Two Realms: Starting with transmitting the Taiping Jing to Zhang Jiao

Zhang Xiu practically ran all the way to Chongxu Hall with his hair disheveled. There he saw the same famine victims who had been wailing and weeping weakly during the day now sitting on straw mats, chatting about farming.

Ignoring the risk of infection, Zhang Xiu reached out and pulled open the hemp clothing of a disaster victim. He saw that the pustules that had previously swollen under the clothes had subsided, leaving only a barely noticeable red spot.

After checking several, it was found that, apart from the particularly severe cases that still showed some signs of the plague, the vast majority of the disaster victims had recovered safely.

Because of their physical weakness, most of the disaster victims were unable to get up. However, upon seeing Zhang Xiu with his disheveled hair and recognizing him as the Ritsuji of the Lu Tang Academy, they repeatedly kowtowed to Zhang Xiu with tears in their eyes.

An elderly man, holding his grandson, cried until his eyes were swollen, and cried out that he was grateful to the immortal for saving him from suffering, and was about to kneel down to Zhang Xiu.

In the eyes of the common people, Yi Chuan and Zhang Xiu were in cahoots, the same kind of people. After drinking the talisman water, within just a few hours, the daytime convulsions of vomiting and diarrhea seemed like a dream.

Zhang Xiu helped the elderly man with his gray hair up, and looking at the sea of ​​eyes staring at him like pilgrims, he felt dizzy.

A bowl of talisman water could save hundreds of disaster victims. Did my master Zhang Daoling possess such supernatural powers in his lifetime?

I don't know, and even if it were true, it wouldn't be done so easily and casually.

"The Master is not wrong. Although I have cultivated the Tao for many years, my perspective and vision are still like those of an ordinary person..."

Zhang Xiu was distraught and dared not accept the people's worship. He ran out of Chongxu Hall in a panic and bumped into Fei Shi, who was also disheveled.

Fei Shi seemed to have just gotten out of bed; his clothes were disheveled, and he was missing one of his shoes. He had gone up Lutang Mountain overnight.

"All...all healed?"

Fei Shi stared wide-eyed and shook Zhang Xiu's shoulders vigorously. Even when Zhang Xiu nodded, she still refused to believe it. She also disregarded the possibility of being infected by the disaster victims and ran into Chongxu Hall.

Fifteen minutes later, Fei Shi also walked out looking lost and muttered to herself.

"Such supernatural power really exists..."

"An immortal, truly an immortal..."

Zhang Xiu had already come to his senses and staggered to his feet on the stone steps in front of Chongxu Hall.

Fei Shi dismissed the yamen runners who came forward to serve him and sat down alone next to Zhang Xiu.

The two men looked at each other in the darkness, then smiled bitterly.

"The actions of immortals are indeed unpredictable." Zhang Xiu looked up at the Chongxuan Platform at the top of Chongxu Hall and recalled the scene from half a month ago when Yi Chuan appeared and fell down in a sorry state.

"I never imagined I'd become a mere mortal, unable to recognize the beauty of a celestial being," Magistrate Fei Shi shook his head, a bitter smile on his face.

Burning talismans and turning them into water saved over a hundred lives; this alone is enough for the imperial court to write a biography and record his great merit.

"Is there any way to repay this kindness?" Fei Shi looked at Zhang Xiu, trying to make amends for her recent rudeness.

Zhang Xiu shook his head: "These immortals have already abstained from grains and no longer have the desire for food or drink. They are even less interested in fine silks and money. What can we mortals offer in return?"

"Like my master, such people seek nothing more than the word 'Tao'..."

At this point, Zhang Xiu suddenly froze.

"Seeking the Dao... Hmm, perhaps I, Shikado Haru, do actually possess something that could catch his eye..."

"What is it?!" Fei Shi exclaimed with delight.

"My teacher Zhang Daoling once gave me a certificate to preach at this Deer Hall..."

After saying this, Zhang Xiu looked up at the beams of Chongxu Hall, his expression complex and unreadable.

Fei Shi looked in the direction Zhang Xiu was looking, but all she could see was a pitch-black ceiling; there was nothing else in sight.

-----------------

Tonight, Lutangzhi is destined to be sleepless. The noise and cries of joy can be heard for miles, and the lit candles illuminate the entire Lutangzhi as if it were daytime.

