Chapter 37: Temporary Residence Token

Before the two of them could go down the mountain, someone came looking for them the next day.

When the visitor came to pay respects to the mountain, Liu Xiaolou was hunting down the mountain. Just as he was carrying a fat wild boar back to the mountain, he was intercepted by this person on the mountain path.

"Are you the Liu Xiaolou that Xingde Jun mentioned?" The visitor looked to be about forty years old, with a handlebar mustache split left and right on his mouth, squinting at Liu Xiaolou and looking him up and down.

"Who are you..." Liu Xiaolou looked puzzled.

"I am the visiting deacon of the Qingyu Sect, surnamed Hou, given name Sheng." The man introduced himself with his left hand behind his back and his right hand stroking his handlebar mustache.

Liu Xiaolou hurriedly put down the shoulder pole and bowed: "Greetings, Hou Zhishi!"

The Qingyu Sect was located on Junshan Island in the heart of Dongtinghu, less than two miles to the east, and was one of the blessed lands of cultivation in the world. The Qingyu Sect was ranked among the major sects, with a louder reputation than the Zhanglong Sect of Xiangxi, the Dongyang Sect of Southern Hunan, and the Lu family of Tianmu Mountain in Central Hunan. As for the visiting deacon, they were usually cultivators in charge of investigating cases within each sect. Their cultivation might not be very high, but to Liu Xiaolou, they were absolutely existences he couldn't afford to provoke; they had the entire sect standing behind them.

"Are you a rogue cultivator from Wulong Mountain in Xiangxi?" Hou Zhishi continued to ask.

"Yes." Liu Xiaolou was very honest, just as honest as when dealing with the visiting deacon of the Zhanglong Sect. He couldn't afford to be dishonest about such small details. People could check at any time, and once they found out he was lying, they might automatically link him to some case they had on hand, which would be very troublesome.

"Where in Wulong Mountain do you cultivate?"

"Replying to Hou Zhishi, I cultivate at Ganzhu Ridge."

"Let me ask you, what mountain is to the northwest of Ganzhu Ridge, and what mountain is to the northeast? Who are your neighbors?"

Was this an interrogation? Verifying whether he had fabricated his background?

Liu Xiaolou's trip was open and aboveboard, so of course, there was no need to lie. He informed him one by one.

Hou Zhishi was noncommittal about his answer. He figured he didn't know what mountains were around Ganzhu Ridge or who lived there, but he reminded him: "I will go and verify. You had better be telling the truth."

Liu Xiaolou was very helpless: "Deacon, feel free to investigate. Just ask once in Wulong Mountain and you'll know."

Next, Hou Zhishi asked about Liu Xiaolou's purpose in coming to Xingde Mountain, how long he planned to stay, etc., and then said: "You rogue cultivators, since you've come, behave yourselves and don't have any messy thoughts, otherwise my Qingyu Sect will definitely not be lenient!"

Being intercepted and interrogated for no reason, Liu Xiaolou could only swallow his anger and continue to nod: "Yes."

Hou Zhishi asked again: "Have you seen any suspicious people recently?"

"The suspicious people you refer to, Deacon, mean..."

"People of unknown origin, hiding their heads and showing their tails, acting sneakily... and so on."

"That hasn't happened. If I encounter any, I will definitely report to you, Deacon, immediately."

Hou Zhishi nodded and mused: "My Qingyu Sect is currently clearing out the Taoyuan mountains. Those people of unknown origin must all be cleared out and driven away to protect the peace of the area. You can consider yourself lucky that Xingde Jun is willing to vouch for you, but if you want to live here for a long time, you still need to register and obtain a temporary residence token."

As he spoke, he patted his waist.

Only then did Liu Xiaolou notice the string of small wooden tokens hanging from his waist, and he immediately understood: "May I ask, Deacon, what is the customary fee?"

This move by the Qingyu Sect was no different from the Zhanglong Sect that dominated Xiangxi. Every three to five years, the Zhanglong Sect would send deacons into the mountains to clear out "rogue cultivators of unknown origin" from other places, so Liu Xiaolou was very clear about it.

Hou Zhishi nodded, feeling that the child was teachable, his tone improved a lot, and he smiled: "Twenty taels of pure silver."

This move collected all the silver Liu Xiaolou had brought with him. After paying the silver, he received the wooden token, on which was engraved a line of characters: "Permitted temporary residence in Taoyuan Mountain."

Hou Zhishi left satisfied, and Liu Xiaolou spat hard on the ground: "What kind of thing!"

