Chapter 128
Chapter 128
While Deaf Granny spoke with Chen Fu and Zhao Aiguo, Wang San arrived in the courtyard.
“Good morning, Mother.”
“Good morning, Eldest Brother Chen and Eldest Brother Zhao.”
Deaf Granny nodded with a warm smile.
“Before you three do anything else, find some boards and timber and put up a small shelter over Elder Pine.”
“The wind and snow have been fierce these past few days. We must not let them harm him.”
Simple and guileless, Wang San asked foolishly, “Mother, Elder Pine is so powerful. Is he really afraid of a little wind and snow?”
“I could freeze in the courtyard all night and still not die.”
Deaf Granny looked fondly at Wang San.
“Silly son, under normal circumstances, not even a mountain of blades or a sea of fire could harm Elder Pine, much less a mere snowstorm.”
“But he is at the crucial stage of Transforming into an Azure Ox. He is extremely vulnerable right now, and absolutely nothing can be allowed to go wrong!”
Her words piqued not only Wang San’s curiosity, but Zhao Aiguo’s as well.
“Old Auntie, what does ‘Transforming into an Azure Ox’ mean?”
Deaf Granny smiled and shook her head.
“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”
“Just do as I say!”
“Besides, this old woman can hardly walk now, so I have no choice but to order you about.”
“Once it’s fully light, go to Elder Pine’s true body at East Mountain Peak and clear all the snow from there as well.”
The three men nodded together.
“Understood, Old Auntie. Don’t worry!”
The *Baopuzi Inner Chapters* states that a thousand-year-old tree spirit becomes an azure ram, while a ten-thousand-year-old tree spirit becomes an azure ox.
“Transforming into an Azure Ox” could therefore be understood as a stage of cultivation.
Soon after daybreak, visitors began arriving one after another.
Professor Ma, Old Daoist Zhou, and their companions came first.
They had come partly to thank everyone for their help and partly to say farewell, leaving behind a connection that might bear good fruit in the future.
After everyone exchanged pleasantries, Old Daoist Zhou took out a blue-gray Daoist robe and asked Deaf Granny to pass it on to Hua Jiunan.
“This Humble Daoist possesses nothing else of value, so I shall present Young Friend Jiunan with this ritual treasure left by my master.”
“When he has time, please ask him to visit me at Qingmu Temple in the provincial capital so we may sit and discuss the Dao.”
The Daoist robe looked exceptionally ancient. Even lying there untouched, it emanated a faint sense of transcendence.
Its design was also remarkably ingenious.
Worn one way, it was a Daoist ritual robe. Turned inside out, it became a traditional Chinese long gown.
Elegant and ethereal.
What no one in the story yet knew was that this garment possessed an extraordinary history. Kublai Khan, founder of the Yuan dynasty, had presented it to Zhang Zongyan, the thirty-sixth Celestial Master of the Zhengyi Sect.
This very treasure would also forge a deeper bond of cause and effect between Hua Jiunan and the Zhengyi Sect.
No sooner had Old Daoist Zhou and his party departed than many villagers arrived at the door.
Every one of them had come from neighboring Liujia Village to ask for protective talismans.
The moment they saw Deaf Granny, they grew emotional.
“Old Auntie, you have to help us!”
“The village has been terribly sinister these last few days, especially after midnight.”
Before the man could finish, a fierce-looking middle-aged woman cut in.
“Old Auntie, you have no idea! After midnight, the Liu family coffin shop fills with wailing ghosts and howling wolves!”
“The whole village can hear it!”
“Some of the braver young men went over together to investigate, but the Lius refused to open the door.”
“They only cursed from inside, telling everyone to get lost and stop meddling if they wanted to live.”
Deaf Granny froze at what she heard.
Could something truly have happened?
Besides, Shopkeeper Liu of the coffin shop had always been an honest, kindhearted man who greeted everyone with a smile. Why would he insult people for no reason, especially when they had come to help?
The mention of Shopkeeper Liu stirred Zhao Aiguo’s memory.
“Old Auntie, now that they mention it, I remember something.”
“When I went to his home to buy the paper figures a few days ago, Shopkeeper Liu’s face was icy cold.”
“His reactions were extremely wooden too.”
“He looked… he looked just like one of the paper figures in his shop.”
Zhao Aiguo hesitated before continuing.
“As I was leaving, Shopkeeper Liu’s face visibly twisted, and he looked as though he wanted to say something.”
“After holding it in for a long time, he viciously told me to get out.”
Zhao Aiguo’s account only made Deaf Granny more worried.
No. I must go and see for myself!
First, the old woman gave every villager from Liujia Village a protective talisman made from a packet of incense ash.
Then she instructed them to go home and properly care for the Living Bodhisattvas in their families.
Of all virtues, filial piety came first. Those who carried filial devotion in their hearts would naturally possess righteous energy to protect them.