PDLP Chapter 33: All the money was embezzled!
Chapter 33: All the money was embezzled!
I really want to improve!
Even Gu Su couldn't help but sigh when she heard these five words, as if she saw her own early days in Cao Xing.
Back then, I was just like that. Every day, I saw my seniors surpassing me by unleashing their potential, while I was still worrying about how to eat tomorrow. That sense of urgency was suffocating.
Back then, I certainly wanted to improve myself.
"Looks like you're luckier than me." With a sigh, Gu Su's figure appeared from afar, and in a flash, she was beside Cao Xing.
Cao Xing's heart tightened, and when he came to his senses, he realized that the old woman was only ten steps away from him.
Gu Su looked Cao Xing up and down, giving him an approving glance: "The fact that you can figure this out makes you better than the average person. Stay here tonight."
Cao Xing looked up at the gloomy woods around him and swallowed hard. "Is food provided?"
Gu Su smiled and said, "As long as you're willing to put in the effort, I'll provide you with food and lodging."
As night deepened.
The temperature in the forest gradually became colder and colder, and a thin layer of frost had even formed on the treetops and withered leaves.
Inside the cabin deep in the woods, however, a bustling scene unfolded.
The creaking sound could be heard even through a wall.
Cao Xing gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead, his heavy breathing gradually becoming more labored.
Even so, Gu Su's urging never stopped, "Hurry up, push harder, don't stop."
"Uncle-Master...I...I...have done my best."
Cao Xing roared, his arms bulging with veins, and pushed the bellows with all his might. Flames overflowed from the edge of the furnace in front of him, emitting wisps of white light.
Above the stove hung a large iron pot.
The iron pot is two meters wide and one meter deep.
"Gurgle gurgle..."
The black liquid in the pot was bubbling and gurgling. Gu Su reached out and dipped a drop into it, tasted it for a moment, and then a look of satisfaction appeared on her face.
She turned to Cao Xing and said, "This time, the Corruption Ointment is better than any I've made before, all thanks to you."
"You're too kind, Uncle-Master. Your affairs are my affairs."
Cao Xing wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had seen this bellows in a museum in his previous life, but he never expected it to be so heavy to use.
"Uncle-Master, I heard that even cooking in the canteen is now done with fire-starting talismans. At the very least, with your abilities, Uncle-Master, it shouldn't be difficult to start a fire. Why use this piece of junk?"
Cao Xing kicked the bellows beside his feet and complained.
No wonder Cao Xing complained. He had seen it in the Yellow Robe Monster's alchemy room. The fire in that furnace was endless, burning day and night. If Cao Xing hadn't been unable to take it away, he would have done so long ago.
Gu Su pinched a flower with her hand and poked Cao Xing's forehead with her index finger: "Do you think I haven't tried? The yin energy in this place is too heavy. Ordinary fire talismans can't be lit at all. You can only use charcoal fire and bellows to urge it on. I once rented a puppet to pump the bellows, but the puppet was corroded by the yin energy in less than half a month. I lost a lot of money."
"Speaking of which, there is actually a fire vein hidden beneath Wochao Mountain, but unfortunately, this place is a gathering place of yin energy. If the fire vein is drawn, it will destroy this place instead."
Gu Su sighed. She had tried every method to make the Corruption Elixir, but after trying them all, she found that the cheapest and most effective method was still to have someone else do it.
"You've worked hard today, here's something nice for you."
Looking at the pot of rotten spirit paste, Gu Su was in a good mood. She turned around and took out a food box from the cabinet next to her. When she opened the food box, there was a roast chicken, three plates of snacks, a pot of wine and five large steamed buns inside.
"Eat up, I told you, food and lodging are included here."
Since entering the mountain gate three days ago, Cao Xing has not eaten a single bite of meat. His life is even more miserable than when he was in the mountains. Looking at the roast chicken, wine and meat in front of him, his stomach immediately began to rumble.
Cao Xing, however, did not move. Instead, he said to Gu Su, "Uncle-Master, you've been working hard all night. Let's eat together."
Gu Su rolled her eyes at Cao Xing and said bluntly, "Are you afraid I'll poison you?"
"The long chopsticks haven't been used yet, so the small chopsticks shouldn't be picked up. My uncle has misunderstood me."
Cao Xing stood ramrod straight, looking sincere and determined as he gazed at Gu Su.
Seeing this, Gu Su sneered and curled her lip: "Men."
Gu Su picked up her chopsticks, took a bite of food, put it in her mouth, casually tore off a chicken leg, and sat down in front of Cao Xing to eat.
Seeing that Gu Su had already started eating, Cao Xing immediately grabbed a chicken leg with one hand and a steamed bun with the other.
