Chapter 2: The Parting at Langhuan Temple

  One person and a fox walked for several steps, and it was a small path that had been trampled clean. Following this small path, after walking another hundred or so steps, I saw a green stone-paved mountain path. Continuing down the path, the sound of human voices came over, and it seemed that there were others who had come out to travel together. As a famous scenic spot right next to the county town, it was already difficult for wild animals to live here; where could one find quiet surroundings to nourish the spirits?

  Qian Yiqun became increasingly suspicious: This fox's tone is bigger than its strength, where did this divine cave come from? He had been living here for 19 years, how could he not have even heard a rumor about it?

  Just as I was in doubt, the fox stopped and said, "It's right here."

  "This is Jianchi." Qian Yiqun couldn't help but feel disappointed in his heart, after all, he had been fooled again. Jianchi was the favorite place for scholars from Gusu to hold wine parties and recite poetry, every night when the moon was bright, there would always be people here having fun all night, singing loudly until dawn, which god would live in a place like this?

  "Exactly," the fox nodded and shook its ears, saying, "Next, I'll call out the entrance to the cave, you go ahead and push it open with all your might, even if it's just a crack." Anyway, as long as he could get in himself, that was all that mattered. Looking at this young man's spiritual aura, compared to ordinary people, it was exceptionally deep and rich, but compared to those great masters who could push open the entrance to the cave, it still wasn't worth mentioning.

  "I'd like to ask," Qian Yiqun stood behind the fox, and after hearing this, his heart had already cooled down by 90%, "Actually, you want to trick me into going with you to steal things, right?"

  The fox was taken aback, and in his heart, a sudden thought flashed like lightning: how did this silly-looking kid suddenly become so clever?

  "This was left by my past life's past life," said the fox with a smile, "how can you say it was stolen?"

  The loopholes are getting more and more outrageous! Qian Yiqun thought to himself: Just now you said it was the immortal cave mansion, but now it's become the legacy left behind by your previous life's previous life. You'd better be more clever when deceiving people! However... ordinary people say that wealth and honor are sought in danger, I suppose it's not worth risking my life for this fox either. If we can really enter the immortal cave mansion, no matter what, as long as we grab something, we'll make a fortune, right?

  Maybe I really have a strong fate with immortals and can become one just by getting this treasure!

  "What's the meaning of deceiving me? I'm not clear about it, what if things go wrong?" Qian Yiqun took a step forward and laid his cards on the table, "I'm also unwilling to be a low-ranking official until old age, why not take a risk and let's both get what we want?"

  The fox withdrew its previous disdain and stared at Qian Yiqun for a moment, saying: "You're quite a clever hero who knows when to act."

  Qian Yiqun smiled secretly, not mentioning the past. Originally, it was a world where reality overwhelmed everything. Born in a family of captors, he had been influenced by various unwritten rules since childhood, so how could he be an innocent young man?

  "If you deceive me to send me to my death, I'll make sure to drag a scapegoat down with me." Qian Yiqun ventured, "You lured me here, thinking that one person... wouldn't be enough for Fox either?"

  "Heh heh heh," the fox laughed, "it's indeed more convenient to deal with clever people. This divine cave mansion I'm talking about is called Luan Xian's Separate Courtyard, have you heard of it?"

  "What's the Cangshudong?" Lang Huan was actually a place where the Heavenly Emperor stored books, and later it was also used to refer to places like libraries. Qian Yiqun had studied library science in his past life, how could he not know?

  The fox nodded: "To say it can't be considered stealing..."

  "Stealing books doesn't count as stealing, it's a book lover's business." Qian Yiqun chimed in.

  The fox gazed at Qian Yiqun in astonishment and said, "You are indeed the most shameless of all!"

  "Aren't you too?" Qian Yiqun sneered.

  "Of course not!" The fox seemed to be in a hurry to clear itself, "We say it's not stealing, because that Luanju Bieyuan is an ownerless thing."

  "Ownerless?" Qian Yiqun recalled what his mother had said in this life, and turned to the fox, "There are heavenly officials in heaven, water officials in water, and human masters on earth. Is there anything in this world that is ownerless?"

  "Even if it's calculated this way, it's still ownerless." The fox said solemnly, "You listen to me carefully."

  It is said that when Laozi left the pass, he left behind 5,000 divine texts to Guan Yinzi. Guan Yinzi read out a secret from among them, and by following this oral formula, he could summon a water gate, relying on his own profound spiritual wisdom to push open this gate...

  "Later generations with fate, often borrow ancient books from here, and also store some precious good books in this Langxuan Temple." The fox said in a sharp voice, "You say this is owned by someone?"

  Is this the public library of the fantasy world?! Qian Yiqun's heart was in turmoil, thumping wildly.

  "Do you read books too?" Qian Yiqun asked.

