On the Path to the Great Dao

"The person outside—is that the newly appointed Xinxian County Magistrate, Magistrate Geng Chun?"

Chen Shi was slightly taken aback.

"He's buying geese? And he's bought them all?"

He sensed that something wasn't quite right.

This was East Market. Lately, with the moon appearing in broad daylight and evil spirits plaguing the area, hardly anyone came to set up stalls in East Market, and even fewer people came to buy anything. Yet the goose-selling old man had turned the scholars into geese right here, and now Magistrate Geng Chun had shown up in this deserted East Market to buy geese—and to buy every last one.

That was downright bizarre.

A goose honk came from the cloth sack. Chen Shi glanced over and saw the other geese pecking at one of their number, blaming her for the faulty judgment.

The one getting pecked, honking pitifully, had to be Hu Feifei.

It was strange, really. Everyone had turned into geese and could only honk from their bills, yet somehow they could all understand one another perfectly.

It was as if they were fluent in goose. At that moment, Chen Shi heard honking from outside—someone was moving the goose cages.

The cloth sack was hoisted onto someone's back, and the space inside swayed and jolted.

They were entering the city.

The geese outside were crying and fussing. From their tone, it seemed the other missing senior scholars had been turned into geese as well.

"Is the magistrate colluding with the goose seller? Are they really going to eat geese made from scholars? Isn't that the same as eating people?"

Chen Shi felt a chill run down his spine, but the goose-scholars inside the sack were still ganging up on Hu Feifei.

Chen Shi shook his head to himself.

"Childish. Though wait—aren't I a kid too?"

With that, he flapped his wings, honked as he waddled over, and joined his classmates in circling her. Together they pecked at Hu Feifei and plucked the feathers from her head.

Hu Feifei honked in misery as they beat her, looking utterly wretched.

Once Chen Shi and the others had pecked themselves out, they stopped to rest, planning to start up again shortly.

"What in the world is this sack? It actually turned us into geese. It feels a bit like a Ghost God Domain."

Chen Shi toddled forward on his stubby little legs, flicking his tail with practiced ease as he walked around the inside of the sack.

The sack was pitch-black, but the interior space was like that of a small house—plenty of room for a hundred or so geese.

"Chen Shi, Chen Shi, don't wander off."

The other geese honked at him.

Chen Shi ignored them and kept looking around. Goose eyes were remarkable things—they could see in the dark. Even in the sack's utter blackness, everything was as clear as day to them.

He discovered that if he stood still, he could twist his neck a full circle to look behind him. The flexibility was uncanny, and the novelty thrilled him.

Just then, the big white goose that was Shen Yusheng waddled up and fell in step beside him.

"This definitely isn't a Ghost God Domain. Those affect a much larger area and can alter the structure of objects or even change species. But I can still sense the meridians inside me, and my qi and blood are flowing according to human physiology—they haven't changed. I think this is some kind of artifact that only alters our outward appearance and skin without touching our inner structure."

Chen Shi gave him a deep look. This scholar named Shen Yusheng was sharp—impressively so.

"If our cultivation could advance just a bit further, we should be able to break free of the sack's suppression and turn back into humans."

Shen Yusheng sighed regretfully.

"It's a shame I'm stuck at the Divine Shrine Realm without a Divine Embryo, or I could give it a try. I suspect the goose seller doesn't dare go after actual scholars because his sack can only contain those at the Divine Shrine Realm."

Chen Shi tilted his head and glanced around.

"This sack might count as a kind of Ghost God Domain, just on a tiny scale. And breaking it doesn't require a Divine Embryo—it's merely a bizarre space constructed from talismans."

He quietly circulated his Golden Core, channeling it into his right foot. To his satisfaction, his right goose webbing transformed back into a human foot.

Chen Shi betrayed no surprise as he withdrew the Golden Core. His foot reverted to a goose webbing. He raised it and gave the ground a light stomp. True qi surged from his foot, activating the hidden black threads woven into the sack.

Under the stimulation of his true qi, the black threads lit up, forming talisman patterns one after another.

The talisman patterns encircled them, outlining a space the size of a room.

The other geese had finished resting and were gearing up for round two against Hu Feifei when they saw this and froze in place.

Chen Shi tucked away his goose foot. Only then did the talisman patterns gradually dim, and Little Ten vanished from sight.

Shen Yusheng stared at him in surprise and whispered,

"Chen Shi, your true qi is incredibly potent. Have you obtained a Divine Embryo?"

Chen Shi shook his head to himself.

"I don't have a Divine Embryo, but I've formed a Golden Core."

With his current level of cultivation, shrugging off the sack's suppression was no trouble at all. The talismans on the sack were transformation talismans—his grandpa had taught him all about them.

