Chapter 111 The Sword Cultivation World This sword cultivation world, to some extent, is her nemesis. ...
She had finally managed to see off one person after another, and thought she could finally get some sleep, but instead, Shen Zhengyuan kept nagging in her ear. Now, she really hadn't slept a wink all night...
well……
In this world of sword cultivators, she is somewhat of a nemesis.
She turned to look at the person beside her, then glanced at the sky outside.
Today's peace talks are scheduled to begin after lunch, so if she doesn't do what she wants to do now, she'll have to rush again later.
So, she decisively woke up Shen Zhengyuan, who had just fallen asleep. When she saw him open his eyes and look confused from not being fully awake, she leaned closer to him and smiled, "Sect Leader Shen, did you sleep well last night? Since you slept well, come with me to see the bamboo house where my master lives in seclusion."
And then there's that old monk Mingcun. When she heard Shen Zhengyuan say those things before, she guessed that the old monk Mingcun must have been involved.
The old monk himself was detached from worldly affairs, but he liked to act as a matchmaker, which meant he was somewhat impure in his desires.
Shen Zhengyuan blinked, and after the confusion in his eyes disappeared, he looked at Li Chenjin, nodded, and said, "Okay."
It must be said that this method is indeed very useful for people in the cultivation world to travel. In the blink of an eye, she arrived at a bamboo forest that was both familiar and somewhat unfamiliar.
Zeng Guyi's secluded dwelling was not luxurious, but rather very simple. It did not occupy a large area; it consisted of several connected ordinary bamboo houses, with a fence surrounding the houses, enclosing a small courtyard in front of them.
It seems that no one has been here for a long time. The courtyard, which used to be planted with some flowers and plants, is now overgrown with weeds. The stone table and chairs in the courtyard are covered with a layer of moss and grime because no one has cleaned them for years.
The door of the bamboo house was wide open, and a lot of withered leaves that had been blown into the house by the wind had accumulated on the ground.
Logically speaking, this was Zeng Guyi's last residence. As his children and disciples, Zeng Shujin and Zeng Shuqing should not have failed to clean it. Even if they were busy with Wanshan Sect's official duties and could not come in person, they should have sent some of Wanshan Sect's disciples.
Judging from the current situation, it is clear that not only have Zeng Shujin and Zeng Shuqing not come, but no disciples have been arranged to come either, leaving this place to remain in such a desolate state.
Following his memory, Li Chen walked to the location of Zeng Guyi's bedroom, but before he could even open the door, he smelled a faint scent of sandalwood.
She pushed open the tightly closed door and was greeted by a neatly arranged house, just as it always had been, a stark contrast to the chaos and desolation outside. It was as if, in that instant, she had stepped into a dreamlike illusion that transported her back to the past.
Her gaze fell on the window seat, where a table that hadn't been there before was now placed, with fruit, sandalwood, an incense burner, and a memorial tablet inscribed with the name "Zeng Guyi".
In fact, ever since Li Chen entered Wanshan Sect, he had felt that something was very wrong. Now, seeing the bamboo house in this state, that feeling of unease reached its peak.
But seeing Zeng Guyi's memorial tablet at this moment, she had no mind to delve into the source of this strangeness. She simply took three incense sticks from the sandalwood incense on the table, lit them with the help of the still burning lamp on the table, and then bowed three times slowly and deeply to Zeng Guyi's memorial tablet.
Shen Zhengyuan didn't say anything at this moment, but just stood not far behind her, quietly watching her back.
Although her face and tears were not visible, the sadness that lingered around her and could not be dispelled was evident from the way she bent over again and again.
After Li Chen had placed the three incense sticks into the incense burner, he turned around and asked Shen Zhengyuan to also light three incense sticks for Zeng Guyi.
As Shen Zhengyuan placed the incense sticks into the incense burner, took a step back, and turned around, he saw a person standing silently to the side staring at the cold memorial tablet. In the blink of an eye, a tear welled up in the person's eyes, slid down the cheek, and finally fell like a pearl.
“Actually, I have had many opportunities to come here to offer incense to my master, but I have never come,” Li Chen said. “Back then, I was covered in injuries and could not return to Wanshan Sect. I could not use my cultivation and had no money. Besides using a sword, I did not know anything else to make a living. If I could eat a full meal every three days, I would consider it a kindness from heaven.”
"In order not to starve to death, when there was really nothing to eat, we could only eat wild grass, leaves and catch insects. But such a life was too cruel for someone who was once respected by thousands. When I was desperate and could only think of my master, I found a letter when I finally came here."
