Niu Batian closed and latched all the windows in Yan Fei’s room before exiting. As he gently closed the door, he hooked a finger from the outside and closed the inside lock. Although he hadn’t been in Nandao County for that long, the had at least gained some understanding of the simple customs of the people there. It was best to lock the doors before going to sleep.

Aside from the sound of snoring, the inn’s corridors were silent.

Niu Batian glanced at Ji Yuan’s room a ways away. He hesitated for a while, but ultimately didn’t dare to go over. Instead, he returned to his own room. Soon, the nasally sound of snoring echoed from his room: he had truly fallen asleep.

Ji Yuan lay on his bed, his eyes closed and thoughts racing.

Judging from the bull demon’s behavior, besides the necessary prerequisite of his good character, there were two possible explanations for his personality. One was that the demon had been taught by a kind individual from the very beginning. Another possibility was that the bull had been domesticated before becoming a demon,1 and that had some influence.

Early the next morning, Yan Fei woke up in his bed, rubbing his slightly aching head. He looked around and was briefly dazed, before remembering what had happened the previous night: from the nighttime chase to the encounter with the evil spirit, before finally that evening’s drinking.

“Hiss…how much wine did I drink last night…”

Yan Fei rubbed his forehead to ease his headache. Although he didn’t have the best alcohol tolerance, he had never been drunk before. However, yesterday, he had drunk himself unconscious.

“Knock, knock, knock…”

The Old Bull’s honest voice sounded, accompanied by a knock on the door.

“Brother Yan, are you awake? It’s already dawn, and Mr. Ji will be leaving soon.”

“I’m awake, I’ll be right out!”

As soon as he heard that Mr. Ji was about to leave, Yan Fei didn’t dare to delay. He adjusted his breathing, mobilized his Qi to ease the hangover, threw off the quilt, and got out of bed.

He hadn’t taken his clothes off last night, so after washing his face with clean water from the basin in the room, Yan Fei quickly opened the door and went out.

As soon as he exited the room, he saw Niu Batian waiting in the corridor outside.

“Brother… Good morning, Senior Niu!”

Yan Fei bowed respectfully. He remembered calling the other party “Brother Niu” yesterday when he was drunk, but now he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

“Oh, Brother Yan, why are you so distant again? We were so close to chopping up a chicken head2 and burning yellow paper last night.3 You should call me Brother Niu. Come on, let’s go downstairs and buy some food.”

The two went downstairs together. Ji Yuan was already sitting at a square table, drinking porridge.

The table was already set, with a simple pot of porridge, a few side dishes, and some soft pancakes on the table.

“Good morning, Mr. Ji!”

Yan Fei greeted Ji Yuan even more respectfully.

“Good morning. Take a seat and eat. After this, I plan to leave Nandao County and continue northward. I wonder what Warrior Yan’s plans are?”

Yan Fei’s face flushed at these words. If he had been able to accept Mr. Ji calling him “Warrior Yan” yesterday, then today this title sounded particularly harsh. He knew Mr. Ji certainly didn’t mean it in a sarcastic way, but he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable. It didn’t sound as pleasant as Niu Batian calling him “Brother Yan.”

However, this feeling was fleeting. What was more important now was that Mr. Ji was about to leave. Yan Fei hesitated for a moment and tried to ask.

“Mr. Ji, where are you going? Is there some important matter?”

“Not for the time being. I’m just heading north.”

Yan Fei nodded and asked again.

“Then, if it’s convenient, can I accompany you for a while? Don’t worry, Sir, I am by no means an ungrateful person. I just want to accompany you for a while.”

Ji Yuan looked at Niu Batian. The latter had furrowed brows and said nothing. He then looked back at Yan Fei.

“Warrior Yan, please sit down and drink porridge. If you wish to follow, then follow along. If I ever feel that it is inconvenient, I will naturally tell you.”

“Hey, that’s right! Come on, Brother Yan, sit down and drink some porridge. This porridge tastes good. Come, Brother Niu, I’ll get you a big bowl.”

Niu Batian took out a bowl very attentively, stirred the pot, then filled the bowl and placed it on front of Yan Fei’s seat.

“Mr. Ji, is this side dish to your liking? This Old Bull made a special trip outside to find it!”

