The fox spirit is urgent and swift like a law enforcement officer.

  I initially thought that Master didn't want to take action against the zombie was because he was competing with Sheng Yu Po, but soon I discovered it wasn't the case, as his expression was very painful and complicated.

  The day I paid homage to him as my master, he told me to do more good deeds. Now many innocent villagers are suffering and he doesn't lift a hand, which is somewhat unjustifiable. Not long ago, he also told me not to be on familiar terms with the likes of Madame Sheng, and given his temperament, he absolutely wouldn't ignore the villagers' requests just because of a dispute with Madame Sheng.

  I suddenly thought that his body was originally not good, and the old tuberculosis had been there for over a decade. The other day, he coughed up blood twice to save me, maybe he really couldn't take it anymore.

  Before long, someone came running to knock on the door and said that mirrors, brooms, charms, glutinous rice and the like had no effect, and even the ink line couldn't stop it. They begged Mr. Zhou to take action. The master said: "If you can't beat it, hide and close the door tightly. For those who are bitten, apply glutinous rice to the wound to remove the poison, then use mugwort to cauterize the wound. When dawn breaks, the zombie will escape and hide in a dark place. At that time, follow behind it, pile up dry firewood on all sides, pour some gasoline and burn it."

  The people who came to seek help were very depressed and angry, some even scolded me loudly, calling my master a cowardly ghost, useless and so on. But Master still refused to open the door. Seeing that I was getting impatient, he sighed: "I'm almost a useless person now, you're not skilled yet, so for now we don't care about anything, let alone argue with others. Learning your skills well is the most important thing. People with evil intentions will inevitably harm others and themselves."

  Lao Lin couldn't help but say: "That old prostitute has caused trouble and doesn't care, you can't just ignore it, I don't believe you can't even handle a zombie!"

  The master was very calm at this time and said lightly: "Things are far more complicated than you think, I have my own judgment on what to do."

  There are still people chattering outside, I'm furious too, and I roar: "What's all the noise about? Yesterday my master and I were surrounded by thugs, did you guys show up? You can all ignore us to death, why should my master sacrifice himself for you? Isn't Sheng Yupo possessed by a god? Why don't you go ask her?"

  After I scolded him like this, no one dared to bother me again.

  "What is Master worried about? I suddenly thought of the blood fog in my dream and the words of the genius madman, could everything be connected? The king is angry, the king wants to eat people..."

  I suddenly asked: "Master, what is 'Dawang'?"

  "Master gave me a weird look: 'You're going to be a teacher and you still don't know?'"

  I recounted the strange dream from the night before last and the madman's words, Master's face turned even darker: "You've read 'Journey to the West', right? Many demons like to call themselves Great Kings; some small gods or evil spirits in broken temples also like to be called Great Kings; every village with a certain scale and history has a guardian god, called Fu Zhu or Da Wang..."

  My mother asked with a terrified face: "Could it be true that we borrowed the bronze bell..."

  "Shifu immediately said, 'Don't listen to Shi Yu Po's nonsense. The words of a madman can't be trusted. Borrowing the bronze bell is absolutely no problem. We'll talk about this again tomorrow. Xuán Míng, if you can't sleep, I'll give you a lesson instead.'"

  I'm sweating profusely, outside zombies are chasing people all over the village, the whole village is in chaos, and he's still in the mood to teach me a lesson? With such a desperate struggle for every second, won't he be dead soon?

  "Master, can you write brush calligraphy?"

  "In school, there was a calligraphy class, and I won the first prize in the school's soft pen competition." I felt quite proud of myself, and also expressed my level.

  "Good, good!" The master nodded, visibly relieved. "Although drawing talismans and writing characters are somewhat different, holding a brush is the same. When writing or painting, one needs to be confident, focused, and put their energy into it. You have this foundation, so you won't have any problems with drawing talisman scripts. The main things to focus on are hand seals, steps, incantations, and knotting techniques. Before learning to draw talismans, let's first talk about the preparation work. Drawing talismans has 'ten taboos and eight prohibitions', 'three five forbidden methods'..."

