With virtue

"You didn't lie? Then I'll tell you your tricks right now!" the young Taoist priest said nonchalantly.

But then the young man began to speak eloquently:

"His trick was quite simple. He would first patrol the village to see which family had the fattest cattle. Then he would take a basin of concentrated salt water and smear it thickly on his head, face, and all over his body. Then he would go to the family with the fattest cattle, kneel down in front of the door, and weep and beg, saying things like, 'My late mother refused to practice vegetarianism when she was alive, and after her death she was reborn as an animal, as a yellow ox.' Seeing that the family was kind-hearted, they would lead him to the cattle pen to see it."

"As soon as the herd of cattle appeared, he knelt down in front of the yellow ox and wept bitterly. He took off his hat and revealed his face. The yellow ox smelled the salt and stretched out its tongue to lick his face. He said that it was the mother cow showing affection for her calf and pitying him. He then took off his clothes and let the ox lick his body. Naturally, the ox did not want to leave. The family believed him because he acted so convincingly and gave him the ox to lead away."

He paused, glanced around at the crowd, and seeing that several people had already shown signs of sudden understanding, he continued, "He led the ox, walked for two or three days, found a mountain hut to hide in, and then called a butcher to slaughter it. After selling the beef and hide, he pocketed the money and went elsewhere to find another ox, repeating this cycle endlessly. It was a case of 'Mulian rescuing his mother'—a truly remarkable story!"

"This trick is specifically designed to fool kind-hearted and honest farmers. It never fails. In this world, the rich are never kind-hearted, but the poor can't bear to see mothers and children separated, so they fall for it!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding villagers were immediately in an uproar.

Those who had just spoken up for the monk now blushed and lowered their heads, not daring to utter a sound. The old man whose cow had been stolen spat on the ground angrily and cursed, "Damn bald thief!"

The monk was pinned down by Zhao Yunshu's foot and his trick was exposed in front of everyone, his face turning pale and then red.

He was about to argue further, but the villagers' gazes had gradually shifted from sympathy to anger.

Zhao Yunshu yanked him up from the ground and said, "If you are a real monk, I will cleanse the temple of evil on behalf of Buddha today. If you are a fake monk, I will seek justice for the people who were cheated out of their cows by you. Tell me, which one are you?"

Upon seeing this, the monk's legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly: "Taoist Master, spare my life! Taoist Master, spare my life!"

After he explained the entire scam in detail, the villagers suddenly realized what was going on and began to curse him.

Some hot-tempered young men picked up carrying poles and were about to go up and beat the monk.

Zhao Yunshu reached out to stop him, and laughed, "Don't fight, don't fight. If someone dies, it will be my fault for exposing him. Just tie him up and send him to the authorities."

The crowd did as instructed, and together they tied the monk up tightly and took him to the village head's house.

The village head was efficient and decisive, and without hesitation, he immediately sent two strong men to escort the monk away. No one knew where he was taken, but since it was far from the county government, it was probably not some kind of legal punishment.

But the young Taoist priest couldn't care less about those things. Because everything was settled, the villagers were extremely grateful and insisted that the priest stay for a meal.

The village elders personally accompanied them, slaughtered an old hen, and went to a neighbor's house to get a jar of village wine, setting up a table in the threshing ground.

Zhao Yunshu did not refuse and sat down to eat. During the meal, he explained the monk's trickery to the villagers in detail.

The village elder listened with astonishment, and sighed while leaning on his cane, "In this world, even monks have learned such despicable tricks. It's truly impossible to guard against them. If it weren't for the Taoist priest's discerning eye, our village would have been swindled out of another fine ox."

After the meal, Zhao Yunshu spent the night in the village.

The next morning, as dawn broke, he got up to say goodbye. The village elder personally saw him off at the village entrance and stuffed two crispy wheat cakes into his bundle, bidding him a reluctant farewell.

Zhao Yunshu slung his bundle over his shoulder and strode along the village road.

I meddled in this trivial matter and got a good meal. Although it wasn't as thrilling as the battle with the demonic monk in Ding kiln, it was still quite comfortable.

In the past few days, he has helped several villages, exorcising evil spirits in the east village and catching demons in the west village. Today, he exposed a fraudster family and helped them find their lost ox.

These are all small things, not worth mentioning, but they make me happy.

He suddenly remembered a sentence the old Taoist priest had said when he was alive.

"Cultivation is not just about sitting in meditation in the deep mountains and forests. Going out into the world and meddling in other people's business is also a form of cultivation. Just don't provoke the wealthy."

The young Taoist priest, carrying a wheat cake, humming a song, and with his sword on his back, set off again.

These past few days, his spiritual practice has not stopped. Every morning he picks up the morning dew to draw in the sunlight and strengthen the water and fire within his chest.

Another aspect is the practice of visualization. Basically, it involves spending some time looking at visualization diagrams to improve one's visualization skills and make it easier to see the inner landscape more clearly.

These are all things that require painstaking practice every day. You won't see any results in a day or two, but if you persist for three to five years, you'll reach a whole new level.

As for the other abilities shown in the visualization diagram, such as the Ghost General's Demon Armor, the demonic energy enters the body and envelops it completely, not to mention where he could find a pair of Bright Armor.

The demonic monk's ability to control snakes was a skill developed by the snakes living with him in his intestines for decades. As a proper Taoist priest, he couldn't possibly have a snake growing in his stomach.

These are all innate talents; without them, learning them is useless.

There is another exception, namely the White Bone Contemplation.

He already had his inner vision, so the White Bone Contemplation was of little use to him. Practicing the two methods of contemplation might even conflict with each other, so he put it aside.

However, his inner thunder has not been tested recently.

He has already passed the stage of taking the secret medicine, but the tempering of the Thunder of the Heart is not as easy to obtain as morning dew and sunlight, so for now, this is the only way.

With his practice in order and his mood pleasant, the young Taoist priest walked with light steps. Furthermore, because the art of water and fire could nourish his heart and kidneys, his body had recently become stronger and he no longer felt tired when walking.

He could ride a horse or a donkey, but... Zhao Yunshu couldn't.

Yes, he can't ride a horse.

The old Taoist priest was destitute and had no money to buy or raise horses. He couldn't even afford a donkey, so he went everywhere on foot. Zhao Yunshu naturally followed along. Now that the poor had suddenly become rich, although they could buy horses and mules, they didn't know how to ride them... so it was better for them to walk.

Zhao Yunshu had mentioned this before, and the old Taoist priest comforted him, saying, "It's best for a Taoist to be down-to-earth. Riding a horse is the way an official behaves!"

Looking back now, it's likely that his master himself couldn't ride it and was just using that to coax him.

Lost in thought about all this, the young Taoist priest continued along the road.

However, at that moment, an old man in plain clothes stood by the roadside.

He was around sixty years old, wearing only one set of clothes, with nothing else on his body or in his baggage, and did not look like a traveler.

Upon seeing the young Taoist priest humming a song, a glint of light flashed in his eyes. He stepped forward and loudly asked, "Is the newcomer Zhao Yunshu?"

This startled the young Taoist priest! He was still figuring out where to go!

The young Taoist priest quickly came to his senses and asked, "And who are you?"