Moonlit Reunion
Chapter 76
When Siqing Daozhang, the grandmaster of Changxi Temple, arrived at the dining hall, he saw his disciples and grand-disciples all staring like dumbstruck deer, craning their necks in a daze at his youngest disciple who was engrossed in his meal. The scene was filled with an indescribably awkward and peculiar atmosphere.
Seeing this, Siqing Daozhang laughed heartily, his booming voice like a great bell as he shouted, "Children, snap out of it!" instantly shattering the stifling atmosphere in the dining hall.
At the arrival of the highest-ranking grandmaster of Changxi Temple, the disciples set down their bowls and chopsticks and stood up. The bearded elders sitting at Wu Zhen's table looked especially troubled as they said to Siqing Daozhang, who strode into the hall with vigorous steps, "Master, something seems off with junior brother. He was just speaking nonsense earlier—we fear he may have lost his wits. Please take a look."
Wu Zhen choked on her food, hastily swallowing the overly spicy bite with a gulp of soup while inwardly grumbling about how casually people accused others of losing their minds. She then turned her gaze to the legendary grandmaster of Changxi Temple, Siqing Daozhang.
This Siqing Daozhang was nothing like she had imagined—no ethereal white beard or Daoist topknot, nor a dust-whisk in hand with an otherworldly demeanor. Instead, he appeared remarkably well-preserved, looking far too young for his reputed age of over a hundred. With a robust build and a rough, imposing presence, he looked nothing like a Daoist priest—more like a burly rogue from the martial world.
Watching as several Daoist priests, who appeared older than Siqing Daozhang himself, gathered around him respectfully calling him "Master" and even offering to support him, Wu Zhen felt a strange sense of dissonance.
Siqing Daozhang laughed heartily, his short beard bristling as he approached Wu Zhen. Seeing her stand, he pressed her back down into her seat with a single hand and said, "Keep eating."
Under the mountain-like pressure that forced her back into her seat, Wu Zhen began to understand why her husband had such immense strength—clearly, "like master, like disciple." Their monstrous strength came from the same source.
After studying Wu Zhen for a moment, Siqing Daozhang turned to his senior disciples and said, "Your junior brother looks perfectly fine to me—even a bit plumper and glowing with health. What’s the problem?"
He soon found out what the problem was when Wu Zhen smiled at him and called him "Master." Siqing Daozhang nearly jumped out of his skin in shock, exclaiming, "Disciple Guyu, don’t scare your master like that! What’s wrong with your face? Why are you suddenly smiling?!"
Wu Zhen: "..."
She had assumed that Siqing Daozhang, being a venerable elder of great wisdom, would be more receptive to the idea of body-swapping. But as it turned out, he was the least accepting of them all.
Still, she decided to give it a try and explained her identity as Mei Zhuyu’s wife from Chang’an. But before she could finish, Siqing Daozhang cut her off with a grave expression, saying, "I don’t believe it."
Wu Zhen: Tch. What a difficult master.
Out of respect for her husband’s elder, Wu Zhen patiently continued, "Master, I’m not joking. This is real. Due to certain circumstances, we’ve swapped bodies. Right now, my husband is in my body—"
Siqing Daozhang: "I won’t listen!"
Wu Zhen: Listen to me! She took a deep breath, ignoring Siqing Daozhang's temper, and said directly, "Actually, we came together this time to visit you, Master. But on the way, we encountered a vicious demon, and my husband was captured..."
Siqing Daozhang interrupted again, "That sounds like a lie. My disciple Guyu would never take the initiative to come back and visit me. When he left the mountain, I was so angry I told him, 'Once you leave, you're no longer a disciple of Changxi Temple. Don't come back.' Knowing Guyu's temper, he definitely wouldn't return on his own."
Wu Zhen fell silent, staring at him with a somewhat unfriendly gaze. "From what you're saying, Master, it was you who drove my husband down the mountain?"
Siqing Daozhang also grew displeased, slamming the table angrily. "Did I want to drive him away?! It was because he listened to those foolish words his father left behind and insisted on leaving! What a waste of his talent—I haven't seen someone like him in years. If not for prior agreements, I would have passed Changxi Temple to him! But now? He vanished without a word after leaving. Is this how he treats his lonely, pitiful, helpless, elderly, and frail master?!"
Wu Zhen glanced at his bull-like physique and the thudding sound of his muscular chest being slapped, silently dismissing the description of "lonely, pitiful, helpless, elderly, and frail master." She didn't engage with that topic and instead coolly continued, "You clearly believe we swapped bodies. Why pretend not to understand?"
Siqing Daozhang fell silent for a moment before suddenly lamenting, "Ah, my disciple Guyu, how could he marry so soon? I was hoping that after he survived his destined calamity, he'd return to inherit my legacy. How could he throw himself into worldly love like this?! My most talented disciple! What a waste! What a waste!"
His face was full of unwillingness as he sighed dramatically, pounding his chest and stamping his feet. "Guyu never had any interest in romance before. If he'd stayed the way he was, he could have dominated the Daoist world and become its greatest figure today!"
