From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 331 Sword Pointing at the Clouds

Having received Meng Yuan's instructions, and knowing full well that Lanruo Temple was not a safe place at this time, Hu Qian immediately rushed down the mountain without stopping.

Along the way, many people were struggling to climb the steps, their faces filled with piety and remorse, all with the intention of turning to Buddha.

Among them were many familiar faces, but none of them looked familiar anymore. Each person seemed to have been replaced by a puppet, not only in appearance and face, but also in their thoughts and feelings, all of which were being controlled by others.

These people were not acting willingly, but rather were powerless to resist. However, the person manipulating things behind the scenes might consider this "guidance," "saving people," or a great act of merit.

Hu Qian had studied Taoism and read Confucian classics, so she naturally knew about Buddhism as well. This was not an ordinary method of cultivating thoughts, but rather a method that almost completely changed people's hearts.

In the past, martial artists resisted such wondrous methods not only by relying on divine secrets and supernatural powers, but also by possessing unwavering perseverance and steadfast determination.

But if the difference in their levels of understanding is too great, then nothing can be done. In this world, we cannot change the past, nor can we be afraid of the future. We must have one of greed, anger, or ignorance. As long as there is disharmony or a gap, then the demonic influence will naturally reach our ears, and we will find it difficult to control ourselves.

"No wonder the Third Miss is so good to Senior Brother. It turns out that Senior Brother not only has extraordinary talent, but also great perseverance and determination. Such unwavering determination and fearlessness are what make him a true martial artist!"

As Hu Qian ran down the mountain, she muttered to herself, "Everyone outside says that Senior Brother should be wary of lust at a young age, but they've really misunderstood him!"

Thinking this, Hu Qian felt her steps gradually become heavy and her mind becoming increasingly unclear. She knew this was because her senior brother's skills were slowly fading.

Hu Qian dared not think of anything else. She put aside all distractions and focused on one thought: to quickly descend the mountain.

She didn't know how long she had been running wildly, but Hu Qian felt as if she had broken through a thick fog. Her mind gradually cleared, and she no longer felt any heaviness. She could jump very high with a casual leap.

"President, we've made it out!" Hu Qian glanced back at Lanruo Temple, which was shrouded in mist and only had a faint Buddhist light visible. She didn't dare to stop for a moment and continued forward.

After running for several more miles, Hu Qian slowed down.

Hu Qian had run for a long time without much effort, and now that she felt a little more at ease, she pulled Xiang Ling out of her bulging chest.

"President? President, wake up!" Seeing that Xiangling was still fast asleep with her neck tilted to the side, Hu Qian hugged Xiangling to her chest with one hand and pinched Xiangling's little nose with the other.

Sure enough, Xiangling sneezed and then opened her eyes.

"President, you're finally awake!" Hu Qian held Xiangling in one arm and tickled Xiangling's armpit with the other.

Xiangling was always cunning, but not shrewd. Tickled, she chuckled twice, then rubbed against Hu Qian's chest, asking curiously, "You smell really nice! How did you get so fragrant after washing? What did you use to wash?"

While asking questions out of curiosity, Xiangling kept sniffing at Hu Qian, clearly very envious.

"President, have you forgotten? This is the aroma of the osmanthus cake you gave me!" Hu Qian said.

Xiangling's eyes widened immediately, filled with disbelief. "That's food!"

"I just took a quick shower." Hu Qian said shamelessly, "I was going to see my senior brother, so I just took a quick shower."

"Huh? Where's the little castrator?" Xiangling finally snapped out of her daze. She quickly climbed onto Hu Qian's shoulder, shading her eyes with her two tiny front paws as she looked around. She exclaimed, "I had a wonderful dream! I found an egg on the road, and the egg hatched into a chick. The chick grew up and laid eggs, and those eggs hatched into chickens. The chickens laid eggs, and those eggs hatched into chickens again. Chickens and eggs, eggs and eggs, endlessly! I became rich and hired the little castrator to castrate chickens. He was so busy he was sweating profusely!"

"You're not just having a beautiful dream, you're having a pipe dream! If you keep living like this, then everyone in the world will raise chickens, and the world will be full of chicken feet, and no one will be able to stand on their own!" Hu Qian had recently been watching monks discuss Zen and had also learned some of the skills of witty banter.

"That's true!" Xiangling, who always listened to advice, didn't catch Hu Qian's veiled meaning and looked around. "Where's the little castrator?"

“The ground was covered in chicken droppings. He wouldn’t even have a place to stand if he castrated the chicken. He must have been scared away!” Hu Qian said.

"I mean, where did the little castrator go?" Xiangling stood on Hu Qian's shoulder and said very seriously, "Mr. Hu, I'm not talking about a dream!"

