47 Chapter 47 Qingcheng Three Styles
Chapter 47 Qingcheng Three Styles
“Amitabha, to my shame, I only had time to catch a glimpse of Lingxu Futianchen's graceful figure before I collapsed from my injuries…” Deyuan shook his head, but a gentle smile remained on his face. “The world’s martial arts are ever-changing, each with its own merits, but the figure I saw then, so otherworldly and untouched by worldly gain, was enough to make me feel ashamed of myself. But that was also the last time I saw Lingxu Futianchen…”
ah?
Wang Sumo was surprised, "Isn't Daoist Liaochen still alive?"
According to the timeline, Master Liaochen should have converted the five people involved in the Deadly Dragon Tiger Saber incident later on. After that, he should have been invited to Qingyun Manor to lecture his disciples, which would explain the existence of the Wenque Pavilion. That shouldn't be the case...
After Wang Sumo finished speaking, Old Master He said gently, "He is right."
Lao Qu, Zhao Tong, Bai Cen, and even Wang Sumo all turned to look at Master He.
Master He sighed softly, then looked at Deyuan and said in a deep voice, "Actually, I've always wondered why I never saw Liao Chen use the Spirit Void Dust again, and he never mentioned it to anyone. But now, I finally know."
Lao Qu, Zhao Tong, Bai Cen, and Wang Sumo all turned to look at Deyuan.
Deyuan clasped his hands together again and bowed to the old manor lord.
All eyes turned to Master He.
Master He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "The Northern Snow-blowing Blade, the Eight-Sided Formation-Breaking Umbrella, and the Spirit Void Dust-Sweeping Blade are all equally famous in the martial arts world. Even if their martial arts skills differ, they are not far apart. Whatever their reasons for wanting to kill you, Liao Chen had to save you from their combined attack while you were unconscious. Even without the element of surprise, Liao Chen should have suffered serious injuries, to the point that he would never be able to use the Spirit Void Dust-Sweeping Blade again. Is that right?"
Lao Qu, Zhao Tong, Bai Cen, and Wang Sumo all gasped in shock.
In other words, Master Liaochen...
The group of people were all taken aback.
But the only one who can provide the answer here is Liu Henshui.
Under everyone's gaze, Liu Henshui nodded slightly, lowered his eyes, and said, "I only learned about it much later from Liuguang Sanren of the Qingcheng Three Styles..."
"The Hermit of Flowing Light?" This time, Bai Cen was the first to be surprised. "You, you've met the Hermit of Flowing Light?"
Wang Sumo loves excitement and has the best memory for it—she is the Flowing Light Hermit of the Qingcheng Three Styles and one of the top ten masters just now.
Therefore, Deyuan's past has already spanned to the emergence of the fifth peerless master!
But she knew very little about Liuguang Sanren.
She had at least heard of people like the Northern Snow-blowing Blade, the Eight-Sided Formation-Breaking Umbrella, and the notorious bandit Liu Henshui; but she had almost never heard of Liu Guang Sanren.
But Bai Cen's surprised reaction didn't surprise the old man, Master He, Zhao Tong, or even De Yuan himself. In other words, in the eyes of martial arts practitioners, Liu Guang Sanren was someone who rarely showed his face and was inherently shrouded in mystery.
As expected, Deyuan nodded. "Amitabha. I was unconscious for a long time. When I woke up, I found myself in an unfamiliar Taoist temple. The temple was inconspicuous, and the surroundings were somewhat dilapidated, but I wasn't feeling well at the time and didn't think much of it. The only thing I remembered was seeing Chen's figure before I lost consciousness. So, I always thought I was in Lingxu Temple. Until I saw Liuguang Sanren, I frowned slightly. I remembered Chen's appearance—an ethereal and graceful figure; but the person in front of me was round and not very tall, yet he was wearing Taoist robes. I was a little confused..."
Zhao Tong frowned slightly, while Old Master He listened attentively.
Bai Cen was lost in thought.
The old man crossed his arms. Although he didn't like Deyuan very much, he said in a deep voice, "Then you weren't lying. You really saw Liuguang."
The fact that the old man said that means he had also met Liuguang Sanren.
Deyuan said gently, "Yes, I saw Liuguang Sanren when I met him, but I didn't recognize him. I even asked him, 'Where is Liaochen?'"
I was injured at the time, so my voice wasn't loud, but it was still arrogant enough.
Liu Guang looked at me with a smile and said that Chen had saved me and then brought me here, entrusting me to his care.
