Cultivation Exists Here Too

The next morning.

When Song You opened his eyes and got out of bed, he could already hear voices outside.

He pushed the door open and saw Constable Luo standing in the bamboo grove. It seemed Three Flower Lady had opened the door for him. He was stroking the horse's mane while talking to the young girl beside him, mostly the girl asking questions and him answering.

"Do you have horses at your home too?"

"We don't have horses at home, but the yamen has horses. We can get them when needed."

"Many?"

"If you're talking about the county yamen, not many. But the post stations have many horses. If there's an urgent need, depending on the situation, we can also requisition them temporarily."

"Are they as good as my family's horses?"

"This..."

Constable Luo stammered for a moment.

It seemed Three Flower Lady was quite familiar with him, which reminded Song You of the pet cats in his previous life. When they were in a good mood, they would immediately play with guests. When they were in a bad mood, they would just lie there without moving.

Three Flower Lady was in a very good mood today.

Seeing Song You come out, Constable Luo finally escaped from Three Flower Lady's blinking eyes. He immediately turned to face Song You and cupped his hands in greeting:

"Mister is awake?"

"Good morning, Squad Leader."

"I've come this morning to bring you good news, Mister." Constable Luo said, "I arrived a bit early, and you weren't awake yet. I had planned to wait until noon to bring you the news, but... your child insisted on inviting me in to see the horse you bought, so I shamelessly came in to wait for you."

"It was a gift!"

Three Flower Lady immediately corrected him upon hearing this.

"Oh?"

"It was a gift from a Fellow Daoist from Fuqing Palace on Qingcheng Mountain. We've been friends for generations," Song You explained in a low voice. "It was delivered last night, and it was really difficult to refuse, so I had to accept it shamelessly."

"I see."

Constable Luo continued to look at the horse. "Northern Yuan horses are good horses, and this one has a pure bloodline. It just seems to have some congenital defects, which is why it's small."

"It's enough for us."

"Perhaps this horse can attain Dao with Mister."

"..."

Song You shook his head, knowing that people's praise was often just flattery and politeness. He then asked, "The good news you mentioned, Squad Leader, did you catch the thieves from yesterday?"

"Thanks to Mister!"

Constable Luo simply cupped his hands in thanks.

Thinking back now, he was both beaming and secretly amazed.

His beaming smile was half excitement and half pride.

Yesterday's silver theft case had some similarities to the previous underground thief case: the victims were mostly wealthy families in the city, and the amount of money lost was substantial. Such cases were no small matter. In the past, it would have been good if they were solved in three to five months, and they might even have become cold cases. But who would have thought that on the very same night, he would have apprehended the culprits with the stolen goods?

What made him even more excited and proud was that such thieves would certainly not limit their activities to Yidu. After a thorough investigation, they might even be able to solve similar theft cases in Yang Prefecture, the capital.

What a great contribution this was!

As for the amazement, it was about the process of solving the case.

After receiving Mister's guidance yesterday evening, he divided his men into two groups. One group went to apprehend the street performers, and the other went to investigate places nearby where people could hide or be harbored. Both groups moved with haste.

At this time, although the temple fair and night market had not yet dispersed, that group of people had already packed up and were preparing to flee.

They were cautious to flee after only one day.

Just as the constables were about to miss them, a miraculous event occurred--

Thunder in winter, lightning on a clear night!

It struck the group of people, leaving them half-dead.

When Constable Luo arrived, he found them with the stolen goods.

If one were to visit the temple market now, most people would probably be excitedly discussing last night's events. Not only today, but tomorrow, and even years from now, legends of King Yue Divine Lord descending divine thunder to punish the temple fair thieves would likely still be circulating in the temple market.

But was that really the case?

Constable Luo didn't think so.

This was the largest temple fair in Yizhou. Over the past few days, countless petty thieves had been active in the temple market, committing crimes, and underworld figures had been involved in fights with knives. But had King Yue Divine Lord struck any of them?

If it had nothing to do with Mister, he wouldn't believe it.

After Mister guided him, he must have anticipated that the thieves would flee and then found a way to summon lightning to stop them.

He had told the county magistrate the same thing last night. Even now, he clearly remembered the expressions of the magistrate and his staff at the time.

They were as shocked as he had been earlier.

However, he should still report this to Mister.

Constable Luo continued to explain in detail, glancing subtly at Mister's expression as he spoke.

When Mister heard about the winter thunder, a smile immediately appeared on his face. However, it was a smile with a deep, hidden meaning that Constable Luo couldn't understand.

Mister then said:

"It's good that you caught them."

"I will not fail you, Mister."

Constable Luo quickly lowered his head.

After a pause, he added, "I still need to interrogate those thieves, so I won't disturb Mister's washing up."

"Take your time, Squad Leader."

Only then did Song You turn to wash up.

Afterward, he went to the bamboo grove to see the horse. The horse remained quiet, its mouth chewing continuously. Beside it were some clover, which was excellent fodder. Song You surmised that Constable Luo had brought it.

"Heh..."

Song You shook his head and stroked the horse.

"Do you want to stay at the yamen's stables for a while, or stay here? The yamen has dedicated personnel to care for the horses, perhaps better than I can. But if you stay here, I won't neglect you either."

"Alright, then stay here."

"..."

After breakfast, someone else came looking for him.

It was Daoist priests Chuyun and Yingfeng, who had been invited by the Daoist priests of Fuqing Palace to visit the temple market together.

As Song You also had some things to buy, he went with them.

