Chapter 275

"Am I the only one who has them?"

Lin Jue looked carefully and saw that it wasn't just him; the doorways to his junior sister's room, Lord Luo's room, and even the attic had all been decorated with spring couplets.

Lord Luo's room was to his right, and written before the door was:

The people are at peace and the country is prosperous in this golden age;

With favorable winds and rain, we praise these glorious years.

Horizontal scroll: Peace under heaven

"Hmm..."

Lin Jue looked at this spring couplet, lost in thought.

He then turned his head to look at the other side.

His junior sister's room was rarely occupied and was to the left of his own; written before the door was:

Youthful years remain year after year;

Daoist practice and cultivation rise step by step.

Horizontal scroll: Eternal life

"Hmm?"

Lin Jue revealed a smile.

Now he was certain: the spring couplets that these two "foxes" in the courtyard had posted for them were likely not random; at the very least, they had been given some thought and were somewhat fitting for each of them.

As for why they posted this couplet for his junior sister, it must have been because they had overheard them chatting while eating in the courtyard.

Lin Jue walked over to the attic.

Written above was:

Spring rain falls in threads, nourishing all things;

Begonia blossoms dot the branches, embroidering a thousand mountains.

Horizontal scroll: Spring is in the air

"Heh..."

Lin Jue laughed out loud, simultaneously turning his head to look at the begonia tree in the courtyard.

At this time, the begonia had not yet bloomed.

It had been said before that the "foxes" in the mouths of the world, much like the "dragons" in the mouths of people in the past, were not necessarily actual foxes. Rather, because people were fond of foxes and obsessed with fox immortals, any strange creature with the ability to transform that appeared in cities, forests, or villages was called a "fox," and if it had any connection to water, mist, or clouds, it was called a "dragon."

As for who these two actually were, Lin Jue had never investigated carefully, but since his own foxes had always run under the begonia tree on their first day and stared at it with great interest, Lin Jue knew that even if these two weren't the begonia tree itself having gained sentience, they were certainly related to it.

If it really was the begonia, then this spring couplet was a bit narcissistic.

In any case, he still needed to thank them.

"Many thanks to you both," Lin Jue said toward the attic. "I was just worrying about what to write for this year's couplets; your calligraphy is much better than what we, brother and sister, could write."

Naturally, he received no response.

Lin Jue looked at his junior sister again.

"I've already thanked them," the junior sister said, thinking he was urging her to join him in expressing gratitude.

"Have you had breakfast?"

"I have! Boiled eggs!" the junior sister said, raising her hand; she was holding one, which she handed to Lin Jue. "It's still hot!"

Lin Jue took the egg and rolled it across his face first; he had been a bit groggy, but it felt much more comfortable immediately. At the same time, he said:

"Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year; let's go out for a walk and have a bowl of wontons."

"Frugal household management leads to a surplus year!"

"How much could wontons cost? Let's go! Call Lord Luo!"

"Let's go!"

The junior sister was easily persuaded, and since she was wealthy now, she turned and followed him, full of energy.

They called Lord Luo and went out together.

But just as they reached the door, they suddenly bumped into Lord Pan.

Lord Pan still carried a damp chill, and he was holding two perch in his hands. He was very surprised to run into Lin Jue, but it was clear he had come specifically to find the three of them. He immediately bowed and saluted:

"I haven't come to pay my respects for many days; today I have come specifically to wish the three benefactors a Happy New Year!"

He then handed over the two fish he was carrying:

"These perch were caught in the river this morning; they symbolize having a surplus every year. I offer them to the three benefactors."

"You are too kind."

Lin Jue felt a bit helpless about this.

Luo Seng took the two fish.

At the same time, looking at Lord Pan, who was still dressed as a fisherman and soaking wet, he couldn't help but ask: "I heard that Lord Pan has rarely returned these days; I wonder what you have been busy with outside?"

"Nothing much, just taking care of this Lord Pan's elderly mother and going to the river to find something," Lord Pan said.

