Super System in the Early Tang Dynasty

Chapter 192

This lover's knot also originated from the Wu tribe in southern Xinjiang.

Legend has it that the witch leader of the witch tribe has a peculiar body. Once a man has had intercourse with the witch, a five-colored aura will naturally grow on his arm, which will manifest when exposed to sunlight.

Other witch women, though not possessing this unique physique, would tie a unique, five-colored ribbon they had woven themselves around the man they had spent a night with, in order to inform the other women that the man was already 'taken'.

This custom gradually spread from the Wu tribe to the entire southern Xinjiang region.

The colorful silk threads served no other purpose than to symbolize chastity, much like the cinnabar on the arms of Han Chinese women. This was a matriarchal society that had not yet regressed.

Li Xingzhi listened to the old Taoist priest's story and looked at the faint multicolored marks on his arm, remaining silent.

A priestess? Is Yue'er the next priestess?

That incident remained a knot in his heart. He thought he could forget it, but little did he know how deep the ties had become.

He shook his head, clearing his jumbled thoughts, and suddenly noticed the old Taoist's withered and wrinkled face. For some reason, the face of a middle-aged beautiful woman appeared in his mind. He wondered how the two of them could have sex in a room, and a chill ran down his spine. He suddenly felt a little wicked.

The old Taoist priest looked at the strange expression on Li Xingzhi's face, not knowing what he was thinking. His lips moved, and after a slight hesitation, he asked in a hoarse voice, "Have you seen Hong'er? Or Qing'er?"

Hong'er? Qing'er? Why are there two of them? Li Xingzhi cursed the old man inwardly. Looking at the old man's slovenly appearance, he felt even more contemptuous, wondering how many tender young girls he had ruined back then.

"What Hong'er? Qing'er?"

Seeing Li Xingzhi's puzzled expression, the old Taoist priest figured he probably didn't know their names even after meeting them. He also felt a pang of guilt for being so anxious at his age and after years of cultivation. He calmed himself and said slowly, "Judging from your appearance, it seems the witch clan has another witch chosen. Hong'er and Qing'er should be the previous witches."

"Isn't there only one shrine maiden?"

"I don't know the reason either. I only know that Hong'er and Qing'er are twin sisters, and they became leaders of the witch clan together."

Looking at the old Taoist priest, Li Xingzhi felt an awkwardness and couldn't reconcile him with Yue'er's beautiful mother-in-law. He asked uncertainly, "About how old are the two sisters now?"

"Now, I'm probably around forty or fifty," the old Taoist priest said somewhat uncertainly.

"Only nearly fifty?" Li Xingzhi looked at the disheveled old man with a strange expression—wasn't he probably seventy? Was he some kind of old cow eating young grass?

The old Taoist priest looked at Li Xingzhi's strange expression, paused slightly, sighed, and replied, "I am fifty-nine years old this year." He stroked his pale, not-too-long beard and said with a somber look in his eyes, "I was unfilial in my early years and made a grave mistake. Every evening, I am filled with worry and anxiety, which has taken a toll on my health. That is why I look like this now."

Li Xingzhi thought that Yue'er's mother-in-law was about thirty years old. If he also considered the witch clan's age-preserving magic, her real age should be over forty. And before that, it was impossible for another witch to appear who matched the old Taoist's description.

“When I went to the Witch Clan, there was only one witch. And as far as I know, there is no second witch in the Witch Clan. I just don’t know which one you are talking about.”

The old Taoist priest listened, his eyes flickered, and he said nothing more.

As the sun sets, the mountains are shrouded in mist, transforming into a rich ink painting. The radiance on my arm has faded.

Looking at the old man's dim eyes and withered arms, Li Xingzhi could no longer voice the questions in his heart.

Day two.

It's a new day again!

As dawn breaks, the mountain mist is refreshing, inspiring hope and making one completely forget the gloomy twilight of yesterday.

When Li Xingzhi and his group arrived at the rocky cliff behind the pavilion, they found it already bustling with activity.

On the huge rock directly opposite the back gate of the Taoist temple, a middle-aged man with black hair and beard sat cross-legged. His whole demeanor was peaceful and serene. Facing the rising sun, he seemed serene, with only his chest rising and falling slightly.

All around, the cliffs and precipices are jagged and protruding. At the most dangerous spots, like the sharp tips of tiger teeth, smooth and reflective, sit Taoist priests, some dozens large and some no more than ten small, in a cross-legged position, their breathing rhythmic.

Despite the perilous cliff face, a place that should have been the most terrifying, Li Xingzhi and the two women beside him felt a strange sense of peace and tranquility as they looked at the Taoist priests sitting calmly and peacefully with their eyes closed. They were not worried at all that these Taoist priests might fall.

It's an intuition. Just like the feeling of believing you won't fall while walking on flat ground.

A sense of tranquility and peace immediately permeated the cliff face, revealing the grandeur of Taoism.

Infected by the atmosphere, the two women also found a peaceful spot and entered a state of blissful oblivion. Only Li Xing was left standing on the edge of the cliff, feeling the subtle mystery of the dawn and the transition between day and night.

