Chapter 297 - 288: Symbols, Gemstone, Xingwan

Chapter 297: Chapter 288: Symbols, Gemstone, Xingwan

「The next morning, in the inn’s main hall.」

Yingchuan was a small county, and Anshun wasn’t a large inn. Breakfast was a simple affair of plain porridge and steamed buns, served with a side of homemade pickled dried radish.

Fu Juemin’s table, however, had a few extra dishes: a plate of salted duck eggs with rich, red yolks, a small dish of steamed cured sausage, and a serving of stir-fried seasonal vegetables.

Gu Shouyu had ordered a bowl of plain noodle soup. As he ate, he scribbled and sketched in a notebook at his side.

Recently, he had become so engrossed in his research on the *Nine Spirits Filth Loading Technique* that he seemed to have "Fallen into Demon," muttering Sanskrit syllables in a daze even when using the latrine during the day or sleeping at night.

Sipping his porridge, Fu Juemin glanced at Gu Shouyu and casually asked about his progress.

"I’ve already translated half of it..."

Gu Shouyu slurped up a mouthful of noodles and replied, his voice muffled, "But it’s full of special symbols with unknown meanings. Translation is just the first step. Figuring out how this *Nine Spirits Filth Loading Technique* can actually transplant the organs of a Demon Fiend into a human body... that’s going to be a real struggle."

"Special symbols with unknown meanings?"

Fu Juemin picked up a translucent slice of fatty cured sausage and placed it in Xu Xinyi’s bowl. Her eyes curved into crescents as she happily ate it in one bite.

"Do you know the Buddhist Six-Character Mantra?"

Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, Gu Shouyu stopped eating his noodles. He looked up to explain seriously, "The Six-Character Mantra is also known by other names... It’s Oṃ, Ma, ṇi, Pad, Me, Hūṃ. If you were to take those syllables individually, would the average person understand their significance?"

"Here’s another example."

Gu Shouyu paused, then continued, "It’s like with the latest science from the Western World. Almost every discipline has its own specialized symbols.

Without a full education in that field, you wouldn’t have a clue what they represent..."

Gu Shouyu glanced at the notebook beside his bowl, which was covered in dense calculations. "This *Nine Spirits Filth Loading Technique* has many similar special symbols, written in Sanskrit.

I’ve consulted numerous books, but I’m completely stumped.

I’ve been thinking, and it seems unrealistic to try and understand these symbols in a short amount of time.

So for now, my plan is to first figure out what each symbol is used for, and what role it plays in the overall Dirt-Loading Method..."

"Symbols..."

Fu Juemin grew thoughtful after hearing Gu Shouyu’s explanation.

After a moment’s thought, he put down his chopsticks, took out the booklets he had obtained the previous night, and pushed them in front of Gu Shouyu.

"Your next research project."

Fu Juemin’s finger lightly traced the title. "*Celestial Master Dao Talisman Entry Level*," he read, then added, "This should... also be related to symbols."

’Yes, symbols.’

’Gu Shouyu’s words had sparked an idea. If, as he said, every "tradition" has its own unique set of symbols, then could it be that these so-called Talismans are the unique symbols of the Celestial Master Dao tradition?’

’If I could understand the principles behind these symbols—how those seemingly nonsensical squiggles can exorcise evil, cure illness, and divine fortunes—could I, by working backward, grasp the nature of Mana itself?’

’Of course, that’s all assuming the Celestial Master Dao tradition truly involves Mana.’

"This is the genuine heritage of the Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Dao..."

Afraid Gu Shouyu wouldn’t take it seriously, Fu Juemin added, "I’ve tested it. It really has the power to exorcise evil and deal with ghosts. It’s nothing like those charms you cobbled together yourself..."

"Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Dao... where did you get this?"

Gu Shouyu muttered to himself as he flipped through the old booklets. When he got to the *Three-Five Merit and Demerit Record*, he quietly read the name on it aloud: "Huang Canxiang..."

"Heh. A friend."

Fu Juemin replied evasively.

Just then, the urgent sound of a gong echoed from the inn’s entrance. Someone was running down the street, banging a gong and shouting at the top of their lungs.

An inn attendant hurried out to see what was going on.

A moment later, the attendant returned. He made a point of coming to Fu Juemin’s table and, lowering his voice, advised, "If you gentlemen aren’t in a hurry to leave, it would be best to stay here a couple more nights.

