“Such a potent self-essence and a flourishing wounded officer, no wonder you’re so audacious.” Bai Feng glanced at Huo Xiang, muttered a few words under his breath, then spoke coldly, “I am a ghost. You merely wish to see why he transformed into a different guise. Very well, I shall grant your wish immediately and reveal it to you. Once you’ve seen it, leave at once. If you continue to linger here, do not blame me for being unkind to you and your daughter!”
As soon as Bai Feng finished speaking, Shui Miao transformed into Zhang Ling’s appearance.
Shui Miao was still pondering the concept of a strong self-element and flourishing hurt officer when he was enveloped by a surge of earth spiritual energy. In fate analysis, those that restrict the day master are the proper officer and partial officer. Among them, the one sharing the same five elements as the day master is the partial officer, often referred to as the seven killings. Compared to the proper officer, the seven killings are more restraining. Those with a strong self-element who can overcome the seven killings possess authority, decisiveness, and determination, often giving others a swift, bold impression.
Seeing Shui Miao revert to Zhang Ling’s appearance, Huo Yuanliang had no more doubts. He hurriedly took out 50,000 yuan from his person and handed it to Shui Miao. Shui Miao only took 10,000, indicating that the rest should be given to Huo Xiang for her education. Huo Yuanliang thanked him a few times and quickly pulled his daughter away. However, after just a few steps, Huo Xiang broke free from her father’s grip and ran back. She directly asked Bai Feng, “Where are you taking him? He helped me, so I must help him. Tell me, what do you want?”
“I want your life…”
Bai Feng suddenly waved his hand toward Huo Xiang. She felt a darkness before her eyes and immediately fainted.
“Great immortal, spare us, spare us! My daughter doesn’t understand; she was just talking nonsense…”
Huo Yuanliang happened to catch Huo Xiang as she fell. His face was full of terror and fear.
Shui Miao frowned deeply, glaring at Bai Feng. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Bai Feng ignored Shui Miao and said calmly to Huo Yuanliang, “She’s fine. Take her back and give her some ginger soup. Also, leave this town as soon as possible. Don’t let me see you again.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll move away tomorrow, tomorrow itself.”
Huo Yuanliang nodded repeatedly, gave Shui Miao a grateful look, and quickly carried his daughter down the mountain.
※※※
“What exactly do you want?”
Shui Miao stepped in front of Bai Feng, staring into her eyes.
Bai Feng had only been trying to scare Huo Yuanliang and his daughter. Seeing that they had left, Bai Feng returned to her normal form and snapped at Shui Miao, “You should ask yourself what you want! Do you think I want to protect you? If it weren’t for my master ordering me to protect you, I wouldn’t bother with you!”
“Remove your earth spiritual energy. Don’t think you can use the Zhang family’s matters to entangle me. I’m not your puppet; you have no right to control my freedom.” Shui Miao had seen through it—they turned him into Zhang Ling’s appearance to entangle him with these matters, trapping him here forever.
Shui Miao didn’t want to be bound by emotions, which was why he hadn’t acted on the young wife earlier.
“We’re entangling you?” Bai Feng rolled her eyes in anger, waving her hands excitedly. “You’re really hard to please! I don’t understand why my master wants me to protect a brainless fool like you…”
“You can go ask your master about that.” Shui Miao interrupted her. “Also, tell your master I don’t need her protection. I control my own destiny. She knows very well what her real purpose was in sealing me. She claims to protect me—does she think I’m an idiot? A thousand-year-old female ghost—I thought she was some great sage, but she’s just trying to steal my faith, wishes, and offerings. She’s nothing but a fraud. And you, little ghost, are so foolish. You believe everything your master says. You’re the brainless fool.”
Shui Miao no longer wished to be entangled. He only wanted to venture out according to his own will, refusing to be blindly manipulated any longer.
“How dare you!”
“You dare insult my master’s reputation! You’re asking for death!”
Bai Feng was furious. Lady Bai was like a saint in her eyes, and she wouldn’t allow anyone to tarnish her image.
“Typical narrow-minded woman!”
Shui Miao didn’t want to deal with Bai Feng anymore and waved his hand dismissively as he headed down the mountain.
“……”
Bai Feng had been a well-bred lady in her lifetime and had never been spoken to like this. In her eyes, being called a “narrow-minded woman” was a great insult.
“Fine, fine! Since you’re so rude, I won’t hold back anymore. I’ll make you pay in blood!”
Furious, Bai Feng conjured a chilling gust of wind to envelop Shui Miao, aiming to hurl him down the slope. Though the slope wasn’t as perilous as a cliff, it still stood dozens of meters high. A fall from such a height would either be fatal or leave him severely injured. Shui Miao felt a sudden darkness cloud his vision, unable to withstand the force of the icy wind, and stumbled perilously close to the edge. Just as one of his feet teetered over the void, a surge of demonic energy from below thrust him back. Bai Feng was taken aback to see the black snake demon materialize beside Shui Miao.
“Damn you! You vile snake demon, how dare you oppose me!” Bai Feng was furious. She formed hand seals and materialized a sword out of thin air, ready to fight the black snake demon to the death.
“Run! Head to the river where you first arrived and wait for me.” The black snake demon shoved Shui Miao aside and spat out a black, curved sword. “Haha, beautiful Bai Feng, you think you’re the only one armed? This Yin Snake Sword was just bestowed upon me by the Yin God himself. You stand no chance against me. Resisting is futile. I suggest you conserve your strength and prepare for reincarnation in the underworld. A mindless fool like you is nothing but a drain on spiritual energy while alive!”
“Ah, you’re infuriating me…”
Bai Feng had always been teased by the black snake demon, and now being called a brainless fool, she was consumed by rage and charged at the black snake demon.
Shui Miao ran down the mountain…
Since he had decided to be resolute and follow his own path, he wouldn’t regret it.
But once he reached the foot of the mountain, Shui Miao began to wonder: Why did the black snake demon tell me to go to the river? Would I be jumping from the frying pan into the fire? However, the black snake demon didn’t seem that bad. Since it saved me just now, I should listen to it this time. Forget it! No more overthinking. I’ll go to the river first.
Shui Miao jogged for over ten minutes when he saw the young wife on the road. She spotted Shui Miao and rushed over, grabbing his hand tightly. “Zhang Ling, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you since morning. I was so worried!”
“I’m not Zhang Ling. I’m Shui Miao. Your Zhang Ling died long ago, and I’m not a fool. Please stop treating me like Zhang Ling. Have you ever seen a fool who speaks so clearly?” Shui Miao broke free from her grip, took out the 10,000 yuan, and handed most of it to her. “You’re still young. Don’t let conservative thoughts bind you for life. Take this money and go to Zhonghai City. Use the phone number I gave you to find Chen Bing and see if you can work at his restaurant. If Chen Bing won’t help you, use this money to rent a place, find a job, and start a new life. Buy a phone, give your number to Chen Bing, and I’ll find you when I return…”
“Zhang Ling, snap out of it, please?” The young wife pushed the money back to Shui Miao, hugged him tightly, and cried, “Zhang Ling, stop messing around. Our family only has a few members left. If you leave, what will happen to Grandpa and Grandma?”
“Enough!” Shui Miao had had enough of this endless entanglement. He pushed her away and shouted, “It’s not me who needs to snap out of it—it’s you! I’m not Zhang Ling. I’ve said it many times. Why won’t you believe me? I’m not him, and I won’t stay here for him. I have my own path to follow. Please be strong. Will you die without a man? Can’t you have some backbone and be independent? Even if your grandparents are old, they can give the house to someone else to take care of them in their old age! Why can’t you face the world and give yourself a new beginning?”
“But… but Granny Ma said you’ve lost your mind and think you’re someone else!” The young wife finally began to doubt whether this man was really Zhang Ling.
Shui Miao sneered, “Granny Ma? She’s merely a puppet. She’s been possessed by a female ghost masquerading as a great immortal. That ghost is named Bai Feng. Bai Feng is a disciple of the thousand-year-old female ghost, Lady Bai, who is plotting against me. They forced me to impersonate your husband to trap me here with the Zhang family’s troubles for life. Right now, Bai Feng is battling the black snake demon—the one you call the Black Dragon God. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to see. Also, you can find some black dog blood and pour it on my head. Then I’ll revert to my original form.”
“Fine! Come with me to town. There’s a dog meat hotpot restaurant there; they’ll definitely have dog blood.”
The young wife pulled Shui Miao along.
Shui Miao had no choice. As the saying goes, karma is unpredictable. He had to resolve the matter with the young wife sooner or later. Might as well get it over with today.
So, the two went to town.
One of the workers at the dog meat hotpot restaurant was from the village. The young wife took Shui Miao to the back door of the kitchen, found the young worker, and explained their purpose. Shui Miao gave each of them 100 yuan. The two seventeen- or eighteen-year-old workers immediately slaughtered a black dog and brought the blood to Shui Miao. Shui Miao lifted the basin full of black dog blood over his head and poured it all over himself. In an instant, he transformed back into his original appearance.
“He… he changed…”
The two young workers looked at each other in shock, their expressions full of disbelief.
“Ah!”
The young wife covered her mouth in astonishment.
Covered in dog blood, Shui Miao sighed miserably and asked her, “Now do you believe me?”
“You… you’re truly not Zhang Ling. Then… that night… you scoundrel!” The young wife suddenly slapped Shui Miao across the face, turned around, and ran away in tears.
Shui Miao touched his face and felt relieved. Finally, it was settled. That slap was well-deserved!
The two young workers stared at Shui Miao as if he were a monster.
Shui Miao turned and walked to the river. Just as he was about to jump in to wash off the blood, he suddenly felt a comfortable sensation in his mind—the familiar feeling had returned!
“Wait!”
“Could it be that the black dog blood broke the seal on my mental realm!?”
Excited, Shui Miao quickly sat down cross-legged, calming his mind and focusing his spirit. In an instant, he entered his mental realm and finally saw the long-lost heavenly gate. However, two black talismans were pasted on the gate, blocking the celestial energy.
“Great! I never thought black dog blood could break the seal. Why didn’t I think of it before?”
Shui Miao quickly exited his mental realm, opened his eyes, and headed back to the back door of the dog meat hotpot restaurant. The two young workers, having just witnessed Shui Miao’s transformation and knowing he was involved with dark arts, hurriedly closed the door. Seeing this, Shui Miao charged in, scaring the young workers into running away. To break the seal on his dantian, Shui Miao drank the remaining black dog blood from the basin and even licked the blood off the ground. Unfortunately, most of the blood had already flowed away. Shui Miao looked around and saw another black dog in a cage. He picked up an iron dog clamp and went to grab the dog. At that moment, the two young workers returned with the portly owner and two chefs carrying knives. The group rushed in and saw a blood-covered person biting the dog’s neck and sucking its blood!
It looked like a zombie sucking blood…
The scene left everyone stunned.
The owner was about to explode in anger when Shui Miao threw the 10,000 yuan at him.
Seeing the money, the owner’s face immediately lit up. He sternly scolded the young workers, “You fools, what nonsense are you talking? How could he be a madman? With this much money, he could buy not just one dog but ten. Put down those sticks. He’s our guest. Drinking dog blood is highly nourishing; you just don’t understand.”
“But, boss, before he poured the dog blood over himself, he looked like Zhang Ling from West Village of Shuilong Village…”
The young worker had rushed out earlier and hadn’t mentioned this.
“Then… then this guest must have been possessed. Now he’s used our black dog blood to return to his original form. Look at his sitting posture—that’s the meditation posture of a cultivator.” The owner, having received 10,000 yuan from Shui Miao, defended him vehemently, leaving everyone speechless.
“Everyone, be quiet.”
After consuming the black dog’s blood, Shui Miao sat down to meditate. He could feel the warm blood gradually flowing into his dantian, creating an exceptionally comfortable sensation. After about four or five minutes, his lower abdomen began to churn, and a surge of energy rushed downward. Suddenly, his sphincter relaxed, and he let out a long, resounding fart!
“……”
Everyone was startled to see that the fart was black and quickly backed away.
“The seal is broken!”
Only a tiny amount of celestial energy remained in his dantian. After circulating it once, Shui Miao felt refreshed and clear-headed. However, the two black talismans in his mental realm still blocked the heavenly gate, preventing celestial energy from descending.
“Damn it! Without the celestial energy descending, the energy in my dantian will eventually be depleted.”
Shui Miao stopped meditating and opened his eyes.
He was aware that he had already consumed a significant amount of black dog blood. If he couldn’t remove the two talismans now, drinking more would be futile. He also understood that the removal of the seal was connected to the earlier destruction of the water ghost. The seal had gradually weakened due to those ghosts, ultimately being broken by the black dog blood.
“Now that the seal is broken, I must leave quickly to avoid being found by that female ghost Bai Feng. Right! While the black snake demon is fighting Bai Feng, I need to get away immediately.”
His thoughts racing, Shui Miao hurried to Huo Yuanliang’s house. Huo Yuanliang’s daughter, Huo Xiang, had recovered, and the family was eating dinner. Shui Miao’s sudden arrival, covered in blood, startled Huo Yuanliang’s wife, but Huo Yuanliang and Huo Xiang were delighted. Shui Miao pulled Huo Yuanliang aside, explained his situation, and Huo Yuanliang quickly had his daughter prepare clothes while he went out to find a motorcycle taxi in town. Huo Xiang efficiently prepared a large bucket of warm water. Shui Miao took a bath, changed into clean clothes, took another 10,000 yuan from Huo Yuanliang, and left on a motorcycle.
Shortly after Shui Miao left, the minivan Huo Yuanliang had called arrived. Huo Yuanliang and his family loaded their valuables into the vehicle and left town half an hour later.
They agreed to meet in the county town.
Shui Miao had only been on the motorcycle for about ten minutes when the sky turned gloomy.
Shui Miao looked up at the sky, feeling somewhat puzzled, but then thought, how could the female ghost Bai Feng control the weather? She didn’t have that kind of power.
“It’s going to rain. I need to go back and harvest the rice. There’s a temple up ahead; you can go there and ask for lodging. Since Brother Huo and I are cousins, I won’t charge you. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I’ll pick you up from the temple on my way to the county town.” The motorcycle driver pointed to a temple about two hundred meters away.
Shui Miao thought it would be best to wait at the temple entrance. When Huo Yuanliang and his family arrived, he could leave with them.
So, Shui Miao went to the temple.
As soon as Shui Miao reached the large tree outside the temple, it began to pour.
At that moment, a young monk around eighteen or nineteen years old opened the temple door and waved to Shui Miao. “Benefactor, please come inside. My master asked me to invite you in to shelter from the rain.”
“Your master asked for me?”
Shui Miao pointed at himself in surprise. “How did your master know I was outside?”
“What’s so unusual about that? My master is an enlightened monk. When he noticed the sudden shift in weather and the peculiar rain, he immediately sensed something was amiss.” Seeing that Shui Miao hesitated to enter, the young monk dashed out into the rain toward the tree and spoke in a mysterious tone, “My master also mentioned that you’re in trouble now. Without his assistance, it’s impossible for you to leave unharmed. And…” The young monk leaned in closer to Shui Miao and whispered, “This rain was summoned by the阴神. You killed his water ghost general; he won’t let you off easily. No more delays—come inside with me.”
“But I’m waiting for someone. I’m worried they might be in danger…”
If the Yin spirit was causing trouble, Shui Miao had to be concerned about Huo Yuanliang and his family.
“Don’t worry. I’ll wait here for you. Go on inside, and close the door behind you to keep the rain out…”
The young monk gave Shui Miao a push, and she took the opportunity to dash into the temple.
After Shui Miao closed the temple door, the young monk shook his head and smiled, transforming into a white-robed young scholar holding a folding fan.
As Bai Feng’s voice faded, Shui Miao transformed into the appearance of Zhang Ling.
“Such immense vitality and such a commanding ‘Shang Guan’—no wonder you’re so audacious.” Bai Feng cast a glance at Huo Xiang, murmured a few words to herself, then icily added, “I am a ghost. You merely wish to see why he has taken on a different guise. Very well, I shall grant your wish right now. Once you’ve seen it, leave at once. If you continue to linger here, do not blame me for being severe with you and your daughter!”
As soon as Bai Feng finished speaking, Shui Miao transformed into Zhang Ling’s appearance.
Shui Miao was still contemplating the notion of “robust vitality and dominant Shang Guan” when he was suddenly engulfed by a wave of earth spiritual energy. In the study of fate, the elements that constrain the Day Master are known as the Zheng Guan and the Pian Guan. Among these, the one that shares the same Five Elements as the Day Master is the Pian Guan, commonly referred to as the Seven Killings. Compared to the Zheng Guan, the Seven Killings exert a more restrictive influence. Individuals with strong vitality who can overcome the Seven Killings are endowed with authority, decisiveness, and determination, often leaving others with an impression of boldness and resoluteness.
Seeing Shui Miao revert to Zhang Ling’s appearance, Huo Yuanliang had no more doubts. He hurriedly took out 50,000 yuan from his person and handed it to Shui Miao. Shui Miao only took 10,000 yuan, indicating that the rest should be given to Huo Xiang for her education. Huo Yuanliang thanked him several times and quickly left with his daughter, Huo Xiang. However, after taking just a few steps, Huo Xiang broke free from her father’s grip and ran back. She directly asked Bai Feng, “Where are you taking him? He helped me, so I must help him. Tell me, what do you want?”
“I want your life…”
Bai Feng suddenly waved her hand toward Huo Xiang, who felt a darkness overwhelm her and immediately fainted.
“Great Immortal, spare us, spare us! My daughter doesn’t understand—she was just talking nonsense…”
Huo Yuanliang happened to catch Huo Xiang as she fell. His face was filled with terror and fear.
Shui Miao frowned deeply, glaring at Bai Feng. “What are you trying to do?”
Bai Feng ignored Shui Miao and calmly said to Huo Yuanliang, “She’s fine. Take her back and give her some ginger soup. Also, leave this town as soon as possible. Don’t let me see you again.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll move away tomorrow, tomorrow itself.”
Huo Yuanliang nodded repeatedly, gave Shui Miao a grateful look, and quickly carried his daughter down the mountain.
※※※
“What exactly do you want?”
Shui Miao stepped in front of Bai Feng, staring into her eyes.
Bai Feng had only been trying to scare Huo Yuanliang and his daughter. Seeing that they had left, she returned to her normal form and snapped at Shui Miao, “You should be asking yourself what you want! Do you think I want to protect you? If it weren’t for my master ordering me to protect you, I wouldn’t bother with you!”
“Remove your earthly spiritual energy. Don’t think you can use the Zhang family’s affairs to entangle me. I’m not your puppet. You have no right to control my freedom.” Shui Miao had seen through their scheme: they had transformed him into Zhang Ling’s likeness to ensnare him with the family’s troubles, aiming to trap him here indefinitely.
Shui Miao didn’t want to be bound by emotions, which was why he had previously avoided getting involved with the young wife.
“We’re bothering you?” Bai Feng rolled her eyes in frustration, waving her hands animatedly. “You’re really hard to please! I don’t get why my master insists on having me protect a clueless fool like you…”
“You can go ask your master about that.” Shui Miao interrupted her. “Also, please tell your master that I don’t need her protection. I control my own destiny. She knows very well what her true intentions were in sealing me. Claiming to protect me? Does she think I’m an idiot? A thousand-year-old female ghost—I thought she was some great sage, but she’s just trying to steal my faith and offerings. She’s nothing but a fraud. And you, little ghost, are so foolish. You believe everything your master says. You’re the real clueless fool.”
