Encounter with a demon

"Wuzheng, Hall Master Yizhen's eldest direct disciple, should be thirty-three this year. He received his register at twenty-eight.

"He looks rough and bold, but I hear he's fairly generous by nature. He's just a little too blunt in how he handles people and things, so he isn't very popular in the lower compound."

Daoist Yiping paid little attention to the younger generation in the lower compound, but he had lived here for many years, after all.

As a register-received seventh-rank Daoist of the Wu generation, Wuzheng was a prominent figure in the lower compound.

He knew a little about Wuzheng's circumstances.

"Oh, right. I hear Wuzheng's greatest strengths are alchemy and medicine."

Daoist Yiping said, "Wuzheng comes from a great clan in Yunyang Prefecture and has a bright future. He won't be content to stay at Hidden Dragon Temple. Just work faithfully under him for a couple of years. Once you reach the seventh rank, how hard could it be for you to become abbot of Hidden Dragon Temple?"

"You're right, Martial Uncle." Zhou Wuji nodded repeatedly.

What concerned him most was actually Wuzheng's background. As long as his surname wasn't Zhang and he had no connection to Zhang Xinhu, there would be no problem.

Daoist Yiping knew Zhou Wuji was clever and quick-witted, but he still couldn't help offering a few words of advice. "When you return to Hidden Dragon Temple, don't provoke Zhang Xinhu. He's a seventh-rank martial artist. If he really throws caution to the wind, you won't be able to stop him.

"With your talent, there's no need to lock horns with a clan from a county town. Once you reach the fifth rank, a single word from you could wipe out the Zhang Household."

Zhou Wuji nodded repeatedly. His martial uncle wasn't exaggerating.

The Daoist order received support from the imperial court and had an enormous organization of its own. If he truly reached the fifth rank, bringing Zhang Xinhu to heel would naturally be easy.

But who knew how far in the future that would be? Besides, even if he didn't go after Zhang Xinhu, would Zhang Xinhu leave him alone?

He had never shied away from assuming the worst malice in others. Rather than guard against a thief for a thousand days, he might as well become the thief first...

There was simply no need to tell Martial Uncle Yiping about these calculations.

With his departure approaching, Zhou Wuji finally obtained ten Golden Yang Pills from the hall master.

These seventh-rank pills were expensive. Abbot Zhiyuan had promised him ten in a moment of delight, but nothing more had come of it afterward.

Daoist Yiping told Zhou Wuji privately, "The abbot must have regretted it and decided he couldn't bear to part with them. You've already benefited by learning Law Techniques for free. Don't ask for the pills as well."

Zhou Wuji didn't want to give up, though. He hadn't even tasted one yet.

Since he was about to leave, he thickened his skin and went to see Abbot Zhiyuan. Whatever Zhiyuan thought inwardly, he was all smiles on the surface and immediately had a Daoist boy take him to the medicine hall to collect the pills.

Returning to Flying Profound Hall, Zhou Wuji took five Golden Yang Pills straight out of the medicine box and offered them to Daoist Yiping.

Daoist Yiping was a little surprised, then declined. "I don't need them. You're young, at the very age to make swift progress in cultivation. Keep them for yourself."

He then cautioned him, "These pills are rather potent. Take one every ten days."

Zhou Wuji simply pressed the five Golden Yang Pills into Daoist Yiping's hands. "We'll split them evenly between us, old and young. Neither of us loses out. If you keep refusing, you'll force me to give you all of them!"

Daoist Yiping chuckled. What a wonderfully phrased joke-it brought them closer while allowing him to accept the gift with an easy conscience.

He marveled inwardly, This martial nephew of mine really is extraordinarily clever! And with his talent for cultivation, his future is sure to be boundless!

Zhou Wuji was quite pleased to see Martial Uncle Yiping accept the pills.

He had only advanced smoothly to the eighth rank thanks to his martial uncle's care. Giving him a few pills was mainly a way to express his gratitude.

