Chapter 170: Check in Advance

Fourth Third Third Shixiong's room couldn't fit many people, so several people were assigned to the side hall of the temple. It just so happened that the side hall hadn't been set up with a god statue yet, and it was still empty.

During the day, everyone pulled some fine soft weeds in the mountains. Before making firewood for Fourth Third Third Shixiong, they took some and spread a layer on the ground. Lin Jue spread the bear skin blanket on it, and it was already very comfortable to lie on.

The moonlight shone in from the window on the top, hitting a snowy white piece on the ground.

Lin Jue lay on the left, and the fox lay on the right.

Little Xiao Shimei's colorful civet cat also had a good relationship with Lin Jue and Fuyao. Because of the softness of the bear skin blanket, it easily betrayed her, ran to the fox's side, leaned against its tail and fell asleep, and even made a faint purring sound.

Lin Jue opened his eyes and thought quietly.

It's wonderful to say that after knowing that such "innate wisdom" is not rare, even if he knew he was still special, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

Especially Fourth Third Third Shixiong saw through this point.

Keeping secrets is actually a heavy thing. If you find that it is not so special, its weight will undoubtedly be less. If you tell another trustworthy person, it will be shared again.

Fourth Third Third Shixiong is undoubtedly trustworthy.

After thinking for a while, he fell asleep with peace of mind.

Waking up from sleep, it was early the next morning.

It was too tiring for the past few days, and the mountains were quiet, so this sleep was very comfortable. So much so that when he woke up, other senior brothers and sisters were already awake. Fuyao sat in front of him and stared at him with his head down. The colorful civet cat also approached his nose and sniffed, as if judging whether this lazy Daoist still had breath.

When Lin Jue climbed up, Little Xiao Shimei had already cooked breakfast, which was porridge made of wild chicken left over from last night and rice.

People in this era have this kind of thinking—

Seeing good dishes that were not finished, they were reluctant to waste them, so they cooked them together with other dishes or rice in the second meal, cooked into a pot, which both avoided waste and felt satisfied after eating with salt and oil, without thinking that the color and taste of the stewed wild chicken were too heavy and not suitable for cooking porridge.

This is mainly a concept problem.

But it can't be blamed on them.

Most people in this era haven't solved the problem of eating enough, so how can they talk about eating well?

After breakfast, it was time to say goodbye to Fourth Third Third Shixiong.

"Third Third Shixiong, I also have something to give you. I hope Third Third Shixiong can wait until we leave before checking."

"Thank you, Junior Third Shixiong." Fourth Third Third Shixiong said with a smile, and took out something wrapped in red cloth from his arms, "This is the ten taels of silver given by the Yan family yesterday. I wanted to give it to Second Third Third Shixiong to use as travel expenses for everyone, but Second Third Third Shixiong said that yesterday's matter, besides my friends, was also contributed by your Fuyao. Since I don't want this money, it should be given to your Fuyao. It doesn't have clothes pockets or purses, so you can keep it for it."

Originally Fuyao was fighting with the colorful civet cat nearby. When it heard this, it turned its head instantly, first staring at Fourth Third Third Shixiong and then looking at Lin Jue, its eyes flowing with curious colors.

At the same time, it still had the leisure to retreat, avoiding the cat paw patted by the colorful civet.

Lin Jue knew Second Third Third Shixiong's meaning, so he nodded and accepted it, and said to Fourth Third Third Shixiong: "Don't go hungry on the mountain."

"I understand."

"If you have a chance, remember to go to the government to ask for an imperial decree for the Mount Shimen mountain god, otherwise, after a long time, it will become an evil god."

"I will."

After saying goodbye to each other, they parted in the mountains.

The Fourth Third Third Shixiong stood at the edge of the cliff, his gaze following them until their figures grew smaller and smaller on the path, fading from view to appearing intermittently among the trees, until they finally disappeared for a long time. Only then did he finally turn back with the envelope in hand, seeing the stone table and stools the Little Xiao Xiao Shimei had made for him the night before, and went over to sit down.

The biggest clouded leopard also walked back and lay down at his feet.

This envelope is thicker than Sixth Third Third Shixiong's.