Shui Miao no longer wished to be entangled. He simply wanted to follow his own path and vowed never to allow himself to be manipulated again.
“How dare you!”
“You dare insult my master’s reputation? You’re asking for death!”
Bai Feng was furious. Lady Bai was like a saint in her eyes, and she would never allow anyone to tarnish her image.
“Typical narrow-minded woman!”
Shui Miao didn’t want to engage with Bai Feng anymore. With a wave of his hand, he turned to leave down the mountain.
“…”
Bai Feng had been a well-bred lady in her lifetime and had never been spoken to like this. In her eyes, being called a “narrow-minded woman” was a great insult.
“Fine, fine! Since you’re so rude, I won’t hold back anymore. I’ll make you pay with blood!”
Furious, Bai Feng conjured a chilling gust of wind to envelop Shui Miao, aiming to hurl him down the slope. Although the slope wasn’t as perilous as a cliff, it still dropped several dozen meters. A fall from such a height would either be fatal or cause severe injuries. Shui Miao felt a wave of darkness engulf him, unable to withstand the force of the icy wind, and he stumbled toward the edge of the slope. Just as one foot slipped over the brink, a surge of demonic energy from below thrust him back. Bai Feng was left in shock as the black snake demon materialized beside Shui Miao.
“Damn you! You wretched snake demon, how dare you oppose me!” Bai Feng was furious. She formed hand seals and conjured a sword out of thin air, ready to fight the black snake demon to the death.
“Run! Go to the river where you first arrived and wait for me.” The black snake demon pushed Shui Miao away and spat out a black, curved sword. “Haha, beautiful Bai Feng, did you think you were the only one with a weapon? This Yin Snake Sword was just gifted to me by the Yin God. You’re no match for me. Fighting is useless. I suggest you save your energy and go reincarnate in the underworld. A clueless fool like you is just a waste of spiritual energy alive!”
“Ah, you’ve enraged me…”
Bai Feng had always been teased by the black snake demon, and now being called a “clueless fool” pushed her over the edge. She charged forward and engaged in a fierce battle with the black snake demon.
Shui Miao hurried down the mountain…
Since he had decided to be resolute and follow his own path, he wouldn’t look back.
But once he reached the foot of the mountain, Shui Miao began to wonder: Why did the black snake demon tell me to go to the river? Would I be jumping from the frying pan into the fire? However, the black snake demon didn’t seem that bad. Since it had saved him once, he decided to trust it this time. Enough overthinking—he would go to the river first.
After running for over ten minutes, Shui Miao encountered the young wife on the road. Seeing Shui Miao, she rushed over and grabbed his hand, refusing to let go. “Zhang Ling, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you since morning. I was so worried!”
“I’m not Zhang Ling. I’m Shui Miao. Your Zhang Ling died long ago, and I’m not a fool. Please stop mistaking me for Zhang Ling. Have you ever seen a fool who speaks so clearly?” Shui Miao freed her hand and took out the 10,000 yuan, handing most of it to her. “You’re still young. Don’t let conservative thoughts bind you for life. Take this money and go to Zhonghai City. Use the phone number I gave you to find Chen Bing and see if you can work at his restaurant. If Chen Bing can’t help you, rent a place, find a job, and start a new life. Buy a phone, give your number to Chen Bing, and I’ll find you when I return…”
“Zhang Ling, snap out of it, please?” The young wife pushed the money back to Shui Miao, hugged him tightly, and cried, “Zhang Ling, stop messing around. Our family only has a few members left. If you leave, what will happen to Grandpa and Grandma?”
“Enough!” Shui Miao had reached his limit with the incessant entanglement. He pushed her away and yelled, “It’s not me who needs to wake up—it’s you! I’m not Zhang Ling. I’ve told you countless times. Why won’t you believe me? I’m not him, and I won’t stay here for his sake. I have my own path to walk. Please, be strong. Will you really perish without a man? Can’t you stand on your own? Even if your grandparents are elderly, they can entrust the house to someone else to care for them. Why can’t you face the world and start fresh?”
“But… but Granny Ma said you’ve lost your mind and think you’re someone else!” The young wife finally began to doubt whether the man before her was really Zhang Ling.
Shui Miao sneered. “Granny Ma is merely a puppet. She’s been possessed by a female ghost masquerading as a great immortal. That ghost is named Bai Feng, a disciple of the thousand-year-old female ghost Lady Bai, who has been plotting against me. They forced me to impersonate your husband to trap me here amidst the Zhang family’s troubles. Right now, Bai Feng is battling the black snake demon—the one you refer to as the Black Dragon God. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to witness it. Additionally, you can fetch some black dog blood and pour it over my head. That will cause me to revert to my true form.”
“Fine! Come with me to town. There’s a dog meat hotpot restaurant there. They’ll definitely have dog blood.”
The young wife dragged Shui Miao away.
Shui Miao had no choice. As the saying goes, karma is inescapable. He had to resolve the matter with the young wife sooner or later, so he might as well settle it today.
Thus, the two arrived in town.
One of the workers at the dog meat hotpot restaurant was from the village. The young wife brought Shui Miao to the kitchen’s back door, found the young worker, and explained their purpose. Shui Miao gave each of them 100 yuan, and the two seventeen- or eighteen-year-old workers immediately slaughtered a black dog and brought the blood to Shui Miao. Shui Miao lifted the basin filled with black dog blood over his head and poured it all over himself. In an instant, he transformed back into his original appearance.
“He… he changed…”
The two young workers stared at each other in shock, utterly bewildered.
“Ah!”
The young wife covered her mouth in astonishment.
Covered in dog blood, Shui Miao sighed miserably and asked her, “Do you believe me now?”
“You… you’re truly not Zhang Ling. Then… that night… you scoundrel!” The young wife suddenly struck Shui Miao across the face, turned around, and fled in tears.
Shui Miao touched his cheek and felt relieved. Finally, it was settled. That slap was well-deserved!
The two young workers stared at Shui Miao as if he were a monster.
Shui Miao turned and walked to the river. Just as he was about to jump in to wash off the blood, he suddenly felt a familiar comfort in his mind—the sensation had returned!
“Wait!”
“Could the black dog blood have broken the seal on my mental realm!?”
Excited, Shui Miao immediately sat down cross-legged, calming his mind and focusing his spirit. In an instant, he entered his mental realm and finally saw the long-lost Heavenly Gate. However, two black talismans were pasted on the gate, blocking the celestial energy.
“Excellent! I never thought black dog blood could break the seal. Why didn’t I think of it earlier?”
Shui Miao quickly exited his mental realm, opened his eyes, and headed back to the hotpot restaurant’s back door. The two young workers, having witnessed his transformation, were terrified and quickly closed the door. Shui Miao charged in, scaring them into running away. To break the seal on his dantian, Shui Miao drank the remaining black dog blood from the basin and even licked the blood off the ground. Unfortunately, most of it had already flowed away. He looked around and spotted another black dog in a cage. He picked up an iron clamp used for handling dogs and went to grab it. At that moment, the two young workers returned with the portly owner and two chefs carrying knives. The group rushed in and saw a blood-covered figure biting the dog’s neck and sucking its blood!
It looked like a zombie feeding…
The scene left everyone speechless.
Just as the owner was about to explode in anger, Shui Miao threw the 10,000 yuan at him.
Seeing the money, the owner’s face lit up with joy. He sternly scolded the young workers, “You fools, what nonsense are you talking? How could he be a madman? With this much money, he could buy not just one dog but ten. Put down those sticks. He’s our guest. Drinking dog blood is highly nourishing—you just don’t understand.”
“But, boss, before he poured the dog blood over himself, he looked like Zhang Ling from the west village of Shuilong Village…”
The young worker had rushed out earlier without mentioning this detail.
“Then… then this guest must have been possessed. Now he’s used our black dog blood to revert to his true form. Look at his sitting posture—it’s the meditation posture of a cultivator.” The owner, having received Shui Miao’s 10,000 yuan, defended him vehemently, leaving everyone stunned.
“Everyone, be quiet.”
After consuming the black dog’s blood, Shui Miao immediately began to meditate. He could sense the warm blood gradually flowing into his dantian, providing immense comfort. After about four or five minutes, his lower abdomen churned, and a surge of energy rushed downward. Suddenly, his anus relaxed, and he released a long, resounding fart!
“…”
Everyone was startled to see that the fart was black and quickly retreated.
“The seal is broken!”
Only a tiny amount of celestial energy remained in his dantian. After circulating it once, Shui Miao felt refreshed and clear-headed. However, the two black talismans in his mental realm still blocked the Heavenly Gate, preventing celestial energy from flowing down.
“Damn it! Without celestial energy flowing down, the energy in my dantian will eventually deplete.”
Shui Miao stopped meditating and opened his eyes.
He was aware that he had already ingested a significant amount of black dog blood. If the two talismans couldn’t be removed at this point, consuming more would be pointless. He also understood that the removal of the seal was connected to the earlier destruction of the water ghost. The seal had gradually weakened as those ghosts dissipated, ultimately being broken by the black dog blood.
“Now that the seal is removed, I must leave quickly to avoid being found by that female ghost Bai Feng. Right! While the black snake demon is fighting Bai Feng, I need to get away immediately.”
His thoughts racing, Shui Miao hurried to Huo Yuanliang’s house. Huo Yuanliang’s daughter, Huo Xiang, had recovered, and the family was having a meal. Shui Miao’s sudden arrival, covered in blood, startled Huo Yuanliang’s wife, but Huo Yuanliang and Huo Xiang were delighted. Shui Miao pulled Huo Yuanliang aside, explained his intentions, and Huo Yuanliang quickly asked his daughter to prepare clothes while he went out to find a motorcycle taxi in town. Huo Xiang efficiently prepared a large bucket of warm water. Shui Miao took a bath, changed into clean clothes, took another 10,000 yuan from Huo Yuanliang, and left on a motorcycle.
Shortly after Shui Miao left, the minivan Huo Yuanliang had called arrived. Huo Yuanliang and his family loaded their valuables into the vehicle and left town half an hour later.
They agreed to meet in the county town.
Shui Miao had only been on the motorcycle for about ten minutes when the sky turned gloomy.
He looked up at the sky, feeling puzzled, but then thought, How could the female ghost Bai Feng control the weather? She doesn’t have that kind of power.
“It’s going to rain. I need to go back and harvest the rice. There’s a temple up ahead—you can go there and ask for shelter. Since Brother Huo and I are cousins, I won’t charge you. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I’ll pick you up from the temple on my way to the county town.” The motorcycle driver pointed toward a temple about two hundred meters away.
Shui Miao thought it would be best to wait at the temple entrance. When Huo Yuanliang and his family arrived, he could leave with them.
Thus, Shui Miao went to the temple.
As soon as he reached the large tree outside the temple, heavy rain began to pour.
At that moment, a young monk around eighteen or nineteen years old opened the temple door and waved to Shui Miao. “Benefactor, come inside. My master asked me to invite you in to shelter from the rain.”
“Your master asked for me?”
Shui Miao pointed at himself in surprise. “How did your master know I was outside?”
“What’s so strange about that? My master is an enlightened monk. When he saw the sudden change in weather and the strange rain, he knew something was up.” Seeing that Shui Miao wasn’t entering, the young monk ran out into the rain to the tree and mysteriously smiled. “My master also said you’re in trouble now. Without his help, it’ll be impossible for you to leave unscathed. And…” The young monk leaned closer to Shui Miao and whispered, “This rain was brought by the Yin God. You killed his water ghost general. He won’t let you leave so easily. Say no more—come inside with me.”
“But I need to wait for someone. I’m worried they might be in danger…”
If the Yin God was causing trouble, Shui Miao had to worry about Huo Yuanliang and his family.
“Don’t worry. I’ll wait here for you. Go inside and close the door behind you. Don’t let the rain in…”
The young monk gave Shui Miao a push, and she took the opportunity to dash into the temple.
After Shui Miao closed the temple door, the young monk shook his head and smiled, transforming into a white-robed young scholar holding a folding fan.
Seeing Shui Miao revert to Zhang Ling’s appearance, Huo Yuanliang had no more doubts in his heart. He hurriedly took out the 50,000 yuan he had on him and offered it to Shui Miao. Shui Miao only took 10,000 yuan, saying the rest was for Huo Xiang to use for her schooling. After thanking him a few times, Huo Yuanliang quickly took his daughter Huo Xiang and left. However, just a few steps down the path, Huo Xiang broke free from her father’s hand and ran back, directly confronting Bai Feng and asking, “Where are you taking him? He helped me, and I can’t just abandon him. Tell me, what do you want?”
“I want your life…”
Bai Feng suddenly waved her hand toward Huo Xiang. Huo Xiang felt her vision darken immediately and fainted on the spot.
“Great immortal, spare her life, spare her life! My daughter doesn’t know any better, she was just talking nonsense…”
Huo Yuanliang happened to come over to support Huo Xiang. His face was filled with terror and fear.
Shui Miao frowned deeply, glaring at Bai Feng: “What are you trying to do?”
Bai Feng didn’t pay attention to Shui Miao but instead turned to Huo Yuanliang with a calm expression and said, “She’s fine. Take her home and give her some ginger soup. Also, leave the town as soon as possible and don’t let me see you again.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll move away tomorrow, tomorrow.”
Huo Yuanliang nodded repeatedly, then gave Shui Miao a grateful look before hurrying down the mountain with his daughter on his back.
※※※
“What exactly do you want to do?”
Shui Miao came in front of Bai Feng and stared into her eyes.
Bai Feng had just been scaring Huo Yuanliang and his daughter. Seeing Huo Yuanliang leave, Bai Feng resumed her normal human appearance and snapped at Shui Miao, “You should be asking yourself what you want to do? Do you think I really want to protect you? If it weren’t for Master telling me to protect you, I wouldn’t even bother with you!”
“Such incredible vitality and such a commanding, yet harmful presence—no wonder you’re so audacious.” Bai Feng shot a glance at Huo Xiang, muttered a few words under her breath, then icily continued, “I am a ghost. You merely wish to understand why he has transformed into someone entirely different. Very well, I shall grant your wish immediately and show you. Once you’ve seen it, leave at once. If you persist in lingering here, don’t blame me for treating you and your daughter with no courtesy!”
As soon as Bai Feng finished speaking, Shui Miao transformed into Zhang Ling’s appearance.
Shui Miao was still pondering the concept of strong vitality and a dominant hurtful officer when he was enveloped by a surge of earth spiritual energy. In destiny analysis, those that restrict the Day Master are the proper officer and the partial officer. Among them, the one sharing the same elemental phase as the Day Master is the partial officer, often referred to as the seven killings. Compared to the proper officer, the seven killings are more restraining. Those with strong vitality who can overcome the seven killings possess authority, decisiveness, and determination, often giving others an impression of being swift, bold, and resolute.
Seeing Shui Miao revert to Zhang Ling’s form, Huo Yuanliang had no more doubts. He hurriedly took out 50,000 yuan from his person and handed it to Shui Miao. Shui Miao only took 10,000, indicating that the rest should be given to Huo Xiang for her education. Huo Yuanliang thanked him several times and quickly led his daughter away. However, after just a few steps, Huo Xiang broke free from her father’s grip and ran back. She directly asked Bai Feng, “Where are you taking him? He helped me, so I must help him. Tell me, what do you want?”
“I want your life…”
Bai Feng suddenly waved her hand toward Huo Xiang, who felt a darkness before her eyes and immediately fainted.
“Great immortal, spare us, spare us! My daughter doesn’t understand—she was just talking nonsense…”
Huo Yuanliang happened to catch Huo Xiang as she fell. His face was full of terror and fear.
Shui Miao frowned deeply, glaring at Bai Feng. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Bai Feng ignored Shui Miao and calmly said to Huo Yuanliang, “She’s fine. Take her back and give her some ginger soup. Also, leave this town as soon as possible. Don’t let me see you again.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll move away tomorrow, tomorrow itself.”
Huo Yuanliang nodded repeatedly, gave Shui Miao a grateful look, and quickly carried his daughter down the mountain.
※※※
“What exactly do you want?”
Shui Miao stepped in front of Bai Feng, staring into her eyes.
Bai Feng had only been trying to scare Huo Yuanliang and his daughter. Seeing that they had left, she returned to her normal form and snapped at Shui Miao, “You should be asking yourself what you want! Do you think I want to protect you? If it weren’t for my master ordering me to protect you, I wouldn’t bother with you!”
“Remove your earth spiritual energy. Don’t think you can use the Zhang family’s matters to entangle me. I am not your puppet. You have no right to control my freedom.” Shui Miao had seen through it—they turned him into Zhang Ling to entangle him with complications, trapping him here forever.
Shui Miao didn’t want to be bound by emotions, which was why he hadn’t acted on the young wife earlier.
“We’re entangling you?” Bai Feng rolled her eyes in anger, waving her hands excitedly. “You’re really hard to please! I don’t understand why my master wants me to protect a brainless fool like you…”
“You can go ask your master about that.” Shui Miao interrupted her. “Also, please tell your master that I don’t need her protection. I control my own destiny. She knows very well what her true purpose was in sealing me. She claims to protect me—does she think I’m an idiot? A thousand-year-old female ghost—I thought she was some great sage, but she’s just trying to seize my faith, wishes, and offerings. She’s nothing but a fraud. And you, little ghost, are so foolish—you believe everything your master says. You’re the brainless fool.”
Shui Miao no longer wished to be entangled. He only wanted to follow his own path and never again allow himself to be blindly manipulated.
“How dare you!”
“You dare insult my master’s reputation! You’re asking for death!”
Bai Feng was furious. Lady Bai was like a saint in her eyes, and she would never allow anyone to tarnish her image.
“Typical narrow-minded woman!”
Shui Miao didn’t want to engage with Bai Feng anymore and simply waved his hand, heading down the mountain.
“……”
Bai Feng had been a well-bred lady in her lifetime and had never been spoken to like this. In her eyes, being called a “narrow-minded woman” was a great insult.
“Fine, fine! Since you’re so rude, I won’t hold back anymore. I’ll make you pay with blood!”
Enraged, Bai Feng summoned a gust of Yin wind to wrap around Shui Miao, intending to push him down the slope. Although not as dangerous as a cliff, the slope was several dozen meters high—a fall would either kill or cripple him. Shui Miao felt darkness overwhelm him, unable to stand against the Yin energy, stumbling toward the edge. Just as one foot stepped into empty air, a demonic energy surged from below, pushing him back. Bai Feng was stunned to see the black snake demon appear beside Shui Miao.
“Damn you! You wretched snake demon, how dare you oppose me!” Bai Feng was furious. She formed hand seals and materialized a sword out of thin air, ready to fight the black snake demon to the death.
“Run! Go to the river where you first arrived and wait for me.” The black snake demon pushed Shui Miao away and spat out a black, curved sword. “Haha, beautiful Bai Feng, you think you’re the only one with a weapon? This Yin Snake Sword was just bestowed upon me by the Yin God. You can’t defeat me—fighting is useless. I suggest you save your energy and go reincarnate in the underworld. A brainless fool like you isn’t worth wasting spiritual energy on!”
