Chapter 110: Applying Magic to Life
There is a Taoist temple deep in the mountains, with the sky full of wind and snow.
A stove was lit in the room. The Taoist was roasting himself by the fire and eating dried persimmons. The fox next to him also held a piece of dried persimmons, and the fur on his hands was dyed red.
Lin Jue glanced at the fox from time to time.
The fox saw that the white fur on its hand had been dyed yellow and red by the persimmon, which was somewhat similar to its previous color. It was visibly stunned and thought that it had changed back to its original color. It did not react until it remembered that its legs were also black before and saw the persimmon in front of it.
So he raised his paw, placed it in front of him and licked it.
"..."
Lin Jue couldn't help but feel helpless, and said to it: "You are a fox, not a cat. Those outside are cats..."
When the fox heard this, he couldn't help but look up and stare at him.
Fourth Brother is right—
For Lin Jue, Fuyao is a good object for practicing communicating with birds and beasts.
It is not only because Fuyao was raised by Lin Jue since she was a child, and the two have a deep relationship. Lin Jue does not need to reach the state of being in harmony with the creatures of heaven and earth in the "method of gathering beasts and regulating birds" to communicate with it, but also because Fuyao is far smarter than ordinary birds and beasts in the mountains, and has more complex thoughts. In this kind of communication, more complex information can be conveyed.
But it can't speak after all.
Even though it may have the initial intelligence to speak human language, it has not yet refined its transverse bone.
Lin Jue could only understand the general meaning.
But as Fourth Senior Brother said—
How much depends on magic, how much depends on conjecture.
Guess can also be said to be feeling.
As for this ratio, it depends on personal luck.
Then again, isn't communication between people based partly on listening and partly on guessing?
The fox stared at him for a long moment, obviously stunned.
"Hey?"
"You are indeed a fox, not a cat."
"Woo?"
"We are not foxes, we are Taoist priests."
"Hey?"
"You are not a Taoist priest, you are a fox."
"Hey?"
"You are called a fox."
The Taoist in the house seemed to be talking to himself. If the people down the mountain saw it, they would probably find it strange.
But the Taoist was always patient.
The fox, on the other hand, was speechless after hearing what he said. He lay on the ground with the persimmon cake in his hands for a long time in a daze, as if he was thinking, but he couldn't come up with any result. He had to shake his head, put aside all distracting thoughts, and continued to eat the persimmon cake with his head down.
The man and the fox often looked outside the house.
Outside the house, the north wind was blowing snow, the wind was howling, and in between there were the sounds of swords swinging through the air, the sounds of movement, and the woman's gasps.
The junior sister is dancing with a sword in the courtyard.
Compared to the graceful sword dance she and her third senior brother learned in the first half of this year, the sword moves now were more powerful and the rhythm had also changed. Although they seemed to be the most basic moves, they were undoubtedly much more fierce.
Now both of them have learned the Qingdan Sword.
It’s just that the two of them have different strengths and flexibility. After a few months, they gradually developed their own styles.
Lin Jue needs to be more open and aggressive.
The younger sister was somewhat influenced by the sword dance taught to her by her third senior brother, or it might be an active integration. Her sword moves and body movements became more graceful and agile, which could be considered as a way for her to make up for her own strength.
At this time, in the courtyard outside the door, the woman took advantage of the sliding ground to shuttle through the snow and wind. The tip of the sword pierced through the goose feathers and crossed two meters in an instant. Anyone who was afraid in front of her would be stabbed to death by her.
The woman stopped her momentum immediately, bent her waist and abdomen, turned her body, and after sweeping the sword, she instantly stabbed another sword behind her. The force of this sword was so great that the long sword made a sound of sword ringing.
Now that’s good, I’m afraid the person behind me might also be pierced to death.
Lin Jue scratched his head, wondering why this little junior sister was working so hard, practicing sword in the heavy snow.
And she does it every day without fail.
Just like working on a road, you have to go no matter how strong the wind, rain, thunder, snow, or hail comes.
Lin Jue even suspected that she would stop halfway to practice swordplay secretly while repairing the road.
It made him a little stressed.
He shook his head and continued to eat the cake and look at the sword.