"The letter said that Master already knew about my affairs and only asked that I would spare my senior brother out of consideration for the good we had done for each other. If I was still filled with resentment, Master was willing to give his life in exchange. At the time, I didn't know that the letter was fake. After repeatedly confirming that it was indeed Master's handwriting, I began to resent him intensely. I resented the person who had raised me for more than ten years but ended up stabbing me in the most painful way; I resented that in his heart, I was always just an outsider and could never be as important as my senior brother."
“I even started to wonder if Master had already planned to use me to pave the way for my senior brothers when he chose me as the sect leader? Could it be that everything I went through back then was also orchestrated by Master? Could it be that even Master’s resignation as sect leader due to illness was a step in his scheme against me?”
“It’s hard for me not to hate him, even more than I hate my senior brother and everyone in the Wanshan Sect. This hatred has always been hidden in my heart. I always thought I had let go, but in the illusion array in Xicheng Town, all my evil thoughts were so easily aroused. At that moment, I knew that I had always been hating and had never let go.”
"That old monk Mingcun must have already seen through this, which is why he went through such a long and complicated process to lead me back to the sword cultivation world, back to the Wanshan Sect, and back to this place. That old monk is so clever that it's almost annoying; he's practically making a fool of me..."
As she spoke, she let out a slow sigh, turned her face away, wiped away her tears, and then faced the memorial tablet again, saying, "Master, your unfilial disciple has come to see you. It has only been a few short years, but today I realize that I don't even remember what you look like anymore."
“When I was young, you urged me to practice my skills, and I felt that a day in the world was too long. Now, looking back, I realize that time in the world has passed too quickly... Before I knew it, I had grown up.”
"First, he became the head of the Wanshan Sect, then he was hailed as the 'Sword God' by the world, and then... he lost power and suffered hardships he had never experienced before, but by chance, he entered the world of Zen meditation. It seems like only yesterday that he was playing and having fun as a child, but upon closer inspection, he found that decades had passed..."
Li Chen stared at the memorial tablet for a long time, as if waiting for the person in his memory to come back to life and say a word to her.
But all around was silence, with only the whistling wind, a quiet and heavy silence that was suffocating.
Just as her gaze was unfocused, she suddenly felt a warmth on her hand.
She looked down and saw that Shen Zhengyuan had walked up to her at some point and silently took her hand. When her gaze fell on him, he said, "I don't know what to say to you. In the past, when I faced the loss of a loved one, I would just cry and move on. But most of the time, I didn't even cry."
"Because I want to live, I want to escape from those who will kill me or eat me, so I don't have time to be sad. But I hope you can have time to be sad, yet I don't want you to be sad. Li Chenjin, can you teach me like before? Tell me what I should do now."
“Mingcun said that I should treat you as an equal so that you would like me. But I don’t know what he means by equality. I thought that you and I have always been equal. If you die, I will die; if I die, you will die. We will never be separated. Isn’t that equality?”
"I've always treated you as an equal, but you can't accept it. So can you tell me what I need to do for you to really like me?"
Li Chen took a deep breath, pulled his hand away from Shen Zhengyuan's grasp, wiped away the tears on his face, looked at Shen Zhengyuan, and smiled, saying, "A-Yuan, if we had met earlier, perhaps I could have given you the answers you wanted. But now, I truly cannot give you the answers you desire."
“I can’t give you the love and affection you want. I know that what you hope my response will be is for us to control, possess, and demand from each other. This entanglement will continue until we are completely confused, even to the point of losing our rationality and giving up our freedom. You are like this, and Zeng Shujin used to be like this too.”
As she spoke, she noticed that Shen Zhengyuan's face suddenly darkened, so she shook her head helplessly, smiled, and said, "I brought up Shujin with you not to make you jealous and cause me trouble. What I want to tell you is that all things arise from causes and conditions, and all things cease due to causes and conditions."
“Look at the mountains and seas between heaven and earth. They seem eternal, but the drying up of the sea and the decay of the rocks are only a matter of time. Even the most loving couples will quarrel; even the most devoted lovers will eventually part ways; even lovers who accompany each other for a lifetime are only bound by a temporary bond. After a hundred years, they will go their separate ways and be no longer connected.”
Shen Zhengyuan didn't speak, nor did he look at her anymore. He just lowered his eyes, and in the blink of an eye, tears started falling. It looked like he had heard something that hurt him deeply.
Li Chen clicked his tongue and scratched his cheek, genuinely surprised that his few words had made someone cry.
Shen Zhengyuan lowered his eyes and said, "So you'll leave me too. You don't like me at all. What you said about liking me before was still a lie..."
Li Chen said, "I didn't lie to you."
Shen Zhengyuan was taken aback. When he looked up at Li Chenjin, he saw Li Chenjin smile at him and say, "It's true that I like you, but it's also true that I can't reciprocate your feelings as you expect. I don't want to control you, I don't want to possess you, and I don't want to make demands of you."
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