I was naturally puzzled. I asked him who he was and why Liao Chen entrusted me to him.
He still smiled and said, "Liao Chen entrusted me to him, naturally because it's nearby. Liao Chen himself was injured, how far could he carry an injured and unconscious person? Naturally, he found someone nearby."
As luck would have it, he was in a Taoist temple in this village at the foot of the mountain, so Liaochen brought me here.
I frowned, skeptical of his words, wondering if he had other motives. After the previous encounters with the Northern Snow Blade and the Eight-Sided Formation Umbrella, I didn't trust anyone, including Liu Guang, except for Liao Chen, who had intervened at the time.
Liu Guang Sanren's words made me suddenly realize that Liao Chen was injured while saving me, and it was a serious injury.
I asked him, "Where is Liao Chen?"
He's still all smiles. He has arms and legs, so he can go wherever he wants. But you should think about where you're going after lying in bed for ten or fifteen days.
Liuguang Sanren's words reminded me that I had been shaken by the Eight-Sided Breaking Formation Umbrella, which had broken all my meridians, leaving me practically a cripple. Where could I possibly go?
But I didn't give up. I tried to practice my internal energy while lying on my sickbed, but I found that no matter how I tried, it was to no avail.
With all the meridians severed, how could one expect any reaction after striking out with this palm!
If it weren't for my recklessness back then, how could I have ended up like this?
I chuckled to myself. More than ten days had passed. I lay motionless on the bed like a dead man, relying on Liuguang's medicine to keep me alive. It was also because Liuguang kept moving my hands and feet that the muscles in my hands and feet did not atrophy, so that I would not be unable to stand up in the future.
But if you do all that, what's the difference between you and a useless person?
From the moment I regained consciousness, I refused to take the medicine.
It's better to wait for death than to be a useless person.
That's exactly what I thought at the time.
Liu Guang didn't try to persuade me. If I didn't take my medicine on time, he would throw it away. But when it was time for my next dose, he would bring it over and leave it there again.
It seems like he doesn't care whether I drink or not.
On the third day, I told him, "Don't bother brewing it anymore. I won't drink it. Brewing it will only result in throwing it away."
He still smiled and said, "I promised Liaochen I would do my best to cure you, and I'm doing what I promised him, so I'm brewing medicine for you to drink every day; whether you drink it or not is up to you, I won't force you, so don't force me either. Doesn't it make things much simpler if you think about it this way?"
I frowned at him.
He said slowly, "Besides, I know you'll definitely drink it, it just takes time."
I scoffed lightly.
He wasn't angry, and still smiled as he said, "Liao Chen lost most of his life's cultivation to save you, and he can no longer use the Spirit Void Dust-Sweeping Sword. If I tell you this, wouldn't you feel that you've betrayed his kindness?"
I froze, my mind filled with the image of that figure blocking my way, holding a whisk and wielding it with effortless grace...
"What happened to him?" I asked, my face pale.
Liuguang Sanren calmly said, "He injured his heart meridian and right arm, and will never be able to use Lingxu Futianchen again; he is in the same situation as you, but your meridians are only severed, and if you are lucky enough, there may be a subtle chance to reopen and repair them; but his right arm is already immobile..."
I was stunned.
"Then, then what about his future..." Putting myself in others' shoes, the thought of Lingxu Futianchen disappearing from the martial world forever filled me with regret.
But Liu Guang said, "There's no need to worry about him, he's perfectly fine."
I looked at him in surprise.
Liu Guang laughed and said, "He won't have to worry about being challenged again in the future. If he doesn't go, he'll be disgraced and his reputation will be ruined."
I knew Liuguang was just joking, but I later found out that Liaochen had originally said the same thing to him.
Liu Guang told me not to worry about Chen, as he had transcended the mortal world and was more open-minded than most people in the world; since he had injured his heart and back wall, he would have more time to teach and help others, which was another kind of rebirth.
I thought Liuguang was trying to comfort me. In my opinion, in the martial arts world, losing one's martial arts skills is equivalent to losing everything. In the future, one will never be able to compete or fight with others again.
Liu Guang laughed, "There are many ways to compete, not just martial arts."
I looked at him for no reason.
He smiled gently and said, "For example, betting is one of the ways to compete. He bet me that I couldn't cure you; so I bet with him that I could cure you."
I:"……"
Liu Guang continued, "You don't necessarily have to win when you gamble."
