Taoist Priest Simu, who had been away for a long time, returned today with a group of clients.
"Master, it's been a while. How have you been?"
Xiao Yu stepped forward to greet his master with concern.
"Oh, my disciple, don't worry. I am quite well."
Hearing this, Taoist Priest Simu playfully engaged in a retro conversation.
"It's been a while, and now you're speaking so formally."
Taoist Priest Simu inquired.
"Maybe it's because he has a girlfriend now."
At this moment, Wencai chimed in from the side.
"Oh, that's impressive, Xiao Yu. You've been in Ren Family Town for just over two months and already have someone you like. Tell me, how does her family feel about it?"
Taoist Priest Simu's face lit up with joy upon hearing this.
"She's from a prominent family in our town, the Ren Family's Ren Tingting. Marrying her would mean no more worries."
Wencai expressed his envy.
"Ren's father has no objections, and since we're still young, there's no rush for marriage."
Xiao Yu explained the details to his master.
"Is that so? Well, you should consider it yourself. If there's a chance, we can meet up. If you need anything from me, just let me know."
Taoist Priest Simu allowed Xiao Yu to make his own decisions, as he had been single for many years and had no experience in such matters, so he refrained from giving advice.
"Thank you, Master. If you'd like to meet her, I'm delivering some magical artifacts tomorrow. You can come with me; Ren's father would like to meet you too."
Hearing that his master wanted to meet, Xiao Yu thought tomorrow would be a good time.
"Delivering magical artifacts? What's going on?"
Taoist Priest Simu couldn't help but ask in confusion.
"Well, during my cultivation with Uncle Nine, I managed to create the magical artifacts I had envisioned."
Xiao Yu took out a Protective Jade Plaque and introduced it to his master.
"During that incident, Ren's father found the jade plaque very useful and discussed the business of these Protective Jade Plaques with me. I thought it was feasible and agreed. They've been selling quite well these past few days.
There are also some talismans that don't require spiritual power to activate. How much they sell depends on his ability."
He recounted a series of events triggered by zombies in recent days.
"These jade talismans are quite useful, no wonder you thought of selling them."
Taoist Priest Simu understood the function of the jade talismans.
"Alright, I'll go with you tomorrow to meet them."
Taoist Priest Simu confirmed.
***
The next day, Xiao Yu and Taoist Priest Simu headed to the Ren Family.
"This is my master, Taoist Priest Simu, commonly known as Chen."
"Master, this is Ren Fa, Master Ren."
Meeting Master Ren, Xiao Yu introduced the two.
"Master Chen, a pleasure to meet you. I've long wanted to meet the esteemed teacher who trained such an outstanding disciple as Xiao Yu."
Ren Fa, being a seasoned man, praised Taoist Priest Simu.
"Master Ren, a pleasure to meet you. I've been busy with matters outside for over two months.
I just arrived in Ren Family Town yesterday and came specifically to visit after hearing about Xiao Yu."
Receiving praise from Master Ren, Taoist Priest Simu responded politely and kindly.
"Please, have a seat. Let's sit down and chat over tea. No need to be too formal."
Ren Fa invited Taoist Priest Simu to sit and sent a servant to fetch his daughter.
"Father, I'm here."
"Ah, Xiao Yu, you're here. And this is?"
Ren Tingting entered the living room, puzzled upon seeing Taoist Priest Simu.
"Master, this is Tingting.
Tingting, this is my master. He just returned last night and came over today to meet everyone."
Xiao Yu introduced them again.
"Hello, Taoist Priest."
Hearing that this person was Xiao Yu's master, Ren Tingting greeted Taoist Priest Simu politely.
"Hello, Miss Ren. You're quite the elegant and well-mannered young lady. Master Ren has taught you well."
Taoist Priest Simu nodded in satisfaction upon seeing Ren Tingting and continued to praise her.
"Haha, not at all."
Master Ren was overjoyed upon hearing this.
Taoist Priest Simu and Ren Fa got along well, speaking pleasantly, as if they had known each other for a long time.
The group drank tea together and chatted about various topics.
