The master’s tone carried a hint of melancholy, as if recalling something deeply sorrowful.
Hearing this, my curiosity grew even stronger.
What was the rift between Master and Daoist Tang?
What was it that caused Master such lingering resentment?
Thus, I continued to press him:
“Master, between you and Daoist Tang, what exactly happened?
What has made you hold onto this so tightly?”
Upon hearing my repeated question, Master took a deep breath.
Then, he turned his head to look at me:
“Don’t ask too much about me and that old bastard.
That old bastard is useless, incapable of achieving anything but ruining everything.
Alright, time to get to work.”
Saying this, Master picked up his pipe and began to smoke again.
Seeing that Master was still unwilling to reveal the truth, I felt a pang of regret.
I hadn’t managed to understand the entanglement between him and Daoist Tang.
However, I also vaguely sensed that this matter had greatly impacted Master.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have displayed such a melancholic and sad expression when speaking of it.
Since Master genuinely didn’t want to talk about it, I didn’t press further.
I nodded:
“Alright, Master!”
With that, I began my day’s work.
First, I moved the wreaths, paper figures, and the like to the doorway.
I organized the inventory, taking out supplies from the warehouse to replenish what was lacking.
The work at the white shop was, in a way, simple.
It was just the usual chores.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, there were quite a few customers.
Throughout the morning, about a dozen groups of customers came in sporadically.
That was several times more than usual.
For the entire day, I barely had any rest.
It wasn’t until close to closing time that the flow of customers subsided.
Seeing that there were no more customers, Master said to me:
“Little Qin, stay a little later today. After work, I will teach you some real skills.”
Upon hearing that Master was going to teach me skills, I immediately perked up.
“Oh, Master, what kind of talisman arts will you teach me tonight?”
I asked excitedly.
The more talisman arts I learned, the stronger my overall capabilities would become.
For example, the ‘Dream-Inducing Talisman’ and the ‘Pure Spirit Talisman’, which I previously felt were not very useful and somewhat redundant.
However, after last night’s battle, I realized that when used at the right moment, they could be quite effective.
Master shook his head and replied:
“This time, I will not teach you talisman arts.”
“You won’t teach me talisman arts? Then what will you teach me?”
I was taken aback and asked.
But Master didn’t say, only that I would find out tonight.
Master’s air of mystery made me feel incredibly eager.
I could only wait until after work.
After work, Old Mo called me.
He said that last night was too exhausting and that tonight we should have dinner, also inviting Brother Chen.
We could have some drinks together.
After all, the three of us had faced life and death together.
Surviving was certainly worth celebrating.
I wanted to, but I didn’t have the time, so I declined.
Old Mo, hearing my refusal, asked why I was busy, perhaps I had found a girl.
I was speechless.
I told him I was going to learn Taoist arts with Master…
Old Mo was quite gossipy. Hearing that I was going to learn new Taoist arts, he bombarded me with questions.
But I hadn’t even learned them yet.
I myself didn’t know what Taoist magic Master was going to teach me.
So, I gave him a few perfunctory answers and hung up.
As for the dinner invitation, we could reschedule for another day.
After hanging up the phone, Master told me to tidy up the shop.
Once that was done, he took me out of the Wanfu Hall and led me towards the Old Huang Mountain behind it.
This was a relatively primitive old mountain.
It was home to some protected animals.
Normally, apart from some hikers,
locals rarely ventured inside.
And Qing Dai had mentioned that her residence was in this Old Huang Mountain.
Seeing Master leading me into the mountain, I became even more perplexed.
What kind of Taoist art required going into the mountains to teach me?
“Master, why are we going to Old Huang Mountain?
Can’t you teach me inside the shop?”
I asked, walking along with him.
Master, smoking his pipe, said nonchalantly:
“The shop is too small, and the Taoist arts are too powerful.
Old Huang Mountain has fewer people and a larger area, making it convenient for practice.”
Although Master said it so casually, his words sent a shock through me.
Especially the phrase “Taoist arts are too powerful,” which made my heart tremble.
Was Master going to pass down profound arts to me?
My face instantly lit up with anticipation and joy.
Without further hesitation, I dutifully followed Master up the mountain.
Upon entering Old Huang Mountain, Master led me onto a small path overgrown with weeds.
The path stretched directly into the depths of the mountain.
After walking for about thirty minutes, we arrived at the edge of a stone cliff.
The cliff face was relatively flat, spanning about thirty square meters.
The surroundings were covered in wildflowers and weeds.
From this vantage point, one could overlook the area behind Old Huang Mountain, offering an excellent view.
Unfortunately, it was nighttime, and it was pitch black, so nothing could be seen.
“This is it!”
“Master, this place is truly wonderful.
It must be very pleasant to enjoy the scenery and drink tea on this mountain during the day.”
I said with a smile.
Master smiled faintly and sighed:
“Indeed! Someone else said that before.”
“Before? Who?”
I sensed that Master’s words held a hidden story.
But Master offered no explanation at all.
He simply took out three short sticks of incense, lit them, and placed them on the edge of the cliff.
Then, he continued:
“Enough talk.
Kneel down first and kowtow to the Ancestor.
Tonight, I will impart to you the ultimate technique of our sect, the Qiankun True Law.”
Upon hearing “Qiankun True Law,” my mind exploded with a resounding “buzz,” and my entire body trembled.
Master had told me that our sect possessed two ultimate Taoist arts.
The first was the “Spirit Invocation Art” mastered by Daoist Tang.
I had witnessed how powerful this Taoist art was last night.
Once activated, it allowed one to fight against opponents of higher cultivation levels, with a massive surge in strength.
The second was the ultimate technique mastered by Master, the “Qiankun Law.”
However, I didn’t know much about what kind of Taoist art the Qiankun Law was.
But being labeled as an “ultimate technique,” it was undoubtedly an extraordinary and dazzling Taoist art.
Furthermore, it was the most powerful Taoist art that my Master possessed…