Having Money in Your Arms Makes Your Heart Feel at Ease

Lin Jue didn't leave. Instead, while it wasn't too late and the Yang Qi hadn't reached its peak, he climbed the nearby bamboo mountain to meditate, practice breathing, sense Spiritual Charm, and absorb the Five Qi.

The wind rustled his clothes and hair, and the bamboo forest rustled all over the mountain.

His mind was at its quietest at this moment.

After cultivating for a while, he rested, ate two more vegetable buns, and then hid in the bamboo forest for shade.

Lin Jue was surprised to discover that there was another chapter in the ancient book:

Dream Sending, also known as sending dreams, is a method of entering and creating dreams.

Dreams are illusory worlds.

There are about seven or eight methods of entering and creating dreams in the world, which can be broadly divided into two categories: one is called Dream Descending, which, besides Taoists using the power of dream gods to descend dreams, is only mastered by deities and a few Monsters; the other is called Dream Sending, which is to use spells to send oneself or an illusion created by oneself into someone else's dream, and it can be cultivated.

This is the method of Dream Sending.

"Hmm?"

Lin Jue thought carefully in surprise.

He didn't know when this appeared...

He must have fallen asleep last night, so he didn't notice.

Even though he was alone in the mountains and forest at this moment, Lin Jue still assumed his usual posture for reading, naturally placing his hand on the book page without any abnormality.

Suddenly, words echoed in his mind, explaining the method of Dream Sending.

However, this "Dream Sending" was much more complex and profound than "Exhaling Qi" and the "Fire-Repelling Technique."

Although the explanation was still complete and detailed, this completeness and detail were based on a certain prerequisite foundation.

Firstly, this spell could not be used by Lin Jue, who had just begun cultivating the most basic and original Qi Nourishing Method. Secondly, this spell appeared out of thin air in the ancient book. If someone had a master, their master would likely teach them "Dream Sending" only after they had mastered a lot of knowledge about cultivation and spells, and learned some simpler spells related to "Dream Sending." As Lin Jue listened now, he could only feel that the words still explained every aspect of the spell completely, yet there were still many parts he couldn't understand.

If he hadn't succeeded in seeking immortality, he would have to rely on this book to learn more related but simpler foundational spells first.

"..."

Lin Jue had no choice but to put the book down for the time being.

As for why he didn't have a reaction from the ancient book the first time he had a dream in the Wang Family Ancestral Hall in Heng Village, Lin Jue figured it was because the spell used by that person was "Dream Descending," which could not be learned.

Slowly, noon passed.

This was when the sun was at its most scorching.

The Monks in the monastery mainly ate grains and didn't have much to do each day. They naturally felt sleepy after meals and took naps. No one came to stay at this time, and the temple was quiet.

Not just the temple.

Most merchant travelers who had come from the previous waypoint hadn't arrived yet at this time. Occasionally, there were pedestrians, but they would also avoid the scorching sun, find a shady spot, and take a nap. Therefore, there wasn't a single person on the mountain road below. In the bright sunlight, only the lush green bamboo swayed in the wind. The mountain road was illuminated brightly. The entire world was silent except for the chirping of insects.

Lin Jue had already descended the mountain and returned behind the monastery.

There weren't many bamboo leaves in the bamboo forest; they were probably used by the Monks for burning. However, there was human excrement in the middle, so he had to be careful to go around it.

Finding the small hill and the small pit, Lin Jue began to dig.

Even up to this point, he still felt a sense of illusion about what happened last night. He couldn't be completely sure that he could dig up something, always missing one or two points out of ten.

Until he dug out the wet mud and hit something hard.

Lin Jue unearthed two pottery jars.

Opening the pottery jars, each contained some official silver, copper coins, jewels and jade, and some personal belongings like name tags.

It seemed the belongings were divided equally.

"As expected..."

What happened last night was indeed not a dream.

What the two ghosts said was indeed true.