"Uncle Ren, I've delivered the magical artifacts. They should last for a while. Afterward, I'll be returning with my master."
Xiao Yu spoke to Ren Fa when there was a pause in the conversation.
"You're leaving? It's alright, we have plenty of stock. It should last for a while, and it's okay if we run out. We can wait."
Ren Fa was momentarily surprised but then waved his hand to indicate it was fine.
"You're leaving? How long will you be gone?"
Ren Tingting looked at Xiao Yu, wanting to know when he would return.
"Xiao Yu, you can stay here a bit longer if you want."
Taoist Priest Simu suggested, seeing the situation, that his disciple didn't need to rush back with him.
"Don't worry, Tingting. I'll be back in a month or two, not too long.
Master, it's been a while. I also want to go back and check on Jia Le."
Xiao Yu wanted to return and see if Master Yixiu next door had come back. If he had, then it wouldn't be long before the mysterious and powerful Uncle Qianhe made his appearance.
"You have a kind heart. Jia Le is alone at home, and he'll be very happy if you go back to see him."
Taoist Priest Simu was pleased to see Xiao Yu caring about Jia Le.
Knowing that Xiao Yu and Taoist Priest Simu were leaving that night, Master Ren hosted a farewell banquet for them.
After a satisfying meal, they bid farewell to Master Ren and Ren Tingting and returned to Uncle Nine's house to rest.
***
As night fell, after having dinner prepared by Wencai, Taoist Priest Simu, Xiao Yu, and Wencai bid farewell to Uncle Nine.
"Junior Brother, Nephew, take care on the road."
Uncle Nine and Wencai saw them off at the door.
"Yes, Senior Brother, no need to see us off."
"Uncle, Senior Brother, take care."
Taoist Priest Simu and Xiao Yu set off.
Before long, they had left Ren Family Town, and the master and disciple, along with their clients, hurried on their way.
As they passed through a forest, a white figure suddenly flew overhead and snatched a client.
"Oh no, you dare steal my corpse? I'll make you regret it!"
Taoist Priest Simu immediately gave chase. After a few exchanges, the woman in white was knocked to the ground.
Seeing that she couldn't win, the woman in white tried to use her charms on Taoist Priest Simu.
With his disciple watching, Taoist Priest Simu couldn't act like in the stories, pretending to be seduced and taking advantage.
Seeing that her charms didn't work on Taoist Priest Simu, and unable to defeat him, the woman in white turned and flew towards Xiao Yu, intending to take him hostage to threaten the Taoist.
Prepared in advance, Xiao Yu quickly unleashed a series of talismans, sending the woman flying back, crashing into the approaching Taoist Priest Simu.
Seeing this, Taoist Priest Simu immediately activated his magical sword with spiritual power, and the sword, glowing golden, delivered a fatal blow to the woman.
The woman fell to the ground, her body dissipating, revealing her true form as a fox.
Taoist Priest Simu, seeing the woman turn into a fox, understood the situation.
"So it was a fox spirit. No wonder she was so seductive."
Xiao Yu approached to examine the fox spirit's body, considering how to make use of it.
"Master, is there any use for the fox spirit's body?"
Taoist Priest Simu instructed on how to handle the fox demon's corpse.
"The fox's tail fur can be used to make talisman brushes, but the rest isn't very useful.
Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ].
Xiao Yu, collect the fox tail, then burn the rest."
Xiao Yu quickly took care of it.
The master and disciple continued on their journey, traveling day and night, until they finally returned to their secluded mountain home.
***
"Jia Le, Jia Le."
Arriving at the house, the door was tightly shut. Taoist Priest Simu called out several times, but there was no response from Jia Le.
Taoist Priest Simu peered through the window and saw Jia Le still sound asleep.
This was unacceptable. Taoist Priest Simu immediately became angry and prepared to teach Jia Le a lesson by controlling the clients with a spell.
However, he ended up being the one in trouble instead.
Xiao Yu quickly used a Corpse Settling Talisman to immobilize the walking corpses.
Seeing this, Jia Le promptly stepped forward to cast a spell and moved the clients to the mortuary for safekeeping.
"At least you have some sense."
