The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 132 Suppressing Strike (3k)

A gentle breeze rustled the hem of her clothes.

Du Yuan stood quietly in place, while some commoners nearby carefully observed what the truly skilled master looked like.

It seems I'm not much different from them?
Suddenly, Du Yuan asked them:

"Among the people present, has anyone seen that well?"

Upon hearing this, someone immediately said:
"Yes, yes. Several of us here are."

"Oh?"

Du Yuan turned and walked towards them, and the people next to them immediately made way.

"Could you describe what you saw?"

One of them recalled with lingering fear:
"There's a completely different person standing right across from me!"

Du Yuan nodded slightly and pressed for an answer:

"Have you noticed if that person does the same thing you do?"

"No! Absolutely not!" The man shook his head resolutely, his tone unwavering. "I saw it clearly! I laughed, and he had a straight face; he moved, but I was clearly standing still! Apart from me being there and him being there, we were completely, completely unrelated people!"

The other, more daring witnesses chimed in, their voices trembling with lingering fear:

"Yes, yes, that's it! Even though it's water, I can't see my reflection! I was so scared that I went back and looked in the mirror. Luckily, I saw myself in the mirror, or I would have been scared out of my wits!"

"Exactly! Thank goodness it didn't copy us! Otherwise, I would have hidden in the temple overnight! That feeling... it was like being haunted by something!"

The townspeople were talking all at once.

Du Yuan gradually rejected one guess after another.

He had thought that what he was seeing might be himself, just his appearance in a past life or something.

But now it seems that's not the case.

So what exactly is this thing?

After pondering for a moment and finding no clue, Du Yuan could only shake her head and give up the idea of ​​thinking deeply.

Then he walked to the old well that had dried up again since his arrival.

Touching the rough edge of the well, I tapped it rhythmically, silently saying to the old well in my heart:

'You'd better just let me, your Daoist master, deal with you simply and easily. That way, you're good, I'm good, and everyone's good.'

Upon realizing this, Du Yuan's expression changed!
'Otherwise, don't blame me for unleashing my Great Heavenly Dragon Technique on you!'

The townspeople who went out to make arrangements practically turned their homes upside down.

Until the sun began to set.

Several village elders, their hands trembling, held up a lacquered wooden tray filled with carefully selected copper coins and respectfully presented it to Du Yuan.

It wasn't fifty as Du Yuan claimed, but a full three or four hundred!
"Master," the village elder said nervously, "we are not very discerning and have no way of knowing which coins would meet your standards, so we have gathered all the old coins we could find. What do you think?"

The coins in the box had varying patinas. Many were old coins from previous dynasties, and there were even a few older ones. The rest were mostly "Jingyuan Tongbao" coins minted during the Jingyuan era. These coins are easy to identify—they are slightly smaller in size, but the copper is purer, making the patina on their surface particularly noticeable.

The villagers secretly speculated: would the Taoist priest choose ancient coins from previous dynasties, or old coins that had been polished to a shine by thousands of hands?

However, Du Yuan's move was completely unexpected!
His fingers flew through the pile of coins, picking up old coins from previous dynasties with a thick patina, as well as slightly greenish Jingyuanbao coins, and even a few old coins with a glossy sheen.

In a short while, fifty copper coins of different shapes, ages, and conditions had gathered in his palm, almost overflowing.

"Thank you all for your help," Du Yuan said, nodding as she held up the heavy, miscellaneous handful of coins. "This is enough!"

The village elders nodded hastily, handing the remaining coins to others, but their eyes remained fixed on the pile of mixed old and new coins in Du Yuan's hand, and they couldn't help but ask:

"Master, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Du Yuan, holding the pile of copper coins, said:
"Copper coins, copper coins, many scholars like to call them filthy money and scoff at them. But in reality, it is people, not money, that are filthy."

"This item is the lifeblood of the people's livelihood and the foundation of the nation's operation! It circulates in the hands of peddlers and laborers and is hidden in the coffers of wealthy merchants and magnates, carrying the wishes of the people, the trust of transactions, and the spirit of the dynasty!"

Du Yuan paused, then gently held up the fifty carefully selected coins in her palm. Sunlight streamed down, making the new coins glossy and the old coins a deep green.

"That is why these coins, tainted by the mundane world and imbued with the warmth of people's fingertips, are no longer ordinary objects. The 'faith,' the 'thoughts,' and the 'fortune' they embody can all be put to use!"

His gaze shifted to the old well, which had been filled with water again, before returning to the coins in his palm, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Of course, based on the item itself alone, although it is extraordinary, it cannot be called a great thing. After all, these precious coins containing human 'faith,' 'thought,' and 'luck' are everywhere in this world. They can only be called rare, not precious; they can be used, but not very useful."

At this point, Du Yuan's gaze suddenly deepened. He surveyed the crowd, who were gradually holding their breath in awe, and said loudly:

"However—if it were accompanied by my 'Midas touch'..."

