Things Kept Getting Better

As soon as the motorcycles fell silent, birdsong in the mountains returned to their ears, and a sense of tranquility immediately washed over them again.

"Huh? Did the Taoist temple get a new door?"

"Wasn't it always like this? Who remembers?"

The two wondered about it as they got off their motorcycles, but before they reached a conclusion, they had already approached the mountain gate.

"Good morning, Taoist masters."

"Morning."

"We came to ask about what happened last night."

"Last night? Yunzhi already took care of it. Like I said on WeChat, it wasn't Lord Linji. It was something else, and it's been brought back to the mountain now."

Chen Du gave a vague answer, making it clear he didn't want to go into detail:

"Even if you two don't believe me, there's no need to rush off looking for another solution and waste your time and effort. If none of those strange things happen over the next few days, you'll know I was telling the truth."

"Brought back to the mountain?"

Standing by the door, the two immediately turned their heads and looked around, but couldn't find anything anywhere.

They exchanged a glance, curiosity scratching at their hearts like a cat.

What normal person wouldn't be curious after encountering something like this?

That was why, despite having added him on WeChat, they had made a special trip up the mountain to ask. Clearly, they wanted more than just confirmation of the facts; they wanted to hear something else too.

Unfortunately, the Taoist master didn't seem willing to elaborate at all.

"Can we still use that temple?"

"Absolutely. Just repair it and treat it as though none of this ever happened." Chen Du paused. "As I said on WeChat, it's best not to spread this kind of thing around."

"We think so too."

The middle-aged man surnamed Zhang nodded as well.

In fact, grassroots officials like them were very flexible when it came to getting things done. But those above them were not superstitious, and the momentum of resistance to ox demons and snake spirits still carried on. There were often things they could do, things many people even did, but they absolutely could not report them through official channels, much less publicize them.

There were countless examples: sealed-off dormitory buildings at some schools, worship ceremonies before the start of filming, and highways built at great expense to detour around certain mysterious spiritual things.

There was a delicate balance between policy and tradition.

Afterward, the two went into the Taoist temple to offer incense, and each dropped some money into the donation box.

That came out of their own pockets.

As they were leaving, the middle-aged man surnamed Zhang added, "If I remember right, this Taoist temple is several hundred years old. It should count as a cultural relic too, shouldn't it? The province and city are both putting a lot of effort into developing cultural tourism right now, and there's funding available. We'll discuss it when we get back and come bother you again in a couple of days, Taoist master. Also, if there's anything in the temple that needs repairing, you can let us know in advance."

That would come from public funds.

The key was keeping public and private matters separate, so that if they needed help in the future, they could come to him again.

After the two left, Chen Du continued sitting by the entrance, chanting scriptures. In fact, he was drilling the rules into the "Door God" in the door, so it wouldn't frighten tourists and worshippers and cause him trouble, and so it would be easier to keep under control in the future.

Only if he could control it could he put its abilities to good use.

Chen Du then returned to his quarters.

"Sword, come."

He called out and beckoned with his hand. The treasured sword flew up on its own and landed in his grasp.

"It really is spiritual!"

It was probably because of the seal that it obeyed him so readily.

"How do I use it?"

As it happened, after several days of experimentation, Chen Du could already draw on the spiritual power in his body, so he took the sword and tried channeling magic power into it.

The process met with no resistance whatsoever.

"Buzz!"

With a faint tremor, the sword grew cold, and frost formed on the floor.

The blade was still very dull, but he no longer dared touch it with his hand.

Holding the treasured sword, the Taoist cut an unrivaled figure. His enthusiasm roused, he wanted to test the sword, so he turned to look for something to try it on.

He looked at the wooden stool on the floor.

No! His master had made that for him when he was a child.

Then he looked at the cushion beside it.

No! His master had woven that too.

The sword tip swung left, pointing at the cup on the table.

No! He'd used it for years and grown attached to it.

The sword tip swung right.

That was close! He'd almost pointed it at the photo of him and his master.

The fan wouldn't do either! He'd have to spend money to replace it if it broke!

The books were even more out of the question! So was the pen!

He pointed the sword around the room several times, but whether it was on the floor, on the table, or hanging on the wall, he couldn't bear to part with a single thing. Frustrated, he could only take out a sheet of blank paper and lightly slash at it with the sword from a dozen or so centimeters away.

Before the sword touched it, the upper half of the paper quietly fell away.

"Just as I thought..."

Chen Du's gaze sharpened slightly.

The feeling of holding such mysterious power in his hands was undoubtedly enthralling.

Unfortunately, he was an immortal master of vast divine powers. It would not do for him to become too absorbed in it, much less go wild with delight over it or take it outside to experiment and play.

