gu Yu visited Tianshan a while ago. After the refinement of green jade needle with fire spiritual essence turned out feasible, he acted quickly and travelled to Tianshan right away, then made his way to that small valley. The ce was nothing like the first time he was there. The widespread spiritual essence was agitated andpletely unabsorbable. As a result, the sky was overcast and the valley looked like a hopeless deand. An expanse of white snow still covered the valley and in a corner stood Sima Che¡¯s lonely grave. The snow had also cloaked the ridges, making it impossible to tell the directions. It was thanks to the flowing water that he could reach theke. He was amazed that there was still water in theke. It was not frozen up but had turned into a small spring instead, from which water was gurgling out. The water flowed down the slope and formed an alluvialnd. When the spiritual essence calmed down and the temperature rose, this ce would be a verdant valley once more. The green jade stone had all been buried and it took him a great effort to chisel out a chunk. He was not greedy and only needed a piece big enough for his family of three¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t be able to carry toorge a piece anyway. He now realized that the characteristic of each node was actually very obvious. Take Phoenix Mountain as an example. Its core of the node was the old tree. It was of Earth and Wood in property, hence its fitness for farming. Mount Emei was also characterized for its deep valley and tall trees and he assumed it would be simr to Phoenix Mountain. Tianzhu Mountain was marked by it cave, which was of Metal and Water properties, hence the discovery of mines and fish. Tianshan was pretty much the same, only that he did not know if anything else was here apart from the green jade. After obtaining the ore, Gu Yu paid no attention to the team tailing him and went back to Huo Zhou with no intention to cover his tracks. He then took out a section to have it sanded into seventy green jade needles. They were still 5 cm in length, a bit thicker than sewing needles and sharpened on both ends. He had supervised the entire process and retrieved all odd bits, which utterly bewildered the craftsman. Now, he had seventy-two green jade needles in total, which meant all his spare time was taken by refinement. He could refine five needles at the same time each round, so just do the math. Grape Valley, evening. To the east of Grape Valley stood ming Mountain, to the west the downtown area, to the south another valley, and only to the north a wilderness. The remnant of the evening glow fell on the withered yellow grass and the empty field that stretched out endlessly. The only thing stood only was a nting old tree jabbed into the uncultivatednd on its own. A short distance away stood the rustic mountain, upon which the red cloud gathered and rested like a giant snake taking it winter-time nap and waiting to wake up the next year. Gu Yu stood in the field and watched the old tree in silence from about a hundred steps away. Adjusting his breath a little, he waited until his state of mind was ready, at which moment he activated his mental force. ¡°Pop!¡± With a soft st, two magnificent and bright dots of red light materialized, as if they were swimming in mid-air. They were none other than the two refined green jade needle from earlier. With their appearance, the surrounding air stirred instantly, which distorted under the heat. Immediately after that, he willed with his mind again and the red dots flickered suddenly, then turned into two streamers of light and scuttered towards the old tree; the fiery light looked like two long tails. ¡®Wow!¡¯ The imposing manner was so satisfying! The dazzle rather resembled that of a meteor slitting through the atmosphere, burning brightly as it fell. In a split second, there were two pops and the red dots pierced through the old treepletely unhindered. They then returned into the air and the old tree stood steadily where it was. Nothing seemed to have changed. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Gu Yu frowned slightly. He was about to doubt himself where there came a ¡°Boom!¡±. Two dots of crimson fire erupted from inside the trunk and spread onto the entire tree in less than a second. Everything from the branches and leaves to the roots, and even the circle of weeds around the tree, was in me. As if being dismembered, the old tree dropped down by bits in a crackling noise until there was nothing but a pile of ck charcoal. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu blinked. He was surprised by his own work. ¡®Really? That fierce?¡¯ This burning property alone was beyond awesome, not to mention the slight improvement in the speed and prating ability! Just imagine: when facing the enemies in the future, with a single wave of Mr. Gu, the flying needles would fill the entire sky and set everything on fire¡­ How surprising! How unexpected! How exciting! All in all, he was very, very happy with the upgraded green jade needle. ¡°Pop!¡± With a wave, the two red dots flew back to Gu Yu andnded lightly on his palm. The slight burning sensation stroked his skin, which neither burnt nor hurt, but felt somewhat intimate. That was the connection one would feel with a refined magical instrument. ¡°The name green jade needle does not seem fit any more¡­¡± Looking at his palm, he gave it a thought and grinned. ¡°You¡¯ll be ming Cloud Needles from now on¡­¡± Chapter 198 Chapter 198: Academic Analysis Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Migration has been a vital social change throughout all ages. In the ancient societies, migrations usually took ce as a result of natural disasters, wars, or the need to develop the border regions. We would put the dynasties of Qin and Han aside for the time being and start from the Northern and Southern Dynasties. During the social upheaval thatsted for well over a century, more than a million people moved down south, which was 1/7 of the number originally present in the North. The migration has set the foundation for shifting the economic and poption center from northern to southern China. Then came the An-Shi Rebellion 1 . As pointed out in the records, ¡®People of all social status and upations were escaping to the south of Yangtze River, the scale of which has exceeded that of the Disaster of Yongjia 2 .¡¯ The southward migrationsted all the way to the period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. As a result, the poption in the south of China was for the first time an equal to that of the north. The third one took ce at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, when the Central ins were uncultivatednds and sparsely popted. To improve the situation and, on top of that, to meet the need for wider domains and garrisoning the border regions, the authorities of Ming Dynasty organized arge-scale migration. The government installed nine garrisons along the Great Wall, covering an area marked by Liaozuo on the east, Xuanfu and Datong on the north, Longxi on the west, and Yunnan and Sichuan on the south, reaching as far as Jiaozhi 3 . After that, the poption on either side of Yangtze River finally reached an equilibrium. The fourth time was the migration out of Shanhai Pass. Lower reaches of the Yellow River were flooded seasonally for years and tens of thousands of farmers were escaping to the northeastern part of the country; the migration went on for over a century. Shortly before the modern state was founded, the poption of the Northeast reached 60,000,000. That migration was thergest in scale that took ce in the history of the country.¡± Meetings were held daily without fail in Urumqi these days. Today was no exception. A special lecture was being held at the moment with dozens of attendants, all of which were senior officials of major provinces. The old man with sses was among them. On the podium was a professor with grizzled hair, talking in front of a massive screen. ¡°After the modern state was established, the influence of natural conditions and war on migration was decreasing, while the impact of policy and economic factors grew more potent, which is something you are all familiar with and I¡¯m not going to delve into unnecessary details here. The trend of migration is from rural to urban areas, from ind to coastal cities and industrial and mining regions, and following the western development strategy. The reason I¡¯ve talked about all these is to show that to some extent, migration is the determining factor of political, economical, natural environmental changes. It was because of all those migrations that developed urban agglomerations, economic centers, and backward areas, etc. are what they are nowadays¡­¡± The professor had been talking for a while. He paused to have a sip of water and went on in a hoarse voice. ¡°Right now, it seems we are back to where we used to be¡ªa time when migration was determined by natural disasters. Take the province of Xichui as an example. Of its total poption of 24,670,000, Huo Zhou takes up about 3%. It might not sound much, but let¡¯s have a look at the break-down. Among those, 370,000 are male and 350,000 are female. 190,000 are under 18 years old, 170,000 are between 18 and 35, 240,000 are between 35 and 60, and the rest are 60 years old and above. Of those, less then 10% have an annual disposable ie over 100,000 yuan 4. The minors and the aged are a rather heavy burden, for they belong to a disadvantaged group that cannot work, generates no value, and needs the protection of welfare resources. Whereas those of the middle-age group¡ªwhich takes up thergest proportion¡ªare enjoying a stable life, career, and state of mind. Personally, I think many of these people will have a hard time to start anew in new surroundings after being forced to leave their hometown. And it is also among this group that a potential safety hazard lies. That is to say, only as few as 170,000 young people are able to generate economic value. When these people are moved away, they will shake the established system of the new city in areas such as education, employment, pension, health service, housing, etc., and even be a burden for the new city. What we have to consider now is how to distribute these 700,000 people so that the equilibrium will not be disturbed. Qingning Province has a poption of 6 million and Tanggute 4 million. Both Longxi and Mobei have poptions of over 20 million. The former two provinces have muchnd and few people, yet job opportunities are equally few with far-from-perfect social security systems. And don¡¯t forget, both provinces have primitivendforms. Not only is the environment of teaus and ciers abominable, there are also the Kunlun Mountains in the region!¡± ¡°Hiss!¡± The mentioning of the mountain made everyone jolt. The current pattern was that mountains and rivers were prone to abnormalities. A provincial scenery such as Phoenix Mountain was able to turn into a node, so no one could predict how Kunlun, the ¡°ancestor of all mountains¡±, would turn out to be. ¡°The terrain in Longxi and Mobei is not as steep, but there are still the Qilian Mountains and Yin Mountains we need pay attention to. Both provincesck major industry, therefore I think their ability to handle the sudden inflow of arge poption is limited. That is why we have determined that Qingning and Tanggute will not be taken into consideration. A small amount could be moved into Longxi and Mobei, but the majority has to be migrated into the ind of the Central ins.¡± ¡°¡­¡± A hush fell across the room. As clearly as they knew the extent and impact of the issue, the graveness seemed to have manifolded at the words of a specialist. But it did not end there. The old professor was also very excited as he went on, ¡°I have made a rough estimation: if Huo Zhou were to be a deand, how much are we going to lose? First of all, there are 20.361 billion tons of coal, 270 million tons of iron, 220,000 tons of potassium nitrate, and 1329 kg of gold. Furthermore, we will also lose 180 million tons of nitratine, 76 million tons of magnesite, 20.4 million tons of mirabilite¡­ as well as 100,000 mu of farnd, 350,000 mu of cotton, 500,000 mu of grapes, and an annual loss of 50,000 tons of meat and 30,000 tons of milk products¡­¡± He named seventeen types of mineral resources and twelve types of farm produce in a row before going on to say, ¡°And there is more! If this so-called fire spiritual essence spreads to the region of Shaer Lake, Ayding Lake, and Qiketai, where arge area of shallow coalfield is found, it will not be a problem of destruction. Should the coalfields be set on fire, I, I cannot imagine what a scene that would be.¡± ¡°¡­¡± In the still of the conference room, his voice suddenly sounded dry as his tone turned grave. Slowly, he said, ¡°Starting from early this year, I have been working on a study entitled ¡®New Environmental Change and New Social Rtions¡¯. Take Tianzhu Mountain as an example. Tianmen Town used to have a poption of 80,000 and the residents mainly lived off the scenic area. However, after the mountain was closed, there was a sharp fall of the poption. There are only 50,000 inhabitants left now, of which very few are young people. They used to provide service for millions of tourists, but the number has dropped to a mere thousand. From a small town with aprehensive service industry, the town of Tianmen had shrunk to a small vige that can barely make ends meet¡­¡± The venerable and respected old professor had had multiple audiences with the top officials and was not afraid to speak his mind. He was very direct. ¡°I will hereby take this chance to appeal to the government. Please take the subject seriously, for this is without doubt an emerging discipline worth developing and promoting. We are in urgent need for talented people. Finally, I¡¯d like to offer a personal advice. The government must establish a reasonable and effective rescue and migration mechanism that can be carried out in long term. We must be prepared for a persistentrge-scale migration, whose general direction should be converging towards urban agglomerations and tnd regions. Avoid regions with specialndforms. The loss of poption in northwest and southwest border regions, south-central mountain areas, and northern mountain areas could be especially severe!¡± ¡°¡­¡± With that, the old professor swept his eyes over the audience, gathered his files, and was ready to walk off the stage. The ss-wearing official rose to his feet immediately. Taking the old professor by his hands, the official showed the old man to his seat himself. After that, he didn¡¯t walk up to the podium, but turned around to face the audience. ¡°Professor Li has offered some very constructive suggestions and we will look into them together. I would like to make another point: these issues at hand are all maneuverable. Once they move beyond our capability, we will need people such as cultivators to handle those ones¡ªand a lot of cultivators. We will be living beyond our means. Therefore, after going back, apart from the migration work, you will also need to pay close attention to this aspect. Support your local temples and have them hold more activities to take in pupils. Those in Tianzhu Mountain is our first batch. We now need to start training the second, the third, and the many yet toe! Ok, that¡¯s all for the meeting today!¡± Chapter 199 Chapter 199: Reaction Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The Central ins, the province of Nanyu 1 . Inside a travel agency of a third-tier city, a couple was sitting on a couch, reading the prices off a list. They were students of a local university and had spotted the travel agency at random while out for shopping today. They decided toe in to have a look. With the approaching winter vacation, they thought they could go on a trip and have a bit of ¡°pre-Spring-Festival hookup¡± while they were at it. ¡°Let¡¯s go to Nanzhong, it¡¯s warm there,¡± suggested the young man. ¡°It¡¯s a bit expensive¡ª 5000 yuan 2 for a four-flight trip. Don¡¯t you have anything cheaper?¡± The young woman seemed rather sensible. ¡°There is an ongoing strict inspection and all cheap shopping tours are cancelled. Only the deluxe tours are open for booking at the moment. They cost more, but the food and aodation are excellent.There is absolutely no arranged shopping destinations and the safety is guaranteed,¡± exined the agency owner with a smile. ¡°But still, 5000 yuan is, is too much¡­¡± The girl would love to go, but they were on a limited budget and could not bring themselves to spend that much money. The boyfriend went on reading the list and a whileter, he suddenly said, ¡°Why, there are still Tianshan tours in the winter?¡± ¡°Quite a few of those, actually. The view is unique and it¡¯s off season at the moment, so there¡¯s a discount¡ªfive days, double flights, and 1800 yuan 3only. Very reasonable price.¡± The owner was pushing for a sale. The girl read the n more carefully and asked curiously, ¡°Urumqi, Dakang, Tianshan¡­ hey, why isn¡¯t Huo Zhou included? I thought it¡¯s rather close.¡± ¡°You got me there. I¡¯m only following the orders of our head office. It seems all tours passing Huo Zhou are cancelled.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± The two looked around for quite some time but could not decide on which tour to pick. They decided to leave it be for the time being. On their way back, the boyfriend spent the entire bus ride ying with his phone and did not say a single word, which vexed his girlfriend slightly. She tugged at his arm and asked, ¡°What are you doing there?¡± ¡°Nothing, just flipping through some weibo posts.¡± The boyfriend handed her the phone. ¡°It just happens that they are talking about Huo Zhou there.¡± Taking over the phone, the girl saw news titles arranged in rows, all highly popr ones. ¡°After XX Dam Project, another major project isunched in the country.¡± ¡°Emigration of 700,000 residents is in progress, proper resettlement guaranteed.¡± ¡°Why was Huo Zhou chosen for the location for thergest photovoltaic nt in the world? Let¡¯s hear what the experts have got to say¡­¡± The girl scrolled down the screen and found it strange. ¡°The news here sounds empty. There isn¡¯t much detail.¡± ¡°Well, build whatever they want. It¡¯s none of our business!¡± The boyfriend stretched, drew his girl into his arms, and thought only about where to go to eatter. Huo Zhou was a city too far away for them to care and 700,000 people was but a number, which they forgot all about in a few minutes. *** Southwest, in a certain city. Inside a backroom in some residential area, two people were sitting opposite each other. One was slightly older with streaks of white hair. The other one had a gloomy face¡ªhe was none other than Zhang Wei himself. ¡°They have taken action, which is an opportunity for us.¡± The old man¡¯s eyes were lowered, as if he was deliberately not looking straight. His voice did not fit his appearance either, for it sounded somewhat shrill. Zhang Wei¡¯s eyes flickered, as if he was afraid to meet the old man¡¯s eyes. He asked, ¡°Shall we mobilize our disciples in Huo Zhuo?¡± ¡°Absolutely not! Your reckless move earlier almost exposed us, not to mention the three capable experts we lost. We will not arouse their suspicion this time. Let them do their thing. With the expense of moving 700,000 people and the loss of the natural resources of the entire region, even the colossus will need some time to recover. When the anomaly is at full-blown next year, we will move into action, then¡­ hoho!¡± The unexpectedughter of the old man was rather grating. He went on, ¡°I have been studying the legacy of our ancestors and I¡¯m getting onto something. Maybe we can use the secret skill to enhance our physical bodies to reach a more advanced state. To do that, the spiritual essence of ming Mountain is essential. Hoho, gods are on our side!¡± ¡°Really? Is there any side effect?¡± Zhang Wei asked curiously. ¡°Shortening your life by a few years, that¡¯s all. What¡¯s thatparing to restoring the glory of our ancestors?¡± Slowly, the old man looked up. Zhang Wei lowered his head at once, forcing himself to look away from the ghastly red pupils. *** Huo Zhou, the countryside. Inside the spacious courtyard, a middle-aged couple was casually tending to some chores. Holding one dried corn cob in each hand, the woman rubbed them together and the corns fell into a winnowing pan with a rustling sound. After finishing a few cobs, she became distracted and asked suddenly, ¡°What on earth is going on in your head? People of the township government are visiting every household and I heard they had set a three-month deadline. Everyone has to move.¡± ¡°The hell with their deadline. Forget the pretty name of ¡®requisition for government project¡¯. It¡¯s a resettlement n, isn¡¯t it?¡± The man tilted his head and grinned, baring his yellow teeth. ¡°I want good money and I don¡¯t give a sh*t whosemand it is. I¡¯ve talked to my sixth and eighth brothers. We¡¯re together in this. None of us will move if we¡¯re not happy with the money.¡± ¡°Is, is it all right to do that? They¡¯re pushing it real hard this time.¡± The woman was worried. ¡°They can¡¯t afford the publicity. One resisting family is a tartar, ten together makes it a negotiation. Haven¡¯t you heard of the saying ¡®thew doesn¡¯t punish numerous offenders¡¯?¡± The man couldn¡¯t care less. That was just how things worked. With a massive migration project like this, theter stages of the resettlement were rtively easy, whereas the early stage persuasion work was extremely tedious. The authorities had adopted an approach simr to that of the peach flower miasma: they worked things from multiple angles at the same time, which wouldplement one another. On a macro-perspective, a research base and a photovoltaic nt were to be constructed in Huo Zhou, hence the state¡¯s need to requisitend and houses, which was why a group migration was carried out. In terms of the mode of migration, different methods were to be adopted, including centralized resettlement, scattered resettlement, active settlement, government-arranged settlement, etc. These people would be allocated to eleven cities in the Central ins, where they would be given favorable policies in residence registration, education, employment, and so on and so forth. Numerous new housing facilities were also being built as they spoke. Those were the gains the government promoted. On the other hand, the abnormal climate of Huo Zhou was there for everyone to see. The experts were also advertising seemingly convincing theories, fanning up the mes with reasons and science, pushing people into actively abandoning the area. That was the loss they advertised should anyone wanted to stay. If, in the end, there were still those refusing to leave, the government would then stop wasting time and resolve to eviction. *** The county of Ashan, a gold mine. The county was a vital center of resources of Huo Zhou. Apart from two small-scale gold mines, various other minerals were found here, including nitratine, coal, bentonite, and many others. This gold mine was set up a decade ago, and from a small pit, it had since gradually expanded into a massive one as we saw now, which was eighty-five meters deep and filled an area as vast as 920,000 m^2. The entire mining process was carried out in this pit. Piles of whole and broken ores covered the bottom of the pit; the space between the piles had formed passages along which dozens of trucks traveled on a daily basis, taking the ore out of the mine. On average, every ton of gold ore would produce 2 grams of gold. Old Zhang was a truck driver who had been working here from the day the mine was built. Right now, he had no work to do and was squatting down in a corner, looking around in boredom. Dynamite was set off twice a week in the diggings to excavate new ores. Today was time for another st. While the dynamite was being prepared, all staff had to stop their work at hand. As a matter of fact, after a decade of working here, he was detecting something unmistakably strange these days. ording to their leaders, it was called ¡°to wee the Spring Festival with a hundred days of hard work¡±. They had ran this campaign before, which usually took ce between December and the Spring Festival. During this period, everyone was to put all their effort into their work like there was no tomorrow and would be rewarded with a generous bonus. This year, however, something felt different. It was as if they were fighting for their lives. Instead of an assembly ofbor, it felt more like a rush harvest, as if the gold mine would be gone tomorrow and they had to dig out as much as they could before that¡­ ¡°Phew! Phew!¡± While he was deep in his thought, a shrill and urgent whistle went off across the diggings, apanied by simultaneous broadcast reminders. Old Zhang rose to his feet right away, met with his fellow workers, and drove their trucks together to a hill on higher ground. ¡°Phew¡­ phew¡­¡± The whistles stopped abruptly after a few more rounds. After the safety officers made sure the area was evacuated, the dynamite buried in underground holes was detonated. There was a series of ¡°Boom!¡±, which reminded one of smouldering thunders, and the sky seemed to be shaking along with the earth. Old Zhang strained his neck and looked down. Dust and smoke rolled in the air, covering the entire pit, which would not dissipate even after a long while, as if trying to bury thisnd dense with scars. Chapter 200 Chapter 200: Rendezvous Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu December 31, a sunny day. New Year was tomorrow. Normally, all major businesses would have started their promotions by now with employees of allpanies ready for their long weekend. The young ones were especially eager for action¡ªtonight, they would be busy ying their ¡°instruments¡± deep into the night, until the ¡°simultaneous harmony¡± was reached. However, there was not a trace of jubtion in Huo Zhou at the moment. The entire city was trapped in a state of confusion, with a mixture of excitement, fright, expectation, and bewilderment. The government had been highly efficient. In the past month or so, a third of the poption was sessfully evacuated. The frequency of the trains had been increased and every day felt like the Spring Festival peak season, shipping people out of town. Households of all shapes and sizes filled the waiting hall inside and the small square outside the train station. Some who could not part with their family belongings had had every pot and pan stuffed into their bags while holding their wives and children in their hands, reminding one of refugees. Others appeared to be much more rxed¡ªwith the generous resettlementpensation in their bank ounts and a signed agreement of self-resettlement, they looked rather carefree with their minimal luggage, as if they were on a vacation. Centering around the train station and within a range of three blocks, men from special forces could be found everywhere; they were there to maintain the public order. Their cold and solemn eyes scanned the restless crowd, and together, the picture looked rather peculiar. ¡°Dear passengers, the next stop is Huo Zhou station, and the final destination¡­ for safety reasons, please cooperate with the attendants for inspection. Thank you for your cooperation¡­¡± At the announcement, an attendant entered the carriage and said, ¡°Please have your ID card ready. Thank you!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t we get checked when we boarded the train? How many times do we have to go through this?¡± a passengerined. ¡°It¡¯s just an extra precaution for this particr period. We appreciate your understanding.¡± While exining, the attendant took an ID card over, scanned it with a reader, and handed it back after a ¡°beep¡±. She finished the first three rows in no time, and when she reached the fourth row, an incredibly attractive hand stuck out at an angle, an ID card pinched between the fair and delicate fingers. ¡°¡­¡± The attendant felt her heart lurch, for this one had left her with quite an impression. She reluctantly took the card and scanned it¡ªas expected, nothing showed up on the interface of the scanning app on her phone but a line of capital letters: CONFIDENTIAL. ACCESS DENIED. The girl pursed her lips and handed back the card. She glimpsed at the owner¡¯s face, which was stunning even for someone of the same sex, and walked on with pretendedposure. She couldn¡¯t have reacted otherwise. The first round of inspection almost frightened the wits out of her, for she thought she had ran into a major wanted felon. It was thanks to the timely reminder from above that amotion was avoided. ¡°Rumble!¡± It didn¡¯t take her long to finish the carriage before the train was pulling into the station ahead. The long tform flitted past outside, together with the crowd waiting to board the train. The door slid open and the hubbub outside immediately gushed in. The safety officer was maintaining the order while shouting, ¡°Let the passengers off the train first! Let them off first! Don¡¯t push!¡± So far, Huo Zhou was still allowed for entry. It wouldn¡¯t be long before only outbound movement was allowed and thest stage would be to clear the region of all residents. The train had brought back quite a few passengers, who were mostly from the local area and had been settling down in other ces. They had rushed back to the hometown to take care of their affairs. Personnel of certain institutions had also arrived with the train. ¡°I can smell something on fire!¡± Carrying her backpack in one hand, Xiaozhai followed the moving crowd to the exit. She stood on the stairs, looked up at the sky, took in the city, and eventually couldn¡¯t hold back a sarcastic remark. She then reached the side of the road in a few strides. There were plenty of vehicles, but scarcely any taxis. It took her quite a while to finally hail one. ¡°To Grape Valley,¡± she spoke through the open car window. ¡°Hop on. I¡¯m not running on the meter. Pay me whatever you see fit.¡± The driver was in his fifties, had a swarthy, lean face, and was quick to respond. Xiaozhai was not concerned with the proposition at all. She happily got into the car and said casually, ¡°There are so few taxis here. You¡¯re the first one I saw in twenty minutes.¡± ¡°Everybody¡¯s quitting. More than half of the guys in mypany have left. Even the boss is leaving. With millions ofpensation money, who would want to drive a taxi?¡± The driver chuckled. ¡°Why are you still here, then?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t bear to leave the city. I¡¯ve lived here for fifty-two years, and my parents, my wife, and my child are all here. I¡¯ll stick around for as long as I can, just to feel the city¡­ f**k! The stupid kids!¡± The driver mmed on the brakes, for a couple of teenage boys appeared out of the blue, jaywalking with sticks in their hands while howling all the way. They did not make it far before some police officers caught up with them and pinned them down. It did not frighten them at all. They were giggling and jeering the entire time. ¡°Sigh, people are going crazy. My neighbor, such a nice fellow, took off yesterday on his own with thepensation he received just a day before. His wife is crying her eyes out at home. They¡¯ve been married for twenty years¡­¡± The driver sighed and stepped gently on the gas. ¡°¡­¡± Propped on her elbow, Xiaozhai watched the city and its people flying past outside like a rolling film showing one scene after next. A young man was crying in the street for no obvious reason; a woman was singing on the roof of a building, a wine bottle in her hand; a bus pulled over before reaching the next stop and the driver got off, disappearing into the crowd. The scene could not be more bizarre. Like blindfolded donkeys, these people were running a seemingly patternless track which was in fact fixed by fate the entire time. ¡°Not many people are using taxis these days and I only have a handful of passengers every day. At my age, I can¡¯t start off in a new city doing this job; I can¡¯t learn my ways around.¡± The driver babbled on. Xiaozhai turned her eyes away from the street and smiled at him. ¡°I think you should take some photos of these streets. And your passengers, take pictures with them and talk to them. When things settle down, maybe you can write a book about it.¡± ¡°Hahaha, that¡¯s a good idea! I didn¡¯t even go to high school and you say I can write a book. Haha!¡± The driver was amused, but hisughter soon trailed off. It was not a pleasant ride, for the roads were in a lousy condition. When they were finally out of the downtown area, the roads remained crowded¡ªpeople who lived in the countryside were all heading towards the city. The farmers going to the train station even travelled on their horse or mule wagons loaded with all their family belongings. Half an hour passed when the road finally cleared up. A russet mountain towered over on one side; the energy within seemed inexhaustible. They drove around the mountain and turned east. After another while, they finally reached the entrance of Grape Valley. The once ticket-selling destination waspletely deserted. The driver was kind enough to drive her all the way into the valley. Xiaozhai took out a hundred-yuan bill and handed it to the man. ¡°Thank you and good luck!¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s¡­¡± The driver was about to turn it down, but looking into Xiaozhai¡¯s eyes, he smiled despite himself. ¡°Thank you. Good luck to you, too!¡± *** Thendy fetched a hat and shoved it into an already stuffed luggage. It had been filled to the brim with beddings, clothes, and other bits and bobs. The hat was immediately crumpled up once it was stuffed in, so she took it out again. ¡°They say it¡¯s quite cool over there. I reckon I won¡¯t need a summer hat anymore?¡± thendy mumbled to herself. She had always liked this hat and could not make up her mind if she should leave it behind even after much consideration. ¡°Knock knock!¡± Right at that moment, there was a tap at the door and a tall, lean young woman walked into the courtyard. Thendy went to greet her at once. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we are closing down. Please check other ces if you need a room.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to look for someone. His surname is Gu,¡± said the young woman. ¡°Oh, I see! You¡¯re here for Xiao Gu, right? He mentioned you the other day.¡± Thendy smacked her forehead and there was warmth in her tone when she spoke again with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re his girlfriend, aren¡¯t you? Gosh, you¡¯re pretty! He¡¯s out looking for inspiration again. He usuallyes back in the afternoon. Let me take you to his room.¡± With that, they went upstairs to Gu Yu¡¯s room. Thendy spoke again, ¡°He¡¯s been with us for almost three months. Very decent man¡ªtidy and modest as well. Oh, by the way, are you a writer too?¡± ¡°Well, you could say that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave you here, then. Still have stuff to sort through downstairs.¡± When thendy went back downstairs, Xiaozhai showed herself around the room. The bed was big and the interior was simple and in. Had it not been for a spare pair of shoes by the bed, one almost could not tell someone was living here. She took a shower first, then changed into clean clothes andy in bed, ying with her phone. She had lost count of time when she heard footsteps downstairs. Thendy wasing up again. ¡°With what is going on right now, there¡¯s no need for check-in. It makes things easy, actually¡­¡± The husband and son had gone out somewhere. Leaning on the chair, thendy seemed to want to have a chat. ¡°We¡¯re leaving the day after tomorrow. How about you two?¡± ¡°We¡¯re thinking of staying a bit longer.¡± ¡°I see. You¡¯d have a hard time finding a ce to live, though. There¡¯s hardly anyone left in Grape Valley now. Why, I meant to ask you, why do you like this ce so much?¡± ¡°Before we were together, we made a promise saying if in the future, we, um¡­¡± Xiaozhai brought up her Oscar-standard performance with shyness and nostalgia written all over her face. She was a happy little woman looking forward to something beautiful at that moment. Thendy took the hint right away. ¡°Ipletely agree with you! That¡¯s so important for us women!¡± She then paused a little before saying, ¡°How about this: we¡¯re only taking away the necessities and leaving everything else behind. I¡¯ll leave the keys with you and you can decide for yourselves. If the governmentes here right away, then there¡¯s nothing I can do. If not, you can stay here for a couple more days. There¡¯s still food in the kitchen.¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Xiaozhai was genuinely surprised by the offer. ¡°We couldn¡¯t possibly trouble you with that. We¡¯ll just look for some other ce to stay.¡± ¡°Why, it¡¯s no trouble at all!¡± Thendy waved her off as she chuckled. ¡°Anyhow, you are thest two customers I have here. Call it fate.¡± *** Afternoon. Carrying his green gourd in one hand, Gu Yu went happily down the mountain. The moment he reached the front gate, his eyesnded on his girlfriend, who was reading a book in the courtyard. The tight jeans and white turtle-neck wrapped nicely around her perfect body. ¡°Hey,e and give your big sister a hug!¡± Seeing himing in, Xiaozhai patted her own thighs, gesturing Gu Yu to sit himself down like a good boy. Gu Yu rolled his eyes, took her hand, and sauntered their way upstairs. They had spent the past three months apart, tending their own business. Now that they finally got together, they weren¡¯t exactly pouring their hearts out. Once back in the room, Xiaozhai asked eagerly, ¡°Where¡¯s your ming Cloud Needle? Show me.¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Chuckling, Gu Yu made a wave and as if he had picked something out of the empty air, there was a resplendent star of light between his fingertips. She was curious and moved near to take a look. It still looked like a needle, only that the color had turned crimson and was wrapped in ayer of flowing scorching glow, Inmon perception, mes were clumsy and measured with quantities such as ¡°lump¡±. Even fireballs and long streaks of fire were also considered in lumps. The fire about this needle, however, seemed to have a vitality to it, which was flowing freely and actively like a stream. Xiaozhai was all the more excited. ¡°Here, try me!¡± ¡°Be careful.¡± Gu Yu did not refuse, for it was their daily activity. He activated his mental force and the red sparkle flickered, then drifted unhurriedly towards Xiaozhai. Stretching out her right hand, Xiaozhai opened her palm, in which was flickering lightning. She walked slowly towards the needle. ¡°ck!¡± The red and purple light met, giving off a violent exploding sound. Luckily, they had controlled the force they exerted, or this ce would be filled with lightning and fire. The red and purple bit into each other, unwavering. However, as Gu Yu increased his force gradually, the red light was gaining the upper hand while the purple light grew dimmer. ¡°Stop!¡± At his sudden shout, both retrieved their power and all was peaceful and quiet again. ¡°That was awesome!¡± Xiaozhai was amazed wholeheartedly. ¡°When your seventy-two ming Cloud Needles arepleted, they will definitely be the ace up your sleeves. They¡¯re worth passing down for generations.¡± ¡°Easier said than done! It¡¯ll take me at least over a year to refine them all and I can¡¯t stay here all the time.¡± Shaking his head, Gu Yu said, ¡°Before the abnormality breaks out again, I¡¯m content withpleting twelve needles. After that, I¡¯ll stay here for a couple of months each year and take things slowly.¡± ¡°Huo Zhou is in chaos now, but maybe in a few years time, this ce will be a treasurend. The government will thank the gods for that¡­ uh¡­¡± Xiaozhai stretched out, ripped off her shoes and slumped into the bed. She then asked, ¡°You didn¡¯t go into that cave again?¡± ¡°No. That ce just feels wrong. And those bugs, god knows what the hell they are.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go have a look tomorrow. We¡¯ll figure out a way to catch one and study it¡­e here.¡± She reached out, grabbed Gu Yu, and pulled him to her side. Unable to shake her off, Gu Yu had to lie down beside her and asked, ¡°You¡¯ve been to all those temples, found anything?¡± ¡°Not really, but it was an eye-opener!¡± Chapter 201 Chapter 201: Buddhism and Bug-Catching Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu With the eastward advancement of Buddhism, eight mahayana schools and two hinayana schools were gradually derived from it. Together, they were known as the Buddhist Ten Schools. Later on, the hinayana ones declined, making them Eight Buddhist Schools instead. These eight schools were all based on the ancient Buddhism, from where they extended and mixed with much local culture, which then gave birth to these new sects. The journey of Buddhism¡¯s expansion into this eastern country was not a smooth one. There were as many as four Buddhism-abolishing campaigns in written records alone, which took ce during the reign periods of Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei, Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, Emperor Wuzong of Tang, and Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou. Together, these campaigns were known as ¡°Disasters of Three Wu and One Zong¡±. The reasons behind these events were no more than the following three: the ruling ss¡¯s need to consolidate their power, the strife between Taoism and Buddhism, and Buddhism reaping what it had sown. Take Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei as an example. The man was not a Buddhism-hater in the beginning, but then a vassal came along, whose name was Cui Hao, a Taoist disciple whose master was Kou Qianzhi. The teacher and pupil had won the trust of Emperor Taiwu, and in order to make Taoism the one and only supreme religion, Cui Hao pressed for the abolishment of Buddhism. At a nce, he seemed to be the cause of the event, but the cmity was actually brought by the degenerated Buddhistmunity itself. At the early stage of Buddhism abolishment, Emperor Taiwu was not particrly harsh with it. However, two years into the campaign, he was leading an army fighting in the fields and went to Chang¡¯an to reorganize his troops, when he caught his attendants sharing meat and liquor with some monks of a temple. Finding this conduct inappropriate, he sent soldiers to examine the temple, where they found numerous weapons and a considerable amount of liquor. Also stashed away in the temple were treasured belongings of dignitaries, as well as back rooms where the monks fornicated with women. The discovery infuriated the emperor. An imperial edict followed, ordering the elimination of Buddhism. Buddhist statues, temples, and scriptures were destroyed; monks were buried alive regardless of how young or old they were. As expected, Cui Hao did not get to die in his own bed, either. He waster executed on Emperor Taiwu¡¯smand. In Buddhist terms, these were the ¡°internal cause¡± and the tent effect¡±. Taoism had its own expression on such matter: Misery and happiness had no door¡ªif either came, one brought it upon themselves. Or in Xiaozhai¡¯s words, the stupid monks had iting. *** ¡°Unlike the Taoistmunity, which has been declining ever since the Song Dynasty, Buddhism thrived in theter dynasties despite all the disasters it went through.¡± On therge bed, Xiaozhai and Gu Yuy in each other¡¯s arms. It was supposed to be an intimate picture, but the wordsing out of their mouths were of anpletely irrelevant subject. ¡°These past few months, I¡¯ve visited Shaolin Temple, Daci¡¯en Temple, Huayan Temple, Guoqing Temple¡­ I almost saw them all, apart from the birthce of Esoteric Buddhism. I found mostlymonly published Buddhist scriptures and they were not particrly substantial, but I did learn a thing or two. Chan Buddhism is all about sitting in meditation. ¡®Look into your heart and see the Buddha on enlightenment¡¯. Pure Land Buddhism chants the name of Buddha. Get rid of the vile spawn, straighten out the karma, and you move on blissfully to the Pure Land. Vinaya School focuses on precept itself. One could only achieve the enlightenment after themselves are cleansed. Huayan School believes in Dharmadhatu Pratityasamutpada and ¡®perfect interfusion¡¯¡­¡± ¡°Stop right there. What the hell is Dharmadhatu Pratityasamutpada?¡± Gu Yu interrupted. ¡°It means all phenomena inside and out of the world are representations of the wisdom of Buddha without exception. Without this wisdom, no phenomenon will exist.¡± Xiaozhai offered a brief exnation. Seeing that he still looked confused, she used her own words. ¡°The heart says, ¡®let there be light¡¯, and light there is!¡± ¡°Ok, I think I get it.¡± Gu Yu was enlightened. ¡°The doctrine of Huayan sets the foundation of all eight schools. Theories of various schools including Faxiang 1 , Sanlun 2 , and Tiantai all share some simrities. You only need to know one concept: ya-vijnana¡­¡± She sat up, leaning against the white wall with her legs slinging over her boyfriend¡¯s waist. ¡°Men have five consciousnesses to begin with, that is eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body consciousnesses. The sixth is mental consciousness and the seventh manas, or the subconscious. The eighth is ya-vijnana. The concept is rather abstract. It is the collective body of all human nature and delusions, and where the seeds of good and evil are embedded. Every idea, intention, spoken word, or conduct of every individual creates a seed of future karma. Before the seeds are retributed, they all hide in ya-vijnana¡­¡± She was a straight-A student at heart and an enthusiast of theoretical knowledge; she was able to exin the profound theory in simple terms. Gu Yu listened attentively and suddenly sat up. ¡°I get it! First of all, you have to believe in Buddha and karma. Karma is hidden in ya-vijnana, which gives birth to numerous Dharmadhatu. Everyone is a prisoner of karma and everything one does has its karmic consequences, which determines whether you¡¯re going to hell or Pure Land after you¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°Very good generalization!¡± Xiaozhai offer her praise and added, ¡°In order to go to Pure Land, one has to work on karma as well as believe in Buddha. The former is the internal force and thetter the external one. Buddha will give you a hand to help you reach the heaven. Should you decide to do evil, karma will catch up with you once you drop dead and you are going to burn in hell.¡± ¡°Tsk, Buddhists are so idealistic! By this standard, the masters nowadays are definitely not qualified enough.¡± Gu Yu shook his head. Taoist theory was that man was an integral part of nature and the Great Dao itself an imitation of nature. With the Great Dao as their ultimate goal, one would ze trails and break paths, advancing bravely and never giving in. If one was fortunate enough to reach the state of Heavenly Immortal, they would share the glory of the universe for eternity. Buddhism asked for one¡¯s faith first. Only after one believed in it would Buddha give one the strength. The level of cultivation was also rted to Buddhist doctrine. The more advanced the doctrine, the more capable the cultivator. However, after all those centuries, many of the Buddhist skills must have been lost as well. With a general mood even more degenerated than the Taoistmunity¡¯s, real masters were very hard toe by. More importantly, even if one managed to go to Pure Land, it would only bring them to Buddha himself in hisnd; no immortality of oneself was mentioned. ¡°Anyway, I didn¡¯t get to see any magical tricks. It was so boring¡­ hey, do you know what was the most interesting thing happened to me this time?¡± Before he could answer, Xiaozhai revealed it herself. ¡°I have indeed ran into an old monk in Xiaoji Temple. He had some profound knowledge of Buddhist theories and told me a lot of stuff, like ¡®good and evil will always be rewarded, it¡¯s karma¡¯, h h. I was like ¡®Damn it, I¡¯ve done nothing evil, but my boyfriend has. Will he go to hell after he dies?''¡± ¡°Pffft!¡± Gu Yu choked on his own spit. ¡®Is this woman really my girlfriend?¡¯ ¡°The master taught me ¡®a fault confessed is half redressed.¡¯ I said sometimes it couldn¡¯t be helped. One¡¯s got to fight back to make oneself happy. The master then said if onemitted the ten evil deeds, they would end up in the realms of Hell, Hungry Ghost, and Animal 3 . It would be an eternal damnation; no rebirth.¡± ¡°Then what did you say?¡± Gu Yu was curious. She did not answer, but asked back, ¡°How would you respond if you were there?¡± Gu Yu gave it some thought. ¡°I¡¯ve killed people, I¡¯m not nning to repent, and I¡¯m going to hell. In that case¡­ in that case, I should simply stay alive forever!¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± Xiaozhai broke intoughter at this. Clinging onto him, she panted slightly. ¡°That was my answer, word for word!¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Gu Yuughed with her. That was probably why they became a couple. Dusk had set in already. The window next to the bed was half open, letting in the dim sunlight through the wide open curtains, painting the floor with a soft hue. Downstairs, the husband seemed to have returned with the kid. There was child voice of calling for food and thendy¡¯s coaxing andforting words. It took Xiaozhai quite a while to stopughing. When she raised her head and looked at the man again, there was an urge in her eyes. They connected, they understood each other, and there was love in the air; it couldn¡¯t be helped. She sat up, her long legs swept across the air and she was straddling on his waist. ¡°What¡­¡± Gu Yu swayed backwards. He propped himself up with both hands and looked resigned. ¡°I¡¯m about tomit fornication.¡± ¡°It¡¯s broad daylight. Can¡¯t you wait?¡± ¡°Frrrrrr!¡± He got a breeze in reply. With a wave of Xiaozhai¡¯s hand, the curtain was drawn all the way to the other end and the room dimmed right away. She stretched out and bit Gu Yu¡¯s neck. ¡°Daylight or not, the basic needs can¡¯t wait, can they?¡± *** The following day. There were more than a dozen farm-stay businesses, most of which were deserted by now. One of thergest courtyards was littered with daily supplies and garbage, along with two hens that nobody bothered to get rid of. Right now, they were strolling the courtyard in the most careless fashion. ¡°Cluck!¡± One of them seemed to have spotted a worm and ran happily towards it, but it did not make if far before someone lifted it off the ground. The hen didn¡¯t even get a chance to p it wings before it was knocked out and stuffed into a bag. The other one shared this fate. Immediately after that, two hen-stealing thieves snuck out the courtyard and headed straight towards ming Mountain¡ªthey were none other than Gu Yu and Xiaozhai themselves. They went up the mountain with the bag and reached the cave, above which the giant rock still hang. The sun was not yet at the right position and the entrance was still hidden in the shadow. ¡°The passage inside is too narrow and we can only crawl in and out. If only it could be a bit wider, we¡¯d be able to go straight in and get the puppets out,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Expand the entrance first, or it might be in our wayter.¡± Xiaozhai examined the entrance and suggested. ¡°Step back.¡± Gu Yu moved closer in a few strides and activated his mental force. Seven refined ming Cloud Needles materialized in front of him, zing resplendently with their scarlet glow. Controlling the magical instruments, Gu Yu arranged them into a single file end to end. Together, they resembled a magnificent, shiny dagger. ¡°Poof!¡± The dagger thrusted forward abruptly, stabbing into the mountain wall by sheer force until it disappearedpletely into the rock. Right away, the wall shook with a crackling sound and rubble and dust started showering down. ¡°Boom!¡± Arge piece of rock smashed onto the ground and there was a giant opening above the entrance of the cave. ¡°That should be wide enough.¡± Xiaozhai blindfolded the two hens and tied some tough ropes around their bodies. She then sliced her finger across their necks; blood oozed out right away. ¡°Cluck¡­ cluck¡­¡± The hens squawked in pain. They pped their wings with all their effort, but could not break free no matter what. Xiaozhai ducked down, aimed into the cave, and swung the hens in. The moment they touched the ground, their squawk was even more awful as they rushed around blindly like maniacs. Chickens usually ran in circles, but animal instinct told them that a couple of powerful auras were guarding the way they came from. They dared not turn around and could only run forward. ¡°Cluck¡­ cluck¡­¡± The two waited outside as the sound grew weaker. Neither of them was confident that they would be able to lure the bug out. In less than twenty seconds, the pitch of the clucks erupted and the rops started shaking violently. ¡°Pull!¡± Gu Yu¡¯s face lit up. They started pulling the ropes right away, which were soon out of the cave. The hens were skeletons by now, with a few ck bugs hanging onto them. The ck bugs seemed to sense the danger. They started scuttling back before they werepletely out of the cave. Xiaozhai stretched out her gloved long arm, and with a sweep, she had caught one between her fingers. The bug squeaked and opened its lotus-shaped mouthpart, ready to spurt out the venom. With a sizzling sound, a tiny streak of lightning drilled into its chest. The ck bug froze on the spot, suppressed by the overwhelming and fierce power of thunder, and dared not move at all. She put it carefully into a sack and covered it safely away from sunlight. They could not bear to have such a disgusting creature in their wooden box¡ªit might give them a psychological toll. It was not that Gu Yu could not catch one on his own, but he wouldn¡¯t know what to do with it even if he did. He was never a schr type and did not know the rare and odd inheritance as his girlfriend did. *** The same night, in the hotel. Lights were on in the small courtyard, which looked especially conspicuous and mncholic among the surrounding darkness. Somehow, the affectionatendy and her husband were quarrelling tonight, which was mixed with the crying of the child. They did not care there were still guests upstairs. Of course, those two did not actually care about what was going on, for they had shut themselves up in the room studying the ck bug. The table was matted with twoyers of thick cloth. Xiaozhai sat at the table and opened the sack. She then patted the table. The bug dared not even make a sound at the energy of thunder and crept out obediently. It was the size of a fist, had eight long, barbed legs, a gigantic mouthpart, and protruding eyes that resembled thepound eyes of flies. Xiaozhai turned it this way and that for quite a while and found nothing out of the ordinary. She then drew her dagger and cut down. ¡°Poof!¡± The head of the bug fell down and rolled to one side. ck liquid spurted out, dampening the cloth. She observed the contaminated cloth and concluded, ¡°It¡¯s not erosive, but could be poisonous. This does not look like blood. How strange¡­¡± As she mumbled, her hand moved swiftly, cutting down all eight long legs, then split its stomach open along a thin line on its chest. ¡°What?¡± Both were taken by surprise, for the inside of the bug was hollow. There were no internal organs, no bones, no blood or flesh. ¡°That¡¯s againstmon sense!¡± Frowning, Xiaozhai fell silent in vexation. ¡°Well, do you think it¡¯s possible that this is the legendary corpse bug?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. I¡¯ve read about those in my master¡¯s collection. There was a detailed description on them.¡± Xiaozhai disagreed and exined, ¡°Corpse bugs feed on dead bodies, but they still have a normal biological structure and belong to the natural world. This ck bug, on the other hand, seems like a creature raised by some secret skill¡­ hey, did you say the cave was full of puppets?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°What was in the puppet?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t get a close look. I think it was a dead baby.¡± ¡°Dead baby, dead baby¡­¡± she muttered to herself and only spoke again after a long time, ¡°There is a possibility: the dead bodies were the substrate of the bugs. There is no such creature in natural world and they could only be created by baby corpses and the secret skill. Taoism would not take such approach. I think it looks like something rted to sorcery¡­ hey, look here!¡± She had turned the bug round and round but found nary a clue. She was about to cut open that head when she stopped. ¡°Check out the back of its head. Does the shape and the pattern look like a ghostly face to you?¡± Gu Yu looked at it. It indeed resembled a tiny yet hideous ghostly face. Moreover, there were two red dots as well, which were right where the eyes should be. Tsk! It suddenly dawned on him that the two encounters he had were both red-eyed ghostly faces! ¡°Can it be a coincidence?¡± he mumbled. ¡°Of course not!¡± Xiaozhai was quick to react. She fumbled out a pen and started drawing. ¡°You fought with ghostly faces, the puppets had ghostly faces, and so does the bug. Those sorcery practitioners love their totems and this could well be their emblem. I¡¯ve heard of plenty of sky-, earth-, water-, and fire-worshipers, but ghost-believers¡­¡± She tossed the pen aside and pressed her hand on the vivid drawing of a ghostly face. ¡°That¡¯s something only Shamanism would do!¡± Chapter 202 Chapter 202: Attempting to Break Through to the Innate State Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Shamanism was a variation of Wuxi and used to be widely practiced among nomads, its believers spreading across the vast region from outside the Shanhai Pass to the Northwest. The core of Shamanism was the belief that all things were spiritual. The sun, the moon, the stars, mountains and rivers, water and fire, flowers and trees, and even certain animals were all spiritual beings. It was especially keen on worshipping gods and the ghosts of ancestors, which was the foundation of its teachings. Shamanism was a general term for numerous divisions, each with its own regional characteristics. Outside the Shanhai Pass, for instance, the region was known for the Changbai 1 Mountains and the Heilong 2 River. Consequently, some ns there worshipped bears. The Northwest, on the other hand, had its teaus and meadows, and ns there chose to worship snow mountains. All those inheritances originated from the ult sorcery science of Wuxi times, which attributed great importance to themunication with ¡°spirit¡±. Xiaozhai was specting now that Zhang Wei and his men were connected with Shamanism. They were probably the descendants of the lucky survivors of the destroyed Jushi Kingdom. Of course, these two didn¡¯t actually care about those people¡¯s actual identity. ¡®I don¡¯t give a damn as long as you leave me alone. Now that you¡¯ve pissed me off, there¡¯re going to be consequences.¡¯ And a lot of consequences, that was, until these people werepletely crushed. After everything was sorted out, Xiaozhai put away the drawing of the ghostly face, while Gu Yu rolled up the cloth on the table¡ªwrapped inside was the stinky dead body. He then activated his mental force and a scarlet glow rose out of his palm, bringing with it an intense burning sensation. ¡°Pop!¡± The cloth burst into mes at the touch and was burning more vigorously by the second. Before long, the cloth was all ashes, which he flushed down the toilet, destroying everyst bit of it. ¡°I¡¯m growing very fond of your needles. I think they have great potential.¡± Xiaozhai offered her praise as she watched his move. ¡°Do some research. See if you can change their shape so that they are good for both defense and offense.¡± ¡°Hm? You mean like this?¡± Gu Yu winced, then summoned all seven needles all at once. The seven rays of scarlet light then linked up end to end, forming a short sword. Stretching out his hand, he grabbed the fiery sword and struck at the empty air as if he was wielding a real sword. ¡°Whoosh!¡± The scarlet de struck down ferociously. The air rippled like water in a pond, raising a wave of scorching st, which rushed vigorously towards the wall. Xiaozhai moved swiftly, blocking its way, then waved her hands. ¡°Pop!¡± ¡°ck!¡± In the split of a second, the st was trapped between her palms by the lightning and soon suppressed. Immediately after that, Gu Yu let go of the sword, which scattered and reformed. Now there was a hollow round shield floating in front him. ¡°The Green Jade Needle before could only make physical attacks and there was not much variation to it. The ming Cloud Needle now has a magical property to it. It¡¯s much more agile.¡± Gu Yu retrieved the magical instrument and pondered. ¡°If I manage to refine all seventy-two needles, I can indeed use them for offense and defense alike. But that¡¯s not changing shape, but moving into different formations. If we really want to make them into other shapes, we¡¯ll need another fortunate encounter to upgrade this gear. Oh, speaking of which, where are you in cultivating your mental force?¡± ¡°It can be used externally,¡± replied Xiaozhai. ¡°Just about time¡­¡± With that, he fumbled out a big package¡ªin it was the remaining green jade stone. ¡°I¡¯ve taken more than enough. Any magical instrument you want to refine?¡± Xiaozhai gave the stone a look and gave her firmly determined answer. ¡°A hammer!¡± ¡°WHAT?¡± ¡°A hammer!¡± ¡°Sis, seriously?¡± he asked hopelessly. ¡°I am the Lord of Thunder and of course I have to use a hammer!¡± Xiaozhai was wearing a solemn look on her face. ¡®The hell with that! I wasn¡¯t born yesterday!¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s the Thunder Technique you are cultivating and you can temper it with your own spiritual essence. There¡¯s no need to use the fire spiritual essence for refinement. Xiao Qiu should be at the same stage as you, also just able to use it externally¡­ oh my!¡± He stopped abruptly. ¡°It¡¯s New Year today. Shouldn¡¯t we give Xiao Qiu a call?¡± ¡°New Year?¡± Xiaozhai blinked and was abashed as she replied, ¡°I havepletely forgotten about it.¡± They had been out for three months and made no contact whatsoever with the poor kid, who was left behind at home. That was not very thoughtful of them at all! Thus, the heartless ¡°parents¡± took out their phone and sent out a video call request. ¡°Brrrrrrr¡­¡± ¡°Brrrrrrr¡­¡± It was quite a while when the call finally went through, showing an expressionless little face. Her voice was scarily calm. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Brother and Sister.¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± The couple was feeling guilty and Gu Yu asked first, ¡°Well, what are you doing over there?¡± ¡°Just ate.¡± ¡°What did you eat?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t remember.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The conversation froze in the air. Xiaozhai shoved her boyfriend aside and took over the phone. ¡°Has anyonee to trade these days?¡± ¡°Three came, I epted one. It was a glossy ganoderma.¡± ¡°Where did ite from?¡± ¡°The Qi Family of the south of Five Ridges. He said the area was particrly good for growing medicinal materials. I talked with him. I think this can be a long-term deal¡­¡± Xiao Qiu was quite serious when talking business. A few words on the subject and Xiaozhai felt the atmosphere softened a little. She then said, ¡°It¡¯ll be another while before we head back. With you alone at home¡­¡± ¡°How long is a while?¡± Long Qiu interrupted. ¡°April, or March.¡± Xiaozhai knew at once she had said the wrong words. The girl¡¯s face turned expressionless again as she said frigidly, ¡°Ok, I see. I¡¯ll hang up if there¡¯s nothing else.¡± ¡°Click!¡± The reflection of two shuddering fellows filled the darkened screen. ¡°Sh*t, the kid is angry.¡± *** After New Year, Huo Zhou felt all the more like a dead city. The average temperatures of past years were between -12 to -2 degrees Celsius, but it was higher by as many as ten degrees this year. It did not feel like winter at all. The owner¡¯s family had left, leaving the keys to Gu Yu. Of the entire Grape Valley, they were the only people left. The government turned a blind eye to this and gave a tacit permission for them to stay. Their mind wasn¡¯t on these two anyway. The entire state was operating on full st, concentrating all energy to support the migration. The majority of the 700,000 people had left, with only a handful struggling against the tide. Of course, some were genuinely unwilling to part with their hometown, while others only stayed behind to squeeze more money out of this. Aksun County, Lake Township. There were eight viges and a little over 10,000 residents in total. Six of the viges had been emptied so far and the remaining two were quite problematic. Inside a shabby courtyard, a wife wasining. ¡°We¡¯re running out of food and the markets are closed. Let¡¯s just move. It¡¯s giving me the jitters.¡± ¡°What are you afraid of? Ten families are still staying in the vige. If anything happens, it happens to all of us.¡± The yellow-teethed many on a chair,pletely unconcerned. The wife was on pins and needles. ¡°What if they cut off the water and electricity?¡± ¡°Ha! Then I¡¯ll have a lie-down outside the township government gate! Don¡¯t worry. Thest time we talked with them, they were about to give in. This time¡­¡± While the man was lecturing his wife, confident that everything was working out as nned, he paused abruptly, then asked with excitement, ¡°Listen. Do you hear vehicles?¡± The woman turned to listen and there was indeed an indistinctive rumbling of vehicles approaching. The husband rose to his feet. ¡°They¡¯re here. Let go have a look.¡± With that, he walked out of the courtyard and looked into the distance on the countryside dirt road. Dust swirled in the air, blocking most of his sight. When the air was clear again, the front of a big ck vehicle came into sight, which was followed closely by a second one, and a third, and fourth¡­ as it turned out, it was a fleet of cars. The man immediately realized that something was wrong; his legs were shivering a little. ¡°Squeech!¡± ¡°Squeech!¡± The fleet of cars stopped at the entrance of the vige in no time and a team of fully-armored special force filed out. The leader called out, ¡°Take them all!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± There was a response in unison, which had shaken thest bit of confidence out of the man. Two members of team rushed to his side, grabbed his arms with pincer-like hands, then pressed him down. ¡°What are you doing?¡± The half-kneeling, half-standing position he was in was extremely ufortable and his head was pressed all the way down. He shouted at the top of his voice, ¡°Why are you arresting me? On what grounds?¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± There was a sharp pain on his waist and he choked on his unsaid words. Meanwhile, vigers were chased out of their neighboring houses in twos and threes, all crying and howling. The police knew perfectly whom they should be dealing with and was only relentless towards the men, but treated women and children appropriately. ¡°We don¡¯t want the money anymore! We will leave now¡­ sob¡­¡± ¡°We want no money, no money, sob¡­¡± The man was escorted towards a truck and seemed to pick up the crying of his wife and children. He struggled and squirmed, crying out as he stumbled on. ¡°Yes, we don¡¯t want it any more! We¡¯ll move right away!¡± Yet no one was paying attention to him. The team leader stood in the middle of the road with a notebook, crossing out each name as the vigers got on the truck one at a time. In the end, a subordinate officer went up to him. ¡°Captain! There are thirty-seven in total and we¡¯ve escorted thirty-five!¡± ¡°Who are the two absent?¡± His face darkened. ¡°Xxx and xxx.¡± The subordinate spoke two names. ¡°They have ingested pesticide when I went in. They are on they way to the hospital now.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The team leader fell silent. He knew the situation here like the back of his hand. Most of those who stayed were trying to extort money, but the two elderly were an exception. Both were orphaned and widowed, lived their whole life in the vige, and had no family left. They asked for no money and simply did not want to leave. The pesticide must have been prepared beforehand, just for a day like this. Sadness filled the team leader¡¯s heart, yet there was nothing he could do. Sighing, he gave the vige ast look, turned around, and got into a vehicle. *** Tianzhu Mountain, Qiyun Taoist Monastery. It was time for breakfast and disciples of Zhengyi and Quanzhen were still sitting in two distinctively seperate groups. They were still eating spiritual rice porridge, only that the porridge was a little thicker now. After having it for more than half a year, most men had adapted to the effect of spiritual rice and the improvement in their cultivation was obvious. There was no longer a limit now. Eat more if you could take it; stay with the watery porridge if you couldn¡¯t. The canteen was utterly quiet, void of even the clink of spoons touching bowls. Taoist priests did not talk nonsense while eating, but the look on each face was rather hard to describe. Because of their special status, they were informed of everything going on in the cultivation world, which naturally included Huo Zhuo. The entire monastery knew about it shortly after the abnormality was discovered. Good God! The abnormality of nature took over an entire city all at once! The scene sounded so interesting that they wanted to see if for themselves. However, they knew that they could do nothing without the adequate ability. Zhang Shouyang held up his bowl and downed thest bit of his porridge in one gulp, then gestured to his left and right to take his leave. While he was strolling towards the door, a man rushed in suddenly and almost bumped into him. He steadied himself and saw that it was a young disciple from Qingsong Sect of Quanzhen. ¡°What¡¯s the hurry?¡± he asked. ¡°Senior, Senior Brothers¡­¡± The young one did not reply. Instead, he stood there, his eyes shining with excitement. ¡°Senior, Senior Brother Lu announced he is going to enter seclusion. He is going to attempt breaking through to the innate state!¡± Chapter 203 Chapter 203: Sess Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Buzz!¡± The canteen erupted at the announcement. Everyone¡¯s expressions changed. One after another, they put down their bowls and chopsticks, rushing out of the door. The group gathered outside Lu Yuanqing¡¯s courtyard, where a disciple from Laoshan Sect of Quanzhen was keeping guard. He saluted the crowd. ¡°Good morning, Senior Brothers.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± Shi Yui asked. ¡°Early this morning, Junior Brother Zhang and I went to the canteen together and walked past Senior Brother Lu¡¯s courtyard on our way. We saw him standing in the yard alone, which got us wondering, so we went up to him and inquired about it. Senior Brother Lu kept his silence at first, then entered his room and closed the door behind him. From inside the room, he informed us that he was sensing something in his mind and was going into seclusion to try to break through to the innate state. We dared not take the matter lightly and delivered the news to Senior Brothers at once.¡± Despite the irritable look, the young man was slow and articte in his narration. ¡°¡­¡± Those gathered around all reacted differently at the news. Priests from Quanzhen was surprised at first, but soon went wild with joy. Those from Zhengyi, on the other hand, were anxiety-ridden and pale-faced. Time seemed to have frozen for a second before old Priest Mo said, ¡°The most important thing now is to inform the authorities, then take turns to guard the door. Each shift will consist of two people and we can volunteer¡ª¡± Before he could finish the sentence, the disciple from Laoshan said, ¡°Naturally, Junior Brother Zhang and I take the first shift.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be the second!¡± a disciple from Jinhui Sect said. ¡°I¡¯ll be the third!¡± said a disciple from Haiyun Sect. The twenty Quanzhen disciples might have their conflicts on normal days, but at this critical moment, they shared the glory of their fellow disciple and fell over one another to make their share of contribution. The sixteen Zhengyi disciples could only stand aside and watch in silence. Soon, the ten-shift guarding schedule was set up and the government had received the news. The time of seclusion varied from a couple of days to three or five years. Food and water needed to be sent in every day and there were other matters to take care of from time to time, all of which required men at hand. ¡°He is worthy of the name of the abbot¡¯s personal pupil of Baiyun Temple. It has taken him such a short time to reach the innate state.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too early to say. I wonder if he will make it.¡± ¡°He was bold enough to go into seclusion, he must be very confident about the oue. Let¡¯s just wait patiently.¡± While they were still discussing, the sound of many voices came from afar. Another bunch of people knocked the mountain gate open and ran hurriedly in. There were about seven or eight of them and the one in the front was an old man in military suit¡ªthe general superintendent of Tianzhu Mountain. He approached them in quick steps and was about to enter the courtyard straight away when he halted abruptly, suspending his foot in mid-air for a few seconds before putting it down. Eyeing the closed door, he fought back the tumult of emotions inside, turned to the other direction and asked, ¡°How are things looking?¡± Shi Yui went up to him and replied, ¡°He has only just started his seclusion. We can¡¯t tell yet.¡± ¡°How long will it take?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very hard to say. All we can do is wait.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The old man stared at him for quite a while, then sped his hands behind his back and paced up and down a few rounds before asking, ¡°Priest Shi, Priest Mo, what do you think?¡± The two exchanged a look and gave simr answers. ¡°Junior Brother Lu is extremely talented and has been cultivating Dan methods of the highest grade. Adding to the fact that he has received the nourishment of spiritual rice, it is looking very promising.¡± They kept their answer ambiguous without any substantial promise. The old man, however, seemed to sigh with relief and said repeatedly, ¡°Good, that¡¯s good.¡± While they were expecting the result eagerly, those of Zhengyi left the scene unnoticed. Zhang Shouyang, Chao Kongtu, and Zhong Lingyu got together in the living quarters. The atmosphere was exceptionally grave. Even the most unbridled Chao Kongtu was frowning as he said, ¡°Lu Yuanqing must have been quite certain of his sess to announce his seclusion. We need toe up with a countermeasure.¡± ¡°How? With Zhengyi¡¯s skills all gone, are you suggesting we should turn to follow Quanzhen instead?¡± Zhong Lingyu¡¯s tone was helpless. The words were unintentional, but Zhang Shouyang shuddered at them. He said gravely, ¡°While we respect the Taoist orthodox, the government does not. The achievement of Quanzhen will certainly win its full support. I know Lu Yuanqing too well. He will grab this opportunity and turn things against us.¡± ¡°How dare he?¡± ¡°Does he think he can change the Taoist orthodox of the past thousand years like that?¡± The other two were taken by surprise and their face darkened with concern. The unyielding protests sounded more like self-constion. ¡°Sigh, the government values the oue. In order to survive, we need to work on that aspect. Being the abbot¡¯s personal pupil of Ways of Celestial Masters, Zhang Shouyang was the most essible to insider information and the most insightful one. He only shook his head and sighed sadly. *** Inside the meditation room. Lu Yuanqing sat cross-legged with closed eyes. His upper body was kept ramrod straight with his head bending slightly forward. His thumbs linked with his right hand wrapping around his left, two Laogong 1 acupoints facing each other, and ten fingers slightly apart. His breathing was smooth, long, and almost too quiet to detect. There was an otherworldly feel to his face. He stimted the secretion of his saliva, swallowed, and directed the essence into Dantian, where the primordial essence came to life and transformed into Qi, traveling upwards along Du vessel, passing through the three meridians Wei L¨¹ 2 , Jia Ji 3 , and Yu Zhen 4 , the upper, middle, and lower Huang Ting 5 , and the upper and lower Que Qiao 6 before a full cycle waspleted, which was also the process of refining the essence of the small universe. As the saying went, ¡°Moving the essence up Kun Mountain and keeping it undisturbed until reaching Yuguan. Thanks to the eight closely shut doors, Yin and Yang will mingle and form a cycle.¡± The Small Universe Technique was the most advanced and intact existing Neidan method. It could carry essence upwards to nourish the mind, adjust the level of energy activated, bnce Yin and Yang, as well as defeat numerous mdies so as to strengthen the body and prolong the lifespan. Dan methods of Quanzhen all started from the acquired state and moved into the innate state from there. One had to reach the innate state to be able to sense the spiritual essence. On the other hand, the spiritual essence was a must-have if one wanted to reach the innate state. The process wasparable to building a bridge between heaven and earth. With the bridge gone, what would one use to connect the two with? Of the thousands of years of the ancient time, Ming Dynasty was thest era for cultivators. Starting from middle tote Ming, those of high power and great virtue perished rapidly. When Qing Dynasty came along, all that was left were the theories, and the cultivators were gone. In in words, the world was ¡°degraded¡± after the spiritual essence dried up. Even if one could practice Neidan method to perfection, they would be stuck at the pinnacle of the acquired state, unable to move up further. Now that the spiritual essence had recovered, the world was ¡°upgraded¡±, making it possible for one to move into the innate state from the acquired one. Lu Yuanqing was an extremely talented man who had mastered the Small Universe Technique better than his own master. All he needed was an opportunity like this. With what he had umted in the past twenty years, plus the facilitation of the spiritual rice, he had finally reached the threshold, hence the announcement of seclusion. ¡°Ha¡­¡± ¡°Ha¡­¡± Lu Yuanqing¡¯s breathing was bing quieter and his expression all the calmer. He had lost count of time when there was a heating sensation in his kidneys and he seemed to feel a shimmer in his Dantian. He steadied his mental force, went on following the manual, and would not be disturbed by this change. A few cyclester, when his vital Qi and primordial essence all gathered at the top of his head, his inner Qi that had been circting smoothly suddenly jolted, as if it was derailing and escaping out of his body. In that instant, a sensation he had never experienced before washed over his consciousness. The pores of his body opened and his meridians rxed. For the first time, he seemed to be experiencing the perfect fusion of his vital essence, as if he wasmunicating with nature itself and let nature took its course. Immediately after that, this sense of perfection dissipated rapidly and flowed downwards like a pot of warm water pouring down from his head, which gurgled down and flooded into his Dantian. He almost felt half-intoxicated. His body was light and soft; he was treading on air like a fairy. *** Two dayster, noontime. The men on shift were disciples from Changchun Sect of Nanzhong and Nangong Sect of Longmen, which shared the same founder, Qiu Chuji, and were closely connected. They had just finished lunch and were sat chatting in the courtyard while darting a look at the main house from time to time. Inside the door was the main hall and the meditation room was in the east wing. A tray of food and water was ced outside the door of thetter, yet after they had refreshed contents of the tray for several times, the food and water were never touched. ¡°Do you think Senior Brother Lu will seed?¡± the disciple of Nangong Sect asked suddenly. ¡°Of course!¡± The one from Changchun Sect seemed to worship Lu Yuanqing. ¡°If Senior Brother can achieve the innate state and take charge of the monastery, I¡¯m going to be the first to offer my support. Now that everything has changed in the world, if Quanzhen still wants to keep the Taoist orthodoxy, someone like Senior Brother must stand out and takemand.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a little concerned. I never seem to understand the man.¡± ¡°You worry too much. Having Senior Brother as our leader is at least better than having one from Zhengyi.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a point¡­ hm?¡± As the two chatted on, they suddenly felt an indescribable fluctuationing towards them. Then there came a ¡°creak¡± and the wooden door was opened. Chapter 204 Chapter 204: A Rippling Effect Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Senior Brother Lu!¡± ¡°Senior Brother Lu!¡± The pair leapt to their feet instantly and turned their heads in unison. There was a hint of hesitation in their expectant tone. Lu Yuanqing had a blue cotton robe on and wore his hair in a top bun in the Taoist style. His expression was peaceful and mild, as if nothing had changed. Seeing the two in the courtyard, he cupped his hands slightly and smiled. ¡°I see I have troubled two Junior Brothers with the job.¡± ¡°Not at all, not at all. It¡¯s our pleasure.¡± The one from the Nangong Sect paused a little and swallowed despite himself. ¡°Senior Brother, did, did you¡­¡± ¡°It was only by sheer luck,¡± he replied tactfully. Boom! The sinct answer resonated in their ears like a solemn announcement, so loud that it could make the deaf ear hear and the dim-sighted see. The one from the Changchun Sect was thrown out of bnce by the words and could not hold back his excitement. He said repeatedly, ¡°I knew it! I knew it! Congrattions, Senior Brother, for reaching the innate state¡­ oh, right, I¡¯ll go tell everyone now!¡± With that, he scuttled off in a hurry. Lu Yuanqing smiled and did not stop him. The disciple of the Nangong Sect was a little flurried at being left behind and asked, ¡°Senior Brother, may I be of service to you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. You don¡¯t have to wait up on me now.¡± ¡°Oh, sure!¡± The disciple was about to leave, but thought better of it and stayed in the courtyard despite himself, and stood aside attentively. Lu Yuanqing paid him no attention. He simply sat down on the stone bench in the courtyard, taking in the clouds and trees in turn, while closing his eyes in contemtion every now and then. After achieving the innte state, he was most impressed by the nuances he was able to sense now. Everywhere he looked, the world seemed to have been upgraded from low pixel to an HD screen, and he was feeling a much tighter bond between himself and nature. The beauty of the sensation was beyond any words. ¡°Dong!¡± ¡°Dong!¡± ¡°Dong!¡± Shortly after the disciple of Laoshan Sect took off, distant toll came from the direction of the great hall. One, two, three¡­ it rang for as many as twelve times in total. The lingering sound resonated in the empty mountains. After the bell, his fellow Taoist disciples arrived first. ¡°Congrattions, Senior Brother!¡± ¡°You¡¯re ahead of us, Junior Brother Lu. We¡¯ll have to work harder now!¡± Needless to say, those from Quanzhen were delighted. The sess of Lu Yuanqing had provided them with new prospects, as well as boosted the morale greatly. While they were offering their congrattions, they couldn¡¯t help but secretly indulge in their own daydreams of how they themselves would rise in the future. Zhang Shouyang and the others stood at the back, the look on their faces rather depressed. After their thousand-year strife, they never expected to see Quanzhen taking the lead in the modern times while the great opportunity was upon them all. Chao Kongtu observed the scene with squinting eyes for a while and suddenly moved into action. He called out loudly, ¡°We don¡¯t yet know if it¡¯s true or not. I think you¡¯re celebrating too early!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The atmosphere froze at his words. Shi Yui frowned slightly. Although he disapproved of that Lu boy, he had to defend thetter under situation like this. He was about to retort when Lu Yuanqing walked out of the crowd and smiled. ¡°Junior Brother Chao, are you implying that you want to try me out?¡± ¡°Certainly, or how else would I be able to know?¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Lu Yuanqing strode out one right foot to one side and stood firmly at where he was without a word. He only stared at his opponent¡ªhis message was clearer than spoken words. ¡®Bring it on!¡¯ Seeing this, the crowd stopped their persuasion and shuffled around to make room for the two. One was the acknowledged alpha of the pack, while the other was the abbot¡¯s personal disciple from the the Laoshan Sect with inexhaustible tricks. Despite their frequent conflicts, the two had never had a real fight. How powerful was the innate state? How far were they themselves behind this man¡­ everyone was curious. Chao Kongtu might seem arrogant, but he was in fact as bold as he was careful. By this active move of probing the man, he was not afraid of humiliation, but would be frightened if he could not detect the capability of thetter. ¡°Here we go!¡± With a soft cry, he waved his right hand and there was a yellow talisman between his fingers. He then shook the paper. ¡°Poof!¡± The talisman burst into me without being ignited, which was giving off a dark, strange glow. ¡°ck Emperor of the north, Defenders of the Supreme Court, and Blood-eating soldiers with red scales, charge!¡± At Chao Kongtu¡¯s chanting, the talisman burst into a lump of dark light, which condensed rapidly and in the end transformed into an odd-looking weapon resembling a long saber. Wrapped in a dark glow, flying out with a shrill sound and emanating a bloody, ferocious aura, it slit across the air. ¡°The ck Killing Spell!¡± Lu Yuanqing was taken by surprise. After all the conflicts the two sides had all these years, they were acquaintances as much as they were rivals. He never expected Chao Kongtu would use such a killing move, let alone throwing it right at him straight away. Talismans were categorized into five grades and the real ck Killing Talisman was considered invincible. This one was only an imitation, but it was still the most damaging one of the fifth grade! Lu Yuanqing had only just reached the innate state and dared not take such tour de force lightly. Waving both arms at once, his wide sleeves spread out into two circles. Activating the Small Universe Technique frantically, he dumped out everyst bit of the little amount of innate energy he had just managed to gather. ¡°Bang!¡± The unexpected power shed with the energy and dissipated into thin air after warding it off for a brief moment. Once his spell was broken, Chao Kongtu spurted out a mouthful of blood and backed away rapidly. Lu Yuanqing was not much better off. He swayed around and barely managed to steady himself. ¡°The innate state is indeed worthy of its name. You have my respect!¡± Chao Kongtu cupped his hands and fell back to stand beside Zhang Shouyang. Before this, Lu Yuanqing was a more capable man then himself, but not by too much. Now that the man had reached the innate state, his power had taken a qualitative leap. Fighting against him was like sending a child against a full-grown adult; it was a joke. ¡°You¡¯re too humble, Junior Brother!¡± Lu Yuanqing cupped his hands back at Chao Kongtu, a thought also going through his mind. Chao Kongtu was indeed one of the top three cultivators of Zhengyi, his capability could not be overlooked. Had he not been able to advance into the next level, he might not have the courage to fight him head-on. ¡°Oh my, Priest Lu, congrattions!¡± ¡°We¡¯rete! We¡¯rete!¡± As if they were waiting for this moment, as soon as thepetition was over, people from the government showed up, swarming towards him and surrounding him in the middle like stars gathering around the moon. Lu Yuanqing was just out of his seclusion, which was followed by a fight, and now had to deal with these fellows. After a lengthy exchange of unnecessary pleasantries, one of them finally exined why they were here: their boss sent his invitation. Lu Yuanqing obviously could not say no to that. He had to leave his fellow disciples behind for the time being and rushed down the mountain as if on a mission. *** They couldn¡¯t help it, for the government was pushing it, and very urgently at that. Lu Yuanqing was brought to the research base in the mountains, where a test was waiting. It was simr to the one earlier, only that there were two more long tables this time. Thirty potential spiritual stones were set upon three tables. Qiu Guan and other specialists, as well as representatives of the authorities and the military, were all present, keeping a close eye on one another. To be honest, what Lu Yuanqing needed the most at the moment was rest, but he knew better of the importance of this moment and held on no matter what. He strolled past the tables unhurriedly and only picked up a stone until he reached the third table. He then strode up to Qiu Guan and grinned. ¡°This is the only one.¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± All heads turned towards Qiu Guan, who pursed his lips and gave a slow affirmative nod. ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°I knew it! I knew it would work!¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s great! Now we can do anything!¡± Instantly, the room was filled with an ecstacy. The great pressure of the past year was finally vented out. Qiu Guan¡¯s smile was buried in his wrinkles as he said repeatedly, ¡°Finally, a talented man of our own! Finally!¡± Confined by power of others as they previously were, the status had always made them restless. Innate or not, they only cared about the ability to sense the spiritual essence and nothing more. Lu Yuanqing, on the other hand, finally got his rest after passing the test. This entire time, as if taking it for granted, these men had treated him as a subordinate of the government and someone to do their bidding without consulting him. He went along with the authoritative attitude and confidence with a calm face and steadfast mind. Before he knew it, it was nighttime and he was shown into another room, where the military old man had been waiting. ¡°I¡¯m from the military and you are a cultivator. I won¡¯t beat about the bush.¡± The old man was very direct. ¡°Our country needs the help of men like you right now. I¡¯d like to know your thoughts on that.¡± ¡°I will do whatever I can. You have my word.¡± Lu Yuanqing bowed slightly and lowered his eyes. One could not make out what was actually written in them. ¡°Good! You¡¯re indeed as exceptional as your master said you to be!¡± The old man smacked the table and gave him thatment, which was halfway between a warning and apliment. He then added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the country will treat you fairly. Whatever your demand is, name it now and we¡¯ll try our best to fulfill it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lu Yuanqing was silent for a while before he asked, ¡°About setting up Qiyun Taoist Monastery, I wonder if that¡¯s still in the n?¡± ¡°Of course! You¡¯re the first one to seed and naturally you¡¯ll be the abbot. You will be the one calling shots on building the monastery. We promise we won¡¯t interfere.¡± ¡°Including the recruitment of pupils?¡± ¡°That¡¯s an exception. We have ns for that.¡± The old man gave him a look and exined, ¡°We are going to grant the local temples with authority to take in children of the appropriate ages. After they have built up an adequate foundation, the selected ones will be sent to the monastery.¡± ¡°That is to say, in the future, the monastery will be the upper house and all other sects or temples the lower ones?¡± ¡°In a way, yes.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Lu Yuanqing contemted for quite a while before he nodded and went on, ¡°Another thing is, I want to go to Huo Zhou.¡± ¡°Oh? May I know why?¡± The old man did not expect to hear that. ¡°I did not learn everything I have learned to stay hidden in the mountains and be satisfied with myself.¡± ¡°Haha, very ambitious! You can go, but not yet. Wait until next spring, when the abnormality breaks out again. Then you can show us what you can do.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lu Yuanqing responded with more silence. ¡°That is all.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Ok, you can go back now.¡± The old man saw him leave and gave the table a few involuntary knocks. That was a remarkable man! He was sure that Lu Yuanqing would take this opportunity to ask for the government¡¯s support for Quanzhen and suppression against Zhengyi, which the government was prepared for. As it turned out, the man did not mention a single word of that. He was either very sincere and kind, or very good at concealing his thoughts. *** Shengtian, the BIMAUP. After Director Xie Yuenian got the news, he was almost throwing his hat up with jubtion. Heughed as he smacked the table. ¡°This is great! When there¡¯s the first, there will be a second, and soon, we¡¯ll have a dozen. It won¡¯t be long before the bosses start allocating them. With our important location, we must grab someone spectacr.¡± ¡°Exactly! Phoenix Mountain is right next door and we are threatened around the clock!¡± Jiang Chaofan immediately chimed in. ¡°Well, Director, it¡¯s not that I want to discourage you, but I just fear that the help might not be able to overthrow that fellow,¡± said another departmental head. ¡°Tsk! You¡¯re so naive!¡± Xie Yuenian pointed at him. ¡°That Mr. Gu is of the innate state and so is Priest Lu. They¡¯re of the same state, how much difference can there be?¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re probably right.¡± The man scratched his head, somehow finding that deduction a bit off. *** The capital city, Baiyun Temple. Inside the meditation room, Li Qingzhi put down the letter he was reading and walked slowly to the window. It was a cold winter in the north and the capital had just had a heavy snow, covering the streets and buildings with ayer of white. The Forbidden City along the central axis, the alleys everywhere, as well as the gardens, lords¡¯ mansions, and opera stages of the era long past¡­ all modern vor of the city seemed to have disappeared into the snow. The ancient yet developed modern city was presenting its time-worn side for once. Baiyun Temple was a particrly old building with overhanging eaves, ck bricks and tiles, and red doors. Li Qingzhi took in the courtyard covered in white and for a moment there, he thought he was in a trancelike state, where history flitted past his eyes like a flowing river. The letter on the table was handwritten by Lu Yuanqing himself, in which he talked about recent events. It was rather brief. He would not dare to write other things even if he wanted. Everything was monitored. Yet the master knew his pupil better than anybody else. Quanzhen had produced the first innate-state disciple of the Taoistmunity, but instead of feeling pleased, Li Qingzhi was overwhelmed with worry. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± He heaved a sigh and murmured, ¡°I hope you have chosen the right path.¡± Chapter 205 Chapter 205: Government Decree Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu A couple of dayster, the monastery. Thirty-five priests gathered in the spacious hall. It was not a modern conference room with a long table, but felt more like the Grand Assembly Hall of the ancient time. The neen Quanzhen priests sat on the left side in two rows, while the sixteen of Zhenyi took up the right side and were also arranged in two rows. Set in the middle at the top position was a big chair. They were here today to answer to the government¡¯s call for a meeting and everyone reached the same conclusion by the look of the hall: someone was baring his fangs! Zhang Shouyang and the others from Zhengyi looked miserable¡ªthey could not expect what humiliation would be upon them in a while. Yet they could not leave, for that would be equivalent to a deration of withdrawing from the monastery system, which would make them even more excluded. A few minutester, a man finally walked around a folding screen at the end of the hall and, unhurriedly but indisputably, took the top seat¡ªit was none other than Lu Yuanqing. He was still wearing a blue cotton robe and there was not a hint of pride on his face. His gaze swept across the room before he spoke, ¡°As stated by the authorities earlier, a Taoist monastery is to be formally established and you have all heard about the criteria for bing the abbot. As in as I am, I happen to have stepped into the innate state by sheer luck and was consequently appointed as the first abbot of the monastery. We will be acting on our own in constructing the monastery. They are going to give us support, but will never interfere. Therefore, there are two things we need to discuss today. One is to decide how we are going to build the monastery, the other is to set a general outline of the personnel constitution.¡± ¡°Humph! Obviously you are going to decide both. Why bother wasting the time to ask us?¡± The disciple of Baitian Sect of Zhengyi snorted. ¡°If I am unwilling to ept any advice, we wouldn¡¯t be having this meeting now.¡± Lu Yuanqing smiled and went on, ¡°Since ancient times, all monasteries used to be ran by eight deacons, three governors, five registrars, and eighteen chieftains. Qiyun is a supreme upper house, but we only have a handful residents and too many job titles will only make thingsplicated. Here is a draft I have drawn up for us to discuss. A house supervisor is to be set up directly below the abbot¡ªhe is to be the guiding figure of the mass. The candidate needs an impressive and dignified manner to be exemry, as well as possess a sense of morality and a pleasant virtue. I don¡¯t have the right to appoint the house supervisor and will leave the elective power to everyone here. However, if I may suggest, it is preferably to have Senior Brother Zhang Shouyang of the Way of the Celestial Masters take the position.¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ The speech took everyone by surprise, especially Zhang Shouyang, who stared at Lu Yuanqing with a frown, unable to figure the man out. Lu Yanqing paid no attention to their reaction and went on, ¡°Senior Bother Zhang is impartial and has a sense of justice. He is well qualified in both his work and conduct, which makes him the ideal candidate. I hope the fellow disciples will take it into consideration. Below the house supervisor, there will be eight deacons. One general director is to be in charge of the reception and weing of guests. The position will be delegated to Senior Brother Mo Haofeng of the Lianhua Sect. One patrol officer is to be in charge of maintaining the general order, and the allocation and promotion affairs. The position will be delegated to Senior Brother Huang Zhihe of the Laoshan Sect. One treasurer is to be in charge of warehouses, storages, and theing and going of supplies. The position will be delegated to Junior Brother Zhu Chan of the Way of High Peaks. One kitchen warden is to be in charge of culinary affairs and handling the delivery of meals. The position will be delegated to Junior Brother Wang Yuanji of the Zhengyi Sect. One hall master is to be in charge of dusting halls, taking care of the oilmps, and cleaning the worship instruments. The position will be delegated to Senior Brother Tan Chongdai of the Qionglong Mountain Sect. Two high officers are to be in charge of the teaching and chanting of scriptures. These positions will be delegated to Senior Brother Shi Yui of the Longmen Sect and Junior Brother Chao Kongtu of the Maoshan Sect. Other than those, we will also need an ountant. Since none of us is a professional, we will need to transfer someone here from other pces or temples. The above mentioned is the basic structure of this monastery. Starting from today, all government personnel will be withdrawn from here. Each sect should send two or three disciples here to take care of daily patrol and cleaning tasks¡­¡± A surging undercurrent seemed to rise at his speech in the minds of both sides. The so-called eight deacons, three governors, five registrars, and eighteen chieftains might sound like a detailed division of work, but there was in fact much ovepping and redundancy. Lu Yuanqing had crossed out more than half of them to simplify the structure, leaving only nine managerial personnel to run the monastery. Generally speaking, the functions were divided into four parts: monitor, logistics, public rtions, and scripture halls. The change in job titles was nothingpared to the people he allotted to each position. Everyone had assumed that Lu Yuanqing would suppress Zhengyi and draw those of Quanzhen to his side, even fostering a few confidants of his own. As it turned out, however, the man really knew how to make good use of people and did not differentiate between sects. While everyone sat there stunned by the announcement, at a second thought, all arrangements seemed the most appropriate and no one could have done better otherwise. The position of general director, for example, had to have a person who was familiar with the ssics, knew all sects and schools well, and was experienced in a worldly way. Old Priest Mo was a shrewd man by that ount through and through. Public rtions suited him perfectly. And there was Zhu Chan. Despite his young age, he was as just as he was responsible. No one would give a second thought with him as the treasurer. ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Shouyang was shocked the most. It was like nothing he had expected! He suddenly realized that he had never been able to see through that man. He was so disquieted that he barely heard any of the discussion after that. Before anyone noticed, they had spent half a day discussing and there was finally a general framework, including the constitution of rules and precepts,yout of facilities, arrangement in each hall, and how many people should be allotted. ¡°Fellow Senior and Junior Brothers, since you have already joined the monastery, there will no longer be different sects. We will face the future dangers and hardships together, uniting all our efforts for amon purpose. Please keep that in mind!¡± With thatst sentence, Lu Yuanqing ended the meeting. After everyone else had left, Zhang Shouyang stayed behind in the hall. He went up to Lu Yuanqing in two strides and asked in a low voice, ¡°What on earth are you doing?¡± ¡°I presume I have made that clear. I¡¯m building a monastery.¡± ¡°The two high officers might have a job description of chanting scriptures, but they are there to teach skills. Both Shi Yui and Junior Brother Chao are among the most talented of this monastery. You haven¡¯t set up any restrictions on that aspect. Are you trying to break the Taoist orthodox for the past thousand years and have Quanzhen take up talismans and Zhengyi learn Neidan?¡± Zhang Shouyang moved a threatening step closer with wide-open eyes. ¡°You have misunderstood my intention. I only said the teaching and chanting of scriptures. There was no mentioning of learning skills. Of course, if any Senior or Junior Brother is taken by temptation and asks for their instruction in private, that is not something I can stop.¡± Slowly, Lu Yuanqing rose to his feet and was about to leave. ¡°You¡­!¡± Zhang Shouyang moved and was about to run after him when Lu Yuanqing paused and turned around, looking directly into Zhang Shouyang¡¯s eyes, and in a louder voice, he asked, ¡°Now that the spiritual essence has recovered, the great opportunity is within our grasp. Senior Brother, how do you think our Taoistmunity should react to that?¡± Zhang Shouyang winced, then replied in a bitter tone. ¡°We are constrained by the authorities and impeded by our sects. How else can we react?¡± ¡®Jeeze!¡¯ It dawned on him at that moment and when he looked at Lu Yuanqing again, there was awe and shock in his eyes. ¡°You are trying to¡­¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m trying nothing.¡± Throwing back his wide sleeves, Lu Yuanqing brushed past him and strode out. ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Shouyang stood there motionlessly. From behind, he looked shrivelled and tired. He did not utter a single word for a long while. *** Lu Yuanqing¡¯s sess in reaching the innate state had set off a ripple effect. Immediately after the Spring Festival this year, the government quietly issued a new regtion¡ªscratch that, a revised edition. The document was drawn up by the authorities and Taoist Association together, which was soon sent out to all pces and temples. ording to use Six of Taoist Regtion (New Edition), all candidates had to meet the following criteria to be admitted to Taoist pces and temples: On a voluntary basis; Without infectious diseases; In the event of joining the priesthood, one had to provide parental consent aside froming on their own will; No criminal record; No bad habits such as substance abuse, gambling, alcoholism, etc.; With the appropriate religious belief. *** There were originally ten uses and the second one was ¡°had to be no younger than eighteen years old¡±, which was removed in the new edition. This was not the only altered use, several others were also changed. ¡°At the end of a three-year probation period and with the approval of the administrative organization of pces and temples, the candidates will be considered for admission as formal pupils. The qualified will be provided with headdresses and registration documents, and allowed permanent residence. All candidates viting prefectures and remaining incorrigible despite repeated admonition will be expelled. Local Taoist associations are to provide the candidates with allowances during the probation period, which is to be no lower than the local minimum wage. Once qualified, the pupils will be eligible for all usual Taoist benefits and perks, and will respect the teachings and traditions of all sects.¡± The more perceptive ones would see through the intention at the first nce. The lift of the age limit meant pupils could be admitted at any age. Paying sry during the probation period and emphasizing the preferential treatment could attract more adolescents with flexible minds. Respecting traditions of all sects confirmed that they could eat meat and marry girls as allowed by Zhengyi, which further lowered their psychological barrier. The entire use was saying one thing explicitly:e to us now! Simrly, Article Nine was also new. ¡°Pces and temples should enhance the education of their disciples, especially the young ones. The disciples should obey the temple regtions, be diligent in their duties, be persistent with the morning and evening meditation sses, and keep in line with the traditional rules of etiquette. Maintain the purity of Taoist customs and recognize the difference between the Taoist andymanmunities. All pces and temples must be in fullpliance with the household registration management system of the country. No shelter is going to be provided for unidentified Taoist priests and other personnel. Visiting Taoist priests must provide the appropriate reference letters as required. Nomercial or serviceworks, disys, or exhibitions are to be held in any pces or temples. Scenic spots are not allowed to set up pces or temples without permission. Pces and temples are not allowed to be contracted by firms. Abbots and managerial personnel of Taoist establishments must be delegated to persons with profound knowledge of Taoist theories. The Taoist association will run random inspections and pces or temples viting the regtions will be closed and prosecuted.¡± This one contained much more information, especially thest paragraph. How many Taoist temples did the country have? How many Taoist priests in them were real and how many were fake? Did the temples belong to firms, scenic areas, or some other individuals? The state knew it all. A mountain was contracted by apany, which then built a Taoist temple on it. Thepany would find some random person and train him briefly before signing the contract. ¡®You get to live in the temple and receive a monthly sry from us. In return, we take all the worshipping money.¡¯ Such a story could be found everywhere. With this new regtion, yers on and under the table all realized: the great purge wasing to the Taoistmunity. Chapter 206 Chapter 206: The Purge Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Jiang Zhou, Qionglong Mountain. The Spring Festival came and went, leaving behind a wet warmish weather for the regions south of the Yangtze River, which was very ufortable to live through. It was one of those rare lovely days today and quite a few Jiang Zhou residents had taken their entire families out for a walk in the countryside. One of the best things about having a city in the neighborhood was that the mountain would always have a steady supply of tourists. It was dusk time. Inside Shangzhen Temple halfway up the mountain, two priests were chatting out of boredom. They had also just returned to work from the Spring Festival break and there weren¡¯t many customers around yet. ¡°p! p! p!¡± A horse-faced priest patted the donation box in the hall and gave the big lock on the box a look, then said in a disdainful tone, ¡°A whole day¡¯s work and we only got that little amount. Why would they bother to have a lock at all? These people are hopeless Scrooges!¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be here soon. It¡¯s getting dark,¡± said a young priest. ¡°Of course he will! The man never missed a day!¡± It was the ountant they were talking about¡ªan employee of thepany, who woulde here each night, unlock the donation box, and count the money on the spot. More influential pces and temples would get a piece of the cake from thepany, but shabby ones like this were even deprived of left-overs. Walking around the box, the horse-face added, ¡°Well, my contract expires midyear and I¡¯m definitely leaving.¡± ¡°Have you found the next ce?¡± asked the young one. ¡°Sure. I¡¯m going to a big temple south of the Five Ridges. It¡¯s got solid connections and only does ceremonies for Tuhao. Anymission can bring them hundreds of thousand yuan.¡± ¡°Brother, can I tag along?¡± the young man asked eagerly. ¡°You won¡¯t do. You¡¯re too green and can¡¯t even chant the scriptures. What if you slip?¡± The two chatted on and waited a bit longer. The horse-face felt odd. It was thiste already, why was the ountant still not here? He was about to make a phone call where he heard shouts outside. ¡°Quickly, you people go inside. And you lot, go over there. Don¡¯t miss out any ce! You lot,e with me!¡± ¡°Who the hell is making all the noise? Do you have any idea what this ce is?¡± The young man was annoyed and was about to go check outside. He had just reached the front gate when there came a sudden bang! The gate mmed open and a couple of men burst in. Ignoring the fellow falling on the ground, they announced straight away, ¡°It has been confirmed by the authorities that you have been impersonating Taoist priests and running business illegally in a religious site. In ordance with the relevant legal provisions, we hereby close the ce down and take you into custody. Here is the warrant of seizure!¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± The horse face was baffled at the sight of the government-issued document, but immediately gathered enough courage to shout back, ¡°Do you know whose territory you¡¯re stepping into? I need to use the phone! I¡¯m calling Chairman Qin!¡± ¡°Chairman Qin?¡± The team leader recognized the name right away¡ªQin Yunfeng of Jiang Zhou Taoist Association. He sneered, ¡°He can¡¯t even cover his own ass. Take them away!¡± The two swindlers were no match for the professionals and were pinned down in no time. Meanwhile, another group went searching inside and drove all the fake priests out of Three Mao Hall, the Hall of the God of Wealth, the Hall of the God of Literature, etc. The only exception was the Hall of Celestial Masters, which the group treated and checked with care, and left a man behind to tend to daily errands in the future. ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± The gate of the Hall of Three Pure Ones was closed, then sealed by a strip of white paper with ck ink characters. The three-story building that had just been built was as good as nothing now. ¡°Mhm¡­ I demand the right to a phone call!¡± Dragged out of the mountain gate, the horse-faced priest was still struggling and shouting. ¡°I want to call Director Wang! Let me talk to Director Wang!¡± ¡°Humph!¡± The team leader snorted, then shoved him right into the vehicle. They belonged neither to the police force nor to the court, but were members of the BIMAUP. With the issuance of the new Taoist Regtion, all sub-bureaus moved into action, forming teams to crack down the counterfeiters, making them holler. They were all connected: the fake priests lived off the fake pces and temples, which were in turn backed by local officials and big-shot businessmen. The regtion alone could not convict these people of their crimes, but they could work from other angles. None of these bureaucrats and Tuhao were clean, their deeds would be exposed with but a little scrutiny. After trials and prosecutions, their properties would naturally be confiscated. It would only be logical that the expropriated properties were transferred to the Taoistmunity in the name of concurrent punishment for plural crimes. The pces and temples would stay idle for the time being and allotted ordingly in the future depending on the development of Qiyun Taoist Monastery. As the men from the BIMAUP escorted these people down the mountain, plenty of tourists heading home witnessed the scene and were amazed. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± ¡°Broken thew, obviously. Their bosses have gone under and so are they.¡± ¡°Haha, finally! They¡¯re a bunch of liars and cheaters!¡± *** Nanzhong, Changchun Temple. Changchun Temple was the biggest temple in the province and the name alone was proof enough that it belonged to the school of Quanzhen. The main building consisted of five tiers, including Spiritual Officer Hall, Two Gods Hall, Tai-Qing Hall, etc. On the right wing was Ten Direction Hall, the scripture hall, the great guesthouse, the merits and virtues memorial hall, etc., while the dining hall, the dormitory, the Hall of Patriarch Qiu, Abbot¡¯s Hall, Pedigree Hall, etc., stood on the left side. Right now, inside a meditation room of the Scripture Hall, Wu Dachun, the abbot of Fuxing Temple, was sweating profusely. Fuxing Temple was located in a subordinate county and was the subdivision of a sub-sect. It was far from being considered a sect of its own, being merely a petty establishment making its ends meet. With his rather flexible mind, he had been enjoying a pretty sweet life. However, he was summoned here the other day out of the blue and was now, to his amazement, taking an examination together with some other abbots. The written exam took ce first, which contained theories of Taoist ssics. Wu Dachun was a genuine priest and had learned Taoist theories in his youth. However, after years in his abbot position, the little he had learned was long gone. All that went through his head nowadays was how to make more money. As expected, his written exam result came back miserably. He was thus summoned to the scripture hall, where he was to take another exam. The examiner was none other than the man in front of him, a high officer of Changchun Temple. The old priest had half-open eyes and an expressionless face. He asked, ¡°ording to Dan scripture, the dragon has a tender temperament, while the tiger is ferocious. How do you interpret that?¡± He pondered and stuttered out this reply, ¡°Well, dragon represents the heart and tiger the mind. This quote is talking about a restless mood.¡± The old priest asked another question, ¡°The tiger is heartless but the dragon is not. What does that mean?¡± ¡°I-it means, when the mind and heart are connected, the significant doctrine will follow through.¡± Damn it! How was he supposed to remember all that? He could only hope his vague memory would help him to bluff it out. ¡°In ¡®The Kinship of the Three, in ordance with the Book of Changes¡¯, there is a verse on Three Treasures, namely, the ears, the eyes, and the mouth. Do you know what it is?¡± ¡®Shit!¡¯ He did not have the slightest idea. Wu Dachun grew more anxious as he replied in a low voice, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The old priest frowned and asked another question. ¡°If one wonders where the medicine originated from, one should only look to the southwest. Where is that quoted from?¡± ¡°I, I don¡¯t know.¡± Wu Dachun¡¯s head was hanging so low that it was almost between his legs. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± The old priest heaved a sigh. ¡°Dragon represents the heart and tiger the breath, not the mind. ¡®The tiger is heartless but the dragon is not¡¯ is saying the heart needs to deliberately cater to the breath, so that the doctrine wille through via thebination. The verse in ¡®The Kinship of the Three¡¯ is ¡®The three treasures ears, eyes, and mouth should all be closed instead of opening up to the outside. The perfected man sank deep in the abyss, roaming around to keep guard of one orifice.¡¯ As for thest quote, it came from ¡®Folios on Awakening to Reality¡¯ by master Zhang Boduan. These are all in texts of Taoist scriptures and anyone who has studied diligently for several years would know the answers. The fact that you failed to provide the correct answer is proof enough of your sluggishness in daily meditation task andck of learning your scriptures. You have failed the exam.¡± ¡°Old master, please give me one more chance. I will do better this time!¡± Wu Dachun pleaded eagerly. ¡°You will be studying in this temple. You can go back when you pass the exam. Now leave!¡± The old priest paid no attention to his pleading. ¡°Old master, old master¡­¡± He was still wailing when two priests dragged him out. ¡°¡­¡± The old priest rubbed his temples, feeling exhausted inside. He said weakly, ¡°Next, please.¡± *** The spring purge of the Taoistmunity had a far-reaching significance. First of all, it had stipted the nature of pces and temples: they were solely Taoist establishments and the bureaucrats and corporations had to keep their distance. Then there was the requirement on the quality of Taoist priests themselves, which needed enhancing. Those unqualified would be educated, and if they still failed to pass, they would be deprived of their abbot position and serve as handymen from then on. The purge was so thorough that Taoist priests were secrized inrge numbers. Of the fifty thousand or so registered Taoist personnel, a few thousands had run off to live a secr life after the first round. Small pces and temples everywhere were closed down. The local folk was baffled by an unexpected discovery every now and then as they eximed, ¡°WTF, the temple is deserted all of a sudden?¡± However, no one was going to look beyond that, nor was their life affected in any way. The purge was to get themunity prepared for recruiting pupils and the new pupils were there to reject the dross and inject the fresh blood. It was still too early to tell the effect of the rectification. However, the framework was already set up. Centering around Qiyun Taoist Monastery, based on provincial Taoist associations, and taking the sects of the thirty-six members of Qiyun as strongholds, awork of elites had already taken shape. The news had arrived at the monastery as well, which Lu Yuanqing ignored and gave noment on. Zhang Shouyang, who had been feeling ill at ease since that earlier conversation, had also let the news skip his mind. The rest found the news awesome. Qiyun, level with the cloud. Now it really felt that they were high above over the clouds. In general, the readjustment process was effective and quick. While they were at it, a bunch of corrupt officials and infringingpanies were also brought to justice. Of course, one of the temples was rather special, which they had not figured hold how to proceed¡ªit was Ziyang Temple up on Phoenix Mountain. Chapter 207 Chapter 207: The Left-behind Child Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Hm¡­¡± Long Qiu¡ªthe left-behind child¡ªrose to her feet, shook the dirt off her small shovel, and let out a faint, sulky hum. She had just nted a tuber fleeceflower, which had auburn tuberous roots, solid skin, and a satisfactory weight¡ªin a word, top-grade. Counterfeit tuber fleeceflower flooded the market these days and everywhere one was offered human-shaped or thousand-year-old ones, which were nothing but a load of shit. This one was only several decades old, but was already as rare a nt as one could find. She left the herb garden, ran to the river to wash the shovel clean before drying it carefully with a cloth, then raised her head and looked around. Winter was followed by spring and after a few months¡¯ growth, the medicinal nt seeds sowed earlier had taken roots and sprouted, covering the slopes of the hills. The peach trees also prospered. Exuberant branches were dotted with numerous buds, nodding and swaying in the wind. Arge area of the bushes on the south bank had been cleared out, making room for a few more mu of tnd. One of the plots had rice growing in it, which was yet to sprout. Some of the seedlings had just broken through the soil, their fresh green color a demonstration of the vigorous life within. Everything was just perfect, only that it was a bit lonely here¡­ ¡°The spring sowing is starting and brother and sister are still not back.¡± Muttering, Long Qiu put the shovel back into the warehouses and sat on the stone stairs outside the cottage. She had lived alone back in the Miao vige and did not find such life unbearable. She had her minorints nheless. She had never hoped badly as she did now that they would bring some more pupils here, so that she would be rid of all these tasks. That was how things were these days. Spring sowing alone would involve a series of tasks from sprouting to the growing and transnting of seedlings. It would not be an easy job, even with the Golden Silkworm¡¯s help. ¡°Brother said he had kept a piece of jade stone for me. What magical instrument should I refine?¡± Resting her chin on her left hand, she stretched out her right hand and a little snake materialized out of thin air, waggling on her palm. Secondster, the snake turned into a frog, pouting its cheeks without making a sound. In the end, the Golden Silkworm took its chubby kid form and leapt down, sitting beside its master eating fruit. Its short legs dangled, reminding one of stout turnips. ¡°You can attack from the air, and so can the Needle and Mosquito Undead Insects¡­¡± Xiao Qiu rubbed its head and muttered to herself. ¡°So, so I think I¡¯ll refine something for closebat. Why, how about a sword? Sister just happened to teach me some sword movements¡­¡± The Golden Silkworm might understand what she was saying, but it couldn¡¯t speak. It only rubbed against the back of her hand like a good puppy. Speaking of the Golden Silkworm, it did not act out at the end ofst year. Xiao Qiu was able to have it subjugated solely with her own power now. Most Grass Ghost Women had a short life spanrgely because the undead insects had sucked them dry of their vital essence, or even died from their undead insects turning on them. Taken in by her brother and sister, Xiao Qiu was one of the luckier ones. Through nourishing and training it with the spiritual essence on a daily basis, the Golden Silkworm was raised into a Spiritual Undead Insect, which was not only able to understand human feelings, but was also more lethal with a significant increase in its potentialities. ¡°Sigh. Whatever, I¡¯ll take a walk outside.¡± Long Qiu sat there for a while longer and seeing that it was about time, she rose to her feet and headed out the valley. Descending the mountain along the newly-paved stone steps, she walked all the way to the buildings at the foot of the mountain. Yuan Peiji had been very efficient. The buildings were expanded from the original ones and consisted now of dozens of houses that took up an area asrge as over a thousand m^2. It was a manor. The revamp did not stop there. Even the roads were smooth and neat now. The area looked like a development zone. She was here today at Shengtian BIMAUP¡¯s invitation, saying that they needed to discuss something. It wasn¡¯t a decent move. They had picked a time when both ¡®parents¡¯ were absent and targeted the left-behind child alone. They were obviously taking advantage of her inexperience. Despite her first time ying a leading role, the girl appeared cool-headed andposed. She walked leisurely into the manor. Jiang Chaofan had been waiting for a while. He greeted her with a smile. ¡°Nice to meet you, Miss Long. I am Jiang, the head of Investigation Department of the sub-bureau.¡± ¡°Hello. I have heard about you.¡± Long Qiu nodded. Still standing there, she asked directly, ¡°What do you need me for?¡± ¡°Well, please take a seat and have some tea¡­¡± Jiang Chaofan had his sweat breaking out at her directness. Serving her a cup of tea himself, he went on, ¡°We have been working with the Taoistmunity, carrying out a crackdown campaign. Ziyang Temple is among the targets.¡± ¡°And?¡± Xiao Qiu blinked. ¡°Uh, the procedure requires the abbot Chen Qiulin to take two exams. He will retain his position if he passes them and will have to stay in Shengtian to study if he does not.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Xiao Qiu gave it a thought and asked, ¡°What else?¡± ¡®Damn!¡¯ There was no normal person on Phoenix Mountain! Themon logic did not apply to them in conversations. Venting his irritation inside, Jiang Chaofan went on, ¡°If he fails to pass, Ziyang Temple will be sealed off temporarily and only reopen when Priest Chen returns afterpleting his study. I¡¯m here today to discuss with you about Ziyang Temple¡­¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°No.¡± Xiao Qiu shook her head. ¡°The mountain is ours. You can¡¯t seal it off.¡± ¡°Miss Long, we¡¯re only following the rules here. There¡¯s nothing we can do about it.¡± ¡°No, the mountain is ours and ours alone. You can¡¯t do that.¡± She never mentioned things like ¡°let me think it over and my brother will talk to you when he¡¯s back¡±, nor did she resort to ying with words. She only emphasized one thing: we own the mountain and you¡¯ve got no goddamn rights! Xiao Qiu had no negotiation skills, but she was not stupid. For one, Ziyang Temple had quite a lot of worshippers and was an important ie source of the scenic area. Mind you, the ie was split between them and the government. Phoenix Mountain received hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. With a sixty-yuan admission ticket, that would generate an annual ie of over ten million. They would be significantly worse off with the temple closed off. For another, this act was a tant provocation. As for Jiang Chaofan, he was secretly sneering at these three despite his apparent respect. Many had had a change of heart since Lu Yuanqing reached the innate state and the reverence towards Gu Yu and Xiaozhai was noticeably undermined. After much discussing, the sub-bureau decided to sound them out. Jiang Chaofan was stalling. He brought out all sorts of reasons and facts, but would not get to the point. Xiao Qiu found the man utterly annoying and simply said, ¡°You can take the man all you like. The temple stays open. I have nothing more to say to you. I¡¯m leaving.¡± With that, the girl turned promptly to leave. ¡°Hey, Miss Long!¡± Jiao Chaofan tried to catch up on her. A couple of steps out and there came a wicked gust of wind. ¡°Hiss!¡± A giant snake head suddenly appeared from behind the girl¡¯s head, its blood-red two-pronged tongue sticking out and the vertical pupils shining gloomily and viciously. The snake head pounced at him with a whoosh as if it had wings. ¡°Ah!¡± Jiang Chaofan stumbled back in a haste and fell down on his butt with a thump. He closed his eyes involuntarily, abandoning all hope to live. ¡°¡­¡± Two seconds passed and nothing happened. Gathering up his courage, he opened his eyes, only to find a wide-open gate and a pale blue sky outside. The girl was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± It seemed forever before the fellow finally came to himself. Damn it, he was not doing this again. It was so dangerous! Back then under Tianshan Mountain, the sweet girl alone almost annihted an entire team! None of the three majesties of Phoenix Mountain was someone they could mess around with! He struggled to his feet and returned to his car, feeling defeated. The director was waiting for his report back in the bureau. The situation was rather clear now. The abbot Chen Qiulin was a sacrificed piece, abandoned by both the Taoistmunity and the government. The only reason that he was still around was to maintain the current situation required by all three sides. It wasn¡¯t bad, actually. The muddleheaded Abbot Chen knew nothing of this and was happily preparing for a blessing ceremony of the new spring. The fools had their own luck. *** Bai Town, a newly built residential area. He He hade home from school and was now watching TV with her grandpa. They had moved into this resettlement building from Hongmei Street. Shabby and unsturdy as it might look, it was better than the makeshift houses where hundreds of people were squeezed into. The old man¡¯s temper was smoothed out a little after moving into the new home. He had no ie and was living off the relief money from the government. The authorities were quite tolerant with these migrants. As long as they did not go too far, most of their requests were granted. They were watching Shentian Channel, which was running the local news. First of all, the municipal officials had their meetings, all policies were doing great. Then came the living conditions of all towns and viges, which were doing even greater. After that were the family gossips: an old man had a son and a daughter, both married, and the son-inw decided to take off with the daughter-inw, h h h¡­ The news usually ended after all these, but not today. ¡°To build a key demonstration base of religious culture outside Shanhai Pass, and to carry forward and inherit the essence of traditional Taoism, Shengtian municipal government and the municipal Taoist association have announced their joint resolve that a series of promotion and publicity activities are to be carried out centering around Taiqing Pce. Starting from tomorrow, there will be a two-week exhibition on Taoist culturepletely free of charge. Everyone is wee. The venue is: west wing of Taiqing Pce, No. 8 Sanjing Street. For inquiries, please call 135xxxxxx.¡± Hm? The old man found the announcement a nonsense. ¡®Howe that is included in the official news program?¡¯ The little girl beside him was also curious. ¡°Grandpa, what is a demonstration base?¡± ¡°Bullsh*t base! Their pockets are empty and they are swindling people in to burn the incense and worship the Buddha¡ªbetter still if they can take in a few rich kids as pupils.¡± ¡°Then, then are they taking boys or girls?¡± The little girl found it hard to understand. ¡°Whatever. Why are you asking?¡± The old man gave her head a little knock and chuckled. ¡°Unless you¡¯re thinking about after I¡¯m gone. You¡¯ll have no one to turn to then and you¡¯d better to find a ce that¡¯ll take you in.¡± ¡°Bah! Nonsense! Grandpa will live to a hundred and more!¡± He He vexed at such words. ¡°Haha, ok, ok! It¡¯s all nonsense!¡± The old man held his granddaughter in his arms. Despite the smile on his face, he looked sad. Chapter 208 Chapter 208: Huo Zhou Outbreak Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The end of March, Huo Zhou. The over 700,000 people had all been evacuated and in came armies of research and military personnel, whose main tasks were to observe data and undertake escort duty, respectively. They would bring little influence to change the abnormality. It was the most intriguing event, as a matter of fact. A city was perishing, with its original residents scattering all over the country and nevering back. Instead, a group of outsiders were witnessing the process and keeping the citypany for itsst ride. It was midday. Inside the ming Mountain scenic area, the humble square was looking all the more bleak. The giant golden-cudgel-shaped thermometer stood stiff in the Bagua furnace and pointed straight up at the sky. Behind it, the tracks were deserted on the rustic hill, without the sign of a single tourist¡­ well, not really. There was one left. Xiaozhai sat grandly on a mountain rock. Fiery clouds leapt up in rolls all around her, as if crimson snakes were sprinting around on the mountain top. The fire spiritual essence was the most powerful where she sat and ordinary people would find it unbearable. To her, it was a wonderful spot to practice her thunder technique. There was an expression: thunder of the sky and fire of the earth. It usually referred to the frightening power of nature and could also be used to describe budding lust between couples¡ªthe two elements were habitually connected. The thunder of the sky was of Qian (or ¡°force¡± of Bagua) and the fire of earth was of Kun (or ¡°field¡± of Bagua). The two clicked and they started doing some naughty stuff¡­ wait a second, that did note out right. All in all, Xiaozhai suddenly discovered that when she cultivated up on the mountain, the moment she activated her Metal Thunder energy, the fire spiritual energy tens of meters around her would go into a frenzy and jump at her head over heels. She had to fend it off with everyst bit of her strength and the Metal Thunder energy was soon exhausted. She would then sit in meditation and readjust her breath. After that, she would provoke the fire spiritual essence again and once more drain her energy, then repeat the process again. After much repetition, she found herself much ¡°durable¡± already. Hence began her daily visits. She would spend most of her day sitting there. She had no other choice. The cultivation of thunder technique was very slow¡ªif Gu Yu could reach the Human Immortal state in five years, she would need at least eight. Take the Metal Thunder energy as an example. She had been at it for over a year and was barely reaching the ¡°passionless state¡±. ¡°Ha¡­¡± The sun was nting towards the horizon when Xiaozhai exhaled slowly and finally finished her training for the day. She did not walk the stairs, but dashed off the mountain in a few strides. She nced at the temperature when she passed the thermometer¡ªit read 27.3 degrees Celsius. WTF! It was 23¡æ only yesterday and was now going up again. The abnormality in Huo Zhou was deteriorating everyday since the beginning of spring, which had gone far beyond their expectations. Xiaozhai shook her head, then climbed into a shabby car and drove towards the Grape Valley. They happened to stumble across this crappy thing left behind by someone and decided to take it. She saw nothing but the desertednd on her way back. On entering the farmhouse, she found no one in the yard, but a familiar fluctuation wasing from upstairs¡ªit was her boyfriend refining magical instruments. She did not disturb him, but went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. The food was provided by the authorities. It was no delicacy, but was more than enough to meet their nutritional needs. Potatoes were paired with celeries and cucumbers with tomatoes, which were served along with an egg drop soup. After a few vegetarian dishes were ready, she called out, ¡°Old Gu, dinner¡¯s ready!¡± ¡°Coming!¡± The answer came from upstairs. Before long, Gu Yu came down. Xiaozhai was actually an excellent cook, only that she did not get much chance to use the kitchen after they were together. She had been ying the cook the most frequently during their stay in the Grape Valley for the past few months. ¡°I drove around on my way back. Things are not looking good.¡± Xiaozhai sipped her soup and said, ¡°It won¡¯t hold off to aste as the Beginning of Summer. It¡¯s happening in a couple of days.¡± ¡°Yeah, my ming Cloud Needles are almost ready, exactly fifteen of them.¡± Gu Yu gave it a thought and said, ¡°Let¡¯s stay for a bit longer and see how things go. We¡¯ll leave when it quiets down a little.¡± ¡°Of course! It¡¯s an once-in-a-lifetime event and we¡¯re not missing that!¡± *** Night, all sounds were still. A small lizard with a triangr head suddenly snuck out of its burrow. It was around 15 cm in its length and had ck-lined skin. The lizard was of a species typical to Huo Zhou and was known as the ¡°sand tiger¡±. The species was extremely drought tolerant and fed on small insects and nt tubers. The animal was nocturnal and now was the time to hunt. ¡°Hiss!¡± It crawled slowly, swaying its head from one side to another. Soon, an ant nest was discovered. Ants were delicious. The sand tiger was observably excited, lowering its body to block the opening first, then starting to dig with two paws. Its whole belly was t on the ground and a feast was within reach when it paused abruptly. The strange triangr head was lifted up in a whoosh and the eyes stared into somewhere not far away. In the dark yellow pupils was the greatest terror that shouldn¡¯t have been there. ¡°Hiss!¡± The sand tiger suddenly turned around and sprang off frantically, running for its life. Its four legs took turns rapidly with the running, as if the thing behind was a million times more frightening then a natural enemy. There was a scuttling sound inside the ant nest and countless ants flooded out, fleeing in a frenzy. Immediately after that, more small animals joined in, among which were gerbils, sand snakes, and all sorts of insects one could not name. They soon formed a torrent. Behind them, in the endless dark night, a gigantic sky-swallowing crimson snake seemed to be lurking, its enormous torso covering up the entire night sky, as if ready to destroy everything. ¡°Squeak!¡± An unfortunate gerbil ran at thest. Its hair was all bristled up and its facepletely contorted¡ªthe animal looked strange and terrifyingly hideous. It was running with all its strength, trying to escape. However, it froze there all of a sudden. As if a giant snake had swallowed it whole, the little thing was drained of its vital essence at a visible speed. Its life was withering away. In the blink of an eye, it became a stiff mummy. ¡°Boom!¡± The consumption of the blood exhrated the giant snake. The red fog that was originally invisible to ordinary men was materialized by now, filling every corner between heaven and earth and was rampantly charging in every direction. *** ¡°Beep beep!¡± ¡°Beep beep!¡± Inside No. 2 observation station, Zhang Hao opened his eyes, startled. He was awoken by the rm. The station was equipped with an automatic observation system, which would ring out loudly when the temperature increased sharply and exceeded the safety margin. ¡°Hm¡­¡± Zhang Hao¡¯s head was still muddled from the sleep, but it onlysted for a few seconds. He scrambled towards the equipment in a haste, for rows of bright-red data on the big screen were making his hair stand up! ¡°Attention! Attention! This is station No. 2 speaking, station No. 2!¡± He snatched the phone in one hand, dialed the number, and shouted into the speaker, ¡°Observation data has surpassed the emergency value¡­ not a single one. It¡¯s happening all over the board! All of them!¡± ¡°Smack!¡± Tossing the phone aside, Zhang Hao wrapped some random clothes around his shoulders and stumbled out of his bedroom. ¡°Quickly!¡± ¡°WTF, what¡¯s going on?¡± His colleagues had also heard the rm and assembled in the hall. The head of the station looked more solemn than ever, and only gave them a wave without uttering a single word. They went out and stood in the clearing outside, looking to the north in unison. The expressions froze on their faces. In the flickering red glow and the dark night, they looked like cast iron sculptures. To the north stood ming Mountain! The sky in that direction had turned crimson. Heated wind rolled in waves and red clouds shot up into the sky, beneath which was a massive, deste, and wild mountain that was emanating ferocity and scorching heat. It was no longer the quiet mountain as before but an awakened monster, who was shaking the earth from afar; roarsing out of its fire-spitting throat, ready to burn this world into ashes. What was more frightening was that the rolling heat wave that formed from the contorted air by pure high temperature, as well as that terrifying red cloud, were both moving slowly towards them. ¡°C-chief!¡± Standing there gaping for a while, Zhang Hao finally swallowed and tried to ask for suggestions. The head of the station was an experienced researcher and had led many exploration teams before. He had calmed down from the initial confusion. ¡°We¡¯re still some distance from it. Don¡¯t worry. Let¡¯s go have a look first!¡± ¡°Oh, Ok!¡± Zhang Hao went shakily to fetch the car and the four people headed north right away, carrying the monitor. The small car drove in the night like amb ready to be ughtered, delivering itself right into the monster¡¯s mouth. The journey was around 20 km, and after a short while, the only thing they could think of was: hot! The kind of heat one experienced under the zing sun of dog days and without a single sip of water! They were soaked in sweat and felt short of breath, but they forced themselves to keep driving. It was then one of the fellows shouted, ¡°Look at the ground!¡± The others turned to look. The ground was densely covered withyers of dead small animals, all looking like specimens drained of their vital essence. They fell into silent piles all around them. It was an open-air graveyard. ¡°Retch!¡± The fellow suddenly covered his mouth. One couldn¡¯t tell whether it was out of disgust or he was feeling unwell. He was about to throw up. Zhang Hao helped him to lie down, fed him some water, and treated him with wet towels. The station leader was behind the wheel. Seeing that the man was a bit better, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s the temperature now?¡± ¡°38 degrees!¡± another answered. ¡°It¡¯s not that high, why the violent reaction?¡± Frowning, he encouraged the others, ¡°Hang on there. We¡¯ll just move a little bit further in.¡± With that, he stepped on the gas and moved a few hundred meters forward. The fellow was growing paler with quivering lips and he was losing conscious. Zhang Hao busied himself with taking care of the man while rehydrating himself repeatedly. Finally, when they were about 10 km from ming Mountain, all four were feeling extremely unwell. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Finishing recording the data with much difficulty, the station leader turned around decisively and drove back as if running for life. However, they only made it to about two thirds of they journey when the engine stated shaking violently, making all kinds of irregr noises. Then, with a bang, white smoke rose out of the enginepartment and the car came to a halt. It waspletely wasted. ¡°F**k!¡± The station leader smacked the steering wheel. ¡°I¡¯ll support him. Let¡¯s walk back! Quickly!¡± The four of them got off the car and stumbled thest part of their journey. Their clothes were all soaking wet and even their breath felt like burning air. ¡°Thump!¡± ¡°Thump!¡± When the observation station finally came into sight, all pressure seemed to leave their bodies and they felt like they had escaped a devil¡¯snd. They felt much cooler right away. Their legs giving up on them, the four crumbled to the ground one after another. ¡°Glug! Glug!¡± Zhang Hao downed another bottle of water and panted heavily. When he turned around, what he saw was the most ghastly sight. The wildnd was ripped off the little livelihood there was left and had turned into a deadnd overnight. The grass, bushes, and tall trees were erased of all their green right in front of his eyes and transformed into a lifeless murky gray. The shock of the vition of the naturalw and the utter terror brought by it broke Zhang Hao down right there and right then. As if in a trance, his eyes was ssy as he mumbled repeatedly, ¡°What are we going to do? What are we going to do?¡± Chapter 209 Chapter 209: Catastrophe (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu March 30th, a day bound to be remembered forever. The sun leapt out of the eastern horizon in the early morning, carrying thousands of splendid beams of light into this world. However, they were not splendid enough to prate the dense red cloud and were stopped at around the edges. As a result, three spectacr phenomena were exhibited on the sky all at once: the golden sunshine, the crimson fog, and the half-blue, half-red sky. It was a living catastrophe. ¡°Vroom!¡± SUVs and trucks roared angrily as they drove in and out of the abandoned city of Huo Zhou. In them were materials and soldiers constantly transferred from one zone to another. The municipal government building had been turned into a temporarymand HQ. The old man with the ck-rimmed sses was the deputy chief of the steering group, taking care of the operation here at the front line. On a podium, a professor was briefing the team. ¡°The abnormality broke out at around 1:00 a.m. and with the exploration a few colleagues from the observation station carried out by risking their lives, we managed to obtain quite a lot of data. First of all, let¡¯s look at the nature of this thing. As proved by modern-day experiments, in a dry environment, humans can withstand up to 15 minutes at a room temperature of 120 degrees Celsius 1 , whereas with a moist atmosphere, it only takes 48 to 50 2 degrees to reach that limit. The level of tolerance has dropped significantly because in the second scenario, the sweat cannot evaporate. However, bear in mind the above mentioned was the external temperature. Humans are much less tolerant to internal temperatures. Once the body temperature exceeds 42 degrees 3 , a severe disorder will be caused in the central nerve system, which is life-threatening. Therefore, to the human body, the rm line is set at 40 degrees 4 .¡± In a grave tone, the professor went on, ¡°Unfortunately, it just so happens that this thing is not simply an external temperature. It can invade the human body the same way as it has with the animals and nts, directly destroying the body functions. In a very short time, we will be dehydrated and then drained of all flesh and blood as if the thing has a pump. Its core area is around 12.5 km^2 and our fittest soldier cannot withstand more than ten minutes in that range! It is moving at a average speed of around 2.5 km/h¡ªthat¡¯s advancing 0.7 meters in a second. Therefore, it should arrive at Huo Zhou at 9:00 p.m. tonight!¡± The professor paused a little to catch his breath and continued, ¡°ming Mountain is surrounded by cities and towns on three sides and Kumtag Desert on the fourth, beyond which is the city of Urumqi. The desert has an area of 2500 km^2 and 400 km across from east to west. It will take the thing 160 hours to cross the desert advancing in a straight line. Huo Zhou, on the other hand, is 240 km across from south to north and 300 km east to west, with a total area of over 70,000 km^2. It will only be a few days before the thing take it over entirely! Yet there is nothing we can do but ept it passively. We can¡¯t find any substance that could react with it. The spiritual essence is the only thing effective, but with our current ability, there is no way we can fight this colossus¡­¡± He could not go on from there. Looking dejected, he walked off the podium. ¡°¡­¡± The old man looked around the room. The same expression was visible on all his colleagues¡¯ faces¡ªa mixture of unwillingness, anger, resignation, and a hint of bewilderment. They couldn¡¯t help it. What was happening was so demoralizing! Ever since the dialectical materialism scientific perspective had set forth, they had never experienced anything even close to this. ¡°Ok, keep your chins up! We¡¯ll do whatever there is we can do. The most important thing at the moment is to minimize the loss brought by the catastrophe,¡± the old man called out in a stern voice and started issuingmands. ¡°From now on, all scientific research teams should not scatter. Keep their focus on the observation from the east, the south, and the north. The army units should retract their force and make sure of everyone¡¯s safety. Alert Yiwu, Yangji, Bayan, Urumqi, Sha Zhou of Longxi, and Ngari of Tanggute: get ready for evacuation!¡± He mentioned a few names in a row, all neighbouring cities of Huo Zhou or the province of Xichui. Then, he paused a little before asking, ¡°Are people from Qiyun here yet?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll arrive in two hours.¡± ¡°Ok. Remind me then. I¡¯ll go pick them up myself.¡± *** Lu Yuanqing was on a ne. The moment it happened, Tianzhu Mountain was notified. Then, moving as fast as they could, they arranged him a flight. Huo Zhou had a small airport, but because of its special geographic setting and natural environment, it was mainly used as an alternative for flights going to Urumqi and did not have regr flights of its own. It was not untilst year that the first permanent air route was open¡ªone that linked Huo Zhou, Yiwu, and the capital city. Before taking off, the weather was closely monitored. Fortunately, the direction towards Yiwu had not been affected, which made the flight possible. Being a Taoist priest cultivating in seclusion, he did not get much of a chance to ever take a ne¡ªlet alone a small private one. Lu Yuanqing was now sitting on a wide, soft sofa and soft drinks and fruit wereid out on the table in front of him. Yet he had closed his eyes in meditation, moving not even a single hair. To be honest, the city-destroying abnormality level would belittle any individual. The reason they had fetched him out there was to help with forecasting, as well as¡­ well, since they had finally obtained a sessful graduate, to make this man useful was the least they could do. ¡°Hum!¡± ¡°Vroom!¡± Before he knew it, there came the sound of strong air current brought by the descending airne and the shudder of the wheels hitting the ground. The private flight had finallynded. ¡°Priest Lu, we¡¯ve arrived at Huo Zhou.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Lu Yuanqing opened his eyes and swiftly got off the ne, his loose-fitting robe and wide sleeves pping with his movements. Several vehicles were already waiting on the tarmac. The old man went up to shake his hand as soon as he caught sight of the young priest and blurted out, ¡°Finally! We¡¯re in a desperate situation here and can really use your help.¡± ¡°At your service.¡± He returned the greeting with a Taoist salute and waspletely cooperative, with no sign of resisting at all. ¡°Good! You¡¯re indeed the Taoist talent as they im you to be!¡± The old man was pleased with his attitude and led Lu Yuanqing to his vehicle. They then drove fast towards the downtown area. The professor briefed him on the way, which confused Lu Yuanqing a little. ¡°With all due respect, my individual power is very limited. What can I do here?¡± ¡°For one, run some tests for us. We have tried with ordinary people and they could never reach the core area, but it might not be the same with you¡ªwe will need some data from there. The other things is, we really hope you could go up ming Mountain and check what is happening there. See if you can find a clue.¡± The professor handed him a stack of files. ¡°We¡¯re building an abnormality database, which will be categorized ording to the degree of harm to ordinary people and cultivators, nature of cmities, range of affected areas, etc. You¡¯re the only one capable enough to provide the data. We¡¯ll be in touch quite often from now on.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll do what I can.¡± Lu Yuanqing took no notice of the condescending tone and was reading the materials attentively, losing no time to get to learn the details. Soon, the vehicles arrived at the municipal building. As soon as he set foot in the lobby, the old man asked eagerly, ¡°How is everything?¡± ¡°It has pushed forward by another five kilometres and everything else stayed unchanged!¡± ¡°Keep observing!¡± Without any dy, the old man briefly introduced Lu Yuanqing and said, ¡°Priest Lu will go deep into the core and explore the area. In two hours, we will¡­¡± ¡°I can go in right now,¡± said Lu Yuanqing all of a sudden. ¡°¡­¡± The old man winced, but was immediately gratified by the announcement. ¡°Sure. Thank you for all your help.¡± Right away, without a minute of rest, Lu Yuanqing went downstairs with a few soldiers, who drove him to the frontmost observation station. It was only a few kilometres from the core area and was ready to be evacuated in any moment. Three trucks were parked outside the door. In them were valuable equipment and the most needed materials at the moment: water, medicines, cont, as well as various energy supplements that could provide quick boosts to the lost nutrients. There was no time for chitchat. The soldiers loaded their vehicle with some materials and drove on. A short drive away, they saw a warning line cut deep into the ground, which was also marked by a g. On the other side, the red snake soared, devouring everything; the surviving lot shivered on this side under the remaining clear sky. Heaven was a mere line away from Hell. Chapter 210 Chapter 210: Catastrophe (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°This is as far as we can go.¡± The soldier stopped the vehicle and said with a solemn face, ¡°It is advancing 0.7 meters a second and we are falling back ordingly. But don¡¯t worry. It does not mean we¡¯ll abandon you. We are not leaving without you!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Watching the swarthy, resolute face, Lu Yuanqing was suddenly overwhelmed by an unusual emotion. Cultivators seldom had the righteous ardor and lofty sentiments like military men who would willingly die for their country andrades in war, but it did not stop Lu Yuanqing from seeing the determination in them. ¡°Thank you!¡± He expressed his thanks solemnly in return and got off the vehicle. He was only two steps away when he heard the sound from behind: the red cloud was approaching, forcing back the vehicle. Lu Yuanqing paused, but did not turn to look. He crossed the warning line in one stride and instantly, the broiling fire spiritual essence blew violently against his face. He immediately activated his internal energy to readjust his breathing and the pressure only lessened after that. Looking up, he saw a world covered by a foggy crimson color. Everything was chaotic and in a frenzy, as if the past and the future had blurred into one like an evesting wilderness. Somehow, his heart lurched at the view. He had lived an enclosed life in cultivation, so as to achieve the Great Dao and be immortal. However, it urred to him now that the world outside was so rich and splendid that there appeared a longing within him to travel to every corner and experience the world as it was. To train oneself and understand the world was a cultivation concept and he was finally given the chance toprehend it after he reached the innate state. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Controlling his breathing, Lu Yuanqing inhaled and exhaled evenly and rhythmically, so as to keep his energy consumption at a minimal level. Although he had just entered the innate state, because of the acquired state he was in before that, he had been training his inner Qi all these years since childhood, umting it little by little. He had set up an incredible foundation, especially in moving his Qi around his body, which he was much more agile and skilful than his fellow cultivators. He dared not dy, but dashed quickly forward and entered the red fog headlong. The area surrounding ming Mountain had long be deands. As he advanced, he was met with mummified dead animals everywhere, which looked like brutally made yet intact specimens. Flowers, grass, and trees stood upright in their charcoal gray skins, void of any sign of life. Intrigued, he went up to a por and touched it. ¡°Ssh!¡± There was no interior part, no substance of any sort, but only a flimsy outeryer that reminded one of the ash hanging onto a cigarette. With a flick, it turned into a thousand pieces and fell to the ground. ¡°¡­¡± Lu Yuanqing stood in a daze for a while. In the end, he heaved a sigh, bagged some pieces and a few dead small animals, then moved on. The crimson clouds rose and the red fog filled the air. Here, time and space seemed to have lost their meaning. He had no idea how far he had walked in as he gradually slowed down and began to feel unwell. He was prepared for this, though. Taking out a ck pill, he put it into his mouth and kept it there. It was a Dan pellet of a secret recipe. One pill was enough to supplement much of the energy the body needed. The source of it was also quite remarkable: Zhang Shouyang had offered it voluntarily. The Way of the Celestial Masters emphasized the teaching of talismans the most, but it was in fact an expert in Waidan as well. ording to ¡°Mount Longhu Annals¡±, Zhang Daoling had refined the divine Dan of nine transformations when he resided on Lutang Mountain. A Dan of one transformation would enable one to be immortal in three years; the one of two transformations would do so in two years, three transformations in one year, four transformations in six months, five transformations in a hundred days¡­ and the one of nine transformations would raise one to an immortal in three days! Of course, even the one of one transformation was nowhere to be found by now, let alone the nine one. All that was left was a pellet with a life-saving property. Zhang Shouyang only had eight of those and gave Lu Yuanqing half of them. It seemed that their conversation the other day had to some extent changed the mind of the direct sessor of the Way of the Celestial Masters. Thanks to the power of the pill, Lu Yuanqing was able to keep moving. ¡°Huff¡­ huff¡­¡± He trudged on for another while and finally stopped when he felt weak. He could advance no further, for he had to save some strength for the journey back. Looking up through ayer of red fog, the profile of an enormous and bad-tempered mountain moved into his sight. The thick fire spiritual essence had formed a swirling air mass on the mountaintop, which rolled and seethed in the air. The red clouds and thick fog were also rising from the top like an exploding volcano. He estimated the distance visually; it was still a long way off. However unwilling he was, there was nothing he could do about it. ¡°¡­¡± Pursing his lips, Lu Yuanqing was about to turn around when he paused abruptly, for he seemed to have caught sight of a ck spot moving in the distance. ¡®Jeez!¡¯ He opened his eyes as wide as he could to make sure he was seeing it correctly. It was one, no, two people! There were people here! His pupils contracted instantly as he fixed his gaze in that direction. On the highest and steepest rocks, two tiny figures were chasing one another in the boundless fiery clouds like a pair of frolic birds. The immense pressure there on the mountaintop seemed non-existent to them. ¡°¡­¡± Lu Yuanqing stood there, as if in a trance. The two people flitted across the air, then with a few leaps, disappeared to the other side of the mountain. It all happened in an instant and almost felt like an illusion. ¡°Gu Yu!¡± ¡°Jiang Xiaozhai!¡± The two names came into his head right away. Like two gods descending from above, their presence instantly pushed everything else out of his mind. The hell with the Taoistmunity, the forbearance, and the plotting. They were nothing. Lu Yuanqing stood there for long. It wasn¡¯t until the fire spiritual essence surrounding him started to burn his skin that bewilderment and fear finally disappeared from his face; he looked all the more reassured. Those who had achieved something great not only needed talent, but also needed a staunch and unyielding heart. Flicking his long sleeves, he swiftly made his way back. *** Gu Yu stood still and mumbled suddenly, ¡°I think I saw someone just then.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°It was quite a long way off. A ck dot just stood there, not moving a bit¡­¡± Now that he put it that way, he wasn¡¯t so sure any more. ¡°Whatever, forget it. How are you holding on?¡± ¡°I can do this for a bit longer.¡± Xiaozhai wiped away her sweat, apparently much lessfortable then Gu Yu was. The advantage of the essence-consuming method was in its speed of cultivation and the amount of energy one could umte in the process. The Thunder Technique, on the other hand, was of an ¡°elite¡± type, which focused more on the quality rather than quantity. Inevitably, she was fatigued from the dashing around on the mountaintop. Seeing this, Gu Yu took his girlfriend by her hand, so as to transfer some energy to her if needed. They had sensed the outbreak as soon as it started. Grape Valley was all gone. The river dried up right in front of their eyes, along with hundreds of mu of grape trellises and por groves, which all turned into gray and crispy film that crumbled at the touch. The houses remained rtively intact, but it was only a matter of time until they, too, disappeared. They looked around the foot of the mountain first, then climbed up, thinking of going deeper in. There wasn¡¯t any purpose to this trip aside from witnessing a catastrophe that somehow gave them a feeling of participation. ¡°I think it¡¯s the densest here.¡± The two ran around in the mountain for a while and stopped, then each took out their green gourd and gathered a few streaks of fire spiritual essence. Gu Yu crouched down, knocked a rock off the mountain and tossed it around in his hand. He frowned. ¡°This feels very different from before. It may turn into a real fire mineral, but I don¡¯t know when.¡± ¡°We were right. To the ordinary people, this is a living hell, but to cultivators, it¡¯s a blessednd.¡± Xiaozhai also looked around and sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s get out now and check that cave. I still think it a weird thing that they set that site in ming Mountain.¡± Chapter 211 Chapter 211: Catastrophe (Part 3) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Xiaozhai could not get over that cave. Shamanism seemed to have left her with such an inferior impression that she had been holding much animosity and defiance for it, which Gu Yu had detected. Since she did not bring it up, he had refrained himself from asking. As the range of the abnormality widened, entering the cave was getting more difficult each time. Therefore, they tried their best to readjust their breathing and get prepared so that they could finish the task in one go. Instead of setting out from Grape Valley, they chose the shortest direct route, hopping and leaping over all the mountain rocks and cliffs. The rising red fog resembling crimson snakes danced frantically; it was an inferno. After a long run, they finally saw the protruding edge of the precipice and a giant rock stuck between two cliffs, which was none other than that suspended rock. ¡°Thud!¡± The resolute pair simply jumped down the precipice andnded right by the cave. Nothing changed much here. The entrance that had been made by ming Could Needles was still gaping at them, its edges all rough and coarse. They took a peek in and were immediately surprised, for inside, the cave remained pitch ck and felt as bottomless as always. Gu Yu stooped down to check. There was no mistake in that. The air inside still felt cool,pletely undisturbed by what was going on outside. ¡°¡­¡± The two exchanged a look; that was simply miraculous! Xiaozhai frowned. ¡°Something must have been arranged inside, or the whole thing is a Feng Shui setting to begin with¡ªotherwise, it would not stay shady and cool under such power as it is now.¡± ¡°Does Shamanism practice Feng Shui?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°Feng Shui itself originated from the ancient Shamanism, but I¡¯m not sure if those people have inherited anything¡­ or maybe Taoist practice is involved as well?¡± Xiaozhai made an even bolder suggestion. ¡°My initial spection might be wrong. They were not merely raising insects here, but only used it as means to achieve another more important goal.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. They have indeed mentioned that they were looking for a thing when they talked with me. Too bad we don¡¯t know how Feng Shui works and can find no clue in this.¡± ¡°Sigh. I¡¯d love to go in and check,¡± Xiaozhai chimed in with a sigh. With the unusual circumstances at the moment, they would not enter the cave recklessly, for the insects were sure to be disturbed if they went in, which would lead to a fight and a fight meant activating their spiritual energy, which would attract a torrent of iing fire spiritual essence that would bury them. The two discussed it over and marked down the mountain shape here so that they could find someone to examine itter. ¡°Of all the people we know, I think that fatso Wang is the only Feng Shui master,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°He¡¯s working for the government now, no? Together with that little zombie¡­¡± Shaking his head, Gu Yu said in a vexed tone, ¡°Man, I¡¯d rather not to have dealings with them.¡± *** ¡°Back away!¡± ¡°Fall back!¡± ¡°Vroom!¡± With the shouting and the sound of rumbling engines, the fleet of vehicles drove in the other direction as fast as they could, carrying personnel and materials alike. They were merely a few minutes away when that small observation station was devoured. The houses made a crunching sound as the rampant fire spiritual essence pushed in, as if they were going to copse the next second. On average, the red fog advanced one kilometer every 24 minutes. They had been waiting for over an hour, but Lu Yuanqing still had not returned. They were falling back all the way from the warning line to the observation station, and now, even the station was gone. The vehicles drove a short distance away and a research staff hopped off, drawing another warning line and gging it. The distance between two gs was roughly the distance the fog would travel in an hour. The six soldiers in charge of security details were ridden with anxiety. They had tried to enter the fog themselves before, but could not make it past five minutes. It took all their strength toe back alive. The fact that Lu Yuanqing had walked in all by himself and that they had not heard from him ever since was eating away at their confidence. But like they had promised: we would be falling back, but we would never leave without you! And wait they did. Every now and then, they would report to their superior. ¡°Glug! Glug!¡± A soldier was gulping a bottle of water down his throat, then asked, ¡°How long has it been?¡± ¡°Over two hours.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bad one.¡± ¡°Shut it!¡± the leader scolded. ¡°Why? Priest Lu might be a capable man, but I don¡¯t think he can make it after that much time.¡± The guy was not taking pleasure from this misfortune. Despite his criticism, he looked rather dispirited. He was taking a few more gulps from the bottle when the soldier next to him started patting him violently. ¡°Pfttttt!¡± His arm jolted and he choked on the water. He shouted angrily, ¡°What the hell?¡± ¡°Look, is that a person over there?¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°There! There!¡± Among all the hubbub, the group turned in unison and looked ahead of them. In the dense red fog, a blurry figure was moving, which looked as tiny as it was slow. ¡°He¡¯s back!¡± the leader shouted immediately. He then said, ¡°Something¡¯s wrong. We need to go fetch him!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± ¡°Let me!¡± The soldiers responded right away, jumped into the vehicle in a haste, stepped the gas all the way down, and dashed into the red fog headlong. They could only withstand the fog for so much time and were driving frantically forward. It took them no time to recognize Lu Yuanqing. The only word to describe the man was: miserable! The previous peacefulness and calm all gone, the man looked withered and pale. The stooping figure staggered forward and the man was losing conscious as he walked. ¡°Quickly! Quickly!¡± The soldier behind the wheel heard the engine making weird noise and urged them. The other two hopped out and lifted Lu Yuanqing in straight away. They did not have the time to adjust their positions and the three squeezed into the back row in a weird arrangement. ¡°Go!¡± The SUV spun around, leaving a deep scratch on the ground. The next moment, the vehicle was out of the fog. ¡°Bang!¡± They were just out of its range when a white smoke broke out of the hood. The vehicle waspletely wasted. They were in no mood to feel pity, though, for all three soldiers were panting heavily and soaking wet as if they were just out of the water. Right away, they arranged to have Lu Yuanqing escorted back by several group members, while the rest stayed behind to guard the post. The priest was only half-conscious now and tried all he could to stay awake. Thanks to his solid basic training, he gradually recovered after a short rest and drinking a lot of water. Arriving at the municipal government building, they found a group of people waiting eagerly for his return; they were utterly frightened by his miserable condition. The old man went up to him and asked in a sympathetic tone, ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°I¡¯m ok¡­ I¡¯m sorry I¡¯ve failed you.¡± Lips quivering, Lu Yuanqing said apologetically, ¡°I only made more than half of the distance and nced at that ming Mountain from afar. That was my limit.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. You made it back, that¡¯s the most important thing. What exactly is going on inside?¡± the old man asked. ¡°¡­¡± He was silent for a while before answering. ¡°Chaos. A deadnd void of any life. It looked like an exploding volcano with a whirling air mass on the mountaintop. The red fog rolled out ceaselessly. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be exhausted any time soon.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The old man fell silent as well, apparently also disturbed by the answer. ¡°Take a good rest. You¡¯ve done well!¡± ¡°I only did what I could.¡± Lu Yuanqingy in bed and watched the man leave. A strange smile suddenly rippled over his face. What he needed the most at the moment was an impression of being obedient. Sessful or not, the authorities¡¯ attitude was the most important thing. As for the other party, the professor was disgruntled ever since they left the lounge, mumbling the whole time. ¡°It was all for nothing. There is too little information and I thought at least he could go up the mountain¡­¡± Unfortunately, nobody paid him any attention, for everyone was at a loss. If ming Mountain rampaged on, the government would make sure that it did not go beyond Huo Zhou, let alone spread to the rest of the country. Should that happen, the state would sacrifice an entire region and blow the hundred-kilometer mountain by issuing some sort of weapon. Yet there was no way to make sure it would be effective, nor could they predict that nothing worse would be induced by such measure. However, it was a solution¡ªa desperate solution. That was why they had to have someone go deep into the fog and get to know the situation. What if the abnormality wore away and the outbreak stopped? ¡°Well, Sir¡­¡± the assistant spoke suddenly and reminded him in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t we have the other two?¡± ¡°Them?¡± The old man adjusted his sses and expressed his doubts. ¡°Would they make it when even Priest Lu has failed?¡± The question might sound foolish, but it reflected the government¡¯s mindset. Ever since the monastery had produced an innate-state cultivator, the attitude of the government had been rather hard to pin down. They cared little of the capability of an innate-state achiever, but only saw thetter as an auxiliary force. As tough as an innate-state cultivator was depicted, could he stop a bullet? How about a bomb or a missile? Before the individual ability of a cultivator reached a transcendent level, the government couldn¡¯t care less about what state they were at, what technique they practiced with, or how tough they were¡ªto the authorities, innate state was nothingpared to modern weapons. The assistant knew his stuff very well. ¡°Sir, the area within a 20 km radius of ming Mountain is now covered by the fog. Our intelligence said they did not show up in any monitored area. In that case, they must be inside.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The old man pondered for a while and suddenly raised his voice. ¡°Go contact them now! No, invite them politely!¡± Chapter 212 Chapter 212: Catastrophe (Part 4) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Those two had been in Grape Valley the entire time, staying in the area monitored by the authorities. However, since the outbreak of the abnormality, the government was too preupied to mind their whereabouts. Now that the pair came into their mind again, where on earth were they going to find the two at such a short notice? The area within a 20-km radius from ming Mountain had gone haywire with all light and airflow tangled together, blocking out any detection instruments. Even the satellite cloud image turned up a blur. They could only guard the perimeter, hoping their had been cast widely enough to catch the two when they did show up. The abnormality broke out at one o¡¯clock past midnight, the meeting was held at six in the morning, Lu Yuanqing arrived at eight, then went in and got out¡­ a lot seemed to have happened already, yet in fact, not a day had passed so far. Huo Zhou, the municipal government building. The atmosphere was extremely tense. Despite the people walking around, whispering, and doing this and that, there was only one sensation going around. An absolute quietness, a suffocating silence. So much so that a sticky, transparent, yet heavy existence seemed to have gathered in the air, pressing against each individual¡¯s chest so much that it was getting hard to breathe. Bigshots sat around the foremost screen,prising steering group members only. The look on their faces was even graver, for pieces of news were streaming in from the front, each more despairing than thest. ¡°North station No.1 fell back for 5 km. The station has been destroyed!¡± ¡°East station No.3 fell back for 5 km. The station has been destroyed!¡± ¡°Muli Vige and Shuigou Vige on the south have been destroyed. The personnel is ready for evacuation!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The ceaseless reports pressed on like a tightening noose, upsetting everyone. After a while, one of the members could not stand it any longer and suggested, ¡°Sir, I think it¡¯s time to evacuate!¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s too dangerous here. This ce can only hold on for another couple of hours.¡± ¡°Evacuate?¡± the old man asked in his husky voice. ¡°Where can we go?¡± ¡°We can go to Yasha County. It¡¯s far enough to stay safe and the county has all the necessary facilities to make it a temporary stronghold.¡± ¡°Then what? Wait for it to reach our doorstep again and evacuate once more, all the way until we fall back to the ind?¡± the old man asked. ¡°Well¡­¡± The man found no appropriate words in return and withdrew in silence. It was not that he did not want to press on, but he realized that words were useless now. ¡°It is shameful enough that we could not defend our country, but we are not going to behave like the defeated or some craven deserters, scurrying away before the enemy shows up.¡± His eyes running down the room, the old man said, ¡°Huo Zhou is a city of our own. Even it is bound to be destroyed, we will witness it until thest moment.¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± At those words, all men stood up and answered solemnly, ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± *** ¡°No sign of the target! No sign of the target!¡± ¡°Roger that. Keep watching!¡± Up on a mound on the perimeter, a soldier switched off his walkie-talkie, took up his binocrs, and scanned the surrounding area. He was staying at a rather high position, from where he could cover it all. His main task was to find those two. Unfortunately, all that came into his sight was a desertednd without a single soul. Two other fellow soldiers had taken up two other spots not far from his, doing exactly the same thing. The three were of a team sharing a single vehicle¡ªvery practical and utilitarian. It felt like ages when he took a brief rest. When he resumed his watch, his heart lurched. Through his binocrs, he could clearly make out two figures in the red fog, dashing outwards at a tremendous speed. ¡®It¡¯s them!¡¯ Eyes wide open and heart thumping, he watched as the pair broke out of the fog and headed straight towards the west. ¡°Breet!¡± He immediately grabbed a tiny device and blowed hard at it, which gave off a shrill and clear whistle carried far by the wind. One of the two nced in his direction and the pair turned, reaching him in no time. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± the woman asked. ¡°I¡¯m looking f-for you¡­¡± The soldier was a little nervous. ¡°You¡¯re looking for us?¡± The man finished the sentence for him with a chuckle. ¡°How lucky. We¡¯re looking for you as well.¡± *** ¡°Beep! Beep!¡± Honks ring, an SUV threaded through all the trucks and made its way into the courtyard of the municipal government. The door opened and a few people jumped out. ¡°Mr. Gu! Miss Jiang!¡± The assistant that had been waiting in the yard ran up to them right away and greeted them with almost unnatural warmth. ¡°I¡¯ve been expecting you. Please follow me upstairs. The chief is on the fourth floor!¡± With that, he led the two upstairs, briefing them the situation as they walked. Peopleing and going were all eyeing them curiously. The two fiends of Phoenix Mountains were notorious and now they finally got to meet the duo in person. They were somewhat baffled at the same time, though. Didn¡¯t these two juste out of the restricted area? Howe they looked all fresh and in high spirits? Lu Yuanqing was miserable when he was brought back to the base. They were soon on the fourth floor, where the old man walked up to them in a hurry and offered his hands. ¡°How do you do! Considering the urgency of the situation now, I¡¯ll cut to the chase. The reason we need you here is mainly¡­¡± ¡°Excuse my interruption.¡± Gu Yu gave the hand a shake and broke the man off. ¡°You were looking for us and we were looking for you as well. Let¡¯s make that clear first.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The old man was taken aback for a second. Instead of being offended by that attitude, he smiled. ¡°I was being presumptuous. Here, please take a seat.¡± At that, the two sat casually down in the middle among all the gaping mouths and staring eyes. The roomful of people were aghast. That was bold! Did these two know how high a rank the old man had? Well, as a matter of fact, the two didn¡¯t know. ¡°What we need is easy. You have Wang Ruoxu, right?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°Wang Ruoxu?¡± The old man had never heard the name before and someone immediately whispered into his ear. After being adequately acknowledged, the old man smiled. ¡°Oh, he is sorting something out for us.¡± ¡°We would like to talk to him if that does not trouble you too much.¡± ¡°Sure, that won¡¯t be a problem.¡± The old man did not beat about the bush and gave the order right away. ¡°Contact Wang Ruoxu immediately. Tell him toe here.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡®Wow!¡¯ Gu Yu was slightly surprised. He had expected they would talk over the phone before the meeting was arranged and never imagined the request to be granted promptly, flying the man out here straight away. Bosses were meant to be courageous, after all. Since the other side had showed their ready willingness, they would reciprocate the favor. Xiaozhai said, ¡°So, you need to see us because¡­¡± ¡°Have you been inside it?¡± the old man asked. ¡°Yeah, just walking around the mountaintop.¡± ¡°The mountaintop? You have reached the top, really?¡± The professor sitting beside them was instantly excited and could not help but raise his voice. Gu Yu found his question unreasonable and could not be bothered to answer. ¡°Exactly what is going on?¡± the old man asked. ¡°Hard to say. The formation of the mountain rocks is changing and they may turn into a new type of minerals. Not all of the mountain was in the core area. The most severely affected area was ming Mountain. We didn¡¯t travel to the west, but judging from the east alone, there is subtle difference in the extent of the abnormality.¡± Gu Yu did not hold it back. ¡°Is there any way to deal with it?¡± ¡°What do you mean by dealing with it?¡± ¡°Aplete wipe-out. Annihtion! All of it!¡± the old man answered. ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu gave it a thought and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think there is. The abnormality is a mutation of the spiritual essence and a product of nature, which makes it part of the naturalw. It won¡¯t be around for too long, otherwise it¡¯ll be a force forever growing without waning¡ªthat¡¯s something not allowed by nature itself.¡± ¡°But we don¡¯t know when it will ebb away, which will make no difference if it has expanded to the Northwest or even the entire country before that!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The two fell into silence. Gu Yu spoke again momentster, ¡°Actually, it just dawned on me that there might be a way, but I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯ll work.¡± Chapter 213 Chapter 213: Catastrophe (Part 5) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°The biggest threat the fire spiritual essence poses is its ability to invade the organisms directly to destroy their vitality. But as it expands, it¡¯s consuming its own energy at the same time. Like I said, this abnormality will not go on forever. It will die down. If we can provide it with arge amount of substance so that it will burn out faster than it explodes out, we might be about to stop it from spreading out further.¡± Gu Yu¡¯s exnation was rtively abstract, but the concept was rather straightforward. Needless to say, the energy the fire spiritual essence spent on devouring a de of grass, a tree, or a whole forest would definitely differ from one to the next. They could use that to try ¡°artificially feeding¡± it, so that it would be satiated ahead of schedule. ¡°¡­¡± The group of people pondered over the suggestion in silence and it was quite some time before the professor asked, ¡°Was that your spection or a deduction based on facts?¡± ¡°Fifty-fifty, I should say. We¡¯ve kind of figured that out on our way up the mountain from the Grape Valley, but the core area was too overpowering to sense the depletion. It should be more obvious in areas further out.¡± Gu Yu paused before going on, ¡°I can provide a little material for you to experiment on. Do hurry up. It¡¯ll be rather easy to see.¡± ¡°What material?¡± The professor was baffled. ¡°Fire spiritual essence, of course.¡± With that, he took off the gourd and gave it a shake, which brought out another round of amazement. He did not conceal it from them on purpose previously, nor was the specialist too inadequate to think of taking a sample, it was simply due to the fact that the fire spiritual essence did not materialize until this outbreak. Before this, they could neither see it nor detect it, not to mention studying it at all. Now that it had taken a tangible form, they could see it as the crimson lump of fog as it was. At least they could tell its change with their naked eyes. The decisive old man had made the call instantly and the group moved into action right away, filing out of the room, going downstairs, and soon arriving at the municipal scientific research institution. The professor then asked, ¡°Mr. Gu, what do you think would be the best to experiment with?¡± ¡°Soil and water, I suppose,¡± answered he after some thought. Therefore, the specialists prepared two gigantic transparent containers, piling soil into one and filling the other with water to the rim. Gu Yu unplugged the gourd and gave it a casual pat. Two thin streaks of crimson smoke floated out of the opening and, led by Gu Yu, each entered a container. ¡°¡­¡± Those present dared not even blink and fixed their eyes on the containers. The two crimson streaks circled around in the air for a while, then as if sensing some vitality, they whooshed down, stuck to the surfaces of the soil and the water, and remained there without dissipating. The abnormality took its effect on the natural world fast and violently, turning a tree into ayer of flimsy skin in no time. Therefore, it was not long before someone shouted, ¡°The color is changing! It¡¯s changing!¡± ¡°There¡¯s less water as well!¡± The group turned their heads in unison. The pile of soil had turned from brownish ck to a brown streaked with grayish white. The change in the water was even more obvious¡ªthe water line had fallen by a whole unit of the graduation line. The most pleasant surprise was that the two streaks of crimson smoke were growing paler and thinner right in front of their eyes. As they watched on with thumping hearts, the two streaks were eventually exhausted and disappeared. ¡°That worked! That worked!¡± ¡°The reaction was more intense with water.¡± ¡°We need water, a lot of it. The wider and the deeper, the better!¡± ¡°Rivers? Rivers will not do. They¡¯re too narrow and cover too small an area. They won¡¯t be of much use¡­¡± The research staff started their discussion, all talking at the same time and making one proposition after another, which were all turned down in turn. Gu Yu joined in the brainstorm. ¡°Although water restrains fire in the restriction among five elements 1 , you are only using ordinary water, which is not all that effective. Tianshan is not far from here and we can probably find sources of water that have been nourished by the spiritual essence there. Can you somehow transport some of those here and raise it into the air¡­¡± ¡°Mr. Gu!¡± One of the specialists shook his head and interrupted with resignation. ¡°Say we can achieve the impossible task of shipping the water out of the mountain, carrying it here with a ne that has the capacity which we do not have and can fly to the adequate height which it can¡¯t, and showering it down from above¡­ we don¡¯t have the time even if we managed to do all of the above! The thing is arriving at the downtown area tonight and can fill the entire Huo Zhou in five days. However fast and advanced our technology is, we can¡¯t just create things out of nothing like God.¡± ¡°Hey, Old Wang!¡± He had just finished when someone else interjected. ¡°Isn¡¯t there a water conservancy project somewhere around here?¡± Hm? The voices died down all of a sudden, then the discussion resumed, several folds louder than before. Gu Yu was bewildered. ¡°What are they talking about?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a water diversion and supply project in Dahe 2 Town. The wateres from Bogda Peak,¡± exined someone. Bogda? Tianshan Mountain? Gu Yu and Xiaozhai¡¯s faces lit up. *** The Northwest suffered from water shortage. As a result, it wasmon sense that the region was extremely poor in water resources. On the other hand, theck of water resulted in the construction of more water conservancy projects. In all cities of Xichui Province, a dam was built pretty much wherever there was a river. The dam of Huo Zhou was in Dahe Town, not too far from the downtown area. It was onlypletedst year, with a reservoir capacity of 40,240,000 m^3, enabling it to irrigate 60,200 mu of agriculturalnd. The project was a rtively small-scale one and was nowhere near one of those big reservoirs with capacity of over hundreds of millions. It was big enough for northwestern cities, though. All drinking and irrigation water in the surrounding areas came from here. The group soon arrived in town. The main body was a river dam, not very long and 20-meter high. The spillways and culverts were also small-ish. Gu Yu had had high hope ining here and was discouraged at the sight of the dam. However, theke water brought back that hope a little bit¡ªthe river had flowed down from Bogda Peak and although it was nothing special, it was better than ordinary water. ¡°Mr. Gu, what do you think?¡± the old man asked. ¡°Let me try it first.¡± He took out the green gourd and let out another streak of fire spiritual essence. The crimson streak circled around over theke and did not look as ferocious as before. It disappeared in no time. ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°It worked!¡± The group erupted with jubtion; someone even shouted out aloud. They couldn¡¯t help it. The pressure had been upon them for so long and they had finally found something to vent it out for. ¡°The water is good, but still too littlepared to the abnormality. I¡¯ll leave it to you for the actual operation.¡± With that, Gu Yu moved away from the front row. He had done all he needed to do and there was nothing else he could help with. The old man saw that as well and did not press on. Immediately, he called for a meeting with the specialists, which was intense and fast-paced. There was no verbose statement; everyone expressed themselves with the most sinct sentences possible. ¡°The reservoir is too small. I suggest we open the gate and let the water flow into the downstream regions, merging with the river. It will protect arger area.¡± ¡°We cannot be one hundred percent sure with the oue. Opening the gate prematurely could lead to bigger disasters.¡± ¡°So are we going to sit beside the reservoir and let the disastere upon us?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The old man listened to all this, uttering not a single word. It was a test on his determination and responsibility. He looked down and read the watershed map again. From west to east, the river flowed all the way passing sixteen towns and townships such as Ayding Lake Township, Erya Township, Chaghri Township, and Kandi Township, and circling around the perimeter of Huo Zhou. Opening the gate would not guarantee flooding all sixteen towns, but half was bound to be affected. ¡°¡­¡± He was still hesitant to make the decision. It was too big a matter after all. Just then, someone¡¯s words caught his ear. ¡°It can¡¯t get any worse than this. Why don¡¯t we just give it a go?¡± Worse than this, worse¡­ ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± He shut his eyes tightly, then opened them right away. ¡°Prepare to open the gates!¡± *** Dusk was setting in. ording to their estimation, the downstream region should be adequately flooded around the same time when the red fog arrived. They all gathered in the control room and the old man sounded the order himself. ¡°Open the gates!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± a man answered solemnly. He the turned a switch and pressed down a row of buttons. ¡°Boom!¡± ¡°Boom!¡± As the sluice gates opened, formidable currents spurted out of the spillways. The water galloped out like yellow dragons, carrying soil and sand, roaring and tumbling. The scene was magnificent. The water cascaded and fell, smashing onto the rocks at the bottom of the valley. Instantly, great waves rose up again, turning into a white mist in the air. The rumbling sound was ear-splitting, as if ten thousand horses were stampeding and golden dragons making wild dances. Fish were flushing down from upstream as well. The impact of the twenty-meter fall had decapitated them, leaving behind a school of blue bodies floating on the surface. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai stayed in the safety zone and listened to the thundering torrent. The river water in gullies and grooves became a white froth of foam as if it was being boiled as it dashed headlong downstream. The water from upstream met that of the downstream and was supplemented ceaselessly by more inflow. Before long, it was a world of waters. The water level rose rapidly and was soon over the river course, rushing into viges and houses. Not far away, the sky had turned fiery red. The catastrophe was arriving. ¡°Sir, we should leave now!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Sir, we can only drive the mountain roads and it will take longer time! It¡¯ll be toote if we don¡¯t leave now!¡± ¡°¡­¡± With much persuasion, the old man finally turned to leave after giving ast nce at the sky and the water. In his sixties, he was not too old. He had risked it all with this decision, staking his entire political future upon it. Of course, he regretted none of it. A figure like him would stick to his beliefs the moment he set his mind on it. They got into their vehicles promptly and drove away along the winding mountain roads. They only stopped when they reached the open ground, where they stayed and watched from afar. ¡°Flush!¡± ¡°Rumble!¡± The water had long risen past the warning level and was gushing into residential areas. Buildings along the river all had their first floors submerged in the water, along with abandoned farnds, dpidated courtyards, ancient vige roads, and livestock sheds. The water was still rising. ¡°Plop!¡± Pieces of the houses in a courtyard fell off from time to time under the sweeping torrent. The blueish-gray brick wall was gone, revealing the bedroom inside. Without a single resident, the scene was all the more bleak. Before they knew it, many a town were flooded. The water was everywhere. It was nighttime already but the sky was not dark, for the monster had finally arrived from afar. Like a dye, the red fog gradually took up the sky while devouring everything. Mountains nking the dam were dotted with fresh green, but at the touch of the fog, they turned a lifeless, despairing grey. ¡°Flush!¡± The river below flowed on, its gurgling sounded like a provocation. The next second, masses of fog turned into crimson snakes, pouncing down towards the water. The small river in the Grape Valley was shallow and did not have much water, so it had evaporated in the blink of an eye. It was not the same here. The tidal waves surged and roared, somehow managing to fend off the attack. Instantly, the red sky and the ck water collided into one another, tearing and biting, struggling fiercely. At that moment, one could not tell if it still was the world they lived in, or if they were witnessing a living hell. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai looked into the distance, their eyes roaming from the mountains to the water and from heaven to earth. The red fog gradually thinned as the water evaporated rapidly. Steam rose into the air in great lumps, which should have condensed into a cumulonimbus, but with the sky all upied by the fog, the steam was stuck in the middle, lingering in midair. As the steam increased, the area was transformed into a giant sauna house. The red fog mixed with the wet air, as if a red downpour was in full action. While these two were enjoying the view, the others had been scared out of their wits. The research team was still observing the data. As much as an hour had passed before they finally shouted at the top of their lungs, ¡°It has not advanced!¡± ¡°It has not advanced!¡± Chapter 214 Chapter 214: Yang Containing Yin Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Knock knock!¡± ¡°Knock knock!¡± The old man sleeping in the back seat woke up with a start. Eyes half closed, he took a while to clear his head before opening the window and asked, ¡°What time is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s four in the morning,¡± replied his assistant. ¡°How are things looking?¡± ¡°We are still able to keep it at bay, but the decrease of the water is quite significant. Although the red fog has fallen back a little, it showed no sign of dissipating.¡± The assistant looked dejected. ¡°We estimate that the water will dry outpletely at around nine o¡¯clock¡­¡± ¡°Sigh. That water is not enough, after all.¡± The old man heaved a sigh and said right away, ¡°Be as it may, we have tried our best. We have followed our conscience and fulfilled our duty. Anything else?¡± ¡°The city of Huo Zhou i-is gone.¡± The assistant pursed his lips tightly. ¡°¡­¡± The old man winced. Despite having been prepared for the news, he couldn¡¯t help but let his mind slip for a few seconds. He sounded pained when he asked, ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Wang Ruoxu has arrived.¡± ¡°Oh? Where is he now?¡± ¡°He¡¯s with Mr. Gu, and so is Priest Lu.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The old man frowned. ¡°Keep an eye on them. We can¡¯t put ourplete trust in them just yet.¡± ¡°Understood. Please take some more rest,¡± the assistant replied and left. By ¡°them¡±, the old man did not make it explicit whether he was talking about those of Phoenix Mountain, Qiyun Monastery, or both; the assistant got the precise message nheless. *** The whole big area had been turned into a temporary campsite. The staff in the downtown area had all gathered here, together with countless vehicles and tents. With all the bustling crowd, it looked more like a giant open-air bazar. Inside one of the tents, four people were sitting in a circle chatting. ¡°Gosh, this ce is abominable. A few more days staying here and I¡¯ll be a roast pig.¡± Wang Ruoxu was as fat as he always was, his big face dripping with sweat. He could not stand such weather and was wiping away the sweat with a towel all the time. Since he was acquainted with both sides, he naturally took up the part as the middleman. ¡°Let me introduce you all first. This is Junior Brother Lu Yuanqing, the pupil of the abbot of Baiyun Temple of Quanzhen. I don¡¯t think I need to introduce these two here¡ªthey¡¯re the Two Sages of Phoenix Mountain¡ª¡± ¡°Stop! Stop right there!¡± Gu Yu found it utterly ridiculous. ¡°What the hell is ¡®Two Sages¡¯? It almost sounds like ¡® Phoenix Legend 1 ¡®!¡± ¡°Hey, Phoenix Legend isn¡¯t that bad. That can be our nickname.¡± Xiaozhai put on a serious face. ¡°You wish! You¡¯re not dragging me down with you on that!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wang Ruoxu had seen the couple bickering back on Iron Mountain and this was nothing new to him. Lu Yuanqing, on the other hand, was sitting quietly beside them while eyeing the two curiously. So, the renowned Phoenix Legend¡­ scratch that, two masters of Phoenix Mountain looked like this in real person. It was evident enough that the speech and finesse he had prepared beforehand would no longer be necessary. As for the couple, Gu Yu was butchered by his girlfriend like always when he finally turned to the other two, acting as if nothing had happened. ¡°Priest Lu, I presume you have achieved the innate state. Correct?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Lu Yuanqing smiled. ¡°When did that happen?¡± ¡°About three months ago. I was fortunate enough to sense the godsent opportunity and by sheer luck, I seeded.¡± ¡°I see. There are so few cultivators around nowadays and you have reached the innate state even by following Neidan practice. That would give themunity much hope. I admire you for that!¡± ¡°You¡¯re too modest. I should be the one impressed by all you have achieved.¡± Lu Yuanqing cupped his hand in return. Gu Yu exchanged a few more lines with him, not minding Lu Yuanqing¡¯s status at all. The longer he walked the cultivation path, the more he realized how difficult this task was. As long as there was no conflict of interests, he didn¡¯t mind sitting on the bench to y the happy cheerer. ¡°Priest Wang, it is very kind of you toe all the way here this time.¡± Xiaozhai cut to the chase. ¡°We need a favor. It has something to do with Feng Shui.¡± ¡°Hahaha! Observing Feng Shui is the one thing I can assume authority on,¡± Wang Ruoxu bragged, his round belly all the more conspicuous. ¡°Exactly! You¡¯re not called the Millionaire Wang for nothing!¡± Xiaozhai teased him, then took out paper and pen, starting to draw the area surrounding the cave. She used to be a member of the art society back in college and was quite skilled in scenic sketch. In a few strokes, the general shape was lined out. Wang Ruoxu tilted his head and watched. He did not think much of it in the beginning, but was growing uneasy. By the time Xiaozhai was wrapping up, his enormous face was all crinkled up like a greasyrd-filled steam bun. ¡°That¡¯s about it.¡± Before long, Xiaozhai tossed her pen down. Wang Ruoxu picked up the paper and looked closely, making not a single sound. It was quite some time before he asked, ¡°Here, are you sure about the mountain¡¯s shape?¡± ¡°I think it was higher.¡± Gu Yu nced at the sketch and rubbed a line upward. A gentle slope was instantly sharpened. ¡°Like this? Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Tsk, that would be spectacr!¡± Fatso Wang eximed with admiration. ¡°What exactly is this?¡± Lu Yuanqing was also curious. ¡°As the saying goes, when Yin and Yang are separated, the acquired substances are created; when Yin and Yangbine, the primordial Qi reveals itself.¡± He sat down with an unrestrained air, his legs wide apart while he assumed the lecturer role. ¡°The Feng Shui and Yin and Yang we talk about on a daily basis are all indefinite concepts, by which we mean a bnced state, one that the elements do not interfere with one another. But this is not the same. This ce is where the fire dragons meet and one of the utmost Yang quality, yet it just happens that there is a Yin cave within. I¡¯ve been studying Taoist theory for several decades and this is the first time I have ever seen something like this: Yin within Yang and Yang wrapping around Yin.¡± He paused a little before asking, ¡°Did you say that there was a cave there, which was gloomy and cold?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°In that case, I can assure you that there is a profound mystery in that cave. It should lead you further into the mountain and at its end is where Yin and Yang truelybine into one!¡± Seeing that the man was all excited, Gu Yu interjected, ¡°Then what?¡± ¡°Then what? Thebination of Yin and Yang creates the most unique setting that will give birth to the ultimate demon!¡± Wang Ruoxu made it sound very ferocious. ¡°So, a big monster is hidden there?¡± Xiaozhai¡¯s tone made it sound ridiculous instead. ¡°I think so.¡± Wiping away his sweat, Fatso Wang could not be bothered with their wording. The couple exchanged a look and read each other¡¯s mind. ¡®Wang Wei and his bunch were ying with a very big fire!¡¯ Gu Yu asked immediately, ¡°Priest Wang, can you find the spot?¡± ¡°Hard to say. I can only be sure when I see it for myself.¡± ¡°Ok. Next time we hang around here, we¡¯ll ask for your help again.¡± ¡°Pfttt!¡± Fatso Wang almost choked on his own spit. ¡®When on earth did I agree to that?¡¯ Lu Yuanqing was enthralled by the conversation. ¡°Mr. Gu, are you looking for something?¡± ¡°Not me, a bunch of cult followers¡­¡± Gu Yu thought about it and decided it would not matter much to tell them, so he briefly told the other two about the Shamanistic incident, which great surprised the two¡ªthere was still a deranged organization like that around nowadays? All the while, they were also detecting a feeling rising inside that was hard to describe: that was how marvellous cultivation life should be! The four chatted for quite some time. Lu Yuanqing behaved the most appropriately, neither humble nor impertinent, mentioning nothing out of the line. Wang Ruoxu was a wonder himself, for he had a double identity¡ªa cultivator of the monastery and an undercover man for the BIMAUP. He was timid, sly, and shrewd at the same time. By now he had figured out part of Lu Yuanqing¡¯s integration strategy. He had expected to see Lu Yuanqing tactfully reaching out to Phoenix Mountain,ying the groundwork for getting in touch in the future. As it turned out, he had underestimated Lu Yuanqing¡¯s forbearance and prudence. The man showed no such intention whatsoever. Fatso Wang was actually struggling inside as well. On one hand, he dared not go against the government, on the other hand, he would like to see improvement in the Taoistmunity. His position in the middle was giving him a hard time. Before they realized, it was daylight. Trumpets rang out outside, indicating it was time to eat and strike camp. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai walked out of the tent and noticed that the water had been nearly all evaporated and was almost drained. The red fog did not look much better, though. It was noticeably thinner. Around nine o¡¯clock, the observation team resumed their work and half an hourter, data came in from the front line. ¡°The fog is advancing again, but at a much lower speed. It is now down to 0.3 m/s!¡± Chapter 215 Chapter 215: Afterwards Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The speed the red fog was spreading at had dropped by more than 50%, but there was still nothing they could do but fall back further and further away. Huo Zhou was 300 km across from east to west and 240 km from south to north. To its west was Kumtag Desert, which was 400 km straight across, making it a rather sizeable buffer zone. To the south were Yangji and Yiwu and to the north Bayan. On the east abutted the province of Xining at a ce calledHuahou 1 Town. They were mostly evacuating towards the south, going through Yiwu then to Longxi Province. They didn¡¯t have a choice. Longxi was the corridor linking the Northwest to the Central ins and they could not allow anything happen to it. The fog was advancing in all directions at irregr paces. It was not spreading out like a perfect circle. It was expanding slowly at one kilometer per hour and made another 20 km or so by the end of the second day, and got to exactly 50 km by the third. Adding to what it made in the first day, the fog had taken up most of Huo Zhou. Wherever it swept across, not a de of grass was left and all birds and beasts died with it. None of the buildings or streets were recognizable; some werepletely eroded, leaving an ashen shell only, while others managed to hang on, but it was only a matter of time before they were gone for good. If the abnormality had brought a suffocating pressure in the beginning, it was now a slow death that dragged on by killing a little at a time. Morale of the government was at rock bottom. The observation continued as a mere formality, while the people there were guarding something they could not defend. The fourth day, sunny. In a dpidated small town, the old man was sitting in themand center eating breakfast, looking preupied. The food was nothing fancy: rice congee, steam buns, fermented bean curd, and a te of salted vegetables. Their everyday food and clothing were all sent in from outside. Each day, heavy trucks were driving to and fro between Huo Zhou and the neighboring cities. This small town sat on the border of Huo Zhou. A few more viges and a river away was Yiwu territory. To some extent, this town had be an emblem of their endeavour. Losing it would mean the ultimate failure of the government. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± The old man heaved a sigh and came to himself. He only realized then that the steam bun was going cold in his hand, being held there for too long. He was about to return to his feet when there came a nk. The door was shoved open and the assistant trotted in, his pitch so high that it was almost shrilly. ¡°Slowed down! It has slowed down again!¡± ¡°What?¡± He was having a hard time registering it. ¡°It¡¯s, it¡¯s slowed down¡­¡± Panting, the assistant said, ¡°The observation data from 8.00 to 8.30 this morning came back. The fog is moving at 0.2 m/s!¡± ¡°nk!¡± The old man leapt to his feet, the table and chairs tumbling around with his sudden movement. He stood there motionless for a few seconds, then strode out and actually walked a few circles around the table. In the end, he smacked the back of a chair. ¡°Great! Heaven has indeed left a door open for us! For our country! Come, let¡¯s go have a look!¡± With that, the two went out in a hurry and arrived directly at the observation post. Looking through the binocrs, he indeed saw that the distant red sky was no longer as ferocious as before, but felt sluggish. The color was also much fainter. ¡°Phew¡­¡± The old man was finally reassured. They made it! Meanwhile, the news also got around and the crowd cheered in jubtion. ¡°We¡¯re saved! We¡¯re saved!¡± ¡°Gods did not forsake us!¡± ¡°Our work did not go to waste¡­ sob¡­ sob¡­¡± One of the professors was even crying on his knees, forgetting all about himself and tossing his sses into the dirt. After rampaging for four sessive days and waging a war of attrition against the flood, ming Mountain was finally wearing out. Everyone was now confident enough that the glimmers of hope were only a few days away. *** ¡°Poof!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± A cluster of me spurted high into the air with a faint explosive sound, which soon joined the surrounding fire, burning unscrupulously like dying kicks. The ce was a sizeable mine that had been dug into a valley and in it were numerous shallow coalfields. Piles upon piles of fragmented coal were not shipped out in time and left down there, together with scattering buildings and vehicles¡ªwhich were now all devoured by the raging fire. Shallow coalfields were extremely dangerous, which would easilybust when the temperature rose too high. Multiple such incidents had been recorded in the history of Xichui Province and the most severe one happened in Bayan¡ªthe fire did not die out for decades. At the moment, the fieldbusted spontaneously because of the high temperature while being eroded from the inside by the fire spiritual essence. A most strange phenomenon was created. Despite the sky-high me and its ferocity, in a brief moment, the coal turned into grayish white dead rocks that contained no mineralposition at all. The process was so quick that it seemed it was not coal, but paper burning. ¡°Poof!¡± ¡°Sizzle!¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were standing on high ground, their faces lit red by the glow of the fire. It was burning when they arrived, and after half a day, it was finally dying out. Seeing that the fire was shrinking with only a small area putting up ast-ditch effort, they felt they could wait no longer. With a leap, they jumped down together. ¡°ck!¡± Their feet made a crisp snapping sound the moment they hit ground and a heavy leftover heat wrapped around them. The mine was unrecognizable. Apart from the white, bone-like stones all over the ground, nothing was left. The stones might seem hard, but they were in fact all hollow, and turned into powder with a crunching sound under their feet. ¡°I can¡¯t think of any use out of it other than looking nice.¡± Pinching some power between his fingers, Gu Yu felt it and shook his head. ¡°Looking nice is enough! The valley is an endless white. It¡¯ll be a good tourist spot.¡± Xiaozhai looked around and chuckled. ¡°Hey, how does the name ¡®Snow Valley¡¯ sound?¡± ¡°Whatever¡­¡± The corner of his mouth twitching, Gu Yu could give noment on his girlfriend¡¯s naming sense. They bid the authorities farewell the same day when the flood evaporated and resumed they random ¡°sightseeing¡±. Now that the fire spiritual essence was much less powerful, it was putting less and less pressure on them. For the past couple of days, they walked all their way, examining the post-disasternd while taking the trouble to name each ce they passed. Ayding Lake, for instant, was 154 m below the sea level before and the lowest terrestrial point of the country. The water of theke was also 161 m deep, making it an enormous and extremely deep hole in the ground that one could not see the bottom of it. It was an abyss. Xiaozhai thus gave it a new name: Giant Pit 2 . Another example would be Yuekexun County that was nicknamed ¡°wind reservoir¡± where wind stronger than force 6 was blowing for as many as 100 days annually and from March to May was the period when the wind was the strongest. Facilitated by the abnormality, the wind was frantic. The scorching air billowed like des on fire, denying all human ess. It was the restricted area within the restrict area. Sand Mountain Park was yet one more example, which was a park built on the contact belt of the oasis in the north section of Kumtag Desert. The oasis was obviously gone now and the sand had moved further in. The remarkable thing was that the desert did not turn grayish white at the touch of the fire spiritual essence like everywhere else, but had be a ck grit sort of substance, which was hard and inrge granules. The swell and sweep rolled into the distance and made a crunching sound as the granules rubbed against one another at the wind. The ck grit was much more useful. They each took arge bagful for refining after they went back home. The couple dug around like so as they went on. Anything that was mildly valuable would immediately go into their pockets. They were like scavengers, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. Cultivation Era 1.0¡ªeverything was so primary! Apart from collecting resources, the other important purpose of their journey this time was something of their original line of work¡ªmap-drawing. Anyone else might be ignorant of this, but never these two. Huo Zhou was bound to be the treasurednd for cultivators. The dense fire spiritual essence was an excellent material for instrument-refining, not to mention the mountainful of fire minerals and the big monster inside¡­ It would be a heaven on earth! *** Before long, it was the twelfth day. The fog had almost stopped expanding and the speed was down to less than 0.1 m/s. It was barely moving forward and was wriggling about with thest of its strength. The density in the perimeter was low enough to allow exceptionally fit soldiers to venture in. Their safe distance was set at 30 km. Anywhere deeper in would be life-threatening. The army had set up a buffer zone around the edge of the fog and was busy putting up instations. The next stage would be a long-term garrison. Economic loss¡ªwhich was an astronomical figure¡ªaside, the most regrettable thing was that Huo Zhou was lost after all and the fog had even encroached a little of the neighboring area. Of course, all of the above was within the eptable range. Longxi Province, the city of Sha Zhou. The old man was sitting in an office drafting a report, graveness clouding his face. It had been years since hest wrote a report himself, but what had happened was no trivial matter. He was more reassured to write it on his own. First of all, Huo Zhou area would need re-defining, where boundaries would be reset ording to the size of the abnormality. Huo Zhou was 72,000 km^2 before and now 73,000 km^2. The cities of Yiwu, Yangji, Bayan, and the province of Qining were all affected, their territories would be reduced ordingly. For another, governmental expenditure had shot through the roof and the second key subject was to find a way to fill the huge gap. Last but not least, they had concealed the peach blossom miasma and Huo Zhou incident, yet abnormality was bound to happen again sooner orter. There woulde a day when they could not hold it back any more. After much consideration, he put down a most prudent suggestion. It was time to consider how to face the people of this country¡­ It took the old man a long time to finish the report. After making sure there was no error, he sealed the report and stamped it with ¡°Top Secret¡±, then put it securely away. He had just finished with the task when there came a knock at the door. ¡°Come in!¡± The door opened and his assistant strode in. ¡°Sir, there are a few things I need to brief you on.¡± ¡°Tell me.¡± He rubbed his temples and leaned back into his chair. ¡°Priests Lu and Wang have returned to Tianzhu Mountain.¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± ¡°Mr. Gu and Miss Jiang have also left this morning. They have trusted us to send their luggage back to Bai Town. That is, the stone from Tianshan and a lot of other odd things.¡± The assistent looked the most innocent. ¡°Oh, they have done us a great favor. That¡¯s the least we could do. Anything else?¡± ¡°Urh, those two have left a message, saying it is for you.¡± ¡°What message?¡± The old man winced. ¡°We have gone up the mountaintop. The fire spiritual essence is going stable and will not break off easily in the future. Don¡¯t worry,¡± the assistant reiterated it word for word. ¡°¡­¡± The old man blinked, finding it somewhat hard to describe his whole feeling. ¡®Don¡¯t worry?¡¯ Hoho, it had been a while since anyone talked to him like that after rising to this position. ¡°And¡­¡± The assistant suddenly lowered his voice and moved closer. ¡°The security service informed us that they had just arrested several foreign intelligence agents. Their identities have been confirmed.¡± Chapter 216 Chapter 216: Pre-reformation Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Five were arrested during the operation, they were working for seven countries¡ªtwo of them are double-agents. Hugh Gloria, a citizen of Uncle Sam 1 , has been running a tradingpany in Urumqi and was a hidden agent for many years. Had he not given himself away this time, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to track him down and obtain evidence on his true identity. Margaret, research staff of an international institute of environmental studies, has been here with her team to work on an environment protection project. On the face of it, she works for an intelligence agency of Gaul, but her real identity is a secret agent of the United Kingdom of Britannia. Nichs, citizen of Italos, has been in Urumqi for five years acting as a foreign teacher in Urumqi University¡­¡± In a spacious conference room in Urumqi, a staff member of the state security was briefing the team. Being the city of strategic importance in the Northwest, the city had always been swarming with spies. Had it not been for the overwhelming tumult of the Huo Zhou incident, they would not have took the risk. As the first man sat down, another rose to his feet. ¡°So far, three countries had made their protests, demanding us to provide them with full report on the cases and allow personnel from their embassies to makeprehensive and undisturbed contact with their citizens.¡± ¡°Humph!¡± The old man snorted, apparently disdaining the request a great deal. ¡°All I want to know is, what intelligence have they stolen?¡± ¡°Based on our interrogation, they do not yet know the truth of Huo Zhou. The suspicion was only raised by the information we released beforehand and therge-scale migration. The area was under extremely strict close-down during the outbreak, excluding any possibility of any outsider sneaking in.¡± ¡°How do you exclude that?¡± a man blurted out, but immediately realized how idiotic the question was and shut up in embarrassment. No living thing survived inside Huo Zhou and anyone went in would nevere out again. How else did he think the exclusion work? ¡°¡­¡± Darting a look at the man, the old man was feeling exhaustion from inside out. He was the general director of the abnormality incident and had no say over the spies. He was only here to attend the meeting because he was the highest-ranking official in the northwest region. The moment the state learned about the recovery of the spiritual essence, hidden agents in all other countries were informed, and ordered to turn their main focus on rted aspects. On a global scale, this country was attached the most importance in the Orient¡ªbe it the poption of nearly 2 billion or thend area of over 10 million km^2, this country dwarfed the others in the region on all aspects. Especially on the cultural front, where over a dozen abutting countries had all more or less inherited some proportion of the Central ins culture which then evolved locally, acquiring unique new characteristics. For the past year or so, their own agents had had some asional failures, but based on the information they sent back, things seemed to be going smoothly in the rest of the world; life was uneventful. Catastrophes resembling the Peach Blossom Miasma or ming Mountain were never heard of. Of course, there were unusual activities. Several oldest western countries suddenly announced their strange decision of construction projects, which would circle outnds and seal them off¡ªquite simr to what this country had done. The neighboring small countries such as East Ind, Siam, and Lao were also acting secretively. No matter what, the government dared not take it lightly. It wasmon sense that the recovery of the spiritual essence should be a global event. No one could know for sure if western mysteries such as mages, sorcerers, alchemists, or even legendary werewolves and vampires existed or not. All forces were probing the others and all infiltration had failed. To avoid leaving things to luck and to be able to match the others in strength in the future, everyone was trying to advance faster than the rest. State-level issues were far beyond the reach of those attending the conference. They could only report faithfully to their superior and wait for those above to make the decision. After the meeting. The head of Xichui Province left behind again, chatting casually with the old man. ¡°It was all thanks to you, or no one knew what Huo Zhou would turn into.¡± ¡°Why, save that sweet talk. We¡¯ve known each other well enough.¡± The old man shook his head and sighed. ¡°The past ten days or so were like over a decade for me. Half of my hair has gone white. Fortunately, I have done all I could and can report myself to those in the capital without a guilty conscience¡­ oh, there¡¯s something.¡± Something came to his mind and he decided to let out a little in advance. ¡°I have written a report and it had been sent out. There is likely to be some change in the near future. Xichui has the two major regions of Tianshan and Huo Zhou, making it the priority among priorities. It will be a long-term project. You have to make sure the foundation is solidly set before you retire.¡± ¡°Well, on what aspect, roughly?¡± The head of the province sounded unsure. ¡°Education, ideology, literature and art, habits and customs, you name it. It will be an overall change¡­¡± The old man paused suddenly as his daze turned empty and distant. He leaned back and said in a low, hoarse voice, ¡°That¡¯ll be all. Let¡¯s talk another time. I need some time alone now.¡± *** Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were flustered. Only a handful of things might shake them in this world and what they were looking at was definitely one of them. They arrived at Bai Town, had a brief rest in the manor, then walked up the mountain along the newly built stone stairs. Halfway up the mountain, they saw a row of pavilions. Well, to be more precisely, they were a row of pavilion-like houses. The thing was build over a creek with a stone base and a b bridge as the wooden frame. The bridge was fan-shaped and was just wide enough to straddle above the creek. On either end sat a pavilion house with a four-ridged tented roof. The inside was spacious enough to entertain guests as well as hold amodations. The two pavilion houses were connected by a bamboo-roofed winding corridor in between. The house closer to the mountain path had a te hanging over it, which said ¡°Mid-mountain Pavilion¡±. ¡°¡­¡± The couple felt their mouths twitching. It instantly reminded them of a ¡°royal project¡± built by some arriviste loaded with nothing but money. What the HELL was this? That Yuan fellow obviously took the liberty while the masters were away,ing up with such an eyesore of a showcase project. Shaking their heads, they climbed on. The verdant ntation nking the path was the most pleasant. The medicinal materials they sowed a few months ago were prospering. A few peach trees could be seen here and there in full bloom while emanating a particrly cloying scent. Maybe because there were so few of them, the Peach Blossom Miasma was not generated, but with their thriving vitality and noticeable fluctuation of spiritual essence, they could tell at the first nce that these were no ordinary species. That was not all. They had found many new stems to be raised with cuttage, which were all carefully fostered. There were as many as over a hundred of them. Needless to say, our girl Long Qiu made it happen. ¡°¡­¡± The more they saw, the more flustered they became. When they hurriedly reached the ck thorny woods, Xiaozhai halted and said suddenly, ¡°You¡¯re going to soothe her!¡± ¡°Why me? You¡¯re just gonna do nothing?¡± Gu Yu was firmly against the proposition. ¡°I¡¯ll be your wingman!¡± ¡°I know how to be a wingman. Your service is not required here.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the dad, so act like one, OK?¡± ¡°Dad my a*s. We¡¯re going down together.¡± The two anxiously shirking the iing duty while walking slowly through the ck thorny woods, all the while pondering over how to cajole (more like sweet-talk) Xiao Qiu in a moment. They had iting. They had pushed it too far! Imagine daddy and mummy were out having fun for months on end, spending each day like rock stars, while leaving you behind to run your own course all by yourself. You would be mad as well. Before long, they were out of the woods. The valley unfolded before them. They looked nowhere else but towards the old tree, for below it were two girls ying, apparently very happy with all the giggles. Wow! Xiaozhai was moved by the scene. She had never felt luckier than now with having a younger sister. That was none other than newly graduated Jiang Xiaojin, who couldn¡¯t have returned fast enough to make some noise. Gu Yu was also happy. With her here, Long Qiu would not go all ¡°good-kid-gone-wicked¡± on them. ¡°Sister! Brother-inw!¡± Xiaojin spotted them right away. She immediately let go of Long Qiu, rose to her feet on thewn, and waved at them while hopping and shouting. Long Qiu wiped the smile off her face right away. She thought about ignoring them, but with a brief pause, she ran forwards with a pout. ¡°Oh my, Xiao Qiu has been working so hard these days. Everything at home is in such a great order.¡± ¡°Exactly. I see that the fields over there are all sowed. You¡¯re awesome.¡± ¡°The fields are sowed perfectly! You can tell the rice from the grass at the first look¡­¡± The two swindlers had overly exaggerated caring and enthusiasm written all over their faces. Praises rolled off their tongues like free giveaways. ¡°¡­¡± Long Qiu rolled her eyes and could not be bothered to respond. She said straightaway, ¡°The stuff arrived yesterday. There are so many. You said you would be back today, so I didn¡¯t open them. Xiaojin got here this morning. She¡¯s not going back to school. She¡¯ll be living here for now. I¡¯ve kept your meal on the stove. I¡¯ll heat it up for you.¡± With that, the girl promptly left them. Xiaojin only clumsily rushed just then, yelling, ¡°Sister, I heard you two went to see some major action again. Tell me, tell me now. What was it¡­ ouch, why are you hitting me again?¡± ¡°Answer me first. How is your Mind-calming Method doing?¡± Xiaozhai put down her hand. ¡°Tsk, would I be back if I¡¯m still going nowhere? Come, I¡¯ll show you!¡± *** ¡°Ha¡­¡± Xiaojin¡¯s chest¡ªwhich was no less pleasant to the eye than her sister¡¯s¡ªrose and fell slightly as a breathing sound with a special rhythm came out of her nose. Deep, long, even, slow, and soft¡ªsuch were the key to meditative breathing. It shouldn¡¯t be short, but had to be continuous and unbroken. Gradually, the inhaling and exhaling were prolonged. One would then feel the breathing extending deep into the body and the distracting thoughts were cleared away. In the meditation room, Xiaojin was sitting in a half cross-legged position, cing her left leg on top of her right. Behind her was an open space and in front of her the light. Such a setting was called ¡°tiger crouches, dragon coils, the vermilion bird flies, and the ck turtle hangs down¡±. Meanwhile, her head did not lean on either side and her neck remained straight. Her chin was slightly drawn in and her lower back was ramrod straight¡ªthe position of this part of the body was very important, for if it was even slightly bent, the cirction of Qi would be obstructed. The beginners often found their backs unbearably sore and could not hold the position for long. Xiaojin, however, was doing an excellent job. She kept this standard posture and about five minutester, her whole temperament changed all of a sudden; there was now a quietness and nonchnce about her. On others, it meant little. But when such expression appeared on her, it was a supernatural encounter. ¡°¡­¡± The three exchanged a look, all somewhat surprised. They had never expected to see this. The girl indeed had some talent! Despite her miserable life in the Miao vige, Long Qiu sessfully readjusted herself and was able to consume essence within a few months. Xiaojin had been a carefree, wilful, and mboyant girl; it took her almost a year to achieve a meditative state of mind. We wouldn¡¯t call the former a fast learner, nor would we call thetter slow. Each one simply had their own disposition. ¡°Ha¡­¡± She sat there for quite some time beforeing out of her mind-breathing coordinating state. Slowly, she opened her eyes and the next second, she was back to the old self again, her nose in the air. ¡°See? How was that? Awesome, right?¡± ¡°Well, it was ok¡­¡± Gu Yu was rather curious. ¡°How did you do it? That waspletely out of our expectations.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t in the beginning. There was no way to calm my mind. In the end, I forced myself to set a target and hypnotized myself every day: I must do it or I¡¯ll kill myself. Meditation is the first step and I must nail it! Slowly I just made it. I can¡¯t really exin it.¡± ¡°What was your target?¡± Long Qiu asked. ¡°Tee-hee, that¡¯s my secret!¡± Xiaojin squeezed Long Qiu¡¯s cheek and turned to her sister, looking like a puppy expecting a pat on the head. ¡°You passed. From now on, you¡¯re with me. The cultivation officially starts now!¡± Xiaozhai was rather stingy with her words and did not offer anypliment. In fact, Xiaojin¡¯s ideal choice would be to study essence-consuming method, yet somehow, maybe out of the hope to catch up with her sister, she chose the Thunder Technique, which was a slower cultivation method. Her natural endowment was simr to Long Qiu, so the way ahead would be very tough for her. Therefore, Xiaozhai had no choice but to be strict. She was ready to steer Xiaojin to the right course at any moment and supervise her around the clock. After her graduation this year, the girl fled from both home and school, leaving a word saying she was hanging out with her sister. The job of persuading her family was left to Father Jiang and she would have no part of it. All she wanted was her freedom. After examining the little sister, the couple had no better thing to do and finally told the other two about their story in Huo Zhou, then went to fetch those big chests. Xiaojin and Long Qiu promptly went up to the chests, ready to split the profit. The first one was opened. In it was a big stone that was green in color and looked glittering and translucent. It was the green jade stone of Tianshan. ¡°This is enough for two people. Have you decided what to refine?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°I want a sword. Something suitable for closebat.¡± Long Qiu had thought it through already. She turned to Xiaozhai, ¡°How about you, Sister?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like the shape of any of those weapons. I need some more time,¡± replied Xiaozhai. ¡°Hey, hey, hey¡­¡± Xiaojin tugged at her arm and shook it around in vexation. ¡°What about my share? Where is mine?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be at least a year or two before you can refine an instrument. By then, there¡¯s bound to be better materials around. I¡¯ll bring you back some. I promise.¡± ¡°Oh, okay¡­¡± Xiaojin did not nag on. Her sister had promised and a promise she would keep. Then came the second chest. It had two bags of ck grit, the granules of which wererger than the ordinary ones and round like little marbles. Long Qiu curiously picked up a handful and squeezed her fist tightly. The grit did not budge. She then unleashed most of her strength and squeezed again. It was only then that the crunching sound of broken granules came. ¡°It¡¯s very solid. What are we going to do with it?¡± she asked. ¡°Don¡¯t know yet. We¡¯ll have to look into it first.¡± They then opened the third chest. In this one were all sorts of bits and pieces. Stones, dust, remains of some nt, the dead body of some aquatic creature¡­ ¡°Gosh, were you guys scavenging?¡± Xiaojin eyed the contents rather distastefully. ¡°Be grateful. We had to dig all of them up out of the ground,¡± said Gu Yu. There was barely anything left in the post-catastrophe Huo Zhou. It would be years before there would be life again, let alone an ecosystem. Anyhow, they picked up the stuff around and put the things into the warehouse after arranging them by categories. When all that was done, it was veryte. The four washed and cleaned, ready to go to bed. Gu Yu headed towards his girlfriend¡¯s room like he used to, but when he walked in, he saw Xiaozhai bending over her desk writing something. She looked up and said cooly, ¡°You¡¯re sleeping alone from now on. I need to teach her.¡± ¡°In the middle of the night?¡± He grimaced. ¡°Diligence makes up for dullness.¡± Xiaozhai¡¯s exnation was sinct as always. She only chuckled. ¡°Why, missing it already?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one missing it!¡± Gu Yu retorted and gave her a tough-man look, leaving the room promptly. The moment he was back at his own, that look melted away from his face and switched instantly to delight. ¡°Damn! Finally a break!¡± Chapter 217 Chapter 217: Lecturing the Litter Sister Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Gu Yu had been bursting with energytely¡ªwell, for some obvious reason that could not be named. His main focus was on nting gourds ever since he got back. He had circled out a plot and chose three types of gourds to nt in it¡ªnamely, the Japanese giant gourd, the big narrow-waist, and the giantdle. All three could produce gourds of over 80 cm, even as long as one to two meters. The one he nted before was small-to-medium narrow-waisted gourd and could only fit in so much. Now that he needed to stuff more in, the little container was stretching its limits. The fire spiritual essence, for instance, was the reason he needed to go to Huo Zhou for every now and then, so that he could refine his ming Cloud Needles. He still had 57 to go through. How many round trips would that incur? With a bigger gourd, however, things would be much easier. He could collect much more each time and use it for a longer period of time. It would also save him much time. Frankly, it was nothing fancy. Bigger gourds could be stored in his mental space, but its volume would not be altered. To be able to suck ake dry with a single tiny gourd required the skills of an immortal. One had to either engrave the gourd with a magical formation, or learn a remarkable ability such as universe-in-a-sleeve, which could fit a world into a tiny space. The valley, west bank. It was the upstream of the river¡ªabout 40 minutes¡¯ drive from the old tree¡ªwhere an open space sparsely dotted with treesy. The ce had been cleared out and was now specifically used as their training field. It was half the size of a football court, with a homemade set of table and chairs on the side; the material they were made of was gathered on the spot, then chopped and turned into the most crudely made furniture. Right now, Gu Yu and Xiaojin were sitting on the chairs, watching thebat in the field. Long Qiu was neatly dressed and held a shiny green longsword in her right hand. Her little face was solemn and eyes focused as she searched cautiously for a weak point. Xiaozhai stood casually on the other side. Her posture might seem sluggish, but it was in fact an unhindered and natural way. No matter which way Long Qiu chose to attack from, Xiaozhai would be able to react to it instantly. They were deadlocked like so for a couple of seconds and Long Qiu decided to abandon her previous n. Thrusting her foot against the ground, she swung out her right arm. ¡°Whoosh!¡± A sh of light bounced off the sword and the cold green tip ripped through the air with a shrill like a shooting star, thrusting straight at her opponent. Seeing the longswording, Xiaozhai pivoted on her left feet while striding out her right foot, turning her body around at an impossible angle. Long Qiu reacted even faster. Her wrist turned and the sword had changed its course before Xiaozhai finished her turning. The tip of the sword trembled continuously, sending out multiple streaks of energy, wrapping around Xiaozhai, which looked like clusters of green flowers. ¡°Hm?¡± Xiaozhai let out a soft cry. This sword movement was the essence of the sword technique of her sect and the young girl had already mastered it, which demonstrated how hard she had been practicing. Xiaozhai herself was not a fan of swordsmanship and only learned it because it was part of her inheritance. Seeing Long Qiu¡¯s diligent work, she was as gratified as she was relieved. Immediately, she stepped on the ground and, still in her half-turned position, she skimmed over to the side, graceful like a bird spreading out its wings. The longsword was at her heel and the green flowers erged rapidly, wrapping around her again. It seemed that there was nowhere else she could run to when Xiaozhai activated her mental force and a strange-looking short weapon appeared in her hand. She sliced it upwards. ¡°nk!¡± The des collided into each other, spurting out a strong st, sending dust flying all over the ce. ¡°Thump! Thump! Thump!¡± Long Qiu stumbled back for a couple of steps, her eyes frightfully shining. The battle had exhrated her. She straightened herself up and charged out again. It had been two months since they returned and Xiaozhai and Xiao Qiu had each refined their own instrument. Long Qiu was wielding a sword a little under a meter long. The sword was narrow and jade-green in color. It was extremely suitable for stabbing and slicing. The green jade stone was remarkably hard. At the current stage, it was safe to say that the stone was the most ideal material to refine an assault instrument. The girl could hardly bear to put the sword down ever since she got it. She used it mostly for close quarterbats, but it could do ranged attack as well, only that it would not be as fast and it would be quite mental-force-consuming. As for Xiaozhai, she had designed a piece herself. It was somewhere between a saber and a dagger. The weapon was about half a meter long and double-ded, with a thicker ridge and thinner edges. The curve ran as fluid as a willow leaf. It was rather curvy and the sharp edges met in a rtively broad tip. It worked well for shing, stabbing, upward swinging, hitching, pointing, blocking, or even the tangling motion of saber movements. She thought little of the aesthetic aspects and cared about practicability only. The weapon was designed so that her confrontational skill could be brought into y to the full. Of course, the name was in as ever: Green Leaf¡­ Gu Yu would not talk to her for half a day because of the lousy name. Xiaozhai couldn¡¯t care less about the name. In her own words, it was no divine weapon, why bother giving it a pretty name? Such a waste! ¡°Whoosh!¡± The two figure in the field leapt and flew around, joined by two streaks of cold green light, which collided and parted, exerting spectacr energy. They had exchanged dozens of blows in a split second and neither side had the better of the other. Before those two couldment, Xiaojin, who was unhappy, shouted, ¡°Sister, don¡¯t you make it easy for her! I¡¯m your own blood and she¡¯s the adopted one! Adopted!¡± Blushing, Long Qiu yelled back, ¡°Jin Jin, shut up!¡± ¡°Sister, didn¡¯t you say you were going to use your killing move? Use it! Xiao Qiu, your MP is running out, just surrender! Your cuteness won¡¯t save you!¡± The girl wasshing out her taunt on both sides while hopping around. Ok, ok, she was jealous. me the older sister¡ªshe had obviously made it easy for Long Qiu. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai frowned at her bullsh*t. Activating her thunder energy, she made it frantically flood into the short de. With a shrill sound that seemed to have ripped the air apart, a purple beam surged out of the tip of the de and extended out for several meters in an instant. ¡°Boom!¡± With a wave of her hand, the purple thunder de smashed down, powerful enough to shatter heaven and earth. Xiaojin nked outpletely; even her mind had gone numb. She thought she was going to be sted into pieces in a second and turn to ashes. However, at that moment, a long, thin crimson thread flew out and shed into the purple light in midair. ¡°Boom!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± The overwhelming thunder energy and the ferocious ming Cloud Needle met head on, instantly sending waves of strong st, which rapidly ravaged the surrounding area. Momentarily, sand and stone were in the air and branches and leaves broken. The table and chairs were also overturned with a series of cracking sounds. Xiaojin did not dodge in time and was buried underneath. ¡°Okay, you really are her biological sister.¡± By now, Gu Yu had long stood aside and retrieved the needle. The look on his face said ¡°a pain in the neck¡±. ¡°Wow, Sister, that was amazing! Ipletely couldn¡¯t fend that off!¡± Flustered, Long Qiu also scuttled near and marveled at Xiaozhai. ¡°Jiang Xiaozhai! Are you crazy? You struck me with that, seriously?!¡± Xiaojin scrambled out from under the table and yapped, ¡°Am I really your younger sister¡­ bah, are you really my older sister? It¡¯s murder! You have no sense of propriety¡­¡± Xiaozhai could not be bothered to reply. Looking around, she said, ¡°It¡¯s got decent power, but is too essence-consuming. I can summon it about three times in one go.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more than enough. You won¡¯t get much chance using it anyway.¡± Gu Yu smiled and went on, ¡°Xiao Qiu is making great progress. Your move has the right posture, but the strikes are still on the soft side. Youck the vigor of an indomitable will.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll work harder!¡± Long Qiu nodded. ¡®Damn you all!¡¯ Joy was overflowing in the family of three and Jiang Xiaojin exploded. She ran out of the woods grunting and grumbling, going back on her own. Gu Yu paid her no attention and only said to Xiaozhai, ¡°That strike of yours got me thinking. Do you think you can refine the ck grit with your thunder technique so that they can connect with and respond to one another?¡± ¡°I can try.¡± Xiaozhai got the idea right away. *** The three briefly rearranged the things before strolling back to the valley. Gu Yu and Long Qiu went to tend their own business and Xiaozhai returned to her room. Walking in, she saw the girl curling up on the straw mat looking like a sushi roll with closed eyes and not making a sound. ¡°Jin Jin?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Jin Jin?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai went to her side. Sitting down next to her, she chuckled. ¡°Scared you back there?¡± ¡°You figure?¡± The girl gave a two-word reply. ¡°Were you scared of me killing you or him failing to save you?¡± Hm? Xiaojin opened her eyes¡ªshe had never thought it that way. Before she had time to think, her older sister asked another question, ¡°Since I wasn¡¯t going to kill you and he would definitelye to your rescue, why should you be afraid?¡± ¡°I, I¡­¡± She bolted up and found her reasoning in that moment, then yelled back, ¡°Do not y with words! You¡¯d be afraid as well if you see a lightning strike at you!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Xiaozhai shook her head. ¡°You¡­!¡± The girl wanted to retort but couldn¡¯t, for she knew her older sister was telling the truth. She could only grunt and slump back down in a fit of pique. ¡°Fear is an instinct. It stems from the unknown and one¡¯s own weakness. Therefore, to solve it is quite straightforward: have an understanding of everything and strengthen oneself.¡± Xiaozhai lifted her up and held the girl in her arms. ¡°You¡¯re clever in trivial matters and know how to go after the benefit while avoiding the harm, using what you have on hand to get to your goal, which isn¡¯t exactly a bad thing. But you have a weakness: when something stronger ising your way, your first reaction is to flinch. It will hinder your cultivation of Thunder Technique. Remember, you can evade for the time being, but you can never run away. Be it a person, a thing, or the Great Dao, the moment you start fearing it, your Thunder Technique will falter and the foundation will be shaken. Understood?¡± Xiaojin was bewildered and replied despite herself, ¡°I-I understand.¡± ¡°You¡¯re cultivating Metal Thunder as well. With your natural endowments, as long as you work hard enough, you¡¯ll be able to use your mental force externally in a year¡¯s time and maybe get to refine instruments. Another two years and you¡¯ll master the skill. And if everything goes as nned, you¡¯d be in Human Immortal state in ten years¡¯ time.¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking about natural endowment all the time. Can¡¯t that be changed?¡± The girl found that notion a bit depressing. ¡°Natural endowment is a preordained thing. Although we can¡¯t rule out the existence of a panacea that can change one from inside out into a brand-new person, how many do you think are lucky enough to get it? Get rid of all your unrealistic ideas. Your only right path is through putting down a solid foundation.¡± Xiaozhai had been talking to Xiaojin about her experience and the current situation every now and then ever since thetter moved in. ¡°Now that the society is on a new page, chaos is already looming in some ces. In a few more years, the instability will only increase. The resources are not evenly distributed and there are always people more talented then the rest. Even if everyone has turned into cultivators in the future, there will still be those better-off and those exploited. Don¡¯t think of cultivation as a way to get away from the world. We are rising in the level of life, not detaching ourselves from the social strata. Maintaining your circle is therefore very important. When you go out into the world and run into fellow cultivators, try your best to befriend those that can be your friends and kill those you can kill.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on with all the forces right now? Where do I rank with my capability?¡± Xiaojin asked. ¡°It¡¯s still too early to talk about forces at the moment. As for capability¡­ just keep this in mind, you rank the fourth in Phoenix Mountain and that¡¯s where you should rank in the whole big world.¡± Wow! She liked the way that sounded! A million expressions shed across Xiaojin¡¯s face and she turned to gossip after a pause. ¡°So, you and brother-inw, who is more fierce?¡± ¡°We are equally skillful. I have more explosive strength and he has better stamina.¡± ¡°Are we talking about the same thing here?¡± The younger sister did not think it sounded right. ¡°They work the same way.¡± Chapter 218 Chapter 218: Switch over Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The granules of sand and grit were different. The former was finer and softer, while thetter was fuller, harder, and discernibly grainier. The abnormality had eroded Kumtag Desert, turning a third of it into ck grit. It just so happened that the yellow and ck was separated by an oasis narrowly escaping the disaster. It would be a strategic point in the days toe. Speaking of the ck grit, it was hollow inside and had a smooth, round outer shell. It could withstand a considerable pressure and was highly conductive. Xiaozhai knew what Gu Yu expected out of the grit, thus she refined a small amount to begin with and put it in her small gourd. When purely used as a container, the gourd was small enough to hang around the waist. The bigger ones could only be refined into magical instruments so as to be stored away in one¡¯s mental space. Sitting down in the training field, she unplugged the gourd, gave it a pat, and a st of inky ck grit spurted out, soon forming a small cloud of gritty fog with a rustling, crunchy sound. It wasn¡¯t closely packed; all granules kept distance from one another. Despite the apparent disorder, they were in fact regrly arranged. The granules weren¡¯t floating in midair, but stretched out quite close to the ground, covering all areas on all sides. At the very bottom, only a tiny gap was left out, revealing a thin line of the ground, which was as lightless as elsewhere and coveredpletely by the shadow. ¡°Xiao Qing!¡± At her summon, the green snake showed up tossing it head and tail while sticking its two-pronged tongue in and out in an ingratiating manner. ¡°Have a go inside.¡± ¡°¡­¡± There, the green snake froze. There was even a human-like baffled look on its face. It spun around and fled, but did not make it very far. A hand dragged it back and threw it right into the fog. ¡°Hiss!¡± The green snake struggled to straighten itself and resume its flight, but it was toote. As if a red button had been pressed down, the static gritty fog started moving at the snake¡¯s tumbling around. ¡°ck!¡± ¡°Sizzle!¡± As the granules bumped into one another, the thunder energy within them was activated. Purple light flickered, tearing at the air inside the fog, reminding one of dark clouds looming over a city, harbingering a cloudburst. Immediately after that, there came the ¡°Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!¡± sound. Streaks of lightning emerged from the ck fog, hacking at the green snake with its destructive power that had been severely downsized. ¡°Hiss!¡± Xiao Qing was scared out if wits. Scraping hard against the ground, all it could think of was to run away as quickly as it could. However, it could never outrun the lightning even if it could fly. It seemed it would turn into a skewered snake the next second when a fair, slender hand reached in and lifted it out of the fog. The lightning struck the ground, sting out shallow pits as crushed stones exploded and dust flew all over the ce. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai watched it for long when she finally got some idea. Waving her hand, shemanded, ¡°Back!¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± ¡°Rustle!¡± The fog shrank into a thin thread, slithering across the air back into the gourd. Saved by the sudden act of mercy, the green snake scrambled out of the field and disappeared out of sight. ¡°Tsk, tsk!¡± Xiaozhai was very pleasantly surprised. The power had been weakened to some extent, but it could be made up by the quantity. The fog could not issue active attacks, but defense and confinement it could, making it the most practical thing to have around. They had brought back two bags of the grit. If they were to refine them all, sprinkling all the grit into the air would be like the God of Thunder himself arriving on earth. In general, magical instruments belonged to one of the two categories. The first was the universal type, which did not require refining by mental force but was nourished by spiritual essence alone and could be used by anyone. The second was the exclusive type, which needed refining by mental force, had the owner¡¯s own mental imprint, and could be stored in the mental space. Refining the grit would be quite energy-consuming for her, for the grit was to be put inside the gourd and she would have to refine the grit together with the gourd. Just imagine: a stunning beauty like her would one day hold a giant gourd over a meter tall with sand gushing out of it opening¡ªit would be too ridiculous a scene to watch! *** Tianzhu Mountain, the monastery. The monastery was no longer its deserted self. The thirty-six sects had sent two people each, making it seventy-two in total. That, plus with those already there, made the number of residents 108. The seventy-two neers were in fact handymen taking care of cooking, cleaning, hall-caring, guest-weing, etc. No one exined about the odd jobs, for they knew well enough what this ce was. It was six in the evening and the time for evening sses. The time of morning and evening sses was not fixed, for each sect differed from the next. Here, the morning sses took ce between five to seven am, while the evening ones were between five to seven pm. ¡°The spiritual rice is here!¡± With that, two priests entered the kitchen, each with two bags of rice in hand. The bags were 50 kg each and they were carrying it without effort. As soon as they put them down, someone else came along to open the bags, wash the rice, and dexterously moving on to cook it. On the stove on the other side, three priests were making vegetarian dishes. There were six people in total working in the kitchen. After several months, they were fairly well acquainted. Seeing that the head of the kitchen Wang Yuanji was not around, they struck out a conversation in low voices. ¡°I heard they were going to develop Mt Emei now. Senior Brother Lu is definitely going. I wonder who will apany him.¡± ¡°Why, I heard it wouldn¡¯t happen for another while. The country has taken toll because of what happened in Huo Zhou and needs time to recover.¡± ¡°The foundation of our country is more solid than you think. Plus, Mt Emei is going to be developed even if they have to pawn everything else. Just wait and see.¡± ¡°Dang!¡± ¡°Dang!¡± As they chatted merrily on, the bell rang outside, the sound resonating in the mountain, announcing that the evening sses were over and dinner was ready, The six men stopped talking right away. With quick and steady moves, they filled the bowls and tes and carried them through a small door to the canteen in the front. Before long, the priests arrived in twos and threes. The rtionship between two schools was much more rxed. Before, each school only sat with their own, but some were sitting with the other side now; men on both sides would even exchange casual words on a daily basis. After all this time, especially the impact of Huo Zhou incident, most people here had embraced the idea of ¡°once inside Qiyun, there is no other sect¡±. Right now, in the scripture hall on the west of the main hall, two men remained behind. One was Tan Chongdai and the other was Shi Yui. ¡°Junior Brother, you said yesterday that the loss of ten years needed making up by a year¡¯s hard work.¡± Tan Chongdai seemed even more scrawny than before, his face fraught with distress. ¡°I¡¯m seventy-one already. Will it be toote for me?¡± ¡°In the Senior Brother¡¯s case, the base of practice can be reached in five years.¡± Shi Yui was frank. ¡°Five years, then I¡¯ll be seventy-six¡­¡± For a brief moment, the old priest was lost in his thoughts. He then muttered, ¡°It¡¯s not toote. Not toote at all!¡± The practice of Neidan started from building the base. The so-called base was essential to the cultivation of Yang spirit and where the mind and breathing rested. By building the base, Yang spirit¡ªor the primordial spirit¡ªwas obtained. In simple terms, building the base was a method to repair the body and nourish the vital essence. In the teaching of Neidan there was a saying, ¡°building the base in a hundred days.¡± But the older the practitioner was, the longer actual time required would be; and the natural endowment andprehensive ability were also factors to be considered. Starting from the age of sixteen, it would cost a male practitioner one more year to build the base for every ten years older. The signs of obtaining the base varied depending on the aspect referred. Some of the standards were to resume the physiological state to the pre-16 level: before the males had their first seminal emission and females their first menstruation. Others focused on the fullness of one¡¯s vital essence internally and the intactness of eyes (brimming with vigor), teeth (fallen teeth growing back), and voice (loud and clear) externally. Seeing that the old man was dispirited, Shi Yuiforted him. ¡°Since Senior Brother has decided to take this path, you must have known the road ahead is ridden with frustrations. You can¡¯t let yourself be discouraged now.¡± ¡°I know, I know¡­¡± Tan Chongdai nodded repeatedly. The two went on talking for quite a long time. The old priest asked and Shi Yui answered. Had an outsider been present, they would doubtlessly be shocked, for all the questions were about the key points on Neidan practice. It was not untilte into the night when the old priest bid Shi Yui farewell and strolled back to his own dwelling. Walking in, he saw someone else was sitting inside. It was none other than Zhang Shouyang himself. Although the job titles had been allotted, the monastery was such a new concept that the customs were yet to be established. They were still addressing one other in old terms. ¡°Junior Brother Zhang, what brought you here?¡± ¡°Senior Brother Tan, did you juste back from the scripture hall?¡± Zhang Shouyang was very direct. ¡°¡­¡± After a brief moment of silence, Tan Chongdai replied, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct.¡± The outright affirmative answer rendered Zhang Shouyang¡¯s prepared speech redundant. He could only heave a sigh and say, ¡°Senior Brother, you have been cultivating for decades following the teaching of Zhengyi. The youngsters have always retained immense esteem towards your knowledge and virtue. Why would you abandon your integrity in yourter years?¡± ¡°Abandoning my integrity?¡± Tan Chongdai smiled and replied in that same calm voice, ¡°I¡¯m not like any of you. I¡¯m old. I have been pursuing the Great Dao for my entire life and I don¡¯t want to be shut out at its doorstep now when I¡¯m one foot in the grave. The world is changing and my limited talent can only take me so far. I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t live long enough for the great fortune to fall upon me¡­ Junior Brother, what would you have me do instead?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Looking into the old man¡¯s eyes, Zhang Shouyang found words had failed him. Mo Haofeng was the oldest priest here in the monastery, followed by Tan Chongdai. Yet Tan did not have all those years of practicing Dan method like old Priest Mo did, nor was he any good inbat. It wasmon knowledge that if one had to pick the least likely priest to achieve the Great Dao, it would definitely be Tan Chongdai. Now that the old man had abandoned his old teaching and turned to Neidan instead, no one found themselves in the position to use him. ¡°Junior Brother, I have prepared myself beforeing here, yet when I am among all these outstanding talented young people, I still couldn¡¯t reconcile to this reality.¡± Tan Chongdai sounded a little bitter with his hoarse voice. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. This is my own decision. Whatever consequences there are in the future, I will face them.¡± ¡°Do let me know if you need any help.¡± There was nothing more Zhang Shouyang could say. With that, he left the room, feeling his legs weighing down on him. Once out of the courtyard, he stood still on the pebble-paved trail and looked up at the bright moon above. The thoughty heavily upon him. He agreed with Lu Yuanqing on casting aside the internal strife and focusing on expanding the Taoistmunity, but he could never ept the idea of fusing Zhengyi and Quanzhen into one. Many Taoist followers had switched sides in history, such as the Fourth Patriarch Chen Nan and Fifth Patriarch Bai Yuchan of the Southern Sect of Quanzhen. Both had learned the Thunder Technique of Shenxiao and had be quite skillful at it. Of course, their inheritance had long been lost by now. But not him. He was the abbot¡¯s personal disciple of the Way of Celestial Masters. If the Way itself changed over to practice Neidan, it would be the utter betrayal of all their forefathers! *** In the following days after Tan Chongdai and Zhang Shouyang¡¯s talk, the old man decided to stop hiding and went to ask for Shi Yui¡¯s advice in public. Seeing this, the others were all brooding over their own ideas. No specific rules were set back when the scripture hall was established, such as limiting Shi Yui to teach Quanzhen or Chao Kongtu Zhengyi only. The priests were all clever men, and soon grasped Lu Yuanqing¡¯s unspoken lines. Some supported it while others did not, but everyone had agreed on one thing, which was to reinvigorate the Taoistmunity. Lu Yuanqing was clever enough to provide them with an opportunity to choose freely instead of forcing it on them. Now that Tan Chongdai had made the first move, some of the others could no long sit still. They were young men after all. Be it to start Dan method or talisman from scratch, they all had plenty of time. Chapter 219 Chapter 219: The Approaching Reformation Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Ah¡­ yeah¡­¡± ¡°Mmh¡­¡± With a husky yelp from the man, the woman also stopped her motion. Sweat trickled down her silky skin, dropping onto his chest. ¡°Hong Hong, you little subus. You¡¯re sucking my bones dry.¡± The man had a sallow face and puffy eyes. He was panting heavily. ¡°You were the one wanting it every time. Don¡¯t me me.¡± Du Hong 1 got off the man and carefully cleaned him with gentle hands. Her rosy, fair body sat at an angle on the bed, reminding one of a ripe, juicy peach. ¡°I just can¡¯t get enough of you. Oh my, I really should note here this often. It¡¯s killing me.¡± The man struggled to sit up after a long rest, sighing while getting dressed. ¡°Why, I was going to make you some stewed soup tonight. Since you¡¯re on a ¡®diet¡¯, I guess I¡¯ll just have it all for myself.¡± Pouting, Du Hong feigned an angry face. Despite her thirty years of age, the expression did not look off on her at all. Instead, it strangely worked well with her features. ¡°Tsk, tsk. I was just kidding. I¡¯d drink it all even if you made slops for me.¡± The man buttoned his shirt and held her between his arms. ¡°Seriously, I may be very busytely and won¡¯t be able toe as often. Go check the shop if you feel boring. You¡¯re the boss, after all.¡± ¡°Gosh, I¡¯m so not the businesswoman type. Xiao Wu is watching out for me over there and my mind is at ease.¡± ¡°At ease or not, you¡¯ve got to check the ounts, the bills, and other things.¡± ¡°Okay, okay! I¡¯ll do as you say!¡± The cloying prattle seemed neverending when Du Hong gave the rm clock on the table a glimpse and chuckled. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you have a meeting this morning? Don¡¯t bete.¡± ¡°Oh, right. I almost forgot.¡± The man rose to his feet right away and went to the living room first to fetch a jar of medicinal liquor. He poured himself a little cup, downed it, then moved on hurriedly to wash his face and brush his teeth. The liquor was concocted from a secret recipe that nourished the kidneys. The ingredients contained a dozen materials including golden eye-grass, honeb, desert-broomrape, du zhong (Emia ulmoides), ox knee (Achyranthes bidentata), Dipsacales, suo yang 2 (Cynomorium songaricum Rupr.), etc. They were soaked in boiling water first and put into a container after cooling down. Arge quantity of liquor was than poured in to ¡°ripen¡± the materials. The liquid was then edible in two weeks. He had to do something. He felt his life expectancy had shortened by thirty years since he was with this woman. He had to try to make it up in some way! Around eight o¡¯clock, the man was all appropriately dressed and ready to leave. Du Hong went to see him off all the way to the front gate of the vi, where she seemed to remember something all of a sudden and chuckled. ¡°By the way, that rice is almost finished. Could you bring me some more?¡± ¡°Well, my quota is very limited¡­ let me figure it out.¡± The reply sounded awkward, but the man did not refuse her outright. After giving her cheek a peck, the man pushed the door open and left. A car was waiting outside, whose driver acted as if Du Hong did not exist. He stepped on the gas and the car was out of the residential area in no time. ¡°Teehee¡­¡± Du Hong watched the car driving out of sight and shed a dubious smile. She then strolled back upstairs. After leaving the massage house, she had been working for that Cheng Gang, who then introduced her to Director Zhao. Who then packed her up and gave her to Director Li after having enough fun with her. Before long, Director Zhang became her acquaintance¡­ Such was how life worked for her¡ªshe was in no position to fight it whatsoever. She had epted it all by now. Since she had the advantage, why not use it? As a result, with the skill she learned from that shabby book, she was climbing up thedder like a rocket. In less than two years, she had made it to the circle of core leading members of Le Zhou. As for the man just then, he was called Tang Yu. A well-connected man and the youngest among the core members. The two of them hooked up a few months ago. Du Hong knew what she could potentially gain from the man and had put on the best show for him. As expected, the man fell head over heels for her, following her words like amb to the ughter. It was from him that Du Hong for the first time heard about Taoist skills, Phoenix Mountain, the spiritual rice¡­ she was even lucky enough to taste a little. Bold and clever, she soon made the connection between what was happening and that shabby book, especially the drawing on thest page, and practiced it following the instruction. She was vaguely aware of the nature of this thing and dared not use it carelessly. When sleeping with Tang Yu, she would use the method one out of ten times. Even so, the effect was apparent: as she grew fairer, the man was wearing out. So much so that had it not been for the man¡¯s background, she would rather go out and have fun on her own. The taste was so scrumptious that she wished she could have it every single day. *** Le Zhou, the municipal government. Before anyone realized, the first half of this year had passed. Since the discovery of the recovering spiritual essence, the authorities had shifted from cautious exploration to acting freely, then to the generation of a thorough strategy¡ªthe process had taken them roughly fifteen months. Today was the first day of July and a Monday. The municipal government building was restless and bustling ever since early in the morning, for a major conference was being prepared. It was a little past nine o¡¯clock when the door to the conference room was tightly shut and the leadership team was all present, Tang Yu included. ¡°Leadership team¡± was a somewhat intriguing term. It would be almost impossible for an outsider to figure out the rtionships among the members. In Le Zhou, this team included the first and second officials inmand of the city, a few deputies, directors in charge of organization, propaganda, agriculture, culture and education, police affairs, etc. Oh, one more new member was added this year¡ªthe departmental head of the Operation Department, Bashu Province sub-bureau of the BIMAUP. ¡°Ok, we¡¯re all here. Let¡¯s begin.¡± The big boss roamed his eyes around the room and cleared his throat. ¡°In the afternoon the day after tomorrow, the scientific research team organized by the central government is moving into Mt Emei. We have been through multiple times on the relevant logistic and supportive services. I will emphasize it again today. It is a thousand men we¡¯re talking about here and the constituent is veryplex. The city of Mt Emei is only capable enough to provide them with the most basic daily necessities. Everything else¡ªmachines, instation, materials, and so on and so forth¡ªfalls on us to prepare in advance, so that they will have everything when needed. Comrade Tang Yu, you will go onto the mountain with them and run the frontline operations. Keep us posted.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Tang Yu nodded. The head added, ¡°And about the propaganda, that¡¯s a very important aspect. Mt Emei has been sealed off and we need to keep a closer look on the management and control over public opinion. Comrade Wang Bin is very experienced in this field and hase up with one of those, um, what¡¯s that called again¡­¡± ¡°Steering group on unusual inte public opinions,¡± reminded one of the officials on a lesser seat. ¡°Yes, that. That is a very good idea!¡± Knocking the table with his knuckles, he said, ¡°There is this interesting term used by theizens¡ª¡¯leading the pace¡¯. We should not take it as a derogatory expression only. It all depends on who was leading the pace and how it could be led, which is our task. We should steer the public opinion towards a better, positive angle. Especially the middle-aged and elderly poption, whose minds are more rigid. We need to provide them with a peaceful buffer period until they can ept these novelties¡­ All right, enough on that point. Agenda number two is our main focus today.¡± He briefly talked the first point through and stopped there, then moved on. ¡°The document has been sent out and I presume you¡¯ve all read it thoroughly. The emphasis of our discussion today will be on how to carry out our new task rationally and effectively.¡± ¡°Snap!¡± With that, a picture flickered into sight on the big screen in the front. On the white background was a line of bright red text. ¡°The Three-year n on National Cultivation Personnel and Social Development.¡± Chapter 220 Chapter 220: Emei Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu After the Huo Zhou incident, that old man wrote a report for the central government, expounding in full on his suggestions and worries. Those above had discussed much about the issue before and taking this opportunity, they had held multiple conferences over a short period of time, thus producing this preliminary programme. It was noughing matter. Anything could be nned and cultivation was no exception. This three-year n was on the crude side. The second half of the year would be spent on the transition and perfection of the details. Starting from the following year, it would be fully implemented. Overall, it was of a three-in-one structure¡ªthe social, cultural, and cultivation ideology. It was in fact rather fascinating, for the two major foundations¡ªpolitics and economics¡ªhad been omitted. The development concept could be summarized in one word: stability, stability, once more stability! There were three main goals: In one or two years, lead the public in an orderly and smooth manner so that they could critically understand and ept the concept of cultivation. Within three years, achieve full development of various resources in Tianzhu and Emei, as well as establish a thorough supply system. Within three years, train a rudimentary group of talented people who had passion for cultivation, were naturally gifted, and persevered in their practice. Centering around the three goals, a multitude of facilitative projects were to be carried out. Transportation-wise, for instance, new mountain roads were to be constructed and old ones revamped, as well as the interoperability of urban railways and high-speed rail coverage in major cities, which was to be improved. Focusing on the mountainous and river regions all over the country, a smooth, fast railway and highwaywork was to be established to ensure prompt transportation. Another example would be in the ideology domain, where guidelines were drawn on how to gradually make the public interested in Taoist culture and form an ideal ambiance and context for discussions, etc., through channels such as the inte, movies and TV series, and extracurricr reading materials. The above-mentioned pretty much covered the main body of the programme, which did not stop there. It was a top-down guideline issued by those above and in order to implement the specific regtions, the local authorities needed toe up a n of their own. The current situation was that domestically, the public was growing more suspicious every day with possible new abnormalities looming on the horizon, while externally, the other countries were all acting secretly, creating much pressure for this one. The measures the authorities had taken were safe enough without giving up too muchpetitive power. *** ¡°Keep up! Don¡¯t fall behind!¡± ¡°Quickly! Men go first, then the vehicles!¡± ¡°The road is very narrow ahead. Be careful not to slip!¡± Midday, a procession snailed up the mountain road, stretching out for miles on end. The line seemed neverending. A dozenrge vehicles, whose drivers were terrified as they gingerly inched forward along the tatty and narrow gstone path, drove on the rear. The road condition in Emei node was much moreplicated than that of Tianzhu. There were many areas unsuitable for road-building, but the roads were built anyway, or the machines and materials would never be shipped in. They had set out early in the morning and were only halfway through by noon. Everyone was overwhelmed by a helpless feeling, as if the mountains would stretch out before them forever and trap them inside for good. As for the team, aside from the troops and the scientific research division, only two members of the monastery had joined in¡ªLu Yuanqing and Wang Ruoxu. Together with Li Suchun, a member of the BIMAUP, there were only three so-called cultivators. ¡°Junior Brother, there is, there is something I don¡¯t understand¡­¡± Wang Ruoxu was dripping with perspiration,rge patches of his robe soaked wet both on his chest and his back. He was panting heavily. ¡°Why me of all people? What can I do here? I¡¯m not, not an innate state man.¡± ¡°You are aplished in Feng Shui and it might do us great good. An able man is always busy. Senior Brother, I think you should stopining.¡± Reaching out, Lu Yuanqing put a palm on Wang¡¯s back and gently injected a streak of spiritual essence, then smiled. ¡°How¡¯s that? Feeling better now?¡± ¡°Why, I do feel stronger!¡± A warm current flowed inside Fatso Wang, soothing his aching muscles and meridians. Momentarily, he was in high spirits again. They were walking somewhere in the front, among the first 20% of people. Li Suchun, on the other hand, was at the forefront, leading and guarding the team with his iron corpse. They walked for long until the sun was nting to the west and the light dimmed. Li Suchun suddenly gave his hand a wave and said coldly, ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± Hm? The soldier walking beside him was taken by surprise and ran hastily to check the road ahead. A few hundred meters out, steep cliffs erupted, surrounding an area in the middle. There was indeed a deep valley. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived at the destination!¡± ¡°We;ve arrived at the destination!¡± The announcement was carried down the line, the men¡¯s voice resounding in the mountain. The team¡¯s mood was momentarily lifted and they managed to ovee their fatigue and quicken their steps a little. Lu Yuanqing led Wang Ruoxu through the crowd and ran to the forefront. They sighed in amazement. Towering trees rose out of the luxuriantly green valley. Even from above, they could feel the otherworldly tranquility and long years. ¡°This is indeed a blessednd. To say that cultivating here is half the work with doubled results would be an understatement.¡± Lu Yuanqing took a deep breath, his tone rarely showing a hint of emotion. ¡°Sigh, a philistine like me can¡¯t feel a thing!¡± Wang Ruoxu envied him greatly. He couldn¡¯t help it. A money-chaser he might be, he had received proper Taoist teachings all the same. Who in the right mind would refrain themselves from the anticipation? As the two chatted, the majority of the team snapped into action around them. The clearing on the top of the cliff instantly burst into life with all the bustling crowd. Like bees in a hive, each was attending to their own task in a perfect order. The valley was over twenty meters deep and the bottom was covered by trees, rendering it unsuitable for a campsite. As nned, the camp was set here above it. The one in charge of the scientific research group was called Liu Yu, another white-haired old man. He went up to them and asked, ¡°Priest Lu, what do you think of this ce?¡± ¡°The spiritual essence is abundant and the view strikingly unconventional. It is indeed as what we expected of a node.¡± ¡°Good, good. In that case, do you want to go down there and have a look first?¡± the old man asked. ¡°¡­¡± Lu Yuanqing gave it a thought and smiled. ¡°Sure, let me be the first explorer.¡± While they were talking, the descending device was being prepared. Lu Yuanqing fastened the ropes and lowered himself down into the valley a little distance at a time. A couple of soldiers apanied him while carrying loaded guns, their faces painted with camouge. ¡°Oh my god, that¡¯s too deep for me. I just remembered I have a fear of heights.¡± Holding his round belly, Wang Ruoxu looked down, his tone self-deceiving. He turned around after thement and saw Li Suchun still there. Surprised, he asked, ¡°Why, you aren¡¯t going down with them?¡± ¡°Are you with the monastery or the BIMAUP?¡± the young Li boy asked coldly. ¡°It¡¯s the same thing! Both are following the government¡¯s order. My status is not important.¡± Fatso Wang was quick with his excuses. ¡°Humph!¡± Li Suchun could not be bothered to retort him. Pinching his fingers together, hemanded, ¡°Move!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± A shadow flew towards them, bringing forward a smell of blood. It was none other than the iron corpse itself, which felt more ferocious and violent than when it changed blows with Gu Yu. Wang Ruoxu backed off with a grimace as soon as he caught sight of it. Li Suchun leaned casually onto its back and ordered, ¡°Go!¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± The iron corpse jumped right off, stirring up a gust of wind. When it was five or six meters down, it turned slightly in midair and stepped hard on the cliff. The move was a slowing-down mechanism, and with this, the corpse resumed whooshing downwards. The process was repeated several times and in mere seconds, the two hadnded steadily on the bottom of the valley. Wow! It had been a while since Wang Ruoxust saw Li Suchun and he had no idea thetter and reached such a level. He was almost speechless. Lu Yuanqing did not miss a thing from below and alsoplimented, ¡°This iron corpse the Fellow Taoist has is indeed an exceptional treasure!¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Li Suchun gave him a two-word reply, ¡°leave me alone¡± written all over his face. Lu Yuanqing certainly did not think much of his attitude and went on leading the exploration team. After a year and a half, the ce was no longer what it used to be. The previously sparsely covered ground was not covered by wild flowers and grass, which almost ran through the entire forest. The tens of thousands of trees stood tall and straight. Within each of them was the profound vitality of life. The group explored deeper into the woods, admiring nature¡¯s creation and this heaven on earth as they walked. Lu Yuanqing opened up his senses, looking out for any movement in the woods at all times. They had been walking for nearly twenty minutes when he halted suddenly. ¡°Something is out there!¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± The soldiers raised their guns, pointing at the tree trunk somewhere ahead. A long white tail miraculously stretched out from behind the trunk and immediately after that, a round head showed up. It was about 15 cm in height, covered by white fur, and had an inky ck face. The pair of big eyes rolled this way and that, filled with strong curiosity and insecurity. Such a pretty little monkey! Lu Yuanqing¡¯s eyes lit up. He ordered them to lower the gun barrel with a pressing-down gesture. ¡°Don¡¯t be so nervous. It should be harmless.¡± He seemed to like the little monkey a lot. Walking closer, he smiled kindly. ¡°Here,e to me¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The little monkey stared at him, as if hesitating if it should go near the person or not. There was something cordial about this man, but instinct was telling it to resist it. ¡°Squeak!¡± Five secondster, the little monkey simply turned around, hopped onto another tree with a few jumps and disappeared. Lu Yuanqing: ¡°¡­¡± *** ¡°Roar!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± With a beastly snarl, the iron corpse waved its hands and sliced violently at the trunk. The ws made contact with the trunk, the shrill sound ear-splitting. Wooden splinters sprayed everywhere, yet apart from some scratch marks, the trunk remained intact. Li Suchun blinked, apparently finding this unexpected. The shing ws of the iron corpse were almost powerful enough to cut mountains and rocks open, let alone tear a human into pieces. Holy crap! How hard must this tree be? He would not give in and ordered in a low voice, ¡°Go!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± With another series of shrill noises, the result was more apparent this time. A chunk of the trunk had been scratched out, revealing the dark-red core. Bring it on! Young boy Li was stubborn in this task. Pinching his fingers together, he would not stop until the tree was put down. He was about to chant a spell when Lu Yuanqing stopped him. ¡°Ok, Fellow Taoist Li, I think we have an easier way to do this.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Giving him a sideway look, Li Suchun did not look too thrilled with the suggestion, but he remained silent. The group had covered much ground of the valley. Aside from acres upon acres of ntation and trees, they found nothing else. That little monkey was the only living animal there. Therefore, the scientific research group lowered some equipment down, asking them to cut down a tree and send it up in sections for research purposes. Since the iron corpse was rather inefficient, several soldiers carried the machine to the tree, tilted by 90 degrees, and aimed the saw de at the trunk. It was made from a very hard alloy and was usually used for cutting hard metal. It was a very hardcore piece of equipment. ¡°Buzz!¡± ¡°Rumble!¡± The equipment made an unbearable noise once switched on. The saw de quivered and cut into the tree at an angle. At first, the de felt blocked, but the resistance did notst for more than a few seconds. After that, it cut smoothly in. ¡°Squeak!¡± Just then, the little monkey showed up again and hid itself on a tree, watching from afar. Seeing that the tree was going to be destroyed, it let out all sorts of anxious noises. There was a human-like anger on its ck face. ¡°Almost there, almost there¡­ dodge!¡± Seeing that the de was almost all the way through, the soldiers shouted at the top of their voices. The rest of the group dodged in time. After that, they cut another opening on the opposite side of the trunk and jabbed a wedge in, which they smashed against with a hammer. ¡°It¡¯s falling! Falling!¡± With the hubbub of nervous and exhrated shouts, there came a loud thud. The tree that had been here since god-knows-when died a violent and sad death. Chapter 221 Chapter 221: An Idle Chess Piece Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°It looks like a mutated Red Dragon, a nt of the pinophyta division. These trees used to be spread widely across Bashu area, but have be very rare in the past few decades. It is now listed as an endangered species. Possibly affected by the node, significant changes have been recognized in various parameters of the Red Dragon in the valley. ording to our preliminary analysis, this tree species has an average height of 26 m and a diameter of around 2.5 m. The bark is grayish brown and the core red. This is a monoecious species flowering in spring. It might bear a limited amount of fruit, but that still needs further observation. It is extremely selective in terms of the environment it grows in and the valley is its only habitat. The species is highly drought and shade tolerant. The hardness of this species has a value of 5200 by international standard, exceeding that of the known hardest wood, that is, the ox oak. In terms of economic value alone, this type of wood has a variety of uses in aviation, watercraft, construction, electrical pole, sleepers, mine props, bridges, farm implements, apparatus, paper making, etc. In addition, it also has great medicinal value, especially its bark and seeds, which can be widely applied to aspects such as anti-oxidation, free radical elimination, antitumor studies, protection of cardiovascr, improving microcirction¡­¡± In the conference room, Liu Yu briefly exined the results of the research on the tree. There was a slightcency on his rxed face, for ever since the recovery of the spiritual essence started, the entire scientific research system had been in a rather awkward ce. This was the first time that the applicability of a substance could be analysed by scientific equipment. Of course, the old man did not let the satisfaction take him too far. He added, ¡°Everything I talked about is within the area of modern science. As for the rest, we will have to trouble Priest Lu with the exnation.¡± With that, a dozen pair of eyes instantly turned to Lu Yuanqing. In his unhurried manner, Lu Yuanqing smiled. ¡°Senior Liu has been very thorough and I only have a little to add. The spiritual essence in the Red Dragon is very reactive. The tea made from its leaves alone can improve ordinary people¡¯s health and help with prolonging life. I have also sampled some soil from both the bottom of the valley and up on the top of the cliff, which all disyed high reactivity¡ªthe difference between the two ces is negligible. We could try nting spiritual rice outside the valley. Unfortunately, I found no mutated minerals, so it is very unlikely that there are any lodes in the valley.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The sound of breathing grew heavier at these words. Liu Yu was also very excited and asked hastily, ¡°Do you mean that the spiritual rice can be sowed on arger scale here in Emei?¡± ¡°Senior Brother Wang Ruoxu has examined the shape of the mountain earlier. This ce is abundant in Wood and Earth elements, making it ideal for sowing.¡± Lu Yuanqing smiled. ¡°Buzz!¡± Instantly, the crowd was exulted, so much so that they almost burst into ¡°hooray!¡± They couldn¡¯t help it, for the scientific research group had been under an enormous pressure. All efforts on Tianzhu Mountain had turned out to be fruitless¡ªthey had tried every method to increase the yield of the spiritual rice, which was to no avail. Now that there were more mouths that needed feeding, the two harvests a year were almost unable to meet the demand. The discovery in Emei was a godsend at this critical moment! All in all, the exploration team had spent their first few days in exhration and full-on enthusiasm. Hubbub filled the air and machines rumbled,pletely ruining the tranquility of the the ce. Those above took a great interest in the matter after receiving the news. All demands of Emei were promptly fulfilled, be it money or personnel. The order they received were two sentences: make sure the daily supply of the spiritual rice is met; develop more necessities. Just listen to that wording. Daily supply was not the same as supply, in the same way that necessities were not mere ¡°goods¡±. Night, the campsite. Lu Yuanqing sat by themp, ying with a short sword. It was about 60 cm in length, with a wide and thick body. The sword was in a modest style and of a deep red color from tip to end. It was made from none other than the Red Dragon wood. Apart from Neidan practice, Quanzhen¡¯s teaching also included some basic physical training such as martial arts and sword fighting skills. This short sword, however, was not for himself, but a gift for Chao Kongtu¡ªwooden sword was widely used in Maoshan skills. Being the abbot of the monastery meant the matters he had to consider were much moreplicated. Red Dragon wood was remarkably versatile and of great use to cultivators such as Zhang Shouyang¡ªthe Way of Celestial Masers still kept some iplete Waidan skills and even had a Dan furnace stashed somewhere. It was the only existing Dan furnace made from Six One mud. Although not many Dan recipes were left in the Way of Celestial Masters, with the furnace and materials at hand, they would be able to slowly figure it out. He had confidence in Zhang Shouyang¡¯s capability; the man would not fail him. Lu Yuanqing was still deep in his thoughts when his expression changed. Putting away the short sword into his sleeve, he quietly pushed open the door and walked out. ¡°Sob¡­ sob¡­¡± ¡°Sob¡­¡± A sorrowful whimper seemed to be carried this way by the night wind, almost too faint to be discernible. He searched for the right direction, found it, and followed the sound. In a couple of minutes, he was outside the campsite. It was deep into the night and the bright moon hung high above. The deep valley was enshrouded by the moonlight, the verdant and silent woods gilded with silver. Trees swayed in the night wind, scattering the white frost of light, as if a cold fog was spreading across the air, giving the valley a look of a secret heaven on earth. On the edge of the cliff facing the campsite crouched a little monkey, its front paws covering its face and was whimpering like a human child. ¡°Sob¡­ sob¡­¡± The little monkey curled itself up and its back heaved pitifully as it made the sad sound. Suddenly, its hair bristled up and it stopped sobbing abruptly. The monkey spun around and tried to flee, but was not quick enough. A big hand snatched the back of its neck and effortlessly lifted it up. ¡°Squeak!¡± It struggled violently in mid-air, brandishing all paws and limbs. Anger was radiating from its body. ¡°Such a spiritual creature. Were you mourning for your home?¡± Holding it by the neck, the appreciation and possessiveness in Lu Yuanqing¡¯s voice was apparent. ¡°We have invaded Emei out of desperation. Living here must have been nice, but there¡¯s a wide world outside. From now on, you¡¯re with me.¡± Unlike his usual forbearance and mild temper, the character he exhibited towards this little monkey was like a different person. Tucking the monkey away in his sleeve, he strolled back to the campsite. *** ¡°Beep! Beep!¡± ¡°Stop the vehicle for inspection!¡± A vehicle with a government license te was stopped by the soldiers at the mountain gate. Tang Yu stuck out his head out of the window and chuckled. ¡°Why, it¡¯s you, Old Li. On sentry duty again?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my team¡¯s shift. You have been busy, haven¡¯t you? Two days out of the mountain and you¡¯re back again.¡± Seeing that the visitor was Tang Yu, the team captain was all smiling. He gave a casual look at the permit and nced into the vehicle. There was a woman on the passenger seat. ¡°Who is this?¡± ¡°Oh, my assistant. She¡¯s helping me with recording information.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m making it difficult, but you know how it is these days. The rules are very strict¡­¡± ¡°Fine, fine. There, her permit!¡± Tang Yu handed him the papers stamped by the official seal, which reassured the man inside. The soldier chuckled. ¡°That¡¯ll do. Drive carefully! Let the car pass!¡± The roadblock was moved aside and the vehicle drove in, heading towards the campsite deep inside the mountain. As the representative of Le Zhou government, Tang Yu had been staying at the frontline the entire time. He went back to the city a couple of days ago, but instead of going home, he spent the two whole days snuggling up with Du Hong¡ªhis wife and child did not know he was back, anyway. Hearing him talking about all the events, Du Hong was tempted. Surrendering to Du Hong¡¯s persuasion, Tang Yu managed to get her a permit and brought her in to have a taste. Needless to say, the two had agreed beforehand that she could only stay for one night. The vehicle followed the bumpy road and more than half a day had passed before they finally reached the camp. Tang Yu had his job to do. He reminded Du Hong of some matters and went to attend his own business. Du Hong could not stand the boredom. She only stayed inside for a little while before she snuck out to walk around. With the conspicuous permit hanging around her neck, even those who did recognize her as a stranger would find it inappropriate to question her. It was rather clever of her. ¡°This ce feels so nice!¡± She wandered around and ended up at the edge of the cliff at the east end of the campsite. She stood there and looked down into the deep valley. Her feeling in one word: heaven! Although she couldn¡¯t sense the spiritual essence, she was instinctively soothed by the atmosphere. Her breathing was so smooth that she felt lifted inside out. And there was a stirring inside her. ¡°Who are you?¡± Du Hong was enjoying the wonderful sensation when a sound came from behind. It made her jump. Turning around, she saw a young priest standing there, his hair in a Taoist bun and dressed in a loose robe with wide sleeves. The priest was extremely handsome and bursting with vitality. Hm¡­ A naughty idea came into her head right away and that unknown desire burning stronger. She swallowed secretly and answered, ¡°I¡¯m Director Tang¡¯s assistant and have just got here. And you are?¡± ¡°Director Tang?¡± Lu Yuanqing nodded, realizing she was talking about Tang Yu. He was in fact amazed. The woman was emanating an alluring aura from head to toe, a small amount of which was a natural gift and mostly acquired. Her inner Qi was facetious and unsteady. One nce and he knew she was no decent cultivator. That was very interesting! ¡°What method are you practicing?¡± he asked directly. ¡°What?¡± Du Hong shuddered inside, backing away despite herself. ¡°Hm, your method follows an unconventional path and is rather clever in a way, but your foundation has been poorly built. In the long run, your meridians will be tangled up, endangering your life.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Du Hong¡¯s face was ashy white. She did not know the man by sight, but had heard Tang Yu talking about him. He would be the pupil of Baiyun Temple¡¯s abbot, a true master and a skilful cultivator. She knew next to nothing about cultivation and hade so far by sheer luck alone. Now that her biggest secret had been exposed, she was petrified at first, then overwhelmed by an unknown panic. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be flustered. I mean no harm.¡± Lu Yuanqing was as mild as ever and smiled. ¡°I have a manual that can adjust Qi and breathing. It will help with your cultivation. If you want to learn it,e back at three this afternoon to fetch it.¡± ¡°You, I¡­¡± Du Hong was so baffled that she was barely keeping her head straight. ¡°We¡¯ve only just met. Why would you help me?¡± ¡°Cultivation is a tough road. I feel sorry for your ignorance of the true knowledge.¡± With that, Lu Yuanqing pped his sleeves and left. Du Hong returned to Tang Yu¡¯s ce, her head still muddled and face nk. It was quite some time before she could think again. Firstly, about that shabby book, the man said it was a practicing method. She did not think much of it in the beginning, but as the effect grew more apparent, she could no longer hold back that desire. No one could resist the allure of cultivation. She then thought about Tang Yu. The man was good to her, yet she was nothing but a mistress. The rtionship would end sooner orter. She had tasted the wonder of consuming Yang to nourish Yin and there was no turning back. It was only out of the consideration for Tang Yu that she dared not venture out. If she wanted more, she would need to expand her client list. This woman was remarkable. In a few moments, she figured out her future path. When a woman thought something through, she would be more persistent than any man. At three o¡¯clock that afternoon, she returned to the cliff. Lu Yuanqing spared her no small talks. He tossed her a paper scroll right away. ¡°Now, go.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Du Hong winced, then stashed it away in her clothes and said, ¡°Thank you.¡± Lu Yuanqing smiled involuntarily as the woman walked away. She was great¡ªnot her looks, but her intelligence and the rtionships she was involved in. A woman skilful in certain ult method was in bed with high-ranking officials. What disturbance would she bring in the future? What trouble would she cause the government? It intrigued him greatly¡­ Chapter 222 Chapter 222: Phoenix Mountain Industrial Base (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The valley, south bank. As a result of Long Qiu¡¯s industrious work, Phoenix Mountain now had six mu of rice paddies. It was September at the moment and just the season for harvesting the early-sowed rice, which was the topmost priority. The family of four stood in a line by the field, watching the rice undting in the wind in golden waves. It was a pleasure to both body and mind. Xiaojin washed four fresh peaches with pink tips and handed one each. The four started chewing off the fruits right away. Needless to say, the peaches were from the peach trees in the valley¡ªthat¡¯s right, instead of a poisonous miasma, the peach trees they nted had given them fruit. The first dozen they nted all fared well, their branches heavy with peaches the size of an adult fist. They were tender, juicy, and even contained a tiny amount of spiritual essence. The four fellows immediately discovered their new snack and started their full-on attack. It seemed the peaches would notst much longer. ¡°Golden Silkworm!¡± Peach in on hand, Long Qiu waved her other hand forward, sending the little Silkworm to cut the crops. ¡°¡­¡± Golden Silkworm darted her a look of utter frustration, flew out in resignation, then dived down into the field. ¡°Whoosh!¡± ¡°Rustle!¡± A gust of wind blew on the field and Gu Yu witnessed the wonder for the second time. Rice crops fell down one row after another. As if a spell had been cast upon them, the rice were harvested in no time. The neatly arranged piles of crops covered the entire field, making it a golden treasurend. ¡°Oh my, I feel so fulfilled every time I see this.¡± Gu Yu sighed with emotion. ¡°Yeah, and a sense of achievement after a hard day¡¯s work,¡± Xiaozhai chimed in. Damn you all! Fortunately the Golden Silkworm could not speak, or it would bury the two with its spit. ¡®Be original, will you?¡¯ After the harvest, the following procedures were the same as before. The rice was basked, shelled, and processed. It was Xiaojin¡¯s first time participating in the activity and she enthusiastically volunteered to multiple tasks. The rice was weighed in the end: the six mu had given them around 1600 kg early rice in total. The figure was enough to make them rejoice. The yield of thete rice could be estimated fromst years, which should be around 1100 kg this year, making the total annual yield of 2700 kg. The four foodies consumed around 1400 kg a year, which was about half of the yield. ¡®When one has grains to spare, all minds are at rest¡¯¡ªsuch a saying was the universal truth. However, the consequent problem was: too much unused chaff. For that, Gu Yu assembled everyone for a special family meeting, discussing their future development n. ¡°Be serious now. Let me brief you all first.¡± Under the old tree, the four sat around the table and Gu Yu went on in a formal tone, ¡°Phoenix Mountain currently has 1600 kg of spiritual rice, of which chaff usually takes up about 7-11%. That, plus the existing stock, adds up to 335 kg of chaff in total. Apart from those, we also have three mu of herb garden where 204 rare and valuable medicinal materials grow. Ordinary materials are nted all over the valley and too numerous to count. We also have two mu of gourds, including 42rge gourds, 103 medium ones, and 256 small ones. Of the 210 peach trees, ten have ripened and the rest 200 will have to wait until next year. Five red fruit nts are growing extremely slowly and there isn¡¯t any noticeable change so far. Other than those, there is also one mu of vegetable garden. No need to go into details on that.¡± He listed the numbers and asked, ¡± What do you think?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai was ying with the snake and Xiaojin watched her ying. Long Qiu was the only good student, who raised her hand like a kindergartener. ¡°Brother, hire someone, please. You two are always off somewhere for half a year and I can¡¯t take care of all this all by myself.¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯m still around, aren¡¯t I?¡± Xiaojin interjected. ¡°You¡¯re the reason I can¡¯t take care of everything.¡± Long Qiu was merciless. ¡°Hey!¡± The girl waved her right hand and a thread of lightning materialized in her palm, which she smashed at Long Qiu¡¯s shoulder in a whoosh. Long Qiu exerted a third of her strength and charged towards the hand with a faster move, trying to gain an upper hand despite being theter one to attack. As it turned out, the hand took a sudden turn in mid-air and sneakily reached out to grab her breasts. ¡°Ah!¡± Long Qiu bolted up and jumped back in fright, her beautiful, arched brows raised and cheeks flushed. ¡°Fight fair and square, I dare you! No dirty tricks!¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be using tricks if I could fight fair and square. Such a rookie!¡± Xiaojin sneered. ¡°You!¡± Long Qiu chewed on her lips and rolled her eyes. Suddenly, she found the right tease. ¡°You little soap!¡± Pffft! Xiaojin might have a skin thicker than a rhinoceros, but even she went red-faced in embarrassment at the nickname. Grinding her teeth, she jumped at Long Qiu. ¡°Enough, enough. Both of you, sit down!¡± Gu Yu was having a headache as he broke the fight. ¡°We do need some extra hands, but as you know, we¡¯re not the conventional type of employer. I need to think it through. Little soap, I mean, Xiaojin, any suggestions?¡± ¡°DON¡¯T CALL ME LITTLE SOAP!¡± The girl red at him, all teeth and ws like a little leopard. She almost looked frightening. ¡°Yeah, sure, no more that. So give me some idea.¡± He cajoled her half-heartedly. The namesake event took ce about three days ago when Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were having a private conversation (or forey, if you like) in the room. Tempted by an unhealthy curiosity, Xiaojin snuck up onto the roof¡ªthanks to the very limited amount of skill she had learned¡ªand was hoping for a 3D reality show of the two in action. It was there she heard the name. As a seasoned northeastern girl, she instantly realized what they meant by ¡°soap¡±¡ªthey were talking about her 1 ! The thought of being called after a lubricant was giving her goosebumps. So, she jumped. As it turned out, her older sister was not happy about her intimate moment being ruined and Xiaojin earned herself a good spanking. After that, Long Qiu had picked up that nickname¡­ ¡°Humph!¡± Xiaojin red at him some more, expressing vividly what was going on in her head: I might be no match to you physically, but my imposing manner was enough to crush you. She then replied, ¡°There¡¯re too many unnecessary trees here on the mountain. We should differentiate between those with value and those without. Thetter we cut down and use it to build houses; the valuable ones we should nt more.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu gave it a thought and said, ¡°The concept of ¡®value¡¯ means little to us here. Cotton, sisal nts, and rubber trees aremercially valuable, but not practical to have here. I think things like tea trees and fruit trees are more suitable.¡± ¡°I agree!¡± Slouching on her side and holding the green snake in her arms, Xiaozhai finally gave azy two-wordment. ¡°I have the entire inner mountain in my head and I¡¯ll draw a mapter. It¡¯s time to have the ce nned into sections. The messiness is even starting to bother me.¡± After confirming the suggestion, he turned to his girlfriend. ¡°And your instruction?¡± ¡°We have enough gourds now, but I still feel something¡¯scking¡­¡± Xiaozhai took off the little gourd hanging on her waist and shook it. Gu Yu understood the gesture right away. ¡°Chaff can be used to make liquor and so can the peach flowers. I just happen to have collected some sun-dried peach flowers. It¡¯ll definitely work.¡± Just like so, they had swiftly set up the short- to mid-term goals. The spiritual rice was the fundamental resource to be kept for their own use and would not be traded. Byproducts such as tea, liquor, fruit, and Essence-gathering Incense would be mainly used for trading, exchange, and socializing. Farm work was only going to be heavier from now on and they needed to free themselves from the burden. Therefore, a functional buildingplex was going to be established centering around Phoenix Mountain and some technicians were to be recruited in the process. In two to three years, Phoenix Mountain would truly be a cultivation force that could market its own products and have its own affiliated rtionships across the social strata¡­ Gu Yu was full of spirit and tempted to give a passionate speech. However, one look across the table and he decided it would be better if he kept it to himself. Well, life wasn¡¯t easy for the only male resident living among three divas. Chapter 223 Chapter 223: Phoenix Mountain Industrial Base (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Cock-a-doodle-doo¡­¡± The roosters¡¯ crow broke the silence in a small vige. Days were long in September. The sun had yet to rise, but the sky was already lit up. This small vige just waking up sat right to the south of Bai Town and was named Taiping 1 Vige. For generations, vigers here farmed for a living, and like in most viges in the north, they were neither impoverished nor well-off. They got by, and that was all. Gao Mingde was born and raised in this vige and was now in his fifties. He used to venture into the outside world in his youth, but eventually came back home. He had a son, who had settled down in Shengtian and treated his old man well enough. Elderly people woke easily. Gao Mingde got up very early, prepared the pig feed with nimble hands, fed the pigs and chickens, then moved on to clean the yard. It was not until seven o¡¯clock or so that he went back inside and made a pot of noodles, which was his breakfast. The old man had a great appetite. With some home-grown cucumbers and homemade soybean paste, the entire pot of noodles was finished in no time. Wiping his mouth clean with the back of his hand, he quickly got dressed and left his home riding his shabby bike. He rode along a bumpy dirt road, turning this way and that way until he was out of the vige. He then turned north onto an asphalt road. The old man looked straight ahead as he pedalled on. He might¡¯ve seemed focused, but his mind had long wandered off. In his fifty or so years, he had not achieved much. If he had to name one thing he was good at, it was his twenty years worth of brewing skill. He worked in a brewery in another province when he was young. Starting from an apprentice, he slowly made his way up into a full-time worker, then after some more years, became an experienced worker. He had left all that skill behind aftering back home and thought he had seen thest of it. However, two days ago, a young man with a surname Zeng visited him at home, talking about a small brewery he had set up, and invited Gao over to give them some guidance. Just listen to that wording¡ªguidance! Such a smooth-talker. Of course, that was not enough to persuade him. It was not until a wad of cash was on the table that Gao Mingde was finally interested. The old man was no fool¡ªno brewery in the whole country would ever offer that price. He had nothing to be afraid of, though. What could they possibly want from an old bloke like him? What was more, his son was getting married and hadn¡¯t figured out where to get the money yet. ¡°Yo, Old Man Gao!¡± He was still pedalling when someone called from behind. Turning around, he saw an equally old fellow viger with a surname Li. The art of carpentry had ran in his family for generations and the man was the top gun carpenter in all the surrounding viges. Right now, he was carrying his toolbox, glowing with health. ¡°Where are you going?¡± he asked. ¡°North over the mountain. Got a major job. Guess how much they¡¯re offering?¡± Old Man Li boasted. ¡°What do I care!¡± ¡°Hoho, this much!¡± Old Man Li gestured, but felt he was asking for a rebuff when he loooked at the Gao¡¯s undisturbed face. He asked in return, ¡°Why, where are you going?¡± ¡°The same direction as you.¡± Gao Mingde didn¡¯t want to talk about it and diverted the topic. ¡°Look, are they building a development zone over there? It¡¯s been busy all timetely.¡± ¡°Whatever. All I care about is that there¡¯s money in it for us.¡± The two paired up and soon passed Phoenix Fair. From there, 15 km to the north and a delicate construction site appeared in the middle of nowhere. There was neither blowing dust nor rumbling machines, it was exceptionally quiet. There were plenty workers on site and one could tell they were all seasoned workers with a nce. They would all be master workmen elsewhere, but were allmonbourers here. Old Man Li said his goodbye and went to find his own team. Gao Mingde, on the other hand, was bewildered. He was only told about the general direction. Where exactly should he go now?¡± Just then, a young man ran up to him and asked, ¡°Hello, Master Zhang, is it?¡± ¡°Uh, yes, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been expecting you for quite a while. This is not your workce. Please follow me.¡± Gao Mingde was baffled by the warm wee and had no choice but to follow him. A few minutester, he thought something was not right, for they were going up a mountain! ¡°Well, I¡¯m here to see a brewery,¡± he reminded cautiously. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s just up there. Not too high up¡ªabout twenty minutes¡¯ walk.¡± The young man chuckled. The old man could but carry on forward. Sure enough, before long, a small road branched off to the left, into which they turned. Walking around a small patch of woods, the destination was ahead. It was a small courtyard surrounded by woods on three sides. Mountain springs had joined into a stream, which flowed past the courtyard outside its front gate. The gurgling water was very clear. The ground was not too high, just about seventy or eighty meters above sea level. ¡°This is a brewery?¡± The old man was not prepared for this. ¡°We¡¯re pretty small scale. I guess it¡¯s more like a workshop.¡± The two entered the courtyard and sawrge rooms on all sides and a spacious interior. A man in his thirties heard their steps and ran out to greet them. ¡°This is Guo Fei. He¡¯s going to be your pupil from now on.¡± ¡°Good morning, Master. I have worked a few years in a brewery before and know a little about just everything, but I¡¯m far from mastering anything. I¡¯ll be looking forward to your valuable instruction.¡± Gao Mingde was pleased with the attitude and nodded. ¡°No problem. Let¡¯s have a look at the equipment first.¡± ¡°Sure. This way, please.¡± With that, the three walked into the brewery room. The old man looked up and was instantly stunned. In it was the most traditional brewing equipment, which had a low yield and was very time-consuming. He asked, ¡°That costs a lot. Will you be able to make a profit at all?¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± The young man did not reply to that but chuckled instead. ¡°I have been told that Master Gao is an expert in solid-state brewing?¡± ¡°Yeah, I had a few years of experience on that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. We mainly work on brewing liquor made from chaff here. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to trouble you a lot with that.¡± ¡°Using chaff only? That won¡¯t taste so good.¡± The old man frowned. ¡°It¡¯s only for the time being. We¡¯ll have new ingredients in the future.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the boss, your call.¡± Immediately after that, the three men walked around each room. The house had everything¡ªwarehouse, cer, bedrooms, kitchen, toilet, you name it. When they checked the chaff and rice in the warehouse, the old man picked up some and felt it between his fingers; he was all the more astonished. The rice felt so strange. Exactly what kind of workshop was this? Why was it built at such a location? Regardless of what was going on in his head, the three men finished the tour and the young man still had that smile on his face. ¡°Master Gao, if you¡¯re pleased with what you have seen, we¡¯ll sign the contract right away. If not, you can keep the money from earlier as amission and I¡¯ll drive you back.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gao Mingde pursed his lips. In the end, the pressure of the reality gained the upper hand and grinding his teeth, he said, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll sign it!¡± ¡°So will I!¡± said Guo Fei. ¡°Great. Our terms are quite simple.¡± The young man took out a few pieces of paper and exined, ¡°The employment will be three-year long and you¡¯ll have a two-day break each month. Insurance and welfare are all covered¡­ we only ask for two things: making some good liquor and your absolute confidentiality. Under no circumstances should you reveal what happens here to any outsiders.¡± While mentioning thest point, the expression on his face suddenly turned rather strange. It almost looked neurotic. The old man never had much school, so Guo Fei alone read through the contract for a couple of times. He then asked curiously, ¡°What about the liability for breaching the contract? Why wasn¡¯t that included?¡± ¡°Breaching the contract? Hoho, I would certainly advise against it¡­¡± The young man grinned at the question. He then had them sign the contract and stamped it. Before he left, he reminded them again, ¡°Remember, no spilling of anything.¡± *** After the man was gone, Gao Mingde struck up a conversation with Guo Fei. Guo Fei used to be a resident of Grass River Mouth and had been relocated to Bai Town. He had once had a brewery, but lost all his savings and the resettlement fee to gambling. Now that both his wife and child had left him, he had awakened to his errors and decided to make a fresh start. He was no more aware of the situation here then Gao Mingde. All he knew was that the benefits were good and the job paid well, so he decided to give it a shot. Gao Mingde became all the more worried at his words. He puffed at his small-bowled pipe and finished a pouch of crude tobo. In the end, he came by. Worrying would get him nowhere. Anyway, he had signed the contract and he might as well do it. Old Gao was a man of action and started right away. Themon procedure was that distiller¡¯s yeast had to be prepared before the actual brewing, which was categorized into therge starter and the small starter. The former was made from wheat and theter from rice. Since chaff was going to be their raw material, it went without saying that they would make the small starter. It was a rather hideous process. The rice would be ground, sifted, mixed evenly with water, and solidified into a yeast brick inside a yeast mold by stepping on it repeatedly. Then the yeast room would be paved with rice husk before the yeast bases were moved in and arranged into order. Reeds were then spread out on top of the bases, then anotheryer of yeast bases wereid on top of that, followed by anotheryer of reeds. There would be threeyers of bases in total. The first day¡¯s work would finish there. The yeast room was then sealed off and the temperature would gradually rise inside. After 36 to 37 hours, mold would grow on the bases. Then came the basking of the mold, reaching the maximum temperature of fermentation, and the fostering of the yeast, which would need about a week. Only then would the yeast bases be officially out of the room. Gao Mingde was not in very good health and was mainly instructing on the side. Guo Fei had enough experience on the job and was carrying out the task with nimble movements. Before they realized, it was dusk already. The setting sun had painted the trees yellow with thest of its light. The old man set a rattan chair by the stream and sat down. Taking in the view all around him, he suddenly felt life was rather pleasant here. Sigh! Brewing was the best! He had never liked feeding pigs or chickens. Things had been going smoothly today and he was confident he would get some good starter out of it, which would then make some nice liquor. Gao Mingde sat there for a little while. He then checked the time and was about to ask Guo Fei to go back together. He had just stood up when a soft voice rang out next to him, as if it had emerged out of the thin air. ¡°Why, you¡¯re the brewing master, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± The old man jolted. Looking around him, he saw no one. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m here to deliver the herbs.¡± The voice suddenly changed, as if there were two people speaking. ¡®Jeez!¡¯ Gao Mingde raised his head abruptly and saw two girls sitting on the tree outside the courtyard, which was over ten meters tall. They were both young and had an otherworldly beauty, reminding him of two spiritual beings from the mountain who fed on the essence of nature. ¡°¡­¡± The old man felt even his gum was shivering; all sounds had failed him. ¡°Here, this is for you!¡± The older of the two took out a y pot and tossed it down casually, whichnded steadily and lightly on the ground. Not a single speck of dirt was disturbed. ¡°There are some herbs inside for you to add into the starter. Brew them separately.¡± Her kind tone emboldened the old man. ¡°Are, are you humans or fairies?¡± ¡°Seriously? Of course we¡¯re humans¡­ gosh, stop being such a pussy. We¡¯ve got work to do back at home!¡± The younger girl shook herpanion¡¯s arm repeatedly, apparently rather impatient. Thetter couldn¡¯t talk her around and in the end, sighed and flipped her finger. Gao Mingde¡¯s eyes opened widely as two mosquito-like strange insects came out of nowhere. One squeezed into his flesh in a whoosh while the other one caught Guo Fei, who was drawn out by the noise, and slithered into his flesh as well. The old man twitched. An indescribable sensation rose in him, as if he was now under someone else¡¯s control. ¡°Ah! Ghost, ghost¡­¡± Guo Fei was so frightened that he tumbled down and started scratching frantically at his face, as if trying to dig the insect out. ¡°Shut the hell up!¡± The younger girl was annoyed by his howling. She snapped down a branch and tossed it down. The sharp-ish twig jabbed Guo Fei, who shuddered at the pain and miraculous stopped crying. ¡°Remember, nothing¡¯s going to happen as long as you behave!¡± She gave them a warning and tugged at the older girl, telling thetter off. ¡°Let¡¯s go already. Stop being so sentimental¡­¡± With that, the pair slipped away. In a few hops, they disappeared into the woods. Gao Mingde watched with a gaping mouth. There was a moment of weird silence when a sobbing sound rang out again. Guo Fei was in tears. ¡°Sob¡­ what have I done to deserve this? My wife and child are gone, so are my savings. I finally get a job and ghosts are after me¡­ sob¡­¡± Despite his tough appearance, the man was rather soft and sensitive inside. After much howling, the old man was irritated as well. He yelled, ¡°Shut up. They were no ghosts, ok? Have you ever seen a ghost with a shadow?¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Guo Fei slowly came to his senses at this. Wiping away his tears, he asked, ¡°Master, who, who on earth were they? Are we going to die with the insects in us?¡± ¡°How the hell am I supposed to know!?¡± Gao Mingde was equally vexed. A moment of hesitation and the expression on his face was vague again. Elderly people were especially susceptible to certain concepts and expectation was growing inside him alongside his fear. ¡®Is it possible¡­ is it possible that there really are Immortals?¡¯ *** ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you¡¯ve got to use some tricks on those people! That¡¯s a liquor workshop and they are meant to taste the product once it¡¯spleted. One sip and even an imbecile will know something¡¯s off. Our liquor is the spiritual liquor. One sip promises extra duration and two sips dispel all mdies. They will all try to steal a drink. How are you going to prevent that? And it won¡¯t stop there. How can you tell which ones are the spies and which ones will forget their honor for profit? They can get the wind this minute and sell us out the next! That¡¯s why we must have control over them. We¡¯re not doing them any harm. As long as they stay in line, we¡¯re offering them afortable life, aren¡¯t we?¡± On their way back to the valley, Xiaojin had been babbling on, brainwashing Long Qiu with her theories. Scratching her head, Long Qiu said, ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying, but¡­¡± ¡°Not goddamn ¡®but¡¯! Gosh, why do I feel like a babysitter?¡± Xiaojin¡¯s patience was running out. She could not be bothered to talk anymore. Dragging her little older sister behind her, she hurried her way back. Before long, they had passed the Mountain-half Pavilion. The area further up had changed beyond recognition. All useless trees had been cut down, makingrge clearings. The inner mountain alone was now divided into three regions: the front, the valley, and the back. The front was to grow fruit trees and the back for tea trees and the spiritual rice. The boundary of the valley was set around a twenty-km radius and enough ground had been broken already, or the atmosphere would be ruined. From now on, they would focus mainly on constructing more buildings. Gu Yu was discussing with Xiaozhai over a blueprint. Seeing the two, he asked, ¡°How was it?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve given them the herbs. Everything looked fine,¡± replied Long Qiu. ¡°I see. That¡¯s good.¡± Xiaojin moved closed and snatched the blueprint away. One look at it and she was stunned. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s some major project you¡¯ve got there. Are we starting up a new sect or what?¡± Long Qiu was intrigued as well. She followed suit and looked at it. The paper was densely covered with construction ns for buildings. She asked curiously, ¡°Brother, won¡¯t the government disapprove of our n?¡± ¡°Of course they will, but they won¡¯t say anything. We¡¯re only following their rhythm.¡± Taking back the blueprint, Gu Yu chuckled. ¡°We didn¡¯t do anything on Phoenix Mountain when we first got it because they didn¡¯t want it done. Now that they want it, we¡¯ll copy them and do it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± Long Qiu puckered up her face. ¡°Haha, you will once you read more news.¡± Xiaozhai rubbed her hair. Chapter 224 Chapter 224: What if it¡¯s real? Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Ever since Huo Zhou, Gu Yu knew that the government could not sit tight for much longer and would reveal the information to the public sooner orter. The contracts he signed with the workers were all three-year long, for the environment would be ready enough in three years and by then, it wouldn¡¯t make much difference in controlling them or not. Under the current circumstances, however, they¡¯d better be more prudent. mboyance would not be appropriate. Shengtian, the new district. There were actually three new districts¡ªone on the south, one on the north, and one of an ind. The one in question was the southern one. Back when it was nned, the district was to be an industrial park dedicated to media, electronics and innovative technologies. Hence, the rent was set at an unbelievably low level, together with all sorts of favorable terms. Li Dong¡¯s workce was right here, a mediapany registered two years ago. He worked as an editor, spending his days writing promotion advertising articles before posting them onto various apps. With a monthly sry of 3000 yuan 1 and having neither a house nor a car, he lived in a shabby rented ce fifty minutes away from hispany. Originally from a rural vige, he was by no means a well-off man. His biggest dream was to save up enough money for the down payment of a small apartment. As for love, marriage, or happiness, they were all concepts too luxurious for him to afford. This afternoon, after finishing the job at hand, he opened a webpage without being noticed and indulged himself in one of the cheapest hobbies: reading web novels. He preferred sci-fi and game-themed fictions and was not much into modern or xianxia ones. After catching up with the newest updates of the novels he followed, he was in desperate need for some fresh blood and went to seek some bread for the mind in one of those book-rmending websites. The moment he clicked open the webpage, he was shocked, for the front page was taken up by the rmendation of a novel named ¡°What Should I Do If I Be A Cultivator¡±. The lousy name suggested one of those cliche light novels from a certain country in the east. He resisted reading it, but with no better things to do, he clicked it open. Five minutes into it and he grabbed the general concept behind the novel: it was set in a background simr to the current society when a cultivation-friendly environment suddenly became avable; the story the moved on to describe the antagonist¡¯s growth and experience, as well as the change brought to the society. Driven by his utter boredom, he continued reading. As it turned out, a dozen chapters into the book and he could no longer put it down. He finished all two hundred or so chapters in one afternoon and had somehow joined a book fanclub chat group. The group was incredibly active with everyone chatting with everyone else. They had even set up a shabby forum for the readers to create threads for discussion. The most popr one at the moment was entitled ¡°If I be a cultivator, will I still be restricted by morals andw?¡± Oh my! The delusional adolescent type was not umon, but this ce seemed to be filled with them! With a somewhat sarcastic tone, Li Dong left a reply in passing. ¡°Lmao. Those fellows saying they would obey definitely deserve an Oscar!¡± He thought little of it after that. However, a couple of dayster when he clicked into the forum again, there were quite a few replies under his. ¡°I cannot deny that all men have their dark side, but you have to admit that there are those who have a strong mind and perfect self-control ability.¡± ¡°Many of us still prefer a stable environment. Stability requires rules and rules means breakers and protectors. So, it¡¯s not really a matter of obeying or not, more like a personal choice.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll be able to stay moral, but notw-abiding. When your level surpasses the ordinary people by so far, you¡¯re not likely to fall back to that level.¡± ¡°I stole a duck from my neighbor when I was little and roasted it. Until this day, I had never felt sorry for the duck.¡± ¡®Wow!¡¯ He had never expected to start a discussion and the replies instantly excited him. He started typing, agreeing with some and retorting the others. People like Li Dong wasmon enough in our society. Their life less than satisfactory, they were boring and timid in real life, but became shy and glib once armored with a keyboard. Such a group was known as:izens. In a word, the book and the forum had brought a rare satisfaction to Li Dong¡¯s nd life. A few forum dwellers there were fellows well-versed in popr inte jargons with a sly humor. His friend list was several names longer, all of whom he made acquaintance of recently. Two of those were in the same city as him, who went by the online names ¡± Qian Qiu 2 ¡± and ¡°Headmaster¡± respectively. *** Seven dayster, nighttime. Cocooned up in his rented ce, Li Dong had just finished a round of MOBA game. His fellow yers did nothing but pulling his legs, so he logged off right after the game. Pouring himself a ss of water, he downed it in one gulp. Just then, hisputer beeped at an iing message. He walked up to it and saw that the message was from Qian Qiu. ¡°You there?¡± ¡°Just finished a premade back there. What¡¯s up?¡± he replied. ¡°I¡¯ve got a chat group here, wondering if you wanna in. Headmaster¡¯s there as well.¡± ¡°Sure, lemme check it out.¡± Li Dong did not think much of it and said yes right away. A few secondster, he was sent a chat group invitation whose name read ¡°Study Group of Natural Science¡±. What the heck? Utterly baffled, he clicked the ¡°agree¡± and entered the chat group. He was instantly stunned. On the member list on the right side, all IDs had suffixes such as ¡°perfected man¡±, ¡°priest¡±, yman¡± and alike. What they were talking about was equally bizarre. ¡°My Fellow Taoists, I¡¯ve made up my mind: I¡¯m going to quit my job tomorrow. My life from now on will be spent on visiting all the famous mountains to seek the immortals and pursue the Great Dao.¡± ¡°Wow. In that case, I wish you a promising cultivation future and rising high above the clouds one day.¡± ¡°Sigh, how I envy you. I¡¯d like to quit my job as well, but the pressure of doing so is too great for my weak mind.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give up just then. Everyone is impeded in some way by this mortal life and it¡¯s only a matter of time before we can look beyond all those. You¡­ why, we have a new Fellow Taoist!¡± ¡°A new Fellow Taoist it is. Wee!¡± ¡°Where does the new Fellow Taoist dwell? Do let us know your nativend!¡± The chat group erupted instantly, with everyone tagging Li Dong at the same time. Li Dong was quite resistant to such atmosphere, to the point that he found all these people ridiculous¡ªthese were no delusional adolescents. They were simply out of their mind! ¡°Why don¡¯t you say hello to everyone?¡± Just then, a member called ¡°Priest Qian Qiu¡± tagged him. Fine! He had no choice but reply, ¡°Qian Qiu, what the hell are you all ying at? Is this a cosy group or what?¡± ¡°LOL, I miss that phrase!¡± ¡°Oh my, it¡¯s going to be my favorite part.¡± ¡°Quickly, brief our new friend!¡± Li Dong felt they were all talking in riddles. He was about to send Qian Qiu a private message and withdraw from the group when a fellow named ¡°Layman Blue Sky & Ocean¡± posted a screenshot. He took a closer look and realized it was a weibo 3 post created by the most authoritative party newspaper of the country, dated July 2nd. ¡°¡®The Taoist culture should give full y to the positive energy for the rejuvenation of the nation: Taoism is a religion in pursuit of harmony. ording to Laozi, ¡®Knowing the harmony is knowing thew of the arrangement of all things and knowing suchw is the enlightenment.¡¯ Zhuangzi proposed that ¡®all things are in harmony¡¯, which referred to a harmonious concept. The Taoist teachings involve multiple aspects, including the rtionships between people, between men and nature, and between men and society, as seen in the concepts ¡®kindness, harmony, and identity¡¯, ¡®saving all living beings from cmities¡¯, ¡®harmony between heaven and man¡¯, ¡®the ways of heaven are impartial, but unknowingly, the charitable people are often favored¡¯, etc. Such theories of the heaven favoring the well-doers fully embody an idea of equality, which is generally in line with the principle of fairness and justice promoted by the modern society¡­ ¡± ¡®Huh?¡¯ Li Dong was even more confused. What on earth were they doing? Immediately after that, another one with an ID ¡°Perfected Man White Rain¡± also posted an image, which was an announcement from the Ministry of Culture dated July 15th. ¡°An extension of the third batch of intangible cultural heritage of the country was published today. There are 54 pieces in total, of which 38 are Taoist-culture-rted, including Legend of True Warrior Great Deity (folklore), Wudang Taoist tea stir frying technique (traditional technique), Taoist medicine of Wudang Mountain (traditional medicine), Taoist ceremonies and rituals of Mount Longhu (traditional technique), health care method of Baiyun Temple (traditional medicine)¡­¡± Announced together were a few lines of exnation. ¡°The national intangible cultural heritage directory has 1219 entries in total and the extension contains 311 entries, of which only eight are Taoist-culture-rted. They are: Taoist music of Xuanmiao Temple in Jiang Zhou, Taoist music of Wudang temples and pces, martial arts of Wudang, Wudang traditional opera, legend of Zhuangzi, etc. More than half of the entries are music-rted and aspects such as Taoist paintings, legend of immortals, ceremonies and rituals, the art of building, Taoist teachings, Taoist skills, refinement and cultivation, etc., have never been included.¡± ¡°Haha, the teacher¡¯s tapping the ckboard. Pay attention to the underlined paragraph!¡± ¡°Mount Longhu, Baiyun Temple, ceremonies and rituals, healthcare method¡ªthe answer is written out for you!¡± ¡°Has the newbie got it? Newbie? Where is the newbie?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ok, the newbie was shocked. Staring at the screen, Li Dong nked out for a whole two minutes. He felt a naughty little fairy was scratching its way out of his chest. The scratching was so effective that he was tempted. They were saying¡­ the news from the authorities meant¡­ No, it couldn¡¯t be! It must have been a coincidence! Shaking his head, he forced his way back to the reality and typed down a line with his shaking fingers. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean anything. What if it was just a coincidence?¡± ¡°The newbie¡¯s still denying it!¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. We¡¯ve still got that major blow toe. Show it to him!¡± With that, some fellow named ¡°Perfected Man Twenty Yuan¡± posted the final blow. It was an announcement from the Ministry of Education, dated August 6th. ¡°Starting from the second semester, selective sses are to be promoted in middle and primary schools in certain areas. This is to help carry forward our national traditional culture, introduce and exin the essence of our history and culture in approachable terms to middle school and primary school students. It ismon knowledge that the core of the traditional culture of this country lies in theplementation of Confucian and Taoist concepts, together with other ideologies such as the Mohist, the Legalist, and the Logician ones. Ideology is the first aspect to be considered when culture is considered, thene the other derived arts such as poems and verses, dialects, folk music, dramas, operas, paintings, calligraphy, couplets,ntern riddles, shooting games, drinking games, two-part allegorical sayings, etc¡­¡± With the picture came another round of babbling. ¡°Now what? Convinced yet?¡± ¡°How was that? A whole new world, right?¡± ¡°How are you holding up? Shall we go for a premade to cool your head down?¡± ¡°Damn, we¡¯ve frightened the newbie to death!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Li Dong was staring at the screen again, just as what he did ten minutes ago¡ªonly this time, the naughty little thing inside was more active. It had pushed aside the soft flesh and made its way out. Squeezing through all those blood vessels, it was now showing its limbs and body. In the end, it took up his entire chest and was giving outmands. Meanwhile, the education he received and the mindset he had formed over the past twenty years were struggling stubbornly to fight back. He lit a cigarette with shaky hands, the dot of light flickering in the dark room. After quite a while, he finally managed to type down one line. ¡°What if it¡¯s all fake?¡± ¡°¡­¡± For a moment, those in the group seemed to fall into silence. However, only secondster, text filled the entire chat screen. Rows upon rows, they materialized like endless tidal waves. ¡°What if it¡¯s real?¡± ¡°What if it¡¯s real?¡± ¡°What if it¡¯s real?¡± ¡°What if it¡¯s real?¡± Chapter 225 Chapter 225: The Liquor Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Shengtian, Taiqing Pce. In the small square in front of the temple, a fancy starting ceremony was being held. Entertainment media all over the country flocked to this asion to interview the crew of a TV show. An incredibly popr ¡± little fresh meat 1 ¡± type of actor dressed in a blue Taoist robe was demonstrating to the reporters. ¡°Just like so. You stand in front of the praying mat, feet sying. As you bow down, your hands meet in front of your abdomen. Remember, your left hand has to be moving away from your right and cover the spot roughly where your heart is. Bend over like this and that¡¯s the first bow¡­ repeat it for another two times and you have the three salutes and three bows of the Taoist etiquette.¡± ¡®Wow!¡¯ Seeing that his demonstration was natural, smooth, and rather presentable, the press was all amazed and showered him with questions. ¡°Have you learned all that specially for the show?¡± ¡°Yes, I had about two hours of practice. That was not all of it. There are also other rites that the whole cast had to learn.¡± ¡°Could you tell us how do you feel about all this?¡± ¡°Well, it is a fantasy drama we¡¯re shooting, but it¡¯ll be nothing like the fantasy series before. We are very rigorous in referencing the traditional Taoist culture. We¡¯ve shot our scenes in many authentic scenic spots and we¡¯ve also had an old Taoist priest as our consultant. Things like the costumes, props, quotations were all made as realistic as possible. You will be able to see all those when the show¡¯s on air.¡± A few questionster, the ceremony was over and the crowd scattered gradually. The group had a few outdoor scenes here in Taiqing Pce, which they would shootter. The little fresh meat got rid of his fans and hopped into his van right away. His butt had barely touched the seat when his manager tossed over a script. ¡°Just got this. It looks pretty nice. Your schedule should fit.¡± The little fresh meat flipped through it and said impatiently, ¡°Xianxia-themed again? Are those investors out of their mind?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s the fad at the moment! These Xianxia series are outshining those ¡®divine anti-Japanese war dramas 2 ¡®¡ªthey go through the censorship ten out of ten times. Some have indeed gone for family ethics drama, but none came through. We need you decision now, or someone else will take it.¡± ¡°Fine, fine. I¡¯ll take it!¡± Taking up the script, the little fresh meat looked rather annoyed. He was secretly amazed at the same time, for he had yed in a couple of simr series before. The storyline was idiotic and special effects looked like primary school projects. There was so much Mary-Sue sort of setting going on that nothing could embellish the cliche, not to mention the abominable costumes, makeup, and props. Things hadpletely turned around now. Everyone was squeezing their brains out to make Xianxia stories into serious dramas. The strict requirements were unbelievable. These people were insane! The little fresh meat pursed his lips. Whatever, as long as the money was good, he couldn¡¯t care less. As a matter of fact, he was not the only one with such feelings. Themon people of the country were all to some extent sensing something was off. When did it begin? This summer? No, from early autumn this year¡­ they couldn¡¯t exactly pinpoint that feeling. It just felt odd. Almost overnight, TV dramas had taken a 180-degree turn. Education on the traditional culture was promoted all over the country and Taoism was mentioned more and more frequently in the news. The inte novel readers realized that cultivation-themed stories were flooding the websites, all copiously quoting authoritative works. Game lovers also found their world taken over by cultivation games, which, instead of the made-up crap, wereing up with serious game settings. What was more, even the transformation tasks in the games were ridiculously designed. The yers were actually being tested on real Taoist scriptures. One had to search the texts themselves and type down the answer word by word. Further more, tourists also discovered that they were seeing fewer greasy, fat monks in the mountains. Instead, solemn and ethereal Taoist temples were there for them to visit. These were decent ces. No one was hard-selling fortune-telling, stick-drawing, or palm-reading. When touring inside the temples, unless the tourists struck up a conversation first, the priests would not even bother to look at them. Children of certain regions were enjoying better quality education in their selectives than their proper sybus. Two cities had announced that they were changing the between-ss exercise to a perfected version of Taiji boxing. People had put all of these together concluded that more than one thing was out of ce. Some went to work as usual, trying hard to earn a living; some disliked what they were seeing and blocked all information; some, like Li Dong and his buddies, were faintly touching the truth. *** ¡°Dong Zi, watched the news yesterday?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Ha, they¡¯re doing it so openly these days. When did you ever hear of a show having its starting ceremony held in a Taoist temple? So, believe it now?¡± ¡°Fine, stop gloating!¡± Li Dong replied grumpily as he evaded his colleagues and hid in thending of the staircase. Ever since he joined the chat group, his worldview was reshaped in no time. He had made quite a few good friends there and even met the two living in his city in real life. Qian Qiu¡¯s real name was Zhang Qianqiu, whereas Headmaster was called Yan Han. Both were from affluent families. Their parents were into business and they themselves had sessful careers. The three were of simr ages. The topics of their asional gatherings were always around cultivation. Both Zhang Qianqiu and Yan Han had long set their minds to visit all the famous mountains and rivers there were to find immortals and be their pupils. Li Dong, on the other hand, was still hesitating and could not bring himself to make that final step. ¡°Dong Zi, have you decided yet? Winter¡¯sing in no time and Yan Han and me cannot wait any longer!¡± ¡°You know my background. My family is by no means well off and my parents barely have any ie. If I quit my job and something goes wrong, I, I¡­¡± Li Dong faltered, trying to find an excuse, though he was simply telling the truth. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. Yan Han and I have talked about this. We will each give your parents 10000 yuan 3 every month as their pension and hire someone to take care of them as well. Any mdies or troubles would been taken care of without dy.¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t let you do that. That¡¯s way too generous of you!¡± Li Dong refused right away. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with being generous? It is within our capacity and of course we will help you out. The purpose of this group is to stop anyone from falling behind, so that when the world changes, we can look out for one another.¡± Still driving, Zhang Qianqiu went on, ¡°Dong Zi, we¡¯re not abandoning our families or severing our bonds with the world for good. All we are going to do is to find us a master. You know what, just think it as a long vacation. What¡¯s wrong with taking a trip?¡± So be it! At that, Li Dong found it impossible to refuse the proposal. He replied, ¡°Well, ok. I¡¯ming with you.¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s all the answer I want. Make some preparations. We¡¯re leaving the day after tomorrow and our first stop is Phoenix Mountain!¡± ¡°Phoenix Mountain? Is it solid?¡± Li Dong was taken by surprise. ¡°Tsk, guess what, half of Phoenix Mountain has been sealed off sincest year and with all the barbed wires, there was no way to get in. Would you believe that everything is fine? I¡¯m telling you, something must be going on there!¡± *** After three busy months, the industrial distribution of Phoenix Mountain waspleted. First of all, not far from the liquor workshop¡ªabout 20 minutes of walk away¡ªwas another new courtyard built for the fruit workers. Both courtyards were in a lower ground with a lot of space and plenty of sunlight. This area was the front section mostly dedicated to growing fruit trees. Then came the back section, where three courtyards had been built. One of them was a tea workshop. The tea trees had just been nted and there wasn¡¯t any harvest so far. The tea growers were already there, though. Of the other two, one was the dwellings for crop farmers, while the other one a workshop for grain-basking and shelling. Other than those, there were now minnows in the mountain brooks and a lot of bamboos were nted in both the front and the back section as an ornament. The brewers, fruit growers, tea nters, and crop farmers added up to 14 in total, all highly skillful middle-aged or elderly peoplepelled to finding a job by various burdens in their lives. In his thirties, Guo Fei turned out to be the youngest of the bunch. The ¡°suffering¡± was unspeakable! Lured by the big paycheck, they did not realize what they had gotten into until they were on the ship. The offspring of the Blood Mosquito Undead Insect slithered into their body and, good gracious, the ¡°connection¡± the insects brought was beyond description. All in all, the sight of Miss Qiu was like the Creator himself. They wholeheartedly wanted to kneel down and worship the ground she walked. Fortunately, Miss Qiu was as fresh as daffodils and good-natured; she was kind to everybody. Whereas the otherdy, Miss Jin, was a pain in the neck. One day, in the liquor workshop. Onlookers gathered around the main house of the brewery, all straining their necks and looking inside on tiptoe. Inside, Gao Mingde and Guo Fei were carrying out thest procedure: distition. ¡°One, two¡­ lift!¡± Bending down, the two lifted arge barrel with their full swing. The barrel was filled to the brim with the raw material¡ªfermented chaff. The raw material was put into a steamer and sealed with an air-tight lid. The firewoods were than lit, heating the steamer with strong fire at a high-temperature. The firewood was taken from trees on the mountain and was of great quality. The mes licked the steamer and before long, temperature in the room rose rapidly, the heated air rolling out in waves. Both men were soaked wet by now. Liquor-making nowadays generally used one of the two techniques, that was solid fermentation or liquid-state technique. In solid fermentation, raw materials were in a solid state. Through fermentation, starch in grain transformed into alcohol, fat into fatty acid ester and organic acid, and protein into alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and nitrogenouspounds. All of these ingredients put together and there was liquor. In the liquid-state technique, all raw materials were liquids¡ªor, in in terms, edible alcohol and vorings. Basically, no above-mentioned ingredients were involved in this method. The process was less time-consuming, the yield higher, and the cost lower. Therefore, this method was widely adopted. Liquor brewed from solid fermentation was exceptionally valuable. Even brewing houses that were remotely famous would produce some for appraisal and window dressing. Gao Mingde had worked inrge breweries before and knew the drill, which was notmon knowledge among average people. ¡°Poof¡­¡± Steam rose out of the steamer in spurts, which rose to the surface of the raw material and the change took ce in no time. ¡°The liquor ising out!¡± With his ample experience, Gao Mingde had kept his eyes on the steamer pot. He let out an abrupt roar, which startled Guo Fei, who then turned down the fire right away and heated the steamer with a gentler me until all of the the liquor was out. ¡°Gosh, that smells good!¡± Guo Fei opened the lid and was greeted by an intense aroma of the liquor, which did not resemble the least of the tang of new brews. Ladling out a little, he was going to taste it by force of habit. Thedle was almost at his lip when he realized suddenly. ¡°Master, can I, can I drink it?¡± ¡°Of course. How are we supposed to know what to improve if we don¡¯t know what it tastes like? Miss Qiu has warned us beforehand, though. A little sip is enough, or you might get yourself killed,¡± said Gao Mingde. ¡°Sure! I know what to do!¡± Touching the edge of thedle with his lips, Guo Fei took the tiniest sip. The taste of newly brewed liquor was not settled. It had a heating property and was slightly toxic. The liquor needed to be put aside overnight and would only be edible after it cooled down. This sip, however, felt simple yet strong. It was longsting and with a clear aftertaste. The liquor was mellow and well-bnced. As the saying went, good liquors ran in a single line. The aromatic liquor was spreading out even when it was still in his mouth. The softness slid down all the way down his throat and into his stomach. The taste wasforting, unbelievablyforting! What was more, with thatforting sensation, a warm flow seemed to have run through all his meridians and his spirit was much lifted. ¡°Oh my, I¡¯m getting dizzy.¡± Shaking his head, Guo Fei passed thedle over. ¡°Master, you go have a sip.¡± ¡°Hiss!¡± Gao Mingde also drank a little and the sensation was even more tender on him. When the warmth flushed into his stomach, his fifty-year-old ¡°little brother¡± went ¡°stiff¡± for a whole two minutes. ¡°Good, good. That¡¯s a great liquor!¡± The expression on the old man¡¯s face was halfway betweenughing and crying as he praised the liquor nonstop. The crowd gathered outside was also excited and they were calling out one after another, ¡°Old Man Gao, just tell us, exactly what did it taste like?¡± ¡°Exactly! Take out some and let us have a whiff!¡± They were all feeling envious, but dared not ask for a drink. While the bustling was still going on, a few men at the back stirred and the flurry soon reached the front row. ¡°Miss Jin is here!¡± Buzz! Everyone shuddered at once. They all adored Miss Qiu, but the other one was a whole different story. She was an exploding firework! ¡°Why, you¡¯re having a party in broad daylight!¡± Xiaojin made her grand entrance with her special greeting and burst into the room. ¡°Good stuff. Gimme some.¡± ¡°There, there you go.¡± Guo Fei dared not even look up as he handed her a newdle. ¡°Still a bit weak. Have another go, see if you cane up with some stronger liquor. Xiaojin downed half adle in one go and smacked her lips; she was a little unsatisfied. Who were they kidding? Did they know who she was? Miss Northeast, the expert in drinking straight from beer bottles, the white-mink-wearer, and the owner of any table she sat by. ¡°That¡¯ll do. You can put it into a jar now.¡± She waved her hand. ¡°Well, we weren¡¯t given any jar. We only have a few buckets.¡± Guo Fei was instantly troubled by the order. ¡°Weren¡¯t given? Are you saying you can¡¯t do without the jars?¡± ¡°No, I, it¡­¡± The fellow was almost bursting into tears. ¡°Jin Jin, you¡¯re scaring them again!¡± Just then, another voice came from outside, just in time to save Guo Fei. The crowd was instantly relieved. Long Qiu strode into the room, red at the girl, and smiled. ¡°Use this one. Is it big enough?¡± With that, she waved her hand and a giant gourd appeared out of the thin air. The gourd looked like it was cast out of jade and stood over a meter high. ¡°It is! It will do!¡± Baffled, Guo Fei nodded and started pouring in the liquor in a hurry. The gourd was just about the right size. Long Qiu then took out a box of incense sticks and smiled. ¡°Uncle, my brother knew that you are in poor health and made this medicinal incense for you. Burn one every day. You will be fully recovered in one month. ¡°Hm? Thank you! Thank you so much!¡± Gao Mingde was utterly surprised. Fighting back his emotions, he thanked Long Qiu repeatedly. ¡°You¡¯re wee. We¡¯ll leave you here, then.¡± Storing away the giant gourd, she left, dragging Xiaojin behind her and followed by eyes filled with reverence. As soon as the two girls left, the room erupted with a hubbub of voices. Everyone was talking at the same time, their tone full of excitement. They would dart a look at Gao Mingde every now and then, not trying at all to hide their envy. ¡°Did you see that? Did you? How do you think the gourd was summoned? That was indeed a doing of the immortals.¡± ¡°Old Man Gao, which universe did you savest life that they now think so highly of you?¡± ¡°Gosh, I wish I was sick!¡± They were quite bitter inside when they first came here, but that feeling died away in a few days. They werepletely overwhelmed¡ªthey were given the chance to see the immortals! ¡®I might have been locked up for the time being, but I¡¯m in such a favorite position that an opportunity could show up anytime. Even if I can¡¯t be a cultivator, I still have my offspring to count on.