Inside the Daoist Head's pill chamber at the Pure Yang Daoist Palace.
A Daoist nun walked gracefully in with two cups of tea. Her features were delicate and her bearing otherworldly, though her lively eyes held a hint of mischief.
After carrying the tea tray inside, she set the tea bowls on the table.
She merely bowed to her master, gave Zhang Qingyuan and his companion a few curious looks, then bowed to them and quietly left.
For she was clever and could tell that her master's mood was off.
Just before serving the tea, she had clearly seen her second senior brother packing his luggage.
She had asked him where he was going. He told her that their master had dreamed last night that the Dao De Jing at the Pure Yang Palace in Jingzhou had been torn, so he had ordered him to set out overnight and deliver a copy of theirs. They needed it urgently over there, and it absolutely had to arrive within a day.
Otherwise, he would be punished by having to travel three thousand li through the jianghu and perform a thousand good deeds, all of which had to be recorded.
Never mind someone as brilliantly clever as her-even a fool could have understood what lay behind an excuse like that.
Her senior brother must have offended their master. Why else would he come up with such an outrageous excuse?
The Dao De Jing at Jingzhou's Pure Yang Palace was torn, and they needed us to deliver one? They could buy a copy on the street!
And it had to arrive within a day, or he would have to walk three thousand li.
Why not just tell him to walk three thousand li? Why bother with all these excuses?
Of course, their master was kindly. How could he punish a disciple without cause? A disciple had to make a mistake before he could be punished.
What mistake had the disciple made?
Why, he had delayed matters and left the senior brothers at Jingzhou's Pure Yang Palace without a Dao De Jing to read...
Inside the pill chamber, Chen Xugu raised his hand and struck their two tea bowls with a stream of Pure Yang True Qi. Under its pressure, the celadon bowls were reduced to dust.
But the tea bowls did not shatter immediately. The slightest tremor when the two picked them up would make them crumble at once.
"Please have some tea, junior brothers. This is fine tea freshly picked this year, so don't waste it. Your senior brother will be very displeased if you spill so much as a drop."
The two drew a deep breath. How petty!
"Thank you for the tea, senior brother."
With that, the two used their True Qi to bind the tea bowls back together. Wrapped in Supreme Yin True Qi, the bowls retained their original shape.
They lifted the lids and drained the tea in one gulp.
"Mm, fine tea indeed."
Watching the two lift their tea bowls, finish the tea, and set them down again, Chen Xugu was slightly surprised. They had cultivated their True Qi to such a profound level in just a year. They truly were gifted.
He chuckled inwardly and continued, "What brings you two junior brothers here?"
Zhang Qingyuan said, "We came especially to see you, senior brother."
"Have you seen me?"
"We have."
"How am I?"
"Your complexion is rosy, senior brother. All is well."
"Since you've seen me, and I'm in good health, there's no need to trouble yourselves worrying about me.
"I imagine you two still have things to do. As it happens, the cooking pot at our Pure Yang Palace is broken, so we can't cook. And as it also happens, quite a few visiting Daoists have been lodging here lately, so there are no empty rooms.
"So I won't keep you. Take care, junior brothers. Your senior brother won't see you out!"
What a lot of coincidences.
No excuse to lose your temper, so you're throwing us out instead, huh?
Zhang Qingyuan looked at Brother Bao, thinking, Your turn to shine.
Zhang Junbao understood. He stood and said, "Senior Brother Tianxu."
Chen Xugu, who had turned his back on them, turned around. "Why haven't you two left yet?"
"..."
"Well, besides paying you a visit, senior brother, we also wanted to pay our respects to our sister-in-law."
Zhang Qingyuan gave Brother Bao a thumbs-up. Well said. That's exactly how direct you need to be.
Zhang Junbao raised his brows, brimming with confidence.
The more you refuse to let us meet our sister-in-law, the more curious we get.
A troubled expression suddenly appeared on Chen Xugu's face. "What unfortunate timing. My wife caught a chill these past few days and is resting quietly. She isn't in a condition to receive visitors."
Zhang Junbao brightened. Full of vigor, he took two steps forward to stand before him. "Now isn't that a coincidence? I read quite a few medical books at Taiqing Palace and have some knowledge of the healing arts. Why not let me treat our sister-in-law?"
"Alas, her chill is particularly severe. It has already entered her internal organs and meridians, and ordinary medicine can hardly treat it. It's also highly contagious, so I'd rather not trouble you."
Chen Xugu had thought that would leave the two of them at a loss. Let's see what other excuse you can come up with!
Unexpectedly, Zhang Qingyuan opened Zhang Junbao's bundle, took out a secret manual, and placed it in Zhang Junbao's hands.
