Chapter 42: The True Man of White Crane

  There's another update, nobody was available to watch the kids during the day, so it's late again. Old D will have to update at 1 am for the third time, sorry about that, won't happen tomorrow.

  Chu Jiang was still a thousand miles away, and Bai Qi did not rush to go. Chu Jiang Wang had been killed, and in this Chu Jiang, there might be powerful demons, even if he went with the seal, he would be beheaded and the seal seized.

  Yu Lin also mentioned this to him, in the demon clan, the strong are respected. The Chu River is vast and has given birth to many powerful demons, some of which are even born with divine spirits. Even if they are weak, they are not something that Bai Qi can compare to. Once the King of Chu River dies, these things will all want to take his place. The King of Chu River's seal is what these demon spirits desire most.

  Bai Qi did not change his name, but he still changed into a Taoist robe and stopped wearing his own brocade robe. With the appearance of a Taoist, when passing through cities, there were many fewer inspections.

  The Great Jin Dynasty did not have a household registration system as strict as that of the Former Qin, but ordinary people were also not free to move about at will. To travel to other places, one had to have a permit and follow a certain route.

  Bai Qi did not avoid the city, he wanted to hear news about Jinling City, and it was impossible to go to the countryside. On this day, he arrived at Yuezhou, Bai Qi found an inn to stay in. Yuezhou is more than 800 miles away from the capital, neither far nor near, after Bai Qi settled down, he also didn't have any experience traveling outside, so he strolled around the city. He specifically chose lively places and happened to come to a temple entrance.

  The Buddhist community of the Jin Dynasty was not particularly prosperous, but the White Lotus Sect had a number of temples in the south and relatively more followers.

  This temple is the property of the White Lotus Sect. Bai Qi looked up and saw that on the high mountain gate, a horizontal plaque was hung with the words "White Horse Temple". The surrounding area of the White Horse Temple is empty and spacious. In the city, temples like this occupy a large area of land, and it's generally difficult to build one. However, this is the property bought by the White Lotus Sect at a huge cost.

  There is still a large open space in front of the temple, and the monks of Bailianzong have not occupied it, but instead let the small vendors in the city use it to set up stalls. Some troupes that travel around the country also perform acrobatics here, forming a market.

  Bai Qi was not in a hurry to rush on the road, he went south to find a sect to worship as a teacher, this kind of thing can't be forced. He wandered around the market, wearing a Taoist robe, and surprisingly didn't stand out. There were all kinds of people in this market, and Taoists weren't just him alone.

  Bai Qi came under a big tree and saw a Taoist priest setting up a fortune-telling stall, which was doing quite well.

  That Taoist was no longer young, with white hair and a long beard. Behind him was inserted a yellow long banner with two scribbled words - Ask Divination.

  People who cultivate the Tao usually pay attention to their appearance, and at most keep their looks in middle age, without making themselves look old. Bai Qi didn't notice it before, but when he saw the Taoist priest letting the guest in front of him write something on a yellow paper symbol, he felt interesting and leaned over to observe.

  The person who wanted to divine looked like a rich merchant, with two servants standing behind him. The servants had martial arts skills, and Bai Qi even saw that the sides of their fingers had calluses, which were left by years of practicing a special bow and arrow. That kind of bow and arrow was a military item, these two people should be retired elite soldiers.

  The soldiers of Da Jin, after retiring from the army, all have arrangements and will not easily leave their hometown. This person can find retired elite soldiers to escort him personally, and his family property will not be too small.

  The noise around him, Bai Qi was as if unaware, he came to the stall in front of him, glanced at the paper talisman that the Taoist priest had put away, and saw on the paper talisman, the name written by the rich businessman.

  Bai Qi only then felt that the Taoist was not simple, asking about divination would consume his own aura. But the Taoist made the customers who wanted to divine pay themselves, and he took the disaster for them. On the way, he didn't meet many Qigong practitioners, this Taoist was also a cultivator of Qigong and spiritual transformation. Bai Qi stood at the back, waiting.

