Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Was it an illusion or a dream? Being experienced in Jianghu, Meng Qi was able to recover from the shock quickly. After he regained his thinking ability, several guesses came into his mind.
While keeping his countenance, Meng Qi secretly safeguarded his Primordial Spirit with the Giant Golden Buddha, and activated the Yuan Xin Seal through the Form in between his eyebrows. The former one was useful in restraining all kinds of illusions and magical tricks in the world, whereas the latter one was the origin of martial arts and spells. After combining two of them into one, even though Meng Qi was not very proficient in using them yet, he was confident to detect a flaw in the illusions or dreams that were created by the enemies below the Dharmakaya realm!
As a faint trace of transparent golden light spread in his eyes, the blurriness of the world disappeared and everything had become clear. However, no suspicious traces were found.
The swordsman in white clothes, who was still squatting at the table, could feel a sense of Zen from the mature and elegant green-robed man in front of him. The vague sense of Zen was filled with uncertainties, just like a human mind that could not be understood thoroughly. He had become more convinced that the man must be an eminent person who lived in seclusion. With the sophisticated look in his eyes, he should be having white hair in his sideburns or even all over his head!
Since Meng Qi did not respond to him, the swordsman suddenly realized something. He wiped the chopsticks on his own white clothes, handed them over respectfully and said in a flattering manner, “Sir, I’ve already wiped them clean.”
“Brother Chong? What are you doing?” The pretty lady cried out in shock as she could not understand the behavior of her lover at all.
A young hero like him was supposed to have an indomitable spirit. How could he behave in such a servile and obsequious manner?
The handsome young hero was frightened for a split second, but when he looked back to the lady, he already put on a dignified look. “Sister Qing, when I first laid my eyes on this man, I was dazzled by his charm and good looks. I knew that he was a noble person who deserves our respect and admiration. Ah, in a world of conflict now, many youngsters who are proud of their own achievements are neither showing any respect to their elders, nor having a sense of justice. How can we be as shameless as them? As the saying goes, ‘The seniors have eaten more salt than we have eaten rice.’ Listening to their teachings will be beneficial to us. Thus, we should honor them like how we respect our own parents. Sister Qing, since you have parents too, I suppose you understand the importance of honoring the elderly.”
The more he spoke, the more he felt justified and confident.
The pretty lady gazed at the swordsman with admiration, as though there were bright stars shining in her eyes. “Brother Chong, nowadays, there aren’t many people in the world that are as humble and self-disciplined as you. You are always showing respect to the seniors and ready to do boldly what is righteous. I’ve definitely chosen the right person!”
She seemed to have found him more admirable.
The handsome young hero quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He then shifted his gaze to the senior who was sitting up straight, and put the chopsticks on the table respectfully.
He did not know that Meng Qi, who looked mature and elegant, was actually silently cursing,
Fuck! Did I just come across a powerful person who can turn back time?
It was neither a illusion nor a dream. A wild guess came to his mind: turning back time.
Meng Qi looked at the swordsman without a change of countenance. The swordsman’s blood, muscles, skin, bones, Primordial Spirit, the tightly-fitting clothes, and the storage bag, were all clearly displayed in his sight. Even the small blood-red pennant could not escape his Third Eye. However, there was not any items related to the Light of the Universe.
Meng Qi thought, “Strange… I need to find out more details.” However, he did not plan to look into the swordsman’s memory fragments so as to avoid making an irremediable mess of it. Therefore, he continued to pretend to be an old-aged eminent person. He brushed against the chopsticks lightly and said,
“In today’s world, there aren’t many well-mannered youngsters like you.”
After hearing the words, the handsome young hero was overjoyed. He made an obeisance by cupping his hands together before his chests and said, “I’m Nangong Chong coming from Dinghu. This is my fiancée, Du Qing Qing. Rumors are saying that the ancient Buddhist temple, Lanruo Temple, is haunted. Thus, I’ve came here to eliminate the demon. Sir, may I know how to address you?”
Hearing the word fiancée, there was a blush in the fair and smooth face of Du Qing Qing. She was feeling shy and delighted.
Just then, the Envoy of the Left who was named Sun Junlin asked with a smile, “Is the Lanruo Temple haunted?”
Actually, Sun Junlin and Meng Qi were here to inquire about the news of the Lanruo Temple, but the information happened to come to them by chance.
The robe on Meng Qi was dark-green in color. As he sat by the window, the robe looked even darker. He took a glance at the Envoy of the Left without a change of countenance and thought to himself, As expected, he can’t remember that he was attacked just now.
“A few years ago, the monks of Lanruo Temple died mysteriously one after another, turning the nearby area into a ghost land. Fortunately, a young Taoist priest had passed by. He swept away the demonic atmosphere and made the area peaceful again. Since then, the Lanruo Temple had become a place for travellers to stop for a rest. Nevertheless, in recent times, quite an amount of travellers had died in the temple. Their corpses are even mummified,” Nangong Chong basically told the information from the beginning to the end. “As Dinghu is quite near to the temple, once I heard the rumors, I’ve came to this place immediately to eliminate the demon.”
The Envoy of the Left asked a few more questions about the temple. With the help of the detailed answers of Nangong Chong, they were able to gain a general understanding of the situation of the Lanruo Temple.
