Chapter 53

"... Are you saying that you chased a strange Spirit Realm fish into the mountains, didn't run into anyone for a whole month, and didn't think to borrow someone's phone to report your safety to us?"

After hearing Seeing Chu Tianshu's explanation, Lin Brother Bai Sui was silent for a moment before asking this.

Hearing him ask this, Seeing Chu Tianshu suddenly realized the loophole in his previous statement.

That was just Jiangning, not the deep mountains of Sichuan, Yunnan, or Guizhou.

Even if he didn't have time before catching the fish, didn't he think about finding a phone to report his safety after catching it?

He had to wait until he was already back home to be discovered.

"It seems that was indeed a good fish."

Lin Brother Bai Sui didn't wait for his reply but started laughing instead.

"After you ate it, the effect must have been immediate; you must have felt your chronic illness improving, which is why you were so happy you forgot to call us."

Good grief, you're making excuses for me yourself.

Seeing Chu Tianshu couldn't help but smile: "That was indeed a good fish. Thanks to it, I also found several secret manuals and a few magical artifacts in a hidden cave over there."

"The manuals are said to have been created by someone in the Ming Dynasty; it seems they were passed down to the Republic of China era, when someone brought them to that cave and left them there."

"When I have time later, I'll write them down on my phone and send them to you; you can see if there's anything suitable for you to learn."

Lin Brother Bai Sui said happily: "Great! I've been saving up merit points, wanting to buy some advanced heritage in the Special Capture Division's armory. If you have something suitable here, I can save those points for other things."

"By the way, are you going to sell this? If you are, I'll encrypt it for you as soon as you send it over."

Seeing Chu Tianshu said: "I let you learn it, and you still want to sell it?"

"Of course I can."

Lin Brother Bai Sui said, "Even if I've read it all, as long as I don't spread it around, I can help you post it on the internal website to sell."

Seeing Chu Tianshu realized: "I was a bit dizzy from being angry just now, I didn't even think of such a simple principle."

Lin Brother Bai Sui asked curiously: "Angry?"

Seeing Chu Tianshu calmed down and said: "Someone broke in and stole the original copy of the 'Ghost Gate Witch Doctor Annotations' secret manual."

The phone suddenly went quiet.

A moment later, two deep breaths came from the other side.

"Who the f..."

Lin Brother Bai Sui's voice paused, and he took another deep breath, "Do you have any leads on the thief?"

Among the things Chu's grandfather left behind, this was the book he cherished most while he was alive.

The knowledge in the manual had already been learned, and there was more than one copy; as an antique, the price might not be earth-shattering.

But the significance of this book went beyond that.

Leaving the manual in that room was almost a tacit way of maintaining a state as if Chu's grandfather hadn't died.

Seeing Chu Tianshu said he was so angry he felt dazed, which wasn't a joke; he naturally understood Brother Bai Sui's current anger.

"His name is Kong Wenju, a sorcerer from our neighboring village who deals in antiques and curios. Besides stealing our family's manual, he also stole from several other collectors and has already fled to another region. The city bureau has opened a case."

"It's him?!"

Lin Brother Bai Sui said, "I've even met him a few times, that bastard."

"Perfect, the perpetrator is also a sorcerer. Our Jianghuai Region Special Capture Division has already coordinated with the police department, and I'll apply to borrow the information on this case."

He hung up the phone on his end first.

Seeing Chu Tianshu waited in the car.

A moment later, Lin Suozhang got into the car and pulled out a tissue to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"This person is truly insane, stealing so many good things at once."

Lin Suozhang shook his head and said, "What a nice house he had, and he opened his own shop, not lacking money; I really can't figure it out."

"Tianshu, the criminal has already run off with the things he stole; I can't help you much anymore, I'm sorry."

Seeing Chu Tianshu shook his head: "It's fine. Since a case has been opened, I believe it will be solved."

Lin Suozhang laughed and drove them back.

When Seeing Chu Tianshu got home, he plugged in his phone to charge and started transcribing the manual while it charged.

Chu Erye sat by the table waiting for a call.

"Second Grandfather."

Seeing Chu Tianshu said, "One of the manuals I obtained on this trip is a magical art; it must be more profound than your Feng Shui heritage..."

Chu Erye shook his head and waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, no, I already heard you mention it on the phone just now."

"But for the past two years, I'd rather stay home listening to the tape recorder and daydreaming than practice. I don't even use my own Feng Shui arts often, and you want me to learn something else? Forget it."

Seeing Chu Tianshu said: "Practicing cultivation is also very interesting."

"You're talking about practicing, not cultivating."

Chu Erye suddenly said, "Did you successfully cultivate the fist technique?"

Seeing Chu Tianshu nodded.

"Hahahaha, our Chu family has produced a genius."

Chu Erye borrowed a line from Lin Brother Bai Sui, "It seems that was truly a good fish."