¡¯ Veteran employees would count for something no matter what. What if one of the grandchildren was chosen? Life would be so sweet after that. Chapter 226 Chapter 226: Dungeon: Hell Mode Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu One of the two was a big gourd, and so was the other 1 . They had made two kinds of yeast starters¡ªa medicinal one and an ordinary small one. Gao Mingde had fermented and distilled the two separately, producing two kinds of liquor, which was now in these two gourds. Gu Yu had savored them both. The liquor from the medicinal starter was hot and mboyant with an amber color and highly reactive spiritual essence, whereas the clear liquor made from the small starter was soft, limpid, and bright with an elegant and mellow taste. Of course, to any ordinary person, the only difference was that one was strong and the other stronger. He was in a newly built house used as a living room. Setting the gourds down, Gu Yu took out a wooden box, which was filled with sun-dried peach flowers and some angelica roots. His task now was to further process the small starter liquor and turn it into a mellower peach flower liquor. To achieve that was easy. First of all, he fetched a few medium-sized gourds about 30 cm in height, then activated his spiritual essence and gave the big gourd a smack. The clear liquor inside spurted out in a white thread, which he caught and separated into the medium ones. After that, the dried peach flower and angelica roots were crumbled up a little and sprinkled into the gourds. Seal up the plugs and cer them for a month, and the peach flower liquor would be ready to drink. These liquors were some good stuff! With them, one could y the role of the pretender, hook up with girls, quench the thirst, as well as replenish the spiritual essence in battles. All in all, it was great product to keep at home and while travelling. After all that was done, Gu Yu was putting away his share of medicinal liquor when he blinked and chuckled. ¡°Little soap?¡± ¡°DO NOT CALL ME LITTLE SOAP!¡± An angry roar came from outside the door and a superduper little ruffian revealed herself. He turned around and asked, ¡°What are you sneaking around for?¡± ¡°Teehee, Brother-inw¡­¡± Xiaojin¡¯s face changed color abruptly at that and she moved closer with a fawning smile. ¡°Can you bring me along to Huo Zhou this time?¡± ¡°Absolutely not!¡± ¡°Why? Won¡¯t you have a terrible conscience when Xiao Qiu is going but not me?¡± She was bristling at him again. ¡°She¡¯s more capable than you.¡± He concluded with a single sentence of reasoning. ¡°Like hell! My Thunder Technique is good enough now! Plus, that lousy ce is burnt to the ground, how dangerous can it be?¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Gu Yu looked at his sister-inw, his tone serious. ¡°Your sister is going into seclusion, attempting to achieve the passionless state of Metal Thunder. Someone has to stay behind to attend to the affairs. Who¡¯s going to run the show with you away?¡± While he was trying to reason with her, the girl would not listen. Tugging her own hair, she yelled, ¡°Aaaaaaaaaaaah! I don¡¯t care! I am going! I¡¯m bored to death here!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Watching her running away, Gu Yu was helpless. After all, that was Xiaozhai¡¯s sister and it was not his ce to interfere. He would leave the task to the older sister. His trip to Huo Zhou this time had three agendas: to collect fire spiritual essence and ck grit, to see the change in the environment over there, and to show Long Qiu around. Poor Xiao Qiu had always yed the role as the left-behind child and he did not have the heart to do that again to her. *** Come to think about it, the girl was a bit ¡°masochistic¡±¡ªnot towards anybody, but her older sister only. It was so obvious. Right now, her daily activities were provoking, digging her own grave, getting punished, provoking again, digging the grave again, and getting punished again¡­ it was like she was asking for it and could not stop herself. This time was no exception. No one knew what approach Xiaozhai had taken, but the result was that the girl obediently stayed behind to run household affairs (more like causing trouble). Before they knew it, winter had arrived. Bai Town had had its first snow. It was not a heavy one and there was only enough to cover the ground, which made a crunchy sound when one stepped on and would not stain the shoes. ¡°Rumble!¡± In a quietish small road in the downtown area, a white jeep was driving slowly. The wheels crushed the snow underneath, making it harder with the vehicle¡¯s weight. The sshing loose snow was blown away by the wind, revealing an imposing rear hub of the vehicle and a shiny Shengtian te. The jeep threaded through the city and reached the suburbs in no time. It stopped at the square outside the front gate of Phoenix Mountain. There were scarcely any tourists at all in the winter and the ce was deserted. Even the ticket seller was in low spirits. The doors of the vehicle opened and down came three young man all in their twenties. They were tightly d in mountaineering outfits and hadrge backpacks over their shoulders. One of them went to get the tickets and the threepanions entered the mountain gate, soon disappearing into the mountain trail. They were none other than Li Dong, Zhang Qianqiu, and Yan Han. Li Dong had quit his job and was now on a long journey that he thought was pure madness. Starting from Shengtian, they would travel across the province, then to the four northeastern provinces. From there, they would move on to the central ins, south of the Yangtze River, the Northwest, south of the Five Ridges, etc. With the promising map they drew up in their heads, the three young men were going to search for immortals, pursue the Great Dao, and travel every corner of the country full of zeal and absolute sincerity. Oh my, they were getting excited just by thinking about it! ¡°There¡¯s a Ziyang Temple up on the mountain. The abbot is called Chen Qiulin, a disciple of a branch of Quanzhen,¡± Zhang Qianqiu exined as they ascended. ¡°The man loves his blessing rituals. He would hold seven or eight of those every year. Twenty years on this mountain and he showed no sign of any capability whatsoever. He¡¯s an ordinary priest and no more.¡± ¡°Then, then why are we still going to Ziyang Temple?¡± Li Dong was on the chubbier side and had missed much of his gym appointments. By now, he was panting and gasping. ¡°Well, that¡¯s where it gets strange!¡± Walking with an alpenstock, Yan Han said, ¡°You¡¯ve been to Taiqing Pce before, right? The previous abbot was an imbecile. I¡¯ve had him tell my fortune once and he was full of bullsh*t. However, a couple of months ago, the abbot changed suddenly and the new one was so sage-like. I have talked to him briefly. The man was genuinely a virtuous and capable Taoist practitioner.¡± ¡°There was also the information from our fellow Taoists in the chat group. It was also a couple of months before that they suddenly noticed staff changes in their local temples¡ªthere was a wave of housecleaning. Obviously, the order came from above to straighten out the affairs and those not qualified were dismissed.¡± Giving his backpack a tug, Zhang Qianqiu chimed in, ¡°But there was only one exception¡ªZiyang Temple, where Chen Qiulin remained safely as the abbot.¡± ¡°Are you saying he is somehow well-connected?¡± Li Dong asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Anyway, it¡¯s unusual, and unusual means something¡¯s going on. We¡¯ve got to check it out.¡± The three chatted on as they walked and were soon halfway up. Not a soul was around; the noiseless empty mountain felt somewhat somber and bleak. They cared little about that and headed straight for Ziyang Temple, where they met Chen Qiulin. Small temples like this one were quite loosely regted. Zhang Qianqiu took out ten hundred-yuan bills and stuffed them down into the donation box. After that, they did not even have to ask. The priest there offered his service in both hands and went to fetch the abbot himself. After exchanging some pleasantries, the four went into an inner room, where they acted all civil and sate down sipped their tea. ¡°Priest, how long have you been a Taoist disciple?¡± Yan Han asked. ¡°My master took me in when I was 12, so it¡¯s been 36 years,¡± said Chen Qiulin, stroking his long beard. ¡°Oh my, then you must be well versed in Taoist theories. I apologize for not recognizing you in time.¡± ¡°Hoho, you tter me. There¡¯s still so much to learn for me¡­¡± After some chattering, Zhang Qianqiu looked this way and that and asked suddenly, ¡°Priest, I was told that the inner mountain had all been sealed up. Do you know what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Oh, it was said a research facility was to be built there to preserve the ecological environment. That¡¯s a good thing. Protecting the environment is the right thing to do. The right thing.¡± ¡°Have you been there?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t, actually. I seldom venture into the mountain. Well, enough of that. Fate has brought all three of you here, so how about you each detonate a lotusmp to ce by the Elderly Lord? It will bless you with a safe and sound life.¡± Donate my a*s! What made you think your Elderly Lord would care for a stupid lotusmp? The three lost their interest right away. Their fishing for information only proved that the man was a money-chaser. Disappointed, they immediately bid their farewell. On leaving Ziyang Temple, Zhang Qianqiu was still encouraging his friends. ¡°Don¡¯t give up. We¡¯ve known all along that old fool was a fraud. The truth must be inside!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. It must be!¡± With that, the three walked on. About forty minutes had passed when they finally stopped. A long wire fence blocked their way. It was over two meters tall and with barbed tips. The fence came all the way from deep inside the mountain and stretched out into the distance. They could not tell where it ended. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s something!¡± Grinning, Yan Han unzipped his backpack and was about to take out his gear when Li Dong gave him a pat hastily and whispered, ¡°Hey, there¡¯s a camera¡­ don¡¯t look. Pretend you didn¡¯t see it. Let¡¯s move a bit further!¡± That was close! Acting all innocent, they moved a dozen meters sideway and finally found a blind spot. After making sure they were safe, Yan Han took out a pair of thread-cutting forceps that looked very, very heavy-duty. Bending down, he took a section of wire with the forceps and squeezed. With a click, the wire was cut in half. ¡°Keep an eye. Make sure no one sees us.¡± ¡°We are. You hurry up!¡± Yan Han was quite good at what he was doing and there was soon an opening wide enough for a man to squeeze through. ¡°Quickly!¡± The three dared not dally and sneakily made their way in one at a time. They only crept onwards after covering the opening up with some grass They thought they had been very furtive about it but little did they know, up on a tall tree not far from them, someone was sitting there snickering whilst two long legs dangled from the branch. *** ¡°Huff¡­ huff¡­¡± Li Dong panted. It was a very exhausting journey and he could not keep up much longer. Supported by Yan Han¡¯s alpenstock, his march was interrupted by frequent rests, which slowed them down quite a bit. Something was very strange, though. Ever since they were inside the fence, he had been having this incredibly disturbing feeling, as if something terrifying was lurking somewhere. Zhang Qianqiu and Yan Han, on the other hand, were in high spirits. They had been talking the entire time about the possibility of Phoenix Mountain. This was the first ¡°dungeon¡± they entered. What would it turn out to be? The three of them walked for another while when Li Dong looked up at the sky, feeling the dark clouds crushing down and the light dimmer than ever. ¡°I say¡­¡± He stopped abruptly and seemed ufortable when he asked, ¡°Do you feel the chills?¡± ¡°Not a bit!¡± ¡°Are you sweating? That¡¯ll give you the chills with the wind blowing.¡± ¡°But howe my back, my back¡­¡± Li Dong squirmed and reached a hand to his back. The fingertips sweeped inside his clothes, but instead of the cold sweet clothes he expected, they caught a lump of slimy, soft substance. What the hell? He jolted and ripped it out before he had time to think and tossed it onto the ground. But when the thing was leaving his hand, it became alive abruptly and slithered around his arm, then dashed upwards. ¡°Ssss!¡± Li Dong was scared out of his wits. A pair of dark yellow vertical pupils was centimetres away, staring into his own eyes. What was more, a blood-red two-pronged tongue was licking his right cheek. ¡°Dong Zi, let¡¯s go. Why are you¡­¡± OMG! Zhang Qianqiu was still hurrying him on when he looked up unexpectedly and froze on the spot. Yan Han was petrified all the same. Staring at the glossy green snake, he stuttered, ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t move. I¡¯ll go find a twig. Whatever you do, don¡¯t move¡­¡± Stiffened, he retreated a few steps and fumbled around for a weapon. ¡°Whoosh!¡± ¡°Ruffle!¡± Just then, a sinister wind blew at him, which seemed to prate his body. A chilliness rose out of his stomach and soon spread to his entire body. Instinct told him something was wrong. He tried all he could to stay calm, but failed. One inch, two inches¡­ With much difficulty, he raised his head and levelled his eyes, looking right into a bloodless woman¡¯s face. The giant pupils had taken up the entire eyepits and there was not a trace of the white of the eyes. ¡°Aaaaaaah!¡± Chapter 227 Chapter 227: Heaven and Hell Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Aaaaaaaaaah!¡± Yan Han let out a scream, his heart thumping frantically from the intense stimtion, a result from all the adrenaline pumping in from what he had been going through. In contrast to the cold on his skin, his body felt heated inside. Even his ability to react had been numbed. The woman was about 30 cm from him. Her dishevelled hair hung loose, revealing a pale face. Her lips, however, were blood-red, reminding one of a lifeless thing. ¡°Ah!¡± His head all muddled up, he could do nothing but scream. Without knowing it, he was waving both hands around, as if trying to chase this thing in front of him away. But when his hands reached out, they caught nothing but empty air. The woman had disappeared. ¡°Hiss!¡± At that moment, the green snake on Li Dong¡¯s arm also plunged into the brushwood in a whoosh and was nowhere to be found. ¡°¡­¡± Icy breeze blew over them as they looked around nk-faced. Standing there in the woods, the three felt as if they had been in an illusion. After quite a long while, Zhang Qianqiu was the first toe to himself. He said in a quivering voice, ¡°Time to leave. Stop staring! Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Yes, quickly!¡± Still feeling the chills along his spine, Yan Han grabbed Li Dong and starting moving out. ¡°Huff¡­ huff¡­ we, we¡¯ve probably stumbled into the gate of hell!¡± Already exhausted, Li Dong was panting even more heavily. His limbs had gone incredibly stiff from all the tension and he had to force his blood vessels and muscles to work as he stumbled his way out. They had walked in looking like cats that ate the canary, but were now throwing away everything as they fled. Their backpacks were half zipped and the contents were spilling out all over the ce. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± They had been running forever when they finally saw the wire fence ahead. Once through, they would be safe again. However, instead of rejoicing, the three halted abruptly in unison. Hanging down from the two-meter-tall wire fence was a person, who just happened to block the opening they made. She wore a long piece of garment resembling a sleeping gown and the lower hem covered her all the way down to her ankles. The robe seemed weightless. Like a white rag hanging up there, it swayed in the wind. It was none other than that woman from earlier! ¡°Krrrrrrr, krrrrrrrrrr¡­¡± The woman was making an extremely irritating and oddughter that reminded one of nails scratching against the ckboard. She was grinning broadly at the same time. Scarlet goopy liquid trickled down the corner of her mouth and dripped onto the clothes. ¡°Aaaaaaah!¡± Yan Hanpletely lost it. Losing his head, he turned around and darted, too panicked to choose the way he was going. Li Dong was cowardly and could not decide for himself. Zhang Qianqiu might have his doubts, but there wasn¡¯t time for him to think and he turned to run all the same. ¡°Krrrrrrrrrr¡­ krrrrrrrrrrrr¡± ¡°Roar¡­¡± The three ran for their lives, chased by the sinister wind. That thing was at their heels and would make a half-human, half-beast growl every now and then. Li Dong was the heaviest and was soon falling behind. He felt a chilliness and a cold hand had snatched the back of his neck. Terrified, he shouted, ¡°Qianqiu, help me! Hel¡ª¡± The words had barely left the tip of his tongue when something tightened around his throat and he could not make a sound after that. Immediately after that, he was spun around and the ghostly thing opened her mouth, puffed out a mouthful of white steam, then inhaled again, sucking the steam back in. He felt the world had gone dark and thumped down to the ground, passing out. ¡°Dong Zi!¡± Zhang Qianqiu¡¯s sight was blocked and the first thought came to his mind was that Li Dong had been sucked dry of his Yang energy. He was the one bringing Li Dong here, but instead of taking care of thetter, he had had him killed. He was overwhelmed with remorse and anger in that instant. Together, the two emotions had fought over his fear. He stopped abruptly and took out an outdoor dagger from around his waist, yelling, ¡°Old Yan, you go first!¡± Yan Han was petrified and yelled back frantically, ¡°Are you trying to get yourself f**king killed?!¡± ¡°Just go!¡± Zhang Qianqiu had made up his mind. Dagger in hand, he turned to face the ghostly thing, all shaky. ¡°Bring it on!¡± ¡°Qianqiu¡­¡± Seeing this, Yan Han bit his lips bloody. He no longer knew what to think, but could only lower his head and went on running. ¡°Come here,e!¡± Zhang Qianqiu emboldened himself repeatedly and before his courage wore off, he let out a sudden cry and dashed at the thing with all his strength. ¡°¡­¡± As if it was flitting over the tip of the grass, the ghostly thingnded noiselessly in front of him, those bottomless ck pupils staring at the young man, revealing no emotion at all. When he dashed near, the ghostly thing waved casually. Thump! Zhang Qianqiu fainted as well. ¡°Huff¡­ ha¡­¡± Yan Han was running alone through the woods. Cold air flooded into his lungs, stinging the warm organs inside. He felt as if his heart and lungs were being scraped with a sand paper. The pain was unbearable. His legs were growing sorer and his strength was almost wearing out, but he dared not slow down. He was still running when a small river appeared in front of him. It was wide-ish and he could not tell how deep it was. The cold, clear water rippled in the chilly air. Jesus Christ! Yan Han was so frustrated that he wailed¡ªhe could not swim! For two seconds back there, he actually considered closing his eyes and bracing death. On a second thought, however, his strong will to live forced him to stand up straight and make hisst fight. Turning around, he faced the ghostly thing as Zhang Qianqiu did earlier. ¡°Ahhhhhhhh!¡± Yelling recklessly, he charged at the thing in near madness, both hands brandishing in the air. ¡°Bang!¡± The end he met was even more miserable. The fellow was kicked high into the air right away and after making a perfect hyperb across the river, he crashnded on the other bank. ¡®I¡¯m doomed!¡¯ Yan Han closed his eyes, as if ready to see himself smashed into pieces. As it turned out, he was not even scratched from thending. The thing was not as strong as he expected and he had the thick growth of grass as a buffer. All he felt was the soreness all over his body. He had little time to think. Rolling back to his feet, he sprinted towards the east hastily. His move surprised the ghostly thing, who started cursing loudly. ¡°Damn it, not that way!¡± *** The training field. Snow had fallen over the green pine trees, covering everything with a silver whiteness. Xiaozhai sat on the loose snow. A thinyer of frost had long formed on the tip of her hair and both shoulders. There was no steaming out of her nose and it almost seemed she had stopped breathing. She had been cultivating with Thunder Technique sincest spring and by this winter, she had practiced for an entire 18 months. The sign of a breakthrough had finallye. It was only the Metal Thunder this time and she still had four more to learn¡ªthe Wood, Fire, Water, and Earth ones. ¡°Woo¡­¡± ¡°Rustle!¡± The mountain breeze blew, shaking the white snow off the branches and sshing it high into the air. Xiaozhai heard none of that and remained motionless. Her mind was focused on herself alone as she activated the ¡°Shenxiao¡¯s Tinkling Jade Book of Great Thunder¡±. Looking inward, she saw a streak of white energy of Metal Thunder generated from the Lung Pce, moved along her meridians, and eventually gathered in Huang Ting, where it was faintly attempting toe out. Huang Ting, or Niwan Pce, was the spot between two brows. Extremely well endowed and with a sound foundation, reaching the current state was only a natural progress. She had been sitting there for two days and when the white steam gathered again, the Thunder energy finally stirred in her Huang Ting, as if it was trying to break loose and be one with nature itself. All of a sudden, she was washed over by an unprecedented sensation. Xiaozhai had lost count of time when something jolted in her mind and certain chain was broken inside her. A streak of white energy flew out from her Huang Ting and shot towards the western sky. Meanwhile, a great stream of vital essence approached from the western sky, whichmingled and eventually fused into one with the white steam, nourishing her body in return. Lung was the western spirit of Metal. With the spirit contained by the lung, when one reached the passionless state, the spirit was steadied. From then on, the energy of Metal Thunder would unify with one¡¯s mental force and take root in one¡¯s body. Be it walking, standing, sitting or lying down, the energy would circte ceaselessly. Activating it with one¡¯s vital energy and the harmony with nature was achieved! ¡°Ha¡­¡± Xiaozhai slowly opened her eyes. Despite the peaceful look, hidden deep down was a hint of aggressiveness. ¡°Thunder,e!¡± With a wave, a streak of golden purple lightning materialized from her palm and shot out with the most formidable force. ¡°Boom!¡± The streak as thick as a small wine ss exploded on the snow-covered ground twenty meters away. The sky darkened and all branches rustled, as if a small earthquake had just taken ce. ¡°Ah!¡± With the violent shaking came an odd cry of pain. Secondster, snow sshed down, revealing arge deep pit, out from which rolled a man. Apparently, the man was extremely lucky. Crawling out covered in dirt, he kneeled down right away. ¡°Fairy maiden!¡± Chapter 228 Chapter 228: Serendipity Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Youngsters were always easily taken by their rosy, bubbly, fluffy fantasies. They came in all shapes and sizes, but in most of the cases, such a fantasy involved cliches such as surviving a major disaster before running into some fair maiden¡ªor obtaining some magical ability, if maidens were not avable. The owner of such fantasies usually shared the same name: the male protagonist. Chased by the ghostly thing, Yan Han had run his guts out before he arrived at this spot. The moment heid eyes on Xiaozhai, he was overwhelmed by this feeling that he was infused by the souls of all the heroes there were of all known fictions. ¡®Awesome! Don¡¯t speak a word, I know my part! Damn it, I¡¯m freaking amazing!¡¯ Unfortunately, such feeling onlysted for two mere seconds before he started shaking, too afraid to even looking up. He had seen her eyes. The cold, solemn killing look in them were apparent and undisguised. ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Sister!¡± Right then, Xiaojin caught up with them in a hurry and was also terrified by the scene. Xiaozhai ignored Yan Han and only asked her sister, ¡°What¡¯s all this?¡± ¡°Someone broke in. This one got here before I noticed.¡± ¡°Before you noticed?¡± Xiaozhai knew her only too well. The girl must have been having so much fun that she became careless. She then asked, ¡°How many were there?¡± ¡°Three.¡± ¡°Where are the other two?¡± ¡°Passed out over there in the front area.¡± ¡°Take them to the cottage.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Xiaojin dared not utter an extra word and went back carrying Yan Han in her hand. After knocking Zhang Qianqiu and Li Dong awake, she removed the makeup, washed her face, and changed her clothes before returning to the Cottage of Pure Mind in dejection. *** It was silent, embarrassingly silent. The three fellows crouched in a line along the wall, as quiet as scared chickens. Xiaozhai sat opposite them, not uttering a single word. She was in fact adjusting her spiritual essence that¡¯d almost gone chaotic because of the incident earlier. The girl stood beside her, alternating between darting her sister a look and grimacing at the three¡ªshe was a fierce kitty all right. After a while, Zhang Qianqiu pursed his lips and could not hold back any more. ¡°Honorable Immortal, we¡¯ve told you everything we can tell. It was our fault to break into the mountain, but these two were encouraged by me, so I¡¯m the only one to be punished should there be any punishment.¡± ¡°Why, you¡¯re a rather responsible man.¡± Blinking, Xiaojin deliberately intimidated them. ¡°Too bad you¡¯re too naive. You¡¯ve discovered the secret of this mountain, do you think you can still leave here alive?¡± ¡°Honorable Immortals, have, have mercy!¡± Yan Han broke down at the words and begged for his life. Li Dong, on the other hand, remained motionless as he crumpled up on the ground, as if he had been scared stiff. ¡°Aren¡¯t you, aren¡¯t you afraid of the government¡¯s punishment for killing innocent people?¡± Zhang Qianqiu was no less scared, but he would not let it show. Instead, he opened his eyes widely and shouted out a question. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Xiaozhai was somewhat surprised. ¡°You can wait here and see if you want. I¡¯ll kill them first and leave you here on the mountain. They cane, if they¡¯ve got the balls.¡± ¡°You!¡± Zhang Qianqiu¡¯s heart lurched, but he dared not retort. As little as he knew about the cultivation world, from Yan Han¡¯s description along, he knew that streak of golden purple divine thunder could not be summoned by just anybody. How helpless they must¡¯ve felt! They had juste out of the novice vige¡­ scratch that, they had not yet left the novice vige when they stumbled into this hell mode dungeon. The result: annihtion. ¡°Ok, here are the two choices for you,¡± Xiaozhai cut to the chase, ¡°One is to stay here and work for us. Take care of fruit trees, tea trees, and the crops. The other option is to work for us outside. Be our eyes of the outside world. Of course, to make sure you do not spill the secret, we¡¯ll nt some sort of inhibitor on you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The three exchanged a look, all bearing different thoughts. Yan Han was genuinely frightened and said hastily, ¡°I, I¡¯m going out!¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Xiaozhai nodded. Zhang Qianqiu gave it a moment before he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°I¡¯m staying!¡± ¡°That¡¯ll do as well.¡± Xiaozhai turned to Li Dong. ¡°And you?¡± ¡°I, I want to stay here, too,¡± stuttered Li Dong. What? That answer waspletely out of Zhang Qianqiu¡¯s expectation. Yan Han was the one ranting about searching for immortals and the Great Dao all the time, but flinched when things got real. Li Dong had always been resistant about the idea, but was determined at the critical time¡­ one had to admit, human nature was a wonderful thing. Presently, Xiaozhai flipped out three streaks of thunder energy, injectin into their bodies. ¡°It will break out in a month¡¯s time. Come to me then and the symptoms will be automatically eased. You can stay overnight in the back mountain tonight. Now go.¡± After the three had left, she asked again, ¡°What do you think of the three?¡± ¡°Li Dong is quite perceptive. He is not much fun, but is rather decisive. Zhang Qianqiu has a tough mind, and is very responsible. Yan Han, well, he¡¯s not all that good at all!¡± Xiaojin¡¯s analysis was pretty objective. ¡°We are still short of real trusted helpers. We¡¯ll see about them for the time being.¡± Xiaozhai was nomittal. She only waved at the girl. ¡°Come here!¡± ¡°Sis¡­¡± Xiaojin¡¯s face puckered up right away. It seemed she could not avoid the punishment after all. She had not choice but to dawdle near. *** Qingning Province. The vastnd of the province was sparsely popted. Less than six million people lived in thisnd of over 700,000 km^2. Such regions were usually endowed with plenty of original scenic spots and the most renowned one in Qingning was the holyke of Tso Ngonpo 1 . The road going around Tso Ngonpo was probably the most cycling-friendly road in the country. Throughout the year, people arrived here to relive their adolescent experience. The entire road was around 360 km in length and would take one about four days to finish an entire round. The tall mountains, the pastures, the thousands of mu of cole flowers, and the countless plump cows and sheeps¡ªthe view was heavenly. The winter scene was less colourful, but with all the magnificence gone, the stillness of thend had different kind of beauty. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± Lifting her bottom slightly off the saddle, Wu Yang swayed this way and that rhythmically as she pedalled on. The movement appeared rather professional. The girl was from south of the Yangtze River. With herst rtionship ended, she took a long leave and came traveling alone as a distraction. She had set out from ck Horse River and the first section of the road was 70 km long, which would take her to a famous spot called Bird Ind. This section of the road was said to be the most beautiful. However, she was in no mood to savor the view and was only pedalling fiercely, as if trying to give vent to something. She had little idea how far she had gone before there came a nk and her wheels stuck. At such a high speed, the sudden stop threw her off bnce and she crashed down together with the bike. ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡± Wu Yang did not stand up right away. Instead, she let her emotions run wild as she banged her fist on the bike and shouted. It was quite some time before she calmed down. Only then did she notice that one of the parts was broken and she could not ride on. Luckily, this section of the road was quite frequently traveled. Lifting the bike up, she stood it by the side of the road, then held up her thumb. Cycling was quite a popr sports in the country nowadays, so nobody thought her action odd. About twenty minutes into the waiting, a jeep stopped and a fellow stuck out his head. ¡°Where to?¡± ¡°The next town. I need to have my bike fixed.¡± ¡°Hop on.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Tying the bike on the roof of the jeep, Wu Yang sat down on the passenger seat. She only noticed then that there was another man on the back seat, who had deep-set eyes and a prominent nose, both features suggesting a man of certain ethnic group. The man sized her up. There was a hint of strange satisfaction in his eyes. Hm? Wu Yang realized something was wrong. She was about to find an excuse to get off when the driver leaned over all of a sudden, pressing something hard against her nose and mouth. ¡°Mhm¡­ mhm¡­¡± The girl struggled with all her strength, but that was to no avail. She was soon unconscious. When she woke up again, she discovered that she was lying in a sizeable stone chamber. The light was dim and the atmosphere was eerie. A few ck-robed men with their faces masked stood by her and in the front was a natural stone-surrounded pond. Something seemed to be boiling inside, which was giving off a dim, greenish glow. With her hands and feet bound and her mouth gagged, she waspletely defenseless. She could only watch as a bald man walked in, chanted some gibberish spell, then waved his hand. The ck-robed men lifted Wu Yang up and threw her in. *** ¡°Vroom!¡± With a loud noise of the air flow, a nended at the airport of the city of Xiping, the provincial capital of Qingning. With the destruction of Huo Zhou, the previous traffic hub alsoy wasted. All traffic had to enter the region from nearby cities. Gu Yu swiftly got off the ne with Long Qiu. Chapter 229 Chapter 229: Ghostly Men Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°That was the fifth one!¡± Inside the police station of Xihai Zhou, a police officer banged his fist hard against the desk, his voice filled with sadness and anger. ¡°Five missing in two months, all clueless and without a trace! We never had enough men to begin with and those above are stalling instead of sending us reinforcements. What are they thinking?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Hasn¡¯t our director sent out the report? You know, there¡¯re a lot of procedures to go through and it takes time,¡± consoled a colleague sitting opposite him. ¡°Time, it¡¯s all about the time! We can wait all we want, what about the victims?¡± The police officer only got angrier at those words and began yelling while smacking the desk. Just then, the door of their office was pushed open and a junior officer walked in. ¡°Captain Zhao, we found something.¡± ¡°Bring it in!¡± He bolted to his feet. ¡°So, we began by making inquiries among Wu Yang¡¯s family and friends first and obtained the model and color of her bike, then pulled all surveince camera footages of thekeside road. We found this.¡± The junior officer handed him a few colored photos. Captain Zhao gave it a nce and realized he was looking at the rear of a jeep. The trunk seemed to have somethingrge in it and had not been properly locked. There was a gap, through which, one could barely make out something that resembled a yellow wheel. ¡°¡­¡± Frowning, Captain Zhao pondered. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s her bike?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a limited edition, only a handful were sold. The yellow wheels were its signature. I¡¯ve also ran the license te of that jeep. It belongs to a tradingpany in the city. I think we should look into it,¡± replied the junior officer. ¡°Good. We¡¯re moving out!¡± He made the decision on the spot and told his colleague, ¡°Old Tong, see you around.¡± ¡°Sure. Be careful.¡± The colleague waved back. As soon as the others had left, however, Old Tong¡¯s expression changed abruptly. He grabbed his phone and dialed a number. ¡°Hello? Director, someone is heading there.¡± *** ¡°Beep! Beep!¡± The electronic gate nked open and a police car entered the factory courtyard. The factory was located in the remote development zone with few inhabitants around. Three men got off the car. They were none other than Captain Zhao and his two officers. A female staff ran out to greet them, seemingly a little rattled. ¡°Dear officers, you are¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re just here to make some inquiries. There¡¯s no need to be afraid.¡± Captain Zhao looked around and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s in charge here?¡± ¡°Our, our manager is inside. Pleasee this way.¡± With that, she led the three in. Instead of climbing up stairs, she took a turn and started descending. ¡°Your office is underground?¡± One of the officers found it strange. ¡°Oh, we¡¯re revamping the rooms upstairs at the moment and all offices are moved to the first floor underground,¡± exined the woman. Captain Zhao strained his ears and listened. A rumbling sound was indeeding from above. He did not think much of it and followed her down. Beneath, they found a spacious lobby decorated in a vintage style. There were pirs in four corners of the room and a domed ceiling in the middle, all carved with peculiar patterns. They went through a corridor and the ceiling got lower and lower. With the ¡°tack, tack, tack¡± of the woman¡¯s high-heels, even the light seemed dimmer here. Soon, they reached a gate. The woman said, ¡°The offices are inside and the manager¡¯s room is the second on your left.¡± ¡°Ok, thanks.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee¡­ teehee!¡± The woman held the door open and watched them go in. The fluster from earlier was suddenly wiped off her face and, for some unknown reason, reced by a strange smile. ¡°Bang!¡± Captain Zhao sensed something was not right the moment that door was shut. He immediately drew out his pistol and pushed at the closed door. ¡°F**k!¡± He gave it a few shoves and realized it had been locked from outside. Frightened and enraged, the three thumped on the door with all their strength, but the door would not budge. They had no choice but to fumble their way forward, gun in hand. The corridor went on inside, nked by stone walls on either side. After the corridor, the view changed abruptly and they found themselves in front of a massive cave. It was half-natural and half-artificial. Pit holes joined with one another, forming numerous passages. Lamps embedded in the walls were giving off a pale color, making the scene all the more gloomy. ¡°Be careful!¡± Pursing his lips, Captain Zhao led the way and the two junior officers guarded on either side. Their nerves were on edge. The cave seemed to be deserted. They walked for a while and found nothing. When they were about to reach the other end, they suddenly noticed a deep, dark hole, from where a rustling noise wasing out. ¡°Huff¡­ huff¡­¡± The noise was rather unusual, which reminded one of an animal¡¯s breathing, one that was puffing and blowing heavily. ¡°Who¡¯s there? Come out!¡± Captain Zhao raised his gun in a swish and shouted, ¡°We¡¯re the police. You have three seconds before we start shooting! One, two¡ª¡± ¡°Roar!¡± Before he could finish counting, there came a growl that he could not tell if it was from a human or a beast. Immediately after that, he saw the sh of a shadow. He did not even feel the pain when he suddenly realized he was flying very high. Looking down, he saw a headless body. ¡°Thud!¡± His head dropped to the ground and rolled far into the distance. The wide opened eyes still had utter horror and disbelief in them. ¡°Zap!¡± ¡°Zap! Zap!¡± The two junior officers were quick to react. They had no time to mourn for their dead captain and pulled the triggers right away. Momentarily, bullets were flying in all directions, sting off crumbled stone everywhere. A few bullets hit their target; green blood oozed out of its wounds. It squealed and howled in pain and plunged down frantically. With a few strikes, the two men were torn into pieces. The team of three was annihted in a mere five seconds! ¡°Dang!¡± The two fresh bodies had barely hit the ground when a knocking sound came from deep inside the cave, which sounded like a bell or chime stone. The monster froze and the ferocious look on its face eased. It stood motionless. It was only then that one get to see what the thing looked like. It was slender, with well-toned muscles and greenish gray skin. The facial features were intact, still looking the pretty face a young woman she once was, only that the face was covered with ck spell patterns. The eyes were the most remarkable, for a hint of consciousness could still be detected from them, as if it was struggling to fight back some evil power. The effort was making the face painfully terrifying. ¡°All that divine fluid was worth it. This is a good one.¡± Just then, a few more people walked out of the cave; the man leading them was none other than that baldy from earlier. He was holding a small chime stone made from an entire bone te and gave it another knock. ¡°Dang!¡± Baring its teeth, the monster walked to his side despite its reluctance and stood there obediently. The baldy was more satisfied than ever. He lifted its chin and looked at it for long, as if he was savoring a perfect piece of art. ¡°This ghostly woman plus those fostered in other branches will give us exactly a dozen of them. All we need to do now is go into the mountain, find the altar, and get control over that thing. We are going to restore the glory of my ancestors!¡± Stroking the ghostly woman¡¯s face, the blood-red pupils of the baldy had an undisguised madness in them. ¡°Master, the abnormality in Huo Zhou is still active. We shouldn¡¯t venture recklessly into the mountain when we¡¯ve yet to reach the innate state!¡± One of the men tried to persuade him. ¡°Hm?¡± The baldy gave him a sideway look and did not sound pleased. ¡°The Archmage haspleted the ult skill of the ancestors. Using it on ourselves, the erosion of the abnormality will be fended off. Or are you a coward that wants to deserts the ranks on the eve of a battle?¡± The man jolted and said hastily, ¡°I could never bring myself to do such a thing. I was only worried that we can¡¯t find the altar and it would be a waste of our energy.¡± ¡°Humph! The government is quite activetely and we¡¯re running out of time. We must find that ce, even if it means we have to turn ming Mountain upside down!¡± *** ¡± Steamed Niangpi 1 ! Steamed Niangpi!¡± ¡°Pot-steamed buns! Just out of the stove!¡± ¡°Sweet fermented wine, five yuan a portion!¡± The street of local food was filled with rows upon rows of food stalls. People wereing and going in crowds, most of them foreign to the city, for the locals never ate here. Such was one of those legendary streets that ¡°one could find in almost every city, which specializes in swindling the non-locals¡±. With a steamed bun in one hand and a bowl of the sweet fermented wine in another, Long Qiu was strolling this way and that, looking at everything with great interest. Poor kid. Even a train ride exhrated her. She couldn¡¯t help it¡ªwhat life could a dudou 2 -wearing girl have before she left the mountains? Gu Yu walked behind her, holding a portion of Niangpi as a satisfied smile filled his eyes. Their original n was to transfer to another flight towards Xihai immediately after they arrived at Xiping, Xihai being an autonomous prefecture of Qingning Province abutting Huo Zhou. However, Long Qiu¡¯s excitement and curiosity made him feel it cruel to take her away, so he changed the n on the spur of the moment and decided to stay for two days in Xiping. ¡°Brother, let¡¯s have dinner there, shall we?¡± While they were still walking around, Xiao Qiu made a sudden suggestion while pointing at a restaurant. Naturally, he had no problem with that and sauntered in after her. Gu Yu sat there and let the girl do all the ordering. With the profit of 20 million yuan a year from Phoenix Mountain, she had more than enough pocket money. She was not going to splurge, either. Holding the menu, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll have this, this, and this. That¡¯ll be all.¡± ¡°How about somemb or beef? We also have this traditional hot pot. It¡¯s a local special and not expensive at all.¡± ¡°No, thanks. We don¡¯t really eat meat.¡± ¡°Then please wait a moment. The food will be ready soon.¡± Our adorable Long Qiu soon won the heart of the waiter, who couldn¡¯t be kind enough towards her. Before long, the dishes were served: a dish of gengpi 3 ,zanba 4 , bean jelly, and pancakes respectively. Gu Yu gave each dish a few bites and decided to stick to the pancakes. He praised, ¡°The dough of this pancake was well kneaded and the oil was applied properly. I think they¡¯ve used vegetable oil. Smear the oil all over the pancake for every separateyer of the pancake baked, or it won¡¯t taste this good. Hey, what¡¯s this dish called?¡± ¡°Dog¡¯s pee.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Dog¡¯s pee. It says so on the menu,¡± answered Long Qiu, still chewing her gengpi. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu put down his chopsticks in silence. He then tried a little bean jelly, but his appetite was gone. He heaved a sudden sigh. ¡°Xiao Qiu, steer clear of Xiaojin from now on. She¡¯s a bad influence on you.¡± ¡°How so?¡± She blinked at him. ¡°That dish you ordered?¡± ¡°What about it? The name¡¯s not pretty, but it tastes good.¡± ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you eating?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like pancakes.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu could not be bothered to banter with her and was brooding over his bleeding heart on his own¡ªshe used to be such a good kid. Six months with that little soap and what had be of her? If he let it happen, eventually she would be one of those ck-hearted little devils! Long Qiu eyed him. She suddenly put down her chopsticks and covered her mouth with a tissue paper. Her shoulders were quivering slightly. ¡°Why are youughing?¡± ¡°Ok. Stop now.¡± ¡°Hey, what are you so happy for?¡± Gu Yu was utterly baffled. The girl would not answer no matter what and kept on giggling. It was quite a while before she finally looked up, her fair little face all flushed as if she had put on some blusher. ¡°I¡¯m happy, that¡¯s all. Yes, I¡¯m very happy.¡± Chapter 230 Chapter 230: ¡°Coolie¡± Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu During the two days they stayed in Xiping, Long Qiu was for the entire time secretly filled with joy, which she keptpletely to herself. It was a feeling hard to describe. She was close to Gu Yu and Xiaozhai both, but there was a subtle difference between the two. She would not refuse her sister¡¯s cuddles and other affectations, but was very appropriate towards her brother. Despite their familiarity, she treated him with courtesy¡ªunlike that little soap. That girl would not hesitate to pounce at Gu Yu when she was going crazy. Long Qiu would never do such things. Back then, when Long Qiu was lying on the cold stone floor of that shrine with an unruly Golden Silkworm inside and a bunch of ignorant and base nsmen outside, she wished she were dead. Then, Gu Yu appeared like a god descending from heaven and saved her from the misery. She had since hid her girlish gratitude and idtry deep inside, never letting it show. During their trip this time, though, Long Qiu was finally a little more expressive in that aspect and much more lively when she spoke. She had yet to figure out what this feeling was. All she knew was that so far, it was rather a steady one, for she had not thought about using the Undead Insect of Love. Of the thousands types of undead insects out there, the Undead Insect of Love was the most special one. It came naturally in pairs and was extremely rare. This undead insect could defy any kind of barrier or protection and worked by being nted directly into the other half¡¯s mind. From then one, the couple would live and die as one. Betrayal of any kind was forbidden and there was no way to remove the undead insect by force. In that aspect alone, one could say that the Undead Insect of Love was invincible. *** After touring Xiping for two days, they travelled to Xihai by train. Xihai was an autonomous prefecture with a few cities and counties under its jurisdiction. The capital of the prefecture was Delhi. It was hard to picture a county-level city that only had a poption of 100,000. Long Qiu walked out of the train station and almost thought they had entered some adult animation world. Looking into the distance, she saw neat streets and modern buildings, only that they were all very clean¡ªdeserted-by-the-humankind sort of clean. She stood there bewildered. A momentter, she could not help but ask, ¡°Brother, where did you go to when you were here before?¡± ¡°Once to Longxi and another time to Bayan.¡± ¡°Then why are we in Xihai this time?¡± ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t been here before. Thought I could check it out.¡± Gu Yu was secretly feeling guilty. Longxi and Bayan were densely popted areas and the transportation to Huo Zhou was convenient from both. Xihai, on the other hand, was a wrong choice. One could not imagine how vast the ce was and how far two towns could be apart in a single jurisdiction. ¡°Well, let¡¯s find a car rental ce first.¡± Gu Yu concealed his guilty conscience and led the girl to a taxi. It was a long drive before they finally saw a ce that seemed to be renting cars. ¡°I¡¯ll ask inside. You go buy us some water and food.¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll be over there.¡± Long Qiu pointed at a convenience store across the road and trotted away. About ten minutester, she walked out with tworge bags and looked into the car rental agency. Her brother was still chatting with the owner, so she stood outside and waited. Before long, there was a sudden screeching sound. A shy yellow SUV pulled over by the road and a head struck out. The owner was someone who wore sunss in the winter. The guy shed his white teeth. ¡°Hi, gorgeous. Need a ride?¡± ¡°I¡¯m waiting for someone.¡± Long Qiu shook her head. ¡°Forget him. Isn¡¯t all the stuff in your hands heavy? Where are you going? I¡¯ll drive you there.¡± ¡°No, thanks. I am really waiting for someone.¡± She refused repeatedly, but the brazen-faced fellow simply would not give up. Our girl frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t like you. Go away, or I¡¯ll be angry.¡± ¡°OMG, ¡®go away, or I¡¯ll angry¡¯!¡± The fellow put on a mboyant expression and imitated Xiao Qiu in a feigned voice. Oh my, the performance was so ¡°natural¡± and ¡°real¡± that it looked nothing like those shy bi*ches out there! He simply got off the vehicle and chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s OK, I can wait with you. Here, let me carry those for you.¡± With that, he stretched out his hand. Long Qiu was about to dodge, but was stumped for a moment after an unexpected nce. The man¡¯s sleeve had been stretched up, revealing his wrist. On it was a line of strange ck pattern. ¡°¡­¡± It looked rather familiar, reminding her of something her sister had shown her. ¡°Well, that¡¯s right. Pretty girls are served by others, not to¡ª ah!¡± Seeing that she did not move, the fellow thought she was being shy and thought he could push his luck further. He reached out to hold her by the shoulder. Before his hand reached her, a pain ran through his arm. ¡°Hey, let me go! Let go of me!¡± Facing down, he was now in a half-crouching position with an arm pinned on his back. He looked like a fried dough twist. 1 A little push from Long Qiu and half of his joints would be dislocated in a few crunching sounds. ¡°Let go of me you motherf**ker. Do you know who I am? Ah, that hurts! Hurts!¡± ¡°I actually do want to know. Shut up!¡± The 174-cm girl raised the 180-or-so-cm guy up like carrying a bag of takeaways. She shoved him inside the vehicle with a nk and jabbed him on the throat. ¡°¡­¡± The fellow opened his mouth and could not utter a sound. He was petrified. ¡°Xiao Qiu, what¡¯s going on?¡± Gu Yu heard themotion and ran out to check. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± ¡°He¡¯s got this on his hand.¡± Long Qiu rolled up his sleeve. ¡°Oh, good job. Just give me one more moment. I¡¯m not done over there.¡± Our fellow returned inside after those words, apparently not concerned with this situation at all. A quarter of an hourter, however, he came out looking dejected. ¡°The cars here won¡¯t do. They¡¯d be in pieces before we each reach our destination.¡± Shaking his head, Gu Yu hopped onto the SUV, shut the door, and started his private interrogation. ¡°Name?¡± ¡°The Thirteenth Young Master Yang.¡± ¡°p!¡± Gu Yu gave the back of his head a smack. ¡°Real name!¡± ¡°Yang, Yang Di.¡± ¡°Your job?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t have one.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Gu Yu made the gesture to smack him again and the fellow said hastily, ¡°Bro, Bro, I really don¡¯t have a job. I¡¯m a second generation rich kid!¡± ¡°Teehee!¡± Xiao Qiu chuckled at his words. The smile sent blush up her cheeks and her fairplexion reminded one of a lovely peach. Apparently, the fellow was not the brightest man out there and had forgotten what was going on instantly. He gaped at Xiao Qiu in admiration. ¡°p!¡± Gu Yu gave him another smack. ¡°How did you get this tattoo?¡± ¡°A friend got me this. There was this really awesome club he talked about. I said I wanted in and he said I had to be reviewed first, so he got me this tattoo.¡± ¡°What club?¡± ¡°Dunno.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Man, I really don¡¯t. I¡¯m not even qualified as a foot soldier!¡± ¡°What about your friend?¡± ¡°He, he¡¯s not in Xihai, I think. Gone to Mobei, probably.¡± ¡°Mobei?¡± Gu Yu pondered for a minute or two. Shamanism was also widely practised in Mobei, so it would make sense. This fellow was probably telling the truth as well. No group in the right mind would recruit someone with his physique and intelligence. Seeing that Gu Yu had gone silent, Yang Di quivered with fear. ¡°Bro, please let me go. I don¡¯t do drugs and I don¡¯t sleep around. All I ever did was flirting with girls. I¡¯m not even bold enough to do anything if they don¡¯t want to. I¡¯m from an upstart family, that¡¯s all. I¡¯m not worth kidnapping. Please let me go!¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Gu Yu also chuckled. ¡°Not yet. It¡¯s a nice car you¡¯ve got here. I¡¯ll have to borrow it for a few days.¡± ¡°What? Then how am I, how¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯d have toe with us.¡± Chapter 231 Chapter 231: Mr. Gu Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu A sunny, cloudless day. A shy yellow SUV was driving along a perfectly straight road that seemed to stretch on forever. Setting off against the wildness on either side, the yellow felt like the only bright color of this world. ¡°Vroom!¡± Pressing the elerator hard, Yang Di pushed all the way to 140 km/h. The vehicle performed beautifully. It ran steadily on without the slightest wobble. The driver himself was not as remarkable, though. Even at this speed, his mind had gone somewhere else. Every now and then, he would nce sideways, or dart a look at the adorable girl in the rearview mirror. Gu Yu could not be bothered with it, but Long Qiu found it irksome. When he stole a look for the eighth time, she could not hold back any more. ¡°Why are you always looking at me?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re good-looking¡­ ah, my big mouth. I¡¯m such a big mouth! I¡¯m gonna p it!¡± Old habits die hard. He was hitting on the girl again, but instantly realized where he was at the girl¡¯s frown and pped himself loudly. The fellow was so brazen-faced that he did not know what shame was. He then turned to Gu Yu as if nothing had happened. ¡°Well, Bro, who on earth are you people?¡± ¡°An exploration team, sort of,¡± replied Gu Yu. ¡°You¡¯re making fun of me again. What exploration team can fight men ten times their number?¡± Yang Di paused a little, then lowered his voice and said secretively, ¡°I have guessed it even if you don¡¯t want to tell me. You¡¯re the gifted, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Gu Yu blinked. ¡°Where did you get that conclusion from?¡± ¡°Tsk, everyone¡¯s talking about it, just not openly! I have a friend who has some military connections. He told me that the Huo Zhou migration was never because of some construction of a base. There was some radiation substance and energy generation stuff¡ªnothing I can understand. Anyway, the state has sent in a bunch of gifted people to solve it. Hoho, from the look of it, you people are definitely two of those. But I don¡¯t think you belong to any authorities. You¡¯re probably some masters among themon folk.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu did not expect to hear that. He asked in surprise, ¡°If there really are gifted people around, why aren¡¯t you surprised at all?¡± ¡°Why should I? I¡¯ve always believed superpowers exist, only that no one has made it public.¡± Yang Di was much rxed now and chuckled. ¡°Just think about it. There are tens of billions of people on this and if not even one of them is special, how boring would this world be? Probably because of the changing environment, new problems havee up and our country has decided to keep it hidden for the time being, but they would eventually be out in the open. So, I have to grab this chance and not fall behind. It¡¯s the same with that club, aren¡¯t we all trying to search for a way out?¡± Oh my! That had indeed left a better impression on Gu Yu. The man was a little dumb, but had a better understanding in that aspect than most men. Despite being a little rascally and unruly, the fellow was not a bad man, so Gu Yu offered a little warning. ¡°That organization you are joining is no good. Get yourself out of it as soon as possible if you can. It¡¯s involved in things beyond your capability.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, Ipletely agree with you.¡± Agreeing to Gu Yu he might, Yang Di was secretly not thinking much of the warning. As he drove on, he looked up in passing and could not help but strain his neck to look into the distance. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s that?¡± Gu Yu and Long Qiu looked into that direction and saw a shadow diving down at a tremendous speed from the air, aiming directly at this shy car. With their incredible eyesight, the two immediately recognized what it was¡ªa strange-looking big bird. Within a few breaths¡¯ time, the big bird had reached their car. pping its wings ferociously and sticking out its sharp beak, it pecked hard at the windshield. ¡°WTF! What¡¯s that!¡± Yang Di was as experienced a driver as one could get. Despite the fluster, he did not panic as he wrenched the steering wheel to the left. The tires made a jarring sound from scraping hard against the ground and the car barely missed the beak. ¡°Quack!¡± The big bird made a strange sound and turned, its movements unbelievably nimble, and tried to fly past the vehicle at a close range. Right then, the window of the passenger seat was rolled down and a big hand stuck out, which clenched around its neck. ¡°Quack¡­¡± The big bird struggled violently, pping its wings fiercely, but could not get rid of the hand. Immediately after that, it felt the grip tighten around its neck, followed by a wave of choking sensation. It kept still right away. Tilting his head, Gu Yu looked closely at the bird. It was over a meter tall and had very big wings, the span of which was as much as three meters once they were spread out. The bird was covered from head to toe in fiery red feathers that were dazzlingly bright. The only exception was its chest, which was a purplish ck. Each foot had five sharp ws and the hooked talons looked like machetes. The long beak curved slightly at it tip. He had not seen a big bird like this in Longxi or Bayan, but here they were¡­ ¡°Are there any wend or eco zones nearby?¡± he asked. ¡°Well, I think there was a natural reserve of birds,¡± replied Yang Di after he recalled. ¡°That should be it.¡± Gu Yu turned to the backseat and asked, ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°Golden Silkworm smelled blood. The bird eats meat.¡± Long Qiu looked disgusted. What else could Golden Silkworm refer to by ¡°meat¡± apart from human flesh! ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu also found that gross. Clenching harder, the long, thin neck snapped with a crunching sound. Immediately after that, he stretched out his left hand and a medium-sized gourd materialized in his palm. Activating his spiritual essence, the big bird¡¯s blood gushed out from where the neck had been broken off and poured into the opening of the gourd. Secondster, the bird was visibly drained and he tossed it backward causally. The dead bird somehow froze in midair, then disappeared without a trace¡ªGolden Silkworm had consumed it. ¡°B-Bro¡­¡± Yang Di¡¯s teeth had been quivering for a while. Overwhelmed by fear and excitement mixed together, his high-pitched voice cracked. ¡°You, you are indeed the gifted!¡± ¡®Gifted my ass!¡¯ Gu Yu gave the back of his head another smack and scolded, ¡°Just drive!¡± *** One of the board towns in Xihai was called Huagou 1 which sat right next to Huo Zhou. The spreading out of Huo Zhou cmity had devoured quite a lot ofnd, forcing the neighbouring areas to reset their territories. Bayan, whose area had shrunk by as many as 2000 km^2, was the most unfortunate one. Huagou Town was one of the luckier ones. All it lost were some wilnd and pastures; no residential area was affected. The small town had a poption of 30,000. Some were frightened and had long moved away, while the others did not think much of it and remained livingfortably as before. Because of the troops stationed nearby, the government simply decided to make the job easier for themselves and changed the small town into a half-military, half-civilian zone. After hours of driving, Yang Di finally brought them into Huagou Town territory. Arge warning sign stood by the side of the road, which read: ¡°Sentry post ahead. Drive slowly. Prepare for inspection.¡± A quarter of an hourter, they saw the silhouette of the post, which did not turn out to be what they had expected. ¡°p!¡± ¡°Quack!¡± A few bullets scraped past a big bird and only ¡®relieved¡¯ it of a few feathers. The big bird quacked, as if taunting its opponent, pped its wings, and flew high up out of the firing range. ¡°Sarge, we¡¯re running low on ammo!¡± Seeing that firing was to no avail, the machine gunner shouted at the top of his voice, worried and irritated at the same time. ¡°I know! I know! Do not respond to the taunting!¡± the sargeant yelled back. ¡°Where the hell did these bastardse from?¡± Another soldier smacked his helmet onto the ground, but picked it back up in a hurry almost instantly. His left arm was bandaged¡ªa piece of flesh was torn off during their earlier engaging the birds. They were inside a sentry post. The two-storey post had a certain level of defensive ability and had just enough space for a squad to take shelter. They were fighting against fifty to sixty strange birds that were extremely fast and remarkably clever¡ªthe birds knew how to cooperate with one another. The soldiers killed a few in the beginning with heavy firepower, but the birds soon adopted their own tactics by constantly plunging and rising, depleting their ammunition with their agility. The reinforcements had yet toe. Once the bullets ran out, the squad was doomed¡ªthey had seen with their own eyes of the hardness and strength of their talons. ¡°p!¡± ¡°p!¡± The deadlock stretched out for a while longer and the flock of birds shrieked in excitement once their realized the firepower was weakening. A small group consisting of seven or eight strange birds could not wait any longer and plunged down. ¡°Zap! Zap! Zap!¡± The gunshots became thick and fast abruptly, bullets shooting out of the loopholes in shes, showering at the birds. A few were toote to dodge. Blood sshed in the air and the bodies dropped to the ground. ¡°Nice one!¡± ¡°Hahaha! They are nothing but feathered bastards. Who¡¯s your daddy now!¡± ¡°Steady, steady! Try to lure some more!¡± The soldiers were going to repeat that strategy, but the heavy casualties had provoked the flock. ¡°Quack!¡± Under the instruction of thergest strange bird, the rest of the forty or so birds pped their wings and charged together. Instantly, the fiery red feathers all joined together, as if they had formed a ming cloud that would burn their enemies into ashes. ¡°Quack! Quack!¡± ¡°Rustle!¡± The flock scratched and scraped frantically at the roof of the post and the loopholes. Their sharp ws bit into the stone bricks, sending bits and pieces into the air. The entire post seemed to be shaking and ready to copse. Stranded inside, the soldiers felt the birds had taken up the entire sky. Strange croaks and squeaks filled their ears; it was like the end of the world. ¡°Sarge, what do we do?¡± ¡°We fight till the end!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± The sergeant let out a sudden roar and dashed to the window, ignoring the possibility of getting hurt in the process. He shot three sessive shots. Being the best shooter in hispany, the action took out three birds instantly. The flock was discouraged by this turn of events. Unfortunately, before this brief encouragement could take effect, the sergeant felt despair welling up inside him, for in the distant sky, another stretch of fiery red was flying near. ¡°They have backup!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Sh*t, I¡¯m going to die here today!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give up just yet. Hang on a little longer and our troops are¡­ no, it¡¯s not theirs. Look!¡± The sergeant opened his eyes widely and pointed at the sky with a quivering hand. The squad looked up in unison. Bright red filled their sights as if the cloud was lifted, revealing a rising sun casting a thousand beams. ¡°Pop!¡± That was no backup. A ming dragon flew near and crashed into the leading big bird with an unparalleled ferocity. ¡°Quack! Quack!¡± Its previous arrogance all gone, the big bird was petrified and tried to flee. The next second, it was nailed in midair and as if a match had been flipped into something soaked with concentrated gasoline, the bird turned into a me with a whoosh beforing smashing hard onto the ground. Right after that, the ming dragon swirled and spiraled in the air, killing at will. Screams filled the flock of birds. The red feathers fluttered as the defeated birds tried to flee, but were soon outran. They fell to the ground one after another like falling apples¡­ It was better than a dream. A minute before, the soldiers thought they were going to die; a minuteter, they were miraculously snatched from the jaws of death. When everything quieted down, the sergeant gathered up his courage and stuck his head out of the window. Despite all the bloodshed he had seen before, what he saw made his stomach lurch. The ground within a radius of hundreds of meters around the sentry post was covered by burnt bird bodies. The bodies had been barbecued into charcoal. Some had even been incinerated, leaving behind a pile of ash only. ¡°Hey, someone¡¯sing!¡± The machine gunner had sharp eyes. In the distance, a person got off a vehicle and was slowly moving towards them. Behind the person was a man and a woman. ¡®Hm?¡¯ He thought thetter two looked familiar. After a closer look, he shouted, ¡°Mr. Gu, that¡¯s Mr. Gu!¡± ¡°It really is him! What¡¯s he doing here?¡± ¡°Are you an idiot? He¡¯s obviously going to Huo Zhou!¡± ¡°Right, Huo Zhou! An old army friend of mine was boasting to me, saying Mr. Gu was in Longxi a while ago and walked past his post. Damn it! Hahaha!¡± They were instantly cheered up and the atmosphere was filled with rejoice. Most of these soldiers had taken sses and learned enough to know what was going on. Especially those important figures, they were more than familiar with the names by now. It was actually remarkable. The attitude of the government towards Phoenix Mountain was a mixture of cooperation and precautions. The senior officials were divided into two sides. One side was led by that old man, who believed Phoenix Mountain to be benevolent and worth forming rtionship with, and suggested to maintain the current stability. The other side was led by some other officials, who saw Phoenix Mountain as an ambitious wolf cub that would stir something up sooner orter. However, among the middle and lower levels, especially the military men that had had direct interaction with Gu Yu, well, they liked him A LOT! He was strong, mysterious, and lent a hand at several critical moments. In the incidents of Tianzhu Mountain and Huo Zhou¡­ had it not been for his exploration and deduction, which influenced the government¡¯s decision, how many good soldiers would they lose directly or indirectly? The military men attached great importance to such things. They were no politicians. Despite their nature to obey orders, they had formed their own judgement. Mr. Gu: thumbs up! Chapter 232 Chapter 232: Mutated Creatures Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The recovery of the spiritual essence followed a pattern: the density in the cities was lower than that in small towns, which in turn was lower than that in the mountains. ording to Gu Yu¡¯s rough analysis, it should have something to do with the natural environment and the poption density. The fewer people around, the more natural the atmosphere and the denser the spiritual essence. During his recent trips, he had been keeping an eye on the changes in the spiritual essence in various areas. From May the year beforest when he ate the red fruit up until this November, he was almost certain that the entire country was now covered by the spiritual essence. The direct impact of such a coverage was the mutation of living creatures, which, if expanded to an entire particr area, would be an abnormality. Only a handful of residential sites were scattered around Qingning Province and the region was mostly vast, bleak wildnds, which was ideal for mutation to take ce. Almost as soon as Gu Yu rescued those soldiers, the reinforcements arrived. They regrouped and headed for Huagou Town right away. The town had the strangest atmosphere¡ªit was tense yet rxed, busy yet casual. The soldiers mingled incongruously with the civilian. Living around the frontline gave the folks ess to certain information on a daily basis, which had inevitably enabled them to grasp some form of truth. Miraculously though, over ten thousand people still chose to stay behind. Instead of the town government, Gu Yu went to themand post of the army. Most of the troops stationed in Huo Zhou had been operating here ever since the migration phase. During their six-month rambling around the area, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai had had frequent contact with them. Actually, the army here had been delivering their water, rice, vegetables and alike when the two lived in the Grape Valley. Hence, standpoint aside, both sides had left the other with good impression. The officer in charge here was a senior colonel, who proposed to give the two a reception, which Gu Yu declined politely and only asked about the strange birds. ¡°Are you saying that there was one before this?¡± ¡°Yes, just a fortnight ago. There were three birds, which all scattered and fled. No damage was caused, so we didn¡¯t think much of it.¡± The officer sighed. ¡°But from the look of it, we will be on constant defense from now on.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the natural reserve like? Can it be cleaned out?¡± Gu Yu asked. ¡°It¡¯s a vast wend and impossible to clean out.¡± The officer shook his head and went on, ¡°Huagou Town is the only staging post left. Beyond this small town, it¡¯ll be nearly 500 km before one could reach the next city. Logistics are a nightmare here. All we can do is send for additional firepower, set up more anti-aircraft weapons, and garrison here for the long haul.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu pondered for a moment and offered some information. ¡°The birds are cannibals. They are very cunning and we cannot rule out the possibility of them attacking residential areas directly. Their meat is edible and contains a little amount of spiritual essence. Their feathers have some protection power and their blood is toxic and has an extremely strong smell.¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ The officer was taken by surprise. ¡°Mr. Gu, what are you¡­¡± ¡°I think we should set up an information-sharing tform. Strange creatures are only increasing and it¡¯ll benefit all of us to draw up the entries soon.¡± The officer was a very sensible man and replied right away, ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll send the report as soon as possible!¡± The so-called entries were another name for a database. Take the strange bird as an example. Its name, behavior, physical characteristics, usage and value, capture mechanism, level of hazard, etc., all needed filling in. As vast as the country was, it would be unrealistic to leave the task entirely to governmental personnel or Gu Yu. The only usible way was to make the people the driving force and let them provide the information, which would be standardized, arranged, recorded, and finally made into an encyclopedia on mutated creatures. Of course, the specific methods would be left for the authorities¡¯ decision. *** The three stayed overnight in Huagou Town. Gu Yu and Xiao Qiu set out the next day, whereas the fellow Yang Di, who had fallen head over heels with admiration for the two, volunteered to stay behind and wait for them in the town. Speaking of which, Gu Yu¡¯s first trip here was to investigate the abnormality and he travelled here twice more to fetch the fire spiritual essence, which made this trip the fourth time he was in Huo Zhou. He could bypass the military camp and sneak in, but that would be unnecessary. He would rather do things openly. After all, the government also needed information on the situation inside. ¡°Mr. Gu, this is as far as we can drive you.¡± Huo Zhou border, 30 km into the interior, a jeep stopped at a warning line. The soldier at the wheel found it a pity, for he, too, wanted to see the world inside. Unfortunately, his body could not afford that. ¡°Hm, thanks.¡± ¡°Do you need me to stay here and wait for you?¡± the soldier asked. ¡°No, that¡¯s ok. I¡¯m not sure when I¡¯ll be back.¡± ¡°All right. Please be careful.¡± It was only after the soldier left when Long Qiu started hopping around, her voice filled with amazement. ¡°Wow, so this is what Huo Zhou looks like. It is indeed miraculous! ¡°Is this the dead sand? It¡¯s whiter than I imagined. ¡°Why, there¡¯s a gray tree over there. It must have been flourishing when it was alive. Such a pity.¡± As if out on a pic, she looked this way and that, as happy as a 174-cm little girl. Fiery fog filled the air all around her, which drifted slowly. The air above was also foggy, as if the sky was no longer there. Looking down, they saw nothing but white dead sand, rustic debris and powder, as well as gray, shrivelled nts. It almost felt as if those were the only four colors existing in this world. It was no wonder that only those that had experienced that catastrophe were able to perceive the shock of seeing life draining away and the fear of watching the world copse. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu¡¯s feeling was slightly different. The fire spiritual essence had be steadier here and a stable natural environment had already taken shape. Don¡¯t despise it. An abominable environment was as much an environment as a beautiful one. It destroyed things, but gave birth to other things all the same. As long as the energy and substance reached an equilibrium, life was bound to return. Such was what was happening here. The two had walked only a short distance before they discovered a cluster of dark brown bushes. The nt was about 5 cm tall, had seven striped leaves, and grew in a tight little heap. They looked weak but determined as they hung on toughly. ¡°That¡¯s unbelievable. New life already.¡± He crouched down, picked a few, and put into his gourd. They then walked on. No more than 10 kmter, a twisted short tree suddenly came into their sight. Under the tree was a hole, from where a rat with red skin and ck tail was justing out, its long whiskers shivering in the air. However, seeing Gu Yu and Xiao Qiu, it hurried back in. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu and Xiao Qiu exchanged a look and tacitly fell back for a few steps, where they watched in silence. A whileter, the rat reappeared. It scurried off to a small mound nearby, shoved out a small red stone, and stuffed it into its mouth. ¡°Oh my, is it eating stones?¡± Xiao Qiu blinked, finding that amazing. Gu Yu said, ¡°It¡¯s not the stone it¡¯s after, but the fire spiritual essence inside.¡± As predicted, the rat chewed, then spit out a lump like a muddy ball. The fire spiritual essence inside had been drained. Wow! Gu Yu found it very intriguing. He did not find the muddy ball gross, but picked it up and put it into his wooden box. The two collected like so as they proceeded, discovering quite a few short and small nts and animals, all mutated species. *** Meanwhile, in Yiwu, Yangji, Banyan, Longxi, and other ces, a few groups of people had snuck into Huo Zhou with the help of some corrupted soldiers. Chapter 233 Chapter 233: Unavoidable Encounter Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡®Angry saber, it hacks at the white-winged eagle! Heroic mountains, they soar high into the sky! Rolling mes, they burn¡­¡¯ Bah! Stop right there! Gu Yu wasn¡¯t ying some third-rate DJ/rapper, he was just trying to express his feelings at the moment. Unfortunately for him, influenced by the northeastern culture of the country, which wasrgely represented by its heavy-duty barbecues and not-so-heavy-duty mic-controlling 1 hobbies, he couldn¡¯te up with anything more elegantly impressive. In front of him was ming Mountain eight months after the breakout. In one word, beautiful! In two, seductively fascinating! In three, he was happy! The beauty of the mountain was unquestionable. In contrast to the devastating power when it had just erupted, the mountain was now exerting a tender spiritual essence as clouds and fog circled around it. It reminded one of a horse-mounting wild girl finally returned to her boudoir, where she was dressed in all red before the red veil over her face was removed. After that, she would flush at the touch of her lover. ¡°It¡¯s so pretty! It looks like, like a big chunk of red jade!¡± Standing at the edge of the cliff, Long Qiu stretched out her arms, overlooking the red mountain that seemed to roll out endlessly, and felt it impossible to withhold her excitement. When she turned around and smiled at our fellow, she said, ¡°Brother, I really want to live here. Let¡¯s ask sister and Jin Jin toe here and we can build a house here, shall we?¡± ¡°Gosh, you¡¯ve been around those two for too long. You¡¯re as artsy as you¡¯re a little-devil-in-disguise now. You¡¯re so weird.¡± Gu Yu activated his mental force and a big gourd materialized in his palm. ¡°Come here and collect some spiritual essence first.¡± ¡°Ok!¡± Xiao Qiu ran happily to his side and produced a big gourd herself. They both ced their gourds on the ground, put their palms t down, and activated their energy. Momentarily, the mild spiritual essence around them erupted, twirling and wandering in midair. Gradually, it turned into a red thread and was sucked into the gourds. The gourds were over a meter tall and a gourdful couldst them quite a while. Gu Yu had refined 32 of his ming Cloud Needles so far. If everything went as nned, he would have all 72 ready by the end of next year. He had made a trial run when he helped those soldiers with driving back the enemies back there. The power of the needles was promising. Before long, the gourds were filled up and stashed away into their mind space. Gu Yu was rather content with what they achieved during this trip and chuckled. ¡°Let¡¯s bag some of that ck grit and we¡¯re done here. We¡¯ll be heading home after that.¡± ¡°Huh? So soon?¡± Long Qiu was sorry to hear that. The two were all by themselves in the wide world here and she was having the best of her time. ¡°¡­¡± She knew little of the skill of concealing her thoughts and Gu Yu could read her like the palm of his hand. He winced at it. The girl had been lively and cheerful the past few days like the gentle breeze of early summer. She couldn¡¯t have been morefortable here. Gu Yu was not one of those greasy otakus that woulde up with the name of their second baby at a girl¡¯s touch. He had been through enough rtionships to know her feelings. After a second thought, he was getting, well, a bit worried. ¡°¡­¡± He did not respond to her words after she finished talking and silence fell between the two. Eyeing one another, the atmosphere was bing strangely awkward. It was a whileter when Gu Yu cleared his throat and said, ¡°So, let¡¯s check out somewhere else, then it¡¯s time to get down the mountain. We still have a long way back.¡± ¡°Ok,¡± Xiao Qiu replied obediently. She then turned around and took the lead alone, as if deliberately trying to avoid looking at Gu Yu. Gu Yu did not try to catch up with her either, but fell behind by a few steps, following her casually. They walked like so for some time. The innocent Long Qiu soon forgot about the little incident and turned her attention to savor the meandering, unbroken mountains only. Seeing that she was walking at a brisk pace and almost following a certain rhythm, Gu Yu could not help but ask, ¡°By the way, Xiao Qiu, do you know how to dance?¡± ¡°Of course! We Miao people are all dancers. I learned from my grandma when I was little, but never got the chance to dance before.¡± Long Qiu spun around suddenly and chuckled. ¡°Brother, do you want to see it? Let me dance for you.¡± With that, she straightened her body and stepped onto a giant mountain rock. Stretching out her thin arms to either side, she tilted up the tip of her left foot and shifted her weight to the right, twisting her body into a strange yet coordinated position. Immediately after that, her waist started wriggling. The tiny waist felt so flexible that it almost seemed boneless. It swayed this way and that ever so slightly, tickling the heart of whoever that was watching. Gu Yu felt he was looking at a sparrow from fairy tales, demonstrating to the world of its beauty and pride. Three young women, three different styles. Xiaozhai was the sun, impassioned and strong at times, while genial and gentle the rest. Xiao Qiu was the moon. She was shy, understated, and only revealed her pure beauty when the clouds and fog were brushed away. As for Xiaojin, she was no star. That one was a mud avnche, shaking the earth with her fists and stomps! Right now, though, Long Qiu did not think much of what she was doing and jumped off the rock after a few movements. She asked eagerly, ¡°How was it? How was it?¡± ¡°Awesome!¡± Gu Yuplimented wholeheartedly and asked, ¡°What was that dance called?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know. Grandma never told me.¡± Pursing her lips, Long Qiu was flushed and strangely shy. She wasn¡¯t thinking about that when she was dancing, but now that she was looking back at it, oh my! One of the customs of the Miao viges was for unmarried young people to gather in the open country and dance and sing to their hearts¡¯ content in bright moonlit nights of early orte spring, and especially the night of the mid-autumn day. The Miao people called it ¡°dancing to the moon¡±, or ¡°looking for my lover¡±. *** The environment of Huo Zhou was excellent at the moment. Given time, it might really be a heaven for cultivators. After gathering enough fire spiritual essence, the two walked to and fro following the shape of the mountain. They marched out 5 km to the east, found nothing out of the ce, and doubled back to the west. The west was where that cavey. ¡°Why, Brother, look!¡± After a short distance, Long Qiu halted all of a sudden and pointed at somewhere down the cliff. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that stone look nice?¡± Gu Yu followed her fingers and saw a red oval stone with smooth surface. It was hollow inside and not gritty at all. He chuckled. ¡°Why, you want it as a souvenir?¡± ¡°Yes, can I have it, please?¡± ¡°Sure, sure. Go get it ande back here.¡± ¡°Teehee!¡± Xiao Qiu leapt down with a giggle. She stepped onto a protruding stone and with that as a footing, she jumped again, thennded steadily on the bottom. Picking up the stone, she saw that it was indeed shiny red and translucent like a piece of art. ¡°I can put it up as a home deco. Nice.¡± Holding the stone, she was about to jump back up when her ear pricked and she called out, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°Growl¡­ growl¡­¡± With a low, powerful snarl, a monster walked out from behind a mountain rock. ¡°What is that?¡± Xiao Qiu looked at it in astonishment. The thing was about the size of a cheetah and was blood red all over, as if it had no skin left and the flesh and blood had been turned inside out. It walked on four long legs and had a barbed tail and a giant head. Its face, however, was a ghostly one. It looked so out of ce that it was almost as if the original head had been chopped off, reced crudely by this ghostly face. ¡°Roar!¡± Seeing the stranger, the monster sniffed hard and its ferocity was greatly roused by this fresh food. Thrusting its hind legs hard against the ground, it pounced at Xiao Qiu open-mouthed, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth. ¡°¡­¡± Frowning, Xiao Qiu thought about letting out the Golden Silkworm to devour it, but was repulsed by the thought of it. She tossed the stone aside, put her palms together, and stretched them to either side. A long swording glistening a green light appeared in her hand. The de then made a quick shiver and stabbed seven times in the split of a second, making seven green flowers. The flowers then blossomed, revealingyers uponyers of petals which pushed out with a glimmer, soon wrapping the monster inside with circles of light. ¡°Whoosh!¡± The long sword swayed again. As the energy spread out, there was a bang! Densely packed small cracks suddenly appeared all over the monster¡¯s meter long body, resembling that of a broken porcin. The flesh, blood, tendons, and bones started falling off. ¡°Ssh!¡± The entrails flowed out of the rotten belly and the flesh peeled off the bones. The thing was now a puddle of mush on the ground, giving off an unbearable stench. Eww! Long Qiu stepped away for several meters and fanned her hand with despise. It might seem long, but everything actually happened with in seconds. She had only just finished that monster when there came another roaring sound. Two fellows leapt out from behind the mountain rock. ¡°How dare you mess with my ghoul!¡± Chapter 234 Chapter 234: And the Tougher One Wins Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The two fellows jumping out were both huge. They had frighteningly prominent noses and were heavy-browed with big eyes. ck patterns lined their cheeks. The two looked quite alike¡ªpresumably twins¡ªand the main difference was in their hair style. One was bald, where the other had a buzz-cut. ¡°How dare you do that to my ghoul!¡± Seeing that bloody pulp on the ground, the baldy red murderously at Xiao Qiu, baring his shiny white teeth¡ªwhich reminded one of a shark¡ªas if trying to swallow the girl whole. Ghouls were very hard to refine and it had cost them a fortune in resources toe up with seven. They weren¡¯t exactly fighters, but had a very special skill set: they could smell the energy of Yin spirits, making them ideal to search for the altar. The Archmage led the team to the mountain himself this time and had divided the followers into several small groups to conduct the search separately. With this ghoul killed, they would have nothing to present to the boss and the only choice left for them was to defeat these two, which might win them some leniency. ¡°Who are you people? Why are you not afraid of the fire spiritual essence?¡± Long Qiu backed a few steps away and furrowed up her pretty brows. The energying out of these two made her very ufortable, as if she was not facing two living human beings, but two corpses that could move and speak. ¡°Heh heh heh! Never mind who we are. All that matters is that you¡¯ve killed the ghoul, so you¡¯reing back with us to face your death. You¡¯re quite pretty, though. Maybe they¡¯ll make you into a top-grade ghostly woman.¡± The buzz-cut guffawed. He then turned his palm around, suddenly revealing a ck-ded piercer. ¡°Surrender now, or I¡¯ll have to skin you bits by bits.¡± ¡°Humph!¡± Long Qiu never liked talking nonsense. Pointing at the two with her long sword, she said coldly, ¡°Bring it on!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll regret this!¡± The baldy had been waiting for this. The words were barely out of his mouth when he dashed forward several meters in the blink of an eye, bringing himself just close enough into the attacking range. ¡®That was fast!¡¯ Long Qiu was slightly surprised. She was about to shift to the right, but paused abruptly. When she was not looking, the buzz-cut had also closed in and was now on her right. The two were ready for a joint assault. Both were holding that same type of ck weapon, which was giving off a sinister stench. They stabbed at her with lightning speed. ¡°Dang!¡± ¡°Dang!¡± The long sword made a few sessive dabs, the point of the de precisely meeting the piercers¡¯, giving off a couple of crisp nks. After fending off the attack, she followed the momentum and flipped the tip upwards, shing at her opponent¡¯s chest at an angle. ¡°I see you¡¯ve got a few moves there!¡± The baldy dodged effortlessly, baring his white teeth. He then shifted his body abruptly and went round Xiao Qiu¡¯s back, which he aimed his de and shed down in a whoosh at. The buzz-cut also brandished his piercer with a series of quick movements. The weapon turned into a wall of ck shadows, blocking all directions in her front. The two were indeed twins and they had developed a joint attack technique specifically based on that. With their near telepathic coordination, they had never been defeated in their past dozens of engagements. Unfortunately for them, of all the opponents there were, they stumbled upon Xiao Qiu today, who was a ¡°skill freak¡±. Her gift in swordsmanship was so exceptional that she was almost outshining Xiaozhai. With attacksing from both her front and back and dark shadows blocking her either side, she did not even look back when she pushed the long sword out with a backhand move, sending the sword out from under her armpit. The ck piercer was shaken away by sheer force. Immediately after that, she spun around on the tip of her foot and her long sword quivered repeatedly, producing several green flowers in an instant. The flowers bloomed, revealingyers of petals, and collided with the dark shadow, making an odd fizzing sound reminding one of evaporating liquid. ¡°The sword is a magical instrument!¡± The buzz-cut shouted in astonishment as he withdrew his weapon in a haste. The energy fluctuationing from the piercer in his hand was greatly weakened. While he had yet to recover from the shock, a clear voice ran out in his ears. Through the circles of green light asrge as flower pots, a cold de arrived promptly. The buzz-cut was toote to dodge and only had time to tilt his head sideways. ¡°Pop!¡± The long sword jabbed into his left shoulder and came out from the other side, bringing out a ssh of green blood. Xiao Qiu turned her wrist slightly, the de whipping around beneath his shoulder de. She then shed the tip upward. ¡°Ah!¡± the buzz-cut screamed loudly. His brother came to his rescue, dragging the stumbling wounded man away. Arge piece of flesh was missing from his left shoulder, exposing the grayish ck bones inside. ¡°Huff¡­ huff¡­ hehehe!¡± Panting, he suddenly let out an eerie chuckle, which looked hideously creepy. ¡°Nice, you¡¯ll be the first, then! When I¡¯m finished with you, you¡¯ll wish you were dead!¡± With that, his left arm convulsed suddenly and the muscle on that arm swelled and bulged, as if lumps of flesh were growing out. Blood rumbled inside the arm, making a muffled thundering sound. In the matter of seconds, the frightening wound was filled up by the flesh lumps and the man looked so appalling that he was an insult to the eyes. He was now a monster made up of flesh lumps and so was the baldy. The two men had transformed from two human being to two humanoid creatures right in front of her eyes. They were rtively high-ranked in their sect, enabling them to receive more refinement with the ult skill. Thanks to their natural gift of excellent physical strength, the refinement had all been used to improve their strength and speed. They did not get the chance to demonstrate it until today, for their past opponents had not been powerful enough. ¡°Good, you have forced us into using the ult skill.¡± ¡°Die!¡± ¡°Thud!¡± The twins moved swiftly and abruptly disappeared from where they stood. Why, they were faster! Xiao Qiu dodged right away and, as if a bomb hadnded, the ground was smashed in in front of her. She was not the least bit frightened and was going to move into another round of sword fight when a soft voice came to her ears. ¡°Ok, that¡¯s enough practice for you today. Now move aside.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Pursing her lips, she leapt swiftly out of the battlefield. Right at that moment, a figure jumped down from up on the cliff andnded between the twins, light as a white feather. He then struck out with open palms. The twins waved their knotted arms as thick as tree roots and went up to meet his strike. ¡°Rumble!¡± The ferocious impact of the two forces contorted the air around them, which twisted and exploded, sending out a shock wave. The mountain rocks nearby were sted into pieces and the mild fire spiritual essence became chaotic. ¡°Hm?¡± Looking at the ck energy lingering in his palms, Gu Yu said in a surprised voice, ¡°A poisonous skill? That¡¯s unusual.¡± Circting his spiritual essence, he eliminated the ck energy in no time. ¡°¡­¡± The twins stumbled back hastily and opened their eyes wide in disbelief. The refinement of the ult skill had given them poisonous flesh that even the Mages dared not touch directly inbat. This man, however, had casually waved it off as if he was chasing away a fly. ¡°Who might you be?¡± the buzz-cut asked in a hoarse voice. ¡°Never mind who I am. All that matters is that you were bullying my little sister. For that, you¡¯d have to leave something behind. But judging from your look, tsk, tsk¡­¡± he replied with their own words from earlier and went on, ¡°So, tell me, who are you and why are you on the mountain?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The twins did not reply to that, but only exchanged a look. Although they could not figure out how capable this man was, the only choice for them now was to fight their way out. ¡°Such a bluff!¡± ¡°Thump!¡± They were extremely fast. Being the top-level warriors of the northwest branch, their attack was not something one could take lightly. In the blink of an eye, they had closed in on Gu Yu and were striking out with their fists. But Gu Yu was faster. He stretched out both hands and grabbed. His move seemed unhurried, but the twins found it impossible to dodge. The two dumbbell-sized fists smashed down and felt as if they hadnded into a pile of cotton ball. They were drowned in it before they could make a sound. ¡°Sizzle!¡± The ck smoke circled around where the fists and palms met; it was highly corrosive. Ordinary people would have their skin burnt at a single touch. However, they were not facing any ordinary man. The circting spiritual essence not only neutralized the toxins, but went further by prating the twins¡¯ bodies, rampaging around their meridians. The real, pure power of orthodox cultivation met the unorthodox, perverted skill headlong, shaking thetter greatly, and crushed it with little difficulty. ¡°Pffft!¡± The buzz-cut spewed a mouthful of blood in a matter of seconds. Eyes bloodshot, the knotted muscles all over his body started cracking, which was gradually covered by bloody lines. ¡°Who on earth are you people? ¡°You still won¡¯t talk? ¡°Well, tough guy.¡± Gu Yu did not want to waste his spit and was going to use his killing move. Just then, the baldy reached out to his right arm with his left hand and ground his teeth. ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± With a scream, he ripped his own arm off. Instantly, there was a st of green blood, and the small lump of cloud formed whooshed towards Gu Yu. Frowning, Gu Yu had to back away for a few steps. The baldy grabbed the chance and clutched onto his brother with his only arm left and threw thetter away. ¡°Go!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The buzz-cut did not have enough energy left to keep the ult skill running and was back in his ordinary human form. Hended quite a distance away. Without looking back, he stumbled on and fled. ¡°Aaaaaaah!¡± The baldy growled and jumped at Gu Yu, trying to make hisst stand. A big hand grabbed him by the neck and twisted. ¡°ck!¡± From his neck down, the entire spine shattered in a crackling sound. The man as big as a small hill tumbled, then copsed to the ground in a thud. Right after that, a palm wrapped in me touched the body lightly. Roaring me erupted instantly, devouring the corpse. ¡°Not bad.¡± Taking back the ming Cloud Needle, Gu Yu checked his palm, apparently very pleased with his experiment¡¯s results. ¡°Brother!¡± Long Qiu, however, watched the fleeing buzz-cut anxiously and was about to chase after the man when Gu Yu stopped her. ¡°That¡¯s OK. We need the messenger.¡± Chapter 235 Chapter 235: The Archmage Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Archmage!¡± Less then 10 km from where the fight took ce, two ck-robed men scurried near and bowed. ¡°We¡¯ve searched all our way back and found nothing.¡± ¡°I see!¡± An old man nodded, gesturing them to return to their team. Before long, a few other groups ran to him and reported in turn. ¡°Nothing in the northeast!¡± ¡°Nothing in the southeast!¡± ¡°Anomaly detected in the northwest!¡± The old man looked around and asked suddenly, ¡°Where are Bahu and Batu?¡± ¡°They¡¯re not back yet,¡± replied someone. ¡®Hm?¡¯ The old man frowned, apparently not happy to hear that. A creepy and gloomy aura emanated from him and the temperature nearby seemed to instantly drop by a few degrees. The crowd shuddered, all lowering their heads in silence, fearing to be somehow incriminated. Huo Zhou was only essible to those who reached the innate state, which these men obviously did not. Their physical strength had been forcibly improved with some ult technique to an advanced state so that they could withstand the corrosion of the fire spiritual essence. Some of these men would even rank among the top percentile if they were to join Qiyun. In the presence of the Archmage, however, they were as jittery as mice facing a cat, all too frightened to make the tiniest mistake. The old man was none other than the one talking to Zhang Wei before. Strongly-built, the old man had a pair of blood-red pupils that gave him the look of a devil rising from hell. ¡°The two brothers might be a bit shy, but they are diligent enough in their tasks. Something must have happened to them. Agul, take some men with you¡ª¡± He was about to issue amand when a yell came from afar. ¡°Archmage!¡± The crowd turned around and saw Batu stumbling towards them, holding his shoulder with a hand. The man was panting when he said, ¡°Archmage, s-something was wrong!¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°We were searching with the ghoul when we ran into a man and a woman. They destroyed our ghoul.¡± ¡°What did they look like?¡± the archmage asked in a grave tone. ¡°They were both tall and very good-looking. The woman had a magical instrument and was very good with her sword. The man, the man¡­¡± Batu¡¯s gasping grew heavier, as if he was frightened by some invincible power. It was some timeter when he finally squeezed out a few words. ¡°He was formidable! Very formidable!¡± ¡°Oh?¡± The archmage¡¯s tone was nomittal and his face as iprehensible as a deep pond. ¡°Where is your younger brother, then?¡± ¡°He was covering for me. He¡¯s, he¡¯s probably been killed!¡± There was sadness and anger in Batu¡¯s voice. ¡°And you¡¯re stupid enough to run back alone?¡± The old man¡¯s tone was suddenly sharp. ¡°I, I¡­¡± There were terror and panic in Batu¡¯s wide open eyes as a familiar feeling rose inside him. Only that he used to be an onlooker, not the one in question. ¡°You two have been capable fighters, too bad you did not have the matching intelligence. Your injury is grave and to fix that will cost us a lot of divine liquid¡­ the ancestors will remember your contribution. Now, set your mind at rest.¡± With that, he stretched out his hand and grabbed Batu by his crown. ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± Batu struggled fiercely, but to no avail. He was aware of his vital essence being sucked out by that withered hand until he was drained. ¡°Thud!¡± A mere ten secondster, the man went limp and crumpled down to the ground like a pile of shrivelled skin and meat. The red pupils of the archmage flickered, shinier than ever. He then gave themand. ¡°Agul, Gatu, Kemer, you three take some men and guard the ce. Whatever it costs, you can never let them pass!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°The rest, with me!¡± With that, the three mages each took two men and stayed where they were. The rest of the group¡ªfive mages, twelve ghostly men, and a dozen minions¡ªfiled out to the northwest. *** Followers of Shamanism formed the most unique group. It was not a religion, for itcked a specific system and religious regtions. Shamanism was a general term used to call those carrying out Shamanistic practices. It used to be widely believed in by people of the northeast and southwest, as well as the nomads of the northwest. The practices varied slightly in different regions, but in general shared enough simrities. In modern times, however, the remaining believers had set up religious sects for the convenience of management and centralized belief. Technically speaking, what they followed was no longer genuine Shamanism. ult skills such as the ancient practice of stargazing, godmuning, blessing, etc., were all lost, reced by stuff from other beliefs such as Vajrayana of Tanggute region, necromancy, or even foreign religions from the West Regions. The archmage here was the principal of the northwestern region. For decades, they had been infiltrating all social strata, introducing their own people into all levels of administration, which had provided them with an immense amount of information. Basically, the moment the government learned the concept of the spiritual essence, they knew it as well. The discontented lot were eager to make their move. The chief task of the northwest branch was to follow a map passed down by their ancestors and reactivate an altar near Jiaohe Town. ¡°How much further?¡± The effort of several generations was finally seeing its fruition and even the archmage himself grew impatient. He had been asking repeatedly along the way. ¡°It¡¯s just ahead. Just ahead!¡± The one leading the way was covered in sweat. After another while, he halted suddenly. ¡°It¡¯s right there!¡± The group stopped to watch. They were at a mountain pass with a giant rock hanging over their heads, which cast down a shadow. There was a cave lower on the mountain wall on their left with traces of damage on the outside. The opening used to be a crevice on the mountain and was hidden in the shadow of the giant rock, allowing one to crawl in and out only. Had Gu Yu not been an innate-state cultivator and sensed the strange energy inside, he would never have found it in the first ce. It was also the reason Zhang Wei tried to abduct him. Of course, these people had made their own ghouls that could smell the sinister energy, who were now yelping at the cave. ¡°Someone¡¯s been here before?¡± The archmage¡¯s face darkened at the traces. A thousand thoughts ran through his head before he finally forced himself to calm down. ¡®Never mind. The front gate is all that matters.¡¯ He then took out a strange scroll made from human skin and found the right direction. ¡°This it an insect-raising cave. The real entrance should be that way.¡± *** ¡°The Archmage was over-cautious. He didn¡¯t have to leave all three of us here.¡± Agul was a stalwart man two meters tall. He had arms and legs as thick as tree trunks and his muscle tone alone was proof enough of his ferocity. The man was now walking to and fro in circles, apparently not happy with the arrangement. Gatu was more level-headed. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t underestimate our enemy. Only a handful people can get into this ce now and if it turns out to be those two of Phoenix Mountain, we¡¯d be in great trouble.¡± ¡°They might be capable people, but I think they were given too much credit.¡± Agul casually wiped his hand across the mountain wall. The sharp topyer crunched under the rough palm, shaking down a shower of rubble. The surface was ttened out at his stroke. He grinned widely and still thought little of their task. ¡°Even we three put together are no match for the Archmage, what can that Gu fellow do?¡± The internal structure of Shamanism was set up as follows: Archmage¡ªMage¡ªvarious principals and chiefsmon followers¡ªperipheral personnel. The three here were all mages, a title high enough to run the affairs of an entire city. The fact that they were all here only to hinder their enemy was making them feel overqualified. ¡°That¡¯s enough! We might have not seen them in person, but the info sent back could not be false.¡± Kemer, the only female among the three, had heard enough. ¡°We should figure out first how to¡­¡± ¡°!!!¡± She gasped abruptly like a duck being choked and gazed open-mouthed at the two people standing on the mountain wall. They simply showed up without any warning, as if they had materialized out of thin air. ¡°¡­¡± Seeing her reaction, Agul and Gatu raised their heads in unison. They both jolted. ¡°Whoosh!¡± All nine people drew their weapons, ready to face the tough battle ahead. ¡°Wow, there are so many of them!¡± Xiao Qiu watched the group of people, looking surprised. Frowning slightly, Gu Yu instructed, ¡°No more practicing. We¡¯re on a tight schedule and need to finish this ASAP.¡± Chapter 236 Chapter 236: The Altar Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Roar!¡± Agul bellowed. His bare arms bulged abruptly, as if a mouse was running around under the skin. The bulging soon expanded to his entire body and with a crackling sound reminding one of firecrackers, the already two-meter-tall guy suddenly grew taller as if someone had stretched him out by sheer force. Banging his fists together, the man flexed his muscles, which reminded one of knotty tree roots, giving him the most frightening look. Meanwhile, Gatu also revealed his ultimate form. He was much quieter inparison and only twisted his body into the strangest position while his pupils were gradually bing vertical. He then stuck out his tongue, whose tip split into a two-pronged fork as he make a faint hissing sound. Comparing those two, Kemer had the most ordinary appearance. She took out a bone te and smacked it hard. Immediately, a hideous ghostly head flew out, forming into a small sea of ck clouds in the air. The ghostly head was inordinately big, bringing with it gusts of sinister wind. The three heads Gu Yu saw in Zhang Wei¡¯s vi the other night was nothingparing to this one. Holy smoke! The three mages were very cautious. Knowing that they were dealing with a tough opponent, they brought out their strongest moves right away. ¡°¡­¡± Half-squinting, Gu Yu watched them with an expressionless face. He then dashed into movement. The next second, he was right in front of Agul and even had the time to instruct Long Qiu, ¡°I¡¯ll take the left and you the right!¡± With that, he engaged the five on the left. ¡°Haha, bring it on! I¡¯d like to know what real masters look like!¡± Agul guffawed. His whooshing fists smashed at Gu Yu¡¯s head like cannonballs, and the gust of wind they brought made a ripping sound. ¡°Move!¡± Gu Yu leapt up and stepped a few times in midair, flitting swiftly past the man. Even those with the sharpest eyes could barely make out a flickering streak of red light as the two brushed past one another, which disappeared in an instant. ¡°Come on, craven! Stop running!¡± Agul was still wondering why his enemy would flee from the battle and turned around to chase when he felt the pain in his chest as strength flooded away from him. Looking down involuntarily, he saw a big hole on his chest. The flesh and blood were all gone, together with his heart and part of his left lung, which had all turned into ashes. ¡°¡­¡± Agul lost consciousness and copsed with a thump. He never knew how Gu Yu got him before he died. Gu Yu paid no more attention to the big guy and ran towards Kemer without stopping. Seeing that herpanion was eliminated within seconds, Kemer controlled the ghostly face into attack while shouting, ¡°Stop him! Stop him!¡± Wrapped in ck fog, the ghostly face plunged down with a shriek, while three sect members brandished their piercers and jumped at Gu Yu frantically. ¡°Whoosh!¡± Gu Yu elerated abruptly, a line of afterimages trailing after him. me dragons circled around him, then split into four, one of which flew towards the ghostly face head on while the rest three pierced through the three men with three popping sounds. ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± The three men turned into fireballs before they even had time to move. They howled and shrieked in the mes, rolling around on the ground. The next moment, they were not making any sound anymore. ¡°Thump!¡± Gu Yu then reached Kemer in one stride and clutched her delicate neck as she watched him with terrified eyes. His hand then twisted¡­ Two mages and three chief fighters were annihted in a matter of seconds. Over on the other side, Long Qiu was fighting with four people all at once. Gatu slithered near, the strange tongue sticking in and out of his mouth. He then crouched down and used his own body as a weapon, trying to entangle himself around his opponent. ¡°Swish!¡± Xiao Qiu wielded her sword swiftly and the cold shiny de covered the area a meter square or so in front of her. Gatu rolled on the ground and dodged from an impossible angle, then twisted conveniently and wrapped tightly around her. The two-pronged tongue quavered this way and that as he bragged, ¡°Hiss! You might be good with your sword, but you can¡¯t hurt¡ª¡± Gatu still had his mouth open, but realized he could no longer utter a word¡­ ¡­for he discovered that his tongue was missing. The next second, even his head was gone, then his shoulder, arms, upper torso, abdomen, his lower body¡­ In a few seconds, the person was wiped off the face of earth. ¡°M-mage¡­¡± The underlings were petrified. Ferocious as they might be, they had never met anyone this ferocious. Xiao Qiu couldn¡¯t care less about them. Wielding her sword, a green flower materialized, wrapping all three men inside. Obliteration, again! Within a few moves, the northwest branch had suffered some major damage. Gu Yu did not use his conjuring technique, for that would be saved for the critical moment, and was also too energy-consuming. Xiao Qiu was no longer trying to train herself throughbat, but was using her lethal moves. However, the moment she put away the sword into her mental space, the chrubic kid leapt out of the thin air, its face a blueish purple. Then, it opened its mouth and¡­ ¡°Retch!¡± The Golden Silkworm threw up. Eww! Eyeing the puddle of ck blood vomit, Xiao Qiu fanned with her hand and said pitilessly, ¡°It says that it stinks and tastes bad.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need it to tell us that¡­¡± Gu Yu covered his mouth and nose, crouched down, and frisked the dead bodies. Other than those burnt to ashes and the one eaten, there were five rtively intact bodies. The two searched those and found some strange scrolls and bone wares, which they put away carefully into a wooden box. They then sprinted towards the entrance of the cave. It was Xiao Qiu¡¯s first field trip, which turned out to be a major event. She was nervous and excited at the same time. ¡°Brother, what on earth are they going to do?¡± ¡°Get the big monster out, apparently. We¡¯ll know when we get there.¡± *** ¡°This should be the ce!¡± The archmage lead the team around the cave entrance and walked about a kilometer to the east, where he stopped at a smooth vertical cliff. He touched the rustic mountain rock, a streak of dark light shooting out of his palm. He sensed the feedback and was reassured. ¡°That¡¯s right. This is it!¡± ¡°We finally found it!¡± ¡°The ancestors are blessing us! The ancestors are blessing us!¡± The group was exhrated at the news. Two men walked up to him and bowed. ¡°Archmage, if you would move to the side and let us break the gate open.¡± ¡°Be quick.¡± The old man backed away for a few steps and casually grabbed a ghostly woman near. His calloused fingers caressed her supple skin lightly, which was cool to the touch. He was slightly rxed. This bunch of people had been around sinister witchcraft all their life since childhood and were contorted both mentally and aesthetically. Ghostly men and women were incredibly beautiful beings in their eyes. Had the creatures not been made for other purposes, they would have dly taken them for intimate activities for fun. ¡°¡­¡± The ghostly woman endured the caressing obediently despite the utter horror in her eyes. This one was none other than Wu Yang who was snatched during her cycling trip in Tso Ngonpo. The difference between a ghostly man and a low-level zombie was that the former had retained part of its consciousness, but was absolutely obedient at the same time. It was like having your mind locked up in a dark cage where you could only peek out through a single window. You knew where you were and what you were doing, but you were an outsiderpletely helpless in your own body. ¡°You¡¯re very well endowed. Had it not been for the mission, I¡¯d really like to refine you all over again¡­ pity, such a pity.¡± The archmage took pleasure from the pain in her eyes. It was a perverted sense of satisfaction. ¡°Roar!¡± Just then, the two men stood in front of the mountain wall and growled. Their bodies expanded as Bahu and his brother¡¯s did, only these two grew even bigger. Raising their arms, they started banging on the stone wall like heavy hammers weighing tens of thousands of kilos. Soon, there was a hole about the size of a basin. It was indeed hollow. They couldn¡¯t bring dynamite into Huo Zhou, fearing it would be easily corroded or explode right away. Luckily, these two were brutal enough. Before long, there was an opening about the height of a grown man. ¡°You two stay here and guard the door.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The two stood by either side of the door like a pair of guardian warriors. The archmage dared not take this lightly and soon led the rest of the group into the cave. The air inside was not the stale and dusty kind. As the fire spiritual essence washed in, there came a few popping sounds and the inside grew brighter. The ghost-headmps embedded on the wall on either side had lit up by themselves, giving off a luminescent green light. ¡°Keep up!¡± The passage inside was not very wide and allowed two men to walk side by side. The archmage led the way. Looking around, he saw that the passageway was rather crude, with little trace of artificial work. Bare red rocks hang overhead without any visible means of support, yet miraculously, the passageway was stable with no falling spalls. A whileter, the road forked into two and the archmage said after a pause, ¡°There are insect-raising caves on either side. Be aware.¡± With that, he moved on and the rest of the team followed. But idents were bound to happen. One of the followers in the rear was so taken away by his curiosity that he moved slightly to the right without anybody noticing him. He then walked off the stone pavement of the passageway and made a step to the right. Instantly, red pupils flickered on inside the deep dark cave, followed by the sound of pping wings. Dark shadows flew out of the cave, wrapping tightly around the entire team. ¡°What are those?¡± ¡°Bats! Bats!¡± ¡°Aaaaah!¡± Caught off guard, two of the followers were bitten and, within seconds, the expression on their faces turned strange. Their eyes became cloudy with a hint of madness in them. ¡°Thump! Thump!¡± Two of the mages responded decisively and killed off the two underlings without hesitation. The one causing the trouble was dripping with cold sweat and flinched away from the mages. The archmage snorted, took out a bone staff from his chest pocket, andmanded, ¡°Go!¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± ck smoke rolled out of the bone staff, forming an almost solid ghostly face. It opened its mouth widely and instantly, a gust of sinister suction power came to life. The strong air current carried the entire flock of bats straight towards its mouth. ¡°Squeak!¡± Thousands of bats were reeled left and right,pletely defenseless. They were now a nest of ants being drawn into the stomach of an anteater. Only when the cave was quiet again did the ghostly face look faintly satiated, making it almost look human. The ck cloud shrank with a slithering sound and returned to the bone staff. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for it. You know what to do with yourself!¡± The archmage darted the man a look and turned away promptly to leave. ¡°¡­¡± Seeing them walking away from him, the one causing the trouble gritted his teeth, but in the end dared not defy the master. He patted his left hand lightly on the right hand and a nail fell off, transforming into a small insect. He picked it up, put it in his mouth and chewed. Momentarily, blood was oozing from his eyes, mouth, nose, and ears. *** With such a lesson, the team grew even more cautious and dared not touch anything in the cave. The passageway seemed to have no end. They had been walking forever and the atmosphere grew stranger the deeper they walked in. They felt the temperature dropping, then rising. In the end, they could no longer tell if it was cold or hot, for they were suffering from both. It was the most unbearable sensation. After another endless walk, which brought them almost into the deepest corner of the mountain, they finally saw a cavern ahead. Twelve stone pirs stood around it, forming a circle of stone corridor. In the middle was a round tform, around which several skeletonsy. ¡°Go search around!¡± Seeing that the road ended here, the archmage gave themand. He also walked up to a skeleton and examined it. One could not tell how many years it had been there. The flesh waspletely gone and ragged clothes dangled from the skeleton. It was in an unusual position, one that resembled the meditation sitting position of Buddhism. Some of the bones were also of a translucent white color. He struck out a finger and poked the bones lightly. With a sizzling sound, half of his finger disappeared as if dissolved. ¡°Muhahahaha¡­¡± That did not enrage the archmage. Instead, heughed and said in his hoarse voice, ¡°It is indeed a sneaky Buddhist baldy, and one that has achieved enlightenment. Good, very good. However glorified you were in your days, you are in my hands now that you¡¯re dead. That half skeleton of relics is enough to refine a few top-grade ghostly head for me.¡± After much eerie tion, he took off the rotten clothes and started frisking the skeleton. Unfortunately, the monk carried nothing with him and the search came up empty. ¡°Humph!¡± He snorted and walked to another body lying on the ground. In contrast, this skeleton was jet-ck in color and deformed in many ces. It looked more like monster that was half human and half wolf. However, his expression grew stern and he made a few solemn bows. He then walked to the third one, whose identity he could not tell. He found a jade te on the skeleton, though, with the diagram of Yin-Yang fish on one side and cloud patterns on the other. Both carvings were elegant and graceful. A Taoist? The archmage winced. It seemed that the Taoistmunity was also involved in that war over the right to preach in the Western Regions. Only, he did not know why the Taoists had withdrawn from the contest and the Buddhists got the free ride. He searched all skeletons carefully and only found two objects. ¡°We¡¯ve checked everywhere. There are no traps or secret passages!¡± Just then, the underlings returned, reporting that there was indeed no other way out. ¡°Oh?¡± The archmage¡¯s eyes flickered. He scanned the cavern following the slope of the ground and finallynded his eyes on that round tform. He stepped onto it. The tform was carved out of an entire big stone, with the ghostly face totem of his branch. There were five square holes around the edges ording to the direction of Five Elements, linked by thin grooves. ¡°¡­¡± He contemted and ordered, ¡°You and you and you lot, go stand there.¡± The five appointed men did not understand what was going on, but stepped onto the tform all the same, then stood at their positions as told. The archmage stood steadily in the center, took out a bone cup, and patted it. Five small ghosts with physical bodies flew out, each aimed at a man, lunged onto their heads, and started gnawing frantically. ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± The five men struggled violently, but to no avail. Blood ran down from their heads and flowed into the square holes. ¡°Ah¡­ help! Help!¡± They wailed and screamed in pain. It was too ghastly a scene to look at. The rest of the team, however, watched this coldly, their expression pitiless. More blood was flowing down, soon filling up the square holes and pouring into the thin grooves, which were gradually all linked together. ¡°Rumble!¡± When the grooves were all filled up and connected, the round tform suddenly gave a shudder and slowly began to sink. ¡°What are you waiting for!¡± the archmage shouted. As if they had just woken up from a dream, the rest of the team jumped onto the round tform with their ghostly men. Slowly, the tform descended to the level beneath. They were all adherents of the long lost Shamanism who had learned the iplete ult skills only and never had the chance to witness the glory of their ancestors. Yet right here and right now, all men¡ªthe archmage included¡ªwere infected with a sense of honor and excitement. Someone was able to build a ce like this inside ming Mountain hundreds of years ago, if not more. Such achievement would make anyone lost in wonder. After ten meters or so, the round tform finally stopped descending. Down here was an even bigger cavern. The spiritual essence was incredibly dense and clearly separated into two sides. One was ck and the other red. The distinction was clear. A pool of mix-colored liquid had gathered in a pit right where the two colors connected. Another altar had been built by the pool, surrounded by bones. Chapter 237 Chapter 237: Ghostly Bug and Obliteration Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Jiaohe Ruin used to be called Gushi in its time and was founded by ancient men of Europa. Around the time when Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty was on the throne, the Han armies defeated Gushi and changed its name to Jushi, dividing it into Front Jushi, Back Jushi, and six kingdoms north of the mountain. It was Xiongnu¡¯s gateway into the Western Regions, and a vital transportation line linking the Western Regions to the middle section of the Silk Road from Yumen Pass, rendering it a strategic military spot for as long as history could remember. Later, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Xiongnu carried out an eight-year siege of Jushi and the king fled, abandoning the city. From then on, Jiaohe became part of Gaochang and the Kingdom of Jushi was no more. Time passed by. The Central ins were unified and Tang Dynasty was established. Themunication between the East and the West grew more frequent as a consequence. Gaochang held a vital strategic position that all religions and sects tried to have a slice. Back then, at least half a dozen forces were engaged in a strife there, including Buddhism, Shamanism, Zoroastrianism, Manicheism, etc. Among those, Buddhism and Shamanism were the most active ones. No record could be found on the specificpetitions between the two. All in all, Buddhism was the final winner and Gaochang became a Buddhist kingdom. The archmage had gathered all of the abovementioned information from reading the ssics. As for this underground cavern, it was built by their Shamanic ancestors to fight back the heathens. ming Mountain was a ce of natural wonders where Yin and Yang met, giving birth to the most ferocious being. Their ancestors had exhausted their resources, trying to create an unprecedented fierce beast. Unfortunately, they were defeated before they could seed and Shamanism in the Northwest began its decline ever since. He had always thought it the deed of the Buddhists, but had found a Taoist jade te when he examined the body just then. It seemed the two religions had joined hands back then¡­ The archmage looked at the altar and for a moment there, he was overwhelmed by all sorts of emotions. He had no idea what thing was created here. The ancient books only mentioned it by a name, and a peculiar one: Ghostly Bug. Ghostly Bug took the form of an insect, had six legs and four wings, and would bring great drought when it was released! One of the mages went up to him and asked, ¡°Archmage, what are we going to do now?¡± ¡°Remove the bones and put them in one ce. Watch over the ghostly men. Let them go up there.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The group promptly carried out his order. The dozen broken or intact skeletons were cleared away, revealing the altar in the center. Twelve columns stood on the altar, carved with ck patterns on one side and ghostly faces the other¡ªthetter faced the pool of liquid. There was a small tform at the forefront, which was where the ritual would be performed. ¡°Dang!¡± Several mages held chime stones made of bones on their palms and struck them with small white-headed hammers. Twelve ghostly men let out a hoarse, low growl and slowly climbed onto the altar, each standing by a column. A few men then walked up to them and tied them tightly onto the columns. They then cut the ghostly men on their chests and took a few drops of green blood from each. The archmage took over the bowl, cut himself, then dropped in his own ck blood. He closed his eyes after that. Seeing this, the five mages immediately retreated to stand behind him, where they waited in silence. The archmage¡¯s lips moved slightly as he chanted an ancient spell. He then turned the bowl upside down, pouring the mixture of green and ck blood into the pool. The liquid inside was very thick and of a muddy color, reminding one of a gtinous soup. Once the blood was poured in, the liquid bubbled almost right away. The red and ck energy circled slowly, then gathered together and expanded. In the end, they formed a whirlpool in the air. ¡°¡­¡± The archmage opened his flickering red eyes and kept on chanting. ¡°Rumble!¡± ¡°Boom!¡± The whirlpool was turning faster and faster, joining with the pool, theter sibnt like boiling water. The other members felt their legs quiver but forced themselves to stand still as they watched the mountain wall shaking as if the world was going to copse on them. ¡°Ssh!¡± All of a sudden, two long, thick, tentacle-like things erupted out of the water. Secondster, there came an even louder ssh! The liquid parted and the tentacles rose abruptly, bringing out a gigantic head. It was reddish-brown in color and densely covered with spines. A pair ofpound eyesposed of tens of thousands little eyes grew on either side of the head and nearly took up half of its face. It had no nose and a very protruding mouth was below the eyes. They could clearly make out four pairs of mouthparts and the serrated sharp des that grew on its chin. ¡°¡­¡± The moment the head of the Ghostly Bug emerged, hush fell over the group. All were soaked wet in sweat and so scared that they might go mad. ¡°A-archmage¡­¡± said someone in a quavery voice. ¡°Don¡¯t panic! We continue!¡± He made a pressing gesture with much difficulty and resumed his chanting. ¡°Ssh!¡± The thousand-year-old spell reached the pool and the head twisted slightly. Its gray eyes turned red, then it opened its mouth. ¡°Pop!¡± ¡°Roar!¡± Twelve ghostly men screamed in unison. They bodies could not stand the external pressure and their blood gushed out, breaking through their skin. The blood gathered into twelve streaks of green fluid, which then flowed into the hideous giant mouth. ¡°tter¡­tter¡­¡± The group dared not even move a finger, yet their teeth were chattering uncontrobly. They were now fully aware of the utter terror one would feel in the face of a higher form of life. To this savage beast, they were nothing but ants, ready to be squashed in any second. ¡®Are we really able to control it?¡¯ That idea was ringing in the heads of more than one person. ¡°Pop!¡± The twelve ghostly men were sucked dry of their flesh and blood in a matter of seconds, leaving behind shriveled empty shells of skin still tied to the columns. The Ghostly Bug twisted again. A hint of bewilderment, helplessness, and anger crept onto its face. It almost reminded them of an ill-fed child that did not know how to vent its frustration, which was the most creepy scene. Whoosh! The red eyes flickered back to gray and the head sank a little, ready to hide back into the pool. ¡°We need more sacrifice! Give it more!¡± The archmage was the first to realize this and yelled at the top of his lungs. ¡°We don¡¯t have any sacrifice left!¡± a mage replied. ¡°We don¡¯t? How is that possible?¡± He turned to look and his gaze happened tond on a sect member, who stumbled back ashen-faced and pleaded, ¡°No, Archmage, please don¡¯t¡ª ah!¡± A force made the man lunge forward suddenly and the archmage clutched him in his hands. The man was then cut on the chest and tossed into the pool with a plop. ¡°Whish!¡± The Ghostly Bug smelled food and promptly jabbed its mouthparts into his body. The man became a mummy in no time. ¡°Hahaha! The painstaking effort of the past generations cannot be ruined in my hands! We are almost there!¡± The archmage was on the verge of going insane as he yelled, ¡°Where is everyone? I need more sacrifices!¡± He reached out with both hands and tossed the surviving half dozen underlings into the pool. They were not as ¡°appetizing¡± as the ghostly men, but they still had the ghostly Yin energy in them from practicing the ult skills. The Ghostly Bug drained them all in half a heartbeat and raised itself a little higher up, exposing a small section of its body. It was also reddish-brown and had a t and wide shape. There appeared to be four pairs of wings on its back. The archmage was using the right method, only that he had forgotten one thing: the ghostly men he refined were nothingpared to those made in the ancient time. He might have the ghostly men, but the quality was too poor to fill the stomach of that savage beast. Seeing that the Ghostly Bug stopped moving again, the archmage turned his gaze abruptly towards the five mages. ¡°For the glory of our ancestors!¡± Mages were much higher in their status and were firmer in their faith at the same time. Immediately, three mages volunteered, cut their chests themselves, and jumped into the pool. ¡°Squeak!¡± The thing screeched with excitement once it absorbed the much more concentrated Yin ghost energy and rose further out of the pool. The remaining two mages were not as brave. They shook their heads and pleaded, ¡°I¡¯ll get some more men in. Aren¡¯t they outside guarding the entrance? I¡¯ll get them here right away!¡± ¡°Right away? It¡¯s time for your own sacrifice now¡­¡± The archmage looked as gloomy as a ghost himself. He was about to grabbed the two when he turned abruptly, shouting, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± *** ¡°Wow, that was some major scene!¡± A man and a woman flew down from the upper cavern andnded softly. The man said with amazement, ¡°Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I¡¯d think I¡¯ve travelled back in time.¡± ¡°Gu Yu, I knew it was you!¡± The archmage fought back his anger and calmed himself down. He had pretty much guessed it, for only a handful of people were capable enough to get into the mountain, and among those, that Gu person was the most likely. ¡°You know who I am? Oh, you¡¯re with Zhang Wei, aren¡¯t you?¡± Gu Yu did not think much of it and looked around. The Ghostly Bug caught his attention right away. Instantly, an overbearing power even he could not withstand rushed towards him. His stomach lurched. The beast these people had brought out was so savage that the world would be in chaos should it be let out. ¡°Humph!¡± The archmage did not answer his question but only said, ¡°It¡¯s good you¡¯vee. After I take you two down, I¡¯ll feed you to it. That should suffice.¡± ¡°That was a bold state¡ª Why, you¡¯re of innate state?¡± Gu Yu was taken by surprise. The energy he sensed from the man was definitely one of the innate state, only that the foundation was unsteady. Either he had just broken through, or he had used some unorthodox shortcut. ¡°Bwahaha! How hard could reaching the innate state be? Let me show you what I can do!¡± The archmage waved his bone staff and the humongous ghostly head flew out. Immediately after that, he threw out ten ghostly imps. The ghostly creatures formed a small army as they roared and pounced at Gu Yu and Long Qiu. Seeing this, Long Qiu was going to release the Golden Silkworm. However, as she activated her mental power, she got no response for the undead insect. ¡°Brother, Golden Silkworm is not moving!¡± she called out in surprise, but soon came to realization. ¡°That thing has probably suppressed it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Let me deal with the big guy. You be careful!¡± Gu Yu cautioned her and strode forward. With a series of popping sounds, thirty-five ming Cloud Needles materialized around him. With a wave, the needles turned into a ming dragon, which flew at the ghostly head wrapped in scarlet mes, sounding as if its roars could reach the highest heaven. ¡°Growl!¡± The ghostly head refused to show any weakness. It opened its mouth widely, puffing out a lump of ck fog. It was the purest energy of Yin ghost, which would erode any ordinary objectpletely once it made contact. The ck fog expanded, filling a small area in the air; the ming dragon was immediately devoured after it dived in headlong. However, momentster, the dragon dashed out with a banging sound. ¡°Boom!¡± The two magical instrument shed and the ming dragon proved to be the stronger one. After being pierced through, the ghostly head was visibly weakened. Xiao Qiu was wielding her long sword on the other side. Green light was shing as she fought against the ghostly imps. Seeing this, the two mages forgot about their little conflict just then and joined the fighting. ¡°Roar!¡± Up in the air, the red and the ck wrangled and flew all over the ce. It was almost too dazzling to watch. The ming Cloud Needles were made from the green jade of Tianshan and had been refined for 49 days with the spiritual essence of Huo Zhou. Their power and fierceness was unparallelled. Powerful as the ghostly face might be, it stood no chance in fighting against the needles. Skill was not concerned in such fights. All that mattered was the absolute strength. ¡°Phoenix Mountain is indeed worthy of its name. Hehe¡­¡± The ghostly face was steadily losing its ground, but the archmage did not seem to worry at all, as if he still had a thing or two up in his sleeves. He croaked out aughter and moved swiftly, suddenly disappeared into the air. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Gu Yu was still wondering where the man had gone when the ghostly face¡¯s eyes started glowing with red light, which wasing from deep inside the head. The glow grew brighter, as if something was going to explode. He backed away immediately, watching out for its next move. Momentarily, the eyes radiated with a red color, shooting out something halfway between steam and light, which ripped through the air. The next second, the red light reached Gu Yu and fluctuated, faintly showing the image of the archmage. It was the most profound ult skill existing in the northeast branch: fuse one¡¯s own physical body into the ghostly face and one could switch between the physical and illusionary forms, enabling one constant changes. ¡°I actually thought you had reached the innate state back there. So, you¡¯ve given yourself this miserable look by wasting your life expectancy and vital essence.¡± Gu Yu spotted the nature of this trick right away and was even rxed enough to add in a sarcasticment. The red light turned into a shadow, wrapping Gu Yu inside. Instantly, he felt his mental force stirring as something was forcing its way in, as if trying to attack his mind directly. ¡°¡­¡± A weird smile shed across his eyes. ¡®Trying my mental force? You? Seriously?¡¯ If nothing else, the essence-consuming method was next to nothing in terms of training and umting one¡¯s vital essence. He had full confidence in the amount of his spiritual essence and the capability of his mental force. ¡°Boom!¡± Activating his mental force, Gu Yu turned his Boundless State illusion full on and the next second: K.O. ¡°What?¡± The archmage did not see thating. In utter horror, he realized he was losing consciousness. Then, everything turned dark. *** ¡°Ah! Ah!¡± Two screams made the archmage turn his head. The two mages had fallen into the pool and were drained by the Ghostly Bug. Fully fed, the big guy was nowpletely out of the pool, revealing its entire body as tall as a small mountain. It had six long legs, four pairs of pointed wings, and was reddish-brown from head to toe. There was something absolutely savage about it. ¡°It, it¡­¡± He was shivering all over and the will to fight hadpletely abandoned him. He could only watch as the Ghostly Bug flew into the air, stared at him as if looking at an ant, and sucked with it mouthparts. ¡°Aaaaaaah!¡± It was his turn to scream now. His skin, flesh and blood, bones, internal organs, nerves¡ªevery bit of him was overwhelmed by an unbearable tearing sensation. *** ¡°Aaaaaaah!¡± Inside the cavern, a cloud of red light gradually grew bigger and returned to its human form, which was struggling violently at Gu Yu¡¯s feet. ¡°Run!¡± Seeing their boss had been nailed within seconds, the two mages were petrified and turned to flee. ¡°You wish!¡± Xiao Qiu soon caught up with them and finished the two with a few shes of green light. Around her, the ten ghostly imps had all fallen to the ground. ¡°Good. Luckily, we won¡­¡± Seeing that the enemies were annihted, Gu Yu stumbled a little despite himself. The archmage had quite a strong mental force, defeating him had cost Gu Yu a great amount of energy. He paid no more attention to the dying red light and turned to look at the Ghostly Bug alone. The long absence of food was making the bug impatient. Its tentacles were swaying and it was going to sink back into the pool at any moment. This thing had not been formally refined with sacrifices since it was created by the Shamanic ancestors. The liquid worked as the amniotic fluid. It would not leave the pool until it had eaten enough sacrifices to support a mature body and would remain dormant. With the limited capability of the archmage, he wouldn¡¯t be able to control this thing even if he had managed to get it out of the pool, so he would die either way. Gu Yu did not know about that, but he hadmon sense. Viins died from talking too much and heroes from being foolishly naive¡­ when every evil creature was crawling thend and devils descended on earth, the hero obviously had the opportunity to stop them, but would make some idiotic mistake and miss the chance, paying for it with the life of a male or female back-up. Luckily, Gu Yu was not a hopeless fool. ming Cloud Needles! A ming dragon circled in the air and dived, crashing onto the altar like a bomb. With a st, broken stones flew everywhere and most of the twelve columns copsed, along with arge chunk of the altar. ¡°¡­¡± The Ghostly Bug had yet to gain intelligence and still looked muddled, but the explosion still made it jump. The two graypound eyes turned red and switched back to gray again, as if trying to carve the man into its memory. Finally, drowsiness took over it and the big head tilted. The bug sank slowly back into the pool. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu felt his heart skip a beat at the stare. He was secretly having a headache again. The grudge from an enemy of such power was the least thing one could hope for. The fight did not take long but was very energy-consuming. Even he was feeling exhausted. He staggered around and saw that the archmage had been devoured by the illusion, leaving behind a puddle of mush only. ¡°Why, what are those?¡± The sharp-eyed Long Qiu pushed the clothes aside with the tip of her sword and removed a few objects from within. There were a scroll, a bone te, and a jade te. Chapter 238 Chapter 238: Back in Town Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ming Mountain. In a shallow ditch close to the entrance of the caverny a dozen newly built stone graves. There were no name tes and they were made of rubble crudely piled up together. Gu Yu unplugged a gourd. Holding up his sleeve in one hand while pouring with the other, he sshed the amber-colored spiritual liquor around the graves, adding a ceremonial taste to this primitive and rough memorial ritual. ¡°Of the Seniors¡¯ name and the sects you belonged to, I know nothing. What I do know is, you all faced death bravely thousands of years ago. From where you lie in peace today, I hope you will be relieved to see the brilliant world as it is¡­¡± After the brief speech, Gu Yu found a long stone and wiped across the surface. As stone powder rustled down, the stone was smooth and even. He then carved threerge words with his finger: Zhen Mo 1 Valley. He then ced it upright at the entrance of the ditch and called out, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Coming!¡± Long Qiu followed, lovely as she always was. She was constantly looking back at the shallow ditch and the sealed entrance. The battle was still fresh in her memory, yet they were already on their way back. For a moment there, she felt dazed. With the obliteration of the archmage and his men, the Ghostly Bug resumed its dormancy at the bottom of the pool. The big one was unparalleled in its strength and Gu Yu was fully aware that he was no match for it. With the current cultivation environment, the mere existence of this thing was a system bug. Releasing it would be like unleashing a max level yer into the novice vige. Therefore, they had no other choice but inform the government, making it someone else¡¯s problem. Although Gu Yu did not think the government would know how to deal with this thing, either. Bombing the ce could easily cause an eruption of ming Mountain and should the fire spiritual essence go wild again, well, that would be quite a handful¡­ They had found over twenty skeletons in the underground cavern. The Shamanic ones they tossed right away and the rest they buried. Apart from the three objects from the archmage, they had found another two jade slips, making it five in total. To be honest, Gu Yu and Xiao Qiu had never expected to run into such wretched business before embarking on this trip. Neither stopping the Ghostly Bug froming out nor exterminating most of thebat crew of the northwest branch meant much to them. From a pragmatic aspect, those five objects were much more valuable. *** ¡°Oh my gosh, you¡¯re finally out!¡± Yang Di trotted out of the army outpost of Huagou Town as if he was going to hug Gu Yu. His arms were halfway outstretched when he came to his senses and ran swiftly to Gu Yu with an ingratiating smile. ¡°I told them you would be all right. See? Nothing has happened to you, right?¡± ¡°What are you doing here instead of staying in the town?¡± Gu Yu was surprised to see him here. ¡°That lousy ce sucks! They don¡¯t even have karaoke there. Plus, you¡¯ve gone in and I have to wait on you around the clock!¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Gu Yu could not be bothered to reply Yang Di¡¯s sweet talk and only asked, ¡°Anything happened while we were away?¡± ¡°Nothing major. Only that those big birds came again. Luckily, the army was prepared and defeated the birds.¡± ¡°Again?¡± Gu Yu was taken by surprise. That was rather frequent. Maybe this would be a regr activity now. The three hopped onto the jeep and soon returned to the town. The soldiers were all eyeing them with an excitement hard to describe, as if they were all fighting back their impulse to ask for gossip. The senior colonel even came out to greet them himself with a grin. ¡°Mr. Gu, Miss Long, you must be tired from the trip! I¡¯ve had dishes set out for you to wee you back.¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯re too considerate.¡± The two epted the invitation willingly. Their menu on the mountain had consisted of chaff pancakes and spiritual wine¡ªa most unconventional diet, that was. Hence, everyone gathered in the canteen and ate. Only after several rounds of drinking and much savoring of the dishes did the senior colonel asked tentatively, ¡°So, Mr. Gu, any changes inside?¡± ¡°The environment has been recovering rapidly. Animals and nts have already shown up and the fire spiritual essence was very stable. I don¡¯t think it will break out again any time soon. I¡¯ve taken some samples back with me, you can study them.¡± ¡°Thanks so much!¡± It would be a merit attributed to him; naturally, the senior colonel was happy to hear that. He reciprocated right away. ¡°Regarding the information sharing n you suggested earlier, I¡¯ve handed in the report and the superiors have given their official reply together with some preliminary suggestions.¡± With that, he passed over a file. Gu Yu took it and saw a line written across the file cover, which read ¡°Construction n of Cultivation Information-sharing tform¡±. Gu Yu was secretly full of derision. The authorities would always be the authorities. An old dog simply could not alter its way of barking. Every time he saw such gibberish-dressed-in-a-uniform, he would feel his headacheing back. ¡°Well, Mr. Gu¡­ Are there any other discoveries other than the animals and nts?¡± The senior colonel posed another question. ¡°Let me put things into order and we¡¯ll talk tomorrow.¡± ¡°I see. No problem!¡± The senior colonel was a smart man. Form the way Gu Yu put it, he immediately realized there was something much moreplicated and closed the subject. *** After dinner, it was getting quitete and the two were brought to their rooms. It was Xiao Qiu¡¯s first field trip and she was already involved in such a major event. Once she rxed aftering back, fatigue caught up and she went to bed early. Gu Yu sat by amp in his own room, took out the five objects, and arranged them in a line. One delicate human skin scroll: 10 cm in height and slightly yellowed. One immacte bone te as white as jade: square-shaped, about the size of two mahjong pieces, and with a ghostly face carved on it. A round jade te, glittering and translucent like ice and inscribed with a Yin-Yang fish and cloud patterns. And two jade slips of the same slender shape. He picked up the scroll first and unfolded it. The page was thickly covered with ancient texts, illustration of mountains and terrains, as well as drawings of human bodies. ¡°Sigh, cker students suck at everything.¡± He heaved a sigh, carefully took pictures of the scroll, and sent them to his girlfriend for trantion. He then picked up the bone te and tentatively inserted a streak of spiritual essence. Immediately after that, the bone te started giving off heat in waves, apparently appalled by his act. He pulled the spiritual essence out right away. Instead, he separated a streak of his mental force and carefully worked his way in. It worked this time. In the bone te was an ult skill known by the archmage alone, which was that curious ability of switching between physical and shadow form called ¡°Shadow-switching Technique¡±. ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu recalled his battle against the archmage. The fellow had disappeared into the thin air and shot out of the eyes of the ghostly face as a red beam, which could attack one¡¯s mind directly. Had it not been for his own mighty mind power, he would not have been able to defeat the man. ¡°The light turns into shadow and the shadow turns back to light. It can even make mental attacks. That was quite something¡­¡± Gu Yu murmured to himself. Suddenly, his face lit up. He could try to integrate it into his conjuring skill and see how that would go. ¡®Tsk, tsk, tsk!¡¯ Old Gu grew interested in that idea. He carefully put the bone te away and picked up the jade te. He probed with his mental power again. Boom! A sea of information rushed into his mind, muddling his head. He took it in little by little and only opened his eyes after a long time. Systematically speaking, what was recorded inside could be summarized into a scripture, which was called ¡°Book on the State of Mind of ck Bead¡±. ording to the passage ¡°On Nature¡± of ¡°Zhuangzi¡±, ¡°The Yellow Emperor lost his ck bead when he was travelling in the north of Chishui River. He sent Lizhu to find it for him, but Lizhu failed. The emperor then sent Xiangwang, who retrieved the bead for him.¡± The ck bead represented the ¡°Dao¡± of Taoism. However, as the teachings were divided inter years, Waidan division rendered the term as mercury only, whereas Neidan practitioners used it to refer to ¡°Neidan¡±. From what was recorded in the jade te, the ck bead here was interpreted in its earliest meaning. In in terms, the title meant ¡°my lessons learned during cultivation¡±. The owner of the jade te was called Yue Zhenzi, a cultivator from the Tang Dynasty. He was by no means a famous figure, but his master was known far and wide: the renowned Celestial Master of his time, Ye Fashan! Chapter 239 Chapter 239: Reminder Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Ye Fashan came from a famous family originated in Nanyang and he himself was a resident of Mao 1 Mountain Songyang. Reportedly, he was born during the reign of the Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, in year 12 of Daye 2 and passed away without suffering from any diseases in the 10th year of Kaiyuan of Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty. He was said to have ascended to heaven and be an Immortal. His past four generations of ancestors had all been Taoist priests and he had surpassed all his forefathers in his talent, attaining distinction and eminence. During the reigning periods of Emperors Gaozong and Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, he became such an exceptional figure he was made the chief minister of the court for state ceremonial events and granted the title the Duke of Yue. He was recognized as the Taoist leader of his time. Ye Fashan belonged to no sect. He had learned Taoist techniques from several sects including Lingbao, Dongyuan, Jingming, etc., and established his own teachings by learning widely from others. He was followed by numerous disciples and had passed down another line of legacy through his biological family. The descendants of the Ye Family had settled downter both in Nanyang and Songyang. There were two famous stories about him. The first one took ce when Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was admiring thenterns at the night of the Lanterns Day. The city of Chang¡¯an was so lit up by all the lumination that the night was almost turned into day. The emperor summoned Ye Fashan, whomented, ¡°In terms of the splendor ofnterns, Chang¡¯an is the most resplendent and Liang Zhou the second.¡± Xuanzong was intrigued and wanted to see it with his own eyes. The Celestial Master asked him to close his eyes and took him flying into the clouds. Momentster, theynded on solidnd and the emperor sawnterns and candles stretched out for miles on end. The streets were filled with precious horses and fragrant carriages; streams of people came and went busily¡ªhe was standing right in the night fair of Liang Zhou 3 . The other story, which told about the Celestial Master taking Xuanzong up to the pce of the moon and enjoying the music of the immortals there, was more famous. Xuanzong managed to learn the tune by heart so that he could bring the music back, which was where the Melody of Rainbow and Feather Garment came from. Ye Fashan and Lin Lingsu of the Shenxiao Sect were rare examples of Taoist priests getting involved in politics. Ye also proposed the marginalization of Buddhism, but his actions were not as extreme as Lin Lingsu¡¯s. He mainlypeted against the Buddhistmunity with his talent and kept fighting on¡­ All in all, his status was as high as that of Sa Shoujian and was indeed the Celestial Master of his time. As for Yue Zhenzi, the disciple of Ye¡¯s disciple might have been out here to see the world or for any other random reason. Whatever that might be, the fact was that he had broken through this Shamanic altar with an eminent monk and died an honorable death in this underground cavern. A thousand yearster, the jade te fell into Gu Yu¡¯s hands. Life worked wonders, after all. The content of the ¡°Book on the State of Mind of ck Bead¡± was extensive and profound, covering all aspects. It not only recorded Yue Zhenzi¡¯s thoughts in his own cultivation, but also mentioned a lot of secret history of the Taoistmunity, as well as some Taoist teachings, skills, and anecdotes. It was impossible for Gu Yu to sort it out in one night. He had to put it aside and wait until he went back home, where he could study it together with Xiaozhai in bed. Right after that, he picked up thest two objects¡ªthe jade slips. From their style, it appeared that they were recording media widely used by cultivators of the ancient times. He was pleasantly surprised again. In them were several simple yet practical Taoist skills. These five objects were unexpected gains on this trip. Gu Yu carefully put them away and was about to check up on his girlfriend when Xiaozhai¡¯s call came in. ¡°The middle section was tooplicated and I didn¡¯t read much of it. I have tranted the beginning and the newly added part at the end. I¡¯ll run it through briefly¡­¡± Xiaozhai skipped the small talk and cut to the chase. ¡°Shamanism copsed at the end of the Qing Dynasty and has been hiding among themon folk for the past decades. When our modern country was established, someone gathered all those still hanging on to the belief and officially set up the religion. There are four branches at the moment¡ªnortheast, northwest, north of Gobi, and south of Gobi. Each branch is led by an archmage, who is followed by four levels of members, namely mages, principals,mon followers, and the peripheral personnel. It is a close-knit organization that has infiltrated the society from multiple aspects¡ªpolitical, economical, cultural¡­ you name it. They have managed to seize some considerable authoritative power. The man you took out was called Rusul, the archmage of the northwestern branch. This division believed in stuff like spirits of death and evil spirits. They have quite a lot of ult skills on exploiting human bodies. That drawing of the human body is a refinement method of some sort. The four branches work differently and so do their ult skills, but the scroll did not go into details on that. The diagram of mountains should be a map of some sort. Fatso Wang was right. Their ancestors have raised a Ghostly Bug on ming Mountain and that thing is at least an Immortal-state creature. It is born with some remarkable ability and will cause a great drought if it were to be released. Thank god you¡¯ve sabotaged their action, or the world would face cmities¡­ that¡¯s what I¡¯ve got so far. I¡¯ll look more into itter.¡± Immortal¡­ that thing was as incredible as that? Gu Yu was greatly shaken by that. He had not even reached the Human Immortal state yet, so that meant the Ghostly Bug was at least two great states more advanced than he was? He calmed himself before asking, ¡°Was there a detailed description on that summoner?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°What about the generalyout of the four branches?¡± ¡°The answer¡¯s no again¡­¡± Xiaozhai paused a little and said, ¡°I can only deduce from what¡¯s between the lines. The northwestern branch should include Xichui Province, Qingning Province, and Longxi Province¡ªpossibly Tanggute as well. I¡¯m not sure about the branches north and south of Gobi. As for the northeast, W Province must be part of it.¡± ¡°How could you be so sure?¡± ¡°Because my master has fought these men before,¡± replied Xiaozhai. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu fell silent. No wonder she had always held an enmity against Shamanism and had worked hard to study their ancientnguage. W Province was next to Liaodong Province and the two were both part of the four provinces outside Shanhai Pass where Changbai Mountainy. Something must have happened to her sect, but she had kept it to herself this entire time and mentioned nothing about her master. Gu Yu himself held no grudge against Shamanism at first, but a feud was started after Zhang Wei made his appearance. Now that he had stumbled upon them and took out the northwestern branch in the process, they were officially archenemies now. The two talked a bit longer before Gu Yu hung up. He sat at the table, deep in thoughts. Then, all of a sudden, he picked up a pen and jotted down a few paragraphs on a piece of paper. Looking out of the window, he realized that the sun was rising. He decided to skip sleep and sat quietly on the bed, ready to consume the essence of the early morning. *** ¡°Mr. Gu, did you sleep well?¡± ¡°Yes, it was very quiet.¡± ¡°Haha, my troops have high standards of discipline. We¡¯ve been stationed here for months and received zeroints from the local folks.¡± The following morning, the senior colonel came to pick them up in person and apanied them to the canteen for breakfast. They were guarding the front line here and the nearest city was Gulmud, which was over 400 km away, yet both cities were within Xihai Prefecture territory. Someone of the Central ins could neverprehend the scale of distance out here. Luckily, the logistic service was excellent, which could be seen from the food. For breakfast, there were noodles with shredded meat, eggs, a variety of salted vegetables¡ªthe menu covered pretty much everything. ¡°Mr. Gu, are you going back today?¡± the senior colonel asked. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± ¡°In that case, let me arrange your transportation. We¡¯ll drive you directly to Xiping Airport. It¡¯ll be faster that way.¡± ¡°Thank you. That¡¯s very considerate of you.¡± Gu Yu did not turn down the offer. He had a few sips of the porridge, then took up his own solid food, nipped off some, and passed it to the senior colonel. ¡°Try this.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± The senior colonel looked closely at it. He was from a peasant family himself and had had his fair share of starving days. This food was no stranger to him¡ªit was a chaff pancake. He hesitated a little, but still took it in his hand and gave it a nibble. The chaff pancake had a roughish texture, but turned sweet as rice would once mixed with the saliva and melt in the mouth. The pleasant sweetness seemed to contain a miraculous energy that was fuelling his body rapidly. ¡°¡­¡± The senior colonel was no fool. He turned his gaze upon Gu Yu involuntarily, trying to express his gratitude but knowing not what to say. He finally decided to say nothing, but took a fewrge bites instead. Gu Yu never liked the government officials, but was quite fond of the army men. After the senior colonel finished the pancake, Gu Yu handed him a piece of paper. ¡°I know who your superior is. You¡¯d better give it to him yourself.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± The senior colonel took a look and his face turned white. On it was the origin of Shamanism, its general organizational structure, as well as a description of its characteristics and a brief introduction of the skills and methods. Being in the army made the man all the more sensitive to such information. Because of certain domestic policies on the ethnic groups, many ces were¡­ well, there¡¯s no need to go into details. ¡°I mentioned it to Mu Qunst time, but he said too much would be at stake and dared not make any reckless moves. I couldn¡¯t care less about politics, but I hate to see the environment go haywire. If you ask me, you guys should crush them with a decisive iron fist and show no mercy.¡± ¡°I will deliver the message myself! You have my word!¡± The senior colonel nodded eagerly. He then folded the paper several times before putting it into an inside pocket. Gu Yu¡¯s unspoken words couldn¡¯t be more obvious: if you guys would do nothing and those people brought their bullshit to Shengtian, then I would no longer be this considerate¡ªI¡¯d kill anyone I see fit. Before long, they finished their breakfast and left the canteen. They were just out of the door when someone approached them, all bubbly and buoyant. It was none other than Yang Di, who had been waiting there for long. ¡°Old Immortal, you can¡¯t leave me like this!¡± He wrapped himself tightly around Gu Yu¡¯sp, his howling ear-splitting. ¡°I have worked my a*s off in bringing you here and I did everything you asked without a word ofint! I even waited for you in this lousy ce, never ever thinking about leaving! You have to take me in as your pupil! You have to! Or I¡¯ll smash my head in right here in front of you!¡± Old Immortal? Gu Yu felt the corner of his mouth twitching. ¡°You¡¯d better stay here in Xihai and live your decent live. If destiny would allow it, we will meet again.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t leave me behind, hey¡ª ah!¡± Yang Di was about to lunge at Gu Yu again but was fixed on the spot by a gentle force, unable to even move a finger. He could only watch as Gu Yu and Xiao Qiu got on an army vehicle and left promptly. The fellow was indeed a remarkable figure. He lowered his eyes and burst into tears. ¡°¡­¡± The senior colonel watched him from aside and remained untouched¡ªhe even had an impulse tough. He patted Yang Di on the shoulder. ¡°There, be content. You have spent time with Mr. Gu, which is a great more than a lot of people could hope for. You¡¯re much more privileged in that sense.¡± ¡®Wow!¡¯ Hearing that, the man turned the idea in his head and his tears dried up right away. ¡°You¡¯re right! He¡¯s testing me! Han Zhongli tested L¨¹ Dongbin ten times before epting him and Immortal Gu will do the same to Yang Di now! Hahaha! I mustn¡¯t give up!¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± The senior colonel looked at the man as if he was looking at an idiot. He shook his head and left. *** ¡°The liquor¡¯s ready!¡± At Gao Mingde¡¯s call, Guo Fei, Li Dong, and Zhang Qianqiu pushed upwards together with their arms. ¡°Bang!¡± The lid of the steamer bucket was jammed open, spewing out the hot steam inside, which mixed into the vapid already filling the room, raising the temperature even higher. The four men¡¯s faces were dripping despite only wearing a thin sleeveless top each. Their faces were full of excitement. Especially Li Dong and Zhang Qianqiu, who were newer to the job and only seeing the liquor for the first time. They were especially struck by the intense aroma of the liquor, so much so that one felt intoxicated by the smell alone. Gao Mingde scooped a little out with a gourddle and tasted it. Smacking his lips, the old man seemed very satisfied. Now that thete-sowed rice of Phoenix Mountain had been harvested, their estimated yield turned out to be pretty urate. They had about 1100 kg more rice now, which would give them another 100 kg of chaff. 15 kg of liquor could be made for every 50 kg of chaff, which was not very high a usage rate. But there were only so few people on Phoenix Mountain and with what they had already brewed, there was now over 150 kg, which could probablyst the four for the next decade. ¡°Oh my, the liquor this time smells amazing! Uncle Gao, you¡¯re getting really good at this.¡± With a creak, the wooden door was pushed open and Xiaojin walked into the room. She immediately saw the other two guys and was surprised. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Um, we, we¡­¡± Li Dong panicked right away. He couldn¡¯t help it¡ªhis past experience with the girl had simply been traumatizing! ¡°Oh, I asked them toe in for help. They¡¯re all goodds.¡± Gao Mingde felt sorry for the jittery young man and tried to mediate. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaojin gave him a half smile and did not press on. She then took out the big gourd, starting to collect the liquor. Li Dong and Zhang Qianqiu held their eyes wide open, staring at the process that wentpletely against thews of physics and became all the more reverent. The gourd was soon filled up. She did not leave right away, but gave it a little thought and gave the gourd a little pat. A thin streak of liquid flew out of the gourd, flowing into a jar on the table. Xiaojin filled the jar and smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve all been working hardtely. This jar is a gift. Don¡¯t drink too much. I¡¯m not getting med if you get sick.¡± Buzz! With that, the four men inside and all the onlooking crowd erupted with joy. ¡°Thank you, Miss Jin!¡± ¡°Thank you, Miss Jin!¡± ¡°Wow, we¡¯re getting a treat today!¡± The crowd rejoiced like blooming flowers. They had always wanted to taste it, but were never qualified apart from Gao Mingde and Guo Fei. After Xiaojin left, a dozen people rushed in, all talking at the same time. ¡°Old Man Gao, where¡¯s the bowl? Give me a bowl!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t dillydally! Just pour the liquor!¡± ¡°Yeah, pour it already!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Li Dong and Zhang Qianqiu gave them a sideway look. They wanted to try it as well, but disdained to beg for a petty reward as if they were waiting on an emperor. These two were highly educated men and had never had much inmon with the rest on a daily basis. There were also prized concerns between the two groups. The fruit and tea growers would work diligently enough so that they themselves and their offsprings would receive the benefits. However, what these two wanted was to rise in their status, make the best use of their capability, be part of the managerial level, and even find a master and be cultivators. What one could do depended on what sort of people they were. Those more capable would naturally be allotted with more responsibilities. Meanwhile, Gao Mingde had brought out some small bowls and poured a little liquor into each. Those got the bowl tilted their heads and downed the liquid in no time. Wow! The moment the warm liquor was in their stomach, they all exhaled hot steam. Some broke into a fine sweat, some flushed, while others¡¯ eyes went ssy¡­ all in all, everyone looked happy and refreshed. ¡°Gosh, you losers. You¡¯d get lost in your own woman¡¯s bed¡­ Why, what are you waiting for?¡± After sneering at the crowd, Gao Mingde realized someone else had been left out and beckoned the two young ones near. The two went up two him and each drank a bowl. Maybe because they were less fit, the liquor took them harder. Zhang Qianqiu was barely keeping his legs by leaning into a table. Li Dong had always been a chubby otaku and his plump body swayed as he almost passed out. Gao Mingde held him up right away and scolded, ¡°Go sit down over there. You young fellows are even weaker than an old man like me!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The pair respected the old man a lot and sat down promptly on the chairs. They were losing control of their own minds, which were taking a rocket as if they were high on drugs. As they drifted on, they were partially aware of the discussion going on around them. ¡°Why, Miss Jin looked happy today.¡± ¡°Yeah, I saw her all smiling this morning. I wonder what¡¯s that about.¡± ¡°You people are as good as deaf. Hear me out: Mr. Gu and Miss Qiu areing back.¡± ¡°Oh my, really? With Miss Qiu back, our good old days are back again¡­¡± ¡°Mr. Gu, Miss Qiu¡­¡± The conversation mixed into the euphoric state Li Dong and Zhang Qianqiu were in and for a moment there, those two names, whose owners they had never met before, almost sounded as faraway as from another world. Chapter 240 Chapter 240: All Roads Lead to the Great Dao (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu December, Da Xue 1 . Thanks to global warming, the climate had gone haywire in the past decade or so. The summers were sweltering hot and the winters barely cold. Take Shengtian as an example. Even as recent as twenty years ago, days with temperatures of t wenty or thirty degrees below zero 2 weremonly found, not to mention its reputation of being the ¡°bitter cold ce beyond Shanhai Pass¡± in ancient times. And now? The average temperature of the winter the year beforest was -16 to -3 C 3 . How hopeless was that? Starting fromst year, however, maybe the spiritual essence was having a stronger effect on the climate, but the temperatures were getting normal again: summers were hotter and winters were colder. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Zhang Qianqiu stood at the entrance of the courtyard, rubbed his hand together, and exhaled a mouthful of white steam, which lingered in the air for a bit before it slowly dissipated. He wrapped his cotton-padded clothes tighter and took in the view: covered with silver ice and snow, the branches turned into a sea of white jade while the freezing creek flowed past outside. And there were also the deserted winding stone paths, which made the picture all the bleaker. How time flew. He and Li Dong had been here for twelve days already. Right now, he was not where he lived, but in the workshop, which he visited whenever he could. By now, he had be quite familiar with Old Man Gao. Gao Mingde was the eldest of the lot and a man of fine character. Without being explicitly appointed, he had be the leader of the group. The old man was very content with everything now. Here on the mountain, he was treated nicely, his son had bought his own house, and he himself had been cured of his old ailments. There was nothing more he could hope for. He was even thinking about selling off all his chickens, ducks, and pigs, and asking his neighbors to keep an eye on his old courtyard so that he would not need to go back often. Phoenix Mountain was fantastic! It was quiet, beautiful, good for his health, and he got to brew the liquor, which he liked more than anything else¡­ more importantly, it was where the Immortals lived. There were 16 men on the mountain now. They had probably passed some preliminary test, for every now and then, Miss Jin would bring food down here, or the spiritual liquor, spiritual rice, or some fruit. There wasn¡¯t much and each person would only get a little, but everyone understood. The thing inside, that, well, that spiritual essence¡­ their mortal bodies were simply not strong enough to withstand it. Zhang Qianqiu and Li Dong had tasted enough to make them more decisive than ever to be pupils of the immortals. At the same time, they felt sorry for Yan Han: if only the man could hold on for a bit longer. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Zhang Qianqiu exhaled another mouthful of white steam as he followed the stone path outside. Before he knew it, he was at the fork on the road. A bluestone road, which could carry him all the way up the mountain,y before him. On the opposite side was another small path that led directly to where the fruit growers lived. He hesitated. Should he return to the back mountain, or go over there for a visit? As he pondered on, he sniffed and halted. He had a very sharp nose, which had distinctively caught the faintest orchid fragrance. The fragrance drifted past him, together with two figures that almost seemed unreal. Meanwhile, his ears caught a conversation. ¡°The snow is so heavy. I wonder what the valley looks like now. It must be beautiful.¡± ¡°The temperature in the valley is kept at an even level, so everything will look the same as before.¡± ¡°Brother, howe you¡¯re always a killjoy¡­¡± Zhang Qianqiu raised his head and saw a man and a woman treading across the snowy mountain, their movements graceful and elegant. Almost in no time, the pair had gone up the cold mountain. The woman turned back and nced casually, her eyes just happening to meet Zhang Qianqiu¡¯s. The next second, she had turned back and disappeared into the immense forest. That one look was like a dreamy illusion, a hazy streak of moonlight, a startled autumn swan¡­ it had been branded deeply into Zhang Qianqiu¡¯s mind. Was that Miss Qiu? *** ¡°Xiao Qiu Qiu, I missed you sooooooooo much!¡± Xiaojin wrapped herself around Long Qiu like a ko and rubbed her head against her little elder sister. ¡°You were away for thirteen days. Won¡¯t your conscience hurt from abandoning us?¡± ¡°Aiya, leave me alone¡­ we met some bad men and had a fight on ming Mountain. That¡¯s why we came backte.¡± Long Qiu pushed her away forcibly, but was smiling as she did it. ¡°Aaaaaaaaaaah! Fighting! I LOVE a fight! I¡¯m going crazy stuck here on the mountain¡­¡± Xiaojin entered a frenzied mode right away. Staring into certain fellow¡¯s eyes, she yelled, ¡°Why did you not bring me along? Why didn¡¯t you? WHY?¡± ¡°Well, where¡¯s your sister?¡± Gu Yu acted as if he could not see her. ¡°I¡¯ve thrown her away! Go find her yourself!¡± Little Soap roared. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll go get her myself.¡± Gu Yu shrugged. That Xiaozhai did note out to greet them meant she could only be at one ce. He walked around the Cottage of Pure Mind, a few rows of newly built houses, and a two-story wooden building, then headed straight for the training field on the northwest. This ce had changed a lot as well. For one, the area was twice what it used to be and was now the size of a football pitch. It had to be expanded. Their training was ruining trees and houses so often that a smaller space was no longer enough for their skills. An even gravel road had also been built, connecting the valley to the training field. The road elevated abruptly only at the intersection near the field by a dozen stairs. Two wooden houses were built on either side of the stairs as temporary resting rooms. Gu Yu stood at the side of the training field and saw no one at the first nce. Only after looking closely did he realize Xiaozhai was sitting in the snow, her aura so natural that she was blending into the scene. ¡°Hoho¡­¡± He deliberately crunched the snow as he approached slowly. It was only when he saw his girlfriend¡¯s eysh quivering that he called out with aughter, ¡°Watch out!¡± With a casual wave, a ming dragon flew out, wuthering and roaring. The temperature surged in the area several meters around it, melting the thick snow instantly. But before the snow had time to turn into water, it was vaporized right away, revealing the dry soil beneath. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai opened her eyes and shook her open palm in return. A streak of golden purple lightning as thick as a small wine cup boomed out of her palm, meeting the ming dragon head on. ¡°Boom!¡± The ming dragon dissipated slightly, as if being shaken. The next moment, however, the red glow grew brighter, as if the dragon had opened its mouth, devouring the lightning one bite after another. Xiaozhai made no further moves. She only estimated the time and made a gesture with her right hand. The lightning then disappeared. ¡°The Metal Thunder is indeed as formidable as promised!¡± Gu Yu offered his admiration. He had exerted 70% of his power and she had managed to withstand it for quite a considerable time. ¡°The only thing is that it¡¯s too essence-consuming. Green Leaf is much convenient to use.¡± Xiaozhai rose to her feet and said, ¡°As powerful as the Metal Thunder might be, the toughest is also prone to snapping under pressure andcks change. I¡¯m cultivating Water Thunder next. The two willplement each other, improving my strength.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to the day when you achieved perfection in all five thunders and can destroy the world with a snap of your fingers. I¡¯d be able to stay at home and rx then.¡± Gu Yu was not shy with his hope of living off his woman. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It won¡¯t take long.¡± She walked to her boyfriend. Only then did she let the joy of reunion in her eyes show and smiled. ¡°How did it go?¡± ¡°Horses only grow stronger with nighttime snacks and so do cultivators.¡± Gu Yu shook his head and sighed affectedly. ¡°Sigh, my Taoist heart is full of weakness at the moment. I¡¯m in dire need to grab something.¡± ¡°Tsk!¡± Xiaozhai could not be bothered with that tease and only replied, ¡°Such a pity. I¡¯d love to see that Ghostly Bug.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have enough time to catch it once we are aplished enough.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the fun in having everything ready. Surprise is exciting.¡± ¡°Tsk, that¡¯s some dangerous thought you¡¯ve got there¡­¡± The two hands joined as the couple walked light-footed back to the valley, squabbling the entire time. *** Night, in the meditation room. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were both in loose wide-sleeved nightgowns as they sat down at the table, ready to organize what he had brought back from the trip. The human skin scroll, the bone te, the jade te, and the two jade slips were lined up on the table. Under the dim light, there was something solemn and mysterious about them. They were joking about it when they collected the Seal of Patriarch Sa back then, but they were in that mood no more this time. The current world was under an extreme shortage of Taoist skills and every piece they unearthed was of great importance not only to themselves, but to all cultivators out there as well. As the early starters, they were aware of the significance better than anybody else. Xiaozhai picked up the bone te first and inserted her mental force. She closed her eyes and opened them after a while. ¡°I more or less know how this Shadow-Switching Technique works. How do you want to use it?¡± The so-called shadow-switching was the ability to turn physical substance into visions and vice versa. The switch could take ce both ways. The ¡°visions¡± were things that did not take up any physical space. It could be in the form of light, air, shadow, or any intangible substance. The archmage, for instance, had turned into a streak of red light. It was not one¡¯s primordial spirit, which was a separate being from the physical body. The vision was something transformed from one¡¯s physical body and its most remarkable ability was that it could attack the mind and spirit directly. The archmage was a fake innate state man who had elevated himself forcibly at the cost of shortening his life. With his shaky foundation, there was no way he could have sufficient vital essence to support the technique. As a result, he was only able to carry it out at a limited level and had to exert its power through the ghostly face. Had he been able to master the technique, he would not have done so badly out there. Now that she had asked, Gu Yu told her, ¡°I want tobine it with my illusion.¡± ¡°You want to go into an illusion?¡± Xiaozhai was surprised. ¡°Anything wrong with that?¡± He chuckled. ¡°Old Gu, I¡¯ve never realized you¡¯re such an ambitious man. Why, are you trying to create a world of your own?¡± ¡°Nah, l¡¯m not that good. Rather than going into an illusion myself, it¡¯s more urate to say that I am trying to bring an illusion out into the reality. Just read what it says there: the physical substance and visions can be switched around. It never says it could only be a human being or one¡¯s own body. This teacup, for example¡­¡± He picked up a random cup from the table and said, ¡°Can I make it disappear into thin air and reappear? Can I make an illusion real? Can I turn the reality into an illusion?¡± ¡°What you¡¯re suggesting¡­¡± Xiaozhai frowned, deep in her thoughts. A long whileter, she continued, ¡°Theoretically, it¡¯s doable. Sort of like a transforming skill.¡± Transforming skills had had a long history in Taoist teachings. Cultivators of the Qin and the Han Dynasties believed that Taoist skills were the miraculous methods of all sorts of transformations. They had divided transforming skills into three primary categories: heavenly transformations, physical transformations, and divine transformations. By the time of the Jin Dynasty, there was a vast system of transforming skills. ording to ¡°Introduction of Inner Chapters of Baopuzi¡±, those very able cultivators could made their countenance forever changing. Puckering up their nose, they became an old man; crouching down, they were small children. A wooden stick in their hands became a grove in an instant and whatever they sowed bore edible fruit right away. They drew a line on the ground and it turned into a river; they pinched up some soil and it grew into a mountain. They could freely enter and exit ces without a single crevice¡­ In the time of the Five Dynasties, the cultivator Tan Qiao wrote in the ¡°Book on Transformations¡± that the fundament of transformationsy in the vital essence. When the vital essence was abundant, ¡°One could manipte Yin and Yang, stir winds and clouds, raise mountains, and make rivers flood.¡± Gu Yu would not be confined by the established rules and wanted to think outside the box. He was going tobine Shadow-Switching Technique with his conjured illusions and create a transforming skill of his own. One should admire his courage, but be very cautious with the practice itself. ¡°As for now¡ªscratch that¡ªas for the foreseeable future, you¡¯re definitely not going to be able to do that. What you imagined is more powerful than wonders. It can practically create a world with a single thought.¡± Xiaozhai dampened his enthusiasm, but offered a smile all the same. ¡°But, you¡¯ll have my full support should you decide to do it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to reach for things beyond my grasp. One step at a time. I¡¯ll start from the switching of myself.¡± Gu Yu chuckled. With those said, they put aside the Shadow-Switching Technique for the time being and Xiaozhai picked up the jade te. She inserted her mental force and kept her eyes closed for a very, very long time. When she spoke again, she heaved a sigh. ¡°This ¡®Book on the State of Mind of ck Bead¡¯ is indeed profound. It¡¯ll take us a while.¡± Chapter 241 Chapter 241: All Roads Lead to the Great Dao (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Dawn was breaking in a breeze. A thin line of rosy morning glow appeared from the distant sky, shining on the white mountainhead before reaching the green valley. The ck and white outside set against the bright colors in the valley; the contrast made them seem like two different worlds, yet all shades were pleasant to the eye. Xiao Qiu had started off early, sitting under the old tree consuming the essence of early morning. Her little face looked all the more lively under the morning sunlight. White fog twirled around her and the river was enshrouded in a mist that was spreading out gradually, luring the fish in the water to leap out and chase it. ¡°Ha¡­¡± A good whileter, when the sun hadpletely leapt out of the horizon, Long Qiu finished her exercise and rose to her feet. Looking up, she saw Xiaojin approaching from the direction of the training field. Despite her indolence in her daily life, Xiaojin was incredibly diligent in her cultivation. She trotted happily near, snuggled up to Xiao Qiu, and asked, ¡°Qiu Qiu, what are we having for breakfast?¡± ¡°Rice porridge, rice pancake, and pickled radish¡­ Aiya, why are you clinging to me all the time?¡± Long Qiu could not get rid of her and could only drag this human-sized pendant along. ¡°There are only the four of us here. Whom else can I cling to?¡± Xiaojin replied matter-of-factly, then added, ¡°Thank God you¡¯re back. No one¡¯s cooking anything and I¡¯ve been eating cucumbers for five days!¡± ¡°Haha, me yourself! You should have learned to cook!¡± Long Qiuughed at her. The girl was utterly ignorant of the art of cooking. While Xiaozhai could, she would spend her entire day cultivating and leave the girl to her own device. Xiaojin¡¯s stomach was starting to digest itself and she had to feed herself on all sorts of fruit. The two returned to the cottage. Long Qiu busied herself with cooking and breakfast was soon ready. She then ran to the meditation room and called out, ¡°Brother, Sister, time for breakfast!¡± ¡°¡­¡± No one answered. ¡°Brother? Sister?¡± she called again. ¡°¡­¡± There was still no response. ¡°Why, they still haven¡¯t finished?¡± Xiaojin found that strange as well. Rolling her eyes mischievously, she moved furtively to the door, put her face against the board, and listened. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Long Qiu¡¯s eyes were wide open. ¡°Come here! Come!¡± She waved at her eagerly. ¡°I, I¡¯m not eavesdropping¡­¡± That being said, Long Qiu¡¯s legs moved, showing her honest intention. The two strained their ears in silence for a while and she began to wonder, ¡°Why isn¡¯t there any sound?¡± ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be like this. Have they managed to pump in silence already?¡± Xiaojin sounded puzzled. ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?¡± Long Qiu was instantly flushed. The other girl moved closer and asked eagerly, ¡°Why, you¡¯re too young for the adult talk? Speaking of which, have you slept with anyone before?¡± ¡°You¡­ I¡¯m not talking to you!¡± Long Qiu red at her and ran off in a bashful vexation. ¡°Wow, what year is it now? People actually are still capable of blushing that way¡­¡± Xiaojin found that remarkable. Covering her face with both hands, she copied Long Qiu and left in with a feigned shyness. Well, they knew little of what the two were doing inside. Smoke coiled and curled in the air in the meditation room. The third Essence-gathering Incense was burning on the table. The smoke lingered there likeyers of rolling clouds, from which two thin streaks had separated, constantly making up for their consumption of spiritual essence. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were still in the same nightgowns. They were probing the jade te simultaneously with their mental force andbing through the information bits by bits. The ¡°Book on the State of Mind of ck Bead¡± was very loosely organized and barely had any structure. It was more like aption of journals and essays. Ancient cultivators followed different theories from today; one sentence or a single word could have a profound meaning behind. Therefore, they could not afford to take it lightly. They weighed the words repeatedly, trying to figure out their meaning by filtering out the useless content and extracting as much valuable information as they could. After quite some time, Gu Yu opened his eyes suddenly and said, ¡°At the end of Chapter Six of the Travel Notes, a Small Confining Technique is mentioned.¡± ¡°How does it look?¡± Xiaozhai also retrieved her mental force. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu considered for a while and nodded. ¡°It¡¯s useable.¡± He then closed his eyes again and Xiaozhai left him to it. It was about an hourter when he spoke again. ¡°The practice is not difficult. It¡¯s a confining skillmonly used in the ancient times.¡± With that, he stood up and walked three meters out. The fingers of his left hand pinching in amanding gesture, he stuck out his right hand with fingers spread and reached out. Instantly, a peculiar fluctuation rippled out and expanded like a small fis, forming into an invisible curtain between the two. Xiaozhai moved closer and touched it, her finger blocked by a transparent film. The film was woven by numerous thin lines of spiritual essence, which intertwined and formed a giant web. ¡°Any countermeasure?¡± she asked. ¡°There are two ways. Break it by sheer force, or wait for the spellcaster to remove it themselves.¡± Gu Yu said. Xiaozhai found the article he mentioned and studied it for a long time. ¡°Its function is to confine a space and objects. In that case, can we¡­¡± She waved her hand and wrapped the confinement around her, forming a narrow cube with sides no longer than a couple of meters. She opened her mouth as if she was talking while she eyed Gu Yu inquisitively. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu shook his head, indicating that he could not hear her. Xiaozhai then lifted the confinement and chuckled. ¡°Very handy.¡± They then continued. They had lost count of time when Xiaozhai said, ¡°The middle section of Chapter Twelve of ¡°On Utensils¡±, there is a Storage Technique.¡± She was mildly excited. ¡°Basically, it¡¯s a method of storing information in a jade slip. The media of storage can be anything, but jade was moremonly chosen back then. It doesn¡¯t have to be top-grade jade, normal ones would do. It has to be spiritual, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Oh? This technique is making our life much easier.¡± Gu Yu also looked into the article and chuckled. ¡°We still have some green jade stone left. Let me fetch it.¡± With that, he ran happily out of the meditation room, dashed into the warehouse under the stares of Xiaojin and Xiao Qiu, and went back holding a small piece of stone. ¡°What is Brother doing?¡± Long Qiu was utterly baffled. ¡°Some new trick. You¡¯re too young for that.¡± Xiaojin sneered. Gu Yu could not be bothered to retort and went straight back inside with the stone. Xiaozhai produced her Green Leaf and cut the stone into five thin slips eight cm in length and two cm in width. He picked one up, activated the spiritual essence inside with his mental force, and entered the Small Confining Technique and Storage Technique they found just then. He tried another few times and found that he could enter and withdraw information without any difficulty, which pleased him greatly. ¡°It is equivalent to an ancient-style U disk. Once the confinement is set, it¡¯s safer than our modern security technology.¡± ¡°Exactly. Only those more powerful than us can break in by force, otherwise no one else could ess it.¡± Xiaozhai put away the pen and paper as she spoke. They were there to record the skills, which would no longer be necessary from now on. These two simple skills were very easy to carry out. They might not be powerful, but they were practical enough to be written down as fundamentals for cultivators. They worked on like this and dusk soon set in. Xiao Qiu came a few times to call them to eat, but got no response. She realized by then that brother and sister were busying themselves with something important and disturbed them no more. *** Time crept by as they lit one Essence-gathering Incense after another. The two werepletely immersed in the ¡°Book on the State of Mind of ck Bead¡± like two explorers setting foot on a new continent for the first time. Every time they discovered a paragraph of valuable information or usable Taoist skills, they would be overwhelmed by an indescribable exhration and a sense of achievement. They were so taken over by the excitement that they had forgotten about hunger or fatigue. For most of the time, both were silent. They only exchanged a word asionally, some of those in agreement, others arguments. Then the silence resumed. ¡°At the beginning of Chapter Seven in Anecdotes, Yue Zhenzi mentioned a story about his Martial Grandfather.¡± Gu Yu raised his head. ¡°Celestial Master Ye had a pair of bronze seals, which were great treasures that could expel evil. The inscription was ¡®Founder of Nanyang¡¯ on one and ¡®Treasure of the Scripture Teacher¡¯ on the other. The first one seemed to have been long lost and theter enshrined at the ancestral temple of the Ye n in Songyang. Why, I think you¡¯ve collected simr information before.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve checked plenty enough. The Ye n was growing smaller, but they have managed to preserve the seal for over a thousand years. But they somehow lost it shortly before the modern state was established.¡± Xiaozhai paused and went on, ¡°A Dali Bell is kept in Yanfu Temple in Taoxi Town. Legend had it that it was cast by Ye Fashan, but it was also said that the bell was not built until 58 years after he passed away. I went there just to check it out when I was messing with those monks. It was just an ordinary bell, nothing special.¡± ¡°I see. These are all valuable information, though.¡± Gu Yu considered it and said, ¡°We should organize them into chronic order andpile a ¡®Cultivation Anecdotes¡¯ ourselves. It¡¯ll be a nice initiating reading material.¡± ¡°I was thinking about the same thing.¡± Xiaozhai chuckled. After that, the two were silent again. The pondering and selecting went on. The ¡°Book on the State of Mind of ck Bead¡± was sifted through paragraph by paragraph and word by word. There were sections that they thought could be useful but were too profound for them at the moment, which they had to copy down separately into another jade slip so that they could study thoseter. Three days passed and they finally stumbled upon something substantial. ¡°Void-arranging Technique. It allows one to be lifted off the ground and walk at great speed as if carried by wind,¡± Gu Yu exined in in terms. ¡°Lifted off the ground?¡± Xiaozhai frowned. ¡°Do you mean the skill of shrinking the distance one walks?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°The Thousand-li Stride?¡± ¡°A little bit like that. We¡¯ll only know how effective it is after we learn it.¡± Gu Yu held up a jade slip and suggested, ¡°I think we¡¯d better categorize it as a transportation skill and record it separately.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± Another two days passed and Xiaozhai made a discovery. ¡°Small Moving Technique. It can move physical objects from one ce to another. It cannot be used on oneself and the object cannot be too big.¡± ¡°Is it the Five Ghosts Moving Technique?¡± Gu Yu was intrigued. ¡°The Five Ghosts is a money-making skill. Five ghosts are summoned by talismans to help one with their luck in making money. That¡¯s a base method used by Lower Mao Mountain and one risks the backfire in form of retaliation by five ghosts. It¡¯s rather not worthy mentioning.¡± Xiaozhai nced at him. ¡°This one is a proper Taoist skill. Mark it down as a transportation skill as well.¡± ¡°Ag- well, you¡¯re the boss.¡± All skills rted to teleportation and exchange of things between different spaces were known as transportation skills in Taoism. Escaping Technique, for instance, included Five Element Escaping Skill, which helped one to escape up to thousands of kilometers away by using Five Elements. There was also the Invisible Escaping Technique, which could make one invisible. Other examples would be Nine Halls Escaping Technique, Wall-crossing Technique, etc. The Small Moving Technique might sound in, but it was incredibly practical, which the couple realized right away. They thought very highly of this skill and even held it above the Void-arranging Technique. *** Exactly fifteen dayster. With a creak, the wooden door was finally pulled open, revealing two gaunt faces. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai dragged their exhausted bodies out of the meditation room. They had only had the minimal amount of food and water during this time while burning out their vital essence. Even with reinforcement of the Essence-consuming Incense, they were reaching their limit. They were exhrated nheless. Not only did they sort through the ¡°Book on the State of Mind of ck Bead¡± and the two jade slips, they had also recorded all Taoist and ordinary skills Phoenix Mountain obtained so far. Their thinyer of foundation was instantly elevated in terms of both their cultivation level and umtion. As Gu Yu said before: horses would never grow strong without the nighttime snacks. Chapter 242 Chapter 242: All Roads Lead to the Great Dao (Part 3) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The valley, under the old tree. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai each held a cup of spiritual tea and sipped slowly. Both were slouching in their chairs, half sitting and half lying down. After shutting themselves up in the room for fifteen days, they had pretty much exhausted all there was to exhaust. Now that they were finally able to rx, they felt they had been pumpedpletely empty and were toozy to even utter a word. The tea ntation on Phoenix Mountain was partiallyplete and the tea trees mainly grew on the back mountain. The spiritual essence of this node was of Wood and Earth properties, ideal for growing nts. After the tea trees were nted, the tea growers expected to pick the leaves the following spring, but their first harvest came unexpected this winter. In general, tea picked between February and April was known as spring tea and the growth cycle of tea trees more or less finished in May. The new cycle started from June. Tea leaves picked between June and July were called summer tea, those of August were the hot summer tea, September and October produced autumn tea, and anythingter than November were called winter tea. And winter tea was what they were drinking at the moment. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Gu Yu put the empty cup on the stone table, picked up the kettle and poured the second round of water onto the tea leaves, then raised his head and looked across the table. Long Qiu and Xiaojin sat on the opposite side, both having their eyes closed and not saying a word, as if their minds had gone off to some other universe. Seven jade slips were set in a neat line in front of them. Xiaozhai made five slips from the green jade stone and Gu Yu kept the two jade ones for his own use after wiping them clean of the original contents. As it turned out, they just happened to sort everything into seven categories. There wasn¡¯t much, but it was valuable enough in such a time when Taoist skills were on the verge of distinction. The family of Phoenix Mountain had since had its seven chapters on cultivation. Section One contained the Method of Consuming Six Essences, which taught one the way to consume the glory of dawn, the midday sunbeam, the cliffside spring where the sun set, the midnight mist, the ck sky, and the yellow earth (thest two had yet to recover), while refining one¡¯s vital essence. The speed of cultivation and the amount of energy one could umte through this method was matched by no other skill. Through practicing it, one could reach the state of Human Immortals, Immortals, and then Earthly Immortals. Also recorded in the same slip was the Boundless State Conjuring Technique, which used opponents¡¯ emotions as the inducer, dragging them into an illusion. Whether one would live or die depended on whether they could stay alive in the illusion. The illusions were inescapable unless one could see through the illusion themselves or the caster lifted the spell. The Shadow-switching Technique, which could switch back and forth between the physical form and virtual image, was recorded on the the same slip as well. One¡¯s movement would be impossible to trace and the possibility of changes was endless. Section Two contained ¡°Shenxiao¡¯s Tinkling Jade Book of Great Thunder¡±, which taught one Five Thunders and to think like a dragon. It possessed the most formidable killing power of all Taoist skills, but the cultivation process was very slow. Its overwhelming force was derived from Heaven itself, which was a natural suppressor of sinister and evil creatures. The practitioner would be able to reach as high as the Earthly Immortal state as well. Section three contained three transportation skills. Void-arranging Technique: it allowed one to be lifted off the ground and walk as if being carried by wind. The skill was suitable for long-range raids and travelling wide and far. Small Moving Technique: it could move physical objects from one ce to another. It could not be used on oneself and the object could not be too big. Water-walking Technique: a minor Taoist skill found in the two jade slips. It allow one to walk on water as if on level ground. Section four had eight basic skills. Small Confining Technique: confining a space; could be used on both objects and human beings; worked as a shield and defense, screening out any external spying. Storage Technique: recording information into a jade slip; withdrawing info with one¡¯s mental power and only essible by those who reached the innate state. Flying Talisman Message Technique: also a minor Taoist skill found in the two jade slips, allowing one to make a flying talisman to send messages up to thousands of miles away. Mental Force Refinement Technique: recorded in the Seal of Patriarch Sa; a method of refining instruments. Swordcraft: a skill passed down from Xiaozhai¡¯s own sect; the skill of wielding a tangible sword and could be used as an introduction skill to train the physical body. Forty-Eight Hand Movements: a skill passed down from Xiaozhai¡¯s own sect; a fine and ingenious skill could be used as an introduction skill. Snake-controlling Technique: a skill passed down from Xiaozhai¡¯s own sect; a bone flute was made from the wing bones of a fierce bird and couldmand ten thousand snakes. Wood-appraisal Technique: can distinguish all kinds of wood; the only ordinary technique that did not involve any ¡°super power¡±. Section Five contained three passages on refining instruments. Whisk of Tranquility: recorded in the Seal of Patriarch Sa; the whisk can expel evil and defeat demon. ming Cloud Needle: Gu Yu¡¯s own instrument. Thundercloud Grit: Xiaozhai¡¯s own instrument; refined from the ck grit of Huo Zhou, can only be used by someone using Thunder Technique. As for Long Qiu¡¯s long sword and Xiaozhai¡¯s saber Green Leaf, because they did not possess any additional skill and relied mainly on the owner¡¯s personal skill, neither was listed on the slip. The sixth section contained three passages on Dan. Essence-gathering Dan: recorded in the Seal of Patriarch Sa; could quicken one¡¯s cultivation speed; required a very high cultivation level of the user; very difficult to make. Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan: recorded in the ¡°Book on the State of Mind of ck Bead¡±; a type of Waidan created and refined by Yue Zhenzi himself; can enhance one¡¯s body and benefit one¡¯s spirit and mind. Evil-expelling Dan: recorded in the ¡°Book on the State of Mind of ck Bead¡±;mon Waidan used to expel evil energy and cure mdies. Section Seven contained a book called ¡°Cultivation Anecdotes¡±, which recorded all sorts of tales and legends dating back to the time of the ancient cultivators. More would be added in as they were collected. The first two sections were the chief skills that could be passed down as legacies and the rest were more of the facilitating type. Some might seem redundant because of their ovepping functions with modern technology, such as the flying talisman for sending messages. It was doubtlessly nowhere near as convenient as a mobile phone, but it could grant one absolute confidentiality and one did not need to worry about their lines being tapped. Storage Technique, for another example, was no match to aputer, but simrly, it could also guarantee the safety of information. All in all, that was all the two sorted out for now during the fifteenborious days. Gu Yu was actually a little disappointed, for there wasn¡¯t anything on formations, which he had longed for for quite some time¡­ Oh, that man! Had those men of Qiyun known about this ¡°greed¡±, they would happily strangle our fellow! *** It seemed forever before Long Qiu and Xiaojin withdrew their mental force. Both girl had blushing cheeks from the excitement and almost burst into cheers. Long Qiu managed to keep herposure, while the other one could not care less. She rushed out, trying to dive into her sister¡¯s arms, but was stopped by a single look of Xiaozhai¡¯s. She turned to her brother-inw and found that even more wrong. In the end, she twirled around and plunged at Long Qiu as she always did. ¡°Ah! Let go of me!¡± ¡°Ahahaha! Qiu Qiu, you two are amazing! You have brought back so many stuff! We¡¯re gonna be rich!¡± Herughter hammered at their eardrums like a pair of dumbbells smashing down. She ¡°fondled¡± Long Qiu for a good while before rolling back to her feet, covered head to toe by broken grass stems. Xiao Qiu¡¯s hair was now all disheveled and she was genuinely getting angry. Raising her hand, she was about to release the Golden Silkworm. ¡°There, there¡­¡± Gu Yu stopped her in time and asked warily, ¡°So, now that you¡¯ve read it through, any thoughts?¡± ¡°Me! Hear me out first! I want to learn the Shadow-switching Technique! That one is super cool!¡± Xiaojin raised her hand eagerly. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°The others are just all right. Oh, that Void-arranging one sounds okay as well!¡± ¡°¡­¡± He did notment on that, but turned to ask, ¡°Xiao Qiu, what about you?¡± Long Qiu did not answer his question, but asked instead, ¡°Brother, why did you put Shadow-switching Technique in Section one? Is it notpatible with Thunder Technique?¡± Tsk, she was indeed Xiaozhai¡¯s pupil. The girl was very level-headed. Gu Yu exined, ¡°Shadow-switching requires a lot of spiritual essence to reach its full power when activating it. Essence-consuming Method will ensure a sufficient umtion of energy and the practitioner will have no problem using the technique. Thunder Technique, on the other hand, does not emphasize on that aspect. Those practicing Thunder Technique will probably exhaust their energy with a single round of shadow-switching. Xiaojin can learn it now, if that¡¯s what she wants, but she has to be careful, lest she creates an opening for her opponents to take advantage of.¡± Since they were talking about it, he thought he would take the chance to exin further. ¡°It is the same thing with the conjuring skill. But I need to ask you, Xiao Qiu. You¡¯ve already learned it, why haven¡¯t you used it at all?¡± ¡°It, it just always slipped my mind.¡± Long Qiu gave him the most peculiar answer. Yet Gu Yu understood what she meant. ¡°The conjuring skill uses people¡¯s emotions as the inducer and one can only make the most use out of it when they know more or less what¡¯s going on in their enemies¡¯ heads or know enough about human nature and how things work. Xiaojin is more suitable for the skill in that aspect, but she doesn¡¯t have the adequate power. You have ample energy, but do not know how to wield it.¡± ¡°My sister has enough power, why didn¡¯t you teach her?¡± Pointing with her finger, Xiaojin had ¡°I am not convinced¡± written all over her face. ¡°I don¡¯t need it¡­¡± Xiaozhai darted her a look and the girl flinched, immediately as quiet as a scared chicken. ¡°Skills are the same for everyone and the person using them is the key, yet the same skill used by different people will have different effects. That¡¯s why skills are forever changing at the same time. As long as your mind changes, the skill changes with it. Nothing is fixed.¡± Gu Yu finally finished his lecture. ¡°Now, for the moment, our goal is to master Void-arranging, Small Moving, Water-walking, Small Confining, Storage, and Flying Talisman Message Techniques. These are all essential once we¡¯re out there exploring the world and we cannot afford any mistakes. As for the Shadow-switching Technique, we will look into it together. After all, I have never tried it myself.¡± ¡°And there are also those Dan recipes. The materials required for Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan are not thatplicated and we might have a go at it. All weck now is the Dan furnace. As we don¡¯t have the form to concoct the Six One Mud, we can only try to find a usable furnace instead.¡± Xiaozhai paused a little and added, ¡°Based on the information I have gathered, our best bet is Celestial Master Temple.¡± *** Tianzhu Mountain, Qiyun Taoist Monastery. Lu Yuanqing had stayed in Emei for as long as six months and only got back today. Before he could change into some clean clothes, a junior brother came to fetch him. The two of them trotted along a gravel road, which soon led them to another courtyard. ¡°Abbot!¡± ¡°Abbot!¡± Two priests on duty rose to their feet to salute, both observably d to see him. For the past year, Lu Yuanqing had gradually won the recognition and support from all monastery members, apanied with a growing prestige. ¡°How is it?¡± he asked. ¡°Senior Brother Shi announced his going into seclusionst night; it has been ten hours by now. He has not touched any food or water. We couldn¡¯t tell what is going on,¡± replied the priest. ¡°Thank you for your hard work. You can all go back and rest. I will wait here myself.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just back from a long journey. We should be the ones staying here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s OK. You don¡¯t have to stay.¡± With that said, the two priests could only leave asmanded. Lu Yuanqing sat alone in the courtyard. Despite the bleak and chilly wind pping at his loose robe and wide sleeves, he could not feel the coldness. On the contrary, he felt a me rising inside him. During his half-year stay in Emei, he spared no efforts on his job. Apart from discovering various resources, with his purposeful socializing, he became well-acquainted with quite a few mogul politicians. At the same time, he was no longer ignorant of the political strifes among various factions. The name Lu Yuanqing now bore quite some significance to officials of Bashu Province. The work in Emei was fruitful enough, but he was greeted with more good news as soon as he got back: Shi Yui had gone into seclusion, ready to break through to the innate state! He was genuinely excited by the news, without a hint of uneasiness. It meant that Qiyun¡¯s status would grow more important and the monastery would have a greater say in the future. However, he heaved a half-mocking sigh right away. With the colossus of state above them, their way of breaking free would be difficult beyond imagination. Before they knew it, Lu Yuanqing had been waiting there for two days. Early afternoon that day, the energy inside the meditation room finally stirred. Lu Yuanqing bolted to his feet. With a creak, the wooden door opened and out came Shi Yui, who was surprised first, but walked to Lu Yuanqing right away. He bowed low, earnestly and wholeheartedly. ¡°Thank you, Junior Brother!¡± ¡°Congrattions, Senior Brother!¡± He returned the bow. ¡°Dang!¡± ¡°Dang!¡± Before long, there came the tolls of the giant bell, the sound resonating on the mountain. The rest of the priests soon arrived, offering their congrattions. Exactly one year after Lu Yuanqing reached the innate state, Qiyun Taoist Monastery had its second innate state member! Chapter 243 Chapter 243: APP Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The monastery, meditation room. The hubbub and bustle from earlier hade to an end. The rest of the celebrating crowd had left, leaving the two behind in the room to talk privately. One could tell that Shi Yuai had yet to recover from his excitement¡ªthe man was still savoring the sensation of breaking to the innate state. Watching him, Lu Yuanqing smiled despite himself. ¡°Senior Brother, how do you feel now?¡± ¡°I have been a cultivator for thirty years and the scriptures and true Great Dao only start to make real sense now. This is spectacr!¡± Shi Yui sighed with emotion, then turned to look at Lu Yuanqing. ¡°I can still recall that day when you walked out of your seclusion. You were all casual and calm, unlike me. I am carried away with my own importance. That is a sign of myck of self-restraint, I feel abashed.¡± ¡°The Great Dao emphasizes tranquility and letting things take their own course, whereas humans are affected by every emotion. We might be fortunate enough to be the torchbearers, but it does not change the fact that we are still mortal men. We rejoice from time to time out of satisfaction. It¡¯s inevitable.¡± ¡°The Abbot spoke with reason. Thank you for dispelling my doubts.¡± Shi Yui was an experienced cultivator himself and soon adjusted his emotions. He had only just stepped into the innate state and there was much for him to learn, so he started discussing with Lu Yuanqing right away. The two were disciples of the Baiyun Temple and the Longmen Sect respectively, who shared amon patriarch Qiu Chuji, they thus had a lot inmon in their teachings. The Dan method of Quanzhen, in innguage, consisted of four steps: refining one¡¯s body to construct the foundation of practice, refining essences into Qi, Qi into spirit, and uniting the spirit with the great void. Sessfully constructing the foundation was roughly equivalent to reaching the innate state. Refining essences into Qi was the Human Immortal state and Qi into spirit the Immortal state. Further than that, one would enter a different cultivation system. The so-called Dan was thebination of vital essence, body, and soul. The state of returning to the origin was called Jindan (golden elixir), or Huandan (cyclical elixir). Huandan was in big, small, golden liquid, and jade liquid forms. During the period of constructing the foundation, Qi was transferred from kidney to liver, liver to spleen, spleen to lung, lung to heart, heart to spleen, and spleen to kidney. This process of energy circting the five internal organs was called ¡°Small Huandan¡±, or ¡°Jade Liquid Huandan¡±. When one reached the step of refining essences into Qi, this process was known as ¡°Big Huandan¡±, or ¡°Golden Liquid Huandan¡±. From then on, the process of umtion would be repeated over and over again until one could unite the spirit with the great void. The primordial spirit was of Yin property. Eliminate all Yin-property waste and one would have a primordial spirit of pure Yang, which was the Yang spirit. This spirit could exist independently of the physical body and was beyond the measure of life and death. It was the most unrestrained immortal between heaven and earth. As for the system of essence-consuming method, the Human Immortal state was followed by Immortal state, when the primordial spirit waspleted and a remarkable ability obtained. In reaching the Earthly Immortal state, the duration of life became irrelevant; one would live a long life with good eyes and ears. The Heavenly Immortals established themselves for eternity, witnessing the establishment and destruction of all universe. If one had topare, the Yang spirit was slightly inferior to the Earthly Immortal, for Yang spirit had broken free from the physical form and got rid of the mortal body, rendering any further progress impossible for as long as one lived. The teaching of Dan method in Quanzhen was more intact, enabling one to cultivate all the way to the Yang spirit. Lu Yuanqing and Shi Yuai had a long discussion and both felt benefited from the talk. Before they knew it, it was dark outside. The two looked into the night sky outside and suddenly fell into silence. A whileter, Lu Yuanqing spoke, ¡°Senior Brother, how are things in the scripture hall?¡± Shi Yui knew what he meant. ¡°Apart from Junior Brothers Zhang Shouyang, Chao Kongtu, and Zhong Lingyu, all are studying Dan method now.¡± ¡°Oh? That is great news!¡± Lu Yuanqing was rather d to hear that. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. After all, those three are direct disciples of abbots from great sects and it is only natural that they should have their concerns. What we have now has surpassed my expectation. All senior and junior brothers here are exceptionally gifted men. In a couple of years, they will doubtlessly all reach the innate state.¡± Shi Yui nodded, then asked, ¡°Junior Brother, how did it go in Emei?¡± ¡°It was most rewarding. Emei is rich in resources and especially suitable for nting the spiritual rice. Dozens of mu of rice had been nted by the time I left. The yield should be more than enough for all parties. Other than that, a lot ofnd is ready to use. We will probably see a variety of produce next year¡­ oh, and I stumbled upon a spiritual pet.¡± With that, he flipped over his wide sleeve, revealing a little white monkey on his palm. The monkey was an animal after all. After months of being taken care of, it was now very close to Lu Yuanqing. ¡°It is indeed very spiritual!¡± Shi Yui was a little envious. ¡°Haha, now that Senior Brother has reached the innate state, you will have plenty of opportunities to travel in the future.¡± Lu Yuanqing paused a little, then added, ¡°Oh, by the way, I¡¯ve brought back some materials. If you would please gather some men and hand them out to each individual.¡± After that, he took out two chests, which were filled to the brim with raw materials found in the node of Emei. From the fluctuations of the spiritual essence alone, Shi Yui knew they were no ordinary things. He immediately rose to his feet. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll tend to it right now!¡± ¡°Thank you, Senior Brother.¡± Lu Yuanqing went to see him off at the door, then stood for a little while in the room before retreating to his bedroom. *** Shengtian, Taiqing Temple. Quite a few people were standing in a circle on the small square in front of the temple. In the middle was a man and a woman. The man was a teenager. Right now, he was kneeling down with a ramrod straight back, while the elderly woman cried and wailed. ¡°I have worked so hard to raise you and all of a sudden you¡¯re telling me you¡¯re going to be a priest! You haven¡¯t even finished high school! Who am I supposed to depend on for the rest half of my life!? Your dad has died young. With you bing a priest, our Li Family will have no one to bear the surname!¡± ¡°Mom, I¡¯m bing a Taoist priest, not a monk! They¡¯ve said in the TV, some sects allow their people to marry!¡± The teenager was a little embarrassed by the scene caused and shouted back, ¡°I¡¯m doing terribly at school and I will never get into a university. The temples give out allowance and I get to learn things. It¡¯s much better than doing some job! Stop getting into my way!¡± ¡°I¡¯m your mother! Who else is supposed to stop you? I¡¯ll ask you again: are you going back with me or not?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going back!¡± Both became irritated as they bickered on. The mother tugged at her son, trying to pull him up to his feet, while the son was half sitting down, struggling to remain in his position. The onlookers were also bustling and shoving. It was a mess. Just then, there came a loud nk¡ªthe temple gate opened, out came a middle-aged priest. He walked up to the teenager, his face unmoved and his tone t. ¡°Youngyman, please go back. We are not going to take you in here.¡± ¡°Why not? Didn¡¯t you say you were going to recruit pupils up and down the country?¡± The teenager asked heatedly. ¡°To be a member of the Taoistmunity, one must have the parental consent. Since your mother would not allow it, I have no reason to keep you here. Moreover, the School of Zhengyi permits their priests to marry, but Taiqing Pce is a sect of Quanzhen. We give no such permission. Now, please leave!¡± With that, the priest flipped his wide sleeves and went back in promptly. ¡°Young man, they won¡¯t let you marry here. Go home.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. At least get the facts straight if you really want a master!¡± ¡°Gosh, those crap TV dramas, it¡¯s all their fault. Just look at the poor bloke. He¡¯s made a fool out of himself!¡± The crowd erupted intoughter. Various shades of red crept up the teenager¡¯s face and he blurted out, ¡°No matter! I can find another temple all the same! Just wait and see! I¡¯ll learn my stuff ande back here. You will know then not to look down upon a young¡­ ah, that hurts, mom!¡± Before he could finish his threats, the boy was dragged away by his dear old mother. One could foresee a good spanking back at home. The crowd scattered once all the fun was gone. Most of them saw it as another after-dinner anecdote and did not think much of it. One of them, however, left the scene with an apprehensive look. It was none other than Yan Han. He was out having dinner when he ran into the scene. While the others thought it was nothing but a joke, he could no longer do that. That pain he hid deep down instantly emerged and he went back home with a gloomy face. *** As soon as he got home, he took out his phone andy down on the sofa. After much hesitation, he clicked into that chat group. It was his first time logging into the group since he came back from Phoenix Mountain, which was almost a month ago. The group was as lively as ever. A member named ¡°Layman Sunny Heart¡± had just posted a picture with a caption. ¡°Fellow Taoists, I have finally found myself a master. I am now an intern disciple of Xiangu 1 Cave on Yandang Mountain. The internshipsts for three years and only with the abbot¡¯s permission will I be officially given the headdress after that. Starting from tomorrow, I will be attending morning and evening sses and taking care of the cleaning of the temple. I will not have time to chat in the group, so I¡¯m here to say my farewell¡­¡± The picture was a handsome-ish young man dressed in a Taoist robe. ¡°I wish theyman have a smooth cultivation path and find the Great Dao soon!¡± ¡°I wish theyman rise quickly and high, until he is among the immortals!¡± ¡°I wish theyman could ovee all difficulties and find his Taoistpanion.¡± Words of congrattions flooded the screen. Pursing his lips, Yan Han was taken by the impulse and sent out a line. ¡°I wish theyman will have all his dreamsing true.¡± His words immediately attracted the attention of the entire group. ¡°Why, Headmaster¡¯s here!¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a month! We¡¯ve been waiting for you. How did it go?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. You never told us! That was not very brotherly!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yan Han smiled bitterly. He would love to tell them everything, only that he dared not. A moment or twoter, he replied, ¡°I¡¯d rather not. The first quest turned out to be a failure and we¡¯re still searching.¡± He tossed the phone aside after sending that line and closed his eyes, sighing. He was angry at his own cowardice and his holding onto the secr world¡ªapparently he was not as steadfast as he¡¯d thought. At the same time, he was envious about Zhang Qianqiu and Li Dong¡¯s luck. The three had run into the real immortals together, why did those two dare to stay? As the emotions took over him, he¡¯d felt never as frustrated as now. It was a while until Yan Han reopened the chat group. He was greeted by pages of words offort, which he did not know how to reply to. They rambled on for a little bit longer, then a line of blue texts appeared on the screen, sent by a member called ¡°Perfected Man Starry Sky¡±. ¡°Fellow Taoist, I found an app. It¡¯s rather interesting.¡± ¡°What app?¡± ¡°New ssics of Mountains and Rivers.¡± ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s one of those money-scamming, crappy homemade mobile games, right? Nope, thanks!¡± ¡°Is your ount stolen or what? You¡¯re making sponsored ads all of a sudden?¡± ¡°A fellow as honest-looking as you has betrayed the Taoist morals as well?¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Perfected Man Starry Sky was a little vexed and exined, ¡°This app doesn¡¯t allow screen capture, or I would have posted the photo. It¡¯s a rmendation from Mr. Natural Science and it took me forever to finally get this invitation code.¡± Mr. Natural Science was the name of the official weibo ount of National Geographic magazine of this country and had quite a few followers. Web users would often snap a shot of some animal or nt they did not recognize and post the photos tagging Mr. Natural Science, which thetter would answer 2 . ¡°I opened it and one look was enough to convince me that this stuff is legit. It¡¯s a little gadget the government designed, calling on the public to offer information on living creatures. I have created a post myself,¡± exined Starry Sky. ¡°Downloaded!¡± ¡°Downloaded +1!¡± ¡°Downloaded +2!¡± A few members of action started to swamp the screen as soon as Starry Sky finished typing. Yan Han downloaded one himself. It was a rather simple program with no advertisements or introduction of any sort. He tapped it open and there was a login page. In order to register, one had to enter a line of invitation code. He returned to the chat group and saw that everyone was alreadypeting over it. Starry Sky said, ¡°Each user can give out three invitation codes. Let¡¯s not ruin our friendship over that. We¡¯ll use the most scientific way: let¡¯s roll the dice. I¡¯ll give a number and those have rolled to a number bigger than that can continue¡­¡± That was neat! Dozens of people participated and half was eliminated in the first round. The lucky three were chosen after another two rounds; Yan Han was one of them. He finished the registration in haste. A lot of detailed information was required, including mobile phone number, ID card number, and the city of residence. He then logged in. There were only 238 users and the developer page said: National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Natural Science and Resources, National Geographic Magazine, etc. The pages were rather in as well. Everything was crudely divided into four categories: nt, animal, geography, meteorology. Each category was followed by a number, indicating the number of entries recorded. He randomly picked the category ¡°animal¡± and tapped in. In it were nine pictures. The first one was a big ming red bird and the caption read: Red Feather Vulture. Tapping into the picture, he found the detailed description. Red Feather Vulture: a bird of prey, with ming red feathers, around 1.2 m in height, and wings spanning up to around 3 m. It has a hooked beak, powerful eyesight, and talons as sharp as des. The bird is carnivore and extremely aggressive. Together, they work in teams and are organized in battle. Avoid contact. Habitat: about 50 km to the southeast of Huagou Town, Xihai Zhou¡­ Yan Han was instantly rmed. He soon went through all the entries, all containing simrly strange creatures. The captions were straightforward, roughly dividing them into ¡°hazardous¡± and ¡°harmless¡±. The tone of caution was apparent. Immediately after that, he figured out how the membership regtions. The New ssics of Mountains and Rivers worked on a point-based membership system. Each entry posted would wait for the verification of relevant personnel and points were awarded to the member once the entry was verified. Depending on the value of the entry, each could earn the member 10 to 100 points. After reaching the 10-point threshold, one was qualified to invite friends and given three registration codes. One would earn no points by merely leavingments in an entry. ¡°¡­¡± For a few minutes there, Yan Han felt he was in a trance. ¡®That is as good as going public with the news!¡¯ Although the app was only essible to a handful of users, with word of mouth, the number of members was bound to increase. And the people were all those sensitive to the recent changes happening around them. Once the government opened the information to general public, these people would be the most adamant supporters. ¡®Jeez!¡¯ For some reason, he was suddenly overwhelmed by anxiety and excitement one would feel before a battle started¡ªeven his heart was thumping. ¡°Beep! Beep!¡± Just then, the ie message sound rang and Yan Han went back to the chat group. Two lines of boldface texts now upied the screen. ¡°I¡¯m no expert, but I was just wondering, with the capability of our country, is it safe to post such information on the app? Can they stop the foreign countries from stealing it?¡± ¡°¡­¡± After a brief silence, words flooded the screen again. ¡°I think so. Just trust what the government can do.¡± ¡°I know nothing on that, either. Isn¡¯t there a physical barrier or something?¡± ¡°That¡¯s talking about LAN, apps are open to all!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be misled by films and TV series. The western hackers are not all that awesome, ok?¡± In an instant, everyone was arguing with everyone. Yan Han thought for a minute and quickly typed a line. ¡°Has it ever ur to you that the country was never trying to withhold the information?¡± ¡°What made you say that?¡± someone asked. ¡°Do you know what is going on in other countries now?¡± he asked a second question. ¡°¡­¡± Everyone was silent again. *** The following morning. Yan Han chatted in the group until well over midnight. He opened his eyes with a muddled head and did note to himself until quite a whileter. He sat up and was about to get off bed when he let out a scream and fell down. sping his chest, he rolled around on he floor. ¡°Aaaah!¡± He could not tell where the pain hade from. The skin, the muscles, even the meridians felt like a ball of unruly yarn, all tangling up into one lump. In mere seconds, Yan Han was covered by sweat, which had soaked through his pajamas. ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­¡± He gasped for air and waited until the sharp pain gradually ebbed away, his face now white as ashes. With the utter terror and much difficulty, he rose to his feet. He dared not dally, but ran downstairs, started his car, and headed for Bai Town right away. He should have gonest night, but was dyed by all the chatting and had to postpone it until today. He had never expected the breakout of the controlling mechanism to be so frightening. He had returned from Phoenix Mountain exactly a month ago. Today was the day for him to get his ¡°antidote¡±¡­ Chapter 244 Chapter 244: tform Building (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Long Qiu dodged,nding in the middle of the river like a leaf from a willow; the surface of the water was not disturbed in the slightest. She looked down at her shoes curiously. Although she was standing on water, there was no undting feeling underneath her soles. The surface she stepped on felt as even and steady as solid ground. ¡°Teehee!¡± The girl was ted. Bolting to a sprint, she was a distance away in no time, making only the faintest sshing sound as she trod on water. ¡°Qiu Qiu, wait for me!¡± Xiaojin, who had been standing on shore, was eager to follow suit. She dashed out as Long Qiu did, but sank right into the calf-deep river like a flopping poodle. Water sshed everywhere. ¡°Sh*t! How does it work again¡­¡± Brandishing her arms, she twisted this way and that. Fortunately, she adjusted in time and rose out of the water again. Long Qiu turned around and chuckled. ¡°You are not doing it right. See, it should be like this¡­¡± ¡°Aaaaaaah! I¡¯m not taking lessons from you!¡± Humiliated, Xiaojin suddenly leapt forward, her right palm unfolded like a blossoming orchid, and grabbed at Long Qiu¡¯s chest. ¡°That¡¯s how you repay my kindness?!¡± Long Qiu red at her and raised her hand to parry. The two girls crisscrossed, skimming over the water like a pair of butterflies dancing among the flowers. After exchanging a few blows, when the two flitted past each other again, Long Qiu suddenly put her palms together. When she opened her hands, there was a ball of water in between. ¡°Jin Jin, here!¡± She activated her energy and threw it out the moment Xiaojin turned back to look. The water ball hurled at thetter and exploded on her face. With a ssh, Xiaojin was soaked wet instantly. ¡°What skill was that? Brother-inw has been giving you private lessons again!¡± The girl bristled and hissed. ¡°That was only the Small Moving Technique. Have you forgotten what brother said? The methods are fixed, but not our ideas¡­¡± With that, Long Qiu put her palms together again. The surface of the water nearby immediately caved in and the water became a ball in her hands. ¡°Ssh!¡± Xiaojin dodged right away, almost grinding her teeth in vexation. She was not as well endowed with energy and less dexterous in using the skills¡ªshe was still a stiffish beginner. Her mind, though, was naturally filled with tricks. Rolling her eyes for an idea, she suddenly bent down and pressed her palms on the surface of the water. ¡°You¡¯re so pleased with yourself, aren¡¯t you? Try this!¡± Lightning flickered in her palms and the water surged. ¡°Ssh!¡± Waves over a meter high closed in at a tremendous speed, together with crackling purple electric arcs. The lightning arrived before the waves did. Long Qiu felt a prickling and numbing sensation rushing up from the soles of her feet, spreading all over her body. It was the most ufortable feeling. Watching the approaching waves, Long Qiu stomped and the water surface caved in abruptly, which swallowed her whole. Simultaneously, the surface underneath Xiaojin swelled up suddenly, rising into a tall mound of water. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± The girl started brandishing her arms again, as if she was doing some strange dance. Long Qiu dived into the river until she was right below Xiaojin. She then leapt up and grabbed her by the ankle andughed. ¡°Get down here!¡± ¡°Plop!¡± ¡°Plop!¡± Both girls sank to the bottom of the river, where they jostled merrily for a quite a while before resurfacing together. Both were panting by that time and their drenched clothes were half see-through. Water-walking Technique was a minor skill easy to learn and did not require much spiritual essence, but Small Moving Technique was a different story¡ªit all depended on the application. If the energy consumed by moving a teacup on the table to your hand was one, turning the river water into a ball as Long Qiu did would be two. In other words, the moreplicated one¡¯s application was, the more energy was needed. Her temperament determined that Long Qiu was a bit at a loss with the conjuring skill, but savvy in skills like the Small Moving Technique, whereas Xiaojin was held back by the slow umtion of energy of the Thunder Technique, which often impeded her from using the skills. Xiaojin usually gained the upper hand in casual rough and tumble y, but when things got serious, Long Qiu could crush her with a little finger. *** Zhang Qianqiu followed the long stone staircase from the back mountain and after walking past a few houses, he reached the path in front of the cottage. Tilting his head, he looked into the distance where Long Qiu was ying in the water. He stared with unblinking eyes. ¡°Hey, no gawking! We¡¯re dead if Miss Jin finds you like this!¡± Li Dong gave him a shove and the fellow only then came to himself. He then lowered his head and entered the room. Gu Yu was in the training field at the moment. Xiaozhai was reorganizing some stuff and seeing theming in, she asked, ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡°Immortal Master, we¡¯ve been here a month today,¡± reminded Zhang Qianqiu tactfully. ¡°Oh, how time flies.¡± Xiaozhai knew why they were here right away. She flipped her fingers twice and two streaks of energy struck them in the chest. Both men immediately felt rxed as the lurking tearing sensation disappeared. ¡°Thank you, Immortal Master!¡± Both men bowed to express their gratitude. ¡°Mhm. You may leave if there¡¯s nothing else.¡± She nodded and went back ying with her jade slip. ¡°¡­¡± Li Dong was never a talkative guy and kept his head lowered in silence. Zhang Qianqiu hesitated a little and asked all of a sudden, ¡°Immortal Master, do you have any task for us?¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Xiaozhai looked up. Gathering up his courage, he went on, ¡°We have been here for a month and familiarized ourselves with quite a few things. It is true that we¡¯re no match for the elderly masters in certain skills, but we have our own merits¡ª¡± ¡°Such as?¡± she asked. ¡°I used to run apany. Trade and business and personnel management are where my specialty lies. Li Dong is an expert in electronic technology¡­ I think, I think we two should be differentiated from the others.¡± ¡°Hoho¡­¡± Xiaozhai smiled. ¡°To me, you¡¯re all the same. You can leave now.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Pursing his lips, Zhang Qianqiu tried to argue, but was dragged out of the room by Li Dong. ¡°Do you have a death wish? We leave as she asked! There¡¯s no point in arguing with her!¡± ¡°But I just want to give it a go.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only been a month. Be patient. These things cannot be rushed!¡± The two mumbled to one another as they walked. They did not make it very far when they met Yan Han head on. That was awkward! Embarrassment filled the air and all three almost did not know how to say hello. Quite a while passed before Zhang Qianqiu broke the silence. ¡°Wannae visit us in the back mountainter?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Yan Han squeezed out his reply and went hastily into the meditation room. *** Ten minutester. Yan Han stood quietly on one side, almost too anxious to breathe. Xiaozhai sat opposite him, reading carefully from a mobile phone as she swiped through the pages¡ªshe was checking that app. Obviously, she knew about the ¡°preliminary n on the sharing tform of cultivation information¡±. They had thought it would take a while and never expected it to be kicking off this soon. She was using her own phone and did not register in the app. As soon as she tapped it open after downloading, the app recognized her number automatically and logged her in right away. A reminder also popped onto her screen. ¡°You have reached the highest authority level and now have ess to all content.¡± She randomly tapped into the Red Feather Vulture entry and saw the same information as Yan Han did in the beginning paragraphs, but there was more to follow. ¡°Originally, its species was the red back Steller¡¯s eagle endemic to Xihai, which nested on trees on the banks ofkes, rivers, and wends. Its breeding season was from November to March the following year, with an average of two to four eggs each time. The eggs had a smooth and spotless shell. The incubation period was 30-40 days and the nestlings maturedte. Both parents contributed to raising the nestlings, which would leave nest in 70-105 days. ¡°The mutated Red Feather Vultures are savage, cunning, and have an appetite for human flesh. They usually hunt in packs. The feathers on their back and wings have some defensive capability. Tests have proved that they could withstand the stabbing and shing of a dagger, as well as buffer the birds from the impact of bullets. ¡°Their abdomen is rtively softer and coated with plumage, which could be made into garments. Their meat is edible, but we advise against the ingestion of their blood, for it is toxic and corrosive.¡± ¡°¡­¡± After reading it through, Xiaozhai pondered for a moment before asking, ¡°If I remembered it correctly, both you and Zhang Qianqiu used to run businesses?¡± ¡°Yes, we both have opened our ownpanies before,¡± replied Yan Han. ¡°I see. You can stay here today. We¡¯ll talk tomorrow.¡± ¡°No problem. I¡¯m going to the back mountain now.¡± Yan Han dared not even asked for the reason and left the room promptly. Xiaozhai had a few more moments of consideration and strode out of the door as well. She was heading out to the training field. Chapter 245 Chapter 245: tform Building (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The training field. Gu Yu sat beneath an old yet still verdant cypress tree, practicing the Shadow-switching Technique. This ult technique was most obscure. The actual manual was filled with descriptions written in ancient Shamanic words and Xiaozhai had to trante it first before they could study them together. They had barely made sense of the texts as a whole. In spite of its various branches, all Shamanic followers shared amon belief, which was the spirit, or ¡°Teng¡± in ancient Shamanic terms. They believed that all things had its Teng and humans were theposite of the physical body and Teng. In in words, this ult skill was a method to switch back and forth between the actual substance and Teng. Essentially, Teng was an intangible concept. In order to switch into multiple forms, one had to depend on how well they mastered their skills. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu seemed to have sat there forever, moving not even a muscle, his ears closed to the outside world. He looked like a stone statue. Mountain breeze suddenly blew in from the north. The swaying tree branches and leaves seemed to have brought with them the chilly air from the distant mountains. A thin, white fog rose up in the training field and as the smoke spread out, the man under the tree disappeared. The white fog twirled in the wind, as dreamlike as it was eerie. When the mountain breeze ceased and the field quieted down again, the man reappeared, still sitting where he was. ¡°It¡¯s still not working?¡± Just then, Xiaozhai¡¯s voice came from afar. Before the sentence was finished, she was by his side. ¡°I still need to work on the stability and duration, but I got the drill.¡± Gu Yu opened his eyes and asked softly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°There!¡± She tossed him the phone, which he curiously tapped back to life. He then smiled. ¡°That was fast, and very straightforward, too.¡± ¡°Straightforward and practical.¡± Xiaozhai went up to him and sat down next to him, leaning against the tree. ¡°Modern days do have its merits. All those developed technologies should not be just lying around.¡± Gu Yu browsed through the contents. Of the four categories, ¡°nt¡± had the most entries¡ªsixteen of them were spread across twelve provinces. ¡°Animal¡± was the runner-up, which contained nine entries collected from seven provinces. There was nothing ovepping in the neen provinces, which had covered half of the area of this country. ¡°Meteorology¡± came up empty and there was only one entry under ¡°Geography¡±, which was the peach blossom miasma in Grass River Mouth. The entry read: ¡°Location is about 50 km to the east of Bai Town and is an ind on the river. The ind is shuttle-shaped, with a narrow span from east to west. To the north is a river dam and to the south a bridge which links the ind directly to the maind. Troops are stationed at the bridge at the moment. ¡°There are six administrative viges on the ind, which spans an area of 105 km^2. All of the original 70,000+ residents have been resettled. ¡°Peach Blossom Miasma is a mutation from closely packed peach trees. Its toxicity is of aplex nature. It is highly corrosive and has a secret aphrodisiac effect, which is hard to detect formon cultivators.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu¡¯s mouth twitched at the mentioning of aphrodisiacs. What he went through that night would probably remain fresh in his memory forever. ¡°Government personnel is bound to be among these users. The Red Feather Vulture and Peach Blossom Miasma entries are probably their work. Unusual events are happening more frequently these days and we should also keep an eye out. Anything might turn out to be useful. ¡°The n you brought back only talked about the information tform, but the government must have something further than that. I think they¡¯ll soon add a forum for discussions,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°You¡¯re right. Sharing information will naturally lead to discussion, and discussion helps all sides to understand one another. With understanding, there will be demand and differentiation¡­ then, it¡¯ll be time for a trading floor.¡± Gu Yu heaved a soft sigh. ¡°It¡¯ll all be supervised by the authorities, but it¡¯s better than chaos.¡± The measures the government of this country took were notplicated¡ªone could even call it simple. Stage one: information tform. Theoretically, it was open to everyone, but the users were divided into different security levels, which determined the amount of content they could read. Stage two:munication tform. Users of this stage would be selected from those in stage one and would be the main force of this circle. Stage three: trading tform. Users would be selected from stage two¡ªthose able to exchange resources. These would be the elite of the elite. With these progressiveyers, one¡¯s capability determined which circle they could be a member of. It would not be a far stretch to say that this App would be the essential tool of the society and people would be fighting head over heels for the level of security and the merit points. ¡°At the end of the day, it¡¯s the same old story: the top ones pick around, the middle ones have the meat, and the bottom ones are content as long as they don¡¯t starve to death.¡± Gu Yu shook his head and suddenly broke intoughter. ¡°Come to think of it, it¡¯s actually quite funny. We¡¯re almost entering the age of cultivation and we still can¡¯t live without our phones.¡± ¡°Where the Taoist skills are absent, technology fills the gap. Why, maybe that¡¯s how things will be in the future¡­ ¡°Fire Feather Set avable, 80,000 spiritual stones, pm if interested! ¡°Zhen Mo Valley boss team, strong tank 1 needed! Suckers stay away or there will be abusive words! ¡°Experienced yer looking for team for Phoenix Mountain dungeon, gentle girl Qiu Qiu only¡­ gosh, it¡¯s giving me a headache just thinking about it.¡± Xiaozhai dumped out her sarcasticments and went on about it. Gu Yu was utterly amused. Grabbing her into his arms by her shoulder, heforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we have the flying talisman! We¡¯re not going to mix up with the rest of those losers!¡± ¡°Flying talisman is a pain in the ass. I was looking into it just now. It¡¯s very strict in the type of talisman paper and cinnabar used. Celestial Master Temple, Maoshan, and Lingbao should all have the things we need. We should pay them a visit,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Sure. Chinese New Year ising up soon, though. Let¡¯s wait until after the holiday season.¡± *** Yan Han stayed overnight on Phoenix Mountain, sharing a room with Li Dong and Zhang Qianqiu. The atmosphere was extremely awkward at first. Zhang Qianqiu then fetched a bottle of spiritual liquor and they each took a few sips. Everyone was dizzy and sweaty, and things got quite lively after that. There were confessions of regret andforting words, even bursts of tears, which we would not go into details about. Early next morning, Yan Han and Zhang Qianqiu were summoned to the Cottage of Pure Mind, where Fairy Jiang surprised them with every word she said. ¡°Open a shop?¡± Yan Han cried out involuntarily, but immediately thought his tone inappropriate and chose his words more carefully. ¡°What I mean was, what are we going to do with this shop?¡± ¡°Selling stuff, obviously. The supply is not avable just yet, so you can sell whatever you want for now,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°It¡¯ll be a medium-sized one with a warehouse at least. We¡¯re not particr on the location¡ªeven remote ones would do. We¡¯ll provide you with the capital,¡± added Gu Yu. ¡°Well¡­¡± Yan Han immediately grabbed his meaning: set up the shop first¡ªthe rest could wait. ¡°What shall it be called?¡± he asked. ¡°Pavilion of Gems.¡± Xiaozhai gave him a name without thinking and added, ¡°Zhang Qianqiu will be your contact. I¡¯ve loosened that restriction a little and you cane once every three months from now on.¡± ¡°Thank you, Immortal Master! Thank you, Sir!¡± That was the real gem. Both men thanked them wholeheartedly. Before long, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai finished their instructions and Yan Han went down the mountain feeling conflicted. It all seemed ridiculous. He was a businessman to start with and abandoned his career to pursuit a life of cultivation. As it turned out, he was back to where he used to be and was going to run a business again. From now on, he would be the business representative of Phoenix Mountain in Shengtian, which might turn into something important. Oh my! This thought brought palpitations to his heart again. That sounded like a great opportunity! We would leave Yan Han¡¯s palpitating heart for the time being and turn our eyes back to the mountain. Zhang Qianqiu remained standing in the cottage, cross-examined by the stares of both bosses, who were giving him the most unusual look. The pressure they were giving off almost sent him to his knees. He could barely keep his legs from giving out as he asked, ¡°Pardon me, but is there anything else?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai darted him a look. ¡°You¡¯re fond of Xiao Qiu?¡± Chapter 246 Chapter 246: Returning Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡®Shit!¡¯ Zhang Qianqiu broke into sweat with that single sentence. He met Xiaozhai¡¯s eyes, feeling his legs going shaky. But, the guy was of an unyielding temperament after all and decided to let it out. ¡°Yes, I care for Miss Qiu very much.¡± ¡°Care for? That¡¯s an ambiguous description¡­¡± Xiaozhai chuckled before saying, ¡°Whatever feeling you have for her, from this moment on, forget it.¡± ¡°W-why?¡± Zhang Qianqiu would not give in and said stubbornly, ¡°You have no right to interfere with other people¡¯s rtionships!¡± ¡°Ha, I thought you were the smartest one. It urs to me that Li Dong is the wisest, regardless of his slow-witted appearance. We must have been treating you too nicely, for you have forgotten one thing: Phoenix Mountain is not apany and we¡¯re no more the employers than you are the employee.¡± She straightened her face all of a sudden. ¡°You three trespassed on the mountain and should consider yourselves very lucky that we¡¯re not interested in killing randomly, or you wouldn¡¯t live to the day to have this conversation!¡± ¡°Boom!¡± An enormous pressure crushed down on him, as if Mount Tai had fallen down. Zhang Qianqiu¡¯s legs gave out and he knelt down in a thump. The muscles on his face werepletely contorted and he felt all his bones were clenched in a giant hand, making crunching sounds as the hand squeezed tighter and tighter. For a few seconds there, the horror and agony he was in reminded him of hell. It seemed forever before the pressure was lifted and he copsed to the ground, almost convulsing from the pain. Unfortunately, he was lucid the entire time. Zhang Qianqiu, a young man in his twenties with a well-to-do family and sessful career, was a resolute and independent man that never had difficulties in dating women. People like him were born winners that would always stand out among the crowd. Now that the environment had changed, his self-confidence did not waver a bit¡ªhe still believed firmly that he could achieve great things. Unfortunately, he had stepped into this new world with an old mindset. Men of the modern society cared about ¡°face-saving¡± and retaining room for manoeuver in dealing with other people. Within the boundaries of thew, they yed their games by the existing well-established rules and everyone was happy. At that instant, it dawned on him: this was no civilized world bound byws; it was a primitive, vast, and savage wilderness ran by instincts and desires. ¡°Huff¡­ huff¡­¡± Zhang Qianqiu gasped for air. With the little amount of strength he just recovered, he asked, ¡°Why, why didn¡¯t you kill me?¡± ¡°I told you, I don¡¯t have the habit of killing randomly, let alone killing some defenseless guy. Of course, if you really want to die, be my guest,¡± replied Xiaozhai. ¡°Ok, I see.¡± Zhang Qianqiu struggled to his feet and said in a hoarse, low voice, ¡°I know I don¡¯t have the power to talk to you as peers now, but one day¡­¡± ¡°Okay, save your tough words. You¡¯re going down the mountain in a moment. From now on, you¡¯ll be working in the manor on the northern slope. Now, leave.¡± ¡°¡­¡± His unfinished words were stuffed back down his throat. One had to admit, the guy was quite a character. He acted as if nothing had happened and even bowed before leaving the room. Xiaozhai watched him going away and turned around abruptly. ¡°What were you thinking? Why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡± ¡°I never knew what was going on. What was I supposed to say with your sudden move?¡± Gu Yu was rather baffled. ¡°Of course you know nothing! Your mind is all over cultivation these days!¡± Xiaozhai rolled her eyes and said matter-of-factly, ¡°Xiao Qiu is mine. No one¡¯s taking her away from me!¡± ¡°Tsk!¡± Gu Yu curled his lips and could not be bothered to give ament. He was telling the truth when he said he did not notice what Zhang Qianqiu was thinking¡ªhe barely ever met the guy. One month in court and he was thinking about stealing away the princess. How could they not worry! They worried about the innocent 174-cm child wandering away even on a trip to the grocery¡¯s. They didn¡¯t want to kill someone for such a trivial matter, but they couldn¡¯t cut the fellow loose, either, hence the guy was confined to the manor down the mountain. As for the revenge he mentioned, he probably had ¡°every dog has its day¡± in mind¡­e on, who cares? *** Eastern slope, the cemetery. With Chinese New Yearing, the custom of this country was that people would visit the graves of their rtives and ancestors to honor the memory of the dead and burn some joss paper as an offering. There was only one cemetery in Bai Town and people wereing in throngs. Some walked pushing their bikes while others carried the offerings in both hands. Everyone was busy going this way and that along a narrow stone-brick-paved path. At one of the graves in the inner corner stood the family of four. Gu Yu lit three incense sticks,id out the fruit and liquor, then tore open several bags of joss paper and wiped his finger across the paper. A dot of red light escaped his finger tip and the paper burst into mes. Gu Yu had the ze under control, confining it to a very small area. The smoke curled up and rose right upwards instead of drifting sideways. Xiaozhai stood on one side with two bags of paper gold ingots and would throw some into the me from time to time. Long Qiu and Xiaojin remained idle, though both were standing aside quietly without messing around with one another like they usually did. Needless to say, it was the grave of Gu Yu¡¯s grandpa. He used to make sure toe here on important dates such as Qingming Festival 1 , Ghost Festival 2 , Chinese New Year, etc. However, such ritual was broken ever since he started cultivating. He missed the previous Chinese New Year visit, for instance, because he¡¯d been in Huo Zhou at the time. The fire burnt well. Before long, all that was left was a pile of ck ashes. Gu Yu knelt down a little off to the side and kowtowed three times. He rose to his feet and was about to leave when Xiaozhai went to the same spot and kowtowed three times as well. ¡°¡­¡± Long Qiu was at a loss. She was going to follow suit when Gu Yu stopped her. ¡°Ok, that¡¯s not for you. Let¡¯s go.¡± With that, the four left the cemetery along the path. Gu Yu held Xiaozhai¡¯s hand the entire time. He was genuinely touched, but they were together long enough to read each other¡¯s mind and did not need to express gratitude in explicit words. They turned north along a dirt road after leaving the cemetery. The area was even more sparsely popted. ¡°It¡¯s been years since grandpa passed away. I¡¯m¡­ so afraid these days.¡± Gu Yu sighed suddenly. ¡°Afraid that you might forget one day?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°Yes! Ten years or twenty years may not be too long for one to remember their parents and families, but what about a century, two centuries? The world is changing so fast, how much can we remember in the end?¡± Gu Yu squeezed her hand and went on, ¡°After all the strange things we¡¯ve been through, we haven¡¯t seen a real ghost. I hope there are ghosts. At least that¡¯ll give us something to hang onto.¡± ¡°What you¡¯re hanging onto is at the price of many other people¡¯s fears.¡± Xiaozhai caressed his palm with her fingertips and chuckled. ¡°Let¡¯s move grandpa¡¯s grave to our mountain when springes. We¡¯ll be able to take care of him more easily that way.¡± ¡°Sure, I was about to say that¡­ Oh, by the way, where was your master buried? Shall we move her out here as well?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu¡¯s casually question wiped the smile off her face and for the millionth time, she fell into silence. Watching her exquisite profile, he said softly, ¡°You never wanted to talk about it, but I really want to know. After all, that¡¯s part of your history.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai remained silent. ¡°Ok, I won¡¯t make you tell me, but I have a wish, would you grant it?¡± he asked. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I have taken the hand of her only pupil and even just for the sake of courtesy, I should pay a visit to her grave. Plus, you haven¡¯t been back for many years, don¡¯t you want to see her?¡± There was another long moment of silence before Xiaozhai finally nodded. ¡°Ok.¡± Chapter 247 Chapter 247: Songjiang River Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Songjiang River, a snowy day. The Northeast was not gifted with many renowned mountains, hence fame-wise, the region seemed to be outshined by other parts of the country. Luckily, it still had Changbai Mountains as its signature, which had won back its status a little. The Changbai Mountains were vast. The mountain range had a total area of 1963 km^2, stretching out from this country to the abutting Goguryeo. Its peak was located in Goguryeo, which had an altitude of 2749 m. After decades of development, the area was well equipped with tourist facilities. Heaven Lake up on the mountaintop was the most famous scenic spot, essible via two regr routes¡ªnamely the northern slope and the western slope. The northern slope went all the way to the bank of Heaven Lake, allowing one to savor the view and feel it from up-close. However, the ecological protection efforts of recent years had closed this route up. The western slope led one up the mountain, where they could overlook the entire Heaven Lake. Both routes had their own features. Songjiang River was a small town at the foot of the western slope and where Xiaozhai used to live when she was little. ¡°Gosh, it¡¯s freezing!¡± The family of four had just walked out of the train station when Xiaojin cried out, her breath turning white as she yelled, ¡°Hey, just look at that! My breath has turned into frost!¡± ¡°Stop clinging to me all the time¡­ It¡¯s really beautiful here.¡± Long Qiu peeled Xiaojin off her in annoyance. A casual look around made her fall in love with the small town right away. Everything was white¡ªthe streets, the rooftops, the pedestrians, the vehicles¡­ even the running stray dogs were coated in ayer of fluffy white fur. Fine snow sprinkled down, gently covering every corner. There was a beauty in this quiet chilliness. ¡°No more squabbling. Let¡¯s go to our hotel first,¡± Gu Yu called out to the two girls as he hailed a taxi. The four then headed straight to the hotel they had booked. The taxi driver was utterly baffled and kept stealing looks through the rearview mirror¡ªhe simply could not figure out the rtionship of the four passengers. The guy was tall, lean, handsome, and all legs. The slightly older girl looked stunning and had equally long legs. The younger pair was as pretty, and wow, their legs were no shorter! Gosh, this car seemed several inches too short for all of them. Pop the doors open and they could probably use their long legs as the brake. Songjiang River was an underdeveloped town, but that did not stop the tourism from flourishing. There were several pretty decent reception centers. About five or six minutes¡¯ driveter, the taxi turned into arge courtyard with a new building about a dozen stories high. They checked into two rooms, both suites with a living room. Long Qiu busied herself with sorting through her clothes as soon as she got into her room. She had enough spiritual energy to withstand the cold climate and only brought some thin clothes. She hung them into the closet one piece at a time with nimble movements. Her lips curled up into a smile and before she knew it, she was humming a tune. ¡°Qiu Qiu! You are singing!¡± Xiaojin had just emptied her bowels and walked out of the toilet when she made this discovery. She opened her eyes widely, surprise written all over her face. ¡°Hm? Was I?¡± Long Qiu looked adorable with her nk face. ¡°You were! But I couldn¡¯t understand a word!¡± ¡°Oh, I was probably singing the song of Youfang 1 . Hurry up, will you? We¡¯re going out for dinner soon.¡± She finished hanging her clothes and put her suitcase away in a corner, then startedying out her toilet articles and towels. Xiaojin hung on to her like a piece of blue tack, following her around in the room, and nagged, ¡°Nope, that¡¯s not it! Why are you so happy? It¡¯s only Changbai Mountain we¡¯re visiting! There must be something you¡¯re not telling me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m always happy on our trips. Aren¡¯t you happy?¡± Long Qiu found Xiaojin¡¯s reaction strange. ¡°Happy my a*s! This is my hometown as well!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I forgot about that!¡± Long Qiu was a little embarrassed. The girl was right. She and Xiaozhai were cousins and their fathers were brothers. Obviously, the two shared a single grandpa. The realisation got Xiao Qiu interested. She asked, ¡°Jin Jin, have you lived here before when you were little?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always stayed in Shengtian and only visited here twice a year. Then grandpa passed away and I never came again.¡± ¡°Were you close to Sister when you were little?¡± ¡°Why are you asking?¡± Xiaojin squinted at her, giving herself a ferocious butical look. ¡°I¡¯m just curious. Didn¡¯t you realize sister was different from other people?¡± ¡°She was not different from the others¡­ she was different from normal human beings. Sigh, you have no idea what it felt like to live in the shadow of a fiend¡­¡± Looking back on her miserable childhood years, Xiaojin was so overwhelmed with all the emotions that she decided to put on her oscar-winning performance again¡ªtears began to well up in her eyes. Long Qiu felt the corner of her mouth twitching. She then asked, ¡°Well, have you met her master before?¡± ¡°Never! No one knew about this apart from my grandpa!¡± Xiaojin whined indignantly, ¡°Fate is so unfair! If I were the weak child to begin with, I would probably be the one getting a master! In that case, I would be the one having fun travelling everywhere now and I would be on the top and she on the bottom, mwahahahaha¡­¡± What the hell was she talking about? Long Qiu was utterly lost. *** Songjiang River was a big town with hundreds of thousands residents and eleven administrative viges under its jurisdiction. The four stayed one night in the hotel and headed for Changqing 2 Vige early the following morning, which was where the ancestral house of the Jiang Family was. The vige was nowhere near what its name implied: gleaming white snow covered the low houses and vige streets, giving the ce a deserted look. The four strutted down the street like supermodels with snow crunching under their feet. Every now and then, they would meet a viger passing by, who¡¯d give them the look one would give some madmen. Xiaozhai led the team and kept her silence. She was listless ever since they arrived at the vige, reminding one of a depressed hedgehog. ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Crunch!¡± The four turned into an alley and saw an auntie walking towards them. She was wrapped in a thick cotton-padded jacket, had both hands tucked away in her sleeves, and carried a stic bag over an arm, which contained a few pig¡¯s feet. Xiaozhai halted suddenly and asked, ¡°Aunt Chen, is that you?¡± ¡°Mhm?¡± The auntie was taken by surprise. She took a closer look of Xiaozhai and said in an uncertain voice, ¡°You¡¯re, Jiang¡¯s eldest son¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m Xiaozhai.¡± ¡°Oh my, what brought you back here?¡± The auntie immediately warmed up to her. ¡°Just to visit my hometown. This is Xiaojin, my uncle¡¯s daughter; you¡¯ve met her before. These two are my friends.¡± She briefly introduced the other three and smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll only be here for a couple of days. How are you these days?¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m doing great. My boy just got married this October and he said he was going to call your dad. I told him not to. Your dad is a big shot now, he wouldn¡¯t have time for some wimpy kid. I¡¯ve got to say, your dad¡¯s got manners. Someone must have mentioned it to him and he sent someone here with the cash gift¡­ Oh, by the way, your grandpa¡¯s house is in great condition. Old Shui has put his heart into it. You should thank him.¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯re right¡­ bye bye for now, then.¡± The four walked on after exchanging the pleasantries. They almost reached the end of the alley when they stopped outside a small courtyard. It was an ordinary farmyard with three tile-roofed houses. Even the white snow could not cover the traces of dpidation. Xiaozhai took out the key, opened the door, and walked in. The light was dim inside, but the air was not stale. Apparently someone had been cleaning it frequently. Xiaojin remembered little of this ce and everything looked strange to her. She wandered around, checking out everything in every room. Gu Yu looked around as well. The kitchen was in the middle and the main bedroom on the east, which still had a kang 3 , but the rest of the furniture was long cleared out. In the western room was a small bed without even the wooden nks. The iron frame stood there alone. ¡°Did you use to sleep here?¡± he asked. ¡°Yup, for quite a few years.¡± Xiaozhai stroked the head of the bed and chuckled. ¡°It was all right in the beginning, but I soon grew too tall for it. Grandpa had always wanted to buy me a bigger bed. I was back in Shengtian before he could.¡± ¡°Haha, I slept on the kang when I was little and it became too short for me as well. I had to put a bench by the kang to make up for my dangling feet.¡± Gu Yu walked around some more before he paused. A pile of bits and bobs in a corner caught his eyes. He moved closer to examine it. A wooden shrine was the most eye-catching piece. Red paper was pasted over it, together with a couplet which read: ¡°Cultivate nature deep in the mountains, keep family safe once leaving the ancient cave.¡± A big ¡°worship¡± was written in the center, below which were memorial tablets for Third Great-Grandfather Hu and Third Great-Grandmother Hu. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu stared at it for a long moment before asking, ¡°Is it worshipped in all viges here?¡± ¡°Used to be, not so much these days.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they have it in Phoenix Fair. I don¡¯t know much about these things. People talk about ¡°five fairies¡± all the time. What are they, exactly?¡± He was a little curious. ¡± Fairy 4 Fox (fox), Fairy Yellow (weasel), Fairy White (hedgehog), Fairy Willow (snake), and Fairy Gray (mouse) are the so-called Fox, Yellow, White, Willow, and Gray. They are named ¡°fairies¡±, but are actually spiritual animalsing out of the mountains to help people in order to evade the thunder trials. Through the bodies of their pupils, they¡¯re able to umte virtue by doing good deeds. They usually go by the name ¡®fairies taking the field¡¯, and their pupils by ¡®pupils taking the field¡¯. The families they pick be ¡®parishes¡¯, where a fairy shrine can be set up to help people with their problems.¡± ¡°Through the bodies of others? Isn¡¯t that possession by spirits or devils? That sounds simr to Shamanism.¡± Gu Yu frowned. ¡°Humph!¡± Xiaozhai snorted. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what they are, a branch of Shamanism. They yed the supernatural tricks to swindle money and were a scourge to the viges. There used to be one here. A lot of families became its victims.¡± ¡°And then?¡± ¡°My master crushed it.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu almost choked on his own spit. Xiaozhai was indeed her master¡¯s pupil. ¡°Was that why Shamanism got to your master?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°In that case, your master¡­¡± He thought about asking how her master passed away, but gave up the idea after some consideration. The four did not stay long. They briefly cleaned the rooms and locked the door from outside. Gu Yu turned back to look at the western room before they left. He would never believe in things like ¡°fairies taking the field¡± before, but now¡­ no one could say for sure. *** ¡°Toco Toco Toco!¡± ¡°Toco Toco Toco¡± A walking tractor passed them, sloshing muddy snow everywhere. The driver kept a calm face the entire time as the tractor slid this way and that on the snowy street. The shabby vehicle drew a perfect curve on the snow and disappeared into an alley. ¡°Wow! If I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d thing he was hurrying towards Mt. Akina 5 !¡± Xiaojin shook her sleeves and shouted impatiently, ¡°Sis, what are we doing next?¡± ¡°Visiting the Shui Family.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°To look around.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°Ok!¡± Xiaojin seemedpletely unaware of the fact that she had just been scolded. Instead, she slid happily aside and looked more content than ever. Long Qiu rubber her head, giving her a look of ¡°you poor little idiot¡±, and also asked, ¡°Sister, who is the Shui Family?¡± ¡°Their old man used to be a close friend of my grandpa and they have been taking care of the house these years. We should go and express our gratitude.¡± The two families were not too far apart and they were there in no time. The Shui Family lived in an even more remote corner right next to a grove. The courtyard was spacious, though, and the tile-roofed houses looked quite extraordinary. Xiaozhai stood still outside the gate. Instead of going in, she shouted, ¡°Old chief!¡± A few seconds passed before an old yet strong voice called back, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± An old man strolled out after that, scanned the four and grinned. ¡°Oh, the girl of the Jiang¡¯s is back.¡± ¡°Haha, dear old man, it¡¯s been a while.¡± Xiaozhai ran up to him. There was warmth in her voice one would have when talking to a close elderly friend. She introduced, ¡°This is my boyfriend. These two are my sisters. This is Shui Rong, the old chief of the Changbai Ginseng Band.¡± Chapter 248 Chapter 248: Even Superman Has Old Neighbors Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The province of W, Xidu 1 . Xidu was the provincial capital with a political and economic significance no less than Shengtian¡¯s, only less popted. Right now, in an office in the provincial BIMAUP, a member of staff was enjoying his moment of mental sneaking-off, ying a game on his phone when hisputer pinged suddenly and a page popped up on the screen. ¡°Ah!¡± His fingers twitched, bringing instant death to his game character, but that was thest thing he cared about at the moment. He moved closer, his nose almost touching the screen, and read the contents. He saw a blurry picture of a bird first. It was a tiny thing about 10 cm in height and had a round face and big eyes. At first nce, one might mistake it for an owl. The bird was covered in bright patterns of a dark-red hue. A pattern crossed each of its shoulders,ing together on its back in a V-shape. Below the picture was a brief description: found under the Harmonious Rooster & Phoenix of the Great Canyon. Personal experience told me that it was probably a mallet bird, but mallet birds migrate in the winter, so this one is likely an unusual creature. Information provider: Green River Water. Contact: 139xxxxxxxx. ¡°Changbai Mountain again. That¡¯s the third one so far. Sigh, it used to be an honor guarding a famous mountain, but now, it¡¯s nothing but trouble¡­¡± Muttering, he swiftly saved and sent the information while picking up the phone and dialed a number. ¡°Hello, is the research team still on the mountain¡­ Thest one has not been verified yet? Good, they can do this one together on the way. It¡¯s just over there in the Great Canyon¡­¡± He hung up after a few words, then printed the information and put it into arge envelope. The data storage and security technologies BIMAUP used were top of the line, but just to make provision against emergencies, they still kept a soft copy as well as a hard one. Only after that did he run the background program of the app and send a system message to the provider. *** ¡°Ding!¡± In Songjiang River Town 300 km away, a young man was waiting with his phone in his hand. As soon as the clear beep rang out, he tapped open the app. There was indeed a system message waiting for him. ¡°The lead you provided has been received. Please be patient while we verify the information in the next ten days. We might contact you during this time. Please have your phone ready.¡± ¡°Haha, that 30 points are mine!¡± Waving his fist in excitement, he called out, ¡°Little Sis, I¡¯m going home for a bit. You keep an eye on things around here!¡± ¡°Sure!¡± a girl replied loud and clear. With that, the fellow ran out of the door, hopped onto his shabby pickup truck, turned it noisily on, and dashed out. The guy was none other than Green River Water, whose real name was Shui Yao. Despite his Mary-Sue-ish name 2 , the guy was a rough-looking stalwart who was big, burly, and strong. He ran a small local hostel, targeting specifically the artsy youths, providing them with aodation. He was a rather resourceful man and was able to get his customers unconventional programs such as riding in the snowfield, motorcycle-riding, hot-spring trips, and even hunting, which made him a name around Songjiang River. Meanwhile, in the Shui Family in Changqing Vige, Gu Yu and the others were chatting happily with Shui Rong. ¡°Here in Changbai Mountains, the ginseng diggers are called mountain shepherds and the groups they form are called Ginseng Bands. The team leaders are known as band chiefs.¡± Xiaozhai was apparently much rxed by now as she teased, ¡°The dear old man here has been a band chief for the past forty years or so and nothing wrong has happened under his leadership. Why, I haven¡¯t been here for years and you¡¯re still not deposed?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a useless old man. The band chief means nothing these days.¡± Shui Rong was in his seventies, swarthy, and all hale and hearty. He drew a couple of times from his long-stemmed tobo pipe and chuckled. ¡°They¡¯re not getting rid of me, though. There are fewer and fewer mountain shepherds these days. The young ones have all run off to the cities. I¡¯m thest generation of what I do.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not. I bet you don¡¯t watch TV very often, do you? Only the masters living a reclusive life in the mountains talk that way. You never hear it from the silly young ones. You must be very good at what you do. So, tell us about it, what do you mean by shepherding a mountain?¡± Xiaojin¡ªsmart yet a little ruffian¡ªwas a natural in telling people exactly what they wanted to hear. Long Qiu also joined in. ¡°Grandpa Shui, I¡¯ve never heard about these things. Tell us about it, please.¡± With the two girls singing their praises, the old man was more than happy to oblige. Heughed. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll tell you what I know.¡± ¡°The rules of mountain-shepherding were set up in the early Qing Dynasty, such as the number of people going into the mountains must be odd¡ªthree, five, seven, nine, eleven, etc. Ginsengs are spiritual things and we believe in going in in odd numbers anding out in even ones. So, an odd number plus a ginseng makes it even, which is the most lucky thing. ¡°There are a lot of taboos before going in and the most important one is no sexual intercourse. Ginsengs are spiritual nts. Sex will bring a filthy energy that offends ginsengs. They will run away before we get to them. ¡°The first thing after going in is to build a small temple with three tiles to pay respect to the mountain god. The one in charge of the Changbai Mountains is Lord Sun, Sun Liang. All ginseng bands have a search-and-poke rod¡­ oh, let me show you¡­¡± With that, he rose to his feet, went to the back room, and came back with a wooden stick, which he exined. ¡°This rod is 1.7 m long. You hold it by the thicker end. There are carved marks on the rod, which is a reminder of how many ginsengs this rod has found. We use this rod in the mountains to search for ginsengs and you can either hold it or put it on the ground up straight, but never toss it down carelessly. The rod is a spiritual thing. ¡°I might not have spent many years in school, but I know enough to follow the rules. We take from the mountains as well as preserve them. The little ones like the ¡®double clips¡¯ (ginseng nts with two branches) and ¡®baby hand¡¯ (ginseng nts with one branch) have to be circled out and preserved. It¡¯ll be the most indecent thing to dig them up¡­ it¡¯s such a pity. Nowadays you can¡¯t even find a mpstand¡¯ (three-branches nt) up there. Everything is artificially bred and I haven¡¯t been in the mountains for years¡­¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ The two girls enjoyed the story greatly, especially Long Qiu who, as someone from a Miao vige, knew very little of the northeastern culture filled with local characteristics. The description brought a million ideas to her head and all she wished for now was to have springe soon so that she could go in and enjoy herself in the mountains when the ginseng season came. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai exchanged a look, both embarrassed. They had been vigorously collecting wild ginsengs, which could well have wrecked Changbai Mountains. ¡°Ahem! Dear old man, I¡¯ve brought you this knowing you love your liquors.¡± Xiaozhai cleared her throat and took out a jar of liquor from her bag and reminded him, ¡°Please, please make sure you only drink a little at a time. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m stingy, but this liquor is very strong.¡± ¡°You worry too much, kiddo. I¡¯ve tasted all the strong liquor there is, why should this one be any different?¡± Shui Rong thought little of that warning. He unplugged the jar and sniffed, thenplimented, ¡°Hm, that¡¯s some good liquor! It¡¯s been years since Ist smelt anything this pure.¡± His throat itched at the smell. Lifting up the jar, he downed a mouthful right away. Xiaozhai could only watch helplessly on the side and prepared herself for CPR the next moment. As expected, the old man choked on the liquor first, then gasped for air. His wrinkled face flushed and sweat covered his forehead. The old man was taken over by an unnatural exhration. Xiaozhai flicked her fingers, sending a streak of gentle energy into him, helping him to readjust his breathing. The old man then gradually calmed down. ¡°Phew¡­ the Jiang girl meant what she said.¡± The old man was finally had a taste of fear. Patting the jar, he had yet to recover from the fright. He was as happy as he was sorry. ¡°Well, this will see me through for half a year.¡± Just then, someone called out from the yard, ¡°Grandpa, what are you doing there all by yourself? Are you peeking at myputer?¡± With this very ¡°inappropriate¡± greeting, Shui Yao strode into the room. Seeing all the strangers, he winced at first, then his eyes fell on Xiaozhai and he asked in surprise, ¡°Sister Jiang, is that you?¡± ¡°Pffft!¡± Gu Yu almost choked on his spit. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai also found that address 3 extremely weird. She greeted back, ¡°Hi, Old Shui. Long time no see.¡± ¡°Why, you¡¯re a rare guest!¡± Shui Yao squeezed to her side like a tumbling bear and said loudly, ¡°Ever since you came backst time and beat the sh*t out of me, I have been working hard to have my muscles well-toned. Shall we find a time and exchange some blows again¡­ Hey, whom else do we have here?¡± ¡°My boyfriend and my two sisters.¡± Xiaozhai fought back the impulse to throw the fellow out of the room and introduced Shui Yao, ¡°Well, this is¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m her brother from another mother and another father!¡± Shui Yao answered before Xiaozhai could. A quick roll of his eyes and he turned his attention on Gu Yu. Laughing, he eximed, ¡°Younger Brother-inw! Gosh, never thought I¡¯d live to see you around! How nice!¡± ¡°Pfffft!¡± Gu Yu nearly choked again. He had always been the older brother-inw, but had just been made the ¡°younger¡± one today. He stood up to shake hands with Shui Yao, and as soon as their hands touched, Gu Yu felt the guy was squeezing hard on purpose, so he just smiled back. Seeing Gu Yu was tall and slender, Shui Yao felt it a good idea to feel the fellow out and squeezed with his full strength. Damn it! This skinny fellow had a hell of an iron grip! ¡°Hahaha! Nice! Sister Jiang¡¯s got herself a great guy!¡± Shui Yao was not at least embarrassed by his little failed ¡°test¡± and went on asking, ¡°Has unclee back with you? Are you staying here for Chinese New Year?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ll only be here for a couple of days.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s a pity. I¡¯m busy these days as well; if not for that, I¡¯d definitely show you a good time.¡± Shui Yao sounded quite sorry. ¡°Another time. By the way, I heard you¡¯re running a hostel. How¡¯s the business?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°It¡¯s doing well! Really well! They just keeping, all smelly youngsters who would explode if they go one day without poking something. Only yesterday, two of the tenantsplete strangers¡ªwent out for half the night together. And the noise they made after they got back, man¡­¡± One of the natural endowment of Northeastern folks: chitchat! Give them a heated kang, a te of boiled green soybeans, and a bottle of ¡°Dropping Donkeys 4 ¡°, and they would talk until you forgot what you mom¡¯s name was. Shui Yao was a perfect demonstration of such talent. He prattled and tattled, on and on and on. The flowing ngs made Long Qiu¡¯s eyes go nk. ¡°Ding!¡± Luckily, they were saved by the phone. The fellow¡¯s face turned nervous and he ran furtively out of the door, where he still felt not safe enough and trotted all the way out until he reach the wall of the yard. It was apparently something super-mysterious. And Gu Yu felt utterly awkward, for they could hear every single word. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. I provided the information¡­ I¡¯m telling you, that bird is definitely an oddball. They were never seen around here in the winter before, but just decided to show up this year¡­ Yes, thatst one was by me as well. Absolutely, I¡¯ve been waiting for you¡­ E-experience? Do you know who my grandpa is? He¡¯s the chief of the Changbai Ginseng Band. I¡¯ve learned everything from him, which is A LOT!¡± The four inside snickered as they listened on, exchanging looks. With a slight nod from the brother and sister, the husky and the samoyed pricked their ears instantly: it was time to make trouble again. Before long, Shui Yao came back inside. He then put together arge bag in a hurry and left promptly in his shabby pickup truck. Xiaozhai and the others stayed a little while longer and said their goodbyes as well. They walked out and returned the same way they came, walking along the crunchy, snowy street. All of a sudden, Gu Yu burst intoughter in a silly sort of way. ¡°What¡¯s got into you?¡± Xiaozhai eyed him contemptuously. ¡°Nothing, just thought I should hang out with that fellow some more.¡± Holding his girlfriend by the shoulder, he chuckled. ¡°As the saying goes, even the superheroes are afraid of their old neighbors. It¡¯s time for me to dig up all your dark history.¡± Chapter 249 Chapter 249: Mallet Bird Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The four left Changqing Vige and crossed a narrow frozen river. About another two to three km further, they entered a por grove. The towering pors stood upright and were sparsely nted. Fluffy white snow covered the branches tall up. Instead of a lonely and deserted feel, they looked rather quaint and elegant. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu looked around, assuming this was where Xiaozhai¡¯s master¡¯s grave was. However, she kept walking, leading them out of the grove and going all the way to the foot of the mountain. This area was part of the western slope of the Changbai Mountain 1 . The front gate was located in the scenic area with solid twisting mountain road and stone staircases. Everywhere else, there were only unmarked trails. The one they followed was no exception. Xiaozhai had not said a single word and was striding up the mountain, holding Gu Yu¡¯s hand. Long Qiu and Xiaojin both found it rather curious, but dared not ask. They only followed behind the couple obediently. This area of the mountain was next to the vige and many man-made marks had been left behind. The trail was crudely paved with rough wooden boards so that it would not be too slippery even when covered by snow. The four walked some more and reached a fork in the road. One branch that was extremely steep led up the mountain, while the other one led down and was rtively smooth. Xiaozhai stood at the fork and finally spoke, ¡°This is it.¡± ¡°Here?¡± Gu Yu found it strange. ¡°Master was ambushed by the Shamanic people back then and never recovered from the injury. She held on with all she could for a year and a half. One day, she realized that day hade and went on the mountain by herself.¡± Xiaozhai raised her head slightly, tracing with her eyes that lonely, steep trail that seemed to stretch out all the way to the clouds. ¡°That day, I ran after her all the way here, almost crying my eyes out. She forbade me from crying or asking and would not let me follow her or think of her. Then, she went up alone, nevering back.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu winced. All of a sudden, he realized he had underestimated Xiaozhai¡¯s feelings for her master. Adoration of a child toward a parent, admiration, worship¡­ none of those seemed enough to describe it. There was something beyond those. ¡°Have you tried to find her after that?¡± he asked. ¡°I did, but found nothing, not even a piece of clothes or anything left behind.¡± Xiaozhai lowered her eyes, but soon looked up again with a smile. ¡°There you have it. You can¡¯t pay her respect no matter how much you want it. Well, let¡¯s wrap it up. That way leads to the Great Canyon. Let¡¯s go.¡± With that, they turned right and walked downhill along the smooth trail. While the elder couple walked in the front, the younger pair was muttering in the rear. Long Qiu had an odd look on her face as she asked, ¡°Jin Jin, was sister¡¯s master a man or a woman?¡± ¡°A woman.¡± ¡°Oh, I thought it was a man. There¡¯s nothing to worry about, then¡­¡± She giggled, somehow feeling at ease now. The head of Xiaojin immediately figured out what Long Qiu was thinking and she whispered, ¡°Nothing to worry? Women are bigger trouble than men.¡± ¡°Huh? Why?¡± ¡°Because, because¡­ Tsk, you won¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I? Her master must have been a very nice, very beautiful, and very powerful person to make Sister miss her after all these years,¡± Long Qiu retorted indignantly. Nice, beautiful, and powerful¡­ Xiaojin¡¯s lips twitched. She was seriously considering giving Long Qiu a lesson on certain knowledge, but thought better of it and gave up. *** ¡°That Shui Yao guy, is he just a hostel owner? He doesn¡¯t look like one. He¡¯s quite street-smart, I think.¡± ¡°Both his parents run business in Xidu. Shui Yao couldn¡¯t find a job after college, so he returned to his hometown straight away. He has been going into the mountains with Grandpa Shui since he was little and had killed a brown bear once. He is very good with guns and knows a bit of martial arts. He¡¯s loyal, open-handed, and likes to make friends. All in all, he¡¯s a popr figure here in Songjiang River.¡± The soundless cold mountain was covered by a silvery white. The two threaded through the snowy woods, heading deeper into the forest. Xiaozhai introduced her childhood ymate and summarized with one precise word. ¡°Basically, he¡¯s a gangster.¡± ¡°Well, that put it inly.¡± Gu Yu chuckled. ¡°Growing up, he used to challenge me, but had his a*s kicked every single time. Word had it that Grandpa Shui tried to pair me off with him, but forgot about itter¡ªhe cherished his grandson¡¯s life.¡± ¡°Haha, just imagine that fellow tries to provoke me¡­ Hm?¡± Gu Yu paused abruptly, for just at that moment, from the corner of his left eye, he seemed to have caught something small flitting past. ¡°I¡¯ll go check.¡± Thrusting the ground with the tip of his foot, Gu Yu flew into the distance before he even finished the sentence. Both of his feet were kept centimeters above the ground as if he was walking on empty air, leaving behind no trace on the snow. ¡°Squeak!¡± The thing ran away on all fours, moving at a tremendous speed that was impossible for ordinary eyes to catch. But Gu Yu was faster. Void-arranging Technique was indeed a more advanced Taoist skill. He turned into a streak of smoke and caught up with it in no time. He grabbed the small thing by its neck and lifted it off the ground. It was a sable. The Northeast had three treasures: ginseng, sable fur, and w grass (Carex meyeriana). Wild sables were extremely rare these days and he had never expected he could catch one here. The sable had dark brown fur, a fluffy tail, and was about 50 cm long. It had dark eyes and ck pupils, which were big and bright, giving it a smart look. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu frowned. The eyes were making him ufortable, as if something was hiding behind them, observing him through the sable¡¯s eyes. ¡°I thought it was a mountain rat. So, it was this little guy. There were very few of them around even when I was little¡­ Hm?¡± Just then, Xiaozhai walked to his side and also found something was not right. She put her hand on the sable and scanned it with her spiritual energy. Nothing seemed to be out of the ce. ¡°That¡¯s weird. Why do I feel like I am being watched?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t possibly imagine who would secretly spying on us¡­¡± Gu Yu was wrecking his brain when the little light bulb popped on above his head. He chuckled. ¡°Can it be the mountain god Grandpa talked about?¡± ¡°Haha, anything is possible these days. I would happily live with it even if a mountain god jumps out and fights us. Whatever, time to go.¡± Xiaozhai casually tossed the sable up onto a branch. Gu Yu made a grabbing gesture and wrapped it up with a sphere of transparent confinement. He grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Take a nap and you can be on your way.¡± *** ¡°We can conclude that the archetype was Rhodi of Changbai Mountain. The nt is about 10-20 cm in height, has strong roots, is of a cylinder shape, fleshy, and of a yellowish brown color. Fibrous roots are found at the rootstock and the nt is covered by scale-shaped leaves. The shape of the nt remains unchanged, only shorter. We have collected three nts, which we will take back and study.¡± On a meadow facing the sun, the group leader finished recording the above-mentioned description into the camera. The so-called meadow had long been covered by snow. Clusters of Rhodi grew from the crevices of protruding rocks. ording to ¡°The ssic of Herbal Medicine¡±, Rhodi was a herb of the highest grade. It could improve dexterity, replenish Qi, rejuvenate the body, and prolong life. The herb was toxin-free and could be consumed inrge quantities. There was no long-term side effect, either. In the Qing Dynasty, the herb was presented to the court as a tribute and some emperor had entitled it ¡°the grass of dragon head and phoenix tail.¡± This nt was Shui Yao¡¯s previously reported information. A team consisting of nine members had searched around for the most of the day before they finally saw the actual nt. ¡°Inform the bureau. It¡¯s verified.¡± The team leader carefully put away the herb and gave an order. One of the members immediately untied the portable transmitter off his back and sent the report back to the bureau. The portable transmitter could be carried by a single person and would send coordinates to the nearest reception tower of satellite receiver every three hours. It was more reliable than a satellite phone. Once that was done, the team leader checked the time. ¡°We are about three hours from dark. The Great Canyon is not far. If we move faster, we can join that information provider.¡± ¡°There are cabins built by tree farmers over there, where we can stay overnight. We have plenty of provisions with us. The suggestion should work,¡± replied the team member working as the guide. ¡°Great! We¡¯re moving out!¡± Right away, the team of nine descended the mountain following unmarked trails. The team was of a standard setup with research personnel, security, and guide. The team was also equipped with adequate weapons and equipment. The so-called Great Canyon was a natural wonder discovered only twenty year ago. It ran over 60 km from end to end and was a result of ashes from a volcanic explosion and the erosion by the river. The widest part was 300 m across and the narrowest only a few meters. It had a vertical depth of 120-150 m. They marched at full speed and managed to arrive before dark. Strange-looking rocks nked the river, together with various remarkablendscapes, which were now all covered up by the snow. The entire canyon felt empty and bleak. The only lively thing was the beautiful river, whose racing current rushed along the bottom of the canyon. ¡°Over here! Here!¡± Shui Yao looked like a bear with all his thick clothes. He was waving at them in front of the cabin. The team went up to him in a hurry and the team leader greeted with a smile, ¡°Hello, Xiao Shui, is it? Thank you so much foring out all the way here.¡± ¡°You¡¯re absolutely wee. This is my personal hobby. I woulde to live on the mountain every now and then even when you guys are not here.¡± After a brief change of pleasantries, they all went inside. Thermal instion of the cabin was pretty good and Shui Yao had started a fire beforehand, making the inside all the warmer. They all sat on the floor, took off their thick winter coats and tore off their boots with much difficulty, shaking off ayer of ice chips with a little knock on the floor. ¡°It feels so nice to warm up by a fire¡ªbrings back the life right away.¡± The team leader was not refined and stiff like usual research personnel, but appeared to be a straightforward guy. Shui Yao liked the man right away. He then brought out a pot and chuckled. ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten, have you? Try this. I¡¯ve just caught the fish myself!¡± He raised the lid. Wow! The topyer was a steamer, in which a pile of corn pancakes was kept warm. Below was a pot of steaming fish soup, which smelt scrumptious. What was more, there was even a bottle of 52% Old Vige Chief2 . The team of nine was starving by now. They took out their canned andpressed food and there was a feast. There weren¡¯t enough chopsticks for everyone. The team leader picked up a fish by its tail with his fingers and gnawed into it. Heplimented, ¡°Bro, one look at you and I know you know your ways around here. That¡¯s quite some survival skills you¡¯ve got there! Oh, by the way, did you say that your grandfather was a member of the Changbai Ginseng Band?¡± ¡°My grandpa is Shui Rong. I think you¡¯ve heard of him before?¡± The fellow couldn¡¯t be more proud. ¡°Sure! Definitely! My colleagues used toe to Changbai on scientific expeditions and the dear old man was their guide. I see he¡¯s got a worthy sessor!¡± After some small talk, they soon came to the subject. The team lead asked, ¡°Bro, you said that bird was a mallet bird. How certain are you?¡± ¡°A hundred percent. I¡¯ve seen them with my own eyes when I was little. There was no mistake in that.¡± Shui Yao was very sure of himself. ¡°This bird never shows up in wintertime. That¡¯s why I found that very strange.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ve heard things about it¡­¡± The team leader nodded. ¡°It was said that they feed on the seed of ginseng, hence one could find ginseng by following the bird. But I have checked, the bird is generally known as oriental scops owl, which feeds mainly onrge insects and small rodents. No records have mentioned that it has a liking for ginseng seeds.¡± ¡°Haha! My grandfather followed a mallet bird once and found a five-branch. Your records don¡¯t mean anything.¡± Shui Yao used his backpack as a pillow and casuallyy down. ¡°You have found the right personing to me. The bird onlyes out in the early morning and at midnight. It can¡¯t be rushed. So, what we will do now is sleep.¡± Chapter 250 Chapter 250: Mada Mountain Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The mountain was cold and so was the moon. A campfire had been set up by the woods at the edge of a cliff in a valley. Gu Yu was turning five fat rainbow trouts over the fire, making sure they did not burn but were just crusty enough. Xiaozhai produced some red berries she found somewhere and squeezed them. The thick juice burst out, and she carefully smeared it all over the fish. Long Qiu and Xiaojin leaned against one another with their heads touching and waited eagerly for the parents to finish cooking. ¡°Done!¡± Gu Yu gave the fish another few turns, checked the color of the skin, and removed the wooden skew. He passed one to two girls each and took one himself. Xiaozhai was more of a vegetarian and stuck to the gourd of liquor. Xiaojin couldn¡¯t wait to taste it. Opening her mouth and revealing her fine white teeth, she ripped a chunk of meat off the fish. Rainbow trout was a cold-water fish that could live in low-temperature environments. Its flesh was fresh and tender with a special smooth texture. The minimal cooking would make it an excellent dish. ¡°Hm! Yes! This is so delicious!¡± She opened her eyes widely and nodded repeatedly like a little pug. Long Qiu chimed in with her praise, ¡°This pulp is both sour and sweet. It goes so well with the fish.¡± ¡°Qiu Qiu, here, the head.¡± Xiaojin devoured one in a couple of bites and passed the fish head to Long Qiu, which was thetter¡¯s favorite. Long Qiu was going to say thank you when she saw Xiaojin hurried off to grab herself a second one. Excuse me! Xiao Qiu instantly felt herself turning into a human garbage disposal machine. But she wasn¡¯t going to waste the food and nibbled at the fish head without objections. ¡°¡­¡± The eyes of the other two met and they walked a few steps away until they were at the edge of the cliff. The bright moon hung high above. The moonlight spilled out to the deep valley down below, where a beautiful river was flowing. The cabin at the bottom was dimly lit and half-covered by the expanse of white snow. For a moment, it felt like they had reached the edge of the world. Both fell silent. The only noise came from behind, where the two girls were giggling and bantering. ¡°They¡¯re having a good time.¡± Gu Yu darted a look backwards. ¡°We¡¯re out travelling. They should be. I¡¯ve been upset these days and I know it affected you all as well. I¡¯ll be back to normal soon,¡± Xiaozhai said apologetically. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. We¡¯re family and being considerate is the most important thing.¡± He casually offered her a chicken soup for the soul, quoting some old school TV dramas. ¡°Family?¡± She blinked. ¡°Of course. With what we¡¯re going through at the moment, we¡¯re all in this together, regardless of how deep our bonds are.¡± Then, Gu Yu suddenly let his imagination run amuck. ¡°Hey, won¡¯t that day be hrious when we really get married? We¡¯ll have to register in the civil service first, then take the wedding photos, send invitations, and book a feast to feed a whole bunch of people. Little Soap will hang an apple on a string to have us both gnawing into it. Later, we¡¯ll be lying in bed counting all the gift money wrapped in red envelopes¡­¡± ¡°Teehee!¡± Xiaozhai finally smiled. ¡°If youe to take my hand offering cave paradises, jade pces, and golden halls with immortal soldiers clearing your way and nine dragons pulling your carriage, together with miles of treasure paved road, acres of immortal flowers, and an ocean of spiritual pellets¡­ Well, I¡¯ll consider giving you my hand then.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a hell of a betrothal gift you¡¯ve asked for. I¡¯ve never mentioned a dowry.¡± Gu Yu grimaced. ¡°A dowry? That¡¯s easy!¡± Xiaozhai leaned towards him, linking her pinky with his. ¡°What do you want? I¡¯ll go get it for you.¡± There, she said it! He waspletely taken by his girlfriend¡¯s words and the conversation stopped abruptly as it always was by his alpha female (Daily taskpleted: 1/1). To ease his awkwardness, he could only hold her closer, trying to wrap it up with a french kiss and announcing his dominating status at the same time. He was two seconds too slow, though. Holding him around his neck and pressing down, she slipped her soft tongue in and ¡°swept¡± his mouth. ¡°Nyah nyah nyah¡­¡± Behind them, Xiaojin expressed her disdain by sticking out her tongue and making a mocking noise. Long Qiu was the shy one. She lowered her head like an ostrich, but could not help but steal a look. A while passed before the two finally let go of one another. Xiaozhai licked her lips, savoring the after-taste. She then gave herment, though not sure if it was on the fish or on her man. ¡°Mhm, that was delicious!¡± *** It was a little known fact that ginseng was actually a blossoming and fruit-bearing nt. Ginseng flowers were as tiny as millet and grew in spikes along thin stems. The flowers were purple, speckled with white or green. Each flower would give seven or eight seeds in autumn, which, simr to soybeans, were green when they were new and reddened when matured. The seeds would fall off automatically once they matured. They had a red outeryer and a shape resembling a chicken¡¯s kidney. A thin stem grew in the middle and joined together, the two sides looked like tiny hammer. Each hammer had two seeds inside. That red seed was what the mallet bird would eat. Once consumed, the ginseng seeds would be scattered across the mountain with the feces and take root when the environment was fit. It was the most important way of propagation for ginsengs. While Gu Yu and his family slept up on the cliff, Shui Yao and the others slept below. The cabin was as spacious as it was crude. Since there was only one nk bed, the ten men decided to sleep on the floor around the stove. They settled down on a thickyer of hay ragged batting and covered themselves with their winter coats. It turned out to be very warm. Fatigued as they were, with their duty, none of them dared sleep too soundly. Despite his young age, Shui Yao was experienced enough to drift into a light sleep with one ear pricked up. They had lost count of time and the kerosenemp on the table grew dimmer. There was still enough coal in the stove, which was giving off a red glow. ¡°Whak gack koo!¡± ¡°Whak gack koo!¡± All of a sudden, two strange tweets rang out in the empty, silent valley. Shui Yao¡¯s eyes shot open and he shoved the team awake in a haste. ¡°It¡¯s here! It¡¯s here!¡± ¡°Quickly!¡± The research team rose to their feet in a hurry, got dressed, and went out with the equipment. It was pitch ck outside and the temperature had plunged. They waited patiently for a while and indeed heard another two chirpings. ¡°Whak gack koo!¡± ¡°Whak gack koo!¡± A mallet bird fluttered out of the darkness and circled in the air around the cabin. Momentster, another tweedle joined in. ¡°Lee woo!¡± Another mallet bird appeared, slightly bigger and with brighter feathers. The so-called Brother Wang Gang and Maiden Li 1 were both made-up names imitating the sound of the bird. Nowadays, almost everything was given a legendary ¡°background story¡±, mostly about a pair of lovers suppressed by the cruel feudal society and eventually turned into birds, trees, stones, h h h¡­ The mallet bird could not escape from that cliche. It was allotted with a campy love story of Wang Gang and Maiden Li. The two birds joined forces and flew away together deeper into the valley. ¡°You got the shot?¡± ¡°I did! I did!¡± ¡°Quickly, let¡¯s follow them. Maybe we¡¯ll find some ginseng!¡± Shui Yao was secretly ted. He saw with his own eyes that the research team had taken pictures as evidence. Since the bird did exist, he had passed the verification, which meant that 30 points were in his pocket. In that app, earning 10 points was a threshold. Only with 10 points could one send three invitation codes to their friends. The 30-point level was another threshold, which gave one a little bit more ess to the database: one was able to read some of the confidential information and couldmunicate with other information providers through pm. Let¡¯s put that aside and first turn our attention back to the two birds. They were moving at a speed neither too fast nor too slow, and would hover and linger about every now and then, as if deliberately waiting for them to catch up. The team trotted along, barely catching up with the birds. They seemed to have been running forever with none of them noticing the change in the surroundings, as though a part of their brain had been shut out. They hadpletely forgotten to check. They were still running when the two bird chirped and elerated abruptly. pping their wings, they disappeared into the vast night sky. ¡°Did they just disappear?¡± ¡°Where did they go?¡± They stood gazing at one another, at a loss what to do. It was a while before the question struck them: where the hell were they? Brows furrowing, the team leader was about to send someone out to check when one of the team members called out, ¡°Look, there¡¯s light ahead!¡± The team turned towards the direction in unison; there was indeed a streak of light looming not far ahead of them. Shui Yao was the bold one. He approached the light with a shotgun in hand; what he saw made his hair standing on end. In front of him was a crudely built cabin with a door left ajar. Through the window, he could even make out thempshade of the kerosene burner on the table. It was their cabin! His stomach lurched. Immediately after that, the curtain over that part of his brain seemed to be drawn open again as he suddenly scanned his surrounding area. The valley was cold and silent; the river flowed in the distance; nothing seemed to have changed. ¡°Why are we back here?¡± ¡°Have they led us running in circles?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be. I think we have been running a straight line. There¡¯s no way we can circle back to where we started.¡± The rest of the team caught up with him and everyone was talking all at once. There was panic in those voices. ¡°Whak gack koo!¡± ¡°Whak gack koo!¡± Just then, there came two chirpings and a hush fell over the team. A bird flew down from the night sky and hovered around in the trees. Before long, another arrived, and tweedled repeatedly. ¡°Lee woo!¡± ¡°Lee woo!¡± ¡®Jeez!¡¯ The team shuddered, as if an invincible coldness had seeped through their thickyer of clothes and stuck to their spines like stubborn maggots, sucking away the warmth of their bodies. In a matter of seconds, they were chilled to the bone. It almost felt as if they had just ran out of the cabin, just saw the two mallet birds, and were just reliving everything they had gone through. ¡°C-Captain¡­¡± one of the team members asked in a quivering voice, ¡°what shall we do now?¡± The team leader was also crept out a little, but was level-headed enough to give out instructions. He called out loud, ¡°Don¡¯t panic! Xiao Yang, contact the bureau immediately. Tell them to monitor our coordinates. You lot, stay here, start a fire, and have the weapons ready. You lot,e with me. I¡¯d like to see what it¡¯s ying at!¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± Leadership was key to a team. With that, the members¡¯ tension were observably eased right away. The team leader led three other men and ran after the two birds again. Shui Yao, who was included, took the time to carve down a mark with his dagger on a tree by the cabin. The two birds resumed their unhurried flying, as if taunting the chasers. The four men stared straight ahead, their nerves rattled. Shui Yao held his shotgun close the entire time. However, after a while, without any of them realizing it, their heads were sliding into a muddle. They looked ahead in a nk gaze and their heads were empty of everything but those birds they were staring at. ¡°Whak gack koo!¡± ¡°Lee woo!¡± In the end, the two birds let out a series of chirpings and pped their wings, disappearing into the night sky. ¡°Again?¡± ¡°Did you see the route we took?¡± ¡°No, I saw nothing. I was just running the entire time.¡± The four immediately discussed what they had seen, which was almost identical to the previous round. They saw light ahead again and the only difference was that their colleagues were shouting, ¡°How was it? Are you all right?¡± Shui Yao ran up to them and asked, ¡°What did you see?¡± ¡°You chased after them that way, disappeared, then showed up over here. There was ag of a few seconds,¡± replied one of the team members. A few seconds? The team leader asked in a grave tone, ¡°Xiao Yang, how are you doing over there?¡± The messenger was ashen-faced. ¡°The readings of all parameters are normal, but the signal¡­ the signal never got through.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Silence. An eerie silence, from which an utter fear was brooding, spreading, and taking over everybody rapidly. The team leader¡¯s mouth became a thin line. He hesitated for a moment or two and gave the order. ¡°Gather the equipment. We¡¯re heading out tonight!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother. I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be getting out.¡± Shui Yao suddenly heaved a sigh. ¡°What do you mean?¡± One of the agitated team member grabbed Shui Yao by his cor despite being significantly shorter than thetter. ¡°Why, why did you say that?¡± ¡°Look here¡­¡± Shui Yao was not offended, but only pointed at the tree. ¡°I made a mark just then, which is still there. It means what we experienced was not an illusion. We¡¯re only trapped. I heard about such things from my grandpa when I was little¡ªwe¡¯ve run into the Mada Mountain.¡± Chapter 251 Chapter 251: Treasure Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Bang!¡± The ten men retreated into the cabin immediately, mming the door shut behind them and shutting the windows tightly. One of the team members opened the stove to feed in some more coal. The me dimmed a little at first, but soon rose higher. Heat radiated from the red-hot stove, gradually melting away the coldness, and their fear was alleviated slightly. ¡°Whak gack koo!¡± ¡°Lee woo!¡± The two mallet birds still hovered and chirped outside. The sound had been interesting to them just a while ago, but was now the most creepy noise. Seeing the looks on everyone¡¯s face, the team leader asked, ¡°Xiao Shui, exactly what is a Mada Mountain?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a ng of the northeast region. I don¡¯t know how to exin it.¡± The carefree Shui Yao now had an exceptionally solemn look. His voice sounded dispirited as he went on, ¡°Basically, it¡¯s an irregr, special areaing out of nowhere. Once inside, men will be disoriented and their heads will get all confused. There¡¯s no way of walking out of this area.¡± ¡°Oh? That sounds a lot like the phenomenon of ¡® astray ghost 1 ¡®.¡± The team leader turned things over in his head and said, ¡°I have analysed the principle of ¡®astray ghost¡¯ before. Basically, one¡¯s perception is prone to be obscured in poorly lit environments with aplex terrain because by nature, all living creatures follow a circr moving pattern, which means that without a visible target, we would instinctively keep moving in circles. The reason we can walk in a straight line is that our eyes and brain are constantly making adjustment. The so-called ¡®astray ghost¡¯ happens because this adjustment function has been tuned down. You might think you¡¯re walking in a straight line, but in fact, you¡¯re making a circle about 3 km in radius.¡± Seeing that their leader seemed to be making sense, one of the guys could not help but ask, ¡°So, what shall we do?¡± ¡°We need some powerful light and an object of reference to tell our bearings,¡± said the team leader. ¡°Powerful light won¡¯t be a problem. We¡¯ve got nine outdoor shlights!¡± ¡°Yeah, and we can make some torches if those are not enough!¡± ¡°The object of reference is also easy. We can find our direction by watching the moon.¡± Presently, everyone was in high spirits again, ready to plunge into action. Shui Yao sat where he was and shook his head. ¡°You guys, Mada Mountain is no ¡®astray ghost¡¯ and your shlights and torches won¡¯t work.¡± ¡®Damn!¡¯ The mood that had just been lifted took a dive and was smashed into pieces right away. One of the guys was hot-tempered and raised his voice at Shui Yao. ¡°F**k! No more goddamn riddles! Just tell us what the hell is going on!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to, but I really can¡¯t exin it.¡± Shui Yao¡¯s wide face puckered. ¡°Old folks here all know about it, saying Mada Mountain happens because Lord Mountain God is angry and this is his punishment for the intruders. No one that stumbles upon it will make it out alive.¡± ¡°Xiao Shui¡­¡± The team leader found that ridiculous. ¡°That¡¯s obviously a superstitious belief. There is surely a scientific exnation, like everything else.¡± ¡°Scientific? Fine, then please exin to me, by what is the satellite signal blocked? And what the heck are those two birds?¡± the fellow asked. No one answered. Shui Yao went on, ¡°Bro, since I¡¯m the one who came up with the lead, I obviously know a thing or two about your work. You guys have been travelling all over the country to collect samples¡ªare you telling me that¡¯s for some scientific purpose?¡± ¡°¡­¡± At those words, the atmosphere in the cabin suddenly became rather awkward. Being the members of the research team, the nine men obviously knew about the recovery of the spiritual essence. ording to the policies set by those above, now was not the time to make the news public. However, now that it was suddenly out in the open, the team was at a loss of how to carry on this conversation. While they were feeling awkward, Shui Yao was not troubled at all. Holding the shotgun between his arms, he leaned against the wall and muttered, ¡°Sigh, we haven¡¯t even left the novice vige and the game is already over for us. My old man would have a more peaceful life with a grandson like me gone. My ma and pa are in the city. They probably won¡¯t have enough time to get here to burn some joss money for me¡­ And Sister Jiang, that reunion turns out to be ourst. She¡¯s such a jinx for me¡­¡± The fellow mumbled on and on, which was irritating the listeners. One guy bolted up suddenly and bellowed, ¡°The hell with it. I bet they can¡¯t beat a solid bullet!¡± With that, he picked up the issued rifle, dashed to the window, shoved it open, and raised the barrel at the two birds in the tree. ¡°Whak gack koo!¡± ¡°Lee woo!¡± The two mallet birds were not the least bit disturbed, but remained perched steadily on the branch, a strange look flickering in their eyes. ¡°That¡¯s some bold animal!¡± The guy¡¯s breath rasped and his cheeks flushed. The fear turned into anger, anger to excitement, and excitement to nervousness. Three, two, one¡­ He counted silently, his finger slowly squeezing the trigger. The rest of the team did not stop him. Every eye was gazing at the window; then, there came a ¡°Boom!¡± ¡°Did you shoot it¡­ Hm?¡± Someone was about to call out when they realized something was wrong. Immediately after that, there was another ¡°Rumble!¡± ¡°Thunder? Where did the thundere from?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s thunder!¡± ¡°Rumble!¡± Momentarily, the third almighty bang shook the valley, drowning all their voices. Their eyes stung a little when they saw an arc of golden purple lightning smash violently onto the clearing in front of the cabin. The brightness was overwhelming. ¡°Bang!¡± The explosion instantly sted open a giant pit on the hard, icy frozen ground. Meanwhile, all ten men jolted as if they had just been knocked on the head. The fog in their minds was then lifted and they could think straight again. ¡°Whak gack koo!¡± ¡°Lee woo!¡± The two mallet birds were no long their calm selves. pping their wings, they flew high into the air and fled deeper into the valley in a flurry. ¡°Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!¡± Behind them were four figures moving briskly and gracefully, chasing after the birds like clouds following wind. Before the ten men realized, the team of four separated all of a sudden and one of them was dumped without hesitation. ¡°Hey, hey, hey!¡± ¡°Wait here!¡± ¡°F**k you three!¡± ¡°Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah¡­¡± With an furious snarl, that creature turned around in designation and arrived at the cabin in a few hops. She kicked the door open, showing a face resembling a very angry emoji. ¡°You, you are¡­¡± Shui Yao pointed at the neer, his voice filled with utter surprise. ¡°Shut the hell up!¡± Xiaojin waved her hand and the bear-like fellow passed out. The floor shook when he crushed down. The team leader had never reacted so quickly. He found a corresponding picture in his memory and asked politely, ¡°Miss Jiang, I presume?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to you!¡± The sulky Xiaojin took a tour of the cabin, ran out, jumped onto the roof, and started bellowing again. She couldn¡¯t help it. That was outrageous! The team jumped at the sound, but immediately went wild with joy. Sh*t! They were saved! *** ¡°Brother, wasn¡¯t it a bit too much to leave Jin Jin behind?¡± Long Qiu asked in a worried tone, keeping both her feet a few centimeters off the ground as they dashed forward along the rough valley trail. ¡°She can¡¯t run as fast as us. It¡¯ll be safer for her to stay behind,¡± replied Gu Yu. ¡°You can carry her. You¡¯ve got enough spiritual essence to take a passenger,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Um¡­¡± Gu Yu grimaced, picturing in his head of him carrying a simple-minded husky while running at full speed. He shook his head. ¡°Forget it, my nerves are not that strong. Hey, that was very bold of you to use Thunder Technique right away. Do you know about that thing?¡± ¡°That¡¯s Mada Mountain. I¡¯ve heard about it from my master. It¡¯s a naturally formedbyrinth from chaotic mountain dragon and earthly energy 2 . It¡¯s tooplicated to exin. Just think it as ovepping spaces. To return to the reality, the false space has to be destroyed.¡± Xiaozhai paused a little and went on, ¡°In most of the cases, it is naturally formed. There were no records of it after the spiritual essence dried out. All that was left was tales from ages ago. This one feels strange, though. It¡¯s almost like something was manipting it from behind the curtains.¡± ¡°You mean those two dumb birds?¡± Gu Yu looked up. The two mallet birds were still pping away with a witless look on their faces. ¡°No, these mallet birds feel different from that sable¡­ I don¡¯t know what to make of it just yet. Let¡¯s just follow them.¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± The three moved like floating clouds and drifting smoke. Xiaozhai led the way, with Long Qiu in the middle and Gu Yu covering the rear. On the umtion of the spiritual essence alone, Xiaozhai and Long Qiu were probably of the same level¡ªthe former might even be slightly inferior. But Xiaozhai surpassed Long Qiu in the understanding and control of her skills, which enabled her to run at full speed for a long period of time. ¡°Whak gack koo!¡± ¡°Lee woo!¡± The two birds were scared out of their wits and seemed to have lost their connection with someone. Instinct was driving them to fly in one direction. They had lost track of how long they had run for when they reached the narrowest spot of the valley with a passageway only a few meters wide. There, the two birds pped their wings and shot up along the cliff wall, which was almost perpendicr to the ground. Xiaozhai did not stop at this. With a popping sound, a stair protruded from the stone wall,pletely out of the blue. She stepped onto it with her left foot and a second stair stuck out simultaneously, which she stepped on with her left foot. She proceeded like so, as if climbing the Babel. Before long, she was at the top of the cliff. ¡®Wow!¡¯ Long Qiu¡¯s eyes sparkled at this. She noticed that there was arge dent on the mountain wall, which meant the stairs had to be a result of Small Moving Technique. On any ordinary day, she would definitely try it herself, but in a critical time like this, she decided to summon the Golden Silkworm, who flew her up directly. Gu Yu¡¯s method was even simpler. With the most abundant spiritual essence of the three, he activated the Void-arranging Technique and ¡°walked¡± along the vertical wall all the way to the top. They had kept some distance from the birds the entire time. Thick forest nked their path and vines and thorny woods would block their way from time to time, making their march all the more difficult. After another long while, they finally saw a giant withered tree up ahead. ¡°Whak gack koo!¡± ¡°Lee woo!¡± The mallet birds chirped, then both disappeared into the canopy. ¡°¡­¡± The three stopped to check the tree. It was over ten meters tall and so thick that it would take half a dozen men to join their arms around the trunk. There was not a trace of life in it, but the branches were still intact, twisting into knotty things and covering arge area. The bark was speckled and ky; its grayish brown seemed to have recorded all the vicissitudes of life. Gu Yu found it very strange, for he had detected something strongly green¡­ No, not that kind you would wear on a hat 3 , but the green of vitality and everythinging back to life in springtime. ¡°Let¡¯s have a look up there.¡± The three leapt up and flew onto the top of the tree. Looking down from there, they were surprised. The tree was hollow inside, as if arge hole had been dug into it. They could see a faint green glow¡ªthat strong vitality wasing out of the bottom of the hollow. ¡°Be careful!¡± Gu Yu held a girl in each hand and the threended lightly on the bottom. Inside was almost empty but much warmer. There was even a thinyer of grass. Around them on all sides was still the withered tree bark that looked like thick gray walls. On one side of the wall was a small hollow, where the two mallet birds had built their nest. The two dumb birds were no longer afraid. They were even preening one another, as if the intruders were not there. ¡°¡­¡± The three pairs of eyes did not linger on the birds. Almost immediately, they were drawn away by a nt. Chapter 252 Chapter 252: Confrontation Awaits (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The nt grew among a low bush, slightly taller than thetter. It had thick fleshy leaves the shape and size of a grown man¡¯s palm. The branches and leaves were in three distinctiveyers; a long, straight stalk rose from the middle, with a fist-sized lump of red seeds on the tip of it. It stood there in this hollow tree, swaying this way and that despite the absense of any wind as if it was nodding at them. Gu Yu locked onto the target right away. That powerful vitality wasing from none other than this nt. He blinked and repeated what he was told as if it was his own understanding. ¡°This is a ginseng nt, if I¡¯m not mistaken, and a mp stand¡¯ for that matter. That Mada Mountain thing is probably its doing.¡± ¡°Yes, it looks very much like what Grandpa Shui told us. Is it a four-year-old ginseng?¡± asked Long Qiu. ¡°Ginseng leaves grow in cycles, from one branch to six, and back to one again. It¡¯s called ¡®reincarnation¡¯.¡± Xiaozhai took a closer look and said, ¡°Judging from what it has done, god knows how many rounds of reincarnation this one had gone through. It could be older than we three put together.¡± Long Qiu opened her mouth slightly in surprise and watched the ginseng curiously. She then asked, ¡°So what are we going to do now?¡± ¡°It seems quite spiritual. Let me try first¡­¡± Gu Yu went up to it and studied it for a while, then stretched out a hand, trying to touch it. The moment his slender finger made contact with the leaf, he shuddered to a halt. A message came to his mind. It was neither a voice nor words, but more like a confused baby that had yet to learn to speak gesturing a message, which contained one word only. ¡°No!¡± What? Gu Yu winced, surprised and amused at the same time. Activating his mental force, he separated out a thin tentacle and probed with it. From the other end came an undisguised resentment. After a few failed attempts, Gu Yu resolved to turn into a tentacr monster and engulfed his opponent, which barely enabled him to make a connection. Instantly, he sensed a gentle and innocent mind that was full of spectacr vitality connected with his own. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked through his spiritual force. ¡°¡­¡± There was no reply. The thing on the other side seemed unable to either understand or answer the question. ¡°Are you this grass? I mean, ginseng?¡± he asked another question. ¡°¡­¡± Still no answer. ¡°I¡¯m Gu Yu. How long have you been here? ¡°Are you a boy or a girl? ¡°Are those two dumb birds your helpers?¡± Our fellow rambled on in his head, ignoring what the other side might feel about this. It seemed forever before a new message came through, one which was a mixture of a million emotions: fear, defensiveness, annoyance¡­ it was very chaotic. ¡°Brother, what have you found?¡± Gu Yu had been silent for so long that Long Qiu could not help but ask. ¡°This is unbelievable!¡± Shaking his head, he let out a sigh with affected airs. ¡°We were just talking about spiritual mountain creatures and vo! The kiddo here has formed some sort of preliminary consciousness. It doesn¡¯t know how to express itself yet, but it¡¯s no longer your average treasure.¡± ¡°You mean, it has a mind?¡± Long Qiu opened her eyes widely. ¡°Correct.¡± ¡®Wow!¡¯ Xiao Qiu immediately got excited. Crouching down in a whoosh, she thought about touching the nt, but was a little afraid to do so. She only tilted her head to one side and watched. Xiao Zhai paid her no attention, thinking aloud instead. ¡°Maybe the mallet birds pooped into this hollow tree and the seeds in the poop took root and sprouted. This most unusual location has prevented it from being discovered the entire time. After god knows how many centuries, it ended up like this.¡± ¡°There is another possibility. This tree used to be a normal one. The ginseng seed fell on the top and started sucking the vital essence of the tree. As time went by, the tree was sucked hollow,¡± added Gu Yu. ¡°I was telling a fairy tale and you turned it into a ghost story.¡± Xiaozhai rolled her eyes at him. They casually chatted on, neither too surprised by the fact that a ginseng had developed its consciousness. It could not be helped. Ginseng was the sort of a most ¡°unscientific¡± nt that grew only an itsy bitsy bit in three to five hundred years. One would be lying to themselves if they did not admit that there was something unnatural about it. It was considered a spiritual being since the ancient times and was divinized (or demonized) among the ginseng bands. For example, one rule of using ginseng rod was that the search-and-poke rod was to be stuck upright into the ground once a ginseng was found. Two copper coins tied with red strings were than set on the rod so as to stop the ginseng from running away. ¡°Ah!¡± Just then, Long Qiu let out a little cry. She finally could not hold back and poked the lump of red seeds with her finger tip, then got a message. ¡°Brother, Sister, it¡¯sughing! It¡¯sughing!¡± ¡°You two are getting along that well already?¡± Gu Yu felt a little defeated. ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s not afraid of me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The couple exchanged a look, realizing this might work after all. Xiao Qiu was what you call a legendary Druid in a western fantasy system¡ªNature attribute: max; Natural Affinity attribute: max! As long as she was around, any task involving swindling and bluffing, scratch that, any task involving patient guidance would not be a problem at all. ¡°We want to take it back to Phoenix Mountain. Can you make that happen?¡± Xiaozhai asked, then added, ¡°We¡¯d love to take it away if it¡¯s willing to. If not, we won¡¯t force it.¡± ¡°Well, I can try.¡± Crinkling up her nose, Long Qiu put a finger on the red seeds, closed her eyes, and startedmunicating. The other two waited patiently. Quite a while passed when Long Qiu opened her eyes, took out a gourd all of a sudden, and poured out a little spiritual liquor. ¡°Plop!¡± ¡°Ssh!¡± The liquornded on the leaves and was immediately absorbed. Right after that, despite the absence of any wind, the entire ginseng nted swayed more violently than before. ¡°I don¡¯t think I understood what it said, but it should be OK.¡± Long Qiu poured out the rest half gourd of the liquor. ¡°There¡¯s no problem as long as we can give it this. It likes it a lot.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Both Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were relieved. The ginseng was endowed with abundant wood spiritual essence and could connect with the earthly energy to create Mada Mountain. It was as unrestrained as paying yers. It would be of great use and they could not just take it away by force. It had toe willingly. However, to move it turned out to be a problem. Gu Yu had scanned this ce with his mental force. The root of this ginseng was enormous, and came with a lot of soil. Theoretically, the Small Moving Technique could do the trick, but Changbai Mountain was almost 500 km away from Phoenix Mountain¡ªwhere could they find the person with that much spiritual energy? Therefore, it could only be carried away with a wooden box made from the old tree in the valley¡ªa very, very big wooden box, which they did not have at the moment. After a brief discussion, they decided to get down the mountain first and think about what to doter. With that, the three jumped out of the hollow tree. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai each applied their own method, sealing the tree with a double confinement. They then left swiftly, unaware of a strange rat hiding in a burrow some distance away, who was staring in their direction with its beady eyes. *** The sky grew lighter and the warm sun shone on the mountain. A figure as short as a child emerged somewhere in the mountain out of the blue. Short as he might be, he was moving very fast. He dashed all the way up, heading directly for that old tree. ¡°This should be it.¡± He halted abruptly, his voice a mixture of the childish innocence and solemnity of an adult, which was the strangest sound. He looked at the old tree. Although he could not feel the powerful vitality within, instinct had drawn out a hunger within him, urging him to devour whatever the thing was. ¡°I almost got exposed for this. Let me see what nice stuff is in here.¡± The man moved closet, paused a little, and raised his hand to touch the trunk. ¡°Thump!¡± His palm felt as if it hadnded on ayer of transparent film, which softly bounced his hand back. ¡®Hm?¡¯ He frowned slightly. Gathering up his strength, he smacked down again. ¡°Crack!¡± A golden purple arc of lightning exploded out of the film, slithering all over his body from his palm. Wherever the energy reached, his internal Qi dissipated along with it. ¡°Sh*t!¡± he cried out and sat down right away, adjusting his breathing. It took him a long time and much difficulty to finally contain that thunder energy. ¡°They were indeed as powerful as promised. I didn¡¯t expect them to have obtained such a skill.¡± Various colors shed across his face before the man guffawed. ¡°Hoho, since I can¡¯t have it, neither will you.¡± With that, he turned swiftly and disappeared into the woods. *** ¡°Sis! Sister Jiang! My blood! My dear old sister!¡± In that por grove at the mountain foot, as soon as the research team left, Shui Yao ran to a certain person while howling at the top of his voice. ¡°Where is your conscience, huh? We haven¡¯t exactly grown up wearing the same set of clothes, but at least we shared the same kang once, right? You¡¯re among the immortals now and me? You dear old brother is still struggling in the mud pit. Won¡¯t you feel sorry for me?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± answered Xiaozhai. ¡®Damn!¡¯ That was ruthless. Shui Yao choked on his tongue for two seconds like a stuck disc, then went on howling. ¡°Fine! Forget about what we had. Aren¡¯t you cultivators all about fate and destiny? We met again and that is fate. Just spare me a little favor, anything!¡± ¡°You¡¯re too dumb for that.¡± Xiaozhai shook her head. ¡®Damn!¡¯ Shui Yao was a stuck disc again. ¡°Fine! I see what you¡¯ve be! You heartless woman!¡± Wiping his nose clean, Shui Yao turned abruptly and marched towards Gu Yu. Eyes bulging, he looked like a bear ready to feed on someone. He then, well, plunged again. ¡°Younger Brother-inw, I have loads of her dark history and childhood photos, do you want them? I¡¯ll give you a discount. Ten pieces for one favor from you. Deal?¡± Gu Yu wanted to say ¡°Deal!¡± so bad, but he dared not. He cleared his throat and said, ¡°Brother Shui, it¡¯s not that we¡¯re heartless. This thing really requires some natural talent. You¡¯re a bit over the best age and less talented for it¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give me that bullshit! Even a toad can dream about tasting the swan one day. Let me ask you this: if you were the one stumbling upon this chance, would you give up just because you¡¯re not talented?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± The guy had a point. Gu Yu darted a look at his girlfriend, who was standing around idly as if she had heard nothing. He immediately got the hint. The childhood ymates were suddenly worlds apart in their abilities; it would be nothing but awkward to teach the serious stuff. It would not be the same with him¡ªhe was not familiar with the guy enough to feel awkward to do this job. ¡°Hear me out. There are only two things we can do for you. First, talk you through about the current situation and second, there is this set of basic training movements, if you don¡¯t mind¡­¡± ¡°Enough with the small talk already. Let¡¯s do it!¡± So be it! Right away, Gu Yu taught him the improved set of martial arts they taught Tan Chongdai, then told him about what was going on at the moment. Shui Yao was stunned by what he had heard. It was quite a while before he spoke again. ¡°Damn! I knew that with our five thousand years of history and all those sages, there must be some good stuff left! Holy crap, maybe those Immortals are hiding in some caves at the moment, waiting for the apocalypse to happen. They would then descend and save the world¡­¡± Utterly embarrassed, Gu Yu interrupted the guy. ¡°Brother Shui, this is very important information. Please don¡¯t give it out to just anyone.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know that!¡± He did understand. Having been hanging around with people from all social strata these years, he understood the emphasis of the sentence did not lie in ¡°don¡¯t give it out¡±, but in ¡°not just anyone¡±. Chapter 253 Chapter 253: Confrontation Awaits (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Xidu, the BIMAUP sub-bureau. The research team only had a short break of one day before being summoned to the bureau for a meeting. Now that the spiritual essence had almost spread to the entire country, more changes were taking ce every day. Needless to say, with that, the BIMAUP was gaining more authority as well as a growing number of subordinate institutes, among which was the researchboratory. The poprity of the bureau rocketed. Many were fighting crazily to get a position there. Although it was under the jurisdiction of local governments in terms of administrative level, do recall that there was a special order issued by those above: Under exceptional circumstances, the BIMAUP could take themand of any local government! Exactly what made the circumstances ¡°exceptional¡±? The possibilities were unlimited. Essentially, anything out of the ordinary would count. There! Staff of the bureau that used to feel unappreciated and undervalued all the time were finally able to hold their heads high with the beginning of the social transformation. Right now, all major officials of the sub-bureau had gathered around in the conference room, listening to the team leader¡¯s briefing. ¡°We have received two leads in total. We only managed to take pictures of one of them and have sessfully obtained samples of the other. The original form of this one was rhodi of Changbai Mountain, a valuable medicine herb. We¡¯ve found as few as thirteen nts in total, but we cannot exclude the possibility that it grows in other regions as well. Our preliminary estimation is that the mutation would significantly increase the potency of the herb, manifolding its effectiveness. In traditional medicine, the rhodi is said to improve dexterity, replenish Qi, rejuvenate the body, and prolong life. Moreover, the herb is toxin-free and could be consumed inrge quantities without any negative side effect. It is ideal for daily nourishment.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The officials reacted with various facial expressions, but were all subtly excited. What that description meant was apparent: regr consumption of this nt would at least prolong their lives for a few more years and would help with maintaining one¡¯s health even at an old age, keeping their minds clear, their ears sharp, and their eyes bright. All thirty-six sub-bureaus up and down the country were vying with one another both openly and in private. Everything about the mutated creatures in their jurisdictions must be reported to the higher authorities, including the amount, types, value, hazardness, etc., all counted as achievements directly connected to one¡¯s political career. The more valuable the discovery, the greater the credit. Had they been still in ancient feudal times, discoveries like this rhodi would be entitled a ¡°blessing from the gods¡±, which could earn one a promotion of three pay grids. ¡°Ahem!¡± Wang Xuqiao, the director, cleared his throat and asked, ¡°Old Fang, what is the pharmaceutical value of this rhodi? With our current technology, can we make a new medicine that retains its effectiveness?¡± ¡°Although it has mutated, its basic biological characteristics remain unchanged. The traditional medicine is a field with ample experience with the application of rhodi and they have a well-developed theoretical system in that aspect. I don¡¯t see any potential problem there,¡± affirmed the team leader. ¡°d to hear that! I will be contacting Mayor Hao in a moment. Let¡¯s get you the best local resources possible so that you can develop the new product as soon as you can.¡± Wang Xuqiao was still light-headed over the discovery and added, ¡°By the way, organize another research expedition. We must find out its entire growth area and yield.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± The team leader found that request problematic. ¡°We ran into some major difficulty this time and have barely made it out. A fewrades have yet to recover emotionally from the incident. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to re-enter the mountain after such a short intermission. We¡¯ll have to reselect members to form a team.¡± ¡°No problem. Whatever you need, just ask. As long as it is within reason, it will be our priority.¡± The director had given his word, but the deputy director Guan Pan interjected all of a sudden, ¡°Old Fang, you said you ran into Mada Mountain this time and were saved because Mr. Gu happened to be there?¡± ¡°Well, yes.¡± ¡°After he rescued your team, he went on chasing the two birds?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± ¡°What happened after that? Did he find anything?¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ The team leader did not see where the deputy was going with it and told the truth. ¡°Those two birds were mallet birds. Legend has it that by following them, one could find ginsengs. We waited overnight in the cabin and Mr. Gu returned before dawn, empty-handed. We then went off the mountain together.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Guan Pan nodded, his expression somewhat ambiguous. ¡°So, that¡¯s about it. Go prepare for your new task, then. The meeting is over!¡± Wang Xuqiao realized something has gone awry. After dismissing the rest, he asked with a frown, ¡°Old Guan, what were you getting at?¡± ¡°Haha, it just urred to me that with what Mr. Gu could do, he shouldn¡¯t havee back empty-handed. Maybe they have found something but could not bring it back because of some difficulty on the spot?¡± He smiled. ¡°What does that have anything to do with us?¡± ¡°Tsk, didn¡¯t you hear what Old Fang said? It might be a ginseng!¡± Guan Pan went on with emphasis. ¡°Ginsengs are divine herbs since the ancient times. What if they have discovered a mutated ginseng? It might not bring back the dead or enable one to live for over a hundred years, but it must be at least more potent than the rhodi. How about we take it over and hand it to those above? In that case¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s out of the question!¡± Wang Xuqiao interrupted with a wave of his hand before Guan Pan could finish his sentence. ¡°The general instruction from the government remains unchanged and we are still to maintain a friendly rtionship with them. Moreover, we¡¯re not even sure if he has a ginseng or not. We can¡¯t take the liberty.¡± Guan Pan did not respond to that, but dialed a number and pressed down the speaker button. ¡°Hello, Xiao Cheng¡­ Yes, are you still over there? Have Mr. Gu and his friends left?¡± ¡°No, they¡¯re still in Songjiang River. Our men overlooking the hotel said they had extended their stay for another three days. Long Qiu and Jiang Xiaojin have returned on their own, though, and they were travelling on return tickets only a day apart. They seemed to be in a hurry,¡± replied the guy on the other end. ¡°Well¡­¡± Wang Xuqiao fell silent. Judging bymon sense, such behavior indeed seemed strange. The two parties were at peace at the moment, but neither had confidence in the other¡¯s promises. Whenever they came out of Phoenix Mountain, the government always made sure it knew their whereabouts. Gu Yu and the rest were perfectly aware of such actions, but had given their tacit consent as long as they were not disturbed. To tell the truth, for a split second back there, Wang Xuqiao was tempted. However, his cautious side immediately took over and he rejected the suggestion. ¡°Old Guan, we¡¯re happy enough with the rhodi. Don¡¯t be too greedy.¡± ¡°Where did thate from? Changbai Mountain is no Phoenix Mountain. We¡¯re entitled to confiscate a mere piece of ebony, let alone a mutated ginseng,¡± retorted Guan Pan. ¡°Let me, let me think it through first¡­ That¡¯ll be all for today. See you.¡± Guan Pan watched the director leaving the room and with a snort, he also left. *** The sub-bureau was under the jurisdiction of the municipal government, so it was only natural that it was allotted a residential quarter which was quite close to the office building, just about fifteen minutes of walk away. Guan Pan returned to his ce on foot, where he noticed a thin ck pattern on the door lock. The look on his face went grave as he opened the door. ¡°You¡¯re here!¡± ¡°At least I¡¯m your brother. Show me some respect, will you?¡± A tiny men hopped off a chair, his strange voice sounded disgruntled. ¡°Cut the crap. What now?¡± Guan Pan took of his coat and sank into the sofa, eyeing the man groomily. The other man seemed rather vexed, but had not means to vent his displeasure and only asked, ¡°How did it go today?¡± ¡°Wang Xuqiao is nothing but a craven. He does not have the balls. We can¡¯t count on him,¡± Guan Pan gave the reply, then asked, ¡°But are you sure there is a treasure over there?¡± ¡°Most likely. As soon as I went up to that tree, there came this impulse. If I can eat it, I will definitely reach the innate state, or even higher.¡± ¡°Ha! Too bad you can¡¯t have it!¡± Guan Pan sneered. ¡°You!¡± The man grew all the more irritated and said in a harsh tone, ¡°Let me remind you that you¡¯re an errand-man of the sect as well! Allowing Phoenix Mountain to grow stronger will only do us great harm.¡± ¡°Of course I remember that, but I¡¯ve been ying the political game long enough to rise above you lot. I have a brain. All you people can do is fighting and killing.¡± Guan Pan sneered at the man some more before saying, ¡°Before, the government and Phoenix Mountain had no conflict interests and the two sides needed one another. Now that the government has two innate state men at hand and with Emei, where the resources are said to be abundant, under development, the importance of Phoenix Mountain is doubtlessly diminishing. I know those bosses only too well. A little instigation and they¡¯re bound to go into war. We can just wait aside and let the prize fall on ourps.¡± ¡°Humph! Let¡¯s hope your little trick won¡¯t cost you your life in the end.¡± The man had said enough. Wrapping his thick down jacket around him and putting on his beanie, he looked like an average ten-year-old. He pushed the door open and paused at the threshold. ¡°I¡¯ll bring help. Keep in touch.¡± *** Songjiang River, light snow. In the backyard of Shui Yao¡¯s hostel, Gu Yu was teaching him that body-enhancing movement. The hostel was almost empty of any guests and the employees were about the only ones there, all familiar with the boss¡¯ martial arts hobby. Hence, no one found what they were doing strange, but only thought it as the boss¡¯ new way of making friends. ¡°That¡¯s still not right. Stop there, please.¡± Gu Yu stopped Shui Yao after he went through an entire set of movements and exined, ¡°I¡¯ve told you many times. The strength you exert is not the key, the control of it is. This movement will only work when you have perfect control over every single muscle of yours so that you can tense up or rx any of them at your will.¡± ¡°I understand what you said, but my actual move is another story.¡± Shui Yao also felt dejected. His sheer strength had been used only in ordinary martial arts and now that he was to follow the teachings at a whole new level, he simply could not match the requirements. ¡°There¡­¡± Gu Yu looked around. Seeing that no one was looking, he put his hand on Shui Yao¡¯s upper right arm about three cm from the elbow and instructed, ¡°Follow my move. Rx, rx, rx¡­ go!¡± ¡°Oh my!¡± Shui Yao felt a gentle tug and his arm waved forward despite himself. Then, with a twist, this move of his right fist was aplished. Right after that, Gu Yu took his left arm and called out softly, ¡°Go!¡± His left hand moved ordingly this time. The catching move that he had failed for a million times was aplished, the movement perfect to a tee. Just like so, Gu Yu worked as a puppeteer, controlling this cumbersome puppet to finish one swift and fierce move after another. It was the most strange yet amusing scene. A couple of minutester, the whole set was finished. Shui Yao was sore to the bone and despite the drifting snow, he was dripping in sweat. He gasped as he said, ¡°That¡­ that was awesome! No wonder you¡¯re my younger brother-inw. Any man less able would be sucked dry by that girl in no time.¡± ¡°Old Shui, one more word of your bullshit and your tongue is mine.¡± Just then, Xiaozhai strolled in through the front gate. Shui Yao immediately stopped talking, pretending to be savoring the view. One could almost believe the innocent and unaffected look on his face. Gu Yu gave his girl a few looks and asked, ¡°Up on the mountain again?¡± ¡°Yeah, sat there for a while.¡± ¡®Sigh!¡¯ Gu Yu sighed inwardly. The so-called ¡°sat for a while¡± meant she was there mourning her master again. It was not his ce to say anything. After all, the bound between this pair of master and pupil had been very deep. His only concern was that such obsession would one day hinder Xiaozhai in her cultivation. ¡°Brother Shui! Brother Shui!¡± Before they had a chance to talk some more, a young waitress ran in from the front, yelling at the top of her lungs. ¡°Big news!¡± ¡°Gosh, keep your voice down. What news?¡± Shui Yao asked. ¡°There, there is a spiritual ginseng on the mountain!¡± Chapter 254 Chapter 254: Making Trouble Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The girl¡¯s announcement shocked them all. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai frowned: who let out the news? Yet at a second thought, they realized something was not right. No fifth person knew about the spiritual ginseng, Shui Yao and the research team included. ¡°Where did you hear about that?¡± asked Gu Yu. ¡°It¡¯s all over the town. I don¡¯t know who started it. I woke up this morning and everyone was talking about it.¡± The girl was exhrated, in a way that was silently saying, ¡°It¡¯s so rare that something like this is happening around me. I¡¯m happy enough to spread the gossip alone even if it has nothing to do with me whatsoever.¡± ¡°Any rumors on the inte?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°I read a few here and there on weibo, but they disappeared almost right away.¡± The girl seemed to be pretty sure of what she heard and went on, ¡°Everyone is saying that that¡¯s evidence enough! If it¡¯s fake news, the authorities would have denied it, or at least they wouldn¡¯t have monitored the inte and deleted the posts. So it¡¯s almost certain. They¡¯re all heading for the mountain to search for the spiritual ginseng. Hey, brother, isn¡¯t Grandpa Shui the old chief? That¡¯s great. We can use his help.¡± ¡°The hell with giving you help. Watch that tongue of yours! Go away. Go back to the front and look after the guests. Enough with the gossip.¡± Shui Yao was a perceptive guy. He was acutely aware of something fishy was going on. After sending the girl away, he asked, ¡°Younger Brother-inw, what¡¯s that all about?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu hesitated a little and decided to tell the truth. ¡°We have indeed found a spiritual ginseng following those mallet birds.¡± ¡®What!?¡¯ Even Shui Yao¡¯s eyebrows bristled at those words. His thick-muscled face puckered up, giving him a ferocious yet adorkable look. Before he had a chance to speak, however, Gu Yu stopped him. ¡°But we five were the only people knew about this. I don¡¯t understand, how did the news get out?¡± ¡°That sable!¡± Xiaozhai interjected all of a sudden. ¡°If they could control a sable, they could control any other animals. Maybe we¡¯ve overlooked it.¡± ¡°We might¡¯ve. Anyhow, they might not know exactly what has happened. It could be their spection only.¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai remained level-headed. They skipped the cause and the full course of the event, jumping right to the purpose of such act. Whatever move the other party took, their purpose was clear: to muddle the waters. While they were analyzing the situation methodically, Shui Yao grew anxious on the side. ¡°So, what¡¯s the deal with that spiritual ginseng? What does it do? Does it look like a human already?¡± ¡°Not yet, but it¡¯s very useful. Eat a little bit and all your diseases are cured and you get to live very long,¡± teased Gu Yu. ¡°Damn! What¡¯re we waiting for, then? Stop ying already! Let¡¯s move!¡± Shui Yao was annoyed by their reaction and dragged the pair out of the hostel, where they hopped onto his shabby pick-up truck and headed for Changqing Vige. The moment they were on the street, they were fully aware of the strange atmosphere surrounding them, as if the entire town was under a tacit agreement and the residents did not even have to speak when meeting one another. One look and the message was delivered. ¡°Hey, you heard about it?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Yeah, just like that. On their way, they saw many people who had nothing better to do riding motorcycles, electric bikes, bicycles, etc., travelling casually towards Changqing Vige as well. Not all of these people believed in the rumors, but thought them more as an after-dinner anecdote and something colorful to rescue them from their daily boredom. The general public loved ying the onlookers, for it costed them nothing. When they arrived at the vige, Shui Rong¡¯s courtyard was crowded with neighbors. The old man held his long-stemmed pipe and said warily, ¡°It¡¯s impossible to find a ginseng in the winter. It¡¯s not time to search the mountain yet. It must be a cooked-up story. You can go up there all you want. I want no part of it!¡± ¡°Dear old man, you haven¡¯t been searching the mountain for so many years, what do you care if it¡¯s real news or not? Just have a walk around.¡± ¡°Exactly. What if you run into it. You¡¯d be rich!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. You can have the big chunk. We¡¯re happily enough with the leftovers.¡± Everyone was talking at the same time and the old man was utterly annoyed. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai jumped out of the truck. They did not enter the courtyard, but only told Shui Yao, ¡°Old Shui, stay with your old man for a few days. Make sure he stays safe. When Xiao Qiu and Xiaojine back, tell them to go up the mountain.¡± ¡°Then what are you going to do now?¡± Shui Yao knew himself well enough to beg for an opportunity to go with the two. ¡°Guard our property, obviously. That spiritual ginseng belongs to Phoenix Mountain.¡± *** ¡°Old Guan! What have you done?¡± Inside the sub-bureau of the BIMAUP, Wang Xuqiao shoved a door open violently and questioned Guan Pan to his face. ¡°How could you make the report without my permission?¡± ¡°Why, I disagree with that. You are the director all right, but it says explicitly in the regtion that as the deputy director, I have the authority to make a report directly in case of an emergency.