Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 57 A Long-Awaited Reunion: One Person Missing in Mercury Cultivation (4.4 thousand words)
In Guling Town, there is a bridge called Fengyue Bridge, a place known for its pleasure-seeking.

Brothels, brothels, male prostitutes, and even female prostitutes were mixed together and countless.

Although it is called a bridge, it is actually twenty-four streets and alleys. The streets and alleys are connected by water and are also known as "Twenty-Four Bridges of Wind and Moon" (Note 1). The alley entrances are narrow and winding, like duck intestines, with one section after another, and the houses in the middle are stacked like a forest.

Walking through it is like walking in a maze. Unless you are a regular customer or have a pimp to guide you, you will definitely be dazzled and have no idea where to go.

In such places, there are famous prostitutes, depraved prostitutes, respectable women, and brothels, all mixed together.

Those with names and surnames are all hidden from view, requiring exploration and secrecy to reach them. The nameless and wicked ones, however, are numerous, and every evening they bathe and burn incense, the pungent aroma causing muddy water to flow in the ditches and smoke to rise from their houses.

The prostitutes and male prostitutes would then emerge from the alleyway and perch like crows at the street corners, in front of teahouses and taverns, a practice known as "standing guard."

Yin Xiaojian came from Shaowei Pavilion, walking very quickly.

He looked at the teahouses, taverns, alleyways, and riverbanks, where hundreds of gauze lanterns illuminated numerous prostitutes, some ugly, some with large feet, and some with scars, all adorned with powder.

Because people are often in a bad mood under the lamplight and moonlight, and because fair skin is said to cover up a hundred flaws, the prostitutes and gigolos in this place are all quite good-looking, which makes Yin Xiaojian's mouth water.

The fellow muttered to himself, "I wonder if Fang Shu has ever experienced such a blissful and prosperous place?"

The thought of that guy surnamed Fang, who looked like a clueless virgin, made Yin Xiaojian's face smug, and she felt she was better than him.

This fellow mingled among the crowd, swimming like a fish through the twenty-four alleys.

Every now and then, customers would come and go, some disappearing as if swallowed whole by the dark rooms.

Inside the room, the sounds of doors and windows creaking and groaning, like hiccups, were heard, and the pimps and their servants would call out, "Sister has a guest!"

Immediately, a thunderous response erupted from inside the room as candles were lit and the ingratiating laughter of a woman or man filled the air.

Yin Xiaojian wandered around, refusing to leave the crowd and enter the dark rooms. Even when old women tried to pull him away or prostitutes spoke to him in a sweet voice, he did not stop.

The reason is simple: this guy doesn't have much capital, he can't afford famous courtesans, but he's picky and doesn't like mediocre courtesans. He always wants to rely on his limited experience to negotiate a good deal at a low price.

So today, Yin Xiaojian wandered around for more than an hour, picking and choosing, but couldn't find anything that suited her.

But the evil fire burning in his heart made him unwilling to leave.

"Damn it, we've come all this way, how can we leave with nothing!"

Just then, as he was passing by an alleyway for the umpteenth time, a person suddenly bumped into him and cried out in surprise:
"Brother Yin!"

The voice was high-pitched and sharp, and the fact that they knew his surname immediately startled Yin Xiaojian. He didn't remember having a lover here, nor had he ever revealed his real name.

The man called him out and walked out of the dark room, revealing his appearance. He was a pimp dressed in a blue robe and hat, but this pimp was also dressed in red and green, and his posture was charming.

Yin Xiaojian looked closely before recognizing him, and hesitated before asking, "You are... Brother Tian?"

The man who arrived was Tian Tianquan, the same man who had come on the same boat as Fang Shu and Yin Xiaojian.

Tian Tianquan put on a fawning smile: "It's me, Brother Yin. Are you here to have some fun? We know each other well, so you won't get ripped off."

Yin Xiaojian looked at the other person with surprise, her face showing astonishment. She really didn't expect to see him here, and that he had fallen so low as to engage in such a despicable job as a pimp.

