"Talk about it, where is Feishan Temple located, how did you become the temple master of Feishan, and where did you acquire this Daoist cultivation?"
As a disciple of White Cloud Temple, Lu Zheng naturally wanted to figure out the cause and effect when faced with a demon that might act criminally and evil, claiming to be a master of a Daoist sect.
Itâs not that demons arenât allowed to wear Daoist robes and claim to be Daoists. Lu Zheng wasnât that domineering, but if one was wearing a Daoist robe while committing evil deeds, then such targeting by Lu Zheng was to be expected, much like Guangyueâs proactive response upon hearing of strange events at Jiming Temple in the past.
"Spare me, elder! Feishan Temple is located within a branch vein of Ling Mountain. The temple master saw my natural Dao body, so he recruited me as a guardian of the Daoist sect. Later, there were no successors, so he passed the position of temple master to me."
As soon as he finished speaking, a female voice came from the valley, coldly saying, "Youâre lying!"
It was Lin Wan speaking.
As a frontline detective, she could instantly see through the deceptive bravado and guilty cowardice of the short, fat man.
"You killed the old temple master!" Lu Zhengâs stern shout rang in the ears of the short, fat man.
"No, no, I didnât dare to kill him!" the short, fat man instinctively denied.
His voice paused, and his face immediately turned pale.
He wasnât stupid; from the previous words, he already deduced that the man speaking in Hundred Springs Valley was also someone from the Daoist sect.
So when he spoke later, he hoped to plead based on their shared identity as members of the Daoist sect.
However, he didnât expect that his first sentence would be exposed by another woman, and the second sentence was exploded by that man.
"Didnât dare?" Lu Zheng chuckled, "Thatâs quite an interesting choice of words."
"Elder... Feishan Temple originated from..."
"So you killed the successor of the old temple master?" Lin Wan asked.
The short, fat manâs face dramatically changed, he gathered all his true qi, trying to break free from Lu Zhengâs restraint.
"Crash!"
In the next moment, a thunderous explosion sounded in the clear sky, a Cardinal Divine Thunder descended from the heavens, striking directly at his forehead.
The demon with three hundred years of Dao practice was directly struck and his divine soul shattered, flipping over dead, revealing an original form over three feet long.
"How ugly, what is this?"
"A Cyan Musk Rat, also called Cyan Musk Mink," Shen Ying shook her head, introducing, "No wonder he didnât want to be called a big rat."
Lu Zheng shrugged, "Still a big rat."
Liu Qingquan wrinkled her small nose, "Brother-in-law, why did you use Thunder Technique? Itâs all scorched, how are we supposed to eat it now?"
Lu Zheng almost slipped into the spring water, "You eat rat? Youâre not a cat."
"Why canât we eat rats?" Liu Qing blinked her eyes, "Foxes eat rats too, and rats taste delicious, cooked they have a hint of chicken flavor."
Lu Zheng, "..."
Lin Wan glanced at Lu Zheng, "There are special meat rats, donât you know?"
"I know, but Iâm really not interested," Lu Zheng shook his head and turned to ask, "Do you eat them?"
Lin Wan shook her head, "I donât eat them."
"Then thatâs settled," Lu Zheng shrugged, "Thereâs Yu Tian Small Milk Calf tonight, why eat rats?"
The topic ended there, Shen Ying wrapped one arm around the Ginseng Doll, raised her other hand and lightly waved, the earth beneath the ratâs corpse stirred, burying the body, and then the earth smoothed over, grass grew, as if nothing had ever happened.
And then the attention of all the women shifted back to the Ginseng Doll.
Wang Xiaowan curiously asked, "Why is the Ginseng Doll burrowing into Sister Shenâs arms and not coming out? Reasonably speaking, those who often deal with herbs should be Sister Liu and Yue Yao, right?"
Liu Qingyan and Du Yueyao often diagnosed patients at Renxin Hall, with a fragrance of herbs accompanying them in their daily activities, which ordinary people found refreshing just by smelling.
