Chapter 111: Queshan Jade Thunder Man
There is a deep pool outside the bamboo house.
There were piles of rocks beside the pond, with dark green moss crawling in the cracks, making them slippery and cold. A few Xiling grasses grew in an unnoticed corner, their leaves swaying gently with the occasional breeze.
Every time Long Zhu passed by this pool, he always felt that it was quiet and depressing, as if a mirror was embedded in the green field, reflecting the clear blue sky and making it seem that there was nothing under the water.
Occasionally, a bamboo leaf drifted onto the surface of the pond, but instead of floating, it sank directly into the depths, as if being dragged down by some invisible force. Leaning down to observe, I felt a chill piercing my face—like a natural fence, cautioning me against approaching.
Is there a treasure hidden in here?
Bai He also lowered his eyes and made hand gestures, instantly summoning two shadows - they were the bone fish demon from before. It was seriously injured last time and was about to disintegrate, but Bai He had rescued a few strands of it. Now it has transformed into two transparent small fish, with fish bones all over its body, like the bones that the orange cat in the temple has just picked out of its mouth after chewing, clumsy and miserable.
Logically speaking, if a ghost or demon servant falls to this point, the spirit master can completely take the initiative to break the contract. Wouldn't it be better to retain the spiritual power from the contract to capture a more powerful servant again?
However, Bai He also said that the two fish had been with him for too long, and after he had given them names, he had developed feelings for them, and they were no longer something that could be easily discarded.
Long Zhu was curious and asked him what name he had chosen. Bai He was silent for a long time and did not answer. He just said that he had chosen it when he was a child, but it was too childish and he didn't want to tell anyone.
Bai He also threw the small fish into the pond and said, "You should be able to possess spirits, right?"
Long Zhu nodded, closed and opened his eyes, his spiritual consciousness attached to the fish's eyes, and followed the little fish's perspective into the pool of water.
There was no trace of sunlight beneath the lake.
The moment the water surface moved away from overhead, the cold air completely blocked out the external sunlight, shrouding the two small fish in indigo. The further down they went, the water color gradually turned dark black, with occasional pale water lilies swaying. When they passed by, they looked like clusters of hands struggling and crowding out of the mud, with their fingers stretched upwards in an attempt to grab something.
The bottom of the pool was shallower than expected. Rusty old copper coins were scattered on the fine sand. I don't know when they were offered as incense. In the center lay a bluestone stele. The stele was covered with algae, and the words "敕镇" could be vaguely seen.
The little fish swam over to his side, and Bai Heye's voice rang out clearly in his spiritual altar: "This should be what Ren Qi wants you to steal."
Long Zhu also communicated with him through his spiritual consciousness: "Can the Three Talents Ring hold this thing?"
"If it's you, it should be possible."
After the little fish swam to the bluestone stele, it found a pale blue light core the size of a longan embedded in the crack.
Lightning-like patterns occasionally appear on its surface, and the electric light is hazy and has an eerie blue color.
A very familiar aura accompanied the light cores, breathing and undulating.
Long Zhu murmured, "Is this the real...treasure?"
"Does this thing look familiar to you?"
Long Zhu was surprised: "How did you know?"
——"Because this is what you Xiao have."
The small fish broke out of the water and its consciousness dissipated.
Long Zhu opened his eyes, but it took him a long time to recover from the stunning glimpse he had just caught.
"Xiao's stuff?"
Bai He also raised his finger and retracted the demon. His voice was calm and normal as he continued, "When the world was first created, it was divided into nine mountains: Yu, Mang, Ze, Fen, Hu, You, Que, Peng, and Yao. This is recorded in the notes left by our ancestor."
"Yushan represents gold, Mangshan represents wood, Zeshan represents water, Fenshan represents fire, Hushan represents earth, Youshan represents wind, Queshan represents thunder, Pengshan represents sky, and Yaoshan represents earth. The Nine Xiaos are named after the Nine Mountains they guard."
"The thing you just saw at the bottom of the pool is called Queshan Jade. It is the spiritual power of the Thunder Mantis."
Long Zhu was startled: "Thunder Xiao?"