"Find what?"

The three of them looked at him with confusion.

"It's a long story," Lord Pan said, standing where he was, not at all afraid of the damp chill on his body. He said to them, "The Nine Heavens Immortal Realm distributes the gods of the mountains and rivers of the world; for anyone with a name and a surname, one must collect three items to control the affairs of the mountains and rivers like the innate gods: the divine office, the dharma seal, and the ritual vessel. None can be missing."

"Go on."

"Although I was plotted against and harmed by that Tu Long Wang, the heavens did not revoke my divine office, so the divine office and position are still with me. However, the ritual vessel and the dharma seal were left outside. After the three benefactors—oh, and this Great Immortal Fuyao—removed that Tu Long Wang, I went to his cave to search and found my dharma seal in a hidden place, but the ritual vessel has remained missing. According to my perception, it is still in the Wei Shui and has not gone far, but I have been searching for half a year and have not been able to find it."

"What does the ritual vessel look like?" Luo Seng asked. "Let's see if we saw it in that Tu Long Wang's cave."

"The ritual vessel of the Wei Shui is a lantern."

"A lantern?"

The three of them couldn't help but look at each other.

The fox also revealed a thoughtful expression.

"That lantern looks no different from an ordinary lantern; it looks very plain and hangs from a wooden stick. If it were just a lantern, aside from being able to see a person's five qi under its light, and aside from the fact that an ordinary person holding it can move freely in the water without being harmed, it has no other use. It requires the dharma seal and the divine office to control the waters of the Wei Shui," Lord Pan continued. "I have already died once; I just want to find the ritual vessel so I am no longer bound by the Nine Heavens and can truly benefit the people. Sigh, I shouldn't make big claims, but this is my only chance to return to my divine position."

The three of them continued to look at each other.

It was originally just casual chatter; it was the New Year, and since someone had brought gifts to pay respects, it wouldn't do to not have a few polite words, but they hadn't expected to actually talk about a place they knew.

But the point Lin Jue focused on first was: "Under the light of that lantern, one can see a person's five qi?"

"Yes. Any god with a higher position either has the ability to see a person's five qi themselves, or they will possess such a ritual vessel, so that they can distinguish good from evil when dealing with people," Lord Pan nodded. "However, the person, god, or spirit holding the ritual vessel must have pure five qi themselves. If their own five qi are chaotic, then no matter what means they use, they won't be able to see a person's five qi."

"Can practitioners of the Dao see it?"

"If they haven't achieved the true Dao, they can all see it."

"Haha! So that's it!"

So that Wei Nu had relied on this lantern to judge that they hadn't come to celebrate the Tu Long Wang's birthday, but to send him to his grave.

In this way, the time she saw through the intentions of the three of them was even earlier than he had originally thought.

"Interesting, interesting..."

Lin Jue turned his head and glanced at Luo Seng; seeing that Luo Seng didn't know, he explained to him:

"Legend has it that humans have five qi: if wood is clear, there is benevolence; if fire is clear, there is propriety; if metal is clear, there is righteousness; if water is clear, there is wisdom; if earth is clear, there is thought. If all five qi are pure, one possesses saintly virtue. If wood is turbid, one is weak; if fire is turbid, one is lecherous; if metal is turbid, one is violent; if water is turbid, one is greedy; if earth is turbid, one is stubborn. If all five qi are turbid, one is the lowest of the people. In rumors, the reason many spirits and gods can distinguish human good and evil is precisely by seeing the five qi."

How could Luo Seng be a foolish person?

It was just that he had been away for a bit too long.

As soon as he heard this, his first thought was that the Wei Nu was quite cautious; before coming to the surface, she had used this lantern to shine on them, to see their five qi, to distinguish their good and evil, and only after having a general judgment did she dare to come out and meet them. And she had cleverly used her appearance to create an atmosphere that made people feel that her extending the lantern out of the water first was just a god's habit or ritual, not making people suspect that the lantern had any other purpose.

