Heartless Daoist

County Yamen, prison.

Two days had passed since the group visited Lesser Morality Temple. Old Liu reported the case to Third Squad's constable chief, Liu Jingsheng. Without saying much, the latter slipped into Zhao Family Village under cover of night and dug up the buried murder weapon in Zhao Zhifan's backyard.

By procedure, once the murder weapon was secured, they could have the clerk issue arrest warrants. But too many people were involved in this case, including two Bao Yi officers. The implications were so extensive that even if all the constables in Fengxian County mobilized, they could not handle it.

Especially since the Five Poisons Cult was involved. The case implicated forces from the Southern Border, so the higher-ups had to strike hard.

Liu Jingsheng sought instructions from County Magistrate Sima Changhui. The latter did not delay, summoning Six Doors and finalizing a plan to surround and arrest everyone at Lin Family Village and Zhao Family Village that night.

Xiang Yuan knew nothing of this. He simply brought Iron-Mouth Diviner his three daily meals.

Strangely enough, given Iron-Mouth Diviner's abilities, whether it was the Fengxian County Yamen or Six Doors, they ought to have treated him with courtesy. Yet everyone tacitly kept silent, as if they had forgotten such a person existed.

Not understanding why, Xiang Yuan carried an oil-paper parcel containing roast chicken and steamed buns into the county prison.

The prison was dark and dry rather than damp, but the stench was truly unbearable.

"Were you arrested for shortchanging people too?"

"Would I do something that immoral? I sold counterfeit goods."

"That's even worse than what I did."

Several new prisoners in the shared cell were getting acquainted. Catching the scent of roast chicken, they all turned to look.

Xiang Yuan greeted his brawny yamen colleague guarding the entrance, took the cell key, ignored those immoral scum, and headed straight for the solitary cell at the end. He unlocked the door and offered up the buns and roast chicken.

Iron-Mouth Diviner sat cross-legged amid the straw. Seeing Xiang Yuan arrive, he slowly said, "Tonight, you will suffer a Disaster of Bloodlight."

What the hell?

Xiang Yuan jumped in fright. Over the past two days of delivering meals, Iron-Mouth Diviner had not said a word, only stared at him with an incomparably eerie gaze. That was why Xiang Yuan never dared linger; once he delivered the food, he left.

He had not expected the man to speak on his own today, and to open with a Disaster of Bloodlight.

He might as well have said nothing!

Xiang Yuan had witnessed Iron-Mouth Diviner's abilities firsthand. Not daring waste a moment, he bowed and asked, "Immortal elder, do you have any method to help me avert this disaster?"

Iron-Mouth Diviner smiled faintly and stroked his beard. "This poor Daoist works for money."

Xiang Yuan could only smile bitterly. He still owed debts, and his sole remaining asset was Iron-Mouth Diviner's food allowance. He had spent nearly all of it serving the man good food and drink these past few days.

No money, and he did not want to hand over his life either. What was he supposed to do?

"Since you have neither, then become this poor Daoist's disciple."

"There's such a good deal?!" Xiang Yuan blurted out, finding it unbelievable.

As the saying went, doctors did not solicit patients, the Dao was not lightly imparted, and Buddhas only saved those with affinity. Since ancient times, there had never been such a thing as a free lunch.

Iron-Mouth Diviner seemed to see through Xiang Yuan's thoughts and said bluntly, "Will you take me as your master?"

"Yes!"

Anyone who refused would be a fool.

Xiang Yuan decisively dropped to his knees. Thinking of the rites for taking a master, he realized there was not even a cup of tea nearby. Ashamed, he could only offer up the roast chicken. "Master, please eat chicken."

"Your master has long since abstained from food. Eating or not makes no difference."

Iron-Mouth Diviner took the roast chicken and wolfed it down with the buns. As he ate, he said, "You need not be puzzled. I have no ill intent in taking you as my disciple. I was trapped in Fengxian County for ten years because of a wager. By entering prison and accepting you as my disciple, I can return and enjoy the good life."

Xiang Yuan did not understand, nor did he ask. He simply listened and nodded.

"The one who wagered against your master was Huixing, abbot of Great Awakening Temple. The three thousand worlds are as vast as a sea of stars, and the laws of heaven and earth are endlessly profound. Amid countless converging opportunities, the Dry Abyss Realm was bound to receive an outsider..."

"Your master came to Western Chu, while he went to Northern Qi. We exchanged territories, each seeking an outsider to take as a disciple. Whoever found one first won. If neither did, we would keep searching."

