Chu Li approached him, smiled and asked, “If I may ask, young Revered Sir, what are they doing?”
“Almsgiver Chu, they’re keeping calm, setting their minds at ease.” Xu An kept his Sarira and closed his palms as he said that in a serious manner.
Chu Li smiled and asked, “Why are they keeping calm and setting their minds at ease?”
“They saw the beauty of Almsgiver Xiao so their hearts moved and became disturbed. So they’ll have to keep calm and set their minds at ease,” Xu An said.
“Young Revered Sir, then why is it that you don’t have to do so?”
“My heart has already been moved anyway. What use would it be if it’s calmer or as is, why not just let it go with the flow?” replied Xu An.
Chu Li laughed and said, “Young Revered Sir, your words are deep and meaningful.”
“My Master doesn’t like what I say.” Xu An shook his head. He looked bothered.
Chu Li said, “Young Revered Sir when you manage to cultivate the divine powers, your master will not bother you anymore.”
“I can’t cultivate,” Xu An replied.
Chu Li raised his brows. “Why not?”
“My Master says that I’m congenitally-deficient. I won’t be able to cultivate as cultivation will only cause me to die faster,” Xu An said.
Chu Li nodded slowly.
Xu An certainly looked ill and seemed like he had a weak body.
“I have a slight knowledge of medicine. How about I take a look?” Chu Li reached out his hand toward him.
Xu An extended his wrist over.
Since Chu Li could not rely on the Omniscient Mirror, he could only use shreds of his inner energy to scan through his body. He pondered and remained silent.
As expected, Xu An had a weak and dispirited meridian, which was a sign of congenital deficiency. However…
Chu Li could not deny that Xu An’s meridian was very similar to Xiao Shi’s from before, but he thought that there could not be such a coincidence.
Xu An said, “Master said that my body has to rest slowly and there’s no other way. Divine powers are not all-powerful.”
“Can’t you cultivate the Ten Lifetimes of Dharma?” Chu Li asked.
Xu An replied, “If I want to cultivate the Ten Lifetimes of Dharma, I have to first master one divine power but now I can’t cultivate.”
“I have one skill though. But I’ll have to go outside of the temple to perform this.” Chu Li saw that he had a kind nature and was born with intelligence. Xu An was a really good young successor so Chu Li started to think that he would prove to be a valuable treasure.
“Can it heal my body?” Xu An tilted his head and looked at him.
Chu Li replied, “It can.”
“Then I’ll have to ask my master first,” Xu An said.
Chu Li smiled and nodded.
Xu An put his palms together and ran off once he stood up.
After a moment, an old monk strode towards him. He had a tall and burly figure with slight rickets. He had a nose like a lion’s and eyes like a tiger. His eyes were sharp and piercing; he looked more like a martial arts expert than a senior monk.
“I’m Kong Fa. Nice to meet you, Almsgiver Chu.” the old monk put his palms together and greeted him.
Chu Li did the same. “Revered Sir Kong Fa, I have a technique called the Nine Transformation Meridian Reforming Technique. It will heal Young Revered Sir Xu An’s congenital deficiency.”
“Amitabha… Indeed, a good opportunity has come. The world will not lose Xu An. Thank you, Almsgiver Chu.” Kong Fa put his palms together and laughed in joy.
Chu Li said, “I’ll have to perform this outside of the temple. Will Revered Sir Kong Fa be all right with that?”
“Can an old man like me come along?”
“Of course.”
“Then it’ll be all right. When can you start treating him?”
“If I have enough needles, I can do it now.” Chu Li then explained to Kong Fa about the needles required.
Monk Kong Fa strode away.
Chu Li looked at his manner then looked at Xu An. Like Master, like Disciple, Kong Fa seemed to be a freewheeling person which could briefly be seen from Xu An’s character as well.
After some time, Kong Fa returned bringing a box of needles along with him and passed it to Chu Li.
Chu Li received the box and looked at it. “All right, let’s go out of the temple.”
The three of them pushed the door open and arrived outside the temple. Chu Li found a forest where they could take shelter in so that he could perform the Nine Transformation Meridian Reforming Technique on Xu An.
Once they separated from the stupa that was shrouded over by the golden light, Chu Li asked Xu An to pass the Sarira to Kong Fa.
When Chu Li activated the Omniscient Mirror, he scanned through every part of Xu An’s body. His face turned gloomy.
He could not imagine that there would be such a coincidence in the world!
Chu Li frowned and looked at Kong Fa.
Kong Fa noticed that Chu Li had an odd look on his face, so he asked, “Almsgiver Chu, it didn’t work?”
Chu Li replied, “Master Kong Fa, do you know of Young Revered Sir Xu An’s condition?”
“He’s congenitally-deficient and weak. It was probably because his vitality was hurt when he was still in his mother’s womb,” Kong Fa answered.
Chu Li shook his head and sighed. “It’s the Vitality Sealing Finger.”
The moment he saw the Vitality Sealing Finger, Chu Li recalled the suffering and pain that Xiao Shi had been put through. The one who did this must be extremely vicious. Previously it was King An. Who would it be this time around?
