Chapter 208: Chapter 145: Fellow Daoist Passes Away_2
Translator: 549690339
After all, the Immortal Method is hard to attain. It’s already difficult enough for a single person to seek immortality, let alone divert their focus to other things. That would make it even more impossible to succeed.
Yet, such a person who was so determined to seek immortality had unexpectedly taken on a disciple. One could only understand how surprised Lu
Yuan was when he found out.
Seeing the shocked expression on his fellow daoist, Qi Yun smiled bitterly and said, “I know what you’re thinking. Actually, if I could, I wouldn’t want to take on a disciple so early.”
“Life is short, in a hundred years, how much suffering?
If one can’t devote all their energy to seeking immortality, time will pass quickly, and in a hundred years, they will just be a handful of yellow soil.
But little Zhuo is different. I might not be willing to take on other disciples, but for him, it’s a must.”
At this point, Qi Yun looked at Lu Yuan and sighed, “My poor daoist believes that if it were you who had met little Zhuo before me, you would have taken him as a disciple too.”
“I would have taken him as a disciple too?” Lu Yuan was a bit puzzled by this statement, then remembered the familiar feeling little Zhuo had given him earlier and faintly sensed something in his mind.
However, for a moment, he still couldn’t figure it out, so he could only look at Qi Yun, waiting for an explanation from his fellow daoist.
Seeing his fellow daoist’s gaze, Qi Yun, with a slightly saddened expression, said, “Judging from your expression earlier, you should have noticed that little Zhuo looks like a person from the past. In fact, it’s not an illusion. He is indeed the descendant of someone from the past. He is the son of Friend Kong.”
“Friend Kong?” Lu Yuan looked at Qi Yun’s expression and had a faint idea of what was going on.
Qi Yun, with a hint of sadness, continued, “Last year, I received a letter from
Friend Kong, saying that he had returned to Dongting Prefecture from South
Sea Prefecture and was now serving as the county magistrate of Lianshan
County in Yangshan Prefecture.”
It had been several years since Qi Yun and Friend Kong had last met, so in the letter, he invited Qi Yun to visit Lianshan County as a guest.
Upon receiving the news, Qi Yun was overjoyed and went to Lianshan County.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived in Yangshan Prefecture, he heard news of the Poison Sect’s rebellion, and tens of thousands of soldiers were fighting for the Fu City. The countryside was rife with Miao People and their chaotic soldiers.
Seeing this situation, Qi Yun decided not to delay and hurriedly headed to Lianshan County.
But when he arrived in Lianshan County, he found that there were already thousands of Miao People surrounding the county town, constantly attacking it.
Being in the huge army, Qi Yun dared not to forcibly break through the encirclement. Instead, he had to wait until midnight when the enemy withdrew, then sneaked into the city from the outside.
After meeting Friend Kong in the city, they talked and found out that there were only five hundred soldiers in the city, and it seemed impossible to defend it in this situation.
Qi Yun advised him to leave with him, saying it wouldn’t be difficult for him to protect Friend Kong and his family and escort them to safety with his strength.
Yet Friend Kong insisted that as the ruler of a county, he bore the trust of the emperor and the expectations of the people. Facing the enemy’s attack, how could he just abandon the city and flee?
So he asked Qi Yun to send his only son away while he would stay behind, leading the county soldiers to resist the rebels to the end.”
After a moment of silence, Qi Yun continued softly, “Little Zhuo, whose full name is Kong Zhuo, is indeed the son of Friend Kong. I took him from
Lianshan County under the trust of Friend Kong.”
Later, Qi Yun stayed with little Zhuo in Yangshan Prefecture for a few days.
On the seventh day after leaving the city, they heard that the Miao People had broken through Lianshan County and killed the officials in the city. Friend Kong was unfortunately killed in the chaos.
It was then that Qi Yun managed to hold back his grief and led little Zhuo away.
Afterward, when little Zhuo had recovered from the pain, Qi Yun took him as a disciple, with plans to look after the only offspring of Friend Kong.” Qi Yun’s tone was slightly somber as he recounted his experience from last year.
Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but fall silent.
As for Kong Yuzhu, he had only known Qi Yun for a short time after introducing Lu Yuan to him. After two years, his three-year term as a county magistrate was fulfilled, and he was transferred to South Sea Prefecture to serve as the county magistrate.
Since they hadn’t known each other long, Lu Yuan’s relationship with him wasn’t as close as Qi Yun’s.
But as someone who had introduced him to Qi Yun and once discussed the dao with them, Lu Yuan still had a good relationship with him and acknowledged him as a fellow daoist.
