Strange Stories

Chapter 499: Eliminating Demons and Replacing Tiles
In the following days, Maple Mountain gradually became warm and flowers bloomed.

There are more and more flower and fruit trees in Lin Jue's place of meditation. The wall-mounted houses built by Wan Xinrong, Taoist Master Tao and others are gradually taking shape, and the dry firewood under the cliff is neatly stacked up.

There are often sounds of planting trees and chopping wood in the mountains.

The world situation is also changing.

Lord Luo led his army southward along the Weishui River all the way to the border between Zhongzhou and Huizhou. In contrast, the King of Yue was defeated step by step, his sphere of influence shrank rapidly, and he almost retreated back to the south of Huizhou.

However, the South was wealthy after all, and its soldiers were well-equipped. Whenever they went to war, there were a large number of merchants accompanying the army, who could not only provide them with supplies but also facilitate the receipt of spoils. On the contrary, the North was originally tighter. After leaving the Weishui River, the supply logistics gradually could not keep up. In addition, the soldiers were tired, so they had to temporarily stop fighting and recuperate.

However, in this case, it will be difficult for the South to turn things around.

The hustle and bustle of worldly affairs does not disturb the leisurely life in the mountains.

On the attic on the cliff, the mountain breeze suddenly blew a few peach blossoms.

The Taoist priest was dressed in a wide grey robe, sitting cross-legged with his robe spread out along the wooden floor. In his arms was a white fox, about the size of a cat, with six tails.

A thin, dark woman stood in front of him.

"Are you used to staying here during this period?" Lin Jue asked while stroking the fox.

"Return to the real person, get used to it."

The girl didn't know how to address him.

Calling him a god seemed a bit strange, but calling him master seemed a bit strange, but since he hadn't formally become his disciple yet, he had no choice but to follow Wan Xinrong and the others and call him that.

Lin Jue naturally didn't care about these, he just smiled and said:
"Are you familiar with the surrounding environment?"

"I'm familiar with this mountain." The girl replied, "I followed Taoist Master Wan and Taoist Master Tao to buy things a few times, and I know the roads to several villages outside the mountain."

"It's good as long as you are familiar with it. It doesn't matter if you are not familiar with it, there is still Chen Niu." Lin Jue said, "You know, right? I asked Xu Yi to plant flowers in the mountains to add some color to the mountain. Only when the mountain was full of flowers did I accept him as my apprentice."

"Know..."

The girl lowered her head.

"To be fair, you should also add some bricks and tiles here." Lin Jue didn't beat around the bush and pointed his finger at the top of his head. "Look, everything here is good, except for the lack of tiles on the eaves. If you can collect half of the green tiles for this attic, I will accept you as my apprentice."

The girl really looked up.

So naturally it is invisible.

"Moutouwa..."

"Don't think it's difficult for just half a roof. But don't think it's easy either." Lin Jue shook his head and said to her, "The rough earthen tiles on the roofs of ordinary people's houses are not suitable for this attic, and the glazed tiles in the palace hall are too luxurious. Anyway, we need more delicate tiles."

It was half a roof indeed.

Because the attic is embedded in the mountain, half of it is inside the cliff and half of it is suspended in the air, it only has half of the roof.

But this attic is very large. Even half of the roof is equivalent to several rooms of an ordinary family.

The girl immediately started to think about it.

On the terraces, they don't use tiles, but use thatched roofs. This is the traditional custom, and there are no tiles in the mountains.

But this obviously costs money.

How can she make money?
When she lived in the mountains, she worked for rich families, herded cattle for others, and caught fish and snakes. She worked so hard but could only make a living.

"That Xu Yi can chop wood and sell it! You can also chop wood and sell it for money!" It was the white fox in the Taoist's arms. Like the Taoist, it felt that it had a connection with her, so it always wanted to take care of her. "You can also catch snakes, rabbits, tigers, and leopards and sell them in the city, and you can also make money!"

The girl was listening attentively and thinking seriously, but suddenly she was startled.

Catch tigers and leopards?

"What Fuyao said makes sense. Cutting firewood can be sold for money, and catching snakes and rabbits can also be sold for money. However, it is not easy for the people living in the mountains these days, and with the warmer weather in spring, I am afraid there will not be much business." Lin Jue directly ignored the fox's idea of ​​catching tigers and leopards, and said to her, "Although it is a bit slow, it is also a way."

"I'm not afraid of difficulties!"

"If you want to go faster, I have a way." Lin Jue said again, his voice leisurely.

Just hearing the voice, the fox immediately turned his head and stared at him with a serious face.

"What, what method?"

"You say you are brave?"

"I'm brave!"

"You said you're not afraid of ghosts?"

"I'm not afraid!"

"Well then." The Taoist smiled. "I heard that there is a village not far from the mountain. There is a monster causing trouble in the village. If you go and get rid of it, the people will naturally give you money."

"what?"

The girl was suddenly startled.

She was indeed brave and not afraid of demons and ghosts. Before she came here, she had heard the immortal in front of her say that the world was in chaos and that those who practiced Taoism would have to deal with demons and ghosts. After coming here, she had also seen the magic spells that Wan Xinrong and others could use, as well as the monsters in the mountains, but she was simply not afraid of them.

She doesn't know any magic, so how can she get rid of the monster?
"Don't panic or be afraid. If you dare to go, I will send two soldiers to help you."

Lin Jue said, stretching out his hand, with two beans in the palm. Facing the girl's puzzled gaze, he said: "This is the method of bean soldiers. You take these two beans. If you encounter a monster, just shout out the spell and throw them out. They will turn into soldiers to protect you and eliminate the monster for you."

He said, showing her and throwing the beans forward.

The two beans grew as soon as they left my hands and quickly became bigger.

