Chapter 7: Disciple of Mao Mountain

  "Master, what's wrong with you?" I called out, but the Taoist priest ignored me and stared blankly at Zhang Xiaohong. Could it be that Master...? I thought to myself, but then shook my head. Having been with Master for over a decade, I had never seen him take a liking to women. He was always wandering around, exuding an air of a high-ranking immortal.

  "Huh." The master let out a surprised cry, and Zhang Xiaohong, who was trembling in the corner, gradually stopped shaking and began to sob while hugging her legs. The stinky Taoist didn't show any sympathy or tenderness, but instead glared at Zhang Xiaohong with anger and said: "What are you crying about? It's all your fault! You always wear red clothes, these ghostly things like to follow you, your parents were both killed by you, how can you still not change this bad habit!!!"

  This sounds like a scolding, an interrogation, as if the two had known each other all along. Zhang Xiaohong gradually stopped crying and glared at the master, shouting: "You stinky Taoist, you're also scolding me! I'm a Nine Yin body, my body is naturally cold, and when I was young, I always had stomachaches. The monks in the temple told me that wearing red clothes could ward off evil spirits! So I wore them, and my stomach didn't hurt anymore, but my loved ones left one by one. Is this my fault? Is it my fault?" Zhang Xiaohong also started shouting, completely unlike her fearful demeanor earlier.

  "Hey, with this temperament of yours, if you don't go to the temple and become a nun, you'll ultimately be unable to escape the suffering of hell. Why not let it go?" The master sighed and said slowly, as if trying to persuade her.

  "I'm still young, I'm only seventeen, why should I become a nun? I want to go to school!" Zhang Xiaohong said tearfully, tears streaming down her face again. Yes, how could a teenager possibly go to the temple and become a monk, this seems unreasonable.

  "You'll not only kill yourself, but also many others!" The master said, looking at me, "If it weren't for this kid having some strange aura that can ward off evil spirits and restrain corpse poison, he would have been killed by you too."

  "Smelly Taoist, am I okay?" I didn't like this guy bullying Zhang Xiaohong and couldn't stand his pretentious look, so I cursed at him with a smile. Master furrowed his brow, pointed to my forehead with two fingers together, sat down, recited a few lines of scripture, and then began calculating with his fingers.

  "This calamity of yours is not small, I will take this girl away. The corpse evil on your body should not be a problem. You are a nine yang body, and this little girl is a nine yin body, no wonder you two are attracted to each other, you will like her."

  I was staring at him in surprise, when suddenly Master opened his eyes and asked a mysterious question, then took out a red talisman. Before I could speak, the talisman was slapped onto my shoulder by Master, emitting a faint glow, and it actually hid into my body. The pain on my shoulder instantly disappeared, and I couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of Taoist magic.

  The master looked at me again, touched the middle of my eyebrows, and excitedly smiled: "Good, good, good! It was worth using a spirit-seeking charm. You actually swallowed the golden heart blood of the Ghost King's wife, which is an immortal heart with spiritual power inside. With this, you opened your ghost eye, what a rare encounter."

  I was taken aback: "Ghost King's concubine? Spiritual power? What is this?" I looked at the Taoist priest in confusion, remembering that last time in the chaotic burial mound, a woman appeared in my mind who wanted to harm me, saying she was some kind of ghostly concubine. As for spiritual power and ghostly eyes, I had heard of them before, but how could such things happen to me? I couldn't believe it even if you killed me.

  "Haha, you don't know anything, so let me tell you. It's said that the ghosts in the underworld have taken on a new female disciple who has already cultivated a golden heart, making her one of the most promising candidates to become a ghost immortal. Moreover, this woman has also caught the eye of the Ghost King and has become the Ghost Queen, the wife of the Ghost King.

  The power of the divine spirits is just the energy of the gods, in other words, it's the energy of the immortals. The golden heart contains the energy of the ghost immortals, who are also a type of god, but slightly lower than the heavenly immortals, earthly immortals, and human immortals.

  If you swallow this golden heart, it won't give you any magical powers or abilities, but it will change your spiritual roots and physical body, opening your heavenly eyes... no, I mean ghostly eyes!" The master chuckled and patiently explained.

  "No wonder I can see those things..." I muttered to myself: "And even my hair has changed."

  "Haha, are you talking about the little demon? Normally, you already have the ghost eye, this heart is the ghost queen's, and the divine power you obtained is all ghost magic. In the future, I will teach you how to cultivate and use magic, and you will slowly purify the evil things in your blood." The Taoist smiled proudly.

  "Master, you're finally willing to teach me magic, so I'll be able to catch ghosts too? What if we encounter danger?" I excitedly glanced at the Taoist and asked eagerly. I've been wanting to catch ghosts for over a decade, how could I not be excited? Every time Master uses his incredible magic, it's like a temptation to me, an inexperienced young man. But just like today, catching ghosts and fighting zombies is a matter of life and death, so I still want to ask one more question.

  "Learning magic also depends on opportunity, it's not something you can learn just by finding a master. Of course, after learning magic, you'll have to catch ghosts - what's the point of being a Taoist if you don't? But whether or not there will be danger depends on your skills. Your master has been through so much in his years roaming the rivers and lakes, naturally he can keep you safe." My master thought for a moment, then puffed out his chest and said with a boastful tone.

