Chapter 256: Zhenjian Palace and Guanxing Palace

The iron-chain wooden bridge swayed slightly; the drop below was not originally high, but due to the obscuring clouds and mist, the bottom could not be seen.

Lin Jue dipped his brush in ink and stood on the bridge, facing the square wooden door. He first repainted the three characters "Fengshan Hongye Guan" above, then pondered for a moment before waving his brush across the wooden boards on either side:

Red leaves rustle, the river water of Jade City retains the colors of autumn;

White mists roll in waves, the palaces of Maple Mountain admire the smoke and clouds.

"Hoo..."

No typos, written in one continuous flow.

Lin Jue exhaled a breath.

The fox stood on the iron chain nearby, and the colored cat stood on the other side, both watching curiously. They looked at each other, seemingly intending to lean in closer.

"Don't touch it, you two," Lin Jue said. "In a while, I'll have Qingyao teach you both to read."

"..."

"..."

The fox and the cat turned their heads to look at each other again, both wearing expressions of confusion—

One fox and one cat, what would they need to read for?

But Lin Jue had already picked up his brush and walked back.

The fox obediently jumped down, intending to follow him, but looked up to see its friend still on the iron chain, having taken two more steps forward. It raised a paw toward the couplet, but the paw trembled as if undergoing some internal struggle. After a long while, it gave up, turned its head, and jumped down.

"Drifting with the smoke, the colors of nine autumns fall; following the light, a hundred miles of red are reflected."

Lin Jue recited this as he returned to his room, closed the door, and took out the wood carving and thirty taels of silver.

The Silver-Eating Ghost emerged automatically.

Previously, when Lin Jue went to chase the rat demon, he had naturally brought the Silver-Eating Ghost and the silver. In the first two months, he hadn't anticipated that the rat demon's will and physical stamina would be so strong, so he still fed the Silver-Eating Ghost sixty taels a month, producing a total of six Spirit Origin Pills—two for himself, two for his junior sister, and two for the fox.

The colored cat was still learning the method of consumption.

Afterward, it was thirty taels a month, with each eating one.

Thanks to this careful calculation, now that half a year had passed, with few earnings, there was still some silver left. But not much.

"Eat up, this month and next month will still be fine," Lin Jue said. "After that, I'm going to the capital, and I'll try my best not to let you go hungry."

"Many thanks, Zhenren!"

The Silver-Eating Ghost began to wolf down the food.

Lin Jue, meanwhile, packed his bags, bringing ancient books, the mother-of-pearl box, carving knives, spirit wood, some changes of clothes, and some medicinal pills, only leaving after a long time.

His junior sister, holding two persimmons, was standing on the bridge, staring at the couplet he had just written.

"Did Third Third Shixiong write this?"

"Who else could it be?"

"It's written so well," his junior sister said. "I wish I could write that well too."

"You're still quite a bit off."

"Third Third Shixiong, eat a persimmon."

"Your Spirit Origin Pill." Lin Jue took the persimmon from her hand and handed her the pills he was holding. "There's also one Giant Spirit Pill; the second one shouldn't have much effect, and your body won't feel too sore. Just choose a suitable time to eat it yourself."

▲￠o

"Understood."

"Fuyao and I are going to find Lord Luo to help him eliminate demons. When I go to the capital, I will come back to find you," Lin Jue told her. "Guard the temple well."

"Understood!"

His junior sister held the pills in her hands, with the colored cat sitting beside her.

Lin Jue led a gray donkey, and with the donkey in tow, he crossed the cable bridge while munching on a persimmon, heading down the mountain.

Since Lord Luo had agreed to accompany him to the capital and protect his path, it naturally couldn't just be Lord Luo protecting him; Lord Luo could help him with matters of the secular world, and he would help Lord Luo with matters of demons, ghosts, and gods.

Fuyao had long since left a mark on Lord Luo.

Heading southeast down the mountain, in less than two days, he found Lord Luo, who was holding his blade and feigning sleep in a tea stall within a bamboo forest.

The two exchanged bows and sat down together with a smile.

However, although these yaoguai can go to the Long Wang's cave dwelling to attend the banquet, most of them cannot actually be considered very powerful. Most of those who were eating at the banquet outside were similar to that rabbit yaoguai, and I estimate they were also similar to the yellow dog Lin Jue encountered when he first left Shu Village. As for those eating at the banquet inside the cave dwelling, they are not necessarily any more powerful; it is even possible that they only offered treasures that were sufficiently precious.

