A Good-for-Nothing

279. A Life-Saving Method

Translator: Dragon Rider

He Zheng’s condition had been rather unstable. During the bus ride from the airport to the Tigers and Dragons Mountain, he had basically been in a near trance. It was not until he was in the vicinity of the sect that he felt better.

When disembarking from the bus, He Zheng was so feeble that Li Zong supported him off it.

He Zheng weakly quipped at Li Zong, “Fortunately I’m not suffering from headaches any more. Otherwise I’ll be crying all the way uphill.”

When talking about this, He Zheng was rather baffled as to why his head had ached, and why his headaches had suddenly disappeared. He asked Li Zong what the reason was exactly.

Li Zong gently stroked He Zheng’s head but made no reply. Then he had He Zheng take another couple of sips of the tea in his Thermos bottle, and then He Zheng regained some strength. With the brim of the bottle between his lips, he said thickly, “Why does this tea made with Chinese wolfberries and chrysanthemum taste a little funny? Is there something wrong with my taste buds?”

He Zheng licked his lips and felt that the tea was tinged with the taste of rust.

“Let’s go.” Li Zong took the Thermos bottle and then led him uphill.

It struck He Zheng that all large sects in this world had the same taste in terms of the siting of a sect. They not only liked to build temples on mountains but also preferred to live in the highest place they could find. The worst part was that some sects were not rich enough to build decent uphill roads, and people had to walk all the way up to visit them.

Fortunately the Tigers and Dragons Mountain was a scenic spot, and the infrastructure was pretty good. He Zheng and Li Zong went uphill by cable car.

Li Zong had informed the sect in advance. When the two of them got out of the cable car, a young man in a Taoist robe swept over, his hands at the back. At the sight of Li Zong, he greeted him in a very ebullient way. “Oh, Supt. Li! Long time no see!”

Li Zong smiled, “Long time no see. Zhang Shi.”

“An acquaintance?” He Zheng did not feel very well. Li Zong had once told him that a person’s three souls and seven sub-souls were supposed to be together to make the person whole, that since he had lost one of his souls, the other two souls and seven sub-souls in him had been rendered unstable. He Zheng kept having this feeling that a mere breeze could blow his remaining souls out of his body. They were now out of the cable car, but he was still covering his forehead with his hand to shield it against wind.

Smiling, Li Zong said with an inclination of the head, “Let’s go in there and talk later.”

He Zheng noticed that the Taoist priest named Zhang Shi did not look like a Taoist priest at all, for he was walking with a rolling gait, his fingers interlocked behind his head, a rather sleepy look on his face.

He Zheng was leaning against Li Zong while progressing, wheezing occasionally. As they followed Zhang Shi along the path, the Tigers and Dragons Mountain gradually revealed itself in front of them.

The Tigers and Dragons Mountain in Jiangxi Province was where the first Taoist temple had been built. Its original name was Yunjin Mountain. Afterward, Zhang Daoling, the founder of the sect, had successfully concocted the elixir of life in this mountain, causing giant patterns of a dragon and a tiger to appear in the sky momentarily, which was why the mountain had been renamed the Tigers and Dragons Mountain, but technically speaking, Taoism originated in Mount Heming located in Sichuan Province, but Mount Heming was far less famous than the Tigers and Dragons Mountain, so over time, outsiders reached a consensus that the latter was where Taoism originated.

There had always been a head Taoist, and only one Taoist in a generation was allowed to bear the title. The head Taoist could only appoint one of his own apprentices as his heir, and only if he did not have any apprentices would he be allowed to bestow the title on others. Therefore, in the Tigers and Dragons Mountain, disciples surnamed Zhang were inner-circle disciples, while those surnamed otherwise were outer-circle disciples. Zhang Jingqiu, the leader of the second action group, used to be the sect leader’s apprentice. Had he not joined SMB, he might be the next head Taoist.

Mist coiled around the mountain, lending it an imposing and impressive air. He Zheng was walking very slowly and looking at the mountain very carefully.

The young man struck up a conversation with them, lest they feel bored. He spilled out his grievances to Li Zong. “My good-for-nothing brother never ceases to bring me trouble. He left this matter to be a burden on me, which is why I’ve been having a tough time. My life is a whole mess now, and I could barely sort anything out.”

He Zheng asked curiously, “Who’s that good-for-nothing brother of yours?”

