Seeking the Dao in the Seemingly Mundane Mortal World

Chapter 34: Lead and Mercury Poisoning

Translator: Henyee Translations

Editor: Henyee Translations

Cultivation practice consisted of quite a few schools.

Just like Liusu said once, Taoist practitioners could have sex as well because not all schools insisted on abstinence, which was the result of different understandings of the world. Theories on cycles of the sun and the moon and interaction of Yin and Yang were usually attributed to the Yin and Yang energy of Nature. However, if one wanted to steer in the direction of sexual intercourse, there was a whole set of justifiable theories as well. One could disagree, denounce, or even accuse them as heterodox doctrine, but it was only because of differences in approaches, not because the second path wasn’t an appropriate way to cultivate.

What Donghuazi had been teaching the king was similar to the second type of approach. Otherwise, what was the aphrodisiac for? When the king felt this unwell, that was the area with the fastest observable results. Trying to persuade him to live a life with few desires wouldn’t be as successful.

Qin Yi remembered Liusu’s comment on Li Qinglin’s claim that “no king had achieved immortality”. Liusu said, “Why do you think mortal kings could never achieve the Great Tao? That’s because their desire for immortality was always rooted in their reluctance to give up everything they already had, and that was completely against the essence of cultivation. They’ll never be able to achieve what they want. That’s why you’re the most suitable candidate. Now, how about you start cultivating with me…”

Qin Yi remembered his answer was, “So essentially, cultivation works like a repeating machine.”

Liusu went to sulk in the corner after that.

As a matter of fact, Qin Yi was already wavering and was seriously considering taking up cultivation. Moreover, as he and Liusu grew closer, he no longer felt as on edge as when he first arrived here, and he had pretty much stopped assuming that Liusu would try to harm him…

The atmosphere in the bedchambers was quite odd. While the king was staring at Qin Yi and was lost in his thoughts, Qin Yi himself had let his mind wander off to his clubbie. However, from a third person’s point of view, they were merely two gentlemen discussing Taoist theories…

A long moment passed before the King spoke again. “The alliance between two kingdoms is a serious matter. If you can give up on Zhaoyang and persuade her to marry the prince of Xihuang, I’ll reward you with 500 virgins to help your cultivation.”

Qin Yi replied without hesitation, “Even if you offer me all the beautiful women in the world, I still want Qingjun and Qingjun only.”

The king narrowed his eyes. “Young friend, you’re being difficult here.”

Qin Yi couldn’t help saying, “The late crown prince has likely been assassinated by Xihuang, and Qingjun hates Mang Zhan wholeheartedly. Even if we’re not together, she still won’t marry him willingly.”

The king said indifferently, “One step at a time, and you’re the first step.”

Qin Yi tried to reason from another aspect. “Xihuang assassinated the late crown prince. Your Majesty, if we marry our princess to them, what do you think other kingdoms would think?”

The king shook his head and said, “According to the master teacher’s divination, the murderer was from the capital city.”

Your son died, but instead of trying to solve the case, you went to have your fortune told. That was why you actually considered the possibility when the master teacher named Li Qinglin a suspect! After expressing his frustration in his head, Qin Yi said, “My divination said the murderer was from the west. Shall we have the master teacher try again?”

The king studied Qin Yi for a long moment before slowly saying, “The divination wasn’t from the master teacher. Patriarch Minghe was the practitioner. She’s from the first palace of the Heavenly Axis Court.”

Minghe…

Aren’t you supposed to be a real cultivator? Just go catch your demons! What are you doing here, meddling with mortal people’s affairs?! Qin Yi thought.

What a bummer! Minghe was convinced that Li Qinglin was a suspect, but Qin Yi didn’t know how much she had told Donghuazi. The situation wouldn’t have been too bad if the divination only talked about the murderer being in the capital city and Donghuazi had made everything else up. However, if the divination also revealed the demonic energy in the prince’s residence, things would be very bad for them.

Before Qin Yi could speak, the king said, “As a matter of fact, it doesn’t matter who the divination came from, and finding the murderer isn’t all that important either. I can easily convince my people that we’ve caught and executed the murderer. The more vital and important task is to stop this war between the two kingdoms. Don’t you think so, my young friend?”

Qin Yi felt a chill running down his spine.

No wonder people said that all royal families were heartless. This king was even more cold-blooded than Li Qinglin was.

Qin Yi gave up trying to change the king’s mind and took out a blue pill instead. “I think Your Majesty will be more interested in this than a political marriage.”

“Really?” The king indeed looked intrigued. “What’s this?”

