NOVEL FULL

Strange Stories

Chapter 164: The dead tree has a calm mind after spring

Chapter 164: The dead tree has a calm mind after spring (thanks to the leader of "MF Pickled Vegetables and Fried Edamame") Seeing that someone seemed to be trying to sabotage the show, the spectators became more and more interested, and more and more people were attracted to gather around. A few people had already recognized the identity of the county magistrate. "Let Pindao take a look..." The Taoist picked up these things and examined them casually. "It's really two taels of silver... "Gao Yuanfu... "County magistrate? So you are the county magistrate?" The Taoist said this, and although his tone was still relaxed, it caused an uproar among the spectators around him. The previous magistrate was promoted, and this magistrate had just taken office not long ago, so not many people had seen his face. When they saw that the Taoist took away the magistrate's things without saying a word, they were naturally even more surprised. It's impossible for the magistrate to be a stooge.

The Taoist priest was casual as ever, handing these things to his servants, and just smiled at the magistrate: "Maybe my magic skills are to the magistrate's liking?" "So he is really an expert!" The magistrate was already surprised. He immediately bowed and untied the purse brought back by the servant. He offered the two taels of silver in it with both hands. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Does the immortal master know any other magic?" "Other spells? Whatever." The seventh brother was strolling in the garden and took out only a piece of cloth. He waved his hand behind him and called out a few words, and a reluctant colorful cat came. No matter whether it was the magistrate, the clerks, or the increasing number of onlookers, they all looked with wide eyes. The Taoist covered the cat with the cloth, then wrapped it up like a fish net, and lifted it up. He then tightened the cloth more and more, pinched it to the smallest size, and even spread it out and shook it, but the cat still disappeared from the cloth, as if it had disappeared out of thin air. Just when everyone thought that the cat was no longer in the cloth and had been moved somewhere else, the Taoist asked the clerk next to the magistrate to pick an empty space, covered the empty space with the cloth, chanted a spell, and then took the cloth away. There was an egg as big as a bowl inside. Although the egg is big, it is impossible for it to contain an adult cat. What's more, when everyone went to check, they found that the egg was very hard and intact, with no gaps at all. How could anything be put into it? But the Taoist said that the cat was in the egg. So he broke the egg, and sure enough, a cat came out. The cat, which had been curled up in the egg, slowly opened its eyes, as if a little confused. It then stretched its body and stretched itself on the ground before walking back to the Taoist priest's feet and lying down. There was also a fox lying there. "how?" The young Taoist asked everyone. Many spectators were amazed and donated generously. "Excellent." The county magistrate praised, but then added, "But Gao is not asking this. I want to ask you, Taoist priest, do you know any other magic?"