“Who else do you think he is, if not Zhang Jingqiu?” Zhang Shi replied.

He Zheng had an urge to laugh, but he felt dizzy every time he laughed, so he hurriedly clapped a hand to his forehead in an effort to restrain himself from laughing. ‘Zhang Jingqiu has indeed hardly done anybody any good,’ he muttered inwardly.

Zhang Shi had some time ago noticed He Zheng’s weird behavior, but he did not say anything about it. At this moment, seeing that Li Zong was guiding He Zheng with a concerned look, he paused momentarily and then said, “Oh, by the way, Qianlin made a phone call to me, telling me to take good care of you. You’re He Zheng, the eldest son of the patriarch of the He family, right?”

The Chen and He families were both on good terms with the Tigers and Dragons Mountain. Members of the He family whose unique skills could only be imparted to the eldest trueborn son of its patriarch, and people like Chen Qianlin who wanted to expand their skill set would come to the Tigers and Dragons Mountain to spend some time as outer-circle disciples. Therefore, they all knew each other.

After hearing his words, He Zheng was rather surprised, thinking that Chen Qianlin, after starting a relationship with someone, had become much more considerate.

Zhang Shi said, “Chen Qianlin was just being a busybody. I mean, Supt. Li himself has come here. How could I not take good care of you? Besides, our sect is the face of Taoism. I know you and He Yu have history, but we inner-circle disciples will never collude with her.”

And then, having observed He Zheng’s symptoms, he said, “You seem to have lost a soul!”

“He did lose one of his souls. We’re here to seek help from Sect Leader Zhang,” said Li Zong.

Zhang Shi scrutinized He Zheng for a long moment and then silently shook his head. “You do need my sect-grandfather’s help. There’s nothing I can do about it, because I’m not powerful enough to fix this. But doesn’t he have the Primeval Gu of the head Gu-master in him? There’s no need to concern yourself. The Primeval Gu is quite badass. It’ll keep the power of the evil enchantment at bay for some time.”

He Zheng was flummoxed by their words.

But Zhang Shi was indeed more powerful than Zhang Jingqiu, which was why he had recognized He Zheng’s symptoms so quickly. Seeing that He Zheng looked so vulnerable and weak, Zhang Shi fumbled in his pocket for quite a while before he produced a Soul-Consoling Fu, handed it to Li Zong and said, “I stole this from my sect-grandfather. I think it’ll make He Zheng feel slightly better.”

Li Zong thanked him, accepted it and then gave it to He Zheng. Curiously enough, He Zheng, whose steps had been so unsteady as though he were walking on cotton, felt that he was finally treading on solid ground after taking the Soul-Consoling Fu.

After walking for about ten minutes, when He Zheng felt on the verge of collapsing, they finally entered the real Tigers and Dragons Mountain. Unlike the outer area seething with tourists, this was like an entirely different place. Large numbers of temples were shrouded in mist. At the front gate stood a giant iron censer, inside which were three thick yellow joss sticks the ends of which were glowing.

Zhang Shi twisted his head aside to look in the direction of the tourists swarming the outer area. The smoke from the joss sticks seemed to be a barrier that split the Tigers and Dragons Mountain into two parts. Zhang Shi let out a sigh of despondency and then smiled a self-deprecating smile. “Tourism has been flourishing too fast. Our sect used to be a splendid sight, but now what you are seeing is the only area the government has left us.”

Maybe because bemoaning his sect’s fate struck him as a little shameful, Zhang Shi stroked his nose and said, “My sect-grandfather is on the hill behind the temples. I’ll take you there.”

He Zheng was a little confused. Shouldn’t the sect leader be in the main hall or something like that? Why was he on the hill behind the temples?

Afterward, He Zheng came to know that Sect Leader Zhang was not the current head Taoist but the head Taoist’s sect-uncle.

He Zheng and the other two arrived at the hill behind the temples. It was really just a hill, in which there was a cave. Zhang Shi walked to the entrance of the cave, knocked at the gate three times, looking so reverent as though the devil-may-care Zhang Shi they had seen a few moments ago were another person.

“Sect-grandfather, the honored guest has arrived.”

“Come in.” From inside the cave came a sonorous voice which sounded as though it were accompanied by waves of energy. He Zheng lowered his head and noticed that his clothes actually twitched momentarily because of the voice.