"But practicing is just to live a good life. I'm at this age now, and the good life I want is to take walks, eat, chat, and watch TV."

"You're still young, you haven't practiced enough, but when I was young, I had already practiced more than enough."

Seeing Chu Tianshu said helplessly: "I understand."

Chu Erye added: "Today's TV dramas are getting better and better. You can watch them on the computer without having to wait for them to air; you can watch whichever one you want. They really are good things, worth watching repeatedly."

Seeing Chu Tianshu thought to himself.

If one day all the TV dramas become trash.

Second Grandfather might just get bored enough to want to sit in meditation and cultivate again.

However, after entering the 21st century, the TV dramas of these past few years have indeed sprung up like bamboo shoots after rain, vibrant and flourishing.

At least for the next dozen years or so, there should be no need to worry about trash dramas running rampant.

About two hours later, Lin Brother Bai Sui's call came through.

"The good news in the bad news is that the guy didn't go abroad; he went to the island, the Macau region."

Lin Brother Bai Sui said, "Because it's a special person committing a crime, we have already notified the Macau Special Capture Division, and they will send people to assist in the investigation."

Seeing Chu Tianshu pondered: "Macau, that Oriental gambling city?"

"I heard that place isn't big, but the foot traffic is huge. Your Special Capture Division has always been short-handed, right? This isn't a murder case, how many people can they spare to pay attention to it?"

Lin Brother Bai Sui said: "In Macau, relatively speaking, the manpower is actually more abundant. And once a crime like this starts and the person isn't caught, it's hard to stop. He might strike again in Macau, so the local authorities must pay attention."

Seeing Chu Tianshu said directly: "I want to go see for myself."

"This..."

Lin Brother Bai Sui hesitated for a moment, "Is your illness really okay?"

Seeing Chu Tianshu said: "I'm much stronger than before."

"Alright, Kong Wenju wasn't your match to begin with, and Master's things must be brought back."

Lin Brother Bai Sui said, "A spirit communicator with a clean record like you, if you have the intention, can assist in the investigation as a 'concerned citizen' in the mainland. In Jingcheng, there are a bunch of people who like to use this title to get things done."

"Macau is a bit different, and some places are actually more convenient. I'll help you notify them and give you the title of a temporary consultant for the special case."

"But how do you plan to get there?"

Seeing Chu Tianshu said: "Isn't Macau on the sea? Take a car, then take a boat."

"You... didn't you think of a plane?"

Lin Brother Bai Sui sighed, "And going there requires procedures like a Hong Kong and Macau travel permit."

"Forget it, just take photos of your ID and everything and send them to me; I'll handle it for you."

Seeing Chu Tianshu, who strikes with iron fists in the Republic of China era, could only be submissive to his older brother at this moment, doing whatever he was told.

He had grown up without even riding a high-speed train, let alone a plane.

He didn't understand these things at all.

Seeing Chu Tianshu finally asked: "How many days will it take to get these things?"

"It will definitely be much faster than you finding your own way there."

Lin Brother Bai Sui said, "I'll be as quick as I can, just wait."

Chu Erye had listened to the whole thing from the side, wanting to speak several times but not really saying anything.

He used to often feel that when his older brother was alive, he was a bit overly protective of his eldest grandson.

A man who wants to establish a school must venture out on his own.

Back then, at this age, they hadn't learned many spirit communication arts and already had to work hard to support a family.

However, the Seeing Chu Tianshu of the past did indeed have health issues that were worrying.

Now that his health had greatly improved, it was even more important to respect the child's own wishes.

"What are you having for lunch?"

Chu Erye stood up and said, "The electric scooter is charged too, I'll go to the street and buy some. Today, the two of us will eat together."

Seeing Chu Tianshu looked up and thought, saying: "Then the roast duck and roast chicken from Fengying Delicatessen..."

Chu Erye said: "One roast duck, one roast chicken, got it. I'll also buy some peanuts and dried bean curd skin to go with the wine."

"No."

Seeing Chu Tianshu said hurriedly, "I mean, two roast ducks, one roast chicken, a box of salted duck, a box of beef, and a box of soy-braised large meatballs."

"Diagonally across from Fengying's, they sell vegetable rolls and eggplant pancakes; those are vegetarian, get three boxes of each."

Chu Erye walked out with a face full of suspicion, wondering if this kid was trying to fill the refrigerator.

Two hours later, he held a small glass wine cup, staring blankly at the empty plastic boxes on the table.

"After eating that strange fish in the mountains, my appetite became much larger."

Seeing Chu Tianshu rubbed his stomach, satisfied, and popped the last piece of vegetable roll into his mouth.

That was a filling made by mixing chives, shredded vermicelli, sauce, and hot fragrant oil together.

It was wrapped in a very flexible dough into a long strip, coiled in a steamer basket to be steamed, and then sliced.

When eaten hot, it was fresh and fragrant, even better than meat; when cold, it had a different, chewy texture.

