Chapter Twenty-Seven: Your Father Will Always Be Your Father

The spring water quieted down as if the tide had receded, leaving Chen Jin and Boyang standing there in stunned silence.

Boyang was utterly dumbfounded. What was happening here? He had been prepared to fight desperately, even expelling his vital energy, and now, all of a sudden, it was over. Was he supposed to swallow that energy back into himself?

He glanced at the golden nectar, tinged with yellow and green, sticking to the jade gourd, then looked at the transformed Hundred Herbs Staff, and finally at the jade gourd again…

Chen Jin, oblivious to Boyang’s inner turmoil, was wholly fascinated by Ge Hong’s Hundred Herbs Staff. The changes it had undergone embodied many profound principles of heaven and earth, leaving Chen Jin utterly amazed, though he could not grasp their true essence. It was the feeling of knowing something was extraordinary without understanding why.

Such feelings were truly uncomfortable; even when combining his own memories with those of Xinyang, the real meaning eluded him. Perhaps, he thought, this was the so-called path of creation.

“Brother Boyang, shall we…” Chen Jin pondered for a moment but found no answers, so he decided to take the Hundred Herbs Staff back as proof of their mission.

But as he turned, he saw Boyang puckering his lips and sucking at the jade gourd in his hands…

Slurp… gulp…

Chen Jin quickly turned away, then leapt onto the shattered rocks, retrieving the Hundred Herbs Staff lodged there.

“Brother Xinyang, the serpent demon is defeated. Let us return and report,” Boyang said, seeing Chen Jin secure the staff.

“Indeed,” Chen Jin nodded, taking the lead.

He desperately wanted to forget what he had just witnessed, but his memory was too vivid—and too deeply etched. It replayed in his mind; to avoid vomiting in front of Boyang and embarrassing them both, he turned away at once.

Boyang, perplexed, could only follow after him.

…

The two made their way back swiftly, reaching the rocky outcrop above their cave in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

Ge Hong stood on the rock, still communing with the vital energies of the lands around Wenma County, widening streams and rivers, diverting waters that might cause floods, and expanding the channels three or four times their former size to bear more rainfall.

He wore a solemn expression, but his actions were orderly and calm, showing no sign of panic—everything remained firmly under his control.

“Uncle Ge, thanks to your Hundred Herbs Staff, the serpent demon has been slain,” Chen Jin said, presenting the staff to Ge Hong.

After handing over the staff, Chen Jin glanced at the sky, frowning. “Yet the heavens still threaten torrential rain. Could there be other serpent demons lurking in Wenma County?”

He voiced his suspicion because the storm had begun in Wenma County. Although Ge Hong had summoned local rain through his powers, he had since withdrawn them, so the continued deluge must have another cause—there was surely more at play.

---

“There remain some evil creatures yet unpurged. When I summoned the rain, another did likewise, altering the heavens. Then, while I was distracted, he expanded the storm, inciting the serpent demon of Gaoping Mountain to transform into a dragon, deceiving me into believing the storm was entirely its doing. Seizing the opportunity, he turned the weather fully to torrential rain, reversing the natural order.”

“Alas, the seas near Wenma County are neither the East nor the South Sea; none of the dragon kings govern this place. Thus, the weather here runs unchecked, for no deity manages it—a single misstep leads to endless errors.” Ge Hong sighed as he revealed his reasoning.

“Master, why have the local City God and Earth Deity not appeared?” Boyang asked, puzzled.

“The Earth Deities and City Gods manage the land, not the rain. This is a matter of heavenly rain, beyond their domain. However, you should fetch the Celestial Master’s talisman and, by the authority of the heavenly officials, command them to protect the people,” Ge Hong replied, recalling this point and instructing Boyang on where and how to retrieve the talisman.

“Xinyang, go with Boyang. I will attempt to dispel the storm,” Ge Hong ordered.

Chen Jin followed Boyang into the cave.

Boyang bowed three times before the portrait of the Three Pure Ones, then rose, chanting incantations as he paced and formed seals with his hands.

Within ten seconds, a golden light surged from the portrait.

Within that golden glow appeared a cinnabar-red talisman, written in cloud script. It had no paper, metal, or wood backing—suspended in the air, as if inscribed upon the very sky.

Chen Jin felt its mystery, but could not articulate how; it was just like watching the Hundred Herbs Staff transform—he knew it was powerful, but not why or how.

The talisman hovered before Chen Jin for a blink, then turned into a streak of red light, flying to Boyang and entering the jade gourd hanging at his neck.

Seeing this, Chen Jin recalled the earlier scene…

The urge to vomit rose again.

Ge Hong had called this the Celestial Master’s talisman, surely left by his grandfather, Ge Xuan, one of the Celestial Masters. Ge Hong, as his grandson, would have inherited such treasures—perhaps the talisman was bestowed upon him during one of Ge Xuan’s earthly visits.

“Let us hurry to the foot of the mountain and seek the local City God,” Boyang said, securing the jade gourd.

But as they were about to depart, a strange cry echoed from the cave entrance.

“Caw, caw, caw… mine… it’s mine…”

A streak of purple-black light flashed before Chen Jin, and before he could react, it shot to Boyang’s neck and vanished in an instant.

Boyang’s jade gourd was snatched away by the purple-black light.

It moved too swiftly; neither Chen Jin nor Boyang could respond in time.

---

“After it!” Boyang could not find words for his fury, only clenching his teeth and shouting as he chased after the purple-black light.

Chen Jin, stunned, hurried to follow.

But after only a few steps, Ge Hong’s voice rang in their ears.

“No need to pursue it. Come to me at once.”

Boyang, angry and anxious, stopped in his tracks, following Chen Jin to the rocky outcrop where Ge Hong stood.

Upon arrival, Boyang knelt. “Master, it was my negligence that allowed the ancestral Celestial Master’s talisman to be stolen by a villain.”

Chen Jin, too, bowed apologetically, for he had been right beside Boyang.

“It matters not. That was not the true Celestial Master’s talisman, merely a cloud script I casually inscribed. Do not reproach yourself,” Ge Hong said with a smile.

“What?!” Boyang looked up in shock and joy.

“I sensed a villain lurking nearby, plotting mischief. I thought he desired my Hundred Herbs Staff, or perhaps the Water-Dividing Banner carried by Zhongxin and his companions. So I had you take the staff to subdue the serpent demon, and Zhongxin take the banner to control the floodwaters in Wenma County, but the villain did not act.”

“So I guessed his aim was the Celestial Master’s talisman. Then I remembered the cloud script I had drawn on the wall, and devised this plan. It seems the villain truly coveted the talisman,” Ge Hong said, chuckling.

“Uncle Ge, what of the storm?” Chen Jin pointed to the rain above.

“This is the villain’s doing; undoing it will require some effort. I have already resolved much.” Ge Hong smiled.

He then formed a seal with his hand.

Immediately, the torrential rain diminished.

Chen Jin could only marvel inwardly: the wisdom of the elder, indeed, was unmatched. Your father will always be your father.

…