  The Taoist was concise and to the point, finishing his conversation with the rich merchant in just a few words. He then beckoned to Bai Qi with a wave of his hand.

  "Friend, help me out."

  "Huh?" Bai Qi was taken aback.

  "Heh heh, you want to ask Bo, is that right?" The Taoist priest looked at Bai Qi, and Bai Qi calmly replied: "Yes."

  "You need to help me with something first before I can give you a lesson."

  "What can I help you with?"

  "This gentleman, there is a monster at home, I don't want to take life, so I still ask a Taoist friend to go."

  Bai Qi suddenly felt a bit disappointed again. This Taoist priest might have some skills, but his behavior was similar to that of a swindler from the jianghu. It's not that people with skills won't cheat - even his own father, who was a top-notch sword cultivator, had cheated on his mother.

  Seeing Bai rise in anger, the old Daoist smiled and said: "It's just a small demon, it won't cause you any harm."

  Bai Qi pretended to be angry and said: "How can there be a monster in this city? Are you confused?"

  The rich merchant next to him interrupted, "Daozhang, this immortal is right. My family does have a demon, it's in our mansion outside the city, and it has been causing trouble for more than half a year. Unable to cope, I moved my whole family into the city to live."

  Bai Qi nodded and said, "If it's a remote place outside the city, it might be possible."

  The old Taoist smiled and packed up his own stall, saying: "Since fellow Taoist has agreed, then let's go immediately."

  Bai Qi saw the old man being so accommodating and only smiled. His temperament wasn't one to nitpick. Moreover, he really wanted to get to know some Qi Refiners. Outside of Zhongzhou, Qi Refiners interacted frequently, complementing each other's Dao techniques, with many benefits. Mother said to be cautious of others, but couldn't close the door and hide, everything should be done with caution, it wasn't like he was being told to go into hiding in some deep mountain forest.

  Human emotions and worldly affairs are also a good place to temper one's mind.

  The old Taoist casually packed up his bundle, shouldered the yellow banner himself and pulled Bai Qi along as they followed the rich merchant away from Baima Temple. As Bai Qi turned back to look, he saw that the temple was surrounded by a halo of Buddhist light, indicating that there were high-ranking monks inside.

  "No need to be sorry, just go and kill that demon, you can come back." The old Taoist didn't turn his head, but knew what Bai Qi was thinking.

  "Hey, what's Xianzhang's title?"

  "Channel Bai He Zhen Ren, how should fellow Taoists address you?"

  "Little Green Path." Bai Qi used the Taoist name given by his mother.

  That white crane Taoist priest seemed quite familiar and didn't have the air of a cultivator, his speech and mannerisms were more like those of a vagabond who roamed the world to make a living. However, this old Taoist was more candid than Bai Qi had expected. After getting on the rich merchant's carriage, Bai Qi asked why the old Taoist didn't take action himself to exorcise the evil spirit. The white crane Taoist told Bai Qi that he had lost a bet with the monks of Baima Temple and as long as he was in Baima Temple for one day, he wasn't allowed to use his Taoist magic to kill anything, not even a mosquito.

  "Are the monks of Bailian Sect vegetarians? Why don't they help...?" Bai Qi pointed to the wealthy merchant in the carriage and said, "Not helping this man exorcise demons and evil spirits?"

  The rich merchant smiled bitterly and said, "Daozhang, how dare I provoke the monks of Bailian Sect. Once I ask for help, my entire family will be implicated, and my property will probably become that of Baima Temple."

  "You're wandering around outside the temple, aren't you afraid of being caught and eaten?" Bai Qi teased.

  The Taoist priest smiled and said, "The monks of the White Horse Temple are not unreasonable. But what I fear most is that they will start talking about Buddhist teachings, and no one can resist their temptation. So I would rather spend a lot of money to ask for your help, Master."

