It turned out that Number Seven was indeed the Holy Child of the Celestial Sect. Chu Yuanzhen’s eyes flickered, developing some interest in this Number Seven he had never met before.
Back when Li Miaozhen was roaming Yun Province to eliminate bandits, members of the Heaven and Earth Society already knew that Number Seven had an extremely close relationship with her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have entrusted the Earth Book fragment to Li Miaozhen for safekeeping during a time of peril when being pursued.
Combining this with the Celestial Sect’s system of Holy Children, it wasn’t difficult to guess that Number Seven was likely the Holy Child of the Celestial Sect, Li Miaozhen’s senior or junior fellow disciple.
However, Li Miaozhen herself was tight-lipped about this, never mentioning it. So the guess remained just that – a guess, unconfirmed.
Now, after hearing Li Miaozhen’s words, Chu Yuanzhen finally confirmed that Number Seven was indeed the Holy Child of the Celestial Sect.
“Finally, I’ll be able to meet a normal disciple of the Celestial Sect,” Chu Yuanzhen grumbled inwardly.
He was getting fed up with Li Miaozhen. It was one thing to right wrongs and fight evil when encountered, but she also liked to be overly generous. What did one rely on when roaming the jianghu? Wasn’t it all about money?
At their worst, the three of them couldn’t even afford to stay at inns.
To this, Li Miaozhen’s explanation was: “What’s the difference between sleeping outdoors and staying at an inn for us?”
Chu Yuanzhen was left speechless.
Xu Qi’an was so much better. If he were traveling the jianghu with him, they would surely be eating and drinking well, tasting local delicacies, enjoying local scenery, and even visiting brothels or teaching houses for wine and entertainment at night.
“Let’s go!” Li Miaozhen took the lead and entered the inn. It wasn’t mealtime, so only a few scattered patrons sat in the main hall.
She walked straight to the counter and asked the innkeeper, “Has an extremely handsome young man checked in here?”
Li Miaozhen was confident that with that scum’s looks, the innkeeper would remember if he had seen him.
The innkeeper thought for a moment and asked hesitantly, “How handsome is ‘extremely handsome’?”
Li Miaozhen turned back, pointing at Chu Yuanzhen: “More handsome than him.”
The innkeeper looked at Chu Yuanzhen’s appearance and shook his head, “I haven’t seen anyone like that. This young master is already graceful and refined, it’s hard to imagine there could be a more handsome man in this world.”
Chu Yuanzhen satisfactorily sheathed his sword.
Li Miaozhen frowned, pondered for a moment, and asked, “Have any Daoist priests stayed here recently?”
“Yes.”
“Who was it?”
The innkeeper’s gaze swept past Li Miaozhen’s shoulder, looking behind her, and said, “Isn’t she right behind you?”
Li Miaozhen was startled and turned around. She saw that behind the three of them, a beautiful woman with a cold demeanor had appeared at some point. She wore a feather robe and a lotus crown, had long straight eyebrows, and rare pale azure eyes. Her features were as delicate as if carved.
“Master!” Li Miaozhen exclaimed joyfully, hurrying to the cold beauty’s side, saying:
“Master, why have you come down from the mountain? Why are you here? It’s been two years, and I’ve missed you so much. It’s truly fate that we meet here.”
Bing Yi Yuan Jun looked at her indifferently: “I’ve been tracking you all the way here. The Flying Swallow Heroine makes a name for herself wherever she goes, so it wasn’t hard to find you.”
She paused, then continued without emotion: “Just based on what you’ve said, punishing you with three years of wall-facing meditation wouldn’t be excessive.”
Even after ten years apart, disciples of the Celestial Sect should greet each other with an expressionless nod.
Li Miaozhen stuck out her tongue, “But I’m still in the midst of my trials. Before reaching the Third Realm, disciples can’t comprehend the Way of Supreme Detachment.”
She quickly introduced her friends to her master: “This is Chu Yuanzhen, a registered disciple of the Human Sect, originally the top scholar of Great Shang. And this is Heng Yuan, a warrior monk from the Azure Dragon Temple.”
Bing Yi Yuan Jun’s gaze swept over them indifferently: “Sword Embryo, Sarira.”
The four sat down at a table, and Bing Yi Yuan Jun spoke coolly: “After two years of worldly travel, have you gained any insight into Supreme Detachment?”
Li Miaozhen’s eyes darted around as she replied, “Ah, well… Your disciple is still working hard on it.”
Bing Yi Yuan Jun said coldly, “Hold out your hands.”
Li Miaozhen complied in confusion.
A pale golden light shot out from Bing Yi Yuan Jun’s sleeve, tightly binding Li Miaozhen’s wrists.