However no matter how noisy it was, there was one room that neither government officials nor Lu Tangzhi's disciples dared to disturb.

Inside the room, Yi Chuan sat on a futon, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing, his face somewhat pale.

"I really can't do this kind of thing too often, otherwise this body probably won't last long enough to take me back to the 21st century."

He opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air from his mouth and nose.

A little rice porridge and some herbs haphazardly found on the mountain were certainly not enough to cure the plague.

He also added some special ingredients to the talisman water during the day.

The first unusual thing he noticed was after relieving himself one day. He found that lush weeds had grown where he often urinated, standing out conspicuously against the gray-brown soil.

"The Journey to the West once described through the words of the dragon horse that if a true dragon urinates in water, the fish in the water will become dragons; if it urinates in a mountain, the grass in the mountain will become lingzhi mushrooms... Although I am a crippled immortal, my essence and blood are already considered a precious medicine in the world."

Yi Chuan did not use urine to make medicine, although his urine also had no odor, but Yi Chuan still felt disgusted.

So last night he wore heavy clothes and went up the mountain to sweat it out, and also to avoid being seen, pretending to be going up the mountain to collect herbs.

Yi Chuan knew his sweat was miraculous, but he wasn't sure how effective it would be after being diluted. Fortunately, judging from the noise coming from outside the room, it seemed to be working quite well.

"But this is also a huge burden on this body." Yi Chuan raised his right hand, and it was clear that his originally smooth and jade-like skin had become slightly transparent, and even the veins and blood vessels under it could be seen.

"Semen, sweat, and saliva are all the essence of blood and should not be easily discarded. The Taoist scriptures are indeed true."

Yi Chuan sighed. He wasn't some great philanthropist with the kind of selfless and altruistic ideals.

Yi Chuan considers himself not a good person.

He rubbed the crescent moon mark on the back of his hand, his brow furrowing. "So, you sent me here just to help the disaster victims in Mianzhu County?"

"Then when will the thing you want me to find appear?"

The crescent moon flickered, emitting a faint glow in the dim light, but no message came.

Yi Chuan took a deep breath and sat down to meditate and regulate his breathing again.

Silent all night.

As the first rays of sunlight streamed into the room, there was a loud knocking at the door.

Yi Chuan opened the door and was greeted by Zhang Xiu's smiling face, which resembled a black chrysanthemum.

"This humble priest is but a mortal with limited vision, unable to recognize a true immortal. I hope you will forgive my negligence in the past few days."

Zhang Xiu bowed deeply, his waist almost bent at a ninety-degree angle, showing extreme respect.

"It's alright, it's me who has been bothering Shirodoji for the past two weeks."

Yi Chuan didn't dare to be negligent and helped Zhang Xiu up. According to seniority, the person in front of him was the future patriarch of the Taoist sect.

"The immortal's act of burning talismans and turning them into water to save the disaster victims can be described as a great deed, which the people of Mianzhu County have no way to repay. However, after much thought, this high priest still feels compelled to make a gesture..."

Yi Chuan looked at the dark-faced man's expression and then saw his right hand fumbling in his robes, and instantly understood everything.

Well, when he was performing rituals in the village with the old abbot at Baiyun Temple, some widows gave gifts to the old abbot in this way.

But money is useless to me now, and I can't even speak the Eastern Han dialect properly. So, living a life of leisure and freeloading in Lutang is the right thing to do.

"The High Priest need not be so polite. Helping the world and saving people is the duty of us cultivators. If we were to seek repayment for such kindness, it would make me seem like a petty and greedy person."

Feeling still very weak, Yi Chuan forced himself to stay awake and tried to see the guest off to rest.

"In that case, I, the High Priest, am indeed worldly..." Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiu's face immediately showed shame, and the scroll he had just taken out froze in mid-air.

"Indeed, a true master with such supernatural powers must have an extraordinary lineage. How could the scriptures written by my master Zhang Daoling possibly meet the true master's standards?" Zhang Xiu said, then bowed and took his leave in shame.

"actually……"

"I have always believed that cause and effect are clear and that repaying kindness is a fine virtue for those of us who cultivate the Tao."

Yi Chuan suddenly stopped turning around, turned back, and called out to Zhang Xiu with a serious expression.