But immediately, Luo Seng thought—

Since that Wei Nu used this to see the five qi of the three of them, she might not have been able to see their character completely, but she must have known that the three of them were not what they pretended to be.

So when she met the three of them for the first time, she already knew they were lying, and yet she still boarded the boat and talked with them; the whole process was actually just watching the three of them perform.

How did this woman manage to be so calm the whole time? Even he hadn't seen any flaws.

"Haha!"

Luo Seng couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The junior sister's expression became strange.

"What are the benefactors laughing at?"

"Nothing, it's not convenient to say, not convenient to say," Luo Seng said, holding the fish.

"Lord Luo is quite right; although it is harmless and rather interesting, it is not something glorious," Lin Jue said, feeling the same as Luo Seng; he didn't think there was anything to it, but rather found it interesting to recall. "The interest in this is something we can only slowly savor and ruminate on ourselves."

The junior sister didn't speak.

At first, when she heard it and recalled it, she felt a bit embarrassed, but that matter didn't just involve her alone, and the emotion of magnanimity, like laughter, is contagious. Seeing the two people beside her who had experienced the same awkward situation laughing, she scratched her head and laughed along.

"By the way, Lord Pan," Luo Seng said, holding the fish. "Since we have accepted your fish and ate your salted meat yesterday, it counts as accepting your favor. So, it just so happens that we know the whereabouts of your ritual vessel; consider it a repayment for you bringing us fish and meat. As for whether you can find it and whether you can get the ritual vessel back from her, that depends on your own ability."

"This..."

Hearing the first half of the sentence, Lord Pan was very panicked and wanted to decline, but hearing the second half, he was stunned.

His body was trembling, and he shook a little before bowing and saluting:

"Please enlighten me."

"Since you are the Wei Shui God, you naturally know that there is another minor god in the Wei Shui called Wei Nu, right?" Luo Seng said.

"It's her?"

Lord Pan's body shook again.

In the past, he was the Wei Shui God; regardless of his abilities, the minor gods in the Wei Shui were all his subordinates, but such divine matters were not as strict as human relationships.

"So it was her; no wonder I couldn't find it," Lord Pan muttered to himself. A moment later, he bowed to the three of them again and said, "Many thanks to the three benefactors."

"We already said it was a repayment, so no need to thank us; consider it canceled out. We only said one sentence, after all," Luo Seng said. "It's just that although we have no friendship with that Wei Nu, we have dealt with her, so if you can't defeat her, don't come asking us for help."

"Naturally, naturally."

Lord Pan muttered incessantly, kowtowed repeatedly, and then walked away quickly; he didn't know if he had returned to the courtyard or gone out again.

The three of them stood at the door, watching his back.

Lin Jue asked: "Lord Luo, who do you think will win between these two?"

Luo Seng thought for a long time before shaking his head:

"Hard to say."

This Lord Pan naturally had the advantage of having been the Wei Shui God, but the two of them could be said to have their own advantages.

Standing here and thinking about it roughly, it felt as if a grand drama of divine position contention had already been filled in his mind, and no matter who was taken as the protagonist, it seemed to be a wonderful story.

"I'll take this fish back first and keep it in the water vat; how we eat it will be up to the Daoist."

Luo Seng didn't think too much and walked back to the courtyard with the fish. Not long after, he came out again to accompany the two of them to eat a bowl of wontons outside.

Perhaps because of last night's events, some words had been written on the white wall near the gate again, mostly poems about fireworks and the magnificent scenery of the New Year. The handwriting varied in size and was scattered, quite casual, but every line was written beautifully; even Lin Jue's line from last night, "A thousand joys in the human world tonight, none compare to drinking until drunk and sleeping by the stove," was among them.

It seemed these two really liked poetry.

The three of them admired it for a while before going out.

Unexpectedly, just as they reached the wonton stall, they bumped into Master Fan, who had returned. He said that the Five Elements Spiritual Method had already been delivered to their doorstep.

Today's leave-of-absence note update ↓