A Long Story

"Uncle-Master Jiang, you're going to suffer a bloody disaster on this trip..."

Lu Chuan suddenly seemed to think of something. Watching Jiang's retreating figure, he rubbed his chin. Then a mysterious smile appeared on his face.

"Then all I can do is wish you luck, Nephew."

Jiang Ziya could spend the whole day wandering around Chaoge and still not earn a single coin. And his wife, Ma, was no pushover either.

Who was Ma? A sixty-eight-year-old unmarried woman.

If a woman was sixty-eight and still hadn't managed to marry, surely there had to be something wrong with her?

Lu Chuan had heard that all four of her limbs were sound, and her features were more or less regular. There was nothing wrong with her physically. Her one flaw was that she was rather snobbish.

When she was young, plenty of young men had come to her home to propose. But her demands and standards had been too high, and she had always found fault with them, never satisfied.

Once word of it got around, no man from the surrounding villages went to propose again. After all, anyone who did would only be humiliated.

So she had carried on like that year after year, until she had wasted her own chances. Now her youth was gone, and she had become an old maid.

Do you think Ma, so proud and snobbish, would welcome Jiang Ziya with a smile when he came home without earning a single coin?

Lu Chuan really couldn't imagine what would happen then.

After seeing Jiang Ziya off, Lu Chuan returned to the shop. He thought for a moment, then headed to Shen Gongbao's room at the back.

The fragrance of Shen Gongbao's immortal tea was too tempting. He still couldn't forget that delicate aroma. If he didn't taste it, it felt as if some little claw were scratching at his heart, over and over...

"Master?"

Lu Chuan came to the doorway and called softly. The door was open, but no one inside answered.

Lu Chuan thought it over and decided not to sneak in recklessly. Instead, he turned and went back to the courtyard, scooped up a little dirt, formed a hand seal, recited the mantra, and scattered it. "Escape!"

In an instant, he turned into a streak of earthy-yellow light and cautiously slipped toward the room.

Whoosh!

But as soon as the streak of light crossed the threshold, a sudden gust of wind rang out. A flash of yellow light flickered before Lu Chuan's eyes. Before he could see what it was, his streak of light was struck down and fell to the ground.

"Ow!"

The fallen streak of light cried out, flashed, and turned back into Lu Chuan. He lay sprawled on the ground in a rather sorry state, both hands clutching the spot on his forehead where he'd been hit.

When he looked up, he saw Shen Gongbao standing with his hands behind his back, strolling calmly out from behind the door with a smile. The broom in one of his hands, especially, made Lu Chuan's eyelid twitch.

"Master, that was a dirty trick!"

"War is full of deception!"

Shen Gongbao said it without the slightest embarrassment, smiling. "Since little foxes love to play, I'll play along."

Though he said that, he still reached out to Lu Chuan and pulled him to his feet with a smile.

"Old fox!"

Lu Chuan felt a little speechless, then asked in surprise, "Master, did you know I was coming?"

Shen Gongbao smiled. "I'd already prepared the bait. How could the fish not take it?"

As he spoke, he turned to glance at the table beside him and saw a celadon cup that hadn't been there before, filled with freshly brewed tea.

Lu Chuan was delighted. "You prepared this for me?"

"Could it be..." Shen Gongbao feigned confusion and looked around. "Is there someone else here?"

Lu Chuan smiled. His master really did care about him. Of course, that broom swing had been no gentle tap.

He'd just won a small round with Water Escape that morning, only to have the victory snatched back by noon. But as things stood, they were still even!

He went over and picked up the teacup. A soothing fragrance rushed into his nose, so refreshing it nearly made him lose himself in it.

"This tea can strengthen your spirit and steady your mind. It will help you form your primordial spirit more easily when you reach the Refining Qi into Spirit stage."

Shen Gongbao smiled. "I'd planned to save it for you until then, but since you want to try it today, go ahead. Drink enough, and it'll taste just like any other tea."

Lu Chuan's smile froze.

Showing off!

This was blatant showing off!

Then Lu Chuan lifted the cup and took a small sip. The next moment, his expression changed.