"Alas..."

This counted as one small drawback.

All he could say was that everything had its pros and cons. Had he not been struck by a sudden inspiration and pretended to be an expert back then, he might not have made it safely through that night. Fortunately, the drawback was minor and wouldn't stop him from moving forward.

Chen Du returned the sword to its sheath.

He had kindled his Essence Fire and gained magic power. The guidance and qi-refining method he had worked out himself had also reached the stage where it could be tested. He had a seal, a treasured sword, a guard and a Door God, and the cat's cultivation was gradually getting on track too.

All in all, things were getting better every step of the way!

Yunzhi, however, felt a sense of crisis.

She had originally planned it all out: she would diligently do odd jobs for the immortal master, making use of the precious opportunity while he was cultivating a secret art and could neither go down the mountain nor use his magic power freely. By working hard, she would win his favor and improve her standing with him, smoothing her cultivation path all the way ahead.

Now there was a "Door God" here.

This Door God was clearly above her in both cultivation and ability. Even weakened to the point of being unable to move, it had still left her completely helpless against it. Once it fully recovered its cultivation and magic power, she would have no advantage over it whatsoever.

Well, she still had a great advantage in intelligence.

As the old books said, one who cannot plan for ten thousand generations is unfit to plan for a single moment. With that in mind, she made another small plan:

First play to her strengths and avoid her weaknesses, then catch up in the areas where she fell short.

For example, she was now continuing to watch the news attentively, learning standard speech and familiarizing herself with the present era. That way, whenever the immortal master needed something done down the mountain, he would still have to rely on her. Perhaps that would even give her a chance to be rewarded with spiritual fruit and taught spells in the future. With their help, she could slowly catch up in cultivation and make up for her lack of spells, thereby shoring up her weaknesses too.

After all, spiritual qi had only just begun to revive. There probably weren't any formidable people at the foot of the mountain, so her advantage was considerable.

Senior Xie, however, who had also been sent to sit beside her and learn standard speech from the news, couldn't sit still and kept playing with the remote control.

It seemed that thing wasn't supposed to be played with carelessly.

But Senior Xie held a special place in the immortal master's heart, so she didn't dare say much.

Suddenly, the picture on the television changed.

A person in strange red-and-black clothing and a spider mask swung between towering buildings on webs. Strictly speaking, she couldn't even tell if those were clothes.

Was that... a spider?

Why was the person doing that?

Yunzhi froze on the spot.

But Senior Xie kept fiddling with the remote, and the picture changed again. This time, an armored person holding an iron hammer summoned a crushing bolt of lightning down from the heavens.

Yunzhi jumped in fright again.

Before she could think about what it meant, she heard the immortal master calling her from outside.

"Yunzhi."

Yunzhi rose in a daze and went out.

The immortal master was holding several banknotes. He said to her:

"Thank you for your hard work last night. Those two kind believers put some more donations in the box, so you can take this down the mountain and buy some meat and vegetables. Consider it a treat for yourself. Oh, and buy another laying hen. The temple only has two hens. The eggs they lay each day are enough for Side-Swept Bangs and me, but not enough with you eating them too. There's plenty of spiritual qi on the mountain, so the farm eggs our own hens lay taste a little better than store-bought ones."

Hearing this, Yunzhi felt some of her unease recede. When she thought about the latter part, she even felt a warmth in her heart.

"I shall obey your decree!"

"Also, it's still best not to show spells casually in front of ordinary people, and walking up and down the mountain every time is hard on you too. So today, I'll teach you to ride my electric tricycle."

"Ah? Yes!"

Yunzhi's heart filled with joy again, so much so that she no longer had time to think about the two people on television, one swinging through the city and the other unleashing lightning magic in the streets.

Don't underestimate a laying hen!

Life at the Taoist temple was austere, and eggs were an important source of nourishment. The immortal master and Senior Xie each ate one every day; it had become a fixed ritual. As it happened, before, when the immortal master and Senior Xie were the only two on the mountain, they had kept two laying hens, one for each of them.

Now they were raising another laying hen because of her. Wasn't that a sign that the immortal master had accepted her?

Otherwise, why didn't the other two at the temple have one?

Not to mention the immortal master's mount!

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, this was often a sign of a lord expressing trust in his subordinates and winning their loyalty.

Thinking it over, she felt much more at ease.

She had awakened after four hundred years with nothing to her name and no knowledge of the world. Now, not only did she have her own room in a blessed immortal mountain land rich in spiritual qi and a backer to rely on, she also had her own laying hen, had eaten spiritual fruit, and had even been provided with a mount by the immortal master. Things were simply getting better every step of the way!