Jiang Sheng had spoken!
At Jiang Sheng's words, Tian Ming'an jolted and forced himself to rally. "Then I'll keep kneeling."
"Have you never considered that even if I eventually accept you, I might teach you nothing?" Jiang Sheng asked again.
Tian Ming'an replied, "My heart is set on seeking the Dao. I have no regrets."
"Truly no regrets?" Jiang Sheng asked.
Tian Ming'an gritted his teeth. "No regrets!"
Jiang Sheng smiled. "Then keep kneeling."
The excitement that had just stirred in Tian Ming'an's heart sank once more. Still, he held on, kneeling for an entire day before struggling to his feet at dusk and staggering down the mountain.
Jiang Sheng watched him descend, neither sorrow nor joy in his eyes.
On the ninth day, Tian Ming'an climbed the mountain again. Tian Guofu's heart ached for him, and he wanted to have several men carry him up. His mother wept and begged him to give up. Even so, Tian Ming'an went.
Leaning on a branch, he made his way to the Daoist temple and knelt motionless on the ground in the depths of winter. Eight days of cold had already ravaged his body, yet he still dropped heavily to his knees.
During the hour of the dragon, Jiang Sheng slowly opened his eyes and looked at the figure kneeling motionless in the freezing wind outside the hall. "Still breathing?"
Tian Ming'an murmured, "I'm still alive."
"Mm. Good."
As Jiang Sheng's words fell, Tian Ming'an suddenly felt the freezing wind around him vanish. A warm current enveloped his entire body, restoring a little warmth to his stiff, frozen limbs.
"Can you get up on your own?" Jiang Sheng asked.
Tian Ming'an gritted his teeth and hauled himself off the ground. "I can."
Jiang Sheng nodded again. "Then come inside."
Tian Ming'an's heart pounded with excitement. Fighting to contain it, he entered the hall and immediately felt its warmth, utterly unlike the bitter, killing cold outside.
Jiang Sheng opened a volume of Daoist scripture and spoke slowly. "Is there anything you wish to ask?"
Tian Ming'an was a little apprehensive. "Are you willing to accept me, Reverend?"
Jiang Sheng nodded. "Mm. Your attitude is decent enough."
Tian Ming'an froze, then looked puzzled. "Reverend, I often read storybooks. When the masters in them accept disciples, they examine not only their sincerity, but also their resolve to seek the Dao, their character, and their comprehension."
"Aren't you going to test why I seek the Dao?"
Jiang Sheng glanced at him. "What does your reason for seeking the Dao have to do with me? I merely saw that you were sincere."
Tian Ming'an was stunned. Indeed, what did his reason for seeking the Dao have to do with anyone else?
So long as he was sincere and steadfast in seeking the Dao, why did he need to explain it to others?
Jiang Sheng continued, "Truthfully, I don't expect you to have much talent for comprehension. But your character is indeed good. Stay by my side for now. Whenever I recite the scriptures each day, come and listen."
Tian Ming'an hastily replied, "I'll remember, Master."
Jiang Sheng thought for a moment, then added, "A cultivator must first temper his body and bones. You're still far from ready to cultivate. Strengthen your muscles and bones first, then we can discuss sensing qi and drawing it into your body."
Tian Ming'an nodded repeatedly. "I'll keep your teachings firmly in mind, Master."
"Find somewhere to sit," Jiang Sheng said, then began slowly reciting the Daoist scripture.
Tian Ming'an found a meditation cushion and sat cross-legged, quietly listening to Jiang Sheng recite.
He listened for an entire double-hour.
When the hour of the snake arrived, Jiang Sheng saw that Tian Ming'an was still immersed in the scripture and did not force him awake.
Only during the hour of the goat did Tian Ming'an come back to himself. Looking at the sun high overhead, he was dazed. "A single volume of scripture drew me in without my realizing it. It took more than two double-hours for me to come back to my senses."
Jiang Sheng chuckled softly. "The road to the Dao stretches long and far. In the future, you'll have to live secluded in the mountains for months and years on end. Can you endure the loneliness?"
Tian Ming'an's expression was resolute. "I can, Master."
Jiang Sheng remained noncommittal. "I'll take your word for now. Go down the mountain and inform your grandfather and parents. Come back tomorrow."
"Enjoy a proper family reunion today. Such reunions won't come easily in the future."
Tian Ming'an smiled instead. "I was thinking that once I've achieved something in cultivation, I should be able to bring my family together again. Perhaps I'll even be able to help Grandfather, Father, and Mother live longer."
"Heh. It's good to have something to hope for. Off you go." Jiang Sheng waved a hand.
Tian Ming'an rose and bowed respectfully to Jiang Sheng, then went down the mountain in excitement.
Watching Tian Ming'an leave, Jiang Sheng remembered the kindly old man who had raised him and later died of old age. He looked out at the snow-covered mountains beyond the hall and sighed softly. "The Great Dao. Immortality. Even if you attain enduring life and sit watching the mortal world turn through its cycles, what of living ten thousand eight hundred years? In the end, the child wishes to care for his parents, but they are no longer there."
"That boy will have his share of tears someday."
With that, Jiang Sheng swallowed an Essence-Gathering Pill and resumed cultivating.
