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Chapter 517 Going down the mountain
It's almost night.

As Zhou You had expected, he had already moved out of that stone house—that place was reserved for those seeking to bring good fortune in marriage, and all formally initiated disciples needed to move out.

According to the most important 'hierarchy' of the Five Aggregates, as the senior disciple, he naturally chose the best place.

Of course, this doesn't mean the building is decorated or anything like that. In fact, compared to where the wedding was held, this place seems much older. However, there is still a key point.

—Those are the strange creatures within the sect, which are the least likely to invade these places.

Upon opening the door, Zhou You habitually glanced around.

The decoration is very simple.

Although the place wasn't small, there was hardly any furniture, and the whole house felt empty, with hardly any signs of human life.

However, Zhou You still explored the past little by little, then squinted and deduced traces of 'himself'.

"Although the outside world describes me as a fiery character, it seems that 'I' actually lead a very simple and quiet life. It appears that my fiery temper is just an outward appearance, and my true personality is pretty much the same."

In the course of his deduction, he touched a pillar.

"There are dents, probably from an accidental strike while practicing swordsmanship. And look at the dents on the ground, wow, you're quite diligent, much better than me in that respect."

In the course of their exploration, a character model was quickly created.

He is good at disguising himself, acts with restraint, is diligent and hardworking, and acts ruthlessly. Over the years, he has been dealing with Master Chongxu while also desperately protecting his two friends.
But just as he was about to delve deeper, Zhou You suddenly looked up.

He stared out the window for a while, then suddenly spoke.

"Who is this guest? They've been lurking around suspiciously for ages. Would you please come out and greet us?"

After a while, a head finally poked out from inside.

Without Zhou You's permission, the guy climbed in through the window, using both hands and feet. In his haste, he was even bumped hard by the curtain.

But he didn't care. Instead, he wiped the dust off his face and raised his head with a smile.

"Sir, are you free?"

Zhou You spent a long time trying to identify the face before speaking with some hesitation.

"Are you Wang Chongming, Senior Brother Wang?"

It's not his fault; the person opposite him has changed so much.

Originally, although this guy acted sleazy, he was at least a handsome young man. But now...
With a stubble beard, a dirty face, and matted hair, he looked like a greasy, unkempt middle-aged man.

The other person was also stunned for a moment, but immediately rubbed their hands together and laughed.

"My lord, you certainly have a short memory. It's only been a few months, and you've already forgotten me?"

"I haven't forgotten, but how did you end up in this state?"

Wang Chongming scratched his head, catching a few lice in the process, and then casually squeezed one open.

"My lord, I've looked like this for a long time. Why are you asking about it now? It's just that the sect is having an increasingly difficult time. People like us who lack talent have to find ways to tarnish our image to avoid attracting attention."

I know the sect leader is nearing the end, but how did things get so chaotic? Even ordinary disciples can't survive here anymore?
However, Zhou You didn't say anything. Instead, he sat down with an air of authority and then asked.

"So what are you doing here?"

Wang Chongming seemed a little embarrassed, but still managed to speak.

"Well, sir, you probably have a bad memory; it's that time of year again, every six months."

—What exactly is this guy trying to do by being all coy?
Zhou You coughed lightly, said nothing, and simply looked at him calmly.

After a while, Wang Chongming finally couldn't take it anymore and spoke up helplessly.

"My lord, you should grant me some blood."

"What blood?"

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Wang Chongming immediately became anxious.

"My lord, you can't be biased! Junior Sister Lin's life is precious, and so is my life—that pill-worm seems to be active again. If you don't bestow some blood upon me soon, I reckon I'll end up just like those other fellow disciples, completely muddled and confused."

After Wang Chongming explained, Zhou You finally understood.

Over the years, he had been using his blood, both openly and secretly, to help these close relatives alleviate the Gu worms caused by the "Enlightenment Pill." The advantage was that they no longer had any worries, but the disadvantage was that due to long-term desensitization, if the blood supply was interrupted for a long time, the Gu worms that had come back from the brink of death would immediately torment them to the point of wishing for death.

But Zhou You immediately thought of another incongruous point.

—Based on this guy's trajectory, there's no way he could have run into Maitreya and killed Doruo Shiqi, so here's the question.

After he broke away, where did his Heavenly Dragon bloodline come from?