¡± Guan Pan turned this way and that with his chair, apparently couldn¡¯t care less about the usation. ¡°Emergency? You call such a trivial matter emergency? Do you even have any respect for me, your director?¡± ¡°Ha! The way I see it, it¡¯s not that trivial at all.¡± Guan Pan looked into his eyes and remarked casually, ¡°I presume you know what a ginseng can do, don¡¯t you? It can keep someone in critical condition alive. If there really was a spiritual ginseng, have you ever considered how effective it could be? So what if there is no such thing. There is nothing wrong with being responsible and reporting to our superiors.¡± ¡°You!¡± As a matter of fact, Wang Xuqiao could use the man of nothing. Guan Pan had only done what he was supposed to do and had done it by the book. Wang Xuqiao could only put this matter aside and say, ¡°Fine, let¡¯s talk about something else. EVERYONE in Songjiang River is talking about a spiritual ginseng on the mountain now. How did that happen?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Guan Pan gave him a surprised look. ¡°Why are you asking me? How am I supposed to know that? Could it be that Shui person? He seemed to be on good terms with Mr. Gu.¡± ¡°Not likely. He has no motive to do such things.¡± Wang Xuqiao was agitated and said anxiously, ¡°Anyway, we have to send someone down to Songjiang River right away. We can¡¯t afford a riot there.¡± ¡°Yes. Stop the rumor from spreading, that¡¯s our priority.¡± Guan Pan smiled as he watched the director leave. *** The capital city, HQ of the BIMAUP. A few high-ranking officials sat around the table in a meeting, each with a file in front of them. It was none other than the report sent from Xidu. The director looked around the table. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°It is usible. The numbers of mutated creatures are only growingrger and no one can say for sure that a spiritual ginseng is simply a product of someone¡¯s imagination. My personal opinion is that we should give it a go,¡± replied one man. ¡°But we don¡¯t have any image. It¡¯s rather rash to act on spection alone,¡± Mu Kun spoke his objection. He did not want to go to war against Phoenix Mountain for some imaginary spiritual ginseng. ¡°Actually, what we think counts for nothing. It all depends on what they think upstairs.¡± Another official joined in and asked, ¡°Director, have we received any instruction from above yet?¡± ¡°I made the report after receiving the file. I was told they would make the decision ASAP.¡± The director also found the situation rather troublesome. ¡°The ¡®friendly neighbor¡¯ and the ¡®iron fist¡¯ are divided on the matter. I think the bosses are probably wrestling over it as we speak.¡± Only his trusted subordinates were present and the director felt he could speak his mind freely. He himself belonged to a fraction as well, one that sat in the middle, which was why he was able to get his current post. They exchanged some more small talk before there came a knock at the door. The director¡¯s private secretary entered. ¡°Sir, we have received the instruction from the central government!¡± ¡°Read!¡± ¡°One, special police force of Xidu is to be put on standby and stationed around the Songjing River-Changqing Vige-mountain foot area, preventing the general public from carelessly entering the mountain. Two, the HQ will allocate relevant personnel to help the sub-bureau with handling the coordination and operations. Three, if running into Phoenix Mountain, unless out of options, no unauthorized fighting is allowed. Four, call in the people of Qiyun.¡± All four instructions sounded rather informal, which indicated how urgently they had been written down. They were implicit at the same time, which wasmon in bureaucratic wordings. They never put anything direct and clear, but had to keep others guessing. Of course, those present here were all experienced enough with such style and got the gist right away. ¡®Phew¡­¡¯ Mu Kun was secretly relieved. Only the special police force was required and the army was not mentioned, which meant the general scheme was of a mild manner. They were only probing, trying to find out if they could push Phoenix Mountain further. People of Qiyun would y the leading roles and the rest was only there to facilitate. He felt wary at the same time, for it was somewhat within his expectation. The temptation of a spiritual ginseng was not something one could overlook. After all, certain bosses were not getting any younger. *** Tianzhu Mountain, Qiyun Taoist Monastery. Lu Yuanqing summoned his people to discuss the matter as well. The moment he announced the instructions, indignant voices rose around him. Zhang Shouyang frowned and spoke first, ¡°They are sending us to fight against Phoenix Mountain over some spiritual ginseng that might not even exist in the first ce?¡± He couldn¡¯t help it. The authorities¡¯ deliberations of using them as goon squad were apparent. ¡°Humph! They have nned it all out. They are to be the friendly party and we the evil men,¡± sneered Chao Kongtu. ¡°We¡¯ve benefited from their resources and it¡¯s only natural that we should repay them, but to engage in a groundless conflict is rather impetuous,¡± said Shi Yui. For a moment there, everyone was expressing their opinions, all disgruntled in one way or another. Meanwhile, it was bing clearer than ever that the monastery as a whole wished to be free of the government¡¯s control. ¡°I heard you all. Fighting aside, the trip alone will be a rare opportunity for us.¡± Lu Yuanqing silenced the arguing voices and turned to either side. ¡°Senior Brother Shi, Senior Brother Zhang, I¡¯d like to have you toing with me.¡± ¡°That is what we would have proposed.¡± The two stood up in unison. ¡°Junior Brother Chao and Junior Brother Zhong, you two are also wee to join us,¡± he added. Chao Kongtu and Zhong Lingyu were noticeably surprised by the announcement, but replied nheless, ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Senior Brother Mo, I¡¯ll have to trouble you with running the affairs of the monastery while we¡¯re away.¡± ¡°With pleasure.¡± Old Priest Mo nodded. ¡°Despite our absence, Fellow Taoists should remain industrious in their learning. Cultivation is like rowing against the tide, ckness will only result in falling behind. Please remember that.¡± Lu Yuanqing rose to his feet and bowed. *** ¡°Dear passengers, the 16:30 high-speed train D12 from Shengtian to Bing 1Town is ready for departure. Please proceed to entrance A3 for ticket-checking. Please stay in line¡­¡± Inside the waiting hall, passengers on either side of the seats moved into action at the broadcast, thronged forward, and gathered at the ticket barrier. The crowd then slowly squirmed backwards and finally formed two files. Bing Town was in Heishui 2 Province, about 300 km north of Xidu. The city was close to the border and was freezing cold at this season. It was thergest city in area of the four provinces outside Shanhai Pass. Songjiang River was a stopover of this train and the journey would take about four to five hours. Long Qiu and Xiaojin stood at the end of the line. The former had a giant backpack on her back, in which was none other than the wooden box they needed. They had discovered the spiritual ginseng, but did not have the proper equipment to take it away. They thought about having Li Dong deliver the box to them. After all, a single trip would be much faster. In the end, they decided against it, for Li Dong was not capable enough to either make the box or keep it safe. Hence, Xiaojin volunteered to go back to handle it herself. Gu Yu was doubtful able leaving it all to her alone and had Long Qiu go with her. Their seats were in Carriage 7, which turned out to be rather crowded. Nearly 90% of the seats were upied. The box was too big for the luggage rack and they found checking it into the luggage carriage not safe, hence Xiao Qiu sat there holding the box between her arms. ¡°Rumble!¡± ¡°Rumble!¡± Before long, the train started and pulled out of the station. About twenty minutes into the journey, buildings on either side grew sparse, reced by vast barends of wintertime. Long Qiu had nothing better to do but sit there, dazed. Xiaojin, on the other hand, kept her head low and busied herself with a mobile phone game, mumbling as she yed on. ¡°Ban Ban, take the HP kit¡­ where are you, Ban Ban¡­ Ban Ban, kill him¡­ Ban Ban, are you drunk or what¡­ Ban Ban, you took my MP kit¡­ Ban Ban, switch on your microphone, I need to curse you¡­¡± Xiao Qiu was curious. ¡°What are you ying?¡± ¡°Some dumb game. Don¡¯t get into it. It¡¯s a waste of time,¡± replied Xiaojin without looking up. ¡°¡­¡± Long Qiu stretched out her neck and took a peek. Hopping up and down on the screen was a short-legged little thing, which would throw something out every now and then. It was dumb! Xiaojin was still ying when she suddenly cried out, ¡°F**k, inte¡¯s gone!¡± The train had driven into a signal-less zone and the phone lost connection. Xiaojin was greatly disappointed. Tossing the phone aside, she stretched herself. ¡°Only 40 minutes? It felt like forever. Ugh, I hate travelling by trains¡­ Hey, Qiu Qiu, what did you say sister need that thing for?¡± Long Qiu was very cautious. She set up a confinement before leaning closer to Xiaojin¡¯s ear. In that way, others would only see two girls whispering to each other and ignore the fact that they could hear nothing. ¡°The spiritual essence of Phoenix Mountain is of Wood property and so is the spiritual ginseng. Moving it to our mountain would be making the perfection still more perfect. Only good things wille out of it. Plus, Phoenix Mountain is a node and the spiritual essence there is dense. The ginseng will eventually drain all nts around it if we leave it on Changbai Mountain. It can also create abyrinth and we can use it as our defense formation¡­¡± ¡°Wow, wow, wow!¡± Xiaojin was a little jealous of Long Qiu¡¯s proud little face. ¡°I see you¡¯ve learned a lot. That¡¯s worthy of your rank¡ªthe third of Phoenix Mountain.¡± ¡°Teehee, put your heart into it and you will¡­ Ouch!¡± Long Qiu was still talking when the other little head moved closer and bumped her on the forehead. She cried out in pain. ¡°What was that for?¡± ¡°Lecture me all you want, but don¡¯t act cute in front of me!¡± Xiaojin also found it quite painful, but restrained herself from showing it. She set her mind to look as aloof and nonchnt as a flower on a mountaintop. The two girls giggled and bantered. Before they realized, the train had left Liaodong Province and drove into W Province. W was a less developed province inparison and had a greater mountainous region. On other side were tall, bleak white mountains dotted with cottages that reminded one of building blocks. Long Qiu looked out of the window and seemed to recall the ce. Up ahead was probably a small station called Huang Vige, which the train would not stop at. The next stop after that would be a major one, where the train would stop for three minutes. From there the train would drive without stopping. Another major station and they would arrive at Songjiang River. ¡°Breet¡­ breet¡­¡± ¡°Breet¡­¡± The train drove smoothly on. All of a sudden, the shrill rm rang out, drowning every other noise in the carriages. The passengers all winced,pletely at loss of what was going on. The attendant showed up in time to calm the crowd. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that was the smoke detector. Probably someone has been smoking. We wille to an emergency stop. Please be patient and wait a moment.¡± ¡°F**k! Which dumbass was that?¡± ¡°I got one on myst trip. Such an idiot. Can¡¯t believe I¡¯m running into one again!¡± ¡°Son of a b*tch! People like that should get detention for ten days and pay a 10 000 yuan fine. I bet they would ever do it again!¡± That was the way it was! The sneaky bastards who would cost a high-speed train an emergency stop with their smoking were hated by all. Everyone was tongueshing at the culprit with no mercy at all. The train gradually came to a stop just outside Huang Vige. Meanwhile, the attendants started checking the carriages one by one. As expected, they found a teenage boy in the toilet of Carriage 12 with a cigarette butt between his fingers. Yet no one had noticed¡ªno one could have noticed, for that matter¡ªthat a figure had gone up to the train, tampered with something, then went furtively away. Chapter 255 Chapter 255: Taken Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m sorry. I just couldn¡¯t hold it any longer!¡± Inside the office carriage of the head of the train crew, that teenage boy soon admitted his folly, but it was toote for that. Awaiting him was the railway police, who would take him into custody and charge him for a fine of 500 yuan1 . The incident was solved and the order restored. The driver was about to restart the train when a line of reminders in red texts popped up on the electronic screen. Frowning, he fiddled with some settings before pressing down the button of the inte. ¡°Attention, attention, possible malfunction detected. Request for additional temporary stopping time.¡± A couple of minutester, the head of the crew and the maintenance staff on board arrived at the steering room. ¡°What is the problem?¡± ¡°The wheel hubs probably took an impact from the bast because of the emergency brake. We need to get off to examine it.¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ The head of the crew felt his stomach dropping. A problem with the wheel hubs could be nothing or everything. He hoped he wouldn¡¯t be too unlucky. A couple of crew members immediately got off to examine the situation and indeed found an impact mark on one set of the wheels¡ªa deep one, for that matter. To make it worse, the scratch just happened to be on a key stress point. Carrying on driving could possibly lead to a major ident. No one was ready to take that much of a responsibility. They could only inform the railway division ahead and ask them to send a maintenance vehicle here. It was the worst possible situation. One train down and all trains on this route would be stuck where they were. Whereas in the carriages,ints erupted from the passengers. ¡°This is the worst day ever! I¡¯ve made arrangements already. Now everything is ruined!¡± ¡°How long are we going to wait? What? Two to three hours?! Are you f**king kidding me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all that sh*tty smoker¡¯s fault! Damn it, I want to kick his a*s!¡± Sweat covered the attendants¡¯ foreheads as they walked aroundforting the passengers, which was of little use. Theining voices died down by themselves after a while as the crowd grew tired from it. What could they do but wait? Long Qiu and Xiaojin were also waiting anxiously. Taking the train was their only option, for Xidu was too close to Shengtian to qualify for a direct flight. All nes going from Xidu to Shengtian were transiting through other cities before going to thetter, which would take even longer than a train ride. Hence their choice of taking the high-speed train, which would take them directly to Songjiang River Town. Before they noticed, the sky outside was growing dimmer. The emergency lights were on at first, but as the waiting extended, they were switched offter. The carriages was pitch dark and the air felt heated. With their thick winter clothes, the passengers were growing ufortably hot. ¡°Attendant, open the door! My wife is going to faint!¡± a man yelled suddenly. The attendant rejected tactfully, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but regtion says we are not allowed to open¡­¡± ¡°Regtion my a*s! Just open it!¡± The man rushed to the door in a few strides and fumbled blindly at something. Somehow he managed to open it and supported his wife out of the train. With the fresh cold air outside, she felt better right away. Several others followed suit and swiftly got out of the train as well. The attendant stood helplessly at the door and called out, ¡°Passengers, please go back to you seats. You shouldn¡¯t be lingering outside¡­¡± Unfortunately, not only was the attendant ignored, people were getting off from the neighboring carriages as well. Xiaojin was in utter boredom. ¡°It¡¯s stifling in here. How about have a walk outside?¡± ¡°I feel all right here. Are you hot? Let me make you some wind.¡± Long Qiu put her hands out and fanned. There was indeed a little breeze, apanied with a faint fragrance. ¡°Ok, that¡¯s it. You¡¯re not my bed-warming servant girl. I¡¯ll be back in a minute.¡± Xiaozhai gave Long Qiu¡¯s forehead a little tap and jumped happily out of the train. A dozen people were already standing around in small groups. Little dots of glow flickered on and off in the darkness¡ªthose were men smoking. Apart from the small area they were at, she could see faint lights about 500 m ahead of them. That was the station of Huang Vige. Seeing that the train was not going to start anytime soon, she swaggered towards that direction. Huang Vige was probably a township. Despite being close to the railway, most trains would not stop here. Only the slow ones with super-long routes would stop here for a couple of minutes. The station looked decrepit. A dimmp swayed slightly in the wind and there was no staff around. Xiaojin leaned on the tform, looked around, found nothing interesting, and turned around happily to head back. She was halfway back when she halted. From somewhere ahead of her came a faint weeping sound. ¡°Sob¡­¡± ¡°Sob¡­ sob, sob¡­¡± She could see things in the dark and made out a short, child-like figure. It was wrapped in a down jacket, had a beanie on the head, and was wiping away tears. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Xiaojin rolled her eyes. The things going through her head on a daily basis were never ¡°daily¡±. The first idea that came to her was not ¡°oh, poor helpless kid¡±, but ¡°someone¡¯s looking for trouble!¡± As the saying went, boldness of execution stemmed from superb skill (more like simple-mindedness, in her case). She moved closer in a few strides and shouted, ¡°Hey, from which cave did you crawl out?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Her loud voice scared the little thing, who was stunned silent for a few seconds before answering between broken sobs. ¡°Sister, I came out to have some fresh air with my dad, but I can¡¯t find him now. Can you take me back to the train?¡± ¡°Do you take me as an idiot? There¡¯s a train of people over there and you just have to stand here waiting for me?¡± Xiaojinshed out right away, her words utterly merciless. ¡°Haven¡¯t you read Journey to the West? Those wandering around in the desertednds are either evil spirits or monsters! Howe a cunning kid as articte as you cannot get back to the train? Gosh, the viins nowadays have the dumbest plots¡­¡± Why, that was in a way remarkable. Her own reasoning had her mind fixed on the conclusion that this was a trap, which she guessed perfectly right by sheer luck. The kid looked speechless. Written all over his face was ¡°why the hell didn¡¯t you y by the book?¡±. Of course, this turn of events did not scare him a little bit. The childish innocent expression was gone, instantly reced by a timeworn and frightening face. ¡°Eww. So you¡¯re not a cute little boy after all.¡± Xiaojin found the man disgusting. Stretching out her right hand, her palm opened up like an orchid, sweeping gracefully yet fiercely at her opponent. The dwarf did not dodge. Instead, he lowered down suddenly¡ªthe entire man sank into the earth like a gopher. Sh*t! A Tu Xingsun 2 ! She opened her eyes widely and was quick enough to react. Thrusting against the ground with tip of her foot, she leapt backwards. However, her enemy was faster. Two sharp ws that reminded one of those of a beast erupted out of the ground and clenched tightly around her ankles. ¡°Hoho,e down here!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Taken by surprise, Xiaojin was dragged down, her feet sinking into the ground all the way to her calves and still sinking. ¡®Don¡¯t panic! Don¡¯t panic! Stay calm!¡¯ This was her first ever realbat and it was inevitable that she went all hurry-scurry. She kept reminding herself: What do I know? What have I learnt? ¡°Bang!¡± Instantly, the energy of Metal Thunder ran frantically inside her, then came all the way down to her feet. She stepped hard and the ground sted open. With a scream, the dwarf flew out from beneath. He knelt down on one knee, feeling an overbearing power of destruction rampaging inside him, exactly like what he experienced the other day in the mountain. He was petrified and activated his own energy to suppress it. However, the thunder energy only dashed on for a little while before it lost it strength and dissipated on its own. ¡°Haha, is that all you can do?¡± He knew what he was dealing with right away. ¡°Shut up!¡± Xiaojin was a smart girl. The man was quite capable and she wascking realbat experience. All she needed was to get away from him and went back to get Xiao Qiu. They exchanged a few more blows. The dwarf was attacking with numerous unconventional moves and she was barely keeping up with him. With much difficulty, she was able to force the man to parry her attack with sheer force, which won her a brief moment of opportunity. Little Soap turned around and ran. One stride and she was several meters away. She opened her mouth and was about to call out when there came a ripping sound from behind. A streak of dim glow flew out of the woods, charging at her at a high speed. Still midair, she had no way of dodging it. Something jabbed into her left rib like a poisonous prick. Instantly, a numbing pain spread to her entire body. Fright made Xiaojin break into a cold sweat. She immediately activated her energy to fight against it, but there was a ¡°pop¡± and a second streak of dim glow arrived. ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Something stung her on the neck and she was losing consciousness. The dim glow seemed to have a powerful paralysing effect. Her cultivation was not enough to fight them both and Xiaojin soon passed away under the impact. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Right then, another figure dashed out of the woods. Together, he and the dwarf carried Xiaojin off the ground and with some unknown method, the three melted into the darkness as if they had disappeared into thin air. They soon fled into the mountains. *** Back on the train, Long Qiu felt she had waited too long and went to search for Xiaojin herself, the box still in her hands. She looked around at the door and asked, ¡°Excuse me, did you see a tall and pretty girl going out?¡± ¡°Well, I think so. She should be outside,¡± replied the attendant. ¡°But she isn¡¯t!¡± ¡°What? Have you searched carefully?¡± The attendant panicked as well. Losing a passenger was a major ident. She immediately reported to the head of the crew and sent people out to look for the girl. Long Qiu still had the big box on her back. She released the Golden Silkworm right away. ¡°Go find Jin Jin!¡± The Golden Silkworm circled around in the air shortly before stopping at a spot, where it paused a little, found nothing, and flew on up a hill. Long Qiu followed suit. Behind her came the callings. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re going to get lost here. We¡¯ve already called the police!¡± ¡°Come back down! The train is starting soon!¡± A few attendants tried to run after her, but there was no way they could catch up. Xiao Qiu was on the verge of breaking into tears. She couldn¡¯t think of anything else but running head on into the vast dark forest. *** ¡°What?¡± Xiaozhai bolted up. ¡°Don¡¯t cry. Tell me what happened.¡± ¡°The train broke down. It was stifling inside and she got off¡­ then I went to find her. I realized something was wrong. I followed all the way deep into the mountain, but the scent was gone as well¡­ sob¡­ sob¡­¡± Long Qiu¡¯s crying voice was heartrending on the other end. She was eaten up by guilt: had she been able to stop Xiaojin from going out or had she followed her out, maybe none of this would have happened. Xiaozhai remained calm enough. ¡°Any leads?¡± ¡°Golden Silkworm, Golden Silkworm hated it. There seems to be a smell of some poisonous bug.¡± ¡°A poisonous bug?¡± The couple frowned simultaneously. Gu Yu asked, ¡°Where are you now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m in Huang Vige, a township.¡± ¡°Stay where you are. I¡¯m on my way!¡± Xiaozhai did not me Long Qiu, but gave her someforting words instead. Hanging up the phone, she said, ¡°They are trying to make us too busy to care for anything else and forcing us to split. Ha, they¡¯ve seeded¡­¡± Her tone was t, but Gu Yu¡¯s stomach lurched at her voice. ¡°I¡¯m only curious about one thing. How could they know our whereabouts so perfectly? Is it a coincidence that their train just happened to break down and there just happened to be someone smoking on board?¡± ¡°Are you saying that the authorities are somehow involved?¡± Xiaozhai asked, then shook her head. ¡°No, they can¡¯t be that stupid. To be able to subdue Xiaojin and take her alive would take at least two capable men of the acquired state. Shamanism is behind this.¡± ¡°I agree, but they must have had help from their man inside the government.¡± After taking out the archmage of the northwest branch, the couple learned from the scroll that unlike themon cults such as Falun Gong, Shamanism had been focusing on developing elite members. During the past several decades, their members infiltrated all level of the authorities, and were even able to obtain some military power. They had no name list. Therade that had worked alongside you for years could be a disciple. The situation was especially dire in the regions where the four branches operated. Liaodong Province was not too bad, but one could not begin to imagine what W Province would be like. That was what concerned the government the most. It was not that they did not want to eradicate this thing, they just could not afford any rash moves. The couple had gone up the mountain already, so Long Qiu called Shui Yao, who then went to fetch the two. Now all three were back in Changqing Vige. Their original n was to get the wooden box, put the ginseng in, and off they¡¯d go. Unfortunately, not only were they short of a person now, the wooden box was also not delivered¡ªso much so with moving the spiritual ginseng. Their n waspleted ruined and the other party had sessfully held them back. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai¡¯s face was emotionless. After a moment of silence, she suddenly said, ¡°Old Gu, has it urred to you that we¡¯ve been ying too nicely so far?¡± ¡°Before this, not really. But now, hoho¡­¡± Gu Yu gave her a crooked smile. ¡°Are you all right going alone? Do you need me to tag along?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. You take care of things here.¡± ¡°Ok, then I¡¯m not going back up there.¡± He nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll be staying right here in Changqing Vige. I¡¯m curious whom they will send.¡± ¡­ ¡°Wee-woo¡­ wee-woo¡­¡± With the long, jarring siren, a police car drove along a street in Songjiang River, sshing muddy snow as it went. At the shing turning signals, the car slowed down and turned at a roundabout. In the small square next to the roundabout was an anti-riot vehicle, which was guarded by two fully armed special force police officers. Two others were patrolling outside the school gate some distance away. In merely two days, this freezing cold little town that had stood aloof from the worldly sess became the focus of the spotlight. Themon folk knew no insider information, but their instinct was as acute as ever. Instantly, they sensed the stillness and restlessness, which reminded them of the quietness before a storm. ¡°Screech!¡± The police car came to a stop outside the police station. The doors were opened and several people got off in handcuffs. The passers-by dared not stop to look, but discussed among themselves as they walked on. ¡°Those stupid men again. Do they have nothing better to do that they just have to stick their heads in this?¡± ¡°The mountain is off limits¡ªwe have been told so. These people just have to show they¡¯re somehow special. Well, they got what they asked for. Ten days in detention at least.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t they need an excuse to take these people in?¡± ¡°Take your pick: making up and spreading rumors, disturbance of the public security¡­ There¡¯s always one ready.¡± They scurried on, both excited and frightened, with the belief that they had just peeked into some top-level secret. Mu Kun was taking it all in from a second-floor window. He had only just arrived today. Those above took this operation very seriously and sent two deputy directors out here¡ªhim and another one named Zhang Juan, who was your traditional type of soldier, valuing the country above anything else. Zhang Juan had never met those from Phoenix Mountain before and was not that impressed by thetter. The fact that these two were sent together was proof enough of the bosses¡¯ intention: keep the opinion bnced. The special police force of Xidu had been stationed out ordingly, guarding the frontier of Songjiang River-Changqing Vige-mountain foot with full strength. The frenzy of going up the mountain soon died down among themon folk. Apart from the idiotic few, all had realized something major was taking ce. ¡°Knock, knock!¡± Just then, there came a knock at the door. Someone of the sub-bureau entered. ¡°Director Mu, people from Qiyun have arrived.¡± Chapter 256 Chapter 256: Real Power (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Creak!¡± The big thick door was pushed open and a team of six entered the guest house of the town government. Almost instantly, they attracted the attention of all. The one leading the team was of medium built and had an air of slyness about him. One could tell right away that he was capable of dealing with every kind of men. He was the mostmon one, though, for the five walking behind him were much less ¡°conventional¡±. They all arranged their hair into Taoist buns and wore loose robes with wide sleeves. Despite the thinness of the clothes, they did not seem to be affected by the coldness at all. Each man had a cloth bundle over his shoulder and wore a pair of traditional Taoist shoes of ten directions. Some of the bundles even had a hilt protruding from them. Moving their eyes upward, one would see five individuals with an extraordinarily graceful bearing that was of an elegance rarely seen in this mortal world. As a well-travelled tourism destination, all sorts of symposiums and conferences were held in Songjiang River throughout the year. The guest house was therefore rather plushly equipped. The service staff had seen their fair share of big shots, but they were getting all jittery at the presence of these five. However big them shots were, they were but mortal men. These priests, however, looked like immortals descending on earth. They went up in the elevator and settled down in their rooms. The host soon bid his farewell, while Lu Yuanqing, Shi Yui, Zhang Shouyang, Chao Kongtu, and Zhong Lingyu gathered into one room. They were all disciples of abbots and had spent their days cultivating industriously in their temples since childhood with little opportunity to travel in the outside world. This ¡°boss team¡± was quite a novelty to them all. ¡°This little town of the north has a charm in its own way¡ªquite different from what we have in the south,¡± said Zhang Shouyang. ¡°Sigh, we¡¯ve been shutting ourselves in the temples for so long, closing our ears from the outside world. Now that we¡¯re out here, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re falling behind the modern society,¡± said Shi Yui. ¡°Enough with all the sighing. I¡¯ve heard about the wonders of Changbai Mountain for so long. Since we¡¯ve finally got the opportunity toe here, why don¡¯t we go up the mountain and have a look?¡± Chao Kongtu had the most lively character and was about to jump to his feet right away. ¡°Be patient! We have arrived and people from the government should be at our heels. Just wait a moment.¡± Despite being a year younger, Zhong Lingyu was much more prudent and always kept a solemn look on his face. After some small talk, Zhang Shouyang asked, ¡°Junior Brother, you have dealt with Phoenix Mountain before. Exactly how capable are they?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t rush to irresponsible conclusions, but they are well beyond my reach.¡± Lu Yuanqing held nothing back. ¡°Both of them?¡± ¡°Both of them.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s your n? Are we really going to fight them?¡± Shi Yuai joined in. ¡°Humph! We are not that kind of diligent goon squad. We are here and that¡¯s all we are here for,¡± sneered Chao Kongtu. ¡°That won¡¯t do. The government is not stupid. They¡¯d see right through that,¡± Zhang Shouyang refuted right away. ¡°We are eating off the authorities¡¯ palms now, relying on them to provide all resources. We cannot break free of that rtionship. Not only will we make an effort, we will also have to make all our effort. It will at least do us good in the future.¡± Lu Yuanqing said, ¡°I agree. We don¡¯t have much say over the decisions at the moment, so our attitude matters a great deal. Winning the battle or not, we must do our best, not to mention¡­¡± ¡°Not to mention what?¡± asked Chao Kongtu. ¡°Have you ever wondered about how did those to be so powerful all of a sudden at such a young age? Phoenix Mountain was never an important Taoist establishment.¡± He paused a little and went on, ¡°When Wang Qi asked about the method they followed, that Mr. Gu¡¯s answer was Dan method. Ha, all the sects of Quanzhen put together have barely managed to save the Neidan practice method over the past thousand years and there were more forefathers who had spend their entire life on cultivation to no avail than we can count. We were only able to break into the innate state because of the coincidence set by fate. Let me ask you this: what Dan method were they cultivating with?¡± ¡°Are you suggesting¡­¡± The expression on Zhang Shouyang¡¯s face changed. ¡°What they were using was not Dan method, but possibly a method of the ancient immortals?¡± ¡®Jeez!¡¯ The words astonished the other three, especially Chao Kongtu and Zhong Lingyu. Zhengyi¡¯s orthodox teaching was derived from none other than the ancient method of essence-consuming. Now that the name was mentioned, what else could they feel but exhration? Being a disciple of the Longmen Sect, although Shi Yui considered the essence-consuming method of Quanzhen heretical and would in theory suppress it whenever he got the chance, they were no longer in the ancient times. Taoism was on the wane and they had to work together as a team. He realized what Lu Yuanqing was getting at. ¡°Essentially, the government is still very conservative. They couldn¡¯t care less about the cultivation methods. Are you trying to gain their awareness through this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not only that. How would the authorities handle it once they know about it? We could well use the opportunity, and¡­¡± ¡°Knock knock knock!¡± Before Lu Yuanqing could finish his sentence, someone was at the door. The five fell silent at once. Zhong Lingyu went to answer the door and found the two deputies, Mu Kun and Zhang Juan, outside. ¡°Thank you all foring all the way here!¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, deputies!¡± The two parties exchanged greetings. Mu Kun was rather kind, but Zhang Juan¡¯s annoyance and contempt was undisguised. He was the old-school type of military man who could not stomach such superstition. ¡°All major sites from Songjiang River to the mountain foot had been stationed with our men. We¡¯ve searched the mountain as well, but have so far found no such spiritual ginseng. But judging from Gu Yu¡¯s moves, the possibility of its existence is very high.¡± Mu Kun briefly talked them through the current situation. Lu Yuanqing then asked, ¡°Where is Mr. Gu at the moment?¡± ¡°He¡¯s still in Changqing Vige. It seems he has stationed himself there. The other one has gone to Huang Vige. We don¡¯t know exactly what has happened, but probably something has gone wrong on Long Qiu and Jiang Xiaojin¡¯s end.¡± He was obviously concerned by the turn of the events. ¡°Those two are young girls, but they could fight. I¡¯m worried about a possible third party.¡± ¡°Third, forth, who cares! The entire special force is here. I¡¯d like to see them try!¡± Zhang Juan bragged, apparently he couldn¡¯t care less. ¡°¡­¡± Mu Kun darted him a disgruntled look and fought back his temper. ¡°You have had a tiresome, long trip. I think you should have some rest before we make the visit.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. We can leave now.¡± The suggestion was a polite one, but Lu Yuanqing knew too well to take it. As expected, Mu Kun did not insist. They went downstairs right away and headed for Changqing Vige in SUVs. *** The small vige was no different from before. It was still covered by the white snow and still looked like a still frame. The SUVS arrived noisily a the vige entrance and Zhang Juan, who had not said a word the entire trip, picked up the inte andmanded, ¡°Assemble!¡± ¡°Vroom!¡± ¡°Vroom!¡± At that, two ck bullet-proof troop carriers drove out of two alleys, joined the SUVs, and made their way together towards the Shui Family. ¡°What are you doing, Old Zhang?¡± Mu Kun was shocked. ¡°Nothing. Don¡¯t want the soldiers to sit around, that¡¯s all. It¡¯d be such a waste,¡± said Zhang Juan. ¡°Let me remind you. The order is: negotiation first!¡± ¡°Ha, let me remind you as well. The order also says: we have the permission to open fire in critical situations!¡± ¡°Open fire? Hundreds of vigers live here. You¡¯re going to open fire in a residential area?¡± Mu Kun¡¯s tone was harsh. ¡°Why, don¡¯t be so tense. I¡¯m not a homicidal maniac. We can show him some muscles, can¡¯t we? What if he is just ying tough? It would be so much easier for us if he decided to bend his knees.¡± Zhang Juan grinned. ¡°You!¡± Mu Kun was about to retort when the fleet of vehicles stopped. They had arrived at the Shui Family house. ¡°nk!¡± The trunk of the two troop carriers opened and twenty special force police officers filed out. With its vast territory and thergest national poption in the world, the police force of this country had made quite some advancement in the past ny years or so on all aspects. Armament-wise, they were equipped with just about everything: vehicle station, automatic rifle, light submarine gun, sniper rifle, capture, EOD robot,ser ranging device, you name it. Looking around, the five priests saw a demonstration of weaponsbined with modern technology. Despite everything else, they were still civilians who would have no idea what state power was until they faced it. The disy made its impact. Even someone like Lu Yuanqing felt ill at ease: would it be possible for the monastery to break free of the government¡¯s control after all? The Shui Family was in a remote corner to begin with. With the site-clearing beforehand, there was an unnatural silence within a 500 m radius. ¡°Man your posts!¡± Captain of themandos gave it a wave and the team members climbed onto a low wall in unison. The weapons were then set up, holding the house at gunpoint on all angles. The rest four followed behind the two deputies, keeping guard with gun in hand. ¡°¡­¡± The look on the five priests¡¯ face was hard to describe while they kept their silence. Zhang Juanughed loudly. Scanning their faces deliberately, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go in!¡± With that, the team entered the courtyard. They only made a couple of steps in when the wood door opened with a creak. A tall, lean figure strolled out, wearing only thin clothes. He seemed cold with his hands tucked away in his wide sleeves. His long neck bent forward a little, lowering his head slightly. He stood quietly there, resembling very much of a red-crowned crane with its feathered wings lowered, indulging itself in self-admiration in the middle of a muddy pond. ¡°So many¡­¡± He looked up slightly, a vague smile flickering in his eyes. ¡°Priest Lu, I see you¡¯vee as well.¡± ¡°Hello, Mr. Gu!¡± Lu Yuanqing bowed, then introduced, ¡°These are my senior and junior brothers.¡± ¡°Very nice.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Mu Kun frowned, sensing something was off. Gu Yu had always appeared affable before, but now, Mu Kun could feel some treacherous torrent behind all the mildness. He went up to Gu Yu. ¡°Mr. Gu, sorry about the inconvenience. We¡¯re here to make some inquiries.¡± ¡°Come inside, then. It¡¯s too cold out here.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. Just answer me, do you have the spiritual ginseng or not?¡± Zhang Juan asked loudly. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu nced at him and smiled. ¡°I do!¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ That took everyone by surprise: the man admitted it? Just like that? Mu Kun was growing more uneasy. ¡°Mr. Gu, that¡¯s what brought us here today. The government has proposed that we should work together on this. We can study it together and share the profit.¡± ¡°Oh? How does the working together work?¡± ¡°Well, unlike the spiritual stone and spiritual rice, ginseng has long been used as a medicine. Our country has the world-leading technology in the field of traditional medicine. If the government could take the lead in developing the medicine, more value wille out of it. Of course, you¡¯ll be ying an important role as well. After all, you are the one who has discovered it. We still have much to learn from you.¡± Mu Kun was abashed by his own words. Without saying, it was undisguised robbery and in return, Gu Yu was offered the tiniest reward. ¡°And the sharing part?¡± Gu Yu went on asking. Zhang Juan grew impatient. ¡°Enough! Stop ying dumb! Give it to us and you¡¯ll get your reward. It¡¯ll be worth much more with us than with one man.¡± ¡°Hoho, the spiritual ginseng cannot survive anywhere else but on Phoenix Mountain.¡± Gu Yu was not vexed at all. He crossed his hands behind his back and announced loud and clear, ¡°Plus, I don¡¯t want to give it to you.¡± Chapter 257 Chapter 257: Real Power (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The will of an individual was nothing when facing real power. Zhang Juan and his men came here with an old mindset and wanted to do things the old way. With a show of good cop/bad cop and twenty guns to back them up, they never considered the possibility of a failure. This man, however, had put it inly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to give it to you!¡± With that, the atmosphere immediately grew extremely tense. The evening sky was slowly dimming and powdery snow started drifting down from the gloomy, gray clouds. The ck tiles and bricks, cracked stone stairs, the haystack in one corner of the yard, and the pile of corns¡­ everything was soon covered by a thinyer of snow. ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Juan was also taken by surprise, but a mocking smile then crept up his face as if he was witnessing a naughty kid brandishing his slingshot in front of an adult and thought that was enough to support his confidence. Ignorant and stupid! ¡°Haha, just listen to that arrogant tone! I¡¯ve seen plenty people like you before. They all thought they could challenge the order of the state just because they had their petty tricks. It never urred to them that in our eyes, you¡¯re nothing but clowns. It almost make meugh.¡± Zhang Juan shook his head, his tone filled with pity. ¡°You are helpful to our country and we¡¯d like to consider you a talented man. Too bad your head is not straight. Such a pity.¡± ¡°Wait a minute, Old Zhang, don¡¯t go there yet.¡± Mu Kun tried to mediate. ¡°Mr. Gu, let¡¯s talk. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s negotiable.¡± ¡°I¡¯m done talking to you. Fight me or leave now.¡± Gu Yu remained calm-faced and genial. ¡°Humph!¡± Zhang Juan could not be bothered to respond. ¡°Old Mu, did you hear him? Negotiation is out of question. Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m not following the orders.¡± With that, he paid no more attention to Gu Yu and gestured with his hand. ¡°Whoosh!¡± The dozen men on the low wall and the four special force members in the yard, as well as the sniper lying in waiting somewhere, were instantly ready to open fire. All angles were covered, including the area in front of the house, the rooftop, all corners, as well as the space between the deputies and Gu Yu. ¡°Junior Brother, what now?¡± The five priests watched this nervously. Shi Yui¡¯s lips quivered from using a whispering technique, which prevented one¡¯s speech from being overheard. ¡°Back away. Let¡¯s see how things proceed first,¡± Lu Yuanqing replied using the same technique. Leading the other four, he fell back for a couple of steps, keeping away from the firing range. Mu Kun was still trying to talk Gu Yu out of it. He was genuinely impressed by Phoenix Mountain, but could only act asmanded. He sighed inward. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu neither moved nor responded to the various reactions, as if giving them time to set into ce. It was some time before he spoke again, ¡°Hm, interesting. The ignorant never have the self-awareness and the fools are always proud of themselves. Such a pity¡­¡± A chuckle escaped his lips, half sighing and half mocking. It was not loud, but everyone heard it clearly. ¡°Let¡¯s see how much longer you can smile for!¡± Zhang Juan was enraged and bellowed his order, ¡°Open¡ª¡± The ¡°fire¡± had not left the tip of his tongue when his voice was drowned by a series of popping sounds. ¡°Pop!¡± ¡°Pop!¡± ¡°Pop!¡± The space of the courtyard contorted as little dots of red light emerged out of the thin air. The temperature rose, melting the light snow. They looked like little floatingnterns. The red dots seemed to have lives of their own. They each found their own target and scattered, dragging a radiant tail behind. One of the rifle-holding fellows was about to pull the trigger when he saw a sh and a red dot disappeared in front of his eyes. The next moment, before he had time to think, something happened in that split second when his body had yet to react. ¡°Pop!¡± Something prated his right arm in an instant and me burst out ferociously. An unbearable pain drilled deep into his body like a virus. He felt as though his soul was burning together with it. ¡°Aaaah!¡± He let out a scream, fell down from the low wall in a thump, and rolled around frantically in the snow. The next second, he fainted. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± ¡°What is that thing?¡± ¡°Aaaaah! Help! Help!¡± Momentarily, fireworks filled the courtyard, so bright and resplendent that they stung the eyes. Behind all the splendid appearances, however, was a living hell. The red dots punched through the dozen or so men on the low wall, turning them into giant fireballs. Some fell down into the courtyard, smashing pots and jars, while some others set the firewood stack on fire and with a ¡°Boosh!¡±, the me erupted higher still. ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Juan was halfway scared to death by now. Among his fear, there was also the bewilderment: that was a dozen elite special force police officers and a dozen top-of-the-line weapons! All had gone to ashes in half a blink right in front of his eyes. His body felt lead-ridden as his muscles turned rigid and dead; even his heart seemed to have stopped thumping. ¡°Bang!¡± Just then, a long-expected gunshot shattered the cold air. The sniper who had been lying in wait in the tree finally pulled the trigger. ¡°Did, did it get him?¡± Zhang Juan shuddered, the stiff spell broken by the great expectation. With much difficulty, he turned to check, but froze on the spot right away. Where was he? Where was the man? The ce were Gu Yu stood a second ago was empty. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± Having missed his mark on the first shot, the sniper hunched over the tree trunk, panting while searching the ground through the telescopic sight. The next second, he felt a breeze brushing against his face, sshing snow kes into every direction, which swirled casually in the wind and gathered into a fluffy snowball. It crashnded on his face. ¡°Pat!¡± ¡°Thud!¡± His vision went dark and the sniper fell headfirst down the tree, the rifle tumbling a long way on the snow. ¡°Rustle!¡± Wind breezed in again. The little kes of snow slowly drifted onto the ground, turning into a tall, lean figure. Gu Yu nced at the sniper; he could not help but nod to himself. It was his first time using the Shadow-switching Technique in realbat. The application was a little shaky and the duration was on the short side, but the little distance from inside the courtyard to out here posed no problem. ¡°You, you¡­¡± Zhang Juan pointed at Gu Yu, his teeth ttering. The idea of running away hadpletely escaped him; he was overwhelmed by fear. Mu Kun was no better. He knew Phoenix Mountain was powerful, but never thought they were that powerful! Moreover, the young man here was almost a different person from the one they dealt with before. ¡°Pursuing private ends with your grant excuses¡ªit¡¯s time for you to change the way of your thinking.¡± Gu Yu turned around and strolled back for the yard, walking directly towards Zhang Juan. *** ¡°Now!¡± Lu Yuanqing, who had been watching on the side the entire time, suddenlymanded in his cold voice as he drew a horsetail whisk from behind his back. The whisk had a red handle and white tassels. The handle was made from the wood in Emei node and the tassels braided from the hair of some mutated animal, which were abination of hardness and softness. It was a formidable weapon. ¡°Wham!¡± 4888 streaks of tassels smashed down at Gu Yu with a violent ripping sound like 4888 steel maces. Shi Yui also drew his weapon, a spiritual sword, and charged right away with the killing move of Longmen Sword Skill. ¡°Whoosh!¡± The sword swept across the air, drawing out a circle of moon-like bright light in front of Gu Yu. The chilly, shining de then reached for Gu Yu¡¯s chest with its tip. The top two cultivators of the monastery struck out together, instantly blocking all Gu Yu¡¯s routes of retreat. Seeing the striking performance, Zhang Juan grew a little hopeful again. His confidence was nearly extinguished after the crushing defeat a minute ago. Two innate state men against one, and there were three more as their backup. They should be able to take him down¡­ ¡°Very nice.¡± An identicalment as before suddenly rang out among the fierce sword movements. Then, Zhang Juan saw the man¡¯s sleeves swelled up and his palms met. ¡°Bang!¡± Lu Yuanqing felt a tremendous wave of energy running up along his whisk. He dashed backwards right away with a few heavy stomps before he shook his whisk and barely managed to counterbnce that force. Shi Yui got it worse. The bones of his hand crackled as he flew backwards with his back arched. The spiritual sword was dropped to the ground with a nk. ¡°Mhm¡­¡± He fought back the blood rushing up his throat and was utterly petrified. There was no technique or Taoist skill in that strike, but the sheer force of the innate state energy alone. Did he just got defeated with one strike? How contented and enthusiastic he had been from his recent breakthrough into the innate state! But he was defeated! His eyes flickered and finally set on that calm, indifferent face. How profound the man¡¯s spiritual energy had to be to draw out such a huge gap between their capabilities? ¡°Don¡¯t panic!¡± Just then, Lu Yuanqing¡¯s warning reached him. Shi Yui jolted. Zhang Juan and Mu Kun were too high-ranked to allow any negligence. Since they were all in it together, the priests had to give all they had to keep the two men safe. Had anything happened to them, the entire monastery wouldn¡¯t be enough to pay the cost. With that realization in mind, he picked up the sword in his left hand and inserted his spiritual energy. With a popping sound, the de abruptly grew 10 cm longer, cutting into the ground without making a sound. Lu Yuanqing also waved his whisk, a white beam of light 30-cm-long extending out from it. ¡°Ya!¡± Both uttering an evil-expelling sound, they charged forward together. The sword shone coldly like the moon and the whisk as fierce as the wind summoned from the upper atmosphere. ¡°ck Emperor of the north, Defenders of the Supreme Court, and Blood-eating soldiers with red scales, go!¡± Beside them, Chao Kongtu waved his right hand and the talisman between his fingers selfbusted, giving out a strange dim glow. He chanted the spell. The dim glow expanded, growing into a grotesque weapon resembling a saber, which then hacked at Gu Yu, emanating a bloody, ferocious aura. ¡°Xuanming of Taiyi, spirit of Bing Ding¡­ drink long from ten thousand li away and receive this talisman. Obey at once!¡± At the same time, Zhong Lingyu also chanted his spell. The talisman between his fingers flickered alive with purple arcs of lightning, emanating a hint of the power of Nature itself. It was the specialty of the Qingwei Sect, a downgraded version of the Flying Thunder Talisman. Zhang Shouyang was even fiercer. Golden light radiated from behind him as clouds and fog rolled up in the air. With an angry growl, a giant figure leapt out. It was as tall as two meters, d in golden armor from head to toe, and held a pair of maces in its hands. Its face, however, was behind a curtain of light and one could not make out what it looked like. Just by standing there, it was giving off a pressure of crushing mountains and holding up the sky. It was the Golden-armored Divine Soldier Talisman of the Way of the Celestial Masters. ¡°Boom!¡± The sword, the whisk, the ck Killing, the Flying Thunder, and the Divine Soldier struck out all at once. Their joint attack was powerful enough to ripple and contort the air. The five priests each upied a spot and charged from different direction, covering all angles from the front and the back, the left and the right, the above and below, leaving Gu Yu no room to escape. ¡°Sigh, without breaking to the innate state, your moves are but for show.¡± Trapped in the middle, Gu Yu looked at the three men of Zhengyi as a hint of approval and pity flickered in his eyes. With a wave of his right hand, the ming Could Needles wooshed back to him, which then linked end to end together, resembling a long scarlet whip. ¡°Snap!¡± Heshed it at Lu Yuanqing and Shi Yui. With a short and violent explosive sound, the cold air boiled at the scorching heat. White vapor erupted, surging frantically two either side. In the middle was a void as if the space had been torn open. ¡°Pfffft!¡± The light of the de died down and the tassels of the whisk scattered. Neither man could withstand the attack and both fell to the ground, spitting mouthful of blood. Immediately after that, Gu Yu rolled the whip. The ming dragon wound around the ck killing beam, the purple lightning arc, and the golden-armored soldiers, then the giant mouth opened and swallowed. ¡°Thud! Thud! Thud!¡± All three men flew backwards. Zhang Shouyang smashed onto the ground and Zhong Lingyu crushed into a thick old tree before sliding down along the tree trunk like a piece of dead meat. Chao Kongtu was the most miserable one. He flew right into the low wall, cracking the gray bricks. The impact created a dent on the wall and his entire body got stuck into it. ¡°You, you¡­¡± Voice quavering, Zhang Juan could not even finish a sentence. The self-styled hardliner almost copsed to the ground as excrement ran down his trousers. ¡°Mr. Gu, what you did was, was¡­¡± Mu Kun¡¯s face ashened as his said with a shaking voice, ¡°You killed all these men. Are you going to war with the government on a full scale?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not you. None of them are dead.¡± Gu Yu moved closer and stared at Zhang Juan. ¡°Mr¡­ well, what was your name again?¡± ¡°Zhang, Zhang Juan,¡± Mu Kun offered the answer. ¡°You¡¯ve troubled yourself toe all the way out here, I think it was to show me some muscles? So, what now?¡± ¡°I, we have failed to recognize a great man. It was a misunderstand! Just a misunderstanding!¡± This Zhang Juan was an amazement in his own way. ¡°Ha, that came out really fast. I have to talk to you. Come on in.¡± Gu Yu tucked his hands away into his sleeves again, just the way they first saw him earlier. *** 180 km north of Songjiang River, Huang Vige. Huang Vige was a small township located in a mountainous region. It was poorly popted and very inessible. It was under the jurisdiction of a county-level city, from where a couple of bus routes ran. To get to a bigger city from here, one had to change their ride several times. Xiaozhai had no time to bother with changing buses. She took out a wad of bills and hired a car. Seeing she was all by herself and had both the money and the looks, the driver even made his own little n. Well, we all know how the story would end for him. ¡°Sister, this is Huang Vige. The farmers¡¯ market is just here. This is the busiest area.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± Xiaozhai hopped off the car and gave him the money, which he dared not take. She could not be bothered to argue and walked away, then called Long Qiu. In a few minutes, the two found each other. ¡°Sister!¡± Long Qiu was visibly worn out. The moment she saw Xiaojin, tears welled up her eyes. ¡°Sob¡­ sorry, I failed Jin Jin.¡± ¡°That¡¯s OK. It wasn¡¯t your fault.¡± Xiaozhai wiped away Long Qiu¡¯s tears. ¡°Take me to where the train broke down. Let¡¯s see if we can find anything there.¡± The two girls were very efficient and got to the side of the rail in no time. ¡°Golden Silkworm found the scent here, then we went up the hill following this trail.¡± Long Qiu pointed out her route. Xiaozhai walked around shortly before her eyes fixed upon something. Squatting down, she jabbed her long fingers into the ground. ¡°Thud!¡± ¡°Ssh!¡± The topyer was crusty, but down below, the dirt was soft and loose as if something had turned it over. She then walked to a pit and examined it, then confirmed, ¡°One of them was using Underground Escaping Technique, a very in escaping method of the Five Elements. The person should be very short. The soil was turned around as the person traveled underground, so that person was not very capable. This one could not have got Jin Jin alone¡­ did you say Golden Silkworm smelled a poisonous bug?¡± ¡°Yes. It used to eat poisonous bugs, but it hated the smell this time. I don¡¯t understand it, either,¡± said Long Qiu. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai pondered over it for a moment. She did not exin, but only said, ¡°There might be two to three of them, one of which is good with poison. Let¡¯s go up the hill and take a look. With that, they passed through the withered trees, ascended the low hill, and stopped. ¡°This is how far I got that day. The scent disappeared beyond here. Something seemed to have covered it.¡± Long Qiu was taken by guilt again. ¡°I stayed here for a whole day. One train stopped at the station, but I checked, no one got on board. I also kept an eye on the bus station. No one seemed out of ce, either. Jin Jin is a living person and is not that easy to transport. I only fear them taking her away in some car and travelling on some small road I don¡¯t know about.¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Xiaozhai was genuinely surprised. So it was true when they said hardship made the best teacher. Her girl was learning so fast. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You did a good job. That girl is not stupid and she must have left some marks behind. Let¡¯s give it a good search,¡± sheforted Xiao Qiu. Despite the harmless look on her face, her eyes were cold enough to kill. Chapter 258 Chapter 258: Real Power (Part 3) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Huang Vige. A slender figure threaded through the vast, withered snowy woods. Climbing the frozen ridges, she moved as effortlessly as a goddess, even nimbler than the winter sparrows. Xiaozhai turned her mental force on full st, covering the maximal area it could reach while searching the mountain with speed and precision. She did not use the Void-arranging Technique, but trode on the hard ground and broken branches, finishing half the mountain in no time. This direction was her task, while Long Qiu and the Golden Silkworm covered the rest separately. She trusted Xiaojin¡¯s wits: the girl must have left something behind. With that in mind, she ¡°raided¡± the mountain slope inside out like a ploughing machine. ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Crackle!¡± Brushing past the quivering dead branches, Xiaozhai swished out of the snowy woods. She was weed by an open field¡ªshe had reached the foot of the hill. ¡®Hm?¡¯ She couldn¡¯t help but frown. She had almost checked under every leaf and found nothing. Could those people be that good, making Xiaojin unconscious the entire time? Of course she would not give up just like that. Following an unmarked track, she walked into a farnd. A couple of steps in and her lips curled up into a smile: to her front on the right, she detected some barely detectable energy hanging onto a clump of withered grass. Xiaozhai moved closer and sensed it carefully. It was indeed the Small Confining Technique unique to Phoenix Mountain. ¡°The girl¡¯s got a little brain after all!¡± She fiddle about the stem of the grass, then took out her bone flute. ¡°Wee¡­ phee¡­¡± The shrilling and jarring sound was sent steadily away into the woods, guided by her mental force. A momentter, Long Qiu sprinted towards her with the Golden Silkworm. ¡°Sister, have you found it?¡± Xiao Qiu asked hastily. ¡°It should be that way.¡± She pointed into the distance. At the end of the winding track, they could barely make out a vige. Some adobe houses were scattered here and there in the farnds on either side, used as resting ces during busy seasons. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Jin Jin could be in danger!¡± Long Qiu was ted. The girl was drowning in her guilty conscience this entire time. Dragging Xiaozhai by her hands, she dashed towards that direction. They reached the vige about a quarter of an hourter. It was a dpidated ce with no public facilities in sight. A few kids were running around, but froze on their feet at the sudden appearance of the two pretty elder sisters. They looked around and finally found a second trace of the Small Confining Technique. From there, they began to track down those people by the traces left behind. The route they took was the weirdest one. They stayed in no fixed spot and seemed to be walking in circles all the time. As long as two hours had passed, during which time they walked right through the vige, and arrived at the foot of another hill, where they finally stopped. A signpost stood by the side of the road, which read: Yanbei Tree Farm. Tall wire fence ran from west to east and an iron gate stood at the front, inside which was a gate house. ¡°Cough, cough¡­ cough¡­¡± They were still looking around when a weak and sickly old man walked out. Wrapped in a sheepskin jacket, the old man had a face going scarlet from the violent coughing. The old man inched towards them, asking, ¡°This is a private tree farm. Who are you people?¡± ¡°Uncle, we need to ask you something. Have you seen a tall girl?¡± Xiaozhai moved closer. ¡°No!¡± The old man was grumpy and answered impatiently, ¡°I barely see anything for half a year on end. Go search somewhere else.¡± ¡°Uncle, please just give it a moment. Are you sure you haven¡¯t seen one?¡± Xiaozhai moved closer again, her hands now grabbing at the iron gate and her face eager. ¡°I told you no. I¡¯m not that old to¡ª¡± ¡°Gag!¡± The old man¡¯s voice stopped abruptly. A fair hand reached in through the gap of the iron gate, grabbed him by the neck, and twisted. ¡°Crunch!¡± His head was turned 90 degrees. The next moment, he thumped to the ground into a pile of dead meat. ¡°ck!¡± A strange weapon resembling a machete fell out of his jacket. ¡°Sister¡­¡± Long Qiu jumped at this. All of a sudden, she found this elder sister of hers, whom she had spent almost every minute with, was emanating an aura that was frightening even to her. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Xiaozhai was not in the mood for talking. Snapping the lock into pieces, she strode in. The tree farm was essentially a hill covered by bare, tall trees. Not a soul was around and an eerie hush fell over the ce. Xiaozhai walked in the front and Long Qiu covered the rear. The girls walked straight in, not giving a damn to anything else. Leaning slightly forward, Xiaozhai scanned the area ahead, the look in her eyes cold and murderous. ¡°Roar!¡± Suddenly, a giant shadow leapt out of the woods with a gust of rancid wind. Itnded on all fours, raised its upper body, and started growling. It was a brown bear. The animal was officially known as Pi in the ancient times. It had human-like facial features and postures, and was ferocious and strong enough to snatch cows and horses for snack. Brown bears usually grew to 179-280 cm in height, but this one was over 3 meters tall once standing up, threatening to block the sun and the sky and crush down like the Mount Tai. ¡°Roar!¡± Its eyes were blood-red. Waving its meaty paw which wasrger then a normal human head, it threatened to smash its opponents into a pulp. Xiaozhai flipped her right hand around and Green Leaf appeared in her palm. Pointing the tip of the double-ded weapon at the ground, she shed it upward. ¡°Scratch!¡± With a shrilling explosive sound, the tip of the de shed the beast from the right rib to the left shoulder, arcs of lightning flickering on the edge. One strike and the animal was in halves! Xiaozhai did not stop for a single second. She jumped right of the body as huge as a mountain of meat. ¡°Roar!¡± ¡°Roar!¡± The copsing down of the brown bear seemed to have sent out some signal. Immediately after that, the ground shook violently and growls came from everywhere. Another few giant beasts appeared, followed by several odd-looking men. The structure of Shamanism outside Shanhai Pass waspletely different from that of the Northwest. Born and raised surrounded by thendscape of the Northeast since the ancient time, they were apanied by all kinds of beasts, which gave birth to their beast totem. Xiaozhai could not make out the original form of these giant animals. They possessed the characteristics of several other animals, with eyes glowing red, savage, wild, but submitting to the men¡¯smands. ¡°That was very bold of you, breaking in with merely two people!¡± The leader looked very strange with all the ragged cloth wrapping around him. Even his face was covered by them, leaving only a gap for the eyes. ¡°Where is my sister?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°Hehe, she has long be a sacrifice. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll soon be like her.¡± The man pointed at a giant beast. The thing was long-limbed and covered by thick fur. At the first nce, one might take it as a giant ape of some sort. Looking up, however, they would find a delicate female face of a human! The woman had her eyes tightly shut and her face was ridden with terror and pain. It seemed as if a human face was forced into the skull of the beast. ¡°Ah!¡± Long Qiu cried out despite herself, for the face indeed reminded her of Jin Jin a little. Shamanism had long be a cult after all these centuries. Both the ghostly creatures of the Northwest and the beastly creatures of the Northeast were made by using living human beings as sacrifices (experimental subjects) and refining new foul creatures out of them. All the old and recent grudges rushed into Xiaozhai¡¯s head at such sight. Her face was colder than the winter night. ¡°You¡¯ve just signed your death wish!¡± Waving her hand, a big gourd materialized. She gave it a pat. ¡°Poof!¡± A ck torrent consisting of fine granules gushed out of the opening and the torrent kepting. It floated in mid-air, soon forming a stretch of dark clouds, surrounding the men and the beasts. ¡°What is that?¡± The leader did not recognize the skill, but instinct told him it was not looking good. He shouted, ¡°Scatter!¡± ¡°Humph!¡± Xiaozhai sneered. With a flip of her fingers, a streak of energy dived into the ck cloud. The overspread ck grit was activated. The granules began to sh violently against one another and from the collisions came the crackling sound of flickering lightnings. ¡°Rumble!¡± ¡°Rumble!¡± In half a heartbeat, purple divine thunder struck down in finger-sized rays of lightning. The sunlight dimmed instantly in that area, as if the Thunder God wasshing out its rage and striking down with a punishment from heaven. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± ¡°Aaaaah!¡± They were ants trapped in a jar,pletely defenseless in the face of the heavenly power. The giant beasts wailed and howled with them. In a matter of seconds, the area was centimeters lower as if hundreds of horny bulls had just run wildly over it. The men and beasts were either turned into ashes or a pile of charred meat. ¡°Huff¡­ huff¡­¡± The leader was the most capable one and the only one to react in time. Badly wounded, he was still struggling, trying to run for his life. ¡°Thump!¡± The next second, he was beneath a foot with a shiny de on his neck. ¡°Where is my sister?¡± *** ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Xiaojiny on a hard nk bed with her eyes covered and her hands and feet tightly bound up. She was barely ever lucid for the past day. Those men were afraid of her escaping, so they had been jabbing her with a poisonous prick every other hour. The toxin was highly paralyzing. Although her Mental Thunder energy could eliminate it, she was not capable enough for that, as it would take her longer. Before she could fully wash the toxin out, the next one was injected. She simply stopped trying to fight the poison. Instead, she left traces of the Small Confining Technique along the way, taking the opportunity of her brief conscious moments. The skill could be carried out quietly and was untraceable. Since only those beyond the innate state could work it, those men obviously did not detect it. In her half-consciousness, they seemed to have been circling around forever before they dumped her here. ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Xiaojin squirmed, moving a little bit at a time. Her feet only inched away for a few centimeters before she felt going over the edge of the bed. She drew them back right away. Then, with much difficulty, she raised her hands and tried to rip off the ck cloth covering her eyes. She had just touched it when voices approached from outside. Aaaaah! y dead! She put on her professional performance ying the unconscious girl while pricking up her ears and listened. ¡°Words just got in. Men from Qiyun were taken to Changqing Vige as soon as they arrived. Gunshots were fired. Hahaha! Our n worked!¡± ¡°Worked? I only see troubleing. Our original n was to stall them, but you took it into your own hands and snatched on back! That one has arrived at Huang Vige! What are we gonna do now?¡± ¡°We have the hostage. I bet they¡¯re overwhelmed out there as well. The trouble is Phoenix Mountain¡¯s. Plus, she¡¯s not going to just find this ce that easily. Just to take precautions, though, let¡¯s move her now.¡± It was a clearing deep into the woods, where quite a few buildings had been built. In front of a wooden cabin, two men were arguing, one asnky as a bamboo stick and the other tiny as a dwarf. The structure of Shamanism was: archmages¡ªmages¡ªerrand-men¡ªordinary followers. Archmages were the heads of sect branches, mages took charge of the resources on a city-level, whereas the responsibilities of errand-men were slightly moreplicated. Some were in charge of a certain region, while others ran specific tasks. These two were errand-men of specialties. They were here to train soldiers for the sect. Because of Guan Pan, the Shamanists came to know the whereabouts of the four of Phoenix Mountain in Songjiang River and the dwarf was sent out to follow them. He and Guan Pan were blood brothers, their family followed Shamanism since their father¡¯s generation. The elder brother was born with the talent and had been taken away and trained when he was little. Heter learned the Underground Escape Technique and the skill to control small animals. The younger brother followed a different path. He sessfully worked himself up thedders of the bureaucratic career and was now the deputy director of Xidu sub-bureau. It was not their original n to get involved this deep into the matter. However, it just so happened that Gu Yu discovered the spiritual ginseng, which got Guan Pan thinking. The man suggested they grab the opportunity and muddle up the water a bit, to which their superior agreed. Hence, he provoked both sides into a confrontation in Songjiang River while stalling Long Qiu and Xiaojin on the other end. Xiaojin got herself into trouble by venturing out of the train alone, when the decisive dwarf kidnapped her. However, after Mu Kun and the others arrived, the HQ took over themand of everything, making the information Guan Pan provided not as timely. ¡°Bang!¡± The wooden door was kicked open and the cold air gushed in. Xiaojin shuddered. She sensed a person with a foul smell approaching, holding her up, and carrying her out of the cabin. They only made a few steps when the sound arrived. ¡°Boom!¡± ¡°Rumble!¡± The muffled sound of winter thunder was shaking dead leaves off the branches in showers. It came from the front mountain, apanied by numerous wails and cries. ¡®Sister!¡¯ Xiaojin¡¯s heart leapt at this. She fought back the impulse to struggle, fearing that she might startle the enemy. Immediately after that, she heard the stumbling footsteps as someone scrambled near. ¡°We, we¡¯re under attack! Someone has breached our defense!¡± ¡°There are two of them, women! The captain and the rest were all killed!¡± ¡®Jeez!¡¯ The bamboo stick and the dwarf exchanged a look, seeing fear on each other¡¯s face. ¡°You lot stay here! Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± The two bolted, running towards the back mountain. The bamboo stick even took the time to jab Xiaojin again and the girl passed out right away. They had never expected their opponent to be this fast, let alone participating the sect elite to be annihted in minutes. ¡°Aaaah!¡± ¡°Aaaah!¡± They fled in utter confusion in the mountains like a pair of disowned dogs, the others screaming somewhere behind them. A formidable and unparalleled energy was pressing near, cutting the skin of their backs open like a sharp de. The cold! The fear! It was in their bones! All emotions seemed to have materialized, gushing frantically into their bodies through the wounds, shredding any sense or hope they might have to put up a fight. ¡°Rumble!¡± As another thundering sound closed in, they both felt a chillinessing from behind. With every effort they still had, they twisted and dodged to either side. ¡°Bang!¡± A golden purple beam in the shape of a three-meter saber smashed down in between them, hacking out a long, deep pit on the dark hard ground. They were scared out of their wits. Turning around with tottering feet, they saw a woman standing there, a saber in her hand. ¡°Let go of her!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The two men felt suffocated as a smell of death took over them¡ªsomething they had never experienced before. The dwarf darted his eyes this way and that, suddenly shouting, ¡°I¡¯ll leave them to you!¡± With that, he crouched down abruptly, then disappeared into the ground. ¡°Where do you thing you¡¯re going?¡± Xiaozhai unleashed her mental force, which locked onto the target right away. She waved her hand casually. ¡°Bang!¡± The radiating de struck down again. Mud and snow exploded and flew high into the air, together with the dwarf. ¡°Bang!¡± The de struck a third time. Before the man could cry out, he was in several pieces. Broken body parts fell all over the ce. ¡°You, you¡­¡± The bamboo stick fought to maintain hisposure. He stuck out a finger, which resembled the tail of a scorpion and had a hooked red prick on the fingertip. He held it to Xiaojin¡¯s neck. ¡°Don¡¯t move! Come any closer and she¡¯s dead!¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ The woman stopped asmanded. The bamboo stick¡¯s face brightened up a little and he ordered again, ¡°Put down your weapon!¡± Xiaozhai did not move. ¡°I said, put down your¡­ Aaaaah! My hand! My hand!¡± The bamboo stick was shouting angrily a second ago, but the next second, the voiceing out of him turned into a wailing howl. He watched as his finger disappeared into thin air in the same way that a pencil drawing was erased from paper. ¡°We need him alive!¡± Xiaozhai reminded someone. ¡°Come back!¡± Long Qiu, who had just arrived from behind, called the Golden Silkworm back to her. Ignoring the enemy who had passed out on the ground, she ran to Xiaojin and held the girl between her arms. ¡°Jin Jin¡­ sob¡­ I¡¯m so d you¡¯re all right¡­¡± Chapter 259 Chapter 259: Real Power (Part 4) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°This type of scorpion venom is way too potent, plus, she had been injected with way too much. We might have wiped it clean for the moment, but there could be hidden loopholes. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll hinder her future cultivation.¡± Inside a cabin of Yanbei Tree Farm, Xiaozhai put her little sister on the bed and examined her inch by inch. ¡°What? Then what are we gonna do?¡± These words got Long Qiu to worry. Turning around, she asked, ¡°Hey, do you have an antidote for the venom?¡± ¡°The venom is made by collecting the stingers of a hundred venomous scorpions. Ordinary human beings would be killed instantly just by touching it. There is no antidote¡­¡± The bamboo stick sat crumpled up in a corner, his entire right arm gone. Panting, he said, ¡°Immortal Master Jiang has already done a peerless and formidable job by cleaning out the venom alone. There is nothing I can do at this point.¡± ¡°You!¡± Long Qiu was very angry, so much so that she wanted tosh out at the man. Unfortunately, facial expressions such as a wicked, threatening, or wickedly threatening look were never part of her nature. She turned helplessly towards her elder sister. Xiaozhai¡¯s lips moved, quietly mouthing three words: the spiritual ginseng. ¡®That¡¯s right!¡¯ It dawned on Long Qiu immediately. The powerful Wood spiritual essence and vital essence of the spiritual ginseng were very likely to cure Jin Jin. She sat down by the bed and her heart ached at the unconscious little face. Holding Xiaojin¡¯s hands, she caressed them gently. Meanwhile, Xiaozhai went up to the bamboo stick and asked coldly, ¡°Is this ce a branch of yours?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How far are you with your beastly creatures?¡± ¡°Are you going to let me go if I told you?¡± retorted the bamboo stick. ¡°No, but you¡¯ll die an easier death.¡± ¡°Humph!¡± He snorted in a taunting manner. Xiaozhai cared little of his attitude and went on, ¡°Who¡¯s your informer in the government?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The question startled the bamboo stick, who pursed his lips tighter and would not answer. ¡°Seriously? The member of awless cult is trying to y the hero?¡± Xiaozhai stuck out a finger and jabbed a few times at his chest. She then fetched a chair and sat down right in front of him. ¡°I might be in a hurry, but I can still make some time to interrogate you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The bamboo stick had his eyes fixed on her and kept his mouth shut, only that his face was growing paler. A few secondster, sweat was trickling down his face in streams and he began to convulse. ¡°Aaaaaaah!¡± Finally, he could not take it any more and pitched headlong on the ground. He scratched his skin frantically with his remaining hand, leaving bloodstains all over his body. ¡°Aaaaah! Aaaaaah!¡± The screaming was filled with an unbearable pain. Twisting around, he looked up at his interrogator from a strange angle. That face revealed no emotion. She reminded him of a goddess looking down at the mortal world. ¡°I will tell you! I will!¡± Drowning in despair and a sensation worse than death, he yelled hastily. Xiaozhai poked with her finger again and the pain was gone. ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°A man called Guan Pan. He¡¯s the blood brother of that dwarf. They two have been in contact the entire time and that¡¯s, that¡¯s all I know¡­!¡± *** Songjiang River, the Shui Family¡¯s house. The courtyard had been briefly tidied up inside out and the wounded police officers carried off to the vehicle, by which they were sent to the hospital. The ming Cloud Needles had hurt them by just the right amount. They might have seemed to be devoured in mes, but the fire was out within minutes. They were still miserable, though. That would at least be counted as severe injuries. The five priests of Qiyun were also wounded, but their physical strength had enabled them to hold on, difficult though it might be. Right now, they were enjoying the hospitality inside the house with Zhang Juan and Mu Kun. Hospitality¡­ Whom were they kidding! Lu Yuanqing smiled wryly. A sense of defeat pressed against his chest like a giant fist, squeezing out his breath. He thought he had overestimated the guy, which turned out to be an underestimation still. He had made the guy part of his only n and even thought about using him. As it turned out, the guy would not be nned by anyone. Shi Yui took it the hardest, he had kept his head lowered and would not utter a word. The attitude of the three men of Zhengyi was somewhat ambiguous. They had guessed beforehand that Gu Yu might be using the essence-consuming method¡ªhe had demonstrated his overwhelming power just then. In a hidden corner of their minds, a strange voice was saying: Neidan practice of Quanzhen was indeed no match to the essence-consuming method of our own ancestors! The priests aside, Zhang Juan and Mu Kun were already having a very awkward time. They went for wool and came home shorn. In a word, they had iting. ¡°I presume you all know that Xiaozhai has left for Huang Vige. I¡¯m gonna be honest with you. Last night, Xiaojin was abducted. Xiaozhai is there to handle it,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡®Hm?¡¯ The two deputies were both shocked. They had deduced that something had gone wrong, but kidnapping¡­ good god! They did not see thating. ¡°Our guess is that this was the doing of Shamanism. But, there¡¯s one thing I don¡¯t understand¡­¡± Gu Yu stared at the two man and spoke one word at at time, ¡°Howe they know every detail of our whereabouts, including the transportation arrangement?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Mu Kun¡¯s heart lurched. It was obviously the work of a mole! ¡°Mr. Gu, we, we really don¡¯t know anything about that. We know the details of your travel n, but our corresponding arrangement was nothing against you¡­¡± He tried his best to exin, but the matter at hand was messy enough to begin with and he was only making it messier. He even broke into sweat in the end. ¡°Ring-a-ling!¡± Luckily, Mu Kun was saved by a phone call. Gu Yu took it out, looked at the screen, and picked it up right away. ¡°Hello, how¡¯s Xiaojin¡­ Oh, good¡­ You got it? Yeah, don¡¯t worry about things over here. You guys juste back here first.¡± He hung up the phone and blurted out, ¡°Who¡¯s Guan Pan?¡± ¡°Guan Pan?¡± Mu Kun winced, then figured out the reason behind the question right away. He faltered out a few words. Gu Yu would not waste time on this and turned to ask Zhang Juan, ¡°Who¡¯s Guan Pan?¡± Zhang Juan shuddered when their eyes met and he held nothing back. ¡°He, he¡¯s the deputy director of Xidu sub-bureau, 34 years old, used to work in the police system, and knows his way around in criminal investigation.¡± ¡°He has an elder brother?¡± ¡°I, I never heard of a brother! Oh, right, it came back to me. He had one, but the brother went missing when they were kids. The case was filed.¡± That was it. He was the man. Gu Yu nodded and rose to his feet. ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you a bit longer. Let¡¯s take a trip to Xidu.¡± *** ¡°Whoosh!¡± An SUV whirled away through the vige road. Only after the tail lights disappeared into the distance did the folks of Changqing Vige stuck their heads out of their doors like hamstersing out of hibernation. They thronged into the courtyard of the Shui Family. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is waring?¡± ¡°I heard police cars and gunshots. Were they catching wanted men?¡± ¡°Exactly. Stop the war bullshit. That third generation fatso 1 would not dare to.¡± No one could turn a deaf ear to such an uproar; it was only that no one knew what had really happened, which naturally led to another round of piffling. Inside the SUV, Zhang Juan sat in the passenger seat, while Gu Yu and Mu Kun sat at the back. The driver was a young police officer who had been allocated to the mountain foot and waster called in as reinforcements. ¡°Mr. Gu, do you have to go in?¡± Mu Kun asked in a low voice. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°But we have no solid evidence. All we can do is to restrain his movement for the time being. Isn¡¯t it a little presumptuous to name an official a Shamanic member by Miss Jiang¡¯s one-sided statement?¡± ¡°Presumptuous?¡± Gu Yu gave him a look and said, ¡°Back in Huo Zhou, I handed a scroll to that senior colonel, which contained the organizational structure and the strength analysis of Shamanism. What I don¡¯t understand is, why haven¡¯t you done anything in such a long time? Maybe you were afraid of arresting the wrong man, or maybe you were concerned about stability. But I¡¯m sure you understood my intention then.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. Very well.¡± Mu Kun nodded repeated, smiling bitterly inside. Ever since Phoenix Mountain began to work with the government, they had given thetter more than enough help and offered more important information than they could count. They had even directly saved so many people¡­ on a macro scale, had they ever done anything against the government¡¯s interest? Honestly, they hadn¡¯t. What had the government done in return again? This thing with Shamanism, for instance, with which the authorities were forever being concerned over this matter or that, or trying to avoid offending, well, anybody. All in all, they just could not make the tough decision to cut the rotten limb. Gu Yu had hinted it back then: I couldn¡¯t care less about how you proceed with it, but I wouldn¡¯t give a damn about what you think if they mess with us one day! The vehicle drove on, and was soon out of Songjiang River and on the highway. Zhang Juan sat in the front, upied with his own thoughts. He suddenly said, ¡°The office building of the sub-bureau is in the governmentpound.¡± ¡°So?¡± Gu Yu retorted. ¡°¡­¡± The fellow went quiet right away and so was Mu Kun. The awkward silence remained all the way to Xidu. *** The 300-km drive would take them four hours at least, which was more than enough to send a message back to Xidu. Guan Pan remained in his office the entire time, keeping an eye on the news of Changqing Vige. With two deputies, five priests, and loads of elite police officers and modern weapons, even the most skilless melee would be enough to kill the guy. Even if the war did not break out, Phoenix Mountain would surely be suppressed and its resources confiscated by the government. When Phoenix Mountain waned, his divine sect would be on the rise. ¡°Youzy bastards! You¡¯re out here smoking when I told you to keep you posts? Get the hell back in!¡± ¡°Yes, sir! Right away!¡± ¡°ck, ck, ck!¡± Angry bellow and the sound of shuffling footsteps came from the corridor outside. ¡°That imbecile! All he can do isshing out at his men!¡± Guan Pan recognized the voice of Director Wang Xuqiao right away. He couldn¡¯t help but silently give vent to his scorn. Meanwhile, he began to daydream: with what he achieved this time, if the sect could pull some strings and raise him to the position of the director¡­ Haha, that would surely bring glory to his ancestors. How amazing would that be? With that in mind, he picked up his phone and was about to ask for an update when the door mmed open. A member of staff, who was also a sect member, ran in and whispered, ¡°I¡¯ve got news!¡± ¡°How was it?¡± he asked eagerly. ¡°Twenty special force men severely injured and all sent to the hospital. The monastery was a total failure. Word has it that none of them made past two rounds! Zhang Juan and Mu Kun are heading back.¡± ¡°And Gu Yu?¡± He bolted up. ¡°I heard, I heard he ising back with them.¡± ¡®Jeez!¡¯ Guan Pan felt his spine was going to explode and a chill had crept up his neck. ¡®Is heing for me?¡¯ No, he couldn¡¯t have. He didn¡¯t know who nned this, did he? No! That Jiang woman went to Huang Vige. She had probably found the branch! ¡°¡­¡± The expression on Guan Pan¡¯s face changed several times in a matter of seconds. ¡°I have to go, right now. You¡¯re not exposed yet. Be more careful from now on!¡± With that, he packed his briefcase and went downstairs. The two staff on duty stopped him at the building entrance. ¡°Sorry, you are not allowed to leave at the moment.¡± ¡°Move! It¡¯s urgent!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but the order came from Director Mu. Please stay in your office upstairs before hees back.¡± ¡°Let me tell you this. Should anything go wrong over there, you two together won¡¯t be enough to pay for it! Let me pass!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± No matter what he said, the guards would not let him pass. Combat was never Guan Pan¡¯s forte and his only option was to go back upstairs. He did not return to his office, but walked back and forth in the corridor while straining his head to find a way to escape. ¡°Buzz!¡± A whileter, he heard the hubbub of arguing voices. He immediately stopped at a window and looked out. Guan Pan¡¯s office was not in the main building, but in building No. 3, which stood a little to the east. His view was slightly blocked, but there was enough room for him to make out the situation outside. An SUV parked outside the yard and three men stood in front of the vehicle. Two of them were Zhang Juan and Mu Kun, while the third he recognized from the files¡ªGu Yu of Phoenix Mountain! ¡°Mr. Gu, please calm down! This is no ordinary street!¡± Mu Kun tried his best to persuade Gu Yu. Even Zhang Juan had abandoned his arrogance. ¡°Please look around you. So many eyes are watching. What are we going to do if you just tear this building apart?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu listened in silence. Behind them was a two-way boulevard with eightnes. People were hurrying to and fro and on the other side of the streets stood rows upon rows of shops. It was such a busy scene¡ªexactly as one would expect of a prosperous provincial capital. The securities on duty had lined up on either side, ready to evacuate the crowd at any time. The SUV had stopped right at the entrance, blocking part of the view from outside. However, many had stuck out their heads to see from the buildings inside while whispering among themselves. After a while, Guan Pan realized what was going on: they would not let Gu Yue in. ¡°Hahaha!¡± He couldn¡¯t help but guffaw. That was promising. As long as they followed thewful procedure, he had a chance toe out of this unharmed. Momentarily, instigated by the overwhelming terror a minute ago, an uncontroble excitement and satisfaction took over him. He looked towards that man, who just happened to look at him at that moment. ¡°Haha! Come in, I dare you! Can youe in? There¡¯s nothing you can do to me!¡± He did not care if Gu Yu could hear him or not, but yelled as if he had gone mad. ¡°We have restricted his personal freedom and he is to be turned over to the judicial authorities, where he will be tried for his crime only after enough evidence is gathered. Mr. Gu, you have to trust us. We won¡¯t wrong a good person, nor will we let go of a bad one.¡± Mu Kun was still persuading him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I really can¡¯t trust you.¡± Gu Yu smiled. Stretching out a slender, pretty hand towards that direction, he curled up his fingers a little as if he was grabbing onto something. Then, he activated the Small Moving Technique and gave it a slight twist. ¡°Pffft!¡± A staff passing by halted abruptly as some sticky, foul-smelling liquid sshed onto her. Before she could think, she touched it and saw her palm covered in red. ¡°Blood, it¡¯s blood¡­ aaaaah!¡± she cried out. Looking up, she was petrified. A figure stood ramrod straight by the window. The body was tall and strong and the muscles well-toned. However, there was nothing from the neck above! The head was torn right off. The sticky flesh, bone marrow, and nerves dripped down, forming a little pool of colorful mush. ¡°Gu, Gu¡­¡± Zhang Juan, Mu Kun, and the security personnel at the entrance were all scared stiff. In Gu Yu¡¯s hand, a head had just materialized, thest expression still fresh on the face¡ªa vivid taunting and satisfactory look. This head¡­ It had belonged to Guan Pan once! Chapter 260 Chapter 260: Repercussions Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu A dead silence! So dead that it froze the air! Everyone felt both their brain function and heartbeat had stopped for a brief moment. A couple of secondster, when the air seemed to begin flowing again and the smell of the blood slowly spread out, screams were finallying out of the building. ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± Far away as they might be, they were still able to faintly make out the head in Gu Yu¡¯s hand. Instantly, the entirepound was taken over by panic and terror. The security personnel at the entrance were all the more confused. Job description told them they should arrest the man immediately. However, instinct said otherwise. Hence, they stayed as quiet at cicadas on ate autumn day. Most of the loudments came from the pedestrians and passengers of the vehiclesing and going outside, who, because of the partially blocked view, thought the scene caused by somemoner applying for an audience with the authorities to appeal for help. ¡°¡­¡± Having taken out Guan Pan with a single strike, Gu Yu flipped his hand around and the head disappeared. He turned around, looked at the two frozen high-ranking officials, omitted Zhang Juan, and talked to Mu Kun alone. ¡°I need to get back to Songjiang River. Maybe you could join me.¡± ¡°Oh, sure, no problem!¡± Mu Kun came to himself. Calming himself down a little, he took the driver¡¯s seat himself. ¡°Vroom!¡± At the sound of the engine, the SUV was started, then slowly drove away from the entrance. No one dared stop them. Zhang Juan watched the vehicle disappear in the distance, still shaking from what had just happened. The man had travelled 300 km out here, decapitated the enemy in a heartbeat, and left promptly! In the past 12 hours, Phoenix Mountain, the cultivators, and the Taoist skills had together shattered his belief and resistance into pieces! *** Night, cold weather. With the high beams switched on, the SUV drove along the highway, throwing behind it the lonely view of the night. The road stretched on as if there was no end to it. Gu Yu sat in the back row, adjusting his breath with closed eyes. The series ofbat (or ying the tough guy, if you like) today had consumed a great deal of his vital essence, especially thest strike which, despite the effortless appearance, was in fact very energy-consuming. The Small Moving Technique was a very flexible Taoist skill. The amount of energy required wouldpletely depend on the object one wanted to move: the distance, the form of the object, etc. Why did the couple act as if they had hit the jackpot when they found this technique from the ¡°Book on the State of Mind of ck Bead¡±? Because they realized right away of its value. What he achieved today was a perfect demonstration. ¡°Vroom!¡± ¡°Beep, beep!¡± The SUV drove on at a steady speed. Despite his age, Mu Kun was not worn out by this strenuous day. He was on good terms with Phoenix Mountain and knew the man wanted to talk in private. ¡°Mr. Gu, that was a very fast and precise strike. You¡¯ve got us on our softest spot.¡± Mu Kun was perfectly calm by now and could think straight again. He couldn¡¯t help by sigh. ¡°You killed a man in public¡ªan official, for that matter! Had it been the deed of anybody but you, we would hunt the culprit down and bring them to justice at all costs. But what you did¡­ sigh, that was so cunning of you!¡± ¡°You think too highly of me. I¡¯m not that clever.¡± Gu Yu opened his eyes and went on, ¡°I didn¡¯t kill those police officers because they were innocent men. I killed Guan Pan because that¡¯s what he deserved.¡± ¡°Deserved? Well, if you say so.¡± Mu Kun shook his head with a bitter smile. The sense of propriety was essential in dealing with affairs in the human society. He was a military man once, then made a career in the bureaucratic world. Together, they had taken up the better half of his life, which only made him more aware of knowing where to draw the line. That was why he was greatly impressed by Gu Yu¡¯s ability to work the delicate situation. Back in Changqing Vige, had Gu Yu killed off all twenty police officers and the two deputies, the only thing waiting for him would be a massive manhunt. The government would spare no effort in destroying Phoenix Mountain. Maybe the couple and Long Qiu would be able to escape, but they would never be able to return to Phoenix Mountain. They would be wanted persons on a national level. Moreover, Father and Mother Jiang, Xiaojin¡¯s parents, and even the families of Uncle Fang and Grandpa Shui would be incriminated. But Gu Yu didn¡¯t do that. Instead, he took out Guan Pan, the mole from Shamanism. Well, that turned things very awkward. By every standard there was, the authorities would be the side having a guilty conscience¡ªa feeling that wasparable to when one wanted to throw up but could not and ended up swallowing it back down 1 . Ever since the two sides started working together, Phoenix Mountain had been operating by stepping just on the yellow line. They might have seemed to have crossed it, but what they did was in fact within the tolerable limit. As for where the limit stood depended on the fluctuations in the strength of both sides. Had this happened back then, Phoenix Mountain would not have been confident enough to act this way. ¡°With what has happened, those above will have to dere their attitude. I think someone will be here tomorrow,¡± reminded Mu Kun. ¡°We¡¯re going back to Bai Town tomorrow,¡± replied Gu Yu. ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Mu Kun expressed his understanding of that. Darting a look at the rear view mirror, he saw that Gu Yu had closed his eyes in meditation again. He did not disturb the man further. As a matter of fact, men in Mu Kun¡¯s position were concerned with matters much more beyond what they had talked about. For instance, they were all men of the innate state, but why was there such a great discrepancy between the abilities of Phoenix Mountain and that of the monastery? How were those scarlet flying things made? Moreover, the government did not think much of the strength of individual cultivators, deeming that modern weapons could surpass them all. Now that a lesson had been taught, would they change their future strategies? And there was the matter of Shamanism. There were ongoing disputes within the government and some would not even believe its existence. As for now, well, at least to Mu Kun himself, this Shamanism sect was a malicious tumor! They were able to instigate a strife effortlessly, which made him shudder just to think about the depth and channels of the infiltration. *** The two arrived at Songjiang River around ten o¡¯clock that same night. Mu Kun went to take a room in the government guest house and Gu Yu returned to Shui Yao¡¯s hostel, where Xiaozhai and the two younger ones had arrived before he did. Xiaojin had gone to bed very early from all the fright she had gone through. ¡°How are things looking?¡± asked Xiaozhai. ¡°Everything¡¯s all right.¡± He did not go into details and asked in return, ¡°How did it go with you?¡± ¡°Not bad, only that Jin Jin might still have some toxin remained in her. We¡¯ll need the spiritual ginseng to treat her.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s lose no time, then. I¡¯ll go up the mountain in a minute and we¡¯ll head back tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Yeah. Take Xiao Qiu with you. She can help.¡± The two turned to tend their own affairs after a brief conversation. Gu Yu and Long Qiu took the wooden box and set off for the top of Changbai Mountain right away, the vast, dark night sky ahead of them. It was a very long journey and they would probably not get back until early next morning. Xiaozhai returned to her room and sat down by the bed, watching her little sister in silence. Asleep, the girl looked like a little angel. Her small face half buried in her thick hair and under the warm orange light, her skin looked as glossy as if it was covered by ayer of transparent gel. She wiped away a streak of hair falling over Xiaojin¡¯s lips. The girl muttered something and immediately grew restless. Still asleep, she opened her mouth and bit Xiaozhai¡¯s finger. ¡°Haha¡­¡± Xiaozhai pulled back lightly, but could not get her finger back. She reluctantly kept it there. Growing up in Changqing Vige since she was little, Xiaozhai obtained her temperament after seven or eight years living with her master, during which time she was greatly influenced. She gave the impression of being mild, graceful, and with a high EQ, but was in fact a free and unruly girl that couldn¡¯t care less about anything. For all these years, she barely had any friends. Shui Yao was sort of a childhood ymate, but she had not been keeping in touch inter years. She actually cared very much about those close to her, although the number of people in that category had never been big. Xiaojin was a close family member and her fellow cultivator. With those two identities put together, she cared for Xiaojin so much that she almost could not let the girl out of her sight¡ªregardless of the fact that she was ¡°ruthless¡± towards the girl on a daily basis. ¡°Knock!¡± ¡°Knock, Knock!¡± She was still lost in her thoughts when there came a knock at the door. She squeezed the girl¡¯s cheeks in with the other hand and thetter opened her mouth. She the got her finger back. It was sleek with saliva. She went to answer the door and found Shui Yao standing outside. ¡°Not sleep yet?¡± he asked a pointless question. One look at the man and Xiaozhai knew he wanted to talk. ¡°Jin Jin is asleep. Let¡¯s take a walk.¡± With that, they went downstairs and strolled around in the small backyard of the hostel. It was deep into the night and freezing cold. Xiaozhai had a single shirt on with the first button unfastened, which was to Shui Yao¡¯s great envy. The man had wrapped himself up like a bear. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about everything we put you through,¡± Xiaozhai apologized the first thing; she was straightforward. ¡°Theoretically, people of both the government and Shamanism will behave themselves from now on, but you¡¯re all ordinary people after all. ident could happen. So, talk to Grandpa Shui. It¡¯s better if you could all move to Bai Town. I can keep an eye on you in that way.¡± ¡°You are indeed my old friend! All those beatings were not for nothing!¡± Shui Yao grinned at this. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I was going to talk to you about! I¡¯ve had the most exciting and colorful time since you got here! Man, once you get a taste of the real good stuff, you can never turn back. I¡¯d be bored to death if I went on living in this ce! Don¡¯t worry about my old man, I¡¯ll talk to him. It¡¯s just, well, there¡¯re also my parents¡­¡± ¡°They cane as well, if they want to,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Haha! Thanks a lot!¡± Shui Yao hopped around excitedly. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about this. I know how it works. Once I¡¯m there, you won¡¯t hear about me doing indecent stuff in your names. I have made my name in Songjiang River and I will make one again in Bai Town! Anything you find inappropriate to do it yourselves,e to me! I¡¯ll do it for you!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai smiled a half-smile, finding the deration troublesome and funny at the same time. The guy¡¯d y a perfect role of the head of the external division. *** Heishui Province, Bing Town. The door of a secret chamber was suddenly mmed open and a man rushed in. ¡°Archmage, there has been an emergency!¡± ¡°¡­¡± A veiled woman dressed in whitey on a quaint wooden bed. She opened her eyes at the voice and spoke softly, ¡°Speak!¡± ¡°Our branch in Huang Vige was raided and all twenty-seven men¡ªthe two errand-men included¡ªdied fighting. And Guan Pan in Xidu sub-bureau of the BIMAUP has also been killed.¡± ¡°Who did this?¡± ¡°Gu Yu and Jiang Xiaozhai.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t recall if we¡¯ve crossed Phoenix Mountain. What happened?¡± The woman had a unique voice. It was deep for her gender and had a gritty feeling to it. Within that huskiness was an alluring charm that tickled at the listener¡¯s heart. Don¡¯t mistake it for the voice one would hear in the ¡°exotic¡± quarter, where the alley was lined with low shacks twinkling in gaudy pink little light bulbs. ¡°Physical therapists¡± marketed their service with half of their breasts hanging out. ¡°Come in! Come in! 100 yuan for the full meal deal and 500 yuan for the night! Hot-and-cold t-bag, rimming, blowing¡ªyou name it, we have it! Invoice avable if needed!¡± It was the voice one would expect from a woman sitting alone in an inconspicuous bar. Her long hair hung loose over her shoulders as she smeared a little salt on the back of her fair hand, which she licked with the tip of her tongue before downing a shot of tequ. Of course, right now, the man was feeling nothing of such charm. Cold sweat trickled down his face as he replied in a quivering voice, ¡°They, they took it into their own hands out there in Xidu. The original n was to provoke Phoenix Mountain and the authorities into fighting against each other, but, but¡­¡± ¡°But they ended up biting off more than they can chew?¡± The woman slowly sat up and got off the bed. Her gait reminded one of a female snake that had just finished mating. She drifted closer to the man and said, ¡°I was only in seclusion for a minute and you guys have made such a mess. How would you like me to punish you?¡± ¡°A-archmage, I have nothing to do with this!¡± The man was evidently frightened, but dared not move even a finger. He only said, ¡°I heard nothing of it, they were the ones carrying it out from the beginning!¡± ¡°Teehee, stop it. Am I that scary?¡± The woman covered her mouth and chuckled, revealing a hint of her natural seductive power. ¡°Go tell that fool Wanyan that he is toe here in person and ask humbly for pardoning his crime. Pass down my order: everyone stay put, no more petty tricks. I might not have been the boss long enough, but I wouldn¡¯t mind having a taste of their entrails¡­¡± With that, she flipped her wide sleeves and a plume of white fog rose out of thin air. The woman disappeared. Chapter 261 Chapter 261: Fortune Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The capital city. Inside an office, a high-ranking official was listening to the briefing of his subordinate. The man was wise, pensive-looking, and had a demeanor matching his position. It was none other than that old man with ck-rimmed sses who had been in charge of the Huo Zhou incident. ¡°Was it that crushing a defeat?¡± ¡°It was. All twenty special force police officers had been severely wounded. From the face-off, to opening fire, then to the ceasefire, they were only able to fire one single bullet. Moreover, we also found 27 bodies in a tree farm near Huang Vige. The scene was, was¡­¡± The subordinate felt words had failed him. He passed the photos to the old man, ¡°Maybe you¡¯d like to see it yourself.¡± The old man took over the pictures curiously. Even a man as experienced as him found them utterly disturbing: the pictures were either of scorched earth covered with charred objects or of gory scenes featuring severed body parts. There were also pictures of criss-crossing gashes on the ground, which were long, deep, and seemed to be chopped out by some savage cleaver. The more intact bodies were blood-curdling. The shape, fur, and the limbs suggested they were beasts of some sort, but where the animal faces should be were unmistakable human ones! They were men and women of all ages, everyone looking as painful and hideous as the next. Smacking the photos onto the desk, the old man demanded furiously, ¡°What on earth is this¡ªthe witchcraft of beastly creatures of the Shamanism in the Northeast?¡± ¡°We, we don¡¯t have much on them. Based on what we have collected so far, it probably involves raising a gigantic savage beast and a suitable human being, then fusing the souls of the two together via certain ult skill, creating a new, new life form¡­¡± The subordinate chose his words carefully as he went on, ¡°This new creature is characterized by both the fierceness of animal and the intelligence of human being. But this is still a preliminary stage. From what we heard, the most advanced form would be, well¡­ are you familiar with the term ¡®home-protecting fairies¡¯? The question took the old man by surprise, who, with a little hesitation, asked, ¡°By ¡®home-protecting fairies¡¯, are you referring to those foxes, snakes, hedgehogs, and the like?¡± ¡°Yes! For thousands of years, it has been the tradition of numerous families of the Northeast to worship these beings. Legend has it that five types of spiritual beings could be immortal and take possession of the bodies of their disciples so that they could set up shrines and work their magical wonders. From the ample information we have collected and based on the characteristic of this beastly creature, we inferred that the ultimate form of this ¡®creation¡¯ is to be able to switch back and forth freely between the animal and human forms, as well as gaining great abilities, which would make them the home-protecting fairies in the legends.¡± ¡®Jeez!¡¯ The old man was secretly astonished: thousands of years of tradition, worshipment¡­ tsk! The more he thought about, the more frightening he found the idea! With much difficulty, he calmed himself down, then took another closer look at the photos, muttering, ¡°The preliminary stage only and it¡¯s already that intimidating, but then¡­ Sigh, we¡¯ve made such a strategic mistake in our dealing with the two young friends!¡± He heaved a sigh and let go of the subject for the time being. He then asked, ¡°Have the five priests of the monastery gone back to Tianzhu Mountain?¡± ¡°Yes. They had also been injured, but not too severely.¡± ¡°We have been training them for two years and their first venture turned out to be a fiasco. The opinions are very divided at the moment. Many think we should stop supplying for them. What do you think?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± The subordinate was as much a trusted confidant as he was an adviser. He weighed his words before answering, ¡°In my opinion, we should not reduce the resources we offer them, but ought to put in more effort than before. The confrontation this time has enabled us to understand their individualbat capability in a more intuitive way. With the changes in the environment growing more violent, we will only be more dependent on them. Something must have gone awry to result in such a great discrepancy between the strengths of the monastery and Phoenix Mountain. I think we should investigate into that first and find the adequate solution. The monastery is not beyond saving.¡± ¡°I agree with you. I was thinking about something along those lines. We¡¯re about to send someone there to coordinate. Hopefully they will be able to find something out for us.¡± The old man rubbed his temples, which were already throbbing from thinking about theing meeting he¡¯d attend in a minute. With the size of the government, there were as many provident men as the improvident ones. Arguing with them was simply self-abuse. ¡°Sir, how do you think the bosses will deal with the Shamanism matter?¡± the subordinate asked tentatively after a pause. ¡°It is not easy to extend the power of the central government to a strong local one. Leadership is often rendered ineffectual by recalcitrant subordinates! Moreover, they are hidden in the dark and we are out in the open, so all we can do is remove them one piece at a time; otherwise, they mightsh out in desperation and cause instability.¡± It was also a matter that worried the old man greatly. ¡°Well, we have made out preliminary n. You may leave now.¡± *** Bai Town, Phoenix Mountain. Gu Yu, Xiaozhai and Long Qiu stood shoulder to shoulder under the old tree, arge wooden box between Long Qiu¡¯s arms. She looked at her brother, got a nod, then opened it. Instantly, a powerful spiritual essence of life emanated from it and out came a gigantic ginseng that was handsome, graceful, and with leaves and seeds and all. It sounded ridiculous to describe a ginseng as being ¡°handsome¡± and ¡°graceful¡±, but that was exactly what it was. The ¡°king of ginseng¡± among the country¡¯s collection of treasures weighed a little under half a kilo, had two tiny ¡°legs¡± of roots, and was called an ¡°unequalled¡± wonder. This spiritual ginseng, however, looked almost the size and shape of a real baby. All four limbs were distinguishable and had it not been for the absence of facial features, it would be no different from a human child. With the thin fog curling around it, the ginseng looked all the more otherworldly. ¡°Jin Jin is hurt and we need a little of your essence. Not much, a few drops will do.¡± Shemunicated with it through her mind and made the words as simple as possible so that the message could get through. The spiritual ginseng still could not quite understand the words, but had instinctively sensed the danger. Naturally, it refused. Long Qiu cajoled and coaxed. Finally, it nodded, though with much reluctance. Gu Yu then went up to it and sliced his finger lightly across one of the minor roots. A thick, milky juice gurgled out, giving off an exceptional fragrance. ¡°Hiss!¡± ¡°Squeak!¡± The two ¡°guardian divine animals¡± grew excited right away. ¡®Aaaaah! I want to eat it! Let me eat it! It looks so yummy!¡¯ Then Xiaozhai waved her hands, sending them into the air. ¡°In!¡± Gu Yu dared not take this lightly. With a gourd in his left hand, he activated his energy, which twirled and scooped up a little bit of the juice. He then sliced his finger across the root again, sealing the wound. ¡°I¡¯ll be with her!¡± Xiaozhai took the gourd, sprinted, leapt over the river, and headed directly for the Cottage of Pure Mind. Over here under the old tree, the spiritual ginseng shook its leaves repeatedly, its every cell imbued with chagrin and grievance. Long Qiu offered all thefort she could express while Gu Yu walked around the old tree, found a suitable spot, and activated his Small Moving Technique. ¡°Whoosh!¡± The box was suddenly empty and the spiritual ginseng was nted into the soil, its three branches of leaves and a lump of red seeds all where they should be. The moment it was nted, the energy in the air surrounding it was stirred. The spiritual ginseng was ted by this dense spiritual essence it had never tasted before. At the same time, it reciprocated by giving off an even strong spiritual essence of life, which immediatelybined with the node. ¡°Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!¡± The old tree felt it as well. It shook its leaves violently as if trying to familiarize itself with the ginseng. The two types of energy were of the same origin and both of the properties of Wood and life. Now that they had fused into each other, a lively green lump of air was formed, floating indistinctly in midair. It was after quite some time when that lump of air exploded with a loud bang. The green spiritual essence sshed everywhere, disappearing into the mountain. Rumble! There was a shudder and the aura of the entire mountain changed; it felt more awe-inspiring and the earthly energy more solid and steadier. In the jargon of the ¡°cultivation-from-scratch¡± novels, it was called ¡°fate is turning to your side¡±! It was still too early to observe the change now. Given time, when the spiritual ginseng fully matured, thisnd would have a qualitative leap in its level. ¡°Oh? That was an icing on the cake. Theyplement each other.¡± Gu Yu was also pleasantly surprised, yet could not help but let his imagination expand a little. It wasmon knowledge that there were ten major Heavenly Vaults, thirty-six minor Heavenly Vaults, and seventy-two Blessed ces in Taoist records. ording to ¡°Life of Perfected Man Ziyang¡±, ¡°The sky is not defined by emptiness, the mountains not by caves, and men not by houses. A hollow in a mountain is known as an empty pce; the hollow in a man¡¯s head is known asDong Fang 1 . Hence, the perfected man take residence in the sky, in mountains, and in men. In the ce ofplete emptiness, one could fit Peni Mountain, or even the universe into a single grain of millet.¡± The so-called Heavenly Vaults and Blessed ces reflected the Taoist view of universe, which believed heaven, earth, and everything in this world¡ªeven humans¡ªwere derived from a single kind of Qi, and so were these realms of the immortals. They were interlinked, and together formed a three-dimensional interwovenwork. Because of the difference in their energy, they were ranked as ¡°major¡±, ¡°minor¡±, and alike. They were connected to the mortal world, but also were secret and secluded. Wangwu Mountain, for instance, which the couple had visited before, was one of the then-major Heavenly Vaults. Needless to say, no such thing could be found there now. Gu Yu was lost in his imagination for a while after seeing the change the spiritual ginseng brought. He was then himself again,ughing inside at his own foolishness. He asked, ¡°Xiao Qiu, ask the ginseng, can it put up thebyrinth now?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Long Qiumunicated with it again, then replied helplessly, ¡°It says it wants the liquor.¡± Gu Yu broke intoughter. He then took out a big gourd, poured out a third of the content, and put it down by the leaves. ¡°I think you¡¯ll be able to draw the liquor out yourself, right? We¡¯ll keep iting.¡± ¡°Rustle!¡± The red seeds swayed around again. *** Meanwhile, in the cottage. Xiaojin slouched on the bed, looking like a perfectly healthy girl. At a closer look, however, one would notice a faint dark purple seeping through her fair skin. She also looked a little weak. Seeing her sistering in, she yelled, ¡°Sis, I¡¯m bored stiff lying here. When will I get better?¡± ¡°Soon. Here, drink this.¡± Xiaozhai passed her the gourd. ¡°What is this?¡± She downed the content into her mouth right away, which she thought should be a lot but turned out to be a few drops of thick juice only. Shaking the gourd, she smacked her lips. ¡°Why, was that frozen yogurt? Can I have some more?¡± ¡°Start your meditation! Clear your mind!¡± ¡°Oh!¡± The girl stopped bullsh*tting right away. She sat up straight and began to practice the Mind-clearing Technique, soon entering the state of looking into her own mind. The vital essence of the spiritual ginseng was extremely potent. Before long, she felt a warm current shoving and humping inside her body. Her meridians bulged and her Dantian was boiling. She thought she was going to explode. ¡°Mhm¡­¡± A moan escaped her throat. She almost could not bear it any longer when a streak of coolness made its way in, guiding the warm current patiently. Gradually, it becamefortable again. Fine sweat covered Xiaozhai¡¯s forehead as she guided the essence around Xiaojin¡¯s orifices, nourishing thetter¡¯s body little by little. It was quite a while before Xiaozhai sighed with relief and withdrew her palm. ¡°Call it a blessing in disguise. Your strength has improved a little from this.¡± ¡°Wow!¡± Xiaojin was revived with full HP. She never felt so alive and began to swagger right away. ¡°This stuff is awesome! Let¡¯s have it three times a day and we¡¯ll all be Human Immortals next month!¡± ¡°Humph!¡± Xiaozhai sneered coldly. ¡°Since you¡¯re all fine now, it¡¯s time we set a few things straight. You knew perfectly of your limits and it was under very suspicious circumstances, so why did you get off alone? Do you know how much trouble you¡¯ve caused us?¡± ¡°!!!¡± The girl¡¯s face ashened right away. She dived back onto the bed and wailed like a sick cat. ¡°No, no, I¡¯m not all right! Oh my god, my kidneys feel funny! My body feels weak! I¡¯m totally not all right¡­ wait, there¡¯s no need to go physical. Help! The poison is still in me. I¡¯m contagious¡­¡± ¡®Gee!¡¯ Gu Yu and Long Qiu were already outside the door, but decided not to go in just yet. They said a silent prayer for poor Little Soap. *** As mentioned before, the so-called Mada Mountain could be considered two ovepping spaces. One was the real world and the other thebyrinth. Once stepping into this field, one would automatically enter thebyrinth, walking in a circle over and over again without ever finding the exit. What was more, thebyrinth could also blockmunication signals. It was actually pretty easy to remove. As long as one was more capable in Taoist skills than the spiritual ginseng, they could break thebyrinth by force from either inside or outside. The ginseng had not fully grown and could not cover the entire Phoenix Mountain. Thebyrinth would therefore only be set in certain areas. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai had a discussion and decided to put it at the two entrances: one at the iron fence, the other at the unmarked track on the northern slope. The former would operate around the clock. Thetter entrance was frequently used, therefore would only be switched on when enemies were detected. That was the where the value of the spiritual ginsengy: it was their panoramic radar/mountain-guarding formation/life-saving medicine. The four checked the areas and were very satisfied with the effect of thebyrinth. They then gathered the staff. They had nned to stay in Songjiang River for a couple of days only, looked around, and came back here. However, they ended up entangled in a lot of things and were dyed. Chinese New Year¡¯s Eve was the day after tomorrow and a lot of people were waiting for their words. Cottage of Pure Mind, the courtyard. Over a dozen men were divided into three groups¡ªthe liquor workshop, the tea workshop, and the orchard. Li Dong was an extra, stuck with the liquor workshop lot. Zhang Qianqiu was working in the manor now, which was still being taken care of by Yuan, Zeng, and Lei Families, who would withdraw after the Shui Family moved here. From then on, Shui Yao would take over the responsibility. ¡°The day after tomorrow is New Year¡¯s Eve. Anybody that wants to go home is free to do so. Juste back on the sixth 2 . Those that do not want to go back are wee to stay,¡± Gu Yu went straight to the point. ¡°¡­¡± The crowd exchanged looks; no one found the speech unexpected. The two bosses had always been kind¡ªwell, that they knew of! Gao Mingde spoke first. ¡°My son is bringing his girlfriend back, I have to go back. I won¡¯t be away that long. I¡¯ll be back on the fourth.¡± ¡°Sure, no problem.¡± Gu Yu nodded. ¡°I, I need to go back home as well. I¡¯ll probably stay until the fifth.¡± Guo Fei raised his hand. After that, Li Dong and Zhang Qianqiu also informed them that they would go and so did the fruit growers. Some of the tea nters were from the south and did not have enough time to go back, so they simply stayed behind. ¡°You¡¯ve all been working very hard for most of the past year. I¡¯d like to express our gratitude. Those who stay behind, we will make an exception for the next few days: you can buy your own meat and fish. And, everyone will get their share of rice, liquor, tea, and fruit. But please remember, you cannot take any of those back home.¡± Wow! That was unexpected! The crowd said their thanks happily. After they left, Gu Yu asked, ¡°So, what¡¯s you two¡¯s n?¡± ¡°I have to remind my parents of something and Jin Jin is going back with me,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Huh?¡± Xiaojin puckered up her face. She was estranged from her parents and that home meant nothing to her. She hadn¡¯t been intending to go back at all, but it was Her Majesty¡¯s decree, so she had to obey. She darted around and her eyes caught Long Qiu, to whom she said casually, ¡°Why, Qiu Qiu, you¡¯ve been here forever. Don¡¯t you want to go visit your vige?¡± ¡°I, I¡­¡± Long Qiu was a little lost. The person closest to her back in the Miao Vige was her master, and after that, her younger sister Long Tang, whom she would miss every now and then. As for the rest of her nsmen, she¡¯d rather think they did not exist. ¡°I¡¯ll go some other day. I want to see my little sister.¡± Scratching her head, she did not quite know what to do. ¡°Oh my! You have a little sister and so does she. I¡¯m the only one without! You¡¯re mocking me!¡± Xiaojin heckled on purpose, but got ignored. Gu Yu said, ¡°In that case, Xiao Qiu, you¡¯reing back with me to Phoenix Fair. I¡¯ve been away for so long; it¡¯s time that I show up again.¡± Chapter 262 Chapter 262: Chinese New Year¡¯s Eve (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Chinese New Year¡¯s Eve, Shengtian. Ever since Grandpa Jiang passed away, the two Jiang Brothers had never spent a Chinese New Year together. It was not that they held any grudges against one another, but a high-ranking government official and a wealthy businessman did not have much inmon in terms of worldview or lifestyle. Forcing themselves into getting together would only turn into an awkward reunion. This year turned out to be an exception. After learning Xiaozhai wasing home for the holiday, Father Jiang willingly sent out the invitation, asking his younger brother to spend the New Year¡¯s Eve together. Although Uncle Jiang found it rather strange, it wasn¡¯t some unpleasant event that he would turn down outright. He said yes. Hence, the six people of the two families got together. Right now, the two brothers were having a private conversation upstairs in the study with the door tightly shut, which was very odd. The two wives were making dumplings downstairs. Well, to be more precise, Mother Jiang was the one making dumplings, while Aunt Jiang was making rice cake. Aunt Jiang¡¯s name was Yang Qing, a woman from the south of the Yangtze River, from a family of schrs. There was a gentleness of the South about her, sort of like the misty rain of the region. Her temperament was not as delicate as her appearance suggested, though. The fact that she was able to keep her throne as the queen of the family for the past two or three decades despite her husband¡¯s position and wealth was proof enough of her exceptional intelligence. It was a little past eight o¡¯clock in the evening and the annual Spring Festival G was the ongoing program. The two wives chatted as they watched the show. ¡°The g is mainly for people of the North. It makes you think the entire country is eating dumplings on New Year¡¯s Eve. To be honestly, though, before I knew all my friends from the South, I used to think the same way.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t watch it that often. The singing and dancing I might take a look at, but I could never get the cross talks and the short sketches, nor do I find them funny.¡± Yang Qing¡¯s voice was always gentle and soft. She kept her hands busy while talking to Mother Jiang. After taking out the cooked glutinous rice, which she had mashed and cooled beforehand, and putting together a filling made from sugar, sesame, prunes, raisins, etc., she brushed a thinyer ofrd on a square te, then put in ayer of the glutinous rice. Ayer of the filling was then put on top of the rice, followed by anotheryer of rice. There were threeyers of fillings in total. The whole thing was then set into a pot and steamed. It was known as the ¡°New Year¡¯s cake of eight treasures¡±. ¡°Sigh, I think I only got to taste your delicious dishes once, when you two just got married. After that, we didn¡¯t get much chance to get together. Today is my lucky day.¡± Mother Jiang sighed with emotion. ¡°Haha, we¡¯ve all been busy. Spring Festival is a great time for us to catch up.¡± Yang Qing finished preparing the cake, then darted a look at the bedroom and whispered, ¡± Sister-inw 1 , Jin Jin has been with Xiaozhai after she graduated. I have no idea what she¡¯s been up to and she wouldn¡¯t tell me anything. Do you know anything about it?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know much, either. Actually, we know very little about what the youngsters are doing nowadays and there isn¡¯t much we can talk to them about.¡± Mother Jiang paused a little and added, ¡°As long as they are safe, I can¡¯t ask for more.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so easily reassured.¡± Yang Qing smiled and did not press on. *** Back in the bedroom, Xiaozhai and Xiaojin had upied the entire bed, where they stretched out happily. The 177-cm and 175-cm bodiesy t on the bed. At a nce, there was nothing but long legs 2 . The younger one was ying a game while Xiaozhai was checking out that app. In merely a couple of day¡¯s time, seven more species were added to the biological as. The nt category still had the most entries¡ªneen spread out across fifteen provinces. The Animal category had thirteen, collected from nine provinces. The Meteorology remained empty and there was still only one entry under Geography, which was the Peach Blossom Miasma of Grass River Mouth. She checked the nts first and saw nothing special. All entries weremon mutations with improved medicinal value at most. She then turned to the animals and let out a little cry. ¡°ckfin Yellow-tailed Eel: snake-shaped, 110 to 160 cm in length; can grow to as long as 2 m. The original species was the ricefield eel. The mutated fish has an additional fan-shaped dorsal fin and the tip of its tail is golden-colored and covered with barbs. The skin is naked, scaleless, moist, and covered in abundant slime. It has an erged head and tiny teeth are found along its upper and lower jaws, as well as on the ptal bones. It has extremely strong bite force, enabling it to break the arm of an adult effortlessly. The fish is savage and aggressive. Approach with great caution. ce spotted: aquaculture area along Yueyang¡ªJunshan¡ªHuarong region of east Dongting Lake; aquaculture area along Qili Lake¡ªMuping Lake region of west Dongting Lake. The fish was found in great numbers and five people have been found bitten. Its blood is toxic, it can irritate the mucous membranes of the mouth and digestive tract, as well as damage the nerve system, causing numbness to the limbs, respiratory failure, cirction copse, and eventually death. However, the toxin is not heat-resistant, rendering the fish edible after being cooked in high temperature. It nourishes vitality and improves physical strength, as well as neutralizes certain toxins of the opposite attribute.¡± ¡°Big-toed Thickshell Turtle: 80-130 cm in length, 50-90 cm in height standing up, has a t oval torsal, covered by thick shells both on the back and the abdomen. The animal has an exceptional defensive ability, it can withstand bullets of various types. The original form was the soft-shelled turtle. The mutated form has small eyes, newly developed teeth, and a thin and long neck. All four limbs have five toes, the inside three of which have sharp ws. The animal is of a gluttonous nature, will engage in cannibalism when food is scarce, and even crawl ashore to hunt for human beings. The species has abandoned hibernation and is found in all aquaculture area in the Dongting Lake region. So far there was no casualty report.¡± ¡°Hyriopsis cumingii: originated from Hyriopsis cumingii, which was widely cultivated in the Dongting Lake Region. The mutated species was not significantly altered. The main difference is the erged size and the darkened color. Its habits and characteristics remains unchanged. The type of m is endemic to our country and ideal for cultivating pearls. With every 80 to 120 of such m, 500 g of core-less pearls can be produced. This m is also capable of cultivating pearls with core, colored pearls, luminescent pearls, etc. Moreover, pearl imntation is operable on the species. By inserting a pearl-nting core into the pallium of a grown m, pearls as big as 8 mm in diameter can be cultivated. The flesh is edible. Pearl powder is known to release the internal heat, calm the mind, be anti-putrid, help with tissue regeneration, improve eyesight, relieve fever, etc. The oue of cultivating the mutated m has yet to be observed. Rted experiment is still ongoing.¡± ¡°Dongting Lake, Dongting Lake¡­¡± Xiaozhai muttered, a hint of resignation in her voice. ¡°The aquatic creatures are joining the game. It¡¯ll be a handful.¡± Jin Jin heard her and moved closer to look at her phone. She cried out, ¡°Wow, even ricefield eels are going spiritual now? Anyone go live-stream with one of THAT and I¡¯ll give her 100 million reward tokens 3 !¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai rolled her eyes and could not be bothered toment. She only said, ¡°All three were found in Dongting Lake. The underwater environment is a different story from the drynd. I hope nothing catastrophic will happen.¡± She was right to get concerned, for Dongting Lake had so much more potential than ming Mountain. Theke was a descendent of the Great Lake of Yunmeng 4 of the ancient times. ording to ¡°Annals of Hanyang¡±, ¡°Cloud lies to the north of the river and dream to the south.¡± The area in between was known as ¡°Yunmeng¡±. In its heyday, the greatke was as vast as 40,000 km^2. The ancient Yunmeng reached as far as Qi Zhou on the east, Zhi River on the west, Jing Mountain on the north, and Qingcao on the south. The sediment deposition in theter years gradually divided Yunmeng Lake into two parts. The part to the north of the Yangtze River became a swamp and a vastke remained in the part to the south of the Yangtze River¡ªDongting Lake. If theke mutated and brought back Yunmeng¡­ Tsk, tsk, we wouldn¡¯t want to go there! ¡°Xiaozhai, Xiaojin, dinner¡¯s ready!¡± ¡°Yeah,ing!¡± The two stayed in bed for another while before they were summoned. They then left the bed and went out. Father Jiang and Uncle Jiang happened to walk out at that same moment. Uncle Jiang did not give the two girls any unusual look, which meant he probably did not know what was really going on yet, but they could detect a gloominess there; it was likely that Father Jiang had told him something. Uncle Jiang drank a lot during the dinner and went dizzy in no time. Yang Qing then helped him into the guest room. Mother Jiang cleaned the table and Xiaojin yed the good girl, running around helping her aunt. Father Jiang, on the other hand, looked embarrassedly at his daughter and asked in an awkward tone, ¡°Shall we talk?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Xiaozhai nodded. Thus, the father and daughter went into the study. For a while there, the atmosphere was very odd. Both were very polite¡ªso polite that they did not seem like family. ¡°¡­¡± After a very long silence, Xiaozhai finally spoke. Despite having prepared himself for this moment, Father Jiang was still shocked by what she said. ¡°Dad, is it possible for you and mum to quit your jobs?¡± Chapter 263 Chapter 263: Chinese New Year¡¯s Eve (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Since hisst promotion, Father Jiang had be one of the most highly ranking officials in Shengtian, rendering him one of the moguls. Correspondingly, his clearance level was raised, giving him ess to certain top-secret inside information. Hence, he was well aware of many of the events in recent years. The question of his daughter did not upset him to the least. Instead, he only asked in return, ¡°Is the situation that bad already?¡± ¡°The situation you perceived is probably different from that of mine. I¡¯d like to hear your version,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Sure. I guess it¡¯s time for us to talk about it.¡± Father Jiang arranged his thoughts and said, ¡°As far as I know, ten mu of spiritual farnd has been put into use in Tianzhu Mountain, which was its maximum capacity. With an average yield per mu of 108 kg and two seasons of rice yearly, the annual yield is over 2000 kg in total. The reserve of the spiritual stone is 25.4 thousand tons, of which 800 thousand kg has been burnished and shaped, which was made into 3.2 million pieces in total, each weighing 250 g. These spiritual stones are stored in Tianzhu Mountain and the capital city. Because they are still too few in numbers, the government is not going to make the stones into a currency yet. Decisions have just arrived, though. The bosses are going to give them out to certain groups as incentive rewards.¡± ¡°You mean, people like Lu Yuanqing?¡± asked Xiaozhai. ¡°No, the entire Taoist system is included. Now that they have finished ¡®cleansing¡¯ the temples and pces, there are 22890 remaining registered Taoist priests. The next step is the extensive recruitment of pupils on arge scale. Anyone who is talented and performs exceptionally will have a chance to be rewarded with the spiritual stones.¡± Father Jiang rested a little before continuing, ¡°The Taoistmunity is not the only group involved. It affects the political and business circles greatly as well. The conservative parties are still on the fence, but the more resolute ones have made up their minds and sent their next generations off to Taoist temples. The state is having a ¡®don¡¯t ask, don¡¯t tell¡¯ stand on that.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai fell silent at that. The authorities¡¯ monopolization and nning of the resources had surpassed her expectation. The number of cultivators now was still too few to make an impact on the demand of resources. As the number grew, however, the implication would reveal itself. The government did not have to control every single individual. All it needed was to gain monopoly on resources supply, which in turn would enable it to take control of the cultivationmunity. The spiritual stones, for example, meant nothing even if some individual happened to find a mineral vein. Technology and capital aside, how could one make sure they would not get busted by the authorities for unauthorized exploitation? Plus, there was that reward mechanism. At least at this early stage, cultivators had no choice but be thembs and go wherever the scepter pointed. As for the recruitment of disciples, it was an even more remarkable move, for a cultivator raised from themoners was no match in their influenceparing to one from the dignitaries. The two would differ in every aspect in their foundations, connections, resources supplies¡­ A dignitary turned cultivator remained a member of the dignitaries. Once seessful, they would return the favor their families had given them and promote their own kinsmen. Because of their vested interest, it was only natural that they would support a stable social strata, as opposed to naively fancying ¡°everybody living like kings¡±. Rich and powerful families remained rich and powerful regardless of the era because of two factors: the most efficient information channel and the simplest way to gain benefits. Thetter was especially important. For as long as anyone cared to remember, the bosses always got the meat and the underlings ate the soup. As for the rest of the poption, they were left to the hand of fate. What Father Jiang said next proved that point further. ¡°52 mu of spiritual farnd had been put into use so far in Emei and the annual yield of the two harvests will reach 15 thousand kg in total. The amount of the spiritual rice an ordinary person can intake is almost negligible that this amount would be enough to cover the middle- and upper-sses with plenty surplus. The authorities are going to use the spiritual rice as rewards as well. Moreover, the research base is experimenting on a diversified agricultural structure, trying to develop more products.¡± ¡°What is your quota?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°Well, 10 kg per season,¡± answered Father Jiang somewhat awkwardly. ¡°Ok, thanks for telling me all that. Is there any n on moving against Shamanism?¡± she then asked. ¡°Nothing that I know of. I don¡¯t have that much ess to the information yet,¡± replied Father Jiang. ¡°¡­¡± She nodded. ¡°Then let me tell you the situation as I see it. The recovery of the spiritual essence has reached a stage that almost the entire country is covered. Abnormalities are breaking out frequently, they are mostly found in uninhabited areas, followed by residential areas in viges and towns, and the least around cities. We cannot say for sure about the harmfulness or harmlessness of the mutated creatures¡ªlet¡¯s say it¡¯s a fifty-fifty. The future poption will be centered aroundrge and mega cities and the medium and small cities became nodes, which the transportationwork will be constructed around. As for the wilnds and small towns and viges, they will probably all be restricted areas. Especially geographical abnormalities like Huo Zhou, such areas could bepletely deserted for hundreds of kilometers on end. This is not going to be a slowly developing phenomenon, but will take ce in a few years from now. In that case, all the dignitaries will amass to the central cities. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll need me to draw you the picture then. I don¡¯t want you, as an administrator, to be trapped in a political environment like that.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Father Jiang was about to speak when his daughter interrupted him, ¡°Of course, Shamanism is the main reason behind my suggestion. The Northeast is one of their parishes and the level of infiltration into the government here is far more severe than anywhere else in the country. Shengtian must be crawling with their men. The grudge between us and them has reached a point that I cannot guarantee that they won¡¯t harm you and mum, or even Xiaojin¡¯s parents.¡± His daughter could not have made it more explicit: quit your job,e with me to Phoenix Mountain where you can drink tea, fish, and live to a hundred years old¡ªcan life be more satisfying than that? ¡°¡­¡± Father Jiang also fell silent for a while before he spoke again, ¡°Xiaozhai, has it ever urred to you why was I given this position?¡± Before she could answer, he said, ¡°While I am your father, to those above, that makes no difference¡ªthe distribution of the spiritual rice and information essibility included. It goes without saying that they know we will talk to each other. Then why aren¡¯t they keeping things from me? I can onlye to the conclusion that regardless of the confrontation in Songjiang River, in general, those above still mean well. Put it another way: I am the benchmark. As long as I¡¯m still in my post, you¡¯re not the real enemy. ordingly, I am secretly protected by those above. I admit that Shamanism poses a threat, but I¡­ well, I havee this far from the vige boy I used to be. Laugh at me all you want, but I will not be reconciled to retire like this. I, too, want to achieve something, be it as a government official or as your father.¡± Sigh! At that speech, Xiaozhai heaved a silent sigh and gave up the persuasion. ¡°We¡¯ll have it your way, then! I don¡¯t have any protective instrument ready now, but I wille back with some in a few days. Be sure to wear them all the time. And, if you find anything out of the ce, let me know right away!¡± ¡°Haha, sure. We know what we¡¯re doing.¡± Father Jiang was surprised by this. The girl had been very independent since she was little and there had always been this veil between them. Now that she was showing concern over their well-being, he found thatforting. After all, she was their daughter. *** Phoenix Fair, the Fang Family. ¡°Cheers!¡± the five people sitting around a round table¡ªthat was, Uncle Fang, Aunt Fang, Fang Qing, Gu Yu, and Long Qiuughed. ¡°Clink!¡± The cups touched and bottoms were up. Long Qiu did not handle alcohol well. But it was New Year¡¯s Eve and she was happy, so she drained her cup like everybody else. She liked it here: the tiny rooms, the heated kang, the familiar northeastern enting out of the TV, the crackling firecrackers outside, and the kids running around outside with sparklers in hand¡ªthe air was filled with happy noises. That was how Spring Festival should be! ¡°Xiao Yu, you¡¯re so busy now. It¡¯s been a year since youst came back.¡± Uncle Fang was apparently very happy and had been drinking a lot. Thick-tongued, he said, ¡°You have no idea what those bastards are saying about you¡­ they all said you had be rich and forgotten about your folks. I told them ¡®shut your goddamn mouths! The boy made his living all by himself and he¡¯s not eating off your table or asking you for money.¡¯ Shame on them.¡± ¡°I have eaten off your table, so here I am. I¡¯ll never forget you.¡± Gu Yu chuckled. ¡°You don¡¯t say! We¡¯re more than family! But even if you¡¯re not sessful, I¡¯m still your uncle and she your aunt!¡± With the help of the liquor in his stomach, he began his piffling. ¡°The money you sent, we¡¯ve saved it all. It¡¯ll pay for Qing Qing¡¯s university tuition. That jar of liquor you sent, oh my, you can only drink so much¡­ You¡¯re a goodd, by all means. There¡¯s just one thing: don¡¯t you think it¡¯s time for you to settle down? No more fooling around. Find the one. Thatst girl you brought back was very nice, howe you¡¯re with another already¡­ why, Xiao Qiu, I¡¯m not saying you¡¯re not nice¡­¡± ¡°p!¡± Aunt Fang raised her palm and smacked the back of his head, while scolding, ¡°Enough bullshitting already! Go away! Leave us! Go back to your room and sleep it off!¡± She then turned to Long Qiu apologetically, ¡°That¡¯s just the way he is. Don¡¯t take him seriously.¡± Long Qiu waved her hand denyingly and exined, ¡°That¡¯s ok. Really, I¡¯m his sister, not his girlfriend.¡± ¡°Yeah, my brother is old-school like that. I understand.¡± Fang Qing had stuffed herself full and threw out a sarcastic remark while ying with her tablet. Gu Yu had given up trying already. Nobody in the right mind would buy that¡ªhe had brought back a girl on New Year¡¯s Eve! He didn¡¯t have much of a choice, though. It was not like he could leave Xiao Qiu behind in the mountain all alone. As the saying went, one man became immortal and even his chickens and dogs were raised to heaven. Families and close neighbors would only do better than that. He had been helping out the Fang Family over the past years and had made his observations. The old couple aside, Fang Qing alone was a girl of little talent. Basically, her hope of ever touching the cultivation world was next to nothing. Therefore, all he could do was to keep the family safe and happy. Gu Yu and Xiao Qiu bid their farewell around ten o¡¯clock and returned to Gu Yu¡¯s Old home. Everything was the same: the furniture, the TV, the stove, the utensils¡­ They all remained exactly where they were. Gu Yu looked around for a bit and asked, ¡°Shall we go back to Phoenix Mountain or stay here?¡± ¡°Wherever you say.¡± Long Qiu was as good-tempered as ever. ¡°We¡¯ll stay the night, then. Tomorrow morning, we¡¯ll say goodbye to Uncle Fang and leave. Oh, you can sleep here. I¡¯ll go to the other room.¡± With that, he went to the west room, where the work desk still stood, along with a few bottles and pots. He sat down on a praying mat and was about to start practicing the essence-consuming method when his phone rang. Taking it out, he saw that it was a message from Xiaozhai with the data on the three mutated aquatic species and a question. ¡°Is it possible to refine this turtle shell into a defensive instrument?¡± Gu Yu did not have time to read the app. He read the data in the message carefully and called her back. ¡°Theoretically, yes. Are you going to catch a few?¡± ¡°Why bother? The app has announced an update after the holiday. The forum is opening up formunication.¡± ¡°Already? So are you going to look for a seller?¡± He was amazed. ¡°Of course! Do you think anyone would ept an exchange with a signed photo of yours?¡± ¡®Pfffft!¡¯ Gu Yu rolled his eyes on that. ¡°Let¡¯s just stick with price negotiable in person. No, it won¡¯t do. Meeting in person will not be as attractive an offer, for we¡¯re only known by inte names so far. They don¡¯t have a clear idea of the value of cultivation objects at the moment. We¡¯re just going to buy with money.¡± ¡°Sure. In that case, I¡¯ll put up an inquiry for some Red Feather Vultures as well. Their feathers are worth a bit.¡± He hung up after a brief conversation, then closed his eyes and started cultivating. Xiaozhai apparently was not worried about them at all. She never even mentioned Long Qiu. Chapter 264 Chapter 264: A Purchase Request Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu After the holiday, Halfway Pavilion. The pavilion was built with the purpose of receiving VIPs at the first ce from the beginning. The two wooden houses straddled across the creek, joined together by a bamboo bridge, giving it a traditional and graceful look. Guests could take a break there while resting and getting fed. Phoenix Mountain was now differentiating among its buildings. The importance of the guests entertained in Halfway Pavilion definitely surpassed those received in the manor down the mountain. Of course, this was the first time the pavilion was put into use since itspletion. ¡°Whiiiiiiieeee!¡± The steam rose and a slender hand reached out, removing the kettle from a red-y stove. Two cups of tea were then made. As the boiling water poured into the cups, the bright green tea leaves twirled, releasing an exotic fragrance into the air. ¡°Very nice tea!¡± Wang Qi took a deep breath, let the tea cool down a bit, and drained the cup in one gulp. Instantly, a heat wave filled his stomach as if the umted internal coldness over the years had been dispelled all together. The next moment, he felt his bones were rinsed clean and even his hair was sighing withfort. ¡°Our tea ntation in Emei is still under nning. It seems you¡¯ve beaten us to it.¡± Looking out of the window, he took in the distant mountain and its rows upon rows of trees and smiled a purposeful smile. ¡°It is indeed as the old saying goes: the first in one, the first in everything.¡± ¡°We were lucky, that¡¯s all. With a remarkable environment like this, it¡¯s only natural that we should make a matching effort.¡± Gu Yu finished his cup and went on, ¡°We¡¯ve been expecting you. It was very considerate of you to let me have my Spring Festival holiday first.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯s anything urgent. Plus, after a hell of a busy year, I needed a break as well.¡± Wang Qi was as easy-going as always. There was some more small talk before he suddenly cut to the chase. ¡°That Guan Pan was indeed a mole of Shamanism. We swept the area around Songjiang River after you left, but unfortunately, the search came back empty. Those people are very good at hiding. I think you¡¯ve scared them. Sigh, it was the result of our negligence! The government has cleaned up the cults once around the time when the modern state was established and eliminated most of them. Who could have thought a thousand-year-old primitive worship would grow into a gigantic,pact modern organization like this?¡± ¡°I did not expect that, either,¡± replied Gu Yu. Wang Qi then shifted the topic. ¡°However, be it as it may that death alone would not have been a sufficient punishment for him, he was a government official after all. Even if he were to be tried, there are legal proceedings that we need to follow. But you just snapped the guy¡¯s head off in broad daylight and right at the entrance of thepound. We will need to address that.¡± ¡°Address?¡± Gu Yu shook his head. ¡°We¡¯ve had several conversations so far and there¡¯s no need to beat around the bush. Just say what you¡¯re here to say.¡± ¡°In that case, I have some questions to ask.¡± Wang Qi straightened up and stared into his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m puzzled by a few things. First of all, exactly what is the Taoist skill you¡¯re practicing?¡± The question hade up once before in a casual way during their negotiation in Urumqi. His tone was in stark contrast with that one this time and his face was kept very serious. Gu Yu considered it for a moment and gave the same answer, ¡°Like I told youst time, I¡¯m not at liberty to reveal that. Order from my master.¡± ¡°Humph! We¡¯ve learning everything about your entire family from your grandfather down. Since when did you have a master?¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s why I said I was lucky.¡± Gu Yu paused a little and decided to give the man a hint. ¡°More capable men have lived and died in this ancientnd during the past several thousand of years. Even the spiritual essence got to recover, how do you know there wasn¡¯t any remaining legacy of the past sages?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wang Qi got the hint right away; he even knew the answers to the following questions he was about to ask. As it turned out, the answers had been lying in the government¡¯s blind spot this entire time. Well, it was not really a blind spot. They were only considering things at a different strategic level, making them more likely to overlook certain basic factors. To the state as a whole, the priorityy in monopolizing the resources, maintaining stability, and keeping the development in order. Had it not been for this confrontation, they would never begin to pay attention to cultivators¡¯ individual attributes and the various basic rules of the cultivation world. With the hint, Wang Qi sorted the idea out in his head and everything was crystal clear. But that was about as far as he could get. It was not like he could force the answer out of Gu Yu. ¡°Gosh, Xiao Gu. You really have, well, set us up good!¡± ¡°It was nothing like that. All Xiaozhai and I did from the beginning until now was merely for self-preservation.¡± Gu Yu poured another round of water into the tea and gestured. ¡°After you!¡± ¡°Glug!¡± Wang Qi downed the tea all at once and seemed to have lost the interest in talking. ¡°We will be carrying out some major operation this year and there might be some upheaval. We¡¯re happy with where Phoenix Mountain stands so far and hopefully that¡¯s how you will remain. That¡¯s it. Time for me to go. We¡¯ll talk some other time.¡± With that, he put on his coat and walked to the door, where he appeared to have remembered something and turned around. ¡°By the way, other countries aren¡¯t looking very safe and sound, either. If there came a day¡­ well, don¡¯t let us down.¡± *** Yueyang, the town of Helong 1 Lake. The town stood on the southern shore of Dongting Lake and got its name from a bigke under its jurisdiction. Helong Lake was part of the Dongting water system and had an area of over 10000 mu 2 . Theke abounded in aquatic products such as hairy crabs, mandarin fish, catfish, etc., which had established the town¡¯s fame. Adding to that was the development of a tourism industry, which together made the town pretty well-off. The Dai Family had one of thergest fish-breeding businesses in the town. Their main products were fish, crabs, and soft-shelled turtles. The only son of the family was Dai Han, who had just graduated from a university. The guy was on the short side, fair-skinned, and chubby. Squinting up his little eyes, he had a perfect resemnce to a big white steamed bun, tempting just about everyone to squeeze those cheeks. He had managed to find a job, but quitted it two months in. Since then, he had been staying at home and ate happily off the family¡¯s table. His parents couldn¡¯t care less. With the scale of their family business, their son could be as idle as he wanted. Spring Festival used to be the busiest season for the Dai Family, for freshwater products were to be provided inrge quantities at this time of the year. This year, however, the situation was frustrating beyond description. Soft-shelled turtles should hibernate in the winter, but they simply decided to stop doing that this year and instead grew very active¡ªso much so that they had broken into other aquaculture areas, almost wiping out the fish and crabs there. That was not the worst yet. One night, they even crawled out ashore to look for food. Luckily, they were discovered in time not to cause any damage. The folks panicked at this and everyone was talking. Dai Han knew better¡ªhe was your typical delusional adolescent type of guy. After downloading the app at a friend¡¯s rmendation, he uploaded the turtle¡¯s information right away. That same day, some men arrived from the city to verify the information, which was approved the following day; he became an honorable member of the 10-point club. After looking into the problem, those people offered two solutions. The turtles were gluttons. Hence, they would have to purchase a great amount of fries to feed them while, in the meantime, set up wired fences around the pond to keep everyone safe. The other option was to have the government buy it off. The authorities were offering a reasonable price to purchase their entire cultivation area. It was a very big decision, which his parents could not make up their mind about. They were now spending their entire days sulking. It did not bother Dai Han the least. Right now, he was lying down in his bedroom and waiting with his phone in hand¡ªtoday was the day of the first update of ¡°New ssics of Mountains and Rivers¡±. Voices came from the yard downstairs, where his parents and rtives were discussing, which annoyed him. He then put on his earphones. It seemed forever before a reminder popped onto the screen: new version of ¡°New ssics of Mountains and Rivers¡± avable, update now? Yes! Why would they even bother to ask? The update was not a massive one and was installed in no time. He eagerly tapped open the app, realizing that configuration of images were much higher, making the pages much more pleasant visually. A couple of new functions had been added, such as instant inquiry service,munication forum, adding friends, pm, etc. Thirty years after the inte was invented, such functions were ancient by now. However, it excited him a little, seeing them in this app. Dai Han tapped into the forum and was weed by a reminder: you have not reached the 30-point minimum and cannot put up new posts or reply the existing ones, but you are qualified to add friends and send pm. What the hell! That was undisguised discrimination! Fighting back his urge to spit out some sarcastic remarks, he went on checking out the forum. The page resembled that of a bbs, which was nowpletely nk. No one had posted anything yet. On the top of the page was the number of the users: 3764 members, 3520 online. Dai Han refreshed the page repeatedly. About three minutes passed when the first post showed up, which said, ¡°Damn it, enough with the waiting! Am I really the first?¡± He tapped into it and saw others had replied right away. ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you, bro! I got all jittery and could not bring myself to write one!¡± ¡°Fireworks! Congrattions on being the first!¡± ¡°Oh my god, this is my first time replying here and I¡¯m so nervous! How do I pretend I¡¯m doing this all the time?¡± That was about it. It seemed there were only a handful of 30-point bosses out there. The users took the app quite seriously. Despite their inte-style conversation, no one actually made fun of anything substantial and everyone seemed very cautious. Dai Han watched all this, wanting to join in more than anything else. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t. ¡°Innocent rookie here. Anyone cares to exin what is going on with the country now?¡± ¡°Can it be more obvious? The world is getting an upgrade.¡± ¡°How do you know we¡¯re not getting an apocalypse?¡± ¡°I¡¯m with the upstairs. Haven¡¯t you read any doomsday fictions? They all began with mutated creatures.¡± ¡°I say it¡¯s more like the superpower-themed fictions. You get creatures from a higher dimension dropping down their insane technology, helping us earthlings to upgrade our civilisation. It won¡¯t be long before I can make fireballs with my bare hands.¡± ¡°I say it¡¯s neither of those. This government-issued app is evidence enough of their intention¡ªthey¡¯re wavering between going public and sounding out our reactions. Obviously they don¡¯t know everything yet. Maybe it¡¯s a mixture of good news and bad news and they have to educate the people bit by bit.¡± Someone was able to think straight. This reply was the mostly agreed with one. Dai Han refreshed a couple of more times and his pupils contracted: there was a new post. ¡°Good money in return for big-toed thickshell turtles. Reward avable without fail for any provider¡ªdiscoverer and onlookers alike. Living turtles preferably, but will make do with dead ones provided that the shell is intact. Contact via pm. Poster: Green River Water.¡± ¡°Boom!¡¯ The forum erupted. ¡°Wow! Finally! A big shot!¡± ¡°Boss please take my imaginary soft-shelled turtle!¡± ¡°Boss please take my imaginary female character costume!¡± ¡°Boss please take my imaginary soft-shelled turtle in female character costume!¡± Dai Han felt his heart thumping. The curiosity, the unknown, the thrill¡­ a thousand emotions rolled into a bundle and finally turned into an excitement he had never experienced before. He sent the pm right away. ¡°Hello, you want the big-toed thickshell turtle?¡± The reply was instant and straightforward. ¡°Pavilion of Gems, No. 27 Hushitai District, Shengtian. 20000 yuan a turtle. No delivery service epted.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Dai Han hesitated a little at this and only replied after a while. ¡°When are you avable?¡± ¡°Every day.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you know before I arrive.¡± After sending out thatst message, he rolled off his bed and under the surprised stares of his parents, dashed out of the yard with a speed not proportional to his weight. He ran all the way to the feeding quarter, where he picked up two sturdy cages. He then wrapped some pig liver and bean paste soaked with chicken blood in some gauze, and hung the bundles in the cages. ¡°Plop!¡± ¡°Plop!¡± He tossed the cages into the water and waited. A couple of minutester, one of the cages suddenly sank. ¡°Here we go!¡± Dai Han grabbed the rope; muscles bulged into round meatballs on his plump arms as he pulled with all his strength. Although he had seen the creature before, the look of it still made him jump. Inside the cage was none other than a big-toed thickshell turtle! As gigantic as this one was, it was actually one of the smaller ones. The turtle was about 80 cm long andy t on its belly staring at the food in the front, ignoring everything else around it. The triangr head, which was bigger than a grown man¡¯s fist, charged out and the bundle of food was swallowed whole, the gauze included. It had the tiniest eyes and big nostrils. Odd patterns covered its head, which twisted with its chewing motion, reminding one of thick wriggling snakes. ¡°Huff¡­ huff¡­¡± The moment of hot-headedness had passed and fear was gradually taking over Dai Han¡¯s head. Men were easily frightened by unknown beings, even when they were capable of killing thetter. He had nerves strong enough and walked slowly towards it holding a pair of shears. Of course he was not doing it for the money. He just wanted to see the ce. Chapter 265 Chapter 265: A Strange Little Shop Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Shengtian, Hushitai. Hushitai was the pronunciation of Mongolian words meaning ¡°a ce flourishing with reeds¡±. The area used to be a stud-farm in the Qing Dynasty and was set up as a town after the modern state was established. It was now an economic development zone. There was plenty ofnd and a poption disproportionate to the size of the town. Residential areas and business quarters gathered up here and there in lumps, leaving out vacant factory buildings and idle farnds for miles on end. ¡°nk! nk!¡± The shutter door rolled up and a yawning Yan Han walked out. He looked this way and that at the door and shuddered at a chilly gust of wind. Here began another boring, uneventful day. He strolled into the shop and beckoned at a young man to join him for breakfast. That was his cousin, Yan Yan, whom he had hired as an assistant. The young man had no special skills other than being an excellent driver. Oh, and he was also very good at keeping secrets. The two finished their breakfast, then Yan Yan went upstairs to mind his own business, leaving Yan Han sitting alone in the shop, ying aputer game in utter boredom. It had been over two weeks since he opened up this shop as told and sold nothing so far. It wasn¡¯t his fault. The two-story shop came with a backyard and he had even prepared a pick-up truck. Everything necessary to keep a business running was there, only that he had nothing to sell. God would weep on his misery! If only someone out there had heard his sad story: sitting behind that desk like a proper shop owner with the squeaky clean floor tiles and shelves and weing one batch of customers after another, but ending up getting stared at! Fortunately, some guy named Shui Yao finally delivered their first batch of goodsst night. It wasn¡¯t much¡ªonly about 1/30 of the shelf was filled¡ªbut it was better than nothing. ¡°Yawn¡­¡± ¡°Creak!¡± Yan Han yawned again, which did not go as well as the first one. He squeezed in his belly and entuated the ending sound, but was interrupted by the noise of the opening door and his sound ended up resembling the snoring of a pig. He eyed the iing customers unhappily, which turned out to be a young couple. The yellow-haired guy was wrapped up in a leather jacket and the girl had a short cotton-padded jacket on. Both wore leggings on the bottom. Hushitai was swarmed with vocational schools, which were without a doubt where these two hade from. The couple looked around casually, both finding the ce rather odd. The girl asked, ¡°Is this some sort of shop? Is it even open for business yet?¡± ¡°Dunno. Hey, man, what do you sell here?¡± shouted the boy. ¡°¡­¡± Yan Han pointed to the sidewalls, not bothering to reply. These hillbillies who did not even know about the app! They were not worth talking to! The couple followed his finger and saw a few objects disyed neatly on a shelf: three boxes of incense sticks, three boxes of incense pellets, and a small jar of tea. That¡¯s it? That¡¯s it! ¡°What sort of shop is this?¡± The boy was amazed. The girl knew a little bit better than him; she took up the pellets and sniffed, then asked excitedly, ¡°Hey, how much is this?¡± ¡± Ten thousand yuan a box 1 .¡± ¡°Pfffft!¡± Both choked on their spit. ¡°How much?¡± ¡°Ten thousand a box!¡± ¡°What about the tea?¡± The boy burst into an irritatedughter. ¡°A hundred thousand per 50 g.¡± ¡°F**k, what do you think you¡¯re selling? Da Hong Pao?¡± The boyughed with his irritatedughter again. Tea was something that had a price ranging from next to nothing to, well, as high as a seller wanted tobel it. The Superior Royal Eighteen Pre-Qingming Longjing Tea 2 was sold at a market price of 4000 yuan per 50 g, the unwrapped red-stamp raw Pu¡¯er had a price tag of over 80000 yuan per 312 g, not to mention the hundred-year-old disc-shaped Pu¡¯er manufactured by Qianlizhen Songpin Firm, which was worth a million yuan per disc. However, even an idiot would find it ridiculous to sell a tea at such a price in a ce like this. ¡°Aiya, stop fooling around with us, man. I really like it. A hundred yuan and I¡¯m taking it, okay?¡± The girl would not give up. ¡°That¡¯s the price I¡¯m selling and no less. Or you can exchange it with other stuff, but of course, the value will be decided by us,¡± exined Yan Han despite his growing impatience. ¡°You¡¯re out of you f**king mind!¡± ¡°Forget about it. Let¡¯s go.¡± The boy was about to y the tough guy when the girl dragged him out of the door. Once outside, he felt he had been utterly humiliated. Darting his eyes around, an idea suddenly came to him. ¡°Hoho, I don¡¯t have to do it myself. I¡¯ll just file aint. With that price, he will be taken down in no time.¡± With that, he dialed the number of the Administration of Industry and Commerce. ¡°Hello? Oh, hi, I¡¯d like to report on a shop¡­ yes, they¡¯re selling this tea at 100,000 yuan per 50 g. It must be a scam, so I thought I should let you know¡­ oh, the address is No. 27 Hushitai and the name is Pavilion¡­ hey, watch yournguage, I¡­¡± They hung up on him. ¡°I will not have this!¡± The boy got all hot-headed and made another series of calls: the pricing bureau, the consumer¡¯s association, the TV station, the press¡­ he was turned down by every single one of them. Holy sh*t! Even someone as slow as these two had realized something by that point. The couple nced at the small shop again, somehow finding fear creeping up inside them. They left quietly right after that. ¡°Sigh! Rookies!¡± Inside, Yan Han¡¯s game character had just been killed in abat thanks to his unreliable gamerades. He heaved a frustrated sigh. *** ¡°God damn it! Where the hell is this ce?¡± Along a wide road, Dai Han was driving back and forth in his parents¡¯ SUV, but simply could not find the ce. Never jump too quickly to the conclusion that fat otakucked the will of execution. They could be quite persistent once they set their mind on something. After taking out a big-toed thickshell turtle, he told his parents he was going to visit a university ssmate in the Northeast by driving himself there. His dear old parents couldn¡¯t care less about his travel n¡ªanything was better than lying around at home and growing fatter. Hence, Dai Han drove himself all the way to Shengtian, feeling like a rock star¡ªin his delusional adolescent sort of way. ¡°You imbecile!¡± After cursing at himself again, he finally pulled over, fumbled out his phone, opened the app, and send a pm: where on earth is that shop of yours? ¡°Where are you now?¡± He got a reply. ¡°To the south of Jianshe Road. I can see a vocational school.¡± ¡°Follow the road to the end, turn left, then right, and you¡¯ll see it in about three to five hundred meters.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Dai Han put away the phone and drove on. Neither side left the other one their phone number, nor did they exchange any name or identity. Both chose to y it safe. It did not take him long to find the ce. It baffled him a little¡ªthe shabby alley was barely popted. Of all the dpidated-looking bungalows, the shop was the tallest one¡­ that was, if the wire pole was excluded. He got off the SUV suspiciously, pushed the door open, and made his way in. He found quite a few empty storage racks inside and a man sitting behind a desk, typing noisily. ¡°Hello, are you the owner?¡± ¡°Hi! Hello!¡± Yan Han rose to his feet in a hurry and shook his hand. ¡°Are you the delivery man, or¡­¡± ¡°I have brought it here myself.¡± ¡°Oh, thanks for taking the trouble. Where is it?¡± He cut to the chase. ¡°In my SUV. I¡¯ll show you.¡± The two walked out to the side of the street and Dai Han opened up the trunk, revealing a big ck bag. Despite the multipleyers of wrapping, an intense stench was stilling out of it. It was extremely heavy. The two men had to work together with much difficulty to carry it into the courtyard. Yan Han put on some gloves in an affected manner and ripped the bag open. What he saw made him jump. A giant dead soft-shell turtley inside; its head seemed to have been cut off¡ªit was the size of a fist and stuffed into the belly like a meatball. ¡°Retch¡­¡± He was nauseated, but managed to fight it back. After a thorough examination, he decided that despite the loss of blood¡ªwhich was a lot¡ªthe flesh was all there, especially the back shell, which was perfectly intact. It looked identical to the illustration and should be the genuine thing. Just to be on the safe side, he took out a sharp instrument which resembled an awl from his chest pocket. The sharp tip glinted coldly with a greenish color. ¡°Dang!¡± He jabbed it ferociously at the shell, which remained undented¡ªthe impact only left a white dot. ¡°That¡¯ll do. I¡¯ll take this, then. Let¡¯s talk inside.¡± The two returned inside right away and only then did Yan Han offered him a ss of water. ¡°The animal is dead, but the back shell is intact. So, as we agreed before, 20,000 yuan a piece. Shall I transfer the money or do you prefer cash payment?¡± ¡°Well, do you sell anything here?¡± Dai Han looked around the shop. ¡°We do, but there isn¡¯t much.¡± ¡°Do you mind if I take a look first?¡± ¡°Be my guest.¡± Dai Han then rose to his feet and walked to the racks. He knew nothing about what he saw and asked, ¡°What does this incense do and how much is it?¡± ¡°It improves health and bnces the mind. Burning it regrly would also cure unmentionable or chronic diseases. Ten thousand yuan a box.¡± Cure? That was a bold im! He blinked. ¡°What about this tea?¡± ¡°Works pretty much the same way as the incense, but is more potent. 100,000 yuan per 50 g and each customer is limited to 150 g,¡± replied Yan Han. ¡°¡­¡± Dai Han frowned. The price did not concern him in the least; he was simply curious. After some pondering, he asked, ¡°In that case, can I exchange the turtle for a box of incense? And I¡¯d like to take 50 g of that tea.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Yan Han was surprised¡ªthis guy turned out to be a bloody rich kid. He carefully took down a box of incense stick, then, even more carefully, brought down the jar of tea. With the help of an electronic bnce, he weighed 50 g¡ªalmost staring his eyeballs out during the process¡ªfor Dai Han. ¡°Remember, do not take more than 5 g each time. Reduce the intake if 5 g still feels too much for you. One brewing should be more than enough to get you through the day. Wait a couple of days before your next drink.¡± ¡°Um, sure.¡± The solemn look on Yan Han¡¯s face got Dai Han serious as well. He then transferred 90,000 yuan via his phone to the former, said his goodbye, and left. *** Night, the Marriott. Dai Han walked out of the bathroom naked, the roll of fat armoring his body jiggling with his movement. He was telling the truth when he said he had a university ssmate in Shengtian, whom he went to meet after leaving Hushitai. They ate, sang the karaoke, got the massage¡ªthe whole shebang¡ªand he returned to his hotel exhausted. He put on his underpants, sat down on a chair, and lit a cigarette. Regret swept over him as he smoked. Sigh, that god damn spree of a moment! What was he thinking traveling half the country out here? And he had paid 100,000 yuan for 50 g of tea! 100,000 yuan! 50 g! That was a rip-off worse than outright ckmail! It couldn¡¯t be helped, for that was how human beings behaved. It was like shopping in tourist destinations: the regret only arrived after you returned home, and the more you thought about it, the worse you felt. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Dai Han ground the cigarette butt and checked the time. It was past midnight. Should he go to bed? Like he was going to get any sleep now¡­ damn it, he had paid for it and he might as well taste it! He boiled some water swiftly and opened up the package of tea, pinching out a tiny bit. 5 g¡­ how many grams was one liang equal to again 3 ? 30 g? He paused a little, tossed the tea leaves, which was obviously more than 5 g, into a cup, and poured in the boiled water. ¡°Ssh!¡± As the water was added in, a dense white mist suddenly rose out of the cup, which made Dai Han jump. He then sniffed. Why, that smelled so nice! Looking down, he saw the smooth bright-green tea leaves floating around in the cup as if they had lives of their own. There was a peculiar yet refreshing beauty about them. ¡°This¡­¡± His expectation was raised. Taking up the cup, he blew at the hot water and took a tiny sip. He smacked his lips and did not find the taste anything special. He took another sip and then, boom! Two torrents of warm flow washed over him. Instantly, he was short of breath with flushed cheeks. Sweat broke out like flowing rivers and his entire body was soaked. It was the most ufortable feeling, but he could not move even a muscle. All he could do was copse in the chair, barely conscious. He did not know how much time had passed when his head was clear again and his vision returned. ¡°¡­¡± Dai Han sat there dazed. Little did he know that it was thanks to his extrarge meridians that he was able to withstand the impact. He grabbed the arm of the chair and shot up. ¡°Squelch!¡± There came a strange noise, as if something was being pulled out of a mud pool. He turned back to look. What the hell! The entire chair had changed color, it was now wet and yellow from all the sweat. ¡°What the f**k is this thing?¡± Frightened, he took up the package of tea and was about to throw it away, but halted. What? He turned his head this way and that and stretched out his limbs. He felt, well, lighter. The fatigue from earlier was alsopletely gone. ¡°¡­¡± Dai Han had a quick mind. His first reaction was to put the tea safely away, and then to grab for his phone. ¡°Hello, Dad! Don¡¯t sell that turtle pond! Not for all the money in the world¡­ aiya, just trust me on this. I¡¯m your own son! Why would I lie to you? Oh, and transfer another 200,000 to me. I can¡¯t exin this over the phone. I¡¯ll tell you more after I go back!¡± *** The city of Mt. Emei, pharmaceutical factory. The economy of the city mainly depended on tourism and the service industry, while the rest of the industries were rather underdeveloped. There used to be a small pharmaceutical factory, which was barely operating and was on the verge of closing down. Last year, however, one of the top three state-ownedpanies of the industry suddenly extended its majestic hand and bought the factory in whole. Hence, Emei Pharmaceutical was fresh out of the oven. Right now, the senior management team and the research personnel were apanying a very, very big boss on an inspection of the factory, ying the tour guides. ¡°We are using various herbs as raw materials to manufacture patent medicine of different forms, of which we have umted over a thousand years worth of experience in both the theory and clinical practice. We are able to manufacture over forty forms and dosages of medicines including pills, powders, pellets, liquors, films, etc. It is highly unlikely that any of those would turn out problematic.¡± A researcher led the boss closer and pointed at a nt in the cultivation room. ¡°Please take a look at this nt. It is known as Chinese Angelica and as a drug, its major function is to treatmon cold, headache, and rhinitis, among other diseases. It can also be used as a spice. There used to be a patent medicine called ¡®wind-cold granules¡¯, which had Chinese Angelica as the main ingredient. Themon cold affected patients differently from one individual to the next. Even treated with the same medicine, some might be cured in two days, while it might take others a week to recover. But, with the potency of the mutated Chinese Angelica, I can promise that once the patent medicine is developed¡­¡± He paused suddenly. When he spoke again, there was an unmatched confidence in his voice. ¡°Anyone who caught a cold, as long as it is not a bad cold and there is no high fever, will achieve a full recovery with a single dosage of this medicine!¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ The boss¡¯s hand, which was reaching up to adjust his sses, froze halfway before dropping back down secondster. ¡°Professor Song, that is not something to be brought up so lightly. Are you willing to put it on paper and ept punishment should your promise fail to deliver?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± The professor¡¯s voice was so forceful that it almost nk on the floor. ¡°Good. That is very good!¡± A faint smile swept across the boss¡¯s face. ¡°How long before it is fully operational?¡± ¡°Anytime. We are the most experienced in patent medicines treatingmon cold. The medicine had passed the trial on mass poption and we can guarantee its safety. The excellent environment of Mt. Emei is very suitable to grow the nt inrge scale.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The boss was even more excited, so much that he had stopped talking, but only patted the professor on his shoulder. The group then moved on. Professor Song introduced their research findings in turn. ¡°We have three new kinds of medicine that are ready to go into production and be released into the market in the first half of this year. They are the cold granules, a pain relieving cream, and a mulberry and chrysanthemum drink. Oh, thest one is a powder to be mixed with water. It can relieve the exterior syndrome with drugs pungent in vor and cool in property, clear away the heat, and open the inhibited lung energy and relieve cough. Four kinds of medicine are still under research, for which we will need to run trials onrge sample bases. They are very promising in slowing down the aging process, improving vitality and strengthening the body, as well as treating coronary arteriosclerosis, angina pectoris, and high blood pressure.¡± ¡°I see. The diseases the three new kinds of medicine target might seem trivial, but there is nothing trivial about their significance. The minor illnesses are what troubles themon people the most¡­ Profess Song, you have done us an outstanding service!¡± ¡°I was only doing my job.¡± Before long, the visit was over. The boss left in his vehicle after some more encouraging words. His next stop would be the monastery, where he was to extend his regard to Lu Yuanqing and the others. He had barely settled down in his seat when his assistant reported, ¡°The only son of the Dai Family in the town of Helong Lake of Yueyang had arrived at the Pavilion of Gems in Shengtian earlier today. He had probably brought with him the big-toed thickshell turtle. We don¡¯t know what he has exchanged it for. Shall we look into it?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡± The boss pondered over it and said pensively, ¡°We know all the produce of Phoenix Mountain. They are not going to exchange with the spiritual rice or liquor, so probably the incense, tea, or some fruit or vegetables. It¡¯s nothing serious. Just let them be.¡± ¡°But if their spiritual objects get around, won¡¯t that cause disturbance?¡± The assistant was concerned. ¡°Disturbance? Hasn¡¯t Wang Qi reminded them of the major operations we¡¯re carrying out this year¡­ haha, those are two very interesting young friends. They have guessed where we¡¯re heading and are now going with the flow.¡± The boss smiled and gave it a wave. ¡°That¡¯s it. Now, let¡¯s go.¡± *** Phoenix Mountain, the training field. The family of four stood in a line again. Four pairs of eyes fell on the giant turtle, which was 80 cm long and 60 cm wide at least. With such a pile on the ground, they were disgusted, but meanwhile unable to fight back an indescribable appetite. The odd silence dragged on for a while before Xiaojin finally broke it. Raising her hand, she yelled, ¡°Brother-inw, I want to eat meat tonight!¡± ¡°Sure. We¡¯ve paid for it and we will eat it. Let me try make a soup with it.¡± Gu Yu chuckled. ¡°This one is missing a head. I think the soft-shelled turtle soup usuallye with a head.¡± Xiaojin crouched down and picked up the head, which had turned soggy. She waved it around. ¡°It¡¯s been cut off. Can we still eat it? Why, Qiu Qiu, have you tried this head before?¡± ¡°Ah! You scoundrel 4 !¡± Long Qiu red at her. ¡°You are the scoundrel! Or how could you know what I was talking about? Here, take it! Why, don¡¯t run away!¡± ¡°Go away! Don¡¯t touch me!¡± The two girls ran away in a bustle, soon disappeared with all their noises. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai ignored them both. Taking out Green Leaf, she inserted it along the edge of the back shell, swiped the de this way and that, then flipped it. An intact shell was removed. Gu Yu paid no attention to the stench and picked it up. It was oval, dome-shaped, about 65 cm in length, and 40 cm in width. The surface was of a ckish green color with a slight glossy appearance. Reticr patterns covered the shell with a straight line crossing in the middle along the back, dividing the shell into two halves. He bent his fingers and gave the shell a flip. A crisp ¡°dang!¡± rang out. ¡°It is hard enough to fend off anymon knives or bullets. But it looks hideous. What can we make it into?¡± ¡°A shield, of course. Put it over the back when it¡¯s not in use. Why, it just happens to be green.¡± Xiaozhai chuckled 5 . ¡°Sis, this is for your dad. Be a little serious, OK?¡± Gu Yu felt his temple throbbing. ¡°I am. Let me think¡­¡± Xiaozhai took over the shell and saw that it was divided evenly into a few smaller sections by the pattern. Her face brightened up. ¡°Old Gu, how about we cut it into pieces and try the Small Confining Technique?¡± ¡°You mean the kind that can be triggered?¡± Gu Yu got it right away. She was referring to inserting the Small Confining Technique into the shell, which looked nothing special, but once under attack, the technique would be triggered automatically, protecting its master. ¡°But that means the shell is not put into use. It is our Taoist skill working and the shell is only the medium.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t help. me its ugliness. Let¡¯s wait until the red feather vulture gets here, then. We¡¯ll see if we can make the feathers into clothes or something.¡± Chapter 266 Chapter 266: A Series of Moves (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°News update of Feb. 28th: a training course for young and middle-aged cadres in the central and local governments is held recently in the capital city, engaging them in two-way post-exchanging activities, which indicated that a new cycle of cadre exchange has begun. The two-way exchange of posts not only is an objective demand to strengthen local governance and promote local development, but, more importantly, meets the long-term need to train talented cadres. By reaching out to the people, young and middle-aged cadres will be able tobine theory with practice at the grassroots level and assist local development while continuously improving their working ability in practice. It is understood that a total of 66 young and middle-aged cadres of departmental directorship have be selected for the course and the less developed provinces such as W, Qingning, and Xichui will be participating in the exchange. Once the training course ispleted, the cadres will begin to assume their new offices¡­¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Yan Han finished watching the evening news while cleaning his teeth with his tongue. His heart palpitated in excitement. The innocent audience would probably forget about that piece of news as soon as they heard it, but not him. As the a member of the ¡°foreign service¡± of Phoenix Mountain, he knew perfectly well what was going on. ¡°Sigh, why am I hearing the grinding sound of the giant wheel of the history? It sounds ominous!¡± He heaved a feigned sigh, picked up a rag at random, and began to wipe the racks, which were already shiny clean (and empty). It was almost March and the temperature was rising. Spring wasing. At half past seven, it had gonepletely dark outside. The shop didn¡¯t really have regr business hours¡ªit opened and closed as Yan Han saw fit. Yesterday, it closed at six o¡¯clock. But it would not do for today, for a customer wasing. Yan Han cleaned the room, then sat back at his desk and started another round ofputer game, where he had be very good at hindering his teammates. Come to think about it, what had happened so far was rather spectacr. Zhang Qianqiu used to be the most promising one, but had been cast out to the manor as a mere helper for Boss Shui. The masters up the mountain were obviously never going to raise him to any important position. The guy would be gone as soon as his contract expired. As for Li Dong, the guy had shown promise. He was the ¡°intelligence-disguised-by-dullness¡± type. However, so far he had demonstrated no special talent and was still living his idle days in the back mountain. Whereas Yan Han himself, who had been the first to be excluded from the mountain, turned out to be given the most important task among the three. He knew perfectly well of his own cowardice, his indecisive personality, and his clinging to the mortal world, which was in fact why he was better suited for this job. ¡°Dang!¡± ¡°Dang!¡± Before he knew it, the antique table clock¡ªwhich he had chosen deliberately for the shop¡ªreminded him of the time. It was eight o¡¯clock now. At that same time, there came a clunking noise from outside, apanied by shuffling footsteps. Two separate groups had arrived together by coincidence; both sides were surprised and fell silent. ¡°Why, you are here together! What are the odds!¡± Yan Han rose to his feet and greeted the iing customers, skillfully easing the awkwardness. He smiled at them all. ¡°Here, please sit down.¡± One of the two groups consisted of three young men all dressed in expensive outdoor sportswear, looking somewhat travel-worn and weary. The other was a team of four fellows with a rather unique feeling about them. All four stood there ramrod straight, as unbent as four wooden clubs. ¡°Here, please have some tea.¡± Yan Han did not waste time on the small talk and only offered the minimal amount of hospitality. ¡°Let¡¯s examine the goods, shall we? These gentlemen walked in first, so let¡¯s start with yours. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to wait a moment.¡± ¡°Ok!¡± replied one of the clubs. After that, Yan Han led the three young men to the warehouse in the backyard, where one of team tossed a stic woven bag he was carrying on the the table. There was a little smirk in his voice. ¡°See it for yourself. It¡¯s alive!¡± ¡°Alive?¡± Yan Han blinked. He then put on his gloves and opened the bag. Coiling up in it was a ck-finned yellow tail eel about two meters long, which was bound up with tough ropes from head to tail. He could see closely packed fine teeth in its open mouth, which was stuffed with a cork. The cork was probably soaked with strong anaesthetic, giving the eel a dazed and dreamy look. ¡°Awesome! How did you catch it?¡± ¡°Haha, never mind that. Would you give us a price now?¡± The guy grinned. ¡°The price we agreed on before was 40,000. This one is way fresher then we expected, though. I won¡¯t take advantage of you. How about 60,000?¡± ¡°Deal!¡± ¡°Money transfer or cash?¡± ¡°Can we exchange?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yan Han darted them a look: the word got around fast. ¡°Sure, follow me.¡± He led the three back to the shop and pointed at the racks. ¡°10,000 yuan a box for the incense and 100,000 yuan for 50 g of the tea, maximum 150 g each. What would you like to exchange?¡± The man exchanged a look with hispanions and answered without hesitation. ¡°450 g of that tea. We¡¯ll pay the price difference!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you can only have 150 g.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say maximum 150 g each customer?¡± asked the man in vexation. ¡°No, no. That¡¯s ¡®per batch¡¯, or group, team, pick your terminology. Be it a one-man batch or a ten-man one, the limit is 150 g.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of such rules!¡± roared the guy angrily. ¡°Well, the boss set the rules like so. You¡¯re always free to leave.¡± Yan Han sat there looking reassured and emboldened, but was in fact sweating into his palms. ¡®God help me. This is my first time ying the tough guy. Be supportive!¡¯ His left handnded on his chest and rubbed it lightly, looking all casual¡ªtwoyers of clothes beneath, there was a turtle shell pendant, which Boss Shui had delivered specially for him, saying it was for his self-protection. ¡°¡­¡± The guy red at him for a couple of more seconds and decided he was not bold enough to challenge the rule. ¡°Fine, 150 g it is.¡± That was close! Yan Han sighed a secret sigh of relief, left the chair, and weighed 150 g tea for them. The money was transferred and the ount settled. He saw the team off, then turned to the other one. ¡°Sorry for keeping you waiting. This way, please.¡± The four fellows were exceptionally silent the entire time and followed him to the warehouse, where they opened the bag. Wow! Inside were two blood-stained red feather vultures. These men obviously took care when killing them. Only the heads were shot through, leaving the feathers on the back and the belly rtively intact. ¡°That¡¯s great. I¡¯ll take them. 100,000 yuan a bird.¡± ¡°We¡¯d like 150 g of tea as well.¡± ¡°Oh, no problem.¡± Despite their odd appearance, the four fellows behaved themselves. They left promptly after getting the tea. In an instant, the bustling shop a moment ago was quiet and deserted again. ¡°Gosh! This job is so demanding!¡± Yan Han wiped away his sweat, he almost thought he was going to copse. He was just a rich-ish city dweller who had never experienced any real hardships in life. Now that he had opened this shop under Their Majesties¡¯ decree, he was nervous and agitated on a daily basis. But at the same time, his life had never been as exciting as this. ¡°Xiao Yan, got a job for you!¡± he shouted. His cousin ran down the stairs, then swiftly loaded the goods onto the truck and headed for Bai Town right away,pletely unaware of what time it was. As for Yan Han, after informing Shui Yao about the delivery, he opened the app and checked the forum. The ones that received the most replies were none other than the three posts by Green River Water seeking to purchase the big-toed thickshell turtle, the ck-fin yellowtail eel, and the red feather vulture. The posts of the first two had been edited: goods received, no further demand for the moment, no pm please. He refreshed the page several times and as expected, the third post was edited as well: red feather vulture received, no further demand, no pm please. He was not at all surprised by the pages of convivial replies. ¡°I wonder which boss is behind this ID? Will I have the honor to hear the name so that I could go visit and show my respect?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t those delivering the goods the actual bosses? The red feather vulture is a hell of a fighter and they have somehow nailed it!¡± ¡°This ce is indeed full of hidden masters. It seems I should conceal my identity no further. Tomorrow I will be crossing a heavenly tribtion on Mount Hua. Everyone is invited as witnesses.¡± Haha¡­ Yan Han shook his head and chuckled. There was a time when he was among those replying under the posts, but now, a monthter, he was a man of another world. With the three requests posted, Pavilion of Gems became the spotlight of the forum right away. Many hade out here just to have a peek of the ce. They were men of all upations and social status. Some he could guess, while others remained a mystery. Those four, for instance¡ªhe could smell military from a mile away. It made sense. Apart from them, any ordinary man would not know where to begin to tackle a red feather vulture. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Yan Han went to the door and pressed the button. The shutter nked and rolled down, shutting out the vast picture of the night outside. Who gave a damn who those men were? I have Phoenix Mountain at my back! Bring it on! *** ¡°Rustle!¡± The branches and leaves in a dense woods shook and swayed as out dashed a woman wearing a white veil. Loud thumping sounds followed her as if an earthquake wasing. In a brief moment, a giant of a man leapt out. ¡°Yu Lanzhu, be a warrior and face your opponent!¡± The man was over two meters tall and dressed in strange garments made from animal skin and fur, which left his two knotty muscled arms bare in the air. He pointed ahead and bellowed, ¡°I¡¯m only here because of your title as the Archmage. How dare you humiliate me in front of everyone! I¡¯m going to rip you open!¡± ¡°Teehee! Wanyan, you¡¯re as stupid as I said you were. I¡¯m only trying to find a quiet spot to have my way with you.¡± The woman giggled. Behind the veil, her face was as blurred as an autumn moon hidden by the curtains. There was a misty sort of beauty about it. However, the words out of her mouth would make one¡¯s hair stand. ¡°I only gave in time and again for the sake of your old man. Do you really think I¡¯m afraid of you? I know you all refuse to ept me as the archmage. No matter, I¡¯ll simply kill you off one by one. Sooner orter, this holy sect will be mine!¡± ¡°You¡¯re full of shit! Roar!¡± The man was infuriated. He suddenly let out a long howling sound and yellowish brown hair started to grow out of his skin. His face was even more hideous and terrifying. He had transformed into some sort of giant beast. ¡°Whoosh!¡± His entire person turned into a streak of shing light, dashing near her at a tremendous speed. He raised both arms and bang! Broken pieces of rocks flew everywhere; where the armsnded was now a great pit meters in diameter. The woman, however, was nowhere to be seen. He looked around and suddenly, a sweet, gentle voiceined softly behind him, ¡°You brainless muscle men are the worst! Humph!¡± The sneering sound seemed to have magic of its own, which turned the man¡¯s head around despite himself. The muscles on his face were all contorted, but he simply could not fight it. Slowly, he looked into another pair of eyes. Those were beautiful, bright eyes as deep as a whirlpool. He was gradually sinking into them. ¡°Roar¡­ growl¡­¡± The man struggled with all his effort, but to no avail. His eyes grew nk and his mind turned into clouds. Finally, with a thud, he copsed to the ground. ¡°You know, you didn¡¯t have to go through all that, which would have saved me a lot of effort.¡± The woman frowned and looked the most aggrieved, as if the man had justmitted the most unforgivable crime. She then took out a small white bottle from her chest pocket and sprinkled the powder inside onto the dead body. Before long, there was a sizzling sound and the corpse soon turned into a pool of blood. ¡°Squeak!¡± Just then, a red sparrow flew out of nowhere, then perched on a branch and chirped at her. ¡°I see. Wait for me there.¡± The woman waved her hand, dismissing the sparrow. Then with a few graceful moves, she also disappeared. About half an hourter, in a secret chamber somewhere in Bing Town. A few people was waiting in distress. The door suddenly flung open and they rose to their feet in unison. ¡°Archmage!¡± ¡°Get to the point. What¡¯s so urgent that I had toe this quick?¡± The woman went straight into the room and slouched down on the bed in the innermost corner. She looked unhappy, as if she had been disturbed while ying a game. ¡°Archmage, the government is moving against us.¡± One of the men tentatively handed her a list, on which were names of cadres. ¡°We have nted 478 informers in the governments of the four provinces of the Northeast. In this single round of selection, 17 of our middle-level cadres were transferred. The low-level ones was damaged even worse¡ª54 were transferred. They will all be sent to the Central ins, south of the Yangtze River and south of the Five Ridges. We don¡¯t have much arranged out there.¡± ¡°Those got sent here instead will all take the important positions. They are loyal and capable men. It does not look good for us,¡± added another man. ¡°No need to panic. I¡¯m sure they don¡¯t know the specifics individuals. We¡¯re too big in number, that¡¯s all. Someone¡¯s bound to be unlucky.¡± The woman was very rxed. ¡°There is only so much they can maneuver. Transferring officials around too frequently is bad for the ruling party. Tell the rest of our men there: just keep a lower profile and continue with whatever they were doing.¡± ¡°Well, ok¡­¡± The men exchanged looks, bowed, and left. The woman remained lying in bed with her eyes slightly closed. She stretched out her graceful body, but the look on her face was growing colder. The previous archmage died a sudden death and she had risen to this position by stepping over a mountain of dead bodies. Arge proportion of the followers still would not ept her. This event would be a good opportunity for her. She could do a cleanup and consolidate her power. Chapter 267 Chapter 267: A Series of Moves (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Xidu, thepany of Baohua. Baohua was one of the tycoon international trading firms in the Northeast. Chen Xiang, its chairman, was a regr member of various rich lists. This morning, a conference was being held among middle and top level management teams and the host was none other then Chen Xiang himself. The man was in his sixties. Being serious in both his speech and manner, he often intimidated others with his appearance alone. He had more titles than he could count, granted by organizations of both the business and the political circle. He was recognized as one of the most influential figures in this city. ¡°Today is a rare asion that we manage to get everyone together and have a talk, if you like. This long overdue meeting should have been held right after the Spring Festival holiday, but I was abroad then, trying to settle a project that was very important to ourpany.¡± Chen Xiang was not reading off a script and his eyes were darting this way and that. The employees sitting below all kept their faces straight so as not to be seen absent-minded by the boss. ¡°We have long entered the age of information and it¡¯s been years since the issue of economic globalization was raised, but our country has its special circumstances and did not venture into this area until a decade ago¡­ this is a major project worth tens of billions. Companies from three countries will be working together and those of our country will lead the project¡­ our industry peers all take great pride in overseas investment, which baffles me. Are they proud of investing in the foreigners or are they proud because they think they now have a say in the economic affairs¡­ there is this saying that I agree with: because you¡¯re ignoring me as I am today, you don¡¯t deserve what I be tomorrow. But I think it¡¯s still missing something. We shouldn¡¯t put our faith in the elusive future; hope lies in the present. So the saying should really be: because you ignored me as I was yesterday, you don¡¯t deserve me today¡­¡± ¡°Bang!¡± He was still making his moving and fiery speech when the door of the conference room was shoved open. A team of people filed in. The leading ones wore government official uniforms, who nced around the room first, then fixed their eyes on Chen Xiang in unison. One of them announced loudly, ¡°Chen Xiang, you are now suspected of being involved in contractual fraud, illegal fundraising, and murder. With the approval of the prosecutor, we hereby put you under arrest. Here is the warrant!¡± ¡°Boom!¡± An earthquake ransacking the conference room would not have stunned those present like this. Chen Xiang¡¯s face ashened, but he forced out a severe tone. ¡°Where are you people from? Do you have any idea who I am?¡± ¡°Of course we do, or else we¡¯d be arresting the wrong person. Take him!¡± The captain gave his hand a wave and two police officers came up to Chen Xiang and handcuffed the man. The captain said, ¡°We respect human rights. You are allowed to ask for privacy protection.¡± ¡°You, you people¡­¡± Frightened and infuriated, Chen Xiang was shaking so violently that he could not make out a full sentence. The caption replied deliberately, ¡°Ok, he doesn¡¯t need that. Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± With that, the team filed out, leaving behind a roomful of baffled onlookers. *** The capital city, airport. The owner of certain finance corporation was on board his private jet, waiting for the takeoff signal. He was heading for the Big Sam. Although the private airne control was very strict in this country, it really all depended on the circumstances. With his wealth and background, it had never been an issue. However, he was half an hour into the waiting and the signal was still noting, which he found rather odd. ¡°Go ask what¡¯s going on?¡± The assistant went as told and returned promptly. ¡°It seems they have received an order to permit no takeoff in this time period.¡± ¡®Gee!¡¯ The man felt his stomach turn. That did not sound good. He was right to think so. A couple of minutester, the hunch became true. ¡°Wang Huicheng, you are suspected of illegal ess to insider trading information, fabricating and disseminating false information, disrupting the securities market, manipting securities trading prices, and obtaining illegitimate interests. You are hereby under arrest and not allowed to leave the country!¡± ¡°Take him away!¡± *** Simr cases were happening everywhere in the past few days. With that, the business circle as a whole was shaken to the bone with everyone looking over their shoulders. Surely such strikes had happened before, but never did theye so rapidly, so fiercely, and so mercilessly! All those moguls were with honored titles such as members of thismittee or deputies of that congress. No title had saved them from being arrested. Those who knew little could only y the role of curious onlookers, while those who knew better had grasped the meaning behind the series of actions. For one, it was to stop capital flights. For another, it was to clean out the parasites and stabilize the market. Moreover, it could indirectly weaken Shamanism. In order to expand and develop, an organization had to have Human Resources and money. All their secret bases, refining materials, daily supplies for their members, etc., had to be supported by a lot of money. As a result, there were quite a lot of businessmen among them¡ªfor instance, that Zhang Wei in the northwest branch. As for the informers inside the government, those above did not have a specific list of names, so they could only take a safer route by transferring cadres away so as to break down their system gradually. As for the businessmen, there was no need to go gentle. A member of Shamanism or not, none of those who got crushed were innocent. Then, to themon folk, such actions meant little apart from contributing to the subject of their gossips. Transferred or arrested, what did it have anything to do with them? They were still single, unable to afford an apartment, and their game characters were killed because of the sneaky teammates. Before anyone realized, spring had arrived. After a bleak winter, people of the Northeast were finally able to thin their clothes down a little and change into something lighter. Peach trees had long blossomed in Shengtian by the side of the streets, their pinkness setting off against the gray of the city. From the day Gu Yu ate that red fruit, in the first year, he obtained the essence-consuming method and the two travelled together to search for secret ces. The second year was when the negotiation took ce, after which they got Phoenix Mountain, Xiaozhai learned the Thunder Technique, Tianzhu Mountain was developed, and Qiyun was established. In the third year, the monastery had its first innate state member, a cmity took over Huo Zhou, Mount Emei was developed, the chief warriors of the northwest branch of Shamanism were annihted, and the ¡°Three-year n¡± was put into a test trial. Now came the fourth year. After two years¡¯ worth of research and preparation, various ns were finally fully implemented onto this mega country with an area of over 10 million km^2 and a poption of close to 2 billion. *** ¡°Ring-a-ling !¡± At the bell of thest ss of the day, He He ran into the ssroom, still panting. Her little cheeks were flushed and her clothes a little dirty from ying outside. It was an ordinary primary school in Bai Town, where an additional ss had been set up for the children of the Grass River Mouth migrants. He He was in the third grade now. Her grades were all right and she was only a little too fond of ying. ¡°Click-ck!¡± The lovely ss teacher entered on her high heels, a stack of books between her arms. ¡°There, take one each. Pass on to the student behind you.¡± The little fellows sitting in four rows passed the books along. He He read the cover after receiving hers and the name was ¡°Teaching Manual of the First National Fitness Program for Primary and Secondary School Students¡±. She flipped through it. Inside was the drawing of a little man in different positions with captions on the side. ¡°Starting from tomorrow, we will give up our old setting-up exercises and begin to learn this fitness program. Every day after the second ss, we will have twenty minutes for it. We will all gather in the yground and learn it together. This book is very important too. Read it as often as you can so that you can learn it by heart soon. Ok, now we will begin our ss.¡± The ss teacher taught Chinese. The young and gentle woman began to lead the students to read the text together with her. It was an affectionate performance. He He followed her half-heartedly. Finally, the school was over. Music began to ring out both inside and outside the building. The ss teachers led the students to the yground, where they were dismissed by ss. Most of the children of the migrant ss were not picked up by any family member. He He burst into a sprint carrying her school bag as soon as she was out of the gate. But she did not forget to make an appointment with her friend first. ¡°I¡¯ll go y with you after dinner!¡± The settlement building of Grass River Mouth was not far and it only took her seven or eight minutes to hurry back home. She ran all the way up to the fifth floor and knocked at the door. ¡°¡­¡± It was quiet inside. No one came to answer the door. ¡®Hm?¡¯ He He found it very strange. She found her key and unlocked the door, calling, ¡°Grandpa?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Still, there was no answer. ¡°Grandpa?¡± She felt uneasy, for not only was there no familiar pleasant smell of dinner, there was also an indescribable suffocating feeling. ¡°Grandpa?¡± The little girl crossed the living room and entered the kitchen. She found no one. She moved on into the bedroom. Still no one. Finally, she opened the bathroom door. There was a dead silence of two seconds and she dived forward, crying. The old man was on the floor with a bruised cheek. It seemed he had smashed his cheek on the edge of the toilet when he fell down. The body reclined there,pletely still. Chapter 268 Chapter 268: A Door (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Bai Town, the Second People¡¯s Hospital. In the dim-lit corridor, a small figure was sitting on a cold chair with her head lowered. The ponytail that was once neatly put up was now disheveled, with the pony bow nting to one side. One wall away was the door to the emergency room, where two people stood waiting anxiously. Quite some time had passed when the door was finally pushed open and a doctor walked out. The two people went up to the doctor in a hurry. ¡°Doctor, how did it go?¡± ¡°It was an acute myocardial infarction and he was not brought in in time. We have tried out best.¡± ¡°What?¡± Both were upset by the news, but neither was particrly sad. ¡°Are you family members of the patient? There is a paper we need you to sign,¡± said the doctor. ¡°No, we¡¯re only his neighbors. The old man was living with his granddaughter and we were from the same vige. Oh, the girl¡¯s over there¡­¡± With that, the three found He He. The doctor looked worriedly at the girl¡ªshe was too young to be qualified to sign the papers! He squatted down and tried to sound as gentle as possible. ¡°Kiddo, where are your mum and dad?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He He raised her head and looked at him. There was a silence for a couple of seconds before she asked in a whispering voice, ¡°Is, is grandpa gone?¡± The doctor was choked on his words. It was impossible to break such news to a little girl. The neighbors were also grieved by the scene and said, ¡°You won¡¯t get an answer. Her parents have left them years ago and god knows where they are now. She¡¯s the only one left of the family.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s an unusual circumstance.¡± The doctor gave it a thought and took out a small notebook from his pocket. ¡°How about this: I¡¯ll contact the government, see if they can help. I¡¯ll take some basic information first. What¡¯s the girl¡¯s name?¡± ¡°He He.¡± ¡°Address?¡± ¡°Room 331, Block 5, Hope Vige, Tiemei Road.¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ The doctor stopped his writing. ¡°Have you moved here from Grass River Mouth?¡± ¡°Um, yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll make it much easier. I¡¯ll contact the Civil Affairs right away. Please wait here.¡± After that, he returned to his office promptly, while the two uncles were left behind tofort the girl. The doctor said so because the government had policies for abnormality-caused migrants, offering them favorable treatments on various aspects, especially in the living, education, and employment of offsprings of the migrants. As expected, within an hour, there was the click-ck of footsteps and a man and a woman arrived in a hurry. At this point, the neighbors had fulfilled all their duty and said goodbye to the little girl, returning to their own homes. The man was Ou Yang and the woman Xu Lei. They specialized in migrant affairs. They took He He to a waiting room and the warm color and tidy surroundings of which settled the little girl down a little. The kid was odd in a way. She neither cried nor wailed, but simply would not talk and remained absolutely silent. It took the two people quite some effort to finally establish a normalmunication. ¡°Xiao He, don¡¯t worry. We will take care of grandpa¡¯s funeral affairs, as well as your life from now on.¡± ¡°Are you going to send me to an orphanage?¡± He He was only a girl of seven or eight. With the tragic incident, it was already remarkable that she was still willing to talk. Her question was blunt. Xu Lei chose her words carefully before answering her in a soft voice, ¡°Xiao He, it¡¯s not an orphanage. It¡¯s a ce for a lot of children to y together, eat together, and sleep under the same roof together. I will take you there to have a look first. It you like the ce, you will be living there; if not, you can stay at my ce for a while until we find you a suitable family. You will then move in with them and we wille visit you frequently.¡± ¡°Can I still go to school?¡± He He asked another question. ¡°Of course! You¡¯re still in primary school now. When you¡¯re older, you can go to a boarding school and we will pay for all your tuition fees.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The little girl lowered her eyes. She could not yet fullyprehend all the things she just heard, but deep down, her instinct was telling her to resist. She said quietly, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go anywhere. I just want to stay at my home.¡± ¡°Why, what would you eat if you stay at home alone? You¡¯re still so young. Someone¡¯s got to take care of you, right? Oh, and there¡¯s grandpa¡¯s apartment. It will be entrusted to us for the time being and you¡¯ll inherit it after youe of age.¡± Xu Lei was very patient. She racked her brains trying to persuade He He, but the little girl was a stubborn one. She simply would not be persuaded. The seesaw struggle dragged on. Ou Yang interjected all of a sudden, ¡°There is actually another way.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Xu Lei red at him¡ªapparently, she could not bring herself to think about the option. ¡°Don¡¯t give me the angry look. It¡¯s been stressed in the meeting. Somebody else will say it even if we didn¡¯t,¡± Ou Yan retorted and turned to the girl. ¡°Xiao He, have you heard about Taiqing Pce?¡± ¡°Mhm, I have seen it on TV.¡± ¡°Well, Taiqing Pce is recruiting intern disciples and the condition of your family just happen to fit the criteria¡­¡± Ou Yang was growing uneasy as he spoke; a guilty feeling of child-trafficking was getting to him. He forced himself to go on. ¡°If you are willing to go, all your expenses from now on will be taken care of. You will have ss on academic subjects as you would in normal schools and moreover, you will be given monthly allowances. Of course, we won¡¯t force it. It¡¯spletely up to you.¡± Taiqing Pce? Intern disciple? He He winced. All of a sudden, her grandpa¡¯s tease from the other night came to her: when I¡¯m gone and you have no one else to turn to, it won¡¯t be too bad to have a ce to take you in. The memory reminded her of her grandpa again. Tears welled up in her eyes and she almost burst out crying again. ¡°We, well, we are very considerate in this matter, so we¡¯ve set an adaptation period of seven days. That is to say, you can go live there for seven days first. You are free toe back if you don¡¯t like the ce, or join officially if you decide you like it.¡± Ou Yang stammered out the whole thing, then joined Xu Lei in watching the little girl. The way they eyed her expectantly for a decision was kind of funny. ¡°¡­¡± It seemed forever and their patience was running out when He He finally spoke. ¡°I, I want to go to Taiqing Pce.¡± *** Three dayster, sunny. Grandpa had been cremated and buried. With the absence of family members, the funeral arrangements were kept very simple. He He was staying at Xu Lei¡¯s ce these days and had been taken very good care of¡ªXu Lei even took He He out for a health checkup. That morning, Xu Lei and He He went back to Hope Vige, packed some clothes, and set out. The little girl sat in the backseat holding her school bag between her arms. It contained her textbooks and exercise books. She had grown quieter than ever and all she did was looking out of the window. Xu Lei was overwhelmed by a million emotions. Sending a child into a Taoist temple, which might eventually result in her abandoning the secr world, was an idea that still troubled her. ¡°Auntie, could you pull over? I want to go have a look.¡± About a quarter of an hourter, He He spoke suddenly. Xu Lei looked around and realized they were close to her school. It was time for between-ss exercises at the moment and the hubbub wasing out of the yground. ¡°Don¡¯t stay too long.¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± He He jumped out of the vehicle and ran to the outer wall of the school, where she held onto the iron bar and looked in eagerly. Students had lined up neatly on therge yground. On the high tform in the front, two people were teaching the moves. ¡°The fifth movement. Draw back your left foot, turn halfway to your side, and kick out you right foot! Remember, keep you back straight and your breathing smooth. Follow the momentum of your turning and kick¡­ good. One more time!¡± Hundreds of children waved their arms and legs, makingplicated movements. Some took it seriously, while others made a joke out of it. It was a rather strange picture. He He knew they were learning that set of fitness program. She could have been one of them, had it not been for¡­ She only stood there for a little while before being called back by Xu Lei. They then headed straight for Shengtian. *** Both Buddhism and Taoism had the term ¡°forest of ten directions¡±. It was referring to public pces and temples belonging to religious believers (of Buddhism or Taoism, respectively) of the country, which were qualified to initiate someone into monkhood/priesthood and were not allowed to recruit disciples without authorization. Regardless where the believer came from or what sect they belonged to, they were all entitled to temporarily stay in these temples or pces. Meanwhile, they were also obligated to protect thetter in return. Taiqing Pce was Quanzhen¡¯srgest ¡°forest of ten directions¡± in the Northeast. It was a popr tourism destination and had attracted many worshippers. Today, however, business was not as usual. No tourist was allowed to enter and two priests were even guarding the gate. In arge hall inside, over forty people sat there waiting. They were all in pairs of a parent and a child. The children ranged from teenagers to as young as seven or eight years old. Everyone of them had a nervous yet curious look on their faces. He He stayed quietly by Xu Lei¡¯s side. A little whileter, someone called outside, ¡°Xu Ziying!¡± ¡°Here!¡± A girl in fine clothes walked out of the hall, apanied by her weeping mother. Another ten minutes passed before the next name was called out. ¡°Lin Junlong!¡± ¡°Here!¡± A teenage boy rose to his feet, but the family member apanying him had a cold and detached face, which was quite an odd picture. It proceeded like so. Someone was called away every ten minutes and it was some time before it was finally He He¡¯s turn. ¡°Yes!¡± Xu Lai answered right away and took the little girl out of the hall. A priest led their way and took them to a meditation room after quite a few turns in the corridor. The priest extended out his hand. ¡°If theywoman would be so kind to wait here and let the girl go in alone.¡± ¡°I see. Don¡¯t be afraid, Xiao He. I¡¯ll be right here.¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± He He nodded, pushed the door open, and entered on her own. The big room was almost empty. The only furniture was a set of table and chair, by which a gaunt old priest sat. ¡°Close the door and move closer.¡± He had a very serious face and the most rigid tone. ¡°¡­¡± The little girl was a little fazed and took a few steps forward anxiously. ¡°Name?¡± ¡°He He. He as in the surname, and the second He as in the word ¡®seedling¡¯ 1 .¡± The old priest took a rectangr strip of wood and wrote down her name. The tip of his writing brush was dipped into ink, then dragged along the wood this way and that in steady, forceful strokes. The ink seeped deep into the wood, marking down her name. ¡°This is your name tag. Keep it close and don¡¯t lose it.¡± He passed her the wood and said, ¡°Turn around.¡± The little girl was a little shaky as she did as told. A big hand patted her back and gave her arms a few squeeze. ¡°That¡¯s all. You many leave.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± She let out a sigh of relief and left the room in a hurry. What she did not see was the look on the old priest¡¯s face, which was as if he had found the biggest treasure of the world. Immediately after that, the priest led their way again, zigzagging to another big room. The boy before her had just left. He He thought his name was Shao Yangming. The boy¡¯s father remained behind, he fumbled out a bank card and was trying to slid it into a fat priest¡¯s hand unnoticed. ¡°Once a member of ourmunity, everybody is treated the same. Please take it back.¡± Frowning, the fat priest refused. The man only thought it as some sort of formality and tried another two times. In the end, the fat priest grew impatient and flipped his sleeve. With a loud bang, the man stumbled back and was shoved out of the room. The fat priest snorted at the direction the man disappeared and turned to instruct He He, ¡°He He, is it? Here are three sets of summer garments, three sets of winter ones, two sets of beddings, and three pairs of shoes and socks each, as well as toiletries and some daily necessities. Take them to your room.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re only here for the adaptation period. Do we need this many clothes?¡± Xu Lei asked tentatively in case they might have been mistaken. ¡°It¡¯s the same with everyone. Take them now!¡± ¡°Oh, sure!¡± Right after that, the two carried the load out of the room and were led to her dormitory. Chapter 269 Chapter 269: A Door (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu As the ¡°forest of ten directions¡±, Taiqing Pce always weed its fellow Taoists from every corner of the world and it was only natural that they should have female dormitory avable. Only that Taoist priestesses were growing fewer in number nowadays and they might not have a female visitor for years on end. Consequently, the size of the female dormitory kept shrinking until there were only two rooms left. Since the introduction of the new policies, the female dormitory was expanded again, now matching the size of the male one. The room He He was allocated to had four single beds arranged into two opposite pairs and a bathroom, and looked a little crowded. The other three roommates were already there, who were straightening their beds under the supervision of their family members. The girls exchanged their names. They were the 12-year-old Xu Ziying, 10-year-old Hu Chun, another 10-year-old Wang Yao, and the 8-year-old He He, who was the youngest. With the four girls together, the room was immediately filled with their twittering chatter, which was not unlike the enrollment day of any ordinary boarding school. Xu Lei stole a few nces at Xu Ziying and her mother while making the bed for He He. Mother Xu was a celebrity in the province, being among the top three female enterprises and all, while Father Xu was a high-ranking government official. Word had it that Xu Ziying was the only child of the the family. One would never expect her parents to be so resolute (or, remarkable) to send her into a Taoist temple. They all finished tidying up in about half an hour, which was when a middle-aged priestess entered the room. She had a peaceful aura about her and although one would not consider her pretty, her features were quite delicate and her skin rather fair and smooth. ¡°Now, if the family members would be very kind to leave now? You have entrusted your daughters to this Taoist establishment and it is time to say your farewells.¡± She was tactfully telling the adults, who were all still reluctant to part from the girls and bade thetter to take care repeatedly, to go. Xu Lei felt the same way. ¡°Xiao He, be a good girl here. I¡¯lle visit you in seven days.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± He He nodded, then added, ¡°Thank you, Auntie!¡± The parents then left one after another and the dormitory grew cheerless. The new environment made the girls uneasy. Among them, Xu Ziying adjusted herself the best. With her family background, she must have obtained certain inside story and was told how to behave beforeing here. She was the first to spoke. ¡°Pardon me, Priestess, but what shall we do next?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The priestess looked at her and answered in a kind voice, ¡°My secr surname is Liu and I go by the alternative name Idle Woman Qinghui. You may call me Priestess Liu, or Priestess Qinghui. Since you all have yet to formally acknowledge your masters, addressing others as ¡®Master¡¯ would be presumptuous.¡± ¡°Yes, we will follow your instruction,¡± Xu Ziying replied obediently. Intentionally or not, she was taking the role of the most senior sister. ¡°Take out your winter garments, please. I will teach you how to put them on properly. You will all be wearing your Taoist robes for the next seven days. You must keep them tidy and clean. Do not have it tainted by any filth.¡± At that, the four girls found their winter garments and the socks and shoes, then looked up anxiously ahead like kindergarteners. There were six types of Taoist robes: the long gown, the great gown, the cassock, the Deluo gown, the embroidered gown, and the outdoor robe. They were of a straight-line cut, had a standup cor, and thepel opens on the right. Some styles had wide sleeves, while others had narrow ones. Most of the time a white or in-colored detachable cor was attached. The robe was all wide and ppy. The girls were mere interns at the moment and the long gown was their only option out of the six. The long gown consisted of three colors, each belonging to one piece of garment of the set, which was light-blue, dark-blue, and a near-ck navy color. The fabric was thick and soft cotton, which was excellent to keep one warm. The gown also came with white under garments. The three pairs of shoes were round-throat-line shoes, double-vamp shoes, and the shoes of ten directions. Thest ones were the most special pair. Ten holes representing ten directions lined around the upper of the shoes, rendering them suitable for summertime. One had to pair these shoes with the socks of clouds (above-knee white socks) and together, they were known as ¡°travelling wide and far and offering the ultimate service of pointing people to the right direction¡±. All four were smart girls and knew how to put on the clothes properly after a couple of demonstrations. They were then neatly in their new gowns, only that the hair styles remained quite modern. ¡°Come closer. Let me arrange your hair into buns.¡± Qinghui sat on a bed andbed and set the girls¡¯ hair into Taoist buns, with a in wooden hairpin going through each little bun. In a moment, there were four fresh and lovely little Taoist kids in the room. Probably because of Qinghui¡¯s mild manner, the girls had dropped their guard without realizing it. They were much rxed. However, the next moment, they puckered up their little faces again. ¡°Although it is only the adaptation period, but you should behave, work, and rest asmanded by the precepts of Quanzhen. Now, please hand out all your mobile phones,ptops, snacks, toys, irrelevant books, etc. I will be taking care of them and give them back seven dayster.¡± ¡°What? How am I going to survive without my phone?¡± ¡°Priestess, can I keep one bag of spicy strip snack?¡± ¡°Priestess, this doll has been with me since I was a baby. I can¡¯t sleep without it.¡± The girls wailed and nagged. Young as they might be, they were all well-versed in empty promises and stalling techniques. Qinghui, on the other hand, cleared away the smile on her face andmanded in a harsh tone, ¡°No more nonsense. You are wee to return home tomorrow if you find it impossible to part from your belongings.¡± Well, that was that. The room was quiet again. All the other three girls were from nice families and had been properly disciplined by their parents growing up. No one dared to throw a tantrum under such a circumstance. He He was the odd one among the four. She hardly had anything of her own and only went up to Qinghui holding her schoolbag. ¡°Priestess, may I keep my books?¡± Qinghui looked through the stack and saw that they were all primary school textbooks. There was even a ¡°Teaching Manual of the First National Fitness Program for Primary and Secondary School Students¡±. That was a familiar face! After the cmity in Huo Zhoust year, the state had drawn ideas from various temples and pces with a series of undisclosed meetings and came up with this set of initiating fitness program suitable for children. She was lucky enough to participate and had even offered some valuable ideas. With such connection, she found the little girl much more agreeable. ¡°These are all very good textbooks. You may keep them.¡± ¡°Thank you, Priestess,¡± replied He He. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Stop acting like an innocent white flower already! Mademoiselle Xu Ziying, the ultimate survivor of squabbles and catfights, fought back her impulsion tosh out her tongue and only twisted her mouth when no one was looking. *** ¡°Dang!¡± ¡°Dang!¡± At the sound of the bronze bell of the temple, Qinghui led the four out of the dormitory and headed straight for the scripture hall. Other priestesses were also leading children out of other rooms. They ran into a few groups of boys in robes on their way. The kids all found the appearance of one another funny, so they pointed it out and joked about. Inevitably, they were scolded by the priests. They all entered the scripture hall, which was incredibly spacious. On the ground were twenty-four praying mats with another thirteen on the opposite side, which had been set in a row. Twelve priests went up to the praying mats; each took one and sat down without uttering a word. The kids looked at one another in confusion. The smarter ones then grabbed a praying mat and sat down first. The rest then realized what they were supposed to do and followed suit. ¡°Come, let¡¯s sit here!¡± Xu Ziying quickly drew out her territory as the alpha female of her dorm. Knowing her background, Hu Chun and Wang Yao were ying up to her. He He cared little about this and remained silent. As soon as they all took their seat, a man walked out from the inner room of the scripture hall. He was in his forties, had a long beard, and was majestic and amiable at the same time. ¡°Abbot!¡± The priests bowed in unison. ¡°Thank you, my fellow priests!¡± The man returned the greeting with a bow and sat down on the praying mat in the middle of the thirteen, with nine males and four females arranged evenly on either side. He scanned the room with his eyes and the murmuring kids stopped talking right away. Those eyes seemed to have some imposing power and they dared not even move a little finger. ¡°My secr surname is Qin and I go by my alternative name Priest Huayang. I am the abbot of Taiqing Pce.¡± After this brief introduction, he motioned sideways and said, ¡°This is Priest Mingzhen, the Temple Supervisor. This is Priest Cuixuan, the Kitchen Governor. He is in charge of kitchen affairs and the three meals of the day. This is Priest Yuzhenzi, the Hall Director. He has to make sure that the halls are swept regrly and diligently, themps are properly lit, and the worship apparatus properly cleaned. He is also there to supervise the scripture master. This is Priest Huihe, the scripture master. He chants the supreme ssics, takes care of honoring the heavenly masters, and holds the blessing and soul-releasing ceremonies. This is Priest Fangchengzi, the Inspector. He is the head of the dormitories and the in-house moderator. Errand-persons of all levels are under hismand¡­¡± Huayang introduced all chief officials of the temple, which the children understood almost not a word of. Xu Ziying was as baffled as everyone else, but she did know what an Inspector was. That would be the Taoist equivalent of a dean¡ªone man she would make sure not to cross! It was apparent that the positions in Taiqing Pce were set in in ordance to the ¡°three governors, five registrars, and eighteen chieftains¡± system. Certain positions had obviously been omitted, though, such as the chieftain of water who was in charge of sending water around the temple in buckets for cooking, worshipping, and like in the ancient times. Such a position was obviously redundant with the modern water supply system. ¡°Quanzhen disciples are followers of the Elderly Lord¡¯s teaching. Donghua let the world know about his Lord¡¯s teaching and L¨¹ Dongbin preached. Our sect was established by Wang Chongyang, the Assistant Supreme Emperor, who believed in the true words of Laozi and Zhuangzi and benefited the others at the cost of his own suffering. For thousands of years, we honored our status as holding the throne of Taoist orthodox¡­¡± Huayang then went on to briefly introduce the history of Quanzhen. He knew the little ones would notprehend much of what he was saying anyway, so he simply chose the big words, which, to the kids, sounded like the most profound speech (despite the fact that they could hardly understand anything). Fused by his ample inner Qi, his every single word resonated in the hall, so much so that they might open the ears of the deaf and open the eyes of the blind. The effect was remarkable. The students followed the speech and before they realized it, they had straightened their backs and their faces turned solemn, matching the atmosphere of such asion. His tone only changed at the end of the speech when he said, ¡°Among you, some will be here for three years, while others may only stay with us for seven days. Whichever it is, fate has brought you here and that is a heavenly opportunity you must cherish and make good use of. Now, this is our first meeting ever and I presume you do not yet know much about Taoism. You may each ask a question, which my fellow priests and I will answer.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The kids blinked back at him. It was kind of awkward. The silence dragged on. In the end, Xu Ziying was the one to save the day. ¡°Abbot, my name is Xu Ziying. I have a question. Are spells real? I mean like those in the television. Those that make people fly around with all the magical sounds?¡± Her tone was naive and adorable, which made Huayang smile. He did not answer the question, but said instead, ¡°See for yourself!¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± He flipped his wide sleeve, sending a gust of wind into the air. One of the children sat at the front felt an intangible forceing at him and fell back crying in surprise. ¡°Wow!¡± Kids would always fall for such performance and the air was immediately filled with amazed cries. ¡°Spells have always been there between heaven and earth, only that Taoist skills have declined and will need to be reimed and developed. We are the torchbearers at most. The future of Taoism lies in you all.¡± Thest few words came out full-heartedly, which also inspired Xu Ziying. She bowed, her posture very presentable. With one breaking the ice, the others followed suit without further hesitation. Momentarily, the hall grew boisterous and there were questions of every kind. ¡°How long will it take us to seed?¡± ¡°Everything was derived from the Great Dao, then everything pursued the Great Dao. How long do you think it will take?¡± ¡°Will I be able to fly?¡± ¡°The Great Dao is full of possibilities. Of course you will.¡± ¡°Well, if I stay, do I have to stay in the temple all the time? Will we have holidays?¡± ¡°We will not stop you from taking breaks. But you are all very young and to go out, you will need an adult¡¯spany.¡± ¡°I heard you don¡¯t let people eat meat, but meat is my favorite. What should I do?¡± ¡°Em¡­¡± The thirteen priests did not know whether they should cry orugh. That was the way with recruiting children. They simply had to y the role of kindergarten teachers from time to time. The hubbub continued for a while and almost everyone asked what they wanted to ask. Qinghui noticed He He at that moment and encouraged her, ¡°Xiao He, what about you? Don¡¯t you have any questions?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He He kept her head lowered and suddenly plunged forward, almostnding t on her belly. This confusing attempt to mimic a kowtow of the highest respect took everyone by surprise. Right after that came the silvery voice of a child. ¡°I want to bring back the dead and be immortal. Is that possible?¡± Chapter 270 Chapter 270: A Door (Part 3) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°The precepts are essential to Quanzhen and have been passed down in our sect of thousands of years. We currently have the ¡®primary ten true precepts¡¯, the ¡®intermediate three hundredmandments¡¯, and the ¡®heavenlymandments of thepletion of three altars¡¯. ording to the doctrines of our forefathers, one would only be considered a proper priest after the headdress ceremony and only after the initiation program will a priest be a precept follower; one will gradually move up the Taoist rank in a proper order after that. Nevertheless, we are guided by a new government policy now and you are our first ss of intern disciples. Today, we will be studying the ¡®primary ten true precepts¡¯.¡± Inside the scripture hall sat the twenty-four little ones, who had their legs crossed and their backs ramrod straight. Priest Huihe stood at the front, teaching the morning ss. ¡°The first precept: one must be loyal to your lord, obey your parents, and be kind and trustworthy. Spare no effort in serving your lord and parents with the utmost sincerity. The second precept: one must not attempt malicious or insidious deeds, but should umte merits by relieving all living creatures from their distress. The third precept: one must not kill animals for food, but should extend their kindness to even the insects. The fourth precept: one must not engage in lewd andscivious behavior, which would lead to the corruption of the vital Qi and stain the spiritual essence. One should be discreet and stay away from such unwanted offense. ¡­ The ninth precept: one must not keeppany of unworthy persons and walk among ill-reputed ces. One should look up to those more virtuous and dwell in refined and nonaggressive locations. The tenth precept: one must not indulge themselves in frivolous conduct or flippant behaviour, but should be prudent, reserved, and always value morality above anything else.¡± He read through the ten precepts first, then exined each one in turn. Precepts were the code of conduct for monks/nuns/priests. Essentially, they were no different from the ¡± five stresses and four points of beauty 1 ¡± or the ¡°Eight Honors and Eight Shames 2 ¡°, only that they read more awkwardly. The kids had all attended primary school beforeing here and some were old enough to be middle school students. Hence, they did not find the ss too abstruse and thought it simr to the session of appreciating ancient prose in their Chinese sses. Xu Ziying¡¯s followed Huihe attentively, apparently hanging to his every word. However, every now and then, she would steal a nce sideways to where He He was sitting. Ever since the first day of their arriving at the temple, or more precisely, ever since that little girl uttered that earth-shaking question, an odd feeling had been nagging at Xu Ziying. One example of the things that had been bothering her was that Priest Huihe himself had ordered He He¡¯s seat to be moved from thest row to the first. What did that mean? Well, it was a dagger in the ckers¡¯ heart! Such treatment had almost sealed He He¡¯s ce as the curve wrecker, which alone was enough to make Xu Ziying set her rm. ¡°In all of the ten thousand holy ssics, loyalty and filial piety are emphasized as the first priorities. One should serve their lord and carry out the lord¡¯smand diligently so as to return the lord¡¯s favor and protection. One should also cultivate their moral character, act prudently, and attend upon their parents, so as to show their gratitude for the love and care received from childhood¡­¡± Huihe finished exining the first precept and asked, ¡°Any question?¡± ¡°Priest!¡± Hardly had his voice faded away before He He responded, ¡°You said we must be loyal to our lord and obey our parents, but there are no more emperors now. Whom should we be loyal to?¡± ¡°Well, we might no longer have kings or emperors, but we worship the gods, wish a longsting good fortune for our nation, dispel evil and harm, and persuade the people to do good deeds. All of these are demonstrations of our loyalty as Taoist priests.¡± Huihe smiled. ¡°I see¡­ Thank you, Priest!¡± He He did not really understand those words, but she kept them firmly in her mind all the same. Another quarter of an hour of teaching and the morning ss was over. The kids filed out running, heading for the canteen for their breakfast. Before she realized, He He had been here for three days. Considering their young age, Taiqing Pce did not give them too full a schedule. They got up at six thirty in the morning, morning ss started at seven, and breakfast was at seven fifty, followed by three sessions of academic courses. Afternoons were mostly dedicated to physical training. They were taught two sets of fist movements, which was slightly more advanced than that ¡°First National Fitness Program for Primary and Secondary School Students¡±. After that came supper and the evening ss. The period from eight o¡¯clock onwards was free time of their own. The Taoist ssics the temple taught them were rather in and they were not required to sit in meditation. Children of their age would have a hard time sitting still for an hour, let alone getting their mind into the right state. He He found the life here not too bad. She was not particrly smart, but there was a certain tenacity about her. She had also realized that this ce would not be her destination, for ¡°the forest of ten directions¡± was not qualified to take in disciples, being merely a ce for initiation and rudimentary training. They would take their lessons in Taiqing Pce for three years so as toy their foundations. Only when one was deemed to have a firm Taoist mind and excellent natural endowments would they be rmended to other descendant temples. Descendant temples pretty much included all the temples and pces out there¡ªthe ones that were passed down from one generation of masters to the next. Only there would one be officially taken in by a master, receive the headdress ceremony, and be a priest of Quanzhen. ¡°Do you have any f**king idea who I am?¡± ¡°Why should I care? I only smudged you clothes. Why did you swear at me?¡± ¡°Because I want to. And I want to kick the s*it out of you¡­¡± He He had just finished her breakfast and was going to her academic sses when she heard the row outside. The children would not miss such a show and all ran out to see. Lin Junlong and Shao Yangming stood in the middle of the courtyard, both flushing with anger. Shao Yangming was from a business family that had some connections. Lin Junlong, on the other hand, had crossed paths with Gu Yu once¡ªhe was none other than that middle school ssmate of Fang Qing. After failing his high school entrance examination, the boy went to Shengtian and worked in his uncle¡¯s car wash, earning a wage of a couple of hundred every month. It went on for more than half a year when an ident happened to the car wash and the ce was shut down. He then stayed in Shengtian and muddled around. Then Taiqing Pce started recruiting this year. Lin Junlong was taken over by god-knows-what idea, or maybe he only wanted that 1600-yuan monthly allowance, and signed up for the initiation. He had always been estranged from his parents, who were no saints to begin with and agreed to his decision without any hesitation. Hence, the two kids that were both somehow rted to Phoenix Mountain were miraculously brought to one ce. The squabble did notst for long when a hush fell over the crowd. Priest Fangchengzi arrived at the scene. As the Inspector, he was in charge of discipline supervision. His face darkened as he asked, ¡°What have we here?¡± ¡°¡­¡± There was some more silence before Lin Junlong answered, ¡°I smudged his robe at breakfast and he swore at me. We then shouted at each other.¡± ¡°Making a scene in the public has affected the rest of the students and as fellow ssmates, you failed to forgive and tolerate each other. The fault is in you both.¡± Fangchengzi was swift with his verdict. ¡°Tonight you will each transcribe fifty copies of the ¡®primary ten true precepts¡¯ and hand them in to me tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Lin Junlong bowed at themand obediently. Shao Yangming would not have it. The spoiled and pampered kid had an unruly and wilful character. He had been brewing his grudge for being forced toe here for days. All the discipline and the absence of meat for the past three days only aggravated his temper. ¡°Why would I do that? You really think you¡¯re something, don¡¯t you? I can buy this goddamn temple if I wanted! Fifty copies my a*s!¡± he shouted at the top of his voice. ¡°¡­¡± Fangchengzi frowned and did not speak to the boy. He then gave order to a young priest. ¡°Inform his family. Tell them toe and collect the boy.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± the young priest answered. ¡°Whoosh!¡± Blood drained from the arrogant brat¡¯s face right away. He had never expected the priests here to be so resolute. His old man would probably kill him for being kicked out. Weeping, he tried to apologize, but the ship had long sailed. ¡°Now, go back to your ssroom, please. No gawking!¡± Fangchengzi shooed the crowd away and left promptly, leaving the pale-faced Shao Yangming alone in the yard. The rest of the kids that watched this each formed their own ideas. Those from affluent families thought it a reminder to never be arrogant, whereas the less well-off ones found the oue utterly satisfying. *** When individuals formed into a group, one type of psychology became inevitable¡ªthat was topare with others. Be those individuals adults or children, be their environment that of a school, apany, or a dinner party, one could not help but makeparisons, even if it was just a passing nice car. It was human nature. The mere few days were more than enough for the twenty-four little disciples to figure out the situation. Children nowadays were very precocious and valued wealth and family background even more than adults did. Among the twelve boys and twelve girls, eight were from government officials¡¯ families, nine had a business background, while the rest seven were from normal or poor families. Although their activities were based on their individual dormitory as a unit, the kids had naturally divided into two factions. He He, who did nothing but studying diligently, was the only exception. The seven days passed in a heartbeat. The parents waited eagerly outside the scripture hall, their faces anxious and expectant. Xu Lei was among them. Unlike the others, she stilled hoped against He He¡¯s staying here and spending the rest of her life as a priestess. Inside, twenty-three children sat neatly on the praying mats and the thirteen priests and priestesses sat in the front in a row like the first day. ¡°Seven days have passed and your adaptation period is over. It is time to announce the decisions.¡± Huayang roamed his eyes around the room. ¡°I will be calling your names in turn and offering each one somements. Whether you will stay or not will be a decision made by us both.¡± He took over a stack of files. His tranquil face revealed nothing, but deep down, he was growing uneasy. The Taoistmunity had been waning for centuries and an opportunity had finallye along. With the recovery of the spiritual essence and the support of the government, everything was on their side. Taiqing Pce was the first temple toplete the adaptation training and every eye was on them! This group of children had very limited talent and on average were mediocre at most. Luckily, there was a hidden gem among them. The thought brought his eyes in a certain pupil¡¯s direction. He gave the one an indifferent nce and began to speak in an unhurried voice, ¡°Xu Ziying: ssics study, Grade A; physical training, Grade B; natural endowment, Excellent. The student obeys the rules, fulfills her duties diligently, and is cordial towards her fellow ssmates. The overall grade is Excellent.¡± ¡°Thank you, Abbot!¡± Xu Ziying was ted at the words and expressed her gratitude with a kowtow. Huayang then asked, ¡°Are you willing to stay?¡± ¡°I am!¡± ¡°Hoho, good. Starting from today, you are officially an intern disciple.¡± It was gratifying news for Huayang and the rest of the twelve priests also found it spirit-lifting. The overall quality of Xu Ziying was promising and the girl had shown her potential. She would be a pupil worth training. He then moved on the the next one. ¡°Lin Junlong: ssics study, Grade C; physical training, Grade A; natural endowment, Good¡­ Are you willing to stay?¡± ¡°I am!¡± Lin Junlong replied immediately. It went on like so for the next dozen kids. Most received an overall grade of Good and most gave yes as an answer. Three had performed rather poorly. Before they could say anything, Huayang had persuaded them to withdraw. The Taoistmunity was not formed by idiots. They would not take someone who was obviously talentless. Finally, when Huayang picked up thest file, all eyes fell on He He, those of the thirteen priests especially keen. Policies could be flexible. Even if the girl declined, they would think of ways to make her stay. ¡°He He, ssics study, Grade A; physical training, Grade A; natural endowment, Exceptional¡­ overall grade, Exceptional.¡± After that, Huayang fought back the tumult of emotions rising inside and asked, ¡°Are you willing to stay!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Her eyes ssy, He He neither spoke nor moved. Somehow, the question she asked seven days ago came back to her. ¡°I want to bring back the dead and be immortal. Is that possible?¡± ¡°I can give you no answer to that question¡­ however, since 4700 years ago, our fellow cultivators have been zing their way through all manners of obstacles and all the mountains in the world could not stop them from trying; countless forefathers have searched up and down the world for the Great Dao, but remained empty-handed at their deathbed¡­ all they have ever pursued, was immorality.¡± He He faced her palms towards the ceiling with the back of her hands t on the floor; she prostrated before the masters. ¡°I am!¡± Chapter 271 Chapter 271: The Miserable Priest Zhang Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Cottage of Pure Mind, the meditation room. Gu Yu was sitting on the rush mat with a fiery red feather between his fingers. He probed it with his mental force repeatedly, apparently conducting some experiment. In a while, he shook his head and said with resignation, ¡°I still can¡¯t make it work. My mental force is not powerful enough to change its structure and appearance.¡± ¡°So, chicken rib again! 1 Starting from scratch is indeed Hell Mode. It¡¯s never as easy as those with a favorable environment and steady output of resources,¡± said Xiaozhai, who was sitting on the opposite side, disappointedly. ¡°Don¡¯t give up just yet. The feather won¡¯t work, but we still have the fluff. There¡¯s enough to make a down jacket with,¡±forted Gu Yu, not bothering to feign the least sincerity. Ever since the Pavilion of Gems sent the red feather vultures to Phoenix Mountain, the two had been experimenting on them, hoping to find some sort of clue. Unfortunately, they had not seeded so far. There were two kinds of bird feathers. Those covering their back and wings were vaned feathers, which were tougher¡ªsort of like the keratinization of epidermis. The other kind were the down feathers found on the abdomen¡ªsoft, light, and fluffy. And here came the problem: vaned feathers were more abundant and had a better defensive power, but they could not be used as a fabric and could only be stitched onto ready-made clothes; the down feathers, on the other hand, were fewer, not as good in fending off attacks, but could be used to make things like down jackets, duvets, pillows, etc. Gu Yu¡¯s current mental force was not powerful enough to change the shape of substances. For instance, if he wanted to refine a sword, he had to forge the raw material into the shape of a sword before refining it with his mental force. He would make a fool of himself if he tried to refine a sword from a piece of jade stone directly. The existing Taoist conjuring instruments were divided into two kinds. Those made by Phoenix Mountain were all products of mental force refinement, which could be stored away in the mental space and were imposingly powerful. As for those used by men of Qiyun, they went through no refinement by mental force but were mere apparatus, such as the whisk and wooden sword Lu Yuanqing and the others used. It worked the same way with the red feather. They had to make the feathers into clothes first before having it refined. Take a wild guess what Father and Mother Jiang would say if someone suggested them to go around wearing a costume not much unlike two human-sized bats! The feathers were too prickly as a lining and too ridiculous as an outeryer¡ªFather Jiang was a high-ranking official in the province, for God¡¯s sake! God forbids if someone should see him in some feathery costume, well¡­ ¡°firstly, it was sheer fabrication; secondly, we¡¯ve put it into the hands of ourwyer¡± would probably be what followed. ¡°Why did everybody else get to start from a novice vige but we have to build a novice vige first?¡± Frowning, Xiaozhai feigned a tantrum and swept the feathers aside. ¡°There are times I don¡¯t feel like a cultivator at all; a self-taught folk scientist, that¡¯s what I am.¡± ¡°There, there, it¡¯s much more fulfilling this way. Just think about it. We¡¯re basically setting the rules of the future cultivation world. Isn¡¯t that an enormous merit to brag about?¡± Gu Yu chuckled and put the fiery feathers away, then raised his girlfriend to her feet. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go check it out. It¡¯s been a while and those medicine materials should be ready.¡± With that, he dragged Xiaozhai out of the room, passed a stretch of cottages, and arrived at the southeast corner of thepound. There, a house stood alone with tightly shut door and windows; a faint spiritual essence fluctuation wasing out of it. ¡°Whoosh!¡± Gu Yu waved his hand, removing the confinement, and pushed the wooden door open. Instantly, they were weed by a rich fragrance of medicine. It was intense and restless, as if containing a hint of unusual aggressiveness. The room was filled with cubes, dividing it into multiple small sections. In each section were shelves with name tags on them, indicating the various medicinal materials the shelves held. ¡°The smell alone is proof enough. Let¡¯s get to work!¡± Gu Yu was ted. He fetched a few trays and started to pick around. Xiaozhai followed suit. They examined and appraised, reminding one another from time to time in case their selection ovepped. ¡°250 g of prepared rhizome of rehmannia, 100 g of desert cistanche, 100 g of whole Chinese angelica and 100 g of Chinese dodder pellets!¡± ¡°100 g of icariin, 100 g of tuckahoe, 100 g of polyg root, 50 g of ootheca mantidis, and 50 g of whole scorpion!¡± ¡°Seven big ck spiders, 15 g of golden cypress, 100 g of tender pilose antler, 100 g of emia bark, and one centa!¡± After much bustling about, they had picked out 23 medicine materials, which together had covered half of the floor. They did not stop there, but immediately moved on to the next round of selection. ¡°50 g of oyster shell powder and 50 g of osthole!¡± ¡°50 g of semen irisis and 50 g of poison yam!¡± ¡°100 g of tortoiseshell paste, 100 g of pilose antler paste, and 100 g of fish glue!¡± They soon selected 11 other materials. These two batches were none other than the ingredients of the two Dan recipes recorded in the Book on the State of Mind of ck Bead, which were the Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan and the Evil-expelling Dan. The former could enhance one¡¯s body and benefit one¡¯s spirit and mind, while thetter could expel evil energy and cure mdies. Both recipes were lower in grade than the Essence-gathering Dan in the Seal of Patriarch Sa. It took them a great effort to collect all materials andplete the first-phase preparations. The refinement of Dan took more than throwing herbs into a cauldron, lighting up a fire, and getting the Dan out two minutester with no extra help other than the ¡°halo of the protagonist¡±. In reality, even the material-preparing stage alone was unfathomably tedious. The Indian mulberry, for instance, had to be soaked in the liquor overnight, then sun-dried. The scorpions needed to have their heads and tails removed; only the trunks were to be used. The desert cistanche had to be heated until crisp. The handling of tuckahoe was the weirdest, which had to be mixed with human breast milk and steamed and process hae to be repeated nine times. Human! Breast! Milk! Phoenix Mountain was not short of plump bosoms¡ªthree pairs, for that matter¡ªbut where on earth were they supposed to find breast milk? In the end, they had to search for a seller. As it turned out, they had indeed made a purchase¡ªfresh and organic. *** ¡°Take in the goods as usual while we¡¯re away. Yan Han knows his way well enough and Old Shui will help on our end. There shouldn¡¯t be a problem,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Do we just take everything that we haven¡¯t seen before?¡± asked Long Qiu. ¡°Yes. Check the app regrly. New content ising up faster now. Make sure you know what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°What about the price?¡± Xiao Qiu asked a second question. ¡°Leave that to Jin Jin. She would make every coin count.¡± Xiaozhai chuckled, holding her younger sister by the shoulder. The elder pair were leaving detailed instructions for the younger pair before setting out. To their surprise, Jin Jin was very well behaved this time and did not nag them about tagging along. Probably because of the shame of being kidnapped in Changbai Mountain, she had been working more arduously than ever sinceing back¡ªshe had even almost abandoned her tumble ys with Long Qiu. They never saw her for an entire day and only got a glimpse of her after well into the night. When Xiaozhai asked, the answer was always that she had been in the training field. The improvement in her cultivation was apparent. It would not be long before she reached the passionless state of Metal Thunder. After a lengthy instruction, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai set out. They went to the manor at the mountain foot first, where they talked with Shui Yao briefly. Old Shui was a born prince of the street. Having been in Bai Town for just over a month, a few underlings were already circling around him, running for his biddings. He was very good at nning and managing. The transportation channel between Bai Town and Shengtian was running smoothly in his hands. Whenever the Pavilion of Gems received new goods or Phoenix Mountain had new product avable, he would make sure everything reached its destination as soon as possible. He spent his spare time training himself hardly. With the help of the spiritual rice and liquor, he was now several sizesrger in his physique. After everything was taken care of, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai header for Shengtian, where they took a flight towards Longhu Mountain. *** The Celestial Master Temple, inner room. The current celestial master Zhang Jintong sat on a low bed with a ¡°visitation notice¡± in his hands. His fingers were trembling slightly despite himself. ¡°We have long known the virtue of the true masters of your honourable sect. We youngsters admire your Dan-refining method and would like to visit you in a few days.¡± The note was written in ck ink. The strokes of the Chines characters felt carefree and unrestrained. Only from the slight delicate touch of them could one guess that the note was written by a woman. Zhang Jintong put down the note on a low table, his hands still shaking. To him, it read more like an ¡°eviction of life¡± notice straight from hell. He had heard enough about the way Phoenix Mountain tending their business to know that those two wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer. God damn it! Who told them about the Dan furnace in the Celestial Master Temple? For a moment there, the old priest was overwhelmed by sorrow. He could almost feel the hand behind his neck which was going to pin him to the ground and rub the floor with his face. Could he fight? There was no hope of winning. Could he turn to the government for help? Whom was he kidding? Phoenix Mountain and the government had just finished a round of intensive cuddling and were in their peaceful unresponsive period. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Zhang Jintong heaved a long sigh and slowly walked to the window. Since he could not resist it, at least he should think of a way to exchange some favor for Longhu Mountain. Chapter 272 Chapter 272: Terms (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Yingtan, the train station. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai walked out carrying two huge wooden chests, which became quite the head-turner. The chests were square, crudely made, of an odd style, and even the handles looked impromptu. Needless to say, in them were the materials for Dan refinement. The two recipes needed 34 ingredients in total and they had prepared seven portions of each, which was their limit. Dan-refining was a major task that required all three of capability, skill, and luck. The tiniest error would push them back to ground zero and they would have to repeat the whole process. Hence, the output rate of Dan had always been very low. They did not raise their hopes too high, though. They would be very content if one out of the seven portions turned out sessful. Yingtan was a small city with minimal attraction. They hailed a taxi as soon as they were out of the station, thinking about heading for Longhu Mountain right away. Xiaozhai got in first. Gu Yu was about to follow when he paused. Somewhere not far, a loudspeaker was chanting an advertisement. ¡°New Wind-cold Granules! Introduced to the market for the first time! A product of Emei Pharmaceutical! Effective from the first dosage! Effective from the first dosage!¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ The two exchanged a look, both attracted by the name ¡°Emei Pharmaceutical¡±. ¡°I¡¯ll go have a look!¡± Gu Yu turned around and ran to the pharmacy across the road. He pushed the door open and blurted out, ¡°One of that cold granules, please.¡± ¡°Are you paying with your medical insurance card?¡± asked the shop assistant. ¡°Um, cash, actually.¡± He winced at his own answer, somehow abashed by those words. One of the unspoken rules of all pharmacies was that the inexpensive and effective medicines were always stashed in the innermost corners, while the costly but not so effective ones were disyed on the most conspicuous shelves. The shop assistant took one box of the medicine straight out of the counter. Gu Yu looked at it closely. The packaging was very ordinary, but the name of the manufacturer was emphasized. The ingredient section read: ephedra, kudzu vine roots, peri leaf, radix sileris, cassia twig, Chinese angelica, dried tangerine peel, apricot kernel¡­ Effect: relieve exterior syndrome, induce perspiration, and expel wind and cold pathogens; can be used to treatmon cold, fever, headache, coughing, etc. One box contained six sachets, which was to be ingested for one sachet per dosage. ¡°Excuse me, how often should I take it every day?¡± he asked. ¡°Normally one sachet is enough to cure you as long as you don¡¯t have a bad cold,¡± replied the shop assistant. Just then, an auntie¡ªwho would make an excellent shill¡ªclose by interjected, ¡°I caught a cold the other day and was cured by this¡ªby one sachet! It works like a wonder. Your money is well spent.¡± ¡°Well¡­ thanks.¡± Gu Yu felt his temple was throbbing again. He then asked, ¡°Does Emei Pharmaceutical have other products?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The shop assistant gave him an odd look. ¡°There are two more. A pain relieving cream and a mulberry and chrysanthemum drink.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have one each.¡± A couple of minutester, he walked out with three packages of medicines and got into the taxi. The car started and drove away from the station, heading for Longhu Mountains 20 km away. Xiaozhai slouched on the back seat, using her boyfriend¡¯sp as her pillow. Her two long legs were forced to bend into an ufortable angle¡ªthey were not designed for such a narrow space. She fumbled the packages of the medicines and examined them carefully. All three were made frommonly found ingredients and the forms were nothing special, either. They had not seen them in Bai Town and could not be sure if they were sold in the North. But they were certain of one thing: the products were the result of government-organized research and development and would probably be promoted to the whole society in the future. ¡°It¡¯s not as bad as we expected. They have finally turned their attention to people¡¯s well-being.¡± Xiaozhai gave the idea a thumbs-up, then asked, ¡°By the way, how much did all these cost?¡± ¡°Here you go!¡± He handed her the receipt. She checked it and was surprised by the figure. The same medicine from different manufacturers would usually have different price tags. For instance, the cold granules of Tong Ren Tang were sold at 13.5 yuan, whereas that of Baiyunshan was 11 yuan and Xiuzheng¡¯s 25 yuan . This one by Emei, however, was sold at 36 yuan. As for the pain relieving cream, Baiyunshan¡¯s was 36.5, Yunnan Baiyao¡¯s was 19.5, but this one was 58 yuan. With the 32-yuan mulberry and chrysanthemum drink, Gu Yu had paid 126 yuan in total. That was quite expensive for somemon medicine, but on the second thought, if they were as effective as the advertisement imed, would one buy a cheaper alternative, which might not cure them with one purchase, or would one rather pay a little more for Emei¡¯s product? Especially now, when most of the urban residents were covered by medical insurance, that premium was not going to make them sweat. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu waved his hand and set up a confinement, then said loudly, ¡°Wang Qi was right. This is indeed a major operation. They are tasting their first bite of meat!¡± ¡°Huh, they¡¯re selling medicine for cold for the time being, god knows what they wille up with in the future. Qi-nourishing powder, strength-enhancing capsule, life-prolonging paste, you name it. In two or three generations, the physique of the people will be improved as a whole. Tsk, that is indeed very provident, not to mention lucrative,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Anyone rising that high will take their entire n into consideration. In the worst scenario, as long as they¡¯re not too greedy and can takemon people¡¯s well-being into ount, I would say they¡¯re not doing a terrible job,¡± said Gu Yu. Would the three new medicines benefit themon people? Sure! Would money flowed into the pockets of those top dignitaries who were behind all this? Even surer! In most countries, one would consider such oue not without merit. The two chatted on. Despite their moving lips, no sound was escaping the confinement. After a while, the driver seemed to notice something and peeked into the rearview mirror. Gu Yu sensed it right away. He was going to simply stop talking. However, Xiaozhai wrapped her arms around his neck and dragged his head closer, then began to torture his lips with her tongue. Gosh! The driver saw what was going on and could only sigh inwardly for the loss of decency in this world. *** ¡°This ce is magnificent!¡± Carrying the chests, Gu Yu looked up at the three vermilion gates. Admiration escaped his lips. ¡°Seriously? They look so fake!¡± Xiaozhai despised them. ¡°We¡¯re at the birthce of their sect. Aren¡¯t we supposed to say that?¡± A sarcastic remark of his was as ready as always. The Celestial Master Temple was also a tourist destination, but no tourists could be found today. Of the three vermilion gates, the two on either side was closed, leaving only the middle one wide open. Apparently, the temple was prepared for their visit. ¡°Layman Gu and Laywoman Jiang, I presume?¡± They were greeted by a priest receptionist. ¡°That is right. We are here to see Celestial Master Zhang.¡± Gu Yu returned the greeting with a bow. ¡°The master is waiting inside. Please follow me.¡± With that, the receptionist led them inside. They went to the dormitory to put down their luggage first before arriving at the Three Gates. The so-called Three Gates was the private residence of the Celestial Master Temple. After entering the gate, they saw a courtyard wall first, beyond which was the Pce of Celestial Masters. The pce consisted of three halls. The front one was the hallway, the middle one the living room, and the back one the inner chamber. Zhang Jintong was sitting cross-legged on the low bed in the inner chamber. The man was in histe fifties and had a weary, gaunt face, which gave him a pent-up look. He wore an ordinary blue gown and seemed to be resting with his eyes closed. Rtionships wereplicated in the Celestial Master Temple of Sihan. The government had suppressed the power of various religions¡ªBuddhism and Taoism included¡ªafter the establishment of the modern state. The 63th generation Celestial Master could stand the pressure no further and took refuge overseas. As a result, no Celestial Master was appointed after that. The old Celestial Master had a nephew, who had set up his own altar and named himself the 64th Celestial Master. Zhang Jintong was a descendant on the mother¡¯s side and the old Celestial Master was his maternal grandfather. After the government gave permission to preach again, they raised Zhang Jintong and changed his surname. As for that Zhang Miaoxian, he was actually a legitimate heir to the surname Zhang. His paternal grandfather was the old Celestial Master¡¯s younger brother. However, Zhang Miaoxian was ousted to Wanshou Pce of Xishan, where he spent his days as an idle abbot. Therefore, Zhang Jintong only jumped on the wagon halfway through the journey. His lineage had always been seen as unconvincing and calumny would rise every now and then, ndering his name. He had actually made some great contributions to Longhu Mountain, including repairing the old houses, promoting the Taoist orthodox, and raising an exceptional direct disciple like Zhang Shouyang. ¡°Master? Master?¡± The priest receptionist entered the room and called Zhang Jintong several times before he finally opened his eyes. ¡°So, the guests are here?¡± ¡°Yes, they are in the living room.¡± ¡°I see. You may leave now. I will attend to them myself.¡± After dismissing the pupil, he straightened up his clothes before walking out. Arriving at the living room, he saw a man and a woman drinking their tea. They were remarkably distinguished and admirable, and their elegance looked otherworldly. Chapter 273 Chapter 273: Terms (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Wang Chongyang was a sneaky bastard. He promoted the unification of the three religions and fused the core ideology of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism into one, which was flexible and malleable enough to fit into the political framework. It was exactly as what He He had been told in the ¡°primary ten true precepts¡±: be loyal, be filial, obey your lord and your parents. No ruler of any era or dynasty would reject such an ideology. Hence, after a period of suppressing religions, the country was making Quanzhen the orthodoxy again, offering the sect a high degree of freedom at the same time. Zhengyi received no such favor. Even their Celestial Master was appointed by the government. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai sat in the living room when a gaunt old priest entered. He was of average height and they could tell that he had been practicing Qi-nourishing methods. But probably because of the burden ofmon affairs on a daily basis, his cultivation level was far below that of Zhang Shouyang. They were very curious. After all, so much gossip was going around in themunity, talking about things like ¡°the strife between the uncle and the nephew¡±. In spite of that, they still greeted the old priest with proper courtesy, bowing in unison. ¡°Celestial Master Zhang!¡± ¡°Layman Gu, Laywoman Jiang, please sit down.¡± Zhang Jintong gestured with his hand. His face revealed no mncholy as previously; instead, he looked as majestic as the abbot of a sect birthce should be. After all three took their seats, Gu Yu gave Xiaozhai a look and spoke, ¡°Celestial Master, the reason for our visit is to ask for your advice on Dan refinement. We would appreciate it very much if you could teach us a thing or two.¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯ve heard a lot about the way Phoenix Mountain do their business.¡± Zhang Jintong stroked his beard and grinned. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, the Dan-refining method is not what you are after. You are here for my divine furnace. Am I right?¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were slightly taken aback. Their n was to exchange some pleasantries first, but the old priest had cut to the chase first¡ªand in a sarcastic tone, no less. It did not affect Gu Yu the least. It was going to be a negotiation and the parties involved were free to y around with their words. ¡°Since you have figured out our purpose, we will not beat around the bush anymore. You have guessed right. We havee across some Dan recipes and would like to borrow your furnace.¡± ¡°The thousand-year heritage of the Celestial Master Temple still has a thing or two left despite the countless tribtions fallen upon us, among which is the Dan furnace. I could even go so far as to im that of all the renowned pces and temples still standing, we have the only Dan furnace made from Six One Mud,¡± he spoke slowly in a low pitch, reminding one of a candle flickering in the wind. What he did not say was obvious: this treasure of ours is so amazing that you¡¯d have to pay a sincere price for using it. ¡°Celestial Master, I am aware of the inconvenience we bring you by borrowing the furnace. If there is anything we can do to help, please let us know. We will do our best to meet your needs.¡± Xiaozhai paused a little before adding, ¡°And, well, we¡¯d like to exchange for some of the talisman paper your sect preserved, too.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hearing that, Zhang Jintong half closed his eyes and sat in silence as if he was deep in his thoughts. As a matter of fact, he had decided on the terms beforehand already. But now that the talisman paper was mentioned, there was one more thing on the list, which meant he had to change the terms ordingly. The couple waited in patience. After a long pause, the old priest finally asked, ¡°What do you need the talisman paper for?¡± ¡°To make Flying Talismans.¡± ¡°Will we be lucky enough to know the method?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°And the Dan recipe is for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we can¡¯t reveal that.¡± ¡°I have heard a lot about the brilliance of Phoenix Mountain¡¯s Taoist skills. We have a skill of talisman paper-making, I wonder if you two would be interested to learn?¡± Zhang Jintong sweetened the pot himself. The so-called talisman paper was made in a similiar way to ordinary paper, but since the former could be refined into talismans¡ªand high-level talismans, for that matter¡ªthere had to be something unique about the skill. If Phoenix Mountain could obtain it, they would be able to produce it themselves from now on. ¡°Please give us a minute to think about it.¡± Gu Yu waved his hand and set up a confinement. They then began to discuss right in front Zhang Jintong¡¯s eyes. ¡°What are we going to exchange for that?¡± ¡°Void-arranging, Water-walking, Small Confining, or Storage Technique¡ªany one of the four will do.¡± ¡°Small Moving Technique, Mental Force Refinement Technique, and our core skills are off the limit.¡± ¡°Talisman paper is very useful. We can ept exchanging for it with two or three of our skills.¡± ¡°In that case, shall we raise the stake and ask what talismans does he have?¡± ¡°Good idea!¡± It was like shopping for a car. You started off thinking about buying an electric cart and realized the good ones would cost as much as twenty or thirty thousand yuan. Raise your budget a little and you could buy a BYD F3. But since you had decided to by a BYD, you might as well move up thedder a little bit and choose a Geely instead. With yet a little more money, you could get a Coro and a Buick Regal was just a little bit more expensive than that¡­ you ended up driving back home a Rolls Royce. Phoenix Mountain might seem to have a lot of Taoist skills, but the amount was nothingpared to the tens of thousands of talismans, which would make an excellent supplement. They cared little about which sect was which¡ªthey would take whatever that worked for them. ¡°Celestial Master, we have made up our mind.¡± Gu Yu removed the confinement and said to the gaping and astonished Zhang Jintong, ¡°Since we¡¯re here, we might as well make this deal count. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?¡± ¡°Oh, sure!¡± Zhang Jintong finally let his excitement show. He rose to his feet. ¡°Follow me, please.¡± With that, the three walked into the inner chamber, where the old priest held onto a porcin bottle and twisted. With a creaking sound, a door to a secret chamber opened. The three entered. Just to be on the safe side, Gu Yu put up anotheryer of confinement. He told Zhang Jintong about their intention and thetter considered it for a moment before sighing. ¡°With your capabilities, I trust you two will not deceive me. All right. The Celestial Master Temple has been passed down for over a thousand years with a lot of talisman spells. Let me talk you through them. We have the Pure Heart Spell. It dispels distractions and calms the mind.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t be needing that.¡± Gu Yu shook his head. ¡°We have the House Protection Spell. It keeps the house and family free from evil spirits.¡± Anyone else would have taken it. But it was Phoenix Mountain we were talking about here. Which idiotic evil spirit would dare to go through their door? Hence, Xiaozhai said, ¡°No, thanks.¡± ¡°We have the Golden Armor Divine Soldier Spell. It summons a golden-armored heavenly god and is fierce beyondparison.¡± This was the one Zhang Shouyang used in Changqing Vige. Gu Yu thought about it. The spell was powerful enough, but still more like a chicken rib to them. He replied, ¡°Sorry, but no.¡± Zhang Jintong went on like this for over a dozen spells and the couple rejected them all. He then said, ¡°We have the Shape-changing Spell. It changes any metal, stone, grass, wood, and the like into your appearance for three days.¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ That was indeed very interesting. Gu Yu asked, ¡°Can it talk or move?¡± ¡°It can walk around and make basic conversations, but has none of your abilities. It will self-destruct after three days.¡± ¡°Good, I¡¯ll take it!¡± He nodded. That was a unique function that might turn out useful someday. Zhang Jintong then introduced another dozen spells and sold none. All those he listed were lower level spells that were of the blue level at most. They did sound amazing, but were of no use to Phoenix Mountain. ¡°¡­¡± Seeing that it was not going well, the old priest frowned and pondered. He would exchange for valuable items only if he himself offered something valuable enough in the first ce. And only through that could the value and status of the Way of Celestial Masters stay steady. He had been running Zhengyi long enough to prove himself a resolute leader. Grinding his teeth, he said, ¡°If you two would follow me, please.¡± With that, he pressed another button and a secret chamber within this secret chamber was revealed. It was a sizeable room with a shrine inside, sitting on which was a statue of the sect founder Zhang Daoling. On the wooden table in front of the shrine was a purple talisman. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai felt their hearts lurch. The level of the talisman went from gold, silver, purple, blue, and down to yellow. A purple talisman! It had got to be the hidden card up their sleeves! ¡°The Five Transformation Rain-praying Talisman. The first transformation starts the wind, the second summons the dark clouds, the third darkens the sky, the fourth brings thunder, and at the fifth, therees the downpour. What do you think about this?¡± asked Zhang Jintong. ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu suddenly found what was going on very strange. ¡°Celestial Master, I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re trying to achieve here.¡± Chapter 274 Chapter 274: The Divine Furnace Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Hoho¡­¡± Zhang Jintong smiled. ¡°We each have something the other side wants, that¡¯s all. We wille back to thatter. Tell me, what do you think of this talisman?¡± ¡°Does this Five Transformation Rain-praying Talisman require an altar to carry out?¡± Xiaozhai asked. ¡°It does.¡± ¡°Does it require any specific weather condition?¡± ¡°None.¡± ¡°And the maximum area it covers?¡± ¡°Well, as long as one has the adequate energy, they could bring rainfall to the entire Northeast.¡± ¡®Gee!¡¯ Xiaozhai and Gu Yu exchanged a look and read each other¡¯s mind. In this modern society with well-developed artificial rainfall technology, a rain-praying talisman might sound redundant. On a second thought, however, one would realize that artificial rainfall was greatly restrained by weather conditions. The rockets could not beunched until certain criterion was reached, or the province of Liaodong would not have suffered from that great a droughtst summer. The rain-praying talisman would not have such problem; with it, they could summon the rain whenever they wanted. Almost instantaneously, the couple decided they would take it! ¡°Celestial Master, does your sect have other simr talismans?¡± Gu Yu asked tentatively. ¡°I regret to have to say so, but this is the only high level talisman our temple has.¡± Zhang Jintong led them out and resealed the secret chamber. ¡°ording to my maternal grandfather, there was a silver talisman here at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty. It was simr to this one, but much more powerful. It was called the Seven Transformation Sun-praying Talisman. One transformation chases the six divine animals into hiding, two dispels the four evil spirits, three clears away dark clouds, four stops excessive rain, five brings brightness back, six allows the sun and moon to shine together, and seven seals up allkes and oceans. It collects the deviant energy and exposes it under the Five Thunders, so that it will be annihted. The talisman was powerful enough to remake nature. Such a pity¡­¡± He heaved a couple of sighs but did not go on, which suggested the talisman was either lost or destroyed. Gu Yu was greatly intrigued, but found it inappropriate to inquire after it. When they were back in their seats, he said, ¡°Celestial Master, since you have shown your sincerity, we will also be blunt. We¡¯d like to know everything¡ªhow to use the Dan furnace, the talisman paper and its manufacturing method, as well as the Shape-changing and Rain-praying Spells. In turn, you¡¯re wee to choose from our Void-arranging, Water-walking, Small Confining, Storage, and Flying Talisman Message Techniques.¡± He exined each skill in turn, then asked, ¡°Which ones would you like to learn?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Stroking his beard, Zhang Jintong struggled internally. He noticed Gu Yu had said ¡°ones¡±, which meant he was free to choose multiple skills to learn. They were all excellent, but none of them felt like the right thing. They were not what the Way of Celestial Masters needed most. ¡°I will take none of them. I only ask for one thing.¡± After much consideration, he gave his answer one word at a time. ¡°All I ask for is a promise from you.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu frowned slightly. ¡°That could be anything. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯d have to be more specific if you want a positive answer.¡± ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll be specific, then. You are following the essence-consuming method, aren¡¯t you?¡± Zhang Jintong fixed his eyes upon them. The stare was not exactly malicious, but it was still strangely intense with a hunger about it, as if trying to swallow them whole. ¡°We would be lying to you if we deny that,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°I see! I know you would never agree if I ask you for it. In that case, I¡¯d like a promise from you two: if you evere across another essence-consuming method, please give it to the Celestial Master Temple!¡± Zhang Jintong almost growled out these words in a tone that was hardly recognizable. ¡°¡­¡± The two exchanged another look and Xiaozhai said, ¡°You have our word on that! Even if there is no other essence-consuming method for good, we Phoenix Mountain will always be in your debt. Should trouble ur in the Way of Celestial Masters one day, we will spare no effort in helping you out.¡± ¡°Thank you¡­¡± ¡°Why, we should be the one saying thanks.¡± Zhang Jintong rose to his feet and was about to bow, when Gu Yu stopped him and the couple bowed to the old priest instead. Gu Yu was much more thorough and added, ¡°The government is bound to know we havee here and they will be asking questions. Here, please take the Flying Message Technique so that you could have a usible answer if questioned.¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ The old priest almost broke into sweat at the reminder¡ªhe hadpletely forgot about the other party. He said repeatedly, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. That was very careless of me!¡± With that, the talk was over. They secretly reached an agreement without getting physical. Both sides had got what they hoped for. The tension was diffused and everybody rxed. Seeing that it was almost noontime, the old priest sent order to have a vegetarian meal prepared. After lunch, he led the two out of the temple and got on an official car. Yup, you heard it right. The temple was allotted an official car. About 10 km to the southwest was the front gate of Longhu Mountain. Seeing the car, the administrative staff immediately opened the gate for them. The driver drove the car slowly up the mountain as if he was guiding them through their backyard garden. The three got off and found themselves in front of a four-column and three-doorway stone memorial archway. Relief sculptures of the Three Pure Ones were carved across the architrave, surrounded by propitious clouds and auspicious animals with dragons and tigers coiling and crouching among them. Behind the archway was a brick-paved path leading right to Zhengyi Temple. Zhang Sheng, the fourth generation Celestial Master, moved back from Hanzhong to Longhu Mountain and set up an ancestral hall here once to worship the forefathers, which gradually evolved into the Zhengyi Temple we knew today. Each generation of Celestial Master had set up altar here to take registrations. The mountain was filled with Taoist establishments and the grand scale had won it the title ¡°the forever brightnd of immortals¡±. Of course, the Zhengyi Temple standing before them now was a modern reconstruction, and worse still, worshippers were few and the ce was deserted. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai had no idea what they were doing there and only followed Zhang Jintong. The old priest, however, ignored the paved path and headed straight for the backyard, from where he exited through a small gate. Outside was a half hidden unmarked track winding up the mountain slope. The old priest marched on, exining while walking, ¡°Up ahead is a cave, the opening to which decorated by a running waterfall. It was where our founder refined his Dan back then. ¡®Dragon and tiger appeared as the Dan waspleted¡¯, well, you know the saying.¡± The three walked on for another fifteen minutes. The terrain was forever rising as the slope was getting steeper. From somewhere out of sight came the faint sound of running water. Fifteen more minutes and they suddenly walked into a clearing. A waterfall poured down from above surrounded by dangling wisteria. Behind them was a secret cave. The water ran down and formed a small pond. Strangely enough, although the opening of the cave was rather low, it was not flooded by the pond. Instead, it gurgled away into some unseen corner like an underground spring. The three moved closer. In front of the waterfall was a wide opening with some remaining sign of a hut. Inside the cave stood a swarthy Dan furnace. ¡°Celestial Master, it can¡¯t be the divine furnace, can it?¡± Gu Yu found it hard to believe. The whole setting was so casual! ¡°It is. It has been standing here for the past thousand years or so. Mortal men were simply too ignorant to recognize a true treasure¡­¡± Seeing the astonished look on their faces, Zhang Jintong smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It is unmovable. During the upheaval four decades ago, some people have stumbled into this ce. They tried all the methods they could think of, but could not move it an inch. In the end, they had to set a fire to vent their evil temper. The furnace still stands here, all intact. Where are those people? Humph! Somewhere underground and rotten!¡± Shaking his head, Zhang Jintong would not speak further about it. He stomped the ground and leapt easily across the pond, then lurched into the cave. The two followed the old priest. Once inside, they realized the air inside was rather dry. The waterfall seemed within reach, but it felt half a world away. The moisture simply could not get in. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai stood on either side of the furnace and walked around it. The furnace consisted of three levels. The bottom one was a three-legged Dan stove in the shape of an orb. It came with an ear on either side, which seemed possible to pull out. Inside the stove was probably where the fire would be lit. The middle level was also an orb. Together with the bottom one, they two looked like a gourd. The top part reminded one of the top of a pagoda, which had a bead at the tip and seven round holes around it. The furnace was about one meter tall and 80 cm wide. There was nothing attractive about its appearance and it just stood there like a little simpleton. Chapter 275 Chapter 275: Gosh that was difficult! Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu All ancient cultivators used furnaces made from six one mud for Dan refinement. The recipe of six one mud was iplete since a long time ago and the dispute over the exact content had been going on for over a century without any definite conclusion. Zhang Jintong was telling the truth¡ªunless some forgotten treasure was discovered, this was the only divine furnace left in this world. ¡°The trace of a hut outside the cave was said to be left behind by our founder, but whether it is true or not I cannot say. The water from the waterfall can be used for Dan-refining, so feel free to use it. Oh, will you be staying here or going back to the temple with me?¡± asked the old priest. ¡°We¡¯ll be staying here. Thank you, Celestial Master,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°No problem. I will send people up with some necessities, today¡¯s dinner, and your luggage. I will visit you again tomorrow.¡± After that, Zhang Jintong leapt out of the cave promptly and descended the mountain without looking back. He knew the rules: Dan-refining was highly confidential and peeking was an offense punishable by death. Celestial Master Temple still had some Dan-refining methods left, such as the pellets Zhang Shouyang gave Lu Yunqing earlier. But they were all made with ordinary Dan furnaces and the product was not even qualified to be given a grade. They were nothing but potent emergency pills or tonics. This divine furnace, however, was something the current Celestial Master Temple had never used, for they did not even have the ability to activate it. Right now, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were circling around the Dan furnace. There was a solid and clumsy feeling about it. The outeryer was pitch-ck as if it was covered in a thickyer of charcoal powder. For a moment there, they had no idea where they should start. ¡°How about we take it apart and rinse it first?¡± Gu Yu suggested all of a sudden. ¡°Sure. All yours. You¡¯re much stronger.¡± Xiaozhai backed away for a couple of steps. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Gu Yu could not be bothered to retort. The hell with ¡°stronger¡±, you just did not want to get your hands dirty! Shaking his head, he rolled up his sleeves, grabbed the bead on the tip, used about a third of his strength, and twisted. ¡®What?¡¯ It did not budge. He then used half of his strength and twisted it again. There was a ¡°clunk¡± and the pagoda was loosened a little. Gu Yu was utterly surprised. This time, he exerted all his force and ¡°thud!¡± With a loud muffled noise, the pagoda top was finally removed. He looked down into the furnace and the first thing he saw was a huge strange container known as ¡°water sea¡±, which served as a cooling device. Removing the water sea, there was the suspending cauldron, which was where the raw materials went; this part suspended in the furnace. Further down was the Dan stove where the fire was to be lit. Breaking the furnace into four parts was a little tiring, but he acted as if he was exhausted. ¡°I¡¯m done. It¡¯s your turn.¡± ¡°Tsk, tsk. You stingy man!¡± Xiaozhai gave him a scornful look and stretched out her right hand with the index and middle fingers pinched together. ¡°Water,e!¡± ¡°Ssh!¡± The words had just left her tongue when the milky way of a waterfall outside was cut short in the middle as if it had been broken into half by scissors. The lower part disappeared abruptly and it was two secondster when the water resumed its downfall. In front of Xiaozhai, however, a giant ball of water emerged out of nowhere. As if it had life of its own, the ball of water slowly wrapped around the four parts and started squirming up and down, which was not unlike a mastrabating Green Slime. Eww! Gu Yu found it kind of gross. ¡°Why did you just do it silently? What¡¯s with the shouting?¡± ¡°Pretending I know Water-controlling Technique, obviously!¡± Xiaozhai replied matter-of-factly. Seeing that the transparent water ball was turning ck, she pinched up her fingers again. ¡°Go!¡± The ck ball disappeared right away. The next moment, it was out of the cave and sshed the mountain with a ck shower. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu would not respond to that, but turned to look at the parts. One look and he was astonished. The treasure that had been covered in soot for a thousand years was finally showing its real charm. Once the charcoal was washed off, the furnace turned out to be of a mixed texture of metal, stone, and earth. The color was simple and uplicated. ¡°That¡¯s how a divine furnace should look. Sorry about what you had to put up with.¡± Gu Yu was delighted and carefully put the parts back. The big fellow now stood there as dignified as a mountain. The sky had already gone dark after all this. Four disciples of the Way of Celestial Masters swiftly ascended the mountain carrying all sorts of stuff. Zhang Jintong was very thorough. Among the supplies were tents, beddings, dishwares, a steamer, shlight, a gamp, and wood charcoal for the fire¡ªbasically, everything. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai set up their tent outside the cave and stopped their work for the day. They sat down and meditated with eyes closed so as to adjust their vital essence. Be aware that the ancient cultivators would not begin to refine Dan until they had fasted, put on their headdresses and robe, and chanted their prayers to the heavenly masters. Only after all those would they go into the mountains at specific days, which had to be one of the auspicious dates in a mountain-opening month (the third or ninth month of the year). And they had to burn talismans before setting up their altars; the furnaces should alsoe with swords, ancient mirrors, etc. Some were only there for a psychological effect, while some might actually help. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai made no such deliberate preparations. It just happened to be March now and they picked an auspicious date, which was the following day. *** The next morning, daybreak. Gu Yu spent his whole night cultivating and had not stopped yet. He was breathing in and out the essence of early morning. Only when the morning sun hadpletely leapt out of the horizon, expelling the thin white mist in the mountain, did he stop his practice and rose to his feet. He could sense the abundant spiritual essence inside him. Opposite him, Xiaozhai opened her eyes as well, which were also shining brightly, indicating the brilliance within. Their eyes met and they kicked off the ground in unison, jumping into the cave. Gu Yu opened the chest and took out a portion of the ingredients of Evil-dispelling Dan. It was lower in grade of the two and he thought they could use it for a trial run. After years of experiments, Waidan techniques of Taoism had established a system of dozens of methods including flying, rising, drawing, subsiding, pointing, closing, nourishing, boiling, tempering, forging, grinding, sealing, etc. Each one required a well-bnced coordination of the spiritual essence, mental force, skill, strength of fire, and other factors. The tiniest error could have a whole portion of materials go to waste. ording to the ¡°Book on the State of Mind of ck Bead¡±: to make the Evil-dispelling Dan, half of the ingredients was to be ground into small pieces first, then put inside small cloth pouches, each containing 100 g of the materials; the other half was to be dried in the shade before adding it into water and boiled. The pouches were to be suspended inside the cauldron and water was to be added frequently; the pouches would grow lighter in two to three days and the liquid in the furnace thicker; in four or five days, all the essence of the ingredients would dissolve in the liquid, which was when the pouches would be taken down and boiled; boil again until the water was dried up and the roughcast of the Dan was ready; collect. As for when to feed the fire, the book said 300 g each at the hours of Mao and You, which meant 300 g of wood charcoal was to be added at 7.00 and 19.00 every day. Could it at least try to be less sketchy? Apparently not! Their only option now was to start experimenting. Gu Yu put the materials into the cauldron and hung the pouches, then closed the pagoda top. Xiaozhai added in the charcoal and started the fire. In a heartbeat, the interior of the furnace was red hot and the temperature was rising. The couple then sat down cross-legged on either side and spread out their mental force, watching the furnace closely. ¡°Bubble!¡± ¡°Bubble!¡± The materials consisted of various nts only, and once soaked, steamed, and boiled in the water, they soon melted into a mush; the water also turned into a strange mixed color of red, green, yellow, and ck. The dangling pouches were also saturated by the steam and became all soppy. There seemed to be no end to the waiting. Fortunately, they could watch the furnace as they cultivated; the process was less boring that way. Zhang Jintong came once around noon, but dared not go in after seeing the wreathing smokeing out of the cave. He left after standing briefly outside. It went on like so. The couple added the charcoal and water as instructed and watched the furnace tentatively. Before they knew it, the day was over. The pouches were indeed a little shrivelled. Gu Yu probed with his mental force and realized they were lighter in weight as well. The colors in the furnace had all fused together and were almost close to a shade of green. It went on like this for the next four days. The pouches hadpletely dried up and the ¡°soup¡± was thicker than ever. Xiaozhai activated the Small Moving Technique, instantly taking out a pouch. She opened it up. Wow, the materials had almost all vaporized. All that was left were some dregs. ¡°We¡¯re almost there,¡± said she. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll go first.¡± Gu Yu reaches out and held the furnace between his arms. Two streaks of gentle spiritual essence flowed out of his palms and poured into the furnace through the two openings on either side of the stove. With this catalyst, the me inside erupted a dozen centimetres upwards. As the strength of the spiritual essence increased, so did the me, which licked at the bottom of the cauldron as if it was going to devour and melt down thetter. The already thick liquid was bubbling noisily as bubbles formed and burst. It soon turned into a state halfway between solid and liquid. This procedure was known as Dan-distition, a prerequisite for the formation of Dan. There was also a corresponding procedure called Dan-degradation, which would be used when makingplicated Dan. Xiaozhai watched her boyfriend anxiously. It had been only less than twenty minutes and his face was covered in fine sweat. Even someone with spiritual essence as abundant as him could not afford to pour it out like so. One slip of hand would cost them a fortune. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Another quarter of an hour and Gu Yu finally reached his limit. He shouted, ¡°Your turn!¡± It was not something Xiaozhai would take lightly; she immediately took over. As soon as Gu Yu removed his hands from the furnace, he found his gourd, gulped down some liquor, and lost no time in readjusting his breath. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai pursed her lips; the look on her face was more serious than ever. She was never as rich in spiritual essence and was draining up after fifteen minutes. It just so happened that the liquid was growing drier and smaller then and the roughcast was forming. Then, there came a ¡°bang!¡± A lump of greenish substance exploded and sshed all over the interior of the cauldron. It was a ¡°miscarriage¡± (as in ¡°they had lost control of the materials and everything had gone to waste¡±). ¡°Sigh, that¡¯s on me!¡± Xiaozhai heaved a sigh, noticeably disgruntled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. That was only the first trial.¡± Gu Yu drank another mouthful of the liquor and said, ¡°Dan-distition is extremely energy-consuming. Next time, you go first. I can hold on longer than you and buy you some more time to readjust your breath.¡± ¡°All right!¡± With that, the couple reorganized themselves and began their second round of experiment. The process began rtively easy; when it was time for Dan-distition, Xiaozhai carried out the task first, followed by Gu Yu. This new strategy worked well. When Gu Yu was drained of his spiritual essence, Xiaozhai had just recovered hers to take over from him. As she activated her spiritual essence, Xiaozhai reached into the cauldron with her mental force. The liquid had turned into a jelly-like substance and was of a deep green color. The lump now indeed looked like a Green Slime. That was the roughcast in its most preliminary form. She immediately scooped it up with her mental force and wrapped it inside, then started kneading. The Dan would only take shape after the roughcast was round, even, translucent, and shiny. Everything seemed to be going well, but a few secondster, Xiaozhai¡¯s face darkened and she looked even more disgruntled than thest time. As invincible and unparalleled as the Thunder Technique was in fighting enemies, its shorings were exposed in a major task like this one¡ªshe had not umted enough spiritual essence. The same thing happened again when they were so close to their sess. Bang! The roughcast failed to take form and was miscarried again. She jumped to her feet, dashed out of the cave, and there came a series of shing and rumbling sounds. A couple of minutester when she had vented enough of her frustration, she came back in. ¡°How far away were you?¡± ¡°I would have been able to take over in five more minutes.¡± Gu Yu gave a rough estimation. ¡°The problem still lies in the recovery speed. I wonder if we can speed it up a little¡­¡± Xiaozhai turned her head abruptly to look at her boyfriend, who smiled back at her warily. He took out a small case. In it were a few spiritual stones that were glowing dimly. ¡°As much as I could not bring myself to use them, it seems to be our only option.¡± Chapter 276 Chapter 276: The Three-Transformation Dan Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Up to now, the spiritual stone was the medium carrying the purest and most easily absorbed spiritual essence. Phoenix Mountain only had 20,000 in total, which they had been stashing away in the warehouse, finding them too precious to be put into use. With what was going on at the moment, however, they had to turn to the stones, or they would be wasting away the ingredients. They came here well prepared¡ªaround fifty stones had been brought along in case anything like this should happen. The third experiment started without them taking a break. Xiaozhai still took the first shift, followed by Gu Yu. As soon as Xiaozhai took over again, Gu Yu clutched a spiritual stone in his hand, sat down in meditation, and began recovering. It made a great difference. The purest spiritual essence was released from the stone, restoring Gu Yu¡¯s energy gently yet swiftly. It was even more effective than the spiritual liquor. Soon, the glow of the stone dimmed until it waspletely gone. By then, the stone had turned dead white in color and had also lost much weight. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was struggling inside. He could still use a little more push. Should he consume another stone, or should he just recover on his own? After a brief pondering, he took out another stone without hesitation. The hell with it. He was using it already, he might as well run the full course. With that in mind, he drained another stone and felt fully recharged. Seeing Xiaozhai was shaking slightly already, he immediately took over. ¡°My turn!¡± ¡°Phew¡­¡± Xiaozhai was relieved and carefully handed over the task. Gu Yu reached out with his mental force, which wrapped around the paste of roughcast and went on kneading. This procedure somehow felt familiar, for it was not much different from kneading an incense stick. A couple of moves and he had already got the gist of it. He could faintly sense how long it would take for the roughcast to take shape. Before they knew it, half an hour had passed. As if something had suddenly dawned on him, Gu Yu was no longer holding back, but exerted his mental force in full scale¡ªit enveloped the roughcast like a transparent case made of air. The roughcast that had been refined repeatedly was finally going into an intriguing transformation. Green fog filled the cauldron and they could not make out what was going on inside. Then, there came a ¡°bang!¡± It was as if the great chaos had cracked open and there was life for the first time. The divine furnace quivered slightly and a refreshing, sweet, and cool fragrance gradually flowed out of the opening on the furnace wall. Meanwhile, they could hear something rolling around inside, making a crisp and pleasant noise. Xiaozhai had finished adjusting her breath and went up to the furnace right away. She screwed down the pagoda top and removed the water sea; what she saw brought delight to her face. Piled neatly inside the suspending cauldron were a dozen green pills the shape of pearls. She tended to them right away. After taking out a small gourd, her alter ego of an actress resurfaced and she shouted, ¡°In!¡± The pills disappeared right away, while the gourd became a little heavier than before. She sealed the gourd and let the pills precipitate for an hour before tentatively pouring one out. It was emerald green in color and slightly smaller than a longan fruit. Glittering and translucent, it reminded one of a semi-transparent green crystal. ¡°Twelve pills in one round. That¡¯s quite impressive.¡± Gu Yu also moved closer and said happily, ¡°The Evil-dispelling Dan is a two-transformation Dan. Rumors are that it is extremely effective. But we¡¯d have to try it first to confirm that.¡± ¡°Half a month and we get twelve most basic ones.¡± Xiaozhai was fully aware of her position and put away the small gourd in a manner not unlike that of confiscating a bank card of a husband¡¯s sry ount. ¡°The end of the world would probablye sooner than we finish with a nine-transformation Dan.¡± ¡°Those that can make a multiple transformation Dan must have a cultivation level high enough to see the age of the earth as a mere blink of an eye.¡± Gu Yu chuckled. The grade of Dan was determined by the round of transformations it went through. Ingredients of Dan would change from solid state to liquid, from liquid to gas, then from gas to whatever other miraculous state out there¡­ each change of state was known as a transformation. Nine-transformation Dan was generally considered that of the highest grade, which was known as the ¡°Nine-transformation Golden Dan¡±. Consuming it would let one be immortal instantly. However, there were sporadic records in certain ssics iming a type of Dan called ¡°Sixteen-transformation Qi-sensing Golden Dan¡±. Sixteen transformations, OMG. It was said to be able to raise one into the Heavenly Immortal state. The two found the im very suspicious. Something as unbelievable as that could only be a creation of a Heavenly Immortal. It would be highly imusible that a Heavenly Immortal would make some Dan to enable someone to reach to their own state instantly. Anyhow, their sess was a confidence booster and they decided to carry on while the memory was still fresh. Each furnace of Evil-dispelling Dan would cost them at least five days and they had four portions of the ingredients left. It was indeed as the saying went: one could not feel the passing of days deep inside a mountain. Before they knew it, twenty days had passed. The fourth round gave them eleven pills, the fifth nine pills, the sixth was a failure, and the seventh turned out pretty good¡ªit gave them thirteen. Nine spiritual stones were consumed and they had made 45 pills in total, which was just enough to fill a gourd. *** Morning, the Celestial Master Temple. After breakfast, Zhang Jintong strolled out of the temple gate, got on his official car, and set out for Longhu Mountain. It had be his habit these days. He had been visiting the cave every day despite the fact that he never saw anybody there. In fact, he was not lying around doing nothing in the temple, either. Gu Yu had left him with the Flying Message Technique before they left, which the old priest had been studying. This technique required talisman to carry out and was obviously up the alley of Zhengyi. The talisman was a blue level one and super awesome: it had a ¡°built-in GPRS¡±, could reach the exact location, and was free from any jamming or interference. Of course, a mental force imprint had to be left on it so that the message would be received the moment it was sent. The distance the message could travel depended on one¡¯s cultivation level. Sweet mother of Jesus! Zhang Jintong was greatly tempted as he studied the technique. In the ancient times, this would probably the most basic skill for household use. Nowadays, however, it was close to a miracle. ¡°Screech!¡± Before long, the car drove into the small square outside Zhengyi Temple and stopped. The old priest got off and went up the mountain following the unmarked track. When he reached the cave, he was surprised to find the couple dining inside their tent. ¡°Morning, Celestial Master!¡± Xiaozhai caught sight of Zhang Jintong and waved at him. ¡°Hoho, I see you are not busy today. The refinement turned out to be fruitful, I presume?¡± Zhang Jintong asked with a smile. ¡°Thanks for asking. We have seeded indeed. We havepleted our quota for one recipe, there¡¯s one more to go. We¡¯ll have to reorganize ourselves first.¡± Gu Yu grabbed a campstool and casually invited him to sit down. ¡°¡­¡± The corner of Zhang Jintong¡¯s eyes twitched as he lifted the lower hem of his robe and sat down on the stool awkwardly, which was quite a funny picture. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, ¡°Layman Gu, I wonder if I could have a look at your Dan?¡± ¡°There you go!¡± Xiaozhai tossed him the gourd without the slightest hesitation, which rather frighted the old priest. He held the gourd between his arms as if holding a priceless treasure, then got one out with shaking hands. ¡°¡­Spiritual Dan, this is what spiritual Dan looks like¡­¡± Holding a pill on his palm, a mixture of emotions from obsession to resignation and regret shed across his face, which gave him a rather distorted look. As he mumbled on, the green pill was reflected in his pupils, giving his bleared and fatigued eyes a livelier feel. After much savoring, he finally put it back into the gourd and handed it over. ¡°Thank you for letting me witness such wonder before my days are over.¡± His hand holding the gourd halted in mid-air, for Xiaozhai did not reach out to meet it. She asked abruptly, ¡°Celestial Master, I see you are suffering from some health problem?¡± ¡°Well, that is correct.¡± Zhang Jintong was taken by surprise. ¡°Despite the Qi-nourishing method I practice, this position I am in, well¡­ I am burdened by various secr affairs and could not break free. The euphemism is ¡®break down from constant overwork¡¯, but whom am I deceiving? I am unwilling to part from power, which has hindered my cultivation.¡± Out of nowhere, he blurted out some self-mockery, apparently greatly affected by the critique and calumny. ¡°Well, fate has brought us together and we have been taking great advantage of you ever since, giving you nothing in return but an empty promise. I simply cannot live with that.¡± Gu Yu pushed the gourd back to Zhang Jintong. ¡°How about this? We¡¯d like you to keep a pill. It will dispel the evil spirit and cure mdies. We hope it will be able to help you.¡± ¡°That, that¡­¡± It was so out of the blue that refusing was Zhang Jintong¡¯s first reaction. However, he could not resist the temptation. In the end, he only said, ¡°In that case, please ept my gratitude.¡± With that, he took one out again. After giving the couple and the pill each another look, he swallowed it with excitement. Only Dan refined from a divine furnace by a cultivator was qualified to be called a spiritual Dan and only the spiritual Dan could be categorized into grades by numbers of transformation. The Evil-dispeling Dan might be a mere two-transformation Dan, but it was officially a graded one. Zhang Jintong was well aware of the risk he was taking, which was why he was willing to y theb rat¡ªhe was no fool. As soon as the pill was in his mouth and before he could try to swallow, it melted away with his saliva like a soft marshmallow. Instantly, a cooling sensation exploded inside him, which was a little more than he could stand. Seeing the painful look on his face, Gu Yu went up to him and helped him with guiding the energy. Led by Gu Yu¡¯s powerful spiritual essence, the cooling sensation reached into Zhang Jintong¡¯s four limbs, all meridians, and various major orifices. The hidden and chronic diseases umted over the past years from constant fatigue and the entangled energy caused by all the nderous gossip¡­ everything was swept away promptly as the medicine flowed around his body. ¡°Ha¡­¡± It was quite a while before Zhang Jintong opened his eyes again. He felt like a new person. His body waspletely relieved and filled with vital essence. A tumult of emotions rose inside him as he was overwhelmed by astonishment: this Evil-dispeling Dan was unbelievably effective! Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were also surprised to see the improvement in his health. So that was what a spiritual Dan was capable of. They had been underestimating it all along. ¡°Thank you, Layman Gu and Laywoman Jiang!¡± Zhang Jintong calmed himself down and solemnly bowed low to the couple. As the leader of Zhengyi, he was not in the position to make any promises, but subconsciously, he had already deemed Phoenix Mountain a partner they could have a long-term rtionship with. *** ¡°Bang!¡± Gu Yu lost control for a split second and the temperature inside went out of bnce. The materials blew up and was turned into a mush. The two exchanged a look, both feeling defeated. It was the fourth portion already and they still hadn¡¯t seeded yet. They couldn¡¯t help it, for the Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan was a three-transformation Dan and the increase was not only in the rounds. The difficulty in maneuvering almost doubled, which was close to the limit of their capability. In short, the refinement method was to turn it from solid to gas, then to liquid, then to solid again. ¡°Don¡¯t give up. Let¡¯s try again.¡± ¡°Yea, I think I¡¯ve got something. I can definitely push further this time.¡± Neither of them were the impatient or easily upset type. They encouraged one another, took a short break, then began the fifth round. Xiaozhai put materials into the cauldron, then moved on to set the soaked charcoal, which was a product of soaking wood charcoal in certain potion to make it morebustible; the instant ze would be ferocious. After the charcoal was set, she gestured with her hand and activated her spiritual essence. Fuelled by the charcoal and the spiritual essence, the me erupted like an exploding volcano, heating the entire furnace into a red color. The temperature of the area within a meter from the furnace surged, so much so that even the air was contorted. Seeing this, Gu Yu reached out with his mental force hurriedly and wrapped it around the materials. It worked as a protective film so that the materials could be heated without catching fire. The process of transforming from solid to gaseous state was called sublimation in physics; in Dan theories, it was known as ¡°flying¡±. They had failed twice in this step alone. This round was rather smooth so far. Xiaozhai fed the me while Gu Yu protected the materials. His work was perfect. The materials were shrinking and dehydrating at an observable speed. Their essence vaporized constantly, then gathered up in masses and filled the cauldron. The steam in the cauldron seemed to be growing heavier and the color also turned muddy. Finally, when they were about to reach their limit, the materials werepletely gone. Xiaozhai moved away from the furnace and said, ¡°Hold on there for a little longer! I¡¯m going to change the charcoal!¡± With that, she picked up a pile of green charcoal and dumped it into the Dan stove. The green charcoal was also specially processed, it was extremely durable and could sustain a stable and constantbustion. Seeing that the me was growing dimmer and the spiritual essence curled and circled, Gu Yu rxed despite himself and began to feel drowsy. Xiaozhai held him up right away. ¡°Are you all right?¡± ¡°I, I feel so weak. I need a kiss to go on!¡± His face was pale and his eyes unfocused. Then, ¡°Hm¡­ hm¡­ that hurts!¡± Their lips and tongues met and went all entangled. Gu Yu was soon gasping under Xiaozhai¡¯s ¡°oral abuse¡±. Ok, our fellow had forgot about the fact that his girlfriend was not an ordinary human being. Let¡¯s forget about their fooling around (or, showing off to annoy all the single people out there) for now. The ridiculously difficult first step was finallypleted. They would then have to guard the furnace for three to four days. They could only move on to the next step when the essence had turned red. Had it not been for the buffering periods, they would never have been able toe so far. The next four days passed and the steam inside the cauldron went through its natural transformation. It now floated around like a big lump of bloody fog, which looked rather intimidating. ¡°Time for Dan-degradation!¡± ¡°Add water!¡± Seeing this, Gu Yu waved his hand and transported water out of the pond into the water sea. The pond was bone-chillingly cold, and as it filled the water sea like being poured out of a liquor jar, the temperature of the cauldron slumped. ¡°No, that¡¯s too cold!¡± ¡°I¡¯m working on it!¡± Xiaozhai busied herself with adding charcoal and the temperature rose again. They carried on like so, one working the cooling system with the other working on the heating. Only with a constant well-bnced temperature could they achieve Dan-degradation. They two were the perfect team. Before long, traces of liquid began to gather in streaks along the inner wall of the cauldron, which became more and more visible until they gathered into drops and rolled around the wall like red beads. The red beads grew bigger and heavier, and finally could not hold onto the wall. They fell to the bottom of the cauldron in plops. Soon, there was a pool of dark-red liquid. That was Dan-degradation finished. After all the steam turned into the red liquid, all that was left was the time-consuming task, which, like with the Evil-dispelling Dan, involved slowly drying the liquid up until the roughcast took form. Neither of the two had the strength to talk at this point. They each sat down in a corner, recovering their spiritual essence with a spiritual stone in hand. Another three days passed like so. The roughcast was formed once the red liquid was thick with no excessive water. After two transformations, the Yin and Yang properties of materials had fused perfectly together and the essence was mellow and full. The potency of the medicine could be detected even through the thick furnace wall. The fragrance drifted out of the cave and floated all the way into the mountain, sending the birds and beasts into a frolic jubtion. Before the Dan waspleted, all kinds of chirp, neighs, and snarls came from outside. A group of bewitched scavengers had gathered outside, stopped only by the deep pond and the waterfall. ¡®Jeez!¡¯ Both were astonished. So this was what a three-transformation Dan was capable of! No wonder the ancient texts said ¡°when the nine-transformation Dan ispleted, thunder tribtion descends from heaven¡±! ¡°You collect the pills. I¡¯ll go out and have a look.¡± The frustration of the past few days had filled Xiaozhai will a murderous will, which she had yet find a target to vent to. Green Leaf appeared in her hand and she leapt out of the cave in one stride. ¡°Squeak!¡± ¡°Hiss!¡± ¡°Roar!¡± The clearing outside was crammed with snakes, birds, foxes, rodents, and all sorts of other animals of the mountain¡ªsome were even natural enemies of one another. Yet now, they had all squeezed into a narrow space that even the tent, cookware, and beddings were trumped into a mess. The animals were itching to have a go when Xiaozhai walked out. Animal instincts told them that this was not someone they could afford to cross! Even so, none of them backed off. Instead, all of the animals fixed their stares in the direction of the cave. Yes, they simply stared! It was a yearning and aspiration for power, and for the extending of life. ¡°¡­¡± Looking into the eyes of all shapes and sizes, Xiaozhai could not bring herself to strike out after all. She only brought out a y jar and sighed. ¡°You poor creatures. Now, go. Don¡¯te any closer!¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± She tossed it away casually. The jar flew over the herd¡¯s head and was smashed into pieces. Momentarily, the burning scent of the medicine dregs filled the air. A fox twitched its nose and was the first to turn around for the jar. The snakes were the second to move, followed by the other birds and rodents¡­ they all scrambled for the broken jar. Xiaozhai shook her head and went back in. ¡°Thud!¡± The divine furnace quivered slightly. Stumbling to his feet, Gu Yu removed the pagoda top and the water sea with much difficulty. Inside the suspending cauldron were ten spinning red pills. The Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan! Chapter 277 Chapter 277: Money Well Spent Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Sending messages across thousands of miles?¡± Mu Kun was taken by surprise. ¡°So, this technique really can travel through space without being impeded by anything?¡± ¡°Theoretically, yes. But the actual application will depend on the user¡¯s cultivation level.¡± Zhang Jintong had had his answer ready. ¡°Based on what I¡¯ve learned so far, this technique requires someone with an innate state or above. I am aware of the situation of the monastery and I wouldn¡¯t even consider holding such information back. This technique should belong to the monastery.¡± ¡°Oh? That is very considerate of you. On behalf of the BIMAUP, I¡¯d like to express my gratitude.¡± ¡°Hoho, you really don¡¯t have to. I¡¯m only fulfilling my duty.¡± One acted all civil and the other one even more so; neither meant what they said. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai left Longhu Mountain the previous evening and Mu Kun arrived at the doorstep this morning. His intention couldn¡¯t be more obvious: to probe, inspect, and take away some dividend while he was at it. He carefully stashed away the notebook recording the technique, apparently not trusting the old priest at all, then asked, ¡°Celestial Master, have those two left anything else behind?¡± ¡°Well, it is actually something I feel rather ashamed to mention.¡± It was Zhang Jintong¡¯s turn to put on his oscar-winning performance as he sighed. ¡°They were here for the talisman paper and the furnace, for which they have paid an adequate price. Apart from the Flying Message Technique, they also gave me an Evil-dispelling Dan. But¡­ but I have ingested it already.¡± ¡°How well did it work?¡± Mu Kun asked eagerly. ¡°I felt reborn! After years of umted fatigue, I was fully aware of my health condition. Once I ingested this pill, however, all of my mdies were cleared away and I was fully recharged in my energy. Sigh¡­ the spiritual Dan is indeed as effective as promised!¡± He nodded as he sang the praise as if still savoring the wonderful experience of that moment. ¡®Damn you!¡¯ Mu Kun found it such a pity, but could not let it show. Instead, he smiled. ¡°Congrattions, Celestial Master! Your longevity and good health will benefit the Taoistmunity as a whole. Oh, by the way, do you know how many kinds of Dan they have refined? What value would they allot to this Evil-dispelling Dan?¡± ¡°There were two. They didn¡¯t say what the other one was and I didn¡¯t ask. As for the Evil-dispelling Dan¡­¡± Zhang Jintong gave it a thought and replied solemnly, ¡°I am in no position to assess it, but what I can say is that as long as it is not a severe case, one pill is enough for a full recovery. I am not sure about terminal illnesses, though.¡± ¡°Is it that effective?¡± ¡°It is that effective!¡± ¡®Geez!¡¯ Mu Kun felt his stomach turning. A cure-all was indeed an incredible creation! Moreover, with the way they put it, even the severe cases could be solved popping down a few more pills. He immediately felt the urgent need to go back and make a report. ¡°Celestial Master, the country will not forget your contribution and the Celestial Master Temple will be rewarded ordingly. I still have some errands to run and will hold you up no further.¡± ¡°I see. Let me show you out.¡± Zhang Jintong walked him out of the gate and did not go back in until the car had driven off into the distance. The old priest chose not to y it fair and square this time. Sitting on the fence, he had made secret deals and deceived the government¡­ he did not regret what he had done, though. Everything he did was to ensure a bright future for the Way of Celestial Masters. *** May, early summer. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai spent 35 days on refining the Evil-dispelling Dan; they had sessfully made it through four rounds and produced 44 pills. The refinement of the Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan took them about 30 days, during which time three rounds were sessful, which gave them 29 pills. 25 spiritual stones were consumed in the process. They left in a snowy and frosty month and came back when the gentle breeze was already blowing. Two months had passed while they were away. ¡°Sister, what took you so long? Qiu Qiu and I were almost going out there to break you out!¡± Up on Phoenix Mountain, Xiaojin dived into her sister¡¯s arms and rubbed against thetter, which seemed to be a way to express her affection, but was in fact an attempt to ask for a present. Xiaozhai hugged her back, but immediately felt something was not right. She peeled the girl off and watched her closely, then said surprisingly, ¡°Why, are you taller than when I left?¡± ¡°Huh? My cup size has stopped growing long ago, but not my height?¡± Xiaojin was amazed as well. She dragged Long Qiu closer. ¡°Let¡¯s see who¡¯s taller.¡± Long Qiu stood against her as told and Xiaojin measured with her hand. She then yelled, ¡°I¡¯m as tall as before! You¡¯re making fun of me the moment you got back!¡± Xiaozhai was not going to have a guilty conscience over that. ¡°Why, I made a mistake, then. It¡¯s been a while since Ist touched you.¡± ¡°Sister!¡± Qiu Qiu was firmly against the R18 talk and gave Xiaozhai her harmless cold face. Of the family of four, Xiaozhai was 26 and 177 cm tall, Gu Yu 25 and 183 cm, Long Qiu 24 and 174 cm, and Xiaojin 23 and 175 cm. Good God. The mountain was decorated by nothing but long legs! A lot of long legs! After the chitchat and bantering, the four went into the meditation room. Gu Yu neatlyid out the rewards, including two gourds, 12 pieces of blue talisman paper, three of purple talisman paper, and a pamphlet recording the method of making talisman paper, and the words and refinement manuals of Shape-changing and Five-transformation Rain-praying Spells. The Celestial Master Temple had only one of that high-level talisman, but they had stocked some of its talisman paper pieces, only that no one knew how to refine it. Zhang Jintong decided to give them as big a favor as he could afford and gave them all the paper he had. Gu Yu talked through their experience this time¡ªtwo hours of exmations from the audience. They had no intuitive understanding of Dan methods before and never expected it to be this difficult. ¡°Brother, are we going to sell these pills?¡± Picking up a red Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan, Long Qiu was immediately awed by its immense energy; she could not help but sniff at it repeatedly. ¡°We¡¯ll keep the Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan. Only the Evil-dispelling Dan is for sale,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°What about the price?¡± she asked another question. ¡°One thousand spiritual stones for a pill!¡± yelled Xiaojin. The girl indeed had a brain for running business¡ªshe immediately made the connection between the spiritual Dan and the spiritual stones. Long Qiu, on the other hand, wavered a little. ¡°Won¡¯t a thousand stones be too much?¡± ¡°The pills are priceless; we can ask for whatever price we want. But the government is not going to let the spiritual stones circte freely. They would buy a few pills at most for research purposes. So, there are essentially one buyer and one seller only,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Let¡¯s make it a thousand first and see how the market reacts to that. If it doesn¡¯t work, we can always turn to barter,¡± said Gu Yu. Tianzhu Mountain had spiritual stone reserves of 25.4 thousand tons¡ªeach ton contained around 4000 stones. In total, that would give them over a hundred million stones. The current stock of the spiritual stone was over three million pieces, which were all kept in the national treasury. It would be delusional to assume some individual or faction could use them without authorization. ¡°Now, add these talisman manuals to the jade slips, then contact Old Shui, see if we can build a paper mill down there.¡± Gu Yu assigned the tasks, then something suddenly dawned on him. ¡°By the way, has anything happened while we were away?¡± ¡°Nothing major.¡± Long Qiu was very sinct. ¡°Great. We¡¯ll have to go into seclusion for a few days and experiment on the potency of the Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan. You two go have fun on your own.¡± Xiaozhai was ready to shoo the two girls away. ¡°What? Are you two cultivating or having a baby? You¡¯ve juste back and you¡¯re shutting yourselves away already?!¡± Xiaojin grumbled herint . She nagged and dallied until thest minute, then fled swiftly like an experienced escaper before her sister¡¯s irritation burst into me. *** The sunshine was giving the right amount of warmth and the breeze was not making any noise. Once the kids had left, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai sat down facing each other, reading the fatigue in the other¡¯s eyes. What they experienced in the past few months involved adding charcoals, watching the furnace, failure, failure, and more failure¡­ it was something any ordinary person would find unbearable. The frustration alone was powerful enough to kill. The only benefit that came out of it was that their spiritual essence and mental force had been significantly enhanced by the countless rounds of draining up and recovery. ¡°¡­¡± The strange nk-out went on for a while before Gu Yu said, ¡°You go first. I¡¯ll watch out for you.¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± Xiaozhai had no intention to refuse. She took out a pill of the Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan and swallowed it. The fiery red pill that seemed to be glistening melted in her saliva as soon as it made contact with her mouth. A sticky semi-liquid slid down her throat and fell directly into her stomach. It was as if a scorching thousand-pound weight had dropped into an icyke. It went without saying that the inside of a human body was warm. However, the body temperature was like the freezing pointpared to the medicine fluid. The heat and the cold shed into each other and white steam rose with a sizzling sound; Xiaozhai seemed to be burning up. ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Xiaozhai groaned. Her fair cheeks flushed suddenly as fine sweat seeped through the hair on her temples. She seemed to be in great pain. Gu Yu watched her gravely and was ready to interfere at any moment. Cultivators were to refine their three treasures: spirit, Qi, and mind. A simplified version would be tobine the first two treasures, making it the training of both the body and the mind. They pretty much followed the same rules: one was to constantly improve oneself by their own potentiality and the power of nature. It was an extremely slow process, which was why when the ancient cultivators realized that the spiritual essence was waning, they created Waidan practice so that they could elerate this process as much as possible with the help of the pills. Some Dan nourished the body, some enhanced the mind, while others could help both, such as the Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan. It was the most effective spiritual medicine for cultivators below the Human Immortal state. One could imagine how potent this Dan would be. Right now, the medicine was rampaging inside Xiaozhai and formed a dark-red whirlpool, which made a few turns before exploding, sending red streaks of liquid flying everywhere. The Qi-rted went to Qi and blood, the mental force rted went to mental force, and the physical body rted went to the physical body¡­ momentarily, she was enveloped by the ferocious medicinal power from head to toe and inside out. ¡°ck¡­ ck¡­ bang!¡± Gu Yu was still watching her closely when something made him jump. A series of faint, crisp exploding sounds wereing out of Xiaozhai. He checked her hurriedly and realized they were made by the quivering of her bones and tendons. That was the medicine working! He rxed a little, but still was not fully convinced. In the end, he sent in a streak of his mental force to examine her¡ªhe dared not go in to far, but only stayed close to the surface. What he found was even more astonishing. Through his mental force, he saw that Xiaozhai had turned into a red halo filled to the brim with Qi and blood. The instant vital essence was stronger than anything he had ever seen. A streak of golden purple and a streak of ck purple lightning were rumbling inside that halo as if two dragons were soaring¡ªthey were none other than the Metal and Water Thunder energy she had been cultivating. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Gu Yu was utterly amazed. With the insane amount of resources and energy they had spent, they obviously would wish the Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan to be something spectacr. As it seemed now, it was much better than they had expected. The special effect alone was worth the money. He kept his eyes on her for nearly two hours and only was reassured when his girlfriend had turned from being agitated to calm, then to a rxed state. Absorbing a Dan pill was apparently a very demanding job. When he realized it, evening came already and Xiaozhai finally opened her eyes and adjusted her breath. Gu Yu had one look of her eyes and knew her capabilities had been greatly improved. He grinned. ¡°How did being high on drugs feel?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where to begin. Somehow my Water Thunder had improved¡­¡± She jumped to a new topic all of a sudden and opened her palm. A streak of ck-purple lightning flickered into life. Unlike the intimidating killing will of Metal Thunder, this one had a forever-changing and feminine tenderness about it. Gu Yu was about to ask when the lightning flickered and turned into an abstract little figure with blurry limbs, which made a gesture of bowing at him. ¡°Hahaha!¡± He was exhrated. ¡°This one pill is equivalent to two months worth of cultivation. Great! This is incredible!¡± ¡°As amazing as it is, we can¡¯t overdo it, or too much medicine might umte inside and do more damage than benefit us,¡± Xiaozhai said after some consideration. ¡°My estimation is that our cultivation time can be shortened by half with the help of this pill¡­ why, your goal of reaching the Human Immortal state has just be usible!¡± Chapter 278 Chapter 278: The Wonderful Talisman Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°ck¡­ ck¡­ bang!¡± Inside the meditation room, Xiaozhai watched her boyfriend unblinkingly. His face lightly contorted and his brows furrowing, Gu Yu was apparently experiencing what she had previously. Under the inspection of her mental force, Gu Yu had turned into a lump of fire and all his orifices and tendons were opening, closing, loosening, and tightening in the me of the potent medicine. She was fully aware of that pain. It was like prising off every bone inside your body with a crowbar before jamming them back in one piece at a time. The benefit of this process was apparent: between the disassembly and reassembly, the red medicine fluid grew gentler and gradually fused into the vital essence. Gu Yu¡¯s feeling was more specific¡ªhis body seemed to have turned into a high-power water pump frantically sucking in the red fluid to fill in all the gaps, especially his Dantian and Shihai, which were drinking it in voraciously. The absorption speed was too high that it was reaching his limit; he was forced to slow down a little. Before they realized, the sky outside was growing darker. It took Xiaozhai half a day to digest the medicine entirely. Gu Yu spent a little less time than her, but when he opened his eyes, the moon was high up on the sky and the valley had gone still and quite. ¡°How did it go?¡± asked Xiaozhai. ¡°Two of my extra-points were broken through in one go. This medicine is indeed ferociously potent!¡± The expression on his face was hard to describe; it was a mixture of excitement, expectation, and a little disbelief. ¡°I thought it would be six or seven years before I could attempt to break into the Human Immortal state. But now, it seems I¡¯ll be able to have a go next year.¡± ¡°I thought it would be ten years before I couldplete all five Thunder Techniques. But now, it seems I¡¯ll be able to do it in six or seven,¡± added Xiaozhai, imitating his wording. To be able to reach the Human Immortal state through the essence-consuming method, one had to open up all twelve regr meridians, eight extra channels, and 720 acupuncture points of the body to reach apleted version of innate state physique. Meanwhile, one also had to condense their mental force to a certain level before they could rise into this state. As for the Thunder Technique, one had to reach the passionless state of all five types of thunder to be qualified as a Human Immortal. Gu Yu had been cultivating for four years and still had a third remaining to cover; Xiaozhai had been on hers for three years and had just started on the second Thunder Technique¡­ as mentioned before, with the Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan, they could at least shorten the time by half. They couldn¡¯t overdo it, though. The elder two would take one each month and the younger two could only take one every two months¡ªespecially Xiaojin, whose quota might need further reducing, limiting her to eating half a pill each time. Those of the innate state were essentially mortal men. Once they reached the Human Immortal state, however, they would go through a qualitative leap and be one foot inside the world of ¡°Immortals¡±. Presently, both were lost in their imagination. While they were at it, they decided to keep the pace and went on shutting themselves in without any break for the next few days so as tob through what they had learned during this trip. *** Seven dayster, the meditation room. On the table was a piece of blue talisman paper, a te of concocted cinnabar, and a writing brush. Gu Yu was dressed in loose-fitting clothes with clean hands and neatly-trimmed nails. He was going to draw a Shape-changing Talisman. He had been practicing with ordinary talisman paper before this until he was familiar with the skill. It was his first time using the real thing. The couple was somewhat abashed to admit that since they inherited Tan Chongdai¡¯s talisman skills, they had not really had much practice. They couldn¡¯t help it. Of the Golden Armor (copycat version), Bone-melting, Snake-expelling, Miscarriage-preventing, Bed-wetting Cure talismans and whatnot, apart from the bone-melting one, well, maybe the miscarriage-preventing one also for it mighte in handy in the future, the rest were simply pointless to learn. ¡°Sigh, I wonder how the old priest is doing now¡­¡± Shaking his head, Gu Yu chased away the distracting thoughts and began to chant the Water-cleansing Incantation. ¡°This water is no ordinary water. One drop onto the inkstone, clouds and rain are to follow in an instant. Patients will be cured of all their diseases once drinking this water. The evil spirit will be annihted. Obey at once!¡± Then came the Paper-cleansing and Brush-cleansing ones. After the three incantations, he picked up the writing brush, focused the energy on its tip, and made three strokes. Three patterns resembling ticks appeared on the blue talisman, which was the mostmonly used Triple Purity Heading. Below that were two ancient characters, which meant ¡°the edict¡±. After that came gut of the talisman. Gu Yu wrote down one stroke after another, his movement as swift as slithering snakes. What he wrote was a forbidden character with the character ¡°rain¡± on the top, ¡°fire¡± on the lower left side, and ¡°good¡± on the lower right. This character meant ¡°spirit officer¡±. Gu Yu did not stop there. He went on drawing the ending and only then did he stand back up. The entire talisman was drawn at a stretch and the spiritual essence did not pause for a second during the whole process. When he finished thest stroke and the brush tip left the paper, a subtle rippling effect suddenly appeared over the talisman as if a wave was rushing over it. When the fluctuation disappeared, the blue talisman had a reserved splendor and natural power about it. ¡°I did it!¡± He nodded and was relieved, feeling d that he did not waste a piece of talisman paper. Carefully putting it away, he pushed the door open and walked out. It just so happened that Xiaozhai wasing out of her room at that moment. Their eyes met and they read each other¡¯s mind. Right away, Gu Yu summoned Long Qiu and Xiaojin. All four gathered under the old tree, ready to try out the Shape-changing Spell. ¡°Which one of you wants to try it?¡± He chuckled. ¡°Me, me, me! Let me!¡± All young girls loved novelties. Long Qiu blinked her eyes and was going to raise her hand when Xiaojin beat her to it. It was not in Long Qiu¡¯s nature to nag and squabble, so she backed away quietly. ¡°Just find something and chant the spell.¡± Gu Yu passed her the talisman. Our utterly unpredictable Xiaojin grabbed Brother Fatso right away. ¡°Haha, I have always wanted to know what you would look like transfigured¡­ aiya, stop kicking! Work with me here!¡± ¡°Squeak!¡± Brother Fatso acted as if it had just been squeezed through an Elizabethan Cor. Its eyes were wide open as it shrieked and kicked. ¡°Stop! Stop right there!¡± Gu Yu¡¯s temple was throbbing. ¡°Find some nt, metal, or stone. No living creature. Imprint it first. And, this is called a ¡®Shape-changing Spell¡¯, not ¡®Transfiguration Spell¡¯!¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Xiaojin curled her lip. Tossing Brother Fatso aside, she found a verdant leaf, left her mental force imprint, and pinched it between her fingers together with the talisman. She chanted, ¡°Follow my order and take my shape for three days. The blue dragon and the white tiger will guard my body. All evil spirits will flee from me and my vital Qi rises fast. Obey my order!¡± As soon as those words left her tongue, the blue talisman selfbusted without being lit, the me soon wrapping the leaf inside. Immediately after that, the small lump of fire drifted away from her palm as if being blown away by the wind. It paused for a couple of seconds in the air, then there was a ¡°whoosh¡±, followed by a ¡°poof¡±! The me erupted and fell straight down to the ground, then gradually took a human shape. As the me faded, the silhouette became clearer, finally turning into a living person. It was none other than Xiaojin! ¡°¡­¡± All four were struck dumb with astonishment. Xiaojin herself was gaping. That was a miraculous spell! ¡°It, it looks just like me!¡± Xiaojin moved happily closer and felt the figure from head to toe. It was almost identical to her: the facial features, the body shape, the skin, the hair, and the cup size were all the same. The only thing was that its facial expression seemed stiff and its eyes weren¡¯t moving. Something just felt weird. ¡°Hello!¡± Xiaojin EVA waved. ¡°Hello!¡± Xiaojin EVA-2 waved back. Its tone was t and cold, only slightly better than a robot. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Little Soap.¡± ¡°Bah! My name is not Little Soap.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m not Little Soap.¡± ¡°Am I the prettiest person in the world?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you want to share my bed tonight?¡± ¡°Great!¡± She was enjoying herself very much. Suddenly, she stroked its cheek and grinned. ¡°Hey, I have a very bold id¡ª Aaaaah!¡± She let out an abrupt scream, which was almost ear-splitting. A certain person smashed down her palm and EVA-2 turned into smoke without ast word and was blown away by the wind. ¡°Jiang Xiaozhai!¡± Xiaojin red at the culprit, almost staring her eyeballs out. This offense to her was absolutely irreconcble and was more bitter than any bitter feud. She could swallow her sister whole. ¡°Oops, slip of hand¡­¡± Xiaozhai couldn¡¯t care less about her rage. She took out another piece of Shape-changing Talisman and smiled. ¡°Here, Qiu Qiu, y with one, too.¡± Chapter 279 Chapter 279: A Long Way to Go Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu However ferociously Xiaojin bristled, within the fifteen minutes of EVA-2¡¯s short lived life, Gu Yu had learned pretty much everything about the duplicant. It was identical to the talisman user, but it had neither the flesh and blood, nor the mind and soul. It was nothing but an empty bag. It could carry out simple orders and had minimal defensive ability¡ªan adult male could probably destroy it in one punch. The talisman was valid for three days and would dissipate on its own after that. Hence, they decided what the Shape-changing Spell was best used for: to fake an alibi! Wait, that couldn¡¯t be the answer, could it? ¡°We don¡¯t have much high-level talisman paper at the moment, so you¡¯ll have to practice on yellow talisman paper first. Talisman is going to y a more important role from now on and we need to put in our effort,¡± Gu Yu instructed the others and asked his girlfriend, ¡°How did it go with you?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do it yet.¡± Xiaozhai shook her head. ¡°Neither can I. A few times I was almost there, but my energy would stop flowing when I was only a stroke away from finishing.¡± He sounded frustrated. ¡°Taoist skills that could summon winds and rain have always been limited to immortals. Maybe we are simply not capable enough and will only be able to refine it until we reach the Human Immortal state.¡± What they referred to was none other than that purple talisman: the Five-transformation Rain-praying Talisman. They shut themselves up each in their own meditation room and came out empty-handed after a few days of trying. Thus, they had to put it aside for the time being. Fortunately, they were making progress on the Flying Message Talisman and would be able to solve it with a little more effort. Here came the question: the Flying Message and the Shape-changing were both blue talismans, why on earth was there such a great discrepancy in their functions? They scratched their heads in puzzlement and came up with two guesses: either the ssics of the Celestial Master Temple had recorded it incorrectly after all the tribtions it had gone through, or the function of the Shape-changing Spell had not been fully developed. Maybe it was also an infinite type, which meant the more powerful the user was, the more effective the spell would be¡ªit might actually produce an exact replica after all. ¡°We¡¯ll return to thatter¡­ Xiao Qiu!¡± Gu Yu beckoned for Long Qiu toe closer and gave her three pills of Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan and five of Evil-dispelling Dan. ¡°Try them out on your own first and find your right intake cycle. When you run out,e to me, well, to you sister for more.¡± ¡°Thank you, Brother!¡± Holding the pills, Long Qiu smiled her eyes into crescent moons. She then put them into a small gourd. ¡°Jin Jin!¡± He then called over Little Soap. ¡°These are yours. Your cultivation level is not high enough, so take half a pill to begin with and see if you could stand the potency. Do not overreach yourself.