However, upon closer reflection, recalling his experience on the night voyage, he realized that the job of a pimp might actually be a good fit for Tian Tianquan.

Yin Xiaojian adopted a cautious stance, hesitatingly asking, "Is it really true that acquaintances charge higher prices?"

Upon hearing this, Tian Tianquan knew there was hope. He rubbed his hands together, then immediately took Yin Xiaojian's arm and walked into the dark room.

She was also calling out, "We have guests, ladies!"

Upon entering the house, an even more pungent smell of cosmetics filled Yin Xiaojian's nose and mouth, causing him to sneeze violently several times.

The man couldn't help but curse, "What kind of stall do you have? Do you really have any good stuff?"

Tian Tianquan chuckled sheepishly, "Yes, yes!"

As a result, one after another, misfits and deformed individuals passed by Yin Xiaojian. Some were disheveled, some were sickly and listless, and some had hoarse voices; none of them had a good appearance.

This annoyed Yin Xiaojian, who repeatedly made gestures as if she was about to leave.

Tian Tianquan was so anxious that he tried every means to comfort and inquire about her well-being, even kneeling on the ground and begging:
"Brother, please have mercy on me. I haven't had a customer in almost a month. The madams don't want me to do business anymore, so I can only be a pimp. Please take care of me and let me choose again."

The two men's pulling and tugging drew laughter from the other pimps, gigolos, and prostitutes in the room, who either mocked and commented on them or laughed and joked amongst themselves.

"This wretched, rotten ass, if the madam lets you open for business, wouldn't it scare the customers to death?"

"When you encounter a poor wretch among a bunch of scoundrels, who isn't pitiful?"

Yin Xiaojian was also a seasoned philanderer.

He'd seen it all before and didn't believe Tian Tianquan's complaints at all. Instead, he said impatiently, "If you don't have business, go sell your blood. Why are you begging me?"

Tian Tianquan cried out, "I want to sell too, but Xue Tang said they won't take me because I'm sick."

These words still did not move Yin Xiaojian in the slightest, and he continued to shout:
"If you can't sell them, go mining! You might just find a precious medicine and turn your life around."

This time, Tian Tianquan stopped responding. He just clung to Yin Xiaojian's leg and continued to sob, looking utterly miserable.

The two were making a scene, which caused a ruckus throughout the room and drew curses from many of the clients.
"What are you crying for! I'm here to have fun, not to listen to wailing."

“I hate it when grown men cry. Throw them both out.”

The pimps and gigolos in the restaurant swarmed over, and in the shoving and pushing, they tried to throw Yin Xiaojian and Tian Tianquan out.

But just then, another gaunt figure emerged, recognizing the two people in the crowd, and exclaimed in surprise:
"Hey! Young Master Yin?"

In her panic, Yin Xiaojian looked up and saw another familiar face from the same boat.

This gaunt man was none other than the old Taoist Lu.

However, the other party was no longer wearing a Taoist robe, but a flowery robe, with powder on his old face and flowers on his ears, looking more like a male prostitute than a customer.

Yin Xiaojian exclaimed in surprise, "Master Lü, what are you doing here?"

"Make way, everyone. This is my brother, Lao Lü. Please bear with him." Lao Lü squeezed into the crowd, just as righteous as he was on the boat.

He also forcibly dug up the field and filled in the fence, cursing:

"Hey Tian, ​​stop delaying everyone's business, get up now."

After a long commotion...

The people in the restaurant didn't give Old Master Lü any face at all; instead, they threw him out of the restaurant along with him.

The three of them stood at the alley entrance, looking at each other.

Old Master Lü looked embarrassed, so he shouted, "It's a rare encounter. Come on, I just received a reward today, let's go have some wine."

Seeing that there was free tea, Yin Xiaojian suppressed her restlessness and decided to take a look and listen to what had happened to the two of them.

Instead of taking them to teahouses and taverns, Master Lü spent money to buy several candles from a tea server, weighed out several packets of offal wrapped in lotus leaves, and shamelessly bought three ceramic bowls on credit. He then sat down by a ditch and invited the two to drink.

