bookbashuk Page 33
Page 33
"That feeling is less like a pull and more like a 'resonance'. It doesn't clearly point you in a direction, but is more like a compass with a constantly swinging pointer that you need to calibrate yourself."
"You need to have extremely high patience, extremely keen perception, and the deepest understanding of 'Qi' in order to gradually eliminate wrong directions and narrow down the scope under its guidance."
"In order to find this place, I wandered around the Qinling Mountains like a headless fly for more than a month before finally narrowing down the search to this area."
"Only with this Cave Heaven Ring can one sense the entrance. Otherwise, even searching for a hundred years will be in vain."
After listening to Wugensheng's story, Zhang Yunyuan slowly took the ring off his hand and returned it to him.
He finally understood it completely.
No wonder I didn't sense anything about this place when I was outside the mountains.
No wonder these twenty-four grains have been hidden in the world for countless years, yet have never been discovered by outsiders.
To find this place, several extremely demanding conditions must be met simultaneously.
First, you need to have the opportunity to find another secret realm that is at least at the level of a "grotto-heaven".
Secondly, you need extraordinary abilities to survive the killing formation in that secret realm.
Secondly, you need incredible luck to find this unique "Cave Heaven Ring" inside.
Finally, you also need to possess Wugensheng's abnormal perception of "Qi" and enough patience to find the only entrance in the vast Qinling Mountains based on the ring's faint, almost negligible resonance.
If any link in this chain goes wrong, we will miss out on this opportunity.
It seems that this Cave Heaven Ring is the only key that can truly sense and qualify one to enter this Twenty-Four Solar Terms Valley.
As Zhang Yunyuan watched Wugensheng put the ring back on his hand, a deep thought, unnoticed by anyone, flashed in his clear eyes.
Chapter 37 Born without roots, how can one have a home?
The two found a sheltered spot under a rocky cliff and lit a small campfire.
The flames flickered, their orange light reflecting on their faces, dispelling the chill of the deep night in the valley, and creating a small, peaceful island in this eerie fairyland.
Wugensheng took out two dry, hard steamed buns from his bag, broke one in half and handed it to Zhang Yunyuan, while he took the other half and ate it in small bites with the stream water.
Zhang Yunyuan took it and ate it silently, but his gaze remained fixed on Wugensheng's face, which was flickering in and out of focus in the firelight.
"Your name is very interesting."
Zhang Yunyuan suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
"No roots."
Wugensheng paused in his eating of the steamed bun, then burst into laughter, the sound echoing in the quiet valley.
"Really? I think it's quite interesting too."
He took a sip of water, swallowed the dry food in his mouth, leaned against the stone wall behind him, put his arms behind his head, and looked at the narrow strip of starry sky cut out by the cliff above him.
"I was born under a dead, crooked tree."
His tone was calm, as if he were telling a story that had nothing to do with him.
“The old Taoist priest who adopted me said that my mother died after giving birth to me. When he passed by, he only saw a woman who had just died and an infant crying loudly in her arms.”
"Nobody knows who my mother is or where she came from. And nobody knows who my father is either."
"The old Taoist priest said that my fate is like that of a duckweed, drifting wherever it may, without any roots from birth."
He smiled to himself.
"So, that's the nickname he gave me."
Zhang Yunyuan listened quietly without interrupting.
He could sense that beneath Wugensheng's seemingly carefree tone when he spoke of this past event lay a deep loneliness that even he himself was unaware of.
"Later, when I grew a bit older, I thought the name was good, so I just kept using it."
Wugensheng picked up the steamed bun again and took a bite, his eyes filled with a hint of cynical smugness.
"Being rootless is good too. Unburdened and carefree, I can go wherever I want and do whatever I want without being bound by those so-called sects, families, and rules."
"Look at this world, how many people want the freedom I have, but they can't have it?"
As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Zhang Yunyuan, a hint of inquiry in his eyes.
"Yun Yuan, tell me, am I a born Quanxing?"
Zhang Yunyuan shook his head.
