Baozhu's Thoughts
District 9, Ask Mountain.
"……you?"
When Chi Zhao saw that his stinky master was dazed and didn't seem to recognize them, he jumped onto the bed and collapsed: "It's over! He has lost his memory!"
Hearing this, Liu Xiaoqing felt as if the sky was falling and the earth was cracking. Her voice began to tremble: "Miss Qianluo, do you still remember who I am?"
Jiang Shuyu followed closely behind, staring at her intently: "Are you feeling unwell? I'm Jiang Shuyu!"
Han Tong, Yang Ruxuan, and Shi Xiaoxiao didn't even blink, fearing that something might be wrong with her brain.
Qianluo: “?”
She said calmly, "You guys are blocking the light."
Chi Zhao wiped his sweat: "...could you please stop breathing so hard when you speak!"
After the Fahua Jade had exerted its effect, it turned into an ordinary jade pendant. Even a hundred years of demon blood could not completely repair the jade pendant. It fell into Qianluo's palm, and its color was light.
Chi Zhao came over and stared at the jade pendant: "It seems that the real Hundred Years Spiritual Milk is needed to truly repair the Fahua Jade."
Qian Luo listened to Chi Zhao's account of what happened after she fell unconscious, and handed the Fahua Jade Pendant to Chi Zhao: "Give it back..."
Chi Zhao pressed her hand with his little paw: "Don't worry, this good thing is given to you by the Wang family. It's a reward for you saving their family of three."
Qian Luo then looked at the Fahua Jade, which had miraculous healing properties, and was delighted: "Really? This is a magical treasure for forming a elixir!"
"Although it's a Jindan magic weapon, it's useless without the Hundred Years Spirit Milk and Hundred Years Demon Blood. I might as well give it to you as a favor."
Qian Luo looked at him, seeing that he was a grown-up kid who could actually say such words. She rubbed his furry head and said, "You've really grown up. You can even say such words."
Hearing this, Chi Zhao held his head high and said, "Now you know how good I am! Didn't you rely on me after you fell into a coma? So you have to treat me well. I won't say anymore. I've been too busy lately. I'm going to sleep."
"Oh, by the way, when you get better, go find Wang Wenzhu. She's at Wendao Mountain right now. She said she has something to tell you."
Then, he entered the spirit beast bag, twisted his butt towards the Green Blood Silver Anaconda, curled up into a ball, and fell asleep.
Green Blood Silver Anaconda: “…” Stinky and furry!
——
"Miss Qianluo, you're finally awake!" Liu Xiaoqing and Jiang Shuyu sat down beside the girl, one on each side, their faces filled with fear. "I didn't expect you to encounter such a dangerous situation in District 8. If Zhao Zhao hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known."
Han Tong was puzzled: "Ah, what's going on? I haven't figured out the situation yet."
Yang Ruxuan, Shi Xiaoxiao and Jiang Shuyu were also confused. They had been busy protecting Qianluo and waiting for Liu Xiaoqing and Chi Zhao to come back in recent days, but they had no idea what had happened.
Liu Xiaoqing excitedly told her everything Chi Zhao had told her, including the chance encounter with Wang Nanxing, entering the Colosseum, killing two elders, the attack of the blood-red silver anaconda in the secret realm of the maze valley, Wang Tongtian taking over Wang Nanxing's body, escaping underwater, Jiang Liang questioning the Wang couple and killing Jiang Liang's soul. She told the story in great detail, and repeatedly talked about how difficult, hard, and great Qian Luo was, praising Qian Luo to the skies.
Jiang Shuyu and the others were stunned. Their emotions fluctuated as the plot progressed. They listened intently to Qianluo's various achievements: "Oh my God, Chi Zhao burned down the Colosseum, and Miss Qianluo killed the head of District 8! Are we going to annex District 8?"
Qianluo coughed a few times and said awkwardly: "Is that what Chi Zhao said?"
Liu Xiaoqing took it for granted: "No, this is what I imagined!"
