Chapter 144: Pure Senses Lead to the Dao

Although the Five Elements Pill was jokingly called a "Grain-Avoiding Pill" by Xu Jia—as it could only satisfy hunger and could not aid in cultivation—it was balanced in the Five Elements and most suitable for nourishing the body.

If an ordinary person ate it without knowing the method of circulation, they would easily become "pale yet flushed" with bloated, unhealthy fat.

For those who could never eat properly, or those who panted after taking two steps, this Five Elements Pill was the most suitable for repairing their own bodies.

"Since it has been refined, where is it?"

"Isn't it because you, Young Master, said that after the pills were made, they still needed to have the 'fire' removed? They are currently stored in that jar, buried under the osmanthus tree in the courtyard. I calculated it: each ingredient was ten jin, and after repeated steaming and sun-drying, each came out to three jin and four liang. Added with honey to bind them, each pill was made to the size of a paulownia seed, and it filled a small half-jar!"

"At the bottom of the jar, I lined it with stir-fried dry Sand, lime, plant ash, and charcoal, and then used three layers of oil paper as a cushion. The seal on the jar was all wax-sealed."

Xu Jia nodded: "It was hard on you to be so attentive. Using wax to seal it is being too careful, but since this medicine is refined, it is naturally meant to be eaten. Once you start taking this medicine, you must take it regularly. Bring the pills here for me to see."

The threshold for alchemy was not that high, but it was not that low either. Since Xiao Hong was able to handle the tasks Xu Jia had ordered well, he could give her a little boost.

Xiao Hong hurriedly took out a small bottle: "The ones I kept are all here."

Xu Jia nodded and poured them out into his palm; they were quite round. He pinched one to crumble it, and the powder was fine—even better than those made by his disciples in his past life. He tasted one; it had a faint medicinal flavor upon entering the mouth, leaning towards sweet. After circulating his energy for a moment, aside from a trace of residual fire, there was nothing amiss.

"Not bad," Xu Jia praised. "Since you have refined them this time, from now on, the pills for our household will all be refined by you."

"This pill, not only must I eat it, but my father and mother must eat it too. Every day before dinner, warm a pot of rice wine and wash down twenty or thirty pills; the effect is best. It can aid sleep and store essence, making one feel light in body and ageless in appearance after long-term use. Since you have eaten it too, you should continue to take it. However, you are young and your own essence and Qi are abundant, so it is easy to over-supplement. How about this, I will teach you a method."

"Young Master, are you going to teach me how to become an Immortal?"

Ever since Xu Jia solved the problem with the vengeful ghost for her, Xiao Hong had been very worshipful of Xu Jia's abilities.

Xu Jia was quite satisfied with Xiao Hong; her little girl habits were not a shortcoming, and being lively could neutralize the twilight aura of his own old-monster self.

"Not exactly," Xu Jia said. "This is a method for growing strength. After you take the medicine, use it to grow your strength. Once your strength is greater, you will have more energy when working," Xu Jia laughed.

This was actually the "True Dharma"—strengthening and nourishing the physical shell, a superior method of health preservation. It just lacked those abilities for fighting, and the effects were slower. Xu Jia deliberately described it as lowly so she would not develop a sense of rivalry or competitiveness.

"Alright, having great strength is good too. Once I have great strength, I can carry two cows!" Xiao Hong looked at Xu Jia with anticipation.

Xu Jia then passed on to her the "Wading Mud Plowing Method." This method involved hands moving as if transplanting rice seedlings and feet moving as if wading through mud, but it was indeed a set of health-preserving stance training, combined with a breathing technique.

"This method has a Heart Dharma; I will recite it for you to hear: Hands pinch green seedlings to plant the Blessed Field, looking down one sees the sky in the water, only when the six senses are pure can one become the rice (Dao), moving backward is actually moving forward." Xiao Hong was half-illiterate, but based on Xu Jia's explanation, and having planted fields before, she quickly grasped the meaning: "This field-planting posture can grow strength?"

"How can it not? People who farm all have a good amount of strength," Xu Jia said. "Don't talk about carrying two cows; even using you as two cows would be enough."

"? Huh?" Xiao Hong made a sound of confusion.

"Still not going to prepare hot water for my bath? By the way, starting from today, your monthly silver allowance is raised to two taels," Xu Jia smiled. "All the maids and matrons in the house are yours to command."

"Really or fake?" Nothing else mattered, but a raise was the happiest thing. The hardships of these days could just be brushed over.

"Of course. I hired you to do work, not to be a slave. You call me Young Master, would I treat you poorly? Besides, once you have learned to refine these pills, you will naturally be stronger than the others."

"Young Master! You say such things..." She then whispered: "Mistress told me a few days ago that I could be your concubine..." After saying this, she ran away shyly.

Xu Jia wrapped his body: "You girl, I took you for a good person, yet you are actually lusting after my body!" He felt a headache; oh Mother, my dear Mother, why on earth did you tell her that?

Waiting for the boiling water to be ready, Xu Mu personally brought a set of clothes: "This is the silk your Uncle Niu brought back from Jiujiang. I made you another set of clothes. This silk is produced in Zhe Province; the silk there is fine and soft, and the weaving is better than ours here. The best silk is all tribute for the palace. Try it on, and take it off after trying; I want to sew a Heart Dharma inside."

Xu Jia smiled: "No need, give this to Father instead. That patchwork robe is already very good; I like that one."

He added: "I originally found a Three-Colored Sarira and wanted to bring it back, but it ended up being crushed."

"Mother doesn't believe in things like Sarira," Xu Mu said. "I believe in the Buddha because the Buddha is the Rightly Enlightened One; he has great wisdom. Mother reveres his virtue and wisdom. I chant to Guanyin Bodhisattva because the Bodhisattva has great compassion. I chant the Buddha's name not to chant out a Sarira. You also told me about the mantra method before; in fact, chanting back and forth is just chanting to oneself."

Xu Jia nodded upon hearing this: "This is having attained the true meaning." He then followed Xu Mu in complaining about that hare-lipped nun, Miaoren.

Little did he know that after hearing Xu Jia's account, Xu Mu sighed: "You don't understand, but I do. She must have suffered immense grievances. You men, no matter how poor the family is, can still go out and venture. But for a daughter, it is hard to take a single step outside. Her family was so poor and destitute; abandoned by her parents when she was young, and raised by an old couple who surely couldn't help her at all. Who knows how much bullying she experienced?"

"Or if she was touched or molested by someone, could she go back and tell her parents? You say she refuses to turn back and her obsession is too heavy, but do you know what she has experienced in the past?"

"If you said that all her efforts were wrong, in vain, and even caused the deaths of her parents, would she be willing to believe that?"

Listening, Xu Jia only sighed: "I didn't think of this layer. In that case, that she didn't take revenge on everyone is already thanks to Xia Laohan and Sha Huofo teaching her well?"

"I do pity her, but you did well too. No need to be too close to her; we cannot save others, only by saving oneself first is it good," Xu Mu said. "It's just a pity her fate is bad, but who can one blame?"

(End of chapter)