Liaozhai: Immortality Begins with Becoming Yan Chixia's Apprentice

Chapter 54 Scams and Deceptions

After leaving Tiebi Pass, Zhou Ning headed north.

The wilderness grew ever more vast, and the population dwindled ever more.

After walking for two whole days, he finally saw a small town ahead.

The town is small, with only a few dozen households, but it is more lively than the villages we passed through before.

There were some pedestrians on the street, and the shops on both sides were open. Occasionally, you could hear vendors calling out their wares.

At the entrance of the town stands a stone tablet with the three characters "Ping An Town" engraved on it.

Zhou Ning walked into the town, intending to find an inn to rest and replenish his provisions.

As soon as he reached the center of town, he saw a group of people gathered in front of a makeshift platform, pointing and talking animatedly.

Exclamations and cheers erupted from the crowd from time to time.

Zhou Ning leaned closer and peered through the gaps in the crowd.

On the high platform stood a middle-aged Taoist priest dressed in an apricot-yellow robe.

He was thin and wiry, with a long beard and a peach wood sword in his hand, giving him a somewhat otherworldly and refined appearance.

Two banners hung on either side of the platform: the left one read "Authentic Laoshan Roots" and the right one read "Exorcising Evil Spirits and Suppressing Demons".

"Fellow villagers..." the middle-aged Taoist priest called out loudly.

"I am a disciple of Qingxu Temple in Laoshan, with the Dharma name 'Xuanzhenzi'. I have been traveling here and have noticed that the feng shui of your town is unusual, which may be caused by evil spirits. Therefore, I have set up an altar here to perform rituals to help you eliminate disasters and difficulties."

Someone in the crowd shouted, "Taoist Master, what skills do you have? Show us what you've got!"

Xuanzhenzi smiled slightly, took out a piece of yellow paper from his sleeve, and folded it into a paper crane.

He muttered incantations and tossed the paper crane into the air.

The paper crane actually flapped its wings in the air and came to life.

It hovered above the crowd a few times before falling back into Xuanzhenzi's hand, turning back into an ordinary piece of yellow paper.

A gasp of amazement erupted from the crowd.

"What's that? Watch this."

Xuanzhenzi took out another copper coin and placed it in his palm.

He blew on it, and the copper coin floated up and slowly rotated in his palm.

Then, he suddenly waved his hand, and the copper coin shot like an arrow towards a wooden pillar next to the platform, embedding itself in the pillar with a "thud".

"it is good."

"The Taoist priest is truly a divine being."

Thunderous applause erupted from the crowd.

Zhou Ning stood at the back of the crowd, watching quietly.

His brow furrowed slightly.

He sensed the magic of the paper crane flying with his divine sense.

That was just a simple illusion; the paper crane was attached with a very weak trace of spiritual energy, which was not enough to make it actually fly.

The spiritual power seemed to have been infused beforehand, rather than being unleashed by Xuanzhenzi on the spot.

As for that copper coin, it does bear some resemblance to the art of manipulating objects.

However, Zhou Ning could sense that the trajectory of the flying copper coin was unstable, and the fluctuations of spiritual energy were also chaotic, which was obviously a sign of insufficient cultivation.

"This Xuanzhenzi is quite interesting," Zhou Ning thought to himself.

He decided to stay and see what the Taoist priest was up to.

Xuanzhenzi then performed several more "magical spells".

Telekinesis, turning stone into gold, summoning wind and rain...

Each one drew cheers from the audience, but the more Zhou Ning looked, the more something seemed off.

Retrieving something remotely is simply a matter of hiding something in one's sleeve.

Turning stone into gold is a metaphor for using brass to impersonate gold.

Commanding the wind and rain is just a simple smokescreen.

These tricks might fool ordinary people, but in the eyes of true practitioners, they are nothing but trifling skills.

"Dear fellow villagers..."

Xuanzhenzi sheathed his peach wood sword and shouted, "I have set up this altar here today not only to perform magic, but also to help your town solve a major problem."

Someone in the crowd asked, "What big trouble is it?"

Xuanzhenzi's expression was solemn:

"Upon examining the feng shui of your town, I have discovered a heavy, lingering yin energy at the eastern end. This yin energy is persistent and refusing to dissipate, suggesting that some unclean entity is causing trouble there. If this is not dealt with promptly, it could lead to unrest in the household at best, and even endanger lives at worst."

A commotion broke out in the crowd.

"East end of town? Isn't that Wang the rich man's house?"

"That's right. I heard that things haven't been going well at Wang the rich man's house lately. There are always strange noises at night."

"My neighbor, Aunt Li, said that when she got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, she saw a dark shadow floating around in Wang the Rich Man's yard..."

Seeing that everyone believed him, Xuanzhenzi pressed his advantage:

"This humble Taoist is willing to dispel this evil spirit from your town and ensure everyone's safety. However..."

He paused, then looked troubled:

"Exorcising evil spirits requires ritual implements, talismans, incense, and candles, all of which require money to purchase. I am a wandering Taoist priest and my purse is empty; I am truly unable to afford it. If any of you fellow villagers are willing, you can donate some money to help me."

In the crowd, some people started taking out their money.

"I'll donate one tael!"

"I'll donate five coins!"

"I'll donate two ounces!"

Zhou Ning watched this scene with a cold smile.

This Xuanzhenzi is indeed a fraud.

He used deception to mislead the people, then fabricated stories about yin energy to swindle money from them.

He had heard about this kind of thing when he was in Qingshan Town.

Some itinerant Taoist priests specialize in swindling money using this method.

But he didn't expose it immediately; instead, he continued to observe.

Xuanzhenzi accepted the silver and then took out several talismans, distributing them to everyone.

"These are 'peace charms.' Take them home and stick them on your doors to protect your home and family. Each charm costs only one tael of silver."

Everyone then pulled out their money.

Zhou Ning squeezed through the crowd and walked to the front of the platform.

"Master, I have a question to ask you."

Xuanzhenzi sized him up and down, noticing his simple clothes and lack of wealth, and his attitude became somewhat perfunctory: "Please speak."

Zhou Ning said, "The Taoist priest said there is yin energy at the east end of the town. Could you take me there to see it? I'd like to see it for myself."

Xuanzhenzi's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his smile:

"Young man, the yin energy is no joke. You're just an ordinary person; you might get tainted by it. Let me go alone."

Zhou Ning smiled and said, "Don't worry, Daoist Master, I'm not an ordinary person."

He raised his hand, and a blue light shone from his palm.

That was the light condensed from the Qi.

Xuanzhenzi's expression changed completely.

"You...you are a cultivator?"

Zhou Ning withdrew his protective aura and said calmly:

"I am Zhou Ning, a disciple of Yan Chixia of Qingyun Mountain. Daoist, I have understood all your spells."

"The paper crane flying to the sky is an illusion, the copper coin's power to control objects is unstable, the ability to take things from a distance is just hiding them in one's sleeve, and the ability to turn stones into gold is a substitution. These tricks may fool ordinary people, but they won't fool me."

A commotion broke out in the crowd.

Cold sweat beaded on Xuanzhenzi's forehead.

"You...you're talking nonsense! I am a disciple of Qingxu Temple in Laoshan, a respectable practitioner. What right do you have to slander me?"

Zhou Ning was not angry, and calmly said:

"Then please answer a few questions for me, Daoist Master. Who is the abbot of Qingxu Temple in Laoshan? How many disciples does Qingxu Temple have? Which deity is enshrined in the temple?"

Xuanzhenzi opened his mouth, but couldn't answer.