Is it possible?
He had some guesses in his mind, but they were just vague ideas. In the end, Zhou You shook his head, found a cup, poured out a little bit of blood, and then opened the lid of the wine gourd and mixed it with wine.

Wang Chongming, like a drug addict who had been out of the habit for a long time, eagerly picked up the cup and quickly poured it into his mouth—only then did he exhale with relief.

"Thank you, thank you so much, sir. I'm finally alive!"

Zhou You shook his head, then said.

"Don't thank me yet, I need your help with something."

Upon hearing this, Wang Chongming immediately put down his cup and began to pledge his loyalty.

"My lord, please speak. Whatever it may be, I, Wang Chongming, will go through fire and water without hesitation."

However, Zhou You simply said it calmly.

"I think I just saw a basin under the bed. Could you get it for me?"

"?"

Wang Chongming was filled with a big question mark, but he quickly slapped his forehead and suddenly realized.

"Sir, are you planning to wash up and rest? Ah, wait a minute, let me do it—I'll fetch you some water right now before it gets dark!"

"No need for that, just bring it to me."

Although Wang Chongming was completely confused, he listened to Zhou You's words and took the basin out from under the bed.

Then, Zhou You did something that left him speechless.

He drew his sword and then forcefully slashed his own arm!

"My lord, what is the reason for this?!"

Zhou You remained silent, letting the blood gush out until three or four minutes later, when he finally tightened his muscles to stop the bleeding.

Then, instead of bandaging his wound, he took out a yellow talisman from his sleeve, drew a few strokes on it with the still-wet blood, lit it with a candle, and finally poured all the scattered ashes into the basin.

Wang Chongming finally came to his senses and hurriedly tore a clean piece of cloth from his robe, then frantically tied it around the cut wound.

Zhou You let him do as he pleased until his arm was almost completely wrapped in strips of cloth, then he calmly spoke.

"Old Wang."

"Sir, please speak."

Zhou You shook his head, then said with a smile.

"Don't be so nervous, this little bit of blood is nothing. I just wanted to tell you that I don't know how long it will take me to get down the mountain this time. You and I aren't worried, but my junior sister and Aqua are quite stubborn. One of them is as stubborn as a donkey, and the other, as you know, is as childlike as a child. I'm afraid you'll need to take care of them."

After saying that, without waiting for the other person to reply, he stretched out his hand and pointed to the washbasin.

"I've put a spell on this blood; it won't coagulate or rot for at least six months. They probably don't know I gave them the blood, so try to find opportunities to mix it into their food, okay?"

Wang Chongming was silent for a few seconds, then finally nodded in agreement. "It was nothing, please rest assured, sir."

Zhou You glanced at the setting sun outside and then spoke.

"It's getting late. Although I've heard that the great monsters rarely invade this place, it's better to be safe. You should go first. Remember to find something to cover the basin when you leave, so that no one can see it."

Wang Chongming acquiesced, but before leaving, he suddenly remembered something, turned around, and said something.

"My lord, there is something I'm not sure if I should say."

Zhou You laughed.

"At this point, what is there that can't be said? Speak."

However, Wang Chongming seemed hesitant for a while before continuing to speak.

"Well, I heard some rumors before I came—let me tell you, these are just rumors. Some people say that your trip down the mountain this time, sir, might be a carefully planned trap, and that... well... even Uncle-Master Chongxu might be involved. Of course, I'm not trying to sow discord, after all, everyone knows the relationship between you and your master, sir. I just hope that you can be careful."

Zhou You's smile suddenly stopped, but he still waved in the end.

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Wang. I understand. I will definitely be more careful in the future."

Hearing this, Wang Chongming breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the basin, and walked backwards out.

That night.

To be honest, once it gets dark, the entire sect seems to be dead. Not only do all voices disappear, but most of the lights are also extinguished, with only a few places like the patrol points still brightly lit.

However, by the middle of the night, even that little bit of light had disappeared completely.

In this situation, there are naturally few entertainment activities in the clan. In the past, when it was a time for weddings to bring good luck, Zhou You would usually fall asleep as soon as he returned due to his chores. But now that things are more relaxed, he finds it hard to fall asleep.

"Humans are such damn perverts. When they're busy, they always want to rest more, but when they finally have some free time, they feel restless all over."

After tossing and turning in bed for a long time, Zhou You finally sighed and struggled to get up.

