Lanke Chess Edge

Chapter 377: Divining the Calligraphy Characters

Ji Yuan was naturally paying attention to the monster Niu Batian, but he felt that the bull’s current state was actually quite good. Although he seemed unreliable, he had cultivated his skills to such and extent that it was clear he had no shortage of talent and diligence.The so-called “immortal guidance” was just wishful thinking on the Old Bull’s part. In reality, he had neither encountered any bottlenecks nor did he have any mental blocks. He was content with cultivating and living peacefully. He was happy to go to the red-light district with a little money. Ji Yuan couldn’t say what guidance he could even give such a monster.

In the summer of the year of Wuxu,1 Ji Yuan would definitely be attending the Cultivator’s Grand Assembly held at Jiufeng Mountain, the Immortal Land of Heng Province in the Northern Continent. However, getting there was a problem.

On one hand, he was unfamiliar with the routes, and on the other, going alone might be awkward, and it might lead to some confusion. The safest approach was to take a suitable realm-crossing ferry and then go with someone he knew.

Ji Yuan had already thought this through. He could easily go with the people from Yuhuai Mountain. After all, Yuhuai Mountain was no ordinary small sect; they were powerful and influential, and would certainly be able to attend the Cultivator’s Grand Assembly.

Moreover, Ji Yuan estimated that there were still several years to go before Yuhuai Mountain would set off for the Assembly. No matter how far Heng Province in the Northern Continent was, it would take several months to reach it by realm-crossing ferry.

However, for now, Ji Yuan would first head back to Dazhen and find Taoist Qingsong at Cloud Mountain Temple, to see if the man could help him divine where the characters on the “Sword Intent Inscription” had gone, and also check on Qin Zizhou.

…

Yun Mountain in Bing Province was still the most famous mountain of Dongle County it had always been, known for its magnificent sea of ​​clouds. Of course, its fame was only great in the surrounding prefecture, and the surrounding regions did not have as many mountains as Bing Province.

Bing Province, located at the heart of the Central Plains of the country of Dazhen, was situated at the center of a vast plain. Although not as cold as the north, the temperature fluctuated considerably. While other regions might still sweltering as if it were midsummer, Bing Province was already experiencing a cool breeze. Spring and autumn were the most comfortable seasons in Bing Province.

That morning, the mountains were shrouded in mist, and Qin Zizhou had already risen, and had already moved to the courtyard and begun practicing the health-preserving closed-palm routine had had been passed down in Cloud Mountain Temple.

Now, Qin Zizhou’s appearance was completely different from his former self, with white hair, white eyebrows, and a completely changed physique. Although he appeared to be a completely different person than he was in life, he was still the same Doctor Qin. Although his current divine yang body made him completely immune to disease, he was still quite interested in this set of health-preserving closed-palm techniques, and even finding it to be quite profound.

Take Taoist Qingsong, for example: the head of Cloud Mountain Temple was still alive today largely due to this set of health-preserving exercises.2

It was just before dawn. Taoist Qingsong was still fast asleep. Qi Wen, who needed to urinate, opened the door, only to find Qin Zizhou already practicing his closed-palm techniques. He couldn’t help but speak.

“Grandpa Qin, you’re so diligent!”

“Haha, good morning, young Taoist Qingyuan.”

Qin Zizhou replied, but his hands didn’t stop moving.

Cloud Mountain Temple only bestowed Taoist names upon adulthood. Qingyuan was Qi Wen’s current Taoist name, while Qin Zizhou was still Qin Zizhou. After all, even if Taoist Qingsong had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn’t dare to accept Old Qin as a disciple, so he was only nominally a disciple of Cloud Mountain Temple.

To be honest, this also relieved Qi Wen. After all, if his master really took such an old man as his disciple, wouldn’t he have to call him Junior Brother Qin, according to the principle of seniority by experience?

As Qi Wen hurriedly ran towards the outhouse, Qin Zizhou, who was still practicing his techniques, suddenly changed his expression. His movements stopped, and he leapt into the air, his celestial power drawing spiritual energy upwards.

When Qi Wen returned from the outhouse, he found that Qin Zizhou was no longer in the yard, which was quite puzzling. He didn’t know if the old man had gone back to his room to sleep, or what?

Meanwhile, on Yanxia Peak, Qin Zizhou landed at the summit and looked at the white-robed man standing on the rock, gazing out at the sea of ​​clouds. After confirming that it was indeed the man he was thinking of, he quickly bowed and greeted him.

“Greetings, Mr. Ji!”

Ji Yuan snapped out of his daze and turned to return the greeting.

“Mr. Qin, are you settling in comfortably at Cloud Mountain Temple?”

“Haha, what discomfort could there possibly be? I was busy my whole previous life; now I enjoy a leisurely existence, gathering Qi and cultivating myself under the guidance of the stars. It’s quite enjoyable.”

Ji Yuan laughed.

“I thought you would be too busy and would go down the mountain too often to treat people and save lives.”

Healing the sick and saving lives was certainly a good thing, and Ji Yuan wouldn’t object to it. However, Qin Zizhou had the potential to become a wandering god in the future, so cultivation should naturally be a greater focus for him. Healing one person could save a hundred; cultivating would save countless others in the future. Seeing Qin Zizhou’s attitude, Ji Yuan felt more at ease.

“I understand the reasoning, and I will certainly not let you and the Dragon Lord down. Besides, Cloud Mountain Temple is not short of patients, it’s just that their ailments are rather limited.”

Qin Zizhou spoke in a serious tone, which made Ji Yuan pause. Could it be that Qin Zizhou’s reputation had spread down the mountain, causing people to come up the mountain for medical treatment?

“Limited ailments?”

