Under the two men's gaze, the young Daoist also cupped his hands.
"My surname is Cheng, and my given name is Qieqing. I come from Quxi in Kuaiji and cultivate at Azure Cloud Abbey on Green God Mountain."
Lang Shanliu and Hu Jinliu exchanged a glance. Neither seemed to have heard of it.
Lang Shanliu said with a smile, "Kuaiji? That really is a long way away! What brings you to our barren, miasma-ridden land, Daoist? And how did you come to save someone from our Miao Stockade?"
Yunqi smiled. "You've asked quite a few questions, uncle, so let me answer them one by one. First, we cultivators generally spend our days either sitting in meditation or wandering the world. I'd had enough sitting, so I came out to wander a little, haha."
"As for the Miao lands, the south occupies the Kun Palace. The earth's warmth is abundant, the rains never cease, and ancient trees grow tall enough to touch the heavens. This is a rare blessed land, not some barren place!"
"As for the Miao Stockade, that was a coincidence. That day, I'd just entered the Miao Borderlands from the Three Xiang region and sought lodging in a stockade. A child in one household had Soul Injury Syndrome, and I happened to have a Soul-Restoring Pill my master had refined, so I used it to treat the child.
"There's a funny story there, too. The stockade's surname was Nai, and its chief was called Sang Munai. I thought his surname was Sang and kept calling him Munaigong!"
Lang Shanliu and Hu Jinliu exchanged a glance, rose to their feet, and said in unison:
"You have a compassionate heart, A Lang!"
In the Miao Stockade-and perhaps anywhere-a child's life mattered more than anything. Since he had been willing to give up a precious pill to save a child's life, they, as Miao people, had to acknowledge that kindness.
Now they called him neither Daoist nor young fellow, but A Lang, an address at once deeply familiar and respectful.
Yunqi also stood and told them there was no need for such courtesy. "For a wandering Daoist, treating the sick, saving lives, upholding justice, and helping those in need are simply our duties."
The Daoist had only meant to put them at ease, but Hu Jinliu's expression shifted, and he muttered:
"Treating the sick and saving lives is all well and good. I just hope you don't come down on our heads in the name of justice!"
Lang Shanliu glared at his nephew again. He was finding that the older the boy grew, the harder he was to discipline. He snapped:
"This A Lang is a compassionate Daoist from the east, not one of those murderous Daoists from Shu. Watch your damn mouth!"
Hu Jinliu murmured an acknowledgment, then grinned at Yunqi.
Yunqi nodded. "Our fellow Daoists in the west harbor much anger and do not practice the way of nonaction and naturalness. I've heard something of that myself."
Then, following the thread of their conversation, he asked the young man, "Brother, which traditions do the Immortal's Cave and Azure Dragon Cave you mentioned belong to, and where are their abbeys? I'd like to stay with them for a while."
Hu Jinliu said cheerfully, "I've been inside both cave abbeys. The Immortal's Cave Abbey is in Zhulin, in the heart of our Miao Borderlands, and enshrines the Eight Immortals. The Azure Dragon Cave Abbey is in Southeastern Guizhou, near the Southern Wastes, quite close to here. It enshrines Divine Lord Mengzhang and the Seven Mansions of the East. If you want to know their exact traditions, though, I couldn't tell you."
Yunqi nodded. Knowing whom they enshrined made their traditions easy enough to guess. The Immortal's Cave apparently practiced the Zhong-Lü School of the Golden Core Dao, while the Azure Dragon Cave practiced Louguan Dao, also called Star-Observing Dao. Its chief focus was probably the Eastern Wood Element.
He smiled. "Then naturally I'll choose the closer one and trouble the Azure Dragon Cave for lodging."
At this point, Lang Shanliu said, "You may not know this, A Lang, but our Redwood Ridge has lately been locked in battle with Hundred Barbarian Mountain, and the front lies in this very area. The Daoists of the Azure Dragon Cave also fight alongside our Redwood Ridge to slay demons. If you go there, I'm afraid you won't find any peace either. If you want quiet cultivation, you'd be better off going to the Immortal's Cave in the rear."
