Chapter 1434 - 777: Within Lies a True Immortal (Double-Length)

"Everyone, don't panic. He doesn't dare come inside."

The female crown's voice rose again, prompting the nearly scared out of their wits crowd to quickly turn around.

Master Huang and the older merchant were the first to recover, quickly cupping their hands in respect, almost simultaneously saying, "Immortal, do you have a method to subdue the demon?!"

"I know a little."

Yin Weiyin rose slowly, holding the horsetail whisk in his hand, and walked towards the door.

The merchants, anxious, said, "Immortal, be careful!"

"Just a mere ghost, I'll be back shortly."

Upon hearing this, the crowd's hearts slightly relaxed.

The female crown strode into the curtain of rain.

The crowd watched her figure quickly become blurred, while figures outside the rain curtain appeared and disappeared, seeming to have exchanged several moves, with occasional thunder in the distance.

The mountain rain suddenly intensified, then sparsely fell for a moment, showing the changes in the battle within the rain, giving the crowd little time to rejoice before the mountain rain became more intense than before.

The storm and rain seemed to engulf the entire mountain forest.

The crowd's hearts were anxious, and moments later, a clear voice was heard from within the rain,

"Xiao Yi, lend me a hand."

The crowd looked at the attendant, thinking that the exorcising of the ghost had reached a critical moment, requiring the attendant to timely send talismans and swords.

Chen Yi heard the words "Xiao Yi," his mouth twitched slightly, exhaled a breath, and still got up and entered the rain.

Not long after, the torrential rain gradually showed signs of stopping, followed by a sudden ghastly wailing, and the rain abruptly paused, then slowly came to a stop, with the clouds slowly dispersing, allowing the moonlight to pour back into the temple.

The crowd held their breath, staring outside the door, their ears filled only with the sound of dripping from the eaves.

In the lingering mist, a man and woman's figures slowly emerged, with the female crown's fingers forming the Rain Avoidance Technique, untouched by water, her expression indifferent, as if it were a mere trivial matter.

On the contrary, the attendant was completely drenched.

The crowd remained silent for a moment, only when the layman entered the temple did they hurriedly pay their respects, offering endless words of praise and gratitude. The layman simply nodded in return and sat back on the meditation cushion.

The older merchant remarked that the long-seen Daoist priests of Daoist temples he had seen, with their white hair and youthful faces, were not as immortal-like as this young layman.

The crowd, fearful, dared not make a sound, their minds replaying the earlier scene like an ink painting unfolding...

Among them was a True Immortal...

When dawn broke, this night would likely become the subject of idle talk in tea houses, heard by some down-and-out scholars, to be written as another "Records of Divine Seeking."

.........

As dawn broke, the terrified merchants slept lightly and woke up in a daze, scanning the area to see the guard packing blankets and meditation cushions.

The immortal was gone.

The older merchant got up, earlier the layman gave off a feeling of unapproachability, yet the guard appeared much more ordinary, so he approached and bowed, saying, "I'm surnamed Zhang, called Sanhui, may I ask the benefactor's name?"

Though the demon was subdued by the female lay practitioner, he still referred to the guard as the benefactor, uplifting him with his words.

Business dealings are indeed straightforward.

Chen Yi gave a false name, "I'm surnamed Long, just a single name Yi, without a courtesy name."

"Noted, noted. Then... may I boldly inquire that layman's Taoist name?"

Chen Yi simply shook his head.

"It's inconvenient to mention, right? Then I won't offend, let me introduce our group first..."

This group of merchants, the older one called Zhang Sanhui, is a veteran trader traveling between Chuannan and Han Zhong Road, dealing in herbs and mountain goods. This time, he carried several large packages meant to be delivered to several major pharmacies and Wealthy Manor in Central Pass before the spring. The terrified thin man was surnamed Zhang, ranked third in his family, commonly called Zhang Laosan, Zhang Sanhui's cousin and clerk, specializing in identifying herbs and overseeing the transport. The other three merchants, two surnamed Li were brothers, dealing in Ya'an tea; one surnamed Wang carried specialty dried mushrooms, bamboo fungi, and a few boxes of finely crafted jewelry. Together, they hoped to look out for each other on the road, sharing some risks.

Master Huang, single name "Yong," is the leader of the Prosperity Escort Agency in Chengdu Prefecture, has traveled the Sichuan-Yunnan Road over twenty times. With skilled horseback riding and martial arts, he is a familiar face to Zhang Sanhui. Two followers are his agency's escorts, one wielding a plain knife, the other good with a bow, both having survived several life-and-death journeys with him.

They hurriedly set off just after the Lantern Festival, leaving Southern Border hoping to travel over the quiet roads post-holiday to deliver goods to Central Pass before the second of February, Dragon Head Raising Day. Unexpectedly, after just two days in the mountain forest, they encountered this bizarre storm and rain, and this vile event.

If the goods were delayed, losing money was trivial; losing their lives would mean complete ruin. Now holed up in this dilapidated temple, their goods sheltered in the side hall, their hearts more anxious and unsettled than the goods. Business travel is arduous; dining in the wind and sleeping exposed to the elements is typical, and encountering mountain bandits and highway robbers has happened, but this hauntingly direct specter event is a first, making it impossible not to fear.

Chen Yi discerned their underlying request for travel companionship, with the promise of generous financial reward.

However, he doesn't want to add burdensome baggage, encountering them on the road and lending a hand as needed, expressing this clearly, merchants chuckled awkwardly, fearing to offend and dared not persuade further. Zhang Sanhui opened the package to gift some precious herbs, and Chen Yi did not refuse.

Zhang Sanhui saw Chen Yi accept the herbs, felt reassured, rubbed his hands, leaned slightly forward, and spoke even more earnestly:

"Dragon benefactor, if not for your and the immortal's assistance last night, our lives and this venture would likely be left in this wild mountain and temple. Great gratitude cannot be expressed with words, these herbs are mere tokens, truly not worth mentioning.

Dragon benefactor, heading north, the journey must still be far. We are simple folks, but have been operating on the Central Pass for many years, know a few faces, and have two small shops. One is on East Street in Han Zhong Prefecture, called 'Three Rivers Warehouse,' mainly dealing in herbs and mountain goods; the other in Chang'an West Market, a small shop bearing the plaque 'Huian Hall,' besides herbs and mountain goods, also handling some rare items from south to north."

As he spoke, he searched his bosom for a moment, took out two polished bamboo tokens engraved with "Huian" and "Three Rivers," presenting them with both hands.

"These are tokens from the small shops, Dragon benefactor, please accept them. By simply presenting these at the shops, the shopkeeper and staff will recognize them and certainly treat you well, not daring to neglect, should you honor us by visiting our humble shops for a cup of coarse tea, it would be the greatest fortune for us."

His tone was sincere, with the gaze of a businessman with a unique long-term vision.

Forming this good relationship could possibly be a great fortune in the future, even if not, drawing such a figure as a guest would be excellent for the shop's reputation when spread around.

Chen Yi didn't think much and casually accepted, then took the blanket and meditation cushion and boarded the carriage.

The morning light gradually brightened, shining through the gaps in the dilapidated temple, reflecting the merchants' eager faces. As they waited for the carriage to leave, they groomed their mules and donkeys, organized their gear, rested briefly, and continued their journey.

Outside the temple, after the night of rain cleansing, the mountain forest's air was crisp, bird songs gradually rose, last night's demons and ghosts felt like a distant matter, the mountains and waters clear, only the bamboo token given by the old merchant in hand still retained some hint of mundane essence.