Who Was the Other One?

Cluck, cluck!

Three hens wandered outside the Daoist temple, foraging for food.

Chen Du found Yunzhi's Gathering Beasts and Summoning Birds technique truly useful!

He had considered raising more chickens at the temple before. They would lay eggs, provide meat, and could even be sold for money. But Chen Du was no professional chicken farmer. Once he had too many, feeding and keeping them under control, not to mention cleaning up after them, would be a heap of trouble and worry.

With Yunzhi's Gathering Beasts and Summoning Birds technique, none of that was a problem.

The three hens went out to forage on their own every day, needing no feed at all. He did not have to worry about them failing to come back, and they laid their eggs in the coop every day. They even relieved themselves outside.

Apart from buying the chickens, there were no costs at all.

Chen Du did not yet know what limitations the spell had. He only felt that, having learned it, even if he did nothing but open a farm, he could easily bring glory to his ancestors.

Hmm, more and more people have been coming to the temple for lodging and meals lately. In a couple of days, I'll have her buy some more chickens. They can find their own food on the mountain every day and lay more eggs.

With that thought, Chen Du picked up a meditation cushion and placed it beneath the Three-Pearl Tree.

For the time being, he would assume the tree was a Three-Pearl Tree.

The radiance of spiritual qi beneath the tree was especially conspicuous.

The mountain itself was already rich in spiritual qi, and it was even denser at the Daoist temple. With the Three-Pearl Tree slowly gathering the surrounding spiritual qi of heaven and earth, the qi beneath it was denser still. Cultivating there would undoubtedly give him a more noticeable boost.

No wonder grotto-heavens and blessed lands were always found alongside spiritual plants and treasured trees in ancient legends. Grotto-heavens and blessed lands nurtured spiritual plants and treasured trees, and spiritual plants and treasured trees created grotto-heavens and blessed lands. They probably complemented each other.

Chen Du sat cross-legged on the cushion beneath the tree and cultivated.

By now, he had fully worked out how to guide and breathe in the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, refining it for his own use. He guessed it was much like the earliest qi-consumption methods of ancient times, and he had confirmed that it worked.

The ten Essence Platforms were indeed highly efficient at refining qi. In addition, he had eaten several spiritual fruits in succession afterward, and quite a bit of spiritual power had gathered in his body. It really had pooled like water, forming a small puddle.

Of course, the spiritual fruits he had eaten had played the main role.

And since he had already lit his Essence Fire, most of the spiritual qi from the Three-Pearl fruits had been refined into spiritual power. Even after eating several in succession, he had gained only one more Essence Platform.

He now had eleven Essence Platforms.

Divine fire blazed fiercely atop the eleven Essence Platforms, refining qi with incredible efficiency!

Besides drawing in and refining qi, Chen Du had also worked out a relatively simple way to use spiritual qi.

He called it the breath technique!

Simple, common, and seemingly useful too!

In ancient tales of gods and ghosts, and legends of the strange, every demon, ghost, immortal, or master seemed to know this method. One often read of a demon or ghost breathing on a person and making them faint or hallucinate, or breathing on an object and changing it. An immortal could breathe on someone and bring them back from the dead, or lead them back from a wrong path and make them see the light.

It was said that once monsters became spirits, they knew how to use this method naturally. People who became ghosts after death could also learn to use yin qi to harm others with a little exploration.

Perhaps, in the use of spells, it was the simplest instinct, like a person reaching out to pick something up.

Chen Du was still different from Yunzhi and his cat, however.

Yunzhi's breath seemed capable of putting people to sleep and causing hallucinations. Her Like a Dream had been developed on that basis. His cat's attainments were insufficient, so her breath could only make someone space out for a moment, or at most calm them and make them sleepy. Both were relatively mysterious effects, and Chen Du reasoned that they might be the work of yin and yang spiritual essence.

In ancient texts, yin and yang qi governed mysterious things.

What Chen Du guided and breathed in was the spiritual qi of the five elements.

So far, he had worked out only two uses-

The first was fire-element spiritual essence. It was the simplest, and its effects were immediately apparent. By breathing out scorching air and practicing a few times, he could set paper alight. With a little more practice, he might be able to breathe fire.

Later, he had also worked out the effects of water-element spiritual essence.

Once breathed out, it could extinguish fire and bring coolness, or raise mist and form dew. He had also caught a faint glimpse of another mysterious property of water-element spiritual essence: it seemed capable of counteracting spiritual power and spells.

Both seemed likely to have many marvelous uses later on.

What a pity there are no spells to learn.

That was all because his cat was learning too slowly.

Gradually, the Daoist temple grew livelier.

The two middle-aged men came by again. Perhaps because of their professions, they were very particular in how they conducted themselves. They not only solemnly brought red envelopes marked with words such as "respectful offering" and "gift of thanks to the master," but also brought offerings of incense and candles, fresh fruit, pastries, tea, yellow wine, and lamp oil. Lamp oil was a matter of face that both Buddhists and Daoists valued highly. They also brought an unsigned commemorative banner, which was a matter of face that everyone valued- even foreigners could not resist it.

Even when presenting their gift of thanks, they took care to call it "provisions for the Daoist" or "money for incense."

The last time Chen Du had seen such a scene was when he was a child, when villagers had come to thank his master. Few people did things this way now.

As a result, he had a very good impression of them.

The two men also helped Chen Du fill out an application for funds to repair a historical relic. There was no telling whether it would be approved or when the money would come through, but at the very least, he would not see it anytime soon.

"Immortal Master, more and more pilgrims have been coming up the mountain these past few days."

Yunzhi walked over in a modern dress.