She even stretched out her little paws and waved them vigorously in front of Hu Qian's eyes, "You're dreaming and don't know you're a guest, why aren't you awake yet? Did you have some strange dream?"

Hu Qian blushed and immediately said, "I woke up a long time ago!"

She finally came to her senses and looked back at Wulou Mountain. She saw dark clouds hanging low, no stars or moon in sight, and a faint Buddhist light surging within the clouds, as if the true Buddha had been temporarily trapped in the mud.

Xiangling shaded her eyes with one hand, stood on tiptoe, and strained to look at Wulou Mountain in the pitch-black night, saying, "Is the little castrator in the monastery?"

At this point, Xiangling tugged at Hu Qian's cheek and asked, "What did the little castrator say?"

"My senior brother told me to take you away to find Lord Cangshan, saying he can find someone to protect us!" Hu Qian said.

"Then let's go find the black-robed Daoist!" Xiangling was very decisive. She tightened her small bundle, looking quite capable. "The little castrator never lies. He told me to wait for him at Chongxu Temple before, and he really did come looking for me. He told us to go find the black-robed Daoist, so let's go find the black-robed Daoist!"

As Xiangling spoke, her ears suddenly perked up. "Hey? Listen, it's the sound of water, splashing!"

Hu Qian had already heard about it. Before coming to Ping'an Prefecture, she had learned about the terrain and landscape of the area and knew that there was a Qinglong River not far from Lanruo Temple.

“It’s Qinglong River,” Hu Qian said.

"What a wonderful name! When will we finally have a Xiangling River?" Xiangling exclaimed for no apparent reason. Then she added, "With so many fish in the river, wouldn't we be prosperous? By the way, Hu Sheyou, do you know how to castrate fish?"

Hu Qian, who was quite knowledgeable, was bewildered after hearing this and said, "The Third Miss is the most knowledgeable. You should ask her later."

“Hu Sheyou, everyone has their own expertise. You should ask the young castrator; he’s very good at castration!” Xiangling said, sounding like she knew everything.

"My senior brother left this line of work a long time ago." Hu Qian pinched Xiangling's belly and said, "President, where are we going to find Lord Cangshan?"

“It’s really not easy to find.” Xiangling was full of ideas and very talkative. “I heard from the young castrator that the black-robed fellow Daoist was a pangolin in human form. He used to raise several children with someone. He boasted that all the children he raised were capable, but as soon as those children went out, they were all captured by a woman!”

At this point, Xiangling couldn't help but put her hands on her hips, "Fellow Daoist, you're not as good as me at being a godmother!"

Having spent a lot of time with Xiangling, Hu Qian knew that Xiangling had a habit of going off on a tangent, so she asked directly, "President, where should we go to find Fellow Daoist Chuan Dao?"

Xiangling sighed, touching the cloth flower on her head, and said, "Pangolins like to dig holes, so we have to look for them in the deep valleys! They always wear black robes, so they're even harder to find at night..."

“That’s right, he’s a Taoist. Taoists are all very wild. They either stay in caves and act crazy or go out and wander around aimlessly!” Hu Qian also had a lot of insight.

"I look out from the riverbank, the river flows surging into the distance." The two were chatting enthusiastically when they suddenly heard voices coming from ahead.

The voice was ethereal, like that of an old phoenix.

“It is not the behavior of upright people to gossip about others behind their backs.” More words came from ahead.

"It's the Fellow Daoist in the black robe!" Xiangling recognized the person who spoke.

Hu Qian gripped the hilt of her sword and immediately stepped forward. After less than a hundred paces, she saw the surging river, its surface shimmering faintly in the night.

A man sat on a blue stone by the river, with willow branches hanging above his head, a fishing rod in his hand, dressed in black and with a Taoist bun. Just by looking at his back, one could tell that he was Cangshan Jun.

"Fellow Daoist Chuan!" Xiangling jumped off Hu Qian's shoulder, skipping and hopping among the newly sprouting green buds, and came to the blue stone. She then stood up straight, tilted her head to look at Cangshan Jun, and then looked at the wooden bucket on the blue stone.

"Why didn't you catch a single one? Was the bait wrong?" Xiangling, who was very knowledgeable, said happily, "How come you know Dugu's poem? It's quite fitting!"

"I just overheard it." Cangshan Jun smiled, holding a fishing rod in one hand and squeezing the small bundle on Xiangling's back with the other. "Fellow Daoist Xiang, how have you been?"

"Everyone is alright!" Xiangling untied her bundle, took out a small packet of pine nut candy, and offered it to Cangshan Jun. "Have some, have some!"