Zhang Shi waiting at the entrance made a bow, indicating that they might enter now. He Zheng and Li Zong slowly walked into the cave.

On entering it, they found that there was an altogether different world in the cave. There was a semi-transparent skylight through which daylight was pouring down. In the cave was a stone bed. On the bed was a giant diagram of the universe. An old man in a Taoist robe was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the diagram.

Sect Leader Zhang was different than He Zheng’s master, Xuanqing, in every way. Xuanqing was a geriatric who liked roast geese, and who looked much younger than his actual age because of his powerful internal energy. Sect Leader Zhang, however, looked like a real immortal. He was wearing a Taoist robe, which was fluttering despite the fact that there was no wind. He had gray, chest-length beard and a genial face.

“Sect Leader Zhang.”

“It’s been a while, my friend.” Sect Leader Zhang opened his eyes, which were clear, bright, free of impurity and had an amiable look in them. A mere glance from him dissolved He Zheng’s restlessness.

The two of them folded their hands in front, which constituted as a greeting.

“Yixing delivered your message to me. This young man beside you is the one who had one of his souls taken away, I suppose?”

Li Zong, with his arm around He Zheng’s shoulders, gently pushed him forward.

“Come over here and let me take a look, young man.”

On hearing Sect Leader Zhang call him, He Zheng walked up to the old man.

Sect Leader Zhang patted the stone bed and said, “Come and sit here.”

He Zheng felt somewhat flattered. He tentatively glanced up at Li Zong. It was after seeing Li Zong nod that He Zheng sat down.

Half of the stone bed was icy, and the other half scalding. He Zheng had just settled himself on it when he felt that his left buttock was freezing, while the right one was about to melt. He shuddered and exclaimed, “It’s so cold! It’s so hot!”

Seeing his amusing reaction, Sect Leader Zhang dissolved into laughter and could not help but pay him a compliment. “A candid soul.”

“I’m sorry to put you to the trouble.” Li Zong had a faintly resigned look in his eyes. Then he said to He Zheng, “There’s a diagram of the universe on the bed. You’re sitting in a position named Zhonggong, which is why you’re feeling both cold and hot, but this Yin-Yang Circle has the power to balance vital essence and can stabilize your souls and sub-souls. Actually it’s even more efficacious than the Soul-Consoling Fu.”

After hearing these words, He Zheng found that he was indeed feeling much more comfortable. Though a few moments ago he had felt cold, now he was all over comfortable. The dizziness that had been bothering him had disappeared completely, and he felt that he could walk on his own now.

“Come here. Let me check your mind.”

“My mind?” He Zheng was confused. How was he supposed to show something in his head to anybody? Sect Leader Zhang, with a smile at the corners of his mouth, lightly poked He Zheng in the forehead with his finger and with that He Zheng felt a cool sensation in the forehead, as though energy was being infused into his body through the old man’s finger. It was a very odd sensation, and He Zheng did not know how to describe it. He only felt as if something was checking his mind.

It was a long moment before Sect Leader Zhang withdrew his hand. At the same time the cool sensation in He Zheng’s forehead disappeared.

“This young man is uncommonly talented, and he has a special partner at his back. He’s bound to achieve unprecedentedly great things. But this young man’s destiny is entwined with the Divine Law. If he doesn’t find a solution, I’m afraid he wouldn’t be able to withstand such great endowments from the providence,” sighed Sect Leader Zhang.

He Zheng did not have a clue what the old man was talking about.

Sect Leader Zhang raised his eyes and looked at Li Zong. “My friend, you’ve already come to know about this, I suppose?” he asked.

The look in Li Zong’s eyes grew apprehensive and with that he replied, “I think I’ve divined most of it.”

“It would seem my concern is unnecessary.” Sect Leader Zhang shook his head and said, “As for your request, I’ve made arrangements for Yixing to handle it. When you came in here, Zhang Shi took a hank of He Zheng’s hair. The Toulong Tube will help you locate the lost soul of this kid.”

“Thank you, Sect Leader.”

Sect Leader Zhang, looking at He Zheng with a faintly pitying expression in his eyes, sighed, “It’s true what they say, ‘Nothing’s more valuable than quiet’. I’m sorry for what you’ll have to go through, kid.”

He Zheng was just about to ask what that was supposed to mean when Sect Leader Zhang suddenly slapped his forehead hard twice. He Zheng was instantly knocked out.

What the hell was going on?!