A few of the runes even had minor flaws. Cracking them would be child's play.

By then, clamor was rising from outside. A woman's surprised voice rang out.

"So many geese? The madam is going to be thrilled."

Another woman laughed.

"The madam has been craving goose meat lately. She keeps complaining that her food tastes bland."

Magistrate Geng's voice followed.

"Take the goose cages to the back courtyard and hang them up first. Set the tableware, prepare the knives and axes. Tonight, the madam and I will dine—no need for you to serve. None of you are to set foot inside."

The maids assented and carried the cages to the back courtyard.

"Master, there are still some white geese in this sack—nice and fresh!"

The goose-selling old man spoke up.

"Please deliver them to the back courtyard and put them in cages."

Before long, the sack was opened, and light flooded in. Several scholars honked frantically.

Right then, with a whoosh, Blackie Pot burst out of the sack. The maids cried out,

"Dog! Dog! A big black dog got in!"

Chaos erupted in the yamen—chickens scattering, dogs barking—as the maids panicked.

Magistrate Geng hurriedly summoned the bailiffs to catch the dog.

A withered yet sinewy hand reached into the cage, seized Chen Shi by the neck, and yanked him out.

The big white goose that was Chen Shi didn't struggle, letting the hand dangle him.

The hand's owner was the goose-selling old man, with his white beard, white hair, and face full of wrinkles. He eyed Chen Shi and chuckled.

"A fine fat goose. Don't hold it against me—who made the master and madam so fond of this dish!"

He stuffed Chen Shi into a goose cage, then used a bamboo pole to hang the cage from a tree in the back courtyard.

The cage was woven from bamboo strips, with gaps large enough for a goose head to poke through but too narrow for the body to squeeze out.

Before long, eighteen goose cages dangled from that tree like plump round lanterns, white geese pacing anxiously inside.

To ordinary ears, it was just endless honking. But to the scholars-turned-geese like Chen Shi, they were screams for help.

"What's the holdup? Haven't caught that mutt yet? How do you lot even do your jobs?"

The yamen entrance was still in an uproar.

Maids streamed into the back courtyard, tidying up and laying out knives, tableware—even axes—along with green onions, ginger, garlic, herbs, oil, salt, soy, vinegar, and dipping sauces.

The scholars in the cages honked even more desperately, begging for rescue.

But no one could understand them.

The maids withdrew from the back courtyard, though the goose seller stayed behind.

Night fell before anyone realized. The old man lit lanterns one by one until more than a dozen hung in the yard, casting a ghastly crimson glow.

The goose seller stood bowing deferentially. A voice called out,

"Madam, take it slow—mind the slippery ground."

"That's enough."

A somewhat winded voice replied.

"Go on back. The master and I will dine. No one sets foot in this courtyard—not even half a step."

"Yes, ma'am."

The maids' footsteps receded.

Chen Shi stood in his cage and noticed the goose seller growing tense. His eyes were fixed on the moon gate leading to the courtyard, wide with what looked like fear.

Chen Shi peered through the moon gate. There, a rotund, plump magistrate's wife was laboriously shuffling forward in the moonlight and lantern light.

As she waddled along, she muttered,

"It's been so long since I had any. So long since they were this fresh. Old Wu, where's the master?"

The goose seller bowed deeply.

"The master's still out front—he hasn't come back."

His voice trembled; he seemed terrified.

"Ma-Madame, if you're hungry, please, help yourself."

The enormously fat magistrate's wife tottered over to the table, chuckling.

"No rush, no rush. We'll wait for him and eat together. He's newly appointed as Xinxian County's parent-official—mountains of work, worn himself ragged. He needs some nourishing."

She shifted her bulk. Suddenly, a thud echoed from within her robes, and an extra length of body protruded from the back of her skirt.

She shuffled forward another step. Thud again—the body extended another segment, her robes no longer able to contain it.

She pressed on toward the table amid nonstop thuds, her form elongating and growing ever nimbler.

More and more body segments emerged from her skirts, thick, sturdy legs unfolding beneath them to plant on the ground and prop up the lengthening torso.

Her body slimmed down as she went, her voice growing lighter and more carefree. She laughed.

"Much better like this."

Behind her, her body had stretched to three or four zhang, with fresh segments budding one after another.

The torso was blood-red all through, but the legs were milky white and semi-translucent—thick thighs tapering to slender calves that ended in heels sharp as forged steel.

She resembled a four- or five-zhang centipede, armored in a thick carapace. Yet the forebody was humanoid—and as the segments multiplied, she slimmed further into a striking beauty, exuding mature allure and irresistible seduction.

Her once lumbering form was now impossibly agile, free of its former clumsiness.

The big white geese in the tree cages fell silent, staring dumbstruck.