Cangshan Jun took it, pinched one off and ate it.

Xiangling looked at Cangshan Jun seriously, and seeing Cangshan Jun nod in satisfaction, she said, "The little castrator sent us to find you, saying you have the ability!"

"What abilities could I, a man from beyond the borders, possibly possess?" Lord Cangshan smiled slightly and said, "However, I can at least give you a little directions."

The hazy night sky over the Cangshan River, and then pointing to the small boat moored on the shore, said, "It's rare to see an old friend like you. Please, young friend."

"Aren't you going?" Xiangling obediently jumped onto the small boat and waved to Hu Qian.

“I can see it clearly from here; it wouldn’t be good to be too close,” Cangshan Jun said with a smile.

Seeing this, Xiangling said no more. She simply stood on the gunwale and bowed to Cangshan Jun. She almost fell into the river, but fortunately Hu Qian reacted quickly.

"Thank you for showing me the way, sir." Hu Qian clasped her hands in a fist salute, then picked up the oar and gently rowed the boat, which disappeared into the deep waters of the surging river.

"Boss, you're so good at social niceties. You gave him something nice to eat first, then asked for directions, and he felt bad not giving them directions," Hu Qian praised. Xiang Ling stood at the bow of the boat, tying her small bundle as she said earnestly, "My godmother said that when you're out on the road, you have to be generous. You can't let people see that we're broke."

"That's called not revealing your true strength." Hu Qian was clearly knowledgeable, but added, "What if they see you have a lot of money and try to rob you?"

"This..." Xiangling scratched her head, looking bewildered, and said, "My godmother hasn't taught me yet."

Hu Qian and Xiang Ling were very close friends. Hu Qian knew about Xiang Ling's past and, thinking of her own loss of her mother, she was speechless.

With no stars or moon, and mist rising from the river, Hu Qian drifted aimlessly forward in her small boat.

In less than a quarter of an hour, lights appeared in the clouds ahead.

Upon approaching, I saw a covered boat with familiar faces on board.

An old Taoist priest sat at the bow of the boat, a nearly worn-out whisk on his lap. He was closing his eyes, as if his soul was wandering. This was none other than Xuanjizi, the old abbot of Chongxu Temple.

Beneath that awning were two stunningly beautiful women.

The woman on the left was stunningly beautiful and unapproachable; the woman on the right was naturally alluring and captivating, so much so that even Hu Qian, who was also a woman, couldn't take her eyes off her.

"Miss Three!"

"Third Grandma!"

Hu Qian's mouth was a little dry. She hugged Xiang Ling, jumped onto the awning boat, bowed her head and bowed to Xuan Jizi again, but dared not look at the alluring woman again.

"This is Elder Miaoyin," Ying Rushi said with a smile.

Hu Qian had already guessed it. She bowed to Xiang Ling but didn't say anything. Xiang Ling, on the other hand, stared at Elder Miaoyin with wide eyes.

"This child really does seem a bit silly but clever," Elder Miaoyin said with a smile.

Xiangling stared wide-eyed at Elder Miaoyin, saying, "You're quite beautiful!"

She tilted her head and asked again, "Is my eldest sister married yet?"

"We have not yet found a suitable husband," Elder Miaoyin said.

"I'll introduce you to a good one later!" Xiangling immediately offered her a job. "I have a wide network of connections!"

"Thank you." Elder Miaoyin smiled.

Xiangling finally remembered the important matter at this moment, quickly jumped out of Hu Qian's arms, came to Ying Rushi, and buried herself in Ying Rushi's arms, saying, "Third Grandmother, the little castrator is in the monk's temple, we have to think of a way to find him and get him out!"

"It's alright." Ying Rushi gently stroked the fur on Xiangling's back. Seeing Hu Qian's worried expression, she explained, "The Imperial Preceptor is also here, and Wusheng Luohan can't spare any time. Besides—"

Looking out from the awning, one could see a small boat drifting leisurely through the darkness.

Xiangling immediately looked over as well, and saw the small boat appearing and disappearing in the clouds and mist, with what seemed to be human figures on it.

When she got closer, Xiangling noticed that there was a woman in gray sitting in the small boat, leaning against the gunwale, looking listless, as if she had just woken up.

Xiangling stared intently at the woman, feeling a sense of familiarity mixed with unfamiliarity.

However, the other person on the small boat was someone I recognized. He was a disheveled old Taoist priest with a broken sword wrapped in rags on his back. He didn't have the demeanor of a Taoist priest at all, but he did have a kind and benevolent face.

"Ah!" Xiangling happily jumped out of Ying Rushi's arms, came to the front of the awning boat, waved vigorously at the slovenly old Taoist priest, and said, "Old Godfather!"

