Heaven is the shore of mortal dust

Chapter 7

[Volume 1, Deer City Chapter: Chapter 6, The Decision]

Life in the valley was leisurely and comfortable, and more than ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

She had devoured all of her master's ancient books. In her spare time, she would play Go with her master, catch small shrimp, compose poems, and savor the aroma of Juyun wine. When she had nothing to do, she would lie among the wildflowers, watching the clouds drift by. Wei Zijun felt that happy days had returned.

These days, Dieyun always followed Wei Zijun around. Wherever she went, he wouldn't immediately follow, but he would always appear there soon after. The two often lay side by side on the ground, chatting about this and that. This prolonged contact also made him less prone to blushing.

Her master had asked her how she got caught up in the war and who had wounded her. She said she didn't know, and then asked her master if he would believe her if she told him a shocking story about her origins. Her master said, "No need to say it, and don't tell anyone else." She remembered it and never spoke of it to anyone afterward.

Dieyun had already begun teaching her some martial arts. The day Dieyun heard his master say he would teach Wei Zijun, he was so excited he couldn't sleep all night. Wei Zijun, however, reluctantly asked her master: "Why is it that even though I am your disciple, you won't teach me?" Her master replied: "If you want him to teach you, you must first defeat Dieyun."

It's easy to imagine that Dieyun now walks with her nose in the air.

Perhaps because her past self must have practiced martial arts frequently, she became surprisingly adept at it. Sometimes, a single move she unleashed would astonish Dieyun, as these were strange techniques that Dieyun had never taught her. Furthermore, due to her exceptional intelligence, she could recite the mental techniques and formulas fluently, understanding each phrase perfectly, resulting in astonishingly rapid progress. Her master's gaze was filled with admiration, and recently, he had often said to Dieyun, "You said I wouldn't accept martial arts prodigies? Isn't this martial arts prodigy right here?"

She had planned to practice martial arts in the valley for two months before going out to explore the world. Having just arrived in this world, she hadn't yet figured out what to do.

But one thing changed her mind.

Yesterday evening, the three of them sat happily on the round wooden stools outside for dinner. The food was still prepared by the chef and Dieyun. Wei Zijun sometimes felt bad and often wanted to cook for them, but after they ate it once, they forbade her to cook again.

Wei Zijun remembered that after her wound healed, she was given small fish and shrimp to eat, as well as eggs, and for several days in a row, she ate only black-boned chicken.

These days, the meals usually consist of steamed buns and small river shrimp, or tender bamboo shoots and some wild vegetables from the valley. Wei Zijun always ate with great relish, finding the natural delicacies simply too delicious.

But she also noticed that there was never any meat in the dishes. She thought it was just that her master liked to eat vegetarian food, since she didn't like to eat meat either.

Later, she discovered that her master and Dieyun often fought over eating the leftovers.

On this day, the chef steamed new flower rolls, but there were only four left over from a few days ago. The flower rolls were not only dry from being heated repeatedly, but also had many red spots on them, and some parts were obviously moldy.

The chef placed the freshly steamed flower rolls into Wei Zijun and Dieyun's bowls, and then picked up the remaining flower rolls for himself.

"Master, you can't eat this, it's already moldy." Wei Zijun stared at the steamed bun her master was about to put into his mouth.

"Oh, it's alright, just peel it off." He said, carefully peeling off the moldy spots with his hands, afraid of taking too much flesh with him.

"You can't eat that either. Moldy things are bad for your stomach. Master, please eat something new." Wei Zijun tried her best to stop him, while putting some new food into his bowl.

The chef then took the steamed buns out of the bowl, saying, "It's alright, you can have these."

Watching her master casually chew on the moldy steamed bun, Wei Zijun suddenly realized that none of it was inevitable. The meat star she'd never seen before, the wild vegetables they were constantly eating, and the black-boned chicken that disappeared after she recovered from its effects after several days of consumption…

After the meal, Wei Zijun dragged Dieyun out.

As the sun set and twilight crept in, the surrounding scenery could still be vaguely discerned.

They ran all the way to the bamboo forest on the east side before stopping.

"Dieyun... do you think... Master... can hear us... talking?" Wei Zijun asked, panting as she leaned against the bamboo.

"Master can transmit sound in secret and can hear sounds from a thousand miles away, so of course he can hear it."

"Shh, keep your voice down?" Wei Zijun thought Die Yun's voice was too loud, and that their master might have heard it.

“But Master only listens when he’s alert. Now that life is so safe, Master won’t listen,” Dieyun added softly.

"Oh, that's good!" Wei Zijun felt a little relieved.

"Do you want to say bad things about Master?" Dieyun grinned, revealing a row of small teeth.

"I want to ask you, is your master very poor?"

"..."

"Does your master live a very frugal life?"

Seeing that Dieyun remained silent, Wei Zijun became even more certain of her suspicions. "Dieyun, why aren't you saying anything? Does that mean you're admitting it? Master's kung fu is so good, and his reputation is so great, how could he not have money?"

"What does being good at kung fu have to do with being rich?" Dieyun asked, somewhat angrily.

Wei Zijun also realized that her clever mind had made a logical mistake. Yes, what did being good at kung fu have to do with being rich? Someone like her master certainly wouldn't rob or steal, nor would he accept money from others. Without business or farming, where would she get money? And now, living in seclusion here, not wanting the outside world to know, she had no way to make money.

"Dieyun, do you want to tell me?" Wei Zijun's tone was unusually firm; she needed Dieyun to tell her about her master's situation.

"Sigh!" Dieyun sighed. "I shouldn't have said these things; Master will be unhappy if he finds out."

"If you don't tell me and I don't tell you, how will Master know? Tell me quickly, or Master will find out later," Wei Zijun urged.

"Sigh!" Dieyun sighed again. "Actually, Master has always lived a very frugal life. I am the orphan of Master's friend, and Master raised me single-handedly. Since I can remember, Master only had two sets of clothes to change into, and he would give all the good food to me. Before you came, we ate black flour buns, but after you came, Master used up all the white flour he had left. Today was the last bit, so it wasn't enough. Master has been using his savings, and there's not much left. In addition, he went out of the valley to buy a few black-boned chickens and some medicinal herbs that aren't available in the mountains to replenish your blood, which used up almost half of his remaining savings. Master also wants to go out and try to find a way, but he doesn't want to accept the dirty money from those who hire assassins. Because of his reputation in the martial arts world, what can he do? I've wanted to go out and work for a long time, but Master won't let me. He says I'll be hunted down by my enemies, so he's never let me go out. And I just watch Master struggle like this, unable to help at all." Dieyun's voice was filled with pain, and her knuckles cracked in the darkness.

Wei Zijun's eyes welled up with tears as she listened. These simple and kind people gave their best to others, even at the cost of their own lives, even if they were wandering heroes.

"You've been crying?" Although night had fallen, the light still made it easy for Dieyun to see the glistening tears on Wei Zijun's face. She wanted to reach out and wipe them away, but then hesitated, unsure whether she should.

"Dieyun, I want to leave the valley." Wei Zijun's voice still had a nasal tone, but it was undeniably firm.

She wanted to go out and earn money so that her master could live a better life.

This was the first wish Wei Zijun made upon arriving here.

[Volume 1, Deer City Chapter: Chapter 7 Leaving the Valley]

Early that morning, Wei Zijun, who was always a heavy sleeper, got up.