Facing the crowd's excitement, Qianluo lowered her eyelashes and pondered for a long time. Both Districts 8 and 9 were under the oppression of their district chiefs, but District 8 wasn't as oppressive as District 9, making it difficult to win over the public. If news of the deaths of District 8's chief, Wang Tongtian, and the three elders reached the people of District 8, it would easily lead to riots, a situation she didn't want to see.
"By the way, you and Wang Nanxing's family are here?" Qian Luo had only met Wang Wenzhu briefly and hadn't expected the couple to come to District 9 to rescue her. "Why are you here?"
Liu Xiaoqing immediately spoke enthusiastically about the Wang family's spirit ship: "This spirit ship is huge! Although it has not been used for many years and is a bit dilapidated, as long as you put down a high-grade spirit stone, the spirit ship can be activated. It can accommodate a thousand people! Our 9th District is in need of such a means of transportation!"
She scratched her face a little embarrassedly: "Actually, I'd like to trade with her and ask if she's selling the spirit ship... We in District 9 also have some relatives in District 8. Since the barrier was closed, we haven't seen each other for a long time."
"Okay, I understand." Qian Luo had a vague idea in her mind when she thought of Wang Wenzhu asking her to meet privately.
After she was about to eat some of the food prepared by Liu Xiaoqing and the others, she went to talk to Wang Wenzhu. Looking at the table full of food, she wondered, "How come these vegetables have spiritual energy?"
Liu Xiaoqing smiled and said, "These are vegetables specially cultivated by the spiritual plant master. This meat is from a low-level monster that the cultivators hunted together a few days ago. Just think of it as stir-fried vegetables and meat!"
Shi Xiaoxiao wiped her saliva and warned herself in her heart: It doesn’t smell good at all. Her hot and sour noodles are the most delicious. She can’t snatch food from Miss Qianluo!
Jiang Shuyu brought out a bowl of lotus root and pork rib soup. "This lotus root has a faint spiritual energy, and the pork ribs are the ribs of a low-level monster. It smells delicious, Miss Qianluo, you should eat it while it's hot." She glanced at the glutton next to her. "If you don't eat it now, the three of them will drool."
"Then shall we all sit down and eat together?"
Han Tong quickly waved her hands, looking ashamed. "How can this be so embarrassing? Miss Qianluo, you've just recovered from a serious illness. How can we steal your food? Besides, these things are relatively rare to begin with. They are all gifts from the monks."
Yang Ruxuan nodded: "After a while, we will be able to eat spiritual rice. These are all cultivated by spiritual plant masters. It is because the soil in the Daodao Mountain is good and the spiritual energy is sufficient that so many vegetables can be grown."
Shi Xiaoxiao swallowed, her eyes shining: "It's all thanks to Miss Qianluo!"
She couldn't resist! It smelled so good! Stir-fried vegetables with meat, lotus root and pork rib soup, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, sweet and sour pork tenderloin, deep-fried monster shanks, thighs, and ribs...
The monster corpses were neatly stacked, gone clean. Would you dare to put a stir-fried bean stick on them! It was all meat! Who could stand it? She couldn't stand it anyway!
"I have something else to do, I'll leave first!" I went back to eat some hot and sour noodles to calm my nerves.
In a blink of an eye, Shi Xiaoxiao and the other two disappeared.
In the middle, she ran into Liu Baozhu and Liang Wenxin who came to visit. After they left Tianshang Pavilion with a fruit basket, Baozhu should have been in a confident and energetic state, but the opposite was true.
The woman's eyebrows were drooping, and she looked a little tired. Her hair was messy, and her thin lips were slightly pursed. She only smiled slightly when she saw people, and she was not happy. She greeted politely: "Han Tong, hello..."
"Baozhu, come and see Miss Qianluo!" Han Tong spoke quickly, tugging at Yang Ruxuan and Shi Xiaoxiao, signaling them with her eyes, "Wait a minute, Baozhu is here!"