“It’s called ‘Imminence’.” [1. The pronunciation of the pill in Chinese is homophonic to “the Qing Dynasty is doomed”, which is a common saying online, describing a situation going south very soon.] Qin Yi made up a name on the spot with a serious look on his face. “Your Majesty, I won’t make bold promises of giving you eternal life or making you so euphoric that you feel like an immortal. However, this pill will relieve your symptoms of drowsiness, fatigue, lower back pain, and visual impairment.”

A harsh look flickered in the king’s eyes. “Where did you learn I have those symptoms?”

Qin Yi said casually, “I would’ve wasted all the time I spent on cultivation if I couldn’t even detect such little things. Your Majesty, if you suspect that someone close to you has leaked this information, I can even list some of the symptoms that cannot be observed, such as your occasional palpitation.”

The king’s hands trembled slightly when he heard that. With a wave of his hand, a eunuch fetched the pill for him and tentatively put it in his palm.

Unlike the pills the master teacher had made which were glossy and as round as balls, this pill had some strange patterns on it. An evanescent light seemed to flash across the patterns, giving the pill a very immortal-like feeling.

“That’s…” After his years of cultivation practice, the king had obtained some basic knowledge. “I can sense something profound in this pill… It’s a genuine elixir!”

The eunuch said gingerly, “Your Majesty, allow me to try it for you first…”

“Go away. You’re going to waste such a precious pill!” The king put it in his mouth without hesitation, and the pill melted immediately, leaving a pleasant taste in his mouth. It soon took effect and a cooling sensation ran through his lower back, which had a dull pain from long hours of sitting. The king was amazed.

He was so thrilled that he had forgotten about this sitting posture. Rising to his feet, he laughed wholeheartedly. “That’s a wonderful pill!”

The so-called euphoric and mind-clearing effects of Donghuazi’s pills were only a hallucination. Those pills were very addictive, but this pill’s relieving effect felt just as pleasant. After taking a single pill, the king already valued Qin Yi a lot more than before and almost considered him as important as Donghuazi.

Qin Yi heaved a sigh. That pill wasn’t for curing diseases, and it had only neutralized the toxins in the king’s body. The pill was none other than the type of detoxification medicine he made before he left the village. He had fed the previous one to Li Qingjun when she fought the demon spider and had made a new batch during the past few days. The king had the classic symptoms of lead and mercury poisoning, and this pill could do the trick. However, it could only neutralize newly absorbed toxins and provide temporary relief. The king had accumulated quite a lot of toxins in his system already, and that couldn’t be eliminated by this low-level elixir. Moreover, he was still injecting more toxins into his body every day…

“You’re very capable for your age.” The king actually cupped his hands and bowed. “I apologize for not recognizing your greatness before.”

Qin Yi rose to his feet and turned sideways so that the king wouldn’t be bowing at him. “Your Majesty, you flatter me. We fellow Taoist practitioners should help each other out. I can also make other pills for you based on your specific needs. They may not make you immortal, but they will be able to prolong your life.”

The king calmed down a little and nodded. “So you’ll do all that in exchange for Zhaoyang. Is that it?”

Qin Yi kept his face straight and said cautiously, “I wouldn’t call it an exchange. It’s as I said—we’re deeply attracted and attached to each other, and we would like to be Taoist partners for life. Your Majesty, please give us your blessing.”

The king liked the way Qin Yi put things, and he asked, “The husbands of princesses in this kingdom are not allowed to become officials in court. Do you know what opportunities you’re going to lose?”

Qin Yi replied, “Zhaoyang is the only one I want, nothing more.”

After much pondering, the king finally said, “My friend, please go back home now. I’ll have to think about it.”

Qin Yi couldn’t help but pause and look over his shoulder after he left the palace.

He thought he had done a good job. It was a near miracle that he had run into such a king. Had he been the type of king who had great talents and a bold vision, Qin Yi would’ve probably become a royal physician only. But right now, not only was he the king’s “young friend”, but the king had bowed at him as well.

He wondered how the king would choose. His health or the big picture?

But all this thinking wouldn’t change anything now. Qin Yi quickened his pace and rushed back home.

He had been away from his clubbie for the whole morning, and he missed it.

He was greeted by the strong smell of blood as soon as he set foot in his courtyard. Immediately, he thought his head was going to explode, and he rushed into the backyard.

Dead bodies were scattered on the ground and had been chopped to pieces by the formation around the wooden sword.

The spiked club stood quietly next to the sword, as though it was looking at him.

Qin Yi felt very relieved. He ran over to the spiked club and held it in his arms, ignoring the sharp spikes digging into his skin. “I was so scared… I’m so glad you’re alright…”

Liusu, who would usually reply in its sarcastic voice, was very quiet today. After a long while, it said, “You little fool.”