Chapter 106: The Daoist Nun and the Spirit Crane Egg

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The Blue-Eyed Daoist had never intended to spend the night at this temple. Unlike Fa Wen, she was no outsider ignorant of the world; she knew the origins and history of the Tiger-Horse Chan Master like the back of her hand.

Yet the moment she discovered that her meditation room lay in the same courtyard as Fa Wen’s, all thought of leaving vanished.

Her circumstances were dire. Within the Dharma-Solemnity Branch Cloister, neither the disciples of Crane Abbey nor those aligned with Four-Sorrows Cloud Temple had any liking for her, a former disciple of the altar master.

She therefore needed to find a new patron—and quickly. Just as she had once taken the initiative to slip into her master’s quiet chamber, she intended to use the same trick again. She refused to believe that the monk Fa Wen truly abstained from women.

The moment she entered her meditation room and took out a precious mirror to arrange her hair, she suddenly felt exhausted in both body and mind.

“Has someone cast a spell to harm me?!”

Her pupils tightened. Before long, she spotted a naked witch crawling along the wall, crouched upon the ceiling. Her wet, dripping hair hung down and wound itself around the woman’s body.

The instant she saw the witch, the Blue-Eyed Daoist knew things had gone terribly wrong. She had just turned to flee the room when a strange, intoxicating fragrance—an aphrodisiac—filled the air. Her limbs went weak, and she collapsed completely to the floor.

Outside, faint quarrelling could be heard, as though two men were arguing over who would be the first to violate her.

“Little brother, we agreed beforehand that you would take the head and I the feet. Why are you going back on your word now?” the Tiger-Horse Chan Master said unhappily.

“Elder brother, lately I have grown accustomed to having women all to myself.”

Facing the Tiger-Horse Chan Master, who appeared to be in the second realm of Breath Refinement, Ji Ming spoke without the slightest restraint, exposing his sore spot. “I have been staying at the temple for quite some time, yet because of Wang Lianlian, you have neglected me. If word of this reaches the flower-picking circles, losing face will be the least of your troubles. Once you travel among our peers again, I fear you will find it difficult to receive a warm welcome.”

The Chan Master knew that his younger brother still harbored resentment. He could only retreat and say awkwardly, “Then be quick about it. I’ll stand guard for you.”

Seeing the Chan Master stationed at the courtyard gate, Ji Ming pushed open the door and swaggered inside.

He had not come here merely to have the woman to himself. He wanted to examine those so-called Dharma Eyes.

Innate Dharma Bones were rare, and innate Dharma Eyes rarer still. If this Daoist truly possessed a pair, and if they could still be cultivated, he would not mind forming a favorable connection with her.

Still, Ji Ming vaguely sensed that these Dharma Eyes were not so simple. If the woman truly possessed a pair of them, she should not still be languishing in a branch-altar residence, using her beauty to please men.

Once inside, Ji Ming sat down on a low stool and stared at the dazed Daoist.

“Stop pretending. My banner cast very little of its Bewildering Art upon you.”

A trace of clarity flickered in the woman’s eyes. With great effort, she propped herself up and said ingratiatingly, “Why not be kind enough to go all the way and give me the antidote to the aphrodisiac as well?”

Ji Ming shook his head. A claw emerged from his sleeve and stopped before her eyes.

“Don’t move!”

The woman was just about to turn her head aside when she heard the utterly cold command. Something in that voice compelled obedience, and she submitted instinctively.

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“Open your eyes.”

The voice issued another command.

Ji Ming saw a pair of jade-green eyes, bright as emeralds. Earlier, when he had circulated his invisible force, it was those eyes that had detected him.

“Something is wrong.”

As the possessor of the Dharma Bone known as Six Fingers, Ji Ming understood better than anyone the wonders of an innate miracle. These eyes, however, seemed clouded by something acquired later in life. They lacked that natural vitality.

“There’s something in your eyes.”

The Daoist had never expected this Poison-Hand Boy to see through the truth of her Dharma Eyes. Under his coercion, she could only blink once. Two green fox hairs flew out from her pupils.

Ji Ming held the two hairs between his fingers.

“Borrowing the Fox Immortal’s Art.”

The Daoist deliberately let herself collapse before him, revealing the pale smoothness of her chest.

“You are truly a man of wide knowledge,” she said. “I did borrow the Fox Immortal’s power.”