Since thatâs the case, shouldnât the Ginseng Doll be closer to them?
"Closer? Closer so they can cook her?" Shen Ying giggled.
Wang Xiaowan, "..."
Upon hearing Shen Yingâs words, the Ginseng Doll shivered, filled with fear as she looked at Liu Qingyan and Du Yueyao, and continued snuggling into Shen Yingâs embrace, causing a ripple of laughter.
"Hahaha!" All the women burst into laughter, Wang Xiaowan became even more curious, "Then why is she so close to you?"
Shen Ying smiled without speaking, Liu Qingyan shook her head and looked at Du Yueyao, "Xiaowan might not know, but you surely do, take a guess, why?"
"I know?" Du Yueyao thought for a moment, and suddenly understood, "Zhi Ma?"
Liu Qingyan nodded and smiled, "Exactly. Zhi Ma lived in Taohua Village for several years, rarely leaving the backyard and mostly staying under an old peach tree, but Sister Ying carries her aura.
The Ginseng Doll and Zhi Ma are both spirit medicines that awaken intelligence, very sensitive, and the Ginseng Doll is able to sense the presence of Zhi Ma around Sister Ying, making Sister Ying naturally a safe presence for her."
"Zhi Ma? Thereâs still a Zhi Ma in Taohua Village?" Wang Xiaowan asked in surprise.
"Itâs quite an old story, if it werenât for Sister Qingyan occasionally using reishi cut from Zhi Ma to refine elixirs, I wouldnât have known," Du Yueyao said.
"Zhi Ma...alchemy..." The Ginseng Doll glanced at Liu Qingyan and shrank further into Shen Yingâs embrace.
"Oh? You can talk?" Shen Ying said in surprise.
"This White Jade Ginseng has two thousand years of medicinal properties, but unfortunately its Dao practice is low, with ordinary intelligence, it can also speak," Si Lingxi shook her head and said, "Moreover, its roots are quite good, if used in medicine, it can enhance an elixirâs spiritual quality by thirty percent."
Ginseng Doll: ???
Why does it feel like escaping from a tigerâs mouth only to enter a wolfâs den?
"Thatâs right!" Lu Zhengâs voice came from the next room, "Spirit medicines that awaken their intelligence naturally have a spirituality within them, even if the medicinal potency is slightly weaker, which is something many older spirit medicines lack, so even though Zhi Ma only has four to five hundred years of medicinal potency, whenever I need reishi for brewing wine or refining medicine, I cut from her."
Ginseng Doll: ???
All the women laughed, Shen Ying lightly shook her jade hand, and a porcelain bottle appeared in her hand, its stopper automatically opened to release a fresh fragrance, precisely from the stalactite spiritual liquid from deep mountain caves.
The Ginseng Dollâs eyes lit up, "Spirit...Spiritual Spring?"
Shen Ying smiled, "Open your mouth."
"Ah!" The Ginseng Doll twitched her nose, obediently opened her mouth, and allowed Shen Ying to tilt the porcelain bottle, pouring a thread of spiritual liquid into her mouth.
The stalactite spiritual liquid disappeared into the Ginseng Dollâs mouth, she smacked her lips, and looked at Shen Ying with a yearn-filled gaze.
Shen Ying gently rubbed the Ginseng Dollâs small head, running her jade fingers through the dollâs few strands of hair, holding back the urge to pluck some off.
No hurry, the Ginseng Doll came willingly, unlike Zhi Ma who was captured, thereâs plenty of opportunity in the future.
"Do you want to go home with me later?" Shen Ying chuckled, "At my house, you can often drink this kind of spiritual spring, plus the earth vein is pure, spiritual energy is abundant, itâs a great place."
The Ginseng Doll blinked her large eyes, smelling the aura of her kind on Shen Ying, this aura radiant with joyful spirituality, completely lacking any sense of withering or weakening.
Thus, the Ginseng Doll nodded firmly, her gaze filled with emotion and anticipation.