Chapter 17: The Sutra of the Moonlit Night

The Yue Mountain County Inspection and Blessing Division was traveling further and further down the path of becoming neighborhood committee aunties, with no sign of ever returning.

For nearly a month, there had only been minor cases, even to the point where they were called to find lost cats.

For example, Grandma Wang from East Street claimed the Kitchen God had manifested at midnight to demand a change in offerings (it was actually a mouse gnawing on the altar table).

Blacksmith Liu from the West Market was convinced his anvil had attained spiritual sentience because it was in a different spot every morning (it was actually his own sleepwalking).

Lin Ling finally understood why the three people she had first met were in such a state.

If she hadn’t been so persistent with her cultivation, she probably would have ended up like them, spending every day playing cards.

It had been so long without any news of the so-called evil spirits.

It seemed that after Xiu Jiming killed that one spirit, the others had heard the news and vanished without a trace.

In short, the Xu family case from a month ago was the biggest thing Lin Ling had encountered in her life at the Inspection and Blessing Division.

During this time, the silver sent by Shen Zai had been spent on renovations.

Xiu Jiming had specifically organized, refurbished, and repaired the archives to serve as Lin Ling’s future workplace.

He even hung a sign for the “Library” and prepared a bed comfortable enough that Lin Ling rarely returned to the Fox Fairy Temple anymore.

【Classmate Xiao Ming, you are so good to me! Good brother, good brother!】

Lin Ling stood on a stool, repeatedly patting Xiu Jiming’s shoulder to show how happy she was.

Although he didn’t know what was going on inside that crazy girl’s head, she looked happy, so Xiu Jiming just let her be.

At Bai Yunyun’s strong insistence, a mahjong table was added to the common dormitory, leading Lin Ling to comment that Bai was a terrible player who just loved the game.

Xiu Jiming had vaguely noticed that Lin Ling didn’t like him drinking.

Every time he wandered around with his wine flask and Lin Ling saw him, she would subconsciously reach out and pinch her nose.

So, for some reason, he quit drinking and now spent his time drinking tea.

On this day, Lin Ling was clutching a pile of talisman books, preparing to head back to the Fox Fairy Temple to blackmail Lin Kejing for some talismans.

Suddenly, she saw Xiu Jiming pull tea out of his storage bag.

The tea leaves emitted a faint, shimmering blue light, and a perfectly balanced fragrance spread through the air.

In her shock, the books in her arms scattered all over the ground.

【Eating good things without me!】

This was the only thought in Lin Ling’s mind.

Seeing her staring at him with such a solemn expression, Xiu Jiming felt a bit uneasy.

“What are you looking at me for?”

Lin Ling pointed at his tea and crossed her arms.

【Let me taste some!】

“Oh, Mystic Intent Tea. What’s wrong? You want some? Chat with me more often, and I’ll give you some.”

Xiu Jiming smiled slightly and pulled a small box from his storage bag, holding it in his hand.

“Hmph.”

Lin Ling raised an eyebrow.

【Will you give me a raise if I chatter with you?】

For the first time, she sincerely wrote her true feelings on her paper.

Xiu Jiming: “…”

He was at his wit’s end; he really couldn’t grasp this crazy girl’s thought process.

He said, “If you’re willing to come and play chess with me, I can give you a raise.”

“Hehe!”

Lin Ling rested her chin on her hands with satisfaction, her eyes practically sparkling with the word ‘money.’

Seeing this, Xiu Jiming beckoned her over and placed the Mystic Intent Tea in front of her.

Lin Ling slowly approached, her eyes still fixed on the tea box.

“Act cute for me and I’ll give it to you.”

Xiu Jiming suddenly stood up and held the box high.

Lin Ling looked at the distance that might as well have been a canyon and her face darkened.

“Tsk!”

【Don’t force me to slap you in my happiest moment.】

Xiu Jiming held the tea box high while Lin Ling hopped around like a fool, unable to reach his hand.

This wasn’t working.

Lin Ling’s eyes darted around, and she leaped up once more.

Just as Xiu Jiming prepared to raise his arm further, Lin Ling used her large, fluffy tail to wrap around his neck.

