Pine Crane Guidance

"Girl, let's go."

An impatient, aged voice drifted over.

"Coming, coming! Grandpa Daoist, the mountain scenery is so beautiful. You're drinking with the mountain breeze—why are you in such a hurry?"

"What's so good about scenery? Besides, this mountain is a little inauspicious. Stay too long, and I'm afraid it'll damage my blessings."

The old man spoke with a distinctly strange, sardonic tone.

It made people uncomfortable just hearing it.

Lu Wu-bing's heart stirred slightly. He felt that the old man was hinting at something, but he did not take it to heart.

He merely smiled as he watched the old man and the young girl bicker. Then he suddenly noticed something and took a closer look at the old man.

The man had white hair and a white beard, a ruddy complexion, and looked full of vigor. It was impossible to tell how old he truly was.

His clothes were tattered, covered in black, yellow, and all sorts of stains.

He did not care about cleanliness in the slightest.

He was like an ordinary beggar one might occasionally encounter in the marketplace, with neither food nor clothing...

Though his life was a complete mess, he laughed cheerfully every day. Even when hungry, he was not sad. If he managed to beg some money, he might even secretly take a sip of wine.

All ordinary beings were learning to make peace with life.

Since they could not change anything, they learned to enjoy it.

After all, happiness was a lifetime, and suffering was also a lifetime...

This was what Lu Wu-bing saw in the old man.

But the problem was...

It was far too wrong...

If he had encountered him by the roadside, Lu Wu-bing was certain that he would never have given him a second glance.

But seeing him beside Ji Wenxiu, and knowing that this Qingyun Daoist was a rare master, made the situation highly abnormal.

After all, Lu Wu-bing had seen quite a few people on his journey—from peddlers and porters to renowned masters, even commanding generals and underworld powerhouses...

Every one of them possessed a bearing suited to their status.

Either their physique was astonishing, or their aura was vast...

Even if one could not discern much of their true depth, one could still feel deep down that they were not people to be trifled with.

Yet this slovenly Daoist gave him no such feeling.

If he were not standing there, alive and well, Lu Wu-bing would almost have thought there was no such person beside him.

At first glance, he was an utterly ordinary, down-and-out old man.

But upon looking again, he seemed hidden amid the clouds and mist of deep mountains, impossible to see clearly.

"Eh, little fellow, your eyesight is quite good. You actually noticed this old Daoist's extraordinary qualities?"

A faint gleam seemed to flash through the old man's eyes before he broke into a smile. "Your body is weak as an infant's, yet your soul burns strong as fire. Good fellow, you're racing all the way toward the Bridge of Helplessness..."

"Grandpa Daoist, you're talking nonsense again. Senior Brother Lu is perfectly healthy. Isn't a strong soul a good thing? His spirit is vigorous, and he learns everything quickly."

Ji Wenxiu's heart gave a violent thump. She said this with great displeasure.

"Girl, this is where you don't understand. Since ancient times, those too deep in feeling seldom live long, and those too brilliant are easily harmed. Everything should have its limit... Think about it—among those genius children who became famous far and wide at a very young age, how many met a good end?

"Most were weak and sickly. Some say Heaven was jealous of them. Jealous my ass... The truth is that their spirit and physique were out of balance. If the soul is too strong, life will not be long!"

"How strange. This boy's soul does not seem to have been strong from birth. His spirit and body are actually somewhat incompatible.

"If this is the case, then either he suffered some great upheaval, or he attained enlightenment and awakened his wisdom—or perhaps..."

The old Daoist grew more puzzled the longer he looked. Clearly, his curiosity had been aroused.

"Grandpa Daoist, if you can see what the problem is, then you must have a way to solve it, right?" Ji Wenxiu asked anxiously.

Lu Wu-bing, meanwhile, was screaming in his heart, Grass is a plant.

The old Daoist's discernment was too formidable. With just one look, he had actually seen some clues regarding his awakened memories of past and present lives.

Lu Wu-bing himself had always found it somewhat difficult to understand.

