Three months ago, Author: Xun Chun Xu Zhou
Chapter 27: Destiny and Karma (Part 2)
"Liu Daoist friend, I appreciate, I appreciate your kindness. This poison is of great use to my spiritual pet, but how should I repay you all?" Seeing Liu Daoist shaking his head repeatedly, as if preparing to refuse.
But before Liu Daoist could speak, Chu Weiyang continued, "Don't be quick to refuse."
"Friend, matters of cause and effect are always unpredictable. I must say with a thick skin, I, from Ting Chang Mountain, do not care about trivial matters, but I am unwilling to form unnecessary karma with others. If you insist on me owing you a favor, it will only force us to become enemies. What do you say...yes or no?" Hearing this, Liu Daoist smiled repeatedly, nodding incessantly, bowing deeply.
He was not tall to begin with, and now in this posture, he seemed to be prostrating himself before Chu Weiyang.
"We, who toil through wind and snow, are simple-minded and lack your high level of insight. Please do not take us lightly, talking about favors and debts..."
"But... Brother Yan, since you have said so, how can we three brothers not obey?"
"Speaking of which, we have been watching this underground palace for several months. If we find nothing, our days ahead may become difficult."
"You come from a wealthy family, a small gain for you could sustain us for years."
"But for us in this line of work, we must always think about accumulating virtue."
"After much consideration, I shamelessly ask you to let the three of us follow you once more into the underground palace. If we find something valuable, you can take it first. If there is something you don't like, we will collect it and share some wealth."
"If there is nothing else besides that bit of poison, then it's just our bad luck. There will be no blame on you, and no more karma."
"Brother Yan, what do you think?" Hearing this, Chu Weiyang smiled meaningfully.
"You've said all the nice words, but then you ask me what I think?"
"Liu Daoist, what do you think I should do?" Raising his hand to gently stroke the white jade poisonous snake, Chu Weiyang cast a cold glance at Liu Daoist.
Without waiting for Liu Daoist to say anything more, Chu Weiyang nodded again.
"All this back and forth is meaningless!"
"Daoist agrees!"
"Hurry, find a way to cleanse the poison qi on your bodies! If you go down with poison qi all over you, you might collapse in front of me after just a few steps!"
"If there's a commotion then, I won't have time to save your lives!"
Upon hearing Chu Weiyang's words, Liu Daoist finally realized that the three of them still carried that insidious poison qi on them.
At this thought, the faces of the three men changed simultaneously.
But the proper method to cleanse the poison qi was not something these three men could master.
Thinking back to Chu Weiyang's actions just now, Liu Daoist smiled, bowed deeply to Chu Weiyang, and said, "Today, I finally see that Brother Yan is truly a kind and genuine cultivator. Your words have saved our lives, but unfortunately, we do not have the means to cleanse ourselves. We must ask Brother Yan to perform a miraculous technique to dispel disasters and calamities. We are deeply grateful."
Upon hearing this, Chu Weiyang seemed a bit troubled, furrowing his brow.
"But we just discussed settling one matter to clear our karma; now what you're saying is another matter altogether."
"What's this, you nobodies, wanting to owe a favor and karma to the disciples of Ting Chang Mountain?" Liu Daoist looked embarrassed upon hearing this.
"Well...do you have a solution?" Chu Weiyang stomped his foot, as if he had figured something out, and relaxed his brow.
"Don't think I'm bullying you. Here's the deal! Whatever odds and ends you have, whether it's some strange and incomprehensible method, remnants of lost scriptures, or other miscellaneous things from unorthodox sects."
"If it can be considered an oddity, show it to me!"
"I, too, don't care for these things, but everything must be settled to clear our karma. This way, I'll be satisfied, and you can be at ease, right?" Hearing this, Liu Daoist smiled awkwardly, nodding repeatedly.
"Yes, yes, it's all about karma, that's the most important thing!"
After a long while, Chu Weiyang looked at the floor covered with various "odds and ends," his teeth itching.
"Alright, are you here to clear out my inventory?" Liu Daoist smiled even more humbly.
He picked up a bundle of parchment-like scriptures, the pages of which were yellowed and brittle, but due to Liu Daoist's careful preservation, the book remained intact.
"Brother Yan, this is the 'Nine Yuan Prayer Red Text and Various Talismanic Instructions.' I know this 'Nine Yuan Instructions' is not considered a rare scripture, but this particular one has been passed down from the ancients and is now being gifted to you. Its ancient charm may add a touch of elegance..."
Due to Liu Daoist's knowledge barrier, his words touched on an area of Chu Weiyang's ignorance, so he had to nod reluctantly and not look at the scripture, just nodding with his chin.
"Fine, it's a piece of property, put it aside." Liu Daoist nodded, still carefully placing the scripture down, then embarrassedly picked up another stack of paper.
This time, it was like parchment, about ten sheets, loosely held in Liu Daoist's hand.
"There's really nothing valuable here. Honestly, this is just to make up the numbers. It's a prescription for two kinds of pills used by the Earth Sect to dispel yin and transform evil. We, who dig and tunnel underground, must always have them on hand. This handwritten copy is presented to you for a bit of novelty..."
-
To the west of Lingqiu Mountain, on the path Chu Weiyang had taken earlier.
Amidst lush forests and a vast sea of trees.
In front of a water pool, a young man who appeared to be sixteen or seventeen stood with his hands clasped, standing side by side with Yan Jianming, gazing deeply into the depths of the forest, lost in thought.
The sky was gradually darkening.
At the end of his gaze, a faint mist seemed to be rising, ready to envelop the entire forest along with the night.
It was a time of deep silence.
After a long silence, the young man suddenly spoke.
"Elder Yan, the person who escaped from the Demon-sealing Cave, since he's not at the Wind Picking Tower, do you know where he's been hidden?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Jianming smiled.
"Huh? I don't understand what you mean. That person is a fugitive from the Sword Sect. What does it have to do with our Ting Chang Mountain? Didn't I say, you've suffered before, but you should also know what kind of place the Demon-sealing Cave is. Those who survive there are like scum-like hyenas, not worth risking your identity for."
At this, the young man shook his head.
"Elder Yan, you're mistaken."
"Do you see me as a troublemaker, yes or no?"
"Elder, have you ever thought about why that day, when I was rescued, several senior brothers and uncles personally came, led by the Grand Master, but you were the only one missing?"
"Elder, have you ever thought about why, for so many years, since I can remember, you've been more in the south and less in the mountains?"
"Who is my father? Who is my ancestor in the Chen family? Who is my grandmother in the mountains?"
"They are all influential figures. Why was I taken to the Demon-sealing Cave?"
"And why am I able to come back to the south now?"
"Have you ever thought about these questions?"
"Elder, your mind is filled with self-conceited cleverness!"
"What I seek is not what you call scum-like hyenas, but an opportunity! It's the opportunity to turn the Ting Chang Mountain Daoist temple into a sacred place for a great teaching! It's the chance for Dongshan Chunyu to rise from a noble family to the lineage!"
"Elder, those who block my path are like killing my parents!"
Many books are hard to find now, so cherish what you have.