A woman's face is just like the June sky, changing in an instant.
The eldest daughter of the Wang Family had just swallowed the Three Lives Stone, and immediately ushered Xu Qing out of the room.
Hey! I haven't even warmed the seat yet, can't I at least have a cup of tea before I go?
Why are you rushing me away, girl?
Zombie Xu was clueless about romance and even less about a woman's mind, until the young lady of the Wang Family spoke:
"I don't want to let you see me like this, sir. If you want tea, wait until the flowers bloom, and I'll treat you to as much as you wish!"
Xu Qing muttered: "When you were a little girl, I didn't mind. Now that you've just turned into a white-haired girl, what's there to be embarrassed about..."
A heavy door-closing sound was Xu Qing's only response.
Fine! I'll have to find someone else for tea.
Xu Qing left the incense candle workshop and headed to the Wanbao Inn.
Zhang Shufang, the Daoist Zhengyi from Santai Peak, was there listening to a storyteller.
Downstairs in the inn, the storyteller was telling the tale of Lady Bao Sheng punishing wicked souls, delivering mercy, and protecting infants.
Zhang Shufang was listening with great interest, and when Xu Qing came over to greet him, the Daoist gestured for him to sit and listen together.
What's so interesting about this?
Xu Qing was paying no attention, just eating snacks and drinking tea.
"After listening to this segment, have you noticed anything unusual?"
Xu Qing was intrigued: "Do tell."
"As you cultivate in the Jin Sect, you must have heard of the famous Bao Sheng Temple. When I first arrived here, I had an out-of-body experience and discovered the incense here had accumulated to an incredible extent."
"The incense divides into two paths, one through the mediums, and the other through the deity of the Bao Sheng Temple as told by the storyteller."
Zhang Shufang sighed: "The Bao Sheng Temple has been in the Jin Sect for decades. Without efficacy, it couldn't survive so long, nor gather such incense."
"If a god truly resides here, it would be of the utmost sacred and sage level."
"In the world amidst calamity, such a sacred being exists. Brother Xu, don't you find it extraordinary?"
Xu Qing slightly smiled and said: "Even from dung, grains can grow; amidst thorns, the phoenix can roost. Isn't it normal for a couple of oddities to emerge in a chaotic world? If calamity prevailed and all beings were mired in it, that would truly be frightening."
Zhang Shufang pondered for a moment, nodding in deep agreement.
"Brother Dao indeed sees more clearly than I, no wonder you are a cultivator with thousands of years of experience."
Though Zhang Shufang had cultivated over two lifetimes, his previous life cultivated only the Primordial Spirit. If excluding the 'Shadow Spirit,' in this lifetime, he was actually younger than the hundred-year-old Xu Qing.
For this reason, whenever Zhang Shufang called him Brother Dao, Xu Qing never reacted.
Moreover, since Daoist Fuluan often shamelessly called Xu Qing Brother Dao, Zhang Shufang assumed the young man before him was an elder even older than the two-thousand-year-old Daoist Fuluan.
Calling an elder Brother Dao, Zhang Shufang even felt he was gaining an advantage.
"Thousands of years? You must be mistaken. I've only cultivated for seventy to eighty years, hardly an elder in cultivation..."
"I understand, I understand!"
Zhang Shufang showed a knowing smile.
"In my past life, when I left Santai Peak, I often pretended to be a naive youth exploring the world. Those sixty years were truly delightful."
"..."
Xu Qing glanced sideways at the Daoist before him.
Indeed, those who survive in this world aren't easy to deal with!
"You traveled from afar to meet me, it can't just be to inquire about Bao Sheng Temple, can it? Or do you also seek a descendant?"
"..."
Zhang Shufang gazed deeply: "This humble priest practices the Pure Yang Celibacy Technique, never breaking abstinence in past or present life. How could I seek descendants?"
"Moreover, I see Brother Dao with a yin-rich, yang-deficient aura, surrounded surely by many women, yet appears unconsumed by lust. If so, Brother Dao's self-control surpasses even mine substantially."
In Zhang Shufang's eyes, Xu Qing was someone who had lived for an uncertain number of eons, an elder who neither practiced Celibacy Technique nor needed to guard his Yang Gate.
A person able to abstain for millennia could only be explained by unyielding Daoist determination.
"..."
Xu Qing felt Zhang Shufang's words weren't entirely complimentary, but the respect in his eyes seemed genuine.
"Do you have any serious matter, if not, I have to attend a funeral!"
Zhang Shufang quickly stopped Xu Qing, saying: "It's not a big issue, just recently my disciple sought me out, wanting me to extend the current Emperor's life..."
Xu Qing smiled knowingly: "That's a coincidence, I was just thinking of attending the Emperor's funeral, and here you are, coming to extend his life!"
"..."
Zhang Shufang was slightly stirred and asked: "The current Emperor can be considered wise, Brother Dao, haven't you thought to help him?"
"How do you know I haven't?"
Xu Qing replied meaningfully: "People in the world are born constrained by fate. You think he governs for merely one or two decades, but little do you know his destiny as Emperor was only meant for two or three years."
Zhang Shufang was stunned, becoming more puzzled in his heart.
Seeing this, Xu Qing didn't elaborate more but led Zhang Shufang outside the inn, setting off straight to the Capital City.
The two transformed into Tunneling Light and landed outside the Yangxin Hall.
The surrounding Forbidden Army guards seemed struck blind, allowing these two to stride right into the hall.
Inside, Imperial Physicians and ministers were on rotation, ready to convey any of the Holy Emperor's edicts at any moment.
Xu Qing also noticed Zhang Shufang, Zhang Celestial Master, steaming incense and preparing medicine by the imperial bed.