Chapter 141: What Does the Heavenly Dao Mean?

What happened in Sunset City was likely not an isolated incident and might be encountered again further along the journey.

Amidst the torrential rain, the battered door of the inn collapsed inward, and two figures holding umbrellas stepped out, turning into the street and vanishing without a single person daring to obstruct them.

After the commotion, nothing remained in the inn except the sound of the falling rain.

"From now on, it will always be like this. One day, when you become strong enough that no one dares to bully you, no matter how many treasures you possess, no one will dare to prey upon you."

"Understood."

Walking in such heavy rain is never a cheerful affair, even though not a single drop actually touched them.

Heading southeast from Sunset City, the impact of the war became even more pronounced, particularly as they passed through a major strategic town.

Xiaqiu.

The city of Xiaqiu served as the capital of the Li Kingdom.

For a long time, because the Great Rain Palace controlled the majority of practitioners within the borders of the Li Kingdom, state governance nominally emanated from Xiaqiu, but whenever major crises arose, the focus of attention naturally shifted toward the Great Rain Palace.

In the eyes of practitioners, the young Empress of Li had become a dispensable figure. People of the Xu Kingdom thought so, and so did the people of the Li Kingdom.

"The Emperor of the Li Kingdom is a woman. I suppose that was also the Palace Master's choice?"

"It was merely one of the factors. Her Majesty is brilliant, decisive, benevolent, and generous. Although she is a woman, she is a rare and enlightened ruler."

"What is the relationship between Xiaqiu and the Great Rain Palace?"

"Better than the world imagines. The Empress of Li is very fond of the Palace Master."

"Fond in what way?"

Shu Yu turned her head, her smile full of hidden meaning. "Just that kind of fondness."

Gu Yi's mouth parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, words failed him, and he could only mutter a silent curse internally.

Whatever, it is what it is.

"Xiaqiu is a city that heavily values scholarship, which sets it apart from many other places in the world. Those who aspire to immortality look to Xiaqiu's Great Rain Palace—wait, those who study literature come to Xiaqiu. Over time, the culture here has come to revere literature and ritual while looking down upon martial practitioners of immortality. It's quite unique."

"Xiaqiu also prohibits practitioners from dueling. Discussions here focus more on essays, calligraphy, matters beneficial to the people, and strategies to secure the nation. Do you want to go in and take a look?"

"We are practitioners of immortality. Since this place is unwelcoming to immortals, what is there to see? Let's just enter the city to avoid the rain, and then return to Luyang."

And just like that, Luyang City welcomed two passing travelers.

Perhaps four.

Gu Yi himself probably wasn't even sure about this, as Long-Legged Cat and Yan Lang seemed to have completely vanished without a trace.

However, Yan Lang's tracking instincts were formidable; if he ran out of money, he would likely return very soon.

The atmosphere of a capital city was incomparable to that of a remote little town. Despite the relentless downpour, there was no standing water, and numerous talented scholars holding books hurried along the damp streets.

Gu Yi noticed that in a corner, someone was sheltering from the rain beneath the eaves, using rainwater from the heavens and a crude brush to write the same words repeatedly on a wall.

Shu Yu explained, "That is also a famous sight in Xiaqiu. His name is Huang Ren. Over forty years old, he is passionately obsessed with calligraphy. Legend has it that every wall in Xiaqiu bears his handwriting. Sometimes, homeowners didn't want him scribbling on their walls and would chase him away."

"After being chased from one house to another, Huang Ren had no choice but to keep changing walls, until he finally ended up on the imperial palace's outer wall. The patrolling guards immediately arrested him. However, when Her Majesty learned of the incident, not only did she refrain from punishing Huang Ren, but she also bestowed a wall within the city specifically for him. Since then, Huang Ren has been writing right here."

"There's such a story?" Gu Yi listened to another piece of local trivia. "What is he writing?"

"Just random thoughts."