Ji Yuan glanced at Niu Batian, and gave him a rare smile.

“It’s good.”

This smile made the Old Bull feel quite relieved. He picked up his own bowl and ate a big mouthful of porridge, before turning to speak to Yan Fei.

“Brother Yan, you and I get along really well, despite only just having met each other. I still have a lot of things I want to talk about with you, but let’s have porridge first. We can talk on the way, let’s chat on the way…”

In any case, as long as Yan Fei followed Ji Yuan, Niu Batian would not have to worry about having an excuse to stay.

While drinking porridge, Yan Fei accidentally noticed that Ji Yuan was reading a book. However, out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the pages were all blank, without any words on them.

Niu Batian obviously also noticed Yan Fei’s slightly puzzled expression. He scooched over and explained in a low voice.

“If my guess is correct, what Mr. Ji is looking at is a book of the Immortal Path in Heavenly Script. It’s a spiritual script that contains immortal intent. It’s not only you who can’t see the writing; even I, this Old Bull, can’t see anything, but there are definitely words on it. I don’t know what kind of immortal secrets they might hold.”

Yan Fei gulped a mouthful of porridge, glanced at Niu Batian, and whispered.

“Not even you can see it, Brother Niu? Mr. Ji said that your cultivation is quite advanced…”

“Hey, Brother Yan, you don’t understand, do you? I am a demonic cultivator, I am very different from immortal cultivators. My understanding of the mysteries of the Tao is far less profound. In my current state, I can only see the title. Of course, if I were in a state of meditation, I would be able to read it.”

Ji Yuan glanced at the Old Bull and spoke.

“It’s not some supernatural immortal technique. It’s just ‘A Historical Account from Outside the Tao,’ with some interesting stories.”

“Oh, oh, oh…”

The Old Bull nodded in understanding, while Yan Fei asked hurriedly.

“Brother Niu knows of ‘A Historical Account from Outside the Tao’?”

Unexpectedly, the Old Bull shook his head earnestly.

“I have no clue…”

Ji Yuan couldn’t help but laugh This old bull was indeed quite interesting. Read complete version only at novel·fiɾe·net

However, Yan Fei frowned. When he saw the book without words, he was suddenly reminded of something, though the thought wasn’t very clear. After thinking for a while, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

‘That’s right! The wordless book of heaven!’

“Mr. Ji, is this book of Heavenly Script very precious and miraculous?”

Ji Yuan looked at the book in his hand.

“Whether a book is precious or not depends on its content. However, writing in Heavenly Script is rather complicated, so at the very least the content would not be useless.”

Well, in truth, “A Historical Account” was indeed useless from some people’s perspectives, but Ji Yuan thought it was a good book. At the very least, it was very entertaining to those who practiced immortal cultivation.

Yan Fei nodded, sorting out the thoughts in his head.

“Mr. Ji, I once heard that the Taoist Wei family of Zhong Lake in the country of Zuyue possess a wordless heavenly book. Although it has been passed down in the family for generations, no one has even been able to read any writing on it. They have also asked many of their close friends to examine it and study it, to no avail…”

Yan Fei thought for a moment and continued.

“I previously believed that the wordless heavenly book was a fabrication by the Wei family to elevate themselves. Not many people in the martial arts world truly believed them. However, seeing the book in Mr. Ji’s hands, I now believe that the Wei family’s book might be genuine. Sir, would you be interested in taking a look?”

A wordless heavenly book?

Hearing Yan Fei’s words, Ji Yuan was naturally intrigued. Given that it had been passed down in the Wei family for generations, they must have had some reason to do so. It wasn’t impossible for it to be a genuine book of Heavenly Script.

“Do you know where the Wei family residence is?”

Yan Fei had been waiting for Ji Yuan to ask this very question.

“I know the general location. I can find the details once we get there. Besides, I, Yan Fei, am quite well known along the Zhonghu Road of the country of Zuyue. Asking to borrow a book from the Wei family shouldn’t be too difficult!”

Yan Fei relaxed a little. This would at least help Mr. Ji somewhat.

“Okay, in that case, let’s set off for Zhonghu Road after we finish eating.”

. . .

