Chapter Ten: The Real Master is Among the People

  Who is Lao Linzi?

  He is an old educated youth, surnamed Lin. His real name is known to very few people, so both the elderly and young call him Old Lin. The character "zi" is a dialectical suffix and habit, not a respectful title, and has nothing to do with Laozi, Mozi, Sunzi or Hanfeizi's "zi".

  Lao Lin is the only educated youth who stayed here after going up the mountain and down to the countryside. He is from Fuzhou, now in his 40s, tall and strong, with a fierce appearance and a scar on his face. This man has a quick temper and an eccentric personality, still unmarried and without a career, often flirting with other people's wives, and frequently getting into fights and causing trouble. Moreover, he is also a super foodie, extremely fond of eating, not just wild boar and rabbit, but also pitilessly devouring poisonous snakes, mountain rats, beehives, and even the larvae of the cicada killer wasp.

  When Old Lin first went to the countryside, he didn't know how to do any farm work and couldn't earn enough work points, so he was always hungry. He happened to live in my grandfather's house, and my grandmother was a kind person who saw that the young man was pitifully hungry. Although her own family was also struggling, she still tried her best to send him some food, and invited him to have a meal on holidays. How could she just watch someone else's child starve to death? Later, Old Lin became well-known in the countryside and considered my grandmother his benefactor, repaying her kindness many times over. If it weren't for something related to my life or death, my grandmother wouldn't have asked him to do such a dangerous thing.

  Zhou Tan recommended Lao Lin because he had practiced martial arts, was agile and skilled in hunting in the deep mountains for many years, and was also good at climbing. Moreover, he was fierce and powerful, with a strong murderous aura, and evil spirits did not dare to approach him, making him the best candidate.

  Then Zhou Tan said a lot to my grandmother, in short, he would do his best, but whether I could be rescued or not, and whether there were any aftereffects or not, had nothing to do with him - it all depended on how hard my fate was. The old swindler was indeed an old swindler, first of all, he dodged the responsibility cleanly.

  Lao Lin has been running around everywhere in recent years, sometimes not seen for a year or two. Grandma tried to call one of his left phone numbers, and he rushed over the next day, patting his chest and saying it was on him. Probably on the third day, he set off with my uncle, he never worshipped any gods, and before picking herbs, going to the small temple to worship was something for my uncle to do.

  I was sometimes dizzy and sometimes clear-headed, and I didn't even know how much time had passed. All I knew was that the people at home were busy searching for various medicinal materials and some special items, such as a large bronze bell that could cover an entire person, camphor oil over a thousand years old, a rooster raised for more than ten years, and rice from forty-nine families.

  Next to the village, there is a Fengtou Temple with a large bronze bell inside. My grandmother came out and consulted with several elderly men in the village who were respected for their moral integrity, and by putting on a bit of an old face, she was able to borrow it. At the head of the village, there are three large camphor trees that have existed since the Tang Dynasty, over 1,000 years ago. Cutting down some branches can produce camphor oil. These three "divine trees" often have people burning incense and worshiping them, usually no one dares to touch them, but in order to save lives, they had to harden their scalp and cut them down... A large rooster that is over 10 years old is rare, but not impossible to find. If you're willing to spend money, you can still buy one...

  I reignited hope, but I also dare not hold too much hope. Lu Chengshan found so many high-ranking doctors who couldn't cure him, can a nameless old quack really cure him?

  Several days later, in the morning, Zhou Tan set up an altar and performed a ritual in my home's main hall, drawing a large number of talismans called "Jiuhun Formation". In the center of the Jiuhun Formation stood a large bronze bell upside down. I was stripped naked except for my shorts and put inside the bell, where a large amount of medicinal broth was poured in. A fire was lit under the bell, giving off an eerie feeling as if someone was being boiled alive - a scene that would be familiar to those who have read "Journey to the West".

  By the way, at that time, there was also a friend of Zhou Tan's present, named Wu Zhangya, who was well-versed in traditional Chinese medicine. He inserted a large number of silver needles into my body, saying it was to guide the medicinal properties and heat into my body.

  According to Zhou Tan, I am a man and also a young boy, which is the yang within yang; the fox spirit is a demon and also female, being the yin within yin. Therefore, it can be suppressed with the power of time, formations, medicine, and magic. This is an ancient secret method passed down from the ancient witch tribe to the Yin-Yang family, which Daoist priests may not necessarily understand... At that time, he said a lot, I didn't listen completely or understand, I only care about whether his method is effective or not, rather than how complicated and mysterious it is.

  Zhou Tan kept chanting, drawing talismans, and performing the Pace of Yu. He chanted, drew, burned, and then repeated the process again and again, causing a commotion that lasted for half a day. No one knew what he was doing specifically, except my mom who kept calling out my name to come back (calling my soul), while others stayed outside, keeping pedestrians and large animals at bay.

  I don't know how long it took, but I gradually felt a warmth in my body, and my eyes opened. My hands and feet could move again. Zhou Tan was as tense as if he were facing a great enemy, and he told me not to move and to continue soaking in the medicinal broth. He wore a Taoist robe and held a peach wood sword, looking somewhat comical, but his expression was solemn and sacred, completely different from the image of Kong Yiji I had seen before.

  I knew I was saved and felt extremely grateful and respectful towards him. This is what they mean by "don't judge a person by appearance" and "you can't measure the ocean with a bucket".

