FVN Chapter 10 Going down the mountain
Chapter 10 Going down the mountain
Beneath the portrait of the patriarch in the main hall of Shenxiao Temple, four fellow disciples gathered together, looking at the letter in their hands. The aura emanating from them made the surroundings somewhat stuffy, so stuffy that even the birds fell silent.
The letter stated: "Master Chixiao is nearing the end of his life and has no face to face the ancestor. He must take advantage of his remaining years to go to the Western Paradise to kill the traitor Chen Ninghai and reclaim the secret talismans of our ancestors."
He hoped that after he left, his senior brother Wang Xuan, who had received the Thunder Ancestor's talisman, would take over the responsibilities of Shenxiao Temple and become the new abbot. As for the other disciples, they were to go down the mountain to seek their own opportunities.
After everyone in the main hall dispersed, Song Quyou returned to his room, and in a depressed mood, picked up the brush and ink on the table and went into the Green Pine Hutian.
Within the Pot Heaven, the lark transformed into a bird, preening its feathers in the clear pool water, splashing water droplets everywhere.
Holding paper and pen, Song Quyou lightly tiptoed across the pool and arrived at the ancient pine tree, before his desk.
Looking at the open book before him, and staring at the two techniques he had read countless times, he spread out a sheet of Xuan paper on the other side of the desk, dipped his brush in ink, and carefully copied them.
Copying the spells didn't take too long, since there were only two spells and relatively few words. Before long, three copies were made.
Song Quyou planned to give these three copies to his three senior brothers and sisters when he left, so as not to waste their years of teaching.
Once everything was ready, Song Quyou left Hutian, walked out of the temple, and came to the barren, leafless mountain forest.
In the mountains and forests, stepping on withered, dry leaves, he shouted, "Senior, may you show yourself?"
The autumn wind was howling, the sky was high and cold, and Song Quyou's shouts were tinged with a coldness that carried no warmth or echo.
"senior……"
They walked and called out, but there was no response.
Song Quyou exhaled white breath as he walked through the mountains and forests to the clear stream. He carefully examined every blue stone on the ground until he reached the place where the two had first met. A golden light suddenly entered his eyes.
Song Quyou stepped forward and saw a golden needle lying horizontally in front of a pile of broken stones on the blue stone. Beside it were small, vigorous characters that were three-tenths of an inch deep in the stone. The characters gradually faded from deep to shallow, and the writing became increasingly faint and weak, but fortunately, they could still be made out.
"May you always be as lush and beautiful as a spring tree, and may the old man smile in the afterlife."
Song Quyou felt as if his heart had been struck by a hammer. He picked up a blue stone from the ground that resembled a kind-smiling, hunched old man. It wasn't raining, but the blue stone in his hand was wet.
……
Two claps of thunder in one day, two showers of autumn rain.
……
Parting is always sudden. Song Quyou and his two companions bid farewell to their senior brother and left Xuantai Peak.
They sought shelter from the cold rain and wind in a leeward spot in the mountains.
Song Quyou, exhaling white breath and clutching a blue stone statue of an old man in his hand, looked up at his senior brothers and sisters who had changed their clothes and asked in confusion:
"Senior sisters and brothers, I have a question. The miscellaneous records in the temple say that our lineage's talisman and golden elixir path can lead to immortality and longevity. Why then does Master still have the saying that his lifespan will end?"
Second Senior Sister Su Tang was dressed in a brocade robe, with a jade hairpin in her hair, making her seem like someone from the misty Jiangnan region.
A delicate hand gently stroked the black cat, Heitan, in her arms. Its fur was as glossy as satin, and the reluctance to part between them was heartbreaking.
"After receiving the talisman, my master was registered in the Celestial Court. He could only ascend to heaven with his soul. After his lifespan ended, he became a Celestial Official of the Thunder Department of the Celestial Court, which can be considered as achieving immortality."
"Now that my senior brothers and sisters have cultivated the Thunder Core, can they become immortals?"
Fourth Senior Brother Xiao Zhuoguang, dressed in martial arts attire with a jeweled curved sword at his waist, took advantage of a break to unload the baggage from the plump donkey, allowing it to rest as well.
"My foolish junior brother, what are you thinking? Thunder pills are merely the catalyst for attracting lightning. How could they possibly grant immortality? After all, this is not a golden elixir. The methods for achieving immortality in the mortal realm have long been lost. Those old monsters who can live forever either possess some kind of magic to avoid disasters or use methods of concealment to deceive the underworld. Either way, they are just pitiful creatures clinging to life."
