High aspirations are thwarted, and you are trapped.
Chao Lan followed the map, which only showed a few directions and the sect's supply points along the way. She had no idea where to go or what to do, but every senior brother and sister had done it this way, so she couldn't be an exception.
After traveling for more than half a year, he only encountered harmless little spirits along the way. The bolder ones would circle around him, and he would reward them with a few spirit stones. His reputation spread among the little spirits.
It is said that there is a dark-skinned, foolish Taoist priest who carries a sword. If you stop him from leaving, he will be forced to pay protection money due to his "tyranny".
However, Chaolan did not know this.
He wasn't afraid of hardship or fatigue along the way. Whenever he heard of a village, he would ask if there were any mountain monsters causing trouble. The answers were always that everything was peaceful. In earlier years, there might have been some, but in recent years, in places that were no longer protected by the Taoist sects, a folk organization of hunters had been formed, and it was rare to hear of any monsters causing trouble.
Chao Lan was very relieved to hear this. It was wonderful that the journey back would be so peaceful, indicating that everything was harmonious now. Because of his unsuccessful first attempt, he had been worried that the same things would happen all the way. Now he was quite relieved, because apart from the first time, the worst things he encountered were thugs and thieves, which could be resolved without using magic.
So he experienced many things he couldn't experience in the mountains, such as helping with planting in several villages during the busy farming season. He received unanimous praise, and because he was handsome, physically strong, and skilled in handicrafts, the villagers gave him a basket of fruits as a token of their gratitude when he left.
After traveling for more than a month, they finally arrived at Jiaozhou, the closest prefecture to the imperial city.
He first checked the notice board for any announcements. Several yellowed "Demon-Capturing Bounty" posters were stamped with a familiar seal—the kind posted by the civilian organization after completing their missions. The rest were rental and recruitment notices.
Just as I was about to leave, several men dressed as servants squeezed in.
"Make way! Everyone make way!"
The servant who posted the notice faced the crowd and shouted, "My master's wife has been possessed by an evil spirit and has been bedridden for many days! Any eminent monk or Taoist master is welcome to answer the call! A reward of fifty taels of silver will be given to anyone who improves her condition, and two hundred taels of silver to anyone who makes her fully recovered!"
The onlookers immediately began to whisper amongst themselves, and Chaolan overheard a few words. This Master Qian, true to his surname, was wealthy. He had five concubines. His first wife had been bedridden for over two months, her illness terminal and incurable. Even the high-ranking monks in the city were helpless; some had answered the call for help, but none had actually received fifty taels; they were all simply given some travel expenses and sent away.
Without hesitation, Chao Lan stepped forward and took down the notice.
"Hey, young man, what are you doing?!" The servant shoved Chao Lan and said, "Did you see what's written here? Are you a eccentric Taoist or a high monk?"
Chao Lan took out the Chaoyun Mountain token and said, "I am a disciple of Chaoyun Mountain, currently cultivating down the mountain."
Chaos erupted below: "So they're disciples of a celestial sect. No wonder they dared to accept the challenge at such a young age."
Some questioned, "But isn't the training for the Chaoyun Mountain Sect next year? This person isn't wearing Taoist robes; could he be swindling someone?"
The servant's expression changed when he saw the Taoist emblem: "My apologies, so you are a Taoist priest from Chaoyun Mountain. This way, please."
Upon hearing that Chao Lan was a disciple of the immortal sect, Master Qian hurriedly invited him into his wife's room. As soon as Chao Lan entered, a foul odor assaulted his nostrils. He immediately raised his hand to shield his eyes, but the people inside seemed oblivious, remaining completely unfazed. He cast a spell on himself to mask the smell, lest he lose his composure.
The room was spotless. Master Qian asked Chaolan to wait in the hall first, and then went behind the beaded curtain and screen.
A series of whispers followed by the sound of a teacup breaking came from nearby. Chao Lan, with her excellent hearing, heard it all clearly.
"Get these stinking monks and Taoist priests out of here! What kind of immortal sects are they? They're all just drunken monks and charlatan Taoist priests!"
Madam Qian's voice was weak, but she still managed to speak a complete and coherent sentence, which showed her extreme anger.
Master Qian, wiping his sweat, came out and said, "Young man, my wife is usually quite fierce and doesn't let anyone near her. I've called a maid out to tell you about her symptoms. Do you have any solutions?"
Master Qian was carrying a foul aura, and after entering the room, he brought out several wisps of black energy. It seemed that this was not an ordinary illness, but most likely that he had been cursed.
Chao Lan glanced around and said, "No problem. But in the meantime, please have the master order a basin of water to be boiled with pine needles. Add the pine needles before it boils, and then add the glutinous rice and salt and bring it in..."
"Get these charlatans out of here! Are we going to have to chant sutras again?" Madam Qian's scolding voice came from inside.
Master Qian smiled apologetically and instructed his servants to do as Chao Lan said. He then summoned Madam's maid, Dongmei, and explained the specific symptoms to Chao Lan: "Madam fell ill two and a half months ago. At first, she only felt dizzy, then she started saying that everything in front of her was spinning. She took some sedatives, but they didn't work. We invited a master to perform a ritual, but it only made things worse. After about a month, she started vomiting black blood..." At this point, tears streamed down the maid's face: "Then she couldn't eat anything, vomiting whatever she ate. Now she can barely eat some porridge. About half a month ago, Madam became extremely weak and couldn't walk. She could only speak when she was in her room." She wiped away her tears and suddenly knelt down before Chao Lan: "Please, Master, save my Madam! I'll do anything, even be your slave!"