There was a Demon at the Coffin Home in the village up ahead last night! They say the creature—tsk, tsk—was over twenty feet tall, with a green face and huge fangs, and its whole body was on fire!...

Landlord Wang from the village paid a fortune to hire a Daoist master from the Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Dao to get rid of it, but the master was scared witless by the Demon! They say he’s still lying in bed, drooling..."

After hearing the attendant’s nervous warning, Gu Shouyu immediately understood where the booklets in his hand had come from.

The corner of his eye twitched as he looked at Fu Juemin.

But Fu Juemin’s expression was unchanged. He just calmly sipped his porridge, as if it had nothing to do with him.

After breakfast, the group continued on their way without delay.

At the entrance of the inn, the refugees who had eaten the two steamers of buns from Fu Juemin the day before saw that the group was leaving, and one by one, they began to follow.

Xu Xinyi, soft-hearted as she was, saw Fu Juemin ignoring them and secretly sent someone to buy two more steamers of buns to hand out.

She had thought the refugees would disperse after eating the buns, but instead, more people began to gather.

By the time their party had left the town, the crowd of refugees trailing their convoy had grown to nearly thirty people.

BANG!!

A gunshot rang out, the bullet kicking up a spray of dirt as it hit the ground.

The group of refugees stopped short. The few at the front, however, hesitated, their eyes darting about as if weighing their options.

BANG!

Another shot rang out, this time hitting one of the men in the thigh.

The man screamed, clutching his leg as he fell to the ground and writhed in pain. The rest of the refugees, terrified, scattered in all directions.

From his horse, Fu Juemin casually tossed the still-smoking pistol back to one of his men. He glanced over at Xu Xinyi, who was peering out from the carriage window, and said flatly, "You think they’re pitiful.

But if we didn’t have these guns, they would have already swarmed us to rob our carriages, money, and food."

Xu Xinyi looked guilty and nodded obediently.

Beside them, Cao Tian suddenly interjected, "Young Master is still too kind, using a gun to scare them off beforehand."

Fu Juemin just smiled and urged his horse forward.

Cao Tian’s comment might have seemed random, but everyone in the group understood and agreed. ’Yes,’ they thought, ’if it had escalated to them actually attacking the carriages, it wouldn’t have ended with just one man shot in the leg.’

「Two days south of Yingchuan, the group finally entered the territory of Taimei County.」

It was a bright, sunny morning.

"Young Master, according to the map, Xingwan Village is just ahead..."

"Mm."

Fu Juemin listened to the report, his eyes half-closed behind his light-brown sunglasses. He swayed gently on horseback, basking in the sunlight as if dozing.

He wore a different outfit today: a long poplin robe of yuebai, a pale, moon-like blue, with a subtle cloud pattern embroidered into the fabric. A jade pendant on a gold chain hung on his chest. He exuded an air of nobility, yet tinged with a hint of casual indifference.

Cao Tian urged his horse closer to Fu Juemin and delivered a quick, expressionless report.

"...Those two have been following us ever since we left the station.

But we haven’t seen them for the past two days."

Behind his sunglasses, Fu Juemin’s eyelids flickered, but his expression remained impassive.

Cao Tian was referring to the young couple who had bumped their luggage into Xu Xinyi’s at Longqiu Station.

"These are chaotic times. When you’re on the road, it’s natural to want to stick close to others for safety.

They were probably just heading the same way and followed us for a while..."

Fu Juemin said nonchalantly, turning to look at Xu Xinyi.

The road had narrowed earlier that day, so they had abandoned the carriage and were all proceeding on horseback.

Xu Xinyi was currently on her own horse, holding the gemstone from her chest up to the bright sunlight to examine it.

"Brother Lingjun, look! Don’t you think my ruby is a little brighter than it was a few days ago?"

After studying it for a long while, Xu Xinyi’s face lit up as if she had discovered a new continent. She excitedly unclasped the gemstone from her neck and handed it to Fu Juemin to inspect.

Fu Juemin glanced at it. The stone did seem a little more brilliant than when Xu Xinyi first put it on three days ago.

It was as if a thin layer of dust had been wiped from its surface, making its red hue richer and more lustrous.

Of course, it could have just been the light and the angle.

Fu Juemin examined the gemstone in his hand but couldn’t see anything unusual about it. It still looked like an ordinary, average-quality ruby.

Just then, a scout rode back from the front of the column.

"Young Master, we’re here."

Fu Juemin looked up and saw the outline of a village in the distance.