Before leaving, Zhou Wuji also went to the Hall of Myriad Spirits to pay his respects to his master, begging his spirit in heaven to bless him with success in all things!

He didn't know whether the old man had that ability, but there was no harm in voicing his requests. If his master's spirit lived on in heaven, he would surely do his best to help...

Before leaving, Zhou Wuji also bought two sets of Daoist robes, shoes, and socks for Shangxing, the little Daoist boy who had been cooking for him all along.

After spending more than ten days together, Zhou Wuji had grown rather fond of the child. He was clever and considerate.

When they saw Zhou Wuji off that morning, Daoist Yiping looked calm, but the little Daoist boy Shangxing had tears brimming in his eyes. "Martial Uncle, come back and visit me when you have time!"

Zhou Wuji smiled and waved goodbye to his martial uncle and Shangxing.

Hidden Dragon Temple was over four hundred li from Yunyang Prefecture. Wuzheng brought several disciples and attendants, along with junior martial brothers traveling with him, making a party of more than ten.

Between everyone's personal belongings and a three-foot-tall Pill Furnace, they had a great deal of luggage.

For this reason, Wuzheng hired four horse-drawn carts from a carriage firm to carry both people and goods.

As Wuzheng's de facto deputy, Zhou Wuji was allotted a large gray donkey and didn't have to squeeze onto a flatbed cart with everyone else.

Wuming received the same treatment. She was Wuzheng's junior martial sister, a female cultivator of only twenty.

Wuming had almond eyes, peach-blossom cheeks, smooth fair skin, and a graceful figure. She wore a yellow crown and an apricot-yellow Daoist robe, but even this standard attire of a female Daoist couldn't conceal her beauty.

Zhou Wuji thought Wuming was very pretty, but he couldn't very well keep looking at her.

They had only just met. Even if she was his type, he still needed to show some restraint.

Besides, Wuming was clearly keeping him at a distance and rejecting his approach. He wasn't going to force himself on her.

The one who really needed to seize the opportunity was Wuming. Once she passed this village, she would miss her chance to associate with him as a peer...

He could admire the natural scenery to his heart's content, without any reservations.

It was just the beginning of the tenth month. The autumn sun shone brightly, the mountain breeze was refreshing, and the trees and vegetation blazed in a riot of purples and reds. It was the finest season for autumn scenery in the Siming Mountains.

Wearing a broad-brimmed hat against the sun, Zhou Wuji rode his gray donkey leisurely behind the carts, chatting off and on with several fellow Daoists of his generation.

For some reason, Zhou Wuji remembered a spring outing from his previous life, when he and a group of classmates had foolishly run all over the mountains. There hadn't really been anything particularly fun to do, just the pleasure of letting loose.

He felt much the same now, light and at ease in both body and mind, free to savor the rich autumn colors.

The roads weren't particularly good, and the carts couldn't move quickly. They covered only a few dozen li a day.

The carriage firm's drivers traveled this route year-round and were very experienced. At dusk, the party arrived at a village just in time to stop for the night.

The villagers were delighted to see a group of Daoists and offered them food and fruit, asking to be granted talismans.

Wuzheng and the others were well accustomed to such things and immediately handed out Golden Light Talismans and Calming Mind Talismans.

Golden Light Talismans warded off evil and drove away ghosts, while Calming Mind Talismans dispelled inner demons. These two kinds of talismans were sufficient for ordinary people.

Even if ordinary people obtained higher-grade talismans, they would be of no use to them.

When Zhou Wuji chatted with the villagers, they all said that things had been unsettled lately. They didn't dare enter the mountains without carrying a few extra talismans.

The main problem was the marauding soldiers running rampant lately, leaving everyone on edge.

To guard against any mishaps, Wuzheng assigned people to keep watch through the night.

