Is this the young master raised in a minor official's family in Chang'an? ...
"How many carefree paths have been traversed by Heaven, yet they lie dormant in the valley for a long time."
"If I were to return, I would ask those of us: Should we enter the mortal realm or become immortals?"
Pei Xuanzhi held a stick of calming incense with swirling smoke and softly recited the poem engraved on the white marble stele beside the main road at the entrance to the quiet valley.
Yan Huanyue made a hand seal to ignite the Soul-Soothing Incense in her hand, saying, "This was carved by the former sect leader of the Tianyan Sect before he sacrificed himself to slay the demon."
Pei Xuanzhi turned around and asked, "Then, Senior Sister Yan, do you think it's better to enter the mortal realm or become an immortal?"
Yan Huanyue raised the incense stick for calming the soul in her left hand, and with her right hand forming a lotus hand seal, she gently wafted the swirling smoke toward a graveyard.
"Only when humanity is stable and in a peaceful and prosperous era can there be a basis for becoming an immortal. Besides, there will always be someone who has to enter the mortal world for others to have the possibility of becoming an immortal."
Pei Xuanzhi gently brushed away the smoke, gazing as it drifted away and dissipated among the graves beneath the dense forest. He murmured, "Perhaps? Senior Sister, don't you think that those who become true immortals achieve their status through their own efforts?"
Yan Huanyue said softly, "While this sounds satisfying, everyone has different perspectives, and my view may also be biased. But in my opinion, while it is important to be strong in oneself, if one only focuses on oneself, it is easy to overlook many external factors and develop arrogance."
Without a peaceful world, how could children survive? Without farmers toiling in the fields, how could they alleviate hunger? Without scholars to write and pass on books, how could we witness the vastness of human wisdom? Without teachers to transmit the classics, how could we understand the boundless nature of the Way?
Pei Xuanzhi looked at her calmly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
She held the soothing incense stick in her hand and reached out her hand, saying, "Let's go, I'll help you." Pei Xuanzhi looked down at her palm, which was covered with old wounds, and politely declined, saying, "There's no need to trouble you, Senior Sister, I can walk."
The road at the bottom of the valley was relatively flat, but the vegetation was lush and the road was a bit bumpy, so Yan Huanyue didn't force him any further.
She walked ahead, holding the incense stick, listening to the rustling sound of her clothes brushing against the grass and trees as he struggled to keep up behind her. After a while, he started coughing again.
He visibly staggered a few times during the incident, but never asked her for help.
He usually looks frail and easy to talk to, but I never expected him to be such a stubborn person at heart.
Yan Huanyue turned to look at him and said, "Why do you have to be so stubborn?"
Pei Xuanzhi coughed, covering his mouth. After a moment, he slowly said, "It was fine that my senior sister helped me when the mountain path was difficult when we went down into the valley. But now the path from the entrance to the grave is relatively flat. If I still need my senior sister's help, how arrogant would I be in front of your parents?"
Although Yan Huanyue was indeed comforted, she still said truthfully, "What's the big deal? Your health isn't very good these days."
Pei Xuanzhi calmed his breathing, held the incense sticks meant to soothe the spirits of the ancestors in the quiet valley, and slowly walked to her side, speaking calmly:
"Senior Sister Yan... do your parents really want to see a good-for-nothing who needs their daughter to coax and serve them before they'll even come to pay their respects?"
Yan Huanyue paused for a moment, "Why do you have to say that about yourself..."
The young man brushed past the grass and trees along the path and said calmly, "Actual matters are one thing, attitude is another. Senior sister's indifference is out of consideration for me. I can walk past her myself; I can't pretend I don't understand anything."
Yan Huanyue was somewhat speechless, but she did find him more pleasing to the eye, so she led him to continue walking forward.
During the memorial service at the grave, in accordance with Pei Xuanzhi's wishes, all the funeral rites that would have been performed before the grave were carried out.
The process of lighting candles, hanging banners, bowing, offering food, libations, burning paper money, burning incense, and kowtowing was completed step by step, as the sun had already sunk behind the western mountains.
Yan Huanyue knelt before her parents' graves for a long time, wanting to say something, but subconsciously not daring to be too unrestrained.
She couldn't tell them about the bad years she had in her past life, nor could she tell them that she had actually died once, and not in a very pleasant way. She also couldn't cry too badly.
