"Liu Ying, do you think we can kill him if we join forces?" Xue Qing said to Liu Ying with a sinister glance at the carriage.
Firefly shook her head seriously.
Xue Qing sighed: "Once I've mastered the Yi Jin Jing, I'm going to kill my master!"
Driving the carriage was physically demanding. In the morning, Xue Qing, fueled by her newfound enthusiasm, drove with great energy under Liu Ying's guidance. By the afternoon, she was mechanically cracking the whip every now and then. As evening approached, Xue Qing simply fell asleep sitting up, whip in hand. Liu Ying shook her head helplessly, lowered Xue Qing's hand, and removed the whip. The carriage traveled a little further before Liu Ying gently nudged Xue Qing's neck, causing her to lean against her, her head resting on her shoulder. Seeing Xue Qing's sleeping face up close and feeling her breath clearly, Liu Ying's lips curved into a smile. Her cheek pressed against Xue Qing's hair as the small carriage clattered along in the setting sun, leaving behind their intimate shadows.
After enduring endless torment from Abbot Chankong, Xue Qing was on the verge of collapse when they finally arrived at Shaoshi Mountain. Xue Qing jumped off the carriage and cheered, but her joy was premature. Suddenly, two iron rods, resembling Sun Wukong's golden cudgel, were placed on Xue Qing's neck. Xue Qing dared not jump anymore and stood there dumbfounded.
"This is a sacred Buddhist site. Female guests are not welcome. Anyone who tries to trespass will be killed," said two bald monks who looked like robots.
"This bewitching star who looks like a female benefactor was brought here by me." Abbot Chankong stepped down from the carriage unhurriedly, his elegant and noble appearance resembling that of an imperial concubine.
"Abbot!" The two monks clasped their hands together and bowed to Abbot Chankong.
Xue Qing felt a strong sense of unease. "Those who force their way in will die..." Wasn't this the slogan that arrogant villains loved to put up at their doorsteps?! Was this really the Shaolin Temple?! Would she be fooled by a fake temple like Tang Sanzang?!
“You will stay in Huiying’s old room,” Abbot Chankong said to Xue Qing.
"Huiying?" Xue Qing didn't understand.
"My Buddhist name when I was at Shaolin Temple," Liu Ying replied calmly.
"...Pfft." Xue Qing tried to hold back her laughter, but she failed.
"Huixin, you take Huiying to the east side of the mountain, and I will take Yaoxing to her room," Abbot Chankong instructed. One of the monks guarding the mountain accepted the order.
Xue Qing clung tightly to Liu Ying's sleeve, refusing to let go. Liu Ying finally managed to pry her hand away, saying, "Don't worry, Uncle-Master, Abbot Chan Kong won't eat you."
Xue Qing followed Abbot Chankong to a secluded wooden house on Shaoshi Mountain. Judging from the overgrown vegetation around it, the place had been abandoned for a long time.
"Did Liuying live here before?" Xue Qing curiously examined the furnishings in the room, which were covered in a thick layer of dust. Could it be that Liuying left and didn't live here anymore? Why did Liuying live in such a remote place? Was the Shaolin Temple bullying the foster child?
Bang! Abbot Chankong slammed the door shut from the outside, locking Xue Qing inside. Xue Qing instinctively tried to pull the door open, but couldn't budge it. She shouted urgently, "You old geezer! You bald monk! What are you doing? Stop it! Let me out!"
“Amitabha, you demon star, may this sacred Buddhist site be able to reform you,” Abbot Chankong said from outside the door.
"Treat me with your 'reform' my foot! Let me out! I'll tear down your little temple!" Xue Qing kicked the door in anger.
“Benefactor, once you enter Shaolin Temple, you can forget about leaving,” Abbot Chankong continued.
"Bald monk, what are you doing? Didn't you bring me here to learn the Yi Jin Jing?!" Xue Qing said angrily.
"You're too naive, Demon Star. Do you think the Yi Jin Jing is something that can be passed on to just anyone?"