Returning to Xingde Temple, Xingde Jun warned Liu Xiaolou: "Don't go down the mountain for these two days. The Qingyu Sect has had some trouble and is searching for suspicious rogue cultivators from outside. Although I have vouched for you, it's not very stable. If you encounter a strange Qingyu Sect deacon alone when I'm not by your side, it will be hard to avoid suffering some bitterness."

Liu Xiaolou asked: "Is the Taoyuan mountain range under the care of the Qingyu Sect?"

Xingde Jun said: "This place is located between the spheres of influence of two sects. To the west is the Lu family of Tianmu Mountain, and to the east is the Qingyu Sect of Dongtinghu. If something happens, both sects manage it; if nothing happens, neither sect manages it."

Liu Xiaolou asked again: "What happened to the Qingyu Sect?"

Xingde Jun shook his head and said: "They say that a few days ago, some rogue cultivators from outside robbed the Zhou family. The Zhou family is a cultivation family that relies on the Qingyu Sect and has quite a lot of family assets. This time, the loss was huge. I heard it was a thief leader surnamed Wang who gathered them. This bunch of petty thieves..."

Liu Xiaolou was suddenly dumbfounded. Wang Laoda had issued a hero post again?

Immediately, a sense of yearning arose—it was a pity he hadn't received Dai Sanren's hero post. Listening to Xingde Jun, this Zhou family was a fat sheep...

"Xiaolou? Xiaolou?" Xingde Jun asked: "What are you dazing about? Do you know any news about this bunch of thieves?"

Liu Xiaolou hurriedly denied: "Where would I have any news, Master? You know, Master, I've been in the temple for more than half a month. This bunch of treacherous thieves, robbing the rich... robbing houses everywhere, it's truly hateful. If I knew, I would immediately report it to the Qingyu Sect and definitely not let them remain at large!"

Xingde Jun stroked his beard and said: "Actually... there's no need."

"Ah? What do you mean, Master?"

"None of the people in charge of the Zhou family are good people. Suffering a bit is what they deserve."

"The Zhou family are not good people? So that's it..."

"There are good people in the Zhou family, but the ones in charge are not good people."

"I... understand..."

So Liu Xiaolou avoided the sharp edge and didn't go down the mountain to hunt. A wild boar weighed a hundred catties, and it wasn't easy to rot in the winter, which was enough for Xingde Jun to eat.

After a few days like this, Xingde Jun felt that his injury was seventy or eighty percent healed and finally called Liu Xiaolou to accompany him down the mountain.

On the way down the mountain, he took Liu Xiaolou halfway into the forest and arrived at a mountain hollow: "Have you ever seen chicken-blood stone?"

Liu Xiaolou nodded: "Its quality is like wax, and its color is like blood."

Xingde Jun nodded: "Then you should know the use of chicken-blood stone?"

Liu Xiaolou said: "It contains cinnabar, and I heard it's a material for alchemy."

Xingde Jun said: "Cinnabar has the effect of communicating between Heaven and man. It's not just for alchemy; refining talismans and artifacts also requires cinnabar. With cinnabar conduction, true qi can flow through the object without obstruction. There is chicken-blood stone in my Xingde Mountain, of excellent quality, but others don't know it."

Liu Xiaolou looked at a small cave on the mountain hollow: "Is it here? It looks like a bear cave."

Xingde Jun took out a crane-beak hoe about a foot long and handed it to him: "Go and dig out two pieces of chicken-blood stone. Remember not to break them. Chicken-blood stone is the essence of Heaven and Earth and has its own vitality. If it is broken, the vitality will leak. There are mediocre masters who don't understand the principle and think this thing is ordinary, so they are careless when mining, and even directly knock and grind it into powder. The cinnabar obtained is very mediocre and cannot refine top-grade artifacts."

Don't look at it as sounding ordinary, but the trick is often just that simple. Xingde Jun started by teaching the true method, which surprised Liu Xiaolou and made him feel solemn. He carried the crane-beak hoe into the cave, turned his body sideways to dig all around inside, and was very careful when digging, prying the sand, stone, and soil downward bit by bit.

After spending an hour like this, he finally dug out two pieces of chicken-blood stone, both of which were complete in appearance, and he didn't even dare to wipe off the soil attached to them. He handed them to Xingde Jun.

Xingde Jun collected them with satisfaction and waved his hand: "Go, to the next place." ===== CHAPTER 38 =====