Bai He also sighed: "I am only repeating the fragments left by our ancestors. As for why Lei Xiao came to the human world and why he left behind a part of his spiritual power, that is unknown. But I think he and the ancestors of the Song family once made an oath."
This is the treasure that my great-grandfather, grandmother, and mother guard together.
"Our ancestors once said, 'If you make a pact with the Queshan ghost, you can control its spirit, but to accept its favor, you must also observe its warnings.' We cannot let outsiders know the secret of the Queshan jade, not even our descendants from other branches."
Long Zhu sat down on the shore and looked up: "Just tell me this, it's okay?"
Bai He also smiled slightly, and said firmly: "You won't be interested in this."
Long Zhu was unconvinced: "Then I can't use it to exchange with Ren Qi for Tian Jiu's whereabouts?"
Bai He also spoke without hesitation: "I don't think Tian Jiu can kill you, so this is not a good deal."
Long Zhu choked and changed the subject: "So Bai Jingze also knows about this?"
Now that he thought about it, during the time when Bai He was trapped by the nightmare insect, Bai Jing would rather leave the affairs of the Abnormal Management Bureau and come to take charge in person. It was probably not for the sake of Taiyin Xianlu, but to keep an eye on any unusual movements outside the pool.
Bai He also blinked and said meaningfully: "Of course he knows. After all, this Queshan Jade is the foundation of the Alien Management Bureau."
The young man calmly revealed the trump card that was related to Zhu Meng's life.
Long Zhu suddenly realized, "They are using the power of Queshan Jade."
"Hmm, clever," Bai He said, his lips curled. "There are weapon refiners in the bureau who specialize in making weapons, but they don't know where the energy comes from. They only say that there are cultivators responsible for extracting and storing spiritual energy. The Abnormal Management Bureau was established only recently, and there are still many people in the Zhu League who are dissatisfied with the Bai family. If they knew the secret of the energy source, they would never accept it."
Long Zhu nodded: "He will become the next Taiyin Xianlu."
In the Xuanmen, strength is supreme, and only two parties of equal strength are worthy of talking about martial ethics.
Long Zhu looked at the silent water, propping up his chin, a look of melancholy in his eyes: "Why would the mountain-guarding ghost leave Jiushan?"
Since she, Tianjiu and Leixiao are all ghosts guarding the mountains, why do they appear in the human world?
"Lei Xiao only has his spiritual power left, so where is his true self?" Long Zhu suddenly straightened up. "If he's not in the human world now, then he's found a way back to Jiushan?"
Bai He also pondered: "I don't know about this either. I actually hope he has returned. Throughout history, Xiao only appears when the world is in chaos."
He frowned and glanced at Long Zhu, then said quietly, "But you are an exception."
Long Zhu chuckled.
Bai Heye: "I'm not praising you."
The two of them sat by the pond, enjoying the breeze for a while. After a while, Bai He also spoke: "Do you really want to go back to Jiushan?"
Long Zhu answered without thinking: "Yes!"
Bai He also asked: "Don't you like staying in the human world?"
Long Zhu blurted out: "I like it too."
Bai Heye: "For example?"
Long Zhu counted on his fingers: "There are delicious foods, fun things, TVs, cars, and you guys."
Bai He also looked at her, and after a long silence, he asked, "If after returning to Jiushan, you can never come back to the human world again, will you still want to go back?"
Long Zhu blinked, a trace of confusion flashed across his eyes: "Never come again?"
Bai He also avoided her gaze, looking towards the faint mountains in the distance, and whispered, "That immortal once told you that if you die in the human world, you will find your way home. This immortal gate obviously doesn't allow people to come and go freely. If your arrival in the human world was an accident, then after returning to the Nine Mountains, it might not be easy to return to the human world again. Even if you can return, it may not be the same human world as now."
Over time, Long Zhu stayed in the human world for too long, and gradually ignored the possibility of returning to Jiushan one day.
Now that this choice was placed in front of her, she was unable to make a decision easily for a moment.
She lowered her head, her voice a little dejected: "Can I not choose now? I haven't made up my mind yet."
After a moment, the young man's smiling voice sounded above his head: "Of course, not making a choice is also a choice."
The shadows of bamboos danced on the bluestones beside the pond, and the sunlight poured down, stirring up the surface of the water into golden fragments.
