"Save me..."
"Please, help me find a doctor... I can't stand it, it itches so badly..."
The torn collar was all lush light yellow. Lu Erlai rolled on the ground in pain, still scratching and clawing. Chicken feathers fluttered in the air. The people in the village quickly moved back, fearing that they would become like him.
"This bastard deserves it!"
“… God couldn’t bear to see this, so he cast a spell to punish him.”
"Maybe he's a master. A few days ago, I seemed to see a wandering Taoist priest passing by."
"This guy is always wandering around and peeking at my daughter... He's lucky he didn't get killed!"
"Your daughter has a face like a sesame cake. She's still unmarried at the age of 20. Who would be so blind as to fall in love with..."
"There are always blind people... Hey, you're asking for a fight!"
…
Amid the whispers, Lu Liangsheng, who was standing at the back of the crowd, looked at the figure rolling on the ground and wailing. Just as he was about to step forward to say a few words, he suddenly covered his forehead, feeling dizzy and heavy-headed. The voices of the people around him were a little blurry.
"Brother, are you okay?" Lu Xiaoxian, who was beside him, noticed that he was acting strangely, raised her little face and asked.
Lu Liangsheng shook his head: "It's okay, I feel a little uncomfortable with the blood, I'll just walk around."
Feeling somewhat weak, he walked towards home, passing through his sister's puzzled gaze. He stopped at the gate and leaned against the fence. The ground he saw seemed to be slightly spinning.
"Isn't it true that he has caught a cold?"
He shook his head, suppressed the discomfort, and turned to walk out of the village. The voices of the people gathered there and Lu Erlai's screams could be heard faintly behind him. While staggering, Lu Liangsheng looked at the road that meandered to Qixia Mountain under his feet, thinking about something in his mind.
... I was fine yesterday...
Could it be because of the two small magics? Oh, right... Master said that if one's cultivation is not deep, using magic indiscriminately will cause some damage to the body. Could this be the case
While I was daydreaming, I had unknowingly reached the top of the mountain road. Holding on to the trees beside the road, I walked for a distance, turned a hidden fork in the road, and came to the cliff halfway up the mountain. I couldn't hold on any longer and fell in front of the huge rock.
"Master..."
He shouted weakly and felt the ground shake. In front of him who was crawling on the ground, a huge rock was moved heavily and the soil was pushed to one side, leaving a gully.
The cave entrance was half exposed, and vaguely, the outline of a person seemed to come out from inside and walk towards him.
When a pair of footsteps came closer to his sight, Lu Liangsheng felt his body lighten and he fell into darkness. He was mentally exhausted and a little confused. He vaguely felt that he was led into the cave by his master, and the huge rock rumbled back to its original position.
"Master..."
"Don't talk. You've only been practicing for a few days, and you're already using magic indiscriminately. Fortunately you came here in time, otherwise you would be in danger of losing your life."
The short and simple conversation stopped, and his weak consciousness dimmed. When he woke up again, a slightly bitter smell filled the air. Liangsheng opened his eyes. The cave lights were warm yellow. A two-layer small bookshelf was placed on the stone bed where he was lying, leaning against the wall. An old man was sitting on the stone bench opposite, looking at him, and the small tripod next to him made a boiling sound.
Seeing Lu Liangsheng wake up, the old man took out an exquisite porcelain bowl without saying a word and scooped soup from the tripod.
"Drink it."
“Yes…” Lu Liangsheng propped himself up. His head still ached slightly, but he was no longer groggy. He took the porcelain bowl that was handed to him. The soup was dark and sticky, with bubbles coming out of it with the residual heat, and there was a nauseating smell.
He looked at the old man over there, hesitated for a moment, held his breath, and drank the bowl of medicine in one breath. The bitter, fishy and warm taste went down his throat to his lower abdomen, almost making him vomit.
"Liangsheng, you have a simple character and a good heart. I didn't explain it to you clearly before. If you are practicing magic, you are a cultivator. Cultivation is the same as being a human being. There are different levels. You are not even an entry level now."
Lu Liangsheng sat there, holding the porcelain bowl, his mouth was so bitter that he couldn't say anything. He could only listen quietly to his master continue talking.
"… But you have great talent and aptitude. In a few days, you have reached the lower level of Qi training and Kaidan. The medicine that your master gave you just now can not only heal your injuries, but also help you break through the threshold and reach Kaidan. That will be like one foot into the door of cultivation."
"Practicing Qi?"
The old man stood up and took the porcelain bowl from the boy. Finally, there was a trace of expression on his face. He smiled and said, "There are two ways to practice Qi. The lowest is called Kaidan, the middle is called Jutian, and the highest is called Qi training. There are also foundation building, Dan formation, Yuanying... Each realm has two small realms. The long road of cultivation is difficult for ordinary people to reach, and it is also difficult for those in the sect to find it."
Putting down the porcelain bowl, the old man sat back, flicked his robe sleeves, and the huge rock outside slowly opened.
"It's getting late. Go back early and don't let your parents worry. When your injuries get better, come back and I will help you break through the Kaidan realm."
"oh."
Lu Liangsheng was unable to understand the few words his master said for a moment. He bowed respectfully to the old man and slowly left.
Boom…
The huge stone closed again, covering the cave bit by bit. The old man sitting there suddenly grinned, a flash of scarlet popped out and then retracted.
Above the wide sleeves, there were black bumps on the wrists, which were instantly covered by the old man.
"Okay... It's time to collect some mountain spirits and spiritual roots to make tonic medicine... Add them together..."
The huge rocks slammed together.
“… It’s time to repair my injuries.”
A hoarse and low murmur echoed back.
…
After seeing the huge rock close up and return to its original shape and his master no longer visible inside, he bowed respectfully again and walked down the mountain.
It was almost noon, and he probably had only been unconscious for three or four hours. His parents probably wouldn't go looking for him. But when he thought of his master, "He's injured, how can he save me..."
When I thought of this, I felt warm in my heart. I felt much better. I looked back at the direction where the trees had already covered the sky and saw the smiling sunshine.
After a while, we turned out of the mountain road and got on the dirt road back to the village. We found that there were very few farmers in the fields. When we arrived at the village entrance, only Mr. Lu was still sitting there basking in the sun.
"Grandpa, why is no one coming out to work today?"
Mr. Lu opened his eyes slightly and smiled through his toothless mouth: "They all went to the ruined temple to see Lu Erlai's ugly face."
"A ruined temple?" Lu Liangsheng frowned slightly and looked towards the east of the village with some confusion.
"How can a person grow chicken feathers? This must be a punishment from the gods. Someone suggested to Lu Erlai to go to the dilapidated temple and pray to the gods. Maybe if he begged for mercy, he would be alright. Others followed to watch the fun."
On the hillside half a mile away from the road east of the village towards Fushui County, past a few large trees that provide shade, there stands a dilapidated temple that has been abandoned for many years. A plaque with the words "Mountain God Temple" is covered with dead vines and leans against a half-collapsed earth wall. It is surrounded by weeds. The mountain god sculpture in the temple has a broken neck and its clay head lies crookedly on the ground.
On weekdays, villagers rarely come here, and the occasional strange cries of some birds can be heard from the woods, giving it a rather eerie feeling.
The weeds were now neatly trampled. When Lu Liangsheng came over, more than 40 villagers were gathered outside the temple, looking inside. Some of them even climbed over the earthen wall and rode on it.
In the temple.
Lu Erlai, whose body was covered with chicken feathers, was now covered in blood. He was trembling on the ground and kowtowing to the mountain god.
Bang!
Bang!
Blood was oozing from his forehead.