Chapter 53: Third Shixiong, Look!

"Third Shixiong, Third Shixiong!"

Lin Jue was chopping wood on the mountain, chopping a pile of broken branches, when he suddenly heard a girl's voice behind him.

"Crack..."

The firewood knife in his hand still chopped down.

Turning around, it was the little junior sister from the Daoist temple. Like Lin Jue, she had already put on a newly made Daoist robe. Unlike Mount Qiyun, it was light gray cloth.

And she was not short, her face was white and delicate, her chin was small and pointed, and at this moment she was standing in the forest below, looking up at him.

"What's the matter?"

Lin Jue wiped the sweat from his face and looked at her too.

The little fox beside him was holding a thin branch in its mouth and also turned to look at her.

"Third Shixiong, look!"

The little Xiao Shimei raised her hands high, and two sections of white and tender arms were very naturally revealed from the wide sleeves of the hanging Daoist robe. She held a few ugly pears in her hands, showing them to him like a treasure.

They were about the size of duck eggs, and some were only as small as chicken eggs. The surface was not regular; they were wild pears growing in the mountains.

"I picked them on the road. There are many in the mountains. They don't look good, and they aren't big, but they are especially delicious. One bite and they are full of water, the skin is gone, and they are especially fragrant just by smelling them!"

Lin Jue also saw them on the way here.

Why else would one say the spiritual energy in the mountains is sufficient? Even an ordinary wild pear is extremely fragrant and sweet.

However, it was far from the expression of the little girl who brought them to show off and share with him at this moment.

"Are they for me?"

"Of course! I'll pick more when I go back!"

"Many thanks, Xiao Shimei."

"Third Shixiong, don't be polite!"

The little Xiao Shimei learned the tone of the Shixiongs, then put down this handful of wild pears, holding her Daoist robe with one hand to hold them.

"Third Shixiong, look!"

Another sound, crisp, echoing in the mountains.

This time the girl only raised one hand, and only revealed one section of her arm, and in her hand, she was holding a few stones.

Only to see her clench her fist, the thin tendons on her wrist suddenly popped out, and her eyebrows and corners of her mouth also exerted force.

Then she opened her hand—

A handful of stone powder fell down like sand.

⊙￠o

"You mastered it?"

Lin Jue opened his eyes wide.

"Entered the door! Learned it! Master said my talent is not bad, very good!" The little Xiao Shimei hesitated, modified her wording, and then bent down to pick up a slightly larger stone, and said to Lin Jue, "Third Shixiong, look!"

"Sizzle..."

Stone powder fell straight down, sprinkling on the ground.

As if to prove that it wasn't a trick just now.

"Saw it, saw it." Lin Jue nodded and smiled at her, "Powerful, powerful."

"Third Shixiong, look!"

She bent down and picked up another one to demonstrate to him.

"Saw it, saw it."

Lin Jue turned around and continued chopping wood.

The little fox looked at the little Xiao Shimei, then at Lin Jue, and then continued to hold the thin branch in its mouth, taking small steps to put it aside, gathering it into a pile.

"Third Shixiong, I might not be able to chop wood with you anymore."

"Hmm? Why?"

"Master said my talent is very good, but this 'Stone-Grinding' method is a relatively rigid spell, and I must practice it diligently."

"How to practice?"

"Master said, we and Xianyuan Temple have been on good terms for generations, but from here to Xianyuan Temple, we have to climb over several mountains, each of which is very steep. The road we walk now was repaired by the predecessors of Fuqiu Temple, that is, the predecessors who learned the Stone-Grinding method before. Although it crosses mountains and rocks, it is actually repaired very roughly and is not easy to walk." The little girl said word by word, as if repeating, "Master said, my talent is better than theirs, and let me repair the road again, beat it into steps, and practice spells by the way."

The little girl walked over and put the pears on the ground.

"It is said that it is to facilitate him to visit Xianyuan Temple when his legs and feet are not flexible in two years, and also to facilitate the exchanges between the disciples of Fuqiu Temple and Xianyuan Temple in the future."

Lin Jue chopped another knife, but couldn't help but turn around.

The little girl had already come behind his back.

A little girl in her teens, just at the time of being delicate and pretty, white and tender, making people feel pity.

Willow hair does not float, it is really because the breeze is too weak, the figure is not obvious, it is just that the Daoist robe is too loose. In fact, this little Xiao Shimei is a pretty girl, it's just that her usual personality makes it easy for people to ignore this point.

But...

Isn't this going to be a hard laborer for road repair?

Lin Jue couldn't help but frown.

"Third Shixiong, look!"

He heard such a sentence again unexpectedly.

Just happened to have a large granite stone beside him. Seeing him turn around, the little Xiao Shimei immediately raised her hand and slapped it on the large stone.

"Bang..."

A palm-sized gray-white patch suddenly appeared on the rock, and when the wind blew, a burst of powder scattered.

The little Xiao Shimei opened her eyes wide and stared at him, her eyes so bright.

"..."

Lin Jue thought carefully and recognized the Master's decision: "Xiao Shimei, listen to the Master. Repairing the road is a good thing, a merit in the present and a benefit for the future, not to mention that you can practice your spells. Why not do such a thing?"

"I thought so too!"

"Hmm..."

"Third Shixiong, look!"

"..."

The little Xiao Shimei left after a while.

Lin Jue continued to chop wood.

At this time, only this little fox was left accompanying him.

This little fox was still in the stage of growth and learning. It was hard to say whether it regarded humans as its own kind or regarded itself as a human, or perhaps it only saw people around it, so it always wanted to follow people and learn what they did. But this was also the nature of animal cubs.

