Chapter 159: An Immortal Fishing

The sky was a brilliant blue, the white clouds were pristine, and the lake resembled a piece of gemstone, deep, serene, and mesmerizing.

On a rock by the lake sat a young man dressed in white. He sat upright on the stone, holding a fishing rod, and angled for fish at the water's edge.

Although the scholar could only see the young man's profile, he still found him refined, graceful, and ethereal. Recalling how the surge of water had just overthrown a fierce tiger, an indescribable feeling welled up in his heart.

"Could there truly be immortals among men?"

According to stories in books, scholars who encountered tigers in forests were fortunately saved by immortals, and those immortals usually appeared as Taoists or elderly men fishing by streams. Naturally, elderly men fishing typically used straight hooks.

The scholar took a deep breath before slowly stepping forward.

At that very moment, the young man flicked his fishing rod upward and reeled in a green carp.

The young man's expression remained calm and detached. He unhooked the carp, placed it into a bamboo basket, and his fishing hook was curved.

Finding this peculiar, the scholar thought to himself, "It's fine that he's not an elderly man, but the hook is even curved. Why doesn't this match what is written in the books?"

The young man cast his fishing rod out once more, and it landed back in the lake.

The scholar fell to his knees and prostrated himself, saying, "Many thanks, sir, for saving my life. May I ask your name and title?"

The young man replied indifferently, "I am the current master of White Emperor Cave."

The scholar hesitated and said, "Master Bai?"

Master Bai? Qingyuan cared slightly about the surname Bai. Hearing this, he couldn't help turning his head to glance at the scholar, then said, "It's just a form of address; call me whatever you like."

The scholar took a deep breath, feeling as though he were in a dream. According to the books, this meant he had encountered an immortal. Would he now be granted immortal affinity? Could he then become a disciple? Followed by cultivation, and immediately after that, ascension to immortality?

He swallowed hard and muttered, "There really are immortals in this world."

In truth, matters concerning immortals were not entirely concealed. At least officials in the imperial court and soldiers in the army knew a thing or two, and stories of immortals were frequently passed around among the common folk. Yet for ordinary people, who might never witness any profound or miraculous occurrences throughout their entire lives, such tales remained hazy and illusory.

Some believed, while others doubted.

Especially among scholars who had thoroughly studied the classics, skepticism regarding these unseen ghost and deity affairs was naturally quite prevalent.

Yet today, he had truly witnessed it and had even managed to preserve his life.

"Master Bai," the scholar bowed and said, "this humble scholar is surnamed Su, and my name is Su Xiang."

***

Qingyuan uttered an affirmative hum, then asked, "Mount Baikan has always been teeming with fierce beasts and ferocious birds, regarded by local residents as a perilous and malevolent place rarely visited by anyone. How did you come to be here?"

"It's a long story," Su Xiang smiled bitterly. "This humble scholar was driven here while fleeing for my life."

...

Su Xiang was not from the Seven Towns of Lingxi; he was a scholar from Luoyue Commandery, originally bound for the capital of Da Liang. His journey took him past Kanling Town, one of the Seven Towns of Lingxi.

Kanling Town was observing its annual grand festival, where all the townspeople worshipped a great deity. As for the offerings, there were incense, candles, wine, and livestock, but none of these mattered. The true sacrifices consisted of three young boys and three young girls.

Having diligently studied poetry and books since childhood and possessing a righteous spirit within his breast, Su Xiang had never encountered matters concerning ghosts and gods before, and naturally placed no faith in such absurd practices. He had rebuked them on the spot, disrupting the sacrificial ceremony.

Once the grand festival was thrown into chaos, the villagers became panic-stricken, and Su Xiang was arrested.

Three days later, a spirit-medium declared that because the festival had been disrupted, the great deity was furious, and now twenty boys and twenty girls were required as sacrifices to appease the divine wrath.

Terrified of incurring the deity's wrath, the people of Kanling Town had no choice but to select twenty boys and twenty girls. As for Su Xiang, he was deemed an extra sacrifice to be drowned in the river alongside the twenty children.

