Chapter 86: On the Dao

The boat arrived on the third day.

A long banquet was held, but Zheng Fa’s gains were modest.

Many factions from Jingzhou City came upon hearing the news.

But if the gifts offered were too lavish, he politely refused them.

On the other hand, Zheng Fa settled the payment for the banquet with Wu the steward.

The Seventh Young Master scolded him a bit for being too formal, but the Lady accepted it without hesitation.

Zheng Fa and she both understood that sometimes keeping a little distance allowed for longer-lasting relations.

After setting aside some money for his mother and sister as emergency funds, Zheng Fa carried about fifty taels of gold on his person.

In Jingzhou City, this sum would have placed him squarely in the middle class.

But a single ticket to Jiushan Sect cost ten taels of gold—this price level instantly sobered Zheng Fa.

That token was truly pragmatic: since he’d acquired it, it had remained cold and silent, ignoring him entirely.

But when Zheng Fa laid ten taels of gold before it, the token gave him a demonstration of greed—it actually split open.

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

Zheng Fa placed the ten taels inside, and it snapped shut tightly, leaving no gap whatsoever—clearly, no refunds.

Tiny fluorescent lights glowed across its once-black, icy surface, and it emitted a faint warmth, making it seem strangely enthusiastic compared to before.

This must be what Zhang Shijie meant by the Dao Marker.

Three hours after the token lit up, a shadow blotted out the sun; Zheng Fa looked up and saw a massive tower-ship hovering above his family courtyard.

“Those bearing the Jiushan Sect token, board at once!”

A man’s voice rang out, sounding impatient.

Zheng Fa stepped out the gate, pack on his back and token in hand, but before he could properly bid farewell to his mother and sister, a giant hand of yellow light suddenly shot from the ship, violently snatching both the token and him into the air.

When Zheng Fa came to his senses, he found himself standing on the ship’s deck.

Three men in yellow Daoist robes stood on the deck, each with a small nine-mountain emblem embroidered on their cuffs—they were clearly the Jiushan disciples sent to fetch him.

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

They hadn’t even asked for his consent.

Zheng Fa turned back and saw his younger sister Zheng Shan, who had been sobbing in their mother’s arms, suddenly stop crying when she realized her brother was gone—she opened her mouth wide, searching frantically, as if unable to spot Zheng Fa on the deck.

Zheng Fa heard his sister’s cries rise again, louder now, as if her grief had intensified because she couldn’t see him—it tugged at his heart.

But the three Jiushan disciples acted as if they heard nothing of the sorrow— the chubby disciple pulled out a waist token, tapped it with his finger, and the ship beneath Zheng Fa shuddered slightly, piercing through the clouds ahead and beginning its journey.

Zheng Fa could only stretch half his body over the deck’s edge, waving helplessly toward his mother and sister.

By the time the Zheng family courtyard vanished beyond the horizon, he turned around and realized the three disciples who had come for him were gone—as if their sole purpose had been to retrieve the token.

The deck now held only one familiar face he hadn’t expected—Zhou Gan.

Seeing Zheng Fa turn to look at him, Zhou Gan smiled and said, “Those senior brothers aren’t very friendly to us—I feared you might not find your way…”

Zheng Fa bowed slightly to him, deeply grateful.

“Are those senior brothers like this with everyone?”

Zhou Gan shook his head, whispering, “Senior Sun told me that new disciples like us aren’t favored by the older ones.”

Zheng Fa suddenly understood—he remembered what Zhang Shijie had mentioned earlier.

The strictness of this Immortal Product Gathering stemmed from strong complaints among the lower-tier disciples of the Hundred Immortal Alliance.

Zhou Gan led the way, walking as he explained, “This tower-ship has three decks: the first is the main hall, where we eat and discuss Dao; the second is our quarters; the third is where those senior brothers reside.”

Zheng Fa followed him up the wooden staircase to the second deck.

The second deck had over thirty rooms, half of them occupied; Zheng Fa chose one near the corner.

He set down his pack and turned to Zhou Gan, sincerely thanking him: “Thank you, Zhou Brother, for your guidance.”

Zhou Gan waved it off, unable to suppress a smile; after a moment’s thought, he added, “I still have some standing with those senior brothers—if you need anything, tell me, and I’ll bring it up for you.”

Zheng Fa was puzzled—those men had barely acknowledged him.

“Senior Sun mentioned two things to those senior brothers when he saw me aboard.”

…Does your Senior Sun need more junior brothers?

Zhang Shijie, look at how other senior brothers treat their juniors!

Thinking of Zhang Shijie, who had vanished days ago, Zheng Fa felt a pang of envy.

…

This ship wasn’t just for Zheng Fa; by the time all new Jiushan disciples had been gathered, three days had passed.

Zheng Fa kept to himself on the ship, staying in his room to cultivate the Crane Body Technique, rarely interacting with anyone.

One day, his door was suddenly knocked on; when he opened it, it was Zhou Gan.

“Zheng Brother, those three senior brothers have invited us to discuss Dao.”

“Discuss what Dao?”

Zheng Fa was stunned—he hadn’t learned anything yet.

“I don’t know either, but everyone’s going.”

Zheng Fa nodded and followed Zhou Gan downstairs. Sure enough, dozens of cushions were laid out in the main hall, each occupied by men and women, all looking puzzled.

The three senior disciples who had picked them up sat at the head, smiling warmly at them—far friendlier than before.

Zhou Gan led Zheng Fa in, and the three nodded warmly at Zhou Gan; the chubby senior pointed to the frontmost cushion—clearly, they favored him more than the others.

Watching Zhou Gan take the front cushion, Zheng Fa sat on one farther back.

“Younger brothers and sisters, we who guided you here share a bond of fate. Now that you’re joining Jiushan Sect, we are one family.”

The chubby senior spoke.

Zheng Fa thought their earlier behavior hardly matched that of family.

“As your seniors, seeing you reminds us of ourselves when we first entered—back then, we knew nothing, wandered down many wrong paths, longing for a senior to guide us. Now that we’ve become seniors, we remember those days and wish to help you.”

All seated disciples listened in silence.

Zheng Fa glanced at the obedient new disciples around him, then at the closed cabin doors, and suddenly felt a strange familiarity.

“Once you enter Jiushan Sect, you’ll understand: only by mastering talisman arts can you establish your foundation here.”

“But talisman arts aren’t easy to learn,” the senior sighed. “The path of talismans is vast and profound—without a master’s guidance, ordinary people cannot even begin. But where are such masters to be found? When I first joined, I wasted ten years without becoming even a Yellow-grade Talisman Master—I could barely make a living.”

As he spoke, the two other seniors nodded in grim agreement.

“But now, you younger brothers are fortunate!” The chubby senior’s tone rose with excitement as he pulled out a pile of books from behind him: “Our Jiushan Sect’s talisman genius, True Person Zhang, pitied your struggles learning talismans and specially revised a book—The True Person Zhang’s Discourse on Talismans. It is the very best aid for new learners!”

…Who?

Now that fate has brought us together, the original price of twenty taels of gold per book is reduced to ten taels! Ten taels of gold for the blood and sweat of a genius talisman master—after today, you’ll never get such a chance again!

“That’s right—never again!” one of the other seniors chimed in.

The third added, “Senior, maybe we should keep it at twenty taels—we’re not exactly flush ourselves!”

Zheng Fa finally understood why he felt so familiar.

You’re the legendary black tour guide, aren’t you?