Trouble

Daoist Mu.

The Daoist's original surname was Li, but he had no sons, and so he had become Daoist Mu.

In his youth, Daoist Mu had been lofty and proud, dreaming of making his way through the martial world and becoming a top-tier cultivator. But a blow from reality had forced him to hole up in a tiny Daoist temple.

The difficulty of cultivation was like climbing a stairway to heaven, one step at a time.

Whatever you wanted, others wanted too.

Though cultivation meant cultivating oneself, advancing required competing with all kinds of opponents for benefits.

"I, Li, lack talent. To this day, I remain trapped in the Blood Penetration Realm, unable to advance. For someone my age, with my Qi and Blood in decline, this is as far as I'll go in this lifetime," Daoist Mu said.

His cultivation had always been difficult, every step upward won through slow, grinding effort.

Now that his ritual had backfired and injured his body, his hopes of advancing were even slimmer.

But his skills had fallen short, and he could blame no one else.

The martial world was littered with the bones of those whose skills had fallen short. That his opponent had even saved and treated him was already an enormous stroke of luck.

With no hope of climbing higher, Daoist Mu felt a measure of relief amid his dejection.

It was hard for people to let go until they stood at death's door.

In the past, for instance, he had always wanted to advance just a little farther, his heart full of resentment at how hard it was to climb higher. Only after losing the battle of techniques and coming close to death had his many distracting thoughts begun to fade.

Compared to climbing higher, staying alive was more precious.

If he no longer sought to advance step by step, he would have no need to spend his money on all sorts of medicinal herbs and could live a comfortable life.

His cultivation had reached its end, but his life had also been set free.

Daoist Mu's heart was full of contradictions, yet he also felt a certain lightness, as though a burden had been lifted.

He and Zhang Xuezhou murmured together like old friends, surprising Rong Li and the others.

Though Daoist Mu was not among Hibiscus City's very best, he was still a figure of some standing. He was often invited to lend his presence to major ceremonies in the city.

Yet such a figure was now answering Zhang Xuezhou's questions with a look of complete deference.

Basically, whatever Zhang Xuezhou asked, Daoist Mu answered.

For some reason, the sight reminded Rong Li of an interrogation at the yamen.

She felt that Daoist Mu had been possessed. After Zhang Xuezhou pinched the flesh beneath his nose and brought him around, he had become a different person, with none of his former bearing left.

"What Meridian Circulation and Blood Penetration? What are you talking about?" Rong Li asked.

"We're just chatting, so the Daoist master doesn't pass out again," Zhang Xuezhou replied.

From what Daoist Mu had told him, Zhang Xuezhou understood how difficult it was to explain the many matters of cultivation to ordinary people.

That was especially true when he himself was still a half-baked novice.

Zhang Xuezhou knew very little about cultivation too. He had only gained a preliminary understanding of much of it over the past few dozen days.

Many of the questions he was asking now were meant to clear up his own confusion.

But Daoist Mu's own level of knowledge was evidently limited too.

And this was hardly a good time for a long conversation.

Zhang Xuezhou took the opportunity to drop the subject and helped Daoist Mu to his feet.

"Daoist master, your temple burned down," Rong Li reminded him.

"I deserved it. It was right to burn it down," Daoist Mu replied.

"There's something wrong with your head!"

Rong Li was speechless for several seconds before those words finally jumped out of her mouth.

Daoist Mu had nearly lost his home and his life today, yet there was no sign of displeasure or heartache on his face.

Rong Li could only assume that something was wrong with his head.

She gripped her butcher's knife, feeling that she couldn't kick him while he was down.

But she still had to bring up what needed saying.

"Were you playing tricks on our Rong Household last night? Did you use some evil technique and knockout drugs against us?" Rong Li asked.

"My skills were lacking, and I've made a fool of myself before you, Household Head Rong," Daoist Mu said, cupping his fists. "From now on, I'll take a detour whenever I see you, Household Head Rong. There will be no further conflict!"

