Chapter 53: Preparing for the Fourth Generation

He was unsure whether what he was doing was right, which was why he hesitated slightly when striking today. He felt that he must have been infected by the poison of this era, yet the education he had received for many years told him that he was not wrong!

Qiu Zhiqing looked at his own palms and muttered to himself, "An immortal pats my crown, and a single palm shatters the heavenly spirit..." These words caused Hong Qigong, who was pretending to meditate nearby, to open his eyes and cast a glance at him...

Ceasing his hesitation, he raised his palm, intent on ending this man's life to finish the task quickly and prevent any subsequent trouble! He had not forgotten the Mongol soldiers from earlier.

"Spare him!"

Hmm? Who was speaking? Qiu Zhiqing looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the speaker was a young boy. The child broke free from the person holding him back, stepped forward, and continued, "Uncle Taoist, you are a good man. Could you spare this gentleman?"

With that, he pointed his finger at Zhang Lu and looked earnestly at Qiu Zhiqing. One could hear a slight Hebei accent in his words. Qiu Zhiqing, having just been issued a "good person card," was momentarily stunned.

"What did you say?" Qiu Zhiqing asked uncertainly.

"As long as Uncle Taoist spares him, I am willing to serve Uncle Taoist like an ox or a horse to repay this great kindness!" At that moment, a little girl also ran out, hugged the young boy, and wept bitterly...

Seeing this scene, Qiu Zhiqing felt a stifling sensation in his chest, plagued by the guilt of bullying a child! Then, seemingly recalling something, he still asked with some displeasure, "Do you know who he is and how many evil deeds he has committed?"

At this point, Zhang Lu also fished out the memory of this child from the vast sea of his mind. This child and his younger sister were the ones he had rescued from the blades of the Mongols last year when he was accompanying the army on an expedition to Weizhou.

The reason he had taken notice of the boy back then was precisely because of the unyielding and resolute spirit in the child's eyes. In his mind, this should be another usable piece for his family after he achieved future glory and success!

He had never expected that, in such a life-or-side-death situation, the boy would actually stand up and speak for him. For a moment, he did not know what expression to make. He wanted to tell the boy to step back, but he had not even asked the child's name...

Zhang Lu ultimately stammered, "Child, step back. This is not something you should get involved in!" It was unclear whether it was out of gratitude, or the old saying that a person's words are benevolent as they approach death, or perhaps he had truly experienced a sudden awakening of his conscience...

While comforting the little girl, the young boy replied, "I don't know what good and evil are! I only know that those who killed my family are evil, and those who want to kill me are evil. He saved me, so he is good. You want to kill him and destroy our peaceful life, which makes you evil! Kill me instead; I will use my life to trade for his..."

Qiu Zhiqing was left speechless. He did not know how to explain these principles to a child of about ten years old. This simplistic view of good and evil left him unable to refute: "Do you know what you will face in the future?"

"My mother told me that only by surviving today are we qualified to talk about tomorrow!" With that, he glanced at Zhang Lu again before continuing, "I know he saved us with an ulterior motive, but if you kill him, we won't have a tomorrow. Besides, a life-saving grace cannot go unrepaid!"

Qiu Zhiqing's expression shifted as he asked Zhang Lu, "What position do you hold among the Mongols? Have you slaughtered Han civilians?"

Zhang Lu's face stiffened. The moment Qiu Zhiqing asked this final question, he understood why this fellow had wanted to beat and kill him. Yet, upon reflection, there was nothing left to hide.

Glancing at the child who had stepped forward to speak for him, Zhang Lu answered calmly, "Breaking through cities, pillaging, and slaughtering are unavoidable. The Jin army is like this, the Mongol army is like this, and the Song army is just as well! Since the end of the Tang dynasty, this has been the norm. However, I have never issued an order to pillage and slaughter. If these words are false, may I be trampled to death by ten thousand horses!"

"Very well. If I wish to change this norm, and even make the Mongol army accompanying you change this norm, can you do it?" This was not a question; if he could not, he would have no future either!

After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Lu replied, "My authority is limited, and I cannot guarantee it. I can only do my utmost..."

An inability to guarantee was normal. Had Zhang Lu agreed readily with full promises, Qiu Zhiqing would never have let him walk out of this door. Regarding this, Qiu Zhiqing had no better solution. People of this era, although possessing a strict distinction between Chinese and barbarians, nevertheless...

Qiu Zhiqing walked up to the boy, looked into his resolute eyes, and smiled, "It's fine. You are a good boy. Today you saved his life, and that life-saving grace is now settled. Have any interest in following this poor Taoist to cultivate the Dao?"

With that, he looked at the other children and asked, "Would Uncle take you all to a new place? You can eat your fill and dress warmly there! There, you can face the light directly!"

What did "facing the light directly" mean? They did not understand yet...

...

Beneath the setting sun, the afterglow of dusk cast its light upon the orange-yellow leaves, illuminating the deep-autumn Qinling Mountains in a brilliant golden hue! Amidst this golden scenery, a black line was moving along the mountainside.

Zooming in on the view, it was a team of people walking through a dense forest, with the leader holding a long sword, clearing the path ahead.