“Ah, you’ve enraged me…”
Bai Feng had always been teased by the black snake demon, and now being called a “brainless fool” pushed her over the edge. She charged forward, engaging in combat with the black snake demon.
Shui Miao hurried down the mountain…
Since he had decided to be resolute and follow his own path, he wouldn’t regret it.
But once he reached the foot of the mountain, he began to wonder: Why did the black snake demon want me to go to the river? Would I be jumping from the frying pan into the fire? However, the black snake demon didn’t seem that evil. Since it had saved him once, he decided to trust it this time. Enough overthinking—he would go to the river first.
After running for over ten minutes, Shui Miao encountered the young wife on the road. She saw him and immediately ran over, grabbing his hand tightly. “Zhang Ling, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you since morning—I was so worried!”
“I’m not Zhang Ling. I’m Shui Miao. Your Zhang Ling has been gone for a long time, and I’m not a fool. Please stop confusing me with Zhang Ling. Have you ever seen a fool who speaks so clearly?” Shui Miao broke free from her grasp and pulled out the 10,000 yuan, handing most of it to her. “You’re still young—don’t let traditional thoughts trap you for life. Take this money and go to Zhonghai City. Use the phone number I gave you to find Chen Bing and see if you can work at his restaurant. If Chen Bing can’t help you, use the money to rent a place, find a job, and start a new life. Buy a phone, give your number to Chen Bing, and I’ll find you when I return…”
“Zhang Ling, snap out of it, please?” The young wife pushed the money back to him, hugging him tightly as she cried. “Zhang Ling, stop messing around. Our family only has a few members left. If you leave, what will happen to Grandpa and Grandma?”
“Enough!” Shui Miao had had enough of this endless entanglement. He pushed her away and shouted, “It’s not me who needs to snap out of it—it’s you! I’m not Zhang Ling. I’ve said it many times. Why won’t you believe me? I’m not him, and I won’t stay here for his sake. I have my own path to follow. Please be strong. Will you die without a man? Can’t you have some self-respect and stand on your own? Even if your grandparents are old, they can give the house to someone else in exchange for care. Why can’t you face the world and give yourself a new beginning?”
“But… but Granny Ma said you’ve lost your mind and think you’re someone else!” The young wife finally began to doubt whether this man was truly Zhang Ling.
Shui Miao sneered coldly. “Granny Ma is merely a puppet. She’s been possessed by a female ghost masquerading as a great immortal. That ghost is named Bai Feng, a disciple of the thousand-year-old female ghost Lady Bai, who’s plotting against me. They forced me to impersonate your husband to trap me here amidst the Zhang family’s troubles. Right now, Bai Feng is battling the black snake demon—the one you refer to as the Black Dragon God. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to witness it. Alternatively, you can fetch some black dog blood and pour it over my head. That will force me to revert to my true form.”
“Fine! Come with me to town. There’s a dog meat hotpot restaurant there—they’ll definitely have dog blood.”
The young wife dragged Shui Miao away.
Shui Miao had no choice. As the saying goes, karma is inescapable. He had to resolve the matter with the young wife sooner or later, so he might as well settle it today.
Thus, the two went to town.
One of the workers at the dog meat hotpot restaurant was from the village. The young wife took Shui Miao to the back door of the kitchen, found the young worker, and explained their purpose. Shui Miao gave each of them 100 yuan, and the two seventeen- or eighteen-year-old workers immediately slaughtered a black dog and brought the blood to Shui Miao. Shui Miao lifted the basin filled with black dog blood over his head and poured it all over himself. In an instant, he transformed back into his original appearance.
“He… he changed…”
The two young workers stared at each other in shock, utterly bewildered.
“Ah!”
The young wife covered her mouth in astonishment.
Covered in dog blood, Shui Miao sighed miserably and asked her, “Now do you believe me?”
“You… you’re really not Zhang Ling. Then… that night… you scoundrel!” The young wife suddenly slapped Shui Miao across the face, turned around, and ran away in tears.
Shui Miao touched his face and breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, it was settled. That slap was well-deserved!
The two young workers stared at Shui Miao as if he were a monster.
Shui Miao turned and walked to the river. Just as he was about to jump in to wash off the blood, he suddenly felt a familiar comfort in his mind—the sensation had returned!
“Wait!”
“Could it be that the black dog blood broke the seal on my mental realm!?”
Excited, Shui Miao immediately sat cross-legged, calming his mind and focusing his spirit. In an instant, he entered his mental realm and finally saw the long-lost Heavenly Gate. However, two black talismans were pasted on the gate, blocking the celestial energy.
“Excellent! I never thought black dog blood could break the seal. Why didn’t I think of it earlier?”
Shui Miao quickly exited his mental realm, opened his eyes, and headed back to the dog meat hotpot restaurant’s back door. The two young workers, having witnessed his transformation, were terrified and quickly closed the door. Shui Miao charged in, startling them into fleeing. To break the seal on his dantian, Shui Miao drank the remaining black dog blood from the basin and even licked the blood off the ground. Unfortunately, most of it had already flowed away. He looked around and spotted another black dog in a cage. He grabbed an iron clamp used for handling dogs and went to capture it. At that moment, the two young workers returned with the portly owner and two chefs carrying knives. The group rushed in to find a blood-covered man biting the dog’s neck and sucking its blood!
It looked like a vampire draining blood…
The scene left everyone speechless.
Just as the owner was about to erupt, Shui Miao threw the 10,000 yuan at him.
Seeing the money, the owner’s face lit up with delight. He sternly scolded the young workers, “You fools, what nonsense are you spouting? How could he be a madman? With this much money, he could buy ten dogs, let alone one. Put down those sticks—he’s our guest. Drinking dog blood is highly nourishing; you just don’t understand.”
“But, boss, before he poured the dog blood on himself, he looked like Zhang Ling from West Village…”
The young worker had rushed out earlier without mentioning this detail.
“Then… then this guest must have been possessed. Now he’s used our black dog blood to revert to his true form. Look at his sitting posture—that’s the meditation posture of a cultivator.” The owner, having received Shui Miao’s money, defended him vehemently, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
“Quiet, all of you.”
After consuming the black dog’s blood, Shui Miao sat down to meditate. He could sense the warm blood gradually flowing into his dantian, bringing him immense comfort. After about four or five minutes, his lower abdomen began to churn, and a surge of energy rushed downward. Suddenly, his sphincter relaxed, and he released a long, resounding fart!
“……”
Everyone was startled to see that the fart was black and quickly backed away.
“It’s broken!”
Only a tiny amount of celestial energy remained in his dantian. After circulating it once, Shui Miao felt refreshed and clear-headed. However, the two black talismans in his mental realm still blocked the Heavenly Gate, preventing celestial energy from descending.
“Damn it! Without celestial energy flowing down, the energy in my dantian will eventually deplete.”
Shui Miao stopped meditating and opened his eyes.
He was aware that he had already ingested a significant amount of black dog blood. If the two talismans couldn’t be removed now, consuming more would be pointless. He also understood that the weakening and eventual breaking of the seal were linked to the earlier destruction of the water ghost. The seal had gradually weakened as those ghosts dissipated, ultimately enabling the black dog blood to break it.
“Now that the seal is broken, I must leave quickly to avoid being found by that female ghost Bai Feng. Right! While the black snake demon is fighting Bai Feng, I need to escape.”
His mind made up, Shui Miao hurried to Huo Yuanliang’s house. Huo Yuanliang’s daughter, Huo Xiang, had recovered, and the family was eating dinner. Shui Miao’s sudden arrival, covered in blood, startled Huo Yuanliang’s wife, but Huo Yuanliang and Huo Xiang were overjoyed. Shui Miao pulled Huo Yuanliang aside to explain his intentions. Huo Yuanliang immediately asked his daughter to prepare clothes while he went out to find a motorcycle taxi in town. Huo Xiang efficiently prepared a large bucket of warm water. Shui Miao bathed, changed into clean clothes, took another 10,000 yuan from Huo Yuanliang, and left on the motorcycle.
Shortly after Shui Miao left, the minivan Huo Yuanliang had called arrived. Huo Yuanliang and his family loaded their valuables into the vehicle and left town half an hour later.
They agreed to meet in the county town.
Shui Miao had only been on the motorcycle for about ten minutes when the sky turned gloomy.
He looked up at the sky, feeling puzzled, but then reasoned that the female ghost Bai Feng couldn’t possibly control the weather—she wasn’t that powerful.
“It’s going to rain. I need to go back to gather the rice. There’s a temple up ahead—you can go there to seek shelter. Since I’m Cousin Huo’s relative, I won’t charge you. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I’ll pick you up from the temple on my way to the county.” The motorcycle driver pointed toward a temple about two hundred meters away.
Shui Miao thought it would be best to wait at the temple entrance. When Huo Yuanliang and his family arrived, he could leave with them.
Thus, Shui Miao went to the temple.
As soon as he reached the large tree outside the temple, heavy rain began to fall.
At that moment, a young monk around eighteen or nineteen years old opened the temple door and waved to him. “Benefactor, come inside. My master asked me to invite you in to shelter from the rain.”
“Your master asked for me?”
Shui Miao pointed at himself in surprise. “How did your master know I was outside?”
“What’s so strange about that? My master is an enlightened monk. When he saw the sudden change in weather and the strange rain, he knew something was happening.” Seeing that Shui Miao hesitated, the young monk ran out into the rain to the tree and smiled mysteriously. “My master also said you’re in trouble now. Without his help, it will be impossible for you to leave unscathed. And…” The young monk leaned closer to Shui Miao, lowering his voice. “This rain was brought by the Yin God. You killed his water ghost general—he won’t let you leave easily. No more talk—come inside with me.”
“But I need to wait for someone. I’m worried they might be in danger…”
If the Yin God was causing trouble, Shui Miao had to worry about Huo Yuanliang and his family.
“Don’t worry. I’ll wait here for you. Go inside and close the door behind you—don’t let the rain in…”
The young monk gave Shui Miao a push, and she took the opportunity to dash into the temple.
After Shui Miao closed the temple door, the young monk shook his head and smiled, transforming into a white-robed young scholar holding a folding fan.
Shui Miao didn’t want to be emotionally entangled, which was also why he hadn’t acted on his feelings for the young wife in the first place.
“Entangle you?” Bai Feng angrily rolled her eyes, waving her hand in agitation, “You’re really hard to please! I really don’t understand why my master wants me to protect someone as clueless and stupid as you…”
“You can go back and ask my master about that.” Shui Miao interrupted Bai Feng, “Also, please tell my master that I don’t appreciate her protection. I control my own destiny, and she knows the real reason she sealed me. Claiming to protect me, do you think I’m an idiot? A thousand-year-old female ghost, I thought she was some great sage, but she’s just someone trying to steal my faith, my offerings, and my incense. She’s nothing but a fraud. And you, little female ghost, are really stupid too. Believing everything your master says, you’re the one who’s clueless and stupid.”
Shui Miao didn’t want to get entangled in so many things anymore. He just wanted to go out and explore on his own terms, no longer being carelessly manipulated by others.
“Dare!”
“How dare you disgrace my master’s reputation! You’re asking for death!”
Bai Feng was somewhat agitated. In her heart, Bai Niangniang was a sage-like figure, and she would never allow anyone to defame her even slightly.
“Short-sighted woman!”
Shui Miao didn’t want to deal with Bai Feng anymore. He simply waved his hand and went down the mountain.
“…”
Bai Feng had been a lady of a noble family in her lifetime and had never been spoken to like this. In her eyes, the phrase “short-sighted woman” was an ultimate humiliation.
“Fine! Since you’re so disrespectful, I won’t hold back anymore. I’ll make you pay with blood!”
Bai Feng was furious. She immediately summoned a gust of cold wind to wrap around Shui Miao, intending to push him down the hill. Although this hill wasn’t as dangerous as a cliff, it was still dozens of meters high. Falling down would at least result in serious injury or disability. Shui Miao felt his vision darken and was blown backward by the cold wind, running toward the edge of the hill. Just as one foot was about to slip off, Shui Miao was pushed back by a surge of demonic energy coming from below the hill. Bai Feng was taken aback and saw the black snake demon appear beside Shui Miao.
“Damn it! Smelly snake demon, how dare you oppose me!” Bai Feng was enraged. She formed a hand seal and conjured a sword out of thin air, ready to fight the black snake demon to the death.
“Run quickly, go wait for me by the river where you first arrived.” The black snake demon pushed Shui Miao urgently and spat out a black, curved sword from its mouth, “Haha, beautiful Bai Feng, do you think you’re the only one with weapons? This Yin Snake Sword was just awarded to me by the Yin God. You can’t defeat me, even if you try your hardest. I suggest you save your strength for reincarnation in the underworld. You clueless, stupid ghost, living like this is just wasting spiritual energy!”
“Ah, I’m so angry…”
Bai Feng had always been mocked by the black snake demon, and today she was called a clueless, stupid ghost again. Her anger boiled over, and she rushed forward to fight the black snake demon.
Shui Miao ran down the mountain…
Since he had decided to be strong and walk his own path, Shui Miao would not regret it.
However, when he reached the foot of the mountain, Shui Miao began to ponder again. Why did the black snake demon tell him to go to the river? Was he just jumping from the wolf’s mouth into the tiger’s den? But intuitively, the black snake demon didn’t seem that bad. Just based on the fact that it had saved him once, he should listen to it this time. Forget it! No more thinking, just go to the river first.
Shui Miao ran quickly. After about ten minutes, he saw the young wife on the road. When the young wife saw Shui Miao, she hurried over and grabbed his hand tightly, “Zhang Ling, where did you go? I’ve been looking for you from morning until now. You’ve made me so worried!”
“I’m not Zhang Ling. I’m Shui Miao. Your Zhang Ling is already dead. I’m not a fool, please don’t keep mistaking me for Zhang Ling anymore. Have you ever seen a fool who speaks so clearly?” Shui Miao pulled his hand away from the young wife, took out the 10,000 yuan, and gave most of it to her, “You’re still young. Don’t let conservative ideas bind you to death. Take this money and go to Zhonghai City. Use the phone number I gave you to find Chen Bing. First, find something to do at his restaurant. If Chen Bing doesn’t take care of you, use this money to rent a house and find a job. Start a new life. Buy a mobile phone, tell Chen Bing your number, and I’ll be able to find you when I return…”
“Zhang Ling, please wake up and be reasonable?” The young wife pushed the money back to Shui Miao and, in her excitement, hugged Shui Miao tightly, crying, “Zhang Ling, stop playing around. There are only a few of us left in this family now. What will happen to Grandpa and Grandma if you leave?”
“Enough!” Shui Miao was really fed up with this endless entanglement. He pushed the young wife away and shouted loudly, “It’s not me who needs to be reasonable, but you. I’ve said it many times, I’m not Zhang Ling. Why don’t you believe me? I’m not him. I can’t stay here because of him. I have my own path to take. Please be strong. Will you die without a man? Can’t you have some backbone and be independent? Even if Grandpa and Grandma are old, they can give the house to someone else to take care of them. Why can’t you face this world and give yourself a fresh start?”
“But, but Mabo said you were delusional, mistaking others for yourself,” the young wife finally began to doubt whether this man in front of her was really Zhang Ling.
“Such strong vitality and an exuberant hurtful officer—no wonder you’re so bold.” Bai Feng glanced at Huo Xiang, muttered a few words to himself, then coldly added, “I am a ghost. You simply want to see why he has taken on a different appearance. Fine, I’ll grant your wish right now and show you. Once you’ve seen it, get out immediately. If you linger here any longer, don’t blame me for being harsh with you and your daughter!”
As soon as Bai Feng finished speaking, Shui Miao transformed into Zhang Ling’s appearance.
Shui Miao was still pondering the concept of “strong vitality and exuberant hurtful officer” when he was enveloped by an earthy spiritual energy. In fate analysis, those that restrict the Day Master are the proper officer and the partial officer. Among them, the one sharing the same elemental phase as the Day Master is the partial officer, often referred to as the seven killings. Compared to the proper officer, the seven killings are more restraining. Those with strong vitality who can overcome the seven killings possess authority, decisiveness, and determination, often giving others an impression of swift action and boldness.
Seeing Shui Miao revert to Zhang Ling’s form, Huo Yuanliang had no further doubts. He hurriedly took out 50,000 yuan he had on him and handed it to Shui Miao. Shui Miao only took 10,000, indicating that the rest should be given to Huo Xiang for her education. Huo Yuanliang thanked him several times and quickly led his daughter away. However, after just a few steps, Huo Xiang broke free from her father’s grip and ran back. She directly confronted Bai Feng: “Where are you taking him? He helped me, so I must help him. Tell me, what do you want?”
“I want your life…”
Bai Feng suddenly waved his hand toward Huo Xiang. She felt a darkness before her eyes and immediately fainted.
“Great immortal, spare us, spare us! My daughter is ignorant; she was just talking nonsense…”
Huo Yuanliang, who had rushed over to support Huo Xiang, was terrified and filled with fear.
Shui Miao frowned deeply, glaring at Bai Feng. “What are you trying to do?”
Bai Feng ignored Shui Miao and calmly said to Huo Yuanliang, “She’s fine. Take her back and give her some ginger soup. Also, leave this town as soon as possible. Don’t let me see you again.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll move away tomorrow, tomorrow itself.”
Huo Yuanliang nodded repeatedly, gave Shui Miao a grateful look, and hurriedly carried his daughter down the mountain.
※※※
“What exactly do you want?”
Shui Miao stepped in front of Bai Feng, staring into her eyes.
Bai Feng had only been trying to scare Huo Yuanliang and his daughter. Seeing that they had left, Bai Feng returned to her normal form and snapped at Shui Miao, “You should be asking yourself what you want! Do you think I want to protect you? If it weren’t for my master ordering me to protect you, I wouldn’t bother with you!”
“Remove your earth-element spiritual energy. Don’t think you can use the Zhang family’s affairs to entangle me. I am not your puppet. You have no right to control my freedom.” Shui Miao had seen through their plan: they turned him into Zhang Ling’s appearance to ensnare him with complications, trapping him here forever.
Shui Miao didn’t want to be bound by emotions, which was why he had previously refrained from getting involved with the young wife.
“We’re entangling you?” Bai Feng rolled her eyes in frustration, waving her hands excitedly. “You’re really hard to please! I don’t understand why my master would want me to protect a clueless fool like you…”
“You can go ask your master about that,” Shui Miao interrupted. “Also, please tell her I don’t need her protection. I control my own destiny. She knows very well what her true intentions were in sealing me. Claiming to protect me? Does she think I’m an idiot? A thousand-year-old female ghost—I thought she was some great sage, but she’s just trying to usurp my faith, wishes, and offerings. She’s nothing but a fraud. And you, little ghost, are so foolish. You believe everything your master says. You’re the real clueless fool.”
Shui Miao didn’t want to be entangled any longer. He only wanted to follow his own path and never again be manipulated blindly by others.
“How dare you!”
“How dare you insult my master’s reputation! You’re asking for death!”
Bai Feng was furious. Lady Bai was like a saint in her eyes, and she would never allow anyone to tarnish her image.
“Typical narrow-minded woman!”
Shui Miao didn’t want to engage with Bai Feng any further. With a wave of his hand, he headed down the mountain.
“……”
Bai Feng had been a well-bred lady in her lifetime and had never been spoken to like this. In her eyes, being called a “narrow-minded woman” was a profound insult.