Even Chen Shi was stunned.

"Didn't they say there were never any evil spirits in the county seat? Turns out not only are there evil spirits—they've become the magistrate's wife. And she's enslaving cultivators to catch boys and girls for her to devour."

It all felt utterly absurd.

City kids were the ones he'd envied most, seeming to live lives of perfect bliss. He never imagined they faced greater perils than rural children.

Suddenly, one goose honked. The rest joined in, turning the back courtyard into a cacophony of quacks.

Whoosh—the madam shot forward, her upper body levitating as her legs propelled her to hover before the cages, towering over them.

Her body whipped nimbly around the tree once before she barked,

"Quiet down! Anyone who makes a peep gets eaten first."

Silence fell. Goose after goose huddled in the corners of their cages, not daring to twitch.

Pleased, the magistrate's wife plucked a cage free. She twisted around to the table and set it down, her eyes gleaming.

"Goose heart, goose liver, goose intestines, goose feet, goose brains—all my favorite delicacies."

She burst into laughter that set her form quivering, her legs twitching in rhythm.

"Don't be scared. Fear makes the meat tough. I used to just refine Golden Cores from boys' and girls' blood. But once I tasted the real thing... well, I can't get enough now. Wait for the master, or shall I start?"

Just then, Magistrate Geng's voice drifted in from outside the courtyard.

"...Mr. Fu, calling at this hour—must be something urgent?"

"Your Honor, I'm here for the geese!"

Fu Leisheng's voice carried in, laughing heartily.

"I arranged with the goose seller to buy some and have him set aside a few for me. I heard he'd come to your residence and hadn't left, so I took the liberty of dropping by. Apologies for disturbing your rest, Your Honor. I'll grab the geese and be off at once."

Geng sounded displeased.

"This official has already purchased every one of those geese and paid good money for them. What reason is there to hand them over to you? Mr. Fu, you're a scholar—don't press your luck."

Fu Leisheng replied,

"I paid too—and I paid first. Your Honor may be the magistrate, but even officials must abide by reason. Fetch that goose peddler, and I'll hash it out with him myself. Goose seller! Goose seller!"

His voice drew nearer; he was forcing his way into the back courtyard.

Murderous light flashed in the madam's eyes as she cooed,

"Dear, just let him in. What's one extra pair of chopsticks?"

Her gaze lingered on the axe as her body contracted, reverting to its fat, bloated guise.

Fu Leisheng and Magistrate Geng entered one behind the other. Fu spotted the hanging cages and laughed.

"That's right—these are my geese, paid in full. Magistrate Geng, these belong to me. I'll be taking them."

The goose seller appeared at his back, voice icy.

"Have you forgotten, Mr. Fu? You didn't pay a single copper for these geese."

Fu Leisheng turned with a smile to face him squarely.

"Do goose sellers even take money anymore? Did you take Magistrate Geng's coin? If not from him, why from me?"

Middle-aged and once the picture of a grubby, money-grubbing vulgarian,

he now shed all trace of decay, positively radiant as he smiled.

"Sold your geese and yet you linger at the county lord's mansion. Planning to let His Honor listen in while you eat?"

Magistrate Geng threw his head back and laughed, extending a hand in invitation.

"Mr. Fu, you do love your jests. Since you're here, stay for a casual bite. Please, sit."

Fu Leisheng approached the table.

"Your Honor, after you."

Geng took his seat.

"Old Wu, select a nice plump white goose for Mr. Fu."

Fu Leisheng chuckled.

"I'll pick my own."

He snatched the bamboo pole from the goose seller, hooked down one cage, and brought it to the table.

"Your Honor, this white goose I've chosen can speak human tongue."

He set the cage on the table and grinned.

"She even knows a trick—turns herself from goose to girl."

"Oh?"

Geng and his wife perked up. The madam laughed.

"Have her do the trick, then."

Fu Leisheng smiled faintly and addressed the goose in the cage.

"Hu Feifei, say a few words for the county lord and madam."

That goose was none other than Hu Feifei. She eyed the madam and honked with a laugh,

"Madam, you've got a fat head and huge ears—like a pig! And you still plan to eat?"

The madam trembled with rage, on the verge of exploding, but Geng pressed her hand and chuckled.

"What are your intentions, Mr. Fu?"

Fu Leisheng grew solemn.

"I am but a humble scholar—I can't change the world. I only wish to take my students with me."

Geng replied,

"Wencai Academy students? Those you may take."

Fu Leisheng laughed.

"All these students study the master's teachings. If they're the master's pupils, they're all classmates. I want them all."

"In your dreams!"

The madam slammed the table. Her fat head and ears jiggled.

Thud thud thud.

Her body ballooned, revealing her true form.

"You'll all stay right here!"