Chapter 192: Three Dragons Causing a Flood

Xu Jia did not have any particular preference or aversion toward Buddha, Dao, or Confucianism; he simply thought, "Take what is useful."

Listening to Wan Zhen remind him not to become obsessed with cultivating immortality, he did not feel the slightest urge to argue back.

This man was skilled in the Zuo Zhuan and fond of profound meanings and subtle hints; this could also be considered a type of "fondness for being a teacher."

After Xu Jia chatted with him for a while, Wan Zhen was stunned by the astonishing theories Xu Jia put forth.

After all, Xu Jia was also one who "hoped his father would become a dragon," specifically cultivating his father to the level of a Provincial Graduate; he himself had read many supplementary books and essays by Metropolitan Graduates, so his level was definitely higher than his father's.

However, while it was called Confucian, the core ideology still leaned toward Dao, or even toward Legalism; it belonged to the dual cultivation of Dao and Law, just not particularly leaning toward Confucianism.

Xu Jia chatted with Wan Zhen for a while and successfully persuaded him to write a letter of guarantee for his examination use, only then finding an excuse to go see the academy's book collection and slipping away.

Wan Zhen said, "The books in the academy's collection are all ancient, toothless relics. With your talent, you must not waste it; why not take me as your teacher, and I will teach you the Zuo Zhuan."

"Many thanks for the high regard, but that is not where this student's ambitions lie."

Xu Jia arrived at the library and began to initiate quantum reading.

Wan Zhen sighed and said, "What a pity."

However, what he said was indeed correct; the library was filled with antique books.

But for Xu Jia, anything he had not seen before was a new book; furthermore, Xu Jia's goal was to increase his wisdom, not for anything else.

While reading and organizing, he flipped open a book page and heard a strange cry: "Zhi-Hu-Zhe-Ye!"

Xu Jia looked over and saw that a worm had grown inside the book; this worm had a human head and a worm body, the size of a finger, and was eating the characters on the book, eating the four characters "Zhi-Hu-Zhe-Ye" the most.

Xu Jia recognized this as a "Bookworm spirit," also known as a book-borer.

In Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, there is a record of this kind of demon; this demon transformed into a human and participated in the imperial examinations, at first coming in first place every time, but later failing, and then directly "died," which could also be considered a "calamity."

This Bookworm spirit had not been transformed for long, perhaps because it had not yet eaten enough characters related to "humans."

Upon eating the corresponding characters, it could manifest a part of a human shape; for instance, if it ate "eye," it could grow human eyes, and if it ate "nose," it could grow a nose.

This human-headed, worm-bodied creature must have eaten the character "head."

However, it kept saying "Zhi-Hu-Zhe-Ye," so it likely wasn't a very clever Bookworm spirit and did not have much Literary Qi in its body.

Seeing Xu Jia, the Bookworm spirit let out a sharp cry and was about to flee, but Xu Jia drew a circle and wrote the character "prison," trapping it inside.

"I see that it was not easy for you to attain intelligence; I wonder if you would be willing to be hired as a teacher?"

The Bookworm spirit said, "I cannot yet transform into a human shape, and my learning is insufficient. I cannot teach books; I would only mislead the students."

"It's fine. I have several manuscripts from Provincial Graduates at home, as well as some essays by Metropolitan Graduates. You go and eat the characters on them one by one, and you will surely be able to transform. But you only eat these four characters, Zhi-Hu-Zhe-Ye? You are too picky."

"The character 'Benevolence' is too bitter."

"The character 'Rites' is too astringent."

"The character 'Righteousness' is too spicy."

"The character 'Trust' is hard as a rock."

"Only these Zhi-Hu-Zhe-Ye have no meaning in themselves, used only as particles for emphasis; when I eat them, I can comprehend the emotions within them and gain some benefits, strengthening my spirit."

"So that is how it is."

Xu Jia wrote down the character "Heaven."

"Can you eat this?"