However, on the day of the sacrifice, another twist occurred.

It was said that the great deity now required twenty boys and twenty girls to entertain distinguished guests.

Consequently, Kanling Town plunged into utter chaos.

Su Xiang seized the opportunity to escape.

Recalling these events, he could not help feeling a lingering sense of terror and angrily rebuked, "The common folk are foolish, and the spirit-medium is detestable, wrongfully harming those children..."

His voice suddenly trailed off. As he looked at Qingyuan, his gaze revealed a hint of astonishment.

Well-read in poetry and historical anecdotes, he was quite familiar with records of immortals, demons, and monsters, though he had never witnessed them and had never truly believed. It was precisely for this reason that he considered the villagers who sacrificed to gods and Buddhas to be unimaginably foolish and guilty of taking innocent lives.

Yet the person before him could, from a distance of over ten paces, overturn a tiger with lake water—how could such a feat be achieved by human strength?

If this person in front of him was truly an immortal, then wouldn't the great deity worshipped by Kanling Town also be real?

"This..."

Su Xiang opened his mouth, a deeply troubled expression spreading across his face.

Qingyuan ignored him and merely furrowed his brow slightly.

***

Sacrificing human lives with blood?

In the current era, the investiture of gods was underway, yet genuine deities had existed beforehand—such as mountain spirits, which were natural-born divinities. However, according to Su Xiang, the entity in Kanling Town demanded three boys and three girls for a blood sacrifice; the quantity was not particularly large, nor was the blood-qi overly abundant, which meant its cultivation level ought to be limited. Therefore, it could not be a true deity; perhaps it was some cultivator playing mysterious tricks, or some sort of demonic entity.

What puzzled him, however, was that the cultural environment in Southern Liang was enlightened and placed high value on etiquette and rules, unlike the untamed wilderness of the northwest. Logically speaking, when such events occurred, rumors should have reached the imperial court, and cultivators aligned with Southern Liang would have come here to subdue the demon, or troops would have been dispatched to suppress it.

Most importantly, the Orthodox Sect held sway across the Central Plains and had always regarded subduing demons and eliminating devils as its bounden duty. How could the Orthodox Sect sit idly by and ignore this?

Or was it that Kanling Town was merely a small place, unworthy of catching the eyes of the Orthodox Sect or reaching the ears of the court officials?

"In the present age of conferring gods, the gazes of great figures are fixed upon the grand situation," Qingyuan thought to himself. "It is hardly inconceivable that this tiny place cannot stir up waves or make its plight heard."

Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, his eyes fixed upon the lake's surface with a calm expression, Su Xiang assumed that he simply did not take the matter to heart.

"Master Bai," Su Xiang bowed respectfully and said, "just now, you struck down that tiger with a wave of your hand and saved my humble life, proving yourself to be a person of innate kindness. The skill you displayed is beyond human capability. Although this scholar lacks discernment, I know you are no ordinary person. Now that a demonic entity in Kanling Town calls itself a heavenly god and harms the common folk, since you possess such abilities, why not go forth, subdue the demon, eliminate the devil, and restore clarity and peace to this realm?"

Qingyuan kept his gaze fixed on the lake, his fishing rod holding steady and motionless.

"Master Bai," Su Xiang prostrated himself and pleaded, "please have mercy on those dozens of young children... No, not just dozens, but countless future lives for generations to come."

"Since you possess great abilities, you should shoulder great responsibilities."

"Can you bear to watch those children die wrongfully and in vain?"

"You may be an immortal, but an immortal should also act with the chivalry of a hero."

He implored, "This matter began because of my humble self, and now the six children have grown to forty. My life is hardly worth pitying, but those children, how innocent are they? Since you saved me, you must be a person of kind heart. I earnestly hope Master Bai will take action."

Qingyuan raised a hand, pressed a finger to his lips, made a "shh" sound, and said, "Do not make a noise. A fish is taking the bait."

With that, he flicked his hand upward, and the fishing rod traced an arc through the air.

At the very end of the fishing line, a sizable green carp was reeled up out of the lake.