Lord Luo had now cultivated blade Qi and learned the method of curse prohibition. Coupled with his vigilance and meticulous way of doing things, even if the yaoguai had magical arts, they were no match for him. By the time Lin Jue arrived, he had already visited half of them.

Thus, he accompanied him to visit the other half.

In mountain streams and desolate lands, a martial artist, a Daoist, and a four-tailed white fox spent a month, amidst blade light, flames, and white smoke of magical arts, eliminating the yaoguai that had eaten people one by one.

Along the way, he even heard rumors about himself.

They were nothing more than matters outside Runze City.

Before he knew it, it was the bitter cold of the twelfth lunar month.

An ancient pine had indeed been transplanted in the open space in front of Fengshan Hongye Guan, just enough to shade the stone table and stone stools. Lin Jue and Luo Seng returned here, picked up his junior sister, and went to visit old friends.

This time, it was a proper visit.

The senior brother and junior sister still brought their most precious items. Anything they couldn't bring was locked in the temple, and the more precious ones were marked by the fox—not to say it was insurance, but it was all they could do.

The mountain peak had some frost and snow, which was crushed by horse hooves and footsteps.

"So you were talking about Zhenjian Palace," Luo Seng said. Having served as a County Commandant in the capital for two years, he had become an expert on the capital. "I've been to that temple a few times."

"How is it?"

"There are seven or eight Daoist priests inside. The one who usually manages things is a middle-aged Daoist, quite polite. But in my view, the one who truly makes the decisions is another female Daoist, whose skin is exceptionally white."

"..." Lin Jue found it hard to imagine someone using the words "skin is exceptionally white" to describe a woman's complexion, but he said, "Those two are old friends we know. There should also be a junior brother surnamed Ma, right?"

"I think there is one," Luo Seng said as they walked. "Their temple has a stone mirror. Ordinary people can't use it, but if a person has been afflicted by the magical arts of demons or ghosts, it will show up in the mirror. So it can help people distinguish whether their discomfort is due to illness or being possessed by evil spirits."

"A stone mirror..."

"What is it?"

"It seems rare for a temple to install such a magical treasure for people to use at will."

"That's true. I've rarely heard of such things before," Luo Seng nodded and said. "The so-called 'yin and yang are different paths'; what humans can cure, ghosts and gods need not cure, so as not to interfere. But if yin and yang share the same principle, what humans cannot cure, ghosts and gods might cure on their behalf, showing the unfathomable. Generally speaking, most human affairs are handled and decided by humans themselves. Gods wouldn't help humans on such a large scale. After all, gods can make mistakes, and the human world is ultimately the world of humans. I suppose the world really has changed."

"I imagine their incense should be quite good."

"It's very good!" Luo Seng said. "Whenever there's a matter involving demons or ghosts in the capital, they are quite effective. It's said they also manage wealth, but other things, like weather, official careers, and marriage, they don't care about at all."

"Are there similar things in the capital?"

"Yes! The largest palace temple in the capital, Guanxing Palace, which worships the Lord Tianweng Emperor, used to be unremarkable—it was just built high. Since I left, it's said that it actually gained the efficacy of curing illnesses for people. Many people with minor ailments go there to pray, and they all recover," Luo Seng said, pausing. "There's also a palace where, as long as you enter it, your injuries will recover very quickly."

"There is such a thing!"

"The immortals are also fighting for incense!" Luo Seng laughed. How could such things be hidden from him?

"What about Emperor Zi Xu?"

"Emperor Zi Xu doesn't have a main palace in the capital, but every temple that worships the Lord Tianweng has his statue. Larger temples will even specially prepare a palace for him."

"So that's how it is..."

Lin Jue muttered to himself, falling into thought.

It seems the secret struggle for incense among the several Emperors in the capital is even more intense than he had originally thought.

Among them, Emperor Yu Jian came from the south and should have clearly stated his position, intending to take advantage of the situation to compete with the Lord Tianweng Emperor. As for Emperor Zi Xu, in Daoist rumors, he has always been one of the two attendant gods of the Lord Tianweng Emperor, and in major Daoist temples, he also stands to the left and right of the Lord Tianweng Emperor. But judging from the scene where he encountered Emperor Zi Xu's subordinate, Master Fuchi, and the Lord Tianweng Emperor's subordinate, Husheng Husheng Zhenjun Baosheng, it seems that is not the case.

