Chapter 112 Freedom You are free, A Yuan.

“You are free, A Yuan. Because I like you, I don’t want you to give up your freedom for anyone. A long time ago, when I still couldn’t let go of the people from the past, the monk Mingcun once said to me, ‘People are born from love and desire, and from worry they are born fear. Without love there is no worry, and without worry there is no fear (1)’. I think it makes a lot of sense, so I’m telling you this now.”

Shen Zhengyuan looked at her silently for a long time before saying, "I don't understand. If you like me, why can't you love me? If you don't love me, then why did you say you liked me? Are you lying to me again?"

Li Chen hummed in response, then touched his nose and said, "Why do you always think I'm lying to you? I wasn't usually a liar, was I?"

As she spoke, she smiled again, raised her hand, and used her sleeve to wipe away the tears on Shen Zhengyuan's face. She continued, "Although I lied to you before, perhaps quite a few times, I am truly not lying to you now. I have no interest in worldly love anymore. In addition, after I went to the Zen meditation world, I followed Monk Mingcun and learned some Zen meditation techniques. Therefore, I cannot truly become your Daoist partner."

“But if possible, although I will not marry you, I am willing to form a bond of liberation with you for countless lifetimes (2). As long as you are still in the cycle of reincarnation, I will definitely come to save you, protect you, and love you. This is the only thing I can do for you, and you are the only person I will do this for.”

Shen Zhengyuan blinked. Although tears were still falling, he looked much better than before, at least not as sad.

He paused, then said, "Am I... the only one?"

"Yes," Li Chen said with a smile.

Shen Zhengyuan asked, "What about Zeng Shujin?"

Li Chenjin: "..."

Li Chenjin: "...?"

No, is she that jealous?

She smiled helplessly and said, "If I hadn't let go of him, I wouldn't have told you all this."

“Ah Yuan, whether you believe it or not, I did not lie to you about what I said before. Li Xianghuan is Li Xianghuan. Apart from Li Xianghuan’s master, I do not trust anyone in the sword cultivation world. That is why I asked you to come with me. I do not believe what Zeng Shujin said, nor do I believe what Zeng Shuqing said, so I want to find out some things myself.”

"There are only three people in this world whom I can trust. One is Monk Mingcun, one is Han Shannan, and the other is you. Of course, if it's not just people, then we can also add sweet fermented rice balls."

Shen Zhengyuan: "..."

Li Chenjin is now able to crack jokes, which shows that she has adjusted her emotions and emerged from the grief of returning to the old place and remembering her master.

When Li Chenjin said she didn't believe Zeng Shujin, Shen Zhengyuan's lips curled up slightly, but when he heard her next words, the curve of his lips immediately darkened, "Why must Han Shannan be involved?"

Li Chen glanced at him, his expression somewhat strange, and said, "Why can't we have him? Look at his brain, does he look like someone who would lie? He rarely lies, but when he does, the words 'guilty' are written all over his face, and he almost tore his clothes to shreds. Anyone with a bit of sense wouldn't be fooled by him."

"But it's quite amusing to tease that kid into lying sometimes. After he lies, he feels guilty and uneasy, always thinking he's done something wrong. He's very attentive, and he'll do whatever you ask him to do, working hard without complaint for quite a while. If you're bored later, you can try teasing him. He definitely won't fight back or talk back. If you tell him to go east, he'll never go west."

After a long silence, Shen Zhengyuan nodded and said, "Okay."

Li Chenjin had only meant to make a joke, but he didn't expect Shen Zhengyuan to agree so readily. He immediately became a little worried and said, "I was just joking. You mustn't hit him. That kid is fragile. Don't kill him. He's practically your child. As his mother, you have to treat him well."

Shen Zhengyuan: "..."

Shen Zhengyuan: "Okay."

Seeing that he had truly been appeased, Li Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, Shen Zhengyuan is much harder to coax than Zeng Shujin used to be. In fact, Shen Zhengyuan is the hardest person she has ever met to coax and fool.

Fortunately, she has seen a lot and read many stories, so her eloquence has improved a lot compared to before. If it were her in the past, they would either have parted on bad terms or started fighting.

She turned her head, looked at the memorial tablet on the altar, took a slow breath, and said, "What happened back then was not simple. There must have been traces of demons within the Wanshan Sect long ago. What's strange is that when I was in the Wanshan Sect, I never saw any statues of gods, nor did I see any people behaving strangely..."

“If what Shujin said is true, then the demon hidden in Wanshan Sect must be someone that he and his master trust very much. Otherwise, how could he not freely come and go from the bamboo house, and yet still be able to imitate his master’s handwriting so well that I can’t tell the difference? Moreover, I just thought back on the past carefully, and there’s one thing that I’ve always found very strange.”

“When Master was alive, he never said that I would succeed him as the sect leader. I was the one who followed Master and learned how to manage the sect. Although you were not familiar with me before, you must know that I often went out and left the affairs of the sword cultivator world to Shujin.”

