Strange Stories

Chapter 496 So Familiar
"The people worship you as a god, and you send down thunder to eliminate evil. How about I call you God Thundercloud?"

On the top of the mountain, Lin Jue spoke to the dark clouds.

The dark clouds naturally did not answer, only the faint sound of thunder.

"You have developed supernatural powers, but your thunder is still ordinary thunder. It is enough to deal with ordinary people, but it may not be enough to deal with demons and ghosts. The size is also like an ordinary dark cloud. It is okay to fight some heinous criminals in a county or a place. If you really go to the depths of the chaotic world, there will be many demons and evil people, so you must separate at least a few." Lin Jue continued, "Wait for me to perform a sacrifice for you and give you all my understanding of thunder to make you bigger and stronger."

There was still no response from the dark cloud.

Lin Jue raised his sleeves again.

The dark cloud suddenly became smaller again and flew into his sleeve.

It seemed to vaguely feel that the immortal in front of it was quite consistent with it in both mind and actions, so it was relatively easy to control.

No matter how magical and unruly these spiritual clouds are, it is naturally difficult for them to resist an immortal who has achieved enlightenment, especially an immortal of the Lingfa School who has cultivated himself. However, Xuanming Zhenren also said that some particularly magical clouds are not so easy to control when they are just found. They need to be influenced and tempered, and need to be slowly adjusted.

This cloud can obviously be described as "extraordinarily magical".

However, in Lin Jue's opinion, it is indeed necessary to run in order for it to communicate with one's own mind and be influenced and refined, but it seems to be completely useless.

The Taoist withdrew his gaze and sat down cross-legged.

At this time, it is still this big mountain, still the terraced fields, reflecting the sky which is gradually clearing up in the afternoon.

The stewed beef was fragrant and delicious, the red rice in the terraced fields was distinct, the scenery was picturesque, and Lin Jue was reluctant to leave because of his fate. Therefore, he took a tour on the thundercloud and came back here.

Sit cross-legged in the mountains, watch the moon rise and set, and the fog rise and clouds sink.

Watch the morning glow and evening glow, the starry sky, the villagers farming at the foot of the mountain, and the idle people climbing the mountain in search of immortals.

There was a young girl who climbed the mountain every day to look for them.

The other half of the free time is used to refine thunderclouds.

Half is used to comprehend spells.

Dispersion and reunion are almost completely mastered.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye.

"correct--"

It was another sunny evening. The mountains were covered with fog, the orange light formed a sea, and the fiery red and pink clouds were reflected in the palette-like terraces below. Lin Jue just happened to think of a little ghost.

"Chen Niu!"

A little brown-clothed ghost suddenly appeared:
"My name is Chen Niu!"

Then she stared at him seriously, waiting for him to speak.

The Taoist priest called it out again, but didn't tell it where he was going. Instead, he just stared at it with a smile. It must have remembered the Taoist priest.
Chen Niu waited solemnly for a while and was about to go back when he suddenly saw the man raise his hand and point at him.

Chen Niu was surprised and confused at once——

It’s over! I can’t move anymore!
Can’t go back!

The heaven and earth were filled with scattered pure soul power. These were the souls of the deceased that had dissipated thousands of years ago. They were the origin of their return and were now reawakened by the Taoist, gathered together, and transformed into faint points of light. In the orange light at this moment, against the gradually changing background of the sky, they looked like a sky full of fireflies that only appear in summer, or like stars that gradually emerge above head as the sky darkens, and they gathered towards the brown-clothed little ghost in the sky.

This was indeed what Lin Jue had just remembered, but he did not forget it for too long.

Although he had this idea a long time ago, he still had to slowly explore the method, based on several spells related to the soul, such as the Soul Binding and Soul Destroying spells, until he got the spell of "Dispersion and Reunion", which contained the principles and methods of condensing the soul. When he understood this spell, he naturally knew how to perform it.

It just happened a few days ago.

I remembered it after a few days.

I saw the soul light in the air gathering and gradually filling up its incomplete soul.

Of course, it is impossible to retrieve its previous memories, unless those memories were originally in it, but it cannot be called upon because of its incomplete soul and defective mind, but this possibility is extremely low. It is even impossible to make it as smart as before immediately, after all, the completed one is actually blank and pure, and it needs to learn slowly, but at least it can make it much smarter than before, and its thoughts will gradually become complete.

This soon showed some effect -

The little ghost stared at Lin Jue seriously, and stared at him so hard that he slowly tilted his head without realizing it, with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Apparently, it has an additional function called "thinking".

Don't be fooled by the fact that this little ghost has an incomplete soul, is harmless, and doesn't look very smart. In fact, as a spiritual officer under the command of a powerful ancient demon clan, its abilities are not bad at all, and its head is really iron.

It can come and go freely in temples and palaces, and dares to ask dignitaries, monks, Taoists, and monsters where they are in their dreams. It dares to go anywhere, and it will be there wherever you are. No matter how you travel, it can be by your side to guide you. It can fly in the sky and hide in the ground, and it has the skill of splitting itself into two bodies, and it can reach you in one move.

"Do you know where your home is?"

Seeing that all the light spots had sunk into Chen Niu's body, Lin Jue then asked it.

But the little ghost looked a little confused:
"I can't find the way..."

"Do you know who you are?"

Upon hearing this, the little ghost instantly became energetic:

"My name is Chen Niu!"

