Chapter 86: Discussing the Dao

The boat arrived on the third day.

After the continuous banquet, Zheng Fa's gains were not particularly great.

Many factions in Jingzhou City who heard the news came.

But if the gifts offered by the visitors were too generous, he politely declined them.

On the other hand, Zheng Fa also settled the expenses for the continuous banquet with Steward Wu.

The Seventh Young Master chided him a bit for being too distant, but the Lady accepted it very readily.

Both Zheng Fa and she understood that sometimes keeping a little distance was the only way to coexist for a long time.

After leaving some money for his mother and sister for emergencies, the money Zheng Fa carried on his person, converted to gold, was about fifty taels.

If this money were in Jingzhou City, he would probably be considered middle class.

But a boat ticket to Jiushan Sect cost ten taels of gold; this price instantly sobered Zheng Fa up.

That token was very realistic: ever since he got it, the thing had been cold and icy, with a gloomy face, paying Zheng Fa almost no attention.

But when Zheng Fa placed ten taels of gold before it, the token performed a "greedy for money" act for him—it actually cracked open.

The token split neatly into two symmetrical halves, revealing a pocket-sized space.

Zheng Fa put the ten taels of gold inside, and it closed tightly again, with not a single gap, clearly indicating "no refunds."

Faint luminescence appeared on the originally black and cold token, and it felt slightly warm; compared to its previous appearance, it strangely seemed very enthusiastic.

This must be the Dao marker that Zhang Shijie mentioned.

Three hours after the token lit up, a black shadow blocked the blazing sun in the sky; Zheng Fa looked up and saw a pagoda ship as big as a small mountain hovering over his courtyard.

"He who holds my Jiushan Sect token, board the ship immediately!"

A man's voice came through, sounding somewhat impatient.

Zheng Fa walked out of the courtyard gate with his bundle on his back and the token in his hand; before he could properly say goodbye to his mother and sister, a giant hand condensed from yellow light suddenly extended from the pagoda ship, roughly grabbing the token in his palm along with him into the air.

When Zheng Fa came to his senses, he realized he had already landed on the deck of the pagoda ship.

Three men wearing yellow Daoist robes stood on the deck; a small Jiushan pattern was embroidered on the hem of each of their clothes, making it clear these were Jiushan disciples sent to fetch him.

None of the three looked at him; the token that had been in his hand was now held by the slightly chubby male disciple in the middle.

They didn't even ask for his opinion.

He turned back; his little sister Zheng Shan had been sobbing in Zheng Mother's arms, but the moment she turned her head and found her brother gone, she forgot to cry, opened her small mouth, and searched for a long time, as if she couldn't see Zheng Fa on the deck.

Zheng Fa heard his little sister's crying start up again; it seemed because she couldn't see her brother, the sound was even louder, making his heart ache.

But these three Jiushan Sect disciples seemed not to hear the reluctance in the crying; the slightly chubby male disciple took out a waist tablet, tapped his finger on it, the pagoda ship beneath Zheng Fa's feet trembled slightly, broke through the clouds ahead, and began to move forward.

Zheng Fa could only futilely stretch half his body out of the deck, waving at his mother and sister.

When the Zheng family courtyard gradually disappeared beyond the horizon, he turned around and found that the three disciples who had come to fetch him were already gone; it seemed they had come only for that token.

On the deck remained only an acquaintance he hadn't expected—Zhou Qianyuan.

Seeing Zheng Fa turn to look at him, Zhou Qianyuan wore a smile and said, "Those senior brothers weren't very enthusiastic toward us; I was afraid Brother Zheng wouldn't find the place..."

Zheng Fa cupped his hands toward the other person, feeling quite grateful in his heart.

"Are those senior brothers like that toward everyone?"

Zhou Qianyuan shook his head and whispered, "Sun Zi told me that we new disciples are not well-liked by the original senior brothers."

Zheng Fa suddenly understood, recalling what Zhang Shijie had mentioned before.

The strictness of this immortal-grade gathering was also because the lower-level disciples of the Baixian Alliance had strong objections.

Zhou Qianyuan led the way in front, saying as he walked, "This pagoda ship has three floors; the first floor is the main hall, a place for us to eat or discuss the Dao; the second floor is our rooms; the third floor is where those senior brothers live."