Zhang Junbao took the manual and opened it for Chen Xugu to see.
"It's entered her meridians? Excellent! Hasn't this landed right in my hands?
"I happen to have created a special internal cultivation technique with remarkable effects on damaged meridians, internal injuries, and external wounds!"
Chen Xugu gritted his teeth. Just to see my wife, you've actually gone so far as to create an internal cultivation technique like this? Is there any justice left under heaven?
Just a couple of glances were enough for Chen Xugu to recognize the wonders of this internal cultivation method.
It could repair internal injuries and treat external wounds. Cultivated to great accomplishment, it would not only prolong one's life but also make one impervious to all illnesses. Even ordinary poisons would struggle to withstand the purifying effects of this True Qi.
At that thought, Chen Xugu's anger vanished on the spot.
Taking the manual, he put on a smiling face. "Ahem, your senior brother just remembered that there are still two empty rooms. Stay on the mountain for a few days, junior brothers, and let me properly fulfill my duties as your host."
"What about our sister-in-law's illness?" Zhang Qingyuan asked.
"With this technique, she only needs to practice it a little." He put away the Taiqing Dongting Technique, raised his head, and called outside, "Third disciple, make dinner! Clean up two rooms afterward so your two martial uncles can stay."
Fang Ming, who had been waiting outside to attend him at any moment, answered, "Yes, Master."
Zhang Qingyuan and Zhang Junbao had come to deliver the manual to him in the first place. They had already given one to Taiqing Palace, so how could they fail to repay Chen Xugu, who had saved their lives?
But it was also true that they wanted to meet their young sister-in-law while they were here. It really did pique their curiosity.
They were curious what that extraordinary woman looked like-the one who had made their senior brother abandon the Joyous Union Sect's holy maiden, the top beauty on the Rouge Ranking, and head alone to Great Feng's capital.
Chen Xugu: You call that meeting your sister-in-law "while you're here"?
Once the Dongxuan Technique was put away, harmony and happiness reigned among the three brothers again.
Zhang Qingyuan and Zhang Junbao also knew they would not get to meet her today, but that was fine. They would stay ten days or half a month. They refused to believe their young sister-in-law would never step outside.
"You two truly are great talents. To create such a divine technique in just half a year-how is your senior brother supposed to bear that?
"I've cultivated for most of my life, yet I can only cling to the treasured manuals our predecessors left behind, unable to add anything to our legacy. How shameful." Chen Xugu lowered his head as he spoke.
He genuinely was not being modest. He had practiced for half his life without creating a single martial art. However talented he was at cultivation, it was ultimately something of a regret that he had left nothing for the Daoist sect.
It was not that he truly could not create a move or two. It was simply that the Pure Yang Daoist Sect had too many classics and countless cultivation techniques.
Creating a technique that surpassed his predecessors was difficult. If it fell short of theirs, what was the point of creating it?
"Don't dwell on it too much, senior brother. Everyone has different talents. As the saying goes, heaven gave me talents, and they must have their use. Being good at cultivation is enough. You even fought your way into Great Feng's imperial palace and displayed our nation's might. That sort of courage alone is enough to make others green with envy," Zhang Qingyuan consoled him.
"Ahem. Next topic."
Chen Xugu lacked the qualities of an enlightened master. Instead, he had the carefree air of an old rascal.
True enough. Who said Daoist cultivators all had to have the bearing of immortals and keep human feelings at arm's length?
Their senior brother had plenty of human warmth.
They chatted a little longer before the food arrived. Fang Ming brought the dishes into the pill chamber, and the three ate with great enjoyment.
After the meal, Fang Ming led the two to their rooms to rest.
Chen Xugu was left alone in the pill chamber.
He leafed through the Taiqing Dongting Technique and soon finished reading the text.
After reading it, he could not help marveling once again at the talents of these two junior brothers who had fallen into his lap. They were simply freaks.
One superior internal cultivation technique a year. Even Patriarch Lü back in his day had probably only been that prolific.
He did not know that Zhang Junbao's output was nothing like one a year.
Martial Uncle Xuanzhen really had found two talents for the Daoist tradition.
Having accepted such a substantial gift, what should he give them in return?
He pondered and deliberated for a long time before suddenly thinking of something.
To Zhang Qingyuan and Zhang Junbao, Chen Xugu had saved their lives, so giving him an internal cultivation method as thanks was only right.
But to Chen Xugu, he had saved them on Martial Uncle Xuanzhen's instructions. He had merely been following orders, so the credit was not his. Since they had brought him such a generous gift, he had to make some gesture in return.
Let them meet his wife?
Heh.
Not a chance!