  I couldn't help but interrupt him: "Master, didn't you say that as long as the spiritual power is strong enough, a fart can shock and awe the demons, and casually drawing a few strokes can subdue dragons and tigers?"

  The master was taken aback, and immediately retorted: "What I mean is that people with very high cultivation can use simple talismans and incantations at will. For example, someone with the strength of a hundred kilograms can easily lift an object weighing ten kilograms, and someone with the strength of a thousand kilograms can easily lift an object weighing a hundred kilograms. Now you don't have a high level of cultivation, so even the simplest talisman must be drawn honestly and carefully, without skipping a single step."

  I'm speechless, being a master has its privileges, he says it's round then it's round, he says it's square then it's square.

  Then the master taught me about the precepts, the ten prohibitions are not to be greedy for wealth, blaspheme gods and spirits, kill without reason, indulge in lust and wine, etc.; The eight prohibitions are to avoid women's menstruation, to avoid being seduced by beauty, to use talismans as an excuse for licentious behavior, to avoid drawing talismans for evil people...

  Master said: "These taboos have been passed down through generations, and there's always some reason behind them. Let's go back to the topic we were discussing earlier. If it's just ordinary talismans like the hemostatic talisman, bone-repairing talisman, or pain-relieving talisman, as long as you focus your mind and draw them out, they'll work. For people with high cultivation, even drawing talismans in mid-air can be effective. However, if it's more advanced talismans like summoning spirits, controlling ghosts, warding off evil, or dispersing plagues, before drawing the talisman, you need to fast, bathe, purify your mouth, prepare offerings, burn incense, and recite prayers and mantras. You also need to store up your thoughts, circulate your energy, concentrate your mind, recite incantations, step on the pacing pattern with your feet, and press the seals with your left hand in coordination. After finishing the talisman, you still need to 'seal the evil', which means that for each type of talisman, you need to seal it with a specific evil, recite a specific mantra, and can't do it randomly. As the saying goes, 'a knife without steel is not sharp, a talisman without sealing is not effective'. If it's an even more advanced talisman..."

  The master stopped talking at this point and didn't speak for a long time. I asked: "What about the more advanced talismanic methods?"

  "More advanced talismans require inviting ghosts and gods to possess the body, but such talismans have basically all been lost. I can't teach you, so it's better not to mention it."

  I'm studying modern knowledge, and in my subconscious mind, I have some doubts about these mysterious things. I couldn't help but ask: "Why do high-level talismans have to be so complicated? What is the working principle of talismans, I mean, is there any scientific basis?"

  Master shook his head and smiled bitterly: "If it were in the past, I wouldn't have dared to suspect these things, nor could I have answered. But now I can try to explain. Modern science has proven that magnetic fields, force fields, and aura exist, some of which are beneficial to humans, while others are harmful. The effect of talismans is to fix the spiritual power of the person drawing the talisman or the spiritual power between heaven and earth onto the paper, forming a magnetic field or aura. It's like a small-scale formation that concentrates, transforms, amplifies, etc., producing results that are beneficial or harmful to humans, or achieving some kind of great change."

  I nodded in understanding: "I know, the many rules of drawing symbols are mainly to make people solemn and sincere, respectful and reverent, concentrated in spirit and producing positive energy."

  "A child can be taught!" The master laughed loudly, extremely delighted. "Most talismans belong to the yang category, and what you call 'positive energy' is just that. Women's menstrual blood and such things belong to the yin category, are extremely filthy and carry a dead and absolute aura. If you come into contact with it, there's a possibility of losing effect, so you must avoid it. Moreover, most immortals like gentlemen, so if you want to borrow divine power from an immortal, you have to be a gentleman, at least when drawing talismans, you must be sincere and honest like a gentleman."

  After a long time of talking about the principles and theories in a disorderly manner, he finally started to formally pass on his skills. The high-rise building rose from flat ground, starting with the simplest "hemostatic symbol".