I looked at him in surprise.
He continued with a gentle smile, "The last time I competed with him, it wasn't a martial arts contest; we competed in planting vegetables, and he lost to me. One is in the world of martial arts, but not every moment is spent in it. There is a world of martial arts outside of it. This is your own world of martial arts."
I didn't fully understand the phrase "flowing light" back then.
But I later learned that he was the same person as Liao Chen, one of the Three Styles of Qingcheng, Liu Guang Sanren.
I also learned that the reason he was so mysterious in the martial arts world was because he preferred to be a Taoist priest rather than show his face in public.
Because of the Three Styles of Qingcheng, everyone went to Qingcheng to find him, but in fact, he had a dilapidated Taoist temple in the most inconspicuous village at the foot of the mountain, named "Qingcheng". Every day he grew vegetables in the temple and also treated the villagers. When there were not enough people, he would help the villagers in the fields. He was faster than the villagers and enjoyed it.
You would never guess that my time at Qingcheng Temple was the most pleasant period of my life.
I meditate with him every day, practicing qigong to regulate my body.
Then, when planting vegetables, even when transplanting rice seedlings and harvesting, he would change into his spacious Taoist robe.
He taught me the mental techniques of the Qingcheng Three Styles, which helped me slowly recover.
I asked him, "I'm a great demon, why are you helping me?"
He said gently, "When I met you, you weren't like that; you were a useless person."
I:"……"
Although I was annoyed, he was right.
More importantly, at that moment, I suddenly felt that I could be someone who wasn't Liu Henshui.
How much better it would be if I weren't Liu Henshui!
But there's no going back in this world. Never do things lightly, because by the time you have the chance to regret them, it will be too late.
Laying down the butcher's knife won't make you a Buddha instantly, because the knife is already stained with blood.
I often have nightmares, and all I dream about is the blood on a butcher's knife.
Then one day, bandits came to the village. He was the first to kneel before the villagers, singing their praises and offering them good food and drink to coax them away. The bandits were unwilling to use their knives, and no one in the village was injured.
He could clearly control this group of bandits all by himself.
But he didn't.
He said slowly, "They were all forced into it. Let's leave them a way back."
When I heard that, I was stunned for a long time.
Turning back...
If I had met someone like that much earlier, perhaps I would have had a chance to turn back.
A truly skilled master is not defined by how many people they can kill silently, but by how many people they save through perseverance...
I asked in a deep voice, "Aren't you afraid these bandits will come again?"
He smiled and asked me in return, "If you encountered the Northern Snow Blade and the Eight-Sided Formation-Breaking Umbrella again, what would you do?"
I was surprised and hesitated for a moment.
He laughed and said, "We'll deal with bandits when they come."
Sure enough, six months later, another group of bandits returned.
This time, the bandit's sliding knee technique didn't work. I thought he would directly intimidate them, but instead, he pointed at me and said seriously to them, "We have a master here who can take on all of you by himself. You'd better be careful!"
Everyone was looking at me, including the villagers and the bandits.
Everyone was surprised, including myself.
When did I become an "expert"?
But all the villagers looked at me with hope. It was the first time that not everyone looked at me with fear. At that moment, I suddenly understood the meaning of "laying down the butcher's knife and becoming a Buddha on the spot".
Amidst the cheers of the villagers, the bandits were driven away. My blade drew no blood, and not a single soul perished.
Suddenly, Liu Guang said to me, "You are cured. You can go now."
I stood there stunned, but Liuguang said he was going to go to Chen. He had won a bet, and Chen had to catch three hundred crabs for him. He planned to set off to find Chen that very day, and then he did indeed start packing.
Before I even left Qingcheng, he had already happily gone off to fish for crabs with his bag on his back.
Before he left, he left a thick stack of letters and asked me to deliver them for him. He said that once I delivered these letters, we would be even and there would be no need for us to meet again.
He took me in at Qingcheng for so long and even taught me the mental techniques; I should do the same for him.
But when I left the village and picked up the first envelope, I found it contained "Northern Snow-blowing Knife".
I once told Liuguang that there was no turning back for me, but this letter sent to "Snow-Blowing Blade of the Northern Frontier" is Liuguang's way of giving me a way back...
Wang Sumo became nervous when she heard the crucial part.
Zhao Tong frowned and asked directly, "You went back and killed Saibei Chuixuedao?"
[Author's Note]
I owe you all an update, I'll be back tomorrow! [bowing in greeting]
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