"As long as, and enduring. Heaven and earth are long-enduring. The reason heaven and earth can endure so long is that they do not live for themselves, and thus they can live forever. Therefore, the sage puts his person last and yet it comes first, treats his person as external to himself and yet it is preserved. Is it not because he is without self-interest that he is able to accomplish his self-interest?"

Gu Yi sighed in admiration. "That is written wonderfully."

In his view, this slovenly middle-aged man, whom everyone thought was eccentric, might not be merely an ordinary calligrapher.

Because those words contained profound Daoist principles, explained through simple language—something an ordinary person could never write.

"How about I ask him for a few characters?"

Although slightly surprised, Shu Yu felt there was no harm in it. "Alright, as long as you are willing to spend the money."

"Haha, a thousand pieces of gold are easy to come by, but a single character from a master is hard to find."

Especially when written by a calligrapher who had practiced for so long.

Gu Yi raised his umbrella and stepped forward. "Master Huang, I am Gu Yi. I admire your calligraphy. Might I humbly request a few characters from you?"

"If you want to look, look; when you're done looking, leave, and don't disturb my writing. Talking wastes time, and empty courtesies also waste time. You just committed both offenses at once."

Gu Yi felt awkward; this old pedant certainly had quite a personality.

Shu Yu met his gaze and gestured toward her money pouch with her small finger.

Gu Yi understood. "Master Huang, I won't take them for nothing. I am willing to exchange a ingot of gold for your characters."

The moment the gold ingot appeared, the tip of the brush on the wall suddenly halted with clean, crisp movements, devoid of any hesitation. He hurried over to unfold a blank sheet of paper, and before writing anything, he reached out, snatched the gold from Gu Yi's hand, and stuffed it directly into his own pocket.

Shu Yu watched from afar and couldn't help laughing, while Gu Yi's eyebrows twitched irregularly.

Huang Ren struck a pose. "I have three things I refuse to write."

Three things he refuses to write?

Damn it, shouldn't you mention that *after* taking the money? Is there such a rule in Jianghu?

Gu Yi chuckled helplessly; this old fellow was brimming with personality. "What are the three things you refuse to write?"

"Those who are lustful yet undisciplined, I will not write for. Those who drink yet never get drunk, I will not write for. Third, those whose mouths are full of benevolence and righteousness, I will not write for!"

Gu Yi found this rather amusing. "Since Master Huang has accepted my gold, if I do not meet your conditions, will you return the gold to me?"

Huang Ren looked at Gu Yi, then glanced at Shu Yu. "You meet the first condition. I can write for you."

Gu Yi: "???"

You could tell that just by looking at me?

"State your wish. What do you want written?"

Fine, you win.

"I want you to write of the Heavenly Dao."

"Very well."

The old man didn't drag his feet at all. Yet, as his brush danced as though guided by spirits, he did not write the two characters for 'Heavenly Dao'. Instead, he wrote:

*Holding and filling it to the brim is not as good as stopping; sharpening it to a point cannot preserve it for long. A hall full of gold and jade cannot be guarded. Wealth and arrogance bring about one's own doom. When merit is achieved and the body withdraws, this is the Dao of Heaven.*

"There, your property. Seeing that you gave far too much money, I only gave you two characters. It would be my fault, old Huang, to be black-hearted and write a few extra, but if you expect these extra characters in exchange for just a single gold ingot, then *you* are the black-hearted one."

The old man... was also a natural-born salesman.

Yet the longer Gu Yi gazed at those characters, the more solemn his expression grew. Finally, he reached into his money pouch and pulled out another ingot.

However, Huang Ren said, "Even if you give two, you're still being black-hearted."

Shu Yu opened her mouth as if to say something, but seeing Gu Yi unhesitatingly pull out more wealth, a sudden premonition arose in her mind that they might soon be living in poverty.

Huang Ren pocketed four blocks of gold and still looked unsatisfied, though he wasn't overly greedy. "I'll leave you some, otherwise I, old Huang, lack basic decency. Next time you have plenty of money, remember to come find me again."

