Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 40: Gifts of Robes, Invitations, and Precious Gu (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)
After leaving the medicine hall, Fang Shu inquired around in the front yard of the Taoist temple and found out where Senior Sister Yu'er was. Then he headed straight for her.

He has now completed his Blood Refinement and become a formal disciple of the Dugu Pavilion. Although he is eager to save his uncle, he also learned of the situation within the pavilion.

And who knows, the Dugu Clan might offer him some conveniences. Fang Shu wouldn't be foolish enough to refuse help from the Dugu Clan.

"You'll be leaving the museum for a while, and it'll be outside the town. We don't know exactly how long."

Upon hearing Fang Shu's words, Senior Sister Yu'er's delicate brows immediately furrowed. She asked, "Is it really necessary to go, and why the rush? You just finished your blood transfusion and haven't cultivated any powerful spells yet."

Fang Shu replied in a deep voice, "I have no choice but to go; there's no time to delay."

Upon hearing this reply, although she still didn't know what had happened to Fang Shu, she didn't pry further. Instead, she reluctantly put down her work and beckoned Fang Shu to join her.
"Come with me. Since you're going out, you should at least tell your master."

Senior Sister Yu'er's suggestion was exactly what Fang Shu wanted to hear, and he immediately followed her into the inner courtyard.

Soon.

Fang Shuhou was in the council hall. Du Yu'er had already left, and he told the master of the house about his request.

The other person, holding a cup of tea, sat leisurely in the armchair, sipping it.

"Tell me, what is it that's making you so anxious, having just started your apprenticeship and not even begun your formal training, that you're already leaving town?"

Since the master of the Du family was now his master, Fang Shu did not hide anything and told the master in detail that his uncle was currently in the mine and had signed a one-year contract. Now that half a year had passed, he had to go and redeem his uncle.

The owner of the Duguan Pavilion, who had been expressionless, relaxed his brows a little after hearing his story, and his gaze toward Fang Shu became slightly more pleasing.

"So that's how it is. Your second uncle sold himself into the mines to support your Taoist studies. Now that you've become an immortal, you should indeed hurry and rescue him."

The owner of the private club did not stop Fang Shu's actions, and said calmly:

"If that's the case, then I won't stop you. As for your first lesson after becoming an apprentice, we'll start it after you return."

Fang Shu immediately replied, "Yes, thank you for your kindness, Master."

"Come with me."

When Fang Shu looked up, the owner of the Duguan Pavilion had already stood up at some point, and placed the teacup in his hand neatly on the table, his movements extremely eerie.

While beckoning to Fang Shu, the other person walked towards the back of the council hall with their hands behind their back.

The two arrived at a quiet room, where the owner asked Fang Shu to stand and wait.

She was hunched over, rummaging through drawers and cabinets in the quiet room, saying:

“You’re in such a hurry to get out. We should have asked the tailor in town to come and make you a custom-made robe from our temple. But now we can only rummage through some old clothes and give them to you.”

Before long, the master of the temple brought out a gray-black Taoist robe for practicing martial arts.

The character “独” is embroidered on the chest and the character “蛊” on the back. The design is simple and looks quite thin. It can be worn as a robe or draped over the body.

The owner of the private residence casually tossed out two sets of Taoist robes used for martial arts practice:
"Here you go. This was worn by one of my former disciples, so please don't be offended."

Fang Shu touched the robe and found it to be quite light, made of silk, and extremely resilient. Although the size wasn't quite a perfect fit, it was still wearable.

Although it was an old garment, it had no musty smell at all; on the contrary, it was quite fresh, which clearly indicated that it was not only made of excellent material but also properly stored.

So he accepted the robe without hesitation, and then took off his own robe and draped it over his shoulders.

The owner of the guesthouse looked him up and down, his eyes slightly narrowed, and instructed:

"This was made by the Fire-Washing Silkworm after it swallowed the Fire-Washing Cloth and spun silk again. Although it cannot be considered a magic weapon, it has some wonderful uses. The cloth is quite dry and can protect against some earthly weapons. When it gets dirty, it can be cleaned like new by burning it with fire."

Regarding the size and shape, you can also use fire to test it; the more it's burned, the smaller it will shrink. If you want it to grow larger, simply stretch it.

Fang Shu understood and immediately clasped his hands in thanks:
"Yes, thank you, Master, for gifting me this precious robe."

The owner of the private residence withdrew his gaze from him and instead took out a name card from the quiet room. Using his finger as a pen, without looking up, he asked Fang Shu some questions about his second uncle, including which mine he was currently at and his full name.

