The Spring Has a Spirit (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"Junior Brother, Junior Sister, you've been at the temple for two days now. Have you gotten used to things here?" Senior Brother asked them with concern.

"I have."

"I have!"

"There are some chores around the temple. Have you found them tiring?"

"Not at all. I had to work back in the village too. I'd feel even more uncomfortable if I had nothing to do." Lin Jue answered honestly.

"I don't, either. It's not tiring."

"I give Junior Brother and Junior Sister things to do partly so you don't grow idle, and partly to help you adapt to life in the mountains," Senior Brother said. "That's simply how life in the mountains is."

"I understand. Just tell me what needs doing, Senior Brother."

"I understand too."

"Actually, there is something to do. The temple is running low on water. After you finish eating, Junior Brother, go fetch a few buckets from the mountain spring nearby. Take only a little each trip and make several trips. You can tire yourself out, but don't hurt yourself."

"Got it."

"I'll go too!"

"Perfect timing, Junior Brother. I'm free today, so I'll start helping you refine your Earth Wood Essence." Second Senior Brother, who was sitting nearby, spoke up to Lin Jue. "Refining this kind of Heaven and Earth Five Elements Spiritual Charm requires Spiritual Water. There's a Sacred Water Spring in the mountains, where Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi gathers and Sun Moon Essence collects. It's the most suitable for this. The only problem is that it's quite far away. Have Big Black from the temple lead the way, and go fetch a bucket first."

"Sure."

"It's a long way. I'll give you a Divine Speed Pill. Don't eat it yet; consider this a chance to train. Take it if you run out of strength, can't walk any farther, it gets too late, or a Monster chases you. Once you've taken it, your legs will naturally be full of strength, as if the wind were at your heels. You'll move much faster, whether walking or running." Second Senior Brother continued, "Remember, the sacred spring has a spirit. When you reach the spring's eye, be sincere and respectful. Don't harbor irreverent thoughts. Explain why you've come and say, 'Please, Sacred Spring, let the water flow.' The spring water will come out on its own."

"I'll remember."

Lin Jue received a cyan pill from him, kept in a tiny Porcelain Vase no bigger than his thumb.

There wasn't much to do at the temple, really.

This was especially true for the senior brothers. They didn't even attend morning or evening services, and they were free to practice cultivation and spells as they pleased. Each day, they had only a few chores.

They received pilgrims, chopped firewood, fetched water, and went down the mountain to buy supplies. Besides that, with the world growing more and more chaotic, more pilgrims came up the mountain than before. Sometimes they arrived with requests, and the brothers would often go down the mountain with them to exterminate Monsters and drive out evil spirits. The rest of the time, they mostly just passed the hours.

Now that they had two junior disciples, many of those chores had been shared out.

Perhaps the brothers had even more free time now.

Lin Jue and his Junior Sister had a little more to do, since they had to recite scriptures each morning, would eventually learn to cultivate Spiritual Methods and spells, and had chores to handle as well.

Lin Jue didn't think there was anything wrong with that.

His Junior Sister seemed to feel the same.

Take fetching water today. It had nothing to do with cultivation, but Lin Jue knew that learning Spiritual Methods couldn't be rushed. He had nothing else to do, so there was no harm in helping out. And as Senior Brother had said, they had only just arrived. It was natural to feel uneasy and out of place. Having too much free time would only make them feel worse; it was better to have things to do and slowly get used to the mountain and the Daoist temple.

He hadn't expected his Junior Sister, who hadn't been assigned the chore, to volunteer to go with him.

Even though he had to fetch water from the Sacred Water Spring to refine his Earth Wood Essence, a round trip that would take half a day, she grabbed a bucket and insisted on going along.

Lin Jue guessed it was because he'd let her have her pick when it came to learning spells and choosing a room, and had helped her interpret the scriptures that morning. She was grateful and wanted to repay him. That was only natural.

Besides, they were fellow disciples who had joined the temple at the same time, and the two lowest-ranked disciples there. They were about the same age, so they were bound to be closer. He'd looked after her several times, so it was only normal for her to grow fonder of him.

Perhaps by now, when she thought of how wary she'd been of her good Senior Brother at first, she regretted it terribly.

The thought made Lin Jue want to laugh.

In any case, the two of them now each carried a wooden bucket, following a black Slim Hound along the mountain paths and forest trails toward the Sacred Water Spring.

A tiny Fox, less than a palm's length, followed behind them.

The little thing was very uneasy when it was alone, yowling nonstop. But as long as someone was with it, it wouldn't fuss or make a sound. Its one flaw was that it insisted on following people around. For every step Lin Jue took, it had to take at least ten to keep up. He was genuinely afraid the little thing would exhaust itself to death halfway there.

The mountain trail was narrow, the vegetation lush, and the way steep and treacherous.

"Senior Brother..."

The young girl spoke softly, taking the initiative to start a conversation. "Do you know how our Daoist temple came to be?"

"How did it come to be?"

"I heard that a long time ago, the Patriarch was a good man of great virtue and renown. He always wanted to become an immortal and learn Immortal Arts. One day, he met an immortal on the road. He asked the immortal to teach him cultivation and spells, but since the Patriarch had done so many good deeds, the immortal couldn't refuse. So he told him, 'Up ahead—oh, no, he pointed to a hill ahead and told him..."

