Please call me Huanxian

Chapter 358: Transformation is like waking up from a dream

Time boils rain, and years pass by.

Before they knew it, five years had passed, and the two skinny and dark boys that the old host had taken in had grown into young boys of fourteen or fifteen years old.

The old host had white hair and beard, and a slightly hunched back. He leaned on a shiny elm stick and instructed two young men to spread a line along the base of the courtyard wall using grains and incense ashes.

There were dirty things in the yard of the shopkeeper's house in the town Zhou, and his home was in unrest. He asked two magicians and a Taoist priest to take a look, but there was little effect. Every now and then, he could still hear low sobbing and footsteps.

Family members fell ill one after another and had to move to an old house in the countryside to avoid the disaster.

Shopkeeper Zhou was reminded by the bad guy Shi Dui Zheng to invite the old abbot of Xishui Temple, which was twenty miles away, to perform a ritual. If the dirty things could not be collected, he would have to go to the county town and spend a lot of money to invite a more powerful master.

"The Taoists have a rule that you must leave a gap for ghosts, which is called 'surround three and leave one'. You can ask them to go back to where they came from. Otherwise, if you force them too hard, even a desperate dog will bite you back."

The old host taught and explained the key points of the method, and he knew quite a lot of things.

Often when you encounter a problem, you can naturally find a solution, as if you have done it before.

The young Chen Xiang was handsome and lively. He glanced outside the courtyard gate and asked in a low voice, "Master, have you ever seen a real ghost?"

It was a dark and moonless night, and the north wind blew against the branches outside the wall, making a series of strange "woooo" sounds.

A row of lanterns hung under the eaves swayed in the wind, and the lights cast hazy shadows on the rockery and flowers, adding a touch of eerie atmosphere.

Dong Xing is one year older, with thick eyebrows and a square face. He is calmer and more stable. He scolded in a low voice: "Junior brother, don't talk nonsense."

The old host was usually humble and casual, for example, when he taught the two men to read, write and read, Chen Xiang was reluctant to do so, but he never forced them. However, he insisted that they should not be lazy when working in the fields, and should recite scriptures in the morning and evening in a disciplined manner.

He took in the two men because he was getting old and wanted them to share the work. It would be best if one of them could be trained to inherit his mantle and take over the small Taoist temple in the mountains so that Xishui Temple would not be cut off.

"Yes... You might see a little ghost today."

The old host said with a smile. He had been concentrating before and vaguely noticed that something was wrong under the rockery.

The dirty stuff of the mansion is probably hidden there.

He was calm at heart. Ghosts were not scary. He must have seen many ghosts a long time ago.
Chen Xiang was suddenly a little nervous, but also a little excited, and asked to confirm: "Master, can you catch ghosts? Is the ghost hidden in Manager Zhou's house fierce?..."

"Junior brother, be quiet!"

Dong Xing scolded him again, saying that it was taboo not to say "ghost" in front of ghosts. He was also nervous and curious.

After five years in the mountains, I learned how to meditate, chant scriptures, and work, and how to draw simple talismans to ward off evil. My master also taught me some martial arts to strengthen my body. This was the first time I knew that my master was truly good at exorcising and catching ghosts.

The old host ordered two people to set up the table, offerings and wine, took the four lit incense sticks and recited a passage of scripture, then inserted the yellow incense into the incense burner in order, watching the candle flames flickering and the incense mist rising straight into the sky, while the chicken, duck, fish and wine on the plates lost their luster and fragrance.

"To enjoy the incense and offerings, please come from where you came and leave where you are going, without making any mistakes!"

Following the ghost-exorcism routine remembered by Mingming, he performed the spell meticulously.

The old host suddenly turned around and looked to the left in the air. He sensed something strange approaching and shouted sternly, "I'm giving you face and asking you to leave with nice words. Do you want to drink a forfeit if you refuse my toast?"

A thin black shadow twisted and appeared, with two points of dark fire like eyeballs floating in the sky three feet away.

A faint strange laugh was heard, followed by a cold wind blowing towards the three people's faces.

Chen Xiang suddenly felt his scalp go numb, and goose bumps appeared all over his arms. He was so scared that he stumbled to the ground, and rolled out of the courtyard door, screaming in a distorted voice: "There is a ghost, a ghost..."

Dong Xing was also so frightened that his legs were shaking. He managed to keep steady, and pulled out the peach wood sword that his master had helped him carve from behind, pointed it at the black shadow, and shouted, "Retreat quickly!"

His voice was trembling and his mind was almost blank.

At this moment, I don't remember the common sense my master taught me about how to deal with evil spirits.

The old host saw the performance of the two men, stepped forward quickly, raised the wooden stick and poked the ghost.

By the time the black shadow realized something was wrong, it was already unable to dodge. The inconspicuous wooden stick was a vicious object that had claimed at least a hundred lives. It was so severe that it was unable to move for a moment.