For such a vicious trick to be spread out, that person must be exceedingly evil!
Kong Fa was at a loss.
Chu Li then explained to him about the origin of the Vitality Sealing Finger.
“What an evil skill it is! What a thief, how can an evil person like that exist in the world? I hate that I can’t murder that person with my own hands!” Kong Fa became cold and sounded like he had a killing intention.
Chu Li said, “By the looks of it, it seems like Young Revered Sir Xu An has an unusual background. A normal child from a normal household doesn’t deserve the Vitality Sealing Finger!”
Kong Fa sighed, then shook his head and said, “Indeed, Xu An came from a noble family but since he’s with the Titanium Temple now, he has left home. All his moldering past in the world has all been laid aside. There’s no need to bother about that anymore.”
Since Chu Li saw that he had no intentions of revealing anything and he could not read Kong Fa’s mind either due to the Sarira, he said, “If that’s the case, let’s start performing the technique now.”
——
That night, Chu Li, Kong Fa and Xu An stayed on the outside of the temple.
The next morning, Chu Li removed the needles. Xu An’s ill look had faded away drastically. He looked much more smoothed out.
Xu An moved his shoulders excitedly as he asked, “Almsgiver Chu, am I all well now?”
Chu Li laughed and said, “There’s one more step, lifting the Vitality Sealing Finger.”
He looked towards Kong Fa. “Revered Sir, lifting the Vitality Sealing Finger is extremely risky. If he survives, it’ll be a narrow escape from death.”
“Just lift it!” Kong Fa said faintly.
“Very well!” at once, Chu Li hit his palm with great force at Xu An’s Bai Hui acupoint.
Xu An became still instantly, a strong inner energy flowed directly down from his head to toe like a bursting flash flood. In an instant, it broke off all obstacles that were present in his body.
“Puff puff! Puff puff puff puff!” Xu An released a series of farts. At that moment, he became extremely energetic and spirited.
Chu Li let go of his hand and let out a long sigh of relief. “It succeeded!”
Kong Fa pressed on Xu An’s wrist and broke into a joyous laughter. “Nice! Nice! As expected, good luck and opportunity have come. Xu An, quickly kowtow to Almsgiver Chu!”
Chu Li immediately waved his hand and smiled. “There’s no need for that. It was a piece of cake!”
“For you, it’s just a piece of cake, but for Xu An, it’s ten lifetimes of destiny! It’s a grace of rebirth, of course, he has to thank you properly. How about I pass on another divine power to you?” Kong Fa laughed happily.
Chu Li could not help but smile. “Revered Sir, it’s your temple’s divine powers…”
Kong Fa said, “We don’t take passing on techniques as a light matter but you’ve saved Xu An. It’s a debt of gratitude that must be honored. How can we not repay you?”
Chu Li thought for a moment. “If that’s the case, I won’t reject your offer, Revered Sir. What divine power are you going to pass on to me?”
“The God’s Limbs, what do you think?”
“I couldn’t wish for more!”
“Very well, let us return to the temple before we begin. In the temple, no one will be able to pry on us. If we’re outside, we won’t be sure of that,” Kong Fa said.
Chu Li looked around at his surroundings.
When the three of them returned to the temple, a few novices were practicing fist techniques. When they saw that they had returned, two of them ran away and came back with two old monks.
Kong Fa laughed out loud. “Brother Kong Zhi, Brother Kong Hui, Almsgiver Chu has healed Xu An!”
Both of the old monks looked at Xu An for a brief moment then pressed against his wrist, then they looked at Chu Li with joy.
“I’d like to pass on the God’s Limbs to Almsgiver Chu.”
“Kong Fa, why don’t you teach him something else? If you pass on this divine power to him, he might not succeed anyway.” old monk Kong Zhi shook his head and said.
“That might not be true. I’ve seen that Almsgiver Chu has an intelligence that surpasses many others. For all you know, he might be able to cultivate it. Maybe not now but he might comprehend it one day!” Kong Fa smiled and said.
“Do as you wish then.” both the old monks Kong Zhi and Kong Hui shook their heads and left.
Kong Fa brought Chu Li to his house – the second house on the right, then passed a lection to him.
When Chu Li returned to his house, Xiao Shi was reading at the table.
She glanced at him and scoffed, then buried her face in the book again.
Chu Li smiled and told Xiao Shi everything that had happened when he was away.
Xiao Shi’s face turned gloomy. “The Vitality Sealing Finger? Is King An the one who did it again?”
“How can there be such a coincidence?” Chu Li shook his head.
Xiao Shi scoffed. “The Xiao Monk is really lucky.”
There were very few people who could lift the Vitality Sealing Finger and Chu Li was one of them. And unexpectedly, the novice met had him.
“Yes, luck is quite important in cultivation too. Young Revered Sir Xu An will become a big icon in the future. Just like you, Lady, he is bound for good fortune after surviving a great disaster, Motherly Model of the nation!” Chu Li said.
Chu Li laughed as he said that.