"Didn't you say I have extraordinary talent, a once-in-a-century genius who can learn the Yi Jin Jing..." Xue Qing still held onto the hope that this was a prank.
"Just kidding."
One sentence shattered her beautiful dream... What a rip-off!
Author's Note: Thank you Lea for the free ticket! ╭(╯3╰)╮
I haven't decided what to write for Fang Yun's little skit yet (she only has one line in my character design...), so I might upload it a couple of days later. Just letting you know I haven't forgotten!
Gate of Life
The small, dilapidated house looked like it could collapse in a gust of wind from the outside, but it was surprisingly sturdy inside. Xue Qing drew her sword and slashed wildly at the door, only managing to scratch it a few times. Frustrated, Xue Qing sat down on the bed, which creaked twice, showing how old it was. What bothered Xue Qing most was that Abbot Chankong kept striking a wooden fish outside the door, saying he wanted to use the sacred sounds of Buddhism to influence her. Xue Qing tore a hole in the quilt and pulled out two wads of cotton, stuffing them into her ears.
After realizing she couldn't get past the broken door, Xue Qing began rummaging through the room, turning everything that could move, and even tapping on each floor tile, hoping for a secret passage. She tapped on every tile, but besides getting covered in dust, she found nothing. When it was time to eat, the sound of the wooden fish drum outside finally stopped. Abbot Chankong pushed open the small square wooden door at the bottom and brought in a bowl of rice. The rice was covered with a row of bright green vegetables, which looked unappetizing, and Xue Qing certainly had no appetite at the moment.
"Bald monk! Where's Liuying?! What have you done to my nephew?!" Xue Qing shouted at Abbot Chankong through the door.
"Amitabha, benefactor demon star, this old monk will not make things difficult for benefactor firefly, please rest assured."
"What did I do wrong? Why are you locking me up?" Xue Qing asked again.
“As I have already said, you are a demon star incarnate. As the abbot, it is my responsibility to influence this demon star. You need not be alarmed. In six months at most, or three months at least, I will be able to purify your heart. When that time comes, I will not stop you from leaving the mountain,” Abbot Chankong said from outside the door.
"Old bald monk, do you think I'd still believe you? The lies you've told are enough to build a ladder straight to hell," Xue Qing asked with a sneer.
"You have no choice but to believe me, you can choose not to believe me, but you still have no choice."
Xue Qing didn't want to continue talking to Abbot Chankong. Perhaps it was true, as he said, that there was no secret passage here and that the walls were as solid as iron. But she still couldn't give up. Liu Ying had survived twelve sword wounds; she was just trapped. As long as she was alive, there was hope! Giving up easily was not in her nature!
"Health is the foundation of everything, and I can't let my body suffer." Xue Qing picked up her rice bowl and started eating. "Pah, no salt!" she thought, then forced herself to swallow another bite. "How bitter!" she thought, "Think of the Red Army's Long March, how tiring!" She thought of the guerrillas back then, how grass and leather belts were much harder to eat than this stuff. With this belief, she finished the whole bowl of rice. "I can't blame the government for my bad luck, and I can't blame society for my misfortune." Xue Qing felt that her ability to accept things passively was almost on par with M.
That night, Abbot Chankong stopped striking the wooden fish outside the door; he needed to rest too. After nightfall, Xue Qing finally understood what Liuying meant by "be tolerant of the abbot's snoring." The deafening snoring echoed in the room. Abbot Chankong slept in his own room, but his profound inner strength made his snoring sound like a lion's roar. No matter how much cotton was in Xue Qing's ears, it was useless. The abbot's snoring was deeply etched into the hearts of mortals.
Xue Qing lay on the bed, her breathing unconsciously synchronized with the abbot's snoring, rising and falling in sync. Even the old monk's snoring was infectious! She wondered where Liu Ying was now, whether the old monk had locked her in the woodshed. He was so tender, staying in a monk's apartment where there had never been any female relatives... Xue Qing jumped out of bed and unleashed another storm of fierce swordplay at the hateful door.
"Damn it! If you dare lay a finger on my people...!" "Bald monk! Spit out my roast chicken!" "Abbot, let's talk this over, what is this nonsense...?"
