After staying in her room for six or seven days straight, Zhao Chun finally managed to thoroughly grasp the entire Heart Incantation. Once she had it memorized, she eagerly began to sit cross-legged, silently reciting the incantation part in her mind. First, a strange and profound feeling arose, and then she felt her five senses become exceptionally clear.
Starting from the soles of her feet, her palms, lower abdomen, chest, and mind began to grow slightly hot. After an unknown amount of time, Zhao Chun opened her eyes and found that she had broken out in a great sweat, her clothes soaked through at her stomach and back.
Although she was exhausted, her whole body felt refreshed and comfortable, much like in the early days when she had just begun practicing martial arts; she felt as if her body had been stretched out.
Having tasted the sweet benefits, she spent the next ten-odd days completely engrossed in this, dedicating all her time to ascetic cultivation, aside from eating, sleeping, and washing. For the first two days, Zhou Pianran often came to chat with her, but seeing how diligent she was, she felt too embarrassed to disturb her and stopped coming over.
However, two days before they were to leave for the Drifting Clouds World, Zhou Pianran and Wang Chuyan came to her door together, panicked.
“Something’s happened! Something’s happened!”
“What is it?”
Zhao Chun got up, poured a cup of water for each of them, and said, “Don’t rush, speak slowly.” The two had hurried all the way, running over in a rush, and sat down panting heavily.
Zhou Pianran held the cup in her hands and said, “Just now, A Yan and I were chatting in the courtyard when we heard a commotion next door. We went over and found Zhang Mingzhan and Baoguang fighting.
“ Baoguang is no match for him and was beaten until his face was covered in blood. "We didn’t dare go up to pull them apart, so we came to find you first.”
Zhao Chun was momentarily speechless, thinking to herself that in terms of age, she was even younger than the two of them. What use was there in finding her?
“The most urgent thing is to pull them apart first, then go find Deacon Cao.”
Wang Chuyan understood the implication and stood up.
“I know someone in the Daoist temple, I’ll go get them now.”
With that, she hitched up her skirt and ran out. Zhao Chun then turned back to Zhou Pianran and said, “Let’s go find Deacon Cao.”
“He’s not here. Deacon Cao went out three days ago and still hasn’t returned.”
“What about Senior Brother Wang? Is he here?”
Zhou Pianran nodded.
“He’s here. I just saw him yesterday.”
“Alright, let’s go find him.”
As the two walked quickly down the path, Zhao Chun asked her what had happened recently.
“You haven’t been out much lately so you don’t know, but there’s been conflict between them for a while now.”
Zhou Pianran didn’t hold anything back and spilled everything. It turned out that the three, Liu, Peng, and Zhang, having come from commoner backgrounds, naturally formed a small group and isolated Xie Baoguang.
Xie Baoguang, for his part, looked down on those three anyway, so he simply spent a lot of time with Zhou Pianran and her group, and in doing so became quite familiar with Zhou and Wang. “Baoguang’s temper is a bit abrasive, but he’s not a bad person. It’s that Zhang Mingzhan from the other three who’s a despicable person.
He either makes noise at night on purpose to disturb people or puts little bugs in the food. He has many disgusting tricks, but none of them are things we can report to the Deacon. Zhao Chun had seen them during her first few days out.
Peng and Zhang were the same age as her, and it was subtly implied that they followed Liu Ziyi’s lead. That person was quite scheming, not at all like a child. Children from poor families matured early; from the very beginning, he had wanted to form a clique.
Zhao Chun refused to believe that Zhang Mingzhan's tricks were carried out without his approval.
“After this incident, let’s stay far away from those three.”
Zhou Pianran deeply agreed, nodding her head repeatedly in assent. The two of them arrived at the courtyard where Wang Fang lived. He was in the middle of quiet meditation.
After hearing what had happened, he immediately got up and had them lead him over. His usually gentle face had turned cold as he scolded,“What time is it to still be causing trouble?” By the time they arrived, Zhang Mingzhan and Xie Baoguang had already been pulled apart.
Liu and Peng must have taken sides in the fight. Zhang Mingzhan’s clothes were merely disheveled, but Xie Baoguang was sitting on the ground. Though his face had been wiped, there were still traces of blood under his nose.
