Chapter 268: Returning a Gift

Deep in the night, the lotus-like lamp burned quietly without lamp oil, and the Daoist studied hard by the lamp.

Unknowingly, a wisp of smoke drifted out from the side.

"Poof..."

The night-watch lamp reminded him.

Lin Jue turned his head to look and saw it was a small ghost, wearing brown clothes, with a fair and clean little face. Seeing that he hadn't slept yet, it looked surprised and confused.

"Heh..."

Lin Jue couldn't help but laugh:

"You little thing, your courage is quite big. You dared to manifest and ask for directions in the Daoist temple of Emperor Yu Jian and Lord Yi Li, and you dare to come out casually in this capital. Are you really not afraid of bumping into someone's head and being dealt with casually?"

Chen Niu turned its head to look at him in confusion and then looked at the fox beside him, which was half-squinting its eyes, dying of sleepiness.

Seeing that neither of them had any intention of asking for directions, it scratched its head, floated out of the room on its own, and continued to look for the way.

"Don't run too far!"

Lin Jue didn't know if it could understand, but he shouted, then turned his head to look at the night outside the window, slightly sensing the yin and yang spiritual aura around him at this moment, combined with the season, and knew roughly what time it was.

"It's the fifth watch already..."

Only then did Lin Jue close the ancient book, tidy up, and lie down on the bed.

But his thoughts wouldn't stop.

One moment he was thinking about the differences and commonalities between Spell Control and Blood Control and their clever combination, and the next he was thinking about other miscellaneous matters.

Although this Chen Niu was useful, the problem of finding the way and asking for directions through dreams at night couldn't be changed, and it didn't listen to words at all, as if it couldn't understand. In a place like the capital, it was still somewhat dangerous. When he had time, he should send it to his junior sister and let her keep it for him.

He should also buy a bird.

Buy a smart one like a crow or a myna, or a pigeon.

Although it would be difficult to send letters to other senior brothers, this place was only a hundred miles from Mount Fengshan, so asking it to send letters between himself and his junior sister was still possible.

Unfortunately, he had no money right now.

At this moment, thanks to the Gathering of Immortals Mansion, he could be considered settled in the capital, and he didn't know how many years he would stay. If he wanted to refine a Golden Core here, not to mention the things before refining the core, just refining the core would take three years. It was time to send a letter to all the senior brothers to inform them of his and his junior sister's recent situation, so they could be at ease, and also to maintain correspondence.

This fellow-disciple friendship must absolutely not be broken.

Although he had only been on the mountain for four or five years, he didn't know how many years he would have in the future, but those four or five years were truly happy and worry-free. He thought that no matter how long the days were in the future, it would be difficult to dilute them.

He should also send a letter home.

Even in Heng Village, which wasn't far away, Master Wang had helped him, so in terms of reason and emotion, he should tell him as well.

But the postal industry in this day and age, one could say it was developed, and one could say it wasn't.

If war broke out on the frontier, it would only take a few days to reach the capital. If there was urgent military intelligence, there were other skills to transmit it, perhaps arriving in less than a night, but these weren't open to ordinary people.

If ordinary people wanted to send letters, they could only entrust them to others.

Whether they could be delivered depended entirely on the credibility of the letter-carrier.

Fortunately, trade in Huizhou had been developed in recent years. Huizhou merchants went to the south of the Yangtze River when close, and came to the capital when far, going everywhere. If they came to the capital, most of the senior brothers also lived on that road.

Moreover, Huizhou merchants valued trust and promises and were not easily dishonest.

It was just that delivering letters wasn't easy. Not to mention the extra distance, just finding the place took a long time, so naturally, one had to give enough reward.

The problem returned—

Lin Jue had no money now.

Fortunately, his junior sister had money.

His junior sister also had to send letters to the senior brothers. He could write the letters first and also find the Huizhou merchants in the capital first. When it was time to send the letters, he would do it with his junior sister; it would be nothing more than an extra envelope.

As Lin Jue thought, he gradually fell asleep.

The events of the Gathering of Immortals Mansion yesterday gradually spread.

The magic skills performed by the various strange people and talented scholars, the generous rewards from the Crown Prince, Master Fan who attended in person, and the immortal expert who had eliminated the Tuo Dragon King half a year ago—even Master Fan treated him with great courtesy. Of course, there was also the thrilling moment when the Crown Prince was almost hurt, the flying knife spell easily blocked by the guardian, and the reckless boy who offended the True Person, and the small punishment inflicted by the fox beside the True Person.