Before the girl could react, two figures appeared in the air and then fell to the ground with a bang. The sound of armor colliding and rubbing against each other made a rattling sound.

After standing firm, I could see clearly that they were armored soldiers holding a shield and a sword, while the other held a long sword on his waist and a bow and arrow. They were all tall and mighty, fully armored, with scarlet paint on their faces. They looked very oppressive, as if they were soldiers from heaven who had descended to the mortal world.

The girl was stunned.

Until a cry of "Heroes, please come back" was heard, the two mighty warriors turned into beans and flew back to the Taoist's hands.

"Do you dare?" "I, I dare!"

The girl agreed without much hesitation.

"You are so brave. Please keep your courage.

“As the old saying goes: Evil comes from people.

"You have never done anything bad, have a clear conscience, are healthy, have no illnesses or disasters, and have strong blood and qi. If you encounter demons and ghosts, you really have nothing to fear. Fear will cause your heart to become confused, and a confused heart will cause your spirit to become scattered, and a scattered spirit will allow the ghosts to take advantage of it. Not being afraid will cause your heart to become calm, and a calm heart will cause your spirit to be complete, and a complete spirit will prevent demons and ghosts from invading you.

“Whether it’s between humans and demons, humans and even gods, it’s actually the same. The more you fear your opponent, the more arrogant he will be. If you’re not afraid, you’re probably afraid of the opponent.

"In addition to courage, you also need to be smart."

The girl was nervous but serious:

"I remember!"

"The spell to summon bean soldiers is 'When the bean falls, the wind rises, and the soldiers and horses appear'. The spell to call back the bean soldiers is 'Return to the spirit bean, and the soldiers return to the Great Wall'." Lin Jue added, "You must know that this is not a simple spell. These bean soldiers are heroes who voluntarily follow me to exorcise demons. When facing them, you must treat them as heroes, you must have a little more respect for them, and you must do righteous things, only then will they help you."

"The beans fall and the wind rises, the soldiers show up... I return to the spirit beans, and the soldiers return to the Great Wall..."

The little girl muttered to herself, took two steps forward, and took the two beans from his hand, but her face was extremely solemn.

For her, this was undoubtedly equivalent to taking over the command of the two heavenly soldiers. It was the first time that an ordinary village girl came into contact with magic and supernatural powers before she became a nun.

It was novel, uneasy, and wonderful.

"Then, then I..." The girl said, "Should I ask a hero to kill the monster?"

"That depends on what mistake it made." Lin Jue said, "We must not be particularly harsh on demons just because they are demons."

"Then how much should I charge for exorcising the demon?"

When Lin Jue heard this question, he smiled again.

It seemed like I was recalling the old Taoist priest from those days.

And now he has reached the position of an old Taoist priest.

"You decide."

"understood……"

"This first time, I will ask Wan Gong to go with you, but he will only lead the way for you, help you communicate with the villagers, and protect you from being hurt by monsters. You will make all the decisions on your own. Remember to learn more. Next time, only Chen Niu will lead the way for you."

The girl held the two beans in her hands as if they were treasures and walked out.

There was a thundercloud waiting outside to pick her up.

Lin Jue at the back shook his head and continued stroking the fox.

But he never expected that the fox would jump out of his arms at once, stretch itself, yawn, and then shake its body, making its soft fur dance smoothly, and its six tails spread out behind it like fans.

"You've become lazy!"

The fox turned and said to him.

"No, it's more efficient this way." Lin Jue said, not minding it, and took out a wooden sculpture from his arms, "I only have one, but I can have many disciples."

"I'm going with her too!"

"Why? Are you worried?"

"I have a connection with her!"

"That's up to you."

"Then follow me..."

The fox jumped lightly and left.

Lin Jue lowered his head and continued carving the wood.

During this period of time, he replaced almost all of his bean soldiers except the giant Longbo god with the immortal spirit wood.

It’s a very leisurely process.

Now that he has achieved true enlightenment, once the bean soldiers are carved, they only need to be refined for a day and night, and they can turn into beans, and when they grow bigger, they become bean soldiers. Almost as soon as the ritual is completed, the strength is equal to that before, and the strength increased by daily rituals is naturally far greater than before. In terms of combat power, it is no longer at the same level as before.

But even so, in the battle between Lin Jue and the powerful True Lord God, especially the level of battle he watched that day, ordinary bean soldiers would hardly be of much use.

They are destined to gradually become Taoist soldiers who protect the mountains and the roads.

This is not useless either -

Even if you are a deity, you can't always be in the mountains, right? If you travel for a few years or ten years, and come back to find that the temple has been occupied by monsters, wouldn't that be a joke?
Even if you are a god, it is impossible for you to be with your disciples all the time, right?
Even if you were a deity, it is impossible for you to personally come forward and exorcise the demons every time there are demons and ghosts causing trouble at the foot of the mountain and the people come to you for help, right?

It is true that the world is in chaos now, and there are often demons and ghosts at the foot of the mountain causing trouble to the world.

Whenever this happened, he would ask Wan Xinrong and others to take a few beans out, and they would basically be able to catch them easily.

Compared to doing it yourself, it is indeed much more efficient.

Especially do not disturb his meditation.

"rustle……"

The sound of wind and carving, sawdust flying in the wind.

After a while, the sound changed to that of iron hammering.

Lin Jue used the spiritual gold given by his junior sister to make several small and exquisite tokens. He then took a wisp of his own magic power and a wisp of mist from the thundercloud and injected them into the tokens. Then he let the thundercloud know and the tokens were complete.

From now on, when Wan Gong and his disciples go out to fight monsters, in addition to bringing the bean soldiers, they can also bring a token to ride on the clouds and send down thunder to punish the monsters.

You should manage your own temple and your own disciples slowly.

(End of this chapter)