To be honest, apart from the chicken being a bit dry, the taste was alright.
Pair it with a bite of a soft and sweet steamed bun.
The texture is completely different from the hard, stale meals I ate in the cafeteria.
Cao Xing was almost moved to tears; this was truly human food!
"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you." Gu Su shook her head as she watched Cao Xing wolf down his food, slowing down her pace to encourage him to eat more.
Cao Xing's mouth was full of food. While nodding vigorously, he also stuffed a piece of pastry into his mouth. Only after the two of them finished their meal did Cao Xing let out a satisfied burp.
At this moment, Cao Xing suddenly remembered something. He looked up at Gu Su with curiosity and asked, "Uncle-Master, there's something I don't understand."
"What?"
Gu Su looked at Cao Xing.
"When I went to buy the pills today, the senior brother in charge recommended that I take out a loan. I thought to myself, there are so many people on this mountain, and if everyone takes out a loan to cultivate, what if they die or run away halfway through? Wouldn't that money become a bad debt?"
"Hahahaha, oh my, what is this? You really are a rogue cultivator, huh? Hahahaha, you've even cultivated in some remote mountain valley? How come you know nothing?"
Gu Su burst into laughter upon hearing this, but as she laughed, her voice gradually subsided, and she stared intently at Cao Xing with her clear black and white eyes, saying, "Even those ordinary people who do business outside know that you can't do a losing deal. Do you think Shangfang Temple is a charity?"
"That's why I came to ask my teacher, Uncle-Master, for help," Cao Xing said innocently, spreading his hands. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be so poor that I'd have to work in this godforsaken place."
"Hmph, you're smart."
Gu Su snorted and explained to Cao Xing, "As long as you borrow money, even if it's just one cent of interest, it will compound interest. There's also another rule: nine out of 13, return of 13. If you borrow 100 taels, you'll get 90 taels back, and you'll have to pay back 130 taels. With interest added, it'll compound interest until you're left with nothing but bones."
"Each of these contracts bears the seals of the Eight Righteous Gods. If the contract is overdue, the Eight Righteous Gods will be responsible for arresting you. Once they catch you, they will skin you alive and tear out your tendons. All your cultivation will be transformed into flowing water and used to bless the creditor. Your own good fortune will also be used to pay off the debt."
Even after reincarnation, the soul will still incur karmic debts and continue to serve as a slave for its creditors.
If the creditor is an ordinary person, they can be reborn into a wealthy family through good fortune; if they are a cultivator like us, they can avert calamities and increase our spiritual luck.
Cao Xing was greatly shocked upon hearing Gu Su's words.
These things are completely different from the Journey to the West I've read.
These things are not mentioned in Journey to the West.
Shocked, Cao Xing couldn't help but ask, "Do immortals have to work for others?"
"Immortals are divided into six categories: Heaven, Earth, Human, God, Demon, and Ghost. Only those who attain the Dao can achieve great freedom."
However, the divine path is not included. The gods of the heavenly realm have their primordial spirits residing in the Heavenly Dao, and do not need to cultivate. This means that as long as you are willing to bind yourself to the Heavenly Dao, even a wandering ghost can become a god on the spot.
The price is the loss of freedom, serving the Heavenly Court, patrolling heaven and earth, monitoring yin and yang, controlling rainfall, and matchmaking. Even the outhouse has a toilet god; if they don't work, where will they get incense offerings?
After Gu Su finished speaking, she changed the subject and looked at Cao Xing with a smile: "Actually, it's all reciprocal. Just like our Shangfang Temple, every year the silver money we get from Wuji Kingdom is turned into incense. Although it is said to be offered to the Heavenly Court, in reality, at least half of it is intercepted and left to the Six Departments of the Southern Dipper."
Therefore, if you learn the art of talismans, you should study the talismans of the Six Dipper Gods of the Southern Dipper more thoroughly. This will make your efforts twice as effective, after all...
We've paid."
"You can do that??"
Cao Xing's eyes widened, and suddenly a question occurred to him. He tentatively asked, "Is this the same for other Taoist sects besides our Shangfang Temple?"
Gu Su glanced at Cao Xing: "Which one isn't like this? Besides the Southern Division, which of the Seven Elements, Nine Stars, or Ten Luminaries doesn't pay? If you don't pay, how can you live a carefree life in the mortal world? We would have wiped you out long ago."
Upon hearing this, Cao Xing couldn't help but gasp, thinking to himself, "Well, no wonder the Jade Emperor used the Journey to the West project to promote Buddhism and suppress Taoism. It turns out that less than a third of the money actually ended up in the Jade Emperor's pocket. You guys have embezzled all the money. If you don't suppress it, should he thank you?"