Chapter 121 Turning back is the right path; this time, we still have time...
“I should have thought of this before. Besides you, who else could know so much about Kunlun and Wanqi Guixin, and be so familiar with everyone’s movements? You are good at observation. You are familiar with everyone’s habits and actions. You can imitate everyone perfectly. No wonder no one noticed when you were impersonating Pei Wenjing.”
Shen Cangyu changed his posture, sitting cross-legged and resting his chin on his hand: "Back then in Xingxiang Hall, when you impersonated Qiu Sheng, you acted very well. It's just a pity that Qiu Sheng never let go of his gun, which you can't imitate. You can clearly create a person out of paper, and you can also create their weapons out of paper. You can act perfectly, but you didn't. Why is that, Senior Brother Dog?"
Chu Xun looked at her with a stern face, only to see her reveal a wicked smile: "You don't have the guts to touch swords, spears, or halberds?"
What kind of disciple is it if someone doesn't even dare to use weapons?
“I don’t know what nonsense you’re talking about. If you don’t leave now, I’ll report you to the disciplinary hall, and then you won’t be able to leave even if you want to.”
“I met Xu Qiubai, and in return, I gained his abilities,” Shen Cangyu said, his dark eyes fixed on him. “I can see through your thoughts, including your past.”
"If I'm talking nonsense, then what are you afraid of? You thought that by driving away the Kunlun Sword Master, you could destroy the Myriad Weapons Return to the Heart, but you didn't expect that there would be another Weeping Ghost God Sword Master in this world. You want to get rid of Weeping Ghost God as well... No, not just Weeping Ghost God, you want to take revenge on everyone, all those who looked down on you and belittled you in the past. You think that as long as you get rid of them all, your inner demons will disappear, right?"
What kind of disciple is it if someone doesn't even dare to use weapons?
These were the sect leader's exact words to Chu Xun back then. Later, the sect leader had long forgotten what had happened in the past, but these words were deeply engraved in Chu Xun's soul.
Kunlun is teeming with geniuses, and coincidentally, Chu Xun is one of the few fools—unable to wield a sword or execute a complete sword routine. But even the dull-witted have their way of living; with a little more effort and a few more all-nighters, they might just catch up with others.
Chu Xun thought this way, but found that he couldn't do it. The work he completed after putting in all his effort seemed effortless to others, and his efforts didn't earn him any praise, only ridicule.
Qiu Sheng said to him, "Actually, you don't need to keep wasting your time on the 'Returning to the Heart of All Things' technique. You can try other methods. Aren't you secretly carving those wood carvings? Perfect, the 'Wenxin Diaolong' (The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons) likes to do those things, you can go and take a look."
Qiu Sheng meant well, but his words were like a knife, ruthlessly carving out a piece of flesh from Chu Xun's heart, leaving it bleeding profusely.
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" he thought, then said, "A carving knife... isn't it also a knife? Why can the 'All Things Return to the Heart' hold a hundred kinds of weapons, but not a carving knife?"
Qiu Sheng looked at him, his brows furrowed, then relaxed: "Fine, do whatever makes you happy."
Chu Xun could not go to Wenxin Diaolong, nor could he continue on the path of Wanqi Guixin, because under the disappointed and mocking gazes, the Dao of the Hundred-Eyed Mirror grew on his body.
At that moment, Chu Xun thought that with the Hundred-Eye Mirror, he would no longer be able to inherit any other Daoist techniques. He was in pain and panic, and raised his dagger to cut off his right hand, which bore the mark of the Hundred-Eye Mirror.
However, without the Hundred-Eye Mirror, he lost his right hand and was unable to go very far on the path of "Returning to the Heart of All Things" or "Carving Dragons with Literary Mind." In the end, he could not compare to the other disciples.
From then on, when he looked at the sword, he was filled with fear and trepidation. He dared not go out, wondering if the people around him had noticed his abnormality, and worried that they would find out that he had not made any progress and would drive him out of Kunlun... Later, he discovered that no one cared about him at all.
Even though he disappeared for a long time, the disciples of Wanqi Guixin did not notice anything unusual, after all, he had always been an inconspicuous existence in Wanqi Guixin.
Back then, all the disciples of the Myriad Weapons Returning to the Heart sect practiced swordsmanship, hoping one day to gain the favor of the Kunlun Immortal Lord and inherit the Kunlun Sword. Chu Xun, however, did not practice swordsmanship, thus leaving the circle of competitors. Losing competition also meant losing everyone's attention. After all, they only paid attention to their peers.
Chu Xun, like the carving knife in his hand, was not important to the disciples of Wanqi Guixin. No one thought that anyone could master a carving knife to such an extent that they could eventually ascend to immortality.
For Chu Xun, the Kunlun Sword was like a monster, twisting everyone, including himself. Without the Kunlun Sword, he wouldn't have been troubled by "doubt," and he wouldn't have developed the Hundred-Eyed Mirror. The gazes he had seen and the words he had heard in his childhood were ingrained in his bones; from then on, no one would admonish him, he would admonish himself.
If the Kunlun Sword is destroyed, there will be no more victims like him in Kunlun. If Kunlun is destroyed, everyone can achieve spiritual liberation, including him. All his suffering comes from the Return of All Weapons to the Heart and Kunlun. As long as they are removed, everything will return to normal.
