Chapter 27: You Actually Took Off For Real!
Back then in the public cemetery, Jiang Ce had already called Jie Tan the Abbot Martial Uncle, and plus Jiang Ce was indeed from the Buddhist Sect with very solid basic skills, earning Jie Tan’s approval.
So regarding this form of address, Jie Tan didn’t have any special reaction and naturally accepted it.
But in the eyes of the other four people present, it was a different story; they all felt it was outrageous, their pupils shaking as if they had heard something unbelievable.
Just finished cutting ties with Master Ye over there, and now calling Jie Tan the Gatekeeper Martial Uncle over here?
Could it be that the Gatekeepers have already been infiltrated this badly? To the point where everyone is a Traitor?
“Who bullied you?” Jie Tan first instinctively replied, then reacted: “Wait, how did you become an Evil Cultivator?”
Bringing up this topic, Jiang Ce also felt speechless; he hadn’t done anything, just followed the Great Shamatha that Jie Tan had given him and practiced it hard, who knew it would turn out like this.
“I’m not, I really am not an Evil Cultivator, I’m a good citizen.”
Jiang Ce said with a mournful face:
“Martial Uncle, you should have some idea in your heart; I only practiced that Great Shamatha you gave me for a few days, how could I be an Evil Cultivator? Never mind my subjective intent, time-wise it wouldn’t be possible.”
Jie Tan nodded: “That’s true, but why do they say you’re an Evil Cultivator?”
“I don’t know; they suddenly appeared, said I was an Evil Cultivator, then controlled me. Really, Martial Uncle, I’ve never suffered such a big Grievance in my life.”
Jiang Ce seemed to have found his backbone and poured out his woes, looking as aggrieved as could be, just like the original female protagonist who had just suffered abuse, feeling like a couple more provocations and he might just go off to seek death.
In fact, Jiang Ce hadn’t expected to run into Jie Tan again here, let alone that he seemed to hold a not-low Status.
For Jiang Ce, this was simply a Savior falling from the sky; Jie Tan knew better than anyone what state he was in a few days ago, even his path as a Cultivator was opened by him—this wasn’t the best witness?
If it were just Ordinary People, Jiang Ce wouldn’t think so much; proof? Giving you too much face—not slapping you would already count as me having Quality and Cultivation.
But the trouble was that he was now dealing with people from the Cultivation World, and they had their own set of rules; if he didn’t explain clearly, there wouldn’t be a kind police uncle coming to mediate, and he might just get done in directly.
Faced with the situation, no one could go against the current; they could only go with the flow.
“You don’t know?” The Young Man named Lu Yun immediately denounced: “I saw with my own eyes you set up an evil array, not only strengthening the Ghosts and Monsters inside but also making them kill each other—what is that if not Raising Gu?”
“You were peeping on me!”
Jiang Ce widened his Eyes and shouted.
Lu Yun frowned slightly, feeling this sentence had a weird vibe; why was his upright tracking being described so sleazily?
“So you’re not denying it then.”
Jiang Ce couldn’t shake his head, so he rolled his eyes: “What you say you saw with your own eyes, I deny it all! Forget it, wait till that Tide Old Man comes out later and you’ll know; if he can find even a shred of evidence that I’m an Evil Cultivator, I’ll slit my wrists on the spot.”
Jie Tan listened to the two arguing, lips pursed in a smiling silence.
Because he recalled how Jiang Ce had used the Ksitigarbha Sutra to summon a bunch of Ghosts, then sang to grant them Deliverance; in his heart, he was already certain that what Lu Yun said must be a Misunderstanding of Jiang Ce.
Of course, in his view, this was normal too; after all, he himself had been shocked for a long time back then, finding it unbelievable.
However, he had no intention of explaining to Lu Yun and the others; everything would wait until Tide Old Man returned, because among everyone here, only Tide Old Man was barely on the same Status level as him.
Though Jie Tan was kind to everyone, it didn’t mean anyone had the qualification to make him explain.
Not long after, Tide Old Man left the Manor and reappeared before everyone; his complexion at this time wasn’t too good.
Seeing Jie Tan, he was also somewhat surprised.
“Master, why have you come too?”
Jie Tan smiled and nodded: “You’ve now been promoted to Heaven-Reaching Dharma Master and will soon become a Gatekeeper. We’re equals, no need to call me Master anymore. Call me uh…”
He hesitated slightly, then continued: “Actually, calling me Master is fine too.”
Jiang Ce glanced at Jie Tan, thinking that this guy seemed to have some issue with his own Dharma Name.
Lu Yun simply explained a few things to the Tide Old Man, who then understood and said helplessly: “Master, there are no Fierce Ghosts in the manor, nor any Fierce Fiends. We’ve disappointed you.”
“Amitabha, not disappointed, not disappointed. I happened to run into some matters on this trip.”
Jie Tan recited his Dharma Name and pointed at Jiang Ce:
“He is an outstanding junior I encountered by chance before. At that time, he was just an ordinary person with exceptional Buddhist Dharma, but who would have thought that in just a few short days, he became an Evil Cultivator? What’s going on here?”
The Tide Old Man was stunned and looked at Jiang Ce, probing: “This is… your junior?”
“No, no, no.” Jie Tan waved his hand: “No need to hold back, just tell the truth. Although he and I both come from the Buddhist Sect, we’ve only met once a few days ago. I can only confirm that before he set foot on the Cultivation Path, he was indeed a good person.”
This left the Tide Old Man completely baffled. He asked incredulously: “Master, can you explain more clearly? You say you met him once a few days ago, but also that he hadn’t started on the Cultivation Path yet. Are you sure you didn’t get it wrong?”
Although Jie Tan had doubts in his heart, he still answered seriously: “Monks do not lie. I am certain.”
“Do you want to check what realm he is at now?”
“Hm?” Jie Tan was puzzled. What was the point of looking? He’d only given him the Great Shamatha a few days ago. Could he have taken off already?
With that curse on him where even merit from Deliverance of ghosts and monsters wouldn’t enter his body, there was no shortcut except honestly doing good deeds. Even if he’d accumulated a lot of merit from cultivating Buddhism before, it would take five or six years to make real progress on the Cultivation Path.
But with this casual glance, he froze in place.
What was going on?
Clearly just a few days ago he was confirmed to be an ordinary person, and now he was a Seventh Rank Jianghu sorcerer?
At his age, I think I had only just touched the threshold of Ninth Rank, and it took another year to fully become a Jianghu sorcerer, right?
You actually took off!
“What’s going on here?” Jie Tan lost his composure and shook Jiang Ce’s shoulders on the spot: “Did you secretly meet the Buddha behind my back?”
Seeing Jie Tan lose it just like that, the Tide Old Man continued with the matter that puzzled even him.
“I went in and checked. There are indeed traces of the Soul Soothing Technique in the house, and the array laid out has no flaws at all. I have to say, he has completely mastered the Soul Soothing Technique. But that’s also the strange part—why does the Soul Soothing Technique he used have the opposite effect of normal?”
Jie Tan shook him fiercely again: “How did you actually learn Sorcery?”
Sighing, the Tide Old Man’s expression suddenly turned serious: “Besides that, I found a beheaded corpse outside the house. It belongs to a Gluttonous Ghost.”
At these words, everyone except Jie Tan and Jiang Ce drew in a sharp breath.