Taoist Priest Simu, with a beard and glaring eyes, was displeased that he couldn't teach Jia Le a lesson and ended up in trouble himself.
Feeling guilty, Jia Le silently went to cook, and after preparing the meal, he invited Taoist Priest Simu and Xiao Yu to eat.
"Master, Junior Brother, the meal is ready. Come and eat.
Master, Master Yixiu has returned and brought back a disciple."
When Taoist Priest Simu and Xiao Yu arrived at the table, Jia Le informed them that their neighbor had returned.
"He's back? So what, do I have to go pay my respects?"
Taoist Priest Simu, upon hearing this, glared at Jia Le in displeasure.
"No, it's not that. I invited them over for dinner too."
Jia Le replied weakly, not daring to look at his master's expression.
"No need for formalities, Simu, long time no see."
At that moment, Master Yixiu from next door entered with his disciple.
"Yes, long time no see. I thought you had died out there."
Taoist Priest Simu looked at Master Yixiu with a hostile attitude.
"If you haven't died, I certainly won't go first."
Master Yixiu retorted without backing down, engaging in a verbal spar with Taoist Priest Simu.
Taoist Priest Simu glanced at the female disciple Master Yixiu had brought, snorted, and stopped the verbal exchange.
"Is this your disciple?"
Taoist Priest Simu asked casually.
"Yes, Qingqing is alone in the world, with no relatives, so I brought her along to teach her some medical skills. She'll have something to rely on in the future."
Master Yixiu sighed.
"Qingqing, come and greet the Taoist Priest."
Master Yixiu instructed his disciple, Qingqing.
"Hello, Taoist Priest. I've often heard my master speak of you."
Qingqing looked at Taoist Priest Simu.
"Oh, what did he say about me? Did he speak ill of me?"
Hearing this, Taoist Priest Simu became interested.
"My master said you're righteous, wise, and heroic, and you often tell your disciples you love them."
Qingqing expressed this with both words and gestures.
"Haha, is that really what he said?"
Taoist Priest Simu winked at Master Yixiu.
"Let me introduce you. This is my disciple, Xiao Yu, at the ninth level of Refining Essence into Qi.
Xiao Yu, come and greet them."
Taoist Priest Simu looked at Master Yixiu with pride.
"Hello, Master."
Xiao Yu stepped forward to pay his respects.
"Ah, such spiritual energy, young friend, you have a good cultivation level.
Also, thank you for taking care of the medicinal ingredients I planted."
Master Yixiu had heard about Taoist Priest Simu's disciple from Jia Le, and upon meeting him today, he found Xiao Yu to be indeed talented.
"Alright, let's all sit down and eat."
Taoist Priest Simu sat down, signaling everyone to start eating.
With a talented disciple like Xiao Yu, Taoist Priest Simu felt proud, so he didn't cause any trouble during the meal, and they all had a peaceful breakfast.
After the meal, having traveled all night, Taoist Priest Simu and Xiao Yu were quite tired and went to rest.
In the evening, Jia Le called them to dinner.
At night, having slept enough during the day, it was difficult to fall asleep, especially with the constant sound of wooden fish being struck during Master Yixiu's practice next door.
Taoist Priest Simu, irritated by the noise, rummaged through his belongings to find something to block his ears.
Xiao Yu, also unable to sleep due to the noise, prepared some materials and drew a few Soundproofing Talismans.
Afterward, he placed the Soundproofing Talismans on the walls of the room, blocking the outside noise, and the room became quiet.
"Oh, it's quiet now. Junior Brother, what kind of talisman is this?"
Jia Le, seeing the talismans Xiao Yu had put up, was curious.
"Haha, well done, Xiao Yu. This is a Soundproofing Talisman, right?"
Taoist Priest Simu praised, finally relieved from the noise.
"With the Soundproofing Talisman, let that monk keep striking. Even if he breaks the wooden fish, it won't bother me, haha."
Taoist Priest Simu laughed arrogantly.
The three of them turned off the lights and quickly fell asleep.
In the days that followed, because Jia Le's cultivation hadn't progressed, Taoist Priest Simu trained him rigorously.