Shi Xiaoxiao and others looked up and saw Liu Baozhu, who had lost a lot of weight, and Liang Wenxin, who was very young.
Liang Wenxin was envious of the confidence in their faces, and even more envious when she saw the monks filling the caves. "Young lady! I haven't been to Daoshan for a long time! I didn't expect it to have changed so much, there's even a cafeteria!"
"Hahaha, the cafeteria is full of dark cuisine. I'll show you some later!"
Before Liang Wenxin could answer, Liu Baozhu pulled her away: "We don't have much time, let's go next time. Wendao Mountain is far away, and the kindergarten children cannot do without our care."
Shi Xiaoxiao waved her hand: "It's okay, it's okay...we..."
Before she finished speaking, the person had already walked away. She was stunned until Han Tong poked her: "Baozhu is very unhappy, don't mind it."
Yang Ruxuan also watched Baozhu leave and sighed, "It's not just her, many people are like this. You have to know that there is a difference between cultivators and mortals. In the past, it was based on status, but now it's based on strength."
"Ever since I came to Wendao Mountain, I've rarely contacted my old friends because they've all gotten married and had children. Without spiritual roots, they can only stay in the mountain village for the rest of their lives. Everyone's circumstances are different."
"If a monk continues to cultivate, he can enjoy a long life, while the lifespan of a mortal is less than a hundred years."
"The differences between people exist from birth. In the past, the biggest dividing line was the amniotic fluid, but now it's the spiritual roots."
"Without spiritual roots, one cannot become a cultivator. Without a cultivator, one can only be a mediocre mortal for life. And they have seen the power of cultivators, so how could they be willing to become a mediocre person?"
Shi Xiaoxiao and Han Tong took these words to heart and felt sympathy, but they were powerless to do anything. How could they change the established facts?
"I just hope they can listen to what Miss Qianluo said."
——
"Ms. Qianluo, we have made a lot of changes in the month you were away. The cafeteria..." Liu Xiaoqing and Jiang Shuyu chattered non-stop, talking about the changes in Daoshan.
They didn't notice Liu Baozhu and Liang Wenxin at the door until Qianluo noticed the figures on the ground, then she looked up and saw Liu Baozhu and Liang Wenxin turning around.
She wondered, "Baozhu?"
Liu Xiaoqing also stood up, a little embarrassed: "Sorry, Sister Baozhu, we were so engrossed in our conversation that we wasted time. You two can chat..."
She quickly pulled Jiang Shuyu away. Liu Baozhu's eyes dimmed and her voice was low: "It's nothing serious. I just came to visit. Now that Miss Qianluo is well, I'm relieved. Let's go back to the kindergarten now."
Jiang Shuyu quickly grabbed her hand and said with a wry smile, "Don't... You and Miss Qianluo haven't seen each other for a long time, you two should chat!"
After saying that, the two of them left without looking back.
Qianluo waved to them: "Baozhu! Wenxin, come over and sit down!"
Liu Xiaoqing and the others had talked about Liu Baozhu before. Although she asked Liu Baozhu to manage the affairs of mortals, Liu Baozhu was not in a good mood. After all, when cultivators and mortals live together, it is only mortals who have to look up to others.
Maybe other mortals don’t have such strong emotions. After all, they are used to being oppressed. They just feel that the current District 9 is very good, but Liu Baozhu doesn’t think so.
"Miss Qianluo, you don't have to persuade me." Liu Baozhu knew what she was going to say, and a bitter feeling welled up in her heart. "Ever since I became unhappy, all of you have tolerated me and indulged me. But this has made me even more unhappy. Because I know you are all sympathizing with me. I don't like the sympathy of those in higher positions for those below me. What I like is to work shoulder to shoulder with you all."
"But you're working alongside us now, handling mortal affairs well. Building roads, planting trees, constructing houses, and building a better District Nine." Qianluo put down her chopsticks and sat next to the two of them. "Sister Baozhu, you're older than me. I believe you should be able to better understand what I mean."