Lin Jue's heart felt a sense of solemnity and a sense of relief.

These two ghosts, especially the ghost surnamed Su, were indeed deeply affectionate and righteous.

After hesitating for a moment, he took five taels of silver from each jar, which were the smallest silver ingots in the jars, making a total of ten taels. He was quite content. This was the travel money gifted by the two, and there was really no need to refuse.

Tucking the silver into his clothes, he planned to bury the two jars back.

But after a moment's thought, he felt something was wrong.

This place was too close to the monastery. These two jars had been buried here before without anyone discovering them. Now that he had dug them up, there was a lot of new soil, and the traces were hard to conceal. Not to mention the Monks in the monastery, if any merchant traveler happened to come here to relieve themselves and discovered them, they might gain an unexpected fortune.

And they probably wouldn't trust these Monks much.

"I'll take all the other jewels and valuables with me and hand them over to your families. If I can't find your families, I'll bury them here again. It's only two to three hundred li anyway, and with travel and searching, it will take at most ten days."

Lin Jue said in the forest.

His heart was at ease, and he didn't care if they could hear him. After speaking, he wrapped all the contents of the two jars in cloth and left the place.

With an extra ten taels for travel, the journey was much easier.

My worries about this lessened considerably, and I naturally walked with ease. With the money in my arms, I could occasionally buy a couple of steamed buns and a bowl of wontons at a tea stall if I really didn't want to eat dry rations.

Unknowingly, the bamboo forest along the road was replaced by a regular forest.

Danxun and Qiuru counties were adjacent, and indeed not far apart. It only took Lin Jue four or five days to travel the two to three hundred li, even walking slowly. It took more time to find their villages.

Although population movement wasn't strictly controlled in this era, it was relatively closed off. A decade or so seemed to bring little change to rural villages. Lin Jue found Su Village and Lao Village one after another, and successfully learned about the families of Mo Laifeng and Su Xiaojin. Their lives were not good, but they were still alive.

Lin Jue, of course, did not hesitate and handed the two packages to their respective families.

There was no thought of keeping it all for himself.

This was because being reborn was a rare opportunity. No one knew this better than Lin Jue. Life was short, only a few decades. Living this life comfortably and with peace of mind was more important than anything.

"Brother Su's remains were buried by the monks of the temple directly behind the main building, along with his friend. I don't know the character of the many monks in the temple, so I don't know if there were any burial objects," Lin Jue said to Su Xiaojin's family, whom he found later. "Brother Su could not return to his roots in his fallen leaves, and his soul was restless. He appeared in a dream and asked me to come and bring back his remains."

The people here were very particular about clan and family ties, which was the strongest bond in this era. Therefore, Lin Jue wasn't too worried about whether they would go to the temple to retrieve the remains of the two men.

Mentioning burial items made him even less worried.

Lin Jue left with peace of mind.

As he walked, he couldn't help but pull out the silver from his arms in places where no one was around, weighing it in his hand, and examining it before his eyes.

Now that he had money, and after finishing his task, he felt much more at ease holding it and spending it than before. His steps became lighter again.

He then continued on his path to seek immortality and enlightenment.

It wasn't far from Mount Qi Yun now.

Lin Jue didn't focus solely on finding Mount Qi Yun and Mount Yi. In between, he stopped at tea stalls and inns to ask passersby for directions. When he went to Danxun County, he even sat in a tavern where storytellers performed. He chatted with the storytellers, asking if there were any masters of magic nearby, or if any famous mountains or temples had true immortals. Sometimes there were no answers, and sometimes there were answers, but when Lin Jue went to investigate, they turned out to be false.

Cultivation in this world seemed uncommon.

There were relatively few masters.

He finally found some sorcerers and witches, and guessed they might have some abilities. However, these people were all money-grubbers. Lin Jue, with his limited funds, feared being cheated and also felt it wasn't that urgent yet.

Ten taels of silver wouldn't last long anyway, and it couldn't withstand such use.