Qin Zizhou smiled when he heard Ji Yuan’s question.

“Yes, we can gather some herbs to make ointments, and mostly treat injuries like sprains and bruises.”

Indeed, Ji Yuan now understood, and couldn’t help but smile.

“It seems that Mr. Qin is indeed doing quite well here; you are even joking around now.”

His impression of Qin Zizhou was of a serious person who rarely smiled. At least, in the few times he had met him, he didn’t seem the type to laugh. Now, he could occasionally show a mischievous side.

“Have Taoist Qingsong and Qi Wen woken up?”

“Not yet, but they will soon, in about half an hour.”

Ji Yuan nodded.

“Alright, then I’ll wait until they get up before heading down. Now, Mr. Qin, let’s enjoy this sea of ​​clouds.”

A gentle breeze stirred Ji Yuan’s sleeves, which he had tucked behind his back. Qin Zizhou took a few steps closer to admire the sea of ​​clouds with him.

One of them was ethereal and otherworldly, like a celestial being, while the other had a long beard and white eyebrows, resembling an old immortal. If an ordinary person were to climb the mountain and suddenly see this scene, they would feel awed, exclaiming, “Immortal Masters!”

“Mr. Qin, have you ever seen the ocean?”

“No, I’ve never seen it before.”

For some reason, Ji Yuan recalled the peculiar cry he had heard from the sea and the red light on the horizon.

“There will be plenty of opportunities for you to travel across mountains and seas. The world is vast, far beyond what ordinary people can even imagine. Mr. Qin, if you can truly achieve the status of Wandering God…”

Ji Yuan looked up at the sky. Although the stars were no longer visible, they were only obscured by the sunlight. They still there.

“If that day ever comes, I will rely on Mr. Qin to try to see if there are any boundaries between heaven and earth, and to travel beyond the stars to take a look.”

Qin Zizhou also subconsciously looked up at the sky.

“If that day ever comes, I, Qin, will naturally comply… Mr. Ji, what do you hope to find?”

Mr. Ji wouldn’t say all this without a reason. Although Qin Zizhou hadn’t met many cultivators, his horizons had been broad from the start. After all, setting aside the fact that he had met the City God and other ghosts and gods of the underworld, he had even met two Water Lords and a True Dragon. Mr. Ji’s cultivation level must be extremely high. For Mr. Ji to say such a thing, there must be something special about it.

However, Ji Yuan was unable to answer his questions.

“I don’t know either!”

As the morning light grew stronger, the sea of clouds dissipated. Soon the master and disciple in Cloud Mountain Temple woke up. Ji Yuan and Qin Zizhou came down from the mountaintop, but instead of rushing into the temple to greet Qi Xuan and Qi Wen, they hid in the sky, gazing towards a certain place outside the temple.

Sure enough, not long after, the two martens quietly arrived outside Cloud Mountain Temple. Using a branch outside the kitchen courtyard, they climbed up the temple wall and then ran along it to a hidden spot behind the main hall, before jumping into the temple.

A short while later, while Taoist Qingsong and Qi Wen were practicing their closed-palm exercises in the courtyard of the Taoist temple, the two little martens hid behind the main hall and secretly watched.

Qin Zizhou smiled and pointed in their direction, speaking to Ji Yuan.

“They come every day, always at this time. Sometimes they even secretly bring some gift and leave them in the kitchen.”

“Oh? What gifts?”

Ji Yuan’s curiosity was piqued.

“Haha, I imagine, well, sometimes it’s a snake that they have hunted, sometimes it’s small fish and crabs from the mountain stream. Sometimes they bring dead mountain rodents or frogs, and there have been quite a number of caterpillars and beetles as well. A few times it was berries…”

“Hahahaha… What wonderful gifts, what wonderful gifts!”

What else could Ji Yuan say? Besides finding it funny, she also found it somewhat cute. Of course, Qi Wen, who received the “gifts,” probably wasn’t too happy, since cleaning the kitchen was definitely his responsibility.

After the two Taoist priests finished their exercises, Ji Yuan and Qin Zizhou walked in from outside the courtyard and knocked on the door. The two Taoist priests were naturally very happy to see Ji Yuan and made arrangements to treat him to a sumptuous lunch.

However, after learning that Ji Yuan had come to have him tell fortunes, Taoist Qingsong dumped all the chores like purchasing ingredients onto Qi Wen, while he focused all his energy on divination.

Several small stools were arranged in front of the main hall of Cloud Mountain Temple. Qi Xuan, Ji Yuan, and Qin Zizhou sat together, while an old yellowed paper scroll lay slumped on Taoist Qingsong’s lap.

“This… Mr. Ji, how can you make divinations with just one piece of paper?”

Taoist Qingsong’s senses were not those of an immortal cultivator, so he could not sense auras by touching the paper. Ji Yuan thought for a moment and then said:

“Just think of this piece of paper as a ‘house’ and calculate the situation of the ‘residents’.”

“A house?”

Qi Xuan stared blankly at the paper, then shook it a couple times.

“What could live in the paper? Could it be a painting or calligraphy?”

“That’s right, it’s calligraphy. The characters are the members of the household, with the paper as the dwelling. The year it was completed was several decades ago, which could be specifically considered the birth date and the time of residency…”

Ji Yuan also repeated the date when Zuo Li had written the Sword Intent Inscription, and even added the date “when the residents left the house.”

This left Taoist Qingsong stunned, but his expression gradually became excited. If someone else had said this, he would have thought the other person was crazy, but for Mr. Ji, it must be true.

35th year in the 60 year cycle, Earth element and dog sign T/n: LOL imagine being such a disaster at impulse-control with skills that slice your lifespan in half that the only reason you’re alive is the fact that you got up and punched a wall in the mornings