Thus, a group of true Daoist priests mingled with one fake Daoist priest as they arrived at the streets and alleys near King Yue Temple. The surrounding sounds were chaotic, and the passersby were all excited, their faces showing a desire to talk and a thirst for knowledge. It was as if they had just heard something incredible and wanted to hear it clearly, or perhaps they had already heard it and were eager to share it.

"What happened?"

A middle-aged Daoist priest asked curiously.

The younger Daoist priest was more lively. Seeing a crowd gathered and discussing animatedly, he went over to listen. When he returned, they pieced together the story bit by bit.

"They say it was the Divine Lord manifesting his power."

"They say thunder struck down the thieves."

"They say someone lost something..."

The middle-aged Daoist priest couldn't hear clearly and found it annoying. He took the opportunity to strike up a conversation with Song You: "Fellow Daoist Song, have you heard about King Yue Temple manifesting its divine power?"

He asked casually, but to his surprise, Song You nodded.

"I just heard this morning."

"Oh?"

All the Daoist priests immediately pricked up their ears.

"It's just that yesterday, a group of thieves used strange techniques to steal here. Later, the yamen constables noticed and came to arrest them. As the thieves were about to escape, King Yue Divine Lord manifested his power and struck them down with lightning."

"Is that true?"

"It shouldn't be fake."

"Then it truly is the Divine Lord manifesting his power," the middle-aged Daoist priest said quickly. "We should go to the Divine Lord's temple to offer incense."

"Indeed."

Song You also went to offer another stick of incense.

However, the Divine Lord was not present today.

They then continued to wander the temple market.

The Daoist priests needed to buy daily necessities for the temple, specifically those that were inconvenient to purchase in the town below the mountain. Song You, on the other hand, bought a bell for the red date horse, as well as a small pot, a straw cape, and other items useful for future long journeys.

They also accompanied them to watch the magic show again.

This group of Daoist priests had visited friends and discussed the Dao yesterday. Today was their first time visiting the temple market, and even though they came every year, it was only once a year. The young ones were naturally excited and couldn't bear to leave the crowd. Fortunately, their elders were patient and would often wait for them outside or watch with them.

Most of these street performers indeed possessed skills.

Tempering oneself through hardship was a skill, and esoteric Daoist arts were also skills.

Both were worth watching.

Especially these esoteric Daoist arts, which the young Daoist priests watched with great enthusiasm.

Don't think that because Daoist priests have built a temple and appear respectable and formal, they are superior to these traveling performers.

Esoteric Daoist arts are neither high nor low, and they are extremely rare. The skills passed down through generations by these street performers might not be found in temples. Even if they were, most people dedicate their lives to mastering one skill. Traveling performers are not necessarily inferior to the Daoist priests and monks in temples. In fact, if they could tolerate the quiet and seek cultivation in a temple, their skills would make it easy for them to gain recognition.

Only talent and effort can create a difference.

They continued like this from morning until dusk.

As darkness fell, the temple market today was different from yesterday. Many dark tents had appeared. The tents varied in size, and people at the entrance collected money. Those who paid were allowed to enter.

The older Daoist priests had seen it once or twice, but the younger ones had never seen anything like it. Thinking the entrance fee wasn't expensive, they went in one by one to look around out of curiosity.

Some tents contained rare and exotic items, such as peacocks with pure black feathers, flawless white leopards, and giant lingzhi mushrooms said to be thousands of years old and transformed into spirits. Some truly broadened one's horizons, while others were purely scams, preying on people's ignorance to make a quick buck.

Gasps and complaints could be heard frequently nearby.

Some were various grotesque and horrifying exhibitions.

Moving mummies, people with only the upper half of their bodies, even human abortions, and deformed children who had grown up.

Under the night sky, many people came in groups to watch. It was clear they were both scared and fascinated by these gruesome exhibits; the more scared they were, the more they liked it, the more excited they became.

Daoist priest Chuyun, being a woman, often felt horrified and covered her eyes. Although Daoist priest Yingfeng was a man, he often showed a look of distress, wanting to leave early.

Daoist priest Chuyun didn't want to enter any further tents. Since Song You also didn't want Three Flower Lady to see these things, he asked her to wait outside and look after Three Flower Lady.

He, however, remained calm, observing and contemplating.

He observed both the exhibits and the spectators.

By examining humanity and pondering the human heart in this way, he gained some subtle insights.

The last tents were for lewd exhibitions.

The entrance fee was only a few copper coins. They didn't know this beforehand and only discovered it upon entering the tent. In the flickering candlelight, there were women, all naked.

Of course, there weren't many with graceful curves and beautiful faces; they were merely there for the male visitors to indulge their eyes. Almost all the visitors were men. These men either stole furtive glances, or, in groups of two or three, pointed and laughed obscenely. Those who entered by mistake and were unaware quickly left. Some bolder ones even made gestures as if to touch.

Upon seeing a group of Daoist priests enter, many sneered.

"Daoist priests like these things too?"

"Where do you Daoist priests cultivate?"

"Lust is indeed human nature, hahaha!"

The middle-aged Daoist priests, with their high cultivation, merely smiled in response and paid them no mind.

The young Daoist priests blushed, lowered their heads, and dared not look. They regretted not asking clearly before entering and just wanted to leave quickly.

Song You, however, remained composed, his gaze often drifting towards the spectators.

This was the way of the times, but one could not judge the good or evil nature of these spectators by this alone. Whether their behavior was unrestrained or restrained, it could only reflect their recent character and thoughts.

If one were to ask what kind of people these were?

The answer: Just mortals.