Now, hearing about his death, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but feel a little sad.
This Friend Kong had really bad luck.
He had been doing well as an official in Southsea Prefecture, only to be transferred back to Dongting Prefecture at an unfortunate time last year. Even that could’ve been acceptable.
If Kong Yuzhu had been assigned to a place where Lu Yuan lived, such as Shaoyang Prefecture, or the Yueyang Prefecture where the county town was located, with him and the county soldiers suppressing the situation, everything would have been stable and secure.
However, Kong Yuzhu’s appointed location was Yangshan Prefecture, where the Miao People’s influence was the strongest, and it happened to be caught up in the rebellion of the Five Poisons Sect. Fate must have determined it as such.
“Friend Kong, he…”
Lu Yuan’s heart was filled with mixed emotions, and he opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.
What could be said?
Should he praise the other for his loyalty to his country and people and dying for his cause?
Both he and Qi Yun knew that neither of them were that kind of person and didn’t agree with that concept. Saying such words now would be meaningless.
What made Lu Yuan even more emotional was seeing some of Sun Siwen’s shadow in Kong Yuzhu’s story.
He was certain.
If his good friend encountered the same situation, he would probably make the same choice as Kong Yuzhu.
If that day ever came and such a thing happened, Lu Yuan wouldn’t know how to face it.
“Let’s not talk about this anymore. Although Friend Kong has passed away, his son, Xiao Zhuo, continues to uphold his father’s will, which is enough.”
Qi Yun saw the melancholy in Lu Yuan’s heart and laughed as he shook his head, changing the subject: “Daoist, it’s been several years since we last met. I see that your temperament has changed, surpassing that of several years ago by an unknown number.”
“Your cultivation must have improved and progressed.”
“It has been a long time since you and I have discussed the Dao. Today, I’m going to take this opportunity to exchange insights.”
Lu Yuan pulled himself out of his sadness and laughed along with his Daoist friend’s invitation: “In these years, I have studied Taoist Classics and understood a lot, but I also have many doubts. I have always been worried that there would be no one to discuss them with, but it seems that today my wish will be fulfilled.”
Following that, the two began to exchange their cultivation insights.
Over the years, Lu Yuan’s understanding of the Dao Law has improved by a lot compared to the past.
Although it was still far from Qi Yun’s level, the gap had narrowed considerably.
The most obvious example was that Qi Yun could clear most of the doubts that Lu Yuan had accumulated in his cultivation, but there were still two or three out of a hundred questions that he couldn’t quite answer.
This indicated that Lu Yuan’s progress in learning Taoist Classics was slowly catching up to his Daoist friend, who had led the way.
After a discussion, Qi Yun lamented, “My Daoist friend, your talent for cultivation surpasses mine by far. In just three to five more years, you’ll be able to reach my current level. Perhaps in ten years, I will be the one asking you for guidance.”
When Lu Yuan heard this, he was delighted but modest: “Fellow Daoist Qi Yun, you overpraise me. Even if I continue to cultivate for ten more years, it will be difficult for me to reach your level. I still have a long way to learn from you.”
“Daoist friend, there is no need to be modest. I have seen your talent and progress with my own eyes.” Qi Yun shook his head and smiled, not dwelling on this topic with his friend.
Afterward, he looked at Lu Yuan and said seriously, “In just ten short years, you have reached such a level. Your innate talent is truly astonishing.”
“I originally thought that you would need another ten years to reach this level.
But now it seems that you have just made it in time.”
Confused by these cryptic words, Lu Yuan asked, ‘What do you mean, Fellow Daoist? What is it that I’ve made it in time for?”
Qi Yun smiled at his puzzled look and said, “My friend, you may not know. In our Yue State Daoism, there is a Tianluo Grand Meeting held every ten years.”
“This meeting is hosted by the leader of the country’s Daoist Path, Ziyun of Tianluo Mountain, held every ten years, with invitations extended to all the major Daoist schools in the country and even Daoists from other nations.”
“During the meeting, we cultivators can exchange Daoist laws with learned Daoists from all over the world.”
“Furthermore, several True Persons from our Daoist Path will personally demonstrate Dao Laws and explain the mysteries of Immortal Techniques.” “Those are truly the profound methods of immortality…”
As Qi Yun spoke, a look of reminiscence and longing appeared on his face.
It was evident that he held the Tianluo Grand Meeting in high regard and was looking forward to it.
Seeing this, even Lu Yuan couldn’t help but feel immensely curious..