"Huh? What?"

Rong Li gave two startled exclamations.

In the end, she decided that the smoke and fire had addled Daoist Mu's brain, making him bow his head so quickly.

"Please, go right on selling your immortal paintings of the Patriarch, the Nine Heavens Exalted Father, Grand Overseer of the Five Directions, Supreme Commander and Grand Marshal of the Left Enclosure of the Northern Pole, True Lord Tianpeng. I believe these immortal paintings really can ward off ghosts!"

The canvases smeared with pig's blood were useless, but a cultivator stood behind these immortal paintings.

That person had confined the hanged ghost Daoist Mu had nurtured for years for an entire night, then destroyed it in an instant that morning.

Daoist Mu felt all this was enough.

If anything went wrong with the immortal paintings, that person would surely deal with the corresponding hidden danger, thereby ensuring that the paintings truly did ward off ghosts.

"They really can ward off ghosts?"

Rong Tianding looked just as astonished.

The absurd business he and Zhang Xuezhou and the others had undertaken was meant to trick people into buying paintings so they could change trades. Rong Tianding hadn't expected Daoist Mu to approve of it.

People in the same trade had always been enemies, and Rong Tianding hadn't expected his enemy to say his wares were good.

He felt it was a good thing the smoke and fire had nearly choked Daoist Mu to death. Now that he had come around after that choking, he looked better and better from every angle.

"But this business won't last. Please be careful, Young Master Rong. You should know that some strange things really have happened at Ten-Li Slope. You must take care not to invite trouble!" Daoist Mu advised.

"Oh!"

Rong Tianding nodded, looking somewhat bewildered.

He had lived in Hibiscus City for a long time. How would he know anything about Ten-Li Slope? At most, he had heard Li Erlang and the others mention such a place.

In any case, he hadn't guaranteed that his immortal paintings would keep people safe forever. If something happened, he could probably just say the paintings had expired.

Rong Tianding thought nothing of it.

The business had only just started, and he couldn't possibly shut it down immediately. Naturally, he had to sell as many as he could while the haunting was still going on.

After all, the chances of another haunting occurring later were far too slim.

Once this period of booming sales was over, he would have to make do with a slow but steady trade.

With everyone's business settled for the moment, Rong Li and the others were naturally eager to return to Hibiscus City to slaughter pigs and wanted to leave quickly.

"Young Master Zhang, the gloomy presence at Ten-Li Slope is thick and heavy. It may be a trace left behind by ghost soldiers passing through, or some formidable ghostly thing may be hiding there. Please be cautious when dealing with the matter in the future, Young Master Zhang, lest you fall into a trap!"

As they were leaving, Daoist Mu earnestly urged Zhang Xuezhou to take care.

Zhang Xuezhou was baffled.

He only wanted to get out of slaughtering pigs, then have Jia Zhiyuan, once he was free, teach him to read and recognize characters, while he also caught up on some common knowledge he had never encountered.

Apart from that, Zhang Xuezhou had no plans to do anything else.

Besides, he still didn't quite understand Daoist Mu's hanged ghost.

For the moment, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't figure out how the ghost had taken refuge in the strip of white silk, then burrowed into his body, and finally vanished into ash and dust.

He felt that the young lady he had seen last night hadn't looked much like a ghost at all.

If I'd known, I would have touched her little hand and studied it, to see just what the difference between a person and a ghost was!

Zhang Xuezhou felt regretful. Time had been too short then, and he wasn't a lecher who would go up and grope every girl he saw.

But Daoist Mu had no ghosts to show Zhang Xuezhou at the moment, so the matter had to be dropped.

The group had arrived looking fierce and menacing, but they returned wreathed in smiles.

Yet just seven short days later, Rong Tianding and the others could smile no longer.

Not only had a crowd gathered in front of his painting stall to watch the spectacle, but the county yamen had also sent him a summons.

Something had happened to someone who had bought an immortal painting for protection.