The crescent moon hung like a hook, and the water in the ditch was murky, smelling both fragrant and foul, with a strange odor.

Yin Xiaojian sat down, looking at the waste and other items, but he had no appetite.

Looking at his two fellow passengers who were enjoying their meal, he muttered, "You've both fallen on hard times and have no chance to cultivate. You two might as well go down the mountain and live a life of leisure in the mortal world."

Upon hearing Yin Xiaojian's words, Tian Tianquan burst into tears again, choking back sobs and unable to speak. He even slapped himself repeatedly, as if he were having an epileptic seizure.

"What exactly is wrong with this guy?" Yin Xiaojian asked, looking at Old Master Lü in astonishment.

Old Lu slowly but very quickly ate the offal, mumbling indistinctly, "He, as you said, is regretting coming to Guling Town."

He said he was short of money for the boat fare back then, so he pawned his wife and daughter to scrape together the money. He told them to wait for him, that once he achieved immortality, he would definitely descend the mountain to ferry them across. Even if he didn't succeed in immortality, he would bring back a large sum of money to enjoy a life of luxury together.

Old Master Lü shrugged and muttered, "Who knew it would be fine when we came, but now we can't go back."

After thinking about it for a moment, Yin Xiaojian understood the meaning of those words.

It takes one thousand coins to travel from the mortal realm to Guling Town, and it also takes one thousand coins to return.

Although you can sell blood in the town, all expenses are calculated in talisman coins. If you borrow a little and get in debt, you'll be in deep trouble and it will be hard to recover even if you die.

Otherwise, the blood hall in the town wouldn't be doing so well!

For a moment, Yin Xiaojian felt half pity for Tian Tianquan and half relief and joy.

He couldn't help but puff out his chest again, chin held high with a demure air, and glanced at the two fellow boatmen in front of him.

Compared to those two, Yin Xiaojian has a home to return to, food to eat, and martial arts techniques to practice. He's practically a superior person!
In an instant, Yin Xiaojian's mood, which had been severely damaged at the Shaowei Restaurant, was completely restored.

He pretended to be unconventional and started drinking and laughing with Tian Tianquan and Lu Laodao.

Yin Xiaojian said with a sullen expression:

"By the way, Brother Lü. You once said you had a skill, that you could use that thing to smoke liquor. I suppose you must be thriving here on Fengyue Bridge now."

To everyone's surprise, when Old Master Lü heard this, his face stiffened, and he cursed:
"Don't even mention it. This place is no ordinary market, but a celestial market. The tastes of those old women are all incredibly peculiar... Sigh, it's a long story. Let's drink."

Yin Xiaojian asked him what exactly happened, but Lu Laodao hesitated and wouldn't say.

Finally, it was Tian Tianquan, who was crying bitterly beside him, who raised his head and whispered a few words.

Upon hearing this, Yin Xiaojian's eyes widened immediately, and she exclaimed in astonishment:

"Iron pestle, nine dragons playing with a pearl? These things can be used as medicine or embedded in something?"

Old Master Lü's expression was indescribable; he had something to say but couldn't express it, yet he nodded.

Immediately afterward, this fellow began boasting to Yin Xiaojian:

"Ahem, Brother Yin, if any of your elders or peers like to use these things, remember to come and find me, Lü."

"Mr. Lü may not be good at much else, but he excels at 'patience'—guaranteed to satisfy!"

Old Master Lü patted his chest and made a guarantee.

These words sent a jolt through Yin Xiaojian's mind.

It is said that he did indeed have a female elder with a strong yin energy, namely his aunt.

During the casual conversation, Old Master Lü suddenly uttered a sigh:
"A boat full of people, reunited after a long separation. All three of us brothers are here, except for Brother Fang."

He asked Yin Xiaojian:

"Neither of us has encountered Brother Fang Shu in the market. I wonder if Brother Yin has met him? Where does he make a living? I hope he's not mining."