“Spirit-Binding Rope?” Li Miaozhen was shocked, completely unprepared for this turn of events. She asked in bewilderment, “Master, what are you doing?”
Bing Yi Yuan Jun’s expression remained cold, her tone equally devoid of emotion: “By order of the Celestial Venerable, I am to bring Li Miaozhen back to the sect to re-study the Celestial Sect’s sacred texts.”
Chu Yuanzhen and Heng Yuan exchanged glances, unsure of how to react.
“Why?” Li Miaozhen was utterly confused.
Bing Yi Yuan Jun replied expressionlessly: “Disciples of the Celestial Sect should be detached and desireless. Although they experience the mortal world, they must not become entangled in too much karma. The Celestial Venerable believes you have strayed from the Celestial Sect’s teachings and need to re-study the sacred texts. You will be released when you have gained enlightenment.”
The correct approach for Celestial Sect disciples when descending the mountain for worldly experience was to observe the joys and sorrows of the mortal realm from an outsider’s perspective.
Li Miaozhen wasn’t doing that. She was happily rolling around in the mud of the mortal world.
“I knew it,” Chu Yuanzhen thought, his mind full of criticisms. “Li Miaozhen is an oddity in the Celestial Sect. She’s supposed to be cultivating Supreme Detachment, yet she’s so enthusiastic about playing the hero. This was bound to happen sooner or later.”
Li Miaozhen protested: “Disciple, disciple is tempering her heart in the mortal world.”
Bing Yi Yuan Jun nodded: “You can explain that to the Celestial Venerable when we return to the sect. But before that, I must assist Senior Brother Xuan Cheng in capturing the Holy Child.”
The Holy Child? Even the Celestial Sect’s Holy Child needs to be captured.
Chu Yuanzhen was puzzled and couldn’t help but look at Heng Yuan, finding the same confusion in his eyes.
Bing Yi Yuan Jun stood up, leading Li Miaozhen toward the exit.
“Master, Master, I don’t want to go back to the sect. I still have a year left for my trials. How can you be sure I can’t achieve Supreme Detachment? Please plead with the Celestial Sect on my behalf…”
Li Miaozhen stumbled along, being pulled by her master, continuously begging for mercy.
Heng Yuan hurriedly stood up and said in a deep voice: “Venerable One, Li—”
Before he could finish, Li Miaozhen cut him off.
The Flying Swallow Heroine transmitted a message:
“Don’t try to interfere. She’ll kill you. Those who have comprehended Supreme Detachment don’t kill out of emotion or morality; good and evil people are no different in their eyes.
“But if they think you’re an obstacle, they’ll kill you without hesitation, regardless of your identity. Don’t try to stop her… but don’t give up on me either. If I go back to the sect, I fear I’ll never be able to leave again.”
Heng Yuan transmitted back: “Then what should we do?”
Li Miaozhen gritted her teeth: “Go find Xu Qi’an. That guy may be useless now, but he still has the framework of a Third Realm cultivator. He won’t die easily. There’s still a chance. Master still needs to capture that Li Lingsu, so she won’t take me back to the sect immediately.”
Bing Yi Yuan Jun led Li Miaozhen out of the inn, summoned her flying sword, and the master-disciple pair leaped onto the sword’s back, riding away on the wind.
Seeing this, Chu Yuanzhen quickly summoned his magical sword, and together with Heng Yuan, they stepped onto it, following far behind Bing Yi Yuan Jun.
The fierce wind blew against their faces as the vast earth stretched out below them. Rivers meandered like silver ribbons, and mountains sprawled like dunes.
Chu Yuanzhen transmitted: “Venerable Heng Yuan, please contact Xu Qi’an quickly.”
“Amitabha, this poor monk is already doing so,” Venerable Heng Yuan responded.
…
Zhang Province.
Zheng family cemetery.
Xu Qi’an tied the little mare to a tree trunk by the small path, leaving behind Mu Nancun, Li Lingsu, and the cloaked and veiled puppet Heng Yin as he proceeded alone.
After leaving Lei Province, they immediately returned to Zhang Province, retrieved the little mare from Chairman Yang, and then came to Zheng Xinghuai’s hometown, a rather poor county under Zhang Province’s jurisdiction.
The Zheng family was a powerful local clan, but before Zheng Xinghuai’s rise to prominence, they were nothing special.
Later, as Zheng Xinghuai climbed higher in officialdom, eventually becoming the Provincial Administrator of Chu Province, the entire Zheng family rose to prominence, becoming a major local clan and even building this cemetery.
Zheng Xinghuai’s tomb was the most conspicuous, most grandiose, and imposing.
With the Chu Province massacre case finally concluded, Zheng Xinghuai was given a grand funeral. The astute magistrate of this county, called Ping Kang, quickly had a City God Temple built, enshrining Zheng Xinghuai as the City God.