Gu Yi: "..."

He felt like he hadn't gotten a bad deal.

Yet the way this old fellow spoke always made him feel like he had just run into a con artist from the martial world.

Even the surrounding passersby were pointing and whispering, and some were covering their mouths while laughing at Gu Yi. Vaguely, Gu Yi overheard someone say:

"Old Huang has been selling calligraphy for over a decade, and this is by far the most expensive transaction yet."

Emm...

Gu Yi firmly insisted that he hadn't lost out.

With his intelligence, how could he possibly get scammed out of his money?

After finding a place to stay, Gu Yi carefully examined the piece of calligraphy. Bold, thick, unrestrained, and free-flowing, he suddenly slapped himself across the face:

*Why put on airs? A rough fellow like you, trying to appreciate calligraphy.*

Right as this scene played out, Shu Yu caught him in the act. Instead of laughing, she asked, "... Do you feel like you truly got ripped off with that money?"

Gu Yi shook his head. "No, no, didn't he write quite well?"

"Very well then, as long as you're happy."

This must have been the original meaning of that phrase, long before it evolved into its modern sarcastic undertone. Refusing to overthink it was the greatest mercy one could grant oneself.

Yes, indeed!

...

...

Luyang City, Yuzhen Pavilion.

Ma Yuan had been wandering outside for several days and had now returned, though he still could not move about freely and had to follow the military command. Fortunately, he had some spare time, and the moment he was free, he headed straight to Yuzhen Pavilion.

First, he rushed into the Literary Garden. Leaving aside his master, who still had no news whatsoever, little Chongchong, who had gone missing days ago, was still nowhere to be found.

Ma Yuan grew anxious and grabbed the first person he saw to ask, "Where is young lady Ye?"

"Just returned. She's in the main hall."

Without another word, Ma Yuan dashed over.

The young lady was surprised to see him. "I thought you were sent to Desheng Pass. When did you get back?"

"Young lady, where is Chongchong?" Ma Yuan asked urgently.

Chongchong...

Ye Xiaoniang's expression darkened slightly as she shook her head gently. "No news. I even had people investigate covertly to see if anyone in Luyang City had taken her into their estate, but came up empty-handed."

It was over.

Chongchong was truly gone.

To Luyang City in times like these, that little girl might have meant nothing at all. But precisely because war was about to break out, if she still couldn't be found and remained left to wander outside, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Sit down, Ma Yuan. A few days ago, I returned from Xiaoyuan Mountain. Coincidentally, there are some things I'd like to discuss with you."

When it came to the revelation that Gu Yi was the immortal of Xiaoyuan Mountain, the person most likely to know something about it was undoubtedly Ma Yuan.

Ye Xiaoniang went straight to the point. "Ma Yuan, I'll be blunt. I'm going to ask you a few questions, so don't take them to heart."

"Ah, my skin is exceptionally thick. Young lady, say whatever is on your mind."

"Alright. Actually, I've always been curious. I remember early on, Gu Yi's cultivation was not high at all. Why did you choose to take him as your master?"

Ye Xiaoniang wondered if Ma Yuan had known everything right from the very beginning.

However, bringing that up was rather embarrassing.

"It was Master... who forced me!"

The memory alone broke his heart! At the time, Gu Yi had used some bizarre contraption to seal him up, saying something like, *Once we find the person later, I'll lift the seal for you. Even if we never find them, as long as you search diligently, I can still lift the seal.*

Lift your sister!

You went and put the person right into the Great Rain Palace!

The bitterness in Ma Yuan's heart was known only to himself.

Originally, he had one remaining path, which was to guide Chongchong in learning talents. That little girl seemed to possess quite high natural talent; once she mastered it, having her lift his seal wouldn't be too difficult.

But now Chongchong was gone too!

Was the heavens playing a joke on him?!

Now only the final path remained: learning it himself.

