Chapter 63: Heading North to Tai'an
Actually, Qiu Zhiqing was somewhat curious whether the master and her two disciples were all incapable of cooking. Just looking at Li Mochou, one could tell she definitely did not know how to cook.
Hearing her say this now, it seemed her master couldn't cook either. Qiu Zhiqing asked curiously, "Then if one day your Granny goes... descends the mountain and doesn't return, what would your master and junior sister do?"
Li Mochou gave Qiu Zhiqing a disgruntled glare. She found that lately it felt more and more like her childhood days, always liking to glare at this stinky Daoist priest, yet his words were truly infuriating. If not for considerations regarding their martial arts levels, she would have sewn his mouth shut long ago!
Had Qiu Zhiqing known her thoughts, he would have definitely told her to wake up, as she didn't know how to do needlework at all.
"I don't know. She has no interest in learning either. Even if Granny leaves, since Master is so partial to the little junior sister, she would surely have to learn how to cook!" One could hear a hint of resentment in Li Mochou's words.
Although Qiu Zhiqing knew the little junior sister she spoke of was most likely the young girl he had picked up the first time he descended the mountain years ago, he still asked curiously, "I remember you once told us that your master only had you as a disciple, didn't you?"
Who would have thought that upon hearing this, a mist of tears would well up in Li Mochou's eyes. Qiu Zhiqing loathed seeing this the most—no, to be precise, most compatriots could hardly resist the tears of a beauty.
"Fine, fine, fine. If we don't eat now, the food will get cold. Let's eat first, let's eat!" Qiu Zhiqing was not very good at comforting people; otherwise, this would have been a prime opportunity to warm someone's heart!
It must be said that, apart from those sorrowful past events, this New Year's Eve dinner was still enjoyed quite happily!
...
Watching Li Mochou depart, Qiu Zhiqing tidied up the bowls and chopsticks and went alone onto the boat to look at the stars. The night fell early, and the sun had already set in the west. He sat cross-legged at the bow, rising and falling with the waves.
Amidst the up-and-down swaying, Qiu Zhiqing slowly began to sense the wind, the water, and to capture that elusive, ethereal rhythm! Ever since he was fished out of the water by Li Mochou that day, he found that every few days he would have that dream.
Originally, ever since he attained the state of meditation, he basically stopped dreaming altogether. Yet that dream was not only vivid, but profoundly real! Even when he gradually realized it was a dream, he still could not wake up...
In the beginning, it was still that fish nearly devoured by a large fish, and eventually that butterfly transforming into a Daoist scripture. Yet the process varied each time, encompassing not only the worlds he knew of, but also one bizarre and kaleidoscopic world after another that he did not know...
As he experienced that dream every few days, it significantly advanced his Dao realm. He figured that in a few more years, he should be able to enter the third Dao realm—the wandering spirit realm, commonly known as nocturnal wandering and diurnal wandering.
However, within the Quanzhen tradition, the third Dao realm is called the Yin Spirit! Moreover, Quanzhen does not advocate for spirit wandering; when the spirit is complete, the vital energy is sufficient, but wandering the spirit leads to depleted energy, and depleted energy leads to mental fatigue!
It is best to directly refine away the Yin dregs to achieve the Yang Spirit. The Yin dregs are not wasted either; integrated into the true qi, they will cause the true qi to become purer, more condensed, and thus more easily controlled at will...
Silently sensing the rhythm of life—the fish and shrimp in the water, and that life approaching from not far away—its life aura was dozens, even hundreds of times stronger than the swimming fish in the water or the birds in the sky!
As it turned out, sometimes one could perceive that unique perspective even without the spirit leaving the body. It was truly intoxicating. At this moment, he somewhat understood those people who were so obsessed with certain things that they could not extricate themselves; they were all seekers of the Dao as well...
Li Mochou arrived at the riverbank and leapt gracefully to the bow of the boat, her footsteps as light as clouds obscuring the moon or swirling snow caught in a gentle breeze. Lu Xun once said: humans are social creatures with social needs, and everyone yearns to be understood!
Whether Lu Xun would admit it or not, right now Li Mochou very much wanted to find someone to pour her heart out to. She had no friends, and not even a few acquaintances. In her original world, there was only her master and Granny.
Later, she encountered three young Daoists who sneaked into the mountain to steal food—the very type of Daoists most detested by her master: Quanzhen Daoists! They were most adept at breaking faith and utterly devoid of sentiment or righteousness.
Hearing this, Qiu Zhiqing instinctively formed a hand seal. Don't misunderstand; he just wanted some peace and quiet! He knew that at this moment there was no need to say anything; he just needed to keep his ears open and his mouth sewn shut!
To be fair, Li Mochou's voice was truly pleasant to listen to. Her words could serve as background music for his contemplation of nature!
Completely oblivious to the fact that she was having a two-way conversation, Li Mochou continued to softly recount her past, having no desire for any response from Qiu Zhiqing.
She simply felt an inexplicable urge to pour out her heart, even if the listener were only the wind, it did not matter. Perhaps the gentle breeze could just carry away her sorrows?