Xiang Yuan listened in a daze, his thoughts racing. He unconsciously clenched his fist. "Master, did you win?"

"I lost."

Iron-Mouth Diviner repeatedly shook his head and shot Xiang Yuan a sidelong glance. "Your master calculated that you were in Dezhou, yet we met in Fengxian County. I did not calculate that you would arrive ten years late."

Xiang Yuan still did not understand. His Head Sickness flared up, and he felt as though his brain were about to grow.

Iron-Mouth Diviner narrowed his eyes. "Do not worry. It is not an illness, but a great stroke of fortune. As for why, you will understand in time."

"But..."

"Your master understands. You need not say more."

Iron-Mouth Diviner rose to his feet and dusted himself off. "Circulate qi through your Ren Meridian. Let your master see what is wrong."

Xiang Yuan hurriedly sat cross-legged, steadied his mind, and guided his qi with intent, striking at the Shenque Acupoint that had troubled him for so long.

While the two spoke, the prisoners in the prison continued their separate conversations, collectively ignoring them.

"Wrong, wrong, wrong! That is not how immortality is cultivated!"

Iron-Mouth Diviner said "wrong" three times in a row. "This breathing technique is utterly ordinary, nothing miraculous. For an outsider like you, cultivating common techniques will not only yield no results, but will also harm your body."

"Master is going to teach me a divine technique?" Xiang Yuan was overjoyed. His illness was finally curable.

"There is no need for your master to teach you. You will have your own opportunity tonight."

"Please enlighten me, Master." Xiang Yuan asked anxiously.

"It cannot be spoken. If I say it, it will cease to work."

With an unfathomable air, Iron-Mouth Diviner said, "Tonight, you face a calamity of death. Without guidance from an expert, you will have little chance of survival. But fortune and misfortune, life and death, crisis and opportunity have always depended on one another. Your master is waiting for you to escape your plight; are you not also waiting for your master to escape this disaster?"

He drew a Bagua Heart-Protecting Mirror from his chest. It was palm-sized, gray and dull, with no trace of divine radiance. He stared at it for quite some time before reluctantly handing it over. "Keep this treasure close to your body. It will ensure you turn danger into safety and misfortune into fortune."

Xiang Yuan accepted it with both hands and drew a deep breath. "Master, in the future, this disciple will definitely... definitely..."

After saying "definitely" several times, he still could not pry the heart-protecting mirror free.

"Master?"

Iron-Mouth Diviner turned his head away and refused to look. Only after Xiang Yuan tucked the treasure mirror against his chest did he say weakly, "No need for more words. What happens in the future will be known in the future. Anything said now is empty talk."

Hearing that tone, Xiang Yuan looked at his nose, then at his heart, not daring say anything that might sour his master's mood.

Iron-Mouth Diviner stretched lazily. "Your opportunity is also connected to your master. Tonight, I must make a trip to the Southern Border. After so many years without stretching my limbs, I can finally have a satisfying fight."

As he said this, he muttered something about ten years in prison and hateful bald donkeys.

Xiang Yuan pretended not to hear, then suddenly realized something. He had been so shocked and happy that he forgot to ask Iron-Mouth Diviner's name.

As a disciple, that was truly disrespectful.

He respectfully said, "Master, this disciple still does not know your honored name."

"Your master is Heartless Daoist!"

Iron-Mouth Diviner—or rather, Old Daoist Quexin—placed one hand behind his back, narrowed his eyes, lifted his chin, and quietly waited for Xiang Yuan's reaction.

Xiang Yuan knew the old Daoist was formidable. The abbot of Great Awakening Temple was a figure akin to a terrestrial Buddha; anyone capable of wagering against such a mighty expert was surely no ordinary man. But Xiang Yuan had seen little and knew less. He had never heard this name before.

How awkward. It was like an old acquaintance you had not seen for years calling your name at once, while you had no memory of them whatsoever.

"So Master is Heartless Daoist! Who has not heard of Master's great name? For this disciple to take you as his master is truly the fortune of three lifetimes, a tremendous blessing cultivated over several lives!" Xiang Yuan said excitedly, his face flushed red.

Old Daoist Quexin's lips curved into a faint smile. Stroking his beard, he looked thoroughly pleased, as though his pupil was teachable.

Then his hand suddenly trembled, tearing out several long whiskers.

Damn it!

That brat had tricked him. He was an outsider—he did not know a thing!