Chapter 61

Just as the old man began to explain the most basic techniques of the art of fangshu to the two brothers of the Gui family, the speaker inside the inner cave talked incessantly, while the listeners were fully focused, not daring to be distracted for a moment. The three of them, master and disciples, did not notice that not far from them, in a patch of weeds, a tender little ear had already perked up. As Gui BuGui explained the important parts, this little ear also twitched, seemingly listening with great interest.

In the following days, Gui BuGui always used the excuse of teaching the two brothers of the Gui family the art of fangshu, not allowing them to leave his side for a moment. What he did not know was that no matter which inner cave he was in, as soon as he started teaching the techniques, a small ear would hide nearby, listening to every word of the heart methods, incantations, and spells he taught.

Gui BuGui's knowledge of fangshu was extremely broad. Apart from the great fangshi Xu Fu, who was far away overseas, no one could match him. A considerable part of the fangshu techniques he knew were unheard of even by the white-haired elders of the Guang generation.

Even in the following days, when Gui BuGui was teaching the two brothers of the Gui family the heart methods of fangshu, Wu Mian also appeared outside the inner cave. He squinted his eyes, listening while making gestures, as if verifying his own insights in fangshu through Gui BuGui's explanations.

About half a month later, the people sent out by Gui Lai and Gui Qu started to return one after another. The two brothers of the Gui family were lucky, and all the more than thirty medicinal herbs listed by Gui BuGui were collected. With more people around, Gui BuGui's courage grew, and he began to let the two brothers of the Gui family practice on their own. He also took advantage of the increased number of people to set up more than a dozen medicinal furnaces, preparing to refine the elixirs.

When it was time to start refining the elixirs, Gui BuGui chose a larger inner cave, drove away the onlookers, and only left the two brothers of the Gui family to guard him, to prevent the ginseng doll from causing trouble again. For the next month, the three of them, grandfather and grandsons, stayed inside the inner cave. Even the meals of the two brothers of the Gui family were taken inside the inner cave.

Apart from Gui BuGui, the two brothers of the Gui family only came out to breathe fresh air when they needed to. For over a month, the entire cave was filled with a strong medicinal aroma, which gradually faded over time. When the elixir was finally refined, not a trace of the medicinal aroma could be detected.

Some of the major henchmen had thought that with so many medicinal herbs, they might get a few bowls of the elixir. Relying on their relationship with the two chieftains, they could at least taste a bit. However, when the elixir was finally refined, Gui BuGui led his two disciples out of the cave to pay respects to heaven and earth. The major henchmen then saw the two brothers of the Gui family each holding a large bowl, each containing half a bowl of black elixir.

Some of the quick-witted ones remembered the appearance of the elixir and, when no one was around, secretly sneaked into the inner cave where the elixir was refined. But they searched everywhere, and not only was there no trace of the black elixir, even the leftover medicinal dregs had vanished. The medicinal furnaces were clean as if they had just been washed, showing no signs of having been used to boil herbs for a month.

After paying respects to heaven and earth, Gui BuGui watched the two brothers drink the elixir in their bowls. The two brothers had some good friends, and they had planned to leave a little for their friends to extend their lives. However, Gui BuGui, as if he had calculated it beforehand, watched the two brothers drink the elixir in one breath until not a drop was left, before letting them return to the cave to prepare for their thousand-year lifespan.

After arranging the affairs of the two brothers of the Gui family, Gui BuGui finally put his mind at ease. However, this was not the end. The old man still spent two to three hours each day teaching his two great-granddisciples some basic heart methods of fangshu. This went on for several months. What was rare was that during these months, the ginseng doll, who had been a headache for Gui BuGui, did not appear again. However, the old man was always on edge, needing one or two people around him to feel a bit more at ease.

It was during this period that the two brothers of the Gui family began to notice that the white-haired young man who had come up the mountain with their teacher, Gui Yin, started to visit the mountain frequently. He often stayed away for two to three days, returning only when the food he brought with him was finished. Each time he returned, he was covered in injuries and did not say a word, hiding in an inner cave.

At this time, the white-haired young man often stayed in the inner cave for more than half a month, and Teacher Gui Yin did not visit him. He only instructed the two brothers to arrange for the henchmen to take care of the young man's meals. The two brothers of the Gui family had been occupying the mountain for many years and could not think of any place on the mountain that would attract the white-haired young man. However, whenever they asked their teacher about the young man, Teacher Gui Yin would look at them with a playful expression and say, "If I tell you now, you two won't understand. When you reach his level, I'll tell you. But it will take you two a thousand years to get there."

After another half a year, one day, the henchmen who went out to scout did not return to the cave that night. Such things had happened before, but those times the henchmen had been captured by the soldiers and brought to attack the cave. This time, the entire bandit camp was in a state of panic, and the two brothers of the Gui family sent several groups of people down the mountain to investigate. But they found nothing unusual, and even inquiries to the nearby cities revealed no signs of military activity.

It was not until the second night that the missing henchman finally appeared. It turned out that the henchman had not even made it down the mountain when he met some friendly hunters. While chatting, the henchman overheard the hunters talking about several large pits that had suddenly appeared on the top of the back mountain. These pits varied in size, with the largest being about twenty to thirty zhang in diameter and the smallest about seven to eight zhang.

The henchman immediately thought of the white-haired young man who had been freeloading in the cave. Being of an impatient nature, he immediately went to the location the hunters had pointed out. The journey was long, and it was not until the middle of the night that he reached the spot.

The henchman had been to this place half a year ago, and he was surprised to find that the scenery had completely changed. What was once a beautiful, verdant area was now a wasteland, with so many large pits that there was no place to stand.

The hunters had understated the number of pits. There were not just dozens but over a hundred. The henchman walked around, trying to count the number of pits, but the overlapping pits confused him, and he could not come up with an accurate number.

After hearing the henchman's report, Gui Lai slapped him and said, "You should have come back and told us before you went. Do you know that they said you were captured by the soldiers, and I was about to lead the brothers down the mountain to find you in every city! If you had come back any later, I would have already left!"

The henchman rubbed his cheek and smiled, saying, "I calculated the days, and the white-haired young man was still at home. I didn't know when he would go out again. I was afraid of running into him. Besides, coming back and then going to the back mountain would have been a big detour. I was in a hurry, so I made the decision myself..."

Although his explanation was somewhat reasonable, Gui Lai could not lose face in front of his subordinates. Just as he was about to kick the henchman as a warning, his old teacher suddenly appeared, waved his hand, and stopped his disciple. He then asked the henchman, "You said you saw over a hundred large pits. What did you see inside the pits? Can you remember?"