Chapter 16: The Young Girl in the Temple
Behind the jade pendant was a pair of bright, clear eyes. Although Qin Mu was only eleven years old, he already understood many things.
Once, he had followed Granny Si to another village. A woman there was about to give birth. The delivery went smoothly, and the loving scene of the family of three deeply moved him.
Qin Mu had asked Granny Si how he himself was born and where his parents were. Granny Si couldn't answer and had to tell him that he was found, and that this jade pendant was already on him when they picked him up.
Therefore, Qin Mu treasured this jade pendant, hoping that one day he could find his parents through it and ask them why they had abandoned him.
After a long while, the young man put away the jade pendant, still hanging it on his chest. His face was calm, but the strange feeling from the jade pendant just now was buried deep in his heart. Behind him, Granny Si also returned to her room.
The next day, Ma Ye, Blind Man, Lame Man, and Mute Man continued to go out hunting, catching more Four Spirit Beasts to refine their blood for Qin Mu's nourishment. The Four Spirit Beasts within a radius of several hundred li had basically been cleaned out by these four fierce men, forcing them to go farther away to hunt.
The village chief had difficulty moving around. The Medicine Master often went out to gather herbs. The Butcher was cynical and occasionally went mad. The Deaf Man was only interested in calligraphy and painting. On ordinary days, the only one who could accompany Qin Mu in his training was Granny Si.
However, Granny Si was also often away from the village. She was a tailor and a midwife. Nearby villages often invited her to make clothes, and occasionally she would help deliver babies.
Today, Granny Si went out early in the morning. The Medicine Master also went out to gather herbs. The Butcher and the Deaf Man carried the village chief out and left him at the village entrance. One was practicing with his demon blade, and the other was painting.
Qin Mu, bored, went alone to the riverbank. Ever since the cow turned into a woman and was stabbed to death by Lame Man, his chores had decreased a lot.
By the river, the young man took a long breath. His chest swelled like it was filled with air. It grew fuller and fuller, and then, as his primal energy circulated, his chest slowly deflated.
He didn't exhale the air. Instead, his primal energy nourished his lungs, making them exceptionally tough, compressing the air in his lungs from ten percent down to one percent!
Qin Mu continued to inhale, but his chest still didn't swell. Only when he reached his limit did the young man's steps pause, and then he shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring!
On the river surface, two trails of water parted to either side. Between them, Qin Mu ran across the river, charging away at high speed!
Suddenly, the gleam of a blade flashed on the river. As he ran, he drew the butcher knife from his back. The blade flashed, twisting up and down like a flood dragon—that was the Butcher's knife technique!
The knife technique was like the man. The Butcher's pig-butchering blade art was cynical, carrying a wild and unruly arrogance that defied heaven and earth. The blade light rolled, crushing its way across the river surface.
Suddenly, the blade light retracted sharply. Qin Mu put the butcher knife back on his back and switched to Ma Ye's fist technique. His primal energy flowed through both arms, channeling to his fingertips. He clenched his fingers into fists, his body like a great river rushing to the sea, carrying the torrent of the highlands to break through the sky, surging endlessly.
The first form of the Eight Forms of Thunder Sound: Alone by the Eastern Sea, Carrying the Spring Thunder!
He threw punch after punch, and in his mind, the scene of the great river surging, the waves roaring like thunder, and rushing into the sea emerged. Unconsciously, the same artistic conception appeared in his fist technique.
His fist suddenly opened. The palm of his five fingers vibrated violently, and the air in front of his palm was compressed sharply before exploding, blasting the river surface and sending water splashing everywhere.
"Still not good enough. I haven't achieved the Palm Thunder."
Qin Mu was a bit disappointed. The lowest level of Ma Ye's Eight Forms of Thunder Sound required achieving the Palm Thunder—a fist or a palm that unleashed a thunderous explosive sound. It not only shook the soul but also had astonishing power.
As for the higher levels, they involved divine abilities and controlling thunder, which was far beyond what he could reach now.
As he ran, he took a bamboo staff from his back. The tip of the staff tapped, but he wasn't using an ordinary staff technique—it was a spear technique. He had learned the staff technique from Blind Man, whose staff technique was actually a spear technique. The great spear was like an angry dragon, churning the river water, coiling, tapping, stabbing, and lifting. Each strike caused the river water to surge along with the bamboo staff.
Qin Mu put the bamboo staff on his back and then took out a large iron hammer. He executed the hammer technique taught by the blacksmith, Mute Man. The hammer technique was ancient and clumsy, with immense force and great weight, the complete opposite of Qin Mu's swift running style!
After a long time, he felt his primal energy was insufficient, his body was tired, and his strength was about to run out. Only then did he look around and see that he had already left the Crippled Village far behind, arriving at a place over a hundred li downstream.
"Unknowingly, I've run this far?"
Qin Mu saw an oasis in the middle of the river, with the river water rushing past on both sides. His heart stirred, and he immediately charged toward the river's central oasis.