He would do his best to reach the late stage of Foundation Establishment before the River God Grand Sacrifice began. Only then would he have sufficient confidence in dealing with the demon in the river.
The next day, Tian Guofu brought his son, daughter-in-law, and Tian Ming'an up the mountain. The three elders first bowed to Jiang Sheng and presented the customary gifts for a teacher, then Tian Ming'an formally knelt and kowtowed three times.
After Tian Guofu left with his son and daughter-in-law, only Jiang Sheng and Tian Ming'an remained in the mountain temple.
For a time, the temple grew a little quieter, a little lonelier.
Tian Ming'an had a good disposition. After a brief spell of melancholy, his spirits recovered, and he stayed beside Jiang Sheng to continue listening to the scriptures. Afterward, he cleaned the temple, practiced martial arts, and cooked for himself.
Though Jiang Sheng no longer needed food, Tian Ming'an did. Every day, he had to carry water, chop firewood, and cook his own meals, as well as clean the temple inside and out and practice martial arts to strengthen his body.
Such a life was undoubtedly demanding for Tian Ming'an, who was only twelve, yet he persevered and even found some pleasure in it.
Jiang Sheng also set aside time each day to guide Tian Ming'an in martial arts.
Watching Tian Ming'an practice his punches and kicks before the hall, Jiang Sheng said, "Remember, a cultivator cultivates his heart, his nature, and his body."
"The flesh is the precious raft that carries us across the world, housing essence, qi, and spirit. After a cultivator senses qi and draws it into his body, he does not immediately become much stronger."
"Fists, feet, blades, and swords still play a crucial role during the Qi Refining Realm."
"Even a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator faces mortal danger if caught unawares by a powerful bow or crossbow, or if a mid-stage Qi Refining body cultivator closes in."
"In Penglai, we cultivate not only our arts, but our bodies as well. Only the joint cultivation of inner nature and life is the true path of Penglai."
Tian Ming'an answered loudly, "I'll remember, Master!"
Jiang Sheng said no more and continued watching Tian Ming'an practice. The sight reminded him of the old man teaching him martial arts after he had pledged himself to the Dao at eight.
Seeing the elder generation pass its knowledge to the next, generation after generation, gave Jiang Sheng a little more insight into the meaning of inheritance.
In the days that followed, Jiang Sheng went from teaching Tian Ming'an daily to once every three days, then once every seven.
Tian Ming'an's aptitude was good, saving Jiang Sheng a considerable amount of time. In truth, offering such guidance also allowed Jiang Sheng to verify his own cultivation, faintly reflecting the path he himself had traveled.
Time passed, day by day.
Before they knew it, the depths of winter had passed, and the twelfth lunar month was nearly over.
As the River God Grand Sacrifice drew closer, the atmosphere in Qingshan County Seat grew increasingly strange.
Jiang Sheng's slaughter of the Eight Wolves of Dongjun had indeed cowed the evil cultivators for a time. But after several bold ones tested the waters, they confirmed that so long as they stayed away from Qingping Mountain, they would not draw out the terrifying Reverend Jiang Sheng. They began stirring again.
This time, Xu Xiao was ruthless as well. Armed with the talismans she had purchased from Jiang Sheng at great expense, she tracked down several evil cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Xu Xiao then joined forces with Wang Tianfang, Li Hao, Han Li, and Qian Ming, those rogue cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm, and killed four or five evil Foundation Establishment cultivators in succession.
Following Jiang Sheng's example, they hung the evil cultivators' corpses in front of the county office, using bloody reality to cow the others once more.
Though the evil cultivators' activities had been curbed, rumors began spreading through the city again.
At first, they circulated only within small circles. People said Magistrate Zhang wanted to kill the river god because he resented having no part in its worship. What he really wanted was a share of the River God Grand Sacrifice.
As the rumor spread, it became a claim that Magistrate Zhang wanted a golden statue made of himself so he could receive incense offerings and seek immortality.
As it spread further, it became a claim that Magistrate Zhang had long since struck a bargain with the rogue cultivators. After killing the river god, they would divide the people of Qingshan County among themselves, with Magistrate Zhang taking the county seat and the rogue cultivators taking the various towns.
Then all of Qingshan County would become their independent kingdom, where they could kill people for amusement as they pleased.
The rumors grew ever more outrageous, yet quite a few ignorant people believed them. The River God Grand Sacrifice required only six pairs of young boys and girls each year to ensure favorable winds and timely rain throughout the county. Why would the magistrate insist on killing the river god, taking on a thankless task?
Wasn't it simply so he could take its place?
As these rumors spread, even many local gentry and wealthy merchants began doubting Zhang Qingyun's intentions.
Moreover, the evil cultivators had frequently caused trouble of late, killing people to practice their arts. Bloody murders occurred from time to time, and the horrifying sights of severed limbs, shattered remains, and mangled flesh had indeed terrified the gentry.
Thus, the gentry and wealthy merchants all wanted an explanation from Zhang Qingyun, the county magistrate.
With the gentry and wealthy merchants taking the lead, the common people who caught wind of it became even more convinced that the magistrate harbored sinister intentions. They too petitioned him not to disrupt the River God Grand Sacrifice.
Before Zhang Qingyun could even act, the people under his own administration had bound his hands and feet.
Here's today's second update~ Please send in your monthly votes!
(End of chapter)
Before you continue