novelraw Chapter 23: The Mountain God Invites You Into a Dream
Chapter 23: The Mountain God Invites You Into a Dream
As soon as he entered the village, he smelled a pungent sandalwood scent.
Following along the wall, he had only taken a few steps when he heard the faint sound of chanting sutras.
Li Qiuchen looked toward where there was firelight. On a high platform in the village center, an elderly Daoist priest with white hair and beard sat upright with an immortal bearing. He held a horsetail whisk in his hand, and beside him was planted a prayer banner. The whole scene looked quite serious.
The villagers were all gathered before the Daoist, kneeling on the ground with their eyes tightly closed and hands clasped together, quietly reciting sutras of unknown meaning along with the priest.
What made him even more astonished was that Song Laosan's two sons were standing on either side of the Daoist, adopting a posture of loyal devotion, as if protecting the dharma.
Is this right? Your father has already grown a spiritual root...
Li Qiuchen noticed that the village chief's family was also among them, and immediately felt things were not good.
They've probably all been bewitched... To be fair, the Medicine Master's blessings did have tremendous appeal for ordinary people.
Dispelling disasters and hardships, immortality and eternal life.
Things that countless emperors throughout history couldn't attain in their entire lives, how could ordinary people refuse?Precisely because he understood this, Li Qiuchen held no naive fantasies about persuading these mortals who had already begun to believe in the Medicine Master.
This was not a place to linger.
While no one had noticed him, Li Qiuchen calmly backed away step by step and slipped out of the village. He made a gesture to the stupid bird in the sky, then took off running at full speed.
Returning to the lakeside, Li Qiuchen shook his head, saying, "There's no saving them. These people have been bewitched by the Medicine Master's followers. Whatever you say to them is useless now."
What moral ethics, what righteous convictions could withstand the temptation of immortality?
The white crane became so agitated that it cried out repeatedly, vigorously flapping its wings until feathers flew everywhere but Li Qiuchen remained unmoved.
"Do you know what the Medicine Master's blessing is?"
Hearing Li Qiuchen say this, the white crane immediately quieted down.
The book "Jingyunzi" had long since been ruined by water. Li Qiuchen couldn't produce any evidence, so he could only sit down and explain to it the concept of the Medicine Master's blessing and the manifestation of this power.
The stupid bird might be stupid, but it could still understand human speech.
"So, you understand now. It's not that I won't save them, it's that the Medicine Master is offering too much. As long as that Daoist doesn't expose his true face for even one day and just keeps curing illnesses, saving people, and dispelling disasters, no matter what you say, they won't believe it."
The white crane fell silent for a moment, then straightened its neck with a killing intent in its eyes.
Then let's kill him!
Dude, you...
Li Qiuchen covered his face and sighed.
You seem to be a bit obsessed with justice, my friend.
Please don't tell me your family also worships something strange and unusual.
"It won't be easy."
A flash of determination crossed the white crane's eyes.
Even if it's not easy, we must do it! If you won't do it, I will!
Do what, turn yourself into roasted chicken wings?
Li Qiuchen closed his eyes and began to think.
If that Daoist was a figure like Grand Uncle, or even if he only had thirty percent of Grand Uncle's strength, then he and the stupid bird had no chance of winning but this old guy seemed quite skilled at deceiving people. Who knows, maybe he'd drop some cultivation manuals or secret techniques or other good stuff?
He just happened to be lacking a Medicine Master sect cultivation manual right now.
"Let me think first."
The information currently collected was too limited. Li Qiuchen didn't want to jump to conclusions and could only casually placate the stupid bird, saying, "Don't be so extreme either. What I told you is just the worst possible scenario. What if that Daoist is a good person? If we just kill him indiscriminately without distinguishing right from wrong, wouldn't that be going too far?"
Hearing him say this, the stupid bird also began to hesitate.
Birds are really easy to fool.
Seeing that night had already fallen, Li Qiuchen found a clean and comfortable place to continue his daily unwavering meditation practice.
In a daze, a cool mountain breeze brushed across his face.
Li Qiuchen, who was in meditation, suddenly shivered and heard someone say in his ear, "The Mountain God respectfully invites the two honored guests to his residence for a conversation."
Li Qiuchen opened his eyes to see everything before him hazy and indistinct, as if he were in a dream. The white crane also appeared at his side. Their four eyes met, staring at each other in confusion.
Who?
Mountain God?
There's really a mountain god in this place?
What virtue and ability do I have...
Before Li Qiuchen could finish his mental complaints, a soft urging voice came from ahead.
Two young women in white clothing held paper lanterns in their hands. Standing not far away, they gently beckoned, as if guiding the way for them.
Li Qiuchen stood up and followed the two women into the mist.
Through the hazy confusion, a small mountain path extended out from beneath his feet.
Winding and turning, after walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the mist suddenly dispersed, revealing a cave dwelling beneath a mountain cliff.
The two lantern-bearing maidens came to the entrance, bowed lightly, and pushed open the cave dwelling's main door.
A refreshing, invigorating coolness floated up to Li Qiuchen's heart as the cave dwelling opened.
Entering the cave dwelling, he saw a round moon's radiance falling from overhead, illuminating the interior as bright as day.
On a stone bed in the cave sat a young, long-haired man in meditation. His hair fell past his shoulders, his features were handsome, and his complexion was like jade.
Seeing one person and one crane approach, the man nodded slightly, gesturing for them to sit on the prayer mats before him. White-clothed maidens served them each a cup of fragrant spiritual tea from the side, then quietly withdrew.
"You two, please," the man said. His voice was warm and measured, faintly carrying a power that put one at ease.
Li Qiuchen had his doubts but didn't dare disobey. From this display, crushing him wouldn't take much effort on the other's part.
He picked up the spiritual tea and drank it all in one gulp. Immediately, his lips and teeth retained the fragrance, and heat rose within his belly accompanied by rolling thunder.
Li Qiuchen's face instantly turned bright red from embarrassment.
This spiritual tea was quite miraculous. Just drinking one cup was equivalent to seven days of body tempering. Countless impurities within his body were cleansed out in that instant.
"Thank you, Mountain God, for the tea. I wonder what important matter the Mountain God has summoned us for..."
The man waved his hand slightly, indicating Li Qiuchen need not ask. He dipped his finger in some tea water and flicked it into the air. It instantly transformed into a misty water curtain, presenting a spectacular scene by the lake.
It was precisely the scene from two and a half months ago when Li Qiuchen had mixed poison into furnace ashes to scheme against Xiao Tian's gang of bandits, then killed them all after they became lost in illusions and slaughtered each other.
Li Qiuchen only glanced at it once before not daring to raise his head again.
At the time, he had found it strange that the poison he casually concocted shouldn't have had such great effect. He had vaguely sensed that an expert was secretly helping him.
Now it seemed that Xiao Tian's crude words and behavior had indeed angered the Mountain God.
What he had thought was a perfect scheme with all loose ends tidily handled, leaving no hidden dangers yet he never imagined that this dignified Mountain God actually had a hobby of secretly recording footage.