  "Huge capital?"

  "If you can get rid of the evil spirit, I am willing to give 100 taels of red gold."

  Bai He Zhen Ren stood beside, smiling and listening to the conversation between the two people, without making a sound. After about an hour or so, the carriage finally left Ying City and headed straight for a manor in the suburbs.

  Bai Qi thought to himself. The nearby village of Gu Ying wouldn't be too expensive, and there wasn't much land, just a leisurely villa. For such a rich man, it would be easy to abandon it, but to ask someone to exorcise the evil spirit and spend 100 taels of silver? That's strange.

  Red gold is about fifteen times more expensive than common yellow gold. One hundred taels of red gold are equivalent to one thousand five hundred taels of yellow gold. Is the decoration of that villa worth this price?

  This business is quite interesting.

  In front of the White Crane True Person, Bai Qi temporarily didn't want to ask about the Jinling City matter either, and gradually became speechless. After walking for more than 50 miles, they arrived at a scenic spot with lush mountains and clear waters.

  Backed by a mountain and facing water, there is a fairly large estate, indeed there are no fields nearby.

  The rich merchant did not dare get off the carriage and merely said: "Two Immortals, I'll just wait here."

  The White Crane True Person took a look at the rich merchant, didn't say much, and led Bai Qi out of the car. The small path in front of the manor had already grown full of wild grass, although the sun was shining brightly, it was still bitterly cold and desolate.

  The White Crane True Man arrived at the gate, where fallen leaves littered the stone steps and no one had swept them away. On either side of the gate, the stone qilin that guarded the house were covered in green moss.

  It seems that the wealthy southerners have also been arrogant and lawless for a long time. This qilin is something that only a scholarly family can use, but a rich merchant dares to usurp it. It seems that the collapse of the Great Jin Dynasty is only a matter of time.

  Bai Qi sighed and stopped paying attention to the matter. Bai He Zhenren pushed open the large door, and the copper lock on it fell silently.

  Bai Qi followed Bai He Zhen Ren into the courtyard, and Bai He Zhen Ren seemed to be very familiar with this place, striding quickly towards the back garden.

  The garden in the south is generally small and compact, but this one is different. As soon as you enter, there is a stone bridge not far away, with wide water surfaces on both sides. The entire garden is probably several miles in size. After crossing the stone bridge, you are faced with a fake mountain, which is tens of feet high and steep, impossible to climb.

  Bai He Zhen Ren stopped in his tracks and said to Bai Qi, "You must be very curious as to why I, a cultivator of Qi, would covet one hundred taels of red gold and do such things?"

  Bai Qi nodded, this White Crane True Person was a Hua Shen stage cultivator and no longer needed worldly wealth.

  "I'm also surprised, the Crown Prince of Youguo has become a Taoist." The smile on Bai He's face became somewhat illusory. In his hand, the Li Quan divine spear had already been cocked and was pointing at Bai He.

  "How did you know me?" Bai Qi's heart felt a sense of unease, he had been at home since he was young and only went to the border once when he was thirteen years old. How could this old Taoist know who he was just by chance?

  "Junior fellow practitioner of the Azure Mist Path, I'm just a lone cultivator. Why so tense? What's strange about knowing you? My cultivation is in divination, and while you've changed your clothes, you haven't changed your shoes."

  Bai Qi didn't put away his gun, but retracted the divine gun of Li Quan into a metal tube state and said: "Xian Chang is really good at scaring people. Alright, I am Bai Qi. What do you want to do?"

  "Haha, Qing Ming Daoist friend, you don't know yet, Jin Emperor used the White family to set up a trap in Jinling City and killed many Qi-refining masters. Your father died in battle, and Qin Emperor's twelve golden men went missing. I happened to see the wanted poster, Jin Emperor is looking for your whereabouts, so I recognized your appearance, not because I calculated it."