Master Fuchi completely looked down on Husheng Husheng Zhenjun Baosheng.

This might be because his personal skills were superb. After all, almost every god is an outstanding person, and it is normal for some to be proud and have fewer constraints in this regard. But if Emperor Zi Xu were respectful to the Lord Tianweng, he wouldn't have been so rude to Husheng Husheng Zhenjun Baosheng at that time, would he?

So Lord Luo led the way to the capital.

Along the way, he listened to him talk about Zhenjian Palace.

He heard that after Zhenjian Palace was built, by the time he left the capital, the Daoists of Guanxing Palace had gone to Zhenjian Palace to debate the Dao several times. No one knew what they were talking about, but it was quite lively, and many other Daoists and believers went to listen.

He also heard him say that there were people from the Ju Xian Fu who went out to swindle people. People were clearly suffering from serious illnesses, but they were told by these people that they were possessed by evil spirits, swindling them of their money and delaying their treatment. After he discovered it, he exposed them, but the victims didn't believe him until he dragged them to Zhenjian Palace. Only then did the victims believe they were not possessed by evil spirits, and only then did they go to get medicine.

A hundred-mile journey takes only half a day by horse.

Just as Daoist Qingxuan had said, Zhenjian Palace was very easy to find. It was two miles south of the capital, and one could see it at a glance.

And just as Lord Luo had said, the incense here was very prosperous.

Pilgrims came and went, and the blue smoke formed clouds. Those who didn't know would think the temple had already started cooking.

Luo Seng looked at the two.

His junior sister looked at Lin Jue.

"Let's go."

Lin Jue glanced at his Daoist robe and walked straight inside.

As expected, seeing them wearing Daoist robes and knowing they were not ordinary pilgrims, two young Daoists immediately stood up. One walked toward them, and the other went to the inner courtyard.

"Compassion, fellow Daoist."

The young Daoist was very polite, taking the lead in bowing and greeting him.

"Compassion, fellow Daoist." Lin Jue returned the bow. Without waiting for him to ask, he said, "We are Daoists from the Floating Hill Temple on Floating Hill Peak of Mount Yishan in Huizhou. We are old acquaintances of Daoist Third Shixiong Qingxuan and Daoist Jiang Ning. We once agreed that if we came to the capital, we would definitely visit first, so we are here today to intrude."

The young Daoist was stunned when he heard this.

He hadn't seen Lin Jue and his sister, but he had heard of the Floating Hill Temple on Floating Hill Peak of Mount Yishan. Plus, being Daoists from Huizhou, it was not easy to settle down in the capital thousands of miles away, and there was a sense of nostalgia for fellow countrymen, so his expression immediately became solemn.

"I am Zhang Xiaokun. How should I address the two Daoist brothers?"

"My surname is Lin, Daoist name Lin Fangjue. This is my junior sister, Daoist name Liu Fangyao," Lin Jue said, then pointed to Lord Luo, who was covering his face behind him. "This is a good friend we've made, surnamed Luo."

"Daoist Third Shixiong Lin, Daoist Third Shixiong Liu..."

The young Daoist was suddenly stunned.

He seemed to have heard these two names once.

That was not long ago—

The capital had heard about the incident in Runze County, and it naturally spread here. Because the rumors were very realistic, even though it was far away, it was talked about by pilgrims, and they naturally heard about it too.

It was said that there were two Daoists, a man and a woman, who brought a white fox. At that time, the temple was comforting the "five internal organs" in the dining hall. When Third Third Shixiong Qingxuan heard it, he laughed and said it must be the two Daoists he knew.

One of those two was surnamed Lin, and the other was surnamed Liu.

Could it be these two?

Were these two the ones who eliminated the Long Wang yaoguai?

The young Daoist was a bit sluggish and couldn't believe it for a moment. The reason was simple: ever since he heard about this, the image of two middle-aged Daoists had always appeared in his mind.

Just then, Daoist Qingxuan had already come out.

When old friends met, one side smiled, and the other was slightly surprised. After a pause, they also showed smiles, rarely happy amidst their busy schedules. ===== CHAPTER 257 =====