After a moment, he stepped onto solid ground and climbed onto the oasis.
The oasis wasn't large. It was like a small hill in the middle of the river, about a li in circumference and about forty zhang high, covered with lush vegetation.
In the dense forest, there was no sound of birds, only the rustling of water. Not far ahead of Qin Mu, a temple was hidden in the woods, revealing its broken walls.
Qin Mu walked forward and saw that the temple was dilapidated and had been neglected for years, covered in cobwebs everywhere. However, it was still a good place to rest.
He stopped in front of the temple. One of the temple doors had fallen, and the inside was dim, but he could still see a large Buddha statue standing in the temple. The statue was covered with gold leaf, shimmering with golden light.
However, no one had been here for a long time. Much of the gold leaf had fallen off, revealing the copper body. On the copper body were written some strange characters, twisted and curved as if composed of tadpoles.
And on the Buddha's body were several thick chains. These chains locked the Buddha statue, and Qin Mu immediately saw that these chains extended from the small temple all the way to the shore of the oasis, deep into the Surging River.
"Strange, why are these chains locking this big Buddha... Blind Grandpa said that entering a temple to burn incense is the rule. I didn't bring any incense, so I can only rest in front of the temple."
Qin Mu cleared his throat, bowed to the temple, and said, "This humble one is from Crippled Village, living by the river. Passing by this precious temple, I borrow this place to rest. I apologize for disturbing the master of this place, and I feel uneasy."
He hesitated for a moment, then continued reciting the words Blind Man had taught him, saying, "This humble one has been weak in the kidneys and frail in body since childhood, with premature depletion of vital essence. If there is a fairy sister in the temple, please do not come to harm me."
Blind Man was an old hand at navigating the world, and Qin Mu deeply trusted his words. Since Blind Man taught him to say this, he would say it, and it should be fine.
After this prayer, Qin Mu sat on the stone steps, took off the iron shoes on his feet, and untied the iron ingots bound to his calves. He breathed and exhaled, recovering his strength.
All the way here, he had been running on the river wearing iron shoes and iron ingots on his legs. The iron shoes and ingots were newly forged for him by the blacksmith, Mute Man, even heavier than the last time.
Suddenly, from the temple behind him came the light laughter of a girl. Her voice was crisp: "You speak quite amusingly. Fine, I won't eat you then."
Qin Mu quickly turned around and saw a little girl sitting on the palm of the Buddha statue. She was about the same age as him, eleven or twelve years old. She had three small braids: two thinner ones hanging in front of her chest and a thicker one behind her back. She was swinging her feet and looking at him with a grin.
The girl's feet swung back and forth, and the gold rings on her ankles clinked against each other, making a tinkling sound. It made her laughter seem as bright as the early spring sunshine.
Qin Mu quickly stood up and said, "This fairy sister..."
"Where is there a fairy sister?"
The girl jumped down from the Buddha's hand, laughing happily, revealing two small tiger teeth. "My name is Xian Qing'er. I live nearby. I've never seen any fairy sister. What's your name?"
Qin Mu saw that her smile was bright and she didn't seem like a bad person. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "My name is Qin Mu. It means a cowherd boy with the surname Qin. I used to have a cow, and the grannies and grandpas in the village always made me tend to it."
Xian Qing'er walked behind the temple door, pulled open the other door, looked him up and down, and then glanced behind him. Suddenly, she laughed and said, "Where's your cow?"
Qin Mu hesitated for a moment and said, "The cow turned into a woman. Now there's no cow."
Xian Qing'er was surprised and jumped with joy. "There's something so fun? How did it change? Can you do it?"
Qin Mu shook his head. "Not yet. My granny can."
Xian Qing'er looked a bit disappointed. "I thought you could. Do you have any other fun things? Come in and tell me!"
Qin Mu lifted his foot, about to step into the ancient temple, when suddenly his gaze passed over Xian Qing'er and saw several white bones behind the Buddha statue in the broken temple. His heart skipped a beat. His foot hung in the air and didn't land. He hesitated and said, "Blind Grandpa said that when entering a temple to burn incense, you must first bow to the Buddha in the temple. I didn't bring any incense, so I'd better not go in."
"Come in!" Xian Qing'er said sweetly, with a charming smile.
Qin Mu blinked, pulled his hanging foot back, and smiled even more honestly than Lame Man. "I'd better not go in. You come out, and I'll tell you some fun things."
Xian Qing'er's eyes flickered. She bit her red lips with her teeth and giggled. "I know some fun, naughty things that boys and girls can do. Come in, and I'll teach you."
Her breath was like orchid, and her voice carried a seductive charm. Just now, she was bright and youthful, but now she was somewhat alluring.
Qin Mu's face turned red. He stammered, "I've been weak in the kidneys since childhood..."
"Get in here!" A thunderous roar came from the little girl's mouth.