“Fine, fine! Since you’re so rude, I won’t hold back anymore. I’ll make you pay with your blood!”
Furious, Bai Feng summoned a chilling gust of Yin wind to envelop Shui Miao, aiming to hurl him down the slope. Though not as perilous as a cliff, the slope still plunged dozens of meters. A fall from such a height would either be fatal or leave him severely injured. Shui Miao felt a sudden darkness cloud his vision, his body faltering under the oppressive Yin energy. He staggered toward the edge, one foot slipping over the brink. But just as he teetered on the verge of falling, a surge of demonic energy erupted from below, thrusting him back to safety. Bai Feng was taken aback as the black snake demon materialized beside Shui Miao.
“Damn you! You vile snake demon, how dare you oppose me!” Bai Feng was furious. She formed hand seals and conjured a sword out of thin air, ready to fight the black snake demon to the death.
“Run! Go to the river where you first arrived and wait for me.” The black snake demon pushed Shui Miao away and spat out a black, curved sword. “Haha, beautiful Bai Feng, did you think you were the only one with a weapon? This Yin Snake Sword was just bestowed upon me by Lord Yin God. You’re no match for me. Fighting is useless. I suggest you save your energy and go to the underworld for reincarnation. A clueless fool like you isn’t worth wasting spiritual energy on!”
“Ah, you’ve enraged me…”
Bai Feng had always been teased by the black snake demon, and now being called a “clueless fool” pushed her over the edge. Overwhelmed with fury, she charged at the black snake demon, and the two engaged in combat.
Shui Miao hurried down the mountain…
Having decided to be resolute and follow his own path, Shui Miao had no regrets.
But once he reached the foot of the mountain, he began to wonder: Why did the black snake demon tell me to go to the river? Would I be jumping from the frying pan into the fire? However, the black snake demon didn’t seem that evil. Since it had saved him once, he decided to trust it this time. Enough overthinking—he would go to the river first.
After running for over ten minutes, Shui Miao encountered the young wife on the road. When she saw him, she rushed over and grabbed his hand, refusing to let go. “Zhang Ling, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you since morning. I was so worried!”
“I’m not Zhang Ling. I’m Shui Miao. Your Zhang Ling died long ago, and I’m not a fool. Please stop mistaking me for Zhang Ling. Have you ever seen a fool who speaks so clearly?” Shui Miao freed his hand from hers, took out the 10,000 yuan, and gave most of it to her. “You’re still young. Don’t let conservative thoughts bind you for life. Take this money and go to Zhonghai City. Use the phone number I gave you to find Chen Bing and see if you can work at his restaurant. If Chen Bing can’t help you, rent a place, find a job, and start a new life. Buy a phone, give your number to Chen Bing, and I’ll find you when I return…”
“Zhang Ling, please come to your senses!” The young wife pushed the money back toward him and hugged him tightly, crying. “Zhang Ling, stop fooling around. Our family only has a few members left. If you leave, what will happen to Grandpa and Grandma?”
“Enough!” Shui Miao had had enough of this endless entanglement. He pushed her away and shouted, “It’s not me who needs to come to my senses—it’s you! I’m not Zhang Ling. I’ve told you many times. Why won’t you believe me? I’m not him, and I won’t stay here for his sake. I have my own path to follow. Please be strong. Will you die without a man? Can’t you have some self-respect and stand on your own? Even if your grandparents are old, they can give the house to someone else in exchange for care. Why can’t you face the world and start anew?”
“But… but Granny Ma said you’ve lost your mind and think you’re someone else!” The young wife finally began to doubt whether the man before her was really Zhang Ling.
Shui Miao sneered. “Granny Ma is just a puppet. She’s possessed by a female ghost pretending to be a great immortal. That ghost is named Bai Feng, a disciple of the thousand-year-old female ghost Lady Bai, who’s been scheming against me. They made me impersonate your husband to trap me here with the Zhang family’s troubles. Right now, Bai Feng is fighting the black snake demon, whom you know as the Black Dragon God. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to see. Alternatively, you can find some black dog blood and pour it over my head. That will make me revert to my original form.”
“Fine! Come with me to town. There’s a dog meat hotpot restaurant there. They’ll definitely have dog blood.”
The young wife dragged Shui Miao along.
Shui Miao had no choice. As the saying goes, karma is inescapable. He had to resolve the matter with the young wife sooner or later, so he might as well settle it today.
Thus, the two went to town.
One of the workers at the dog meat hotpot restaurant was from the village. The young wife took Shui Miao to the kitchen’s back door, found the young worker, and explained their purpose. Shui Miao gave each of them 100 yuan, and the two seventeen- or eighteen-year-old workers immediately slaughtered a black dog and brought the blood to Shui Miao. Shui Miao lifted the basin filled with black dog blood over his head and poured it all over himself. In an instant, he transformed back into his original appearance.
“He… he changed…”
The two young workers stared at each other in shock, unable to believe what they had just seen.
“Ah!”
The young wife covered her mouth in astonishment.
Covered in dog blood, Shui Miao sighed miserably and asked her, “Now do you believe me?”
“You… you’re really not Zhang Ling. Then… that night… you scoundrel!” The young wife suddenly slapped Shui Miao across the face, turned around, and ran away crying.
Shui Miao touched his cheek and felt relieved. Finally, it was settled. That slap was well-deserved!
The two young workers stared at Shui Miao as if he were a monster.
Shui Miao turned and walked to the river. Just as he was about to jump in to wash off the blood, he suddenly felt a familiar comfort in his mind—the sensation had returned!
“Wait!”
“Could it be that the black dog blood broke the seal on my mental realm!?”
Excited, Shui Miao immediately sat down cross-legged, calming his mind and focusing his spirit. In an instant, he entered his mental realm and finally saw the long-lost Heavenly Gate. However, two black talismans were pasted on the gate, blocking the celestial energy.
“Excellent! I never thought black dog blood could break the seal. Why didn’t I think of it before?”
Shui Miao quickly exited his mental realm, opened his eyes, and headed back to the hotpot restaurant’s back door. The two young workers, having just witnessed Shui Miao’s transformation, were terrified and quickly closed the door. Seeing this, Shui Miao charged in, scaring the workers into running away. To break the seal on his dantian, Shui Miao drank the remaining black dog blood from the basin and even licked the blood off the ground. Unfortunately, most of it had already flowed away. He looked around and spotted another black dog in a cage. He grabbed an iron clamp used for handling dogs and went to capture it. Just then, the two young workers returned with the portly owner and two chefs carrying knives. The group rushed in and saw a blood-covered figure biting the dog’s neck and sucking its blood!
It looked like a vampire draining blood…
The scene left everyone stunned.
The owner was about to explode in anger when Shui Miao threw the 10,000 yuan at him.
Seeing the money, the owner’s face instantly brightened. He sternly scolded the young workers, “You fools, what nonsense are you spouting? How could he be a madman? With this much money, he could buy not just one dog but ten. Put down those sticks. He’s our guest. Drinking dog blood is highly nourishing; you just don’t understand.”
“But, boss, before he poured the dog blood over himself, he looked like Zhang Ling from West Village in Shuilong Village…”
The young worker had rushed out earlier in a panic and hadn’t mentioned this detail.
“Then… then this guest must have been possessed. Now he’s used our black dog blood to return to his original form. Look at his sitting posture—it’s the meditation posture of a cultivator.” The owner, having received 10,000 yuan from Shui Miao, defended him vehemently, leaving everyone speechless.
“Everyone, be quiet.”
After consuming the black dog’s blood, Shui Miao entered a meditative state. He could sense the warm blood gradually flowing into his dantian, providing immense comfort. After about four or five minutes, his lower abdomen stirred, and a surge of energy rushed downward. Suddenly, his sphincter relaxed, and he released a long, resonant fart!
“……”
Everyone was startled to see that the fart was black and quickly backed away.
“The seal is broken!”
Only a tiny amount of celestial energy remained in his dantian. After circulating it once, Shui Miao felt refreshed and clear-headed. However, the two black talismans in his mental realm still blocked the Heavenly Gate, preventing celestial energy from flowing down.
“Damn it! Without a continuous influx of celestial energy, the energy in my dantian will eventually deplete.”
Shui Miao stopped meditating and opened his eyes.
He knew he had already consumed a lot of black dog blood. If the two talismans couldn’t be removed now, drinking more would be futile. He also realized that the seal’s weakening and eventual breaking were related to the earlier destruction of the water ghost. The seal had gradually weakened due to the influence of those ghosts, ultimately allowing the black dog blood to break it.
“Now that the seal is broken, I must leave quickly to avoid being found by that female ghost Bai Feng. Yes! While the black snake demon is fighting Bai Feng, I need to get away.”
His thoughts racing, Shui Miao hurried to Huo Yuanliang’s house. Huo Yuanliang’s daughter, Huo Xiang, had recovered, and the family was eating dinner. Shui Miao’s sudden arrival, covered in blood, startled Huo Yuanliang’s wife, but Huo Yuanliang and Huo Xiang were overjoyed. Shui Miao pulled Huo Yuanliang aside, explained the situation, and Huo Yuanliang immediately asked his daughter to prepare clothes while he went out to find a motorcycle taxi in town. Huo Xiang quickly prepared a large bucket of warm water. Shui Miao took a bath, changed into clean clothes, took another 10,000 yuan from Huo Yuanliang, and left on a motorcycle.
Shortly after Shui Miao left, the minivan Huo Yuanliang had called arrived. Huo Yuanliang and his family loaded their valuables into the vehicle and left town half an hour later.
They agreed to meet in the county town.
Shui Miao had only been on the motorcycle for about ten minutes when the sky darkened.
He looked up at the sky, feeling puzzled, but then reasoned that the female ghost Bai Feng couldn’t possibly control the weather—she wasn’t that powerful.
“It’s going to rain. I need to go back and harvest the rice. There’s a temple up ahead; you can go there and ask for lodging. Since Brother Huo and I are cousins, I won’t charge you. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I’ll pick you up from the temple on my way to the county town.” The motorcycle driver pointed toward a temple about two hundred meters away.
Shui Miao thought it would be best to wait at the temple entrance. When Huo Yuanliang and his family arrived, he could leave with them.
Thus, Shui Miao went to the temple.
As soon as he reached the large tree outside the temple, heavy rain began to fall.
At that moment, a young monk around eighteen or nineteen years old opened the temple door and waved to Shui Miao. “Sir, come inside. My master asked me to invite you in to take shelter from the rain.”
“Your master asked for me?”
Shui Miao pointed at himself in surprise. “How did your master know I was outside?”
“What’s so strange about that? My master is an enlightened monk. When he saw the sudden change in weather and the strange rain, he knew something was happening.” Seeing that Shui Miao wasn’t entering, the young monk ran out into the rain to the tree and said mysteriously, “My master also said you’re in trouble and that without his help, it will be impossible for you to escape unscathed. And…” The young monk leaned closer to Shui Miao and whispered, “This rain was brought by the Yin God. You killed his water ghost general; he won’t let you leave so easily. Say no more—come inside with me.”
“But I’m waiting for someone. I’m worried they might be in danger…”
If the Yin God was causing trouble, Shui Miao had to worry about Huo Yuanliang and his family.
“Don’t worry. I’ll wait here for them. Go inside and close the door behind you to keep the rain out…”
The young monk gave Shui Miao a push, and she took the opportunity to dash into the temple.
After Shui Miao closed the temple door, the young monk shook his head and smiled, transforming into a scholarly young man in a white robe, holding a folding fan.
“Okay! You come with me to the town. There’s a dog meat hotpot restaurant there; they must have black dog blood.”
The young wife pulled Shui Miao along.
Shui Miao was helpless. As the saying goes, cause and effect shape people’s fates, and it’s annoying. The matter with the young wife had to be resolved eventually, so he might as well settle it all at once today.
So, the two came to the town.
One of the waiters at the dog meat hotpot restaurant was from the village. The young wife brought Shui Miao to the back door of the kitchen and found the young waiter to explain their intentions. Shui Miao gave each of them 100 yuan. Then, two waiters in their late teens and early twenties immediately slaughtered a black dog and brought the black dog blood to Shui Miao. Shui Miao directly lifted the basin filled with black dog blood over his head and poured it all over himself. In an instant, he transformed back into his original appearance.
“It changed, it changed…”
The two young waiters were shocked, looking at each other with expressions of disbelief.
“Ahh!”
The young wife, in astonishment, covered her mouth with her hand, stunned.
Shui Miao, covered in black dog blood, let out a pitiful sigh and asked the young wife, “Now you should believe me, right?”
“Such strong vitality and so dominant a hurtful officer—no wonder you’re so bold.” Bai Feng glanced at Huo Xiang, muttered a few words to herself, then coldly added, “I am a ghost. You simply want to see why he has taken on a different appearance. Fine, I’ll grant your wish right now and show you. After you’ve seen it, get out immediately. If you linger here any longer, don’t blame me for being harsh with you and your daughter!”
As soon as Bai Feng finished speaking, Shui Miao transformed into Zhang Ling’s appearance.
Shui Miao was still pondering the concept of “strong vitality and dominant hurtful officer” when he was enveloped by a surge of earth spiritual energy. In fate analysis, those that restrict the Day Master are the proper officer and partial officer. Among them, the one sharing the same elemental phase as the Day Master is the partial officer, often referred to as the seven killings. Compared to the proper officer, the seven killings are more restraining. Those with strong vitality who can overcome the seven killings possess authority, decisiveness, and determination, often giving others an impression of swift action and boldness.
Seeing Shui Miao revert to Zhang Ling’s form, Huo Yuanliang had no further doubts. He hurriedly took out 50,000 yuan from his person and handed it to Shui Miao. Shui Miao only took 10,000, indicating that the rest should be given to Huo Xiang for her education. Huo Yuanliang thanked him several times and quickly led his daughter away. However, after taking just a few steps, Huo Xiang broke free from her father’s grip and ran back. She directly asked Bai Feng, “Where are you taking him? He helped me, so I must help him. Tell me, what do you want?”
“I want your life…”
Bai Feng suddenly waved her hand toward Huo Xiang, who felt a darkness overwhelm her vision and immediately fainted.
“Great immortal, spare us, spare us! My daughter doesn’t understand—she was just talking nonsense…”
Huo Yuanliang, who had rushed over to support Huo Xiang, wore an expression of sheer terror, utterly frightened.
Shui Miao frowned deeply, glaring at Bai Feng. “What are you trying to do?”
Ignoring Shui Miao, Bai Feng calmly addressed Huo Yuanliang, “She’s fine. Take her back and have her drink some ginger soup. Also, leave this town as soon as possible. Don’t let me see you again.”
“Yes, yes! I’ll move away tomorrow, tomorrow itself.”
Huo Yuanliang nodded repeatedly, shot a grateful glance at Shui Miao, and hurriedly carried his daughter down the mountain.
※※※
“What exactly do you want?”
Shui Miao stepped in front of Bai Feng, staring directly into her eyes.
Bai Feng had only been trying to scare Huo Yuanliang and his daughter. Seeing that they had left, she returned to her normal form and snapped at Shui Miao, “You should be asking yourself what you want! Do you think I want to protect you? If it weren’t for my master ordering me to, I wouldn’t bother with you!”
“Remove your earth-based spiritual energy. Don’t think you can use the Zhang family’s affairs to entangle me. I am not your puppet. You have no right to control my freedom.” Shui Miao had seen through their scheme: they turned him into Zhang Ling’s likeness to ensnare him with complications, trapping him here forever.
It was precisely to avoid emotional entanglements that Shui Miao had previously refrained from getting involved with the young wife.
“Us, entangle you?” Bai Feng rolled her eyes in frustration, waving her hands agitatedly. “You’re truly hard to please! I really don’t understand why my master wants me to protect a clueless fool like you…”
“You can go ask your master about that,” Shui Miao interrupted. “Also, please tell her I don’t need her protection. I control my own destiny. She knows very well what her true intentions were in sealing me. Claiming to protect me? Does she think I’m an idiot? A thousand-year-old female ghost—I thought she was some great sage, but she’s just trying to usurp my faith and offerings. She’s nothing but a fraud. And you, little ghost, are so foolish—believing everything your master says. You’re the real clueless fool.”
Shui Miao was done with the entanglements. He wanted to follow his own path, free from being manipulated by others.
“How dare you!”
“How dare you slander my master’s name! You’re asking for death!”
Bai Feng was livid. Lady Bai was like a saint in her eyes, and she would not tolerate any disrespect.
“Typical narrow-minded woman!”
Shui Miao didn’t want to engage further and simply waved his hand, heading down the mountain.
“……”
Bai Feng had been a well-bred lady in her lifetime and had never been spoken to like this. To her, being called “narrow-minded” was a profound insult.
“Fine, fine! Since you’re so rude, I won’t hold back anymore. I’ll make you pay in blood!”
Enraged, Bai Feng summoned a gust of Yin wind to envelop Shui Miao, intending to push him down the slope. Though not as perilous as a cliff, the slope was several dozen meters high—a fall would mean certain death or severe injury. Shui Miao felt darkness overwhelm him, unable to steady himself against the Yin energy. He stumbled toward the edge, but just as one foot slipped into empty air, a demonic energy surged from below, pushing him back. Bai Feng was startled to see the black snake demon appear beside Shui Miao.
“Damn you! You wretched snake demon, how dare you oppose me!” Bai Feng was furious. She formed hand seals and conjured a sword out of thin air, ready to fight the black snake demon to the death.
“Run! Go to the river where you first arrived and wait for me there.” The black snake demon shoved Shui Miao away and spat out a black, curved sword. “Haha, beautiful Bai Feng, you think you’re the only one with a weapon? This Yin Snake Sword was just bestowed upon me by the Yin God. You’re no match for me—fighting is useless. I suggest you save your energy and go reincarnate in the underworld. A clueless fool like you isn’t worth wasting spiritual energy on!”
“Ah, you infuriate me…”
Bai Feng, who had always been teased by the black snake demon, was now called a “clueless fool.” Overwhelmed by rage, she charged at the black snake demon, and the two engaged in combat.
Shui Miao hurried down the mountain…
Having resolved to be firm and follow his own path, Shui Miao felt no regrets.
But once he reached the foot of the mountain, he began to wonder: Why did the black snake demon tell me to go to the river? Am I jumping from the frying pan into the fire? Still, the black snake demon didn’t seem entirely evil. Since it had saved him once, he decided to heed its advice this time. Enough overthinking—he would go to the river first.
After running for over ten minutes, Shui Miao encountered the young wife on the road. Spotting Shui Miao, she rushed over and grabbed his hand, refusing to let go. “Zhang Ling, where have you been? I’ve been searching for you since morning—I was so worried!”
“I’m not Zhang Ling. I’m Shui Miao. Your Zhang Ling died long ago, and I’m not a fool. Please stop mistaking me for him. Have you ever seen a fool speak so clearly?” Shui Miao freed his hand, took out the 10,000 yuan, and gave most of it to the young wife. “You’re still young—don’t let conservative thinking bind you for life. Take this money and go to Zhonghai City. Use the phone number I gave you to find Chen Bing and see if you can work at his restaurant. If Chen Bing can’t help you, rent a place, find a job, and start anew. Buy a phone, give your number to Chen Bing, and I’ll find you when I return…”
“Zhang Ling, please come to your senses!” The young wife pushed the money back and clung to Shui Miao, crying. “Zhang Ling, stop this nonsense. Our family only has a few members left. If you leave, what will happen to Grandpa and Grandma?”