"How could I dare to eat this? This is a supreme deity, and I am but a worm."

Xu Jia wrote down the character "Earth."

The Bookworm still said it could not eat it.

Xu Jia wrote down the character "Dao."

The Bookworm spirit smelled an extreme fragrance and asked, "What character is this? Why is it so fragrant?"

"This is the character 'Dao'."

The Bookworm spirit finally could not resist and ate the Dao character Xu Jia had written, and thus "attained the Dao," instantly transforming into a human shape, looking like a "pageboy."

The "Dao" Xu Jia wrote contained his own Dao, and also contained the "Dao" of all living things.

Although it was a single character, it possessed immense power. Although this Bookworm spirit had transformed into shape, it did not have a single spell or Divine Ability; it had only attained the Qi of the literary lineage of the characters and gained spirituality. However, it did have one skill: it could transform into any character and escape into a book, making it impossible for people to find it.

It would not be good for Xu Jia to take such a pageboy out, so he gave him a name: "Since you are a Bookworm who attained the Dao, making a living by chewing on words, and you transformed after I wrote a Dao character for you, how about I give you the name Wendaoren?"

"Many thanks to the True Person for bestowing the name; from now on, this little one shall be called Wendaoren."

Wendaoren jumped for joy, happily accepting this true name, and immediately transformed into these three characters, landing on a piece of paper for Xu Jia to take away.

Xu Jia left the academy; it was already late, the city gates were closed, and he could not return to the countryside, so he followed Xu Mu's instructions and found the small courtyard where Xu Jia's father had previously studied.

Inside the small courtyard, there was indeed an old woman; this old woman was a pitiful person, deaf and mute, who had given birth to a daughter who was also deaf and mute, and she had been driven out by her husband's family. Her daughter died of illness not long after, and she was left wandering the streets. Xu Mu, performing Merit, took her in as a servant to guard the small courtyard here.

She gestured a lot when she saw Xu Jia, and only then did Xu Jia realize she was deaf and mute.

A thought of compassion arose in his heart: "Why is it that when a divine statue is consecrated, the statue can hear, see, and speak? If I had such compassionate Dharma Power, it would be good if I could restore them to normal."

If Xu Jia were an Earth Immortal True Person, this would actually not be difficult to achieve; he would move the Body Gods of this old woman, summoning the Throat God and Ear God to be on duty. Being deaf and mute was nothing more than these two gods having escaped the human body, likely having transformed into the likes of spirits and monsters, landing somewhere in the wilderness.

Generally, an Ear God falling into an evil spirit becomes an "Ear-Dweller," and a Throat God falling into an evil spirit becomes an "Echo-Bug."

The old woman made a bed for Xu Jia, and after a while, brought over a bowl of noodles; it turned out that the gestures from before were asking if Xu Jia had eaten.

Seeing that Xu Jia did not understand, she had cooked a bowl of noodles.

Xu Jia did not mind; he ate the noodles, which were clear and bland, but for a person of cultivation, one must be "bland and tasteless" to nourish life. It actually suited his taste.

In the middle of the night, a gust of demonic wind arose, the lock on the courtyard door fell off, and immediately a resentful voice came: "True Person, the little demon Liu Ruyan has come to visit."

Xu Jia understood it was the snake demon from the pharmacy during the day, so he said, "Come in."

That snake demon, Liu Ruyan, twisted her body and came in with the wind.

Xu Jia looked her up and down, seeing that she was dressed provocatively, completely different from her image as a married woman during the day, revealing naked seduction.

"True Person, as long as you don't speak of this matter, whatever you want, I will do!" Having said this, she knelt down.

"Don't!" Xu Jia said: "The fox spirit from Cuichun Pavilion wanted to buy my body, and I didn't even agree, let alone you. If you are after my Original Yang, just say so; there is no need to put on this aggrieved look, making it seem as if I were forcing you."

