A Good-for-Nothing

68. Master Shifu Starting Another Closed-door Cultivation Session (2)

Translator: Dragon Rider

Zu Zhichong heaved a sigh of relief, received the file on his cellphone, put the breakfast into a lunch box and left the kitchen.

He Zheng was a picky eater. He ate only the yolks and tossed away the whites. Seeing this, Zu Zhichong clicked his tongue and muttered, “You are indeed a profligate son of the rich.”

He Zheng ignored him. While having breakfast, he pondered over what he read in the handbook given by Xuanqing the night before. In it, there was an amazingly wide variety of spells and even information about some exorcism circles, such as simple versions of the Quintuple Lightning Eight Diagrams Circle, the Yin Yang Five Elements Circle etc.

This was the first time that He Zheng had come to know that there were so many miraculous things in this realm. If he mastered all those skills and reached the level mentioned in the handbook –’teleportation at will’ –he would be able to blast a monster like the Dream Eater he had encountered on the flight into ashes with a single lightning spell.

“Master Shifu is still in bed?” Thinking of Xuanqing’s confusing behavior the day before, He Zheng wanted to ask him about the Yin Yang Eye (In Chinese philosophy and medicine, yin and yang are the two opposing principles in nature, the former feminine and negative, the latter masculine and positive) that he had mentioned.

Zu Zhichong’s expression was somewhat strange.

He Zheng observed this and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Sect-uncle has started another session of closed-door cultivation.”

“Already?” He Zheng was taken aback.

Zu Zhichong inclined his head. “In the Bodhidharma Cliff near the back hill. There was nobody in his room when we went there to deliver breakfast to him this morning, but he left a note.”

He Zheng’s brow corrugated in a frown. “Yesterday he said that he opened my Divine Eye for me. I’ve been meaning to ask him what that is.”

Zu Zhichong had a somewhat amazed look on his face. “Wait. What did you just say? Sect-uncle opened your Yin Yang Eye for you at the cost of his own strength yesterday?!”

He Zheng noticed that Zu Zhichong’s facial expression suddenly changed, and before he could ask any questions, Zu Zhichong, who didn’t have the time to explain, abruptly ran away heading for the back hill. He Zheng’s heart missed a beat and with that he quickly followed in Zu Zhichong’s wake.

The Bodhidharma Cliff was a precipice on the Qingwei Mountain, where gusts of wind were howling all year round. There was a drawbridge leading to the Bodhidharma Cliff, but someone had cleaved it in two. The remaining half of the bridge was against the side of the cliff, seeming somewhat bleak.

The scenery on the Qingwei Mountain was magnificent, with dense forests of exuberant ancient trees.

The two of them saw Sect Leader Zu standing on the edge of the cliff, who was wearing a Taoist robe with a horsetail whisk in his hands. Zu Zhichong’s lips twitched and a barely audible voice issued from them. “Master Shifu.”

“Everything has their individual destiny. Since my younger sect-brother has made his choice, there’s no need for us to grieve for him. If good fortune is what the future holds for my younger sect-brother, he might still be able to achieve what he desires and take flight to the land of the immortal, des–despite what we are seeing in front of us.”

He Zheng looked at Sect Leader Zu in perplexity and then shifted his gaze to Zu Zhichong.

“Opening the Divine Eye for me cost him dearly, which was why he…” He Zheng abruptly hung his head, raised his hand and pressed it against his eyes.

Not having expected that He Zheng would be so emotional, Sect Leader Zu grew somewhat sentimental. ‘Younger sect-brother is indeed a shrewd judge of character. It’s a rare thing for one to be moved by the deed of someone they know for merely one day.’

“There’s no need for you to feel chastened. Before you came, my younger sect-brother had told me that this kind of situation wasn’t necessarily an indication of things reaching the point of no return. Even if this session of closed-door cultivation of my younger sect-brother’s turns out to be a failure, it wouldn’t be because he suffered a decline of strength on your account.”

He Zheng shook his head.

