I am a swordsman in a strange city

Chapter 53 The Taoist Priest Like a Withered Tree
Inside the Pei Clan's Demon-Slaying Sword Hall.

The black cloth covering the octagonal table was fluttering, as if a breeze was blowing from the shrine. The bell on the black cloth rang, and Master Pei, who was sitting there, opened his eyes.

He lifted the black cloth, revealing a frame made of black metal. The frame resembled a birdcage, complete with handles. One could imagine that someone had once carried such a cage through the world.

Until some unforeseen event occurred, he left the cage containing the 'Mountain King' in the mountains for who knows how many years, until it was finally obtained by Pei Fengde, the patriarch of the Pei family, and brought to this mirage.

He has been trying to escape, and the deaths of generations of the Pei family are all related to him.

Now, it seems that He is on the verge of escaping.

Master Pei stood up, went to the telephone, and dialed a number.

A voice came from the other end of the phone: "Fourth Master, what's the matter?"

"Director Huang, come here for a moment," Fourth Master Pei said in a low, somewhat hoarse voice.

"Okay, I'll be right there." Huang Di's voice on the other end of the phone became a little more serious.

After hanging up the phone, Master Pei dialed another number.

"Xiao Han, come to the Sword Hall for a moment," Master Pei said directly.

"Okay," a woman's voice came from the other end of the phone.

Master Pei sat down at the octagonal table again.

Many things happen suddenly. Even if you are mentally prepared, it is still difficult to predict the specific day or time.

Master Pei had long anticipated this day and had made preparations. Not only him, but people from the Cleansing Bureau would often come and wander around, especially in recent years. So when Master Pei called Huang Di, the director of the Cleansing Bureau, Huang Di immediately understood what was going on.

So he immediately agreed to come. Han Yitong had been here that day, and with her expertise, she could easily tell what stage the shrine was at.

The mysterious leak, when it was about to be revealed, was like a candle in the night for some people. This is why there were rumors that the temple was going to be taken over, because the temple was indeed on the verge of being leaked.

But it was precisely because Master Pei was there, and because this had always been a family heirloom of the Pei family, that it was not taken away.

Master Pei opened a cabinet against the wall. Inside the cabinet was an old box with a lock. He took out a key from a hidden compartment in the drawer, opened the box, and found a black screw inside.

Xijiang is famous for its snails.

Master Pei had four friends in his life, but three of them had died, leaving only one.

That friend even married his daughter to his son. He could tell that his friend's daughter wasn't really willing. She preferred quiet and refined intellectuals, while his son was a restless, trouble-making person who loved making friends and standing up for the underdog.

In the end, he passed away at a young age, as expected.

He wasn't surprised at all when his friend's daughter remarried; in fact, he approved of it.

When that friend left, he left behind this snail and said, "I am going back to refine the treasure. When I return, I will surely slay this evil tiger. If it comes out before I return, please blow this snail and tell me what you want to say. I will know what to do."

Master Pei picked up the dark brown snail. There were words engraved on it, but he didn't recognize them because they were ancient characters. Over the years, he had never taken out this snail, because he hoped that his friend who had returned to Xijiang would come back. He didn't know what had suddenly happened to him.

I only remember that he was also injured back then. He said he was going home to heal his wounds and said, "If I disappear without a trace, please make sure my grandson comes back. I left some things for him at the Taoist temple."

Fourth Master was most worried that his only friend would disappear without a trace. Fortunately, letters had been sent over the years. However, when he left, he said he would definitely come back, but he never did. And during the New Year, he said that something would be sent to help Pei Ju enter the inner world of the temple, but nothing was sent.

He knew that it was impossible to make phone calls from the Xijiang Xionglan Peak Taoist Temple where his friend and father-in-law lived, and that mail from the post office was also very difficult to deliver.

He held the snail in his hand, paused, thought about it again and again, and finally blew on the snail.

The snails whimpered, as if weeping.

After blowing the horn three times, he began to speak: "Something has happened at the temple; Juzi is trapped inside."

After Master Pei finished speaking, he took the snail and held it in his palm. Then he sat down in front of the Eight Immortals seat. His gaze fell on the shrine, but his eyes seemed to be looking into the temple itself.

In the distant Xijiang region, there is a mountain, on the summit of which stands a Taoist temple, and within the temple dwells a Taoist priest.

Some say that the Taoist priest came from Longhu Mountain, which is why he was able to marry and have children. The priest lived in the village briefly for a period of time before leaving, going to other places, and then returning to live on the mountain.

Meanwhile, on the summit of Xionglan Peak, a desolate and lonely place, a Taoist priest sat in the deepest part of a Taoist temple.

Deep inside the Taoist temple was a room with all four sides tightly closed, with windows, but they were covered by curtains.

One of the Taoist priests sat on the bed, as if he was afraid of the light.

In the darkness, if someone could see his face clearly, they would find that his face was withered and his whole body looked like he was dead. Beside the bed where he sat withered, there was a box. When the box was opened, there was a snail inside.

Just then, the snail suddenly made a sound.

The person, who had looked like a withered corpse, slowly opened their eyes.

He slowly raised his hand, picked up the snail, put it to his ear, listened for a while, and then, without saying anything, reached out and pulled a rope by the bed, and a bell rang.

A moment later, a young female Taoist priest carefully pushed open the door.

"Master," the woman called out cautiously, as if even a slightly louder voice would startle her master.

"Get ready, come with me to slay the demon," the withered-wood-like Taoist said slowly.

"Yes, Master." The female Taoist priest did not hesitate for a moment.

Because she knew that her master had waited all these years for this moment. Based on her understanding of her master, he couldn't possibly live in this state for his own life. There was only one reason: to wait for a certain moment to arrive so that she could play her final role.

The female Taoist priest went out and gently closed the door, and darkness once again enveloped the withered-wood-like Taoist priest.

(End of this chapter)