"Puff", the black shadow was poked directly, letting out a strange cry and disintegrating in the air.

The cold and gloomy air quickly dissipated, and peace returned to the backyard.

The old host slowly retreated with the stick, looking around and said, "Dong Xing, go look around the rockery by the wall. There's something hidden underground. Dig it out and we'll be done."

He gestured in the direction of the rockery with a wooden stick.

Dong Xing quickly agreed, his heart filled with indescribable excitement.

A long time ago, he had heard from the villagers that the master had captured five vicious young robbers alive by himself, but he thought it was an exaggeration. Now he saw it with his own eyes. The master was indeed very capable. Even though he was old, his ability to kill ghosts and monsters with one blow impressed him.

Running to the foot of the rockery, Dong Xing took out a knife from his sleeve and started digging in the ground.

Soon, a black earthenware jar buried in the ground was dug out.

The jar is sealed with a wooden stopper and has mottled patterns painted on it. If you look closely, it looks like a ferocious ghost head, which is quite scary.

The old host hit the dazed boy with a stick, reached out to take the earthenware pot, and ordered: "Go to the altar and recite the 'Calming Mantra' three times, so as not to be invaded by external evil."

"Yes, master!"

Dong Xing didn't dare to look at the strange jar anymore. He walked to the table. The candlelight flickered and he recited scriptures silently.

The old host casually held the pottery jar in his hand, walked to the gate of the courtyard, and shouted in a loud voice: "Manager Zhou, Captain Shi, please come out. The ghost has been killed by me, and I dug out a 'ghost-raising jar' from the courtyard."

After a while, the short and fat shopkeeper Zhou, accompanied by his servants and Captain Shi, walked into the haunted courtyard, followed by the pale-faced, frightened young man Chen Xiang.

"what……"

When Manager Zhou suddenly saw the old abbot holding and rotating the clay pot with a ghost head pattern in his hand, he shuddered with fear.

"Someone buried this ghost-raising jar at the foot of the rockery, plotting to murder Shopkeeper Zhou and his family. I will perform a ritual tonight to break that person's trick of harming others. 'Those who harm others will eventually harm themselves'. The person who performed the evil magic will suffer the consequences, and his left hand will fester and emit a foul odor. Captain Shi can follow this clue and catch the evildoer."

The old host was speaking and was about to pass the jar to Captain Shi.

Captain Shi was so scared that he waved his hands quickly. This thing looked very weird and he didn't dare to take it.

Shopkeeper Zhou stuttered, "Master...Master, we can't keep this jar. Please take it away... and help eliminate the source of the evil."

The old host casually told Chen Xiang to light a pile of firewood at the foot of the rockery. When the fire was burning well, he threw the ghost-raising jar into the fire. With a "pop", the jar broke into pieces, the flames rose up, and a fishy smell was emitted, which made everyone retreat in a hurry.

After sweeping out the extinguished debris and the charcoal ash from the house and burying them on the roadside outside the town, they pasted talismans everywhere in the house and closed the five-grain incense ash line. It was already midnight when they finished collecting the beginning and the end. They stayed at Zhou's house for one night, had breakfast the next day, received a high reward of nine taels of silver, and took the carriage sent by Manager Zhou back to Xishui Temple.

Life in the mountains returned to peace.

Dong Xing and Chen worked harder and more diligently than before, vying to please the old host.

Half a month later, a thin, dark man limping with a crutch came up the mountain. After seeing the old abbot, he told him about his difficult life and wanted to ask the Taoist priest to send Chen Xiang, who had been fostered in the mountain for five years, back home. Chen Xiang had injured his leg bone and his family needed laborers, otherwise the whole family would starve to death.

The old host immediately called Chen Xiang and Dong Xing who were working in the fields, explained the situation in general, and let Chen Xiang make his own choice.

The young man Chen Xiang knelt down with red eyes and kowtowed three times to the old Taoist priest.

The old host took out the document he had written, asked for the one the man had on him, lit it with the candlelight, waved his hand and said with a smile: "Go, be filial to your parents, and practice at home after work. If you persevere, you will achieve success in the end."

"The disciple never forgets the master's teachings."

Chen Xiang was very sad and helped the man out and down the mountain.

The old abbot watched the two disappear into the distance and instructed Dong Xing, "Go recruit three or two 40-year-old servants, pay them wages every month, provide them with food and lodging, and give them a half-month holiday every year. You should focus on your studies and practice. Of course, when you turn 16 next year, you can choose to go back, or stay at the Taoist temple to prepare for taking over the Taoist temple in the future."

The thin and dark man's limp was fake. It might fool Chen Xiang, who was inexperienced, but it couldn't be hidden from his old eyes.

He didn't expose the thin and dark man's methods in person, there was no need to do so.

Chen Xiang will know after he goes down the mountain, but he has already paid the price of not being able to stay.