"There is no distinction between high and low magic in the world, so what is immortal magic?" "It is Gao who is stupid." The county magistrate saluted with some surprise and some thoughts in his eyes, "The immortal arts Gao is talking about are things like the way to longevity, the art of resurrection, and the method of predicting the future." "I learned the art of acting to amuse myself and others, and never learned anything else." The seventh brother smiled and said to him, "However, there is a way to longevity in the practice of cultivation, but it is hard to find, just like the sages' books also have ways to govern the country, but how many people in the world can be prime ministers?" He paused for a moment: "As for bringing the dead back to life and predicting the future, I have a senior brother who specializes in medicine. If a person's body is in a different place and has been dead for three days, then naturally they cannot be brought back to life. But if an ordinary person has a minor illness and has just died, my senior brother still has a chance to save him. Does that count as bringing the dead back to life? I also have a senior brother who is proficient in the art of using planchets. Planchets are knowledgeable and can predict and predict the future." "Oh?" The magistrate thought for a moment, "Where is my senior brother?" "In the city." “I wonder if I could recommend…” "Of course you can, but you just have to wait a while." Although the Seventh Senior Brother received the silver from him, he also said, "We are here today to perform tricks and entertain the villagers. So many people have gathered here. If I let everyone go home disappointed, it would be a sin." When the magistrate heard this, he immediately bowed and took two steps back. Then I heard Brother Seven say to the crowd of spectators: "We are Taoists from Yishan, and we are new here. From now on, my sixth senior brother will live and practice in the original Yangxin Temple in the city. The money you donated will be used to repair the Taoist temple and will not be used for other purposes. "My senior brother is good at spirit writing. From now on, if the villagers in the city have any questions or problems, they can go to him! "We brothers are all in the city these days. If you have any problems with ghosts, poisoning, evil spirits, or difficult and complicated diseases, you can come to Yangxin Temple to find us. Money is optional. We will give it to you after the ghosts are detoxified and the diseases are cured." Upon hearing this, the clerk's expression changed. He quickly approached the magistrate and whispered: "Gao County! After the Taoist priest from Yangxin Temple was arrested, the former county magistrate promised him to the old immortal from Yishan, saying that the old immortal's disciples would come to live and practice in the future. Could it be these Taoist priests?" Needless to say, the magistrate's expression changed. Thinking in this way, unless what the clerk said was all lies, the group of bandits on Monkey Mountain were most likely eliminated by these Taoists. The magistrate's expression suddenly became more surprised and awed. I didn't expect that when I was young, I yearned for the true way of immortals and searched for them in famous mountains but couldn't find them. Now that I'm older, I think there may not be so many immortals in this world, but I met one here. …… Lin Jue sat on a bench, counting the silver and copper coins carefully, but he was also thinking in his mind. I was also thinking about the matter of money. Senior Brother Seven's theatrics are indeed very suitable for raising money. In fact, in addition to performing his theatrics on the streets of the city to raise money from hundreds of families, he can also make friends with the powerful and wealthy. Most people these days yearn for Buddhism and Taoism. They only need to prove that they really have Taoist skills, and they will naturally be given silver. Many heroes and wealthy people in history have made friends with alchemists in this way. It’s just that Senior Brother Seven likes to demonstrate magic on the streets. Lin Jue guessed that he had some desire to perform. We did raise a lot of money today. When the common people saw that he was truly a Taoist who knew magic and was raising money to build a Taoist temple, they naturally wanted to give him money. It was estimated that the money earned today alone, not counting the money obtained by the third senior brother from killing the bandits, would be enough to repair the Taoist temple and purchase items. However, this was the money obtained by the seventh senior brother after all, and it had to be used to repair the Taoist temple. Lin Jue also had to think about how to get silver to feed the silver-eating ghosts.

Before, when the master was still alive, the silver-eating ghost could eat dozens of taels of silver in a month. Although it had not yet reached the upper limit, it was considered well-fed. On average, everyone could get a Lingyuan Pill every one and a half to two months. Therefore, his cultivation level can be considered to be improving rapidly. Until the master passed away, everyone was busy with the funeral arrangements. Two months have passed since then, and the silver-eating ghost has only had one meal, eating ten taels of silver. Lin Jue was really afraid that it would starve to death. But it's not just about this life-saving money. From now on, there will be at least one meal per month. "Ugh……" When I was in the temple, Yishan and Fuqiu Temple were somewhat famous. Although each person could not get ten taels of silver per month on average, they still had a stable income. Now that I have come down the mountain, the pressure has suddenly come. At this time, there were spectators and people around asking what Taoist magic the two Taoist priests could do. Everyone cheered so enthusiastically that it was hard to refuse. The junior sister scratched her head and walked forward hurriedly. She had already mastered the stone-crushing technique, which was more spectacular than breaking a stone with her chest. However, she was on the street now, and there were no stones for her to shoot except the bricks on the ground, so she had to demonstrate the fossilization technique. A delicate female Taoist priest suddenly turned into a stone sculpture in full view of everyone, which shocked many spectators. Then it was Lin Jue's turn. There was no way to avoid it, so I had to move forward. In fact, he knew a lot of spells, many of which could be used both against enemies and for performances. However, influenced by his seventh senior brother, he felt that most of the spells, while entertaining, were not beautiful and romantic enough. For example, his junior sister's fossilization and stone crushing spells were only eye-catching but not touching. The purpose of drama is to move people's hearts. It was spring at the time, and among the onlookers there was a woodcutter who was carrying some unsold firewood. So he went up to the woodcutter and borrowed a branch to show it to everyone. Then he blew lightly. "Hu~~" The dead tree immediately came alive in spring, sprouting new buds, growing flower buds, and blooming beautiful spring flowers at a speed visible to the naked eye. Everyone was shocked and shouted "God". Even the Seventh Senior Brother was surprised, wondering when the younger Junior Brother had learned this magic. The performance is over, please leave. "My fellow immortals and masters, I didn't know you were from Mount Yi. Please forgive me if I was rude." The magistrate's attitude was much more respectful at this time. "We are not immortal masters, we are just Taoist priests." The seventh brother was very casual. Looking at the basket of silver money he had collected, he was in a good mood and said to the county magistrate, "We just got here yesterday. This morning, a brother should have taken his certificate of ordination to the county government to register. I didn't expect to meet the county magistrate here. It's fate." "It's fate." “This place is very wealthy.” "Although this city is small, it is a major transportation hub and a battleground for military strategists throughout the ages, so it is prosperous. However, I have only been in office for two months. Although this place is well governed, it is not my credit."