¡± ¡°Not high enough, not high enough¡­ it¡¯s like you¡¯re handing out my monthly allowances. Shall I call you ¡®milord¡¯?¡± Disgruntled, Xiaojin made a show of mumbling to herself, but was in fact making every word clear enough for Gu Yu to hear. She put away her pills carefully all the same. Gu Yu paid no attention to her. He took his share and handed the rest back to the head of the household. ¡°Phoenix Mountain is bing more resourceful than ever, but we should not allow ourselves to be inted with pride. We are only men of innate state and there is a whole wide world out there for us to explore.¡± He paused a little and continued in a solemn tone. ¡°To be honest, after I took the spiritual Dan for the first time and realized there is hope for me to reach the Human Immortal state, I was a little carried away by my emotions. Now that I looked back, it was frivolous and impetuous¡ªI was being arrogant. The only way to walk the cultivation road is to believe firmly in the Great Dao and keep a sensible state of mind, so as to achieve perfection. Let us encourage each other in our endeavours.¡± ¡°We will keep that in mind!¡± At such good advice, the two younger ones did not make any teasing remark, but replied in a serious tone. Even Xiao Qing and Brother Fatso bowed at Gu Yu. It had been two or three years since Long Qiu and Xiaojin became cultivators and they had been blessed with great fortune. At a national scale, Long Qiu and Xiaojin were probably the only two enjoying such resources and environment. They had been among the first few to reach the innate state and their brother was going to attempt the Human Immortal state, so it was only natural that they would start imagining ¡°Haha, I am getting an upgrade soon¡±. That was why Gu Yu reminded them with those words to prevent them from growing arrogant. Back then, he and Xiaozhai made their painstaking conversation by themp and figured out the cultivation history in this country. As mentioned before, in the ancient times, there was no ¡°immortal world¡±, but only a ¡°human world¡±, which was categorized into four levels, namely the perfected, the supremes, the deities, and the saints. Later, the idea of ¡°immortal world¡± became popr and the levels became heaven, earth, immortal, and man. The Heavenly Immortals were those who had risen above the three divisions of the universe. They could exist for eternity and witness the creation and destruction of all worlds. The Earthly Immortals were as splendid as the sun and the moon. They could live as long as the heaven and earth allowed them and were no longer bound by the limit of life. The Immortals possessed remarkable physical and spiritual forms, as well as unfathomable capabilities. They would not meet their end for as long as thousands of years. The Human Immortals could utilize spiritual essence, with which they could nourish their body and live as long as hundreds of years. Another type of special beings also existed, who could escape death by cultivating their primordial spirits. They were of the same standard as the Earthly Immortals in terms of their cultivation level, but did not have physical strength of thetter. They were known as Ghostly Immortals. There was no so-called Zhuji (¡°building base¡±), Jindan (¡°golden Dan¡±), Yuanying (¡°primary infant¡±), etc., nor was there the hideous middle-phase of Zhuji,st-phase of Jindan,pletion of Yuanying, or concepts of ¡°halfway¡±, ¡°peak¡±, or ¡°second-stage¡±. They were following the most ancient and primitive categorization. He and Xiaozhai knew better than anyone else of the great difficulty they would be facing in filling in the discrepancy between two states and breaking through! *** ¡°Paper mills are very hard to apply for license these days¡ªtoo much pollution. I did some brief research: generally speaking, there are mills of packing paper, fine paper, and household paper. The papermaking process of the three is sopletely different that they can¡¯t share a single production line. As for the capital, we will need about three million excluding the raw materials, which equals to about five or six million if you count in the working capital.¡± In the manor at the mountain foot, Old Shui was briefing the couple. He was indeed a very capable man and knew just enough about everything. He went on, ¡°But it is talisman paper we¡¯re making, so the annual output would not exceed ten thousand tons. Plus, there¡¯s the confidentiality issue, which means we will have to choose manual operation. I have contacted a few old masters and the deal is pretty much settled. The mill will be to the east of the manor and all I need now is you agreement and your money.¡± ¡°Ha, that was neat!¡± Xiaozhai was very satisfied with his efficiency. ¡°We¡¯ll give you four million to start with; make sure you¡¯ve put everything and everyone in order. The raw materials wille out of the mountain. I¡¯ll circle out an area for youter. Keep a close eye on them. No one can cross the board.¡± ¡°Leave everything to me. I¡¯m as solid as a rock!¡± Old Shui smacked his chest and gave his promise. The form of the talisman paper was to concoct a special potion and add it into the paper pulp so as to reach the standard. The main ingredients of the potion were nothing but nts, metal, and rocks¡ªnothing too rare to find. ¡°By the way, we¡¯ll also be needing some herb-nting experts. Put that on your list, too. Four or five should do.¡± Gu Yu took out a small bottle and said, ¡°And there¡¯s this. Post an ad on the app and don¡¯t reveal the price yet. If anyone shows a genuine interest, tell them the price is 1000 spiritual stones.¡± ¡°Spiritual stones?¡± The words took Old Shui by surprise. ¡°What¡¯s in it?¡± ¡°See it for yourself.¡± Gu Yu handed him the bottle and Old Shui opened it. He saw two verdant, round, and fragrant pills inside, the color of which reminded him of the tale of¡±I forgive you¡± 1 . He realized what they were right away¡ªthey were most likely the newly made elixirs that these two were going to make into a rip-off¡ª scratch that, to find a buyer for. He knew the merchandise of the Pavilion of Gems very well. All things sold there were things of daily use up on the mountain but sold out in no time out there. Everything there was tradable at the moment. The two only stayed for a while before going back to the mountain. After seeing the two bosses off, Old Shui also left in his car to see a construction team in the city. The car was new: bought with the bosses¡¯ money, top of the line, big muscle. As he drove on, he felt something was off, but he could not point out what it was. A whileter, the feeling was growing stronger as he was further away from Phoenix Mountain. ¡°Ah!¡± Old Shui stepped on the brake and realized what it was. Sticking his head out of the window, he saw a zing golden sun above. The brief second looking at it was already stinging his eyes and made them go bleary. ¡°Tsk, this heat is unnatural!¡± Chapter 280 Chapter 280: In the Heat of Summer (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The capital city, early June. The average temperature of the past years was around 19 to 30 degrees celsius and the weather should still be on the cool side. Sincest year, however, the increase of the average temperature had been significant and the problem only grew more prominent this year. June had just started and the number of days with 35 degrees or higher was constantly breaking the historical records. The stifling heat made entire city feel like a sauna house. ¡°Rustle!¡± The old man sat at his desk signing his name on a file before putting it to his right. He then picked up another internal reference from the left whose cover gave him a frown at the first nce. It read: analysis and monitoring report on the climate change of summer this year. With his rank, climate issues usually did note across his desk. But since it had, it only indicated how severe the problem was. ¡°Starting fromst year, we have included the summer and winter climatological observations into our top priorities. Based on data collected from various sources, the average temperature of summer this year will be four to six degrees higher than during the previous year¡­ the Southeast, south of the Five Ridges, the Southwest, the Northwest, and most of the Central in will experience a two-month high-temperature weather of over 40 degrees. The period will be shorter in Mobei, Monan, and the Northeast, estimated tost around a month. Based on the tendency ofst year, we could not exclude the possibility of heavy rainfall in the area south of Yangtze River. Detailed observation revealed that in the first five days of this month, the rise in the temperature was most prominent in densely poptedrge cities such as the capital city, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. The effect was slightly less observable in medium and small cities, as well towns and viges. The climate has be very pleasant in famous mountains and rivers such as Changbai, Mount Heng, Mount Hua, Dongting Lake, and Lake Tai. As for Phoenix Mountain, Tianzhu, Mount Emei, and Tianshan, the temperature has remained constant with no abnormalities. On a global scale, seven countries including the Big Sam, the Great Britannia, and Sicily had issued high temperature warning in session, especially in southwestern Big Sam, where temperature in the states of Arizona, Nevada, and part of California has exceeded 40 degrees. This chain of events suggests that the disastrous high temperature is a global phenomenon. At the current stage, we could only attribute it to the negative effect of the spiritual essence. We could even go as far as to assume that until the elerating recovery ceases, such extreme weather will continue to be present¡­¡± It was a long while when the old man put down the internal reference; words failed him. Global warming did not start yesterday and the environmental protection and carbon emission reduction issues were fiercely argued about every year. However, with economic development as the topmost priority, no one was trying their best to do anything about it. The situation had changed now. With the addition of this erratic element, the negative effect and its expendability were growing indefinitely. Take the natural disaster as an example. High temperature led to drought, which in turn affected the crops. After that came the food shortage and reduction in cash crops, leading to the bankrupted farmers and resource starvation¡­ no country would be able to stay aloof. ¡°¡­¡± After a long pause, the old man finally picked up his pen and wrote down his officialment on the cover. ¡°Content is of vital importance. Please inform Comrade XXX to hold a meeting and study the report. Make sure to be well-prepared for heatstroke prevention. P.S.: do not dally on the new medicines of Emei. Since tests have proven them to be safe and effective, it is time to release them onto the market!¡± Finishing those lines, he leaned back into his chair and murmured to himself, ¡°With everything that is going on, it¡¯s time to go out and meet someone.¡± *** A type of creature existed in this world that was cheerful, holding maledictions against the whole world, bemoaning the state of the universe and pitying the fate of mankind, groundlessly vicious, and with fearless internationalism spirit and regional discrimination at the same time. They were expert in enjoying themselves in adversity, self-mocking, vying with one another, bragging on just about anything, and concluding everything with a big ¡°LOL¡±. This life form was known asizens. Since the beginning of this summer, almost all TV channels, websites, mobile phone searches, and office chitchats had been dominated by one topic: it was so hot! The heatst year was nothingpared to this! Xidu: Five minutes of outdoor activities earned you two hours worth of sweating. Chang¡¯an 1 : Don¡¯t want to talk; let me turn around so that my other size is getting grilled as well. Yangtze River Delta: We finally received the ¡°central heating¡± we longed for. Hill City: 2 Single dogs 3 had just turned into hotdogs. Goat City 4 : We don¡¯t deal with cities 35 degrees or below¡ªyou¡¯re not well cooked! Dongjing 5 : Well, don¡¯t even get me started¡­ All in all, probably because of what had been happening in the past few years, theizens were more immune to extremely hot days. The temperature might begin to rise earlier this year, but it was nothing worth fussing about. In this inte era, anything could turn into a buzz. Users of all tforms were posting images every minute, making the whole thing into a peculiar carnival. Shengtian, Wenhua 6 Road. The zing sun hung high above,shing out its heat at everything down below. Not a single trace of moisture could be detected in the air, which was so dry that it felt like dust suspending on the streets, between buildings, inside and out of the vehicles, as well as in everyone¡¯s mouth and nostrils. ¡°Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way¡­¡± The happy tune rang through the air, apanied by a fine mist of water, whichnded on the ground, briefly alleviating the ferocious dryness. The sprinkler slowly drove by, revealing two young, tall figures from behind. They were both teenagers and still had the innocent look of the youth, yet both were dressed in wide Taoist robes and the shoes of ten directions. The dress code was rather out of the ce, which made them quite the head-turner, but neither of them seemed bothered, apparently having grown very used to it. ¡°34 degrees tomorrow. Good God! That¡¯s even worse than today! ¡°Why, there are new entries in New ssics of Mountains and Rivers¡­ from Dongting River again? Have these aquatic animals on drugs or something?! ¡°Haha! Take a look at this. Look!¡± The younger one flipped through his phone as they walked and suddenly pushed it in front of hispanion¡¯s nose,ughing. ¡°Even the cactus is not straight anymore!¡± ¡°¡­¡± His friend nced at the screen and saw an image of a withered and bent cactus with a caption: heat wave arrived at Arizona, cactuses are melting! ¡°It seems the other countries are hit harder than we are. I wonder how are things looking over there. I¡¯d really like to go have a look,¡± said thepanion. ¡°That¡¯s none of our business. Isn¡¯t everything around us worrying enough? Leave the other countries to their own people. Why, word around is that our temple is selecting people to exchange with other temples. Do you think you¡¯ll be picked?¡± asked the younger one. ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can and leave everything else to fate.¡± Despite his young age, hispanion talked like a mature man. ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but your girl is definitely going. Tsk, tsk. She¡¯s the first in the monthly exam. That¡¯s more than we can ever hope for.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The other one frowned slightly at this remark, but did not make anyment. He only reminded his younger friend, ¡°We¡¯re almost there. You¡¯d better pull your cor back up.¡± ¡°Ah, I almost forgot!¡± The little priest jumped at the thought and tidied up his disheveled robe. The Inspector would not hesitate to discipline him had he found his robe in this state. The younger one then asked curiously, ¡°Why, don¡¯t you feel warm, with your robe all tied up?¡± ¡°So long as you keep calm, you don¡¯t feel the heat!¡± His impablepanion was all neatly dressed and walked in an unhurried pace; he darted a scornful look at his younger friend. These two were none other than the intern disciples of Taiqing Pce, Lin Junlong and Peng Sheng. One year apart in their ages, they were both from disadvantaged families and roommates in Taiqing, so it did not take long for the two to be good friends. Lin Junlong was a sensitive boy that could sometimes go to extremes, whereas Peng Sheng was more of an extrovert and good with people, rendering their personalities quiteplementary to one another. After their morning sses this day, the two went out shopping during their lunch break and were now heading back to the temple. During the three months they had stayed in Taiqing Pce, they were trained in basic Qi-nourishing methods and body-enhancing programs everyday. There was now a significant improvement in both their physical strength and their spiritual outlook. Walking fast, they arrived outside the temple in a short while. They hurried to the gate in strides and bowed at the priest guarding outside. ¡°Priest Wu!¡± ¡°You¡¯re back. Go inside, then. You don¡¯t want to bete for your sses,¡± replied the priest amiably. ¡°Yes!¡± The two hurried inside. They put down their things in their room and went to the other courtyard for their physical training. After that was dinner and evening ss. The content of the morning ss was usually fixed, devoted to studying the ssics. The evening ss was much more flexible. Sometimes it was on anecdotes of the Taoistmunity, other times it could be a Q&A session, where the pupils would pose questions and the priest on duty would answer. It was Priestess Qinghui¡¯s shift today. After ss, she reminded the students, ¡°You have probably heard that five students are going to be selected to participate in an exchange program with talented disciples of other temples. It should not worry you, for the names will be announced tomorrow. Those picked mustn¡¯t be conceited and those who did not get selected should not be discouraged. There will be plenty opportunities for you all in the future. Oh, by the way¡­¡± She paused and took out a sack. ¡°It has been very hottely. As your young age renders you more vulnerable to such weather, the temple has prepared some summer-heat relieving medicine for you. Each person will have two boxes. Pleasee to me in turn.¡± With that, the twenty-three little ones rose to their feet and lined up to take the medicine. Lin Junlong received his share and saw that they were two boxes of ageratum tea manufactured by Emei Pharmaceuticals. Each box contained ten packets and the ingredients were ageratum, peppermint, lophatherum gracile, and liquorice. Its main curative effect was to dispel the heat-induced dampness and turbid pathogenic factor, as well as to relieve dizziness, tightness of chest, and nausea. Mix the medicine with boiling water, lid the container for ten minutes, and finish the liquid in one day. They had been told about Emei Pharmaceuticals during sses on it being a pharmaceutical factory of their own. The so-called ¡°of their own¡± meant, well, that it was one of their own. It was one of those things that could only be understood but not described. After the evening ss was the free period. Lin Junlong put away the medicine, fetched some books from his room, and went to the female dormitory. The male dormitory was on the east wing and the female one on the west; between the two were several courtyards. The temple had set strict visitation rules. No unauthorized entry was allowed. He said to Auntie Moderator¡­ scratch that, to the priestess on duty, ¡°Priestess Jinghui, I would like to see He He, please.¡± ¡°Please wait here!¡± Jinghui went in and a momentter, a girl ran out. It was none other than He He herself. She seemed to be washing her hair just then. Her dripping long hair hung loosely over her shoulders, dampening her clothes. Lin Junlong flushed with embarrassment, ¡°Um, sorry. I didn¡¯t know you were washing your hair.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. Have you bought the books?¡± He He asked, blinking her eyes. ¡°I have. There are four.¡± He passed her the books and the girl checked the names. They were ¡°The Properties and Usage of Four Hundred Medicine Herbs¡±, ¡°Recipes in Rhymes¡±, ¡°Learning Pulse¡±, and ¡°Golden Mirror of Medicine¡±. ¡°Thank you, Brother Lin! How much are they? I¡¯ll pay you back.¡± The girl was delighted. ¡°You don¡¯t have to. They weren¡¯t expensive at all.¡± Lin Junlong stopped her hastily, then said after some hesitation, ¡°Xiao He, you¡¯re still very young. Isn¡¯t it a little too early to read all these? The priests are teaching us meridians and acupuncture points. What we learn in sses is more than enough.¡± ¡°This won¡¯t affect my sses. I just want to have a look.¡± He He smiled and waved at him. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯m going back in. Thank you!¡± ¡°Oh, sure!¡± Lin Junlong watched the little figure running back into the dormitory and all of a sudden, he felt as if¡­ as if he was looking into the moon hanging high up in the sky. Of the twenty-three disciples of Taiqing, they were the only two from Bai Town. Three months were long enough for them to form little groups and recognize their enemies. As entric as Lin Junlong was, he still had a couple of friends. He He, however, was known to be the most unsociable one. She was always on her own and as her fellow-townsman, Lin Junlong was the only one that she would engage in a brief conversation. Chapter 281 Chapter 281: In the Heat of Summer (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°He He!¡± The atmosphere of the scripture hall was dominated by solemnity and reverence. Priest Huayang announced the first name, together with a briefment. ¡°She received the top grade in the monthly examst month, which makes her a natural candidate.¡± ¡°Thank you, Abbot!¡± The little girl bowed. The others admired her fortune with little surprise or discontentment. He He¡¯s outstanding performance was there for everyone to see and her being selected was long expected. ¡°Xu Ziying!¡± Huayang announced the second name. ¡°She came the second in the monthly exam and is qualified for the program.¡± ¡°Thank you, Abbot!¡± said Xu Ziying. ¡°Nie Zhaoyuan!¡± ¡°Bai Xiangting!¡± He then named two boys. The former was the third in the monthly exam and thetter was not among the top few in his exam grade, but performed exceptionally well on a daily basis, rendering him a usible selection. There was tension in the air after four names were announced. All the other little ones were hanging on to the sound of thest name, hoping against hope that it would be their own. However, when Huayang scanned the room with his eyes and spoke the name slowly, it was one that no one had anticipated. ¡°Lin Junlong!¡± ¡°Buzz!¡± Everyone began to talk at the same time. The precept of the scripture hall was ignored and voices erupted from every corner. Even Lin Junlong himself was taken by surprise. He did not have good grades, nor was his daily performance particrly good; he did not even have good people skills. Why on earth was he chosen? Frowning, Fangchengzi snapped, ¡°Silence!¡± His voice seemed to have gone through a giant bronze horn and shot out into the air before quickly spreading out. The kids felt their eardrums vibrating at the sound, which was rather ufortable. They raised their hands hastily to cover their ears and stopped talking. ¡°¡­¡± Huayang kept his face as still as the bottom of an ancient well andmented briefly as he did with the other four. ¡°Despite hisck of natural endowment, Li Junlong is the most arduous in his studies among all students. After a discussion with the rest of the priests, we decided he should be selected.¡± That was almost a passable exnation. The little ones did not know the meaning behind all this, but should someone more experienced be present, they could see through the reasoning at the first nce. He He was from a poor family and extraordinarily gifted; Xu Ziying had a government official background and was a talented student herself; both Nie Zhaoyuan and Bai Xiangting were from prominent businesses families with above average grades; Lin Junlong was the child of a poor family as well, and represented the disadvantaged lot making up theirck of talent with their diligence. Such arrangement managed to take all social sses into consideration, which would avoid inducing reverse psychology and give incentives for the poor kids to strive for higher goals. ¡°All twenty-four forests of ten directions will participate in this exchange program. Priest Fangchengzi and Priestess Qinghui will be your instructors and you will leave in the morning the day after tomorrow.¡± Huayang summoned the five pupils to his side and reminded them, ¡°After leaving Taiqing Pce, you will first arrive at Baiyun Temple of the capital city, from where you will set out for Qiyun Monastery in Tianzhu Mountain. The entire program will take around thirty days. 528 intern disciples have been recruited by the Taoistmunity in total this time, among whom some are talented, some not so much, some are kind, while others are of domineering characters. After the past three months or so, you are now more knowledgeable than when you arrived here. When all the young pupils are gathered together, it is inevitable that conflicts may ur. Keep in mind that you should avoid unnecessary confrontations, but make no concessions on matters of principle. However, under no circumstances should you initiate disturbance. Your sole purpose of this trip is to widen your horizons and learn!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± replied the five in unison. *** Tianzhu Mountain, Tianmen Town. Mid-June had just passed and the temperature was growing all the more frantic. Qian Zhou alone was suffering from temperatures of 40 and above for the past three days in a row. Over five million people were in agony. It was especially the case in the central downtown area, where the density of the poption was the highest, resulting in the highest temperature. A crowded bus ride was like being drowned in body fluids. Tianmen Town was no exception. But there was something unusual here: the town itself was as hot as everywhere else, but the closer to Tianzhu Mountain, the cooler the weather became. Never underestimate the strength of the masses, who found this secret in no time. Hence, ¡°hotdogs¡± from everywhere were gathering here every weekend for the cool air. Miraculously, the rows of farm stay vis along the mountain foot on the verge of closing down were showing signs of resurrection. ¡°Why, you¡¯re going out early?¡± ¡°I heard there¡¯s this agricultural park over there, thought I¡¯d have a look.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not far from the mountain. Quite nice and cool there. Enjoy!¡± In the courtyard of a farm stay vi, the female owner greeted a family of three before watching thetter driving off. The so-called agricultural park was a specially approved ntation of fruit and vegetables after the base was set up. It had been contracted to some local people, who were in charge of sending the products onto the mountain. Those were some clever folks. Seeing that so many people wereing, they quickly transformed the ntation into a fruit-picking theme park¡ªanyway, it was as close as anyone could get to the mountain. ¡°Oh my, this weather is simply ridiculous!¡± Wearing a sleeveless top, the chubby female owner sat under a big tree outside the yard, talking to herself. ¡°It¡¯s like 25 km apart but its 40 degrees here and 20 over there! That¡¯s so unfair!¡± Shaking her head, she appeared to be utterly baffled. Then, slouching back into her chair, she restedfortably with a teapot in her left hand and a fan in her right. ¡°Rumble!¡± ¡°Rumble!¡± She was still lying there when a loud noise woke her up. Sitting up, she saw a truck rumbling its way along the tarmac road, heading straight for the mountain. The female owner was taken by surprise. She then noticed a ck rectangr object loaded on the truck, which looked like a big box. In the passenger seat was a young man, who had a pale and sickly face. He darted a random look towards her direction and his eyes swept past her¡­ ¡®Jeez!¡¯ The female owner shuddered. A chilliness crept up along her spine and spread all over her body. She broke into a cold sweat. *** The monastery, outside a certain courtyard. Thirty-four priests gathered around and were talking absentmindedly in low voices while darting a look at the closed door every now and then. The only event in the monastery that could be given such importance was the breaking through into the innate state. Two men had seeded before and normally, this time should not have made them nervous like so, but it was not the same¡ªtwo priests were going into seclusion at the same time! One was called Sikong Chan and the other Zhang Wumeng; both were disciples of Quanzhen. They were both middle-aged men that had been cultivating diligently since childhood and had umted profound knowledge. They might not be a match for Lu Yuanqing, but were still among the top ten most able priests in the monastery. This double seclusion was unexpected, yet within reason. After two years of cultivation on this mountain and being imbued with the energy of the node every day, together with the help of the spiritual rice, even a toad would have jumped higher than before. They had lost count of time when Lu Yuanqing and Shi Yunlei suddenly looked delighted. They both sensed the energy change inside: they made it! ¡°Creak!¡± As expected, the wooden doors were pulled open and out came two middle-aged priests. Their demeanor waspletely changed. ¡°Congrattions, Senior Brother Sikong!¡± ¡°Congrattions, Senior Brother Zhang!¡± The crowd gathered around the two and offered their congrattions. Right after that, the priest on shift received the news and sounded the bell. The toll sounded for exactly twelve times. ¡°With two senior brothers rising into the innate state, our monastery is a tiger with wings. Congrattions!¡± Lu Yuanqing saluted solemnly. ¡°We¡¯re ttered. We will spare no effort to spread the prestige of Qiyun.¡± The two bowed back. Lu Yuanqing and the other four suffered their defeat at the beginning of the year and came back to the monastery wounded. Lu and Shi Yuai¡¯s authority did not suffer from the incident and their status remained solid, for everyone understood thatpetitions produced winners as well as losers and men of Qiyun were not that narrow-minded. The situation with Zhang Shouyang, Chao Kongtu, and Zhong Lingyu was a different story. They knew perfectly well that there was no hope of them winning and they were given a choice, but they had chosen to follow their original teaching and refused to switch to practice Neidan. Back when Qiyun was first started, men of Zhengyi and Quanzhen were ipatible like fire and water. Theyter gradually reconciled and were now having everything inmon¡ªthat was, apart from these three. Everyone else had taken up Neidan practice. Needless to say, they became the outcasts. Despite his title of house supervisor, Zhang Shouyang was no longer able to convince the others. When the three went up to offer their congrattions, Sikong Chan and Zhang Wumeng replied indifferently and there was noticeably ack of warmth in their voice. ¡°¡­¡± The three smiled wryly and backed away in silence. Seeing the other senior and junior brothers gathering around the two, the feeling of being outsiders overwhelmed them. It couldn¡¯t be helped. Most of the others could not understand their choice: you have lost your heritage! The great opportunity is upon us and the Taoistmunity needs capable men more than ever, why would you stubbornly hold on to your orthodox? What¡¯s wrong withmunicating with the others and helping each other out? Even their fellow priests of Zhengyi were exasperated at their failure to make the right choice. ¡°Senior Brothers, please take some good rest. Senior Brother Shi and I will visit youter.¡± Seeing those three were going to leave from the other side, Lu Yuanqing bid the two farewell and caught up with them. ¡°Senior Brother Zhang, please wait a minute!¡± He went up to them and in a mediating attempt, he switched the subject. ¡°I was going to ask you about the Flying Message Technique. How did it go?¡± ¡°Well, it was a talisman used by ancient cultivators tomunicate with one another. Despite its high grade, the requirement on one¡¯s cultivation level to use it is rather loose. My work with deconstructing the patterns has been fruitful and we will be able to refine the talisman ourselves in three days,¡± replied Zhang Shouyang. ¡°Senior Brother is the expert in talisman. You have my thanks for all your hard work.¡± Lu Yuanqing paused a little and only after seeing that the they were far enough from the crowd did he ask tactfully, ¡°Senior Brother, I noticed that since we were back from Changbai, you seemed to be out of spirits and preupied. Do you mind to talk to me about it?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The three fell silent. A long while passed when Zhang Shouyang halted abruptly and turned to Lu Yuanqing, ¡°Abbot, I am fully aware of myck of talent and I would now hand in my resignation. The position of house supervisor is better suited for those two Senior Brothers.¡± ¡°Why, you¡­¡± Lu Yuanqing did not see thating. He had never expected the man to be this resolute and tender his resignation outright. It was also putting Lu Yuanqing into a difficult position. Zhang Shouyang held a prestigious status because of his status of being the pupil of an abbot, but the man was indeed unfit for the job with everything that had happened. ¡°Abbot!¡± They were still talking when a priest ran towards them from the front yard. ¡°Abbot, Senior Brothers, we have visitors!¡± ¡°Have they announced who they are?¡± All four were surprised. ¡°Well, he did not say, but only asked for your presence.¡± ¡°Who did he look like?¡± ¡°He came alone. Oh, not alone. There are two of them. One is a young man and the other is wrapped in ck cloth from head to toe without showing the face.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Lu Yuanqing had a idea who that might be. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go have a look.¡± The four hurried to the front lobby and saw two people standing in the middle of the room. The one in the front was tall and lean, had delicate features, yet was surrounded by an eerie and creepy air, which severely hindered his good looks. ¡°I thought so. Nice to see you again, Priest Li!¡± Lu Yuanqing greeted the young man warmly. Li Suchun scanned him from head to toe and replied in a rigid tone, ¡°Hm, long time no see!¡± ¡°Please take a seat!¡± Lu Yuanqing gestured with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s been almost a year since west met in Emei. I see Priest Li is doing well as always. Haha, this fellow iron corpse is also as imposing as ever!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Youngster Li gave him a funny look, which was equivalent to a silent sarcasm. ¡®Where on earth did all your crape from!¡¯ He produced a official document and unfolded it. ¡°Here¡¯s the official approval. I¡¯m going to live here for a while.¡± Lu Yuanqing ignored the paper. ¡°You¡¯re wee here whenever youe. There¡¯s no need for such formalities. The monastery will open its door for you no matter what. However, if I may ask, what is the reason for your sudden visit?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Youngster Li darted him another look and gave his sinct answer, ¡°Stay away from the heat!¡± Chapter 282 Chapter 282: In the Heat of Summer (Part 3) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Stay away from the heat?¡± Lu Yuanqing felt the corner of his eye twitching. Being someone so used to concealing his real feelings, he found the thoughts of such upright and candid youngster very hard to follow. ¡°The summer heat is so overpoweringtely that the Yin and Yang energy of my previous burial site has gone haywire. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to stay here for a while,¡± Li Suchun exined why he was here, which was extremely rare for him, then added, ¡°If it is all right with you, I will now go find a ce where Yin energy converges. I won¡¯t make any trouble for you.¡± ¡°All our guests are wee. Priest Li, you can stay as long as you want. Since Senior Brother Wang Ruoxu is an acquaintance and a master in Fengshui, I will invite him over.¡± Right after that, Lu Yuanqing gave the instruction to a priest and before long, a rotund Wang Ruoxu strolled into the front lobby. After exchanging some pleasantries, Lu Yuanqing and the others left the two. Wang Ruoxu examined Fengshui of Tianzhu Mountain when the monastery was newly constructed. About 10 km to the northern slope of Zhu Ridge was a ce called White Crane Hillock, which was a perfect ce to raise a corpse. He knew the young man¡¯s temperament well. Without further ado, he led Li Suchun towards the ce. They went down the mountain and walked unhurriedly in that direction. Pleasant cool breeze blew gently through the trees, carrying with it a fragrance of bamboo and pine leaves. The powerful spiritual essence of the node seemed to have formed a protective film, stopping the heat wave outside. Every now and then, they would pass two or three priests ying chess orparing notes by exchanging friendly blows; their wide sleeves pped and billowed in the wind. Turning everywhere, they were met by verdant nts and flowers. The mountain felt like a blessed ce of the immortals. ¡± The portals of the rich reek of flesh and wine while frozen bodies lie by the roadside 1 .¡± As they walked on, Li Suchun blurted out those words all of a sudden. ¡°I never had much schooling, but right now, I think I can appreciate those sentences. Of course, I am in no position to judge, for I am among those who are getting the benefits.¡± ¡°Dude, what got into you when these past months? You¡¯re so sentimental,¡± remarked Fatso Wang in amazement. ¡°Throughout my journey down here from the North, I saw stretch upon stretch of farnds drying out and the farmers were suffering beyond description. I¡¯m just expressing my feeling on that.¡± Li Suchun paused a little and his next subject took a 180-degree turn. ¡°Speaking of which, staying on the mountain all this time is having, well, an effect on your body shape¡­ you¡¯re bing a fatter version of your old self.¡± ¡®I am what I ate. Did I steal from you kitchen to get that from you???¡¯ Had he had the ability, Wang Ruoxu would have been more than willing to hop up and smack the kid. He shouldn¡¯t me the young man, though. Fatso Wang was overweight before, but was within a reasonable range. Now, well, he had gone into an uncharted category. Shaking his head, he asked, ¡°Are you really here to stay away from the heat?¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not on some other mission?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Ok, great. In a couple of days, some intern disciples areing for a visit. They are all little kids, so you¡¯d better keep your iron corpse well hidden from sight. We don¡¯t want to scare them.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Li Suchun sneered at his words and could not be bothered to answer. Quickening their steps, they arrived at White Crane Hollick in no time. The dense Yin energy here was in its purest form. As soon as the iron corpse sensed it, it could not help but made a low, bestial growl. Youngster Li was also delighted. He was not an innate-state cultivator and operating an iron corpse was his limit. Long absence of the nourishment of Yin energy would drive the iron corpse into a frantic state, rendering it to turn on its master. ¡°I¡¯ll live here, don¡¯t trouble yourself toe and visit. Thanks!¡± ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll have someone to deliver the meals for you every day.¡± Wang Ruoxu cupped his hands and left promptly without asking where the young man was going to live. *** ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯ming¡­¡± ¡°Aaaah¡­¡± Inside a luxurious vi in Le Zhou, a man in his fifties groaned loudly and shuddered suddenly, then slumped onto the bed like a shrivelled balloon. Useless piece of sh*t! Brushing her long hair away from her face, Du Hong disdained the man silently. What she presented was some award-winning performance. Cheeks flushed and eyes watery, she was curled up between the man¡¯s arms like a satisfied and loving kitten, saying softly, ¡°Howe you¡¯re getting better every day? I almost can¡¯t take it.¡± ¡°Hahaha, satisfied today?¡± The man was exhausted, his raspy voice making a hoarseughter. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that I have been taking a medicely? It¡¯s a new product by the factory. On my, it is indeed that awesome!¡± ¡°I see, you¡¯re taking the medicine to do naughty things to me!¡± Raising her head swiftly, Du Hong put on a face that was a perfect mixture of enchantment and innocence. ¡°You people are not taking your job seriously. All you did it making this stuff.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not what you think. This is not some aphrodisiac, but a proper tonic especially suitable for my age.¡± The man had the dialect of the capital city. Shifting his body with much difficulty, he said, ¡°It nourishes the spirit and Qi and can prolong life and improve health. I have only just finished one course and the effect is already so obvious. I think it¡¯s time to release it onto the market.¡± He trusted the woman very much. Or, should we say, he had not realized he had been snared by what was between her legs, so much so that he would let such confidential information casually slip out. ¡°¡­¡± Blinking, Du Hong gave him a smile. ¡°Hey, I want to talk to you about something. I have this ready cash in my bank ount and want to start a business. Wanna give me some advice?¡± ¡°Oh my, a strong woman, aren¡¯t you? What do you have in mind?¡± the man teased her. ¡°Drug market is doing pretty well these days and I¡¯m thinking about starting a small business. Not making medicine, just selling.¡± ¡°A pharmacy, then! It¡¯ll work. We¡¯re having a big shortage in pharmaceutical retailers. Opening a new one is absolutely fine. Do you want to have one of your own or join a franchise?¡± asked the man. ¡°Um, I have no idea. Open my own, I guess. I can always, well, expand it if business is good,¡± said Du Hong anxiously. ¡°That¡¯ll do as well. I still have a quota left. It¡¯s yours.¡± ¡°What quota?¡± She did not understand. ¡°You¡¯ll see. It¡¯s good stuff!¡± The man chuckled. Two hourster. Coming out of the vi, Du Hong was instantly enshrouded by waves of heat. Even with her initial sess in establishing her inner energy, the heat was still a little too overwhelming. This goddamn weather! Trotting on her high heels, she quickly got to her sports car, where she opened the door and hopped in, then stepped on the gas and dashed off. Her previous lover was Tang Yu, a high-ranking official of Le Zhou government, who had been given the ¡°I forgive you¡± hat by his wife by now. The newest candidate was called Hu Yang, an official assigned here from the capital city, who specialized in coordinating the sales of medicine. Those above were very strict in the division of responsibilities of Emei Pharmaceuticals. The factory only manufactured, leaving the sales to someone else. Exactly to whom? Some dignitary family, obviously. With a poption of close to two billion, the pharmaceutical business was unfathomably lucrative. It would be inappropriate for those taking the job to scrape away every bit of profit and they found it necessary to spare some leftovers. Hence, after the majority of the profit was taken, the so-called quota was invented. Only those with a quota could sell the products of Emei Pharmaceuticals. Du Hong had found all those out beforehand and was only carrying out her usual ruse. She was a natural now. After learning the energy-sucking method, she took to life around men like a duck to water. Be it the business circle, the political, or the military one, she went, she slept, she conquered. Half of the men in Le Zhou had probably been there. It was not that those men were unaware of her past, they simply could notpete with her skill. As long as they could get that final release, they would do anything! She was a clever woman. Despite the Qi-nourishing method provided by Lu Yuanqing, her gender and status meant she had to open a new path for what she wanted. She even went as far as finding a few sisters, whom she taught herself, so that they could expand the client list. It was clear from the beginning that she was using the strategy of directing the men from under sheets and behind closed bedroom doors. All she wanted was to climb up high, and higher! When she reached that position, all the resources would be there at her disposal. *** The city of Sanping, Da¡¯an Vige. Sanping was the poorest city of W Province and Da¡¯an the poorest of Sanping. Someone visiting here first time on a vehicle would mistake it for some WWII film scene after their first glimpse of the houses on either side of the road. Zhang Jingui was born and raised in the vige and his family had been farmers for the past few generations. He was no exception. He was very proud of himself, though, for in spite of his meager education, he had raised a son who had sessfully finished his master degree. The young man had found a job and was going to buy his own house in Xidu. He called the other day, trying to ask for a little financial aid from his old man. The old man almost had a heart attack when he heard the figure. Had it been one of the previous years, he would probably have been able toe up with the money by selling everything he had, but the droughtst year had reduced the yield of his hundred-mu farnd. Even with the government subsidy, he still suffered a great loss financially. This year was worse. There was not a single drop of rain so far. The agricultural irrigation of Sanping depended mainly on the traditional surface irrigation, which was to submerge the soil with water by drawing from surface and underground water. It was both inefficient and wasteful, but there was nothing they could do about it. They didn¡¯t have the money! The water-saving irrigation project was on the to-do list for the past few years, but nothing had happened. The vige used to depend on a nearby small river whose water level had droppedst year andpletely dried up this year. The riverbed was so cracked it looked like dried steam buns. What was worse, because of the exhaustive exploitation of the underground water, that water level was dropping as well. The pump would be rumbling for half a day and the watering up was still not enough to cover the few mu of hisnd. The experts had been sent down here several times. They swiftly drilled some new wells, dredged and cleared the old ones, then dispatched over a dozen water wagons. The experts had informed them that if rain still would note, their only option was to release water from the upstream reservoir. The series of measures had indeed eased the drought noticeably. However, it did not ease Zhang Jingui¡¯s mind, for a major reduction in the yield was certain this year. Half a year of hard work only result in a loss of money. And there was his son¡¯s house. He was told that without it, the girlfriend would not marry him. It was killing him! ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Shirtless, he squatted down in a shed puffing at his hand-made crude cigarette; his ribs protruded from his dry skin. The thick branches and leaves only offered the minimal shade from the sun. His sparse hair was already soaking wet with sweat and stuck to his scalp. It seemed forever before he finally rose to his feet. Taking another look at hisckluster rice paddy, he was ready to leave the shed. Either because he had squatted there for too long or the weather was too hot, the old man only made a few steps when everything went ck. He swayed a little and fell forward to the ground with a thump. Thest idea going through his head before he passed out was: sh*t, the sun will kill me in this heat! *** ¡°Mhm¡­¡± It was a whileter when Zhang Jingui moaned. Only half conscious, he felt a coolness running down this throat, which gradually brought his sense back and he slowly opened his eyes. ¡°Whoosh!¡± With a strength he did not know he had, he bolted up into a sitting position, then squirmed backwards supported by his hands. For in front of him was a snowy white fox! It was about 30 cm in length and had fur so white that it almost looked transparent. Its eyes were not the nonchnt yellowish brown, but were round, bright, and ck, which were shining with spirituality. The fox neither ran nor cried, but only put the bamboo tube in its mouth on the ground, then tilted its head and watched him. ¡°Were you, were you¡­ feeding me water?¡± Checking the bamboo tube, Zhang Jingui saw that there were still some water left. Instantly, his fear was overtaken by surprise. The next second, however, the surprise grew exponentially¡ªthe white fox nodded. ¡®Jeez!¡¯ In all his days, Zhang Jingui had never heard of such strange things. His head spinning, he was trying to make sense of what was happening. There was a fox farm here in Da¡¯an vige, so the animal was no stranger to him. Those foxes had gloomy eyes and were sensitive and easily irritated. One of them even scratched his hand once. But this one¡­ He shivered all of a suddenly as an idea came unstoppably into his head: could it be a spiritual fox? No, not that. Could it be a fox fairy? Thanks to the hundreds of years of cultural background of the Northeast, the old man grew nervous and excited. He gingerly moved closer, but the white fox shook its head, then raise its right front paw and waved, as if bidding him farewell. There was then a sh. All Zhang Jingui saw was a blurred shadow and the white fox was gone. ¡°T-thank you for saving my life, fox fairy!¡± He was only 30% sure before, which had now increased to 50%. Mumbling some words to himself, the old man stood there dazed for a while before heading back home. His demeanor had somehow changed, as if there was some more hope in him now. ¡°Teehee¡­ that was easy!¡± In the woods not far from the spot, a woman dressed in white leaning against a tree covered her mouth and chuckled. It was none other than Yu Lanzhu herself. Chapter 283 Chapter 283: Was it fate? (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Tianzhu Mountain. The monastery had been expanding since its construction. Zhu Ridge had an altitude of 518 m and Lu Yuanqing¡¯s vision was to divide it into three sections in the future. The topmost section was to be a new temple revamped from the original buildings, which would have enough rooms for over a hundred residents and also be where the thirty-six priests of Qiyun lived. This section was alreadypleted. Dozens of houses and cottages were to be built halfway up the mountain, together with a sizable round square, all still under construction. At the foot of the mountain, two stretches of buildings would be built next to the memorial archway both inside and outside, which would total up to over a hundred houses and also under construction. The n was straightforward. 528 intern disciples were recruited as the very first batch, which would be trained in the forests of ten directions for three years before being dispatched to various offspring temples all over the country, where they would be trained for another three years. The outstanding pupils would then be chosen by the monastery. The second batch was nned to start recruiting the year after the next with an expanded enrollment. The program would continue like so, increasing the base number of cultivators. As the sole orthodox Taoist establishment certified by the authorities, the monastery would then receive homage from thousands of temples and have more pupils than they could count. Lu Yuanqing was an incredibly provident man who wanted nothing but the prosperity of the Taoistmunity. That was the main reason the priests believed in his leadership. One day, a few coaches arrived at the grand za outside the front gate of Tianzhu mountain. The doors opened and hundreds of little priests filed out. They were between the ages of six and sixteen, dressed in Taoist robes, had their hair in Taoist buns, and wore shoes of ten directions. Despite their great number, there was no yelling or shouting. Forming into teams, they followed their own leading adult priests and went up the mountain. He He walked after Xu Ziying and looked around curiously. All around, a thousand cliffs were contending for beauty and ten thousand slopes raced with running streams. The sky joined the glossy blue stone walls of the mountains; the pine trees swayed like folding screens at the mountain breeze. The grand panorama was unlike anything one would expect from this mortal world. ¡°I have traveled here before with mum and dad. It was quite messy with a lot of peddlers. It is nice and quiet now, with the mountain closed for tourists. It almost feels empty.¡± Holding He He¡¯s little hand, Xu Ziying struck up a conversation. Every now and then, she would point at some direction, telling He He about various scenic spots. Despite the bitchy side of her, the little elder sister was very sensible. As much as she enjoyed an internal strife, once out here, they represented the entire Taiqing Pce. Plus, they were the only two girls of their team and should look out for one another. He He was still an innocent child and never had apetitive nature to begin with. As a result, the two girls had be much closer. Five pupils were selected from each of the twenty-four forests of ten directions, making them 120 pupils in total. They first visited Baiyun Temple in the capital city, where Li Qingzhi, the leading figure of the Taoistmunity, gave them a speech himself, encouraging all the young pupils, who also took the opportunity to make acquaintance with many talented people. All were with an outstanding personality, equally exceptional in their natural endowment and disposition with He He. One¡¯s mind and taste improved with their experience. Inside their local temples, all pupils felt they were God¡¯s favored one. Once outside, however, they began to perceive the vastness of the country, not to mention the whole wide world out there. After a fortnight, the littlecency they had and the superiority feeling they held from themon folk were long dispelled. The procession marched for about an hour when they reached the foot of the Zhu Ridge. They were slightly disappointed, for it was nothing but a big construction site. However, as they climbed on, the disappointment turned into amazement halfway up the ridge. A round squarey across the full width of the mountain. Bluestone bs paved the ground neatly without any visible gaps between them. The ground surface was as smooth as a blue mirror. The square was big enough to hold a thousand people. The color deepened in the center, where a pair of Yin Yang fish was embedded. Rallings ran around the square and on both sides were houses and cottages still under construction, which did not stop one from imagining their grandness once finished. ¡°¡­¡± They lined up in the square and waited, holding their breath in silence. Before long, the toll of a bell rang out up the mountain. ¡°Dang!¡± ¡°Dang!¡± ¡°Dang!¡± The sonorous sounds reminded them of a mountain breeze knocking on the bell, which resonated across the mountains. Then, a priest walked gracefully down the stone staircase. After that came the second, the third¡­ all thirty-five of them moved at a brisk pace with their loose robes swaying in the wind, reminding one of banished immortals descending from heaven. Lu Yuanqing was thest one, as he walked out slowly on his own. He had no intention of showing off, but to the audience, he was the most imposing one. Watching him moving closer, the children felt each step was a thump on their chest. It was only when he finally stood still that the pressure was eased. ¡°¡­¡± A hush fell over the square. Without realizing it, everyone was watching the scene with more reverence. ¡°I am Lu Yuanqing, the abbot of Qiyun. It was by fate and heaven¡¯s blessing that you became members of the Taoistmunity. Be sure to devote yourselves to the training and studying of the profound Taoist knowledge. In six years, you will be able to join the monastery and be a pupil of the masters here¡­¡± On his left was Shi Yui and Zhang Shouyang, while Sikong Chan and Zhang Wumeng stood on the right. Zhang Shouyang had lost his position of the house supervisor, reced by Shi Yui. The other two innate state men were promoted ordingly and be high-ranking officials of the monastery. They were perfectly clear of the government¡¯s purpose: to show their muscle to the next generation as a psychological incentive. They were happy to oblige¡ªeverything was to ensure a bright future for the Taoistmunity. Lu Yuanqing¡¯s instruction was brief. The priests did not linger and left promptly after the speech. That was so deliberate, but the kids bought it all! Everyone strained their necks following the long stone stairs reaching all the way into the clouds. The show had infatuated them all, nting in their heads something to yearn for. ¡°That was awesome. I must join the monastery in the future!¡± ¡°Priest Lu is so cool! I want to be his pupil!¡± ¡°So do I!¡± ¡°Me too!¡± The adult priests leading the teams did not stop the hubbub. Instead, the envious look on their faces was apparent¡ªthey themselves did not get chosen by the monastery because of theirck of capability. The excitement of the kids was interrupted after a while when they were led to the half-finished lodgings. Despite the shabby aodation, no oneined. *** ¡°Mhm¡­¡± He He¡¯s eyes shot open as a dream woke her up. Shey there dazed for a moment and felt something cool at the corner of her eyes. Wiping it away immediately, she rolled out of bed as if nothing had happened. Eight girls shared the bedroom, including Xu Ziying and some other senior and junior sisters who were still sound asleep. The little girl hesitated for a moment and eventually decided not to wake them up. She finished washing up, changed her clothes, and went quietly outside. The sun had not fully risen and the light was still dim in the mountain. She followed the familiar track to a grove, where two teenage boys were already refining their Qi in meditation. One was called Lu Guimeng, who was from the Celestial Master Cave of Qingcheng Mountain, a branch of Zhengyi, while the other was called Lu Qian, a pupil of Louguan Tower of Chang¡¯an, a branch of Quanzhen. Louguan Tower was the birthce of the Way of Louguan that had a famous first patriarch Yin Xi. This sect had been following its own path, but after the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, few masters and theories were produced by the sect and it gradually waned. Li Zhirou, its leader at the time, made the resolute decision to join Quanzhen and became Qiu Chuji¡¯s pupil. Hence, from Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties until present, the Way of Louguan had been following the teachings of Quanzhen. Both teenagers were incredibly talented and more diligent than ordinary pupils. He He would often run into them during her training here. The three were sort of nodding acquaintances. She found a spot for herself, sat down with her short little legs crossed, and began to circte her energy around her little internal universe perfectly as taught. The basic Qi-nourishing method did not have much power, but mainly focused on strengthening the physical body, building up a feeling for the energy, as well as expanding one¡¯s potential. It was a long while before she finished the practice, after which she practiced two rounds of the physical training fist movements. When thest dimness was gone, the bell of the morning ss rang out. The three kids then ran hurriedly back to the monastery. The schedule here was the same as Taiqing Pce, only that the lecturers had be the masters of the monastery. The content of elementary education was vital for children. The textbooks and the contents of the sses had gone through multiple corrections, so as to present the new world in anguage as in andprehensible as possible. In this world, there were immortals, Taoist skills, cults¡­ what happened in Huo Zhou was an abnormality, Tianzhu Mountain was a node, and the extremely hot weather was caused by the spiritual essence, etc. Of course, those above had made sure that only the proper concepts were introduced to prevent the ignorant kids from asking questions such as, ¡°Priest, who is the toughest cultivator now?¡± Or, ¡°Priest, Phoenix Mountain is also a node, why can¡¯t we go there?¡± Or, ¡°Priest, is Neidan the most invincible method in the world?¡± Well, and so on and so forth. The textbooks avoided such areas cleverly and only mentioned them briefly. He He could not wait to go out after the morning sses were over. Xu Ziying caught sight of her and called out, ¡°Xiao He, are you going to that Uncle Zombie again?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°That man is so scary. Why do you like to be with him?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t scare me. He¡¯s a nice man.¡± The little girl ran happily down the mountain, hopped on a free electrical shuttle cart for monastery personnel only, and headed right for White Crane Hollick. Chapter 284 Chapter 284: Was it fate? (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu A couple of days ago, a bunch of intern disciples went to visit the scientific research base and passed White Crane Hollick on their way back. What happened was like this¡­ Li Suchun had built himself a shed and was refining the corpse at the time. Good God. The iron corpse had its mask off and with its pale face, sharp fangs, and the ferocious demeanor, the kids went all screaming and jumping around like sacred chickens. He He was the only exception, who seemed to have formed a great interest in the young man and would often pop in for a visit. Despite the delight he felt inside, Li Suchun would not let it show. He had always been living alone and now that a loli fell on his doorstep, he habitually changed into his haughty attitude. ¡°Why are you here again?¡± he asked coldly. ¡°The sses are over and I just slipped away.¡± He He found her way to the shed, acting like a familiar friend, and looked around. ¡°Where is your iron corpse?¡± ¡°It¡¯s sleeping.¡± ¡°Do zombies sleep as well?¡± ¡°We are active in daytime and sleep at night. They sleep during the day and get up at night. It¡¯s the some thing.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Dangling her short little legs, He He seemed not minding his smell at all. She suddenly asked, ¡°Brother Chun, can Corpse-refining Technique bring back the dead?¡± ¡°No. All we can control is a dead body.¡± Li Suchun paused a little and added, ¡°But if a corpse can be refined into the silver or golden grade, they will then have self-awareness. Maybe the memories of when they were alive can be brought back.¡± ¡°What if the person is cremated?¡± Cremated? Frowning, Li Suchun said, ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing I can do. Maybe the cultivators with expertize in spirits and souls know something about that.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He He nodded and went quiet for a while before asking, ¡°In that case, do you think ghosts exist?¡± ¡°I have never seen one, but I believe there are ghosts!¡± Li Suchun sounded very certain. ¡°Yes, so do I!¡± She was even more certain. He had a dead master and she a dead grandfather. Both were orphans who had lost the closest person in the world. Probably because of this connection, the two formed a natural bound. The little girl stayed on and even had her lunch there. Seeing that it was almost one o¡¯clock, she waved her goodbye. ¡°Brother Chun, I need to go back to my ss. I¡¯lle to see you tomorrow.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Without realizing it, Li Suchun raised his hand and was going to wave back. He immediately straightened his face and smacked down his left hand with his right, then replied indifferently, ¡°Mhm!¡± ¡°Teehee!¡± Covering her mouth to conceal a grin, the little girl ran to the shuttle cart. Halfway there, she halted abruptly and looked into a direction suspiciously. To the left of the road above a low mound, a streak of ck smoke seemed to be rising. ¡®Hm?¡¯ She rubbed her eyes and looked at it again. Nothing strange happened this time. ¡°Uncle Driver, please wait a moment!¡± she called out to the driver and summoned up her courage to approach the spot in little strides. Once there, she realized it was an ancient well. She could not tell how long it had been there, only that it was extremely timeworn. The outer wall of the well was built by stones and about a meter in diameter. The interior was overgrown with thorns and grass. There was still water inside, but she could not tell how deep it was. Probably because of the shade and dimness, the water seemed to be of a light inky color. ¡°¡­¡± Pursing her lips, He He tried to recall what the priest had told them. The name White Crane Hollick was mentioned, but what, what was it about? ¡®Oh!¡¯ She smacked her head and remembered. In the first year of the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang, there came a priest. No one knew where he came from nor what his name was. Because he often travelled on the back of a white crane, he was given the honorable title of Priest White Crane. One day, he arrived at Tianzhu Mountain. Impressed by the majestic look of the mountain and the curling clouds, he wanted to build his lodging and cultivate here. However, an eminent monk by the name of Baozhi was also attracted here by the fame of the mountain and wanted to take up the mountain to build Buddhist temples. The two disputed over the issue and reported to the throne for a decision. Hence, Emperor Wu ordered them topete with their skills. Priest White Crane: I will use the white crane as my representative. My Taoist pce will be constructed at the spot the birdnds. Baozhi: I will set the boundary with my staff. The spot the staff hit the ground will be where I build my temple. Each then did what they could and the priest obtained the east side of the mountain, where he built the White Crane Pce, while Baozhi got the west side, where he built the Valley Temple. Legend had it that the day when the White Crane Pce waspleted, Emperor Wu himself arrived at the temple to offer his congrattions. To show his gratitude towards the imperial favor, the priest drew a dragon on the east side and a phoenix on the west of the tall wall in the great hall. He then took the de himself to remove the liver of the dragon and the galldder of the phoenix, making them into a dish that went with the liquor. Later, he drilled a well in front of the pce and called it White Crane Spring. Its depth remained unknown and it would neither dry up from sustaining droughts nor fill up from lonsting rain. The well remained where it was until this day. The government sent experts to examine it when Tianzhu Mountain was developed, but found nothing unusual. But why now¡­ He He swallowed andy prone by the edge of the well. As soon as she moved closer, a sinister cold wind swept at her little face, making her shudder. She drew back right away, then found a stone and threw it into the water. ¡°¡­¡± The stone fell down without making any sound. The surface of the water felt more like a strange film, which the stone went through and seemed to have fallen into a bottomless pit. She was an intelligent girl. Jumping to her feet, she ran back first, yelling, ¡°Brother Chun, there¡¯s something wrong with that well, please guard it!¡± She then ran forward and hopped onto the cart. ¡°Uncle, back to the mountain, please! Quickly!¡± *** Sanping, a secret chamber. Slouching on a low bed, Yu Lanzhu wore nothing but a half see-through white veil, her perfect body only partially hidden by it. She looked like a wrapped candy, emanating waves upon waves of refreshing yet cloying scent. Standing in front of her were four able-bodied men, but all had their heads lowered, daring not even to peek once. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Supporting her cheek with a hand, Yu Lanzhu suddenly exhaled a mouthful of white mist, which drifted slowly in the air and separated into four streaks, each wrapping around one of the four men. As frightened as they were, the four did not dare to even move a finger and stood as tamed asmbs to the ughter. All they were capable of was to watch the white mist circling around them. With every circle the mist turned, their face lost some color and their spirits sagged. About twenty seconds passed when Yu Lanzhu inhaled lightly, at which the four streaks fused into one again and went back into her mouth. ¡°Thank you, Archmage!¡± ¡°Thank you, Archmage!¡± The four felt as if they had just escaped death and knelt down with gratitude. ¡°Teehee, it¡¯s the first time for you all. Did you really think I was going to eat you?¡± With her energy refilled, Yu Lanzhu was satiated. She chuckled. ¡°Once a member of the divine sect, you¡¯re all family. Plenty of benefits are waiting for you. Now, go to Nn and get your rewards.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The shaken four retreated. ¡°Mhm¡­¡± As soon as the door to the secret chamber was closed, Yu Lanzhu suddenly let out an indolent moan and rolled around on the bed. Her cheeks looked fresher than the spring flowers and her face radiated. A satisfaction was oozing out of every cell of hers. She couldn¡¯t help it, for that was the way she was whenever she finished feeding. The cultivation method of the northeast Shamanism was rather unique. One had to practice with the spirit of a beast first. Once fused with the spirit of a beast, one would refine themselves. To refine one¡¯s own self, one had to absorb the power of faith to gradually strengthen the mind. It was said that once the perfection was reached, one could be immortal. Without the power of faith, one had to make do by sucking the energy of living people, or the beast spirit would go mad and turn on its master. The four branches each had its own heritage and the one the Northeast followed was a rtively orthodox one. Based on the thousand-year practice of their ancestors, foxes, snakes, hedgehogs, weasels, and rats were five animals most easy to fuse with. You heard it right! They were none other than the so-called ¡°home-protecting fairies¡±! This practice followed a rather peculiar path. In the early phases, it was a rather unorthodox practice, but after gathering enough followers and setting up a shrine of one¡¯s own, it transformed into an orthodox thing. One had to help the people to umte enough merit to atone for their sins, or they would be punished by thunder tribtions. The previous archmage dropped dead because something went wrong during the fusing with the beast spirit. Extremely talented, Yu Lanzhu also had a matching ambition. She risked her life with the same process and seeded, which was why she became the archmage. ¡°Creak!¡± While Yu Lanzhu was getting lost in the deep end, the door was suddenly pushed open and in came a woman with a cold face. She was Nn, her good friend for many years and now her right hand and confidant. ¡°All gone?¡± ¡°All gone.¡± ¡°Gosh, poor me! I have to entrust my life to someone like them! Only if you were here to see¡ªit¡¯s a waste of my spit just to talk to them.¡± She was all pettish and yed the spoiled child, during which time Nn kept her poker face. ¡°The government¡¯s striking out earlier has destroyed quite a few business big shots. It hit us hard and we¡¯ve lost quite some funding since. They were only small ns, but to us, they were the solution to our urgent needs.¡± ¡°I know, I know, you don¡¯t have to go all serious with me¡­ Sigh, it alles down to the fact that they are a bunch of good-for-nothings. If only they could all be as capable as you!¡± Reaching out with her tapering finger, she stroked Nn¡¯s cheek gently. ¡°Those dumb*sses of the Northwest had iting. Monan and Mobei are the smarter ones. They hid their strength and moved everything underground. That¡¯s more like a permanent solution. With the great drought all over the country, it¡¯s a good opportunity for us to gather strength. Pass down my orders: mages should develop followers following my example. Remember, keep it quiet! That stupid Wanyan made such a scenest time that the government is now putting the Northeast under special surveince. They mustn¡¯t blow it.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Nn nodded, than asked, ¡°What about Liaodong?¡± ¡°They can go to Liaodong, but leave Shengtian in peace. We can¡¯t afford to mess with those two.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± *** Da¡¯an Vige, early morning. Zhang Jintong left home early and arrived at his farnd. The sun had yet to rise but the heat was already rolling in the air. He entered the shed and seeing that no one was around, he took out some candles and fruit, theny them neatly on the ground. He knelt down and murmured, ¡°Lord Fox Fairy, please hear me out! If it was really you that saved me yesterday, pleasee out¡­ I, I really don¡¯t know what to do. If it goes on like this, I have no choice but kill myself. If you can help me out this time, I will do everything to repay you, even as your cattle in the next life!¡± After that, he kowtowed three times, his forehead banging the ground loudly. He did not rise to his feet right away, but pricked up his ears and listened, hoping for a miracle. Five minutes passed and all was as silent as before. Zhang Jingui was dazed for a moment before smiled bitterly. ¡°Sigh, I¡¯m really an old fool now. There can¡¯t be¡ª¡± ¡°Whoop¡­¡± He stopped talking right away. ¡°Yowl¡­¡± He heard it right! There was a strange sound somewhere between the shriek of a woman and the wailing of a baby. Zhang Jingui stumbled to his feet and scrambled out of the shed. The white fox had indeed showed up again with something at its feet. ¡°Lord, Lord Fox Fairy?¡± he stuttered with excitement. ¡°¡­¡± The white fox made no sound, but only lowered its head and nudged the thing forward. ¡°Is, is it for me?¡± Picking it up gingerly, Zhang Jingui realized it was a verdant jade bracelet. He knew nothing about the quality of jade, but this one was cool to the touch and translucent in color. It had to be of top quality. The old man clutched the bracelet so tight and blood veins on his hand were bulging. He then fell to his knees. ¡°This is a miracle of the Fox Fairy! Thank you, Lord Fox Fairy!¡± Tears ran down his old face and he almost lost control of himself. Just then, a majestic, deep, and androgynous voice rang out in his head. ¡°Do not mention it to anyone. Now, go!¡± ¡®!!!¡¯ Zhang Jingui looked up abruptly, the tears on his cheeks not yet dry. But he saw no one. The white fox was gone. Chapter 285 Chapter 285: The Dawn of Taoism Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu White Crane Hollick. The four innate state priests, He He, Lin Junlong, Zhang Shouyang, and some others gathered at the top of the mound, their eyes all fixed on the ancient well. Lu Yuanqing kept a solemn look on his face¡ªbeing the one with the highest cultivation level, he sensed it the most acutely. Spilling out of the well was unmistakably a dense and pure Yin energy, which would even materialize every now and then, rising up in thin streaks of ck smoke¡ªexactly what He He saw earlier. ¡°Priest Li, you have been living here for over a week, hasn¡¯t anything struck you as unusual?¡± asked Sikong Chan all of a suddenly, implicitly using Li Suchun of holding back information. Li Suchun would have none of that and retorted right away, ¡°I was refining my corpse in the shed the entire time. Why on earth would I climb all the way up here?¡± ¡°Your iron corpse feeds on Yin energy, which is so dense in this well. Even if you sensed nothing, I don¡¯t believe that the corpse would not react to it.¡± Sikong Chan would not let the subject drop. ¡°You must be so capable with your innate state and all, but even you could not sense something like this a mere 10 km away, what do you expect my mute zombie could do?¡± Youngster Li was not only a ¡°tsundere¡±, but also an expert in tongueshing, only that he did not get much use of it for the past few years with his isted lifestyle. ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Lu Yuanqing interrupted. ¡°The well probably did not act out until the past few days and it is perfectly normal for Priest Li not to notice it. Our top priority now is to go down there and examine it.¡± ¡°The mound is said to be the site of White Crane Pce. There are no supporting records to confirm that this ancient well is the White Crane Spring, but the age is right. It was built during the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang. With what is going on, I think we can reach a conclusion now,¡± said Shi Yui. ¡°Priest White Crane would never have chosen a ce where Yin energy converged to build his temple. I think this change is new¡ªbrought by the recovery of the spiritual essence. I¡¯m afraid there might be evil objects down there,¡± said Zhang Shouyang. ¡°Abbot, shall I notify the base?¡± asked Old Priest Mo. ¡°Not yet. They wouldn¡¯t be able to go in even if they were here.¡± Lu Yuanqing had obviously made his own ns. He took in the surroundings and said, ¡°He He, you will be rewarded for this valuable discovery, but it is too dangerous for you to stay here, so I¡¯d like you to return to the mountain now.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± replied He He. ¡°Senior Brother Sikong, Senior Brother Zhang, Priest Li, if you would please wait up here. Senior Brother Shi, do you minding down with me?¡± said Lu Yuanqing. ¡°That was what I thought.¡± Shi Yui smiled. Of the four innate state priests, Sikong Chan and Zhang Wumeng were newly promoted and their temperaments had yet to reach a reliable state. Shi Yui was not only a remarkable cultivator, but was also calm and prudent, rendering him ideal for secret expedition like this. Momentarily, most of the team stayed up on the mound, while those two made some preparation and grabbed their refined instruments. Lu Yuanqing led the charge. ¡°I¡¯ll go first!¡± With that, he flipped his whisk and jumped into the well. ¡°¡­¡± The other men watched, waiting for that plop of him hitting the water. However, not a sound came out, despite the fact that an adult man had jumped in. The light inky water was like a gaping mouth swallowing him whole. Down in the well, Lu Yuanqing did not feel the wetness of the water, either. Instead, he was impeded by a strangeyer of air. Activating his spiritual essence right away and wrapping it around himself, he broke through the barrier and fell right down. Instantly, he felt the pull of the gravity and all light was gone. He was now surrounded by a pitch-ck darkness. Fortunately, he was able to see in the dark and could make out a solid ground below. He immediately slowed down the falling speed with his inner energy andnded lightly on the bottom. ¡°This is¡­¡± Looking around, Lu Yuanqing saw a concealed space. The wall and the ground were built with some unknown substance, which had a smooth and firm texture. Up ahead, he could faintly make out a passageway. The visibility was no more than five meters and beyond that, all was covered by the darkness. Looking up, the view was even more remarkable. Water rippled above his head, reflecting the faint sunlight, as if someone had really just jumped into the well, disturbing the still water. ¡°That priest indeed had divine skills. All this miraculous scene probably took him no more than a wave of the hand.¡± Lu Yuanqing sighed with emotions. He was about to call out to those above when the water was disturbed again and a man jumped down. It was none other than Shi Yui himself. Seeing that Lu Yuanqing was all right, he was relieved. ¡°Have you found anything?¡± ¡°This ce was probably built by Priest White Crane, who then concealed it with some secret skill, and it did not reappear until this day.¡± With his whisk in one hand, Lu Yuanqing switched on a shlight in his other hand. However, the light only reached a couple of meters before it was devoured by the darkness. He shook his head and put away the shlight. ¡°The Yin energy is extremely dense here. Be careful!¡± With that, the two activated their spiritual essence to fend off the Yin energy while sending out their mental force to explore the space ahead. Slowly, they proceeded forward. It was quite a sizable ce. The passageway was very long and their field of vision was too small. They walked a long while and still did not finish passing. Shi Yui held a sword in his right hand and kept his left hand pressing lightly against the pouch at his waist, where a couple of yellow talismans were kept. He made a remark in passing, ¡°I wonder what became of that priest? With his ability to turn the paintings alive, it would be such a pity that he did not be immortal.¡± ¡°Countless masters before us had trodden that path and in the end, it might alle to fate itself, rather than¡ª watch out!¡± Lu Yuanqing shouted abruptly, for he saw with his mental force that two lumps of dark shadows werencing at them at a tremendous speed. In half a heartbeat, the shadows appeared into sight and he could vividly sense a strange cold Yin energy, which seemed to be trying to take possession of their bodies. ¡°How dare you!¡± Flipping his wide sleeve, he produced a powerful streak of air. The shadow was apparently rather weak, for it dissipated instantly with the strike, leaving behind a shrilling wail. ¡°What was that unnatural thing?¡± Shi Yui took out the other one and wondered, ¡°It was formed by the purest Yin energy with little intelligence and was shapeless¡­¡± His words hung in mid-air before he asked with surprise, ¡°Could it be a ghostly being?¡± ¡°Very likely. Nothing would surprise me now.¡± Lu Yuanqing remained expressionless and only kept walking. The two kept pushing forward and were met with even more of those strange beings, which were showing up more and more frequently. They had littlebat ability but would not stop bothering them, which was to their great annoyance. It took them forever to finally clear their path. Finally, Lu Yuanqing stopped at a pitch-ck gate made by yet another unknown material. The marks left by the past thousand years were evident. ¡°¡­¡± The two exchanged a look, then each held one side and pushed with all their effort. ¡°Open!¡± ¡°Rumble!¡± With a heavy noise reminding one of muffled thunder, the great gate slowly opened. Just then, however, a lump of dark shadow several times denser than the previous ones whooshed out and pounced towards the right side. Taken by surprise, Shi Yui was instantly wrapped inside it. His body then turned rigid and his energy went into a rampage. ¡°Senior Brother!¡± Lu Yuanqing hurriedly pressed his palm against Shi¡¯s back and activated all his spiritual essence, then with a forceful push, he shouted, ¡°Leave him!¡± Shi Yui had not fully lost consciousness, and with them working together, the dark shadow was not their match. It was pushed out of Shi Yui and whooshed back into mid-air, emanating a malicious aura. ¡°Go!¡± Lu Yuanqing wasbat-ready. He shook a talisman into life right away. Clouds and mist erupted and there was a zing golden light, from which leapt out a two-meter golden armored divine warrior holding a pair of maces, which it hammered down at the shadow. It was none other than the Golden-armored Divine Warrior Talisman that Zhang Shouyang had used before. The shadow had nobat skill whatsoever and was barely intelligent, causing it to take the below head on. It dissipated at the impact of the golden maces, but soon gathered back into one lump again. The strike seemed to have hurt it in some way, for it made itself turn around and lunged at the divine warrior. Meanwhile, Shi Yui came to himself and released a talisman himself. Purple arcs of lightning flickered, hacking ferociously at the shadow¡ªit was the Flying Thunder Spell that Zhong Lingyu used once. Nowadays in the monastery, men of Zhengyi were learning Quanzhen¡¯s Neidan, while those of Quanzhen were learning Zhengyi¡¯s talisman. There were hundreds of types of talismans, but most of them were of a low grade, whose effectiveness was very limited when facing the real masters (aka the ¡°Two Saints of Phoenix Mountain¡±). Despite its ferocious appearance, the thing did not have a matching capability. It was soon losing its ground. Lightning frightened it tremendously and it was keeping distance all the time. Realizing its soft spot, Shi Yui found plenty of room to maneuver, creating ample opportunity for Lu Yuanqing to attack. They exchanged a few more rounds of blows and Lu Yuanqing found the opening. He swept down with his whisk. Bang! The shadow exploded and left nothing behind. ¡°Phew¡­ fortunately it was not fully developed, or we wouldn¡¯t have been able to subdue it.¡± With his energy almost exhausted, Shi Yui was already panting and the color on his face was rather washed out by now. Lu Yuanqing searched the room with his eyes and his face suddenly lit up. The ce the shadow used to upy turned out to be an inner chamber with a couch and a low table, on whichy scattered a few things. He was about to move closer and examine them when the breathing sound beside him grew heavier. Turning around, he saw Shi Yui was drained of all color, apparently no longer able to fend off the encroaching Yin energy. ¡°Hold on! We¡¯re leaving now!¡± Resolute in action, Lu Yuanqing waved his whisk, dragging the objects to his side, then retreated supporting Shi Yui on his shoulder. They ran all the way until they were beneath the well, by which time Lu Yuanqing was short of breath himself. He squeezed out thest of his energy and jumped up. Supported by the well wall, he moved their way upwards one section at a time. ¡°They¡¯re out!¡± Up on the ground, Wang Ruoxu shouted. Then two figures shot out of the well and stumbled a long way before they finally managed to stopped still with much difficulty. ¡°Abbot!¡± ¡°Senior Brother!¡± The others went up to them in a hurry and asked after them, ¡°How was it? Did you get hurt?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It was a threatening situation, but not dangerous.¡± After his breath was adjusted, Lu Yuanqing said solemnly, ¡°Senior Brother Sikong, Senior Brother Zhang, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to guard the well for a while longer. I have to go back to the mountain now. All will be exinedter!¡± *** ¡°Dang!¡± ¡°Dang!¡± ¡°Dang!¡± At the ninth toll of the bell, all thirty-six members of Qiyun gathered in the inner court. Unlike the guest hall, the inner court was smaller and more private. Lu Yuanqing was on the host seat. After everyone else had sat down, he met the eyes of the others, some of which were doubtful and others expectant, and smiled. ¡°I went on an expedition with Senior Brother Shi down a well seven days ago. I am sure you have all been wondering what exactly was under that well. I have been trying to figure things out the past few days and would like to share the information with you all today. That well was indeed the White Crane Spring. White Crane Priest had built a three-story underground pce in his days for cultivation and refining medicine. A great spell was then conjured to cover the pce up, so that to anyone else, it was nothing but a deep well. Maybe the long years have rendered the spell ineffective, or maybe it was disturbed by the fluctuation of the spiritual essence; the secret chamber has reemerged. Unfortunately, the recovery of the spiritual essence has changed the energy of the mountain, turning it into a ce where Yin energy converges, giving birth to a lot of ghostly beings.¡± ¡°Abbot!¡± Zhang Shouyang was astonished and asked hastily, ¡°Are you sure they¡¯re ghosts?¡± ¡°No, they were not bound by physical bodies and were pure gestations of Yin energy. Moreover, theycked the adequate intelligence, so I would not call them ghosts. But if things proceed like this, with the appearance of ghostly beings, it won¡¯t be long before the discovery of ghosts¡­¡± Lu Yuanqing exined, then concluded, ¡°All in all, the underground pce was taken up by Yin energy and with the long-term corruption, those things are bound to reappear. We have to be alerted all the time in case they break out of the well and disturb the mountain. Senior Brother Shi, I will leave it to you. Please make arrangements of shifts so that it is guarded around the clock.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± replied Shi Yui. ¡°As I mentioned just then, there were three floors below the well and we haven¡¯t even finished exploring the first one. We will continue with it some timeter. I would even go so far as to propose that if we could find out a pattern and make a n to raise those ghostly beings, we can make it into an experiment and training facility of the monastery.¡± ¡®Jeez!¡¯ The im shocked the room. That was audacious to extreme! ¡°Abbot, with due respect, the monastery is still in the early stage of development and the capabilities of all senior and junior brothers are very diverse. Facing those beings might cost their lives,¡± cautioned Old Priest Mo. ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry!¡± Lu Yuanqing smiled even wider as he suddenly took out a few objects andid them out in a row. ¡°I took these from the secret chamber. Recorded in them are some of the cultivation achievements of White Crane Priest.¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± All faces in the room lit up. Looking to either side, Lu Yuanqing then announced loudly, ¡°We now have the beast-controlling method, which allows us to raise and tame spiritual beasts. The priest received his title for riding a crane, which was a demonstration of this method! We now have the technique of talisman water, which melts refined talisman into water and which in turn dispels gues, stops cmities, and benefits mankind! We now have the method of refining with mental power, which allows us to refine mighty instruments that connect with our minds. The resulting power is unmatchable! We now have the method of refining Soul-calming Mirror, which could stabilize the mind and soul of living creatures!¡± ¡°¡­¡± With each description, the eyes of the others lit up a little more. By the end, the entire inner court was taken over by a strange atmosphere that was both extremely suppressive and utterly exciting at the same time. Heat seemed to be flowing in the air, warming everyone from inside out. The Taoistmunity had been waning for centuries and when the great fortune was finally upon them, they were suppressed by those above and trampled on like stray dogs. Who would be willing to live such a life? As much as they believed that Taoism would rise again sooner orter, they still thought it to be a distant thing. But today, right here and right now, they finally saw a glimpse of that hope. *** ¡°Atchoo! Atchoo¡­ hm?¡± Up on Phoenix Mountain, Gu Yu rubbed his nose and wondered, ¡°I am almost an immortal and a cold has got to me? Or is someone missing me?¡± Shaking his head, he walked out of the meditation room with a blue talisman between his fingers, which he waved at Xiaozhai in the courtyard. ¡°It¡¯s done. Let¡¯s try this Flying Message Talisman!¡± Chapter 286 Chapter 286: Going Abroad Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°ording to a senior government official from the disaster management department of Tngana State, Indus, since May 1st this year, the extreme weather has resulted in as many as 167 deaths statewide, induced by heat strokes. It was reported by Indus Times that high temperature and droughts had taken the lives of hundreds of people across the country this year and approximately a quarter of the country¡¯s poption is threatened by the shortage of food and water.¡± ¡°Officials of the state of California, Uncle Sam, announced that on the 20th of this month local time, two homeless elderly people were found dead from hot weather. They were a 72-year-old male and an 87-year-old female¡­ it was reported that on the 20th, the temperature of Phoenix, Arizona reached 47.2 degrees and 48.3 degrees on the 21st. The historical high of the city was 50 degrees Celsius, which was recorded on June 26th, 1990.¡± ¡°Starting this July, Mountain City has recorded 21.3 days with temperatures above 40 degrees. It is expected that until mid-September, the weather of Mountain City will remain sunny, hot, and rainless¡­ up till now, fifteen districts and counties including Changshou, Dianjiang, and Tongnan are experiencing droughts. A poption of 21,000 is affected by a temporary shortage of drinking water and 473,000 mu of crops are suffering from drought.¡± ¡°Liaodong and its surrounding areas are entering the state of emergency response to drought and disaster relief. Reporters learned yesterday from the Provincial Department of Agriculture that up till now, drought area of crops have reached 6.194 million mu, 864,000 mu are severely affected, and 242,000 mu are facing total crop failure.¡± ¡°All xxx primary schools, middle schools, and universities have entered summer vacation. The Ministry of Education has issued reminders advising students to stay indoors and limit the time spent outside¡­¡± ¡°Latest news: twelve countries including Uncle Sam, Indus, Sicily, and ours intend to push talks aiming for amon deliberation on the changes and influence brought by the global extreme weather, as well as to agree on cooperative measures to cope with them¡­¡± Entering July, the high temperature was affecting the country in an almost barbaric manner. For the first time, urbanites began to panic and waver over their status and folks of the mountainous areas and countrymen were for the first time growing a superiorityplex. Naturally, a verbal dispute took ce between the two groups again. Of course, more people kept them minds upied by finding a ce to stay away from the heat. Some guys even quit their jobs, moved into the mountains, and settled down there. Days with 40 degrees and above usually did notst more than three or five days¡ªa week tops¡­ nothing like this had ever happened. The temperature had been remaining there for over a month! ¡°Sigh, it won¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that life is bing impossible for the people!¡± Lying on a bough of the old tree, Gu Yu was reading off news of all over the world from his phone, which was making his heart sink. What was happening to the entire country did not exclude Bai Town. Droughts were affecting a vast area of farnds. Some farmer hadmitted suicide by drinking pesticide from the pressure of losing money for several years in a row. Bai Town was his hometown and it would be self-deceiving to say that it did not worry him. But there was nothing he could do. Before he reached the Human Immortal state, he couldn¡¯t make the rain-praying talisman. It was time like this that the authorities were the ones to be counted on. Natural cmities resistance measures aside, the several heat-dispelling medicines manufactured by Emei Pharmaceuticals were an outstanding service for the people. Be it the ageratum tea, mulberry and chrysanthemum drink, peppermint pellet, cure-all perfumed satchel¡­ regardless of the size or ways of application, as long as they were back in stock in the pharmacies, they were sold out in no time. To some extent, the medicine had indeed slowed down the pace of the spreading disaster. As for the family of four of Phoenix Mountain, their life had been simple and intely. All they were doing these days was taking pills for cultivation, building the paper mill, expanding the herb garden, and having finished refining the Flying Message Talisman while they were at it. It was a very convenient talisman. Branding it with the mental force imprints of the four beforehand and activating certain imprint when using it, the talisman would automatically locate and reach the person wanted. They hadn¡¯t tested the longest distance it could send the message over. With his current capability, he estimated that the maximum distance he could cover was from Shengtian to Bai Town, which was a little over 100 km. He had refined five in a go. Apart from the one he experimented with, there were just enough for each one of the four. Putting away his phone and jumping down the old tree, Gu Yu was about to return to the cottage and his cultivation when aughter rang out from afar, knocking against his eardrums like falling barbells. ¡°Hahahahahahaha! Those dumb*sses! I¡¯mughing my a*s off!¡± ¡°¡­¡± His temples were throbbing again. Turning around, he saw indeed that it was Little Soap swaggering back from the front mountain. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Caught someone again?¡± ¡°Caught? That was self-defense! This is private property, no trespassing, ok?¡± Xiaojin ran to him, yelling, ¡°Brother-inw, I say we shut down that lousy tourist area! It¡¯s not like we need that tiny bit of money. They just keeping as if we¡¯re handing out free food! Some even came with beddings!¡± ¡°It¡¯s all because of the heat. They won¡¯t affect us.¡± ¡°Like hell! Some idiot is trying to jump in every day. Then they get trapped and I am the one saving them. They trespassed in the first ce! We have to go all the way to care about their safety? Fine! I¡¯m done with saving their a*sses. Next time, you go!¡± Oh my, that glib tongue of hers. The brother-inw was not given a chance to interject. She wasn¡¯t exactly wrong. With the hot weather, people of the nearby towns and viges were alling to the mountain to keep away from the heat. The folks of Phoenix Fair would bring their beddings and washing basins so that they could do business in the daytime and sleep in open air at night. It was cool, spacious, with gentle breeze and pretty clouds, and no mosquitoes. Where else could they find a ce like this? However, as the visitors increased, trouble also came along¡ªthey simply could not stop thinking about getting inside the wire fence. That entire area was under the control of the spiritual ginseng and one would be trapped in Mada Mountain as soon as they got close. The disoriented and confused intruders would then began to wail at the top of their lungs, and would then be knocked unconscious by Xiaojin and thrown out. Rumors began to spread, involving legends about ¡°astray ghosts¡± and aliens, which scared the folks at first. However, after a few more tryouts, they realized that not only was it not dangerous, it also came with a Recall spell, sending them back to their respawn pool. That was neat! Everyone now was eager to find out exactly what was behind the fence. Those spoiled children! ¡°Fine, fine, I know it¡¯s a lot of work for you. Just leave it be for the time being. Sealing up the mountain is unnecessary at the moment.¡± Surrendering to her sharp tongue, Gu Yu waved her off. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Little Soap gave him a snort, then looked around, ¡°Why, where¡¯s my sister?¡± ¡°In the training field.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be with her.¡± Little Soap ran away happily and Gu Yu resumed his walking back to the meditation room. A couple of steps out and the ringing phone stopped him. Even more irritated now, he checked the screen¡ªit was Old Shui. ¡°Hello, Younger Brother-inw! There¡¯s a visitor here down the mountain. His name is Wang Qi and he wants to see you.¡± ¡°I see. Entertain him for a moment. I¡¯ll be right there.¡± Hanging up, he found that rather strange. Didn¡¯t the mane once at the beginning of this year? Why was he here again? *** ¡°This ce is indeed blessed by excellent Fengshui settings. I¡¯m drying out in the air-conditioned rooms these days. How lovely it would be if I could just stay here.¡± In the living room of the manor, Wang Qi sipped his tea and savored the natural coolness of the mountain. The envy in his voice was genuine. ¡°Sure. We have plenty of empty rooms here. You¡¯re wee to stay as long as you wish.¡± Gu Yu could smell bad news at the sight of the man. ¡°Now, what instruction have you brought me here this time?¡± ¡°Not an instruction, but an invitation.¡± ¡°Oh? For what?¡± He was intrigued. ¡°Haha, business opportunity, of course.¡± Wang Qi grinned. ¡°Interested in a trip abroad?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu blinked as the news from earlier shed through his mind and he saw what Wang Qi meant. ¡°Talking with other countries now?¡± ¡°Well, that was quick.¡± The guy picked up an osmanthus cake, bit down half of it, and slowly took another sip of his tea¡ªhe might as well be out on a pic. ¡°The weather this year was so abnormal that demonstrations have been carried out for half a month in Uncle Sam. The reasonable and sensible choice for governments of all countries now is to do something to appease the general public.¡± ¡°The reasonable and sensible choice¡­¡± The expression annoyed Gu Yu. ¡°Be as reasonable and sensible as you want, but you gain nothing from this. So, what¡¯s the real reason?¡± Chapter 287 Chapter 287: An Introduction on Western Supernatural Powers Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°The real reason?¡± Wang Qi was stumped for a second before replying with a smile, ¡°It was never about the real reason. International politics is constantly changing. As long as you know where your bottom line is, you can be as creative as you want. If there has to be one, let¡¯s call it a tacit agreement among the countries to nose around one another.¡± ¡°Then what are you here for?¡± Gu Yu asked another question. ¡°The answer to that is simple. The recovery of the spiritual essence is a global thing¡ªwell, we don¡¯t know what everyone else is calling it yet. The current situation is that everyone is suspicious of everyone else and no one knows what cards the others are holding. We cannot guarantee that they¡¯ll y by the book. On the other hand, neither will they put their trust in us¡­¡± Wang Qi paused a little, then concluded, ¡°Therefore, it is only reasonable to raise the security level to the highest against any possible ident.¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ ¡®So, after all the big talk, you still need me as a bodyguard!¡¯ Despite the sarcastic remarks rushing through his head, Gu Yu was a little intrigued, for he, too, wanted to see the other countries. Hence, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s the standard of the meeting?¡± ¡°I can only tell you that Boss No. 1 is not going.¡± Wang Qi revealed that little piece of information, then said earnestly, ¡°Mr. Gu, we¡¯d appreciate it if you could give it a careful consideration. You will be the only one we hire, for we cannot reveal too much to the other countries. Should you decide to take the job, we will remunerate you with forty thousand spiritual stones.¡± ¡®Wow!¡¯ Gu Yu was genuinely surprised by the offer. There were only so many in the national treasury and forty thousand was a very generous reward! He did not rush to a decision, though, but asked, ¡°Around what time will this meeting take ce?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not determined yet.¡± Wang Qi shook his head. ¡°Twelve countries intended to take part in the beginning, but more are joining in. By now, 52 areing. Uncle Sam then proposed that we should simply hold it together with the global climate conference. The bosses are still exchanging views, but it will definitely happen within the year, October at the earliest and December at thetest.¡± Gu Yu knew about the global climate conference. It was a meeting held each December by countries belonging to the ¡°United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change¡±, where developed and developing countries were arguing futilely back and forth about problems such as greenhouse gas emissions. ¡°I need some time to think it over. You¡¯ll have my answer in a few days,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Sure, no problem.¡± Wang Qi did not press on, but switched the subject without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯m also here for another job. I need ten Evil-dispelling Dans.¡± ¡°Hoho, I knew it. You people bought the pills the other day.¡± Gu Yu chuckled. Ever since Old Shui delivered the Evil-dispelling Dan to the Pavilion of Gems and put up an eye-catching advertisement on the app, the audience had been restless with excitement. People were arriving from all over the country to close a deal on the spiritual Dan. The minimal price was either a thousand spiritual stones or bartering with other substances. Obviously, no one coulde up with the spiritual stones, nor was the stuff offered good enough to trade with. Hence, the pills had stayed on the shelf for a while. It was so alluring that someone actually tried to take it by force. Luckily, Old Shui was clever enough to send in some hatchet men beforehand to guard the shop and together with the turtle shell Yan Han wore, they were able to keep the merchandise safe. However, someone suddenly offered twenty thousand spiritual stones recently and bought the pills. Needless to say, it was from the authorities. The purchase was for one of the two reasons: to study it, or to eat it. Who would eat it, then? Well, it could only be some top level boss who was old, weak, and in desperate need for a little magic. Some might find such im dubious: the Evil-dispeling Dan could only cure diseases and strengthen the body, which hardly made it an exceptional medicine. Was it worth it? Consider it this way, then. With modern medical procedures, certain condition might require operations, chemo, and a couple of months¡¯ recuperation before the patient was back to health. The Dan was different. Nothing couldn¡¯t be solved by popping a pill. If there was, pop another one. ¡°Judging by the eagerness of the authorities, the first two should have worked very well.¡± ¡°Well, we don¡¯t have enough materials for ten pills. You¡¯ll have to wait.¡± Our cunning Gu Yu put on a troubled look. ¡°We can provide you with the materials. Just give me a list.¡± Wang Qi was ready with his offer. ¡°Oh, that¡¯ll make it much easier. We¡¯ll refine them ASAP,¡± replied Gu Yu. ¡°Onest thing. Here¡­¡± Wang Qi fumbled out a thick stack of files and handed it to Gu Yu. ¡°A little preparation for the ss. It mighte handy.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Gu Yu took the files. Wang Qi then bid his farewell and Gu Yu walked with him to the outside. *** Night, the meditation room. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were bending over the table studying the files. There were several hundred pages in total and all were substantial stacks. Fanning out, they made the table look rather crowded. Printed on the front pages were striking titles in boldface: ¡°Analysis on the Existence of Mages, Sorcerers, and Witches¡± ¡°Textual Research on the History and Inheritance of Druids¡± ¡°On Legends of Werewolves and Vampires¡± ¡°Historical Research on Zoroastrianism¡± ¡°Factual Analysis on Curses of African Witchcraft¡± ¡°On Legends of Pharaohs and Mummies¡± ¡°Textual Research on the Existence of Onmyoji and Shikigami¡± You heard it right. That was the tutorial material given to Gu Yu, which was aption of collected literature, records of experts¡¯ discussion, and a small amount of information brought back by the intelligence agents. Of all seven continents, apart from Antarctica, all the rest had its own ancient civilizations. Using the characteristics of the inheritance of the domestic recovery and creation of the spiritual essence, the team of specialists of the country had untangled the possible supernatural phenomena of the other countries. They had proceeded from two angles: ancient civilizations and ancient religions. The theories they came up with were very interesting. They concluded that the core of the Western supernatural phenomenon was ¡°Gods and men¡±, whereas that of our 1 country was ¡°men and Immortals¡±, or ¡°men and Dao¡±. All western spiritual civilizations rooted from some form of divinity, such as the Olympians of ancient Greeks, the Ennead of ancient Egypt, the three Hindu gods, Odin and his sons of Norse mythology, etc. Gods created their worlds, whereas in ours, Dao begets One, One begets Two, Two begets Three, Three begets all things. They started from gods, which gave birth to the messengers of gods in the mortal world¡ªreligious believers. We began from believing in the world of men, which then declined, and the faith turned to the world of the immortals. Therefore, strictly speaking, the term ¡°god¡± did not really apply to our world. Of course, if you must mention figures such as Eng Shen 2 , then be my guest. Then there came the problem. No one could say for sure if this god thing existed or not. Let¡¯s forget the groundless mythological legends for the time being and consider the cultivation of individuals first. The team of experts hade up with a hypothesis: their individual ¡°cultivation¡± could be a divine gift, but more likely, it could be something similiar to ours, which was achieved throughmunicating with thew of Nature and elevating the level of life. The most typical example would be the Druids of the ancient Celts. The Druids believed in oak trees¡ªyes, that type of thick, hard trees. In order to receive power from the oak trees, the Druids had to have some special practice. These civilizations shared one thing inmon¡ªsorcery. The ancient Shamanism and the Incan religions, for instance, both carried out primitive worships, believing in the spirits of all things such as fire, bears, ghosts, male members, cartoon characters (just kidding), etc. Therefore, the experts reached a conclusion that the power system of other countries was probably simr to ours, which was following one of the three paths: sorcery, the inheritance of religious sects, or some concoction of ambitious individuals. Other than that, there was one more thing that worth mentioning. When western supernatural beings were mentioned, to ordinary people, the first things that came to their minds were¡ªamong other things¡ª werewolves, vampires, Marvel universe, etc. The origins of vampires could be traced back to the Mesopotamian and ancient Hebrew civilizations thousands of years ago. It was said that devils feeding on the essence and blood of human beings walked the earth then. As for the image of the modern vampires, it owed mostly to therge number of folklore and literary works. As for werewolves (lycanthropes), their origins were even moreplicated. There was the mythological source: Zeus transformed a cruel king into a wolf. There was the medical source: the term ¡°lycanthropy¡± described a psychiatric condition where the patients had a delusion about themselves being wolves. There was the historical records source: King John Ld had turned into a werewolf after being poisoned by a monk. The files hence came to the conclusion that these two kinds of creatures might exist, but were definitely not something that would tear their clothes off and run naked on a full moon night, nor would spend their days as some beautiful men and women losing their heads over cheating love affairs. Their appearance would be hideous, very hideous¡­ Well, Gu Yu quite trusted the team of experts, for he was on the opposite end of the spectrum from a curve wracker. All in all, after a few days of studying, the couple had a pretty good idea of what it was all about and Gu Yu was greatly intrigued. After the head of the household gave her permission, he replied Wang Qi, saying he was willing to go along. The head of the household herself did not think much of it. She could not be bothered to travel that far and would rather stay at home eating, sleeping, and disciplining Xiaojin. *** The city of Dongyun, Tianhua Mountain. Dongyun was the secondrgest city of the province with a coastline and an developed economy. Tianhua Mountain stood 200 km to the west of the city under the jurisdiction of Guanshui Town. The mountain was a tourist destination, but had never been too popr, for most of the area was covered by virgin forest and the rugged terrain provided little development opportunity, hence there wasn¡¯t much activities avable for the tourists. ¡°Rustle!¡± Somewhere on the west slope, a thick growth of branches was brushed aside and out came six people in turn. All were equipped with outdoor gear. One had a transmitter on his back and the other five carried knives, sticks, and a gun on their back. These five were none other than the members of the scientific research team, who were here to explore and verify a clue offered to the app. ¡°This section has been swept. No unusual creatures found!¡± ¡°This section has been swept, too. No discovery!¡± The reports came in one after another and the team leader marked each set of coordinates in turn. He then checked the time: 3.00 pm. It was an awkward time¡ªtoo early to return, but a littlete to keep searching. After a brief consideration, he made the decision. ¡°We will carry on for another forty minutes. We¡¯ll go back if nothinges up by then.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The six men fanned out right away, proceeding forward slowly. They did not know what exactly they were after. The information provider only snapped a blurry photo from afar. All they could tell was that it was huge and ferocious-looking. Another few minutes and they were marching even deeper into the woods. The air in the mountain was quite pleasant. Without the burning sun, it was almost cool in the shade. All of a sudden, one of the men halted and warned in a low voice, ¡°I heard something!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The other team members stopped in unison and pricked up their ears. There was indeed a shuffling sound from an unknown distance away, as if something was threading through the woods. ¡°Get ready!¡± At themand, the team wasbat-ready in no time. Two men climbed onto trees, twoy in wait in the bushes, while one man backed away to keep the research specialist safe. ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Rustle!¡± The sound was moving closer and closer. It was almost at them when all was silent. The six waited a long while and nothing showed up. The team leader then gestured with his hand. One fellow on the tree took up his binocrs to check, then he felt something¡­ ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°ck!¡± The trunk as thick as a pot snapped without warning. The man panicked. Before he had time to react, a giant shadow pounced at him. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± Chapter 288 Chapter 288: A Series of Strange Events Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°So, it seems the fiction stories weren¡¯t all making it up. Maybe the ck magic and white magic do exist, so do the warlocks and sorcery.¡± Closing the book, Gu Yu murmured to himself, ¡°Art is rooted in life itself. Just look at our xianxia fictions. There might be exaggerations, but it¡¯s notpletely groundless.¡± He slowly rose to his feet. The book in his hand disappeared suddenly and, almost instantaneously, reappeared on the nearby shelf. It was one of the most popr western fantasies. Set in the Great Brittania, it was a story about a group of young sorcerers defeating a big monster. Quite a few books of simr themes could be found on the shelf. Some were about elves and dwarves, some depicting dragons and liches, some looking into alchemists, etc. After saying yes to Wang Qi, Gu Yu had been doing his homework, reading through all kinds of relevant books. He made an interesting discovery: gods might not exist among the supernatural powers of the western world, but certain folklore or anecdotes on historical figures might not be fabricated after all. For instance, Nics mel of Gaul, a famous 14th-century alchemist, was considered the founder of alchemy in Europe. His best-known contribution was the creation of the philosopher¡¯s stone¡ªyes, that same one mentioned in Horry Patter 1 ! Legend had it that not only could the stone transform mercury into gold, it could also make one immortal. mel passed away in 1427 in his hometown. In search for the secret of the philosopher¡¯s stone, alchemists left no stone unturned, only to find the mel couple¡¯s coffins empty. For centuries that followed, there were multiple witnesses iming to have seen the couple¡­ It sounded both marvelous and exotic, yete to think of it, wasn¡¯t that whole setting somewhat familiar? Essentially, how was that different from the legends of Ge Hong, Ye Fashan, or Sa Shoujian? Hence, since we 2 could benefit from the benevolence of our forefathers, there was no reason they shouldn¡¯t. ¡°Creak!¡± Pushing open the door, Gu Yu found all was quiet in the yard and no one was under the old tree¡ªthe younger two had probably gone y somewhere. He could not be bothered to search for them. Kicking lightly at the ground with the tip of his toe, he leapt 10 cm off the ground before stepping repeatedly. Instantly, he seemed to fade into the air, leaving behind nothing but a barely discernible thin mist, then like a piece of cloud carried swiftly away by the wind, he was two hundred meters away in a heartbeat. Cottage of Pure Mind was forty minutes away from the training field by foot, but the thin mistnded in the middle of the field in a couple of minutes. ¡°Whoo¡­.¡± The mountain breeze brushed against the ground and the white mist filled the air, slowly taking the human shape again. Landing on his feet, Gu Yu sensed the solid feeling of the ground and was greatly satisfied. With the help of the Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan, the cultivation speed of the family of four was taking the rocket. The effect on his was the most obviously. Take the Shadow-switching Technique he used just then for an example, it had improved significantly in both the ¡°special effect¡± and the duration from when he used it on Changbai Mountain. It was literally a pretender¡¯s best gift¡ªthe show was on 24/7! Of course, he was still secretly frustrated a little¡ªXiaozhai was only a few feet away and did not even lift her eyelids. *** ¡°Brother!¡± ¡°Brother!¡± Gu Yu popped a pill and had just absorbed it fully, breathing out a long breath, when there came an urgent calling. Long Qiu then appeared in sight, running happily towards them. ¡°Great, you¡¯re all here!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Xiaozhai. ¡°There is a big monster. It sounds very dangerous!¡± Long Qiu took out her phone and handed it to the couple. In the forum of the app, the authorities had for the first time put up a post. ¡°Recently, an unknown beast has been spotted on the Tianhua Mountain¡ªFive Dragons Ridge region. Its activity is covering a very wide area and the beast often travels across different regions. It is very aggressive and has taken up the habit to feed on human beings. Up to now, eight men have been killed and thirteen injured. App users in the area should take precautions of their safety and do not attempt to rashly search for it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Frowning, Gu Yu asked, ¡°What other measures have they taken?¡± ¡°They have sent guards there. Protectives are set around the mountain foot and the government has organized teams to enter the mountain. A lot of local people are protesting, saying they need to move; some even went to the provincial capital to petition.¡± ¡®Pardon me?¡¯ A politically sensitive term like ¡°petition¡± sound so out of the ce when uttered by Long Qiu. The Tianhua Mountain was at the edge of Dongyun¡¯s jurisdiction and right next to Five Dragons Ridge of Shengtian, which was also a small mountain. Five Dragons Ridge had some hot springs and was quite a popr tourist destination. As mentioned before, moving southeast away from Shengtian, one would find unbroken mountain regions, all a stretching branch of Changbai Mountains. The mountains were of various sizes and ran all the way through the two cities. Since the monstrous beast enjoyed roaming around, it would inevitably bring damage wherever it went. Hence, someone simply had to teach it some discipline. But how? After some consideration, Gu Yu suddenly announced, ¡°Xiao Qiu, the job is yours.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ huh?¡± Long Qiu was about to nod when she realized what she just heard. ¡°Are you asking me¡­ to go alone?¡± ¡°Surely you can handle a petty four-legged thing, can¡¯t you?¡± asked Xiaozhai. ¡°Yes, of course, I just¡­¡± The girl was anxious at first, but soon grew excited. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll give it a go, then?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a question. I¡¯m giving you an order. You¡¯re leaving, now!¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°But I was going to make some preparations first!¡± Long Qiu was a little dumbstruck. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Just go, quickly!¡± Xiaozhai joined in rushing her out. ¡°But I don¡¯t know if it¡ª what? Brother! Sister!¡± The poor girl was overruled in all her objections and before she knew it, she was out on her way to the job. ¡®Are you kidding me? We¡¯ve finally had something worth solving and she¡¯d better use every precious minute to train herself!¡¯ The third of Phoenix Mountain against a mutated beast, what was there to prepare?! *** Shengtian, Youth Street. It was one of the main roads of the city. At night, the street would be lit up brightly by the endless streams of vehicles and flickering neon lights, but such a scene had been toned down by a great deal since the beginning of this month. With the upsurge in power consumption, there wasn¡¯t enough left to light up the night sky. ¡°Whoosh!¡± A white vehicle sped along the wide street. The coupe was powerful and excellent to handle. The big sister behind the wheel wasposed and at ease¡ªit was none other than Yang Qing, Xiaojin¡¯s mother. She wasing back from a facial with a couple of BFFs and on her way home¡ªnot the one she shared with her husband, but her own home. The couple had a row this morning and she did not want to speak to him yet, so she decided to stay the night in the house of her own. ¡°Good evening, everybody. Wee back to ¡®Late Night Babble¡¯. I¡¯m Xiang Xiang. Before we start, I¡¯d like to give you a heads-up. Actually, it was announced several days ago already. Because of the summertime electricity shortage, power cut will be carried out in zones this month. From eight tonight to six tomorrow morning, the electricity of thirteen residential districts including Kunshan Road, Shenshantie Road, and Baishan Road will be temporarily cut off. Please be prepared¡­¡± Yang Qing realized her house was within the affected area and made a mental note to buy a couple of candles from the convenience store downstairster. ¡°Now, we¡¯ll begin today¡¯s program with something on Zhongyuan Festival. The day arrives slightly earlier this year, which is Aug. 8th 3 and which means it¡¯s less than two weeks¡¯ time. We¡¯re all familiar with the festival. On that day, we¡¯ll visit the graves to honor the memory of the dead and show our grief¡­¡± The broadcaster babbled on, yet Yang Qing was lost in her own thoughts after a while. She was from the region south of the Yangtze River, where the family tradition was well preserved. They even still kept an ancestral hall of the n. Back then, she would join the elder generation in the worship ceremony during the major festivals. However, she seldom went back there after she got married and moved to the north. Both of her parents had passed away. An older brother remained in her hometown and would take care of their graves. At the sudden mention of the subject, her thoughts were drifting further and further away. Hello, sister! You¡¯re driving! ¡°Bang!¡± Unsurprisingly, the car jolted abruptly and Yang Qing suddenly came to herself. There was a thump, as if she had just crushed something. Meanwhile, the tire pressure monitor alerted: the right rear wheel had lost pressure. ¡°Screech!¡± She pulled over in a hurry, got off, and bent over to check. She had driven over some sort of tile, which had broken into sharp pieces and pierced the tire. ¡°Tsk!¡± Frustrated, Yang Qiu pulled out the shard and tossed it aside. Looking around, she realized she was somewhere around Lc Lake, which was quite distant from the downtown area and very remote. A major road ran through the area in the middle, nked by construction sites on both sides. It was the middle of nowhere. Her only option was to call the police before calling her BFFs for help as well. After that, feeling she had not yet fully worked off her anger, she found the lousy thing and trampled it until it was broken into the tiniest pieces. Chapter 289 Chapter 289: The First Unguided Task: Aplished Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Five Dragons Mountain, Five Dragons Ridge. Five Dragons Ridge was a small town at the foot of the mountain. A little over fifty thousand people there lived off the mountain and the natural hot springs, raising an economy that was on the flourishing side. The dozens of spa sanitaria, hotels, swimming pools, and bathing centers of all sizes were fully booked throughout the year. However, business had been dismaltely¡ªthanks to that beast in the mountain. Not only did visitors stoping, the local folks were also panic-stricken. After being shooed out of the door by her brother and sister, Long Qiu arrived at the town that same afternoon. She found the streets abandoned and the overall atmosphere strange. The handful of passersby she saw on the streets had anxiety and fright written all over their faces. She literally had zero preparation and had arrived with nothing by herself. After making some peaceful consideration by the side of the road, she decided she should find someone to make an inquiry with. Please bear in mind that this was her very first operation on her own. ¡°Uncle, please take me to the mountain gate.¡± She hailed a shabby electrical tricycle (unlicensed cab) and hopped in like it was the most natural thing. The elder owner gawked at her: such a pretty girl, and with nice clothes, too. ¡®Are you sure you want to ride in this thing?¡¯ Seeing the old man¡¯s silence, she asked again, ¡°Uncle?¡± ¡°Oh, ok! That¡¯ll be five yuan 1 !¡± The old man came to himself, turned the handlebar this way and that, and zigzagged their way away from the station. The tricycle chugged its way forward and the old man couldn¡¯t help but peep at that half little face through the rearview mirror that he had installed himself. Those cheeks were as fresh and fine as newly picked lychee pulp and the skin of her nose as smooth as goose grease; she looked like a bright white moon sitting back there. As the saying went: rejuvenated, an old man would let his fiery zeal show, fancying marrying a young woman. Every now and then, one could not help but be attracted by beauty (and let their unspeakable imagination fly)¡­ After much peeping, the young girl still kept her silence. He was about to try to strike up a conversation when she suddenly spoke, ¡°Uncle, I was told that there is this beast up on the mountain. Is it true?¡± ¡°True! That couldn¡¯t be more true! It killed someone just this morning!¡± The old man was cheered up right away. ¡°They were saying that it came all the way from Tianhua Mountain, but no one has seen what it looks like so far. Gosh, just look at what it¡¯s done to our town. Everybody is too sacred toe here. The five richest bosses in the town let the word out yesterday: ten million for whoever that can kill that thing! That¡¯s ten million, on my god. I¡¯d be right on my way in if I had the balls¡­¡± ¡°Is it still up there?¡± Long Qiu automatically filtered out the irrelevant bullsh*t. ¡°Should be. It only killed someone this morning¡­ Why, little girl, you¡¯re not going up there, are you?¡± The old man found the question strange. ¡°I¡¯m just curious ande here to have a look.¡± ¡°I see. Be careful, then. The area is sealed off now. You can¡¯t go up there even if you want to.¡± It wasn¡¯t the most clever way to fish for information. On the other hand, the old man wasn¡¯t the smartest man in the world, either. So, an equal match. The tricycle soon arrived at the mountain gate. Long Qiu got off and saw that instead of a bleak scene she imagined, she was looking at a rather boisterous lot. The square was arrayed with tents of all sizes and colors, which people were going in and out of. They chatted and dined happily in twos and threes, as if out for a pic. At the mountain gate, however, was a picture of stark contrast. The road blocks were guarded by grave-looking police officers carrying loaded guns. ¡°¡­¡± It only took Long Qiu a second to realize that the crowd was either app users or onlookers who had nothing better to do but to make a joke out of the whole thing. She then stealthily made her way round the mountain gate and headed north. A few kilometerster, where there was not a soul around, she jumped over the protective and disappeared into the woods. ¡°Golden Silkworm, go!¡± As soon as shended, she released her most effective move. The chubby baby nodded and dashed into the woods in a whish. A couple of steps out and it turned into a snake, which slithered on for a short distance before turning into a frog¡ªit was having a great time. Long Qiu nned to wrap it up ASAP and pushed forward herself as well. Five Dragons Mountain was not too big and the terrain was rather t, but it was endowed with a variety ofndscapes¡ªpeculiar peaks, grotesque rocks, waterfalls, deep pools, as well as plenty of nts. ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Rustle!¡± She threaded through the trees like a wood elf, spreading out her mental force to aid the search. About twenty minutes into the search, there came a sudden growl in the distance. ¡°Roar!¡± The sound resonating in the mountain came from the southeast. At the same time, she sensed Golden Silkworm was approaching her rapidly. ¡°There!¡± Spinning around on the tip of her toes, Long Qiu turned gracefully in the air and dashed into the woods like a deft young swallow. ¡°Roar!¡± The thing growled repeatedly and was getting closer. With a loud rustle, the chubby kid came out first, then cheerfully hopped onto its master¡¯s shoulder and pped its hands in a soundlessughter. Immediately after that, the branches shook violently and an enormous shadow emerged as if falling out of the sky. It was over four meters long and as tall as over two and a half meters. It had pure ck hair in thick, short, and hard bristles, four stout, short legs, and very well-developed tusks that were 20 cm long. It was an unnaturally huge boar. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Teehee!¡± Long Qiu eyed the thing, the look on her face strange. She couldn¡¯t help but break intoughter after two seconds. The boar¡¯s short tail was tied into a bow, which cocked up high at its rear, shakingically with the angry move of its body. Needless to say, it was Golden Silkworm¡¯s doing. ¡°You little rogue. Making trouble again, aren¡¯t you?¡± Rubbing the child¡¯s head, she found the Golden Silkworm was getting more ¡°off-key¡± these days. Having invested so much in raising this little thing, she hoped it wouldn¡¯t go all haywire one of those days. ¡°Roar!¡± The boar had chased the Golden Silkworm all the way here and was ready to have a good fight, but did not expect to find a human who was not showing the least respect towards it. Eyes bloodshot and extremely agitated, it dug its hind hoof into the ground, as if ready to charge. The next second, however, the beast as huge as a small mountain seemed to give a flicker and disappeared from where it stood. ¡®What?¡¯ Long Qiu was genuinely stunned. A boar that knew how to sh out of sight? What sort of ability was that? As much as she was amazed, it did not worry she to the least. Sliding her left foot sideways, she effortlessly moved several meters away. ¡°Thump!¡± The boarnded right at that moment. Realizing it had charged into empty air, its beady eyes were filled with utter astonishment. Ever since it somehow acquired that move, it had never failed until now. Last time when it was surrounded by six men, it was with this move that it snuck to below the tree and took out one man first. Why wasn¡¯t it working now? Its poor little brain was not enough to handle such aplicated question. Kicking the ground with its hind hoof again, it shed out of sight a second time. Long Qiu dodged swiftly and deliberately did not fight back, but only observed. The boar was indeed as thick-headed as it looked. After a fourth sh, it was already worn out and began to whee and grunt. ¡°I see. It was not really teleporting¡­¡± Xiao Qiu had by now figured out what it was doing. The boar seemed to have acquired a, well, natural gift of sorts, which enabled it to raise its speed to a maximum with a momentary burst of energy, with which it could charge out for a short distance. The distance was within five to eight meters, which it could reach in the blink of an eye. That was why, at the first look, it looked like teleportation. ¡°I expected it to be an ordinary mutated beast, but this one is actually worth of some consideration¡­¡± Long Qiu gave a little hop andnded steadily on its back, where she sat down and began to think. ¡°Roar!¡± The boar grew all the more irritated and did all it could to shake its body around, but could not get rid of the person on its back no matter what. The ability of the short-distance charge was likely an unexpected talent brought by the exposure to the spiritual essence. Like her brother once said, one of the most important factor that would affect the result of instrument refinement was the own property of the material. For instance, if the material came with ¡°burning¡±, the refined instrument would also ¡°burn¡±; if the material came with ¡°sharpness¡±, then the refined instrument would also have a ¡°sharp¡± quality. However, so far they had not discovered more than a handful materials that came with such properties. In that case, she wondered if they could have a go with this boar. Momentster, Long Qiu made up her mind. She reached out a fair hand and put the open palm t on its head. Her energy than charged out¡­ ck! The top of its skull was shattered like broken ss. ¡°Thump!¡± All signs of life left its eyes and the boar copsed to the ground without any warning. The death was instantaneous. ¡°¡­¡± Long Qiu hopped off and walked around the enormous heap. Her eyes suddenly fixed on the spot between its hind legs. ¡°Move that leg aside,¡± she ordered. ¡®No!¡¯ Golden Silkworm protested in silence. ¡°Move it now!¡± ¡®No, I won¡¯t!¡¯ Golden Silkworm stared back at her. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Seeing that Golden Silkworm would not yield, Long Qiu could only flip the dead body with a streak of energy so that it was lying on its back. The hind legs then slid down, revealing the part in between. ¡°It¡¯s female!¡± Long Qiu scratched her head. Usually only the male boars had tusks, which made her think this one was a male. It was indeed born under some lucky star. The change it took was so significant. On a second thought, she realized that female boars would live in groups, while the male ones lived on their own. Could there be more than one out there? ¡°Where did you find it? Take me there.¡± Right away, she ordered the Golden Silkworm to lead the way. They walked for a long while before reaching a valley and, after some more search, they finally found a cave. As expected, there were three piglets inside. They were lying around in the cave. Seeing the strangers, they rolled to their feet and began to whee as ferociously as their little voices allowed. Long Qiu was purposefully irritating the little ones and stopped when she was less than a meter away. She even waved at them. ¡°Oink!¡± One of the piglets was so angry that it dug the ground with its hind hoof and whooshed out of sight. Long Qiu¡¯s face lit up. Reaching out, she seemed to have grabbed a little boar out of thin air, which was kicking around fiercely and would not stop struggling. ¡°You can do it as well! Great!¡± Delighted, Long Qiu knocked the three piglets out and returned to the dead body. She was going to take everything back to the mountain for her brother and sister, so that they could see what sort of treasure they could make out of them. However, how was she going to transport everything back? *** ¡°Holy sh*t, the admission score of that school is out. My son is only two points higher than that. That was so goddamn lucky!¡± ¡°He got in, didn¡¯t he? That¡¯s good news.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good news all right, but I can¡¯t go back! They¡¯re having a feast at home today and I¡¯m ying the janitor here!¡± A group of police officers were chatting at the mountain gate,ining about this lousy task every two sentences. Such arrangement couldn¡¯t be helped. More than twenty people were killed or injured, making it a major case by every standard. Moreover, a mutated creature was involved, rendering it all the more problematic. The government had its hands tied at the moment, for the forest was the creature¡¯s yground. However experienced the soldiers were, once inside, they were nothing but helpless greenhorns. Word had it that the authorities of Shengtian and Dongyun were discussing the issue now. If nothing worked, they¡¯d have to turn to the priests of Taiqing Pce for help. ¡°Sigh, ites with the job. We¡¯ll be able to rest when we retire!¡± The police officer heaved a sigh, took out a cigarette, and was about to light it. However, his hand shook, dropping it to the ground. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Dementia got you or something?¡± teased one of the colleagues. ¡°She, she, she¡­¡± The fellow pointed into the distance and could not stop himself from shaking. The other turned to look and their jaws went ck. Descending gracefully along the long mountain track was a youngdy as fair as white jade and as lovely as a fluffy toy who was carrying a piglet in each hand. The more frightening picture was that behind her, a mountainous heap was floating in midair. Yes, it was floating. She quickly walked up to them and smiled. ¡°Hello, my name is Long Qiu. Could you do me a favor?¡± ¡°¡­¡± An astounded silence. ¡°Hello? Hello, wake up, please?¡± ¡°You¡¯re Long, Long, Long Qiu¡­¡± Coming to themselves, the police officers were then scared out of their wits. What was Princess Phoenix Mountain doing here? ¡°Um, it¡¯s me. Do you mind helping me to take it back to Bai Town?¡± Xiao Qiu pointed at what was behind her. ¡°That¡¯s, that¡¯s really not¡­¡± One of the fellows was about to y by the book when his colleague gave him a nudge. ¡°Oh, sure! Of course! I¡¯ll dispatch a vehicle here right away!¡± ¡°Ha, thanks so much.¡± The fellows were extremely efficient and arge truck arrived in no time. Then, surrounded by all the eyes, the Golden Silkworm fought back its urge to swear at someone and tossed the giant boar down. ¡°Thump!¡± The truck that weighed a few tons itself shook with the impact. After that, the mountain gate was wide open and two police officers walked out to clear the site. ¡°Make way, please. If everyone please move to the side! Do not gather in the middle of the square!¡± ¡°What the hell? Why do we have to move?¡± ¡°Exactly. What¡¯s wrong with us having a pic here? We aren¡¯t bothering anybody!¡± The onlookers were disgruntled at the request and all began to yell. Among the hubbub, a gigantic truck rumbled out¡ªloaded on it was an even more gigantic boar. It was so big that it was taller than the open-box bed; its head was clearly rising above the sideboard. ¡°¡­¡± A hush fell over the square as everyone was dumbstruck by the passing truck, as well as the glimpse of that girl in the passenger seat. *** ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Uncle Jiang sighed and flicked his cigarette,pletely unaware of the ashes dropping out of the ashtray. He was sitting in the dim-lit living room of his vi, which seemed even emptier than usual with him being the only one to fill the space. As a matter of fact, he was at a loss himself. Lately, he had been more irascible than ever and would lose his temper over the tiniest problem. A couple of days ago, he had a row with his wife and was impervious to all reason. So much so that a woman as gentle as Yang Qing could stand him no longer and left home. He was at the time in the middle of a deal and had to see a client¡­ before he realized, Yang Qing had been away from home for three days. Rubbing his temples. Uncle Jiang stubbed out the cigarette. Despite the inexplicable sulkiness, he still picked up his phone and dialed the number. ¡°Toot¡­ toot¡­ toot¡­¡± The call only went through after a long while, but the person on the other side said nothing. ¡°Hello, Qing Qing?¡± Uncle Jiang called her by the nickname of her youth. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Old Jiang¡­¡± A voice rang out two secondster, which sounded extremely tired and was apanied by a faint chewing noise. ¡°What are you doing?¡± He found it strange. ¡°I¡¯m eating. I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°Oh, it was my fault the other day. I apologize. I¡¯lle by and pick you up in a moment. Please don¡¯t live by yourself out there,¡± said Uncle Jiang. ¡°¡­¡± There came another lengthy chewing sound, reminding him of someone very, very hungry. The voice then answered quietly, ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± ¡°In that case, you¡­ hello? Hello?¡± She hung up. Uncle Jiang frowned. His wife did not sound all right! He sat there dazed for a moment before suddenly rising to his feet and rushing out of the house. He was in the yard when he realized all was dark around, even the night sky above. It then dawned on him: oh, it was their area¡¯s turn for the ckout. Shaking his head, he got into his car and found a couple walking in the front, who were engaging in the most cloying conversation. ¡°Aiya, the ckout is so annoying. I was going to watch GOT tonight.¡± ¡°Hoho, don¡¯t worry. We can pump back the electricity ourselves tonight.¡± ¡°Stop it. You¡¯re not getting anywhere near me tonight. It takes forever for you to stop.¡± ¡°Why, you hold on to me too tight!¡± ¡°Beep! Beep!¡± Uncle Jiang honked the horn impatiently and the couple finally moved aside with much cursing. He then drove out of his residential area and headed for Liliac Lake. Chapter 290 Chapter 290: Hunger Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Screech!¡± A vehicle came to a stop inside a residential area somewhere around Lc Lake. The door opened and out came Uncle Jiang, who then ran hastily to the house. He knocked first. After getting no reply, he took out his key and opened the door. The estate was also a spacious vi, which was right now pitch-dark inside¡ªnone of the lights were on. Switching on the overhead light of the living room, he called out, ¡°Hello, Qing Qing? Qing Qing, are you here?¡± ¡°¡­¡± There was no reply. Uncle Jiang grew suspicious at the strange atmosphere of the house, for doors to all the rooms were tightly shut, and so were the curtains. The entire vi felt like a huge sealed box, denying the light outside any ess. A faint smell of spoiled food also filled the air. To make it stranger, he saw that his wife¡¯s shoes were clearly in the shoe cab and her bag and car keys were lying on the top. ¡°Click!¡± He walked further into the house and switched on the light of the bedroom, but found it empty. He then opened the door of the bathroom: still empty. Taking out his phone, he was about to call his wife when he froze and turned his head towards the kitchen, for behind that closed door, he seemed to have caught the sound of some rustling sound¡ªthe noise one would make when opening stic packages. ¡°Qing Qing?¡± Uncle Jiang quickly approached the door and shoved it open. The scene inside make him jump. The kitchen was also in darkness. By the lighting in from the other rooms, he could make out a figure sitting by the table burying its head eating something. After decades of marrying to the woman, he was sure by the feeling alone that it was Yang Qing. ¡°What¡¯s all this? Why didn¡¯t you turn on the light?¡± Uncle Jiang walked in and clicked the light switch. When the room was lit up by the bright light, Uncle Jiang felt a chill running all the way up his spine, making his flesh creep. The kitchen looked nothing it once was. Packagings and bits of food were scattered all over the kitchen tform and the table. Tworge pots were on the stoves. He could not make out what was cooked inside, only that the liquid was sshed everywhere, dripping and flowing all over the stove. The fridge door was wide open, which had probably broken down, for the light inside was not on. A few pieces of vegetable leaves and blood-stained bones had fallen out. The top of the table was the messiest ce, which was overflowing with things like bone shards, bits of meat, and fruit pits. Yang Qing was now sitting in this dump, burying her head in a roast chicken held between her hands. ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Dazzled by the sudden light, she winced instinctively with a strange moan, then raised her head. The face looking at Uncle Jiang petrified him! It reminded him of a melting candle. Her fair skin color was mostly gone, which was now covered by a hoary and lifeless sallowness, together with ayer of grease that would make one¡¯s stomach turn. Huge dark circles covered her under-eye area and her eyes seemed out of focus. The look on her face was a mixture of utter fatigue and excitement, which was eerily terrifying beyond description. She kept her gaze on Uncle Jiang while keeping tearing at the chicken, biting off bones together with the meat. In a hoarse voice, she said, ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Uncle Jiang asked in a shaky voice. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m just hungry. I have been eating for a day and a night, but I¡¯m still so hungry!¡± Yang Qing tore off another chunk of meat, the chewing motion contorting the muscles of her face. She was in the strangest state. She seemed to be in a confused state of mind, yet her head had remained partially clear, which was capable of one feeling only¡ªhunger! ¡°You, you¡­¡± Being an experienced man of the world, Uncle Jiang now had some idea of what was going on. He urged, ¡°Let¡¯s leave here now! You can¡¯t stay here any longer! Come!¡± With that, he moved closer to grab her. Yang Qing dodged backwards and yelled, ¡°I want to eat, I want to eat¡­ I want to eat!¡± She said it repeatedly and her voice grew louder until she was almost in a state of mania. Tossing the remaining half of the roast chicken aside, she suddenly dashed to the fridge. ¡°Ho, hoho, I¡¯m so hungry!¡± She grabbed a handful of raw greens and stuffed into her mouth. The juice sshed out, covering half of her face together with other crumbs, giving her a ferocious and devilish look. ¡°Qing Qing, just leave it! Come with me now!¡± Panic-stricken, Uncle Jiang ran up to her, snatched away the vegetable, and dragged her towards the door. ¡°Aaaaaah! Aaaaaah!¡± Yang Qing screamed frantically and yanked herself free right away. The look on her face turned grim as she yelled, ¡°You don¡¯t let me eat! I¡¯ll eat you!¡± ¡°Qing Qing!¡± Uncle Jiang was still in shock of his wife¡¯s sudden strength when Yang Qing brandished her arms and pounced at him like a beast. She was so fast that he had no time dodge. Her hands almost reached him when there came another scream. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± ¡°Thump!¡± Yang Qing suddenly flew backwards and copsed to the ground, motionless, apparently knocked unconscious. ¡°¡­¡± Jaw cking, Uncle Jiang only came to himself after quite a while. He fumbled out a pendant from under his shirt in a flurry, which was none other than the turtle shell amulet given by his daughter. Everything had happened so fast. He stood there dazed for some time and finally calmed down. He then phoned his older brother and checked all the rooms. Nothing seemed out of the ce, only that his wife¡¯s turtle shell was on the night table, which he picked up and put away. After that, he carried Yang Qing into the car and headed right for his older brother¡¯s. *** ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Smacking his head, Gu Yu was speechless. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Xiaozhai also smacked her head, even more speechless. Long Qiu, however, stood at their feet, biting her red lip with her bright white teeth, eyes flickering, as if waiting for apliment. It was her very first mission on her own and she had brought back four pigs¡­ that was some fat aplishment! After taking out the big boar, she asked the police force to help her with the transportation and the truck carried the boar all the way from Five Dragons Ridge to the foot of Phoenix Mountain. Despite all the trouble, the guys had nothing toin about, for the reward was very generous, only that the form it came in was somewhat disturbing. Just imagine this: a girl as beautiful as a movie star stuck her hand into the belly of the pig and came out with a bloody chunk of meat, telling you that it was a gift for you all¡­ How were they supposed to react to that! Well, they should be more than content and stop whining. It was from a mutated beast! The insider knowledge going around was that the meat of mutated beasts contained a tiny amount of spiritual essence, which, when ingested, could improve physical strength and solve the duration issue. Street-level civil servants would not begin to imagine such look luck on a normal day, which just happened to fall into theirps today. 10 kg of meat for five men. That was pretty generous! ¡°Hm, good job. You¡¯ve thought through everything.¡± Gu Yu picked his praising words carefully after much consideration. Xiaozhai also rubbed the girl¡¯s head, ¡°That was indeed very thoughtful. Keep at it.¡± ¡°Teehee, I thought so too! I¡¯m going to y with Jin Jin now!¡± The adorable pet was delighted at the head-rubbing and the praise and ran happily away. The couple exchanged a look and shrugged in unison. The boar seemed so awesome¡ªthe enormous size, the long tusks, its pig-bursting technique of instant charge for 5-8 m and all. But let¡¯s ask another question: how on earth would any of those be useful to Phoenix Mountain? Such novice-level skills were all among the cultivation-unrted martial arts category¡ªthe moves that young mobsters would use hatching at one another on the streets. Even Little Soap would easily beat the pig in both the speed and the lethality. Wait a second, thatparison was a little insulting¡­ Had it been the couple who went there, they would have brought back the hogskin and the tusks back at most. Our Long Qiu was such a naive girl. ¡°It¡¯s here after all, so we might as well take care of the meat first¡ªthe pig must weigh a ton. Let¡¯s send some to your and Xiaojin¡¯s parents, Old Shui, Uncle and Aunt Fang, and Gao Mingde and the others each. The rest will go to the shop for whomever that wants to buy it,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Let¡¯s keep the skin, the bones, and the teeth. We can at least give it a good look. It won¡¯t hurt if we can refine some equipment out of them.¡± Xiaozhai had no problem with the n. None of the four ate much meat. ¡°As for the three little ones, well, just leave them on the mountain and confine them somewhere. Just make sure they wouldn¡¯t hurt others.¡± In a few words, the fate of the four pigs was set and the subject finished. Gu Yu was about to talk to Xiaozhai about ck magic when they heard Little Soap¡¯s roaring voice. ¡°Is mum all right? F**k, how dare they touch my family! I¡¯m gonna kill every single one of them!¡± Chapter 291 Chapter 291: The Dead Thing Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Shengtian, the Jiang¡¯s ce. Yang Qingy in the bedroom, all four limbs tightly constrained by ropes. She had not regained consciousness, but in case she should wake up and hurt someone else, they had to resolve to such measure. Father, Mother, and Uncle Jiang stood in a row by the bed, their faces ridden with worry. They had no intention to send Yang Qing to a hospital, for the abnormality was clearly beyond science. Moreover, with the status of the Jiang Family, they had pretty much learned all there was to learn about the current situation. ¡°When did this happen?¡± asked Father Jiang. ¡°She already sounded strange when I called her, but she said herself that she had been eating for a day and a night, so I think it began yesterday morning¡­¡± The look on Uncle Jiang¡¯s face was painful as he watched his wife. After decades of their marriage and with his well-established career, he had had his wanton life every now and then out there, but he still cared about his own wife. ¡°Did anything unusual happen before this?¡± ¡°We had a row¡ªthat¡¯s why she went to live out there. We haven¡¯t been talking these past days. I really don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Sigh, don¡¯t get too worried. Let¡¯s wait until the kids get here.¡± Father Jiang could do nothing but pat his younger brother on the shoulder and console him repeatedly. Phoenix Mountain got the news in the afternoon and it would take them at least over three hours to get here. The three sat idly in the room and without any warning, Yang Qing stirred, then opened her eyes. ¡°Qing Qing, how are you feeling?¡± Uncle Jiang immediately went up to her. ¡°Are you all right? Do you remember what happened?¡± Mother Jiang also asked. ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Watching her family, Yang Qing assumed a dreamy expression for two seconds before the lucidity in her eyes was gone and her face was twisted into a savage expression. ¡°I¡¯m hungry! Cut me loose! Give me food! I¡¯m hungry! Let go of me! Aaaaaah!¡± She looked like a fish struggling at the bottom of a drying riverbed, fighting with all her strength to break free of the ropes while yelling like a mad person. The other three stared at the woman in bed in utter silence, their faces filled with terror. After a moment, it was Mother Jiang who made the resolute decision to stuff a towel into Yang Qing¡¯s mouth. As sound-proofing as the walls were, they were no match to all the screaming. ¡°¡­¡± Seeing this, Uncle Jiang looked even more worried. By now there was sadness in his eyes as well. ¡°Bang!¡± Just then, the door downstairs was mmed open and there came the sound of shuffling footsteps, together with Xiaojin¡¯s yelling, ¡°How¡¯s mum? Dad? Dad?¡± The girl dashed into the room after those words and froze on the spot as soon as she caught sight of her mother. ¡°¡­¡± She neither ran to her howling, nor did she shout in rage. She only stood there, then squinted her eyes. A cold and murderous aura was emanating from her. Even a soap had a line that could not be crossed! Behind her, the other three filed in. Father Jiang was delighted to see them and greeted, ¡°Xiao Gu, thank you foring!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the least I can do!¡± They skipped all the small talk. Sitting on either side of the bed, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai each took a hand of Yang Qing¡¯s and examined her. He carefully sent in a streak of his refined energy, which slowly threaded through her body. As the energy explored on, what he found intrigued him even more. First of all, there was nothing wrong with her physically. Despite of all the food she had eaten, it did not make her sick. Secondly, her mental state was¡­ well, not exactly unwell. It was only extremely acute and confused, as well as exhausted. Finally came the biggest problem, which was invisible to ordinary people. One sweep with his mental force and he saw ayer of ckish gray air covering Yang Qing¡¯s face. The air seemed to have life of its own and integrated into one with its host, constantly consuming her vitality. The integration was so seamless and deep into her mind that he dared not dispel it just yet, fearing that the removal process might harm Yang Qing. ¡°¡­¡± He put down her hand after quite a while and looked at his girlfriend, who nodded back at him, apparently having found the abnormality as well. Xiaozhai then said, ¡°Shall we try the Evil-dispelling Dan?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± With that, Xiaozhai took out the gourd, poured out a pill, and fed it to her. Gu Yu kept himself busy as well, helping with guiding the energy so that the medicine could take effect more quickly. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Momentarily, Yang Qing¡¯s cheeks flushed and debility-induced sweat covered her forehead. She instinctively tried to struggle, but was pinned down by Xiaozhai. Even her attempt to scream was interrupted halfway¡ªshe only made out half a syble before her voice was sealed and she was left opening her mouth in silence. About twenty minutes passed when the lump of air stiffened and turned sluggish. Yang Qing also gradually calmed down and fell asleep. ¡°Xiao¡­ Xiao Gu, Xiaozhai, what¡¯s happening to her?¡± It was Uncle Jiang¡¯s first time meeting Gu Yu and he stuttered a little when asking the young stranger. ¡°She¡¯s fine for now. Let¡¯s talk downstairs.¡± Hence, the group filed down to the living room and sat down. Three elders turned their attention in unison to certain fellow, who organized his thoughts and began to talk. ¡°It¡¯s actually not veryplicated. In in terms, auntie¡¯s probably been infected by an evil of Yin.¡± ¡°An evil of Yin?¡± Father Jiang was surprised. ¡°But ording to the data so far, we haven¡¯t found anything like that!¡± ¡°That does not mean such a thing did not exist. You know, many of the changes brought by the recovery of spiritual essence had a long brewing time before the sudden outbreak. This one is no exception,¡± exined Gu Yu. ¡°Aunt is in an extremely confused mental state, as if another force is interfering with it, which we cannot detect. She is wrapped by ayer of ck air, which was draining up her vitality. We can only suppress it with our Dan for now,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Even you cannot detect it?¡± Frowning slightly, Father Jiang asked, ¡°Is this evil of Yin very powerful? Will you be able to solve it?¡± ¡°It is not that powerful, only very unfamiliar, so we don¡¯t know yet where to start.¡± Gu Yu then turned to Uncle Jiang. ¡°Please don¡¯t worry too much. Things like this do not possess someone for no reason. To solve it, we need to find the source first. Please try to remember, did auntie run into anything strange before this?¡± ¡°I really have no id¡ª wait a minute!¡± Uncle Jiang smacked his own thigh. ¡°She would go for a facial with her friends whenever she¡¯s in a bad mood. Let me ask them first!¡± Everyone was putting in their thoughts; even Long Qiu would make a suggestion every now and then. Little Soap turned out to be the quietest one; she sat by her sister and did not utter a word. *** Late at night, somewhere near Lc Lake. It was a little over ten o¡¯clock and the street was deserted. The construction sites on either side of the road were enclosed in pboards, making the ce as still as a dead city. All of a sudden, the sound of a car engine came from afar, followed by the sh of the headlights. The car drove near and stopped by the side of the road for no obvious reason. A couple walked out, who turned out to be Gu Yu and Xiaozhai. ¡°Is it here?¡± ¡°Um, should be around here.¡± The two went straight to business. Each taking a side of the road, they began to sweep the ground. Earlier, Uncle Jiang made what felt like a hundred phone calls and finally came up with something: two nights before, Yang Qing got a t tire on this street and it took forever to have the car towed away. Xiaojin had wanted toe, but they ordered her to stay behind with Long Qiu. Thetter was more capable and would be able to deal with unexpected problems. ¡°What was this ce?¡± Gu Yu asked in passing. ¡°Used to be a farnd with viges around it. It is so remote out here that it was only included in the development n a couple of years ago, for buildings and stuff,¡± replied Xiaozhai. ¡°No wonder. Those things would never have shown up in popted areas¡­ Why?¡± With his mental force turned full on, even a grass would not get past him. Soon, he detected something unusual. He walked a couple of steps forward to his left, picked up a tiny fragment, and looked at it closely. The material was some timeworn coarse pottery and couldn¡¯t look more ordinary, yet for some reason, it just felt out of the ce. He immediately searched the surrounding ground and found a lot of simr pieces. ¡°Hey, check these out!¡± He called his girlfriend over. Xiaozhai took a glimpse and the look on her face was hard to describe. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it before when I was little.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°In Songjiang River. There was this beggar in town who carried it along all the time.¡± Xiaozhai took over the fragments and after some rearranging, she put them back into something resembling half a bowl. ¡°That¡¯s it. It was indeed a coarse pottery bowl.¡± ¡°It has a hint of, well, energy that I can¡¯t describe.¡± Gu Yu thought for a moment and went on, ¡°It feels to have something to do with its owner. Maybe an obsession?¡± ¡°Exactly! That exins everything.¡± Xiaozhai nodded. The couple had suspected all along that Yang Qing was possessed by a ghost. Only that they did not have any evidence, so they had to vaguely name it an evil of Yin. With the fragments in hand and considering the history and surroundings of Lc Lake, they soon put everything together. The area surrounding Lc Lake had always been remote viges since the end of Qing Dynasty, which did not develop much further after the modern country was established. People here lived off the farnds, which was the lifestyle of several viges. Their general condition could be summarized in one word: impoverished! Having not enough food and very little clothing, not to mention the looming gues and diseases, men died easily those days¡ªsome of them turned into corpses by the side of the road without a family member to bury them. Decadester, new building sites were nned and new ditches dug; the broken bowl was probably unearthed during the process and just happened to be ran over by Yang Qing. Of course, the details of how it got to her was not important. What mattered was that, it was really a bloody ghost! Ghosts had never shown up in the picture up to now. However, from the examination earlier, they concluded that it was a type of spirit energy, which was invisible, undetectable, and intangible. It was only through mental force that they were faintly aware of its existence. Plenty of folklore was set around ghosts possessing human bodies, but based on their observation, the ghost was not attached to the body, but to the soul. Those possessed would usually have their mind distracted and their energy consumed at a tremendous speed, as well as presenting certain obsession of the dead person. Such as: hunger! It was a most thorny problem. They dared not dispel the thing with Thunder Technique or the cirction of the spiritual essence straight away. Should anything go wrong, their aunt¡¯s mind would be damaged. The two searched for a while longer and made no other discovery. They then went back to the car with the broken bowl, but did not start the car right away. ¡°¡­¡± After an unexinable silence, Gu Yu suddenly chuckled. ¡°Ha, we used to ask ourselves ¡®why didn¡¯t any ghost show up¡¯ all the time. Now that they do show up, it feels rather strange. Hey, Zhongyuan Festival is almosting. Are we going to have a ¡®Night Parade of One Hundred Ghosts¡¯?¡± ¡°I was just thinking that if there are ghosts, how about theherworld? What about reincarnation?¡± Xiaozhai gave him an irrelevant answer, which was equally strange. ¡°¡­¡± Then there was more silence. To some people, ghosts did not bring fear, but hope. Especially when they were desperately missing someone who had passed away, they would not give up any chance to see them again. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll see how things turn out when they happen. Let¡¯s focus on solving this thing at hand now.¡± It seemed forever when Gu Yu spoke again. ¡°With what we have, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re not qualified to handle it. I think we should turn to the professionals.¡± ¡°Agreed! Speaking of ghost-hunting, who better to talk to if not Maoshan Sect?¡± Chapter 292 Chapter 292: Zheng Kaixin Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Jurong, the mountain of Maoshan. Maoshan was located on the border of Jurong and Jintan and was under the jurisdiction of the former. Legend went that three Mao Brothers used to collect medicinal herbs and refine Dan here in the Western Han Dynasty, saving the people and benefiting mankind as a whole. Theyter created their own Taoist teaching in the area. When time came to the Qi and Liang Dynasty, Tao Hongjing, the founder of the Shangqing School, came to live a reclusive life in Maoshan, where he took in many disciples and formally established Shangqing. Out of the respect for the ancestors, he hornored the three Mao Brothers as the sect¡¯s forefathers. There were as many as 257 temples and pces in Maoshan at its heyday. However, by the end of the Qing Dynasty, only three pces and five temples remained standing. The three pces were Chongxi-Wanshou Pce, Jiuxiao-Wanfu Pce, and Yuanfu-Wanning Pce; the five temples were Deyo, Renyo, Yuchen, Baiyun, and Ganyuan. Later, with the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War and the troubled times the war brought, nearly all of remaining building were destroyed. It was not until the 80s when Jiuxiao-Wanfu and Yuanfu-Wanning Pces were restored with government funding. Together, they were known as Maoshan Taoist Monastery and became a branch of Zhengyi. There was also a female Taoist monastery here known as Qianyuan Temple, which belonged to the Longmen Sect of Quanzhen. On the northern slope of the mountain was a small town called Maoshan Town, which was a rather small ce. A little over 30,000 people lived in this area of 10 km from south to north and 5 km from east to west. Early this morning, when most residents were still sound asleep, the gate of the Zhengs¡¯¡ªthe well-known wealthy family in town¡ªmanor was wide open, raising a morous scene. Quite a few vehicles also parked outside the house. ¡°I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to trouble you with it this time, Priest Chen. Thank you for everything.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee. That¡¯s the least I can do.¡± With that, a few people escorted a priest out, while a middle-aged man sweet-talked and handed over a thick red envelope (i.e. gift money). The priest took the envelope and with a practiced swipe of his wide sleeve, it disappeared from sight. He then also took out a paper packet and said, ¡°This is the time I have calcted. As long as you follow my instruction, nothing will happen tonight. However, do forgive my bluntness, but the deceased passed away right before Zhongyuan Festival and that is not a good sign. You¡¯d better hold another ceremony topletely dispel all evils.¡± ¡°Yes, of course! You have our full trust!¡± ¡°In that case, I will leave you in peace!¡± They returned inside after seeing the priest off, then hurriedly went into mourning. They were not wearing the formal full-on mourning dress, but only tied white cloth straps around their heads and waists and dressed in in-colored clothes. After that, dozens of people squeezed into one room and a short, small child was pushed to the front. He was seven or eight years old at most, with heavy features, and looked a little dazed. Held at his chest was a round porcin jar. ¡°¡­¡± Momentarily, the roomful of people all held their breath in silence while the middle-aged man said in a low voice, ¡°Kaixin, do you remeber what we taught you yesterday? Just do as you were told.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± The child nodded and raised the jar above his head, murmuring, ¡°Grandpa, since you have gone, please linger no longer¡­ your children and grandchildren are here to see you off and mourn for you, please bless us with peace, health, wealth, and good fortune.¡± After that, will all his effort, he smashed the jar into the ground. ¡°ck!¡± The porcin jar mmed onto the cement floor and shattered all over the ce. Immediately, a woman handed him a bowl of hot water sweented with sugar, saying, ¡°Kaixin, drink this now.¡± The child downed the water in one gulp. Only then did the roomful of people go out and got into their vehicles. The middle aged man was Zheng Cheng and the child was his youngest son named Zheng Kaixin 1 . A couple of days ago, the grandfather, who was the most senior member in hierachy of the n, passed away and his funeral arrangements were being made at the moment. As the saying went: ces two miles apart would not share the same custom and rules were changed every mile, let alone the difference between the South and the North. For instance, in the North, the sixth night after the deceased passed away would be the time to ¡°add fire¡±, which was to burn some joss money outside the house and set out some offerings with families and friends gathered around and a host¡¯d say something nice to the dead; some paper ash was also to be sprinkled around the chimney. Because ording to the belief of the North, the dead did not know they were dead for the first six days, hence someone had to inform them on the sixth night: well, you¡¯re done in this world, so move along! Only after that would the soul of the dead leave through the chimney. However, in the South, especially in the area south of Yangtze River, the habit of ¡°adding fire¡± did not seem to exist. Instead, on the morning of the seventh day, a child would smash a jar at the gate before drinking a bowl of sweatened water, implying everything was peaceful. Of course, the old custom was to have the coffin kept in a temporary shelter for seven days before burial, which was no longer possible. Nowadays, the dead would normally be cremated within three days. Before long, the fleet of cars reached the funeral home and everyone was busying with the mourning ceremony. Zheng Kaixin did not know how the procedures went and only did as bid¡ªburning the paper, kowtowing¡­ despite the absence of tears, the kid was very sad. At his age, he already knew what ¡°death¡± was. Grandpa had been very nice to him, but he would never see the old man again. *** In the traditional funeral culture of this country, the seventh day after the death was probably the most important day. It was a general belief that the spirit of the dead would return home that day, for which the family would prepare a meal and then keep out of sight. For should the spirit catch sight of its family, it would be concerned, which would disturb both the living and the dead. Being right next to Maoshan, people of Maoshan Town were constantly under the influence for generations on end, making them all the more serious with such customs. Evening arrived in no time. The Zheng manor. All the distant rtives and the nearby neighbors had left, leaving behind the direct descendants who were now sitting in the living room. Zheng Cheng took out that paper packet and opened it carefully, removing a piece of yellow paper from with in. Written on it were a few words: the hour of Hai, the second quarter. That was when the spirit of the dead would return. ¡°The hour of Hai is between nine and eleven at night, right? What about the second quarter?¡± Zheng Cheng found that a little problematic. ¡°Never mind. Let¡¯s just say it¡¯s going to be the entire two hours.¡± Grandma was the more resolute one. Holding her little grandson between her arms, she cautioned him again, ¡°Kaixin, remember this! Do note outter. Stay in bed!¡± ¡°Yes, I will stay there!¡± replied the kid. ¡°Ok, let¡¯s get everything set up, then,¡±manded the grandmother. Right away, the group of people made themselves busy. As instructed by the priest, they set up the candles, liquor, and food first, then sprinkled ayer of nt ash over the floor. Attach a piece of joss money every 30 cm on a bamboo stick and stand it on the stairs by the front gate¡ªit was said that the spirit would enter the house when it saw the bamboo stick. After that, boil an egg and put it into a y jar in the corner of the room to bribe the deity of misfortune monly known as ¡°chicken feet god¡±) so that the spirit could stay for a bit longer. Meanwhile, a string of fire crackers had to be set aside, to be lit and thrown into the room after the hour of Hai had passed. Only after the fire crackers were finished could the living enter the room. After everything was ready, grandma ordered everyone to go back to their rooms and remain there. To be honest, they had no idea whether or not the priest was telling the truth, nor did they know if ghosts really existed. All they knew was that it was a tradition passed down for generations and it had pretty much been ingrained in them like the Lantern Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, or Chinese New Year. The Zheng manor had a big courtyard and a two-story house. The residents tonight were grandma, the family of Uncle Zheng, the family of Aunt Zheng, Zheng Cheng¡¯s elder son and his wife, and the Zheng Cheng couple with Zheng Kaixin. The kid curled up in bed between his parents and was excited and curious. ¡°Mum, is Grandpaing back?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask stupid questions. It¡¯s time to sleep!¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not sleepy.¡± ¡°Then close your eyes!¡± Mother Zheng¡¯s attitude was rather vague. She herself would believe the answer to be yes, yet she was not so sure with saying no, either. Patting the kid, she asked, ¡°Hey, what time is it?¡± ¡°Ten to nine.¡± Father Zheng was ying with his phone and cared little about what was going on. His father had been gone for seven days now and the grief period was over. All that was left now was the procedure. His wife took it more seriously and said, ¡°Let¡¯s turn off the light, or mum will tell us off in a minute. And put your phone away.¡± ¡°Sigh. Ok, turn it off, then.¡± He had no choice but put down his phone and let his wife turn off the light. Instantly, the yard turned pitch-dark and unnaturally quiet. They had no idea what others were doing in their own rooms, for all sounds were gone. Holding her son, Mother Zheng thought, ¡®It¡¯s almost nine o¡¯clock, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ She pricked up her ears a little anxiously, but everything remained quiet. Nothing was happening. A little whileter, she estimated again, ¡°It should be nine fifteen now, right?¡± ¡°Ha¡­¡± ¡°Creak¡­ creak¡­¡± There was finally some noise, which turned out to be her son¡¯s faint snoring and her husband turning in boredom. The threey there like so for quite some time. The only sounds were the sporadic dog¡¯s barking from the neighbors and asional passing cars, which were nothing usual. She couldn¡¯t help butugh at herself: she had actually fallen for the supersition! ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Another fifteen minutes passed when Zheng Kaixin stirred and woke up. ¡°Mum, I want to pee.¡± ¡°Hold it.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Mum, I can¡¯t hold it any more! I need to pee!¡± He twisted and turned, his little member agonizing under his pants. ¡°Then go!¡± Father Zheng said impatiently. ¡°The hour is not past yet!¡± His wife protested. ¡°The hell with the hour. Just go! Don¡¯t wet the bed!¡± Seeing her husband cared little about the rules, Mother Zheng gave it a thought and also found it probably would not matter much. She thus said, ¡°Go, then. Come right back here after you finish.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Zheng Kaixin leapt out of bed, scuffed out of the bedroom, and rushed into the toilet. After happily emptying himself, he quickly made his way back. When he reached the corridor, out of some unexpected coincidence, he gave it a peek: the corridor led to the living room, the living room to the door of the house, and the door to the yard¡­ that entire line of passageway was enclosed in darkness. The liquor and food looked untouched and the nt ash remained intact, so was the caly jar in the corner of the room Shaking his head, he ran back to the bedroom. After the urgent need was taken care of and lying between mum and dad, the little one felt warm and safe and soon went back to sleep. *** Zheng Kaixin had no idea how long he had been asleep for when he mumbled suddenly, ¡°Hm? Why is it so bright?¡± His field of vision had lit up and his body felt light and soft as if he was soaked in water and being pushed upwards by buoyance. It was the most intriguing feeling. He could not even tell if he was dreaming or asleep or whether his eyes were open or closed. While he was still in a daze, the light gradually dimmed and a dark shadow emerged, which was getting closer and closer. The face then vividly came into sight¡ªit was his grandpa. ¡°¡­¡± Zheng Kaixin wanted to scream and he did, but no sound came out of him. Grandpa walked up to him and watched him affectionately, but he made no sound, either. After a little pause, grandpa reached out and seemed to be rubbing his grandson¡¯s head. He then turned around and disappeared. ¡°Kaixin! Kaixin, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Kaixin, you¡¯re frightening mum¡­ sob¡­¡± Back in the manor of the Zheng Family, all hell had broken loose! Zheng Kaixin was in the middle of his sleep when he suddenly yelled and screamed with both hands waving around. He then began to cry, shouting repeatedly. ¡°Turn on the light! Turn on the light!¡± It frightened his parents, who shook him repeatedly, but could not wake him up. Grandma and the others were woken up by the noise and rushed down to check. For a moment, the house was filled with a hubbub of shouting. ¡°Turn on the light! Turn on the light!¡± ¡°Kaixin¡­ sob¡­ Kaixin¡­¡± Mother Zheng cried along and Father Zheng kicked the wall in agitation. Only the grandmother winced a little before reproving angrily, ¡°That goddamn old fool! Why did he have to touch the kid! What did you rub the kid for!¡± ¡°Mum, are you saying dad hase back?¡± Mother Zheng raised her head abruptly and stared at her mother-inw, the look on her face terrifying. The grandmother was instantly silenced by that look andforted the mother, ¡°No, no he hasn¡¯t. I was talking nonsense! Don¡¯t worry, the kid just got confused with his dreams. He¡¯ll be fine in a moment! He¡¯ll be fine!¡± It went on like so with the roomful of people standing around helplessly. Some suggested sending the kid to the hospital, some said they should go fetch a priest, while someone else went to make the sweetened water. In the end, even the neighbors came by to offer help, but that was to no avail. Fortunately, after five minutes, Zheng Kaixin gradually stopped crying and regained consciousness. Apart from his pink puffy eyes, nothing seemed to have happened to him. He asked in confusion, ¡°Mum, what happened to me?¡± ¡°Sob¡­ nothing, you¡¯re all right!¡± Mother Zheng made no exnation, but held her son and cried all over him again. *** ¡°Aaaah! I¡¯m not going in there! I¡¯m not!¡± Zheng Kaixin scrambled out of the house, followed by his mother, who said angrily, ¡°Stop it! Juste in with me!¡± ¡°No! Someone died there! I¡¯m not going in!¡± The kid held on to the iron gate, his face all pale and himself shaking unstoppably. ¡°Bullsh*t!¡± His mother ashened at those words and pped him. ¡°You little brat! What are you talking about? You saw nothing!¡± ¡°Someone really, really died there, mum, mum¡­¡± The kid was on the edge of breaking into tears. Mother Zheng was going to scold him again when her cousin scuffed out and leaned on the doorframe. ¡°Why, Kaixin, I haven¡¯t been pretty nice to you, haven¡¯t I? Why are you saying such mean things about us?¡± ¡°No, he didn¡¯t mean it. Sister, he¡¯s just a kid. It was all nonsense!¡± Mother Zheng exined hastily. ¡°Nonsense? Humph, we all know about the old man¡¯s touch. Maybe it¡¯s given him some sort of astral vision. Tsk, tsk. I¡¯m not important enough to have such an able nephew. It¡¯s better if you don¡¯te again!¡± ¡®Bang!¡¯ Her cousin shut the door. ¡°¡­¡± Pursing her lips, Mother Zheng led the child by his hand and slowly walked back home. It was noontime and lunch was just ready. Seeing them returning, Grandma Zheng forced out a greeting and they all went to the dinning room for lunch. It was a depressing lunch through and through. None of the family members talked and Zheng Kaixin was so frustrated that he almost buried his head into the bowl, afraid of looking at his family. He had be this strange person after that seventh day. Whereever he went, he would point on someone had died here, that ce was ominous, or would burst into shouting and yelling¡­ who in the right mind would like to be around him? In a matter of a few days, half of the Maoshan Town knew about it, saying that the kid of the Zheng Family had been touched by a ghost and gone mad. The way of human beings was that when the pressure was big enough, even their own flesh and blood 2 could be easily abandoned. ¡°I have discussed with mum. Tomorrow, we¡¯re sending Kaixin onto the mountain.¡± Halfway through the lunch, Father Zheng made the sudden announcement. ¡°Onto the mountain? What do you mean?¡± Mother Zheng was taken by surprise. ¡°I¡¯ve talked to Priest Chen. He said that the kid had been invaded by Yin energy and having him around for too long will harm mortal men. He¡¯s very interested in taking Kaixin in as a pupil. We only have to give him some fruit every year to show respect.¡± ¡°Zheng Cheng! Have you no conscience at all?¡± Mother Zheng lost her temper right away. ¡°He¡¯s your own son! How could you send him away to be a priest?¡± ¡°Keep your voice down. What can we do with his crazy talk? Even if we can live with it, what about his life when he gets older? He has to go to school, find a girlfriend, find a job, and get married one day. Who would want him in this state? Comapring to that, I¡¯d rather have him disciplined by the priest. Maybe he¡¯ll be cured somehow.¡± ¡°You!¡± Tears welled up in Mother Zheng¡¯s eyes as she turned to Grandma Zheng. ¡°Mum, you agree with that?¡± ¡°The priests on the mountain are very capable. At least they can do better than us. We can always take him back after they cured him, can¡¯t we?¡± said the grandmother. ¡°Fine, fine¡­¡± Mother Zheng almost burst into tears, but she managed to hold it back. In a half-mocking tone, she said, ¡°Kaixin is my son whatever he turns into! If none of you wants him, I will!¡± Chapter 293 Chapter 293: Maoshan Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Great Mao Peak, Jiuxiao-Wanfu Pce. The temple was constructed during the Western Han Dynasty and dedicated to worshipping Mao Ying, the True Lord Great Mao. The temple was known as Shenghu Temple in the Yuan Dynasty and during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, pces and halls were constructed by imperial order and it was given the name Jiuxiao-Wanfu Pce 1 by the emperor. Right now, in a meditation room in the inner court, Wu Songbai, the abbot of the Maoshan Sect, was sitting by the table enthralled by the Taoist scripture in his hand. ¡°Tap-tap-tap!¡± Footsteps came in from the courtyard, and shortly stopped outside his door. A voice said, ¡°Abbot, they have arrived at the town.¡± ¡°Hm, tell Jingyi to greet the guests and get a vegetarian meal ready,¡± instructed Wu Songbai. ¡°¡­¡± The man outside did not move, but said hesitantly, ¡°Abbot, they are not exactly ordinary guests. Shall we make some special arrangements?¡± ¡°Special arrangements? You mean like opening up the mountain gate and having your abbot weing them in person, while the masters wait in lines together with a volley of heavenly music?¡± Wu Songbai teased. ¡°Um¡­¡± The man was lost for words. ¡°That¡¯s it, then. Go get prepared.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The man retreated as told, while Wu Songbai shook his head and went back to his reading. A couple of days ago, a message came from Phoenix Mountain, saying they were going toe here for a visit. The entire Maoshan Sect went all jittery at the notice and Wu Songbai was the only onepletely unaffected. Despite being a fellow member of the ¡°Three Mountains of Talisman¡± alongside the Way of the Celestial Masters,paring to thetter, the Maoshan Sect had gone through some pretty miserable plights. During the Japanese invasion, the mountain used to be a revolutionary base, which was unfortunately wiped out by the enemy troops. The mountain was torched and the three pces and five temples were almost burnt to the ground. After the modern state was established, Zhengyi was at an disadvantage because of its particr attributes and the Maoshan Sect was the one of the most disadvantaged branches of the school. Ghost-catching, ghost-nursing, corpse-refining, and corpse-walking¡ªwhat did those skills promote if not superstition! Hence, the sect had been hit hard by official suppression, so much so that for a couple of decades, it was on the verge of extinction. It was thanks to the previous abbots, who, through swallowing the humiliation and bearing the heavy load, managed to preserve some heritage with all their effort. Later, even with the official permission of the freedom of religion and the restoration of the prestige of the Celestial Master Temple, the Maoshan Sect kept a low profile, focusing on nothing but cultivating in a reclusive manner. It was also during this period that a lot of chatans roamed the country in the name of Maoshan disciples, deceiving and beguiling themon people¡­ It was probably due to such experience that the atmosphere of Maoshan significantly differed from the other sects. Take Zhang Jintong as an example. Being the leader of Zhengyi, he was too entangled in the secr affairs and had made a habit of caring for personal gains, so that in terms of disposition and tolerance, Wu Songbai had surpassed him in both aspects. *** ¡°This must be what the immortals¡¯ dwellings look like!¡± Slowly ascending along the mountain trail, Gu Yu savored the forest of grotesque stones, deep and serene karst caves, and the interweaving ravines and creeks enshrouded in the white mist. He couldn¡¯t help but be amazed by the scene. ¡°The world talks about Maoshan as the Taoist treasure ce, yet they have ignored its delicate natural beauty. The mountain is as beautiful as the Five Mountains or any other famous ones out there,¡± added Jingyi with a smile. The man was in his twenties and very amicable. He was also Wu Songbai¡¯s own pupil, only that he was not as well-endowed as Chao Kongtu and was not selected for Qiyun. ¡°You¡¯re right. The two aspect brings out the best in each other,¡± Gu Yu chimed in. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai rolled her eyes at the conversation and could not be bothered to join in. Xiaojin was burning with impatience beside them, wishing she could activate the Void-arranging Technique and fly herself up. Sensing her anxiety, Xiaozhai held her sister by the shoulder, gesturing her to stay put. You heard it right. There was something special about this trip, for Little Soap had tagged along¡ªher own mother was concerned and no one could deny the request of a filial child. Hence, the three came together, leaving Long Qiu behind in Shengtian. Since Yang Qing was taken care of by the Evil-dispelling Dan at the moment, everything should be fine for the time being. An hourter, they arrived at Jiuxiao-Wanfu Pce. The magnificent pce was built into the side of the mountain, overlooking Maoshan Town from above. It contained four tiers of halls: the first tier was the Hall of Spiritual Officials, the second the scripture depository, the third the Taiyuan Hall with Yingxu Monastery on the east and Yihu Monastery on the west, and the fourth tier consisted of the Elevating tform and the Hall of Two Saints. The Elevating tform was also known as the Ascending tform. Legend had it that Mao Ying flew up to heaven here on the back of a crane. The Hall of the Two Saints was where Mao Ying¡¯s parents were worshipped, with the dormitory and living room on the east wing and Yiyun Building on the west, in which the ¡°Four Treasures of the Mountain¡± were disyed¡ªnamely the jade seal, jade tablet, jade tally, and jade inkstone; all four were old treasures of the Song Dynasty. They walked along the Hall of Spiritual Officials into the temple. When passing a small square, Gu Yu couldn¡¯t help but turn to look at a middle-aged woman sweeping the floor. She wore simple clothes and looked miserable and sad, which made her stand out from the surroundings. ¡°Is she aywoman of the temple?¡± asked Gu Yu. ¡°She¡¯s from a wealthy family in Maoshan Town. A few days ago was her deceased father-inw¡¯s seventh day ceremony and somehow her younger son was infected by an evil energy. The child was no longer fit to be raised at home, so after some discussion with one of our junior brothers, they decided to send the boy here to live. The mother could not part herself from the child and abandoned thefort of her home to live here on the mountain with him. She offered to help with cleaning the houses,¡± exined Jingyi. ¡°How is the child doing?¡± asked Xiaozhai. ¡°It was actually nothing serious, only that he is still very young and finds it hard to adjust. Abbot said weal and woe always walk together, so what would be of him ispletely in the hands of fate.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± The couple nodded. After giving the woman another look, they continued walking. Before long, Jingyi led them to the entrance of the living room, where he cupped his hands and left. The three walked in on their own and found the room empty. Momentster, a round-faced old priest walked out from behind a folding screen. This first impression was so much better than Zhang Jintong once gave them. The three saluted at once. ¡°Senior Wu Songbai, I presume?¡± ¡°Haha, do sit down!¡± Wu Songbai gestured with his hand, hinting at them to skip all the pleasantries. He then took the host seat and looked the three up and down in an undisguised manner, thenplimented, ¡°The reputation is well-deserved¡ªsuch a talented couple¡­ this young friend is also exceedingly capable. That¡¯s very impressive.¡± Thest part was about Little Soap. While her sister and brother-inw were going to return thepliment, Xiaojin could hold back no longer. She blurted out, ¡°Senior, my mother was possessed by a ghost and we¡¯re here to find a way to save her. Please help us!¡± ¡°Possessed by a ghost? What are the symptoms?¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost like schizophrenia: she¡¯s afraid of light, shouting all the time, and very, very hungry. When we found her, she had been eating for a day and a night, but her stomach waspletely fine!¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± asked the abbot. ¡®Huh?¡¯ Xiaojin was dazed for a second. It almost sounded like the problem was not serious enough for the abbot to treat. She answered, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s all! Senior, could you cure her?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s nothing serious.¡± Wu Songbai bragged a little casually, then after a pause, he chuckled. ¡°You have arrived at the right time. It¡¯s about time for lunch and I had a vegetarian meal specially prepared. Come, let¡¯s talk over lunch.¡± With that, he rose to his feet and led them quickly towards the dining hall. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were amazed as well. That was a very peculiar old man¡ªhis airs of a master were very convincing. *** It was indeed a vegetarian meal: greens, tofu, steamed twisted rolls, steamed buns, and a bowl of sliced cucumber soup. The outer room was a canteen and the inner one a private dining room, where the four sat down around a table. Wu Songbai picked up his chopsticks and exined, ¡°Today is the fast day, so no meat. Sorry about that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. We don¡¯t really eat much meat, either,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°There¡¯s no ¡®either¡¯. I love my meat.¡± The old priest picked up a piece of tofu and stuffed the whole thing into his mouth, apparently not happy with the food at all. ¡®Haha!¡¯ The couple liked his temperament a lot. All three then began to eat as well. The dishes were delicious and before they knew it, half of the food was gone. ¡°Senior, I see that you were not surprised when we mentioned a person being possessed by a ghost earlier. Surely it doesn¡¯t mean that you have seen a ghost already?¡± asked Gu Yu. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t. But I know they would show up sooner orter.¡± ¡°Oh? How so?¡± asked Xiaojin. ¡°Do you know what a ghost is?¡± asked Wu Songbai. ¡°It¡¯s the soul of a dead person?¡± Xiaojin said with uncertainty. ¡°Roughly, yes. But ording to Taoist concepts, all mortal men have three hun and seven po 2 , which in entirety is known as ¡®mind¡¯. The hun and po of a living person are integrated into one. Of course, sometimes they do wander off. For instance, infants will cry, scream, or fall into convulsions when they are frightened; some might even fall into mental illnesses. It is because infants¡¯ hun and po have not broken into each other well enough, rendering them scattered easily.¡± Wiping his mouth, Wu Songbai went on, ¡°So, why do people die? There are two reasons: the vital essence of the physical body wanes and the mind and soul can longer hold together. After a person dies, their mind, or soul, will remain intact for seven days before it breaks apart. The so-called ghost usually falls into two categories¡ªthe newly-turned ones who have been dead for less than seven days and the wandering souls more than seven days old. The former still holds the memory of when they were alive, while thetter bes an iplete being¡ªit either has minimal intelligence or none at all. In spite of the fact that they walk the same earth as we do, we are worlds apart from them. We don¡¯t interfere with one another and tomunicate with them is very difficult. Only through some ritualistic procedure¡ªsuch as the ¡®seventh day ceremony¡¯ practiced by themon folk, or an evocation ceremony by a Taoist priest¡ªcould we see them. Of course, there is another kind known as the ¡®wronged ghosts¡¯. Those who died from burning, drowning, burying alive, hunger, flogging, suicide by false charge, etc. are all wronged souls. Such ghosts are so filled with resentment and obsession that their scattered souls will stick to an object that was the important when they were alive, and remain there for many years on end. If some living person happens to disturb or offend the object, the wronged souls do not forgive easily. The one your mother ran into was probably a hungry ghost.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu considered it with a frown, then asked, ¡°Senior, do you think ghosts still existed during the period when the spiritual essence dried up?¡± ¡°I think they did, because the human soul could not disappear into nothing. If there is the soul, there is the ghost, only that the length of their existence might be shortened. For instance, the seven days could have turned into one day, or they broke apart as soon as one died,¡± replied Wu Songbai after some hesitation. ¡°Then where do the scattered hun and po go? Into the the six great divisions in the wheel of karma?¡± asked Little Soap, who had been listening with a ck jaw. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Wu Songbai gave her an odd look, than nced at the parents, who did not look back, apparently quite ashamed of the kid. He understood right away, but still exined, ¡°Hell and samsara are all Buddhist concepts. In Taoism, there is only the ascending into heaven and bing an immortal, which all take ce in this life. Samsara does not apply to us. Although there is the book ¡®The ssic of Elderly Lord¡¯s Nihilism Natural Origin¡¯ talking about the five divisions of the wheel of reincarnation, it was obviously the result of a Buddhism brainwash, so it doesn¡¯t count. However, our Taoism has a corresponding theory. ording to the Book of Transformations, ¡®All things equal one thing and all minds equal one mind. That is how Dao works.¡¯ Everything in this universe is transformed from Dao, making them an entirety. Once the hun and po of a person breaks down, it will rbine with other scattered hun and po, forming a new soul, which is a new life. The human hun and po can even transform into animal¡¯s and vice versa.¡± ¡°Senior!¡± At those words, Xiaozhai suddenly asked, ¡°If we know where a person¡¯s three hun and seven po have gone to, is it possible to wake up the memory of her ¡®previous life¡¯ with some method?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Wu Songbai gave it a thought and said, ¡°Theoretically, yes. But one has to be exceedingly capable to do that. In the sense that they could see through the truth of life and death, master all the remarkable abilities there are, are able to integrate with all energy and familiar with all forms¡ªsomeone Priest Sanfeng would call¡­¡± ¡°Work it this way gives you mortal men and the other way around gives you immortals. Have fun ying around in between!¡± Gu Yu chimed in. ¡°Hahaha! Exactly!¡± The old priest broke into aughter. The four talked for long in the dining room on the subject of ghost and reincarnation. Despite being not yet a man of the innate state, Wu Songbai was a remarkably knowledgeable man whose insight put Gu Yu and Xiaozhai to shame. However, the old priest was a free and easy spirit who defied trivial conventions, which made him a very likeable person. Of course, in the end, he still carried out a little charade. ¡°We men of Maoshan will not evade from the task of dispelling a ghost. However, I am too old for such a job. My pupil will help you instead.¡± Chapter 294 Chapter 294: Let¡¯s call it serendipity Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Roar!¡± It was around midnight on the mountain. The cool night wind brushed against the tall grass. Snarling angrily, the iron corpse spat out a mouthful of thick ck smoke, the stench of which was almost unbearable. It began with a thin streak, which rapidly expanded and came at a ck shadow head on like a devouring mouth. The shadow did not evade in time and was caught inside the smoke, which instantly restrained it. Immediately after that, the iron corpse inhaled deeply, raising a gust of sinister wind. The shadow was sucked in wrapped inside the smoke. ¡°Growl¡­¡± Swallowing the thing, a satisfactory expression that looked almost human appeared on the face of the iron corpse, who then growled with delight. ¡°Obey at once and rush it as an imperativew! Go!¡± Meanwhile, on an clearing not far, Chao Kongtu produced a talisman, which turned into an golden arrow at a shake of his hand and dashed forward like a stream of light. ¡°Pop!¡± A lump of dark shadow twice the size of the first one was pierced through right away, giving off a sound of a deting ball, and dissipated instantly. There was then a ck, which turned out to be a ck bead the size of a soybean falling down from midair and rolling around on the ground. ¡°Hm? Lucky me!¡± Raising an eyebrow, Chao Kongtu went over and picked up the bead, then tossed it over his shoulder without turning his head. ¡°There! Your cat food!¡± p! Li Suchun caught it and said coldly, ¡°This is not cat food, nor is the iron corpse a pet!¡± ¡°They¡¯re the same thing! You¡¯ve got to feed them and clean after the sh*t and all that!¡± Chao Kongtu found a stone and casually sat down, then took off a gourd liquor pot from his waist and took a sip. ¡°The ghostly beings are regenerated at shorter and shorter intervals. I¡¯m afraid one shift a day would no longer be enough. Luckily for us, with you around, we can still hold them off for now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m leaving after the summer.¡± Feeding the bead to the iron corpse, Li Suchun also sat down. ¡°Leave? I think you should stay, even just for the sake of this rare resource.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have work to do if I stay. Those people annoy me.¡± Youngster Li kept his poker face when he added, ¡°Well, you and Zhang Shouyang are ok, so is that Zhong fellow.¡± ¡°Ha, I like the way you put it!¡± Laughing, Chao Kongtu gulped down another mouthful of the liquor. Ever since Lu Yuanqing discovered the underground White Crane Pce and the Taoist skills, the priests had carried out some studies together and the skills were widely learned among the thirty-six members. The beast-controlling method and the making of talisman water could be learned by cultivators of the acquired state, whereas the method of refining with mental power could only be used by the four men of the innate state. Let¡¯s talk about the beast-controlling method first. A spiritual animal was to be chosen for the method, preferably a cub. Raising it following the instruction of the method would allow the minds of the animals to be connected to those of their masters. There was also the possibility that the animals would evolve and upgrade, awakening some inborn talents. The more spiritual the animal and the more resources spent, the more powerful the spiritual beast would be. Take birds like hawks and falcons as an example. The monkey-eating eagle of southeast Asia was thergest of the extant eagles in terms of length, with a height of nearly a meter and a wingspan between 200 to 250 cm. If raised with the beast-controlling method, it would grow to at least twice that size, carrying several people at a time. Yes, it was apletely different story from the pig farm of Phoenix Mountain. Then there was the talisman water, which could be adopted for an even wider range of purposes: melt the burnt talisman in the water to prevent and cure diseases, gaining poprity among themon people during the process¡­ These two could be considered the founding skills of Qiyun. At the end of the day, they had to have their own feature to develop, grow, and spread their fame. With the help of the authorities, the four innate state men had obtained the necessary materials and began to refine their equipment. The others were also in the process of searching for spiritual animals¡­ all in all, the entire monastery was enthusiastically devoted themselves to the cause of therevolution 1 (actually, the cause of rebellion). As for Lu Yuanqing, while he was getting prepared for a second exploration of the underground pce, he also arranged men to guard the well in case the ghostly beings should break out. Those less capable were arranged in pairs and the more capable would take the shift alone. The bead earlier was a Yin bead sometimes left behind when a ghostly being dissipated. For now, they found no use of it, so all beads had been fed to the iron corpse. ¡°Your zombie is reaching the limit, isn¡¯t it? Aren¡¯t you afraid of losing control of it?¡± Drinking his liquor, Chao Kongtu eyed the iron corpse enwrapped in Yin energy and found it necessary to give the young man a heads-up. ¡°The limit of the acquired state is the iron level. The corpse and the master are mutually dependent. It will never reach the innate state without me reaching it first. Killing me means the end for it. It¡¯s not that stupid!¡± exined Li Suchun. ¡°In that case, why didn¡¯t you join the monastery, but yed the lone ranger instead? With what you can do, if you agree to join, that Lu fellow will wee you with open arms and offer you the Neidan method on open palms.¡± ¡°I told you, those people annoy me¡­¡± Youngster Li darted him a look and asked, ¡°Then why don¡¯t you take it?¡± Chao Kongtu chuckled and gave a partially genuine answer, ¡°Haha, before I came here, my master gave me the task of bringing honor to the Maoshan Sect. He never mentioned polishing the name te of Quanzhen.¡± At 24, he was one of the most unconstrained characters of the monastery. Despite all his DPS skills, his position in the monastery had remained an embarrassment. Apart from Zhang Shouyang and Zhong Lingyu, he had little association from any other priests in Qiyun¡ªnor did he care, for that matter. ¡°Right, my master sent word for me that I¡¯m needed back in Maoshan¡­¡± Chao Kongtu finished the gourd of liquor and held it between his fingers. ¡°Phoenix Mountain needs a favor and I am to go to Shengtian with them. I¡¯m leaving tomorrow morning and would not be back for a while. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to y on you own.¡± ¡°Humph!¡± Youngster Li would not reply to that. ¡°Tsk, what¡¯s with that scorn! After all, we¡¯ve been hanging out these days. I know that behind that poker face of yours is a warm heart. I¡¯ve never seen you drinking¡ªhere, how about make an exception for me?¡± With that, he toss Li Suchun the gourd. The guy sounded earnest. Both men were disciples of Maoshan and with theirpatible dispositions, the two had been getting along pretty well. It was very rare that Li Suchun should act so bold and unrestrained. Taking the gourd, he did not seem to mind that the other had been drinking straight from it and tilting his head backwards, he was going to pour the liquor into his mouth. He tried and tried some more¡­ ¡®You bastard! It¡¯s empty!¡¯ ¡°Hahaha!¡± Seeing that he had sessfully made fun of Li Suchun, Chao Kongtu bolted to his feet and was meters away in an instant. ¡°Keep the gourd! I¡¯ll be drinking with you after I got back!¡± *** Jiuxiao-Wanfu Pce, night. After dinner, Zheng Kaixin told his mother where he was going and ran out of the dormitory. It was supposed to be the rooms for payingymen andywomen, but Wu Songbai took pity of the mother and son and let them live there for free. He ran through the rows of dormitory and stopped in a corner of the temple. Seeing that no one was around, he straightened up his little face and began his exercise, waving his arms and legs around. It was a set of movements taught by Jingyi, who told the kid that he was weak physically with a feeble energy. Practicing the movements would improve his health in the long term. It consisted of only four or five moves, but he thought that maybe he was too dumb, for he was not yet able to carry them out from the beginning to end. It had been a week since Zheng Kaixin arrived at the mountain with his mother. Life up here was dull and uneventful, but he actually quite liked it, for he had been sleeping soundly for the past few days without ever detecting the ¡°dead people¡± again. Of course, he knew perfectly well that the ability was still there. Whenever he left the mountain and went to the town, the school, the supermarket, or his rtives¡¯, he would definitely sense it: that faint, ufortable feeling that made him feel cold and depressed, followed by some terrifying fragments shing past his eyes¡­ To be honest, he was already very tough for his age. Ordinary children might have lost their minds by now. ¡°Ha¡­¡± After practicing the movements for a few times, Zheng Kaixin was panting with exhaustion and covered with sweat. He wiped his face carelessly, looked around, and snuck out through a small door to the outside of the red wall, where arge opening was. It seemed to have been a sightseeing stand once for the tourists to savor the view in the distance, but after the temple was expanded, the stand was closed off to the outsiders. It was a little secret of Zheng Kaixin. He would stay here alone for a while every day after his exercise. Children¡¯s taste was very straight forward. He could not find the word to describe it, but only knew he liked here very much. ¡°Huff¡­ huff¡­¡± The kid ran happily to the opening and gulped down the fresh air, enjoying the ease of mind. Looking up, he couldn¡¯t help but blink, for the view tonight was beautiful as always, yet something was different. Behind him stood the brightly lit Jiuxiao-Wanfu Pce, which looked down to the same well-lit Maoshan Town. The two were set apart by a night forest filled with coiling mist and mountain trail several hundred stairs long separated the two worlds, with a heavenly one on one end and the mortal one on the other. ¡°Why, fog is rising?¡± Emboldened, Zheng Kaixin only hesitated a little before running to the guardrail and naively reached out to touch the fog. Before his stretched-out little hand could touch it, he felt a slight cooling sensation at the tip of his fingers as a breeze blew over. The fog floated around with the wind as if it was dancing in the air. It was surpassingly beautiful and quaintly attractive. With its unpredictable move, it almost seemed to have life of its own. ¡°¡­¡± With the acute instinct of a kid, he instantly stepped back. The fog then rolled up like rushing waves, which then fell back down and gradually condensed into a human shape. ¡®Thump!¡¯ Zheng Kaixin sat heavily on the ground in fright, fear covering his face. The man walked slowly towards him. He was very tall and looked down at the kid. ¡°¡­¡± The kid gave a shudder and looked into those eyes as if his soul had been sucked away. He did not know the expression of ¡°as resplendent as the Milky Way¡±, for it he did, it would be how he describe what he saw this moment. Chapter 295 Chapter 295: The Second Generation Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Are, are you an immortal?¡± Zheng Kaixin sat paralysed on the ground, still unable to gather up enough strength to get up, but he was no longer as frightened as earlier. After all, many believed in ¡°bad-looking people do more mischief¡± and would fall more often for a pretty face than they shouldn¡¯t. Zheng Kaixin simply could not rte that face to a ghost. ¡°Hm?¡± Gu Yu was slightly surprised. He had been cultivating here and did not expect to see a childing out of nowhere. Looking closely, he saw that the boy came with a barely detectable energy, which was rather simr to the lump of ck air troubling Yang Qing, but his was much less corrosive. The energy waspatible and interrted with the vital energy of his body and had reached a delicate bnce. Recalling the story Jingyi told them earlier that day, he realized this was probably that child that had been infected by the evil energy. Interesting! Very interesting! Pulling the kid to his feet, he asked with a smile, ¡°What are you doing here at this hour of the night? Shouldn¡¯t you be in bed?¡± ¡°I would stay here a while after my physical exercise every day,¡± answered Zheng Kaixin despite himself, still befuddled. ¡°Physical exercise? Where did you learn it?¡± ¡°Uncle Jingyi taught me.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, could you show me some of your moves?¡± ¡°Um, I¡¯m, I¡¯m not very good at it¡­¡± For some unknown reason, Zheng Kaixin felt very close to the man and felt he liked this adult a lot. Despite his shyness, he squared himself and carried out the exercise scrupulously. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu watched him tentatively. It was a set of simple and fluid movements, which should be a basic martial arts moves of the Maoshan Sect. The kid reached the end of the movements, finished it up, and resumed a standing-up position. Sweat covered his face again. He raised his arm and was about to wipe it away, when the man made a slight wave and a warm breeze brushed across his face. He was then as dry and clean as a new boy. ¡°Not bad. Keep at it. It¡¯ll do you good.¡± Gu Yu bent down a little and rubbed his head, smiling. ¡°You of all people should know that you¡¯re different from the rest of them. But don¡¯t give up, nor should you feel you¡¯re inferior in any way. This is your talent, one that the others could not even begin to envy for. You¡¯ll see when you¡¯re a little older.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± The little one nodded, not understanding a single word. ¡°Well, it¡¯s time for me to leave. I¡¯ll see you when I see you.¡± With that, Gu Yu drifted into the distance with one sway. One more move and he was almost out of sight. ¡°Uncle!¡± Zheng Kaixin ran after him eagerly, shouting, ¡°You haven¡¯t told me yet, are you an immortal?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Staring back at him was the night sky alone. The man was nowhere to be seen. ¡®Uncle?¡¯ Damn it! Gu Yu almost stumbled on his feet. ¡®Since when am I an ¡°Uncle¡±? I¡¯m only 25, for Christ¡¯s sake! That kid could not have been more than seven or eight years old¡­ well, if you put it that way, he wasn¡¯t exactly wrong to call me uncle.¡¯ We¡¯ll leave Zheng Kaixin¡¯s disappointment alone for the time being and turn our attention to Gu Yu first. After returning to his dormitory, instead of entering his own room, he knocked on the door of the next room. ¡°Creak!¡± Xiaozhai opened the door and let him in. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Nothing, really. It¡¯s just that I met that kid. It was kind of interesting.¡± Gu Yu told her about what happened and Xiaozhai was intrigued as well. ¡°What exactly is his condition?¡± ¡°The kid had made contact with some ghost and was infected with a hint of Yin energy. His main and coteral channels are rather special, they were able to keep that little bit of Yin energy inside, making him sensitive to supernatural things.¡± He paused a little and went on. ¡°I checked just then; that Yin energy has be apart of his body and grows as he grows. With proper guidance, he will make great achievements.¡± ¡°Special channels? Could it be the legendary ¡®incurable meridian of nine Yin¡¯?¡± Xiaozhai let her imagination fly, chuckling. ¡°But isn¡¯t the incurable meridian of nine Yin usually found in girls? Some thousand-year-old monster would grab such girl and use her as a vessel, until one day the protagonist shows up and uses them for experience gathering. There are also those with particr taste that enjoys thepany of a tauren¡­¡± She was carried away by her vivid mockery andughed until she couldn¡¯t sit straight. However they enjoyed their chitchat, neither of the two mentioned specifically that they would take the child back to Phoenix Mountain. A tiny poption they might have, but they were not that desperate to force a child into theirpany whenever they got a chance. Of course, if the kid showed a sincere desire to join, they wouldn¡¯t mind taking a pupil. Their goal was clear¡ªthey chose to surpass the others with an exceedingly high level of cultivation. They could have as many employees as they needed, but when it came to pupils, quality was always put before quantity. Have you ever heard about the Carefree Sect 1 ? ¡°Oh, by the way, Senior Wu has informed his pupil to join us tomorrow. We¡¯ll be going back to Shengtian together,¡± said Xiaozhai suddenly. ¡°That Chao Kongtu?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°I exchanged blows with him in Changbai. He¡¯s quite unique, doesn¡¯t have those eyes of Lu Yuanqing.¡± ¡°You mean he¡¯s decent?¡± ¡°Very decent!¡± The couple chatted on, each sitting on one end of the bed. They moved closer and closer as they talked, eventually sticking onto one another. Little Soap shrank herself to the corner of the other bed, emanating the miserable air of a ¡°single dog¡±. Seeing that the shameless couple was snuggling more and more passionately and the situation was heading for the inevitable, she finally could not watch any longer, hopped out of bed, and rushed towards the door. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Her sister managed to find the time to ask. ¡°My eyes, my heart! This can¡¯t be legal! I¡¯m calling the police!¡± ¡°Why, sorry about that, but I didn¡¯t even see you. I thought you were asleep,¡± said Gu Yu surprisingly. ¡®F**k, f**k, f**kity f**k!¡¯ Little Soap jumped up, tempted to smack him. ¡®Seeing me or not, don¡¯t you have anymon sense?¡¯ ¡®Nope, that has been reced by my self-importance!¡¯ *** ¡°Mum! Mum!¡± Zheng Kaixin hurriedly ran back to his dormitory. Mother Zheng was going to go out and search for him because of histe return and scolded, ¡°Where were you? Do you know what time it is? I thought the wolves had taken you!¡± ¡°I was doing my exercise¡­¡± Catching his breath, the kid closed the door secretively and tugged his mother¡¯s clothes. ¡°I, I ran into an immortal!¡± ¡°Not only are you wasting your time ying, you¡¯re lying to me now? Get over here!¡± Mother Zheng was under great pressure by leaving home and living with her son up on the mountain, making her temper rather vtile. At those words, she instinctively thought her son was making things up and was going to grab something to hit him with. ¡°I really saw one! Ouch!¡± Zheng Kaixin cried out at the spank and began to run around the table, yelling, ¡°Don¡¯t hit me! Don¡¯t hit me! I really did!¡± ¡°You little liar! Liar! Do you think it¡¯s easy for me to live here with you? Why can¡¯t you be a good boy¡­¡± The woman exploded and all reason was gone from her. As she scolded on, she was on the edge of breaking into tears. Zheng Kaixin also lost his temper, shouting back, ¡°I have seen grandpa, haven¡¯t I? Why can¡¯t I see an immortal!¡± !!! The woman froze and stood there dazed, looking utterly befuddled. She only sat down unsteadily after a while and broke into a sob covering her face. She fought back the tears in a moment, raised her head, and said, ¡°Come here. I won¡¯t hit you any more. Tell me, exactly what happened?¡± ¡°I went to do my exercise, then I went to that tform. There was no fog there, but there was today. I wanted to touch it and, and the fog moved. It turned into an uncle¡­¡± The child was not very good with his words and stuttered a little with the exnation. ¡°He talked to me and asked me to show him the exercise. He also said that I am not the same as other people and it¡¯s a good thing. I will know when I¡¯m older.¡± ¡°He really said that?¡± Mother Zheng suddenly grabbed her son by the arm. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what he said.¡± ¡°Do you remember what he looked like?¡± ¡°Um, he was tall and thin. His eyes were very bright. He was very good-looking, too.¡± ¡°And his clothes? What was the color of his clothes?¡± ¡°W-white, I think,¡± said the kid, a little frightened. ¡°¡­¡± Mother Zheng suddenly fell into a silence. She was sweeping the floor in the Hall of Spiritual Officials when the guests arrived. She took a casual looked at that time. One of the man was indeed tall, thin, and dressed in white. Momentarily, a million thoughts when through her head and she was in fidgets, like a drowning person who had grabbed a passing straw. As nice as the priests of Maoshan might be, they were obviously not as capable, for none of them could turn into a fog. Since that man had pointed out her son¡¯s problem, he might have a way to save him¡­ *** The following morning. Gu Yu and the other three where having breakfast in the dining hall. The dishes had indeed changed after the fast day. They did not know about the ordinary disciples outside in the canteen, but on the table of the private dining room, they found a basin of steamed meat buns and a basin of porridge with vegetable greens. You heard it right. The unit was ¡°basin¡±! Have you ever seen a steamed meat bun the size of a baseball? One bite from Wu Songbai and half of it was gone. The flour wrapper slid down the throat with the gravy and it was soft, mellow, and scrumptious. Wow, he felt fully recharged. ¡°Senior, I thought you were only joking yesterday. I see now that you do love you meat!¡± Gu Yu was genuinely amazed. ¡°Without the satisfaction of eating meat, what fun is there to be immortal?¡± Shaking his head, Wu Songbai said in a self-mocking tone, ¡°I¡¯m not like you young people. All there is left for me is the desire for good food.¡± ¡°Never be so sure. You are not that old. The great opportunity could be just around the corner.¡± ¡°Haha, thanks for theforting words!¡± The old man wolfed another steamed meat bun and said, ¡°Tianzhu Mountain is not that close. My pupil is already on his way and will probably arrive at noon. Have you booked your ne tickets?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s all set, then.¡± While he was happily busying himself with the food, the couple sitting opposite him exchanged a look and Xiaozhai took out a wooden box from her bag. ¡°Senior, you have done us a great favor that we cannot possibly think of returning. Please ept this small gift.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very thoughtful of you!¡± Wu Songbai put it away into his sleeve without checking it. He was without a doubt that it was something remarkable. When treated nicely, Phoenix Mountain had been nothing but generous. Before long, they finished breakfast, walked out of the dining hall, and went back towards the living room along the corridor. Halfway there, a woman sprinted out of a corner and knelt down with a thump right in front of Gu Yu, crying out, ¡°Master Immortal, please have mercy!¡± WTF! Little Soap jumped at this: did people use such ruse 2 in Maoshan as well? She was about to make herself squabble ready when a kid scuttled out of nowhere, also crying, ¡°Mum, what are you doing? Get up!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± The woman scolded the child and was going to fall prostrate to the ground when a gentle force raise her to her feet and a clear and rich voice said, ¡°Do stand up, please.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Watching the man, she was all the more overtaken by the feeling that this elegant and carefree man standing in front of her was not a man of this mortal world. She couldn¡¯t help but shrink back a little. She had never been an outgoing person, but she would do anything for her son. Fighting back the anxiety and shame, she was shivering from head to toe. ¡°Master Immortal, please, please take Kaixin in as your pupil.¡± ¡°Oh? Why would I do that?¡± The look on Gu Yu¡¯s face was hard to describe. ¡°After meeting you yesterday, Kaixin has been yearning to see you the whole time. He almost did not sleepst night and was talking about you all the time¡­ you know, he¡¯s different from all the other kids. If you don¡¯t take him, I have no idea what will be of him¡­¡± The woman began by ttering Gu Yu, but gradually let her true sentiments show. ¡°I don¡¯t know what else to do. He¡¯s still so little and there are so many years ahead for him. I wish for no great achievements from him. All I want is for him to be cured and grow up safely¡­ sob, please have mercy!¡± ¡°¡­¡± A hush fell of the courtyard. Wu Songbai watched on the side, not offended to the least. Zheng Kaixin was not a disciple of Maoshan Sect and even if they wanted to take the kid in, with the resources of Maoshan, the opportunities they could provide for him would be very limited. The kid wanted the master and the master wanted the kid. Such was how fate worked and he was in no position to meddle. Gu Yu watched the mother and son in turn and suddenly said, ¡°I can take him, but he will not be my pupil and he has to go alone. Will you be able to part with him?¡± ¡°As long as you can cure him, I will!¡± With everything that had happened, Mother Zheng had abandoned materialismpletely. She believed in the Maoshan Sect and its honorable guest and this was herst resort¡ªit was not as if it could be any worse. Zheng Kaixin would not have it. Holding onto his mother, he cried, ¡°I won¡¯t! I¡¯m not going anywhere without you!¡± ¡®Tsk! Tsk!¡¯ Watching the scene, Little Soap wrinkled up her face in disdain¡ª¡¯what¡¯s with all the never-seeing-you-again stuff?¡¯ She knew why her sister and brother-inw had to put them through this and said impatiently, ¡°Fine, fine. You can go! You can both go! We¡¯re not some superviins, okay?¡± Chapter 296 Chapter 296: Catching Ghost (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Chao Kongtu was on the ne with the window on his left and Xiaojin on his right. He never liked sitting by the window, but was feeling grateful for the arrangement at the moment. After all, it would be much easier to smash the window and jump out of the ne than to shut the morous mouth up beside him. ¡°Are you sure about this? You haven¡¯t even reached the innate state yet! Can you really get rid of that ghost? You haven¡¯t even reached the innate state yet! Are you sure you won¡¯t hurt my mum in the process? You haven¡¯t even reached the innate state yet!¡± When she questioned him for the twentieth time with the trinity of doubts, Chao Kongtu could not stand it any longer. ¡°You¡¯re wee to doubt my capability as a whole, but don¡¯t question my ability to catch a ghost. As long as that ghost has not developed some remarkable ability, it¡¯s done for.¡± ¡°Tsk. I¡¯d believe your bragging if there wasn¡¯t thatst part,¡± said Xiaojin scornfully. ¡°Be as ignorant as you like, but please do not drag me down to your level.¡± Chao Kongtu would not be outdone. ¡°If it really had any remarkable abilities, you wouldn¡¯t live to squable with me here today.¡± Wow! Little Soap was stunned for a second. She was so used to the role of rendering others speechless and never thought that one day, she would be the one rendered so. For a moment there, she could not digest the information and sat there blinking in silence. ¡°¡­¡± Chao Kongtu, on the other hand, was secretly relieved: finally, some peace! He arrived at Maoshan this noon and boarded the ne to Shengtian without any break. If everything went as nned, they would be there this evening. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai could not act more normal when they met. They treated him with a polite warmth and disengaged friendliness¡ªas if they were really just there to get a priest of Maoshan to catch a ghost. Of course, Chao Kongtu was no ordinary man, either. He was sensible beyondprehension. Despite the fact that he was inserted into a wall at the first strike back on Changbai Mountain, he acted as if nothing had happened. To be honest, such conservation was not surprising for Chao Kongtu, who, as a cultivator, practiced with nourishing his Qi on a daily basis. But in reality, such a mentality was usually the result of some very crestfallen experience. For instance, one might have been utterly humiliated in school or at work and lost all dignity, but one call from the boss and they had to wipe the tears and blood clean before running happily to the next round of sweet talk. As the saying went: poverty stifled ambition. Without the adequate capability or connections, one was simply not qualified to turn the table. Don¡¯t pretend such things had never happened to you. Here, whoever out there that had been through such things, gimme five! While this pair was tongueshing at one another, another pair was equally unsettled in their seats. Holding her son tightly between her arms, Mother Zheng shrank into her seat nervously. She was already regretting this decision and had been cursing herself the moment they were on board: what on earth was she thinking? She just went along like aplete idiot without knowing a single thing about these people! ¡°¡­¡± Zheng Kaixin was equally nervous. The joy and excitement were gone. Instead, there was only the uneasiness of leaving home and going to a new ce. The mother and son peeped at the seats somewhere in the front, where Gu Yu and Xiaozhai sat, and secretly exchanged a look: let¡¯s stay a bit longer, but if anything feels fishy, we¡¯re out of here! *** Shortly after. Evening. Shengtian. Father Jiang had already arranged a vehicle to pick them up and the team headed straight for the Jiang Family house after theynded. When the vehicle stopped outside the vi, Xiao Qiu rushed out to wee them. Since they had talked over the phone beforehand, she was not at all surprised by the crowd. After briefly introducing who¡¯s who, she reported, ¡°Auntie is rtively steady for now. She struggled more violently this morning, but we can still hold her down.¡± ¡°Good. Let¡¯s go have a look first!¡± The group hurried upstairs, all very anxious. Without knowing it, Mother Zheng and Zheng Kaixin were left behind. People could be very sensitive to such things, especially when they had just arrived at some new ce; the anxiety could push them to the extremes. Our little angel Long Qiu was as caring as always. She took the time to stay behind and waved at the boy. ¡°Kaixin,e here!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zheng Kaixin looked at his mother and only ran to Long Qiu after his mum nodded. Long Qiu crouched down and looked him up and down, smiling. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a vigorous little boy! I bet you¡¯ll grow up to be a very, very handsome man! Now, please listen to me. There is an auntie upstairs. She is ill and it looks very, very scary. So, I¡¯d like you to stay here for now and we¡¯ll be back down in a moment. Okay?¡± ¡°Yes. I can feel it. There is a strange thing up there!¡± The look on the kid¡¯s face was veryical, sort of like an emoji saying ¡°I didn¡¯t realize that existed¡±. ¡°Teehee!¡± Long Qiu chuckled and added, ¡°That¡¯s why I need you to be a good boy and keep mum safe. If you need anything, go ask that aunt (the housekeeper).¡± ¡°Yes. I will protect mum!¡± Wow, Zheng Kaixin was instantly swooning over Long Qiu¡ªhe had never met such a gentle and lovely sister before! Long Qiu then talked to Mother Zheng briefly before running hurriedly upstairs. With that, Mother Zheng was little more at ease and patiently sat waiting in the sofa with her son. *** ¡°Aaaaaah! So hungry! I want to eat! I¡¯m begging you, give me some food¡­ you¡¯ll regret this! Aaaaah!¡± On the big bed, Yang Qing was still struggling and screaming. Her face was contorted and she was fighting more violently than when they left. Obviously, after the past few days, the Evil-dispelling Dan was no longer as effective in suppressing it. ¡°Priest Chao, what are we going to do?¡± Uncle Jiang asked morosely, his face much more haggard than before. ¡°Hoho, don¡¯t worry.¡± Chao Kongtu knew what to do after a nce. ¡°I will begin the procedure in a minute. Before that, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯d have to borrow your bathroom. I need to take a shower and change.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Little Soap¡¯s lips moved a little, almost bursting into her sarcasticments again. However, with her mother¡¯s life on the line, she surprisingly managed to keep herself under control. Themon impression was that priests of Maoshan had to begin the ghost-catching by setting up a sacrificial altar, which was actually not the case. The so-called sacrificial altar was a ce where the masters of past generations were worshipped, rituals and ceremonies were held, and scriptures were taught¡ªin other words, grand and majestic asions. Priests could not set up a sacrificial altar of their own. Each temple had one such altar only, which was also known as the sacrificial hall. Before long, Chao Kongtu finished his shower and walked out from an inner room. The others were greatly impressed. He now wore a wide purple ceremony gown with buttons down the front. It was calf-length, capeless, and the sleeves hung as low as the lower hem. Embroidered with golden and silver threads on the gown was the Eight Diagrams of Yin and Yang. His Taoist bun was wrapped neatly inside a square headdress, which set against his already prominent eyebrows, enhancing his heroic look. ¡°I¡¯d like to have theymen andywoman leave the room now.¡± His demeanorpletely changed. Calm and steady, he was now what a master should look like. He bowed unhurriedly at the others. ¡°Oh, sure!¡± After the the mortals left the room, Chao Kongtu fetched his luggage, from where he took out a palm-sized pottery jar first. ¡°Laywoman Long, I¡¯d like you to guard for me outside the house, please. If the ghostly energy breaks out of the window, just aim it with the opening of the jar.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Long Qiu looked at the jar and found a talisman hidden inside. She went downstairs right away without any question. He then took out apass and yed with it as if he was checking the directions. After that, he shook a cloth bundle loose, from which fell out a few pieces of thin bones. ¡°What are these?¡± asked Xiaojin curiously. ¡°Chicken throats, or the hyoid bone of a chicken. Apart from virgin males, chickens are the living creatures with the most potent Yang energy, which would not dissipate from their blood and bones one year after they¡¯re dead,¡± he exined briefly, then went up to the wall. At the left corner by the door, he smacked the wall, pressing a chicken throat in. He then moved two steps sideways and smacked on the wall on his right again. He smacked six times like so, seemingly following a strange map. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± When the sixth chicken throat was smacked in, Yang Qing let out a sudden scream and struggled more violently than ever. Within the madness of her voice, there was also a fear. ¡°I¡¯m gonna eat you! I¡¯m gonna eat you! You¡¯ll rot in hell!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Chao Kongtu paid no attention to her and left a chicken throat unused. Seeing that the other three were utterly confused, he exined, ¡°There are seven passes in the skill of Maoshan, which are the Passes of Yunken, Shangmen, Zichen, Shangyang, Tianyang, Yusu, and Taiyou. These seven passes determine the flow of Yang energy of an area, which could be asrge as a city or as small as a room. This formation I am using is called Seven Star Soul-nailing Formation. By sealing up all seven passes of this room, the Yang energy will stop flowing. Once the ghost can no longer sense the Yang energy, it will be disoriented and unable to harm her mind. I will then flush it out and destroy it!¡± Chapter 297 Chapter 297: Catching Ghost (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu As the saying went, each master had their own special field. It couldn¡¯t be more true. Having been dealing with ghosts for nearly a thousand years, the Maoshan Sect knew the ssification, habits, and skills and abilities of ghosts like the back of their hand. Now, with the recovery of the spiritual essence, ghosts were also beginning to make their way back, yet were still rather weak at the moment, making getting rid of them right up the alley of Maoshan priests. After Chao Kongtu set the six chicken throats into the wall and leaving one in his palm, he fumbled around in his luggage again and took quite a pile of things out, making all kinds of rustling noises in the process. Only four people were left in the bedroom now. Gu Yu casually set up a confinement and went on watching Chao Kongtu¡¯s work with Xiaozhai. Xiaojin, on the other hand, stayed close to the priest and observed his every move with unblinking eyes¡ªthe man had a suitcase like Doraemon¡¯s pocket and all sorts of rare treasures seemed to be falling out of it. Chao Kongtu tidied everything up into one ce and picked up a carpenter¡¯s ink marker first. It was a type of measuring tool used by ancient carpenters. In Maoshan skills, it denoted that the measurement was taken supported by the upright force of heaven and earth, allowing no deviation. Twisting the thread wheel, he produced a reddish brown thread soaked with chicken blood with which he sealed the two windows. He then instructed, ¡°Get me a basin of water.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± It took Xiaojin a moment to realize she was the one he addressed. ¡°How big a basin do you need?¡± ¡°A little on the bigger side.¡± ¡°Ok!¡± She scurried out of the room and ran happily back a couple of minutester,nding the big guy in her hands with a bang. ¡°¡­¡± Chao Kongtu eyed the giant basin for washing clothes, then looked at Little Soap, who felt nothing was wrong with the choice. He was seriously considering dumping her inside and making her into a basin of soap bubble. What the hell? You might as well move the bathtub here! Shaking his head, he picked up a stash of yellow paper, which burst into me with a swipe of his hand. It was then thrown into the basin and quickly burnt to ashes afternding on the water, turning it ck. Meanwhile, he waved his right hand and ¡®ck!¡¯, the seventh chicken throat was nailed on to the spot where Tianyou Pass was. Tianyou Pass was the opening for the cirction of Yang energy. Sealing it up would stop the flowing of Yang energy in the room. Ordinary people would have difficulty in breathing and feel suffocated. Staying in such a room for long would make them dizzy or even suffer from shock. Cultivators were even more sensitive to the change of air. Gu Yu was observably impressed. The thousand-year-old sect was indeed worth of its fame. Even with their inheritance mostly gone, what was left was easily a skill of remarkable effect. ¡°Aaaaaah! Go to hell! You¡¯ll rot in hell!¡± On the bed, Yang Qing seemed to have sensed it as well and was screaming more frantically than ever. However, her body slowly went limp and finally, her eyes turned vacant and shey there like a vegetable. Chao Kongtu dared not dally. He took out a piece of talisman paper cut in the shape of a turtle. It was roundish, yellow, and a little smaller than an adult¡¯s palm. ¡°Mene through a paper and ghosts are stopped by a mountain. Even ten thousand evils will not break through¡­ the sky is clear and the earth fair; the three marvels of heaven¡ªthe sun, the moon, and the stars¡ªwill stir all spirits and ghosts. Should any evil energy or malicious ghoste to interfere, they will be expelled right away from this earth!¡± After chanting the ghost-dispelling spell, he pinched his left fingers into amanding gesture and picked up the paper turtle with his right hand, then pressed into the basin forcibly. ¡°Bang!¡± As soon as it made contact with the water, a cloud of white smoke erupted and the basin rumbled. The paper turtle drifted up and down for a couple of times and suddenly lifted its head and began to row with its four legs¡ªit was alive. ¡°Go!¡± Chao Kongtu pinched his fingers together again and pointed at the bed. The paper turtle reached out with its forelegs and swimmed forward. Slowly, it was trying, trying some more, keeping on trying to climb out of the giant washing basin¡­ Chao Kongtu couldn¡¯t help but dart a look at certain soap, who was heartlessly enjoying the show and had turned into an emoji again: OMG, that¡¯s some cool sh*t! So cool! ¡°Ssh!¡± Fortunately, with a ssh, the paper turtle finally managed to climb out after much trying. It sat still on the edge of the basin for a little while, as if trying to find its direction, then hurtled itself out,nding directly on the bed before resuming its slow crawl forward. ¡°¡­¡± Yang Qing remained as motionless as a vegetable, yet the muscles all over her body seemed to be convulsing slightly, almost as if something was going on a rampage inside her but could not get out. Finally, followed by the eyes of the four, the paper turtle finally climbed onto her body. It then moved further up until it was covering her face. It lowered its head and gave a sudden peck between her eyebrows, then pulled up. ¡°Hiss!¡± A streak of rolling ck air visible to the naked eye was dragged out. Instantly, sinister wind began to blow inside the room and even the temperature had dropped by a few degrees¡ªit was that hungry ghost in its wandering-soul form. Sensing the danger instinctively, it tried to flee through the window, but was disoriented because of the sealing up of the Yang energy. All it could do was shoving around in confusion in mid-air. ¡°Humph! How dare such a petty ghost try to meddle with the human world.¡± Snorting, Chao Kongtu drew out a peach wood sword and chanted, ¡°The Yellow Godes first and Yuezhanges after. I will kill the evil ghost before I kill the moonlight. No gods or ghosts will stand the strike. Obey at once!¡± After those words, he put his left index and middle fingers together and wiped along the long and thin body of the sword. With that, the wooden sword made a clunking sound, as if the famous swordLongquan 1 was just unsheathed. An imposing golden glow was now wrapping around the de. He was just about to give themand ¡°Go!¡± when¡­ There came a ¡°boom!¡± An arc of golden purple lightning hacked down from beside him and struck right onto the ghost with an overwhelming power. ¡°Hiss!¡± Poor thing. It had been underground for god knew how many years and finally found itself a body to possess, but it just had to run into a team of bossesing out together for a casual trip into the dungeon. The thing was annihted before it had an opportunity to show its face. WTF! Shock was written all over Chao Kongtu¡¯s face as he turned around to look. Xiaojin¡¯s fingertips were still flickering with the lightning, but the girlpletely ignored him and dived herself onto the bed to check her mother. You ungrateful bastard! ¡®Had it not been for me flushing the ghost out, there would be nothing for you to kill! And you¡¯re ying superhero with me now?¡¯ Let¡¯s be fair. The man was very mild and generous in his disposition, but somehow, ever since he met that bar of soap, he felt that he was constantly thinking of kicking someone¡¯s a*s. Removing the confinement, Gu Yu asked in an ambiguous (more like gossipy) tone, ¡°Priest Chao, is that all? Anything else we need to do?¡± ¡°I have made quite a few preparations beforehand¡­ well, yes, that¡¯ll be all!¡± Chao Kongtu thought about exining, but then found it rather pointless. He put away the chicken throats in resignation and called out through the window, ¡°Laywoman Long, you cane up now. Everything¡¯s fine!¡± In a moment, Long Qiu ran upstairs carrying the jar and was amazed. ¡°It¡¯s done? Just like that?¡± ¡°I had you guarding on the outside in case it fled through the window, but it turned out to be much easier than I thought¡­¡± Chao Kongtu had quickly adjusted his mood and already suppressed that helplessness and frustration. If he were to carry it out the traditional way, he would use the peach wood sword to destroy the ghost after the paper turtle dragged it out. Should the sword fail to work, there were talismans. With door and windows sealed by the ink thread and Long Qiu guarding the perimeter with the jar, it was fail-proof. What actually happened, however, was like when it finally came to the date with your dreamdy, the date which you had set a month in advance and arrived at the scene with a sleek hairdo and stinking with cologne. You two went shopping, had dinner, went to a movie, and you sessfully got her into your hotel room when the dreamdy said, ¡°Oops, I forgot to mention, but I suddenly got my period today¡­¡± Tsk! How depressing could it get! ¡°It was such an eye-opening experience today. The fame of Maoshan skills is well-deserved. Thank you for going through all those trouble, Priest Chao.¡± ¡°We would have no idea how to tackle this without your help. Thanks so much.¡± The couple knew how to make apliment sound nicer, but they were actually telling the truth. They were experts in fighting with someone head on, but dispelling a ghost was in their blind spot. As for Xiaojin, seeing that Yang Qing was at peace and breathing evenly as if sound asleep, she couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Hey, Chao whatever your name is, is my mum ok now?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Chao Kongtu went up to the bed and looked at Yang Qing, then took out another talisman and ignited it with a shake of his hand. The talisman turned into a ball of me, with which he scanned Yang Qing. The mes remained red with a little blue core and did not change color the whole time. He then said, ¡°The ghost ispletely destroyed. She is only exhausted from the excessive consumption of energy. With proper rest, she will be all right in about half a month.¡± ¡°Haha! I have never expected that you could pull that off with you not reaching the innate state and stuff!¡± Xiaojin was glowing with jubtion and found Chao Kongtu so much more pleasant than before. Wrapping an arm around his shoulder, she said, ¡°I owe you one. Anybody giving you trouble from now on, let me know. I¡¯ll handle them for ya!¡± *** Late that night, the hotel. There weren¡¯t enough rooms in the vi for all these people, so after making sure of Yang Qing¡¯s safety, Xiaojin and Xiaozhai were left behind while the others went to a hotel for the night. Mother Zheng and Zheng Kaixin waited downstairs the entire time. They had no idea what was happening, other than seeing Long Qiu running around with a jar. Later when they heard about the whole ghost-catching thing, oh man, both were so frightened and excited that they were not sleepy at all. Xiao Qiu was quite fond of Zheng Kaixin. Since there wasn¡¯t much left to do, she stayed in their room and chatted with them while taking the opportunity to talk to them about Phoenix Mountain. Let¡¯s turn our attention back to Gu Yu. Right now, he was in Chao Kongtu¡¯s room making inquiries. ¡°Priest Chao, Zhongyuan Festival is tomorrow. Should we be prepared?¡± ¡°Haha, the folks always talk about the ¡®ghost door¡¯ that opens on Zhongyuan Festival. There isn¡¯t such a thing called the ¡®ghost gate¡¯. Ghosts are most likely to show up on this day be it is the time of the year when the Yang energy is the weakest and Yin energy the strongest.¡± Chao Kongtu had changed back to his blue robe and was leaning back casually into a sofa. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Ghosts can only make their appearance to mortal men through specific ceremonies such as the seventh day ceremony and evocation, or via certain object that is a representation of their obsession. Other than that, they cannot simply show up as they like. The world of men always precedes that of immortals in priority, such is thew of Nature¡ªunless great upheavals take over the world, plunging the living souls into misery and suffering, only then would the world be the yground of monsters.¡± ¡°Are there no exceptions?¡± ¡°There are, such as when a ghost is favored by some great opportunity and regains its consciousness, which makes it much more difficult to catch. If it then manages to get hold of cultivation methods, it will be a ghost cultivator, making it a fellow member of ours. The method ghost cultivators adopt are very peculiar and there isn¡¯t much information left in my sect. We only know that the limit to their cultivation leveles much earlier and they would be Ghostly Immortals at most.¡± Gu Yu nodded. After a moment of pondering, he went on, ¡°You mentioned evocation just then. So, the soul you call back, is it a wholesome one, or a wandering kind?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Chao Kongtu gave it a thought and said, ¡°That is determined by fate itself. After one dies, their soul stays intact for the first seven days and disintegrates after that. Some disappear right away, some rbine with other wandering souls, some turn into ferocious ghosts, while others roam the earth in a confused state. Usually, they¡¯re in whatever state they¡¯re in the moment we call for them. Of course, there are some masters who can mend the three hun and seven po to rebuild the physical body¡­ well, it¡¯s not my ce to show off in the presence of an expert.¡± Seeing the look on Gu Yu¡¯s face, he added, ¡°Evocation is a very advanced skill, which I am incapable of carrying out before reaching the innate state. If theyman is thinking about a deceased loved one, I¡¯m afraid there is nothing I can do.¡± ¡°Haha, no problem. I understand.¡± Gu Yu chuckled at the reminder¡ªthis priest was indeed a fascinating character. Despite their previous confrontation, he grew to like the man a lot after getting to know him a little more. He then asked, ¡°Priest Chao, since you¡¯re already here, how abouting to Phoenix Mountain for a few days if you¡¯re not in a hurry to get back?¡± ¡°Phoenix Mountain?¡± Chao Kongtu blinked and replied unaffectedly, ¡°Sure. I¡¯ve been shut up in Qiyun for such a long time and finally get an opportunity to travel outside. My master would tell me off if I didn¡¯t make the most out of it!¡± Chapter 298 Chapter 298: Make New Friends Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu August 8th, the fifth of the seventh month on the traditional Chinese calendar and the day of Zhong Yuan Festival. Starting early this morning, men and women of all ages were filing out of the city, heading right for the cemetery on the eastern slope of Phoenix Mountain. Swarming the roads leading from the viges and downtown area to the cemetery were cars, donkey wagons, jeeps, and tricycles of every kind. The mountain gate several kilometers away was also drowned in a hubbub of human noises¡ªactually, the stream of tourists flowing onto the mountain had not been interrupted since the beginning of this summer. People were moving up in groups of threes and fives. One group stood out more than anyone else: they were two men, four women, and a little kid, one of whom was in a blue robe and apparently a Taoist priest. They were none other than Gu Yu and hispanions. After the Yang Qing problem was solved, they went back to Bai Town the following day. Instead of going onto the mountain from the north entrance, they entered through the front gate, which was Chao Kongtu¡¯s suggestion. It was such a rare asion that he got to travel outside and he thought he should at least get a full view of the mountain. Hence, the othersplied, considering it a casual tour of Phoenix Mountain. ¡°Why, isn¡¯t it Xiao Gu?¡± ¡°I heard you got rich. When did youe back?¡± ¡°Are these your friends? Here, take a few bottles of water. Climbing this mountain is quite tiring.¡± Quite a few peddlers greeted them enthusiastically on their way up, all of which old ¡°colleagues¡± of Gu Yu. Gu Yu responded to all greetings without the slightest embarrassment. It was part of his history. Denying it would be denying his old self and he was not that narrow-minded. It intrigued Chao Kongtu greatly. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you shut the scenic area down? It¡¯d be so much quieter.¡± ¡°Haha, we¡¯re cultivating beside this secr world and we might as well embrace the secr scene a little. Besides, if I do that, how are they going to make their living?¡± After those words and before Chao Kongtu could say anything, Mother Zheng interjected, ¡°Mr. Gu, Sir, are you really the owner of this entire mountain?¡± Without realizing it, she had ¡°upgraded¡± the way she was addressing Gu Yu. ¡°Sort of. It¡¯s ours, really.¡± Gu Yu tried to hold his girlfriend¡¯s hand, but Xiaozhai reached out and held onto Long Qiu instead, totally ignoring Gu Yu. ¡°Oh my god, that is awesome, Sir! My Kaixin can definitely be cured!¡± Mother Zheng fawned on Gu Yu in a half-exaggerating, half-earnest way. She was not like this before, but used to be a preserved person. But people were easily influenced by their surroundings and it would only take a few days. Her philistine and deliberate attitude repelled Gu Yu a little, but he found it understandable¡ªall the things one would do for their children. The group chatted as they climbed on. As the mountain trail grew steeper, the flow of tourists also grew thinner. Phoenix Mountain was quite vast in its area and one could climb up following either the eastern or the western route; they were now taking thetter. Chao Kongtu halted all of a sudden, pointed at a mountain peak on the south, andplimented, ¡°Why, that peak stood tall quite on its own and looked graceful. With the cooling clouds and mist, it makes a rather heavenly picture!¡± ¡°That¡¯s Cuanyun 1 Peak. I¡¯ve been up there. The view is indeed heavenly,¡± Gu Yumented casually. A little whileter, he pointed to the north and said, ¡°That is Jianyan 2 Peak, second only to Cuanyun. Legend has it that Xue Rengui once stood on Dingjun Mountain, set the arrow on his bow, drew it with all his effort, and released. The top of the peak was pierced through, giving Dingjun Mountain the new name Fajian 3 Ridge and this one was called Jianyan Peak since¡­ don¡¯t take it seriously¡ªthey¡¯re nothing but made-up stories from the tourism bureau. Xue Rengui must have had a million better things to do than shooting at Phoenix Mountain.¡± ¡°Haha, we have a simr one in Tianzhu, only the peak was called Xiaoyue 4 . Chao Kongtuughed and turned to look. Jianyan Peak stood tall there like a sword reaching into the sky and near the top was a naturally formed round hole. He couldn¡¯t help but remark, ¡°You said it is the second tallest? I don¡¯t think Cuanyun surpasses it that much.¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Gu Yu winced a little. Cuanyun was 863 m and Jianyan 812 m. The 50-meter difference should be apparent. He had been on the mountain the whole time and failed to notice the change. Chao Kongtu, on the other hand, was a neer and noticed. Now that it was pointed out, the family of four all turned to look. ¡°Wow, it seems it really is taller!¡± shouted Xiaojin first. ¡°Yes, yes, I remember that tree¡­¡± Long Qiu pointed at a pine tree protruding sideways from the slope and said, ¡°I think it was halfway up the peak before, but now seems lower than that.¡± ¡°Interesting. Can it be the spiritual ginseng?¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°It¡¯s more than that. The spiritual ginseng is not that capable. The node itself is also the cause,¡± said Gu Yu. The spiritual ginseng had connected with the mountain energy and the two wereplementing one another, changing the environment quietly yet constantly around the clock. The property of Phoenix Mountain itself yed a more important role, though¡ªone could not find a ce with the spiritual essence as dense and active as in a node just anywhere. ¡°Are you talking about the spiritual ginseng fromst time?¡± Chao Kongtu asked curiously. ¡°Yup. We¡¯ll show youter. That fellow has a thing for the liquor and you have a liquor gourd. You two can make a cute couple!¡± Xiaojin patted him on the shoulder in the most natural way. Chao Kongtu was about 178 cm and she 175 cm. Girls usually looked taller than they were, giving the two quite a matching height. While the others were chatting happily, Zheng Kaixin was exhausted, but dared not mention a word, fearing that the uncles and aunts would tell him off. Gu Yu had noticed it. He was not in the habit of putting others through suffering to train their minds¡ªthe kid was lucky and got pointed in the right direction, but whether or not he would take him in as a pupil was something that would need at least a couple of years¡¯ observation to be decided. ¡°Xiao Qiu, it¡¯s gettingte. Take Kaixin back with you first and get the dinner ready,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°No, no, we¡¯re fine. The kid will be ok after a little rest!¡± Mother Zheng waved her hand. ¡®Are you kidding me? It is at the time like this that we should make a show of our good quality.¡¯ Long Qiu ignored the protest. She crouched down and smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s go get some rest, shall we? Mum and the others will be back in a moment.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Zheng Kaixin trusted the big sister. He then asked, ¡°How are we going to get back?¡± ¡°Flying, of course. Are you afraid of flying?¡± Long Qiu liked teasing the kid a lot. ¡°Flying? How¡ª¡± ¡°Like this!¡± The kid was at a loss. Before he could finish the question, he was held up by the big sister, and with a little sway, everything shed past his eyes with a violent shake. Then there was a ¡°whoosh!¡± The gale blew hard against his cheeks and clouds rushed past them. ¡°Aaaah!¡± Mother Zheng was scared out of her wits. She watched as Long Qiu jumped down the cliff holding her son, but the next second, her eyes were wide open. Long Qiu fell rapidly before turning abruptly like a wild goose and stepped on the cliff wall. With a nk, a small stair suddenly protruded from the stone. Tapping it lightly with her foot, with the momentum gained, she fell straight down for dozens of meters. Repeating the process along the cliff wall for a couple of times, they were soon less than a hundred meters from the ground below. ¡°Ah! Sister, Sister, aaaah¡­ I¡¯m flying! I can fly!¡± Hearing her son¡¯s gibberish came up from below, Mother Zheng swayed¡ªwhether for joy or for fear we did not know¡ªand almost copsed to the ground. Right there and right then, all her little schemes had disappeared, reced by reverence and loyalty only. ¡°¡­¡± Chao Kongtu was observably surprised. Ever since those fellows of Qiyun got their hands on the heritage of White Crane, they had been gloating like a certain third generation leader with his nuclear warheads, dreaming about nothing but hitting someone with them. Phoenix Mountain did not seem to be anything inferior! He did not care if Long Qiu did what she did on purpose. From the Taoist skill and capability she had demonstrated, well, it was safe to say that the ¡°Two Saints of Phoenix Mountain¡± were not the only two of the mountain! *** Before they realized, the sun was nting towards the horizon. They had spent most of their day walking around the scenic area and covered two-thirds of the ground. That afternoon, they finally reached the inner mountain. The view here waspletely different. Thendscape of the outer mountain was mostly naturally formed, but here, one could see much more artificial nning. Fruit trees, bamboos, and herb fields were separated into distinct areas, with only asional mixed fields. They could see bright reds here and verdant deep woods there, with all kinds of herbs growing in between. There were more kinds than one could count. A few elderly men taking care of the nts were about to greet them when Gu Yu gestured at them to keep at their work. ¡°These are¡­¡± Chao Kongtu was curious about these people. ¡°Employees, of course! And they get paid: year-end bonus, love funds,bor protection, social security, vacations, and other welfare¡ªeverything as theborw says,¡± Xiaojin answered him. She then grabbed onto the thin air and scooped out a giant pomegranate, which she split into halves, revealing the translucent and plump seeds inside, which reminded one of red pearls. She looked like a fat little hamster that could not restrain itself from eating out of its winter stash. She began to pop the seeds into her mouth as they walked on. ¡°¡­¡± Chao Kongtu watched her in amazement, for all along, this one had given him the expression of a heartless little rouge. It suddenly struck him that she was capable of being cute and adorable. ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡± Sensing his gaze, Xiaojin tossed him half of the fruit. ¡°There, it¡¯s delicious.¡± ¡°Um, thanks.¡± He would not usually eat a pomegranate, but since he was offered one, it would not be polite to refuse. He lowered his head and was going to eat it¡­ what the hell? There was no pomegranate to eat. All he was holding was an empty shell¡ªthe red pearls were all gone. He turned to look at certain fellow, who was holding a handful of red seeds and chewing happily. ¡°Why are you looking at me again?¡± Little Soap asked with the most bewildered and straight face. ¡°I am intrigued, actually. How did you survive to this age?¡± Chao Kongtu was genuinely confused. ¡°I¡¯m lucky! People can be good at all kinds of things, but nothing beats good luck¡­ f**k, that¡¯s a sour one!¡± Wrinkling up her face, Xiaojin turned from a dummy husky to a shar pei in a second. An intense sour taste spread out from the tip of her to tongue and soon took over her entire mouth. ¡°Gosh! Sour! Too sour!¡± Her hands were empty now¡ªwhat was left of the pomegranate was transferred into Chao Kongtu¡¯s hand again. Sticking out her tongue, she hopped around, shouting, ¡°Ssss! Sour food gives you a boy and spicy food gives you a girl. How could anyone stand that! Bah! Bah!¡± No one could understand what was going through her head as she gabbled out sarcastic remarks only she herself understood. ¡°¡­¡± Chao Kongtu watched her a while and suddenly snickered. He then picked up a seed and threw into his mouth. Hm, sour and sweet. It was great! *** Cottage of Pure Mind, the living room. The guest was not here and only Gu Yu and Xiaozhai sat in the host seats, listening to Li Dong¡¯s report on the output of the first half of the year. ¡°We now have 880 fruit trees of various kinds, which have given us a total yield of 36 tons¡­ the early rice is not harvested yet, but we estimated the yield this year should increase¡­ Dear Old Gao has managed toe up with something new¡ªhe has tried to make a few types of fruit wine and I have taken three jars¡­ there are 137.5 kg of tea in stock; the herbs are still growing, so there is not yield¡­ the three piglets are growing healthily; they¡¯re a size bigger than when they arrived¡­¡± Gu Yu pondered for a moment and said, ¡°Keep the medicinal materials and spiritual rice as they are. The fruit, liquor, tea, and bamboo shoots are for sale. Contact Old Shui for that. I¡¯ll leave everything to you.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Li Dong was delighted. After living an idle life for more than half a year, he finally got a proper job. As a matter of fact, he was the only candidate¡ªall the rest on the mountain were ¡°technicians¡± of sorts. ¡°Oh, by the way, Brother Shui has registered apany, saying that it will take care of the transportation of all our goods within Shengtian territory. That¡¯s the short-term goal. He will expand the business to cover the province¡ªor even the entire Northeast¡ªin the future,¡± added Li Dong. Wow! Nice job, Old Shui! Gu Yu chuckled and said, ¡°Ok, I see. You can go back to your work now.¡± After Li Dong left, Gu Yu presented the ledger to the head of the household and asked, ¡°It¡¯s been a couple of days. What do you think of Chao Kongtu?¡± ¡°60 out of 100. Still needs further observation,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Haha, that¡¯s what I thought as well. To be honest, with what we saw in the Celestial Master Temple and Maoshan, it¡¯s hard not to be biased.¡± ¡°Whatever. The bottom line is: big no-no for Quanzhen.¡± Xiaozhai said, stretching herself. Since Wang Qi¡¯s visit, the couple had expanded their scope to a global scale. Yes, the internal strife within this country was inevitable, but with the trend of an international ¡°upgrade¡±, on a macro-scale, the strategy would be to resist the foreign aggression as a unified force. Hence, Phoenix Mountain wanted to make friends with the Taoistmunity and they had to find a suitable one. Such as th Maoshan Sect. Such as Chao Kongtu. Chapter 299 Chapter 299: Time for An Introduction Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Aaaaah! I¡¯m gonna kill you! I¡¯m gonna kill you!¡± ¡°Dad, it¡¯s me! What¡¯s happening to you, Dad!¡± In Bajiao 1 Vige of in the suburbs of the capital city, a frightened man was running in circles around the courtyard of a farmhouse. Chasing behind him was an old man holding a kitchen knife who had bloodshot eyes and a savage look on his face. ¡°Waah¡­ waah¡­¡± The son¡¯s wife and child had locked themselves up in an inner room and were crying uncontrobly. After much shouting and yelling, the neighbors showed up at the noise, and were equally frightened by the scene. A few young men moved closer first and restrained the old man tightly. One of the bolder men then struck the old man¡¯s arm, and with a ¡°nk!¡±, the kitchen knife dropped to the ground. ¡°I¡¯m gonna kill you! I¡¯m gonna kill you!¡± Restrained, the old man was screaming all the more frantically as if that was not his own son, but some irreconcble archenemy. Someone had called the police a while ago and the neighbors had gathered around talking together in confusion. The son was panting. ¡°I don¡¯t have the slightest clue. Yesterday was the Ghost Festival 2 and we went to visit the grave. He was perfectly fine when we got back, but this morning, he was like that.¡± ¡°Oh my, I don¡¯t think the old man has been sick or anything. Did something ¡®unnatural¡¯ get to him?¡± suggested someone. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve heard of quite a few cases over the newstely,¡± chimed in another. ¡°Anyway, be careful these days. Some weird things are happening.¡± The crowd chatted on. It wasn¡¯t long until a police car drove into the vige and stopped outside the farmhouse. The doors opened and four police officers filed out. They made no inquiries, for the old man was still yelling at the top of his voice for anyone with eyes and ears to see. ¡°Take him!¡± The leading officer waved. The other three went up to the old man, cuffed him, then grabbed him by both arms and swiftly escorted him into the police car. The son would not have it this way and shouted, ¡°Gosh! Comrade police officer! My dad is a little out of the line, but surely you don¡¯t have to do that? What is all this? You¡¯d think he killed someone or set a house on fire or something!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The leader gave him a look. ¡°It¡¯splicated. We¡¯re only following orders here. I apologize for that!¡± With that, the four drove off without a second of dy, leaving behind the crowd of vigers with their utter bewilderment. *** Tangshan, hospital. The area was 20 km from downtown¡ªa distance making it neither too central nor exactly remote. It was the capital city we¡¯re talking about here. Anyone who could afford buying an apartment just outside the Sixth Ring Road would qualify as a ¡°Tuhao¡±. ¡°Make way! Make way!¡± ¡°Mhm¡­ mhm¡­¡± ¡°Make way, please. We¡¯ve got a new patient!¡± With the hubbub, the old man was escorted into the hospital by four police officers, heading directly for the newly built ¡°Unnatural Disease Research Center¡±. With his hand cuffed and a cord stuffed between his teeth, the old man was still struggling violently. They had no other choice. Such measures could stop the patient¡¯s senseless screaming, as well as prevent them from biting their own tongue¡ªthe hospital learnt thetter the hard way. They made it to the third floor when two robust doctors came up to them and injected the old man with a powerful anesthetic. In a couple of seconds, the old man¡¯s eyes went vacant and his body turned limp. He was then carried to an istion ward. ¡°Phew¡­ luckily we got him here in one piece. One of our men got this elderly woman yesterday. He let his guard down for one second and she bit him on his chin¡ªtore a chunk of meat off. Damn it! These people are like Abnormal Titans! 3 ¡± The leading officer sighed with relief and asked in passing, ¡°Why, there must have been what, twenty of them already?¡± ¡°Yup, this one makes the twentieth. Thanks for all your hard work!¡± replied the doctor. ¡°Why, the same to you! Your job is no easier!¡± After the police left, the director of the center called for a group consultation, where the usual procedure was carried out: drawing blood, running tests, full body examination¡­ The results came back the same as before: there was nothing wrong with the man medically. For a moment there, the doctors were all in low spirits. This helplessness was simply too defeating. When exactly did all this start? Let¡¯s see¡­ it had to be two weeks ago when patients with simr symptoms began to show up. They all had been perfectly fine before and went insane without any warning. The hospitals had been treating these people as mental patients when orders from above arrived a couple of days ago, ordering: Firstly, all such patients should be resettled to Tangshan Hospital. Secondly, it was not some mental disease. These people had ¡°bumped into ghosts¡±. All doctors felt question marks were materializing out of their brains and floating around their heads. Seriously?! They were doctors and the most devoted believers of science. But now, the government itself was making it official: yes, they had bumped into ghosts. *** The capital city, the HQ of the BIMAUP. Mu Kun was sitting in his office, listening to his assistant¡¯s briefing. ¡°As of today, 1027 patients have been admitted to major hospitals in all thirty-six provinces, of which 269 have died identally. By idental death, we refer to the sudden death that was without warning and that for which no reason could be found. We have inquired Priest Jingyi of the Maoshan Sect who said that those possessed by ghosts would have their energy consumed very quickly. Some are too weak to withstand this invasion of ghostly energy and would die from exhaustion¡­¡± ¡°Ha, ha ha¡­ cough! Cough!¡± Listening to the report, Mu Kun began tough, which then turned into a violent fit of coughing. Various emotions all mixed together, which eventually took over him with the utmost helplessness. After finish reading the report, the assistant asked tentatively, ¡°Director Mu, what exactly do the bosses mean?¡± ¡°What else? Come up with ideas, report them, and wait for an answer!¡± Reclining into his chair, Mu Kun rubbed his temples. He felt exhausted from inside out. As early as several days ago, Wu Songbai of the Maoshan Sect had warned them, saying ghosts were making their way back into this mortal world. However, before they coulde up with any countermeasure, the outbreak began. This goddamn Zhongyuan Festival! He cursed silently inside. For ording to Wu Songbai, in order to show up in the mortal world, the ghosts had to enter either through certain ceremony, or the incident when people bumped into certain objects possessed by resentment. The Yin energy was the most powerful on Zhongyuan Festival, making it much more possible for the ghosts to cross over. Keep in mind that the country had a poption of nearly two billion and people died everyday. So there were bound to be plenty of deaths around Zhongyuan Festival. The big cities did not have enough room for such ceremonies, but nearly all families in the vast rural areas followed their traditions, which was only heading for disaster. If there was a seventh day ceremony and the family members did not follow the rule strictly, something like Zheng Kaixin¡¯s incident was almost inevitable! What could the government do but treat the affected as mental patients first¡ªsend them to a specialized hospital and summon Wu Songbai urgently. Old Man Wu was very cooperative:ing hell or high water, we men of Maoshan would do everything we could out of kindness. When they arrived, the government was like: are you kidding me? You don¡¯t even have enough men to fill a dining table. The entire capable ghost-dispelling force of the sect consisted of four people! These four men had been dispatched to four cities most severely affected to ease the pressure. Mu Kun wondered if the government was regretting their decisions from decades ago¡ªat least he himself did, for back then when he first began his career, he had been on the task force cleaning up swindling Maoshan priests. Karma was indeed a bi*ch. Finally, they realized the usefulness of the Maoshan Sect, but there was barely anyone to use. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Mu Kun heaved another sigh and looked dejected. Seeing this, the assistant said gingerly, ¡°Director Mu, forgive my bluntness, but the current difficulty is not to catch the ghosts, but to find a way to exin it.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°In fact, we are all mentally prepared for this: the spiritual essence has showed up; so have the Taoist skills. It was only a matter of time before ghosts made their appearance. The problem is, despite our warm-up for the new ideology, we are still not sure how the general public will take it.¡± ¡°You are right. The difficulty lies in the exnation we will need to give to the people, as well as in that life will go on as more monsters show up, for which we will need to educate them with countermeasures¡­¡± Mu Kun remarked, as if echoing the other¡¯s point. However, both knew perfectly well that they were only scratching the surface. As for the real problem, neither of them were bold enough to discuss it loudly. ¡°Knock, knock, knock!¡± Just then, there was a knock at the door and someone said outside, ¡°Director Mu, the director needs you for a meeting. Instructions from above have arrived!¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯m on my way.¡± Mu Kun winced a little, then rose to his feet and strode out of the office. Shuffling footsteps echoed in the corridor as officials walked out of their offices and gathered in the room in the innermost corner of the building. Seeing this, Mu Kun couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Xiao Li, what¡¯s going on? Have the bosses agreed?¡± ¡°Not only did they agree, they have also¡­¡±¡ªthe man hesitated a little before going on¡ª¡±they have alsoe up with an unexpected bold move. This incident is probably the entry point of exining everything.¡± Chapter 300 Chapter 300: Warm-up Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Liu Xiaoyong was a college student and an overweight otaku¡ªnot that the two contradicted one another. His hometown was Goat City, which was also where his university was¡ªit was five stations away from his house only. During the twenty or so years so far, he had barely travelled more than 300 km away from home. Like most overweight otakus, his biggest hobby was watching anime, ying video games, and downloading x-rated OVA. Apparently, not only was he learning from his teachers at school, he found himself other ¡± teachers 1 ¡± during the vacations as well. As a result, he was well-versed in all sorts of pop-up ads and had often exhausted himself from all the ¡°self-learning¡± activities¡­ Twenty years old and his romantic history remained nk. The only reason that he bought condoms was, well, out of curiosity. ¡°Sigh, there goes another short-lived life of mine. So boring¡­¡± That night, Liu Xiaoyong slurped his super-spicy cup noodle and finished thest episode of a new anime released this season. For a moment there, he couldn¡¯t help but be lost in a deep reverie, which was a recurring experience of his¡ªas soon as he fell in love with a heroine of an anime, it was time to say goodbye to her. Shaking his head, he rose to his feet and tossed the empty cup into the bin himself, which was extremely rare for him. He then fetched a cart of box-packed lemon tea, sat back on his honorable seat, switched the screen back tobilibili 2 , and refreshed the homepage. What? Completely out of the blue, the main images of the frontpage had been changed temporarily, reced by one big picture. Written across the frontpage was a line of text: Congrattions on moving home¡ª you know nothing of the anime world 3 ! The picture itself was a bearded middle-aged man dressed in a Taoist robe, who was cupping his hands at the camera. What the hell? Having nothing better to do, Liu Xiaoyong clicked the video open. It was rather a lengthy one¡ªabout 30 minutes¡ªand the screen had beenpletely covered up byyers uponyers of barrages. He simply closed down the barrages and watched the contents of the video only, which was neither a spoof nor a gimmick, but was really showing a priest carrying out a ceremony. It seemed to be taking ce at the entrance of the new office building of thepany. An altar had been set up, on top of whichy three animals and four fruits required as the sacrifice, together with three high-quality joss sticks. Over a dozen people had been divided into two groups, who were worshipping on either side on bended knees while the middle-aged man was gesticting in the middle. He probably had a mic on him, for his chanting wasing out loud and clear. ¡°The Grand Supreme spirit guards my soul and body so that I can cope with the forever changing situation. The splendid divine light shines on the highest heaven and deepest cave, discerns all five elements, and follows the Three Pure Ones. I hereby prostrate myself in front of the holy scripture of the precious Dao¡­¡± Damn! Liu Xiaoyong watched the video with a gaping mouth. He did not know exactly what was going on, but guessed that the man was probably chanting a spell of house-cleansing and evil-dispelling. The scene looked tooical to take it seriously, yet everyone on screen looked too solemn and devoted to be considered aughing matter 4 . The barrage was filled with melodramaticments. ¡°We should have some talisman and yellow paper emojis added to the barrage.¡± ¡°LMAO. All they need now is to sacrifice a programmer to Heaven!¡± ¡°Suppress those autotune remix and the Great Dao willply with Nature.¡± ¡°I almost thought I read it wrong at the first nce¡­¡± ¡°Last time I saw something simr was in the Kingdom of Chechi, but there were three priests 5 ¡­¡± Hahaha! Liu Xiaoyong loved these people for their ridiculousness. After finding the right words, he quickly typed in hisment. ¡°Abracadabra! SARFT, 6 let me pass!¡± His interest in this particr video was pretty much finished after sending out the barrage. However, he darted one more casual look and was curious to see that the video was over half an hour long. It couldn¡¯t be all on a ceremony, could it? Liu Xiaoyong dragged the timeline forward to about twenty minutes into the program. The location had been changed to the star lounge of the website¡¯s office, where the middle-aged man was being interviewed. ¡°Priest Chen, it was the fifteenth day of the seventh month on the traditional calendar and there is this saying ¡®the ghost gate opens at Zhongyuan Festival¡¯, so could you tell us if ghosts really exist in our world?¡± ¡°This is not a simple yes-or-no question. First of all, I think we should all realize that fear stems from unknown. When one has a better knowledge of a certain object, they can be much more at ease¡­¡± The priest was handsome, graceful, and well-mannered, making words out of his mouth very convincing. ¡°ording to our Taoist concepts, ghosts do exist in this world, but they are nothing like the blue-faced, sharp-fanged, and malicious creatures depicted by TV dramas or fiction who coulde and go without leaving a trace. We Taoists believe that all things in this world are derived from Dao¡ªyou can think of this Dao as a form of Qi. Everything in this world is a produce of Qi, and so are the ghosts. When someone dies, their Qi can no longer hold together and begins to dissipate. Some will disappear into Nature itself, somebines with the Qi of others, creating an opportunity for new lives, some transforms into animals or metal, stones, nts¡­¡± He went on exining the idea in in words that were both easy to understand and showing an interesting new approach. For a while, the barrage thinned down¡ªeither most of the audience had left or they were enthralled by the words. The host then asked, ¡°We¡¯ve all heard about someone being possessed by a ghost from the folklore, so can that really happen? If so, how can we protect ourselves against it?¡± Liu Xiaoyong instantly pricked up his ears at the question, for just a couple of days ago, one of his ssmates went mental after a seventh day ceremony for a grandmother. It was a major topic of the chat group of his ss for many days. It was said that the student was sent into a mental hospital and someone had concluded right then that a ghost was involved! ¡°Ghost-possessing is the term used bymon folk. In our Taoist terms, it is known as ¡®a loss induced by Yang-deficiency, giving rise to the shing Yin energy¡¯. Ghosts are Yin energy formed by disintegrated vital essence. Some people are weak in body and mind, rendering themcking in Yang energy. Naturally, these people are easily affected by Yin energy¡­ therefore, I adviceymen andywomen with such attributes to spend more times in the sun, improve their health both physically and mentally, as well as stay away from old and gloomy ces and try not to touch ancient and unfamiliar objects, for those are all more likely to be infected with Yin energy and be harmful.¡± ¡°I see. Thanks for clearing that up for us! While you were talking about improving our health, it suddenly urred to me that a physical training program is being taught among middle and primary school students all over the country now. If our audience know someone who has been taught the program, you might want to have a go at it as well. It¡¯s such a simple but effective way. Now, Priest Chen, here is ourst question. Would you talk about some relevant folk customs and some dos and don¡¯ts in practicing them?¡± asked the host. ¡°Of course. Folk customs vary from ce to ce and the mostmon one is the seventh day ceremony. There is actually a very strict set of rules in practicing it¡­¡± ¡®Hiss!¡¯ Liu Xiaoyong felt the hair on his back stand up as he listened on as if something was going to materialize out of the corner of the walls, from under the window-pane, or from under the bed. Even his legs under the table suddenly felt cold and began to shiver. He clicked shut the video in a snap and scuffed to the living room. His parents were watching news on the TV, which also happened to be a host interviewing a ministry official, who was all over the funereal tradition. ¡°Our country has a history of over five thousand years, during which time a lot of folk customs have been created, such as the asions of marriages and funerals known to themon folks as the ¡®red-d¡¯ and ¡®white-d¡¯. There are a lot of established practices involved, which have been passed down until today. Zhongyuan Festival was just a couple of days ago and I happened to be on vacation, so I took my family to visit the cemetery. What I saw on my way there was, well, disconcerting¡­ the government has been running campaigns against burning joss paper for many years. We have been promoting paying respect to our ancestors in a civilized way and some governments even suggested recing the paper-burning with offering flowers, but the actual situation is far from satisfactory. The cities are doing all right, but burning joss paper remains amon practice in the vast rural area. ording to a survey run by our specialists, during the one-day period of Zhongyuan Festival this year, the level of PM2.5 in the capital city has soared to 15 times of its usual level. Many may not be aware, but burning a stack of joss paper will produce about 1.5 kg of CO2, not to mention the SO2, nitrogen oxides, and PAHs, which are all major air pollutants. Therefore, we havee up with a n to gradually reduce the paper-burning practice at a reasonable pace, focusing mainly on the rural areas. We will be promoting civilized worshipping and funereal methods in times such as Qingming, Zhongyuan, Hanyi Festivals, or even for the seventh day ceremony¡­¡± ¡°The seventh day ceremony?¡± interjected the host. ¡°Yes. I think we all know that the joss paper is also burnt during this ceremony. Superstitious beliefs aside¡ªwe respect such tradition¡ªwe should recognize the imminent environmental crisis! We¡¯re not asking people to abandon a thousand-year-old tradition in one generation, but the idea is changing slowly. Maybe in a few generations, we will all be able to give up burning the paper and choose to show our respect with flowers¡­¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ The sensitivity and keenness of an overweight otaku instantly told Liu Xiaoyong that something was not right. Taking out his phone, he refreshed his weibo page. As expected, ranked third among the most searched words was ¡°seventh day ceremony¡±! He tapped into the topic and saw that it was filled with all sorts of stuff from local seventh-day custom, to the bitter attack on superstitious belief, all the way to swearing on the validity of ghosts¡­ it was a circus. ¡°¡­¡± He blinked. These three tforms¡ªthe video website, weibo, and TV¡ªhad pretty much covered all types of audience out there and were now sting out this information for a funeral tradition¡ªthe seventh day ceremony¡ªalone? This simply felt wrong, but he could not point out exactly where. ¡°Why, people here have stopped burning joss paper a long time ago, haven¡¯t they? I don¡¯t think many are doing the seventh day ceremony, either. Thest time I attended one was over a decade ago for my grandmother. I can¡¯t recall one after that,¡± his mother spoke all of a sudden just then. ¡°Yea, it must¡¯ve been four or five years since I saw someone burning paper in the city. They still do it back in my hometown in the countryside, though,¡± said his dad. ¡°No wonder the government is forbidding it. With the smog nowadays, god knows how much worse the PM 2.5 will get with all the burning,¡± said his mum. ¡°Bullsh*t! What about the polluting factories? All they care about are the little things wemon folk do. Driving a car, cooking, using the air-conditioner¡ªis there anything we do that doesn¡¯t affect the air? Now they¡¯re onto burning paper. If there really are ghosts, the government will be the first one they possess!¡± Sh*t! Liu Xiaoyong almost cried out. His old man pointed out the real reason that he had been racking his brain for: if there really were ghosts! *** ¡°Tsk, tsk. You¡¯ve got to give it to those plotters. They just don¡¯t think the same way as we do.¡± Up on Phoenix Mountain, Gu Yu could not help but be amazed after reading through the news. ¡°It¡¯s simple but effective. The government would not admit it openly, but they¡¯re secretly letting the people specte on their own. The government will then direct the public opinion towards the direction it wants. It¡¯s the same scheme all over again.¡± Xiaozhai shook her head. ¡°Same scheme or not, the government is very good at it. With the background belief of themon folks, it¡¯s only natural that they¡¯re going to borate the story on their own¡­¡± Gu Yu chuckled and went on, ¡°However advanced the modern technology is, plenty of people out there still believe in ghosts. Letting the imagination of the public fly is only the most effective move, but I think it¡¯s also only the beginning. There must be follow-up actions.¡± ¡°Follow-ups?¡± Chao Kongtu, who had been sipping his tea quietly on the side, said suddenly, ¡°I might have an idea.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s your little bird?¡± Xiaojin asked curiously. ¡°I just received a message from my master, saying too many people have been possessed and they¡¯re extremely short of hands. I¡¯m summoned to help them out. I will also be taking charge of a group and am expected to teach them some crash course in catching ghosts.¡± Chao Kongtu sounded quite unwilling as he added, ¡°There¡¯s more. The authorities have invited a few Zhengyi descendants from HK Inds and Mya, as well as that direct descendant of the Celestial Master Temple who has been living in exile abroad.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were dazed a little at the news. What was that all about? Was the government trying to stir things up? Xiaojin was as blunt as always as she asked in amazement, ¡°Why were those despicable men invited? Paying to get their face pped?¡± ¡°Overtly, they¡¯re here to help with catching ghosts. Actually¡­ ha, it¡¯s nothing but a publicity stunt. People get to see the circus show and the government gets their propaganda spread.¡± Putting down his cup, Chao Kongtu smiled a cold smile. Chapter 301 Chapter 301: Rain Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Rumble!¡± ¡°Pitter-patter!¡± Dark clouds gathered overhead. After a soft thunder, the sky that had been parched for months finally softened at the long-awaited moisture. Fine raindrops drizzled down, scattering into all corners and covering the entire Phoenix Mountain in a mist. It was the first rain since this April¡ªit was already mid-August at the moment. Light as it might be, it at least offered somefort to the people who had been suffering from droughts and the high temperature. Meteorological services were all rushing around spreading the good news, for the entire North would be experiencing a minor drop in temperature in theing few days and some areas might be expecting intermittent showers. This indicated that the intense heat of summer brought by the abnormality was finallying to an end this year. The South might have to wait a few more days, but it would not beter than September. Right now, several people were strolling down the long stone steps of Phoenix Mountain holding umbres. ¡°Very good timing. You get to see the mountain in the rain when you leave.¡± Gu Yu chuckled. ¡°Haha, I really would like to stay, but the order came from my master and I cannot disobey. Thank you for all the excellent hospitality these past few days!¡± said Chao Kongtu. ¡°You¡¯re wee. The mountain is always open to you whenever you want to visit us again,¡± Xiaozhai also chimed in. While listening to the exchange of the pleasantries on the side, Long Qiu blinked and suddenly offered her unskillful gossipy remark, ¡°Why, Jin Jin, aren¡¯t you going to show some hospitality?¡± ¡°Why would I care if hees again or not? What does my hospitality have to do with anything?¡± With what went through her head on a daily basis, Xiaojin instantly realized where the subject was heading and retorted with her eyes wide open, ¡°Excuse me? Exactly where did you get that idea from? Do you have no better things to do than coupling me up with this fellow? He¡¯s not even reached the innate state! Come on!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Long Qiu turned scarlet at Xiaojin¡¯s tongueshing and quietly hid behind Xiaozhai as if she was no longer there, whereas Chao Kongtu felt his knees giving up a little at the undeniable usation. After receiving a message from his master, he was heading directly for Tangshan Hospital in the capital city, where he would be taking charge of saving the patients (from ghosts) and training the others. His less than a week long stay in Phoenix Mountain was an eye-opening experience¡ªwhat amazed him was obviously not the spiritual rice, tea, or fruit wine, but the Taoist skills the four casually used. Although he did not get to see the essence-consuming method and Thunder Technique, the Void-arranging, Small Confining, and Small Moving Techniques alone were enough to win his great admiration. It was especially the case with the Small Moving Technique, which made him jump in the beginning, thinking it was some sort of magic that could create objects out of thin air. Itter urred to him that it was a type of spatial switching skill¡­ He then recalled Layman Gu¡¯s deeds when he stood at the entrance of Xidu municipal government and twisted the Shamanist¡¯s head off his living body¡ªit was probably an application of this skill. As a member of Qiyun, Chao Kongtu could not help but begin topare it with Phoenix Mountain. The monastery had plenty of Taoist skills from numerous and jumbled systems, but none of those were of a very high level. Even with the discovery of the inheritance of White Crane, he did not think they would be able to surpass Phoenix Mountain. However, there were three underground levels in the pce and something more advanced could still show up. The monastery followed a set of established rules and regtions with distinguished status and clear-cut job descriptions somewhat resembling the structure of a corporation. The rtionships in Phoenix Mountain were much more personal and casual; the force that bound the people together reminded one of a big family. It was still too early to tell which one would have the advantage. Before long, they reached the foot of the mountain, where Chao Kongtu stopped, turned to face the family of four, and bowed solemnly. ¡°I hereby bid you farewell. We¡¯ll meet again when fate sees fit!¡± ¡°Farewell!¡± After that, he got on the vehicle Old Shui arranged and drove off into the misty rain. The four stood there for a little while and headed back up the mountain. Xiaozhai put her umbre away after a short distance and let the rain fall on her without blocking it with her spiritual essence. Her face looked more refreshing than ever with the moisture. She asked suddenly, ¡°So, what do you think?¡± ¡°The government has been brewing it for a whole year, propagating and guiding the opinion with its subtle influence. Now that the situation is bing all the moreplicated. Together with the threat from abroad, I think they are pushed into opening the game.¡± Gu Yu gave it a thought and added, ¡°To initiate such world-changing event, apart from a warm-up period, they also need a suitable point of introduction. This invitation of Taoist descendants from abroad to our country is probably the government¡¯s attempt to make a fuss about the whole thing and put everything on the table.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly what the government is going to do, but I know the Taoistmunity is ying the puppet again¡ªscratch that, Zhengyi is,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°They can¡¯t help it. The Taoistmunity is depending on the government for their resources. It¡¯s their duty to y the cannon fodder.¡± ¡°Tsk, why are we still talking about it? We¡¯ll know what they¡¯re up to if we go to see it ourselves!¡± Xiaojin interjected all of a sudden. Her blinking eyes had ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± written all over them. ¡°Not yet. Let¡¯s wait and see how it goes.¡± Gu Yu turned her down outright. He then asked, ¡°By the way, Xiao Qiu, how¡¯s that kid, Zheng Kaixin?¡± ¡°Um, he needed some adjusting period when he first got here, but he¡¯s letting more of his naughty side show now. His mother is all right. She¡¯s helping with harvesting the vegetables and stuff,¡± replied Long Qiu. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll put him into your hands. Don¡¯t teach him anything yet. Let him learn how to sit in meditation first. No need for further martial arts movements, either. What he learned from Maoshan should be enough.¡± ¡°Teehee, no problem.¡± The natural endowment of Zheng Kaixin was above average but not excellent. However, there was something unique about the boy¡ªthat trace of Yin energy fused into his body. Under normal circumstances, Qi-nourishing techniques had no attributes¡ªthe essence-consuming method included. Zheng Kaixin¡¯s condition, however, would give him a natural Yin attribute if he could find a suitable technique to train with, which was something worth expecting. *** Capital city, an office. The old man leaned into his chair¡ªhis sses were on the desk¡ªand was listening to his assistant¡¯s briefing with closed eyes. ¡°As of mid-August, 24 provinces have been suffering from various degrees of droughts. Approximately 319 million mu of crops have been affected by droughts, of which 41.39 million mu suffered from total crop failure, resulting in a grain loss of 27.36 billion kg. The Disaster Reduction Committee and the Ministry of Civil Affairs haveunched emergency response. The working groups have rushed to the disaster area to organize the masses to rece the seeds and rush-nt while the soil is damp, regte water sources to expand irrigation area, make early preparation for autumn film mulching, as well as to settle ims for agricultural insurance on droughts so as to help the farmers with their losses¡­ Globally, because major wheat producing areas such as the Ossie and Uncle Sam were affected by droughts, the global wheat yield is estimated at 503 million tons, which is a 9% drop fromst year¡¯s. Global food prices surged by 10% in the beginning of the month. The prices of corn and wheat have gone up by 25% and soybean prices also rose by 17%. ording to the statistics of the Food Bureau, the year-on-year increase in the price of wheat on the domestic market is 3.3%, the early indica rice 7.6%, the medium indica rice 7.8%, and corn 12.7%¡ªall significantly lower than the international market price increase¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± After the assistant finished reading the report, it was a while before the old man responded with a nod, indicating that he had heard everything. With the advanced modern agricultural technology, most countries had implemented the grain reserve system to deal with major natural disasters and stabilize the food market price. Therefore the tragedy of mass starvation from a single major drought decades ago was rarely seen nowadays. It was especially the case with this country, whose government attached great importance to food. Rumor among themon folk was that the domestic grain reserve was enough tost between 30 to 36 months with a daily ration of half a kilo for every citizen with zero harvest from the entire country during this period. We are talking about sustaining a poption of nearly 2 billion! This figure was so astronomical thatizens often joked about when this country ran out of food, the earth would probably meet its end. Such data was ssified as state secrets, around which the general poption would form their imagination, but the old man knew the details like the back of his hand. Honestly speaking, with the current situation, the country would not be affected much with a substantial reduction in crop yields for one year or two, but three, four, or five years in a row would definitely result in famine! The state dared not bet it all on this goddamn spiritual essence stabilizing any time soon. There was simply too much on the stake. Chapter 302 Chapter 302: Storm Rising (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Goat City, the airport. A flight from Siam had justnded. Before long, a group of passengers filed out of the airport. During the past six to seven years, Siam had sessfully reced Nippon andKoryo 1 as the most popr tourist destination among the neighboring countries. This bunch of returning tourists was the most typical kind: men and women of all age groups had spent the holiday there with their families and returned with bags filled with souvenirs of all sizes and Buddha amulets dangling from their necks. All were in high spirits and could not shut up about the fun they had. One man stood out from the rest of the group. The man was thickset, swarthy, and had big and protruding eyes. An oval red birthmark covered then entire area of the left side of his forehead and his left eye. He wore a mandarin jacket with a stand-up cor on the top and a monk-style wrap skirt on the bottom, with a wide golden belt around his waist. On his bare feet was a pair of wooden sandals. His clothes alone suggested an impoverished fellow from some remote mountainous region. However, the aura emanating from him would scare off just about anyone¡ªespecially that birthmark, which looked like some sort of mark left by a devil and even tinted his left eye blood red. ¡°Why, that¡¯s a traditional outfit!¡± He had just walked out of the airport and stopped by the side of the road when there came a soft cry from someone nearby. He turned to look and saw a young man eyeing him curiously. He had begun to take photos with his phone. Seeing him turning, the fellow greeted in English, ¡°Hello, my friend. You¡¯re from Siam, right? You don¡¯t mind me taking some pictures, do you?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The man, however, glowered, apparently infuriated and greatly offended by this conduct. He pointed at the fellow with a finger and began to chant some spell in an iprehensiblenguage. Then there came the cry. ¡°Ah! What¡¯s this? It¡¯s so itchy! Gosh, it¡¯s so itchy! Aaaaah!¡± The fellow twitched suddenly and twisted into a strange posture. He then began to scratch his face, neck, chest, and back with both hands. The itching was very intense; with the thin clothes of the summer, his scratching¡ªwhich was growing more forcible¡ªled to red marks showing on his skin, some of which even had streaks of blood seeping out. It frightened the onlookers, who thought the fellow wasing down with some acute disease. ¡°Oh my, Mr. Yaaga! Sorry for keep you waiting! We were caught in the traffic!¡± Just then, a few people hurried near. One of them took the man¡¯s hand and greeted him in Mandarin, which was then tranted to him. ¡°Humph! Is this how you treat your guest?¡± Yaaga appeared to be a man with a bad temper and sneered at the apology. ¡°We¡¯re truly sorry. There simply are too many people and too much traffic in Goat City.¡± The man went on apologizing halfheartedly when he looked sideways and saw the scratching fellow. ¡°What¡¯s happened to this man?¡± ¡°He was rude to me. I gave him a little punishment.¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m sure he did not mean it. Do forgive him, will you?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yaaga gave him a look. After all, this was not his own territory and he did not want to make too big a scene, so he deactivated the spell with a wave of his hand. ¡°Haha, I admire the generosity of a capable man. If you woulde this way, please.¡± With that, the group got into a luxuriousmercial vehicle, which slowly drove out of the airport. The scratching fellow was now back to normal and felt as if he had just escaped death. With burning pain all over his body, he found his arms covered with bloody scratches. The fellow was called Cui Zhanbo, who was a celebrity blogger on wechat with a couple of hundred of thousand followers. He was taking photos of Yaaga out of upational habit and never thought it would bring him such suffering. Being a resolute man himself, he would never let go of it easily. He got into his own car right away and drove away following thatmercial vehicle. *** In the ancient times, people of Siam had given names only but no family names. It was not until the year 1912 when the sixth emperor of the current dynasty issued Personal Name Act, which granted 6432 family names to themon people. Their custom was to have their family names following the given ones, hence Yaaga¡¯s full name was Yaaga Shinawatra. The Shinawatra n was a bold and unreserved family in Siam, quite influential in both the business and the political field. Their ancestors, though, were from Goat City¡ªtheir original Chinese surname was Qiu. They immigrated to Siam at the end of the Qing Dynasty. Yaaga was from a coteral branch of the n and a master in the practice ofGong Tau (or ¡°Tame Head¡±) 2 . He was invited this time into the country by a certain institute to help with dispelling the ghosts. The original n was to fly him directly to the capital city, but the guy suddenly expressed his wish to see thend of his ancestors, hence the Goat City trip. ¡°Where are the ghosts you want to catch?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to rush. You havee all this way. We have prepared a meal for you, we¡¯ll talk after that.¡± In the dining hall of a hotel, the man in charge, the interpreter, two assistants, and Yaaga himself were about to sit down. The custom of this country was to offer the host seat to the honorable guest, while the host took the next lesser seat. The man in charge was going to sit down on the chair beside Yaaga when thetter ordered suddenly, ¡°You, go sit there!¡± ¡°Hm?¡± The man did not get the request the first time. ¡°You, do not sit here!¡± Yaaga instructed in a rigid tone, then turned to the interpreter on the other side. ¡°You, don¡¯t sit here, either.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The man in charge did not even raise an eyebrow, but only smiled. ¡°Oh, sure. I see! Leave the two seats next to Mr. Yaaga empty!¡± After much shuffling around, the group of five finally settled down around the table: Yaaga took the seat in the middle with a vacant chair on either side of him and further below sat the others, making it quite a strange picture. ¡°We didn¡¯t know what would suit your appetite, so I ordered a bit of everything. Enjoy!¡± Soon, the dishes were served, filling up the table. Yaaga skimmed through the food, apparently not particrly interested in any of them. Instead, he spoke rapidly in his native tongue, poured a cup of tea, and sshed it to his left hand side. ¡°¡­¡± The five men watched with unblinking eyes. The tea was halfway from spilling to the floor when it disappeared into thin air. Not a single drop of water reached the floor. Immediately after that, he picked up a piece of meat and tossed to the right. Same as before, the meat vanished. ¡®Geez!¡¯ The man in charge felt his heart lurch. ¡°Mr. Yaaga, are these your, the ones that you raised¡­¡± ¡°That is correct!¡± ¡°Oh my! That¡¯s incredible! I heard that normally, ghost-raising masters can have one natal ghost only. Mr. Yaaga, you have demonstrated great capabilities! Please ept my admiration!¡± ¡°Haha! This is just some trivial skill that is not worth mentioning.¡± Such tter was right up his alley and Yaaga couldn¡¯t help but feel pleased. Born with a tough mind and ferocious temperament, raising ghosts for ¡°Taming Head¡± came naturally to him. However difficult the ghosts were, they became docile littlembs in his hands. He was also a renowned figure in this field in his own country. The group chatted through the meal. Yaaga did not eat much, but spent most of the time feeding his two ghosts. Halfway through the food, the phone of the man in charge rang. He picked it up, had a brief conversation, and hung up. ¡°Excuse me, another guest has arrived. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± ¡°What guest?¡± ¡°Oh, that would be Priest Xuankong Zi from the HK Inds¡ªsupposed to be a descendant of Maoshan.¡± The man in charge casually let the information slip. ¡°A descendant of Maoshan?¡± Frowning, Yaaga¡¯s face darkened. ¡°I don¡¯t see why you have to go all the way to meet him. How about you ask him to sit with us?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be great! It must be my lucky day to sit with both masters at the same table. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± The man in charge left the room happily and returned shortly afterwards with a blue-robed Taoist priest who was in his forties, had a goatee, and a sallow face, which all together gave him a shrewd yet sinister look. The man was none other than Xuankong Zi himself. The moment the priest entered the dining hall and saw Yaaga¡¯s Siam-styled outfit, he said coldly, ¡°A Tame Head master? You brought in a Tame Head master?¡± Before the man in charge could answer, Xuankong Zi went up to the table, whereas Yaaga also rose to his feet. The two men¡¯s eyes met and one could almost see sparks flying in the air. Xuankong Zi was a man of Lower Maoshan whose master¡¯s master fled from the maind during the wartime to live in the HK Inds and took some inheritance with him. People of those inds were superstitious and became firm believers of his practice. Adding to the fact that Xuankong Zi was a capable priest himself, he was a duck taken to the water there. On the other hand, the skills of the sorcerers of Siam¡ªor shall we say the whole southeastern area¡ªoriginated partially from the witchcraft and Maoshan skills of our 3 country and partially from the aboriginal sorcery of their own countries. Despite being a man of Lower Maoshan only, Xuankong Zi had always considered himself a representative of the superior Taoist orthodox and despised all those that had ¡°borrowed¡± from Taoist teachings. Simrly, for some strange psychological reason, these sorcerers of the southeast were also quite hostile towards their Taoist counterparts. ¡°@#$%^&*#*&^%$! ¡± Yaaga did not hesitate for a second and moved into action right away. He pointed with his finger and chanted a spell. Having stayed in the inds all these years living his days telling fortunes and securing houses, Xuankong Zi had little experience in realbat and was instantly losing out. He felt a sinister cold air wrapping around him; as soon as it touched his skin, it made a pricking sensation as if needles were being drilled in. ¡°How dare you!¡± He had a few things up his sleeves after all and shook a paper packet out of his cloth pouche. ¡°Poof!¡± A packet was shaken loose, releasing a plume of scarlet powder which enveloped him entirely. Instantly, crackling noises rang out all over his skin, resembling the faint explosive sound when something was thrown into boiling oil. Meanwhile, some tiny ck creatures began falling down from his body in showers and soon piled up by his feet. The man in charge reached out to see. Gosh! They were all ck worms! Before the pain waspletely gone, Xuankong Zi moved into action with both hands, taking out a talisman with his left hand and a small bottle with his right which contained a thick grayish white liquid. ¡°Go!¡± Waving both hands, the talisman turned into a ball of ck me in a whoosh and, the next second, it scattered and became a ck rain. ¡°¡­¡± Yaaga¡¯s expression changed slightly, apparently recognizing the skill. It was called Yin-Yang Corpse Poison Method. Once infected, one¡¯s flesh and skin would rot rapidly to the bone and would not stop until the afflicted was dead. Yaaga dared not take this lightly. He took out a small leather drum and patted it. ¡°Dub!¡± ¡°Rub-a-dub¡­ rub-a-dub!¡± The drum made a strange sound, which was not sonorous, but felt stifled and suppressed as if it was thumping on one¡¯s chest. With the tapping of the drum, Yaaga controlled his two ghosts, who flew into the air in their invisible form and, with a tearing howl, devoured all of that ck rain. Once gaining the upper hand, he did not stop there, but kept tapping his drum. ¡°Sh*t!¡± Xuankong Zi was astonished; he had never expected the man¡¯s ghosts to be this capable. Panic-stricken, he only had enough time to shake out one talisman and smacked it onto himself. ¡°Choo!¡± Almost the next second, two streaks of ck air rose out of him, which sent him stumbling backwards and taking a pratfall on the ground. ¡°Hahaha! So much for the Maoshan Skill!¡± Yaaga summoned the ghosts back to his side and guffawed. Seeing that the interpreter sat there dazed, he shouted, ¡°Tell him that! Word for word!¡± ¡°Oh! Ok!¡± The interpreter was back to himself and stammered, ¡°H-he said, so much for the Maoshan Skill.¡± ¡°You bastard!¡± Infuriated, Xuankong Zi smacked his cloth pouch and was going to release his killing move. The man in charge ran to him at this moment and stopped him. ¡°Masters! Masters! Please listen to me!¡± He acted all earnestly as if he meant any of his words. ¡°You both are invited here by us to help with fighting the monsters, so to some extent, you¡¯re colleagues. We¡¯re all after the same thing. Exchanging a few friendly blows is fine, but don¡¯t let it hurt your feelings. Here, let me show you the ce now. Frankly, even if we had more energy than you can spare, we shouldn¡¯t be using it on one of our own. Let¡¯s save it for the monsters.¡± ¡°Humph!¡± Yaaga was not afraid of Xuankong Zi, but he feared the power of the Taoistmunity of this country as a whole. Since the peacemaker had spoken, he was willing to let it go. Xuankong Zi was the losing side, so he was more than happy to grab the opportunity for a safe exit. *** The capital city. The, um, vicinity of Tangshan Hospital. Inside a big room, Chao Kongtu was standing in front of a bunch of priests of all ages, teaching a crash course on catching ghosts. ¡°Everyone here is an elite member of their own sect and are more than capable to fight a ghost in its current strength. I won¡¯t disy my slight skill before the experts¡ªI¡¯m sure you all have an approach you deem fit. There is really one thing only that I will demonstrate: how to force a ghost out of a human body. Once a ghost attaches itself to a human being, it fuses with the living soul. There are three ways to dispel it¡­¡± He paused a little and picked up a paper turtle. ¡°This is the Paper Turtle Ghost-pecking Method. Take a talisman paper and cut it into the shape of a turtle. Set a basin of water and some yellow paper. Burn the yellow paper, let it melt into the water, chant the ghost-dispelling spell, and put the paper turtle into the water. It will then climb onto the person itself and peck out the ghost.¡± He then took up an oilmp. ¡°Lamp Ghost-drawing Method. Catch a green snake and soak thempwick with its blood before drying it in the shade. Light themp with this wick and put it around the head of the person. Meanwhile, burn a talisman and the ghost will be drawn into the smoke. Keep in mind that there is a shoring to this method: once having the ghost in the smoke, it will be very easy for it to flee or find another body to attach itself to. Therefore, as soon as you see the smoke changing shape, kill the ghost instantly!¡± Finally, he picked up a y pot with no lid or bottom. ¡°Divine Pot Ghost-burning Method. Take a red cloth and cover the bottom of the pot with it. Take a few drops of blood of the person and dribble them into the pot. Burn a talisman and begin to pour water in. As the water rises, if the pot begins to burn as if heated and no water is seeping through the cloth, the ghost is in the pot. Otherwise, the ghost has escaped.¡± After the introduction, Chao Kongtu then said, ¡°I will exin all three methods in details one by one. They all have their advantages and disadvantages and it all depends on how they are used. I myself am most familiar with the paper turtle one, so I¡¯ll start with that¡­¡± He indeed held nothing back and instructed the others without any reservation. In the ancient times, such conduct would be a major crime punishable by banishment from the sect at least and being beaten to death at the most. All priests present were aware of the significance of his teaching and admired him greatly for that. Soon, Chao Kongtu finished his teaching. ¡°This is my first time meeting you all. We are all from different sects, but most of you have fellow disciples in Qiyun, which makes us all fellow Taoists. With monsters and ghosts walking the earth at the moment, it is time we Taoist priests fulfill our duty to dispel them. I hope we will all work in concert and live up to the hope of a new flourishing age of our Taoistmunity!¡± ¡°Thank you for the reminder!¡± The roomful of people bowed solemnly. ¡°Narrow-minded hypocrites!¡± Contrary to the respectful atmosphere of the room, a ridicule rang out from outside. The men inside were all displeased but before they had time to react, a man strode in. He was medium-built and had honest eyes, only that his nose was a little hooked, giving him a malicious look. The man wore a calf-long purple gown with sleeves long enough to reach the lower hem, embroidered on which was an Eight Diagram in golden and silver threads. Seeing his outfit, Chao Kongtu raised his eyebrow. In Zhengyi, the high-ranking officials wore yellow gowns and the purple one was only for the abbot of the sects. Therefore, this one was probably, hoho¡­ ¡°So, you¡¯re that disowned dog?¡± Chao Kongtu cupped his hand, sounding very earnest. ¡°How dare you!¡± The man was enraged at those words and was about to wave his sleeves to cast a spell. However, he froze halfway himself and fought back the urge. ¡°Humph! Save your clever talk. I am Zhang Ziliang, the 65th generation Celestial Master!¡± ¡°Buzz!¡± The room erupted into a hubbub at those words. Ny years ago, when the modern state was established, descendants of two thousand-year families fled abroad, one of which the Kong Family¡ªdescendants of Confucius¡ªand the other the Zhang Family of Longhu Mountain. Both families chose the Southern Ocean as their destination and took roots there. We¡¯ll forget about the Kong Family for the time being and talk about the Zhang Family now. The leader then was the 63rd generation Celestial Master, who established a new Way of the Celestial Masters in the Southern Ocean. After he passed away, his nephew inherited the title and became the 64th. Zhang Jintong, on the other hand, was raised by the government and given the title the 65th generation Celestial Master. Hence began the never-ending squabbling of the two sides, both iming themselves to be the orthodox one. A few years ago, the foreign 64th died and Zhang Ziliang took over the sect. Seniority-wise, Zhang Ziliang was actually Zhang Shouyang¡¯s young uncle. Young and aggressive, the man found himself in a time of great change, so he set his mind on fighting his way up Longhu Mountain and taking back Celestial Master Temple. He might be a very capable man, but he was no match to Chao Kongtu in terms ofpeting with words alone. ¡°The 65th generation? Haha! You and your five disciples in that tiny country! You have always been ying in your own backyard, so I presume that you have finallye around and decided to pay homepage?¡± ¡®Damn!¡¯ Zhang Ziliang was a man of certain disposition and did not lose his temper over that remark. He only asked, ¡°Who on earth are you?¡± ¡°Chao Kongtu of Maoshan Sect.¡± ¡°Fine! I will not argue with you here. Just wait until I defeat the entire Celestial Master Temple and be the leader of Zhengyi. Let¡¯s see how you would address me then.¡± ¡°You? The leader of Zhengyi?¡± Chao Kongtu eyed him in surprise and did not refute right away: the man looked intelligent enough, but who gave him the confidence to make that im? Chapter 303 Chapter 303: Storm Rising (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°The spiritual records of Ziwei are announced by the imperial supervisor, rendering it a sworn truth like the mountains and seas, abided by gods and ghosts and the likes. The warrior messenger will descend rapidly to the sacred altar. Once the great deeds are achieved and the virtue earned, the Supreme Pure One will be notified. Obey my order instantly!¡± Inside a ward, Zhang Ziliang had just finished chanting a spell. As a yellow talisman burst into me, white cloud rose up from the floor and a fog began to curl up, soon filling the entire room. Out of all the cloud and smoke, a blue hand suddenly reached out and pressed onto the top of the patient¡¯s head. The hand and the head were so disproportionate that it reminded one of an adult¡¯s hand holding a raw egg¡ªone light squeeze and the contents of the brain would be all over the floor. ¡°Ah!¡± One of the doctors who had been given the permission to witness the procedure could not help but let out a surprised cry, but instantly covered his mouth. Zhang Ziliang, on the other hand, was fully confident of what he was doing. Flipping his whisk, he shouted, ¡°Go!¡± The giant hand clenched as if it had caught something, then gave a sudden tug. With it, a wandering soul in the form of a streak of rolling smoke was dragged out. The patient gave a shudder, then went rigid and motionless, as if all the soul had left the body, leaving behind an empty shell only. ¡°Kill!¡± Zhang Ziliang ordered again. The blue hand then gripped around the struggling and hissing ghost and squeezed tighter. ¡°Pop!¡± The ck smoke dissipated right away and faded into nothing. He retrieved the warrior and flipped his whisk, throwing its hair casually over his left arm. His face was calm as a deep pool, looking exactly what a profound master should look like. ¡°P-Priest¡­¡± The dumbstruck doctor moved closer and stammered, ¡°Is, is that patient all right? It¡¯s not life-threatening, is it?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be fine. He is only exhausted of his vital energy and needs several months to recover.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great!¡± The doctor wiped away his sweat and was about to ask some more when a hubbub erupted in the corridor and was growing louder. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Frowning, Zhang Ziliang strode out of the ward right away. A priest from Qingyang Pce was probably not familiar with the ghost-catching procedure and had miss-operated in the process. Instead of sessfully dispelling the ghost, it had grown more savage at the provocation and broke free. ¡°Aaaah! I¡¯m gonna eat you! Eat you!¡± Good god! An elderly woman with bloodshot eyes was chasing a priest, who was running in a great flurry and cut quite a sorry figure. ¡°How pathetic Qingyang Pce had be! Such a disgrace!¡± Sneering, Zhang Ziliang took out an ancient bronze seal from his sleeve and chanted, ¡°The primordial heaven and earth and the first ancestral Qi will fix the fate of all dead and living. No gods or ghosts shall withstand the power. Stop!¡± At thest word, he tossed the ancient seal high into the air. It was the size of a palm and the bottom was a square densely carved with Taoist patterns. The handle of the seal was in the shape of an imposing lion. The seal rose into mid-air and slowly rotated so that the bottom of the seal was facing downwards. With that turn, the light ancient seal seemed to have grown heavier by a thousand tons, and smashed down in a whoosh as if being violently pulled down by gravity. ¡°Bang!¡± It knocked the elderly woman right on her crown. As if some button had been switched off, she stopped abruptly with vacant eyes and froze on the spot. A semi-visible energy was now rising out of her crown and dissipated. It was several secondster when she swayed and copsed to the floor. ¡°She¡¯s fine as well. Take her to bed!¡± Before the doctor could ask, Zhang Ziliang waved him off impatiently with those words. ¡°Wow!¡± That doctor and many other medical staff in the corridor were now eyeing him with utter admiration. This guy might be new around here, but he was spectacr. He visited the wards one by one and could annihte a ghost in seconds, something which took a group of priests half a day to deal with. If that was not awesome, what else was?! ¡°¡­¡± That was the effect Zhang Ziliang had hoped for. Overawing the audience with his strength, he had opened this game at his own advantage. Fighting back his rampaging inner energy, he put the ancient seal back into his sleeve and did not let the internal turmoil show. ¡°p, p, p!¡± ¡°That was quite an eye-opener, I¡¯ll give you that!¡± While Zhang Ziliang was not looking, Chao Kongtu had moved closer and was now standing behind him. He gave a few ps and chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re kind of a snob, but I still have to thank you for all the help you gave us.¡± ¡°Humph! These petty ghosts will probably cost your useless team a century to clear away!¡± Despite his mockery, Zhang Ziliang had secretly raised his guard, for of all these priests in the hospital, this guy behind him was the only that he might have to think twice to provoke. However, should it reallye to a fight, he was confident of defeating this guy. While all of that was going through his head, Chao Kongtu was pondering something himself. All sects specializing in talismans had some sort of method to dispel evil and catch ghosts. However, a thousand years were quite long a period and most of such sects had lost much of their inheritance. Being the leading sect of Zhengyi, the Way of the Celestial Masters of course had its own methods as well. Unfortunately, there was a great gap in the inheritance of Longhu Mountain and they couldn¡¯te up with anything worth showing off with. As soon as Zhang Ziliang began his work, Chao Kongtu realized right away that the exiled branch had taken a fortune of treasures with them back then, especially that bronze seal. If he guessed it right, that was an antique piece of the Ming Dynasty and a well-known piece recorded in the ssics¡ªthe Mountain-dominating and Evil-killing Seal! Tsk, tsk. He couldn¡¯t help butpare the man to Zhang Shouyang, whose advantagey in his profound umtion of skills and rigorous tradition of his sect. Zhang Ziliang, on the other hand, might not be as skillful, but would have a lot of help from all his little gadgets. If it came down to an outright confrontation, the chance of his good friend Zhang Shouyang winning out did not seem promising. *** Tangshan Hospital, the conference room. Over a dozen people sat in the room, including Chao Kongtu, priests of various temples, Zhang Ziliang, and a few disciples of the Way of Celestial Masters from abroad. The group had obviously divided into two sides, who would not talk to the other one. It was very quiet. A couple of minutester, footsteps came from outside. ¡°Creak!¡± Three government officials entered the room and walked directly to the front table. After everyone took their seats, the apparent leader of the three said, ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting, but something came up at thest minute and we were dyed. Please ept our apology.¡± ¡°¡­¡± If he were talking to a roomful of government personnel, ps would follow his first sentences. However, it was a group of Taoist priest he was talking to, who had no such habit. The official himself was aware of that and continued. ¡°What we have here is not a meeting, nor is it going to be a briefing from you. Instead, I will be the one making the report to you. Before we begin, on behalf of he government and the general public, we¡¯d like to express our gratitude for your devoted hard work during this period. Thank you!¡± With that, the three rose to their feet and bowed in unison. ¡®Wow!¡¯ All those present were visibly surprised and pleased by such honor. It was true that cultivators should discard notions of fame and vanity, but the culture of valuing official rank and the ideology of the past decades were so overpowering that no one could stay unaffected. Some governments official as high-ranking as that had just bowed to them like they meant it and the priests could not help but feel satisfied! ¡°Now, let me tell you a bit more about thetest data.¡± The leader sat back down and went on without a script, ¡°Up until yesterday, a total of 1126 patients have been admitted to hospitals in all 36 provinces, over which 578 have died an idental death, 469 were cured, and 79 remained hospitalized. Because of the unexpected nature of the event, we were short in our domestic force. After some discussion, we were given the permission to invite 42 masters from abroad to help with the issue. Among those invited are the priests from the HK Inds, the masters from Myan, Laos, and Mya, as well as Priest Zhang Ziliang, whose sect shares a long history with the Celestial Master Temple. Had it not been for your help without reservation in various provinces, we would have been in a much bigger trouble. I hereby thank you again¡­¡± ¡°Patients? Excuse me?¡± Zhang Ziliang sneered at the term in silence. This country would never admit the existence of ghosts, for it would undermine the basic ideology of the ruling party. As clearly as they might know the truth, officially, they were still addressing these people as ¡°patients¡±. The leader went on and on, basically thanking everyone for their work, promising rewards on the government¡¯s behalf, and wishing for a longsting friendship, h, h, h. ¡°¡­¡± Chao Kongtu was dozing off. He would rather be leathering up that soap for a day than slouching in a chair here listening to the official¡¯s crap for a minute. Fortunately, it was not long before the man announced the end of the meeting. Chao Kongtu took the lead to rush out of the room. Halfway towards the door, he happened to look back and saw that Zhang Ziliang and his disciples remained where they were and did not seem to want to leave at all. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Intuition told him that there had to be some covert deal behind this! Hence, when he was passing the threshold and no one was looking, he dropped a tiny object resembling a seed, then left the room. After those priests left, there were only the officials and Zhang Ziliang¡¯s men in the room. The two groups exchanged some looks and the atmosphere turned strange. Zhang Ziliang sat there in a rxed posture and asked, ¡°I have almost fulfilled my promise. How about the thing you promised me?¡± ¡°Haha, what¡¯s the rush? We will give you what you want when all the ghosts are cleared.¡± The leader smiled. ¡°Humph! I trust that a government as grand as yours won¡¯t y tricks on us.¡± Zhang Ziliang looked the man in his eyes and named his demand one word at a time. ¡°After this is done, I will challenge the Celestial Master Temple. I win, Longhu Mountain is mine!¡± ¡°Naturally. We will not interfere with yourpetition!¡± ¡°Great!¡± That was all Zhang Ziliang was willing to say. He rose to his feet and began to leave the room. At the door, he paused a little and flipped his long sleeve, wrapping something inside, then left. A dozen of stepster, he raised the cuff to his lips and whispered, ¡°Chao Kongtu, I don¡¯t care if you heard any of that. Like I said, sooner allter, I will get Longhu Mountain back and be the leader of Zhengyi!¡± *** ¡°Crack!¡± ¡°Smack!¡± In another room, Chao Kongtu crushed a bowl in his palm. A half-burnt talisman was in the bowl, which was now a sticky ck puddle on the floor. ¡°Ha! Zhang Ziliang and that authoritative tone! Very clever!¡± He was so angry that he burst into aughter and could not stop talking to himself. He had found it very bizarre from the beginning: the foreign Way of the Celestial Masters used to stay as far as possible from the maind one, why did they all of a sudden agree to help with catching ghosts? How high a reward were they offered? He finally got the answer today. The reward was that in order to get rid of the ghosts as soon as possible and maintain the stability of the regime, the government was using the entire Way of Celestial Masters as a bargaining chip to lead a wolf into its own house! It was probably the simr case with those masters from Siam and Myan, who were promised with permission to preach and set up religious facilities¡ªthose men were very well-off financially and were worshipped as gods back in their own countries. If not for that, why would theye all this way to help you? ¡°Ha¡­¡± Chao Kongtu exhaled a long breath and walked around in his room, the expression on his face hard to describe. The Taoistmunity and the Maoshan Sect had been waiting for hundreds of years when this great opportunity finally arrived. And what happened after that? The entire elite force of the Taoistmunity were reared in Qiyun Monastery like pigs raised in captivity. Who would willingly give in to that? No one! Lu Yuanqing was able to live with it because he had his own n; Zhang Shouyang had lived with it for the status of the Longhu Mountain; Chao Kongtu himself was living with it for his Maoshan Sect. However, his disposition differed greatly from the rest of his fellow Taoists and this incident had taken root in his mind like a seed, which began to sprout, tickling at a certain secret wish of his. *** People often said that fate worked in the most strange way and a single thought could make all the difference. It was just what happened to Chao Kongtu, who had heard the conversation between the two parties and the g Zhang Ziliang triggered himself, but he had no idea of what happened after that. When everyone else had left, one of the officials suddenly asked, ¡°Sir, are we doing the right thing?¡± ¡°Oh? Why do you think we¡¯re not?¡± asked the leader rhetorically. ¡°Um, I just, don¡¯t quite understand the whole thing. Why did we have to invite a bunch of outsiders and promise them all the rewards? Wasn¡¯t that leading wolves into our own house?¡± ¡°Haha, I actually answered your questions just then.¡± Seeing that no one else was around, the leader exined briefly, ¡°The ghosts have shown up too unexpectedly and we are indeed short of staff. As many as over a thousand people were hospitalized in a few days. If we did not stabilize the situation soon enough, there was likely to be a massive panic among the general poption. Have you forgotten SARS?¡± ¡°Of course not. How could I?¡± The man shuddered at the the mentioning of that name. That epic epidemic over a decade ago still felt fresh in his memory. ¡°Therefore, we had to bring in the outsiders for help. That was the reality and we couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Those men are very prestigious people back in their own countries and would not be persuaded by usual financial incentives. Our country has vastnd and ample resources, making it a treasurednd for cultivators. With the promise of the permission to preach, they simply could not resist.¡± The leader paused a little before going on, ¡°You really need not worry. All the promises we gave them was that they would have to find their own means. The government will not participate.¡± ¡°Oh, I see!¡± The man was no fool and his tone became excited at the exnation. ¡°Our own Taoistmunity is prominent enough that those from the tiny countries will never be able to match them. They will probably fail at the first round of challenge if they want to build a new base here. Plus, we can use the opportunity to give publicity to our own prestige¡­¡± His voice trailed off on that topic as he said doubtfully, ¡°Sir, that Zhang Ziliang seemed very capable to me. If there really is going to be a fight, the Celestial Master Temple may not be his match!¡± ¡°The Celestial Master Temple and Phoenix Mountain are friends,¡± said the leader indifferently. ¡°Um¡­¡± Ok, that concluded everything. The man had nothing else to say. ¡°Sigh, these are actually only the superficial reasons. The most important one still lies externally. The international conference this December will the be first time all countries face one another publicly. The western countries are the real colossus. Before we begin to deal with them, we need to settle our own backyard.¡± The leader leaned back into his seat and said slowly, ¡°As the ancient sage once said, be it an internal or external enemy, anyone tries to provoke us, we will wee them with a de!¡± *** Goat City, a hospital. A young woman slowly walked out of the building of ¡°Unnatural Disease Control Center¡±, apanied by some doctors. ¡°Thank you so much! You¡¯re like my second parents that have given me a new life. I¡¯d have died there if it weren¡¯t for you!¡± The girl was of a rather vivacious character and talked in an exaggerated manner. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. It was our duty.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± They chatted for a bit more and the atmosphere was turning awkward, so they decided they should simply quicken their paces. When they were almost at the exit, the girl finally blurted out, ¡°Doc, don¡¯t you have anything to tell me?¡± ¡°About what?¡± asked the doctor with a nk face. ¡°About that, that priest!¡± She instantly grew excited and began to gesticte. ¡°I was conscious then and saw him doing that magic. That ball of fire whooshed to me! I couldn¡¯t move, or I would have been running for my life! Damn! Could you at least tell me, was that a dream or some twisted fantasy of mine?¡± ¡°Hahahah!¡± The doctors broke into aughter. ¡°You have seen it, so it must be real. We won¡¯t tell you not to speak of it, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Are you saying I can post it on Facebook or instagram or wherever I want to?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Holy sh*t! The girl was sent out of the hospital gate by the friendly yet affirmative goodbyes, still half dazed and with ¡°what the hell¡± written all over her face. Before she could cross the road, something long and hard reached her mouth. ¡°Hello, my name is Cui Zhanbo. I¡¯m a blogger. Do you have a minute? I¡¯m very interested in this sudden breakout or a disease that has sent many people into the hospital.¡± ¡°Sure! I¡¯ve got all the time in the world!¡± The girl¡¯s blinking eyes were flickering with excitement. It would be such a relief! It almost felt like after a week-long constipation, a sensation suddenly rose from the other end¡ªthere came a diarrhoea! Chapter 304 Chapter 304: Storm Rising (Part 3) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Shocking news! The truth behind the recent sudden mass-psychosis turns out to be¡­ Ok, first of all, do forgive me for using such a cliche title. I myself have actually given it much thought, but found only something like this is loud enough to express my feeling at the moment. It all began seven days ago when Bo Bo 1 went to see a friend¡ªwhose gender I shall not reveal¡ªoff. While we were crying our eyes out at the departure, I happened to notice a foreign friend wearing a traditional Siamese outfit. Out of upational habit and my instinct to seek novelty, your Bo Bo took a few pictures without giving it much thought. *** He pointed at me and I was taken over by this unbearable itching¡ªabout ten thousands time more tickling than my husky¡¯s tongue. Here, these are the bloody scratches I left on my own arms. Audacious as I am, I secretly followed him to a hotel and waited in the lobby. I thought at first that this foreign friend was some Tame Head master on a business trip here, but what followed has surpassed my wildest imagination. About half an hourter, a Maoshan priest arrived¡ªyou heard me right, a Maoshan priest like Uncle Ying 2 . Here are some supporting photographs. Bo Bo was even more surprised by then: a master from Siam and a Taoist priest, could it be just a coincidence? As a realistic and practical person, I decided to get to the bottom of this. *** My dear readers are probably aware of the recent events that dozens of people all over Goat City suddenly fell ill and were all sent to the Southern Hospital. The second day when those two masters entered the hospital, four other Taoist priests arrived. I wasn¡¯t able to get into the building and could only remain stationed outside. The third day into my wait, a patient finally came out. Below is the interview. *** Just like so, I stayed there for seven days and interviewed a total of five people, who all gave me the same story. They had no idea what had happened, nor did they have any memory of being sick. The only thing they knew was that their recovery was not because of something the doctors did, but by some rituals of those priests. Exactly, rituals! Hence, Bo Bo is going to make a bold spection here: these people¡ªor even all those patients we heard from the news all over the country¡ªwere not sick at all. What they had was what we know from the legends as being ¡®possessed by a ghost¡¯!¡± *** Cui Zhanbo was a reporter-turned writer and had a thing for investigative journalism. He summarized the evidence he collected during those seven days and generated a well-organized long article in a simplenguage and posted onto his blog. With his over 400,000 followers, his articles usually got forwarded and viewed for over 600,000 times in total. The figure of this article, however, reached 7 million in mere three days! That was an increase by ten folds! It went viral on Wechat in the south of Five Ridges and the poprity was still going up, soon expanding to other social media. Some chose to believe, some remained indifferent, while some sniffed at it and responded with viciousments. Meanwhile,izens of other regions of the country were sharing their stories as well. ¡°My mum¡¯s younger sister got sick the other day. We sent her to the hospital and she only just got back yesterday, saying a Taoist priest treated her. She was not too sick and was still a little conscious¡­ holy sh*t, the Taoist skills are real. It¡¯s nothing like the gimmicks of the Boxers 3 ! She was a Jesus follower before she got ill and has now switched to believe in Taoism!¡± ¡°This is live. I¡¯m picking someone up from Spring City People¡¯s Hospital and the building behind me is the inpatient department¡­ gosh! Holy crap! There¡¯s a Taoist priest on the corridor! Did you see that? Did you all see that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m from Forest City and I want to admit a mistake I once made. There is this Taoist temple called ¡®Immortal¡¯s Cave¡¯ in our city and I visited once with my mother before. I was young and ignorant and insulted the priests there. My mum got sick a while ago. The priests from Immortal¡¯s Cave cured her.¡± As the saying went, one would not argue with a smoking gun. Such substantial materials with corresponding convincing images were suddenly all over the inte of the country. It seemed all of sudden that the entire country was talking about rted subjects. The public went from being rather doubtful to half certain, then to finding it rather usible¡­ then, naturally, there came the massive panic or massive excitement. Panic was an understandable part of the human nature. Excitement was an equally understandable part. With the issuance of the ¡°Three-year n on National Cultivation Personnel and Social Development¡±, from the second half of the previous year, the government had been putting in a lot of effort in ideology promotion through films and TV dramas, fictions, policy advocacy, and middle and primary school education, etc. Such effort did not seem much individually, but was influencing the general poption¡¯s ideas in a subtle way. Adding to the fact that abnormal creatures and phenomena were popping out everywhere this year and that app was also online now¡­ many people had spected towards the right direction. One of the most conspicuous ¡°smoking guns¡± was that the between-ss exercise in schools was suddenly changed to a martial arts training program. Six months were enough to achieve some initial improvement in the students. The parents began to realize in surprise: why, my kid seemed much healthier these days¡­ Such examples had nted the seeds in the minds of themon people, only that the authorities were sticking to their principle of not going public or indulging in the rumors so such a trend had been tuned down. Coming this year, with the deliberate maniption of the government, certain information began to leak out. Like a burning torch thrown into the parched wilderness, everything caught the me all at once. *** Tianzhu Mountain, Qiyun Monastery. The buildingplex of the monastery was mostlypleted now. The upper courtyard stood on the mountaintop, where the thirty-six priests lived. Halfway up the mountain was the grand za and the middle courtyard, which was where the future elite disciples would live. The lower courtyard was at the foot of the mountain and served as the dwellings for ordinary pupils. The grand za was alreadypleted. The ground was paved with well-polished bluestone as smooth as mirrors. Ordinary people found it even a bit difficult to stand still on it, not to mention trying to walk. They had to scuff forward with tiny steps to keep themselves from falling. ¡°Dear Priest Lu, this ground is so inconvenient for us mortal men. We can barely walk on it! I see you don¡¯t really want us toe here!¡± A government official was gingerly moving forward while making his half-serious joke. ¡°We will surelye down here to see you off whenever you visit us. Isn¡¯t that weing enough?¡± Lu Yuanqing smiled and waved at the man, sending out a streak of gentle energy, which wrapped around thetter. The official now felt his gait steadied and was able to walk with ease. He couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Haha, I was just kidding. This monastery is a blessednd of the immortals. No other ce in the mortal world isparable to it.¡± The two chatted on and soon reached the foot of the mountain. The official said, ¡°Well, this is where I leave you. Do take some time to consider what we¡¯ve discussed.¡± ¡°Of course. I know what to do.¡± ¡°Great. The government has invested a great amount of resources in this, so make it count.¡± With that, he turned around and left. Seeing the man disappearing into the mountain trail, Lu Yuanqing turned back swiftly for the monastery, where he summoned the rest and told them about the instruction received. Some grasped the meaning right away while others were baffled. Zhang Wumeng belonged to thetter. He asked, ¡°What exactly are they trying to achieve through this?¡± ¡°Really? You can¡¯t see through such a straightforward n?¡± Sikong Chan was sort of an entric and loved his jeers, but he meant no harm. Having risen to the innate state with Zhang Wumeng at the same time, he had be quite a good friend of thetter and the two were used to their daily squabbles. ¡°Enlighten me!¡± sneered Zhang Wumeng. Sikong Chan looked at Lu Yuanqing and after a smiling nod from thetter, he said, ¡°Here, hear me out. They can deal with the recovery of the spiritual essence, the reemergence of the Taoist skills, or even the mutation of living creatures and the abnormality of Huo Zhou. However, when ghosts are involved this time, they can no longer handle it. Since there is no way to cover it up, they simply decided not to.¡± ¡°What does that have anything to do with us?¡± Zhang Wumeng had little idea of how politics worked and still could not get it. Sikong Chan¡¯s jeering tone grew more explicit as he said, ¡°Ordinary people may be more hopeful when they learn that ghosts exist in this world for their souls may not disintegrate and they get to stay around forever, but it is more likely that people are going to be afraid. However, if somehow theye to realize that the government is capable of protecting its own people and dispelling ghosts and other evil things, not only will there not be a panic, the government will even gain more trust from it.¡± ¡°In a word, they get the profit, we get to wipe their asses!¡± Chao Kongtu, who had just got back the other day, offered his sinct and precise conclusion. ¡°Don¡¯t put it that way. We have been enjoying their resources, so it is only natural that we should help our country and our people. Smaller countries such as Siam and Lao were historically inferior in their resources with less fertilends, hence it is only a matter of time before they cross the board and stir something up. We might as well take the initiative to suppress them beforehand. Or is it that¡­¡± He looked around the room and smiled. ¡°Are you all intimidated by those sorcerers and Tame Head master and dare notpete against them?¡± ¡®Excuse me?!¡¯ The most explicit dare was usually the most effective one. For thousands of years, people of this country, regardless of their social status or positions, were regarding the neighboring small countries with a condescending attitude. It was more so with the cultivators. Momentarily, the expressions on everyone¡¯s face had changed subtly, exhibiting an urge and impulse for some major action. Seeing this, Lu Yuanqing smiled. ¡°This monastery was only established three years ago and now things are finally moving on in a steady pace. You have all been staying on the mountain for so long. This is a great opportunity for you to go out and look around.¡± ¡°Abbot, what about you?¡± asked Zhang Wumeng. ¡°Haha, I¡¯ll stay behind and watch your back.¡± *** ¡°Sneaky bastards! They¡¯re offing a favor at the expense of Zhengyi. What a move!¡± Up on Phoenix Mountain, Gu Yu let out a wholehearted praise after reading through the news. Those politicians were really something. ¡°Intrigued?¡± asked Xiaozhai. ¡°A little. I¡¯d like to participate. How about you?¡± He did not deny it. ¡°Can¡¯t be bothered. My Water Thunder is on the verge of reaching perfection,¡± Xiaozhai refused right away and added, ¡°It¡¯s a big mess out there at the moment. The authorities are behind everything, the Taoistmunity is teaming up, and themon folk is looking on happily. We should not pick a side unless necessary. Let¡¯s just stand quietly on the side and y the saboteur.¡± ¡°Good point. But ying a saboteur is a task a little too tough for me.¡± Gu Yu wrinkled up his face as if he actually meant it. ¡°Hahaha! You can drink all this! Who do you think you are? Some cute baby boy? You¡¯re like a hundred-year-old cucumber with yellow flower going out of the top and all the dry spikes! Stop acting like a young fruit already! You¡¯re crying? Aren¡¯t you ashamed of crying? You stole all my liquor!¡± Just then, the most hrious conversation roared from under the old tree. The spiritual ginseng had stolen Little Soap¡¯s spiritual liquor while she was sleeping there. She then fetched a tub of mature vinegar and poured it over the ginseng. Wait a minute! The couple exchanged a look and called in unison. ¡°Jin Jin,e here.¡± ¡°What?¡± Little Soap ran to them with a face saying ¡°I¡¯m up for no good¡±. ¡°Aren¡¯t you always nagging about going out? How about going down the mountain with me in a few days?¡± Gu Yu chuckled. ¡°You take me? Just us two?¡± ¡°Yup, just us two.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Little Soap frowned, realizing it was not simple as that. She then turned her head back and forth between her sister and brother-inw like a dumb husky before opening her eyes widely, putting up a frightened look. ¡°Sis, have you just dumped him so that I can take over? I¡¯m your own sister! You can¡¯t do this to me!¡± Chapter 305 Chapter 305: The Gu Siblings Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The city was known for its spring-like climate, hence the name Spring City. 1 The intense heat of the summer was over and with the arrival of September, so came the most pleasant time of the year in Spring City. Through the slightly yellowed leaves of ginkgo and ne trees, the sun left soft mottled marks on the ground, tickling at the peaceful minds of those walking the streets. Gu Yu and Xiaojin were strolling along a street of this unfamiliar city, taking in the carefree air they hadn¡¯t experienced for a while. Their hearts were filled with the pleasant stability of this mortal world and all felt perf¡ª bah! That was not what was happening! ¡°Brother-inw, Brother-inw, I want this one! ¡°Brother-inw, Brother-inw, buy me that one! ¡°Brother-inw¡­¡± ¡°Fine, fine, fine! Let¡¯s buy them all!¡± As soon as they put down their stuff in the hotel rooms, they went out to walk around. Merely an hour had passed and there were six bags and three portions of snacks in Gu Yu¡¯s hands. Meanwhile, Xiaojin herself was still hopping around in the front, looking around for the next thing that would catch her eyes. What else could he do but be at her service! After leaving Shengtian, Spring City was their first stop. The city was in the province of Diannan 2 , which was located in the southwest border of the country, adjoining the three countries of Myan, Laos, and Viet, which were historically influenced by this country culturally and all had a tradition in practicing Tame Head. Now that the ¡°patients¡± were mostly cured, those masters got what they were promised and were permitted to preach and set up religious facilities in this country. It was only natural that they should cash it in. However, they wouldn¡¯t be that foolish to go straight to the capital city, but were likely to start from somewhere close at hand. Diannan was a province consisting of multiple ethnic minorities and the art of casting spells had a long tradition in this region, making it an ideal ce for the three countries. Hence, this major province of the Southwest was to be the beginning of everything. Gu Yu was actually a little flustered: an older brother-inw taking a younger sister-inw a thousand miles away from home on a trip of two; there could only be one end to this story¡ªan x-rated manga-style one! Obviously he wasn¡¯t going to elope with his younger sister-inw, but the whole thing still gave him the jitters. The girl was so unpredictable! ¡°Brother-inw, do I look nice in this?¡± In a small shop by the side of the road, Xiaojin put on a white sun hat and batted her eyshes at Gu Yu. ¡°Nice! Very nice! We¡¯ll take it!¡± Gu Yu did not hesitate and paid for it right away. Gosh, that motherly grin on the female shop owner¡¯s face, which was saying ¡°such a cute couple, they¡¯re made for each other!¡± Xiaojin was very pleased with Gu Yu¡¯s attitude. Like Confucius once said (not), ¡°Only when a man is alone with his younger sister-inw can one tell that whether or not the man really loves the older sister.¡± During the past 24 hours, Gu Yu had been behaving decently, was generous with the money, caring but not too caring to the point of showing vulgar flirtation¡­ ¡®Mwahaha! In that case, I can begin to safely set him up (and work my charms)!¡¯ The delighted Xiaojin hopped happily out of the shop wearing that hat. She had probably forgotten to watch the road, for the minute she walked out, she bumped into a passerby, who almost flew out sight. The man bellowed, ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± He was so loud that his anger far exceeded what one would express when they got knocked into. Xiaojin was surprised for one second before yelling back, ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The man did not respond to that. He looked at Xiaojin up and down and asked suddenly, ¡°You¡¯re not from around here, are you?¡± ¡°What does that have anything to do with anything¡­ hey, f**k, what¡¯s wrong with him?¡± The man turned around abruptly and left the scene, leaving Xiaojin utterly baffled behind. She gave her brother-inw a nudge. ¡°What was that all about?¡± ¡°No idea. But I began to notice a while ago, people here are really weird. Did you notice the look on their faces?¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Xiaojin looked around for a while and realized it too. The passersby all had a look on their faces that suggested a strange conflicting feeling of, well, hoping you¡¯d know and hoping you¡¯d not know at the same time. ¡°These people are out of their mind! I¡¯m not gonna mess with them!¡± She had a memory not much better than a goldfish and soon forgot all about the incident, resuming her happy hopping around. She was no longer looking for things to buy now. Instead, she went all sneaky as if she was looking for some secret location. Gu Yu followed her around for a while and had to ask in the end, ¡°What are you looking for?¡± ¡± Jade gambling 3 ! Isn¡¯t that a must-triggered plot for anyoneing to Diannan? Why isn¡¯t it happening to us?¡± She was not happy. ¡°Why do you need to gamble a jade stone for? It¡¯s not like you need the jade or the money.¡± Gu Yu felt his temple was throbbing again. ¡°I like to collect my achievements! I¡¯m OCD like that¡­ Hey, check that out!¡± She literally could not stay still for more than a minute and was all of a sudden pointing at a shop by the side of the road. Gu Yu followed her finger and saw a quaint shop front with a ck horizontal que hanging above the gate with its name inscribed in a ckish green color, which read ¡°Pavilion of Safety¡±. Pavilion of Safety? The name itself was very bizzare to begin with. Gu Yu and Xiaojin exchanged a look and reached a rare tacit understanding. They moved towards the shop in unison and pushed the door open. It was incredibly spacious inside. The decor had adopted afortable color theme, reminding one of one of those specialty shops for ginseng, vintage wine, or famous tea. Counters and storage racks lined the wall on both sides and the floor in the middle was set rtively lower. Carved wooden tables and chairs were set out there. A middle-aged man was making tea. Seeing the twoing in, he rose to his feet and greeted, ¡°Wee! What can I help you with?¡± ¡°Well, what do you sell here?¡± Gu Yu put on an ignorant face. ¡°I see, you two are from other provinces, aren¡¯t you? First time in Spring City?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you people? Why is everyone asking if we¡¯re from around here?¡± Xiaojin acted even more ignorant. ¡°Haha, please don¡¯t get it wrong, I mean no offense. Here, let me show you around first.¡± With that, the owner led them to the counter and exined, ¡°We¡¯re called Pavilion of Safety. As the name suggests, we sell things that will keep you safe. Here, all these jade tes, pendants, amulets, and statues are for you to take back and bless you with safety.¡± ¡°Take back? You mean you¡¯re giving them out for free?¡± said Xiaojin. ¡°Haha, you¡¯re making fun of me here. Even the Buddha himself gave a price for teaching his scriptures, not to mention things concerning your own safety.¡± ¡°Why is my safety concerned?¡± She looked very confused. The owner was the one surprised now. ¡°Don¡¯t you know? There is going to be a great change of the world! Or is it possible that things have not happened in your area yet? But that¡¯s unlikely. Don¡¯t you go on inte?