Jade Within Stone

Shen Shuibi used to be suspicious, especially when she felt insecure.

When she was in Mount Luofu, and when she was fighting against the Chanzhi with Li Qi, she felt particularly insecure and even became anxious for a while. After going berserk, she went to the mortal gang to find someone and eventually dominated a large underground gang in Guangyang, becoming something like 'Horse King'.

Li Qi stroked the rabbit's head and said, "Don't worry, who can do anything to me? Look, my intuition is stronger than yours, right? I don't have any ominous premonitions. Just Anxin for me to come back. It's only a year or two, which is nothing more than a blink of an eye for us."

"That's true, but these are turbulent times. All the major Dao Lineage know that a great war is about to break out, so they should restrain themselves. My spiritual sense is not as good as yours, so I must be overthinking it." Shen Shuibi rested her forehead on Li Qi's shoulder. "Then you should go and come back quickly. Shiwei is too lively, and I'm a little... unable to handle it."

Children are too active, while rabbits prefer quiet to movement, so naturally, taking care of children is extremely difficult.

In reality, compared to Li Qi's unrestrained pampering, Rabbit often wanted to discipline the brat. If Li Qi left, the little rascal might get a good beating from his own mother.

"Alright, I'll go and come back as quickly as possible. After all, this trip is just to verify a hypothesis, it won't take long." Li Qi nodded.

After speaking, the two parted ways and went about their own business. Shen Shuibi had her own important matters to attend to, so she continued her cultivation in the secret chamber.

Li Qi planned to go downstairs to find Li Shiwei and play with the children before leaving.

We can't just leave without a word.

Li Qi quietly arrived below, only to see Li Shiwei clinging to the head of the Niu Huang Mountain God, with a smooth, round stone beside her.

She seems to have grown tired of playing the game of leading troops into battle, and now she's with that stone, listening to the Niu Huang tell stories.

The mountain god of Niu Huang stood by the rock, talking about things in the mountains.

Actually, it's not a very interesting story. Li Qi already knows it. It's just the everyday life of families in the mountains, how some families fight with others, how human villages and demon lairs confront each other over a piece of land, how they have conflicts, all sorts of scheming stories, and which family has a successful person, and what that successful person did.

Li Qi didn't really like those gossip stories that were mostly meaningless; he preferred to talk about things that had a real impact on the Dao Path.

But Li Shiwei didn't like any of that; she preferred to listen to Niu Huang waste time with meaningless talk.

But...

Never mind, she's only six months old.

Li Qi stepped forward.

Niu Huang sensed Li Qi's arrival, immediately stopped speaking, and then bowed his head. "Greetings Shaman! This humble deity was slightly rude, please forgive me..."

"It's alright. I know Shiwei's personality. I'm happy that you two get along well." Li Qi waved his hand, pulled him up, and then looked at Li Shiwei, who was pouting.

The little girl was very unhappy because her father interrupted her story time, just like when she saw a juicy story on Weibo and her dad showed up halfway through.

"You guys continue, I'll listen too," Li Qi said with a smile, and sat down next to them.

"These are all useless idle words, I'm afraid..." Niu Huang hurriedly defended himself.

But at that moment, the stone suddenly began to vibrate, and through this vibration it emitted a sound, "If everything were useful, wouldn't we be exhausted?"

These words amused Li Qi, who couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Haha, you're quite the talker, Stone. It's a pity you're so useless. If you put your mind to it, you wouldn't still be a spirit; you would have become a Form Transformation long ago."

But then they heard the stone reply, "I don't want to Form Transformation, nor do I want to follow the path of demons. I'm quite content here. If we're talking about cultivation, I'd rather follow the Shaman Path!"

"You stupid stone, you need to be able to read before you can walk any path. You can't even understand the Cultivation Method yet, what path are you going to take!" Li Shiwei slapped the stone and mocked it.

Then, the little girl quickly ran to Li Qi's side, snuggled into his arms, and said to Li Qi with a grin, "Father, why did you suddenly come over?"

She was afraid of her Mama but not her father, mainly because Li Qi spoiled her so much that he had no authority whatsoever in front of the little girl.

Li Qi wiped her face, removing the dry grass that had gotten on it, and then said, "After today, I'll be leaving for a while. You and your Mama will be here by your own. Remember to be good. Now there's no one to back you up, or you'll get a beating."