On the horizon, the red sun leaps out of the mountain stream. In the distance, white cranes gracefully fly in, their clear cries echoing through the mountains.

One by one, the Taoist priests suddenly opened their eyes, their eyes shining brightly.

Yuan Yi opened his eyes and looked at Li Xingzhi standing not far away. His face, which had been radiant with precious light, immediately broke into a grin. "Brother Dao, let's see how my swordsmanship is."

"bass!"

With the sword drawn, Yuan Yi unleashed a flurry of swordplay, his figure moving and leaping faster and faster. Before long, the sword shadow split in two, transforming from illusion into reality, and thrust straight at Li Xingzhi.

Li Xingzhi watched the sword shadow split in two and secretly praised it. He hadn't expected Yuan Yi to have such high comprehension; in just a few days, he had grasped the essence of the sword technique, "One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones." Back then, even with the system's assistance, he wasn't much better than him.

"it is good!"

Li Xingzhi's swordsmanship was highly skilled. Unlike Yuan Yi, who started by gathering his strength, he picked up a tree branch and flicked it, splitting it in two into two real shadows that were 'needle to meet' the incoming sword. Just as they were about to collide, he exerted force, causing the tree branch to deflect and avoid contact with the sword's edge, instead striking the sword's spine directly.

With a crisp sound, Yuan felt a surge of great force, his longsword trembled incessantly, and his right hand went numb from the shock.

He looked at the branch in Li Xingzhi's hand, but it was completely intact.

"Brother Dao is so amazing, it's a pity I'm too stupid. I still haven't been able to learn the method of transforming one Qi into three Pure Ones." Yuan Yi was a little discouraged.

"That's already quite good; swordsmanship isn't something you can master in a day." In fact, it was more than just good; to have mastered the essence of the Quanzhen Swordplay in such a short time was truly a prodigy. It's just that Li Xingzhi always compared others to this monstrous talent with his own unique abilities—even if he did his best, it was still just "quite good."

"This swordsmanship is both dynamic and static, using defense as offense, which perfectly embodies the Daoist principle of non-action. May I ask which of my Daoist masters you are a disciple of, young brother?" The middle-aged Daoist, sitting on the bluestone with his brows lowered and eyes closed, suddenly spoke.

Upon hearing the middle-aged Taoist's words, Yuan Yi's face lit up with joy.

The swordplay was unconventional and risky. The middle-aged Taoist priest, who had disliked Yuan Yi's swordsmanship since learning of it and usually avoided seeing it, was surprised to suddenly praise him today. The other Taoists were also astonished, their eyes turning to Yuan Yi, wanting to see what kind of swordsmanship had earned the middle-aged priest's praise; several younger Taoists, like Qingming whom Li Xingzhi had encountered in front of the temple, looked eager to try it out.

Looking at the middle-aged Taoist priest, dressed in a cloak and with wide sleeves, standing under the pine tree, on the blue stone, accompanied by a crane, Li Xingzhi felt a sense of familiarity mixed with strangeness.

"We chatted for quite a while yesterday, young brother, have you forgotten about this old Taoist priest?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Li Xingzhi suddenly had a picture flash through his mind: a dirty, decadent old man slumped in the twilight. He could hardly believe it.

Although they look somewhat alike, one is very old, while the one in front of them is in his prime.

"Senior?" Li Xingzhi asked hesitantly.

"On this Crane Cry Mountain, besides this old codger of mine, who else is there?"

Li Xingzhi suddenly realized, but still had some doubts in his heart, wondering how the old Taoist could have become young again overnight. Without the slightest hesitation, he said, "So you are the Ruyi Zhenren of Heming Mountain, senior. I was blind to your greatness." As he spoke, he glanced at the Taoist Yuan Yi standing beside him.

Yuan Yi, seeing the questioning look Li Xingzhi was giving him, said softly, "You'll understand if you stay here for two more days." He didn't say anything more, but simply stood up straight a little further away—he noticed the two 'tigresses' that were about to surround him.

Master Ruyi lowered his gaze, stroking the crane beside him. He was about to withdraw his attention from Li Xingzhi when he noticed a string of beads on Li Xingzhi's wrist gleaming with a three-colored light in the morning sun. His heart skipped a beat, and he stopped stroking the crane, thinking: Could it be…

He had a guess in mind, and immediately said, "Young man, come here and let me take a look."

Li Xingzhi assumed the Taoist priest was going to examine the colorful band of light, so he immediately walked over to the bluestone.

But then a sharp glint appeared in Ruyi Zhenren's eyes. He took Li Xingzhi's outstretched right hand and gently touched the nine strange and ugly beads in his hand. His gaze shifted as he looked at Li Xingzhi before he asked, "I thought you were a member of the Taoist sect, but I didn't expect you to have such a deep connection with Buddhism."

The string of beads on his hand was given to him by the great monk that day. He found it comfortable to wear, so he has been wearing it ever since.

Could there be something strange about this? Li Xingzhi wondered.

----

I always thought I was just a little clumsy, but now I realize how terrible it is. I almost want to cry.

I've been coding from 8 AM to almost 12:30 AM, and that's all I've done. Am I really that miserable?