¡± ¡°Ah! Oh! I see¡­¡± Xiaojin smacked her head and gave him the look of sudden realization. ¡°It just did not ur to me at first. Speaking of that, we really don¡¯t need anything. We¡¯ve got things prepared back at home.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more like it. You both are too young to be ignorant of such things.¡± The owner removed the ss cover and picked up a yellow talisman. ¡°Although you said you had things prepared at home, but one can never have too much protection. It¡¯s all for the peace of our minds, isn¡¯t it? This talisman was drawn by Priest Chen Qingyou of Longquan Temple himself. One piece of this on your doorframe and no evil shall enter your home!¡± ¡°How much?¡± asked Gu Yu. ¡°It¡¯s a bargain¡ªfifty thousand yuan.¡± ¡®Fifty thousand?¡¯ Gu Yu darted the owner a quick look saying ¡®what sort of idiot are you?¡¯ There was no fluctuation of spiritual essence of any sort on this talisman and it would be the greatest joke if this thing could dispel anything. He was about to reason with the man on that when Xiaojin spoke, ¡°Fifty thousand only? I¡¯ll take three of that!¡± ¡°Wow, very generous!¡± The owner raised an eyebrow and went on to the next object. ¡°This Buddha amulet was blessed by a master from Siam personally. Wearing it will keep all evil away. It¡¯s also sold at fifty thousand.¡± ¡°Give me, um, my dad, my mum, my brother, my sister¡­ give me five of that!¡± Xiaojin waved her hand. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll bag them for you in a minute.¡± That was 400,000 yuan worth of sales in a heartbeat, which was more than enough to bring a beam to anyone¡¯s face. The owner blossomed like a rose. Wow, he could almost see a Buddha¡¯s halo around the girl¡¯s head which was ring out three words: stupid and rich. Before long, he had packed the three talismans and five Buddha amulets, while Xiaojin paid without hesitation. She then said, ¡°By the way, do you have anything for businesses? Mypany has just moved to a new building and I want something to suppress the evil energy.¡± ¡°Sure, sure thing. This way, please.¡± The owner immediately led her to another row of counter and pointed at a goldcquer statue. ¡°The saying goes that ¡® the Southern Dipper 4 ¡® takes care of life and the Northern Dipper 5 takes care of death.¡¯ The one we have here is called Star King Du¡¯e 6 . He ranks the fifth among the six Southern Dipper Star Kings and is in charge of misfortunes and cmities. Take him back and set up a shrine in youpany, I can guarantee that your business will prosper with money flowing in unstoppably.¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡± Xiaojin eyed the statue from various angles, exhibiting the typical characteristic of a girl on a shopping trip. ¡°Nope. it¡¯s too ugly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s perfectly fine. If you could have a look at this one, please.¡± The owner had probably heard enough of suchments and did not think much of it. ¡°This is the Celestial Venerable of Good Life, one of the Celestial Venerable of Ten Directions. It will also bless you with safety and good fortune.¡± ¡°Nope, it¡¯s still ugly.¡± ¡°Oh, then let¡¯s have a look at this¡­¡± They went through the next four or five like so and Xiaojin was pleased with none of them. She shook her head. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think you have what I need. I¡¯ll go have a look somewhere else.¡± She took Gu Yu¡¯s arm and said casually, ¡°There¡¯s another one down the road. Let¡¯s check it out.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu had by now realized what she was trying to achieve and yed along. They began to walk towards the door, but only make a few steps before the owner called out from behind, ¡°Please wait a moment!¡± The owner hurried near and after a little hesitation, said, ¡°I¡¯m actually breaking rules here by telling you this, but since you two seemed sincere, I¡¯m willing to make an exception. If you fancy nothing in my shop, there is a ce I can promise will. The only thing is, hoho, I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯re ready for it.¡± ¡°Excuse me? Don¡¯t give me that crap, okay? I don¡¯t mind spending 400,000 on a piece of sh*t as long as I¡¯m happy. Who the hell are you trying to scare off here? I¡¯m not prepared? Really?¡± With the show Xiaojin was putting up, she was a mink coat away from a fearless Northeastern chick. The owner actually bought it all and apologized right away. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for putting it that way, but that ce is really important and even I have to take extra care. How about this: leave me you names and phone number now. There happens to be an event tomorrow and I¡¯ll let you know then.¡± ¡°Thanks a lot!¡± Gu Yu made a frown and said impatiently, ¡°I¡¯m Gu Jiang!¡± ¡°Jiang as in ¡®river¡¯?¡± ¡°As in ¡®ginger¡¯. Her name is¡ª¡± Before Gu Yu could finish the sentence, Xiaojin held his arm and interrupted, ¡°I¡¯m Gu Xiaoqiu, his younger sister!¡± Younger sister? The owner eyed them suspiciously. Xiaojin red. ¡°What are you looking at? Are you saying we don¡¯t look alike?¡± ¡°You do! Of course you do!¡± The owner nodded right away, ¡®you do look like the brother and sister that would sleep together¡­¡¯ ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have to check your ID as well.¡± ¡°Tsk, what¡¯s with all the fuss. There!¡± The owner took the two ID cards and nced at them. All of a sudden, his mind went blurry as if theputer of his head had been rebooted. He thought he read the names on the cards. One was Gu Jiang and the other Gu Xiaoqiu. ¡°That¡¯ll do. Come back here tomorrow evening. Please keep in mind not to mention it to anyone else.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, h, h, h. See ya!¡± With that, the two left the shop. Xiaojin hopped around as if nothing had happened. Turning around unexpectedly, she saw that her brother-inw was staring at her. She immediately covered her breasts with both arms and jumped back. ¡°Ah! You¡¯re finally going to do it!¡± ¡°Do my a*s!¡± Gu Yu made a gesture to give her head a knock and sighed along with aughter, shaking his head. After what had just happened, he couldn¡¯t help but make theparison. Having Xiao Qiu as a helper would save him a lot of worry. Yet despite Xiao Qiu¡¯s capability in carrying out orders, she was not very good at taking initiatives, hence of little use in providing advice. Whereas Xiaojin, who might be too loud for his liking, could start World War Three by stepping on someone¡¯s big toe, which turned out to be a quality rather useful this time. Hail Boss Jin the experienced traveller; she might not have the curves, but she had a lot of social connections! In that sense, she could also save him a lot of worry. Chapter 306 Chapter 306: Event: Triggered Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Why, these people take what they do very seriously, don¡¯t they? Have they read too many novels or something? They do realize they¡¯re nothing but an illegal society, right?¡± That night, Xiaojin lifted a corner of the curtain in her hotel room, ncing at the two fellows shadowing them downstairs, her tone full of mockery. ¡°Illegal societies are not something we should overlook. This thing began in mid-August and it¡¯s only the beginning of September now, but they were able toe up with an organization of this scale. Given enough time, they will grow into something substantial.¡± Sitting on a chair, Gu Yu replied while texting with Xiaozhai. ¡°The problem is they won¡¯t have the time! Bold or coward, they¡¯ll be crushed all the same. The first few are bound to be the cannon fodder. You can only grow when the government gives you the green light.¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Gu Yu stopped typing for a moment and couldn¡¯t help but look up. For a moment back there, he thought he was imagining things: it was not Xiaojin, but his girlfriend that was talking to him. ¡°Why are you looking at me again?¡± Xiaojin jabbed at the empty air in his direction. ¡°You weren¡¯t doing that when we were back on the mountain, but you wouldn¡¯t keep your eyes off me once we¡¯re out. You¡¯re lying your a*s off saying you¡¯re not thinking about me!¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Gu Yu twitched his mouth. ¡°Stop blowing your own trumpet. I had a little new appraisal for you, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°What the hell do you mean by a new appraisal? Have you always taken me as an idiot?¡± Euphemisms were never Xiaojin¡¯s thing. ¡°Um¡­¡± Gu Yu turned out to be the one embarrassed and apologized right away, ¡°Sorry, I did not mean it that way.¡± ¡°Sigh, I don¡¯t me you. In the ever changing world of the mortals with its myriad of living things, how many people can actually see through the profundities of the so-called love and hate?¡± Xiaojin slowly walked towards him, her demeanor suddenly turned all ¡°Romeo and Juliet¡± as she said in a sorrowful and pitiable tone, ¡°I¡¯m just a helpless girl stumbling through this wild world. Who out there could see all the grievance I have been put through? Where ignorance is bliss, ¡¯tis folly to be wise. Idiotic or sincere, they are but the world sees me for my appearance.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu watched her with his mouth agape, utterly dumbstruck. Sh*t! The girl had been acting like a clown for so long that he had forgotten about an important fact! Little Soap was a graduate of the Jiang Zhou University! It was the Jiang Zhou University we were talking about here, one that was among the top five universities of the country! As it turned out, both sisters were curve wreckers, leaving him, who had been so pleased with himself up till now, alone at the other end of the spectrum¡­ Momentarily, he felt he was going to shrink into a ball and cry himself to sleep tonight. Xiaojin, on the other hand, ran to his side in one stride and nced at his phone, then went back to her old self. ¡°Briefing my sister of your day¡¯s work again? Man, aren¡¯t you getting tired of that? You¡¯re a straight man of 183 cm for Christ¡¯s sake. The way you¡¯re around my sister, I¡¯d think you¡¯re some teenage girl falling in love. But I get you¡ªno one can keep their chin up around her. I used to think she¡¯d never find a man and would just live with a few acres of cucumbers. ¡°Hey, back then, when you went out to probe around with my sister, did you two sleep in the same room or¡­ no, that¡¯s not what I was going to ask. When did you two sleep together again?¡± Once she began to talk, she wouldn¡¯t shut up. She concluded her speech with the ultimate gossip. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business!¡± Gu Yu felt his headache was no longer imaginary. ¡°It¡¯s every bit of my business, okay? Xiao Qiu has no idea of what¡¯s what, but I have to. It¡¯s the least I could do to make sure of your healthy adult rtionship!¡± Xiaojin put on the most righteous look and went on, ¡°Oh, by the way, are you nning on having children? It¡¯s kinda difficult for cultivators to give birth, I suppose? You know, like dinosaurs¡ªthe more powerful you are, the harder to have babies.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Gu Yu actually gave it a serious thought before answering this question. ¡°We¡¯ll have at least another two to three hundred years of life by reaching Human Immortal state alone, so having children seems still too early to consider at the moment. It just hasn¡¯t urred to us.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a point. So, your children, they¡¯re going to be cultivators as well, right? In that case, the others will see a family of three all in their twenties and all look like siblings. Tsk, tsk, that¡¯ll be fun!¡± How was he going to continue this conversation! He had to stop her before he had a stroke. ¡°Go away! Go, now! Back to your own room! Time for bed! I¡¯m done talking to you!¡± Waving his hand, Gu Yu chased her out. He was actually intrigued by Xiaojin¡¯s social experience despite her young age. On the second thought, he realized that it was only natural that she should have such a temperament and knowledge of the world with herck of family discipline and care for the past twenty years of her life. *** Their original n was to go check out the cities along the border, but since they found something interesting here, they decided they would stop here for a few days. Taoism had prospered in Diannan Province. Qiu Chuji himself used to preach here, which gave birth to quite a few sub-sects and branches all following the teaching of Longmen. Thergest temple in Spring City was Zhenqing Temple in Baita Road. The temple had a total area of 32 mu and was built in the Ming Dynasty. The current abbot was called Chen Qingyou, a master of the Longmen Sect. He was appointed to Spring City after the purging of the Taoistmunity. Gu Yu and Xiaojin steered clear of the temple, for they were, well, secret customers this time. After an uneventful night, the following day arrived, Around dusk, that owner called them and the two hurried to the shop. Maybe their action of doing as told had surprisingly fitted the characteristic of some upstart, for the owner was even more enthusiastic today. ¡°Here, please have some tea.¡± He made two cups of high-quality Pu¡¯er and smiled. ¡°Please wait a few more minutes. There are three more customers going with you.¡± ¡°So secretive. What exactly is this event?¡± asked Xiaojin. ¡°Haha, it really is nothing but a small private auction. As you two might have learned, this world is no longer what it was. The government might have learnt it all along, but they just kept it from us. As the saying goes, the masses have the sharpest eyes. However hard they try to hide it, the truth wille out eventually.¡± He darted a look at the door and lowered his voice all of a sudden. ¡°Words around are that every province now has relevant civil societies and we¡¯re sort of one of them¡ªto make friends and improve ourselves together. This auction is held by a few people in charge of our organization.¡± ¡°Talking is easy. What exactly have you got?¡± ¡°Something you wouldn¡¯t begin to imagine!¡± ¡°I heard there is this bird over there in Qingning called Red Feather Vulture. I¡¯d like to make a down coat with it. Can you get me some?¡± asked Xiaojin. ¡°Um, we mainly focus on the territory within Diannan Province. I¡¯m afraid we haven¡¯t reached that far yet.¡± The owner got his face pped so quickly that he had to try to make it up. ¡°We¡¯ve only held one such auction so far and today is going to be the second one. The rule is that the participant has to provide a proof of possessing funds of at least five million to get in. With the generosity and remarkable bearing you have demonstrated, I used the little power I had and got you two tickets right away.¡± With that, he acted like the perfect NPC in a storyline as he took out two ck cards and pushed them towards Gu Yu and Xiaozhai. ¡°Well, thanks!¡± Gu Yu put them into his pocket, then with quivering lips, he spoke at a voice only Xiaojin could hear, ¡°There, we didn¡¯t trigger the jade-gambling event, but got the auction one instead.¡± ¡°Auctions are so old school, but I guess it¡¯ll be fun. Let me mess around with them.¡± Xiaojin had finished loading her skill. A couple of minutes into their waiting, the door opened with a squeak and three people walked in. They were two men and a woman, all on the older side. They tried to dress inly, but their demeanor suggested someone of considerable influence. Gu Yu had released his mental force and interfered with the three people¡¯s judgement as soon as they entered the room. After all, those of a high social status might have seen his photo before. The three people now only saw two ordinary-looking fellows sitting there. The leading man asked, ¡°First-timers?¡± ¡°Yes, they are. I can vouch for them. You have my word.¡± The owner smiled obsequiously. ¡°¡­¡± The man nodded and said no more. He then sat down and rested with his eyes closed. After that, the five waited another half an hour until the sky was dark and the streetmps were on. A ckmercial vehicle arrived from afar and slowly came to a stop outside. ¡°Beep, beep!¡± At those two sounds, the three were instantly awake and rose to their feet. The owner also produced five Beijing opera masks and handed them over. ¡°Time to go. Good luck!¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Gu Yu casually picked up a painted-face mask, which reminded him of four years ago when he and Xiaozhai yed Bonnie and Clyde. He couldn¡¯t help but snicker. He winced a little when he turned to look at Xiaojin. Maybe the sisters had simr taste, for she had also chosen the mask of a clown. Holding him loosely by his arm, she said, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Chapter 307 Chapter 307: The Auction Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Auctions were scenes seen frequently enough in storylines. Their raison d¡¯etre was mainly entertaining the pretenders and bargain-seekers, as well as providing asions for face-pping, girl-wooing, buddy-making, etc. Back then, a roomful of sons of the rich gathered together at the foot of Phoenix Mountain for the exchange, which was already an auction in embryonic form. However, the environment then was not favorable enough, nor did they have the adequate permission to move it towards that direction, so it was kept rather low-profile. With what was happening these days, the underground non-governmental forces were so intrigued by the implicit signals the authorities let out that plenty of cannon fodder was jumping out of their hiding ces and making it clear that they were stirring things up. The long street was dimly lit by the streetmps and the shadows seemed to be swaying gracefully in the night. The ckmercial vehicle drove away from the shop, heading deeper into Spring City at an unhurried pace. The inside of the vehicle was quite spacious, giving enough room for all five to sit distantly from one another. With the masks on, they were all utterly quiet. The only sounds wereing from the driver shifting gears asionally and the rumbling of the engine. Okay, that was actually an illusion¡­ ¡°Brother-inw, what kind of crap do you think they¡¯re selling?¡± ¡°How am I supposed to know? Nothing good, that¡¯s for sure. So far it still seems a society created by ordinary people, but I can¡¯t say if some cultivators are not behind it.¡± ¡°Cultivators my a*s! Aren¡¯t all the cultivators of this country in the Taoistmunity and our Phoenix Mountain? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re counting those Tame Head clowns too?¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t look down upon them just because they practice Tame Head. It¡¯s a type of sorcery, a strange and inscrutable skill. Never underestimate your enemy.¡± They had long set up a confinement around their seats in thest row, so no one could see their moving lips. Xiaojin would not shut up for a second, gabbing all the way from the auction to the spare rib rice-flour noodles they had for breakfast, then to Long Qiu¡¯s breasts before moving onto a new lipstick that had juste out¡­ Gu Yu himself liked to leap around in his trail of thoughts, but it was nothingparing to what Xiaojin was doing. About twenty minutester, the vehicle slowly came to a stop. The driver said nothing and only sat there in silence. The other three were apparently familiar with the drill and went out one by one. Gu Yu and Xiaojin followed suit. Outside was a deserted street with stairs reaching downwards. A dozen steps down was a signboard lit by colored lights¡ªit was an underground pub. They followed the three in, thinking the pub was the venue. However, the three zigzagged and exited through a small door, where they resurfaced onto the street, threaded through a narrow alley and, another couple of minutester, entered a red iron gate. It was dim inside. Two tall and strong waiters guarded the gate at either side and demanded in a polite yet intimidating tone, ¡°Invitation card, please!¡± Gu Yu handed him the cards. The waiter did not ask him to remove the mask to verify his identity¡ªit seemed the card was the only permit they needed. They passed the threshold easily like so. Those three people walked in the front and had kept quite a distance on purpose. Gu Yu and Xiaojin cared little for that¡ªthey¡¯d rather explore on their own. The venue was quite sizeable and was in two storeys. Waiters walked around holding beverages and snacks. There weren¡¯t many customers¡ªless than a hundred, probably. Had it not been for the masks and the strange atmosphere, it would not seem much different from any other ordinary clubs. ¡°Tsk, tsk, I almost thought I¡¯m in the movie ¡®Eyes Wide Shut¡¯,¡± Xiaojin blurted out after looking around the room, then asked, ¡°Hey, have you watched that one?¡± ¡°I have. There¡¯s just one thing I did not quite get.¡± An honest man as he was, Gu Yu answered honestly, ¡°The woman that got punished at the end, was it his wife?¡± ¡°It all depends on the man, really. If he can live with the ¡®green hat¡¯, then she was; if not, she wasn¡¯t.¡± Xiaojin was not interested in such topic. She stopped walking, looked around, and grabbed a waiter passing by. ¡°Buddy, do me a favor!¡± The waiter jumped at her move, then asked politely, ¡°How may I help you?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t really know what¡¯s going on¡ªit¡¯s our first time here. Tell us about this ce.¡± She deliberately made their ignorance in. ¡°I see. One moment, please.¡± He beckoned another waiter over and handed thetter his tray, then said to Xiaojin, ¡°The innermost room on the first floor is where the auction will take ce¡ªit¡¯ll start in half an hour. Please take your seats ording to the numbers on your invitation cards. The resting area is over there. They¡¯re allpartments very well concealed, so you don¡¯t have to worry about privacy. There are guest rooms on the second floor, as well as a small casino¡ªyou¡¯re wee to kill your time there. If you end up winning a bid and need our escort, you will also get registered there. We are equipped with the most elite security service. I promise they will fulfill all your requirements.¡± ¡°Any rules regarding the bidding?¡± ¡°Nothing special other than the rules you¡¯d find inmon auctions. There is just one thing: if you decide not to hire our security team, we¡¯re not responsible for anything out of this facility.¡± ¡°Why, trying to scare me? You were still in your dad¡¯s pants when your big sis here chewed garlic for her snacks!¡± Xiaojin gave him the bossy attitude, then unzipped her handbag and took out a wad of bills. ¡°I¡¯ll still thank you for your service, though. There you go!¡± ¡°T-thank you¡­¡± The waiter was a little at loss. Why was his heart skipping a beat at this idiotic but somewhat adorable rich bumpkin? His heart thumping or not, during the brief conversation, Gu Yu had pretty much figured out the settings of this ce. The level of eptance and adaptability of the ordinary people had far exceeded his expectation. Although he recognized none of the faces behind those masks, he could clearly sense their excitement and jubtion. No, there was not the tiniest fluster, confusion, or reluctance. *** ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, our auction will start in a moment. Please take you seat in hall No.1. Please take you seat in hall No.1¡­¡± At the softly spoken reminder, dozens of people filed into the hall, which was even bigger than the room outside. A slightly elevated stage was set in the front, overlooking the booth-style seats below. The booths were set distant from one another and there were also partitions in between. Each one was big enough for two to eight people. Gu Yu¡¯s cards were numbers 30 and 31 and their seats were a little to the left from the middle. Before long, the light of the hall dimmed, while the stage remained well-lit. The host then walked up with a smile. ¡°Good evening,dies and gentlemen! To tell you the truth, I am gratified by the number of guests showing up tonight. Thinking back to the first auction we held, we had 23 guests only. That number has manifolded tonight and we have a total of 90 people here. What does that mean? It means what is happening is bing more influential, more friends are sticking together in this, and the so-called secret is moving forever closer to the surface¡­ Like I saidst time¡ªand I shall repeat today¡ªno one is able to stop the world from changing and since we cannot stop it, we have to do our best to be prepared for theing of the new world. Whether we seed or not in the future, do not forget that we were once the forerunners and torch bearers; we started from here¡­¡± ¡°This dude used to work in some pyramid selling scam or something? He¡¯s a smooth talker, I¡¯ll give him that.¡± Xiaojin slouched onto the sofa like a giant maggot, with her head on the armrest and her long legs stretching out towards her brother-inw¡ªexactly the posture her sister would take on such asions. Had Xiaozhai herself been here, Gu Yu would naturally hold those legs between his arms. However, this one was his sister-inw and all he could do was to stay as far away as the booth allowed. He chuckled. ¡°With what they¡¯re doing here, they need the provocative talk. Just keep watching. I¡¯m actually quite interested in what¡¯s following this.¡± The host shot some more breeze and suddenly turned up his volume. ¡°Now, I¡¯ll stop beating around the bush. Rules forbid me from revealing the treasures tonight beforehand, but I can guarantee it to you, they will exceed what you sawst time both in quantity and quality. You will not be disappointed¡­ here is lot number one!¡± With that, four men pushed a giant iron cage covered by ck cloth onto the stage. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, behold!¡± ¡°Buzz!¡± The host ripped the ck cloth down, raising a hubbub of surprised cries from the audience below. In the cage was a two-meter long green peafowl! It was obviously a male with dazzling bright feather. A cluster of crest stood up high from the top of its head and its back feathers the color of green jadestone; in the middle of them was a bronze-colored spot the shape of a half circle. It was frightened by the sudden light and spread it tail feathers¡ªwhich were twice the length of its body¡ªin a whoosh. The tail opened up to as wide as four meters and was splendid beyond description. It reminded one of an enormous emerald feather fan made from velvet. ¡°Holy sh*t!¡± Xiaojin bolted up to a sitting position. That was not what she had expected! She had nned toe like a dungeon boss strolling across the novice vige in disguise, but as it turned out, the first item they disyed was a blue-level outfit. Women loved beautiful things, and so did men. The splendor of the green peafowl seemed to have frozen all minds present, so much so that the air seemed to have stopped flowing. ¡°This is a genuine green peafowl! As you may all know, there are only over a hundred wild ones in the country now and theirst habitat is in Gasa River. We happened to stumble upon this one.¡± The host was very pleased with the audience¡¯s reaction. ¡°I don¡¯t think I need to emphasize how beautiful it is. However, as the first auction piece today, appearance is not its only merit. Allow me to show you!¡± With that, someone came up stage carrying a spiky porcupine. He then opened the cage a little and tossed it in. ¡°Aaaar!¡± The peafowl was extremely tense to begin with; now that something else had joined in, it screamed angrily and turned its body. ¡°Whoosh!¡± The emerald feather fan swerved in green shes and swung down with a shrill sound. ¡°Pop!¡± Blood sshed everywhere, leaving a scarlet pool in the cage. The poor porcupine did not even know what hit it. ¡°Aaaah!¡± some woman screamed and covered her eyes in fear. The men, on the other hand, opened their eyes widely in excitement. Having such a piece at home would be such a show-off! ¡°Probably some has guessed what it is. Yes, this green peafowl is a mutated creature (as known to themon folk).¡± The host made the hay while the sun shone. ¡°It took us a painstaking effort to finally capture it alive. We will give two female peafowls for free to the final bidder so that they could breed at home. Now, the bid starts now. The price starts at eight million and the minimum bid is a million!¡± ¡°Nine million!¡± yelled someone right away. ¡°Ten million!¡± ¡°Twelve million!¡± ¡°Fifteen million!¡± They hadpletely ignored the fact of breaking thew and the room was filled with an air of carnival. The price rocketed forever higher, which might sound a lot, but you had to realize that fifteen million was not even enough to by a vi within the Third Ring Road of the capital city. Tuhao was the least endangered species of this country. ¡°Damn! I hate these insanely rich people!¡± Xiaojin was also intrigued, but she couldn¡¯t afford it. As she babbled on with her mockery, Gu Yu couldn¡¯t help but pity her a little. ¡°Do you want me to exchange it with a pill of Dan?¡± ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s pretty, but not really useful.¡± She waved him off. ¡°Thirty million!¡± ¡°Thirty million going once, anyone else¡­ thirty million going twice¡­ sold!¡± Smack! The mallet announced the end of bidding, and so was the poor peafowl¡¯s fate sealed: what else could a mortal man do with it apart from shutting it up in a cage like a talking bird? It would stay there until it died and meet no one apart from the asional visitors that its owner would show off to. Chapter 308 Chapter 308: A Strange Thing Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu In general, this auction had reshaped Gu Yu¡¯s expectations for such events. There were no worthless pieces as he had anticipated, they were all objects of value¡ªalthough not valuable enough to impress him. Was that the power of the masses? One thing he could not figure out was where did these people get these things? The mutated animals and nts were easier to exin. After all, they were free to be picked up by just about everyone and there must have been collusion behind the collecting process. However, how did they get their hands on orthodox objects such as talismans? ¡°A spiritual evil-dispelling talisman drawn by a genuine Taoist priest. Equip your home with it and your family is blessed with safety. However, we have been instructed by the priest not to reveal his or her name.¡± That was lot number five, which was apparently a yellow talisman. The host stuck it to the table, then someone walked onto the stage with a cage of snakes and rats. The animals grew all the more panic-stricken as the cage moved closer to the talisman. In the end, the snakes and rats shivered and squeezed as tightly together as they could manage. As the cage moved away, they then went back to their normal state. ¡°Sorry about that, but we don¡¯t have a ghost to experiment with, nor do we have the ability to catch one. But it is clear that the talisman could indeed suppress such foul creatures¡­ now, the price starts at five million!¡± ¡°Seven million!¡± ¡°Eight million!¡± ¡°Eight million once! Anyone else?¡± The bidding was not as intense as the one for the green peafowl. These Tuhao were no fools. Had they really needed a talisman, they could find a priest to draw one for them instead of buying it here. In the end, the talisman was sold at eight million; the buyer was sitting next to Gu Yu¡¯s booth. He nced at the man deliberately, memorizing the face behind that mask¡ªit was a man in his forties. After that, three more pieces were sold and the auction was almost at its end. ¡°There are two more before we finish for tonight. Those who have not picked one, do seize the opportunity while you can. It¡¯s one in a lifetime and you will regret for the rest of your life if you miss this one. Now, let¡¯s wee lot number nine¡­¡± With that, a hostess came up stage with a tray. The host lifted the covering cloth, revealing a silver white stone about twice the size of a basketball. ¡°What we have here is a legendary spiritual stone.¡± ¡°Pffft!¡± Xiaojin choked on her spit. Excuse me? You call that a spiritual stone? She was all excited and wagging her imaginary tail as she said, ¡°Finally! I¡¯ve been waiting for this all night! This is the crap you should be selling! What¡¯s with all those high-end stuff? Hey, how many do we still have in¡­ Brother-inw?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was frowning slightly and staring silently at the stone. Xiaojin paused a little, then asked in surprise, ¡°Brother-inw, that can¡¯t be a real spiritual stone, can it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but there is indeed a faint fluctuation from it.¡± ¡°Are they making a wild guess, or fishing?¡± Xiaojin said, but answered the question herself almost as soon as she asked. ¡°They must be guessing. They¡¯d not show it for all the money in the world if they knew it was a real treasure.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a point.¡± Gu Yu nodded. ¡°It is known to all that Diannan is where jade is found. This piece is actually a raw jade stone and an idental discovery from a mountain at the Diannan-Myan border. To tell you the truth, we weren¡¯t able to identify its property, but it is truly a very special stone.¡± The host was shooting the breeze, trying all he could to sell the stone. ¡°Now, I¡¯d like to invite a guest up here to participate in a little experiment with me.¡± ¡°Me, me, me! Pick me!¡± Xiaojin¡¯s hand shot into the air. ¡°Sure, thisdy, please.¡± Hence, she ran happily up the stage and grabbed the stone before the host could say anything. She weighed it in her hand and said surprisingly, ¡°Why, it¡¯s very light! It looked so heavy and it¡¯s so big! Why is it so light?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± If the host had not known better, he would really have thought the woman to be some confederate hired by his boss¡ªshe was an expert in exaggeration! ¡°Yes, thisdy has pointed out its characteristic. The stone is very big but very light, but there¡¯s something even more remarkable about it. Bring it up!¡± At his beckoning, two strong men carried a piece of ss the size of a door onto the stage and put it on a shelf about 40 cm from the floor. ¡°This is the hardest type of ss our country produced so far. I have a hammer here, let me try it first.¡± ¡°nk!¡± ¡°nk!¡± The host did not hesitate and struck the ss twice forcibly. The sound resonated in the hall and the ss remained unharmed. ¡°Now, please stand back here and smash down with this stone.¡± ¡°How hard should I smash?¡± asked Xiaojin. ¡°As hard as you can.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Xiaojin blinked, estimated the strength of ordinary girls, raised the stone, and tossed down at the ss. ¡°ck!¡± With a crisp splintering sound, the ss was smashed to pieces. The stone fell to the ground, and with the remaining momentum, it dented the floor. ¡°Thud!¡± The hall seemed to have shaken with it. The stone stood steady in the pit it created as if it weighed tons. ¡°As you have seen, despite is lightness, when an external force maks it collide into other objects, the impact will be extremely strong.¡± The host invited Xiaojin back to her booth and went on, ¡°We have seen enough mutated animals and nts to know that this is obviously a mutated spiritual stone¡ªand this is the only one we found. Its value is hard to estimate, but that¡¯s the point of our event¡ªto discover the unknown and wee new challenge¡­ the price starts at two million! ¡°¡­¡± There was an awkward silence when no one bid for it. What the hell were they supposed to do with this thing? They couldn¡¯t walk around and smash other people with it, could they? After quite some time, someone finally said tentatively, ¡°Three million!¡± ¡°Four million!¡± Gu Yu raised his card. ¡°Five¡­¡± That fellow hesitated for a second before giving a shrug and giving up. ¡°Ok, four million going once. Anyone else?¡± ¡°Four million going twice¡­ four million¡­ sold! That gentleman, please pick up your item after the auction.¡± Hence, Gu Yu won his first bid with a rather ambiguous satisfaction. Xiaojin asked curiously, ¡°You want to go there and have a look?¡± ¡°This stone is so strange. If we can find more of it, I¡¯ve got an idea.¡± ¡°Refinement?¡± ¡°Yup. Ever heard of the ¡®Sky-turning Seal¡¯?¡± He chuckled. Yes! Yes! Yes! Little Soap instantly turned into an emoji with wide-open eyes and an O-shaped mouth. That sounded awesome! AWESOME! While they two were secretly delighted, so was the host. The non-governmental organizations were not fit for such research and they were happy to make it someone else¡¯s problem. ¡°If I could have your attention, please. Last but not least, our final treasure for tonight. Here we go!¡± The host had warmed the atmosphere well enough so that everyone was eager to see thisst piece. However, as the side curtain opened, a stocky man walked out. He wore a long-sleeved shirt with buttons down the front, a traditional colorful sarong, and a piece of ck cloth wrapping around his head. Diannan was bounded by three countries and people here saw enough foreigners on a daily basis to recognize a man of Myan at first sight. ¡°This is master Thant Tun! Some of us here might have known that there are three Tame Head gods in Myan. Master Thant Tun is the famous pupil of one of them!¡± The host was in high spirit and spoke excitedly, but one could tell from his subtle moves that he was trying his best to keep a distance from the master as if he was afraid of thetter. ¡°Our final item tonight are three spells master Thant Tun will cast for you. The price starts at thirty million!¡± Chapter 309 Chapter 309: Show Time Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡®Wow!¡¯ The hall erupted at that announcement. The folks of Diannan had their own thing¡ªjust check out the three countries the province bordered on, every single one of which had a tradition in practicing Tame Head. Many people of Diannan would travel out to visit such masters for help even before the recovery of the spiritual essence. Of course, whether or not it worked was a different story. Hence, the enthusiasm in the room was immediately ignited at the host¡¯s words. With the background of the owner of the auction, the guests were confident that they wouldn¡¯t lie over such matter. The three gods of Myan! They were renowned figures of the entire Southeast Asia. The word around was that they had already reached a state of semi-human and semi-sorcerer and were capable ofmunicate with gods and ghosts and the like. ¡°The starting price is 30 million, anyone?¡± ¡°35 million!¡± ¡°40 million!¡± ¡°50 million!¡± Good god! The starting price was just announced and they were already bidding it up to 50 million. All those Tuhao looked like they were high on something, straining their necks and yelling out prices forever going up. ¡°55 million!¡± ¡°58 million!¡± ¡°60 million!¡± That Master Thant Tun stood on the stage watching the crowd in silence, his eyes flickering with mockery. The stupid people of this country! The financial incentive was thest thing that concerned him; he was only here on his master¡¯s order to set up a base for preaching in Spring City. It just so happened that these people initiated the contact and two parties fit in readily with one another, hence the auction. They were going to make their fame among the dignitaries first and set up a solid foundation before slowly infiltrating the general public. He was fully aware of the fact that despite the permission the government gave, they were still facing the great obstacle of the Taoistmunity. Thant Tun had taken part in the ghost-dispelling and was working with some priests then. He had made careful observation of these colleagues, noticing that those people¡¯s capability and Taoist skill were, well, not exactly what he had expected. It had doubtlessly given him the (illusional) confidence, which had canceled out a great deal of the habitual intimidation from this neighboring giant country. ¡°75 million!¡± ¡°78 million!¡± ¡°78 million going once, anyone? 78 million going twice¡­¡± After a dozen or so bids, those not rich enough had been eliminated and the price was going up at a slower pace. Only three or four potential buyers remained in the fighting ring. With his mallet in hand, the host kept instigating, ¡°78 million again, thest chance, anyone¡­¡± ¡°90 million!¡± Just then, a voice came from somewhere, catching the ears of all those present. A man slowly rose to his feet and said in a loud and unhurried voice, ¡°I need a favor from master Thant Tun and I¡¯m determined to win this bid. The Gao Family would like to thank everyone for being considerate!¡± ¡°The Gao Family? Not THAT Gao Family, is it?¡± ¡°Tsk, how many Gao Families can there be in Diannan?¡± ¡°Damn, why is he here?¡± Momentarily, everyone was talking at the same time, indicating that this man was indeed some big shot. Meanwhile, no one was bold enough to raise the price and there was a brief moment of stage wait. Seeing this, the man chuckled. ¡°In that case, it was very kind of you all¡ª¡± ¡°100 million!¡± ¡°!!!¡± He was interrupted like a choking duck, his remaining words stuffed back down throat, tumbling around in his stomach, demonstrating what ¡°a pain in the a*s¡± meant. The man¡¯s face darkened and turned to search for the bidder, whom he found in a booth not far from his. A slender figure sat on the sofa with one leg dangling over the other, ready to shoot out her mocking remarks. ¡°And you are? If you could tell¡ª¡± ¡°Like hell! We¡¯re wearing masks, dude, and you actually told people who you are? I¡¯m not stupid like you, okay?¡± ¡°You!¡± ¡°Enough with you and me. Do you want it or not? Stop wasting my time!¡± ¡°Fine! Fine!¡± The man was shaking with rage and thumped back to his seat, yelling, ¡°110 million!¡± ¡°120 million!¡± Hispetitor followed up right away. ¡°125 million!¡± ¡°140 million!¡± OMG! Gu Yu was actually getting jittery. Although the purpose behind bringing her along was to mess around with the others, he had far underestimated his sister-inw¡¯s ability in muddling up the water. ¡°Go easy on the price, ok? If you raise it too high and he gives up, we don¡¯t have the money.¡± ¡°Then we don¡¯t give. What can he do to us¡­ 150 million!¡± Xiaojin rested her chin on her hand and raised her card from time to time as if she was just switching channel with a TV remote control. The hall fellpletely silent apart from their calling. Some were frightened out of their wits for bing the coteral damage from this fight, while others watched happily, not minding to see some more action. ¡°180 million!¡± The man clenched his teeth and shouted another price, his heated stare boring into the other booth, more than willing to swallow her whole this moment. There was only so much cash he could use and he was about to run out of it. If the other one raised it again, he would have to back off. ¡°181 million!¡± It might be a coincidence, for the other one was suddenly slowing down her bid. ¡°182 million!¡± ¡°183 million!¡± ¡°¡­¡± At that price, the other side paused and did not make a sound for a while. The host asked hastily, ¡°Thisdy over there, do you want to follow up on that?¡± ¡°Nope, my pocket money is running a little shorttely. Let him have it.¡± ¡°Um, in that case, if no one else would join in, our final piece of tonight goes to that gentleman at a record-breaking price of 183 million. Congrattions!¡± ¡°Thump!¡± The man ripped his mask off and smashed it on the floor. *** The auction finished a little over nine o¡¯clock. Every guest received a little gift and an entrance ticket for the next event. Some did not leave right away, but went into thepartments for private conversations, while others went to the casino for some fun. Those who won the bids went to a room upstairs to fetch their goods. ¡°This is the stone you won. Please examine it and make the payment when everything checks out.¡± ¡°Yes, sure.¡± Gu Yu paid the four million and held the stone in his hands. It was twice the size of a basketball but only as heavy as a ss. His hands did not feel weighed down at all. It was irregr in shape and had an uneven surface like any other ordinary raw jade stone. People were going to and fro and this was not a good ce to examine it closely. He only weighed the it in his hand and chuckled. ¡°It feels hollow inside. Let¡¯s call it Hollow Stone.¡± ¡°You and my sister couldn¡¯t be more perfectly matched in you naming skills,¡± Xiaojinmented hopelessly. ¡°Haha, maybe, but we hold the certificate to name it, so from now on, it is nothing but Hollow Stone.¡± Gu Yu grinned. That was right. The celebrity mottos were celebrity mottos because they were words of famous people, even if the words were nonsense. Such as: ¡°Love is honey, so sweet that it hurts.¡±¡ªAlbert Einstein (just kidding) ¡°Here is your talisman. Please keep it close. Would you like our escorting service?¡± ¡°What¡¯s your price?¡± ¡°500,000 for addresses within the jurisdiction of this city and 700,000 to a million for other addresses in the province.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, thanks.¡± While Gu Yu and Xiaojin were bantering there, a middle-aged man entered the room and quickly fetched a talisman¡ªthat evil-dispelling one. He had just spent eight million on it, but now suddenly seemed impecunious and did not want to spend money on the security service. The man seemed in a rush and went back downstairs promptly, heading out of the building. The street outside was dimly lit and had the look of an old, wet alley. He walked with his head down and a hunched back. Every now and then, he would touch an inside pocket with his right hand, feeling the talisman inside. To him, it was no longer a talisman, but the fate of his entire family. ¡°Tap, tap, tap!¡± The only sound in the quiet old alley came from his own footsteps. He made a few turns and arrived at the crossing of two alleys. He turned left. A couple of stepster, he was suddenly stopped by two people blocking the road. He immediately swerved around, but saw three other strong men blocking the other exit. Right after that, a sleek-haired foppish man swaggered into sight, smirking. ¡°Hey, Brother Yu, where are you going in such a hurry?¡± ¡°Tao Ran! Why are you here?¡± The man turned pale. ¡°Save your petty tricks! I knew you¡¯de all along and was waiting here all night.¡± The foppish man pointed with his chin. ¡°What¡¯s in your pocket? Oh, you bought something nice, didn¡¯t you? To save your family? Haha, listen to me: your little family is done! Period. God himself won¡¯t be able to save you!¡± ¡°Tao Ran, that¡¯s enough! We share the same family name and are from the same n after all. Why can¡¯t you just let me go?¡± ¡°Cut the crap. Just give it to me and I¡¯ll ask them to go easy on you, for old time¡¯s sake.¡± ¡°You!¡± The man seemed to be an honest and upright type not good with words, nor had he any advantage physically. His face went scarlet with rage as he lowered his head abruptly and cried out aloud. He then bolted. ¡°Hold him down!¡± shouted the foppish man. His underlings were all professionals and quick to react. One of the strong men grabbed the man by his shoulder and made a forcible move. Thump! The man was turned by 180 degrees and smashed to the ground like a dead fish. ¡°Aaaah¡­¡± A pain ran through his back and hey there moaning, his head all dizzy. ¡°Told you. We wouldn¡¯t have to go through this if you just gave it to me.¡± The foppish man shook his head, stepped on the man¡¯s stomach with one foot, and bent down to take the talisman. His fingertips had just reached his clothes when there was a ¡°whoosh!¡± As if a gale had just blew through the alley, he was in the air all of a sudden and flew sideways like a kite before smashing down onto the ground. A stone fell down after him, and even rolled around a little. ¡°Holy sh*t! With a rope around it, I can make a flying hammer out of it.¡± Xiaojin was shocked by the impact herself and ran to them in hastily. She didn¡¯t even use much strength to throw it, but that was way too effective! ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± The underlings shouted angrily. Some went to check on their boss, who was now lying there motionless with his ribs crushed. ¡°You don¡¯t know who I am? Superman-in-mask! Heard of that name before?¡± Xiaojin made her grand entrance with a horse stance and two open palms¡ªthe posture master Wong Fei-hung was famous for in the Jet Li movies. The thugs couldn¡¯t care less about the ridiculous title of this person. Since their boss was hurt, they had to avenge him. The five strong men roared angrily and rushed forward together, ready to encircle her. ¡°Grabbing the sparrow tail! ¡°Parting the wild horse¡¯s mane! ¡°Yee¡­haa¡­ single wip! Doublesh! Waving the pipa!¡± She yelled random names for her movements as she steered through the five men like a butterfly making its way through a garden. Her graceful movements had an elegant beauty about them¡­ like anyone was going to believe that! ¡°Thump, thump, thump!¡± ¡°Aaaah! Aaaah! Aaaah!¡± In half a heartbeat, the five men screamed almost in unison as they flew away and dropped motionless to the ground. ¡°Humph!¡± Xiaojin stood there with her hands behind her back, mimicking the pose of the legendary master from Kung Fu movies as she nodded to herself. ¡°This Fallen Flower Sword Palm Movement of mine is indeed incredible.¡± ¡°T-thank you for saving my life.¡± Just then, that man stumbled to his feet and went up to her in confusion. ¡°If I may ask who you are, please. Have we met before?¡± ¡°Why, you¡¯ve seen through me. You guessed it right, I am none other than the untraceable swordsman who specializes in stealing the heart of all youngdies by the name of Fair White¡­ ouch!¡± ¡°White my a*s! Speak Chinese!¡± Gu Yu smacked Xiaojin on the back of her head, and she stumbled as the mask almost fell down from her face. She then worked it back on. ¡°This is not a good ce to talk. Shall we go somewhere else?¡± He smiled. ¡°Um¡­¡± The man hesitated a little. Realizing that he was in no position to fight back, he gave in. ¡°Ok.¡± *** ¡°Hm? That a pretty one, isn¡¯t she?¡± In a luxurious car parked at the other end of the ally, that Gao person raised his eyebrow and became intrigued. After the auction was over, he followed Gu Yu and Xiaojin out to try to pick up a fight. Damn it, he had to pay an extra 100 million because of the interruption. Anyone would have gone mad! He shadowed them all the way here and stumbled upon Xiaojin taking justice into her own hands. Despite her capability, the Gao fellow did not think much of it and was going to kill her off right away. However, when the mask slipped off and revealed the half of a pretty face behind it, he could not turn his eyes away. ¡°Humph, you dared cross me. You¡¯ll regret the day you were born!¡± He snorted and turned to the other side. ¡°Master, is there a way to make her obey my every word and be my bi*ch?¡± The interpreter tranted for him right away. With his eyes half closed, Thant Tun casually gave his answer. ¡°The master asked, would that be your first request?¡± said the interpreter. ¡°¡­¡± The man hesitated for two seconds. He only had three requests in total and to use one in such a way seemed like a waste. However, the moment he recalled what happened during the auction, he was infuriated. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°%#[emailprotected]%^, @#£¤%¡­¡± ¡°The master said it could be easily done. He will use an Erotic Tame Head and the woman wille to you herself and be at your mercy. However, it requires something from her body¡ªhair, nail, skin, etc.¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy. I¡¯ll give it to you asap.¡± The man darted another look at Xiaojin and closed the car window. The car then slowly drove away. *** Baita Road, Zhenqing Temple. The temple was of a central courtyard construction with five tiers and three courtyards. It was also the biggest Taoist buildingplex here in Spring City, which mainly worshipped Patriarch True Warrior, or the True Warrior Great Deity. Nighttime, the quiet courtyard. The abbot Chen Qingyou arrived outside a meditation room, where he called out, ¡°Junior Brother Shi, may Ie in?¡± ¡°Please, Senior Brother,¡± replied the person inside. Chen Qingyou pushed the door open and entered the room. Inside sat a Taoist priest as graceful as an immortal, who was also modest in keeping his splendor to himself. It was none other than Shi Yui himself. They were both men of the Longmen Sect and since Chen Qingyou had both joined the sect earlier and was older in his age, he was naturally the senior brother. However, in this time of change, the status of the priests in their sects was determined by the level of their cultivation. He was not going to parade his seniority and said with respect, ¡°Sorry for interrupting Junior Brother¡¯s meditation, but a message has just arrived. I am here to deliver news¡ªTame Head master Thant Tun of Myan has made his appearance in the city.¡± ¡°Thant Tun? Is he the pupil of the so-called Three Gods?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I am new around here and don¡¯t know these people very well. Exactly who are these Three Gods?¡± asked Shi Yui. ¡°The title of ¡®Gods¡¯ was actually given by their fellow people of Myan. All three are extremely old beings that have been practicing unnatural skills since an immemorial time. As a result, they have turned into some semi-human and semi-ghost creatures. The small country is limited in their knowledge and deemed them ¡®Gods¡¯. It is aughing matter to those who know better.¡± Chen Qingyou was rtively subjective in this aspect and went on, ¡°I have been here for over a year now and gathered some information on these three. They are said to be two male and one female, all three biological siblings. They have shown great talent since childhood and were taken in as pupils by the previous ck Magic Ghost King, from whom they learned to practice Tame Head. It was said that all three are over a hundred years old, but there is no way to verify that. All we know is that their skills are strange and sinister. I would advise not to underestimate them.¡± ¡°Of course. Senior Brother can have my word on that.¡± Shi Yui nodded. ¡°In that case, shall we take action now?¡± asked Chen Qingyou. ¡°Not yet. Like the ancient saying goes, to wage a war, we need a pretext. Let¡¯s wait until they raise somemotion. We can then make our appearance.¡± ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll leave you in peace.¡± Chapter 310 Chapter 310: The Erotic Tame Head Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Thank you! I wouldn¡¯t know what to do without you two!¡± In the cafe on the ground floor of a hotel, the man thanked them again wholeheartedly. ¡°My name is Tao Yu and I¡¯m from Ruili 1 . It¡¯s quite pretty over there. If you¡¯re not busy at the moment, you¡¯re wee to go back with me so that I can show you around and express my gratitude.¡± ¡°The gratitude can wait. There¡¯s a little favor I¡¯d like to ask you now,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Please. I¡¯ll do anything within my power.¡± ¡°May I have a look at that talisman of yours?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± The man hesitated a little, then realized that, with their capability, they could simply take it by force if they wanted and did not have to waste the time asking. He hence took the talisman out of his chest pocket and handed it carefully to Gu Yu. Gu Yu took it and looked at it closely: made out of the traditional paper, with the head, the main part, the end, and everything. There was a faint energying out of it¡ªthe talisman was a genuine thing. Well, that made things very interesting indeed. Regardless of Quanzhen or Zhengyi, this talisman could not have been drawn by anyone but a member of the Taoistmunity. Then how did it get into the auction? Was it possible that someone inside the Taoistmunity had colluded with them for the financial gain? He pursed his lips, not really caring about other people¡¯s crap. He then handed the talisman back and asked, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, what are you buying this talisman for?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± The man pondered for a moment before answering, ¡°I can tell that you¡¯re both remarkable people and there is no point in hiding my purpose. Our Tao Family has been doing business in Ruili for generations, specializing in the processing and sales of jade. We¡¯re not among the richest, but you could say we¡¯re affluent enough. We run a family business and the shareholders are all members of the big n; I am also one of them. Everything was normal until half a month ago, when my uncle fell ill and became bedridden. We thought it was some sort of disease, but no doctors we¡¯ve seen could make him better. Weter came to know that it was Tao Ran¡¯s¡ªoh, he was the man trying to rob me¡ªdoing. He has sought out some ck magic just to take control of the business¡­ I¡¯ve asked around and heard about this auction in Spring City, so I thought I could try my luck here. I never thought Tao Ran would have followed me here. Had it not been for your help¡­¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Xiaojin lost interest right away. She had hoped for something new, but it turned out to be nothing but the same old family drama. Gu Yu, on the other hand, gave the man a look and said, ¡°With due respect, Mr. Tao, this talisman won¡¯t help you much even if you bring it back.¡± ¡°What? Howe?¡± Tao Yu was greatly agitated. ¡°That man has demonstrated. Those snakes and rats couldn¡¯t have stayed far away enough¡­¡± ¡°Repelling snakes and rats does not guarantee dispelling the Tame Head. This is nothing but an ordinary House Protecting Talisman¡ªsomething one can stick to the beam to keep the house peaceful and quiet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible! I paid eight million for it! No! It can¡¯t be!¡± Because of his family background, Tao Yu knew next to nothing about the secrets of the cultivation world¡ªwhich wasmon knowledge to the middle and upper ranks of the society. He held onto the talisman like a drowning man with his passing straw and would not hear of such denial. This emotion was so strong that he even resented Gu Yu a little. ¡°Thank you for saving my life, but you can¡¯t just say such things. This talisman will work. It must!¡± ¡°Gosh! All this whining! Gimme that!¡± Xiaojin was weary of all this. With a snap of her fingers, that talisman somehow appeared in her hand. ¡°My talisman!¡± Tao Yu bolted up, stretching out his arm to grab at it. ¡°Shut up and sit down!¡± Xiaojin waved her hand and Tao Yu felt a force hammering down from above, shoving him back into his chair. The girl then said, ¡°You¡¯re from Ruili, right? We just happen to be heading for the border. You take care of our food, amodation, and transportation, and we¡¯ll solve your problem¡ªwon¡¯t even cost you eight million. Pretty sweet deal, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°You, I, I¡­¡± Staring in bewilderment, Tao Yu felt his heart thumping against his chest and could not make out a full sentence. *** Ruili was the border city between this country and Myan, which was located along the southern stretching branch of the Gaoligong Mountains. 73% of the city was mountainous area. 200 km to the north of Ruili was the city of Baoshan, 400 km to the northwest from wherey the Kachin Hills of Myan. The Kachin Hills were where Hollow Stone was found. Tao Yupletely bought Little Soap¡¯s idea and deemed the two some unmatched masters of this human world. How could anyone say no to such a sweet deal! He would do it even if he had to sell everything he got to pay another eight million, let alone if he was just to provide them with food, rooms, and transportation. The following morning. Faint sunlight shone on a big soft and spotless white bed through the half-open screen window. The readers might be disappointed to learn that they wouldn¡¯t find a Mary-Sue-style scene here, such as a certain person rolling around in her sheets like a giant sushi and resisting getting up. It had been a while since she got up and sat by the bay window, entering the state of looking into her own mind and letting her mind and breathing synchronize. The sunlight covered one side of her body, giving one the illusion of seeing a goddess. ¡°Ha¡­¡± A little whileter, she exhaled a long breath and slowly opened her eyes. A streak of golden-purple lightning flickered in her eyes. Thanks to the amazing Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan, the family of four of Phoenix Mountain had advanced in leaps and bounds in their cultivation. Xiaozhai had reached the passionless state in Water Thunder and Xiaojin had achieved her Metal Thunder state¡ªall she needed was some more time to strengthen it. Xiao Qiu¡¯s cultivation level was right after Gu Yu and it would be three or four years before she could also try to break into the Human Immortal state. In simple terms: the privileged! After her morning exercise, Xiaojin hopped down from the bay window and stood there watching the rising sun with her hands behind her back, her pale green silk dressing gown swaying a little in the morning breeze. She suddenly let out a soft sigh. ¡°Sigh, the biggest no-no for a person of martial arts is acting ostentatiously. This humble master had unted too much yesterday¡ªshe was woken up by dreams and could not sleep. So what if I will obtain the martial prowess that is unparalleled in this world? Also unparalleled is the apanying loneliness¡­¡± Shaking her head, she scuffed into the bathroom with a deste look on her face. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, put on some clothes, and brushed her hair in front of the mirror. After reaching the innate state, cultivators would reach a perfected state physically. ws like hair loss, dandruff, irregr menses, frequent micturition, urgent urination, etc., were pretty much eliminated. Xiaojin suddenly tugged a little too hard and a couple of strands were pulled down by theb. She blinked, removed them, and stuck the hair onto the wash stand. After much grooming, she finally finished and walked out. A room-cleaner just happened to walk past her door with a cart and asked in passing, ¡°Hello, are you checking out today?¡± ¡°Not yet. You can go in now.¡± She ran happily into the elevator after the reply. The cleaner saw her leave with an indescribable look on her face. She entered the room with the cart, then instead of changing sheets or other work, she checked the bed first before going into the bathroom, where she examined the basin and the floor carefully. ¡°There!¡± Her face lit up after a while as she picked up two hairs from the wash stand. She then carefully wrapped them in a piece of paper and gave the room door a knock. A colleague of hers appeared immediately and took the wrapped paper. Only after that did she return to the room and begin the cleaning as if nothing had happened. *** Spring City, certain vi area. Inside the living room, Thant Tun sat barefoot and cross-legged on the sofa with his eyes closed. Gao Ling sat on the opposite side and darted the master a despising look¡ªsuch an uncivilized monkey! Despite the small fortune Gao Ling paid for the master¡¯s help, deep down, he detested thetter. He had no other choice, though. The Taoistmunity was so advanced in terms of its political entwinement that if they tried to make any unauthorized contact and got found out, the entire n would be doomed. The Gao Family was a major n in Diannan that no one dared to take lightly. He was so used to having things his way that he had never expected such tant face-pping in the auction. He simply had to get even. ¡°Beep, beep!¡± ¡°Screech!¡± The two waited a while until the noise of a stopping car came from outside. After that, a man walked quickly in. ¡°Boss, we have it!¡± ¡°Oh? Show me!¡± Gao Ling immediately grew excited. He unfolded the paper and picked up the two hairs. ¡°Are you sure these are that bi*ch¡¯s?¡± ¡°Absolutely!¡± ¡°Haha! Great!¡± Heughed and turned to Thant Tun. ¡°Master, we got the hair. When can you start your work?¡± ¡°$%^&*#$%^!¡± The interpreter exined to Gao Ling after talking to Thant Tun, ¡°Master said he can start now. He needs a private room; no one is to disturb him.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got plenty of rooms. Now, I can¡¯t wait!¡± Gao Ling was greatly intrigued by this skill. He led Thant Tun to the basement himself and was about to make some more chitchat when Thant Tun mmed the door on his face without hesitation. ¡°F**k! This cheeky monkey!¡± He cursed under his breath and half of his good mood was gone. He then returned angrily to the living room. The so-called ¡°Tame Head¡± was actually a result of the practice of the Undead Insect and Maoshan Skills of this country 2 introduced to the Southeast Asia, where theybined with the local witchcraft and evolved into this new form. The locals usually referred to it as the ¡°ck Magic¡±. ¡°Tame¡± referred to the skill, medicine, or undead insect involved, whereas ¡°Head¡± referred to the individual the magic worked on. Certain connection or control was involved in the practice, such as the eight characters of the birthday, the name, personal possessions, hair, nail, etc. Right now in this sealed room, no light was on apart from a circle of white candles. Thant Tun himself sat in the center of that circle. He took off his top, revealing his swarthy skin. His shoulders, chest, and ribs were tattooed with strange spell patterns. He opened up his luggage and took out a red cloth pouch. The pouch clunked with his movement. In it were a dozen wild walnuts that looked decades-old and were so shriveled that they had turned ck. After that, he took out a blue pouch and a ck pouch. A y bowl was in the blue pouch, while the ck one contained a pair of figurines that seemed to be made of y. They were about 15 cm tall, naked, and with abstract facial features, yet the look on their faces was very strange. The male had his member, the female had breasts and thedy¡¯s part¡ªthe sex characteristics were very distinguishable. One could not tell how long ago they had been made. The color of the y was a little mottled and red marks had also tainted the figurines, reminding one of some burial objects found in ancient graves deep in the mountain. After that, Thant Tun took out a ball of thread and tied it around the figurines. He then fetched the hairs of Gao Ling and Xiaojin, tying them to the respective figurines. With all those done, he picked up half a dozen walnuts into the bowl and began to chant a spell. ¡°Whoosh!¡± All of a sudden, me erupted out of the bowl and the walnuts were on fire. Seeing this, Thant Tun immediately cut his arm and dribbled in a few drops of his spiritual blood. The blood fueled the fire and me grew as tall as half a meter. Meanwhile, an indistinct ck air emerged in the me and circled in the air above. The figurines quivered with it. ¡°#$%^&*)(#[emailprotected]%^%^^*&*(*!¡± Thant Tun kept on chanting and tossed in a few more walnuts. Before long, the ck air grew all the more visible and finally turned into two streaks of dark light, which attached themselves to the figurines. Hm? He frowned suddenly, for the moment the dark light was attached to the figurines, he faintly detected a second of obstruction. When he tried to feel it again, the feeling was gone. A faintyer of ck air was now wrapping around the figurines, which was the sign of a sessful Erotic Tame Head. ¡°¡­¡± Thant Tun checked repeatedly and could not find anything wrong. He concluded that he was just being oversensitive. About twenty minutester, he walked out of the sealed room. Gao Ling¡ªwho had been waiting impatiently¡ªwent up to him and asked, ¡°Master, how did it go?¡± ¡°The Erotic Tame Head is set. From now on, she¡¯s your ve!¡± Chapter 311 Chapter 311: Had to Try It Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu There were quite a few types of Tame Head skills, which could be generally categorized into Drug Tame Head, Flying Tame Head, and Ghost Tame Head. Drug Tame Head worked simrly to low-level undead insects of the Miao people which needed to be ingested to take effect. Flying Tame Head was a little more advanced in that it could be controlled remotely, which included Mirror Tame Head, ss Tame Head, Flying-head Tame Head, and a dozen others. Flying-head Tame Head was the most formidable of this category. The name was pretty much self-exnatory: a head that was flying, which might even have arge intestine dangling from it¡­ As for Ghost Tame Head, it was a somewhat special kind of all the Tame Head skills out there, for it involved the prerequisite of raising an infant ghost. The Erotic Tame Head Thant Tun used this time was a type of Ghost Tame Head. Back to the vi where he made that announcement, Gao Ling was still a little confused. ¡°Master, do I have to meet this woman first or what?¡± ¡°Her soul has be your ve already and she will do whatever you order her to. If you want, I can summon her here this moment,¡± said Thant Tun. ¡°That¡¯s great. Please work the magic and make that bi*che to me!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Thant Tun darted Gao Ling a look and did notment on that. He then chanted the spell¡ªall in all, the two men did not exactly see eye to eye. He then took out a little stic box and tossed it to Gao Ling. ¡°That woman will arrive soon. Put this on you and do not stay too far from it, or the spell will stop working.¡± Gao Ling checked the box and saw that in it was a pair of golden figurines, which were about 3 cm tall and held each other with their cheeks stuck together. He said, ¡°No problem! Thank you for going through the trouble, Master! Do you need to take a break?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine in my sealed room. Do not disturb me unless it¡¯s something important!¡± With that, Thant Tun shut himself up into his room, leaving Gao Ling and his bodyguards behind. Gao Ling sat back down in the living room, opened a bottle for the asion, and drank it in small sips. He was never able to resist alcohol and once he got tipsy, his perverted side began to show. ¡°Hoho, too bad she¡¯s such a beauty. You¡¯ll wish you were dead by the time I¡¯m through with you!¡± Gao Ling guffawed, feeling aroused. He had had his share of bedmates of both sexes and all sorts ofbinations: pretty boys, sisters, mother and daughter, the familybo, you name it. But, after all, he was still bound by thews of modern society and did not get too carried away. Essentially, those were paying for sex on a consensual basis. However, something like Erotic Tame Head, which turned a woman into his personal sex ve, was something he had not yet tried. It was a stimtion he had never experienced before and the more he thought about it, the more excited he became, which in turn led to drinking more liquor. Before long, half a bottle of brandy was gone. ¡°Boss!¡± About thirty minutes into the waiting, one of his men finally reported, ¡°A woman has arrived at the residential area and ising our way.¡± ¡°I see. Watch out for her.¡± Gao Ling nodded, his blurry eyes flickering with desire. A little while after the bodyguards were all in position, there came the ¡°tack, tack, tack¡± of heels from outside and a girl arrived at their doorstep. ¡°Hahaha! It really is you!¡± Gao Ling had a sharp eye for women. From the posture and half a face alone the other night, he knew this was that bi*ch. Now that he got to see her entire face, even a womanizer like him could not help but sigh with admiration. She was about 175 cm in height, had long, straight, and smooth legs, and the curve around her waist was so impably fluid that it looked like a piece of exquisite sculpture. Looking up, he saw the delicate cor bones, the long neck, and a face that was beautiful beyond this world. The girl looked back at him and giggled all of a sudden, calling out, ¡°Master!¡± Wow! Raising his eyebrow, Gao Ling turned around and told the others, ¡°Ok, you can all leave now.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The underlings were secretly pursing their lips as they left the room in tacit understanding. With the temperament of their boss, they prayed a little for the woman, hoping she could make it until the following day. Momentarily, there were only the two of them in the living room. Gao Ling beckoned with his hand, ¡°Come here!¡± ¡°Tack, tack, tack!¡± The woman approached him. ¡°¡­¡± He looked closely at her for a moment. For some reason, her movement felt a little rigid today, and so did her facial expression. But he did not think much of it, deeming it a side effect of the Erotic Tame Head. ¡°Weren¡¯t you all arrogant yesterday? Now what? You just offered yourself to me, didn¡¯t you? That¡¯s what you get for messing with me!¡± He reached out and grabbed her by her fair and smooth chin, then spoke in a vicious tone, ¡°From now on, you¡¯re nothing but my bi*ch. Now, bark.¡± ¡°Woof! Woof!¡± ¡°Hahaha! This is great! That wild monkey does know his stuff!¡± Gao Ling was so psyched up that the muscles on his face were all contorted. Thanks to the brandy, an uncontroble urge was rushing through his body. He ignored the fact that he was still in the living room with doors wide open, as well as the open yard outside; he simply leaned back into the sofa. ¡°Come here!¡± The woman shifted and moved closer. ¡°On your knees!¡± The woman did not move. ¡°I said, on your knees!¡± Still not moving. Hm? Gao Ling stood up, took out that box out of his pocket, fumbled around, and shouted again, ¡°Kneel!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The woman acted as if she could not understand his words. She simply stood there without any reaction. He was infuriated and pped her, ¡°I¡¯m telling you to f**king¡ª¡± ¡°Bang!¡± As soon as his palm touched her face, there was a muffled sound like an exploded balloon. The woman turned into a plume of white smoke and disappeared into thin air. ¡°What, what is happening?¡± Struck dumb with astonishment and panic-stricken, Gao Ling was about to call out to Thant Tun when a voice rang out from above. ¡°Tsk, tsk. You just had to try it. You had iting¡ªthat¡¯s a very useful motto.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± He raised his head in a whoosh and saw a figure flying down gracefully andnded lightly on the floor. It was none other than that woman! ¡°You, you¡­¡± ¡°I what?¡± ¡°p!¡± Xiaojin pped him without hesitation. The fellow¡¯s head snapped to the right so abruptly that one could hear the crunching sound of twisted bones. Blood bubbled out of his mouth as three broken teeth flew out. ¡°Did I say you can address me?¡± ¡°p!¡± She pped him again with the back of her hand on the other cheek, then kicked him on his knee. ¡°On your knees!¡± ¡°Aaaaah!¡± Gao Ling screamed, feeling his kneecaps crushed. Hey prostrated on the floor and was shaking from all the pain. Despite the grin on Xiaojin¡¯s face, she was fuming and cursed loudly, ¡°You motherf**ker! Making me your sex ve, aren¡¯t you? Do you know who I am? Kowtow!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Again!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Again!¡± ¡°Bang, bang, bang!¡± Good god. With the strength she was using, Gao Ling¡¯s head was banging against the floor like a pounding pestle. The marble tiles paving the floor cracked and his forehead was a purple mess. The man soon lost consciousness. ¡°Boss! Boss!¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Just then, the underlings heard the noise and rushed into the room. Shocked by what they saw, they took out all their guns, daggers, electric prods, and like. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± ¡°Let go of our boss, or I¡¯ll shoot!¡± ¡°Humph! Dragon-seizing Hand!¡± Xiaojin liked her drama even under such circumstance. She reached out her palms, made a grabbing gesture, and the weapons disappeared from their former owners and reappeared in her hands. Before the men had time to react, she exerted her energy. ¡°Go!¡± ¡°Ah! Ah!¡± There were then the thumping sounds of men falling to the ground. The half a dozen people werepletely useless and were thrown into the yard. The smarter ones among them began to yell, ¡°Master, help!¡± ¡°Master! Master!¡± With the noise they made, Thant Tun was long alerted and had ran up from the basement. He looked up and was petrified as well. In broken Chinese, he said, ¡°You¡­ why¡­¡± ¡°Oh? You¡¯re here as well. That¡¯s convenient.¡± Xiaojin kicked Gao Ling to the side and said, ¡°Are you talking about that crap of yours?¡± With that, she pressed her chest and ripped something out. There were streaks of sizzling lightning¡ªwrapped in the center of the golden purple lightning was a petty lump of ck air. ¡°You really should get your f**king facts straight before messing around here!¡± she said in a mocking tone. Her five slender fingers then squeezed down and the ck air dissipated into nothing. With his soul connected to the ck air, Gao Ling was instantly hit by the backfire. Blood spurted out of his mouth and he was barely alive. ¡°$%^&*!¡± Thant Tun was almost frightened to death. He had been practicing Tame Head of decades in Myan and this was the first time he ever saw someone crushing it with bare hands. With a string of ck beads in his hand, he revealed one side of his shoulder and was about to chant a spell. Unfortunately, this was not a turn-based game where the other side would just stand there until he finished loading the skill. Hence, he was only able to make the first two sybles when he saw a figureing up to his face. It was sharp and intimidating like a sword, as if it was going to bore deeply into his skull. ¡°Thump!¡± The short monkey did not have time to dodge and hurtled out of the door, alsonding on thewn. Thant Tun struggled to his feet and released a streak of rolling ck air, which pounced at one of the underlings and devoured him. There was instantly the shuffling noise of sucking blood and chewing bones. The fellow did not even have time to scream; he was a pool of blood in no time. ¡°Monster! A monster!¡± Some resident just happened to pass by and was petrified by the scene, then copsed onto the ground and could no longer control his dder and bowels. After feasting on human flesh, the infant ghost grew more imposing. Thant Tun himself was enveloped in a red glow from head to toe which then fused into the ck air and erupted into the air, threatening to cover up the sky. ¡°#$%^&*!¡± He chanted a spell to have the infant ghost charge at Xiaojin while he himself turned around and fled. The fellow was not stupid. He knew perfectly well that he was no match for someone who could crush Tame Head with a single hand. All he tried to do was to have the infant ghost buy some time while he ran barefoot at full speed, heading for the wall not far ahead. Who on earth said this country had no capable men? Who on earth said the Taoistmunity was a bunch of good-for-nothings? That Gao fellow was a pig! Where did he get into trouble with that woman? As he cursed inside, Thant Tun kept moving. That infant ghost was refined by his master before being handed over to him and had some incredible abilities. He only hoped it could stall the woman for long enough. About twenty stepster, he arrived at the wall. Delighted, he leapt onto it. Just then, three loud and clearmands rang out from behind him. ¡°Thunder,e!¡± ¡°Thunder,e!¡± ¡°Thunder,e!¡± ¡°Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!¡± Dark clouds gathered in the sky and the courtyard darkened. Three streaks of golden-purple divine lightning as thick as teacups struck down sessively, two of which struck the infant ghost. The ghostly energy rolled and heaved, but was no match to the overwhelming power. It was destroyed right away. The third one shot out like an arrow and struck Thant Tun on his back. ¡°Crack!¡± ¡°Clunk!¡± The bricks on the top of the wall were smashed and fell all over the ground. Outside, the street seemed to be frozen for a second as the pedestrians and vehicles halted to witness the golden lightning striking down in broad daylight. A man had just turned into ashes on top of a wall! ¡°¡­¡± A couple of secondster, there was a sudden ¡°Beep!¡± ¡°Aaaaaah! Help! What was that?¡± ¡°Sob¡­ mum¡­¡± ¡°F**k! Get out of my way!¡± The honk seemed to have turned on some switch and the long street erupted into a hubbub. There were screams, rumbling, running, crying, cursing, and the whole shebang. All hell broke loose. A patrol car across the street made a u-turn and drove hastily towards the residential area. Two Taoist priests on the watchout were also astonished. Ignoring the crowd, they activated their energy and jumped over the wall. Arriving at the scene, the two broke into a cold sweat. There was a giant pit in the courtyard, the house was half gone, and people were all over the ground. A girl stood in the middle of all this, looking very fierce! ¡°Who¡¯s done what? What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Call the police! Call the police! Was there an explosion?¡± Meanwhile, the securities and other house owners also arrived, and looked at all this with gaping mouths. ¡°I am Qingsong Zi of Zhenqing Temple. Who are you? How dare you murder people in broad daylight?¡± one of the priests asked in a stern voice. ¡°Zhengqing Temple?¡± Xiaojin darted him a look and raised her voice above all the noise. ¡°This is Phoenix Mountain business. Out of my way!¡± Chapter 312 Chapter 312: Hail Little Soap! Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Phoenix Mountain? The two words pounded against Qingsong Zi¡¯s eardrums like a sledgehammer and his heart lurched, silently ming himself for acting recklessly: extremely capable and a woman, who else could this one be? However, he managed to maintain his posture and cupped his hands. ¡°Sorry for not recognizing you right away, Laywoman Jiang. Could you tell me what has happened here?¡± Hm? Squinting, Xiaojin instinctively realized something was amiss from that address. She asked, ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± ¡°Laywoman Jiang¡¯s fame is so widespread, how could I not know? Is Layman Gu not with you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t beat around the bush. Do you really know who I am?¡± Xiaojin pressed on. ¡°Um¡­¡± Qingsong Zi hesitated at her tone. On Phoenix Mountain there were the couple and a Miao woman¡­ oh, there seemed to be a distant rtive also, making them four in total. He couldn¡¯t have been wrong! The only thing was that the word around was that Laywoman Jiang was far bolder and more generous than any ordinary man, but this one standing here seemed quite girlish. That was a little strange¡­ F**k, f**k, f**kity f**k! Little Soap was fuming up at the look on his face. EXCUSE ME! She had finally stolen the spotlight: she detected the lurking man at the alley, left behind the hair on purpose, trapped the Tame Head with her Thunder Technique, made the dummy with the Shape-changing Spell, demonstrated her might power in front of everyone, and killed the evil man with her lightning¡­ she had nned it all out so that she could be the center of this big show. What did she get in return? She was mistaken for her sister? She was about tosh out when the sound of her brother-inw came from the roof. ¡°Ok, that¡¯s enough!¡± The man himself arrived with those words. Gu Yu¡ªwho had been ying the happy bystander for a whilended lightly on the ground with a smile. ¡°Nice to meet you, priest. I have heard so much about your prestigious temple. Had it not been for our tight schedule, we would have visited you the first thing.¡± ¡°You tter us. Senior Brother Shi of our Longmen Sect is in the temple at the moment. Would theyman have the time to meet him?¡± Once seeing the famous man in flesh, Qingsong Zi was all the more polite and appropriate. He was a clever man and knew that since these two could kill someone in broad daylight and make such a big scene, what had happened had grown out of his hands. He was thus more than happy to make it his superior¡¯s problem. ¡°Shi Yui is here in Spring City?¡± Gu Yu was a little surprised, but then smiled. ¡°Sure. I need to talk to your abbot anyway.¡± ¡°Eeeooo! Eeeooo!¡± While they were still talking, sirens rang out in the residential area as a police car drove in through a passageway. Gu Yu shrugged and told the security team that was still standing staring at them in utter confusion, ¡°Tell them that I¡¯ll be in Zhenqing Temple!¡± With that, he and Xiaojin leapt out and disappeared from sight. Qingsong Zi and the other priest followed suit, also jumping over the wall. ¡°¡­¡± The bystanders were silent for a long time before someone asking in a bemused tone, ¡°I¡¯m not seeing an illusion, am I?¡± ¡°Nope, nor are my eyes tricking me.¡± ¡°Is it, is it possible that immortals and monsters are real?¡± ¡°That lightning must have been real, right?¡± ¡°What did she say just then? Phoe¡­ phoe¡­¡± ¡°Phoenix Mountain!¡± *** Zhenqing Temple, a meditation room. Shi Yui sat a little awkwardly in the middle, while the abbot Chen Qingyou sat on a lower seat next to him on one side and Gu Yu and Xiaojin sat on the other. He was not as generous as Chao Kongtu and was still brooding over that fight in Changbai Mountains. What had happened this time only made it worse: he had had everything nned out and was ready to show his mighty hand when that Thant Tun screwed up. And we all knew what actually happened: that fellow messed with the wrong person and he was out of the picture in no time! Gu Yu had no idea of Shi Yui¡¯s unsettled mind and only said, ¡°This is a happy coincidence. Why is Priest Shi in Spring City?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just following orders. It¡¯s not just me. The others priests of the monastery have alsoe down the mountain to other ces.¡± ¡°To deal with those Tame Head masters?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± ¡°With the Taoistmunity¡¯s participation, these people will not stand a chance. I admire you all greatly for that,¡± said Gu Yu wholeheartedly. ¡°Cough, cough¡­¡± Shi Yui did not know how to respond to that and gave his ambiguous answer with a couple of coughs. He then asked in return, ¡°May I ask why are you here?¡± ¡°Well, I have been staying on the mountain for too long and thought I could use a little trip. I heard a lot was going on here, so I made Spring City my first stop. I have never thought I would get involved in this, though, which is making everything much more interesting,¡± Gu Yu replied half-seriously. After a little pause, he added, ¡°Speaking of which, there is something I need Abbot Chen¡¯s expertise on.¡± ¡°May I ask what is it about?¡± Chen Qingyou winced a little, not expecting his name to be called. ¡°About this.¡± He took out that yellow talisman and told them about everything. ¡°I attended an auction yesterday. Does Abbot Chen know anything about it?¡± ¡°An auction¡­¡± Chen Qingyou pondered for a moment before answering, ¡°About twenty days ago, a very well-connected secret society was suddenly established in Spring City. It also had a considerable manpower, which was turning over every stone to search for cultivation-rted objects, which would be auctioned off. They came to ask me to host the event, but I turned them down.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just that I saw this talisman at the auction. Did a disciple of your temple draw it?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Chen Qingyou took the talisman and examined it. The more he looked at it, the more worried he became, for it looked distinctively like the drawing of one of his disciples. He asked, ¡°Was it really from the auction?¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯re holding eight million there!¡± Gu Yu chuckled. Eight million! Shi Yui¡¯s face turned livid at that. However fierce the internal strife of the Taoistmunity was, there was one general guideline: never get involved with the secr forces. The Taoistmunity was able to maintain its high political status because of its rtive independence and impartiality. They only followed the orders from the top and never meddled with local problems. If some individual disciple was taken away by their selfish desire and colluded with local power to gain financial benefit, the impact would be unfathomable. First of all, the Taoistmunity had gone through some serious ¡°self-inflicted damage¡± to clear away the rotten roots and cleanse the system. Once this dam was open, that acquired seriousness was gone and they would be back to the old corruptive ways. Secondly, the status of the Taoistmunity would decline and also gone would be the independence. Most importantly, it was asking for trouble! A local tycoon joining hands with an innate state cultivator: what were you trying to achieve? An insurgence? The bosses would never let such thing happen! As for Gu Yu, although he was not part of the Taoistmunity, being a fellow cultivator, he still hated to see themunity falling apart for such crap. Hence he decided to give these people a heads-up. Chen Qingyou¡¯s face darkened and he called out suddenly, ¡°Qingfeng!¡± ¡°Yes, Abbot!¡± someone answered outside. ¡°Go get Yiming!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The man left. Before long, the door of the meditation room was pushed open and a young priest in his twenties entered, then bowed. ¡°Master! Master Uncle Shi! How do you do, Layman and Laywoman!¡± ¡°Yiming, did you draw this?¡± Chen Qingyou handed him the talisman. The priest gave it a look and asked in surprise, ¡°I did. Is there anything wrong with it?¡± ¡°Humph! You should be proud of yourself, then. Not only was it used for an auction, it was sold for eight million!¡± ¡°Mater, I-I know nothing of this!¡± Yiming instantly became flustered and tried to exin, ¡°Ayman came for a blessing the other day, saying that his house was pestered with snakes and insects, whose number was so great that they could not be eliminated. His wife and children were unable to sleep at night. I pitied him, so I drew him this talisman¡­ Master, I did not do it out of greed!¡± ¡°Who was this man?¡± Chen Qingyou asked in a stern tone. ¡°He has visited us a couple of times before and was always behaving appropriately. I don¡¯t know him very well and only know that his family name is Duan.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Chen Qingyou darted a look at Shi Yui, certain of what was happening, but he still tried to test the young priest some more. He pressed on, ¡°You really have no idea who he was?¡± ¡°No, absolutely not!¡± ¡°And you really gained nothing financially from it?¡± ¡°Master!¡± Yiming was an honest and humble one. He fell to his knees with a thump and said, ¡°Ever since I became a disciple of the sect, all I ever wanted was to pursue the Great Dao and never for once did I linger on thefort of the secr world! If you, Master, yourself do not believe me, I, I can only¡ª¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Chen Qingyou flipped his wide sleeve and raised his pupil to his feet. ¡°I believe you. But after all, the error was a result of your doing. You will stay in seclusion for a month to reflect on yourself.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Yiming lighted up at the punishment and retreated with a bow. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu sat there watching the whole thing, feeling his jaw going ck. This was exactly why he did not like Quanzhen. These people were rigid to a fault with their precepts! The free and easy-going Chao Kongtu was much more pleasant to hang out with. Shortly after Yiming left them, someone else came to report to Chen Qingyou. ¡°Abbot, men from the BIMAUP are outside. They are here for Layman Gu.¡± ¡°The BIMAUP?¡± Chen Qingyou nced at the man in question, who could not look more indifferent at the news. He said with resignation, ¡°Show them in!¡± *** Myan, the Kachin Hills. The mountain was to the north of the city of Myitkyina and was covered by a vast virgin forest. In the localnguage, its name meant ¡°the ce where devils dwell.¡± It was once a Chinese territory, but outstanding historical issues led to redrawn national boundaries and it was now part of Myan. The kachin hills were known for their precipitous mountains, vast and luxuriant forest, neverending swamps, roaming beasts, countless insects, venomous snakes, and vicious miasma. During the second world war, around 100,000 soldiers of the Chinese Expeditionary Army entered Myan to fight the Japanese troops. More than 10,000 were killed in battles, but over 50,000 died trudging through these mountains. Of course, with the modern age, part of the mountains had gone through some development and roads were also built. Hikers visited this area every year and the Hpakant quarry¡ªthe most famous jade stone quarry in the world¡ªwas also in the region. The quarry was famous for its top-quality emeralds and was of great value. Myan was going through some tumultstely and wars were fought among various forces. Naturally, this valuable mountain was among the things they fought for. The strange thing was, no matter how fierce the battles were, all forces had avoided going near a certain valley, as if some cannibal demon was living in it. ¡°Gurgle!¡± ¡°Gurgle!¡± A ck bubble rose up from the bottom of a pond and burst instantly before another one repeated the process. The stench was unbearable. The pond was deep inside the mountain in a corner that no sunlight could break through. Poisonous miasma filled the air, rendering it a genuine no-man¡¯snd. However, right next to the stagnant water was a grotesque and dpidated wood house. Inside sat an extremely old woman as thin as a skeleton. She was murmuring something sitting in the center of a circle of white candles. Evil-looking objects littered the room; among them were some crawling worm-like things, which looked like they had been dissected and randomly put back together. ¡°Pop!¡± All of a sudden, half of the white candles extinguished despite the absence of any wind. The room instantly grew dimmer. The old woman opened her eyes, revealing a pair of vertical serpentine pupils. She fumbled out a ck soul te from her waist in a hurry. On the te carved a small figure, which used to be glowing in a dark light, but was nowpletely lusterless. ¡°Thant Tun is dead?¡± she whispered to herself in an incredulous tone. Momentarily, the murmur grew louder, eventually turning into a shriek that reminded one of some vicious ghost. ¡°Sob¡­ Thant Tun is dead¡­ who dared to kill Thant Tun¡­ sob¡­ they¡¯re going to pay for this with their own life!¡± Chapter 313 Chapter 313: The Tao Family Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Thant Tun had bitten the dust¡ªnot done in by some back-alley assassin, but scorched to ashes by a streak of lightning in broad daylight with a streetful of witnesses. Gao Ling was also wasted. The backfire of Erotic Tame Head had destroyed his mind and he would spend the rest of his life a retarded man. Therefore, the authorities had to give an official exnation to both the Gao Family and the general public, even if it was in bullsh*t. ¡°Yesterday around noontime, a criminal fleeing across provinces was shot down in Taoyuan Estate of Spring City¡­ because the criminal was well-equipped with advanced weaponry, multiple civilians were identally injured during the crossfire. The appropriate treatment has been arranged and the emotions of the persons concerned and their families are rtively stable¡­¡± Hence, a piece of news thus tantly worded appeared on the official print media of Spring City, taking up the tiniest column possible. Themon folk who had actually witnessed the event or heard about the rumor of the event probably responded with a shrug: well, whatever you say! Ever since the bubbling news of ¡°possessed by ghosts¡± in August,mon people of this country had gotten used to the way news traveled around: the official media were forever telling everyone solemnly about the peaceful and quiet life they were enjoying, while thework media criticized about everything and made every effort to reveal the truth. This stark yet interesting contrast between the two had created plenty of topics for the general public to crow about. They were, of course, finding what was going on somewhat understandable: why, the government had gone this far to cover things up, that should at least count for something, right? There was no photo or video footage of the event of that day, but almost everyone doubtlessly ¡°knew¡± and filled in any nket with their lively imagination. ¡°I was there. I¡¯m telling you, that man had ck cloth wrapped around his head and was a Myanese!¡± ¡°A man of Myan should think twice before messing around in Spring City. See what became of him? You do not want to piss off the bosses!¡± ¡°Dude, how do you know it was the Taoist priest¡¯s doing?¡± ¡°There was the lightning! Who else have you seen using them apart from Taoist people?¡± ¡°Hahaha! I¡¯ve written a full season of TV drama in my head already: the southern foreigners snuck in with an evil intention, trying to stir things up; a Taoist priest brought justice by striking down with lightning!¡± ¡°Tsk, tsk. I¡¯ve always thought Tame Head of the Southeast an amazing skill. From the look of it, ours is by far the better one! Why, all of a sudden, I feel much more confident.¡± ¡°There¡¯re so many veterans here and this novice is quivering with his ignorance. I only have one question: where the heck is this Phoenix Mountain?¡± ¡°Exactly! I¡¯ve checked online. There are over twenty mountains with this name¡ªin Yong Town, Qishan, Leqing, Shanhe Vige, Putian, Panshui¡­ damn it, even the HK Inds have a Phoenix Mountain! This immortal couldn¡¯t have chosen a moremon name!¡± ¡°Whatever! I¡¯ve made up my mind! I¡¯m going to search every corner of our country for the real immortals!¡± * ** West Diannan, Ruili. Ruili was a county-level city right next to Muse of Myan. A treaty port had been set up here to support the trade of jade. Every year, nearly 10 million travelling traders and tourists visited the city. Life in border cities had always been quite interesting. The two cities were separated by nothing but an iron fence at the closest spot, which had a big hole on it¡ªpeople were going to and fro through it without ever being stopped. On the other side of the fence were some unlicensed motorcycle-taxi ready to take you for a one-day ride around Muse. The situation was pretty much the same over on this side. Young beggars of the other side would often cross the border and crouch down pitiably by the side of the road. They couldn¡¯t speak Chinese and were only here for some food. ¡°Aw, poor baby! Can you use our money over there?¡± Xiaojin was now handing a bag of food to an unkempt little girl, then gestured with a few notes. The child took out a piece of bread and wolfed it down, making a humming sound and nodding at Xiaojin. ¡°That¡¯s good. Put it away in your pocket and don¡¯t let others take it.¡± She stuffed the money into the little girl¡¯s pocket and sighed. ¡°I guess the news1 was right: our country is prospering and everyone else is suffering in hell!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The corner of Gu Yu¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡®Had I not known you better, I¡¯d have taken you for Mother Teresa!¡¯ Tao Yu, on the other hand, did not know Xiaojin like Gu Yu did. He was immediately moved by her ¡°kindness¡±. ¡°Fate had brought her here to our doorstep. Let me check with the authorities, see if we can take the kid into our system. That¡¯ll at least make my conscience at peace.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. Your good act will be rewarded. May the force be with you.¡± Xiaojin cupped her hands solemnly at Tao Yu. After they took out Thant Tun, the BIMAUP came to visit them at Zhenqing Temple¡ªnot to denounce them for what they did, of course, but only to inquire what actually happened. With theplicated situation at the moment and abnormalities popping up everywhere, the BIMAUP had turned into the ultimate logistic service of the cultivationmunity, as well as thebor union of the Taoistmunity, the director of propaganda, and the research institution¡ªamong a whole bunch of other functions. Theirint had changed from lying around with nothing to do to working their a*s off and feeling 24 hours were not enough for a day¡ªlet¡¯s just call it fate. Gu Yu was not the patronizing type and told them about the event in details. As for how the Gao Family, Zhenqing Temple, and the public sentiment were to be handled, that was not something he would concern himself with. After that, the two came to Ruili with Tao Yu. The Tao Family ran a business in jade locally and was quite affluent. They had amercial building in the port area which contained hundreds of individual shops. Their mansion was not far, either¡ªjust a 15-minute walk to the east of the port. ¡°Things are quite rough over there in Myan at the moment. Three forces are all trying to take control of the country and fights are breaking out almost everyday. The Kachin Hills are within the strategic region, which is now under the control of Soe Win¡¯s army. The other two forces are May Myo and Ge Thantwe. All three are devilish men who ughter people without so much as batting an eyelid. People over there are all panicky and many have sneaked over to this side.¡± Tao Yu filled them in on the current situation in a low voice as they walked. ¡°My family has some connections on the other side. Let me try if I can contact them and sent you to the Kachin Hills. I know mighty immortals like you two may not care about that, but I still think we should avoid unnecessary fight if it¡¯s possible.¡± ¡°That can wait. Let¡¯s go see your uncle first.¡± Gu Yu did not give any definite reply. A momentter, they arrived at a manor. Yes, it was a manor: tall walls, huge yards, and a three-story white building with a fountain and awn. Xiaojin was genuinely surprised as she eximed, ¡°Old Tao, I never knew you¡¯re such a Tuhao! I¡¯ve always thought you just another upstart.¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m an upstart all right. My grandfather started the business and it¡¯s only the third generation now.¡± Tao Yu was indeed a good-tempered man. After a pause, he said bashfully, ¡°You might think everything is great from the look of this house, but we can barely put up with the appearance. Tao Ran has taken over thepany and we only managed to hold on because of the shares my uncle still has. You have ruined his n back in Spring City and I¡¯m sure he is infuriated. I fear that he might send people to make trouble for us.¡± With that, the three entered the courtyard. A demure and beautiful middle-aged woman came out in a hurry to greet them. ¡°Xiao Yu, you¡¯re finally back. Is everything ok?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. How is uncle?¡± ¡°Very bad. If we can¡¯t find a way to save him, we¡¯ll have to start nning for his funeral.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. These two masters I brought back will surely dispel the evil energy from him.¡± He then introduced them to one another. The woman was Tao Yu¡¯s aunt. Most of the nsmen had been bought off by Tao Ran and the only ones left behind here were the elderly and the young. The situation looked rather hopeless. ¡°Mr. Gu, my uncle is just upstairs. Do you want to have a look first?¡± ¡°Please take me to him.¡± They went up to a bedroom on the second floor, where a nanny and two teenagers were looking after the patient. The emaciated man was in his fifties and his breathing was almost too shallow to detect; he could barely be considered a living person. Gu Yu gave it a look and knew what he was dealing with right away. ¡°He¡¯s been infected by evil energy. It¡¯s quite easy to treat.¡± The two children were very smart and immediately saw that he was the honorable guest they had been hoping for. They ran to him desperately. ¡°Please, please save my father!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do anything! Just please save dad!¡± The aunt was afraid of offending the master and said hastily, ¡°The master will decide that for himself. You shouldn¡¯t be disturbing him like this. Come, let¡¯s leave them in peace.¡± After they left, Gu Yu took out his gourd and poured out an Evil-dispelling Dan. He then fed it to the man and activated his spiritual essence to guide the energy around the man¡¯s body so that the medicine would take effect. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaojin slouched in her chair on the side ying with her phone, and couldn¡¯t care less about what was going on. Tao Yu watched it with widely open eyes. He had heard about what happened to Thant Tun, who was not that famous himself, but had a master who was notoriously vicious. Hence Tao Yu¡¯s reasoning: the Three Gods were the major masters and their pupil a minor master; someone who could easily terminate a minor master should at least be a major master themselves. The possibility of his uncle being saved had never looked this promising. He almost felt grateful for the beating Tao Ran gave him, for he would have never met these two otherwise. ¡°What are you doing? How can you break in like this? This is my house!¡± ¡°Get your a*s down here, Tao Yu! That old fool has days to live and you¡¯re kicking the bucket first!¡± ¡°Waah, don¡¯t go in there, waah¡­¡± ¡°Out of my way!¡± Just then, a hubbub of crying and screaming came from downstairs. Tao Yu shuddered and turned abruptly towards Gu Yu, who did not even lift his eyelids. Xiaojin put away her phone, got up, and went downstairs. A minuteter, there came another round of hubbub and screaming. ¡°Aaaah!¡± ¡°Sorry! I¡¯m sorry! Please don¡¯t hit me!¡± The bunch of petty underlings only took Xiaojin one ¡°angry crow takes flight¡±¡ª 2 they were all over the ground like fallen apples. She then froze these people by blocking their meridians and tossed them into the fountain pool head first. ¡®Wow!¡¯ Struck by her heavenly mightiness, that pair of teenagers admired her with shining eyes,pletely forgetting about the fear they had a minute ago. ¡°You two, keep an eye on them. Drag them out for a breath if they¡¯re drowning, then throw them back in.¡± ¡°They, they¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they can¡¯t move!¡± Xiaojin ran happily back upstairs and saw that Gu Yu was almost wrapping up. The man was probably also affected by a type of Tame Head which could wear his internal organs down until he was dead. It was not done expertly and was easily seen through¡ªpossibly the work of some lesser Tame Head master. Gu Yu put a palm t on the man¡¯s chest and circted his spiritual essence around so that the medicine was the most effective. ¡°Sizzle!¡± ¡°Sizzle!¡± Vapor was rising from all over his body and some detectable faint ck air was dissipating. A couple of secondster, the ck air turned white, then turned transparent. ¡°Done!¡± Before long, Gu Yu put down his hand. Tao Yu could now see that his uncle was breathing evenly and color was back on his cheeks. He was exultant. The Tame Head that almost destroyed his family was removed like crushing an ant¡­ without knowing it, Gu Yu had be a god-like figure to him. ¡°Thank you, Master! Thank you!¡± ¡°Our Tao Family is forever in you debt. From now on, through fire or high water, we¡¯ll follow whatever order you give us!¡± The aunt was a smart one as well¡ªwith what this man could do, they would be idiots if they didn¡¯t make the best of this opportunity. ¡°That¡¯s ok. It¡¯s not a big deal.¡± Gu Yu was about to end it with some pleasantries when an idea suddenly came to him. ¡°You said you have been in the jade business for three generations. Have you collected any unusual treasure that I may have a look at?¡± Chapter 314 Chapter 314: Hollow Stone Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The Tao Family house, a guest room. The cool autumn breeze blew gently in and the moon shone softly on the curtain. Gu Yu was sitting on his bed, holding that Hollow Stone in his hands. Because of their tight schedule, he hadn¡¯t had time to study it so far. Now that they were finally able to have a break, he could have a closer look. The stone was two sizesrger than a basketball, with rough and uneven surface. There was absolutely nothing special about it just in appearance alone, so those men behind that auction must have had very sharp eyes to pick it out. With a streak of his mental force, Gu Yu slowly poked the stone briefly before withdrawing. The texture inside was the same as the exterior, only that the structure was rather unique: it consisted of tiny round holes. The holes crisscrossed and linked with one another. It might look chaotic at the first sight, but there was in fact a pattern in them, not much unlike a giant beehive or ant nest. Faint spiritual essence was slowly flowing through this holes and filled the entire interior. ¡°The wonder of Nature, so unbelievable.¡± Gu Yu could not help but sigh with admiration. He weighed the stone up and down in his palm, then sent in a streak of his spiritual essence, which carefully fused with that of the stone itself and resumed flowing around inside the stone. ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Gurgle!¡± After the two streaks of spiritual essence converged, the new streak was flowing slightly faster, making a sound reminding one of wind passing through woods and gurgling water. Gu Yu felt distinctively that the weight on his palm was lifted all of a sudden and the stone became lighter still. It now sat there like a giant marshmallow. Hm? He was greatly intrigued and began to send in an unbroken stream of spiritual essence. With it, the stone grew forever lighter until about fifteen secondster, when all of the holes inside were filled with spiritual essence and he could insert no more. There was barely any weight left to Hollow Stone. Unfortunately, it was not light enough to float. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu pondered with a frown: the weight of this stone had something to do with its spiritual essence, but what about that impact force? He drew out the spiritual essence and returned the stone to its original state, then set up ayer of confinement and threw the stone at it with a third of his full strength. ¡°Thump!¡± The stone seemed to have knocked onto a transparent film and created an invisible fluctuation. The confinement remained intact. He increased power to half of his full strength and threw the stone out again. ¡°Bang!¡± The confinement flickered and shook a little as if it was about to copse. ¡°This is not a strong confinement, but the stone can break it with sheer force alone, that is indeed something.¡± In the next round of experiment, Gu Yu inserted two streaks of spiritual essence to fill the stone up, then added another 30% of his full strength. ¡°Bang!¡± The stone broke through the film and hurtled on, embedding itself into the wall. The entire house shuddered at the impact, shaking doors and windows. There was immediately a hubbub of noises outside. ¡°It¡¯s an earthquake! ¡°Earthquake! Run!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu grinned and took back the stone with a guilty conscience. He was pleasantly surprised, though. It was obvious that the impact force was rted to the strength of the throw and the amount of internal spiritual essence. Therger the two numbers, the more impact it would make. With that characteristic, his idea of refining a Sky-turning Seal might actuallye true. However, this one alone would not do the trick. Ideally, he would need an enormous piece with countless holes to make the refinement worthwhile. ¡°Knock, knock, knock!¡± ¡°Master, what happened? Are you all right?¡± He was still deep in his thoughts when Tao Yu¡¯s voice came from outside. ¡°I¡¯m ok. I was just doing research.¡± ¡°Oh, may Ie in?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± ¡°Squeak!¡± Tao Yu opened the door and walked in, acting as if he had not seen the dent on the wall, and only said, ¡°Master, I¡¯ve brought you all the old materials ourpany preserved. And these¡­¡± Somehow, he hesitated a little before taking out a few pouches and pushed them to Gu Yu. ¡°These are the things we wear ourselves. Please have a look.¡± The current jade market was in a rather chaotic state and shams were frequently passed off as genuine pieces. One could often run into stuff imed to be hundred-year-old jade, which was nothing but knock-offs. The ¡°hundred-year-old jades¡± one could find in open markets were all fake¡ªif one was lucky enough, maybe they could find some genuine pieces in the ck market. The age of a jade piece was counted after it was processed into a designed form. The raw stone state did not count, for they were considered embryos only. Both officially and unofficially, the oldest jade pieces private collectors held could be dated back to the Republic of China 1 era the furthest. There was hardly anything left from before that, not even from the Qing Dynasty. Even the jade pieces of the Republic of China era were mostly not obtained through proper means. For instant, many were dug out from graves and had gone through multiple transactions to dispose of such stolen goods. Such jade piece needed to be blessed by masters before wearing on person, and could no be shown to others after the new owners wore them. If it was shown to the others, the lifespan and the luck in making money of the owner would both be affected. These pieces worn by members of the Tao Family had all been processed by Tame Head masters to expel the evil energy. Technically speaking, they shouldn¡¯t be shown to any outsider, either. However, Mr. Gu was not an outsider, but a master. Hence, after much consideration, Tao Yu brought them along. ¡°Oh?¡± Gu Yu was intrigued. He opened each pouch in turn and saw that they contained two jade bracelets and two jade tes. None of them were exactly exquisite, but there was an energy about them that made one find it hard to put them down. ¡°Master, you have done us a great favor that we can¡¯t possibly return. If you like, feel free to take these little pieces back with you,¡± said Tao Yu. ¡°Haha, they¡¯re things you wear yourselves¡ªI can¡¯t deprive you of your precious belongings. To be able to have a look at them is more than enough.¡± Gu Yu yed around with them for a while, put them back into the pouches, and smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I want to look at those materials.¡± ¡°Oh, sure¡­¡± Tao Yu was genuinely surprised by that and was watching Gu Yu with even greater respect. He led Gu Yu downstairs to the right side of the courtyard, where the special warehouse for jade stones was. In it were three giant pieces of raw stones. Jade was known to be found in Diannan, and by this ¡°jade¡±, we usually referred to jadeite. Jade was a very broad concept and could be generally categorized into nephrite and jadeite. To list a few, Hetian Jade, Xiuyan Jade, Lantian Jade, Dushan Jade, topaz, aventurine, etc., all had ¡°jade¡± in theirmon name in Chinese. The three jade stones the Tao Family saved were two jadeite stones and one nephrite one, which were considered the most valuable pieces of their factory. Gu Yu was a little disappointed with them. However excellent these materials might be, they were nothing but ordinary objects¡ªsurpassed even by the green jade stone of Tianshan. They were good enough, though, for they could at least be made into jade slips to store information. Such was a demonstration of the distance between the two worlds: objects of the highest grade of the mortal world weremonmodity of the cultivation world. ¡°They¡¯ll do. I¡¯ll take them all. How much should I pay you?¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°¡­¡± Tao Yu pursed his lips and said decisively, ¡°I¡¯m offering these old materials to master for free. I want nothing in return, but only hope you could bless the Tao Family with an opportunity to make a connection with the immortal world.¡± With that, he fell to his knees. ¡°Oh my, please don¡¯t do this!¡± Gu Yu stopped his kowtowing in haste and said, ¡°To be honest, Phoenix Mountain will need quite arge amount of jade. I see you¡¯re an honest and courageous man and would like to extend our friendship into the long run. How do you like that?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, of course!¡± Tao Yu was ted, but then looked worried. ¡°However, Master, I think you might have heard, jade stone mines are growing fewer in numbers with stones of lower quality. If you only want materials of this grade, I¡¯m afraid¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll take stones slightly inferior to these as well¡ªor, inmon terms, anything above average will do.¡± ¡°Oh, that won¡¯t be a problem, then. We have a jade mine in Diannan mainly producing jade for the mid-market. You won¡¯t need to worry about the yield. The top-quality jade stones are all found in Myan and we have connections over there as well.¡± ¡°A jade mine?¡± Gu Yu gave it some thought and said, ¡°The spiritual essence is affecting things on various aspects and the jade mines may mutate as well; or new lodes might be taking shape as we speak¡­ here¡¯s what you¡¯ll do: get some rights to mining in advance, and from next year, Phoenix Mountain will send people here every year. Your job is to work with them and we¡¯ll take care of everything else.¡± ¡°Um, sure!¡± Tao Yu was astonished by this idea; this one was an ambitious boss he did not want to screw with. ¡°And there¡¯s one more thing. I promise you that as long as our rtionship holds, whenever a new baby is born into the Tao Family, we¡¯ll be here to examine it. Anyone with the right quality can go to Phoenix Mountain and be a cultivator.¡± Boom! Tao Yu thought his head was going to explode at those words. That was exactly what he hoped for the most. Right then, he forgot about everything else and was on his knees again. ¡°Thank you, Master!¡± *** The Kachin Hills, Hpakant jade stone quarry. If was one of the most important production areas of jadeite. The mining area was a long strip along the edge of the Kachin Hills, with an area of around 2071 km^2. The quarry was in the middle of nowhere. The nearest town was 113 km away, but since the day it was built, the ce had never been quiet. Aside from all the workers making a living here, all the high rollersing here to gamble on the jade stone were enough to make this ce a remote mountainous town with bright-lit nights that never slept. ¡°Luck is on my side. The one I just cut open was an ice one. Hahaha, I¡¯m settled for a whole year!¡± ¡°Not me. I¡¯ve thrown in a couple of millions and only got two peas!¡± ¡°Cheer up! Here, my treat today! We¡¯ll drink till we drop!¡± A Chinese and a man of Mya strolled into a club shoulder to shoulder. Standing in the shop window by the door were several youngdies dressed very ¡°modestly¡±, drawing much ¡°window-shopping¡± eyes. Mia Lwin was in an armybat uniform with a thick cigar between his teeth. He watched all the high rollers going to and fro from his jeep and in his eyes were both disdain and excitement. He despised these weak rich people, but was excited at the fortune these weaklings brought in. Mia Lwin was Soe Win¡¯s most valuable employee, who was ordered to guard the quarry. Soe Win used to be a general in the government. After the downfall of the head of the country, everything went chaotic and Soe Win decided to be his own boss. He was now fighting violently against the two other forces. Hpakant was a strategic town that had changed hands multiple times. Despite the change in jurisdiction, every force was treating the Tuhao with courtesy¡ªno one wanted to turn the ATM machines away. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Mia Lwin sucked deep into his cigar and puffed out a mouthful of smoke loudly. He was a little ¡°restless¡± from watching those little tarts in the window and wanted to get some ¡°release¡± somewhere. Well, he wasn¡¯t nning to pay¡­ He was a man of action and hopped out of the vehicle right away. Looking around, he took in the lights around him and the dark night in the distance, which were in a stark contrast. He had been here for a month and still couldn¡¯t get used to the ce! This was not a natural habitat for any human being! He couldn¡¯t leave the site for more than a hundred meters at night, or the mosquitos would devour him. Wagging his head, he strode out in his leather boots. Mia Lwin swaggered to somewhere ahead, where a row of bungalows were. His freepanion for the night was there. ¡°Rustle!¡± A few steps out, the branches outside the fence swayed suddenly and the trees moved into a blur, as if ghosts were lurking behind. Before he had a chance to look more closely, a shadow pounced at him. His vision went dark and he passed out. Mia Lwin had no idea how much time had passed when he woke up. He realized he was lying in a clearing surrounded by tall trees. Log fire was burning in the middle, by which sat a stooped and emaciated old woman. Her face and shadow seemed to be moving with me. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± Mia Lwin cried out in fear and scrambled backwards on all fours. Neither the face nor the shadow belonged to a human. He did not know this person, but had heard enough folklore growing up: deep in the Kachin Hills was the God, the old woman¡­ ¡°Shut up!¡± The old woman frowned and flipped her fingers, sealing up the man¡¯s mouth. She then said in a hoarse voice, ¡°You will follow my orders. My pupil Thant Tun was killed. I don¡¯t care how you do it, but you¡¯re going to find me the killer!¡± Chapter 315 Chapter 315: The Kachin Hills Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The road was a long one. A vehicle had been driving all the way here from Tengchong, which was a several-hundred-kilometer journey. Finally, it slowly pulled over by the side of the road at dusktime. Xiaojin hopped off, stretching out her slender body, which had to curl up in the vehicle this entire time. Her long legs kicked the ground, making a small gust of wind that sent sand and stone flying. ¡°Master, this is as far as I can go.¡± Tao Yu pointed at the endless stretches of mountains on the north and asked anxiously, ¡°Those are the Kachin Hills. Are you sure about this?¡± ¡°Haha, we¡¯re already here so we might as well get it over with. I¡¯ve climbed enough mountains so far; this is just going to be another one.¡± Gu Yu chuckled. ¡°No, the Kachin Hills are not just some other mountains: it¡¯s the home of devils. Other mountains have natural resources, but these ones have nothing but poisonous creatures. If you run out of food, you won¡¯t be able to find anything to eat.¡± ¡°Yada yada yada. Gimme what we need and we¡¯re off!¡± Xiaojin was growing impatient. ¡°You¡¯re entering tonight?¡± Tao Yu was all the more frightened. He thought they would at least find a vige to stay the night, but these two were unstoppable! ¡°All right, we won¡¯t need you waiting on us. It¡¯s too unsafe out here. You can go back to Ruili first.¡± Gu Yu patted him on the shoulder, took out two giant backpacks, and dashed into the mountain with Little Soap at his heels. ¡°Why¡­¡± Tao Yu opened his mouth, but seeing Miss Jiang hopping around as if on a pic, he said nothing in the end. The Kachin Hills stretched out for nearly 300 km, had an altitude of 3411 m, and 70% of their area was untouched. Rumor was that Bigfoot was found roaming around the mountains, along with Monpa People, who were still in the sh-and-burn era. The mountains had two known features: they were damp and hot. Rows upon rows of mountain peaks rose into the distance, each one higher than another; the swamps seemed boundless and the forests were infested with all sorts of ferocious beasts. It was September at the moment, an especially vicious time of the year, for with the rainy season, mosquitoes and leeches were in their most active period, spreading diseases such as mria, tetanus, and sepsis, which were all highly infectious. Back then during the wartime, the Chinese expeditionary army took this route to return to their homnd and lost more than half of their soldiers in these mountains. Some got lost and starved to death, some were killed by miasma, boas, leeches, rats, and fevers from mosquito bites, while some jumped off cliffs or shot themselves. Even before that, three Japanese divisions also disappeared in these mountains and never came out. Right now, however, we were looking at apletely different picture. With the backpack on her back, Xiaojin was happily chewing her bubble gum. She blew out a bubble and drew it back with a popping sound¡ªapparently, that was a very flexible tongue of hers. ¡°Brother-inw, were you like this too when you were out exploring with my sister?¡± ¡°We were only searching in tourist areas back then and at least the environment was nice. It really is very ufortable here.¡± Looking around, Gu Yu raised his alert by a whole level. There was daylight still when they entered. However, less than twenty minutes had passed and the sun waspletely blocked out. Everywhere they turned, they were surrounded by squashy, thick leaves¡ªespecially under their feet, where ck liquid would spurt out wherever they stepped. One had no idea what they were stepping on. ording to the staff of the auction, the Hollow Stone was found somewhere near Hpakant jade quarry, but they did not record the exact location and only knew the general direction. The two simply decided to forget about what route they should take and started their journey from one side of the slope, from where they nned to traverse to the other side. ¡°Brother-inw, what are we having for the nighttime snack? How about a rabbit? Oh, he said there aren¡¯t many small animals here¡­ why, how about snakes, or mushroom¡ª sh*t!¡± Xiaojin gabbed as she walked and stumbled sideways unexpectedly, as if she had tripped on something. She swept the ground with one foot and kicked up a long bone. The bone had a very bizzare color. Because of the extremely damp weather, it was dposing so slowly that a strange mould was growing on its surface, together with a lot of tiny red worms. ¡°Is it from a human?¡± She was not frightened at all. ¡°A leg bone, probably. Maybe some beast has eaten it. Just leave it alone.¡± Gu Yu did not think much of it and walked on leading his sister-inw. A momentter, with a crackling sound, he stepped on one as well. Xiaojin herself hit the jackpot¡ªshe unearthed a human skull. ¡°Is this a freaking graveyard?¡± She scratched her shoes on the tree trunk, quite annoyed. The next second, her eyes caught something. ¡°Hey, something¡¯s over there!¡± She trotted over and pulled a rifle out of a pile of rotten leaves. She was at a loss at this finding. ¡°Do you know anything about this?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Gu Yu was not a military enthusiast and only learned about guns when he practiced shooting. He said doubtfully, ¡°I think it was made in Hanyang? I¡¯m not sure, but it looks like one.¡± ¡°Made in Hanyang? The weapon of the expeditionary army?¡± Xiaojin blinked and scanned the ground, then said in amazement, ¡°Are you saying these are all remains of the soldiers?¡± ¡°Very likely.¡± An idea struck Gu Yu and he looked at Little Soap again. ¡°Bury them all you want. Why are you looking at me?¡± She was as blunt as always. ¡°Haha, in that case, bear with me.¡± He grinned. He examined the terrain first, then walked to a spot that seemed like the center of this area and began to activate the Small Moving Technique. ¡°Come!¡± ¡°Crack!¡± All of a sudden, the rotten leaves tumbled and the poisonous miasma that had been buried beneath for a century erupted all at once, which shook leaves off the trees and sent wind howling as if ghosts were crying in the woods. The dposed remains gathered in front of him, soon piling into a ck mound. Gu Yu put a ragged army cap on the top of the mound, and with a sh, ming Cloud Needles materialized in midair. ¡°Zhoujue Pce marks the dwelling of the emperor and Liangshi Pce forms mountains; they shine so bright that they seem to burn the sky and the light dances like the sun. Mingchen Pce is sharp as a sword and Huzhao Pce towers over green mountains; the front gates open to the refinement well and the verdant forest. Qifei Pce and Lianyuan Pce both lead to spectacr spirits and devils. All six heavens cross the northern sky and the heroes rest in peace here. Go!¡± He chanted the Soul-appeasing Spell he learnt from Chao Kongtu and sent the red me through the tip of the pile of bones. The damp remains burst into me right away, emanating an intense, unbearable stench. ¡°Whoosh!¡± Gu Yu waved with both hands and a breeze arrived, refreshing the air, and the stench soon dissipated, leaving behind a fire that was burning softly. After a while, the pile of bones was consumed in the fire, but there was not a single spec of ash left. All that was left was a dry ground that had been warmed up. ¡°¡­¡± Despite her temperament, Xiaojin watched this simple, crude, yet unusual ritual in silence. Gu Yu picked up his backpack and gave the ce a final look, then sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± *** The two had been walking for over three hours after entering the mountains. Outside, night had already fallen; inside, it was so frighteningly dark that ordinary people could not see things five meters away. It felt as if lurking ghosts were closing in, ready to devour one any moment. Although they could see in the darkness, there was no point wasting their energy. They couldn¡¯t find any dry and even ground and ended up hanging up their hammocks on two trees they found. Xiaojin¡¯s hammock was above and Gu Yu¡¯s below. Theyy there in the swaying beds, which were surprisinglyfortable. ¡°¡­¡± Silence filled the mountain and darkness filled their eyes. Every now and then, there was a crackling sound of some animal knocking into their confinement. Little Soap was making little noise and seemed to have fallen asleep. Gu Yuy there with his eyes closed as a million things went through his head. He had lost count of time when a question came from above. ¡°Did my sister and you sleep like this every time you went out searching?¡± ¡°Well, sometimes we got to sleep on an even ground; other times we might not get to sleep at all. Hammocks are a treat, believe it or not.¡± ¡°¡­¡± There was a brief silence and she said, ¡°Brother-inw, it¡¯s nice toe out with you. I¡¯m really happy.¡± ¡®!!!¡¯ Gu Yu was about to turn to his side, but froze at those words. He remained in an unnatural position for a couple of seconds before replying, ¡°You¡¯ll know what¡¯s it like after a few more trips. This is your first time venturing out. That¡¯s why everything looks interesting to you.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll still be happy and still finding everything interesting. I just know it. Growing up, no one cared what I did. My mum was nasty to me and although dad was nice, I didn¡¯t like the way he treated me. My sister was the only one I found awesome, even if she beat me all the time¡­ um, now I find you pretty nice too. To be honest, I¡¯ve always wanted someone like you to be my¡­¡± Every nerve of Gu Yu was tensed up and sweat covered his head. Three fingers of his hand seemed to be having a fever, while the other two had gone ice cold¡­ ¡®Where is this ce? Who am I? I think my sister-inw is going to reveal her feelings to me, what should I do? I need answers now! It¡¯s an emergency!¡¯ He was all flustered when he heard the rest of the sentence, ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted someone like you to be my brother¡­¡± ¡®Phew!¡¯ Gu Yu could finally breathe. ¡®A brother! That can totally work for me!¡¯ ¡°Sigh, you know what my sister¡¯s like. I¡¯ve been worried about her since we were little. What would be of her? It turns out okay, though. You¡¯re not exactly Mr. Right, but you¡¯re at least Mr. Alright. I like you two as a couple.¡± Maybe it was because of the surroundings, Xiaojin was not her usual self tonight and let her emotions show. ¡°Haha, I guess a thank you is obligatory, then. Forget about us two; you¡¯ll find your Mr. Right someday and live happily ever after.¡± Gu Yu chuckled. ¡°Ha! No, thanks! Life is boring enough, why do I have to put myself through something even more boring? I choose having fun every time¡­ well, no stars tonight. Sleep tight!¡± Xiaojin turned in her hammock and mumbled in jabberwocky. The trip seemed to have exhausted her and she soon fell asleep. Chapter 316 Chapter 316: The Native Man Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Hiss!¡± A taupe brown viper was slithering through the rotten and damp fallen leaves. The purple speckles along its back melted into the surrounding purple weeds, making the perfect protective coloration. The highly venomous vipers were well-known worldwide. September was their breeding season, when they roamed around with a voracious appetite. It was also the time they injured the most people. Right now, it was lurking behind a thick growth of grass, staring at the human beings not far away in detest with its cold vertical pupils. It was nning on dealing a deadly blow. ¡°Sizzle!¡± However, before it could bounce out, there was a strange noise iprehensible to the intelligence of a snake. All it knew was the surrounding air suddenly turned unbelievably hot, which wrapped itself inside, then¡­ it turned into skewered meat. ¡°E, viper again. They taste so funny!¡± Xiaojin picked it up by the tail with disdain and casually tossed it aside. The charred body of the snake ended up dangling from a branch. She pursed her lips. ¡°Aren¡¯t there supposed to be Burmese pythons in these mountains? Howe we never saw one? I heard they¡¯re like seven or eight meters long. Wow, that¡¯s a lot of meat.¡± ¡°Gosh, careful on triggering the g. Maybe you¡¯ll bump into one in a minute,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Whatever. It¡¯s your job to handle it anyway,¡± Xiaojin said matter-of-factly. ¡°What are you goggling at me for? I don¡¯t have any refined instrument. How am I supposed to fight it?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Well, she was actually telling the truth. If nothing else, Little Soap had at least achieved perfection of her Metal Thunder, but she had not yet had her own refined instrument. That was a little humiliating. ¡°How about this? If we find the lode of Hollow Stone, you can refine one for yourself first.¡± ¡°A Sky-turning Seal? That¡¯s a bit cliche, isn¡¯t it? A brick, on the other hand, would be quite unique,¡± said Xiaojin. ¡°Unique my a*s! You can¡¯t just refine anything. It has to reflect, well, sort of you own understanding. It¡¯splicated. I¡¯ll exin to you when we go back home.¡± Gu Yu sighed helplessly. He could put up with this younger sister-inw¡¯s bullsh*t most of the time, but when cultivation was concerned, he thought it wise to make her y by the book. It was their third day in the mountain. They weren¡¯t moving at a very quick pace and were only halfway through their journey so far. It was because they were constantly stumbling upon the remains of soldiers on their way and since they had done it once, there was no reason not to keep at it. The burning ritual had thus taken up much of their time. To say the environment of the Kachin Hills was abominable was an understatement. Ordinary people would find the strange climate in the mountains impossible to withstand, not to mention all kinds of miasma and poisonous vermin. It was humid, hot, smothering, sticky¡­ imagine yourself locked up in a sauna house wearing thick clothes while a dozendles of cold water was being poured over the charcoal box, making the sizzling sound. Well, that was how one felt in these mountains. Had it not been for the protection of their confinement, they would have been soaked through by sweat and the damp air; their skin could have been festered and peeling off. Marching for long in such an environment surrounded by nothing but towering trees, and with the absence of the sky, signs, or roads, one was easily disoriented. They walked for another while and Gu Yu found something was amiss. ¡°I¡¯ll go up and have a look. Wait here.¡± With that, he aimed at a 30-meter-tall tree, activated his spiritual essence, and leapt, which took him over ten meters into the air. If he were still at a level of the beginning of this year, he would step on the tree trunk now to gain some momentum before dashing further upwards. However, now that he was in the air, he felt he still had energy to spare and his movement was unhindered. Hence, he decided to give it a go. As a result, he used neither any medium nor Taoist skills, but worked on his body and spiritual essence alone, which pushed him up for another seven or eight meters. When he was halfway up the tree, he finally felt his energy draining up. He immediately kicked on the tree trunk and stepped onto the crown. There, he could see the sky, the pale clouds above, and the endless unblocked view on all sides. However, Gu Yu was in no mood to savor any of that. All he could think of was the wonderful feeling he experienced just then. The Dan pills he had taken for the past six months had indeed made a great difference to his cultivation. He was on the threshold of reaching the Human Immortal state. One step further and he would be in another new world. Dao, or Qi, was the origin of everything in this universe. Cultivation itself was a process of returning one to their origin: Qi transformed into men, men cultivated into Qi, which then turned to Dao again. As remarkable as the innate state was, those of that state were still human. Human Immortal state, on the other hand, had the word ¡°immortal¡± in it. Therefore, Gu Yu was faintly feeling that after reaching the Human Immortal state, one¡¯s spiritual essence would change substantially. His body, flesh, meridians, orifices, etc., would be different from how they were now. Take the experience just then as an example. From what he felt, he honestly believed that Human Immortals could fly. Those thoughts aside, he was now standing on the crown of the tree and looking into the distance. The vast forest rustled in waves and the swaying branches moved like an ocean. Green and blue seemed to be the only color left in this world. To his northwest, about two hours¡¯ walk away, the terrain was t and open and he could see houses and human activities there. It was probably where Hpakant jade quarry was. To his northeast, he could see a barend, which was the only area in this mountain not covered by trees. Instead, there were giant rocks striped with yellowish brown and shades of gray. He himself, on the other hand, was in the middle section of the entire mountain range. Those two ces and his own spot formed an equteral triangle. ¡°Whoosh!¡± After making sure of their whereabouts, hended lightly on his feet. ¡°The jade quarry is on the northwest and there seems to be a rock hill on the northeast. Let¡¯s check out thetter first.¡± *** The journey followed was uneventful. About two hourster, they arrived at the rock hill. It was about a hundred meter tall and they could barely make out the the starting and finishing point of the slopes. The yellow and gray of the rock made it look like a dead tumor among all the green of the Kachin Hills. ¡°Crack!¡± Gu Yu casually snapped a piece off the rock and examined it. ¡°This is justmon sedimentary rock. There¡¯s nothing unusual about it and the reactivity of the spiritual essence is also very stagnant.¡± ¡°Let me check¡­ ah, it¡¯s the same over here! So is here! And here!¡± Xiaojin could not stay still. She ran around, breaking off little pieces as she moved, but found nothing. They had no choice but to jump onto the top of the hill, which was a little more pleasant than ming Mountain¡ªat least it was home to quite a few types of short vegetation and did not look dead. Gu Yu found a spot and waved his hand. With a series of popping sounds, over sixty me Cloud Needles he refined so far were all released into the air. They turned into dots of red me and sparkled in mid-air. Together, all these shiny dots formed an enshrouding halo as if a red sun had descended. ¡°Go!¡± At his clear voice, the ming needles moved about until they were linked up end to end, turning into a ming dragon. The clouds seemed to be stirred by its movement as it turned its head downwards and dashed, boring into the hill and sending shards of stones flying everywhere. ¡®Sh*t!¡¯ Xiaojin blinked and moved closer, crouching down so that she could look into the hole the dragon just drilled. It was as thick as a teacup and abysmally deep. She could not see how far it went in. She even dug around a little with her finger andplimented, ¡°Good for you, Brother-inw. This thing is going deeper beyond my sister¡¯s reach! Why, if the me Cloud Needles are so powerful, why don¡¯t you make more of them? If you have a thousand of these, you can solve everything with one blow.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll be sitting there embroidering for the rest time of my life. Plus, I don¡¯t have enough energy to work that many needles.¡± Gu Yu rolled his eyes at her and waved his hand again. ¡°Back!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± There was another shower of broken stone and the ming dragon flew out of the rock, carrying with it many samples of stone from inside the hill. He checked them in turn and frowned. ¡°No Hollow Stone. Let¡¯s try the other side.¡± After that, they moved to another spot, drilled again, and surveyed again. The ming dragon made five holes in a row and Gu Yu waspletely exhausted, but Hollow Stone was nowhere to be found. ¡°Could it be the only one and the real lode has not taken shape yet?¡± Gu Yu sat on the ground and drank his spiritual liquor to regain his energy. He said with a frown, ¡°It can¡¯t be. It¡¯s very unlikely that there is only one such stone. But I can¡¯t find anything resembling a mine here apart from this ce.¡± ¡°What shall we do?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have another look around. If nothing shows up, we¡¯ll have no choice but to go back.¡± ¡°Then, then we¡¯re here for nothing!¡± Xiaojin was very unhappy about this and pouted. ¡°Just think about all the things we went through. What did we get? We walked around in this lousy ce for three whole days!¡± ¡°Hey, you shouldn¡¯t put it that way. Many things will turn out fruitless no matter what you do, but surely nothing wille out of it if you choose not to do anything from the start.¡± He tried to make it into a lecture. ¡°Tsk! Save your chicken soup for the soul. Who told you nothing wille out of doing nothing? Plenty of men ended up with pregnant wives without actually doing anything.¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re just switching concept. Don¡¯t argue just for the sake of arguing.¡± ¡°So what? I¡¯m not happy!¡± Little Soap could be so adorable at times, but there were also times that one was more than happy to smother her. Right now, she was pushing towards thetter. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She walked away abruptly. ¡°Hey, where are you going?¡± The worried brother-inw was about to chase after her. ¡°Empty my bowels!¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Ok, he wasn¡¯t going to look into that. Gu Yu was actually very disappointed himself, but he was not as ¡°extrovert¡± about it as his sister-inw. He moved a little further from the spot and resumed drinking his liquor leaning on a big rock, while considering their next move. ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± Just then, there came a devastating (exhrated, actually) scream. He shuddered and ran towards the direction. He stopped almost immediately. The plot always went like this: no matter what had just happened, he would arrive there seeing things he should not be seeing. The girl would then whimper in coyness, fall into his arms, and they would begin to ¡°interact¡±. ¡°¡­¡± Hence, he calmly turned around and returned to his spot. ¡°Hahaha! Speak of the devil! Wow, you¡¯re so fleshy!¡± As expected, after the scream came the jubtion. An explosion seemed to be going off over there. With the thumping noises of fistsnding on a sandbag, a giant shadow was sent flying into mid-air before smashing down to the ground. ¡®Wow!¡¯ Gu Yu turned to look and saw that it was one of the bosses of the Kachin Hills: a Burmese python! It was the secondrgest species of snakes in Asia that could grow to seven to eight meters, had a ferocious temperament, and was very strong. This rock hill was probably its territory. Unfortunately, it ran into Little Soap. The python was as good as an earthworm now. ¡°Hiss!¡± The python shook it head. Its vertical pupils were losing focus and it was disoriented from all the beating. It was quick-witted for a snake, though. The next moment, it dashed out for a dozen meters and began to flee down the hill. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Xiaojin was still holding her pants up with one hand as she chased after the python. ¡°Hiss!¡± The python slithered and tumbled, reaching the forest in no time. It then crushed its way in, taking cover in the natural camouge. Little Soap was looking for a target to vent her frustration and this sandbag just happen to fall into herp. There was no way she would let it escape. After a while, she saw the woods ahead was densely covered with bushes and vines, which was to her great satisfaction. ¡°You¡¯re going nowhere!¡± With that, she leapt out and flew onto a branch, as swift as a young swallow. Shended light-footedly and steadily, then with a p of her hands, a big green gourd appeared. She aimed the opening at the python and yelled, ¡± Star-sucking Method! 1 ¡± Instantly, there was a sound of blood flowing. The python turned rigid right away and was shrinking at a speed observable to the unaided eyes. Vitality was racing out of it rapidly until its skin went loose and it was dead. ¡°Wow, this is good for a lot of medicine.¡± She weighed the big gourd in her hand and nodded with satisfaction. Then with a grabbing gesture, she removed the big galldder and two fangs. After cleaning out the dead body, she darted a look at the bush and said, ¡°Come out now. I know you¡¯re there!¡± ¡°¡­¡± There was no reply. ¡°Come out. I know you¡¯re a human being, or you¡¯d be dead by now.¡± Xiaojin put away her gourd and moved closer. There was a rustle in the bushes, and after a moment, a man walked out. He wore a short white top and no pants. Instead, a cloth 30 cm wide and a meter long hung loosely around his waist to hide his private part, which was not doing a very good job, for the ck and long thing was dangling there for everyone to see. What was more amazing was that its tip was wrapped around by white threads. She had no idea what sort of custom that was, but it looked very, um, sacred? Other than that, he had a machete and steel flint hanging from his waist and a coarse cloth bag over his shoulder. He stood there astonished and panicked. *** Pakka was a decent young man of Monpa. He was sturdy, swarthy, had strongly defined facial features, and very full lips, all of which were fitting for a handsome man in his n. Of course, his name was not as handsome¡ª¡±pakka¡± meant pig manure in his native tongue. As Confucius once said (not), with so many ups and downs in one¡¯s life, a base name gave one a better chance to grow up safely. The Monpa People had a long history. They were found in China as well, but their lifestyle over there was much different, which had integrated with the Tibetan culture. Over here in Myan, they lived in a more primitive state and still followed their ancient traditions. ¡°Ancient¡± was a rtive term, though. Pakka¡¯s n consisted of several hundred members living deep in the Kachin Hills. They had low productivity, but were not at the sh-and-burn stage as in the rumors. After all, they lived in this modern world and the jade quarry was not far. They had enough contact with the outside world. Today, he went to the jade quarry to trade for salt with a bag of native products. He took a shortcut on his way back, which went through the territory of the python. As mountain dwellers, they knew the area well enough to avoid the danger. As it turned out, that python that had been frightening his nsmen rolled down the rock hill and was sucked dry right in front of his eyes by an ugly woman. Yes, her legs were so long, her waist so tiny, and her breasts so thin. She looked hideous! ¡°Why, you¡¯re a native man. Can you understand me?¡± Xiaojin was amazed at this discovery. She tried all she could tomunicate with the man, but he just stared back with a nk face. She pursed her lips. ¡°Tsk, so it¡¯s true¡ªsize and brain, you can¡¯t have it both.¡± Since there was no one else to turn to, she could only shout at the top of her voice, ¡°Brother-inw! Brother-inw!¡± ¡°Coming!¡± Nanny Gu flew to her side at the calling and was also amazed. ¡°So the Monpa People are real. I always thought it just another legend.¡± He moved closer and touched the man¡¯s forehead with the tip of his finger, then sent in a streak of mental force as he did with the spiritual ginseng. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Ah! Ah! Hm¡­$%^&*#$%*&!¡± Pakka almost had a stroke. There was suddenly a second voice in his head and he could understand what it was saying! ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. We¡¯re not bad people. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Ah! Ah!¡± The Monpa People followed primitive beliefs. Watching this man in front of him, Pakka fell to his knees with a thump and prostrated on the ground. He mumbled a few words in his native tongue. ¡°God¡­ ghost¡­¡± Chapter 317 Chapter 317: My Precious! Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The n was in a rtively primitive state. The vige took up a ratherrge area, surrounded by thick and hard wooden fence on all sides. There was no distinct road inside and the ground was dry and messy. Most of the houses were wooden- or straw-roofed and had two stories and stone walls. People lived on the top floor and the livestock was kept below. Each wooden house was equipped with an open balcony with a leaf mat overhead which seemed to be where they entertained their guests. What stood out the most, though, were the pestle-shaped objects hanging down from every beam that closely resembled male members¡ªapparently a fertility worship of some sort. A couple of hundred residents lived here. They were now sitting outside their houses in twos and threes; some were doingundry, some were tanning hides, and some were smoking their crude tobo. Men all dressed pretty much the same, while women wore loose corless and sleeveless robes and long colorful skirts with a small piece of cowhide hanging down their backs. They were happy to see their handsome boy return, but were curious and nervous to see the two strangers behind him. ¡°#$%^, ^%$#!¡± Pakka greeted his fellow nsmen along the way as he led the two to thergest wooden building. An old man with grizzled beard walked out and engaged in a conversation with Pakka. The old man shook his head in a while, apparently not believing Pakka. It got Pakka anxious. He turned around and began to gesticte in a flurry. ¡°Haha¡­¡± Gu Yu chuckled, went up to the old man, and sent out his greeting with a streak of mental force. ¡°Nice to meet you, grandfather!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ hm¡­¡± The old man opened his eyes widely and his beard quivered as if he was seeing a ghost or a god. After all, he did not be the n¡¯s leader for nothing and demonstrated his resolution right away. He saluted them with a bow and invited them into the house. Pakka left and the three went upstairs¡ªthe balcony was indeed where they sat down. The Monpa People were very hospitable. The old man set out a tableful of fruit and wine along with some pasty thing held by wide leaves, which reminded one of poo¡­ Xiaojin looked around the table and finally picked up a fruit. As she bit into it, her tongue buried into the squashy red pulp and she began to salivate uncontrobly. ¡°Ssss! That¡¯s so goddamn sour!¡± She stuck her tongue out, wrinkled up her face, and shook her body around with clenched fists. Gu Yu ignored her. Because themunication method was rather time-consuming, he saved all the pleasantries and said directly, ¡°We¡¯re looking for a kind of stone. It¡¯s big but very light¡ªlike this one.¡± He took out a small piece of Hollow Stone and passed it to the old man. ¡°Oh?¡± The head of the n looked at it closely, weighed it up and down in his hand, and suddenly shouted to someone downstairs. Before long, a young man ran up. The two exchanged some words in their nativenguage and the n¡¯s head turned to Gu Yu. ¡°This is Pemba. No one knows the big mountain like this young man does. He knows about this strange stone.¡± ¡°Are there reserves of it?¡± Gu Yu was cheered up by those words. ¡°¡­¡± The head was not familiar with the term ¡°reserves¡±, but could guess what it meant. ¡°There are some.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. Please help me in this. We have these for you in return.¡± He thought about giving them money and medicine at first, but on the second thought, he opened his backpack and poured out all the bits and bobs. ¡°These are candies¡­ that¡¯spacted ration¡­ that¡¯s canned meat¡­ oh, these are condiments.¡± He focused on introducing the set of bagged condiments. They were in neat little bags that represented all the merits of modern packaging technology. There were salt, msg, pepper, chilli powder, the whole shebang. The old man was indeed delighted by such a gift and his face lit up like a blossoming rose. He nodded repeatedly. ¡°Sure, sure, it¡¯s no trouble at all.¡± *** Many might not be familiar with this, but there was an ancient rule in jade business. Deep in every mountain that jade stones were found, there lived an old master. The title was passed on from one generation to the next and each master would choose suitable children as their pupils who would be sent to live deep in the mountains and trained for necessary skills. There, they would explore the terrain and learn about every single nt of the mountain. Anyone nning to go into the mountains for jade stones had to visit the master beforehand and could only proceed after obtaining permission from thetter. This procedure was known as ¡°visiting the master¡±. Even the government had to rely on such masters when they tried to find ancient graves in the mountains. The Monpa People were no masters, but they knew the Kachin Hills like the back of their hand after living here for generations. After the thousand-year-long exploitation, the Hpakant quarry had barely anything left. One had to turn to the Monpa if they wanted some top-notch stones. ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Crack!¡± A shiny machete hacked down, cutting down a branch as think as an adult arm. The leaves shuffled and three people filed out¡ªthey were Gu Yi, Xiaojin, and Pemba. They set out as soon as Gu Yu reached an agreement with the n¡¯s head. Pemba was a little more lively than Pakka. Despite thenguage difficulty, he was gesturing around the entire time, trying to make himself understood. The three left the vige and headed east. The ce they were looking for was somewhere to the northeast of the rock hill. They had been walking for an hour now; the boundless mountains and dense woods just seemed to stretch on without an end. ¡°Puggy, are we ever going to get there?¡± Xiaojin was impatient with the trek. She addressed Pemba, but was actually nudging her brother-inw. Gu Yu made an estimation and said, ¡°We¡¯re almost there. We¡¯ve covered about two-thirds of the distance.¡± ¡°You said that twenty minutes ago!¡± Little Soap pursed her lips. She couldn¡¯t walk in peace, but had to hop up and down, or y with a toad she caught out of the blue. She managed to walk like this for another while when she looked around and saw a deep valley ahead to her right. She instantly wanted to have a look inside. ¡°Ah! Ah! Ah¡­¡± She was two steps into that direction when Pemba howled as if he was having a heart attack. Color drained from his face as he waved his hands frantically. He dragged Xiaojin back in a flurry. ¡°Sh*t, what¡¯s wrong with you? What¡¯s with that ce?¡± She jumped at his reaction. ¡°Um, ah!¡± Pemba pointed at the valley, apparently greatly agitated and horrified. ¡®Wow!¡¯ The more he overreacted, the more eagerly Xiaojin wanted to see it for herself. She stomped the ground, leapt up, and dashed into that direction. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll dispel whatever evil that is in there¡­ oops!¡± She only managed to run out for a few meters before she flew backwards like a rewound video. The next second, she smashed into her brother-inw¡¯s arms. ¡°Stop messing around! We have work to do!¡± Gu Yu set his sister-inw back on the ground and was a little crossed. ¡°Oh!¡± Xiaojin knew when to behave and did not retort. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu then looked at the valley. It was gloomy, terrifying, and ck fog seemed to be rising out of it. Further in was a dense forest too deep to see through. Some unfathomable danger seemed to be lurking there. *** After a full two-hour march, the three finally stopped. To others, this ce looked the same as everywhere else, but not to Pemba. In his head, the entire Kachin Hills had turned into an HD map. ¡°This is it?¡± Little Soap walked around and asked doubtfully, ¡°There¡¯s nothing but trees here. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s still buried underground.¡± ¡°Um, um¡­¡± Pemba nodded repeated and swept the ground with his hands. The thickyers of rotten leaves were removed, revealing the tip of a stone. Gu Yu went up to it and explored with his mental force: there were small holes inside with roaming spiritual essence. It was Hollow Stone! He sigh in relief and smiled. ¡°Thank you for taking us here. We¡¯ll have a look first.¡± With that, he scanned the terrain, moved back a little, and activated the Small Moving Technique. The Jiang Sisters both loved drama, while Gu Yu and Xiao Qiu were the pragmatic ones. There was no strange movement or sudden gust of wind. The rotten leaves, mud, and the surface soil simply disappeared from where they were and a small mound suddenly appeared on a nearby spot. ¡°God¡­ god¡­ ghost¡­¡± Pemba dropped to his knees and prostrated in reverence. Before long, Gu Yu stopped his maneuvering when the topyers were cleaned away. Starting from that tip of the stone, he circled out a giant oval-shaped area. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, this is howrge this Hollow Stone is.¡± Holy crap! Xiaojin was dazed like a cat sitting on a fish hill. That was freaking enormous! ¡°Stop staring. Come here and help me!¡± Gu Yu beckoned at her. She ran happily to him and asked, ¡°Are we digging it out?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s try digging first. Pile the soil over there. Don¡¯t block the road.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Right away, they both activated the Small Moving Technique and began digging. As the saying went, a brother-inw and a sister-inw made the perfect working buddies. The mound grew higher and Pemba¡¯s mouth opened bigger and bigger. When the mound was about seven or eight meters high, they finally saw the entire Hollow Stone. ¡°That¡¯s humongous!¡± After all the arduous journey and the toil of mind, Xiaojin finally saw her precious. She could not keep her eyes off it. Her rough estimation of the big stone was about 22 meter in length. The height remained unknown and the thickest part was eight meters. It was a shuttle-shaped stone. If it were a jade stone, something this size would weigh at least 2000 tons, but it was a Hollow Stone instead¡­ ¡°Move away. Let¡¯s see if I can lift it out.¡± Gu Yu asked the other two to make some room for him, then he activated his spiritual essence, shouting, ¡°Up!¡± ¡°Rumble!¡± The giant stone shook a little. ¡°Up!¡± he shouted again and turned his spiritual essence full on. A violent fluctuation wrapped around the stone and the Small Moving Technique worked its magic. ¡°Thump!¡± With a loud noise, the half-buried giant stone disappeared from where it was and showed up again on the ground. ¡®Wow!¡¯ It was only until then that the three got to see the entire stone. It was as tall as 12 meters and looked like a small rock hill. ¡°Hahahaha!¡±Xiaojinnced herself at it and spread her arms around the Hollow Stone. She was over the moon. ¡°Precious! My precious! Mine!¡± *** Hpakant, night. The jade stone quarry was brightly lit. The mines were closed at this hour, but the residential quarter was filled with liveliness¡ªthe nightlife had just begun. There were 33 fields (mines) here each with its own jade-gambling casinos and the hotels, clubs, and brothels derived from the gambling business. The ce was the size of a small town. Mongkant was a newly-opened mine. Jade stones were rtively abundant here, and so were the customers. Right now, high rollers from every corner of the world were gathering inside the jade-gambling casino shouting at a table. ¡°Full stone! Full stone!¡± ¡°Old Wang, that¡¯s some luck you got there. Sell it while you still can!¡± ¡°Sell my a*s! Let¡¯s see!¡± A Myanese master had a raw stone in hand and scraped off the topyer, revealing a translucent-emerald color inside. In jade-gambling, there was this saying: scraping open would not raise the price, cutting it open would. It might give one a green color with a scrape, but the stone could turn out to be a hollow one after all. But the possibility was looking good, so the price of the stone was bound to rise with a green scrape. Right now, some other customer was yelling, ¡°Old Wang, I¡¯ll give you 900,000 for that! Sell it to me!¡± ¡°900,000 is pretty generous. This raw stone was only 300,000.¡± Everyone was talking at the same time, but Old Wang ignored them. After a pause, he told the master, ¡°Cut it!¡± ¡°Good for you!¡± ¡°Now, show me what¡¯s inside!¡± The onlookers were there for the fun if nothing else. They couldn¡¯t care less what the result was. The master gave Old Wang a thumbs-up, turned on his machine, and cut down. The stone was in two halves. It split open, showing two halves both full of green. ¡°Sh*t! The man¡¯s gonna be rich!¡± ¡°They¡¯re mostly pea-sized ones, but the quality is pretty good. Old Wang has been losing several days in a roll and luck is finally on his side.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take it for two million!¡± Old Wang was delighted at this good fortune and retorted with aughter, ¡°Oh, shut up! Two million for a full one? Are you taking me for some newbie?¡± He was actually a Chinese firm owner and had a few hundred million in his bank ount. He cared for no liquor or women, but had a thing for jade-gambling. Over the years, he lost more often then he won, but he simply loved doing it. Mongkant had excellent security and he was not concerned with theft or robbery. He was about to go out for a smoke when the door opened, and in came a man and a woman, followed by a native. Chapter 318 Chapter 318: Chaos Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Old Wang winced: that was an oddbination. The young couple looked remarkable, presumably the youngsters of some big-name family of the maind. Such people did show up here from time to time, but what was with that native guy? How did these three end up together? He couldn¡¯t help but dart a few more looks in their direction before walking out. Outside was brightly lit and boisterous. He finished two cigarettes, recovered from the excitement brought by the good fortune, and went back in, ready for a few more rounds. However, as soon as he opened the door, he was bombarded by the buzzing noise inside. ¡°Cut it! Cut it! Cut it!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a full one! Again!¡± ¡°A blue ice! That¡¯s unbelievable! Four hits in a row!¡± Old Wang quickly approached the crowd and saw that a group of high rollers were standing in a half-circle around that couple. The old master had just cut open a raw stone. The jadeite inside was almost transparent and looked as pure as ice with cotton-like pale blue patterns inside¡ªit was exactly a blue ice of the ice-type material! He patted one of the onlookers on the shoulder and asked, ¡°Hey man, what¡¯s with all the shouting?¡± ¡°Holy sh*t, you missed all that? These two young ones picked four raw stones and cut them open right away. There are two fine waxy ones, one icy waxy one, and a blue ice. That¡¯s so damn lucky!¡± ¡®Luck?¡¯ Old Wang snorted silently. One or two hits¡ªthat was lucky. Four in a row and luck had nothing to do with it. He noticed that the two young ones remained perfectly calm and utterly indifferent to their prizes and was more certain than ever that they were no ordinary gamblers! ¡°That was remarkable. I have been in this business for many years and this is the first time I ever saw something like this.¡± The old master gave them a thumbs-up and set the four raw stones in a row on the table. The reflection was dazzling under the light. ¡°¡­¡± The customers swallowed in desire. That was such a temptation. If all four stones were made into ornaments and sold, the profit would have a lot of zeros in it. After a moment of unnatural silence, someone finally broke the ice. ¡°Young friend, I¡¯ll take all four for ten million. What do you say?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just sleazy. That blue ice alone is worth almost ten million. That¡¯s just cheating!¡± Someone challenged him right away. The man flushed and retorted loudly, ¡°How is that cheating? The quality of that blue ice is just all right. Surely no one¡¯s going to pay ten million for that?¡± That was pure bullsh*t. Everyone here had been in this line of work long enough to recognize that bluff and all found those words aplete disgrace. While everyone was shouting at everyone, that young man suddenly spoke, ¡°Gentlemen, to be honest, I am here to see the highest ranking official of this ce. If anyone here has the right connection to help me with that, these pieces will be my way of saying thanks.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The crowd hesitated with suspicion. They were no fools. With such a generous gift, the favor he was going to ask was surely going to be a big one. Hpakant was controlled by military men instead of a stable regime, which meant the bosses could turn hostile at any moment. After much silence, a voice suddenly spoke, ¡°The thing you just said, do you mean it?¡± The crowd turned to look and saw that it was Old Wang. The young man looked at him with a smile. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Ok. I that case, let¡¯s talk somewhere else.¡± *** After unearthing the giant Hollow Stone, Gu Yu¡¯s million-dor problem was how to take it back home. Traverse the Kachin Hills with it? That waspletely out of the question. Hollow Stone was light in weight all right, but this one was as huge as a small mountain. He would probably die of exhaustion if he were to transport the stone out by carrying it with the Small Moving Technique. Their only option now was to move it to the mine of Mongkant first, where they would try to find a super-heavy-load truck used by the mines. In that case, they were bound to cross paths with the military and had to make sure they yed it safe. Old Wang might be a mere minor Tuhao, but he had a lot of connections. He brought them to Momauk that same night. Momauk was a jade mine too. It was also where Mia Lwin¡¯s major force was stationed. Night, a club. The room was a living demonstration of ¡°wanton life¡± with people swarming in and out. At the forefront of the T-shaped stage was ady heaving herself up and down a pole with much exposed flesh¡ªshe as showing a lot of curves. There was much prejudice around the sport of pole dancing. It actually originated from the self-produced dance of the people of Uncle Sam. It gained poprity first among the construction workers and was a demonstration of their bright and optimistic national character. It was one of the ten most important folk dances of the world. Yes, that was the absolute truth. Really. Right now, Mia Lwin was sitting at the bar drinking alone. The capable helper of Soe Win just got news this morning that his boss was not doing great in the battlefieldtely. Soe Win had been steadily losing ground with Ge Thantwe¡¯s troops close at his heels. The battle was sooning to Hpakant. He did not want to give away such a lucrative business¡ªhow could anyone? But he had no choice. His army was simply unable to hold the ground. He had been considering retreating the entire day. ¡°Sir!¡± ¡°Sir!¡± Mia Lwin was still sipping his drink when his deputy approached him. ¡°There¡¯s someone here to see you¡ªWang, a Chinese businessman.¡± ¡°Bring him in!¡± Mia Lwin said grumpily. He had dealt with Old Wang before in some under-the-table business. The two wouldn¡¯t consider each other a friend, but were merely using the other for their own ends. Before long, the deputy led three people in. Old Wang greeted Mia Lwin with the biggest smile. ¡°Very good taste, Sir. That particr wine is not something you can buy with money. I¡¯d love to add one to my collection. Unfortunately, unlike you, my funds are limited.¡± ¡°Cut the crap! You were only here a few days ago. Why, you got something nice again?¡± Mia Lwin could speak some Chinese. ¡°Hoho, sorry to bother you, but my two friends here want to ask for a favor¡­ this is Gu Jiang and this is Gu Xiaoqiu.¡± Old Wang gestured at the other two for an introduction. ¡°Gu, Gu Jiang?¡± Squinting, Mia Lwin darted a tipsy look at the man and shuddered. Because of the task certain woman had given him, he had to pull all strings he had in Diannan to search for the people in question, and he had actually had a lead: they were a man and a woman, young, beautiful, seemed to be siblings, and looked more than that. Although he did not have any picture, but there were sketches of the two. ¡®Sh*t!¡¯ He dared not let it show. Picking up his ss, he downed the liquor in one gulp, which gave him a cough and flushed cheeks. He then asked, ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°We found an unusual stone in the Kachin Hills¡ªdon¡¯t worry, it¡¯s definitely not jade. We want to take it back to our country for research and need your help,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Oh? What kind of help?¡± ¡°We would like to borrow your soldiers to carry it out of the mountain and a truck to transport it to the border. Our price will be very reasonable.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Mia Lwin racked his brains and got an idea. ¡®Rope them in for now, get that old ghost woman here, and I will leave the three to it; and there¡¯s also that Ge Thantwe¡¯s army¡­ hoho, maybe I¡¯ll get to run away with a prize while they fight over the bone.¡¯ ¡°I don¡¯t trust you. I need to send someone in to check it first. Make sure it¡¯s not a jade stone, then we can talk,¡± said he. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Gu Yu darted him a look, finding something was amiss, but still smiled. ¡°That¡¯ll do. When do we set out?¡± ¡°No rush. We¡¯ll go tomorrow.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going back to Mongkant, then. It¡¯s closer to the mountain.¡± ¡°Be my guest!¡± As soon as they left, Mia Lwin dashed out of the back door and ran back to his own ce. He opened a drawer, took out a ck ghost te, and rubbed it in his hands. On his face was a mixture of fear and hatred. Last time when the old woman was here, she had cast a ghost spell on him. Even a bloodthirsty soldier would turn craven at the presence of the Three Gods¡ªthe legendary figures they had been hearing about since they were little. However, the ferocity was still in his blood. He put away the te after much rubbing¡ªit was not time to use it yet. *** Over there on Gu Yu¡¯s end, Old Wang had left them, taking the four stones with him. Pemba remained by their side and did whatever he was asked to. Gu Yu paid him generously with plenty of salt, soap, cooking oils,mon medicine, etc.¡ªthe Monpa People were self-sustained in food and clothing, but needed external supply for such daily necessities. ¡°Thank you for taking all the trouble. You can stay here tonight and go back tomorrow.¡± ¡°Whoo¡­ ah, ah¡­¡± Pemba was ted with a huge bag of supplies over his shoulder and happily arrived at the hotel with Gu Yu and Xiaojin. We would not be discussing how a native man felt for his first time in a hotel. Let¡¯s turn our attention to the brother- and sister-inw, who were now in a room talking about Mia Lwin. ¡°Brother-inw, I think that idiot recognized us.¡± Xiaojin sat on a chair turned backwards. With her arms dangling over the back of the chair and her delicate and fair chin rubbing against the top, the word ¡°idiot¡± almost sounded not convincing. ¡°Yeah, that was strange. He was very agitated. There must be something behind it,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°You need to toughen up. If it was up to me, I¡¯d just kick the sh*t out of him. They¡¯ll all have to follow our orders with their boss in our hands.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a regr army, but just a bunch of armed men. Those people are just waiting for an opportunity to rece him. Plus, even if we take him down, we still have to go onto the mountain, or how else are they going to find the spot?¡± ¡°You¡¯re so right!¡± Scratching her head, Xiaojin then said, ¡°Hey, Brother-inw, how about I stay here tomorrow and you go alone?¡± ¡°What are you up to?¡± Gu Yu¡¯s temple was begin to throb. ¡°Teehee, I just want to see what he¡¯s trying to do.¡± ¡°No!¡± he refused right away. ¡°Brother-inw, you¡¯re such a wonderful¡­¡± Little Soap tried to work her charm. ¡°If your sister were here, I wouldn¡¯t give it a second thought about working separately. But you? You¡¯re just too weak. The answer¡¯s no! Period!¡± Gu Yupletely ignored her efforts and lectured her with a poker face instead. *** The following day, the temporary HQ. There was a map on the wall, two deputies on either side, and Mia Lwin himself standing in the middle. ¡°Any news on Ge Thantwe¡¯s troops?¡± ¡°Words are they¡¯ve reached Myitkyina and are heading for Hpakant.¡± ¡°I see. Tell everyone to get prepared. We¡¯re pulling out any moment from now.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± the deputies replied. Mia Lwin then asked, ¡°Have those people set out?¡± ¡°They left quite some time ago.¡± ¡°Ok. You can leave now.¡± After the deputies left, he carefully locked the door and took out that ghost te again. He then cut his finger and dropped two drops of blood onto it. Instantly, dark smoke erupted out of the ghost te and the hideous face of an old woman emerged which slowly dissipated a few secondster. ¡°¡­¡± Mia Lwin stared at the spot where the face disappeared, the expression on his face hard to describe. Three forces were fighting for power in Myan at the moment and Hpakant was a ce everyone wanted. However, there was an unspoken rule: no matter how fierce the battle was, no one was to harm the customers or the workers. Hence, the three sides made a tacit agreement to take the battlefields somewhere else. Hpakant had to have its stability and anyone who could not hold the ground should pull out on their own. Warnings had been sent out throughout the area. The timid ones had left and the bold ones were having fun as usual. After all, despite the long-term civil war, there had not been any bloodshed in the jade mines. Before they realized, it was dusktime. Mia Lwin had stayed in the HQ the entire time; after a makeshift dinner, he was about to go out and have a walk. Just then, a sinister chilly air brushed against his back, as if someone was blowing on his neck. !!! Hair stood up on his back. He asked in a trembling voice, ¡°G-Grandma Ghost God?¡± He turned around in a flurry and found a person had just appeared out of the blue. It was none other than that emaciated old woman. ¡°You touched the ghost te. Got news?¡± ¡°Yes! Yes! Two people came to me today, and after asking around, I realized they were the murderers of your pupil. Their names were Gu Jiang and Gu Xiaoqiu.¡± ¡°Oh? That was quite a coincidence. What are they doing here in Hpakant?¡± The old woman was wrapped in a shadow and looked neither alive or dead. She was a creature halfway between a human being and a ghost. ¡°They wanted to transport a stone. They went onto the mountain this morning and should be back¡ª ah!¡± He flew out before he could finish the sentence. A force smashed him into the wall and he fell to the ground into a heap. The old woman suddenly lost her temper¡ªapparently, she was the moody type¡ªand bellowed, ¡°They entered the mountain this morning? Then why didn¡¯t you use the ghost te before noontime? Are you nning things behind my back?¡± ¡°Grandma! Grandma!¡± Mia Lwin crawled to her feet despite the pain all over his body and exined hastily, ¡°If I¡¯d told you this morning, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to see them here even if you came then! Instead, you can now wait at your ease for them who must be exhausted after a day¡¯s work. In that way, you are sure to take them both in one strike. You have cast a spell on me, there is no way I¡¯d dare to deceive you! No way!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The old woman stared at him for a while and suddenly grinned. ¡°Are you saying I should thank you for this? Well, since you have been so loyal to me, I will lift the spell now.¡± With that, she lifted her hand and drew out a streak of ck air from him. Mia Lwin felt a weight had been lifted off him and thought he was free of the ghost spell now. He bowed in a hurry and said, ¡°Thank you, Grandma. If it is all right with you, please wait here while I go fetch you some food.¡± It was only after he had left the room that the old woman walked out of the shadow, revealing a face that reminded one of tree bark. ¡°Humph! Ungracious piece of sh*t!¡± *** ¡°Aaaaaaah! I must kick that idiot¡¯s a*s! I¡¯m exhausted!¡± Inside the mountain, Xiaojin had just finished the second round trip and was now shouting in utter irritation. They were just returning from where that Hollow Stone was. Mia Lwin was just dying them. There was no verification of any sort. Three soldiers who knew some simple Chinese apanied them, but they had no idea what Xiaojin¡¯s plicated¡± expression was all about. They eyed the young woman curiously, knowing nothing about their fate as deserted pawns. ¡°Fine, fine. We¡¯re back, aren¡¯t we? You want the precious and you need to pay the price. There¡¯s no free lunch,¡± Gu Yu cajoled. ¡°Brother-inw, why do we have to follow that monkey¡¯s order? I say let¡¯s just kill him!¡± She was still not happy. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Gu Yu sighed in resignation and dragged her to his side. Pointing at the rifles nting over the soldiers¡¯ shoulders, he said, ¡°That¡¯s a type 97 assault rifle, made in China, shoots 30 rounds, and has a 400-meter effective firing range. How many bullets can you stop?¡± ¡°None.¡± ¡°Then how many can you dodge?¡± ¡°Gosh, it¡¯s not the same thing! I¡¯d take care of them before they could shoot!¡± ¡°That¡¯s because there are only three of them. Mia Lwin¡¯s army had hundreds of soldiers. How many do you think you can take out in a full-on charge?¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna fight like the guerri¡ªlike Chairman Mao taught us!¡± Xiaojin lifted her chin and put up a face saying ¡°you know the truth is always on my side¡±. Gu Yu felt his head protesting against such squabble. ¡®Why did I think I could talk sense with her?¡¯ After some more marching, they finally reached Mongkant before night set in. Gu Yu looked down at the mine below from a mound and saw the lonely scattered lights. ¡°Hm? Howe there are only so few people today?¡± Chapter 319 Chapter 319: Killing Ghost (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The mine of Mongkant was bustling and crowded this morning, but on their return on the same evening, it looked bleak and cheerless with deserted streets¡ªeven the streetmps looked dimmer. Gu Yu and Xiaojin had yet to figure out what had happened, but the three soldiers paled at the scene, for they could see none of their patrollingrades. They ran hastily to the jade-gambling casino and were relieved to see that the old master was still there. ¡°Ge Thantwe¡¯s troops areing. Mia Lwin is gone,¡± said the old man, caressing a piece of jadeite without even looking up. ¡°Gone?¡± The three soldiers were greatly disturbed by the news. They did not receive any orders regarding the retreat, which meant they had been abandoned by their senior officer. Although the three forces had a ceasefire agreement in Hpakant, all troops would be more than happy to ¡°clean away¡± such stray sheep of the other two sides. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault!¡± One of the soldiers reacted the most strongly. With his broken Chinese, he yelled at Gu Yu and tried to grabbed him by his cor. ¡°Sorry about this¡­¡± Gu Yu apologized wholeheartedly before he knocked the three men unconscious like whacking moles. He then put their guns in a pile and set a confinement around it. ¡°Old master, these three will stay here for a while. The streets are not safe tonight, so I would advise you to seal all doors and windows and stay indoors.¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± The old man chuckled in his cracked voice and waved at Gu Yu without uttering a word. After that, the two went outside. Xiaojin asked, ¡°Brother-inw, what are we going to do now?¡± ¡°Absolutely nothing. We¡¯ll just wait until that Ge Thantwe gets here! Sigh, things are so messy when there¡¯s no government.¡± He felt quite helpless about this. ¡°Huh? So we just wait around doing nothing?¡± Xiaojin searched inside her head for an idea and grinned. ¡°Brother-inw, how about we look around and see which direction they¡¯reing from? There¡¯re over thirty mines around here!¡± ¡°Um, I guess we can do that.¡± Gu Yu thought for a minute and said, ¡°So, are youing with me¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go over there and you over there! Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t make any trouble! Promise!¡± she interrupted before he could finish the sentence. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu eyed her for a moment before saying, ¡°All right. We¡¯ll meet here again in an hour. Don¡¯t go too far.¡± ¡°Sure! Got it!¡± ¡°Do you have your flying message talisman with you? Don¡¯t forget to use it.¡± ¡°Gosh! I know!¡± As if she had just received a royal pardon, Xiaojin dashed away after a hasty reply and soon disappeared into the night street. Mongkant was only the size of a small vige. Xiaojin ran through two or three streets and saw that most of the customers had left. The only ones remaining here were the miners and owners of the shops who werezily squashing mosquitoes with open palms. Apparently, they had gotten used to situations like this and none of them seemed troubled in the least. ¡°There really is no one!¡± She soon covered the entire Mongkant, but did not stop there. She kept running. Further ahead was the mine of Dak Gwunti, where she found a simr scene¡ªit also looked deserted. After Dak Gwunti was the mine of Weekat¡­ one after another, she felt as if the entire mining area was wrapped in a dead silence. The street lights were of little help. Instead, they made the atmosphere stranger and emptier. ¡°Hm?¡± Xiaojin ran very fast and finished searching four mines in no time. When she reached Momauk, she blinked as soon as she set foot on in the area. ¡°Teehee, interesting!¡± She swaggered in with an expression saying ¡°yup, I¡¯m the newbie¡±. Unlike thest time they were here, the row of brothels were all closed for business and none of the ¡°physical therapist¡± made their appearance. She knocked open a random bar and stuck her head in. ¡°Uncle, I hear the new army ising. Which mine are they heading for?¡± ¡°Here, actually. You¡¯re a bold one. Howe you¡¯re still sticking around?¡± The owner found her presence remarkable. ¡°You stayed, why can¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Haha, they don¡¯t kill people at random, but there are wild ones among them. You¡¯re such a pretty girl. I think you¡¯d better stay indoors. Don¡¯t run around the streets.¡± ¡°I see. Thanks!¡± Xiaojin left the bar and could not care less about the warning. She strolled the streets with her hands in her pocket. While looking this way and that, she spotted an alley randomly. It was narrow, deep, and nked by bungalows on both sides. It was barely wide enough for a person to go through. She casually made her way in, her shadow grew longer under the dim lights. All of a sudden, a lump of shadow erupted behind her and floated soundlessly in mid-air, almost devouring her own shadow. It rolled and tumbled, then expanded suddenly, as if a curtain was drawn open. ¡°Whoosh!¡± Inside were a dozen heads with pale faces and bloody eyes, which were squirming frantically as if they were filled with maggots fighting for the only flesh and blood left on them. ¡°Roarrrr!¡± Momentarily, a long-haired woman¡¯s head managed to move to the top. It then opened its mouth all the way from one ear to the other and bit down at Xiaojin. Xiaojin was strolling slowly the entire time¡ªapparently unaware of what was happening behind her¡ªbut disappeared from where she was that instant and reappeared behind the heads in a sh. She ignored thempletely, but looked beyond them to a spot at the entrance of the alley. Where the light and darkness met stood a stooped figure. It was emaciated like a dry skeleton with a wooden staff in one hand. ¡°You dodged my enfant ghosts, so I presume you are the one. Did you kill that useless pupil of mine?¡± The person spoke in perfect Chinese with a hint of ancient style in it. Xiaojin could not see her face clearly, but recognized the voice of an elderly person. She chuckled. ¡°Why, grandma, don¡¯t try to swindle me just because I¡¯m in a foreign country. My family¡¯s got some money, but I¡¯m not nning to waste it on you. Who is this pupil of yours again?¡± ¡°Thant Tun. Do you know that name?¡± ¡°Thant Tun¡­ oh, as a matter of fact, I do! He made quite some effort to stir things up in Diannan and they had to scrape his body off the ground. You can¡¯t me other people, really. The man did not know what he was doing.¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s right. He really didn¡¯t know what he was doing!¡± The old womanughed instead of getting angry. ¡°You¡¯re from China. For centuries, cultivators of your country and mine have been fighting over this or that. I¡¯m not going to take advantage of a youngster. Let¡¯s y it by the book. Now, tell me which sect you are from.¡± ¡°You can y by my a*s! Which grave did you crawl out of? It¡¯s a new world out there and even if there are rules, we¡¯re the ones writing it!¡± Of her twenty-or-so years, Xiaojin had never flinched from a fight. She raised her chin. ¡°Bring it on!¡± ¡°Fine, fine!¡± The old woman really lost her temper this time. ¡°I see the Taoistmunity has no one left but this ignorant kid! Let us see if you are still this tough after I make you into a Flying Head!¡± As soon as she finished those words, she hit her wooden staff hard against the ground. ¡°Pop!¡± That lump of shadow began to swell up like an inting balloon, which soon grew to over three meters. The dozen human heads expanded with it, rolling around, and flew out. They were the most bizarre things. There was no body or shape; all they had were the heads cut down at the necks. ¡°What the hell?¡± Xiaojin found them so disgusting that she pped her hands and produced her big gourd, shouting, ¡°Go!¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± A stream of ck torrent consisting of sand granules gushed out of the opening. The torrent floated in mid-air and soon formed a cloud covering an area as wide as several hundred m^2 in front of her. It was Thundercloud Grit, a gift from her sister after Xiaojin reached perfection in Metal Thunder, and her only refined instrument at the moment. ¡°Roar!¡± The human heads pounced at her and dived into the cloud head on. The overspreading ck grit sensed the impact and began to collide into one another. As the collision took ce, flickering lightning began to crackle. Rumble! Rumble! Instantly, streaks of golden-purple divine lightning as thick as adult fingers struck down, dimming all other lights in the area as if a heavenly tribtion had descended. ¡°Thunder Technique?¡± Fear crept up the old woman¡¯s face and she thumped her wooden staff again. ¡°Come back!¡± ¡°Aaaah! Aaaaah!¡± Those flying at the back had time to change course, but the first four or five had entered the territory of the lightning already. Thunder possessed the power of Nature itself and was the unbeatable rival of the evil and sinister beings. Those few Flying Heads were now ice under the scorching sun,pletely defenseless. ¡°Rumble¡­ crack¡­ bang!¡± The hubbub quieted down in a while, revealing the cracked and copsed bungalows on both sides of the alley together with the scattered remains of the heads and the charred ground. The old woman forgot about the Flying Heads that had turned into ashes and fixed her gaze on Xiaojin. In her voice were surprise as well as rage. ¡°The Thunder Technique was passed down in the Taoistmunity? It can¡¯t be! That¡¯s impossible!¡± ¡°You¡¯re about to find more impossible things¡­ Thunder,e!¡± Xiaojin put away the gourd and waved her hand. A streak of golden-purple lightning several times thicker struck down at the old woman. ¡°You have pushed it too far!¡± The old woman had finished activating her skill before she finished her sentence. ck air gushed out from all over her body frantically, hiding her entirely. The ck air swept out into all directions in tidal waves, making whistling and roaring sound as it moved along. In half a heartbeat, the whole alley was devoured and the ck air kept expanding. ¡°Ah! Help!¡± ¡°Help! What is this?¡± Screams wereing out of the shops in the nearby alleys. Some locals staying behind had probably fallen victims to the ck air and died a miserable death. Wherever the Metal Thunder struck down, there was a hollow in the ck air, which was instantly refilled by the surrounding blood-filled ck air. ¡°Hey, grandma, have you run away already?¡± Xiaojin¡¯s brows knitted in a frown. This air was extremely strange. It was trying all it could to bore through her skin, as if it wanted to take over her body. Her ears were filled with ghostly screams and shrill cries. The noise was diabolical. Both her vision and sight were reduced to a minimal level. As she activated her spiritual essence to fight it off, she made purposeful provocations. In a few minutes, she realized that this ck fog had a viral quality, enabling it to replenish its energy through feeding on human beings. ¡°Humph! You degrading creature!¡± She snorted and grabbed into the thin air. The next moment, a stone was in her hand, to which she attached a blue talisman. She then pinched her fingers together and cast the spell in a low voice. ¡°Change!¡± Clouds rolled up and the talisman transformed into the perfect replica of herself. ¡°You sleazy old cat, do you dare to confront me in a face-to-facebat instead of hiding in this smoke? Old cat,e out here!¡± As she probed with her words, she secretly sent the replica an order, and it strode off with its long legs and ran deep into the smoke with a somewhat rigid gait. The truth was, ever since that incident in Changbai Mountain, while Xiaojin might¡¯ve appeared to be the jolly person she always was, deep down, she found it the humiliation of her life. She was working hard on her cultivation before that, but after what had happened, she was working her a*s off, gathering experience from the constant beatings she received from her sister. Only her appearance remained as harmless, which could deceive anyone who did not know her better. This was her second time fighting an enemy alone and she was nervous as hell. However, the more nervous she felt, the better she performed. So far, her moves were almost impable. Bang! A moment after the replica ran in, she heard the sound of attack a dozen meters ahead to her right. There was a fluctuation of her mental force, marking the end of that replica. Over there! She took the action before her brain could react as she shouted, ¡°Thunder, strike!¡± ¡°Aaaah!¡± There was a sh of lightning and, almost simultaneously, she heard a scream and a thump. Someone seemed to have fallen to the ground. ¡°Haha!¡± Xiaojin was delighted. Activating her Void-arranging Technique, she arrived at the scene in two strides. However, the ck fog filled the spot as anywhere else. There was no one but a ghost te on the ground. Sh*t! It was not until now that she finally felt flustered. In that moment, she forgot about setting up her defense. ¡°Roar!¡± A head shot up from behind her. The giant mouth opened and bit down at her neck. Chapter 320 Chapter 320: Killing Ghost (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Roar!¡± The Flying Head opened its giant mouth and bit down fiercely at the back of Xiaojin¡¯s smooth long neck. ¡°Nice!¡± The old ghost woman hid herself in the ck fog and was ted to see how things turned out. This ignorant little girl had picked up the Thunder Technique from god-knows-where and managed to put her in such a tight corner. She now had a stomach full of anger that was just waiting to be vented out. She had made this Flying Head after painstaking refinement. It had a devouring ability, enabling it to suck dry anything it bit and fuse into the victim. ¡°Go! Go!¡± Thumping her wooden stick repeatedly on the ground, she prompted the head. That giant mouth had opened to its maximum, squeezing everything else on that head to the upper half of the face, which looked horrendous. The teeth then sank into the neck. ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°What? That¡¯s impossible!¡± The old ghost woman had yet to widen her mouth into a smile when the jubtion was interrupted. A fluctuation erupted suddenly from the girl, creating an impact as strong as an air bomb, which blew the head away. Xiaojin reacted quickly. She dashed forward and turned around with a strike of Metal Thunder. ¡°Rumble!¡± ¡°Aaaah!¡± Everything was happening so fast that it was beyond either of their imagination. The situation was reversed instantly. The old ghost woman did not have time to dodge and was knocked away backwards andnded somewhere in the distance. ¡°Whoosh¡­ whoosh¡­¡± A tremor ran through the ck fog immediately and it began to shrink at an observable speed. Soon, the view was clear again. ¡°That was close! I¡¯ve forgotten all about this!¡± Xiaojin was ashen-faced. She looked down at her chest where a turtle shell pendant was dangling despite herself. It was nowpletely lustreless after using up its power. She was perfectly confident of winning this fight in the beginning, but never expected that she would be overthrown by the old woman¡¯s experience and fell into her trap. Xiaojin was now infuriated and humiliated. ¡°Huff¡­ huff¡­¡± The old woman was panting like a deting balloon. Resolute as she was, she bit the tip of her tongue bloody right away. ¡°Pfffft!¡± She spat a mouthful of spiritual blood onto her wooden staff. Dark glow erupted out of the staff head, which was in the shape of a ghost head, and ck fog wrapped around the old woman again. She then fled half floating and half running. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?!¡± Stomping her feet, Xiaojin went on in a hot pursuit. She did not have enough energy left to strike down with another streak of Metal Thunder, so instead, she covered her right palm with short flickering lightning. She then bolted out like a bullet out of the barrel. The night was dark, the wind was strong, and the wilderness was endless. Xiaojin chased the old woman through this mining area deep in the mountain. They ran through alleys lit by blurry lights; their shadows flitted past so fast that they almost seemed they were never there. The owners and employees of the bars, shops, and clubs were all shaking with fear. All doors and windows were closed. To them, there might as well be two ogres fighting for territory out there. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± After that strike, the old ghost woman was barely holding up. The Metal Thunder was ravaging through her veins and it was impossible for her to suppress it. Seeing that she was getting closer and closer, Xiaojin strode out suddenly and raised her right palm. The lightning sizzled around her hand, which shended on the old woman with a thump. ¡°Thud!¡± The old woman dropped to the ground a dozen meters away. Shey there asking in a menacing tone, ¡°You¡¯re not going to spare my life, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Cut the crap! Were you sparing anyone when you sent those things to bite me? My reputation will be ruined if I let you leave this ce tonight!¡± Xiaojin raised her palm and approached her, ready for her first kill tonight. However, right at that moment, the silent night was broken by a few gunshots. ¡°Zap!¡± ¡°Zap! Zap!¡± ¡°Rumble!¡± Several jeeps rushed into the mine area followed by a truck full of soldiers with loaded guns. One of them who seemed like an officer fired into the air for their attention and asked arrogantly, ¡°Who are you people?¡± ¡°Hoho, just about time!¡± The old ghost woman was somehow delighted at this turn of event and pounced forward with herst bit of strength. Poof! The lump of ck fog swelled up all of a sudden, wrapping around a jeep like a dark cloud. The next second, screams rang out of the vehicle, together with a strong smell of blood. ¡°Ghost! A ghost!¡± ¡°Fire!¡± The rest of the soldiers were petrified and opened fire, which was something the old woman was prepared for. She slithered under the vehicle, and in the blink of an eye, she was dashing out of a second jeep. Another four men were killed. ¡°Sh*t!¡± Xiaojin dared not get close to the torrent of gunfire and with a few moves, she dodged behind a house¡­ Zap! Zap! Zap! The ground half a meter away was marked by a row of bullet holes. ¡°You made me do this. If I¡¯m going down today, you¡¯reing with me!¡± The soldiers were abundant in their vitality, making them the ideal ¡°tonic¡± for her. The old ghost woman had sucked quite a few men dry by now and almost looked deranged. She held her staff horizontally and ripped it open, revealing a leather scroll. She then tossed it into the air and the scroll unfolded on its own. It was withered, yellow, and likely made from human skin. The scroll was 130 cm long and 60 cm wide, and on it was drawn a livid evil buddha with ferocious fangs. The buddha had four-sided head and body with eight arms in total. It was now baring its fangs and brandishing its ws, eager to feed. A strong sinister energy was emanating from it. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± ¡°The evil buddha! The evil buddha!¡± All gunfire ceased at the appearance of this drawing and panic filled the air. These forty to fifty men were the outpost of Ge Thantwe¡¯s army who had rushed here from Myitkyina. Myan was a Buddhist country with countless legends and folklore, among which was the story of this evil buddha. Legend had it that it used to be a devil living deep in the mountain. Because it had eaten so many people, it had grown so extremely powerful that it was bold enough to name itself a buddha. In the end, it was imprisoned by Buddha himself. Legend or not, this drawing of the four-sided and eight-armed evil buddha was inherited from the old ghost woman¡¯s master and was over a hundred years old. She had been feeding it with spiritual blood and it could fly out to kill people, as well as devour her enemy directly. It was an extremely powerful object and a kind of her killing movest resort. The soldiers were all Myanese men and were scared out of their wits. ¡°%^&*#$%^&!¡± The old ghost woman chanted a spell and pointed with her finger, but the drawing did not move. She realized she was too badly injured to activate it and her face darkened. She was determined to share her end with her enemy. ¡°#$%^&*!¡± She sliced her hand across her neck, and with a lifting movement, she removed her head from her body. Being only half human, this did not affect her like it would with ordinary people. The headless body then wobbled towards the drawing holding the head, which then turned into a streak of ck light and disappeared into the drawing. ¡°Whoosh!¡± With the host herself as the sacrifice, the livid-faced and sharp-fanged buddha opened its eyes and was now radiating in a blood-red light. The drawing then dived at the crowd. The soldiers had already scattered and were running into every direction. A teenage boy could not resist the curiosity and turned back to look while still running. He looked right into the buddha¡¯s eyes. Right away, he felt his head had been robbed nk as he felt down and passed out. Some shot at the drawing while running, but the bullets simply went through it like they were shooting at empty air. ¡°Aaaah! Aaaah!¡± ¡°Zap, zap, zap!¡± ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± Momentarily, ck fog rolled out and blood was sshed, together with gunshots and screams. In half a heartbeat, there were a dozen more corpses on the ground which had no flesh or skin, but were broken skeletons only. It was a living hell. ¡°Gosh! Damn it!¡± Xiaojin stamped her feet in vexation, but she barely had any energy left. What should she do? What should she do? She then smacked her head. It was not until then did she remember the flying message talisman. ¡®Will it get to him in time?¡¯ She took out the talisman and was about to send the message when there came a clear voice. ¡°Step back!¡± ¡°Brother-inw!¡± She was overjoyed to hear the voice. Looking around, she saw no one. She then looked up and was dumbstruck. A white cloud was drifting towards her from Mongkant¡¯s direction. It was moving at such a tremendous speed that it reminded one of Milky Way itself streaming across the sky, cutting through wind and waves like a swift ship. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaojin opened her mouth, but words failed her. She knew her brother-inw had been studying the Shadow-switching Technique this entire time and she had seen him using it every now and then. She thought it simply as an ability to switch into clouds or smoke and did not think very highly of it. However, at this critical moment, Gu Yu¡ªwho was one foot in the Human Immortal state¡ªhad switched his power full on and descended like a heavenly god ready to cleanse the mortal world. Over there, more than half of the soldiers had been killed. The evil buddha drawing was swollen with arrogance after ingesting all that blood and essence. An evil spirit was imprisoned in that drawing, and was now growing restless, as if it was going to break out. It was feeding happily on its victims when the scroll turned suddenly to face that stretch of cloud, apparently quite intimidated. The cloud kept moving closer and reached the drawing in no time, knocking into thetter¡¯s blood-red glow. ¡°¡­¡± For a moment there, time seemed to froze. The survivors looked into the sky, but felt the world shaking before they could blink. Boom! Momauk seemed to be torn open in an instant. A violent wind howled and bellowed, sending tremors down the whole block. ¡°Roar!¡± The cloud trapped the drawing inside and the evil spirit was struggling with all its efforts. That livid giant head with its sharp fangs reached out of the scroll with bloodshot eyes and opened its giant mouth, trying to devour the cloud. ¡°Humph!¡± A faint snort came out of the cloud, and the next second, streaks of red light flew out in streams. The cloud was now shining resplendently like a magnificent evening glow, lighting up the night sky and the distant mountains. ¡°Roar!¡± The evil spirit could not withstand the me Cloud Needles and had to retreat into the drawing. It was now in apletely frantic state and was tumbling around violently. After another moment of struggling, the evil buddha drawing finally shook the cloud loose a little. It then turned into a streak of ck light dashing for the mountain to escape. The red cloud rolled in a radiant splendor and red dots flew out, then formed into a ming dragon and chased the scroll. ¡°Whoosh!¡± A gust of wind swept across the sky and red me soared. The ming dragon pierced the evil buddha drawing. Everything was quiet. ¡°¡­¡± Immediately after that, the cloud scattered as if Milky Way was pouring down, and slowly transformed into a person. The evil buddha drawing was folded back in a stroll andy tame in his hand. ¡°Aaaaaaaaaaah!¡± Xiaojin ran happily towards him. All words had escaped her this moment and she could only express her excitement with her hands waving around. ¡°Thump!¡± Gu Yu knuckled her hard on the head and said angrily, ¡°What happened to not making any trouble? Why didn¡¯t you use your talisman? If I hadn¡¯t noticed what was going on in time, what would I have told your sisterter?¡± ¡°I, I really didn¡¯t try to make any trouble! I fought her and I was winning! Then I ran out of energy!¡± ¡°Zap!¡± The two were still talking when they heard a gunshot. The surviving soldiers had huddled together with their guns in hand and asked in a shaky voice, ¡°Who, who on earth are you?¡± ¡°We¡¯re from China. Are you Ge Thantwe¡¯s men?¡± ¡°Yes, yes¡­ why are you here?¡± With most of their buddies killed, the current highest ranking officer spoke with a gun in his hand, which was shaking so badly that he could not hold the gun still. Gu Yu was afraid of that gun going off by ident, so he made a sweeping movement with both hands and all the guns were now in his hands. ¡°Ah! Ah!¡± The little courage those fellow managed to gather scattered right away and they copsed to the ground in fear. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. I was talking to Mia Lwin before, but he has run away¡­ since you¡¯re here now, I guess I¡¯ll talk to you.¡± *** Out there somewhere, Mia Lwin had not gone too far with his retreating army, for he was still secretly hoping to get a free ride. With the death of the old ghost woman, he suddenly felt a pain in his chest. The hidden Tame Head backfired on him and he fell out of his vehicle before he could make a sound. Chapter 321 Chapter 321: The Challenge Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Ruili, the Tao Family. Two heavy-duty trucks were parked in the big manor, which looked rather out of the ce. Both were the so-called ¡°four front and eight back¡±¡ªthere were four front steering wheels with and four pairs of rear driving wheels, both two-axled. They were the type of heavy-duty trucksmonly used throughout the country. The loading capacity was around 50 tons and both had a Hollow Stone on their tbeds. There was no other way. The stone was way too big¡ªtwenty meters long, eight meters wide, over ten meters tall, and weighed over a hundred tons¡ªso even if they had a truck with that loading capacity, there was no tbed big enough. The stone had to be cut in half. It was Gu Yu¡¯s first day back. When Ge Thantwe¡¯s main force arrived at Hpakant in a haste, they were weed by the scattered bones and blood-soaked ground. Themander was a smart guy. He was only after the power and the money; anything else was not worth shedding the blood. Hence, intimidated by Gu Yu¡¯s martial prowess and persuaded by his money, they soon agreed to offer their help. The trucks were arranged to take the stone to the border, from where the Tao Family took over the task. ¡°Master, if you want to take these two pieces back to Phoenix Mountain, there are two options.¡± Right now, Tao Yu was walking behind Gu Yu and exined in a humble manner, ¡°The first way is road transport, which is quicker. Or they can be transported by ship, which goes from Ruili to Guangdong, then to Dongyun via a cargo ship. It takes longer, but is very safe.¡± ¡°By sea?¡± Like most people, Gu Yu had travelled frequently by air, but had little experience with ships. The country had a coastline of over 20,000 km from Dongyun in the north to Beilun in the south. If they chose to transport the stone by sea, the journey would take it all the way up the coastline from one end to the other. ¡°I don¡¯t think going by sea is an option. It¡¯ll take at least half a month. I¡¯m afraid our younger sister over there cannot wait that long. Let¡¯s use trucks,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°No problem. In that case, are you going straight back home or do you want to travel with the trucks?¡± Tao Yu asked. ¡°Um¡­¡± Gu Yu felt his temples thumping at the thought of that. Xiaojin was obsessed with Hollow Stone and could not let it out of her sight. The stone was not going anywhere without her as a chaperone. Come on, the journey would be over 4000 km and he was not going to travel that far stuffed in the cabin of a truck. ¡°That can wait.¡± He changed the subject and asked, ¡°We¡¯ve been away for quite a few days. What¡¯s happening in Diannan these days?¡± ¡°Everything is happening! You won¡¯t believe it!¡± Tao Yu¡¯s face suddenly became alive and he began to talk enthusiastically, ¡°The second day after you left, there was a murder case in Tengchong. A family of four was killed and the police had no lead whatsoever. We knew nothing about it until the rumor began to spread, saying those four people simply died in their sleep without any ident. It was said they were killed by Tame Head. Then Lord Priests of Zhenqing Temple joined in. One was Abbot Chen and the other¡¯s name I don¡¯t know¡ªthey said he¡¯s from some birthce of some sect. They conducted some investigation and found out that it was indeed the doing of the ck magic of Mya. It was a paid assassin for revenge.¡± ¡°Lord Priest?¡± Gu Yu chuckled, finding the title quite interesting. ¡°Um, that¡¯s what everyone has been calling them,¡± replied Tao Yu, a little embarrassed. ¡°That¡¯s totally fine with me. Go on, what happened after that?¡± ¡°After that was that fight! A lot of people were there that day and some have videotaped it. It¡¯s all over the inte now. That visiting L-priest was using a fine steel flying sword¡­¡± ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Gu Yu interrupted him. Where the hell did a fine steel flying sworde from? ¡°Are you sure it was a flying sword?¡± ¡°I, I¡­ oh, I have the video here. Please have a look.¡± Tao Yu did not know how to describe it, so he took out his phone and tapped open a short video. Gu Yu took the phone in his hand and looked closely. The image was blurry and shaky, but it was obviously showing two men fighting. One had the typical appearance of a Mya man, while the other was none other than Shi Yui himself. The video was only a little over twenty seconds long. The ck sorcerer turned around and tried to flee when Shi Yui threw out his long sword, which flew out in a blue sh and nailed the man to the ground. Then everyone began to scream. ¡°Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!¡± ¡°Murder! Help!¡± ¡°Flying sword! Flying sword! I saw an Immortal!¡± ¡°Immortals are real!¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Gu Yu grimaced. That was not flying, butncing at best. He did not miss a thing. Shi Yui¡¯s long sword was not much different from Xiao Qiu¡¯s, both were rtively basic refined instruments. Yes, it was a refined instrument! For in thest two seconds of the video, he saw Shi Yui made a gesture of withdrawing the sword, which instantly disappeared from sight. It was obviously stored away in his mental space. Tsk, that was fascinating. The Taoistmunity seemed to have obtained the method of refining with mental force! ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was not at all threatened by this discovery. Instead, he was exhrated. With the arriving of the new world, he was d to see as many ¡°insiders¡± as possible. Only with an adequate poption could they overthrow the old world and start a new one. He gave the phone back to Tao Yu and asked, ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Just simr stuff. Somehow the entire Southeastern Asia seemed to being here these days. It was unbelievable. Apart from Diannan and Guangxi, they are seen in Guangdong as well. Everybody is saying a great change ising and Taoist temples everywhere are having more worshipers than ever. Many are bing Taoist followers. Here, we used to¡­ um, please don¡¯tugh at us, but people around here used to believe in the ck magic. Now, well, everybody is saying our own ¡®magic¡¯ is much better.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no panic at all?¡± He found it remarkable. ¡°There was, but it was nothing serious. A bunch of hoodies brought a riot to the streets and robbed a few shops, but they were arrested in half an hour.¡± Tao Yu paused a little before saying, ¡°Oh, I actually saw something online the other day. A foreign Celestial Master Zhang wants to challenge Longhu Mountain.¡± ¡°A foreign Celestial Master Zhang?¡± That surprised Gu Yu a little. He was about to ask for more details when his phone rang. It was from Mu Kun. ¡°Hello? Where are you now?¡± Mu Kun sounded a little anxious. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°¡®What¡¯s wrong!?¡¯ With the mess you left behind in Hpakant, you¡¯re actually asking me?¡± ¡°I left no mess. Enough with the browbeating. To the point, please.¡± ¡°Humph!¡± Mu Kun snorted and gave him a brief exnation. With the absence of a president, Myan was controlled by the armies of three forces, of which two¡ªSoe Win and May Myo¡ªhad filed a jointpliant toour 1 government, basically saying ¡°your people have been killing at random in Myan and robbed our resources, and your government has to answer for that,¡± h, h, h. ¡®Answer my a*s!¡¯ They couldn¡¯t care less about the soldiers killed, but that old ghost woman was a different story. They were ¡°Three Gods,¡± and the two ¡°sibling gods¡±, who could sense her death, were still out there. All ck sorcerers of Myan were disciples of the three and many were honorable guests of influential figures in political, business, and military circles. The two brothers needed someone to me for the old ghost woman¡¯s death, hence theint. ¡°Xiao Gu, you have pushed it too far this time. There is much tension on the international front and we¡¯re going to attend that conference at the end of this year. Don¡¯t make things moreplicated than they already are.¡± Mu Kun tried to make his reprimand stern, but he failed to hide the swaggering tone in his voice. ¡°Haha, how about this? Pass on a message for me: I will go to Myan again and anyone from the cultivationmunity is wee to settle their ount with me.¡± Gu Yu chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll bring an end to all their vengeance!¡± ¡°!!!¡± Mu Kun could no longer pretend to be crossed at those words. ¡°Ok, you won. One dead body is quite enough, please leave the rest to us. Oh, I was going to ask, why were you looking for that stone?¡± ¡°For fun,¡± said Gu Yu seriously. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Mu Kun knew he would not get a straight answer, but those two words still annoyed him. He hang up without another word. ¡°¡­¡± Tao Yu was dumbstruck by what he heard and stammered, ¡°Master, whom d-did you say y-you killed?¡± ¡°An old ghost woman. Oh, she was one of those ¡®Three Gods¡¯ you talked about.¡± *** Night, the bedroom. Gu Yu finished catching up on recent news, which was all about the foreign Celestial Master challenging the local ones. He couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°Interesting. I guess I must see it for myself.¡± Chapter 322 Chapter 322: A Private Visit (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Behold, the overseas returnee Celestial Master versus the local Celestial Master is now open for betting!¡± ¡°Inside story of Longhu Mountain never disclosed before: the conflict of a nephew and his maternal uncle has just turned into another nephew with his paternal uncle¡ªwhat a family drama!¡± ¡°Two Celestial Masters challenging each other over the ¡®real¡¯ title, the date is not set yet. The audience simply CANNOT wait.¡± Inside a house in the capital city, Zhang Ziliang skipped through the news and frowned. ¡°Who is the leak?¡± ¡°We have no idea. The news was suddenly all over the inte. They named nothing specific, but from what it implied, the information was from an insider,¡± a disciple replied, then asked, ¡°Uncle Master, should we notify the authorities to quiet them down a little?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I¡¯m afraid the authorities are exactly the ones behind all this.¡± Zhang Ziliang sneered. Arrogant and cynical as he might be, he was not stupid. He could see through the government¡¯s n right away¡ªall they were trying to do was to make this challenge into a media hype and attract the attention of the general public. In that way, no matter who won in the end, the Taoistmunity became the winner. ¡°Work with them whenever you can. They want the attention, they¡¯ll have it. It is even better like this. I will take back Celestial Master Temple fair and square in front of everyone!¡± Zhang Ziliang waved his hand and instructed, ¡°Let the media know I will be visiting Longhu Mountain on 20th of October. Now leave!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± the disciple replied solemnly and left the room with a bow. Of course, he knew his uncle master was referring to the 20th day of the 10th month on a lunar calendar, which was the birthday of the 30th generation Celestial Master, Zhang Jixian. Longhu Mountain would hold a worship ceremony every year on that day to pay their respect. Zhang Jixian was a man of the Song Dynasty and was greatly respected by Emperor Hui of Song. He was granted an alternative name Master Xujing and was a leading figure of the Taoistmunity. Not only was he an expert in talismans, he was practicing Thunder Technique of Qingwei Sect at the same time as well. It was a time when the Thunder Technique was massively popr, and Zhang Jixian, Lin Lingsu and Wang Wenqing of Shenxiao Sect, as well as Perfected Man Chen Nan of the Southern School were all representative figures of that time. Zhang Jixian was a living proof of what one would call ¡°a born genius¡±. He became the head of Longhu Mountain at the age of nine and achieved the Great Dao and became immortal at 36. Not much of his teachings was left, but no one could deny his achievements in cultivation. It was early October at the moment and that day would fall on 13th, Nov. Zhang Ziliang had chosen that day for the challenge was a demonstration of how public he wanted this event to get. *** ¡°Are you gonna be all right by yourself?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Gosh, stop nagging! It¡¯ll be only three to four days. Any bastard getting in my way will get a lightning strike!¡± In the big courtyard of the Tao Family, Xiaojin was impatiently bidding Gu Yu farewell. She hopped into the truck¡¯s cabin and stuck out her head. ¡°Brother-inw, I¡¯ll see you back home. Take your time here. I¡¯ll say nice things about you to Sister. Bye!¡± ¡°Bye bye!¡± ¡°Vroom!¡± The two heavy-load trucks slowly pulled out and drove out of the courtyard. After a right turn, they disappeared into the street corner. Gu Yu waved after them, feeling a little frustrated. ¡®That kid has no conscience whatsoever. I was the dear nanny when she needed me and I¡¯m back to brother-inw when she doesn¡¯t. How ungrateful!¡¯ They left Phoenix Mountain almost two weeks ago and Gu Yu now had his own affairs to take care of, while Xiaojin was eager to get back to refine her instrument and had no interest in his business. Hence, they went their separate ways. To be honest, he wasn¡¯t exactly worried about her journey home. Both the trucks and the drivers belonged to the Tao Family and posed no potential threat. That little brat was burning with impatience to get back and wouldn¡¯t have time to make any trouble. ¡°Master, now that Miss Jin is going back to Phoenix Mountain, where do you want to go next?¡± asked Tao Yu. ¡°Please book a bus ticket for me. Anything heading for the direction of Longhu Mountain will do. I¡¯ll get to the destination myselfter while enjoying the view along the way.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see to it right away. Anything else?¡± ¡°Keep an eye on the mine and let me know immediately if anything goes wrong. Oh, and there¡¯s this¡­¡± Gu Yu took out a jade te. Tao Yu took it and saw that the character ¡°Tao¡± was carved on one side and a few abstract strokes on the other, which reminded one of rolling mountains. ¡°It¡¯s got one of my little tricks and can save you in critical moments. From now on, this is the ID card of the Tao Family. Please don¡¯t lose it.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master!¡± *** The service area of an expressway. It was on the route from Spring City to Qujing and traffic was quite heavy on this section. The service area was crowded with people all year round. A long-distance bus slowly drove off the expressway and parked on a vacant spot. The driver shouted, ¡°Anyone needs to use the toilet, you¡¯ve got ten minutes! Ten minutes!¡± The door of the bus opened and passengers of all shapes and sizes flushed out, rushing towards the toilet to get an unupied cube. ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Gu Yu stretched himself and also strolled out of the bus. Outside, the sunlight was warm and pleasant¡ªsomething one could not find in the Northeast at this time of the year. From Diannan to Longhu Mountain, he would go through the three provinces of Guizhou, Guangxi, and Hunan. He nned to cover the journey by bus. There was no special reason behind that¡ªhe simply wanted to see the changes in the southern provinces. He walked around briefly and returned to his seat. Seeing that most of the passengers were not back yet, he took out his phone and opened that app, which he hadn¡¯t checked for a while. The page refreshed and the current number of users made Gu Yu jump: 103 278 users! Good God! It was only in the thousands a little while ago. The number was growing exponentially. He then checked the content. The general categories remained the same, which read: Animal (272), nt (494), Geography (2), and Meteorology (0). He skipped Animal and nt and tapped open Geography curiously. There was a new entry apart from the Peach Blossom Miasma of Grass River Mouth. The ce was in the middle of the Bohai Sea, to the northwest of Dongyun. On a 4.8-km^2 ind whose closest distance to thend was nine nautical miles was a volcano named Old Iron Mountain. It stood 376.9 m above sea level, had a lot of sheer precipices and overhanging rocks, and a single pebble shoal on the southeast corner. The entire ind was covered by a luxuriant ntation and was home to about 27 000 Shedao 1 pit vipers! Shedao pit vipers grew to about a meter in length, hunted at night, and were extremely venomous. Their mouths could open to as wide as 120 degrees and they could swallow food bigger than the diameter of their heads. They were also ferocious and very good at resisting hunger; a handful solid meals a year were enough to keep them going. The ind was a way station for migrant birds. Tens of thousands of birds stopped there for rest during the journey, making them a main food source for the pit vipers. A while ago, however, a strange fragrance suddenly filled the air of the snake ind which seemed to be a hallucinogen. All living creatures¡ªhumans and birds and the likes¡ªwould be lured into the ind as soon as they got close enough. There used to be a scientific research institute on the ind, but the staff had all been killed. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Gu Yu couldn¡¯t help but feel sorry for the people of his hometown after reading through it. As if they hadn¡¯t suffered enough with Phoenix Mountain and the Peach Blossom Miasma, now there was a freaky snake ind? Someone up there had to hate the province of Liaodong! Shaking his head, he put it aside for the time being and turned to check the animals and nts. Holy smoke! All 36 provinces now had their own unusual creatures and they came in all species and kingdoms: toads the sizes of a marmite, white deers with horns, 180-cm geoducks (as if their original form was not a reminder enough of certain male body parts)¡­ the world was a very strange ce now. He then checked the sections of the app, which made him snicker. The app was designed in a way to fit the habits of modern inte users and had developed into abination of forum and onlinemunity. After the long foreshadowing period, quite a few famous IDs had stood out, all of which with high points and having offered quite a few leads. They were the ¡°authenticated users¡±, if you like. Old Shui¡¯s ¡°Green River Water¡± was among them, for whatever strange creatures the family of four stumbled upon while travelling around, they would send it to Old Shui, who would then submit to the app¡ªthat boar, for instance. The forum was Gu Yu¡¯sst stop. His attention was immediately caught by a sticky post, which read: map of mutated creatures and traffic safety reminder (regrly updated). ¡°Based on the information provided by our fellow users, I have briefly sorted out the data. It is by no means aplete version, please use it for reference only. Heishui Province: Xing¡¯an Ridge area: verified to have mutated nts (azalea, acanthopanax, gentiana, etc.) and animals (red deer, elk, ck bear, roe deer, etc.). Species posing obvious danger: bear, boar, hen harrier, Central Asian pit viper. Traffic reminder: route Shibazhan Forestry Bureau¡ªTahe is festered byrge flocks of goldeneyes; route Amuer Forestry Bureau¡ªMohe is frequently blocked byrge herds of red deers and roe deers, drivers be aware.¡± *** ¡°W Province: Changbai Mountain area: verified to have mutated nts (rhodi, gastrodia, fritiry bulb, etc.) and animals (sable, golden eagle, imperial eagle, jackal, brown bear, etc.). Species posing obvious danger: well, where do we begin.¡± *** ¡°Hubei Province: Shennongjia area: verified to have mutated nts (crowberry, Phyllitis japonica, Malus komarovii etc.) and animals (golden monkey, leopard, white stork, bustard, etc.). Vicious animals of Shennongjia are usually marked by albinism, such as white serows, white snakes, or white bears twice the size of their original form.¡± Gu Yu read a few lines, it was indeed as brief as promised. Most of the contents were summarized in a few words without any details. He scrolled down and tried to read some more, but saw that he had arrived at the end of the post, which had a line of words. ¡°Any boss interested in the full version of all 36 provinces, please contact by pm. I¡¯m just a nobody who¡¯s short on cashtely. I would appreciate if there are a few hot dishes and cold beer on my dinner table!¡± ¡®Pfffft!¡¯ He almost choked on his spit. That was a clever man with a quick head knowing which way the tide was going¡ªthat was a budding information service. He made a mental note of the ID: Sunny Lemon Tea¡­ hm, an interesting person. ¡°Beep! Beep!¡± Just then, the driver honked to hurry the passengers back to their seats. They followed the order and began to check if their neighbors had alle back. A couple of minutester, everyone was back and the bus hit the road. They followed the expressway for another forty minutes before getting off at Qujing Exit. Qujing was thest city of Diannan on this route. The next city was Liupanshui of Guizhou Province. They left the expressway and changed to a provincial road, then a county-level road before finally driving onto a dirty road. Traffic was quite heavy on this section and all were moving slowly. Another while passed before they suddenly saw a newly set up sign: savage birds ahead; close all windows and doors; drive with caution. ¡°Haha!¡± A passenger sat in the front rows jeered, ¡°I get ¡®savage dog inside¡¯ a lot. Which idiot came up with ¡®savage birds¡¯?¡± ¡°Is it your first time taking this route?¡± asked the driver suddenly. ¡°So what? There are supposed to be savage birds just because a sign says so? I¡¯m not buying it.¡± ¡°Buying it or not, you¡¯ll know when you¡­ sh*t!¡± The driver swerved the steering wheel and there was a series of banging sounds of metal shells bumping into each other. Eight vehicles ahead knocked into a jumble. Immediately after that, they heard a buzzing sound. The rumble seemed to be made from countless wings pping together, then a flock of little white birds flew down. There were so many of them that the sky was blocked. Every vehicle was soon covered by white feathers. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Aaaah!¡± Some passengers began to scream and ther, ¡°Help! Help! What are we gonna do? Call the police¡­¡± ¡°Stop yelling. It¡¯s fine!¡± The driver remained very calm. He was telling the truth. The little birds pecked at the windows, making a rattling sound like pouring rain. Despite their apparent ferocity, not a single window was broken. Gradually, the frightened passengers calmed down and watched them in amazement. ¡°What are these birds? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen them when I took this route before!¡± said an auntie curiously. ¡°They¡¯re white jade birds,¡± replied someone. ¡°Oh? How do you know that?¡± asked the auntie. ¡°Hoho¡­¡± The person gave her a strange smile and did not answer. In his window seat, Gu Yu was also watching a little bird curiously. It was 7-8 cm long, had white feathers and little red ws. The feather almost looked transparent and its beak was also red. It was a very pretty bird. Its ws were rather special, for they could cling to the window ss without slipping. Seeing that Gu Yu was observing it, the bird tilted its head to one side and looked back. It then stuck out its beak and began to move its head back and forth, back and forth¡­ Eww! That looked so wrong! He suddenly did not feel like watching it any more. Gu Yu could actually sense that these white jade birds meant no harm despite their boisterous activity. People were only intimidated because there were so many of them. Looking around, he turned a little to block the view of the others and grabbed into the empty air. The next second, that white little bird was in his hand with a dumbstruck face. It was about to chirp when an invisible shield silenced it. ¡°The journey is kind of boring. You¡¯ll keep mepany.¡± Chapter 323 Chapter 323: A Private Visit (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Watch out! Watch out!¡± ¡°Shut the doors and windows and stay down! Cover your heads! Take cover in the seats!¡± ¡°Aaaaaah! Help!¡± ¡°Zap! Zap! Zap!¡± It was a hubbub of crying, chaotic screams, beast squeaking, gunshots, as well as the bone-chilling noise of ws scratching the metal shell of the vehicles¡­ together, it sounded as if a giant chest had fallen from the sky and crushed open its lid, releasing all the sounds of the world. The long-distance bus had just made its way into Guizhou Province and was not yet out of the luxuriant mountains when it was caught in a tide of beasts. Yes, it was a tide made of a type of animals. They were about half a meter in length with a half-meter long tail, had grayish yellow fur with brown stripes on their back, and a tapered head, giving them a weasel-ish look. Many might not have seen such an animal before. It was Viverric indica, ormonly known as small Indian civet. It used to be an endangered species, but the poption had grown back after the highly encouraged artificial breeding in the country. The animal was of great economic value. On its perineum just below its anus was a pouch-like scent nd that had a closable opening, which secreted oil thick as honey. That was the so-called civet oil, which was said to be one of the four major animal fragrances alongside musk, castoreum, and ambergris. Gu Yu knew a little bit about this animal. Civet oil was notmonly adopted in oriental incense, but was mainly used in the traditional medicine to repel foulness, promote the cirction of Qi, relieve pain, ease sudden pain in the heart and stomach, etc. Well, ok, this was probably not the best time to talk about such things. ¡°Help¡­ sob¡­ mum!¡± ¡°Sob¡­ sob¡­¡± Night was just setting in. On this major section¡ªone that all vehicles had to use to get to the neighboring province¡ªnearly a hundred vehicles were surrounded by the herd of civets. All headlights were switched on in the dimness, under which all vehicles seemed to be crawling with grayish-yellow maggots, which had very big eyes and were squirming. Even the adults were frightened out of their wits, let alone the kids¡ªwho were convulsing with fear. The police had long arrived at the scene and were doing their best to scatter the animals holding shields and electric prods. Theirst resort was to shoot into the air, trying to scare them off. ¡°What the hell is going on? There was no warning of hazard on this section of the road!¡± ¡°I heard a breeding base had a breakout and the owners were all killed!¡± ¡°Sh*t! There are a lot of breeding farms in the area. There must be tens of thousands of them¡­ watch out! Over there! There!¡± ¡°Zap¡­ ow, ow¡­¡± Caressing the bird, Gu Yu raised his head to peek out of the window. The civets were not very effective as far as attacking was concerned. Most of the trucks and buses remained unharmed and about half of the cars were trashed¡ªmostly Japanese and Korean brands, which tended to have thinner shells. He was still trying to figure out how to save the day when cheers erupted outside. ¡°Priests! The priests areing!¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! I never thought we¡¯d run into Lord Priests out here!¡± ¡°We¡¯re safe!¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ He walked along the aisle to the front of the bus and looked out. Two priests were getting off a vehicle, both wearing blue robes and both very young. The two walked to the middle of the road. With one guarding the perimeter, the other one took out a few yellow talismans, which burst into me all at once. The talismans shot into mid-air in a whoosh and turned into a big lump of mes, which floated there. A smell seemed to be emanating from the me, spreading out fast. Human beings were not affected by the smell, but the civets were tottering and went tipsy as if they were drunk. They soon fell to the ground in a series of thumping sounds. ¡°Why, there¡¯s still a big one!¡± ¡°Take it alive! Take it alive!¡± They were checking the unconscious animals when they saw a big civet over a meter long was still struggling. One of the priests took out his whisk and knocked it on the head, chuckling. ¡°That¡¯s quite a fighter. I wonder how spiritual it is, though. Let¡¯s take it back and raise it.¡± ¡°This is a happy coincidence. Senior Brother has been looking for spiritual animals. This civet will earn us a small reward.¡± ¡°We¡¯d better hurry, then. Senior Brother will go back to the monastery in a few days.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu returned slowly to his seat and found that conversation rather strange. So their sect had a priest up on Tianzhu Mountain, but why were they looking for spiritual animals? Could it be that the monastery has got their hands on some secret treasure? There was the refinement with mental force and now the spiritual animal? With the help of the two priests, the tumult soon subsided. The police then busied themselves with dispatching the vehicles and checking the traffic condition. Before long, a police officer boarded the bus. ¡°Please take your rest in the next town ahead. We¡¯ll have to record any injuries or damage, eliminating any possibility of contagious diseases. We have arranged amodations for you all, but passengers travelling on their own may have to share rooms. Sorry about that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. Thank you for everything.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a tough day for you guys as well. We¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s just one night.¡± The passengers were yet to recover from the fright and could not continue the journey. No one objected. The fatigued police officer got off in a hurry and went back to direct the traffic, mumbling, ¡°Damn it! Half of the roads nowadays are closed and monsters are everywhere. How am I supposed to do my job?¡± *** Pan Zhou, the town of Saji. Pan Zhou was under the jurisdiction of Liupanshui and the western entrance of Guizhou Province. It was located at the junction of Diannan, Guizhou, and Guangxi. Saji was a small ce. With nearly a hundred vehicles and three to four hundred people rushing into the town, nearly every hotel was filled to the brim. Gu Yu did not live in the hotel arranged by the police, but paid for a suite to stay the night. As soon as he got into the room, he set up a confinement and let out the little bird. The white jade bird had been shut up in a tiny ce for the past few hours and was now flying all over the room looking very grumpy. After much chirping¡ªwhich Gu Yu had ignoredpletely¡ªthe birdnded on the windowsill. It was indeed a very pretty bird, especially those expressive, bright ck eyes. Gu Yu opened his bag and took out a civet secretively¡ªhe had picked it up in passing. He couldn¡¯t help it¡ªthe upational habit of an incense maker. He had yed with plenty of nt-derived incense material before, but never an animal one, which intrigued him greatly. Because of the unknown method that priest used, the civet remained unconscious. Gu Yu put it on the table and began his work. He lifted the long tail, revealing the two balls and a rod, between which was a kidney-shaped scent nd. He then gently forced the nd open and saw that the inside looked like an apple sliced open. It was covered with soft white hair, had two shallow ridges, papitions, and a lot of holes too tiny for naked eyes to see. On either side on the upper part of the nd was a bigger hole and the oil was inside. The normal extraction process would involve squeezing the oil out of those holes. Gu Yu took out a ss bottle and activated the Small Moving Technique. A pale-yellow sticky substance instantly appeared in the bottle. He sniffed at it. It was rather elegant and not intense at all. With a closer inspection, he could sense something carnal behind that elegance. Well, that was interesting! He blinked. No wonder the traditional incense did not like it¡ªthat was way too explicit. The westerners loved the style, though. ¡°¡­¡± He pondered on the idea. The civet oil had a weaker scent then the Peach Blossom Incense. With the assistance of some other material to bnce the two, he could probably create an incense perfect for ¡°bedtime¡±. By ¡°perfect¡±, he was picturing a little wine, some intimate talk, she had sexy silk stocking and he had clean socks; the bed was big enough, the forey was of the perfect length, followed by the rightly timed coitus and ended with a climax neither too intense nor too weak¡­ everything was just right. Like Gorky once said (not): men of noble character would fulfil their conjugal duty every five days and there was nothing wrong having fun in the bedroom. The civet oil changed its appearance very fast. In a moment, it had turned into a half-solid state. Gu Yu put away the bottle, knocked the civet on the head again, and called Xiao Qiu. Xiaozhai was still cultivating in seclusion and was doing great. If everything went as nned, by the time he got back to Phoenix Mountain, she would reach the passionless state in Water Thunder. Xiaojin was still halfway through her journey and no ident had happened so far. It was supposed to be that way. The fame of Phoenix Mountain meant something to a lot of people throughout the country and even if someone decided to ignore that fame, Xiaojin would make sure they wouldn¡¯t. He hung up after a while andy in bed ying with his phone. He was going to flip through some weibo posts, but got stuck logging in. After much maneuvering, he finally opened the page and saw that it was caused by the sudden inflow of visitors attracted by the announcement of a young actor¡¯s love affair. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ He was not interested in the entertainment news at all. They all sounded too fake. Movie stars could pretend to be going out for months to promote a new film, while an ordinary man pretending to be a couple with a female ¡°physical therapist¡± would get arrested. That couldn¡¯t be right, no? ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce my bird 1 .¡± He suddenly pointed at the windowsill. Hm, that sounded just about right! ¡°Knock, knock, knock!¡± While Gu Yu was enjoying his silly moment, there was a knock at the door. He went to answer it and saw a police officer outside. The officer winced as soon as he saw Gu Yu¡¯s face and his tone turned extra cautious. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m the police officer of this town. Are you one of the passengersing off that road?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°There are just a couple of questions we need to ask. Were you injured in any way, or were any of your belongings damaged?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Ok, thank you for your cooperation.¡± The police officer could feel sweat trickling down his neck. He was checking the hotel registration and read the name of His Majesty. He did not believe it then, but when he saw the man, wow! It was quite amazing, though, to see an immortal ying with his phone just like everyone else. Of course, he dared not reveal any of these thoughts. He was about to leave when Gu Yu said, ¡°Could you wait a minute, please? I¡¯m gonna need a small favor.¡± ¡°Oh, sure.¡± ¡°I picked up this civet on the road. Would you please send it back?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± the police officer replied solemnly. ¡°Are you from around here?¡± ¡°Yes, born and raised in Pan Zhou.¡± ¡°Are there any famous tourist destinations or temples nearby? I¡¯d like to have a look.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± The officer gave it a thought and said, ¡°The most famous ces of interest are Danxia Mountain and the Great Cave. There is a Huguo 2 Temple up on the mountain. The Great Cave is a site of Paleolithic ruins. The old town of Pan Zhou has quite a few temples. There are Chenghuang Temple, Temple of God of Wealth, and Nanji Temple, for instance. But most of them are in a bad shape.¡± ¡°Anything else? I¡¯m not really a big fan of the really famous ones. Something less popr, preferably.¡± ¡°There is a Dushan Temple in Dushan County, a Wanshou Pce in Jinsha, and a ck God Temple in Zhijin.¡± The officer indeed knew the ce well. ¡°ck God Temple? Which god is it worshipping?¡± Gu Yu was a little surprised by the name. ¡°Well, some say it is Meng Huo, others say it¡¯s some famous general. I¡¯m really not sure.¡± ¡°No problem, thanks.¡± After the police officer left, Gu Yu searched for the temple online. It was his first time hearing the name ck God and he was intrigued. ording to the results of his search, ck God was a god worshipped with sacrifices peculiar to Guizhou Province. One theory said it was the barbarian king Meng Huo¡ªthe same one caught and released seven times by Zhuge Liang. Legend had it that he had the ability to summon wind, so in some temples, the ck God would hold a sphere in his hand, which was a divine object to summon wind. Others suggested that it was Nan Jiyun, a general of the Tang Dynasty. During the An Lushan Rebellion, Zhang Xun led the army to suppress the revolt and Nan Jiyun was Zhang Xun¡¯s right hand man. The army waster defeated and Nan Jiyun died in the battle. Nan Jiyun was from Guizhou, where the habit of worshipping with sacrifices was amon practice. The so-called ck God was a name used by themon folk. During the Qing Dynasty, the government carried out a mass migration of the people of Guizhou, who then took this practice with them. The alternative name of Guizhou was Qian, which meant ¡°ck¡±, hence Nan Jiyun was called ck God. With the date of the Longhu Mountain duel announced¡ªwhich was 13th of next month¡ªthere was plenty of time left for Gu Yu. He decided to take the time to wander around a bit to see the changes. When he heard this name, it was only natural that he should take a look. Chapter 324 Chapter 324: Zhijin Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Night, Phoenix Mountain ¡°Zhijin branch¡±. Zhijin was the name of this county which also happened to have a Phoenix Mountain located in its Zhuzang Township. Zhuzang was 23 km away from the county town and had an economy on the undeveloped side. ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Keep up! Keep up!¡± In the darkness of the night, thick growth of tall grass deep in the mountain was brushed aside and several streaks of bright light shot out, then a team of people crept out with their backs hunched. There were about fifty to sixty of them in total, who were holding high-wattage miningmps, with brooms ands tucked on their back, and had their cuffs and trousers legs tightly fastened. One look at their appearance and you knew they had done this plenty of times before. It was You Yu¡¯s first time doing this and he was very nervous. Hanging on to his cousin You Le by the corner of thetter¡¯s clothes, he stumbled on. He was here with the elder member of the family, and before long, he saw a fence with a sign set up outside, reminding the readers of relevant legal provisions regarding the protection of migratory birds. Being a high school student only, he asked gingerly, ¡°Brother, isn¡¯t what we¡¯re doing wrong?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been catching them for four or five years. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± You Le sneered. ¡°But, but it¡¯s breaking thew!¡± ¡°It only is if we get caught, otherwise, it¡¯s perfectly all right. Plus, so what if the police doe. Don¡¯t you remember what happenedst year?¡± ¡°¡­¡± You Yu went silent. There was a major confrontationst year, during which dozens of vigers were besieged on the mountaintop by a dozen forest police officers halfway up the mountain. The vigers had thrown stones down to retaliate. Although several vigers were arrested in the end, others showed no desire to restrain themselves. The activity only grew in size this year. Vigers were bringing in their entire families for help, pping the face of thew loudly. This mountain was on the vital route of the migratory birds and they often put up for the night on the mountaintop in flocks. Excessive catching and killing of the birds had be a custom of the vigers, who sold the birds at less than a hundred yuan each and could catch hundreds in a single night. They themselves called it a way to improve the quality of their life. The local forestry police station had intervened on multiple asions, but it produced very little effect. You Yu¡¯s inner conflict was gnawing at him. His nature of a good, kind student made him reluctant toe, but he also knew that catching bird would give him money for better food on the table and some nice clothes. He was young and had yet to form his view of life. He was struggling with the contradiction. It was with this internal struggle that he reached the top of the mountain with the rest of the group. There was the breeze, the bright moon, and the twinkling stars. The dark sky looked like a dome above that one almost felt they could raise their arm and touch it. October was the peak time of the migration of birds. Not only were they travelling in daytime, many would keep on flying at night. ¡°Chirp!¡± ¡°Squeak!¡± You Yu stood on a big rock and looked up at the sky. He could faintly make out flocks of birds passing overhead in lines and rows, chirping loudly from time to time. This was supposed to be an asion where one admired the boundless wonders of the nature and the beauty of the night, yet here they were, doing everything they could to destroy everything that was pleasant. ¡°Where¡¯s the tire? The tire? Bring it here now!¡± ¡°The fire¡¯s ready. Just put it there. It¡¯s the most obvious spot!¡± ¡°All set. Everyone back away and get ready!¡± ¡°Set the fire! Turn on the light!¡± Bang, bang, bang! Whoosh¡­ At themand of the leader, allmps were switched to the brightest, lighting up the top of the mountain like the bright daylight. Some old tires were also set on fire. The raging mes hopped in the night wind, giving off a disgusting smell of burnt rubber. The vigers were all experienced at this. They waited with broomsticks ands in hands and kept their gaze at the sky. ¡°Chirp!¡± ¡°Chirp!¡± Before long, a flock of migratory birds was attracted by the light and slowly descended. Right at the moment when they were about to ¡°hug¡± the light, the vigers pounced at the birds and swept down their broomsticks. Two or three birds were struck down in one single strike. Another few rushed near and grabbed the birds at their necks to stuff them into thes, not caring if they were alive or dead. All they cared about was the money. You Yu was petrified watching on the side. That was a f**king egret! That looked like a pond heron! And that, that¡­ he did not know the name, but it was definitely a protected species. ¡°¡­¡± The kid was shaking. He stood there dazed, his motionlessness a stark contrast to everything happening around him. You Le had caught a bagful and was shouting excitedly, ¡°Xiao Yu, what are you doing standing there? Get over here! Check this out. Holy crap, that¡¯s at least a thousand yuan here!¡± ¡°Oh my, this is a good one. This one alone is worth 300!¡± ¡°300? Why did I only get 200?¡± ¡°Did you sell it to Old Qin? That guy is not decent. You have to go to the county town. The ce is called Xinxing. They sell game as food there. This one is 588 for half a kilo!¡± ¡°Clear the ground and let¡¯s have another round!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± They began the night with a big harvest and everyone was in high spirits. They set everything up after much maneuvering and waited for the second batch of birds. About an hourter, they heard birds¡¯ calling from above. The leader shouted, ¡°Get ready!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The vigers were on the alert and ready to catch. A flock of birds approached across the night sky in an arrow-shaped formation. You Le threw the to his cousin and held the broomstick himself. His face was lit up by excitement. He stared at the birds and said silently in his head, ¡®Come down. Come down here!¡¯ ¡°Chirp!¡± The birds saw the light, but did not descend like the previous flock. Instead, they began to circle in the sky, as if they were led by some sort of fluctuation. They seemed agitated. The vigers waited for a while and asked, ¡°Boss, what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Just wait. They¡¯re probably too scared toe down!¡± The leader tried to appease the rest. ¡°Chirp¡­ squeak¡­¡± After a moment, the birds were still circling, but their calling grew louder. When the vigers were getting impatient, the flock scattered suddenly and seemed to be ready to dive. ¡°Coming! They¡¯reing!¡± You Le cheered up and had his eyes on a big bird. He raised his broomstick. ¡°I¡¯ve got this¡ª aaaah!¡± He cried out in surprise. His broomstick struck the big bird, which pped its wings violently and steadied itself with a strange agitation and ferocity. The next second, it was dashing at You Le. It was toote for You Le to dodge and he buried his head into his arms. There was then a chilly sensation at the back of his head¡ªa bloody piece of scalp was torn off. ¡°Aaaah! Aaaah!¡± The other vigers were panic-stricken. The hunter had be the hunted. Hundreds of birds charged down and the vigers scattered in all directions. ¡°Brother! Brother!¡± You Yu turned out to be the calm one in this critical moment. Dragging his cousin with one hand, he picked up the broomstick in the other. ¡°Don¡¯t shout. Be quiet. Hold on, I¡¯ll take you out of here!¡± ¡°Out of my way! Out of my way!¡± ¡°Aaaaah!¡± He cleared a way out with all his strength and tumbled into the dense woods. He dared not turn back to look for even once. *** Saji Town, morning. Gu Yu stayed the night in the town and wanted to go to ck God Temple the following morning. ck God Temple was on Fish Mountain in the eastern suburb of the county. The mountain got the name for its resemnce to a wooden fish. It was actually no taller than 300 m and had an area of less than 20 mu. Looking down from above, it looked more like a giant rock. He hailed a taxi. ¡°Fish Mountain, please.¡± ¡°You¡¯re new here, right? You can¡¯t go in that direction.¡± The driver turned him down and exined, ¡°A flock of birds came from Phoenix Mountain and now the whole county town is taken. No one dares to leave their home. All roads are closed!¡± ¡®WHAT?¡¯ Gu Yu did not see thating. A flock of birds from Phoenix Mountain¡­ those were some persistent birds to fly this far! He then realized it was not his own mountain, but one of the ¡°branches¡± with the same name. He then asked, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll go as far as you can drive me in that direction. How about that?¡± ¡°Um, hop on.¡± The driver hesitated a little, but still gestured for him to get in. They drove for over half an hour along the road and saw a crowd ahead. There was a hubbub of noises and they could go no further. Gu Yu got off the taxi. Wow, that was quite a scene! Not only were there roadblocks, sandbags and chunks of stones were also piled up as if they were in wartime. Six or seven police cars guarded the entrance tightly with a loudspeaker ring a safety alert repeatedly. ¡°Please do not approach! I repeat, do not approach! The police are doing everything they can to rescue the civilians. This is an unusual situation and no one is allowed to go in. Please follow the instructions!¡± Hundreds of people stood around, some being mere onlookers, some howling their lungs out¡ªpresumably having rtives trapped inside. He looked up and realized the clouds and the sun were all blocked by a dark sea of tens of thousands migratory birds that were either circling around in mid-air over the streets or perching on various buildings. It reminded him so much of a scene from an old movie. ¡°Vroom!¡± ¡°Make way! Make way!¡± An anti-riot vehicle suddenly drove out from the other side of the barrier. The door slid open and several special force police officers jumped out. Their colleague went up to them in a hurry and asked, ¡°How are things looking inside?¡± ¡°The birds have taken up all space avable! But they are not making active attacks, so long as the people stay inside, they¡¯re fine. No one can walk the streets¡­ all hospitals are running at full capacity. There are over a thousand injured and over four hundred are wounded badly. There is a significant shortage of medical assistance.¡± ¡°Backup ising from the city, but they don¡¯t really have any good idea up there, either. The birds are very difficult to drive out, unless they use chemical gases, but that will harm the civilians.¡± ¡°F**k! What is wrong with this world!¡± A police officer smashed his walkie-talkie on the ground, cursing loudly. ¡°¡­¡± The surrounding people grew more worried at those words. After a while, someone said, ¡°Didn¡¯t they say the birds flew here from Phoenix Mountain? Does anyone know anything about that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard a little. A bunch of people went to catch birdsst night. Only five out of the sixty-two made it back.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. My sister lives over there. It seemed the birds just suddenly began to attack people.¡± ¡°Then why aren¡¯t they staying on Phoenix Mountain, but flew here to the country town?¡± ¡°¡­¡± There was silence again¡ªlike anyone would know the answer! Gu Yu hid among the crowd and listened in silence. Momentster, the crowd scattered at two approaching priests¡ªthey were none other than the two handling the civets. The man in charged hurried near and his voice was anxiety-ridden. ¡°Priests, you¡¯re finally here. There really is nothing we can do.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t panic. Let us have a look first.¡± The two priests looked into the distance and were both secretly astonished. The sudden abnormal behavior of a bird flock of this scale was obviously beyond their capability. One of them said, ¡°I have notified our temple. Our senior brother just happened to be here, he¡¯sing. You can proceed however you see fit.¡± The other one added, ¡°This is an important matter. I think we¡¯d better evacuate the civilians as best as we can.¡± The man in charge grasped the meaning of those words right away. By ¡°important matter¡±, they meant it was a cultivation thing not to be meddled in by just anyone. Both priests were disciples of the Immortal Cave of Forest City. The Immortal Cave was thergest Taoist temple of Guizhou Province and a member of Zhengyi. Guizhou had been a remote location historically, but had a long history of Taoist beliefs. The religion was very popr among themon folk. The Immortal Cave was a renowned and authoritative figure in the province. With its help, although the man in charge was not fully convinced, his anxiety was greatly eased nheless. Over on the other side, Gu Yu had collected enough information he needed and secretly entered the town from a spot several kilometers away. Zhijin at this moment looked like an apocalyptic drawing: the ruined streets were littered with vehicles that still had their doors wide open. Turning everywhere, he could see no one. The birds had blocked out the sky, transforming the town into a wild paradise. Residents of the town were standing at the windows inside the buildings and looking out helplessly, wishing for the disaster to go away. ¡°Ssss!¡± Taking in the scene, Gu Yu suddenly frowned, for he had sensed an intriguing fluctuation. He smelt trouble! Chapter 325 Chapter 325: The You Brothers (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Chirp!¡± Gu Yu casually swept a few big birds aside and marched on. The big birds were sent tumbling away in the air, and after they finally managed to steady themselves, they pounced again at Gu Yu. There was simply no stopping that, almost as if they had had viagra for breakfast. Gu Yu grew a little impatient. He released a single me Could Needle and made a 10-meter-radius circle with it centering around himself. That sessfully created a ¡°vacuum zone¡± filled with hot, charred dead birds giving off an aroma of burnt meat. ¡°¡­¡± That white jade bird was standing on his shoulder with a dumbstruck face and a dull look in its eyes. It was like a cat that had seen a tiger for the first time: holy sh*t, so I¡¯m not actually the ruler of this world? Gu Yu looked around. He could detect a strange agitation floating around the town, disturbing the spiritual essence and irritating the birds, so much that they were lured here as if they were waiting for some treasure to be unearthed. The agitation was too weak to pinpoint. He had not a single lead and had to wander around aimlessly in the town. About forty minutester, he reached a road on the east side of the town and caught something. The next second, he turned into fog and drifted off in a gust of wind. ¡°Chirp!¡± The white jade bird pped its wings in horror and caught up with the fog as fast as it could manage. There was no way it would stay here alone¡ªit would be some other bird¡¯s bi*th in no time. The man and the bird were soon out of the town and reached the eastern suburb. They saw even more birds here which almost blotted out the entire sky. The fog then turned back into Gu Yu, who looked up and saw a mountain a couple of hundred meters tall. At the foot of the mountain was a stone tablet, which read: Important Historical Monuments under Special Preservation, ck God Temple of the ancient architecturalplex of Zhijin¡ªJune, 2006. ¡®Hm?¡¯ He winced a little despite himself¡ªthat was such a coincidence! He was faintly detecting the strongest disturbance came from this ce, but never expected it to be Fish Mountain itself. This had saved him an extra trip. Fish Mountain was tiny and seemed to have been closed down for quite some time. The dark-red gate was peeling off and was tightly locked by two iron locks. The style of the knockers was quite unique. The base was a pair of beast heads with mixed features of tiger, lion, dragon, and horse, which probably represented some animal that could expel evil. Even the streets of the county town were deserted, let alone this ce. Gu Yu broke the lock and the wooden gate opened with a squeaking moan. He walked in, the flock of birds pping, twittering, and knocking into each other behind him, but none dared fly past the threshold. ¡°Squeak!¡± He gently closed the door behind him, shutting off all noise outside as if he had entered another world. The mountain was featured with wonderful terrains. Grotesque stones scattered the slope and dozens of stairs wound up somewhere quiet and deep on the mountain. There weren¡¯t many buildings inside. After a while, he only saw a wooden pavilion, which was just about halfway up the mountain. Beyond that was the Martyr¡¯s Shrine. Martyr¡¯s Shrine was its official name. To themon folk, it was the ck God Temple. The temple was not a big one. There was a courtyard, a main hall, a preaching room with a green zed-tile roof, and an old pomegranate tree stood in the front yard whose winding trunk reminded one of a coiling ck dragon. That was strange. This mountain was a perfect tourist destination, yet the government of Zhijin seemed to have no intention to make any improvement or development ns. They simply left the temple to go to waste. Gu Yu wandered around. The main hall was empty¡ªthe statue of ¡°Nan Jiyun, the ck God Governor of Qian Zhou and Grand Master Of Glorious Happiness¡± was nowhere to be seen. The only thing worth noting was a que saying ¡°Win People with Loyalty¡±. Flowers and nts flourished in the backyard. On the left side was a library with two pairs of couplets hanging outside: one was ¡°Alongside the Mountains of Dayou and Xiaoyu and together with the Toad Cave, the knowledge stored in the three mountains are like the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon of West Lake¡±, and the other ¡°The sun shines brightly on Brocade City; the moon softly lights up the library¡±. Other than those, there was nothing to see. ¡°Tsk!¡± Gu Yu frowned. The fluctuation of the spiritual essence was the most violent here, so much so that the birds dared note in. But he was drawing nk on exactly what was hidden here and where it was hidden. He spent quite a while in the temple before heading back out. He needed to find someone local to the area for some information. *** Zhijin, the People¡¯s Hospital. It was thergest hospital of the town, crowded with patients on a daily basis. Right now, it was overflowing with them. The corridors, the hallways, even the stairndings were filled with the wounded, who were sitting, slouching, or lying down all over the ce. The minor cases were mostly surface scratches, while the more severe ones suffered from damaged body parts. The most serious one, however, had either their stomachs or skulls shed open. We were looking at over a thousand patients here! No hospital was adequately equipped for such an inflow. Medicine for infection and tetanus prevention, painkillers, hemostatics, anaesthetics, etc., were almost all running out. The medical staff was multitasking around the clock and still could not keep up with the emergencies. ¡°102¡¯s wound opened again. Forceps! I need forceps!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve run out forceps, and the tourniquets too!¡± ¡°Sh*t! Any bandages?¡± ¡°That¡¯s gone, too! We¡¯re using all the straps and towels we can find!¡± ¡°Aaaah, help me, help me¡­¡± There was only so much a county-level hospital could do. As the disaster unfolded, the medical staff was also overwhelmed by the anxiety and depression. The air was filled with despair. On the stairnding of the second floor, the You Brothers rejoiced at their good fortune. Arge piece of skin was ripped off from the back of You Le¡¯s head, which was now thickly bandaged. He was saying repeatedly, ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you, or I would have died up there. Old Uncle Liu was just behind me. A big bird dived down and his throat was torn out. I am so lucky to have a good brother like you!¡± ¡°You¡¯re my brother. That¡¯s the least I could do!¡± You Yu blushed at the words of praise. He had been brandishing the broomstick fiercely and scraped his hands. Under the current circumstances, that minor injury was negligible. ¡°I say, uncle and auntie, and dad and mum are the real lucky ones. Had they not been away, they would havee with us. God knows what would be of them.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. I barely made it out alive this time. If I can get out of this mess, I will never catch a bird for the rest of my life,¡± said You Le pensively. They were still talking when a woman¡¯s voice began to broadcast. ¡°Attention, please. Because we are still waiting for the relief supplies from Liupanshui and the provincial government, we are currently having a shortage in our medical resources in the hospital. In order to make better use of the limited resources and provide a better medical treatment for those severely wounded, we¡¯d like everyone to check their number card, please. The doctors have marked the cards with different colors. The green and yellow ones are not as severely wounded, the police force will escort their owners to the hospitals in neighboring counties. Thank you for your co¡ª¡± ¡°Buzz!¡± The hospital erupted with angry yells at the announcement. ¡°I¡¯m not going. Why me? Don¡¯t you know those birds are out there?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. They can go all they want, but not me. I¡¯m already 70 years old and what do I care? Let¡¯s see if you can drag me out of here!¡± ¡°¡­¡± You Le checked his number card and a green tick beamed back at him. Crest-fallen, he said, ¡°Xiao Yu, find me a pen, will you?¡± ¡°Where am I supposed to find a pen?¡± ¡°Then, when theye to check up on me, I¡¯ll pretend I¡¯m really badly wounded. Work with me.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± You Yu was the honest one. He tried to talk You Le out of it. ¡°Brother, you¡¯re not that badly hurt. Let¡¯s just go to another hospital.¡± ¡°Why? Forget about the police escorting they mentioned. How are they supposed to escort this many people? There are ten thousand birds out there, who can guarantee our safety?¡± You Le red at him. While the wounded were making their own ns, the hospital staff and the police had started the process. ¡°Comrade, please work with us!¡± a police officer spoke politely, but he did not waver a bit when he pulled an auntie up to her feet and hustled her downstairs. The auntie was howling louder than when she¡¯d squeezed into a packed bus, sounding all hale and hearty. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me! I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m not leaving. Touch me again and I¡¯m going to lie down right here¡­¡± Like so, the first batch of the walking wounded was brought downstairs in a hubbub. Several anti-riot vehicles were parked outside guarded by heavily armed special force police officers. As soon as they saw the patients, they rushed toward them with steel shields raised above their heads. ¡°Quack!¡± ¡°Chirp!¡± The flock of birds poured down as soon as they caught sight of the human beings. They smashed down and made banging sounds on the shields. ¡°Aaaah! Don¡¯t eat me! Don¡¯t eat me!¡± The auntie was frightened out of her wits and could no longer think straight. She took to her heels and ran for her life. The rest panicked with her and everyone began to rush towards the vehicles. Those at the back had no idea what was going on and simply bolted with the others. Everyone was crashing into everyone and those that had got on the vehicle held onto the chairs and began to kick at the others. ¡°Get out! Get out!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t panic! Don¡¯t panic! Patients at the back, please go back to the hospital!¡± The police officers shouted at the top of their lungs to keep the people in line, but the horror-stricken crowd could not hear a word. Immediately after that, screams wereing from the crowd. ¡°Aaaaah! My eyes!¡± ¡°Aaaaah! Aaaaah!¡± ¡°How dare you!¡± Just then, a clear voice rang out a short distance away and a long sword jabbed into the flock of birds as if it was descending from heaven. It was like a piece of machinending on a pile of meat. Wherever it turned, a big bird was struck down. The de shed and in a heartbeat, the sword had cleared out a safety zone. ¡°Drive when the vehicle is full. Those who cannot get on this one, fall back!¡± The sword then slowed down a little and a personnded like a beam of light. It was a very handsome young priest. Chapter 326 Chapter 326: The You Brothers (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The priest made his grand entrance like an immortal swordmaster, turning the crisis around without breaking a sweat. With his resolute manner, the wounded feltpelled to follow his order without any objection. Those that ran at the front quickly got on the vehicle, while those that fell behind retreated hurriedly into the hospital building. ¡°Go!¡± The police officers gestured and the anti-riot vehicles rumbled out of the courtyard. The first batch of the wounded was sent away. Just then, two more priests arrived in a hurry with swords in their hands, calling out, ¡°Senior Brother, are you all right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. Let¡¯s talk inside.¡± The priest waved off their concern and entered the hospital with his two junior brothers. The officials in charge saw the whole thing from upstairs and had scrambled downstairs now, holding the priest¡¯s hands tightly. ¡°Thank you so much! Thank you so much!¡± Another one asked, ¡°If we may know which esteemed priest do we have the honor to meet, please?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Bai Yunsheng 1 of the Immortal Cave.¡± The priest saluted them, then said, ¡°I got a message from my junior brother. What exactly is going on here?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not sure, either. All we know is that someone has been catching birds on Phoenix Mountain in Zhuzang Township, which enraged a flock of birds and they somehow ended up flying here to the county town¡±¡ªthe official lowered his voice¡ª¡±I¡¯m afraid this is a matter concerning the cultivationmunity. We¡¯re depending on you for a solution.¡± ¡°I¡¯m perfectly capable of handling the lesser unnatural creatures, but don¡¯t put too much hope in me. I¡¯m not advanced enough in my cultivation and there is only so much I can do.¡± Bai Yunsheng was a natural and unrestrained character with a manner neither haughty nor humble; he was all about telling the truth. The man was tall, broad-shouldered, and had slender fingers and a powerful grip. His bright eyes reminded one of stars, and with the long sword on his back, he looked very much like a chivalrous swordsman of the ancient times. The Immortal Cave of Forest City was thergest temple in Guizhou Province. Despite being a branch of Zhengyi, its founder and history remained rather mysterious, with little written records. That inscrutable sword technique Bai Yunsheng used was exactly the reason he was able to secure his ce in Qiyun among all the other extremely talented priests. Sword technique was amon physical training method adopted by all sects in the Taoistmunity, but rarely did any of them consider it their sole specialty. Acting under the order of the monastery, Bai Yunsheng came to Guizhou to remove the evil creatures pestering thend¡ªwell, mostly the Tame Head masters that had snuck into the country. He had just finished cleaning up the province and was about to head back to Tianzhu Mountain when this happened, hence his showing up here. His arrival made little difference in solving the problem, though. He was not yet an innate state cultivator and could not detect the abnormality. *** ¡°Quickly!¡± ¡°Are the fire engines here yet?¡± ¡°Yes, yes. Make way!¡± ¡°Ssh!¡± Outside the building entrance, four fire engines dispatched here on a short notice had each taken up a corner of the courtyard. A group of people pretended they were making a run, luring the birds to approach, then the water hoses were switched on. That was quite a scene. Water mist filled the air and dampened the birds¡¯ feather, which weighed them down until they were falling to the ground one after another. Bai Yunsheng and the other two priests guarded the perimeter to take down any bird that managed to make its way in. Under such a close protective system, the second batch of wounded patients got safely onto the vehicles. ¡°Hahaha! That¡¯s great!¡± ¡°A fallen phoenix is weaker than a chicken. Let¡¯s see who¡¯s the tough one now?¡± There was indeed wisdom within themon folk. Some old man hade up with this idea and the crowd¡¯s spirits were significantly lifted at its effectiveness. After that, the third and fourth batches made a smooth departure. You Le and You Yu belonged to the sixth batch. They were now waiting in the lobby, looking out through the ss door. ¡°That¡¯s good. We¡¯ll be safe!¡± You Le sighed with relief. Patting his younger cousin on his shoulder, he said, ¡°They¡¯re sending us to the city. Dad and Mum are also there.¡± ¡°I still want to go home. No one knows if these birds are ever going to leave or not, what are we gonna do?¡± You Yu sounded crestfallen. While the brothers were whispering to one another, the other people rxed with how smoothly things turned out. The fifth batch was ready to head out. ¡°Ready!¡± ¡°Ssh!¡± The fire hoses were switched on again and the birds fluttered to the ground. All of a sudden, a fireman shouted, ¡°Sh*t! There¡¯re too many of them!¡± ¡°Chirp!¡± ¡°Chirp, chirp!¡± This method seemed to have enraged the birds as they were pouring in from all over the town, diving into the courtyard from all directions. As soon as a wave of birds was shot down by the gushing water, more would take their ces. ¡°Turn the water up! Turn it up!¡± ¡°It¡¯s already full on. Watch out¡ª ah!¡± A fireman cried out as a bird knocked into his back and he fell down the fire engine with a thump. The rest of the firemen were given as hard a time as he and the water flow instantly gged. ¡°Fall back!¡± Bai Yunsheng¡¯s face turned stern and he jumped into the courtyard without hesitation. His sword reached out like a precise machine, brushing past a girl¡¯s cheek. ¡°Ah!¡± The girl felt the cold air grazing her skin and almost thought half of her ear had been cut off. The next second, the sword was back to Bai Yunsheng¡¯s hand as if nothing had happened. Shivering, she turned around and saw a big bird dead on the ground with a hole through its body. The two junior brothers were not as extraordinary in the sword technique as Bai Yunsheng, but they fought in perfect unison and were also able to clear out an area. ¡°Chirp!¡± Seeing this, the birds grew all the more frantic and ferocious. They charged at the three with a deadly determination, even to the point of using their own bodies as the weapon, as if trying to take the three down to the same doomed fate. ¡°Zap!¡± ¡°Zap, zap, zap!¡± The police shot at the birds from outside the circle, butpletely to no avail. The three priests were surrounded by the birds and there was no way out. ¡°We¡¯re done! This is a disaster!¡± The officials watching the fight were drained of all color. Their only savior had also fallen into the quagmire¡ªand he was a man of the monastery! If he died here in Zhijin, there would be enough officials to punish for such a loss. ¡°Ah, ah¡­ hm¡­¡± Just then, his deputy pped him hard on the shoulder, who could not even make a coherent sentence because of the excitement. He only pointed at the courtyard. ¡°What¡¯s this? That¡¯s¡­¡± The official¡¯s heart skipped a beat, then the charging birds suddenly turned rigid and slow. The next moment, they were dropping to the ground like fallen apples. There was a shower of falling birds and in the blink of an eye, they could see the three priests again. ¡°What happened?¡± Bai Yunsheng was utterly frustrated by the siege and was about to use his killing move when the enemies simply dropped dead. Looking up, he saw a fellow walking into the courtyard and winced a little¡­ ¡®Huh? Why is he here?¡¯ ¡°Tsk, tsk. That just looks miserable!¡± Taking in the chaotic yard, Gu Yu shook his head. The white jade bird chimed in with a little chirp, also putting on a sad face. Gu Yu was not in a good mood at the moment. He was just visiting the Cultural Affairs Bureau, but saw no one there, nor was he able to find any relevant records. When he finally managed to find someone alive enough to answer his questions, he was told that the bureau was having an outdoor event when the birds came and everyone was now in the hospital! ¡°¡­¡± The atmosphere was rather strange for a while. All eyes on all floors and inside and outside the building were following him as he strolled unhurriedly into the hospital. The official was covered in sweat by now. He thought he recognized the face, but dared not make any assumptions. ¡°Are you, are you¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m Gu Yu!¡± Sweet! All the officials gave a shudder and felt ease flooding over their body. The man was overjoyed. ¡°Mr. Gu, it really is you. We¡¯re so d to see you.¡± Gu Yu ignored him and turned to the priest, asking, ¡°And this is¡­¡± ¡°Bai Yunsheng of Qiyun.¡± Bai Yunsheng put his sword back into its sheath and cupped his hands. ¡°Oh, nice to meet you.¡± Gu Yu nodded and went on, ¡°I¡¯m just passing through. Is anyone here familiar with local chronicles¡ªoh, especially on Fish Mountain? I could use some help.¡± ¡°Well, that¡­¡± The official hesitated. The fellows of the Cultural Affairs Bureau were all badly injured and bedridden at the moment. ¡°No one?¡± ¡°No, no, there is. It¡¯s just a little, um¡­¡± He was struggling to find the right word when someone called out, ¡°I know! I know!¡± You Le came up to Gu Yu, dragging You Yu behind him, and smiled obsequiously, ¡°Master, we know Fish Mountain very well.¡± ¡°You two?¡± Gu Yu looked at them up and down and asked doubtfully, ¡°Aren¡¯t you still students?¡± ¡°He is, I¡¯m not¡­ no, I mean, he knows, I don¡¯t!¡± You Le was apparently very nervous. It took him a while to finally form his words. ¡°We¡¯re cousins. My grandpa used to guard the gate of Fish Mountain when he was young¡ªhe was there for half of his life. He used to tell us stories, but I didn¡¯t remember much. My younger brother here is a good student. He remembers everything!¡± ¡°I see. What are your names?¡± ¡°I¡¯m You Le. He¡¯s You Yu!¡± You Le nudged his brother who, for some reason, seemed reluctant to get involved. Gu Yu decided he would give this a shot. Seeing that it was unlikely for one to find a private room around here, he set up a confinement and asked, ¡°So, could you tell me a little bit about the legends or allusions of Fish Mountain, please?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The two young men had no idea what had just happened. They only saw that the crowd was pointing at them with frighted looks. You Yu hesitated for a while and finally said, ¡°Fish Mountain got its name because of its resemnce to a wooden fish. As early as the Tang Dynasty, there was a Zhiqiong Memorial Temple on the mountain, which was to worship Zhiqiong the goddess. Legend has it that Jianwen Emperor fled to Zhijin after he was deposed, where he lived a secluded life. However, heter travelled as far as Emei and his whereabouts became a mystery after that.¡± ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Gu Yu had ¡°WTF¡± written all over his face. That sounded so like the first paragraph of some groundless concocted historical fiction. ¡®I was just walking around and stumbled upon this tiny mountain, why was Jianwen Emperor suddenly involved?¡¯ Zhu Yunwen (i.e. Jianwen Emperor) went missing after being deposed by his own uncle and his whereabouts became the ultimate mystery¡­ nope, he was not going to dig into that. ¡°Do you have any proof for that?¡± asked Gu Yu. ¡°No, I only know what grandpa told me,¡± answered the honest You Yu. ¡°Keep going, then. Maybe not the folklore, though. Tell me something rted to Taoism.¡± Gu Yu was not having much hope at this point. ¡°Taoism¡­¡± You Yu gave it a thought and said, ¡°Taoism of Guizhou was mostly introduced from Sichuan area. Priest Luo Shengxian of the Song Dynasty was the earliest Taoist priest recorded to have lived here. He was an expert inndscape painting and used to live on Fish Mountain for a while. Later, Li Jue, Chen Zhixu, Zhao Lianshi, Immortal Grandma Li, and a priestess Gong Suran all took their residence on Fish Mountain once.¡± ¡°They were all from Sichuan?¡± Gu Yu was amazed. ¡°Yes, all of them, probably from the Northern Song to the Southern Song Dynasties,¡± You Yu replied, then went on, ¡°When time came to the Ming Dynasty, people like Bai Feixia and Cheng Guangzuo arrived here¡ªck God Temple was also constructed during the Ming Dynasty. However, the person that contributed the most to Fish Mountain was Priest Tuo Jichan of the Republic of China era. He was also a man from Sichuan and has put much effort in developing Fish Mountain for many years. The mountain flourished under his work. Unfortunately, it soon declined because of the roaming bandits. Oh, that library in the backyard of ck God Temple was built by Tuo Jichan.¡± ¡°How about the two pairs of couplet of the library?¡± An idea suddenly struck Gu Yu. ¡°Grandpa said Tuo Jichan loved books more than his life, which was why he had the library built. The couplet wasposed by a local talent Yu Youshan, but he only wrote one of them¡ª¡¯Alongside the Mountains of Dayou and Xiaoyu and together with the Toad Cave, the knowledge stored in the three mountains are like the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon of West Lake¡¯. I don¡¯t know who was the author of the other one.¡± Well, that was very interesting! Jianwen Emperor¡¯s whereabouts aside¡ªit was impossible to verify the truth of that¡ªall those Taoist priests had been travelling thousands of kilometers from Sichuan to a tiny mountain here in this remote little town. What did that tell us? It was an obvious sign for the people of theter generations, saying ¡®check this ce out!¡¯ Gu Yu felt an idea was forming. He then asked, ¡°Does this Tuo Jichan have any relics left behind?¡± ¡°Um, there is a grave at the foot of Fish Mountain. It was said to be his.¡± Oh? Gu Yu had missed that when he was there. He removed the confinement and smiled. ¡°I see you do know the mountain very well. How about going on a trip there with me?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± You Yu hesitated, but You Le knew better¡ªeven the county officials were talking respectfully to this man, he had to be some big shot. Therefore, You Le said in a haste, ¡°He¡¯s going with you, of course. He¡¯s just being a shy little boy!¡± ¡°Brother, you¡¯re transferring to another hospital in a minute. I have to take care of you,¡± said You Yu. ¡°Think with your head!¡± You Le wished he could beat some sense into his young cousin and scolded, ¡°It¡¯s just a scratch on my head. I don¡¯t need you around! Just go with this master!¡± ¡°No. Uncle and Auntie are not here. What if something happens to you?¡± The boy shook his head stubbornly. Damn you! You Le could choke the boy right there. He was about to scold him some more when Gu Yu interrupted, ¡°That¡¯s ok, you can both go. That¡¯s just a minor wound.¡± After that, before You Yu could speak, Gu Yu turned to Bai Yunsheng. ¡°If it is all right with you, how about joining me on the trip?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Bai Yunsheng was slightly surprised, but such an invitation would not scare him off. ¡°Sure!¡± *** ¡°Whoosh!¡± A streak of red light pierced the air and made a round outside the building. A smell of barbecue filled the air and a passageway was cleared out. The brothers watched this with gaping mouths. A momentter, You Le grabbed his brother by his shoulder and whispered, ¡°Did you see that? Did you? These are the real masters. Others would die for such a chance and what did you do? You dumb kid! This is our opportunity and we must take it! F**k, are you listening to me?¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± You Yu nodded with a nk face, yet to recover from the shock. You Le, on the other hand, stared at the backs of the two men walking in the front. He was suddenly overwhelmed by a desire. ¡®I want to be like them¡¯! ¡°Everyone on board!¡± Gu Yu took the official¡¯s special car, got the other three in, and headed directly for Fish Mountain. He got his driving license shortly after he and Xiaozhai were officially together and by now he was quite an experienced driver. He set up a confinement while driving and chuckled at Bai Yunsheng. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they can¡¯t hear us.¡± Bai Yunsheng had been curious about this technique for a while. He jabbed the hilt of his sword at the confinement and felt as if it was poking a transparent film. He was amazed. ¡°This is fantastic!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a petty skill. Your sword technique, on the other hand, was truly exceptional. Is it a heritage of your sect?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If I may ask, exactly which sect does the Immortal Cave belong to? I¡¯m really unfamiliar with the name.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Bai Yunsheng hesitated a little before answering, ¡°We are a very small sect not worth mentioning. You could call it Yiyang Way.¡± ¡°Yiyang Way?¡± Gu Yu had indeed never heard of the name. The man obviously did not want to talk about it and it was inappropriate to press on. However, when the man was not looking, Gu Yu took out his phone and sent Xiao Qiu a message, asking her to ask Xiaozhai about this Yiyang Way. ¡°Ding!¡± A couple of minutester, his phone beeped at an iing message. ¡°Ask him who the founder of his sect was.¡± Well, it seemed the head of the household herself hade out of seclusion. ¡°Well, if I may ask another question, who was the immortal that established your sect?¡± ¡°Perfected Man Lingyu.¡± Bai Yunsheng gave him an unspecified alternative Taoist name, looking perfectly calm. He then closed his eyes and rested leaning back onto his seat. Gu Yu pursed his lips and sent a message. Xiaozhai¡¯s reply said, ¡°There is no famous priest with that name in Guizhou. The history of the Immortal Cave is quite mysterious. Since you ran into the them, it won¡¯t hurt to make a friend.¡± A few secondster, there was another message. ¡°Did you say he was an expert in sword technique?¡± ¡°He¡¯s very good, even better than you.¡± Xiaozhaipletely ignored his provocation and did not reply to his message. Damn it! Gu Yu sulked. ¡®Why can you be the arrogant one and I can¡¯t? That¡¯s not how you y the game!¡¯ Chapter 327 Chapter 327: Anecdotes (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Maybe in a few years, the expressions ¡°flowers are blossoming in a rush with theing of spring¡± and ¡°the crisp air of an invigorating autumn¡± would fade away from the Chinesenguage, reced by ¡°sh*t, it¡¯s so hot!¡± and ¡°damn, it¡¯s freezing!¡± As the spiritual essence gradually spread to the entire country, the density was also bing more even. With that, the four seasons of a year were converging into two. Before, it was the heat of the summer that stood out, but from this year, the cold of the winter was catching up. October had just begun, but the first snow had already arrived at the four northeastern provinces, the capital city, Mobei, and Monan. In contrast to that was the south of the Five Ridges, Fujian, and the southeastern coastal provinces, where the temperature remained as high as thirty degrees. Such unpredictable and insane climate was making the life of the people of the North miserable. Those who had a boyfriend/girlfriend huddled together with their partners for warmth; those without hugged themselves tightly and shivered. Xiaojin was the lucky one¡ªshe had just got back to Phoenix Mountain, where the temperature remained constant at a pleasant level throughout the year. ¡°Qiu Qiu! I missed you so much!¡± In the manor at the foot of the mountain, Little Soap was hanging herself around Long Qiu¡¯s neck, rubbing her head all over thetter¡¯s chest. Long Qiu was delighted to see her as well and chuckled, ¡°You were gone for such a long time¡ªover twenty days! How was it? Was Myan fun?¡± ¡°Nah, that¡¯s a nasty neighborhood. Everything was so primitive!¡± Xiaojin put on her exaggerated face and cried out, ¡°There was no one tall and pretty there! And there was an old woman ying with ghosts! I had to fight her¡­ Sister!¡± She suddenly let go of Xiao Qiu and ran happily towards the courtyard, from where Xiaozhai wasing out with Old Shui. Her elder sister ignored her and fixed her gaze on the two trucks. The sideboards were all lowered, revealing the two giant rocks tied up tightly onto the tbeds. ¡°So this is Hollow Stone.¡± Xiaozhai examined them for a while, and with a wave of her hand, she moved one down to the ground. She then flipped her fingers, sending in a dark purple streak of lightning. Nothing changed on the surface of the stone. Water Thunder ran amuck in the countless tiny holes inside the stone, stirring up the spiritual essence until it was ready to explode. She sensed the building up of the tension and suddenly shouted, ¡°Move away!¡± Good Lord! Old Shui dodged in haste when, with a loud bang, that streak of Water Thunder energy brushed past the tip of his nose like a cannonball,nding in the field and sting the soil into every direction. ¡°Not bad. It even increased the strength of the Thunder Technique.¡± Xiaozhai was satisfied with the result. She then turned to her sister. ¡°This should be the most helpful material so far. Refine it with care. Don¡¯t bring disgrace to it.¡± ¡°Tsk, where did that disgracee from? This is my stone! My most precious thing!¡± ¡°Who says it¡¯s all yours?¡± Xiaozhai knew all about Xiaojin little ¡°ident¡± in Myan and had not given the younger sister a single smile so far. She took out Green Leaf and sliced down. ¡°Crack!¡± The de bit into the stone and took down one-tenth of it. ¡°Hollow Stone is beneficial for all refined instruments and can be fused into the already refined ones. I¡¯ll take this. Xiao Qiu, your sword could use an upgrade as well.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Long Qiu nodded happily. ¡°Aaaaah¡­¡± Xiaojin let out a long cry, followed by the righteous indignation, crying her eyes out, and the expression of wishing she were dead (not). But her sister¡¯s voice rang out again. ¡°Give me the drawing.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°THE DRAWING!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Pouting, Little Soap tossed her the drawing like amb. It was not she that was being stingy, that sh simply came too suddenly! Gosh! Her old sister might as well hack at her own heart! ¡°Whoosh!¡± Xiaojin unfolded the drawing of the four-sided and eight-armed evil buddha in which was the livid-faced statue of the evil buddha with its long fangs. An intense smell of blood was emanating from it. The drawing was like a famous sword that had to taste blood whenever it was out of its sheath. Now that it was opened up, the evil spirit inside was itching for a venture outside. There was a violent fluctuation as it tried to devour some blood. ¡°Sit your a*s back down!¡± Xiaozhai gave the drawing a casual smack and smoke rose up with a sizzling sound. The evil spirit did not make a sound after that. It was indeed a sensitive object. They could neither return it to Myan nor give it to their own government. Something as evil as this was bound to be sought after by some ambitious idiot who did not have the ability to handle it. ¡°Put it in the library and keep an eye on it.¡± She tossed the drawing to Long Qiu and went on, ¡°It¡¯s been coldtely and food is hard toe by. There has been a few cases of vicious beasts attacking people. Quite a few viges were closed off because of that. Since you¡¯re back, don¡¯t just sit around. Go down the mountain and look around with Xiao Qiu. Give the people some help if you can.¡± ¡°We¡¯re vigntes now? Shall I go around with a g saying ¡®Enforce justice on behalf of Heaven¡¯?¡± Seeing that her sister¡¯s fist was halfway in the air, Xiaojin changed the subject right away. ¡°At least give us a more specific range! We can¡¯t just go everywhere with an ident.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about anywhere else, but no ident is allowed within a 250 km radius of Shengtian!¡± *** ¡°Rumble!¡± With the ear-splitting noise, smoke filled the air as a dozen greenbat vehicles entered the town in a single file. They then split into four divisions at a road crossing, each heading for one corner of the county of Zhijin. They were of thetest model of the armored vehicles of the national army. The 2060-mm wide and 1915-mm high vehicles immediately took up the entire width of the roads. Each vehicle had five gunports, brackets for Type 81 assault rifles and sniper rifles, as well as two nine-barreluncher with couldunch eighteen tear-gas shells in one go. They had rushed here from the army base in Liupanshui, which was quite fast for them considering the distance. As soon as they entered the town, they began the ughter like a tiger unleashed into a flock of sheep. ¡°Bratatat!¡± ¡°Bratatat!¡± ¡°Chirp!¡± The streets were empty of people, but a lot of vehicles were still parked around the town. Right now, property loss was thest thing that concerned them and all guns were sting at full power. The attack was carried out in sessive waves and the flock of birds fell out of the sky like a jigsaw being torn off in chunks, leaving nk spots all over the sky. Their number was decreasing quickly. ¡°Tear gas ready, release!¡± ¡°Bang! Bang!¡± Eighteen shells wereunched all at once and the pungent gas filled the streets. The birds quacked frantically, then the machine gun opened fire, taking down the birds without breaking a sweat. Meanwhile, the loudspeaker was ring. ¡°Citizens, please stay inside. Don¡¯t open the windows and don¡¯t go out. You will be informed through broadcast when safety is reestablished¡­¡± That was actually a little redundant¡ªwho in the right mind woulde out now? Those in lower buildings dared not even stay close to the window. Those staying higher up barely summoned up the courage to peek out of their balconies. Some more simple-minded ones even had the nerve to livestream the event from their phones, which was rather amusing. The gunshots gradually died down after quite some time. The operation leader arrived at the hospital to meet the county officials in turn and apologized, ¡°Sorry for not arriving earlier. You must have had a very difficult time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all right. We know perfectly how such things work!¡± The officials had had a hell of an exciting day. With its nearly 2 billion poption and and area of over 10 million km^2, the government was having a hard time taking care of everywhere and everyone at the same time. With the limited resources, it was impossible to assign armed forces to every single city and town, not to mention that the mutated creatures were popping out randomly in just about every corner. All they could do was to set up the force around major cities, which then covered the surrounding areas. The bird disaster in Zhijin, for instance, broke out so suddenly and the little town was so ill-equipped that the army had no choice but to rush all the way here to their rescue. ¡°All the wounded who could walk have been transferred elsewhere, only the four hundred severely injured remained behind. We¡¯re suffering from extreme shortage of medical supplies.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ve brought with us some specialists and equipment. Let¡¯s work from there first. Those that cannot hold up can be sent to the city.¡± ¡°Good, good¡­¡± Seeing that the official was faltering, the operation leader asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Um, a Priest Bai Yunsheng from Qiyun was here. He was very helpful. And¡­ so was the master of Phoenix Mountain.¡± ¡°!!!¡± The leader almost jumped. He asked immediately, ¡°Why is he in Zhijin?¡± ¡°Who knows¡­ maybe he was just sightseeing.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± The leader frowned and pondered for a while. ¡°That man¡¯s status is quite sensitive, but it has not been our duty tomunicate with him. Call the BIMAUP.¡± *** Fish Mountain, the east side. Gu Yu drove the car to the foot of the mountain and parked a long way off. You Yu led the team of four and they almost walked halfway around the mountain until they finally arrived at a ce covered with wild-looking grass. ¡°Tuo Jichan was from Ba County of Sichuan. There was no record of him beforeing here, nor was his reason ofing to Fish Mountain ever mentioned. There was nothing but a shabby temple on the mountain back then. All the buildings we see now were built when he was the abbot.¡± You Le¡¯s eyes darted this way and that as if he was upied by some idea. You Yu was innocent as always and exined as they walked on. ¡°The head of Zhijin County back then was called Wu Shaopo. His youngest son fell ill once and no doctor was able to treat him. Priest Tuo offered his help and cured the boy. Wu Shaopo thanked Tuo Jichan with two hundred silver coins, which Priest Tuo refused. Instead, he suggested that Wu should develop Fish Mountain and help with the prosperity of Taoism, which Tuo Jichan himself would be forever grateful for. After a few days, Wu Shaopo held a banquet for the squires of the county during which he raised a fund of two thousand silver coins in a single night. Then that green zed-tile preaching room and the library were built.¡± ¡°So, that Priest Tuo was an expert in medicine?¡± asked Gu Yu. ¡°Well, at least ording to my grandpa, the priest made medicine pills, which he would give the poor families for free all the time. He has treated many patients during his decades¡¯ long stay in Fish Mountain.¡± ¡°Anything unusual about him apart from his medical skill?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. He liked writing poems and painting¡­ Why, we¡¯re here!¡± You Yu trotted off and pointed at a tall growth of grass. ¡°This is Priest Tuo¡¯s grave. They said the Red Guards dug it open during the Cultural Revolution, so I¡¯m not sure if this one is the real thing or not.¡± Gu Yu and Bai Yunsheng stood there and examined the ce. A mound hid behind the tall grass which was easy to look past for anyone not searching for it in particr. The tombstone on the mound was a timeworn wooden te and the red characters on it were almost peeling beyond recognition. They could barely make out the ¡°Here lies Priest Tuo of Fish Mountain.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu stared at the tombstone with a nk face. Sensing his silence, You Le asked gingerly, ¡°Mr., Mr. Gu, what did you find?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing, only that this is an empty grave,¡± he replied casually. Before the other three could react to that, he went on, ¡°But there¡¯s another one beneath it.¡± Hm? Bai Yunsheng winced. ¡°Do you mean the one on the top is a fake one and the real one is beneath it?¡± ¡°Maybe. I want to take it out and have a look, but that feels kind of disrespectful.¡± Gu Yu was struggling a little. ¡°Haha!¡± Bai Yunsheng chuckled. He had only heard of this man¡¯s deeds from others, but now that he was talking to Gu Yu himself, he found nothing fiendish in this fellow at all¡ªthe guy was kind of, well, adorable. Bai Yunsheng decided not to reply, and a few secondster, Gu Yu said, ¡°Whatever. Let¡¯s just take it out.¡± With that, Gu Yu steadied the top grave with his mental force and activated the Small Moving Technique. A coffin made off thin nks appeared in front of them. It was not buried that long and thecquer remained mostly intact. You Le was eager to please his potential masters and rushed to open the lid, shouting, ¡°Gosh, that smell¡­ ah! It¡¯s empty! It¡¯s empty!¡± You Yu and Bai Yunsheng took a look. Apart from dirt, some chaff, and some little bugs, there was nobody inside.¡± ¡°Back away!¡± Immediately after that, Gu Yu asked the other three to make some room and swept his both hands in the air. ¡°Thud!¡± Another coffin that had been buried deep underground was unearthed. Chapter 328 Chapter 328: Anecdotes (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu It was an exceptionally big coffin. Coffins of the old days were often made into sizes of 1¡Á2¡Á3, 2¡Á3¡Á4, 3¡Á4¡Á5, or 4¡Á5¡Á6, but this was an ¡°all six¡±, which meant it had a 6-cun 1 thick lid, 6-cun thick sideboards, as well as a bottom board of the same thickness. It was made from cedarwood and manchineel wood. The sturdiness of the two types of wood ensured the coffin¡¯s impable condition. Bai Yunsheng and the other two could not see through the boards and had to ask Gu Yu, ¡°Is this the real one?¡± ¡°There is indeed a body inside. We¡¯ll know after we open it.¡± Gu Yu put an open palm on the edge of the coffin and exerted a gentle force, which shook the boards of the coffin loose. He then gave it a little push. With a ¡°nk¡±, the boards fell apart. ¡°¡­¡± You Yu was a little afraid and turned his eyes away from the coffin. A momentter, he realized that instead of the putrid smell he was anticipating, there was instead a faint fragrance of medicinal herbs. Inside the coffin was a corpse looking not at all like someone who had been buried for nearly a hundred years. He looked rather like an extremely thin person that had just died from natural causes. His tendons and skin remained distinguishable and wrapped around his skeleton, all intact. His sharp features were deeply set on his skull with a full growth of a long beard. Dressed in his Taoist robe, one could still recognize his magnificent appearance when he was still alive. His hands were put together at his chest, holding a back scratcher¡­ scratch that, holding a jade Ruyi 2 . Apart from the corpse and the Ruyi, there was nothing else in this big coffin. You Yu was greatly intrigued. He sniffed at the smell of herbs and said with amazement, ¡°This must be Priest Tuo, right? He was indeed an expert in medicine as we were told. I wonder what remarkable medicine he has concocted to keep his dead body fresh for a century.¡± ¡°I would agree with you on his talent if he were an ordinary man, but he was a Taoist priest. The fact that he has invested so much in keeping his dead body intact simply means he was not advanced enough in his cultivation,¡± said Gu Yu, shaking his head. Ancient cultivators worked on their minds as well as their physical bodies, hoping for achieving immortality in their original physical forms. Failing to do so meant that once they died, they died for good, unless they could move on to the corpse-releasing process. The emphasis on corpse staying fresh for hundreds of years was actually a Buddhist concept, which modern men often confused themselves with. The expression ¡°dying in a sitting position¡±, for instance, was a Buddhist jargon, but many were applying it to the death of a Taoist priest as well. That was awkward! That being said, Gu Yu still considered the man an honorable senior. He saluted wholeheartedly at the corpse and said, ¡°I mean no disrespect in doing this. As soon as we figure out what is going on, we will bury you in a quiet ce with the borate funeral you deserve. If one day I achieve a cultivation level advanced enough to meet your mind and soul in a different world, I hope we¡¯ll enjoy our meeting to the full.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Bai Yunsheng darted him a look. Buddhism talked about karma and Taoism also had a simr concept. Cultivators should not make promises lightly. Unfulfilled promises would hinder one¡¯s cultivation and create evil influence in one¡¯s mind. What Gu Yu said might not count as a promise, but he meant what he said. After that, he set a confinement around the corpse and opened his right palm, where the jade Ruyi appeared. It was over 30 cm in length and impably white. The texture felt mellow and the color was pure. All angles were curved into round edges. A poem was inscribed on the front of the handle. ¡°The war seemed to go on forever for thousands of years and I would rather live my life idly roaming the world. When I finally caught a glimpse of the truth, my life ising to its end. Above the fair sand and the cold water, the moon peeked down at the ravine; through the clear dew and morning mist, one could feel autumn wasing to the mountain. The wind is soughing, bidding farewell to the two cities; the lonely cloud still drifted among the scrambling peaks.¡± On the back of the handle was a symbol that resembled both a forbidden character and a Taoist pattern. It consisted of numerous strokes all arranged into strange angles. An energy of vastness seemed to be faintly emanating from it. !!! Bai Yunsheng felt his heart palpitating as soon as he caught sight of the symbol. However, as a man with perfect control of his internal Qi, he kept the astonishment well hidden inside. On the other side, Gu Yu was chewing his lips in vexation. ¡®Gosh, I hate riddles!¡¯ He tried to approach it from the literal meaning first. The first two sentences were talking about a thousand-year long struggle, which he could not bother to get involved in and would rather live a carefree life. When he finally figured out this impending great opportunity, he was not going to live long enough to see it. Thest two sentences seemed to be talking about his parting grief. ¡®Wait a second?¡¯ Gu Yu repeated the poem in his head and was suddenly struck by an idea. He recalled the two couplets hanging outside the library and instinct told him that there was a connection. He put away the Ruyi and sent the coffin back to where it was right away before asking Bai Yunsheng, ¡°Have you found anything?¡± ¡°Sorry, but I didn¡¯t!¡± Bai Yunsheng shook his head. ¡°I think it¡¯s got something to do with ck God Temple. How about we take another look?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± After that, Gu Yu turned to the You Brothers. ¡°Thank you for taking us all the way here. I heard some heavy firing over there in the town just then, probably from the army cleaning out the birds. I think you¡¯ll be fine going back following the main road. Oh, let me give you something for¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want any money!¡± Before he could finish the sentence, You Le interrupted hastily. ¡°Master, please take us with you. Xiao Yu knows Fish Mountain very well. You might still need him.¡± ¡°Well, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to have you two around, I guess. Don¡¯t speak or do anything unless necessary.¡± Gu Yu didn¡¯t think much of it. ¡°Thank you, master!¡± You Le was overjoyed. Dragging You Yu to his side, he tagged along happily at the rear. Hence, the four returned to the front gate from the east side, where they found that the number of birds had noticeably decreased. Every now and then, they woulde across a dead bird and the air was filled with a discernible smell of blood. ¡°Ah!¡± You Yu cried out in surprise as soon as they were back on the brick-paved ground. At the intersection of the road to the direction of the town center, six armored vehicles parked in perfect order. The two lines each consisting of three vehicles all had fully armored police officers on them and parked among them were a few cars, from which seven of eight people were looking their way. The brothers flustered and turned rigid with fear at such a battle array. ¡°That was fast.¡± Flipping his sleeves, Gu Yu walked casually towards them. A man had run towards him before that, saying, ¡°Mr. Gu, I am the deputy director of the BIMAUP Guizhou sub-bureau. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°What are you lot doing here?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve just finished cleaning out the county town and since we were told you are here in Fish Mountain, we thought we shoulde by.¡± The deputy paused a little before asking, ¡°Mr. Gu, what is going on here?¡± ¡°I only have a little idea and I¡¯m still working on it. Right now, I need to go up there and have a look.¡± ¡°If it is all right with you, we¡¯d like toe with you, too.¡± ¡°Of course. This is not my territory, so do as you like.¡± He was generous like that. After those words, he entered the mountain gate. The deputy pondered for a while and named five of his men, who then went into ck Gate Temple with him. If the disturbance level of the spiritual essence here this morning was a 1, it was a 4 now. As time passed, that thing seemed to be growing even more restless. Gu Yu headed right for the library in the backyard and read the two couplets again. ¡°Alongside the Mountains of Dayou and Xiaoyu and together with the Toad Cave, the knowledge stored in the three mountains are like the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon of West Lake¡±, and ¡°The sun shines brightly on Brocade City; the moon softly lights up the library¡±. Tuo Jichan had been engaged in literary pursuits and would often get together with the literati of Zhijin topose poems and couplets. He was also a master in guqin. The fact that he had gone into his grave with a jade Ruyi in his hands could either mean that it was a piece of rare treasure, or that the old priest was trying to pass a message. As for the two couplets, the Dayou and Xiaoyou were probably referring to the two mountains with those names in Yuanling County. Legend had it that a man of the Qin Dynasty used to live there as a recluse, who had collected over a thousand scrolls of books in a cave. Therefore, the names of the mountains were usually used as a metaphor for arge book collection. That was a usible exnation, but what about that Toad Cave? Could certain elder 3 be around since the Republic of China era already? ¡°Eww!¡± He stopped that train of thought and frowned, murmuring, ¡°The sun shines brightly on Brocade City, on Brocade City¡­ Brocade City is the provincial capital of Sichuan and is 700 km away from here. How does the sunshine work?¡± Bai Yunsheng was looking at the couplet as well. A momentter, he said suddenly, ¡°I know the name Brocade City, it could be referring to another ce.¡± ¡°Where?¡± asked Gu Yu right away. ¡°It¡¯s also in Sichuan, but not very far from Zhijin. It is now called Youxian 4County. It was known for its abundance of azalea, which resembles the splendor of brocade when in full blossom, hence the town¡¯s alternative name ¡®Brocade City¡¯. After the modern country was established, this alternative name was easily mistaken for the provincial capital, so the authorities made it official to stop using it.¡± ¡°Then why is it called Youxian County?¡± Gu Yu then asked. ¡°¡­¡± Bai Yunsheng ignored that question and turned to look elsewhere. Gu Yu would not stop there and teased, ¡°Why, you know a great deal of Sichuan. Have you lived there before?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Are you from Sichuan yourself?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Or is anyone of your sect from Sichuan. Or, has your sect actually moved here from Sichuan in the first ce?¡± ¡°You!¡± Bai Yunsheng¡¯s face turned stern as he stared at Gu Yu¡¯s face. ¡°Don¡¯t be so jumpy. I¡¯m just asking.¡± Gu Yu waved with a chuckle. He was not stupid. Although Xiaozhai did not make it explicit, he had pretty much figured it out himself. The Immortal Cave was not established by local Taoist members and Taoism in Guizhou was greatly influenced by Sichuan. Bai Yunsheng himself was a swordmaster¡­ put everything together and one could only be reminded of an ancient and mysterious organization. What was Sichuan famous for? Sword Immortals! The concept of Sword Immortals had a long history. ording to Xiaozhai¡¯s categorization, it was a school established during the Ancient Immortal Period. It was distinguished from the traditional cultivation method and was considered heretical at the time. Many fellow cultivators despised its teachings and there were few records on this school in the scriptures. Gu Yu only had some general idea of this school. The Sword Immortal Sect was divided into southern and northern branches. Little was known of the northern branch, while the southern one considered Sichuan their headquarters. The principle of their teaching was rather unique, which was known as ¡°all skills throughout history were passed down by studentsing to teachers, but the sword technique works the other way around¡±. In other words, the masters had to go out and visit their students, but the students were not allowed to actively seek out to their masters. The two parties rarely met if the bonds between them were not close enough. Tsk, tsk! Gu Yu was exhrated, feeling that his looking forward to meeting a Sword Immortal as a little boy (more like his chance of showing it off to everyone else) was waking up again. Of course, right now was not the right time to digress, searching for the thing was the more pressing matter. He looked at the couplet and the Ruyi in turn and walked in circles in the backyard. ¡°The sun shines¡­ the moon¡­through the clear dew and morning mist, one could feel autumn wasing to the mountain¡­ ¡°Bidding farewell to the two cities¡­ the two cities¡­ the scrambling peaks¡­¡± Hm? He halted suddenly, as if a lightbulb had just popped out of his head. He then examined the terrain of this backyard. Theyout of this yard was rather strange: grotesque rocky peaks embraced the yard on three sides and the main hall stood on the fourth, which together circled the yard in. Looking up, he felt he was looking at the sky from a well as some white clouds drifted by. ¡°Brocade City, the library¡­ haha!¡± he repeated the two sentences and let out aughter. ¡°Excuse me, that one, I can¡¯t remember your name, could you check with the observatory and see if there is any unusual phenomena these days?¡± ¡°What?¡± The deputy who was leading a team randomly poking around the courtyard winced at Gu Yu¡¯s question. ¡°Could you be a little bit more specific? This is a very big country.¡± ¡°Just the area around Zhijin.¡± ¡°Oh, sure!¡± The deputy had no idea what the request was about but made the phone call anyway. Before long, he came back with an answer. ¡°Because of the way the earth rotates, we¡¯ll be able to see the sun and the moon both shining in the sky¡­ and the ideal ce to observe this is the area from Youxian County to Zhijin.¡± ¡°When is it happening?¡± ¡°Tomorrow, before dawn.¡± ¡°Mr., Mr. Gu¡­¡± Although he had no idea what was happening, the deputy¡¯s voice was shaking. For some unknown reason, he was overtaken by an excitement, as if he was going to witness some major event. ¡°I see. In that case, I¡¯ll wait here. It will probably get very dangerous when the timees, so you¡¯d better leave the mountain for somewhere safer.¡± ¡°We¡­¡± Cautious as he always was, You Yu was about to bid them farewell when You Le pushed him aside and said anxiously, ¡°We don¡¯t want to leave! We don¡¯t!¡± ¡°Suit yourself. You¡¯ll be responsible for your own safety.¡± Gu Yu effortlessly jumped onto the roof of the library¡¯s second floor, where hey down and ignored everyone else. Chapter 329 Chapter 329: Toad Cave And Three Pools Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°I was used to thinking of my old friends alone, with the goodpany of the moon. Now that the old friends were visiting me this night, I was so happy that I forgot about the bright moon.¡± China roses shivered in the chilly night wind as the moon slowly rose above the eastern peak. Gu Yu was still lying on the roof of the library when he chanted an entire poem, which was very rarely for him. He chuckled. ¡°I am no old friend, but I just happen to be here tonight; I¡¯d love to see what is really going on with that moon.¡± He then turned to look at Bai Yunsheng, who was sitting quietly below the eave. Gu Yu couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Priest Bai, do you practice your sword technique daily?¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you practicing today?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like it.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. You¡¯re a little shy with all these people around. That¡¯s perfectly understandable.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Bai Yunsheng opened his eyes and gave Gu Yu a look saying ¡°You¡¯re the most famous cultivator in this country, at least act like it¡± before closing them back again. Such a killjoy! Gu Yu twitched his mouth at Bai Yunsheng¡¯sck of response. He then yed with the jade Ruyi in one hand and stroked the bird with the other, waiting for the long night to pass. They discovered the secret in the couplets that afternoon; it was now a little over eight o¡¯clock at night. Autumn nights were very long in the South and the moon only just began to rise. They still had a long wait ahead before dawn tomorrow. There was a full moon tonight. It hung in the sky, bright, pure, and impable. They were now all gathered in the small ck God Temple and talked among their separate little groups. ¡°Luckily Fish Mountain is a scenic area and they have included it in the power grid, or we wouldn¡¯t even have any electricity.¡± ¡°I wish they did the same with the water line¡­ Hey, do you have any water left? Gimme some!¡± ¡°Watch it. It¡¯s scalding hot¡­ there you go!¡± Inside the green-zed-tile preaching hall, the deputy and his five men were chatting casually. The room was pretty much empty and the air had a stale smell. Tonight, this hall looked bleaker than ever. They had just finished dinner and were now sipping hot water from their vacuum cups. Despite the easiness they showed, they were all jittery inside. Their job was to investigate and collect such intelligence, deeming them experts in judging the situation. The emergence of such abnormal phenomena or treasure almost always portended great danger. But they had no choice but to stay here. Fleeing from danger in such situations was a dereliction of duty. Not to mention that people tended to put a little too much trust in luck¡ªwhat if they hit the jackpot by some unbelievable coincidence? They would be the star of the show¡­ moreover, so what if things went south¡ªthey still had that guy to count on. He wouldn¡¯t just let them die, would he? While they were putting their thoughts into words in the room, the You brothers were also whispering under the old pomegranate tree a short distance away. ¡°Brother, let¡¯s go. I think this ce is very dangerous.¡± You Yu tried to talk his cousin out of it again. ¡°Tsk, I¡¯d be choking you right now if you weren¡¯t my brother!¡± You Le was frustrated by the younger Yu¡¯scking ambition and scolded, ¡°Didn¡¯t you see what those two masters did? Haven¡¯t you heard what they said? It¡¯s so obvious there¡¯s a good chance of seeing an immortal event for us here and you want to leave?¡± ¡°You¡¯re always talking about some immortal event, but if they¡¯re that easy to get, they wouldn¡¯t be that valuable, would they?¡± You Yu might seem a little dull, but he had his own logic. ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the right material to get it.¡± ¡°p!¡± You Le smacked him and said angrily, ¡°You don¡¯t, but I do! The school is turning you into an idiot! Why do you think it¡¯ll just fall into your hands if you don¡¯t fight for it? Fine, like you said, you don¡¯t want it. So don¡¯t try to take from me when ites!¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t¡­¡± Rubbing the back of his head where You Le just smacked, You Yu replied as such, not having any hope in their outlook tonight. ¡°Pat, pat, pat!¡± ¡°Pat, pat, pat!¡± While they were still chatting, there was a pat on the temple gate, which sounded particrly distinctive in the quiet mountain. Someone was shouting, ¡°Open the gate! Open the gate!¡± ¡°Coming!¡± The two brothers were in the front yard and went to answer the door. Good God! As many as over twenty people stood outside, each looking haughtier than the next. One of them asked, ¡°Where are the men from the BIMAUP?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Before the brothers could answer, the deputy hurried near and frowned at the neers. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± ¡°Old Huang, that wasn¡¯t very friendly of you!¡± The man seemed to know the deputy and chuckled. ¡°An event this big and you didn¡¯t tell us, that¡¯s not very nice.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Deputy Director Huang scanned the crowd and saw that among them were people of the Zhijin County government, backup forces, and quite a few elite and fully-armored soldiers. He said with a stern face right away, ¡°It¡¯s not safe here. Please go back.¡± ¡°Oh my, why so serious? I¡¯m sure you know the virtue of sharing, don¡¯t you?¡± The man was still using his teasing tone. Old Huang raised his voice suddenly and said sharply, ¡°I¡¯m telling you for the second time: please go back! This is the emergence of an abnormality, not your yground!¡± He was no fool. The BIMAUP had to stay here because of their job description, what the hell were these people hanging around for? If anything happened to them, he would be the one taking responsibility. Seeing that Old Huang refused to offer the due respect, the man felt humiliated and his voice turned stiff. ¡°Old Huang, do I have you remind you back when you¡ª¡± ¡°Cut the crap!¡± Old Huang stopped him in mid-sentence. ¡°Do I have to remindyou that under special circumstances, the BIMAUP has the jurisdiction over all local authorities? Do I have to call the director and get you an order from the central government?¡± !!! The man went speechless right away. He pointed his fingers at Old Huang, but did not dare to let his temper out. He then led the team back down the mountain like a defeated dog. Needless to say, the two in the backyard had heard every word of the row. Bai Yunsheng remained meditating with closed eyes and Gu Yu kept stroking his bird. He was no Mother Teresa, nor was he going to pretend to be one. He had given them the necessary warning and it was their own choice whether to listen to it or not. Everyone was responsible for their own life. Of course, should the danger really fall upon them, he would do his best to save as many as he could, but he wouldn¡¯t feel guilty if he couldn¡¯t save everyone. *** Before they knew it, it was deep into the night. The moon hung above like a suspending mirror, pouring its light all over the tiny Fish Mountain below. There was no sounding from the preaching hall¡ªthe men were probably all asleep¡ªand the backyard was even quieter. Bai Yunsheng was an expert sitter¡ªhe had been sitting there for hours without so much as moving a muscle. His simple and elegant swordy across his knees. It had a meter-long de and a weight of 3.4 kg; it had been passed down for generations in his sect. Gu Yuy on the roof and one could not tell if he was asleep or not. ¡°Rustle!¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± There was a sudden gust of mountain wind and the branches all began to sway. Gu Yu¡¯s eyes shot open. The agitation of the spiritual essence on Fish Mountain surged at that moment, resembling a violently fluctuating brainwave under intense stimtion. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Bai Yunsheng also opened his eyes and looked at the ground. Under the faint light, he could see that the paved ground had turned ck. The snakes, bugs, rats and the likes on the mountain were fleeing all together like a squirming ck carpet, which rapidly rushed into the woods, rolling down the mountain with a shuffling sound. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± ¡°Bugs! So many!¡± ¡°Get up! Get up!¡± There were screams in the front yard and a shuffling of footsteps. The eight men ran to the backyard together and the deputy asked with a pale face, ¡°Mr. Gu, what¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about time. There¡¯s still time if you want to leave.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± This was the first time that the deputy actually considered leaving. Only a few people could stay brave facing the real danger. He hesitated for a moment and told his men, ¡°I¡¯m staying, but you don¡¯t have to. If you want to leave, you¡¯ll have to hurry.¡± ¡°¡­¡± After a brief moment of silence, three men backed out; two stayed, also nning to give it a shot. Although they weren¡¯t exactly sure what they were trying to get out of it. It could be fame, power, riches, or like the two brothers, a chance to see the immortal world. Those three got off the mountain in a hurry and saw that the group of people from earlier was still waiting down there. Vehicles crowded together with their bright headlights turned on. ¡®Sigh¡­¡¯ Gu Yu was secretly shaking his head, feeling sorry for them. He flipped his sleeve. ¡°Find yourself a safe spot for the time being. Now, go.¡± ¡°Chirp!¡± The white jade bird pped its wings and disappeared into the night. Gu Yu was actually very curious. Over a dozen Taoist priests hade to Fish Mountain for something from Luo Shengxian in the Song Dynasty to Tuo Jichan of the Republic of China era, which led him to believe that this was not an abnormal phenomenon, but some relic like the Seal of Patriarch Sa. All those people had gone through so much trouble for it, so there had to be some ineffable difficulty behind it. He only wondered what types of relic it would be¡­ Time crept by like so. The sky turned from a lusterless ck to a thick and heavy inky ck, then to a bluish ck, which was gradually bleached down, bing thinner and more transparent. The most obvious change was in the temperature. The coldness that had been umting through the night finally integrated into something solid before dawn, which seemed to have formed an invisible cold tent, covering Fish Mountain inside. ¡°The day is breaking!¡± Bai Yunsheng said suddenly. The deputy turned to look right away; indeed, a line of pale red was peeking through the eastern horizon. The pale red was devouring everything at an observable speed like a hungry spirit and the bluish ck was growing even thinner. It was chased out if its hiding ce until¡­ ¡°Whoosh!¡± Like an ebbing tide that had left behind a dry sandy beach of a thousand miles, or ten thousand flowers were blown off from their branches all at once, when all was clear, a red sun leapt out of the horizon. Gu Yu jumped down from the roof and Bai Yunsheng rose to his feet. The other five were excited and nervous as they looked around. You Le shouted, ¡°The moon! The moon has not set yet!¡± ¡°There! Over there!¡± ¡°They¡¯re out together! They¡¯re out together!¡± Gu Yu looked into the distance. The sun was rising from the east, which was also the direction of Brocade City, while the pale moon was also distinctive abovehead¡ªa sphere hanging on the western sky. The silver light fell right on the top pavilion of the library. ¡°The sun shines brightly on Brocade City; the moon softly lights up the library!¡± He was filled with excitement; he almost could not wait. ¡®Now, now, show me the magic of the ancient masters!¡¯ ¡®Hm?¡¯ He winced right after that, for the agitated spiritual essence had suddenly stopped moving. There was not a slightest movement in the air, as if time had frozen. The next second, all color drained from Gu Yu¡¯s face, for he was sure of what he felt: right here, in this backyard, a power was gushing forth! ¡°Watch out!¡± ¡°Boom!¡± Before the others could react, they heard a rumbling sounding from the southeast and heading towards the northwest. The ground then tumbled and the roofs copsed, making snapping noises. Shortly after that, there was another few rumbling sounds. The loud bangs did not stop there. The main hall and the library began to shake violently and the tiles were falling down. The men of the BIMAUP and the You Brothers turned pale with fear and abandoned their earlier decisiveness. They scrambled towards the front yard, but, a few steps into that direction, they saw that the ten-meter-tall main hall crumbled to the ground like a pile of building blocks knocked over by a naughty child. Meanwhile, the entire Fish Mountain began to shake. The sky seemed to have darkened and everything was falling apart. Big rocks rolled down the mountain from the three side peaks and smashed into the river, giving birth to waves over ten meters high. The vige not far away woke up to the sounds of stirring chickens and dogs and vigers of all ages ran out of their houses half dressed. Everyone was screaming. ¡°Aaaah!¡± The deputy was running among the ruins when he suddenly let out a scream. The ground sank in and he lost his footing. Only half of his 180-cm body was above ground now and the other half had sank into the hole. ¡°Crunch¡­ crunch¡­¡± ¡°Boom!¡± The two-story library could not withstand such power and split into half with a crunching sound. The ground gaped open and devoured it whole like a giant beast. Centering around that hole, the shaking spread out in aggravating circles. The stone-paved ground of the backyard broke and sank like ragged cloth and was torn into pieces with snapping sounds. That opening on the ground grew several times bigger in an instant and was still frantically trying to take up more space. One of the stone peaks could not withstand the power and snapped halfway. A giant rock over ten meters high smashed down into the yard. ¡°Help!¡± The deputy was scared out of his wits. He was falling down with a rock smashing towards him. There was nowhere to dodge. Just then, Bai Yunsheng jumped out and drew out his sword, which stuck into the mountain wall like cutting into a piece of tofu. He then scooped the deputy up with his left hand and tossed him up. ¡°Aaaah!¡± Before the deputy reached the ground, one of his men also fell down. Bai Yunsheng kicked the rock with the tip of his foot, drew out the sword, swerved¡­ ¡°Pop¡±, the sword cut into the rock again and the man was tossed up just like his deputy. ¡°Help! Help!¡± The You Brothers were some distance away, but the disaster had gotten to them as well. They were now both falling. You Yu¡¯s head turned nk. All his pores had opened at such intense stimtion and the cold wind gushed in and rampaged inside his body. He thought this had to be what hell felt like. ¡®I¡¯m dead!¡¯ He shut his eyes, ready to be smashed into a pulp. However, the next second, he stopped falling. Instead, he was slowly drifting upwards. Opening his eyes, he saw that he had been lifted with a cloud of mist and was now moving swiftly towards a safe spot. ¡°Aaaah!¡± These few were the lucky ones. The other man from the BIMAUP did not even get a chance to be rescued. He dropped into a hole on the ground right away and was crushed between two fallen rocks, turning into a pile of bloody meat instantly. ¡°Switching into shadows!¡± Bai Yunsheng stared at that cloud of mist in astonishment, but with his energy running out, he didn¡¯t have time to give it too much thought. He leapt up with all his strength and dashed forward as soon as his feet touched the ground. The ground right behind his heels copsed at that instant. ¡°Rumble! Rumble!¡± The shaking of Fish Mountain continued. Those waiting under the mountain were screaming and crying their eyes out. Some were knocked down by rocks, some washed away by the river, and some devoured by the gaping ground. The vehicles were mostly damaged and there was a lot of casualties. ¡°Thump! Thump!¡± ¡°Ouch, ouch¡­ sh*t! I¡¯m alive! I¡¯m alive! Hahaha!¡± You Le was tossed to the ground. He was dazed for a second, but began to shout and cheer right away. It was hard to tell if he was crying orughing. He was also shaking You Yu, who still sat there with a nk face¡ªhe had yet to recover from the remarkable experience earlier. In a moment, he shuddered and began to search with his eyes, then finally fixed his gaze on that copsed side peak. The cloud of mist twirled around the top of the peak and slowly turned into a man, whose manner reminded one of the bright moon over the sea¡ªhowever the waves and clouds rose and fell, he would just watch from above. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu kept his face calm as water. With the copse of Fish Mountain, the library had sunk into the underground cave and the ancient and elegant ck God Temple was destroyed in the blink of an eye. Only a small section of the front yard remained intact and the rest of the ground had caved in with no buildings to be found, revealing a giant gaping hole. ¡°Rumble¡­ rumble¡­¡± It was another few minutes before this sudden shaking finally stopped and all was quiet again. Looking down from above, he saw a beam of blue light gushing out of an underground cave, shooting all the way into the clouds. When the light faded, he was able to see the cave clearly, and it astounded him. The cave had taken the shape of a giant golden toad, which seemed to be crouching inside the mountain with a gaping mouth, threatening to devour heaven and earth. Inside the mouth of that toad were three pools, reflecting the pale moon on the western sky. Alongside the Mountains of Dayou and Xiaoyu and together with the Toad Cave, the knowledge stored in the three mountains was like the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon of West Lake! Chapter 330 Chapter 330: Sky-swallowing Golden Toad Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu After all, the copse of Fish Mountain was not an earthquake. The vige nearby was the only one affected; a few houses fell apart and some livestock was injured. People in the county town of Zhijin only heard some very loud noises, but did not feel any detectable tremors. Even so, it was enough to disturb the residents of the town. They barely survived the bird outbreak that morning and now this rumbling sound in the middle of the night? Everyone was running out of their rooms¡ªthat included naked couples of everybination of sexes. All hell broke loose again. The group of people waiting at the foot of the mountain had taken some major casualties. They were there hoping for some freeloading, but the dream was crushed by all the falling stones. Before they had any time toin about it, they were rushing back to town to prevent any possible disturbance caused by the incident. As for those up on the mountain, the surviving five had yet to calm their nerves when they were shocked again by what they were seeing now. ¡°It, it is¡­¡± Lips quivering, Deputy Director Huang crawled to the edge of the tform they were on and stuck out his head to look down into the pit where the ground had caved in. He couldn¡¯t see the golden toad cave from his angle and only saw a seemingly bottomless underground cave. However, it was not pitch dark. Instead, a glittering green light filled the cave. At the bottom of the cave were three pools. He couldn¡¯t figure out what it was all about. Raising his head, he shouted, ¡°Mr. Gu, how abouting down here to enlighten your mortal friends a little?¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Gu Yu jumped off the rock peak and floated down as light as a kite. When he was about to reach the ground, the ruins beneath him disappeared suddenly and several stone stairs erupted for hisnding. The deputy went up to him in a hurry and asked, ¡°Mr. Gu, what on earth is happening?¡± Gu Yu did not answer that, but only smiled at Bai Yunsheng. ¡°Priest, what do you think?¡± ¡°It looks like a formation,¡± said Bai Yunsheng with a solemn face. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m thinking. Some ancient masters might have set up this formation in Fish Mountain ages ago; we just happen to be here at the right time. The spiritual essence is surging here¡ªmaybe not as intense as a node, butpare to everywhere else, it is¡­ hm?¡± He paused all of a sudden, for a light shiver wasing from the jade Ruyi in his chest pocket. He took it out and saw that the strange symbol on the handle was glowing, then its energy changed as well. Fascinating! Before, it was only an exquisite ything, but now that the toad cave was revealed, the Ruyi was showing its corresponding real self. An idea came to Gu Yu and he carefully sent in a streak of mental force. As soon as it made contact with the jade Ruyi, waves of information began to rush into his head. Youxian County was Youxian Town in the ancient times. To the west of the town was a mountain, and on the mountain was Youxian Sect, which got its name from the town itself. It was not arge sect, but it had a rather special status, for it was one of the branches of the Sword Immortal Sect of Sichuan. The information in the Ruyi was quite vague on the history of the sect. It could be because of enemies, apocalyptic disasters, or some future opportunity they had foreseen¡­ in the Song Dynasty, master Luo Shengxian of the sect started to travel all over the country to search for a new ce to store their inheritance. After much searching, he found Fish Mountain. He then asked some fellow Taoists who were experts in formations to set up this Sky-swallowing Golden Toad Formation in Fish Mountain. From then, disciples of every generation would visit Fish Mountain, where they would either do some maintenance work, or add in some records on their own understanding of the teachings. This went on until the end of the Ming Dynasty; thest priest leaving a note was called Li Xianming. Nothing had been added after that. Gu Yu knew why that had happened: the spiritual essencepletely dried up by the end of the Ming Dynasty. There weren¡¯t any men of the innate state, let alone Taoist masters. It was only natural that they couldn¡¯t activate the Ruyi. Tuo Jichan was probably thest disciple of the Youxian Sect, which was why he inscribed the poem on the Ruyi and took it to the grave with him. Speaking of the Sky-swallowing Golden Toad Formation, it required nopass or g, but could be operated solely by the positions of the sun and the moon and the change of the spiritual essence in a year with a little help from the energy of Fish Mountain itself. The formationter went into dormancy after the spiritual essence declined. Now that the spiritual essence had recovered for nearly a decade, the density had finally reached the level required to activate it again. Adding to that was the sun and the moon appearing together, and the formation finally made itself seen again. ¡°Master, Master?¡± You Le¡¯s head was still bandaged. His face was covered in dirt and his clothes all tattered. Seeing that Gu Yu did not speak for a while, he asked gingerly, ¡°Have you found something?¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry.¡± Gu Yu skipped the details and only said briefly, ¡°This is a Sky-swallowing Golden Toad Formation. I don¡¯t know how safe or unsafe it is. And¡­ there really is a treasure down there.¡± Sky, Sky-swallowing Formation? TREASURE??? Apparently, the second announcement was much more attractive than the first one. Seeking benefit was human nature, even in danger. Gu Yu could have told them there was no treasure involved, but who was going to believe him? ¡°Haha, what did I tell you? I knew it!¡± You Le was exultant. Shaking his brother repeatedly, he cried out, ¡°This is our fate! Our godsend opportunity!¡± ¡°¡­¡± To be honest, despite hanging out with his cousin for over ten years, You Yu had never felt more eager to stay away from You Le like he did now. He sighed inside and did not respond to You Le¡¯s cheering. The deputy was exhrated as well. ¡°Mr. Gu, since there is a treasure, we need to figure out how to take it out!¡± ¡°No, you do your job. I¡¯m on my own.¡± Gu Yu waved his hand, making it clear of where he stood. He was not in a rush at all. A formation powerful enough to protect the inheritance of a sect could not be that easy to break. The current Taoistmunity had little understanding on formations and there was nothing about the subject on the remaining ssics. Going in recklessly would be suicidal. He stood alone on one side and examined the cave carefully. Bai Yunsheng suddenly came up to him, whispering, ¡°Actually, I know about this sect.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Bai Yunsheng winced. ¡°An idea came across your mind when you saw this Ruyi. You obviously recognized that symbol,¡± said Gu Yu. Bai Yunsheng fell silent and only spoke again after a while. ¡°Is that what innate¡­ mental force can do?¡± ¡°That¡¯s only the tip of an iceberg.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The young priest tightened his lips as a look of eagerness and persistence flickered in his eyes, which then was extinguished as if it had never been there. ¡°The Immortal Cave indeed moved here from Sichuan; the ancient books of my sect have mentioned the Youxian Sect in passing. All I know is that they were cultivating from a peculiar approach. They didn¡¯t practice any methods, skills, or techniques, but focused on the types of swords alone. That¡¯s all I can tell you.¡± Gu Yu was genuinely surprised by his helpfulness. ¡°Thank you for telling me all that. That was very helpful.¡± While they two were talking, the other four busied themselves with their own things as well. The phone line was down from thendslide just then and there was no reception. Deputy Director Huang stayed behind himself, and his man went down the mountain to report as well as to ask for backup. You Le was over the moon. His head was now taken over by adrenaline and irrational ideas. Strolling at the edge of the cave, he babbled, ¡°Haha, treasure, treasure¡­ I have rendered a good service to Mr. Gu and of course he will cut me in¡­ the sky-swallowing golden toad, let¡¯s see how you¡¯re going to swallow this?¡± He halted abruptly, picked up a stone the size of a basketball, and with a deranged look on his face, he hurtled it down. ¡°Gosh, what are you doing?¡± The deputy was not in time to stop him. Shouting, he could only watch the stone falling in. Gu Yu and Bai Yunsheng heard the noise as well and both looked down in a hurry. The stone fell down quickly, ripping through the flickering green light emanating from the cave wall. The pools were about sixty or seventy meters down from the ground level; the stone was falling for ten meters¡­ twenty¡­ thirty¡­ halfway down the cave, the stone disappeared without warning. It was as if the golden toad had swallowed it whole. Chapter 331 Chapter 331: Treasure-hunting (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu They watched as the stone fell in then disappeared. Even the hyper You Le was shocked by the strangeness of that. After a moment of silence, the four turned to look at Gu Yu in unison. Gu Yu was still standing on the other side watching the underground cave, showing no intention to offer an exnation. None of them dared to pose a question. As the awkward moment stretched on, the man that had gone down the mountain to send the report ran back up, panting. ¡°Deputy, our people have set out for here a long while ago; they¡¯ll be here in a moment. Here is a satellite phone for you, just for the time being.¡± ¡°Thank you. Take a rest.¡± Old Huang took over the phone and began to talk to people down the mountain. Providing disaster relief was the government¡¯s responsibility and all that was needed from him was to dispatch an armed force here to cordon Fish Mountain off, making sure no unauthorized personnel would sneak in. When he finished making the arrangements, Gu Yu also moved into action. By now, the abnormality was over, the spiritual essence was dense, and the animals wereing back. He looked around and caught an onlooking sparrow with his hand. He then tied the bird¡¯s wings and tossed it down. ¡°Chirp!¡± ¡°Chirp, chirp!¡± The poor little bird struggled all it could, but to no avail. It fell right down for ten meters¡­ twenty¡­ thirty¡­ then, just like that stone, it disappeared without a trace. Gu Yu¡¯s face remained expressionless. He then found a big rock and kicked at it; the rock tumbled off the edge. He experimented on like so on both lifeless objects and living creatures. After repeating it for seven or eight times, he finally discovered something. First of all, the barrier was about thirty meters down. As long as the object reached that height, the protection mechanism of the formation would be triggered. Secondly, the objects did not simply vanish into thin air; there was a very, very brief transformation process. Take thatst test subject¡ªa piebald snake¡ªas an example. Gu Yu could barely make out the process: the meter-long snake first went blurry, then turned into a shadow before it dissipated into thin air. In the anime world, that would be ultimate arcane skill of Gemini: Another Dimension! Pew, pew, pew 1 ¡­ All right, what they had here was most certainly not ¡°another dimension¡±. The function of this golden toad formation was to turn anything into nothingness! More importantly, it had only just revived and was far from reaching its peak. Had it been able to work as it did in Luo Shengxian¡¯s time, with it mightiness, it could probably really ¡°swallow¡± the sky. It was also because of that this dabler cultivator here could have a glimmer of hope to obtain the treasure. With that in mind, Gu Yu slowly walked to the edge where the ground broke off. Bai Yunsheng asked immediately, ¡°You¡¯re going down? Are you sure about this?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± He gave Bai Yunsheng a wave and made a gesture to jump, yet right when thetter was about to gasp, he stopped abruptly. Gosh, that feeling! It was like your boyfriend was almost ¡°there¡± when oops, the joystick slipped! That was some hollowness hard to fill¡­ The young priest eyed Gu Yu with annoyance. ¡®Dude, are you going to jump or not?¡¯ ¡°In case I don¡¯te back up, don¡¯t try it yourselves. Wait for another ten years, maybe,¡± Gu Yu offered his sincere advice. ¡°Thanks for the heads-up!¡± ¡°Haha, then, see ya¡­¡± After having fun teasing the young priest, Gu Yu opened his arms and jumped in promptly¡ªthanks to the daily activity back in the ¡°bungee training base¡± of Phoenix Mountain, the family of four were now very keen on jumping down from high ces, especially Long Qiu. Hence, when he was falling down in the cave with wind brushing his ears and green light filling his eyes, he did not even flinch, but was even calm enough to count the distance. About thirty meters down, he activated his Shadow-switching Technique and turned into intangible mist. ¡®So what if this formation can turn objects into void? Let¡¯s see how you¡¯re going to swallow the mist I¡¯ve turned into!¡¯ The mist slowed down and began to drift gently downwards. 25 m¡­ 28¡­ 30¡­ boom! Gu Yu felt his brain jolt and his mind went ck. When there was light again, he saw a gargantuan golden toad with three legs filling the space between heaven and earth. As its gigantic mouth opened and inhaled, the sun and the moon dimmed, the world darkened, and all mountains and rivers were drawn into its mouth. He felt like a mote in the universe and a drop of water in the ocean, being swept helplessly towards that mouth. Dazed, Gu Yu had forgotten where or who he was. All he could feel was a despair he had never knew existed. When he was about to be swallowed by that giant mouth, he shuddered all of a sudden. This couldn¡¯t be right! With his powerful cultivated mind, he was finally able to regain a little consciousness of his own. Gu Yu turned abruptly and fled. He was running for a billion miles until he had forgotten his life before this and all the life there could be. All of a sudden, his mind seemed to be stretched out infinitely and the golden toad was pulling away¡­ something inside his head ticked again and he realized he was drifting back up. How could he think he saw a golden toad? The underground cave and the three pools were exactly the same as before. Before long, the mist reached the ground level and changed back to his human form. Gu Yu looked a little paler and his heart was thumping against his chest. He felt he had narrowly escaped death. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Adjusting his breath, he was now holding the utmost esteem for the ancient cultivators who had left this formation behind. It was nothing Taoist skills of this age couldpare to. He had always thought himself humble and prudent enough as a self-proimed No.1 cultivator of the modern world, but it was only now that he realized he had underestimated the Taoistmunity and its glorious past that had disappeared with time. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I have no idea. He was fine jumping in, but came back all of a sudden.¡± The others watched him and were about to ask, when Gu Yu sat down on the ground and began to adjust his breathing and focus his mind. Closing his eyes, Gu Yu thought back to what he felt down there: three-legged golden toad¡­ gigantic¡­ devour¡­ the dimmed sun and moon¡­ feeling like a mote¡­ so that was the mystery about ¡°sky-swallowing!¡± That was why that formation was spectacr! He didn¡¯t understand the mechanism behind the skill¡ªwhether it was an illusion or something else. All he knew was that once one got swallowed by the toad, they would vanish for good. If he wanted to get to the bottom, he needed to find a way to withstand the power of that golden toad. After figuring that out, he finished adjusting his breathing, went to the edge of the cave, and jumped right in. Same asst time, the image of the sky-swallowing golden toad appeared again when he was about thirty meters down. Although Gu Yu came prepared this time, once the image unfolded, he felt he was trapped in primordial chaos and there was nothing he could do. He still didn¡¯t withstand it for much longer and drifted back up in confusion. Hoho, fascinating! Gu Yu¡¯s eyes lit up. Despite his harmless appearance, he could be more stubborn than anyone. He went on like so: jumping down repeatedly to try anding back up repeatedly to recover himself. In a word, he had forgottenpletely about anything else. *** Before they knew it, it was bright daylight and the sun was high. The others had been on the mountain since yesterday afternoon and waitedte into the night. After the disaster earlier that dawn, they were dragged into more waiting until this hour. Bai Yunsheng did not seem affected, but the deputy and the other three were all exhausted. They sat there motionless as they watched Gu Yuing back and forth from the cave. ¡°Ha¡­¡± It was Gu Yu¡¯s ninth time drifting back. He was consuming much more spiritual essence than he recovered and looked worn out. However, a strange excitement was flickering in his eyes. After all those trials, he finally grasped something and was about to reach a breakthrough. When he was going to sit down and adjust his breathing, there came a banging noise at the gate, and with a clunking sound, the wooden door was knocked open, followed by shuffling footsteps and a million talking voices. Gu Yu frowned, but Bai Yunsheng got up to his feet first and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± With that, he went to the front gate. About a dozen men hade in, led by the director of the BIMAUP Guizhou sub-bureau himself, who was shouting, ¡°Old Huang, Old Huang! What on earth is going on?¡± ¡°Back off!¡± Bai Yunsheng stopped his advance. ¡°¡­¡± The director looked him up and down and chuckled. ¡°Priest Bai, is it? Haha, we¡¯re all on the same team, so there¡¯s no need for that. Plus, this falls into our jurisdiction. I think it¡¯s only reasonable for us to go in and have a look. What do you say?¡± ¡°This is beyond you, and me too, for that matter. Please don¡¯t disturb him and wait here in peace.¡± With that, he draw his long sword out of it sheath. Whoosh! With a cold sh of the de, a line three meters long and over a centimeter thick was drawn out on the ground between them. The group of people shuddered in unison and went as quiet as scared chickens. ¡°Haha¡­¡± Gu Yu chuckled. He liked Chao Kongtu¡¯s personality, and now he liked Bai Yunsheng as well¡­ well, speaking of that Taoist monastery, despite its different position from his, there were quite a few men there worth befriending. Gu Yu put that thought aside, took out two spiritual stones, and adjusted himself to his optimal state. About two hourster, he walked to the edge of the cave for the tenth time. Taking a deep breath, he jumped right in. The wind brushed against his ears as before and the green light filled his eyes. A cloud of mist then slowly took its form, glowing softly. ¡®Heaven and earth are an inn for all things of creation; time is a traveller through all ages. ¡®I am a mote in the universe and a grain in the vast ocean. I am pursuing the Great Dao and immortality to break the shackles of life so that I can see beyond this heaven and earth. Even if a golden toad can swallow the sky and reshape the earth, turning everything into nothing, why would that affect my belief in the Great Dao? Why should I be afraid? ¡®I want immortality. I want you and me together.