"I see."
Looking at Song Quyou's worried face, Su Tang suddenly said, "After you go down the mountain, it would be so much better for you to go to Jiangnan with me, Junior Brother. Why do you insist on returning to your heartless hometown?"
Song Quyou put away the old man statue in his hand, stood up and forced a smile, "As the saying goes, wealth and honor are not to be returned to one's hometown, like wearing brocade at night. Junior brother has learned a lot of skills, of course he has to go home and show them off."
Su Tang lowered her eyes and sighed softly, not exposing Song Quyou's true intentions, because she knew that her junior brother was not naturally so flamboyant.
Although I don't know why I'm going back, I'll leave it at that. After all, only when people have a sense of propriety can things last.
"Where is Fourth Senior Brother planning to go?"
Xiao Zhuoguang patted the precious sword at his waist and laughed loudly, "I plan to go to the Northern Plains to find a steed worthy of me. Then I will ride a horse with my sword at my side, galloping across the world, and I will make all the women in the world fall in love with me."
Song Quyou and Su Tang were amused by Xiao Zhuoguang, and their sorrow at parting was temporarily lessened.
Su Tang stepped forward and interrupted, "If Junior Brother's dream fails, come to Jiangnan. Senior Sister will help you find a Jiangnan woman so that my Fourth Junior Brother won't be unable to find a wife."
"Senior sister, you should help Junior Brother You find a wife. With Junior Brother's dull and dull nature, finding a wife is the most worrying thing."
Song Quyou didn't retort. He took out two booklets from his pocket and handed them to his senior sister and brother respectively.
"Senior sisters and senior brothers, I have obtained a predestined connection with immortality at Luoxian Mountain and learned two techniques: Tongyou and Hutian. Senior sisters and senior brothers, you may study them when you have nothing else to do, hoping to add some fun to your days."
Su Tang and Xiao Zhuoguang glanced at the booklet and then put it into their pockets.
"Then I'll accept it. If you ever encounter any difficulties in the future, come to Jiangnan. No matter what it is, I'll help you solve it."
"Your fourth senior brother is the same. Whenever you go north, just mention his name and put all your eating, drinking, and entertainment on his tab."
After the cold rain, the autumn mountains appeared even more desolate. The three disciples bid each other farewell and went their separate ways.
Song Quyou, sword in hand, walked along the ancient mountain path, the wind swirling beneath his feet. A small crimson sparrow perched on his shoulder, chirping and adding a touch of liveliness to the otherwise desolate journey.
The mountain stream meanders, the ancient road winds. A wisp of smoke stands out against the cloudless sky.
Song Quyou looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was approaching dusk, so he decided to stay the night.
Before we even reached the mountain village, we heard a chorus of curses and barking dogs.
"You short-lived, brainless brat! Stealing from your own grandfather? Look at your shifty eyes, you deserve to never eat four dishes in your entire life! I'll chop off your paws and feed them to the dogs..."
After going around the hill, we finally saw what had happened.
An old man holding a rake, with a strong white dog not far in front of him, confronts and curses a one-legged monster hiding in a black robe on the hillside.
The strange man clutched the jar tightly to his chest, his remaining legs unusually thick and strong.
Song Quyou sensed something was wrong, stared intently at the strange man, and quickly ran closer.
As the distance closed, Song Quyou recognized the strange man: short, with one leg and backward-facing heels, he was no different from a mountain demon.
The old man continued to curse, and his curses became increasingly vulgar, including those directed at his ancestors for eighteen generations and all the women in his household.
The mandrill exhaled two puffs of white breath from its nose, and the hair on its arms, which were holding the jar, stood up like sharp needles.
Perhaps unable to bear the humiliation, he raised the jar with his long arms and slammed it down on the old man. Then, in a fit of anger, he leaped high over the hillside and disappeared without a trace.
The jar flew through the air, and the old man tried to dodge it, but the jar seemed to have eyes and kept following him.
The old man was shocked, but fortunately he sat on the ground, closed his eyes, and resigned himself to his fate.
suddenly.
A streak of blue light flashed through the air as an incredibly fast sword appeared before him, deflecting the flying jar with a steady hand. Then a young voice rang out, asking, "Are you alright, sir?"