When I heard Xuan Zhenzi asking me to kneel down, I knew that what he was going to explain next must be very important, so my knees suddenly softened and I knelt in front of him.
Xuan Zhenzi stretched out his hand, put it on my head again, and said slowly,
"You have been with me for five years. Although you have been laying the foundation for five years, I have taught you a lot of practical things. As long as you can calm down and settle down, and spend a few more years thinking about it, you may not be able to become a powerful practitioner in the future. But..."
His conversation changed and his tone became extremely serious.
"You and I don't have the title of master and disciple. From now on, when you travel around the world, you are not allowed to show off in my name, and you are not allowed to casually tell outsiders that you were taught by me. Can you do this?"
I gritted my teeth and said aggrievedly, "I know."
Xuan Zhenzi added, "The second point is that you have a special life experience and bear the family mission of the Eight Meridians on your shoulders. If it is not necessary, try not to tell outsiders about your origins, so as not to get burned. You should also remember this."
I still nodded, indicating that I had taken note of it.
In fact, even if Xuan Zhenzi didn't tell me, I was aware that my life experience was rather special. Just the Yin Jade pendant left by my mother would probably attract the covetousness of others. I am very clear about the principle of not revealing one's wealth.
"And the most important thing."
Xuan Zhenzi's fingers on my head suddenly exerted force, giving me a tingling sensation. His eyes were cold and he said word by word,
"I taught you those skills so that you can protect yourself. In the future, you must not rely on skills to show off evil. If you let me know that you have entered the evil way, I will definitely find you personally and take back everything I gave you. This is your point. Must remember!"
He looked down at me, his eyes more severe than ever.
I trembled all over, knelt on the ground and kowtowed, choking and saying, "Master, don't worry, I will be a good person and never let down your expectations of me."
We have been together for five years, and even stones can be heated. I have long regarded Xuan Zhenzi as the person closest to me. When I heard these parting words, I felt extremely uncomfortable. I couldn't help but ask,
"Then...can we see each other again?"
"The world is far away. As long as there is fate, we will meet again. I just hope that you can be more mature by then and stop crying so much."
Xuan Zhenzi silently retracted his hand, let out a long sigh, and told me the last sentence, asking me to "do good deeds and accumulate virtue, so that I can do it for myself."
After saying that, he left, leaving so decisively that he didn't even look back.
I looked lonely and kept kneeling there, looking at Xuan Zhenzi's retreating back. My nose felt sour and my heart became hollow.
"Brother Dao, wait for me!"
Master Mingtong also finished explaining the matter and shouted to Xuan Zhenzi's back. Just as he was about to catch up, he seemed to remember something and turned around again, with a kind smile on his kind face.
"Zhou Xuan, you and my silly apprentice have a close relationship. We will definitely meet again in the future, and I will ask you to take care of me when the time comes."
I nodded vigorously, "Master, don't worry, Huizhen and I hit it off like brothers. There is no need to say these unfamiliar words."
"That's good, that's good..."
Master Mingtong patted the back of my head three times, leaving an inexplicable smile on my face. He also turned around with a big stride and chased after Xuan Zhenzi in the direction he left.
The two old men, one behind the other, soon disappeared by the village road, leaving Huizhen and I looking at each other in confusion, really confused as to what medicine they were selling in their gourds.
After being silent for a while, Huizhen came over and helped me up and said,
"Zhou Xuan, let's go back to the village. My master said before he left that he and the old Taoist master were going to do something very important. This matter has been bothering him for most of his life. If he doesn't get rid of this knot, he will die. We don’t feel at ease because we are not qualified enough to have access to these secrets. When we grow up, we may have the opportunity to help them."
"Um."
I nodded blankly and accompanied Huizhen into the village again.
The thick fog has dissipated, and under the warm sunshine on the horizon, Yama Village has finally returned to its former tranquility.
Huizhen and I spent a lot of time gathering together most of the fleeing villagers. Fortunately, there were no major casualties. Except for some who fell off the cliff due to fright, most of the villagers lost their arms and legs. Survived.
The only thing that puzzled me was that Father Qin and his family disappeared inexplicably.
At first I thought they hid in the woods because of fear, and I went to the woods with Huizhen to look for them for a long time.
But even after a whole day, I couldn't find a single human hair.
Just when Huizhen and I were extremely anxious, we heard another surviving villager say, "The village chief and his family have left. I saw them taken away by a group of strangers with my own eyes."
ah?
I was puzzled and asked about the origins of those strangers. Who took away their family of three?
The villagers shook their heads in confusion and said they didn't know. Those people were dressed strangely and they didn't look like locals at first glance, especially the old man who led the way. He was very tall and powerful, and even his hair was red...
What!
Hearing this, Huizhen and I couldn't help but be stunned.
So, Father Qin's family was "kidnapped" by the old man named Ji, but everything was fine. Why did the old man take away the family?
I couldn't figure this out, but Huizhen finally guessed the reason.
"Zhou Xuan, didn't the old Taoist master say that the Qin family is also a descendant of the Eight Meridians? Qin Ni, like you, is a descendant of the Eight Meridians. Perhaps it is for this reason that the old man surnamed Ji is targeting them."
I said blankly, "This old man named Ji is Xuan Zhenzi's mortal enemy. He was also responsible for planning half of the incident in Yamawanggou. How will Father Qin and his family of three be treated if they fall into his hands?"
Huizhen couldn't answer, and said with a sad face,
"Our abilities are too weak and we are not qualified to intervene in this kind of thing, but I have an intuition that maybe one day in the future, we will meet Qin Ni again, but I don't know who will be standing next to her at that time. From what standpoint?"
Yes, we are too weak when we just leave the army. We can't even protect ourselves. How can we save the people of the Qin family?
As there was no better way, Huizhen and I stayed in the village to help search for the remaining villagers. We struggled for two days until all the escaped villagers were found, and we set foot on the return journey tiredly.
When we came to the nearest town, Huizhen and I were about to break up.
He received a mission from Master Mingtong and must rush back to Xuankong Temple as soon as possible to deliver the letter and continue to complete his practice.
I was confused and didn't know where I could go.
Huizhen said, "Why don't you come back to Xuankong Temple with me? I'll ask the senior brother in charge to take you in and stay on the mountain with me to practice."
I smiled bitterly for a while, shook my head, and said I'd better forget it. I didn't want to be a monk, and I wasn't used to the life in the temple. Even eating an egg had to be careful.
In this way, Huizhen and I parted ways, one heading south, the other heading north, reluctantly embarking on our own paths of spiritual practice. We agreed that we would travel together in the world after we completed our studies.