However, the weather was getting hotter day by day.

It was already the end of April.

The midday sun was so bright it made one's eyes water. Many animals in the mountains were hiding. On the mountain path, paved with gravel and marked with cart ruts, a person dressed as a scholar walked slowly.

A piece of cloth was tied to the top of his book basket, shielding his head from the sun and providing some shade.

As for his shoulders and other areas, they were already burning hot from the sun.

"Why is there no one on this road?"

Lin Jue stopped by the river, took out his bamboo water flask, took a sip of water, then bent down to refill it from the river.

He straightened up and looked ahead—

A winding river, curved into a semicircle. The water was emerald green, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds. Along the river was a similarly winding road, lined with lush grass. The road surface shone under the sun. Insects chirped noisily, and occasional ape calls echoed in the mountains. But besides that, there was indeed no one.

Were they all resting by the roadside, taking a nap?

But he didn't see anyone napping.

Lin Jue couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Could there be fierce beasts in this area?

Or perhaps Monsters?

However, there were no large beasts like tigers here, only jackals and leopards at most. Demonic Ghosts usually didn't appear on official roads during the day. Lin Jue feared bandits and robbers more.

Let alone Lin Jue, a young man who had only learned some Performance Art, even many masters and recluses in stories, who had considerable Cultivation and knew many spells, feared the swords of warriors and the cold arrows shot from the dark. When royalty and nobles ordered them to be captured and executed, they often had no choice but to hide.

"..."

Lin Jue calmed himself, picked up his book basket, and continued on his way.

The road followed the winding river, and Lin Jue followed the winding road, gradually entering a shaded area.

He saw that the trees around were thick, and only apes were leaping in the distance. There were no signs of bandits or robbers, nor any traces of people having passed by, which made Lin Jue relax a little.

Perhaps he should also find some shade to rest and take a nap?

Or find a hidden spot and wait for travelers behind him to arrive, then travel together?

Lin Jue pondered, looking around.

"Something's wrong!"

Lin Jue suddenly froze—

Were the apes in the distance too large?

They were almost as tall as humans!

More importantly, when Lin Jue saw them, they had also seen him.

One ape leaped onto a treetop and looked down, scrutinizing the road from above. Its gaze, even from a distance, felt full of aggression. It then let out two "woo-ah" sounds, and many apes turned their attention to him.

"Rustle... rustle..."

The woods began to shake violently. Giant, human-like apes were climbing through them, rapidly approaching Lin Jue.

An ape let out a yell, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth.

"!"

Lin Jue suddenly understood why no one else was on this path.

Without a moment's hesitation, he turned and ran!

But these apes were already as fast as humans when running and climbing. He didn't know if a normal person could outrun them, but Lin Jue, carrying a book basket, definitely couldn't.

Lin Jue panted heavily, glancing back repeatedly as he ran frantically. He could only hear the sound of rustling leaves getting closer and closer behind him, and he saw the shaking treetops also drawing nearer. He felt a surge of anxiety.

"No!"

Lin Jue made a swift decision. He twisted his body, dropped the book basket, grabbed only an ancient book and a small knife from it, and continued to run forward.

However, his face couldn't help but show a look of conflicted reluctance—

All the silver money was still in the book basket!

He had only just managed to get ten taels of silver!

Although this ancient book would have a profound impact on his future path of seeking immortality, making it the most precious item, the money also had considerable utility.

As Lin Jue was thinking, he suddenly felt that he was no longer being pursued from behind. He couldn't help but look back.

He saw about ten human-sized apes surrounding his book basket. They violently tore open the lid of the basket and then dumped out its contents, scattering them everywhere. Upon finding the dried rations, a group of apes immediately snatched them and began to devour them. They casually tossed aside the water canteen and threw the clothes all over the place.

Lin Jue's eyes immediately widened.

Then, an exceptionally tall ape stood up straight, raised its head, and looked at him, its eyes full of scrutiny.