She had bought the dress down the mountain. Its colors were not particularly vivid, but neither were they plain and subdued. It still stood out in the mountain temple, looking bright and gentle on her.

This yao had an eye for clothes.

"I've noticed too," Chen Du said. "I don't know why, but aside from the nearby villagers who've come because of your fame for getting rid of demons, there are also some young people from Yidu."

"Will they disturb your secluded cultivation, Immortal Master?"

"Not for now. A lot of the nearby villagers are just here to join the excitement and see something novel. Once this period passes, things will gradually quiet down." Chen Du thought for a moment. "As for the young people, I suppose it's because spring has warmed up and the flowers are blooming. They've come to climb the mountain and enjoy the season. It'll be fine once this period is over. As it happens, we're getting more incense offerings right now, so we can live a little more comfortably."

"Yes."

"Where's Side-Swept Bangs? Call her out to eat."

"I just saw Little Immortal Master slip into the study." Yunzhi remembered that Immortal Master had told her she was not allowed inside. "Should I go call her?"

"Just call from the doorway. She'll come out."

"All right."

Chen Du stretched lazily and strolled along, swinging the sleeves of his Daoist robe. He found two more meditation cushions beneath the eaves of the main hall and tossed them under the Three-Pearl Tree, so that his cat and Yunzhi could cultivate there too.

Otherwise, his cat would take his cushion, while Yunzhi would not dare go there as she pleased.

Just then, he saw Yunzhi standing in front of the study, bowing respectfully toward the inside.

"Senior, Immortal Master sent me to call Little Immortal Master to eat."

Chen Du froze.

What did that mean?

Chen Du had seen her bow to the treasured sword and the three-wheeler before, but why was she bowing to an empty room now? Could she think that the reason he had forbidden her from entering the study as she pleased was that it contained a spiritual treasure like the sword, or that there was another yao or spirit hiding inside?

But on second thought, he frowned.

Before long, his cat squeezed through the crack in the door, her tail hanging down. Everything was normal with her. She only glanced at them before taking quick little steps toward the dining hall.

Yunzhi bowed to the study once more before turning around.

Keeping his expression unchanged, Chen Du turned and walked beside her toward the dining hall. Once they had gone some distance, he asked casually:

"Why did you ask its permission?"

"It" could refer to the study, a spiritual object like the sword, or something else.

It depended on how Yunzhi answered.

"Oh, Immortal Master, there's a restriction on your study. Yunzhi didn't know what Little Immortal Master was doing inside, so I could only ask first." Instead, Yunzhi seemed at a loss and asked nervously, "Was something wrong?"

She still had not said whom she was addressing as Senior, but she had revealed something else.

"It's fine. You don't need to worry about it in the future."

Chen Du smiled faintly, as though he did not find it strange.

A restriction? There's a restriction on the study?

How come I didn't know?

Wait!

Chen Du thought carefully. He remembered the last time the two young women hikers from Yidu had passed the temple on their way up the mountain and knocked on the door. Yunzhi had stood outside the study and asked him what to do. He had heard her and told her to answer the door, but Yunzhi had acted as though she had not heard him and had not gone. When he opened the study door and came out, she was still waiting outside.

At the time, he had merely found it a little strange. He could not have thought along these lines.

Later, two or three times when he had grown tired of looking through books in the study and wanted to pet his cat, he had called her over to play with him, but she had turned a deaf ear.

But cats everywhere were experts at playing deaf and dumb, as anyone who kept one knew, so he had not paid it much mind.

Only today did he bring all of it back to mind.

And judging by Yunzhi's expression and tone, she did not seem to find it novel or surprising either.

That made sense. The first time he met her, he had told her she was not allowed in the study. Naturally, she would think there was something special about it. Whatever was inside would not surprise her, and she would not dare investigate.

At the same time, she regarded him as a master of profound magic, from whom little on the mountain could be hidden. He also spent a great deal of time in the study, so of course he would know what went on inside. That made her even less inclined to speak of it.

The restriction was relatively normal. As spiritual qi revived, many mechanisms in the temple were evidently gradually awakening as well. What concerned him more was the other thing-

Could there really be a spirit hiding inside?

The problem was, if there really was a spirit hiding in there, and there was no telling how long it had been there, would it not also know about the diary he wrote in the study and even his secret research into cultivation and breathing techniques?

Wouldn't everything about me be exposed?

Chen Du's scalp began to prickle.

Forcing himself to stay calm, he waited until they had finished breakfast before saying to Yunzhi:

"The bobo chicken we had before tasted really good. The incense offerings have been plentiful these past few days, and we've taken in quite a bit. Go down the mountain and buy two more portions, and we'll have them for lunch. Oh, and get two cups of milk tea while you're at it."

"Yes!"

Yunzhi was quite happy. She could have bobo chicken and milk tea again, and she could ride the electric vehicle too.

The little three-wheeler soon headed down the mountain.

Chen Du watched her go into the distance, then took a deep breath.

"Treasured sword."

A whistling rush of air! A treasured sword flew out of the living quarters, crossed straight over the shrine from the rear courtyard, and spun into his hand.

Fortunately, no pilgrims had arrived so early in the morning. If any had seen it, they would surely have thought it divine.

"Side-Swept Bangs!"

The unknown made him uneasy too, but things had come to this, and he had no choice but to go. The only one who could accompany him was one little cat.

Fortunately, he was neither unarmed nor alone. The breathing technique he had just mastered, the stone talisman tucked into his clothes, the treasured sword in his hand, and even the cat who came running at his call all gave him some confidence.

With his cat beside him, Chen Du pushed open the door and entered the study.

With a creak, the door closed.