The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 403 The Father-in-Law on the River
How could a celestial being, a direct descendant of Wudang, be a stutterer?
Not to mention the Celestial Realm's ability to cleanse the marrow and refine the essence, even broken limbs can be reattached, let alone a minor stutter. Given the Wudang tradition alone, it's highly unlikely that any chronic illness would arise in the body.

However, the old Taoist's eccentric and mysterious image had already been deeply etched into the minds of Cao Hanyan and Gao Anyu, and they had even begun to think that this was probably what cultivators were like... But the old Taoist suddenly performed a series of rituals smoothly and appropriately.

He could even tell that it was more appropriate to bow to Zhu Zai first.

According to custom and common sense, Zhu Zai held a higher official position, so it was appropriate to pay respects to him first. Therefore, it would be disrespectful for the old Taoist priest to skip him.

However, the old Taoist priest could see the relationship between Li Miao and Zhu Zai, so he skipped the official titles and greeted them according to their age, so as not to offend either Li Miao or Zhu Zai.

To sum it all up in one sentence—the old man is very clear-headed.

Moreover, he is by no means someone who has become foolish from cultivating Taoism; he is very intelligent and understands human relationships well. While his previous demeanor cannot be called a pretense, it was certainly not his true nature.

This is what Li Miao meant just now.

Because when Li Miao met the old Taoist priest on Mount Song, he was so eccentric and difficult to communicate with that Li Miao didn't want to spar with him and avoided appearing at the moon-viewing banquet later.

An awkward silence fell over the room for a while before Li Miao waved to Cao Hanyan and Gao Anyu.

"Go and rest, we'll talk about it after you wake up."

Just as Cao Hanyan and Gao Anyu were about to say they weren't tired, before they could even utter a word, their vision blurred and their bodies swayed. An overwhelming fatigue surged up, instantly knocking these two martial arts masters to their feet.

"When you were traveling, you used the Taoist priest's internal energy, but your bodies are your own. If this method were so effective, why would I need to rush back to Shuntian myself?"

Li Miao smiled.

"Go and rest."

Gao Anyu collapsed onto Cao Hanyan's shoulder. Cao Hanyan struggled to support him, apologized to Li Miao, and then led Gao Anyu out.

The emperor glanced at Li Miao without showing any emotion. Li Miao then gave him a wink, and he understood that his situation should not be known to the old Taoist priest for the time being.

Anyway, the emperor doesn't need to follow any etiquette; too much talk leads to mistakes. So he nodded, said nothing, and turned to leave.

Only the old Taoist priest, Li Miao, and Zhu Zai remained inside.

"sit."

Li Miao beckoned to the old Taoist priest to sit down.

The three sat facing each other and looked at each other.

After a long while, the old Taoist priest slowly spoke.

"I didn't mean to deceive you before, it's just that..."

Li Miao waved his hand.

"It's alright. Wudang is a big tree that attracts a lot of attention. The reason it has survived to this day is because it knows its limits and knows when to advance and retreat. Now that you have come, Master, let's just forget about what happened before."

The old Taoist priest nodded and thanked him.

Li Miao then smiled and changed the subject.

“Daoist Master, before I cultivated my inner energy, I couldn’t see clearly… Your level of attainment is quite interesting.”

"If I'm not mistaken, you're preparing to attain enlightenment through stillness and illumination? And you've already made some progress, haven't you? Given time, you might very well achieve something even greater."

Zhu Zai paused in stroking his beard and looked at the old Taoist priest.

The old Taoist priest remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"Lord Li is indeed exceptionally talented. May I ask which type of spiritual cultivation you have mastered?"

“Xuanlan”.

"So, is this a martial art from Yingzhou?"

"No."

"That's good."

Li Miao frowned.

"What do you mean, Daoist Master? What's wrong with practicing the cultivation techniques of Yingzhou?"

The old Taoist hesitated and did not speak.

Li Miao leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and squinted at the old Taoist priest.

Judging from the old Taoist's etiquette upon entering, he couldn't possibly be the type to "let slip" anything. He wanted to tell Li Miao something, but he also wanted to subtly guide Li Miao to take it seriously.

But Li Miao had no interest in arguing with him and just stared at him nonchalantly.

After a long while, the old Taoist priest could no longer hold back and sighed, saying, "Master Zhang Sanfeng, Venerable Bodhidharma."

Li Miao frowned as he spoke.

"What do you mean?"

The old Taoist priest said in a deep voice.

"Legend has it that Bodhidharma returned to the West with only one shoe, and Zhang Sanfeng ascended to heaven on a crane. What do you think, sir?"

Li Miao raised an eyebrow and said.

"It's just a legend."

The old Taoist priest nodded.

"That's right, just a legend, nothing more."

"Martial arts cannot lead to divinity, and there is no celestial realm or Western Paradise in this world to guide all living beings. If there were, only Bodhidharma and Zhang Sanfeng would have gone up there in the past thousand years. Wouldn't that be like being in a prison?"

Li Miao smiled.

"The way you're saying things doesn't sound like something a Taoist would say. Never mind, please continue."

So the old Taoist continued in a deep voice.

"Therefore, whether it is Bodhidharma or Zhang Sanfeng, their whereabouts are unknown... This is also a question that Wudang and Shaolin have been seeking for thousands of years."

"This is also why I am willing to come to Shuntian today and get involved in the court's struggle. It is also why I just confirmed with you, sir, that you are not practicing the Yingzhou martial arts."

Li Miao frowned.

"How to say?"

The old Taoist priest said in a deep voice.

"On the river, father-in-law!"

Li Miao paused in his fidgeting, his gaze sweeping coldly over the old Taoist priest before meeting the shocked Zhu Zai's eyes.

The old man on the river.

The last of the three words Ji Tianrui left for Li Miao, and the only clue Li Miao has yet to find a corresponding to, was unexpectedly revealed by a completely unrelated person.

Li Miao sat up.

"Master, you might as well explain it more clearly."

The old Taoist priest nodded.

"In fact, Wudang and Shaolin have always shared information and cooperated on this matter. Considering the time when Bodhidharma disappeared, our first consideration was those figures who became famous a thousand years ago and were associated with the legend of immortals."

“An Qisheng is one of them.”

Li Miao twirled her fingers and continued the conversation.

“But An Qisheng only inherited one path of Xuanlan, and the realm of four paths combined is impossible for him to pose a threat to the two patriarchs.”

"But you still came, and you're even worried that I'm not practicing the Yingzhou lineage, so you suspect the origin of the Yingzhou techniques is related to the disappearance of the two patriarchs?"

The old Taoist priest nodded.

"Yes."

He reached into his robes and pulled out an ancient book, then teleported it to the table beside Li Miao, where it was opened on a particular page. The book was exceptionally well-preserved; all the other pages were clean, except for the yellowed and torn one, which had clearly been read countless times.

Li Miao looked over.

This book is titled "Biographies of Eminent Recluses".

The page that has been opened is about An Qisheng.

The very first paragraph seemed to have been touched countless times with fingertips, the handwriting already blurred, and later it had been traced over again. Although it was only one sentence, it made Li Miao frown.

“An Qisheng was a native of Langya. He studied under the old man by the river, sold medicine by the sea, and did not serve as an official in his old age. People at the time called him the Thousand-Year-Old Man.”

Li Miao pointed to a spot and recited it again.

“I received instruction from the old man by the river.”

(End of this chapter)