Upon hearing this, Yin Xiaojian's previously regained arrogance immediately soured again.

In particular, Lu Laodao and Tian Tianquan started discussing Fang Shu's fate and whether or not to mine.

Yin Xiaojian wanted to laugh, but couldn't, and remained silent and bored for a moment.

The other two were also muttering to themselves:

"This Immortal Market is so unbearable..."

"I don't want to be a master anymore, I want to get down the mountain alive."

However, laughter and cheerful voices filled the twenty-four streets and alleys.

By dawn, most of the patrons had left, but the sounds of slapping, whipping, and hunger pangs still lingered.

..............................

And at the same time.

Fang Shu stayed in the Dugu Pavilion. He had recently acquired the complete manuals of Lead Kung Fu and Tongue Sword, and was now wholeheartedly studying the two secret manuals.

While studying, he also set up the lead-based boxing stance in the room and tried out the lead-based boxing stance from the Marrow Refining Chapter on the spot.

According to the "Lead Skill: Marrow Refining Chapter," this technique can refine a mouthful of silver-mercury bone marrow during the marrow refining and tribulation-crossing process.

It is white in color and heavy like mercury. The main method of refining it requires mercury as an aid to refine it into the body.

Once mastered, the cultivator's bones become both strong and resilient. Even if they crack, the silver and mercury marrow within can leak out and immediately mend the crack, as if the cultivator had never been injured.

However, mercury is highly toxic, so beginners usually start with cinnabar.

Although cinnabar is also poisonous, it is not as potent as mercury. As long as the cultivator has refined black lead blood beforehand, they can try to use it internally and externally, gradually transitioning to using mercury to undergo tribulations and cultivate.

The drawback of using this item for cultivation is that its effects are too slow.

Therefore, Fang Shu is now trying and pondering that the precious blood he has refined is purple lead poison blood, which has the wonderful effects of both Gu poison blood and black lead blood.

Furthermore, his physical body had been nourished by the milk of the purple lead cloud mother, so his foundation was solid. Could he directly use mercury to cultivate?

If this were possible, the efficiency of his Lead Refining and Marrow Refining Technique would undoubtedly increase significantly!

After some deliberation, he thought to himself:
"This plan works!"

So, in the following days...

Fang Shu temporarily suspended his research on Gu techniques, and made the analysis of lead magic his first task in the Daoist talisman. He also filled the large vat of scorpion in the room with mercury.

After a series of cautious attempts, Fang Shu discovered that he still could not directly ingest mercury, nor could he inhale it into his lungs, as it would easily cause poisoning.

However, he only needs to hold his breath to sit cross-legged in the mercury, meditate and practice meditation, and remain unaffected by the poison.

With skin and flesh as a barrier, the toxicity of mercury can only slowly penetrate into the body, and this toxicity is completely tolerable to the blood poisoned by lead.

Being able to directly refine marrow with mercury, Fang Shu's brain's Taoist talisman's ability to analyze lead-based techniques also increased dramatically.

In less than a month, a line of text appeared in the Taoist talisman:
[The Secret Method of Refining Marrow from Lead, Mercury, Blood, and Treasure Seeds (Completed)]

He was invigorated and couldn't help but murmur:
"The combined effects of lead insects and marrow refinement will help me overcome the two tribulations!"

At this point, Fang Shu had fully mastered the Insect Skill and Lead Skill Marrow Refining Chapters.

With both techniques fully mastered, one primary and one secondary, he charged straight toward the second tribulation with even greater courage and diligence.

Fang Shu thought he would remain in this state of cultivation until he ran out of money and food, and had no more pills, and had to think about offerings, making money and other miscellaneous matters before he would come out of seclusion.

It has been less than a month.

Something suddenly happened at the paper mill. Upon learning of this, Fang Shu was so moved by the stillness that he immediately broke out of his seclusion.

　Note 1: This chapter is based on Zhang Dai's "Twenty-Four Bridges in the Wind and Moon" from the Ming Dynasty.

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(End of this chapter)