“Enough!” Endlessly entangled, Shui Miao had had enough. He pushed her away and raised his voice. “It’s not me who needs to come to my senses—it’s you! I’m not Zhang Ling. I’ve told you countless times. Why won’t you believe me? I’m not him, and I won’t stay here for his sake. I have my own path to follow. Please be strong. Will you die without a man? Can’t you be independent? Even if your grandparents are old, they can give the house to someone else in exchange for care. Why can’t you face the world and start anew?”
“But… but Granny Ma said you’ve lost your mind and think you’re someone else!” The young wife finally began to doubt whether this man was truly Zhang Ling.
Shui Miao sneered. “Granny Ma is just a puppet. She’s possessed by a female ghost pretending to be a great immortal. That ghost is named Bai Feng, a disciple of the thousand-year-old female ghost Lady Bai, who’s been scheming against me. They made me impersonate your husband to trap me here with the Zhang family’s troubles. Right now, Bai Feng is fighting the black snake demon—the one you call the Black Dragon God. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to see. Alternatively, you can find some black dog blood and pour it over my head. That will make me revert to my true form.”
“Fine! Come with me to town. There’s a dog meat hotpot restaurant there—they’ll definitely have dog blood.”
The young wife pulled Shui Miao along.
Shui Miao resigned himself to it. As the saying goes, karma is inescapable. The matter with the young wife had to be resolved sooner or later. Might as well settle it today.
Thus, the two went to town.
One of the workers at the dog meat hotpot restaurant was from the village. The young wife took Shui Miao to the kitchen’s back door, found the young worker, and explained their purpose. Shui Miao gave each of them 100 yuan, and the two seventeen- or eighteen-year-old workers promptly slaughtered a black dog and brought the blood to Shui Miao. Shui Miao lifted the basin filled with black dog blood over his head and poured it all over himself. In an instant, he reverted to his original appearance.
“He… he changed…”
The two young workers stared at each other in astonishment, their expressions filled with disbelief.
“Ah!”
The young wife covered her mouth in shock, utterly stunned.
Covered in dog blood, Shui Miao sighed miserably and asked her, “Now do you believe me?”
“You… you’re really not Zhang Ling. Then… that night… you scoundrel!” The young wife suddenly slapped Shui Miao across the face, turned around, and ran off crying.
Shui Miao touched his cheek and felt relieved. Finally, it was settled. That slap was well-deserved!
The two young workers stared at Shui Miao as if he were a monster.
Shui Miao turned and walked to the river. Just as he was about to jump in to wash off the blood, he suddenly felt a familiar comfort in his mind—the sensation had returned!
“Wait!”
“Could it be that the black dog blood broke the seal on my mental realm!?”
Overjoyed, Shui Miao immediately sat cross-legged, calming his mind and focusing his spirit. In an instant, he entered his mental realm and finally saw the long-lost Heavenly Gate. However, two black talismans were pasted on the gate, blocking the flow of celestial energy.
“Excellent! I never thought black dog blood could break the seal. Why didn’t I think of it earlier?”
Shui Miao quickly exited his mental realm, opened his eyes, and headed back to the hotpot restaurant’s back door. The two young workers, having just witnessed Shui Miao’s transformation and fearing he was some kind of evil being, hurriedly closed the door. Seeing this, Shui Miao charged forward, bursting through the door and startling the workers into fleeing. To break the seal on his dantian, Shui Miao drank the remaining black dog blood from the basin and even lapped up what had spilled on the ground. Unfortunately, most of it had already drained away. He looked around and spotted another black dog in a cage. Grabbing an iron clamp used for handling dogs, he went to capture it. Just then, the two young workers returned with the portly owner and two chefs armed with knives. The group rushed in to find a blood-covered figure biting into the dog’s neck, sucking its blood!
It looked like a vampire feeding…
The scene left everyone speechless.
The owner was about to erupt in anger when Shui Miao threw the 10,000 yuan at him.
Seeing the money, the owner’s face lit up with delight. He sternly rebuked the young workers, “You fools, talking nonsense! How could he be a madman? With this much money, he could buy ten dogs, let alone one. Put those sticks down—he’s our guest. Drinking dog blood is highly nourishing; you just don’t understand.”
“But, boss, before he poured the dog blood over himself, he looked like Zhang Ling from West Village…”
The young worker had rushed out earlier in a panic and hadn’t mentioned this detail.
“Then… then this guest must have been possessed. Now he’s used our black dog blood to revert to his true form. Look at his seated posture—that’s the meditation pose of a cultivator.” The owner, having received Shui Miao’s 10,000 yuan, defended him vehemently, leaving everyone bewildered.
“Quiet, all of you.”
After drinking the black dog blood, Shui Miao sat down to meditate. He could feel the warm blood slowly flowing into his dantian, bringing immense comfort. Four or five minutes later, his lower abdomen churned, and a stream of energy rushed downward. Suddenly, his muscles relaxed, and he let out a long, loud fart!
“……”
Everyone was startled to see that the fart was black and quickly backed away.
“It’s broken!”
Only a trace of celestial energy remained in his dantian. After circulating it once, Shui Miao felt refreshed and clear-headed. However, the two black talismans in his mental realm still blocked the Heavenly Gate, preventing celestial energy from flowing down.
“Damn it! Without a continuous influx of celestial energy, what’s left in my dantian will eventually deplete.”
Shui Miao stopped meditating and opened his eyes.
He was aware that he had already ingested a considerable quantity of black dog blood. If the two talismans remained intact, consuming more would be pointless. He also understood that the weakening and eventual rupture of the seal were connected to the earlier annihilation of the water ghost. The seal had progressively weakened as those spirits dissipated, ultimately enabling the black dog blood to shatter it.
“Now that the seal is broken, I must leave quickly to avoid being found by that female ghost Bai Feng. Yes! While the black snake demon is fighting Bai Feng, I need to get away.”
His mind made up, Shui Miao hurried to Huo Yuanliang’s house. Huo Yuanliang’s daughter, Huo Xiang, had recovered, and the family was eating dinner. Shui Miao’s sudden arrival, covered in blood, startled Huo Yuanliang’s wife, but Huo Yuanliang and Huo Xiang were delighted. Shui Miao pulled Huo Yuanliang aside to explain his intentions. Huo Yuanliang immediately asked his daughter to prepare clothes while he went out to find a motorcycle taxi in town. Huo Xiang efficiently prepared a large bucket of warm water. Shui Miao bathed, changed into clean clothes, took another 10,000 yuan from Huo Yuanliang, and left on a motorcycle.
Shortly after Shui Miao departed, the minivan Huo Yuanliang had called arrived. The family of three loaded their valuables and left town half an hour later.
They agreed to meet in the county seat.
Shui Miao had been on the motorcycle for just over ten minutes when the sky darkened.
He glanced at the sky, puzzled, but then reasoned that the female ghost Bai Feng couldn’t possibly control the weather—she wasn’t that powerful.
“It’s going to rain. I need to go back to gather the rice. There’s a temple up ahead—you can go there to seek shelter. Since I’m Cousin Huo’s relative, I won’t charge you. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I’ll pick you up from the temple on my way to the county.” The motorcycle driver pointed toward a temple about two hundred meters away.
Shui Miao thought it best to wait at the temple entrance. When Huo Yuanliang and his family arrived, he could leave with them.
Thus, Shui Miao went to the temple.
No sooner had he reached a large tree outside the temple than heavy rain began to fall.
At that moment, a young monk of eighteen or nineteen opened the temple door and waved to Shui Miao. “Sir, come inside. My master asked me to invite you in for shelter.”
“Your master asked for me?”
Shui Miao pointed at himself in surprise. “How did your master know I was outside?”
“It’s nothing special. My master is an enlightened monk. When the sky suddenly changed and this strange rain started, he knew something was happening.” Seeing Shui Miao hesitate, the young monk ran out into the rain to under the tree and said mysteriously, “My master also said you’re in trouble and won’t be able to leave safely without his help. And…” The young monk leaned closer and whispered, “This rain was brought by the Yin God. You killed his water ghost general—he won’t let you leave easily. No more talk—come inside with me.”
“But I’m waiting for someone. I’m worried they might be in danger…”
If the Yin God was causing trouble, Shui Miao had to worry about Huo Yuanliang and his family.
“Don’t worry. I’ll wait here for them. Go on in—and close the door behind you to keep the rain out…”
The young monk gave Shui Miao a gentle push, and Shui Miao took the opportunity to dash into the temple.
After Shui Miao closed the temple door, the young monk shook his head and smiled, transforming into a scholarly young man in white robes, holding a folding fan.
Shui Miao touched his face and felt a sense of relief in his heart. Finally, it was clarified. What a good slap that was!
The two young waiters looked at Shui Miao as if he were a monster.
Shui Miao turned around and walked to the riverbank, just preparing to jump into the river to wash himself clean, when he suddenly felt a comfortable sensation in his head. That familiar feeling returned!
“Wait!”
“Could it be that the black dog blood broke the seal on my realm!?”
“Such immense vitality and such a formidable, malevolent official—no wonder your courage is so unshakable.” Bai Feng cast a glance at Huo Xiang, murmured a few words under her breath, then icily continued, “I am a ghost. You merely wish to see why he has transformed into a different guise. Very well, I shall grant your wish immediately and reveal it to you. Once you’ve seen it, leave at once. If you persist in lingering here, do not blame me for showing no mercy to you and your daughter!”
As soon as Bai Feng finished speaking, Shui Miao transformed into Zhang Ling’s appearance.
Shui Miao was still contemplating the notions of robust vitality and a dominant harmful official when he was suddenly engulfed by a wave of earth spiritual energy. In the realm of destiny analysis, the elements that restrict the Day Master are known as the proper officer and the partial officer. Among these, the one that shares the same Five Elements as the Day Master is the partial officer, commonly referred to as the seven killings. In comparison to the proper officer, the seven killings exert a more restraining influence. Individuals with strong vitality who can overcome the seven killings are endowed with authority, decisiveness, and resolve, often leaving others with an impression of being swift, bold, and daring.
Seeing Shui Miao revert to Zhang Ling’s appearance, Huo Yuanliang had no more doubts. He hurriedly took out 50,000 yuan from his person and handed it to Shui Miao. Shui Miao only took 10,000 yuan, indicating that the rest should be given to Huo Xiang for her education. Huo Yuanliang thanked him several times and quickly led his daughter away. However, after taking just a few steps, Huo Xiang broke free from her father’s grip and ran back. She directly asked Bai Feng, “Where are you taking him? He helped me, so I must help him. Tell me, what do you want?”
“I want your life…”
Bai Feng suddenly waved her hand toward Huo Xiang, who felt a darkness before her eyes and immediately fainted.
“Great immortal, spare us, spare us! My daughter doesn’t understand things; she was just talking nonsense…”
Huo Yuanliang happened to come over and caught Huo Xiang. His face was full of terror, and he was extremely frightened.
Shui Miao frowned deeply and glared at Bai Feng. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Bai Feng ignored Shui Miao and calmly said to Huo Yuanliang, “She’s fine. Take her back and give her some ginger soup, and she’ll be okay. Also, leave this town as soon as possible. Don’t let me see you again.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll move away tomorrow, tomorrow.”
Huo Yuanliang nodded repeatedly, gave Shui Miao a grateful look, and quickly carried his daughter down the mountain.
※※※
“What exactly do you want?”
Shui Miao approached Bai Feng, staring into her eyes.
Bai Feng had only been trying to scare Huo Yuanliang and his daughter. Seeing that Huo Yuanliang had left, Bai Feng returned to her normal appearance and snapped at Shui Miao, “You should ask yourself what you want! Do you think I want to protect you? If it weren’t for my master ordering me to protect you, I wouldn’t bother with you!”
“Withdraw your earthly spiritual energy. Don’t delude yourself into thinking you can use the Zhang family’s affairs to entangle me. I am not your puppet. You have no right to control my freedom.” Shui Miao had seen through their scheme—they had transformed him into Zhang Ling’s likeness to ensnare him in complications, aiming to trap him here indefinitely.
Shui Miao didn’t want to be bound by emotions, which was why he hadn’t acted on the young wife earlier.
“We’re bothering you?” Bai Feng rolled her eyes in frustration and gestured animatedly. “You’re truly impossible to satisfy! I can’t fathom why my master insists on having me protect a clueless fool like you…”
“You can go ask your master about that.” Shui Miao interrupted her. “Also, please tell your master that I don’t need her protection. I control my own destiny. She knows very well what her real purpose was in sealing me. Talking about protecting me—does she think I’m an idiot? A thousand-year-old female ghost—I thought she was some great sage, but she’s just trying to seize my faith, wishes, and offerings. She’s nothing but a fraud. And you, little ghost, are so foolish. You believe everything your master says. You’re the brainless fool.”
Shui Miao no longer wished to be entangled. He only wanted to follow his own path and never again allow himself to be blindly manipulated.
“How dare you!”
“How dare you insult my master’s reputation! You’re asking for death!”
Bai Feng was furious. Lady Bai was like a saint in her eyes, and she would never allow anyone to tarnish her image.
“Typical narrow-minded woman!”
Shui Miao didn’t want to bother with Bai Feng and simply waved his hand as he headed down the mountain.
“…”
Bai Feng had been a well-bred lady in her lifetime and had never been spoken to like this. In her eyes, being called a “narrow-minded woman” was a great insult.
“Fine, fine! Since you’re so rude, I won’t hold back anymore. I’ll make you pay with blood!”
Furious, Bai Feng summoned a chilling gust of yin wind to envelop Shui Miao and force him down the slope. Although the slope wasn’t as perilous as a cliff, it still stood several dozen meters high. A fall from such a height would either be fatal or leave him severely injured. Shui Miao felt a sudden darkness cloud his vision, unable to withstand the oppressive yin wind, and stumbled perilously close to the edge of the slope. Just as one foot slipped over the brink, a surge of demonic energy from below thrust him back. Bai Feng was left in shock as the black snake demon materialized beside Shui Miao.
“Damn you! You wretched snake demon, how dare you oppose me!” Bai Feng was furious. She formed hand seals and conjured a sword out of thin air, ready to fight the black snake demon to the death.
“Run! Head to the river where you first arrived and wait for me.” The black snake demon shoved Shui Miao aside and spat out a black, curved sword. “Haha, beautiful Bai Feng, did you really think you were the only one armed? This Yin Snake Sword was just bestowed upon me by the Yin God himself. You stand no chance against me. Resistance is futile. I suggest you conserve your strength and prepare for reincarnation in the underworld. A mindless fool like you is nothing but a drain on spiritual energy while alive!”
“Ah, you’re infuriating me…”
Bai Feng had always been teased by the black snake demon, and now she was called a brainless fool. Overcome with rage, she charged forward and engaged in battle with the black snake demon.
Shui Miao ran down the mountain…
Since he had decided to be resolute and follow his own path, he wouldn’t look back.
But once he reached the foot of the mountain, Shui Miao began to wonder: Why did the black snake demon want me to go to the river? Would I be jumping from the frying pan into the fire? However, the black snake demon didn’t seem that bad. Since it had saved me once, I should heed its advice this time. Enough! No more overthinking. I’ll go to the river first.
Shui Miao jogged for over ten minutes until he spotted the young wife on the road. When she saw Shui Miao, she rushed over and grabbed his hand, refusing to let go. “Zhang Ling, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you since morning. I was so worried!”
“I’m not Zhang Ling. I’m Shui Miao. Your Zhang Ling died long ago, and I’m not a fool. Please stop treating me like Zhang Ling. Have you ever seen a fool who speaks so clearly?” Shui Miao broke free from her grip, took out the 10,000 yuan, and handed most of it to her. “You’re still young. Don’t let conservative thoughts bind you for life. Take this money and go to Zhonghai City. Use the phone number I gave you to find Chen Bing and see if you can work at his restaurant. If Chen Bing can’t help you, rent a place, find a job, and start a new life. Buy a phone, give your number to Chen Bing, and I’ll find you when I return…”
“Zhang Ling, snap out of it, please?” The young wife pushed the money back to Shui Miao, hugged him tightly, and cried, “Zhang Ling, stop fooling around. Our family only has a few members left. If you leave, what will happen to Grandpa and Grandma?”
“Enough!” Shui Miao had reached his limit with this endless entanglement. He pushed her away and shouted, “It’s not me who needs to snap out of it—it’s you! I’m not Zhang Ling. I’ve said it countless times. Why won’t you believe me? I’m not him, and I won’t stay here for his sake. I have my own path to follow. Please, be strong. Will you really crumble without a man? Can’t you find some self-respect and stand on your own? Even if your grandparents are elderly, they can entrust the house to someone else to care for them. Why can’t you face the world and give yourself a fresh start?”
“But… but Granny Ma said you’ve lost your mind and think you’re someone else!” The young wife finally began to doubt whether the man before her was really Zhang Ling.
Shui Miao sneered. “Granny Ma is merely a puppet. She’s been possessed by a female ghost masquerading as a great immortal. That ghost is named Bai Feng, a disciple of the thousand-year-old female ghost Lady Bai, who has been plotting against me. They forced me to impersonate your husband to trap me here, entangled in the Zhang family’s troubles for life. Right now, Bai Feng is battling the black snake demon, whom you know as the Black Dragon God. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to see for yourself. Additionally, you can find some black dog blood and pour it over my head. That will cause me to revert to my true form.”
“Fine! Come with me to town. There’s a dog meat hotpot restaurant there. They’ll definitely have dog blood.”
The young wife dragged Shui Miao away.
Shui Miao had no choice. As the saying goes, karma is inescapable. The matter with the young wife had to be resolved sooner or later. Might as well settle it today.
So, the two went to town.
One of the workers at the dog meat hotpot restaurant was from the village. The young wife took Shui Miao to the kitchen’s back door, found the young worker, and explained their purpose. Shui Miao gave each of them 100 yuan, and the two seventeen- or eighteen-year-old workers immediately slaughtered a black dog and brought the blood to Shui Miao. Shui Miao lifted the basin filled with black dog blood over his head and poured it all over himself. In an instant, he transformed back into his original appearance.
“He… he changed…”
The two young workers stared at each other in shock, their expressions full of disbelief.
“Ah!”
The young wife covered her mouth in astonishment.
Covered in dog blood, Shui Miao sighed miserably and asked her, “Now do you believe me?”
“You… you’re truly not Zhang Ling. Then… that night… you scoundrel!” The young wife suddenly slapped Shui Miao across the face, turned around, and ran away in tears.
Shui Miao touched his face and breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. Finally, it was settled. That slap was well-deserved!
The two young workers stared at Shui Miao as if he were a monster.
Shui Miao turned and walked to the river. Just as he was about to jump in to wash off the blood, he suddenly felt a comfortable sensation in his mind. That familiar feeling had returned!
“Wait!”
“Could it be that the black dog blood broke the seal on my mental realm!?”
Excited, Shui Miao immediately sat cross-legged, calming his mind and focusing his spirit. In an instant, he entered his mental realm and finally saw the long-lost Heavenly Gate. However, two black talismans were pasted on the gate, blocking the celestial energy.
“Excellent! I never thought black dog blood could break the seal. Why didn’t I think of it before?”