Yunqi shook his head. "As I just said, I'm not wandering in search of quiet cultivation. I seek only to slay monsters and vanquish demons!"
"Good!"
Hu Jinliu voiced his approval.
Yunqi then asked, "Uncle, I'm a Daoist from a small abbey in the east, with little access to news, and I'm new to the southwest. All I've heard is that Hundred Barbarian Mountain leads the Southern Wastes Demon Cult, while your Redwood Ridge leads the heterodox sects of the Miao Borderlands. But I know nothing of the grievances or particulars involved. Could you enlighten me?"
The uncle and nephew exchanged another glance. Lang Shanliu considered that they were both injured and had already slain a demon from Hundred Barbarian Mountain, so there was no hurry to return and report. They might as well recuperate here for a while.
He said to Hu Jinliu, "You can never keep your mouth still, and you talk the most. You explain it to A Lang."
The young man cheerfully began:
"My uncle just called this a barren land, and you called it a blessed land, A Lang. I think you're both right. It was a blessed land to begin with, with only us Miao and the Gui people here. But then more and more people, monsters, ghosts, and all sorts of creatures came along, from east, south, west, and north, and even across the seas. Once there were more people, they had to divide into sects, too. You belonged to the Daoist path, I belonged to the heterodox path, and then there were demonic and Buddhist paths. Lately, someone's even come up with this talk of a mystic path. So many people, all saying they alone were right-how could they not fight? And with all that fighting, there was never any peace. Wouldn't a blessed land turn into a barren one?"
Hearing this, Yunqi saw the seemingly rough and uncouth man in a new light!
He had laid bare a truth of the cultivation world that had remained unchanged for tens of thousands of years!
Too many people! Each with ideas of their own!
Yunqi cupped his hands. "Brother, you explain profound matters in simple terms. There is great wisdom in your words."
Hu Jinliu waved a hand. "Haha, I'm just talking nonsense, just talking nonsense.
"If you're asking about the struggle between Redwood Ridge and Hundred Barbarian Mountain, that goes back a long way.
"Long before there were any heterodox or demonic sects in this land, we Miao and the Gui people were already fighting. Back then, we fought over fields and water sources, and even snatched women to bear children. Not a day passed without a fight.
"Later, the Red-Haired Ancestor came to our Miao side. He had mighty abilities and cultivated at Redwood Ridge, so many of us Miao went to join him. Meanwhile, the Green-Robed Ancestor came to the Gui side and cultivated on Hundred Barbarian Mountain, so naturally the Gui gathered around him.
"How would our ancestors back then have known anything about heterodox or demonic paths? If you didn't learn magic, you'd be killed by someone who had. Of course you had to learn!
"Only after learning did we find out that our arts were fierce and ruthless. Of the Three Essentials of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, we focus on essence and supplement it with qi, without cultivating the primordial spirit. It's a little harder, but longevity is still possible. And two of our sect rules forbid indiscriminate killing of innocents and using people to practice our arts. See, with those three points, that makes us heterodox.
"As for that old Green-Robed scoundrel's side, they don't cultivate longevity, only the art of killing. They're always searching souls and refining corpses, and they'll even turn their cruelty on themselves. That's what makes them a demon cult!"
Yunqi cupped his hands to show that he had learned from the explanation.
Lang Shanliu smacked the young man on the head. "Mind how you speak! Show some respect for the Ancestor and Redwood Ridge!"
The young man thought nothing of it and continued, "What's wrong with saying that? There are even people claiming our Ancestor and that old Green-Robed scoundrel aren't human! Neither of them has said anything about it. Those stories come with such convincing detail that they sound true to me."
"What the hell could you tell!"
Lang Shanliu roared at him.
Now Yunqi's interest was piqued. "Uncle, uncle, there are no outsiders here. Brother, do go on."
Hu Jinliu chuckled. "Rumor has it our Ancestor is a Brocade Dragon aligned with fire, and that old Green-Robed scoundrel is a Black Dragon aligned with water, so they were at odds to begin with. And they say this dragon vein in the Southern Ridge can nurture only one true dragon. That's why those two are fighting to the death!"
Here's the first chapter.
Please vote and recommend the story. Comments and messages are welcome!
Before you continue