With a forceful swing, she threw him onto a reclining chair and successfully grabbed the Mystic Intent Tea.

After getting the goods, she quickly gathered her books and hurried away, leaving Xiu Jiming staring blankly at the spot where she had been.

Xiu Jiming lay on the chair, quietly staring at the sky.

Suddenly, he chuckled and pulled out new tea leaves from his robe to brew.

***

“What did you say your superior’s name was?”

Back at the Fox Fairy Temple, Lin Kejing hurriedly asked after seeing the Mystic Intent Tea in Lin Ling’s hand.

She was stunned to learn that Lin Ling’s current boss was named Xiu Jiming.

“Xiu… Xiu Jiming.”

Seeing Lin Kejing so nervous for once, Lin Ling swallowed hard.

Lin Kejing’s expression shifted back and forth, but she eventually sighed.

“So it’s him.”

“What’s wrong with him? Is he untrustworthy?”

Lin Ling wrote using her spiritual energy on the sketchbook pages Xiu Jiming had bought specifically for her.

“No. On the contrary, you can trust him completely. It’s just…”

Lin Kejing looked at Lin Ling with a strange expression, eventually shaking her head, deciding not to speak further.

【Damn it, go away you riddler!】

Lin Ling was frustrated, but since Lin Kejing wouldn’t speak, she was too lazy to ask.

She didn’t feel like digging into things related to her own identity anyway; she would just let nature take its course.

After explaining the difficulties she had encountered while drawing talismans, Lin Ling also told Lin Kejing that her cultivation had shown no movement.

“After stepping into the peak of the Spirit Awakening Stage a month ago, there hasn’t been a single ripple. No matter how I breathe and meditate, the spiritual energy level in my body doesn’t change,” Lin Ling wrote.

“I can see that your body is full of spiritual energy, but the way it’s flowing is a mess. What cultivation technique are you practicing? It’s not that trash from the Inspection and Blessing Division, is it?”

A red light flickered in Lin Kejing’s eyes as she scanned Lin Ling from top to bottom.

“Huh? A technique?”

Lin Ling was stunned and then fell silent.

Come to think of it, there really were a lot of trash techniques in the Inspection and Blessing Division.

She had just thought they were secret manuals and used them as a reference.

“…Don’t tell me that for this entire month, you haven’t practiced a proper technique at all.”

Seeing Lin Ling space out, Lin Kejing immediately realized what was happening in her sister’s head.

“Hehe~”

Lin Ling gave a fawning smile.

In the main hall of the Fox Fairy Temple…

Lin Ling clutched her forehead, squeezing out a few tears as she silently flipped through a scroll of a Fox Clan cultivation technique Lin Kejing had tossed to her.

Apparently, it was the technique that had once suited Lin Ling best, called the “Sutra of the Youying Moonlight.”

It was a profound art about using moonlight to open the meridians within the body.

“The bottleneck to the Law Condensing Stage can be easily crossed. As long as you can perfectly execute one full cycle according to the Sutra of the Youying Moonlight, you can open your meridians and enter the Law Condensing Stage,” Lin Kejing said.

“I’ve passed the technique to you. For future cultivation problems, you can go ask Xiu Jiming. He might even be a better teacher than me.”

“Eh? Ask him?”

Lin Ling wrote in the book, puzzled.

“Speaking of which, I’ve never been able to figure out what level Xiu Jiming is at.”

“Him? Don’t you dare look down on him.”

Lin Kejing’s expression was complicated.

“Back then, Xiu Jiming was hailed as an absolute genius. His talent was so high it surpassed every cultivator in the country since the founding of Great Yu.”

“Ah.”

Lin Ling was dumbstruck.

【Classmate Xiao Ming is that awesome??】

“Yes. Can you believe that someone finished a realm that many cultivators could never reach in a lifetime by the age of sixteen?”

Lin Kejing looked at Lin Ling with a complex gaze.

【Then exactly what level did he reach?】

Lin Ling tilted her head and guessed.

Lin Kejing said directly, “The Imperial Realm.”