Zhuang Wen rushed back to write the invitation, and not only that, he also planned to deliver it personally.
He understood.
This Martial Uncle Chen, sent by the upper sect, will most likely teach those people a lesson.
As the garrison commander, Chen Shuangbai's territory in Wind Howling County, to be precise, was not the Spring-Venerating Daoist Academy, but rather the government office located next to the county seat.
However, as everyone knows, cultivators cultivate by breathing in vital energy, preferring pure energy and disliking impure energy. In the county government office, people and animals are indistinguishable, and the impure energy is the strongest. Therefore, even if there is such an office, people basically live outside the city, seeking a quiet place or a place with abundant earth energy to build a hermitage for cultivation.
Unless it's a Devil Cultivator who specializes in breathing in turbid energy for cultivation, but clearly, Chen Shuangbai is not one of them.
Chen Shuangbai put the talisman away, touching the unknown incantations on it, trying to fathom the power and meaning contained within.
But there were no results.
Undeterred, Chen Shuangbai put the talisman away, then raised her head, looking at the heads that were hurriedly bowing on the courtyard wall, and said, "The courtyard wall is high; you might get hurt if you fall. Please come in."
At first, the owners of those heads were hesitant.
But unable to resist his curiosity, he walked in through the main gate of the courtyard.
Three boys and two girls, mostly around twelve or thirteen years old, were wearing the student robes of the Spring-Venerating Daoist Academy, but they weren't new; they were faded from washing.
Chen Shuangbai looked at the five children's faces again; some were chapped, and others were red.
It's currently March, and the temperature at Wind Howling Ford isn't as warm as at the Jade Spring Sect, which is protected by a sect-protecting array. The late spring chill here is actually quite severe.
The faded scholar's robes, the chapped, rosy cheeks, and the slightly reserved eyes—just from these few points, Chen Shuangbai could tell that they came from humble backgrounds.
Among the five children, the eldest was the tallest girl, with bright, black eyes that were as beautiful as black pearls.
Leading the children behind her, she performed a proper but somewhat clumsy bow to Chen Shuangbai, saying in unison, "Students of the Spring-Venerating Daoist Academy pay respects to our Grandmaster Uncle."
Chen Shuangbai nodded and let them finish their greetings.
Then.
He led them into the Listening to the Waves Pavilion, opened the food box that Zhuang Wen Bi Sheng had brought, and told them to eat whatever they wanted.
The food box contained several small dishes, prepared in a simple way. It was clear that the ingredients were not heavily stir-fried to preserve their inherent Spiritual Qi.
These side dishes were dispensable to Chen Shuangbai, but they were invaluable to these students who had not yet developed Qi.
The leading female student, named Meng Fu, though her eyes were also fixed on the side dishes, still firmly shook her head, bowed deeply to Chen Shuangbai, and said, "Please, Grandmaster Uncle, save our Spring-Venerating Daoist Academy."
The other children, who had been eyeing the side dishes, remembered what they wanted to do when they saw Meng Fu's mannerisms, and they also bowed deeply in respect.
Very honest, he pounded the floorboards loudly.
Chen Shuangbai didn't help them up. Instead, she sat in the main seat, looking at them with a half-smile, and asked gently, "Tell me, is there something else going on here?"
Chen Shuangbai's voice was gentle, revealing no emotion, but her calm gaze seemed to penetrate the heart.
Meng Fu knelt on the ground, raised her head, her black pearl-like eyes filled with tears, but she held them back. However, when she spoke, her voice trembled slightly.
She said, "Since the passing of Patriarch Tian, Masters Zhuang and Bi have struggled to keep the temple afloat, and it is not as good as it used to be."
"Those four are truly hateful. Not only have they repeatedly driven down the price of medicinal herbs produced in the herb fields under my Daoist academy's jurisdiction, but they have also colluded with medicine merchants, causing our medicinal herbs to go unsold and rot in the fields!"
A tall boy behind her, his voice trembling with tears, said, " Compassionate Light Temple has gone too far! Because the Zhao Household is withholding the Golden Seal of Guardianship of Patriarch Tian, the temple's protective formation is unreliable, and the harvest from the spirit fields is getting worse year by year. A few days ago, they even sent someone to say that the feng shui of the area behind our temple is very good, and they've taken a liking to it and want to buy it to build a branch temple."
"But this bamboo forest is the private property of my Spring-Venerating Daoist Academy. It's a continuous expanse; how can it be divided and sold off?"
"They haven't said anything to my face about the Daoist temple not being for sale, but in recent years, rumors have been circulating in the city and countryside saying all sorts of bad things about our temple. Many villagers who originally wanted to send their children to the temple have been scared away by these rumors..."
"Nowadays, only children from poor families like us are still willing to come here to study."
The five children, one after another, recounted the grievances that Spring-Venerating Daoist Academy had suffered over the past few years.
Chen Shuangbai noticed many repetitions, but even after removing those parts, the overall impression was still quite shocking.
He listened quietly, his expression remaining calm throughout.
After they had all finished speaking and calmed down, Chen Shuangbai finally spoke.
"Aren't you afraid that if Commanders Zhuang Wen and Bi Sheng find out what you're saying, you'll be scolded?"
Meng Fu lowered her head, her voice slightly lowered, and said, "Both of our masters forbade us to speak, telling us to endure for now and plan for the long term. They told us to focus on our cultivation and not to concern ourselves with external affairs... But if we keep retreating, we will eventually have nowhere left to retreat to."
Seeing the stubbornness in the girl's eyes, Chen Shuangbai felt a sense of satisfaction.
Although this child is young, his insight and character are extraordinary; no wonder he can become the leader of these children.
Chen Shuangbai didn't make any promises to them or say anything else. She simply said she understood, then told them to divide the food among themselves before leaving.
Although the children were somewhat clever, they were still children at heart, and they obediently said goodbye and left.
Chen Shuangbai walked out of the Listening to the Waves Pavilion and onto the clear lake behind the mountain. He looked up at the green bamboo swaying in the wind and making noise, and took out the Life-Accepting Gourd from his Storage Bag.
"This place is sheltered from the wind and gathers vital energy; it is an excellent place for cultivation, perfectly suited for my gourd."
With a thud, the green gourd fell from Chen Shuangbai's hand and into the depths of the clear lake. After emitting a faint green light, it disappeared.
Chen Shuangbai intended to take advantage of the formation here to absorb the water and wood elemental energy and accumulate the Life-Accepting Primordial Liquid.
After finishing this, Chen Shuangbai stepped into the bamboo forest, seemingly strolling around, but actually checking the broken parts of the surrounding formation.
Although he did not choose to study formations, Daoist Lingxiu was a master of formations within the Jade Spring Sect, a true second-tier formation master.
His classes always included explanations of formations. After five years of listening to his lectures, Chen Shuangbai, while not an expert, was not a complete novice either.