Fortunately, he had disciples and attendants, enough to handle such minor matters. Zhou Wuji wasn't assigned any duties, visibly setting him apart from the others.

Seeing Wuzheng's arrangements, Wuming couldn't help asking him, "Senior Brother, you think very highly of Zhou Wuji, don't you?"

She was a little puzzled. "He only reached Qi Consumption at twenty-one. That isn't anything special!"

Wuzheng shook his head slightly. "Don't underestimate him. Zhou Wuji has abilities of his own..."

He didn't explain much further. His purpose in bringing Wuming on this journey was precisely to broaden her experience and open her eyes.

Wuming's bright eyes shifted. She thought Zhou Wuji was very handsome, but she couldn't see anything exceptional about him.

After hearing her senior brother say this, she really did grow somewhat interested in Zhou Wuji...

Over the next few days, the party traveled by day and rested at night. The journey went fairly smoothly.

On the fourth evening, they reached White Bamboo Village. This was already within Siming County, and only a day and a half's journey remained to Hidden Dragon Temple.

The area around White Bamboo Village produced an abundance of a kind of white bamboo. When fired into charcoal, it burned for a very long time and released a bamboo fragrance as it burned, making it a very popular bamboo charcoal.

Its specialty white bamboo had also made the village quite prosperous, with over a hundred households and several hundred inhabitants.

Zhou Wuji had come here with his master before to spread the teachings, and the white bamboo here had left a deep impression on him.

He was introducing White Bamboo Village to Wuzheng when he saw a crowd surge out from the village entrance.

The old man at their head had white hair and a white beard, a slightly stooped back, and a face covered in wrinkles. He looked seventy or eighty years old. He was White Bamboo Village's headman, the man responsible for managing these hundred households.

The headman wore a long gown. Though patched in places, it had been washed and starched until it was clean and neat.

The surrounding villagers all wore short, coarse garments and straw sandals. Every one of them had dark skin and a face marked by toil.

Zhou Wuji was a little surprised. As far as he knew, he had no particular friendship with the headman, nor was the man likely to have known in advance that he was coming.

For the headman to hurry out to meet them with a crowd of villagers like this, something must have happened?

Before Zhou Wuji could speak, a Daoist stepped forward to stop the headman and his people. "What are you doing?"

The headman grasped the Daoist's hand excitedly. "Daoist Master, you've finally come!"

The headman actually felt that something wasn't quite right. These people had come from the wrong direction, and far too quickly.

But the situation in the village was urgent, and the headman couldn't worry about all that. Daoists were responsible for subduing demons and vanquishing devils, after all. There was no mistake in turning to them!

The Daoist had no idea what was going on and turned to look at Wuzheng.

Wuzheng strode over and said, "Elder, tell me what has happened."

Seeing Wuzheng's commanding bearing, the headman's eyes immediately lit up. "Daoist Master, we only sent someone to ask for help yesterday. We never expected you to arrive today..."

Wuzheng was equally bewildered and guessed that the headman had mistaken them for someone else. He didn't explain, merely asking what exactly had happened.

The old man was very advanced in years, but he still spoke coherently and soon explained the situation clearly.

It turned out that a wild boar had run into the village the day before yesterday and bitten several people to death. The boar was also very clever, and none of their traps worked. When the village hunters joined forces to hunt it, the boar had turned on them and bitten several more sturdy men to death.

The headman thought the boar had become a demon. Frightened, he had hastily sent someone to Cloud Dragon Temple for help, only for Wuzheng's party to happen to arrive.

Listening nearby, Zhou Wuji understood the situation. If the old man wasn't exaggerating, the boar was over ten feet long from head to tail and stood five feet at the shoulder-practically the size of a large bull.

A wild boar that enormous, which also knew how to avoid traps, could truly be called a demonic creature.

Wuzheng frowned as well. Although their party was fairly large, they might not be able to bring down such an enormous demonic creature.

One misstep, and they could suffer casualties!