Fourth Third Third Shixiong opened it, and still took out a letter paper from it first, with half a page of handwriting on it:

"By the time Third Third Shixiong sees this letter, we must have already parted. For the rest of your life, perhaps it will be much lonelier than on Fuqiu Peak. I don't know how Third Third Shixiong will spend his time?

"Third Third Shixiong likes quietness, likes to live with birds and beasts in the mountains, I think you won't be lonely on the mountain. But the rest of your life is long, just living and discussing Dao with friends in the mountains, I'm afraid it is a bit too monotonous and boring?

"Junior brother accidentally got a few magics, and I think they are very suitable for Third Third Shixiong, or suitable for use in combination with the method of gathering beasts and calling birds.

"One is the method of wood escape, which can let Third Third Shixiong hide in the forest and protect the body; the second is the sound transmission technique, which can be used to gather and call distant beasts, birds, and demons; the third is the tracking seal method, which can be practiced by Third Third Shixiong's friends after they get the Dao.

"Attached in the letter.

"If Third Third Shixiong likes it, you can study it to pass the time. If you don't like it, just burn it. If you want to practice other things after learning this, you can wait until I settle down, send a letter to Third Third Shixiong, and Third Third Shixiong can reply to me after receiving the address, or ask other senior brothers for exchange.

"At the beginning, Third Third Shixiong taught me the method of gathering beasts and calling birds, taught me to keep a kind heart and good intentions, and not to fail my original heart. I have benefited a lot so far, and I can foresee that it will be the same in the future. Thank you here."

Below are three books.

All are handwritten traces, often with deletions and stains, each one seems to be traces of exhausting thoughts.

"Heh..."

Fourth Third Third Shixiong smiled, didn't think about anything else, just turned his head, looked at the clouded leopard lying beside him, and said with a smile:

"Third Shixiong Yun, I have a premonition."

"Ah?"

"Our Fuqiu Temple is going to produce a True Man."

"Ah~~"

The clouded leopard shook its tail, its eyes calm.

Fourth Third Third Shixiong was also very calm, put away the books and letters, stood up and said: "Let's clean up the temple according to what Third Third Shixiong and Junior Third Shixiong said. I don't know how long I will stay on this mountain in the future. Sixth Junior Third Shixiong's Spirit Immortal said that it won't be long before it will be troubled times, and I don't know how many demons and ghosts there will be. This hundred miles of mountains and rivers need to be guarded by us." 【170

They did not get lost on the return journey.

Firstly, the official road was easier to find than uncertain villages; although the Fourth Third Third Shixiong had parted ways with them, his crow friend was still in the sky pointing the way. Secondly, because Fuyao had left a mark on the cart, they just needed to follow the general direction. Even if they occasionally took a wrong path, it would only mean a slight detour at most.

It took half a day to return to the official road.

As soon as the group entered the woods and began searching their memories, the fox had already jumped to the cart to point out the direction for them.

The group retrieved the cart, reloaded their luggage, and pulled it with the horse toward the direction of Liuyun County.

The fox seemed very happy, running in front the whole time.

The Cai Li had originally run with it, taking nimble steps with its four short legs, but it soon grew tired and jumped back onto the cart to act as the driver, staring fixedly at the road ahead.

By this time, there were only six Daoists left, all walking in front of and behind the cart, because they felt sorry for the horse and had to help push when going uphill and help pull when going downhill.

Being close together was also good, as it made it easy to talk.

"The Fourth Junior Third Shixiong and the Sixth Junior Third Shixiong are quite close; with a few hundred miles of road, and one of them living in the city, it's easy to find. Just have the crow raised by the Fourth Junior Third Shixiong deliver a letter," the Third Third Third Shixiong said.

"Is your bean soldier raised by you?" the Second Third Third Shixiong looked at him sideways.

"That's not it!"

"You..."

"Third Shixiong Brothers, how much of what the Yan family grandson said do you think is credible?" Lin Jue asked.

"The Yan family grandson? He certainly didn't lie, but whether he actually had a hallucination or encountered a real event is hard to say," the Second Third Third Shixiong said.

"I think so too."

"The matter of Yaoguai and evil ghosts bringing plagues to the human world has existed since ancient times; ancient books even record quite a few Yaoguai and evil ghosts, and the only ability recorded for them in the books is bringing plagues to the human world," the Fifth Third Third Shixiong said while walking and frowning in thought. "However, he did say the words 'under orders'."