¡¯ Boom! The mist fell down to the thirty-meter threshold and the image appeared immediately. That three-legged golden toad opened its giant mouth and the rivers flowed backwards, mountains copsed, and the sun and the moon were falling back into the sea, then everything was sucked into that mouth¡­ Gu Yu¡¯s head was hazy again, but a little window of rity remained open there. It was like he had turned into the Tortoise of the North, staying as steady as a rock, and watched the surrounding ocean calmly no matter how high the tide rose. He lost count of time and felt the universe had gone empty and void of all things when the golden toad finally closed its mouth. It seemed to have tilted its head and given him a look before leaping out into the void. Boom! Gu Yu¡¯s eyes shot open, realizing that he had passed the thirty-meter threshold and was falling further down. Those three pools were right at the bottom of the cave! It was only now that he was able to observe them closely. The pools were about 15 m in diameter and sat closely to one another. The water inside was neither clear nor muddy; they reminded him of three ancient and unadorned mirrors without the slightest stir in their surface. He instinctively chose the pool in the middle. Instead of turning back into his human form, he fell down slowly towards it in his misty form. About two to three meters above the pool, he was blocked by something invisible, which felt likeyers uponyers of solid, transparent films, stopping him from getting any lower. Gu Yu estimated his spiritual essence and realized it was just about enough to take him back up. After a little hesitation, he made up his mind. Pop! The mist surged, breaking through oneyer of obstacle after another and soon reached the bottom. He had expected more resistance, but as soon as the mist made contact with the pool, it was like a firecracker¡¯s fuse had just burnt to the end and¡­ bam! The pool suddenly became alive with what seemed like a hundred whirlpools. Immediately after that, seven streaks of divine light whooshed out of the water: blood-red, rosy pink, inky ck, smokey blue¡­ exactly seven distinctive colors. ¡°¡­¡± There was only one word that could express Gu Yu¡¯s feeling right now: F**k! F**k! F**k! ¡®Why aren¡¯t you people of Youxian Sect like everyone else?! Aren¡¯t I supposed to snoop around, find some crappy secret chamber, and take every treasure I can find? ¡®Why did you just explode like that?¡¯ He had no time to think it through. Activating his mist, he tried to wrap it around the divine light. However, they were moving extremely fast. Six shot out of the cave right away, turning briefly into clouds of six colors before they dissipated into every direction. Gu Yu only managed to get one streak, which cost him much energy. He dared not stay down there any longer and hurried back up. When he finally reached the ground with much difficulty, the light gradually died away, revealing the real content. It was a crimson and unsophisticated-looking sword emanating hot air. Chapter 332 Chapter 332: Treasure-hunting (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Mr. Gu, that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Treasure! The treasure!¡± ¡°Nice sword!¡± Everyone sighed with admiration at the look of that ancient sword. Bai Yunsheng was infatuated with swords, but he would never try to take it by force, not even if he could defeat Gu Yu. It was determined by his disposition. Meanwhile, those of the BIMAUP might be envious at Gu Yu¡¯s discovery, but they knew better to focus on the big picture and would not be having funny ideas. You Yu admired at Gu Yu¡¯s good fortune and You Le was the only one submitting to his eagerness and greed. After the initial astonishment settled down, the deputy was the first one to realize the problem. Exchanging a look with the director, they both cried out in a low voice, ¡°Sh*t!¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± Bai Yunsheng nodded. Seven streaks of divine light rose out of the pool, meaning that the other six flying to some unknown corner of the world were six ancient swords unounted for¡ªsix people out there were about to get very lucky. Without government control, treasures like these would never be handed out if they fell into the hands of private individuals, regardless of their social status. Things would be much easier if the owners could hide it away. If not, and word got out, it almost always led to disasters. Because of this, the BIMAUP was actually hoping Gu Yu could stop his probing. The first pool alone came up with seven objects and there were two more to go¡­ would this world be turned upside down after he finished with them all?! Gu Yu sat all by himself on the side and was recovering his spiritual essence holding a spiritual stone. After quite some time, he picked up the ancient sword and examined it closely. The average length of a sword differed from one dynasty to another. In the Han era, long swords were 17.9 cun and short swords 10.5 cun 1 , whereas in the Song Dynasty, long swords were 21.3 cun and short swords 15.2 cun 2 . The length of one chi 3 in the ancient times was not 33 cm as it was currently, but 24 cm instead 4 . Therefore, the expression of ¡°a three-chi double-edged sword¡± tranted to a sword roughly 72 cm in length. Bai Yunsheng¡¯s sword had a de of 3.3 chi, which was a little under a meter. As for this one, it was also close to 3.3 chi in length and on the heavy side. The style was rather in with just a few me-shaped clouds carved on the de, which was faintly giving off a burning sensation. Without inserting any spiritual essence, he swept the sword casually across the air. ¡°Sizzle!¡± Like a hot de gliding over a bar of butter, the de travelled all the way without any resistance. The half-meter broken pir was split in half with one swipe. Those who had chopped firewood would know that when the axe hacked down, the impact would knock the broken wood away when it was chopped open. However, when this sword sliced down, the stone pir remained standing where it was, only that now there was a crevice down the middle with ck burnt marks. Gu Yu was genuinely amazed. He used no technique whatsoever and was simply waving it around¡­ it could only mean one thing: the sword was sharp beyond imagination! Right after that, he activated his spiritual essence and sent in a small streak. Red glow instantly surged out of the de; the scorching heat could be felt 10 cm away. Gu Yu could not help but let out a low cry of surprise. There was no mental force imprint in this word, meaning that it hadn¡¯t been refined by a specific individual yet. Wow, that was unbelievable! This meant this sword could be used by anyone¡ªordinary people, and cultivators of the acquired, innate, or Human Immortal state. To the ordinary man, it was a magical weapon; to the cultivator of an acquired state, it would enhance theirbat capability; to those of the innate state, part of the sword¡¯s potential could be put into use; probably only in the hand of a Human Immortal could this sword truly demonstrate its might. Momentarily, Gu Yu seemed to understand the meaning behind this arrangement of the Youxian Sect: they were giving out equipment for free. Seven swordsing out of one pool was probably also a deliberate design, so that the knowledge of the sect could be spread widely. Whatever the ancient cultivators¡¯ purpose was, Gu Yu admired them for their daring and resolution. Just then, the others went up to him and the deputy asked, ¡°Mr. Gu, what¡¯s the story of this sword?¡± ¡°There is no record. I have no idea.¡± ¡°What about the three pools down there? Anything strange going on?¡± ¡°This mountain used to be where an ancient sect stored their treasures. If I guessed it right, there should be relics in the other two pools as well, and quite a few of them at that.¡± Quite a few! The director and the deputy almost jumped with terror. Two more explosions with more treasures flying everywhere would probably finish the BIMAUP! They didn¡¯t have much choice, though. If this guy wanted to take the treasure, they had no power to stop him. ¡°In, in that case, are you saying¡­¡± asked Old Huang tentatively. ¡°I¡¯m still considering it.¡± Gu Yu did not try to hide his thoughts and said earnestly, ¡°With a cave of treasure right in front of my eyes, I would be lying if I say I¡¯m not tempted. Um¡­ please give me a moment.¡± He meant every word. Fifty numbers were derived from Taichi to represent the world, of which forty-nine could be exined by the Great Dao, leaving one unpredictable number to all the things in the universe. Even the Great Dao did not take it all, let alone a mere cultivator? Like a wise ancient man once said (not), ¡°Give it a go and you get to upgrade your bike into a motorcycle; slow it down so that you leave some room for future maneuver.¡± Taoism did not talk about karma, but they did believe in undertaking. ¡°All men had the habit of collecting ordinary objects by the name of wealth, which gives birth to greed, which leads to evil, evil to delusion, delusion to slyness, and slyness to harm, until the trend bes unstoppable. The wealth is then exhausted and one is back to where they began with empty hands.¡± In simple terms: if you could not control your appetite and would not stick to your Taoist heart, when everything left you, you would be dumbstruck! The Youxian Sect had buried their treasure here in Fish Mountain to spread their knowledge to the whole wide world. If he were to empty it here and now, would it be considered as fate¡­ after struggling with the idea for a while, Gu Yu finally made his decision: fine, he would open up two pools only and leave the third forter generations. That being said, judging by what happened with the first pool, himself alone was not enough to deal with the second one. It was time to call for backup. *** Phoenix Mountain, the training field. A sh of green jumped off a branch seven or eight meters above the ground andnded safely. Immediately after that, the green sh dashed out and squeezed hastily into the bush. It stopped there, curled up, and stuck out its head to check, its two-pronged tongue sticking in and out of its mouth. It was none other than Xiao Qing itself. After a moment, seeing that no one was walking into the bush, its eyes flickered, apparently quite pleased with itself. Xiao Qing used to have dark yellow eyes with a gloominess characteristic to cold-blood animals. After living for years in this spiritual-essence-rich environment, its pupils turned emerald green, reminding one of two big green crystal stones. Simrly, its skin and flesh were also much tougher and its speed record-breaking¡ªwe now had a little thruster here. ¡°Bzzzzz¡­ crack¡­ bzzzz!¡± It was still swaggering around when a low, strange noise came from above. The little snake face froze with astonishment and turned around promptly to flee the scene. That was toote. Arge fell down and wrapped it inside. ¡°Hiss!¡± Xiao Qing twisted around, but not too violently, in case it touched the by ident. The was ckish purple in color, and the interwoven threads looked very vivid. However, at a closer look, one would realize that the thread was glowing slightly¡ªit was a woven from streaks of Water Thunder. ¡°You have been with me for how long now? Howe you¡¯re more like Xiaojin everyday? Keep acting like a good-for-nothing and I¡¯ll have no choice but to throw you away.¡± Xiaozhai strolled near. Removing the Water Thunder, she picked up her pet in disdain. ¡°Hiss!¡± The little fellow wrapped itself around her wrist, wiggling its head and tail, and rubbing against her arm. ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to die for me like my master¡¯s white snake, but at least you should be able to protect yourself. This world is getting more chaotic every day. Your speed is nothing out there.¡± Shaking her head, Xiaozhai finished her training for the day and walked slowly back to the Cottage of Pure Mind. Metal Thunder had its imposing power and Water Thunder had its unpredictable changes, in both of which she had reached the passionless state. Metal generated Water, Water generated Wood, Wood generated Fire, Fire generated Earth, and Earth generated Metal¡­ the third type of Thunder she was going to practice was Wood Thunder, leaving Earth of the center, which could control all Five Thunders,st. Inside the Cottage of Pure Mind was a lively scene. Zheng Kaixing and his mother, Li Dong, Old Shui, and Gao Mingde had gathered in the courtyard around a giant spider. It was about half a meter long and brown in color. Scales covered its head, chest, and back. Eight eyes were arranged in four rows on its face and it had a huge mouthpiece and four spinnerets, or silk-spinning organs, on its abdomen. They were where spider silk was emitted, which was in fact a secreted liquid that hardened into silk once exposed in the air. ¡°Is it alive?¡± Li Dong seemed scared. ¡°Why do you even ask? Of course it¡¯s alive! I only knocked it out. You¡¯d better stay away. I¡¯m not going to save your a*s when it¡¯s eating you!¡± said Xiaojin. ¡°Ah? Why didn¡¯t you kill it?¡± asked Zheng Kaixin curiously. ¡°Its silk is very useful. I want to raise it myself.¡± Long Qiu set a confinement around the spider and smiled. ¡°We found it over in Sand Ridge; it was the only one. It¡¯s quite precious.¡± Sand Ridge was a small town to the west of Shengtian. It was next to a small desert; the town was dirty and impoverished. Bai Town was on the east, about 200 km from the town. ¡°Wow! Does, does it have a name?¡± Zheng Kaixin asked another question. ¡°Not yet. We¡¯ll ask Sister to give it one.¡± ¡°Forget it. She¡¯s an imbecile at naming things¡­¡± Xiaojin stuck out her tongue at Long Qiu¡¯s suggestion. ¡°This spider can hide underground and lives in a desert. Let¡¯s just be straightforward and call it ¡®Sand-walking Spider¡¯!¡± ¡°Not bad. Better than my Dirt Spider.¡± Xiaozhai strolled near and pulled her sisters into her arms, saying, ¡°That¡¯ll be all. You can go back to whatever you were doing.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The residents of Phoenix Mountain found the two younger sisters very easy to hang around, but not the elder one. They scattered at Xiaozhai¡¯smand. Long Qiu saw immediately that Xiaozhai had something to say. ¡°Sister, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got news from you-know-who. He can¡¯t handle it all by himself and needs us there,¡± Xiaozhai said with a hint of disdain in her voice. ¡°Xiao Qiu, you¡¯re with me¡ª¡± ¡°Why, me, me, me! Pick me!¡± Xiaojin was hopping around with excitement. ¡°You stay here!¡± *** Gu Yu spent the first day of his trip in Saji Town, arrived at Zhijin on the second day, and the Fish Mountain copsed on the dawn of the third day. It was night of that third day. To be fair, the government had been given enough time to process the whole thing. As more information came in, the picture was moreplete and the level of the incident was raised higher and higher. In the end, the report reached the boss in the central government. The current situation was rather a delicate one, for the international conference wasing up at the end of the year, and a certain fellow would be of much use. Hence, the instruction from above sounded bounteous: give full cooperation and act with courtesy. A bright moonlit night. Gu Yu hadn¡¯t had a proper rest for some time. After notifying Xiaozhai, he grabbed a bite and took a short break. Right now, he was sitting on that broken rock peak, studying the ancient sword. Needless to say, it was a fire-attributed sword. He could refine it and make it into his chief weapon. But something was nagging at him. The Youxian Sect was a sect of Sword Immortals and Sword Immortals couldn¡¯t be this primitive, could they? All they had was awesome swords and no skill manuals at all? He was afraid that once he refined it with his mental force, he could destroy a priceless divine object. Moreover, he was full of sarcastic remarks on the inside. He had already had his me Cloud Needles and now this sword. ¡®What is it with me and fire?¡¯ It would be easy to pick his alternative name in the future. Patriarch me Cloud, Priest Fierce Clouds, Youngster of Passionate Fire¡­ with that seventy-two needles and a big, long sword, tsk, tsk, everyone would think twice about messing with him! Shaking his head, he traced the sword with his fingertip, as if trying to catch a glimpse of the magnificence of masters and immortals thousands of years ago. All of a sudden, Gu Yu looked up and stared at the broken temple gate. ¡°Squeak!¡± What was left of the wooden door was slowly pushed open and Lu Yuanqing walked in. Chapter 333 Chapter 333: Treasure-hunting (Part 3) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Gu Yu winced a little at first at Lu Yuanqing¡¯s arrival, but saw through it right away¡ªit could only be an arrangement of the government to invite someone from the monastery here. The only question was: was this maning as a friend or a foe? He called out right away, ¡°Priest Lu, long time no see. I¡¯ll being down, wait just a moment.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. I can go up to you!¡± Lu Yuqing smiled and kicked the ground. He was then shooting up into the air. When he was a few meters up, he strode out with his left foot and reached the mountain wall in an instant as if he had been teleported. His right foot then kicked the mountain wall and hended lightly on the tform left behind by the broken peak. ¡°Tsk, tsk. Am I seeing the long lost Cloud Step?¡± Gu Yu weed him with a surprised look. ¡°¡­¡± Old Lu almost stumbled on his feet. The guy was finally able to show off a little and Gu Yu spoiled the moment with a single sentence. Lu Yuanqing cupped his hands. ¡°Cloud Step is something concocted in fictions and not a real thing. It has been over ten months since west met on Changbai Mountain. How have you been?¡± ¡°Thank you for asking. I¡¯m doing all right.¡± The two exchanged the necessary pleasantries, knowing perfectly well how the other one ¡°had been¡±. Lu Yuanqing¡¯s movement just then was natural and smooth, without the slightest stagnation, which was clearly a demonstration of his improvement in cultivation. Gu Yu could see that his bearing and posture were graceful and poised, and that he had recovered his original simplicity. The man had improved so muchparing to the beginning of the year. He then recalled Shi Yui¡¯s refined instrument and those two priests¡¯ conversation on ¡°spiritual animals¡±. It was not hard to guess from there that the monastery had also discovered some relic of ancient masters. And that was exactly what had happened. Since they unearthed the White Crane Underground Pce, the monastery had been working constantly on it. By now, they had finished clearing out the first floor, and the result was fruitful. Among their discoveries were some low-level Taoist skills, talisman manuals, and refined instruments, as well as recipes of simple Dan medicine, which greatly enhanced the foundation of the monastery. Take the Dan pills as an example. They had obtained the recipe of a ¡°Qi-nourishing Dan¡±, which was not as remarkable as the Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan, but still did a good job in facilitating cultivators reaching the perfection of their acquired state but not yet into the innate state. With Zhang Shouyang on Tianzhu Mountain, Celestial Master Temple had no reason to refuse the request of the monastery to use the Six One divine furnace. Lu Yuanqing was able to achieve this improvement in his cultivation from taking the Qi-nourishing Dan. Backed by the government with its endless resources, the monastery had all the advantages on its side. They might have started slow, but in the long term, they were going to soar. Gu Yu was fully aware of that, which excited him profusely¡­ Sigh, it was lonely to be the only one high up there¡ªno one could understand that unless they were up there as well. After exchanging a thousand implicit blows with their words, Gu Yu finally asked, ¡°You got here quickly enough. May I ask why?¡± ¡°Relics areing out. I¡¯m not going to miss that.¡± Lu Yuanqing shifted his eyes and asked, ¡°So, that¡¯s the sword from the pool? May I?¡± Gu Yu tossed it over casually and Old Lu caught it. After examining it closely, he gave it back to Gu Yu. ¡°That¡¯s indeed a nice sword! I heard there are treasures in the other two pools as well?¡± ¡°Yes. Since Youxian Sect wanted to spread their knowledge as wide as possible, it would be rude to refuse them. I¡¯m going to open up another one.¡± ¡°Let me help you with that.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Blinking, Gu Yu saw that the man had made a friendly gesture. He grinned. ¡°In that case, thanks a lot.¡± With those words, Lu Yuanqing cupped his again and jumped off the tform. Gu Yu put the thought aside and closed his eyes in meditation. *** The night passed peacefully. It was the following day. Under Fish Mountain, a makeshift camp seemed to have erupted overnight. The security and logistic teams all rushed here, setting up perimeters miles away from the mountain. That small vige nearby was also evacuated. Now that the mountain was rich in spiritual essence, birds and beasts were flooding in. The white jade bird was a shrew one, for it only flew back when it was absolutely sure of its safety. Right now, it was twittering around its temporary master. ¡°Chirp!¡± ¡°Chirp, chirp!¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Gu Yu was ying with the little bird when a smile crept up his face. He hurried to the temple gate. ¡°Squeak!¡± The broken wood board was pushed open and two women walked in. His girlfriend and sister had arrived. ¡°Xiaozhai!¡± Throwing out his arms, he was ready for a passionate hug, but only got a cold shoulder in return. Xiaozhai gave him a ¡°you dumba*s¡± look and Long Qiu also kept her face as passionless as a single person usually did under such asion. ¡°Chirp!¡± The awkwardness was intense enough to singe the air. Luckily, Gu Yu did not blush easily. He grinned. ¡°I thought you wouldn¡¯t be here until noontime. That was fast¡­ oh, this is my bird.¡± ¡°Your bird?¡± Xiaozhai darted a look at the silly bird and sneered, ¡± That¡¯s not how I remembered it 1 !¡± After that, she walked around her boyfriend to the edge of the cave and looked down to examine it. Gu Yu was a little dumbstruck. He tugged at Long Qiu and asked in a low voice, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why is your sister like this?¡± ¡°Sister said you were opinionated, impetuous, and didn¡¯t use your brain. You only remembered us when you couldn¡¯t handle it on your own. You¡¯re not getting any smile from us!¡± Long Qiu quoted Xiaozhai word for word, expressing her deep sympathy (actually, she was glowing with pleasure at Gu Yu¡¯s misery). ¡°Um¡­¡± Ok, his girl was speaking the truth and he had no excuse for his behavior. Over on the other side, Xiaozhai checked the cave, greeted Lu Yuanqing and Bai Yunsheng, and frowned, for she was sensing an ufortable stare. Turning around, she saw You Le stood there with a cking jaw: wow, these two women are gorgeous! What the hell? She was baffled. How did such a character manage to survive three chapters in a ce like this? ¡°Miss Jiang, Miss Long, thank you foring all this way. Do you need some rest?¡± Just then, the two heads of the BIMAUP went up to them. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. We¡¯ll start right away. So, how does it work?¡± She turned to her boyfriend. ¡°Well, they pretty muche out and go wherever they want, and they¡¯re extremely fast. I¡¯ll go down first to lure them out. You all stay up here, and if possible, each take one target. We¡¯ll catch as many as we can,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Gotcha!¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Yes, I see.¡± Long Qiu nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll do whatever I can,¡± replied Lu Yuanqing. That was it! The immortals talked in their ownnguage and the men from the BIMAUP could only smile wryly and moved back to watch. ¡°We¡¯re all set, then. Get ready while I fish for the golden toad!¡± After that, Gu Yu shed out of sight and pelted into the cave in a cloud of mist. Ten meters¡­ twenty¡­ thirty¡­ Boom! The image of the golden toad made its appearance again, shaking heaven and earth and dimming the sun and the moon. Having seeded once, he held on to that window of rity in his mind regardless of the world falling apart around him. Let everything go to waste, but he would remain unaffected. It seemed forever when the vision disappeared and he regained consciousness. He realized that he was falling again. Of the three pools, the middle one was emptied. Which should he choose between the left and the right one? It was a tough choice, for he was only going to empty one more. It would be such a pity if he ended up choosing a lousy one. Gu Yu slowed down his falling, and after much thought, he decided he should stop thinking. ¡®If I chose well, then I chose well; if not, that would be how fate wanted it.¡¯ He had made up his mind. Controlling the mist, he drifted towards the one on the left¡ªyou, then! Seeing this, those up on the ground began to work their own magic. Xiaozhai turned over her palm, revealing a purple-ck arc of lightning, which was forever changing its shape. Long Qiu summoned Golden Silkworm, which took its chubby kid form and looked down with its blinking dark eyes. She could do the Shadow-switching Technique, but not as expertly as her brother. She decided not to try her luck in such a critical moment. ¡°¡­¡± Lu Yuanqing darted a look at Xiaozhai¡¯s Water Thunder and quietly took out a bronze mirror from his chest pocket. It was about twice the size of an adult palm and had a primitive simplicity in its style. The back was carved with cloud patterns and the front was of a muted golden color. The mirror face looked misty. It was the Soul-calming Mirror from the White Crane Underground Pce, which he had just refined. It could calm the spirit and soul of all living creatures. As for Gu Yu, after breaking through the multipleyers of obstruction, he approached the pool tentatively. He paused first, then the mist drifted down and lightly touched the water. Bam! It was indeed just likest time. The pool also began to stir violently with whirlpools, emanating an imposing energy in the process, which was much more intimidating than the previous one. Gu Yu¡¯s heart lurched. He dared not take it lightly and kept his eyes on the water. A few momentster, the whirlpools stopped abruptly and something exploded in the pool, sshing freezing water everywhere. Four lumps of divine light whooshed out of the spray at a much higher speed, then shot into the sky. ¡°Catch!¡± Even Gu Yu, who hade prepared, was only in time to wrap his mist around one. ¡°About time!¡± Xiaozhai¡¯s Water Thunder spread out into a big web and covered the opening of the cave as best as she could. Two lumps of light were stopped before the thunder web wrapped tightly around them. The divine light would not surrender, though. They were struggling violently, trying to break out. ¡°Golden Silkworm!¡± Long Qiu pointed with her finger and the chubby kid shot into the air towards a lump of divine light. It reached out with its fair baby arms to catch the light. However, as soon as it held onto the light, there was a sizzling sound and ck smoke surged. Golden Silkworm felt a sharp pain all the way down to its mind and had to let go. The light changed direction and dashed at You Yu. You Yu stood there dazed, unable to move. You Le charged at him frantically and shoved his younger brother aside. ¡°It¡¯s mine! Mine! My tre¡ª Aaaaah!¡± Bang! The divine light punched through his chest and flew into the clouds, soon nowhere to be found. ¡°Gosh!¡± Long Qiu was vexed, angry, and abashed. She had made a mistake, which cost them a life. Before she had time to reprimand Golden Silkworm, her sister shouted. ¡°Sh*t!¡± The power of the treasure this time greatly exceeded the previous one and Xiaozhai was stretching out her limit by pinning down two. After a moment of struggle, one of the two finally struggled free. The light flew into the air and was about to flee when there came a clearmand. ¡°Freeze!¡± With that voice, a golden beam shot out andnded right on that lump of light, which stopped moving right away. Lu Yuanqing¡¯s face looked a little contorted and his hand holding the mirror was also shaking slightly, apparently having a difficult time controlling it as well. The stalematested only for a moment before the light was about to break free again. ¡°Senior Brother, I¡¯ming!¡± Bai Yunsheng drew out his sword and joined the fight. His long sword slid swiftly through the air, weaving a with its movements. The divine light sensed the energy of the sword and stopped trying to leave. Instead, it began to fly around in a controlled manner, as if it was exchanging blows with the sword. ¡°Bring it on!¡± Despite being only a man of an acquired state, Bai Yunsheng was not intimidated at all. His sword danced around in an unbroken series of movements, charging at the light like tidal waves. After a few rounds, the divine light suddenly paused in mid-air and swelled up. Immediately after that, the lump of light several times bigger dived down and wrapped around the tip of the sword. ¡°Whoosh!¡± The ancient sword that had been passed down for centuries was no match to the light. Little by little, it was devoured. ¡°My sword!¡± Bai Yunsheng felt his heart was bleeding and his eyes were open so wide that they might burst. The divine light did not stop after that, but was heading right for him. He shut his eyes, thinking he would end up like You Le. However, the next second, his mind went dark and he lost consciousness. ¡°Rumble!!!¡± Xiaozhai was enraged over on the other side and golden lightning appeared in her palm. After a violent lightning strike, the divine light finally quieted down. It was now in her hand like a glowing ball. Before long, Gu Yu also came up with another glowing ball in his hand. He sighed at the scene. There were four in total. One got away and they managed to tame three. However, in a matter of minutes, You Le was dead and Bai Yunsheng had passed out on the ground¡­ Chapter 334 Chapter 334: Sword Seed Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Before the Spring and Autumn Period, cultivators were categorized into the Perfected, the Supreme, the Deity, and the Saint. After the Spring and Autumn period, the concept of immortal world became popr and the belief of following thews of the human world waned. The cultivation method was partially lost and partially passed down anonymously among themon folk, then picked up by the Taoistmunity. With some mix-and-match, series of Taoist cultivating methods were created, such as the Immortals Swordsman method, the Nether Immortals method, the method of refining Qi through a focused mind, etc. The Sword Immortal Sect had grown out of none other than the Immortals Swordsman method itself. Back then, they did not yet have an established system and their scale was limited. It wasn¡¯t until the ancient immortals period when individual Taoist sects began to form the Taoist religion and the Taoistmunity took shape. The essence-consuming method became the mainstream one and Immortal Swordsman gradually came to have their own sect and an inheritance system. Same as the essence-consuming method, they inherited the quintessence of the ancient teachings, believing in cultivating in both the mind and the physical form, and in rising as immortals in their physical body. People ofter generations categorized them in different ways, such as the Southern and Northern Sects (of Quanzhen), or into various sects, including Wudang, Jingai Mountain, Huashan Mountain, Qingcheng, Nangong, etc. All sects had their individual cultivation method, but the core was essentially the same. The essence-consuming method worked on enhancing Qi, whereas the Sword Immortal Sect worked on the sword energy, which meant to integrate the energy of the sword with one¡¯s own vital essence. Usually, their swords were categorized into three levels. Technical Sword: the swords used were tangible and physical objects. One was to have a strong sense of justice and readiness to help the weak with their swords. Sword skills of this level still belonged to the field of martial arts. Methodical Sword (Qi Sword to some sects): the swords were halfway between tangible and intangible. When the energy of the swords was generated, they became an integral part of their wielders, who could soar in the sky with their swords and kill people a thousand miles away in a sh. Taoist Sword (Divine Sword to some sects): the swords were intangible objects that did not have a physical form. The energy of the swords had be an integral part of Nature itself. The wielders were to walk a virtuous path and go where fate led them to. As for the Youxian Sect, they had a unique way of passing down their inheritance: through Sword Seeds. What exactly were Sword Seeds? In in terms, by fusing the seed into one¡¯s body, they were equipped with thebination of a sh memory disk, an engine, a pacemaker, and a sword vault. Swords could then be stored away in the Sword Seed and nourished whenever one wanted so that the swords could be refined. How did ite into existence? They were transformed from the sword energy of the great masters of the sect who were at least men of the Immortal state. The four lumps of light flying out of the second pool were none other than four Sword Seeds. If the exnation above still sounded tooplicated, let¡¯s put it this way: with one such seed inside, even a dog could rule over Azeroth! Of course, the binding criteria were very strict. Most would end up like You Le¡ªthanks to the g Xiaozhai triggered earlier. ¡°Tsk! This is awesome!¡± Holding the iridescent, glowing globe, Gu Yu read the information above off of it and sighed with admiration. ¡°The Youxian Sect hase up with this method probably because the cultivation of the sword immortals was extremely difficult. People ofter generations greatly benefited as a result, but every coin has two sides. If no one in the sect could reach the level of producing a Sword Seed, or none of the descendants fit the criteria, their inheritance would be discontinued.¡± ¡°So, do you fit?¡± Xiaozhai teased. ¡°Of course. I will make it fit even if I don¡¯t!¡± ¡°Tsk. How about that fellow?¡± She pointed at the still unconscious Bai Yunsheng with her chin. ¡°Priest Bai is such an outstanding swordsman that the Sword Seed offered itself willingly. There can be only one answer to your question.¡± Gu Yu stuffed the glowing globe into his big gourd and strolled toward Bai Yunsheng. ¡°Is he all right?¡± ¡°The impact was a little too strong for his current cultivation level. I have regted his flow of vital energy, leading it back to the natural state. When the treasure calms down and adjusts to his body, he will probably wake up,¡± replied Lu Yuanqing. ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Gu Yu exined the function of Sword Seeds without holding anything back and chuckled. ¡°I guess I should congratte Priest Bai for the windfall.¡± Hearing this, Lu Yuanqing also smiled sincerely despite being empty-handed himself. ¡°So, the saying is true: good fortune lies within bad; bad fortune lurks within good.¡± ¡°Haha, now that I¡¯ve emptied two pools, there¡¯s only one left. Any ns on your side?¡± asked Gu Yu. ¡°The Youxian Sect has arranged some heavy guard around their treasure and our monastery is not capable enough to explore it at the moment. We¡¯ll wait. Or, maybe another extremely talented individual wille to take it some other day, which would be an interesting event as well,¡± said Lu Yuanqing. The two enjoyed their conversation, which looked rather baffling to any outsider. As a matter of fact, even they themselves found this rtionship aplicated one. Had it not been for the political factors involved, the two would make excellentpanions for each other and appreciate each other¡¯s character. Unfortunately, with politics, they were facing conflict of interest in a jumble of aspects. No matter what, neither was the parochial and improvident type. When something would benefit the cultivation environment as a whole, they would both dly push it towards the right direction. *** While the two guys chattered, Long Qiu was still chastizing herself. ¡°It was all my fault. If I knew Golden Silkworm could not take it, I would have handled it myself. Now a man was killed because of me.¡± Biting her lip, the girl kept darting looks towards a corner where You Yu sat with a nk face. You Le¡¯s bodyy on the ground, covered by a in white cloth. They were waiting for someoneing up to take care of it. ¡°Don¡¯t beat yourself up over this. He got greedy and got himself killed. Although looking at it from another angle, he did protect his younger brother as a result.¡± Seeing that the girl was still sad, Xiaozhai squeezed Long Qiu¡¯s cheeks and forced her around, chuckling. ¡°Well, let¡¯s forget about that for a minute¡­ there, take it!¡± With that, she took out the Sword Seed she caught and tossed it to Long Qiu. Xiao Qiu jumped at this and stuffed it back to Xiaozhai¡¯s hands. ¡°No, I can¡¯t take it! You were the one caught it and it¡¯s way too precious!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need it. Just take it!¡± ¡°No, why don¡¯t you need it? Sword Immortals are so mighty and I¡¯m so dumb. It¡¯ll go to waste in my hand!¡± Long Qiu would not ept it no matter what. ¡°Sword Immortals are so mighty? How do you know?¡± Xiaozhai chuckled. ¡°Um, isn¡¯t everyone saying that? One sweep of the sword and all skills are useless¡­ something like that¡­¡± Xiao Qiu faltered a little. ¡°One sweep of the sword and all skills are useless¡­ Hahaha, stop reading those crappy novels. Your little head is not so sharp to begin with, don¡¯t contaminate it further.¡± Xiaozhai held her hand and exined patiently, ¡°The skills of Sword Immortals lie in their attacking power and the imposing manner. In other words, a sword manual is ideal to be taken as a chief assault skill. Your brother, for example, is cultivating the essence-consuming method, but that method has no attacking power whatsoever. He might seem to know a lot¡ªShadow-switching, conjuring illusions, the me Cloud Needles, the Small Moving Technique¡­ but none of those are aggressive enough, which is why a Sword Seed is perfect for him. ¡°Your cultivation method follows the same path as his¡ªand a downgraded one, for that matter. Golden Silkworm is an undead-insect-depending witchcraft after all and will only pose more limitation in the future. Are you going to rely on that dumb bug for the rest of your life?¡± ¡°But, but¡ª¡± Long Qiu was about to retort, but was interrupted right away. ¡°You talked about the sword rendering all skills useless. Well, to some extent, that is not wrong. But it¡¯s not that the Sword Immortals were the top cultivators because of the swords. They were that way because they believed in their swords and the sword manuals, which they deemed invincible. ¡°That was what an imposing manner all about. The Sword Immortals would never seed in studying the manuals without that indomitable will. ¡°I am just like them. I believe my Thunder Technique is second to nothing in its killing will and it must be! Had I really begun to learn the sword manual, it means I don¡¯t have full confidence in Thunder Technique and I¡¯m holding back. ¡°Because of that¡­ I don¡¯t need this. It¡¯s yours!¡± Smack! Xiaozhai tossed the globe back to Long Qiu. Wow, you could see the twinkling stars in Xiao Qiu¡¯s eyes. She had always been fond of her sister, and now she was infatuated. She couldn¡¯t help it. She liked her brother and she liked her sister even more, as well as her younger sister. She loved the whole family. Hence, she stopped nagging and put away the Sword Seed carefully. Before long, it was noontime. The authorized personnel came up to deal with the aftermath and You Le¡¯s body was carried down the mountain. You Yu still had that stunned look from both the sorrow and the bewilderment. Seeing this, Gu Yu and Lu Yuanqing went up to him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s your n now?¡± ¡°I want to take my brother home to see his mum and dad¡­¡± You Yu barely managed to look up and gave a reply, then shook his head, ¡°I, I don¡¯t know¡­¡± ¡°You are very well endowed. If Taoism interests you, you cane find me¡­ us, in the future,¡± said Lu Yuanqing. ¡°You?¡± ¡°Yes. Phoenix Mountain in the Northeast or Tianzhu Mountain in Qian Zhou. Either will do,¡± Gu Yu gestured between himself and Lu Yuanqing. Chapter 335 Chapter 335: Anshun Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu All parties went their separate ways after the Fish Mountain business was over. Lu Yuanqing took Bai Yunsheng back to the monastery, while the BIMAUP listed Fish Mountain as the newest restricted area. Men were delegated to set up barriers around the mountain, as well as to make discreet inquiries among the general public. After all, six ancient swords and a Sword Seed were scattered across the country; they wouldn¡¯t be at ease until every single piece was retrieved. As for Xiaozhai, after settling the business for her helpless man, she was in no hurry to go back to Phoenix Mountain. Since she had travelled all the way here, she might as well have a look around. Anshun, night. One could choose one out of the three routes on leaving Fish Mountain: a northern one to western Guizhou, a middle one to Forest City¡ªthe provincial capital, and a southern one to Anshun which was their pick, because they wanted to see the renowned Huangguoshu Waterfalls. Well, don¡¯t get it wrong. They were not going there for recreational purposes. Huangguoshu had fallen victim to a cmity a short while ago and was no longer the favorite tourist destination it used to be. ¡°¡®Water centipedes¡¯: thervae of the predaceous diving beetles, are between 8 to 10 cm in length, have a cylinder-shaped body and plier-shaped big jaws. They are violent, voracious, and have the habit to strangle their prey between the big jaws before feeding on the body fluids. Under no circumstances should one try to approach them.¡± ¡°Water skippers: 5-7 cm in length, ckish brown, used to feed on dead fish or insects, but have developed a liking for human body fluids after mutation. They are extremely fast creatures moving on the surface of water and have excellent jumping ability. Stay away as far as possible if spotted!¡± *** ¡°Ew! Gross!¡± Long Qiu put down her phone, finding what she saw repulsive. As if that was not enough to express her contempt, she even waved her pretty hand over the image. ¡°Guizhou Province has so many mutated creatures. Poor residents¡­¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you a witch specialized in undead insects? And you can¡¯t stand those?¡± Leaning on the windowsill, Gu Yu expressed his bafflement at Xiao Qiu¡¯s reaction. ¡°Those are water bugs. They¡¯re nothing like the undead insects¡ªthey are adorable,¡± exined Long Qiu in a serious tone. ¡°Adorable???¡± He grimaced, finding it impossible to link that word to things like snakes, centipedes, scorpions, ricefield eels¡­ ¡°You can¡¯t eliminate small creatures with modern weapons as is the case with therge ones. They can simply hide in the water or some damp caves and no one will find them. The waterfall is done for.¡± Xiaozhai found that a pity and sighed. ¡°Why, I was thinking about showing you around there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. I¡¯ll go anywhere as long as I¡¯m with you two¡­ teehee!¡± Long Qiu sat on the bed cross-legged and wearing no socks. She unconsciously held her feet in her hands and began to rock back and forth like a roly-poly. She was grinning for no reason. ¡°What are you beaming at, you little dummy?¡± Xiaozhai found her cute as a button and gave her a poke. Xiao Qiu lost her bnce and slumped onto the bed, still holding her feet. ¡°Ouch!¡± She let out a silly little cry and bolted back to her sitting position, then began to giggle, leaning on her sister¡¯s shoulder. Tsk¡­ Gu Yu was secretly shaking his head. ¡®Why do I feel like the third wheel here?¡¯ He had to take out his big gourd and then the Sword Seed to force the pinkness out of the atmosphere. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking all the way here and got something. The seed works as a special mental space for teaching and sword-storing. I can extract some preliminary information from it now, but the actual sword manuals¡ªor sword scriptures¡ªcan only be essed after I fuse with this seed.¡± ¡°Is that so? Be more specific,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Sword Seeds were transformed from the energy of certain swords, so naturally theye with the understanding and impression of those ancient masters. By fusing with a Sword Seed, you be the disciple of its maker. The general principle of Sword Immortals is to cultivate the energy of swords, but there are many ways to do it. The Youxian Sect alone had as many as seven sword scriptures. Sword Seeds will actively try to integrate with extremely talented people with a natural inclination towards practicing swords, such as Bai Yunsheng. Of course, there is another way to integrate with the seed, which is to suppress and force it into your body.¡± He paused a little and went on, ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have a problem with fusing with it, nor will Xiao Qiu. I¡¯ll give you a hand if things do not work out smoothly. ¡°The seven sword scriptures and seven ancient swords should form seven corresponding pairs, but there are only four Sword Seeds now, which means three of the scriptures were lost.¡± Xiaozhai frowned slightly. ¡°Your sword is fire-attributed. What if this sword scripture doesn¡¯t go with it?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to find a suitable sword¡­ or make one.¡± Gu Yu found that a little problematic as well. ¡°Then, then, then¡­¡± Long Qiu hopped a little and stammered, but went quiet before she could form a sentence. She was going to say that her brother could have her Sword Seed, which would increase the probability, but then realized it would not work. Each one could only fuse with one seed and they would not know what sword manual they had before fusing with it. That was the downside of losing the inheritance. It was obvious that the Youxian Sect used to pass down the Sword Seeds first before making the right sword, but Gu Yu received the sword first in this case, which made the whole thing a little awkward. ¡°Cheer up. Don¡¯t worry yourselves with the possible gains or losses. Let¡¯s go see the waterfall first, then we fuse with the seeds¡ªwhatever they might give us!¡± After those words, Gu Yu checked the time and made a little cough. ¡°Ahem¡­ um, it¡¯s gettingte. Let¡¯s all take some rest. We still have Huangguoshu Waterfall to go to tomorrow.¡± Gettingte? Long Qiu watched the clock curiously, where the hour and minute hands still formed a right angle. However, it dawned on her the next second and she hopped out of the bed like amb. ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m very sleepy as well. Off to bed! Good night, brother and sister!¡± With that, she scuffed to her room next door. Gu Yu was most pleased! ¡®I haven¡¯t been the nicest brother these days for nothing!¡¯ He locked the door happily and turned around with open arms, grinning. ¡°There! The problem was solved and I was taught the lesson. Let¡¯s snuggle!¡± ¡°Old Gu, I¡¯m finding you a little, a little¡­¡± Xiaozhai moved her finger around and came up with a suitable expression. ¡°Cheesy!¡± ¡°Why, are you surprised? We¡¯ve been parted for a month! Haven¡¯t you heard about ¡®reunion after a brief parting is as sweet as a honeymoon¡¯?¡± he said in a matter-of-fact tone. ¡°You need a reunion after a month only? Then how about when a hundred years¡ªorter, a thousand years¡ªis but a snap of fingers for us? How much time do you then think we need a reunion? Are you suggesting we¡¯ll just sleep in our cold beds in between?¡± Sh*t! Gu Yu could read that tone¡ªhe had said the wrong words. He said immediately, ¡°My bad. I take back what I said¡­ It has nothing to do with reunion. I missed you, that¡¯s all.¡± Humph! Xiaozhai gave him a sideway nce and gestured with her chin. ¡°Take care of your bird first.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Gu Yu was at a loss, then he heard the chirpings behind him. Turning around in embarrassment, he saw that the white jade bird was ying the peeping Tom with undisguised excitement. ¡°Out, out. Don¡¯te back before tomorrow morning.¡± He opened the window and threw the bird out. There was no need to hurry now. He offered, ¡°How about taking a shower first? I¡¯ll get the water ready for you.¡± He made his way into the bathroom and turned the water on. Water sshed out of the shower head in a color darker than usual. He did not think much of it, but ten seconds passed and the water only became more muddy, until it was almost ck. There was also a tittering sound, as if something was squeezing out of the nozzle. A momentte, there was a thud and somethingnded on the floor. Holy sh*t! Gu Yu jumped at the neer. A few little dark-red worms just spurted out of the shower head and smashed onto the bathroom floor, still squirming around. ¡°Why, that¡¯s new. Did you get the worms to refresh the repertoire?¡± Xiaozhai leaned on the door holding her arms, giving him the ¡°you poor little fool¡± look again. ¡°This ce has some major hygienic problems! I don¡¯t think we should use the shower!¡± Gu Yu couldn¡¯t find anything else to say. Activating the Small Moving Technique in a hurry, he flushed the dirty water and worms down the toilet. Anshun was located in the dividing crest of Wujiang River and Beipan River basins. The area was abundant in rivers and water resources, hence the existence of Huangguoshu Waterfall. Now that the waterfall was taken over by the insects, it was only normal that a few would fly out of a shower head in a hotel. Gu Yu had lost all his appetite after that episode. Scuffing out of the bathroom, he said in a crest-fallen voice, ¡°All right, time to go to bed.¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡± Xiaozhai, on the other hand, was in a great mood after teasing her man. She also activated the Small Moving Technique and woosh! Someone¡¯s underpantsy t on the floor. She then crooked her finger. ¡°Shall we dance?¡± Chapter 336 Chapter 336: Dawn of the Southern Wilderness Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu A gust of wind swept away the fallen leaves and a heavy rain destroyed the banana trees. The three got up very early the following morning, but found no breakfast in the hotel. ording to the staff, the running water was fine a couple of days ago, but the contamination had grown worse since yesterday and unknown disgusting little worms spurted out all the time. The word around was that water service in the area had been suspended; only the south and west of the city were not affected. The three did not think much of it then. It was only when they went out onto the street that they saw the entire Anshun was in a restless state¡ªstrong fear filled the air. Police officers were patrolling the streets and vehicles were heading out of the city in lines. ¡°Such a nice city, but I guess that¡¯s the end of it,¡± said Long Qiu sadly. ¡°It¡¯s not just this city. All the ces down the stream are finished.¡± Looking up at the overcast sky, Gu Yu sighed. ¡°There was the Southern Wilderness where the Miao people used to live in the ancient time. Thend was unruly and the rivers turbulent. One could not see a vige for hundreds of miles travelling in the area. Who could have thought that with the recovery of the spiritual essence, a well-established modern urban agglomeration is deteriorating. Are we really going to have another Southern Wilderness?¡± ¡°Very likely. Unless they can solve this insect contamination soon, they will have to give up this area.¡± Xiaozhai also shook her head. ¡°We were so proud of having the picturesque scenery, but it¡¯s only making us miserable now¡­ let¡¯s go.¡± Their destination was Huangguoshu scenic area, which had long been cordoned off. They paid a small fortune to find a taxi, which took them 45 km to the southwest of the city before stopping in front of a warning sign. They made their way around the sentries and snuck into the scenic area. Huangguoshu was actually a group of waterfalls covering a wide area. Within a radius of 18 km, there were over a dozen overground waterfalls, four underground ones, and more karst caves and underground rivers than one could count. Huangguoshu was divided into several individual scenic areas with a few Miao viges. Tourists used to flood the ce throughout the year. However, as far as they could see now, the area was deserted like deadnd. The three followed nk road set above the water for a while before running into a wide river, which was running smoothly without a single wave. The water seemed extremely heavy as if it wasn¡¯t flowing over the riverbed, but lying there like a hefty mass. Gu Yu casually tossed a stone into the river which was immediately devoured with a muffling plop. From right where the stone sank, ripples expanded out, soon reaching the entire surface of the river, then there was a sh of light. As if a giant window-shutter was drawn close, shutting out the sunlight, the bright surface of the water turned ck. ¡°Gosh!¡± Long Qiu cried out in surprise, getting goosebumps all over. The surface of the water was coveredpletely by swarms of aquatic insects: water centipedes, predaceous diving beetles, nepids, water skippers¡­ Disturbed by the stone, the insects grew restless right away. The water skippers were the most excited at the smell of fresh human flesh and began to move swiftly towards the shore in waves. When they were about half a meter away from the riverbank, the first batch jumped out in unison and a ck waterfall of squirming bugs surged upshore. Gu Yu set up a confinement and the swarm smashed onto the invisible barrier with thumping sounds. Their negligible intelligence was enough to prompt them to stab the barrier frantically with their long and thin mouthpieces. Frowning slightly, Gu Yu let out ten me Cloud Needles, which joined into a ming dragon and grazed the water surface. ¡°Sizzle!¡± ¡°Crackle!¡± A foul smell filled the air right away. A fresh supply of bugs would rise to the surface as soon as the previousyer was charred. ¡°Forget it. This is so gross. Let¡¯s check somewhere else!¡± Gu Yu felt his stomach turn at the scene and left the spot promptly, or he would be throwing up soon. The three moved further in and reached the main scenic area in a moment, which was that famous big waterfall. It was over seventy meters tall and as wide as a little of a hundred meters. Falling off a cliff, it was a picture of flying pearls and crackling jade stones as the water sshed high into the air as it bounced off the surface below. The waterfall reminded one of a suspended bead curtain and a billowy piece of white silk hanging over the side of a mountain! What was more remarkable was a water curtain cave as long as 134 m spanning all the way across the waterfall halfway up. The waterfall itself had water clear enough¡ªthe insects probably could not survive the impact during the fall. The three savored the scene briefly before moving up along the stairs towards the water curtain cave at the back. The cave had six cave windows, five cave halls, three springs, and six passageways. As soon as they entered the first passageway, they were shocked by what they saw. ¡°Retch!¡± Long Qiu¡¯s stomach turned and she gagged, leaning on her sister¡¯s shoulder. Xiaozhai and Gu Yu also found it most disgusting. Lying in the cave were seven to eight dead bodies, who were probably unlucky tourists trapped here when the insects broke out and died a miserable death. That was not the most disturbing part of it. A type of dark red water bugs covered the bodies and were crawling all over them. With their excellent eyesight, the three could clearly saw that the bugs had a mouthpiece with two long spikes, which had easily prated the skin and seemed to have injected something. Little bumps swelled up under the skin where it was punched through. It was the same with all of the dead bodies, which looked like to have pustules all over¡ªthere were so many of them that even the facial features were blurred. ¡°Pop!¡± All of a sudden, a bump burst open and a tiny bug squeezed out. It touched the spike of a big bug, apparently quite affectionate towards thetter. ¡°Retch!¡± Xiao Qiu finally threw up. These bugs were using human corpse as a medium to hatch their eggs. Xiaozhai patted Long Qiu on the back tofort her, while Gu Yu watched it in astonishment, for from the crevice of the stones in this cave, insects were still crawling out. There had to be a million of them! However advanced weapons one had, they would be at a loss when facing tiny creatures like these. Even if they bombed the mountain to the ground, there was no guarantee that the insects could be eradicated. Bugs, the meant-to-be overlords of this! The three made themselves undetectable and stood there watching for a few more moments. Finally, they decided it was too disgusting to stay any longer and turned to leave. They only made a few steps when there came a crackling sound of falling stones and a creature resembling a smander crawled out. It dashed right into the bugs. With a lick of its long tongue, hundreds of bugs were drawn into its mouth. Its fat lips moved with chewing motions, and then there was the next lick. The water bugs werepletely defenseless and could only wait until the animal finished feeding, slithered back into the stones, and disappeared. ¡°¡­¡± The thing came and went so fast that the three were having a hard time digesting it. Nature indeed was the fairest. The weakest creature had a way to protect itself, while the strongest species had its Achilles¡¯ heel. Huangguoshu now was the perfect demonstration: the insect disaster had just broken out, but there was already a natural enemy to restrain it. The three were only here for an inspection and a few glimpses were enough to reflect the whole picture. They decided they had seen enough after that. That was how the general environment was now. The remote areas and undevelopednds were bing more and more uninhabitable, especially the corners. On the northwest, southwest, northeast, and southeast,rge depopted zoned were created. In contrast, there were also the dpidated industrial cities, which were not least affected and where people lived their days like nothing had happened. The path was set for the future and all that was left was the n from above. *** Tongren, Fanjing Mountain. The so-called Fanjing Mountain used to be called Three-mountain Valley. The name was changedter when Buddhism gained its poprity. Fanjing was short for Fantian 1 Jingtu 2 . Legend had it that it was the ce where Maitreya performed his rites. Back then, the mountain would be flooded with rich worshippers willing to spend a fortune. But now, well, it was not the best time to be a monk. Take Tianzhu Mountain as an example. On the mountain was a Sanzu 3Temple, where Sengcan, the third patriarch of the Chan sect (of Buddhism) used to preach. One could imagine the prestigious status of the ce. However, when the country decided to build the research base and the Taoist monastery there, the monks were promptly removed from the mountain. Things were pretty much the same with Fanjing Mountain. Now that Taoism was gaining poprity, moremon folks were believing in the Taoistmunity and Taoist priests. As a result, no one wasing to the Buddhist temples anymore. Without the worshippers¡¯ support, it was almost impossible for the monks to make a living. Many had returned to their secr life and those remaining behind were requesting to be transferred to other temples not pestered by mutated creatures. In other words, the mountain waspletely deserted. As for the family of three, they headed for Forest City right after returning from Huangguoshu before arriving at Tongren after staying in Forest City for a day. Impressed by the picturesquendscape, they found an abandoned hotel to live in and nned to fuse the Sword Seeds there. Early in the morning, slightly foggy. The three went up the mountain along the stairs, which wound up following the turnings of the mountain creek. Peaks rose around them half covered by trees and rocks, which came in all sizes and shapes, and they could find something spectacr wherever they turned to look. They were following the western route, along which was a famous spot called Guanyin Cave. It was a stone house built out of a stone cave on the cliff wall, in which a statue of Guanyin was worshipped. Infertile believers woulde here every year to kowtow and throw a small stone into the cave. It was said that by doing so, they would conceive a baby the following year. When passing the cave, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai did not pay any attention, but Long Qiu stopped and put her palms together, then bowed at the cave earnestly. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Gu Yu was amazed. ¡°I was praying for you two to have a little baby soon.¡± ¡°What the hell? We weren¡¯t even beginning to think about it!¡± He felt the headache again. Long Qiu blinked and said in all seriousness, ¡°Why not? Babies are so cute. And yours is going to be born an innate state baby.¡± The girl had been tainted¡ªdespite her innocent look, she was all naughty inside. Xiaozhai was actually intrigued by the idea. ¡°I haven¡¯t thought about it that way¡­ hey, Old Gu, do you think it¡¯ll be more difficult to have babies when we move into higher cultivation levels?¡± ¡°Not in giving birth itself, I think, but in getting pregnant?¡± Gu Yu gave it a thought. ¡°As our level of life improves, maybe our genes will mutate with it. Isn¡¯t there a term ¡®reproductive istion¡¯? Maybe the sperms and eggs will start to tear each other apart and cannot fertilize. Something like that? I really don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Xiaozhai nodded and asked another question a momentter. ¡°I wonder, if our babyes at this stage, it will probably be fine, but won¡¯t it be awkward when I¡¯m pregnant after I have my primordial spirit?¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Babies have their own minds, right? It sleeps in my belly while its mind develops, but my primordial spirit will be inside me too. Won¡¯t they affect each other? The baby feeds on my vital essence and my primordial spirit has its own consciousness. What if it affects the baby? Whom am I giving birth to? My kid or myself?¡± ¡°Wait a minute! You lost me there!¡± Gu Yu waved at her and frowned. After several moments, he still couldn¡¯t sort it out. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Why do you have to bring that up?! It¡¯s giving me the creeps!¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± Xiaozhai pulled him into her arms andughed. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. We¡¯ll know when we feel like having one some day!¡± Just like so, they made all the way to the top of the mountain while exchanging pleasant talks on physiological lessons. Gu Yu took in the peaks standing in great numbers below them and the clouds floating around, then sat on the ground. ¡°It¡¯s nice up here. The air is so fresh. I¡¯ll go first.¡± With that, he took out the Sword Seed. After being immersed in his spiritual essence for two days, it had grown quite close to him and did not resist like it first had. He watched it for a moment, then ced it on his chest and pressed down. ¡°!!!¡± The external force stirred the Sword Seed and it struggled violently, which Gu Yu ignored. He forcibly pushed it into his chest and wrapped it up inside his spiritual essence despite all its efforts to break free. The glowing globe struggled for a while and realized the futility of its attempt. It finally quieted down. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu was delighted. He removed the restraint and felt the glowing globe¡¯s slight tremor. It then moved slowly downwards until it reached his Qihai in Dantian. It circled around above Qihai for a moment, as if trying to find the right spot, then dived. Boom! He felt all his internal energy shook with it, as if something had been nted inside his vital essence. Meanwhile, an abundant amount of information flushed into his head in perfect order. A name lit up in his head out of nowhere, which was none other than the sword skill the seed contained¡ªthe Red Sun Devil-smashing Sword Manual! Chapter 337 Chapter 337: Devil-smashing Sword Manual Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡®Wow!¡¯ All sorts of feelings welled up in Gu Yu¡¯s mind. He must have spent a million hours on his card-drawing games and never got an SSR (special super rare) onedy luck simply did not like him. However, when it came to cultivation, he was on the other end of the spectrum. My, my! He was indeed much happier as a cultivator than an Otaku. Opening his eyes, he nodded at Xiaozhai first to assure her that everything was fine before moving onto the Red Sun Devil-smashing Sword Manual. In Taoist mythology, there was a spectacr immortal by the title of True Warrior Devil-smashing Great Deity, or the Devil-smashing Celestial Venerable to themon folk. Legend had it that he was the god of the North. Over three meters tall, with his hair loose, and d in ck, he was seen in standing posture with his hand on the hilt of his sword. Waiting on him on either side were his Tortoise and Snake Generals, as well as a pair of immortal boy and girl to record all merits and demerits taking ce in the three divisions of the universe. Whether such a deity existed or not, the expression ¡°devil-smashing¡± alone indicated its purpose, which was to eliminate monsters and demons, subdue evil spirits, end the suffering, and help those in distress. In a word: freaking awesome! The fact that this sword manual named itself ¡°devil-smashing¡± was proof enough of its exceptional ability. After reading through it carefully, Gu Yu was able to have a better understanding of the history of the Youxian Sect. The founder of the Youxian Sect was Perfected Man Yunya, 1 who was once an able disciple of the Sword Immortal Sect of Sichuan. Heter established his own sect as a branch of the original one and created seven sword manuals based on his Alma Mater¡¯s teachings, which he developed into his own. All seven sword manuals corresponded to the aura of celestial phenomena such as the sun and the moon. One would learn to enhance and refine their sword energy through the manuals to gain matchless power. The manuals would enable the practitioners to cultivate as high as the Earthly Immortal state. Disciples ofter generations then made seven divine swords, each corresponding to one manual and passed down together. The lineage of the devil-smashing manual had Dongyang Zi as its first patriarch, which was passed down through Zhiyou Zi, Priest Qiyun 2 , Juechen Zi, etc., all the way to thest disciple Liang Yuanyu, a priest of the Ming Dynasty who was thest one to be able to create a Sword Seed. It was also from his sword energy that Gu Yu¡¯s seed was made. The Sword Seed contained aplete set of teachings from the Technical and Methodical to Taoist Swords. Gu Yu skipped the first part and went right into the sections on the Methodical and Taoist Swords. The Methodical Sword was attained through absorbing the energy of the red sun and digesting its true meaning so that the sword energy could take shape. Golden glow would rise out of the de like mes and the wielder would be one with the sword to dispel evil energy, incinerate monsters, bring light to all corners; no demon could pass its threshold. Of all the seven manuals, the devil-smashing was second to none in its awe-inspiring integrity and magnificence! The Taoist Sword section was much more abstract. Probably because only a handful of cultivators had ever achieved this level, most of the section was on personal understanding and thoughts. ¡°The Taoist Sword is to cultivate towards the Great Tao internally and towards the sword externally. One is to collect the essence of the Infinite and integrate with the energy of Nature. The sword is to be refined by heaven and earth and sharpened with spiritual spring water. The pommel is represented by Taichi, the hilt admancy, the de merits, and the sheath peace and quiet. The refinement of the sword is a resplendent insubstantial scene and the de is as pure as the toughest steel. It works thew of Nature, carries out the order of the highest supreme, and sets a record that has never been approached and will never be approached again!¡± What a load of crap! Gu Yu couldn¡¯t hold his sarcastic remarks back at this. ¡®Master Liang, no offense, but you just came up with that bullsh*t to confuse your pupils because you didn¡¯t understand it too, didn¡¯t you?¡¯ He put that aside for the time being and went back to read the Technical Sword part, which surprised him unexpectedly. To be honest, that part actually had a bigger impact on him. The Technical Sword was the tangible sword which one used to train their skills. The swords were made from metal, and one could think it as the sword skills described in wuxia novels. As the prerequisite skill of the Sword Immortal Sect, it couldy a solid foundation for the practitioners, as well as help them to reach the innate state. You heard it right, those highly perceptive and very well-endowed disciples could achieve the innate state by reaching the perfection of this level alone! Up till now, there were only three ways to reach the innate state: Dan method of Quanzhen, the essence-consuming method, and Thunder Technique. He had just discovered the fourth one, which seemed much easier to spread. Do recall that there were four Sword Seeds in total! Phoenix Mountain had two and the monastery had one. With Bai Yunsheng¡¯s talent and belief in the sword, his future was very promising. With its government background, the monastery would definitely pass it down, which was a great help for its development. And there was also that fleeing one, which would make no difference if it was not used. However, if someone out there indeed managed to fuse with it, it would take root among themoners. Even if they couldn¡¯t achieve the innate state, they would be very capable swordsmen of the acquired state all the same¡­ hmmmm, how exciting. Gu Yu closed his eyes and focused his mind, slowing digesting the vast amount of information. He lost count of time and was about to finish when he woke up to a pleasant smell and some strange noises. Opening his eyes, he watched the scene with a ¡°Seriously???¡± face. Just a couple of meters in front of him, Xiaozhai made noodles for herself and Long Qiu. They now each held a bowl and were both slurping happily at the food. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re awake. There you go!¡± Xiaozhai tossed him a bowl casually. He caught it and saw that the white and chewy noodles were covered by ayer of aromatic and soft paste made from wild herbs and egg, as well as chopped up green onion and pepper. ¡°Where did you find all these?¡± ¡°We searched the hotel. We¡¯ve finished a pot already. This pot is Xiao Qiu¡¯s work. Do you like it?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ it¡¯s pretty good.¡± Gu Yu was not quite used to the vor of soupless noodles with pepper and put down his bowl after a few bites. ¡°So, you two have been enjoying yourselves. Weren¡¯t you at least a little worried about me being carried away by the evil side?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a lucky man, face it. What evil way could you go to? So, what are we looking at?¡± asked Xiaozhai. ¡°The manual matches the attribute of the ancient sword and is very advanced. It can take me to as high as the Earthly Immortal state. There is a lot to go through and very systematic¡­¡± He gave a concise exnation and sighed with admiration. ¡°The Technical Sword is amazing. With the size of the poption of our country, there are bound to be more than a handful of innate state men in the future. And it¡¯s not like the Dan method. You can fight with it like an expert!¡± ¡°My sect has a sword skill as well. The movements are prettier, but not with as much a potential.¡± Xiaozhai also admired the skill. She then turned to Long Qiu. ¡°So, Xiao Qiu, do you want to do it now or wait until tomorrow?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Looking at the dimming sky, Long Qiu could not wait that long. ¡°I¡¯ll start now.¡± ¡°Great. We¡¯ll watch out for you.¡± With that, the three removed the stoves and Long Qiu sat down properly with her legs crossed. She then took out the Sword Seed and smashed it into her chest. She was not afraid at all¡ªher brother and sister were here, so why would she? Hence, she made the bold move and copied her brother. She wrapped her spiritual essence around the seed right away, trying to suppress it directly. Whop¡­ whop¡­ whop¡­ The Sword Seed struggled violently, so much that halos were spreading out from her in ripples. Xiao Qiu was not as rich in her spiritual essence as Gu Yu after all and quite a while passed before the glowing globe weakened a little, but it was still struggling. Seeing this, Gu Yu was afraid that a prolonged stalemate would cause unnecessary trouble and decided to send in a streak of spiritual essence bynding an open palm on her back. With that external help, Long Qiu soon crushed the resistance and the Sword Seed stopped fighting. It then gradually sank into her Qihai in Dantian. The couple waited in silence without any further intervention. Gu Yu had sat in meditation from morning to evening, and Xiao Qiu took even longer. She only opened eyes slowly after the night passed and the day began to break. What the hell? She almost jumped to her feet. The two drama queens somehow managed to wee her with exhausted and anxiety-ridden faces, finished with morning dew and broken grass stems all over their clothes. Long Qiu was still that innocent and kind kid. She was overwhelmed with guilt at their appearance. ¡°You¡¯ve stayed up the whole night! You must be exhausted!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. How did it go?¡± asked Gu Yu. ¡°Perfect. It¡¯s now inside me and it¡¯s called the ¡®Blue Sky Whirlwind Sword Manual¡¯.¡± Long Qiu rubbed her belly. Whirlwind? ording to Zhuangzi, ¡°When the bird Peng flies southwards, the water is smitten for a space of three thousand li around, while the bird itself mounts upon a whirlwind to a height of ny thousand li!¡± The two exchanged a look. The name itself had given them plenty of hints: hovering up, rising high into the air, fast, so very fast! They guessed it right. Long Qiu then said, ¡°Brother follows the will of the scorching sun, while I the strongest wind. It sweeps across allnds and cleans away all ten thousand miles of it. It is the fastest of all seven!¡± Wow! The couple put on their most exaggerated look and made their faces dumbstruck, then showered Long Qiu with congrattions. ¡°That¡¯s awesome! Speed is the ultimate quality of all martial arts and you¡¯ve got it!¡± ¡°The sun rises from the east and you¡¯re the invincible. Yours sounds much more tasteful than mine.¡± ¡°Exactly. Why, I won¡¯t be your match for long.¡± ¡°Stop it¡­¡± Long Qiu flushed at their praise and said shily, ¡°You don¡¯t have tofort me. I¡¯m all right. We have all those materials, I¡¯m sure we can make something ourselves equally nice.¡± My, my! That actually surprised the couple. They indeed had a smart girl here. Because Long Qiu had a manual without a matching sword, the two had gone out of their way tofort her tactfully. As it turned out, she had seen through them right away. Fatherly/motherly smiles crept up their faces instantly. ¡®My big girl, I¡¯m so proud.¡¯ *** After sessfully fusing with the Sword Seeds, Xiaozhai and Long Qiu went back to Phoenix Mountain. Gu Yu stayed behind on Fanjing Mountain to learn the skill. Fanjing was over a thousand kilometers away from Longhu Mountain, with a whole province in between, but he was in no rush. There were still more than twenty days to go until 13th, Nov. We¡¯ll leave this storyline there for the time being. Late October had arrived in no time. It was the fourth year since Gu Yu ate that red fruit. Based on the deduction he and Xiaozhai carried out, it was about the ninth year into the recovery of the spiritual essence. Nine years were enough for any brewing problem to seep through. After the intense heat of the summer, the North was having bitter cold days. The temperature plunged in the Northwest, Mobei, Monan, and Northeast and snow wasing very early. It was especially the case with Urumqi in the Northwest, Hohhot in Mobei, and Heishui Province in the Northeast, where the temperature had already dropped below freezing point with continuous snowing which started light but gradually grew heavier and went on for nearly a week. It was not unbearably cold at home. Central heating service had started earlier, but with the low temperature, the snow would not melt, which brought much inconvenience to daily life. Take Heishui Province at the northernmost corner of the country as an example. In the province were the vast forests with a total area of 100 000 km^2. Over 800 000 people lived in the forest zones, covering three counties, four districts, and fourteen forestry bureaus. This entire region had be a snond with the traffic cut off from the outside world. Moving further to the north to the other end of the forests, across the big river, were the two states of Tsar, which were even colder than over here. The river was frozen. The whiteness stretched out for thousands of miles as if it was the edge of the world. And there was Mobei, where the pastures had suffered from the droughts this summer, resulting in a reduction in the forage of 7 million tons. The area was now hit by the snow. In Hohhot alone, there was a shortage of forage of 670 000 tons. In order to alleviate the pressure of getting through the winter, the herdsmen had no choice but to sell their cattle cheap. A sheep used to sell for 600 yuan, but was only worth 300 now. The government was doing all they could to provide disaster relief, allocate funds, transport forage grass, etc. It was a gruelling time. The Southeast was also problematic. The urban agglomeration areas were unaffected, but remote fishing viges by the sea were constantly harassed by mutated aquatic creatures. The army could fight them off, but the mess left behind still rendered the ces uninhabitable. All in all, the four corners and certain areas in the north and south of the country were all disaster stricken. They were all happening so fast that news of disasters were reported online every day, which greatly abated the general public¡¯s initial excitement and curiosity. More people were bing concerned over the changes and social issues brought by the recovery of the spiritual essence: the shrinkage of habitablends, the corrosion of cultivatednds, the migration from the remote areas to cities¡­ every single one too frightening to think over. For example, food. Chapter 338 Chapter 338: The Grand Strategy Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Central Hebei, an agricultural demonstration base. With its vast ins, Hebei Province had always been a chief grain producing area since ancient times. Moreover, the region had Bohai Sea on the east, the capital city within its geographical range, Taihang Mountain on the west, Yan Mountain on the north, and an urban agglomeration concentrated in the central and coastal areas. Such favorable natural conditions made it possible for the cities to stay rtively mutation-creatures-free. This particr base was located in the academy of agricultural sciences. It had been there all along, but was expanded as a secret project a year ago. Its security level had been significantly raised and it was now unmistakably a scientific research facility of a strategic importance on a national level. ¡°Squeech!¡± Two vehicles drove near from the distance and parked outside a building that looked like a greenhouse. The doors of the vehicle opened and an elderly man walked out. ¡°We are honored by your visit, Sir!¡± Several men in charge hurried near to greet him. ¡°Enough with the formalities. I¡¯m here to see results today. Let¡¯s talk inside,¡± said the old man sternly. He then strode out and entered the building first. The rest of the team hurried after him and led him to Section One of Scientific Research, where they watched through the thick ss wall. On the other side were sticks of frosty-looking culture medium, which were overgrown with gray oyster mushrooms. ¡°This area is the size of one mu¡ªas the unit used in farming. Ordinary oyster mushrooms will need around 45 days before their first harvest, and a growing period of between 15 to 20 days after that. After numerous experiments, we¡¯ve managed to stabilize the harvest period to 20 days, with a yield of 10 000 kg per mu.¡± The specialist sighed with emotions as he exined, ¡°This is such an excellent spawn. I¡¯ve been studying mushrooms all my life and have never found anything this active before¡­ oh, please take a look over there!¡± He then came to himself and led the old man to another test greenhouse. This one was much more peculiar. Edible fungi such as wood ear, snow ear, ck mushrooms, andwyer¡¯s wig covered the ground, yet the most eye-catching object was a gigantic mushroom growing in the center. Its roots had risen above the ground and over a dozen mushrooms were growing out of this base, creating arge fairy ring. It had an umbre-shaped cap, which was big and curling inwards. Standing together in the middle, they looked like a small white forest. ¡°This is the giant St George¡¯s mushroom discovered at the beginning of this year in Luoqiping Vige of Tengchong. We collected the spores for renting and obtained this one, which is even bigger than the original. This one is as tall as 103 cm and thergest cap has a diameter of 37 cm. It also has a very short growth cycle. The growing out of the hyphae to maturity only takes days.¡± ¡°Is it edible?¡± ¡°Um, we have tried some ourselves. The taste is hard to describe, but it¡¯s definitely not toxic.¡± The man in charge beckoned at the staff, who then brought out a small dish of processed mushroom shreds. The old man picked up a few and chewed on them without hesitation. The shredded mushroom was slightly sweet at the first bite, then there was a tingly numbness in his mouth as if he had identally bit into Sichuan pepper. A momentter, there was the chewiness that reminded him of meat. ¡°Good. It can work both as a dish and as a condiment.¡± The old man nodded, having an idea of what was happening in this section. They then moved on to Section Two. Potato was the only thing growing here. Several rounds had been nted and harvested so far, and the current one was not yet ready. All they saw were the green potato nts in the field. The specialist brought out some samples, and sounded a little abashed. ¡°We have run multiple tests, but still couldn¡¯t find a way to increase the yield soon enough. The best performing batch so far had a yield per mu of around 1.4 tons. All the mutated species we found had some improvement in the taste, but nothing significant in the yield.¡± ¡°You have done all you could. Don¡¯t have it weighing on your mind.¡± The old manforted him with resignation. The UN had long listed potato as one of the four major food crops and guaranteed its staple food status by providing the necessary nting area and scientific research, but the status of potato in this country had always been awkward. Although 75% of the counties listed in the national poverty alleviation program had potato as their staple food, the government remained indifferent to its ntation. Not only was there barely any support program in nting potatoes, the nting area kept dropping. Around 2005, the national nting area of potatoes plunged from 80 million mu to 60 million mu, and it was only recently that it had grown back to 80 million. The yield was also problematic. The domestic average yield per mu was one ton, which had remained at that level for over thirty years, whereas the yield per mu of other countries could reach over two tons. The difference was too big to be overlooked. The main reason behind all thisy in the great achievement in hybrid rice domestically, which had to some extent covered up part of the crisis. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The government ising up with new policies shortly. I¡¯d like to give you a heads-up first.¡± The old man patted the specialist on the shoulder and said, ¡°From this year, potato is to be included in the grain reserve system. The n is to expand the nting area to 180 million mu within three years and increase the yield per mu to over two tons. Meanwhile, there is going to be aprehensive implementation of promoting various food made from whole potato flour.¡± ¡®Wow!¡¯ That was a pleasant surprise! All the specialists present exulted at the news. Themon people might not understand the meaning of that decision, but they knew better. If the environment change continued, in a few years, the increase in the demand of food in the country would be over 50 billion kg! Restrained by arablend resources and affected by mutated species, wheat and its cousins were likely to go extinct, and the maize family would be on theirst legs. Only the lovely potato which could tolerate cold, drought, and barrennd would flourish¡ªit would soon no longer be considered a vegetable. Whole potato flour would have its empire¡ªnot only could it be made into steam buns, noodles, bread, etc., it could also be stored for as long as 15 to 20 years. Tsk, tsk, it seemed we had a savior here. After they finished with the potato section, the group then introduced the old man to other scientific research areas dedicated to poultry, cattle, forest, flowers and nts, as well as key crops such as cotton, sesame, sugarcane, rubber, etc. Their main focus was to collect mutated species around the country to raise them here and run tests so as to improve them in quality or yield. Everything was to prepare for the future. Take the work on edible meat as an example. The specialists had discovered a mutated rat and rabbit species. The rat had dark yellow fur and the rabbit was spotty. Both had tender meat and great ability to spread. The two species were now widely found in various provinces across the country. If things went as nned, the two species¡ªnamed Yellow-fur Rat and Spotty Rabbit, respectively¡ªwould be the main source of meat in the future. After a lengthy tour, there was only one section left. Unlike the rest of the sections, this one consisted of arge rice field. An old man in boots and his trouser legs pulled up was bending down in the field, busying himself around. The visiting official felt the impulse to stand in respect, for he was looking at none other than the dear old man 1 that had been hailed as the ¡°ModernShennong 2 ¡°. *** To be honest, even with the great potential of potatoes in the future, rice remained the foundation of food in this country. Of all the thirty-six provinces, apart from Qingning, all the rest had their own rice-producing regions. There were 198 million households of rice farmers in this country, which totaled up to over 700 million people! Just imagine that proportion! Therefore, however difficult the situation turned, they could not give up on rice. They had to weather the storm. From the government¡¯s perspective, they were having a very difficult time as well. The new era was unfolding and a million problems were waiting to be solved, both weighing them down. Fortunately, it was not a sudden death and they still had plenty of time to get prepared. With reducing residential and arable areas, probably 90% of the poption would end up living in the urban agglomerations, which gave rise to two key issues: food and housing. With bread on the table and a roof over their head, themon people could live their days with stability. ¡°Master Yuan, to tell you the truth, the grain base in Heishui Province is over!¡± The official dismissed the subordinates and strolled the field with the dear old man, who had been renowned for his achievement three predecessors before this official and had seen his fair share of big shots. Hence, this official found it unnecessary to act like one. ¡°Over?¡± The old man winced and murmured, ¡°That¡¯s 70 million tons of crops we¡¯re talking about here!¡± ¡°Exactly! 70 million tons! It¡¯s still snowing out there and the cold wave is spreading, invading part of the grain-producing area. We¡¯ve taken samples of the soil. Even if the snow melts next year, it will no longer be arable.¡± The official paused a little and went on, ¡°And there is also the area in Hunan along Dongting Lake. Based on our observation, the water level of theke had a sudden rise this year, which has already affected many residents. We think that theke is going to expand, so that¡¯s a very bad news for the grain base over there.¡± The country had nine major grain production bases: Taihu Lake in, Dongting Lake in, Bashu in, Pearl River Delta, Jianghan in, Jianghuai Region, Poyang Lake in, Songnen in, and the Three River in. And now, two of those were gone! ¡°¡­¡± The air felt heavy at the bad news and the two walked in silence for a while; then, the official chuckled. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not here today toin but to hear about your good news. You¡¯ve been working hard here for over a year. Any achievements?¡± ¡°Sincest year, your people have found in turn four mutated wild rice nts, which we have raised and sowed in four bases at the same time. We have just harvested a new batch. You are now looking at three mu ofnd with the yield of 1581 kg, 1529 kg, and 1536 kg, respectively. The average yield per mu is 1548.66 kg and those of the other three bases are 1503 kg, 1538 kg, and 1545 kg.¡± The old man was 87 years old, which was reflected in his slightly slurred speech, but his mind remained sharp and his words well-organized. He knew all the data on rice production like the back of his hand. ¡°We have a yield per mu of over 1500 kg now?¡± The official was ted, for that was definitely world-record-breaking. He asked immediately, ¡°Is that the final result?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s just from rice No. 2. There is still room for improvement.¡± The old man hesitated a little before saying, ¡°I can¡¯t be more specific than that. I don¡¯t know the world these days very well, but if things continue like this, you might be able to find better wild rice nts. By then, we can probably have even greater breakthroughs.¡± The words were tactful, but the official could read between the lines. Back in the time of the Great Leap Forward, people boasted about a yield per mu of over 5000 kg. That figure could actually be true in the foreseeable future! He never doubted the old man¡¯s statement, for that man had created real miracles. In ancient times, people would build temple for that old man and hail him as a god. ¡°How about sea rice? What yield are we looking at?¡± he asked another question. ¡°ording to data collected in our Jiaodong base, we could achieve a yield of 300 kg irrigated by seawater with a salinity of 3-8¡ë. It¡¯s a matter worth rejoicing that those 280 million mu of saline-alkalind did not change much, or we would have been helpless.¡± The old man sighed. ¡°Great! That is great news!¡± The official almost felt like hopping around. After receiving bad news for days on end, there was finally something to smile for. If the sea rice technology could be fully developed, with a yield per mu of 200-300 kg, this county alone would have an increase of 50 billion kg in grain production. There was a total of 14.3 billion mu of saline-alkalind on this! Not only would this technology benefit mankind as a whole, it would also be immensely helpful in the international game, the exchange of interests, and vying for influence. The domestic academia was overwhelmed by the pessimism that, with the recovery of the spiritual essence, the importance of science would wane. The old man had just pped their faces with his work on rice. Although science seemed useless in cultivation so far, it remained indispensable in national economy and people¡¯s livelihood! The rice he worked on was not the same as the spiritual rice. The spiritual rice was extremely picky in its habitat. Based on their experience so far, it could grow nowhere else but in the nodes. Because of its scarcity and high value, the spiritual rice became part of the social rank system and was meant to be for the upper sses only. The two left the field after a very long conversation. A group of people went to see the official off at the gate. He was about to get into his vehicle when he spun around and held the old man¡¯s hands. ¡°We¡¯re counting on you!¡± He then held the hands of another specialist. ¡°We¡¯re counting on you! ¡°And you!¡± It was not an affected act, but a reflection of how critical the situation was. The members of the base were touched by his words; the man in charge was thest one to shake his hand. ¡°You have my word on this. We will give our all till our hearts stop beating! That¡¯s the least we could do!¡± *** After over two years of survey and deliberation, the country finally made its great move on a national policy level. One day inte October, a Urban and Land Overall nning was issued, and in it, each measure was a fundamental system-breaking decision that would affect billions of people and bring benefit/disaster to the future generations. Article One: 32 urban agglomerations were to be established, including the capital-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Jiaodong Penins, Guanzhong in, Sichuan-Chongqing, Central Shanxi, Central Guizhou, Central Yunnan, Northern Slope of Tianshan Mountain, Central South Liaoning, etc. They were to be categorized into mega urban agglomerations (such as Yangtze River Delta), first-tier urban agglomerations (such as Sichuan-Chongqing), second-tier urban agglomerations (such as Central South Liaoning), and third-tier urban agglomeration (such as Northern Slope of Tianshan Mountain). Each urban agglomeration must have no less than three metropolis circles or big cities and have at least one megacity or super city as its center. The poption should be no less than 30 million and the economic density should be above 5 million yuan/km^2, and so on and so forth. Article Two: 27 agricultural cultivation base groups were to be established in W Province, Liaodong Province, Henan Province, Anhui Province, Sichuan Province, Shandong Province, etc., which were to be ssified by their properties, includingmodity grain base, tropical crops base, timber base, etc. As of today, potatoes were officially included in the state grain reserves. With the gradual decrease in the nting area of wheat and corn, farnds dedicated to nting potatoes should increase at a steady pace. Relevant technologies and projects should be supported, so as to increase the yield and production of potatoes. Article Three¡ªand the most controversial one: From the date of enforcement of this document, approval onmercial, residential, and various constructionnds would cease in turn. Article Four: Regarding areas uninhabitable without a doubt, local governments shoulde up with suitable ns as soon as possible, organizing the masses to migrate safely. There were a few more regtions, which we would not list here. They might seem a brain-twister, so here went the trantion. One, with any luck, 90% of the poption of this country would have to live in one of the 32 urban agglomerations. Two, in the future, the food supply of themon people of this country would depend on those 27 agricultural bases. Three, private developers could no longer purchasends and build houses. Everything was to be nned by the government and state-owned businesses. Four, those areas severely affected by mutated creatures should resettle their people quickly. *** The actual grand strategy could be concluded in one sentence: wilderness encircling the cities. The onlinemunity erupted at this document. ¡°Gosh, are we falling back to the tube-shaped apartment 3 era?¡± ¡°Hahaha! The developers and property spectors can go to hell¡­ but I still can¡¯t afford an apartment of my own!¡± ¡°Some losers get the windfall, while others are crying their eyes out.¡± Those were the mocking voices. There were also the level-headed ones. ¡°That¡¯s the only way. There are more freakish things out there. They can¡¯t average out the armed forces and we can¡¯t protect ourselves, so we have to move. Come to think about it, even if we all move to the cities, it may not be that crowded.¡± ¡°My man upstairs, please borate on that.¡± ¡°Please +1!¡± ¡°Please +10086!¡± ¡°Because a lot of people are going to die in the process¡­¡± Chapter 339 Chapter 339: All Families, Rich and Poor Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The strategy of constructing urban agglomerations had long been proposed in the country and was an ongoing project this entire time. Five major ones were nned first (Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Bohai Rim, middle reaches of Yangtze River, and Chongqing Region), which was then expanded to neen. The current measures were only a moreplete, specific, and targeted version of the initial n. Apart from regions with muchnd and few people such as Qingning and Tanggute, most of the rest provinces were included. It was known as urban clusters, in which small, medium, andrge cities wouldplement one another in their functions, share resources and construction ns, promote urban-rural interaction and regional integration¡­ we wouldn¡¯t go into details on that. Regarding the document itself, centralized construction naturally meant potential profits. However, the top guns would not be so short-sighted, the middle-level personnel dared not get their shoes wet, and only the ignorant ones hustling about trying to make money or blinded by their greed would see this as an opportunity. Among all the possible profits, where would one find the easiest money? Real estate, of course! Henan Province, ¡°Phoenix Mountain franchise¡±, Xinxiang ¡°branch¡±. This particr Phoenix Mountain was 10 km from the city center, a few hundred meters tall and rather small. The mountain was once a mine, which had left the mountain barren and wasted. It was not until the afforestation in the recent years that trees were nted back and the mountain was green again. Right now, in a fenced-out construction site between the mountain and the downtown area, a few excavators were parked here and there. A reception center stood outside the construction site, which now had its front gate tightly shut; a few pretty female employees were shaking behind a desk. Outside, Cui Bo was one of the hundreds of protesters who were waving wads of documents and yelling at the top of their lungs. ¡°Show your face, developer!¡± ¡°Give my money back!¡± ¡°Give my money back!¡± Those at the back kept pushing forward and those at the front grew all the more agitated, banging the ss doors with their hands. It was a tycoon developer¡¯s doing. He bought this piece ofnd after the announcement and somehow got himself an approval from the authorities. There was then an advertisement hype, saying that the era of nd kings¡± was over and school district housing had be an outdated concept. The trend now was spiritual district housing! Right! That name referred to ces close to mountains and rivers that used to be reserved for building vis. To keep up with the new era, there was now a n for arge-scale residential area. The houses would be built first and the corresponding business quarter and schools would follow. The house owners would then send their children to the nearest schools. ¡°With a blessednd on the doorstep and immortals as your neighbors¡­¡± What more could one want for their life! Cui Bo was among those falling for the scheme. He was a resident of Chenqiao Town, which was under the jurisdiction of Xinxiang. It just so happened that he had a little spare cash at hand, and he bought a pre-selling t. Then there came the news a couple of days ago: this illegal project was built on illegally acquirednd¡ªthe government was going to reim thend! That made a lot of people jump. The hundreds of people who had paid the down payment then gathered here for an exnation. ¡°Beep, beep!¡± ¡°Make way! Make way!¡± When the excitement was pushing the crowd on the verge of losing control and they were going to smash down the front gate, two vehicles arrived from outside and scattered the crowd. The doors opened and a couple of officials from the municipal government got off the vehicles. ¡°¡­¡± Seeing that the authorities had arrived, the crowd calmed down a little. The head of the officials walked to the top of the stairs and cated the people himself. ¡°Everyone, please calm down. I know how you must feel right now, so I¡¯ll skip all the formalities and make three points only. ¡°Firstly, the developer is under custody and waiting for his trial. Secondly, the grant ofnd use rights was invalid, and the government will reim thend. Last but not least, you will all get a full refund.¡± ¡°Those are just words. Why should we believe you?¡± ¡°Exactly. I have worked my guts out saving up that money. How do we know you¡¯re not lying?¡± Thest point had actually eased their minds greatly. The further yelling was only to keep up the pressure. The head did not mind their questions at least and said loudly, ¡°You have my word on it: you won¡¯t be put off. Everyone can make the registration today and get a portion of their money back. I promise you that the rest will be refunded within in two working days!¡± He paused a little before going on, taking the opportunity for some propaganda work. ¡°I presume that you have all read the national n. Please have faith in your government; every measure there is to solve the current difficulty and for a better future. This incident was caused by certain individuals that were abusing their power for personal gains and umting wealth by unfair means. Those individuals have been dealt with. I am confident enough to promise you that such things will not happen again! Meanwhile, I¡¯d like everyone to be on alert for such scams. Please take the government¡¯s announcement as the criterion to all construction projects¡­ oh, I have brought with me some pamphlets today. There, please hand it out to everyone.¡± Just like so, thanks to the prompt response of the municipal government, the incident was soon settled. The head only got back to his vehicle after quite some time, where he finally let out a breath of relief. ¡°That was close! Thank god we arrived in time!¡± ¡°Sir, that fellow has connections in the provincial government. Haven¡¯t we gone overboard a little by arresting him right away?¡± reminded his assistant apprehensively. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s a different world now.¡± The official sneered and said contemptuously, ¡°Getting his own pocket full during a nationwide cmity like this? He might as well have just signed his death sentence with it¡­ let¡¯s go!¡± *** After filling in the registration form, Cui Bo squeezed out of the crowd and went back to his shabby little car. He did not start the car right away, but sat there reading the pamphlet, which exined the general nning of Xinxiang in the future. It covered all four districts, six counties, 55 towns, 69 townships, and the 6 million residents. Some were to be expanded and upgraded, some developed into industrial zones, while some built into traffic hubs¡­ he flipped through it and found Chenqiao Town he was a resident of. The town was known for two characteristics. For one, it had convenientnd and watermunications. The Yellow River Dike ran across the southern side of the town from the east to the west and the Yellow River Highway Bridge ran across the town on the east. No. 106 national highway was to the east of the town and No. 107 to the west, which together connected the town all the way to the capital city to the north and Hunan and Guangdong Provinces to the south. The town itself was in the middle of the cities of Shangdu, Bianliang, Xinxiang, and Chuqiu. For another, it had special geographical setting. The town was right next to the tidal-t area of Yellow River, which was over 10 000 mu in size. The area was rich in animal and nt resources, and although quite a few mutated creatures had been discovered, they were rtively less dangerous and had been subdued by the army. Somehow, after making sure that the military force was capable of keeping the town safe, the government did not try to evacuate the town, but set up a quarantine zone instead, circling the tidal-t area out. Because of the two reasons above, Chenqiao Town was given much importance, and the pamphlet was also talking about it in more detail. Cui Bo scanned through it. The introduction was more general in the beginning and more specific in the following pages. For instance, two types of residential areas were to be built by the municipal government. One type was simr to dormitories, where 8-10 people would share a room. It was designed for single individuals and those with special needs. Toilets and washrooms weremunal. The other type reminded one of tube-shaped apartments, which were to be distributed to families. Each household would be given a room around a dozen m^2. The toilets were alsomunal and there would be no kitchens. The pamphlet also talked about the resettlement of migrants, where emergency shelters in downtown areas, bomb shelters, and even the barracks of the army would all be put into use. Makeshift houses were being put together around the clock at the same time¡ªwinter wasing and the heating system had to be ready. There were also contents on the allocation of people. Those that could farm or raise cattle would be sent directly to the 27 agricultural bases and those that knew industrial technology could go to the factories, etc. ¡°¡­¡± Cui Bo sat back into his chair in silence after reading it through. He had only finished high school and could not understand all the measures mentioned, but he could see the general trend. It was obvious that the city needed more farmers to ensure a steady output in staple and non-staple food, while maintaining the stability of industrial output. The idle residents would all be encouraged to go to the construction sites, and after the houses were built, they would have priority in the allotment of houses, or could rent the houses on discounted rates. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Shaking his head, he was suddenly at a loss. He then started the car and slowly drove back home. His wife had been waiting for some time back at home. As soon as he set foot in, she asked, ¡°How did it go? Got anything?¡± ¡°The official from the city came. I got our money back.¡± ¡°Great! That¡¯s great!¡± His wife was greatly relieved. Average families like theirs only had petty saving to fall back on. She couldn¡¯t imagine what they would do if it was gone. With the anxiety gone, she went happily into the kitchen to cook dinner. Cui Bo, on the other hand, was not in the mood. He finished half a pack of cigarettes in silence and the door nked open. Their son, a high school student, was home. ¡°Don¡¯t you have self-study period tonight?¡± asked Cui Bo in surprise. ¡°There is some meeting and the study period is canceled.¡± ¡°Oh¡­e here, I need to talk to you.¡± He hesitated a little and beckoned at his son to go into the bedroom. His wife had just finished cooking dinner. ¡°Why, where are you going? Dinner¡¯s ready!¡± ¡°I need to have a word with him.¡± ¡°And you can¡¯t wait until after dinner? Come, sweetie, I made your favorite dish¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Cui Bo bellowed, making his wife and child jump. There was a silence for a couple of seconds before he waved his hand and dragged his son into the bedroom without a word. ¡°Dad, what do you what to tell me?¡± The kid fidgeted, apparently very nervous. ¡°Nothing, really. Your college entrance examination is next year, right? Well¡­¡± Cui Bo pondered for a moment and finally said, ¡°I know you¡¯ve always wanted to study liberal arts, but I don¡¯t think you should any more. Choose agronomy or science and engineering instead.¡± ¡°Why? Didn¡¯t you all support me on this before? I want to get into a Chinesenguage department! I love literature!¡± The kid was angry. ¡°What good would literature do in the future!¡± Cui Bo didn¡¯t know how to exin it and decided to y the authoritative father. His decision was unquestionable. ¡°It¡¯s agronomy or something to do with science and engineering. If your grades are not good enough, I¡¯ll talk to your uncle. He can get you enlisted. Even bing a soldier is better than studying literature!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The boy was on the verge of crying. Tears welled up in his eyes as he sat there twisting his fingers. As angry as he was, he could not imagine how this small businessman without much education had racked his brain toe up with this n for his future. Little did the decision-makers know how much the people of the middle and lower sses had to gamble and struggle with at the turning of the new era. *** Guizhou, Fanjing Mountain. A peculiar set of rocks stood on top of this mountain. It was over ten meters tall and right next to a cliff. The top part was a big dipper-shaped rock, which was strutted by a thinner pir of a stone. With the heavy top and light bottom, they looked like a mushroom together, hence the name ¡°Mushroom Rock¡±. Right now, Gu Yu was sitting on that Mushroom Rock, cultivating the Red Sun Devil-smashing Sword Manual. He had been here for over ten days, learning the sword manual while preparing for the refinement of the sword. The ancient sword did note with a name, and being aszy as he was, he just named it Red Sun Sword. Other instruments could be refined by mental force, but the sword was an exception. He could only nourish it with his own energy after his cultivation was advanced enough to produce the sword energy. Despite being a man of the innate state, he diligently started his study from the Technical Sword and only moved on to the Methodical Sword after he achieved the former. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu closed his eyes in concentration and was breathing so quietly that it was almost undetectable. A zing disc of fire hung in the sky; it was the hottest time of the day. His face was as still as a pool of water, looking fresh, refined, and elegant. As he activated the manual, a scarlet thread spilled out of the scorching sun and flew into his body, only partially visible. That was the energy of Red Sun, which was overwhelmingly unyielding and could withstand the corrosion of all evil. Once the thread was inside Gu Yu, it fused with his own vital essence and faded rapidly, turning into a thin streak of red current. The liquid was far heavier than anymon body fluid and ran all the way into Dantian. As it moved, his body made strange gurgling sounds. That was the first step of cultivating for sword energy, known as Red Sun flooding the body. The liquid was called Red Sun fluid. At this step, the entire body was like a huge leather bag, with the liquid constantly tumbling inside. The slightest movement would start the momentum of an energy avnche inside the body, and one could bring damage to other objects of people as easy as turning their hands. As said, ¡°Fill the body with Red Sun and the sword energy wille!¡± The second step was to refine this liquid to turn it into an energy, which was the innate state sword energy. Gu Yu was one foot into the Human Immortal state before this, and it still took him ten days to get the hang of it. No wonder they all said the cultivation of Sword Immortals was so difficult. Chapter 340 Chapter 340: Sword Energy Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Gurgle!¡± ¡°Gurgle!¡± On Mushroom Rock, Gu Yu kept on absorbing the Red Sun energy, his entire body reminding one of a giant leather bag gradually filled by the liquid. Watching him almost made one fear that if he shook too hard, some egg yolk inside would break up. He had been cultivating here for days with no breaks; it was only today that he felt replete. Before he knew it, the scorching sun was setting and the evening glow in the dim western sky tainted the tips of the mountains. Despite the cooler air higher up, he felt burning up. The liquid inside him was filling up almost to the point of spilling. ¡°Almost there!¡± The sword energy was created once the Red Sun energy was saturated. Gu Yu was more careful than at any other time as he activated the sword manual. A strange bubbling sound wasing out of him and the inside of his body seethed like arge pot of boiling water. The Sword Seed also turned slowly in his Qihai, absorbing a streak of ming fluid with each round. The fluid was then refined and sublimated in the seed, turning into thin threads of golden red sword energy. ¡°¡­¡± Turning his mental force inside, Gu Yu was able to see every detail of the entire process. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder at the spectacr manual. As the seed absorbed more fluid, the sword energy transformed grew denser and more distinct from the surrounding Qihai¡ªas distinct as heaven and earth. Gu Yu seemed to have be a giant furnace as heat surged out of him, covering the area a meter or so from him; even the air seemed to be contorted by the scorching heat. ¡°Crunch! Crunch!¡± ¡°ck!¡± All of a sudden, broken stones tumbled off the slope and the top of the mountain shook. The Mushroom Rock he had been sitting on crackled, apparently no longer able to withstand the pressure. He sat there for three days without moving. Midday of the fourth day. The sun shone fiercely in the sky. The Sword Seed finally stopped turning after absorbing thest streak of the ming fluid. Gu Yu felt a loud bang inside him and his body shook violently. The golden-red sword energy scattered in all directions inside his body, towards all meridians and orifices. As tough as his energy channels were, he still felt a dull pain rushing through his body. Fortunately, it only took a few seconds for the Sword Seed to move into action. As if a switch had been turned on, the seed began to spin at a frantic speed, drawing in the ferocious sword energy again. The Sword Seed now was no longer the glowing globe it had been, but was glittering, translucent, and of a golden-red color. It was now a perfectly round ball, suspended over Qihai. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Gu Yu settled his mind and slowly opened his eyes. He looked delighted¡ªthe past few days were not spent in vain! He shifted and was about to jump off the big rock. However, his bottom had just left the rock when, with a rumbling sound, Mushroom Rock crumbled down like a piece of broken ster. Sh*t! He hastily leapt forward, just in time to keep himself from being crushed. Looking back at the remains, he felt a little guity. ¡®Such a nice scenic spot and I¡¯ve just ruined it.¡¯ Shaking his head, he waved his right hand. The next second, the ancient sword he stuck into the rock earlier was in his hand. He then activated the Sword Seed and inserted a streak of sword energy into the sword. ¡°Clunk!¡± The sound the sword made reminded one of a roaring dragon; it resonated in the mountains. This divine weapon was finally showing its true self after lying in the dust for a thousand years. Holding the sword, Gu Yu could feel the connection. He then casually swept it horizontally across the air. A golden-red me surged out along the path of the de, which was forty to fifty meters long and over two meters wide. The air within that long and narrow space seemed to be drawn away in an instant and time froze strangely for a second. Only after the golden me ceased did theree a ¡°Boom!¡± As if mountains were falling and the earth splitting, dust filled the air. A giant sword cut was carved horizontally into the mountain top. ¡®OMG!¡¯ Gu Yu opened his eyes widely and was over the moon. ¡®It¡¯s thick! It¡¯s long! I finally have something to fight my dear girlfriend with!¡¯ He simply made another swipe¡ªthis time vertical. Boom! There was another sword cut, which made a perfect cross with the first one. The so-called Methodical Sword was achieved by understanding thoroughly the true meaning of the sun so as to create the sword energy, which led to the golden sword me. He was only a beginner at this level and still required an actual sword to carry out the moves. From this point on, he would nourish the ancient sword with the sword energy and store it in the Sword Seed, which would significantly enhance its power. After that came the integration with the sword. He himself could turn into a shing sword that could fly ten thousand miles in the blink of an eye. Only then would he reach perfection in the Methodical Sword¡ªdispel evil energy, incinerate monsters, bring light to all corners, and no demon could pass its threshold! ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu stood there for a moment watching the two sword cuts. He then suddenly turned around to face the vast sea of clouds and countless beautiful peaks; he bowed low to this spiritualnd. After that, he went down the mountain. *** When our fellow was reading wuxia novels or watching wuxia films back then, he always thought swordsmen looked stunning. However, now that he was using sword himself, he realized it was not as stunning as he had pictured. For example, how should one get around with a sword in hand? Before he could store it away in his Sword Seed, this would be a long-term problem. Option one: hang it on his belt. Gu Yu actually tried it, but the sword was always in the way when he tried to walk. It was not a pleasant experience. Option two: carry it in one hand. The problem was that he didn¡¯t have a sheath, nor could he find a suitable one on taobao 1 . Option three: carry it on his back. The sword could not simply stick to his back, but still needed a belt across his back which the sword could be inserted into. Aesthetic concerns aside, the style of the clothing became the major issue. Bai Yunsheng carried his on his back, which gave him a natural and unrestrained look, but he was wearing a Taoist robe, which was of the suitable style. Our fellow, on the other hand, had been described rather vaguely in terms of his outfit and hairstyle ever since he¡¯d started cultivating. It couldn¡¯t be helped. Modern outfit did not fit the picture and ancient costume looked too over the board. Take Xiaozhai for an example. How would you feel if she was described as wearing a Prada one-piece, Christian Louboutin heels, and shouted ¡°Thunder,e!¡± with her lips painted red by a Guein lipstick? Good God, what sort of character would that be? Hence, Gu Yu simply decided to make a sword box himself. It was a little over a meter long and made from an old tree deep in the mountain. The box looked crude, original, and had a natural quaintness to it. It also came with a handle. Then, off he went! *** Hunan, Yueyang Tower. There was no need to describe how famous this tower was. Towering over the ancient city, it looked down at Dongting Lake, paralleled with Junshan Ind in the distance, had Yangtze River rushing past on the north, and Xiangjiang River on the south. Climbing to the top level of the tower and looking into the distance, one would be dazzled by the shadows of clouds, the glistening waves, and all the magnificent view. With the arrival of November, the temperature in the southern provinces had also been dropping and it was a little chilly standing high up on the tower. The crowd of tourists seemed particrlyrge today. Judging from their ents, they were from all over the country. However, these men and women of all ages were not here for sightseeing. ¡°It¡¯s the 7th today; the fight is in six days¡¯ time. I wonder if they¡¯ll allow audience at all¡­ sigh, I hope I haven¡¯te all the way for nothing.¡± A middle-aged man sighed. ¡°It¡¯s only natural if they allow no outsiders. After all, it¡¯s a family business, and it won¡¯t affect us no matter who wins,¡± said hispanion. ¡°I¡¯m actually more concerned over Dongting Lake. With the water rising so fast this year, I don¡¯t think we can hold it off much longer. This area is actually among the more peaceful ones. All hell has broken loose in other areas around theke. Quite a few fish farmers have been killed, with the soft shell turtles, toads, and crayfish all crawling ashore. We won¡¯t get a chance to see this view in the future even if we want to,¡± said anotherpanion. ¡°Don¡¯t be so pessimistic. Maybe they¡¯ll find some treasure under theke¡ªlike on Fish Mountain,¡± interjected another tourist who had been eavesdropping. ¡°Why, you know about Fish Mountain as well?¡± ¡°Who doesn¡¯t? With that much noise, people on the other side of the earth probably know about it! I have a rtive living in a nearby county, he saw several streaks of light flying away. Gosh! I wish I were that lucky bastard!¡± ¡°Haha, isn¡¯t there a saying on the inte that people are all over the straightforward face-pping novels, but once they¡¯re living the novels themselves, they realize that they¡¯re not the one doing the face-pping.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to p any faces. All I want is for my family to stay safe and happy¡­ Hey, say that Dongting Lake really erupts one day, what treasure do you think wille out?¡± ¡°There¡¯s Junshan Ind out there. Hoho, it¡¯ll be awesome to see Ehuang and N¨¹ying 2 again!¡± Everyone was gossiping at the same time, giving a full demonstration of just how ethusiastic and daring the innocent onlookers could be. Behind the crowd, however, stood a quiet, lone tourist. He looked rather odd with his in clothes and a wooden box in his hand. He stood there listening for a while. When the subject digressed towards the x-rated fantasies, he lost interest and walked to the other side. He was standing in front of a wall with the history, culture, and introduction of the scenic spot of Yueyang Tower on it. Skipping through the text, he soon reached thest paragraph, which turned his face serious. Thest paragraph of the text read: ¡°Lying on the beach at the foot of Yueyang Tower are three iron objects the shape of shackles. They weigh as much as 5000 kg and no conclusion has been reached so far as to what their purpose was. ¡°ording to ¡®On Customs of Yueyang¡¯, in the sand of the river bank are several smelt iron objectsmonly known as ¡®iron shackles¡¯, which weigh 5000 kg. The objects were made by ancient people. They looked like a pair of swallow tails facing one another with arge hole 30 cm in diameter in between. Their purpose remains unknown. Some thought them anchors, but they were too heavy for any fisherman to lift; some spected that wooden stick could be inserted into the hole and made into a fence to stop wind or waves. No one knew what the real reason was.¡± Other scenic spots such as Erfei Grave, Xiangfei Ancestral Hall, or Liu Yi Well all had a detailed description. This one with this short paragraph was the only exception. He pondered for a moment and left promptly with his wooden box. He was none other than our Old Gu. After leaving Fanjing Mountain, he entered Hunan Province and had been on the road ever since. He passed Huaihua, Loudi, and arrived at the city of Yueyang. Jiangxi Province was just past Yueyang and he could reach Longhu Mountain in a day. Aquatic creatures had been giving men trouble in the Spring Festival time, and Gu Yu had been meaning to have a look around. This was a good time to do so. Instinct told him that these three objects smelled fishy. He went down the tower and got to the Stage of Appointing Commanders, the one where Lu Su of the Kingdom of Wu appointed hismanders. Built with granite, the stage had stairs on both the northern and the southern side leading into theke. The projecting tiles on the eave bent upwards; both ends were carved into a dragon¡¯s head. The roof was covered with zed tiles. 30 m to the left of the tall stage, a giant iron shackle was disyed. It was about five meters long and very thick, with both ends in the shape of swallowtails. The thing was of a bluish ck color, had four round-tipped legs bending outwards, and two parallel ridges down the middle. It was covered by rust. He read the caption. The iron shackle weighed 5000 kg and was at least a thousand years old. The Japs and Uncle Sam tried to drag it away during WWII, but it simply would not budge. They gave up in the end. After that, in May 1985, because theke dried up, the management team of Yueyang Tower discovered it again on theke beach at the foot of the stage. Three were found at the time. Three hoisters had to work together to move this one up to the tform. A scenic spot was added for the convenience of the tourists. The other two somehow went missing after that; this was the only one left. As for its function, the experts all had different theories. Some said it was the anchorage for boats to berth and fix their anchors to. Others suggested that it was used by armies of the Kingdom of Wu to seal off the river in order to stop the warships of the Kingdom of Jin¡­ Gu Yu jumped into the fence and examined it closely. It resembled the shackles ancient people used to detain the criminals, but also reminded him of a long weapon, ji 3 . Seeing that no one was around, he reached out and wiped his hand across the surface of thing. ¡°Rustle!¡± The rust showered down, revealing the thousand-year-old pig iron within. He then saw some unusual pattern on that new surface. He followed the strokes with his finger and found that they formed a strange character. The top part of the character was ¡°rain¡± and the bottom consisted of two parts. The left was ¡°water¡± with ¡°bitter¡± and the right ¡°bristle¡±. Gu Yu was stunned, for it was a forbidden character of Taoism, meaning ¡°water official¡±, or the deity taking charge of this water. Oh my god! He blinked, utterly amazed by how daring people were back then: they were not only bold enough to dig them out, but had also lost two of them! Chapter 341 Chapter 341: The Approaching Date Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Cloud lies to the north of the river and dream to the south. The ancient Yunmeng reaches as far as Qi Zhou on the east, Zhi River on the west, Jing Mountain on the north, and Qingcao on the south¡±¡ªsuch was the description of the Great Lake of Yunmen of the Pre-Qin Period. In its heyday, the greatke was as vast as 26 000 km^2. The sediment deposition in theter years gradually divided Yunmeng Lake into two parts. The part to the north of the Yangtze River became a swamp; a vastke remained in the part to the south of the Yangtze River, which was Dongting Lake. Dongting Lake used to cover an area asrge as nearly 6000 km^2 in ancient times. However, because of the continuous infiltration ofrge quantities of sediment and the unbridled modern activities such aske remation and dam-building, it finally shrank to an area of 2623 km^2. There was a time when Yangtze River did not flood much, for Dongting Lake had acted as the natural flood discharge area. However, after the modern state was established, the Dongting Lake region had be a frequently flooded area. With its shrinking size came the sharp decline in its flood storage capacity. Together with the influx from the four rivers of Xiangjiang, Zijiang, Yuanjiang, and Lishui, theke was overwhelmed. Dongting Lake had flooded 35 times in the recent fifty years alone. ¡°Tsk, the timeline doesn¡¯t fit!¡± Inside a hotel room, Gu Yu put down an information book and murmured, ¡°Recent 50 years¡­ the three iron shackles were found in 1980¡­ oh, no, in the Song Dynasty, but were not moved then¡­ there were records of flooding in the Qing Dynasty, so they were not here to suppress the flood.¡± He then took out his phone and saw wechat messagesing in from Xiaozhai, Zhang Jintong, Wu Songbai, and some others. Ok, he found this mixture a bit embarrassing as well, but they were cultivating in a modern world. There was no reason to abandon such a convenient way ofmunication. Duel in the future would probably involve the two parties exchanging threats over the chatting app: wait and see, you motherf**ker, I¡¯m tagging my man right now! My master uncle is on his way; he¡¯ll burn you with his thunder! Or: wow, Senior, I¡¯m infatuated with your fair skin, lovely face, tiny waist, and long legs! Please add me as a friend! Or: shocking news! Fairy Peony has checked into a hotel room in the middle of the night with Perfected Man Hollow in exchange for a higher ranking! Exclusive on the cultivation world behind closed curtains! Gosh, the thought of all that! Ok, enough with the digression. After discovering the strange shackles, he sent a group message to a few people, who took it very seriously and offered their opinions. They had mostly arrived at the same conclusion: the iron shackles were to suppress either flood or some monster. Wu Songbai was the most certain one, iming it to be used for ¡°stopping the cmity of a water dragon¡±. Gu Yu then found some popr science books on the local history. After flipping through them, he had ruled out the theory of suppressing floods. So the other option was the only option. Water dragon, wow, it would be so much bigger than a ricefield eel. He almost began to get excited! Gu Yu could foresee that with the changing going on in Dongting Lake, it was only a matter of time before it devoured the surrounding towns and cities. He did not need to report to anyone, though. From what he saw along the way, the government had already made ns for it and was evacuating the people in perfect order. Because nothing observable had showed up so far, he did not look too deeply into it. After a two-day stay in Yueyang, he went to check out Junshan Ind. Junshan was a tiny ind with the most remarkable terrain. It consisted of 72 mountains of all sizes and was listed as the 11th blessednd of the country. There were quite a few famous spots on the ind; he focused on two of them only, namely, ¡°Bell that Flew Here¡± and ¡°Liu Yi Well¡±. The legend of the Bell that Flew Here took ce during the Yang Yao rebellion. When the imperial government sent troops to encircle and suppress the insurgent army, a giant bell suddenly descended from the sky, waking thetter up with its tolls. They then fought back the enemies. The original one was 30 m high, needed several people to get their arms around, and weighed over 2000 kg, but was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. The current one was a replica. Liu Yi Well was pretty much in the same condition. A cement well sat on a cement tform; some stairs were built into the an opening on the side of the well so that the tourists could walk down and touch the water. What was more remarkable was there there were actually two Liu Yi Wells, one here and the other in Dongshan, Taihu Lake. Liu Yi was apparently a very busy man, dating daughter of the Dongting Dragon King one day and the daughter of Taihu Dragon King 1 the other¡­ After his probing around for the past few years, Gu Yu finally reached the conclusion that most of the folklore with a mythological twist was nothing but fabricated stories. The real treasure still came from the ancient masters who had left behind a good reputation, brilliant records, and orthodox Taoist teachings. Actually, one question that he had been preupied with was: had ¡°gods¡± ever existed in Chinese culture? The ancient belief in the mortal world transformed into that of the immortal world, but both had written records to refer to. Gods, however, only existed in folklore. ording to ¡± The Investiture of Gods 2 ¡°, gods were civil servants of the heavenly court, and their titles were bestowed by the Jade Emperor. However, whether or not this Jade Emperor ever existed was unclear. If there were gods, then where did those great masters that had reached the states of Earthly Immortal or even Heavenly Immortale in? Which was mightier, an immortal or a god? Or were gods simply the embodiment of immortals? But if there were no gods, many of the beliefs and worships of the Taoistmunity would not make sense. For instance, the sects following Wang Ruoxu¡¯s teachings worshipped Spiritual Official Wang, who was a god. However, Wang was the pupil of Celestial Master Sa, an immortal. Another example would be the sect of Maoshan, whose many talismans were using the ¡°god-inviting spell¡±. Where did those ¡°gods¡±e from? Gu Yu inclined to the view that there were no gods and that they were derivations of immortals. However, there wasn¡¯t enough information to go on at this stage and he had to put it aside for the time being. *** Nov. 10th, frosty. With the day of the contest approaching, eyes all over the country were fixed upon Longhu Mountain. Ever since the government sneakily spread out the rumor of ¡°with the rise of Taoist skills, alsoe the monsters¡±, all temples were overwhelmed with visitors. Some would not leave until they were admitted as a pupil, some spent a fortune for the Taoist blessing, while some felt their world turned upside down and were there to yell angrily at somebody forfort. As the leading sect of Zhengyi, Longhu Mountain was the star of the show. Streams of vehicle wereing to and fro out of the gate of Celestial Master Temple around the clock, bringing in dignitaries of all levels. It was indeed as said on the couplet on the gate: On Longhu Mountain, the grand chancellor took his residence! These days, the scene was only bing more boisterous. People were gathering here from all over the country, especially from the nearby provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Zhejiang, and Anhui. Even the long-distance buses had all their seats taken, let alone the trains. Buses and private cars arrived in hundreds on a daily basis and the city of Yingtan was filled to the brim. Bai Yu, a decent 23-year-old local young man of Yueyang, who had just begun working a year ago. He was not handsome, but was big, tall, and a regr gym-goer with wide shoulders, small waist, Adonis belt, the whole shebang. Despite his appearance of a hunk, his hobbies were on the Otaku side. He had set up a cosy society with a few friends and would attend all sorts ofic cons. Seeing that the 13th wasing, he was thrilled with the anticipation and took an annual leave from work to go to Longhu Mountain with his friends. They actually uniformed up for the asion¡ªall were in improved version of ancient costumes. They even had matching essories such as whisks, bronze bells,passes, etc., which looked quite the part. Swords were out of the question, though, for there were strict rules on that now. Even wooden swords were regted. They tried all they could and finally got themselves some bus tickets. The rest of the passengers jumped at their arrival, thinking there were actually Taoist priests on board. On a second look, however, they realized these were just cosyers and rxed. ¡°Beep, beep!¡± The driver hooted the horn a few times when the departure time arrived. Bai Yu was chatting with his friends and looked up at the noise. ¡°Sh*t!¡± He almost jumped out of his seat, for a fellow suddenly got onto the bus without any sound of footsteps as if he was a feather blown in by the wind. On a second look, he could not help but chuckle. The fellow wore loose long-sleeve shirts and long trousers with ancient-styled knotted buttons, and had a wooden box in one hand¡­ a fellow cosyer! The man walked to the seat in front of Bai Yu, put the wooden box onto the luggage rack, and sat down. There was something inly peaceful about him. Bai Yu was a talkative one, and struck up a conversation. ¡°Hey there. I see you¡¯re going to Longhu Mountain as well.¡± ¡°Yea, you too?¡± ¡°Haha, not just me. Everyone on board this bus is!¡± ¡°Is audience allowed there?¡± The man seemed a little surprised. ¡°Dunno. I don¡¯t really care if they let me go in or not. It¡¯s still an experience.¡± At that point, the bus rumbled and slowly pulled out of the station, heading out of Yueyang into the evening sunlight. Bai Yu suddenly felt he was part of something very big and sighed with emotion. ¡°I would never have dreamed of this day. Isn¡¯t it just like the Martial Arts Assembly in the novels? Guests and friends are arriving from every corner of the world topete for the championship. It will be an event of passion and pride.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Seeing Bai Yu intoxicated in his own imagination, the man couldn¡¯t help but make a face of ¡°you poor little fool¡±. He then stopped talking, turned to the other side, and closed his eyes to rest. Chapter 342 Chapter 342: Best of Three Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Hey, mate, which society are you from? I know all the cosyers in Yueyang, why haven¡¯t I ever met you? ¡°Check out my whisk. I made it myself. Nice, isn¡¯t it? I went out to get a few hundred horsetail hair for this. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s in your box? Can we have a look?¡± Bai Yu was a chatterbox never switching off. Gu Yu darted him a look and said half-jokingly, ¡°It¡¯s a sword.¡± ¡°Tsk, dude, whom are you kidding here? Even stic toy swords are not allowed on board these days.¡± One of Bai Yu¡¯s friends snorted. ¡°Exactly. I¡¯ll eat that box of yours if there¡¯s really a sword inside,¡± said another friend. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu pursed his lips. ¡®I¡¯d really like to see you eating that¡ªlet me get you a cappino to wash it down!¡¯ They chatted on as the bus left Yueyang and headed for Yingtan. A whileter, the bus stopped when they just entered Jiangxi Province. Vehicles had lined up behind a check point for inspection. The passengersined a little, but still waited in patience. After all, with so many people rushing into one ce, safety was the top priority. About forty minutes passed when it was finally this bus¡¯s turn. Two police officers got on board, saying, ¡°Thank you for your cooperation. ID, please. You don¡¯t have to open your luggage. We¡¯ll scan them directly.¡± One was checking the ID cards while the other one went around waving the scanner. They were soon at Gu Yu¡¯s seat. His box was way too conspicuous and the two officers had been eyeing it for a while. The scanner swept across it and the rm began to beep. Whoosh! The police officers changed color and werebat-ready. ¡°What¡¯s in that box? Take it down!¡± ¡°There you go!¡± Gu Yu handed out his ID and remained seated. ¡°I asked what¡¯s in the box? Open it! Or we¡¯ll open it for you!¡± The police officer was on his guard for all possible danger with a hand on his holster. Just then, his colleague finished scanning the ID card and his face suddenly looked funny. He then patted his gun-reaching friend hard on the shoulder. ¡°What?¡± ¡°We¡¯re done here!¡± ¡°No, he hasn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Nope, it¡¯s all fine! Time to go!¡± They left without checking the rest of the passengers. Everyone was utterly baffled and turned to look at a certain fellow. ¡°¡­¡± Bai Yu blinked. Only then did panic ran through him, immediately reced by an even more intense excitement. It had to be his lucky day. This man was definitely a disciple of some thousand-year-old well-known family and was out to see the world. That had to be it! As for exactly who that young man was, everyone was curious, but no one dared to ask. The bus was filled with a strange silence. The bus wobbled on for another while. As they drove closer to Yingtan, the traffic was also getting heavier. They slowed down, only moving forward every other while. They were surrounded by noise on all sides. Every now and then, there woulde a honk. Instead of bing restless under such atmosphere, the passengers were overwhelmed by all the jitters and anticipation. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Look! Look!¡± As the bus passed the toll-gate of Yingtan and turned into the main road, someone shouted in surprise. Gu Yu turned around and saw a ck shadow dashing forward from behind at an unbelievable speed. Each leap would take it a few meters high and over ten meters far. Even those container trucks would only take it one jump. It moved smoothly through the traffic like so. What was stranger was that a man, who had pale skin, dark hair, and a gloomy face, was crouching on the back of that shadow. Hello! Youngster Li was here as well! Watching the man and the corpse dashing away, Gu Yu looked sorry. Because of the limitation of Li Suchun¡¯s cultivation level, the iron corpse had remained at that level. Without the necessary opportunity, this would be as far as the first mighty soldier among them went. ¡°Ah, a bird! A big bird!¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s a huge monkey!¡± ¡°That priest is so handsome! Puritanical, but HOT!¡± ¡°Sh*t! That¡¯s got to be a spiritual beast! I¡¯d trade anything to have one of those!¡± After entering the city, the bus seemed to have stumbled into a wondend. Everything seemed out of ce and everywhere they turned, they saw something beyond imagination. No one was trying to hide anything and just let them wander around the streets. ¡°Whee¡­¡± With a loud and clear chirp, a big bird with a wingspan of four meters flew low across the sky. It moved nimbly around the buildings and wire poles, thennded by the side of a priest and drew back its wings. Right after that, a pure white lynx jumped out from behind the priest and struck down at the back of the bird with its shiny sharp ws. The big bird turned around and smashed down its wings unhurriedly. With a whooshing sound, a gust of wind sent flowers and grass into the air. They exchanged a few blows; then, a red beam arrived at lightning speed, separating the two animals. It was the talisman from another priest. ¡°So the monastery has sent them all out here to put on a show!¡± Gu Yu chuckled. He then turned his eyes to another direction and cried out in a low voice, ¡°Why, he¡¯s here as well.¡± A group of people stood at the street corner ahead of the bus on the right among whom was a priest in his fifties. It was none other than Li Daoyu, thatfellow of the Three Yang Sect who had been tricked by Xiaojin¡¯s ¡°Great Makeup Skill 1 ¡°. The man had been taken away by the BIMAUP after that incident and was not heard of ever since. Gu Yu had not expected to see him here. That was interesting¡­ When Bai Yu talked about a great martial arts assembly, Gu Yu didn¡¯t think much of it. From the look of it now, the government was adding fuel to the fire, deliberately trying to spread the anecdote wide and far. ¡°It was the year of Ding-You. Autumn was leaving and winter was just arriving when masters young and old gathered on Longhu Mountain, in Yingtan, and western Jiangxi. We were there to participate in a great event. The sky above, over which we let our eyes travel the great scenes and let fancy free, was vast beyondprehension. How pleasant it was!¡± *** ¡°Squeech!¡± The bus reached the long-distance bus station, and passengers filed out to head for their own destinations. Bai Yu was unloading the luggage with his friends when he spotted their unusual fellow passenger. He called after him in a hurried tone, ¡°Mate¡­ I mean, Boss!¡± He ran towards Gu Yu. ¡°Did you book a hotel reservation?¡± ¡°No, why?¡± ¡°Why?! How could youe here without booking a room in advance! All the rooms 50 km from Longhu Mountains are taken. Where are you gonna live?¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. It¡¯s just one night. I can make do anywhere.¡± ¡°How about¡­¡± Bai Yu shifted his eyes and came up with an idea. ¡°There are only four of us, but we¡¯ve booked a standard and a triple room because all the others were taken. We have a spare bed; if you don¡¯t mind, you can stay with us. Just give us as much as you see fit.¡± Gu Yu gave it a thought. He had to avoid the people of the monastery and Celestial Master Temple, so he might as well hang out with these guys. ¡°In that case, thanks a lot. I¡¯ll pay the room in full¡­ oh, I haven¡¯t introduced myself yet. I¡¯m Gu Jiang.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Bai Yu. Haha, enough with the thanks! We¡¯re buddies now!¡± The fellow was proud of his sess in ¡°luring¡± the new friend and made a show about it. He then hailed two taxis with hispanions, heading right for the hotel. While they were settling down, Bai Yu could not stay put. He grabbed something to eat and went out to ask about the situation. He then came back with the news that both parties had picked their candidates for this contest within the Way of Celestial Master: Zhang Ziliang from abroad versus the local Zhang Shouyang. Because of the widespread video of his contribution in catching those ghosts, Zhang Ziliang was a famous mantely. Zhang Shouyang, on the other hand, had been a reclusive cultivator of his temple and not many people had heard of him. Zhang Ziliang was visiting the temple for the first time today to set the location and rules of the contest, and the curious onlookers were already there. Bai Yu could wait no longer. He then led his friends and hurried towards the temple as well. At the foot of Longhu Mountain, outside Celestial Master Temple. The great za was cramped with four to five hundred people, who voluntarily left some space out outside the temple gate, as well as a passageway. About an hourter, some sharp-eyed spectator shouted, ¡°He¡¯s here! He¡¯s here!¡± Whoosh! The crowd turned their heads in unison. A young priest with a hooked nose and in a purple ceremonial robe got off an vehicle. It was none other than Zhang Ziliang himself. He walked to the red gate, but did not enter. Instead, he stood there watching the view inside, as if lost in his emotions. Zhang Jintong hurried near from inside and the two looked into each other¡¯s eyes across the threshold. The grievance brewing for three generations surpassed time and space, exploding right there and right then. It was after quite some time when Zhang Jingtong finally spoke, ¡°Honorable guest, pleasee in.¡± ¡°Save your affected civilized words. I am going to enter, but not today. I will stride in as thewful master after defeating you all!¡± Zhang Ziliang scanned the yard inside and said grumpily, ¡°Where is Zhang Shouyang? Is that man so arrogant that he would not see me?¡± ¡°Shouyang is still on his way here from Tianzhu Mountain. Sorry about his absence.¡± ¡°Can you speak for him?¡± Zhang Ziliang said scornfully. The old priest did not react to that attitude and replied indifferently, ¡°I am the current Celestial Master. Of course I can speak for him.¡± ¡°Humph!¡± Zhang Ziliang snorted and blurted out, ¡°We¡¯ll set the rules for the contest today. Zhengyi used to focus on Taoist rituals, but now that Taoist skills havee back, we will skip the formalities. Let¡¯s forget about the rituals andpete with Taoist skills only. What do you think?¡± ¡°I agree!¡± The old priest nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll settle this with three rounds. The first two are between our disciples and thest is between me and Zhang Shouyang. Agree?¡± ¡°I agree!¡± ¡°Any thoughts on the location?¡± ¡°Shangqing Pce is one kilometer to the east. It¡¯s an open terrain, ideal for the contest.¡± ¡°Good. I¡¯ll see you there. Goodbye!¡± Zhang Ziliang flipped his wide sleeves and left promptly. Zhang Jintong remained indifferent and unmoved. He looked up at the surrounding crowd and ordered, ¡°Close the gate.¡± Bang! After the gate was shut, the old priest went back to the inner hall, where another man was seated. It was Mu Kun. He was casually sipping his tea, as if caring not a bit about what was going on outside. He greeted the old priest with a smile. ¡°All set?¡± ¡°Three days from now, we¡¯ll meet in Shangqing Pce and settle it with three games.¡± ¡°I see. I wish your sect all the triumph, then!¡± Mu Kun put down his ss and cupped his hands. ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Jintong smiled wryly inside. He knew perfectly well that the government was behind all this, but he had no power to resist and could only follow the script. He was a man of the secr world and was pushed onto this position. After weing and sending off visitors for all these years, he had obtained a bureaucratic demeanor. He did not let his true thoughts show and only asked respectfully, ¡°Director Mu, any further instructions?¡± ¡°Oh, there is one thing.¡± Mu Kun paused a little and said, ¡°I think you¡¯re aware of the great change in the world at the moment. Those above are concerned about how to make the general public ept this change in the smoothest and most orderly manner. This event is a great opportunity for that. We think we¡¯d better make it public, so that more people can see the wonders of Taoist skills and be revered by the profound knowledge.¡± Zhang Jintong was silent for a moment. He had expected this all along and was not surprised. ¡°No problem!¡± ¡°Great. We will never forget all the hard work the Celestial Master has done for us. I still have business elsewhere and will dy you no further.¡± After Mu Kun left, Zhang Jintong sat there dazed for a while. The corner of his mouth twitched suddenly, making a strange face. ¡®BIMAUP, just wait and see¡­ you are acting as you please without the least concern for Longhu Mountain¡¯s feelings. You even went so far as to make a show out of the thousand-year-old Taoist teachings so that the rest of the world could be entertained. What goes aroundes around. There will be a day when you have to lower your head!¡¯ Chapter 343 Chapter 343: Monsters And Freaks Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Celestial Master Temple, night. The wind blew across the chilly courtyard and the moon shone coldly above. Zhang Jintong stood at the front gate with his aging body, his shoulders slightly hunched. He was straining his neck to look into the street outside. Antern hung over either side over the temple gate. They were bright but not dazzling, just enough to lit up the streets at thiste hour. ¡°Squeech!¡± A vehicle slowly drove near from afar and stopped on the square. The door opened and out came Zhang Shouyang and Lu Yuanqing. Seeing that the old priest was already standing there waiting, they hurried near. Zhang Jintong cupped his hands. ¡°Wee, Priest Lu. Thank you foring all this way in person.¡± ¡°I am utterly embarrassed by this undeserved praise, Celestial Master. Let¡¯s talk inside.¡± While the two exchanged their pleasantries, Zhang Shouyang remained silent and only nodded at his granduncle. The three entered the inner hall and dismissed the disciples waiting on them before Zhang Shouyang finally spoke. ¡°We have received the news of Zhang Ziliang¡¯s three contests. I will ept the challenge as he asked. I only have one question: when they took refuge abroad back in the days, how many treasures did they take with them to give him such confidence now?¡± ¡°Sigh, there is no way to find out. After all, Taoism was greatly suppressed when the modern state was newly established, leaving behind a nk history for us for decades. When I took charge of Celestial Master Temple, there was not a single piece of information on that.¡± Zhang Jintong heaved a sigh. ¡°The only thing we can be sure of is that Celestial Master Seal was definitely among those they took.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The other two¡¯s faces turned livid at this, and a hush fell over the room. When Zhang Daoling achieved the Great Dao, he had four great refined weapons with him. Evil-ying Twin Swords, Dugong Seal of Yangping Zhi, talismans¡ªincluding 36 heavenly general talismans of body-shielding, devil-suppressing, house-guarding, etc., and various sealed scriptures¡ªand treasured objects including Tianpeng Ruler, jade tablet, jade headpiece, ghost-interrogating peachwood staff, token, etc. During the past thousand years, all those treasures were gradually lost until there was barely anything left. That seal was the only thing they managed to hold onto no matter what and was passed down from one generation to the next. Of the Dugong Seal of Yangping Zhi, Yangping referred to Yangping Mountain in Qinglin County of Sichuan, the head of the Taoist management center¡ªthe 24-zhi system. ¡°Zhi¡± meant a location where rituals were performed and ¡°Dugong¡± was a position in a zhi, or a Taoist leader. The seal was used in all kinds of ritualistic practices: setting up altars for prayers, ghost-dispelling and devil-suppressing, praying for sun or rain, disaster-repelling and peace-blessing, etc. Like golden talismans, some rituals could only work their wonders with the help of this seal. Later on, Longhu Mountain had received many awards throughout the dynasties, which included quite a few seals, such as the bronze seal ¡°Shenxiao Jade Pattern Si¡± in the period of Xuanhe of the Song Dynasty, or a silver version of the Dugong Seal of Yangping Zhi in the period of Jiangjing of the Ming Dynasty. All of those seals were known as Celestial Master Seals, but the most legitimate one for that title was the one and only seal passed down by Zhang Daoling himself. To some extent, that seal represented Celestial Master Temple, which made the domestic Celestial Master Temple rather embarrassed. The foreign one had the seal and they had no equivalent certificate here, which was also why Celestial Master Temple was not as ¡°high-end¡± as Maoshan Sect. Issues left over from history could be such a pain in the a*s! Seeing that the mood was turning gloomy, Lu Yuanqing spoke in aforting tone, ¡°Celestial Master, please do not worry. Even if that Zhang Ziliang has the seal, with his capability, he wouldn¡¯t be able to release its full power. After Senior Brother Zhang defeats the enemy, that seal will naturally be returned to its rightful ce.¡± ¡°Haha, thank you for your kind words.¡± Zhang Jingtong let out a littleugh in his hoarse voice and asked, ¡°Shouyang, that man must have some talisman skills we do not know of. Be honest with me, how confident are you in winning the contest?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Shouyang paused a little before saying, ¡°From the video of him catching the ghost, I can see that he has not reached the innate state, either. He had a diversified range of talisman skills to work with, but was a little insufficient in his energy¡¯s amount. As long as he does not have some unfathomable refined weapon, I think I have a 60% chance of defeating him.¡± ¡°60% is enough.¡± Zhang Jintong nodded. ¡°We should not seek perfection in everything. We do our duty and leave the rest to destiny.¡± ¡°Granduncle, there is one thing I do not yet know. Exactly what is the stake of this contest?¡± asked Zhang Shouyang. ¡°Stake?¡± Zhang Jintong sneered. ¡°That¡¯s not for us to decide. If he wins, he will doubtlessly get the government¡¯s support and be the head of Celestial Master Temple. If we win, our authority will be secured and we¡¯ll bring glory to the Taoistmunity.¡± ¡°Authority and glory¡­¡± Zhang Shouyang¡¯s tone turned deeper as he said contemptuously, ¡°He gets Zhengyi by winning and we a boost in our vanity. That is such a fair trade!¡± He bolted to his feet and walked around the hall for a few rounds. He then exchanged a look with Lu Yuanqing before saying, ¡°We should propose something on our own initiative. If he loses, he can go wherever he wants, but not his Taoist orthodox!¡± ¡°Are you saying¡­¡±Zhang Jintong could not keep his voice steady. ¡°Granduncle, Celestial Master Temple has been divided for nearly a century. It¡¯s time to end this.¡± Zhang Shouyang had always been a level-headed man, carrying himself with ease and confidence, but now that the fate of his own sect was hanging in the bnce, he had to be decisive. ¡°I will have the foreign branch return to the birthce of this sect!¡± *** ¡°This city is a dump. The air stinks¡ªyou can smell it on the street!¡± It was deep into the night when two young men walked along the tile-paved path, oneining the entire time. ¡°That nose of yours must have inhaled too much medicine powder. Howe I didn¡¯t smell anything?¡± said the other one. ¡°Haha, you¡¯re the prude as always. You remind me of the grandpas in my family¡­ Wait a minute?¡± The man had been looking around before this and his face suddenly lit up. ¡°A bar? There is a bar in a tiny ce like this? I want to check it out.¡± ¡°And now you don¡¯t smell the stink?¡± The man obviously knew hispanion too well¡ªthat womanizer was looking for a hook-up. ¡°Here¡¯s the thing. The women here are pretty nice, especially their skin. The texture is not something we can find back in ournd. You wannae?¡± ¡°Not interested.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be such a killjoy. You¡¯ll just sit around doing nothing in the hotel. Come, enjoy the night with me!¡± The man dragged hispanion across the road into that bar named ¡°Modern Times¡±. Longhu Mountain was in Shangqing Town, about 20 km from here. There were only so much aodation that town could provide, and the tourists had settled down in Yingtan instead. After all, as a prefecture-level city, it could provide them with plenty of nightlife. They were engulfed by the ear-thumping, loud music as soon as they set foot inside. The ce was filled with hundreds of men and women looking for a good time, especially on the dance floor, where the lights were shing so frantically as if they were trying to take someone¡¯s eyes out. Generally speaking, two kinds of people enjoyed nightclubs: those that were into the boisterous scene and those looking for an excitement, be it a one night stand, doing drugs, or orgy stuff. Each circle came with their own set of rules, and they usually did not mingle. The two turned out to be quite the head-turners as soon as they showed their faces. Beautiful faces like theirs simply could not go unnoticed. One had shoulder-length hair and wore silver ear studs. He had gentle and well-defined features that had an enchanting charm to them. Such a face tended to give off an effeminate feeling, which he did not have¡ªunlike some men who made one wonder if they jerked off with their pinky raised. This one looked just right with his androgynous beauty. The other one was a whole different type. With his short hair, deep-set eyes, and sculpture-like features, he reminded one of that style in trend at the moment: normcore. Even men found them attractive as hell, let alone the women. They had just sat down at the bar when two prey offered themselves willingly. ¡°Hey, hottie. Buy me a drink?¡± A woman with long, wavy hair leaned herself against the bar counter and twinkled at the alluring one. ¡°With how normally things go from here, you would order a Martini without ice, but I would prefer you to have a Tequ,¡± said the man with the longer hair. ¡°Oh? Why Tequ?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I only said it to make you interested and keep asking.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Teehee. You¡¯re funny. Ok, I¡¯ll have a Tequ, then.¡± The woman snapped her fingers. The bartender made the Tequ swiftly, then served it with some salt. The woman smeared the salt across the back of her hand, licked it with the tip of her tongue, and downed the drink in one go. The man watched the back of her hand¡ªa thin, lustrous line where her tongue had traced was glistening. The woman did not flinch, but moved a little bit closer¡­ flirting was a delicate business. On the other side, hispanion was fed up with the game. He said to the woman on his side, ¡°I¡¯m not interested. Go to him if you want.¡± ¡°F**k, are you nuts? I don¡¯t do threesome!¡± The woman cursed with disappointment and left promptly on her heels. ¡°Shi Shi? Hm, cute name. I¡¯m Tony.¡± ¡°Why, an English name? You¡¯re not one of those fake foreigners, are you? Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m good in bed and I¡¯m not the clingy type. You won¡¯t get an unwanted girlfriend afterwards.¡± The woman was quite experienced in hooking up. Before long, she and the long-haired man were all over each other. Thepanion grew all the more impatient and frowned. ¡°I¡¯m not wasting my time here. I¡¯m leaving!¡± ¡°Hey, wait! Gosh, you¡¯re such a spoilsport!¡± Tony had no choice but ask the woman, ¡°My buddy wants to go back. Wanna see my private collection?¡± ¡°Sure. I hope it¡¯s as pretty as your face.¡± The woman was out for fun and would not say no to that. The three then left the nightclub, and waited for a taxi by the side of the road a short distance away. She was over the moon, for a handsome man like this one was not easy toe by. She trotted in wobbly steps, as if she was dancing on the street. ¡°Ouch!¡± A momentter, she cried out, for she identally bumped into a passer-by. ¡°Sorry!¡± the stranger apologized in a low voice. He darted a look at the woman first, then nced at the two men. Somehow, he paused a little there. Then without a further word, he went on his way. The two men also looked back at him. There seemed to be a reserved quality about him, but they couldn¡¯t sense anything out of the ordinary and soon forgot about him. Before long, the three got back to their hotel. The short-haired man pulled hispanion closer and cautioned him in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t make any trouble. We¡¯re here to gather information only.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I know what to do.¡± Tony waved him off and went back to his room with the woman in his arm. The dim overhead light was switched on and the mood was set. Alcohol and hormones rushed through her and the woman was only finding the man more scrumptious. She couldn¡¯t help but wrap her arms around his neck and began to attack his lips. ¡°Haha, I see you¡¯re in a hurry!¡± Tony moved his hand up and down her body, taking in the soft curves beneath his palms. His eyes, however, remained clear as ever and did not show the least amount of lust. ¡°Babe, I can¡¯t wait. Come to me¡­¡± After a long, wet kiss, the woman fell onto the bed herself and called out eagerly. The man followed her with a strange smile creeping up his face. The woman responded enthusiastically to his touch. She enjoyed it greatly in the beginning, but all of a sudden, the look on her face changed. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± Red light filled the room and a strange pattern resembling a hexagram appeared from beneath her. The red light wrapped around them both, obscuring the scene, and was eerily aphrodisiac at the same time. The woman was petrified, but her body remained doing what it was doing and she had lost all control over it. The man kept thrusting. In his eyes were the habitual sneer and excitement. ¡°Aaaah, please¡­ don¡¯t, don¡¯t¡­ ¡°Please¡­¡± The woman was crying in the beginning, but gradually went quiet. Her body matched his movement as if she was already a piece of dead meat. Finally, the man let out a groan. The hexagram glowed brightly with it, then dimmed down and disappeared. ¡°Ha¡­¡± The man exhaled. Watching the woman crumple up on the bed, he shrugged and said, ¡°On you feet. Get dressed.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The woman got out of the bed rigidly and put on her clothes like a puppet. ¡°Leave the hotel and go back to your own ce. You will have a nice, long sleep, and when the sun rises tomorrow, you won¡¯t remember anyone or anything.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± the woman replied, then walked out with a nk face. ¡°Sigh! So boring!¡± Tony shook his head, lit a cigarette and smoked it in boredom, as if only a scene like what had just happened could make him high. ¡°nk!¡± Just then, the short-haired man smashed the door open, looking angry. ¡°I warned you, no trouble! Are you so bold as to disobey your superior now?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make such a fuss. That woman won¡¯t die for another seven days. No one would link it to me,¡± said Tony indifferently. ¡°I will repeat this: we¡¯re in a foreign country; we have to be careful!¡± ¡°Haha, everyone was talking about how powerful those people are here, but we haven¡¯t actually met one, have we? The Elders haven¡¯t been out in the world for decades; they could have gone gaga already. Things are different now. The entire world is rebooting, so why do we have to fear this particr country?¡± ¡°You fool! How much do you know about¡ª who¡¯s there?¡± The short-haired man was about to scold him when he suddenly turned towards the balcony. His hand moved faster than his voice. Before he even finished that sentence, green light in the shape of an arrowhead appeared in his palm which shot towards the window. ¡°Whoosh!¡± The green light hit the ss, but instead of breaking it, it went right through. Outside, a ugly dwarfish man with a giant head was crouching on the windowsill a dozen meters above the ground. He had no time to dodge and was struck by the light. With a loud bang, the man turned into a piece of paper, which was torn to pieces by a gust of wind and shuffled down. The two men were astonished. They ran to the window and saw that before the paper scraps could reach the ground below, they twirled in the wind and disappeared into thin air. ¡°Shikigami!¡± The short-haired man looked gloomy. ¡°Men of Nippon are here!¡± *** Yingtan, inside a vi area. A few people sat around the living room; the air felt depressing. Suddenly, one of them waved his hand, retrieving a dot of white light. He said ominously, ¡°We¡¯re blown!¡± ¡°What have you got?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not oriental. It looked like something the ult group of Britannia.¡± ¡°Britannia? Humph, they¡¯re here as well.¡± The leader¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Sir, what are we going to do now?¡± ¡°There is no need to panic. We¡¯re only here for some information; the government of this country is probably long aware of our presence. It does not matter that they have spotted us, but keep in mind that we should try our best to avoid any conflict. Alive, we can always turn to diplomatic measures. Dead men, on the other hand, cannot talk.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± Chapter 344 Chapter 344: The Contest (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Go back¡­ go back¡­ ¡°Have a nice sleep¡­ forget it all tomorrow¡­¡± At midnight, that woman with long wavy hair walked out of the hotel. Instead of hailing a taxi, she just stumbled on along the street. Her eyes wereckluster and her face nk; she looked like someone in shock, but somehow knew where she was going and could tell the direction. On any given day, her condition now had just made her a potential drunk rape victim. ¡°That chick was so hot, 80/100 at least.¡± ¡°Totally! Gosh, that tight a*s. Her husband is so damn lucky!¡± ¡°Crap, why don¡¯t we have¡­ hey, hey, there¡¯s a chick!¡± Two young men appeared across the street, probably just finished bar-hopping somewhere and were babbling loudly. They were excited at the sight of the woman and went up to her eagerly. ¡°Miss, you all right?¡± ¡°Me? Teehee, I¡¯m ok.¡± The woman looked at them and gave them a strange smile. ¡°Where do you live? Do you need us to apany you home?¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. I can walk, I can¡­¡± She was swaying and trotting as she spoke, barely able to stand straight. ¡®Wow!¡¯ The two exchanged a look. The woman was obviously high on something and did not take the drug knowingly. Some guy had probably tricked her, finished with her, and kicked her out. Losers like these two couldn¡¯t care less about picking up woman in her state on the street. Instead, they snickered at each other, delighted at their turn of luck. ¡°It¡¯s not safe for you to wander around at this hour. Let us take you back.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯re wee at our ce if you can¡¯t go back home.¡± With that, the two picked up the woman over their shoulders and were about to take her back to their ce. Over on the other side, Bai Yu and hispanions had just had barbecue for dinner and were going upstairs in a noisy bunch. Gu Yu walked in the rear listening to them shooting the breeze, experiencing the secr world he had been away from for a while. He pulled the gate of the hotel open and was about to walk in when he looked up and saw two straw-haired men went into the hotel next door with a young woman between them. The two men were nothing special, but something was not right with that woman. ¡°Old Bai, you guys go up first. I need to buy something.¡± ¡°Be quick about it!¡± After Bai Yu and the others went up, Gu Yu went promptly to the hotel next door. He was very efficient: he found the two men, knocked them unconscious, and dragged them into the fire escape. ¡°Teehee, sleep nice, nice¡­¡± The woman¡¯s eyes were half closed; she kept swaying, apparentlypletely unaware of what was going on. Gu Yu examined her. There was a strange energy fluctuation with a faint dark aura about her. The aura was very unfamiliar to him. It was twisted, frenzied, and somewhat lustful. He then scanned her with his mental force, and his face darkened. The woman¡¯s mind was extremely weak. If a normal person had a strength of 10, she had only 2 left. She was like a candle in the wind that could be extinguished at any moment. He couldn¡¯t think of any known cultivation method at this stage that could have such an effect. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Watching the woman still murmuring to herself, Gu Yu let out a gentle sigh. Her mind was almost in pieces; she was definitely not going to survive this, unless some heavenly treasure was discovered to nourish the mind¡ªthen she might be a normal person again in ten or twenty years. However, even if such a treasure was found, who would be willing to use it on amon girl? Shaking his head, he knocked the woman unconscious as well. He would leave it to the police. In that way, she could at least get a proper burial. Like Lu Xun once said (not), the immortals fought and the mortals died. So true. *** Before they realized, three days had passed. The two strange men did not do anything out of line apart from that business the other night. The team from Nippon was even more careful and had been hiding in their vi the entire time. The two groups knew perfectly well of the existence of one another. Moreover, they were sure that scouts from other countries were here as well. At this stage, although all countries did not have detailed information on the situation in other countries, they had the general idea. This government, for instance, knew that it had been around three years since the spiritual essence began to recover. They had sent out arge number of agents to gather information abroad and figured out that the time was three in Nippon, two in southeast Asia, three in Africa, and about the same in the European countries. Britannia, however, was an exception. The recovery there began four years ago. The timeline was vital. After all, with an extra year, there was one more year to n and more cards on the table. The international conference at the end of this year, to put it inly, was a political game where the countries would probe around before setting up rules they could all agree upon. Nov. 13th was the 20th day of the 10th month in the traditional calendar, and the birthday of Zhang Jixian, the 30th Celestial Master. A kilometer to the east of Celestial Master Temple was another temple¡ªShangqing Pce. The temple had Elephant Mountain on its left, Lu Creek flowing outside its front gate, a cloud of forest in the front, and solid rocks supporting its back. Built in the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was where Zhang Daoling, the first Celestial Master, cultivated; it also went by the name ¡°Celestial Master¡¯s Cottage¡±. People were rushing in since before dawn, trying to im a ce with a better view. Gu Yu arrived at the temple with Bai Yu and his friends. He had thought about putting on some disguise so that those people would not spot him, but when he was there, he realized that wouldn¡¯t be necessary. Oh my, there had to be a thousand people outside the Devil-subduing Hall of the East Yard alone! Every head, chest, and foot were stuck to someone else¡¯s head, chest, and foot. People piled up like building blocks; it was a wonder that no one ended up pregnant by the end of this. The walls on either side, the tall trees, and the roofs were all crammed with curious onlookers. Two levels of high tforms were set up in front of the great hall, divided into two circles. The inner ring was where the contest took ce and the outer ring consisted of three rows of seats. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu rolled his eyes at the scene. Well, at least they didn¡¯t try to livestream it! The hubbub of the crowd filled the air. Before long, all thirty-six members of Qiyun, Zhang Jintong, and Mu Kun and his men arrived at Shangqing Pce. ¡®What is all this?!¡¯ They were shocked by the scene as well¡ªeven Lu Yuanqing¡¯s mouth twitched. He then grabbed Mu Kun by his arm. ¡°Hold on!¡± With that, they shot into the air and flew over the tall wall like two big birds. When the energy almost wore out, Lu Yuanqing flipped his whisk¡ªwhich seemed to be some sort of refined instrument¡ªand there was a strong gust of wind, which pushed them forward for another dozen meters until theynded steadily on the stage. ¡°¡­¡± The crowd watched this with goggling eyes. They were overwhelmed by excitement, but their minds did not have time to react just yet. The result was aplete dumbstruck silence. People of this country all grew up watching at least one wuxia film or reading at least one serial face-pping novels. Deep down in every mind, there was that adolescent fantasy of ¡°I¡¯m top of the world and you¡¯re all suckers¡±. ¡°I still feel like a circus monkey. I¡¯m not happy about this!¡± Chao Kongtu snorted and threw a little tantrum. ¡°I¡¯m going back to Maoshan. You can get on that stage all you want.¡± ¡°Cut the crap. Just move it!¡± Zhong Lingyu prompted, then added his sarcasticment with an expressionless face, ¡°Are you going back to Maoshan or Phoenix Mountain? I heard you had a great time with that young cousin?¡± ¡°Hey, that¡¯s out of the line! Why do you have to bring that up?¡± Chao Kongtu sounded frustrated. He had no choice but to take out a talisman and chant, ¡°The illusion of golden light here me out: transform an image into reality. Go!¡± Poof! The talisman turned into a sh of light in the air, then clouds rolled up and golden light glittered in disarray. The next moment, there was a long misty bridge suspended in mid-air. The bridge did not seem to be able to hold long, and the rest of the priest dared not linger. They leapt onto the cloud bridge in turn and walked to the high tform. ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°That¡¯s Taoist skill! I didn¡¯te all the way here for nothing!¡± ¡°Priest, please take me in as a pupil!¡± It was only until then that the crowd woke up from the first round of amazement and was astonished by this second one. The courtyard erupted with noises. ¡°Humph, petty tricks!¡± Immediately after there, a voice rose above all the hubbubs and chanted, ¡°The heaven, the earth, the sun, the moon, and the star, I hereby summon the souls of the giants. They will arrive at my bid and follow my spirit.¡± Whoosh! All of a sudden, a strange wind blew across the yard, sending dust into the air. A momentter, someone looked up and called out in surprise, ¡°Look! Look!¡± Everyone raised their head and their jaws fell open. Zhang Ziliang was sitting on a cloud of mist as if he was on a pnquin. Beside him were four semi-transparent glowing human-shaped figures with blurry faces. Two were in the front and two at the back; the four looked as if they were carrying the four corners of a cloud pnquin. Whoosh! In a few seconds, the cloud pnquinnded and the four glowing figures disappeared. Zhang Ziliang smoothed out his robe, the look on his face clearly defiant. ¡°¡­¡± Lu Yuanqing¡¯s fingers twitched. It seemed the foreign branch had indeed taken much useful knowledge with them. This contest his senior brother was going to have might not be as promising as they expected. ¡°What were those? Yellow-turban Giants?¡± Those from Nippon were hanging on a tree, staring at the disappearing glow with astonished faces. ¡°Why, that¡¯s not bad, actually!¡± Tony, who sat casually on a roof,mented. The skills Lu Yuanqing and Chao Kongtu used might look dazzling, but they were nothing but minor tricks. With Zhang Ziliang¡¯s appearance, even Tony was serious for a second, but he broke into aughter the next moment. ¡°The thousand-year inheritance has indeed left something worth noting. Too bad it¡¯s not theirs and they have to fight among themselves.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate your enemy!¡± The short-haired man pointed at Lu Yuanqing, Shi Yui, and several others. ¡°Those are better than us. I won¡¯t stand more than a few blows fighting them.¡± He then pointed at Chao Kongtu and Zhong Lingyu. ¡°And those two are likely our equals.¡± ¡°Humph, those are all the capable men of this country, aren¡¯t they?¡± Tony raised his chin towards the stage and said contemptuously, ¡°The elite soldiers are not bad, but the middle and low level ones are too weak. If a war were really to break out, we Britannians will defeat them without breaking a sweat. Just look at all these stinky mortals down there. Who else is out there apart from those on the stage?¡± With his excitement, a faint streak of dark aura escaped him. The others naturally could not sense it, but a certain fellow yawned and darted a look in their direction. *** The forty or so people took their seats on the stage. Zhang Ziliang assumed authority and stepped up first. His voice was not loud, but everyone could hear him clearly. ¡°The thousand-year-long orthodoxy of Longhu Mountain has never been interrupted¡­ nearly a century ago, my great uncle took refuge overseas. The experience did not demoralize him; instead, he established the foreign Way of Celestial Masters. Ever since then, there has been the dispute over the real orthodoxy¡­ Now that the great opportunity is upon us, it¡¯s time to end this feud. Therefore, I am here to challenge you. Zhang Shouyang, do you have the courage to ept it?¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± Zhang Shouyang rose from his seat and went out to stand on the other end of the stage. Their respective domineering and reserved manner were of stark contrast. ¡°Good. Let¡¯s make it clear beforehand. We will have three rounds of contest; thest one standing is the winner, dead or alive. Do you have the courage to ept that?¡± Buzz! The crowd erupted. Dead or alive? What happened to the modern legal system? Wasn¡¯t that a bit over the board? Zhang Shouyang remained indifferent and asked a question in return, ¡°What about the stake?¡± ¡°I win, you wee me into the temple yourselves; I lose, I return to the Southeast and stay there for the rest of my life, and admit you to be the true orthodoxy.¡± ¡°Haha, that sounds a little petty. How about taking the game up a notch?¡± ¡°Name it!¡± ¡°You lose, your branch returns to Longhu Mountain and the orthodoxy reunites with its birthce until the end of time without vition. Do you have the courage to ept that?¡± ¡°!!!¡± Zhang Shouyang threw Zhang Ziliang¡¯s own words back at him. The others on the stage, as well as Gu Yu, were all astonished. That was definitely over the board! Shocked and enraged, a million ideas were rushing into Zhang Ziliang¡¯s head. He had never expected Zhang Shouyang to be this resolute. After a moment of pondering, his self-confidence took over and he said in a malicious tone, ¡°Fine. I agree!¡± Chapter 345 Chapter 345: The Contest (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu A sunny, windless day. Zhang Ziliang and Zhang Shouyang each took a side of the big, tall tform, with a few disciples of their own standing behind them. All necessary words had been exchanged beforehand and no one was in the mood for pleasantries. One of Zhang Ziliang¡¯s disciples stepped out first. He was bony, elderly, with stubbled chin, and dark skin. His t nose and widespread facial features were clear indications of his Southeastern origin. The domestic Celestial Master Temple was secretly offended by this. During its ny years abroad, the foreign branch at some point had to take in pupils of other ethnic groups in order to maintain a solid foundation and spread the knowledge. The Taoistmunity did not believe in ¡°provide education for all people without discrimination¡±. Contrarily, these fellows could be rather narrow-minded in this aspect: how dare they let a foreigner poke his nose in the venerable skill of Celestial Masters? That was preposterous! The man walked to the middle of the tform and called out loud, ¡°I am Aan, the eldest disciple of the Celestial Master. Who will fight me?¡± ¡°Muzi, you¡¯ll take this one!¡± said Zhang Shouyang. ¡°Yes!¡± A young priest in his early twenties stepped out from behind him at themand. With his big eyes and bushy eyebrows, he left one with the impression of being honest and sincere. He set foot into the test fully confident of himself. He was Chen Muzi. Seniority-wise, he was Zhang Shouyang¡¯s junior brother. However, since Zhang Shouyang had taught him everything he knew, Chen Muzi had always presented himself as Zhang Shouyang¡¯s pupil. ¡°I¡¯m Chen Muzi. May I ask how would you like this contest to proceed?¡± asked he. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s simple!¡± Aan looked him up and down and let out a strangeughter. ¡°We¡¯ll each cast a spell and the one who cannot break the other¡¯s loses. How¡¯s that?¡± ¡°What if we both break the spells?¡± asked Chen Muzi. ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem. I¡¯ll give up right away if you can stand my spell.¡± ¡°That¡¯s wildly arrogant!¡± Frowning, Chen Muzi lowered his pitch. ¡°No problem. Bring it on!¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m in no rush. You probably won¡¯t have a chance to show your skill at all once I get started. You go first!¡± Aan apparently did not think him a threat in the slightest. ¡°That¡¯s just bombastic!¡± Chen Muzi was a young man after all and was not trained long enough to keep his emotions at bay. Aan¡¯s words enraged him at once. Longhu Mountain was a family to him, and he would not allow any disrespect from anyone. Searching his memory, he picked a Taoist skill from what he had learned. Looking around, he suddenly bowed towards the seats on the outer ring of the tform. ¡°My spell works with water. I wonder if the Celestial Master could grant me with a cup of tea, please?¡± ¡°Granted!¡± Zhang Jintong swept a long sleeve across the table, and a white porcin cup was sent towards Chen Muzi by a gentle force. It flew steadily to thetter, who caught it in his hands. He then checked the hot water in the cup with the floating green tea leafs and nodded contently. Holding the cup in his left hand, he pinched a talisman between the fingers of his right hand and chanted in silence, ¡°Like flowing jade and fleeting light, the omnipresent water can form an ocean anywhere. Take form and obey my order!¡± After that, he swirled the talisman lightly inside the cup which disappeared in a puff of white smoke. He then turned the cup upside down and sshed the mouthful of water inside on the stage. Looking up, he asked Aan in a stern voice, ¡°May I challenge you to walk three steps towards me?¡± ¡°Sure, why not?¡± Despite his arrogant attitude, Aan¡¯s deep ck pupils contracted that instant, obviously taking the situation very seriously. Staring at the tiny pool of water, he made his first step with his left foot. Nothing happened. Then he made another step and still, nothing happened. Finally, his third step took him just over a meter away from the water. ¡°¡­¡± The crowd watched eagerly and was all wondering about it when Aan¡¯s left foot slipped as soon as it touched the floor. He lost his footing and plunged forward. Thump! His big face fell right into the water. Time seemed to freeze for a second. Instead of standing back up like the audience expected, he suddenly began to struggle violently, brandishing his four limbs and banging his hands and feet on the floor, as if he was swimming in the water. ¡°Mhm¡­ hm¡­¡± ¡°Bang! Bang! Bang!¡± It was such a small pool of water, but he seemed to have fallen into a bottomless ocean surrounded by water on all sides. He was a drowning man unable to pull himself out. ¡°Ssss!¡± The crowd drew back their breaths in unison, feeling their limbs going numb and their backs chilly, as if they had all be a helpless child standing by a river, fearing of being kicked in at any moment. ¡°That was a nice move.¡± ¡°Hm, the spell was cast well.¡± Lu Yuanqing exchanged a few brief words with Zhang Jintong and both gave their silent approval. The other members of the monastery were also observably delighted. Zhang Ziliang, on the other hand, watched this with gloomy face, but did not seem worried at all. Instead, he snorted and looked in full confidence. ¡°Mhm, mhm¡­ Aaaaah!¡± Aan was still struggling for his life and Chen Muzi began to have misgivings about his spell. Although the rules said until only one remained standing, dead or alive, he had never hurt anyone before and did not have the heart to begin to just yet. He was pondering the idea of picking the man up when Aan shuddered and made a hand seal with moving fingers with much difficulty. He then smacked the floor. Wham! The water sshed and there was a big hole in the tform floor. Aan rose to his feet. His face was bluish white and he was shivering with cold. He genuinely looked like someone who had just been scooped out of the sea. ¡°Nice, very nice! I have underestimated you!¡± Aan guffawed and said maliciously, ¡°I was not going to make it too hard for you, but you have pissed me off. You¡¯ll get what you deserve.¡± ¡°You!¡± Chen Muzi was astonished. His spell was called ¡°Illusion of Drowning¡±, which made the affected think they were trapped in a torrential ocean they couldn¡¯t break out of until they were drowned. He had never expected that his opponent could break away from it! In that moment, his confidence ebbed a little and he cupped his hand. ¡°You have my admiration. It¡¯s your turn!¡± ¡°Humph!¡± Aan spared no small talk. He produced a small gray walnut about the size of a peanut. It was round in the middle, had two pointy ends, and the patterns carved deep into the shell were strange-looking. ¡°I have no one to ask a cup of tea from and I only have this walnut. Do you dare to eat it?¡± ¡°Here!¡± He tossed the walnut, which Chen Muzi caught in his hand. A flicker of hesitation shed across his face, then he opened his mouth and swallowed it. As soon as the walnut was in his mouth, he was struck by its coarse and abrasive texture. It then scratched its way down to his stomach through his throat and he felt he was swallowing sand and stone. Even his windpipe and esophagus felt like burning. ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Chen Muzi suddenly bent down, his face contorted. He clutched his stomach as cold sweat dripped down from his forehead. The walnutnded in his stomach and went straight through his gastric wall against allw of digestion. It was also growing bigger as it fell. He activated his internal energy in a hurry, trying to ward it off, but his energy was useless to the walnut like a torn piece of paper. ¡°Aaaah!¡± The pain was aggravating until he could no longer fight back his moaning. The walnut kept falling down through his five internal organs and intestines, until it arrived at his anal orifice. By now, it was several timerger than when he swallowed it and was blocking up that orifice without the tiniest crevice. ¡°¡­¡± Chen Muzi fought all he could to activate his energy, but to no avail. His internal energy flow had gone deranged in a matter of seconds and his entire body had turned into pressure cooker without an air vent. The pressure inside kept rising and his face had gone frighteningly red. ¡°Oh, no!¡± Seeing this, Zhang Shouyang ignored the rules of the contest, rose to his feet, and ran out to his pupil¡¯s rescue. However, he had just reached the man when there came a loud bang! A gust of bloody mist spewed from Chen Muzi¡¯s anal orifice and his vital essence gushed out. He shrivelled rapidly in front of everyone¡¯s eyes like a ttening balloon. In half a heartbeat, he was nothing but skin and dead flesh. Chen Muzi swayed and stumbled, then copsed to the floor. He was dead¡­ ¡°Aaaaah!¡± ¡°He¡¯s dead! He killed him!¡± The crowd erupted into a tumult. No one had ever seen such a savage scene happening right in front of their eyes. Everyone was screaming and panicking, all trying to run away from this ce. But how could they achieve that? They were packed tighter thanpressed cars in a dump site. ¡°Quiet!¡± Just then, Zhang Ziliang suddenly raised his voice above all the noise. He scanned the crowd and said contemptuously, ¡°Do you have any idea how pathetic you are? You people have obviously been pet dogs for too long. It¡¯s just one dead man and you¡¯re already freaking out. How are you going to live through the strifes of the new world?¡± Chapter 346 Chapter 346: The Contest (Part 3) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu At those words, before anyone else could react, Mu Kun¡¯s face darkened. As the government representative here, he needed the foreign branch to realize how special a treatment they had been given so far. The authorities could turn a blind eye to the fact that they had just killed a man in broad daylight, but a wild talk like that? Did this foreigner have any respect towards him at all? ¡°Priest Zhang, that was inappropriate. Of the ny or so years since this country was established, men like me have aspired to ensure the people could live a prosperous and contented life in a peaceful world. There is a boundary to everything; we would prefer if we don¡¯t hear such words from you again.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Arrogant as he was, Zhang Ziliang was no fool. He immediately cupped his hands in reply, ¡°It came out in the heat of the moment. I do apologize.¡± While that was settled, the rest of the members on the tform were reacting to the result of the first round. Wu Songbai cried out in a low voice, ¡°That was Jianshan Walnut Spell!¡± He offered the exnation before hispanions asked. ¡°It blocks one¡¯s anus with a walnut, which causes an unbearable pain. Ordinary people would die from the pain itself. As for cultivators, because the walnut blocks an orifice, a great amount of energy is gathered inside one¡¯s body in a very short time, which results in an explosion from inside. This spell has been lost for many years. I never expected it had ended up with Zhang Ziliang!¡± ¡°Is there no way to break it?¡± asked Zhong Lingyu. ¡°There is no way, unless your capability significantly surpasses the spell-caster.¡± Wu Songbai stared at the gloating Aan and said, ¡°The spell is vicious and strange. With his demeanor, that man is deliberately humiliating our Celestial Master Temple.¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± With his exnation, the rest of the priests realized they were indeed inferior in their skills in this round. They could do nothing but sigh at the miserable death of Chen Muzi. The people had lived in peace for many years, and so had the Taoistmunity. Longhu Mountain had been cultivating in seclusion all these years with little strife orpetition to talk about. The foreign branch, on the other hand, had to bnce among the interests of many parties in a foreignnd and was handling problems of the dignitaries of the Southeast. Hence, they were much more flexible in a situation like this. Zhang Shouyang had to ept what had happened. Darting a look at Aan, he carried Chen Muzi¡¯s body back to their side and began to n for the young man¡¯s funeral. Another junior brother of his could not stand it and jumped out, shouting, ¡°You wicked, shameless priest! You cheated!¡± ¡°How was that cheating?¡± ¡°The rule we¡¯ve agreed upon beforehand was you each cast a spell. My junior brother created an ocean with a spilled cup of tea and you came out without a piece of tea leaf on you. That was what real spell should look like. What kind of spell was yours by hoaxing him to swallow a walnut? Do we have to swallow anything you take out even it is a poisonous pill?¡± ¡°Haha! Just listen to yourself!¡± With a contemptuous look on his face, Aan let out a grimughter. ¡°We were talking about breaking a spell. If nothing happens in a spell, what is there to break from? I was trapped in your junior brother¡¯s trick and everybody saw it. Only, I was better in the skill and broke out sessfully. Howe that when it was your turn to be trapped, you wouldn¡¯t stop nagging about it and areing up with all sorts ofme excuses?¡± He turned to face the audience and took out another small walnut. ¡°Let everyone here be my witness. My spell is right in this walnut. If you swallow it safely, I will admit my defeat right away! How are you going to break any spell if you don¡¯t swallow it? This thing breaks with a little pinch¡­¡± With that, his two fingers squeezed and crackle! The walnut was crushed into crumbs. He then said in a mocking tone, ¡°Or, are you saying that Longhu Mountain can¡¯t afford losing?¡± ¡°You!¡± The junior brother was infuriated. He was about to argue back when a voice came from behind. ¡°Lechi,e back here!¡± He dared not disobey his senior brother and fell back to the edge of the ring. Zhang Shouyang slowly walked into the inner ring with an expressionless face. ¡°We¡¯ve lost the first round. Shall we continue?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Zhang Ziliang waved his hand. Aan returned to their side and another disciple walked out. This one was fair-skinned, had thin, upturned eyes and a feminine quality to his look. He was actually a Chinese descendant. ¡°I¡¯m Du Xingyan. I wonder which priest do I have the pleasure to get acquainted with in this round?¡± He was much more polite then Aan; even his voice was soft and gentle. ¡°Senior Brother, let me take avenge for Muzi!¡± Short-tempered as he was, Lechi was about to rush out when Zhang Shouyang stopped him. ¡°Jingduan, you go.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± A rather tall young man walked out and cupped his hand. ¡°I¡¯m Shen Jingduan. Pleasure to be your opponent.¡± Before Du Xingyan could reply, he went on, ¡°Competing with spells in turn is tedious. How about we make it a duel?¡± ¡°Sounds fine!¡± Du Xingyan was a man of few words. Lowering his eyes, he took out a small seal and a small, long, and thin g. It was not a turn-based game in which one could only fight back after the other side struck anymore. Since a duel was set, Shen Jingduan jumped back for two meters and took out his talisman. ¡°Golden-armored Giants with countless transformations, the holy decree is here and obey immediately! Aum ming leon nei kuei dou zaa gat ho se!¡± Boosh! The talisman burst into me itself and turned into a dazzling mass of golden light. Immediately after that, there was a mighty exmation, then the golden ring around the sun spurted out resplendent rays of light, and iron armor emerged to dim the light of the moon. A giant warrior over 30 m tall and with a blurry face leapt out of the golden light, holding a mace in either hand. God-summoning or god-inviting spells of Zhengyi were inherited from ancient times. Among those ¡°gods¡±, giants were of the lowest rank. It was a term adopted by both Taoism and Buddhism; the earliest Taoist record of the name was from the Way of the Great Peace at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Legend had it that a giant had a strength of nine bulls and two tigersbined. With the huge maces in its hands, this (downsized) golden-armored giant smashed down with a whooshing sound at Du Xingyan like Mount Tai itself crushing down. ¡°¡­¡± Du Xingyan picked up his blue seal unhurriedly and stamped it on the long and thin g, then tossed thetter into the wind, shouting, ¡°Go!¡± Woooo! A wind came out of nowhere suddenly blew across the tform and as it swept past, fog rose out of the floor and filled the stage. Everyone up on the stage became a blur and the audience could not tell one from the next. ¡°Ssss, it¡¯s so cold!¡± ¡°Why is it so cold suddenly? I¡¯m getting the creeps.¡± The crowd huddled together for warmth as a strange gloominess spread out. Even the sunny sky dimmed a little at this. ¡°Bang!¡± The macesnded and smashed onto something. The fog dissipated briefly before regathering and pouncing at the giant again. It seemed to have the effect of tainting spiritual equipment; in a few moments, the golden light of the giant began to wane. ¡°Teehee,e here!¡± ¡°Little priest, you have such a cute face. Why don¡¯t youe and have some fun with us?¡± ¡°You abominable priest! You wronged me and I¡¯m now dead! You¡¯re going down with me!¡± Shen Jingduan stood there dazed with his eyes wide open. The world he saw now was filled with subi, demons, malevolent spirits, and monsters. They floated in the air and circled around him, disturbing his mind. What was worse, a female ghost hadnded on his shoulder, stuck her soft red lips to his neck, and sucked. His heart lurched, as if all his souls were escaping him. ¡°No!¡± Zhang Shouyang had sent him out for the task because he was prudent, level-headed, and resolute when necessary. Right now, the enemy had hidden himself in the fog and he himself was trapped deep inside. He could not hold on like this for much longer. Once his mind settled back down, he took out a talisman in his left hand, bit the tip of his tongue to spit out some spiritual blood, and moved his right hand across the talisman to write a forbidden character. It had ¡°rain¡± on the top, ¡°fire¡± on the lower left half, and ¡°good¡± on the lower right. The character mean ¡°spiritual official¡±. Upon finishing the character, Shen Jingduan put both hands together in a Zi-Wu hand gesture. This was the most powerful spell he had learned so far; he was ready to give his life for this to seed. He moved into action without any hesitation. Thump! He made a step forward, his sole hammering on the wooden floor, making a muffling sound. He chanted, ¡°Heaven and earth work together in cleaning away the filth and eliminating the trespassers. On the g is the treasured name that spreads endless benevolence. When this chanting finishes and the gnds, everything is recovered!¡± Whoosh! The talisman changed shape. A streak of blue light emanated from his palm, rapidly raising arge section of the fog. Where the blue light had shone on, there was a big hole in the fog, and the wandering ghosts and monsters were screaming. ¡°The Spell of Falling g of Netherworld!¡± Du Xingyan was petrified. His g had been refined by collecting Yin energy and wandering souls, which could confuse one¡¯s mind and steal one¡¯s soul. He had never expected his opponent to have just the spell to restrain his own. Pffft! He also spat out a mouthful of spiritual blood, which sshed all over his g. The next moment, fog rolled up again, spreading out incessantly. ¡°Refine all nine ways until the true, original form is retrieved. Wandering souls of theher world, you shall not hide from the all-seeing me!¡± Thump! Shen Jingduan moved another step forward. The muffled sound of his footstep had now turned intimidatingly clear. Holding onto his firm belief in the Great Dao, he marched with awe-inspiring righteousness. He himself now looked like a golden-armored divine warrior, striding out to subdue the demon. With his determination of fighting with his life and his readiness to sacrifice himself for the spell, the bnce was tilting towards his side. ¡°I hereby offer this soul and body to the immortals above, at whose name the ghosts fled with terror¡­ obey my order!¡± At thest syble of his words, the blue light shone brightly, dispersing all the fog. ¡°What!?¡± Du Xingyan came to himself from the fluster and saw that Shen Jingduan was standing right in front of him. Despite the unusual spell he was able to cast, close quartersbat was not his strong point. Smitten with fear, Du Xingyan turned to flee. ¡°You are not going anywhere!¡± Shen Jingduan reached him in one stride and with thest bit of his strength, he whipped down a streak of golden light. ck! It smashed right onto the top of Shen Xingyan¡¯s crown. ¡°Xingyan!¡± Zhang Ziliang bolted to his feet, but could only watch as his pupil took the strike and sank down. There was then a series of rumbling noises. The wooden tform had finally given up under the pressure and crumbled into pieces. Wooden boards and shards splintered everywhere and the crowd covered their heads and cried out as the pieces showered down onto them. A whileter when the dust finally settled down, the crowd looked up and saw that the dozen-meter-long tform hadpletely copsed and was now a ruin. Du Xingyany right on top of the pile of wood, his face looking up and his limbs dangling. He was not going to survive this. Shen Jingduan did not look much better. He spat out another mouthful of blood; leaning against Lechi¡¯s shoulder, he was barely breathing. ¡°Fine! Fine!¡± Zhang Ziliang carried his pupil¡¯s dead body back to his side with bloodshot eyes and snapped, ¡°You won the second round. As long as we live under the same sky, I will avenge my pupil! Zhang Shouyang,e here for your death!¡± Zhang Shouyang naturally would not be intimidated by his words. He leapt out andnded right in front of Zhang Ziliang. It was a tense moment. ¡°Wait!¡± Mu Kun stepped out at this moment and watched the two with a frown. ¡°The stage has copsed and there are so many people here. You¡¯re both masters with great abilities. For the safety of the audience, please hold off your contest until tomorrow after we reset the stage!¡± He was simply stating a fact, not asking for opinions. Zhang Shouyang looked around at the pile of ruins in the middle and all the ordinary people around, realizing it was indeed no suitable ce for their fight. Zhang Ziliang made it even simpler. ¡°Today, tomorrow, it won¡¯t change anything. You¡¯ve just earned yourself one extra day of your life. Let¡¯s go!¡± With that, he leapt out of the Eastern Yard, followed by his disciples. ¡°¡­¡± The audience felt they had just gone through an emotional roller coaster. Although most of the second round was hidden by the fog, the ending could not be clearer. Holy Jesus! That was not something they got to see on a daily basis! Since when did death be so easy? Two men were killed before they had time to digest it! They were so overly stimted by all that had happened that a strange hush fell over the yard. Quietly, they left the ce in lines. ¡°We should leave too. We¡¯lle back tomorrow.¡± The Nippon band climbed down the tree with a fake awkwardness and disappeared into the crowd. Tony spat with boredom. ¡°I thought I could finally see a big show. These oriental people are so fussy!¡± ¡°Move it! We have other business!¡± the short-haired man reminded him, and they both jumped off the roof. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu looked at the direction where the monastery members were and sent them a buff of ¡°morale support¡± across the air. He then left, secretly shadowing Tony. Chapter 347 Chapter 347: I Have A Sword Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Afternoon, Longhu Mountain. It took nearly three hours for all of the audience to leave the temple in order. Some hurried home right away, utterly freaked out by what they had seen; some were immensely interested in the final round tomorrow; some were so attracted by Taoist skills that they nned to take residence here in Yingtan and couldn¡¯t wait to find a master and start learning. Everyone was talking about the contest and nothing else. The great tourist destination Longhu Mountain itself ended up being ignored. Right now, two men were going up the mountain following the stairs. They were none other than Tony and the short-haired man. ¡°From the two rounds of contest you saw, how much chance do you think we have if we were to run into them one day?¡± asked the short-haired man. ¡°The oriental Taoist skills are indeed strange and mystical. We had very little contact with them before and may be easily trapped if confronted.¡± Tony was no longer smirking and analyzed the situation seriously. ¡°From what I observed in the second round, the fluctuation of their energy waspletely different from our own system. I really can¡¯t say what would happen if we were to fight them head on.¡± ¡°However, judging by the level of destruction¡ªall of those and they only took a tform apart¡ªI don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be too big a threat. In our order alone, there are quite a few members that can achieve that level of damage,¡± said the short-haired man. The two chatted as they climbed on, soon arriving at Zhengyi Temple halfway up the mountain. The temple was deserted as usual, surrounded by tall, wild-looking grass. Tony scanned the outside of the temple and wondered, ¡°I heard that furnace is right at the back mountain. Why is this ce not guarded?¡± ¡°Probably they¡¯re certain that no one can take it.¡± The short-haired man also checked the terrain. The two did not want to raise any alert, so they carefully walked around Zhengyi Temple and climbed on along a path in the back mountain. Before long, they reached the water curtain cave where the furnace was stored. After the Dan-refining activities of Phoenix Mountain and Tianzhu Mountain, this ce had be a little more inhabitable. A crude campsite had been set up outside the cave, together with three wooden cottages. The two halted their steps in surprise as soon as they walked into the opening, for someone else was there before them. Four odd-looking men had knocked out the young priests on guard and were ready to enter the cave. Hearing the footsteps, they turned around and looked right into the two Britannian men¡¯s eyes¡ªthere were sparkles in the air. The four were none other than the stealthy Nippon team. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± No one spoke for a moment; the atmosphere was tense and awkward. Both sides knew perfectly well who the other party was. The team of four had dressed up as ordinary tourists with outdoor outfits. As for the two from Britannia, their disguise was even more remarkable. Despite their Caucasian faces, with some magical cover-up, they looked exactly like any Chinese men. A momentter, Tony pointed at one of the four and said, ¡°Why, aren¡¯t you the one bumping into us outside that bar? No wonder you were able to track us down. You¡¯ve got a talent, I¡¯ll give you that.¡± The team of four exchanged a look and the leader stepped forward, asking, ¡°Are you two here to examine the furnace as well?¡± ¡°What if we are? What if we¡¯re not?¡± Tony chuckled. ¡°If you are, we won¡¯t be in your way. Please take your time.¡± The leader handled the situation following the convention of his country towards western leading powers¡ªthat was, acting perfectly polite and keeping the foul curses to themselves. Harmless as they presented themselves to be, you might not want to know what they were calling you in their heads. ¡°Oh? You¡¯re as polite as the word on the street is. Like the saying of this country goes, it is better to ept deferentially than to decline courteously.¡± Both parties were spies, yet all six weremunicating in perfect Mandarin and could even use themon sayings of the country correctly. ¡°Sure! We¡¯ll be on our way!¡± The leader nodded a goodbye and was going to take his men down the mountain. However, the short-haired man stepped out, blocking their way, while Tony strolled casually towards them and lifted his chin. ¡°Did I say you can leave?¡± ¡°You!¡± One of the Nippon guys clenched his fists and shouted angrily, but was stopped by their leader, who asked resentfully, ¡°If we may have an exnation for this, please?¡± ¡°Since we have ran into each other, we might as well take the opportunity to know each other a bit more. I¡¯m very interested in your Onmyodo. Any secret you care to share with us?¡± That was outright provocation. Anger shed past the leader¡¯s face as he lowered his pitch to a warning tone. ¡°You have pushed it too far. Just because we¡¯re polite doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re afraid of you!¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± Tonyughed loudly and when he spoke again, his voice was full of a sense of superiority and contempt. ¡°The world is going through a great change and the ancient magic revives. It is there for the capable ones to take. Our Britannia is without a doubt the leader of this new world order. Your tiny ind country must be having an illusion if you think you¡¯ll have a share of that. You¡¯re biting off more than you can chew!¡± ¡°You are but words. Am I to assume that¡ª fall back!¡± The leader was caught by surprise and only had time to shout out the warning before he jumped backwards. Hispanions also moved swiftly and dodged in time. The moment their feet left the ground, the dry and even sandy ground where they stood suddenly twisted. The stone and soil dissolved and foul smelling ck water oozed out¡­ in the blink of an eye, the ground several square meters in area had be a small swamp. Needless to say, anyone unfortunately trapped in it would end up being devoured. Now that the other side had made their move, the Nippon leader knew that it would not end peacefully for them today. Moving his hands together, he began to rapidly making a series of hand seals as he called out, ¡°Barrier, guard!¡± Whoosh! A halo lit up in front of him, giving off a dull blue glow. It then expanded and circled around them, seemingly turning into a big glowing sphere. ¡°Humph!¡± The short-haired man turned his wrist and produced a handful of red powder. He then said some words in a ancientnguage. ¡± t?t gewunigen 1 !¡± He sprinkled the powder out, which filled the whole sky like a red downpour. The ¡°raindrops¡±, however, were a solid substance, which bombarded the unfinished barrier repeatedly like hard bullets. Bang! The barrier was severely damaged and flickered in and out of sight to the point of disintegration. Two of the Nippon team perceived the danger and began to make hand seals as well, shouting, ¡°General Dog,e out!¡± ¡°Frog god,e out!¡± Poof! Poof! With two puffs of white smoke, a huge golden-fur dog half the height of an adult and a dark green toad covered by bumps appeared out of the blue. ¡°Shikigami?¡± Squinting, Tony suddenly took out a delicate 15 cm long wooden staff and pointed at the two animals in turn. Whoosh! Whoosh! Two beam arrows shot out from the tip of the staff like green lightning. The huge dog and the toad were not quick enough to dodge and cked as the light hit them. The energy was gone from them and they stood there confused, unable to move. The Nippon team had been losing ground ever since this fight started and they were unable to organize any form of effective counterattack. Although no casualty was inflicted upon them so far, the leader had lost his will to fight. He ordered in a resolute voice, ¡°Cover me!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± They followed an extremely rigid hierarchy, and the subordinates were prepared to die for their superiors at any time without hesitation. While the other three stood side by side to block the way, the leader turned to the opposite direction, faced himself t against a big tree, and began to turn transparent¡ªhe was trying to escape hiding among the nts. ¡°Sw?se gesitas, selfa b?d!¡± The short-haired man chanted a longer sentence in the ancientnguage, squatted down, and smacked the ground with his right hand. With a violent fluctuation, a giant hexagram suddenly emerged out of the ground, covering all four members of the Nippon team inside. Dark beams surged like powerful waves of air, billowing frantically. ¡°Aaaah!¡± The leader was forced back to his original visible form. The next second, he realized he was bing rigid and could not move his legs. Looking down, he was petrified¡ªhis legs had turned into ckish gray stone columns. He could even vividly sense that an earth-attributed element was invading his skin, flesh, tendons, and bones at a maddening speed. He tried to activate his energy, but to no avail. He watched as the petrifaction creeping up his body from his thighs to his chest, neck, then to the top of his head. In half a heartbeat, the four living people had turned into four stone statues. Their facial expressions and postures remained as they were the moment before their death as the four pirs of men stood lifeless in this deserted mountain. ¡°So much so for the Onmyodo.¡± Tony kicked at one of the statues, which crumbled and fell all over the ground. Thump! Thump! Thump! He finished the other three with three more kicks, then turned his eyes on the two unconscious young priests. A savage look flickered in his eyes and he strolled towards them. ¡°Why, so that was what magic looked like?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± All of a sudden, a sound seemed to ring out from over the cloud. The two swerved around and stared at a direction. They were looking at a slope, behind which someone wasing towards them along an unmarked winding path. They first saw the ck hair, then a mild face, and finally his slender body. They couldn¡¯t help but wonder at how ordinary this person looked when they could see his entire person. He was just in. They sensed no strange fluctuation, and adding to that face, the man could almost be considered a weakling. Tony secretly let out a breath of relief, deeming that this guy had snuck upon them because he was distracted by the fight earlier. ¡°Another one seeking his doom. It¡¯s not your lucky day!¡± He had always been the cruel and merciless one. Without another word, he pointed with his magical staff again, shooting out another beam of light. Whoosh! The green light moved at a lightning speed and reached the man instantly. The next second, it was Tony¡¯s turn to open his eyes widely, his face frozen with disbelief. The man snatched it with one hand easily. He caught the beam in his hand¡­ he caught it¡­ caught¡­ it¡­ WTF! Tony felt something had just shattered in his head. It was called a Weakening Ray, which originated from the curses of the Western European witchcraft. After some modification, it was improved and made into a more convenient andbat-friendly magic, which weakened the enemy¡¯s body and emptied their mind so as to win the fight without actually fighting. It was an intangible thing and essentially an energy fluctuation. However, it was now held by a hand as if it was a mere magic trick. ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Watching the green light hopping around in his palm, Gu Yu realized he couldn¡¯t tell theponents of its energy. He was greatly intrigued and asked, ¡°What¡¯s it called?¡± ¡°¡­¡± A million ideas were rushing through the two men¡¯s heads and they dared not answer Gu Yu. This man was no NPC; he was clearly the gate-guarding Boss of a hell-mode dungeon! ¡°Oh, it must be one of your secret inheritances. I can see why you don¡¯t want to answer that.¡± Gu Yu waited a moment. Seeing that he was getting no reply, he nodded and went on, ¡°All right, then I¡¯ll ask something else. Who are you people?¡± ¡°This gentleman¡­¡± The short-haired man cupped his hand¡ªas per the local customs¡ªand said, ¡°We¡¯re professionals of Britannia on a special task and havee here to watch the contest. There was a little misunderstanding with another party, but it has been solved. Sorry for the intrusion. We¡¯ll be on our way.¡± With that, he tugged at Tony and was ready to leave. ¡°Did I say you can leave?¡± It was what they¡¯d said earlier¡ªword for word¡ªand Gu Yu threw it back at them. He made a pressing gesture with his left hand, indicating them to stop. ¡°You were killing at will and took a woman¡¯s soul. Do you think you can leave just like that?¡± At those words, they realized their deed at the bar was discovered. The short-haired man gave Tony a bone-chilling look and tried to justify them. ¡°That was just an ordinary woman¡ªshe was nothing like you and us. Of course, it was inappropriate for us to act so rashly. Please ept our apology.¡± ¡°Just an ordinary person? Ordinary people, cultivators, they¡¯re all citizens of this country.¡± Gu Yu suddenly raised his voice and his words hammered down. ¡°You murdered people in another country, yet you think you can get away with it just like that? On what did you get that idea?¡± Boom! After those words, his entire demeanor changed. The short-haired man stumbled backward several steps and felt his skin prickled. There was an unbearable sensation he could not describe; he was on tenterhooks and petrified. Such pressure was something he had not experienced before, even when facing those grandpas of the Elders. It was not a visible imposing manner. It hade from inside out, from his bones to his soul, affected his sense and reaction, and was an instinctive fear that a lower life form had when facing a higher form of existence. Old as those grandpas were, he knew they were human, and the pressure they gave were human as well. This one, however, was something else. What he was emanating seemed boundless and came from Nature itself! Tony was no longer smirking. He felt wind was gushing into his body from all his pores, which then circled around his internal organs, chilling him to the bone marrow. Damn it, who the hell was this guy? Weren¡¯t all masters of this country up there on the stage? Even Lu Yuanqing, the most powerful one, was far from this intimidating. Like Tolstoy once said (not): Karma, such a bi*ch. In a matter of minutes, they had experienced what the Nippon team must have felt struggling hopelessly for their lives just then. ¡°Now!¡± The two had partnered up for years and made a good team. Seeing Gu Yu¡¯s attitude, they decided to make the first move. The short-haired man held nothing back. With all his magical power, he uttered imprecations and a round pattern suddenly appeared in front of him, in the middle of which was a half-naked woman hanging upside down. Her long hair fell on the ground, her soft and fair breasts heaved, and her lower half was wrapped in a piece of cloth. The woman seemed to be tortured yet enjoying it at the same time. She was a mixture of the purest and the most bewitching creature. As soon as the pattern took shape, it emitted what seemed like ten thousand dark beams with a mysterious cursing power. Like countless ck snakes opening their mouths widley, they were threatening to swallow the enemy whole. Tony also waved his staff in the air, creating a hexagram and activating his most powerful move. ¡°Ha, that looked pretty¡­¡± Gu Yu waved his left hand to move the two young priests behind him first, then with his right hand, he copied his girlfriend¡¯s move, calling out an order. ¡°Sword,e!¡± Clunk! An unsophisticated-looking sword flew towards him at his beckoning¡ªdon¡¯t ask why he hid it in the woods to begin with¡­ The Sword Seed spun inside him, emanating the sword energy. Red me gushed out of the meter-long de, and he swiped it across the air. ¡®I have a sword and it is unparalleled in smashing devils!¡¯ Boom! The surrounding air contorted at the scorching heat, so much so that it blurred the vision and everything was obscured. A Red Sun golden me erupted, the area covered by the sword energy a littlerger than before¡ªit was now over 50 m long and 5 m wide. The me moved across the air with its awe-inspiring integrity and magnificence, stopped by nothing. The dark beams and the hexagram did not slow down the sword energy by even a second. They were effortlessly crushed, along with whatever female species that was on that pattern. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± Tony and the short-haired man¡¯s pupils contracted as they saw a golden ming dragon, whose reflection grew bigger in their eyes, rushing towards them. They were vaporized right away. The golden me did not stop there, but ran all the way into the woods and slowly dissipated after another ten meters or so. ¡°¡­¡± Momentster, everything was settled again and there was now a wide chasm lying across the mountain and running deep into the woods, where stretches of trees and grass had turned into ashes as if fire had been raging there. Not a crumb of those two were left. ¡°That seemed a little overdone. I¡¯d better save it for special circumstances only.¡± Shaking his head, Gu Yu put the sword back to the box. His eyes thennded on something. ¡°Hm?¡± He was looking at something unscratched in that chasm with scorched, charred soil. Picking it up, he saw that it was a hexagram te made from some unknown substance. The front side was golden in color and inscribed with a line of letters that could be a name or a code name. The back was pitch ck and a strange symbol was carved into it: A¡àA¡à. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Gu Yu looked at it closely and found the symbol familiar. He searched his memory, and his face lit up. In the information pack the authorities had given him on the western mystical powers, there was a short paragraph on this symbol. ¡°¡à¡± was the therefore sign in maths, but when put together with ¡°A¡±, it became the symbol of a mysterious organization of Britannia known as A¡àA¡à, or AA for short. It was a sorceral association, but a branch only. Itself was part of a muchrger, more rigorous, and influential organization: the Thelema Magick Order! Chapter 348 Chapter 348: Thelema Magick Order Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu On mentioning western enchanters, names such as Merlin, Nics mel, or the boy who lived naturally came into one¡¯s mind. Actually, just like great men of Taoism, such as Ge Hong, Chen Tuan, and Ye Fashan, who had had great impact on the eastern cultivation system, some real people had also influenced the magicmunity of the West in a simr manner. Aleister Crowley was one of them. He was from Britannia and lived in a period not quite far from now. Born in 1875, he had picked up the hobby of travelling, travelling, and travelling some more since he was little. Well, that, and making love with women he met while travelling. He was once a student of Cambridge University, but dropped out halfway through. Later, he was introduced to an organization called ¡°Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn¡±. The order grew out of Rosicrucianism and was passed down from a time too ancient for any records to exist. The only thing known about it was that it was a ce where knowledge such as magic, alchemy, Tarot, and astrology was taught. In his time, the spiritual essence was going through its exhaustion period, hence the information Gu Yu received from the government deemed the Golden Dawn an organization solely devoted to preserve and pass on ultism, which did not pose any actual threat. Of course, they did not rule out the possibility that other ult skills existed, which, like the talisman sects, could make the magic work without using spiritual essence/elemental power. Crowley soon made his way to the top level of the order when, out of the blue, the order was disrupted. He therefore left Britannia and began to travel around again. Later, he established the Thelema Magick Order, an organization of his own, which attracted numerous disciples. He also built the Abbey of Thelema in Sicily and set up A¡àA¡à at ater stage as a branch. Exactly what did this Thelema order teach? Basically, two things. First, the theory inherited from the Golden Dawn. They believed that everyone was born with a guardian angel, which was not the same thing as the creatures with wings in Christian beliefs. It could refer to a type of energy or an intangible form. The Golden Dawn taught their disciples a unique meditation method, which could open up their consciousness. Once that was achieved, one was able tomunicate with their guardian angel and learn to use magic. The second one was Crowley¡¯s personal hobby. As mentioned above, he was wild about sex. Hence, he created a sensual type of magic of his own and turned the abbey into his love house. Not a day went by without him humping some woman, which he believed would provide him with greater guidance and more power. What was even more remarkable was that he determined whether or not a ritual was sessful based on the quality of his sperm. Well, what more could we say. The above was all Gu Yu read from the information pack on the Thelema order. It was just some general ideas; the more important things such as the origin, property, and energyposition of magic were not mentioned at all. There was one ambiguous line saying that magic had been around for thousands of years and was probably rted to the three major western mythological systems and Kabbh of Judaism. Kabbh was an esoteric school of thought of Judaism. Its most famous legend was that diagram of the tree of life, which no one had been able to give a precise exnation to. Gu Yu understood theck of detail in the info pack, though. After all, those were the fundamental knowledge of the western cultivation system, which could not be easily obtained. ¡°¡­¡± He returned the two young priests to Zhengyi Temple and went down the mountain alone, going over a single idea in his head the entire time. Needless to say, the two foreigners were members of A¡àA¡à. Useless as they might seem, if he were to make an objective evaluation, they should be about the same level as Chao Kongtu and Zhong Lingyu, which was the highest level of the acquired state. For some reason, he got the sense that the inheritance of magic in the western countries was preserved better than the Taoist skills here and the mechanisms of the two systems werepletely different. Take Tony¡¯s weakening ray as an example. As far as he knew, Zhengyi had simr talismans, but the requirement of activating one was much stricter¡ªat least no acquired state cultivator could use them. Yet Tony could use it easily with the help of a magical staff. The East focused more on the cultivators¡¯ own state and themunication with Nature. It was not that the West ignored those aspects, but among the middle and low level members, the use of magical instruments and objects was universal. For instance, the same type of weakening skills required the eastern cultivators to reach a certain level to activate, whereas in the field of western ck magic, maybe a newbie could ¡°open fire¡± easily with the help of a magical staff. Of course, it was only his spection at this stage. After all, he had only just seen the tip of the iceberg. *** Celestial Master Temple, evening. With all the tumult up on Longhu Mountain, anyone not deaf must have heard it. They went up to check and what did they see? The side of the mountain looked as if it had been ploughed over and over again by some tireless bull. They could not even begin to describe how wasted the woods were. Of the entire wide wild country, anyone this wilful could only havee from Phoenix Mountain. ¡°Hello, Sir¡­ hm, yes, everything is going as nned. There was a little trouble, but nothing to worry about. ¡°No problem. It¡¯s all under control. You have my word on that!¡± In the bedroom of a guest house, Mu Kun had just finished a phone call with his superior. After hanging up, he paced back and forth clutching his phone, looking preupied. A couple of minutester, the phone rang again. The look on his face was hard to describe as he picked it up. ¡°Hello¡­ I understand, yes¡­ the thing is, there has been a great deal of publicity about this, it¡¯s not easy¡­¡± ck! The other side hung up on him. Mu Kun smiled wryly as he sat down by the bed. Staring at the tips of his shoes, he heaved a sigh. Why did the government make sure that this contest had to take ce? It was simple: they were after the treasures of the the foreign sect. One had to realize that the ten years of Cultural Revolution had deprived the domestic Taoistmunity of pretty much all inheritance. The foreign branch, on the other hand, was lucky enough to escape from all the destruction. God knew how much inheritance they took with them back then, not to mention the Celestial Master Seal! That was no knockoff, but the real deal passed down from Zhang Daoling himself. Who wouldn¡¯t want it? Zhang Ziliang would never hand it out if the government simply asked for it. If the man was pushed too hard, he could easily pick a major power and take refuge again; the government would thene out empty-handed. Therefore, they had to tickle the right soft spot. Longhu Mountain was the foreign branch¡¯s sore point, hence, it became the stake of the game. No matter who won atst, the orthodoxy would unite into one again and the country would end up with more capable hands. However, it wasmon knowledge that internal strifes were neverending in the political world. Right now, two bosses were supporting the monastery and Zhang Ziliang, respectively. Whether or not the one supporting Qiyun had some secret agenda was hard to tell, but the one on Zhang Ziliang¡¯s side had to be involved in some backroom deal. Caught in the middle, Mu Kuan was all for the greater good. The best he could do now was to keep the game fair and maintain the level of the impact. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Mu Kun sighed again. The thought of the duel tomorrow was keeping him awake. He turned in bed away from the wall and opened his eyes. What he saw gave him a start. Without him knowing it, someone else had entered the room and was now drinking tea sitting on a chair. He bolted up, gave the person a closer look, and calmed down. ¡°Don¡¯t you ever make any sound?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thirsty. Let me have a drink of water first.¡± The tea, which had long gone cold, turned warm again in the cup between Gu Yu¡¯s hands. He chuckled. ¡°You knew I was here all along?¡± ¡°We knew since you bought your bus ticket in Yueyang. The monastery and Celestial Master Temple only just got the news, though.¡± Mu Kun wrapped his clothes around his shoulders and got out of the bed. ¡°What were you up to on the mountain? Why such a big mess?¡± ¡°There was a dogfight¡ªtwo Britannia scouts bumped into four Nippon scouts.¡± ¡°Then?¡± ¡°Killed them all.¡± ¡°Cough, cough¡­ cough¡­¡± Mu Kun choked on his breath and had a fit of coughing. ¡®What have I done to get this man in my life?!¡± ¡°After all, two foreign countries were involved and it could easily turn into a diplomatic row. You should have let us handle¡­¡± ¡°Enough on that. We¡¯lle back to itter.¡± Gu Yu interrupted him with a wave. ¡°I arrived just in time to hear those two phone calls. Why, that superpower game crap again?¡± Chapter 349 Chapter 349: The Duel Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Crap?¡± The corner of Mu Kun¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°You made it sound worse than it is. The bosses are divided, each supporting a different side. I am just the footsoldier without a free will.¡± ¡°Without a free will. Yeah, right.¡± Gu Yu sipped his tea. ¡°Both sides had a dead disciple after the two rounds this morning¡ªboth were outstanding pupils. I know they can¡¯t me anyone but their inferiority in skills, but you people of the government started it all. Just out of curiosity, why are you so sure that you can control the Taoistmunity?¡± ¡°We might have started it, but they are the reason anything could be started at all. If it were not for their hope of reuniting the orthodoxy and Longhu Mountain, the contest would never have taken ce.¡± At this point, Mu Kun simply sat across the table, poured a cup of tea for himself, and chatted on. ¡°You were talking about ¡®controlling¡¯, but that was a bit exaggerated. I would rather like to call it ¡®managing¡¯. Our rtionship with the Taoistmunity is established on the basis of our strength, the resources, the big picture, and more importantly, the will of the people.¡± ¡°The will of the people? How so?¡± asked Gu Yu. ¡°Let me ask you two questions. Number one: we¡¯re fully aware of the fact that the monastery has been trying to break away from the government, but even if they get the ¡®independence¡¯ they want, will they actually turn against the government?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu gave it a thought and replied, ¡°No, they won¡¯t. On the contrary, they will help you with maintaining the stability.¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s correct. Lu Yuanqing and the rest are all smart people. Cultivation is indeed hard work, but is running a country an easy job? It is the same analogy between achieving immortality and providing food, amodation, and social stability for a poption of 2 billion. Without a government, who will do all of those things? I don¡¯t think anybody in this country wants to see the nation disrupted and taken over by upheavals when all factions care only about their own interest and the country as a whole loses all its international prestige. ¡°Cults are a different matter; those people count on troubled times, when they can fill their own pockets and usurp the power. The monastery has their thousand-year-old belief, which would steer them clear of that direction.¡± Mu Kun paused a little and went on. ¡°Number two: whom do you think themon people would prefer to depend on? Them or us?¡± ¡°I see where you¡¯re going with this. Of all the people in this world, one in a million is probably qualified enough to be a cultivator. Themon people will always be the greatest proportion of the poption, and cultivation can¡¯t solve practical problems,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Exactly. We have known each other for years and I would like to think we¡¯re friends. Since we¡¯re on this subject, I¡¯m going to bepletely honest with you.¡± Mu Kun rose to his feet and paced around in the room, sighing. ¡°Frankly, if it weren¡¯t for the international front, we would rather kill all cultivators than to leave any potential threats behind. But the great change is happening all over the world and we can¡¯t afford to lose the extraodinary power when everyone else has it. ¡°Therefore, the government and the cultivationmunity were never archenemies, but more like a symbiotic coexistence where both parties need the other side. ¡°What worries us the most now is the possibility that they will form a society of their own, one that iswless and chaotic, where people kill freely topete for resources. ¡°Thest thing we want is a prized society. That is why the cultivationmunity must be able to mingle with the ordinary one. ¡°To us, cultivators are really a type of scarce talent, whom we will train and manage at the early stage¡­ as for theter stage, well, who knows will happen then?¡± Mu Kun talked for a long time and the expression on his face changed with his various emotions. ¡°But the social sses are bound to change.¡± Gu Yu took up his remark. ¡°Naturally. Inevitably, cultivators will rise to the superior order of the society. The bosses might even make the exception and secure a few official positions for them.¡± ¡°Bureaucrats? That¡¯s a bit far-fetched. A priest with an office is saying goodbye to the Great Dao.¡± Gu Yu shook his head. They discussed many things in depth, but Gu Yu knew that Mu Kun had at least kept one important thing from him. They couldn¡¯t be naively leaving social stability to the goodwill of cultivators alone; there had to be a specializedw enforcement agency. He had not seen anything like that so far, but he believed these people must have prepared for that. ¡°Speaking of which, we are very fortunate that it is Phoenix Mountain in this position now instead of Shamanism.¡± That was as far as Mu Kun would go into on that topic. He then changed the subject to something less sensitive. ¡°Haha, we have always been focused on immortality alone, but something different hase up¡­ there!¡± Gu Yu tossed him the te, which Mu Kun caught in his hand and examined. After a moment of consideration, he said, ¡°I think this is the symbol of an organization in Britannia.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s called A¡àA¡à, a branch of the order of Thelema, which I couldn¡¯t care less about. What I¡¯m interested in are the more ancient things, such as the origin of magic, and the tree of life of Kabbh. It is said that if you can decipher that diagram, you will solve the most profound mystery of the universe. ¡°That is a very interesting theory. The description of universe and Nature in Taoism is too abstract, and the western theories are more figurative and pragmatic in that aspect. They were also looking into a lot of areas. I¡¯d like to search for some answers there,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°I see. Mysterious forces are rising in Britannia, Gaul, Germani, and Sicily¡ªand such power is the strongest in these countries. Witchcraft is spotted in the continents of America and Africa as well. The West is in upheaval at the moment. Cultivators of a small country even worked with a political party and took control of the government. We only learnt that a short while ago.¡± ¡°How about Uncle Sam?¡± asked Gu Yu curiously. ¡°Ha, they nearly annihted the native Americans when they took over thend back then, how much power do you think they can gather now?¡± sneered Mu Kun. ¡°¡­¡± From his attitude, Gu Yu realized the bosses must have nned this all out. God knows how many secret blows would the two superpowers exchange under the table from now on. He checked the time and said, ¡°Well, I¡¯ll let you go back to your sleep. I¡¯ll walk around somewhere else.¡± With that, he shifted a little and was out of the room without making a sound. Mu Kun shook his head and went back to bed. *** The wind was blowing gently at thiste hour of the night. Gu Yu wandered around the Celestial Master Temple aimlessly, passing one guest room after another. Some upants did not realize his presence at all, while some reached out with their mental force which shrank back as soon as it reached him. In a word, no one disturbed him. He walked all the way to the inner hall, where he found Zhang Jintong still awake, sitting there looking haunted. ¡°Celestial Master, how have you been?¡± ¡°Layman Gu!¡± Seeing him entering, Zhang Jintong jumped a little and hurried to his side right away. ¡°You¡¯re finally here. It is so good to see you!¡± ¡°I see you¡¯re still awake. Worried about the duel tomorrow, I presume?¡± Gu Yu chuckled. ¡°I am¡­ that Zhang Ziliang is a very cunning man with various talismans. I¡¯m worried that Shouyang won¡¯t be his match.¡± The old priest invited Gu Yu to sit down and expressed his worries outright. He might as well say it out loud that ¡®If you¡¯re not in a hurry, please lend us a hand.¡¯ ¡°Celestial Master, I owe you a big one. So as long as you ask, even if this is a family matter, I will help you no matter what even if it means my reputation will be tramped.¡± Gu Yu blinked and grinned. ¡°But I have to make it clear. I can crush that Zhang Ziliang like a pottery chicken, but all cultivators have their own pride. With me meddling with the duel, if Zhang Shouyang ends up with an unsettled mind that will affect his future cultivation, that¡¯s too big a responsibility for me to take.¡± ¡°That, that¡­¡± Zhang Jintong broke into sweat. With the doubt in his nephew¡¯s winning, he was clutching at all strawsing his way. If Gu Yu did not show up, he was going to turn to Lu Yuanqing for help. What Gu Yu said was very reasonable. To his nephew, a friendly interference would certainly be an insult. ¡°There, there. Don¡¯t worry too much. I will take care of it if things are really going south for us.¡± Gu Yu was only here to reassure the old man. Seeing how distraught Zhang Jintong was, he put away the teasing tone andforted him, ¡°Please take a good rest tonight. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow!¡± With that, he flipped his sleeves and began to dissolve into the air. The next moment, he was a cloud of mist, which then disappeared without a trace. *** Early next morning. It was still a little dim outside when a team of enthusiastic audience rushed to Shangqing Pce eagerly, trying to take a good spot. What they saw baffled them: the gate of the pce was tightly shut; it was not open for audience today. They simply would not have that. The bunch of people shouted and yelled, asking for an exnation, but werepletely ignored. Some bolder ones climbed onto the wall and tried to get in from there. As it turned out, special police force was guarding the wall from inside. After some trial and error, they finally figured out the unspoken rule: climb the wall all you want, the yard is off limit. Hence, the two walls on the west and south sides of the yard were packed with people straddling them, reminding one of dried meat hanging over the eaves. The rest of the crowd could only squeeze themselves outside the wall. The whole scene almost remind one of Beyonce¡¯s concert or World Cup games. The duel still took ce in East Yard. The copsed tform had been cleaned away, but was not set up again. The big square had been left empty. It was understandable: they were afraid of the impact of their killing moves. Before long, everyone arrived and all took their seats outside the Devil-subduing Hall. Bai Yu and his buddies were lucky enough to secure a few spots and were nowining while sitting on the wall. ¡°That guy was so not cool. He just left like that, didn¡¯t even say goodbye.¡± ¡°Exactly. We¡¯re lucky that nothing was stolen, or I¡¯d definitely call the police. Don¡¯t just bring anyone in from now on.¡± ¡°Maybe he had an emergency. You¡¯re totally over-reacting!¡± Bai Yu was still putting in a good word for his new friend. ¡°What sort of emergency could¡ª holy sh*t!¡± ¡°Look there! There!¡± One of the guys suddenly pointed at the hall and the rest followed his finger. They almost fell off the wall. Right at the end of that line of seats, there was somehow an extra chair. A fellow sat in it as if hepletely belonged there. It was none other than Gu Yu (Gu Jiang to them) himself. ¡°¡­¡± They goggled at him. Who the hell was this guy? How did he get to sit among those master priests¡­ although he was sitting in thest seat. Gu Yu sensed their stares, but now was not a good time to look back. He shifted his attention to Tan Chongdai beside him and chatted on. It had been a while since theyst met. Since the old man took up Dan method of Quanzhen, he had been making slow progress only. It could be because of his old age orck of talent. He was in poor health to begin with. It was thanks to Gu Yu and Xiaozhai¡¯s help that he was able to stretch out his limit for a few more years. Now that his life was really close to its end, hisplexion was a mixture of decline and unnatural prosperity, which looked rather strange. ¡°Zhang Shouyang!¡± Everyone had just sat down when Zhang Ziliang jumped out with an angrily cry. He then said gloomily, ¡°Our hundred-year-old feud ends today. Come to meet your death!¡± ¡°It is time.¡± Zhang Shouyang walked out from his side and stepped into the fighting ring. He was not good with words and only gave a short reply. ¡°Good. Let¡¯s begin, then!¡± With that, the two both stepped back. It was going to be a fight until there was only one standing; they moved into action without another word. ¡°Stronghold of ten thousand meters, rise without showing yourself¡­ go!¡± Shang Shouyang called the first shot. Dark light shot out of his sleeves, splitting into multiple streaks, falling onto Zhang Ziliang like an escape-proof. It was Iron Castle Spell, which could trap the enemy tightly inside. ¡°Petty trick!¡± Zhang Ziliang took out an ancient bronze seal, which was none other than the Mountain-dominating and Evil-killing Seal he¡¯d used when catching the ghost. It was one of the lower level seals of the Way of Celestial Masters. ¡°The primordial heaven and earth and the first ancestral Qi is a power no gods or ghosts shall withstand¡­ Stop!¡± He tossed the ancient seal high into the air. It rotated in mid-air so that the bottom was facing downwards, and now seemed to weigh a thousand tons. Despite its small bottom surface, the seal was able to cover a very big area. It then shed with the dark light with a loud bang. The dark light disintegrated in a matter of seconds, but the ancient seal did not stop there. It smashed down with a whoosh, carrying its great weigh with it. Zhang Shouyang had nned to try its power. His fingers moved into a spell-casting gesture and golden light erupted out of him, forming a protective shield. He then gathered his energy on his palms and raised his arms. Bang! The golden light shuddered and held its shape. At the impact of the seal, Zhang Shouyang¡¯s energy flow was not disturbed. He had sessfully withstood this direct attack. ¡°The Guarding Spell? Humph, I know that petty stash of Longhu Mountain like the back of my hand!¡± Zhang Ziliang was not affected at all. With the seal back in his hand, he sneered, ¡°Be my guest and use whatever you have. I will break every single one of them. You will die admitting my superiority!¡± Chapter 350 Chapter 350: Let Me Lend You A Sword (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The manner of Zhang Ziliang was partly his nature and partly exhibited to purposefully undermine Zhang Shouyang¡¯s morale. He was not actually bluffing when he imed that the foreign branch knew more about the inheritance of Celestial Master Temple than the domestic one. ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Shouyang¡¯s face remained indifferent at his opponent¡¯s words. Reaching into his pocket, he took out three talismans andmanded, ¡°Golden de of the flying scissors,e quickly at thismand. Now!¡± Whoosh! At his calling, the three talismans turned into three streams of golden light as sharp as des and crisscrossed like formidable scissors. They then split up towards three directions, blocking all possible routes Zhang Ziliang could escape to. It was known as Golden de of Flying Scissors Spell, which was very effective in disrupting defense. ¡°Humph!¡± Zhang Ziliang snorted and took a seven-branched willow twig from one of his pupils. It was about 30 cm long and had thin and lush green leaves. Seven branches extended out from it and tawny bark covered the entire twig except for the very end¡ªa nk section had been left out as the hilt. ¡®Hm?¡¯ This move took everyone by surprise. They went through all existing Taoist skills of Zhengyi and found nothing resembling what he was doing. In talisman sects, willow twigs were usually used for ghost-expelling, evil-counteracting, mind-calming, etc. But only single-branched twigs were used in those circumstances¡ªthey had never seen anything that required a seven-branched one. Zhang Jintong felt as if his heart was going to pop out of his throat. It was obviously a Taoist skill unique to the foreign branch. Poor old man, he still had to go through such worries at his old age. He dared not even blink now and kept his gaze at the fighting ring. ¡°Strike once, the sky is clear; strike twice, the earth is clean; strike thrice, people have nowhere to go¡­¡± Walking in Kui Gang steps, Zhang Ziliang made an Evil-backfiring hand gesture with his left fingers and waved the willow twig with his right hand while chanting. The three streams of golden light were almost on him, but when they were just half a meter away, they suddenly halted in mid-air and began to quiver as if they were afraid of something. Zhang Ziliang chanted on in an unhurried voice, ¡°Strike four times, ghosts can¡¯t escape; strike five times, gold melts on its own. Go!¡± At those words, his right hand jerked upwards and the willow twig began to elongate at an unbelievable speed as if it were on some miraculous catalyzer. It soon grew to over three meters; Zhang Ziliang aimed it at a streak of light andshed down like a steel mace. ¡°Pop!¡± Stricken headfirst, the golden light shuddered and could no longer keep its shape. It then broke into golden sprinkle before disappearing without a trace. ¡°Go!¡± ¡°Smack! Smack!¡± Zhang Ziliangshed down for two more times and the other two streaks of golden light both dissipated, unable to put up any form of resistance. ¡°What¡­¡± Zhang Shouyang looked surprised for the first time. What sort of Taoist skill was that? It couldn¡¯t be anything normal! Raised and taught by Celestial Master Temple, Zhang Shouyang had a sharp eye for such things. To the untrained eyes, the willow twig seemed to have whipped the talisman into pieces, but in fact, there was a fluctuation within the twig that was rted to the mutual promotion and restraint between the five elements which just happened to restrain the talisman. ¡°I told you, use whatever means you have. I will break every single one of them!¡± Drawing back the twig, Zhang Ziliang¡¯s voice was full of ridicule and contempt. ¡°Golden-armored Giants with countless transformations, the holy decree is here. Obey immediately!¡± Zhang Shouyang was not a man easily shaken. Like Shen Jingduan did earlier, he also summoned a golden-armored giant. ¡°Roar!¡± The giant leapt out of the golden light with a threatening, angry roar. The giant maces in its hands then smashed down at Zhang Ziliang with a whooshing sound. Zhang Ziliang remained where he was and whipped down the twig again. ¡°Strike six times, spirit distingerates on its own. Go!¡± ¡°Smack!¡± With ash of the willow whip, the air shook violently as if it was exploding. The twignded right on the crown of the giant, which, despite being an intangible spiritual being that could not be touched by any physical attack, disintegrated at this strike. The golden light lost its form and disappeared. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Zhang Ziliang roared out aughter. Swollen with arrogance, he shouted, ¡°Anything else? Bring it on!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Shouyang¡¯s brows furrowed as he quietly threw out another minor spell¡ªthis time an arrow-like me transformed from a talisman¡ªwhich shot at Zhang Ziliang at a lightning¡¯s speed. ¡°Strike seven times, the fire extinguishes itself!¡± ¡°Smack!¡± Same as the previous two spells, the me dispersed at the strike. ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Shouyang¡¯s face was livid now. He had guessed it right: the seven-branched willow twig had an ability to change itself. Whatever spells its opponent cast, as long as the spellcaster did not surpass the twig too much in their capability, the twig would create a way of restraining the spells. Remember the Nine Swords of Dugu 1 and its sword-defeating, saber-defeating, and palm-defeating stances? This twig pretty much worked the same way. ¡°Save you trials. Let me enlighten you!¡± Zhang Ziliang acted like a cat ying with its food as he announced, ¡°You are looking at The Grand Supreme Ghost-cursing Scripture. Of course, it is very likely that you have never heard of it before, which is not a big deal. Your life is not in vain, after all, because you are going to be killed by it today!¡± ¡°The Grand Supreme Ghost-cursing Scripture!!!¡± Before Zhang Shouyang could react, Zhang Jintong shook violently in his seat and slumped to the side. Lu Yuanqing held him up in a hurry and asked, ¡°Old Master, what is this Taoist skill?¡± ¡°It, it¡­ sob, Shouyang is in grave danger! He¡¯s in grave danger!¡± Zhang Jintong was overwhelmed by the news and his spasmodic sobs were keeping him from forming a coherent sentence. Wu Songbai, the abbot of the Maoshan Sect, remained calm and fulfilled his duty perfectly as an introductory NPC. He said in a grave tone, ¡°Of the numerous and unfathomable Taoist skills Zhengyi has, some are righteous and fair, while others are vicious beyond imagination. The Grand Supreme Ghost-cursing Scripture is one of thetter. The scripture records a variety of cursing skills and is part of the Yellow God spells system. ¡°I have only heard my master mentioning it in passing. The scripture contains the curses of Nature and Qi that can exercise restraint on everything. The effect of this curse can make metal melt, wood break, water dry out, fire extinguish, mountains fall, stones crackle, ghosts surrender, and spirit disintegrate¡­ the saying is that with the divine curse of the Celestial Master, nothing will disobey hismand! ¡°By working it against the attribute of the opponent, the spellcaster is invincible. This is a mighty scripture, and Zhang Ziliang only has a smattering of it. Had he known how to cast the spell properly, Shouyang would already have been wiped out of the face of the earth with a single word.¡± ¡°There really is a Taoist skill as formidable as that?¡± It was not just Lu Yuanqing¡ªeveryone present was struck dumb by these words. Despite its over two thousand years of glorious history, Celestial Master Temple looked like an impoverished family after the natural cmities and man-made misfortunes of the modern time. As it turned out, when the skill representing their true capability was demonstrated, it was mind-blowing! ¡°Shouyang¡­ sob, Layman Gu, Layman Gu¡­¡± Zhang Jintong finally calmed himself down a little and remembered a savior was actually here today. He turned to look at thest seat in a hurry and saw that Gu Yu was still sitting there, chatting with Tan Chongdai and apparently also discussing The Grand Supreme Ghost-cursing Scripture. He seemed to be greatly impressed by it. ¡®Stop admiring the goddamn thing!¡¯ The old man suddenly had the urge to run over there and p that fellow with his shoe. Anxious as he was, he still had to behave appropriately as the sect leader he was. Gu Yu had promised him; he trusted the young man would not let anything happen to his nephew. Zhang Jintong fought back his agitation and went on watching the fight. After figuring out Zhang Ziliang¡¯s n, Zhang Shouyang took a defensive position and stopped actively making attacks. ¡°Why, running out of spells already? It¡¯s my turn, then!¡± Zhang Ziliang took out that Mountain-dominating and Evil-killing Seal again and tossed it into the air. ¡°Go!¡± The bronze seal turned and smashed down like a thousand-ton hammer. Zhang Shouyang cast the same spell again and golden light covered his body. ¡°Humph, Guarding Spell again? I don¡¯t think so!¡± Lashing out the willow twig violently, he whipped it onto the golden glow, which dissipated right away. Zhang Shouyang had no choice but begin to move. Walking with Gang steps, he dodged the seal that smashed onto the tiled ground. Broken tile pieces flew everywhere as it made a dent in the ground. ¡°Go!¡± ¡°Go!¡± Boom! Boom! Boom! The seal bombarded the fighting grounds for the next couple of minutes. Whatever spell Zhang Shouyang used, it was destroyed by the willow twig. He was now running around in the yard, looking like a drowned mouse. Zhang Ziliang was obviously using the scripture as a cure-all and fail-proof solution. Had Zhang Daoling been here to see it, the master would have probably burst into mes with anger. It was a reckless waste of god¡¯s gift! ¡°Layman! Layman!¡± Zhang Jintong turned to Gu Yu again, who refused to meet his eyes. Our fellow was enjoying the show. Chapter 351 Chapter 351: Let Me Lend You A Sword (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Run! Run for your life! Hahaha! The descendent of the oh-so-mighty Celestial Master is useless like a disowned dog! You don¡¯t want to miss this, everybody! This is the orthodox group of your country! This is the most capable man of Longhu Mountain!¡± In a matter of minutes, what looked like a thousand gaping wounds covered the yard¡ªthanks to the smashing seal, which fed the arrogance of Zhang Ziliang, who simply could not stopughing. Zhang Shouyang was already cornered and was enraged by those words. He suddenly shouted, ¡°You have gone too far. I will fight you till myst breath!¡± Standing still, he drew out a peach wood sword from his waist and chanted, ¡°Immortal of the peach wood sword, please ept my invitation and descend to this world. With my petty skill, I shall activate a flying sword which takes lives without hesitation. Obey this as an urgent call from divine soldiers!¡± With a wave of his hand, a fluctuation covered the wooden sword, which shot into the air and aimed right at Zhang Ziliang¡¯s neck. ¡°Sword-summoning Skill, another petty one!¡± Zhang Ziliang scorned and flipped his willow twig again. ¡°Strike nine times, wood snaps on itself. Break!¡± Smack! The willow twig whipped onto the peach wood sword, but thetter did not snap as he expected. Instead, the wooden sword suddenly sped up and whooshed towards him, moving so fast that it turned into a blurred shadow. ¡°It¡¯s not a Sword-summoning Spell!¡± Astonished, Zhang Ziliang jumped sideways and rolled on the ground, barely escaping the de. Whoosh! Before he could stand still, a sharp pain ran up his left arm. He turned to look¡ªthe ce where his left forearm used to be was now empty. He could see bones protruding out of his upper left arm, as well as the gushing blood. ¡®!!!¡¯ His vision went dark and he felt like fainting. Right away, he smacked a talisman onto himself and swallowed a pill, which was barely able to stop the bleeding together. ¡°Great¡­¡± Zhang Jintong saw the whole thing. He almost rose from his chair when he sat quietly back again. Lu Yuanqing also shook his head and sighed to himself: that was such a pity! It was indeed. This one was called Edict Sword Skill, a minor Taoist skill discovered in the White Crane Underground Pce. It had no sword energy or glowing de, but was an unorthodox trick that had little potential for future improvement. It was a downgraded version of a flying sword, but the advantage was also apparent: little was required from the spellcaster, it was easy to use, and any sword¡ªbe it peach wood or fine steel¡ªwould do the trick. The Edict Sword Skill contained one move only. The sword charged out, fast enough to be a blurry shadow, and was powerful enough in most circumstances. In in words: ever heard of Enchantments (as in Minecraft)? It was a little trick created by Priest White Crane himself as a hobby which he casually recorded in a jade slip. Zhang Shouyang had nned to take Zhang Ziliang by surprise with it, but thetter managed to dodge at thest minute. ¡°Zhang Shouyang!¡± Zhang Ziliang was blind with rage and lost all control. Ignoring all the onlookers that might be affected, he tore a yellow scroll out of his pocket, yelling, ¡°You had iting! It¡¯s all your fault! ¡°Soldiers of theherworld hear me out. Fetch your iron chains and locks and follow me! Those that lure and snatch the living souls, take all you want and spare no one!¡± He spat a mouthful of spiritual blood onto the scroll, which flickered with a red light, but immediately dimmed as if there wasn¡¯t enough power to activate it. Zhang Ziliang watched it with a gloomy face. He then ground his teeth, grabbed his upper left arm with his right hand, and ripped down. ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± The audience felt their blood curling at the scream. The man had torn off what was left of his left arm. Blood gushed out, soon soaking the yellow scroll. He was convulsing with pain. Picking up the broken arm, he pressed hard on the scroll, making a blurry mark. ¡°Those that lure and snatch the living souls, take all you want and spare no one! Soldiers of thehend, show yourselves!¡± ¡°Roar!¡± Whoosh! Instantly, sinister wind began to blow in the yard as the ferocious screams of ghosts filled the air. The people sitting on top of the wall were all terrified as if they were witnessing a living hell. The scroll was a minor skill scroll left behind by an ancestor¡ªsealed inside were five soldiers from theherworld. Once released, they would hunt down all the living souls there were, sparing no one. Mu Kun¡¯s face went pale, for this had definitely gone beyond what they¡¯d agreed on regarding the contest. Lu Yuanqing also bolted to his feet, ready to intervene. Zhang Shouyang, on the other hand, watched the unfolding event with the same solemn face, which now looked a little unresigned. He sighed sadly inwardly. ¡®All the past Celestial Masters up there, am I doomed to die here today?¡¯ ¡°Let me lend you a sword.¡± ¡®Who¡¯s there?¡¯ He shuddered. A cool, mild voice repeated at his ear, ¡°Let me lend you a sword.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Pursing his lips tightly together, Zhang Shouyang was vaguely reminded of a certain fellow. However, right now was not the time to think. After a moment of hesitation, he made a swift wave and summoned the peach wood sword again. ¡°Hahaha! Is that all you¡¯ve got?¡± Zhang Ziliangughed sardonically and snarled, ¡°Go! y him, pull out his tendons, and rip out his soul alive! He will be damned for eternity!¡± ¡°Roar!¡± ck smoke surged out of the scroll inrge clouds and gathered behind him. One could faintly make out the malicious-lookingherworld soldiers within who pounced out together with the cloud. Whoosh! Meanwhile, the peach wood sword flew towards him again. It was as in as before and nothing seemed to have changed. Waving the willow twig, Zhang Ziliang watched the wooden sword moving closer and was reassured that it was the same as before. He sneered, ¡°Strike six times, spirit dissipates itself. Now¡­¡± ¡®!!!¡¯ The second half of his sentence choked in his throat. His insolence was reced by horror and the smirk froze on his face. He yelled frantically, ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Boom! The sword seemed to fly in from another world. Halfway, a glow suddenly erupted out of it, and golden me surged out of the de. It was mighty, it was brilliant, and it was emanating a killing will that dominated all heaven and earth! No words could describe its speed and vigor. It cut through the willow twig head-on before stabbing right into the thick walls of the cloud. ¡°Roar!¡± ¡°Hiss¡­ pop!¡± The fiveherworld soldiers howled in agony and the ck cloud tumbled like waves. It was now shrinking at an observable speed. Golden light filled the air and little dots of me swayed with willowy motions, reminding one of lotus flowers, covering half of the yard. The mixture of red and ck was dazzling, and the audience watched this with thumping hearts. Almost instantly, theherworld soldiers turned into ashes. With the glowing golden de, the blue sky was revealed and the ghostly fog dispersed! ¡°No, no¡­¡± Zhang Ziliang stood there, as dumb as a piece of wood. Utterly confused, he had even lost the courage to resist. His eyes then prickled at a dazzling sight before everything went dark. He did not even feel the pain. ¡°¡­¡± The others watched it with an even dumber look on their face as the wooden sword cut into the willow twig, punched through the ck cloud, and came right at his face. It was easier then cutting a piece of tofu. Thump! Zhang Ziliang was split into halves down his spine, which then fell to either side and dropped to the ground simultaneously. Dead silence! A hush fell over East Yard, so quiet that they almost forgot to breath. Those on the wall felt their jaws went ck. Both their minds and bodies had stopped working and were in a shocked state. Wasn¡¯t the man fleeing the foreign priest the entire time? How on earth did he win? Well, it had to be it! Zhang Shouyang was acting helplessly on purpose and made his killing move at the right moment! Some were so excited that they fell off the walls, but were still grinning as they fell into a heap on the ground. ¡°Hahaha! Our Longhu Mountain is awesome! The Taoistmunity is awesome! Our country is awesome!¡± ¡°Master!¡± ¡°Master!¡± Zhang Ziliang¡¯s disciples rushed towards him and collected his dead body. With their patron gone, they were now moving slowly with faces hard to describe. There was no longer any confidence in them now, and in their sorrow was an even greater fear. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± Zhang Shouyang, on the other hand, turned to look at the seats. His eyes flitted past his thirty-five fellow members of Qiyun and stopped at thest seat, which was now empty. ¡®Ha, the man does like to go unnoticed!¡¯ He smiled wryly to himself. After all, he had only won this battle because someone else helped him. For a moment there, he was so dispirited that his mind was wavering. But almost right away, he was the steadfast man again. ¡®I was fighting for the Taoist orthodoxy, and I was simply not capable enough yet. I will work harder from now on and find a way to return this favor.¡¯ ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Mu Kun heaved a sigh, feeling neither sad nor happy, for the result was within his expectation. There were only so many possibilities: Longhu Mountain won, the foreign brach won, or with Gu Yu¡¯s help, Longhu Mountain won¡­ the rtionship between Gu Yu and Celestial Master Temple was taken into ount when they nned the contest back then. Shaking his head, he walked slowly out and announced loudly, ¡°Zhang Ziliang was defeated. Longhu Mountain has won!¡± *** Zhang Ziliang was dead, but his disciples were still here. As agreed, they were free to leave, but the orthodoxy had to stay. Longhu Mountain didn¡¯t have to deal with these things; the government would handle everything for them instead. These disciples had been serving Zhang Ziliang for many years and knew all about his secret stash. They were clever enough to submit to fate. After all, spill the beans and they could live. Apart from Aan, all the other disciples, who were of Chinese origin, hinted that they wanted to join Celestial Master Temple. The foreign sect had taken a lot of things with them, among which were 72 talisman spells and 18 minor refined instrument of various kind, all of which were not so powerful but could be used in a variety of special ways. The more impressive one was that Mountain-dominating and Evil-killing Seal, a 300-year-old peach wood refined sword, two purple talismans, and five blue talismans. The Celestial Master Seal indeed existed, but was not here with Zhang Ziliang. Instead, it was kept in the secret chamber back in Celestial Master Temple in the Southeast, together with the Supreme Ghost-cursing Scripture. There was only one way to proceed with this. The BIMAUP then discussed with the monastery, sending out a few capable men to take back the seal, which we would not go into details about. After the duel, they gathered together back in Celestial Master Temple. Although Chen Muzi was dead and Zhang Shouyang would need a few months to regain his strength, the general atmosphere was quite jolly. ¡°Congrattions! The Way of Celestial Masters has been divided for a century but is now reunited under your watch. You will be remembered forever for this contribution.¡± In the inner hall, Lu Yuanqing made a toast to Zhang Jintong, using tea as his toasting wine. ¡°Haha, you tter me! I cannot take the credit. It was by sheer luck that we managed to win the contest. Thank you all for all your help!¡± Now that the problem was solved, Zhang Jintong couldn¡¯t be happier. His face crinkled up like a blossoming rose as he smiled and he was waving his hands to show his modesty. ¡°You¡¯re being too modest. You and Senior Brother Zhang made it happen. No one can deny that.¡± Everyone was in a good mood and the pleasantries flowed out easily. Taoist priests socialized when necessary like everyone else; it was only human nature. ¡°Granduncle!¡± After much chatting, Zhang Shouyang, who had been silent until now, asked suddenly, ¡°Where is Layman Gu? I need to thank him in person.¡± ¡°He left before the contest was over, saying he was going back to Yingtan first and heading back for Phoenix Mountain tomorrow.¡± Zhang Jintong paused a little before saying, ¡°I think it¡¯s better if you don¡¯t meet him. Keep your thoughts to yourself for now. Meeting him will only make it awkward.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Shouyang went quiet for a while and nodded. ¡°Ok.¡± Tang Chongdai heard their conversation and asked suddenly, ¡°Abbot, when are we going back to Qiyun?¡± ¡°Tomorrow, if everything goes as nned.¡± ¡°I see. In that case, I¡¯ll be away this afternoon ande back tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Sure. Please be careful.¡± Generally, Lu Yuanqing stayed away from the priests¡¯ personal affairs and treated them with respect on a daily basis. ¡°All right. I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± Tan Chongdai was acting a little strangely. Cupping his hands at the rest, he walked out of the inner hall. Zhang Jintong watched his gaunt back as he walked away. Maybe because they were both elderly men, he was suddenly struck by sadness. ¡°The old priest does not have much time left.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The room fell into silence at this. It was after quite a while when Lu Yuanqing sighed softly. ¡°No, he doesn¡¯t.¡± Chapter 352 Chapter 352: Time and Fate Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Yingtan, afternoon. Far fewer tourists were roaming the streets today now that the contest was over. Most of them were on their way back home¡ªof course, some needed an extra night of rest here. Half a day had passed since the event and the umted emotions were still fermenting; the whole city was still immersed in the excitement of the aftermath. Imagine you had just had the perfect reproductive activity and were now lying in bed, fatigued but rxed. Your mind was in harmony with your body, utterly satisfied and perceptive. You felt like wandering the great void, sensing your great alignment with the universe. In one word: sweet! Everyone in every corner of the country seemed to be talking about the three rounds of contest. This was the very first direct presentation of the Taoist skill at a rtivelyrge scale. Especially thatst sword stance of Zhang Shouyang, which far surpassed themon people¡¯s imagination, making it the topic of the moment. ¡®I have a sword, and it is worth bragging about!¡¯ Like the westerners with their imagination of magic, a lot of people in this country grew up dreaming about meeting a sword immortal one day. Of course, angry voices were inevitable. Some were indignantly denouncing the fact that people were killed in broad daylight in public and the authorities had acquiesced to it¡­ if such things were allowed to go on, moral frameworks would fall apart, the society would go into chaos, the nation would be in peril, h, h, h. Correspondingly, some refuted such usations, saying that with the great change of the world, those who clung to the old state of mind of the safe and stable days would only end up being the first ones to die. They instead appealed for a change in the public mentality so as to adapt to the new environment, etc., etc. Both sides had their point. Be it politically or economically, or even in aspects such as literature, art, food supply, medical service, contraception, etc., it was inevitable that whenever transformation took ce, a great number of less adjusted would end up eliminated the first. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu walked along the street carrying his sword box, brushing past countless strangers as he wandered on all by himself. Entering November, the south of the country was also getting colder. Yingtan, however, was surrounded by the five mountains of Longhu, Gui Peak, Sanqing, Wuyi, and Wufu, and was rich in the spiritual essence, hence the climate remained rather mild here. Mutated creatures were appearing in rising numbers in the surrounding area. Because of the neighboring Celestial Master Temple, the authorities had made the safety here their top priority. Necessary arrangements were made beforehand, and no animals were bothering this city. He did not go see Bai Yu and his buddies, for meeting them again would be way too embarrassing. He wandered around for a while longer when his phone rang. Taking it out, he saw that it was from Long Qiu. ¡°Hello, Brother¡­ oh, it¡¯s nothing, just want to ask when are youing back¡­ ¡°Gosh, stop pushing me! Stay away from me¡­¡± ¡°Video! Make it video!¡± Xiaojin¡¯s loud voice came from the other side and Long Qiu hung up. Immediately, there was an iing video call invitation. Gu Yu found a quiet spot and tapped the ¡°ept¡±. The screen switched on, showing the faces of the two girls. ¡°Brother-inw, what was it like in action?! Tell me! Tell me!¡± Xiaojin was pressing her face on the screen and all Gu Yu could see was her two ck pupils rolling around like some Japanese horror movie. ¡°Can¡¯t you read it off the inte?¡± He held the phone away from him as far as possible. ¡°Those are just gossips. You¡¯re the official channel! Hey, hey, hey, you cheated thatst sword stance, didn¡¯t you? That was aaaaawsome!¡± ¡°Kind of. I lent him a streak of sword energy, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Haha! I knew it! Those people could never have done it themselves!¡± Little Soap threw back her head and roared withughter, but stuck her face back to the screen two secondster. She then became all sad. ¡°Sigh, it must have been so much fun watching it in person. There hasn¡¯t been any real battle since 1999. Too bad I didn¡¯t have the chance to see this one.¡± ¡°What happened in 1999?¡± asked Long Qiu curiously. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Xiaojin put on her most surprised face and waved her hands in excitement. Opening her mouth, she acted as if she was going to pour everything out before forcing all the words back down her throat again. ¡°God, I can¡¯t! I can¡¯t tell you!¡± ¡°Are you nuts? What on earth happened?¡± Long Qiu was all the more baffled. ¡°Sigh, it still felt like yesterday to me. I was in kindergarten ying house with my fellow little friends when the sun was blocked out and all the light was gone. Only five years old back then, I fulfilled my duty and fought on the battlefield¡­ sob, I was the only surviving soldier of my entirepany! I still wonder these days that if Battleship Pangu made its way out 1 .¡± Our young Drama Queen was enjoying herself again, gathering up her emotions as she spoke to the point that she was rubbing her eyes as if she was going to cry. ¡°Enough with the crap!¡± Gu Yu couldn¡¯t stand it any long and interjected, asking, ¡°How is your Sky-turning Seal going?¡± ¡°That things is too big! Doing it every day is driving me crazy!¡± Xiaojin raised her head and was her normal self again. That did note out right! He was the one driven nuts now. Long Qiu was the good girl as always and tranted for him. ¡°She doesn¡¯t have enough energy and that stone is too big. She¡¯s not going to finish within forty-nine days; we probably have to wait a while longer. Oh, by the way, Shengtian is going through renning and ces like Yidao River, Erdao River, Sandao River¡­ are all going to be expanded and upgraded. They are nning to build new roads as well. We haven¡¯t heard anything about Bai Town, through.¡± She filled Gu Yu in, ticking off each piece of news counting her fingers. Renning? Gu Yu frowned. That was going to affect a lot of things, which they couldn¡¯t possibly talk through over the phone; he had to go back to have a look. He then asked, ¡°Why, where¡¯s your sister? Why isn¡¯t she here?¡± ¡°Oh, Sister is in Sand Ridge today. Do you remember that big spider we caught the other day? She wants to breed it and is going back there to find a male one for it. Sister said the silk could be very useful. We can sew clothes with it or make it into things like small umbres.¡± Spider silk, small umbre¡­ The corner of Gu Yu¡¯s mouth was twitching as he watched Long Qiu talking about things she only partially understood. He was suddenly amazed by the girl on the other side of the line. The fact that she was living with a family as odd as theirs and could still stay this innocent, as well as keep her sanity, was no less than a miracle! The three chatted for a little more before hanging up. Gu Yu had yet to put away his phone when it rang again. This time, it was from Tan Chongdai. *** Street corner, a park. It was a woody ce with verdantwn. The sun shone down mildly on the grass through the gaps in the branches, speckling the green surface with different colors. A grotesque rockery stood on one side, surrounded by a pool in which koi were swimming around at ease. A few tourists were walking casually along the cloister, crossing the wooden bridges, or strolling the stone-paved paths. It was a most serene and beautiful picture. Gu Yu and Tan Chongdai walked side by side. The old man¡¯s Taoist robe was attracting much unwanted attention and he had to gesture with his wide sleeve towards a deeper corner of the park. The two had a lengthy conversation during the contest, when Gu Yu noticed the old man¡¯s declining health, but found it inappropriate to bring it up under that circumstance. He was thinking of offering some help when Tan Chongdai reached out to him first. ¡°Old Priest, I saw that your inner energy was draining up and greatly weakened. I have a few pills here. Take half a pill every three days, maybe it will restore your health.¡± He took out his gourd, poured out seven or eight pills, paused a little, and put them back in. He then passed the entire gourd to the old man. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I am fully aware of my condition. Themp is going out. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll live to see another year.¡± Tan Chongdai pushed back Gu Yu¡¯s hand that was holding the gourd, his voice calm but filled with sorrow. ¡°We cultivators have an instinct about our own life. I began to feel it half a month ago. This is fate; there¡¯s nothing we can do about it.¡± ¡°Please stay positive. New Taoist skills are being discovered constantly now. Live long enough and you will have your opportunity.¡± Gu Yu tried tofort him. ¡°Opportunity¡­ haha¡­ opportunity¡­¡± Tan Chongdai let out a littleughter in his husky voice and sighed. ¡°Layman, I started cultivating under my master¡¯s instruction when I was three year old and didn¡¯t reach my first achievement until I was in my thirties. My master said I was not blessed with a good natural endowment, but with assiduous work, I would achieve the Great Dao one day. For the past seventy years, I dared not ck off for a minute. I have been work diligently and conscientiously. In the end, I could not achieve what abbot¡ªShouyang¡ªachieved in his twenty years of work, let aloneparing to what you were able to do.¡± ¡°Old Priest¡­¡± ¡°Please, let me finish.¡± He waved Gu Yu off and continued, ¡°After that, I knew that my master was onlyforting me. It made sense. If working hard alone could make one achieve the Great Dao, then all those diligent people out there would all seed, wouldn¡¯t they? ¡°I have spent my whole life in Qionglong Mountain, guarding the little inheritance I was bestowed with. I thought I was going to die unaplished¡­ then you two showed up at my doorstep, and then the Taoistmunity was shaken and the ancient skills recovered. It was then that I realized a great time had fallen upon us. I knew perfectly well that I was way too old for anything to happen to me, but I did think it was my opportunity. ¡°I then joined the monastery as the thick-skinned abbot and became the fellow member of Qiyun with all those juniors so much younger then me. I even betrayed my own sect and abandoned the fundament of Qionglong Mountain to switch to Quanzhen Dan method¡­ then what? ¡°Ha, I was simply born at a wrong time, and time waits for no one! ¡°Pursuing immortality is fighting against nature for the extra years, and one needs all three of natural endowment, opportunity, and hard work to achieve it. I only have thest one, and that is probably my destiny.¡± He then turned to look at Gu Yu with a smile. ¡°Your pills are too precious to waste on me. I will only be hanging onto this life for nothing, and I am not that pathetic.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu fell silent. It was exactly as the old man said; his vitality was draining up and without solving the rudimental problem, any help was simply stretching out his years. Even if he taught Tan Chongdai the essence-consuming method right now and help him to reach the innate state this instant, he would only extend the old man¡¯s life for a few more years. After that, what would he do? The lifespan would only reach the hundreds after breaking into the Human Immortal state. Even as excellently endowed and perceptive as he and Xiaozhai were, together with the help of the Mind-enhancing Dan, they had not yet broken into that state. Would Tan Chongdai have the time to wait that long? Cultivation was to break the shackles of the limit of life, which was what one was doing in the innate state, Human Immortal state, and Immortal state¡­ it was meant to be the toughest problem like the realm at the end of the world and the pir that held up the sky. Fresh forces continually came forward to take ce of those who had pushed ahead in trying to reach this destination, and many died at the starting point or halfway through. It was simply insurmountable for them. Moreover, Tan Chongdai was already diposed on his path towards the Great Dao. After a lifetime of hard work, he was stopped by ¡°not well-endowed¡± and ¡°born at a wrong time¡±. The blow was too heavy, and he had lost his hope. Death was inevitable for him now. ¡°Sigh, as unresigned as I feel, I still think I am fortunate enough to experience all this. I have met you, be good friends with all my fellow members of the monastery, ande to know that Taoist skills will exist for eternity in this world; I have no regrets.¡± Before they knew it, they had reached a quiet and remote corner of the park. A few clusters of green bamboo rustled at the breeze. Tan Chongdai stopped abruptly and said, ¡°With what was happening earlier, I didn¡¯t get the chance to exin myself clearly. I have contacted Layman because I wanted to bid you a formal farewell and to ask you for a favor.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Gu Yu bowed solemnly, as a junior should when being instructed by a senior. Watching him, Tan Chongdai was trembling a little and his voice sounded hoarser than ever. ¡°After I die, my soul will scatter all over thisnd. It could end up with any animal or nt. ¡°I don¡¯t have any unreasonable expectations, but if Layman achieves the Great Dao and learns the skill ofmunicating with souls one day, when you see some animal of nt that you think has a part of me in them that allows me to be born as a cultivator again in another life¡­ please give me a chance¡­ please¡­ please!¡± The old man burst into tears and could not make a coherent sentence after that. Chapter 353 Chapter 353: A Change of Heart Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Gu Yu was fidgeting. Well, maybe not, but he felt a tightness at his chest that he could not describe. He felt his heart was weighed down by a chunk of lead, making it difficult to breath. After bidding Tan Chongdai farewell, he went back to Bai Town immersed in such an emotion. He was so overwhelmed that he only came to himself when he was up on the mountain and saw the familiarndscape again. ¡°Give him a hand. Give him a hand. Be careful, this is the newest sake the old master just developed. Don¡¯t spill it!¡± In the courtyard of the brewery, Guo Fei was standing on the side, instructing two young helpers carrying the wine jars into the cer. The old man Gao Mingde was not even here. With all the training of the past year, Guo Fei was capable enough to handle most situations on his own. With the growing harvest of the fruit and grain on the mountain, the variety and quantity of the liquor was growing as well. Guo Fei and Gao Mingde alone were not enough to take care of everything, so they recruited two more young men, both locals of Bai Town. ¡°Brother Fei, I heard that the Master ising back today, is that right?¡± ¡°I heard it too. I haven¡¯t met him yet since I came here. Why, tell us a bit about him. Is he very strict? I¡¯m a little afraid, with him being an immortal and all.¡± The two young men closed the cer and finished their job for the day. As always, they began to nag at Guo Fei for more stories. ¡°Ahem, let me tell you this: Master is the kindest man. I have never seen him losing his temper. But you have to know your ce and behave yourselves, or you two will not only losing your faces, Master Gao and me will be ashamed as well. We two have been here for a long time. Back then, Master asked for us specifically to work here. If only you could see that¡­¡± Guo Fei loved such asions when he could brag about his history with Phoenix Mountain. He was about to go on when he shuddered, for a voice rang out in his ears. ¡°Come up here after dinner!¡± ¡°M-Mas¡­¡± He blurted out a syble before covering his mouth to silence himself, then nodded repeatedly. ¡°Brother Fei, what¡¯s wrong?¡± asked the two young men curiously. ¡°Nothing! Off you go! Time to sweep the yard!¡± Guo Fei shooed the two out of the room and puckered up his face. Damn it, he was caught right in the middle of bragging. He wondered what punishment would he getter. Gu Yu walked his way up and notified only a handful people along the way. He soon reached the Cottage of Pure Mind. ¡°Try this!¡± He had just stepped into the valley when he heard the clear voice. Immediately after that, the sh of a de ripped through the air with an explosive sound like a stretch of shining silk. The sword was moving at such an astonishing speed that it was at his nose almost as soon as he heard the voice. It came with a whooshing wind, threatening to destroy everything in its way. ¡°That was fast!¡± Gu Yu was a little stunned. Even with his reaction speed, he felt he did not have enough time. Bending up his fingers, he gave the de a flick in a hurry. Clunk! His fingertip struck right on the face of the de, making a sound reminding one of a dragon roaring, sending rippling waves through the air. The sword changed its direction and narrowly brushed past his shoulder. Crack! Wham! A big tree behind him was cut down in the middle, but the sword did not slow down at all. It flew into the woods, and as if a hurricane had arrived, there was a series of snapping and crackling sounds, leaving behind a stretch of fallen trees. ¡°Brother!¡± Our 174 cm tall little girl Long Qiu capered into sight, her gait somehow funny but befitting her at the same time. She was as happy as a little bird as she asked, ¡°How¡¯s my sword? What do you think?¡± ¡°That was the Whirlwind Sword Manual?¡± Gu Yu rubbed her head and praised, ¡°You¡¯re only just starting with it and it¡¯s already this powerful. Sweep across allnds and clean away all ten thousand miles ofnd¡ªit is indeed the fastest sword!¡± ¡°Teehee, I¡¯ve only just developed my sword energy. It¡¯s blue and very well-behaved. Oh, and there¡¯s my sword.¡± She summoned the long sword back and swept it across the air. ¡°I refined it again with Hollow Stone and it¡¯s much fiercer now. Since I don¡¯t have other good materials at the moment, I¡¯m using it to nourish my sword energy for now.¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s right. We¡¯ll find you a better one in the future.¡± The two went inside while chatting on. Gu Yu looked around and asked, ¡°Where are Xiaozhai and Xiaojin?¡± ¡°Jin Jin¡¯s working in the training court. Sister didn¡¯t find any spider in Sand Ridge, so she went to Mobei. She should be back this evening, though.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Gu Yu nodded and asked, ¡°You were saying Shengtian is being renned over the phone. What¡¯s that all about?¡± ¡°Um, I don¡¯t know how to exin it, either. I kept a newspaper for you. Wait here!¡± Long Qiu ran into the room and came back with a thick stack of newspaper. Taking it, Gu Yu saw that it was the most official local press¡ªShengtian Daily. This one came with supplement as thick as seven or eight pages. It was packed with relevant issues on this renning. Gu Yu was not in the habit of sitting around idly, so he made himself a pot of spiritual tea andy down under the old tree, reading the newspaper carefully. ording to UN, cities with a poption of over a million were defined as megacities, although the actual standard differed from one country to the next. In the Chinese standard, those with a permanent resident poption of 5-10 million were megacities and those with a poption of over 10 million were megacity behemoths. Large cities had a poption of 1-5 million; medium-sized cities had a poption between half and a million; those with a poption below half a million were small cities (could be further divided into Type I and Type II small cities). Shengtian had an overall area of over 12948 km^2 and a poption of 9 million. Under its jurisdiction were ten districts, three counties, two county-level cities, 58 towns, and 20 townships. The distribution of these areas was extremely skewed throughout Shengtian, mainly located in the west and south, leaving the north and east sparsely popted. For instance, the route going through Bai Town was in the east of Shengtian, and only contained one county-level city and nine towns and townships. This new n was going to expand towns and townships as a whole. For example, the five towns from Yidao River to Wudao River would take in a great number of migrants from the provinces of Heishui and W, making them into Type II small cities with poption below 200 000. The southwestern region of Shengtian was going to be cramped. Cities and roads were squeezed together, hardly having any room in between. Simrly, Shengtian would be upgraded into a magecity behemoth. Maybe because of its special status, Bai Town was not mentioned in this list. Those were merely the general outline Gu Yu summarized. The actual n was scarily detailed in all aspects, including housing, education, medical service, civil administration, etc. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Gu Yu let out a long breath after he finally finished reading the newspaper. He was no professional in policies, butmon sense alone made him wonder: where would the state get all the money for the development of such a scale? There was bound to be a massive deficit, and what would the government do? Issue treasury bonds, raise taxes, and print more money. Even a hopeless student like him could imagine how life would turn out to be for themon people! Gosh, life simply would not give him a break these days. He had been getting nothing but bad news recently, which was driving him restless. Before he realized, he had been lying under the tree for an entire afternoon. Little Soap was indeed working diligently. It was evening time, yet she still hadn¡¯te back. Instead, boisterous sounds wereing from the direction of the valley entrance. ¡°This is even bigger! Has it gone spiritual already?¡± ¡°So what if it has! It stood no chance!¡± ¡°Obviously! Who would? It¡¯s our Fairy Lady we¡¯re talking about here!¡± Rising to his feet, he saw that Xiaozhai hade back carrying a giant spider with a team of people trailing behind her. Looking up, she spotted Old Gu and dismissed the others. She then tossed the spider on the ground and chuckled. ¡°Why, having azy afternoon here? Have you eaten?¡± ¡°I was waiting for you to have dinner together!¡± Eyeing the spider, Gu Yu made himself sound worried. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to go all the way to Mobei for a spider. That must have been very tiring.¡± See? That was how an experience boyfriend spoke! When your girlfriend had done something that was either giving you a hard time or unnecessary, under no circumstances should you point it out directly. Instead, you should shift the focus to care for her own well-being. ¡®You didn¡¯t have to go through all the trouble! I was only worried about you! You have been busy all along and you¡¯re taking so much responsibility on your shoulders. You¡¯re wearing yourself out! What if you fall sick from it? What am I going to do then¡­¡¯ h, h, h, you know the drill. Of course, Xiaozhai would never buy it. She knew Gu Yu even better than she knew herself. She stood still right away and scanned him from head to toe, grinning. ¡°Why so blue? Come, talk to you big sister.¡± Chapter 354 Chapter 354: Start with Something Small Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re depressed?¡± Under the old tree, Xiaozhai yawned after hearing Gu Yu¡¯s story, then leaned back into her chair. ¡°Excuse me? Stop looking so bored! I¡¯m being very serious here,¡±ined Gu Yu. ¡°So am I. I¡¯d be depressed too if it were me to go through all that, but you were telling me what had happened not because you wanted my constion; you wanted an affirmation. So, an affirmation I will be giving you.¡± Xiaozhai picked up her small, round teapot and caressed it between her hands. She reminded Gu Yu of a big cat curling upzily in its cozy nest, ying with a fluffy ball with its pink pads. Slowly, she began to talk. ¡°Old Gu, we¡¯re both selfish people, and selfishnesses in various degrees¡ªsome believe everyone for himself and devil takes the hindmost, while others wouldn¡¯t mind helping out their friends and families. We¡¯re thetter kind. We can probably count all the people we really care about with two hands. National identity is too big a thing for us to worry. Of course, every now and then, we will stand up against injustice or champion the good, kill the tyrants, help the people, and save the world, but it¡¯s all up to us. We give a hand to those we like and kill off those that piss us off. That¡¯s how we live our life. The bottom line is, whatever choice we make on such asions, we won¡¯t be bothered by it afterwards.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Pursing his lips, Gu Yu said, ¡°Yea, I agree.¡± ¡°But what¡¯s happening now? Well, your mind is disturbed and you¡¯re unsettled. You want to do more than that: you¡¯re actively trying to take more responsibility and make more things your own problem. I have no problem with that! Do whatever you want! Seeded, your Taoist belief is sublimated, and you¡¯re one step closer to immortality; failed, you have Phoenix Mountain to fall back onto. We¡¯re all in this together with you. What are you afraid of?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Gu Yu was speechless. He was still used to the idea of girls being the moody ones in couples/Taoistpanions, who would turn to their boyfriends forfort. It was the other way around with them. Xiaozhai was so lucid and level-headed in certain aspect that ever since they met, nothing seemed to disturb her¡ªother than things to do with her master. Talk about the pressure of having such a strong girlfriend! What was more, she was a year older than Gu Yu, making her a teacher, apanion, an elder sister, and a friend at the same time¡­ why, that almost sounded as if he had four girlfriends at the same time. ¡°In my four years of cultivation, although I have my own understandings of this new experience, I¡¯ve always kept them inside and ignored them subconsciously. It was only until I met the old priest and heard his words, sigh¡­¡± Gu Yu heaved a sigh and said slowly, ¡°I felt I had been too damn lucky, that it seemed unreal and that a whole world of people out there might be jealous of me. It¡¯s giving me the jitters. ¡°As the saying goes, thew of nature is like setting an arrow on the bow: you lower it if the string is pulled too high, raise it if it¡¯s too low, reduce the strength if it¡¯s drawn too tight, and pull hard if it¡¯s too loose. ¡°We¡¯re now in a prosperous time when everything ising back into a new life cycle, but people will end up in such different ces because of their different destiny. As the torchbearer, I do feel ashamed for that. I would really want to help them within my capability.¡± ¡°And?¡± Still ying with the teapot in one hand, Xiaozhai flipped her fingers of the other hand and the big spider just about to wake up was knocked out again. ¡°The Technical Sword of Youxian Sect!¡± Gu Yu had enough of a spider rolling around under his nose; with a wave of his hand, he sent it flying to the other side of the river. He then waved again, cradling his girlfriend between his arms, saying, ¡°I want to teach it to others and spread the knowledge. Of course, I won¡¯t rush it. I¡¯ll start with people here in the mountain.¡± ¡°Great! We were keeping things to ourselves in the beginning because everyone had so little. Now that everyone is having something up their sleeves, the first one opening up gets the initiative. There¡¯s one thing I need to remind you, though.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Gu Yu. ¡°Them!¡± Xiaozhai pointed upwards and chuckled. ¡°In case someone up there wants to y dirty, it¡¯ll be safer for you to open up to the public only after you reach the Human Immortal state. You can then set up the altar and spread all the knowledge you want, enlightening the ignorant living souls¡­¡± Set up an altar, spread the knowledge, and help themon people! OMG! The prospect Xiaozhai depicted was almost rousing in Gu Yu¡¯s ears. He was about to respond to that when Xiaozhai said, ¡°I see that Guo Fei and Li Dong havee up here¡ªyou have made your pick, then. I¡¯ll go work with that spider. See youter.¡± With that, she shifted her body and was on the river bank the next moment. With another swift move, she disappeared, taking the spider with her. Immediately after that, her voice came from the southeast side of the valley. ¡°Don¡¯t take too long. I¡¯ll be back soon!¡± Arge piece ofnd had been circled out in the southeast corner as a farm, where the little boars they caught earlier were also kept. Gu Yu almost blushed a little at thest reminder. He then walked out of the cottage and saw that four men were waiting outside. He said, ¡°Come in.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± He led them into the meditation room, where Old Shui, Li Dong, Guo Fei, and Zheng Kaixin arranged themselves in a row. Up till now, there were 43 people directly employed by Phoenix Mountain. There were fifteen orchard workers, tea growers, and brewers on the mountain in total. After a lengthy ¡°probation period¡±, Li Dong barely made his way into the ¡°management level¡±. There were also Zheng Kaixin and his mother. Old Shui was in charge of the manor down the mountain where Zhang Qianqiu and six others took care of reception and maintenance work. Old Shui had also set up a small freightpany covering the route between Shengtian and Bai Town, which had another nine employees. Near the manor was a workshop making talisman paper, which had five workers. As for out there in Shengtian, Yan Han took charge of Pavilion of Gems. With the growing amount of goods going in and out, he could no longer handle the business alone and had hired two more people. These old acquaintances had all been put through tests and passed. They each had their own shorings, but overall were good people. As for Zheng Kaixin, he was brought back to Phoenix Mountain as a potential pupil. Old Shui was almost part of the family. Yan Han was still in Shengtian, so the three men and a boy were all he summoned here today. Actually, there was one more candidate¡ªFang Qing, Uncle Fang¡¯s young daughter. It was slightly different with her, though. These four here all knew about Gu Yu¡¯s real identity and were here to learn, but Fang Qing knew nothing about this side of Gu Yu. He made a mental note of talking to her about itter. ¡°Old Gu, why are we here? You want to check the ounts? I have the ledger with me!¡± Old Shui was closer to Gu Yu than the rest and had always said the first thinging to his mind. The other three dared not behave the same way, though they all thought they were here because Gu Yu wanted to check the ounts and make inquiries. ¡°Put that away!¡± Gu Yu rolled his eyes at Old Shui, then straightened his face. ¡°I have asked you toe here today because there is an important thing I need to tell you. I have a method here that can train your body and mind. It is an excellent way to set up a foundation, but it is very strict in the natural endowment of the practitioner. With it, you will have a very slim chance of breaking into the innate state. Do you want to learn it?¡± Boom! It was as if a bomb had gone off in the small room¡ªeveryone was over the moon. Old Shui was the calmest, whereas the other three were all dumbstruck, especially Li Dong, who had snuck into Phoenix Mountain for this day to begin with. Holy crap! He had lived to see this daying! As the only kid here, Zheng Kaixing was exhrated, shouting, ¡°Yes! We do!¡± ¡°Can I ask what the skill is? Aren¡¯t we a bit too old for that?¡± asked Old Shui. ¡°Yes, do we still have time to learn it?¡± Guo Fei chimed in, for he was well into his thirties. ¡°It is a sword skill. Although it is very basic, it is more powerful than you think. Regardless of how old or untalented you are, even with one or two stances of it, you¡¯ll gain a way to protect yourself. If you¡¯re more perceptive and master the skill, it will benefit you greatly.¡± ¡°Then what are we waiting for? We¡¯ll do it!¡± Waving his big hand, Old Shui made the decision on their behalf. ¡°Good. Now, go get yourselves a wooden sword and a steel sword each. We¡¯ll begin three dayster.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± After the four left, Gu Yu paced around in the room for a while and suddenly rxed, chuckling. ¡°Well, I¡¯m doing it; there¡¯s no need to overthink it.¡± The job was finished faster than he¡¯d thought and Xiaozhai had note back yet. He took a shower, then having nothing better to do, he rearranged the various Taoist skills Phoenix Mountain had so far. There were four major skills: Essence-consuming Method, Thunder Technique, Devil-smashing Sword Manual, and Whirlwind Sword Manual. Because the essence-consuming method was calm, tolerant, and had no attribute, one could cultivate it together with the sword manual without suffering from ipatibility. Gu Yu and Xiao Qiu, for instance, both had essence-consuming method as their main skill and used sword manuals as their assault method. Of course, one could always cultivate in the sword manual alone. Thunder Technique, on the other hand, was quite the character. It was so domineering that it would not allow any parallel methods. Nada! Zilch! Phoenix Mountain had seven chapters on cultivation, which he now expanded to ten with quite some new content. Section One contained the Method of Consuming Six essences, which could take one as far as the Earthly Immortal state. Also recorded in the same chapter was the Boundless State Conjuring Technique and Shadow-switching Technique, of which Xiaojin had taken the former and Xiao Qiu thetter, only that they were not using them frequently forck of capability. Section Two contained ¡°Shenxiao¡¯s Tinkling Jade Book of Great Thunder¡±, which could also take one as far as the Earthly Immortal state. Section Three was the Devil-smashing Sword Manual and Section Four the Whirlwind Sword Manual; both also enabled one to reach the Earthly Immortal state. Each sword manual was of a different individual system, including the Technical Swords. Section Five contained three talisman skills: Flying Talisman Message Technique, Shape-changing Talisman, and Five-transformation Rain-praying Talisman. Section Six contained three transportation skills: Void-arranging Technique, Small Moving Technique, and Water-walking Technique. Section Seven had eight basic skills: Small Confining Technique, Storage Technique, Mental Force Refinement Technique, Forty-eight Hand Movements, Snake-controlling Technique, Wood-appraisal Technique, and Swordcraft. This was the sword skill passed down through Xiaozhai¡¯s sect. It was mighty enough, but one could not reach the innate state by practicing it. Section Eight contained three passages on refining instruments. Whisk of Tranquility: recorded in the Seal of Patriarch Sa. ming Cloud Needle: Gu Yu¡¯s own instrument. Thundercloud Grit: Xiaozhai gave it to Xiaojin. Sky-turning Seal: Xiaojin was still working on it. Qingping Sword: the long sword Long Qiu refined again. The saber Green Leaf: the short de Xiaozhai refined again. The ninth section contained three passages on Dan and three incense recipes. Essence-gathering Dan: recorded in the Seal of Patriarch Sa, a consumable for Human Immortal cultivators; very difficult to make. Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan: recorded in the ¡°Book on the State of Mind of ck Bead¡±, consumables for innate state cultivators; sessfully made. Evil-expelling Dan: consumable for acquired state cultivators and ordinary people; sessfully made. And the additional recipes containing unusual materials to help with cultivation. Essence-gathering Incense: suitable for acquired state cultivators; elerated the speed of refining Qi. Peach Blossom Incense: made from the Peach Blossom Miasma, confused the mind and had an arousing effect. Civet Incense: a delightful incense Gu Yu concocted in passing. Unlike the peach blossom one, this was mainly for private use between the young couple. Section Ten contained a book called ¡°Cultivation Anecdotes¡± and a map of the mutated regions of the country from the north to the south, which he hadplied himself. Some were not included in the app, and those that were in the app were described in more detail here with Gu Yu¡¯s own experience. *** The essence-consuming method and Thunder Technique were so strict on the requirement of natural endowment that they could not be applied to ordinary people. The Technical Sword was also strict, but it would at least improve one¡¯sbat capability. Even if they couldn¡¯t reach the innate state, training themselves into capable acquired state cultivators would not be a bad idea. The Tao Family of Diannan knew they duty very well and had sent Gu Yu some jade stones shortly after they returned to Phoenix Mountain. The stones were not of the top quality, but were good enough to make into jade slips. After finishing rearranging this, he sealed up the ten jade slips, the Seal of Patriarch Sa, and the drawing of the eight-armed evil Buddha into their library. The once empty bookshelves were growing fuller by the day, which was such aforting picture. He was imagining buildings ten thousand meters high erupting out of the ground in his head. The next second, our Old Gu turned around and saw Xiaozhaiing towards him. His triumphant face cked and he went into the kitchen to heat up their dinner. However high those buildings were rising, the phoenix back to his nest was no prouder than a rooster. It was time to fulfil his duty again. Chapter 355 Chapter 355: New Pupils Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Early morning, the training court. Old Shui, Guo Fei, Li Dong, Yan Han, and Zheng Kaixin stood side by side in a row, listening solemnly as Gu Yu spoke. Despite being kind of a distant rtive of Xiaozhai, Old Shui did not behave any differently and stood there watching Gu Yu with respect. ¡°You five are of different age groups, and each has their own body type, sensitivity, and temperament. Old Shui has had some basic training before, but it was not much, so it¡¯s safe to say that this is the first time for all of you to learn to use a sword.¡± Gu Yu was no longer the easygoing employer here¡ªhe was teaching pupils, and he might as well act like a proper teacher. He went on, ¡°We modern people read so much about everything and can have unreasonable fantasies about the profound Taoist skills. Let me make one thing clear first: I am teaching you sword skills here. You can think it as the sword stances you read in wuxia novels. All those learning to use a sword should have their own understanding about the weapon instead of simply echoing the voice of the others. Train your body, nourish your mind, or even use it as a killing tool¡ªthere is no wrong understanding. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s still too early for you to consider that. What you have to do now is to get to know the sword and sense the moment when it strikes out.¡± ¡°S-sir, are we, are we going to address you as Master from now on?¡± Li Dong¡¯s voice was trembling with excitement. ¡°No, you are not my official pupils, so just call me the old way.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Li Dong was a little disappointed, but he found that understandable. Gu Yu was like the anonymous master roaming around the world, willing to teach a thing or two to those he found suitable during the journey. That concluded Gu Yu¡¯s introduction. He then said, ¡°Now, Kaixin, you stay here. The rest, follow me to the other side.¡± ¡°Sir, am I left behind? I want to learn it too!¡± The kid almost burst into tears. ¡°Your condition is a little special, and my sword manual doesn¡¯t suit you. Xiao Qiu will be teaching you instead.¡± ¡°Sister Qiu?¡± The kid was all sunshine instantly and almost cheered loudly. Who wouldn¡¯t prefer a tall, slim, and gentle teacher that had a soft waist, slender fingers, pretty ankles, and a lovely voice? The idea actually only came to Gu Yu just then. Because of the faint Yin energy in Zheng Kaixin¡¯s meridians, his Devil-smashing Sword Manual might not bepatible with the boy. Xiao Qiu¡¯s Whirlwind Sword Manual, on the other hand, wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Aaaaaaah! Li Dong and the others eyed the boy enviously. ¡®I want Sister Qiu as my teacher as well!¡¯ Before long, Long Qiu also arrived at the training court and the two sses each took a side. With the court¡¯s size of a football field, they wouldn¡¯t be getting in each other¡¯s way. ¡°Old Shui, let me borrow your wooden sword first.¡± Gu Yu took over the sword Shui Yao passed him and examined it. The sword was a little over a meter long and was made from the old tree growing on the mountain. The wood was extremely hard but ductile; the sword weighed about 1.8 kg. With the three days they were given, they had put much thought into the sword. The wooden de was finely burnished. ¡°This sword skill had no name, and since I¡¯mzy, I simply decided to call it ¡®Red Sun Swordy¡¯. In this swordy, your steps follow the Nine Halls Diagram; there are 36 stances in total whose corresponding manual you have already transcribed. I won¡¯t be teaching you any specific movement today, but only how to draw your sword and make a strike.¡± Holding the wooden sword in one hand, Gu Yu spoke in an unhurried tone. To the four pupils, the words felt like they were being inscribed in their memory. ¡°Swordy has a twenty-word manual: draw, lead, wave, wipe, lift, skim, crack, flip, stab, beat, twist, intercept, hack, parry, split, prod, poke, hitch, grind, and pare. These twenty words are the most fundamental element of sword movements and can be further simplified into four words: parry, pare, strike, and stab. The first two are defensive moves and thetter two are offensive. The first one I¡¯m going to teach you today is stab!¡± With that, he strode out with his left foot and pushed the sword straight out. Some kind of energy seemed to erupt from beneath his feet then rushed up to his waist, his back, and all the way to his right shoulder. The energy then amplified abruptly from his right shoulder, sweeping out like a torrential wave, rushing into the sword along his arm. Then, there came a ¡°Pop!¡± The other four covered their ears right away, looking a little ufortable. As the sword thrust out, the air was torn apart, making a jarring explosive sound. They could even see the air stirred right at the tip of the de, and the little space there was contorted for a moment. Holy sh*t! That was unbelievable! OH MY GOD, Mr. Gu!!! After a brief moment of admiration, Guo Fei was overwhelmed by excitement and an urge he could not control. He was already imagining himself travelling the world with his formidable sword skill and bing a great master himself. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu finished the stance and drew back the sword, then with an expressionless face, he asked, ¡°So, tell me, what did you see?¡± !!! Guo Fei was dumbstruck. He was all about his fantasy and saw nothing else. Faltering and abashed, he couldn¡¯te up with an answer. ¡°Well, you lunged out with your left foot. The force came from under your feet and was exerted in a stabbing motion from the tip of the sword. Your arm was kept at a straight line with the sword, which was a ¡®proper within surprise¡¯ move.¡± Surprisingly, Yan Han was the first to speak. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct. I see you¡¯ve been doing your homework.¡± Gu Yu nodded. He had given them the notes on training manual and basic theories. It was up to them whether or not they chose to read it. Swordy consisted of six approaches¡ªproper-surprise-proper, surprise-proper-surprise, proper within surprise, surprise within proper, surprise within surprise, and double proper¡ªwhich corresponded to the change of Yin and Yang. The so-called ¡°surprise¡± and ¡°proper¡± described the choice of different directions (up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.) facilitated by the turning, rising or falling, quickening or slowing down, moving or keeping still of one¡¯s movement so as to fight their opponents. After Yan Han, Li Dong also spoke, ¡°When you were finishing up, it wasn¡¯t aplete closing form. The sword in your right hand was pointing upwards at an angle and your left foot was slightly flexed backwards. It seemed you were going to proceed to the stance of ¡®an Immortal hanging his shadow¡¯.¡± ¡®Oh?¡¯ That actually surprised Gu Yu. This fellow was good at this! Although Li Dong had been given the illustrations of the 36 stances of the Nine Halls Diagrams, he was able to detect his intentions from that little hint Gu Yu had left¡ªthat was not something one could do by mechanical memorization alone. He had formed his unique understanding of Gu Yu¡¯s move. ¡°Very good!¡± Gu Yu praised Li Dong, which was very rare for him. He then turned to the next one. ¡°Old Shui, how about you?¡± ¡°Awesome!¡± Old Shui gave him a thumbs up. ¡®Youzy bastard!¡¯ Gu Yu could not be bothered to reply to that and tossed him back his wooden sword. ¡°When people engage in fighting, they will bend and extend various parts of their body and limbs. If you¡¯re going to bend backwards, move forward first; if you¡¯re going to bend right, extend to the left¡­ that is how surprise and proper work in the same way Yin and Yangplement each other. Failure to make the right move will render your movement rigid. In order to use a sword effectively, you¡¯ll have to train your hand, your body, your eyes, and your feet. That all depends on how much effort you¡¯re going to put in after ss¡ªit will be none of my business. Now, grab your sword and practice this stabbing motion first!¡± After that, his ss formally began their practice. The four each had their own characteristics. Despite his careless appearance, Old Shui was quite sharp-minded deep down and very clever. He soon mastered the move. Guo Fei was trying to save his face from earlier and became impatient. He was going nowhere. Yan Han was prudent and proper. One could see clearly that he was mimicking Gu Yu¡¯s move. As for Li Dong, he was a real gem. Sometimes being perceptive did not make one clever. Being clever was a general thing, whereas perception was only reflected in certain areas. This fellow, for instance, had a brain for cultivation only. Instead of merely copying Gu Yu¡¯s move, on top of the basic technique, he had given how to make his own movefortable and fluid much thought. An Otaku he might be, but the way his sword moved had a carefree feeling to it. *** It was a totally different picture over on the other side. Long Qiu did not think of herself as the teacher and Zhang Kaixin did not feel like the pupil, either. He was simply happy to be around the nice big sister. Hence, all was jolly there. Xiao Qiu brought him up on a branch and was dangling her legs as if she was telling him a story. ¡°I haven¡¯t been learning use sword for very long, either. Sister taught me. I think there are three levels of sword skills, and the lowest one is when you only see the sword but not the people. For example, when you fight a bad man, you keep your eyes on his sword all the time. He stabs, you parry; he sh, you block. That means¡­¡± ¡°That means I¡¯m afraid of his sword and all I think is to stop it from touching me!¡± Zhang Kaixin finished the sentence. ¡°Yes, very good! That is why you should never be like that. You shouldn¡¯t be afraid when you¡¯re holding your sword. The more knocking sounds your sword makes, the lower your level is.¡± Rubbing his head, Long Qiu smiled. ¡°The middle level is when you can¡¯t see his sword, but can see the person himself. When you fight him, you chase after the person only. That is much better; ordinary people won¡¯t be able to defeat you. ¡°The highest level is when you see neither the sword nor the person. When his sword strikes, my sword follows my body and the move of my sword ispletely decided by where my body goes. When I strike out with my sword, my body follows, and I can naturally dodge the other sword. ¡°It¡¯s like what the sword manual says: ¡®sense and respond to the imminent attack with both the mind and the sword. The sword follows wherever the body goes like shadow. Striking out, the opponent is beheaded!''¡± Her soft, gentle voice was not to the least overbearing, yet Zheng Kaixin shuddered at those words. Though still clueless, he was able to sense something so magnificent that it could devour rivers, sink the moon, and wash over heaven and earth! As once mentioned, Xiao Qiu was the most talented in swordcraft in Phoenix Mountain. The talk she gave the kid today¡ªalthough part of it she herself did not understand yet¡ªhad left an indelible imprint in his mind. ¡®Striking out, the opponent is beheaded!¡¯ *** Night, the dining room. The family of four was finally able to eat at the same table. The parents sat in the middle and the two girls each sat on one side. Xiaojin was very curious in the whole taking in new pupils business, but with the refinement of her Sky-turning Seal, she really had no spare time. She was now asking, ¡°Qiu Qiu, how does it feel to be a teacher?¡± ¡°It was all right. Kaixin is a good kid.¡± Long Qiu peeled garlic for her sister. ¡°What did you teach him, then? You weren¡¯t reading him fairy tales, were you?¡± ¡°Of course not. I was only telling him about my understanding of sword skills. He listened to me very carefully.¡± Long Qiu then peeled garlic for her brother. ¡°Kaixin is still a child, Xiao Qiu is a perfect teacher for him. Take your time. There¡¯s no need to rush.¡± Gu Yu smiled. ¡°Yes, I know. He¡¯s quite smart.¡± Xiao Qiu nodded repeatedly and slowly ate her noodles. Somehow, she made no slurping sounds at all and looked sody-like. Xiaojin would not let herself be outshone in this. Mumbling incoherently, she downed another big bowl of noodles. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu shook his head at this. He would be staying on the mountain for about a month this time and would not leave until mid-December. During this time, he would probably see such warm (more like silly) scenes every day. He then turned to his girlfriend, asking, ¡°By the way, didn¡¯t you say you were collecting spider silk? What exactly does it look like?¡± ¡°Like this!¡± Xiaozhai fumbled out a messy ball of silver thread that reminded him of a cotton candy. ¡°This is the silk of Sand-walking Spiders. It can resist ordinary water and fire and is especially good at keeping off sand. Unfortunately, it has no defensive ability.¡± Gu Yu took it over and gave it a tug. The tenacity was quite good as well. ¡°What¡¯s the yield?¡± ¡°50 g per spider per month.¡± ¡°That¡¯s only a little over a kilo a year, and you want to make clothes with it?¡± He was speechless. ¡°Maybe not clothes, but I can always use a pair of panties,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡®Why do your panties need to be water-and-fireproof?!¡¯ Gu Yu kept the sarcasticment to himself. After the quick dinner, he said, ¡°I¡¯m going to Phoenix Fair tomorrow.¡± ¡°Coming clean?¡± ¡°Yea. I¡¯ve been keeping it from them for so long¡­ It¡¯s time to let them know.¡± Chapter 356 Chapter 356: Farewell Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Are you telling me that you¡¯ve been cultivating all this time and Phoenix Mountain is you territory?¡± ¡°Yup. Things were tooplicated before and it wasn¡¯t a good time to tell you. Now that it¡¯s all out in the open, it¡¯s much safer to talk about it.¡± ¡°Ok!¡± Inside the old house in Phoenix Fair, Fang Qing watched Gu Yu, apparently not very surprised, and gave a one-word reply. Ok? Gu Yu turned out to be the one taken by surprise. ¡°You knew about my identity?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t!¡± ¡°But, you¡­¡± ¡°Haha, my dear Older Brother, do you think I¡¯m still that old self? Let¡¯s see. We haven¡¯t met for how long, almost a year? Look at me.¡± Fang Qing stood up, spread out her arms, and turned around on the spot. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu watched her closely. Only then did he suddenly noticed that the little girl that used to be only as tall as his chest was now reaching his shoulders. She was no longer wearing the dowdy clothes, but had chosen an outfit that looked both fashionable and had her own style. She had lost a bit of her baby fat, her hair was dark and full, and she was full of that 18-year-old youthful charm. Do recall that when he first ate the red fruit, Fang Qing was preparing for her high school entrance examination. Now that four years had passed, she should be¡­ wait, she should be in college now. Why was she still in Phoenix Fair? ¡°Um¡­¡± For a moment there, Gu Yu was utterly embarrassed. He wanted to ask about it, but didn¡¯t know where to begin. ¡°Teehee!¡± Seeing his awkwardness, Fang Qing burst intoughter. ¡°All right, enough with my teasing. Thanks to the money you sent every year, my mum and dad didn¡¯t have to work till their backs broke and my grades were not bad. It actually puzzled me all this time: with your temperament, what kind of business could you run? And what idiot would spend that much money to have you make incense for them? ¡°That¡¯s why I never believed your story, not to mention all those beautiful women and rich people popping up around you¡­ hoho, I have read ReadNovelFulls, okay? Then, there was the whole business about cultivation and I pretty much figured it out myself.¡± She sat back onto her chair, leaning on the desk behind her, on which was that oldptop from back when Gu Yu was still here. She chuckled. ¡°Brother, do you really think I¡¯m still that foolish little sister? I¡¯m a big girl now!¡± Before Gu Yu could respond, she went on, ¡°But you said Phoenix Mountain is yours¡ªthat¡¯s something I¡¯ve never expected. Why, you must be one of the big shots now.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what to say!¡± Gu Yu waved his hands embarrassingly and finally asked the question. ¡°In that case, what is it with your study? Shouldn¡¯t you be in college already?¡± ¡°I was going to take the exam, but there was this new regtionst year, requiring all universities to set up a discipline called ¡®research on the rtionship between new environment and social development¡¯, and one had to meet certain criteria to apply for it, which I didn¡¯t meet back then. That¡¯s why I waited another year. I¡¯ve applied for it this year, and I¡¯m going to a university in the capital next year.¡± Capital, wow! Gu Yu was amazed. The kid somehow managed to surprise him¡ªinstead of the other way around. He waited a moment before asking earnestly, ¡°Qing Qing, I came back today not only to tell you all about the truth, but also to ask you if you¡¯re interested in joining me in the cultivation world.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hesitation flickered in Fang Qing¡¯s eyes for a splitting second before she said, ¡°Brother, I know you¡¯re offering me this for my own good, but I still want to go to the capital city, study that subject, and work in the relevant field in the future. I think that¡¯s where my real interest lies.¡± ¡°Have you made your decision?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°All right. I¡¯m not going to force you into anything. But if you run into any problem in the future, promise me you¡¯ll tell me.¡± Gu Yu sighed and added, ¡°Oh, if Uncle Fang and Aunt Fang want toe to Phoenix Mountain, they¡¯re more than weed.¡± ¡°They¡¯re so used to the life here in Phoenix Fair¡­ all right, I¡¯ll ask them for youter.¡± Fang Qing really was a big girl now. He could still recall the mischievous brat she once was¡ªshe was still sparky and lively, but there was now an independence and incisiveness in her. Sensing that Gu Yu had said all he was here to say, Fang Qing rose to her feet first and said, ¡°Everything is fine with my family, you don¡¯t have to worry about us. I should go now. Although, Brother, I¡¯m off to college soon, so don¡¯t you have any gift for me?¡± ¡°Gift¡­¡± Gu Yu did not see that questioning. He fumbled around hastily, taking out everything from spiritual stones to Dan pills. Fang Qing almost went dizzy seeing him flustering around and stopped him in a hurry, ¡°All right, just give me, um, this.¡± With that, she held up that oldptop. *** As expected, Uncle and Aunt Fang had little interest in going up the mountain. They had been living in Phoenix Fair all their life, practically knowing all their neighbors since they were in diapers. Here, they spent their spare time shooting the breeze in one another¡¯s homes, exchanging one¡¯s dumplings for another¡¯s skewered meat, and ying mahjong for five cents a round every now and then. To them, such a life was better than heaven. Why on earth would they want to move onto a mountain and be some empty nesters of the cultivation world? Well, the real reason was that they knew perfectly well they were not cut out for cultivation and decided not to fantasize about it. Maybe it was because of him approaching the Human Immortal state and the recent events¡ªfrom Tan Chongdai, the renning of Shengtian, and going back to his childhood memories¡ªGu Yu was feeling low these days. He couldn¡¯t get over the idea that once he was over that threshold, he was really saying goodbye to everything in this mortal world. He had no idea if such a feeling was normal. After all, there hadn¡¯t been a Human Immortal for centuries, and as the first one (in this cycle) to try tomato, he had no one to turn to for past experience. Before they knew it, a month had passed and it was mid-December. Early this morning, Li Dong and the other three were still repeating the monotonous basic moves in the training court: draw, lead, wave, wipe, lift, skim, crack, flip, stab, beat, twist, intercept, hack, parry, split, prod, poke, hitch, grind, and pare¡­ the same old twenty words! It would not be an exaggeration to say that it would take them at least a year to master all twenty moves. Over on the other side, Long Qiu was no longer telling stories and was now teaching Zheng Kaixin how to use his force taking him by the hand. Gu Yu himself was sitting on a big rock, cultivating his sword energy. He did not have enough time when he was in the South and had to carry the sword around in a box. Now that he was finally free, he thought he should at least achieve storing it away in his Sword Seed. ¡°Ha¡­.¡± Eyes half closed, he activated his Sword Seed and gold sword energy floated around him in threads as thin as silk which then wove into seven thicker streaks and extended upwards into the sky. Right above his head floated the Red Sun Sword, which circled around slowly as the seven golden streaks wrapped themselves tightly around it. It seemed forever before Gu Yu¡¯s eyes shot open and he waved his hand,manding, ¡°In!¡± Clunk! Red Sun Sword let out a long and clear cry and rotated until the tip of the de was pointing right at Gu Yu. There was then a golden sh and the sword disappeared, as if it had dived into a deep pool and sank right to the bottom. He immediately turned his mental force inward to examine the Sword Seed. A tiniest sword was now floating inside it, while the seed was emanating pure energy of golden me, nourishing the sword constantly. Meanwhile, his mind also shuddered, and he felt he was now more closely connected to Red Sun Sword, which¡ªlike his vital essence¡ªhad now be part of him. ¡°Good, it worked. Going abroad carrying a shabby box would be too embarrassing.¡± Activating his mental force, Gu Yu tried a few times to let out and take back the sword, then nodded with satisfaction. He was about to move to somewhere further to try its power when he turned and grabbed at the empty air. Whoosh! A streak of shing light dashed towards him, turning into a talisman in his hand. It then burst into me and a message rang out in his head: guest at the mountain foot. It was a message talisman from Xiaozhai. Guest? He expected to see someone from the government discussing affairs of the international conference, but it turned out to be a man from the sub-bureau of the BIMAUP, and a quite high-ranking official at that. ¡°Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Gu!¡± The man went up to him and exined right away, ¡°It happened so suddenly, and we felt we shoulde here in person to show the appropriate respect.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± asked Gu Yu. ¡°We just received news from the monastery. Old Priest Tan has passed away.¡± Chapter 357 Chapter 357: Duty Calls Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Tan Chongdai did not make it through this winter. It was two days ago when it struck him that his life wasing to an end. Without any fear or grief, he calmly left Zhu Ridge and ascended Yiyun 1 Peak 5 km away alone. The top of the peak was a peculiar geological structure, which consisted of countless natural grottoes with depths ranging from just over a meter to hundreds of meters. Tan Chongdai walked into one and never came out. Lu Yuanqing himself waited outside the grotto Tan Chongdai entered for two whole days, sensing the energy of thetter growing weaker. Finally, early in the morning of the third day, he could no longer detect anything. He knew at that moment that the old priest was gone. Three years ago, fate brought the thirty-six members of Qiyun to Tianzhu Mountain, where they set up the monastery, full of ambition and swearing an oath to bring prosperity to the Taoistmunity. Three yearster, they lost their firstpanion in the quest for immortality. There were thirty-five of them left now. Although the Taoistmunity had been declining for many generations before this new era, during the modern times, there were extremely famous Taoist priests who might or might not be worthy of their fame. After such priests died, scratch that, after they ¡°ascended into the immortal world¡±, spectacr ceremonies were held to perform prayer rituals. There were even anniversary ceremonies tomemorate the ¡°ascension¡±. Some regions would have legends about certain figure¡¯s body staying uncorrupted after death, followed by turning the body into a statue, which was worshipped in temples. This somehow seemed to be an epted custom for the general poption, so much that after Tan Chongdai passed away, the authorities offered to hold a prayer ritual in his name and store his body in a pagoda as a gesture of mourning. They meant well, but Lu Yuanqing lost his temper over the suggestion, which was very rare for him. He announced that same day that since the old priest had chosen Yiyun Peak as his final resting ce, from now on, that peak would be the ce everyone in the monastery went to for theirst moment on earth. They were all on this never-ending path and no one knew who would be the next to depart, to see through nature¡¯s mystery, or to idle away the rest of their life¡­ no matter what future fate bestowed upon them, those still alive would march on carrying the hope of those no longer with them. They were all in this together! *** Maybe because of the talk with Tan Chongdai earlier, Gu Yu was neither shocked nor sad when he heard the news. Naturally, he set up an altar in Phoenix Mountain, where he burnt the incense sticks and bowed towards the direction of Qiyun. The old priest asked for a favor when he came to Gu Yu that day: if you achieved the Great Dao one day and met part of my wandering soul, please help me to move on. Gu Yu agreed then, which was a very big deal. It was a promise witnessed by his belief in the Great Dao. Nothing would happen if he never met Tan Chongdai¡¯s soul, but if he did and failed to keep his promise, it would shatter his Taoist belief. Night, the meditation room. Xiaozhai sat on the rush mat, poured a Mind-enhancing Dan out of the gourd, and swallowed it. The sess rate of the Dan refinement was not high to begin with, and after all this time, that was thest one left. Gu Yu was going abroad soon, but luckily, Xiao Qiu could fill the nk with some maneuvering. Xiaozhai was going to take her to Celestial Master Temple soon to borrow the furnace to refine some more. As soon as she swallowed the pill, she began to circte her inner Qi immediately to digest the energy. The ming red and glistening pill melted in her mouth right away, its energy turning into streaks of red current flowing into her body. Xiaozhai¡¯s vital essence surged as red light of various intensity erupted. Moving inside that glow were three streaks of golden purple, ck purple, and blue purple light, which looked like three soaring dragons among the crackling sounds her meridians were making. It seemed forever before the red glow finally dimmed and disappeared. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Opening her eyes, Xiaozhai felt that her Wood Thunder energy had improved again. At this speed, it would take her about a year toplete a type of Thunder Technique, which meant she would achieve perfection in all five Thunders in three years¡¯ time. Conventional theory dictated that there were mutual promotion and restraint between the five elements. For instance, she began with Metal Thunder first, and metal promoted water; she then moved on to Water Thunder, and water promoted wood. She was now on Wood Thunder, but metal restrained wood, hence the two should be ipatible. However, that was why Shenxiao¡¯s Tinkling Jade Book of Great Thunder was remarkable: the five types of Thunder energy were well bnced. Metal restrained wood, but water promoted wood. The two effects cancelled each other out, making everything harmonious. ¡°Knock, knock!¡± She¡¯d finished meditating and was about to take a walk outside when there was a knock at the door and someone walked in. ¡°Finished your exercise for the day?¡± asked Gu Yu. ¡°Yes. The pills have run out. I¡¯ll take Xiao Qiu to Celestial Master Temple in a few days.¡± Xiaozhai was halfway rising to her feet when she sat back down. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°Nothing, just want to talk to you.¡± Gu Yu sat down facing her and habitually reached out and held her hand. Caressing the smooth and wless skin on the back of her hand, he said, ¡°I¡¯m having this very strange feelingtely, which I have never experienced before, but ever since that talk with Priest Tan, I felt depressed for no reason. Then I went to see Fang Qing and it got even more intense.¡± He paused a little and went on. ¡°It almost feels like I¡¯m being sentimental¡ªlike in the romance novels. At first, I thought it was because of what Priest Tan said, but on a second thought, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the reason. This feeling is uncontroble, almost as if I am bound to go through it.¡± ¡°What is this feeling? Be specific.¡± Xiaozhai was greatly intrigued. ¡°I can¡¯t. But if I have to describe it¡­¡± Gu Yu searched for the right word. A momentter, he said, ¡°Farewell, it¡¯s like bidding someone farewell.¡± ¡°Not abandoning?¡± asked Xiaozhai. ¡°No, no. Abandoning is too harsh and cold. This thing, though, feels like something unseen is guiding me to bid farewell to some people, some things, and some memories.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai was silent for a while before asking abruptly, ¡°Have you heard about the term ¡®expel the Three Corpses¡¯?¡± ¡°Haha, I used to read about it all the time.¡± Gu Yu saw what she was getting at and chuckled. ¡°Expel good and evil, expel oneself, and one gets to be immortal. That theory aside, I think I¡¯m experiencing the simr thing at the moment. ¡°Cultivation is the process of transcendence. By moving to the next state, one is not only transcending to the next level of vital essence or Taoist skills, but also changing their mortal heart as well. Cut the connection from the mortal world, bid the past life farewell, and you¡¯re bing an immortal.¡± ¡°Well, the logic is correct. Maybe that¡¯s the road all has to pass in order to reach the Human Immortal state. What you¡¯re going through is a very precious experience. You¡¯d bettere up with some more, so that the future cultivators could learn from it.¡± ¡°I agree. I also feel that the time has note yet, for despite this urge inside, I stillck that final little push. I¡¯m in no rush, though. Maybe I¡¯ll learn something during this trip abroad¡­¡± ¡°Hey, wait a minute!¡± Xiaozhai interrupted him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He was surprised. ¡°You¡¯re saying goodbye to your past, so what about me?¡± Xiaozhai blinked in a half teasing, half flirting way, and chuckled. ¡°Are you saying when you¡¯re a Human Immortal, I¡¯m automatically receiving an ¡®ex¡¯ for my title?¡± ¡°OF COURSE NOT!¡± Having narrowly escaped death for countless asions in this aspect, Gu Yu was always ready for sudden attacks like this. He grinned. ¡°Buddhism is all about this noble ambition, and one would not be enlightened unless that ambition is fulfilled. If there really is such a thing, then you¡¯re my noble ambition. Without you, there is no Great Dao for me¡­ mhm!¡± He barely finished that sentence when he was stopped by something soft on his lips; it tasted like the juicy, sweet pulp of the red fruit. Right after that, he was pressed down backwards andy t on the ground. ¡°100 points for House Gu!¡± *** After a nightlong passionate activity, November 14th arrived with snowfall. Fine white powder sifted down from the dim sky, covering everything. Wang Qi finally arrived at Phoenix Mountain on this chilly morning¡ªit was about time for the conference, and Master Gu was invited. Chapter 358 Chapter 358: Bonn Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu November 15th, sunny. 9 000 m above the ground, a private ne was flying past the white cotton of clouds, heading for Germani 1 over 8 000 km away from the capital city. In the lounge of the cabin, Gu Yu was making some protective preparation for the old man. ¡°Take these with you all the time. There are five in total, all one-off protection gadgets.¡± He handed the old man five enhanced version of the turtle shell amulet. ¡°The protective shield will automatically turn on when the impact reaches the triggering level.¡± ¡°Can it fend off spiritual or magical attacks?¡± asked an official sitting beside them. ¡°It can, but some techniques attack the mind directly. That¡¯s why you¡¯ll also have these.¡± With that, he took out a small gourd and a box. ¡°There are pills in the gourd. Take half a pill immediately if you feel something is wrong. The box contains some incense sticks, which you will burn one each night in your bedroom. It will calm your mind and keep it free from the invasion of evil beings.¡± ¡°Yes! No problem!¡± The official took them in his hands in a hurry and put them away carefully. The old man examined the turtle shell amulet with curiosity before hanging one around his neck and buttoned his shirt back. He then chuckled. ¡°Haha, with all these preparations, it feels like I¡¯m going not to a conference but a battlefield.¡± ¡°Sir, this is a battlefield. We¡¯re responsible for your safety!¡± reminded one of the staff. ¡°All right, all right. I know you all meant well. And thank you, Mr. Gu.¡± ¡°Knock, knock!¡± Just then, the door of the lounge opened and another official entered holding a stack of files, seemingly having something to report. ¡°I¡¯m going back to my seat, then. I¡¯ll let you know if I think of anything else.¡± Gu Yu was not interested in eavesdropping and got up to leave, while the old man gestured at his assistant to keep Gu Yupany. The two went to another lounge, where they sat down on a soft andfortable sofa. The assistant made Gu Yu a cup of tea. The conference was to be held in the city of Bonn in Germani. They were flying to Frankfurt Airport first, from where they would drive to Bonn. The entire journey would take them around fifteen hours. The old man was the head of the delegation, leading an entourage of fifteen¡ªincluding interpreters, information officers, healthcare team, security personnel, and officials of relevant departments. The old man was quite highly ranked, and so were the representatives of the other countries. In the name of the ¡°World Climate Conference¡±, they were going to discuss possible ways ofmunication and cooperation in this new environment. ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve always meant to ask, why Germani?¡± Sipping his tea, Gu Yu struck up a conversation. ¡°The venue has been changing ever since the idea of a conference came up. It was said to be held in Neutral State at first, then moved to South Africa. After that, Uncle Sam proposed to host it themselves, which Europe disagreed with. After much mediating, Bonn was chosen atst.¡± The assistant was not trying to hold anything back from Gu Yu. Instead, he even gossiped a little. ¡°The European countries are mostly amicable. Britannia is the only exception. They¡¯re getting all ambitious again thanks to their advantage in modern day magic. The two you killed were backbone of that AA association. I¡¯m afraid they¡¯ll try to get back at you.¡± ¡°Get back at me? Then you, I¡­¡± Gu Yu pointed at the assistant, then himself. The assistant saw what he was getting at and exined, ¡°Delegations attending international conference of this scale will not be the targets, unless someone has lost their mind. But, like us bringing you along, the other countries must have their own capable hands as well, only that we delegations are inside the conference room, and them outside.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Two battlefields, right? What happens outside determines what goes on inside, but the inside affects the outside as well.¡± He nodded and felt much reassured, grinning. ¡°That¡¯ll be much easier. I was worried back there that we¡¯ll just break into fights. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll be able to confine the damage.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± The assistant almost broke into sweat. ¡®This fellow is every bit as unrestrained as words on the street!¡¯ He poured Gu Yu another cup of tea hurriedly and filled him in on the current situation while they still had time. ¡°Our study of the the western transcendent power is mainly based on ancient myths and different races. ¡°First of all, sorcery existed on a global scale, for the ancient beliefs were all primitive worships. Before the time of religions, myths of the remote ages were way too old for any possible textual research. It was only since the medieval times that we began to see traces of transcendent power in historical records. ¡°Our deduction is that powers of enchanters, alchemists, astrologers, prophets, witches, etc., have much existing inheritance; aboriginal witchcraft and ¡®self-study¡¯ sorcerers are rare but not non-existent; we have yet to investigate the Druids, and the Vatican definitely has their own special power. Strangely, though, the Vatican doesn¡¯t seem to have as much inheritance as expected, and they haven¡¯t demonstrated much so far, either.¡± ¡°And why is that?¡± asked Gu Yu curiously. ¡°I don¡¯t know. We have little clue on that. Actually, it¡¯s not a bad thing. With the number of their believers all of the world, once the transcendent power recovers fully, if the Vatican is able to hold the supreme status, what authority would be left for the governments?¡± ¡°How about Uncle Sam?¡± ¡°Well, Uncle Sam¡­¡± The assistant paused a little to find a word, which came out rather hrious. ¡°Scrappy, it¡¯s so scrappy over there! They have over 250 religious groups, all of which are descendants of immigrants. How should I describe it¡­ anyway, it¡¯s quite messy for them at the moment. Everyone is squabbling with everyone else and none of them noticeably more capable then the rest. It¡¯s almost embarrassing to look at.¡± ¡®Pffft!¡¯ Gu Yu¡¯s lips twitched. So, it was just as Mu Kun had said¡ªweaklings! *** In the beginning, the general public in all countries did not pay much attention when the countries were talking about having this conference. World Climate Conferences were held every year and achieved nothing every year. The developed countries still emitted happily as they saw fit and the developing countries still got med. The earth simply kept getting warmer. However, just like what happened back home, the other countries had toe clean on what was happening when they were no longer able to hide it. Good God! The entire world erupted! For as long as human history remembered, this was probably the first event that had attracted the attention of the entire human race. Consequently, the significance of this conference had been raised to an unprecedented height, and the process was closely followed by over seven billion pairs of eyes. After a ten-hour flight and another few hours of car ride, Gu Yu finally arrived at Bonn. Being the delegation of one of the superpowers, they were naturally under the spotlight. Countless media and friendly other parties had been following them ever since they walked out of the airport and all the way to their hotel. Even the roadsides and the roofs of the buildings surrounding their hotel were packed with curious onlookers and/or cultivators of other countries. As arranged beforehand, the interpreter and the assistant walked on the left behind the old man and Gu Yu on the right. They had even prepared a suit for him. To be honest, it was an awkward outfit. ¡°Why, he can actually pull it off.¡± ¡°Teehee, Brother looks quite handsome!¡± ¡°Eww, he looks so cheesy! He¡¯ll make a very poor male escort!¡± Tsk! He could almost hear the mercilessment of the three back in Phoenix Mountain watching the live broadcast! Finally, the delegation made their way into the hotel, where the followers were stopped by the entrance; the world was quiet again. The old man slowed his pace and went out of his way to ask Gu Yu, ¡°How was it? Got used to this yet?¡± ¡°That was a little shameful.¡± ¡°Shameful?¡± The old man had expected ¡°I¡¯m all right¡±, ¡°I¡¯m nervous¡±, ¡°not bad¡±, but never ¡°shameful¡±. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°Um, no, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Gu Yu waved it off. He did not want to go back to that memory. 185 countries and regions were attending this conference and each delegation had over a dozen members, which put a heavy load on the reception work. All high-end hotels and official lodgings in Bonn were fully booked. Their rooms were on the sixth floor. As they walked in, the old man suddenly stopped and turned to look at the right side. From a hall on that direction, a team of seven or eight people wasing out. The leading man was of a medium built and had a straight nose and bluish eyes. He looked rather mild. Walking immediately after him were a young man and an old man. Thetter had a full, bushy beard and wore clothes in the style of a robe. ¡°¡­¡± Both teams winced a little at this unexpected meeting. The two heads then extended their hands simultaneously and marched towards each other. ¡°That¡¯s the delegation of Gaul and that man is ude¡­ why, that pair behind him seems strange¡­¡± One of the entourage whispered to Gu Yu before he found something odd about the two men and looked towards their direction despite himself. The bearded man seemed to sense this and turned around, meeting his eyes. ¡°Mhm!¡± He was taken aback, then saw the whirlpools in that man¡¯s eyes and his mind began to fall into them without him knowing it. His head was muddled up and he was suddenly overwhelmed by an excitement, driving him to gesticte his hands and feet. ¡°Smack!¡± He had only just raised his hand when Gu Yu struck them down. He shuddered at that tap and resumed his consciousness. ¡°Oh?¡± The bearded man looked a little surprised. He then smiled, realizing what Gu Yu had just done. ¡°What happened?¡± asked the man, still a little confused. ¡°Someone yed a little trick to mess with your head,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡®!!!¡¯ ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± The man thanked Gu Yu right away, now beginning to fear. While blows were exchanged under the table over here, the two heads were still exchanging pleasantries over there as ifpletely unaware of what was going on. They only separated after another while. When they were all in the elevator, the old man asked, ¡°What happened just then?¡± Only the most exceptional ones could make their way to attend this conference. The man soon calmed himself down and offered his analysis, ¡°They did something to me. I met his eyes and everything became very confusing. All I wanted was to wave my hands and feet around. I think it was some kind of hallucinogenic magic. Luckily, Mr. Gu was there to save me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The old man pondered for a while and asked, ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°He was just probing. It was harmless,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I thought too. Oh, by the way, do you still have that turtle shell? Could you give some to them as well?¡± ¡°I only have ten with me. There, you can decide whom to give them to.¡± He simply gave the rest to the old man. Seeing that thetter was obviously thinking there were not enough, Gu Yu smiled. ¡°A turtle can only have so big a shell. We¡¯ll have to make do with what we have.¡± ¡°Haha, sure, sure!¡± The old man put away the turtle shell and felt a little abashed. ¡°I guess I¡¯m a fox masquerading like a tiger here.¡± ¡°You¡¯re being too modest!¡± Gu Yu cupped his hands and kept his mockery to himself. ¡®Tsk, whom are you calling a fox and who do you think the tiger is?¡± Before long, they reached their floor. Gu Yu examined every room carefully before returning to his own¡ªyup, his was right next to the old man¡¯s. The conference officiallymenced the following day. The delegation had a series of events to go to, some attended by the old man, some by the information officer, and some by the other officials. Gu Yu did not have to go to all of them. As mentioned before, they had their separate battlefields. Meanwhile, in another bedroom in the hotel. In the dim light, two people were sitting on opposite sides of a table. One of them was none other than that bearded man, while the other was a hoary caucasian woman. On the table was a burning candle and various other irregrly shaped objects such as stones, tree bark, and metal pieces. The woman was in a caped ck robe, with all her hair covered by the hood. Her skinny, w-like fingers swept lightly across the table. Rustle! The scattering pieces formed a shape at her move¡ªa small circle within a big one, at the heart of which were a stone and a piece of bark. The woman chanted some incoherent spell and her right hand flipped swiftly. ck! The stone and the bark flipped around with it, each having a Runic letter carved into them. ¡°¡­¡± The woman frowned at it for quite some time before picking up the one with a ?. ¡°This represents an oak tree.¡± She then picked up the one with a ?. Pausing a little, she said, ¡°This¡­ is the sun.¡± Chapter 359 Chapter 359: Poaching Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu In Germanic mythology, Odin gave up his right eye for the knowledge of runes. Myths were myths, after all, and runes were not brought forth by Odin¡ªalthough the origin of the letters had been lost in the immemorial time. The original runic alphabet had 24 letters and legend had it that by carving them into materials such as wood, stone, or metal, one could gain immense power. Runic inscriptions were made from runic alphabet, which was widely adopted in medieval Scandinavia andter reced by Roman script. ¡°Reced¡± simply meant it was no longer used, but not lost. Of course, after so many generations, much knowledge had indeed been lost, leaving behind only the simpler applications. The augury the woman performed, for instance, was one of the mostmon practices. ¡°Creto, tell me, what was it that you sense?¡± The bearded man had a deep voice and the expression he used sounded ancient with a chanting rhythm to it. It was strange but pleasant to the ears. ¡°Ernese, my old friend¡­¡± Creto pushes the first letter towards him and replied in that same strange expression, ¡°You of all people should realize what an oak tree stands for.¡± ¡°Druid!¡± Ernese was apparently greatly disturbed, saying repeatedly, ¡°No, no Druid should be found on this earth now! That is impossible! Impossible!¡± ¡°Calm down. Calm down, Ernese!¡± Seeing how emotionally unstable her old friend was, the woman fumbled out a handful of green powder and sprinkled it in the air. Whoosh! The tiny granules flew towards the man like little stars, soon disappearing into the air. They seemed to have some form of calming effect, for momentarily, the bearded man quieted down and apologized, ¡°I am sorry, but you know what has happened between me and them¡­¡± ¡°Yes! Yes, I do! But I still have to remind you, this world is changing so fast now. Since we ourselves could live to see this day, who is there to guarantee that they would not be brooding in some secret corner?¡± After that, Creto pushed over the second letter, asking, ¡°What do you think the sun represents?¡± ¡°Priests of the Nile? No, they were long buried by the desert¡­ the Vatican, then? Haha, I do not think so¡ªnot with their current state¡­¡± Ernese murmured to himself and suddenly looked up. ¡°We seem to have ignored the mysterious oriental powers.¡± ¡°Are you referring to Amaterasu of Nippon?¡± ¡°Of course not. I have dealt with the practitioners of that country before. They indeed had some unusual magic spells, but they were not that impressive yet. I think it is pointing at either Chine or Indus. Oh, by the way, I ran into the Chinese delegation this morning and there was a remarkable young man among them. However, I cannot say for sure that this sun is referring to him.¡± ¡°In that case, I suggest you to get in touch and try to learn more about him¡­ whoever these two people turn out to be, they will be the key of this conference, and could even determine where the future leads us.¡± The woman seemed exhausted after this. Waving at the man, she said, ¡°Now, I need some rest. Do not disturb me unless it is really necessary.¡± With that, she slowly rose to her feet and dropped a circle of wax on the floor, then chanted the spell. Poof! The circle of wax burst into ck mes instantly. Lifting her cape off the floor, the woman worked herself into the circle and her body slumped abruptly. She had disappeared without a trace. *** ¡°Please take some rest. We¡¯ll be back in our rooms.¡± ¡°All right. Don¡¯t stay up toote.