Exhausted, Xue Qing leaned wearily against the door and sat down. Touching the door, she confirmed it was wood, its sturdiness comparable to steel. Pressing her face against the door for close observation, Xue Qing discovered an even stranger phenomenon: even with the toughness of the Qingyun Sword, it could only leave shallow white scratches on the door. These scratches would slowly disappear on their own, just like a human wound healing itself. Human wounds heal naturally because humans are alive, so could the door be alive too?
Xue Qing retrieved a calligraphy brush from her room, dipped it in ink, and applied it to the scratches she had just made on the door. Now, all she needed was a good night's sleep, and she would know the answer she sought the next morning. Sleeping soundly amidst Abbot Chankong's deafening snoring was truly difficult. No matter what she tried—meditation, counting sheep, or burying her head in her pillow—she simply couldn't fall asleep. Abbot Chankong's snoring was like sharp swords piercing Xue Qing's eardrums, challenging her nerves, leaving her no room to relax, and making sleep impossible.
Xue Qing lay face down on the bed, covering her head with a pillow. The irritability pressed down on her lower abdomen, and the blood rushed to her head. The base of her ears felt warm, as if there was a membrane inside them. She felt that her snoring seemed to have weakened a bit. Xue Qing continued to lie in that position and gradually she was finally able to fall asleep.
At this moment, Liu Ying was playing the zither in a guest room at Shaolin Temple. The zither was placed by the window, and looking up, one could see the bright moon outside, its white surface speckled with dark spots—a beautiful imperfection. Liu Ying's fingertips gently plucked the strings, the music blending with Abbot Chan Kong's snoring, the casually played notes soothing and comforting. Several months had passed since the dramatic change that day. No, it shouldn't be said that his martial aunt had changed much; she was a completely different person, not just in her habits and temperament, but in everything except her appearance. The former Xue Qing would never have agreed to come to Shaolin Temple. She had an innate pride in the martial arts of the Lingyu School; how could she possibly learn the internal energy cultivation methods of another school?
Ancient books record a technique of resurrection in the desert, which no one has ever witnessed and no one has ever believed. The ancestors said it was a rumor spread by the desert to maintain its mysterious image. As Liu Ying played the zither, she pondered. If such a strange technique of resurrection really existed, then everything up to now could be explained. She felt a sense of relief mixed with a touch of melancholy.
The desert is a place that only recognizes the strong. Mothers will not hesitate to abandon their disabled children. When food is scarce, it is also common practice to discard the weakest child. So, Liu Ying was abandoned when he was very young. Perhaps he was driven out of the tent, or perhaps he woke up to find that his parents and brothers had all moved away, leaving him alone. Liu Ying can't remember, just as he can't remember how he survived. The war between the desert and the Central Plains caused more and more refugees to eke out a living in the desert. Liu Ying thought that he would be trampled to death by the fleeing crowds sooner or later. Unexpectedly, not only did he not die, but he was also taken back to the Central Plains by the Lingyu Sect. It is not an exaggeration to say that Xue Qing was his second parent.
He had thought he would live his life peacefully like this, but all that vanished when he learned that Xue Qing was secretly involved with Yan Ming. The one who saved his life was his father, and he could not defy his will; the one who gave him a second life was his mother, and he could not go against her wishes. Liu Ying, by fate, should have died in the desert. Since she had saved his life, he should return it all to her, offering all his gratitude and loyalty. But she didn't care at all. She had taken him to the Central Plains, but she wanted to go back to the desert.
During that dramatic turn of events, when he first checked Xue Qing's breathing, she had stopped. The second time, however, she seemed to have regained her vitality. At the time, he thought it was just a final burst of energy before death, and was too busy saving her to think about anything else. Later, recalling the events, he was filled with doubts. She was completely transformed; she was talkative and strange, a far cry from her former aloofness. Liu Ying had been secretly investigating whether Xue Qing had used disguise or impersonation techniques, and the conclusion was, of course, no. Could a person's personality change so drastically due to a qi deviation?