The magistrate saluted to the seventh brother while speaking: "When I was young, I also yearned for Taoist magic, but I couldn't find it. I heard that the Taoist priest has a senior brother who is good at spirit writing and will live in the Yangxin Temple in the city. I believe he must have real skills. We will inevitably have dealings in the city in the future. I hope the Taoist priest can introduce him to me." "It's best to be natural this way." Senior Brother Seven had no reason to refuse. "This way, magistrate." "Thank you very much." The magistrate thanked him and said, "Now the world is in chaos, and strange things are happening everywhere. There should have been a Taoist temple in the city a long time ago. However, a group of monsters lived in the Yangxin Temple before. After the Taoist temple became dilapidated, the previous magistrate promised it to the master. No one has come, so it has not been repaired. Now that a true master has come, the county should pay for the repair of the Taoist temple." "Why didn't the magistrate say so earlier?" "Oh? What do you mean?" "Since I have already raised the money, I said that the money will be used to repair the Taoist temple. How can I go back on my word if I don't use it for other purposes?" "This……" "Haha! Just kidding!" "call……" The magistrate heaved a sigh of relief, and then asked the seventh senior brother for advice: "It is said that at the border of Qiuru County and Danxun County, there is a mountain called Monkey Mountain. There are a group of mountain bandits on it. They have occupied the mountain and have been the king for many days. I heard that they were eliminated by several Taoists the night before yesterday. I wonder if you can tell me..." "How many? One?" The seventh brother replied, "The day before yesterday afternoon, we passed by Monkey Mountain and were robbed by those mountain bandits. My third brother has always been a chivalrous man, so he killed them." Lin Jue walked beside him, holding a blossoming branch, and glanced at him from the side. The magistrate is still testing us. The test is so clear, which shows his caution. He is so cautious, probably because he has something important to ask of him and does not want to make any mistakes. "hiss!" The magistrate was indeed shocked. Although he had already guessed it in his mind, he could not help being surprised when he actually heard that there was a Taoist who could summon heavenly soldiers and generals to eliminate more than a hundred bandits. You know, even the Taoist priests in Qiyun Mountain can’t do it. Moreover, even if we look through ancient books, except for those ancient gods and monsters, most of the Taoist masters would hide and avoid the court's orders and the army's searches and captures, and it would be difficult for them to confront them head-on. There were no more doubts in my mind at this moment. But then he heard the Taoist priest ask with a smile: "I still need to ask the county magistrate, is there any reward for killing the bandits?" "Ouch……" The magistrate suddenly showed a bitter expression: "Master, you are joking. If we hadn't met a master like you, how could we have imagined that someone could wipe out more than a hundred bandits by himself? Even if the most famous swordsman in the martial arts world came, it would be difficult. Not to mention one person, even the nearby martial arts sects and militias would find it difficult. Therefore, there is naturally no reward." Then he paused: "If the Taoist priest wants money to repair the Taoist temple, this county can pay for it out of its own pocket and give him some reward." "Forget it. We are cultivators, and we don't want this kind of money." Senior Brother Seven said with a smile.

This was a busy area, and the Yangxin Temple was not far away. As they were talking, they arrived there in just a few steps. Many senior brothers have also returned. Due to limited money, they did not purchase too many things. They only bought the basic pots and pans, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tables, chairs, benches, futons, beddings, etc. They also ordered tiles and hired craftsmen to repair the Taoist temple. At this time, they saw Lin Jue and the little junior sister carrying a basket of copper coins and silver in, and bringing guests with them, and they were all surprised. “We raised a lot of money.” The junior sister said to them happily. "This is Qiu Ru, the county magistrate." The seventh senior brother introduced the sixth senior brother in front of him. Lin Jue saw that some senior brother in the main hall bought a vase. After putting down the basket of silver, he walked over and put the dead branch with flowering in his hand into the vase. "Ok?" But I didn't expect that just a simple bunch of pear blossoms, once inserted, would actually add a lot of color to the dilapidated and empty hall. Standing in the hall, my heart became much calmer. At this moment, Lin Jue suddenly felt that even if this "Flower Blooms in an Instant" did not have such a powerful fighting ability, just being able to make a dead tree bloom was already worth learning. Lin Jue smiled and came back to listen to their conversation. (End of this chapter)