Upon hearing this, the little girl's face immediately turned terrified, and she climbed onto Li Qi's shoulder. "Father...! Where are you going? Can you please not go?"

"Can I not go? Guess?" Li Qi asked rhetorically.

She was completely stunned.

The nearby stone laughed loudly, making a thumping sound, while the Niu Huang Mountain God lowered his head, hoping that this matter would not involve him.

Li Qi originally thought she would cry, just like all the other children who, after not getting the answers they wanted, would start rolling around and crying, begging their parents to give in to them.

However, she paused for a moment, then suddenly frowned, touched her nose with one hand, and her whole face was tense, clearly lost in thought.

Niu Huang God was stunned as he watched from the side.

He had seen this expression on Shaman Li Qi more than once. Whenever Li Qi encountered trouble, Li Qi would make a similar gesture, which meant that he was deep in thought.

Li Shiwei's expression was almost exactly the same.

Li Qi seemed to be seeing this action for the first time as well. He was somewhat surprised, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he calmed his heartbeat and movements, and cast Method Formula to block out the surrounding sounds.

She was thinking.

This little rascal, though only six months old, reacted to the problem of being "likely to be hit" by first thinking and trying to find a solution, rather than rolling on the ground and crying.

So Li Qi created a quiet space for her.

He suddenly realized something.

Everyone has their own path. Although he often said this, he never had such thoughts about his daughter. He always thought about how to guide her onto the right path.

Now, it seems he has discovered something.

What he needed to do was not to think for his daughter, but to help her block out the noise around her while she was thinking.

So...

Is this what Zhu Fengdan is trying to do?

Li Qi suddenly realized and looked intently at Li Shiwei.

The little girl, just like her parents, was completely absorbed in her own world of thought, unaware that the surrounding noise had subsided.

It was as if Li Qi was unaware of how much noise Zhu Fengdan had unknowingly shielded him from.

Yeah?

Is that how it is always?

Is this... the father's thoughts?

As Li Qi was thinking this, Li Shiwei, who was next to him, suddenly raised her head and said, "Then I understand, Father. I want to go with you to that... Western Paradise!"

"That's not a nice word... but whatever, is this your idea?" Li Qi asked, "What were you thinking?"

"Well, I don't dare to offend my mother, but I feel like I can't avoid making her angry. So why don't I go with you? That way, my mother definitely won't be angry, and you, Father, are never angry. I won't get beaten either. Isn't that good for everyone?" Li Shiwei stated her judgment in a very organized manner.

"Yes, from your perspective, that's true. But why should I bring you along?" Li Qi asked again.

This exchange reminded him of the past, of the questions and answers he had with Zhu Fengdan.

When he first pondered "what I am," Zhu Fengdan impatiently tried to enlighten him on what "what I am" meant. Zhu Fengdan didn't give any answers, but instead kept asking questions, using various examples to challenge him.

Looking back now, this approach was actually quite risky. It was essentially negating Li Qi's flawed ideas and guiding him toward his own answer.

But this is the fastest way.

As his cultivation level, status, and horizons broadened, Li Qi seemed to understand those riddle-makers more and more, to the point that he himself seemed to be becoming a riddle-maker.

It's all part of the same cycle.

The deeds of those who came before serve as lessons for those who come after. No one is special; everyone has gone through this process. In the Dark Continent, those who came before have already paved a path with their bones. All you have to do is not go astray.

Of course, taking the wrong path is fine; perhaps you'll find a new way. But generally speaking, taking the wrong path doesn't end well.

Only when you reach the very front, the very front, the very front, and there are no more corpses paving your way, then... you will truly have to face this vast, dark, and boundless continent and take another step forward.

Perhaps it will become the next skeleton paving the way, or perhaps... it will pave the way through.

These thoughts swirled in Li Qi's mind. After seventy years of reflection, he was no longer a naive young man.

My daughter and I took turns asking each other questions, constantly countering each other's. Watching my little darling ponder so intently that her head started to turn red, it was clear that her brain was working at its limit and she was beginning to feel dizzy.

She had just come up with more than a dozen ways to persuade Li Qi to stay or take her with him. Her words were clear, logical, and well-founded, but unfortunately, nothing she said worked, to the point that she was almost having a mental breakdown.