Dong Xing was overjoyed and said firmly: "I will not give up halfway. I am willing to stay in the mountain and serve the master."

The master treated them well. Every year before letting them go home to reunite with their families, he would take out an extra 300 coins so that they could honor their parents and reduce the burden on the family.

At the same time, he felt sorry for his fellow apprentice. Such a misfortune had happened in his family. It was a matter of fate.

The Taoist temple hired two handymen, added new cows and donkeys, and reclaimed more wasteland on the hillside.

A team of stone warriors in the town were promoting Xishui Temple, and gradually the old Taoist priest's reputation spread. Whenever there was an evil thing that needed to be done within a radius of thirty miles, most people would come to ask the old abbot for help. Every time he never disappointed his master, no matter how difficult and troublesome the dirty thing was, the old abbot would take action with his Taoist children and would definitely eliminate the trouble.

The young man in green robe who was still stranded in the distant cave on the stone wall could only sigh at Xu Yuanchang's bad luck.

"He actually found a way to break through the mortal realm. This guy is really lucky. He can use his merits to replace his body. He doesn't have to go through hundreds of years like others, repeatedly walking the mortal path."

In the blink of an eye, another year passed. Dong Xing had made some progress in his studies and officially stayed in the mountains to practice.

It is said that the junior fellow student who was tricked into returning home cried several times out of depression, and lost his edge in just one year.

In addition to teaching Dong Xing, the old abbot spent most of his time drawing talismans and writing calligraphy. Occasionally, he would stroke his flying knife and fall into distressed thought. He wanted to wait until Dong Xing passed the Taoist examination and then go to Qianlin Temple, which was five thousand miles away.

I don’t know how many more years my body can last.

"Master, a guest is here to visit."

Dong Xing went to the pavilion on the back hill to find the old host who was admiring the scenery, bowed and reported to him.

The old host looked up and saw the unreserved guest leisurely appearing at the corner. It was the middle-aged man named Ni, the flying immortal he met when he was suppressing the bandits in Hunshan Village.

"It is a great honor for me to have such a distinguished guest here. I apologize for my late arrival."

The old host bowed his head and saluted, holding a wooden crutch in his left hand.

The middle-aged man smiled and bowed in return: "Master Xu, you are too polite. I just stopped by to take a look when I passed by your precious place."

The old host ordered his apprentice to fetch fresh spring water and use the best tea leaves to make tea. He chatted with the guest in the pavilion first, and then sent the apprentice away. The old host extended his hand and invited the guest into the pavilion.

After chatting for a while, the middle-aged man looked at the respectful old Taoist priest and said, "Master Xu is from Qianlin Temple, right?"

He was just listening to the report from his subordinates and just remembered the cold-blooded old Taoist priest who killed bandits.

It is rare to find mortals who can practice "killing evil is doing good" without worrying about falling into the sin of killing.

He thought about meeting the Taoist priest and seeing how he would explain it.

The old abbot was startled. He clearly remembered that he had practiced in Qianlin Temple for thirty years, and then traveled around. He said calmly, "If you say it's not true, then it's not true. For monks, the world is their home. Why should we worry about our origins? I am now the abbot of Xishui Temple, and I have the certificate to prove it."

"Haha, the old cultivator has a good character. I, Ni, have fallen behind. Please forgive me for making a fool of myself."

The middle-aged man did not see any evil in the old Taoist priest, so he did not ask any more questions. He thought that the other party might be from another Taoist temple and did not want to reveal his origins.

The fact that a mere mortal could communicate so openly with a "god" like this really made him look up to him.

He went to the county town to retrieve the old Taoist priest's files and checked them, and indeed there was nothing wrong with them.

Before the boy's tea was ready, the middle-aged man flew into the air and left.

The old host stared at the vast white clouds in a daze. He actually had no background at all, so where could he find any connections?

From then on, the old abbot spent more time on writing and drawing symbols, often staring at a certain word for a long time, until one day he wrote the four words "like a dream, like a fantasy" on paper.

Suddenly, a rumbling sound like thunder echoed in my head, and my whole body was shaking.

The entire hundred-meter-high Xishui Mountain began to vibrate and hum, scaring two men who were working in the fields so much that they screamed, "The earth is turning upside down, run!" and dropped their tools and fled down the mountain.

Dong Xing, who was studying hard in the side room and had grown into a tall and straight young man, noticed something was wrong and hurriedly called out "Master, Master". When he broke into the side hall, he saw only a dazzling golden light and hurriedly used his arms to block it.

The blinding light disappeared in an instant, and Dong Xing saw his master standing there with a smile.

I always feel like something is different, and there's a taste I can't describe.

"what's up?"

Xu Yuanchang asked, he had stayed in Xishui Temple for twelve years and finally completed his journey of "transformation into a mortal".

"Uh... the mountain was shaking just now, and I was worried that it was a dragon turning over. It seems to be fine now."

Dong Xing said hesitantly.

……

(End of this chapter)