Zheng Fa followed him up the wooden stairs to the second floor.

The second floor had about thirty rooms; half were already occupied, so Zheng Fa chose a room near the corner.

He put down his bundle, turned to look at Zhou Qianyuan, and sincerely thanked him, "Many thanks for Brother Zhou's advice."

Zhou Qianyuan waved his hand, unable to hold back a smile on his face; after thinking for a moment, he added, "I still have some standing in front of those senior brothers; if Brother Zheng has any needs, tell me, and I will mention them to them."

Zheng Fa was a bit puzzled; those few people had been indifferent to him.

"When Sun Zi sent me aboard the ship, he entrusted a couple of words to those senior brothers."

... Does your Sun Zi still need junior brothers?

Zhang Shijie, look at how other senior brothers are!

Thinking of Zhang Shijie who had run away a few days ago, Zheng Fa couldn't help but feel a wave of envy.

This ship wasn't just for Zheng Fa; by the time all the new disciples of Jiushan Sect were gathered, three days had passed.

Zheng Fa lived reclusively on the ship, squatting in his room cultivating the Spiritual Crane Body, almost interacting with no one.

On this day, Zheng Fa's door was suddenly knocked on; he opened it and saw it was Zhou Qianyuan.

"Brother Zheng, those three senior brothers invite us to discuss the Dao."

"Discuss what Dao?"

Zheng Fa was stunned; I haven't learned anything yet.

"This junior doesn't know either, but everyone has gone."

Zheng Fa nodded and followed Zhou Qianyuan downstairs; sure enough, in the main hall on the first floor, dozens of meditation cushions were arranged, with men and women sitting on them, their expressions also somewhat puzzled.

The three senior brothers who had fetched them sat at the head, smiling as they looked at them; their expressions were much more enthusiastic than before.

As Zhou Qianyuan brought Zheng Fa in, the three nodded warmly at Zhou Qianyuan; the slightly chubby senior brother pointed to the cushion at the very front, clearly valuing Zhou Qianyuan more than the others.

Watching Zhou Qianyuan sit on that cushion, Zheng Fa found a cushion further back and sat down.

"Junior brothers and junior sisters, the fact that we are responsible for fetching you is also a matter of fate; now that you are about to enter my Jiushan Sect, we are all one family."

The slightly chubby senior brother spoke.

Zheng Fa felt their previous behavior hardly resembled the attitude one would show toward family.

"As senior brothers, seeing you is like seeing ourselves when we first entered the sect—back then, we were just like you, knowing nothing. After entering, we took many detours, hoping for a senior brother or sister to guide us through our confusion. Now that we have become senior brothers, recalling those past events, we wish to help you."

Everyone seated below listened quietly.

Zheng Fa looked at the new disciples sitting obediently around him, then at the closed cabin door, and suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.

"Once you enter the Jiushan Sect, you will understand: in our Jiushan Sect, only by mastering talisman arts can one have a foundation to stand on."

"But talisman arts are not that easy to learn," that senior brother said with a bitter smile. "The Dao of Talismans is profound and vast; one could say that without guidance from a renowned master, an ordinary person finds it difficult to enter the path. Yet how easy is it to obtain a renowned master? When I first entered the sect, I wasted a full ten years before becoming a Yellow-Rank Talismanist. Back then, even making a living was difficult."

As he spoke these words, the two senior brothers beside him also showed expressions of deep sympathy.

"But now, you junior brothers are fortunate!" the slightly plump senior brother said with an impassioned tone, pulling out a pile of books from behind him. "Our Jiushan Sect's talisman genius, True Person Zhang, pities the difficulty you new disciples face in learning talismans. He has specially revised a book titled 'True Person Zhang's Discourse on Talismans.' It can be said to be the best aid for you newcomers learning the Dao of Talismans!"

... Who?

"Now that the three of us have a connection with you, the original price of twenty taels of gold per book is now just ten taels of gold from us! Ten taels of gold, and you can buy the life's work of a genius talismanist. After today, you will never have such a good opportunity again!"

"Yes, never again!" a senior brother beside him chimed in.

Another one even urged, "Senior brother, perhaps we should still charge twenty taels per book; our own pockets aren't exactly full!"

Zheng Fa finally understood why he felt so familiar with this.

You are the legendary black tour guide?