His brows knitted together, the muscles in his face twitched, and his mouth went numb. He could feel his tongue gradually losing all sensation.

Bitter!

This tea was unbearably bitter!

Lu Chuan was certain this stuff could rival the legendary bitterest thing in the world—Coptis. It was so bitter it made you question your whole life.

But his mouth was already numb. He couldn't even open it to spit the tea out. It really was a case of a mute eating Coptis: all that bitterness, with no way to complain.

Even worse, he'd brought this on himself. What a pity!

Lu Chuan couldn't understand how tea that smelled so fragrant could taste like this. The contrast was enormous—in plain terms, it was the difference between heaven and earth, like a legendary beauty whose face didn't match her lovely silhouette.

He couldn't imagine how Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao had managed to smile so contentedly after drinking it. They were so misleading, such a scam!

"Is it good?" Shen Gongbao asked with a smile.

Lu Chuan's tongue was numb, and by now almost his whole body felt numb. He couldn't get a single word out, so he could only stiffly shake his numb head.

Shen Gongbao said, "Endure it!"

In truth, Lu Chuan had no choice. His mouth was numb and he couldn't feel it at all.

But soon, after the bitterness that made him question his whole life, a sudden sweetness emerged, like rain after a long drought. It not only dispelled the numbness in Lu Chuan's body, but also made every pore relax. It felt wonderful.

In an instant, he seemed to have flown from the ground up into the clouds.

"First bitter, then sweet? Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!"

After experiencing all of that, Lu Chuan suddenly opened his eyes and exclaimed three times, his face thoughtful.

Shen Gongbao nodded with a smile. "Since you've grasped the marvel of it, why aren't you off cultivating the Samadhi True Fire? What are you waiting for?"

With that, he passed on the method for cultivating the Samadhi True Fire. Lu Chuan rose in a daze, nodded after listening, then left in a daze.

As soon as Lu Chuan returned to his room, he sat cross-legged on his meditation cushion. He pressed his thumbs against his middle fingers and rested his hands on his knees, then slowly closed his eyes.

To cultivate the Samadhi True Fire, the first step was to refine one's essence, qi, and spirit into the three samadhis, then nurture Li Essence within the chest and abdomen...

Within the Eight Trigrams, Li represented fire.

Once he went in, he didn't come out for the entire day.

The next day, Shen Gongbao was practicing his breathing exercises in the courtyard when he noticed Lu Chuan's door was still firmly shut. He shook his head. It looked like he'd have to mind the shop out front today.

He had opened a shop in Chaoge with the intention of "hiding in plain sight."

The six-hundred-year fortune of Yin Shang was nearing its end, but it had not ended yet.

Among the court officials, the civil ministers and military generals who served as the pillars of Great Shang were upright, incorruptible, and utterly loyal. In the future, they would surely become a problem for those campaigning against Shang.

That was why he had hidden himself in Chaoge!

Though he was in Chaoge, the great currents of the world were all within his grasp. He was only waiting for the right moment to go to Western Zhou and assist a wise ruler.

Shen Gongbao stood at the doorway, gazing outside. Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure pass by the shop.

It was Jiang Ziya.

The difference was that today Jiang Ziya wore a bamboo hat and carried a load of flour over his shoulders.

As he passed, he even stuck close to the wall opposite the shop, as though deliberately trying to avoid being seen.

Lu Chuan might not have noticed him, but today Shen Gongbao was minding the shop. With his sharp eyes...

"Senior Brother!"

Shen Gongbao hurried out into the street and called to the figure not far ahead.

At the sound of his voice, the hurried figure froze, then stiffened in place, unsure whether to keep going or turn back.

Shen Gongbao smiled and walked up to him, but his smile immediately faded. He cried out in shock, "Senior Brother, what monster was vicious enough to do this to you?"

It was indeed Jiang Ziya, but today his face bore several red scratch marks. His skin had been clawed away, leaving him looking rather horrifying.

Jiang Ziya lowered his head and tried to avoid Shen Gongbao's gaze, not wanting him to see his face. But how could he escape Shen Gongbao's notice?

"Ah, Junior Brother, it's a long story..."