In just two or three days, whether it was Lin Jue who was blessed by Master Fan or Master Fan who was blessed by Lin Jue, Lin Jue, who had just arrived in the capital, actually had a bit of fame in the Gathering of Immortals Mansion.

Correspondingly, Master Fan always went in and out with him. Whenever someone mentioned Lin Jue, they couldn't help but mention Master Fan again.

Three days later.

Lin Jue, with his fox, walked on the streets of the capital with Master Fan.

It was just afternoon. Nowadays, most slightly wealthy families in the capital practiced a three-meal system. This time was just right to avoid meal times. If the conversation was going well, they could have dinner together, so the man and the fox, led by Master Fan, went to visit that Daoist Tao who practiced Blood Control.

Master Fan was very particular and had already sent a letter through an old servant in advance, so it wasn't an intrusive visit.

Along the way, he told Lin Jue about Daoist Tao's skills.

It was said that this Daoist Tao could be considered to have high skills in the Gathering of Immortals Mansion. If there were any yaoguai causing trouble around the capital, and the clerks from the Ministry of Rites came to ask him to take action, he mostly wouldn't refuse.

Therefore, Daoist Tao also lived in a courtyard.

Lin Jue wasn't surprised by this.

Although Daoist Tao's Blood Control method had weaknesses, it was more flexible than Spell Control, like an arm directing a finger. Although it was easier to be restrained than Spell Control, its lethality was also greater.

Not to mention yaoguai, just talk about martial artists.

Unless it was a top martial artist like Lord Luo, who could cut the flying knife with one strike, if it were another martial artist who didn't know the weakness of this spell, even if they could block or swat away one flying knife, could they block or swat away ten? In the end, they would still have to die with hatred.

It was just that the weakness of this spell was too great.

The ancient book said it feared heavy rain. Actually, it didn't just fear rain; it even feared complex environments like forests. If one wanted to hurt someone, the flying knife couldn't be inserted too deeply, otherwise, the blood talisman would be dirtied and it would become ineffective.

Therefore, fighting required picking the weather and picking the terrain.

Lin Jue thought while walking, and at the same time turned his head to look at this street in the capital.

The stone slabs had been paving the road for who knew how many years, full of pits and traces of time, and the shops and buildings on both sides were very prosperous.

But Lin Jue soon discovered something wrong.

"Friend Fan, why are the stone slabs on this road always smashed in some places?" Lin Jue pointed to the road surface and asked curiously, "Is it caused by transporting some heavy stone carvings?"

"Friend Lin truly has good eyesight. It is indeed caused by stone carvings." Master Fan shook his head helplessly, "But it's not transporting stone carvings, but the stone carvings smashed them themselves."

"Why?"

Lin Jue stared carefully at the ground.

"Friend, you don't know. If you walk two miles down this street, you reach the Star Gazing Palace. The Star Gazing Palace originally had a pair of stone horses at the entrance. I don't know if they gained spirituality because of the long time, or if they were stained by the immortal aura of the Star Gazing Palace, but in the last two years, they actually seemed to have become spirits. One dusk, they suddenly ran out of the city, and from time to time they would come out to run and gallop at dusk or in the morning, entering from the East City Gate and running out from the West City Gate, crossing the capital, making a great commotion on the street."

Master Fan said:

"At first, they even bumped into people, so Friend, you can see, if the sky is a little dark, when people walk on the street, they only walk on the side of the road and won't walk in the middle anymore."

"Stone horses..."

Lin Jue said it was no wonder.

He was saying why these traces looked like they were trampled out, somewhat similar to the traces trampled by the stone giants he and his junior sister summoned, and yet somewhat different.

"Is there no one to stop them? Just let them gallop on the streets of the capital?"

"This..."

Master Fan hesitated for a moment and said tactfully:

"At first, the Gathering of Immortals Mansion had issued a bounty, looking for strange people and experts in the mansion to subdue them, but that pair of stone horses grew very tall and ran like the wind. Once they ran out of the city, no one knew where they went. Moreover, their whole bodies were carved from hard stone, impenetrable to blades and spears, and immune to water and fire. Ordinary talisman paper and spells had no effect on them. They were also sculptures in front of the Star Gazing Palace, so many people couldn't deal with them, and some were unwilling to deal with them. As time passed, it became like this..."