In comparison, Lin Jue still prefers the sword dance in the first half of the year, which is wrapped with peach blossoms and pine flowers, and the people are like floating fairies and the swords are like dancing in the wind, which is more entertaining.
……
Amid the sound of sword dancing, spring came to the world.
Once the snow melts, all things come to life.
The spring breeze blew the peach blossoms and azaleas from the back mountain into the Taoist temple, and they floated in the temple along with the wind created by the dancing long swords.
“The hills behind are blooming.”
Lin Jue walked into the yard and looked back.
The junior sister has changed from her heavy winter cotton coat to a lighter Taoist robe. She steps forward and stabs, opening the way like an immortal. The tip of the sword is some distance away from Lin Jue, and he can seem to feel the cold.
When she heard her senior brother talking, she stopped, put away her sword with an outer sword flower, and said to Lin Jue seriously with a flushed face:
"Yes, they are all in full bloom. We can pick peach blossoms to make wine for Third Senior Brother. After the peach blossoms bloom, the pine flowers will bloom."
"Why are you so diligent?"
"There's nothing to do anyway." The little sister said, "When can we make some delicious food and go sit on the mountain to enjoy the flowers like we did last year?"
It's not like you have nothing to do every day.
Lin Jue thought so in his heart, but he was looking at the pine needles that had just grown on the ancient pine tree in the yard.
“It’s delicious…”
"Yeah, just like last year!"
"Let me think about what to do."
"!"
"By the way, Junior Sister, do you know what pine needles are used for?"
"What's it for? Can it prick people?" The little sister said, and then thought for a moment, "I seem to have heard from the second or fifth brother that if you can't see at night, you can boil pine needles in water and drink it to cure night blindness."
"Close."
"what?"
"If you can find a jar that can be sealed, wash the pine needles and put them in it, add mountain spring water. Oh, yes, it would be even better if you add the sweet spring water from the mountain. Then seal the jar with mud, and after a few days the water inside will become drinkable water with air and bubbles."
"Water with air and bubbles?"
"It tastes great." Lin Jue said with a smile, "It will be even better if you add some sugar and honey, especially suitable for summer."
The younger sister was a little confused at first, as she couldn't imagine what water with air and bubbles tasted like, but she had unconditional trust in her senior brother when it came to eating and drinking, and when she saw her senior brother's eyes light up, her eyes also lit up.
"give it to me!"
Even getting a little excited.
"Third or fifth senior brother must have this kind of jar, I'll make it!" said the little sister, "I also know where to find honey, I'll go steal some!"
"Don't get stung!"
"it does not matter!"
It’s not that I can’t, but it doesn’t matter.
When Lin Jue heard this, he felt uneasy about letting her go alone. Seeing that she had already walked out of the door while she was talking, he hurriedly followed her.
Is this little girl so decisive?
The two of them shuttled through the forest, and the fox jumped in the mountains. Before long, they had arrived in front of a cliff on Tianmen Peak. The little apprentice sister pointed to a large beehive hanging on the stone wall above her head and said to him, "That's filled with honey."
"How did you know?"
"I passed by here while repairing the road." After explaining, the little sister asked him worriedly, "Brother, have you mastered the art of 'Gathering Beasts and Taming Birds'?"
"I got in early."
"Then I feel relieved." The little sister nodded, "I will climb up and steal later. If I am discovered, they probably won't sting you."
“It doesn’t work.”
"why?"
This spell is only useful when the Taoist has no evil thoughts towards the creatures on earth. If you come to steal someone's honey at this time, how can you possibly expect to prevent them from stinging you with this peaceful spell?
Lin Jue was too lazy to explain to her, so he waved his hand and said:
"Don't worry about it. Just go get it. We'll catch it below. Be careful and don't fall."
"rest assured!"
After saying this, the junior sister rolled up her sleeves and walked towards the stone wall.
The stone wall is nearly vertical and difficult to climb.
But my junior sister is now very good at climbing mountains.
She first found cracks and protrusions in the stone wall, and quickly climbed up a distance. Later, when there was nothing to gain leverage on, she dug out a leverage point on the mountain by herself, and soon arrived in front of the beehive.
The junior sister lowered her head and looked at the man and the fox below, made a gesture, and took out a kitchen knife from her arms.
Cut it with one knife!
Lin Jue, who was below, was holding a package made of banana leaves and caught it accurately.
