These past few days, Mei Qing had never felt so content. The sky seemed clearer, the clouds more leisurely, the water flowed gently, and flowers drifted down, all bringing a sense of peace and joy. Looking around, even Huang Pazi’s chubby face appeared somewhat handsome.
The reason was simple: the nightmare that had long haunted Mei Qing no longer disturbed him. It wasn’t that the nightmare had disappeared entirely; rather, since Mei Qing successfully established his foundation—naturally believing it was due to the fat Taoist’s empowerment—it no longer filled him with the previous terror. The swirling energy in his lower dantian seemed capable of containing all things in the world. Even the purple flames from his dreams could now be refined and absorbed.
These past nights, although Mei Qing still saw the purple flames raging around him in his dreams, things had changed. The flames, no matter how fierce, gradually got drawn into and neutralized by the swirling energy within his body. Though he remained in the dream, his mind was calm and clear, simply focusing on the swirling energy, which naturally brought peace. This energy was peculiar—it had begun to take on a hint of purple as it consumed more of the flames. Each night, as the purple fire emerged in his dreams, the vortex would dissolve it. Once the fire was completely neutralized, Mei Qing would fall asleep peacefully, waking up refreshed and cheerful the next morning, feeling utterly at ease.
He had also flipped through the book *The Supreme Golden True Jade Liquid Dragon and Tiger Immortal Alchemy Method of the Primordial Cave*, but its content was too abstruse to understand fully, especially since he hadn’t listened carefully when the fat Taoist explained it. However, since his biggest problem had now vanished, Mei Qing had no intention of delving deeper into its secrets. He simply enjoyed each day at his leisure, living quite comfortably.
Especially since Zhang Qizheng had entered the Taiqing Palace with Mei Qing for cultivation, he had come to regard Mei Qing as a fellow Taoist practitioner. Every day, besides discussing antiques, he would also explain the essentials of Taoist techniques. After a few days, even Huang Pazi joined in—not to learn any cultivation methods, but because he had heard of Taoist sexual techniques and the ability to harness female energy. He was greatly intrigued and kept asking Zhang Qizheng whether such techniques existed. Although Huang Pazi claimed he could handle several women in one night without any problem, he still wanted to improve his skills further, believing that having such techniques at his disposal would always be useful.
“Nonsense, nonsense! Brother Huang, you mustn’t speak so recklessly. Taoist cultivation methods are not meant to justify such immoral behavior. If the Immortal Master were to hear you speak like this, he might even stop favoring me,” Zhang Qizheng said solemnly.
Although Mei Qing nodded in agreement, he couldn’t help but think to himself that if this lecherous and vulgar fat man were to visit, the Immortal Master—who was of a similar build—might actually welcome him quite enthusiastically. The evidence lay in the piles of ointments and powders scattered around.
These days, perhaps because of his good mood, Mei Qing handled his work with astonishing speed. Thick stacks of files, after a quick glance, were imprinted clearly in his mind, every detail understood thoroughly. Yesterday, he had even finished off all the backlogged files, which greatly surprised Master Qiuming upon hearing the news.
One day, Mei Qing returned home a bit earlier than usual. It was already summer, and the days were long. After dinner, he enjoyed strolling in his own garden. Every evening, watching the sunset paint the sky, the clouds and the rosy faces of Duoyun and Wu’er glowing in the light, with bamboo shadows swaying and banana leaves cooling the air, he found endless delight in these moments.
The three of them slowly walked through the back garden when suddenly two butterflies fluttered over, dancing gracefully. Their colorful wings sparkled in the setting sun, making them especially enchanting. Seeing them, Duoyun was delighted and stealthily crept forward, reaching out to catch one. But she was so focused on the butterfly that she didn’t notice her foot slipping. With a yelp, she began to fall forward.
Mei Qing was startled. Without thinking, he reached out to catch her. However, Duoyun had been quite a few steps ahead, and he couldn’t possibly reach her in time.
Seeing Duoyun about to fall and knowing he couldn’t get there quickly enough, Mei Qing grew anxious. He stretched out his hand desperately, hoping he could somehow reach her.
Wu’er, seeing Duoyun about to fall, was about to cry out when she suddenly saw a blur. To her astonishment, her young master—who had been far behind—suddenly appeared right in front of Duoyun and caught her as she fell. Wu’er couldn’t believe her eyes. Rubbing them again, she realized it wasn’t a hallucination. It was indeed the young master supporting Duoyun.