She kowtowed repeatedly, silently saying in her heart, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
After leaving the white marble stele, Pei Xuanzhi resolutely refused to allow her to hold his waist and lift him onto the sword sheath again. He obediently sat down and silently floated beside her.
A cool breeze was blowing, the fields were silent, and a crescent moon hung faintly in the dark blue sky.
Yan Huanyue walked across the wild grass by the path with her hands behind her back and asked, "Junior Brother Pei, what month and day were you born?"
Pei Xuanzhi looked tired, slumped over his sword sheath, toes dangling, motionless. A gold hair tie broke free from his hood and twirled lightly in front of his clothes.
He said softly, "My birth date and time are under the brocade box where the white jade pendant was placed: the ninth day of the fifth month."
Yan Huanyue said, "What a coincidence, my birth date is also engraved on that hidden knife in my sleeve."
Pei Xuanzhi was so tired that he felt numb. He looked down at the hem of the cloak floating at his feet, pondered for a long time, and finally murmured, "I saw it. What a coincidence... We were originally going to exchange birth dates."
.
After Yan Huanyue escorted him to Changqing Palace, Pei Hanzhou invited her to stay for dinner, but she declined and rushed to Xinzizhai before evening classes.
Zhou Jiao was counting on his fingers the people who had come to gloat over Gu Yuxiao and Han Shuangying during their two days of standing meditation.
These people include, but are not limited to, disciples from both the inner and outer sects.
Zhou Jiao said that the extra glance that Xiao from Tiandumen gave him when he passed by Jinlanzhuang had severely hurt his proud self-esteem.
Han Shuangying leaned against the door with her arms crossed, looking up at the eaves, listening blankly.
Gu Yuxiao smiled, her lotus-shaped eyes occasionally pressing for specific details.
Finally, he patted Zhou Jiao on the shoulder and comforted him, "Junior Brother Zhou, you've really worked hard. It seems the punishment was wrong this time."
Zhou Jiao immediately shook his head, strongly stating that Senior Sister Han's punishment was entirely justified, and that it was those gloating people who cruelly hurt their fellow disciples' fragile and beautiful hearts.
When he turned around and saw Yan Huanyue, he couldn't help but want to say something hurtful to this vicious fellow disciple because he had been punished because of her.
To avoid being punished for his loose tongue, he immediately jumped back into his study to study.
Han Shuangying's gaze, which had been fixed on the eaves, shifted to her and she asked in a calm and indifferent tone, "Have you eaten yet?"
Yan Huanyue nodded. "I ate two dishes of snacks, so I'm not hungry."
Gu Yuxiao laughed and said, "Congratulations! Fortunately, the Pei family's followers spread the word, and we've all heard about your generosity and righteousness. This annulment of the engagement is a withdrawal from benevolence and morality, a withdrawal from integrity..."
Han Shuangying straightened up. "Second Senior Brother, it's time to test what we've learned today."
The students spontaneously divided into two teams, and one by one they demonstrated how to apply the techniques they had learned that day. They also recited the scriptures and demonstrated the mistakes or imperfections that Han Shuangying had pointed out to them at Qingyun Terrace that afternoon.
Afterwards, they each returned to their respective rooms to meditate and cultivate their spiritual energy.
Yan Huanyue was submerged in the pool, her spiritual veins absorbing the water's spiritual energy. She gradually sank, and her mind became increasingly calm and peaceful.
As the undercurrent surged back, she was swept into the waves, and graceful branches grew upwards past her, their fresh vitality scattering into the pool.
Only when she realized that the vines and branches had grown to an endless length did she suddenly realize that something was wrong.
The vines have grown so tall, why hasn't the pool of water been completely drunk up yet?
A charred, bony hand reached out from behind her, grabbed the silk sash around her waist, and dragged her into a sea of fire.
The fire was dazzling and bright, its flames soaring to the heavens, its magnificence seemingly capable of overturning the sky.
"The five elements generate each other. The metal and fire elements refine my body and strengthen my soul. Why should I worry about not gathering the five elements? Why have I not seen this hidden thing for so long?"
She melted into the flames, unable to see the charred bones, nor herself; only the magnificent, boundless firelight seemed to be herself…
With a "snap," Yan Huanyue felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and suddenly opened her eyes.