The memories and spirit of this life remained, while the spiritual memories of his past life had been added atop them. The experiences and lives of two lifetimes had converged—how could his soul not be strong?

It also made sense that it was somewhat incompatible with his body.

A person's flesh contained all manner of life imprints, and these often grew in harmony with the spirit.

No matter how well this lifetime's body matched the spirit of his previous life, there would always be some incompatibility.

Hearing Ji Wenxiu's words, the old Daoist cast a disdainful glance at Celestial Star Peak and shook his head. "With the disciples and descendants of that old Mixed Origin, when would it be this scruffy Daoist's turn to offer guidance? Back then, that fellow was ferocious indeed..."

"One jar of Pear Blossom Wine, brewed from a thousand-year-old snowy recipe."

Ji Wenxiu directly named her terms.

"Gulp!"

The old Daoist's Adam's apple bobbed wildly, but he forcibly suppressed the urge to swallow and still shook his head. "Three jars. Not one less. And they must be made from the first-month pears buried fifteen years ago."

"Grandpa Daoist, did you know I smashed seven jars of Pear Blossom Wine?"

A trace of shock flashed through Ji Wenxiu's eyes.

Back when she had been chosen for a marriage alliance, she had run to the palace and begged her imperial father to withdraw his order, yet she had not even been granted an audience.

Those people had hastily prepared the dowry, carriages, and horses, and set off that very day.

She had practically been forced out of the capital.

Feeling wronged, she had dug up the ten jars of Pear Blossom Wine her mother consort had buried fifteen years ago and smashed seven of them. As for the remaining three, she had cried until she had no strength left and fallen asleep.

Later, she did not know whether they had been buried again.

The old Daoist actually knew all about these matters... and had specifically named three jars.

Could it be that he had been watching from the side that day?

But why had he not intervened?

"How would I know?"

The old Daoist rolled his eyes, then immediately brightened. "Could there be another seven jars? I'll take them all."

"Just keep pretending." Ji Wenxiu's face turned cold. "There are only three jars left. Take them or leave them."

"Three jars it is. No going back on your word."

Having struck a deal, he immediately became amiable and pleasant. Looking at Lu Wu-bing, he clicked his tongue twice.

"If that old Mixed Origin were still around, with your talent, boy, you would be an unrivaled prodigy for questioning the Heavenly Dao.

"What a pity. Today's Celestial Star Sect is shallow water that cannot raise a dragon. Becoming that fool Ouyang Zheng's disciple is a waste."

The old Daoist's tongue was vicious.

In three sentences, he never forgot to insult the Celestial Star Sect.

Who knew whether he had some grudge against the Mixed Origin Old Ancestor.

Could it be that the Ancestor Hunyuan had killed his master and destroyed his sect back then?

That was not something easy to ask.

It could only be said that a sharp-tongued man had met a foul-mouthed little girl. The two were evenly matched.

Neither got the better of the other.

Lu Wu-bing did not care whether the man's words sounded pleasant. He merely listened attentively...

The old Daoist was about to reveal something real. He could not miss it.

Junior Sister Wenxiu had traded three jars of wine for this opportunity. He wondered what kind of wine it truly was.

"Boy, I will teach this [Pine Crane Guidance] only once. Whether you can learn it depends on your own fortune."

As he spoke, the old Daoist released the donkey's reins in his hand, assumed a stance, bent and straightened his legs, and spread his arms slightly.

Though he had merely struck an exceedingly simple pose, the old Daoist's aura changed. In Lu Wu-bing's eyes, his entire form transformed.

Before him was no longer a person, but a thousand-year-old pine, bearing the weight of wind and snow, unmoving and unshaken.

Just as he tried to look more closely, when he looked again, it was as though he saw an immortal crane soaring skyward with folded wings.

Crane cries rang through his ears, while hazy white shadows filled his eyes.

The immortal crane and the ancient pine had already vanished without a trace.

Only a white-haired old man in ragged, patchwork clothes remained where he stood, holding an utterly ridiculous pose.