Jack Linton shook his head with a sigh. “But look at you—just one sentence, ‘Don’t tell anyone about my identity,’ and you dug a hole and buried yourself. You don’t even know how to climb the ladder handed to you. No wonder you’re still single.”

“Brother Jack, from today on, you’re my real big brother.”

Steven Clark grabbed Jack Linton’s hand, gazing at him with deep emotion. “Tell me, is there still hope for me?”

“It’s simple—just grow a thick skin. If you want to win the beauty’s heart, you have to shamelessly keep pursuing her... The best is to have no shame at all.”

“Isn’t that a bit much?”

“What’s wrong with it? You’re ugly anyway, so being shameless is actually an advantage.”

Jack Linton pulled his hand away, wiped it on Steven Clark’s shoulder with a look of disgust. “Steve Clark, hesitation leads to defeat. You’ve already lost everything, not even your underwear is left. That means you’re in an invincible state—what are you afraid of?”

“That makes sense!”

Steven Clark nodded repeatedly, swearing to be shameless from now on and vowing not to give up until he wins over Emily Harris.

Just then, Emily Harris returned. “Jack Brooks, Officer Clark said earlier that you’re gay, and that you peeked at him while he was showering.”

After dropping this bomb, Emily Harris felt elated, and even her steps as she left were lighter.

She had just walked out of the alley, strolling slowly, but Steven Clark didn’t chase after her at all—she couldn’t stand it.

“So that’s what’s going on. No wonder he always talks to me about weird topics...”

Watching Emily Harris leave, Jack Linton nodded, grabbed the fleeing Steven Clark, and looked down to search for a stick.

“No, Brother Jack! Let me explain, that’s not how it happened!”

“Alright then, would Officer Clark care to explain what’s up with being gay, and what’s this about peeking at you in the shower?”

Jack Linton didn’t find a stick, but David Carter was quick-eyed and deft-handed—not only did he find one, he handed it over in a flash.

“Brother Jack, I was wrong! Please be magnanimous and just let me go like a fart.”

“Steve Clark, even a fart needs to make a sound, don’t you think...”

Bang!

“Ah—”

By the time Steven Clark ran out of the alley, even the taillights of Emily Harris’s car were gone. He was on the verge of tears, dragged off by Jack Linton and David Carter to eat, and in the end, he even paid the bill.

It wasn’t until he came to his senses that he realized he’d forked out a thousand bucks, and still ended up paying. He lost both money and face, feeling even more depressed.

...

After the meal, the three returned home. Jack Linton went into his bedroom, locked the door, and pulled out a small booklet from his pocket.

The booklet’s pages were yellowed. He’d spent ten yuan on it today at the flea market.

Ten yuan won’t get you ripped off, ten yuan won’t get you fooled.

Jack Linton was willing to pay because the booklet was filled with scribbles and diagrams related to the Nine-Character Mantra.

Never mind the text for now—the main thing was the diagrams. At a glance, Jack Linton could tell that the arrangement of dots and lines in the drawings was strikingly similar to the strange symbols he’d dreamed of that night.

“Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Qian, Xing.”

Jack Linton quickly skimmed the opening. The classical Chinese was hard to understand, but fortunately, some expert had added notes in the margins, so he could just about make sense of it.

He knew he’d struck gold, because the handwriting in the notes wasn’t all the same—at least seven or eight people had added their own insights.

One of the experts mentioned that the human body holds many mysteries, and its potential is immeasurable. Only through persistent effort and cultivation can one unlock this potential, allowing the body to communicate with the universe and reach a state of unity between man and nature.

Achieving unity between man and nature is extremely difficult, but the Nine-Character Mantra is full of wonders and can help practitioners find the path.

It sounded a bit like something from Esoteric Buddhism, but this booklet was an authentic Taoist secret text.

The second page explained in detail what the Nine-Character Mantra is—namely, the Six Jia Secret Incantation, or more commonly, the well-known Qimen Dunjia.

Qimen Dunjia can be traced back over four thousand years. It is the foremost of the three great secret arts—Qimen, Liu Ren, and Taiyi—ranking first among the three, and is the most logical and methodical.

Those skilled in it can easily drive away pests and avoid disasters, summon spirits, call the wind and rain, or turn beans into soldiers. It’s said to be like having an immortal in the world, capable of anything.

The more Jack Linton read, the more excited he became, and the more eager he felt. On the third page, he saw a diagram.

The Nine-Character Mantra Four-Vertical-Five-Horizontal Method!

Arrange the nine characters, draw four vertical and five horizontal lines—odd numbers are horizontal, even numbers are vertical—close your eyes, calm your mind, and form the sword seal with your hands.

Beginners can use this incantation for self-defense and exorcism; experts can develop endless applications. In the notes in the blank spaces, each expert praised this method to the skies, all claiming the Great Dao was within reach.

Jack Linton nodded repeatedly as he read. It sounded amazing, but after all that hype, who was going to tell him how to actually practice it?

The following pages were all extensions of the Nine-Character Mantra Four-Vertical-Five-Horizontal Method, either written by predecessors or added by later generations, with large sections of commentary.

For Jack Linton at this stage, this knowledge was far too advanced—it was like an elementary school student trying to read advanced mathematics.

Finally, a kind annotator helped Jack Linton over this hurdle, pointing out the key in a corner.

“Supplement from a later student...”

The Nine-Character Mantra requires strong mental focus to be effective, and the way to train mental focus is through meditation. With daily diligent practice, one can gradually build up mental power.

Slow progress didn’t matter. For Jack Linton, just finding the path was already a blessing.