“So your identity is false, your Dharma Eyes are false, and even that supposedly aloof temperament of yours is false.”

Hearing the mockery in his voice, the Daoist replied, “Is this not what men like? A noble identity, together with a temperament that awakens their desire to conquer?”

“That is true enough.” Ji Ming nodded. “Then what about you is genuine?”

“I have several genuine treasures. If you take a liking to any of them, you may simply take them.”

With that, the Daoist laboriously produced a storage pouch. Under Ji Ming’s wary gaze, she poured out a heap of odds and ends, along with several magical artifacts. Unfortunately, none possessed the slightest spiritual nature.

Ji Ming was no longer as indiscriminate as he had been in his previous life. He shook his head.

“These things are not worth as much as the banner in my hand.”

He was not boasting. A single wave of the Enchantress’s Wondrous Bliss Banner could bewilder an enemy; another wave could summon the witch within the banner to fight on his behalf.

It was not an artifact devoted purely to slaughter, but in the eyes of many, its value surpassed that of weapons designed solely for killing. Its only flaw was that its nature was excessively sinister.

“I have memorized several secret arts. I can recite them to you.”

“No.”

Ji Ming shook his head again. “Before long, I will qualify as a Daoist citizen. I can choose a secret art from the branch residence myself. Why would I need you to recite one to me?”

The Daoist patiently explained, “Though scattered cultivators like you may enter the path and cultivate only within a branch-altar residence, you are still treated as second- or third-class disciples. Ordinary secret arts may indeed be learned, but secret arts containing the potential for supernatural powers are absolutely beyond your reach.

“Take the Year-Chasing Fist practiced by Fa Wen. It originates from the Palace of the Grand Year Star. Not only have scattered cultivators like you never seen it—you have probably never even heard of it.”

Ji Ming became interested.

“What secret art can you teach me?”

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“The Crane-Control Art!”

Upon hearing the name, Ji Ming was immediately disappointed, and somewhat speechless. Somehow, this art seemed to turn up everywhere. It possessed none of the dignity expected of a profound secret art.

“I have heard of it. Many people cultivate it on Peaceful Mountain. Do you take me for a fool?”

At that moment, the voice of the Tiger-Horse Chan Master came from outside.

“Little brother, are you done?”

Ji Ming’s expression darkened. The Tiger-Horse Chan Master truly seemed like a lecher reborn. He immediately called out that he was in the midst of enjoying himself and ordered the man to leave at once.

A long sigh came from outside the door. Inside, the Daoist’s small face turned deathly pale.

She had clearly heard of the Tiger-Horse Chan Master’s reputation. Anyone he violated would later be threatened with the loss of her reputation and would find it nearly impossible to break free of him.

Her own past might not be anything to boast of, but within the branch residence she still needed to preserve a shred of dignity. If the Tiger-Horse Chan Master got his hands on her, she would never know peace for the rest of her life.

“The Crane-Control Art is easy to learn but difficult to master. To refine it into the spell known as the One-Breath Grand Seizing Hand, you need a spirit crane with which to cultivate your Dao-organ. I happen to have a spirit-crane egg.”

Ji Ming rose at once and asked in a low voice, “Where is the egg?”

The Daoist rummaged through the pile of scattered objects she had poured out earlier and retrieved several large beads. She cracked open the shell of one, revealing a small speckled egg.

“A spirit crane requires only three or four years of careful nurturing to reach adulthood. By then, you will have mastered a spell.”

Ji Ming examined the egg carefully in his hand, feeling the life within it. Then he asked, “What about its mother?”

The Daoist gave a bitter laugh. The question had stirred painful memories.

“Its mother was counted among my master’s Daoist possessions and was taken away in its entirety by the enforcers of Peaceful Mountain.”

Ji Ming knew that when the Daoist spoke of her “master,” she really meant her husband.

After putting away the crane egg, Ji Ming waved his banner and completely withdrew the Bewildering Art from the woman’s body. She regained much of her clarity at once and was able to move about on the floor.

“I’ll stall him for a while. Leave through the back of the courtyard.”

After giving her that instruction, Ji Ming went out. Yet the Daoist, upon reaching the courtyard, did not leave immediately. Instead, she clenched her teeth and slipped straight into Fa Wen’s room.

Even Ji Ming, who had been preparing to help conceal her escape, was left stunned by the move.