"I can't handle things like balancing the various sects, managing the cultivation world, or disciplining disciples, but Shujin does them with ease. Because he has been by my side for a long time, assisting and learning from me. So not only were people in the sword cultivation world dissatisfied with and distrustful of my succession as sect leader, but even I myself found it hard to believe in myself at the time."

"And you've seen what happened afterward. Although the Sword God can fight, he doesn't understand people's hearts, nor does he know how to maintain balance. It seems easy to govern the cultivation world, but it's actually very difficult. Just like the emperor in the palace, he seems to be high above, issuing orders, but one wrong step leads to a series of mistakes. Moreover, for the sake of the big picture, he inevitably has to do some things against his conscience, and he also has his own involuntary actions."

“Li Xianghuan’s temperament is not suited to those things. Otherwise, Master would not have chosen to cultivate Shujin. But Master cultivated Shujin for more than ten years, and then suddenly changed his successor to someone with no foundation. This is very strange in itself.”

As she spoke, she looked at Shen Zhengyuan and added, "The protective array for the sword cultivator world was set up by your people. You must have taken the opportunity to plant your spies. So many years have passed; you should know quite a bit by now, right? Don't you have anything to say to me?"

Shen Zhengyuan stared at her for a long time, but did not answer her question directly. Instead, he asked, "If I told you, would you really believe me?"

“I will,” Li Chen said. “You don’t need to test me. I will trust you unconditionally, just as I trust Monk Mingcun.”

After a moment of silence, Shen Zhengyuan walked to the bedside, unfolded the pillows on the bed, took out several letters from them, and turned to hand them to Li Chenjin.

When Li Chen took it, he glanced down at it.

The letters were unsigned and did not specify who they were for, but since they were found here, they were probably left by her master, Zeng Guyi.

But after she opened the envelope and took out the letter, she saw some familiar handwriting and realized she had guessed wrong.

This letter was not left by Zeng Guyi, but by Zeng Shujin.

So this is a letter that Zeng Shujin wrote to Zeng Guyi when Zeng Guyi was still alive?

But why did Zeng Shujin write a letter to Zeng Guyi?

It was clearly just a matter of flying on a sword for a short period of time.

However, after fully seeing the words on it, Li Chen realized that he had guessed wrong again.

This is a letter Zeng Shujin wrote to her. It reads:

[To Xianghuan, please accept this]

I am filled with fear and speechlessness. My transgressions are beyond redemption, even by death. As my mind clears somewhat, I seek your whereabouts, but I cannot enter this secluded valley.

Only today did I learn that my master had been corresponding with Zen Master Mingcun of the Chanlin Temple. In the secret chamber of my study, I happened to obtain a letter from my master, and I learned that my master's serious illness was not due to a pre-existing disease, but rather because demonic energy invaded his body during his seclusion, causing him to go astray and damage his spiritual and mental meridians. This was also the first time I had heard that demonic energy and demons existed in the world.

Zen Master Mingcun said that this demonic energy was deliberately created by treacherous officials; otherwise, how could it have easily entered the master's secluded meditation chamber?

The master then feigned reclusion to secretly investigate the demons lurking within the sect with the Zen master. However, the demons were cunning and adept at concealing their presence, making it difficult to discern their true forms for a long time.

If you happen to see this letter, I earnestly request that you return temporarily to avenge your master's blood feud. Once accomplished, I, Jin, will surely commit suicide to atone for my sins.

Shujin bows respectfully.

Li Chen stared at the letter for a long time, then murmured, "So Master's illness isn't due to old injuries, nor is it due to overwork. But why didn't Shu Jin tell me this when he came to see me? And why did he leave the letter with Master? Why is no one cleaning outside, but inside..."

Li Chen stopped mid-sentence, seemingly realizing something, and looked up at Shen Zhengyuan, asking, "Is what's said in this letter credible?"

Shen Zhengyuan did not believe Zeng Shujin, but the moment he suspected something, he asked Zeng Shujin whether the letter he left behind was credible. He was very satisfied, so much so that his gaze softened and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

“Although others cannot be trusted, I had someone investigate this letter, and what it says is true,” Shen Zhengyuan said.

Li Chen nodded and said, "Then I can probably guess the reason. The reason he didn't tell me directly is because he not only knows that the demon is inside the Wanshan Sect, but is also right next to him, monitoring his every move. That's why he can't tell me directly, but he can use hints to make me suspicious about my master's affairs, thus bringing me here."

“He understands me and knows that if I become suspicious of this matter, I will definitely come here to investigate. That’s why he left the letter he wrote here early on. The reason he dared to leave the letter here without worrying about being discovered by the demons is because this place has been taken over by the people of the magic cultivation world. That’s why it looks deserted from the outside, but people are always coming to clean it inside.”

"I don't know exactly what he did to prevent that demon from suspecting anything. But he probably hasn't been here for a long time, otherwise what's offered in front of this memorial tablet would surely be the things my master loved to eat when he was alive. So you're the one who prevented him from coming in, and also prevented anyone from the sword cultivator world from coming in, right?"

The author's note: (1) From the "Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters Spoken by the Buddha".

(2) Inspired by the story of Venerable Kasyapa