Actually, Meng Qi was not afraid of failing the mission as he had plenty of good deeds to pay the penalty. In fact, Meng Qi was more interested in discovering the strange incident happened moments ago than to defeat the Witch of the Black Mountain. He slowly stood up, clasped his hands behind his back and said, “We are from the Sect of the Ether and plan to go to the Lanruo Temple as well. You can come along with us if you want.”
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“Yes, sir!” Nangong Chong’s face lit up with joy when he heard that. He and Du Qing Qing then followed them to the Lanruo Temple.
Halfway to flying to the temple, Nangong Chong frequently looked at the back view of the green-robed senior. Although his attitude appeared to be respectful, there was a doubtful look in his eyes.
“It’s impressive that both of you have such a good Cultivation Base at your age. I wonder who are the Heads in your family?” Meng Qi asked in a seemingly casual way.
Du Qing Qing interrupted and said, “I’m the daughter born of the first wife of the head of the Du Family from Jian Province. Since I’ve been trained in martial arts by my parents at an early age, there’s nothing impressive for me to step into the Exterior Realm at this age. However, Brother Chong is different. Coming from an ordinary family in Dinghu, his house was unfortunately robbed by the bandits and thus he had to beg for a living at a young age. But he did not become an extreme person, nor did he abandon himself to despair. He changed from a beggar to a servant of an escort agency, then from a servant to an escort. It’s true that Da Dao always helps those who help themselves.
Eventually, he had a miracle encounter to get the chance of entering the historical remains of his predecessors, thereby inheriting the martial arts.”
“In spite of many difficult situations, he can always pass through a dangerous crisis safely, and accomplish what others feel impossible. He is indeed an outstanding one from his Jianghu contemporaries, and he is such a generous and gallant man…”
Her pretty face lit up as she said a lot of good words about her lover in front of the senior. She was hoping he would accept Nangong Chong as a disciple, or give him some divine arts and treasures.
Meng Qi had got the most important point of all: Nangong Chong can always pass through a dangerous crisis safely… He smiled. “I haven’t been in the Jianghu for many years, so I wasn’t aware of such a talented person.”
“I’m flattered by your compliment, sir.” When Nangong Chong heard the words “I haven’t been in the Jianghu for many years”, the doubts in his eyes were cleared away.
Nangong Chong was about to continue building rapport with the senior when a dilapidated temple appeared in front of them.
Situated in the mountains, the temple was at the midpoint of the North-South road. It was surrounded by dense forests. The roots of each tree were knotted, and the branches and leaves were so luxurious. The leaves overlapped with each other which covered the sunshine. Before the sun went down, the forest was already dark and cold.
When the four of them arrived at the temple, they heard crows croaking. The vines were crawling all over the yellow walls and the leaves were left unswept. As the wind whistled, all they saw was a dreary place.
Above the broken door, there was a half-hanging plaque with the words “Lanruo Temple” written on it.
Meng Qi did not even need to let out his senses to feel the gloomy atmosphere of this place. Putting on a smile and clasping his hands behind his back, Meng Qi stepped forward. Each of his steps landed on a fallen leaf, but they did not cause the slightest damage to the leaves or make them dirty.
After opening the door of the temple, they passed through a precinct full of bird droppings. Nangong Chong and Du Qing Qing followed behind Meng Qi and Sun Junlin to walk toward a hall with fire marks.
In a relaxed manner, Meng Qi stepped over the door sill and went into the hall. Thereafter, a man with rough-hewn features came into sight. He had gotten a heavy and stagnant aura that felt like a huge rock. Carrying a broadsword on his back, he looked majestic and strong.
Meng Qi and the man looked into each other’s eyes. The man felt as though there was another world hidden inside the deep eyes of Meng Qi. Looking at the eyes that showed no emotions at all, the man immediately put himself on guard. After quite a while, he said, “The Lanruo Temple is haunted, so it’s better not to stay here.”
Meng Qi seemed to have known from the beginning that there were people in the hall. Without looking at the man anymore, he walked leisurely to another side of the hall and swung his sleeve to clean off an area. Then, he sat down and said, “Since it’s haunted, why do you stay here?”
“I’m here to eliminate the ghost,” said the man.
Nangong Chong took a glance at the man and brought Du Qing Qing to sit down beside Meng Qi. He whispered, “Sister Qing, if I’m not mistaken, he is the Swordsman Yan Chixia.”
Du Qing Qing was startled when she heard the words. Immediately, she looked at the man from head to toe, and fixed her gaze on the broadsword for a long time. After she was done observing, she said to Nangong Chong sincerely, “Brother Chong, you’re so knowledgeable. You seem to know everything.”
“But I still don’t know who this senior is…” Nangong Chong smiled wryly when he transmitted the secret message to her.
The sun was gradually setting. Just then, a series of stumbling footsteps came to their ears.
After a moment, they saw a handsome scholar carrying a box of books on his back.
“The Lanruo Temple is haunted, so it’s better not to stay here,” Yan Chixia could not help darting a glance at Meng Qi again when he spoke.
Breathing heavily, the handsome scholar said, “The sky… the sky is already dark. It’s more dangerous to stay outside!”
“I’m… I’m Ning Caichen.”
With a whirring sound, a whirl of cold wind was blowing at them.