"Although things in the mountains are fresh, after eating them for so long, I still miss these seasonings."

Chu Erye saw that his stomach hadn't even bulged, so he shook his head, poured a small bottle of wine, and went home.

"Macau."

Before leaving, Chu Erye remembered something and solemnly warned him.

"I heard that gambling is not prohibited there; you must absolutely not get involved with those things."

Seeing Chu Tianshu smiled: "I have no interest in that."

Chu Erye repeated the warning a few times before he really left.

Seeing Chu Tianshu stacked the plastic boxes on the table and threw them into the trash can.

The only thing truly suitable for his senior brother to practice was that set of magical art manuals.

After Seeing Chu Tianshu sent this file over, he stopped and walked into the bamboo forest at the back door to start practicing.

The bamboo here in Hailing is thin and not suitable for use as an object for fist and foot destruction.

Seeing Chu Tianshu only practiced in the open space between the back door and the bamboo forest, practicing the Palm Thunder for four hours in one go.

His steps seemed slow, but when he landed and pushed his hands, every step caused a sound to emanate from his chest and abdomen, and the soil sank like dry sand.

A Taiji diagram was stepped out by him in the open space, getting deeper the more he practiced.

By the time he had walked for a full four hours, the footprints of each circle overlapped and connected.

The border of the Taiji diagram was already a gully more than a foot deep, with the bottom as hard as rock.

The Yin and Yang eyes were of similar depth, but rounded and sunken, not looking like the image of human feet.

It looked more like it had been smashed out by some large iron ball.

The wind moved in the forest, and his sleeves seemed to withstand another gust of wind blowing from his skin.

When his arms moved, the cuffs billowed wildly, like night lotuses.

That was all a manifestation of the Immortal Force vibrating outward.

After finishing the fist technique, he practiced the magical arts.

Magical art manuals cannot be deduced; to continue enjoying certain conveniences of magical arts, one must rely on oneself to learn.

Seeing Chu Tianshu stood in the Taiji diagram, his left hand held out in front, his right hand forming a seal, with the tips of his thumb and ring/little fingers touching, his palm empty, and his index and middle fingers standing together.

"Lin!"

The core concept of the "Jongheng Secret Incantations" is what is commonly known as the Nine-Character True Words.

Originally, this was a spell organized by Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, recorded in books. When entering the mountains, chanting it could ward off evil and ghosts, drive away poisonous insects, snakes, and rats, as if guarded by the divine power of the Six Jia, so it is also called the "Six Jia Secret Incantations."

When Buddhism and Daoism copied from each other, this spell was mixed into a part of the Buddhist True Word Esoteric Sect. Monks selected nine types of hand seals and nine types of heart incantations from Buddhist scriptures to match this general outline of the nine-character mantra, carrying it forward.

Especially in the island nation overseas, there was a period when the reputation of this spell was no less than "Namo Amitabha."

And domestically, although the Nine-Character True Words were not as prevalent, high-level masters of past generations added new evolutions, with each having their own insights in the hands of military strategists, Confucian scholars, and I Ching scholars.

Coincidentally, just like "Breaking Shaolin."

This "Jongheng Secret Incantations" was also written by a Ming Dynasty person from the world of Cai Shanjun and the others.

It was none other than the great celebrity who connected Confucianism, military strategy, and Zen Buddhism to create the Learning of the Mind: Wang Yangming.

According to the records in the Yizhou Lecture Hall, this Wang Yangming was also a person who cultivated both magical arts and fist techniques.

The "Jongheng Secret Incantations" he created, although belonging to magical arts, has a very subtle harmonizing effect on the human body's Qi and blood, which is very beneficial for health.

Even a pure sorcerer, after practicing this method deeply, can maintain their youth, looking like a young man even after passing the age of seventy.

When practicing this set of methods, the hand gestures are sometimes like lotus flowers and sometimes like swords.

When chanting the first character, the hand must sweep horizontally; for the second character, it must strike vertically.

Repeating this, the nine characters make a total of four vertical and five horizontal strokes, as if drawing a corner of a chessboard in mid-air.

The hand gestures are simple, but as each character is chanted, one must visualize a series of scenes in the heart and contemplate various strange signs on one's own body, which is extremely difficult.

With the heart as the source, realizing the original truth, there is no need to forcibly suppress emotions, as there are various wondrous incantations for resolving and releasing them.

When Seeing Chu Tianshu practiced this method, there was no longer a trace of the smile he had when with his Second Grandfather on his face.

There was only a kind of awe-inspiring anger.

"Lin! Bing! Dou! Zhe!"

You entered my house, why steal anything else? Why did you have to steal my grandfather's relics?

"Jie! Zhen! Lie!"

Stealing things, are you? Running away first, are you?

I will chase after you and catch you with my own hands.

"Qian! Xing!!"

(End of chapter)