Liu Ruyan felt somewhat awkward; she pulled her clothes up and complained, "We have already transformed into human form and are living well in the human world, causing no trouble. It is just that there are always people from the Demon-Hunting Bureau who come to inspect for demons every so often; once caught, they are taken away. Although you, True Person, are not from the Demon-Hunting Bureau, what if..."

Xu Jia had heard of the Dao Record Bureau last time, but he did not know which bureau the Demon-Hunting Bureau was, though it was not important.

"Rest assured, I do not distinguish between humans and demons based on their birth, but rather by their actions and knowledge. Since you are a demon, you should know that when you unite with a mortal, no matter how much you restrain yourself, one will always be weak and the other strong, forming a parasitic drain. I fear your husband will be exhausted to death by you in less than two or three years. Moreover, he does indeed possess some Immortal Karmic Connection; you intended to teach him Daoism so that you could live in harmony."

"But if he learns Daoism, he will know I am a demon; how could he not mind? When he opens or closes his eyes and sees a large snake sleeping beside him, how could he not let his imagination run wild?"

Liu Ruyan said, "I ask that you, True Person, turn a blind eye and do not pass on Daoism to my husband. Just let the two of us live our lives in peace. As for the physical depletion, I will exercise restraint, and I will regularly go to gather spiritual herbs in the mountains to prolong his life."

Xu Jia sensed the threat hidden in her soft words and also felt that this snake demon was "self-centered" and extremely selfish. Perhaps she only wanted to use the man to transcend her tribulation and had no desire for a long-lasting union, seeking only to experience human love.

He immediately said, "He has a Karmic Connection with this poor Daoist; you cannot stop it."

"What if I insist?" Liu Ruyan's eyes turned into snake pupils, and she flicked her tongue, revealing venomous fangs.

How could Xu Jia be threatened by her? He immediately opened his mouth and shouted one word: "Hong!"

The snake demon's expression changed instantly; she felt a scorching breath rush toward her, and the next moment, her face was burned, revealing half a side of snake scales.

The next moment, Xu Jia pointed his As-You-Will Heart-Following Staff, intending to strike her seven-inch mark.

Liu Ruyan's cultivation was not very high. She had transformed into human form because she had a fortuitous encounter; she had once eaten a placenta left behind by a pregnant woman giving birth in the wild, obtained the Qi of a human fetus, and thus took on the appearance of an Egg Birth, transforming into a human form and gradually admiring everything about humans.

Xu Jia had only shouted one secret word, yet it stripped away part of her illusion. That As-You-Will Heart-Following Staff made her feel a tremendous threat; if she could not dodge it, she feared a single strike would knock her back into her original form.

Thus, she rolled backward to retreat, revealing a long stretch of snake tail.

Xu Jia ignored everything else and, with quick eyes and swift hands, struck, hitting the snake tail and pinning her in place.

The power of the Big Dipper began to take effect, and the power to subdue demons and monsters was transmitted accordingly, causing Liu Ruyan great discomfort and forcing her to completely transform into the appearance of a beautiful woman with a human head and a snake body.

Xu Jia sneered, "With this little bit of cultivation, you dare to threaten me? You really have some nerve!"

Xu Jia was also feeling pent-up; the fox spirit Hu Agui had nearly five hundred years of cultivation and was surrounded by the wishes of the people, which Xu Jia could not handle, yet a small fry like you, who is about the same as Hu Jinhua, dares to threaten me? Liu Ruyan immediately wept and begged for mercy: "True Person, spare my life! This lowly one did not know what was good for her; I beg you, True Person, to spare me! I have an important piece of information to tell you!"

Xu Jia said coldly, "Stop showing off here; speak up if you have something to say!"

"A Flood Dragon is about to depart in the Jiangnan West Circuit, and it is three water Flood Dragons departing together. Right now, they are in Dexing. A treasure of the mountains and rivers is gestating beneath Dexing, and these three Flood Dragons are plotting for it. Once the three dragons emerge from their cave, it will surely trigger a Heavenly Disaster!"

(End of chapter)