Eyes red, Zu Zhichong gently patted He Zheng on the shoulder and observed, “My Master Shifu is right. Don’t overthink it, He Zheng.”

“Sect-uncle wants you to have this,” Zu Zhichong added.

He Zheng took it and saw that it was a thick wad of yellow Fu bagged in a brocade pouch. The cinnabar ink on some of them had not yet dried, which suggested that these Fu were freshly drawn.

“In the note, Sect-uncle says that your skills are not good enough and there are too many dangers in the outside world, that he’d like to see you in one piece when he finishes his closed-door cultivation, so he drew these Fu last night and wants you to have them, saying that some of them might prove life-saving in the future.”

He Zheng ran an eye over them and saw that there were Quintuple Lightning Fu, Clarification Fu and also some Anti-ghost Fu.

Fu-craft was actually a kind of skill that allowed a cultivator to use their own body as the vehicle, Fu as the tool, to get access to the energy existing between the heavens and the earth. During the process of drawing a Fu, a certain amount of the cultivator’s vital essence would inevitably be absorbed by the Fu; the more powerful the Fu was, the larger the amount of vital essence would be consumed. Everything should be done in moderation, which was as true in ancient times as it is today. Though Xuanqing was a very powerful cultivator, drawing so many Fu within one night had definitely taken its toll on him.

Looking at the wad of Fu, He Zheng felt even more guilty. Xuanqing had been forced to start closed-door cultivation immediately, which meant that the situation was dire. However, before entering closed-door cultivation, Xuanqing had opened the Divine Eye for him and also left him this wad of Fu. Apart from his mother and his maternal grandfather, there were only two people who were so good to him and unrelated to him. Li Zong was the first one, and Xuanqing was the second.

However, Xuanqing and Li Zong were different. Li Zong was good to him because he liked him and was protective of him.

What about Xuanqing? He Zheng was unable to find an answer.

As if he could tell He Zheng was confused, Sect Leader Zu twitched his horsetail whisk and gave him an explanation. “He Zheng, my younger sect-brother sincerely regards you as his apprentice. Live up to his expectations, because it’s the best way to return the favor.”

“I get it.” He Zheng solemnly nodded, raised his head and looked at the sect leader. “Thank you, Sect Leader Zu.”

After a brief pause, Sect Leader Zu patted He Zheng on the shoulders and replied, “All seemingly chance meetings are actually predestined. Since you are now a disciple of the Qingwei Sect, feel free to identify yourself as such when you are out there. In some cases, the identity as a disciple of the Qingwei Sect might prove even handier than your another identity as a member of He family.”

Then he added, “Zu Zhichong is your elder sect-brother. If he fails to do what an elder sect-brother is supposed to do for his younger sect-brother, text me and I’ll see to it that he gets the punishment he deserves.”

These remarks allayed the sorrow brought by Xuanqing’s entering a session of closed-door cultivation. Zu Zhichong remarked in an unhappy tone of voice, “Master Shifu, I’m your apprentice! Not him!”

“So what?” Sect Leader Zu pointed at He Zheng and responded, “You are Li Zong’s subordinate, while he is Li Zong’s wife. Li Zong has been taking care of you, who are a good-for-nothing apprentice of mine, all along, for which I’m deeply indebted to him. You tell me whom I should side with.”

Zu Zhichong was sent speechless.

Through gritted teeth, Zu Zhichong retorted, “Master Shifu, I’ve been risking life and limb working for him!”

“If it weren’t for Supt. Li, you would have still been smoking pot in some night club!” Sect Leader Zu scolded him harshly.

For fear that his master shifu might rake up more of his embarrassing faults, Zu Zhichong hurriedly dragged He Zheng away.

“We are going to the SMB of Sui City!”

Before leaving, He Zheng kowtowed three times in the direction of the Bodhidharma Cliff as a formal acknowledgement of Xuanqing as his master shifu.

‘Master Shifu, I’ll work hard on exorcism as you told me to.

‘For you, and for myself as well,’ he secretly said to himself in his mind.