Chaolan quickly helped Dongmei up: "Don't worry, Miss Dongmei, I will definitely save Madam. You mustn't hurt yourself, otherwise how will you take care of Madam?"
Master Qian waved for Dongmei to go inside and take care of his wife, asking with concern, "How is she?"
Chao Lan crossed her arms and pondered for a moment. She then took out an incense stick from her pocket and handed it to Master Qian: "Please trouble you to circle this incense stick twice around Madam's bedside."
Master Qian did not ask any further questions. He lit incense and went into the room. Before long, he and Dongmei exclaimed in surprise. Master Qian ran out with the last few ashes of incense in his hands: "This...this...the incense ash burned out as soon as we went in."
Chao Lan frowned, and when she touched the incense ash, she found it to be ice-cold. She immediately frowned and said, "It seems this is not simple."
Just then, the water was boiled, and the servants came in carrying buckets. Chao Lan took out a few talismans from her bosom, burned them, and mixed the ashes into the water: "Not bad, a lot burned. Divide it into two portions. One person should scatter them around the outer room, and the other person should scatter them around the inner room. It doesn't have to be even, but it must be enough to complete a circle."
The group sat anxiously in the room. Chao Lan slowly took a sip of tea and asked if there were any snacks. Although Master Qian looked suspicious, he still ordered someone to bring over some refreshments.
Chao Lan was shocked after taking a bite: "This? Where did you buy this?"
Seeing his country bumpkin appearance, Master Qian also ate one: "This is from Lai Si Shop, the best and most popular pastry shop in Jiaozhou. The flavors are novel, and their business has even spread to the capital. If you like it, Daoist, I will have someone prepare a few boxes to take with you."
Chao Lan waved her hand: "Thank you, but it's not necessary. It's just that this technique is very similar to my master's."
The words had barely left her lips when a sharp scream shattered the brief silence of the bedroom: "Ahhhhhh!"
"Madam! Madam! Master! Come in quickly! Something's wrong with Madam!"
Master Qian immediately stood up: "Taoist priest, what...what's going on?"
Chao Lan patted Master Qian's shoulder reassuringly and called into the room, "Dongmei, please draw the curtain and come out to wait outside with Master Qian! I'm going in!"
Madam Qian's voice grew louder and sharper, causing everything in the room to tremble, but for some reason, it didn't reach its full potential.
Chao Lan carried a bowl of water into the room and looked around. To her surprise, a sword was hanging in Madam Qian's room.
"So that's how it is."
Chao Lan channeled some spiritual energy from her two fingers into Madam Qian's body, causing the bed to shake violently as if it were about to fall apart. Chao Lan broke out in a thin sweat: "Madam, please bear with it for a while. You have been cursed by an evil person. Why not distract yourself and think about who or what you have been in contact with two months ago and during this period? Is there anything different about your diet? Who wants to harm you!"
"Uh—ah—"
After examining the body, Chao Lan discovered that the curse and the demonic and Taoist magic within Madam Qian's body were not of the same kind. He removed the curse, and a black, sticky, unidentified liquid was introduced into the water, which immediately turned the clear water murky and was extremely disgusting.
Madam Qian had calmed down and seemed to have fainted. Chao Lan wiped her sweat and opened the door to let Dong Mei and Master Qian in.
He washed his hands: "Madam is alright now, Master, there's no need to worry. Dongmei, go and take care of her."
The wealthy man sat down next to Chaolan and asked, "Is it really an evil spirit? Who did it? Is it serious?"
Chao Lan flashed a bright white smile: "Don't worry, she's fine now. We'll have to ask her about the specifics after Madam wakes up."
The wealthy man gave an "oh," and glanced at the young man from the side. Chaoyun Mountain truly lived up to its reputation; someone who looked like that could be considered a righteous person. But wasn't he just after money? Two hundred taels wouldn't be enough to win over the people of Chaoyun Mountain; he'd have to give them another three hundred later, just to build a connection. But this guy wasn't wearing a Taoist robe and was so young—what if he was a conman?
Chao Lan was unaware that the person in front of her was already thinking about a whole host of things. She was leisurely enjoying the pastries from Lai Si and missing her master.
"I think I did a good job this time. Master will praise me, right? I haven't received a reply from Master for many days. I wonder what he's doing."
Master Qian grew increasingly anxious as he thought about it. He gave a brief instruction to his personal servant before entering the room to see his wife.
By the afternoon, Madam Qian still showed no signs of waking up. Master Qian was extremely anxious and sent a servant to the guest room to inquire. Chao Lan yawned and said, "How could she wake up so quickly? Let Madam rest more."
Chaolan sent a message to You Youju, clearly explaining what had happened that day, and finally asked, "The master is very anxious, it seems he cherishes his wife very much. Huaijing doesn't understand why he would take four concubines if he cherishes his wife so much."
You Youju chuckled after reading the message and replied with twelve words: "Well done. Don't judge things by appearances alone."
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