  "So when can I be as powerful as you?" I asked excitedly, now that my worries were gone.

  "It'll take about ten years, twenty years, or thirty years......" The master smiled slyly and said to me. "However, if you study hard, you can also learn quickly, in eight to ten years you can learn half of my skills, you must work hard! The ghost queen and the ghost mother will not let you go, those little ghosts will also entangle you, wanting to get everything from your body, they will eat your flesh and drink your blood, you are like Tang Seng, your whole body is treasure." The Taoist priest's eyes narrowed, playing a trick on me. I was really scared, mom, Tang Seng? Is my flesh so valuable that all the demons and monsters will come to find me, even the king of ghosts?! This this this... Am I doomed to die?!

  "And your Jiu Yang body, the three disasters and six difficulties are inevitable. If you don't learn Mao Shan skills, you won't live past half a cycle." The Taoist continued to intimidate and entice me, this unscrupulous master of mine is really despicable, what he said really scared me.

  "Alright, I'll study hard, but Master, you deal with that zombie first." Under the master's stern gaze, I finally compromised and pointed to the stiff zombie in the middle of the room.

  "Alright, you little stinker! Master is delighted! Today I'll show you a trick." As he spoke, the yellow-robed Taoist took three to five steps back and let Zhang Xiaohong and me retreat as well. He put his right hand together with two fingers, pinching a yellow talisman that had somehow escaped at some point, and pointed it at the zombie in the middle of the house: "Dì!" Suddenly, a flash of light appeared, and the yellow talisman flew out from his fingertips, steadily floating above the zombie's head.

  "Maoshan Sect's Five Spirits Thunderfire Great Method, urgent as a law decree, thunderfire burns the stiff corpse, cause and effect are completely severed!" The master recited four sentences, then concentrated his spirit and pointed with his finger at the stiff corpse in the middle of the house.

  Suddenly, "Crackling! Rumbling——" A bolt of lightning struck from the door gap and fell on that yellow talisman. The yellow talisman instantly caught fire, and then turned into a fuse. Thunder boomed, and dozens of bolts of lightning struck the zombies in the room.

  "Bang——" The zombie emitted a dazzling flash of light, was chopped into powder, and black liquid splattered everywhere. The thunderous roar gradually faded away. The Taoist's head was covered in sweat, it seemed that this spell really consumed a lot of energy. Master's face turned somewhat pale, and he forced a smile at me.

  "Hurry up and come over to kowtow, perform the three bows and nine knocks ritual, this is the Daoist etiquette. To be honest, I haven't been a Daoist disciple for over a decade, only after learning Master's skills can I be considered a Daoist successor." My master said with a pale face and a very serious expression. I didn't hesitate any longer, immediately knelt down on the ground, and kowtowed three loud knocks to my master, three bows and nine knocks, my head knocked against the ground exactly nine times. I knew the Daoist etiquette, plus I was sincerely paying respects to Master, so naturally I had to do it properly.

  "Alright! Remember, my name is Tianyi. Our Taoist school has five branches: east, south, west, north and central. The five veins inherit the medical skills of the mountains, fate and divination. I am a descendant of the Mao Mountain branch, the mountain vein is the largest among the five veins. Although you entered the door late, according to the generation, you will be the older brother in the future. Your younger brothers and sisters have been in the door for many years, they are all looking at you. In the future, you must focus on the Tao, let them look up to you, and live up to your title as the older brother."

  The master scolded me, saying that I am actually a big brother, but I didn't know that the master had brothers and sisters who were also masters, and they even took in disciples. I feel a great responsibility on my shoulders, it seems like I've gotten on the wrong boat.

  "You go home and wash up first, I'm going to take this little girl on a long trip. This little girl is plagued by disasters, I'll send her to the Buddha's door, otherwise she will bring trouble sooner or later." The master said to me, then stared at Zhang Xiaohong, Zhang Xiaohong had stopped crying, she looked into my eyes, suddenly walked over and gently kissed my face.

  "Meng Fei, I love you! For you, I am willing to retreat into the empty door, just to guard that persistent love for you." As she spoke, Zhang Xiaohong surprisingly nodded: "Master, I am willing to go to the Buddhist gate."

  I was suddenly speechless, I believe in love, but it came too quickly, I lost my words for a moment, I know I'm still young, and my liking for Zhang Xiaohong is just a temporary impulse between boys and girls. I've always thought that girls are the best gift for boys, but at this moment, I feel that there's something even more precious between us.

  "You don't have to call me Master, and I'm not your master either. Your real master is someone else." The master looked at Zhang Xiaohong calmly and said a sentence. Then he turned around and handed me a red jade pendant. "As your master is not by your side for the time being, I'll give you this protective charm. When necessary, it can save your life."

  I silently accepted the jade pendant, watching as Master took Zhang Xiaohong's hand and walked out of the room. Zhang Xiaohong turned back to look at me, revealing a sweet smile, and I saw that her eyes still had tear stains.