A Tale of Encounters with Immortals: A Peach Blossom Temple in the Martial World

This person seeks the Great Dao.

This person wants to become my apprentice.

After offering incense and having his fortune told, this person kowtowed to himself, didn't give any money, and then wanted to become my apprentice.

Still seeking the Great Dao?

I know nothing about the Great Dao. I know everything written in the Daoist books, and I don't know anything about what's not written in them. I don't even know what the Great Dao is, where it's hiding, or whether I can achieve immortality. You bastard...

"Layman, your heart is not sincere!"

Zhang Zhengdao suppressed his anger.

This guy is a complete liar. He won't pay me but he still wants to take advantage of me. How can I stand for that?

Is he not sincere?

Qin Shouzhong was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening and kowtowed eight times.

Those were real blows, without using any internal energy to protect the body.

He struck the bluestone slab directly on the forehead, breaking the slab and turning his forehead red. Then, standing ramrod straight, he bowed to Zhang Zhengdao and said, "This disciple's heart is sincere."

I f***

Sincerity my ass! Where's the money? Where's my money?

I didn't get the money; instead, I broke one of my own bricks. I couldn't take it anymore. My face turned cold, and my eyes turned icy as I looked at Qin Shouzhong.

An old man whose wife ran off with another man is refusing to pay her any money!

Oh dear—

I spat out a mouthful of phlegm...

Forget it, I'll put up with it. Just get the hell out of here.

"You have no affinity with my Daoist master. The cost of today's incense, candles, and fortune-telling will be temporarily charged to your account. What did you say your name was again?"

"Qin Shouzhong!"

Do you have any relatives or friends in Linbin Town?

"no!"

Poor ghost + lonely ghost.

"Let's go down the mountain now!" Zhang Zhengdao said coldly, his face expressionless.

"Master——"

Qin Shouzhong completely lost his sense of shame and immediately prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing and calling him "Master".

"roll!"

Seeing that the old man still hadn't taken out any money after she said that, she was very annoyed. He was just a freeloader who dared to stay here shamelessly.

With a wave of his hand, Qin Shouzhong, who was kneeling on the ground kowtowing, disappeared.

With a "thud," something fell to the ground.

"Oh my, the Moon in the Mirror, Daoist... it's the Moon in the Mirror, the Sword God's sword!" Hu Yunying, who had been holding back her laughter for a long time, happily picked up the sword from the ground and drew it halfway out.

Suddenly, a cold light shone brightly, dazzling everyone's eyes.

"Take it."

Zhang Zhengdao said.

"This is his money for incense and candles and for interpreting the divination slips."

How could they not pay? If they won't pay, they'll use something as collateral. A sword wouldn't be bad; let Hu Yunying play with it. What moon in the mirror? I'm more like a flower in the water.

A nice-sounding name is a dime a dozen, but a truly interesting soul is one in a million.

"Thank you, Taoist priest!"

Hu Yunying happily took her sword and went to the peach blossom grove in the backyard to play with the ghost woman Shu Baimei.

Actually, I wasn't going to visit her to play; I wanted to show off the moon in the mirror I had. It was a really good thing, and most importantly, it was given to me by the Taoist priest.

It is evident that the Taoist priest gradually treated him differently than before, and also differently from others.

Or how about we keep this as a token of our love?

Zhang Zhengdao: ...

You definitely need to have a creative mind, and your ideas must be bold.

These days, people are daring enough to do anything.

A white shadow streaked across the sky, followed by a loud "thump," as if a giant bomb had been dropped into the river in Linbin Town, sending water splashing everywhere.

Immediately, an old man in a white robe shot up from the water, spinning his body rapidly in a spiral motion, using the principle of a washing machine spinning clothes to shake off all the water stains.

The ancients were quite resourceful.

As I landed on the ground, I saw a dead eunuch watching the commotion.

"Haha, Old Qin, this is your destiny with the immortals! It's about the same as mine, you haven't earned the Daoist's special attention at all! Haha—"

The dead eunuch laughed smugly.

Having fallen into the water himself, he naturally hoped that others would also fall into the water once. Especially since the person who fell into the water was like himself, the foremost of the Four Great Masters in the martial arts world—Sword God Qin Shouzhong.