Both his eyes were swollen, and his right cheek was black and blue; he was almost completely unrecognizable. Wang Fang was also a sharp person. With a single glance, he knew which side was at fault and sneered,“You haven’t even officially entered the sect, yet you’re already flaunting your status.”
It had been many days since she had seen the three of them, and they were already a far cry from Zhao Chun’s impression of them. If Wang Chuyan had learned to be humble and keep a low profile in all things after entering the Daoist temple, then these three were like fish in water, completely unrestrained and carefree.
While Liu Ziyi and the others hadn't gone so far as to change into silk and satin or wear golden crowns like princes and nobles, the items they wore at their waists and around their necks were all rare treasures. They didn't ask for them, but they couldn't stop others from fawningly presenting the gifts to them.
“The Secret Technique was passed down to you in advance so that you would cultivate diligently. You were diligent at the beginning, but after just a few days, you couldn't resist the temptation, attending banquets and accepting gifts. And now look at you, you’ve actually started fighting.”
Wang Fang was filled with disappointment, then said to an attendant, “Find a new residence for Xie Baoguang.” Seeing Wang Fang’s anger, Zhang Mingzhan showed fear. The three of them stood where they were, not daring to move.
“All of you, from today onwards, you are not to take a single step out of your rooms. Go and reflect properly!”
This punishment included Zhao Chun and the others. They were all fellow disciples, and only called Wang Fang "Senior Brother" out of respect for him entering the sect first. Wang Fang couldn't actually punish them; the only person in the Daoist temple who could administer punishment to disciples was Cao Wenguan.
But those three did not understand this principle. Thinking that Wang Fang had a soft heart and had let them off, they meekly complied. Zhao Chun surveyed the scene.
Zhou Pianran still had a look of shame on her face from Wang Fang’s earlier words. Wang Chuyan stood beside her, comforting her in a low voice. Xie Baoguang was being helped up, his fists clenched tightly, his face still filled with anger.
She didn't think the matter was concluded for the day. The internal conflicts between the two sides would not be resolved in a short time, and Wang Fang's method of not asking for the cause and punishing both sides equally had failed to meet Xie Baoguang's expectations.
If this resentment continued to build, a bigger incident would erupt sooner or later. It was just that her own power was minuscule. She couldn't, and didn't want to, mediate.
Only when they truly understood what kind of path they were walking would they realize that this sort of resentment, born from differences in background, was utterly meaningless. As for the punishment of confinement, it was something Zhao Chun could not have wished for more.
She was currently fascinated by the breathing technique and wished for nothing more than to be left undisturbed. After half a month of diligent work, when she found the time to practice the swordsmanship taught by Instructor Zheng, she discovered that many moves she previously couldn't execute due to a lack of strength were now possible.
Not to mention, her bones and muscles had become more flexible, and her combination of moves now had a certain smoothness, like flowing clouds and moving water. On the night before their departure, Cao Wenguan returned to the Daoist temple and summoned everyone to the hall. He was not like Wang Fang, who had just started Qi Guiding.
A single glance was all it took for him to see whether Zhao Chun and the others had been serious or not. Take Zhao Chun, for instance. Her complexion was ruddy and her Yintang had a profound glow.
Cao Wenguan knew at once that she must have hardly rested this past month, dedicating herself wholeheartedly to cultivation. As for the likes of Zhou Pianran, Peng Zheng, and Zhang Mingzhan, there was no significant difference from the day they were selected. They probably hadn't even memorized the incantation clearly.
It was Liu Ziyi who surprised Cao Wenguan somewhat. Although he didn't have a profound glow on his face like Zhao Chun, his eyes were bright and sharp, and his breathing was calm and long. He must have also put in a great deal of hard work.
To instigate others to fight while squeezing out time to cultivate for himself… if not for the one who had been genuinely practicing ascetic cultivation for the whole month, he would have easily stood out today. Cao Wenguan sneered inwardly. Not old in years, but an extremely shrewd person.
“How far can this cleverness of yours take you?”
He shook his head slightly. Cultivation was an accumulation of long years of effort. Clever people might be able to take fewer detours, but keeping one's feet on the ground and enduring loneliness was the correct path.
Thinking of this, Cao Wenguan nodded slightly and said to Zhao Chun, "You, are very good."
(End of Chapter)