Before he finished speaking, he slightly curled the five fingers of his left hand holding the money, raised his right hand with sword fingers, and pointed at the pile of copper coins in his palm. He then shouted three times, the sound like the clinking of gold and jade:

"Change! Change! Change!"

As the sound faded, the copper coins turned to gold, and the people cheered in unison.

And unlike the old money that everyone else had only found slightly rare.

The coins that have been blessed by the Taoist priest today do not possess the dazzling gaudiness of ordinary goldware, but rather a sense of profound weight and warmth like the sun.

"This, what is this?"

"It turned into gold coins?"

"Nonsense, that was transformed into a celestial treasure by the Taoist priest! How can gold compare?"

"Hey, what are you doing?"

The people were buzzing with discussion, and Du Yuan was overjoyed with her success.

Sure enough, for this level, two or three thousand people would be enough.

Of course, it's also possible that, like the method of 'controlling objects,' it receives enhancements as one's own 'cultivation' increases. But at least I roughly understand what level of skill is required to do what level of tasks.

At the very least, acquire a kind of alchemy that you can't use to attack others; Deer Town is enough!
What Du Yuan didn't notice was that this time, even after he left the well, he still kept repeating what he had silently thought to himself.

The well also overflowed again when there was no water.

After all, the well had always been hiding from him, making it difficult for him to see clearly.

Du Yuan, quite satisfied, held up the fifty 'gold coins' and said:
"Today, I will set up a formation around this Deer Town!"

He turned and pointed to the well:

"First, we must suppress this well and prevent any further changes!"

Then he pointed to the town and said:

"Secondly, we should arrange a harmonious relationship for this Deer Town, so that the population will prosper and the livestock will live in peace!"

The former already made the people, who had been living in fear because of this well, extremely happy.

The latter's appearance drew even more cheers.

May the Daoist priest live forever!

"The Taoist priest is truly compassionate!"

Du Yuan waved her hand and said:

"There's no need for that. Helping the people is only right and proper! So, this humble Taoist is leaving!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Du Yuan took a step and disappeared from the spot.

Then they walked to the place where they had seen the well earlier.

Holding the 'coin', he looked around, and with a single glance, a coin rang out and embedded itself deeply into the soil beneath his feet.

One more step, and the stream babbled. Du Yuan chuckled, casually lifting a millstone-sized blue stone and firmly pressing the second coin into its base.

Deep in the bamboo forest, in the empty bird's nest, in the dark rock crevices, Du Yuan's figure appeared and disappeared like a ghost, and coins disappeared into various hidden corners.

After she had only two coins left in her hand, Du Yuan returned to the house where she had previously given water.

The woman and her two children went to the well early in the morning.

There's no one here, of course.

So Du Yuan pushed open the door without any hindrance and then flicked a ball that landed on the other side's roof!
Only then did Du Yuan hold the last one and smile with satisfaction.

He certainly doesn't understand formations.

The idea of ​​deploying troops is completely out of the question.

But all he needs is for the townspeople to have unwavering faith in him!

The people of Luzhen already believed it. Their belief was more real than gold.

All of this will naturally fall into place!
As for this last one in his hand...
Du Yuan glanced at it, then held it in her hand and walked back to the well.

As soon as they arrived, the village elders eagerly stepped forward and asked:

"Master, is it... is it done?"

Du Yuan nodded and smiled, pointing to the well opening:
"Whether it succeeds or not, wouldn't you know by taking a look?"

Upon hearing this, some of the surrounding people immediately gathered around excitedly.

"Oh dear, it's really gone, it's really gone!"

"It's me, it's you, our shadows have returned!"

Upon hearing this, the villagers were so excited they couldn't express it.

All they could do was urge everyone to quickly bow and express their gratitude to Du Yuan.

"It is truly our great fortune to meet the Daoist Master today. Please accept our bow!"

Led by the village elders, the surrounding people bowed deeply to Du Yuan in unison.

After bowing, before continuing, Du Yuan raised her hand to support the leading village elder.

"Alas, old man, this matter can only be considered half resolved at this point!"

"Half, half-understood?"

Du Yuan nodded, then revealed the last coin and said:

"From now on, as long as people's hearts remain unchanged, this place will not change, and there will absolutely be no disaster because of it. But if something goes wrong that day, and the people of the whole town feel extremely uneasy."

"Please throw this one into the well!"

The well still didn't seem like any evil spirit, but since it wouldn't speak, Du Yuan naturally prioritized the well-being of the people.

However, to avoid any accidental injury, Du Yuan opted for a compromise.

That is to suppress without destroying, leaving a way out.

In this way, there is room for both advancement and retreat.

Feeling the immense weight of the money in his hand, the village elder quickly asked:
"Master, what is meant by 'unchanging'?"

Du Yuan laughed:

"No need to overthink it, just maintain a calm and ordinary mindset. But if evil arises from within and people's hearts become corrupt, then things will go wrong. Of course, the opposite is also true, and it will be an even more beautiful situation!"

(End of this chapter)