That night, I couldn't help but think back to my conversation with Zhang Yu, and I nearly lost sleep over it.
Zhang Yu had said to me, quite firmly: "The three talismans you gave me, you said each one represents a lifetime of love—three talismans, three lifetimes: past, present, and future. I hope you'll remember what you said. And I truly thank you. My health has improved so much lately, thank you... I... look forward to it..."
Look forward to it? What does she look forward to? I thought and thought, but couldn't figure it out. Amitabha Buddha!
Could it be that Zhang Yu really believes I like her and is hoping I'll pursue her? What should I do?
I’ve already solved the high-level problem of cultivating, but relationships? Ugh, that’s annoying! I've written countless love letters but never actually dated a girl. Experience, huh? Turns out, experience really matters! Even the Xuan Huang Flag can’t help me here—this is frustrating. Looks like whatever Zhang Yu is expecting, I’ll have to figure it out myself.
Do I like her? I don't know. She’s beautiful, especially now that her health is getting better, she’s more lively and full of energy.
Wait, can Cultivators even have relationships? I don’t think there’s any rule against it. Whatever, Dao follows nature. I guess I’ll just let things between Zhang Yu and me develop naturally. Haha, look at me, after cultivating, I’m so simple in my thinking.
Another thing was bothering me, though, and also a little exciting. There’s a legend that at 11 p.m., the yin energy is at its peak. I was worried that beautiful Wu Xiaoman might be possessed by a sinister, ghostly force or have it manifest on her, but fortunately, nothing unusual happened. Everything seemed normal.
The guys in the tent with me were all outside, sitting by the fire to keep watch, while I lay alone in the tent. It was so comfortable that I drifted off into a half-sleep, thinking and thinking, and the night passed by in a daze.
After entering the "Heart-Motion Stage," my cultivation had shifted its focus to nurturing my heart. Collecting external energy (yuanqi) wasn’t as important anymore.
The next morning, I woke up early and stepped out of the tent. I was the first one awake. All the campfires were out, and the guys who had been on watch the night before were all lying next to them, fast asleep. They’d been full of enthusiasm last night, but now they were all knocked out. I bet tonight, they won’t be nearly as active in keeping watch.
I placed the little bird on my shoulder and took a stroll through the gorge. The morning air was slightly cool and carried a refreshing scent that made me feel light and at ease.
Hmm? Is that... my English teacher?
She wasn't wearing any makeup, and her outfit was casual—a loose tracksuit with her hair tied in a ponytail. She looked very youthful and energetic.
Hmm! What’s that scent in the air? It smells so good...
"Zhang San Tong, you’re up so early. I thought you were a lazy student," said the beautiful English teacher, Lü Yanling, playfully. As she spoke, I watched her rosy lips move, and my heart started pounding.
Oh no! When did I become so attracted? Amitabha Buddha!
"Hehe," I chuckled, and casually replied, "Good morning, teacher. I went to bed early yesterday, so I woke up early. Haha! If I hadn’t gotten up early, my little bird wouldn’t have anything to eat. Haha!"
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Wait! Why did I say that? Sure enough, the beautiful, youthful Lü Yanling’s face turned red, and her sharp eyes glared at me. But to my eyes, she seemed so charming. No tofu available... Amitabha Buddha!
"I’m not talking to you anymore. By the way, when you go back to school, could you give me a few more of those ghostly talismans? Just so we’re clear, okay? Or else I’ll give you extra lessons," she said, leaving me with a graceful smile as she walked away.
I smiled wryly. What’s the big deal with a few talismans? No problem. As long as she’s willing to pay, that’s my hard-earned work.
I put my left hand in my pocket, holding the little bird with my right hand. I walked leisurely back to the campsite, giving the bird a few bugs to eat for breakfast.
Today’s plan was to visit the legendary stone toad in the nearby gorge, which supposedly spits water capable of curing all kinds of ailments.
We weren’t actually at the "Medicine Pool" yet, but at the junction of it and the gorge. I heard that it takes over two hours to walk to the actual site, and the path in the gorge was difficult to navigate. Most of the students weren’t keen on going, so it was entirely voluntary. We weren’t required to follow any class leader’s orders. Naturally, some students decided to stay back at the campsite.
I wasn’t particularly interested in going either. I’d seen plenty of stone animals in the mountains before, but none of them spat water. However, the enthusiastic, burly Cao Kui and Cheng Fan insisted on dragging me along. Ugh! I couldn’t say no to them, so I reluctantly joined the group, carrying half a pancake and heading towards the gorge.
There were only 18 of us in total—students and teachers—who were heading to see the stone toad. There were only five boys: me, Cao Kui, my cousin Zhang Fuhong, Cheng Fan, and our homeroom teacher, Mr. Xin Tianfan. The rest were girls, and I knew most of them by name.
We climbed, jumped, and scrambled through the gorge, forming a long line as we went. My cousin, Zhang Fuhong, kindly took Wu Xiaoman’s backpack. Before long, we boys were all carrying extra backpacks. Damn cousin, this is such a hassle.
I couldn’t help but think to myself, Surely, a few girls are bound to twist their ankles or something on this journey, right? But to my surprise, nothing like that happened. Amitabha Buddha, to my amazement, it was our homeroom teacher, Mr. Xin Tianfan, who twisted his ankle! Ha-ha! I couldn’t help but laugh.
In the end, Mr. Xin had to stop, and a few enthusiastic girls and my cousin stayed behind to take care of him. The rest of us continued on towards our goal.
The closer we got to the stone toad, the more oppressed I felt. A growing chill spread through my heart, and I couldn’t shake the sense that something wasn’t right. I decided to push it aside and focus on the stone toad.
By 10 a.m., we finally reached the legendary location. It was like we’d entered a giant cloth bag. The gorge before us widened and flattened out. There were no large stones around, and the steep cliffs surrounding us looked like they had been cut by a knife. In front of us, at the end of the gorge, a clear spring flowed from a gap in a massive rock. Could this be the legendary stone toad?
Excited, everyone rushed forward to get a closer look at the spring. Upon closer inspection, the stone toad did resemble a toad, but it was much more peculiar. The back half of the stone statue was hidden beneath the cliff, and only the front half of its toad-like form was exposed. Its surface was smooth, unlike the usual bumpy skin of a real toad. Its large mouth was slightly open, with clear spring water flowing out.
Everyone had heard that the spring water could cure all diseases, so they eagerly took out bottles to fill with the water and drank it. Sweat! Had they forgotten that the water that cured ailments was supposed to come out only on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, after many people had made offerings to the stone toad?
I couldn’t care less about the healing water. Standing before the stone toad, I felt the pressure that had been weighing on me disappear, but a coldness began to build inside me. Frowning, I sensed that something was off here.
Out of curiosity, I used my internal energy to reach out and touch the toad statue.
"Boom!" Suddenly, my sea of consciousness was flooded with an image that shocked me to the core: a huge stone turtle, lying beneath the cliff with only its head exposed. My God! The so-called stone toad was actually the head of that stone turtle! I shuddered and quickly withdrew my hand, standing there in a daze.
"San Tong, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you drinking the godly water?" Cao Kui pulled me aside, urging, "It’s better than Nongfu Spring. Come on, have some!"
I turned around and was immediately shocked. Standing next to Cao Kui was Wu Xiaoman, but her face was twisted in a frightening way. Her eyes were filled with a terrifying, ghostly glare, and she was staring at me intently.
Sweat! Why is she staring at me like that???