The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 40 Dividing the Spoils

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the scholar-official class indulged in pleasure and also sought immortality.

As a result, some people set their sights on those women who practiced Taoism, wanting to use the art of absorbing yin to replenish yang in order to achieve longevity. As a result, the art of sexual intercourse flourished, making the entire Taoist sect a mess.

At this time, Kou Qianzhi emerged out of nowhere, taking a self-inflicted blow against Taoism by prohibiting Taoist temples from collecting rent and taxes, banning the practice of male-female sexual intercourse, and eliminating the witchcraft elements from Taoism.

The Northern Celestial Masters sect, led by him, flourished for a time and even pushed Emperor Taiwu to persecute Buddhism, almost wiping out the entire Buddhist force in the north.

Drawing on his reform experience, Lu Xiujing, Tao Hongjing, and others in the south reorganized rituals, promoted internal alchemy cultivation, and proposed the concept of "cultivating both nature and life." They also denounced sexual techniques and were known as the Southern Celestial Masters.

After years of development of the Northern and Southern Celestial Masters sects, the number of Taoists openly practicing sexual techniques almost disappeared after the establishment of the Sui Dynasty.

As a disciple of Tao Hongjing, Cui Ying also deeply abhorred the art of the bedroom.

Now that her cousin has fallen under the spell of a vixen, it's like provoking a tyrant in her eyes.

After changing his clothes, Cui Peng noticed the tense atmosphere in the room and wondered, "What's wrong with you guys? Are you ready to go out?"

Jiang Feng smiled and stood up: "It's nothing, I'm just a little sleepy after eating, so I thought I'd go for a walk."

After saying this, they went outside and got into the carriage, and the group headed towards Zhongnan Mountain.

After an unknown amount of time, the carriage stopped at the foot of the mountain.

A servant stepped forward, lifted the curtain, and reported, "Master, the road ahead is difficult for carriages; we must proceed on foot up the mountain."

Cui Peng nodded and was about to tell Jiang Feng and the others to get out of the car when suddenly Cui Ying flipped her right hand and stuck a talisman on his forehead.

To his astonishment, Jiang Feng transformed into his appearance and said, "Brother Cui, please lend us your clothes. We'll explain when we get back!"

Before long, Jiang Feng changed his clothes and, together with Cui Ying and Ao Ying, arrived at Yuquan Temple on the mountain.

Yuquan Temple is not large in scale and looks to have been built less than a year ago. Apart from the main hall where the statues of gods are enshrined, there are only four or five side rooms. The courtyard is planted with green bamboo and pine trees, and the environment is very quiet.

Upon seeing their arrival, a young female Taoist priest stepped forward and inquired, "May I ask if you are General Cui? Taoist Priest Yuzhen has been waiting for you in the meditation room for quite some time."

Jiang Feng nodded slightly and said to Cui Ying, "You wait in the main hall, I'll be right back."

The young Taoist led Jiang Feng to the meditation room, and closed the door behind him as he left. He then went to the main hall to greet Cui Ying and the other person.

Jiang Feng stood in the room and looked closely. In the dimly lit room, there was a statue of a deity, with only an oil lamp for illumination.

A Taoist priest in a gray robe sat on a futon in front of the statue, her graceful figure turned away from him; this must be the Taoist priest Yuzhen that Cui Peng had mentioned.

Before Jiang Feng could speak, Daoist Yuzhen said, "General, have you been feeling listless lately, having many nightmares and night sweats?"

Jiang Feng gasped, "That's right, how did you know, Daoist Master?"

The Taoist priest Yuzhen sighed regretfully, "Alas, the general is possessed by evil spirits, and I'm afraid his days are numbered."

"Oh no! What should we do?"

Jiang Feng looked terrified.

Yu Zhen Dao Ren smiled at him with her back to him, then got up from the futon, turned around with a pitying expression.

Looking at her face, her charming and beautiful features carried a hint of coldness, creating a strange contrast.

She looked at Jiang Feng with pity and said, "I have a way to help the general get rid of the evil spirits, but performing the ritual for you will deplete my cultivation. I will need a lot of money to buy medicinal herbs and refine pills to barely make up for it."

"General, will you simply give me the medicinal herbs, or will you pay for me to purchase them myself?"

Jiang Feng hesitated, "Is that so? It's not that I don't trust you, Daoist Master, but what if you can't remove the evil spirits from me?"

Yu Zhen Daoist said, "I can first treat your body. If you feel it is effective afterward, I will then perform a ritual to exorcise the evil spirits."

Jiang Feng breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and said, "Alright, then please treat my body first, Daoist Master."

Yu Zhen Daoist walked to the couch with a blank expression, took off her Daoist robe to reveal her exquisite and shapely body, and found that she was completely naked underneath.

Even so, she remained unfazed, sitting cross-legged on the couch, and spoke in a cold voice.

"General, please remove your clothes and sit down in front of me. Removing your clothes is to help the evil energy in your body dissipate more quickly. Please clear your mind and do not think too much."

Jiang Feng nervously rubbed his hands together, and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Um, please forgive me, Daoist Master, I'll go out to use the restroom for a bit and I'll be right back!"

Yu Zhen Daoist's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile: "General, go and return quickly."

Jiang Feng strode out the door, closed it, and left Yu Zhen Dao Ren alone on the couch, laughing smugly.

"Haha, what general? So what if he comes from a noble family? All men are the same!"

After a moment of smugness, she noticed that Jiang Feng had not yet returned, and she couldn't help but frown slightly.

After waiting for about an incense stick's time, she grew a little impatient, put on her clothes, and went outside.

"General? General Cui?"

After calling out twice without receiving a response, she went into the main hall to ask the young Taoist priest.

As soon as she entered the main hall, she saw the young Taoist lying on the ground with his eyes closed, and she quickly went forward to wake him up.

"Tong'er, why are you sleeping here? Have you seen General Cui?"

The young Taoist priest snapped back to reality and exclaimed in panic, "Master, something terrible has happened! That General Cui is a bandit!"

He robbed our Taoist temple of all its money, and before leaving, he punched me, knocking me unconscious!

Yu Zhen Daoist's eyes widened, and she was instantly stunned: "Huh??!!"

After a long while, she finally came to her senses and said through gritted teeth in anger, "I've been hunting eagles all my life, but I never thought I'd get pecked in the eye by a sparrow today!"

"Fine, I'll see who you are, daring to act so arrogantly here!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she took a step and arrived outside the Taoist temple, swiftly chasing after Jiang Feng down the mountain.

Halfway up the mountain, Jiang Feng was squatting in front of a pile of gold and silver treasures, dividing the spoils with Ao Ying.

"Ao Ying, you brought all this money down with your magic, so I won't treat you unfairly. Come on, let's divide the money."

"You give me a copper coin, I give you a gold ingot; you give me a copper coin, I give you a silver ingot; you give me a copper coin, I give you a string of pearls..."

Ao Ying frowned slightly, her eyes filled with doubt as she looked at Jiang Feng: "Isn't this a bit unfair?"

Jiang Feng said unhappily, "What's wrong with that? You take one, I take one, just like dividing steamed buns. Isn't that how everyone divides them?"

Ao Ying scratched his head and tilted it, saying, "That seems to be true."

Cui Ying: "..."

A premonition suddenly arose in her heart that Jiang Feng would sell this little dragon sooner or later!