Daoist Hong patted Lu Xiaofei's shoulder again, and chuckled slyly, "Little Fei, don't worry, I'm here in Nan Province this time precisely to help you forge a legend!"
It turned out that Daoist Hong hailed from Nanling in C City and had frequent dealings with Lu Xiaofei's father.
Daoist Hong was most adept at all sorts of forbidden arts. Forbidden arts, as the name suggests, were malevolent practices banned by the righteous schools of Taoism.
The hallmark of these evil arts was their cruelty and insidious nature, capable of twisting truth into falsehood. Even a brilliant, treasured pearl could be rendered into a discarded stone in Daoist Hong's hands.
"Little Fei, do you know who your biggest opponent is in this exhibition competition?" Daoist Hong asked, while heartily devouring his meal.
Lu Xiaofei shook his head blankly and said, "Daoist Hong, I truly don't know who this opponent is. Please enlighten me!"
Daoist Hong laughed, "You, you've been chasing Shen Ruobing, but you know far too little about her. Your true opponent is her!"
Lu Xiaofei asked in confusion, "Why would it be her?"
Daoist Hong explained, "Shen Ruobing comes from a family renowned for craftsmanship. Her sudden disappearance from C City is related to her ancestral secret manual of thirty-six Spring Beds.
"It is also rumored that she went into seclusion to cultivate in the countryside. Her sudden reappearance to participate in this competition must mean she has achieved astonishing breakthroughs in furniture making!"
"Daoist Hong, if I want to win this competition, how should I deal with her?" Lu Xiaofei asked anxiously.
Daoist Hong chuckled, "You don't need to worry about that. I've already arranged for two people to go to Shen Ruobing's exhibition area at the dead of night. They will use two talismans to destroy her furniture."
"Once Shen Ruobing's exhibit is destroyed, it will undoubtedly deliver a severe blow to her psyche. Then, I'll perform the 'Chang'e in the Moonlight' technique, and she'll be yours!"
"Thank you, Daoist Hong. I, your junior, will rely on you to fulfill my wish!" Lu Xiaofei immediately got up from the table and, with a thud, prostrated himself at Daoist Hong's feet.
Lu Xiaofei had personally witnessed Daoist Hong perform the "Chang'e in the Moonlight" technique.
His father, Lu Guangtao, was a section chief in the local industry and commerce department. Once, at a party, he met a beautiful folk singer and was instantly smitten.
To win her over, Lu Guangtao invited her out to dinner repeatedly, buying her all sorts of jewelry. Yet, the woman stubbornly refused to sleep with him.
Lu Guangtao spent a considerable amount of money and racked his brains trying to get his hands on this female singer, but to no avail.
One day, while his wife was away on a business trip, Lu Guangtao invited Daoist Hong for lunch at his home and poured out all his troubles to him.
Lu Guangtao sighed, "Daoist Hong, they say your Taoist arts are extraordinary, and your relationship is quite close. Can you help me win this woman over?"
Daoist Hong burst into laughter upon hearing this, "Brother Lu, for such a trivial matter, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Do you have a photo of that female singer? If so, with the moon out tonight, I'll get that woman for you."
At that time, Lu Xiaofei was also present.
He curiously asked, "Daoist Hong, with a photo of that female singer, can you help my dad get that woman under the moonlight?"
Speaking of which, this whole affair was rather bizarre. Lu Guangtao, as a father, should have kept his pursuit of another woman secret from his son.
However, he openly confessed this unsavory matter to Daoist Hong in front of his own son.
This demonstrated the extent of depravity that had permeated this father-son pair.
Daoist Hong, hearing Lu Xiaofei's words, laughed heartily with pride, "You'll see for yourself whether I have this capability or not."
"Daoist Hong, look, is this the photo of that female singer?" Lu Guangtao took out his mobile phone, found the photo of the beautiful singer, and showed it to Daoist Hong.
Daoist Hong nodded and said, "This female singer is indeed quite beautiful. It's clear you secretly took this photo with your phone when she wasn't paying attention."
Lu Guangtao grinned, "Yes, I saw her in the dressing room before her performance while she was changing. I happened to be nearby and took this picture."
Daoist Hong smiled, "Good, send her photo to my phone, and I'll naturally make that woman appear before you then!"
After lunch, since Lu Guangtao couldn't conveniently go out, he asked his son to treat Daoist Hong to a bath at a bathhouse.
Afterward, they hired two young women and each took a room, spending the entire afternoon indulging themselves.
As it neared evening, Lu Xiaofei settled the bill and brought Daoist Hong back home. Lu Guangtao called to have a table of dishes delivered from a restaurant, and they continued eating.
After several rounds of drinks and dishes.
The moon began to climb from the eastern horizon.
Daoist Hong glanced outside, put down his chopsticks, and said, "The time has come, Brother Lu. Your good fortune is near!"
With that, he stood up, lit a bundle of incense he had prepared, went outside, and chanted incantations towards the eastern sky, followed by three bows.
He then returned indoors and placed the incense into the censer.
Next, he asked Lu Guangtao to fetch paper and a brush. He drew a moon on a piece of paper and took out his mobile phone, flipping to the photo of the beautiful singer. He then shouted, "Go to the moon!"
In the blink of an eye, the beautiful singer's photo on the phone disappeared.
At that moment, Lu Xiaofei and his father suddenly saw the beautiful singer appear within the moon that Daoist Hong had drawn.
Daoist Hong picked up the drawing and tossed it towards the ceiling, where it hovered in mid-air.
"Brother Lu, turn off the lights in the room!" Daoist Hong said with a joyous smile.
Lu Guangtao quickly replied, "Alright, Daoist Hong, I'll do as you say. Lights out!"
As soon as the lights in the room were extinguished, a beam of bright light projected down from the moon in the painting. Instantly, the room was as bright as day.
Daoist Hong sat down and said to the Lu father and son, "Come, come, sit down, let's continue drinking and enjoy the beautiful woman's dance!"
As they all sat down to eat and drink again, the beautiful singer in the moon suddenly moved. She began to dance and sing within the moon.
"Heavens, this is simply miraculous!" Lu Guangtao's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
Lu Xiaofei couldn't help but slap the table and exclaim, "This beautiful singer in the moon is as stunning as Chang'e!"
Daoist Hong chuckled, "Little Fei, this beautiful singer is the woman your father fancies. Don't you dare harbor any improper thoughts."
"If you take a liking to someone in the future, tell me, and I'll help you. However, the remuneration is very steep, after all, performing a ritual like this takes a great toll on my body!"
Lu Guangtao impatiently interjected, "Daoist Hong, money is not an issue. The problem is, what method can bring this beautiful singer out of the moon?"
Daoist Hong laughed heartily, "Brother Lu, don't rush. I can have her descend from the moon right away so she can accompany you and you can have your fill of fun!"