"'If you can level that hill, I'll teach you Immortal Arts.'

"The Patriarch began moving the mountain. He dug from morning until night, never stopping for wind or rain. After thirty years, he finally moved the hill to the other side.

"The immortal then taught him these seven Immortal Arts.

"Master told me yesterday!"

His Junior Sister was trying to grow closer to him.

A girl in her early teens—every shift in her voice made her feelings and personality plain.

"So that's how the mountain was moved."

"That's right! Later, the immortal told the Patriarch that this place had once been his—his place where he used to cultivate..."

"His Dojo."

"That's right! His Dojo! Then he told him to come here and cultivate, so the Patriarch came and built a Daoist temple. That's our Floating Hill Temple."

"I see."

No wonder Cloud Crane Taoist liked picking up disciples along the road so much. The Patriarch had received his inheritance on the road, too.

Of course, legends passed down through the world were always tinged by people's preferences and prejudices. They often contained untruths, flattery, embellishments, and distortions. So words like "immortal" and "Immortal Arts" in the story had to be understood in the context of ordinary people's beliefs and the fashions of the time. After so long, it was hard to say what was true and what wasn't.

"Then what kind of spell is 'Stone Pulverization'?"

"Master said it's a powerful Earth Element Magic, suited for Spell Combat. It can crush stones to powder, and turn other things into mush. But it works best against stones."

"That sounds powerful."

"I haven't learned it yet..."

"Study hard, Junior Sister. Maybe someday I'll have to rely on you to protect me."

"I'll do my best!"

She sounded utterly determined.

From what he'd seen over the past few days, the girl was indeed diligent and earnest, with no fear of hardship or hard work. Lin Jue genuinely believed her.

As they chatted, they arrived at the Sacred Water Spring.

When Lin Jue looked back, the little Fox was still running after them. It leaped over a branch on the path, then bounded across a small hole in the ground, its four legs moving so fast that it was almost painful to watch.

"You little thing..."

Lin Jue looked down as it ran up to him, slowing as it drew near.

"Did you hear today? Fourth Senior Brother couldn't find your parents in the mountains. If he still can't find them after a few days, you'll have to stay with me from now on."

Naturally, he got no reply.

When ordinary people said things like that to cats and dogs, they usually didn't actually think the animals understood.

Lin Jue shook his head. He couldn't bear to let it keep running, so he picked it up and tucked it into his robe. Then he took both buckets and followed the Black Dog ahead.

There was a spring's eye there.

It emerged from a stone wall about three feet above the ground. The three characters "Sacred Water Spring" had been inscribed on the wall in seal script. Below it, short grass and scattered stones covered the ground, and the water had worn a track through them.

No water was flowing now.

Lin Jue went up to the spring and, as Second Senior Brother had instructed, made his request sincerely and truthfully:

"Sacred Spring above, I am Lin Jue, a newly accepted disciple of the twelfth generation of Floating Hill Temple. I met a Spirit on the road who wanted Spiritual Wine. As it happened, I had some, so I traded it for a piece of Earth Wood Essence. I now wish to refine the Spiritual Resonance within it and need Spiritual Water."

Though he said the words, he was actually quite curious. Would the spring's eye really release water when someone asked?

At the thought, his heart tightened. He wondered whether thinking that way counted as disrespect toward the Sacred Spring, or as irreverence. He didn't dare risk it, afraid even taking the chance might be offensive, so he hurriedly reined in the thought.

"Please, Sacred..."

Before he could finish, he heard a sudden puff.

The sound had come from the spring's eye.

Just as Lin Jue was startled and felt guilty, convinced that his earlier thought had indeed offended the Spiritual Spring, he heard air bubbling and gurgling from within it. In only a moment, water began to trickle out.

First came a thin stream, then in moments it surged out like a column.

Lin Jue came to his senses and hurriedly held out a bucket to catch it.

His Junior Sister behind him was just as astonished.

The little Fox, its head poking out of his robe, had widened its eyes too.

One bucket filled halfway, then the other a little over halfway. Before long, Lin Jue had all the water he needed.

"That's enough, that's enough,"

Lin Jue couldn't help saying.

Strangely enough, as soon as he spoke, the flow weakened.

A moment later, it had stopped completely.

Lin Jue couldn't help staring, stunned and confused.

"Thanks for the effort, Junior Sister."

"It was no trouble!"

Then he and his Junior Sister carried the water back. They stopped to rest along the way, ate eggs to stave off hunger, and picked some wild fruit they recognized for a snack. The trip took much longer than the journey there, but they eventually returned to the Daoist temple. It would have taken Lin Jue two trips to fetch a full bucket by himself; with his Junior Sister helping, one trip was enough.

He handed the water over to Second Senior Brother.

He came out intending to fetch more water, but happened to meet the old Daoist, so he stopped to ask him about it.

The old Daoist raised his head and stroked his beard with a smile.

"This mountain has a god, and the Sacred Spring has a spirit. How could the spring not know whether reverence or irreverence fills your heart? And how could it not know your character? Once your sincerity has been shown, why use a spell to urge it?"

"Once your sincerity has been shown, why use a spell to urge it..."

Lin Jue murmured the words, deep in thought.

Cultivating spells in this world wasn't the way he'd originally imagined. Yet as he went along, everything he experienced and witnessed kept reshaping his understanding and filling in the world in his mind.