The atmosphere was stiff for a moment, and Liang Wenxin said stiffly: "It's not like that, actually..."
Liu Baozhu interrupted harshly: "Wen Xin!"
Qianluo was puzzled: "Is there something else?"
Liang Wenxin stood up angrily: "Sister Baozhu, even if you don't let me say it, I will say it! There is a huge difference between us and the cultivators. They can practice cultivation, but we can only live out our lives."
"The sisters in Tianshang Pavilion all want to contribute to District Nine, but they all know that we were once orioles in Tianshang Pavilion. They look down on us, but they have no right to look down on the high-ranking monks. Shi Xiaoxiao and the others don't often go out. Monks draw Qi into their bodies and are reborn. They can escape worldly troubles, but we can't. We deal with mortals every day. How can we avoid these situations?"
Liang Wenxin's eyes welled up with tears. "And then there were the things that happened before. Many sisters in the Tianshang Pavilion are disabled. Rejuvenation pills can't restore their limbs. They can't practice like monks, and broken limbs can't be regenerated. These broken limbs are like our past. They will always exist, and will always be discriminated against and insulted."
"It seems like it's constantly reminding us of our dirty past." Liang Wenxin sniffed, her eyes moist. "I used to think that as long as I left Tianshang Pavilion, the world would get better, but in reality, it won't get better."
Qianluo did not hear these words. She thought that they were all very strong and could turn their hearts towards the light even if they were in darkness. However, people are fragile and not as indestructible as steel.
The girl looked dazed, her mouth open, not knowing how to comfort them. Yes, she had cultivated immortality and killed people along the way, but she had overlooked that the terrifying thing was not the cultivators, but the human heart.
The human heart is unpredictable. How could she forget that the first person she killed was not a monk but a mortal couple?
Liu Baozhu stood up and comforted Wen Xin: "Wen Xin, thank you for saying so much for me. But I don't care about other people's opinions, I just..."
The woman walked to the window, looking out at the blue water and sky, the hills in the distance, and smiled calmly, a bitterness rising from the corners of her mouth: "I just want to...cultivate immortality."
"I don't care about reputation or chastity. What I care about is that I don't have spiritual roots and cannot cultivate into an immortal."
"Perhaps I should be content with mediocrity, but I've seen the world so much wider than this. How can I remain a frog in a well?"
"I just hate that I don't have power, no more power. Without more extraordinary power to help District 9 build its home, I am only doing what an ordinary mortal can do."
"What qualifications do I have to be their leader? As their master, it's only natural that they are dissatisfied with me."
Liang Wenxin slammed the table, waking Qianluo from her trance: "They are dissatisfied with our identities as women, and with our Yinghua's past. They are not dissatisfied with us as mortals!"
The tired-looking woman smiled slightly: "Maybe both... I don't know what they think, but I want to cultivate immortality."
After thinking about it, Qianluo frowned and said, "If they insult you, then we can make a rule and punish them if they insult women."
Liang Wenxin immediately clapped her hands in approval, her wrinkled face relaxed into a beaming smile. "Yes! If they insult us, we'll fine them 100 spirit beads! Let's see if they dare to talk nonsense again!"
Baozhu disagreed and shook her head, "You are young and don't understand the fundamentals of things. You can control their mouths, but you can't control their eyes, their expressions, their hearts. It's useless to punish them with just these rules. They believe in their hearts that the bad is right."
"Besides, there's a lot of work to be done, and there's a lot of work to be done. Why mobilize so many people just for me? It's not worth it."
Qian Luo walked quickly to her side and looked into her eyes. Meeting her tired and dim eyes, her eyes lit up slightly and were very serious: "Why not? I think you are worth it. You have done so much for District 9. You have your strength and your contribution."
Baozhu faced the two indignant girls and shook her head. "I don't care. I only care about cultivating immortality. I can't cultivate immortality. This is my heart disease, and there is no cure."