  However, the good times did not last long. I suddenly felt my body turn cold and numb, and even my consciousness began to blur. Zhou Tan was shocked and pressed several symbols on my head in succession, but there was no effect. He hastily picked up his pen and drew a symbol, which seemed to be very strenuous, as if he were lifting dozens of kilograms of weight. After finishing the drawing, when he recited the incantation while pinching his fingers against the symbol paper, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

  His blood was sprayed on the ground, not on the talisman paper, so it wasn't a tongue-tip blood to increase power, but he was injured due to excessive Qi gathering.

  He pressed the charm onto my forehead, holding it in place with his hand as he continuously chanted incantations. A surge of energy flowed into me from the top of my head, causing me to regain consciousness, and the restless, cold yin energy inside my body was suppressed once again.

  At the same time as my soul was reassembling, the fox demon's soul in my body also reassembled synchronously. This was inevitable, so many powerful people found by Lu Chengshan were unable to do anything. Originally, Zhou Tan's plan was to gather a portion of his soul and then negotiate with the fox demon, asking it to spare me. However, the fox demon's consciousness had not fully recovered, and it began to instinctively reject me, wanting to seize my body. At this time, my soul was very fragile, and once I was squeezed out, I would never be able to return to my body again. Zhou Tan could only forcibly suppress it, but with his cultivation, it was difficult to hold back, so he had to fight for his life.

  I thought this time was a success, but Zhou Tan's face remained gloomy, his originally sallow complexion looked somewhat pale, and sometimes it even flushed with red... His face became increasingly unsightly, suddenly a resolute glint flashed in his eyes, the aura on my head surged strongly, and all the restless energy inside my body was compressed and concentrated to a certain place on my back.

  I heard Zhou Tan shouting "Ding" three times in a row, his voice shaking my eardrums, while his left hand was also poking at my back three times with his fingers, and then he spat out another mouthful of blood.

  "Sir, sir...... are you okay?" My mom was frightened, although she had no idea what was going on, she could see the severity of the situation.

  "It's... nothing." Zhou Tan forced himself to speak, raising his hand to signal my mother not to come over. One of his hands was still pressed on top of my head, lightly trembling, but no longer injecting air into me.

  I feel like I've come back to life completely, only feeling weak, the medicinal broth in the copper cauldron feels scalding hot at this moment, almost cooking me alive.

  After about a minute, it seemed that some kind of energy had increased in my body, and I didn't feel so weak. Zhou Tan finally let out a sigh of relief, released his hands: "Alright, call someone to come in, lift him out, cough, cough..."

  I had already endured it for a long time, and immediately crawled outwards. Unexpectedly, as soon as my hand touched the copper bell on top, I was scalded and let out a cry of surprise. The medicinal broth inside also made me afraid to put my feet down. In my anxiety, I exerted all my strength and jumped out with one bound, and actually succeeded in jumping directly out.

  I didn't have time to savor the thrill of rebirth, and hastily supported Zhou Tan, who looked extremely exhausted and weak, even unable to stand steadily.

  Everyone in my family was surprised and delighted, thanking him repeatedly, asking Zhou Tan to sit down. My grandmother knelt down and kowtowed to him, my mother followed suit, and I could only do the same. This is a lifesaver, equivalent to rebirth parents, kowtowing a few times is absolutely necessary.

  Zhou Tan hurriedly helped my grandmother up, repeatedly saying "he's gone too soon", my grandmother is slightly older than him, according to the messy generation order he should still be calling my grandmother "aunt"!

  The whole family was delighted, and they quickly brought out the freshly cooked chicken soup to nourish me and Zhou Tan. Zhou Tan only drank a little before going to rest in my room. I should have gone to lie down too, but I had been lying down for over a month already. My mind was racing with thoughts of activity, and I felt like running around the world - where would I want to go lie down? In fact, I was feeling a bit hyperactive, and after passing out a bunch of dark and smelly stuff, apart from feeling a little dizzy when walking, there were no other discomforts. The most obvious feeling was that my stomach was hungry, but I couldn't eat too much - I had to slowly let my intestines recover.

  In the midst of concern and congratulations from relatives and friends, an afternoon passed unknowingly. Zhou Tan drank some ginseng chicken soup, rested for half a day, and his complexion improved a lot, and he could walk on his own. To thank him, Lao Lin, Wu Zhangya, my uncle, and other relatives who provided great help, my mother made many dishes, brought out a jar of old wine that had been stored for ten years, and my mother's brewed glutinous rice wine was famous in the village.

  Everyone was delighted at the banquet, especially Old Lin, who drank cup after cup, boasting and talking endlessly about his glorious past, such as the time he hunted a strange creature, or the year he fought a fierce battle with someone's wife for 300 rounds without being defeated, and other tales of monsters eating people in certain places.

  I noticed that Zhou Tan didn't say much tonight, his eyebrows were slightly furrowed, his eyes flickered, and he looked like he had a lot on his mind. He cured me, so he should be very proud of himself, but instead, he looks unhappy, why is that?

  Suddenly I thought of a very serious problem, it seems that Zhou Tan did not kill the fox spirit, nor did he drive it out, so is the fox spirit still inside my body? Thinking that the thousand-year-old old fox was still in my body, I felt like there was a centipede crawling on my back, and my whole body didn't feel right.

  Because everyone was in a good mood, I didn't want to ruin the atmosphere, so I endured it and didn't ask Zhou Tan on the spot. In any case, I'll quietly ask him after dinner. During the meal, I had an urgent need to go to the bathroom, and as a result, I discovered another shocking thing: in a very dark place, I could see clearly, only with a different color tone than during the day.

  Is this the legendary night vision?