Chapter 60: The Way of Heaven and the Way of Man
Gu Yi recalled the senior’s warning: the spiritual energy here is dwindling.
So, does this mean they’ve come out?
Clang!
The Seventh Princess was a bit flustered as well. She hurriedly tossed the sword hilt aside and dashed to stand before Gu Yi, trying her best to explain, “Fourth Sister, you misheard just now. Gu Yi and I were joking. He never sullied my honor.”
The Fourth Princess’s expression was as cold as ancient ice, her dark pupils shifting slightly to lock onto Gu Yi. “Seventh Sister, do you take me for a fool? What woman would joke about her own reputation?”
This was bad. Of all moments for the message to appear, it had to be now.
“I may have spoken too harshly, but things aren’t as you imagine, Fourth Sister. I’ve promised him to protect his life. Please, Fourth Sister, grant Yu’er’s request!”
Gu Yi shook his head, stepping out from behind the Seventh Princess. “Fourth Princess, though you may not believe me, there truly is nothing between the Seventh Princess and me.”
“Is it as he says, Seventh Sister?”
The Seventh Princess glanced at Gu Yi’s profile, remembering the words he’d written on the paper. Her voice was soft, “Well… not exactly.”
Gu Yi: What?
“What did we have, then?” he asked.
“Didn’t you say you liked me?” The Seventh Princess blinked her large, innocent eyes, weakly countering, “That’s not something to joke about. I wouldn’t dare lie to my Fourth Sister.”
My goodness, I thought you were clever before—this is being too obedient!
“I was… I was…” Gu Yi held his hands behind his back, wanting to explain but not knowing where to begin. Should he say he was trying to win the sympathy of a kind-hearted girl?
“Forget it, let things be as they will.” He gave up on explaining further.
The Fourth Princess scoffed, hateful men, always spouting nonsense!
“Seventh Sister, move aside!”
“No!” The Seventh Princess stepped forward again, blocking Gu Yi. “Fourth Sister, he saved Yu’er’s life, and he’s not a bad person. Please let him go?”
“Seventh Sister…” The Fourth Princess suddenly sensed something amiss. In her memory, her sister was always obedient, but now, for a man, she repeatedly defied her wishes, and their relationship was unclear.
She was experienced, and didn’t want to consider the possibility.
Gu Yi gently moved the Seventh Princess aside and spoke calmly, “It was wrong of me to force my way into the Hall of Techniques. Fourth Princess, as its master, it’s natural for you to be angry. But honestly, the hall doesn’t contain anything valuable—I didn’t take anything.”
A flash of light appeared in his hand, revealing a small green book.
“This is the ‘Heavenly Dao Sutra,’ given to me by a senior. There may be something in it you need. Let’s call it even—what do you say?”
“You sneaked into the hall. Didn’t you meet anyone on your way?”
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“I did, but that’s none of my concern. I suppose you’ve seen the master yourself—he’s still there. I never intended to rescue him,” Gu Yi replied, shaking the book in his hand. “The path of cultivation is full of mysteries. Are you sure you don’t want to trade with me?”
Chen Mingguang had said that the Fourth Princess was utterly obsessed with immortality, so much so she no longer cared for men. Imagine how intense that must be.
The Fourth Princess glanced over, feigning disdain. “A mere novice…”
“Fourth Sister!” The Seventh Princess called out, “...He’s somewhat extraordinary, you know that.”
That much was true.
He had defeated Fan Ling.
And it was rumored the head of the Pavilion had said this boy might hail from Xiaoyuan Mountain.
She always claimed the royal family was first, but that was just for show. Would she say the royal family was second, with Xiaoyuan Mountain first? She knew in her heart that the immortals of Xiaoyuan Mountain were crucial to the State of Xu.
Otherwise, given her temperament, she would have acted already, rather than waste so many words.
“Let me see it, then. If it’s a fake, don’t think I won’t notice.”
Gu Yi tossed the book over generously.