And that was a whole other level of difficulty!

Ye Xiaoniang couldn't quite comprehend what he meant by 'forced'. "Gu Yi shouldn't have been your match back then. How could he force you? Weren't you willing?"

"Ah, young lady, about that... old Ma finds it a bit embarrassing to say. In short, it was Master who forced me."

Ye Xiaoniang swallowed her question marks. "Very well. Ma Yuan, here's the thing: did you know that Gu Yi is the immortal of Xiaoyuan Mountain?"

"Master is the immortal of Xiaoyuan Mountain?" Ma Yuan blinked his bewildered eyes. "Isn't he just the successor?"

"Not a successor. He is the immortal himself."

*Clatter!*

Ma Yuan tumbled backward onto the floor. "There's such a thing?! Are you certain?"

Ye Xiaoniang wanted to say that it wasn't entirely confirmed, which was why she was asking him, but Ma Yuan looked like a scholar who had just passed the imperial examinations, suddenly swept up in a delirious, ecstatic frenzy.

"Does that mean I am the successor of Xiaoyuan Mountain then? Haha!"

Can you believe this shit? Ahahahaha!

Ye Xiaoniang covered her face. *This bald man, why is he acting like this? It's making me feel second-hand embarrassment for him.*

"Young lady, young lady! Who did you hear this from?" Ma Yuan danced around, completely unsure of what posture to strike.

"Do you know Zhihua?"

Ma Yuan nodded eagerly. "I know her, I know her. She's that little fox."

"A demon?"

"Ah, a demon adopted by Master."

"It was that Zhihua who said Gu Yi is the immortal of Xiaoyuan Mountain. You've followed him ever since Quanmen County—didn't you notice anything strange?"

"There were plenty of strange things. Master is just a strange person." Ma Yuan dropped the sentence carelessly, then lowered his voice. "Though... young lady, you also know my brain isn't the best."

"Yes, I am well aware of that."

Ma Yuan froze for a second, thinking something didn't quite sound right, but out of nowhere, he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

"Anyway, if we're talking about strangeness, Master is truly, extraordinarily strange!"

"For instance?"

"For instance, he understands a vast number of spiritual talents, knows how to harness the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around him, and even knows about realms like Spirit-Guarding and Return-to-Simplicity..."

*Slap!*

Ma Yuan slapped his own forehead. "I remember! Back then, before entering Luyang City, we ran into someone named Changsheng. At the time, Master hadn't even reached the Concentration Realm, but for some reason, not only did that man address Master as 'Sir' with the utmost respect, but he even consulted Master about matters concerning the Return-to-Simplicity realm."

"That man was bold enough to ask such a crucial question of someone with no cultivation, and Master was even bolder—he answered with a completely straight face! And the result was that the man was *even more* bold, because he actually believed it!"

The string of sentences sounded like a tongue-twister, nearly making Ye Xiaoniang dizzy from listening to so many words.

"You mean to say Gu Yi answered Changsheng's questions regarding the Return-to-Simplicity realm."

Ma Yuan praised, "As expected of the young lady, so clever—those few words summed up everything I just said."

Sigh, Ye Xiaoniang couldn't even be bothered to argue; his lacking intelligence already made him pitiful enough.

She crossed her arms, stood up, paced slowly, and pondered. "If that's the case, Gu Yi truly understood everything about cultivation from a very early time. That kind of insight indeed didn't match his actual strength back then."

Ye Xiaoniang recalled that right there in the Literary Garden, Gu Yi had discussed the nature of concentration with her, speaking endlessly in a manner entirely unlike a mere Concentration Realm practitioner.

"It seems my younger brother really is the immortal of Xiaoyuan Mountain!"

"Splendid! Absolutely splendid! If Master is the immortal of Xiaoyuan Mountain, then we get to ride the coattails of his success!"

Ye Xiaoniang was once again left between laughter and tears. By that logic, who exactly was the chicken and who was the dog?