¡± Inside the old man¡¯s room, the officials finished reporting their work and left. After a physical examination and having the old man take some routine medicine, the doctors left as well. It was an enormous suite. The leader of the team could not possibly sleep by the window, hence the old man¡¯s bedroom was in the middle of the suite with a seperate room on either side, which his assistant and the security team, respectively, took. The old man read another few files and only went to bed when his eyes started to droop. On the bedside table was a burning incense stick; a streak of smoke was lingering in the air, emanating a fragrance that calmed the mind. Several hours seemed to have passed after that and it was now deep into the night. The hotel was asrge as an immense manor and was divided into several quarters. By now, the dignitaries of various countries had gone to bed and the courtyards were sparsely lit by dim lights. The ce was quiet and looked deserted. However, the guards of all parties¡ªthe host country included¡ªwere concealed by the darkness. Whoosh! Pop! The old man was asleep when a cacophony of sounds woke him. He checked himself first: all body parts intact and mind clear. Only after that did he begin to focus on the strange noises outside. Bang! Bang! Ssh¡­ whiz¡­ shew! ¡°Sir! Sir! Are you all right?¡± By then, his assistant and the security team had rushed into the room. Seeing that he was safe, they let out a breath of relief. ¡°What¡¯s going on outside?¡± ¡°We have no idea. I heard gunshots and saw a fire breaking out somewhere. Shall we ask Mr. Gu¡ª¡± They were still discussing it when Gu Yu¡¯s voice rang out. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Come and enjoy the show.¡± The roomful of people were taken by surprise and all went into the inner room. Gu Yu was sitting on the windowsill while looking into the distance with his long legs dangling outside 1 , apparently in a good mood. He was watching the direction of the main entrance, which was like a seething caldron by now¡ªred, ck, and blue streaks of light entangled, together with running crowd and ring sirens. Quite a few parties seemed to be engaging in a battle. They did not know what to make of it at the moment and could only watch with a mixture of anxiety and relief. A couple of minutester, it was finally confirmed that a small country usurped by extremists had arrived in Bonn determined to create disturbance and make mass casualties among the dignitaries of all other countries; there were even a few cultivators among them. However, before they could carry out their n, they were annihted by the transcendent powers of the other countries. ¡°Well, it seems you¡¯ll only have 184 countries for the meeting tomorrow.¡± Seeing that the noise in the distance was quieting down and the incident almost over, Gu Yu chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s quite safe up here. I¡¯m going to look around. See youter!¡± ¡°Hey, Mr. Gu!¡± One of the officials hurried towards the balcony where Gu Yu was sitting, but only saw a mist disappearing into the vast night sky. *** When Gu Yu reached the front entrance, all parties had retreated, leaving behind some police officers to clean up. Five or six bodies were scattered around the ground, dead due to different causes¡ªsomepletely charred, some turned into a pile of mush; some had only a skeleton left without any flesh or skin, and some did not have anything left apart from the crumpled clothes¡­ ¡®Tsk, tsk!¡¯ He let his disapproval run free in his head as he examined the scene. It seemed that with the changing world, many things needed to be upgraded to their 2.0 version. Security measures, for instance, used to be effective enough with imposing curfews, additional patrolling officers, stricter inspection of suspicious items, etc. Such measures were no longer enough. However strict the inspection became, there was no way to fend off magical powers with it. There were now people who could change their form, appearance, or even conceal themselves by turning transparent, as well as cast spells or curses from a long distance. If they really wanted to assassinate the head of a country, you would not see theming. That aspect alone was enough to raise the status of cultivators to an unprecedented height. Gu Yu walked past the area and reached a crossroad. He had no idea where was where and decided to pick a random direction. Nearly all mysterious powers from all over the world had gathered themselves for this conference and those staying with the dignitaries were the official guardians recognized by the governments whose political status was guaranteed. These were all smart people. The most they would do was to try harmless tricks on the entourage like the bearded man did. There was no way they would attack the leaders out right. However, much unofficial personnel had to be lurking in various corners of Bonn whom, to be honest, Gu Yu was rather eager to meet. Well, he supposed he was out poaching now. Chapter 360 Chapter 360: Flirting Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Bonn sat by the Rhine. It was a city growing out of a small vige, which once made its living on ferrying and fishing; the earliest records of the city could be traced back to 2000 years ago. Bonn was both bucolic and modern¡ªdespite the urban style of the city, the naturalndscape was kept intact as well. Right now, in a pub in the downtown area, a man and a woman were chatting over their drinks. The man was blonde and had a wonderfully pretty face; the woman was a brte with beautiful green eyes. She was quite young¡ªin her early twenties at most. Her face was bare of any makeup, though her fingernails were painted bright red. Her slender fingers raised the ss to her lips, which she took a sip from. She then said in resignation, ¡°I don¡¯t know what got into Sophia¡¯s head, sending us two newbies to attract fresh believers, not to mention to a dangerous ce like this.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t have much choice. Our group is so weak that even the HQ doesn¡¯t have people to spare. Those imbeciles have been making such a scene out there and they have to be prepared.¡± The man did not look any happier than she did. ¡°Be positive. At least you¡¯re a level II witch and I¡¯m only a level I. If anything, you stand a much better chance at escaping than me.¡± ¡°You think I¡¯ll just ditch you if it gets dangerous?¡± The woman clinked his ss with hers and looked around in boredom,ining, ¡°This lousy ce is deserted and full of old and ugly dumbasses. Guess what? I haven¡¯t gotid for six months.¡± ¡°Haha, actually, we¡¯ve been talking. We wagered how much longer you can hold that off and I¡¯ve put in a heavy bet!¡± teased the man. ¡°Damn you, Benn! That¡¯s it, I¡¯m telling that little boyfriend of yours what you didst night¡ª hm?¡± The woman stopped mid-sentence and fixed her gaze on the entrance of the pub. She looked captivated and full of lust, as if she had just spotted a soft andfortable bed with a naked handsome man on it. ¡°All right, I give up! The hell with abstinence! I¡¯m over it!¡± She bolted to her feet and click-cked towards the man in her 8 cm heels, grinning. ¡°Hey, cutie, you alone?¡± ¡®Huh?¡¯ Gu Yu was surprised by this greeting. ¡®What¡¯s happening? Someone¡¯s hitting on me?¡¯ He looked her up and down before saying with his dabbler English, ¡°Hello. I¡¯m alone. You the waitress?¡± ¡°Teehee, me the waitress?¡± The woman grinned wider. ¡°I¡¯m Andrea, can I buy you a drink? I¡¯m more than happy to offer you other things if you¡¯re interested.¡± She was enthusiastic, up for many things, and not shy with showing what she got: red slip dress, bare fair thighs, and corbone too pretty to be ignored. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu scanned her with his mental force and figured her out right away. As he also detected an unusual fluctuation from her, he replied, ¡°Sure. This is my first time in Bonn. Oh, I don¡¯t speak good English.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. There¡¯s a lot we can do that doesn¡¯t involve talking.¡± The woman led him back to the bar and ordered him a Martini. Benn twitched his mouth at this. He then spotted a cute ck-haired guy himself and slipped away to hunt on his own. ¡°Are you from Germani?¡± ¡°Nah, Uncle Sam. You? Are you a tourist or¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m here with friends, interesting in that, um, thing. I studied myself¡­¡± He was ying the perfect newbie, his equivocation making his performance all the more convincing. ¡°Oh, I see!¡± Andrea had obviously taken him for some reckless guy venturing out to the wide wild world with the little magic he knew. ¡°You¡¯re bold toe here. Bonn is the most dangerous city in the world at the moment.¡± ¡°Haha, we only live once. I want adventure.¡± The two chatted on about random things. The woman liked Gu Yu better by the minute. She had seen her fair share of handsome guys, but not someone like this one: tall, leggy, slender yet powerful, with a remarkable temperament and that oriental reserved and mild quality. All in all, she saw a very promising night! Hence, her red nails began to half-intentionally tickling at Gu Yu¡¯s pinky and the tip of her pointed-toe heels was caressing his shin. She had taken him for some innocent lovely thing. Little did she know, Gu Yu was considering her in the same way. Both found this encounter amusing, strange, and as if they were watching a child¡¯s y. Neither meant any harm. After another while, Andrea felt the mood was set and she rubbed her temple, apologizing, ¡°Um, I¡¯m sorry, but I probably had a little too much to drink. I¡¯m dizzy and it¡¯s too loud in here.¡± ¡°Do you need me to take you somewhere?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be great. The back alley is pretty quiet.¡± The woman almost hung herself around Gu Yu¡¯s neck as they slowly walked out of the back door into a secluded and dark alley. ¡°Creak¡­¡± ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Before the door of the pub was closed, Andrea gave Gu Yu a shove and pressed him onto the wall. Sh*t! Old Gu nked out instantly and was subconsciously looking up the sky to search for any striking divine lightning. He was only nning to do some prying. That was a very passionate woman! ¡°Teehee, I¡¯ve never met someone so delicious before¡­¡± Andrea pressed herself against him, her red lips moving closer and closer. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, sweetheart. I¡¯ll be gentle¡ª who¡¯s there?¡± She moved away from Gu Yu abruptly, facing the deep, dark alley and again yelling, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°Hoho, I see my cover¡¯s blown. No matter, you¡¯ll be my pet in a moment anyway.¡± A shadow shook violently under the dim light and a ck dwarf rose up as if he had just emerged out of water. Bare-chested, he had cloth wrapping around his lower half and odd ornaments around his neck. With his protruding forehead and prominent facial features, he reminded one of some primates. ¡°Bablu! You¡¯ve followed me all the way here!¡± The woman¡¯s red fingernails flickered as her hands flipped around; there was a pair of rosy, short-ded weapon in her hands, which was halfway between a saber and a sword. She whispered to Gu Yu, ¡°This man is very powerful. Sorry for dragging you into this. I¡¯ll stall him. Run as far as you can!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± asked Gu Yu curiously. ¡°He¡¯s from Haiti, a Voodoo practitioner!¡± Andrea was very resolute. After giving Gu Yu the instruction, she swept the two des across the air and dashed towards the dwarf in a gait that looked unnecessarilyplicated but was in fact very swift. ¡°My dolls,e out!¡± With a wave of his hand, th dwarf sank back into the shadow. Meanwhile, from the entrance of the alley behind him, about half a dozen figures appeared, all moving in a somewhat rigid way. ¡°So many walking corpses!¡± Andrea¡¯s face darkened a little, but she rushed into the enemies without hesitation. Herbat style was a straightforward one. The des were wrapped in an energy reminding one of Qi with an incredibly sharp edge. With a sh of red light, one of the walking corpses was cleft in half. She did not stop there and kept pushing forward. Turning a de horizontally, she swiftly slid it across the air, cutting two walking corpses side by side open across their waist. Whoosh! Just then, the back of her neck prickled a little and she hurriedly thrust her left foot against the wall, followed by her right. The next moment, she was in mid-air, enabling her to dodge the strike. She finished the backward somersault in her heels andnded on the ground, her red dress pping in the wind. Standing in front of her was none other than that walking corpse she hacked down first, which was now back to a single piece again. ¡°It¡¯s getting better at self-healing!¡± Andrea was secretly astonished. Back on the American continent, her magic group and the dwarf¡¯s were mortal enemies. The two sides had had over a dozen confrontations in the past few years, with ups and downs on both sides. Under normal circumstances, she could at least get herself out of this safely even if she wasn¡¯t her opponent¡¯s match. However, now that she had a ¡°plus one¡± with her, she had to give all she¡¯d got. Whoosh! Bam! Bam! Boom! The two sides had exchanged quite a few blows in a matter of seconds. The walking corpses were not good at moving around, but that self-healing ability was a pain in the a*s. What was more, both their teeth and sharp ws were poisonous. Andrea was losing ground. After fending off another walking corpse, she crossed her des. ¡°Cross, rose!¡± Whoosh! Two streams of me gushed out abruptly as the two des made a forward sh. Boom! mes roared out in a cross, filling the entire narrow alley. The half dozen walking corpses were charred instantly. Seeing this, Andrea called out to Gu Yu, ¡°Kiddo, run!¡± ¡°Do you seriously think you¡¯re gonna win just like that? No one is going anywhere today. Get up, my babies!¡± The dark shadow guffawed, squirming disgustingly again, reminding one of some mollusk. Some powder sprinkled down at this movement, covering the charred corpses. The next moment, they shook off the ck crust like breaking egg shells, and rose to their feet once more. F**k! Andrea spat at the ground, realising the chance of getting out of this alive was little. ¡°Sorry for dragging you into this¡ª what do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡± she cried out with wide open eyes. One of her weapon had just flew out of her right hand andnded on the guy¡¯s palm. ¡°Nice de! I¡¯m gonna need it for a minute!¡± Weighing the short de in his hand, Gu Yu looked up and grinned. He then turned into a cloud of mist and charged into the corpses. ¡°You¡­¡± Andrea almost forgot to breathe. The next second, red light shed across the air. Whoosh! The short de moved smoothly with his hand and hacked down at an impossible angle. The de then turned so that the tip was pointed forward, slitting through the air like a red fish splitting waves. Shew! Shew! Thump! Three walking corpses dropped to the ground at the same moment. ¡°Hoho, that won¡¯t work. My walking corpses are¡ª that¡¯s impossible!¡± the dark shadow screamed as the three corpses began to sizzle. ck smoke then rose from the corpses and they soon melted into a pool of putrid liquid. ¡°Who, who on earth are you? Aaaah¡­¡± Astonished and enraged, the dwarf switched to his mother tongue without knowing it, which waspletely iprehensible. ¡°Oh, shut up.¡± Short de in hand, Gu Yu moved through the alley as if the weapon was part of his body; his stances looked the most natural thing. It was as if he was simply taking a casual walk down the street. As the red de swept across the air, blood sshed out like blossoming roses, marking the merciless harvest of his enemies¡¯ lives. In half a heartbeat, all walking corpses had turned into stinky pools of liquid. ¡°You¡¯ll pay for this! Voodoo does not forgive!¡± Despite being scared out of his wits, the dwarf still managed to leave a threatening line. The shadow then bolted up the wall, trying to flee into the darkness of the night. ¡°There!¡± Gu Yu restrained from using his sword energy, but used his spiritual essence alone, which easily devoured the energy the original owner left on the de. He then tossed it out. ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± The shadow had slithered to the entrance of the alley when the divine weapon fell out of the sky, which stabbed right at his weakest spot without missing one centimeter. ¡°Pffft¡­ mhm¡­¡± The shadow struggled violently like a fish pierced by a harpoon. It soon stopped moving, turning back into that dwarf. ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡± However blunt her instinct might be, by now, Andrea knew perfectly well that this man was no ¡°cute kiddo¡±. After the astonishment passed, though, she was even more excited and found the man more attractive than before. ¡°There you go!¡± Gu Yu tossed the short de back to her and stopped her from talking. He then turned towards a dark corner unlit by the streetmps, chuckling. ¡°My friend, it¡¯s time to show yourself. You have been following me this entire time.¡± Chapter 361 Chapter 361: Late Night Talk (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Good evening, young man!¡± The shadow in the corner corrugated, resembling a rippling effect, and a Caucasian old man revealed himself; a full beard covered the lower half of his face. He was none other than that old man from earlier. He spoke perfect Gaulish. After greeting Gu Yu, he turned to Andrea with a smile. ¡°And good evening to you too, beautiful youngdy.¡± ¡°Enchant¨¦e, Your Excellency!¡± It turned out that Andrea was fluent in the samenguage¡ªshe even waved at the old man. ¡°Excuse me, over here?¡± interjected Gu Yu a little helplessly. ¡°Hoho¡­¡± The bearded man chuckled and produced a magical staff, then pointed at Gu Yu chanting a spell. ¡®Hm?¡¯ A strange yet harmless fluctuation rushed towards Gu Yu, who sensed it but did not resist. As the magical staff pointed at him, Gu Yu instantly felt a subtle connection created between him and the old man. ¡°Please allow me to apologize first. You are correct by saying that I was following you. On the other hand, you were such a pleasant surprise for me as well.¡± ¡®Wow!¡¯ That got Old Gu greatly intrigued, for the old man was still speaking Gaulish but he could understand what he was saying now as if an automatic trantion plug-in had been added. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What magic art is this?¡± ¡°Just a petty trick to makemunication more efficient. It¡¯s not worth mentioning.¡± The old man stroked his beard and smiled. ¡°Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ernese Maximilian.¡± He offered a name that Old Gu had never heard before. ¡°Oh my god, you¡¯re Mage Ernese? I can¡¯t believe this! Oh, I¡¯m Andrea. I am the member of a coven of Wa.¡± Andrea, on the other hand, opened her eyes widely in surprise and sounded excited. ¡°Wa? Hm, not bad.¡± The old man nodded out of politeness; he apparently did not think much of her group. He then said to Gu Yu, ¡°To tell you the truth, young man, I am holding a private gathering tonight and I was considering inviting you¡­ after that battle, haha, you are definitely qualified.¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Gu Yu was secretly pursing his lips, finding the condescending gesture ridiculous. With his infinite proximity to the Human Immortal state, he was inplete control of how much capability he wanted to demonstrate. No one but those of an equal cultivation level were able to see through it. He had purposefully pretended to be someone lesser than he really was, and since he was going to nose around, he asked, ¡°May I ask what kind of gathering it is?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s just me and a few other elderly fellows. It¡¯s purely academic.¡± ¡°Well, sure. It¡¯ll be rude not to do as you asked.¡± Seeing that Andrea was listening in eagerly on the side, he chuckled. ¡°This youngdy is my friend. Since she¡¯s already here, can I bring her along?¡± ¡°Haha, all right, you can bothe.¡± Ernese darted a look at the girl and granted Gu Yu¡¯s request. Hence, the three left the alley with the old man in the lead. They stopped at a street corner after a short while, where the old man tapped a streetmp three times with his magical staff and chanted some strange words. Before long, there came the clip clop of hooves and a retro-styled medieval carriage emerged from the darkness of the night. It was drawn by two tall and robust ck horses with beautiful muscle tones. However, their eyes were too dull to be alive. ¡°Magical puppets,¡± Ernese offered a sinct exnation. ¡°All aboard, please.¡± The three then got into the carriage and the hoof sounds rang out again, taking them right to a vige in the suburbs. It was less than two hours since Gu Yu left the hotel, yet he had seen plenty of strange mysterious powers in such a short time. He was all the more intrigued. The idental scene was more diverse and scattered with more fractions than its oriental counterpart, but their overall inheritance seemed to be more intact than that back home. Since the trip would take a little while, the three struck up a conversation and he took the opportunity to learn about the identities of the other two. Let¡¯s talk about Andrea first. Wa was established three hundred years ago. Based on the concept of ancient Indian ¡°energy¡± and primitive witchcraft, it had created unique practices to expand one¡¯s physical and mental states. It was rather popr in Uncle Sam and recognized as a legitimate religious sect by the authorities. The organization structure consisted of a priestess at the top, followed by supreme, level III, level II, and level I witches. Those reaching the level of a supreme witch could operate independently and form their own organization of witches known as covens¡ªmeaning an assembly of witches. The theology of Wa was quite a positive one, centering around eight virtues of mirth, reverence, honor, humility, strength, beauty, power, andpassion. ¡°Eight words the Wan Rede fulfill¡ªan it harm none, do what ye will.¡± Hence was Wa¡¯s tolerant attitude towards many groups. For instance, they were very LGBT-friendly. The coven Andrea belonged to was called Lakeside Dawn, which consisted of thirteen members and had a supreme witch as their leader. Andrea was sent to Bonn for information-gathering and recruiting new believers while she was at it. As for Voodoo, or Vodun, it originated from West Africa and was a primitive religion with mixed elements of ancestor worship, animism, spiritualism, etc. It shared some simrity with Shamanism in a way. Arge number of African people were taken to Haiti and sold as ves in the 16th century; they also brought their primitive religion with them. It then took root in Haiti and gradually evolved into the Voodoo as we saw today. They were mostly famous for their walking corpses, which were moving bodies that stuck between life and death. That dwarf was a member of Voodoo fighting Wa on the American continent. Then we had Ernese. Despite his mild look, the old man was slicker than you could expect. He revealed very little about himself and all Gu Yu learnt was that he was one of the leaders of a Gaulish magic society who enjoyed a high social status. He was in charge of the security work of this conference. The gathering tonight was organized by him and his friends¡ªto be exact, four, himself included. *** ¡°Clip clop!¡± After about half an hour, the carriage turned into a small vige and stopped outside a cottage. The three got out; Ernese patted the horse¡¯s head, and the puppets turned around, disappearing into the dark night with that same rhythmic footsteps. ¡°They won¡¯t get lost, will they?¡± asked Andrea. ¡°Haha, youngdy, do you know why Bonn was chosen to hold the conference? A very old person lives here, and has set up many magical stations in this city, which can work in ways you can¡¯t possibly imagine¡­e, I¡¯ll bring you to him.¡± With that, Ernese tapped the door with his staff and the door opened itself with a creek. On entering, Gu Yu scanned the room. The interior was inly decorated and piled with a multitude of things. It reminded him of salons popr in Europe over a century ago, where one would find warm fireces and soft chaises longues. Two men and a woman were already sitting on the settees, all three very old. Gu Yu got the feeling that the white-beard man on the left who had a nket over hisps held the highest status. It was he that called out, ¡°Ernese, you¡¯rete!¡± ¡°Sorry, I had to pick up two young friends.¡± Ernese took off his coat and introduced them to one another. ¡°This is Erhard, this is Marianne, and this is Cohen.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The three pairs of eyes skipped Andrea andnded right on Gu Yu. There was a moment of silence, then the white-beard man¡ªa.k.a Erhard¡ªgave a slight nod. ¡°Wee to this gathering. I hope you won¡¯t be bored by all the old people here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m very lucky to be here. Nice to meet you all,¡± said Gu Yu, cupping his hands. Actually, he recognized two of them the moment he walked in¡ªErhard was the guardian mage of the dignitaries of the host country and Marianne was that of Viking of North Europe¡ªalthough it never urred to him that they were friends. As for that Cohen, Gu Yu had never seen him before. The brief conversation between Erhard and Gu Yu surprised the others. It was especially the case with Ernese, for all he could sense so far was that this young man was extraordinary in a way, but nothing specific. Erhard, on the other hand, was recognized as one of the mightiest in Europe. Now that he was talking to Gu Yu like equals, did it mean¡­ ¡®!!!¡¯ Ernest¡¯s stomach lurched a little. Before long, all six took their seats, with a delicious cup of hot beverage made of unknown ingredients in their hands. Erhard said, ¡°Since we have new friends among us today, let me reiterate this: although we¡¯re all from different countries, political stand is irrelevant here. All that takes ce is academicmunication. We four have been the only ones participating so far and it is bing somewhat repetitive. Since you¡¯re from the orient, we¡¯d like to hear about your thoughts.¡± ¡°¡­¡± It finally dawned on Gu Yu that these four were acquaintances since before the recovery of the spiritual essence; they kept their old habits of regr meeting after that. Obviously, this one they were holding now was something different, for in one way or another, it reflected the attitude of the countries they represented. At least, it seemed Germani, Gaul, and Viking had reached some friendly treaty by now. The fact that Ernese had invited Gu Yu out of the blue was proof of their initial exploratory attempt. The timing was perfect, for he himself had a lot of questions he wanted to ask. Gu Yu organized his thoughts and said, ¡°I am only the neer here, and I don¡¯t want to mislead anyone with wild talk. The orient and the ident probably knew very little of each other in this aspect, and since I am a cultivator of the Great Dao, I will start from Dao itself. ¡°As we are taught back in my country, ¡®Dao begets One, One begets Two, Two begets Three, and Three begets all things.¡¯ ¡°What exactly is Dao? Our understanding is that it is the path of the existence and movement of everything. In a word: Nature. ¡°The sun and moon rise and set; animals live and multiply; wind blows and water flows without a generator; trees and grass grow without artificial sowing; we breathe and our hearts beat without anyone telling them to do so¡­ ¡°Everything is following its own path just like that. It cannot be created or destroyed; it is intangible and formless; it has no start or end; it includes everything¡­ that is Dao. ¡°In a human society, it is demonstrated in a much more observable way. For instance, we talk about the way of conducting oneself, the way of doing business, the rtionship between monarchs and their subjects, the path of learning, the way of achieving harmony between husband and wife, etc. All those ¡®ways¡¯, ¡®paths¡¯, or ¡®methods¡¯ are Dao as well. ¡°ording to western religions, God created the world. Then scientists imed that the universe was created via Big Bang. I myself am too ignorant to offer opinion on either of them. ¡°We Taoists believe that Dao created the universe and the universe consists of Qi. ¡°Qi is the ultimate source of this world. There are many types: the energy of ck sky and yellow earth, Yin and Yang energy, the energy of Five Elements, inauspicious energy of evil stars, Big Dipper energy of Qian¡­ Qi constitutes all things in this world and it is such energy we use for our cultivation.¡± ¡°For example?¡± asked Marianne suddenly. ¡°For example¡­ this.¡± Gu Yu opened his palm and released a streak of spiritual essence, which stood vertically in his hand. As the spiritual essence was formless, he manipted it so that it could vibrate at a high frequency. Thus, the air above his palm began to contort and the little space warped, emanating energy in circles. ¡°Oh, it does not consist of elements! And the fluctuation is so clear!¡± Marianne cried out softly. ¡°It resembles certain practices of ancient India, but this is of a purer form.¡± Ernese had taken out a pipe from somewhere and was now puffing on it. ¡°I read an ancient book once¡ªin it was a method of meditation which absorbed this type of energy, but it was extremely difficult and probably not suitable for our idental races,¡± added Cohen. ¡°Oh, I do want to experiment with it. Maybe it¡¯ll transform into something even more interesting!¡± Just like when Gu Yu saw magic for the first time, the other five now were greatly intrigued by the spiritual essence and were discussing excitingly of this strange form of energy. After some discussion, Erhard said, ¡°All right, we¡¯ve said enough. Please continue.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Gu Yu put down his hand with a smile and went on, ¡°The sky, the earth, and even humans were transformed from Qi. The aim of our cultivation is therefore to recover our original simplicity and return to our original state. In simple words: to turn people back into Qi again, so that we can live for as long as the world exists. ¡°That is the belief of cultivators in my country and the path we choose to follow. Since the remote ages tens of thousands years ago, countless people have stepped into this breach as another falls, trying to ze a way through all manners of obstacles. All we ever cared is that slim line of hope.¡± He paused a moment, then said, ¡°Therefore, like I just exined, we cultivate to rise beyond this mortal form so as to reach the realm of Great Dao, where we can watch the creation and destruction of universes. If I may ask, what is your ultimate goal of your practices? Also immortality?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The room fell into silence at the question. Thanks to that interpretation trick, the others understood him despite his literary-style speech. Being the weakest one here, Andrea knew she was merely a tag-along audience, hence she had been awfully quiet, which was very unlike her. Quite a whileter, Ernese tapped his pipe and said, ¡°If you asked me that question ten years ago, I would answer without a doubt that I hanker for the knowledge and power of magic. However, I have realized by now that in the process of pursuing that, I have paid with my most precious thing.¡± ¡°Time?¡± asked Gu Yu. ¡°Exactly! I deem myself among the most knowledgeable men on magic theories in the whole Europe. However, the more knowledge I umted, the more afraid I became.¡± Ernese sighed. ¡°Haha, me, too. Did you know my first reaction when I realized the elements had reappeared?¡± Marianne chimed in, then answered the question herself, ¡°I went to mel¡¯s grave to search for the philosopher¡¯s stone.¡± ¡°Hahaha! I¡¯d never imagined that! You, the one cooler than an iceberg, have actually done that!¡± Cohen broke into aughter. ¡°I was consulting the documents my teacher left the other day. The philosopher¡¯s stone should have been sessfully created, but not the elixir of life. And for some reason, mel has lost the stone and it was nowhere to be found.¡± Erhard seemed to have an extraordinary inheritance, for the other three looked revered as soon as he mentioned his teacher. He then chuckled. ¡°The new young friend asked a simple question which we have been avoiding the whole time. When we began our practices, we were probably after wisdom, power, wealth, or influence. But in the end, it all came down to one thing¡ªimmortality, or eternal life.¡± Gu Yu chuckled with him. Indeed, it was themon weak spot of all cultivators in this world: they were all afraid of dying! ¡°Since we¡¯re on that topic, I just happen to have something here to show you all.¡± ¡°You found something in that research?¡± asked Ernese curiously. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call it that. A preliminary restoration, that¡¯s all.¡± Erhard seemed to be not holding anything back from them. He then slowly rose to his feet and led the other five into the back room. Chapter 362 Chapter 362: Late Night Talk (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu They went into a back room with no windows and piles of sundries scattered all over; it looked like a storage room of some sort. Gu Yu now saw that Erhard was in a western-style robe. The old man pressed his palm against the wall and the floor split open, revealing a staircase extending downwards. ¡°This way, please!¡± He led the other five down into a much wider space¡ªactually, it was even bigger than the entire cottage. There were tables, chairs, and many wooden cabs, which were filled with all kinds of containers andboratory apparatuses. Erhard took aplicated-looking container out of a cab. The main part was a 30 cm sk divided into twoyers. A few winding pipes were connected to the sk, all sealed apart from a single opening. The sk was empty. However, after he dropped in a handful of magic powder, a strange and remarkable object emerged among the sprinkling particles. To call it an object was not exactly urate, but Gu Yu did not know how to describe it otherwise. The outeryer of the sk was filled with a sticky dark brown semi-liquid that was emanating a detectable heat, making the sk rotating slowly. Inside the sphere of the inneryer of the sk was a naked little person, who was holding its knees between its arms with its eyes shut. There was something weird about its facial expression that Gu Yu could not quite describe. ¡°¡­¡± To be honest, he was seldom disturbed by anything these days, but this thing had disturbed him greatly¡ªno, not that, he was petrified! He was overwhelmed by the greatest horror, for that little person looked exactly like a normal child with its normal limbs, body, flesh, and hair! It was not just him, but everyone present was shocked. A hush fell over the room as they eyed it turning slowly inside the sphere; they almost expected it to open its eyes at any moment. A momentter, Ernese was the first one unable to contain his excitement. His full beard quivered as he shouted out, ¡°Haha, my old friend, you made it! You finally made it!¡± ¡°I am far from that. This is only a preliminary replication. I have no idea what form it will evolve into.¡± With that, Erhard fetched a bag of fresh blood and poured it into the sk through the ss pipe. The dark-red liquid flowed into the sk, but instead of gathering at the bottom, it disappeared rapidly; the thing seemed to have absorb it all. Its facial expression finally changed a little after the whole big bag of blood was gone. The corners of its mouth turned upwards and it looked happy. ¡°Is, is it a human being?¡± Andrea stuttered out a question. As a religious group of Uncle Sam¡ªwhich was not the most ideal magicalnd in this new world¡ªshe didn¡¯t have much opportunity to witness something this remarkable and was a little abashed with her ignorance. ¡°You may call it that, or something else. Technically speaking, it is a creation of alchemy.¡± Erhard put away the sk and exined, ¡°The founder of my teacher¡¯s faction was fortunate enough to learn from Paracelsus himself. This is the ult knowledge he left behind¡­ haha, all right, let¡¯s go back there and talk.¡± He resealed theboratory and led the others back to sit by the firece. Andrea still looked dazed as she muttered, ¡°Paracelsus, oh my god, this is incredible¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say!¡± Gu Yu was equally surprised, for he had never expected Erhard to be a descendant of Paracelsus. No wonder the other three held great respect towards the old man. Paracelsus was a Swiss-born German and an alchemist renowned in medieval Europe. He had set up a discipline, advocatingbining alchemy with medical science for a better service for humanity. Many legends rose around this man, among which was the Homunculus. It meant ¡°man-made man¡±. In alchemy, a human being was believed to consist of flesh, soul, and spirit. That was to say, if one could create all three elements, they could create a human being without a womb. Paracelsus was said to be the only one in European history to have achieved that. He created a miniature human being in a jar, but it died shortly afterwards. That was insane! The creation of men was deemed to be the work of God only. If a man could build a man, where did that leave God? Hence, the concept of Homunculus had always been deemed heretic and was mercilessly suppressed by the Vatican. ¡®Tsk! Tsk!¡¯ Gu Yu was overwhelmed by all kinds of feelings. This trip was so worth it by attending this gathering alone! He could only see so big a world staying back at home, and could really perceive the vastness of this universe by getting in touch with the world outside. For instance, what were the Taoist approaches of creating human beings? One option was to turn to vicious, unorthodox methods, using bits and pieces of flesh of different people to put a body together. Or, a body had to be created out of an existing one, in which case, one was to replicate themselves. Or, one had to reach a supreme cultivation state, such as Perfected Man Taiyi, who build Nezha 1 with lotus roots. All those above required very advanced cultivation level¡ªunlike alchemy, which was almost like a discipline devoted to artificial human creation. Wait a minute! A discipline! Gu Yu¡¯s heart skipped a beat as if a lever was pulled. The idea came so suddenly that his thoughts were all over the ce for a while and his mind was in chaos. He was faintly aware of something pivotal and only came to himself after quite a while. He fixed his mind on that thought and pressed on, ¡°What did you make this thing for?¡± ¡°Initially, to create the perfect life form. ording to Paracelsus, although it was a fraction of the size of a normal human being, it was born a master of various knowledge. It would also have excellent academic ability and enjoy a long and disease-free life. ¡°It might be just another crazy experiment of his, but when I tried to replicate it, hoho, I was wondering if I could use it on myself.¡± Erhard did not try to conceal anything. ¡°Does it have a mind and soul of its own?¡± asked Cohen. ¡°There is no guarantee of that. After all, no second person has ever seeded. I don¡¯t have much hope for my own experiment, either.¡± ¡°How long is it until ready?¡± asked Marianne. ¡°You¡¯re very lucky. It¡¯s seven days from now, and right during the conference. I¡¯ll invite you over again then.¡± Erhard sipped that unknown drink and turned to look at Gu Yu with a smile. ¡°The oriental Taoist skills had a long history. I¡¯d love to see what you have in this aspect.¡± ¡°You have been very honest with me and it is only fair that I share something myself. Here we go.¡± Old Gu meant it¡ªthe old man had demonstrated his sincerity by sharing such a big secret on their first meeting. He took out a talisman and grabbed at the thin air. A leaf on the tree outside then appeared in his hand, followed by a whooshing sound. The talisman burst into me and white smoke surged up, gradually transforming into a man that was a perfect replica of Gu Yu, only that the look on its face was a little nk. ¡°Transfiguration!¡± Cohen let out a soft cry first, then corrected himself, ¡°No, that¡¯s not it. That was not transfiguration. To turn a leaf into a man will cost a great amount of magic, but the fluctuation just then was tiny.¡± ¡°What was the mechanism behind this? Was that a talisman?¡± Marianne also asked. ¡°That¡¯s correct. It was indeed a talisman. It contains energy and you simply activate it when you want to use it. Of course, you will need some sort of nt, metal, or stone as a medium, as well as a little, um, spiritual imprint from the user themselves. This replica can talk and walk around, but it has no mind or soul. It has a physical body, though, and can remain in this form for three days. It will do this under impact¡­¡± He gave it a pat and Evangelion 2 Gu Yu made a popping sound and disappeared. ¡°I see, it¡¯s like a magic scroll.¡± Marianne understood right away. ¡°What was that move called, the one you used to pick the leaf? It looked a lot like Mage Hand.¡± Ernese was apparently more interested in that aspect. ¡°That¡¯s Small Moving Technique; it¡¯s quite versatile. For example¡­¡± Gu Yu did not move, but Ernese¡¯s pipe suddenly disappeared from his hand, and the next moment, it popped up between Cohen¡¯s lips. Both old men were taken by surprise and it took Cohen a minute to throw away the pipe and spit repeatedly. ¡°Gosh! That was like kissing that old bat indirectly! Gross!¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± Erhard broke into aughter. ¡°The oriental skills are indeed remarkable. You know, the greater the difference between an object and the thing it is transfigured into, the more difficult it is, let alone maintain the form for three days.¡± ¡°You tter me. I am only a beginner in this field. Those that reach an advanced cultivation state can replicate themselves out of thin air, turn y puppets into living men, and make objects out of nothing. Now, that is remarkable,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Turn y puppets into men and create objects out of nothing¡­¡± Erhard repeated those words with a longing in his eyes. After a brief pause, he offered Gu Yu the official invitation as a sign of epting thetter into the group. ¡°Our gathering will be held regrly throughout the conference. I hope we¡¯ll see you again.¡± *** The private party did not finish until early the next morning. Andrea left on her own, while Gu Yu went back to the hotel with Ernese on that carriage. His head was filled with ideas after the night and he couldn¡¯t wait to see the old man of their own delegation. Unfortunately, the delegation had left early this morning. It was the first day of the conference and the leading figures of all 184 countries and regions had to make their appearance. He had no choice but to stay behind and watch the live broadcast. All countries had reached the tacit agreement that nothing extraordinary would happen on the conference. The mysterious powers had their own yground. With the delegations of Chine, Uncle Sam, Sicily, Britannia, Oz, Espania, Nippon, etc., showing their faces in turn, one could sense the torrents brewing behind the curtain. Finally, the afternoon arrived and the first day of the conference was over. The old man hurried back to the hotel and greeted Gu Yu by asking, ¡°Mr. Gu, you didn¡¯te backst night. Was there a problem?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it was nothing like that. I have good news.¡± He told the old man about what had happened and suggested, ¡°I am pretty sure about why they sought me out. Germani, Gaul, and Viking are definitely thinking about coboration. Maybe you could work on that angle.¡± ¡°That exins a lot. I felt something was going on during the meeting today¡­ ok, I¡¯ll make a note of that. Anything else?¡± ¡°There¡¯s so much more, but I¡¯ll have to get to know them better to figure it all out. All I can tell you now is that I will learn so much more than I expected from this trip.¡± He did not go into details and only asked, ¡°How are things on your front?¡± ¡°Most countries are still riding the fence. Uncle Sam is not as domineering as usually; it almost seemed they did not have much to fall back onto. The African countries are all on their own. The Latin American countries seemed to have formed an alliance, trying to increase their bargaining power. Oz is looking for friends. Britannia is unexpectedly loud; they proposed setting up a European alliance, developing the mysterious powers with a joint force. The alliance will be run by amittee and they pretty much named themselves for it.¡± ¡°Uncle Sam has their hands tied with everything going on domestically. They don¡¯t have much¡ª wait a minute.¡± Gu Yu blinked and said, ¡°I have an idea, but it is a very rough one.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. Do tell,¡± said the old man. ¡°I learned yesterday that Uncle Sam has over 1200 registered cults. A handful are quite capable, but most of them are just swindlers. ¡°The Congress is fighting among themselves; some support a full-on suppression, while others suggest a gentler approach. However, there is a great shortage of transcendent powers under the government¡¯s control and Voodoo is setting fire in their backyard. It¡¯s a circus out there. ¡°How about this? We will offer them some help in exchange for something to our country¡¯s benefit. I can¡¯t think of anything specific¡ªI believe that is your expertise. Oh, and there¡¯s this¡­¡± He took out a card. ¡°This is the contact information of the Wa. They have a rtively positive theology and maybe you can reach out to them, see if you can learn something more.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The old man took the card and studied it carefully. ¡°Yes, I believe it is doable. We¡¯ll talk about it in detailter.¡± ¡°Great. By the way, what¡¯s the agenda tomorrow?¡± ¡°The same old stuff: implication, differentiation, and a lot of wooing. This is a ten-day conference and no one knows how it¡¯ll turn out until thest moment.¡± ¡°I see. That is a lot of hard work. In that case, I¡¯ll take care of myself.¡± ¡°We are in a foreign country after all. So, if it¡¯s possible, do keep your, um¡­¡± The old man was already worried¡ªthis fellow had a habit of switching between the little red riding hood and the big wolf without warning. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I know when to stop.¡± *** Bonn, an ancient castle in the suburbs. The castle, which could be dated back to almost a thousand years, had now been revamped into a hotel with gardens providing reception service. It was a renowned destination in Europe. Two days before themencement of the conference, a group of people rented the entire venue; ording to the registration information, they were all from Britannia. Right now, a dozen people were sitting around a long dining table, quietly enjoying their dinner. They were all properly attired and moved around the table gracefully with perfect manners, every bit the gentlemen they were supposed to be. In the middle of the meal, a man entered the room, walked up to the man in the host¡¯s seat, and whispered into his ears. ¡°I see. You can leave us now.¡± The man put down his cutlery and gave the table a knock with his knuckles. ¡°Gentlemen, the first day of the conference is over. As expected, the proposal of setting up a European alliance was rejected, which marked themencement of our task. ¡°Never shall we forget that our country was once the greatest nation of this world, ruling over a quarter of the global poption with a territory of 34 million km^2. ¡°An emerging opportunity is upon us now. Even if the old glory was a past we could not replicate, we will not rest until we rise above all others in this war. Britannia is thend most abundant with modern magic, which is our fate and great fortune. Europe is not and with plenty resources; Gaul, Germani, Mediterranean, and the Iceberg baneers up in the north all have their own organizations. They are all our enemies! ¡°Gentlemen, while they fight their battles inside the conference room, we will fight ours out here. I don¡¯t care what measures you take, the majority of the countries must reach the agreement on passing our proposal.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Those around the table answered his calling and the man went on. ¡°Leave Ernese, Erhard, and the other old ones alone for the time being. Start with the small countries.¡± ¡°What about the Orient?¡± ¡°They have their own problems to deal with and won¡¯t be in our way. Nippon is the only one offering secret support, but they cannot be trusted. Keep an eye on them. And there¡¯s Chine¡­¡± Hatred seeped through his voice as he said, ¡°Two of ours were killed, and I suspect that man is the culprit. Find a way to kill him!¡± ¡°This fact that he is with the delegation means he is very powerful. We might not be able to¡­¡± said someone anxiously. ¡°Ha! Don¡¯t worry. That one is with us here!¡± ¡°That one¡­¡± A mixture of worship, envy, and fear shed across every face at the table at the mention of that person, as if that one was the answer to all problems. Chapter 363 Chapter 363: The Push Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The conference wouldst ten days. It might be held under the pretense of a climate conference, but no one was actually going to talk about the weather. The politicians would take care of the strategicpetition and cooperation in the meetings, while the cultivators were the ones making actual contact and physically fighting one another. Hence, Gu Yu had been visiting Erhard every night for the next couple of days and got to know the others better. Erhard was well over eighty, and was probably the most senior member of the European magicmunity. As the descendant of Paracelsus, he was an expert in magic and alchemy, which could be further categorized into aspects such as Homunculus, puppet stone figures, magic circles, pharmaceutics, etc. Marianne was a Nordic witch and a master of auguries and curses. Her ancestors fled to the north during the witch hunts of the medieval times; there, they survived by sheer luck and had kept a low profile ever since. Ernese was a sorcerer through and through. His expertise was in elemental magic and he was a very capable fighter himself. Cohen, on the other hand, turned out to be a mild surprise for Gu Yu, for the old man was a Jew unattached to any individual country. It just so happened that he was a believer of Kabbh, which was right up Gu Yu¡¯s alley. One of his purposes ofing to the western hemisphere was to study this so-called tree of life. ¡°We each follow a different school of thought, which leads to the difference in our view of the world. Taoism believes Qi to be the ultimate source of the world, whereas that role is yed by elements in Ernese¡¯s opinion, spirit in Marianne¡¯s, and various materials usable by human beings in mine.¡± The five were having the conversation of the day by the warm firece. Erhard was saying, ¡°Therefore, it does not matter what this ultimate source is called; what matters is that which school is able to put it to the best use and form a rigorous practicing system.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I discovered after I arrived at the western hemisphere that the spiritual essence is still present and I can still absorb it. Despite the differences of all the cultivation methods out there in the world, we all end up heading for the same destination.¡± After a few days of getting to know these people, Gu Yu began to like theirte night talks. ¡°Actually, there is one question that I have been meaning to ask. Back in my country, ces with the densest spiritual essence that are also radiating towards the surrounding areas are called nodes. Do you have simr things in your countries?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Erhard squinted a little and chuckled. ¡°Of course, only that we call them origins, as in the origins of a new world.¡± ¡°Origins¡­ hm, very good name.¡± Gu Yu nodded and did not press on. Information such as the number of nodes in each country was doubtlessly among the top secrets. He then looked out of the window and saw the pale red of the eastern sky. ¡°The sun¡¯s rising, it¡¯s time for me to leave. Oh, I have some gifts for you here. I hope you¡¯ll like them.¡± With that, he took out a stack of talismans and gave two to each of them: one was a nk talisman and the other amon healing talisman. ¡°Oh, thank you! This is a surprise!¡± Marianne was the most interested in talismans and epted the gift happily. She then gave it a thought and handed Gu Yu a little pouch with a smile. ¡°Just a little something in return. It¡¯s nothing much, just the seeds of a very beautiful nt.¡± ¡°Haha, I have a tail feather of the descendant of a phoenix for you, for decoration purposes.¡± Ernese was ready to return the gift as well. He took out a golden and red long feather that looked splendid. The oriental phoenix was an ancient divine animal that came in pairs 1 , whereas the western counterpart was an immortal bird with an appearance resembling a vulture or giant eagle that could sing beautifully. Gu Yu liked this gift very much. Since Ernese said it was from a descendant, it was obviously not from an actual phoenix, which exined the weak energy fluctuation in the feather. Erhard chuckled at this. ¡°I¡¯m not prepared for this, but I do have a little puppet here that can tell you the correct time. It¡¯ll work for another three to five years.¡± With that, he handed Gu Yu a magical puppet in the form of an owl. It was so lifelike that even its feathers looked the real thing. Its round head turned this way and that, giving it a dorky charm. ¡°Um¡­¡± Cohen looked very embarrassed, for the other three all gave something back in return, but he had nothing suitable for the asion. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it! It¡¯s not like this is ourst meeting on earth.¡± Gu Yu waved at the old man to ease his awkwardness and said, ¡°So, I¡¯m off. See you all tomorrow.¡± ¡°I have some errands to run. I¡¯ll be leaving as well.¡± Cohen also rose to his feet. Momentster, the two walked out of the cottage together. Looking around, Gu Yu suddenly said, ¡°Mr. Cohen, are you in a hurry? There is something I want to ask you.¡± ¡°No problem, but I don¡¯t have a lot of time.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s talk on our way.¡± The two then left the vige without hailing that carriage, walking towards downtown Bonn. ¡°You¡¯re a practitioner of Kabbh and to be honest, that is something I am very interested in. I was wondering if you could exin to me a little more about it? Oh, feel free to omit anything that you deem private or secret,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Kabbh is a veryplicated system. I don¡¯t really know where to begin to answer you question,¡± said Cohen with a frown. ¡°In Taoist theories, the description of the universe is generally very abstract: the universe is born from Dao and Qi. I want to know how Kabbh sees the universe.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Apparently also interested in this topic, Cohen pondered for a moment, searching for the right words. ¡°As a matter of fact, I think that, to some extent, the theories of Kabbh and Taoism share simrities. We believe in God, but not as an entity, but the sum of all contradictory concepts such as good and evil, justice and partiality, mercy and indifference, knowledge and agnosticism, etc., which together constitute God. It sounds a lot like your Dao. ¡°In our practices, the ultimate goal is to achieve the unity of man and God.¡± ¡°As in a man bing an integral part of nature?¡± asked Gu Yu in amazement. ¡°You can put it that way. We believe that when the universe was first created, man and God were a unified one¡ªwe call that state the primordial man. The purpose of our practice is to return to that state through the tree of life.¡± ¡®Holy sh*t!¡¯ Gu Yu was genuinely intrigued. He knew very little of Kabbh before this, but now, with Cohen¡¯s exnation, he realized the old man was describing the recovery of one¡¯s original nature of Taoism. What did Taoism mean by this ¡°nature¡±? It was one¡¯s initial and true state, which was what the Perfected Man of the ancient period was! The simrity between that and the primordial man was obvious. His head was buzzing for a moment there. He had studied many western religious doctrines before this and most of them talked about God creating the world and men, and that God was omnipotent and men could only win God¡¯s grace by going through suffering, redemption, being loving, h, h, h. Kabbh theory was the first that mentioned none of that but proposed to unify with God. ¡°We have an excellent metaphor for God, describing it as a streak of light in a mirror, which is reflected in a second mirror, then a third, a fourth¡­ the process continues. In this series of infinite reflections, part of the light is gradually lost and new part is also gradually added in. ¡°God is that initial streak of light. It sets out from the origin and forms another nine streaks. The ten light together is known as Sephirot.¡± Cohen mentioned a very obscure term ¡°Sephirot¡± and it took Gu Yu quite a while toprehend the concept, which corresponded to the Taoist theory of ¡°once objects are formed, the constituents forming them can form countless other objects¡±. Cohen then produced a card. On it was a strange pattern consisting of three columns, ten Sephirot, Four Worlds, and twenty-two lines arranged vertically, which was none other than the tree of life itself. ¡°This tree is the path of our practice, leading man back to God. We mainly use meditation for that purpose, which I will not go into details here,¡± Cohen exined briefly as he pointed at different parts of the card. ¡°The top of the tree is the crown¡ªor God¡ªand the other nine Sephirot are wisdom, understanding, kindness, misericord, beauty, glory, eternity, foundation, and kingdom. The three columns are the columns of kindness, mildness, and stringency¡­¡± Gu Yu listened to the old man carefully, but the exnation sounded so much like a finesse for propaganda purposes that it was no different from the eight virtues Wa promoted. Maybe there was quite a lot of undisclosed secrets involved that Cohen was unwilling to reveal. He only carried on exining, ¡°The Four Worlds are: World of Emanation, meaning fire and energy; World of Creation, meaning wind and time; World of Formation, meaning water and space; World of Action, meaning earth and material.¡± ¡°Wind, water, earth, and fire? Energy, time, space, material¡­¡± Gu Yu muttered to himself, apparently onto something. He then asked, ¡°What¡¯s your own understanding of these concepts?¡± ¡°My own understanding¡­ the Primordial World came first, which was the original source of the universe and where all the other worlds were created. ¡°Then came World of Creation. Light evolved here, developing into various remarkable elements. ¡°World of Formation was the third one. This is the realm of souls, where thoughts and concepts form, as well as the differentiation of male and female. ¡°The fourth one was World of Action. Light disintegrates here, then crystalizes and transforms into nature and human beings. Abstract consciousness also bes concrete things here. This is men¡¯s wor¡ª hm?¡± Before he could finish that sentence, Gu Yu suddenly halted and froze on the spot. Cohen was taken by surprise and asked in a hurry, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°¡­¡± There was no answer. Gu Yu¡¯s face was nk and he could be either deep in thought or having his mind wandering off somewhere else. Cohen was unfamiliar with the oriental concept of ¡°realization¡±, but he knew better than to disturb Gu Yu at this moment. Looking around, he was kind enough to keep guard for Gu Yu. So, what was Gu Yu thinking? He was thinking about the Taoist view of the world. Taoism had never offered a clear and systematic description of the universe or the world. All it had were generalized, abstruse words that could be applied to any dispute at any time. For example: ¡°Dao begets all things and Dao is in everything; all things existing are part of the great cycle of the universe and everything is constantly transforming into everything else.¡± After that, there was no systematic analysis. Many people thought Taoism had a distinct categorization of different worlds because of expressions such as ¡°jumping out of the confinement of the three divisions of the universe¡±, or ¡°thirty-six heavens¡±. Let¡¯s talk about the thirty-six heavens, which was a concoction of the Maoshan Sect by borrowing from Buddhist theories, first. Simr expressions included twenty-eight heaves, four brahmas, four heavens of the sacredndscape¡­ please, using brahma for a Taoist concept? Then there was the three divisions of the universe, which had several versions. Some categorized it as heaven (the heavenly court where immortals and sacred figures dwelled),herworld (a ce as spooky as hell), and earth (the human world); some believed it to be the three realms of heaven, earth, and water; some even went as far as to borrow the Buddhist concept directly and named the three divisions as Kamaloka, Rupaloka, and Arupaloka! Thatst one was simply ridiculous¡ªat least make it sound like Taoist words! That was why the Taoist categorization was in such chaos¡ªthe mythological system was always changing throughout the history. With each change came a new concept, and in the end, there were many contradictory things and each sect believed in a different system. Even the Taoist priests could not tell which one to believe. Inparison, the Kabbh theory was very interesting. At least it offered a graphic and clear picture of the constituent of the universe. ¡°Mhm¡­¡± It felt like a split second or several hundred years when Gu Yu¡¯s eyes snapped open. His head had never been this clear; an urge was rising inside him, on the verge of escaping his control. He had finally figured out what ¡°push¡± he needed to break into the Human Immortal state! Chapter 364 Chapter 364: Open Fire Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me! Please!¡± ¡°We will join you! We will!¡± ¡°I will persuade our leader as soon as I go back. Please spare my life!¡± ¡°Humph! You just had to choose the hard way! What a waste of my precious time! Don¡¯t act as if you¡¯re forced into this. There is no way your country can afford developing the mysterious power on your own, so you¡¯re better off attached to us. In that way, at least you¡¯ll get the help you need from us.¡± Inside a small vige, a senior sorcerer of AA had crushed the joint forces of three mages of a small country without breaking a sweat. With its poption of under a million, it was nearly a miracle that the country could have mages of its own. Had it not been for a mutated forest in its territory, Britannia would not have been bothered to make this effort. ¡°Now¡­¡± The AA sorcerer waved his hand at two of the mages, releasing two balls of fire, burning thetter into ashes. He then turned to the sole survivor. ¡°You¡¯ll be in charge of your delegation from now on. We¡¯ll be in touch.¡± With that, he put his hat back on, picked up his walking stick, and soon disappeared into the end of the alley with the click-ck of his shiny leather shoes. It was like the old man said before the conference: what happened inside and outside the conference room affected one another. All the participating countries werepeting chiefly with their mysterious powers; the traditional military forces only came next. Even those countries that used to be superpowers, without their own capable mages or sorcerers, were falling off the wagon of this new wave of global development and were bound to be eliminated. Hence, what was happening right now was that all traditional superpowerscking transcendent talents were seeking cooperative partners, whereas the smaller/weaker but with enough inheritance in that aspect were either waiting for the highest bidder or forming up alliances. As someone blessed with both, Britannia was as proud as the only rooster in the hennery. Once more, it was depicted as the happy saboteur of Europe, or even the entire world. During the past seven days of the conference, it was persistent in publicly lobbying for the establishment of a European alliance of mysterious powers and its domestic magic societies had alsoe out in full force, doing all they could outside the conference room, alternating between intimidation and bribery. Apart from Germani, Gual, and Viking¡ªwhich were under the wings of their senior members of the magicmunity and whom they dared not provoke recklessly¡ªeven Sicily, which was practically the front yard of the Vatican, almost could not stay out of their harassment. It was simply out of line! Preposterous! Everyone was disgusted by the deeds of this single country, but was at the same time surprised and baffled. They were indeed quite powerful in that aspect, but not to the point where they could look down upon all other countries in the world. What on earth gave them this confidence? As for Gu Yu¡¯s home team, their general policy had been clear all along: cooperate with the stronger ones and befriend the weaker ones. With the global impact and the trust the country had gained over the past ny years, the delegation led by the old man was able to stand out as one of the dominant voices. Now that they were able to set up friendly rtionship with the US and European delegations, they were showing a possibility of establishing another alliance excluding Britannia. Needless to say, with neutral countries such as Germani sitting on the fence, the leaders of the two potential alliances had be rivals. *** The cottage, the secret chamber. Gu Yu, Ernese, and the other three¡ªAndrea included¡ªwere invited here again to witness the birth, or destruction, of the Homunculus. Right now, the six were standing around the table as Erhard carefully took out the sk and injected thest dose of fresh blood. After that, it was time to wait for the miracle. Gu Yu was greatly intrigued by this thing and was able to obtain its ingredients by exchanging some of his oriental secret knowledge. Human sperm and various herbs were to be put inside a sk first, the outeryer of which was to be stuffed with horse manure¡ªits fermentation would maintain the temperature of the sk. In the next forty weeks, the inneryer of the sk had to be kept warm while fresh blood was added in regrly. In thirty days, a transparent human-shaped object would appear inside the sk. It would have the appearance of a human child, only that it would be much smaller in size. The key of the ingredients were the herbs, especially a nt called mandrake. It sprouted from the sperm of hanged men dug out by a ck dog before the dawn of a Friday. It was then to be washed clean and raised with milk, honey, and fresh blood. The use of sperm did not surprise Gu Yu, for it was not umon in the idental magicmunity. However, the sperm of a hanged man was rather peculiar. ording to Erhard, it was produced by thest ejaction before a man died. Now, that was something one did not hear every day! Thest ejaction before death¡­ that almost sounded heroically tragic¡ªas if all the miserable single souls out there were shown the end of their universe. Enough with the sidetracking. After Erhard poured the blood in, the tiny figure was still turning with the sk. The old man had prepared plenty of alchemy powder beforehand and was now sprinkling it over the sk in handfuls while chanting a spell. Finally, after he had removed all ss pipes from the sphere of the sk, the little figure stopped turning. The next second, the index finger of its right hand moved a little, then its body gave a slight shiver. After that, its eyes snapped open. ¡®Wow!¡¯ Andrea could not help but marvel at what she saw, her pretty green eyes staring at the little figure as if she had been pulled into its eyes. Gu Yu was also carefully sensing it. Despite theck of any energy fluctuation from the thing, it gave him the feeling of something extremely dangerous. There were no pupils in those eyes apart from a ckness as still as the dead of night and as undisturbed as the sea after dark, beneath which was the endless desire and struggle. In them was innocence, wisdom, sympathy, indifference, evil, taunt, temptation¡­ as if all human emotions were concentrated in its eyes. ¡°It is the perfect creation!¡± ¡°God, I think it can see through everything. I feel naked in its presence!¡± The four elders were all admiring it in low voices and Erhard was shaking with his uncontroble excitement. In ancient Germanic, he asked, ¡°You, you are¡­ oh, no, what do you see? Tell me, what do you see?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The little figure¡¯s head turned slightly, apparentlyprehending the question. However, it gave no reply; instead, a strange and terrifying smile crept up its face. Immediately after that, it closed its eyes and its flesh began to shrivel at an observable speed. Its tiny body kept shrinking and shrinking further¡­ until it was a wizened ball of gray flesh. ¡°No, you can¡¯t disappear like this! Tell me the way to eternal life and the ultimate truth! No! No!¡± Erhard rushed to the table and grabbed the sk into his arms, shaking everything on the table. ¡°Hey, calm down!¡± Seeing this, Gu Yu patted the old man, activating both his spiritual essence and conjuring skill. Erhard shuddered and stood there dazed for a moment before the contorted muscle on his face slowly rxed. ¡°Old friend, you should have foreseen this. It would never be born into this world¡ªnot really.¡± Ernese sighed. ¡°No, not to this world of men. It doesn¡¯t belong here,¡± said Marianne. ¡°Maybe it was the creation closest to eternal life, to truth, and to the origin of the universe. Because of that, it chose to destroy itself,¡± said Cohen. ¡°¡­¡± Andrea didn¡¯t really know what they were talking about and kept her silence again. A momentter, the six of them returned to the firece while Erhardy down on a settee. He only settled his mind after arge cup of hot beverage. He let out a long breath, as if trying to drive away all the irritation from earlier. Only then did he turn to Gu Yu, asking, ¡°By the way, I sensed something different in you ever since you walked in today. Something is palpitating inside you. Has something happened?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I was hitting a bottleneck and couldn¡¯t break through. It was thanks to Cohen¡ªhe has brought me something like a revtion. My current status, well, I can¡¯t really exin it, either¡­¡± Gu Yu¡¯s energy had always felt reserved, but it was now brimming out. His entire body was like a sphere of light, emanating a fierce, jumbled, and strange aura. He was mobile and static, present and absent, unrestrained and controlled, happy and sad¡ªall these prized qualities were fastened onto him simultaneously. And these still kept rising, as if looking for a window to break through. Gu Yu now was a powder keg with its fuse ignited; he was ready to blow off at any moment. He knew perfectly of what was happening: the world view of Kabbh had shaken him so much that he was able to fill in the missing piece of his upgrade requirement. Therefore, he had been hesitating. Should he cut the trip short and go back home, or should he just find a secluded ce in Bonn for a few days?¡± *** They finished another nightlong talk. It was the early morning of the eighth day and Gu Yu was walking back to town with Andrea. He did not ask, but from the look of it, Wa had been approached by his own government and they were in the initial state of making contact. ¡°I heard that Master Erhard had covered half the city in his magic circle. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to achieve a tenth of what he could in my lifetime.¡± Andrea¡¯s high heels click-cked on the road, drawing attention to her perfect ankles and the beautiful lines of her calves. That part of her body alone was enough to drive men crazy. ¡°I prefer these magic spots. They¡¯re like the infrastructure of a transcendant society. With them, a new social system can totally be set up.¡± Gu Yu acted as if she had no legs at all. Instead, he tapped a telegraph pole by the side of the road, which made a popping sound of fluctuation. The so-called magic spots were a little like tform 9 ?; they were connected by triggering devices and could cover a certain area. That carriage, for instance, could be summoned at a magic spot, from where it would take one to other magic spots. Mages could also use them to contact one another,municate, and deliver things. This was something Gu Yu had been considering as well. He liked its convenience and wished they coulde up with something like this back home. ¡°All right, this is your ce. See you.¡± They soon arrived at her building. Andrea did not seem to feel the chill of the morning at all. Wrapped in her tight, thin little ck dress, she readily twisted her body into a perfect ¡°S¡±, chuckling, ¡°You¡¯re sure you don¡¯t wannae up? Last chance.¡± ¡°Stop hitting on me already. I have a girlfriend.¡± Gu Yu felt his temple throbbing. ¡°So what? She¡¯s not here and I don¡¯t mind.¡± The blinking green eyes could have drowned any ordinary man. ¡°You won¡¯t understand. All right, go home!¡± Gu Yu waved his goodbye. ¡°Teehee, ok. I¡¯m going back home tomorrow. See you around.¡± After that, Andrea strutted back upstairs while Gu Yu shook his head and headed back along a small street. It was in the small hours and there were barely any people and vehicles around; the street looked deserted. Winter here in Bonn was quite cold. Trees on both sides of the street were coated with frost and the dangling branches had a lonely kind of beauty to them. He halted all of a sudden and frowned. That feeling inside was getting stronger and he could barely control it¡­ damn it, as the first Human Immortal after centuries, he had only himself for consultation. ¡®It sucks!¡¯ He unknowingly looked towards the south beyond the city, where the indistinctive grayish white mountains sprinkled with green stretched out into the distance. It was a ce called Siebengebirge in the suburbs of Bonn and the closest ce he could find right now for seclusion. ¡®Hm?¡¯ He was about to notify the four elderly when he paused again. A demonically charming smile crept up his face, which was such a rare picture. ¡°I was going to stay away from all of this, but you just have to hand yourself to me. me yourselves, then!¡± Chapter 365 Chapter 365: Not enough! Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The street was bleak and chilly. It was over two hundred meters long and a two-way singlene street. It was considered among the major roads here in Bonn. The sun had not risen yet and the air was filled with a thin, cold fog, indicating bad weather ahead. Right now, there was not a single soul on the street. Other than Gu Yu, the only things standing werendscape trees nking the road whose branches were coated with a thinyer of frost condensing from the cold air. Gu Yu took out his phone, and after a moment of hesitation, dialed a number. ¡°You¡¯re calling me this early? What¡¯s going on?¡± the old man of their delegation spoke on the other side of the line. ¡°Just to let you know, the conference will have its conclusion today.¡± ¡°What? What are you talking ab¡ª¡± ¡°Toot¡­ toot¡­ toot¡­¡± Gu Yu hung up right after that, then walked along the street for a short distance with a faint smile on his face. On passing a tree, he casually reached out his right hand with five fingers slightly apart and his palm forming a half-sphere, then pressed down. ¡°Gurgle!¡± The sound of flowing water came out of that tree, then the air contorted and a blond Caucasian man emerged holding a magic staff. He was nning a surprise attack, but as soon as he stuck his head out, his face met Gu Yu¡¯s palm. It looked as if he was feeding himself into it. The five slender fingers pressed down on the crown of the hairy head under which was a distorted face. That hand handled him more easily than an adult teasing a child, more unstoppable than a child stamping on an ant. ¡°We¡¯re blown!¡± ¡°Now!¡± ¡°Gurgle! Gurgle!¡± At a few angry shouts, there were fluctuations in all four directions of Gu Yu as half a dozen white men jumped out of their hiding ces. ¡°Pffft!¡± Before they could take any action, blood gushed out and that unlucky guy¡¯s dead body stumbled to the ground, his head rolling into the distance. Gu Yu, however, was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Where is he? Where did he go?¡± ¡°Looking for me?¡± Clunk! The voice came from behind them like a ghost. One redbeard twitched his brow and drew out his magic staff, only to parry just in time. The fine staff made from holly wood met Gu Yu¡¯s palm, making a crisp sound as if it had knocked onto a piece of metal. Immediately after that, however, the redbeard¡¯s face turned pale at the great forceing through the staff. Boom!!! The frightening power struck the redbeard, who flew backwards together with another fellow mage like cannonballs. They then smashed into the wall of a shop a few meters away, shaking the entire building. Bang! The impact made a depression over ten meters in diameter on the wall, embedded in the center of which were the two men, one on top of another. The bricks and cement around them had crackled, giving them a look of two flying insects trapped in a spider web. Blood trickled down the corner of his mouth as the redbeard coughed. His head then dropped to one side and he was dead. No one made a sound! All air seemed to be drawn away from the small street as a hush fell over it. A second passed like this. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± ¡°Help! Help!¡± The handful of residents upstairs began to scream frantically and vehicles on either end of the street red their horns. Among all these noises, the remaining three or four mages froze on their spots and dared not make any reckless move. ¡°No more hiding. Come out, all of you!¡± Gu Yu casually wiped his hand. The blood of the first man trickled down the back of his hand and dropped onto the snow-covered ground, reminding one of red plum flowers. ¡°How arrogant!¡± The air contorted again as over a dozen people emerged. They were all dressed in ck robes and holding magic staff. The team consisted of men and women of all ages who all wore a hexagram on their chest. ¡°So, the AA. That was very patient of you. I didn¡¯t expect you to wait this long.¡± Gu Yu stuck his hands into the wide sleeves of his casual clothes again, his long neck slightly leaning forward and his head lowered a little. He reminded one so much of a red-crowned crane standing there with its wings tucked in. Had Lu Yuanqing been here, he would recognize this posture right away, for thest time Gu Yu looked like this, he annihted a team in a farmhouse in Changqing Vige. Gu Yu stood there watching the others surrounding him and chuckled. ¡°They should have detected us by now. Bring it on. I¡¯m in a hurry.¡± ¡°Humph, all our elite members are here, you¡­¡± A whitebeard who apparently was a senior member chanted something immediately to set up a magical defense shield. He then saw a hand reaching up towards him. The hand made contact with the protective shield and kept reaching forward unhindered as if it was only water. ¡°Hm¡­ hm¡­¡± The whitebeard tried his best to stay away from the hand moving slowly towards him. However, no matter where he dodged, he could not break away from its course. In the end, he watched as a finger touched his forehead. Whoosh! A streak of strange energy broke into his body and rampaged inside. His internal organs felt as if they had been set on fire and stirred up. Pfffft! Blood gushed out of his mouth. He then burst into me and was soon a pile of ash. ¡°Abra Grikasi¡ª ah!¡± Two others began to chant spells, but were interrupted by their own cries of surprise. Their magic staffs had disappeared from their hands and reappeared in that man¡¯s. ¡°Nice stuff. Too bad that I¡¯m not interested.¡± Gu Yu yed with them for a moment before giving them a squeeze. The two staffs excellently made became piles of powder. Then, without even taking out his weapon, Gu Yu grabbed at the air, then again. ¡°Aaaah! Aaaah!¡± Two heads left their necks with two clean cuts. There were two more bodies on the ground. ¡°He¡¯s more powerful then we¡¯ve anticipated!¡± ¡°You lot, pin him down! Summon the magic circle!¡± The elders of AA all showed up for this ambush. Seven people stood in position and linked their magic. After a lengthy incantation, a giant hexagram emerged out of the ground. Whoosh! A gust of wind blew across the small street, growing stronger. Buildings on either side rumbled under the pressure. The doors, windows, walls, and even the trees and vehicles seemed unable to withstand the erosion, soon beginning to show a weathered look. Meanwhile, the other dozen people moved swiftly in and surrounded Gu Yu in the middle. Looking around, Gu Yu only felt the impulse inside growing stronger and was losing control. That ignited fuse had run out and the powder keg was exploding. ¡°Actually, a lot of the times, I baffle myself. Am I good or bad, just or evil¡­¡± He slowly pressed forward, talking to himself and the others at the same time. Confronted by this formidable enemy, the mages summoned their mightiest weapon right away. ¡°Stone man, follow my order!¡± ¡°Roar!¡± Instantly, a giant magic puppet seven to eight meters tall and four to five meters wide appeared in the circle. Its skin hadpletely fossilised and its facial features were a blur. It stood there like a small mountain, even blocking out the rising sun. Thump! A single stride brought it meters nearer and it was running towards Gu Yu, roaring angrily. ¡°Xiaozhai said we¡¯re all selfish, and I think she was right. We have to put ourselves first in everything. Only when we ourselves are safe and in a favorable position can we tell the good from the bad and are capable of mercy¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t take pleasure from killing, but I¡¯m not intimidated by killing, either. Call it fate, then. You just happened to be here today¡­¡± Gu Yu whispered and sighed quietly. He then flipped his sleeves, releasing all 72 refined ming Cloud Needles, which floated in mid-air like little sparks. Pop! Pop! Pop! The sounds of something ripping through the air rang out. Activated by the spiritual essence, the weapon unleashed its terrifying power. All 72 needles shot out, lighting up the entire street and scattering the fog. A ming dragon over ten meters long soon took shape and charged forward. Crack! The indestructible stone figure was punched through at its chest as if it was a fragile sterboard. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Impossible!¡± The dozen or so people surrounding Gu Yu were petrified. Forget about trying to stop the man. Those brushed by the fire dragon had half their bodies turn into ashes without any chance of fighting back. ording to the category back home, these people were acquired state cultivators only. They did not stand a chance facing Gu Yu, who had reached perfection of his innate state and was breaking into Human Immortal state. Crackle! Boom! The puppet stone man split into two halves at its chest level down the middle, and the two sections copsed to the ground on either side, crushing the buildings on either side of the road. Wooden splinters flew everywhere and the street was covered by broken ss. Color was drained from all faces of the elite AA members. They had no idea how to proceed from here and turned to look at the elders in unison. *** ¡°Alert! Alert! Fight broke out in Vic Street, and an extremely wide area was affected. No premature advance into the area! Safety first! SAFETY! FIRST!¡± ¡°Have they found out yet? Who did this? Who?¡± Inside the defensemand center of Bonn, the head grabbed one of the subordinates by his cor and roared out the questions. Thetter shivered in fear and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we don¡¯t know yet!¡± ¡°Imbecile! You¡¯re all imbeciles! Who has news? Information? Clear pictures?¡± the head bellowed some more and smacked the table. ¡°Who on earth are the two sides? What were they thinking opening fire in the city center? Find them! Now!¡± ¡°Sir, a surveince camera caught something!¡± Just then, another man called out. ¡°What? Show it to me!¡± A couple of minutester, a blurry video clip only a little over ten seconds was yed. The head and the senior mage watched it and looked very unhappy. ¡°Damn those ind monkeys! All they ever do is making trouble!¡± ¡°I think they¡¯re from the AA. Even the elders are out. Whom are they trying to kill?¡± ¡°An oriental man! That¡¯s an oriental man. Zoom in on his face¡­¡± In a moment, the imaged was zoomed in, showing a mild face. ¡°Oh! He¡¯s with the Chinese delegation. What is he called?¡± The senior mage remembered the young man clearly. With his broken Chinese, he replied, ¡°Gu¡­ Yu¡­¡± Inside the hotel. The old man was listening to his assistant¡¯s report with an unhappy face as well. ¡°Mr. Gu went to attend a gatheringst night. On his way back early this morning, he was ambushed by some men of Britannia in Vic Street. They¡¯re still engaging in battle at the moment.¡± ¡°How is it looking?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± The assistant gave it a thought and summarized, ¡°They¡¯re crushed.¡± ¡°Civilian casualties?¡± ¡°The number hasn¡¯te out yet. I don¡¯t think there¡¯ll be too many, though. It¡¯s not a residential area and the damage was mainly to buildings.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not too bad.¡± The old man knitted his brows in despair and was even driven into cursing, ¡°I told him all along to keep it quiet, keep it quiet! He said he knew where to stop. Knew my a*s!¡± ¡°Haha, Sir, no offense, but I¡¯ve got to say something.¡± The assistant looked delighted¡ªas delighted as a proud primary school student whose deskmate had just got the first prize in the National Day essaypetition¡ªand chuckled. ¡°Isn¡¯t it our job this time to clean after his mess?¡± The vige, the cottage. Erhard was slowly sipping his hot beverage when he shuddered and said with surprise, ¡°Why, a magic spot was destroyed?¡± Before he had time to think, the surprise turned into shock. ¡°Another one was destroyed!¡± A momentter, he was terrified. ¡°The magic circle is under attack. No!¡± The old man put down his cup and waved at the air. His clothes and hat automatically put themselves onto him before he ran out of door in a hurry. He then hopped onto a carriage, which took him towards the city at top speed. *** ¡°This is not enough! I need some more!¡± Gu Yu stood there in Vic Street, the ground around him covered with dead bodies. He felt very ufortable. The battle just then was a mere warm-up and could never quench the thirst that was surging out of him. Eyeing the team of elders who had justpleted their summoning spell, Gu Yu was excited. ¡°Come,e to me.¡± Chapter 366 Chapter 366: Anyone else? Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Laugh all you want, but you¡¯re not walking out of here alive today!¡± The dozen elites brought by the Elders were annihted in the blink of an eye and turned into dead bodies on the street. As aggrieved and resentful as they might be, there was still a hopefulness in them, which seemed to result from the magic circle they were activating, but there also seemed to be something else. ¡°Oft S?yld S?efing s?eatena tr¨¥atum!¡± Finally, the hexagram on the ground waspleted and was now emanating a dark glow. The supreme elder chanted an ancient spell. ¡°Come out, Shrieking Enchantress!¡± ¡°Woo¡­¡± There was a strange cry that was not entirely male or female. It was halfway between wailing and sobbing and was passionate and chilly at the same time. The dark glow flickered around the hexagram, reminding one of a whirlpool. Immediately after that, two delicate and wless ankles stuck out. The legs kept rising, revealing the long and plump thighs, the end of which was covered by a piece of green skirt¡­ after that came the tiny waist, the full bosom, and a female face making no secret of its primitive desire. It remained upside down as if it was hanging from some torturing device and jumped out of the hexagram in that posture. As mentioned before, the Thelema association carried out their practice bymunicating with their guardian angels. This ¡°angel¡± was in the form of intangible energy andmunicating with it was extremely difficult before one¡¯s mind was opened up. Hence, a few elders studied the secret scrolls left behind by Crowley and came up with a concretized guardian angel, whose original form was taken from the banshee of Irish mythology that brought the message of death to men with each cry. ¡°Oh?¡± Gu Yu eyed it curiously. The thing had a beautiful female face and long green hair. There was nothing evil about it; instead, it looked rather like a pretty green fairy. The next second, however, he overturned that conclusion. ¡°Woo¡­¡± The ¡°woman¡± made that strange noise again and opened its mouth, revealing a mouthful of beastly sharp serrated teeth that grew in sessive rows. Right after that, its eyes turned red and its feet became webbed like those of a frog. ¡°Aroo¡­ woo¡­¡± ¡°Woo¡­¡± The noise grew louder and more shrilling, raising a stronger fluctuation of energy. Gu Yu could sense the air around him stirring, making an rming vibration as if a storm wasing. ¡°Roar!¡± Finally, the thing let out the most forlorn growl so far, drawing out the air from the entire street. Time seemed to freeze for a second. Boom!!! Then, without a warning, there came a violent st, snapping the tree trunks and sending cars into the air. The asphalt road was crushed into powder and the subgrade beneath looked like building blocks randomly thrown into a pile. Space seemed to have folded on itself before being smashed towards Gu Yu, soon devouring him. ¡°Roar!¡± There came the second scream. The prating sound reached as far as hundreds of meters away, sending people guarding either end of the street into a confused state. The less affected went unconscious and the more severe cases lost their minds, so much so that they began to shoot at their colleagues. ¡°Roar!¡± The third scream arrived right after that. Unlike the first two, which were fluctuations of energy, this one was thew itself. The Irish banshee always arrived with the announcement of death! Be it the result of magic or sorcery, the fact that it showed up meant ¡°death¡±. It was the same case as the bindingw between the spell word and the consequence of the oriental system: once death was named, death there had to be. Of course, AA was not that powerful yet and thew was not exactly a definitew, but it was going in the same direction. The moment the sound rang out, people on both ends of the street nked out, then without warning, three of four people dropped to the ground, all life gone from them. ¡°The Shrieking Enchantress!¡± Erhard, Ernese, and the others arrived at the scene in a hurry at this moment and were astonished by what they found. They immediately instructed the others to fall back and keep away from its impact range. ¡°What is going on?¡± ¡°I have no idea. Our young friend is in there and I can¡¯t sense him!¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± While they were talking anxiously outside, the team of elders was crowing over their opponent, who had been buried under a pile of debris and made no movement for quite a while. The guy was obviously dead. ¡°However powerful you Chinese think you are, a single man like you is no match for our order. We have inherited from Master Crowley¡ª what?!¡± The supreme elder¡¯s arrogant smile froze on his face as smoke and dust rose up. They could then faintly make out a slender figure standing there, giving off an indifferent air. Then¡­ ¡°Sword, to me!¡± The words brushed past their ears like a breeze stealing into the night. The seven elders watched this with open mouths as an overpowering pressure rose out of the dust. There was also a glint of golden light, which contained so much energy that it reminded them of the origin of a cosmic explosion. Boom!!! A golden me then erupted in mid-air. ¡°Die!¡± ¡°Roar!¡± The female face was now covered with terror and opened its mouth to scream again. The sound wave met the golden me head on, and the impact sent rippling fluctuations into all directions. The golden light shed like rushing snowkes, which then turned into thin threads. The enchantress¡¯ long hair pped wildly in the wind and its skirt was ripped into pieces. The fair skin then began to crackle like broken eggshells. Green blood oozed out of the cracks and the hexagram on the ground flickered frantically, threatening to fall apart. ¡°T-the enchantress is hurt!¡± ¡°How could that happen?¡± The team of elders was petrified and still had a hard time believing all this. ¡°Still alive? Interesting¡­¡± Gu Yu was surprised as well when he saw that the enchantress was still sending out energy. ¡°Another one, then!¡± Boom! There went the unmatching power of the Devil-smashing Red Sun Sword! The golden me expanded instantly, stretching out infinitely to the left, the right, up, and down, which almost formed a sea of mes, filling every crevice of Vic Street. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± The enchantress had finally stopped roaring, now crying out in fear. Its crackling skin was peeling off and green blood spurted out, only to be devoured by the mes instantaneously. The torrential sword energy rose tens of meters high and rushed through the street from one end to the other, which was way beyond what the four-meter-wide street could take. The entire Vic Street was almost vaporized. Everything in it was washed out by the enormous gash. The five-hundred-year-old street was no more at that moment. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Gu Yu drew back the sword and stood there dazed for a moment. After taking out the entire elite force of AA, he did not feel any joy. Instead, the irritation seemed to be worse. Walking out of the dust, he realized that the impulse inside did not subside at all. He now felt like a man drinking strong tea on an empty stomach, which only made his nerves more jumpy. ¡°Almost there! Just a little more!¡± He reached the end of Vic Street, stepped over the ruins, and looked at the crowd waiting there. Men with various mysterious powers were present, among them were mages, Onmyoji, alchemist, and even African sorcerers. ¡°I was on the brim of breaking through and all I needed was a secluded ce to digest my internal energy and settle my mind. You simply had to mess with me now. I couldn¡¯t have my peaceful moment and had to risk it, reaching the next level in this destructive way.¡± Cheeks slightly flushed, Gu Yu almost looked inebriated. He was now at a confusing and critical moment; even the look he was giving the others was filled with impulsion and disgust. ¡°No, no, I¡¯m not with them!¡± ¡°We¡¯re leaving, now!¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t do this! Please!¡± The onlookers were scared out of their wits. After that mind-blowing strike of sword, none of them had the illusion of fighting this man. ¡°Young friend, calm down! Please calm down!¡± Erhard and the others rushed to Gu Yu¡¯s side. Realizing that there was something wrong with his state of mind, they dumped mind-calming magic on him like running fire hoses. ¡°Oh, Erhard, Ernese, Cohen¡­¡± Gu Yu¡¯s confused mind cleared a little and he was able to recognize these few, but the next moment, that uncontroble feeling came back. ¡°You¡­¡± He was about to say something when he snapped his head towards Siebengebirge on the south. From that grayish white mountain, he could clearly sense a powerful fluctuation. ¡°Haha! That¡¯s why!¡± Gu Yu let out aughter and suddenly saw the light. ¡°They were no idiots and I have been wondering what gave them the courage? So you¡¯re the answer. It¡¯s time to meet!¡± With that, he turned into a cloud of mist and disappeared into the distance. Chapter 367 Chapter 367: Human Immortal Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu 10 km south of Bonn, Siebengebirge. A cloud of mist floated into the unbroken stretch of mountains and slowly turned into a man. Gu Yu was now standing on the damp and chilly mountain trail, eyeing the surroundings up and down. The mountain was only three to four hundred meters tall, but covered quite arge area consisting of dozens of hills of all sizes. In this cold wintertime, many tall trees had turned a grayish white. Their twisted branches were jagged and their bark dry, the patterns of which reminded one of hideous evil faces. Following that energy, he walked deep into the woods. Despite his slow steps, his movement raised a gale, which blew against him in gusts of frosty air. The friction between the cold air and the spiritual essence turned the frost into icy water instantly, but before it could dribble down, the water was vaporized, leaving a long streak of white steam behind Gu Yu. ¡°¡­¡± Through the steam, Gu Yu looked blurry and almost unreal. It seemed forever before he suddenly stopped on top of a hill. Below was a small valley. There was open terrain on the right and an ice cascade a few meters wide on the left. Icicles hung from the cliff while the water kept rushing down, carrying pieces of ice. Standing on the bank of the waterfall was a woman in a white medieval gown, now taking water from that cold pond with two cups. She was even taller than Xiaozhai. Perfectly proportioned, she had long burgundy hair and was barefoot. Bending over there, her body was aposition of perfect curves. After filling the two cups, she slowly turned around, revealing a countenance that wasn¡¯t exactly beautiful, but was remarkably gentle. ¡°Hello, nice to meet you.¡± The woman smiled at him, then stepped onto the wet grass. Gu Yu watched as her bare feetnded on the meadow. As if nature had worked some magic, the ground dried and grass sprouted at an observable speed. Green filled the path she walked. Right after that, the woman gave a wave. Two big trees bent down as if they were paying homage to her. One became a natural tree table, while the other turned into a bench. She put the cups down. ¡°Have a seat!¡± A wonderful natural energy wasing off this woman, which greatly calmed Gu Yu. He went up to her and sat down on the tree bench, asking curiously, ¡°Are you from Britannia?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m Celtic, or ancient Scottish, if you like.¡± ¡°Celts?¡± Gu Yu was taken by surprise. That was a very famous people! The Celtic history could be dated back to ancient Europe. Together with the Germanic and vic peoples, the three were considered the major ¡°barbarian tribes¡± by the ancient Romans 1 . One of the most famous military exploits of the Celts was the sacking of Rome and Greece. Yes, the Rome and Greece that shaped the European civilization! However, the Celtic tribes gradually declined and Rome rose to power, then began to hunt the Celts. Only a handful of pure-blood Celtic descendants managed to survive until this day. ¡°I¡¯m Fiona. I took the liberty to draw you here. Sorry about that.¡± The woman picked up a cup, gave it a little tap, and drank first. Gu Yu looked into the cup and drained it after her. The liquid inside did not taste like cold pond water at all. Instead, it was clear and sweet like a mellow fruit wine. ¡°Very nice!¡± he praised, then said, ¡°I see that you¡¯re the reason that those people were so unscrupulous.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not affiliated to any country, but a member of my n alone. Only that a duke of theirs helped my ancestors once and they came to me for help this time. I agreed to give them a hand just once.¡± ¡°Just once?¡± ¡°Yes. Winning, defeated, or fruitless, after today, I have no more connections with Britannia.¡± ¡°Neat!¡± Gu Yu grinned, quite impressed by her words. The woman might seem innocent and harmless, but the fluctuation she was giving off was a constant reminder that she was probably Gu Yu¡¯s mightiest opponent since he began his cultivation! He could even go as far as to conclude that, like himself, she was also reaching a threshold of her own system. It made sense. The world was such a big ce; he couldn¡¯t be the only one blessed with inheritance, talent, good fortune, and diligence. ¡°Good. With you as an opponent, I didn¡¯te all the way here for nothing!¡± Gu Yu had never been eager for a fight like he did right now. With a swift movement, he was ten meters away. ¡°That makes two of us.¡± Fiona chuckled and waved her hand. The tree table and bench came to life like two pythons. They slithered across the meadow and raised her into mid-air, the branches weaving together for her protection. She was indeed a druid! Gu Yu knew he had to be very careful with this woman, for druids were such a mysteriousmunity! The world had thought they had gone extinct by now, yet there she was. There was scarcely any information on them and he only knew that they worshiped oak trees, controlled the force of nature, were rigidly stratified, held women at prestigious status, and supported same-sex rtionships. ¡°Go!¡± He made a trial run first by flipping out a few streaks of spiritual essence which were as hard and sharp as arrows and shot out forcefully at a great speed. Fiona drew her hands across the air, producing a disc made of green light between her palms. The arrows dashed into it and disappeared without a trace like stones thrown into a deepke. ¡°Why, it can actually offset my energy.¡± Gu Yu winced a little. That green light would be the purest force of nature that could withstand everything. The aggressiveness of his spiritual essence was cancelled out in it and turned back to simple spiritual essence. No wonder Britannia acted the way they did; this one skill alone was enough to take care of everything. ¡°Haha, that¡¯s what a real fight should look like!¡± He was not intimidated by it. Instead, he grinned with satisfaction. In the right hand he stretched out, the golden me of a sword began to take shape. ¡°Clunk!¡± He gave the de a flick and the roaring of a dragon seemed to ring out from nine heavens above, resonating in the cold valley and lingering in the air. At the sound, the Sword Seed activated and Red Sun Sword seemed to be alive, integrating itself into Gu Yu¡¯s body, spiritual essence, and mind. ¡°Oh?¡± Surprise flickered in Fiona¡¯s tranquil eyes. With such tremendous power, it was no ident that he single-handedly wiped out the entire AA force. ¡°This is called Red Sun Sword Manual. Pleasure to fight you!¡± Gu Yu gave this opponent his full respect. Instead of smashing down outright with a streak of sword energy, for the very first time, he was using the actual sword skill. The de reflected the sunlight shining through the dense branches and the golden me danced in the air. Snow and tiny icy bits were blown off the the ground and vaporized into steam 50 m away from him. Then, his sword moved. Whoosh! The tip of the de drew an arc in the air, the golden me around it sshing out as resplendent as the zing sun, weaving into a giant web and diving at his opponent head on. Fiona waved her hands again, producing an enormous glowing green disc in front of her. Boom! The golden light scattered at the impact with the green glow. Gu Yu did not fall back, but continued to advance, his Red Sun Sword now a stream of flowing light, creating a shower of mes. He kept pressing on with his attack. The cold air in the small valley was stirred by the sword energy and mist rolled up in clouds. Even the ice cascade steamed up and the icicles began to melt. There were several moments of stalemate and both backed off a little all of a sudden. Fiona paused briefly, then waved her hand. With a rumbling sound, several towering trees stood up straight, ripped off their fibrous roots, and turned into giant tree men using their main roots as their feet. Rustle! Vines and grass also sprouted out frantically at the same time, turning into thick ropes and wrapping onto Gu Yu. Fiona only had limited means of attack, or rather, she knew they would not work on Gu Yu. Therefore, her strategy was clear from the beginning: offset the sword energy with her green glow while let the nts attack. She herself would remain in mid-air, where it would be the safest for her. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for this!¡± Gu Yu¡¯s eyes were bright with excitement. As he fought on, he was able to give vent to that feeling inside and felt better now, but it was still not enough! Nowhere near enough! With the mountainous tree men and billowy vinesing at him nonstop, Gu Yu used no fancy moves, but struck out with a simple stabbing motion only. Whoosh! Red Sun Sword ripped through the air and reduced the distance between them to nothing with that single move. It tore everything in its way to pieces and the de arrived in front of Fiona¡¯s chest with an unparallelled mightiness. She made a few shing moves and the dended on empty air. What had been on the spot was only a shadow now. ¡°Very impressive!¡± Her burgundy hair was slightly dishevelled as Fiona reappeared on a branch behind Gu Yu. ¡°On this mountain, my force of nature is inexhaustible. It won¡¯t be that easy to defeat me!¡± With that, there was another rumbling sound and some more tree men rose to their feet. She indeed showed no sign of running out of energy. ¡°I was worried that they couldn¡¯t stand much of a fight. You¡¯re a perfect opponent!¡± Gu Yu had never been eager for a fight like he felt right now. ¡°Inexhaustible? Then I¡¯ll fight till you drop!¡± *** ¡°How long has it been?¡± ¡°Half a day.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still not finished yet?¡± ¡°No, the rival is surprisingly tough. No wonder Britannia has been so swaggering.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have faith in Mr. Gu.¡± ¡°Me too! When was thest time you heard him being defeated?¡± In the conference room in Bonn¡¯s city center, the entourage of the Chinese delegation was whispering among themselves. It was rather impolite for such an asion, but no one reprimanded them. Despite the ongoing meeting, dignitaries of all countries had their minds on Siebengebirge 10 km away only. The sky-splitting fighting sounds and the corpse-covered Vic Street were all telling them the same thing: this fight would decide the oue of this conference. If Gu Yu won, most countries would be able to work together for future development; if Britannia won, Europe would walk into a future with chaos that might never end. The old man sat in the front row, turning his pen constantly in his hand. Every now and then, he would exchange a look with the head of Britannia. Both knew what was going on in the other¡¯s head. *** ¡°nk!¡± ¡°Thump! Thump!¡± With a ttering sound, the two exchanged dozens of blows in a split second. Gu Yu held Red Sun Sword and Fiona her glowing green disc. They had been fighting forever when Gu Yu was finally able to make his way to her side; he would make very good use of this opportunity. For the first time ever, he was able to fight someone in such a state. Meeting his match was greatly satisfying; at the same time, that feeling inside was being fulfilled as well, building up as he fought on. He had a hunch. Very soon, very soon, he was going to break the bottleneck. But now, it was still not enough! Whoosh! Gu Yu stepped forward suddenly and his sword moved fluidly in the air in a series of unbroken stances. Close quarterbat was never Fiona¡¯s forte and she was even more flustered by this. Right away, she wrapped the green glow around herself while grass flew off the ground towards Gu Yu in strings, trying to stall him. Gu Yuughed loudly. The golden me split into three streaks, then nine, then countless threads, forming a sea of light which reached its true target before the green glow was able to close up. ¡°Ah!¡± Fiona jumped backwards in haste and the move was not quite in time. A section of her long burgundy hair was chopped off. Waving both hands, she instructed a row of tree men to block Gu Yu off while she returned to her safety zone back in mid-air. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± She was panting slightly, greatly shaken. There was more than enough force she could draw from, but the pressure on her mind was too great. It was hard not to slip under such fierce attack. What was more frightening was, the man¡¯s vital essence seemed inexhaustible. After all this time, he showed no sign of fatigue. ¡°You¡¯re insane! A lunatic!¡± Staring at Gu Yu, she couldn¡¯t help but feel vexed and resigned. ¡°Again!¡± Gu Yu would not think about anything else and charged at her again. To be honest, at this stage, the two opponents had begun to appreciate one another a little. Friends were hard to find, and a good adversary even harder. The two chased and dodged on Siebengebirge. Gu Yu¡¯s strikes fell down like a shower, giving her no time to rest. Fiona threaded nimbly through the giant trees, mainly making defensive moves and striking back every now and then. For a while, the two figures were flying all over the mountain, turning the area upside down. The impact of their strikes shattered frozen rivers, waterfalls, small hills, big rocks, and the like; golden rays of light and glowing mist filled the air. ¡°Again!¡± Bang! Boom! ¡°Again!¡± Whoosh! Shew! Gu Yu looked like a madman, but his head had never been this clear. He could feel his body was like a giant container and the thing inside kept climbing up and umting. It was rising higher and higher, almost at the top. A little more push and it would brim over. Just a little more! A little! After much chasing around and not so much striking back from his opponent, he halted and shew! He disappeared on the spot. The scorching heat of Red Sun Sword surrounded Fiona. The golden me surged, turning the frost into water, which then sshed out like ten thousand cold needles. From the countless droplets, a flint of golden light appeared out of the blue. The sword came out of nowhere! Fiona was astonished. Finally, she took out something resembling a twig and wiped her fingers across it, turning it into a golden sickle. ¡°Clunk!¡± Both flew backwards, their feet drawing long furrows in the ground that was already severely scarred. They were only able to stand still after nearly a hundred meters. Druids worshipped oak trees and believed mistletoes growing on them a panacea which had a sacred healing power. The collection ritual was very solemn, usually carried out by the most senior priest using a golden sickle. The golden sickle itself took its form after a crescent moon¡ªthat was, the most sacred moon in the druid belief that held the species of all things. ¡°Nice weapon. Why did you not use it earlier?¡± Gu Yu admired the sickle but did not stop moving. His sword thrusted out again, this time with all his effort; he had burnt the bridge. That one thrust seemed to have frozen the air and water. That one thrust seemed to have blown away all clouds and mist. ¡°You!¡± Shocked and irritated, Fiona had no choice but take out a mistletoe and slice the sickle through it. As the juice covered the de, green light shone brightly. She then hacked down with a whoosh. She wasn¡¯t holding back anymore, either. The sword energy and the green light shed while still dozens of meters away. Time seemed to freeze. The next second, an unimaginable amount of energy exploded; the st wrecked the ce, sending stones into the air as if they were smashed away by torrential waves. Everything in the valley was contorted by the force which was devouring everything as if it was a ck hole. ¡°Ah!¡± Fiona was shoved away and fell to the ground with a thump. She was badly hurt. After spitting out a mouthful of blood, she hurriedly gathered the force of nature and began to care for her wounds without considering anything else. Gu Yu was slightly her superior in both his energy level and cultivation state, hence his injury was not as severe, but he was still covered by dust and in a half-sitting position. ¡°Cough¡­¡± Supported by Red Sun Sword, he was about to stand up when his arm gave up and he fell back down. Then he heard the sound. Boom! He shuddered. A string seemed to have just snapped in his head and some confinement was shattered. That thing finally filled up the container, reached beyond its level, and brimmed over the bottleneck. After that, he gave a jolt and his consciousness went dark. Everything was foggy. He forgot who he was, where he was from, and where he was going. The next moment, his consciousness was stretched out infinitely and he was as nk as a newborn baby, then his memory was filled in again. I, Gu Yu, grew up in Shengtian and was orphaned young. I, Gu Yu, liked making incense and my grandfather died of illness. I, Gu Yu, met Xiaozhai and I wanted immortality. I, Gu Yu, had been cultivating for four years¡­ These things appeared in his head in shes before drowning into the darkness again¡­ when thest bit of his past was gone, he suddenly felt a great burden had been lifted off his shoulders and his body and soul were so rxed that he felt like flying away. Somehow, he sat down in a meditation position and savored the wonder and profundity of the moment. Human Immortal. Human Immortal. From human to immortal was not just about saying goodbye to the mortal world. Apart from bidding farewell to the past, you also had to move forward and pursue immortality. To leave the mortal world behind and see nature as it really was, that was the path a Human Immortal should follow! What was nature? ¡°Dao begets One, One begets Two, Two begets Three, and Three begets all things.¡± God created light, light created elements, elements created souls, and souls created living creatures. ¡°In the beginning was the Word¡±; God and Dao worked the say way! ¡± There arose the first existence that still did not have a bodily shape. From this things could then be produced, (receiving) what we call their virtue. The shapeless thing was divided, and then without intermission there was the so-called conferring. The previous two processes continued and things were produced. As things werepleted, the distinguishing lines of each were produced which we call the bodily shape. Preserved in that body was the spirit, and each had its peculiar manifestation, which we call its Nature. When the Nature has been cultivated, it returns to its proper character; and when that has been fully reached, there is the same condition as in the Beginning. That sameness is void, and the void is great. It is like a bird closing its beak and bing silent, which is like the union of heaven and earth. The union might seem stupid or dark, but it is the ¡®mysterious quality¡¯; it is the same as the Grand Submission 2 .¡± That was heaven, earth, and the universe! The epiphany came to him after hearing about the Kabbh world view from Cohen: what hecked to reach the Human Immortal state was to see nature as it was! Heaven, earth, god, man, One, Two, Three, all things. The Heavenly Immortals established themselves for eternity, witnessing the establishment and destruction of all universe. This state was not the Great Dao, but was infinitely close. The Earthly Immortals were as resplendent as the sun and the moon and not concerned with death. They achieved this by learning the use of Qi. The Immortals possessed remarkable physical and spiritual form, would not meet their end for as long as thousands of years, and could obtain remarkable skills with their minds, for they had found the source of souls. The Human Immortal state sought after by countless men was merely equal to all things of the mortal world. Then what about those below the Human Immortal state? They were nobodies¡­ Boom! At that moment, Gu Yu broke away from that vacant state, feeling an energy ever so powerful filling his body and still umting. His mind and Qihai were active and the Sword Seed was singing along. His vital essence was never as harmonious and full as he felt now. He was overwhelmed by a feeling he could not describe. It was as if he was standing on a mountain tens of thousands meters tall and looking down at the mortal world below. Every good and evil, truth and false, and all those lives were all beneath him¡ªhe was a different level of life form now. The first Human Immortal in centuries! Woo¡­ Cold wind blew through the bleak woods. Among all the debris, Gu Yu rose to his feet, Red Sun Sword still in his hand. He was enjoying the iparable power. On the other side, Fiona had finished adjusting her breath and stood up as well, still swaying a little. ¡°Where is he? Is he dead?¡± She was still looking around when golden light stung her eyes and she snapped them shut. Swiping her hand across her eyes in a hurry, she opened them again, which were now giving off a green glow. Her mild face went pale. ¡°Why is it so quiet? Have they finished?¡± ¡°Who won? Anyone wants to check it out?¡± Countless people in downtown Bonn were paying close attention to the battlefield. They were still discussing when someone pointed at the sky and shouted, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Oh, gosh!¡± Everyone looked into the distance. A zing sun suddenly rose above Siebengebirge, scattering all mist. It was both tangible and intangible, for it consisted of sword energy only, so powerful and entangled that it seemed to be a physical existence¡ªa real red sun shining down on the earth. ¡°Sun! Sun!¡± Ernese¡¯s beard shivered as he made his incoherence speech. ¡°Sun, oak tree, it¡¯s really him, as expected¡­ gosh!¡± The old man let out a cry, for the zing sun rising above all the tall trees had finally stopped rising, then after a little pause, it smashed back down like Apollo falling out of his chariot. Chapter 368 Chapter 368: The End of the Conference Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Rumble!!! The zing sun fell down and the sword energy that had mostly solidified exploded, turning into a golden shower that filled the sky. It covered nearly a quarter of the Siebengebirge area from where the zing sun was all the way to the east. Trees, rocks, soil, waterfalls, rivers, and countless wildlife instantly fell victim to the golden rain, all incinerated without a trace. Rumble¡­ rumble¡­ Crackle! There was then an ear-splitting sound, scaring the wits out of the onlookers distance away. A small mountain peak about a hundred meters tall was caught by a flitting streak of sword energy and was truncated; the top half slid down and copsed, revealing a smooth section of the slope. That top half of the peak made a crashnding in the woods, tumbled around, theny dead still in the valley like a deserted building block. ¡°Sweet Mother of Jesus!¡± ¡°Is, is that even possible for a human being?¡± ¡°C-can our magic ever reach that level?¡± Presently, countless people began to doubt their own faith and practices. Some clergymen even uttered their prayers repeatedly to ease their panic and anxiety. ¡®!!!¡¯ Inside the conference room, the old man bolted to his feet, which was a very rarepse of state of mind for him. He looked into the distance in a daze, overwhelmed by a million emotions. On one hand, he was so proud of having a mighty cultivator as his fellow countryman, on the other, he was growing more concerned with this power that was only bing harder to control. He had little idea of what specific cultivation state Gu Yu was in, but it was not hard to guess that Gu Yu must have risen to the next level. ¡°No, no¡­ it can¡¯t be! She lost! How could that happen?¡± Panic filled the hearts of politicians and various magic associations of Britannia. Fiona¡¯s power was the reason for their toughness, but now she had been defeated. Looking back to what they had done so far, they might as well have dug their own grave. ¡°¡­¡± A strange silence fell over the great conference hall. After a while, the old man proved to be one of the tougher minds, for he cleared his throat and said, ¡°Now, let me reiterate the position of my country. The transcendent system is amon asset of humanity; on the premise of guaranteeing that basic rights and interests are not infringed, my country will always advocate joint development, seekingmon ground while reserving differences, and benignpetition. ¡°We have gone through the specific measures many times. I will hereby propose again the establishment of an international, peaceful, tolerant, and cooperative institutional framework in response to social changes in the new environment¡­¡± He paused for effect, feeling his chest filled with lofty sentiments. He then looked around the room and asked the question, ¡°Anyone agree or disagree?¡± *** Whoosh! The reddish yellow me ignited the woods. Large stretches of beech trees and oaks danced in the fire, some burning, some splintered everywhere by the explosions. ck smoke filled the air and soon surged up and spread in all directions. This famous mountain was devoured by mes in half a heartbeat. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± Fiona had slumped to the ground, her white gown smudged with dirt and her long hair dishevelled. She stared at the man standing in front of her with utter astonishment and confusion. She thought her end wasing, but it turned out she was only wrapped up by a streak of refined energy and this embarrassing state was only superficial. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you kill me?¡± ¡°We¡¯re both on a difficult cultivation path and there is no grudge between us. Why should I kill you?¡± The dancing mes reflected in Gu Yu¡¯s pupils, giving them a red color. He grinned. ¡°Plus, it was thanks to you that I was able to break through. Like it or not, I owe you one.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Fiona suddenly felt this man was beyondprehension. He was mighty, he did things as he pleased¡ªhe was capricious. ¡°All right, I know you¡¯re not that weak. Your leg would not give up from this little fight.¡± Hearing the hubbub approaching, Gu Yu said, ¡°If you want to leave, now would be a good time. Things will get awkward when they get here.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Fiona pursed her lips and finally rose to her feet. In a tiny voice that was barely audible, she uttered a thanks. Then, she drifted away in a sphere of green glow. ¡°Young friend! Young friend!¡± She had just left when the others¡¯ voices moved closer. Erhard, Ernese, and the mages of various countries had arrived at the scene. Erhard was indeed a remarkable old man; he was treating Gu Yu the same as before as if nothing had happened. The others¡ªErnese and Cohen included¡ªnow had a reverence and envy in their eyes watching Gu Yu. The next second, when they turned to examine the battlefield, they broke into a cold sweat. The rampaging me was turning into a severe forest fire and the brokenndscape reminded them of an inferno left bybat between gods. ¡°Anything else can wait¡ªthis is all on me. We have to put out the fire now.¡± Looking up, Gu Yu took in the sky that had turned dark with all the ck smoke and cupped his hands at the others earnestly. ¡°We have the most capable men of many countries here. Please lend me a hand!¡± ¡°Sure! Sure!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s what we¡¯re here for.¡± There was then a hubbub of chanting in a hundrednguages. ¡°Time is of the essence. Let¡¯s begin!¡± Ernese was a man of action. He quickly drew a magic circle, then chanted a spell. Dark glow shot up from the circle, then there was a gurgling sound. Cold water gushed out. He had linked it to a water source in an area not affected by the fire. ¡°Water bird,e out!¡± Jolly Erhard was, and his creation was equally delightful. He took out a little puppet bird and tossed it into the air. The little bird pped its wings and became alive. It then grew and grew, until it was a giant bird with a wingspan of over a dozen meters. It was made from water element itself. Flying over the sea of fire, it sshed water here and there before finally diving down in a self-destruction mode. With a loud ssh, the fire in arge area was extinguished. The others were also taking this seriously and worked their individual magic. Spells of various systems shed to life, lighting up the area like a disco ball. After all, Bonn was the host city and it would look bad for all of them should anything happen. Moreover, with the mightiest cultivator among them there, they were all trying to leave a good impression. The fire was sessfully contained at their joint effort. There was only one area still burning. ¡°Thank you for all the hard work! Allow me.¡± Seeing that a lot of them were clearly exhausted from all the maneuvering, Gu Yu walked out. The twenty or so people stopped what they were doing and opened their eyes wide, curious about what was going to happen next. Facing the burning woods, Gu Yu raised his right hand and grabbed at the air. The size of the burning area was still quite considerable, but in that instant, it looked like it had been closed inside a vacuum container. Without oxygen, the fire went off immediately. At the same moment, a ball of fire appeared in his palm. Because of the high density, it was of a golden red color. ¡°Haha, the power of Human Immortals is indeed beyond the imagination of mortal men.¡± Gu Yu smiled, sensing the change in his Small Moving Technique. He then took out his gourd and stuffed the ball of fire in,pleting his task in front a crowd of gaping mouths. *** We would forget about the cost of damage our fellow dealt for the time being¡ªnot that it was possible to estimate the cost¡­ A five-hundred-year-old street was destroyed, as well as a quarter of a mountain; the value of damaged properties was astronomical. They couldn¡¯t attach a price tag to any of the damages above and the delegation was bound to clean up the mess after Gu Yu. In the negotiation in the following two days, they agreed upon certain treaties in favor of Germani as a courtesy. International rtionship was aplicated thing. With the initiation of the Chinese delegation, most of the countries agreed on the establishment of an international organization. However, there was more entanglement than one could count between countries and factions. For instance, Germani, Gual, and Viking had an alliance of their own; Chine had Uncle Sam and signed the contract of thergest single cooperative order; Uncle Sam then turned its bullying hand on Great White North. The African countries were in constant civil wars, changing their leaders every week¡­ the world was as boisterous as always. That being said, the general peaceful tone was set after the agreement was reached, even though it would not stop conflicts from happening. Hence, after ten days of discussion (or, tearing each other¡¯s hair out), the first oh-so-rare-in-human-history global agreement was reached! Chapter 369 Chapter 369: The Fantastic Human Immortal Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The world felt it was finally able to breathe normally. We couldn¡¯t rule out the presence of extremists who craved terror and chaos, but most of the people on this still wanted a peaceful life. When the Convention on Joint Development of International Transcendent Power was announced, people of different races and backgrounds in almost every country felt the indignation, as well as the longing and apprehension for the official beginning of a new era. Those countries that had been ogling one another during the conference couldn¡¯t wait to begin their cooperation. In all aspects from politics, economics, to construction of people¡¯s livelihood, the countries had never been so closely interconnected, and the world had never seen so many schemes against one another. Take Gu Yu¡¯s home country and Uncle Sam as an example: they were running over twenty cooperative projects in agriculture alone. Most of the wheat and maize in Chine was destroyed and the country wasn¡¯t very good at nting potatoes, but they were second to none in the rice field. Moreover, they had also discovered the giant mushrooms and the meat of yellow-fur rat. Uncle Sam was not the biggest fan of rice, but they were able to breed a new species of soybean and sugarbeet, which could produce a great amount of oil and sugar, respectively. They were also a major potato grower. Hence, helping each other out was made possible! What happened in a certain small country near the arctic circle was another example. The climate there had grown too harsh to inhabit it and its residents had to go on a mass-scale migration. Without external aid, the task would bankrupt the country, hence the help of the others. During the process, a multitude of behind-the-curtain deals was inevitable. As for Britannia, the saboteur had habitually wiped its own memory once more and appeared to be innocent despite all the past wrongdoings. It was now batting its eyshes adorably, eager to be a member of the new organization. All in all, two direct results came out of this conference. For one, it gave birth to the founding of the Association of Transcendent Power, whose HQ was set in Neutral State with nopulsory requirement on branches¡ªthe decision was left for individual countries themselves. Naturally, the BIMAUP was included in the report, naming it the Chinese branch, which would be in charge of globalmunication,working of big data of mutated creatures, and even the receiving and assigning of tasks. That would be like running a mercenary guild! The second oue was even more straight forward: our Old Gu had made himself known worldwide, and no one was to mess with his country! *** Before they knew it, the conference had been over for days. The fourth year of the new age had finally passed and it was the first day of the fifth year. Shengtian was snowing again and was bitterly cold. ording to weather observations, the average temperature this year was about four degrees lower than in the same period of previous years. Governments of the Northeast had never been so concerned with the heating systems and officials of all municipal governments had made it clear that it was imperative to keep people warm. Residents of the North knew how miserable life was when the central heating system was crappy: maintenance work began as hot water began to pour into the pipes, which was lukewarm on warmish days, asionally hot on average cold days, and spasmodically hot on very cold days¡ªit was as if the hot water was fighting a guerri war with winter. The heat-supplypanies 1 were required to maintain a minimal room temperature of 18 degrees Celsius for the residents in previous years; the standard was raised to 20 degrees this year. It would be a sad joke if people were frozen to death in their own homes in a modern society during peaceful times like this. However, such a change resulted in a surge in resource consumption. In order to save energy and improve utilization, Shengtian had nned to set up central-heating pipelines in all the areas under its jurisdiction 2 , which was also toy foundation for the construction of the urban agglomeration in the future. As mentioned before, Shengtian was instructed to take in migrants mainly from the provinces of Heishui and W. While the people of W could still wait, those of Heishui could not. Snow had been falling in thetter since November, stopping only for a few days. Half of the province, plus two states of Tsar on the north, had beenpletely covered by ice and snow. Those resourceful enough had long made their way out, while those without such means had no choice but to stay trapped in their homes, waiting for government rescue. It was a simr case with the other corners on the border of the country: from Mobei, Monan, the Southwest, the Northwest, and the Southeast, people were moving towards the ind cities. Numerousmon people were confused, terrified, and doubted the future they were facing. Many chose to escape reality, became uncooperative, or even turned violent. Some even went to the extreme¡ªentire families hadmitted suicide by poisoning because of their reluctance to leave their hometowns. It was exactly as that fellow said over the inte: a lot of people were going to die during this process¡­ Phoenix Mountain, the Cottage of Pure Mind. The lovely green valley had a delicate and natural beauty. Rolling verdant mountains stretched into the distance and with the fragrant flowers and twittering birds, it was apletely different world from outside. Xiaozhai had just finished her exercise of the day and returned to the valley from the training court. As soon as the cottage came into view, she saw that the two younger ones were sneaking around outside Gu Yu¡¯s meditation room, nning God knew what. ¡°What are you up to?¡± ¡°Sister!¡± The two jumped at her voice, then ran up to her. After shuffling around between themselves, Long Qiu finally spoke for the two of them, ¡°Brother has shut himself up since he came back; we want to know how he is.¡± ¡°Then go in there and look.¡± Xiaozhai was bewildered by their reaction. ¡°We¡¯re a little, um, afraid,¡± said Long Qiu, pursing her lips. ¡°Afraid?¡± She unknowingly darted a look at Xiaojin, who¡ªvery unlike her usual self¡ªdid not retort but chimed in, ¡°That¡¯s right! You have no idea what he was like when I talked to him when he got back. That look he gave me! Damn! It was like a death beam! I thought he was going to swallow me whole!¡± What the hell? Xiaozhai was all the more confused. She then shouted into the meditation room, ¡°Old Gu, you done in there?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± The voice that answered was clear, refined, and with an aloofness that did not belong to the mortal world. ¡°I¡¯m hungry. Cook us something,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Oh.¡± With a creek, the wooden door was pushed open and out came Gu Yu. Long Qiu: emmmmm!!! Xiaojin: emmmmmm!!! About half an hourter, the family of four gathered around the table, eating their 3pm breakfast. There were a variety of dishes and they were still cooked the same way as they liked it. Gu Yu picked around the dishes at random and put down his chopsticks. ¡°Lost your appetite?¡± asked Xiaozhai. ¡°No, it just I don¡¯t need or desire food all that much.¡± ¡°Oh? Have you given up eating for good?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu¡¯s face remained emotionless as he replied after a pause, ¡°Pretty much. I could go without eating for more then ten days in my innate state; now I think I can make do with half a year.¡± ¡°Sigh, your loss!¡± Xiaozhai had a mouthful of food and shook her head with pity. Long Qiu ate her rice in small bites and looked at the couple in turn. She finally plucked up her courage and asked, ¡°Brother, do you still like me?¡± She immediately found that question wrong and corrected herself in a hurry, ¡°Um, that¡¯s not what I meant. I only wanted to know, do you still have, have¡­¡± The more flustered she was, the harder it was for the words toe. Long Qiu¡¯s little face was scarlet with embarrassment when Jin Jin came to her rescue. ¡°We just want to ask, do you still have feelings?¡± ¡°Feelings? Haha¡­¡± A grin crept up Gu Yu¡¯s face and he looked more like his old self now. ¡°You¡¯re assuming that I have abandoned all feelings now that I¡¯ve reached the Human Immortal state?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not, but why are you going around with that poker face?¡± asked Xiaojin curiously. ¡°Let me give you an example.¡± Gu Yu exined it in a serious tone, ¡°When you¡¯re amoner, you look at things from this angle; when you be a major, a governor, or the head of a country, you¡¯re looking at things from that angle instead. ¡°At different state, people will consider things from different angles and with different mindsets. ¡°I now know better than any time before what I want and what I have left behind. Anything other than the pursuit of my heart is irrelevant. Because it is irrelevant, there is no need to care. Because I do not care, I look cold. ¡°But I do have feelings, only that they¡¯re not for the mortal world.¡± ¡°What? So, are we irrelevant now?¡± Long Qiu blinked herrge eyes, looking as sad as a lost puppy. ¡°You and Jin Jin are my family, of course you¡¯re not irrelevant. And your sister is the person I want, so that¡¯s a no for her as well.¡± ¡®Eww!¡¯ The deration of love came so out of the blue that Xiao Qiu had to turn to her fellow single sister Xiaojin for warmth. Gu Yu took Xiaozhai¡¯s hand and smiled. ¡°Therefore, there is no such a thing as ¡®saints are indifferent¡¯. It¡¯s only that when you reach the eternity, what else is there to raise your interest?¡± He then went on to a different subject. ¡°The path I took for my breakthrough was too perilous this time, so I had to stay in seclusion to stabilize it. During this time, I was able to summarize what I learned, and I¡¯d like to talk to you about it.¡± ¡°Great! Let¡¯s hear it!¡± At the mention of that, they all forgot about eating. The four then moved to sit under the old tree, where the two younger ones held their chins on their palms like two good students. Gu Yu organized his thoughts and began, ¡°Let me talk about what I¡¯ve learned from this experience first. When you¡¯ve reached perfection in your innate state and are facing breakthrough, a kind of energy will be umting inside you. What you need to do then is to wait until it rises to its peak, which is right on the verge of brimming over. ¡°There should be two ways to achieve this. One is to stay in seclusion, let it work its way up slowly, and wait for the breakthrough toe in its natural course, which is rtively safer. The other way is what I did, which is to force it out of the bottleneck by fighting against a strong enemy. Although by sheer luck, I was able to make it, I do not rmend it for any of you. It is too risky. ¡°For if you fail at this stage, you will have to wait for the next opportunity, and you won¡¯t know when that will be. ¡°Then there is the state of mind. Based on my experience, you have to meet two conditions: say goodbye to the mortal world and see universe as it is. How this works is very subjective and I can only tell you the result.¡± ¡°Oh, I see!¡± Long Qiu suddenly raised her hand and said excitedly, ¡°You have to say goodbye to your own mortal world and see your own universe as it is. You¡¯re speaking of your own experience, which may not suit us. It¡¯s like 1+1=2; we all know the correct answer, but we have to work out how to prove it on our own terms.¡± Her little face lit up with proud, which had ¡°Gimme a golden star!¡± written all over it. ¡°Haha, very well said. That¡¯s exactly what I meant.¡± Gu Yu praised her just as she wanted and went on, ¡°Then there¡¯s the change brought by the Human Immortal state. The change in the energy is the most prominent. In the innate state, all our cultivation and consumption need to be supplemented by external sources, whereas in the Human Immortal state, how we cultivate remains the same, but we will be able to fill in the nk of what we¡¯ve consumed ourselves because we¡¯re now able to produce spiritual essence by ourselves and circte it inside our body. ¡°I guess that is why there hasn¡¯t been a Human Immortal for centuries. They didn¡¯t need external spiritual essence to supplement what they used, but they did need it for cultivation. However, with the spiritual essence running dry, they lost the channel tomunicate with nature and could no longer cultivate. The energy of their life eventually ran out. ¡°Those of the Immortal state would be a different story. Since they have mastered the knowledge of mind and soul, they were probably able to rise beyond this confinement. Therefore, I think Immortals do still exist, not to mention Earthly Immortals. As for Heavenly Immortals¡­ I can¡¯t say whether or not anyone has achieved that.¡± ¡°Wow! Are you saying that when you fight with others now, you don¡¯t have to worry about your energy consumption and can just keep using it?¡± asked Xiaojin. ¡°That¡¯s right. The amount of spiritual essence inbat between Human Immortals is not an issue at all. They will bepeting on the level of Taoist skills alone. All Taoist skills areprised of Qi; the better understanding you have on Qi and the more creatively you can use it, the more powerful your skills will be.¡± After that, Gu Yu disappeared right in front of their eyes without so much as moving a finger. Chapter 370 Chapter 370: In and Beyond the Mountain Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Gu Yu vanished in the middle of their conversation. Long Qiu startled. Looking around, she couldn¡¯t see him anywhere. ¡°Brother, where are you?¡± ¡°Why, has he be faster again? No, that¡¯s not it. He wasn¡¯t hiding!¡± Xiaojin was equally baffled and called out, ¡°Brother-inw, say something!¡± ¡°Ha, it¡¯s actually not that hard to find me.¡± A familiar voice rang out in mid-air. As capable as the two younger ones were, they couldn¡¯t figure out the exact location of Gu Yu¡ªthe guy sounded to have diffused into the air. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai, on the other hand, released a streak of ckish purple Water Thunder after a moment of consideration. It spread out and turned into arge web, wrapping around the chair Gu Yu was sitting on. Sensing the fluctuation inside the thunder web, she was mildly surprised. ¡°So, you¡¯ve made it?¡± ¡°You could say that.¡± With those words, a blurry figure appeared on the chair, not making contact with the thunder web with any part of the body. It almost looked unreal. The voice then exined, ¡°The essence of Shadow-switching Technique is the transformation between tangible and intangible forms. Before, I could only turn into a mist, which is still a tangible and visible existence. My skill has improved now; I can be intangible.¡± ¡°Tsk, you and your big words. I¡¯ve watched The Invisible Man, ok?¡± Pursing her lips, Xiaojin¡¯s face lit up all of a sudden as if a light bulb had just popped out of her head. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s a great skill you¡¯ve got there. I have a very bold ide¡ª¡± Before she could finish the sentence, she jolted to a stop as her brother-inw shifted his eyes onto her. Damn! She meant it when she said she was afraid of him! Although he said they were his family, that look in his eyes could still scare the sh*t out of anybody¡ªit was indifferent and emotionless, reminding one of the look gods would have when looking down at mortals and when a higher form of life nced at the lesser ones. Gu Yu obviously did not give her the look on purpose. However, with his perspective and state of mindpletely changed now, it would escape him without him even noticing it. Xiaozhai pitied her little sister and took Xiaojin into her arms. She then asked curiously, ¡°Are you able to vanishpletely or is it just a change of form?¡± ¡°Thetter.¡± Gu Yu shifted his eyes away and casually swept a hand across the table, which instantly disappeared along with the teaware sitting on it. He swept across the same spot again and they reappeared. ¡°These things still exist, only that you can¡¯t see nor touch them. They didn¡¯t vanish. My current ability can only turn tangible objects into intangible, then back, but not the other way around. That¡¯ll be creating things out of thin air, which is beyond my power.¡± ¡°Oh! I see!¡± Long Qiu raised her hand again and said happily, ¡°It¡¯s like water turning into steam and steam turning back to water. Its form changes, but it still exists.¡± ¡°Not exactly, but you¡¯re on the right track.¡± Gu Yu nodded and went on, ¡°When we consumed the spiritual essence before, what we took in did not have any attribute. Only those with a special endowment, such as Zheng Kaixin, could sense Yin energy. At the beginning of the universe, Qi took countless forms. There were the ck and Yellow, Yin and Yang, Five Elements, Gang energy, evil energy, etc. Skills such as essence-consuming method, Thunder Technique, Dan method, formation method, talisman method¡­ are all applications of various types of Qi. ¡°After rising into the Human Immortal state, I have improved in all aspects and be more sensitive to these types of energy. Combining with the Small Moving Technique, I can do this¡­¡± With that, he grabbed at the air, and there was a ball of fire-attributed energy in his palm, which dissipated right away. He grabbed again; this time, it was a ck ball of energy¡­ the next time, it was a ball of wood-attributed energy. ¡°I was nning to continue with my seclusion and just came out to let you know a few things. We haven¡¯t collected too many Taoist skills and our cultivation system could use someplexity, so there are several things I am going to do next. The first is to work out the recipe of the Essence-gathering Dan, the second is to keep digging into our existing resources, and the third is¡­¡± He looked at Long Qiu and Xiaojin in turn, saying, ¡°I think I can start to invent some simple Taoist skills myself.¡± ¡®!!!¡¯ Xiao Qiu held onto Xiaojin, who held onto her sister in turn. Eyeing their brother/brother-inw, the two younger ones were overwhelmed by all sorts of emotions. On one hand, they were proud of his mightiness, on the other hand, they felt he was moving further and further away from them. Xiaozhai also eyed him for a while, then asked, ¡°So, after your seclusion, you¡¯ll set up the altar and start teaching?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And recruit pupils for our new sect?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Ok, leave that to me.¡± There were things one could only learn after they actually reached the Human Immortal state. Once there, they would wish they had 48 hours a day for all the cultivation and would not waste their precious time on petty fights. What fun would a Human Immortal have going around bullying the poor innate kids? For now, Human Immortal was the nuclear weapon, thest resort everyone tried not to mess with! As a cultivator with great aspirations, Gu Yu was putting all his attention into research, building the Taoist system, improving his cultivation state, and exploring unknown territories. He also felt immensely lucky¡ªthank God he was smart enough to close the deal with Xiaozhai the first chance he got. Tsk, tsk, she had saved him at least two hundred years worth of cultivation effort. *** Shengtian, Linsheng Town. The ce was quite far from the city center, and was once a small town. It waster changed into a residential district and barely made its way into the ten downtown districts. For the past twenty years or so, little had changed in the area. Farnds were requisitioned, industries were nonexistent, and there was barely anymercial activity. Tens of thousands of people just muddled along one year after the next. However, sincest December, Linsheng Town suddenly became alive. The residents here were so used to being ignored that they were overwhelmed by this unexpected attention, and almostcent. The change was brought by none other than the first batch of migrants from Heishui Province, who were resettled to those old tube-shaped apartment building in Linsheng Town. The buildings were probably built in the 1980s. There were four blocks in total, packed closely like building blocks. The yards were reeking with stale air. Most middle-aged people of the country were familiar with the tube-shaped apartment buildings. A corridor ran straight down a floor from end to end, nked by closely set rooms on both sides. There were no separate kitchens and the bathrooms weremunal. However, these buildings were extremely good at taking inrge numbers of people. The four blocks were all that was needed to fit all the migrants. The migrants were given single rooms about a dozen square meters in size. Regardless of how many people there were in a household, one family, one room. A small proportion of the rooms was transformed into eight-bed dormitories for single-person households and special groups. Because it was wintertime, heating became the main issue. A lot had to be done over a limited time period, so instead ofying the pipelines, they set up traditional stoves. There was plenty of coal and the stoves were hot enough to make the people through this winter. Liu Ziming and Liu Shuang were a young couple. They hadn¡¯t had a child yet and were given a single room in a building. Beforeing here, they had a small shop in Heishui, bought their own ce with a loan, and were nning to have a baby. Everything was great when, like one of those Hollywood films Liu Ziming loved, disaster fell upon them. They were right in the middle of the severely affected zone and lost everything. Utterly terrified and confused, they arrived at Shengtian, aimless and despairing. It was only after the psychological intervention of aid agencies that they slowly recovered. ¡°Sweetheart, I¡¯m off!¡± ¡°Hey, take this.¡± In the narrow and cramped room, Liu Ziming wrapped his padded jacket tight around himself and opened the weathered-looking door that had lost its original color. Liu Shuang hurried near, handing him a lunchbox and a bottle of hot water. ¡°I¡¯ve made you some pancakes for your lunch. Don¡¯t starve yourself.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Tears welled up his eyes as Liu Ziming took in his wife¡¯s haggard face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll find a job today. Any job will do!¡± ¡°Just be safe. I¡¯ll see you at dinner.¡± Stretching out her arms, Liu Shuang gave her husband a hug with as much gentleness and firmness as she could offer and watched him going downstairs. The weather was as cold as always. In Shengtian, it did not snow as insanely as in Heishui, but snow was frequent enough. It piled up everywhere and his footsteps made a crunchy sound as he walked. Carrying his things, Liu Ziming went to the subdistrict office. A lot of people were already waiting outside, giving him an indifferent look before turning back to staring at the door. As mentioned before, the main issue with migration was aodation and food. With those two fulfilled to some extent, the next concern was employment. Although the government was providing them with unemployment relief, it was not the same as having a job. With a job, there was ie, life, purpose, andfort instead of staying at home and idling life away. With so many people rushing in at the same time, there were no adequate job vacancies. Those with specific skills had long been recruited and those left behind were deemed skilless. The government was doing all it could to contact all potential employers. Whenever there were job openings, the information was sent to the subdistrict offices, who would then inform the individuals. However, people did not want to stay at home waiting. The earlier they arrived at the office, the earlier they would hear the news and the more likely got a job opportunity. They would usually stay out here for an entire day. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Liu Ziming crouched down in a less windy corner and watched the time ticking by on his phone. At exactly seven o¡¯clock, he bolted to his feet and squeezed into the crowd rushing towards the office entrance. Before long, shuffling footsteps came from inside and the staff on shift opened the gate. Ever since the migrants arrived, the primary-level staff here had long lost the concept of on and off duty. They were set up in groups, each working a near twenty-hour shift. It wasmon for them to stay overnight in their offices. A middle-aged woman walked out, watching the dense crowd with resignation. ¡°I¡¯ve told you many times, the moment we have the job openings, we will post them in the chat group. And you¡¯re all in that group¡­ sigh, why do you have toe all the way here on such a cold day!¡± ¡°Director Wang, that¡¯s not the same! We have to sign up in the chat group and that¡¯s more work for you. Out here, we can just get it done,¡± said someone. ¡°That¡¯s right. Meeting in person is so much more reliable.¡± ¡°Director Wang, please tell us. We¡¯ve been waiting here all morning!¡± Dispirited as they were, the crowd remained calm¡ªthose that couldn¡¯t had long been punished as warning. The woman was familiar with the drill and started right away. ¡°We have quite a few today, so no rush. The first one: Shengda Transportation needs dockers. The desired candidate: young, strong, good at obeying orders, can handle hard work. The position is a ten-hour job daily and you get two days off a month.¡± Buzz! Buzz! Instantly, everyone was shouting at the same time. Men and women of all age groups were all trying to raise their voices above everyone else. Even with a treatment as harsh as this one, no one wanted to miss it. ¡°Pick me! Pick me! I¡¯ve done this before!¡± a man in his early thirties yelled at the top of his voice at the back of the crowd, but his voice was drowned in the hubbub. His face went scarlet and he was stomping his feet. Liu Ziming happened to stand in front of him and knew the guy from his building. The man lived with his elderly parents, a wife, and a child, and had been having a hard time. After much hesitation, Liu Ziming turned around and dragged the man to the front roll; thetter shouted even louder and finally got Director Wang¡¯s attention. He got the job he wanted, then, without saying thanks to Liu Ziming, ran into the building to sign up. ¡°The second one: Xinfeng sock factory needs sock-folding and packaging workers, and extra hands in the kitchen. Women only.¡± ¡°Me! Me! Me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m a woman! Here!¡± The handful of women present waved their hands frantically to make themselves seen. ¡°You, you, you, and you. Ok, that¡¯ll do!¡± Just like so, three job offers were taken. Liu Ziming, still empty-handed, grew more and more anxious. He either was of the wrong sex or backed off because he pitied someone else in a worse state. ¡°The fourth one: um, Bai Town needs construction workers, preferably with past experience. Those without but physically strong will do as well.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The crowd suddenly went silent. It was after a while when someone finally asked, ¡°Where is Bai Town?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a mountainous area in the east, about 200 km from here. This is a long-term contract and you won¡¯t being home for a while. It pays an average sry.¡± The crowd exchanged looks; no one replied. It was far and they had to work away from home. Not everyone was determined enough to leave home to work in another strange ce after just moving into one. ¡°Director Wang!¡± Chewing his lips, Liu Ziming turned the idea over in his head and finally shouted, ¡°I¡¯m a strong man. I¡¯ll go!¡± Chapter 371 Chapter 371: The Big Project Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Rumble! Screech! A few buses drove into the square outside the gate of Phoenix Mountain. The doors opened and Liu Ziming and his fellow workers filed out. They lined up in the square before looking up; what they saw made them shudder. Despite it being right in the middle of the winter, green mountains stretched out in rolls here, covered byyers uponyers of verdant ntation. Everywhere they turned, they were met with a wonderful aura of liveliness andfort. These workers were all migrants just transferred to Shengtian after their hometowns became vast uninhabitablends trapped under ice and snow. What they saw here made them open their eyes wide in speechlessness. They waited a little while before several trucks also arrived from afar, carrying workers, construction materials, and transportation equipment. After they joined the line, a person appearing to be a leader of some sort finally came out; he turned out to be Old Shui. He had been taking spiritual tea and spiritual rice since moving to Phoenix Mountain. Together with the Red Sun Sword Skill he began to learntely, his physique had never been this impressive. Standing in front of the crowd right now, he actually gave off a quite intimidating air. ¡°All right. I¡¯m Shui Yao, and I¡¯m in charge of this project.¡± He did not raise his voice deliberately, but his voice was heard loud and clear throughout the square. ¡°Normally, we don¡¯t start jobs like this in the North in winter, but as you have seen, this is not a usual ce. Consider it a blessing that you¡¯re able to work here. ¡°Our project is right on this mountain. Food and amodation are provided; the estimated time is a month. The n has all been set, so the only task for you is to use your muscles and carry things around. Be smart and learn from the masters as much as you can; it¡¯ll be for your own good. If you finish this one satisfactorily, there is another project right after this and you will be considered for the job. ¡°Ok, let¡¯s break you up into teams. Those that had their names called, line up here¡­¡± After that, he began to split them into teams before starting the first day of work. Several elderly masters served as instructors, teaching them how to carry things up. Before long, all workers and equipment were on their way up the mountain; the size of the team looked rather impressive. Each team had different tasks; the team Liu Ziming was in went all the way up. Savoring the tweeting birds and fragrant flowers as they walked, they continued this wonderful excursion until they were halfway up the mountain. The team leader then said, ¡°You¡¯ll be mainly working here. I¡¯ll now give out your tasks. Liu Ziming!¡± ¡°Here!¡± He raised his hand right away. ¡°Now, have a look at these signs first, then take them down. Go find Old Zheng after that and put up the new signs.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m on it!¡± This job did note easy, and Liu Ziming was very eager to do it right. He wasted no time and began the examination. He saw that he was at a side road halfway up the mountain. It led to a temple called Ziyang Temple, but there was no one inside it. The temple covered quite arge area and there were twelve signs around it, directing different roads and scenic spots. He recorded every one of them before finding Old Zheng, who was in charge of building materials. Thetter gave him two new signs and a simple map. The task wasn¡¯t all that hard¡ªall he needed to do was to take the old one out, dig a new hole, and jab the new one in securely. Born and raised in Heishui Province, Liu Ziming had never been in Shengtian before and knew nothing about the city, but he was no fool. He had deduced from what he had seen here that this ce was probably the residence of the legendary cultivators. With that in mind, he became even more excited and cherished this opportunity more than ever. He carefully reced the signs. Old ridiculous names such as Ascending tform, Set-free Pond, Three Lives Stone were all abandoned, and only two ces ended up having a sign. One was the backyard of the temple, where a new building seemed to be nned. The sign read: Warehouse. Another was set at the fork of the road, and on it was the new name of the temple: Service Hall. *** Before they realized, it was evening. Dinner was given out at the construction site. Liu Ziming lined up with a disposable lunch box in hand. Four glossy barrels were giving off a pleasant smell of food, and before he had time to look closely, something heavynded in his lunch box¡ªarge portion of pork braised in brown sauce. After that was a portion of vegetable dish, meat dish, and soup each; also, they could have as much rice as they could eat. He was a little surprised, then found a stone to sit down on and dived into his food. As a matter of fact, although his hometown was destroyed, they still had some savings left, but the young couple dared not spend a dime. Without a future that they could look forward to, that money was theirst resort. Each cent they spent felt like taking away a piece of their soul. After eating a few mouthfuls of the meat, Liu Ziming suddenly paused. He then took out his phone, took a picture, and sent it. ¡°Hello, Honey, did you see the picture¡­ yes, they¡¯re treating us very nicely here, and the job today wasn¡¯t all that hard¡­ Honey, now that I¡¯ve got a job, don¡¯t push yourself too hard. You can buy whatever you need¡­ don¡¯t worry, I can always earn some more. Now, make yourself some nice food. I¡¯ll be back soon¡­¡± He hung up after a few more words, wiped a tear off the corner of his eyes, and went back wolfing down his dinner. They had a short break after the meal; the workers habitually gathered together, chatting and shooting the breeze. Liu Ziming crouched down in a corner, while his fellow workers sat around a local elderly master, looking for a good gossip. ¡°Master, can you tell us about this mountain?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯re from around here, so tell us about it!¡± ¡°Hoho¡­¡± The old man fumbled out his cigarette box out of habit before remembering that smoking was forbidden on the mountain. He put the box back embarrassingly and said, ¡°There really isn¡¯t much to talk about. People of Bai Town had been living off Phoenix Mountain for many years and nothing unusual ever happened. About four year ago, somehow a green snake showed up on the mountain, injuring quite a lot of people. It was quite the headline back then; the government sent people in to catch it, but a police officer was killed.¡± ¡°Yeah, I remember reading about it on weibo! I leftments under it!¡± said a young man immediately. ¡°What happenedter was even stranger¡ªthe snake disappeared, just like that. Then it was a new year and Phoenix Mountain was not what it used to be.¡± Smacking his lips, the old man went on, ¡°There was first this new manor on the north side of the mountain. Man, that was a magnificent house. The mountain was then covered in fog all the time and an iron fence was set up. Somehow, a lot of expensive cars began toe to the north side¡ªlike, millions of yuan expensive. We didn¡¯t give it much thought at that time, but now thate to think of it, the immortals were probably moving in during that time¡­¡± ¡°And then? What happened then?¡± ¡°My dear grandpa, stop smacking your lips! Just tell us!¡± The crowd could not stand the interruption in the middle of a story and urged him constantly. ¡°Then? Well, then the mountain began to change. It was neither too dry nor too wet, and the temperature was always just right. Do you remember what thest summer was like? Gosh, that heat! Well, here on the mountain, it was like an air-conditioner was on 24/7. Everyone wasing here to stay away from the heat. And now, do you see how cold it is out there and how it is here? I¡¯m sweating even just with a thin sweater on.¡± The old man chuckled. ¡°Did that immortal make this happen?¡± ¡°Where does the immortal live? Have you seen the ce?¡± ¡°What¡¯s inside that fence? Can we go in there?¡± Questions were popping out of everyone and the old man suddenly straightened up his face. ¡°I have to warn you: you can go anywhere, but stay away from the fence. There is Mada Mountain 1 inside.¡± Mada Mountain! The crowd jumped at the name. They were all northeasterners and knew what that name stood for. Before, they might think it a joke, but with what had been happening around them, they had to believe it now. ¡°Don¡¯t be a smart a*s on this. So many people have broken in before you¡¯re here and all of them have been thrown out. And they all looked like they had lost their mind when they were on this side of the fence again. Whoever inside was kind enough to let theme back alive. Do you think the government would give a damn if they decided to kill a couple of intruders? So, just be content. You¡¯vee all the way here, you¡¯re fed well, and you get paid for your work. What more do you want!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The crowd had gone even quieter at those words. They were forced to leave their hometowns after the ces that used to be their home were destroyed. In the new cities, they lived gingerly, having little idea of what was to be of them tomorrow. The stark contrast between the past and the present was pressing down so hard that they felt they were being squashed between two giant millstones at the turn of which their blood and tears were slowly squeezed dry. It was so hard that even the simplest daydreaming could notst for more than seconds. The old man looked at the faces of the strangers around him. Smeared with dirt and exhausted, they reminded him of the withered grass blown around by the wind in the wilderness, having no shelter to rest. He had been there himself and knew that feeling. Slowly, he said, ¡°I know you all had a family and a job and everything back then. Some of you even had your own business, which was so much better than I ever was. But this is how life is and we have no say in that. We should thank our ancestors¡¯ blessing that we¡¯re still alive today. Since you¡¯re here already, you¡¯ll have to live with it. There are still so many years ahead of you and you never know what will happen. We can always have another chance!¡± *** 5 km northeast of Phoenix Mountain, an ancient mountain city. The city was built during the time of Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei Dynasty by Goguryeo and was named Wugu 2 City back then. Located near the stretching branch of Phoenix Mountain, it was set up over a valley using a cliff on the north as a side of the city wall. The rest of the city wall was built with wedge-shaped stones and divided into inner and outer walls. The perimeter of the wall was 16 km; the remainder of it now was 8 m high. Three gates were set on the east, west, and south, respectively, and the southern gate sat right at the entrance of the valley. The mountain city sat on a rather tall ground, and the city wall was rtively intact. Relics such as sentry posts, gpoles,mander-appointing stage, dried-up wells were still found all over the city. A river also wound its way through it. This ce was actually a tourist destination, but a very lousy one. With little scene to savor, hardly any tourists ever bothered to visit. Thanks to Phoenix Mountain nearby, the weather was quite pleasant in the city. Wild grass was scattered over the otherwise barend, blocking the heavy snow outside. Right now, a figure was drifting down from Cuanyun Peak¡ªthe highest peak of Phoenix Mountain. Despite the drop of hundreds of meters, itnded steadily on the city wall. It was none other than Xiaozhai herself. Looking around, she took in the entire city and nodded with satisfaction. ¡°Nice location and big enough. It¡¯s excellent to set up a market.¡± She then took out her phone and called Old Shui. ¡°When you get the chance to go to the municipal government, tell them I¡¯ll take the area of the ancient city!¡± ¡°Oh, sure.¡± Old Shui pursed his lips on the other side of the line. ¡®Who dares say no when you¡¯ve said you wanted it¡­¡¯ With the capability of Phoenix Mountain and the contribution Old Gu had made, as long as they didn¡¯t openly oppose the government, they would live a peaceful life with all wishes granted from now on. Not to mention that Xiaozhai¡¯s parents were among the top leaders of Shengtian now, which only made their life easier. Just look at her: unbelievably beautiful, almost next to no one in her capability, with both parents as high-ranking officials, having a resolute and persistent temperament, with a younger-sisterplex, and doting on girls¡­ were you sure she was not the protagonist? After Old Gu went into seclusion, Xiaozhai promptly began the preparation work. The front of the mountain was the first being revamped. All the signs of the old scenic spots were cleaned out and after idling their days for years, the priests of Ziyang Temple were finally kicked out. Since they were going to open up a sect, they needed to close off the mountain first. Hence, she had made the decision to take back thend-use rights of the front mountain after the revamp was finished and close off the mountain for good. Then, she was nning on this market. Now that the news was out in the open, there was no point in hiding anymore. She would just do it. The aim was to build Bai Town into a cultivation paradise,ying foundation for the teaching and recruiting pupils in the future. Since Phoenix Mountain was esteemed as the leading figure, it was only natural that everyone else came to pay their respect. Chapter 372 Chapter 372: An Eventful Time Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Phoenix Mountain, inside a room. The mountain was quiet, the cottage was quiet, and the room was quieter¡ªalmost reaching the limit that any human being could stand. Incense was burning on the table and the smoke coiled up in the air. The contrast of light and darkness gave one an impression of another world. It had been half a month since the wooden door wasst opened. Before, meals had to be sent in regrly during the seclusion, but that was no longer necessary. He now could go without eating for half a year and his need for food had never been this little. Gu Yu sat in the room without the slightest sound or movement of breathing; he could be mistaken for a y figurine. It seemed forever before his eyes shot open and he vanished into thin air. Momentster, he reappeared in the training court 50 minutes¡¯ walk away. ¡°It is indeed much more improved in both the speed and agility from the mist form. I think it¡¯ll work as a basic escaping skill.¡± Standing there with both his hands hidden in the sleeve of the other side, Gu Yu seemed to have made this posture one of his habits. After estimating the distance and time of this little trip, he confirmed the applicability of this escaping skill. It was called an escaping skill, but it was actually something he came up with himself. Back when he was still in the innate state, he could transform into a cloud of mist with Shadow-switching Technique. By utilizing the dispersive quality of the mist, he was able to drift in the air for a short period with the help of his spiritual essence. Now that he was a Human Immortal, he could bepletely invisible and move around as if he was air flow himself. He had no idea whether any simr skills existed previously, but for now, it was one of a kind. After giving it some thought, Gu Yu took out a jade slip and recorded the skill in details, imprinting it with a name: Void Air-controlling Technique. Features: practitioners could turn invisible, move at a rtively high speed, and consume a medium amount of spiritual essence. As mentioned before, Human Immortals could produce spiritual essence themselves, so theoretically, they were not concerned with its consumption. However, in practice, if the speed of consuming exceeded that of regenerating by too much, they¡¯d still need to take a break. He made it a big thing in recording that escaping skill before putting away the jade slip. He then walked to the center of the training court and started another experiment. Adjusting his breathing, he kicked the ground lightly and shot into the air. Before, his energy would run out after about 50 m, and to go further up, he would need some external object as a buffer. That was no longer necessary. He shot all the way up, 60 m, 90 m, 120 m¡­ only then did his breathing lose its rhythm a little. Gu Yu made an effort to fly a bit further up. He began to sway noticeably when he reached 150 m. He then slowly descended and stopped in mid-air, about 100 m from the ground. A flow of air then circted around him, forming a transparent film. This was the highest stable level he could reach so far. He looked down, walked around, and returned to the ground after a while. ¡°Flying up without any skills and using sheer force only is not practical. Not rmended.¡± Shaking his head, he felt the spiritual essence rushing out, soon filling up what he had used. Immediately after that, Gu Yu began the third experiment, for which he stirred up the Sword Seed frantically¡ªthe golden ball spun violently over his Qihai. Sword energy flushed out like torriential waves, soon wrapping him up. Submerged in the intense golden me, Gu Yu seemed to have melted into it, and became part of it. With a whoosh, a golden beam swept across the sky, and he was back in the Cottage of Pure Mind in no time. It was a demonstration of the Methodical Sword state of Red Sun Devil-smashing Sword Manual which allowed one to integrate with their sword and transform into a shing sword that could fly a thousand miles across air. ¡°It¡¯s the fastest of all¡ªobviously more so than Void Air-controlling Technique¡ªbut the increase in the consumption of energy is also exponential. For emergency use only.¡± Gu Yu recorded it in the jade slip and sat down in the meditation room again. What did he go through all the trouble for? The answer was actually quite simple: he just wanted to try some different ways of flying so that he could find the most suitable escaping skill. In many cultivation systems, flying did not seem all that difficult¡ªa new pupil of a sect might be able to manipte their energy and fly, or master some floating technique. However, in Taoist mythology and folklore, flying was actually very hard. The mostmon cultivators could do was to ¡°stay shakily 10 or 15 meters above ground in a state between a wind and a mist¡±. More capable ones could ¡°raise a gust of wind that blew themselves into mid-air and be a distance away in a moment¡±. When introducing himself to his future master, Sun Wukong 1 ¡°jumped about 20 m from the ground and made a return journey of 2 km¡±. Master Puti teased him about it, calling it ¡°cloud-crawling¡±. So, what was the ability of a real master? As said in the ancient text: an Immortal would visit the North Sea in the morning, tour the world, and return to Cangwu 2 in the evening. Visiting every corner of the world in a day¡ªonly that was qualified as riding the cloud! ¡°Ha¡­¡± Exhaling, Gu Yu slowly closed his eyes again. *** Yueyang, Helong Lake Town. In a two-story house that stood in a small courtyard, Dai Han was refreshing New ssics of Mountains and Rivers repeatedly. Yup, he was that chubby young fellow with whom the Pavilion of Gems closed its first deal. The soft-shelled turtles his family raised had all mutated and turned into big-toed thickshell turtles. Apart from the Pavilion of Gems, buyers from all over the country were contacting them for a purchase. The Dai Family made more money selling the mutated species than they had before. The temptation was so great that after the turtles were sold out, Father Dai threw in a new batch of baby soft-shelled turtles. They were terrified by the mutated species before, but now, all they wanted was for them to mutate as soon as possible. Unfortunately, before any mutation could take ce, notice of the government arrived. Because of the expansion of Dongting Lake, residents in the surrounding areas of theke had to be evacuated in batches. Helong Lake was a rtively safe area and the residents there were among thest to be evacuated. Mother and Father Dai could not stop worrying¡ªin their eyes, nowhere was safe enough. Right now, Dai Han was browsing the forum of New ssics of Mountains and Rivers. From the second half of the previous year, with the gradual release of information, this app was no longer a secret. The number of users had grown exponentially, and it now had over 100 million members. The number of entries in the four categories grew quickly. There were over 500 under both Animal and nt and almost 10 under Geography and Climate each, such as the gue of insects in Huangguoshu, snow and beast tide in Xingan Ridge, shoals of killer fish in coastal areas, etc. Today, another entry was added to Geography¡ªor rather, the government had stopped blocking the information and was opening it up to the public. Huo Zhou! Three years ago, the spiritual essence of ming Mountain broke out with a destructive force, devouring 70 000 km^2 of Huo Zhou, turning the area into and of burned ground. Over 700 000 people were evacuated and relocated to various cities. This spiritual essence had an unmistakable fire attribute that could destroy living creatures from within by damaging their functions and structures. Even metal, nts, mountain rocks, and sand could not withstand this erosion. Recent observations indicated that the air flow in the area had almost quieted down and the ecosphere had recovered¡­ The country erupted at this new entry. ¡°Damn! I knew it! I knew it! I knew something was fishy!¡± ¡°Why did they only let it out now? The life ofmon people is nothing to them, is that it?¡± ¡°The idiot upstairs, you can go save the world with your keyboard!¡± The inte exploded. The most emotional ones were the migrants of Huo Zhou. Three years had passed since then. Some of them had adapted to their new life, some were still wandering in confusion, and some had given up, falling into a life of crime after spending all their resettlement money. Whichever kind they were now, they were all overwhelmed by emotions after hearing this news; some even dropped to their knees, howling with tears. They were given no exnation when they were forced out of their hometowns and moved to new cities to live under other people¡¯s roofs. They finally knew why now. Even though this exnation was such a dyed one and they couldn¡¯t decide whether they should thank or hate the person for telling them that. ¡°Sigh, I didn¡¯t know what ¡®rte to others¡¯ felt, but now I do.¡± Dai Han heaved a sigh. The bamboo chair squeaked until his now much stronger body¡ªthanks to the spiritual tea he had been drinking. He was no fool and had guessed why the government had made the Huo Zhou information public. They were preparing the public for a mass migration of the Dongting Lake area. ¡°Away from home, away from home¡­ sigh, I¡¯ve always hated this lousy ce, but only now do I realize how reluctant I am to leave it!¡± He was taken over by an unusual sadness and sat there dazed for quite a while. After that, he picked up the phone again and browsed casually through the bbs. ¡®Hm?¡¯ The chubby young fellow paused his flipping finger¡ªhis eyes locked onto a new post. ¡°A market is under construction in Bai Town. Free trade. Safety is guaranteed and the market is nned for opening within the year. Feel free to send inquiries; everyone is wee.¡± The simple introduction sent an uproar through the bbs. ¡°Somebody find out where Bai Town is, please. Where is it?¡± ¡°A county-level city in Shengtian. It¡¯s small and not very modern. There¡¯s a Phoenix Mountain.¡± ¡°Wait a minute. Why does that mountain sound so familiar?¡± ¡°Say hi to Phoenix Mountain, Xiao County!¡± ¡°Say hi to Phoenix Mountain, Mengjin!¡± ¡°Say hi to Phoenix Mountain, Taojiang!¡± That got to be one of the mostmon mountain names of the country¡ªthere were more then seventy ¡°say hi¡± under that thread. After that, someone who knew better finally replied, ¡°Holy crap, I remember now! Wasn¡¯t a Myan fellow struck dead by lightningst year in Spring City? Can it be that Phoenix Mountain?¡± Boom! It was like he had dropped a bomb. ¡°So this is not a marketing scam! There really are immortals!¡± ¡°A market? What market on earth is it?¡± ¡°Are you an idiot of what? Of course it¡¯s the legendary¡­¡± ¡°Cultivation market!¡± Dai Han finished the sentence himself and concluded the discussion. Clutching his phone, he felt his heart thumping against his chest and his body temperature rising. The surprise and excitement was making his cheeks flushed. He had been to the Pavilion of Gems to sell his goods before. Although it was not Bai Town yet, the look of that shop was so promising! The chubby youngster put away his phone, still shaking a little from the excitement. After a moment of hesitation, he bolted to his feet and shouted at the top of his voice, ¡°Dad! Mum! Stop worrying! We¡¯re moving to Bai Town!¡± *** Tianzhu Mountain, the monastery. In a secluded training court, Bai Yunsheng stood motionless, holding the sheath. He slowly drew out the sword. That ancient sword had been devoured by the Sword Seed; this was a new one. As the de left the sheath inch by inch, the energy around him grew more prominent with it. He was no longer who he used to be. Clunk! Finally, the long sword was drawn out entirely, and he looked as if he had a streak of silver light in his hand. While the energy remained undisturbed inside and along the de, he thrust the sword forward. Whoosh! The speed of that thrust was beyond imagination. The silver light was so fierce that the air along its path contorted, forming wavy patterns. Before the stance was finished, Bai Yunsheng turned his wrist, making the silver light quiver at a tremendous speed. Then, a magnificent silver flower appeared at the tip of the de with a loud bang. The silver flowerprised of countless streaks of closely woven sword energy suddenly blossomed like a peony. As the petals unfolded,yers uponyers of sword energy came to life and rushed out in unbroken waves. Whoosh! Whoosh! Bang! Bang! Waves of sword energy covered the 10 m^2 area in front of him and seemed to have formed a resplendent silver crescent moon. Boom! Rustle! The mountain and the forest looked as if they had been swept by a giant broomstick. The trees were snapped and the stones were broken to pieces, making quite a chaotic scene. Even the ground under his feet¡ªwhich was paved with bluestone columns rammed vertically into the ground and very hard¡ªwas now lined with deep scratches. ¡°This Cold Moon Sword Manual is indeed worth its fame of a heritage of the Sword Immortals.¡± ¡°Abbot!¡± Bai Yunsheng put the sword behind him and bowed at Lu Yuanqing that had just showed up. ¡°Haha! Congrattions on the great improvement!¡± Lu Yuanqing bowed back. After Bai Yunsheng was picked by the Sword Seed, he woke up shortly after being brought back to the monastery. Immediately after that, he announced his going into seclusion; when he came out, he was an innate state cultivator who had integrated with the Sword Seed. This Cold Moon Sword Manual referred to the harshness and rawness of the cold moon. Its movements were refined, marvellous, and had countless variations. The sh of the cold de was like the moonlight paving the mortal world. Red Sun Sword Manual focused on its power; it was awe-inspiring and smashed all evil from earth. Whirlwind Sword Manual emphasized its speed. The first to attack or not, the sword energy would reach the opponent first. The Cold Moon, on the other hand, was all about the stances. The technicality of it was most suitable for Bai Yunsheng, who loved swords more than his life. Hence, the monastery now had two orthodoxies: the Dan method and the sword manual. The sword skill had demonstrated its might, but the members of Qiyun had remained indifferent. It all depended on one¡¯s understanding of swords and not everyone was blessed with a natural endowment like Bai Yunsheng. Of course, Lu Yuanqing suggested that the Technical Sword of the manual should be passed down as a high-level fundamental skill. Everyone of the monastery should practice it, which would only do them good. As expected, the government showed up and asked Bai Yunsheng to draw a graph of the Technical Sword manual, which they took away. It was not hard to guess what they were nning to do with it: to make it amon practice of the armed forces. After a brief conversation, the two left the training court together. The construction of the monastery had beenpleted as nned. Now, with its upper, middle, and lower levels, Qiyun was beginning to have the vigorous look of an influential sect. They had just reached the main hall when a teenage disciple hurried near. ¡°Abbot, a guest has arrived.¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°His name is Wang Qi.¡± ¡°I see.¡± After dismissing the little one, Lu Yuanqing said, ¡°Junior Brother, how about joining our meeting?¡± ¡°All right.¡± After that, they arrived in a guest room under Zhu Ridge. Wang Qi was now almost the sole representative in themunication between the authorities and the cultivationmunity and was going back and forth a lot. He cupped his hands first. ¡°I was abroad when Old Master Tan passed away. I am so sorry for noting here to pay my respects.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be. The old priest had gone peacefully and did not want to be disturbed.¡± Lu Yuanqing poured Wang Qi a cup of tea. Bai Yunsheng sat quietly on the side, apparently not very good at socializing. ¡°To be frank, Priest Lu, I¡¯m here on an important matter this time.¡± Wang Qi¡¯s attitude had a subtle difference in it. Before, the respect the authorities showed to the monastery was only superficial and the government considered Qiyun a subordinate organization only. However, since Gu Yu¡¯s trip abroad and his demonstration of his Human Immortal power, some bosses up there had changed their strategy. Maybe they had finally realized the unlimited potential of cultivators, or maybe they were threatened by the possibility that a Human Immortal could crush modern weapons. At any rate, they were now much more polite towards the monastery. ¡°Please go on.¡± Lu Yuanqing realized the change as well. ¡°A short while ago, our observation station in Tianshan discovered that the air flow over there has calmed down. The mountain is now safe enough for us to enter in great numbers.¡± ¡°Oh? That is great news. It is a responsibility that we shall not relinquish.¡± Lu Yuanqing had seen thising. He then switched to another subject. ¡°However, I won¡¯t being. My junior brother here has just risen to the innate state, and he is much more capable then me. He will be joining you for the task.¡± ¡°Priest Bai?¡± Turning the idea in his head, Wang Qi finally nodded. ¡°Sure. Thank you for troubling yourself, Priest Bai.¡± Chapter 373 Chapter 373: Darkice Mine and Patriarch Sky-turning Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The northwestern border, Tianshan Mountain. The whiteness stretched on forever, from the highest mountain tops to the deepest abyss, as if that was the only color left in this world. Snowy mountains rose up in rows, each more magnificent than the next. Everywhere one turned, they were met by great ice cascades over a hundred meters tall. Tianshan used to be a windy region, but the breakout and stabilization of the spiritual essence had made one improvement in the climate¡ªit was no longer gusty. At least they didn¡¯t need to worry about blizzards. After four years of changes, the fault in the ice sheets of Tianshan had settled down; they nowy thick and solid over the ground, forming ayer of densely packed snow. It was thanks to this tough surface that they were able to avoid much casualty in their march. Bai Yunsheng led the procession with a long sword on his back and wearing a thin Taoist robe only. Both his handsome face and his straight and tall figure made him look very trustworthy. However, the coldness in his eyes had kept others from getting too familiar. ¡°Whee¡­¡± As they marched on, a shriek rang out suddenly, and before anyone could react, a shadow approached from above at a tremendous speed. Hooked talons grabbed a man by his shoulders, and with a yank, the guy was five meters over the ground. ¡°Help! Help!¡± The man was terrified and struggled violently. Clunk! The sword left its sheath like a roaring dragon, and silver light struck down at an angle like shing stars chasing the moon. With a slicing sound, the thing was in two halves. Plop! Entrails and blood sshed all over the ground. The blood was so hot that it sizzled and steamed on the snow. Only then did the scared crowd see what had attacked them. Lying on the ground was a giant bird with a wingspan of nearly eight meters. It was covered in white feathers all over its body, except for its sharp golden talons. The bird¡¯s head alone was as big as a wash basin¡ªimagine how ferocious the entire bird would look. ¡°New species! New species!¡± A specialist tumbled near and examined the bird. ¡°Take it with us to the base!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± A few soldiers carried out the order. ¡°Thank you, Priest Bai. We¡¯re so lucky to have you with us. We can¡¯t open fire randomly in this ce; it may trigger an avnche.¡± One of the men in charge also expressed his gratitude wholeheartedly. ¡°Just doing my job.¡± Bai Yunsheng was equally curious about the animal and asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t seen this bird before?¡± ¡°No. The environment of Tianshan was too harsh for us to venture here. All we could do was to observe from the perimeter. We did discover some mutated snow rats, snow leopards, and cedars, but never a raptor of this size.¡± ¡°Compared to human society, nature is more about cold logic. Since the top of the food chain has emerged, it means an ecosphere has already been established in Tianshan,¡± said another specialist in amazement. The team moved faster after the minor incident and managed to rush to the valley Gu Yu and Xiaozhai had once visited before sunset. The cold air had once been blocked out of this ce and the green valley enjoyed spring all year round. However, after Gu Yu removed the Seal of Patriarch Sa, the spiritual essence ran amuck and the valley was destroyed by an avnche. After a four-year recovery period, the greennd had returned, which was a great surprise for the scientific research team. After all, no one wanted to work in a harsh environment. They briefly set up for the night and busied themselves with all the work the following day. Like Lu Yuanqing once before, Bai Yunsheng had little to do other than ying the human detecting machine. Early one morning. Sitting on a stone on the ridge while caressing his long sword, Bai Yunsheng couldn¡¯t help but let out a soft sigh. ¡°Well, I¡¯m still not used to this one.¡± The ancient sword was gone and this one was temporarily made from materials they had in the monastery. He had only just integrated with the Sword Seed and could not yet store the sword inside his mental space. When that time came, he wasn¡¯t going to put a crappy sword in there. ¡°Priest! Priest!¡± Just then, someone hurried up the ridge with a stone in his hand, saying, ¡°Please have a look at this mineral.¡± Oh? Bai Yunsheng took it and saw that the stone was green, translucent, and without any impurities. He then injected a streak of spiritual essence and searched the interior, concluding, ¡°The hardness is incredible. Is it the green jade stone?¡± ¡°Yes. It is what Mr. Gu¡¯s ming Cloud Needles were made from. We have explored around theke and found quite a few. We thought we should bring it to you for a look.¡± ¡°The feature of this mineral is quite distinct. Use this one as your benchmark. I don¡¯t think you can go wrong. Come to me if there¡¯s something you can¡¯t identify for certain.¡± ¡°No problem. I¡¯m off, then!¡± Less than two hours after that man left, someone else called him. This time, it was the lead researcher of the scientific team. Bai Yunsheng responded with due respect and went down to theb, where a few specialists were standing in discussion around a few rocks. ¡°Priest Bai is here¡­ Priest, please have a look at these minerals. Are they any different from the spiritual stones of Tianzhu Mountain?¡± asked an old man in a hurry. Bai Yunsheng saw that there were eight of them in total and they looked pretty much the same in appearance as what they had in Tianzhu. He then examined each one in turn. After eliminating the five stones that had no fluctuation of spiritual essence, he looked closely at the remaining three. He said after quite a while, ¡°You¡¯re right, they are spiritual stones. In fact, the reactivity of spiritual essence in them is even higher.¡± ¡°By how much?¡± asked the old man immediately. ¡°Um¡­¡± He weighed them in hand hand again and picked one out. ¡°This is 1.¡± He then picked a second one. ¡°This is 2.¡± And then thest one. ¡°This is 3.¡± ¡°3? That¡¯s more than twofold?¡± The researchers were all surprised. The government was able to improve their database thanks to the experience gained in the previous development projects. The reactivity of the spiritual stones found on Tianzhu Mountain was set to be 1 as a base line. Tianshan had just turned out to be a treasurend with its scores as high as 2 and 3. ¡°I don¡¯t think we should be too specific with the categorization. Simpler and moremon categories will work better,¡± said a specialist. ¡°How general do you want to make it? Grade One for a 1 and Grade Two for a 2?¡± This idea was rejected by another specialist at once. ¡°We might discover higher numbers in the future¡ªmaybe as high as 10 or 20. What then? Grade Ten and Grade Twenty?¡± ¡°How do you think we should categorize it, then? Can anymon people understand thatplicated system you invented?¡± The several old men began a heated argument andpletely ignored Bai Yunsheng. Blinking, Bai Yunsheng automatically removed himself from theb. However advanced a cultivator he might be, he had no say over the scientific matters. *** The next few days passed like so; they had gathered pretty much all the required data of the mineral veins. First of all, the reserve of the green jade stone was about 5 400 tons, which was rtively scarce. Then, there were the spiritual stones, whose reserve was 25 400 tons in Tianzhu Mountain and around 23 700 here. After extracting arge number of samples, they were able to figure out the ratio: about 40% had a reactivity of 1, another 40% had 2, and 20% had 3, which was the most reactive spiritual stone discovered so far. As for the categorization, theplicated finally lost to the simple one, which was very straightforward: Grade One, Grade Two, and Grade Three. ording to Bai Yunsheng¡¯s estimation, nature had to go through so much trouble to produce Grade Three spiritual stones, so it would be at least another century before they could find things like Grade Nine stones, which should not concern them right now. Hence, the simple categorization. The scientific research team was exhrated. The final development project was indeed promising! Phoenix Mountain was good for farming, Tianzhu Mountain was a mining area, Emei was farming again, and Tianshan was also a second mine. The green jade stone was known for its hardness, making it a wonderful material to refine instruments. The spiritual stones here had no additional attribute and were purely used for consumption and supplementation. They had thought these two would be their only discoveries until the ninth day, when a survey team found a third type of mineral in an area further away from the valley. ¡°This¡­¡± Even Bai Yunsheng was noticeably amazed by this new discovery. The mineral in his hand looked more like an ice crystal than a stone. It looked like a blossoming flower, with twelve ice petals arranged around the center in a radial pattern. It was semi-transparent and silver in color, shining brightly under the sunlight. This stone had hardness no worse than the green jade stone¡¯s, and more importantly, he could feel coldness as he held it in his hands. It clearly had an ice attribute. ¡°What is the reserve?¡± ¡°We made some preliminary survey. The stone is scattered around the area and extremely rare. There is about a ton in total.¡± ¡°A ton?¡± Bai Yunsheng was astonished at first, but soon felt relieved. Things were valued in proportion to their rarity. So, it was only natural that something this precious would be very scarce. Immediately after that, he was struck by an idea. This mineral was ice-attributed and his Cold Moon Sword Manual also took its idea from the cold moon. A sword made from this material would be ideal for him. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ All men had their hobbies, and with a hobby came weaknesses. Bai Yunsheng valued the sword above his life, making the sword his advantage as well as his emotional w. This stone was too valuable for the team to make any decision. If he really wanted it for himself, he would have to make the monastery ask for him. Sigh¡­ For a moment there, he was overwhelmed by various emotions. On one hand, he was concerned with the inseparable tie between the monastery and the government; on the other, he was ashamed of his selfish desire. While he was still going over this in his head, a specialist said, ¡°Priest, since you¡¯re here, how about naming the mineral for us?¡± ¡°A name¡­¡± He was a little taken by surprise, but did not refuse. ¡°I think we¡¯d better follow the simple way. Let¡¯s call it darkice mine.¡± *** A month soon passed, and before anyone realized, it was early February. Snow was still falling in Heishui Province, devouring all the streets and houses. Even tower blocks were half submerged in the snow. Back at the end of the previous year, the government had estimated that after the snow melted, the farnds would lose their fertilitypletely and would no longer be arable. It seemed now that they had been too optimistic, for the snow did not intend to melt at all. The new estimation was that Heishui Province and the neighboring two states of Tsar would stay a frozen zone all year round. The snow would probably only stop falling during the summer months. To Phoenix Mountain, this was the fifth year of the new era, but for most of the people, the new world had only just begun. It seemed everything had be unrecognizable overnight. That old master talked about starting over again. Yes, life could take a new start, but how about the years that they had already lived? Under Phoenix Mountain, the square. The project waspleted in time. It didn¡¯t really involve all that much work. The scenic area had been very well built, with most of the buildings they needed already there. All the project did was some minor makeover and rearrangement. Right now, the workers had lined up in the square like a month before, waiting for Old Shui to speak. ¡°I don¡¯t give lectures and none of you like bullsh*t. The first agenda today: paychecks!¡± Old Shui waved his hand and two underlings carried four suitcases up. They opened with a snapping sound, revealing wads of pink notes. ¡°Come up when your name is called. Huang Fa!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± A man in his forties ran out and took a wad of notes with quivering hands. ¡°Liu Li!¡± ¡°Here!¡± ¡°Zhang Guang!¡± ¡°Yo!¡± A dozen names were called when it was finally Liu Ziming¡¯s turn. He took the money with the same conflicted emotions as everyone else and returned to the line with a head nk from all the excitement. With the deteriorating environment and growing number of migrants, more and more people were reluctant to put their money into the banks. In their minds, it was entirely possible that they would wake up one morning and find all banks closed! Hence, cash was so much more important than bank cards now, and every household made sure they had some at home. Old Shui knew perfectly well of this mindset. This seemingly show-off act had yed right into their expectations. The workers received their money in turn, which took quite a while. Old Shui then said, ¡°Now, the second thing. I said at the beginning that there will be another project after this one. You have all done a great job and we will consider you lot first for that. Of course, it¡¯s totally up to you whether or not you want to take it. The signing up starts now. Anyone wants to go on working for us, stand to the ri¡ª¡± ¡°Bigger, bigger, bigger¡­¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Old Shui paused and turned to look up at the mountain, for a strange shouting wasing from that direction, and the words did note out very right either. ¡°Bigger, bigger, bigger¡­ bigger, bigger, bigger¡­ don¡¯t stop, don¡¯t stop! Bigger! Bigger! ¡°Hahahaha! I finally made it!¡± ¡°Boom!¡± Gosh! It felt like an earthquake, and even the square shuddered. Somewhere on the mountain, dirt and smoke surged into the air as if something had smashed down from above, making an enormous pit in the ground. The st expanded, destroying everything in its way. It seemed the forest was going to be crushed when a breeze blew out from deeper inside the mountain, easily offsetting the force. ¡°Enough!¡± ¡°Wow! That was awesome! Awesome!¡± There was then a tittering and a figure galloped down the mountain. Yup, it galloped! The feet barely touched the ground and the figure flitted across the air like a fairy. In an instant, she was at the foot of the mountain andnded in the middle of the square with a swirl. She turned out to be a pretty young woman. ¡®Hm?¡¯ She hade down here to y (more like running away for her life) and was surprised to find all the people gathering here, but the surprise was only in her eyes for a second. The next moment, she put on an indifferent look she copied from certain fellow. Smack! Old Shui covered his eyes with a hand with a smack, wanting no part of this. But the rest of the people did not know her as he did. Staring at her open-mouthed, they were silent for quite a while before a young man said in a shaky voice, ¡°I-Immortal!¡± ¡°Immortal! They are real!¡± ¡°The fairy hase to our mortal world¡­ sob¡­¡± All hell broke loose. Some cried, someughed, and some yelled. The cultivator of the legends had just showed up in front of their eyes and they could finally get the emotions they¡¯d suppressed so long off their chest. Liu Ziming kept his eyes wide open. A volcano seemed to have exploded in his stomach and the me had run up his throat and burned his mouth dry. Something was tickling at his heart. There really were real immortals in Phoenix Mountain! ¡°Silence!¡± Standing with her hands behind her back, the woman raised her voice above all the hubbub and swept her eyes across the crowd. Anyone that felt her eyes on him shuddered, growing all the more reverent at this imposing aura. ¡°I was travelling the world when I found this spiritual mountain and decided to settle down here for the time being and study the profound knowledge.¡± By now, Old Shui had hid himself in a corner and covered his ears¡ªhe had to save himself from her horrendous story. He did the right thing. Thedy then said with a straight face, ¡°Fate has brought me to you. From today on, remember me by this title: Patriarch Sky-turning!¡± Chapter 374 Chapter 374: Cultivation is like going to school. Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu What the hell? They were all looking up to this fairy-like figure, but that reverence waspletely shattered at the announcement of that Patriarch Sky-turning thing¡ªthat was a fantasy ruined quickly enough. It was like a fair-skinned pretty woman with a tiny waist and long legs introducing herself with a straight face, saying, ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Hammer Smith.¡± Emmmm! Xiaojin ignored the disappointed lot¡ªshe had her moment and that was all she cared about. Turning to Old Shui, she asked, ¡°What are you lot doing here?¡± ¡°The project on the mountain is done. We¡¯re moving onto the ancient city.¡± ¡°Sister said we¡¯re building a market town there. How did the nning go?¡± ¡°We gave the job to the municipal architectural design institute. Here¡¯s the map.¡± Xiaojin might be known as Little Soap, but she was no less an owner of Phoenix Mountain than the other three. Old Shui was perfectly aware of it and acted ordingly. He took out the map and handed it to Xiaojin. Opening it up, she saw that all the buildings were to be built within the ancient walls. That was to say, it was going to be a market town with a circumference of 16 km. A market town was an enclosed city n which separated the residential district from the trading one. The modern version certainly would not be that distinctly divided, but it was still rtively strictly set out. Shops and residences could not exceed five stories above ground and two underground. A total of 688 houses was allocated along twelve streets of various width. The size of each house was drawn out in advance, and together, they wereid out as neatly as ridges in a farnd. An open-air market was also nned. There, those who could not afford a shop could trade. Yup, that was for the paupers and pauper cultivators without a sect. The entire town sat against the mountain on the north and had three gates opening on the east, the west, and the south, of which the southern one would be the front gate. The city wall would be revamped from the original ancient wall, raising it to about three meters. Tsk, tsk, that seemed like real fun! Blinking, Xiaojin put the map in her pocket as if that was where it belonged all along. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything to do at the moment, so I guess I¡¯ming with you. Don¡¯t mind me. Go back to whatever you were doing.¡± ¡®Go back my a*s! You¡¯ve ruined my rhythm!¡¯ Keeping the sarcastic remarks to himself, Old Shui forced himself to ignore this ¡°Patriarch¡± and turned back to the crowd. ¡°Now, those that want to work on with us, stand on the right. Those that don¡¯t, we have buses waiting over there that¡¯ll take you back home in a moment.¡± ¡°¡­¡± A hush fell over the square. Too much had happened too fast, and they were having a hard time digesting the information. A long moment passed before a few people walked out and stood on the right. This seemed to have started a mass decision-making process. Men began to walk out in batches, Liu Ziming included. In the end, Old Shui counted the number and saw that over 80% had decided to stay. ¡°All right, I¡¯ll take you there now. We¡¯ll sign the contract once we get there. Because this project is going to take quite a while, you¡¯re all entitled to a family leave once a month. You¡¯ll need to apply with me beforehand.¡± After that, Old Shui arranged them into several buses, which then drove out of the square and headed directly for the ancient city. They arrived at the destination a short whileter. The city had been measured out with the construction markings all drawn out. While the workers went to take registrations, Old Shui discussed with an engineer on the details. Xiaojin went up to them eagerly and asked, ¡°Hey, hey, hey, what are you going to doter?¡± ¡°The preliminary work is done, so we¡¯ll start digging foundations,¡± replied Old Shui. ¡°Digging foundations? Of the entire city?¡± ¡°Um, you could say that.¡± ¡°How deep do you need?¡± ¡°The soil texture is excellent here, with a high bearing capacity. The supportingyer is about two meters.¡± ¡°Two meters¡­¡± Xiaojin squinted, her eyes flickering with dangerous and strange light through the two narrow gaps. Old Shui sensed the danger and asked immediately, ¡°What are you thinking? Don¡¯t do anything stu¡ª sh*t!¡± The big fellow¡¯s voice broke and he let out a squeaky scream. The engineer looked as if his eyes were going to pop out, and forgot to breathe. Opening up her palm, a quaint little seal suddenly appeared. She then tossed into the air. ¡°Big! Big! Big!¡± Whoosh! The little seal grew crazily like a inting balloon; its size doubled, tripled, quadrupled¡­ it eventually blocked half the sky and floated there like a tall building. Boom! The Sky-turning Seal smashed right down and pressed hard into the ground. Bang! The sound it made was louder than an earthquake. What was more amazing, though, was that despite the noise, it raised no dirt or dust. It was as light as tapping a seal on an inkpad, then stamping it on a piece of paper¡ªthe seal had absorbed all the impact. ¡°Up!¡± At Xiaojin¡¯s clear voice, the seal rose into the sky again, while everyone turned to look at the ground. Jesus Christ! The ground itnded on was two meters lower, and the tough ground was even tougher from all the pressure. With all the air squeezed out from between the particles, the soil looked extremely dense. ¡°Where else?¡± asked she. ¡°Over, over there,¡± pointed the engineer with a shaky finger. Boom! Another area was done. It went on like so. The digging process that was estimated to take nearly twenty days was finished within minutes. ¡°Hahaha! This Sky-turning Seal is indeed very useful¡­¡± Xiaojin held her hands at her waist and guffawed. The next second, herughter stopped abruptly as she frowned and said, ¡°Wait a minute, why did Ie all the way here to ram a construction site? This is so menial!¡± The leap between her thoughts was miles apart. One had to take a hundred twists before understanding her logic. She had lost interest in the job after that already; patting Old Shui on his shoulder, she said, ¡°I¡¯m off. Keep up the good work!¡± With that, she kicked the ground lightly and was about to leap into the air when a chubby kid popped out of thin air and pounced at her. The fair and plump buttocksnded on her head with a thud, and the kid ran back into the air, pping its hands happily. ¡°You little bastard! Your weight means nothing to me!¡± Enraged, Xiaojin knocked Golden Silkworm to the ground easily and roared, ¡°Qiu Qiu! Get you a*s down here!¡± ¡°Dear Jin Jin, Sister told me to tell you that the seal is pretty nice, so from now on, it¡¯ll be your job to ram the ground or crush stones. Stay here for as long as you want.¡± A giggle drifted down from up Cuanyun Peak. ¡°Like hell I¡¯m gonna stay here! Get down here!¡± With a wave of her hand, Xiaojin released a streak of Water Thunder, which opened up into a big ckish purple web and dashed towards the top of the peak. ¡°Teehee! I¡¯m only repeating what Sister said. How can I disobey her words?¡± With that, a streak of blue light shed down from the cloud above the peak. It was so fast that it seemed to break thew of eleration. The light pierced through the thunder web and reached Xiaojin in no time. It then swirled above her had and flew back to the mountain in the same provocative manner. ¡°You rat! What have you done to my nice Qiu Qiu! Wait until tonight when I get back¡­ Aaaaaah!¡± Xiaojin bristled like a pissed off cat, but she dared not do anything to retaliate¡ªshe had been very naughty just then on the mountain and destroyed quite a few trees. Momentarily, Cuanyun Peak had gone quiet, and Long Qiu seemed to have left. Stomping her feet, Xiaojin jumped up the city wall and sat down there, looking around with a mean look on her face as if she was the new supervisor. ¡°Pffft!¡± Liu Ziming failed to hold back hisughter, but covered his mouth immediately thereafter. The little episode brought the workers a different feeling to the ce, and they did not seem to fear her as they had in the beginning. Instead, she looked more cordial to them now¡ªafter all, everyone had known some naughty brat back at home. *** Phoenix Mountain, the meditation room. Sitting on the rush mat, Gu Yu suddenly grabbed at the air. A ball of red fire-attributed spiritual essence immediately appeared in his palm. This type was much more agitated than the normal pure one, giving off an explosive and unstable feeling. He kept using the Small Moving Technique and the ball of spiritual essence grew bigger and bigger. He thenpressed it forcibly to increase its density. In the end, the ball was down to the size of a ping-pong ball, while its color had turned into ckish red; it was almost ready to explode. Even so, it remained a ball of spiritual essence, and did not turn into actual mes. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Gu Yu heaved a sigh and squeezed the ball before it could explode. It vanished. He had failed again! Since he began his seclusion, he hadpleted his first study, which was on the escaping skills, and the second one, which was the recipe of Essence-gathering Dan. The third one he worked on was the Five Element skills. He had to start from zero, for there were no such things like ¡°fire-attributed body¡±, ¡°heaven-attributed body¡±, ¡°water-attributed body¡±, or ¡°chaos-attributed body¡± in this world. Everyone began with sensing the normal spiritual essence. Only those specially gifted¡ªsuch as Zheng Kaixin¡ªcould be exceptionally sensitive to spiritual essence of a certain type. He had gone through many trials, none of which sessfully turned the spiritual essence into physical metal, wood, water, fire, or earth. Although the air lump itself could be used for attack, it was not what he wanted. His desired product seemed easy to produce, but it was in fact extremely difficult. The closer it was to a basic rule, the more advanced a cultivator it required to research it. Scientific forme or theorems, for example, were mostly discovered or established by people like Newton, while theter users only needed to follow the rules. It would be highly unlikely that an undergraduate coulde up with an achievement of the same level. ¡°I guess I¡¯m a little naive in thinking that I could invent Taoist skills on my own. I can fully understand the existing ones at best, and am still a long way from creating one.¡± Shaking his head, Gu Yu was a little ashamed. What level was he at now exactly? Well, if he could obtain a skill of Five Elements, he would be able to draw inferences and see through the basicw. Xiaozhai had let the words out about collecting various Taoist skills and materials, but so far, they had heard no replies. ¡°¡­¡± Settling down his mind, Gu Yu cleared his head and took out another object. This time, it was that Seal of Patriarch Sa. It was left behind by Sa Shoujian and in it were Thunder Technique, the recipe of Essence-gathering Dan, and the method of refining with mental force. Additionally, there were also the patterns carved into the seal. Back then, his cultivation level was not high enough for him to study them, but he could now see that it was indeed a formation of a confining or protective kind. It was an incrediblyplicated and immense formation. Reaching in with his mental force, he analyzed and solved it little by little. It took him over a month to just understand a small fraction of it. The so-called formations wereyouts based on natural properties and the quality of the spiritual essence. Heaven and earth, mountains, rivers, nts, metal, stones, houses, roads, etc., could all beponents of ayout. ording to different circumstances and variables, and with different terrain and spiritual essence properties, various formations could be set up. Hence arose the difficulty in learning formations¡ªone had to be extremely knowledgeable and extremely flexible in their minds. Drawing inferences about other cases from one instance was not enough; they had to be able to draw the whole universe to achieve mastery of the skill. Otherwise, even if they managed to learn anything, they would be simply memorizing fixed formations. They knew what formation to use in a specific terrain, but could not apply it when the terrain changed¡ªthat was also why the teaching of formation had gone extinct. In other words, the fact that the formation pattern on the seal used no natural terrain but was shrunk to the size of a small seal proved that Celestial Master Sa was not only an exceptional master in formations, but also unbelievably advanced in Taoist skills as well. The man would have at least reached the Immortal state. ¡°¡­¡± Holding the seal in his hands, Gu Yu explored it with tiny tentacles of his mental force, which slowly peeled off the petals to see the hidden knowledge inside. His mind was like a spinning machine, constantly building, destroying, rebuilding, and destroying again¡­ his purpose was to find something that suited his needs. What he needed was fairly straightforward¡ªto build a big protective formation of Phoenix Mountain. They couldn¡¯t use iron fence forever, could they? Chapter 375 Chapter 375: Guest at the Gate Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Early morning, Bai Town. The county-level city had quite a few small morning fairs but only a single big one, which was opened right outside the western ring of the town. All year round, for the three hours between five and eight in the morning, the street several hundred meters long was jammed by the busy market. Small tradespeople and peddlers gathered here from the suburbs, and one would not be surprised to find any odd thing sold here. Of course, that was before everything had happened. Starting from the middle ofst year, this morning fair was going into recession. Phoenix Mountain could take care of the vicious creatures, but there was nothing they could do about the general decline of natural conditions. The vegetable plots were taken over by strange grass, fish tore into one another in the fishponds, and the orchards were infested with insects¡ªand it didn¡¯t stop there. Pork, chicken, duck, tofu, sweet potato noodles, spring onion, ginger, garlic¡­ you name it. Even rice and soya-bean oil were harder to find these days. The scarcity of resources was hitting the country as a whole. It was like staring at an hourss nailed down at one end. The sand was dropping fast, while you could do nothing but watch it emptying itself. Snuffle¡­ Liu Ziming sniffed a little and strolled the street wearing a pair of old-school padded mittens. Thanks to the help of certain sky-turning patriarch, their project had been shortened by twenty days and the workers were paid proportionately less. All ns were thrown off the rail¡ªthe construction materials for the next stage had yet to arrive when they were ready to move on! Old Shui had to make emergency arrangements to make only part of the construction site in operation. Hence, the workers took turn to take half a day off. Since that wasn¡¯t enough for him to go back home, Liu Ziming thought he could buy something and asked Old Shui¡¯s freightpany to take it back for him. After a little while, he spotted a shop by the bleak street was open, selling grains and cooking oil. He entered it and asked, ¡°Any rice?¡± ¡°Rice? Do I look like I have rice?¡± The shop owner was a bold guy and not the most polite man. ¡°How about flour? Or cornmeal?¡± ¡°That¡¯s everything we¡¯ve got. See it for yourself!¡± The shop owner pointed around the shop. Wiping his nose, Liu Ziming scanned the room. The shop was barely running a business. There was no rice, no flour, nor any soya-bean oil. A thinyer of sorghum rice hardly covered the bottom of its container and there were some soya beans and red beans in other containers. The shelf looked emptier. Even dried noodles were sold out, and a handful of Sichuan pepper and aniseed took the ce. Surprisingly, there were quite a lot of potatoes, as well as several bags of strange-looking powder. ¡°There, there¡¯s nothing left. What do you eat, then?¡± asked Liu Ziming in confusion. ¡°You¡¯re not from around here, aren¡¯t you?¡± The shop owner darted him a look and said, ¡°Guess what? We all need a permit for the stock now; there¡¯s a ration for all of us. We aren¡¯t even allowed to raise the price¡ªno more than 30%! What a load of sh*t! We get like a mouthful and there¡¯s barely anything left to sell after we take out our own food. How am I supposed to run a business with the little money we sell it for?¡± ¡°Ha, that¡¯s right¡­¡± Liu Ziming smiled obsequiously, then asked, ¡°So, when do you stock up again?¡± ¡°The beginning of next month, probably. Why, you wanna order some?¡± ¡°Yes. How much is rice and flour?¡± ¡°Forget about the flour. No one can get it. The cheapest loose rice is 6.4 yuan a kilo. The better one is sold in five-kilo bags, and that¡¯s 70 yuan a bag.¡± That was not too bad! The cheapest loose rice was about 4 yuan a kilo before. Liu Ziming did the math in his head and asked, ¡°How much am I allowed to buy?¡± ¡°Why, you¡¯re a smart guy!¡± The shop owner was a little surprised at the question. ¡°You¡¯ll need a permit too. Grown men like you can buy 9 kg a month at most.¡± ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll have 9 kg.¡± Liu Ziming nodded and looked at the potatoes and the bags of powder. ¡°How much are the potatoes?¡± ¡°2 yuan a kilo. This is pure potato flour. It doesn¡¯t taste so good, but it¡¯s food.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll have some of those each.¡± Hence, Liu Ziming bought a bag of potatoes and a bag of the potato flour, both very cheap. Even with the legendary Professor Yuan, time was still needed to cultivate the new hybrid rice and release it to the market, but people had to eat during this transition period, hence the implementation of the government control over the food¡ªsimr to the economic regtion during wartime. After making sure that all citizens were provided with the basic amount of food and clothing, all the other resources were focused onto the cultivation and development of new food sources. People of this country had been eating rice and wheat flour for thousands of years; that was a habit very hard to change. The rtive prices of rice and potato were to give the people an incentive to change that habit. After Professor Yuan finished his work on the hybrid rice and the agricultural bases all over the country werepleted, food resources would be plentiful again. Liu Ziming left the shop with his prize and passed a meat stall a short whileter. It urred to him that his wife had not had a bite of meat for days, so he went up to the stall and asked, ¡°Any pork?¡± ¡°Yea, but I don¡¯t think you can afford it,¡± the stall owner replied without even looking up as he scraped his knife noisily along the knife-sharpener. He then began to cut a strip of odd-looking meat that had more fat then lean parts and was of a ckish red color. After what he had seen in the shop, Liu Ziming knew better this time and asked directly, ¡°What¡¯s cheap?¡± ¡°This!¡± The owner dumped the strip of meat on the scale, showing that it weighed about 1.5 kg. ¡°This is rat meat, 5 yuan a kilo. Oh, not the gross rat. It¡¯s from something called a yellow-fur rat. I¡¯ve tried it myself. It¡¯s pretty tender. ¡°Meat processing factory said this is what we¡¯re all gonna eat from now on. This, and the meat of some big rabbit. Forget about pork, beef, andmb. That¡¯s not what people like us can afford.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Staring at the meat, Liu Ziming hesitated for a minute and finally said, ¡°I¡¯ll have a kilo.¡± ¡°Right away. If only all the customers were like you! I got this granny just then, and she nagged me for half an hour for some donkey¡¯s meat 1 . Where the heck am I supposed to get a donkey for her?¡± The stall owner cut the meat skillfully and said, ¡°You know what, if I really have a piece of donkey¡¯s meat, I¡¯m not selling it to anybody, not for a million yuan. I¡¯ll keep it safe in my storage. Who knows? In a hundred year, the kids probably won¡¯t know what a donkey is, and that meat will turn into the treasure of my family¡­ There you go!¡± Pursing his lips, Liu Ziming did not reply to that. Something ticked in his head as he turned to leave the stall. His heart sank a little at those words, but with the limited education he had, he couldn¡¯t describe that feeling. Walking with his head lowered, he went through the street from one end to the other, buying a big bag of mushrooms and a big bag of a very green vegetable that was said to be a mutated type of cabbage. The bags were heavy and the fair was quite far from the construction site, but Liu Ziming didn¡¯t want to spend money on the bus, so he gritted his teeth and kept walking. Money was too unreliable and prices too high these days. The intion rate that used to be calcted by years was now calcted by days. Common people might not know the technical term, but they could see it in their daily life. He had seen none of the food he had bought in Shengtian, so they should have hit the market in the past month only. His wife was used to living frugally, and would never have spent money on the new things herself. He would send these back and go back home after earning his money¡­ Hoho! Liu Ziming tittered despite himself. The blowing wind was freezing cold, but sweat covered his forehead, trickling down the side of his face and soon evaporating. The cold sensation left behind was boring into his bones. As he walked, the things in his hands seemed to grow heavier and his legs grew weaker. He was almost at the bus station when he stumbled and copsed to the ground. ¡°Ah!¡± a frightened little girl cried out at this and the others gathered around. They dragged him to the tform first so that he wouldn¡¯t block the traffic. ¡°What happened? Is he breathing?¡± ¡°I am not touching him!¡± ¡°Anybody knows anything about first aid? What¡¯s that called? CPR?¡± For a moment, everyone was talking at the same time. One of them had sharper eyes, and suddenly raised his voice. ¡°Hey, Priest! Priest, here! Someone has fainted!¡± The crowd turned in the direction he was shouting and saw a young priest walking on the other side of the street. Hearing the call, he approached them with a gait so light and swift that his feet seemed to barely touch the ground. They saw his face once he was close enough: what a handsome priest! The crowd made room for him and ignored the iing bus. Everyone was much more interested in what was going to happen. The young priest crouched down and felt Liu Ziming¡¯s pulse. ¡°I need a bowl of water.¡± ¡°Um, will this do?¡± The girl hastily fumbled out a vacuum sk and removed the cap, which could work as a little cup. ¡°Yes, that¡¯ll do.¡± The priest took it with a smile and poured some water into the bottle cap. He then took out a talisman and gave it a shake. Poof! The talisman burst into me by itself and was then pressed into the cup. Sizzle! White smoke rolled out of the cup right away, but there was no ck ash, and the water remained as clear. He fed the water to Liu Ziming after the talisman burnt up. Secondster, the man slowly woke up, and thanked the priest repeatedly after hearing about what had happened. ¡°Your Qi was deficient and stagnant. With the cold you caught, you suffered from a sudden blockage of your energy. You¡¯ll be fine after a few days of rest.¡± ¡°Thank you, Priest! Thank you!¡± Liu Ziming was so overwhelmed with gratitude that he almost prostrated before the priest. He was not afraid of himself falling ill, but his family would be doomed if he did. The priest did not linger, but left promptly after that. Several smarter fellows tried to shadow him, but lost track of him after a few turns. *** Phoenix Mountain, the manor at the northern slope. After all information had gone public, they had no scruples left. Zhang Qianqiu was kicked out and was back in Shengtian. Back then, Li Dong, Yan Han, and he had snuck into the mountain¡¯s enclosed area together, and he was the one with all it took to be the protagonist of the three. As it turned out, it was just the other way around. The manor was now mainly run by Old Shui¡¯s helpers. The ce was so swarming with visitors and vehicles that they never seemed to have enough people to deal with all of them. Everyone was here to meet the owner of the mountain, though Xiaozhai ignored most of them. Not everyone gave up easily; some simply decided to take up residence in Bai Town. ¡°Tap! Tap!¡± Right now, someone was tapping the knocker; he turned out to be that young priest. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°This is Chao Kongtu!¡± Creek! The gate was soon opened, and a man greeted him. ¡°What brought you here, Priest Chao? Wee!¡± This priest was sort of a friend of the mountain, and the employees dared not take him lightly. After showing him into the inner hall and served the tea, they promptly informed those up on the mountain. Chao Kongtu had only sat there for a little while when a voice that could give him a headache rang out. ¡°Yo, yo, who do we have here? Why, you still haven¡¯t reached the innate state yet?¡± ¡®Damn you!¡¯ Chao Kongtu fought to keep the smile on his face. Ignoring Xiaojin, he bowed to Xiaozhai behind her directly. ¡°Hello, Laywoman Jiang.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you. Have a seat!¡± Xiaozhai took her seat first, then got straight to the point. ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡°We heard that you¡¯re building a market town down the mountain so that cultivators can trade freely with themon people. The monastery admires you greatly for that idea, and would like to ask for a favor.¡± ¡°You want to open a shop yourself?¡± Xiaozhai hit the mark right away. ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± ¡°Tianzhu Mountain is a node as well and is densely popted. I think it¡¯ll be more suitable for your shop.¡± ¡°There is a government base and a spiritual stone mine in Tianzhu, which means we can¡¯t open it up entirely. The best we can do is a small market, which is nothing inparison with your great market town.¡± He wasn¡¯t exaggerating by calling it a great market town. With a circumference of 16 km, the ancient city was worth that name. Although it was abination of residential and trade districts, it was still rather sizeable. Xiaozhai did not beat around the bush. Opening up a nning map, she said, ¡°The shop won¡¯t be a problem. These are not booked yet. Take your pick.¡± Chao Kongtu nced at the map and saw that half of the buildings on the chessboard-like n had already been marked, indicating that they were taken. Instead of choosing their ce, he asked, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, who reserved all these ces?¡± ¡°Ha, who do you think? From Liaodong and the capital city all the way to the south of Yangtze River, all the families worth mentioning have signed up. You¡¯re here at the right time. This is thest opening left. The rest I¡¯ll reserve for future use.¡± ¡°May I ask for whom?¡± ¡°A fifty-fifty split between the riches and themoners.¡± ¡°Half each¡­ with due respect, with the number of cultivators we have now, once the market town is open for business, it¡¯ll set the rules of game for the foreseeable future.¡± ¡°y games all they want, but forget about the rules. No one talks about rules here. Plus, someone has to do it one way or another. It¡¯s just a matter of time.¡± ¡°You have my true admiration for that!¡± Chao Kongtu cupped his hand and then pointed at an area with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve made my decision. We¡¯ll take this spot.¡± ¡®Oh?¡¯ Xiaozhai saw that it was a separate three-story building with quite arge ground area. Once the house was built, it would be andmark. She was also d. ¡°Great. You¡¯re a friend, but we still need to charge you fair and square. For others, the rent is 4 million a year and 200 million if they want to buy it. With you, we don¡¯t do rent. We¡¯re selling you for 100 000 spiritual stones.¡± ¡®Ouch!¡¯ The corner of Chao Kongtu¡¯s eye twitched. The woman knew how to set an offer¡ªthe price couldn¡¯t be more exact. With the discovery of the mine in Tianshan, the government had loosened the control of the spiritual stones a little. They believed that, given time, more mines would be created, which was only thew of nature. And 100 000 was the bottom line they had agreed on earlier. ¡°If we do buy it, is there a tenure of use?¡± ¡°You should ask your people, not me.¡± Xiaozhai chuckled. With no business or trade of its own, the monastery did not seem to have much money. However, it was supported by the most superior organization of the country, and money woulde to them as easily as if they were printing it in the future. ¡°Do bear with our vulgarity. We¡¯re closing off the front mountain, so we won¡¯t be having any ie from there in the future. Got to keep the pockets filled. It¡¯s only this price while money still works. After the spiritual stone is widely adopted, it¡¯ll be a different story.¡± After quickly reaching an agreement, Xiaozhai did not rise to her feet to see the guest off. Instead, she made some more tea and seemed ready for a formal negotiation. ¡°All right. The forey is over. Tell me why you¡¯re really here.¡± ¡°Haha, nothing passes through you.¡± Tilting his head, Chao Kongtu tried his best to ignore the stare of certain fellow, who dared not act out because of the presence of her sister. ¡°Well, the second thing is, we heard that Phoenix Mountain is collecting all kinds of Taoist skills, and we just happen to have a few. How about we make an exchange?¡± ¡°Exchange?¡± Xiaozhai paused a little while she waved her hand and set up a confinement, blocking Xiaojin out. ¡°What do you want to trade with?¡± Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The corner of Chao Kongtu¡¯s eye twitched again as he saw the other fellow kicking and banging outside, raising a thunderstorm. However, no sound came through. ¡°Since it is an exchange, we think it should be frank and aboveboard. The monastery is very sincere about this trade. Let me give you a brief exnation first. Last year, we found an underground pce left behind by Priest White Crane of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. After some digging, we managed to find quite a few Taoist skills, including escaping skills, Dan methods, talismans, instrument, spells, etc. They cover a wide variety, and apart from a number of things we kept for ourselves, everything else is here¡­¡± With that, he swept his wide sleeve across the table and there was a thick booklet. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai remained silent, but understood why the man was here after scanning his face. The monastery chose to make this move because, for one, like Phoenix Mountain, they no longer tried to keep everything to themselves, and wanted to adopt a more open-minded attitude. Ancient cultivators were all-rounders that knew something about everything, but now, with gaps in the heritage of all sects, everyone was limited to a single aspect of knowledge that had been reduced to fragments. In order to recover the prosperity of the ancient cultivation society and rebuilt the cultivation system, they needed tomunicate with and educate one another. After the tentative moves of the preliminary stage, they had all chosen their sides by now and all connections had been established. Only those that could think in the long term could make it that far. For another, since Old Gu had risen to the Human Immortal state, the monastery had sent Chao Kongtu here as a gesture of goodwill. Hence, she took out a few jade slips, and said, ¡°Here¡¯s everything we¡¯ve got, but you can¡¯t read it yet without reaching the innate state¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. I can wait.¡± Chao Kongtu did not mind at all. Xiaozhai then waved her hand and let her sister in. ¡°I¡¯ve got things to handle. You keep Priest Chaopany.¡± ¡°Pffft!¡± Chao Kongtu jolted and almost spilled his tea. ¡®She did it on purpose, right? Right? Right?!¡¯ Ignoring the bantering and squabbling duo, Xiaozhai began to flip through the booklet. Beast-controlling Technique: through an ult skill, a master-servant rtionship was established between the cultivator and the spiritual beast. With their minds connected, the cultivator could train, ride, andmand the spiritual beast. Priest White Crane had travelled wide and far on the back of a giant crane, which was what this technique able to achieve. Edict Sword Skill: a random invention of Priest White Crane. It was not a sword skill, but an unorthodox trick. Sword energy was not required; cultivators of the acquired state could use it with even amon sword. The skill consisted of one stance only, which was a dashing sword attack that was fast enough to be a blurry shadow and was rather powerful. This was exactly the skill Zhang Shouyang used to cut off Zhang Ziliang¡¯s arm during their duel on the Longhu Mountain. The incantation was as followed. ¡°The ck swordes out apanied by heavenly soldiers and encouraged by the stars. This is a humble skill that summons the flying sword so that the evil man will be annihted. The divine weapon, obey this order now!¡± Rising Manual: an escaping skill. The effect differed with the different cultivation level of the practitioners. With a leap, those of the acquired state could rise tens of meters above the ground or dash out for hundreds of meters with a light kick of the ground. Those of the innate state could glide briefly in the air with the help of their energy as swiftly as a sparrow and change direction easily; one push and they would be miles away. ¡°Hm?¡± Xiaozhai blinked. She was mildly interested in the Beast-controlling Technique and not interested in the Edict Sword Skill at all. This Rising Manual, though, was kind of useful. Old Gu had figured out his own escaping skills already. Be it the Void Air-controlling Technique or turning into a sh of light, they both sounded better than this manual. However, he was a Human Immortal with his unique system, and the others were still in the innate state. Phoenix Mountain had a shortage of escaping skills. All they had now was the Void-arranging Technique, which was to move at an extremely fast speed with both feet centimeters above the ground. It was ideal for travelling long distances, but there was no room for improvement and it did not do well in turning and dodging. She made a mental note of this and read on. Lucky Smoky Gourd: refined from a gourd about 15-20 cm long. The cultivator would be covered inside a cloud of blue smoke with a wave of the gourd, which could keep evil spells, poisonous undead insects, des, water, and fire out. This was a refined instrument which was on the border of being redundant. Xiaozhai moved onto the next one and her eyes remained fixed on it. Small Cloud & Rain Technique: it helped with things in the bedroom, could prolong the performance and get you there with more pleasure ¡­ 2 stop! This is not that kind of novel! Small Cloud & Rain Technique: with it, cultivator could raise water into the air and make it rain in a small area. It seemed to be a creation of Priest White Crane, who used it specially for watering his herb garden. She didn¡¯t need to read anything else. This one alone was good enough for an exchange. Chapter 376 Chapter 376: Whereabouts of the Sword Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The government was supportive of Phoenix Mountain¡¯s market town. With the growing number of cultivators and the rted poption, at some point, there had to appear a public trading tform recognized by all sides. Online trading was not secure enough; also, it had to be a physical facility, so the location became an issue. Both Tianzhu and Emei had scientific research bases withrge mines and pharmaceuticalpanies, which were all full of confidential knowledge. With its harsh environment, Tianshan was out of the question. The government also could not just pick any other ce. If the party running the ce could not stop conflicts from breaking out, the area would fall into chaos. Hence, the bottom line was: a neutral location far from densely popted areas and with enough force to stop conflicts. Therefore, Phoenix Mountain was the only choice. Xiaozhai saw through the monastery and the authorities behind it. After slowly going through the booklet, she made her pick. ¡°The Beast-controlling Technique, Rising Manual, Small Cloud & Rain Technique, Lucky Smoky Gourd, and Small Universe Technique¡ªI¡¯ll take these five.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Everything but the Cloud & Rain was within Chao Kongtu¡¯s expectation. The first four were exined already. Then, what about the Small Universe Technique? It was basically a storage skill that could put a lot of things in a very small container. That was what Phoenix Mountain had been looking for all along. Xiaojin still carried her Thunder Cloud Grit around in a big gourd. With this technique, she could fit it into a small gourd. It would also work with storing things like Dan pills or spiritual liquor. It was quite versatile. This technique required quite an advanced level of cultivation as well¡ªonly those with innate state or above could use it, and how much stuff one could fit into a containers solely depended on their ability. Xiaozhai was amused to realize that ancient cultivators seemed to have a hard time making up names as well and simply decided to use the in ¡°big¡± and ¡°small¡±. Skills such as the Small Moving Technique, Small Universe Technique, and Small Confinement Technique had names that indicated that they were delicate and neat and did not exert too much power. Deducing from this logic, there should be skills such as Big Moving Technique or Big Universe Technique, which could probably move mountains and seas and contain heaven and earth. ¡°Since you¡¯ve shown your sincerity, I¡¯m going to be honest with you as well. You have kept things to yourselves, so neither are we going to exchange with our fundamental skills. But, all in all, we¡¯d like to see everyone improve together and get tomunicate with and teach one another.¡± Xiaozhai kicked her sister out of the confinement again. ¡°Here are Small Moving Technique, Void-arranging Technique, Small Confining Technique, Storage Technique, Water-walking Technique, Whisk of Tranquility, and recipes of Evil-expelling Dan and Essence-gathering Incense. You can choose from these.¡± She exined them in turn after that. Everything was quite specific¡ªapart from the Whisk of Tranquility, which was a refined instrument recorded in the Seal of Patriarch Sa. Since no one on Phoenix Mountain was using a whisk, the method had been sitting there idly. ¡°¡­¡± Chao Kongtu considered for a very long time after that and finally chose five as well: Small Moving Technique, Small Confining Technique, Storage Technique, Whisk of Tranquility, and the recipe of Evil-expelling Dan. ¡°Haha, you¡¯re a clever man!¡± Xiaozhai praised him wholeheartedly, not feeling regretful to give out any of the skills at all. The monastery had kept things to itself¡ªsuch as the Talisman Water Technique. It could cure diseases and dispel gues, which would work wonders in winning people¡¯s hearts. They also did not mention the Soul-calming Mirror, which could stabilize the spirit of any living creature. On the other hand, Phoenix Mountain kept their own secrets as well, omitting things like the Shadow-switching Technique and the conjuring skill. What they exchanged would be the basicws of the cultivationmunity. For example, the Storage Technique. From now on, cultivators would use jade slips to store information. Those that still tossed booklets around would be considered bumpkins. Another example would be the Small Universe Technique, which would be the prerequisite skill until they discovered the legendary ¡°storage bags¡±. Using these in their daily cultivation life would be like eating with chopsticks, having soup with a spoon, going out with clothes on, and stripping to have sex¡­ hence they were called the basicws. Chao Kongtu was mainly here to express their goodwill, but was pleasantly surprised with Phoenix Mountain¡¯s sincerity as they had given some substantial skills back in turn. As a result, everyone was happy. The two soon reached an agreement. After a pause, Xiaozhai said, ¡°Since you¡¯re taking the Dan recipe, I¡¯d like to give an advice. I think you should make more of it and give it out to expertises of various professions, especially those that could affect people¡¯s livelihood. ¡°With every extra year of their life, they¡¯ll bring more contributions to the mankind as a whole. The world is kind of a sh*thole now, and we¡¯ll have to depend on them if we want to slowly improve it.¡± ¡°Yes! Of course!¡± Chao Kongtu cupped his hand and made up his mind. ¡°Since you¡¯re here, stay for a few more days and let Xiaojin show you around. Bai Town is changing so fast these days. I still have errands to run. See you around.¡± Removing the confinement, Xiaozhai left promptly and heartlessly, leaving behind young Priest Chao with his shocked face and our Xiao Jin Jin that had long be bristled like an angry kitten. *** After Xiaozhai got the new Taoist skills, she gave the Small Cloud & Rain Technique to Old Gu to study and went into seclusion herself. The Small Universe Technique and Rising Manual were rtively easy to learn, while there was no need to make the Lucky Smoky Gourd at the moment, so she started with the Beast-controlling Technique. She was actually surprised to see that the monastery was willing to put this one on the table, for it had so much potential. The technique contained aplete system of training spiritual beasts. Had it not been for the fact that it did note with a Qi-refining method, it could almost work as a heritage of a sect. The technique talked about how to build the master-servant rtionship, in what proportion the food should be prepared, and how to train the beasts to raise their levels. With this technique, when a spiritual animal reached the limit of its growth, it could even break through its own limitation and reach a new level of life. After reading through it, Xiaozhai activated her mental force and made a summoningmand. ¡°Hiss!¡± Before long, Xiao Qing knocked the window open and slithered in. Raising its head that looked like a little green melon, it looked a little confused. Immediately after that, there was a loud clunk and a ball of meat also rolled into the room¡ªthat was Brother Fatso, who was hanging out with the green snake all the time. These two were fellow wanderers on the mountain now. Their owners doted on them in the beginning, but as Gu Yu and Xiaozhai moved higher in their cultivation levels, they seldom saw their pets anymore and the two poor things would go without being summoned for months. So, naturally, they stuck to each other. ¡°¡­¡± Looking at Brother Fatso, Xiaozhai suddenly had a wonderful picture in her head of Gu Yu holding his Red Sun in one hand and riding on the back of a squirrel. She shuddered at that image. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do about you. You can live happily for hundreds of years eating around the mountain¡ªa fantastic mascot you will be.¡± She then turned to the green snake. ¡°You haven¡¯t improved at all after being around me for all this time. I can¡¯t me you, though. The Snake-controlling Skill my master taught me was so simple and crude that it was a waste of your spirituality. You can¡¯t be my ride¡­ haha, stop squirming! Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t leave you behind.¡± The green snake stuck out its two-pronged tongue and licked the palm of its master, looking very anxious. With a flip of her wrist, Xiaozhai let the green snake coil around her arm. She then lifted it up and examined it carefully. ¡°You¡¯re pretty enough, but still a good-for-nothing. Since you¡¯re fast, I¡¯m gonna make you faster.¡± Looking into the snake eyes that had almost turned emerald green, she chuckled. ¡°Work with me. You¡¯ll be a dragon one day.¡± *** Northern Fujian Province, Gutian County. Min River ran through Fujian, originated from Junkou Town at the juncture of Fujian and Jiangxi, made its way through most of the province, and finally entered Donghai Sea at Langqi Ind. The river had a total length of 562 km. The river had countless tributaries, and Gutian Creek in the country was one of the bigger ones. It was named ¡°creek¡±, but with its length and the area covered by it, it could almost be counted as a big river. ¡°Wu You,e on! Let¡¯s go catch some fish!¡± ¡°Yes,ing!¡± Outside a house of Xizhou Vige, a few teenage boys were beckoning at their ymate inside the courtyard. The one being called wolfed down a couple mouthfuls of food, then tossed his chopsticks away and ran out. They were all boys around 15 or 16 of age and had zero control over their impulsiveness. The vige sat right by the river. Growing up ying with water, they loved catching fish more than anything else. It was early March now, and northern Fujian was pretty warm. The water was still a little cold to swim in, but the youngsters did not mind that at all. They reached the river in no time and stripped until they were down to their underwear. They then jumped right in. Gutian was very lucky. Unlike the fishing viges by the sea, the mutated water creatures were not only not ferocious, but were fat, tame, and delicious. Had it not been for their low fecundity, they would have be the new special local product by now. ¡°Haha! I got one!¡± In merely two minutes, a boy came back up holding a big fish, which he tossed onto the bank. The fish writhed around wildly before another kid picked it up and threw it into a bucket. ¡°I¡¯ve got one, too! Wow, a big crab!¡± ¡°Your crab is nothing! I¡¯ve got a soft-shelled turtle here!¡± Momentarily, a hubbub filled the air, and all kinds of aquatic creatures were being tossed around. Wu You also caught some fish. Half-submerged in the water, he watched his young friends enjoying themselves and suddenly lost interest in the game. ¡°Hey, how about we go up to the ind? Staying in the river the whole time is so boring!¡± ¡°Are you nuts? There are lizards on the ind, you know that!¡± ¡°So what? We¡¯ll stay near the water; they can¡¯t catch up with us.¡± ¡°How do you know they can¡¯t? My uncle¡¯s broken leg is not healed yet!¡± His friends all gave him that ¡°you poor fool¡± look. Frowning, Wu You was noticeably impatient for a second, but he soon fought it back and stopped talking. A whileter, all the buckets were filled with aquatic creatures, and the kids left the water. Licking his lips, Wu You suddenly said, ¡°I have some errands to run in town. You guys go back first.¡± ¡°Ok. We¡¯ll see you tonight!¡± None of his young friends suspected anything as they left carrying the buckets. After they walked out of sight, Wu You trotted along the river towards the opposite direction and did not stop until 20 minutester. Not far into the river was a small alluvial ind, which was covered by lush ntation and surrounded by a stone bank. A bridge used to connect the ind to the vige, and there had been a n of developing the ind into a park. However, after the mutation began, a bunch of giant green lizards suddenly showed up and killed quite a few people. Fearing that the lizards might crawl over, the vige removed the bridge right away. They then realized that the lizards couldn¡¯t swim and were stuck on the ind, so no further measures were taken. ¡°Stupid little kids. They know nothing of what I can do!¡± Seeing that no one was around, Wu You suddenly blurted out those words. He then jumped into the river and swam to the ind. Ssh! In a moment, he reached the ind and climbed ashore through the stone bank with much difficulty. The boy was apparently quite experienced in what he was doing. As soon as he climbed up, he crouched down and hid in a cluster of tall bush. Only when he made sure that all was quiet did he move again. Creeping onward, he made his way easily to a bent tree, where he picked up a small shovel and began digging. The soil was quite loose, and a small pit was soon dug out. There was then a nk, as if the shovel had hit something hard. Wu You¡¯s face lit up. He pushed the soil away with bare hands and yanked, pulling a sword out of the pit! The sword was a little over a meter and looked ancient. It was pitch-ck from the tip to the end and none of its part reflected any light. It was silent and cold like a lifeless abyss. Wu You now had an obsessed and delightful look in his eyes. As he carried the sword in both hands and dashed into the woods, he looked like a different person. The morning of the same day. Meng Haoze walked into the courtyard of the county government building as usual. He was the deputy departmental head of the second Investigation Department of Fujian sub-bureau of the BIMAUP. Last year, he was delegated to the local offices to search for the leads on none other than the six escaping swords and one Sword Seed of Fish Mountain. The mountain copsed before dawn, when most people were sound asleep. The treasures flew in all directions with no fixed pattern at all. Even if someone did spot them, all they saw was a light sh across the sky, and they couldn¡¯t even tell which direction it had gone to. They also made no obvious sound when theynded. Once on the ground, they hid all their splendor away and remained dormant. This was an impossible task; the BIMAUP was driven insane! They made painstaking investigations, looking into the tiniest evidence. Finally, they were able to confirm the whereabouts of one of the swords, which was right here in Gutian County! Hence, Meng Haoze led the team himself and remained stationed here, setting up a temporary office in the county government with himself taking charge of everything. After a lengthy investigation, they were finally able to locate the individual a couple of days ago. ¡°Chief! Chief!¡± He was in his office and was about to take a sip of water when a subordinate officer rushed in. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°That kid went into the ind!¡± ¡®!!!¡¯ Meng Haoze was shocked by the news and bolted to his feet. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Chapter 377 Chapter 377: L¨¹shan Sect Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Rustle! On the ind, dewdrops rolled down the long leaves of a clump of weed as it was crushed to the ground. Immediately after that, the head of a lizard stuck out of it. It was emerald green from head to toe, had stout limbs, and was covered by bumps all over its skin. It was not a big animal¡ªno more than a meter long¡ªbut with its razor teeth, sharp ws, and a strong tail, no one was going to underestimate its viciousness. It probably mutated from a small herbivorous green lizard. The mutation had greatly expanded its choice of food. From carrion and insects to new leaves, stems, and roots, it fed on just about everything. They weren¡¯t great in number and had set up individual territories on the ind without disturbing one another. Now that it was after the early morning hours, the sun was shining warmly. Slowing crawling its way across the meadow, this lizard was aimlessly looking for something to eat. It halted abruptly after a little while and its turbid and vicious pupils contracted suddenly, for right in front of it was a living human being. ¡°Hiss!¡± Sticking out its long and thin red tongue, the lizard smacked the ground with its tail, ready to attack. It recognized this person, who had snuck onto the ind a couple of days ago and messed with it. The lizard had chased him all the way to the river until he fled into the water. ¡°Come here! Here! I¡¯m not running away today!¡± Supporting his weight with the long sword, Wu You provoked the lizard with his empty hand. He was in fact quite flustered, and his legs were shaking slightly. ¡°Hiss!¡± The lizard was furious. Flipping its tail, it moved into action and charged forward on its short limbs¡­ well, at a speed one couldn¡¯t exactly describe as fast. ¡®Steady! Steady yourself! I can do this! I can do this with this sword!¡¯ Clutching the hilt tightly, Wu You fixed his eyes on the iing lizard. He even went so far as ying out various attack and defense strategies in his head. As it turned out, when the lizard finally crawled near in a moment, his head went nk, and he could only act on his instinct. Whoosh! The lizard was still a little distance away when it turned suddenly, and its tail¡ªeven longer than its body¡ªswept across the air like an iron whip. ¡°Aaaah!¡± Wu You screamed with fright. Without thinking, he drew out the sword and shed forward to his left. Sputter! ¡°Roar!¡± Blood sshed everywhere as half of the tail flew into the air, then dropped to the ground with a thud, apanied by a loud wail. The lizard rolled around and convulsed in pain, shaking the grass and trees nearby. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± As his adrenaline pumped in, Wu You flushed with excitement and every nerve of his felt stimted. He had forgotten about all the fear he had just now and charged at the lizard brandishing his sword. He hacked at it again. Ssh! The inky ck de struck the animal at its waist and cut it into halves like a cleaver splitting tofu. Bloody entrails sshed all over the ground. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Covered by the lizard blood, Wu You guffawed. ¡°This sword is indeed a treasure, and it is mine! Mine! I¡¯m gonna be famous!¡± He was so overwhelmed by this euphoria that hepletely missed the wading sound in the river and the rustling of the nts around him. The story began a month ago, when he was fish-catching on his own. He had swum further out than normally and saw a ck object at the bottom of the river. He thought it to be a big fish, but when he swam closer, he recognized that it was a strange-looking sword. He was quite smart for his age, and so had kept the sword hidden ever since¡ªhe even changed a few hiding ces during this time. Then, one day, he realized that the sword was too sharp to be any de of this world, for it could easily split open any rock or metal. A million fantasies filled the youngster¡¯s mind. He had stumbled upon this sword, so what could it mean? This had to be one of those stories with things like cultivation, strange fate, or a protagonist and his old master that was happening to himself. He was immediately convinced that he was the chosen one and was about to reach the peak of his life. The lizards on this ind were going to be his very first stepping stone! ¡°You¡¯re so awesome. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re no mortal sword. Maybe some manual is hidden in you.¡± Turning the ck sword in his hands, Wu You said, ¡°Too bad I know so little right now. I can only learn more about you in the future. But don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t be too long¡ª¡± Rustle! ¡°Roar!¡± Before he could finish his muttering, the clusters of grass on either side of him were separated, revealing two other lizards that had been attracted here by the smell of blood. ¡°There, there are two more¡­¡± Wu You¡¯s stomach lurched at this, but heforted himself right away. ¡°That¡¯s ok! That¡¯s ok! I have my sword!¡± Instead of fighting the beasts head on, Wu You fell back slowly, searching for the right moment. The two lizards looked around and gave each other a roar, then the one on the left crawled to the dead lizard and began its feast. The one on the right turned to Wu You and crawled loudly towards him. Zap! Zap! Zap! Just then, shots were fired as a dozen men showed up behind Wu You. With a few shes, the two lizards were killed on the spot. ¡°¡­¡± Wu You was utterly baffled. Before he could react, pain surged up his arms, and he was twisted up to a bundle. ¡°Ah! Who, who are you people?! Don¡¯t touch my sword! That¡¯s mine! Mine!¡± He red at the person snatching his sword away with bloodshot eyes and struggled violently. ¡°Yours? Humph! No more than a handful of people in this world has what it takes to im this sword!¡± Patting Wu You¡¯s cheek gently, Meng Haoze said, ¡°How did all those idease from this little head? You should have just handed it to the authorities when you found it. Thanks to you, me and my people have been stationed here for a month! Take him!¡± *** Gutian, Linshui 1 Pce. The ce was once a giant stone cavern known as Linshui Cave, infested with the gue formed by the breath of a white snake. One day, a person d in red killed the snake wielding a sword, eliminating the pest for the local people. When the vigers asked who the person was, the person in red said, ¡°I am Chen Jinggu, daughter of Chen Chang of Xiadu down the river.¡± Hence, the king of Fujian at the time conferred Chen Jinggu with the title of Lady Shunyi, built her a manor, and bestowed upon her a reward of 36 maids and a fief of 300 households of Gutian County. In the third year of Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang Dynasty¡¯s reign, the pregnant Chen Jinggu went to Min River to pray for rain and died, bringing rain to tens of thousands of people. Her manor then became a sacrificial pce, and the imperial court granted her an additional title as Lady Linshui of Supreme Blessing and Kindness, which was also when the Linshui birthce of the L¨¹shan Sect was established. The L¨¹shan Sect was the most prominent Taoist sect of Fujian; it followed the teachings of Chen Jinggu herself. As Chen Jinggu was a pupil of Celestial Master Xu Xun, the sect honored Xu Xun as ¡°Lord Master¡±. Skills of L¨¹shan were known for their toughness and ferocity. Once the fight began, it would not end until one side was killed, regardless of whom the opponents were. The original abbot of Linshui Pce was Huang Huiguang, who had already joined Qiyun. The current abbot was Cheng Ansong. After Meng Haoze caught Wu You, he sent the boy to Linshui Pce right away. The monastery and the government had been notified as early as when they first located the target, so as soon as they took action, the relevant personnel arrived at the pce. Right now, several people had gathered in a secret chamber in the pce, and on the table was that ck ancient sword. Bai Yunsheng was not back from Tianshan yet, so the monastery sent Shi Yui instead. Brushing his fingers lightly along the sword, Shi Yui sent in a streak of his mental force and kept his eyes closed for quite some time. ¡°Priest Shi, anything?¡± Meng Haoze asked as soon as Shi Yui opened his eyes. ¡°This sword has an ancient energy; all its power is kept within. It should be one of the six swords that flew away.¡± Shi Yui paused a little before going on. ¡°However, it does not correspond to Junior Brother Bai¡¯s sword manual, for there is no killing will of the cold moon in it.¡± ¡°In your opinion, what sword manual is it for?¡± asked Meng Haoze. ¡°May I try it?¡± ¡°Of course! Please!¡± After that, the others backed away and Shi Yui picked up the ancient sword. He activated his spiritual essence and sent it through the sword. Surprisingly, nothing happened. There was no glow or sh of light; the ck sword remained as ck and silent as a dead abyss. Frowning slightly, he flipped his wrist into a starting stance, then thrust forward. The de struck out in a perfectly straight line, sending a soft fluctuation through the air, reminding one of a ck fish diving into the water. And then¡­ The sword disappeared! ¡°Ah!¡± Meng Haoze, Huang Huiguang, and Cheng Ansong cried out in unison and pointed at the empty air. ¡°It¡¯s gone!¡± ¡°No, it isn¡¯t!¡± Fighting back the astonishment, Shi Yui did not stop sending out his spiritual essence and kept thrusting forward. Whoosh! Like a ck fish jumping out of the water, the sword reappeared, looking exactly as it did before, as if what¡¯d happened was only an illusion. ¡°¡­¡± Shi Yui put the sword down and pondered for a long moment before saying, ¡°I seemed to have sensed a subtle flow of water and a remarkable feeling of concealment.¡± ¡°Concealment?¡± Huang Huiguang winced. ¡°Senior Brother, are you saying that this sword was specially built for killing in concealment?¡± ¡°Possibly. This is as much as I could perceive without the actual sword manual. That was not even a fraction of what this sword can do.¡± Sighing, Shi Yui said, ¡°Junior Brother Bai had Cold Moon Manual, Layman Gu had Red Sun Devil-smashing Manual, and Laywoman Jiang had a blue light, so I presume that was Blue Sky Whirlwind Manual. The chance should have been rather high, but we don¡¯t have a match¡­ So, what are you going to do with it?¡± ¡°Um, we have our orders.¡± Meng Haoze was a little embarrassed when he said, ¡°We were instructed that should such things happen, the object must be sent to the capital and put into the hands of the authorities.¡± ¡°No problem. Since our job here is done, we will be on our way.¡± The look on Shi Yui¡¯s face was a little hard to describe. Cupping his hands, he left promptly. Huang Huiguang followed suit after giving Cheng Ansong a brief instruction. The two left the secret chamber to the courtyard outside, where a few members of the BIMAUP were escorting Wu You and waiting for a verdict. Shi Yui was going to leave right away, but after ncing at the boy, he approached them. ¡°Is this the teenager who found the ancient sword?¡± asked he. ¡°Yes. This is Wu You, 15, a student. We followed him around for quite a while before we could confirm the target.¡± ¡°He¡¯s just a kid and didn¡¯t do much wrong. Don¡¯t be too hard on him.¡± Shi Yui gave it a nod and left. The others did not think much of it, but Huang Huiguang knew better. He asked in a low voice, ¡°Senior Brother, what happened to that kid?¡± ¡°Even I had difficulty in wielding that ancient sword of Sword Immortal Sect, how do you think it felt to a normal teenager?¡± ¡°I noticed that his eyes looked cloudy and confused. Was he not quite himself?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. When a normal person obtains that sword, it seems that they are wielding an able weapon, but they are in fact being eaten up by the sword energy. The longer they are with the sword, the more muddled their heads are. The kid will be all right. He just needs some time to recover¡­ let¡¯s go. This has nothing to do with us now. The government has its mind on those swords, and we can¡¯t take them by force.¡± Seeing that Huang Huiguang was still eyeing the inner hall, Shi Yui patted him on the shoulder. Huang Huiguang was thickset and had rough facial features. Maybe because of the characteristics of the L¨¹shan Sect, he had a fierceness to him instead of the out-of-this-world look of other priests. Turning his head back, Huang Huiguang did not reveal his thoughts as he slowly walked out of the Linshui Pce after Shi Yui. He then spoke suddenly, but on apletely irrelevant topic. ¡°Senior Brother, how much do you know about the L¨¹shan Sect?¡± ¡°Very little. Why?¡± Shi Yui found that question very strange. ¡°In that case, have you heard about this?¡± For some unknown reason, he began to chant a poem. ¡°L¨¹shan Mountain used to sit in the middle of the river, and a three-year long spring foreshows its opening. ¡°It opens every three thousand years, when people get to see Min River clear up. ¡°Since the beginning of time, those fortunate enough will witness the event, when L¨¹shan opens to save all the people. ¡°The prestigious altar sends its message, waiting for the arrival of the sages.¡± Chapter 378 Chapter 378: Out of Seclusion Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Chen Jinggu was a residence of Xiadu of ancient Fujian. In her teenage years, she set out for L¨¹shan to learn skills with her two sworn sisters, Li Sanniang and Lin Jiuniang. When they arrived at Chenmao 1 River, they saw no ferry at the berth. An old woman then showed up, offering her shoe to take them across the river. The shoe was then carried towards them by the river, and grewrger as it approached. The three women went onto the shoe, which sank into the water right away. The old woman turned out to be from L¨¹shan and had been ordered to point them towards the right direction. The threeter made great achievements and established the L¨¹shan Sect, for which they were worshipped together. Hence the L¨¹shan Sect¡¯s alternative name: Three Ladies Sect. This was an anecdote found in the ancient records of the sect. However, after some further study carried out by sessive abbots of the sect, it turned out that the story was not fictional. L¨¹shan was very likely at the bottom of Min River and out of the reach ofmon people. Only those that had mastered the orthodox teachings of L¨¹shan, very skillful cultivators, or the very fortunate few were able to see it. To put it inly, it was a divine mountain under the water run by Lord Master Xu Xun himself. Hidden in it were various advanced Taoist skills, and to the members of the L¨¹shan Sect, it was known as the Great Court of Skills of L¨¹shan. Every thirty years, when a great ceremony of skill-teaching was carried out, this divine mountain would rise out of the water. Eventually, however, due to some incident, the mountain never came up again since the Ming Dynasty. Hence, a lot of rumors had been going around, such as the saying that the thirty years had turned into three thousand years. Judging from what had been happening, Lord Master probably deemed the draining of the spiritual essence irreversible and closed off the court for good. Huang Huiguang briefly exined this secret of his sect to Shi Yui. It was the first time thetter had heard about it, who stood there dazed for a minute. Being a remote sect with a strangely malicious way of doing things, L¨¹shan had always been the odd one within the Taoistmunity. Huang Huiguang himself did not stand out in the monastery, either. No one had anticipated that he was the keeper of such a big secret. Calming down his mind, Shi Yui asked, ¡°Junior Brother, does this secret have something to do with that ancient sword?¡± ¡°To tell you the truth, Senior Brother, ancestors of my sect had beenbing through the clues on the Great Court of Skill of L¨¹shan for generations. We were able to reach a conclusion with much certainty when my master was in office. Lord Master himself was in charge of the great court, and only through his exceptional ability was L¨¹shan about to rise out of the water. ¡°Although the spiritual essence has recovered now, Lord Master himself must have passed away centuries ago, leaving the court unattended. It only urred to me just then when I saw that sword. ording to a forefather of the Qing Dynasty, maybe L¨¹shan could be activated by carrying out a sacrifice ceremony with a refined instrument with water attribute.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Shi Yui frowned at those words. After some consideration, he asked, ¡°How certain are you about this?¡± ¡°Not in the least, but I think we can have a go. I¡¯ll bet you anything that those people cannot fight that temptation!¡± Huang Huiguang was as tough a guy as his appearance suggested. Shi Yui was no less resolute himself. After another moment of pondering, he said, ¡°All right. Let¡¯s go have another talk with them.¡± *** Capital city, an office. The old man finished listening to the report, and the first thought came to his mind was how unreliable this information sounded. He asked, ¡°How much truth was in that Huang Huiguang¡¯s story?¡± ¡°Um, he knew the rough direction of L¨¹shan and had a general idea of the sacrifice ceremony.¡± ¡°General idea? Where did he get the courage to talk to us with all these guesses?¡± ¡°Sir, it was just a proposal. Didn¡¯t they ask for our decision?¡± said his assistant. ¡°Humph! They were unhappy to see us take the sword. That¡¯s what that was all about¡ªthey¡¯re trying to give us a hard time.¡± The old man had apparently seen right through them. However, just as Huang Huiguang predicted, the government indeed could not resist the temptation of an immortal dwelling. After a little pause, the old man asked, ¡°Where are we on that sword?¡± ¡°That sword flew to Gutian when Fish Mountain copsed, and stayed unnoticed for a while. About a month ago, a high school student named Wu You found it. The sword is only for those with innate state and above, andmon people will lose their mind using it. Wu You is hospitalized for his recovery. ording to the monastery, the Youxian Sect had seven sword manuals and seven swords in total. Only four manuals were discovered so far and one is missing. There are two swords now, and based on the characteristic of this one, it should be the ck Water Sword of Concealment.¡± The assistant sounded excited, apparently very interested in this particr sword. ¡°We don¡¯t know about its major ability yet. The basic move we¡¯ve been able to make with it confirmed that it could vanish into the air and make undetectable ambush. ¡°As for the scientific tests we ran, um¡­ it¡¯s hard and sharp. That¡¯s it!¡± ¡°How about the material it was made from?¡± ¡°We could only analyze the physical and chemical parameters, but nothing else beyond that.¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ The old man sighed, feeling frustrated. ¡°Do you think there are more sword manuals in that third pool of Fish Mountain?¡± ¡°Sir, you¡¯re asking me a question I couldn¡¯t possibly answer. Only Mr. Gu can go into the pool now, and how are we supposed to know what¡¯s inside if he doesn¡¯t want to go? But Priest Lu has said he would be able to do it in two or three years.¡± ¡°Two or three years? How can we afford to wait that long?¡± That made the old man even more worried. Since the international conference, all the countries were putting all their effort in developing their transcendental powers¡ªespecially Europe. Most of their countries had been making concerted efforts and helping each other out. The western magic and alchemy had great advancements in the fundamental subjects. The magic spots used in Bonn, for instance, had been expanded to many areas with the full cooperation of several major countries. With the constant establishment of various official organizations, there was now a great upsurge among the general poption. But that was not applicable in this country. The enormous poption and vastnd area only meant there were more problems that needed solving. The country was almost running at its full capacity with the construction of new urban agglomerations and the migration tasks alone. It was no longer apetition on the top-levelbat ability, for the world had long reached the conclusion on that: we knew you had that man, all right? We bowed to you for that! What every country waspeting over now was the building of the fundations and the development in the lower to mid-level, which was much more difficult. The choice for the government was rather straightforward now. They could either keep the ancient sword, hoping for the missing sword manual that could have already been lost to show up someday, or they could take the risk to try that L¨¹shan, which might destroy the ancient sword, but they could obtain a great amount of heritage from ancient cultivators. One sword manual vs many Taoist skills. After a lengthy consideration, he still thought they should y it safe. ¡°Take some people over there to have a look first. I will add it to the meeting agenda and try to reach a decision as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± *** Gurgle! The air in the meditation room stirred all of a sudden. There was a stillness for a brief moment, then the movement in the air became even livelier. It was moving at a frequency beyond the perception ofmon people. In Gu Yu¡¯s eyes, though, the air around him seemed to be bubbling up. With the constant forming and bursting of the bubbles, vapor was extracted from the air and soon gathered in one spot. The spot was rapidly bing damp and cold, which turned the vapor into countless tiny ice crystals as a small cloud was formed. Gu Yu kept this technique running. More vapor was gathered, and the icy crystal became heavier¡­ finally, about two minutes after he activated this technique, it began to rain from that cloud. The rain was not heavy, but was falling gently over an area about one m^2 in area. The raindrops fell onto the rush mat, making a faint tapping sound. ¡°¡­¡± Watching the fine rain falling inside the room, Gu Yu¡¯s eyes were filled with wonder and joy. It seemed forever before he finally deactivated the technique. The rain then stopped, and the cloud dissipated. He then activated the Small Moving Technique and the water disappeared from the floor, reappearing in his hand in the form of a water ball. ying with it with his eyes closed, Gu Yu went over the process in his head. It looked as if he was manipting water molecules directly to form them into the cloud and rain, but that was not actually the case, for all Taoist skills were essentially applications of Qi. Therefore, the Small Cloud & Rain Technique was also an application of water-attributed spiritual essence. What had vexed him before was his inability to transform the spiritual essence of the five elements to the actual materials. This technique, however, worked like a converter that could transform water-attributed spiritual essence into water. This converting process was exactly what he needed! Gu Yu activated the Small Moving Technique again, and the ball of water sshed under the gourd vine outside his window. He then sat down with his eyes closed, going through the details of the technique carefully. Being a Human Immortal, once he mastered a skill, he would be able toprehend all rted skills perfectly. When he opened his eyes again, another twenty days had passed¡­ The saying that ¡°one did not feel the passage of time deep in the mountains¡± was a feeling that he had some experience with before, but it was only after he reached the Human Immortal state that he truly understood its essence. One could not me the cultivators for their detached manner. Worldly affairs were evanescent to them, and most of the people and things were but motes in their eyes that they saw lighter than the wind and paler than the cloud. Outside, April had arrived. Apart from the Northeast and certain areas of the Northwest, warmth had returned to the vast country once more. In some areas in the South, the temperature had already be abnormal, and was going to repeat that oven mode once more. Pale smoke was coiling in the air in the meditation room. Gu Yu finally opened his eyes. His face was as motionless as a windless pool as he grabbed at the air. Whoosh! A ball of fire popped into life over his palm. It was not the fire-attributed spiritual essence, but an actual ball of fire. Immediately after that, the fireball was stretched into the shape of a spear, then into a running animal, and a flying bird after that. The changes of the shape seemed effortless. In a moment, the me dissipated; he made a wave, at which a branch of the big tree outside his window grew rapidly, soon climbing in. This time, it was not a transformation, but rapid growth activated by wood-attributed spiritual essence. After that, he pressed down at the empty air and half of the ground in the room split open as if a switch had been turned on, revealing a dark pit beneath. It then closed up with a thud. Only then did Gu Yu finally smile and rise to his feet. He then pushed the door open and walked out. The sun was shining brightly outside; the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers and the chirping of birds. He was dazed for a second by this scene, as if it was of another world. Standing in the courtyard and looking around, he saw a 174 cm little girl meditating under the old tree. Her little face was peaceful, at ease, and somehow more delicate and pleasant than before. After watching her for a moment, he grabbed casually at the air, seemingly catching a streak of breeze between his fingers, and threw it out forcibly. Whoosh! The breeze seemed to have turned into a streak of sword energy that came with ayer of pale golden color, making it even sharper. The golden beam shot right out of his palm and reached Long Qiu in the blink of an eye. ¡°A¡­ a¡­¡± All of a sudden, a chubby kid popped out of thin air with its mouth wide open, naively trying to swallow the golden beam. However, as it reached its lips, the sharpness frightened it greatly and the kid disappeared right away, leaving the path towards its master unguarded. Whoosh! Just then, a streak of blue light flew out of Long Qiu¡¯s body, so fast that it seemed to break the limit of speed itself. It was as if everything had turned into slow motion inparison. Bang! The blue light shattered the golden beam, circled in the air, and flew back into Long Qiu¡¯s body. ¡°Brother!¡± Long Qiu¡¯s eyes shot open, and she ran happily to him right away. ¡°Brother! You¡¯ve finished your seclusion?¡± ¡°Yes. I have made some achievements in these four months. Where is everyone?¡± ¡°Jin Jin is supervising the construction site, and Sister is supervising her.¡± Long Qiu took his arm naturally and swayed it around. ¡°What did you learn? Tell me, tell me.¡± ¡°Some simple five-element Taoist skills and a formation skill.¡± ¡°A formation skill?¡± Even in surprise, Xiao Qiu¡¯s head was still turning quickly. She thought about Phoenix Mountain right away, and asked immediately, ¡°Are you saying¡­ are you saying we¡¯re going to have our own great protective formation for the mountain?¡± Chapter 379 Chapter 379: Normal Procedure Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, or wind, water, earth, and fire, are very important to the western transcendental system. These are the major elements they believe to be part of this world, and which they have been studying as major disciplines. However, to the oriental Taoist skills, the five elements are only one of the many types of spiritual essence, and are not considered exceptional. Moreover, we have numerous talismans, which include all sorts of skills involving the five elements.¡± Under the old tree, Professor Gu was giving another of his cultivation lessons. ¡°Maoshan, for instance, used to be able to cast spells such as Five Thunder Spell, ming Cloud Spell, Deluge Spell, Giant Wood Spell, etc. Some golden talismans could even freeze over thousands of miles ofnd or crush down with a forceparable to Mount Tai¡¯s, and were all much more advanced than purely using Taoist skills of the five elements. That¡¯s why Taoist cultivators mostly use five element skills as auxiliary measures such as for climbing up, going underwater, nting, Dan-refinement, escaping, etc. ¡°Based on what I havepiled during these months, and to keep it in line with modern-day habits, I have categorized them into three types¡ªexcluding the five-element escaping skills. The first type works as an attachment, mainly metal-attributed¡­¡± With that, he snapped a twig and casually ran his hands along it. A thinyer of pale golden light, which had a sharpness to it, immediately radiated from the twig. He then made a downward swish. Crack! A stone chair crackled as if a sharp de had just struck it. ¡°I am only using a twig, so the effect is not very obvious. If I was using a formidable de, with the additional metal energy, its power will be manifolded. The second type is to give order¡­¡± Gu Yu then pressed down at the empty air, and that poor stone chair split neatly into two halves from the middle. He then put a teacup between the two parts and lifted his hand. Thump! The stone chair was an unbroken piece again, and the cup was left inside it. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense! There is one more object, so why didn¡¯t the size and shape of the chair change?¡± Xiaojin was baffled, but answered the question herself almost right away. ¡°Ah, I see. The internal structure of the stone chair has also changed, making just enough room for a cup. Haha, this is so interesting. I¡¯ll be able to fool innocent girls with it!¡± ¡°A thing has to exist in the first ce; then, you can give order to change its form, such as growing bigger or smaller, separating orbining, increasing or decreasing?¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Exactly. If it does not exist¡­ for instance, we don¡¯t have a fire here¡­ then it is the third type¡ªtransformation.¡± Gu Yu grabbed at the air again, and me materialized in his palm. He exined, ¡°This category consumes the most energy because we¡¯re turning spiritual essence into physical substance. But, it also has the least constraints. You can use it however you like.¡± With that, he threw the me into the air, and the ball of fire surged, turning into a ming dragon several meters long, and circled around above the ind in the river before diving into the water and disappearing. ¡°You¡¯re actually more immortal-ish after this seclusion. The Taoist skills we were using before were rather in and could use some sparkles. After all, tomon people, Immortals are supposed to travel freely between heaven and earth and control fire and water. Although five-element skills are mostly used as secondary abilities, they are still pretty effective attacking methods when facing normal cultivators without any primary attack skills. I think we can include them in our routine practice.¡± Xiaozhai thought for a moment and went on, ¡°You mentioned that escaping skills are excluded here. Is it because they¡¯re of a different system?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The way the escaping skills are activated is different from these ones, and I don¡¯t have an actual example to work on yet. I have recorded the basic rules of these three types of skills in the slip. The requirement is quite high, actually. Only innate state and above can use them.¡± Gu Yu took out a jade slip and handed to Xiaozhai. He paused a little, and turned to the two younger ones. ¡°You two can look into it when you¡¯ve got time. I only came up with the principles; you can try to make some specific skills based on that.¡± ¡°Hey, hey, that¡¯s up my alley!¡± Xiaojin grabbed the slip at a lightning speed. ¡°All that bicep training in my college years is finally paying off! Leave it to me! It¡¯ll be simple, practical, but so ssy!¡± ¡°Why, let me have a look!¡± ¡°Nope, you will not!¡± Long Qiu was very interested in the task as well. The two then began a noisy and tumble y over the slip. Xiaozhai ignored them and only said to Gu Yu, ¡°Since you¡¯re out, when are you going to have your lecture at the altar?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to collect some material first to set up the formation for the mountain¡­¡± Gu Yu pondered for a moment, then asked, ¡°How about June 8th?¡± ¡°June 8th?¡± Blinking, Xiaozhai chuckled. ¡°Old Gu, I see that the Human Immortal state is bringing your flirting skill up to another level, among other things.¡± ¡°That waspletely instinctive. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡± Gu Yu kept his face perfectly straight. Hearing the conversation, the two girls immediately ran back to them and asked, ¡°What¡¯s so special about June 8th? Why that date?¡± ¡°Nothing. It¡¯s only the date of us two meeting each other for the first time,¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡®Eww!¡¯ Long Qiu and Xiaojin gave them the nonchnt look of singletons in unison, refusing to have anything to do with this topic. *** East of Bai Town, the town of Hekou. Hekou Town had once nted a peach grove of tens of thousands mu on an ind, making it into a quite well-known tourist destination. However, three years ago, the peach trees mutated, forming the Peach Blossom Miasma which covered the entire ind and the surrounding area. The residents of Hekou Town were evacuated, bing the first batch of migrants after the great change took ce. Now that three years had passed, people had gotten used to the existence of this restricted area. The facilities were rebuilt and the traffic routes redirected, but people still stuck their heads out to look at the ce in the distance when they drove by, sighing. ¡®It used to be such a nice ce!¡¯ Before, arge troop was stationed here to guard the ind. Now that everyone knew about the situation, no one dared venture in anymore. Hence, most of the soldiers were removed, leaving behind a single squad only. The sun was shining brightly this morning and a few clouds drifted slowly in the sky. However, centering around the ind and radiating out to an area several kilometers in diameter, an air mass had umted in the sky, blocking the sunlight and rolling like a sea formed by pink fog. Inside that area, nts were growing perfectly, but other than those, not a single living creature could be seen. The pink color was slightly paler at the perimeter and grew darker the deeper one moved in. The pink miasma was so dense at the central area of the ind that it almost turned into liquid. Whoosh! A streak of golden light suddenly flew across the sky andnded on the ind. Golden me gradually dissipated, revealing a figure from within. It was none other than Gu Yu himself. Before, he had to block the miasma with his spiritual essence whening onto the ind, but that was no longer necessary. Just by standing there, the peach blossom miasma was running away from him as fast as it could, as if it had seen a natural enemy. It even kept on leaving out a nk area around him. The devil-smashing sword energy was the unbeatable rival of all evil and malicious things! ¡°It is denser than before, and the area has expanded as well.¡± Looking around, Gu Yu suddenly recalled his first trip here, when he was infected by the miasma and tried to have his way with Xiaozhai in his libidinous state, but Xiaozhai turned out to be the one having their way¡­ the memory brought a smile to his face. He then took out a small gourd, unplugged it, then held it up. ¡°In!¡± Activating the Small Universe Technique and Small Moving Technique simultaneously with his capability of the Human Immortal state, the space inside the gourd expanded infinitely. A powerful suction machine seemed to be running inside. Whoosh! A hurricane seemed to start inside the peach blossom miasma covering the tens of thousands of mu, and the pink fog rolled and surged like torrential waves. It rushed towards him, then turned into a thin pink streak and squeezed into the gourd. The little gourd no more than 15 cm tall seemed to have turned into something gargantuan as it frantically sucked in the miasma. After quite some time, when Gu Yu sensed that the expansion of the space inside the gourd was reaching the limit of his capacity and the gourd was filling up, he took out a new gourd and repeated the process. Just like so, the miasma that had troubled the government and the people for three long years was solved by two gourds. ¡°It¡¯s gone! It¡¯s gone!¡± The soldier on duty across the bridge cried out all of a sudden and called out to his fellow soldiers in a hurry. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°The miasma, the miasma has disappeared!¡± ¡°Holy crap! How did that happen? Let¡¯s go have a look!¡± The soldiers boldly ran across the bridge right away and stood there, dazed. Having been stationed here for so long, this was the first time they had ever seen Hekou Town. The peach trees covering the hills all withered after their vital essence was sucked dry. Gravel paths criss-crossed in the woods, and also there were the dpidated houses, tables and chairs left in the open air¡ªtogether with tricycles and all kinds of daily articles that the residents could not take with them. It almost seemed that the people only moved away yesterday and everything froze at that sad moment. As the long-absent sunlight fell on this small town again, everything almost felt all right again. *** Inside a certain meteorological observation center, the staff was busying themselves with the daily operation. The country had just recentlyunched a new-generation meteorological satellite it independently developed¡ªthe FY-4 meteorological satellite. Covering various bands from visible light to short-wave, medium-wave, and long-wave infrared light, it could achieve high precision quantitative detection of atmospheric structure on the vertical direction, which even exceeded the record level of the western countries. A male staff member was in charge of monitoring the cloud images. Everything was going normally, but when he looked up again, the wave band jumped abruptly. He reported it right away. ¡°Attention! Abnormal activity in the low clouds above Hebei Province!¡± ¡°Run data analysis of the image!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The analysis result came back a momentter. ¡°The configuration is undetectable! We have an unidentified flying object!¡± ¡°How about the trajectory?¡± ¡°It is flying in a straight line from the east to the west at an extremely high speed, possibly passing the cities of Zhangyuan, Yunzhong, and Mayi ahead.¡± ¡°Calcte the trajectory and capture a clear image!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Tension filled the air. Radar was the very first air defense mechanism, and with the advanced radar technology nowadays, only a handful of rare substances could evade detection. The fact that this thing had already reached the Central Hebei in meant that the domestic radar system had failedpletely. If this was a magical puppet or some crazy monster released by one of the rival forces, which had entered the Chinese airspace unchallenged, all hell would break loose! Hence, the roomful of people went into a busy round of calctions, and set up a few points on its trajectory ahead to catch its image. After much maneuvering, with a click, a clearer image was finally put up onto the big central screen. ¡°Zoom in! Zoom in!¡± ¡°Can you make it out?¡± ¡°Yes! Yes! It¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The hubbub that filled the room somehow died down all of a sudden. The next moment, it came back even louder. ¡°A sun! It that a sun flying?¡± ¡°Gosh! What are we seeing?¡± The man in charge was panicking. Picking up the phone, he reported to his superior right away. ¡°There¡¯s a golden me, no, not me, but me within golden light¡­ it doesn¡¯t have a specific shape, just a streak of light flying across the sky¡­ what? P-please repeat that?!¡± He suddenly looked utterly baffled and stuck the phone tightly to his ear, fearing of missing any words. ¡°N-normal procedure? Did you just say that was a normal procedure?¡± He suddenly raised his voice. ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± The voice on the other side sound equally helpless. ¡°We¡¯ve only just got the news ourselves. That was Mr. Gu.¡± ¡°Mr. Gu?¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Gu himself.¡± ¡°But¡­ All right, I see!¡± Putting down the phone, the man in charge could not decide what facial expression should he digest this piece of information with. The strange silence stretched on. Moments passed when he finally smacked the table and roared, ¡°Calm yourselves down! Go back to your tables! Back to work!¡± Chapter 380 Chapter 380: Conversion Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Luckily, I didn¡¯t bump into a ne!¡± Gu Yu descended somewhere above Shanxi Province andnded on a small hill. Shooing a few mutated big rats away, he sat down to adjust his breath. He used to joke with Xiaozhai about knocking down a ne, but the worry had be true in a mere couple of years. In that sense, the ancient times were much safer¡ªthe sky was clear and there were no big flying machines he would need to look out for. His destination this time was the city of Dakang below Tianshan Mountain. The flight from Shengtian to Urumqi would take him over ten hours, stopover time included. Turning into a shing sword and flying there himself would certainly take much longer than that, for he had tond and take a rest whenever the consumption of his spiritual essence had reached the threshold which the speed of recovery could not catch up. It was much more troublesome this way, but he still chose to fly. Why? Because he was lovin¡¯ it! ¡°Ha¡­¡± After a while, Gu Yu finished the readjustment. Gulping down a few mouthfuls of spiritual liquor, he reactivated the Sword Seed. Golden me then surged out of his body, immediately wrapping him inside. The streak of golden light shot up again, sliding away across the sky. ¡°There¡­ he did it again!¡± Inside the meteorological center, the staff that had seen the change of data several times today were watching it once more with motionless faces, their thoughts full of sarcastic remarks. *** Gu Yu flew all the way to Dakang in this manner. News had already got around here, and people were sent out waiting in various spots; they looked rather miserable in this freezing cold weather. They didn¡¯t really have a choice, for no one knew where our fellow would drop out of the sky. After a month of development, everything was on the right track in Tianshan now. Bai Yunsheng had gone back to the monastery, and the government was busy putting up instations all over Dakang, nning to build a new base. After the crude spiritual stones were transported out of the mountain, they would be processed here before being sent to the capital city and other ces. The man in charge of meeting Gu Yu here was Fu Wei, a shrewd and foxy middle-aged man. Because this visitation was so out of the blue, the government even had its guard up in case Gu Yu was here to rob the vault of spiritual stones. Fu Wei blurted out the question as soon as Gu Yu showed up. ¡°May I ask why you are here?¡± ¡°I heard you have discovered high-level spiritual stones in Tianshan, and thought I shoulde by to take a look. I¡¯d like to trade some if the price is good.¡± ¡°I see. This way, please.¡± With that, Fu Wei led Gu Yu into a secret chamber inside the base. Before long, someone came out with a tray, on which were four processed stones. ¡°This one is named Grade One spiritual stone now; it¡¯s identical to what we have in Tianzhu. This is Grade Two and this is Grade Three. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll need to introduce these two; you¡¯ll be able to see for yourself. And there¡¯s also this¡­¡± Picking up a small piece of semi-transparent ice crystal stone that looked like a flower, Fu Wei said, ¡°This is Darkice, a mineral we newly discovered. There is only one ton in total, and ites with an ice attribute.¡± ¡°Is it used for anything?¡± Gu Yu gave it a few more looks, apparently quite interested. ¡°Priest Bai Yunsheng of the monastery hoped he could use it to forge a sword; the request has been approved, but the sword won¡¯t need much. Darkice is a very powerful mineral, and a tiny bit is effective enough. The main material of the sword will be the green jade stone; only a small amount of darkice will be mixed in.¡± The fellow knew his business and offered Gu Yu all the useful information. Gu Yu nodded, but did not respond to that. ¡°Do you have a standard of the conversion ratio among the three grades of spiritual stones?¡± ¡°Of course! Although their reactivity is 1, 2, and 3, respectively, we couldn¡¯t possibly use the same ratio for the conversion. A Grade Three is far more valuable than a Grade One. Therefore, we have set the ratio at one Grade Three equivalent to ten Grade Two, or a hundred Grade One.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s a ratio of 1: 10 between two grades. Not bad.¡± Looking around, Gu Yu thought what he found here could meet his requirements. Phoenix Mountain had quite a storage now. The government gave them 20 000 spiritual stones for the development of Tianzhu Mountain in the beginning. Gu Yu then received 50 000 for his security service for the old man during the international conference. They made another 100 000 from selling houses of the market town. The four of them had used no more than 5 000 so far¡ªthere were simply so few of them! ¡°I¡¯m here because I have an urgent need for some Grade Three spiritual stones. I hope I¡¯ll be able to convert some.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not at the liberty to make that decision. Let me make the request for you.¡± Fu Wei left the room and went back shortly afterwards holding a phone. ¡°Maybe you want to talk to him yourself?¡± Gu Yu took the phone and recognized the old man¡¯s voice on the other side. He chuckled. ¡°Had I known this beforehand, I would have called you myself.¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯ve heard the news. There¡¯s just one question I want to ask. What do you need the high-level spiritual stones for?¡± The old man smiled. ¡°I havee up with a formation recently, and in order to try it, I need some energy to activate it.¡± ¡°I see. The spiritual stones are part of the national strategic stockpile and Grade Three is the gem of that stockpile. We can let you convert some, but not too many. You can take a thousand.¡± The old man gave a number. ¡°That¡¯ll be more than enough. Tha¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t rush into thanking me yet. I need something from you in return.¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± Holding the phone, Gu Yu frowned slightly as he listened to the old man¡¯s exnation. ¡°The Great Court of Skill of L¨¹shan¡­ you¡¯re certain that it¡¯s underwater in Min River¡­ you¡¯ve found the ck Water Sword¡­ all right. I¡¯ll be there when you begin the work.¡± He hung up after that and handed the phone back. ¡°What¡¯s your storage like now?¡± ¡°Your timing is perfect. We have just a little over a thousand. Let me show you the way.¡± Fu Wei then led him through various safeguards into a big room, where a lot of wooden chests were. The chests were all made from wood of Emei, which could best maintain the reactivity of the spiritual stones. Fu Wei opened one, showing the fifty Grade Three spiritual stones neatly arranged inside. ¡°Shall we load it onto the truck for you or deliver it to Phoenix Mountain directly?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I¡¯ll take them myself.¡± ¡®Take them himself? There are a thousand stone here¡ªtwenty chests!¡¯ Fu Wei could not see how that was possible. Gu Yu untied a small pouch the size of an adult palm from his waist. It was silver-white in color, and was fastened by a pale yellow string. The pouch was woven from the silk of the Sand-walking Spider, and the string was the tendon of a mutated Unicow. Together, they were a homespun storage bag. Opening the pouch, he waved his right hand; the pouch bulged abruptly like an inted balloon, then was back to normal right away. ¡°It¡¯s done. Thank you for all your help.¡± Gu Yu tied the string back and hung the pouch, which looked as pretty as an ornament, on his waist. Done? What the hell did he mean by ¡°done¡±? Fu Wei opened his eyes widely, feeling his head going nk for a second. He hurried near and opened one of the chests. Clunk! It waspletely empty. He then opened a second, a third¡­ being a stubborn man, Fu Wei opened all twenty or so chests and counted the stones. The man had taken exactly a thousand! ¡°I left in a hurry and did not take that many spiritual stones with me. You cane to Phoenix Mountain to collect them at any time. See you.¡± Gu Yu put a Dan pill in Fu Wei¡¯s hand has a tip, then turned into a sh of light again. In the blink of an eye, he was at the other side of the horizon. *** Vroom! Beep! Beep! Meanwhile, there was a major traffic jam on the road from Shengtian to Bai Town. The vehicles were closely packed together, filling the mountain road that was not actually narrow. Most of the license tes were of other provinces, and some had travelled from as far as Guangdong Province 1 . Despite the heavy traffic and the fact that they were barely moving forward, none of the passengers seemed agitated. Instead, they looked rather hopeful. Among the streams of vehicles, a medium-sized seafood truck stood out; it had a license te of Hunan Province, and the driver was a fair-skinned young man. It was Dai Han, our chubby young friend from Dongting Lake. After spending some time selling off their properties and going through the handing-over procedure, the Dai Family was finally moving to Bai Town. Chapter 381 Chapter 381: Life in Bai Town is not very easy Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Vehicles were pouring into Bai Town around the clock, quickly filling up this small mountainous city that was used to its casual and peaceful lifestyle. As the number of the lookers-on arriving in town grew, the public order of the city was threatened by all the apanying hidden perils. The municipal government was having a headache. After sending out all the personnel they could spare, they went to talk to Old Shui, basically saying ¡°Since all these people are here for Phoenix Mountain, we can¡¯t be the one taking all the bullets if anything goes wrong. You lot can¡¯t just stand there and watch, can you?¡± Old Shuiughed. ¡°Are you kidding me? We have like ten people on the mountain, and the most we can do is to keep the surrounding area of Phoenix Mountain safe. Anything beyond that is not our problem.''¡± The government responded quickly to that without even blinking their eyes¡ªfrom Phoenix Fair on the south to the ancient city on the east, almost a half of Bai Town was circled out as ¡°surrounding area¡±. To be honest, it was a genuine concern. Since the two ¡°parents¡± did not have time for this, Old Shui went to discuss with Xiaojin, and decided to keep an eye on the city. Hence, Li Dong, Guo Fei, and several others all went down the mountain. Yan Han also closed the Pavilion of Gems temporarily,ing to Bai Town to help. ¡°Beep! Beep!¡± Dai Han drove into the downtown area in his seafood transportation truck, and found a street corner to park with much difficulty. His elderly parents were right behind him, driving another minivan. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you found a ce to live for us? Where the hell is it?¡± his dad asked as soon as he got off the van. Moving to a strange city was making everyone flustered. ¡°I asked a friend to find it for me, but he¡¯s not picking up his phone!¡± Dai Han was equally anxious. The friend he¡¯d contacted was none other than Yan Han, whom Dai Han had be acquainted with after supplying the shop with a few batches of big-toe thickshell turtles. The fellow had promised Dai Han to help him rent a ce, and asked Dai Han to call him after they arrived at Bai Town, but Dai Han could not reach him now. ¡°Why are there so many people in this crappy little town? I told you we shouldn¡¯te, but you just wouldn¡¯t listen! See what happens now? We¡¯re gonna sleep on the street tonight!¡± Mother Dai was even more short-tempered, and herints were flying out like sharp little knives. ¡°¡­¡± Dai Han dared not talk back, and could only dial the number repeatedly. ¡°Hey, are you three new in town? From Yueyang, right?¡± Just then, a small man came out of nowhere, and there was something familiar about him. Yes, with a peaked cap, an outdoor jacket, and a messenger bag across his shoulder, he looked exactly the type that one could find in every city and that one would try to avoid, for he might block your way the next moment, asking, ¡°Hey, mate, do you need dvd/cellphone/tickets/girls/a room?¡± Dai Han had met enough of such people to recognize one. He raised his guard right away. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Hehe, just see me as an information provider.¡± The man opened his bag and took out a pamphlet, then said patiently, ¡°There¡¯s no need to beat around the bush¡ªwe all know why we¡¯re here in Bai Town. I make a living by gathering information, which is the only thing I¡¯m good at. Check it out.¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Dai Han took the pamphlet and flipped through it. The contents were printed badly on low-quality paper. Some of the pictures were even hand-drawn. However, the information inside was quite substantial, covering the 5000 km^2 of Bai Town from Shali Vige on the west to Simenzi on the east. Everything was marked out clearly: geography,yout, demographics, where to go for the basic necessities in the downtown area, and even the dangerous and safe zones of mutated creatures in the surrounding area. He was surprised by all the information, and was going to read into it when a hand covered the page. The man grinned. ¡°A thousand yuan and it¡¯s yours!¡± ¡°This crap is a thousand yuan? This is robbery!¡± Mother Dai said angrily. ¡°Sister, you¡¯re insulting me.¡± Taking back the pamphlet with a straight face, the man said, ¡°The whole country now knows about the real immortals up on Phoenix Mountain. Didn¡¯t you see that video the other day? That was a Sky-turning Seal hammering the ground! Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re not interested, or you wouldn¡¯t be here! ¡°I see that your whole family is here, so I presume you¡¯re going to settle down in Bai Town? Well, then you¡¯ll have to get used to the environment, and that¡¯s where my pamphletes in handy. It¡¯ll save you a lot of trouble. Is a thousand yuan too much for that?¡± ¡®Man!¡¯ You got to give it to this know-it-all. Mother Dai hesitated at this glib salesman¡¯s words. Dai Han was impatient by now, and took out his phone. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll take one. You ept wechat transfer?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± The two finished the transaction with a swipe of their phones. Dai Han winced a little at the man¡¯s online ID: Sunny Lemon Tea. Holy sh*t! Wasn¡¯t that the name of that app user obsessed with data who hadpiled a map of the mutated creatures of the country? Dai Han was a big fan, but he had never thought the real person behind that ID could be so vulgar. The two befriended each other on wechat, and the man added, ¡°Feel free toe to me if you need help. I charge by the hour. Byebye!¡± With that, the fellow happily waved them goodbye, and went on to swindle the next family. ¡®Tsk! Tsk!¡¯ It got Dai Han thinking: nowadays, any expertize could turn out to be useful. He had decided to make friends with this guy. Maybe he would be the walking encyclopedia of the cultivation world someday. *** ¡°We¡¯re fully booked. Please try someswhere else.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but ourst suite has just been booked.¡± ¡°The windowless single room is gone, too. Sorry!¡± ¡°Sister, are you telling me that the letting agents have no rooms avable, either?¡± ¡°Why, sorry, man, but everything I have¡ªto let or for sale¡ªhas been taken a month ago.¡± ¡°And your agent is still open when you have no properties?¡± ¡°Where did that questione from? Who are you to tell me how to run a business?¡± All right, the family of three followed the markings on the pamphlet and began to search for a ce to live on each street in turn. Their criteria were dropping very fast¡ªfirst from long-term amodation to short-term tenancy, then to hotel rooms, and even the cheapest bunkhouses¡­ there was no spare room! Along their way, they saw people of all sorts of social statusing into this city with all their ents. Everyone looked so fearless and filled with aspiration. This city had gone insane. It was as if a vast sea of fire that could explode at any time, burning everyone into ashes, was brewing underground. It was noon when they arrived; half a day had passed during their search. As the sun began to set, they were forced to ept the fact that they had sleep in their vehicles tonight. Just then, Dai Han¡¯s phone finally rang. ¡°Man, I¡¯m so sorry. There¡¯s just so much work.¡± Yan Han arrived in a hurry twenty minutester. Annoyed as he was, Dai Han couldn¡¯t say anything. He only asked, ¡°What have you been busy with?¡± ¡°What else? All these people! They¡¯re talking about nothing but going onto the mountain every day, and it¡¯s going crazy. We foot soldiers are working our a*ses off!¡± Despite theint, one could see the gloating look in his eyes. There were foot soldiers and foot soldiers. What would you call the hireling of an immortal? ¡°Here, let me take you to the ce. I have to go back in a moment.¡± Soon, they zigzagged through the alleys into an old residential area. The walls were so old that one could not tell their original color. They climbed the stairs all the way up to the sixth floor and saw that it was one of those old-schoolyouts with two ts on each floor. Once the door was opened, the first thing came to their heads was ¡°Such a dump!¡± The 60-m^2 t had two bedrooms and a living room. In the bathroom was a squat toilet; a gas cylinder stood in the kitchen, covered by ayer of greas thicker than the wall. Kids nowadays probably didn¡¯t even know what a gas cylinder was. ¡°Are, are we going to live here?¡± Mother Dai didn¡¯t like it at all. They were affluent people back at home, living in their two-story vi, but now, they had travelled a thousand miles to live in this sh*thole? ¡°Auntie, this belongs to a distant rtive of mine, and they were doing me a big favor to keep it. Do you have any idea how much a ce like is sold for?¡± Before she could answer, Yan Han stuck out a finger, ¡°A million at least!¡± ¡°Then, then at least we can have somewhere clean! This is filthy!¡± ¡°All right, all right. We¡¯re here, aren¡¯t we? Just trust the kid. Let¡¯s begin cleaning up.¡± Father Dai was better at adjusting and took his wife away to clean the room. They didn¡¯t have to worry about the luggage. Two physicalborers had been waiting downstairs, and were carrying things up right away. Dai Han pulled Yan Han to the side and asked quietly, ¡°Brother Yan, I¡¯vee here because I want to open a shop in the market town. Any shop will do. Can you help me with it?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Yan Han frowned. ¡°That¡¯s gonna be a problem. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to help you, but I really don¡¯t have the liberty to. Half of the 688 shops in the market town has already been booked, and the other half is left formon people. That being said, you have to have something worth selling for to get you a ce.¡± ¡°Can you name a price? We¡¯ll try¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. Money has nothing to do with this. If it can be solved by money, it won¡¯t be a problem. A lot of Tuhao are lining outside, but they¡¯re not getting in!¡± Yan Han interrupted his chubby friend, and patted thetter on the shoulder partly out of sincerity, and partly to show off. ¡°My man, Bai Town is rising, and life here is not going to be easy!¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Frowning, Dai Han did not speak for a moment. He believed that Yan Han was not lying to him. The market town was set up by the immortals, and it was only natural that they should set the criteria high. His face lit up momentster. ¡°Brother Yan. Come with me! Let me show you something!¡± After that, he led Yan Han down the building to his seafood transportation truck. The door of the container was opened with a clunk, and damp air rushed out. Looking in, Yan Han was a little surprised. Inside a specially made box with water and oxygen pumps were two tiny soft-shelled turtles. They were about the size of a te, and had it not been for their asional movements, they¡¯d have almost looked dead. At the first nce, they looked like any ordinary soft-shelled turtles. However, the two years running the Pavilion of Gems had given Yan Han a pair of sharp eyes. The turtles had extremely small eyes, big nostrils, and strange patterns on their heads. Their shells had neatly arranged patterns and were lustrously ck. They were big-toe thickshell turtles! And they were a pair! ¡°Are they a male and a female?¡± He was not so sure. ¡°Yup, one each and very alive.¡± ¡°Haha! That¡¯s awesome!¡± Yan Han gave him a friendly nudge, asking, ¡°Where did you get them?¡± ¡°They were so popr that those in our ponds soon sold out. We then bought some baby ones, trying to see if they could mutate again. This was about half a year ago; most of them turned out to be normal. We have given up, but the day before our departure, I went to check in the pond again. Well, there they were!¡± Dai Han had also been amazed by this discovery. The thickshell turtles before¡ªincluding those taken by the government for research¡ªall mutated after they reached maturity. Maybe that affected them in some way, but none of them were willing to mate, and naturallyid no eggs. These two, however, had mutated when they were babies, which made them worth cultivating. If they could reproduce sessfully, artificial breeding would be made possible. For now, the value of the thickshell turtle mainlyy in its shell¡ªwhich could be made into simple defensive refined instrument¡ªand its meat¡ªwhich contained trace amount of spiritual essence, and was edible formon people. Dai Yan was a smart guy; he added, ¡°Brother, I¡¯m not bragging here¡ªI might be useless in a lot of things, but talking about breeding soft-shelled turtles, my family has been doing this for three generations! Do you think this is enough for a small shop?¡± Chapter 382 Chapter 382: Set up the Formation Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu As Yan Han mentioned, the number of shops in the market town would be equally divided between the dignitaries andmon people. What was the significance of the market town, then? Well, it was to give everyone an open, safe, and reliable tform to trade. Since we were talking about trade, we had to focus on the volume ofmodities and the audience. Under current circumstances, it was impossible for themon people to take up a significant market share, for most of the resources were in the hands of the middle and upper sses. It was like that auction Gu Yu had attended in Spring City. The information had only gone public for days, yet those people were able to get their hands on creatures such as mutated peacocks and even dared to auction them. One could imagine that if the country connived in the legitimacy of market towns, how much would such people all over the country be able to bring to the trade? As for themon folk, at the current stage, they would be merely aplement to the main scene. Phoenix Mountain would not try to earn their money for the time being, but would evaluate them on the value they could generate in the future. Dai Han, for instance, had brought with him a pair of baby big-toed thickshell turtles and his ample experience in raising them. That would be counted as his value. Naturally, Yan Han reported the news to Patriarch Sky-turning. The patriarch might be a little moron every now and then, but with proper supervision, she was capable of doing smart and sensible things. She instructed Dai Han to hand in his specific requirement of setting up the aquaculture pond, thenmunicated with the authorities, who gave her 300 mu ofnd in a suburban vige by a river for a soft-shelled turtle pond. Phoenix Mountain then reached an agreement with the Dai Family that if the big-toed thickshell turtles were sessfully bred, the Dai Family would be granted a shop in the market town under the condition that they would provide Phoenix Mountain and the government with a certain number of turtles every year. Thanks to the existence of Phoenix Mountain, the government had left Bai Town out when nning for the new urban agglomeration. While the surrounding towns and counties were busying setting up instations to take in more people and rapidly expanding towards small-scale cities, Bai Town remained as carefree as always, building an ecosphere of its own. The authorities had no problem with that at all. There would be loads of good stuff, and for every portion Phoenix Mountain received, the government would have its share as well. *** Noon, snowy. Before they realized, the Dai Family had moved in for three days. Grumpy her words might be, but Mother Dai adjusted to the environment quickly and was arranging everything in their daily life in good order. Dai Han was born and raised in Hunan Province¡ªa southern kid through and through. This was his first winter in the Northeast. Wrapped in the thickest down jacket he could find and covering his face with a scarf, he ventured out of the residential area, trodding through the thick snow. Hopping on a bus, he headed right for the mountain gate. He chose to use public transportation instead of driving on purpose to fit in better. Taking a seat in thest row, he looked out of the window while going through a scene from the previous day in his head. Sweet mother of Jesus! So the videos were real! Wherever the sealnded, it made a dent in the ground as deep and as big as she wanted! Although that feature sounded a little wrong, the spectacr results shocked everyone present. They were all trying to find out who that girl was¡ªthe one that had skin so fair that it reflected sunlight and a face so pretty that she could get away with loan sharks targeting her. No one knew. All they could tell was that she was from Phoenix Mountain. The impression they had on the girl was somewhat conflicted as well. They had expected a fairy-like figure with her long dress pping in the wind and dainty ornaments dangling from her loose hair bun¡ªyou know, very ancient style. As it turned out, the one that showed up wore a thigh-length trench coat, cks, and had ck, long, and straight hair. With a wave of her hand, whoosh! A treasure as big as a building flew into the air just like that. Tsk! Talking about a ruined fantasy! Wincing, Dai Han cut short his recollection. Another quarter of an hourter, the bus finally arrived at the front gate of Phoenix Mountain. ¡®!!!¡¯ The moment he got off the bus, he felt as if a bucket of hot water had been poured over his head. The big square waspletely taken up by the crowd, and everywhere he turned, he could see nothing but people. Every ent of the country filled his ears, and the square was so cramped that the air felt stifling. Such a scene did not surprise him at all. He walked around the crowd and reached the left side of the square. ¡°Come have a look. Fire minerals from Huo Zhou! The purest fire spiritual essence you can find that¡¯ll turn you on in no time!¡± ¡°Spiritual spring water all the way from Laoshan. Carried here all by myself¡ªjust to raise some money for my journey back!¡± ¡°Pine nuts from Mount Huang. 1000 yuan for 50 g. One price for all!¡± The market town had yet to open, but themon people could always make do with something less. They simply set up makeshift stalls outside the mountain gate. There was no guarantee of the authenticity of the goods, but it was not like they had anything better to do. Dai Han had been here once already, and was now wandering around aimlessly. He was soon attracted by one of the stalls. The owner wore sses and had a receding hairline. In his Cantonese-style Mandarin 1 , he advertised his goods. ¡°Real deep-sea fish! Very nutritious, and very reasonable price! 100 yuan for half a kilo only!¡± He was selling one type of goods only¡ªa few odd-looking salted fish, which he picked up from god knew where. The fish had been frozen solid in this weather. ¡°What fish is this?¡± asked Dai Han curiously. ¡°One night stand!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°One night stand 2 ! Gosh, golden threadfin bream, all right? Why do you have to make me use that corny name? You¡¯d have been my dinner already if you were from Fujian!¡± the owner replied impatiently, but then switched to self-mockery, which was kind of adorable 3 . Well, well, thanks¡­ but no, thanks. Dai Han waved his hand and left the stall promptly. He wandered on for a while, and when the sun had risen to right above their heads and the warmest hour of the day had arrived, a hubbub suddenly ran across the crowd. ¡°That kid hade down again. Go check it out!¡± ¡°Hey, wait for me! I must go up the mountain today!¡± ¡°Damn it! I just don¡¯t buy it! I¡¯m well over thirty and a kid cannot stop me!¡± Shouting and yelling, everyone was rushing towards the mountain gate. Dai Han was carried away by the packed crowd towards the same direction, his feet barely touching the ground. When they reached the gateway, they saw a child about six or seven years of age walking down the stairs. He wore in clothes and had an ordinary face. He carried a wooden sword across his back, and the hilt jutted out from behind his shoulder. Descending the stairs on his short legs, he forced himself to remain level-headed despite the knot in his stomach. It seemed forever when he finally reached the crowd. ¡°Ahem¡­¡± The child cleared his throat and looked into the thousands of pairs of eyes. ¡®Sh*t!¡¯ He had forgotten the lines he had used for the past two days! He was going into panic when a soft and tiny (more like loud and noisy) voice rang out in his head. ¡°Same as the past two days¡­¡± ¡°Same as the past two days¡­¡± He repeated the words in a hurry. ¡°I will make three strikes only. Those that can dodge my first strike can enter the mountain; those that can dodge two strikes in a row can enter the inner mountain; those that can dodge all three three strikes get to meet the immortals. But, one has to back out right away if they are hit by the first strike!¡± The child was none other than Zheng Kaixin himself. After the lengthy announcement, he gradually calmed down, and no longer needed any reminders. ¡°Phoenix Mountain is a blessednd, where the real immortals dwell. You morous lot have not only disturbed the quietness, but also tried to willfully break in. We should have banished you all from here, but since nature has the virtue of cherishing life, we will give you a chance. Anyone wants to go through this mountain gate? They have to go through me first. Should any unruly behavior ur and anyone tries to break in again, they will be executed!¡± The words came out more smoothly as he spoke. When he reached thest few words, there was even a formidable aura. The crowd had all seen what he was capable of in the past two days, and none dared to treat him lightly. Only those that had just got here today remained ignorant and were asking around quietly. Someone exined right away. ¡°We¡¯re all here to see the master and learn skills, right? But no one ever showed up, and someone got impatient. A few people then formed a team and tried to break in. A guy called Li Dong threw them out almost right away. Gosh, how they screamed! They were lucky that the masters were not merciless. The kid then showed up with this rule. Why, bro, you look quite strong. Why don¡¯t you have a go?¡± The man exining was a little up to no good by now, but the neer did not realize that. For all he knew, that was just an ordinary kid. He shouted right away, ¡°Do you mean what you said?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± ¡°Ok. I¡¯ll have a go!¡± Buzz! The crowd erupted right away, and people made way to let the man pass. The fellow soon reached the front of the line and made a visualparison: a 180 cm adult versus a, um, needed he say more? He was suddenly ashamed of himself, as if he was picking on a little kid. ¡°Kiddo, are you sure about this?¡± Zheng Kaixin drew his wooden sword right away. It was a little under 70 cm and looked like a toy. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°Bring it on, then. Be careful. I¡¯ll have to pay for the medical bill if you get hurt.¡± The man turned out to have been trained in martial arts. Clenching his fists and putting one leg in front of the other, he stood there with a posture that was the starting stance of some free-hand boxing of the Northern School. ¡®Wow!¡¯ The crowd grew even more excited. Those that hade forward before were all uselessmon people. Not a single of those dozens of people managed to make it through the first strike. However, none of them dared to make any noise, and they only watched quietly. ¡°¡­¡± With his sword in hand, Zheng Kaixin soon quieted down, as if he had obtained the most reliable power. Starting from the end ofst year, he had been learning swordy for five months. Long Qiu¡¯s teaching was very methodical. Starting from the abstract concepts, she let him to have an impression of the sword at first, then moved onto basic methods. Moreover, Xiao Qiu was a gentle teacher that was generous with her encouragement, which made the kid all the more interested in his study. ¡°The first strike!¡± Pursing his lips, Zheng Kaixin opened his eyes widely. The words had barely left his tongue when he raised the sword and thrust out at the man¡¯s thigh. The fellow let out an exmation. He was trained in traditional martial arts, and could tell how this exchange of blows would go: the kid had short arms and a short sword, and neither were his movements very fast. By the time the sword reached his leg, he¡¯d have time to strike three times already. Therefore, he strode out to the left unhurriedly, thinking he could easily evade the sword. However, the next second¡­ Whoosh! The wooden sword that was moving slowly sped up all of a suddenly as if a propeller had been switched on, charging right at him, leaving a streak of blurry images behind. Sh*t! The man felt his heart skip a beat. Switching his bnce to his left, he dived to the ground and rolled away. It was not a pretty picture, but he dodged the sword sessfully. Buzz! ¡°Wow, that was awesome, man!¡± ¡°Keep at it! We¡¯re counting on you!¡± ¡°Two more! Two more!¡± The onlookers erupted. That was a first after all this time. Zheng Kaixin was mildly surprised as well, but there was no time to think. Striding out with his right leg and tensing up his left leg, he swiped the de down at an angle, then brought it forward. The movement of the sword was light and had a harmless feeling to it. The fellow was about to leap up after the rolling, but while he was still in a crouching position with his back lowered, the wooden sword reached out andnded on his shoulder. Sigh! The crowd sighed with pity. Another failure! Zheng Kaixin withdrew the sword as soon as he made a sessful hit, then bowed politely. ¡°It was a pleasure to fight with you.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Various feelings shed across the man¡¯s face as he tried to find the right words. He finally cupped his hands, then returned to the square with his head lowered. *** Up on Phoenix Mountain. A breeze seemed to blow across the old tree, and the leaves swayed slightly. A man then appeared out of nowhere. Gu Yu stood under the old tree and looked into the distance at the rolling mountains along the horizon, sighing. ¡°The formation tes are finally set up. I hope I got everything right.¡± In his hand was thest round te made of one single piece of green jade stone. On it were three oval indentations, where the spiritual stones would be inserted. Gu Yu put the three Grade Three stones in ce and nced at a spot where a very conspicuous clump of long leaves stood; at their top was a ball of red seeds. It was none other than that spiritual ginseng. It was because of this nt that Old Gu was confident about setting up this great defensive formation for the mountain. Activating the Small Moving Technique, the formation te disappeared from his hand and was buried beneath the root of the spiritual ginseng. The ball of red seeds swayed right away, as if the nt was protesting. ¡°You¡¯ve been living on my mountain and drinking my liquor. It¡¯s time you do your job.¡± Gu Yu sent a streak of his mental force into the nt and grinned. ¡°Let¡¯s begin!¡± Chapter 383 Chapter 383: So this is what immortals should look like Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The basic theory of formations was to create a special space by utilizing natural terrain, coborating with Yin and Yang energy, and integrating with the five elements. Depending on specific environment and formation map used, this space could have offensive, defensive, facilitating, or restraining powers. The patterns on the Seal of Patriarch Sa was in fact a miniature formation map that could seal off and protect an enclosed area. The formation map did not have a name, so Gu Yu gave it one as straightforward as his names always were¡ªSmall Sealing Formation. Such a formation left behind by a celestial master was no trivial matter. In the several months of his seclusion, he had spent most of his time studying the formation. Even so, he was only able toprehend a limited proportion. He was resolved to use what he¡¯d learnt as the basis, and with some simplification, he came up with a makeshift formation. Based on the bearing of the mountain vein, the flowing direction of the rivers, and the vein of the earthly energy of Phoenix Mountain, he made 36 formation tes with the jade stones provided by the Tao Family first. Of those, he buried 35 in various spots on the mountain as the connection points of the formation. Thest worked as the eye of the formation, which he buried under that spiritual ginseng. That was a clever trick. Because the spiritual ginseng had the ability to manipte the energy veins of mountain and earth, and by using it as the eye of the formation, this ability would be amplified infinitely, making the formation moreplete and flexible. He then took 108 Grade Three spiritual stones as the energy source, which he set into the formation tes. ¡°All right. Let¡¯s begin!¡± Right now, Gu Yu was standing in front of the spiritual ginseng. With those words, he pointed at the ground with a finger, and a thin thread of the purest spiritual essence was injected into the eye of the formation. Hum! The eye of the formation was activated, giving out a faint and strange sound. The Grade Three spiritual stones glowed, then turned into a beam of light which shot up into the sky. Immediately after that, another beam of light shot up, followed by a third, a fourth, a fifth¡­ all 36 beams of light took up all the nodes of the earth energy veins. Gu Yu flew into the air and looked down. The 36 spots were corresponding with one another, and had formed aplete formation map. ¡°Rustle!¡± Meanwhile, the spiritual ginseng also began to work its magic. As its long leaves swayed, there came a loud rumbling sound. Phoenix Mountain looked like a picture that was having its pixels upgraded, and everything within¡ªthe sky, the earth, the cloud, the water, all the living things¡ªhad ayer of mortal dirt scraped off the surface. A giant dragon seemed toe to life, with its head on the east and tail on the west. Following the direction of the formation map, it was slowly crawling along the mountain ridges. The river rushed in turbulent waves, also flowing from the west to the east. It changed direction at the river bend like a folding ruler, which looked like a water dragon turning its head around, corresponding with the mountain dragon in the distance. The earth energy veins of the entire mountain soon threaded together into an integral whole, which turned into a gigantic whirlpool with a mighty suction power, attracting spiritual essence from all directions. It intertwined and collided with the original spiritual essence of the mountain, and only found the right track to follow after much confusion. Qian and Kun corresponded, the energy of Yin and Yang were in harmony, and together with the five elements taking effect, the mountains looked higher, the trees greener, and the water clearer¡­ everything was reborn. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Instantly, three figures flew near from different directions andnded under the old tree. They watched the mountain changing with shiny eyes. Even Xiaozhai was visibly excited. It was a feeling more striking then an earthquake and subtler then a drizzle at the same time. It was prating; it wasfortable; it was enlightening. In a word: awesome! A hundred times more awesome than a night of love-making! *** ¡°Great¡­ ouch!¡± ¡°Another one has failed. What this kid can do is unnatural!¡± ¡°It¡¯s unnatural to us. For them, it¡¯s just normal practice.¡± Outside the mountain on the square, a challenger was a split second toote to dodge the first strike and became another one falling under Zheng Kaixin¡¯s sword, raising another wave of sighs from the crowd. That was the seventh of today. But Zheng Kaixin was a child after all and he was getting tired. He was panting a little when he withdrew his sword this time. ¡®Excellent stances, but poor physical strength¡­¡¯ That man with martial arts training had been observing in the front row the entire time, and now drew his conclusion. Although he had sessfully dodged the sword and could enter the mountain gate, he made no such move. For ¡°entering the mountain gate¡± was a literal permission: yes, you could begin to climb the mountain. ¡®Damn it! What good would it do to me to climb the f**king mountain? I¡¯m not a tourist!¡¯ The rule of the three strikes was an idea the patriarch came up with, and a little game to prevent the bored people from making trouble. The winners could enter the mountain gate, enter the inner mountain, and meet the real immortals¡­ but nowhere in the rules was ¡°bing a pupil¡± mentioned, which the crowd realized as well. But this challenge was still important to them. One could at least make their faces known to the immortal if they got to meet one, which was an opportunity, if not anything else. Hence, everyone was still diving for it. ¡°Ah!¡± It took almost no time for the ninth person to fail. Zheng Kaixin nced around, forced back his uneven breath, and asked, ¡°The quota today is still ten. Anyone else?¡± ¡°¡­¡± No one responded for a while, for everyone knew how hopeless their skills were by now. All of a sudden, a voice rang out. ¡°I¡¯ll have another go!¡± The crowd turned towards the direction at the voice. Well, it was that fellow again. Zheng Kaixin frowned. ¡°You have tried once.¡± ¡°Is it mentioned anywhere in your rules that a person cannot try a second time?¡± asked that fellow. ¡°Um¡­¡± The kid was speechless, for it was not. ¡°Oh my, aren¡¯t you ashamed of yourself? A grown man taking advantage of a child?¡± ¡°Exactly! Coming out again when he¡¯s tired. Why don¡¯t youe back tomorrow?¡± ¡°Bro, where are you from? Your hometown should be ashamed of having you!¡± Despite all the taunting remarks, the man did not waver. He only stared at the child and asked, ¡°Since it doesn¡¯t say in the rules, why can¡¯t I try again?¡± ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± Zheng Kaixin was panting more heavily now. The man was good. He was experienced, dexterous, and had very good reflexes. After observing for this whole time, Zheng Kaixin realized that the man might actually make it. However, he had no fear of what wasing. The first day he picked up the sword, he was taught by Sister Xiao Qiu: ¡°Since you have taken up the sword, you should never fear. For once you let fear get to you, your sword will be a mere piece of wood or iron and nothing more.¡± Therefore, he looked into the man¡¯s eyes, and pointed at him with his little wooden sword. ¡°Bring it on!¡± ¡®Wow!¡¯ The fellow was surprised by the child¡¯s demeanor, and felt a little abashed, though he soon fought it back. He stood there with his legs parted, then set his posture and got ready. The stance the child was the most used to was to thrust forward following a straight line. As long as he chose to use that stance, with his preparation, the man was confident that he could dodge it. ¡°The first strike!¡± Zheng Kaixin called out in his childish voice, and moved into action, which was indeed a straight thrust. The man was delighted, and shifted his body beforehand. He was about to steer clear of the sword when there came a sound. Boom! The ground shook violently all of a sudden. He lost his footing and was struck by the sword again. However, no one was looking at them any more. The crowd was falling over like ninepins with all color drained from their faces. The earth was shaking, and even the sky seemed darkened. ¡°Earthquake! Earthquake!¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not that! The mountain is shaking! It¡¯s the mountain!¡± ¡°We can¡¯t stay near the mountain gate! Move!¡± Like a wildfire spreading across a grasnd by the wind, panic was taking over the crowd. Everyone was shouting and screaming as they tried to run away from the square. ¡°Aaaah!¡± Zheng Kaixing was frightened as well, and did not know what to do. He picked a direction at random and was going to run as far away as his short legs could take him. Suddenly, his feet left the ground, for Li Dong had picked him up. ¡°Brother Dong, what happened?¡± The child was almost weeping. ¡°I have no idea. It all happened so suddenly!¡± Li Dong looked around and saw that Old Shui, Yan Han, and the others were running towards him. He called out, ¡°Brother Shui, is it an earthquake?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so!¡± Old Shui ran to them, looking very serious. ¡°They¡¯re probably setting up a formation up there, and we don¡¯t know if they made it yet. Come, let¡¯s help the people first!¡± He was the backbone of this lot, and took the lead to direct the crowd so that this wouldn¡¯t turn into a stampede. The crowd ran away from the mountain gate and stopped somewhere further away. The earth was still shaking, but less violently now. The thousands of people then watched Phoenix Mountain as if they were in a trance. They had stopped thinking and their face all looked nk. Boom! Rumble! It seemed forever before the shaking finally stopped and the earth stood still. Before they could let out a breath of relief, someone shouted again, ¡°Look! The cloud is falling down!¡± ¡°The cloud is falling down!¡± The crowd turned in unison. From deep inside the green mountain, a cloud of fog was rolling out; the enshrouding mist was spreading out so quickly that it soon rose to halfway up the mountain. The next second, the mountain peak was no longer visible. Because the cloud of mist was expanding very fast, from the angle of the foot of the mountain, it indeed looked like a cloud falling down from the sky, rolling around on the mountain, then returning to the sky again. Momentarily, the entire mountain was covered by the mist, which just stopped at the mountain gate and did not expand further. They could still faintly make out the two gilded words over the gate way: Phoenix Mountain! ¡°¡­¡± A hush fell over the square. There were over a thousand people here, but no one made a sound. ¡°We did it! We did it!¡± Old Shui was the first to react,ughing loudly.¡±Hahaha! We finally have our own defensive formation!¡± Zheng Kaixin and the others also had excitement written all over their face. As members of Phoenix Mountain, they naturally took great pride in this achievement. Whoosh! Just then, there was a green sh in the mist, and a few objects flew out. Old Shui caught them in his hand and saw that they were a stack of oblong jade tablets, each with one of their individual names on it. Immediately after that, Gu Yu¡¯s voice rang out in their ears. ¡°These tokens will give you permission toe in and out of the mountain gate. You can alle back now.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Although the man was not standing in front of them, they were so overwhelmed by this sensation that they all bowed involuntarily. Then, with Old Shui leading the way, they gingerly walked to the mountain gate and made a tentative step in. Whoosh! With the token in hand, the mist sensed it automatically and split open, making a narrow passageway. ¡°Haha! Let¡¯s go!¡± While they were off, the rest did not want to be left here. Many were calling after them, ¡°Hey! Wait! Wait!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go! I want to join the mountain!¡± ¡°Please take me!¡± Right away, a few people stumbled after them, but as soon as they made contact with the mist, they were devoured like a stone thrown into ake. One of them felt his mind go dark, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw that he was surrounded by the white fog. Four or five people hade in together, but he was all by himself now, and the others were nowhere to be seen. The fog around him was so thick that he could not see anything else. A momentter, even his auditory sense was deprived. It was depressing, inhibiting, suffocating, maddening¡­ In the end, all five senses seemed to have abandoned him, and he was as numb as a living corpse. The man had long been scared out of his wits. The tiny bit of emotion that was left in him brought tears to his eyes. Yet despite the falling tears, no sound came out of him. His silent open mouth only made everything even more horrifying. Just as he thought he was going to die, the fog around him heated up and pressed against him. He was then lifted up and fell back despite himself. Thump! As he fell heavily on the ground, he was greeted by sunlight, and all his senses were restored. ¡°¡­¡± Opening his eyes widely, his mind could not digest what had happened. He sat there with a nk face for several seconds before he burst into tears. ¡°Ah!!!¡± Almost at the same time, the others were thrown out as well, all with simr reactions. The impact was worse on some of them, for they were talking incoherently in a confused state of mind. ¡®!!!¡¯ Seeing this, the crowd felt a chill seep into their hearts, soon taking up their entire body. When they looked at that Phoenix Mountain hidden behind the fog again, all the slight, indifference, ckness, and willfulness they might have had towards the mountain vanished right away. Modern people lived in a time of information explosion. With so many stimuli, they were hardly ever truly awed by anything. The respect one held for their superiors at work was a show they put on for their sry. Were they really in awe of their bosses? No. But at this moment, they could finally see for themselves what immortals were capable of and how different was their world from this mortal one! ¡°¡­¡± The silence stretched on. As the atmosphere of the square grew more depressed, one person seemed toe to himself, for he rushed out and fell to his knees, then banged his forehead loudly on the ground. ¡°I am Tang Bole from Bin Zhou. I sincerely want to pursue the Great Dao. Please take me in!¡± Right after that, a girl ran out and knelt down beside him, crying, ¡°I¡¯m Su Xiaoye and my mum has an incurable disease. Please save her! I¡¯ll do anything!¡± Thump! Thump! Over a dozen people ran out of the crowd after that, kneeling down in a row outside the mountain gate, all with their requests and misfortunes. While they knelt down there, more people watched silently from behind, as if they were in two different worlds now. Everyone talked about searching for the immortals and looking for a master, but how many of those actually meant it? How many could stick to their decisions? ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Suddenly, a soft sigh came from somewhere, which sounded both from up in heaven and by their ears. After that, a voice rang out for all the thousands of people on the square to hear. ¡°Phoenix Mountain will set up an altar to talk about Taoist theories in the beginning of the month of Gao. Anyone that hears this news can attend. There will be trials and those that pass will be epted as pupils¡­ now, go!¡± After those words, the fog surged and grew thicker, covering the faintly visible mountain gatepletely. The entire mountain seemed to have disappeared. *** ¡°Attention! Attention!¡± Inside a certain base in the capital city, warning lights suddenly switched on. The monitoring personnel shouted, ¡°Phoenix Mountain has disappeared! We have lost sight of Phoenix Mountain!¡± The man in charge jumped at the report and asked right away, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°The satellite surveince came back empty! We¡¯ve tried everything!¡± ¡°Get me an image! High power image!¡± The head ran towards the screen, feeling he was losing his mind. The entire base tensed up¡ªthey couldn¡¯t help it, for that Phoenix Mountain was a time bomb that could go off just about any time. Before long, a clear image taken by the satellite was put onto the big screen. The roomful of people saw that there was only arge cloud of mist, and no mountain at all. ¡°Any meteorological abnormalities in the area?¡± ¡°There is no such forecast. Everything appears to be normal!¡± ¡°Keep monitoring! I¡¯m making the report!¡± Simr situation was going on in several other secret departments. After getting this information, they all reported to their superiors. As early as four years ago, when Phoenix Mountain and the government reached their cooperative agreement in Urumqi, it was decided that every movement of the mountain was of top priority that went right to the desk of the biggest boss. After they gathered all the information and analyzed it¡­ Disappearing or not, that was no longer important. Who on earth could tell them what was with setting up an altar and giving a lecture??? Chapter 384 Chapter 384: Breaking News (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu May, early summer. Summer this year was no different from the previous ones and probably even hotter, as if the recovery of the spiritual essence had finally reached its peak after over a decade, and was ready to release all the energy stored. It was bad news and good news at the same time. The bad news was that the scorching heat would bring great difficulty to all the ongoing projects in the country. The good news, though, was that once they rode out this storm, the breakout of the spiritual essence would enter a buffering period before gradually quieting down. By then, the new environment would mostly stabilize, giving rise to a country that was changed beyond recognition, but filled with the vitality of nature. For now, the general public was not holding too much grudge against the unbearable heat, for their attention was drawn by the more pressing and exciting news that had spread to every corner of the country in a single day. Phoenix Mountain was setting up an altar to give lectures! ¡°LOL! Ancestor of the Great Bnce 1 himself is descending to the mortal world! The praying mats in Zixiao Pce are on a firste, first serve basis! Don¡¯t give your seats to those two bastards from the west 2 !¡± ¡°I only have one question. Is it true? Can it be a rumor?¡± ¡°I was at the foot of the mountain that day and heard it myself. You¡¯ll be the one abandoning your luck if you don¡¯t go. The regret will be all yours!¡± ¡°Forgive my ignorance, but exactly when is the beginning of month of Gao?¡± ¡°Month of Gao is May, so early May.¡± ¡°Mate, get your facts straight. Ancient people used the traditional calendar. Month of Gao is the fifth month of the year on that calendar, so it¡¯s June on the one we use now. It¡¯s happening early next month!¡± All of a sudden, people from all walks of life were discussing it. Even the government employees were talking about it in private, and some were so tempted that they were thinking about sending the youngsters of their own families to Phoenix Mountain. Wouldn¡¯t life be wonderful if they were picked and got to hang out with immortals every day? However the discussion went, the news had gotten around. Whether they chose to believe it or not, no one wanted miss the chance. Hence, the authorities were once more having a headache: how was a small town like Bai Town ever going to take in so many people? It was especially the case for that mountain road connecting Shengtian with Bai Town. It had beenpletely jammed since the second day after Gu Yu¡¯s words got around. In the end, the government had to set up check posts in every city nearby to control the number of people going into Shengtian. This was no longer an ancient society, after all, when people had to travel for tens of thousands of miles on horseback for an recruitment advertisement of a big sect, and only arrived monthster to find a hundred fellow candidates there. It was a modern information society we were talking about here, and the audience numbered billions! *** ¡°Why, isn¡¯t it like having the car windows tinted?¡± Up on Phoenix Mountain, all the 36 beams of light had disappeared, and everything was back to normal. Watching the cloudless sky and the brand-new view of the mountain, Xiaojin said happily, ¡°They can¡¯t see a thing from outside, and we can see everything from here. I like it! Car sex will be so much safer now.¡± ¡°I like it too. The spiritual essence is even denser now, and our cultivation can speed up again.¡± Xiao Qiu giggled along. She then asked, ¡°By the way, Brother, does the formation need a lot of spiritual stones? Do we have enough?¡± ¡°When I set up the formation yesterday, all 108 stones were almost drained the moment I activated the formation, so I reced them with 108 new ones at once. Now that the formation is running smoothly, it is not very energy-consuming. These 108 stones will be more than enough to sustain the formation for a year.¡± After the brief exnation, Gu Yu instructed, ¡°Xiao Qiu, I¡¯m leaving you in charge of the daily maintenance of the formation from now on. I¡¯ll teach you the formation map and the working theoriester.¡± ¡°Yes, no problem!¡± Long Qiu nodded. By now, the division ofbor was gradually taking shape on the mountain. Long Qiu was patient and attentive, so she was in charge of running the library, formation, farnds, production of talisman paper, and the animal farm (where the mutated boars and Sand-walking Spider were kept). Xiaojin was all over the ce and good at socializing, which made her suitable for managing the construction projects, development of the market town, recruiting of new talents, etc. It was obvious that the two would be the respective heads of internal and external affairs in the future. As for their heartless ¡°parents¡±, well, they were the happy freeloaders. While that was settled, Xiaozhai¡ªwho had kept her silence the entire time¡ªsuddenly spoke, ¡°Old Gu, since we¡¯re setting up a sect and recruiting pupils, we need to set out the orthodox first. You have the essence-consuming method and the sword manual; are you going to put them together or teach them separately?¡± ¡°The essence-consuming method doesn¡¯t have much power on its own, but putting them together seems unfair to the sword manual.¡± Gu Yu gave it a thought and said, ¡°How about this? The essence-consuming method will be the basis. I¡¯ll decide whether or not to teach them the sword manualter if I find pupils with a talent in the sword.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll do. So, we¡¯ll have two schools of teaching: the essence-consuming method and the Thunder Technique.¡± Xiaozhai gave him a wink and chuckled. ¡°You know what? We might have topete for pupils some day.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t bepeting with you under normal circumstances, but not this one. Of course, in the end, it¡¯s still up to the pupils.¡± Old Gu held his ground this time, which was very rare. ¡®Wow!¡¯ The two younger ones could not take part in the conversation, but the expressions on their faces were no less excited. ¡®So, we¡¯re moving up in seniority! We¡¯re mothers-inw¡­ I mean, we¡¯re Uncle Masters now!¡¯ However, something seemed to dawn on Long Qiu after that, and she asked in a serious tone, ¡°Brother, Sister, what about Kaixin and the others?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai exchanged a look. It was a cruel decision, but rules were rules. ¡°Among them, only Kaixin has the right endowment. Li Dong has yet to show it. Old Shui, Yan Han, and the others will only be outer disciples.¡± ¡°Oh, then I should exin to them. It¡¯ll be better if they hear it from me.¡± Xiao Qiu was as kind as she always was. Xiaojin¡¯s focus was on somethingpletely different. She asked eagerly, ¡°Brother-inw, you said there would be trials. Have you decided what to use yet?¡± ¡°Not yet. Got any ideas?¡± Gu Yu chuckled. ¡°Neither do I, but that¡¯s right up my alley! You know, kicking their a*sses and giving them a hard time. Just leave it to m¡ª ouch!¡± She buried her head between her hands. Xiaozhai slowly retrieved her hand, reprimanding, ¡°Recruiting pupils is noughing matter, but it shouldn¡¯t be too serious, either. At the end of the day, what we are testing is nothing but their endowment and temperament. We¡¯ll each think of a test and discuss them.¡± All right, the head of the household had spoken, and the tune was set. They chatted for some more, then Long Qiu and Xiaojin went to prepare their own tasks. Sitting under the old tree, Xiaozhai watched the spiritual essence, which had grown inches taller within hours¡ªthanks to the energy feeding back on it from the formation. She couldn¡¯t help but be amazed. ¡°Is this fellow taking a human form soon?¡± ¡°How can it be? It¡¯s absorbing the spiritual essence on instinct, and has no cultivation method whatsoever. If nothing spectacr falls into itsps, it¡¯ll take a human form in about, well¡­ a hundred years?¡± ¡°In that case, don¡¯t let happen too soon. There will be another kid if it transforms, and I don¡¯t want to watch it running wildly in the mountain.¡± Xiaozhai paused there, then switched to apletely unrted subject. ¡°You haven¡¯t prepared for what you¡¯re going to talk about in the lecture, have you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something that can be decided by Phoenix Mountain alone. I¡¯m still waiting for the other parties to reply.¡± ¡°If you ask me, we¡¯d better have the monastery join in on this. They¡¯re much more knowledgeable on theories of Dan and talisman skills. Having them on board will benefit so many more people, be it an internalmunication, or a lecture to the public.