This little thing had a sense of responsibility. Seeing that Lin Jue was chopping wood and the little Xiao Shimei was picking up wood and moving wood, now that the little Xiao Shimei was gone, it learned to pick up wood and move wood, piling it together.

It was just that it could still drag the thin branches, but if it was a larger branch or wooden block, it would move it very difficultly.

Difficult as it was, it didn't give up.

In short, it wanted to help a little.

As for this little Xiao Shimei—

Lin Jue also asked the Master.

This little Xiao Shimei was an only daughter in her family, and there were no boys in the family. There were always needs for work in the village, so she was raised as a boy when she was young, which might be the source of her not being delicate.

It was just that a girl was not a boy after all. When she was a little older, her family wanted to marry her off. It happened that she looked good and was lovable, so they collected some silver and promised her to the eldest son of a wealthy family in the village.

In this era, this might not be a bad thing.

It was also a coincidence that before she married, the man died of illness.

Later, a monster caused trouble in the village. It was a water monster, calling itself the River God. Now that the imperial court's control over the local area was gradually declining, the monster was rampant to the point of demanding human sacrifices. The villagers felt she was ominous, so they offered her to the water monster. This water monster was the one the old Taoist priest got rid of that Lin Jue heard about when he was in Danxun County.

When Lin Jue first saw her, she was wearing good clothes. He thought her family background was good at the time, but he only learned later that it was for the "River God" to see.

It was also somewhat ironic.

However, this little Xiao Shimei was broad-minded. She was neither frightened into illness nor depressed into illness. At such a young age, she actually had a kind of carefree forgetfulness.

Lin Jue continued to chop wood.

When he was thirsty and tired, he ate pears.

The next evening, Lin Jue was sweeping the floor in the courtyard.

The mountains were truly quiet at this time. Every time the broom moved on the ground, it made a rustling sound, echoing far away in the temple and forest.

The clouded leopard lay at the door to rest.

Several cats were scattered in the courtyard, either lying or sitting, and a young fox was mixed in the middle, turning its head to learn from the cat beside it, raising a claw to lick it constantly.

Suddenly a beggar walked in from outside.

The beggar's hair was messy, covered in gray, his bag was covered in gray, and his face was covered in gray. One could vaguely distinguish the green and shy face and the Daoist robe on his body, walking into the courtyard as if no one was there.

The clouded leopard turned its head to stare at her, turning its head as she walked.

The cats in the courtyard also looked at her in unison.

The fox's eyes showed obvious confusion.

"Third Shixiong!"

As soon as the beggar saw Lin Jue, she walked toward him, came straight to him and stood still, reached into her bag and fumbled, and took out a handful of ground fruits.

"Third Shixiong, look!"

As she said this, she held them in her hands and handed them to Lin Jue.

Naturally, her hands were also covered in gray.

However, the fragrance of the ground fruits, which surpassed most fruits, was very tempting.

"..."

Lin Jue lowered his head to look at the ground fruits in her hands, then raised his head to look at this person: "Xiao Shimei, why did you become like this?"

"Repairing the road!"

Her lips were covered in gray. As soon as she opened her mouth, her mouth was full of gray.

"Why is your mouth full of gray?"

"Because I used spells to turn stones into powder. People need to drink energy. Once I drink energy, I drink the gray into my mouth." The little Xiao Shimei said, not feeling that there was anything wrong with this at all. "Third Shixiong, you take them first. Today, when I was repairing the road, I saw many on the cliff wall. I picked them when my magic power was used up. I picked a lot and specially brought them back for you."

"Didn't you eat any?"

"I ate, I ate a lot, ate while picking, didn't wash them, don't know if I will have a stomachache." The little Xiao Shimei paused. "I want to learn the food-taking method you are learning."

Lin Jue had already taken the ground fruits from her hands.

Holding the ground fruits, he turned and walked out a few steps. Before he put them into the kitchen, he heard the rustling sound behind him again.

Turning to look, he saw the little Xiao Shimei had naturally taken his broom and had already started sweeping.

Dust gathered into a pile under the broom.

This person didn't seem to feel tired.

Looking at her like this, Lin Jue suddenly felt something in his heart—

The appearance of the little Xiao Shimei he saw yesterday morning would probably not appear again for a long time.

For a period of time after that, it was probably like this: cultivating spiritual arts, chopping wood and carrying water, and doing some chores when idle.

In the bamboo forest with lamp-lit paper windows, there was often the sound of chanting.

He didn't know if the Yin-Yang Spiritual Arts were suitable for Lin Jue. In short, Lin Jue's talent was considered

At the very beginning, because the Small Yin-Yang Method emphasizes "stability and caution," cultivation involves using weak Qi to leverage strong Qi. At this stage, their Daoist attainment is shallow and their human bodies are weak, unable to withstand overly strong Yin-Yang spiritual resonance. Therefore, Lin Jue and the junior sister mostly cultivate around midnight and noon—the two times when the gap between Yin and Yang Qi is greatest, the strong Qi is strongest, and the weak Qi is weakest, which is the only time they can endure it.

Noon is fine, but midnight is too grueling.

Few people these days stay up until midnight; most go to sleep as soon as it gets dark.

It is better now; having passed that stage, they can cultivate at any time except for dawn and dusk, ending whenever they reach an inexplicable state of "fatigue."

I hear that when one's future Daoist attainment is higher, one can cultivate at any moment, though the efficiency of the Small Yin-Yang Method will always be inferior to the Great Yin-Yang Method.