"Please, sit!"
"Serve the tea!"
Inside the Quiet Room, Qing Yun sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion. A small table stood before him, while incense burned in the room, releasing a soothing fragrance that refreshed the mind and spirit. Anyone who caught the scent would feel their restless thoughts settle of their own accord.
Yet at that moment, Zhou Yang, the leader of the Abnormal Affairs Investigation Team, and Lin Shu, who sat opposite Daoist Qingyun, could not calm down no matter what.
Both Zhou Yang and Lin Shu sat there with their mouths agape, staring dumbfoundedly at Daoist Qingyun. They looked as though someone had sealed their acupoints, leaving them completely motionless.
"Please, have some tea!"
Only when Daoist Qingyun's junior disciple brought over the tea and spoke to them did the two hurriedly pick up their cups.
Zhou Yang did not even drink. He merely held the cup in midair and hurriedly asked, "Are you really Daoist Qingyun?"
Qing Yun calmly picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and smiled serenely. "Who would impersonate an old man like me?"
Unfortunately, his youthful face was utterly at odds with his words, creating an intense sense of incongruity for Zhou Yang and Lin Shu. Lin Shu had seen Qing Yun, the abbot of Three Goat Temple, many times before. Back then, he had been nothing more than an ordinary old man. But now...
His dry, gray-white hair had turned into glossy black locks like silk. His face was as smooth as jade, and whether it was his face, neck, or the skin exposed on his hands, it was as delicate as a baby's, smooth enough to break at a touch. Dressed in a dark Daoist robe, he sat there and made them feel as though they belonged in entirely different paintings.
Even if Qing Yun had told her directly that he had already Become Immortal, Lin Shu would have believed him.
Unable to hold back, Lin Shu blurted out, "Daoist Qingyun, did you meet that person? The changes to you are just too... too drastic..."
Lin Shu voiced everything Zhou Yang had wanted to ask. Neither of them could suppress the shock and excitement surging within them. This might be the opportunity to break through and uncover the secrets behind the origins of supernatural powers.
They were equally curious beyond words about the miracle that had occurred to Daoist Qingyun.
As soon as he heard Lin Shu's words, Qing Yun slowly set down his teacup. His previously serene face filled with intense yearning before turning into regret. "I don't know whether I truly saw the Patriarch. Perhaps it was merely a dream or the product of my imagination. Or perhaps the Patriarch was unwilling to meet disciples as useless as us."
Zhou Yang asked, "What did you see?"
Qing Yun's gaze seemed to pierce through time and space as he recalled once more the scene of his soul wandering through the realm of immortals, the abode of gods. Yearning and excitement unconsciously surfaced in his eyes.
"I saw immortal mountains and vast seas. I also saw azure seas beneath blue skies. Upon the immortal mountains stood palaces and pavilions built from white-jade spirit wood. I followed the Heavenly Path upward, passing through layers upon layers of pavilions and towers, until I saw the Patriarch Chong Yunzi sitting beneath a divine tree radiating light that soared into the heavens, playing chess with a Purple-Clad Female Immortal."
"..."
"In the end, three spirit pills remained on the chessboard, along with a sentence I could never make sense of."
Qing Yun fell into contemplation once more, as though sinking into his own world. He began muttering to himself. "The time has not yet come? What does that mean? What exactly does 'the time' refer to? And when it comes, what should we do?"
But Zhou Yang and Lin Shu, seated opposite him, could no longer sit still. Zhou Yang sprang to his feet, his face flushed crimson. "Spirit pills? The changes to your body are because you swallowed spirit pills, right?"
Lin Shu asked at the same time, "Qing Yun... Daoist Qingyun, you just said there were three—three spirit pills, right?"
Qing Yun seemed to have prepared for this long ago. He took a sandalwood box from beneath the table and gently opened it.
Qing Yun's gaze swept across their faces, and he revealed a mysterious smile. "These are the so-called spirit pills. Perhaps you can call them the Longevity Pill, the Longevity Pill, or the Transformation Pill!"
Inside, on a handkerchief, lay two cyan pills. Even in broad daylight, they shimmered with a faint halo. The fragrance wafting from them made anyone who inhaled feel a cool sensation in their mind.