The rustling sound of the wind blowing through the bamboo forest came from far away. Long Zhu quietly watched the ripples in the water dissipate and the white clouds stretch out. Suddenly, she felt that her connection with this world seemed to have become much closer without her realizing it.
"The bracelet you're wearing seems to be crafted in our temple."
Long Zhu exclaimed, "Ah!", raised his wrist, and turned the agarwood bracelet: "Yes, Xiao Meng gave it to me before at the Princess Mausoleum."
"Xiao Meng, Meng Caiyun?" Bai He also turned his head: "She is a very outstanding cultivator."
"If I had met cultivators like her in the early years, I probably wouldn't have thought of going back," Long Zhu murmured. "With her around, there probably wouldn't be another 'Tai Yin' in the future."
Bai He also smiled: "You seem to like her very much."
Long Zhu turned his head without hesitation: "I like you too."
The young man's ears flushed instantly, and he turned away hastily: "...You can't say that casually."
Long Zhu lay down on the grass and asked doubtfully, "How could I say anything nonsense?"
The young man patiently explained, "Well, there are thousands of ways to describe the fate of people. There's love between mountains and rivers, and sharing weal and woe. You probably don't understand the difference and simply lump it all together as liking someone. I understand that, but don't tell others about it. They'll... misunderstand."
"Why?" Long Zhu thought for a moment and speculated, "Will they be jealous?"
The young man's face froze: "That's not the reason."
Long Zhu thought for a moment, then suddenly realized: "I understand. Don't worry, I will only tell you from now on."
"...What on earth do you understand?"
Yusheng, who was leaning against a tree in the distance, started to laugh out loud when he heard the sound, as if he was gloating over someone else's misfortune.
The next second, the young man raised his hand and waved his finger, and the wooden Taoist boy's head rolled off. Frightened, Yusheng fell on the lawn and fumbled around. He hugged his new head and patted the dust off lovingly, then put it back on his neck, stood up and walked away in a huff.
After a while, seeing that Baihe also turned his face away and ignored him, Yusheng ran back to the tree with a wronged look on his face, stuck his head out and watched from afar.
Long Zhu was surprised: "Why are you bullying him? He has no brains."
Bai He also silently smoothed the hem of his clothes, thinking that sandalwood didn't seem to be much better than elm.
A faint orange glow still lingered in the distant sky, fading before it faded, and a tranquil blue spread overhead. A few early-awakening stars emerged, timidly, as if afraid to disturb this fleeting blue moment.
Long Zhu lay on the grass and stretched out his arm to the young man in the wheelchair next to him: "Give me your hand."
Bai He was also stunned. He reached out tentatively, but was caught off guard and grabbed by the other party.
Long Zhu opened his eyes and looked at the hands. They were well-proportioned and slender, with a faint bluish tint at the knuckles. The joints of the wrist bones had a more rugged look. They were a pair of hands that were beautiful for tending flowers and grass, as well as for strangling people's throats.
She took off the wooden ring from her left middle finger and casually put it on the other person's hand: "This is for you."
Bai He was also surprised and asked, "Give it to me?"
Long Zhu nodded: "Yeah, it looks good!"
Bai He also stared at the Three Talents Ring on his ring finger for a long time. He wanted to say something, but felt it was unnecessary. In the end, he could only confirm again: "Give this to me, and Ren Qi won't come after you."
Long Zhu was confused: "If you gave it to me, it's mine, right?"
He added: "He can't beat me anyway."
Bai He also seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.
Long Zhu was thinking that he should find some time to go and take another look at the Queshan Jade. Maybe he could get some information about Lei Xiao. But what if he went down wearing the Sancai Ring and accidentally swallowed the Queshan Jade?
After all, this ring can even eat the moon.
Just give it to the little white bird. It has been living and eating for free in the temple for so long without doing any work, so it is enough to cover the accommodation expenses.
She had a lot of thoughts in her mind, and when she turned around, she saw Bai He still staring at her hand with a complicated expression.
Long Zhu tilted his head: "Don't you like it?"
After a while, the young man came back to his senses, put his hands back on his knees with a conflicted expression, shook his head numbly, and nodded: "No... I like it very much."
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