Shui Miao quickly exited his mental realm, opened his eyes, and headed back to the hotpot restaurant’s back door. The two young workers, having just witnessed Shui Miao’s transformation and knowing he was involved with dark arts, hurriedly closed the door in fear. Seeing this, Shui Miao charged in, scaring the young workers into running away. To break the seal on his dantian, Shui Miao drank the remaining black dog blood from the basin and even licked the blood off the ground. Unfortunately, most of the blood had already drained away. Shui Miao looked around and spotted another black dog in a cage. He picked up an iron dog clamp and went to grab the dog. At that moment, the two young workers returned with the portly owner and two chefs carrying knives. The group rushed in to find a blood-covered figure biting the dog’s neck and sucking its blood!
It looked like a zombie feeding…
The scene left everyone stunned.
Just as the owner was about to erupt, Shui Miao threw the 10,000 yuan toward him.
Seeing the money, the owner’s face instantly brightened. He sternly scolded the young workers, “You fools, what nonsense are you spouting? How could he be a madman? With this much money, he could buy not just one dog but ten. Put down those sticks. This is our guest. Drinking dog blood is highly nourishing; you just don’t understand.”
“But, boss, before he poured the dog blood over himself, he looked like Zhang Ling from West Village in Shuilong Village…”
The young worker had rushed out earlier and hadn’t mentioned this.
“Then… then this guest must have been possessed. Now he’s used our black dog blood to revert to his true form. Look at his sitting posture—that’s the meditation posture of a cultivator.” The owner, having received 10,000 yuan from Shui Miao, spoke in his defense, leaving everyone speechless.
“Everyone, be quiet.”
After consuming the black dog’s blood, Shui Miao settled into meditation. He could sense the warm blood gradually flowing into his dantian, providing immense comfort. Within four or five minutes, his lower abdomen began to churn, and a surge of energy rushed downward. Suddenly, his sphincter relaxed, and he released a long, resonant fart!
“…”
Everyone was startled to see that the fart was black and quickly backed away.
“The seal is broken!”
Only a tiny amount of celestial energy remained in his dantian. After circulating it once, Shui Miao felt refreshed and clear-headed. However, the two black talismans in his mental realm still blocked the Heavenly Gate, preventing celestial energy from flowing down.
“Damn it! Without celestial energy flowing down, the energy in my dantian will eventually deplete.”
Shui Miao stopped meditating and opened his eyes.
He knew he had already consumed a lot of black dog blood. If the two talismans couldn’t be removed now, drinking more would be futile. He also realized that the seal’s removal was related to the earlier destruction of the water ghost. The seal had weakened gradually due to the influence of those spirits, ultimately broken by the black dog blood.
“Now that the seal is removed, I must leave quickly to avoid being found by that female ghost Bai Feng. Right! While the black snake demon is fighting Bai Feng, I need to get away immediately.”
His thoughts racing, Shui Miao hurried to Huo Yuanliang’s house. Huo Yuanliang’s daughter, Huo Xiang, had recovered, and the family was eating dinner. Shui Miao’s sudden arrival, covered in blood, startled Huo Yuanliang’s wife, but Huo Yuanliang and Huo Xiang were overjoyed. Shui Miao pulled Huo Yuanliang aside, explained the situation, and Huo Yuanliang quickly had his daughter prepare clothes while he went out to find a motorcycle taxi in town. Huo Xiang efficiently prepared a large bucket of warm water. Shui Miao took a bath, changed into clean clothes, took another 10,000 yuan from Huo Yuanliang, and left on a motorcycle.
Shortly after Shui Miao left, the minivan Huo Yuanliang had called arrived. Huo Yuanliang and his family loaded their valuables into the vehicle and left town half an hour later.
They agreed to meet in the county town.
Shui Miao had only been on the motorcycle for about ten minutes when the sky turned gloomy.
He looked up at the sky, feeling somewhat puzzled, but then thought, How could the female ghost Bai Feng control the weather? She doesn’t have that kind of power.
“It’s going to rain. I need to go back to gather the rice. There’s a temple up ahead—you can go there to seek shelter. Since I’m Brother Huo’s cousin, I won’t charge you. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I’ll pick you up from the temple on my way to the county town.” The motorcycle driver pointed toward a temple about two hundred meters away.
Shui Miao thought it would be best to wait at the temple entrance. When Huo Yuanliang and his family arrived, he could leave with them.
So, Shui Miao went to the temple.
Just as he reached a large tree outside the temple, heavy rain began to fall.
At that moment, a young monk, about eighteen or nineteen years old, opened the temple door and waved to Shui Miao. “Benefactor, come inside. My master asked me to invite you in to take shelter from the rain.”
“Your master asked for me?”
Shui Miao pointed at himself in surprise. “How did your master know I was outside?”
“What’s so strange about that? My master is an enlightened monk. When he noticed the sudden change in weather and the peculiar rain, he knew something unusual was happening.” Seeing that Shui Miao wasn’t stepping inside, the young monk dashed out into the rain toward the tree and said mysteriously, “My master also mentioned that you’re in trouble now. Without his assistance, it will be impossible for you to leave unharmed. And…” The young monk leaned closer to Shui Miao and whispered, “This rain was brought by the阴神. You killed his water ghost general. He won’t let you leave so easily. No more talking—come inside with me.”
“But I need to wait for someone. I’m worried they might be in danger…”
If the Yin spirit was causing trouble, Shui Miao had to be concerned about Huo Yuanliang and his family.
“Don’t worry. I’ll wait here for you. Go inside and close the door behind you. Don’t let the rain in…”
The young monk gave Shui Miao a push, and she took the opportunity to dash into the temple.
After Shui Miao closed the temple door, the young monk shook his head and smiled, transforming into a white-robed young scholar holding a folding fan.
“Great! I didn’t expect black dog blood to break the seal. How come I didn’t think of this before?”
Shui Miao hurriedly withdrew from his realm, opened his eyes, turned towards the back door of the dog meat hotpot restaurant, and walked over. The two young waiters had just witnessed Shui Miao changing his appearance with their own eyes. Knowing that Shui Miao was a strange person, they were so scared that they quickly closed the door. Seeing this, Shui Miao charged in with a headlong rush, scaring the young waiters into running away. In order to break the seal on his dantian, Shui Miao drank the remaining black dog blood in the basin, then crouched on the ground and started licking the black dog blood. Unfortunately, all the black dog blood had already flowed away. Shui Miao looked around and just happened to see another black dog inside a cage. He picked up a pair of iron tongs used for catching dogs and went to grab the dog. At this moment, the two waiters called over a fat boss and two chefs holding knives. A group of people rushed in and saw a blood-soaked figure biting the dog’s neck on the ground, sucking its blood!
It looked exactly like a zombie sucking blood…
This scene left everyone stunned.
Just as the boss was about to erupt in anger, Shui Miao threw the 10,000 yuan he had at the boss.
Seeing the money, the boss’s face immediately brightened. He sternly told the waiters, “You fools, what are you talking about? How could he be crazy? He paid so much money; not only can he buy one dog, he can even buy ten dogs. Put down the sticks immediately, he’s our guest. Drinking dog blood is very nourishing, you just don’t understand.”
“Such formidable vitality and such a commanding, injurious presence—no wonder you’re so audacious.” Bai Feng shot a glance at Huo Xiang, muttered a few words under his breath, then spoke coldly, “I am a ghost. You merely wish to see why he has transformed into a different guise. Very well, I shall grant your wish immediately and reveal it to you. Once you’ve seen it, leave at once. If you continue to linger here, do not blame me for treating you and your daughter with harshness!”
As soon as Bai Feng finished speaking, Shui Miao transformed into Zhang Ling’s appearance.
Shui Miao was still pondering the concept of strong vitality and a dominant hurtful officer when he was enveloped by a surge of earth spirit energy. In fate analysis, those that restrict the Day Master are the proper officer and the partial officer. Among them, the one sharing the same element as the Day Master is the partial officer, often referred to as the seven killings. Compared to the proper officer, the seven killings are more restraining. Those with strong vitality who can overcome the seven killings possess authority, decisiveness, and determination, often giving others a impression of being swift, bold, and resolute.
Seeing Shui Miao revert to Zhang Ling’s appearance, Huo Yuanliang had no more doubts. He hurriedly took out 50,000 yuan from his person and handed it to Shui Miao. Shui Miao only took 10,000, indicating that the rest should be given to Huo Xiang for her education. Huo Yuanliang thanked him several times and quickly led his daughter away. However, after just a few steps, Huo Xiang broke free from her father’s grip and ran back. She directly asked Bai Feng, “Where are you taking him? He helped me, so I must help him. Tell me, what do you want?”
“I want your life…”
Bai Feng suddenly waved his hand toward Huo Xiang. She felt a darkness before her eyes and immediately fainted.
“Great immortal, spare us, spare us! My daughter doesn’t understand—she was just talking nonsense…”
Huo Yuanliang happened to come over and caught Huo Xiang. His face was full of terror and fear.
Shui Miao frowned deeply, glaring at Bai Feng. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Bai Feng ignored Shui Miao and said calmly to Huo Yuanliang, “She’s fine. Take her back and have her drink some ginger soup. Also, leave this town as soon as possible. Don’t let me see you again.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll move away tomorrow, tomorrow itself.”
Huo Yuanliang nodded repeatedly, gave Shui Miao a grateful look, and quickly carried his daughter down the mountain.
※※※
“What exactly do you want?”
Shui Miao stepped in front of Bai Feng, staring into her eyes.
Bai Feng had only been trying to scare Huo Yuanliang and his daughter. Seeing that they had left, Bai Feng returned to her normal form and snapped at Shui Miao, “You should be asking yourself what you want! Do you think I want to protect you? If it weren’t for my master ordering me to protect you, I wouldn’t bother with you!”
“Remove your earth spirit energy. Don’t think you can use the Zhang family’s matters to entangle me. I’m not your puppet. You have no right to control my freedom.” Shui Miao had seen through it—they turned him into Zhang Ling’s appearance to entangle him with complications, trapping him here forever.
Shui Miao didn’t want to be bound by emotions, which was why he hadn’t acted on the young wife earlier.
“We’re entangling you?” Bai Feng rolled her eyes in anger, waving her hands excitedly. “You’re really hard to please! I don’t understand why my master wants me to protect a brainless fool like you…”
“You can go ask your master about that.” Shui Miao interrupted her. “Also, please tell your master that I don’t need her protection. I control my own destiny. She knows very well what her true purpose was in sealing me. She talks about protecting me—does she think I’m an idiot? A thousand-year-old female ghost—I thought she was some kind of saint, but she’s just trying to usurp my faith, wishes, and offerings. She’s nothing but a fraud. And you, little ghost, are so foolish—you believe everything your master says. You’re the brainless fool.”
Shui Miao no longer wished to be entangled. He simply wanted to follow his own instincts and venture out into the world, determined to no longer be blindly manipulated by others.
“How dare you!”
“You dare to insult my master’s reputation! You’re asking for death!”
Bai Feng was furious. Lady Bai was like a saint in her eyes, and she would never allow anyone to tarnish her image.
“Short-sighted woman!”
Shui Miao didn’t want to deal with Bai Feng anymore. With a wave of his hand, he headed down the mountain.
“……”
Bai Feng had been a well-bred lady in her lifetime and had never been spoken to like this. In her eyes, being called a “short-sighted woman” was a great insult.
“Fine, fine! Since you’re so rude, I won’t hold back anymore. I’ll make you pay with blood!”
Furious, Bai Feng summoned a chilling gust of wind to envelop Shui Miao, aiming to hurl him down the slope. Although the slope wasn’t as perilous as a cliff, it still stood several dozen meters high. A fall from such a height would either be fatal or leave him severely injured. Shui Miao felt a sudden darkness cloud his vision, unable to steady himself against the icy wind. He stumbled toward the edge of the slope, and just as one foot stepped into the void, a surge of demonic energy from below thrust him back. Bai Feng was left in shock as the black snake demon materialized beside Shui Miao.
“Damn it! You vile snake demon, how dare you oppose me!” Bai Feng was furious. She formed hand seals and conjured a sword out of thin air, ready to fight the black snake demon to the death.
“Run! Head to the river where you first arrived and wait for me.” The black snake demon shoved Shui Miao aside and spat out a dark, curved sword. “Haha, beautiful Bai Feng, did you really think you were the only one armed? This Yin Snake Sword was just gifted to me by the Yin God himself. You stand no chance—resistance is futile. I suggest you conserve your strength and prepare for reincarnation in the underworld. A mindless fool like you isn’t worth the drain on my spiritual energy!”
“Ah, you’ve enraged me…”
Bai Feng had always been teased by the black snake demon, and now she was called a brainless fool. Overcome with fury, she charged forward and engaged in battle with the black snake demon.
Shui Miao ran down the mountain…
Since he had decided to be resolute and follow his own path, Shui Miao would not regret it.
But once he reached the foot of the mountain, Shui Miao began to wonder: What does the black snake demon want me to do at the river? Would I be jumping from the frying pan into the fire? However, the black snake demon didn’t seem that bad. Since it saved me just now, I should heed its advice this once. Enough! No more overthinking—I’ll go to the river first.
Shui Miao jogged for over ten minutes when he spotted the young wife on the road. Seeing Shui Miao, she hurried over and grabbed his hand, refusing to let go. “Zhang Ling, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you since morning—I was so worried!”
“I’m not Zhang Ling. I’m Shui Miao. Your Zhang Ling died long ago, and I’m not a fool. Please stop mistaking me for Zhang Ling. Have you ever seen a fool who speaks so clearly?” Shui Miao broke free from the young woman’s grip, took out the 10,000 yuan, and handed most of it to her. “You’re still young—don’t let conservative thoughts bind you for life. Take this money and go to Zhonghai City. Use the phone number I gave you to find Chen Bing and see if you can work at his restaurant. If Chen Bing can’t help you, use the money to rent a place, find a job, and start a new life. Buy a phone, give your number to Chen Bing, and I’ll find you when I return…”
“Zhang Ling, please come to your senses!” The young wife pushed the money back to Shui Miao, hugged him tightly, and cried, “Zhang Ling, stop messing around. Our family only has a few members left. If you leave, what will happen to Grandpa and Grandma?”
“Enough!” Shui Miao, exhausted by the relentless pestering, had reached his limit. He shoved the young wife aside and yelled, “It’s not me who needs to wake up—it’s you! I’m not Zhang Ling. I’ve told you countless times. Why won’t you believe me? I’m not him, and I won’t stay here for his sake. I have my own path to tread. Please, find your strength. Do you think you’ll perish without a man? Can’t you muster some courage and stand on your own? Even if your grandparents are elderly, they can entrust the house to someone else to look after them. Why can’t you face the world and carve out a fresh start for yourself?”
“But… but Granny Ma said you’ve lost your mind and think you’re someone else!” The young wife finally began to doubt whether the man before her was Zhang Ling.
Shui Miao sneered, “Granny Ma is merely a puppet. She’s been possessed by a female ghost masquerading as a great immortal. That ghost is named Bai Feng, a disciple of the thousand-year-old female ghost Lady Bai, who’s plotting against me. They forced me to impersonate your husband to entangle me with the Zhang family’s troubles and trap me here forever. Right now, Bai Feng is battling the black snake demon, whom you revere as the Black Dragon God. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to see for yourself. Additionally, you can find some black dog blood and pour it over my head. If you do, I’ll revert to my true form.”
“Fine! Come with me to town. There’s a dog meat hotpot restaurant there—they’ll definitely have dog blood.”
The young wife pulled Shui Miao along.
Shui Miao had no choice. As the saying goes, karma is inescapable. The matter with the young wife had to be resolved sooner or later. Better to settle it today once and for all.
So, the two went to town.
One of the workers at the dog meat hotpot restaurant was from the village. The young wife took Shui Miao to the kitchen’s back door, found the young worker, and explained their purpose. Shui Miao gave each of them 100 yuan, and the two seventeen- or eighteen-year-old workers immediately slaughtered a black dog and brought the blood to Shui Miao. Shui Miao lifted the basin filled with black dog blood over his head and poured it all over himself. In an instant, he transformed back into his original appearance.
“He changed… he changed…”
The two young workers looked at each other in astonishment, their expressions full of disbelief.
“Ah!”
The young wife covered her mouth in shock, utterly stunned.
Covered in dog blood, Shui Miao sighed miserably and asked the young wife, “Now do you believe me?”
“You… you’re really not Zhang Ling. Then… that night… you scoundrel!” The young wife suddenly slapped Shui Miao across the face, turned around, and ran away in tears.
Shui Miao touched his face and breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. Finally, it was settled. That slap was well deserved!
The two young workers stared at Shui Miao as if he were a monster.
Shui Miao turned and walked to the river. Just as he was about to jump in to wash off the blood, he suddenly felt a comfortable sensation in his mind—that familiar feeling had returned!
“Wait!”
“Could it be that the black dog’s blood shattered the seal on my inner realm!?”
Thrilled, Shui Miao swiftly settled into a cross-legged position, steadying his mind and concentrating his spirit. In a flash, he immersed himself into his inner realm and at last glimpsed the long-missed celestial gate. Yet, within this realm, two dark talismans were affixed to the gate, obstructing the flow of heavenly energy.
“Excellent! I never thought black dog blood could break the seal. Why didn’t I think of it before?”
Shui Miao swiftly emerged from his meditative state, opened his eyes, and made his way to the back door of the hotpot restaurant. The two young workers, having just witnessed Shui Miao’s transformation and aware of his connection to the supernatural, hastily shut the door. Seeing this, Shui Miao barged in, causing the young workers to flee in terror. In an attempt to break the dantian seal, Shui Miao drank the remaining black dog blood from the basin and even licked the blood off the ground. Unfortunately, most of the blood had already drained away. Shui Miao scanned the area and noticed another black dog in a cage. He grabbed an iron dog clamp and moved to seize the dog. At that moment, the two young workers returned with the portly boss and two chefs wielding knives. The group rushed in to find a blood-soaked figure on the ground, biting the dog’s neck and sucking its blood!
It looked like a zombie sucking blood…
The scene left everyone stunned.
The boss was on the verge of exploding with anger when Shui Miao hurled the 10,000 yuan at him.
Upon seeing the money, the boss’s face immediately lit up. He sharply reprimanded the young workers, “Fools, what nonsense are you spouting? How could he possibly be a madman? With this amount of money, he could buy not just one dog, but ten. Put down those sticks—he’s our customer. Drinking dog blood is highly nutritious; you simply don’t understand.”
“But, boss, before he poured the dog blood over himself, he looked like Zhang Ling from West Village of Shuilong Village…”
The young worker had rushed out earlier and hadn’t mentioned this.
“Then… then this guest must have been possessed. Now he’s used our black dog blood to revert to his true form. Look at his sitting posture—that’s the meditation posture of a cultivator.” The boss, having received Shui Miao’s 10,000 yuan, spoke entirely in his favor, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
“Everyone, be quiet.”
After consuming the black dog’s blood, Shui Miao immediately began meditating. He could sense the warm blood gradually flowing into his dantian, creating an exceptionally soothing sensation. After about four or five minutes, his lower abdomen churned, and a surge of energy rushed downward. Suddenly, his sphincter relaxed, and he let out a long, resounding fart!
“……”
Everyone was startled to see that the fart Shui Miao released was black and quickly backed away.
“It’s broken!”
