Sword from the Immortal Mountain

Chapter 104: Taking Over

The tall Taoist priest Song had an arrogant and disdainful look. His eyes swept across Chen Jin's face, then fell on the messy dining table. He immediately became angry and said, "Master Chen San, is this how you treat guests? From now on, don't come to Changsheng Temple to look for me again."

After all, walk away.

Chen Shizhen suddenly shuddered and shouted, "Master Song, Master Song, please stay!"

He stood up and ran after him, but unexpectedly he tripped over the door sill and fell to the ground, injuring his face.

The servant Awu came closer and quickly helped him up: "Master, are you okay?"

Chen Jin also hurried over to check.

Chen Shizhen fell down in a mess, wailing, "I have offended Immortal Song. My golden elixir path is broken. What should I do?"

Chen Jin said angrily, "Master Song is an hour late. How can this be considered as a proper guest? Besides, this meal is not prepared for him. Dad, don't be stubborn anymore. How can the immortality elixir be made so easily? Master Chen is right. You have been fooled."

"Don't talk nonsense."

Chen Shizhen jumped up and was about to lose his temper under the influence of alcohol.

Crack!

There was a hard slap on the cheek.

He was a little dazed by the beating and sat down again.

Not to mention Chen Shizhen, even Chen Jin, the old housekeeper Chen Bo, the servant A Wu and others were all frightened and looked at Chen Jin who was beating people with shock.

Ye Yanke in the room was very calm. During this journey, he had a better understanding of Chen Jin's temperament:
He looks gentle, but he is actually ruthless. Destroying a mountain and a temple is a trivial matter, let alone a slap in the face?
"Are you awake? If you are, tell me what this immortality elixir is all about."

Chen Jin said calmly, as if the slap was justified.

Strangely enough, Chen Shizhen seemed to have really woken up. He covered his swollen mouth and hurriedly responded, "Awake, awake."

However, to the old butler and other servants, this scene seemed as if their master was being bullied and was scared.

As the saying goes, "When the master is humiliated, the minister dies." They are all loyal servants and cannot tolerate this.

Chen Jin immediately said, "Awu, clear the table. Uncle Chen, go make some tea."

After the eldest lady gave the order, the two men had to give up the idea of going up to Chen Jin to argue and went to do their work reluctantly.

Chen Jin glanced at Chen Jin with a complicated expression.

To be honest, the girl had long been fed up with her father's willful and absurd behavior in recent years. However, she could not dissuade him, and there was no way to make him wake up.

As a daughter, I can't really hit my father.

But now, this slap from Chen Jin seemed to be slapping himself, and he felt inexplicably relieved.

It would be great if I could wake my father up.

As for Chen Jin's behavior of taking the initiative, it was indeed rude, impolite and arbitrary, which inevitably made people unhappy.

Is it true that he is a country boy who couldn't find a place to live and had to seek refuge here?
Suddenly I remembered that Uncle Hu's attitude towards Chen Jin was not right either. It seemed that he was trying to please him cautiously.

The tea arrived quickly, along with some snacks and cakes.

The old butler was worried that his master would be beaten again, so he stood behind Chen Shizhen with a vigilant look on his face.

Chen Jin stood beside him.

As for Ye Yanke and Awu, they felt it was inappropriate to stay, so they went out and waited.

In fact, Chen Shizhen felt ashamed and wanted to kick his daughter and Uncle Chen out so that they could talk behind closed doors.

But was stopped by Chen Jin

……

After receiving a slap in the face, the fanaticism and obsession in Chen Shizhen's eyes disappeared, and he regained some clarity.

He bowed respectfully to Chen Jin, and his attitude changed very quickly: "Thank you for waking me up, sir. I finally understand what Lao Hu said before he left that day."

Chen Jin asked: "What did he say?"

Chen Shizhen sighed, "I was obsessed with alchemy, and Lao Hu tried to persuade me, but he knew I wouldn't listen, so he said I needed someone with real magical powers to wake me up."

"Haha, Mr. Hu is also a capable man. Why didn't he beat you up himself at that time?"

"..."

Chen Shizhen looked embarrassed.

His emotions now are very complicated, filled with pain, regret, confusion, loss and helplessness.

I just want to find someone to talk to.

But Chen Shizhen himself didn't know why this happened.

He was born into a wealthy family, and it can be said that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Because he was the only son, his parents doted on him and obeyed him in everything. However, he was not raised to be a playboy, but his temperament was slightly gentle.

He was a scholar and passed the imperial examination at the age of sixteen. But for some reason, he failed the examinations again and again. He was depressed, so he turned to mountains and rivers and began to live a bohemian life.

Later, after his parents died, Chen Shizhen remarried and gave birth to a daughter, Chen Jin.

For a family as well-off as the third branch of the Chen family, having only one daughter was definitely not enough. However, Chen Shizhen loved his wife very much, so he let nature take its course and did not take a concubine.

But five years ago, his wife died suddenly of illness, and Chen Shizhen's temperament changed drastically. He became afraid of death, vain and uncertain, and began to pursue the Huang-Lao alchemy.

The Changsheng Temple where Taoist Song came from was extraordinary. It was one of the top Taoist temples in the Qian Dynasty and belonged to the Danding lineage. There were branches of the temples in all parts of the Nine Provinces. In a sense, the Changsheng Temple presided over by Taoist Song in Boji Alley was equivalent to the offerings of the Chen family of Changle Hall.