"Do you know who I am?"

"..."

The little ghost became confused again.

Lin Jue shook his head and waved to it: "Come back."

Chen Niu disappeared in an instant.

It looks like we'll have to wait a while longer.

Gradually the sky became darker and darker.

Lin Jue also took back the seal and looked down. It was so late, but there were still people climbing the mountain.

"Xixissuosuo..."

Before the sky darkened completely, someone finally reached the top of the mountain.

She was a dark and thin girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a blue local dress. She was almost invisible in the dim light, except for her pair of bright eyes. The girl was panting with exhaustion, sweating all over in the somewhat cold night, and had almost no strength left, because in the past few days, except for working during the day, she had been climbing mountains all the time, even when she was herding cattle. In a few days, she had climbed all the nearby mountains.

Some mountains were even climbed two or three times.

For example, she has climbed this mountain three times, and this is her fourth time.

Even today, she climbed three mountains.

She was about to go back to rest, but suddenly she glanced and saw a few stars on the mountain. She hesitated for a moment and then climbed up again, naturally exhausting her strength.

But when I got here and took a look, I was stunned.

The top of the mountain was mostly covered with weeds and trees, which were exactly the same as usual, but there was a thatched hut made of branches that she had never seen in the three times she had been there. A Taoist priest was sitting on a stone in front of it, and a white fox was squatting upright next to him, looking at her with a puzzled look as if it was a stranger to her.

The girl was completely stunned and couldn't speak.

Instead, Lin Jue looked at her and smiled:
"Young lady, you have been looking for us for many days. Why did you keep silent after finding us?"

The girl opened her mouth, but her eyes were still wide open and she couldn't say anything.

Lin Jue smiled slightly and didn't think it was a big deal.

Most people in the world are like this.

I want to find the gods, I yearn for them, but when I see them, I may not recognize them. When I look for the gods, I go through a lot of hardships, I think of many ways to meet them, I have countless questions to ask them, and I have countless wishes that I want them to help me fulfill. But when I really meet the gods face to face, I am speechless.

The girl rolled her eyes and looked left and right, as if trying to figure out why she didn't see this hut when she came here three times before.

It seems like I have seen this stone.

But the stone was empty at that time, and she sat on it to rest and catch her breath for a long time.

Lin Jue obviously knew what she was thinking.

He was also looking for an immortal back then.

"We have been here for almost three months, and have been to the village several times, but no one can see us unless we show up on purpose. I have been sitting on the top of this mountain for more than two months, and during this time, many people have come up the mountain, especially in the past few days after the story of the gods spread down the mountain, but no one can see us. Do you know why you can see us?"

The girl opened her bright eyes, listened, but just shook her head.

"It's because we are destined to meet. And also because we are leaving tomorrow." Lin Jue said to her slowly, "Since you came here at night, it shows your sincerity. How can I let you come here in vain?"

This fate is not because Fuyao changed into her appearance.

That was the fate between Fuyao and her.

But it was their meeting that day, that chance glance.

But it’s not just that.

"What's your name?"

"Pumei." The girl stumbled, "It means the sun and good things."

"You live alone down the mountain?"

"Um……"

"Where are your parents?"

"My mother ran away because she thought our family was poor. My father went out to do business and never came back. They all said he was beaten to death by bandits..."

Lin Jue narrowed his eyes slightly, without pausing for long. He had heard a little about these things in the village that day, and at this moment he just continued to ask, as if he was just simply curious: "Then how do you make a living in the village?"

"Some people in the village were nice and would give me some food. At other times, I would work for rich people and herd cattle for them. When I had nothing to do, I would go to the mountains to catch fish and snakes and sell them for money. I was very brave and not afraid of getting tired. I dared to do anything."

"Courageous? How courageous?"

"I'm not afraid of monsters! I'm not afraid of the dark, and I'm not afraid of ghosts! Even those two rascals a few days ago didn't dare to bully me!"

"Ha ha……"

It feels so familiar.

This is where their fate lies.

Lin Jue's eyes were also bright as he looked into her eyes.

After thinking for a while, he said:

"I know that people in the world love to seek out immortals because they want to gain some benefits. In fact, there are not so many things in the world that can be gained without effort. However, since my Fuyao once transformed into your appearance to play in the village, it can be regarded as a good relationship formed at the foot of the mountain. So this good relationship also has a share with you."

The Taoist sat still, but suddenly two objects flew out from beside him and slowly flew towards the girl.

I wonder where the light came from in the night, so that she can see clearly -

On the left is a golden object, small and irregular in shape, and on the right is a small porcelain bottle surrounded by mist.

"A piece of gold can make you rich, and a magic pill can make you healthy." Lin Jue said to her, "But you can only choose one."

The girl looked at the two things and was stunned again.

"This……"

No wonder so many people love to seek gods.

Just by finding a deity, you will receive such a great gift.

One is gold obtained without any effort, and the other is a panacea bestowed by gods. Even in the stories and legends in the world, it is rare to obtain things so easily.

but……

The girl resolutely looked away.

Although the temptations of gold and elixir were great, she did not climb the mountain to look for the immortal for this reason.

The girl knelt down with a plop and began to kowtow without saying a word: "God, can you accept me as your apprentice? I also want to be immortal, fly on the clouds, and I also want to learn magic to fight evildoers!"

Or it is the reason why people in the world often practice Taoism to become immortals.

(End of this chapter)