  "Besides books, there are quite a few treasures." The fox said without hiding anything.

  "What else should I pay attention to?" Qian Yiqun had already made up his mind to explore, "I don't understand the rules, please enlighten me, Master."

  "It was originally the convenient door left by the Taoist ancestor to enlighten the superior scholars, how can there be so many details?" The fox thought: I'm afraid your little spiritual movement won't open the door.

  "Alright, let's get started!" Qian Yiqun walked to the edge of the sword pool and looked down, only to see a deep emerald green pool with no visible bottom.

  Legend has it that this is the burial site of Wu King Helü. He once mobilized one million soldiers and civilians, used elephants to transport, dug through the earth and excavated a pool, accumulated soil into a mound, filled the pool with mercury, buried gold phoenixes and jade geese, and secretly stored his favorite three thousand precious swords in the secluded palace. Who would have thought that it was actually the entrance to the Luanxian Villa, this divine library?

  The fox would not naturally tell Qian Yiqun that as long as there was a pool of water, the cave door could be opened, nor would it teach the art of summoning the door to this young man who had just met for less than half an hour. It silently recited the spiritual text, stood up, bowed three times towards the pool, and said: "The founder of Taoism is compassionate and opens the gate of goodness!"

  As it was done three times, the originally calm pool water suddenly rippled with layer upon layer of waves, and bubbles rose to the surface. At first, they were only as big as a fish's eye, but soon they were like boiling water. The fox didn't care, its mind focused on the incantation without pause, it stepped in a circular motion, bowed and pleaded, and soon the entire pool was churning with activity.

  Qian Yiqun secretly cursed, thinking to himself: It seems that he had indeed entered a different world! For the past nineteen years, he had heard so many stories about mountain spirits and water monsters, but he thought they were just ancient rural people's ignorance and superstition. Who would have thought that they actually had a realistic basis?!

  Wow!

  A column of water rose from the pool, like a dragon, and shot straight up into the sky, instantly draining nearly half of the water from the pool.

  Qian Yiqun looked up at the water pillar, his legs softened, and the misty water vapor in the air made him shudder again, almost falling to the ground.

  A five-zhang-high water column rose and arched, painting a semicircle in the sky before falling back into the pool. As sunlight shone at an angle, a rainbow appeared between the arches of water, with seven distinct colors shining brightly and radiating vibrant hues.

  "Go push the door!" The fox cried out in a sharp voice, but its feet didn't stop for a moment, still spinning around.

  Qian Yiqun's foot stepped into the water, originally prepared to swim across, but unexpectedly his foot sank and floated as if stepping on cotton, and the water surface didn't even overflow his ankle. He let go of his fear and ran for over ten steps, without splashing much water.

  A dark-colored high gate has already emerged between the water pillars, with dense door nails and a faintly visible golden inscription on top, which is the four characters "Gate of Wonders".

  Qian Yiqun ran to the front of the door, his front legs bent and his hind legs stretched out, using all his strength to push against the large door that was twisted and distorted in the light. His palms left prints on the door, stirring up two circles of ripples, faintly accompanied by mist.

  The tranquil Tiger Hill has turned into a massive waterfall, with thunderous water sounds and misty vapors.

  Qian Yiqun only felt that all his strength had been absorbed into the gate, and just as he was about to adjust his posture and push again, a white light suddenly flashed before his eyes.

  In an instant, the sky and earth changed, and I was flying in mid-air, formless and shapeless. Below me was a vast expanse of azure sea that stretched to infinity, with no visible horizon or depth. The surface of the sea was calm, but suddenly waves rose up three feet high, growing higher with each passing moment. Within just a few breaths, the waves had risen over ten zhang, swirling and rising into the air like the water column in a sword pool. Although I couldn't hear the thunderous roar of the waves, watching this spectacle of towering waves was truly terrifying.

  Qian Yiqun's heart skipped a beat, and the scene in front of him transformed into that large gate once again. He only felt a sudden surge of movement, a cool sensation rising from his body to the top of his head, splitting into two streams that gushed towards his shoulders and down his arms. His palms, which were stuck to the gate, went numb, and the cool sensation had already burst out, leaving Qian Yiqun with goosebumps.

  The magnificent gate took shape amidst the thunderous sound of water, and with a loud rumble, it swung open from top to bottom. Thick white mist burst out from the gap between the doors, faintly revealing the golden light within.

  "It's open!" The fox unexpectedly pushed open the cave door and shouted. It also rushed in without hesitation, its four legs running wildly as it darted under Qian Yiqun's crotch and into the cave, its big tail swishing back and forth as it disappeared inside.

  Qian Yiqun was annoyed in his heart: I, a young master, worked hard to help you open the door, can't even wait?

  Regretfully, the cave entrance was only a thin line, which could be squeezed through by a fox, but for a young man, it was only something to gaze at and sigh about.