The area occupied by the country of Zuyue was only half of the territory of Dazhen. It was divided into nine provinces. Aside from a difference in names, their system wasn’t that much different from that of Dazhen’s capital-and-province system.

Nandao County was located at the junction of the Southern Main Road4 and the Imperial Road,5 while Zhonghu Road6 was just north of the Capital Road.7

For ordinary people, it wasn’t feasible to travel to the Zhonghu Road on foot. However, Ji Yuan and Niu Baitain were no ordinary people. Even Yan Fei rarely rode horses while traveling. Without a good enough steed, for a martial artist of his skill, he would rely more on his movement techniques.

By the beginning of the fourth month of the lunar year, the two men and the demon had spent about twenty days traveling along the Imperial Road, before arriving at the Zhonghu Road.

During their journey, they encountered highway robbers, violent bandits, shady inns, deserted villages, and often spend the night in the wilderness.

It was no wonder that Yan Fei came to the country of Zuyue to sharpen his sword. At least, judging by the current state of the country at the time, it was no exaggeration to say that chaos reigned freely. Even belief in the gods was in decline.

This process also allowed Ji Yuan and Niu Batian to deepen their understanding of each other. This old bull had indeed once been a farming ox.

Working oxen were often a family’s most valuable possession, a treasured creature. He had been meticulously cared for. After becoming a spirit, the old ox had worked the land for that same family for three generations. Eventually, the family sold the old ox to someone else. Half a month later, the old ox broke free from its leash, broke through the bullpen, and fled, retreating into the mountains to cultivate by himself.

It is precisely because of this that the Old Bull had been deeply influenced by the human world, fundamental different from the average mountain monster.

Of course, the Old Bull only spoke of this to Ji Yuan in private. Although he and Yan Fei were good friends, he rarely talked about such spiritual matters with him, unless Yan Fei really wanted to know, and asked repeatedly.

Niu Batian was convinced that Ji Yuan was the kind of Taoist with true cultivation, and that he didn’t harbor much prejudice against monsters. The Old Bull’s mind was still quite clear. It was a mysterious feeling, and one that was often difficult to express in words, but nonetheless the most accurate.

That night, the moon was bright and the stars were faint in the sky, with excellent visibility. The three of them lit a bonfire and sat by a forest to rest.

Niu Batian noticed that Ji Yuan was still flipping through the pages of his book, and finally couldn’t help it anymore. He quietly approached him, but before he could open his mouth, Ji Yuan spoke first.

“Is there something wrong?”

Niu Batian rubbed his hands together, a simple and honest smile on his face.

“Uh, haha… Mr. Ji, you said that there was a way to remove the evil curse on the back of my neck. This…”

Ji Yuan smiled in his heart but his face was indifferent. He raised his head and looked at the bull demon.

“What? Aren’t you afraid that I will take the opportunity to harm you?”

“Oh, that’s not what I mean, sir. If you wished to harm me, why would you need to wait for that moment? Couldn’t you do so now? This old bull doesn’t believe you would. I’ve made up my mind. Please help me, sir!”

Ji Yuan nodded, thought for a moment, and asked.

“I can help you eliminate the evil curse, but how will you repay me?”

“Huh?”

The Old Bull was stunned for a moment. He had never thought about this question before, nor had Mr. Ji ever previously mentioned it.

----------------------------------------

T/n: Do you eat porridge or drink it? Discuss

I just realized the equinox was on Monday — happy (belated) Equinox!

1. Note that the MTL flips arbitrarily between calling NB an ox and a bull, but I do believe they meant to say “bull,” seeing how JY is only now theorizing that he might have been a domesticated animal (an ox is just a domesticated bull)

2. Ok this is translation is kind of ridiculous, but it either means that they were close enough to share their own food/riches, or that they were close enough to share a prostitute for the night (鸡 jī is both fowl/chicken and slang for prostitute). My gut tells me it’s the latter, but I kept the literal translation

3. You burn yellow paper for your ancestors — he’s saying they were almost close enough to pay respects to each others’ ancestors, basically family

4. Note: changed from Nanyuan Road

5. 朝 (cháo): imperial, 路 (lù): road

6. 中 (zhōng): central, 湖 (hú): lake

7. 京 (jīng): capital, 路 (lù): road