Only a faint trace of celestial energy lingered in his dantian. After circulating it once, Shui Miao felt invigorated and his mind became sharp and clear. However, the two black talismans within his consciousness still obstructed the heavenly gate, preventing the descent of celestial energy.
“Damn it! Without the celestial energy flowing down, the energy in my dantian will eventually be depleted.”
Shui Miao stopped meditating and opened his eyes.
He knew he had already drunk a lot of black dog blood. If he couldn’t remove the two talismans now, drinking more would be useless. He also knew that the seal’s removal was related to the earlier destruction of the water ghost. The seal had gradually weakened because of those ghosts, ultimately broken by the black dog blood.
“Now that the seal is removed, I must leave quickly to avoid being found by that female ghost Bai Feng. Right! While the black snake demon is fighting Bai Feng, I need to get away immediately.”
His thoughts racing, Shui Miao hurried to Huo Yuanliang’s house. Huo Yuanliang’s daughter, Huo Xiang, had recovered, and the family was eating. Shui Miao’s sudden arrival, covered in blood, startled Huo Yuanliang’s wife, but Huo Yuanliang and Huo Xiang were delighted. Shui Miao pulled Huo Yuanliang aside, explained his intentions, and Huo Yuanliang quickly had his daughter prepare clothes while he went out to find a motorcycle taxi in town. Huo Xiang efficiently prepared a large bucket of warm water. Shui Miao took a bath, changed into clean clothes, took another 10,000 yuan from Huo Yuanliang, and left first on a motorcycle.
Shortly after Shui Miao left, the minivan Huo Yuanliang had called arrived. Huo Yuanliang and his family loaded their valuables into the vehicle and left town half an hour later.
They agreed to meet in the county town.
Shui Miao had only been on the motorcycle for about ten minutes when the sky turned gloomy.
Shui Miao looked at the sky, feeling somewhat puzzled. But upon second thought, how could the female ghost Bai Feng control the wind and rain? She didn’t have that kind of power.
“It’s going to rain. I need to go back and harvest the rice. There’s a temple up ahead—you can go there and ask for lodging. Since Brother Huo and I are cousins, I won’t charge you. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I’ll pick you up from the temple on my way to the county town.” The motorcycle driver pointed toward a temple about two hundred meters away.
Shui Miao thought it would be best to wait at the temple entrance. When Huo Yuanliang and his family arrived, he could leave with them.
So, Shui Miao went to the temple.
Just as Shui Miao reached the large tree outside the temple, heavy rain began to fall.
At that moment, a young monk around eighteen or nineteen years old opened the temple door and waved to Shui Miao. “Benefactor, please come inside. My master asked me to invite you in to shelter from the rain.”
“Your master asked for me?”
Shui Miao pointed at himself in surprise. “How did your master know I was outside?”
“What’s so strange about that? My master is an enlightened monk. When he saw the sudden change in weather and the peculiar rain, he knew something unusual was happening.” Seeing that Shui Miao wasn’t coming in, the young monk dashed out into the rain toward the tree and said mysteriously, “My master also mentioned that you’re in trouble and that without his help, it would be impossible for you to leave unharmed. And…” The young monk leaned closer to Shui Miao and whispered, “This rain was brought by the阴神. You killed his water ghost general—he won’t let you go easily. No more talk—come inside with me.”
“But I’m waiting for someone. I’m worried they might be in danger…”
If the Yin Spirit was causing trouble, Shui Miao couldn’t help but worry about Huo Yuanliang and his family.
“Don’t worry. I’ll wait here for you. Go on inside—and close the door behind you so the rain doesn’t get in…”
The young monk gave Shui Miao a push, and she took the opportunity to dash into the temple.
After Shui Miao closed the temple door, the young monk shook his head and smiled, transforming into a white-robed young scholar holding a folding fan.
The young waiter had run out in a hurry and hadn’t mentioned this before.
“Oh, then this guest must have been possessed by evil spirits. Now he’s used our black dog blood to change back to his original appearance. Didn’t you see how he was sitting? That’s the posture of a cultivator meditating.” The boss, having received 10,000 yuan from Shui Miao, was determined to speak in his favor, leaving everyone else listening in stunned silence.
“Everyone shut up and be quiet.”
Shui Miao finished drinking the black dog blood and began meditating on the spot. He could feel the warm black dog blood slowly flowing into his dantian, which was especially comfortable. After about four or five minutes, his lower abdomen began to churn, a stream of energy rapidly surged downward, and suddenly his anus relaxed, and he let out a long, loud fart!
“……”
Everyone saw that the fart Shui Miao released was black, and they were all startled, retreating outside one after another.
“It’s been resolved!”
“Such formidable vitality and such a commanding, yet harmful officer, no wonder you’re so audacious.” Bai Feng glanced at Huo Xiang, murmured a few words to herself, then icily added, “I am a ghost. You merely wish to see why he has transformed into a different guise. Very well, I shall grant your wish immediately and reveal it to you. Once you’ve seen it, leave at once. If you continue to linger here, do not blame me for treating you and your daughter harshly!”
As soon as Bai Feng finished speaking, Shui Miao transformed into Zhang Ling’s appearance.
Shui Miao was still pondering the concept of strong vitality and a dominant hurtful officer when he was enveloped by a surge of earth spiritual energy. In destiny analysis, those that restrict the Day Master are the proper officer and partial officer. Among them, the one sharing the same element as the Day Master is the partial officer, often referred to as the seven killings. Compared to the proper officer, the seven killings are more restrictive. Those with strong vitality capable of overcoming the seven killings possess authority, determination, and decisiveness, often giving others a sense of swift action and boldness.
Seeing Shui Miao revert to Zhang Ling’s appearance, Huo Yuanliang had no more doubts. He hurriedly took out 50,000 yuan he had on him and handed it to Shui Miao. Shui Miao only took 10,000, indicating that the rest should be given to Huo Xiang for her education. Huo Yuanliang thanked him several times and quickly led his daughter away. However, after taking just a few steps, Huo Xiang broke free from her father’s grip and ran back. She directly asked Bai Feng, “Where are you taking him? He helped me, so I must help him. Tell me, what do you want?”
“I want your life…”
Bai Feng suddenly waved her hand toward Huo Xiang, who felt darkness overwhelm her and immediately fainted.
“Great immortal, spare us, spare us! My daughter doesn’t understand; she was just talking nonsense…”
Huo Yuanliang happened to catch Huo Xiang as she fell. His face was filled with terror and fear.
Shui Miao frowned deeply, glaring at Bai Feng. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Bai Feng ignored Shui Miao and calmly said to Huo Yuanliang, “She’s fine. Take her back and give her some ginger soup. Also, leave this town as soon as possible. Don’t let me see you again.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll move away tomorrow, tomorrow itself.”
Huo Yuanliang nodded repeatedly, gave Shui Miao a grateful look, and quickly carried his daughter down the mountain.
※※※
“What exactly do you want?”
Shui Miao stepped in front of Bai Feng, staring into her eyes.
Bai Feng had only been trying to scare Huo Yuanliang and his daughter. Seeing that they had left, she returned to her normal appearance and snapped at Shui Miao, “You should be asking yourself what you want! Do you think I want to protect you? If it weren’t for my master ordering me to protect you, I wouldn’t bother with you!”
“Remove your earth spiritual energy. Don’t think you can use the Zhang family’s matters to entangle me. I’m not your puppet; you have no right to control my freedom.” Shui Miao had seen through their plan: they turned him into Zhang Ling’s appearance to entangle him with the family’s issues, trapping him here forever.
Shui Miao didn’t want to be bound by emotions, which was why he had previously resisted getting involved with the young wife.
“Us entangle you?” Bai Feng rolled her eyes in anger, waving her hands excitedly. “You’re really hard to please! I don’t understand why my master wants me to protect a brainless fool like you…”
“You can go ask your master about that,” Shui Miao interrupted. “Also, please tell her I don’t need her protection. I control my own destiny. She knows very well what her true intentions were in sealing me. Claiming to protect me? Does she think I’m an idiot? A thousand-year-old female ghost—I thought she was some kind of saint, but she’s just trying to usurp my faith, wishes, and offerings. She’s nothing but a fraud. And you, little ghost, are so foolish. You believe everything your master says. You’re the brainless fool.”
Shui Miao no longer wished to be entangled. He only wanted to follow his own path and never again allow himself to be blindly manipulated.
“How dare you!”
“You dare insult my master’s reputation! You’re asking for death!”
Bai Feng was furious. Lady Bai was like a saint in her eyes, and she would never allow anyone to tarnish her image.
“Typical narrow-minded woman!”
Shui Miao didn’t want to engage with Bai Feng anymore. With a wave of his hand, he headed down the mountain.
“……”
Bai Feng had been a well-bred lady in her lifetime and had never been spoken to like this. In her eyes, being called a “narrow-minded woman” was a great insult.
“Fine, fine! Since you’re so rude, I won’t hold back anymore. I’ll make you pay in blood!”
Furious, Bai Feng summoned a chilling gust of Yin wind to envelop Shui Miao, aiming to hurl him down the slope. Though not as perilous as a cliff, the slope still dropped dozens of meters. A fall from such a height would either be fatal or leave him severely injured. Overwhelmed by the darkness and unable to resist the oppressive Yin energy, Shui Miao staggered toward the edge. Just as one foot stepped into the void, a surge of demonic energy erupted from below, thrusting him back. Bai Feng was left in shock as the black snake demon materialized beside Shui Miao.
“Damn you! You vile snake demon, how dare you oppose me!” Bai Feng was furious. She formed hand seals and conjured a sword out of thin air, ready to fight the black snake demon to the death.
“Run! Go to the river where you first arrived and wait for me.” The black snake demon pushed Shui Miao away and spat out a black, curved sword. “Haha, beautiful Bai Feng, did you think you were the only one with a weapon? This Yin snake sword was just bestowed upon me by Lord Yin God. You can’t defeat me, even if you fight desperately. I suggest you save your energy and go reincarnate in the underworld. A brainless fool like you is just a waste of spiritual energy alive!”
“Ah, you infuriate me…”
Bai Feng had always been teased by the black snake demon, and now being called a “brainless fool” pushed her over the edge. She charged forward and engaged in battle with the black snake demon.
Shui Miao ran down the mountain…
Since he had decided to be resolute and follow his own path, he wouldn’t regret it.
But once he reached the foot of the mountain, he began to wonder: Why did the black snake demon want me to go to the river? Would I be jumping from the frying pan into the fire? However, the black snake demon didn’t seem that bad. Since it had saved him once, he decided to trust it this time. Enough overthinking—he would go to the river first.
After running for over ten minutes, Shui Miao encountered the young wife on the road. She saw him and immediately ran over, grabbing his hand tightly. “Zhang Ling, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you since morning. I was so worried!”
“I’m not Zhang Ling. I’m Shui Miao. Your Zhang Ling died long ago, and I’m not a fool. Please stop mistaking me for Zhang Ling. Have you ever seen a fool who speaks so clearly?” Shui Miao broke free from her grip and took out the 10,000 yuan, handing most of it to her. “You’re still young. Don’t let conservative thoughts bind you for life. Take this money and go to Zhonghai City. Use the phone number I gave you to find Chen Bing and see if you can work at his restaurant. If Chen Bing can’t help you, use the money to rent a place, find a job, and start a new life. Buy a phone, give your number to Chen Bing, and I’ll find you when I return…”
“Zhang Ling, please come to your senses!” The young wife pushed the money back to him, hugged him tightly, and cried. “Zhang Ling, stop messing around. Our family only has a few members left. If you leave, what will happen to Grandpa and Grandma?”
“Enough!” Shui Miao had had enough of the endless entanglement. He pushed her away and shouted, “It’s not me who needs to come to my senses—it’s you! I’m not Zhang Ling. I’ve said it many times. Why won’t you believe me? I’m not him, and I won’t stay here for his sake. I have my own path to follow. Please be strong. Will you die without a man? Can’t you have some self-respect and be independent? Even if Grandpa and Grandma are old, they can give the house to someone else to take care of them in their old age. Why can’t you face the world and give yourself a new beginning?”
“But… but Granny Ma said you’ve lost your mind and think you’re someone else!” The young wife finally began to doubt whether the man in front of her was really Zhang Ling.
Shui Miao sneered. “Granny Ma is merely a puppet. She’s under the control of a female ghost masquerading as a great immortal. That ghost is named Bai Feng, a disciple of the thousand-year-old female ghost Lady Bai, who has been plotting against me. They forced me to impersonate your husband to trap me here, entangled in the Zhang family’s troubles for life. Right now, Bai Feng is battling the black snake demon, whom you know as the Black Dragon God. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to see for yourself. Additionally, you can find some black dog blood and pour it over my head. That will cause me to revert to my original form.”
“Fine! Come with me to town. There’s a dog meat hotpot restaurant there; they’ll definitely have dog blood.”
The young wife dragged Shui Miao away.
Shui Miao had no choice. As the saying goes, karma is inexorable. The matter with the young wife had to be resolved sooner or later. Might as well settle it today.
Thus, the two went to town.
One of the workers at the dog meat hotpot restaurant was from the village. The young wife took Shui Miao to the back door of the kitchen, found the young worker, and explained their purpose. Shui Miao gave each of them 100 yuan. The two seventeen- or eighteen-year-old workers immediately slaughtered a black dog and brought the blood to Shui Miao. Shui Miao lifted the basin filled with black dog blood over his head and poured it all over himself. In an instant, he transformed back into his original appearance.
“He… he changed…”
The two young workers stared at each other in shock, their expressions full of disbelief.
“Ah!”
The young wife covered her mouth in astonishment.
Covered in dog blood, Shui Miao sighed miserably and asked her, “Now do you believe me?”
“You… you’re truly not Zhang Ling. Then… that night… you scoundrel!” The young wife suddenly slapped Shui Miao across the face, turned around, and fled in tears.
Shui Miao touched his face and breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. Finally, it was resolved. That slap was well-deserved!
The two young workers stared at Shui Miao as if he were a monster.
Shui Miao turned and walked to the river. Just as he was about to jump in to wash off the blood, he suddenly felt a comfortable sensation in his mind. That familiar feeling had returned!
“Wait!”
“Could it be that the black dog blood broke the seal on my mental realm!?”
Excited, Shui Miao immediately sat cross-legged on the ground, calming his mind and focusing his spirit. In an instant, he entered his mental realm and finally saw the long-lost Heavenly Gate. However, two black talismans were attached to the gate, blocking the celestial energy.
“Excellent! I never thought black dog blood could break the seal. Why didn’t I think of it before?”
Shui Miao quickly exited his mental realm, opened his eyes, and headed back to the back door of the dog meat hotpot restaurant. The two young workers, having just witnessed Shui Miao’s transformation and knowing he was involved with dark arts, hurriedly closed the door. Seeing this, Shui Miao charged in, scaring the workers into fleeing. To break the seal on his dantian, Shui Miao drank the remaining black dog blood from the basin and even licked the blood off the ground. Unfortunately, most of the blood had already flowed away. He looked around and spotted another black dog in a cage. He picked up an iron dog clamp and went to grab the dog. At that moment, the two young workers returned with the portly owner and two chefs carrying knives. The group rushed in to see a blood-covered man biting the dog’s neck and sucking its blood!
It looked like a zombie feeding…
The scene left everyone stunned.
Just as the owner was about to erupt, Shui Miao threw the 10,000 yuan at him.
Seeing the money, the owner’s face immediately lit up. He sternly scolded the young workers, “You fools, what nonsense are you spouting? How could he be a madman? With this much money, he could buy not just one dog but ten. Put down those sticks. This is our guest. Drinking dog blood is highly nourishing; you just don’t understand.”
“But, boss, before he poured the dog blood over himself, he looked like Zhang Ling from West Village of Shuilong Village…”
The young worker had rushed out earlier in a panic and hadn’t mentioned this.
“Then… then this guest must have been possessed. Now he’s used our black dog blood to revert to his true form. Look at his sitting posture—that’s the meditation posture of a cultivator.” The owner, having received Shui Miao’s 10,000 yuan, defended him vehemently, leaving everyone speechless.
“Everyone, be quiet.”
After consuming the black dog’s blood, Shui Miao sat down to meditate. He could sense the warm blood gradually flowing into his dantian, providing immense comfort. Within four or five minutes, his lower abdomen began to churn, and a surge of energy rushed downward. Suddenly, his muscles relaxed, and he released a long, resonant fart!
“……”
Everyone was startled to see that the fart was black and quickly retreated.
“The seal is broken!”
Only a tiny amount of celestial energy remained in his dantian. After circulating it once, Shui Miao felt refreshed and clear-headed. However, the two black talismans in his mental realm still blocked the Heavenly Gate, preventing celestial energy from descending.
“Damn it! Without celestial energy flowing down, the energy in my dantian will eventually deplete.”
Shui Miao stopped meditating and opened his eyes.
He knew he had already consumed a lot of black dog blood. If the two talismans couldn’t be removed now, drinking more would be useless. He also realized that the seal’s breaking was related to the earlier destruction of the water ghost. The seal had gradually weakened due to the influence of those ghosts, ultimately allowing the black dog blood to break it.
“Now that the seal is removed, I must leave quickly to avoid being found by that female ghost Bai Feng. Right! While the black snake demon is fighting Bai Feng, I need to get away immediately.”
His thoughts racing, Shui Miao hurried to Huo Yuanliang’s house. Huo Yuanliang’s daughter, Huo Xiang, had recovered, and the family was eating dinner. Shui Miao’s sudden arrival, covered in blood, startled Huo Yuanliang’s wife, but Huo Yuanliang and Huo Xiang were overjoyed. Shui Miao pulled Huo Yuanliang aside, explained his intentions, and Huo Yuanliang quickly had his daughter prepare clothes while he went out to find a motorcycle taxi in town. Huo Xiang efficiently prepared a large bucket of warm water. Shui Miao took a bath, changed into clean clothes, took another 10,000 yuan from Huo Yuanliang, and left on the motorcycle.
Shortly after Shui Miao left, the minivan Huo Yuanliang had called arrived. Huo Yuanliang and his family loaded their valuables into the vehicle and left town half an hour later.
They agreed to meet in the county town.
Shui Miao had only been on the motorcycle for about ten minutes when the sky turned gloomy.
He looked up at the sky, feeling somewhat puzzled, but then thought, How could the female ghost Bai Feng control the weather? She doesn’t have that kind of power.
“It’s going to rain. I need to go back and harvest the rice. There’s a temple up ahead; you can go there to seek shelter. Since I’m Cousin Huo’s relative, I won’t charge you. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I’ll pick you up from the temple on my way to the county town.” The motorcycle driver pointed toward a temple about two hundred meters away.
Shui Miao thought it would be best to wait at the temple entrance. When Huo Yuanliang and his family arrived, he could leave with them.
Thus, Shui Miao went to the temple.
As soon as he reached the large tree outside the temple, heavy rain began to fall.
At that moment, a young monk around eighteen or nineteen years old opened the temple door and waved to Shui Miao. “Sir, come inside. My master asked me to invite you in to take shelter from the rain.”
“Your master asked for me?”
Shui Miao pointed at himself in surprise. “How did your master know I was outside?”