“Master, how did you just… catch Duoyun so suddenly?” Wu’er asked, her face full of disbelief as she looked up at Mei Qing.
Mei Qing, not thinking much of it, casually replied, “I just got a bit excited and probably jumped farther than usual. I always tell you to exercise more, but you never listen. Now look at my agility—aren’t you envious?”
“Hmph,” Wu’er sniffed. “But yesterday you said the best jumpers were long-tailed rats. What’s so special about jumping?”
“Oh, so you’re calling me a rat now, huh? Just wait until I give you a good spanking!” Mei Qing, still in high spirits after catching Duoyun, laughed as he teased Wu’er, tousling her hair playfully. Wu’er pouted and accused Mei Qing of bullying her, and the three of them continued on their way, laughing and joking.
However, none of them noticed that from a distance, Zhong Shu, standing near the garden gate, had just witnessed Mei Qing’s sudden movement and was so shocked his eyes nearly popped out. Muttering to himself, he said, “This… this can’t be possible! Master… who did this?”
“How should I know who did it!” Sixth Master, his eyes wide as copper bells, roared at the person in front of him, “You old fool must be going senile! You’re always watching over the young master, so why are you asking me?”
“Sixth Brother, don’t play games with me!” the other man coldly replied, “You know full well that the old master and madam forbade the young master from entering the Tao. Now this has happened—what else could it be but your doing?”
The man’s expression was dark, his eyes brimming with fury. It was none other than Zhong Shu, the loyal and honest servant of the Mei household.
“Enter the Tao? Do you think cultivation is like acting in a play, that you can just step into it whenever you want?” Sixth Master scoffed, his lips curling in disdain. “Even I had to struggle for years before barely entering the cultivation path. As for Mei Qing? I saw him the last time—he was nothing but an ordinary mortal. How could he have entered the Tao in just a few days? You must be seeing things.”
“Sixth Brother, do you think I’d make something like this up?” Zhong Shu coldly replied. “Though I’m not a cultivator myself, I can still tell the difference. Though I may not be able to distinguish gods and ghosts, I can at least recognize the signs of foundation building. A couple of days ago, I noticed something different about the young master, but I didn’t think much of it. Today, I saw clearly—his body moves with his will, his steps light and his spirit focused. That’s not foundation building, what else could it be? And that foolish idea you had last time—saying it was safer to send him into the Jinyiwei to avoid danger—well, now he’s safe indeed! From the look of his aura, he might even be close to completing the full cycle of energy circulation. I’d like to see how you’re going to explain that to the old master!”
Hearing this, Sixth Master’s expression turned serious. He asked cautiously, “Old man, what you’re saying is true? Mei Qing is close to completing the full cycle?”
Zhong Shu sighed deeply, slumping into a chair, his voice heavy with disbelief. “I hadn’t paid much attention at first, but today when Duoyun nearly fell, the young master instinctively rushed forward to catch her. You know he’s never trained his body, so his movements should be different from a trained martial artist. Yet his body moved in perfect harmony with his mind. I was shocked and looked closer—his brow was filled with a lingering purple aura, clearly indicating he’s practicing the Golden Elixir technique. He’s long past the initial stage of foundation building and is already at the stage of balancing yin and yang, gathering medicinal herbs into the cauldron. It won’t be long before he completes the full cycle of energy circulation and returns to his primordial state.”
Sixth Master was stunned. “How is that possible? Even when I last saw him, he was clearly not on the cultivation path. Even if he had some extraordinary encounter and immediately built his foundation, he would still need a long period of cultivation before even a hint of golden energy appeared. And reaching the stage of yin-yang union and gathering medicinal herbs—how could that be achieved in just a few months? Even the legendary Taoist Meihua took ten years to achieve the Return to Origin through water and fire cultivation, and he was already considered a rare genius. How could your young master, still so young, have already reached the primordial state?”
At first, his voice was barely a whisper, but it grew louder and louder until he was practically shouting.
Zhong Shu fixed his gaze on Sixth Master and said, “Whether it’s true or not, you have eyes of your own. Go and check for yourself. I’ve told you what I saw. You owe me an explanation. What good is shouting? If you can’t handle it, go tell the old master yourself!”
Sixth Master was momentarily stunned, then slammed the table. “Fine! I’ll investigate. And if it turns out not to be true, just wait until I give your old face a piece of my mind!”
“Fine, I’ll wait and see what you find out,” Zhong Shu replied calmly. “We’ll see who ends up with egg on their face!”
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