The wealthy families in towns and villages, who have the money and means, will invite household gods to protect their homes; and the big families, in addition to household gods, will also spend a lot of money to hire Taoist priests to worship.

This approach is the same as hiring guards to guard the house.

It’s just that Taoist Song’s status is much more transcendent. Not to mention his own cultivation level, the Changsheng Temple behind him alone is a golden signboard.

Chen Shizhen went to the master's house and spent a large sum of money to learn the secret of alchemy, which was called "The Secret of the Common Principle of the Outer Dao".

However, the art of alchemy is obscure and mysterious, making it extremely difficult to get started. In addition, the materials used in alchemy are complex and expensive. Every time a furnace is opened to make an elixir, it costs a huge amount of money.

As a result, even though Chen Shizhen's family was wealthy, they could not withstand such a torment. In just two or three years, his family fell into poverty and had to keep selling their land, shops, and manors.

Now, of the good family property, only the ancestral house is left. In order to cut expenses, most of the slaves and servants have to be dismissed.

This is Chen Shizhen’s story.

He suddenly came to his senses and felt that he had had a very long dream in which he was confused and dazed.

After she finished her talk, she suddenly grabbed Chen Jin's hand and said, "Mr. Chen, you said I was deceived. Could it be that Immortal Song is a fake Taoist priest, and the alchemy techniques he taught are also fake?"

Chen Jin said: "It may not be false."

"If it's true, why lie?"

Chen Shizhen still has hope.

Chen Jin then asked, "How does your family compare to the imperial family?"

Chen Shizhen hurriedly asked, "How dare a firefly compete with the bright moon?"

Chen Jin said calmly, "Isn't that right? Even the Emperor's family, with all their national strength, can't make the immortality elixir, so how can your family make it well?"

Chen Shizhen was speechless. After thinking for a while, he said, "Song Xianzhang said that the golden elixir is a gift from heaven. In many cases, it depends on one's luck and fortune."

Hearing this, Chen Jin laughed out loud: "Such words are exactly the rhetoric of a charlatan."

Chen Shizhen still didn't give up: "But what if it works?"

Chen Jin said slowly, "I don't know how many foolish thoughts are caused by the word 'one in a million'. Although I haven't read the specific content of 'Outer Dao Can Tong Qi', to put it bluntly, external elixirs can never bring immortality. Taoist Song knows this very well, but he still talks nonsense about 'golden elixir for immortality' to you, which is a lie. He may be profit-making or have other purposes. In short, he is not a trustworthy person."

"well said!"

Chen Jin next to him couldn't help but applaud and looked at Chen Jin with sparkling eyes filled with admiration.

The old butler also breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that this Mr. Chen was a good person. Although his slap on his master was a bit rough, it was very effective and the effect was obvious.

"It's fake, it's all fake..."

Chen Shizhen murmured, suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood, then collapsed in the chair.

Chen Jin said loudly: "Miss, old housekeeper, you saw it, I didn't hit him again."

Chen Jin: “…”

Uncle Chen: "..."

No wonder Chen Jin wanted them to stay, it was to testify. Otherwise, if Chen Jin and Chen Shizhen were the only ones to talk about it, and if something really happened, they would have no way to defend themselves.

Chen Jin added: "In fact, it is a good thing that Master Chen San vomited blood. He had taken a lot of external pills and his body was deeply poisoned. If he is not treated early, his life may be in danger."

Hearing this, the old housekeeper always felt that he was making fun of him: You are a scholar, and you are here to take the exam, so how come you know how to use elixirs to cure diseases?

Chen Jin seemed to be thinking about something and felt that what Chen Jin said made a lot of sense.

Chen Jin said no more, said goodbye and left, returning to the villa with Ye Yanke.

Ye Yanke couldn't help but said, "Scholar, you suddenly slapped Master Chen San, and I thought we would be kicked out."

Then he continued, "And that Taoist priest Song, he is so arrogant and rude. Why is he so arrogant? I thought he would take action. That would be a lot to watch."

Chen Jin glanced at him and said, "You are addicted to eating melons."

"Eat melon? What kind of melon?"

Ye Yanke looked confused.

Chen Jin said casually: "Nothing."

Ye Yanke clapped his hands and said, "You mean the weather is hot and after dinner, there should be some fruits to cool us down. Otherwise, I'll go ask that servant Awu?"

Chen Jin was too lazy to pay attention to him and went back to his room.

During this time, Chen Shizhen's obsession with alchemy led to the bankruptcy of his entire family fortune. It was just a coincidence that he took care of it.

Speaking of alchemy, the "Huangting Benjing" that he practiced is also a branch of alchemy.

But it is not external alchemy, but internal alchemy for the dual cultivation of sex and life.

There are many branches and schools of the immortal alchemy method, and there are countless theories, each with its own arguments and points, which either support each other, or intersect with each other, or even contradict each other.

Among them, the struggle between inside and outside, the struggle between the furnace and the cauldron, and the struggle between qi and spirit are extremely disturbing.

Nowadays, with the decline of the three orthodox religions, those disputes have become less frequent.

Chen Jin didn't think too much, he just walked his own way and cultivated his own path.

(End of this chapter)