Fang Shu answered each question one by one, and as soon as he finished speaking, the name card was flicked in front of him.

The owner of the private club said indifferently:

"With this invitation, unless it's something serious, they should be willing to give you face and go get your person redeemed."

Fang Shu held the name card, glanced at it, and his face immediately lit up with joy, a weight lifted from his heart. "Yes, Master!"

With this letter, and the personal guarantee of the Pavilion Master, plus the fact that Fang Shu is now a Tribulation Immortal, redeeming his second uncle should not be too difficult.

Having received the Taoist robes and the abbot's name card, Fang Shu immediately prepared to take his leave and not disturb him any further.

When the owner of the guesthouse saw his actions, he shouted, "What's the rush, you rascal? It's not over yet."

In Fang Shu's bewildered gaze, he saw the owner of the Du Pavilion tap her left ear, tilt her head slightly, and suddenly tiny red dots flew out of her ear, changing shape in mid-air.

These little red dots looked somewhat familiar to Fang Shu. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that they were quite similar to the ant master he had used to transfer his powers last time.

Last time, Ant Master flew out of the owner's mouth, but this time, it crawled out of the ear and was also a bit bigger.

The owner whispered a few words to the little red dots, then pointed at Fang Shu and, as if by magic, tore off a strand of hair from Fang Shu's head and handed the root of the hair to the little red dots.

The next moment, the little red dots dragged Fang Shu's hair, nibbled it off with a rustling sound, and then pounced on Fang Shu.

This startled Fang Shu. Fortunately, the red worms did not pounce on his face, but instead landed on his hair and disappeared without a trace.

At this point, the owner of the guesthouse began his leisurely introduction:
"These are the Blood Fleas under my command. You can call them Flea Master. With them accompanying you, as long as your luck isn't too bad and you don't encounter any Qi Refining monsters, you should be able to return safely."

After saying this, the owner of the inn waved to Fang Shu, indicating that he could finally leave.

Fang Shu covered his hair. Although the name "Flea Master" sounded a bit itchy, he suddenly felt a sense of security.

His voice was cheerful as he bowed to the owner of the guesthouse again, saying, "Thank you, Master."

The owner of the guesthouse didn't even glance at him again, uttering only two words:

"Pull out your buttocks."

Fang Shu didn't linger any longer and respectfully took his leave.

Once he stepped out of the quiet room, his expression returned to calm, but the joy in his heart remained, and it was not feigned.

As he walked towards the outside of the hall, he thought to himself, "Having a powerful backer behind me is truly a blessing."

It didn't take long.

Fang Shu took some personal items from Master Snake and then hurriedly headed out of the dojo.

However, just before leaving, he turned back and found Du Yu'er in the medicine hall of the Taoist temple. He greeted her briefly before quickly leaving.

What he didn't notice was that when he appeared wearing his old Taoist robe, Du Yu'er's gaze towards him was somewhat different from usual.

As Fang Shu turned and left, Du Yu'er stared at his retreating figure, feeling somewhat dazed.

A woman walked out of the pharmacy, her voice breaking Du Yu'er's daze:
"This boy is quite ordinary. Although he made a splash during his tribulation, why is he being stared at like this by my senior sister?"

The man frowned, gazing indifferently at Fang Shu's retreating figure. Clearly, he had heard Fang Shu's voice and recognized him while still in the next room.

If Fang Shu were still here, he would recognize this woman as Qin Min—Qin Bao'er.

Du Yu'er withdrew her gaze, shook her head, and casually said, "I was just thinking about some old things in the manor."

"What medicine are you taking today, little sister? Let me dissolve it for you." Du Yu'er smiled.

Qin Min stared intently at Du Yu'er's face and saw that the other's expression did not seem fake; she had only seemed to be momentarily stunned. Qin Min then put aside her distracting thoughts.

The woman handed over the ointment, her face slightly flushed, and said with her back turned, "Thank you for your help today, Senior Sister."

As she lay on the bamboo bed, waiting for the massage and medicine, Qin Min's thoughts drifted back to Fang Shu's retreating figure.

But she only thought about it for a moment and didn't take Fang Shu to heart at all.

"It's not bad to be able to enter the Dao in half a year, but you're still just a mortal."

Qin Min felt no sense of urgency or competition regarding this.

She closed her eyes and quietly enjoyed the nourishment of the secret medicine in the mansion and the service of the young lady in the mansion, which helped her quickly complete the cultivation of the essence refining stage.

(End of this chapter)