On June 12, Lanling Kuang suddenly told Pan Long to get ready. They would leave the bamboo house and go out the next day.
"Where to?" Pan Long asked, puzzled.
"Guangling," Lanling Kuang said. "Your family is coming with a large party to arrange your wedding. They're less than a hundred li from Guangling now and will probably cross the Heaven-Reaching River tomorrow. You'll certainly need to greet them."
Pan Long remembered then, and his head began to ache.
Getting married was a major event in his life and could not be delayed. But caring for his teacher was important too, and that could not be delayed either!
"Ah! If only I knew the Clone Technique!" he said in frustration.
"The Clone Technique? I know it. Want to learn? I'll teach you." A gust of wind swept past, and Lie Yukou appeared beside him, speaking with eager enthusiasm.
Lanling Kuang's face darkened. "Don't make trouble! Is the Clone Technique something he can learn overnight?"
"There's no harm in trying," Lie Yukou said breezily. "Cloning, teleportation, divination... all these spells can help him understand the nature of the world. That's enormously useful in the pursuit of Longevity. Even if he can't master them, it's good to get acquainted with them and understand their principles."
"If you want to teach, find yourself a disciple!" Lanling Kuang said grimly. "Neither the Confucian School's nor the Legalist School's cultivation methods pursue any 'understanding of the nature of the world.' He only needs to strengthen himself!"
"And end up like Zhao Sheng, aware of himself and no one else?" Lie Yukou grinned mischievously. "Can you honestly say you had nothing to do with how extreme he became?"
Lanling Kuang frowned and said nothing.
Lie Yukou did not let the matter drop. "Zhao Sheng used to