The sword is the ruler of a hundred weapons! Yet at this moment, the ruler of a hundred weapons did not look scholarly at all; rather, to the surrounding vegetation, it appeared somewhat ferocious! "Swish—" With a sweep of sword Qi, the branches blocking the way fell in a flurry, their cut ends neat...

"I say, Qigong, is this direction even correct? We've been walking for a whole day now..."

"Almost there, almost there! Just ahead is Lantian!"

"You've said that several times already..."

Hong Qigong had a little girl perched on his head and decided he didn't want to speak anymore...

"My master said that this humble Daoist has low fortune and should engage in fewer acts of slaughter!"

"This old beggar didn't say anything to you. What are you feeling guilty about?"

...

By the dusk of the second day, outside the gates of the Chongyang Palace on Mount Zhongnan, a large crowd of disciples had gathered. Yin Zhiping separated himself from the disciples and walked out, looking at the children stepping down from several large carriages...

Yin Zhiping asked in confusion, "Junior Brother Qiu, didn't you go down the mountain? What is going on here? And what's the situation with these children?"

"Don't ask yet. Notify the dining hall to prepare extra dinner!" With that, he looked at Chen Zhiyi and said, "If these children are willing to enter the Daoist gate in the future, they will be fourth-generation disciples of Quanzhen. You and Senior Brother Cui must instruct them well, Junior Brother!"

Chen Zhiyi and Cui Zhifang nodded in agreement. Only then did Qiu Zhiqing remember that he had been issuing commands the moment he returned without even introducing their guest!

"Come! This is the Nine-Fingered Divine Beggar Hong Qigong, Senior Senior Hong! He has already stepped down from the position of sect leader to roam the four seas freely. By a fortunate coincidence, I ran into him and invited him to visit our Chongyang Palace."

"Greetings, Senior Senior Hong!" The Quanzhen disciples present bowed in unison! Though few in number, their spirit was far stronger than that of the Beggar Sect disciples!

After settling the children—there were twenty-four in total, though four did not follow because they were Zhang Lu's sons—Qiu Zhiqing led Qigong into the Chongyang Palace. The on-duty disciples removed the prayer mats, set up tables and chairs, and everyone took their seats according to rank.

Only then did Qiu Zhiqing say apologetically to Yin Zhiping, "Well, Senior Brother Yin, I owe Qigong a few good meals. Have the dining hall prepare something nice tonight to welcome those children!"

Then, turning to Hong Qigong, he said somewhat awkwardly, "Qigong, as you can see, until these children are properly settled, this junior temporarily cannot accompany you to Bianjing. Would you mind staying at the Chongyang Palace for a few days?"

The fellow disciples looked at Qiu Zhiqing in astonishment. Why did he seem somewhat in the wrong today?

Qiu Zhiqing was naturally in the wrong. Could a debtor face his creditor without feeling in the wrong?

"That's fine, I suppose. The old beggar is homeless anyway, so staying in your Chongyang Palace for a few days is no problem at all! But how come there are only you juniors here? Where are Qiu Chuji and the others?"

Qiu Zhiqing did not want to speak and signaled for Yin Zhiping to explain. Yin Zhiping had no choice but to say helplessly, "Master and several senior elders have all gone traveling, and currently only the Sect Master is in seclusion within the sect!"

...

The next day, Hong Qigong rose early, only to find that Qiu Zhiqing had already led the Quanzhen disciples through their morning lessons and was heading to breakfast. Following breakfast, Qiu Zhiqing invited Hong Qigong to offer some guidance to them...

Hong Qigong readily agreed. He initially thought that this young fellow Qiu Zhiqing was itching for a fight and intended to use the pretext of guidance to properly educate this youth so he would stop causing trouble for others!

However, upon reaching the martial arts practice field, Hong Qigong discovered to his surprise that what Qiu Zhiqing wanted him to guide was not himself, but rather the Tiangang Big Dipper Sword Array...

Qiu Zhiqing carried a long sword on his back, his hands tucked into his sleeves, with a horsetail whisk slanted across his right arm. Below him, Yin Zhiping and six others formed the Tiangang Big Dipper Array, surrounding Hong Qigong. This was precisely one of the array's variations—The Dipper Turning and Stars Shifting!

Hong Qigong countered with his self-created Carefree Wandering Palm technique. Once the seven-person array formed, their internal energies connected. They frequently practiced the Dipper Array against Qiu Zhiqing in their usual training! As mentioned previously, the crux of The Dipper Turning and Stars Shifting was that the person at the Tiquan position had to be strong enough to withstand the attacks of the person trapped within the array!

Qigong's Carefree Wandering Palm technique pushed the concept of "carefree" to its absolute limits. Yet very soon, Qigong realized that relying solely on the Carefree Wandering Palm was insufficient to break the array, prompting him to switch to the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms...

At this, although Yin Zhiping at the Tiquan position was bolstered by the internal energy of his fellow disciples, he still could not withstand Hong Qigong's formidable palm force...

"The Seven Stars Sway and Fall!" Yin Zhiping, struggling to hold on, shouted urgently, shifting the array from "The Dipper Turning and Stars Shifting" to "The Seven Stars Sway and Fall," which allowed him at the Tiquan position to better mobilize the internal energy of the entire array...