"The Longevity Pill? A pill that can grant immortality after you eat it?" Zhou Yang instantly thought of the immortals who lived forever, as well as the beings from mythology.
"An elixir from the legends? Immortality?" Lin Shu thought not only of immortals, but also of the undying beings from movies—Peng Zu, Chen Tuan, and foreign vampires and werewolves.
They also thought of the medicine of immortality pursued throughout the ages by emperors, nobles, and alchemists: Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, and the shadows of one emperor after another passing before their eyes through the long river of history.
Zhou Yang's gaze seemed completely captivated by the pills. His hands reached out involuntarily, wanting to take the box containing them, but he abruptly recoiled in fear.
Lin Shu watched the radiance emanating from the pills, and her beautiful pupils contracted as they reflected the pills' multicolored halo.
Zhou Yang swallowed repeatedly. He pressed down on the table and barely managed to pull himself upright. Only after a long while did he calm himself enough to say, "Call... call the higher-ups. Report the situation here!"
"Tell them to send people immediately to receive us. Tell everyone outside to seal off the entire temple. From this moment onward, no one is allowed to enter or leave!"
Zhou Yang raised his hand, his fingers trembling nonstop. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but his body shook like a sieve. "Everyone inside the temple must sign a confidentiality agreement. No, no one is allowed to leave this place. Wait for orders from above, then we'll deal with the matter!"
Lin Shu hurriedly pulled out her phone. Like team leader Zhou Yang, she was so shaken by what Daoist Qingyun had taken out that she could barely contain herself.
At that moment, her head felt as though it were about to explode. Even her steps wavered. She felt as if she had been swept into a violent storm. Before this, she had known what the Abnormal Affairs Investigation Team she belonged to actually did, but nobody had possessed any concrete understanding of it. Now, she knew.
Unlike the inexplicably excited Lin Shu and Zhou Yang, Daoist Qingyun did not spare another glance at the spirit pills he had handed away. Instead, he sank into his own reverie.
"The time has not yet come?"
"If the time does come, what will it be like?"
"Perhaps it will be the moment when the path of longevity and the road to Become Immortal open before us!" Daoist Qingyun Lin Housheng suddenly reached a realization.
The prolonged wail of sirens surrounded East Gate Park. Everyone, young and old, who had been moving about inside the park came to a stop.
As the sirens continued to wail, a young police officer shouted through a loudspeaker, "East Gate Park is now closing. Please line up and leave East Gate Park in an orderly fashion. Do not push. Please maintain order."
"East Gate Park is now closing. Please line up and leave East Gate Park in an orderly fashion. Do not push. Please maintain order."
A long line of police cars arrived and established a blockade at the foot of the mountain, announcing that Yellow Goat Mountain had once again entered a lockdown. One police car after another arrived in an endless stream.
"What's going on? Why has the mountain been sealed off again?"
"Did something happen on the mountain again?"
"This looks like a major operation! Look—even the armed police have been deployed!"
Afterward, large numbers of armed police troops followed troop carriers up the mountain. Vehicle after vehicle raced along the mountain road toward the depths of Yellow Goat Mountain. Security lines were visible everywhere. Soon, several fully armed armored vehicles stopped at the entrance to Three Goat Temple, and the entire temple was surrounded layer upon layer.
Lin Shu and Zhou Yang each had one hand cuffed, with the other end of the cuffs fastened to a box. Their expressions were solemn.
They had just received orders from above. They were to set out from here and travel all the way to the provincial capital to make a report, without stopping for even a moment. There, a true heavyweight would meet with them.
Zhou Yang bowed to Daoist Qingyun. "Thank you, Daoist, for supporting our work and for your selfless contribution!"
Daoist Qingyun waved his hand. "The Daoist creed is to respect and cherish life, and to unite life with the Dao. While we value life, we also uphold the greater good of the nation and defend our homeland. Throughout the dynasties, our Daoist tradition has produced many such heroic figures. Although I cannot compare with my predecessors, I refuse to fall behind!"
"These things can only fulfill their greater purpose in your hands. No matter when, Three Goat Temple will obey the arrangements and directives of the nation."
Daoist Qingyun spoke with such righteousness that his voice rang like a bell, but behind him, the eyes of his many disciples were all blazing with fury.
"That fellow already took one pill himself, of course he can stand there and talk without feeling the heat!"