"So that's how it is."

"Like that Friend Tao we are visiting today, he had gone to deal with this pair of stone horses, but his flying knives hit them and only left a mark, unable to hurt that pair of stone horses."

"That is also true."

Lin Jue also knew a bit of "Pointing Stones to Make Generals" and knew they were hard to deal with.

When he and his junior sister usually pointed stones to make generals, they just took materials on the spot, using whatever stones were there. Even so, they were impenetrable to blades and spears and immune to water and fire. Perhaps because the stone giants were relatively clumsy, it was difficult to rely on them to kill anyone, but if they were mainly used for defense and there were no other skills, it was also difficult for others to smash them.

At the same time, he glanced at this Master Fan.

He thought that this Master Fan was the type who "although has the ability to eliminate these stone horses, considers the face of the Star Gazing Palace and even Lord Tianweng and is unwilling to take action."

Not long after, they walked to a small courtyard.

Daoist Tao had real skills, so he naturally lived in a courtyard outside the Gathering of Immortals Mansion's office, but he still lived with several people.

Because Master Fan had sent a letter in advance, at this time Daoist Tao and his apprentice were already waiting outside the door. In the capital, few people dared to be disrespectful to Master Fan.

"Master Fan, Friend Lin, please come in."

"What Master, it's all a false name. Just call me Friend Fan." Master Fan waved his hand and walked in.

Daoist Tao had already prepared tea to welcome the two.

"Visiting today is for nothing else, but that this Friend Lin saw Daoist Tao's magic skills in the Gathering of Immortals Mansion courtyard that day and is very interested in Daoist Tao, so he wants to visit you."

Master Fan said, fearing that this Daoist Tao would be impolite because he didn't know Lin Jue, or cause some misunderstanding, and specifically reminded him:

"I also admire Friend Lin's skills and character, just as I do for Daoist Tao. Plus, Friend Lin has just arrived in the capital and may not be familiar with the affairs of the capital, so I am willing to be a middleman and visit Daoist Tao together with Friend Lin. It is not just as simple as living in the same courtyard as Friend Lin."

Although Daoist Tao hadn't seen Lin Jue's skills that day, he had a deep memory of the fact that Lord Luo beside him had swatted away his flying knife with just a scabbard. Added to the rumors later, he naturally had a deep impression of Lin Jue.

Now hearing Master Fan say this, he couldn't help but look at Lin Jue a few more times.

Hearing this, Lin Jue also knew that this was using the three words "Master Fan" to guarantee for him.

Undoubtedly, in the capital area, the gold content of these three words was very high.

"Many thanks, Friend Fan."

Since that was the case, Lin Jue didn't talk nonsense and said directly:

"Coming today is for nothing else, but that I saw Daoist Tao perform the Blood Control art that day and was suddenly inspired in my heart, feeling grateful, so I came specifically to thank you."

Just hearing the two words "Blood Control" at the beginning, Daoist Tao was shocked in his heart.

In a place like the capital, although he didn't brag about himself like others, he had always called his magic the Object-Control Art when outside.

He didn't expect to be seen through at a glance.

He was indeed worthy of being an expert who eliminated the Tuo Dragon King.

Daoist Tao now believed that the Tuo Dragon King had truly been eliminated by them.

Hearing the second half, he was also very surprised.

Then he heard Lin Jue say:

"I also know a kind of Object-Control Art, which is different from your Blood Control method. It is controlling objects with spells, called the Spell-Control Art. It has its own characteristics and merits compared to the Blood Control method. If you are willing, to repay the inspiration you brought me, I will gift this spell to you."

As soon as these words came out, Daoist Tao was directly stunned.

Not only that, even Master Fan, who was sitting beside Lin Jue, was startled in his heart.

In this Gathering of Immortals Mansion, all the so-called strange people and jianghu experts, even if they only had a tiny bit of skill, would hide it tightly. Even when taking apprentices, they had to be extremely cautious, only wanting to find ways to steal others' spells and never letting people see their true strength. How could there be such a thing?

I fear only this Friend Lin could do it.

But on the surface, he still had to pretend to be light and breezy, looking like a Dao-cultivating person of our generation should be. ===== CHAPTER 269 =====