Chapter 003: Water Escape Technique

Since settling in Chang'an, Wang Bo had made many friends among exorcists. By now, he had met no fewer than fifty—or at least thirty or forty—exorcists. The greatest difference between exorcists and ordinary people lay in their magical power.

Almost all exorcists possessed magical power.

After all, without magical power, an exorcist couldn't even activate the magical artifacts at hand, let alone subdue demons and vanquish monsters.

Of course, Wang Bo had also met a few special exorcists who, though lacking magical power, indeed possessed some remarkable artifacts that would issue warnings upon encountering demons.

Wang Bo had seen such artifacts in Xiao Bai's world; they were called sentient artifacts—artifacts that had already gained intelligence and could attack enemies on their own.

But the artifacts in the hands of those few special exorcists were clearly crudely made and could not be considered sentient artifacts. The fact that they could issue warnings on their own was obviously due to the crafting technique.

Wang Bo guessed that the technique for crafting artifacts in this world must be quite advanced to produce such items.

After all, this was the Journey to the West world.

Ahem, getting off track.

Let's talk about these Taoist priests who claimed to be from Kunlun Mountain.

There were three of them: a thin, gaunt Taoist; an old Taoist with a gaunt face, white hair, and a ruddy complexion; and a plump, beautiful female Taoist.

Though these three Taoists varied in stature, they all possessed magical power, meaning they were indeed exorcists, not frauds. So Wang Bo warmly entertained them.

After several rounds of wine and dishes, Wang Bo's face flushed. Emboldened by drink, he said, "Honored masters, I often hear people say that Kunlun Mountain is the ancestor of all mountains, the source of dragon veins. Those who dwell on Kunlun Mountain are immortals. Since you have studied the Way on Kunlun, you must possess astonishing skills. Would you allow a commoner like me to witness them?"

The Taoists exchanged glances and laughed heartily. One of them, the thin Taoist, said, "Young Master Wang, Kunlun Mountain is indeed the ancestral home of Taoism. However, our skills are still unrefined, and we dare not call ourselves immortals. But we are proficient in a few Taoist arts. If you don't mind, may I demonstrate one?"

Wang Bo belched, exhaling the smell of wine, and forced his eyes wide open. "Please, Master, perform your magic."

The thin Taoist, undaunted, raised a cup of wine and flicked it outward. The wine scattered and abruptly transformed into a volley of ice arrows, releasing astonishing cold, and thudded into the wall.

Wang Bo's eyes widened in feigned astonishment.

The thin Taoist smiled faintly. "A mere trifle. I'm embarrassed to show it."

Though Wang Bo appeared shocked, he was unimpressed. This was indeed a trifle—merely using magical power to turn wine into ice. It was nothing special.

In another world, this might be considered sorcery.

But in this world, it was merely a low-grade spell.

If he had to make an analogy, this move was like the 'Black Tiger Steals the Heart' in martial arts novels—a village trick, not worth mentioning.

If he could turn the wine into flames and set it ablaze, Wang Bo might have thought more highly of him.

This was completely fooling an idiot.

Wang Bo sneered inwardly, but quickly clapped and said, "Excellent! Master, your skill is truly remarkable. Among the spells I've seen, this ranks in the top thirty."

The thin Taoist had initially worn a smug smile, but upon hearing the last part, his smile froze.

He raised an eyebrow, about to lose his temper, when the beautiful female Taoist beside him patted his hand, suppressing his anger. She smiled charmingly at Wang Bo and said, "Oh? So Young Master Wang has seen even more powerful Taoist arts?"

Wang Bo nodded. "Indeed. I have some reputation among exorcists and know many of them. Some of their Taoist arts have truly opened my eyes."

The female Taoist smiled. "Then what Taoist arts has Young Master Wang witnessed?"

Wang Bo said, "The most powerful Taoist art I've seen was also performed by a Taoist master. This master could move freely through water, as if teleporting. It was truly eye-opening."

The thin Taoist said, "That's merely a water escape technique. Nothing impressive."

Wang Bo raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh? So you, Master, also know this water escape technique?"

The thin Taoist sneered. "What's so difficult about that?"

He raised a cup of wine, drained it in one gulp, and then his body dissolved into a spray of water droplets that splattered on the ground. The droplets, instead of wetting the floor, quickly vanished.

A few seconds later, Wang Bo heard a splash from the pond in the front courtyard. A Taoist walked in from the front courtyard—none other than the thin Taoist.

"Excellent! Excellent Taoist art!" Wang Bo clapped vigorously, exclaiming excitedly, "Master, you truly have remarkable skill."

The thin Taoist smiled modestly, quickly walked to his seat, and sat down.

After that, Wang Bo no longer brought up Taoist arts but instead urged everyone to drink.

For a time, cups and chopsticks clattered, and host and guests enjoyed themselves.

After the banquet, Wang Bo ordered fine guest rooms prepared for the Taoists and repeatedly invited them to stay overnight.

Unable to refuse Wang Bo's insistence, they agreed to stay.

On the surface, that was the case, but in truth, Wang Bo saw clearly that these people had no intention of leaving.

When Wang Bo invited them, they merely pretended to decline a few times before agreeing.

This piqued Wang Bo's curiosity: what exactly were these people up to?

At night, in the dead of silence.

When everyone in the Wang residence had fallen asleep, a creaking sound was heard as a guest room door opened. The thin Taoist stepped out, looked around to ensure no one was there, and headed toward the female Taoist's room.

After a few dozen steps, the thin Taoist arrived at the female Taoist's door and knocked lightly.

The door opened, and the thin Taoist slipped inside. Inside the room, besides the female Taoist, the gaunt old Taoist was already seated. The thin Taoist showed no surprise; he walked over, clasped his hands, and bowed slowly.

"Disciple greets Master. You arrived early."

"You are late." The female Taoist closed the door, came back, and pulled him to sit down. She scolded, "You were too reckless today. If I hadn't stopped you, would you have lost your temper at that man?"

The thin Taoist looked unimpressed and said lightly, "Senior Sister, that man is nothing but a commoner. Today at the banquet, he made me lose face. What harm would there be if I lost my temper at him?"

The female Taoist said irritably, "He made you lose face because you treated him like a fool."