Chapter 27 Destiny and Fate (Part 2)
1434 Words
"Fellow Daoist Liu, I am grateful for your kindness. This poisonous creature is of great use to my spirit pet, but how can I repay you?"
Seeing Liu Daoren shaking his head repeatedly, seemingly preparing to refuse
, Chu Weiyang continued before Liu Daoren could speak.
"Don't be so quick to refuse."
"Fellow Daoist, matters of cause and effect are never certain. I'll be shameless enough to say this: I come from Tingchang Mountain and don't care about a pittance, but I don't want to needlessly form karmic ties with others. If you insist that I owe you a favor, you're forcing us to become enemies. Don't you think so?"
Hearing this, Liu Daoren chuckled awkwardly and nodded repeatedly, bowing deeply.
He wasn't tall to begin with, and this posture made him appear to be prostrating himself before Chu Weiyang.
"We're just men who brave wind and snow, we're not very discerning, we don't have your level of insight. Please don't take us too seriously, don't worry about favors..."
"But... Brother Yan, since you've said so, how could the three of us brothers dare disobey!"
"Speaking of which, we brothers have been keeping an eye on this underground palace for months. If we come up empty-handed, we'll probably have to tighten our belts."
"You come from a wealthy family, a little bit of money from your pocket would be enough for us to live on for years."
"But those of us in this line of work have to be mindful of our karma at all times."
"After much thought, we're shamelessly asking you to let the three of us go with you on this trip, to go to the underground palace again. If you see anything you like, take it first. If there's anything you don't like, we can keep it and make a little extra money."
"If there's nothing but that poison, then it's just bad luck for the three of us brothers, it's not your fault, and there's no further karma involved."
"Brother Yan, what do you think?"
Hearing this, Chu Weiyang smiled meaningfully.
"You've already said all the nice things, and now you ask me what I think?"
"Fellow Daoist Liu, what do you think?"
Raising his hand to gently stroke the white jade venomous snake, Chu Weiyang gave Liu Daoren a sinister glance.
Before Liu Daoren could say anything more, Chu Weiyang nodded.
"There's no point in all this back and forth!"
"I've agreed!"
"Hurry up, find a way to cleanse yourselves of that poisonous energy! Going down with that poisonous energy, you'll probably be lying in front of me after just a few steps!"
"If someone gets flustered, I won't have time to save your lives!"
Hearing Chu Weiyang's words, Liu Daoren finally realized that the three of them still carried that strange poisonous energy.
At this thought, the three of them all changed their expressions.
However, the proper method for removing poisonous energy was definitely not something these three could master.
Recalling Chu Weiyang's actions just now, Liu Daoren's face immediately lit up with a smile, and he bowed deeply to Chu Weiyang.
"Old Liu, I've finally seen it today, Brother Yan, you are truly a kind-hearted and virtuous cultivator. Your words have saved our lives, but the problem is we don't have the means to do so. We must ask you to use your miraculous methods to avert disaster. We are eternally grateful."
Hearing this, Chu Weiyang frowned, seemingly troubled.
"But what we just discussed was one matter, settling our karmic debts; what you're saying now is another matter."
"What, you people with no connections want to owe the Tingchang Mountain sect a debt of gratitude and karma?"
Liu Daoren's face immediately showed difficulty.
"Then... can you give me an explanation?"
Chu Weiyang stamped his foot, as if he had thought of something, and his brows relaxed.
"Don't say I'm bullying you. Here's what you've got: any odds and ends you have, whether they're strange trinkets you found somewhere, fragments of magic you don't understand, or other miscellaneous things from unorthodox sects." "
These can still be considered trinkets, so give them to me!"
"I, the Daoist, don't usually care for these things, but everything must be settled according to cause and effect. That way, I'll feel better, and you'll all be at ease, right?"
Hearing this, Liu Daoren smiled broadly and nodded repeatedly.
"Yes, yes, yes, it's all for the sake of cause and effect, this is the most important thing!"
...
After a long while,
Chu Weiyang looked at the real "odds and ends" spread out on the ground and clicked his tongue in disbelief.
"Well, so you've come here to clear out your stock?"
Liu Daoren's smile became even more humble.
He picked up a stack of Taoist books that resembled coarse paper. The pages were yellowed and dry, but thanks to Liu Daoren's careful preservation, the books were still intact.
"Brother Yan, this is the 'Nine Primordial Prayer Crimson Text and All Talismans'. I know this 'Nine Primordial Text' isn't a particularly rare Taoist book, but this copy of mine was passed down from the ancestors. Now I'm giving it to you, Brother Yan. Its antique charm might... make it a bit more elegant."
Because of his limited knowledge, Liu Daoren's words touched on Chu Weiyang's blind spot, so he could only nod awkwardly, not even looking at the book, just glancing at it with his chin.
"Never mind, it's just an object, put it aside."
Liu Daoren nodded, still carefully setting the book down, before even more embarrassedly picking up another stack of papers.
This one resembled coarse paper, about ten sheets, loosely held in Liu Daoren's hand.
"There's really nothing good here. To be honest, this is just to make up the numbers. It's something passed down from the ancestors of the elder brother who brought us into this profession. It's the formula for two kinds of pills used by the geomancer lineage to dispel yin and ward off evil. We who dig tunnels need to keep them on hand. This handwritten copy is offered to you, just for novelty..."
...
West of Lingqiu Mountain, on the road Chu Weiyang had come from earlier.
In the lush forest, amidst the vast sea of trees.
In front of a puddle, a boy who looked about sixteen or seventeen years old stood side by side with Yan Jianming, his hands clasped together, his gaze deep into the depths of the sea of trees, lost in thought.
The sky gradually darkened.
At the end of their gaze, a thin layer of mist seemed to rise, about to envelop the entire sea of trees along with the night.
At this moment, it was a time of profound silence.
In the long silence, suddenly, the boy spoke.
"Uncle Yan, that person who escaped from the Demon Suppression Cave, since he's not at Zhaifeng Tower, where did you hide him?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Jianming smiled.
"Ah? Uncle doesn't understand what you mean. That person is a Sword Sect escapee, what does that have to do with our Tingchang Mountain? Not that I'm saying anything, but you've suffered before, you should know what kind of place the Demon Suppression Cave is. The people who survive there are like scum, hyenas. How could it be worth you risking your life to go there again? It would be beneath your dignity!"
Upon hearing this, the young man shook his head.
"Uncle-Master Yan, what you're saying isn't right."
"You see me, Chunyu Huai, as a nuisance, don't you?"
"Uncle-Master, have you ever considered why, on the day you saved me, several senior uncles personally came, led by the eldest senior uncle, but you were the only one left out?"
"Uncle-Master, have you ever considered why, for all these years, since I can remember, you've spent more time in the south than in the mountains?"
"Who is my father? Who is my Chunyu family patriarch? Who is my mountain grandmother?"
"With their high abilities, why was I imprisoned in the Demon-Suppressing Cave?"
"Why am I able to come to the south now?"
"Have you thought about these questions?"
"Uncle-Master, your heart is filled with those smug little tricks!"
"What I'm looking for isn't some hyena you call trash, but an opportunity! An opportunity to transform the Tingchang Mountain Daoist temple into a sacred and great sect! An opportunity for the Dongshan Chunyu to leap from a noble family to a legitimate lineage!"
"Uncle-Master, those who cut off my path are like murderers of my parents!
- Writer