"What a joke!"

Qin Shouzhong cursed angrily, then realized that the sword he used to show off on his back was gone.

Confused!

Everything was fine when I left, but it disappeared when I came back. Could it have been left at the Taoist temple? But with my four extraordinary skills, even if something was lost, how come I didn't feel anything?

Thinking about this, I was stunned.

Could it be that the Taoist priest stole... borrowed his sword?

"My sword!"

Qin Shouzhong looked at the dead eunuch and said something.

The dead eunuch was also stunned for a moment, looking at Qin Shouzhong: "What did you say? Your sword? Huh, where's your sword? Aren't you always with your sword? You lost it?"

It's practically impossible. Who in this world would dare steal Qin Shouzhong's sword? That would be like an old man hanging himself—wanting to die.

"Master Daoist—"

The two looked at each other and suddenly realized what was going on.

The dead eunuch immediately bowed to Qin Shouzhong.

"Congratulations, Brother Qin! The Immortal Master left your sword behind, which means he is extremely satisfied with you. Consider it a token of his trust, isn't it? Don't forget him in the future, brother!"

That's a very humble stance.

Qin Shouzhong had no way to express his bitterness, and he gave a couple of awkward laughs.

Judging from the looks of it, he must have left his sword as offerings. After soaking in cold water just now, he finally understood something: what sincerity really meant.

Silver, silver, silver!

His sword was forged by Ou Yezi's son himself, and it was only slightly inferior to the one forged by Ou Yezi himself. It was a rare treasure in the world!

That is, it is only slightly inferior to Haitianfu's Longquan Sword.

It was too late to realize it.

Why don't we wait until the Taoist priest has calmed down, prepare some silver, and then go to him to become his disciple?

This idea grew wildly, like weeds sprouting in my heart.

The days became calmer.

Two old men often appear on the streets of Linbin Town. One wears a white robe that has not been washed or patched in who knows how long, and is almost ruined in color, yet he thinks he is dashing and debonair.

One of them was deathly pale, exuding a heavy aura of yin, with a fair complexion; one could tell at a glance that he was a dead eunuch.

But when these two old men were on the street, no one dared to approach them.

Fortunately, they only liked to drink at Sister Gui's wine shop on the street and fish by the river. They didn't cause any trouble. So, everyone gradually stopped paying attention to them.

A few days later, the old eunuch disappeared. Only the old man in the white robe remained, all alone. But nothing much had changed.

It was still the same routine: shopping, drinking, and fishing.

Life was monotonous and slow.

Until one day, a person walked in a daze at the entrance of the town.

A man, dressed in tattered clothes, covered in a rag and stained with blood, was barely recognizable at first glance. His thin frame, covered in blood and scabs, and swaying precariously made him difficult to discern at a glance.

It wasn't until they got into town that someone looked closely and recognized him.

"Oh my, isn't this Scholar Kan?"

An elderly woman washing vegetables by the river finally recognized the man and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Several people on the street quickly stepped forward to help Kan Xiucai up. Someone else scooped a ladle of water from the river and brought it to Kan Xiucai's lips.

Kan Xiucai opened and closed his mouth, managing to take two sips.

He was only calling out softly.

"My daughter...where is my daughter Shushen...?"

Kan Xiucai was delirious, but he still remembered his daughter.

When Kan Shushen's daughter was born, Kan Xiucai couldn't contain his joy and personally named her Shushen. The name comes from the classic text, "Gentle and kind, virtuous and cautious in her conduct."

After all, it embodied his good wishes, hoping that his daughter would be virtuous and prudent.

However, most people in this world do not live up to their wishes.

Unfortunately, his daughter had an affair without a matchmaker and became pregnant.

When he went to Lingzhou Prefecture to discuss matters with the prefectural magistrate You Danzhi, You Danzhi and his family suspected him of extortion. They arrested him, hung him up, and beat him for most of the night before finally releasing him.

After being released, the person was completely unrecognizable.

By the time he got back to Linbin Town, he was barely hanging on.

"Go and fetch Shushen right away. You hang in there."

Before he could finish speaking, the last breath Kan Xiucai had been holding onto dissipated. His body straightened, stiffened, and remained motionless—he was dead!