  There are many types of hemostatic symbols, and different schools have their own. Here's one that doesn't require a pen, ink, or cinnabar, is easy to learn, non-toxic, and harmless: Focus your energy, use your right hand to pinch the sword finger on paper or cloth to virtually write a traditional Chinese character for "horse" with 12 strokes, reciting a earthly branch for each stroke. The 12 strokes of the traditional horse character match the 12 earthly branches (zi, chou, yin, mao, chen, si, wu, wei, shen, you, xu, hai), and then face yourself and recite the incantation: "The sun rises in the east with a single drop of oil, the horse character seals the door, blood does not flow." Then press it on the bleeding wound and shout "Stop!"

  ……

  The village was noisy until almost dawn before it gradually calmed down. In the second half of the night, I continued to meditate and practice my breath, and when the sky brightened, I ended my practice. To my surprise, I actually felt a slight sensation of energy in the Qihai acupoint! This made me very surprised, as Master said that it would take at least several months to feel the flow of energy, could I be a genius?

  The Yang Yin Jue is different from the vast majority of Taoist qigong methods, it does not involve circulating qi through the Ren and Du meridians to connect the microcosmic orbit, but rather involves circulating qi through the 12 regular meridians. At the beginning of practice, one first uses intention to gather the body's essence and qi at the Qihai point, known as the original yuan qi, after gathering a certain amount of original yuan qi, one can use this as the driving force to collect ling qi from outside the body. The collected ling qi is impure and needs to be refined and purified by running it through the meridians in the body, accumulating and storing it for later use.

  When using the Primordial Qi to cast a spell, it consumes very little and is difficult to replenish once consumed. Overuse can directly harm the body or even shorten one's lifespan. When casting various spells, they all use Spiritual Qi, which can be quickly recovered through meditation, taking supplements, etc. when depleted. If necessary, Primordial Qi can also be converted into Spiritual Qi, but Spiritual Qi cannot be converted back into Primordial Qi.

  When I told my master that I had a feeling of qi, he said with certainty: "This is an illusion. Even if you are a genius, it will take more than a month to feel the qi. It's impossible to have this feeling in just three days. Come on, let's go out for a walk."

  "Alright, I guess I was too hasty and had a false impression. I followed him out. A crowd of people had already gathered at the neighbor's door, discussing in whispers, each face filled with fear and alarm. When they saw us approaching, they immediately fell silent, staring at me with hostile eyes, as if everything that happened last night was my doing."

  The master walked over calmly: "How is it?"

  The son of the old man who pretended to be dead was named Xu Jianmao. Although he was very angry that his master "saw death but did not rescue" last night, he also dared not offend him, and with red eyes and a hoarse throat said: "Ran out of the village and couldn't catch up, don't know where he ran to."

  "Master nodded and asked: 'How many people were injured?'"

  "Maybe six?" Xu Jianmao counted on his fingers, basically all of them were old people who couldn't run fast.

  "What to do now, sir?" Xu Jianmao was about to kneel down and kowtow. His father had bitten and scratched people, and he would have to bear the consequences. If someone contracted rabies and died, his troubles would be even greater.

  "My master said: 'First of all, I must declare that this matter is not that I don't want to help, but it's not suitable for me to take on. Cough... Your family is also a victim. Since you asked me, I'll give you some advice: Now go and find it immediately. During the day, its power decreases, and it doesn't dare to appear under the sun. If you block it, you can burn it with fire. If you don't solve it during the day, there will be even more trouble tonight!'"

  Xu Jianmao repeatedly agreed and hastily called his relatives and friends to search, and also asked the village leaders to mobilize the masses to help. He wasn't a fool either, he heard the implicit meaning of his master's words, but without evidence, he couldn't accuse Sheng Yupo, but it was certain that he would put pressure on her.

  I followed my master out, and everywhere were groups of people discussing and gossiping. They were both afraid of me and hostile towards me, but some of Master's relatives and "fans" came to ask for advice on their own initiative, and told all sorts of rumors. It was said that last night when I faked my death, Sheng Yu's wife suddenly fainted at home and is still lying in bed now... it seems she tried to harm me but ended up getting a backlash instead.

  My master didn't say a word, and led me to the Fengtou Temple outside the village. As soon as we arrived at the entrance, I saw seven or eight old men rushing out of the temple, shouting in surprise.