The Fourth Princess was not easily fooled. She took it and flipped through, but the very first line made her frown, “What does ‘The way of Heaven reduces excess and replenishes deficiency’ mean?”
This was the opening line of the “Nine Yin Manual” from the Legend of the Condor Heroes, originally a saying from the Daoist patriarch Laozi, which happened to resonate with the world’s own pursuit of the Heavenly Dao.
Gu Yi coughed twice, adopting a serious tone, “It means that the law of Heaven diminishes what is excessive and gives to what is lacking. The so-called way of Heaven is like drawing a bow: the high is pressed down, the low is raised, the surplus is reduced, the deficient is supplied. Do you understand?”
Neither the Fourth nor Seventh Princess understood.
Truth be told, Gu Yi didn’t understand either.
But the Fourth Princess was obviously proud. Though confused, she pretended to be unfathomable, “Then what does the next line mean: ‘Therefore the empty overcomes the solid, the insufficient triumphs over the excessive’?”
“Hey, don’t rush. The first line isn’t finished.” Gu Yi clasped his left hand behind his back, gesturing with his right, “The way of Heaven is, after all, Heaven’s path. We are not Heaven, so what use is knowing it? What matters is the way of Man. Thus, the way of Heaven reduces excess and replenishes deficiency, subtly implying to people: the way of Man, reduces deficiency to serve the surplus.”
“The way of Man, reduces deficiency to serve the surplus?”
“Yes… it means…”
“Stop talking!” The Fourth Princess suddenly interrupted him. “You’re not allowed to speak. I want to figure it out myself. The way of Heaven reduces excess and replenishes deficiency. The way of Man, reduces deficiency to serve the surplus…”
She kept murmuring, over and over…
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Let her ponder. Even little Yiyi found the “Dao De Jing” perplexing—let’s see what she can comprehend.
Gu Yi grew up reading Jin Yong. The first thing he did after crossing over was to see if he could perform the Nine Yin Manual or the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. From a stylistic point of view, isn’t that cooler than the Biyang Technique? It even comes with its own background music.
“Gu Yi…” The Seventh Princess looked worriedly at her sister, who seemed lost in thought. “What did you give her? What is this way of Heaven and way of Man?”
Gu Yi thought: How should I know?
“Let’s make a run for it.” He pointed outside with his index finger. Whatever path, the best way is to escape first.
The Seventh Princess was amused by his mischievous expression. Thinking it over, her Fourth Sister was no longer furious and had received a ‘treasure’—it seemed a perfect solution.
Alright then.
“Fourth Sister, Seventh Sister will take her leave now?”
Her tone was uncertain, but the Fourth Princess had already lost interest in her, waving her off, “Yes, go on, go on… The way of Heaven reduces excess and replenishes deficiency. The way of Man, reduces deficiency to serve the surplus…”
Leaving the Hall, Gu Yi breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped into the sunlight.
“Gu Yi, wait for me.” The Seventh Princess caught up from behind, asking, “Just now, what my Fourth Sister said was truly profound. I couldn’t grasp its meaning. Which senior originally said that?”
“If you want to know who said it, there’s only one answer.” Gu Yi strode forward, spirits high. “It was Lu Xun.”
He turned, “Seventh Princess, thank you for your timely help. You needn’t follow me any longer. We’ll meet again someday. Also… please keep the dream paper safe for me. When the time is right, I’ll come for it.”
The Seventh Princess stopped in her tracks. He was telling her not to follow—didn’t he say he liked her?
“Take care then.”
She watched his back, dazed, standing there long after he had vanished from sight.
She found it strange. This youth harbored too many secrets, exuding an air of mystery. Looking back on the whole affair, she found it amusing. Was there really someone who dared break into the Hall of Techniques, and then walk out unharmed?
Though it wasn’t exactly a smooth exit…
…
“It’s Gu Xiaoyao! I’ll hold him off—go report to Senior Shu Le!”