"Under orders? Under whose orders? It couldn't be the Plague God in the heavens, could it?" The Third Third Third Shixiong was still the one who dared to speak more.

"Not very likely. The world is already chaotic as it is; the Plague God in the heavens should be collecting plagues, not releasing them," the Second Third Third Shixiong shook his head and said. "Besides, if the Plague God in the heavens were acting under an imperial decree to spread a plague, why would he need to disguise himself, act sneakily, and sneak into Central Prefecture as the Yan family grandson said?"

"And shouldn't Central Prefecture be the incense-offering ground of Lord Tianweng? At a time like this, unless the local people defied him, rebelled, or changed their faith, why would he release a plague in his own incense-offering ground for no reason? Wouldn't that be harmful and not beneficial to both him and the imperial court?" Lin Jue also analyzed.

"Fine, fine, fine! You are all smart!" The Third Third Third Shixiong shook his head in annoyance and raised his head to drink wine. "Just go and take a look!"

"Hmm..."

The Second Third Third Shixiong frowned in thought, then said:

"We are walking a bit too slowly like this.

"But we don't know if that matter is true or false. If we use the Spirit-Traveling Pill, it's not just a waste, but Liuyun County is still very far away, and relying on the Spirit-Traveling Pill won't allow everyone to get there.

"However, the matter is of great importance and cannot be treated as a joke. It would be better to let one person take a Spirit-Traveling Pill and go ahead to see; if there really is a plague, then come back and inform us."

"Makes sense."

"That works."

"Good idea!"

Although the group agreed, they all looked at Lin Jue.

Because they had to take the Spirit-Origin Pill, all the Third Shixiong Brothers had now learned the method of consumption, but only Lin Jue and the Second Third Third Shixiong had deep attainments, and even for them, one Spirit-Traveling Pill could not cover several hundred miles.

Only Lin Jue had the paper donkey to ride after the medicinal effect of the Spirit-Traveling Pill wore off.

And only Lin Jue had Fuyao, who could travel a thousand miles a day, to accompany him; if there was a problem, he could have the fox come back to find them.

"Then I will go."

Lin Jue then picked up his luggage from the cart, unloaded the bamboo basket on the paper donkey's back, put away the paper donkey, and took the three small bottles containing the Spirit-Traveling Pills handed over by the Second Third Third Shixiong, tucking them all into his bosom.

"Fuyao."

"Ying?"

The fox turned its head and stared straight at him.

"Leave a mark on them. We will take a step ahead. Perhaps we will need to come back to find them later."

"Hmm~"

The fox then raised its head, its eyeballs turning left and right, scanning the many Third Shixiong Brothers and Junior Sisters, finally stopping on the Xiao Xiao Shimei. It jumped over in one step, pressed its paw on her lower leg, and left a mark.

The Little Xiao Xiao Shimei was curious and lifted her leg to examine it carefully.

The Daoist then took out a Spirit-Traveling Pill and swallowed it in one gulp.

"I'm leaving first."

"Good."

Lin Jue looked left and right, and seeing no one around, he took a step, covering more than a zhang, and with another step, he was on the treetops as if riding the wind.

The fox jumped lightly and easily kept up.

After the figures of the man and the fox completely disappeared, the group continued forward.

It seemed to be approaching early summer; from some day on, the sun overhead became scorching. When looking up, one felt unable to open their eyes. If walking on a mountain forest path, every blade of grass and tree under the shade appeared clear yet dark, and the light spots shining through the branches and leaves were dazzlingly bright.

The many Daoists kept their minds calm and moved forward quickly.

On this journey, they had hardly cooked for themselves, only stopping at tea stalls to rest a little, drink some tea, eat something, feed the horses, and incidentally ask if there was any plague ahead, or buying some steamed buns to take with them, eating while walking to save time.

The answers received were all no.

Many merchants and travelers thought they were strange.

The group was also a bit suspicious.

Actually, on the night they learned about the plague ghosts, the Fourth Third Third Shixiong had asked his crow friend to check the cities ahead, and it also said there was nothing unusual. However, although his crow friend was smart, it might not be able to recognize which city was which, nor could it be sure if people were sick, so its credibility had to be discounted.

This was one of the reasons why the group did not immediately swallow the Spirit-Traveling Pills and rush over.