She discovered that the three young Daoists in her master's words were not as terrifying as her master made them out to be. They wrestled, they caught fish, but why did they have to kill the bunnies? Bunnies were so cute...
It was also the first time she learned that cute bunnies could taste so delicious when eaten! Yet her master was right; those Daoists truly weren't good people, as they even wanted her honey before leaving.
In your dreams!
Unless you exchange something for it...
Thus, she made three little companions on the mountain. Until one day, her master told her that she had grown up and could no longer play with them.
Moreover, she was locked inside the Ancient Tomb, sitting on cold blocks of ice to practice martial arts. She concluded that her master must no longer like her, which was why her freedom was restricted!
Sure enough, not long after, her master brought back a baby girl from outside. Because it was the Year of the Dragon and there was a dragon-shaped jade pendant in her swaddling clothes, she was named "Long'er"! Later, as little Long'er slowly grew up, just as she had expected, her master no longer liked her.
Her eyes held only Long'er, though Long'er was indeed quite cute, albeit rather mischievous...
That year, she met a perfect man—confident, cultured, and with a voice far more pleasant than those three young Daoists...
She originally thought she could spend her entire life with this man in the Ancient Tomb, but who could have imagined that he would leave and never return! Ignoring her master's obstruction, down the mountain she went to find him, wishing to bid farewell to the three young Daoists before leaving.
Never did she expect that a momentary impulse to have Qiu Zhiqing read a fortune for her would result in some sort of "void and perished" hex—just hearing it sounded like bad news!
Sure enough, this unlucky hex made her subsequent years quite wretched, with everything going against her and not a single decent person met along the way!
Just as she intended to flee back to the Ancient Tomb, she spotted a "floating corpse" in the canal near Bianliang. Seeing that his horsetail whisk looked fine, she thought of taking it for her own use. Who would have known that upon closer inspection, it was none other than this Daoist Qiu Zhiqing...
...
She rambled on for a long time, from the countless acts of kindness her master showed her in her childhood, to the scoundrels she later encountered in the pugilistic world who tried to take advantage of her...
Even down to how she obtained the *Secret Biography of the Five Poisons*, how she matched wits with Ouyang Feng, and so on. Although she spoke a lot and for a long time, it was as if she were recounting someone else's story, completely unrelated to herself.
Midnight had passed. The fifth year of Shaoding in the Song dynasty, the first day of the Lunar New Year, had arrived!
At the end, Li Mochou sighed, "Love arises from nowhere, yet grows deep; love knows no end, yet withers into nothingness!" (This was from the Ming dynasty and didn't exist at this time, but let's allow a temporal crossover.)
At this moment, Qiu Zhiqing felt that he truly ought to comfort her, for she was indeed quite pitiful. Comparatively speaking, his own "unattainable desires" from his past life amounted to almost nothing.
However, after holding back for a long time without knowing what to say, Qiu Zhiqing blurted out, "Love arises from nowhere, growing deep at first, waning at second, and exhausted at third..."
...
Time flew by, and another half-month passed. The Lantern Festival had already gone by. Looking at Li Mochou on the boat, Qiu Zhiqing asked curiously, "Leaving at a time like this, is there really no problem?"
The boat departed, and a voice drifted back on the wind: "No matter. The one-and-a-half-month time limit has passed, and Ouyang Feng can no longer track me."
"Hey~~ Do you have anywhere to go? If not, how about traveling together to Mount Tai?"
"The rivers... and lakes..."
In the end, both the boat and the voice vanished onto the surface of the lake!
Seeing Li Mochou off, he went back to tidy up his belongings. Looking at this somewhat comical thatched hut, he originally wanted to set it to flames, but thinking better of it, arson did not fit his persona, so he let it be.
Arriving at the lakeside, Qiu Zhiqing felt rather depressed. He realized he should have left with Li Mochou; otherwise, there was no boat now, and he had no money...
...
Another half-month passed. Wandering adrift, practicing medicine and curing the sick all along the way, Qiu Zhiqing finally arrived at Tai'an Prefecture at the foot of Mount Tai. According to Sun Bu'er's letter, the Quanjing Sect's residence had newly built a Yuanjun Temple next to Yaoguan Peak, dedicated to the Goddess Bixia Yuanjun!
However, he still needed to ask someone where it was specifically located.
He took a detour to tour the legendary Daimiao Temple, but unfortunately it had been burned down until only two halls and the outer walls remained, with no one managing the place inside. He had no choice but to take a hurried look around and then find a place to inquire about news!
To his surprise, as soon as he mentioned that he was going up the mountain to find members of the Quanjing Sect, a crowd gathered around him, trying to recruit him to join their faction!
As it turned out, these people were all troublemakers targeting the Quanjing Sect! This left Qiu Zhiqing somewhat dumbfounded. Since when had Quanzhen's reputation in the martial arts world plummeted so low? A whole group of martial artists looking to cause trouble for the Quanzhen Quanjing Sect?
After some communication, he finally learned that the trouble was mainly caused by the outer disciple system he had initiated! His system allowing outer disciple martial arts to be disseminated had smashed the rice bowls of these minor sects that relied on teaching disciples to make a living...