It turns out that he was the one who disguised the paper effigy as Pei Wenjing and killed all the disciples of Wanqi Guixin. He was also the one who participated in the Five Evils Conference on the Night Voyage ship. Now, he is the one who instigates conflict and tries to destroy Kunlun.
Driven by selfish motives and a thirst for revenge, he manipulated Chu Xun, who was impersonating Pei Wenjing, to kill one Wanqi Guixin disciple after another, then fake his death and escape. At that time, he believed that Pei Wenjing was the one who would ultimately inherit the Kunlun Sword, thus killing two birds with one stone. Little did he know that the one who would ultimately inherit the Kunlun Sword was Shen Cangyu, who had begun his seclusion long ago.
In the end, everything was just as the prophecy foretold. Shen Cangyu eliminated all the five evils and single-handedly eliminated all the wicked people. She wanted to erase the darkness, purify all things, and leave only white in the world.
Through Chu Xun's eyes, Shen Cangyu saw his past, including her deep within his memories. She didn't know how much of the past Chu Xun could remember; if he remembered it all, he might have already followed his old ideas and made his move on her.
But he didn't make a move.
Shen Cangyu clearly inherited the Kunlun Sword long ago and revealed her identity as the master of the Kunlun Sword, so why didn't Chu Xun kill her?
"Don't say those provocative things to me, don't force me to kill you. Although I can't wield a sword, I'm not useless. If I use the Hundred-Eye Mirror's ability, I might not be unable to win..." Chu Xun said, staring at her.
“How is Senior Brother Dog completely useless? Senior Brother Dog is incredibly capable,” Shen Cangyu followed his eyes and saw through his inner thoughts. “Senior Brother Dog was just born in the wrong era and chose the wrong path.”
If I had chosen the path of "The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons" from the beginning, would the ending have been better than it is now?
“Probably,” Shen Cangyu said. “I’ve said it before, Senior Brother Dog is no ordinary person.”
Shen Cangyu couldn't understand why Chu Xun didn't kill her before, but now she probably does.
When she first arrived in Kunlun, she and Chu Xun didn't interact much. Qiu Sheng would practice swordsmanship with her every day, but Chu Xun was different; he would only send her small handicrafts every few days. Qiu Sheng said those were just things to amuse children, and Chu Xun had quite a few in his courtyard. But Shen Cangyu had worked in the Qizhenfang for so long in her previous life, traveling all over the country, that she naturally knew Chu Xun's craftsmanship was extraordinary.
She said to Chu Xun, "Brother Dog, are you just leaving these mechanical birds and beasts to gather dust in the yard?"
Chu Xun shifted his position awkwardly, trying to hide the things on the table: "I'll take them out and throw them away when there's no more room." He carved these things partly for peace of mind and partly for fun. Giving the extra trinkets to Shen Cangyu was just to coax her like a child. He never thought that Shen Cangyu would come to him because of this.
Hearing his words, Shen Cangyu felt her heart bleed: "You threw them all away? Where did you throw them? Tell me the address, I'll go pick them up!"
Chu Xun was taken aback by her words: "What's wrong?"
"Dog Brother, do you know how valuable these handicrafts of yours are?! They're all money!" Shen Cangyu just wanted to slap him awake.
"This... I just carved it casually for fun. If you want it, you can take it."
“No,” Shen Cangyu said solemnly, “You do the work, I’ll sell it for you, and we’ll split the profits 40/60.” Although she was greedy for money, she was also a conscientious one. Hearing Chu Xun’s promise, she beamed and even planned in her mind who to sell these things to. She had been an expert in business for many years, and her experience was meant to be used in this kind of situation.
After finishing her musings, she took the opportunity to compliment her new partner: "Senior Brother Dog, you don't know, you're a true genius! Your skills far surpass those of countless Wenxin Diaolong disciples, and you didn't even notice!"
That was the first time Chu Xun had ever heard the word "genius" be applied to him.
After that, Shen Cangyu kept stuffing him with all sorts of carving techniques and mechanical tutorials, and even recalled all sorts of machines he had seen in the past, drawing some messy blueprints for him, patting him on the shoulder and saying, "Senior Brother Dog, we're counting on you."
With Shen Cangyu, he was no longer an unknown disciple of Wanqi Guixin, wielding a carving knife. Even when Elder Wenxin Diaolong came to him with his new work to discuss the Dao, he felt dazed, as if he were dreaming.
It seems that everything has changed from what it used to be.
Wan Qianzhong was the first to break the alliance and leave the Five Evils Alliance. He was the second.
Chu Xun even wondered if Shen Cangyu had appeared a few years earlier, would he not have become one of the Five Evils, and would he have been able to join Wenxin Diaolong, with a bright future ahead?
Now, without Shen Cangyu, Kunlun has reverted to its former state of utter desolation. Chu Xun felt that since this was the case, it would be better to destroy Kunlun altogether.
"So, the reason I went to Qizhenfang to learn about buying and selling back then was to make up for Senior Brother Gou's regret..." Shen Cangyu saw the past Chu Xun through Chu Xun's eyes.
She owes too many people, she has too many regrets to make up for, and she wants to save too many people. Everything she learned in her previous life was a preparation for this life, whether it was her character or her abilities.
She wants to create a more complete version of herself, and also wants to use the new abilities she has learned to protect all those she couldn't protect in the past.
"Brother Dog, turn back before it's too late. We can still make it this time."
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