Now, the temple enjoyed a thriving stream of worshippers.
“Lord Zheng, I’ve come to see you,” Xu Qi’an said, laying out food offerings before the grave – a jug of yellow wine and two cups.
He drank one cup and poured one on the grave, remaining silent as time slowly passed.
“Whose grave is that?” Li Lingsu seized the opportunity to inquire, hoping to glean some clues about Xu Qian’s true identity from these details.
“A respectable person,” Mu Nancun replied.
“A respectable person?” Li Lingsu’s eyes darted about. “My lady, could you tell me more about them?”
With his damned charm, surely the lady wouldn’t refuse.
“I’m not in the mood,” the princess consort rolled her eyes.
Oh? Is the lady in a bad mood today? Li Lingsu forced a laugh.
Soon, the jug of wine was empty. Xu Qi’an glanced at the tombstone, hesitated briefly, then used his finger as a brush to write a small line:
“Fame and fortune are but a paper slip, no more than ashes scattered in the dust.”
This was what Zheng Xinghuai had expressed in his grief when he witnessed Chu Province turn into ruins, half a lifetime’s work destroyed in an instant.
This scholar, who had lived a life full of ups and downs, ultimately gave his life for this sentence.
Xu Qi’an bowed three times to the tombstone.
After paying his respects to Lord Zheng, he planned to return to Yong Province to attend the “Martial Arts Assembly.” There were still twenty days until the appointed time.
Between Lei Province and Yong Province lay Zhang Province, which would allow for a leisurely journey. Along the way, he could use his sensitivity to dragon veins and their aggregation effect to possibly collect a few minor dragon veins.
At this moment, it felt as if someone had slapped his brain hard.
It indicated that someone was trying to “privately chat” with him.
Xu Qi’an ignored it at first, but the slaps came one after another; the other party seemed very urgent.
He immediately and carefully took out the Earth Book fragment, concealing it in his sleeve, and immersed a strand of his primordial spirit into the fragment.
In the gray, misty mirror world, eight light rings diffused a chaotic, soft glow.
One of them flickered, its light rippling.
“Venerable Heng Yuan?” Xu Qi’an’s primordial spirit formed a “tendril,” connecting to the light ring representing Number Six.
“Lord Xu, something terrible has happened!” Seeing Xu Qi’an’s response, Heng Yuan let out a sigh of relief.
“What is it?”
“Daoist Friend Li Miaozhen has been captured by her master.”
???
A string of question marks flashed through Xu Qi’an’s mind. “Venerable One, please explain the cause and effect clearly.”
Heng Yuan said:
“After you left the capital, I, Benefactor Chu, and Daoist Friend Li set out together, searching for your whereabouts while also doing good deeds. But this afternoon, Daoist Friend Li saw the Celestial Sect’s secret signal.
“It was left by her master. Daoist Friend Li then met with her master, and as they were talking, that Celestial Sect expert suddenly produced a magical rope and restrained Daoist Friend Li.”
“Why is that?” Xu Qi’an was shocked, his level of surprise akin to hearing a friend say: I arranged to meet a beautiful girl in a hotel room, but when we were bathing, she pulled out something bigger than mine.
It was about that absurd.
“That Celestial Sect expert said that Daoist Friend Li had strayed from the Celestial Sect’s teachings. To prevent her from becoming mired in the mortal world, she needed to be taken back to the mountain to re-study the Celestial Sect’s sacred texts. But Daoist Friend Li said that once she’s taken back to the Celestial Sect, she might never be able to come down the mountain again. This parting could be forever.”
Damn it, I knew Li Miaozhen was an oddball. A Celestial Sect Holy Maiden, forcibly cultivated into a generation’s heroine. She’s in big trouble now… Xu Qi’an’s face twitched as he communicated mentally:
“So, she hopes I can save her? Hmm, you and Chu Yuanzhen didn’t intervene, which means Miaozhen’s master is at least a Third Realm Yang Spirit cultivator, right? In my current state, how am I supposed to save her? Besides, I don’t even know where you are.”
Heng Yuan said:
“There’s still a chance. That Celestial Sect expert said that this time, she’s not only taking back Daoist Friend Li but also bringing back the Holy Child. Next, she will go search for the Holy Child. Daoist Friend Li said the Holy Child is in a jianghu faction called the East Sea Dragon Palace in the East Sea Commandery.
“Lord Xu must reach the Holy Child before the Celestial Sect people find him. This matter is extremely important. We must find the Holy Child and prevent him from being captured too. Otherwise, there will be no more chances.”
What a coincidence, that dead scumbag is right beside me… Xu Qi’an transmitted: “Relay a message to her for me.”
Heng Yuan asked, “What would you like to say, Lord Xu?”