The next day, a pillar rose to the sky!
“Heh, drain my flesh, grind my marrow?” Lu Zheng sneered. “Jade Seal! Enhance!”
“Buzz!”
Consuming a few strands of fortune’s light, Lu Zheng’s vitality and true energy surged significantly. “Let’s see you try to drain me now. Even if Daji herself came, I’d still bring her down!”
…
“Young Master Lu, you’re awake. This way, please. Wash up, breakfast is ready in the front hall.”
Opening the door, Lu Zheng saw Huangfu Ning waiting in the courtyard, greeting him with a smile. “Master Guangyue is already up and just went over.”
“Good, thank you, cousin,” Lu Zheng nodded. “Cousin, no need to call me young master. Just call me Lu Lang.”
“Alright, alright!” Huangfu Ning’s smile widened. With Lu Zheng’s change in address, he couldn’t remain distant. “Come quickly, Lu Lang. The matriarch wants to ask more about Aunt and Qingyan.”
Lu Zheng nodded, washed up in a bronze basin prepared in the courtyard, then headed to the front hall. There, he saw Guangyue sitting upright at the table, breakfast before him, chopsticks untouched.
“Master, you haven’t eaten?” Lu Zheng asked, surprised.
Guangyue shook his head. “Waiting for you, Taoist brother.”
Lu Zheng blinked. The monk was quite polite… except…
“After a night of quiet cultivation, don’t you feel better, your cultivation refined, your mind clearer?” Guangyue asked earnestly.
“No,” Lu Zheng said flatly. “Just felt stifled, not used to it.”
“No matter, you’ll get used to it,” Guangyue nodded.
Lu Zheng: 눈_눈
Ignoring him, Lu Zheng greeted the matriarch, then invited Huangfu Ru and Huangfu Ning to sit, and they discussed the Liu family’s affairs in Tonglin County.
…
“So, the Liu family is doing well in Tonglin County. You can rest assured,” Lu Zheng said. “Now that Leng Jian is dead, we can visit each other more often. If you wish, you could even move to Tonglin County.”
The matriarch shook her head. “No, it’s hard to leave one’s homeland. We’re settled here. Besides, with Leng Jian gone, few around Wanfu County can bully us now.”
Lu Zheng nodded. The matriarch was old, her vitality waning, her three treasures imbalanced, unfit for prolonged combat. But Huangfu Ru’s cultivation was decent, stronger than Huang Jing’er, and the Huangfu family’s numbers posed a threat when united.
“Alright, when I return, I’ll have Cousin Ning come back first,” Lu Zheng said.
…
After breakfast, Lu Zheng didn’t linger and took his leave.
Guangyue followed. The two left the Huangfu manor, one behind the other, exiting the mountain outskirts and reaching the main road. They traveled swiftly, soon arriving at a fork.
“I’m heading home. Where’s the Master going?” Lu Zheng asked, cupping his hands, implying they part ways.
Guangyue shook his head. “This poor monk wanders, coming from nowhere, going nowhere, with no fixed abode, following my heart.”
Lu Zheng blinked. What’s that supposed to mean?
Guangyue advised again, “Taoist brother, with your youth, rare talent, and profound cultivation, you’re blessed by heaven. Focus on your path, don’t cling to worldly desires or trivial matters.”
“I understand, thank you for the advice. I’ll consider it,” Lu Zheng nodded, cupping his hands in farewell. “I’ll take my leave, Master. Until we meet again!”
…
“Master?”
Lu Zheng turned, stunned, seeing Guangyue striding swiftly behind him.
“Amitabha!”
Guangyue chanted, nodding with a smile. “This poor monk wanders and, having fate with you, will accompany you for a stretch.”
Lu Zheng: ???
“Taoist brother, you met that fox girl in the mundane world, neither knowing the other’s depths, yet feelings grew. I know blunt advice won’t work,” Guangyue said perceptively.
“Then you…”
“Since we’ve nothing else on this journey, let me recite some scriptures for you,” Guangyue said, not waiting for refusal, and began chanting, “Contemplate freely, practice deep wisdom, see the five aggregates as empty, transcend all suffering…”
Damn it!
Are you trying to convert me?
“Master, I’m a Taoist, not interested in Buddhist scriptures…” Lu Zheng grumbled. “Chanting like that makes me want to sleep…”
As he spoke, Lu Zheng sped up, dashing forward.
“Taoist brother, your cultivation is shallow, your mind not yet firm, still clinging to mundane feelings,” Guangyue advised. “When your mind deepens, you’ll see the vastness of the world, and personal love is but fleeting clouds.
“End it now, for both your sakes. Otherwise, when you awaken later, if your feelings run too deep, it could breed inner demons, causing great harm. I’m saying this for your good.”
“That’s the path I’ve chosen,” Lu Zheng replied.
“Why be so stubborn?” Guangyue shook his head. “Fine, I’ll step back further. Travel with me, wander the world. If, after three years, you still can’t forget her, it’s not too late.”
Lu Zheng: ???
Damn it!
That’s your idea of stepping back?
“Master, no need to say more. I don’t want to travel with you,” Lu Zheng said, gritting his teeth.
“Amitabha!” Guangyue chanted, then saw Lu Zheng dart down a side path.
“Hm?” Guangyue’s eyes flashed with divine light, seeing Lu Zheng’s figure vanish while his true self continued on the main road.
“Taoist brother, if you hadn’t shown your illusion yesterday, I might’ve fallen for it today,” Guangyue said, catching up. “With a century of cultivation, why stay confined to one county? Join me, travel, broaden your horizons, how about it?”
“Master, if you keep this up, I’ll have to act!” Lu Zheng warned.
“Taoist brother, I only wish to keep a talent like you from falling,” Guangyue said. “A spar could be good. If we travel together, we’d be more effective against demons.”
“Who the hell’s traveling with you!”
Lu Zheng couldn’t hold back, throwing a punch—the first move of the Mountain-Bearing Eighteen Forms, lunging fist!
“Taoist brother, you’re a dual cultivator of Taoism and martial arts!” Guangyue, surprised and delighted, met the punch with his own.
“Bang!”
Lu Zheng stepped back, twisted, and jabbed two fingers from his side, white clouds of energy coiling toward Guangyue.
“Amitabha!”
Guangyue spun his staff, dispersing the clouds, his eyes gleaming as he struck with a palm. A golden swastika symbol shone, carrying soul-shaking power, pressing toward Lu Zheng.
“Well met!”
Lu Zheng activated the Nine Heavens Golden Palace True Transformation Method, one hand casting the Golden Radiance Curse, the other channeling vitality for a Mountain-Bearing Fist.
“Bang!”
Lu Zheng stood firm; Guangyue retreated three steps.