With such a big commotion, how could it not be discovered?
Lin Jue immediately heard the sound from above.
"Buzzing..."
The sound is getting louder and louder.
Lin Jue looked up and saw——
Bees swarmed out of the hive, forming a dark cloud near the hive. However, his junior sister continued to hang on the stone wall. Her body quickly turned to stone and soon turned into a stone sculpture hanging on the wall.
"Buzz..."
The bees circled around her, some even stood on her body, but when they couldn't find anything to sting, they immediately flew downwards.
"?"
Lin Jue couldn't help but look at the fox.
The fox also turned to look at him.
"What are you waiting for? Why don't you run?"
"Woo?"
"Just run!"
Lin Jue urged Fu Yao to leave, but he did not run away. He just put down the honey and hid in a big tree nearby.
There are old and big trees everywhere on Yishan Mountain.
The Taoist figure disappeared immediately.
This can also be considered as the application of magic.
The good news is that Lin Jue has made some progress in practicing the Wood Release Technique and can breathe in the trees. Moreover, this spell requires almost no energy. Theoretically, he can stay in the tree as long as he wants.
However, now that he has hidden in the tree, his hearing and vision are still blurry. He can only see blurry shadows and hear blurry sounds. He can see and hear big things and movements, but not small ones. He needs to practice more in this regard.
So he didn't know what was happening outside.
Only an extremely faint buzzing sound could be heard, as if it came from far away, or as if it was the sound of the wind or the branches of the tree shaking.
After a long time, the sound was heard.
"Brother Shi..."
It was vague, as if speaking from a distant urn.
Only then did Lin Jue walk out of the tree.
The world before my eyes and in my ears suddenly became clear. I saw flowers blooming in the forest and the sun shining on the stone mountain. A figure turned his back to me and looked around. I heard the sound of the wind and the faint buzzing of bees, and of course, the vague voice calling for my brother.
This spell is really useful.
Lin Jue looked back at the ancient tree and was very satisfied.
"Brother Shi..."
The sound is a little louder, but why can't I hear it clearly?
"here!"
Lin Jue picked up the honey and shouted.
The junior sister turned around, her face was already swollen, but she looked unconcerned:
"Brother Shi, are you hiding in Zhaisuli?"
"Yeah, how did you get stung like this?"
"I didn't say a word! I originally thought that I would not be stung if I turned into stone. However, I turned into stone and waited for a long time, but they didn't respond..." The junior sister walked over and said.
"It's okay, we have Brother Five."
"I thought so too!"
"Let's go..."
"Is that enough? If it's not enough, I can go steal from the village..."
"Enough is enough!"
"Shiwa is delicious~"
The junior sister took the honey and banana leaves from him.
Lin Jue thought for a moment and said, "Come to think of it, I seemed to have seen Turtledove Leaves on the way here."
"What kind of cat is Turtledove Leaf Paper?"
"Have you never eaten turtledove tofu? It's also called fairy tofu or Guanyin tofu."
“No…”
The junior sister walked away holding the honey and turned her head to look at him.
"The leaves of the turtledove are the leaves of a kind of wild grass. Wash them, smash them into pulp, filter them with gauze, add a little wood ash water, and leave them for a while, and they will become something like tofu." Lin Jue also tried his best to describe it to her as he walked, "It tastes more like a herbal jelly. You can mix it with soy sauce and vinegar to make it salty, or mix it with honey and osmanthus to make it sweet."
"What is Asamoto Nianggao?"
"It's similar to Guilinggao and Shaoxiancao."
"What is Guiling Gao Shaoxian Chao?"
"..."
Lin Jue forgot——
Maybe snacks like tortoise jelly, roasted grass jelly and turtledove tofu are already available these days, but my junior sister was born in the countryside and had a very hard life, so she may not have eaten them.
Moreover, even if this kind of snack exists, it should be more common in prosperous places like Beijing.
"It's okay, I'll make it for you."
"So cute!"
The junior sister nodded and said.
The two were walking back with the honey when a white shadow flashed beside them. It turned out to be a fox demon that jumped out from somewhere and leaped nearly two meters away as if it had no weight, and walked back with them.
From time to time, he turned his head and looked at his junior sister curiously.
Think about who this person is...
(End of this chapter)
