sinovels #759 - Stone Carving
#759 - Stone Carving
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“The time we've spent together has been to discuss how to rescue that person, but we definitely didn't intend to involve the people of the city.”
The middle-aged Daoist explained, “Of course, I can't rule out that some people might have extreme ideas, but at least I never thought that way.”
Qingchen looked at Lu Jing, then at his junior brother, a conflicted expression on his face.
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He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak, he felt a chill on the back of his neck.
Qingchen was startled and quickly moved his head, but the chill didn't disappear. No matter where he turned his head, he couldn't shake off the ever-present sense of crisis.
“It's my flying sword,” Lu Jing said. “Stand still and nothing will happen.”
A bitter look appeared in Qingchen's eyes. “The Sitianjian, truly lives up to its reputation.”
“Your Qixia Temple is quite something too. Only a street away from the Sitianjian, I didn't expect you to be hiding two cultivators. No wonder I couldn't find the person you were playing chess with tonight. It turns out it was a Daoist from the temple.”
“It's one, one cultivator.” Qingchen corrected, “I'm just an ordinary person.”
As he spoke, he loosened his hand, letting the talisman slip from his fingers, and said with a wry smile, “To be honest, I don't really know how to use this thing. I just wanted to pick it up and scare you away.”
Seeing Qingchen subdued, the middle-aged Daoist's face turned ashen. He said to Lu Jing, “If the Sitianjian wants to arrest someone, just arrest me. My senior brother and the other Daoists in the temple don't know anything.”
Lu Jing remained noncommittal and didn't recall the flying sword hovering behind Qingchen's neck.
After a pause, he asked the middle-aged Daoist, “When I saw you in the palace last time, I was quite curious. You haven't been to the academy, so where did you get this secret force cultivation?”
“I cultivated it myself.”
Seeing that Lu Jing seemed unconvinced, the middle-aged Daoist added, “When I was young, Qixia Temple had a major renovation and the stone bricks on the ground were replaced. As a result, a box was dug up from below, a heavy one.
“At the time, Master thought it was full of gold and silver, and he specially sent away irrelevant people before opening the box, only to find that the box was full of stone carvings.”
“The things carved on the stones looked like inner cultivation methods, but the energy flow routes were completely different from inner cultivation methods. In addition, some stone carvings recorded some miraculous spells.”
“Is that when you started cultivating?”
“Yes, Master, senior brother, and I all tried to cultivate according to the methods recorded on the stone tablet. After a month, Master and senior brother gave up because they couldn't feel any changes. Only I cultivated a secret force, and later learned one of the spells on it,” the middle-aged Daoist said.
“How did a cultivator like you end up with Mr. Ji and his group of oddities?” Lu Jing frowned.
The middle-aged Daoist's eyes flickered. “That's a long story.”
“Try to keep it simple…” Lu Jing said, then suddenly flicked his finger, sending a burst of energy towards Qingchen, who was standing to the side.
Qingchen's body went limp after being struck by Lu Jing's finger, and he fell to the ground unconscious.
“You better not lie, because after you finish speaking, I will also find your senior brother to verify it.” Lu Jing warned, “The first time we met, we didn't leave each other with a very good impression, so I advise you not to give me more reasons to kill you.”
The middle-aged Daoist's face was gloomy.
This time, he was silent for a long time before continuing, “After mastering the spell, I was complacent and wanted to show off in front of others. As a result, the first time I turned a stone into silver and went to buy clothes, I was caught, and that was the first time I met Mr. Ji.”
“He told me a lot of things, including the true responsibilities of the Sitianjian, and advised me to be low-key, because once the Sitianjian found out that I knew spells, they would definitely come looking for me. Mr. Ji also said that I was not of a righteous mind and probably wouldn't pass the academy's entrance exam, so the end result was that the stone carvings were taken away by the Sitianjian, and I would also forget the things I had cultivated.
“However, I didn't believe him at the time, and although I agreed on the surface, I didn't really take it to heart. But later, my mind was attracted by another matter.”
“What matter?”
“I fell in love with a woman, her name was Xiaoru,” the middle-aged Daoist said, falling into memories, a slight smile appearing on his lips, “I know that for cultivators like us, we shouldn't indulge in lust and ruin our true selves, and defile the spiritual energy, but I've been frivolous since I was a child and didn't take the rules too seriously.
“Moreover, love is something that can't be controlled, especially when you meet that person, you are completely involuntary, with nowhere to escape.
“I could feel that Xiaoru also had feelings for me, so not long after, we were together. I was planning to find a suitable opportunity to visit her home to propose marriage, and also talk to Master about returning to secular life.
“But I didn't expect that while I was busy preparing the betrothal gifts, she encountered an accident… That day, Xiaoru was washing clothes by the river alone when she encountered a group of young masters. Those guys were all children of powerful and wealthy families, and one of them was even a member of the imperial family. I later heard people say that they had all drunk a lot of wine.
“Many of them were so drunk that they could barely stand. After seeing Xiaoru, someone made a joke, their tone frivolous, but Xiaoru slapped him in the face.
“The man was furious and kicked Xiaoru in the stomach. Xiaoru didn't stand firm and fell from the bank into the river. At the time, she wasn't far from the bank, only about two zhang away, and the river wasn't very fast.
“But Xiaoru couldn't swim. She couldn't swim ashore by herself, and those young masters didn't allow anyone or boats on the river to approach and rescue her.
“After about half a month, the case was sent to the Censorate, and the fire of hope was rekindled in my heart. I looked forward to the Censorate being able to uphold justice and give me and Xiaoru a belated justice, so that those young masters who did evil that day would also receive their due punishment.
“However, I waited and waited, waiting for two full months, and finally waited for the Censorate's verdict, but it was just a small punishment that didn't hurt or itch, such as deducting half a year's salary from their backers and demoting them by one rank. As for those who killed Xiaoru, they were only confined to their homes for a few months.
“Moreover, not long after, Xiaoru's parents found me and begged me not to sue anymore. They had already received the money that those people had paid them and decided to settle the matter peacefully, and Master also expressed similar ideas, fearing for my safety.”
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