“What’s so strange about that? My master is an enlightened monk. When he saw the sudden change in weather and the strange rain, he knew something was up.” Seeing that Shui Miao wasn’t entering, the young monk ran out into the rain to the tree and mysteriously smiled. “My master also said you’re currently in trouble. Without his help, it would be impossible for you to leave unscathed. And…” The young monk leaned closer to Shui Miao and whispered, “This rain was brought by the Yin God. You killed his water ghost general; he won’t let you leave so easily. Say no more—come inside with me.”
“But I need to wait for someone. I’m worried they might be in danger…”
If the Yin God was causing trouble, Shui Miao had to worry about Huo Yuanliang and his family.
“Don’t worry. I’ll wait here for you. Go inside and close the door behind you. Don’t let the rain in…”
The young monk gave Shui Miao a push, and she took the opportunity to dash into the temple.
After Shui Miao closed the temple door, the young monk shook his head and smiled, transforming into a white-robed young scholar holding a folding fan.
“Such strong vitality and so dominant a hurtful officer—no wonder you’re so bold.” Bai Feng glanced at Huo Xiang, muttered a few words to herself, then coldly added, “I am a ghost. You just want to see why he’s taken on a different appearance. Fine, I’ll grant your wish right now. After you see it, get out immediately. If you keep lingering here, don’t blame me for being harsh with you and your daughter!”
As soon as Bai Feng finished speaking, Shui Miao transformed into Zhang Ling’s appearance.
Shui Miao was still pondering the concept of “strong vitality and dominant hurtful officer” when he was enveloped by a surge of earth spiritual energy. In fate analysis, those that restrict the Day Master are the proper officer and the partial officer. Among the five elements, the one that shares the same element as the Day Master is the partial officer, often referred to as the seven killings. Compared to the proper officer, the seven killings are more restraining. Those with strong vitality who can overcome the seven killings possess authority, decisiveness, and determination, often giving others an impression of boldness and swift action.
Seeing Shui Miao revert to Zhang Ling’s form, Huo Yuanliang had no more doubts. He hurriedly took out 50,000 yuan from his pocket and handed it to Shui Miao. Shui Miao only took 10,000, indicating that the rest should be given to Huo Xiang for her education. Huo Yuanliang thanked him repeatedly and quickly led his daughter away. However, after just a few steps, Huo Xiang broke free from her father’s grip and ran back. She directly asked Bai Feng, “Where are you taking him? He helped me, so I must help him. Tell me, what do you want?”
“I want your life…”
Bai Feng suddenly waved her hand toward Huo Xiang, who felt a darkness overwhelm her and immediately fainted.
“Great immortal, spare us, spare us! My daughter doesn’t understand—she was just talking nonsense…”
Huo Yuanliang happened to catch Huo Xiang as she fell. His face was full of terror and fear.
Shui Miao frowned deeply, glaring at Bai Feng. “What are you trying to do?”
Bai Feng ignored Shui Miao and calmly said to Huo Yuanliang, “She’s fine. Take her back and give her some ginger soup. Also, leave this town as soon as possible. Don’t let me see you again.”
“Yes, yes! I’ll move away tomorrow, tomorrow!” Huo Yuanliang nodded repeatedly, gave Shui Miao a grateful look, and hurriedly carried his daughter down the mountain.
※※※
“What exactly do you want?” Shui Miao stepped in front of Bai Feng, staring into her eyes.
Bai Feng had only been trying to scare Huo Yuanliang and his daughter. Seeing that they had left, she returned to her normal form and snapped at Shui Miao, “You should be asking yourself what you want! Do you think I want to protect you? If it weren’t for my master ordering me to, I wouldn’t bother with you!”
“Remove your earth spiritual energy. Don’t think you can use the Zhang family’s matters to entangle me. I’m not your puppet. You have no right to control my freedom.” Shui Miao had seen through it—they turned him into Zhang Ling to trap him here with emotional burdens, ensuring he could never leave.
It was for this very reason that Shui Miao had initially resisted getting involved with the young wife—he didn’t want to be tied down by emotions.
“We’re entangling you?” Bai Feng rolled her eyes in anger, waving her hands excitedly. “You’re so hard to please! I really don’t understand why my master wants me to protect a clueless fool like you…”
“You can go ask your master about that,” Shui Miao interrupted. “Also, please tell her I don’t need her protection. I control my own destiny. She knows exactly why she sealed my powers. Claiming to protect me? Does she think I’m an idiot? A thousand-year-old female ghost—I thought she was some great sage, but she’s just trying to steal my faith, wishes, and offerings. She’s nothing but a fraud. And you, little ghost, are so foolish—you believe everything your master says. You’re the real clueless fool.”
Shui Miao didn’t want to be entangled any longer. He wanted to follow his own path and never again be manipulated blindly.
“How dare you!” Bai Feng was livid. “How dare you insult my master’s reputation! You’re asking for death!”
Bai Feng was beside herself with rage. To her, White Lady was a saint-like figure, and she would never allow anyone to tarnish her image.
“Typical narrow-minded woman!” Shui Miao didn’t want to engage with Bai Feng anymore. With a wave of his hand, he headed down the mountain.
“…” Bai Feng, who had been a well-bred lady in life, had never been spoken to like this. In her eyes, being called a “narrow-minded woman” was a profound insult.
“Fine, fine! Since you’re so rude, I won’t hold back anymore. I’ll make you pay in blood!” Enraged, Bai Feng summoned a gust of Yin wind to wrap around Shui Miao and push him down the slope. Although not as dangerous as a cliff, the slope was several dozen meters high—a fall would mean certain death or severe injury. Shui Miao felt a darkness overwhelm him, unable to stand against the Yin energy, stumbling toward the edge. Just as one foot slipped over, a demonic energy surged from below, pushing him back. Bai Feng was stunned to see the black snake demon appear beside Shui Miao.
“Damn you! You vile snake demon, how dare you oppose me!” Bai Feng was furious. She formed hand seals and conjured a sword out of thin air, ready to fight the black snake demon to the death.
“Run! Go to the river where you first arrived and wait for me.” The black snake demon pushed Shui Miao away and spat out a black, curved sword. “Haha, beautiful Bai Feng, you think you’re the only one with a weapon? This Yin Snake Sword was just gifted to me by the Yin God. You can’t defeat me—fighting is useless. Save your energy and go reincarnate in the underworld. A clueless fool like you isn’t worth wasting spiritual energy on!”
“Ah! You’re infuriating!” Bai Feng, who had always been teased by the black snake demon, was now called a “clueless fool.” Overwhelmed with rage, she charged at the black snake demon, and the two began to fight.
Shui Miao hurried down the mountain… Having decided to be resolute and follow his own path, he had no regrets.
But once he reached the foot of the mountain, he began to wonder: Why did the black snake demon tell me to go to the river? Am I jumping from the frying pan into the fire? Still, the black snake demon didn’t seem entirely evil. Since it had saved him once, he decided to trust it this time. Enough overthinking—he would go to the river first.
After running for over ten minutes, Shui Miao encountered the young wife on the road. She saw him and rushed over, grabbing his hand tightly. “Zhang Ling, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you since morning! I was so worried!”
“I’m not Zhang Ling. I’m Shui Miao. Your Zhang Ling died long ago, and I’m not a fool either. Please stop mistaking me for him. Have you ever seen a fool speak so clearly?” Shui Miao freed his hand, took out the 10,000 yuan, and gave most of it to the young wife. “You’re still young—don’t let conservative thoughts bind you for life. Take this money and go to Zhonghai City. Use the phone number I gave you to find Chen Bing and see if you can work at his restaurant. If Chen Bing can’t help you, rent a place, find a job, and start a new life. Buy a phone, give your number to Chen Bing, and I’ll find you when I return…”
“Zhang Ling, snap out of it!” The young wife pushed the money back and hugged Shui Miao tightly, crying. “Zhang Ling, stop messing around. Our family only has a few members left. If you leave, what will happen to Grandpa and Grandma?”
“Enough!” Shui Miao had had enough of the endless entanglement. He pushed her away and shouted, “It’s not me who needs to snap out of it—it’s you! I’m not Zhang Ling. I’ve told you many times. Why won’t you believe me? I’m not him, and I won’t stay here for his sake. I have my own path to follow. Please be strong. Will you die without a man? Can’t you be independent? Even if your grandparents are old, they can give the house to someone else in exchange for care. Why can’t you face the world and start anew?”
“But… Grandma Ma said you’ve lost your mind and think you’re someone else!” The young wife finally began to doubt whether the man before her was really Zhang Ling.
Shui Miao sneered. “Grandma Ma is just a puppet. She’s possessed by a female ghost pretending to be a great immortal. That ghost is named Bai Feng, a disciple of the thousand-year-old female ghost White Lady, who’s been scheming against me. They made me impersonate your husband to trap me here with the Zhang family’s troubles. Right now, Bai Feng is fighting the black snake demon—the one you call the Black Dragon God. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to see. You can also find some black dog blood and pour it on my head. That will make me revert to my true form.”
“Fine! Come with me to town. There’s a dog meat hotpot restaurant there—they’ll have dog blood.” The young wife pulled Shui Miao along.
Shui Miao had no choice. As the saying goes, karma is inescapable. He had to resolve the matter with the young wife sooner or later, so he might as well get it over with today.
They arrived in town. One of the workers at the dog meat hotpot restaurant was from the village. The young wife took Shui Miao to the back door of the kitchen, found the young worker, and explained their purpose. Shui Miao gave each of them 100 yuan, and the two workers, both around seventeen or eighteen years old, immediately slaughtered a black dog and brought the blood to Shui Miao. Shui Miao lifted the basin of black dog blood over his head and poured it all over himself. In an instant, he transformed back into his original appearance.
“He… he changed…” The two workers stared at each other in shock, utterly bewildered.
“Ah!” The young wife covered her mouth in astonishment.
Covered in dog blood, Shui Miao sighed miserably and asked her, “Do you believe me now?”
“You… you’re really not Zhang Ling. Then… that night… you scoundrel!” The young wife suddenly slapped Shui Miao across the face, turned around, and ran off crying.
Shui Miao touched his cheek and felt relieved. Finally, it was settled. That slap was well-deserved!
The two workers stared at Shui Miao as if he were a monster.
Shui Miao walked to the riverbank, intending to jump in and wash off the blood, when he suddenly felt a familiar comfort in his mind. That sensation had returned!
“Wait! Could it be that the black dog blood broke the seal on my mental realm?!”
Excited, Shui Miao immediately sat down cross-legged, calming his mind and focusing his spirit. In an instant, he entered his mental realm and finally saw the long-lost Heavenly Gate. However, two black talismans were pasted on the gate, blocking the flow of immortal energy.
“Excellent! I never thought black dog blood could break the seal. Why didn’t I think of it before?”
Shui Miao quickly exited his mental realm, opened his eyes, and hurried back to the dog meat hotpot restaurant’s back door. The two workers, having just witnessed his transformation, were terrified and quickly shut the door. Seeing this, Shui Miao charged in, scaring the young workers into fleeing. To break the seal on his dantian, Shui Miao drank the remaining black dog blood from the basin and even licked the blood off the ground. Unfortunately, most of it had already drained away. He looked around and spotted another black dog in a cage. Grabbing an iron clamp, he went to capture the dog. Just then, the two workers returned with the portly owner and two chefs carrying knives. The group rushed in to find a blood-covered man biting into the dog’s neck, sucking its blood!
It looked like a vampire feeding…
The scene left everyone speechless.
The owner was about to explode in anger when Shui Miao threw the 10,000 yuan at him.
Seeing the money, the owner’s face lit up with joy. He sternly scolded the workers, “You fools, what nonsense are you spouting? How could he be a madman? With this much money, he could buy ten dogs, let alone one. Put down those sticks—he’s our guest. Drinking dog blood is highly nourishing; you just don’t understand.”
“But, boss, before he poured the dog blood over himself, he looked like Zhang Ling from West Village…”
The worker had been too rushed to mention this earlier.
“Then… then this guest must have been possessed. Now he’s used our black dog blood to return to his true form. Look at his sitting posture—that’s the meditation posture of a cultivator.” The owner, having received Shui Miao’s money, defended him vehemently, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
“Quiet, all of you.” Shui Miao finished drinking the black dog blood and began meditating. He could feel the warm blood slowly flowing into his dantian, bringing immense comfort. After four or five minutes, his lower abdomen churned, and a surge of energy rushed downward. Suddenly, his muscles relaxed, and he let out a long, loud fart!
“…” Everyone was startled to see that the fart was black and quickly backed away.
“The seal is broken!” Only a trace of immortal energy remained in his dantian. After circulating it, Shui Miao felt refreshed and clear-headed. However, the two black talismans in his mental realm still blocked the Heavenly Gate, preventing immortal energy from flowing down.
“Damn it! Without a continuous supply of immortal energy, what’s left in my dantian will eventually deplete.” Shui Miao stopped meditating and opened his eyes.
He was aware that he had already ingested a significant amount of black dog blood. If the two talismans persisted, consuming more would be pointless. He also understood that the weakening and eventual rupture of the seal were connected to the earlier annihilation of the water ghost. The seal had progressively weakened due to the dissipation of those spirits, ultimately enabling the black dog blood to shatter it.
“Now that the seal is broken, I must leave quickly before that female ghost Bai Feng finds me. Yes! While the black snake demon is fighting Bai Feng, I need to get away.”
His mind made up, Shui Miao hurried to Huo Yuanliang’s house. Huo Yuanliang’s daughter, Huo Xiang, had recovered, and the family was eating dinner. Shui Miao’s sudden arrival, covered in blood, startled Huo Yuanliang’s wife, but Huo Yuanliang and Huo Xiang were overjoyed. Shui Miao pulled Huo Yuanliang aside, explained the situation, and Huo Yuanliang immediately asked his daughter to prepare clothes while he went out to find a motorcycle taxi. Huo Xiang efficiently prepared a large bucket of warm water. Shui Miao bathed, changed into clean clothes, took another 10,000 yuan from Huo Yuanliang, and left on the motorcycle.
Shortly after Shui Miao left, the minivan Huo Yuanliang had called arrived. The family loaded their valuables and left town half an hour later.
They agreed to meet in the county town.
Shui Miao had only been on the motorcycle for about ten minutes when the sky darkened.
He looked up, puzzled, but then reasoned that the female ghost Bai Feng couldn’t possibly control the weather—she wasn’t that powerful.
“It’s going to rain. I need to go back and harvest the rice. There’s a temple up ahead—you can go there and ask for shelter. Since Huo and I are cousins, I won’t charge you. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I’ll pick you up from the temple on my way to the county.” The motorcycle driver pointed to a temple about two hundred meters away.
Shui Miao decided to wait at the temple entrance. When Huo Yuanliang and his family arrived, he could leave with them.
So, Shui Miao went to the temple.
As soon as he reached the large tree outside the temple, heavy rain began to fall.
Just then, a young monk around eighteen or nineteen years old opened the temple door and waved to him. “Sir, come in. My master asked me to invite you to shelter from the rain.”
“Your master asked for me?” Shui Miao pointed at himself in surprise. “How did your master know I was here?”
“It’s nothing special. My master is an enlightened monk. He noticed the sudden change in weather and the strange rain, so he knew something was up.” Seeing Shui Miao hesitate, the young monk ran out into the rain to the tree and said mysteriously, “My master also said you’re in trouble. Without his help, it’ll be hard for you to escape unscathed. And…” The young monk leaned in and whispered, “This rain was brought by the Yin God. You killed his water ghost general—he won’t let you leave easily. Say no more—come inside with me.”
“But I’m waiting for someone. I’m worried they might be in danger…” If the Yin God was causing trouble, Shui Miao had to worry about Huo Yuanliang and his family.
“Don’t worry. I’ll wait here for you. Go on in—close the door behind you so the rain doesn’t get in…” The young monk gave Shui Miao a gentle push, and she took the cue, dashing into the temple.
After Shui Miao closed the temple door, the young monk shook his head and smiled, transforming into a scholarly young man in a white robe, holding a folding fan.
Shui Miao stopped meditating and opened his eyes.
He knew he had already drunk a lot of black dog blood. Now that the seal couldn’t be broken, drinking more black dog blood would be of no use. He also knew that this seal could be removed because of the previous water ghost being sealed and eliminated. The seal had gradually weakened because of those ghosts and was finally broken by the black dog blood.
“Now that the seal is removed, I must leave here as soon as possible to avoid being found by that female ghost Bai Feng again. Right! I must leave quickly while the black snake demon is fighting Bai Feng.”
Shui Miao’s thoughts turned, and he hurriedly got up and went to Huo Yuanliang’s house. Huo Yuanliang’s daughter Huo Xiang had already recovered, and the whole family was having dinner. Shui Miao, covered in blood, suddenly arrived, scaring Huo Yuanliang’s wife. However, Huo Yuanliang and Huo Xiang were delighted. Shui Miao pulled Huo Yuanliang aside and explained his intentions. Huo Yuanliang immediately asked his daughter to prepare clothes while he went out to find a motorcycle driver in the town. Huo Xiang quickly prepared a large bucket of warm water. Shui Miao took a bath, changed into clean clothes, took another 10,000 yuan from Huo Yuanliang, and left first on the motorcycle.
As soon as Shui Miao left, the minivan that Huo Yuanliang had just called arrived. Huo Yuanliang’s family of three loaded all their valuable belongings into the car and left the town half an hour later.
They agreed to meet in the county town.
Shui Miao rode the motorcycle for just over ten minutes when the sky suddenly turned dark.
Shui Miao looked at the sky, somewhat puzzled, but thinking back, how could that female ghost Bai Feng possibly summon wind and rain? She didn’t have that kind of ability.
“I can’t go on anymore, it’s going to rain. I have to go back to harvest the rice. There’s a temple a bit ahead; you can go there to spend the night. I’m cousins with Old Huo, so I won’t charge you. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I’ll come to the county and take you with me when I pass by the temple.” The man driving the motorcycle pointed the way for Shui Miao. Sure enough, there was a temple about two hundred meters away.
Shui Miao thought, I’ll go wait by the temple gate first. When Huo Yuanliang and the others arrive, I can go with them in their car.
So, Shui Miao came to the outside of the temple.
As soon as Shui Miao arrived under the big tree outside the temple, the sky began to pour down with heavy rain.
At this moment, an eighteen or nineteen-year-old monk opened the temple gate and waved at Shui Miao, “Master asked me to invite you in to take shelter from the rain.”
“My master called me?”
Shui Miao pointed at his own nose in surprise, “How does your master know I’m outside?”
“What’s so strange about that? My master is a highly cultivated monk. When he saw the sudden change in the weather and the strange rain, he knew something was wrong.” Seeing Shui Miao not entering the temple, the young monk ran to the tree in the rain and whispered with a mysterious smile, “My master also said that you are in danger now. If you want to get out of it safely, you can’t do it without his help. Also…” The young monk leaned close to Shui Miao’s ear and lowered his voice, “This rain is sent by the Yin God. You killed his water ghost general, and he won’t let you go so easily. Don’t say anything else, come with me into the temple quickly.”
“But I’m waiting for someone. I’m worried they might be in danger…”
If it was the Yin God causing trouble, Shui Miao couldn’t help but worry about Huo Yuanliang’s family.
“No worries, I’ll wait for you here. Go ahead, and by the way, help me close the door so the rain doesn’t come in…”
The young monk gave Shui Miao a push, and Shui Miao hurried into the temple.
After Shui Miao closed the temple door, the young monk shook his head and smiled, then transformed into a white-robed young scholar holding a folding fan.
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