Wu Zhen hadn't expected such lofty ambitions from him and spoke up, "...Master, calm down."
Not just Wu Zhen, but all the disciples in the room were clearly used to their grandmaster's antics. They urged him to go copy more scriptures on tranquility and stop dreaming about dominating the Daoist world—such un-Daoist ambitions.
Siqing Daozhang reluctantly yielded under the persuasion of his white-bearded, ascetic disciples and stopped talking about it. Though Wu Zhen suspected he only quieted down because their nagging annoyed him.
Finally, everyone accepted Wu Zhen's explanation. Freshly heated dishes were brought out, and they began eating while talking—a rather informal affair.
Siqing Daozhang chewed on two peppers that looked spicy enough to fry one's brain and pressed Wu Zhen, "So, you said Guyu—in your body—was taken by that thing. Did you find anything afterward?"
Wu Zhen watched in cautious awe as he munched the peppers without flinching, thinking this grandmaster truly commanded respect. She replied, "I went back to where we first spotted it, but there was no trace of it or my husband. It must be hiding. I think that thing knows my husband—maybe they have a grudge. It also demanded I trade something for him. My husband probably knows what it wants, but I don't. Do you, Master?"Siqing Daozhang didn't mince words and directly said two words: "I know."
Wu Zhen was overjoyed: "Great! Hand it over to me, Master. I'll go exchange it for the person."
Siqing Daozhang furrowed his thick, bushy eyebrows. "When Guyu brought that thing back years ago, he entrusted it to me and said to keep it safe no matter what happens. Even if he died, it couldn't be taken out."
Wu Zhen let out a faint "oh" and said with utmost sincerity, "Master, look—now I am Mei Zhuyu. Since Mei Zhuyu gave it to you back then, and now Mei Zhuyu is asking for it back, there's absolutely no problem, right?"
Siqing Daozhang: ...That does seem logical?
Wu Zhen patted his thick arm and pressed on, "Master, the item was entrusted to you by Mei Zhuyu, and now it's being returned to Mei Zhuyu. Isn't that just as it should be?"
Seeing Siqing Daozhang hesitate, Wu Zhen compromised, "Fine, I won't ask you to hand it over directly. But surely it's not too much to just take me to see what it is, right?"
Siqing Daozhang's confused expression gradually sharpened. He stared at Wu Zhen and said, "Do you think I'd be fooled by such a simple argument? You underestimate this old man. You keep saying you're Guyu's wife, but how do I know if that's true? Everything you've said is one-sided—I can't fully trust it. I think it's far more likely that you're the evil spirit who kidnapped Guyu, took over his body, and is now impersonating someone else to steal that thing."
Wu Zhen: Wow, Master really dares to imagine. And when you think about it, it's actually quite plausible.
Seeing her silent, Siqing Daozhang snorted coldly. "Now that I've exposed you, what now? Still pretending? Since you've stepped into our Changxi Temple today, don't think you'll leave so easily. Surrender quietly and release Guyu! Otherwise, don't blame us Taoists of Changxi Temple for being ruthless!"
Siqing Daozhang revealed a fierce, bandit-like expression.
"Master, calm down. Restrain yourself," the white-bearded elder Taoists nearby advised him worriedly.
Unfortunately, their pleas fell on deaf ears.
The situation escalated too quickly, hurtling toward an absurd direction. Wu Zhen couldn't convince the old master and instead ended up under suspicion. With a sweeping gesture, he declared firmly, "Disciples, tie this person up and lock them away first! We'll investigate the truth before deciding anything. We can't be fooled so easily!"
Wu Zhen was escorted by two young Taoists—who looked genuinely concerned—to a room to "rest," her hands bound. Sitting on the hard bed, she cursed wholeheartedly.
As she cursed, she tried to loosen the ropes around her wrists. Just then, Wu Zhen suddenly felt dizzy. This blackout sensation was something she'd experienced not long ago—right before swapping bodies with her husband. Was it happening again?
In that brief moment, Wu Zhen recalled her cousin's earlier words and thought, surprisingly, that he'd actually been reliable this time—it really had taken about a day to swap back. Her second thought was: Wait until my husband finds his own body tied up. I wonder what expression he'll make.
Then, she completely lost consciousness.
This time, the dizziness from the swap was far more severe. Wu Zhen's vision remained dark for a long while before she regained awareness, accompanied by waves of nausea and vertigo.She couldn't help but sit up and retch, hearing several delicate voices clamoring around her, saying, "Madam, what's wrong?"
"Madam, are you alright?"
"Oh dear, why did Madam suddenly vomit!"
Wu Zhen felt several pairs of hands supporting her simultaneously. After the wave of dizziness passed, she felt much better and looked up. She saw three or four middle-aged women with red flowers in their hair gathered around her—plump bodies, round heads, small eyes, and circular ears.
They were all yokai, field mouse yokai.
Wu Zhen wiped her lips with her thumb, glanced around at her surroundings, then suddenly grinned at them.