So, Li Qi rubbed her forehead, then picked her up, placing his hands under her armpits and lifting her up completely. He then said, "Alright, I definitely won't be taking you on the journey to the West, but I'll bring you back some little things. Tell me, what do you want?"

"Then, could you bring me some medicine for my injuries?" Li Shiwei looked at Li Qi pitifully.

Li Qi scoffed, "Still playing the victim? Your mother has the most medicine for injuries, and she can keep making new ones. Get it all wrapped up."

Then, he put Li Shiwei on Niu Huang's back. "You guys keep playing, I'll be going now."

"Respectfully seeing Shaman." Niu Huang immediately bowed.

The stone, however, showed no manners and immediately began to mock Li Shiwei for being about to be beaten. Enraged, Li Shiwei kicked the stone. Despite being a ninth-rank fighter, she was nearly sent flying into the air by the kick and tumbled down the cliff.

Niu Huang was startled. Although the stone had become a spirit, it had no cultivation. Would it break when it was smashed?

Although stones, being spirits, won't die if they're broken, without a physical body, their future Dao Path will likely be very difficult.

He immediately ran down the slope.

Li Qi also rushed over to see, but he was faster. While Niu Huang was still running, he had already caught up with Shi Tou.

Sure enough, a crack appeared on the rock.

Thankfully it didn't break.

Li Shiwei, riding on Niu Huang's back, quickly followed, her face pale. She was clever and knew she was really going to get a beating.

Stone himself, though cracked, didn't seem to feel any pain. Instead, he mumbled a puzzled sound, "Huh? What's going on? Uh, I feel so clear-headed."

"What do you mean, 'awake'? Are you alright?" Niu Huang God stepped forward first, using his horn to poke at the stone, testing whether his body was broken.

The stone, however, asked instead, "Mountain God, Mountain God, what did you teach me this morning? Do you remember?"

"This morning? I taught you the 'Preparation' this morning. What's wrong? Why are you asking this? How are you feeling?" Niu Huang asked.

"I remember there was a sentence in it that said, 'Closing the door is called Kun, opening the door is called Qian. It also says: Heaven and Earth are positioned, and mountains and lakes communicate. Nie means birth. Jia is the direction of the East, where things are born, hence the number begins.' Is that right? Can you see if it is written like this?"

As he spoke, Stone began to draw lines on the ground with vibrations.

The others were surprised to see that the stone had actually written the correct character.

Is this even possible?

The Niu Huang God, who had taught stones to write for hundreds of years, stared wide-eyed, speechless with surprise. He could only look at Li Qi, hoping to gain some inspiration from him.

What happened? Did falling down increase your IQ?

Li Qi, however, suddenly realized something.

Although he lacked true knowledge, his eyesight was still quite good, so he stepped forward and delivered a chop to the neck.

Before Niu Huang's terrified eyes, Li Qi smashed the stone to pieces!

Such Shaman of a daughter?! This stone was killed after only saying a few words?!

Niu Huang was terrified, but then he saw the stone crack open, bursting out with a precious light. Among the countless fragments of stone, there was a beautiful piece of jade.

The beautiful jade vibrated continuously, making a sound, "Ah! I understand! So this is what you meant, Mountain God! I remember all the words you taught me before!"

The stubborn rock was broken open, and a beautiful jade was formed.

Li Qi took out the jade, and saw that it was a fine piece of jade, radiating a precious aura.

This is a piece of... Xuanjing Jade.

Back in Chang'an, when Li Qi bought a jade hairpin for Shen Shuibi, he mentioned that among jade, the finest are Water Jade and Xuanjing Jade. Li Qi bought a piece of Water Jade for the rabbit.

"Haha, Xuanjing Mountain, Xuanjing Jade, what a perfect match!" Li Qi laughed, handing the jade to the Niu Huang Mountain God. "This is probably fate. I never imagined the stone had such a layer. This is also an opportunity."

"Then, Father, does this count as a meritorious deed?" Li Shiwei asked hurriedly.

Does this mean I won't get beaten up?

"Whether it counts as meritorious or not is up to your mother to decide. I'll tell you about this matter, and you can leave the rest to her. As for me, having finished reading this amusing story, it's time for me to go."

"Stone, give yourself a good name, haha!" Li Qi touched the jade stone.

Who would have thought that something like this would happen before I left?

That's really interesting.