"I know what you mean is that as a mortal, I have some strength to contribute. But I don't want to be just a mortal."
"Let me address you by my normal name for once." Baozhu looked directly into the girl's eyes. Her amber eyes, like autumn amber, were intoxicatingly beautiful, reflecting her exhausted face. "Xiaoluo, do you know?"
"It's not just me who has a problem with her heart, even Liu Xiaoqing has one too."
"As a cultivator, Xiaoqing can only watch her parents grow old, powerless. If she lives longer, she will only be able to see her younger sister, Xiaowan, growing up. She may watch Xiaowan grow up, get married, and have children..."
"Watching her gradually wither and grow old. And as her sister, she still looks young. The loved ones around her continue to die one by one, while I remain forever young. This is also a curse."
Qianluo was shocked when she heard these words. She had never heard such words before. Because Xiaoqing would never say such words to her. Xiaoqing was always kind, gentle, and coquettish in front of her.
She might not express her true thoughts, but everything Liu Baozhu said today seemed to tear off the veil of warmth in front of her.
"It's not just Xiaoqing. All cultivators with loved ones will suffer. This is the difference between mortals and cultivators. It's the length of lifespan and the disparity in power."
"Mortals without spiritual roots will never become cultivators. They are born without the opportunity to cultivate and never have the chance to choose."
The plump and round Baozhu had lost a lot of weight. She looked at the setting sun. The evening glow was brilliant and the warm yellow light enveloped her, revealing only the lonely and persistent profile of her face.
"I had no choice when I entered the Tianshang Pavilion, nor could I choose to become a monk." She frowned slightly, confusion in her eyes. "Is a person's fate determined from birth?"
"Sister Baozhu..." Liang Wenxin was afraid that she would become depressed, so she rushed over and hugged her waist, diving into her warm embrace. Although her heart ached, she still tried to persuade her earnestly, "Don't think too much, you will get stuck in a dead end, Sister Baozhu. We can stop being mortal leaders and go back to the small village to visit your parents together."
She really understood Sister Baozhu's thoughts, and she also understood the thoughts of the other sisters in Tianshang Pavilion. What they cared about was not the cold words of others, but the sense of gap. The sense of gap between mortals and cultivators was a kind of unwillingness and inferiority.
Liu Xiaoqing and others can practice, refine medicine, and mine in Wendao Mountain, but they can only face endless affairs day after night, without a sense of accomplishment, and are very exhausted.
"When people don't know what it means to be an immortal, they can imagine doing so. But once someone becomes an immortal and I can't, I really can't accept it." Liu Baozhu bit the last few words very hard, and even bloodshot appeared in his eyes, with a hint of crazy paranoia.
"I want to cultivate immortality, I want to travel the world and gain broad insights. I don't want to be a frog in a well."
"I just can't accept it. I can't accept my fate."
She looked off into the distance, her voice as soft as snow blown away by the wind: "I don't want to accept my fate."
"But... this is the truth, there's nothing we can do about it."
Originally, Liu Xiaoqing and others expected Qian Luo to comfort Liu Baozhu and Liang Wenxin, but now she can't say anything.
Qianluo can kill people and upgrade, but she cannot see through people's hearts or dominate their fate.
Baozhu did nothing wrong, she just wasn't content with being mediocre.
She was powerless when Xiao Wan was deprived of her spiritual roots. She was also powerless when facing the orb without spiritual roots.
Even if you are a monk, you cannot decide your fate.
They say man can conquer nature, but in reality, it's just about motivating oneself to move forward. The cruelty of fate lies in depriving people of the right to choose, and this is exactly what happened to Baozhu.
How can one cultivate immortality when one is born as a mortal?
Until night fell, Qian Luo could not utter any words of comfort. She could only watch Liu Baozhu and Liang Wenxin walk farther and farther away, support each other as they walked down the mountain, and finally disappeared into the silent night.
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