"you are not."
His answer was straightforward.
"Oh?" Wugensheng raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "What makes you say that?"
"Most people of the Quanxing sect fall into two categories. One type is vicious and ruthless, finding pleasure in satisfying their own selfish desires. The other type is cynical and misanthropic, wanting to break all the rules."
Zhang Yunyuan looked at him with clear eyes.
"You don't seem to fit either of those descriptions."
"You're just looking for an answer."
The smile on Wugensheng's face slowly faded after hearing those words.
He fell silent, turned back, and continued to look at the flickering flames, his gaze becoming somewhat distant.
After a long pause, he spoke in a low voice, his tone carrying a complex and unfathomable emotion.
"A true friend..."
He sighed softly.
"I've traveled all over the country for so many years, and I've met more people than you've eaten salt. All sorts of people, from all walks of life, but no one can see right through what's hidden in my heart like you do."
He paused, as if he had made up his mind, and then suddenly laughed again. But this time, his smile was no longer so carefree; instead, it carried a hint of warmth.
"Very well, since we are close friends, if I keep some things from you, it would make me, Wugensheng, seem less than open and honest."
He sat up straight, his expression becoming more solemn than ever before.
"My real name is not Wugensheng."
"My name is Feng Yao."
“曜 means light. The light of the sun, moon and stars is all called 曜.”
“My old Taoist master, surnamed Feng, gave me this name. He said that I could open my eyes and see people as soon as I was born, and my eyes were bright and piercing.”
Wugensheng, Feng Yao.
Zhang Yunyuan silently recited the name in his heart.
This was the first time he had heard Wugensheng reveal his real name to an outsider.
This trust is incredibly profound.
"I don't really have any formal teacher. That old Taoist Feng is very skilled in scriptures and rituals, but he knows nothing about Qi cultivation methods."
My methods, so powerful and effective, weren't taught to me by my master; I figured them out myself. Do you believe me?
As Wugensheng spoke, he pointed to his forehead: "Right here."
"I am naturally able to enter a meditative state. I don't need to be in a state of mental focus. As long as I want to calm down, distracting thoughts will automatically disappear."
"Soon after, I discovered that I had acquired Qi. As I grew up, I realized that my Qi could help to restore other people's Qi to its original state."
Wugensheng smiled and said, "This is the origin of my methods."
Zhang Yunyuan said, "I have to say, it sounds like it was made up. It's unbelievable that you figured out such an amazing method on your own."
He paused, then said seriously, "However, I believe it."
A hint of emotion flashed in Wugensheng's eyes.
"And one more thing."
Wugensheng looked at Zhang Yunyuan, a hint of tenderness flashing in his eyes—a gentle light that Zhang Yunyuan had never seen on his face before, almost like that of a loving father.
“I often tell people that I have no roots, no descendants, and no attachments.”
"Actually, it's a lie."
He took a deep breath and lowered his voice, as if he were sharing a huge secret.
“I am not really ‘childless’.”
“I…already have a daughter.”
"This year, it just turned four years old."
This news struck Zhang Yunyuan like a thunderbolt.
He knew that Wugensheng had descendants, but he never expected that he would tell him this in person at this moment, in this way.
A four-year-old daughter.
These five words instantly overturned everything that the name "Wugensheng" represented.
He is not truly rootless.
His roots lie in that four-year-old daughter.
Looking at the man in front of him, Zhang Yunyuan suddenly understood many things.
He understood why Wugensheng had to wander the world, explore so many secret realms, and search for the so-called "answer".
Perhaps he wasn't doing it for himself, but rather to find a future for his daughter, a future where she wouldn't have to live a life "rootless" like him.
He also understood why Wugensheng, despite being a member of the Quanxing sect, always kept his distance from the real villains.
Because he is a father.
No matter what, a father will always want to leave a clean and safe environment for his children.
"What's her name?"
Zhang Yunyuan asked softly.
A genuine and incredibly gentle smile appeared on Wugensheng's face.