Li Weizhen was a little embarrassed. Standing at the bow of the boat, he smiled shyly, bowed to Xiangling, and said, "It's rare that my young friend Xiangling still remembers me."

Xiangling hurriedly returned the greeting, waving happily as she introduced him to Hu Qian, "He's my godfather! My godmother's old flame!"

Li Weizhen stood at the bow of the small flat boat, only a few feet away from the awning boat, and bowed in turn, saying, "Master, Uncle-Master, Elder Miaoyin."

Ying Rushi and Elder Miaoyin both nodded in return, but said little, instead carefully observing Li Weizhen.

"Old Godfather, where did you go?" Xiangling stared wide-eyed at Li Weizhen.

“I first went to the Western Buddhist Kingdom, where I encountered some setbacks. Later, I received news of Qing Guangzi and went to the South again.” Li Weizhen spoke slowly, his face bearing the heavy marks of vicissitudes. “Qing Guangzi is indeed capable; he managed to escape.”

He looked toward Wulou Mountain and said, "I have come today to see the true Buddha."

"Then you'd better be careful!" Xiangling had a wealth of life experience. "They're the best at performing operas. My godmother took me to get some eggs, and then they hung me up in a peach tree! It was really high!" She even gestured.

Li Weizhen smiled slightly and said, "I'm not afraid. Even if I'm hung up, I'll break off a peach branch and fight back."

As she spoke, Li Weizhen took down the long sword she was carrying and slowly unwrapped the layers of tattered cloth covering it. "It's not too late."

The sword revealed its true form, but it lacked any chilling aura and was not particularly sharp, appearing to be an ordinary object.

Looking at the swordsman, he was quite ordinary. He lacked the arrogance of a Taoist priest and the imposing presence of a martial artist. He was even slightly hunched over, like an ordinary old man from the countryside.

"Senior Sister?" Elder Miaoyin looked at Elder Hua.

Elder Hua yawned and said, "Just wait and see."

Xuanjizi finally opened his eyes. He looked Li Weizhen over and then nodded slightly, saying, "Having cultivated for many years and seen many storms, this old Daoist increasingly feels that teaching is useful, but not very useful. Only swords are the best form of teaching."

Stroking his nearly bald whisk, Xuanjizi continued, "Ready?"

“It’s a bit rushed, but it’s enough.” Li Weizhen looked towards Lanruo Temple. “Although Wusheng made the first move, he is far inferior to Qingguangzi.”

As if a dragon were moving through the water, the calm river surface suddenly became turbulent, and then even had the force of overturning the sea. The three small boats rose and fell, as if they were about to be crushed into dust by the waves at any moment.

"Come on, this boat is big!" Xiangling looked at the gray-clad woman on the small boat. She felt that the gray-clad woman looked particularly pleasing to the eye and wanted to snuggle into her arms.

To everyone's surprise, the woman in gray didn't appreciate it at all, and even turned her head slightly away, as if she hadn't seen Xiangling.

Xiangling was furious. She looked at Li Weizhen and said, "Old Godfather, you do it!"

“The light boat is not the shore, I already have a place to go,” Li Weizhen said with a smile.

Seeing this, Xiangling lost her temper and simply snuggled into Ying Rushi's arms. "If Godmother were here, she would definitely laugh at them for being like a big toad leading a little toad, hopping around aimlessly on the road!"

Ying Ruxi smiled. The woman in gray leaned against the gunwale, resting her chin on her hand, and also smiled.

The wind and waves on the river were fierce, and the waves were getting bigger and bigger.

The small, flat boat, as small as a willow leaf, was swallowed up by a giant wave.

Xiangling immediately broke free from Ying Rushi's embrace, lay on the gunwale, and hurriedly looked around, but all she saw were waves crashing against her and rain soaking her.

Just then, Xiangling finally saw that the small boat was still there, but it had been blown too far away by the wind and waves.

Xiangling shouted several times, but her voices were drowned out by the wind and waves. However, she did hear Li Weizhen's words.

"Coming and going are the same, true nature is clear and pure. The wind disperses and the clouds scatter, the moon is in the blue sky."

The small boat where Li Weizhen was located was lifted up by a giant wave, and then the old, worn sword pointed to the sky, "Disperse!"

A sound like a dragon's roar was heard, and the dark clouds in the sky immediately retreated, and the hidden Buddha light disappeared without a trace.

The bright moon hangs in the sky, the Milky Way shines brilliantly. The wind has calmed, the waves have stopped, and the torrential rain has abruptly ceased.

Everyone looked around, but Li Weizhen was nowhere to be seen.

(End of this chapter)