Before getting into this script, he did have some insomnia, and the treatment was quite simple.

—Find something to do, and you'll naturally fall asleep when you're tired.

"Sword practice? Forget it, I've practiced enough over the years. I might as well find something else to do."

After lighting the oil lamp and thinking for a moment, Zhou You casually picked up a piece of yellow paper.

Although he had been cramming on talisman techniques during this period, due to his lack of basic knowledge, he had mainly drawn auxiliary talismans. Now that he had accumulated enough, it was time to start working on more formal ones.

After all, a sword can't handle everything, and besides, he's a Taoist priest, so it would be too embarrassing if he didn't even know how to use talismans to exorcise evil spirits and ward off calamities.

After thinking it over, he decided to start with ink and brush, beginning with the patterns, and then writing and drawing talismans.

However, unlike before, this time Zhou You devoted all his attention to it—and even more than that, in the darkness, the incense and prayers from the statue gathered in his hands.

With swift strokes of the brush, a yellow talisman was completed before anyone even realized it.

It is a Cloud Thunder Talisman for vanquishing all demons and evil spirits—judging by quality alone, it can be considered a mid-to-high grade.

Everything will fall into place naturally, just like water flowing into a channel.

"."

After pausing for a few seconds, Zhou You took out another piece of yellow paper and then used a brush to dot it again.

So smoothly, it was as if divine inspiration had struck. The bottleneck in the talisman was suddenly cleared up. It would be a waste not to make good use of it.

in this way.

I don’t know how much time passed.

Zhou You eventually stopped writing.

It's not that he's run out of inspiration, but rather that his writing skills have run dry—it's not that he hasn't thought about using his own blood, but he recently released so much. He's not a living faucet, so he should try to recuperate.

He shook his head, intending to grind some more ink—but just then, a few tapping sounds suddenly rang out.

It took Zhou You a good ten seconds to react.

Wait a minute, wasn't it said that this place rarely has strange creatures? How come that thing followed us here again?

He was taken aback, but to be honest, he wasn't too scared—after all, he'd been through so much and was used to it, so he just looked around and decided to make some temporary earplugs to tide him over.

however.

Suddenly, the knocking became much more intense.

As if something urgent had happened, this time not only the door, but also the windows and the roof began to shake.

Its momentum was so strong that one wondered if the house might collapse.

Damn, so they've finally lost their temper and are planning to resort to force?
Zhou You frowned, his sword already drawn, and simultaneously ignited the several talismans he had just drawn.

In the past, facing the sect's powerful demons, he would probably have had no choice but to flee in defeat, but now he has regained some of his power.
Okay, although it's still mostly about running away, at least we can fight our way to the lecture hall—

The reason is also very simple.

Anyway, this kind of thing is not something he can handle with his status. Master Chongxu looks so powerful and arrogant, he wants to become the sect leader and is eager to take the position. Surely he must have some way to deal with it?

but.

Just then, the shaking suddenly stopped.

A deathly silence fell outside.

After a long while, a faint voice finally came.

Time is running out.

"Hurry up, or else..."

What do you mean?
But just as Zhou You was about to listen more closely, the voice disappeared, and even the oppressive feeling vanished.

—The other party has already left.

However, Zhou You did not let his guard down. He simply stood there with a furrowed brow, as if he had found a clue, or perhaps he was just pondering something.

The next day.

It was a rare sunny day, and Zhou You stood at the mountain gate with a small package in his hand.

Only a handful of people came to see him off.

Lin Yunshao, Aqua, and several disciples from within the sect—Wang Chongming had been in contact with them secretly, and to avoid suspicion, he didn't come—and that was everyone.

This guy is so popular.

Zhou You gave a wry smile, then gave Lin Yunshao a few instructions before waving his hand and turning to leave.

Although the original owner had gone down the mountain several times, this was the first time he had stepped out of the gates of the Five Elements Temple. Although there was a great monster in the sect, based on his previous experience, the outside world was probably even more dangerous.

"But never mind, saying anything harsh at this point would feel like raising a flag, so anyway..."

He found a stick, picked up his bag, took a swig of wine, and then, burping from the alcohol, walked down the mountain without a care in the world.

"Let's take it one step at a time. We've already faced so much danger, let's not..."

"Is that how everyone gets through it?"

(End of this chapter)