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been thinking, but we can¡¯t be the one initiating this. Let¡¯s wait.¡± ¡°Sir!¡± They were still talking when Li Dong ran towards them. Having been cultivating for the past six month, and with the amply supply of spiritual rice and spiritual tea, Li Dong had obtained a physical strength far superior to any ordinary person¡¯s. The Technical Sword he was practicing had a corresponding breathing method, and right now, he was staggering towards them in long strides using the Rising Manual that he had not mastered yet. ¡°There are greeting letters for you!¡± Li Dong handed him two letters. Gu Yu took them over and nced at the senders: one was from the monastery, and the other from the BIMAUP. He was slightly surprised, for they had met enough times before this. He couldn¡¯t see why were they so formal all of a sudden. He opened the envelopes, while Xiaozhai stuck her head over his shoulder to read the letter. She broke into aughter at the first words. ¡°Honorable Perfected Man Gu¡­¡± Chapter 385 Chapter 385: Breaking News (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ording to A ssic on An Insight into Nature, ¡°A perfected man has a hollow inside, which allows them to integrate into the Great Dao and be part of Nature itself. They are omnipotent, omniscient, and omni-proficient.¡± The term ¡°perfected man¡± had been used since the ancient time. Although the meaning might have changed slightly, the essence remained the same: badass! In the Taoistmunity, the title signified a supreme state, whereas in the secr world, ¡°perfected man¡± was often granted to great masters by the imperial court. For instance, Yinzi, Wenzi, Liezi, Zhuangzi, Zhang Sanfeng, Wang Chongyang, and An Qisheng had all been granted the title ¡°perfected man¡± once. Hence, Gu Yu felt abashed to be addressed as such at the very beginning of this letter¡ªwho was he to be raised to the same status as all those ancient sages? What was more interesting, though, was the way they chose tomunicate with him this time. Instead of using any of the modern means, they switched to the old-school greeting letter. It showed respect, but at the same time, expressed a detached politeness. The contents of the two letters were pretty much the same: Mu Kun of the BIMAUP and Shi Yui of the monastery had both arrived at Bai Town, and both wanted to have an audience with Gu Yu. They had to send a request, for the manor on the northern slope had been hidden in the formation together with the talisman paper workshop. Phoenix Mountain did not have a reception venue at the moment; they were going to build a few houses on the square outside the mountain gate specially for that purpose. Why they wanted to meet him was obvious¡ªthey had questions about the lecture, only that the authorities wanted to know his purpose, while the monastery wanted to know about the content. Gu Yu folded the letters and put them back into the envelopes, then told Li Dong, ¡°Tell them both that the great change is upon us all, and I¡¯m willing to offer my humble effort.¡± ¡°Just that?¡± asked Li Dong surprisingly. ¡°Just that.¡± ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll tell them that right away.¡± Li Dong bowed at him, then activated the Rising Manual that he still need much practice in and staggered down the mountain. Once they received Gu Yu¡¯s reply, Mu Kun and Shi Yui brought the news back to their own people, who reacted very differently. The government immediately called for an urgent meeting, attended by leading officials of all key departments, just to study the intentions behind this move. Frankly speaking, ever since the two sides began their cooperation, they had never truly been friends. The rtionship was tainted by all sorts of exchanges of interests and distrust of each other. Initially, the authorities needed Old Gu for the development of Tianzhu Mountain and to explore the new world. When the monastery was set up, the importance of Phoenix Mountain dropped, but the cmity of Huo Zhou broke out at that moment, and the government needed the couple¡¯s help. Their rtionship had been going south ever since, and they even exchanged fire on Changbai Mountain. The result of that incident was that not only did Old Gu annihte the official force, he also demonstrated his capability by decapitating a man from a distance away. That was the first time the authorities realized how unmatchable Taoist skills could be in actualbat by using surprise attacks on individuals (i.e. their bosses). After that, the problem on the international front became the priority, and the authorities needed Phoenix Mountain once more. After taking a trip abroad, Old Gu sessfully upgraded himself. It got the old man worried even back then. A Human Immortal would be a double-edged de to the country. As long as the government could not control him, they had to take precautions against him. Therefore, when the news arrived, talking about Phoenix Mountain running lectures and recruiting pupils, some of the officials¡¯ first reaction was: that man was going to umte weapons and build himself an army now??? They were actually not the only ones thinking that way. The old man, on the other hand, led a faction that stood on Gu Yu¡¯s side who all agreed that Gu Yu and Jiang Xiaozhai were too smart to do something that suicidal. The vision the authorities had of this new world with the recovered spiritual essence¡ªor the blueprint of the the new country, if you like, was as followed: First of all, the government would have control of the cultivators. Secondly, the cultivators would live peacefully with the ordinary people. Thirdly, cultivation would integrate with the development of the society, bringing the productivity to a new level. The first one was essential, for the authorities needed more cultivators, but at the same time, they had to make sure that thetter would not be too capable and too ambitious¡­ After a heated discussion and thanks to the old man and those with him, the bosses decided to trust Phoenix Mountain on this. Of course, they would definitely use this opportunity to send a few of their own people in. On the other side, the atmosphere in the monastery was much more rxed. The rtionship between cultivators was far lessplicated than that with the government. The thirty-five members of Qiyun grasped the meaning of Gu Yu¡¯s words right away. Provident as he always was, Lu Yuanqing only considered it for a few seconds before announcing his decision. ¡°Since they have expressed their goodwill, we are more than happy to help. Send our reply: at the beginning of the month of Gao, the entire monastery will be there to attend the lecture.¡± *** Shengtian, the Zeng Family house. Over twenty people had gathered in the grand vi. Aside from the key members of the Zeng Family, there were also those from the Lei and Yuan Families. As the most senior members, Granny Zeng, Old Man Lei, and Old Man Yuan were sitting in the middle of the room, lecturing the youngsters. Zeng Yuewei stood quietly behind Granny Zeng, the expression on her face hard to read. Back then, as one of the first people to do business with Gu Yu, she could have taken advantage of that favorable position and build something out of it. However, she did not think much of the man then, and had wasted that opportunity. Now that five years had passed, they were worlds apart. Zeng Yuewei was over thirty years old now, and got marriedst year¡ªpaired up for the need of the family business. Never had she imagined that the good-looking young man from five years ago would have risen so high that he was beyond her reach even if she stood on a mountain. She couldn¡¯t me Gu Yu for forgetting the old affection, for there was none to begin with. A few years back, when the three families helped Phoenix Mountain with the construction work, Gu Yu had thanked them with plenty of spiritual incense and spiritual medicine; he owed them nothing. While she stood there upied by all her thoughts, the three elders had finished their lecture. Old Man Yuan nced around the room and sighed. ¡°We¡¯ll carry it out as nned, then¡­ Ke¡¯er! Lingshan! Xiao Xiao!¡± Three children over ten years old stepped out at his call. They were two boys and a girl, and stood out from the rest of the kids. Not only were their eyes exceptionally clear, there was also a brightness about them. As early as two years ago, they had asked the old priest of the Taiqing Pce to examine the bone structures of all their children. In the younger generation of all three families, these three children were the best. Even the old priest was impressed, and tried to take them in as pupils of Taiqing Pce. But the three families had their own ns. Ever since then, things like the spiritual rice and spiritual tea of the families went to the three first. They then made a huge donation to the Taiqing Pce in exchange for a basic free-hand boxing manual. That was how disparity was created¡ªstill talking about losing at the starting line? Try losing before you were even born! ¡°We¡¯re sending you three as candidates. If you make it in, keep it in mind that we three families are in it together. We are bound together for better or worse. Therefore, out there, you must work hard as a team and help each other out.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± *** Diannan, the Tao Family. Inside the high walls of the three-story white house, the atmosphere was in stark contrast to that in the Zeng Family. The internal strife had greatly reduced the size of the family, and right now, there were only six people living here: Tao Yu, his wife, Uncle Tao, Aunt Tao, and Tao Yu¡¯s two cousins. Ever since they began to work for Phoenix Mountain, they had spared no efforts in fulfilling their tasks. Every six months, they would send a batch of jade stones to Phoenix Mountain, which was what the formation tes were made from. In that sense, they had made a great contribution to the mountain. Other than that, following Gu Yu¡¯s instructions, Tao Yu had been looking out for mines everywhere. A few days ago, he finally discovered an unusual mountain that could have a mutated jade mine beneath it. He could not confirm the finding, and had to ask Phoenix Mountain to send someone over. The reply was that the person would arrive in a few days and was a patriarch of some sort, and very badass! That matter aside, the Tao Family was also talking about the recruitment of pupils. ¡°The master has promised that as long as we have a newborn baby with the right endowment, the mountain will take them in¡­ Sigh, too bad we only have a few people in the family. Xiao Yu, you two have to work on it.¡± Uncle Tao sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not like we can just make a baby at our will¡­¡± Tao Yu did not know how to respond to that. Ever since his uncle recovered from that evil spirit, he seemed to have lost all ambition. He had transferred all his control over thepany to Tao Yu, and spent his days caring for family affairs only. Then, Tao Yu switched the subject. ¡°The master did make that promise, but this is different. Since the recruitment is public, I think Xiao Tong and Xiao Yi can have a go.¡± ¡°Um, all right. But they¡¯re still too young, and I don¡¯t trust the others. How about you take them there yourself?¡± said Uncle Tao. ¡°Sure. We¡¯ll leave as soon as we settle the matter with the mine.¡± Tao Yu nodded. Both kids were teenagers, and were over the moon at the suggestion of bing a pupil of the mountain. All in all, the Tao Family was much more rxed that those three families. Not only did they have a closer rtionship with the mountain, they also had a jade te given by Perfected Man Gu himself, meaning they could ask to see Gu Yu any time. *** W Province, a secret chamber. Wrapped in a piece of white veil, Yu Lanzhuyzily in bed, her perfect body half hidden by the cloth. Her fingers were the color of scallion, and her lips looked as if they had been tinted with vermilion; her delicate feet reminded one of the peach flowers in the spring. She was in an excellent mood. With half the Heishui Province and a small portion of W Province buried under snow, the cmity was widespread. However, to Shamanism, it was a perfect time to attract believers. The Northeastern Shamanism had a strange cultivation path. They had to practice with the spirit of a beast first, then move onto refining themselves. After that, they had to attract believers and set up worship halls to absorb the power of faith so that they could gradually strengthen their minds. It started off as an unorthodox practice, but would transform into an orthodox one at theter stage¡ªthey had to help the people to umte enough merits to atone for their sins, or they would be hit by thunder tribtions. She had nowpletely fused with the spirit of the white fox, and could change easily between the two forms. Starting from Da¡¯an Vige of Sanping, she had secretly developed a great number of believers among the poverty-strickenmon folk. Yu Lanzhu was a smart woman. She knew that ¡°home-protecting fairy¡± was a taboo to the government, so to her believers, she was the White Fairy, and the white fox was her pet. She introduced herself as a cultivator that had been living deep inside the mountains for years and had made some achievements. Because she couldn¡¯t bear to watch themon people¡¯s suffering, she hade out to offer her help. One should not underestimate the intelligence of themon people, but one should not overestimate it, either. There were people that had fallen for scams like ¡°I am Qianlong Emperor. Please lend me a couple of million dors so that I can open the secret deposit of treasures of the Qing Dynasty¡±, let alone an actual fairy that was helping them. Hence, Yu Lanzhu was very happy. What made her even happier, though, was that she¡¯d finally found a way into Phoenix Mountain. ¡°Are you sure she¡¯s safe to send in?¡± she asked Nn. ¡°The best disguise is when she herself doesn¡¯t know she is in a disguise.¡± With her poker face, Nan said in a cold voice, ¡°Seven years old, female, born in Xiaoheyan Vige, and knows nothing about us. She is mediocre in her endowments and a loner. She will neither stand out nor be too unnoticeable. A rtive of hers works in the government, and will encourage her to go.¡± ¡°Hm, that¡¯ll do. Anyway, it¡¯s not like she¡¯s gonna do anything. She¡¯ll only be there to have a look.¡± Yu Lanzhu pondered for a moment and suddenly made an alluring smile. ¡°Teehee. To tell you the truth, I¡¯m very interested in that Mr. Gu.¡± *** Guizhou Province, Zhijin. Half of Guizhou was taken over by cmities now. nts grew wildly, rivers brimmed over their banks, and poisonous insects and miasmas spread out uncontrobly. As a result, the residents were evacuated inrge numbers. However, Zhijin was an exception. Probably the Golden Toad Sky-swallowing Formation had suppressed the rampaging spiritual essence¡ªapart from that bird disaster, nothing unusual happened to the county. The government had nned to expand the county into a city of a considerable size and build roads so that they could safeguard thend of Guizhou. Right now, inside the old house of the You Family, You Yu was packing quietly. His face was emotionless, and his movements slow. Despite the slight unwillingness and confusion in his eyes, he kept putting things into his suitcase. As one of the people to have experienced the copse of Fish Mountain at the scene, he had been summoned and interrogated multiple times even when the incident had passed. He had also be a celebrity of his vige. Some envied him, some were jealous, but most chose to taunt and jeer at him. You Yu was not like other kids. Anyone else that had been given a promise by both Phoenix Mountain and the monastery would be over the moon, but not him. He actually considered the two offers carefully for a long time. It wasn¡¯t until he heard the news about Phoenix Mountain that he finally made his decision. ¡°Xiao¡­ Xiao Yu¡­¡± After he finished packing and turned around carrying his suitcase, he realized his parents had been standing behind him for a long time. Tears were welling up in their eyes. ¡°¡­¡± You Yu winced a little, then knelt down abruptly, banging his forehead three times on the floor. He then rose to his feet and walked out without a word. *** Just like so, with the joint connivance of the two major cultivation groups, the news swept across the country at a lightning speed before making its way into the neighboring countries. Goryeo, Nippon, Siem, Mya, and Tsar on the north were all going to send people through diplomatic arrangements to attend the event, and take the opportunity to examine the overall strength of the country. Chapter 386 Chapter 386: Title is a big deal Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Diannan, the Tao Family. Dressed formally, the six family members had been waiting in the courtyard since early this morning with the most humble demeanor, seemingly expecting some important figure. Uncle Tao was the most serious one. Not only because that was one of the people that had saved his life¡ªthe change in his world view was also the reason. Since he was cured by Gu Yu, he had be obsessed with the metaphysics, and held utter respect for the real cultivators. After a little while, the 12-year-old Tao Tong couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Brother Yu, exactly who ising today?¡± ¡°They said it was going to be a patriarch-level figure¡­ very capable, anyway.¡± Tao Yu looked a little strange when he exined, for he swore he could hear the person telling him that over the phone was, well, fighting backughter? No, it couldn¡¯t be! He must have heard it wrong! ¡°A patriarch? Then he must be very old. Are we going to address him as grandpa?¡± the 13-year-old Tao Yi chimed in. ¡°Of course we¡¯re going to call him patriarch first. If he¡¯s nice, we¡¯ll change to grandpa then,¡± replied Tao Tong, who was a little sharper than his sister, and apparently very pleased with his own answer. ¡°Nice man or not, you¡¯re not addressing him as grandpa. Cultivators are not the same as we mortal men, so whatever his manner is, we must show our respect and avoid any unnecessary trouble,¡± reprimanded Uncle Tao immediately. ¡°Yes, Uncle!¡± The two kids exchanged a look and pursed their lips. ¡°Beep! Beep!¡± Another moment passed before a vehicle finally drove into their sight, and slowly came to a stop in the yard. The six of them put on a solemn look right away. Straightening up their clothes, they went up to greet their honorable guest. The door of the vehicle then flung open, and a pretty red high heelnded on the ground with a patter. The tip of the foot then ground into the ground slightly, and a person flew out of the vehicle like a ball of fire. ¡°Why, you¡¯re all in a straight line. Doing your morning exercise, are ya?¡± ¡®Wee to our home, p¡ª pffft!¡¯ Tao Yu was going to chant his greeting, but stuffed the words back down at the look of the person¡ªthe great effort almost made him choke on his own spit, and his face all crinkled up, looking hrious. Uncle and Aunt Tao were also utterly surprised, and looked very confused. ¡°Wow!¡± The two kids were the only ones not thinking much of it; they cried out and ran over to the person happily. ¡°Sister Xiaojin, it¡¯s you! We thought we¡¯re having a grandpaing. Why are you suddenly a patriarch?¡± ¡°Hahahaha! I¡¯m building my reputation in this mortal world, and title makes a big part. It¡¯s a good one, isn¡¯t it?¡± Thanks to Xiaojin¡¯sck of shame, she was still talking happily¡ªanyone else would have been petrified with embarrassment. Holding one kid in each arm, she nodded at the other four, then swaggered into the house as if she owned the ce. She had been with her brother-inw here before, so they were all old friends¡ªthere was no need for pleasantries. The seven people soon took their seats in the living room. Tao Yu brought out the spiritual tea rewarded to him before, attentively making a cup for Xiaojin. He was observing Xiaojin unnoticeably while he was doing it, realizing thatpared tost time when she was here, Miss Jin had improved significantly in her bearing. She now struck others as being an exceptionally capable woman at the first sight. Having reached the passionless state in Metal Thunder and obtained an initial achievement in Water Thunder, Xiaojin was following her sister closely in her cultivation level. Under normal circumstances, her appearance was enough to scare people off. How should we describe our dear girl Xiaojin? Well, she was not right in the head. One could never predict her thoughts and actions¡ªthat would be more difficult than seeing Old Gu doing it on the top. Right now, she was all serious. After sipping her tea, she said, ¡°Now, what¡¯s with the mine?¡± ¡°The situation is like this. After the southwestern provinces began to suffer from all the cmities, what happened in Diannan was simr to that in Guizhou Province: forests expanded and miasma poisoned thends. But because Diannan sits on the border, our country has made preparations beforehand. Therefore, we reacted quicker than the other ces. ¡°As Ruili is thergest ind port in the Southwest, the government has reached an agreement with Myan to jointly uphold the peace and stability in the city. Therefore, the downtown area and the surrounding towns and viges did not suffer from too much damage.¡± Tao Yu paused to organize his thoughts, then went on. ¡°Of course, the cmity still affected many ces in the province, especially the area around Ao Mountain, which is a no-man¡¯snd now. A while ago, I discovered a crude stone in the trading market; it looked rather odd to me. The owner was from Xinping County, and said he grabbed the stone when he was fleeing from the cmity, thinking he could make some money out of it. Oh, here it is¡­¡± With that, he took out a raw stone about 6-7 kg in weight. It had already been cut, revealing the creamy-white jade inside. Xiaojin picked it up and examined the interior with her mental force. ckish purple lightning then glowed in her palm, which wrapped around the stone like a fine. The Water Thunder squirmed around the stone like tiny tentacles, and the outeryer fell down in little crumbs. Secondster, the outer shell was removed, revealing an intact jade material with an irregr shape. ¡°Warm jade? It¡¯s indeed warm jade!¡± Tao Yu was very surprised. ¡°Diannan hardly has any warm jade mines now, for they have mostly been depleted. We usually only have jadeite around here. I didn¡¯t believe we had one before I cut it open.¡± Jade was categorized into ¡°cold¡± and ¡°warm¡± ones; it mainly depended on their quality and texture. Warm jade was fine and smooth to the touch, and had a soft, moist glisten to it. In one¡¯s hands, it would feel cool at first, then warm up, and was veryfortable to hold. Cold jade usually referred to jadeite, which had a cooler and harder color tone. Xiaojin yed with the jade material in her hand, caressing the surface with her ten fair and slender fingers. The jade was getting warmer and warmer, and in the end, it almost felt oily to the touch, as if grease wasing out of it. ¡°Hm?¡± After ying with it for a while, she announced happily, ¡°This is no ordinary warm jade. I think it has the effect of calming one¡¯s mind and keeping one focused. Wearing it could help with one¡¯s cultivation.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. We have another treasure, then.¡± Tao Yu had a deep sense of identity towards Phoenix Mountain. ¡°Where is that mountain?¡± asked Xiaojin. ¡°It¡¯s close to Xinping County, although no mine has been found there before.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go have a look first. If there are enough reserves, you can officially purchase the right of mining.¡± ¡°Will the authorities agree?¡± Tao Yu was a little concerned. ¡°Tsk!¡± Xiaojin smacked her lips, and in a tone of teaching little kids, she said, ¡°Just tell them you¡¯re with Phoenix Mountain. The worst that can happen is you¡¯ll have to give them a few tons every year.¡± ¡°Oh, I see!¡± Tao Yu smiled awkwardly. He still needed to switch out of his traditional businessman¡¯s mindset. While they were talking, the two kids¡ªTao Tong and Tao Yi¡ªwere watching Xiaojin with twinkling eyes; the two had fallen head over heels for this heroic big sister. ¡®You¡¯re with Phoenix Mountain!¡¯ ¡®Wow, that must be how bosses talk!¡¯ *** Ao Mountain was in the central region of Diannan. The mountain range ran from Chuxiong on the north to L¨¹chun on the south, with a total length of around 500 km. The highest peak was Damoyan 1 Peak in Xinping County, and had an altitude of 3166 m. Nowadays, the area hundreds of kilometers around the Ao Mountain range waspletely depopted. Viges were deserted, and mutated beasts were found everywhere. Somehow, in this vast wilderness, a fleet of vehicles was now driving along the empty road. Among them were jeeps and heavy-load trucks, which were carrying all sorts of exploration equipment. The team consisted of quite a few people. All drivers and passengers were darting their eyes around, afraid of the sudden appearance of mutated beasts. This area was a known death zone. Had it not been for the generous payment and the promise that a master would be escorting them, they would never have agreed toe. Even so, most of them were still on pins and needles, for they had no idea which of them was the supposed master. No one was wearing a Taoist robe, and they saw no white-bearded elders. There was only a very hot chick¡­ damn it! No one had the look! The fleet of vehicles drove unhurriedly towards Xinping County in perfect order. Maybe luck was on their side, for everything was going smoothly. However, halfway through their journey, they heard a whistling sound in the sky. Right after that, there was a pping noise that seemed toe from wings. It turned out that two strange-looking birds had spotted the fleet. ¡°It¡¯s the Wind-blowing Bird!¡± someone cried out right away, and all color drained from his face. The bird had been long recorded in the app. It was not big, but always appeared in couples. Like the shing boar, they also developed a skill from their mutation: they were able to produce de-like wind, which enabled them to make long-distance attacks. A photo of their hunting scene was even posted in the app, which showed a passenger car cut into halves. Therefore, everyone became nervous at their presence. However, the next moment, they felt the ground shaking and saw dust rising not far away, then five or six mutated serows came into sight. Covered in ck fur, the serows had strong limbs and looked enormous in size. They were alternating between running and jumping, and each leap would take them meters closer. They were approaching the fleet at a tremendous speed. ¡°We¡¯re dead!¡± Everyone turned as white as sheets. With mutated animals both on the ground and above, they had no way to escape. The two birds croaked, as if trying topete with the serows for prey. In half a heartbeat, they were above the fleet, ready to release the windy de. Just then, there came another sound. ¡°Thump!¡± ¡°Thump!¡± With two muffling sounds, blood gushed out of the now headless necks of the birds. Blood sshed down in a shower, pattering against the roofs and windows of the vehicles. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± a man screamed frantically. Seeing that nothing happened after that, he ventured on taking a look out of the window a couple of secondster. Two headless birdsy by the side of the road like some garbage that was carelessly tossed away. ¡°Aaaah!!!¡± Immediately after that, the entire team was screaming. The man quickly stuck his head out of the window, and his mouth fell open at what he saw. A gigantic ancient seal had flown ahead of them and smashed down. It then rose back up, shrank, then flew back to one of the vehicles. The serows were now a puddle of bloody mush on the ground. ¡°Sky¡­ Sky-turning Patriarch!¡± The man then recalled the title of that master they were told. He couldn¡¯t help but mutter that name, and was carried away by his imagination. *** Night, Xinping. The small county waspletely deserted. Only the bleak streets and the water in the fountain still reminded one of the people that used to live here. Because the county was next to a mountain, the expanding forest had nibbled part of the downtown area away. Some buildings even had branches sticking out of them. They found a hotel for everybody to stay for the night. The panic from before was all gone, reced by a great exhration. The entrance of the hotel had been blocked by a column raised out of the ground, and all the windows were covered by branches as well. It was said to be a Taoist skill of the five elements. After their safety had been taken care of, they were naturally in the mood for some chit-chat, and the topic was none other than that patriarch¡ª scratch that, that fairy. When they heard that the chick was the master, everyone had the same reaction: WTF!!! (¨s¡ã§¥¡ã)¨s¦à©ß©¥©ß !!! Holy crap! The cultivators were incredible! There was no pping dress, but jeans and sneakers. Although that did not quite fit the image in their head, once they epted this setting, why, they began to look forward to seeing more! While they were discussing this in private, Xiaojin was asking Tao Yu about the area in the biggest suite of the hotel. Tao Yu looked strangely nervous, for this patriarch was actingpletely differently from when she¡¯d first arrived at their home. ¡°Yo, Old Tao, how well do you know about Ao Mountain?¡± ¡°Um, I more or less know my way around here.¡± ¡°Then tell me this.¡± Xiaojin suddenly moved closer and looked at him with puss-in-boots eyes. ¡°Hehe, do you know about the treasure of Li Runzhi?¡± Chapter 387 Chapter 387: Treasure Hunt Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Li Runzhi was born into a family of chieftains in Diannan, where the position had been inherited for six generations until the periods of Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty. After that, the family became the local squires and was extremely influential in Xinping and the nearby counties, running businesses in goods such as crude opium, tea, and salt. We wouldn¡¯t go into details on the family; those interested could do researchon their own 1 . What was interesting was this: when the Li Family fell apart, only a small amount of the family possession was found, and no one ever saw the legendary huge wealth they¡¯d umted over the past generations. For centuries, several theories on the whereabouts of the treasure had been going around in the Ao Mountain area. One theory was that before Li Runzhi died, he hid the treasure under ck Tiger Cliff behind his manor, and the hiding ce was connected to the outside by an underground tunnel. However, no one knew where the entrance to that tunnel was. The second theory was that two dozens of mules had transported the treasure to a ce called Nanda. The third one said that the treasure was buried beneath the big manor of the Li Family, for some strange patterns were carved into the ground in the courtyard¡ªthey could be instructions on how to open the vault. For years, experts and grave robbers had been trying to locate the treasure, but none seeded. As time went by, it gradually became an urban legend. ¡°Actually, the government has verified all those theories already. There was no underground tunnel, and the pattern was unsolvable. And about that so-called Nanda ce¡ªthere are six Nanda viges in Diannan Province, and each vige was asmon as the next one.¡± Since Xiaojin brought it up all of a sudden, Tao Yu told her about everything he knew on the subject. He then asked gingerly, ¡°Um, are you trying to find the treasure?¡± ¡°What do you think? That¡¯s why I¡¯m here! Last time I had to follow orders, but I am the boss now, so of course I have to take a look.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Tao Yu swallowed, and dared not make anyment on that. He only said, ¡°If there really is a mine in the mountain, we will have to build a mining area. Without absolute safety, we won¡¯t be able to recruit any workers.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯lle back and set up a formation for you. All you guys need to do is stay inside it.¡± With that, Xiaojin said pretty much everything she wanted so say, and was ready to go to bed. However, a moment passed, and Tao Yu was still standing there. She said impatiently, ¡°Cut the crap and speak your mind!¡± ¡°Um, you have met our Xiao Tong and Xiao Yi. If I may ask, what do you think of them?¡± Tao Yu smiled awkwardly. ¡°Are you going to bribe me?¡± She gave him a sideway nce. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t even begin to think of that! It¡¯s just that I¡¯m taking them to Bai Town as candidates, and I thought that maybe I could ask your opinion beforehand, so that I can be better prepared,¡± said Tao Yu immediately. ¡°Their endowment is on the ordinary side. It all depends on their temperament. With some luck, they¡¯ll be chosen.¡± ¡°I see. I see. I won¡¯t disturb you any longer and let you rest, then.¡± Tao Yu then left the room. *** ¡°Aorrrrr!¡± A big Asian golden cat over two meters long screamed as it was yanked off a tree. Before it could react, the big cat that had be the unchallenged overlord of the area after its mutation found itself flying into the air before falling back to the ground face down. ¡°So weak. Having you as a pet would ruin my reputation.¡± Holding its tail in her right hand, Xiaojin caressed its golden fur with her left hand, sounding disgruntled. Asian golden cat, or Temminck¡¯s cat, was an animal good at climbing and with excellent ears that could catch the tiniest sounds from the surrounding area. The beast was fierce and bold, and was known as the ¡°yellow tiger¡±. The color of its fur ranged from golden, brown, and ck to foxy red and gray. This mutated individual was covered in golden fur, which was a spectacr look. However, right now, it was fondled by the dear patriarch herself. The experience was so ¡°touching¡± that it dared not move a hair. Lying by Xiaojin¡¯s feet, it purred miserably like arge-size kitten. ¡°Sigh, you mighte in handy, though. All right, you¡¯reing back with me!¡± After Xiaojin had enough fun with the caressing, she took the big cat by its tail and dragged it effortlessly back to the campsite, where the workers were drilling for a survey. The rumbling sound resonated on the mountain, but no other creatures darede within a hundred meters of the campsite. They had no choice! Humans were so frightening! ¡°Fairy Jin, what did you catch today? Wow! That¡¯s a big guy!¡± The team had grown used to her habit and gathered around to look. ¡°Put it in the cage as the others?¡± ¡°In a separate one from the civets.¡± ¡°Copy that!¡± Right away, a few people carried the unconscious golden cat to a corner, where a row of tree cages stood. The thick branches intertwined, forming several natural cages. Xiaojin waved her hand, and two branches separated with a whoosh. The workers then tossed the cat in, and the branches closed up again right away. Apart from the golden cat, there were quite a few other animals in the cages, such asrge civets, small civets, Francois¡¯ngurs, stump-tailed macaques, ck musk deers, etc., all of which were rare animals of the old days. The reason for collecting them was obvious: because of the tourism development, there were too few animals on Phoenix Mountain. She was going to take all of these back to Bai Town to liven up the mountain a little. ¡°All right! Lunch time!¡± Over on the other side, the drilling stopped when Tao Yu announced that lunch was ready. The logistic team carried in a fewrge buckets; the others lined up with tes in hand, all eager for food. There were meat and vegetable dishes for every meal. The meat was yellow-fur rat meat at first, but since the patriarch began to clear the area, all sorts of strange beasts were added to their menu. It was not the best meat to eat, but the wild animals had trace amounts of spiritual essence in them, which was more than what the workers ever could have asked for! Momentarily, the campsite was filled with the sound of talking andughter. There was not the least uneasiness about being trapped in a death zone. Holding his te, Tao Yu sat down right next to Xiaojin, and reported, ¡°The reserves were more than we expected, and are very concentrated. It won¡¯t be too hard to exploit the mine. We will finish the survey in a few days.¡± ¡°A few? Be more precise,¡± said Xiaojin. ¡°Um, four or five days.¡± ¡°Four or five days¡­¡± Xiaojin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°All right, it¡¯s about time that I look around.¡± ¡°Miss Jin, that Li manor is halfway up the mountain, next to Yaonan Vige and a long way from here. Without you around, we, we can¡¯t control those beasts!¡± Tao Yu grew anxious right away. ¡°The cages are doing the controlling; you don¡¯t have to do anything. Just say you¡¯re afraid¡ªthere¡¯s no shame in that. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll draw a circle around the camp, and everything will be fine as long as you stay inside the circle!¡± Xiaojin teased him. ¡®Draw a circle? Sis, are you a monkey 2 ?¡¯ Tao Yu pursed his lips, but dared not say that aloud, though he was curious about the arrangement all the same. Shortly afterwards, when lunch was over, he saw what that circle was. ¡°Thundercloud Grit, go!¡± The patriarch held up a small gourd, and ck sand granules were gushing out of it incessantly like tidal waves. The sand spread evenly around the campsite and floated in mid-air, making a perfect shield. ¡°All right. I¡¯m off.¡± Putting away the gourd, Xiaojin was ready to fly. Tao Yu chased after her, asking, ¡°When are youing back?¡± ¡°Not sure. Just wait here!¡± At those words, she stepped out, and was miles away in half a heartbeat as if she was carried away by wind¡ªit was none other than the Rising Manual. ¡®Wow!¡¯ Although they had seen her doing it multiple times before, the workers still could not help but be amazed. If a random girl they sent out was as remarkable as that, what would it be like on that Phoenix Mountain ten thousand miles from here? *** Yaonan Vige, halfway up the mountain. The Li¡¯s manor took up an area of four mu and had 65 rooms. Because it was built in the more recent times, theyout looked quite novel, and the style rather unique. The design of the front gate, for instance, was abination of oriental and western styles. It used to be a tourist destination, but was naturally deserted after mutations took ce on Ao Mountain. The courtyard was overflowing with grass, and had be a habitat for animals. It looked like a heaven for wildlife. p! All of a sudden, various small animals scattered as if they were frightened, then a person flew in like a sparrow from the other side of the tall wall. Long-limbed and not very busty, it was none other than Xiaojin herself. Looking around, she saw that the houses were mostly well-preserved. There were some cracks if one looked closely; all in all, the ce felt bleak and out-dated. The manor consisted of three sections: the courtyard, the garden, and the stable. She wandered around unhurriedly, and had soon visited all parts of the house. She then went back to the main hall where she¡¯d started. The main hall was a square courtyard paved with square bstones. There was even a pool built for fire-fighting. If one had to find something unusual about the ce, it would be the four bstones with patterns on them. The first one had an irregr pentagram on it, with the northwestern and the southwestern sides being the longest. One was pointing at the bedroom of Li Runzhi¡¯s concubine and the other at the living room. The patterns on the other three looked likebyrinths; they curved around, and each had an entrance and an exit. The patterns had long been discovered, and countless people had studied them, but all came up empty. Xiaojin had no information whatsoever, and could only run blindly around. Obviously, she didn¡¯t find anything. Then, she jumped out of the tall wall all of a sudden, and began to talk to herself. ¡°This is a cultural relic all right, but just look at this ce. Ao Mountain is no tourist destination for anyone in the future¡ªit¡¯s not like they¡¯re going to build a wildlife theme park out of it¡­ Tsk, so many people have been here before, and none of them could figure out that pattern¡­ the hell with solving the puzzle! Sky-turning Seal!¡± she suddenly called out. An ancient-styled seal appeared in the sky, then grew bigger and bigger, soon suspending over the manor like a small hill. Boom! She had never exerted her full power when using it before, but she spared no effort this time. Good God! The entire mountain shook with that loud bang. Birds flew out of the woods, and animals ran amuck as if a heavenly tribtion wasing down on them. Even those staying as far out as the campsite heard a muffled sound. ¡®Wow!¡¯ The workers grimaced. It couldn¡¯t have been anyone else¡­ ¡°Go!¡± Back over at the manor, the seal rose back up after the first strike, then smashed down again, and again, and again¡­ It was like a massive demolishing project; one almost felt sorry for the ce. It seemed forever before Xiaojin finally felt she had made enough wreckage. Retrieving the seal, she moved closer to examine the ground. ¡°Why, that¡¯s a veryrge pit!¡± Yup, she had jumped into a pit that was about four mu in size. The buildings were all in crumbs, and nothing was recognizable. The damaged foundation was exposed in the air inrge areas. She searched around the pit and frowned. ¡°Hm? Howe there isn¡¯t anything?¡± Xiaojin did not believe that the treasure was a legend only. With the discovery of the spiritual essence, there were plenty of examples proving that the legends of historical figures were mostly true. Moreover, the Li Family had lived in a period so recent, and both his entourage and bodyguards had mentioned things indicating that there was indeed a treasure. Hence, she searched the ground carefully for another time with her mental force spread out so that she wouldn¡¯t miss the tiniest thing. All of a sudden, her mental force found something, and she was at that spot the next moment. Clunk! Xiaojin lifted up a te, then moved all the debris away with the Small Moving Technique. After the area was cleaned up, what was behind it was finally revealed. It was a big round ck te with a ferocious tiger head as its handle. Recalling the n of the manor, xiaojin realized that this was where the stable¡ªwhich was outside the walls¡ªstood. There was a doubleyered basement with an underground tunnel beneath it. Holding the tiger head, she pulled. Whoosh! As expected, she heard the sound of blowing wind. Behind that trapdoor was a pitch-dark hole in the ground. Chapter 388 Chapter 388: On Dragons Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Xiaojin jumped right into the hole without the slightest hesitation. The tunnel probably had a vent of some sort, for there was no stale air below; however, there was no source of light, and it was awfully dark. Since Xiaojin could see in the dark, it did not concern her at all. She marched out along the secret tunnel. It was not wide¡ªjust about enough to let a slim person pass. The interior wall wasid with stone bricks on all sides, and the ceiling arched upwards. To be honest, had this been a relic left behind by Ye Fashan, An Qisheng, or Heshang Gong, she would have definitely acted more cautiously. But since the owner was a mere moneybag of some remote corner of the country, why bother? Hence, Xiaojin marched out inrge strides, advancing resolutely as if she owned the ce. There were no traps or defensive mechanisms in the tunnel, and every brick stayed where it should be. About two hourster, she stopped at a stone gate. The thick and solid door was made out of one big chunk of bluestone. The knocker was also a ck tiger head. ¡°Legend had it that Li Runzhi drafted nearly ten thousandborers to build his manor. I think I¡¯m beneath the ck Tiger Cliff now.¡± She estimated the distance: starting from the stable, the tunnel stretched all the way here, and should take her right into the mountain. She gave the stone gate another look, then pressed her palm against it, and gave it a little push. Thud! There was a muffled sound, and dust filled the air. The door then gave way and opened narrowly with a creak. Xiaojin walked in and saw a square secret chamber containing nothing but dozens of chests, all made from top-grade camphor wood and rimmed with bronze. She went up to the chests and opened one at random. It was a chestful of bullets. Holy sh*t! She blinked, and quickly opened all of the chests, then buried her head in her hands. Damn it! She should have known not to expect too much from a rural entrepreneur! Well, we had to consider the historical background. Back when Li Runzhi was building his empire, it was right before the modern state was established. The country was carved up by warlords, and the mes of war raged across thend. So, what would he consider the most valuable? Gold, silver, ammunition, medicinal materials, and crude opium! Hence, of the dozens of chests, ten were filled with gold bullion, five had various jewelry, twenty contained opium paste that was long past its shelf life and smelt like old urine¡­ The rest of the chests were all dedicated to Mauser pistols, Hanyang 88 rifles, Type Zhongzheng rifles, and a few FN Browning M1910. ¡°Aaaaaaaaah!¡± Xiaojin bristled like a pissed off cat, and walked around tugging at her own hair. This was so humiliating! The others found the Seal of Patriarch Sa, Red Sun Sword Manual, and a spiritual ginseng when they went treasure-hunting, so why did she find this crap when it was her turn? She paced around in frustration for quite a while before calming down. She then picked up a golden bar, and tossed it up and down just for fun. ¡°Collect antiques in times of prosperity and gold in times of turbulence. So, is it prosperous or troubled times now? We used to have gold standard, but I guess it¡¯ll be spiritual stone standard in a few years. Tsk! This is useless!¡± She almost couldn¡¯t be bothered to take anything, but after giving it a little thought, she grabbed her storage bag and took twenty golden bars¡ªmaybe they could be used for refining instruments, who knew? Once that was settled, Xiaojin was going to leave the chamber, but halted abruptly. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Turning back and walking to a chest, she stuck her hand in, then grabbed a corner and lifted it up. Ssh! The jewelry scattered all over the ground, and in her hand was an old book with a yellowing cover. It was printed in the standard form of the Republic of China era (i.e. 1912-1949) with the text going from the right to the left in a vertical typesetting. The title on the front page read: On Dragons. ¡°¡­¡± Xiaojin squinted; it was hard to tell what was going on in her head. She only put the book away and left the room. Thud! The stone gate was closed again, as if it had never been opened. With the harsh environment of Ao Mountain now, the Li Family¡¯s manor, the tunnel, and the secret chamber would probably be lost forever in the new world. *** It was well after dark already. The campsite was brightly lit, and the team huddled together anxiously. On this mountain filled with mutated creatures, the night was much more dangerous then the day. Even with the circle the patriarch drew them, without her actual presence, they couldn¡¯t help but tremble with fear. Rustle! All of a sudden, a shuffling sound came from outside, and the floating Thundercloud Grit began to move slowly. The crowd tensed up, expecting to find some beast sneaking upon them. As it turned out, a youngdy flew into sight. ¡°She¡¯s back! She¡¯s back!¡± The team was ted, and even the air felt warmer. Tao Yu went up to her eagerly, and asked, ¡°Is everything all right?¡± ¡°Yup. Just go back to whatever you were doing.¡± Xiaojin waved him off. ¡°Um, well¡­¡± One of the fellows was bold enough to stick around, and asked hesitantly, ¡°Did you find the treasure of the Li Family?¡± ¡°Of course I did. I even took a tour around the ce.¡± ¡®Wow!¡¯ Everyone froze at the spot at those words, and pricked up their ears for some more. Folks of Diannan all knew about the legend of that treasure, but they¡¯d never expected someone to have actually found it. Tao Yu was surprised by the new as well, and asked tentatively, ¡°Then, what did you find inside?¡± ¡°What else? Gold, a roomful of it.¡± Good God! The campsite erupted at those words. ¡°Haha, I knew it! The treasure is real! The Li Family has lived in Xinping for generations; just imagine the amount of money they¡¯d have plundered!¡± ¡°My grandpa said there must have been at least three hundred chests of gold! Hey, what¡¯s the price of gold now?¡± ¡°Sh*t! That¡¯ll worth over 100 million!¡± ¡°Hey, fairy, have you brought all of it out?¡± ¡°Why should I take it?¡± asked Xiaojin. ¡°It¡¯s gold! Like, real gold!¡± ¡°Exactly! You might think it worth sh*t, but we need it! How about this? Be an angel and take us there?¡± The team of workers were carried away by the thought of the treasure. Everyone was yelling in excitement, and forgot all about behaving appropriately. ¡°Well, about the gold¡­¡± Xiaojin nced at the crowd with a half smile on her face. ¡°If you want it, go find it yourselves. Stop nagging me! Go back to your work!¡± Buzz! Everyone covered their ears at thest few words. A throbbing pain ran through their eardrums, followed by dizziness and convulsion, which took them a long while to recover. A hush then fell over the campsite as fear overtook them for what they had done. Night, the living quarter. The drilling went on so that the precise distribution of the deposit could be identified. The sound of the running machine made the campsite quiver slightly. All the workers had been doing this for a long time, and had gotten used to it. The men off their shift were sound asleep, not affected by the noise at all. Knock! Knock! Knock! ¡°Come in!¡± Tao Yu entered. Xiaojin was sitting by her desk, lying open on which was an old book. She asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Um, I¡¯m here to apologize.¡± Tao Yu was very humble, and held his head so low that his forehead seemed to be reaching for the floor. ¡°They didn¡¯t mean it. They were justmon workers, and got¡­ got carried away at the news of the treasure.¡± ¡°Just that? You can leave, then. I wasn¡¯t angry.¡± ¡°Then you, you¡­¡± ¡°I told you I¡¯m fine. Now leave!¡± ¡°All right. Good night.¡± Tao Yu obeyed the order in resignation. Xiaojin pursed her lips and resumed reading. The book was written vertically and in traditional Chinese characters, making it a rather difficult read. She had just finished the first two pages, which was a preface at the beginning. The author was called Yuan Songzi, a travelling Taoist priest inte Qing Dynasty, and had lived to a very old age. He used to live in Xinping for a while, during which time he was an honorable guest of Li Runzhi. Yuan was not an expert of any kind, but he loved studying ancient texts; travelling around the country, he was drawn to all kinds of unusual things. This ¡°On Dragons¡± was a rambling type of book that tried to determine whether or not the creature dragon ever existed through textual research. Well, presumably no one nowadays had seen a dragon with their own eyes. The early theory about its origin was that after Yellow Emperor defeated Yan Emperor and Chiyou, he went on an inspection around the country, and called for a meeting in Fushan. A proportion was then taken from the totem of each tribe, then put together, bing the image of a dragon. However, as more information on dragons was discovered in the relics of the prehistoric culture, this theory was mostly abandoned. After that, there was a discussion from the biological angle, which suggested that dragons did have a prototype, only that the ancient people had exaggerated it. The most influential theory was about snakes. For instance, Wen Yiduo had made textual research to prove that the dragon totem originated from the snake totem. Some others believed the original form to be a crocodile, a lizard, a horse, or even lightning. The reasony in the variant Chinese character ¡°dragon¡±, which was written as a ¡°stand¡± on the top, and a character that could either be ¡°turtle¡± or ¡°lightning¡± on the bottom. The angle this ¡°On Dragons¡± took was rather unique, for it tried to exin it through ancient texts and Taoist theories. It wasposed rather loosely, but Xiaojin enjoyed it a lot. Yuan Songzi mentioned the Dragon characters first. Legend had it that during the time of Fuxi 1 , a dragon rose out of a river, carrying a map. Fuxi then created characters based on the dragon to record events, and named the character Dragon characters. Later, during the time of Emperor Shun, there were records of raising dragons. ¡°During the time of Shun, people came to pay homepage with a dragon as a present, hoping they could eat it.¡± After that, records on dragons were found in all dynasties. The one from the Tang Dynasty was much more detailed. ¡°A civilian called Hu Ju from Tongcheng County of Shu Zhou reported that a blue dragon had fought to death in his courtyard. It was around fifty meters in length, had fish-like scales and fins, with 6-meter-long barbels, and a pair of horns each as long as six meters.¡± The record of the Qing Dynasty was detailed enough to give the precise date. ¡°June of the fifty-sixth year (of the reign of an emperor), a red dragon was spotted in Longwang 2 Valley of L¨¹ Zhou. It was thicker in the front part, and thinned down towards the tail. The dragon was as long as ten or twenty meters. Grass and woods were burnt as it travelled by.¡± Thetest sighting happened in the Republic of China era, which was the well-known incident of the ¡°fallen dragon of Mogou Camp¡±. Some of the stories were almost mythical, while others were found in actual historical records. Yuan Songzi expressed his view in the most unrestrained manner. ording to him, in the pre-Qin period, when the world of mortal men predominated, the perfected, the supreme, the deity, and the likes often roamed the seas and travelled across the universe on the back of dragons. Back then, dragon was one of the three types of pnquins alongside tiger pnquin and deer pnquin¡ªall were vehicles of great masters. When the world of men waned, and the world of immortals prospered, the function of dragons changed with it¡ªespecially among themon people, who began to deify dragons. It gradually gave rise to the faith in five dragons, that was, the dragons of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. After that, a dragon was used by emperors to raise their own status, who imed themselves embodiment of dragons, and called themselves ¡°true dragon and the son of heaven¡±. As a matter of fact, in the Chinese belief system, dragons were addressed as ¡°dragon gods¡±, and not ¡°dragon kings¡±. Thetter reced the former after Buddhism was introduced into the country andbined with local beliefs. Yuan Songzi believed that from the ancient time downwards, as the cultivators deteriorated in their capability, the grade and virtue of dragons fell with it, for back then, no one treated them as gods; they were mere rides and food¡­ Atst, he categorized the dragons into a dozen types, including Hui Dragon, Qiu Dragon, Horn Dragon, Chi Dragon, Flood Dragon, etc., which looked rather convincing. All in all, after his not-exactly-watertight demonstration, Yuan Songzi came to a conclusion: dragons came from the essence of heaven and earth, and were born at the calling of Nature; hence, they had to exist. ¡°¡­¡± When Xiaojin finally put the book down, the sun was rising, and it was early morning again. Leaning back, she threw her long legs over the desk, and shifted her bnce to the back legs of the chair. As the chair swayed on two legs, she closed her eyes and went over the book in her head. Had she found this book five years ago, she would have thought it nothing but a load of bullsh*t. However, now that she was able to exin it with the theories of spiritual essence¡­ why, it seemed to make sense. Chapter 389 Chapter 389: Teaching is also Dao Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Hm?¡± When Xiaojin got back to Phoenix Mountain a few dayster and told them about what she had done, she saw three very surprised faces. What surprised them was not that book ¡°On Dragons¡±, but ¡°What the heck? You made no trouble whatsoever and came back in on piece?¡± Maybe the look on their faces was too apparent¡ªit made a certain person very unhappy, and she began to shoot out words like little bullets. ¡°F*ck, why are you all giving me that look? Do you have any idea how much trouble I had to go through during this trip? I had to be the security, the monster-catcher, and the treasure-hunter all at once. That was a ten-thousand-mile round trip¡­¡± ¡°Yes, yes, of course. You have done such a good job!¡± Seeing that Xiaojin was fuming, Xiaozhai cated her right away, and asked with a smile, ¡°So, what else did you find?¡± ¡°There!¡± Xiaojin removed the storage bag from her waist and turned it upside down. Twenty shiny golden bars fell out with a ngor. ¡°From that old moneybags¡¯ stash. I just grabbed a few. I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll be useful for us.¡± ¡°Gold¡­¡± Gu Yu picked on up and examined it. It was a standardized golden bar from the Republic of China era, weighing ten liang of the old system¡ªequivalent to 312.5 g¡ªand having a serial number, quality standard, weight, and the letter S¡ªstanding for ¡°cast in Shanghai¡±¡ªinscribed onto it. ¡°There were ancient cultivators using gold to refine instruments and Dan, but not many. We can keep them for the time being. Since you brought them back, I¡¯m leaving them to you.¡± He handed back the golden bar, and switched the subject to dragons. ¡°The book mentioned the fallen dragon of Mogou Camp. I actually took a great interest in that incident a few years back, and collected quite a lot of information about it. Real dragon or not, that was a dead one. Let¡¯s say it was a real dragon for the sake of argument. From what we know now, that was probably a Qiu Dragon¡ªa baby dragon, if you like¡ªwhich might have been around since the Ming Dynasty. When the spiritual essence drained up, it died as a result.¡± ¡°Why, wasn¡¯t that a dragon of the immediate former dynasty?¡± Xiaojin asked suddenly. ¡°Teehee!¡± Long Qiu giggled for no reason, then waved her hand. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I thought the expression ¡®immediate former dynasty¡¯ very funny. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°You¡¯re getting sillier every day!¡± Xiaojin rubbed Long Qiu¡¯s head teasingly. Gu Yu went on. ¡°ording to Yuan Songzi, dragons were the product of the essence of heaven and earth, and were born at the calling. It actually made some sense. Everything in this world is transformed from Qi, so as a special species, dragons must have their own way to be created. ¡°¡®At the calling¡¯¡­ I think this calling was abination of the spiritual essence and the variety of things in this world. When spiritual essence is abundant and the cultivation world prospers, the world is majestic in all its variety. Without knowing it, the world is feeding more power to the birth of dragons; hence, it is easier to create them. ¡°Or, when cultivators are powerful enough in their own skills, they¡¯re able to make dragons themselves, such as master Wei Shanjun.¡± Wei Shanjun was a Taoist priest of the early Tang Dynasty. He used to have a ck dog that would go everywhere with him. When he achieved the Great Dao, the ck dog transformed into a ck dragon, and he ascended riding on its back. ¡°I like the expression ¡®transform¡¯, for dragons were not created out of thin air. Everything originated from Qi, and dragons are born sensing Qi; everything, then, is able to transform into dragons. Wait¡­¡± Gu Yu paused all of a sudden, and turned to Xiaozhai, who just happened to look at him at that moment as well. ¡°That¡¯s correct. The skill of my sect was call ¡°Dragon-snatching Five Thunder Skill¡± at first, which waster improved by Celestial Master Sa. The addition he made actually mentioned transforming into dragons. But that won¡¯t happen until I reach the Immortal state. I will then be able to learn that skill, and¡ª¡± ¡°And you get to turn into a dragon? Wow!¡± Xiaojin opened her eyes widely, and was suddenly very excited. In her left eye was ¡°I have a very bold idea¡±, and in her right eye ¡°Hohohohohoho!¡± Smack! Xiaozhai¡¯s palmnded mercilessly on the back of her head. She then asked, ¡°Speaking of which, didn¡¯t you say there was an iron fetter in Dongting Lake that was used for locking up a Flood 1 Dragon? Can there be a Flood Dragon in theke?¡± ¡°It takes a Hui Dragon 500 years to grow into a Flood Dragon, a Flood Dragon 1000 years to be a dragon, a dragon 500 years to be a Horn Dragon, and another 1000 years to be a Ying Dragon¡­¡± Gu Yu rose to his feet, and looked a little stern now. ¡°I hope there isn¡¯t one. Flood Dragons are known for their ability to set winds blowing and waves rolling. Deluges follow them everywhere. Let¡¯s wait and see what will be of Dongting first.¡± *** Great events wereing in throngs recently. First of all, there was the construction of the market town by Phoenix Mountain; then, ck Water Sword was found, and the monastery suggested to use it as a sacrifice to open up the Great Hall of Skills of L¨¹shan at the bottom of Min River. Before the government could figure out how that worked, Old Gu came out of seclusion, and flew across the sky in broad daylight without so much as trying to disguise himself. He converted 1000 Grade Three spiritual stones, and Phoenix Mountain then set up its great formation before announcing that they were going to give a lecture and take in pupils. It was only mid-May now, but a lot of people were already feeling that this year was going to be exceptionally long. Together with the effect of the scorching heat, days were wearing on like years. While the government was concerned, the lecture was the top of their priority list. Therefore, the bosses had agreed that after it was over, they¡¯d invite Gu Yu to Fujian right away to prepare for the sacrifice ceremony. To themon people, however, the part about taking in pupils was the most important. ¡°It¡¯s been days. So, if you have anything, do tell.¡± Under the old tree, Xiaozhai was the hostess of this family meeting. Earlier, she had asked everyone toe up with a trial to test the candidates, and today was the day for the group discussion. ¡°Before we begin, let¡¯s set a few things straight. First of all, there are so few of us. Apart from we four, the only others that can teach are Old Shui and Li Dong. Therefore, we are not going to have a college system. The basics are taught in small private sses, and the elementary courses will follow a tutorial system. Agree?¡± ¡°Agree!¡± ¡°Secondly, our principle is to have few but elite pupils. We value quality over quantity¡ª¡± ¡°Hey, wait a minute!¡± Xiaojin interrupted right there. ¡°You heartless couple don¡¯t do any actual work, and of course you know nothing about it, but Xiao Qiu and I are working our a*sses off. We¡¯re only going to have more properties in the future, and they all need a master to stick around. Say, the mine in Ao Mountain for example¡ªwe¡¯ll at least put an innate state person there to take charge, right? I¡¯m not going to run back and forth all the time. ¡°Right now, what we need most are people. Just take anyone that looks all right. They can be outer disciples if they can¡¯t qualify as inner ones. A few hundreds of outer disciples aren¡¯t too many, right?¡± Oh my! Xiaozhai was genuinely surprised, for what the girl said actually made sense. The little sister wasn¡¯t taking responsibilities in the past, and did not have the habit to think things through. Now that she had an official duty, it came naturally to her. ¡°Yes, I think we have too few people as well. I can¡¯t run the beast farm all by myself¡­¡± Long Qiu nodded, agreeing with Xiaojin. She then recalled something and blurted out, ¡°You know what? The three piglets we have are one male and two females. They¡¯re in heat all the time these days. Can they mate? Is that inbreeding?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± That question was too adorable for Xiaozhai to answer, and she had to ignore it for the time being. ¡°Here¡¯s what I think. Let¡¯s forget about inner or outer disciples for now. They¡¯re all our pupils. We¡¯ll teach them the same thing for a while, and choose the excellent ones as inner disciples.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu pondered for a moment, and said, ¡°Yes, I think that could work.¡± ¡°All right, so that¡¯s fixed. Tell me about the trials you have in mind.¡± ¡°Me, me, me!¡± Long Qiu came thoroughly prepared, and her hand shot up eagerly. She then took out a long piece of paper and began to read off it. ¡°There are several thousand stairs from the foot of Phoenix Mountain to the main peak. We can draw out the most difficult route, and those that finish first are qualified.¡± ¡°Too old-fashioned!¡± Xiaozhai shook her head. ¡°Then set up things like stones, wooden poles, or sandbags, and ask them to strike with their fists. This can test their physical strength.¡± ¡°Boring!¡± ¡°Let Golden Silkworm take different forms to scare them and see who can stay calm?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiaozhai had stopped replying, and only watched Long Qiu with her head strutting on her hand. ¡°How, how about we give them a written test of simple questions on Taoist ssics¡­¡± Long Qiu¡¯s voice trailed off; she felt like a wronged puppy. ¡°Stop! Stop!¡± Xiaojin could not listen to it anymore, andmented, ¡°You¡¯re hopeless in inventing games. My turn!¡± She seemed to have a well-thought-out n, and said eagerly, ¡°Doesn¡¯t Brother-inw have his conjuring skill? We have to make good use of it! Hey, can you bring a couple hundred people into a vision at a time now?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Then what are we waiting for? Bring them in in groups, and you drag them into a vision. Hit them with everything: befuddled life that they can¡¯t tell if they¡¯re dreaming or drunk, all cardinal vices, the most dangerous lifestyles¡ªlet them go through all the emotions if you can. We can then tell which ones have a good temperament, can¡¯t we?¡± Blinking, she went on. ¡°If that¡¯s not enough fun, then there¡¯s more we can do, like taking them to the edge of a cliff and telling them whoever jumps down will be epted, or asking them to kill each other until only ten people are left¡­ but in fact, it will be a vision only and not the real thing¡­ hahaha! What do you think? Do we like it?¡± ¡°No!¡± said the couple in unison. ¡°Tsk!¡± The denial came too soon, so Xiaojin protested loudly, ¡°Why not?! Then let¡¯s hear what you have!¡± ¡°Ha¡­¡± Gu Yu chuckled. ¡°I did give it a good thought, and designed a few trials, but then I asked myself: what am I doing? ¡°Our criteria are natural endowment and temperament, of which endowment is the easy one, which we can tell at the first look. But what about the temperament? ¡°If we stimte them with the conjuring skill for a brief moment like you suggested, can we tell the nature of a person by an event or a sentence alone? ¡°I don¡¯t think so. That won¡¯t be reliable. ¡°Human beings areplicated creatures; selfishness is in everyone¡¯s nature, but most people aren¡¯t bad. Say a person is selfish, cowardly, hypocritical, arrogant¡­ and for that, we deem them unfit for cultivation. Wouldn¡¯t that be a little arbitrary? ¡°We talk about testing one¡¯s determination in pursuing the Great Dao, but is anyone born with it? ¡°That determination is gradually gained, and we shouldn¡¯t set up a standard beforehand, then test them with it. ¡°I find those ancient legends preposterous¡ªlike some person kneeling outside a dwelling for months on end and the immortal bing so touched that he took the person in as a pupil. ¡°The kneeling only proved that the person was persistent and devoted. It said nothing about their fitness for cultivation. ¡°Dao is thew of how everything works, and the origin of the universe. Can one learn it with devotion alone? I don¡¯t think so. One has to at least have their own understanding, and that requires observation for a long period.¡± Gu Yu shared his point of view, then said, ¡°That¡¯s why I agree with what your sister just said. We¡¯ll ept those that reach an average standard. ¡°We won¡¯t divide them into inner and outer disciples immediately. Instead, we¡¯ll set a deadline and decide who should stay or leave after that. Of course, in regard to those that are genuinely bad, we can always just kick them out.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Long Qiu and Xiaojin remained silent after those words. To consider things from this angle was something they¡¯d never thought of nor had experienced before. Ancient people thought differently from modern ones. When ancient cultivators took pupils, they were particr about fate and enlightment. ¡®We were brought together by fate, and if enlightmentes to you through my effort, then we are master and pupil.¡¯ That was the crash course. In ¡°The Investitures of the Gods¡±, Tongtian, the leader of Interceptism, was said to provide the same education to all his people, which attracted ten thousand immortals to pay him tribute. When someone came to him to pursue the Great Dao, the leader would take them in. What did it mean by providing the same education to all? It did not merely mean that everyone got to attend sses. Men were not all the same. Some were smart, some dumb, some upright, and some unworthy. However, through education, such differences could be eliminated. Gu Yu had witnessed the helplessness and sorrow of Tan Chongdai, as well as the godsend falling on Bai Yunsheng¡¯sp. He had been pondering such questions since he became a Human Immortal. A heart for the Great Dao was not the prerequisite for epting a pupil, but an end result he hoped to achieve. With education, disparity could be removed. Teaching was also Dao. Chapter 390 Chapter 390: Everybody¡¯s here (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Gu Yu was no saint, nor was he that altruistic. He was merely following his heart, and tried to give ordinary people a little better chance in this new world. Maybe the slimmest chance was enough to change the life of a lot of people, saving them from an otherwise mediocre, unambitious, and unaplished one. When the standard was set, everything became rather straightforward. They didn¡¯t have to rack their brains to design the trials any more. As long as the candidate was not abominable and had a natural endowment of the average level of ordinary people, they could be epted. Gu Yu set the deadline at one year, after which they would decide who was to stay and who to leave. This was in stark contrast to the monastery, which adopted the standard college system, with Tianzhu being the highest seat of learning and the local temples the primary ones. The candidates were examined carefully, and there was an age limit. They mostly only took in those with excellent endowment or standing out in certain aspect. The pupils were trained in the local temples for three years first before being tested by the monastery at the abbots¡¯ rmendation. Those that passed the test could continue their cultivation in the monastery. An evaluation would be carried out at the end of their studies. The mediocre ones would either remain in the monastery to run errands, or be relocated back to the local temples, where they would be promoted gradually in order of seniority, and wait for their turn to be the abbot one day. Those with excellent results would form the future core strength of the entire Taoistmunity. All resources would be focused on them, and they¡¯d im precedence over all others when education was concerned. Of course, the previous year was the first year when the local temples recruited new students. It would be another two years before the first batch of pupils took their tests. One had to admit that the education system of the monastery was quite reasonable. Not only did it allow the pupils to improve their capability to the greatest extent, it would also guarantee a constant supply of talented people. Phoenix Mountain, on the other hand, was an experimental plot standing out from the conventional education system. Gu Yu did not think the way ancient cultivators did. What he wanted to convey was not his way of thinking. Instead, he was trying to teach his pupils how to understand their nature and how to pursue a Taoist heart of their own. *** One year after itsunch, the app New ssic of Mountains and Rivers had attracted an unfathomable number of users. Luckily, it was developed by the state, which could afford to throw limitless technology and money into its development¡ªthat kept the load of the server within a normal range, preventing it from copsing. Social medias such as wechat or weibo had long gone out of fashion. This app was the only thing that was on now. Each discovery of a new creature or each post with a novel idea would start another wave of heated discussions. The developing institution responded ordingly, and was gradually making improvements. Just the other day, a new function was added: a subscription service provided by individualpanies. It might sound funny, but that was how the recovery of spiritual essence fitted into a modern society¡ªa lot of modern tools were there to make life easier. The first batch of official ount users were the sub-bureaus of the BIMAUP, followed by the local temples. After that, Phoenix Mountain and the monastery also joined in. Phoenix Mountain had the most followers, but they had one post, which announced that the lecture would take ce on June 8th. June 1st arrived in no time. The heat was merciless. Ever since the construction of the market town began, Bai Town felt like it had been closed inside a steam pot, which was reflected in both the temperature and the atmosphere. The town was getting hotter and more crowded by the day as if it was going to burst at any moment. Several hundred thousand people used to live here, but the number had been at least doubled now, and the capacity of the town was reaching its limits. The downtown area had been filled up already, and even the surrounding viges and townships werepletely upied. Ten grown men would squeeze into one big kang (i.e. the brick bed) to sleep¡ªGod knew what could happen during the night. And that was already a controlled result from the government¡¯s intervention. Phoenix Mountain did not set a limit to the number of candidates, but the authorities had to make sure everyone woulde out of this in one piece. Hence, those that had arrived early were ted with their good luck, while those that camete could not even get into Shengtian. They were stopped outside, crying their eyes out and cursing everyone that came to their head. Beep! Beep! It was noon when a fleet of vehicles slowly drove near along the road on the northern slope, then came to a stop outside the dense fog. The doors opened, and over forty people filed out. They belonged to different parties. First of all, there were Lu Yuanqing and his fellow 34 monastery members. This was the second time that the entire monastery hade out together; thest time was during thepetition in Celestial Master Temple. There was then the boss of the BIMAUP, and a few officials of the Shengtian sub-bureau. Lastly, there were also a few sectless cultivators recruited by the government. Surprisingly, apart from Li Suchun and Li Daoyu, there were two others, who seemed to be brothers, both very young. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the Northeast to be this hot. This is almost as bad as Qian Zhou.¡± ¡°You had that Cooling Talisman sticking on you the entire time, so stopining. My ice toad is the one suffering.¡± ¡°Are you kidding me? You call that suffering? Did you see Young Priest Li¡¯s iron corpse? I think it¡¯s melting¡­ Hey, someone¡¯sing.¡± A momentter, the fog rolled and parted, then Old Shui and Li Dong walked out. As the representatives of Phoenix Mountain, they behaved very appropriately. ¡°Sorry for keeping you waiting. This way, please!¡± With that, they opened a passageway with their jade tablets, standing on either end of the team and letting the others enter in turn. The fog turned and tumbled in the air, leaving out a path in the middle. Lu Yuanqing even sent out his mental force, which made a circle in the fog. Surprisingly, he sensed a strange response. It had an ignorance to it, which reminded him of an infant. ¡®Hm? This fog is alive?¡¯ Lu Yuanqing winced, then shook his head. ¡®No, that¡¯s not it. Whoever running this formation is very unusual.¡¯ Chao Kongtu was the most rxed one. He even walked deliberately into the fog, but ran back out a momentter, shouting, ¡°That was remarkable! It can deprive all of the five senses. A moment longer in there, and I¡¯m turning into a walking corpse!¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem. We¡¯ll have you refined by Young Priest Li; you¡¯ll be much capable than you are now.¡± While they chatted with ease, the officials looked very tense. They followed the path precisely, and dared not cross the line even in the slightest. They walked for a while before the fog gradually grew thinner, revealing the rolling northern slopes and the big manor. It went without saying, but this was where they were going to stay. They had just entered the living room and took their seats when loudughter came from outside. ¡°Old Chao, Old Chao, where are you?¡± ¡®Gosh!¡¯ Chao Kongtu lowered his head, and wanted to bang his head on the table. His fellow priests were very curious, though, and watched Xiaojin caper in, followed by a graceful Long Qiu. So, these were the two princesses. Xiaojin ran happily towards them, wanting to greet Chao Kongtu with her habitual mocking remarks, but was interrupted by an official, who stood up and asked, ¡°Excuse me. Is Perfected Man Gu not avable at the moment?¡± ¡°He is, but not for you lot.¡± Xiaojin changed her demeanor right away, and bowed properly. ¡°Priest Lu, Priest Shi, Priest Zhang, Priest Chao, Priest Sikong¡­¡± She called out ten names. ¡°Please follow me up the mountain.¡± ¡°May I ask what this is about?¡± ¡°To discuss the agenda of the lecture.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Lu Yuanqing rose to his feet, paused a little, then said, ¡°Senior Brother Mo, Senior Brother Wu, pleasee with us.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± two middle-aged men replied. Gu Yu was not constantly in touch with the monastery, and did not have the most updated information. Two more priests of the monastery had reached the innate state recently. One was that Old Priest Mo, and the other was Wu Yiming of the Wudang Sect. Here were some facts about Wudang. Wudang Sect was associated with two concepts: the Taoist sect and the martial arts sect. The Taoist Wudang Sect belonged to Yinxian 1 Sect, which was established by Yin Xi, then passed down in turn onto Mayizi, Patriarch Chen Tuan, Priest Fire Dragon, and Zhang Sanfeng. However, most of the skills of the sect were lost, and the sect merged with Quanzhen and began to practice the Dan method. So far, the monastery had seven innate state priests¡ªLu Yuanqing, Shi Yui, Zhang Wumeng, Sikong Chan, Mo Haofeng, Wu Yiming, and Bai Yunsheng¡ªand sat on the White Crane Underground Pce, whose relics had yet to be unearthed. With its teachings in Dan and Talismans, and ample talented people, a solid foundation was taking shape. Apart from the seven names mentioned, Wang Ruoxu, Li Suchun, Zhang Shouyang, Chao Kongtu, and Zhong Lingyu were also invited. The twelve men then followed Long Qiu and Xiaojin onto the mountain. Chapter 391 Chapter 391: Everybody¡¯s here (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Apart from Chao Kongtu, the other eleven priests had never been on the mountain before, but even Old Chao was seeing for the first time of this ¡°Phoenix Mountain 2.0¡± after the formation was activated. The sensation was exceptional. However pretty thendscapes of the mortal world could be, they were still toomon. Here, on the other hand, from the verdant mountain and the clear water to the flowers and trees, everything looked so natural with a spiritual aura. Long Qiu and Xiaojin led the way at a normal speed. The rest climbed the stairs unhurriedly, passing the talisman workshop, liquor workshop, tea workshop, etc., on their way; those did not surprise them at all. A whileter, the two girls suddenly turned towards the front mountain, and stopped at a peach grove somewhere between the front and the back mountain. Among the sea of pink blossoms dangling from the branches was a clearing, where some stone tables and chairs had been set out. A man and a woman sat there waiting; they were none other than Gu Yu and XIaozhai themselves. ¡°Hello, Layman Gu!¡± ¡°Hello, Laywoman Jiang.¡± The priests greeted the couple. Although the letter said ¡°honorable Perfected Man Gu¡±, that was for diplomatic purposes¡ªthey could never address Gu Yu as ¡°Perfect Man¡± in his presence, for they were all cultivators, and knew what that title represented. ¡°Priest Lu, it¡¯s been a while.¡± While Long Qiu busied herself pouring tea for everyone, Gu Yu invited them to take their seats. First, he said to Lu Yuanqing, ¡°I see that Priest Lu has made yet another achievement. You¡¯re almost getting to the Great Dao of Dan method.¡± ¡°You tter me! I am still four or five years away from obtaining the Golden Liquid.¡± The state of Golden Liquid Huandan was equivalent to the Human Immortal state. Old Lu became an innate state cultivator four years ago, and was cultivating with the help of Dan pills as well. He was making pretty fast progress. ¡®Four or five years¡­¡¯ Xiaojin¡¯s eyes darted around at those words, and she was at ease. ¡®I see, he¡¯s about at the same level as me, and there¡¯s a fifty percent chance I can defeat him. He doesn¡¯t scare me!¡¯ ¡°I have heard so much about your remarkable mountain, and I see that it is as beautiful as people im it to be. This peach grove is excellent. May I ask what unusual species this is?¡± Lu Yuanqing was very good at making small talk. ¡°This is the culprit of that peach blossom miasma in Hekou Town. I cut a few branches and brought them back a few years ago. Somehow, they grew into a grove here.¡± After exchanging some pleasantries with Lu Yuanqing, Gu Yu turned to Bai Yunsheng with a smile. ¡°Priest Bai, congrattions on the achievement in your sword manual.¡± ¡°Thank you. You were the reason that I could have this opportunity,¡± replied Bai Yunsheng politely. Gu Yu then greeted those that he had met before, such as Li Suchun and Wang Ruoxu, in turn. He then sipped his tea, and said, ¡°I am honored to have everyone here today. Although I took the initiative in holding a lecture, I am actually feeling uneasy about it, fearing that I am reaching beyond my ability. ¡°We talk about lecturing the others with Taoist theories, but I¡¯d rather think it an asion to spread cultivation concepts and offer exnations. It is an opportunity to make the people understand. What do you think?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± The priests nodded. Teaching Taoist theories was not simply telling any random person about the real Taoist skills. That would be so foolish. Since the beginning of everything until now, because of a certain reason, the authorities had been quite vague in this aspect, and never offered a specific system. Enthusiastic as themon people were, they had little idea of the thing they were so infatuated with¡ªall they did was noisilying along for the ride. Hence, the purpose of this uing lecture was to educate the people, letting them know what this new world was like and the reason for the change, as well as the concepts of Qi, cultivation, talisman, Dan method¡­ Only by understanding these ideas could people gradually begin to adjust their mindset and switch their ideas from old to new. How would they ever be able to embrace a new world if they did not even know the basics of it. ¡°The preliminary n is to hold lectures for seven days. The contents will depend on the audience¡ªwe will spend the daytime lecturing the outsiders and the nightsmunicating among ourselves.¡± Xiaozhai took over the conversation and went on, ¡°Everyone here is a capable man: Priest Lu¡¯s Dan method, Priest Bai¡¯s sword skill, Priest Wang¡¯s Fengshui practice, Priest Zhang¡¯s talismans, just to name a few. Now, you¡¯re all unchallenged masters in your respective areas. ¡°We might seem to have quite a few people here, but today is only the beginning. In a few days, priests and pupils of local temples will be arriving, as well as various foreign delegations. Hence, please don¡¯t be shy to show off your skills.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The priests of the monastery exchanged looks in silence, all taken by surprise. They did not expect to see an event of such a scale! That being said, they were very excited to take part in it. However the times changed, education was always a great contribution to the world. Since the tone had been set, they then moved onto discussing the agenda. Agewise, Gu Yu was among the youngest. However, as the only Human Immortal and the host of the event, his opinion was valued the most. As for Xiaozhai, well, no one could overlook her rtionship with Old Gu. After a half-day-long discussion, they finally came up with an agenda. Starting from June 8th, the lecture would be running for seven days. Gu Yu would give the opening lecture on the first day. Lu Yuanqing and Shi Yui would talk about Dan methods on the second day. Zhang Shouyang and Chao Kongtu would talk about talismans on the third day. Wang Ruoxu would introduce Fengshui and Li Suchun would talk about evil energy andnds with Yin attribute on the fourth day. On the fifth day, Bai Yunsheng would talk about sword skills, and Mo Haofeng about the categorization and identification of spiritual beasts. The sixth day was when Xiaozhai talked about Thunder Technique and Long Qiu about the Undead Insects. On the seventh day, Phoenix Mountain would be officially taking in pupils. Lectures during the daytime for the outsiders were all on general concepts, and did not involve specific cultivation methods. The internal discussion during the evenings would be all about the useful stuff. *** Bai Town, Baoshan. Baoshan was 23 km from the city, and had a poption of a little over 20 000 and an economy on the less developed side. Most of the town were mountainous areas, and only about one tenth was arablends. However, the town had suddenly be a popr spot thanks to its proximity to the city. Those that had arrivedte and could not find a ce to live in the downtown area had all flooded the surrounding viges and towns, among which was Baoshan. You Yu had arrived early enough, but he could not afford the surging price of the hotels in the city. Hence, he had to stay at the home of some farmer of Baoshan, sharing a big kang with several men during the night. The rent was paid by days, and meals were not included¡­ even such a ce was not easy to get. Today was June 3rd already. As the date approached, people were bing more agitated. With the abominable heat, everyone was pushing towards their limits both psychologically and physically. The police force was working around the clock, but there was simply not enough of them. Fights were breaking out every day; the most severe one took ce yesterday, when two groups of people fought with weapons¡ªa quarrel between the two groups somehow escted, and they threw down the gauntlet. Over a dozen people suffered from minor injuries, and two people were severely wounded. Luckily, they were already out of immediate danger. Had this happened anywhere else, the ce would have been cleared out for inspection. However, this was Phoenix Mountain¡¯s business. Even the one million people in Bai Town now felt like inferior insects shut up in a jar under the zing sun, let alone these people living in the viges. Life was so miserable, and they had no control over their fate. Slurp! Right now, in the central room of a farmhouse, a small table was set on the ground, and two boys were having their breakfast while sitting on stools. One was You Yu, and the other was Wang Jingxin, You Yu¡¯s roommate. Wang Jingxin was from Longxi, and very teenagery. He had travelled halfway across the country to be a pupil of the mountain. Wang Jingxin was a lively character. Chewing the noodles made from potato flour, he shouted at someone in the yard, ¡°Uncle, we¡¯re eating this every single day. Can¡¯t we have something else for a change?¡± ¡°What do you want to eat? Steamed buns and millet congee? Where am I supposed to find any of that?¡± ¡°Then how about something different for dinner? Anything but rat meat with cabbage! I¡¯m gonna be sick if I eat any more of that!¡± ¡°Like I care? Go live somewhere else, then!¡± Their elderlyndlord was shirtless and covered by sweat. He bundled up some very green cabbages and put them into the cer, then cursed, ¡°Jesus f**king Christ! It¡¯s hot as hell again this year. We don¡¯t have any crops in the first ce, and if it goes on like this, we¡¯ll all starve to death!¡± He had toin. Nowadays, one would be daydreaming if they wanted soybean milk, deep-fried dough sticks, and salty tender bean curd for breakfast. Even the officials could not have those. Seven people used to live in this farmhouse, but for one reason or another¡ªeconomic pressure, being maimed in fights, or being unable to bear the hardships, for example¡ªmost of them had gone back home. They were the only two left now. You Yu felt like a student of ancient times, going on a ten-thousand-mile journey towards the capital city to take civil examinations. Once there, he was to experience how difficult it was to live in big cities, and had to fight madly for a ce to stay in. They soon finished breakfast, and Wang Jingxin wiped his mouth with his hand. ¡°I¡¯m heading out to the town center. Wannae?¡± ¡°Nope. I don¡¯t want to be a third wheel.¡± ¡°Tsk, you don¡¯t have to say that aloud!¡± The fellow blushed, and hurried out of the courtyard. He was going to see a certain southern girl he¡¯d just met. Having nothing better to do, You Yu stayed in the shade under the eaves, holding a fan while looking around in boredom. Beep! Beep! Momentster, a vehicle suddenly stopped outside. Tao Yu rolled down the window, calling out, ¡°We¡¯re heading for the city. Wannae?¡± ¡°Um, sure!¡± You Yu hesitated a little, but nodded in the end. It was quite a coincidence. Tao Yu had brought Tao Tong and Tao Yi here himself. He did not like the crowded city, so he rented an entire farmhouse in Baoshan right next door to where You Yu stayed. They struck up a conversation the other day and were surprised to find out that they had all met Perfected Man Gu, which naturally brought them closer. Tao Yu even asked You Yu to move into their ce, though thetter refused politely. They followed the traffic and drove into Bai Town at a crawling speed. Tao Yu was going to the patriarch to talk about the development of the mine, while You Yu wanted to walk around on his own. Hence, they set a time to meet, and each went about their own business. You Yu hopped onto a bus and arrived in the square at the foot of the mountain. Houses were being built in the square¡ªone row on both the left and the right side¡ªand were apparently to be used for reception in the future. A lot of people was here. For one, it was close to the mountain, and in case there were some new developments, they could learn of them first. For another, it was nice and cool here. With the temperature of Phoenix Mountain, this ce was far cooler than the surrounding area; it was as if a central air-conditioning was blowing here. The kid had little money, but was still having a good time walking around while window-shopping. He had finished one round around the market and was about to take another round when someone cried out somewhere ahead of him. ¡°My bag!¡± ¡®!!!¡¯ The crowd turned their heads as a boy with a brush cut ran this way holding a bag. A small girl was yelling at the top of her voice behind him. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ You Yu hesitated a little, but still decided to step out and stop the boy. However, before he could take any action, a man jumped out with a kick. The fellow fell to the ground with a thud. While he wailed holding his stomach, the leather bag was tossed away andnded right at You Yu¡¯s feet. ¡°¡­¡± You Yu winced a little, then picked up the bag and went up to the fellow, only to find another group of people there. They were two boys and a girl simr to himself in age, with a few vigorous bodyguards, one of which stopped that man. ¡°Thank you! Thank you so much!¡± The little girl ran up to them, panting heavily. She was about seven or eight, and had lusterless hair. Despite her tiny frame, she had veryrge eyes, which looked somewhat disproportionate on her. She also wore very in clothes, and had a darkerplexion. She looked a little timid. ¡°Where are you from? Why are you all by yourself? Where¡¯re your parents?¡± Of the two boys and a girl, the girl was the first to speak. ¡°I was here with my uncle, and we got separated¡­¡± ¡°Do you know his number?¡± ¡°I do, but I don¡¯t have a cellphone.¡± The little girl spoke sensibly, only that she appeared to have a feeling of inferiority. Seeing the demeanor and the clothes of the three teenagers, she was a little afraid to look up. ¡°Call your uncle with my phone, then. Here¡¯s your bag.¡± You Yu handed her back her bag. ¡°Thank you! Thank you!¡± The little girl made her phone call. Then, pursing her lips, she summoned up her courage, and said, ¡°May I know our names? I promise I will repay your kindness.¡± ¡°Why, are you living in the ancient times? How are you going to repay me? Are you going to marry me?¡± the teenage girl teased her. ¡°I suppose there¡¯s no harm in telling you our names¡ªwe might be ssmates someday. I¡¯m Zeng Ke, he¡¯s Lei Xiao, and that¡¯s Yuan Lingshan. We¡¯re all from Shengtian.¡± That was right. These three were the youngsters of the Zeng, the Lei, and the Yuan Families. ¡°I¡¯m You Yu. I¡¯m from Zhijin, Guizhou Province,¡± said You Yu. ¡°¡­¡± The little girl blinked, feeling that this brother was the kinder one. ¡°I, I¡¯m An Susu, and I¡¯m from Xiaoheyan Vige, Sanping.¡± Chapter 392 Chapter 392: Before We Begin Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Thank you! Thank you so much!¡± An Susu¡¯s uncle showed up shortly afterwards to fetch her, and thanked the others repeatedly. The girl might address him as her maternal uncle, but he was actually more like a distant rtive. The man was a government employee in the W Province; he and his colleagues had been assigned a quota, requiring them to each find a candidate to go to Phoenix Mountain. His own son was already a married man. After searching through his acquaintances, this distant niece was the only one he could find. Susu¡¯s parents were honest farmers with little education and he had expected much persuasion would be needed, but surprisingly, the parents agreed almost right away. The uncle found their reaction somewhat puzzling, but did not think much of it, for the farmers had been having such a rough time these years he thought this was probably the parents¡¯ idea of finding a way out for their daughter. Just like that, the five of them¡ªthat was, An Susu (7), You Yu (15), Zeng Ke (15), Lei Xiao (16), and Yuan Lingshan (16)¡ªmet for the first time. The three teenagers from the three families were very well-mannered, and did not disy any patronizing behavior, yet You Yu was the one leaving Susu with the best impression¡ªprobably because they were both raised in a farmer family. The two exchanged contact information before going separate ways. You Yu went on roaming the square, which had be the yground of people from all walks of life. They hooked up or jostled, each trying to outwit the others. Such were the dynamics of the square. That ¡°know-it-all¡±, for instance, had cozied up to quite arge group of people, and formed an organization that lived off gathering and selling information. Luckily, the guy was not one of those unrealistic adolescents, and did not give his organization names like ¡± Suspending Mirror Division¡±, ¡°Dubhe Camp¡±, or ¡°Mansion of Golden Wind and Fine Rain 1 ¡°. The organization was named inly as ¡°Pavilion of Secrets¡±. A bunch of people from the Northeast¡ªmainly from the provinces of Heishui and W¡ªsoon teamed up like a gang. Despite their unruly appearance, they were no fools. There was no oppression of the fellows of the same trade, nor were they asking anyone for protection money. Any behavior like that, and the square would be cleared out for good by a little tap of the patriarch¡¯s seal. Just like so, Shengtian was attracting the attention of the whole country, Bai Town was the center of focus of Shengtian, and the square was where the spotlights of Bai Town converged. The main event had yet to begin, but everything was bustling like a fanfare out there. ¡°Hey, there¡¯s an update!¡± You Yu was quietly observing the dynamics of various parties when a fellow shouted, ¡°It¡¯s the agenda! The agenda is set!¡± Whoosh! Almost everyone moved in unison: taking out their phones, they tapped the app open and checked the most recent update of Phoenix Mountain. It was very short¡ªtwo lines only. ¡°The seven-day event will begin on June 8th; the first six days consist of lectures, and the seventh day the trials for the candidates. ¡°Location: the square at the mountain foot. Time: every morning at eight.¡± Neither the content of the lectures nor the lecturers were mentioned, but these two lines alone were like a burning match thrown into a gunpowder barrel. The square erupted. ¡°God damn it! I live in Shali Vige. That¡¯s like over 50 km from here!¡± ¡°Lucky you. I¡¯m staying in f*cking Qingchengzi, and that¡¯s 90 km away!¡± ¡°Where the hell am I supposed to find my ride? Sh*t, I probably have to sleep on the square on the 7th.¡± ¡°Same here. I¡¯m going to buy a mattress now.¡± A lot of people wereining, which was all about the inconvenience in the avability and travelling resulting from the great number of people. You Yu secretly rejoiced, for not only was Baoshan very close, he could also ride with Tao Yu. He would definitely be here on time. Of course, more people cheered at the announcement than not, for choosing the square as the venue meant that they could escape the scorching heating from the zing sun. With such a hot weather and so many people, holding the event elsewhere would guarantee a massive number of heatstroke victims. *** Up on the mountain, over the cloud. Gu Yu was standing right there, looking down at everything happening below. That Rising Manual turned out to be very useful. As it was avable to both Phoenix Mountain and the monastery, it could work perfectly as a universal escaping skill. Depending on the cultivation level of the practitioner, the effect of the manual also differed. With it, the acquired state cultivators could rise 20 or 30 meters above the ground and move for hundreds of meters across the air, whereas innate state cultivators would travel miles away in one stride as if travelling by wind. As of a Human Immortal, well, you were looking right at it. He could actually manipte Qi, which enabled him to stand on the cloud. Gu Yu took in all activities on the square with a single nce. With his face remaining emotionless, one could not tell what was going on in his head. A momentter, someone called out from below. ¡°Old Gu, gimme a hand!¡± Whoosh! Pressing his left hand at the empty air and lifting up, he pulled Xiaozhai up, then held her in his arms. Xiaozhai also looked down at the mountain foot. ¡°So, you do see things differently at a different cultivation state. Standing this high up, you simply have to see every other life down there as nobodies even if you don¡¯t mean to.¡± Wrapping her arms around Gu Yu¡¯s waist, she chuckled. ¡°You¡¯ve been here for a while. Any thought?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu hesitated a little before answering her. ¡°Maybe because Old Priest Tan had moved me greatly, I was a little impetuous in the beginning; all I could think of was to earn a few more opportunities for the others. However, as the date approaches, I am getting a feeling growing stronger by the day¡ªabout how insignificant I am, and how I have overestimated my capability. ¡°However, it then urred to me that I should simply make a lecture fitting my level of understanding. I will do my best, and there is no shame in that. So, to answer your question: there is no thought.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Blinking, Xiaozhai suddenly raised her hand and slipped it inside his clothes, which caressed gently and finally stopped over his heart. ¡°Oh? It¡¯s indeed as settled as still water¡­¡± Her perfect fingers then twiched, and there was a thinyer of electric film over her palm, which created a ticklish, numbing, and prickling sensation. The hand then moved downwards. ¡°How about now?¡± ¡°Having fun, aren¡¯t you?¡± Gu Yu rolled his eyes at her, and pulled the pretty hand out of his shirt, asking, ¡°How did your preparation go?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need preparation.¡± ¡°Are you that confident?¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t I be?¡± Xiaozhai retorted. ¡°At the end of the day, what we¡¯re doing is the poprization of concepts, so we¡¯d better keep them in andmon rather than profound and difficult. We¡¯re cultivators all right, but we¡¯re also modern people in the first ce. How much preparation do we need formunication between modern people?¡± Before Gu Yu could reply, she went on. ¡°We all know the saying: the economic base determines the superstructure. ¡°The current principal contradiction is that despite the emergence of the new rtions of production, the productivity has not developed along with it. Five years is a long time for individuals, but it is too short for society as a whole, and is in no way long enough for a transition to take ce. ¡°Our mindgs far behind the facts. Cultivation is happening, but people¡¯s understanding of cultivation is not moving forward with it. Since the authorities will do nothing to change the ideology, we have to take that task. ¡°All countries are rebuilding their social systems now. When that ispleted, a new global system will be established. We will then have to deal with a global market, the flow ofmodities and people, and things like administrative organizations, legition, understanding of history, education system, as well as disciplines and schools of cultivation¡­ those will really be a handful!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu eyed her for a long moment before turning to the other way¡ªhe refused to talk to this straight A student (that was crushing him with her knowledge again). Xiaozhai grinned, and did not say anything else. Looking into the distance, she saw verdant peaks rising over one another beneath them, each standing taller than the next. Not far from those were the closely built buildings and the boisterous crowd. Further out, the sky seemed to turn into a golden red as the heated air rolled out in waves, wrapping everything inside. ¡°It feels hotter this year,¡± she said all of a sudden. ¡°The outbreak of the spiritual essence is reaching its peak, and the abnormality will be even more severe these couple of years.¡± ¡°When are you going to use your Rain-praying Talisman, then?¡± Turning back to look at her, Gu Yu smiled. ¡°When it¡¯s supposed to be used.¡± *** Western slope, the beast farm. The ¡°farm¡± was much, much bigger than the name suggested, and covered an entire area of two small hills. Those civets, golden cat, and Francois¡¯ngurs that Xiaojin brought back had all been thrown into this area, and were raised in free-range conditions. There were no locks of any kind. Long Qiu only had to draw a line with her sword at the entrance and exit, and the animals could not stay far away enough from the line. Right now, Xiao Qiu and Xiaojin were sitting on a big tree, watching the three piglets running around. ¡°Jin Jin!¡± Long Qiu knitted her brows, and said in vexation, ¡°I have been thinking about it for a long time, and I still think we can¡¯t have them inbreeding. We must find a mutated breeding pig for them. Oh, and a nice-looking sow.¡± ¡°Pfffft!¡± Xiaojin lost her footing at those words, and almost fell off the tree. ¡°Sis, I have been sitting with you for hours, and that¡¯s what¡¯s been bothering you?¡± ¡°Why not? That¡¯s a very important matter.¡± ¡°Do you have any idea what is happening now? You¡¯re thinking about breeding pigs instead of preparing for the lecture?¡± ¡°But, but¡­¡± ¡°No buts! You¡¯re wasting my time! Bye bye!¡± She jumped off the tree, fuming. ¡°Hey, where are you going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m taking a walk.¡± ¡°To see Priest Chao again? Something¡¯s up with you these days!¡± Long Qiu jumped off behind her. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Xiaojin stopped abruptly at those words and narrowed her eyes. ¡°What¡¯re you trying to say?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t¡­¡± The two girls had never had a real quarrel, and seeing that her teasing seemed to have pissed Xiaojin off, Long Qiu was flustered. ¡°I¡¯m just curious. Do you, do you like him?¡± ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Ever since the priests of the monastery moved into the manor, you have been going there every single day. It¡¯s not just me; the others are talking about it too. I just wanted to know.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiaojin stared at her for a long while before she was herself again. She then sighed. ¡°Others can talk all they want, but you should know me better. It¡¯s just so lonely up here, and I need someone to hang out with¡­¡± ¡°You have me!¡± Long Qiu cut her off, not convinced at all. ¡°It¡¯s not the same thing. We¡¯re like this, and it¡¯s another thing between me and him¡­¡± Long Qiu was a nk canvas in terms of rtionships, and Xiaojin found it pointless trying to exin to her. She then gave her a straightforward answer. ¡°I don¡¯t like him; not in this lifetime. I¡¯m not interested in the friends with benefits thing, so I need him as a bromeo to keep life interesting. Those guys from the monastery are actually pretty nice. They¡¯re all very talented and can talk beautifully¡­ well, you won¡¯t understand. See ya!¡± After that, she ignored Long Qiu, and ran happily down the mountain all the way to the manor. She only realized that something was amiss when she was at the front gate. Yells wereing from inside, sounding as if two sides were arguing. She was about to enter when the door to the hallway opened, and a distressed Li Dong walked out. ¡°Miss Jin! Great! You¡¯re here!¡± At the sight of her, Li Dong seemed to have found a savior. He ran to her in a hurry. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Somebody giving you trouble there?¡± she asked. ¡°Those delegations are impossible!¡± Li Dong lowered his voice and said, ¡°Another butch of people arrived this morning¡ªthe ambassadors of some nine countries. The arrangement was to have them stay in a hotel in the city, but when they were brought there, they would not have it, and insisted to live on the mountain. ¡°Brother Shui thought it inappropriate to refuse, and since we have enough rooms in the manor, he agreed to have them here. They were only here for like a minute when they heard about our agenda, then asked to be part of the internalmunicating session. The men of the BIMAUP can never agree to that; they¡¯re talking about it inside now.¡± The delegations attending the lecture were all from the surrounding smaller countries this time. The western countries such as Germani and Gaul did not send any diplomatic notes, for Ernese and the others had had their discussion with Gu Yu already. With the alliance formed among the European countries, they were busying themselves with development work, and had no time for the lecture at all. Xiaojin¡¯s face darkened at Li Dong¡¯s words. ¡°Who¡¯s asking for trouble?¡± ¡°Who else? The oh-so-great Goryeo, of course.¡± Chapter 393 Chapter 393: Lecture (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Basically, like Uncle Sam, Goryeo was having trouble sorting through an equally disorganized religious system. The country was known as a ¡°museum of world religions¡± for a reason¡ªso many religions were present that it was almost impossible to keep track of every single one of them. Among those, Buddhism and Christianity were the mainstream faith, while the domestic Cheondoism and cults also had a considerable number of followers. However, none of those was of much use when the new era began. As it turned out, the ancient Shamanism was the one to save the day. Shamanistic culture in Goryeo was rtively well-preserved. More importantly, it was recognized as a legitimate religion by the authorities¡ªunlike its cousins in this country who could only carry out their activities underground. Nine countries sent their representatives for the lecture, including Goryeo, Nippon, Viet, Siem, Mya, etc. All of the delegations had the same staff arrangement: a diplomatic personnel who could speak Chinese and a cultivator from the individual countries. ¡°Mr. Park, you¡¯re making things very difficult for us here. This is an event organized by a non-governmental organization, and we¡¯re only here to assist. It is not our ce to make the decision for the host without asking for their permission.¡± Right now, an official of the BIMAUP was exining to the representative with a polite smile¡ªwhatnguage he was using in his head was a different story. That Mr. Park with narrow eyes and a square face always smiled before he spoke. In a rhythm specific to theirnguage, he said, ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying perfectly, but we havee all this way because of our admiration for the Chinese culture and capable masters. We do hope you can give us a chance to get more involved in this event so that we don¡¯t feel we¡¯vee this far for nothing.¡± Well, well¡­ With the change of the world, some people apparently had grown smarter. The old ¡°this is ours, that is ours, the entire universe is our invention¡± style of speech was no longer in use. Instead, they swallowed their pride and used nice words, ready to listen to any advice. ¡°Well¡­ I am very sorry, but we really are not in liberty to agree to that.¡± The official was running out of excuses. While the two sides were going back and forth in the living room, representatives of the other countries sat in their chairs, lookingpletely unaffected. They got to ride along if the request came through; if not, Goryeo was the one getting all the me. How convenient was that! The bargaining went on forever, and it did not seem that they would reach an agreement any time soon. As a result, the Shamanistic sorcerer in colorful clothes, with a piece of ck clothes wrapping around his hair and a thick bamboo stick in his hand, became very impatient. He did not understand Chinese, but could tell that the negotiation was not going smoothly. Bolting to his feet, he began to chant in a strange dialect while thumping the floor with his bamboo stick. ¡°Thud! Thud!¡± ¡°Thud!¡± The bamboo stick hit the ground, making a muffled sound, which began to affect the atmosphere of the room as if a strange wave of sound was spreading out. The cultivators of the other countries turned a little paler at this move. The sorcerer¡¯s behavior was not exactly aggressive, but it was obviously expressing a negative emotion¡­ ¡®Sh*t! Have you gone crazy, shut up on your backwater mountain? Do you have any idea what this ce is?¡¯ ¡°#$%^&! *&^!¡± After knocking a few times, and seeing that the official of the BIMAUP still wasn¡¯t giving in, the sorcerer became even more disgruntled, and thumped even harder. Bang! ¡°Who the hell is making all the noise?¡± Just then, the front door opened, and a figure strode in. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Miss Jiang¡­¡± The official was never so happy to see her before. However, before he could greet Xiaojin, he was knocked to the side by Mr. Park. The fellow walked eagerly to Xiaojin¡¯s side, eyes shining. ¡°Oh my God. I have heard so much about you! It¡¯s such a pleasure!¡± ¡°And who are you?¡± ¡°Oh, I am the special representative of the Republic of Goryeo.¡± He emphasized the full name of his country to remind the others that he was a formal diplomatic persona. ¡°We have made this special trip just to listen to the lecture of Perfected Man Gu. However, we are rather sorry about the agenda of the lectures. We are wholeheartedly looking forward to learning more from you. If we could attend the internalmu¡ª¡± ¡°Get out!¡± ¡®Huh?¡¯ The interruption came so sudden that Mr. Park thought he had heard it wrong. ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± ¡°Get you a*s out of here!¡± ¡®!!!¡¯ His face darkened at this. He was still the representative of a country if nothing else. How could anyone insult him like that? ¡°Miss Jiang, we¡¯re here on an official visit. With your impolite words, we could¡ª Aaaaaah!¡± he screamed when his feet suddenly left the floor¡ªthe young woman had lifted him off the ground. ¡°What are you doing? What are you doing?¡± ¡°Impolite my a*s! We¡¯ve been polite enough¡­ And you!¡± Reaching out with her left hand, she grabbed that sorcerer. Then, carrying a man in each hand as easily as holding two chickens, she flew out of the manor to the edge of the formation. Thump! Thump! The next moment, the two unweed mennded face down on the other side. ¡®Shhhhhhhhh*t!¡¯ The officials of the BIMAUP watched with ck jaws. ¡®Can it be done this way? She really did it!¡¯ They were used to ying with words and going through formalities, hiding daggers in their every smile while exchanging nice words. Rarely did they do anything this straightforward. Xiaojin found such things utterly tedious. She then returned to the living room and nced around. ¡°Any more problems?¡± ¡°¡­¡± No one made a sound. ¡°Good! We¡¯re holding a lecture on Phoenix Mountain. Consider it a blessing that you get to hear it at all. Anyone not ok with that can just shut up and leave!¡± *** June 8th, before dawn. Daytime was longer in the summer, and the day usually began to break just after four in the morning. However, that was not happening yet. The dark sky was pressing down like a piece of smothering tray cloth that had been steamed hot. To be honest, in his days staying in Baoshan, You Yu did not have a single good night of sleep. It was so hot! Sweat was trickling down his body even if he justy still on the bed, making his skin wet and sticky. When he finally fell asleep, he would be woken up by the heat four of five hourster. He had almost gotten used to such life. However, what woke him up today was not the heat, but the noise. ¡°Vroom!¡± ¡°Beep! Beep!¡± ¡°Keep up! Don¡¯t fall behind! Watch out for the pitch!¡± ¡°Damn it, hold your shlight steady! I can¡¯t see the road!¡± ¡°Mhm¡­¡± You Yu mumbled, still swimming in his dream. He was only aware of a tiny noiseing from somewhere, which was quite an annoyance. He was more awake a momentter, and the tiny noise grew louder. In the end, he could hear the voices clearly, which was resonating in the entire town. ¡°Move faster! We won¡¯t be able to get a seat!¡± ¡°Give way, or I¡¯m running over you!¡± ¡°Like hell! Do you think I¡¯m an idiot?¡± ¡°Xiao You, Xiao You, are you up yet? Come on!¡± You Yu jolted, now fully awake at the calling of Tao Tong and Tao Yi. A voice then shed across his mind: today, June 8th, it¡¯s happening! ¡®Sh*t!¡¯ He bounced out of bed, skipping both washing up and changing his clothes. Grabbing a backpack he¡¯d preparedst night, he ran out in a hurry. ¡°Finally! We¡¯rete!¡± Tao Yu was kind enough to wait for him despite being torn with anxiety. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry! I overslept!¡± You Yu apologized in a hurry. With everyone on board, the vehicle started, and they moved slowly towards Bai Town. It was only until now that You Yu got to see the scene outside. The small town seemed to have be alive. People were streaming out of every farmhouse, apartment building, and bungalow in groups of twos, threes, fours, sevens¡­ they soon arrived at the same main road. Tension, anxiety, agitation, yearning¡­ all kinds of emotions filled the heart of these peopleing from every corner of the country. The throng of people moved forward under the dark sky, like a current that was gathering momentum as it flowed on. It was noisy and chaotic at first, but quieted down a little a whileter. People became silent; they looked around in silence as more and more people joined in. Most of them were purely strangers, but they were all heading in the same direction. Without knowing it, a strange devotion wasing out of their hearts; it spread out from every individual, then manifolded, and gradually formed a quiet but powerful force field. ¡°¡­¡± You Yu stuck his face to the window and stared nkly outside. This scene would remain in his head for many years toe. They set out at three o¡¯clock, and the 20 km road took them a whole two hours. It was five o¡¯clock now and bright enough outside. The downtown area of Bai Town was even more crowded, and the city was almost paralysed. They went through so much trouble and had to ran on their feet to finally make it to the square. The square was quite sizeable. With the old tourist facilities removed, there was even more room now, but it was still not big enough. Quite a few people had slept on the square the previous night, and mattresses were scattered all over the ground. Those that managed to take a good spot gloated, and the look on people¡¯s face grew sourer as one moved further back from the front rows. Those that got stuck in the city looked as miserable as those squeezing along the Great Wall during the seven-day National Day vacation. ¡°There are so many people!¡± You Yu couldn¡¯t help but be amazed by the crowd around him. No one even dared sit down, for that would take much more space than standing up, which would definitely win the person a good kick in the a*s. He then opened his backpack and took out some bread and cookies, asking, ¡°Brother Tao, you haven¡¯t eaten, have you? Want some snacks?¡± ¡°We¡¯re fine. And I don¡¯t think you should eat anything, either.¡± Tao Yu took out a bar of chocte and handed it to him. ¡°Eat this if you¡¯re hungry¡­ oh, and don¡¯t drink anything.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± You Yu was baffled. ¡°Just look around. Do you think you can make it to the toilet?¡± Tao Yu lowered his voice and moved closer. ¡°To tell you the truth, I¡¯m wearing diapers.¡± ¡°¡­¡± That was a little too much information for You Yu, and it took him a while to digest. Ok, he was young and inexperienced. Tao Yu had a point. ¡°Brother, look! They¡¯re filming it!¡± Just then, Tao Tong found something interesting, and beckoned at the others. They followed his finger and saw that the government had set up cameras on high tforms on three sides of the square, ready to record the lecture. ¡°Tsk! Shame on them! How dare they film Mr. Gu¡¯s lecture!¡± Tao Yi said contemptuously. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. Mr. Gu must have foreseen this. Since he didn¡¯t stop it, there must be a tacit understanding,¡± said Tao Yu. They chatted on in low voices, and it was soon morning. As the time approached, the crowd grew more and more agitated. At 7.50, the agitation turned into restlessness, and there was murmuring everywhere. ¡°Is the Immortaling or not? He won¡¯t stand us up, will he?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. Well, there¡¯s no rostrum or microphone. They didn¡¯t prepare anything!¡± ¡°I care more about if I can understand rather than if he wille.¡± ¡°Same here!¡± ¡°Hey, it¡¯s eight o¡¯clock!¡± someone shouted suddenly, and silence swept across the crowd of tens of thousands of people all the way from the mountain foot to miles into the back. No one made a sound. Everything was holding the same posture, straining their necks, standing on their toes, and staring at a spot behind the fog where the mountain gate was. One second, two seconds¡­ ten seconds¡­ Boom! An overpowering pressure rushed out at that moment, soon running all the way through the square. The crowd shuddered in unison, all flustered. Some with weaker minds even went pale, broke into a cold sweat, and almost copsed to the ground. No one showed up, but a god-like voice rang out from the top of the mountain, and reached everyone as if it was right beside their ears. ¡°It is time! Let¡¯s begin!¡± Chapter 394 Chapter 394: Lecture (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°It is time. Let¡¯s begin!¡± Boom! The crowd was overwhelmed by a majestic aura, which shook them greatly, and they almost fell to their knees prostrating despite themselves. The pressure eased in a sh; immediately after that, an unusual fragrance drifted out of the fog¡ªdelicate, gentle, and soothing. The scent seemed to have a magical property, for it was concentrated at first, then fanned out and soon spread out from the mountain gate until it reached the entire crowd. ¡°Ha¡­¡± You Yu felt a cooling sweet smell reaching into his nostrils, which slowly moved up and ran through his brain. He was immediately fully awake, with a clearer head. Looking around, he saw that everybody had a yearning in their now much brighter eyes¡ªthey had obviously all realized how remarkable the scent was. Naturally, they knew that this was a blessing bestowed upon them by the immortals. Right after that, the half-real voice that seemed to be part of Nature itself rang out once more. ¡°We all talk about the 5000-year history of our country, but exactly where did those 5000 yearse from? The Shang Dynasty was 3000 years ago, Xia was over 4000 years ago, and only by dating back to the time of Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns do we have a history of 5000 years. ¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ This first paragraph took everyone by surprise. That was not what they expected! Wasn¡¯t the lecture of immortals supposed to be all about profundities where they used the confusing jargon of the ssical style of writing, such as ¡°There was something undefined andplete,ing into existence before Heaven and Earth. How still it was and formless, standing alone, and undergoing no change, reaching everywhere and in no danger! It may be regarded as the Mother of all things. I do not know its name, and I give it the designation of the Dao¡­¡± h h h? Then, wasn¡¯t the audience supposed to be reacting in a thousand different ways¡ªthe geniuses smiled knowingly, the mediocre ones furrowed their eyebrows thinking hard, and the hopelessly dumb ones nked out? What he just said was remarkable, for everyone thought, ¡®Oh my god, I can understand that!¡¯ ¡°5000 years was such long a time ago that it was impossible to know how real it was, but our society and various concepts were carried down from one generation to the next since time began. They were created and they developed, prospered, declined, and got lost before something new was created again¡­ it has always been the case throughout our history, from Qin, Han, the Northern and Southern Dynasties, to Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, and so on and so forth. Our modern state was founded 90 years ago, and our culture is not only inherited from thete Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China era, but was also influenced by the West as well, from which we came up with a social structure of our own. It is something the 2 billion people living on thisnd epted and followed. ¡°However, you have to move on from that now, leaving the world as you knew behind¡ªone that is now bing a fetter and restraint to you. You need to quickly grasp and understand this new vastness, which is so full of novelty and unfathomable profound knowledge. ¡°Because what we¡¯re facing now is no longer an era that was handed down through a smooth transition, but one that sees huge gaps in cultivation, that has gone through the decline of Taoist skills, and one that is experiencing everythinging up without a warning¡­ ¡°As someone bearing witness to this era, everything we do, see, and ept are both retrospective and prospective. We will have to look back to a thousand, or five thousand years ago when cultivation was in its heyday and when skills of Dan, talisman, and wizardry were all prospering. From there, we will look further back to the ancient time, when the world of men dominated and when the perfected, the supreme, the deity, and the saint lived until the eternity of time¡­ ¡°Without such understanding, one will never achieve the Great Dao or immortality!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The gambit was beyond the expectation of everyone. That included the government officials and members of the monastery sitting in the manor, as well as the representative of various temples and their disciples listening obediently to the instructions everywhere. The cameras the government prepared turned out to be redundant, and were used as recorders only. The foreign interpreters also made their own recordings while tranting for the cultivators of their own countries. Lu Yunqing sat in his chair, looking a little dazed. He then shook his head, and sighed with a smile. ¡°Those words put me to shame. Layman Gu indeed deserves to make the opening speech.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± all other priests of the monastery replied in unison with a solemn look on their faces. They had expected Gu Yu to start the lecture by talking about Taoist theories and skills, which couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. The first thing Gu Yu chose to talk, or to inform the audience, about was the mentality of this age. Every age had its specific ideology. Those that managed to catch up with it would be the first ones to seed, while those that fell behind or even refused to make progress would end up being swept away by the tide, struggling for their lives in the vicissitude of time. The lecture was about education. In order to educate people, one had to be practical, give no empty or wild talks, and make perception the top priority. *** ¡°Dao is the origin of the universe and the fundamentalw of how Nature works. ¡°If we must generalize it with a single concept, then Dao represents the natural change and potential state of everything. Nature creates Qi, Qi transforms into everything, and once objects are formed, the constituents forming them can form countless other objects. Such is how the world operates. ¡°Because of the differentiation of Qi, we have the energy of Yin and Yang, the energy of five elements, the energy of Heaven and Earth, the vital essence of living people, and the lifeless energy of ghosts and monsters¡­ ¡°Nowadays, we have a general term of all those categories above: the spiritual essence.¡± After the opening lines, the man up on the mountain moved onto the specific concepts, and the first one he covered was the spiritual essence. Maybe the audience was shocked by the way the lecture was carried out, or maybe that remarkable fragrance was doing its job properly, but not a sound wasing out of the crowd of tens of thousands of people. Everyone was listening calmly, focusing their minds on the voice at their ears. ¡°Why was the spiritual essence created? We might never know the answer. However, starting from mid tote Ming Dynasty, the spiritual essence was running out, until it disappearedpletely. It only reappeared over a decade ago. ¡°That was a recovery period of 500 years! ¡°Therefore, we reasoned that like many things, the spiritual essence has its own great cycle¡ªthe same way as the rising and falling of tides and the waxing and waning of the moon. With every extinction, there follows a rebirth.¡± This was the very first time that someone explicitly raised the subject of the ¡°Recovery Cycle of the Spiritual Essence¡±. It might not be correct, but up till now, it was the most recognized exnation by both the cultivationmunity and the state. ¡°Essentially, cultivation is to connect one¡¯s body to the spiritual essence by various means so that one could break out of the restraint of life and learn the truth about universe. It could work from inside out, outside in, or both at the same time. ¡°Knowing the essentials, cultivators naturally came up with a multitude of methods. ¡°The perfected men from the time immemorial could lead the universe, manipte Yin and Yang, and live infinitely until even heaven and earth ran out of their time. Immortals of ancient times could achieve a state that was beyond the definition of life and death, with which they rose about the natural course of life and lived on with the help of consuming essences. ¡°After that were the Sword Immortals, whose resplendent weapons were pure and formidably tough, and allowed them to affect nature and wield their swords as if they were carrying out the supreme order. ¡°The masters of Dan method emergedter, and could transcend their physical body by refining their Yang spirit, which not only allowed them to travel the world freely, but also granted them long life and good health¡­¡± Gu Yu did notpare the strength of essence-consuming method, sword skills, and Dan method, for that would be too petty. He went on from the general to the specific, introducing to the audience in categories the Taoist view of the world, the concept of the spiritual essence, the nature of cultivation, as well as various schools and sect, which was interspersed with anecdotes of the ancient masters. He was able to exin the profound in simple terms, incorporating a diversity of subjects. ¡°¡­¡± The square remained silent. No one realized how long they had been standing there, nor were they aware of their exhaustion and hunger. Of the entire Bai Town and Phoenix Mountain, that voice seemed to be the only thing they were aware of, telling them about events of all ages. They simply listened without a word. The voiced talked about ¡°One would appease his hunger by consuming six natural essences and quench his thirst with the midnight mist. The midday sunbeam was what one rinsed his mouth with, and the glory of dawn was to be held in one¡¯s mouth without swallowing. To keep one¡¯s spirit clear and pure, one had to take in the spiritual essence and get rid of all things filthy.¡± It talked about Ye Fashan taking Emperor Xuanzong flying across the country at night to Liang Zhou to see thenterns lining the street for over ten miles, filled with precious horses and fragrant carriages, as well as streams of peopleing and going busily; when they were back at the royal pce, the moon was still high up in the sky. It talked about ¡°The meter-long sword swept across both shores and the pce of a hundred deities stood above head. I casuallyy my feathered clothes in my immortal cave, and step onto the gold lotus that represents the perfection of nature¡­¡± With each sentence, a new door seemed to open in their minds, relieving them from their constraints oneyer after another. They were presented with a world vaster than they¡¯d ever imagined. In this world were the ancient sages flying away by wind, Thunder Technique demonstrating its majestic power, wizards working in the most mysterious ways, the magnificence of the past five thousand years, as well as the countless Taoist skills, which up until a few years ago were still a ridiculous concept. They had lost count of time while the sun rose from the eastern horizon to above their heads, then fell to the western sky. The heat of summer made its way rampantly across thend, and the dozens square kilometers of Bai Town area suffered from the scorching heat. These tens of thousands of people at the foot of the mountain were the only ones that seemed to be taken to another world where everything was tranquil and pleasant. ¡°Heaven is eternal, the earth evesting. Howe they to be so? It is because they do not foster their own lives. That is why they live so long. ¡°What it means is that heaven and earth have a quietness in them, with which they show kindness to every life with no strings attached, unlike mortal men, who seek personal gain only even to the point of gaining profit at the cost of other people¡¯s well-being. ¡°But that is the state of the saints, which we are not to importune. ¡°Men are born out of Yin and Yang, and are destined to die one day the moment they are born. They are then brought up in a world filled with a multitude of desires. Therefore, the nature of cultivation is to fulfil this selfish desire of wanting immortality and the yearning of the meaning of life. ¡°They are different, but identical at the same time. You will be able to learn how that works yourselves if you enter the world of cultivation one day. ¡°I have talked about a lot of things in the lecture today. Some might learn something from it, while others might found it meaningless. You¡¯re all free to follow your own heart¡­¡± At those words, the crowd knew that the lecture of the first day wasing to an end, and an involuntarymotion began to stir up in the square. So many people wanted to ask questions, but dared not speak. Themotion then spread out frantically like a disease, filling every pair of eyes with a yearning. Finally, a soft and a little childish voice rang out. ¡°E-excuse me. You said cultivation is about rising above life and death. In that case, have you achieved that? Or, what do you think of life and death?¡± The crowd turned in unison, and was surprised to find a teenage girl raising her hand while standing on her toe. She was blushing and looked flustered. ¡°¡­¡± No answer came after her question. When the girl felt frustrated and the crowd disappointed, the voice came back. ¡°The creation of every life is a destruction on its own. ¡°For when transformed into lives, it is already a vition of the nature of Dao. In itself, Dao is an absolute unficiation. We¡¯re all a division of Dao; hence, cultivation is the pursuance of that unification. ¡°Like Yin and Yang or Qian and Kun, life and death is also a sub-level of the unification. ¡°Life is the transformation from a formless state to a certain form, and the other way around is death. When Qi gathers, there is life; when Qi dissipates, there is death. Life and death is a cycle, and neither should be considered alone. ¡°Do not be infatuated with life, and do not detest death. We should not be obsessed with what we have in this present life, nor should we linger over the idea of a life after death. Consider both as a transformation of matter. Only then could we break free of the constraint, and move onto a higher cultivation state, where we could truly experience the unification with nature.¡± Boom! Immediately after those words, another wave of unfathomable pressure descended upon them, then gradually faded. The person on the mountain seemed to have departed. All that was left was the faint fragrance from before. ¡°¡­¡± The crowd remained standing there for long, some absent-minded, some pondering. Momentster, they moved in unison. Despite the narrow space that confined their movements, they still bent forward slightly, then hunched their backs, and lowered their heads. The tens of thousands of people bowed together towards the person deep inside that fog! Chapter 395 Chapter 395: The First Night Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Don¡¯t push! Don¡¯t push! Slow down!¡± ¡°Please keep in line! Everyone will get out!¡± The people began to leave after the lecture of the first day ended. Quite a few people volunteered to keep the order, and divided the crowd into groups so that they could exit the square in turn. It was indeed remarkable, for a big event involving tens of thousands of people had not had a single ident nor any chaos from the beginning to the end. Tao Yu held Tao Yi¡¯s hand, while You Yu held onto Tao Tong. The four of them inched forward and it seemed forever before they finally reached their vehicle. It was already evening, but the sun was still zing above head. Having been standing there the whole day, they finally felt the fatigue and hunger. Instead of heading back, they found a restaurant nearby. There were over a dozen tables inside and they were lucky enough to take thest unupied one. ¡°Four bowls of potato noodles with eggs, please!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll also have a fried shredded meat and a green cabbage with rabbit meat stew.¡± ¡°Any rice?¡± asked the waitress. ¡°Um, we¡¯ll take four!¡± Tao Yu hesitated a little, but generously ordered the rice anyway. You Yu was a little embarrassed, saying, ¡°Brother Tao, I¡¯m spending so much of your money!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve all met the master before, which means fate has brought us together. After the selection a few dayster, you may all be ssmates. There¡¯s no need to be bothered with little things like this.¡± Tao Yu waved him off and poured four cups of weak tea. ¡°Xiao You, did you understand everything you heard today?¡± ¡°Mostly, but there was so much that I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to remember everything. Why, I should have recorded it.¡± You Yu was rather vexed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I saw someone else recording it. It¡¯ll be out on the market soon enough.¡± ¡°Do you mean the, the Pavilion of Secrets?¡± You Yu hesitated a little before saying that ridiculous name. ¡°Who else? But you¡¯ve got to give it to them¡ªsomeone there¡¯s got a quick wit!¡± Tao Yu was a businessman, and had his own understanding of this. He was chuckling when he made thatment; You Yu could not tell whether he was praising or mocking the information gatherers. The dishes were served a momentter. Four crude pottery bowls came out first, each containing some steaming hot potato noodles together with some mushrooms, wood ear, ham slices, and a shelled boiled egg. Obviously, the ham was not a pork product, but was made from the yellow-fur rat. The mostmonly eaten meat on the market consisted of two types: rat meat and rabbit meat. Thetter was fine, but themon people still found the mention of the rat meat rather offsetting. Instead of using its full name, they referred to it simply as ¡°meat¡±. It had be amon practice. When one asked to ¡°buy some meat¡±, everyone knew that it meant ¡°but some rat meat¡±. As for the egg, it was from a type of mutated pigeon. It was introduced on the market a few months ago; it seemed toe in great numbers, and was soon served on the dinner tables all over the country. It tasted rather simr to eggs from hens, but was slightly smaller in size and had a dark-red yolk. With the scarcity of resources nowadays, there wasn¡¯t much left on the menu of the restaurants, but dishes of the Northeast kept their main features: big-bowled, filled to the brim, and very salty. As the stew was served, the size made the three kids from the South jump. ¡°¡­¡± Watching the food on the table, Tao Yu became awfully quiet. He used to be tired of eating all kinds of exotic food, but what was he eating now? A bowl of luxurious rice! Sigh, this f**king world! ¡®Oh, no!¡¯ He corrected himself right way. ¡®Thank God for this new world!¡¯ All four were starving by now, and began to wolf down the food. Everyone here in the restaurant was back from the lecture, and they were all talking about what they heard in all kinds of ents. Among the all the hubbub, a familiar reminder rang out again. ¡°Hey, there¡¯s an update!¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± The roomful of people moved in unison again, taking out their phones and tapping the app open. Phoenix Mountain had just put up a new post, which was the detailed agenda of the event. ¡°There will be lectures every morning at eight o¡¯clock at the square until the 13th. 8th: General Principles by Phoenix Mountain. 9th: Dan Method by the monastery. 10th: Talisman Spells by the monastery. 11th: Fengshui by the monastery. 12th: Sword Skill and Appraisal of Spiritual Beasts by the monastery. 13th: Thunder Technique and Undead Insect by Phoenix Mountain.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Everyone was awfully quiet now. However, a few secondster, they all began to talk at the same time, and the restaurant erupted. ¡°I didn¡¯t know the monastery is taking part as well. Howe they¡¯re giving more lectures than Phoenix Mountain?¡± ¡°The proportion is not important. It¡¯s all about the order of the lectures. Not everyone can talk about the general principles, ok?¡± ¡°Hey, is Dan method Neidan? Wang Chongyang of the Quanzhen Sect! The Competition on Huashan Mountain! The five supreme masters ! 1 ¡± ¡°Holy sh*t! There¡¯s one on Thunder Technique? Ok, that¡¯s it! I¡¯m joining Phoenix Mountain¡ªeven just for the name of that skill!¡± ¡°So true! Thunder Technique is the best!¡± ¡°Sword skill is pretty nice, too. Too bad that the monastery is so strict on recruiting pupils. I¡¯ve been there twice, and got rejected both times.¡± One had to admit that people nowadays were so easily influenced by online information that as soon as they saw the agenda, they were all attracted by the names of Thunder Technique and Sword Skill. As for subjects such as Fengshui or spiritual beasts, no one was bothered to give them a second thought. Tao Yu knew better than themon folk, and said in a low voice, ¡°As far as I know, there are four Immortal masters up on the mountain: Mr. Gu, Fairy Jiang, Miss Qiu, and Miss Jin. Miss Qiu is taught by Mr. Gu and practices Sword Skill and Undead Insect Skill, while Miss Jin is taught by Fairy Jiang and uses the Thunder Technique. If you be the pupils of the mountain, who do you want to have as your teacher?¡± ¡°I think Sister Xiaojin is very nice. I want her to teach me,¡± answered Tao Yi without hesitation. ¡°Yes! Sister Xiaojin is so lovely!¡± Tao Tong chimed in right away. ¡®That¡¯s it! You two are hopeless!¡¯ Tao Yu could feel his temple throbbing. As an experienced businessman, he was sharp-eyed enough to have long seen through that Miss Patriarch¡ªthat fellow was a prankster through and through! As the only adult here, he obviously considered things differently from the kids. ¡°Between us, I actually hope you will all be pupils of Mr. Gu himself. So if you get the chance, do push for it. That¡¯s the same with you too, Xiao You.¡± ¡°Oh, I see!¡± All three were good kids, and nodded at the instruction. *** A certain hotel. He He had just finished taking a shower, and went back to her room with her wet hair hanging loose over her shoulders. Xu Ziying was her roommate. Before they knew it, they had joined the Taiqing Pce for over a year, and both had changed greatly. Xu Ziying was thirteen now and much taller. She was beginning to give off an air of a remarkable young woman that was valiant and confident. He He was nine and still a child, but one could see from her face the beautiful woman she would be one day. As the most exceptional pupils of the Taiqing Pce, they were here with their master to listen to the lecture. Like others from every other temple from all over the country, they were staying in this hotel. The rtionship between these two was somewhatplicated, for it was a mixture ofpetition and appreciation. Xu Ziying liked a little provocation, while He He was not too generous with her words, but could shut the other up with a piercingment when she chose to retort. Right now, they were both lying in bed. Xu Ziying asked in boredom, ¡°What do you think of today?¡± ¡°Quite good. I liked what he said.¡± ¡°Gosh, I¡¯ve had enough of your poker face! Hey, you¡¯re from Bai Town yourself. Ever regretted of joining the Taiqing?¡± The girl was suddenly interested in some gossip and asked eagerly, ¡°You know, if you didn¡¯te to our pce, you¡¯d be able to apply for Phoenix Mountain now.¡± ¡°Why should I regret?¡± He He pulled the duvet over herself and closed her eyes. She then said quietly, ¡°When my grandpa passed away, it was the Taiqing Pce that I met. Since I have joined the pce, this is the path I¡¯m going to follow.¡± *** A farmhouse. In this residence in a vige somewhere near Bai Town, an electric fan was blowing uselessly inside a stuffy bedroom. A low table was set on the kang and a round table on the floor, around which were a dozen people wearing earphones, all transcribing the content of a recording. A man was walking around the room, checking their progress while waving a fan, acting like a boss of some sort. It was none other than the leader of that Pavilion of Secrets, Wu Chun. ¡°Boss, I¡¯m done.¡± Soon, one of them raised his head and handed out his draft. Wu Chun quickly read through it, and said, ¡°It¡¯s a little rough, but lucid enough. You¡¯ll get a merit pay when we make the profit.¡± ¡°Hehe! Thank you, Boss!¡± The man thanked him right away, then asked anxiously, ¡°Brother, are you sure people are going to pay for this?¡± ¡°Are you kidding me? I may be useless in a lot of things, but I¡¯m an expert in wheeling and dealing. They wouldn¡¯t blink twice to pay 500 for these crappy drafts!¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t Phoenix Mountain take us out for that? We¡¯re pirating here!¡± asked another man in a shaky voice. ¡°Tsk, I¡¯ll be the one answering to that. Go back to your work!¡± Wu Chun jabbed his finger in the air at that man, then strolled casually to the door. Putting one foot on the doorsill, he looked into the distance. Just look at those stars in the night sky and think about the mountain and the Immortals within! He was suddenly overwhelmed by a great and lofty aspiration, feeling that he was rising together with this new era. He had made the arrangement before the lecture began, asking ten people to each record a section of the lecture for them to transcribe itter. Errors were inevitable during this process, but that wouldn¡¯t be a problem. He would make several hundred copies of this draft and call it ¡°revised version 1.0¡±. After a thorough proofreading, he would then produce the ¡°revised version 2.0¡±. Call it ¡°skinning a cow twice¡±! How sweet a deal! Meanwhile, in the capital city thousands of kilometers away, a group of people were doing the same thing. As soon as the lecture was over, the bosses received the audio file from the BIMAUP. With the professionals avable at hand, the general content of the lecture was soon put into words. A group of people was now sitting around a table, reading the manuscript while listening to the recording, and nodding every now and then. ¡°All I can say is that it was very appropriate. It is happening at the right time and for the right audience. I have no objection to it.¡± ¡°It is easy to understand, realistic, and without a personal agenda. I have no objection, either.¡± ¡°If I may suggest, we¡¯d better make it into a nationwide basic teaching material.¡± ¡°In his exact words?¡± ¡°In his exact words.¡± ¡°¡­well, that is certainly a viable option.¡± *** The same night, Phoenix Mountain. The family of four and the 35 members of the monastery sat upright in a big hall for the internalmunication. To be honest, Gu Yu didn¡¯t go into details this morning, and only talked about the general principles and the mentality of the era. Hence, there wasn¡¯t much they could discuss now. After showering one another withpliments, Gu Yu finally brought up a subject that he had long wanted to talk about. ¡°When I was in Bonn, I had some lengthy discussion with a few western sages, which was quite an eye-opening experience. Like us, the West is seeing some great gaps in their heritage. My personal opinion is that they are far behind us in the cultivation level of the individuals. However, they have surpassed us in the ssification of basic disciplines and the research in matters and energy.¡± ¡°Oh? How so?¡± asked Lu Yuanqing curiously. ¡°There was this old man named Erhard. His master was a legendary sage of medieval Europe, who was a master in magical formations and alchemy. Erhard had set up a formation in Bonn, which could protect half the city from attacks. ¡°He had also set up many magical spots around the city, which not only enabled the mages tomunicate and send messages, but also worked as stations for puppet carriages. He was even doing research on these magical spots so that they would be able to deliver physical objects in the future¡ªand that was not all. There was this achievement he made with alchemy, which almost took my breath away¡­¡± Gu Yu paused a little, then said, ¡°It was a Homunculus.¡± ¡°Homunculus?¡± Having been raised in temples since childhood, living an austere cultivation life, the priests had little contact with the outside world and were naturally not as well-informed as the city-dwellers. The term was very confusing to them, so they waited for Gu Yu¡¯s exnation. ¡°In alchemy, a human being is believed to consist of threeponents: a physical body, a soul, and a spirit. That is to say, if one could create all three parts, they could give birth to life without a womb. ¡°A human being made this way is born possessing all knowledge, and can live a long life disease-free. Legend has it that the most perfect one could see the Truth. ¡°Although Erhard did not seed, he hade up with a prototype. If he indeed manages to create such a life form one day, all I can say is that we human beings will have one more prophet¡­ or disaster.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Everyone in the room fell silent, for what Gu Yu just said was a little beyond their existing cognitive system. Gu Yu went on. ¡°A question keepsing back to me since I came back from Bonn: ever since the ancient times, our cultivation was all aboutprehension and asceticism, without a solid theoretical base or empirical method. So, is it possible that we could study Taoist skills the same way as doing research?¡± He paused there for everyone else to digest that information before turning to Lu Yuanqing. ¡°If I may ask, what is the teaching system like in the monastery?¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t officially taken in any pupils, so there is no established system yet. However, I have nned to integrate the Taoist skills of various sects and divide them into categories, which would include scriptures, Neidan, Waidan, sword skill, Fengshui, theory of skills, etc.¡± Lu Yuanqing was not stingy in sharing information, either, and said right away, ¡°The monastery now has 27 Taoist skills and 134 talisman spells. Thetter are moreplicated, for some are offensive, some are defensive, some are auxiliary, and some are used for healing. However, not all attack spells are the same, for some work by summoning gods, while others by transforming objects¡­ I¡¯m nning to abandon the old system and categorize them anew based on their properties and functions.¡± Very nice! Had Old Gu been an ancient man himself, he would have definitely given Lu Yuanqing a ¡°thee most wondrous sir!¡± It was indeed a great n! Ancient cultivators were all-rounders who knew a little about just about everything. Because of that, though, they never had a clear andplete system. It wouldn¡¯t work for the modern society. With the declined Taoist skillsing back again, categorizing the skills not only mademunication and education easier, it would also help with in-depth cultivation studies. Most of the Taoist skills were created by cultivators themselves. Hence, if the ancient cultivators could do that, so could the modern ones. However, that would require two things. For one, they had to have enough cultivators around. For another, just as Gu Yu suggested, they needed to treat it as if they were doing research. Of course, it only referred to external skills such as Waidan, talismans, and spells, but not the internal skills like the essence-consuming method and Dan method. Thetter was determined by one¡¯s state of mind, which no research could make a difference with. For the internal skills, one had to depend solely on their natural endowment, perception, and their determination to pursue the Great Dao. ¡°So far, we¡¯re seeing inheritance in all categories apart from formations, which is a skill of great significance. It will be of great use to us in the future,¡± Gu Yu went on. ¡°For instance, if we can invent a formation to defend our entire country or send cultivators thousands of miles away in an instant, our world will be changedpletely. I have recently juste up with a Small Sealing Formation¡­¡± With that, he took out a jade slip. ¡°It should be the mostplete formation map we have now, and is something that I created out of thin air. I hope it¡¯ll inspire you in some way so that we can work together and fill this gap in the formation skill.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The others winced a little at this, for a strange feeling was rising inside them. After all, it was onlyst year that the two sides were slightly hostile towards each other, and even broke into a fight once. With Gu Yu bing a Human Immortal now, it seemed he had put that behind himpletely. They now realized that this man was standing somewhere much higher up and looking further into the future with a much wider scope. There was no fear in him¡ªthe fear that someone would surpass him one day. Lu Yuanqing rose slowly to his feet and took the jade slip on behalf of the monastery. He then said in a solemn voice, ¡°I thank you, Layman, on behalf of all the cultivators of our generation!¡± Chapter 396 Chapter 396: Human Nature Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡± Dan is ¡®single¡¯, which, in turn, is ¡®one¡¯ 1 . ¡°Dao is the only thing without a counterpart, hence the name Dan. Alone, it is enough to clear the sky, settle the earth, fill the grains, and make one immortal. ¡°Dan is one, which is very close to Dao itself. Neidan (internal Dan) is the practice to refine one¡¯s internal organs so that one could achieve the Great Dao. ¡°Most people are mislead in this concept. Because of the inte, modern men have easy ess to a multitude of information that might not be necessarily true. Some are purely fictional and exaggerated, speaking of Dan as a bead-like object hidden in one¡¯s body. That is not the case.¡± ¡°Pffft!¡± The second day, many people in the square couldn¡¯t help but lower their heads and snicker after Lu Yuanqing said those words, for most of the young people nowadays had read at least one of those brainlessly fabricated novels to know what the priest was talking about. ¡°The school of Neidan could find its origin in Wei Boyang of the Eastern Han Dynasty, then improved by the sages ofter generations. Afterte Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, Neidan gradually became a perfected system of Dan motheds. ¡°As the saying goes, Boyang was the origin, Zhong and L¨¹ inherited, then Liu (Haichan), Wang (Chongyang), Zhang (Ziyang), and Xue (Daoguang) carried it forward. During its development, various sects and branches were derived from it, including the Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western, Middle Sects, Sanfeng, Wuliu, etc. ¡°However, in the past thousand year or so, the Neidan methods have been mostly unified, and together, it is known as the Quanzhen School. ¡°Medicine is the core of Neidan. ¡°The fundament of any Neidan skill is topose Neidan through adjustment and the production, the collection, and refinement of medicine. By ¡®medicine¡¯, we¡¯re referring to the vital essence of the human body, which is categorized into external medicine, internal medicine, and great medicine ording to the stage of its application. ¡°In order to understand Dan skills, one has to understand this medicine¡ªthat is, what are essence, Qi, and spirit? ¡°Essence is the foundation of all forms and the physical basis of all lives. Based on its sources, it could be divided into the innate essence and the acquired essence. ¡°The term primordial essence is talking about the innate essence. ¡®Primordial¡¯ means ¡®the very beginning¡¯, and the primordial essence is the source material of life, which controls the reproduction and growth¡­¡± As a matter of fact, this was not how Lu Yuanqing prepared his lecture at first. Because he was around cultivators who were constantly citing from the ssics using the most profound wordings all the time, Lu Yuanqing was used to a certain way of speaking. The audience of this lecture consisted ofmon people only, and considering that, he had tried his best to make his speech easier to understand. However, after listening to Gu Yu¡¯s opening speech, he realized his own was still way to obscure. Hence, he revised his lecture that same night, and came up with what he had now. He had omitted a lot of jargons and concepts, as well as the more advanced theories, focusing on the Three Treasures¡ªessence, Qi, and spirit¡ªwhich was also the most fundamental concept. Just like yesterday, no lecturer was seen, and the voice came from behind the fog, running through the entire square. An innate state cultivator still found that task a little difficult, but it was no longer a concern with the help of a Human Immortal. The demeanor of the crowd changed as well. They were no longer anxious and fidgety, but more rxed. Meanwhile, a great many more people were recording the lecture, and people clutching their mobile phone with a portable battery were seen everywhere, which made for quite an interesting picture. They had to, for early this morning, when people arrived at the square to take a spot for the lecture, the cunning members of the Pavilion of Secrets were already there, ready to sell their product. Over a dozen men all had a bag straddled across their shoulder while waving a stack of paper in their hands, hawking their wares all over the square. ¡°Check it out! Check it out! Written record of the lecture from yesterday, transcribed word for word. We have made the revision overnight! Quality guaranteed! You don¡¯t have to pay 998, or even 888. 500 yuan, and it¡¯s yours to take home with!¡± ¡®Huh?¡¯ With that much noise, who could resist the curiosity to take a look? Those unconvinced went to inquire about it, which yed right into the hands of the sellers. They knew perfectly well of the customer psychology: ¡°here¡¯s a part of it, see for yourself.¡± ¡®We can always get the money out of your pocket afterwards!¡¯ It was like shopping for exercise books¡ªwhat concerned you was not whether you knew how to solve the problems or not, but if other students had bought it while you hadn¡¯t; what if one of the questions in the book just happen to be on the exam paper? You would be the only idiot! Hence, the first batch of 800 copies of the ¡°revised version 1.0¡± that the Pavilion of Secrets rushed outst night was sold out hours before the lecture began. The crowd might have paid for it, but they did not do it willingly. They knew better this time¡ªrecord it themselves! Before they realized, it was noontime. Lu Yuanqing¡¯s session was finished, and after a brief lunch break, Shi Yui would give his lecture in the afternoon. The two had a clear division ofbor: Lu Yuanqing talked about essence, Qi, and spirit, while Shi Yui talked about the spiritual and physical life. However, when the afternoon session started, everyone was surprised to find a much emptier square¡ªa lot of people had left! Even Xiaojin was outraged by this injustice, and yelled, ¡°How could they do that? That¡¯s so humiliating! Hey, Old Chao, where¡¯re your ghosts? Release a few and scare the sh*t out of them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just human nature. There¡¯s no need to get stirred up over such a petty matter.¡± ¡°Nature my a*s! These people are spoiled!¡± ¡°Hoho, littleywoman, you should think it this way: since we have announced the agenda beforehand with the specific content of the lecture of everyday, the audience will naturally differentiate among the topics,¡± Mo Haofeng, the oldest priest of them all, exined with a smile. ¡°Some like Sword Skill, some like the Thunder Technique, and some are interested in Fengshui, but other topics may not seem as attractive as those three. Moreover, just observe their behavior: when there are ready-made records for sale, there will be those sitting idly and enjoying the fruits at a price.¡± ¡°Men will fight desperately for a way out when there is no other option. However, given an alternative, they will disy theirziness and opportunistic behavior. That is why it is called human nature,¡± added Zhang Shouyang. Having been hanging out with the members of the monastery these days, Xiaojin had blended in very well, and left the priests with a very good impression. She was now the ¡°littleywoman¡± to them. She actually had a point, for these people were indeed behaving like spoiled children. Of course, we could not predict her train of thought the normal way, for her thoughts were already onto Gu Yu now. She was mumbling, ¡°In that case, Brother-inw is the sneaky one! The first lecture is so much easier, and he has taken all the spotlight. The man knows his sh*t.¡± *** Just like Mo Haofeng predicted, from the second day, people attending the lectures began to drop, which continued through the talisman lecture on the third day and Fengshui on the fourth day. The grand view of the first day became a one-time thing. Among those who dide, a third were the persistent ones who came every day, a third were interested in the topic of that particr day, and the other third were there to record the lecture. Those who did note were mostly uninterested in the topics, but there were a few that simply decided to stay indoors from the second day onwards because of the heat and the early hours. They would buy a whole set of lecture material at the end, then go to the mountain for the pupil selection. All the lecturers were masters of this generation who could see through all these petty charades. The lecturers were not affected at least by such behavior¡ªthe opportunity was there for everyone to grab, and those that let go of their hands only had themselves to me. Before long, it was the fifth day. The audience increased a little, for Sword Skill was the topic in the morning, and Spiritual Beast in the afternoon. The crowd had arrived in excitement, expecting stories about legendary Sword Immortals. However, Bai Yunsheng¡¯s lecture was very proper and serious, which turned out to be a little boring. Old Priest Mo was the surprise of the day. He liked practical things, and the content of his lecture was also practical. After the monastery discovered the underground pce and obtained the Beast-controlling Technique, he was the one studying it the most intensively. Because he was aware of his limited potential, Mo Haofeng thought raising a capable spiritual beast of his own very beneficial. ¡°Up till now, there are 708 kinds of mutated animals recorded in our country, which includes a variety of birds and beasts. Some are tame and harmless, while others are vicious and man-eating. I have roughly divided them into two types: those that are worth raising and those with a practical value. ¡°Technically speaking, only the first type can be called spiritual beasts. Thetter are edible, have pharmaceutical value, or are useful for refining instruments, but none of these makes them spiritual. Hence, I call them fierce beasts.¡± With that, the fog separated suddenly, and a giant shadow jumped out, raising a gust of wind. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± the crowd shrieked and fell back. The dark figure strolled around slowly before lying down in the middle of the square. It was an enormous ck tiger almost two meters tall. Thergest Siberian tiger was just over a meter tall and over two meters long 2. This one, however, was the size of a small hill. Its fur was a light ck with a hint of blueish gray, and striated with dark ck stripes. Despite lying there motionlessly, it was giving off an imposing regal air. Its yellow eyes were the most remarkable of all, andzily closed after a single nce at the crowd, apparently full of contempt. This tiger was an unusual beast Old Priest Mo found after some painstaking effort, then raised and trained with the Beast-controlling Technique, making it a beast as they saw now. ¡°¡­¡± The crowd had yet to recover from the astonishment when the fog separated again, and another fellow hopped out. It was small and the shape of a sausage. Running busily with its four short legs, it was happy to get some fresh air when it saw the ck tiger. It then made a grunting sound and whoosh! The piglet disappeared. It reappeared the next moment a couple of meters away, and went on frisking around. The ck tiger rose to its feet unhurriedly, ready for some snack. However, as soon as it stood up, the piglet vanished again, this time being teleported back to the mountain. ¡°Roar!¡± The ck tiger looked around, feeling deceived. There was now indignation and irritation in those eyes. Immediately after that, the fog separated, and it heard the summon of its master. The tiger then went back a little disgruntled. ¡°One is a mutated ck tiger and the other a mutated boar. Both seem to be spiritual, but the former is a spiritual beast, while thetter a fierce beast. ¡°Where is the difference? ¡°Spiritual beasts are intelligent creatures that are able to organize their own thoughts; just like we humans, they have temperaments and are able to make their choices. Fierce beasts, on the other hand, might appear to be clever and sly, but it is purely out of their instinct, without any advanced emotions. ¡°We can go so far as to deduce that with the right opportunity, spiritual beasts can also follow a cultivation path and pursue the Great Dao. ¡°With the infinite kinds of species in this world, we will need even more an infinite amount of resources to support them all. Among the audience here, thosepetent enough could start trying from now to gain some experience. If one could learn the methods of appraising and catching beasts, they could earn themselves an extra foothold in this world.¡± The crowd did not expect to hear such a speech, for it was so down-to-earth. The lecturer was explicitly telling them that mutated creatures were a great treasure. Dabbling with it could earn one a living, and digging deep into it could make one a fortune. With the 2 billion people of this country, if everyone joined in, wow! Just imagine that scale! His fellow monastery members also listened to his speech with an expression hard to describe. Old Priest Mo might sound a little vulgar, but what he taught was something ready for everyone to use, which was also a kind of enlightenment through education. *** The lectures went on like so, and it was soon the sixth day. The crowd in the square was huge today, only smaller than that of the first day, because the subject today was Thunder Technique. Do not underestimate themon people¡¯s judgement¡ªthey knew perfectly well what would get the most spotlight. You Yu and the other three attended the lectures every day devotedly. The words always brought them into a trance-like state, in which they found the lectures remarkable, but could not say that they had fully understood it. All in all, they were a little confused. Right now, they were among the cramped crowd, waiting for the time toe. After the past five days, everyone was very rxed with the arrangements now. People were chatting in low voices everywhere, and the asion felt like apany annual meeting. The buzzing sound only quieted down a little when eight o¡¯clock arrived. Immediately after that, a pleasant female voice rang out from the top of the mountain. ¡°The transformation of thunder is a supreme skill since the ancient time¡­¡± ¡®!!!¡¯ The crowd jolted in unison with twinkling eyes. Holy sh*t! A woman¡¯s voice! Having been listening to male immortals for five days in a row, they were getting tired a little. Now that a female immortal suddenly showed up, all fantasies became alive. In a moment, murmuring was rising here and there, and began to spread out. A few fellows even said excitedly, ¡°That¡¯s a fairy, I bet you! What do you think she look like?¡± ¡°¡­¡± While they were indulging in their discussion and let their spirits rise, they failed to notice that up on the mountain, it had suddenly became awfully quiet. Chapter 397 Chapter 397: Lecture of the Sixth Day Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Buzz! The sound of the first female immortal after days of lectures excited the audience greatly. You Yu, however, frowned at this, and began to painstakingly drag the other three away from the front rows¡ªhe had personal experience with that female immortal back on Fish Mountain! As expected, while everyone else was whispering loudly and ignoring what was going on up on the mountain, a muffled rumbling sound came out of the fog, which reached the square in no time, and amplified all of a sudden. Boom! The sky above the square changed color, even darkening the zing sun a little. A streak of golden purple divine lightning descended upon them as if it was smashing down from above the nine heavens. Like an undting dragon circling the sky and a golden snake dancing wildly, the lightning exploded in the middle of the square with its unparalleled power. Bang! Bang! Bang! The big square that had only been revamped recently shattered at the first contact with the lightning; the hard bluestone ground disintegrated like tender tofu. The golden snake then bored right into the ground all the way deep into the stones beneath, breaking them all. Stone shards and dust filled the air, then fell down in a silver-gray shower. People standing around the spot received the impact, and fell back screaming like a field of wheat being reaped. Each circle of people stumbled back onto those behind them, and like an undting field of crops, all those around that area were on the ground. When they looked at the spot where the lightningnded again, they saw that it had turned into an enormous pit. ¡°¡­¡± A hush fell over the square. It was especially the case with those guys that were making fun of the fairy; their smirks had frozen on their faces before being reced by a look of horror. In a word: sh*t! ¡°The transformation of thunder is a supreme skill since the ancient time¡­¡± Just then, the voice came back again as if nothing had happened, and resumed the lecture from the beginning in that indifferent tone. ¡°The basis of its ideology lies in the theory of the interaction between the universe and men. The human body is a small universe with the head as the heaven, the feet as the earth, and the five internal organs as the five elements. The essence, the Qi, and the spirit are all connected to nature itself. ¡°Based on this, ancient cultivators were able to create a variety of unfathomably powerful skills. With them, one could summon wind and rain, and move mountains and seas with a snap of the fingers. The Thunder Technique is one of the most unique skills that used to prevail in our country in the Song Dynasty, and was considered the most supreme skill of all.¡± As the voice went on above head, those at the foot of the mountain quietly reformed their lines. Those that had fallen down stood back up and kept their silence. That streak of lightning had struck down with perfect strength¡ªmost of the people were scared by the power, and a few hit by the falling debris, but no one was actually injured. ¡°¡­¡± Tao Yu¡¯s face almost turned green with horror. He knew Xiaozhai¡¯s name, but never got the chance to meet her in person. He did not understand it when You Yu pulled him towards the back of the crowd, but the fear was creeping back into him now; he was even shaking a little. You Yu, on the other hand, was in a daze, and looked up onto the mountain as if he could see a peerless female immortal who could change the color of the sky with a single wave of her hand behind all thoseyers of clouds. It was quite a while before he was himself again; he mumbled, ¡°That was unbelievable! She is unbelievable!¡± He was still undetermined before this, especially on actually bing a pupil of the cultivation world. At this moment, he finally knew what his heart wanted. On the other side, the priests of the monastery were equally amazed. They did not know Xiaozhai very well, both in terms of her temperament and her power. Frankly speaking, had it been themselves under the same circumstance, they didn¡¯t think they could strike down so decisively and blow all those people to the ground. That was one fiercedy! *** The lecture of the sixth day took the audience on quite a rollercoaster ride. They spent the morning in great trepidation, but the talk in the afternoon took quite an unexpected turn. Because the topic was to be on Undead Insects, they¡¯d been simply imagining things like paranoid but passionate Miao girls with poison covering every inch of their body who would not hesitate to coax every man into drinking some mead-vored but five-poisonous insects¡­ However, they did not see what wasing. ¡°Good afternoon, everybody. Today, I¡¯d like to talk to you about the practice of undead insects¡­¡± ¡®Wow!¡¯ The crowd¡¯s faces lit up at that voice. They were about to erupt into cheers when they remembered the experience this morning, which stopped them from making any noise. That was such a gentle, clear, and pleasant voice, and they felt as if they were given a new pair of ears! For a moment there, they were utterly confused about the staff arrangement of Phoenix Mountain. The one on the first day was obviously a true immortal¡ªlike the supreme of the supreme. The one this morning, however, was undoubtedly a femme fatale¡ªone that would not hesitate to kill her boyfriend/sister to gain enlightenment. The one speaking right now sounded like a genuinely kind and gentle young woman. What sort of team was that? ¡°Undead insects have a long history, and are a type of ancient sorcery. In simple terms, they are contaminated insects. ¡°Most of the undead insects are raised by undead insect masters, who would catch naturally poisonous insects, and then, with some breeding and concocting, eventually made them into undead insects. A few very powerful undead insects are refined directly from their original forms, but they are very, very rare. ¡°The skill is almost lost among the Miao viges, but we can¡¯t rule out the possibility that undead insect masters are still practicing in other areas such as Yunnan, Sichuan, and Fujian, where most of the ethnic groups living there have some records on the skill of undead insects. ¡°There are thousands of types of undead insects, such as Toad Undead Insect, Water Demon Undead Insect, Fuma Undead Insect, Fanti Undead Insect, Wang Undead Insect, etc. There are more types than we could count, and countless ways to use them. It is almost impossible to guard against them. ¡°But you shouldn¡¯t be worried, for unless you¡¯re an arch-enemy¡ªor the target of a very specific request¡ªundead insect masters seldom take other¡¯s lives just for the sake of it. ¡°Undead insects are raised inside the masters¡¯ bodies and have to be released outside periodically. Even if you¡¯re unfortunately possessed by an undead insect, don¡¯t panic. Go find the person that put it on you, or a priest in the temples. They usually could take it out for you¡­¡± ¡°Pffft!¡± The crowd almost could not hold back their retorts. ¡®Just because you sound lovely doesn¡¯t mean we have to agree with everything you said, ok? How can I not panic if I¡¯m taken over by an undead insect!¡¯ ¡°Actually, with the environment nowadays, both undead insects and their masters have be so rare that I doubt you¡¯ll ever run into one. Um, I¡¯ll talk a little bit more about the general symptoms when one is possessed by an undead insect, just for a reference. ¡°Undead insects could attack people either physically or mentally. ¡°The physical attack usually results in extreme itchiness, dumbness, bloating, loss of appetite, a fishy taste in the mouth, vomiting of blood, facial fever, skin conditions, causeless pain, etc. The mental toxicity is generally represented by dizziness, palpitation, changing moods, illusions, etc. ¡°If such symptoms ur to you and cannot be diagnosed medically, there is a good chance that you¡¯re possessed by an undead insect or the Tame Head¡­¡± Frankly speaking, the practice of undead insect was a niche thing in the cultivation world and quite unusual. Even so, it was a part of the cultivationmunity all the same. Since Long Qiu just happened to be a Grass Ghost Woman, this topic was included. She couldn¡¯t go into the details, for that was a taboo and would offend all the undead insect masters out there. The talk was a simple introduction only, which was a minorplement to the lectures on Taoist skills this time. Eleven lecturers had given their speeches during the past six days. Long Qiu¡¯s was the shortest one, but one of the most popr ones. So much so that the crowd gave her a loud apuse after her final words ¡°That¡¯s all I¡¯m going to talk about today. Hopefully, it has helped you in some way.¡± Hence, the event came to an end in this strange atmosphere. Regardless of how the procedure was carried out, it suited this modern setting quite well. ¡°¡­¡± Everyone stayed in the square after Xiao Qiu left, hoping to see if there would be any more words from the mountain. A couple of minutester, the voice from the first day indeed rang out again. ¡°The lectures of these six days have covered topics of Dan, talismans, Fengshui, Sword Skills, spiritual beasts, Thunder Technique, and the undead insects. We only hope that they have helped you in forming a clear understanding of this new world. ¡°Whichever path you choose in the future¡ªbe it the cultivation world or the mortal one¡ªwe hope you will not live your life confused with a head more muddled than a stone¡­¡± The voice paused a little, then said, ¡°The lectures are over. Tomorrow, Phoenix Mountain will open its gate for the selection of pupils!¡± Chapter 398 Chapter 398: I heard it¡¯s going to rain tomorrow Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°I¡¯m not going to im that we have achieved everything we hoped for from the lectures, but it was still a great sess. I¡¯d like to thank you all for your contribution.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an overstatement for such a small task. We were only doing what we could.¡± That night in the main hall, Gu Yu bowed solemnly at the priests of the monastery, while Lu Yuanqing and the others bowed back. When they took their seats again, the atmosphere had never felt so amicable. The credit of the very first public event of the cultivationmunity in the country should go to them all. ¡°We have imposed on your hospitality for long enough. Now that the lectures are over, we will be heading back to the monastery tomorrow,¡± said Lu Yuanqing. ¡°Why the rush? How about staying for a few more days to wait until the whole thing is finished?¡± said Xiaozhai. ¡°Thank you, Laywoman, for your kindness. But as you may realize, the longer we stay here, the more restless those above will be. We¡¯d better leave you in peace so that we can all have the peace.¡± ¡°Well, in that case, we have a lot at hand tomorrow, and won¡¯t be seeing you off. I¡¯ll substitute wine with this tea and bid you farewell here!¡± With that, the couple raised their cups, at which the 35 priests raised theirs as well, and they all took a sip in unison. They did not chat on for much longer before Lu Yuanqing rose to his feet and bid them farewell. Gu Yu was gazing after their departure when something dawned on him, and he said, ¡°Priest Shouyang, Priest Chao, please wait a moment.¡± ¡®Hm?¡¯ Zhang Shouyang and Chao Kongtu paused at this. They waved at Lu Yuanqing, and returned to the hall. ¡°Anything else, Layman?¡± ¡°Nothing, really. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve noticed that of the 35 members of Qiyun, apart from you two, Priest Zhong Lingyu, and Priest Bai, all the rest have taken up Dan methods. I¡¯m only curious that if a second essence-consuming method is never discovered, are you three all going to give up pursuing immortality for the rest of your life?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The question weighed on them right away. Since the two did not answer, Gu Yu went on, ¡°I hope it won¡¯t concern you too much, for I have made a promise to Celestial Master Zhang: after the Celestial Master Temple gave me the talismans and lent me the Dan furnace, I will find another essence-consuming method for you. ¡°I might have enough time to wait, but you don¡¯t. With the circumstances nowadays, the earlier you can get your hands on it, the more opportunities you will have in the future. Therefore, I¡¯d like to know about your thoughts on this.¡± At those words, Zhang Shouyang did not speak until some timeter. ¡°Junior Brother Lu proposed to integrate the two schools into one and make the skills of all sects into aprehensive subject to study, which is a good thing. We¡¯re wholeheartedly happy for our fellow Taoists who have made achievements in Dan methods and reached the innate state. As for we three, it is purely an issue with our own heart¡ªhaving been following the teachings of Zhengyi for twenty years, we cannot break free of this fetter. ¡°Of course, that was the old thought. The environment is bing all the moreplicated since the beginning of this year, and we people of the cultivationmunity still value capability over anything else. If we do not reach the innate state soon, we will be left behind. We have all seen Old Priest Tan¡¯s unfortunate state, and to be honest, we have been wavering.¡± ¡°The monastery will officially open up for the selection of pupils next year; we have made our n, setting the next year as our deadline. If there is no hope of finding the essence-consuming method by then, we will switch to the Dan method,¡± said Chao Kongtu. ¡°In that case, I will hurry up with my search and see if anything wille up.¡± Gu Yu nodded understandably. All three were extremely talented cultivators no less capable than Lu Yuanqing. It would be such a pity if they wasted this life away without even reaching the innate state. It was almost the same with Bai Yunsheng, who did not switch to the Dan method, and would have ended up like these three had it not been for the great fortune of that Sword Seed that had fallen upon him. ¡°Brother-inw, Brother-inw, the altar is ready. Do you wanna take a look?¡± They were still talking when Xiaojin and Xiao Qiu ran into the room. They were surprised to find the two priests. ¡°Why, you¡¯re still here?¡± ¡°We¡¯re just about to leave. Since we¡¯re going back to the monastery tomorrow, we thought we should wait here to say goodbye to you.¡± Chao Kongtu cupped his hands with a chuckle, then left the hall promptly, dragging Zhang Shouyang behind him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that man?¡± Xiaojin had no idea what was going on. She then turned eagerly to Gu Yu. ¡°Brother-inw, we worked so hard on it! You have to thank us!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t rush to all the thanks. Let me take a look first.¡± Gu Yu grinned. With a wave of his sleeve, he vanished from their sight and headed for a certain peak in his invisible form. ¡°That ungrateful bastard!¡± Xiaojin stomped her foot, snarling in the direction where Gu Yu disappeared. Long Qiu remained as good-tempered as always. ¡°There, there, Brother is just ying with us. Let¡¯s join him.¡± ¡°Join him all you want! I¡¯m going to y with Sister!¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Long Qiu could not do anything about her, and had to fly towards that peak with the Rising Manual. Over on the other side, Zhang Shouyang and Chao Kongtu were going down the mountain along the trail. Dots of light scattered around in the dark woods on both sides, which did not look ghastly at all, but had an obscure beauty about it. ¡°Senior Brother, what do you think that altar is for?¡± Chao Kongtu could not help but begin to gossip. ¡°When there¡¯s an altar, there must be a prayer ceremony. Phoenix Mountain is not part of the Taoistmunity, so there¡¯s no need for that, but they did receive some talismans from the Celestial Master Temple. Of those, the only thing that requires an altar as well as a Human Immortal himself¡­¡± Zhang Shouyang paused a little before concluding, ¡°It must be the Five-transformation Rain-praying Talisman.¡± ¡°The Five-transformation Rain-praying Talisman?¡± Chao Kongtu was a little speechless, apparently being familiar with the name of that purple talisman. He said with amazement, ¡°Sigh, don¡¯t you sometimes feel everything is so pointless? Some people are just superior in everything!¡± ¡°Your Taoist mind is shaken!¡± Knowing Chao Kongtu too well with his uninhibited and lively personality, Zhang Shouyang made a dry and sarcasticment. The two soon went back to the manor at the foot of the mountain. Lu Yuanqing naturally did not ask about their conversation, for it was a private matter. Chao Kongtu, on the other hand, was as brisk as he always was, and gossiped about the altar. Before long, everyone of the monastery knew about the rain-praying tomorrow. Surprised as they were, they did not think much of it, for to them, it was just another type of Taoist skill. However, they had forgotten about all the staff in the manor. People talked! ¡°Did you hear what the master priests said just then?¡± ¡°Of course. They said they¡¯re praying for rain up on the mountain.¡± ¡°For real? Can cultivators nowadays fill their perk chart that fast? How long has it been now¡­ they can pray for rain already?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t buy it. Just think about it: ¡®praying for rain¡¯ means they have to pray to someone, right? So, who is it gonna be? Zeus? Thor? Or Storm from the X-men?¡± ¡°You know what? Buy it or not, we have to keep it among ourselves. This cannot get out.¡± ¡°What? Sh*t! I¡¯ve just posted it!¡± ¡°What were you thinking? Delete it!¡± ¡°Toote, someone¡¯s replied.¡± Now that was done! The fellows hurriedly tapped open the New ssic of Mountains and Seas with shaking hands and checked the forum. OMG! The administrator had reacted promptly, making the post a sticky topic with a big red title: in celebration of the selection of pupils, Phoenix Mountain is setting up an altar to pray for rain tomorrow. Only two minutes had passed, and there were dozens ofments below. ¡°LOL! Cultivators are finally doing some actual work for mankind!¡± ¡± Rain God Hsiao 1 is over! It turned out he was just the forerunner of the real king! Now that the new world had arrived, his aura is taken. Phoenix Mountain is the real dragon!¡± ¡°Do you think the dragon kings of four seas will show up?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not scientific at all. What¡¯s the theoretical basis for rain-praying?¡± ¡°It¡¯s cultivation time, dude. Forget about science already. I¡¯m in Bai Town right now, and I have listened to six days of lectures. The immortals all sounded so young, like post-90s young.¡± ¡°I second you on that. The eldest post-90s are cultivators now! No more looking down on us!¡± All in all, this message had gone viral at an unbelievable speed, bing more exaggerated and bizarre as it reached out, soon bing the topic of all conversations overnight. Then, it finally reached the capital city¡ªthe old man was ready to go to bed when his assistant hurried into his room. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Um, there¡¯s breaking news.¡± The look on the assistant¡¯s face made one wonder if he was having problem with his bowel movement. ¡°It is said that Phoenix Mountain is setting up an altar to pray for rain tomorrow, and they will use tokens as their signals. Wind wille at the first sound, clouds gather at the second, lightning sh and thunder rumble at the third, the raine down in a deluge at the fourth, and the sky clear up and rain stop at the fifth. And we¡¯re expecting to see the four gods of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning!¡± Chapter 399 Chapter 399: Let¡¯s celebrate! Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡®Hm?¡¯ The old man looked confused for a second, then said in a resigned tone, ¡°Xiao Zhao, was that supposed to be a bedtime joke for me to sleep on?¡± ¡°Hehe, nothing gets past you. It¡¯s an online gossip.¡± The assistant chuckled embarrassingly, then added, ¡°But the rain-praying is really happening. We have contacted the monastery, but they didn¡¯t know the details, and only heard the news in passing. We¡¯ve also talked to Phoenix Mountain, but they wouldn¡¯t let us in on the n.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The old man pondered it for a moment before saying, ¡°If it really rains tomorrow, remember to take measurement of the rainfall and the range. Rain-praying should be quite an advanced skill, and even a Human Immortal cannot simply have it his way, not to mention the vast area of our country¡­ keep an eye on it.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The assistant left the room with the order, and the old man shook his head, resuming his task of falling asleep. One had to admit that in the past few years, the central leaders of the country were the ones that psychologically improved to the greatest extent, and transformed the fastest in their way of thinking. Their position naturally provided them with a much wider scope and stronger cognitive ability. Take the concept of rain-praying as an example: themon people would react with much rmed exmation, while the leaders could soon analyze and evaluate the impact of this action. Meanwhile, on Phoenix Mountain. Xiaozhai sat calmly in the inner hall with Li Dong standing in front of her, looking all jittery. ¡°We have asked around: Priests Zhang Shouyang and Chao Kongtu probably made their guesses after hearing about it and discussed it among themselves when they got back to the manor, which was overheard by some staff members, who then posted it online.¡± ¡°Some staff members?¡± ¡°Um, six of them were the first ones talking about it, but the post was put up by Xiao Gong alone, without the knowledge of any others.¡± ¡°He can go, then. Take care of it.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Li Dong walked out of the inner hall. Only when the cool night wind brushed against his face did he wipe the fine sweat from his forehead. He had no objection to Xiaozhai¡¯s decision¡ªno one liked an employee with a loose tongue and a discipline issue. He was actually very afraid back there. It was such a strange thing, for Xiaozhai was frighteningst year as well, but it was nothing like the oppressive feeling she was giving off now. Something had definitely changed, and she was more brilliant yet intimidating than ever before. He had heard the rumors about their female master making major progress in the Thunder Technique again, and that feeling was probably the proof. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Li Dong let out a breath of relief, and hurried down the mountain. Even he himself had failed to notice that his own personality and mindset were changing in a subtle way as well. ¡®That Xiao Gong had iting,¡¯ thought Li Dong without the least bit of sympathy or pity. *** Morning of the 8th of June. You Yu was so excited that he did not sleep at all the previous night. When they set out before dawn, he saw that Tao Tong and Tao Yi also showed up with bloodshot eyes, apparently equally excited. Same as the first day, they headed towards the foot of the mountain among the surging crowd, which was even more sizable than on the first day because of the additional local residents. All the ted crowd talked about on the way was the pupil selection and rain-praying. They reached Phoenix Mountain when the day was just breaking. Miraculously, the pit that Xiaozhai sted open had been filled up already. The surface was not perfectly smooth, but it was level enough for people to stand on. ording to the fellows sleeping over on the square the previous night, they heard a shuffling sound in the middle of the night. When they got up to check, the pit was already filled. It got everyone amazed. Naturally, they had no idea that it was a simple application of the Small Moving Technique. Let¡¯s forget about the trivial details, and turn our attention back to You Yu and the other three. Looking around, they saw that theyout of the square had finally changed a little today. A high tform was set up at the front, on which was a microphone and a loudspeaker. Had there been a banner, it would look exactly like one of those ¡°Guinness World Records¡± challenge events of something like ¡°ten thousand people square dancing all at once¡±. As time passed by, more people were pouring in. The crowd was once more in the number of tens of thousands. At exactly eight o¡¯clock, the fog rolled and separated, revealing four people, who were none other than Old Shui, Li Dong, Yan Han, and Guo Fei. The crowd watched quietly as the four men stepped onto the tform. Old Shui then took the microphone, with the other three standing behind him; all four men felt their palms sweating a little. The square was packed with the dense crowd, and the tens of thousands pairs of eyes allnded on them. ¡°I¡¯m Shui Yao, the person in charge of external affairs on Phoenix Mountain.¡± Thanks to Brother Shui¡¯s tough nerves, the grand scene did not scare him off. He began by saying, ¡°As you all know, today is the day we select pupils for Phoenix Mountain, and we will be the ones taking care of the actual procedure. Before we begin, I need to make one thing clear: cultivation is probably the toughest thing you can ever imagine and for which, now trial is difficult enough. ¡°However, we have set the standard at the lowest possible level. ¡°Listen carefully! The first year of your joining the mountain is the screening period¡ªor probation period, if you like. That means even if you manage to get in at this stage, it is not once and for all. By this time next year, those qualified will stay on the mountain and officially be pupils. Those that do not qualify, well, goodbye!¡± Buzz! The crowd erupted after those words, but not to challenge that arrangement¡ªthe mountain was going to teach them for free, and it was only natural that they should set up their rules. Everyone was instead shouting out questions. ¡°What are the criteria?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. How is one qualified or disqualified?¡± ¡°Can the disqualified ones have another chance? Even the imperial examination of the ancient times did not stop one from taking the exams repeatedly.¡± ¡°If we¡¯re chosen, are we inner pupils or external ones?¡± Just like so, everyone was yelling at the top of their voice at the same time. Old Shui frowned, then activated the little acquired state spiritual essence he could muster, and spoke to the microphone. ¡°Silence!¡± Squeak¡­ squeak¡­ A jarring sound was amplified by the loudspeaker, and forced its way into every pair of ears instantly. The shouts died down right away. ¡°I¡¯m only here to give the instructions, not to answer questions. Now that you¡¯ve been told them, anyone who cannot ept the rules is free to leave this moment!¡± said Old Shui. ¡°¡­¡± There was an unusual quietness, and the crowd moved slowly. Maybe some knew themselves too well to see any hope of being selected, or maybe some were so used tofortable life that they found the hardship unbearable, but people were indeed beginning to leave. Old Shui estimated that about one-tenth had left in the end, which was neither too high nor too low a proportion. ¡°Now, those that decided to stay, form lines along the square from this end to that end. Those that don¡¯t have enough room, wait at the back¡­ Move!¡± The crowd then rushed to form the lines as instructed, and rows upon rows of people squeezed together into long queues, which filled the square. Immediately after that, Li Dong, Yan Han, and Guo Fei jumped off the tform, shouting, ¡°The first row, move forward with us!¡± Shuffle! The long line of people walked past the tform and reached the edge of the fog in a few steps. A little bit further in was where the mountain gate used to stand, which was obviously inside the fog now. ¡°Stand still and don¡¯t move!¡± ¡°Stand still and don¡¯t move!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The row of people stood motionless as told and squeezed together, looking rather dumb. They had no idea what was going to happen. The next second, boom! That familiar pressure was back, which was even more formidable than on the first day. It rushed towards them like a torrential wave, wrapping them up from head to toe. Zeng Ke, Lei Xiao, and Yuan Lingshan, who were in this first row, were chilled to the bone, with goosebumps all over their skin. It was as if someone had gotten under their skin and scanned them thoroughly from inside out. Zeng Ke¡ªthe only girl among the three¡ªfelt her legs giving out, and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, the sensation came and went very quickly, and vanished in a few seconds. ¡°¡­¡± Li Dong and the other two leaned forward slightly with a solemn look on their faces, as if they were listening to some instruction. A momentter, Li Dong went up to Zeng Ke, and said, ¡°Step out!¡± ¡°Huh? Oh!¡± Zeng Ke was still dazed, and stepped out despite herself. Li Dong then announced loudly, ¡°Stay!¡± On the other side, Yan Han and Guo Fei went up to Lei Xiao and Yuan Lingshan, respectively, announcing with the same words, ¡°Stay!¡± After the three was selected, Li Dong turned to face the row of people. ¡°Those three are qualified. The rest can go back now!¡± Buzz! The square of people felt they could go insane at that moment! Excuse me? What kind of ratio was that? Three out of a long line of people? They hade all the way to Bai Town and lived like dogs for seven days, only to be told to go back without any exnation? Sh*t! Seeing that the crowd was stirring up again, Old Shui shouted right away, ¡°Silence! Silence! Behave yourselves!¡± ¡°!!!¡± The words were like a bowl of cold water pouring over their heads, reminding them of the divine lightning descending upon them the previous day. The crowd quieted down right away. ¡°¡­¡± However disgruntled the disqualified the lot felt, they dared not make any trouble, and scattered immediately. Some left promptly in a fit of pique, while some stayed and waited at the back of the crowd with a glimmer of hope in their eyes. *** Back when the Taiqing Pce selected their pupils, the candidates were led into small rooms, where old priest of acquired state examined their bone structure and natural endowment. The qualified ones were then given a name te. As a Human Immortal, Gu Yu had made the job much easier. He was now sitting in the pavilion halfway up the mountain, with a burning little y furnace and a pot of spiritual tea. Reaching out with his mental force, he could cover the entire area at the foot of the mountain. Xiaozhai was keeping himpany, sighing at what she was seeing. ¡°We have set the standard to the lowest possible level, but it¡¯s still so hopeless.¡± ¡°Choosing the right talent for cultivation could be a one-in-a-million thing, and there are only tens of thousands down there. We¡¯re lucky to have one out of ten,¡± said Gu Yu. The principle they set beforehand was that as long as one was with an ordinary endowment, they could be taken in. Exactly what did they mean by an ¡°ordinary endowment¡±? Well, one did not have to be excellent in it, but they had to have something! For instance, if the benchmark was set at a 2, when Old Gu scanned the line just then, he saw mostly 1 and 0. How hopeless was that! For those with no or little endowment, cultivation was simply impossible, for no organization or country would waste valuable resources on training talentless people. Gu Yu was not a saint. Even when he was trying to give the people a little more chance by lowering the standard, there was still a bottom line. They were still chatting when the second line moved forward. Sweeping his mental force across the line, he sensed the fluctuation of each of them clearly, and nodded. ¡°This batch is much better.¡± He sent the message to the ears of the three men in charge down there right away. Li Dong and the other two moved along the line and picked people out as instructed, then announced, ¡°32 are qualified!¡± ¡®Wow!¡¯ The announcement raised the spirits of the crowd, and everyone was much more hopeful now. The chosen ones were overwhelmed with excitement, and eagerly gathered behind the high tform. Momentarily, they were set apart from the rest of the crowd. The two groups of people looked at one another across the tform, one side envious and the other proud. They were in two different worlds now. ¡°One qualified!¡± ¡°23 are qualified!¡± ¡°58 are qualified!¡± Just like so, people moved forward in rows for the inspection, but most came back disappointed. When enough room was made, those waiting at the back formed their lines and followed up, ready to try their luck. Joy and sorrow filled the air, both part of life. ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± You Yu was breathing deeply repeatedly to slow down his thumping heart. Tao Tong and Tao Yi also clutched tightly onto their cousin¡¯s arms, almost shaking with anxiety. One more line and it was their turn. You Yu finally managed to adjust his breath. When he looked closely at the line in the front, he winced a little, for a tiny figure stood among them¡ªit was An Susu, that small girl he ran into the other day. She looked like a little hobbit among all the adults, and had to hop along to keep up with the rest of the line. A few minutester, Li Dong stood in front of her, and announced, ¡°Stay!¡± You Yu let out a breath of relief. For some reason, he really hoped she could stay¡­ no, it was not loliplex 1 thing. ¡°Xiao You! Xiao You! It¡¯s our turn!¡± Just then, Tao Yu shook him by his shoulder, at which he came to himself, and moved forward with the line. Theoretically, all three kids should be confident enough in getting in, for both Gu Yu and Xiaojin had given them hints. However, with the grand scene and the atmosphere, they couldn¡¯t help but be nervous. Boom! When that pressure descended upon them, all three kids felt their knees giving up a little, and almost copsed onto the ground. They exchanged a look when that sensation passed, only to see three pale little faces. The selection process was actually very efficient. Each line would only take minutes at most from moving forward to being dismissed. You Yu watched Li Dong with unblinking eyes; he paused a little before turning, then walked to his side. His heart was thumping against his chest again as the voice resonated in his ears. ¡°Stay!¡± You Yu felt all the pressure leaving him at that moment, and was overwhelmed with a feeling that he could not describe, which filled him with content and satisfaction. Looking around, he saw that Tao Tong and Tao Yi had both stepped out as he did. The three kids could not hold back their excitement, and clutched one another¡¯s hands in utter delight. They then walked to the back of the tform, where they joined the others. Without knowing it, they were now watching those on the other side with pity. Whoosh¡­ Just then, there came a breeze, and they turned around in unison. The fog separated all of a sudden, and a figure flew out like a sparrow. Elegant (not very busty) and dignified (like the teaser she was), it was none other than Patriarch Sky-turning herself! ¡°Follow me!¡± The face she wore today was that of an ice queen. After giving them the two-word instruction coldly, she flew back into the fog. ¡°Um¡­¡± It baffled the group of people, who stood there dazed for a few seconds before following her in. They stepped gingerly onto the passageway in the formation and dared not touch the thick, rolling fog on both sides. A whileter, they suddenly walked into a clearing, where surrounding them was no longer the fog, but the most beautifulndscape. Inside was also a small square with seven or eight houses, pavilions, and sheds. A bridge straddled a gurgling stream, connecting paths which both led deep into the woods. Looking ahead, they saw a wide path and stairs paved with bluestone, which wound all the way up into the clouds. Looking up, they realized that they could only see a blur. They knew the mountain was there, but there seemed to beyers of misty barriers between them. When one was here below, this was all they could see. Only by moving up the mountain could they get to see the whole picture. ¡°Stay here! Someone wille to collect you!¡± Xiaojin disappeared after those words, then brought in the next batch in a moment. There were fewer and fewer people outside, and more and more people inside. The selection process was carried out from the morning all the way to the dusk when the sky was darkening. Old Shui and the other three were exhausted, but exhrated. After all, what they had taken part in was a milestone project, which might earn them a ce in history one day. ¡°Dao lies in oneself, and the skills in Nature. In this time of chaos, I hope you could all see the truth through introspection and live your life fear-free¡­¡± In the end, when the selection was finished, the square remained as boisterous, for those that did not get picked had stayed behind. As expected, that voice rang out again. ¡°A total of 1008 people have been selected today. As chance would have it, we have a rain-praying spiritual talisman for this asion. Let¡¯s celebrate!¡± Chapter 400 Chapter 400: A Downpour Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Last year was the first open enrollment of the local temples, and only 538 pupils were recruited nationwide. The pupils were either extremely well-endowed like He He, or, like Lin Junlong, they might not be as perceptive, but were physically more capable, which was considered a specialty. Inparison was Phoenix Mountain¡¯s first enrollment, during which 1008 pupils were admitted. Among them were definitely some with great cultivation potential, but more were mediocre ones that barely reached the benchmark. At this moment, these 1008 people had gathered in the small square on the mountain, unsure of what to do. The pretty sister was nowhere to be seen now, and Old Shui and the other three were still outside in the big square, which remained crowded. They then heard the voice from up in the mountain, announcing, ¡°¡­the talisman to pray for rain to celebrate the asion!¡± Wow! Everyone both inside and outside the mountain was overwhelmed with great excitement at those words. Modern technology could already to some extent change the weather, but there was much limitation to the actual practice. Hence, floods, droughts, hurricanes, and cold-air outbreaks were still affecting people all over the world. If cultivators could have the weatherpletely under their control, they would doubtlessly gain much more credibility among themon people. Meanwhile, not only were the officials in the capital city following the progress closely, the specialists of Shengtian observatory were also on the alert and bat-ready¡±. Everyone was waiting for the miracle to happen. *** ¡°Aaaaaaah! Quickly! Quickly!¡± After leading the new pupils into the mountain gate, Xiaojin ran up the mountain herself, and reached the eastern slope in a few jumps, arriving at a peak named Yanbie Peak. The peak remained in its undeveloped state, covered by luxuriant trees and grotesque stones, and without a single trail. Xiaojin activated the Rising Manual, which took her over sixty meters away in one single stride. Tapping sessively in the air, she was soon halfway up the slope like a soaring eagle. ¡°Why, Jin Jin, is your task down there done?¡± Just then, Long Qiu¡¯s voice came from behind. Xiaojin turned around. She was not happy about what she saw, for Long Qiu had her own pet¡ªshe was flying up standing on the back of the Golden Silkworm. ¡°Make room for one more passenger!¡± Xiaojin tried to squeeze onto Golden Silkworm¡¯s back. ¡°There¡¯s no room! Golden Silkworm can¡¯t take two people at the same time!¡± ¡°Ouch¡­¡± Long Qiu could never defeat Xiaojin in such things, and in the end, she had to get off Golden Silkworm to run together with thetter. Before long, they reached the top of the mountain, where Gu Yu and Xiaozhai were already making preparations. A level ground reached out over the cliff at the mountain top, which was not a veryrge area, and faced north. Beyond that tform was the rolling sea of clouds reflecting the evening sunlight; below, rows upon rows of woods were painted golden-red by the setting sun. Standing on the edge of the cliff, one felt they would be carried away by the wind, casting aside all worldly cares and bing immortals right there and right then. An altar had been set up on that tform: a carpet of the Eight Diagrams had beenid over the ground, and the table was wrapped in a in and neat altar cloth. On the table were candleholders, offering te, five grains, eight treasures, and a censer, in which stood three incense sticks. That purple Five-transformation Rain-praying Talisman was set right in the center of the table. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not burning a memorial text?¡± asked Xiaozhai. ¡°The memorial texts are for the gods to read, and we don¡¯t know if there is any god so far. Why should I burn it?¡± Gu Yu paused a little, then said, ¡°Actually, I have always found the ¡®god-inviting¡¯ procedure of Zhengyi more of a formality. I can use this opportunity to see exactly how that works.¡± ording to the traditional rituals of Zhengyi, before performing any ceremony, one had to take a vow with a memorial text, which was to restrain oneself and make connection with gods. The text was then burnt. After that was the reading of the summoning text, which was used for inviting, summoning, and holding back the gods. The text would also be burnt. Gu Yu found all those procedures pointless. It had been 500 years since anyone seeded in rain-praying, and no one knew how urate those rituals were anymore. Looking into the distance, he saw the pale sky, the setting sun, and the unwaning heat. The evening glow was blending into the cold gleam of the rising moon, and the two sources of light were each taking a side of the sky. ¡°Such a nice view. It deserves a good rainfall!¡± He wasn¡¯t wearing the so-called ¡°celestial master robe¡±, and only stood in front of the altar in his usual outfit. After looking ahead for a moment, he made an extremelyplicated finger gesture with his left hand, which represented mountains and fields, and was a praying gesture. He then picked up the talisman between two fingers of his right hand and chanted the spell. ¡°Five emperors and five dragons, bless us with light and wind. Spare your mighty power and aid the Thunder Lord¡­¡± Whoosh! At this first sentence, the purple talisman burst into me on its own. It rose up from between his fingers, and floated in mid-air, wrapped in a circle of light. Gu Yu¡¯s facial expression changed slightly, for instead of the frantic drawing-out of his spiritual essence to activate the power of the talisman, a miraculous energy was flowing into his body from the talisman. It immediately blended in with his own spiritual energy, and began to slowly circte inside him following a special route. ¡°I hereby summon the god of water so that rain wille out of the Wall Mansion. Leopard of he Winnowing Basket rises and Flood Dragon of the Neck dances¡­¡± Gu Yu dared not stop, and went on chanting. As he spoke the second line, that energy, together with his own spiritual essence, ran directly into the Liver Pce, where they circted for seven times; the energy of Wood was in full bloom. They then moved onto the Heart Pce, where the fire of heart was lit; the energy of Fire was in full bloom. After that, they reached the Pces of Spleen, Lung, and Kidney in turn, where they turned the Yang energy on first, then the Yin one so that Fire generated Earth, Earth generated Metal, and Metal generated Water. In the end, they circted nine times in the Kidney Pce, and the energy of Water was prospering. ¡°Five stars rise up from the court, staying high above in the dwelling of the water. God of wind shakes water, the goddess Axiang turns to Ox Mansion; the essence of wateres from the Bond Mansion, and Metal of Ghost Mansion generates Fire.¡± Gu Yu set his wits to work as he chanted, and the epiphany came¡ªso, that was it! That was it! Knowing where the spell was going, he held back no more, and let the power of the talisman run freely inside him. ¡°The timely rain falls in Dantian, filling Qihai. The demon of drought is revealed at the might power of thunder and lightning¡­ obey at once!¡± Boom! When thest word of the spell left his tongue, the energy of Water surged, subduing that of Fire, and extinguishing thetter. The burning talisman seemed to have integrated with Gu Yu as an inexhaustible energy began to pour out of them both. The internal energy was circting inside Gu Yu, while the external energy spread out instantly. Centering around Yanbie Peak, an enormous transparent air cap rose up into the air, covering an area of hundreds of square kilometers. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of water in the air!¡± Xiaozhai was greatly surprised, for she could sense the energy of Five Elements changing rapidly around her. Metal, Wood, Fire, and Earth all disappeared temporarily, giving way to the surging Water. ¡°Why, the wind is blowing!¡± Xiaojin then saw from the corner of her eyes that the smoke rising up from the incense sticks was leaning to one side. She then cried out in surprise at the rustling sound of leaves. ¡°Wow! It¡¯s a cool breeze! It¡¯s been a while since we had such a cool wind in the mountain!¡± Long Qiu was also delighted. She grabbed at the air like a child, then turned to look admiringly at that man standing at the altar. ¡°Holy sh*t! The wind is really rising!¡± Those in the square at the foot of the mountain reacted to it with much hubbub¡ªit sounded like a seething cauldron down there. Quite a few people ran out of the square and into the distance as if they had lost their minds; they ran back waving their hands and yelling, ¡°It¡¯s not hot out there any more. The temperature has dropped! The temperature has dropped!¡± ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Such a change of mood was happening almost everywhere, from the square and the downtown area all the way to the surrounding viges. Even if some obtuse fellows had not realized what was happening by now, it woulde to light at the next part. As the cool wind grew stronger, thest bit of the evening sunlight was suddenly wiped out of the sky, reced by a thick and dark cloud. The cloud covered the sky over Bai Town, even blocking out the moon. Beneath it, the area looked like a small room with its curtains drawn close, and all lights were dimmed. From residential buildings, offices, shops, factories, farmhouses¡­ people were running out and rushing to the streets, the main roads, the fields, and the side of ponds. Most people joked about the breaking news when they heard it yesterday, but now that it wasing true, they couldn¡¯t help but go around telling everyone else. ¡°Are you seeing this? There¡¯re clouds!¡± ¡°Oh my goodness! Is it really the Immortal¡¯s doing?¡± ¡°Hey, listen! What¡¯s that sound?¡± Rumble! Rumble! A brief silence fell over the crowd as they tilted their heads to listen. There was a strange muffling sound in the sky, which was moving closer and closer, but remained hidden behind the clouds. ¡°It¡¯s the thunder!¡± ¡°The rain ising! It¡¯s not a joke! It is really going to rain!¡± *** Up on Yanbie Peak. Gu Yu stood in front of the altar, carefully controlling the power of the talisman. The principle of the rain-praying talisman wasplicated and simple at the same time. It was to transform all energy of Five Elements into water first, then make a connection with the weather using the body of a Human Immortal as the channel. Gather all energy in Huangting, then raise it to Fengchi; wind would blow. When the energy rose to Shanyue and exited through Shenlu, cloud would move. With the help of thunder, lift the energy to the forehead, then inhale and exhale; thunder would ring out. Move the energy further up and into the mouth, then spray with divine water; the rain woulde. Finally, circte the energy to Heart Pce and blink, then the rain would stop and cloud disperse. The five transformations of the talisman was the wind, the cloud, the thunder, the rain, and the clearing up, which was also the interaction between Nature and men the ancient cultivators had talked about! He had figured it out from the very beginning: the purple talisman worked on the practitioner first, then on the weather. No wonder it was so demanding on the practitioner, for anyone less than a Human Immortal simply did not have the capability to carry it out. Right now, the thunder was rumbling, and ck clouds gathered overhead. His spiritual essence was being consumed at a crazy speed, spreading out together with the energy of the talisman. One more step, and a heavy rain would be falling. Gu Yu dared not take this lightly. Closing his eyes, he went on adjusting his energy. All of a sudden, he frowned, feeling his mind shaken slightly. The energy gathered at his middle Huangting, then ran all the way up his spine; it shot out of his crown, and flew into the air. He had a glimpse of a shapeless and blurry thing floating in mid-air, which disappeared almost instantly. There was no time to think. He immediately settled his mind and activated his spiritual essence¡­ Rumble! Lightning ripped through the sky; the dark clouds rolled, and the sky seemed to crack open. Ssh! The rain was finally here! *** Southeast, Bianmen Town. It was a tiny town with a poption of 28 678, of which 26 593 were farmers, making it a typical farm town. Before, with the surrounding mountains andkes, they were able to run a tourism industry. But now, the mountains andkes were no longer friendly, nor were the fields of any use. There was basically no hope. Qian Huai was in his seventies and an ordinary farmer. His wife passed away the year beforest, leaving the childless old man behind. He had spent his whole life as a farmer, with no other skills. Earlier, with the government subsidies, he could still get a modest living by working very hard in the fields. However, everything changed when the new world arrived. The country had drawn ns for over 30 nting bases, and Shengtian was not one of them. Naturally, few resources were allocated here after that. Moreover, with the sessive droughts of the past few years, the yield of Bianmen Town had dropped sharply. The officials had decided to give up on the farnds here and turn the town into part of the small urban agglomeration after some development and upgrading. Qian Huai had received a generous amount of money from the sale of hisnd, and would be given priority in the housing allotment. However, hisnd was his life¡¯s work. How could he leave it just like that? The construction would officially start tomorrow, and the machines had been set. Crouching down at one end of the farnd he was so familiar with, Qian Huai watched the workers nearby with a nk look on his face; he didn¡¯t even notice the cool wind. Tap! He shuddered at the coolness at the tip of his nose. When he wiped it, his hand felt something wet. Before he had time to react, there was another drop, and another¡­ momentarily, the rain was pouring down. ¡°¡­¡± Qian Huai was dazed for a moment before slowly rising to his feet. Looking up into the sky, the emaciated old man shivered in his soaking wet shirt. It seemed forever before he cried out bitterly, ¡°Why didn¡¯t youe earlier? Why? Sob¡­¡± *** North, Dalishu Vige. The vige was quite close to the downtown area. It used to be a fully equipped agricultural park with its own ecological system. After the massive breakout of mutated creatures, the government of Shengtian decided to keep the ce and make it a local supply station. Oh, it was also where Dai Han was raising his softshell turtles. As someone from a family raising softshell turtles for two generations, Dai Han had all the experience and techniques needed. Of course, his pond looked a little miserable at the moment with only one male and one female turtle inside. Right now, he was squatting down by the pond, lost in his thoughts while staring at the water¡ªhe was trying toe up with the proportion of ingredients of this new fodder. Gurgle! ¡®Hm?¡¯ His thoughts were interrupted as the water rippled, and the two turtles stuck their heads out as if they were eager for something. He was still confused when ripples filled the surface of the water as the rain began to drop. It turned into a downpour in no time. ¡°Sh*t! It really is happening!¡± Dai Han eximed despite himself. It then dawned on him that this had to be the work of the Immortal. He ran out of the shed in a hurry and hopped around in excitement. When he finally calmed down, the chubby fellow looked into the distance at the Phoenix Mountain blurred by the rain, and clenched his fists. ¡®I WILL make a name for myself here!¡¯ *** The rain reached out to a hundred kilometers on four directions from Bai Town, which was just enough to cover all the towns and viges under its jurisdiction. At the westernmost corner, even an outer district of Shengtian was lucky enough to be partially included. It was also were Shengtian Observatory was located. ¡°We have the cloud chart. Measure the covering area!¡± ¡°Yes. The result is obtained!¡± ¡°The rainfall remains steady without any sign of abating!¡± ¡°Data of all viges and towns are basically identical. No obvious difference is detected!¡± ¡°Measurement! Measurement! I need detailed data!¡± The deputy director was holding a stack of files filled with worthless conclusions. He roared, ¡°The precipitation! I need the exact number of the precipitation! Now!¡± Precipitation was the depth of rainwater falling to a level ground within a certain period. It was measured in millimeters, and usually every six hours. The deputy was probably too anxious over the order directly from the central government that he had forgotten about the basic concept, which his men dared not remind him about. He was about to urge the men again when a handnded on his shoulder¡ªthe director had arrived. ¡°Old Zhang, all that anxiety is not good for a heart of your age. The measurement takes time; you can¡¯t rush that.¡± ¡°But the bosses, the bosses are pushing for it!¡± ¡°Pushing for it? Hoho,e here¡­¡± The director took his deputy to the corridor, and pushed a window open with a chuckle. ¡°See for yourself!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Confused, the deputy leaned over a little. The moment he stuck his head out of the window, the clear and dense tapping sounds filled his ears, which soon attracted all his attention like the exciting sound of war drums. Ssh! Patter! ¡°Dab¡­ flutter!¡± Outside, the rain fell down like a curtain onto the streets, the sheds, the rooftops, the windows, and the pedestrians. The sound reminded one of the most wonderful music. Countless people had run out to the streets, cheering loudly for reasons they did not know. The rain had nothing to do with them, nor could it solve the drought all over the country. But they simply wanted to cheer. Maybe because they could finally give vent to the frustration brought to them by the longsting heat. Maybe this rain was so out of their imagination that they could not fight the impulse of wanting to jump around. Maybe they could now see the possibility of a bright future that cultivation might bring them, which, slim as it might be, was afort against this goddamn world that was suffocating them. ¡®We men will without a doubt break all the shackles, and defeat them all in the end. How can we allow those disgusting things take our homnd and our loved ones? How can we allow them to break us?¡¯ ¡°What do we need the measurement for? It is a downpour!¡± Chapter 401 Chapter 401: Life after the Rain Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The rainsted for well over an hour. The observatory also came up with the data in a few hours: the rain had covered the entire Bai Town area, and the amount of precipitation in that hour had reached the standard of a heavy rain. Because of the rumor going around beforehand, all districts had made rain-proof preparations ordingly in a half-serious manner. Hence, the rainfall did not cause any problems. People on the square remained standing in the rain the whole time. Instead of scattering and looking for a ce to take shelter, they jumped and cheered loudly in the rain, going wild with joy. When the sky finally cleared up and the dark clouds dispersed, it was well into the night. The silver moon hung high abovehead as the heat of the summer quickly made its way back, devouring the coolness in the air little by little until it was as hot as before. However, everyone now knew that it was not the same anymore. The rain had sowed in their hearts a seed, which would one day sprout with their memories and hopes. With the six days of lectures, one day of the enrollment, and the days of brewing before the actual event, Bai Town had been bustling for as long as half a month. It all ended with this rain, after which, people from all over the country went back where they came from. Bai Town was empty in a night as if nothing had happened. Of course, some chose to stay no matter what, and went on to search for their own opportunity. *** Inner mountain, the meditation room. That rain stopped after Gu Yu activated the fifth transformation of the talisman, and the purple paper finally burnt up into ashes. A skill such as this which affected the weather was extremely exhaustive, and even with Gu Yu¡¯s Human Immortal state, he still felt worn out. Right now, he was sitting in the meditation room,bing through what he learnt from using this talisman. They only had that one Five-transformation Rain-praying Talisman, which was used up now. Although he knew how to draw the talisman, he had yet toprehend the theories and principles behind it. Hence, he could not replicate one for the time being. On the other hand, he had learnt a lot from this experience. First of all, he learnt a little about thew of rain-praying. This so-calling process of praying for rain was not to control the weather, but to react to it instead. Weather was also a part of nature, and nature was Dao itself. Do recall that the ultimate goal of cultivators was to be unified with nature itself. Hence, there was no such concept like ¡°controlling¡±. It did not work the way as people assumed, which was to ¡°control¡± the wind, the rain, the thunder, the lightning, and to move mountains and seas. Ancient cultivators focused on the interaction between men and universe. When one reached a certain level of cultivation, the reaction woulde naturally, with which they would then try to integrate with nature so that the two sides were tuned and couldmunicate. It was not a master-subordinate rtionship. What happened back then was that the energy of the talisman moved inward first, changing the energy of Five Elements inside his body; then, the external energy of Five Elements changed with it. Both the talisman and the cultivator worked as a medium for the interaction. ¡®Wait a minute!¡¯ Gu Yu shuddered all of a sudden: would Xiaozhai go through the same process with her Thunder Technique? Would she react to thunder, which then would feed back onto herself? After that, would her power grow infinitely, enabling her to stay on top for the next tens of thousands of years¡­ Ssss! No! He would not go into that yet! Another thing he learned from this experience was about the legendary gods. After testing it himself, he was almost certain that everything from the vowing and the god-summoning texts to the eight treasures and candles was nothing but for show. The spell was what made everything happen. For instance, the Rain-praying Spell he used went as, ¡°I hereby summon the god of water so that rain wille out of the Wall Mansion. Leopard of he Winnowing Basket rises and Flood Dragon of the Neck dances¡­¡± These two sentences alone mentioned four gods, which were: Water Yu of Wall, one of the Twenty-Eight Mansions (of the Chinese Constetion system) and the seventh of the Seven Northern Mansions. Water Leopard of Winnowing Basket, the seventh of the Seven Eastern Mansions. Metal Dragon of Neck, the second of the Seven Eastern Mansions. Wood Flood Dragon of Horn, the first of the Seven Eastern Mansions. Since it indeed rained, the spell obviously worked, but did it prove the existence of gods? ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu shook his head. When he was casting the spell, he sensed no such ¡°presence¡±. In that case, what was it about these gods? It was safe to conclude that the figures in the Chinese mythology were mostly the result of ¡°promotion campaigns¡±. Take the Four Great Celestial Masters Zhang Daoling, Ge Xuan, Xu Xun, and Sa Shoujian as an example. They were generally known as ¡°gods of the heavenly court¡±, which meant they had ascended to the heavenly court after achieving immortality and were appointed as heavenly officials. But that was not what actually happened. All four men were cultivators who had reached either the Immortal or Earthly Immortal state, after which they simply wandered the heaven and earth freely, and were nowhere to be found. Another example would be the Jade Emperor, who became well-known at a ratherte stageparing to other gods and immortals. The Jade Emperor only received his title as the ¡°Supreme Creator, Imperial Operator, and Jade Emperor of the Great Heaven¡± in the Song Dynasty from Emperor Zhenzong. Even his statues and drawings were only finalized after Song, depicting a man in a ceremonial gown with nine patterns and wearing a crown with tassels of twelve strings of beads¡ªa style taken from the drawings of the emperors of the Qin and Han Dynasties. The Jade Emperor was said to have jurisdiction over thirty-six heavens and seventy-two earthlynds, and was the head of all gods, immortals, buddhas, saints, the mortal world, and theherworld. That sounded even more like a marketing campaign, for it included buddhas! The Jade Emperor was a Taoist god, but was said to be the boss of Buddha. The two did not even belong to the same system. There was no way around it, for Taoism had such a messy mythological system even Taoists themselves could not exin it, let alone telling the real from the made-up ones. It was a disaster for those of theter generations. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu sat there for a long time, utterly baffled. He had this vague idea that a type of god did not exist, yet another type seemed to exist at the same time. The idea of dragons came to him all of a sudden. ording to the book ¡°On Dragons¡±, dragons were the essence of nature, and were created at a calling. In that case, could gods work the same way? No, that couldn¡¯t be! He corrected himself right away, for during the rain-praying, an energy had suddenly shot out of his body and floated above his head. It was shapeless and looked the most bizarre. What on earth was that? He somehow felt that the thing had something to do with gods. ¡°Ugh!¡± Gu Yu sighed involuntarily. One had to say goodbye to the mortal world and see nature as it was in order to move from the innate state to the Human Immortal one. Then, from Human Immortal to Immortal, one had toprehend the brilliance of mind and soul, perfecting both the physical and spiritual form. It was not as easy as the words might sound at all! He only roughly knew that he should be looking into the secrets of mind and soul, but exactly what was to be done? He had no idea at all! *** Phoenix Mountain covered an area of over 300 km^2, and the main peak Cuanyun Peak stood nearly a thousand meters above the sea level. After the formation was set up, the spiritual ginseng activated the energy of the mountain and thend, which was silently transforming the mountain every day. Cuanyun Peak had now risen to an altitude of over a thousand meters. Since it happened to sit right in the middle of the mountain range, it was used as andmark, from which eight directions were divided. The mountain gate was in the south, and the area between that and Cuanyun¡ªsouthwest and southeast wings included¡ªwas where the old scenic area used to be. It was sizable and fully-equipped with all necessary facilities. After the revamp, thendscape was a feast for the eyes, and almost a paradise on earth. This entire big area was the front mountain, where a front gate, guest houses, living quarters for disciples, teaching area, training area, service hall, etc., had been built. The 1008 probies would be living here from now on. Moving north from Cuanyun Peak, a circle ofnd was partially hidden behind a grove of peach trees, which was a restricted area. That was the inner mountain, where the Cottage of Pure Mind, the library, and the small training court were. It was also were Gu Yu and the other three lived. The western slope of the mountain was separated out as the beast farm; moving further north from the peach tree grove was the back mountain, which also included the entire area on the east. This area was quite versatile; one could find here the workshops of liquor, tea, and talismans, the manor, the barn, as well as the orchard, tea ntation, the spiritual farnd, the herb garden, etc. To sum it up, most of the 300-km^2nd had been put into use, and only less than half remained untouched. There was no tram or bus on the mountain, and one had to go everywhere on foot. So, you would need to be quite fit to run all the way from the front mountain to the back. The above-mentioned was probably the first impression the probies had of Phoenix Mountain. The second day after the rain-praying ceremony, they packed up and moved onto the mountain. Chapter 402 Chapter 402: 1008 Probies (Part 1) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The front mountain, Phoenix Tree Garden. A few buildings stood here,missioned by a former top official of Bai Town as an adult education training center. However, before the project waspleted, the fellow was thrown into prison. Hence, the building remained unfinished, and the whole big area abandoned. Xiaozhai had found the idlend quite a waste when they were revamping the mountain. After some nning, she modified the buildings into dormitories, which would be where the future probies would live. The male and female dormitories were in separate buildings. With the six-bed rooms and the shared bathrooms, they were pretty much the same as your average college dormitories. A row of one-story houses ran along the buildings, all turned into kitchens. You Yu was a middle school student himself, so all these arrangements were nothing strange to him. However, his roommates were not asmon. Of the five others, two were in their twenties, two in their thirties, and one forty-two years old, said to be the oldest of all 1008 pupils. He was called Zhou Zhiming, hailing from Hebei Province, and had a wife, a child, and a sessful career. No one knew what got into him, for the man had set his mind into joining the mountain, and as it turned out, he had been granted his wish. The man was in his forties, and had fought more wars in the business world than he could count. But now, he was to squeeze into this room with these young blokes, who would address one another as junior or senior brothers. Experienced as Zhou Zhiming was, he still found the situation somewhat awkward. It was nighttime already, and everyone was a little tired after spending the day with the arrangement of dormitories. You Yu was not the sociable type. He was sitting quietly on his bed, folding his few clothes over and over again. One fellow was leaning against the door, talking to his family on the phone, but he was very careful with his words, only saying that everything was fine without giving any information about the mountain. The other members of the room were also minding their business without uttering a word. It was rather awkward. ¡°Attention! Assemble downstairs in ten minutes! Assemble downstairs in ten minutes!¡± The broadcast rang out all of a sudden, startling them all. They put on their clothes and shoes in silence, and then hurried downstairs. Everyone got there as fast as they could, and males and females stood in two separate groups. Everyone looked surprised but understanding. They had a reason to. Wasn¡¯t the cultivation world all about coiling clouds and white cranes, where one was given a super awesome outfit and some basic skills, instruments, and Dan pills? At a second thought, well, the current arrangement was understandable. ¡°All right. Anyone not here? Well, their loss!¡± Downstairs was a big court. Old Shui was standing at the front speaking loudly, ¡°Now, let¡¯s officially introduce ourselves. I¡¯m Shui Yao, this is Li Dong, this is Yan Han, and this is Guo Fei. We will be in charge of all your affairs from now on. Remember: ALL affairs! ¡°We¡¯ve gathered you here to inform you about a few things¡­ these are your name tags, which will be your credentials to go through the mountain gate. You cane and collect your own in a moment.¡± Old Shui gave the stone table, on which was a huge pile of wooden boxes containing the name tags made from jade stone, a knock. ¡°I will now tell you about the uing arrangements. There is no ss in the first week; you can use the time to get familiar with the environment. That is to say, you will be having a long free period from tomorrow until next week. You can go im quests from the Service Hall. There will be some difficulty involved, but it won¡¯t exceed your current capability. If that is not what you want, you¡¯re free to make your own ns in this first week. ¡°Since you¡¯re here, you have to follow our rules. Unless there is an eptable reason, no one is to leave the mountain or go home without permission. You can keep your mobile phone, but revealing what you see here to the outside is forbidden. Make sure you don¡¯t brag about it on your social media ounts. Anyone viting that rule will be kicked out immediately¡­ ¡°As for other bits and bobs, I¡¯ll set up an internal chat group and post all the necessary information there. Oh, take a note of this: abp662, abp662!¡± Old Shui blurted out a series of letters and numbers, which sounded like some license te. The crowd memorized it right away as told, but someone could not help but ask, ¡°Um, excuse me, but what is this?¡± ¡°Wifi password, obviously!¡± Old Shui replied in a formal tone. Seeing the colorful faces at that answer, he retorted surprisingly, ¡°We¡¯re not cavemen, ok? Of course we have wifi here!¡± ¡°Pffft!¡± The crowd snickered at this. That was the spirit! ¡°All right. You must be exhausted after a long day. Go get some rest. That¡¯s it for today!¡± The four left promptly after that. The crowd remained quiet for a moment before rushing to the table and searching for their name tags. The short and slim You Yu simply waited at the back, and was one of thest pupils to get their own. It was about 6 cm long, 3 cm wide, and of a deep green color. The back was carved with cloud patterns, and his name was inscribed on the front side. The jade te was cool in his hand first, then grew warm. It was a strangelyfortable thing to hold. Realizing that it was no ordinary object, You Yu carefully put it in an inside pocket, and went back to his room. Maybe the meeting had provided somemon topic, for the room finally livened up a little. ¡°Hey, Brother Shui didn¡¯t mention the inner mountain just then. Does it mean we can go there too?¡± An idea suddenly dawned on one of the fellows. ¡°Really, you think he should actually point that out? What¡¯s gotten into your head?¡± retorted another fellow. ¡°You can certainly try. Set an example for us.¡± Zhou Zhiming chuckled. ¡°No, thanks. I don¡¯t want to die just yet.¡± Recalling that divine lightning exploding in the square, that fellow shuddered despite himself. Since they began to talk, opportunities were formed. Zhou Zhiming was sort of considering himself the eldest brother of the room. ¡°Since we¡¯re put in the same room, it must be fate. I can¡¯t say about the future, but at least at this early stage, we should work together and stand shoulder to shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s check out the quests tomorrow and have a go at them if they look all right. It¡¯s vital that we should get familiar with the environment asap. What do you think?¡± ¡°I agree!¡± Surprisingly, You Yu was the first one to chime in. The other four hesitated a little, then agreed that it was the best choice at the moment, nodding as well. That night, some turned over and over in their beds, while others slept like a baby. Everyone was looking forward to the new day, and even the wonderful future that might await. *** ¡°Good morning!¡± ¡°Morning!¡± ¡°You went jogging?¡± ¡°Yup. I¡¯m going to grab a bite. See ya!¡± If one did not know better, they would never guess that these were a bunch of fellows that had joined a cultivation sect. There was nothing immortal-ish about their daily life, and everything looked so mundane. Some wasted no time to im their quests, while others kept their own pace and wandered around aimlessly. Some even tried to take a walk outside, but only to find two guards at the mountain gate. They were young, vigorous, and those eyes ncing around felt like cold des. These were the young helpers that used to work for Old Shui. While the man received his share of reward from the mountain, they got the scraps every now and then. Things like the tea, liquor, and fruit had arrived more than once on their tables. Old Shui was sharp-eyed and good at running affairs. Early on, he had taught these two some martial arts movements, and kept training them purposefully. All that effort was paying off right now. Just by standing there, the two guys looked intimidating enough. The wanderers dared not even strike up a conversation, and went back the same way quietly. As for You Yu and his five roommates, they got up very early this morning and headed up the mountain after breakfast. Everyone was given a map. That Service Hall was halfway up the mountain, where Ziyang Temple used to be. The over-a-thousand people made for quite a conspicuous scene on the mountain. Everywhere they turned, they saw their fellow pupils in their own little groups. You Yu¡¯s face lit up as he walked and he called out, ¡°Susu!¡± ¡°Hm?¡± The little girl turned around, and her eyes turned into two crescent moons. ¡°Brother Yu, are you going up the mountain, too?¡± ¡°Yes. How was yesterday? Do you find everything all right?¡± ¡°It was great. The big sisters in my room are all very nice to me.¡± Seeing that they began to talk, their roommates walked closer and introduced themselves. Zhou Zhiming was the oldest of them, and An Susu the youngest. The two standing together made a rather amusing picture. The two groups got acquainted easily enough. After an hour¡¯s walk, they were halfway up the mountain. Turning into the byroad as the road sign instructed, they saw a pce-styled building ahead. So many people were there that the line extended all the way into the courtyard. Those at the front moved unhurriedly, and those at the back urged repeatedly. There was nothing they could do but stay at the back and wait. It seemed forever before it was finally their turn. Entering the pce, they saw a great hall. There was noputerized office and the typing of keyboards as they guessed¡ªthat would be too out of ce. The hall actually looked quite quaint. Counters lined the wall on the left and the right, with two people behind each, handling the affairs. The wall upfront was covered by wood tes with various texts written on them. ¡°Help in the herb garden: one day.¡± ¡°Help in the orchard: one day.¡± ¡°Help in the tea ntation: one day.¡± ¡°Take care of the beast farm: one day. Tools provided.¡± ¡°Cleaning the paths of the front mountain: one day.¡± *** They smiled wryly as they read through the tes. Somehow, they were all reminded of a certain manga: the protagonist became a junior ninja, only to¡ªwith much disappointment¡ªfind the quests awaiting him to be catching cats and dogs or plumbing jobs. ¡°Hey, check that out!¡± While they were immersed in their disconstion, a girl suddenly pointed at the right-most row. The group followed her fingers and saw: ¡°Catch a green-feather red-beak sparrow: three days.¡± ¡°Collect four-leaf lotus root grass: two days.¡± ¡°Blood-sucking grass is pestering Yushu Vige of Baoshan Town. Investigate and try to collect samples: three days. Tools provided.¡± ¡°Mutated giant m was said to be spotted in theke in Saima Town. Investigate only: four days. Tools provided.¡± *** Well, this row was apparently the more difficult tasks. A strange silence fell over the group, which Zhou Zhiming broke in a moment. ¡°So, any thoughts? Which one shall we take?¡± ¡°The giant m, of course!¡± ¡°Exactly, or what are we doing here? We need a challenge!¡± ¡°All right, the m it is.¡± With that, Zhou Zhiming went up to the wall and was going to take the te. A sound then came from behind him. A girl had rushed deftly to his side and reached out with her small hand, ripping down the te. ¡°Why, you¡¯re from the other day¡­¡± You Yu was surprised to see a familiar face. ¡°Teehee. Sorry, but it¡¯s ours!¡± That girl was none other than Zeng Ke herself. Waving the wooden te in her hand, she joined Lei Xiao and Yuan Lingshan, then went to register at the counter. For a moment, everyone was talking about it in the hall¡ªnot about her open robbery and making a cute thing out of it, but the ability she demonstrated with it. ¡°Did you see her gait just then? She went past him with a few taps of her feet. That must be qinggong 1 .¡± ¡°I heard those three were rich second generation from Shengtian, and their families have trained them since little. It¡¯s no surprise that they have a few tricks.¡± ¡°Just look at the way they walk. It¡¯s so obvious that they have had some basic training. There¡¯s no way we can catch up to that.¡± ¡°The gap between the wealthy and the poor is simply everywhere. I¡¯m losing at the starting line again.¡± ¡°Dude, haven¡¯t you read any ReadNovelFulls? Swaggers attracting all the spotlight like that are always the cannon fodders. Protagonists are people like us: low-key, restrained, and having nothing special.¡± Zhou Zhiming was blushing with embarrassment. All his experience in the business world counted for nothing here. Capability was the only thing that mattered. Kind as he always was, You Yu smiled and came to his rescue. ¡°In that case, how about we take the blood-sucking grass task? Oh, that sparrow is also in Baoshan Town. I lived there before and know the ce. I think we can take that as well.¡± ¡°I agree!¡± An Susu raised her hand first. ¡°Yea, I think that¡¯ll do.¡± ¡°Agree!¡± ¡°All right, we¡¯ll take these two.¡± Zhou Zhiming removed the two tes from the wall. Feeling that he should show his vigor nheless, he encouraged the rest of the team. ¡°Just forget about what happened. They do have their advantage, but we are going to work harder. It is just the beginning.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s just the beginning!¡± Chapter 403 Chapter 403: 1008 Probies (Part 2) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Ready?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°I¡¯m lighting it up!¡± It was nighttime. In the woods near Hongqi Vige of Baoshan Town, You Yu took up the role as themander in chief. After making sure that everyone was prepared, he poured a small tank of gasoline over a pile of wood, then tossed a handful of hay over it. Whoosh! me surged from the ignited pile of wood, and billowing smoke was soon carried deep into the woods by the wind. Right now, they were standing in a clearing that was circled inside a tall protective wall made from damp mud from the river, which was to make sure that the fire would not spread out of control. Apart from that, a few high wattage searchlights had also been set up nearby; they were switched on, and turned in various directions, lighting up the dark woods like the bright daylight. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Gotta flush the bird out!¡± Of the twelve people, four stayed behind as guards, while the other eight scattered into the woods with wooden and bamboo sticks in hand. They moved from the periphery towards the center as they swept their tools across the bushes and grass around them, uttering an ¡°oh, oh, oh¡± sound. Whee! Squeak! All sorts of creatures were startled and woken up from their sleep, utterly frightened. The area wasn¡¯t all that big, and it was easy to spot the light of that clearing. In the darkness of the night, the clearing was as dazzling as a lighthouse. Phototaxis made most animals run in that direction without giving it any thought. ¡°They¡¯reing!¡± You Yu picked up a makeshift bird-catching, and reminded his three teammates, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous! Make the move only after you¡¯re certain!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The other three nodded with excitement. Flutter! Flutter! Birds were naturally the first batch to arrive. They came in all sizes, colors, and species, and circled in the air above the clearing, chirping incessantly. ¡°No, it¡¯s not here yet. Stay still!¡± You Yu called out loudly to steady his teammates. A couple of minutester, his face lit up as two small sparrows with green feathers and bright red beaks dashed out of the woods. ¡°There¡¯re two of them! Catch them! I¡¯ll take the one on the left!¡± You Yu strode out to the left. His hands kept extremely steady as he inclined the to one side with the opening turned upwards. When the sparrow was close enough, he swept the down forcibly. Chirp! A green-feathered red-beaked sparrow was trapped right inside the, and stuck to the strings that had been painted with glue¡ªit was going nowhere. The other three reacted nervously to their task, and simply waved theirs aimlessly in the air. Luckily, the sparrow was even more flustered, and bumped into one by itself without knowing where it was going. ¡°Hahaha! We got them! We got them!¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t spend the two days here for nothing!¡± The other eight members also arrived at the clearing, and were happy to see the result. Zhou Zhiming tied the birds¡¯ ws up with some strings, then picked up one carefully and stuck it to the trunk of a tree. After a tiny fluctuation¡ªwhich they could not perceive¡ªthe green feather and red beak began to change color, both turning into taupe. In the end, the bird¡¯s color was almost identical to that of the tree trunk that one could not tell one from the other. ¡°We got it right! This is the green-feathered red-beaked sparrow, and we caught two in one go!¡± Zhou Zhiming was exhrated. ¡°Xiao Yu is so good at this. I¡¯d never guessed that! It¡¯s all thanks to you!¡± ¡°We all did it together. I saw people catching birds on Fish Mountain once, that¡¯s why I knew a little about this.¡± You Yu did not look as excited, which was understandable. It was the only time that he went bird-catching with his cousin, and he ended up witnessing dozens of his fellow vigers get killed¡ªnot exactly a good memory. ¡°Teehee. Brother Yu, you¡¯re too modest. We saw what you did!¡± An Susu chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯re like that saying: good lenses, bad frames. Unlike we three¡ªour hands were shaking the entire time.¡± A fellow praised him, and the others muttered in agreement. At this early stage, when everybody was a weak novice, working together was the key to sess. When they were capable enough to have conflict in interests, they wouldn¡¯t be able to find such harmony anymore. The two quests they imed both had the briefest introduction. There was the general location of the targets: one in Hongqi Vige, and one in Yushu Vige. They were also given some characteristics of the targets: green-feathered red-beaked sparrow¡ªgood at changing color as a camouge; blood-sucking grass¡ªgood at long-distance ambush. And then? There was nothing else! ¡®Are you f*cking kidding me?!¡¯ The group arrived at Hongqi Vige in high spirits, and their search came up empty. When they finally managed to spot the bird, it disappeared in the blink of an eye. It was then that You Yu offered his suggestion, which was to use light as a trap at night to catch the bird. They spent half a day preparing the tools, but luckily, they seeded. ¡°There, there. It¡¯s not time for ttery yet. Let¡¯s wrap up for the night, and go to Yushu Vige tomorrow.¡± Seeing that the team was moving into a prolonged happy chit-chat, Zhou Zhiming intervened. They then began their journey back. Zhou Zhiming stayed at the rear of the team and stared at You Yu¡¯s back. The look in his eyes changed suddenly¡ªinstead of the foxy and worldly-wise look usually found in them, there was only toughness and fierceness now. Of the twelve people from the two dormitories, most of them were mediocre both physically and psychologically. An Susu was the only one that stood out a little. You Yu turned out to be a surprise. The teenager struck Zhou Zhiming as taciturn, introverted, and easy-going, with nothing extraordinary about him. However, after the past two days, Zhou Zhiming had reversed this conclusionpletely. This boy would be of great use to him! Such individuals could be found in many teams inpanies; they would keep a low profile on a daily basis, but would prove to be of great use like a burst of energy at critical moments. ¡®Hoho!¡¯ Zhou Zhiming wiped the strange smile off his face, and put that shrewd face back on. It was an open enrollment of Phoenix Mountain. Only idiots would choose not to use the opportunity to smuggle in their own people! *** Yushu Vige, Cockb Mountain. This was not the small woods like that of Hongqi Vige. Cockb Mountain was officially the stretching branch of Phoenix Mountain, and extended for over 50 km. Right now, the sun was high up in the sky, but thanks to the dense spiritual essence on the mountain, the heat was not as overpowering. That was probably the only luck they had now. ¡°We¡¯ve searched every inch of this mountain. Where on earth is that blood-sucking grass?¡± ¡°We¡¯d have to go back withoutpleting the quest if we still can¡¯t find it¡­ Hey, Susu, stop running about!¡± ¡°That¡¯s ok. I¡¯ll check over there!¡± A man and two women were talking. The man was Guo Xu, and the two women were Wang Rong and An Susu. The twelve people had been divided into four groups, which had searched the mountain like plowing a field. Unfortunately, they found nothing. ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve been here before. Look at that tree.¡± An Susu pointed at a crooked old tree, and said, ¡°That tree looks so funny. We¡¯d definitely remember it if we saw it before¡­ Brother, Sister, let¡¯s have a look around here. Maybe we¡¯ll find it.¡± Being the youngest of them all, she was the oneforting the two adults. The other two were a little abashed at this, and perked up a little. The search went on. Wang Rong seemed to be on the short-tempered side, and soon began toin again. ¡°Is this blood-sucking grass a real thing? There¡¯s nothing on the app. How did they find out on the mountain?¡± ¡°Maybe someone stumbled upon it and didn¡¯t have time to study it yet. That bird didn¡¯t have any information either, right?¡± said Guo Xu. ¡°Blood-sucking grass, blood-sucking grass¡­ that name is so random! Sigh, I wonder if this thing can actually defend us.¡± Wang Rong removed a string from around her neck, attached to which was a piece of turtle shell. She examined the dangling pendant, and said, ¡°They said it¡¯s a one-off thing, so it won¡¯t be of much use even it can ward the grass off.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We still have this.¡± Guo Xu drew out a short sword that was made of fine steel and had a hint of green to it. The sword was forged with modern technology, only that some green jade stone was added to the material. With the limited amount of spiritual mines so far, they didn¡¯t have much option but to use it thriftly. This method was actually invented by the government, which hade up with quite a lot of equipment by mixing cultivation material into modern ones. ¡°I used to be a cold steel collector, and had my own circle. Honestly, I have never seen anything this sharp.¡± Guo Xu was from an affluent family, and a little willful in his temperament. He swept the sword casually across the air, and with a shing sound, a cluster of grass was severed from the middle with a very smooth and even cut. ¡°Save it forter!¡± Wang Rong could not bear the sight of the fellow, and would mock him whenever she got the chance. ¡°Don¡¯t go all coward when it¡¯s time for the real action¡ª ouch!¡± She didn¡¯t watch the road as she spoke, and tripped on something all of a sudden. The turtle shell dropped out of her hand. ¡°Watch out!¡± An Susu screamed; panic filled her flickering ck pupils. There was a shuffling sound inside the thick growth of grass as if a snake was slithering around. It was meters away at first, but the next moment, it was right at their feet. Chapter 404 Chapter 404: 1008 Probies (Part 3) Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Aaaah!¡± Wang Rong screamed as a twig as thick as a pinky dashed out of the grass and wrapped around her left leg. The twig was covered with barbed pricks, which all stuck into her skin simultaneously. ¡°Ah!¡± She fell to the ground at the tug, and her left leg felt as if it was surrounded by countless giant mosquitoes that had buried their mouthpieces into her flesh. She could distinctively feel her blood being sucked out of her. ¡°Help! Help!¡± ¡°Wait, wait¡­ I¡¯ming, I¡­¡± Guo Yu was petrified, for he saw that not far from where he was standing, a strange nt about waist high had stood up, waving its branches as if it was some sort of animal. ¡°Help her! Quickly!¡± An Susu nudged Guo Yu repeatedly, but thetter stood there frozen. As a kid growing up in the countryside, she was a fearless little thing. She snatched the sword from Guo Xu¡¯s hand, and ran towards Wang Rong. ¡°Don¡¯t panic, Sister! I¡¯ming!¡± She hacked at the twig with the short sword, and the de cut into the nt like a knife into tofu. The thing twitched as if it could feel pain, then two thorny twigs flipped to life,ing right at An Susu. The little girl had no time to dodge and closed her eyes before the seemingly inevitable death, only to be startled by a few thuds as a transparent film rose up around her. The twig hit the shield and bounced back at the impact. Its movement then slowed down as if it was injured in some way. An Susu opened her eyes, and reacted quickly to this, shouting, ¡°Come and help me!¡± ¡°I, I, but¡­¡± Guo Xu stayed frozen on the spot with shaking legs. An Susu was trying to drag Wang Rong away with all her effort. A little help from Guo Xu, and they would be all out of danger. Unfortunately, he did not move. The window of opportunity closed in a split second, and the blood-sucking grass recovered. The twig shot out rapidly all at once as if it was going to swallow them whole. Clunk! Just then, the little girl heard the sound of drawing sword that reminded her of a roaring dragon. Before she had time to think, a long sword had pierced the tip of that nt, and stayed there as if it had fallen down from beyond the highest heavens. ¡°Why, you¡¯re from Phoenix Mountain?¡± Right after that, a figurended lightly. Her posture was refined, elegant, and graceful¡ªwhat a pretty big sister! ¡°We¡¯re here on a quest. Please help her,¡± An Susu pleaded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. She¡¯ll be fine.¡± The young woman crouched down and fed the passed out Wang Rong a pill, then asked, ¡°Are you looking for the blood-sucking grass?¡± ¡°We have been searching for it the whole day. Sister, is that the grass?¡± ¡°Yes, but although it is called grass, it actually looks like this¡­¡± The woman waved her hand and the long sword disappeared. The nt then quickly sagged like a deted balloon until it was only a dozen centimeters long. It now looked like a withered old tree root. An Susu watched it with surprise. The next second, she opened her eyes widely as that tree root cracked open and a fat red worm crawled out. The worm made its way into a thick growth of grass, trying to escape among all the flurry. However, a chubby little kid cut it off. The kid then picked up the worm and ate it with a slurping sound, then pped its hands with a big grin. ¡°Retch¡­¡± An Susu and Guo Xu felt their stomach churning¡ªthat looked disgusting. ¡°This is a roundworm. When it lives inside a nt, it turns the nt into blood-sucking grass. Although it is a harmful insect, the nt that it has lived in bes an excellent material.¡± The woman picked up that tree root, which was dripping blood, and smiled. ¡°This thing can be used for making Dan pills that could rapidly recover your health. It¡¯s a pill you can use as well.¡± ¡°F-fairy¡­¡± Guo Xu reacted to that, and said, ¡°Could you leave it to us so that we canplete our task?¡± ¡°I killed this one. Why should I give to you?¡± the woman asked, surprised. ¡°You¡¯re the superior fairy¡­ I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t care about petty things like this. We, however, have just joined the mountain, and could really use this as an aplishment. If you could show some mercy¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not making sense. The quests are part of your training, and you can only be trained by obtaining them by yourself.¡± The woman was as good-tempered as she was sensible. ¡°You have ignored the practicality and almost got us killed for nothing! Are you going to take responsibility for that?¡± Wang Rong woke up while they were talking, and she began to yell at the woman after getting to know what had happened. ¡°You know perfectly well of how dangerous the blood-sucking grass is. Why did you put it on the quest list?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The woman blinked, and opened her palm. ¡°Is this your turtle shell? Why weren¡¯t you wearing it?¡± ¡°I, I dropped it identally!¡± ¡°Have you forgotten what ce this is? The woods are ridden with crises; these things are there to keep you alive, not something for you to y with!¡± The woman straightened her face, and said sternly, ¡°The blood-sucking grass might look ferocious, but it has a limited attacking range. You have the turtle shell as protection and the short sword to attack. As long as you can work together and stay sharp, with some courage, you are perfectly capable of killing it. But you¡­ how could you me someone else?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Biting her lips, Wang Rong wanted to retort, but couldn¡¯t find anything to say. She was your average urban college student, and was still irascible after only just joining the mountain. One couldn¡¯t exactly call her evil or anything. ¡°Prove yourself if you¡¯re not convinced. Your capability is the only thing that¡¯ll make you confident. Now, I should go¡­¡± With that, the woman shifted a little, and was miles away. ¡°Sister, what¡¯s your name?¡± An Susu called eagerly after her. ¡°I¡¯m Long Qiu¡­¡± *** ¡°Senior Brother!¡± ¡°Oh, you can go in.¡± You Yu hesitated for a second before uttering the two words¡ªhe had yet to get used to addressing others with that title. Those on duty checked their jade tag and the quest te, then waved them in. In a mere three days, the twelve people felt they had gone through so much. Dishevelled, exhausted, and starved as they might be, there was something subtly different about them. Modern people all hadmon defects such as sloth, restlessness, aimlessness, orck of reverence. Once they became part of the cultivation world, they had to correct them gradually. They headed straight for the Service Hall halfway up the mountain without any rest. The area outside the hall was crowded as always; some even walked around holding advertisement tes, which read, ¡°Quest in Longkou Vige, looking for a teammate. The ideal candidate has to run fast! Very, very fast!¡± ¡°Quest in Haojia Vige: a dormitory of lovely girls seeks a cute guy that can climb trees.¡± ¡°Quest in Xiche Vige, going into a river: candidates of either sex are wee; one has to be able to hold breath for over two minutes under water.¡± ¡­and so on, and so forth. Each person holding the ad had drawn out their own territory, and quite a few people were going up to them and asking around. ¡°¡­¡± You Yu and the others watched this with a puzzled look; why did they feel they had just been sucked into a virtue sandbox game? They went into the hall with the birds. Three teams hade in before them; two failed their quests, and one seeded. Zhou Zhiming put the birds on the counter, and handed over the wooden te. The man in charge examined the birds closely. ¡°They¡¯re indeed a pair of green-feathered red-beaked sparrows, alive and with a minor damage to the wings¡¯ feathers. You¡¯ll get an ¡®outstanding¡¯.¡± The man took over the wooden te and recorded the result. Zhou Zhiming then handed out the twig of a blood-sucking grass with an exnation. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll count that as the discovery of a lead. That¡¯s a pass for your team. You can go now!¡± The man waved them away, and kept his sarcasticment in his head. ¡®Had it not been for Miss Qiu passing through, your team would have been finished!¡¯ ¡®WTF?¡¯ The team was utterly baffled. That was it? Uncle, you had to be kidding, right? Where was our reward? They confirmed repeatedly, and only gave back the short sword dispiritedly after they got the same answer over and over again. They were about to leave when there was a hubbub outside the hall. Three people hurried in, carrying a giantke m. The m was the size of a millstone, and the silver-white shell was tightly shut. An intense fluctuation of water wasing out of it. One did not need to be an expert to tell that it was an exceptional creature. ¡°Oh my, they have indeed dug it out. They¡¯re not called the ¡®threesome team¡¯ for nothing.¡± ¡°They have been trained beforeing here, and are capable enough to kill. We¡¯re not in the same league.¡± You heard it right. ¡°Threesome team¡± was the sobriquet the others gave to the three teeangers from the families of Zeng, Lei, and Yuan¡ªof course, they were only using it behind the three¡¯s back. The man in charge was also surprised. After a thorough inspection, he said, ¡°Theke m is perfectly intact. Because of your capability¡­ you¡¯ll get an ¡®extraordinary¡¯.¡± ¡°Any reward for that?¡± asked Zeng Ke. ¡°Nope!¡± ¡°Tsk!¡± Zeng Ke rolled her eyes, but dared notsh out. ¡°Wow! Check it out! Check it out!¡± ¡°His dormitory is right next to mine. How did I never notice him before? There¡¯re so many hidden talents!¡± This was meant to be a noisy day. Apanied by a bustling crowd, another extraordinary one had returned. He was in his early twenties, quite tall, and had handsome features with a casual hippieness about them. In his hand, there was a bag, which he untied to reveal a small scorpion about 10 cm long. The scorpion had the shape of a pipa, 1 and was jet-ck from head to tail. There was a pair of central eyes in the middle of its back, and three pairs of side eyes lined its body on either side, giving it the most bizarre look. It had a seven-segment anterior, a five-segment posterior, and a barbed stinger. The tip of the stinger was deep red, and seemed to glint coldly. ¡°An eight-eyed scorpion? He caught one alive?¡± The man in charge was amazed as well. This type of scorpion lived in a mutated swamp to the west of Bai Town. It had nothing special about it, apart from the fact that it was extremely venomous. What was more, that swamp was infested by miasma and all sorts of snakes and insects, making the task all the more difficult. The quest was to find a way into the swamp and observe the behavior of the eight-eyed scorpion. The tools provided were pills to keep off the poisonous miasma, two pieces of turtle shell, and a short sword. ¡°If I remember it right, female eight-eyed scorpions oviposited on their back. How did you manage to get one?¡± ¡°It¡¯s breeding season for the eight-eyed scorpion at the moment. I began to watch their activities after I entered the swamp. I then discovered that the female scorpions would give birth to an embryo every 30 minutes, which they would keep on their back and look after with care.¡± The man stood there, recounting his story in an unhurried tone. ¡°But I then found out that if the female scorpion was greatly disturbed duringbor, it would abandon the young scorpion. ¡°Therefore, I stayed outside its den for two days, and tried various ways to harass it. It cost me two turtle shells in the end to get this small scorpion.¡± ¡®!!!¡¯ The man in charge frowned slightly. From the way he told the story, everything was done so effortlessly, but the actual process must have been ridden with peril. He put away the scorpion, then pondered for a moment, and announced loudly, ¡°Tang Bole, most excellent. He is to be rewarded with a bottle of Small Spiritual Dan.¡± *** Phoenix Mountain used to have three Dan recipes. Evil-expelling Dan: two-transformation Dan, mainly focused on expelling evil energy and recovering one¡¯s strength; it had little effect on cultivation itself. Body-refining and Mind-enhancing Dan: three-transformation Dan, usable by innate state cultivators and above, immensely effective. Essence-gathering Dan: four-transformation Dan, usable by Human Immortals, and not refined yet due to the absence of necessary materials. There was also an Essence-gathering Incense that was usable by acquired state cultivators, but the effectiveness was very limited. Considering how green these probies were, Gu Yu made some modification to Evil-expelling Dan, and came up with a basic Dan that was suitable for these newly admitted pupils, which was that Small Spiritual Dan. ¡°Tang Bole? Oh, I do remember that name¡­¡± He was a little intrigued after hearing the report from the subordinate. Back then, after the formation was set up in Phoenix Mountain, several people tried to break in by force, but ended up almost losing their mind. When everyone else was shaken by the power of the immortals, a man ran out of the crowd and prostrated at the mountain gate, saying he was Tang Bole from Binzhou, and was earnestly hoping to enter the cultivation world. That was the man. ¡°He has an above-average natural endowment, but I didn¡¯t expect him to be this resolute. That¡¯s very good!¡± Chapter 405 Chapter 405: A Trip to Zuohai Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The week soon passed. They were told to use the time to get familiar with the environment, but everyone knew that the one-year observation period had already begun. The adaptable ones had by now not only figured out the rules of the mountain, but were also able to y their subjective roles to thergest extent within the boundary of those rules. Those less adaptable had also be more or less familiar with the regtions, only that they did not get much out of it because of their conservativeness. This was reflected the most through the choice of tasks. Some preferred the routine work of cleaning and taking care of the orchard and tea ntation, while others were keen on challenging themselves, and only imed the quests involving going out and exploration. Because of the ¡°most excellent¡± evaluation, Tang Bole received the only reward of the week, which created an incentive for a lot of people: they had topete! This was very different from the monastery¡¯s methods, for what was the first thing the pupils were taught when they were taken in by a temple? The rules. All in all, a lot seemed to have happened during those mere seven days, and there was now a subtlyplicated rtionship between dormitories and individual roommates. Zhou Zhiming kept demonstrating himself as the mature man he was supposed to be: shrewd, worldly-wise, and wless. You Yu maintained that same attitude towards life, and remained determined. Wang Rong tried her best to adjust her mentality to fit into this new environment¡ªafter all, no one here was stupid. And there was that Guo Xu, who had impeded his teammates while searching for the blood-sucking grass, and one of the bosses actually witnessed the whole process. He had been on edge for two days after that, thinking he was going to be kicked out immediately. However, nothing happened. He did not attribute it to luck, but was only more aware of the sense of urgency. Everyone now knew that four bosses lived in the inner mountain area. They were: Gu, Zhai, Qiu, and Jin. Most of them had met Xiaojin, and a few had seen Xiao Qiu, but the first two hardly ever showed their faces. Nheless, the pupils knew all the same that the overpowering pressure on the first day of the lectures and during the enrollment was from Mr. Gu himself. This gave them a feeling that they were the most unimportant worms down here, while the four looked down from over the cloud. Nothing they did missed those eyes, and there was no hiding from them. Most of their conduct, be it satisfactory or not, was neither rewarded nor punished. However, they had set up their own boundaries in their heads, and dared not act presumptuously. The official teaching of Phoenix Mountain began after that first week. The basic subjects were pretty straightforward. There were three of them: Qi, physical training, and identification of matters. Qi was on how to breathe and the Mind-calming Manual, physical training was to teach free-hand boxing and swordy, and the identification of matters was to have students know about the characteristics and application of all mutated creatures. The Mind-calming Manual trained one¡¯s mind, while breathing properly could help with sensing Qi in the acquired state. The free-boxing the mountain taught was a simplified version of the forty-eight hand movements; the swordy was also a modified version of themon skill from Xiaozhai¡¯s sect. None of the four would participate in the actual teaching, and had left that job to Old Shui and Li Dong. Of the 1008 people, most of them still need further observation after such a short time, but over a dozen of them were already standing out from the lot. *** July, the capital city. Inside some research center, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai had entered an inner room, led by the head of some department. Only a cab stood inside the room, containing five fossilized bones of different sizes. ¡°Mr. Gu and Miss Jiang, these are the dragon bones from back then,¡± said the head. ¡°Are you sure they¡¯re dragon bones?¡± Gu Yu nced at them, feeling the words a little absurd. ¡°We¡¯ve gotten used to calling them that after all these years¡­¡± The head was observably embarrassed, then asked tentatively, ¡°Do you think there is anything unusual about these bones?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t see anything unusual. They¡¯re just yourmon fossils.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve had other priests here before to examine them, and the conclusion then was the same¡­ Sigh, I do wish they were real.¡± The head sighed with emotion. After the enrollment and the rain, everything was going smoothly on the mountain. Hence, Gu Yu and Xiaozhai kept their promise, and were ready to go to Fujian to dig up that divine mountain at the bottom of the river. Before that, however, they went to the capital city out of curiosity¡ªthey wanted to check out the remains of that incident of the ¡°fallen dragon of Mogou Camp¡±. The incident basically went like this: In early July, 1934, a lot of people found a living dragon in upstream Tianzhuangtai. They then set up sun shades with rush mat for the dragon, and carried water there to pour over it. Monks from nearby temples ran expiation ceremony every day, but the dragon disappeared after a rainstorm several dayster. Then, inte July, a dragon was said to have been spotted in Mogou Camp. It wrecked three small boats, then crushed some workshops, and threw over a train; nine people were killed during this process. After that, on August 8th, a body was found in the reeds 10 km from the estuary. It was about 10 m long, had a pair of horns and other characteristics very simr to a dragon. It was not dead when it was first spotted, and was making a mooing wailing sound. It dposed soon after death, leaving behind the giant skeleton. Its backbone had 29 sections, and its scales filled tworge baskets. The skeleton was then transported to an open space next to a dock. Shengtian Times even ran a report on it, calling it the ¡°fallen dragon of the river by the camp¡± with corresponding illustrations, which was quite sensational at the time. However, it was war time, and the nation was in disarray. The bones were soon lost. Later, the national TV station made a documentary about it, which gave a far-fetched conclusion, saying it was a ¡°stranded whalebone whale¡±. The witnesses received it with strong objections. The documentary was then re-edited, and given an open ending. These five bones were donated by an old man for the production of the documentary. However, specialists had run tests on them, and found them to be fossils of wild horses from about ten thousand years ago, not dragon bones. Because of the unconventional donation source, they couldn¡¯t reach a definite conclusion of the bones¡¯ authenticity, so they had been kept in the back room since then. As for the fallen dragon incident, it remained an unexined issue. Gu Yu was simply here to have a look, and was not sorry about the finding. ¡°The bones are fake, but the falling dragon might be real. You¡¯d better be prepared for it.¡± ¡°Are you saying that, that dragons are real?¡± The head jolted. ¡°Is it still a surprise to find a dragon nowadays?¡± Xiaozhai chimed in with a chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m just quoting here: dragons are created at the calling. So when our world has a prospect magnificent enough, dragons should show up.¡± ¡°Certainly! Certainly!¡± The couple did not find anything during this brief visit, and was going to leave promptly. The head hurried out to see them off. Their main interest recently included dragons and gods, and both were preupied with such subjects. An idea came over Xiaozhai all of a sudden as she walked, and she asked, ¡°By the way, you¡¯ve been identifying ancient objectstely, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Um, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Any discoveries?¡± ¡°To be honest, hardly anything.¡± The head smiled wryly. ¡°We thought that with the recovery of spiritual essence and the Taoist skills, we would find treasures among all those ancient objects, but we found nothing after two years¡¯ work. We then realized that we had gone astray, for things left behind by ordinary people are mere antiques, and only those of the cultivators are treasures. ¡°There are countless relics here, but unfortunately, they are allmon objects. We then changed our focus, thinking that while cultivators led a secluded life, emperors were almost all after immortality, so they might have had the treasures we¡¯re after. ¡°Hence, we began to search among the tombs of eminent figures of all dynasties, but did not find much apart from some ancient jade objects. Moreover, most of the big graves had been robbed before, so we have little idea of what they looked like originally, or what funeral objects were there at the first ce. ¡°Priest Li Qingzhi of Baiyun Temple said that ancient cultivators mostly lived in secluded ces far from the secr world, studying on their own and caring little about which emperor was on the throne. Their personal possessions were rarely shown to the outsiders. Even if they have left anything behind, it must be in a way seen fit by the cultivationmunity, and would be kept somewhere for the chosen one to pick it up. It was not as simple as opening up a couple of imperial tombs and fetching some antiques.¡± ¡°Priest Li had a poin¡ª wait a minute?¡± Xiaozhai grinned, and leered at her boyfriend. ¡°Old Gu, I have an idea.¡± Gu Yu rolled his eyes at her, saying, ¡°Stop that train already. Qin Shi Huang 1died at fifty. He¡¯d have lived longer if he had had some spiritual medicine or treasures.¡± ¡°Not necessarily. Maybe he didn¡¯t have what it takes to enjoy them.¡± ¡°Not interested! I agree with Priest Li: the relics of cultivators are not to be found in the mortal world.¡± ¡°Tsk, you know what? You¡¯re getting unruly these days!¡± While the two bickered on, the head of the research center listened in astonishment. ¡®What on earth am I hearing?! ¡®Is the fate of the tomb of Qin Shi Huang to be determined by their squabble? Somebody help me!¡¯ *** Fujian Province, the city of Zuohai. Longtan 2 Corner was an ancient ferry 3 in the downtown area by Min River, across which was Cangxiazhou. An islet stood in the middle of the river, and it had been built into a park. It was connected to the river bank by a suspension bridge, and was a good ce to kill time. A few decades ago, this was the busiest ferry service in Zuohai. There were eight boats, and it only cost 5 cents to cross the river. A lot of street vendors also set up their stalls nearby, selling fruits, sugar canes, peanuts, and renting stools to pedestrians. Later, bridges were built across the river, and ferries became redundant. With the pass of time, Longtan Corner grew modern, and high-rise buildings stood up in great numbers. However, one ce remained unchanged: the Chen Jinggu Memorial Hall by the ferry. Legend had it that a great drought hit Zuohai one year, and the pregnant Chen Jinggu set up an altar in Longtan Corner to pray for rain. When the rain finally came, she died from exhaustion. After that, the local people made this ce a sacred spot to pray for rain, and woulde here whenever there was a drought. Squeak! Gu Yu and Xiaozhai pushed open the wooden gate, and entered the tiny temple. The cramped courtyard only had enough room for a big banyan tree, a set of stone table and chairs, and a memorial wall. Looking up, they saw two shrines set into the wall of the temple. The one in the middle read ¡°True Lord Xu of L¨¹shan¡±, whose statue showed a white-bearded immortal with a whisk in his right hand. Beside him was the statue of ¡°Mother Chen of Linshui¡±. The two immortals sat there, facing the green river running outside for thousands of years. Gu Yu and Xiaozhai arrived early and waited in the temple. A whileter, the wooden gate opened, and half a dozen people filed in. The courtyard was filled up right away. Lu Yuanqing led the team, apanied by Shi Yui, Bai Yunsheng, and Huang Huiguang¡ªthe former abbot of the L¨¹shan Sect. Mu Kun also showed up, together with a top official of Zuohai. After greeting one another, Gu Yu noticed the wooden box Mu Kun was carrying, and chuckled. ¡°May I have a look at the sword?¡± ¡°Why ask? I¡¯ve brought it here, haven¡¯t I.¡± Mu Kun put the box on the stone table, and opened the lid. Whoosh! The cold and strange sword energy reached out right away, almost as if it was rising out of an abyss; even the light seemed dimmer. ¡°Nice sword!¡± Gu Yu and Xiaozhai eximed in unison. They then picked it up and watched it closely, finding it too attractive to put down. It was quite some time when Gu Yu ced the sword back in to the box, saying, ¡°That must have been a tough choice. I wouldn¡¯t be able to bear the thought of using it as a tool if I were in your ce.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t really have an option. The Sword Seed is nowhere to be found, and the sword alone is not a happy reminder.¡± Mu Kun sighed. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten over it quickly enough.¡± Gu Yu teased Mu Kun a little, then said, ¡°Priest Huang, I¡¯m not very familiar with the history, and would need your instruction in this.¡± ¡°You tter me, Layman Gu. My sect descends from Chen Jinggu, the female immortal of the Tang Dynasty, whose master was Xu Jing. Jing had an immortal dwelling, which was the Great Hall of Skills of L¨¹shan hidden in Min River. ¡°L¨¹shan reappeared every thirty years to share its knowledge with the mortal men, but it vanished one day to an unknown location. However, after consulting the works of ancient sages and running various textual research, I have finally made a discovery¡­¡± Huang Huiguang turned around and pointed towards the river. ¡°The Great Hall of Skills of L¨¹shan should be right beneath that islet in the middle of the river!¡± Chapter 406 Chapter 406: The Emergence of L¨¹shan Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The river was a vast unbroken stretch back in the Tang Dynasty. However, during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, a giant sandbank was left in the middle of the river after a flood. At the time, the counties of Min, Houguan, and Huaian all tried to im the sandbank as theirs, resulting in a dispute. Hence, the provincial government brought in a verdict that the sandbank would be co-administered by all three counties, and was given the alternative name ¡°Three-county Islet¡±, which was the River-center Park nowadays. When time came to the modern age, the surface of the river remained quite wide at Longtan Corner, but the government dared not let its guard down, and had made ample preparation work beforehand for this operation. By the standards of the ordinary people, the area affected by an entire mountain floating out of the river would be enormous. Hence, residents on either side of the river had been evacuated early on, and flood prevention works had been set up in case that the river water would flow backward. As a result, buildings in therge area from Longtan Corner all the way to Cangxia across the river remained where they were, but none had anyone inside. This section of the city was lifeless. Of the seven innate state cultivators of the monastery, three were here. Together with Huang Huiguang, Cheng Ansong¡ªthe current abbot of L¨¹shan Sect¡ªas well as Gu Yu and Xiaozhai, these seven people were the main force this time. They waited two days in Zuohai. The third day at dusk, when the sun had not yet set and the moon not yet risen, the ideal moment arrived as calcted by Huang Huiguang. The seven assembled at Longtan Corner, together with Mu Kun and the others. They stood there, facing the dark green river with Chen Jinggu Temple behind them. Min River was calm and waveless as it flowed eastward unhurriedly¡ªjust as it had for the past 1000 years. A sacrificial altar had been set up by the river, and Huang Huiguang and Cheng Ansong had changed into their ceremonial robes. Rituals of the L¨¹shan Sect consisted of a civil and a martial type. The martial ritual was carried out by a priest wearing red or ck ceremonial headdress hanging all the way down his back, and with a leather headband tied around his head. He would be dressed in a green top, a long purple skirt, and a pair of straw sandals. The activities involved in this type of ritual were usually fierce and terrifying to behold. Cheek-piercing and tongue-cutting weremon practices, and the belief was that the ritual was notpleted without shedding blood. This type was mainly used for subduing monsters and ghosts. As for the civil ritual, it was simr to that of Zhengyi, which was used to invite and offer sacrifices to gods. The sacrificial altar was covered by a drawing of the great snake of Nanwu; the statues of Xu Xun and Chen Jinggu sat on the altar to be worshipped. Also on it were talismans and refined instruments such as the dragon horn (made from ox horn, to be blown), ritual knife, trident bell, etc. That ck Water Sword of Concealment stood right at the center of the altar, with its de stuck into the table. Among all these people, Mu Kun turned out to be the most nervous, for as the representative of the state, he was going to sacrifice a refined instrument as valuable as a national treasure for a seemingly unreal skill hall of L¨¹shan¡­ that was such a high stake. To be honest, some bosses in the central government were still protesting at this moment. Before the ceremony officially began, he couldn¡¯t help but go up to the priests and ask again, ¡°Priest Huang, you can be frank with me: how sure are you about this?¡± ¡°Less then fifty percent!¡± replied Huang Huiguang. ¡®!!!¡¯ The muscles on Mu Kun¡¯s face twitched, and he sighed. ¡°All right, I¡¯ll ask a different question. What worries me the most now is whether there is an underwater divine mountain! If there is, we still can think of other ways even if we fail this one. However, if there isn¡¯t, then you and me¡­¡± ¡°Hoho, we of the L¨¹shan Sect might not be well-known, but our history and heritage are real. Our founder, Chen Jinggu, was a historical figure of the Tang Dynasty, Lord Huangshan that of Song, Generals Hua and Yu that of Yuan, and the three Perfected Men Gao that of Ming. ¡°Sixteen of our predecessors¡ªLord Master Xu included¡ªwere famous figures in the Taoist history, and all the records on their lives were closely rted to the great hall of skill. The mountain definitely exists!¡± ¡°Good, good¡­¡± Mu Kun was slightly embarrassed and went back to his spot, murmuring, ¡°I hope so!¡± ¡®Teehee!¡¯ Xiaozhai snickered quietly. The fellow would be pretty decent had it not been for his bureaucratic mindset. It was a habit that made them want to stick him to the wall all the time when dealing with him¡­ The couple of Phoenix Mountain believed Huang Huiguang¡¯s theory, for L¨¹shan Sect produced no outstanding figures since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, nor was there any record of L¨¹shan making its appearance after that, which corresponded with the declining of the spiritual essence. They waited a little longer, and the sun was falling lower towards the western horizon. The moon was about to rise; it was time. ¡°Thank you, everyone!¡± Huang Huiguang turned around to face the others first, and bowed deeply, then said to Cheng Ansong, ¡°Junior Brother, let¡¯s begin!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The two stood ramrod straight facing the altar, the looks on their faces never as solemn. However, underneath that emotionless serious countenance was the me of passion. It had been five hundred years! L¨¹shan was very likely to be brought back to the mortal world again, and as its humble disciples, how could they not be exhrated? The two backed off a little, then uttered a word suddenly, ¡°Za!¡± After that, they began to chant a spell together, which consisted of an unbroken series of strange sybles that sounded halfway between a song and a poem¡ªthe spell was in ancient hokkien. Ching-a-ling! They then each held a trident bell in their left hand, and slowly walked towards the altar following Gang Steps. Their posture was rather bizarre, for they were moving with both feet walking a straight line the whole time, each tip of the foot immediately following the heel of the foot in the front. The soles of their feet were the partnding first, then the heels. Their body was quivering slightly, which reminded one of the witch doctors¡¯ dance-in-a-trance of the Northeast. This Gang Step was unique to the L¨¹shan Sect, and was known as the ¡°Lady¡¯s Step¡±. As the name suggested, it was named after Lady Chen Jinggu. ¡°Hm?¡± Gu Yu was intrigued, for a faint fluctuation¡ªno, that was not it, it was some sort of attraction¡ªwasing out of the two priests. It extended out like a string attached to the two, and slowly floated into the river. There was no movement in the water. A little whileter, Cheng Ansong moved to the side, leaving the main spot to his senior brother. Huang Huiguang put down the trident bell, and took the ritual knife. With a whoosh, he then picked up that talisman handed down in his sect with the tip of the knife. He stayed very focused, and promptly bit the tip of his tongue, then spat out a mouthful of spiritual blood. Once tinted by the blood, the talisman jolted on its own, then became still again. ¡®That¡¯s not enough!¡¯ Huang Huiguang realized with shock. Remember when we mentioned that the skill of L¨¹shan was most fierce and merciless of all? Huang Huiguang was not showing any mercy to himself. He cut off his tongue without a second thought, and switched to the method of the martial ritual. With the severed tongue in hand, he drew a few strokes on the talisman, which was the sign of an edict. Whoosh! Only then did the talisman burst into me. Lu Yuanqing carried him to the side immediately, and stuck a healing talisman onto him, while Cheng Ansong began to chant. ¡°Preach in the world of the living in the morning and gather the divine soldiers at the altar at night¡­ unify the worlds of the living and the dead; no creature can run away from this power¡­ I hereby chant the spell of the L¨¹shan, and offer a divine weapon as a sacrifice. Great Lord Master of L¨¹shan, pleasee to us!¡± He immediately blew the dragon horn, which made a deste and ancient sound. With it, the burning talisman hovering in midair seemed to be a spiritual creature, and approached the ck sword. It then wrapped around the de. Rumble! The ck sword shook and hummed as a great force began to pull at the sword, dragging it right towards the river. ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Seeing this, Huang Huiguang waved his hands frantically, ignoring his bleeding mouth. Gu Yu then quickly went up to the sword, putting his hand over the hilt, and pressed down forcibly like Mount Tai crushing down. Hum! Hum! As the sword was spiritual, it was aware of its fate as a sacrifice tonight, and would naturally fight against it. Unfortunately, it was no match for the power of a Human Immortal, and was soon suppressed. The humming grew fainter, but the sword was still quivering as if it was expressing its indignation. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu sighed silently. ¡®Too bad, you¡¯ll never get the chance to demonstrate your full power.¡¯ Woo¡­ woo¡­ The dragon horn was still being blown, which was very energy-consuming. Cheng Ansong was only in his acquired state, and soon ran out of his energy. Luckily, the main procedure of the ceremony was over, and he no longer had to do everything himself. ¡°Allow me!¡± Shi Yui took over the task, blowing the dragon horn with his innate state energy. The unbroken sound resonated over the river. The sound of the horn worked like a beacon, constantly pulling out an invisible string from the de, which then reached out to the bottom of the river. Gu Yu was the most perceptive of this process, and could clearly sense a strange energy running out of the sword. Gurgle! Gurgle! It seemed forever when there was finally a reaction from the river. There was first a wave, and ripples spread across the water, glittering with a pale golden light under thest rays of sun of the day. The ripples then grew bigger and greater in number until the river began to seethe with billowing waves. Boom! After that, the islet in the middle of the river jolted, and all the buildings on the islet copsed with it. Trees were broken in half, and countless debris and dirt fell into the river, never to resurface again. At this hour when day turned into night, an ancient beast of the savage ages seemed to wake up at the the bottom of the river. It struggled and roared, sending waves up so high that they could touch the sky. Boom! Boom! The huge waves were as tall as dozens of meters, yet, miraculously, the water did not expand to the surrounding streets or flood the downtown area. Instead, the rampage was kept to the area around the islet. A wave smashed down, crushing the suspension bridge. All the wooden boards and bits and pieces sank into the water, with noneing back up. ¡°Look!¡± Mu Kun called out all of a sudden. Centering around the islet, an area about 30 m in radius was clearly turning deeper in color as the river seethed. In the end, it became a ring, circling around the islet. Boom! Crack! Just then, the small ind could no longer hold itself together. It sank into the river, and was immediately devoured, leaving behind a dark hole; they could not even see if there was any water in it. ¡°Light! Quickly!¡± ordered Mu Kun right away. Whoosh! Lights on the streets along both banks were switched on, and so were the high-wattage searchlights they¡¯d set up beforehand on the small hill in Longtan Corner. The thick beam of light shot right into the river, lighting it up like bright daylight. ¡°What, what is that?¡± Mu Kun drew back his breath. The spot remained pitch dark as if it had sucked in all the light. Since he couldn¡¯t see anything, he turned around, and was going to ask the others. It was then that he saw the looks on their faces¡ªLu Yuanqing, Bai Yunsheng, the tongue-less Huang Huiguang, and all the other priests all look dazzled with their flickering eyes. ¡°¡­¡± The strange silencested for a moment before Cheng Ansong finally yelled like a mad man, ¡°The divine mountain! The divine mountain hase back!¡± ¡°Where is it? Why can¡¯t we see it? Why?¡± Mu Kun was even more anxious at those words. ¡°The Great Hall of Skill of L¨¹shan is only visible to the disciples of the sect, those with a firm belief in Dao, and very advanced cultivators, but not the ordinary people,¡± exined Xiaozhai (ouch, that hurt). As bold as she always was, she flew into river after that, standing on the surging waves. Lu Yuanqing and Bai Yunsheng followed suit to see it from up close. Deep down at the bottom of Min River, there was the outline of a mountain. No one could tell how deep it was or what exact shape it took; the mountain seemed boundless. Woo¡­ woo¡­ The sound of the dragon horn still resonated over the night river, and Shi Yui was also nearly worn out after this much time. Bai Yunsheng returned promptly to the river bank, and took the job over. ¡°My turn!¡± While the others took turn with the horn, Gu Yu was working on his own. Despite the effortless look, he was actually under a great pressure. The ck sword was an orthodoxy heritage of the Youxian Sect, and he had to muster all his strength to keep it under control. He had a feeling that if he cked off for as brief as a second, the ck sword would flee. Woo¡­ woo¡­ Apanied by the distant, deste, and ceremonial sound of the horn, Gu Yu pulled the mountain up little by little like fishing out a whale. Ssh! Water rolled back from all directions, and rose higher and higher. When it reached the peak, it fell back down from high above with a ssh, revealing what was behind. Mu Kun and the other officials could not see it, and stood there unsure what to do. Gu Yu and the other priests looked up, utterly shaken. The divine mountain that had been sleeping for five hundred years under the river was finally brought back! Chapter 407 Chapter 407: A Mysterious ce Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu nk! As the divine mountain rose out of the water, the ck sword uttered itsst intive cry, and quieted down. The inky ck de was deprived of all its spirituality, and was now lined with dry silver-gray patches. It was now a meremon sword that was slightly sharper than ordinary des. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Gu Yu sighed softly as he withdrew the sword. He then said to Mu Kun, ¡°The sword had lost all its spirituality, but I¡¯d like to keep it on Phoenix Mountain. May I do that?¡± Mu Kun gave it a thought, and said, ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± With a littlemand of his mental force, the crippled sword was stored into the silver silk bag at his waist. Only then did he go up to the river bank and join the others in observing the divine mountain. A ck mountain about 50 m tall and 25 m wide floated on the wide river, its bottom section under the water. Ridges and peaks undted over the slopes, and hard-featured stones covered the ground. Everything on it seemed to have blended into a harmonious whole, making it look like a giant sculpture made from a single ck rock. A strange ring of water circled around the mountain, which was darker in color, and the space above it seemed to be sealed off by some confinement. No boats or birds were allowed to cross the water. ¡°It¡¯s not a tall mountain, but obviously some immortal skills were used to protect it. We can¡¯t really guess what we will find inside.¡± ¡°It looked like an integrated mass without an opening to the dwelling. How are we going to get in?¡± ¡°Do you see that ring of water? That¡¯s should be the Feather-sunken River in the legend¡ªeven feathers cannot float in it.¡± The healing talisman was indeed a work of wonder. Huang Huiguang¡¯s severed tongue had been reattached. He was still lisping a bit, but had no problem speaking already. He exined to the others, ¡°A bad has been passed down in our sect, which goes ¡®Thedy arrived at Feather-sunken River, but found no ferry or boat for miles both upstream and downstream¡­ Great White Golden Star 1 appeared over the clouds, instructing Jinggu in detail: young girl seeking a master, don¡¯t worry, a road to L¨¹shan is hidden in the river; young girl seeking the knowledge, don¡¯t panic, a road to L¨¹shan is in the middle of the water¡¯.¡± ¡°Are you saying that the way into the mountain is under that water?¡± asked Xiaozhai. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it¡¯s worth trying.¡± It was after dark now and evening had closed in. Despite all the bright light, ordinary people could not see the mountain at all. The feeling was so awful that all the staff at the scene was overwhelmed by frustration. Mu Kun was the one with a clearer mind. He went up to the priests, and asked, ¡°Are you going in?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± ¡°Then what do you need us to do?¡± ¡°Please wait here. If wee out, then everything is fine. If not, well, there really isn¡¯t anything you can do to help.¡± Gu Yu grinned. ¡®Show-off!¡¯ Mu Kun wanted to roll his eyes at Gu Yu. ¡®Seriously? Saying that makes you so happy, doesn¡¯t it?¡¯ ¡°All right, I¡¯ll go have a look first.¡± Gu Yu squeezed Xiaozhai¡¯s hand gently, then with a little shift, he appeared over the river. Striding forwards walking on water, he soon reached the edge of the Feather-sunken River. He then stepped out his left foot and put it lightly over that river. ¡®Hm?¡¯ Gu Yu frowned slightly, sensing an extremely agitated water energy under his foot that was pulling strongly as if trying to drag everything passing from above into the bottom of that river. He realized what they were dealing with here, and turned to warn the others. ¡°It is a sealing technique of water. Go in one person at a time, and be careful!¡± After that, he raised his left hand and pressed down with an open palm, activating the Taoist skill of Five Elements as he had understood, shouting, ¡°Open!¡± Ssh! Instantly, the Feather-Sunken River surged, and the water was separated by a great power, slowly turning into two walls or water. A passageway was right in between. Gu Yu made his way down andnded on the path, then reached the mountain in a few strides. He was about to look for the entrance, but as soon as he made contact with the mountain wall, he was sucked in without a warning. Rumble! Ssh! Without the support of Gu Yu¡¯s skill, the two water walls slowly closed back up. ¡°¡­¡± There was a brief silence on the river bank before Xiaozhai chuckled suddenly. ¡°No one wants to go next? Then it¡¯s my turn!¡± With that, she leapt out onto the river wrapped in the flickering purple-ck lightning, which vaporized the water wherever she went; she then dived into the river like a cannonball. That was a crude way! The three members of the monastery exchanged a look. ¡®Well, what are we waiting for?¡¯ Hence, Lu Yuanqing flipped his whisk to move the river water, Shi Yui released the blue smoke from his Lucky Smoky Gourd to cover himself from head to toe, while Bai Yunsheng was much more direct¡ªhe wielded his sword and hacked open a passageway. In a heartbeat, all five had disappeared into the river, leaving behind the baffled onlookers that didn¡¯t even have time to cheer for them. *** Darkness, endless darkness. It stretched out infinitely in all directions around him, and there was no telling the front from the back and the left from the right. There was no sound and no physical substances, just as if the universe was back to its original form. This was the world Gu Yu stumbled into. He did not panic, but released his mental force, which reached out in all directions like tentacles. After going through one area of void after another, it soon found ayer of invisible film in one direction. There was a little resistance, but after he focused his mental force into a needle-like point, it punctured the film right away. That little puncture was the tell. ¡°Haha¡­¡± Gu Yu smiled, and headed right in that direction. This was not some strange universe, but a mere camouge simr to a formation. He seemed to walk on forever before the darkness receded, and light gradually returned. When he was finally out in the open but had yet to see anything, he heard the chirping of birds. Gu Yu winced a little. The sun was shining mildly, and there was a gentle breeze. Everywhere he turned, he saw the familiar scene of verdant trees, luxuriant ntation, and twittering birds. ¡°I¡¯m on Phoenix Mountain?¡± He stepped into the ce, and felt his mind going blurry all of a sudden as if a strange power was invading his brain. He immediately activated his mental force to block it out. With a half smile on his face, Gu Yu concealed whatever that was going on in his head. He simply wandered around the mountain. It looked identical to Phoenix Mountain, from theyout of the buildings to the arrangement of trees. A short distance ahead stood the Cottage of Calm Mind. There was no one in the courtyard, but a faint smoke was rising out of the kitchen¡ªsomeone was busying inside. ¡°Brother?¡± The person inside heard his footstep and turned around. She then said happily, ¡°You¡¯re back. I¡¯m making lunch. It¡¯s the sweet lotus root slices with glutinous rice, your favorite.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Watching the familiar little face, Gu Yu was speechless for a moment. ¡°Brother, don¡¯t you like it?¡± Long Qiu pouted a little when she did not get an answer. ¡°Um, I like it.¡± He nodded despite of himself. ¡°Teehee, I knew it¡­ there, try it first.¡± With that, Long Qiu picked one slice up with two slender and fair fingers and raised it to his lips, chuckling. ¡°Open up. Haven¡¯t you always wanted me to feed you like this? Don¡¯t worry. Sister is not around.¡± Looking around, she then asked shyly, ¡°Or, do you want me to feed you like this?¡± She put the pink slice of lotus root between her red lips and bit lightly into it. With her eyes slightly closed, her face looked scrumptious. ¡°What? You two are sneaking around back here!¡± Just then, another voice rang out from outside, and Xiao Jin Jin ran happily in, shouting in an exaggerated tone, ¡°Wow, you made glutinous lotus root? Give me some!¡± ¡°No way! It¡¯s for Brother!¡± Long Qiu took the te away. ¡°Don¡¯t be so stingy! I¡¯ll just have one slice¡­¡± After trying all her way but could not get to the te, Xiaojin turned around and wrapped herself around Gu Yu, asking in a cloying voice, ¡°Brother-inw, let¡¯s eat it together, shall we? She¡¯s not the only one that can feed you like that.¡± ¡°¡­¡± At those words, a strange look finally crept up Gu Yu¡¯s face. What had just happened was hrious and too miserable to look at at the same time. He sighed. ¡°Xiao Qiu has all her thoughts written on her face, but she was reserved, polite, and knew her ce. Xiaojin might be all over the ce and uncontroble, but she had her principles, and knew what she wanted. ¡°This conjuring skill was so superficial¡ªyou fabricated a vision with the tiny amount of memories you stole from me and made mere spections on people¡¯s emotions just because you knew I live together with the two girls¡­ you have thought too low of me!¡± Boom! Golden light surged in the quiet valley as if a sun was rising out of it. Under the zing light, the mountain and the cottage vanished like fragile bubbles. When Gu Yu opened his eyes again, he saw that he was standing in a great hall. The ceiling resembled the sky, which was engraved with the sun, the moon, and stars, and was supported by twelve giant columns. All walls of the hall were made from ck stone, which was carved with cloud patterns and all sorts of strange drawings. There were no windows or doors in the hall, and it looked like a confined space. Gu Yu looked around briefly, then randomly walked to a stone wall; he saw that the drawings on it were arranged coherently and in order. The first one depicted three priest running into a handsome teenager in an ancient city; the two parties seemed to be exchanging pleasantries. In the second drawing, the three priests were by the side of a river, and an ox was lying on the beach. In the third one, a priest transformed a paper-cut into a ck bull topete with the ox on Taoist skills. *** In the ninth drawing, the priest summoned ghosts and gods to forge a dragon-chaining well in the south of the city to suppress the evil flood dragon forever. The drawing did not look like the work of painting brushes or carving knives, but almost felt it had grown naturally out of the walls. The lines looked casually made. Although they weren¡¯t exactly exquisite, there was a simple and unsophisticated ancient feeling about them. Gu Yu recognized that the drawings were about the story of Xu Xun chaining up a flood dragon. He then examined the frescoes, and saw that they were about the other great masters under Xu Xun¡¯s leadership. Despite the absence of an exit, he wasn¡¯t worried, for from his probing earlier, someone or something had to be in this mountain, watching him in secret. Both the darkness and the vision just then were probably its doing, which was actually quite remarkable, for it seemed to be able to read his memory without being detected. It was quite an impressive ability, and even Gu Yu himself was tricked. However, the illusion it created was crude, which did not match its other capabilities at all. ¡°Xiaozhai should be here by now. With what she can do, she will have no problem seeing through that illusion¡­¡± Gu Yu¡¯s face turned pale suddenly. It could read one¡¯s memory, and that memory in her head¡­ sh*t! *** Rumble! Rumble! A streak of Metal Lightning scattered the darkness, and Xiaozhai leapt out. Sensing no immediate threat, she waved her hand and removed the fine of Water Thunder around her. She came in following Gu Yu, but saw no one ahead of her. She realized right away that the space and time inside L¨¹shan were modified by some skill, separating each individualing in here. She then examined the surroundings unhurriedly. However, as soon as she saw where she was, her eyes seemed to turn darker and deeper. This was a small northeastern vige. The houses, the farmyards, the criss-crossing paths, the gurgling stream, and the Changbai Mountain a short distance away¡­ everything was so familiar. She used to live here for seven years. ¡°Changqing Vige?¡± Xiaozhai clenched her fists, unaware of her nails biting into her flesh. What she was seeing was not the Changqing Vige now, but the one she knew from her childhood memory. Shaking slightly, she strode out and walked down a path as if on instinct. Her pace quickened as she walked on, finally turning into a trot. She seemed to have forgotten about the Taoist skill she knew that could carry her into the air with a single leap. She simply ran until she was panting. Crossing the river and the woods, she only stopped when she was outside a remote courtyard. A woman sat in the middle of the yard by a stone table, leaning her cheek against her right hand as if she was taking a nap. Coiling on the table was a translucent white snake, which was making a faint hissing sound as it stuck out its two-pronged tongue. Chapter 408 Chapter 408: I¡¯m gonna chop you to pieces Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu Boom! The sword energyshed out in a streak of golden me, hacking fiercely into the stone wall. However, the great hall seemed to have been built from some unknown material¡ªthe de that could destroy mountains and seas did not even make a dent on the wall. Gu Yu was not surprised at all. This Great Hall of Skills of L¨¹shan was said to be operated by Xu Xun, and refined instrument of the renowned Celestial Master of his time could only be out of the ordinary. Gu Yu was not nning to destroy the pce, either. He only wanted the thing hiding deep inside this ce to open up a passageway for him. Hence, he activated his energy, and raised his sword again. Boom! He exerted power several times stronger than the first strike¡¯s, and golden mes as dazzling as sunlight covered an entire wall with a whooshing sound. This was an effective strike. A few distinctive scratches were left on the wall by the de, instantly destroying the integrity of the frescoes. Gu Yu carried on with his attacks, using the hall as a training target. His sword shed down continuously, hacking at the giant columns, stone walls, and even the dome overhead. It was a frantic rampage. He was sure that whatever was hiding behind the curtains would not sit there watching an outsider ruining this ce. Hum! After twelve sessive strikes, he mustered all this power, at which the sword roared like a dragon, and he himself turned into a red sun, and finally¡­ creak! A stone gate suddenly opened on the foremost wall of the hall. Meanwhile, the whole ce was lit up, and it finally looked like a normal building. ¡°¡­¡± Preupied with Xiaozhai¡¯s well-being, Gu Yu did not even offer a sarcastic remark. He dashed through the stone gate like a sh of light. Outside was another ck hall with simr style, but this stone hall had passageways on all four sides, with open spaces leading to some unknown ce. Gu Yu didn¡¯t know where to go, and had to reach out with his mental force, searching every inch of the space like plowing a field. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The interior of L¨¹shan was boundless. Gu Yu searched one stone hall after another, but they just kept showing up. Some werepletely empty, some had a few rush cushions, while others had tables, chairs, and low beds lying around, with teapots and cups on the tables. They felt so full of life. However, he did not see a single person. If anything in this world could make Gu Yu restless at this stage, it could only be Xiaozhai. The lengthy search came up empty, and Gu Yu stood there, getting worried. All of a sudden, the expression on his face changed, and he swerved to the left. ¡°Layman Gu!¡± A figure hurried near, and was rejoiced to find him here. It turned out to be Shi Yui. ¡°Priest Shi, where did youe from?¡± asked Gu Yu immediately. ¡°After entering the mountain, I broke out of a dark ce first, and was then hindered by an illusion. Once figuring that out, I ended up here.¡± ¡°Have you seen Xiaozhai anywhere?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry!¡± ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Gu Yu pursed his lips and calmed his mind, exining, ¡°The interior of L¨¹shan is separated into different small universes by some space-distorting method; these universes operate on individual basis without interfering with one another. This ce should be the main section. Let¡¯s find the others first.¡± Hence, the two went on searching together. Before long, Lu Yuanqing and Bai Yunsheng also showed up with simr experiences as Shi Yui. They were both very surprised, asking, ¡°Has Laywoman Jiang note out yet?¡± ¡°She¡¯s probably still trapped in the illusion.¡± ¡®Huh? That¡¯s not good!¡¯ Lu Yuanqing knew how fond the two were of each other, and tried to help. ¡°How did you all break out of your illusion?¡± ¡°I ran into a version of me that was possessed by the obsession of sword. I broke out after killing it!¡± said Bai Yunsheng indifferently. ¡°Mine was simr to that,¡± said Shi Yui. ¡°Mine too. It was also about letting go of obsessions, and defeating delusions to perfect my state of mind.¡± Lu Yuanqing nodded, then added, ¡°It seems that was the way to break out of the illusion: let go of the obsession or kill it¡ªif ites in the form of a person.¡± Kill it? Gu Yu¡¯s brows furrowed into a knot as he sighed deeply in his head. He could guess exactly what Xiaozhai would be running into. He could take out Xiao Qiu and Xiaojin without any hesitation, for he knew perfectly well that they were not real. But, more importantly, it was because that thing had made a wrong judgement in considering them as the objects of hidden desire in his subconsciousness. But in Xiaozhai¡¯s case, she¡­ ¡°Sigh!¡± Gu Yu closed his eyes slightly, then opened them. In that instant, a million ideas ran through his head. ¡°Something unusual is hidden in this mountain. It is either an ancient immortal, or a treasure left behind by one that has be spiritual. It can control the divine mountain, and it is vital that we find it asap.¡± ¡°Ancient immortal¡­ treasure¡­¡± ¡°Are you not going to search for Laywoman Jiang anymore?¡± There was too much information in one paragraph, and the other three were having a difficult time digesting it. ¡°She¡¯s trapped in her illusion, and there is no use in trying to find her. We can only wait until she see through it herself, or¡­¡± Gu Yu paused there and rose to his feet, speaking loudly at the dark stone dome high above. ¡°Senior, since you¡¯ve opened the gate for us, I think that¡¯s a sign of epting the five of us. Could you give us a hint how to proceed from here?¡± ¡°¡­¡± There was no response. ¡°Senior, you¡¯ve let us in, but would not meet us. What it is that you want?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Still no response. Gu Yu¡¯s eyes turned dark as he went on, ¡°I have no idea who you might be. All I want to say is: I have no time for this. Either you show yourself, or I¡¯m going to chop this lousy mountain into pieces, even if that will cost thest bit of my energy!¡± ¡°You ignorant youngster! How dare you!¡± The response finally came, though he could not tell from where. Right after that, there resounded a shoo! A piercing shriek rang out beside their ears, short but unbroken, as if it was drilling into their brain. Lu Yuanqing and the other two were petrified, and immediately activated their energy to ward it off. However, the shriek punctured their defense like an icepick, boring right into their minds. ¡°Aaaah!¡± The three had to sit down cross-legged, mustering all their power to adjust their breathing to ease the pain. Gu Yu was shocked all the same. It looked like a sound wave attack from wuxia novels, but was actually simr to the Shadow-switching Technique, which was a method to attack the mind directly. As a Human Immortal, the strength of his mind was way beyond that of the innate state priests, yet even he could not help but be affected by that sound. ¡°Impressive!¡± Activating his Void Air-controlling Technique, Gu Yu vanished in the air instantly, turning into an intangible form of himself. The two sides were now fighting directly with their minds, and could see each other¡¯s move much more clearly. He followed the sound by covering his track, and arrived at a small hall. He then reappeared with a whoosh, with his sword striking out forcibly. Golden mes filled the air. Boom! ¡°Why, that¡¯s a very odd stance!¡± The voice was surprised, but not panicked in the least. A great energy rose out of the hall, and easily caught the iing de. ¡®!!!¡¯ Gu Yu was now genuinely shocked. That was a defensive shield consisting purely of the power of the mind, which had stopped the energy of the sword. Had it been a refined instrument or some special skill, Gu Yu would find it much easier to ept. However, he was warded off by a mind¡¯s power alone, so exactly how powerful this mind had to be? The shock it brought Gu Yu far exceeded that of meeting that female Druid. The difficulty between the two tasks were not of the same magnitude. ¡°Nice move!¡± Gu Yu was not scared off, but was even encouraged by this. Striding forward, he struck out again. ¡°You ungrateful youngster! Do you have any idea what ce this is?¡± ¡°Cut the crap!¡± Boom! ¡°How arrogant! I have been merciful so far, so you¡¯d better stop when you still have the chance!¡± Boom! Gu Yu ignored the voice, acting as if he hadpletely lost his mind, and was hacking down frantically at this only target. That was actually not the case. He chose to do so because he was worried about Xiaozhai, because his wrath had been woken up by this rare opponent, and because he had his own spection. L¨¹shan had been sleeping here for over five centuries, which meant even if the other party was an ancient immortal, he couldn¡¯t be too advanced in his cultivation state, or he would have long acted freely with his own power with no need for the sacrifice. Moreover, if this one was really an Immortal or Earthly Immortal, Gu Yu would already been obliterated for his impertinent remarks, yet he was stillshing out with his sword, wasn¡¯t he? ¡°This is outrageous! ¡°You wanton yougster! ¡°You! ¡°All right! Stop! Stop!¡± After a long while, Gu Yu was almost running out of his energy, while the other side still had strength to spare. However, whoever was inside was obviously not used to this type of mindless attacks, and called for a ceasefire. ¡®Phew¡­¡¯ Gu Yu rejoiced in secret. Fighting back the energy that was going wild inside him, he bowed at the hall. ¡°I apologize for offending you just then, but my hands were tied. May I know the title of the senior inside, please? We¡¯d appreciate it if you coulde out and meet us.¡± Chapter 409 Chapter 409: An Ancient Immortal Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu ¡°Senior, please give us a chance to meet you!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yu waited for a moment after those words, and felt the intimidating pressure easing off gradually. He congratted himself silently for his good luck. Despite all those ¡°arrogant youngsters¡± the other side was addressing him with, Gu Yu thought it all a mere bluff. He might be the inferior one in this battle, but the difference in strength was not all that prominent. Both sides would suffer should he decide to fight to death. The two sides were not arch-enemies, and the confrontation was a way to demonstrate their strength on their first meeting, which was probably an inevitable step. By now, Lu Yuanqing and the other two were able to rise to their feet with much difficulty and went up to Gu Yu¡¯s side, looking very pale. They were more surprised then terrified, for outside, they were seeing the disappearance of Taoist skills and the unfolding of a new world, and never did they expect to find an ancient immortal/monster living in this thousand-year-old divine mountain. They stood together and looked ahead. The misty barrier woven from the mental force receded, revealing the small stone hall as it was. Compared to other grand and magnificent halls, this remote house looked almost pathetic¡ªjust look at that tiny stone gate and the decorations on the wall. The four hesitated a little before Gu Yu moved first. He gave the door a little shove. Squeak! The door opened, and the four entered the room. Inside, they found a stone bed, a set of table and chairs, and a simple ancient-styled oilmp, which seemed to be made of bronze, on the table. There was nothing else in the room. Whoosh! They were still looking around when the oilmp lit up on its own with a faint sound. The thin and long me was of a green color, and the light struck the stone room, giving off an air of destion and solitude that had been sealed in this room for thousands of years. ¡°Senior, you¡­¡± The four of them sensed the strange energy of the oilmp, but found it inappropriate to ask directly. The other party, however, did not seem to mind at all. A voice then rang out in the air. ¡°That¡¯s right, I am in thismp. What are your names, those that have set foot in my hall?¡± The four introduced themselves right away. Gu Yu bowed again after that, and said earnestly, ¡°I apologize for my conduct earlier, but my Taoistpanion is trapped in the illusion and I was panic-stricken. I beg for your forgiveness.¡± ¡°Humph! Obviously I know that woman is still inside. I¡¯ll let it pass since you do have a good reason.¡± Since Gu Yu had apologized repeatedly, and themp itself was a magnanimous being, the conflict was resolved. It then asked, ¡°Are you the cultivators of the current world?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What dynasty is out there now?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± The four exchanged a look, and Lu Yuanqing replied, ¡°It is the 95th year of the modern state, 381 years after the Qing Dynasty was established, and 649 years after Ming. Senior, if you would please tell us which year and which dynasty you were born in?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The voice fell silent after that question. The greenmp flickered after quite a while, and let out a soft sigh. ¡°I am a cultivator of the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty. It was said that one forgot about time deep in the mountains, but I have never expected to sleep for over five hundred years! ¡°Sigh, I couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine how much has happened out there. I seldom have any visitors here, so tell me all about it. Oh, my master was Perfected Man Gao Jiu, and my secr name is Wu Shan.¡± Hence, the four bowed again. Gu Yu could not stop worrying about Xiaozhai, so he said, ¡°Senior Wu, I am more than willing to tell you all about the world outside for three days and three nights in a row, but before I could do that, could you let her out first?¡± ¡°Haha, I didn¡¯t expect you to be a spoony one!¡± Wu Shan was intrigued, and asked with a chuckle, ¡°How did you get to your cultivation state with you putting so much weight on your love affair?¡± ¡°Cultivation is the training of heart, and that¡¯s where she is. The two are not mutually exclusive.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an interesting theory; it¡¯s quite simr to what one of my old acquaintances used to say, sigh¡­¡± Maybe he had lived here alone for too long, Wu Shan would sigh and talk about old memories involuntarily quite a lot. The me of themp flickered again, and the voice said, ¡°It¡¯s not that I wouldn¡¯t let her out, but I wasn¡¯t the one setting up that conjuring formation. There is nothing I can do.¡± ¡°But you have been in this divine mountain all this time, how could that be?¡± ¡°Who do you take me for? I¡¯m merely the most unaplished disciple of the Perfected Man¡­¡± Wu Shan said in a self-mocking tone. It had been a while since hest talked to someone, and he couldn¡¯t help but be a little querulous. ¡°Since you were able to summon the Great Hall and enter this ce, you are considered the chosen ones. I think it¡¯s all right for me to tell you a little bit about my sect. ¡°The founders of my sect were the Immortals of Hua and Yu; both were cultivators of the Yuan Dynasty. They had three pupils: Gao Wu, Gao Liu, and Gao Jiu 1 . Gao Jiu was my master.¡± Well, don¡¯tugh. If one were to look through the pedigrees of Taoist sects, they could find a lot of disciples named in such as style as if someone could not be bothered to put in any effort to name them. Because of the disparity between social sses in the ancient times, children from poor peasant families were often without a proper name. Hence, such names would almost certainly indicate someone from the bottom of the socialdder. ¡°I was lucky enough to be the Perfected Man¡¯s pupil, but unfortunately, my natural endowment was limited. My cultivation state stagnated at about your level. After that, I ignored my master¡¯s advice, and could think about nothing but elevating my level. However, something went terribly wrong, and I was almost obliterated. Finally, my master came to my rescue. He scooped out thest remaining bit of my soul and put it inside this soul-nourishingmp¡­¡± The four had realized what had happened when the story reached this stage. L¨¹shan had been sleeping at the bottom of the river this entire time, and Wu Shan had been using these years to recuperate. By now, his soul was mostly recovered. Despite theck of a physical body, the strength of his mental force had almost reached his peak level from when he was alive. That was, the peak of the Human Immortal state, which was approaching the Immortal state. ¡°Have you discovered the secret of the One Qi?¡± asked Wu Shan. ¡°Do you mean the cycle of declining and recovering like the rise and fall of tides?¡± ¡°Exactly. Since you¡¯re already familiar with it, I¡¯ll be brief. When the Perfected Men of my sect realized that the One Qi was drying up, they tried to have the entire sect ascend from this world. I only had a fraction of my soul back then, which could not withstand the maneuver. Furthermore, the Great Hall needed a guard. Hence, I was left behind. ¡°Legend of the mortal world was that the Great Hall was operated by the Lord Master himself, but that was not the case. The Lord Master had ascended as early as in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, so how could he be operating anything? However, this L¨¹shan was refined by the Lord Master himself with the purpose to educate the people and spread Taoist knowledge. ¡°My own sect did not have many disciples. From each generation, one disciple was selected to take care of the operation of L¨¹shan. The one before me was Master Liu Zun, the one before him was Perfected Man Kang Shier, and before that Lord Huangshan himself. ¡°The illusion was the work of Master Liu Zun. Although the strength has been greatly reduced after several hundred years, it was unique in a way that one could onlye out after they see through it themselves. If anyone tries to stop it by force, the one inside will be pulverized.¡± ¡°Is she in danger?¡± asked Gu Yu immediately. ¡°Nothing life-threatening. But if she could not let go of her obsession, I¡¯m afraid she¡¯ll be trapped inside for the rest of her life.¡± ¡°In that case, how much longer can L¨¹shan hold on?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Wu Shan hesitated a little before saying, ¡°It used to be run by a Perfected Man, who could seal it off and shut all gates after the teaching of the skill. However, with no one else around, I could only offer the minimal adjustments, and I have no idea how much longer I could do this.¡± Gu Yu¡¯s face darkened a little, for he trusted Wu Shan had no need to lie to him. If that was the case, Xiaozhai was on her own. Lu Yuanqing only spoke after Gu Yu finished asking. ¡°Senior, you mentioned that all the immortal cultivators of your sect have ascended. May I ask where have they gone to? Are they still on earth?¡± ¡°Earth? What is earth?¡± Wu Shan was confused. ¡°Earth is this world we are in,¡± exined Shi Yui. ¡°Oh, this ce between the sky and thend.¡± Wu Shan understood. Historical records showed that the term ¡± earth 2 ¡± was probably taken from ¡°Sichuan Grass: Full Map Sequence of Mountains, Seas and Lands¡±, which was a book written by Guo Zizhang of the Ming Dynasty for Matteo Ri, and mentioned, ¡°The sky has a south pole and a north one, and so does thend. The sky can be divided into 360 degrees, and so can thend. Hence, there are the sky sphere, the earth nd sphere), thetitude, the longitude¡­¡± That should be earliest usage of the term. ¡°I am not at liberty to tell you their whereabouts. As for this earth you mentioned, one could say they¡¯re here, or they could be somewhere else too.¡± What Wu Shan meant was obvious: fate brought you here, but that was not enough to have me tell you everything. ¡°Senior, now that the spiritual essence, I mean, the One Qi has recovered, will the immortals sense it?¡± asked Shi Yui suddenly. ¡°Hoho¡­¡± Wu Shan chuckled knowingly, and hit the nail on the head. ¡°You¡¯re worried that they wille back and take your share?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Shi Yui looked embarrassed, and did not know what to say. ¡°When my sect ascended together back then, they have foreseen this future, and we were not the only ones. The sects of Quanzhen, Maoshan, Longhu Mountain, Sword Immortal, Meishan, etc., all felt the same way. ¡°You said that 500 years have passed since then. I wonder what the world looks like now. From what I observed, the cultivation states of you all are truely unexceptional. The strongest of you is a mere Human Immortal, which is about the same level as mine. It only proves how much the Taoist skills have declined since my time.¡± Wu Shan sighed with sorrow. ¡°While the Taoist skills are disappearing, even your minds have be shallow. The Perfected Men are travelling freely in the Void, not to mention the Great Lord Master himself, who is enjoying immortality, good health, and a splendor as longsting as the sun and the moon. Do you think they could be bothered toe back to take away this petty, um, earth?¡± *** Five years ago, the world was ¡°at peace¡±. The countries were having wars or fun of their own without a single idea of what was Dao and what was an Immortal. Four years also, an innate state cultivator could take supremacy over all, and an entire country had to look up to him. This year, the monastery had seven innate state cultivators, Phoenix Mountain had three, and even Shamanism had one; the highest level of the cultivators had extended to the Human Immortal state. This moment, that upper limit had been raised to a ce infinitely high and infinitely far away¡­ These people had been reiming cultivation wastnd for the past few years,peting over resources, status, and fortune. Even the most tranquil person could not stay tranquil in this new world. Yet to Wu Shan, this was but a ¡°petty earth¡±. This stark contrast shook the beliefs of all four. When they thought they were in a world vast enough, they were shown that it could be much vaster¡ªso vast that it could be boundless. Of course, the situation in the ancient world was different from the current one. Limited by its low productivity, the ancient world had a much smaller poption, and even fewer cultivators. Had they been put into this modern world, they would have reacted the same as these four! Gu Yu settled his mind soon enough, and formed his own reasoning. First of all, Wu Shan had no physical body, but a soul only, so theoretically, he should crave for a tangible form. However, in the presence of these youngsters, he did not begin with deviant talks such as ¡°mwahahahaha, I have waited for five hundred years! I finally can see the light of the day once more. Gimme your body!¡± It meant that Wu Shan was actually a pretty decent man. Or, you could say that taking possession of other people¡¯s bodies was a thing of heretics, and something the Taoistmunity despised. Secondly, Wu Shan was at the peak of the Human Immortal state, and was taught by famous masters, so he had to be very knowledgeable. Last but not least, there was the matter with Xiaozhai¡­ Gu Yu was a firm believer in the exchange of interests. Apart from his close kin and the pursuit of his heart, he wouldn¡¯t give or take without a proper cause. Hence, he pondered for a while before saying, ¡°Senior Wu, if you don¡¯t mind me asking, since your soul has recovered, do you have any idea how to rebuild your body?¡± Whoosh! The green me in themp waved violently despite theck of wind, and for the first time since he showed up, Wu Shan sounded disturbed. Even his pitch was lowered a little. ¡°What are you suggesting?¡± Chapter 410 Chapter 410: Each One Knows What They Need Trantor: SophiaX Editor: Kurisu The white-bearded grandpa often came bearing gifts at the beginning of a story, and almost never did he decide to pop up a million words into a novel. Of course, Wu Shan wasn¡¯t nning to y the secret (not) santa, either. He only cultivated as far as the upper limit of the Human Immortal state, and was an unspectacr disciple of his sect with an ordinary natural endowment when he was alive, or he wouldn¡¯t have risked his life to break into the Immortal state. Therefore, he was essentially not one of those otherworldly sages. Wu Shan was a descendant of Xu Xun, and Xu Xun himself was a leading figure of the Taoistmunity of his time. Born into the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Xu Xun was also a practitioner of the essence-consuming method. All essence-consuming methods shared amon property, which was to train one¡¯s physical body and mind simultaneously. The practitioners aimed for gaining immortality in their physical form instead of the path the Neidan practitioners followed, which was to abandon the flesh and keep the Yang spirit only. Hence, hearing Gu Yu¡¯s question, Wu Shan was greatly disturbed. The green me swayed violently, and the flickering light gave a haunted look to the room. ¡°I don¡¯t have a suggestion. I only thought that if senior knew a way to recover your physical body, you could share it with us so that we could help you with it,¡± said Gu Yu. ¡°Humph, we¡¯ve only met for the first time; why would you be so kind to me? Are you trying to swindle me of all my knowledge?¡± Wu Shan was by no means dumb. ¡°The world now is running out of Taoist skills, and we¡¯re seeing great gaps in the inheritance of knowledge. With the great change that is taking ce, both the country and the people are living a difficult life as if treading on eggs. We will feel blessed to have a senior ancient immortal like you to teach us,¡± Lu Yuanqing replied immediately with ready ttery. Although they did not know much about this Wu Shan, and releasing him to the outside world could incur potential threats, a cultivator of the Ming Dynasty like him held a great amount of cultivation knowledge, which alone was already worth taking the risk for. ¡°¡­¡± Wu Shan fell into another moment of silence at this before saying, ¡°I do know a thing or two about rebuilding a physical body, but your cultivation level is too low to work any of the methods. There is no point telling you about it. My soul is fostered by this Soul-nourishing Lamp, which is a part of L¨¹shan and cannot be moved. Therefore, all we can do now is to find a suitable implement body to house my soul.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be ignoring the life of others by taking possession of their body?¡± Bai Yunsheng, who had been silent this entire time, spoke suddenly. ¡°You ignorant youngster!¡± Wu Shan sounded a little angry at that remark, and reprimanded, ¡°I said an implement body, not a human body! What do you mean by taking possession of other people¡¯s bodies? Is that what is written in your scriptures nowadays?¡± ¡°It is a method mentioned in the ¡®Dan Manual of Baoyi Zi¡¯. ¡®When Yin Spirit is formed, the person could see others without being seen. Such an immortal is neither the member of the three divine inds of Peni, nor a wandering ghost¡ªthey belong to nowhere. They are then able to reincarnate into a new body by taking one from the others. It is a spiritual ghost¡¯,¡± said Lu Yuanqing. ¡°That¡¯s preposterous!¡± Wu Shan was even more enraged. ¡°That¡¯s taken verbatim from ¡®Taoist Teachings of Zhong and L¨¹¡¯! ¡®Ghost Immortal is the lowest grade of all five Immortal states, who achieves immortality via Yin. They are not part of either the true immortals nor the ghosts, and are not recognized by any world. Although they could escape death, they could never return to the immortal world, and would keep wandering as long as they live. They usually end up reincarnating by fitting into a new body.¡¯ ¡°For as long as our Taoistmunity exists, there is only the fitting into a new body, which was to reincarnate via a mother¡¯s womb and integrate with a new physical body. Where did that talk of taking a bodye from?¡± Bai Yunsheng hardly reacted to his speech at all, but Gu Yu was very excited, asking, ¡°Senior, is there really a way to find a mother¡¯s womb for a soul and bring the person back to this world in another life?¡± ¡°Of course! We Taoist believers do focus on the current life only, and do not talk about the future life. However, the cultivation path is ridden with peril, and most of our fellow Taoists have perished in this current life before they could reach the next state. Hence, the method of fitting into a new body was created, which is to keep one¡¯s soul intact after their death, then find a newly pregnant woman and insert the soul into her womb before the baby¡¯s soul is formed. In that way, no innocent life is harmed, and thew of nature is not vited. ¡°The new person will remain ordinary without an extraordinary opportunity. Therefore, the cultivators using this method usually entrust the task to close friends of their sects to take care of this new person. The friends would use their skills to point out the correct path to the youngsters so that they could start their cultivation all over again. ¡°The ¡®taking possession¡¯ in your theory isplete nonsense. Even if such a method exists, it is impossible to find a suitable body. A powerful soul requires an equally strong body as a container¡ªa human soul needs a human body, and it¡¯s the same with Immortals. How could one possibly obtain a body they require?¡± Ancient immortals were indeed as knowledgeable as expected. Wu Shan had taught them a useful lesson in that brief conversation. Gu Yu agreed with itpletely, especially thest bit. Why was is called a training of the physical body and the mind both? Because the body and the soul had to be of equal strength. A master as advanced as the Yuanying state would be idiotic to go all the way there just to steal some Qi-refining-level body. Hence, the four bowed in unison. ¡°Thank you for enlightening us.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± The green me flickered slightly as Wu Shan was satisfied in his pride and vanity. He then said, ¡°The Perfected Men of my sect have taken most of the treasures away when they ascended, and only a tenth was left here. The Great Hall of Skill is much bigger than what you can see now, but with my limited power, only a few secret areas can be opened. ¡°The L¨¹shan exists to spread knowledge and educate others. Since you¡¯re already here, I cannot disobey the rules set by my forefathers. What you can take from here is determined by fate only.¡± At those words, Shi Yui was the first to light up¡ªwhat else were they here for if not to search for treasures? Lu Yuanqing, on the other hand, remained calm and undisturbed. Bai Yunsheng also looked as indifferent as ever. Gu Yu, on the other hand, was hesitating, apparently still worrying about Xiaozhai. Wu Shan was well aware of that, and remarked, ¡°If your Taoistpanion really could not see through her own heart and is lost in her past, then she is not qualified to continue her cultivation. Now, go. When youe back, I will tell you how to refine an implement body.¡± *** With that, the green me flickered. The surroundings around them changed again. All the pces and stone rooms were gone, and so were Lu Yuanqing and the other two. Gu Yu saw the light going dimmer, and his body turned weightless. Everything then cleared up again. A golden te hovered abovehead, lighting up the area with its splendor like a bright sun. Everywhere he turned, he saw tall peaks, deep ravines, meandering paths, and could hear sporadic chirpings of birds, but not a single person was around. The ce alone was very exquisite and elegant. ¡°The stone halls just then had tables and chairs in them, so obviously someone used to live there once. This ce looks very real as well. True Lord Xu was indeed the great Celestial Master of his time¡ªhe could create a L¨¹shan, which containsyers uponyers of secret spaces, like this at ease.¡± Gu Yu looked around, and sighed. ¡°Wu Shan certainly knows how to look after his own interests. This is an advance payment for us, then.¡± He stood there for a moment before walking deep into the area following a path. Thendscape on both sides was quiet and beautiful, with green trees and red flowers. About a quarter of an hourter, he reached a small hill. Climbing onto it and looking down, he saw a cottage, which had a simple but elegant style, at the foot of the hill. Ake was on the other side of the cottage. The water of theke glistened under the golden light, reminding one of a giant golden mirror. He walked down to the cottage and pushed the door open. The room inside suggested someone lived there once as well. Daily objects such as table, chairs, bed, teapot, and curtains were found at the right spots; there was even an open book on the table. Gu Yu went up to the book, and took a look. Despite having been lying there for centuries, the book showed no signs of wearing or tearing. The cover read: ¡°The Wave of A Whisk¡±. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Intrigued, Gu Yu flipped through the book, which turned out to be a famous note written by Wang Mingqing of the Song Dynasty, talking mostly about political, military, social, and cultural affairs of his time. ¡°That¡¯s kinda boring. I don¡¯t suppose the important scriptures are kept here.¡± Gu Yu put the book down. He looked around again, and found nothing else. He then walked out of the room, and stood there thinking outside the cottage; this ce was probably one of the small worlds in this entire secret realm, for the horizon was covered by ayer of mist that looked to be some kind of barrier. ¡°I could break out of it and try other parts of this realm, but that would be missing the point. I guess I¡¯m the unlucky one, then. The good stuff has all been taken. I hope Lu Yuanqing and the others could find something.¡± Gu Yu did not think much of it, and was going to activate his mental force to make Wu Shan release him from here. Gurgle! ¡®Hm?¡¯ He paused suddenly, for a bubble just rose out of theke, and the water began to ripple as if something was being naughty down there. Blinking, Gu Yu strolled to theke, and grabbed casually at the air. Ssh! The water surged at this, and waves began to rise. Whatever was down there had warded off the Small Moving Technique, and stayed where it was after a little jolt. ¡°Interesting!¡± He chuckled, and pressed down with his right palm. ¡°Open!¡± Ssh! The water parted, revealing the thing below it, making Gu Yu jump. Roar! A giant head waved into his sight, and a 50-meter-long body leapt ot. It had the head of a camel, the horns of a deer, the eyes of a rabbit, the ears of a cow, the neck of a snake, the belly of a giant m, the scales of a carp, the ws of an eagle, and the palms of a tiger. Eighty-one scales covered its back, which number was the product of nine multiplied by nine, giving it a Yang property. Whiskers grew from the corners of its mouth; there was a bright pearl under its chin, and the scales on its throat were growing backwards¡­ It was a golden dragon! ¡°A dragon? No, that¡¯s not a real dragon!¡± Gu Yu was shocked at first, and only calmed down after he scanned it with his spiritual essence. If this L¨¹shan that had been dormant for five hundred years and watched over by a janitor only could keep a real dragon here, that would be truly unbelievable. Roar! The fake dragon let out another angry snarl, looking all threatening. However, it did not initiate an attack, trying to scare Gu Yu off only. Shaking his head, Gu Yu waved his long sleeves, and all 72 me Cloud needles popped into existence. They then arranged themselves into a ming dragon, charging at the thing circling in mid-air. Ssh! The golden dragon opened its wide mouth, spurting out a thick jet of water. Sizzle! The water shed with the ming dragon, and steam rose in clouds. It was a draw. ¡°Impressive!¡± Gu Yu shifted himself a little, and reappeared straddling over the neck of the dragon the next second. With a man riding on it, the golden dragon felt humiliated, and was immediately infuriated. It roared and danced frantically in the air, trying to throw Gu Yu off. ¡°Shut up!¡± Gu Yu grew impatient and stomped forcibly. Roar! The giant body took a sudden dive, and fell down from mid-air. It only steadied itself moments before hitting the ground. Right after that, the golden dragon waved its ws, and tried to climb back up over the clouds. nk! Gu Yu drew out his Red Sun Sword this time and held the tip of the ck de at the neck covered by scales, saying, ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood for ying with you. Show your true form!¡± Roar.. roar.. roar¡­ meow¡­ That was sort of how the change took ce. The golden dragon hissed and whined, but before it realized, it was giving in. The giant body then shrank slowly, and with a dazzling flicker, it turned into a pale golden rope about three meters long. Gu Yunded on the ground, and let the rope fall into his palm. It was slightly thicker than his finger, and looked as if it was woven with countless talismans, which were braided tightly together. With the brilliant light flowing through them, they had blended into one harmonious whole. ¡°So, it¡¯s a refined instrument!¡± Gu Yu was a little surprised by this. ¡°However, the spirituality of the refined instrument alone is this powerful, I¡¯m still¡­ huh?¡± He suddenly swerved around, and saw theke water that had closed up began to stir again as if something was dashing around beneath. ¡°There¡¯s more?¡± Gu Yu grabbed again, which was sessful. It was a paste-like muddy lump the size of an adult¡¯s fist. The thing was of an earthy color, squashy, and a little sticky. ¡°If I were the protagonist of those reiming-wastnd-in-primitive-ages novel, I must be holding the Swelling Earth 1 now. However, I¡¯m a man of the end-of-Taoist-skills era, so I¡¯m at a loss.¡± He carefully put away the two objects, then activated his mental force, and randomly poked at the empty air. Whoosh! The surroundings changed instantly, and he was back in that stone room. *** The air in the room rippled suddenly, revealing three figures. Shi Yui and Bai Yunsheng looked somewhat disheveled with their ragged clothes¡ªapparently, both had engaged in some serious fight. Lu Yuanqing seemed all right, looking only slightly paler than before. ¡°You¡¯re back. What did you all get?¡± asked Wu Shan, sounding very curious. ¡°Senior, here it is.¡± Lu Yuanqing took out his finding first¡ªor rather, a set of three objects. They were three short rulers about 70 cm long, shining coldly. Apart from the usual evil-dispelling talismans, some strange-looking spells were also inscribed onto them. ¡°Very nice! These are the Devil-smashing Rulers made by one of my senior brothers. Apart from being a refined instrument, they can also be used for flying and escaping methods. Theye with a manual, and are exceptionally powerful. You can work it out on your own,¡± exined Wu Shan. After that, Shi Yui took out a small tent made from a material as thin as the wings of a cicada and as light as silk, which had a feminine look to it. There were also two long whips that were ck, over three meters long, and covered by spikes. ¡°This is Empty Cloud Tent. It can transform into a cloud of mist and fly in midair. It has a camouge property that can work as a defensive mechanism. It¡¯s the work of one of my senior sisters¡¯. ¡°These are the refined whips unique to my sect. The hilt is made from peach wood, the core the skin of a python, and the outeryer woven by silk. It will hurt ghosts, monsters, and evil beings only.¡± Then, Bai Yunsheng took out his two objects. ¡°The Order of the Netherworld Talisman. It could subdue up to dozens of spirits and evil ghosts for you to use. The refinement method is also inside. However, I see that you¡¯re focused on sword, so I would suggest you to give it to talisman masters. ¡°Oh? These are nice lotus seeds. nt them after you go back to your ce. Lotus flowers can expel energy, and lotus seeds can relieve evil toxins. Both are great materials to refine Dan and make medicine.¡± After going through all objects, to Lu Yuanqing and the others, be it the short ruler or the refined whip, every piece was a formidable refined instrument. However, Wu Shan actually sounded a little patronizing and pitying when he made the introduction. All those things were the works of his junior or senior brothers, so how formidable could they be? ¡°What did you get?¡± he asked Gu Yu asst. ¡°I also have two.¡± Gu Yu took out his and showed it to themp. The green me flickered at the sight of them. ¡°What? They didn¡¯t take it with them?¡± ¡°What are they?¡± ¡°Sigh, I see you are a lucky one.¡± Wu Shan let out a sigh before answering Gu Yu¡¯s question. ¡°That rope is Dragon-biding Rope, and was the refined instrument my Senior Uncle Master used when he was in his Human Immortal state. He cherished that rope, so I¡¯d never thought he would have left it behind¡­ maybe he was hoping fate would lead it to the right person. ¡°That is Yellow Mud Seal, derived from the Seal of Yellow God and Yuezhang. It can only be used once. Its original form was a cubic seal about 3 cm tall. All six sides are carved with talisman patterns, and it represents deep ground, with which it could stop flood and sever evil energy. Activate it and throw it into the water, and it will expand. One mud seal can confine a water hundreds of meters in radius and coagte into a solid wall in 45 minutes. Once solidified, nothing can break it.¡± Wu Shan was overwhelmed with emotion after seeing so many objects that could trigger his memories of the old days. After rambling a bit, he said, ¡°There is no Taoist skill left in L¨¹shan. Because of that, spreading knowledge and educating the people is no longer possible. I do have the orthodoxy knowledge of the Celestial Masters, but I cannot teach it unless you join my sect properly. ¡°I have let you take the treasures on your own today because, for one, I¡¯d like to thank you for summoning the divine mountain, and for another, we all have our own interests to take care of. I will now tell you about how to build an implement body.¡± He then told the four in detail about the materials needed for the implement body and how to refine it. The four listened with embarrassment. Gu Yu said atst, ¡°Senior, the world has changed so much since your times that most of the materials you mentioned are long lost. We can only look for things of simr properties and see if we could refine something from them.¡± ¡°Just try your best. I can¡¯t ask for anything more than that.¡± Wu Shan was much more sensible after the five hundred long years here. ¡°You can go now. The Great Hall can still hold on for some time, and I will take care of your young Taoistpanion while you¡¯re away. However, when my strength runs out and she still cannote out, she will have to stay here with me forever at the bottom of this river.¡± The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!