Gu Yuxiao looked up from the book, her eyes gleaming with coldness, and transmitted her voice, "Haven't you been diligent for more than a few days? And you're already sleeping again?"
The feeling of being completely drained of spiritual energy was so real that Yan Huanyue couldn't help but ask telepathically, "Senior Brother Gu, did you really not sense the aura of spiritual energy circulating on my body?"
Gu Yuxiao laughed in exasperation: "I didn't see the circulation of spiritual energy, but I could see the circulation of sleep energy very clearly."
Yan Huanyue was somewhat puzzled. She tried to circulate her spiritual energy again by making hand seals, but it remained the same.
Gu Yuxiao put down her book. "It's almost time for evening classes to end. What are you doing making a fuss? You look exhausted today. Go back and get some rest."
Yan Huanyue was filled with doubts. She didn't have time to rest. After her evening class, she went to the dining hall for a late-night snack, ate a Shouyuan Pill, and sat cross-legged on the bed, constantly guiding her spiritual energy to circulate through her body.
I tried several times, and it was as easy as before.
The feeling of surging spiritual energy today was truly intoxicating. Feeling unwilling, she closed the door and ran to the edge of the Broken Jade Waterfall. She took her sword and fought inside the Heavenly Stele for an hour. After returning and washing up, she climbed into bed exhausted.
As she lay on the soft pillow, she thought that once she had made some progress in her cultivation, she should take advantage of the ten-day break to take on some small tasks to earn spirit stones to aid her training.
.
Tan Guiyi and others waited in front of the bamboo grove. She had heard that the young man had been going to the library not far away at this time every day for the past few days.
It was drizzling today, and she thought she wouldn't be able to wait any longer, but he still came slowly at the usual time, holding an umbrella and carrying a lantern, just as always.
She had heard the sound of a wheelchair rolling over the cobblestones, so she wondered why he wasn't using one today.
When Pei Xuanzhi approached her, he kept a safe distance and walked into the bamboo forest.
Tan Guiyi stood behind him, holding an umbrella, and called out, "Pei Xuanzhi."
Pei Xuanzhi stopped in his tracks. Rain dripped from the eaves of his umbrella, landing on the bluestone slabs and splashing onto the hem of his clothes.
He slowly turned around, stood solemnly, his face filled with clear and unwavering doubt. The flame of the bamboo lantern in his hand flickered, but the tiny starlight reflected in his eyes always shone brightly.
Tan Guiyi walked up to him through the water, glanced at the longevity lock that looked particularly noble against his snow-white clothes under his half-open cloak, and asked with her head up, "Have you ever been to the vicinity of the natural barrier in Tengzhou in the north?"
Pei Xuanzhi followed her gaze to his open cloak, casually letting go of the umbrella handle, allowing it to hang half-dangling in the rain.
As he pulled his cloak shut, he said casually, "What would I be doing there? Even if I did go, what business would it have with you, young lady?"
Tan Guiyi asked, "You really haven't been there?"
He shook his head helplessly, his eyes clear and his expression calm.
Tan Guiyi tiptoed closer to him, her eyes locked on his, and whispered, "Look at me. You... have you really never seen me before? I took your things, do you hate me?"
Pei Xuanzhi's lips curved into a slight smile as he suddenly realized, "Oh, I remember now, it was me. Are you returning something, miss? If you'd like to return it now, I'll gladly accept it."
Tan Guiyi's expression froze, and her heels touched the ground.
He's already taken that thing back, so what is she supposed to give him now?
It really isn't him, is it...?
She roughly knew that the little boy couldn't possibly still be alive, but a strange doubt had been tormenting her for several days. She had to use her magic to find out the truth before leaving the Tianyan Sect the next day.
He was physically weak, so his mental and physical strength was naturally poor. She could use a secret forbidden technique to trick him into telling the truth quickly and without being discovered.
But she never expected that this young man, who was also very handsome, would be so mercenary and cunning.
Is this a young man raised by a minor official's family in Chang'an?
Is this person perhaps raised from childhood in the East and West Markets of Chang'an, where they cheat customers out of their money and make shady profits?
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-10-29 23:44:38 and 2023-10-30 23:43:38!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Cornbread 20 bottles; The Opposite of Not Eating and Routine 10 bottles; Sea Tomato 5 bottles; 69369473 3 bottles; Zhou Man's Sword Bone, Menglian, and Chaser of Light 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