Xiao Yu took the opportunity to add medicinal ingredients from the Inner World to Jia Le's herbal bath.
After more than ten days of training under Taoist Priest Simu and the herbal bath, Jia Le successfully broke through to the sixth level of Qi Refining.
Seeing Jia Le make progress under his guidance, Taoist Priest Simu felt proud and let Jia Le off the hook.
With some free time, Jia Le would often visit Master Yixiu next door to play with Qingqing.
Seeing this, Taoist Priest Simu was quite pleased, thinking that his pig had finally learned to find cabbage.
***
One day, a commotion came from the mountain path, as a convoy escorted by soldiers stopped in front of the secluded mountain home.
Taoist Priest Simu, Master Yixiu, and the others went out to see what was happening.
Approaching, Taoist Priest Simu recognized his junior brother, Taoist Priest Qianhe.
"Senior Brother."
"Greetings, Uncle."
Taoist Priest Qianhe greeted, and the four disciples behind him saluted in unison.
"Master Yixiu."
Taoist Priest Qianhe then greeted Master Yixiu.
"Junior Brother, no need for formalities, everyone.
Jia Le, Xiao Yu, come forward and greet them."
Taoist Priest Simu waved Jia Le and Xiao Yu over.
"Greetings, Uncle."
"Greetings, fellow disciples."
Xiao Yu and Jia Le formed hand seals and paid their respects.
"Greetings, young nephews, no need for formalities."
"Greetings, Senior Brother."
Taoist Priest Qianhe and his four disciples exchanged greetings.
"Hey, what's going on up there? Why have you stopped?"
A sharp voice came from behind.
"Wu Shilang, we've run out of glutinous rice. We're stopping for a moment while I borrow some from my senior brother."
Taoist Priest Qianhe replied immediately.
"Alright, let's rest here for a while."
A child's voice came from the sedan chair.
"Jia Le, Xiao Yu, go get the enchanted glutinous rice."
Taoist Priest Simu instructed.
"Yes, Master."
Jia Le and Xiao Yu turned and went inside.
"Golden coffin, copper bell horn, black dog blood, what's inside..."
Taoist Priest Simu looked at the coffin and inquired about its contents.
"Yes, it's a zombie."
Taoist Priest Qianhe nodded solemnly.
"Why not burn it?"
Taoist Priest Simu asked in confusion.
"That's the problem. Inside is a prince who guarded the border in life. I'm responsible for escorting him to the capital, where they'll decide how to handle it."
Taoist Priest Qianhe explained his mission.
"Why not remove the rain cover and let it get some sun to weaken the corpse qi?"
Master Yixiu suggested, looking at the canopy over the copper coffin.
"Master Yixiu, I think it's best not to remove it. This time of year, the weather is unpredictable, and sudden rainstorms are common. If it rains unexpectedly, the black dog blood and ink line could be washed away, and that would be trouble."
Returning with the magical artifacts, Xiao Yu quickly spoke up to stop them.
"Yes, that makes sense. I didn't consider that."
Master Yixiu acknowledged the reasoning and admitted his oversight.
"Master, the magical artifacts and glutinous rice are here."
Jia Le handed the package to Taoist Priest Simu.
"Junior Brother, I hope you won't need them."
Taoist Priest Simu handed the glutinous rice and magical artifacts to Taoist Priest Qianhe.
He then explained the use of the magical sword and Protective Jade Plaque, which also included numerous talismans.
"These are too valuable, Senior Brother. I can't accept them."
Understanding the function of the magical artifacts, Taoist Priest Qianhe felt they were too precious and wanted to refuse.
"This journey is troublesome. No need to say more, just take them."
Taoist Priest Simu made the decision.
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
Taoist Priest Qianhe expressed his gratitude.
"Junior Brother, take care on your journey."
"Taoist Priest Qianhe, take care."
"Uncle, fellow disciples, stay safe..."
After bidding farewell, the convoy set off.
The convoy gradually disappeared into the mountain path.
Taoist Priest Simu returned inside, but he was worried about his junior brother Qianhe's journey.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan