Healing Wounds and Praying for Rain

As the ship docked, Bai Xiaowen and his companion, surrounded by a group of guards, soon saw the unconscious Yu Dayou and the Quanzhen School Daoist Sun Xuanqing Meditation beside him.

Someone had already gone to report to Governor-General Hu Zongxian.

Sun Xuanqing opened his eyes and glanced at Bai Xiaowen: "Young Daoist, your Yin energy is a bit heavy. It seems your journey to Ghost Reef won't be easy."

Bai Xiaowen smiled, took out the few pale white flowers, and handed them to Sun Xuanqing: "Fortunately, I have not failed in my mission."

Sun Xuanqing nodded and accepted the Ghost Mugwort.

"Master, to retrieve this Ghost Reef, I slew many Demon, including two formidable Demon Boss Tier," Bai Xiaowen blinked. "They say slaying demons brings merit, but is that true?"

Sun Xuanqing narrowed his eyes slightly. "Of course it has merit."

"But wouldn't that be stealing the Daoist priest's merit? That's not right. Although I am Daoist Gate practitioner, I am a lay disciple. I don't cultivate immortality. What use is this merit to me? I might as well sell it to the Daoist priest." Bai Xiaowen said.

Sun Xuanqing understood Bai Xiaowen's meaning and chuckled, "I have nothing of value, how could I possibly buy your merit? Besides, it's not my place to buy it. If you want to sell, go find the person who donated it to sell it to."

Bai Xiaowen pursed her lips.

Li Shuyi asked through the Team Channel, "What kind of riddles are you playing with this Daoist priest?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted some extra reward. This old Daoist priest is so stingy, he pushed me to Hu Zongxian and Yu Dayou. Oh well, I guess I'll have to ask those two for the A-Tier Elite Quest reward."

In the Spirit Realm, especially in the Ancient China Plane that reveres the way of the gentleman, a thick skin is essential. Anyway, not getting the reward isn't a loss, and getting it is a gain. Even if the Quanzhen School Daoist Sun Xuanqing gives the reward, Bai Xiaowen will still ask Hu Zongxian and Yu Dayou for more. It's all about fleecing others; the more you fleece, the better.

In the Three Kingdoms Plane World, Bai Xiaowen lived up to this principle. If he weren't shameless, would Guan Yu have given him and Li Shuyi guidance twice?

Of course, being thick-skinned must be done in a way that doesn't damage interpersonal relationships; it's important to strike a balance. If you drastically reduce Affection Level for short-term gains, then it's not worth it.

Sun Xuanqing then said, "I am now going to perform a ritual to exorcise the evil spirits from General Yu. All bystanders, please step aside. Fellow Daoist Bai, please protect me during the ritual."

Bai Xiaowen readily agreed.

This group of bystanders included Li Shuyi. She quietly pursed her lips and left Yu Dayou's quiet room with a group of eagerly watching guards.

"Master Sun, let's begin."

"Alright, young fellow Daoist, please lift General Yu's quilt and help him change his clothes." Sun Xuanqing held the Ghost Mugwort in his hands, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

Bai Xiaowen: "..." So, this job of protecting the Dharma sounds prestigious, but it's actually just doing odd jobs?

Bai Xiaowen lifted Yu Dayou Yu Dayou's quilt and removed his close-fitting short clothes. On his muscular chest, she could see a dark red wound, swollen to the height of two fingers and the size of a bowl. It was hard and hot to the touch.

Sun Xuanqing sighed, "Eastern Ying artifacts, in their blind pursuit of power and cruelty, are actually greedy for quick results and have fallen into inferior categories."

Sun Xuanqing picked up a stalk of Ghost Mugwort and handed it to Bai Xiaowen: "Young friend, hold this Ghost Mugwort and stand beside General Yu without swaying in the slightest."

Bai Xiaowen nodded.

Sun Xuanqing took a breath, cupped his five fingers, and began to frantically tap Yu Dayou's body.

As the fingertips rained down, the wound on Yu Dayou's chest swelled even more, with wisps of red mist rising from it, like a volcano about to erupt.

However, the crimson mist seemed to be drawn to it, rising gently. At the same time, the Ghost Mugwort also emitted a white mist, which mingled with the crimson mist, swirling into vapor.

A sudden roar filled Bai Xiaowen's ears, and illusions began to appear before his eyes. In a daze, he saw a dark red sword hurtling towards him! He instinctively wanted to dodge, but then he remembered Sun Xuanqing's instructions and stopped abruptly, standing still.

With a loud bang, the dark red sword struck Bai Xiaowen. Bai Xiaowen's 44 points of Divine Might took effect, leaving him completely unaffected, and the illusion dissipated.

Sun Xuanqing nodded approvingly. "Young fellow Daoist has a solid foundation." He grabbed Yu Dayou's shoulder with one hand and lifted him up forcefully, forcibly turning the Stunned Status Yu Dayou from a supine position into a sitting position.

Sun Xuanqing stepped onto the ground, landing behind Yu Dayou in one stride, and unleashed a barrage of finger strikes across Yu Dayou's back.

"Puff!"

Yu Dayou spat out a dark red blood clot, and wisps of fiery energy shot out from the lump on his chest, like serpents, which were slowly absorbed by Ghost Mugwort.

Seeing that the pale white flowers of the Ghost Mugwort had turned crimson, Sun Xuanqing said in a low voice, "Change the dressing."

Bai Xiaowen was prepared and grabbed a second Ghost Mugwort to replace it.

Sun Xuanqing said, "The fire poison is extremely potent and needs to be neutralized with an extremely yin substance. Otherwise, if we forcibly exorcise the evil, even if General Yu survives, he will likely lose most of his martial arts skills..."

His explanation was naturally meant for Bai Xiaowen.

At this moment, the fiery energy in his chest erupted in a full burst, accompanied by a spray of blood. The fierce fire evaporated the blood, turning it into a crimson mist, which was then neutralized and dissolved by the Ghost Mugwort.

Yu Dayou suddenly opened his eyes and roared, "It hurts so much!" He subconsciously threw a punch.

Unfortunately, the punch was aimed directly at Bai Xiaowen. Bai Xiaowen cursed under his breath and could only summon a Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier and shieldman to take the hit.

Clang!

The Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier flew out Bone Shatter, but Yu Dayou's fist, still carrying momentum, slammed into Bai Xiaowen's chest.

Bai Xiaowen felt as if he had been hit by a train. If he had taken the opportunity to retreat, he wouldn't have suffered too much damage, but Sun Xuanqing had given him a heads-up that Ghost Mugwort could not move at all. Helpless, Bai Xiaowen could only endure the residual force of the punch.

With a sudden buzz, Bai Xiaowen felt a ringing in both ears and almost vomited blood from the blow. Fortunately, he had Life Sharing, so although he suffered more than 80 points of damage, only 40 or 50 points were shared with him, which he could still bear.

Although Yu Dayou was in excruciating chest pain, the original swelling had subsided. After throwing his initial punch, he looked around somewhat blankly.

Sun Xuanqing stopped and smiled, "General Yu has been asleep for many days; he has finally awakened."

"Where am I?" Yu Dayou asked a very cliché question.

"You're in bed," Bai Xiaowen said, rubbing her aching chest and pouting.

"..."

The guards who had been waiting outside the door heard Yu Dayou's voice and squeezed in.

"Commander!"

"My lord!"

The room was filled with kneeling soldiers. Yu Dayou looked around and finally came to his senses. "How long have I been unconscious?"

A familiar voice rang out from outside the door. "Zhifu, you've been unconscious for over half a month. If it weren't for Master Sun's help, you probably wouldn't have woken up!"

The door opened, and Hu Zongxian, the Governor-General of Zhili and Zhejiang, strode in, followed by the talented scholar Xu Wei. Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei had arrived earlier when Sun Xuanqing was performing the exorcism, but they waited quietly outside the door for fear of disturbing Sun Xuanqing's ritual by entering rashly.

When Yu Dayou saw that his superiors had come over to greet him, he quickly turned over to get out of bed.

Hu Zongxian quickly stopped him, saying, "Zhifu's injuries have not yet healed; there's no need for such formalities."

"This humble general is in disheveled state; I apologize for the embarrassment, Your Excellency," Yu Dayou said repeatedly.

Meanwhile, Sun Xuanqing had already summoned a physician to bandage Yu Dayou's wounds. Then Yu Dayou put on a close-fitting short garment, finally preventing the people inside from seeing his two muscular chest muscles.

The personal guards, including Zhang Ting, stepped forward to help Yu Dayou dress. They briefly explained to Yu Dayou that after he fell into a coma, Hu Zongxian had invited the Quanzhen School priest Sun Xuanqing to treat him. It also mentioned that Bai Xiaozhenren had just returned from killing Japanese pirates and had been assigned the task of collecting medicinal herbs. Then, Sun Xuanqing performed an exorcism for him...

Yu Dayou sat on the bed, clasped his hands in thanks, and said, "Many thanks to Master Sun for saving my life."

Sun Xuanqing waved his hand and said, "No need to thank me, thank your Grand Eunuch... Oh, and this young Daoist Bai. That punch you threw when you just woke up really startled me. Fortunately, young Daoist Bai has a deep foundation and took the punch without flinching, so the exorcism ritual wasn't ruined."

Yu Dayou then recalled the scene when he woke up, and with an apologetic look on his face, he apologized to Bai Xiaowen.

Bai Xiaowen naturally stated that she wouldn't hold it against him.

Spirit Realm Rules Message:

"The Anti-Wokou Ming Army Yu Dayou, who fought against the Japanese pirates, has increased his Affection Level towards you. Your current Affection Level level is: Friend."

Bai Xiaowen secretly felt that taking that punch was worthwhile. Judging from the power of that punch alone, Yu Dayou's strength surpassed that of the Black Zombie King and the White Ghost Queen, and he was probably a "Rare Boss" level powerhouse. Such a powerhouse was not easy to Affection Level with.

After exchanging a few more words, Hu Zongxian said, "The fact that Zhifu was able to wake up this time is largely due to the Master's merit. I should report to His Majesty and inform him of the Master's achievements." He was quite polite to Sun Xuanqing in his words.

Sun Xuanqing nodded. "Thank you for your trouble, Governor."

Hu Zongxian continued, "Master Bai has gone to great lengths to travel to the Wokou Pirates' lair to gather medicinal herbs; this is a great achievement. If you were in my army, I would certainly Ming Dynasty and grant you a promotion and title. Unfortunately, Master Bai's heart is not in this, so I can only offer you gold and silver as a token of my gratitude."

Spirit Realm Rules Message:

"A-Tier Elite Tier Side Quest: Finding the Medicine is Completed"

"Your reputation with the Anti-Pirate Ming Army Faction has increased; your current level is: Honored."

"You have gained 3000 Merit Points."

"You have obtained 10 Master-Forged Gold Ingot and 50 Snow-White Silver Ingot."

This A-Tier Elite Quest is truly rewarding. The final gold and silver ingots can be taken out of the Spirit Realm, which is a completely different story compared to the ship full of wealth that Bai Xiaowen seized.

Of course, Hu Zongxian's willingness to give Bai Xiaowen benefits was also related to the cargo that Bai Xiaowen had handed over.

Bai Xiaowen said, "Your Excellency, this is the reply. Please take a look."

Hu Zongxian took Wang Cuiqiao's reply and glanced around at everyone in the room. Yu Dayou was still unaware, so Xu Wei had to be direct. "General Yu, the Grand Eunuch needs to discuss confidential matters next; please dismiss everyone else."

Yu Dayou suddenly realized what was happening and quickly told Zhang Ting and the others to leave.

Sun Xuanqing said, "Then I shall take my leave."

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave, Master? I have no intention of hiding this military matter from you. We will need your help in the future." Hu Zongxian quickly urged him to stay.

Sun Xuanqing shook his head. "Military affairs are none of my business as a monk. I came here by invitation only to treat the sick and save lives. Now that General Yu has woken up and is being cared for by physicians, he will recover in a few days, so there is no need for me to stay any longer."

After a pause, Sun Xuanqing looked at Bai Xiaowen and said, "Young friend, I am on my way to the capital to pray for rain. Would you be willing to accompany me?"

These words surprised everyone in the room.

Bai Xiaowen laughed and said, "Master, you are truly amazing! You can summon wind and rain, just like a god! I don't have that ability, so I won't get involved."

Sun Xuanqing sneered, "What do you mean by summoning wind and rain? If it's just a small-scale gust of wind or rain, I might be able to do it, but what Your Majesty wants is a torrential rain to alleviate the drought in Shandong and Henan. This is the workings of the great Heavenly Dao. Apart from those who have obtained the true secrets of the immortal path and are legendary great beings, who else has this ability?"

"Then why did you go to pray for rain?" Bai Xiaowen asked. "What if it doesn't work and His Majesty punishes me?"

Sun Xuanqing laughed and said, "Although I don't know how to pray for rain, I do know how to observe the heavens and the sky with my hands. I can roughly calculate when it will rain. As long as I build an altar Blessing Ritual at that time, wouldn't the rain be what I asked for?"

"Brilliant! Brilliant!" Bai Xiaowen exclaimed in admiration.

It's not surprising that Sun Xuanqing revealed the key points in front of Xu Wei, Hu Zongxian, and others. As long as Sun Xuanqing could convince the emperor, what did it matter whether others believed him or not?

Furthermore, Hu Zongxian wouldn't be so idle as to submit a memorial exposing Sun Xuanqing's actions. The current Jiajing Emperor was a devout Daoism; what use would such an exposé be? Sun Xuanqing himself possessed Daoist skills; whether Jiajing Emperor believed in a small-scale artificial rainmaking event or not was another matter.

If Hu Zongxian believed Sun Xuanqing, he would be in trouble.

Therefore, a clever man like Governor Hu would never submit a memorial to expose Sun Xuanqing. On the contrary, he would praise Sun Xuanqing's contributions to the fight against the Japanese Daye Era in his memorial—after all, he had a personal relationship with Sun Xuanqing, and if Sun Xuanqing was favored by the emperor, he would have another way to get ahead.

"It seems you don't want to come with me," Sun Xuanqing said, shaking his head.

Bai Xiaowen felt a little regretful. "Master, I came to help Governor Hu quell the Japanese pirates out of righteous indignation. I will not be able to get over this hurdle in my heart until the Wokou Pirates are quelled. I hope you can understand." How could he not feel regret? It was obvious that the Sun Xuanqing line could be explored in depth.

However, without completing the main quest, everything would be for naught, so Bai Xiaowen had no choice but to reluctantly decline.

Sun Xuanqing nodded and said, "The most taboo thing for a cultivator is to have obsessive thoughts. Since you have such ambitions, then do your best."

Hu Zongxian escorted Sun Xuanqing all the way to the door, and then provided him with carriages, horses, and soldiers in a large entourage. However, Sun Xuanqing declined all offers, only taking twenty taels of medical fees, and rode a mule alone to the capital.

Gradually, Sun Xuanqing's figure on his mule disappeared at the end of the road, leaving only the Song of Good Tidings " echoing in the air, gradually fading into inaudibility.