Chapter 195 - 194: Self-Salvation
The Library Pavilion was nestled beside a tranquil bamboo forest.
Inside, the pavilion was brightly lit, and the air was thick with the scent of old books.
The elder guarding the pavilion was not sitting idle. He was currently playing Go with someone, the black and white stones on the board locked in a fierce, indecisive struggle.
The person playing against the elder was none other than Duan Mengjing, whom Chen Shouheng had met at the pavilion during the entrance assessment.
Hearing that Chen Shouheng wanted to borrow a book, the pavilion elder looked up with a hint of displeasure. "Lad, keep an eye on this fellow, Duan. Don’t let him secretly swap a stone while I’m away!"
Hearing this, Duan Mengjing, holding a black stone, feigned anger. "You old coot! Am I that kind of person? Last time, you were the one whose eyes were playing tricks on him. You miscounted the stones and then blamed it on me!"
The pavilion elder snorted, his whiskers bristling as his eyes widened. "You know perfectly well what kind of person you are! Last time, I was on the verge of winning. All I did was turn around to pour a cup of tea, and somehow that critical white stone in the corner had moved! If it wasn’t your mischief, did the stone grow legs and run off on its own?"
Duan Mengjing replied, "That’s just your bad memory. Stop slandering my good name! Go on, and hurry back. Don’t hold up this young friend’s business."
The elder shot him another glare before grumbling and turning to enter the inner stacks.
Duan Mengjing looked at Chen Shouheng. "Three months in Guangye Hall. How has it been?"
Chen Shouheng answered respectfully, "Reporting to Master Duan, I have benefited immensely."
This was no empty platitude. Though what he had learned in the past three months was varied, he knew that if he had stayed at Mirror Mountain Lingxi, he might never have encountered such a vast world in ten years, or even a lifetime.
Duan Mengjing asked again, "You were the first to ascend the stone steps, yet you were assigned to Guangye Hall. Do you hold any resentment in your heart?"
"I have no complaints."
Chen Shouheng’s reply was candid.
"Truly?"
Duan Mengjing raised his eyes, his gaze seemingly able to pierce through a person’s heart.
"Truly, I do not!"
Chen Shouheng’s tone was firm.
This was indeed what he believed. But just as the words left his mouth, above his Dantian, the illusory Divine Sense condensed by the Prajna Glaze Heart Sutra of the Self-Viewing trembled slightly.
"So that’s how it is."
A flicker of surprise, then amusement, crossed Duan Mengjing’s eyes.
He had clearly sensed the strange stir of Chen Shouheng’s Divine Sense. "It was my idea to place you in Guangye Hall, not Zhao Anshi’s. If you have any resentment, direct it at me."
Hearing this, Chen Shouheng was not angered. Instead, his expression grew serious. He took half a step back, bowed deeply to Duan Mengjing, and said sincerely, "This junior thanks Master Duan for your graciousness!"
This was not false courtesy.
Suixing Hall was excellent, with abundant resources for dedicated Cultivation, but given his current family situation and needs, he had to earn money to support himself. Guangye Hall, with its work-study model, was a much better fit for him.
Duan Mengjing nodded slightly, seemingly pleased with his attitude, and then changed the subject. "Why have you come to borrow the Dragon Suppressing Palm Secret Manual today?"
Chen Shouheng then recounted in detail the guidance Zhang Luyan had given him in class, as well as his own confusion regarding Tiger Subduing and the meaning of subjugation.
After listening, Duan Mengjing shook his head and chuckled. "That Zhang Luyan, misleading students again. His methods follow the Mahayana path of Central Plains Buddhism, which emphasizes saving all sentient beings. It’s a path from the outside in, similar to the Daoist School’s principles of engaging with and withdrawing from the world."
"Your Martial Arts foundation, however, is built on the path of the Theravada Secret Transmission. It emphasizes self-salvation and self-cultivation—a path from the inside out. Forcing yourself onto the Mahayana path, trying to align your internal self with the external world, might show some initial results. But in the long run, it will inevitably clash with your foundation and put you at risk of cultivation deviation."
Chen Shouheng’s heart lurched, and he quickly pleaded, "Please, Master Duan, guide me out of this confusion!"
But Duan Mengjing waved his hand dismissively, his tone lazy. "I’m used to a life of leisure. I have no patience for teaching students..."
After a moment of silence, he finally sighed. "Fine. Seeing as you’re sincere, and since the Central Plains is dominated by Mahayana secret transmissions, if I let Zhang Luyan and his lot lead you astray, your Theravada foundation would truly be ruined."
Overjoyed, Chen Shouheng knew this was his opportunity. Without hesitation, he stepped back, lifted the hem of his robes, and began to kneel to perform the formal rite of accepting a master. "Student Chen Shouheng pays his respects to..."
However, before the word "Master" could leave his lips, with his knees halfway bent, he found he could not kneel any further.
It was not that he had changed his mind. Rather, in the instant he began to kneel, the lazy, easygoing aura around Duan Mengjing had changed abruptly.
An invisible, intangible, yet mountain-heavy aura materialized from thin air, instantly enveloping the space around Chen Shouheng.
Chen Shouheng felt as if he had been plunged into a viscous yet unbreakable wall of air.
Despite his Spirit Realm First Level Cultivation, his Inner Qi was completely suppressed. He couldn’t even perform a simple action like bending his knees, leaving him frozen in an awkward, half-kneeling position, unable to move.
"Enough with these worldly courtesies."
Duan Mengjing’s voice returned to its usual calm. "I don’t take disciples, and you... cannot be considered my student. My words today are merely a bit of guidance, offered because I saw you were straying from your path."
As he finished speaking, the suffocating, invisible wall of air suddenly vanished.
The pressure on Chen Shouheng’s body lifted, and he nearly stumbled. He quickly steadied himself, his heart pounding in terror.
He watched as Duan Mengjing casually took a brown wooden token, about an inch long with a warm luster, from his sleeve. With a flick of his finger, the token flew steadily into Chen Shouheng’s hand.
On the token was a single, elegantly carved character: "Jing."
"If you encounter further difficulties in your Cultivation, you can bring this token to find me at Tingzhu Cottage in the back hills."
Duan Mengjing added blandly, "However, each session will require ten taels of gold as a gift. That is the rule of the Martial Arts Academy."
Chen Shouheng accepted the wooden token. It was warm to the touch and carried a faint, subtle fragrance.
Not daring to delay, he immediately took out two golden leaves from his robes and offered them with both hands. "Master Duan, this is the gift for this session. I have a question right now that I implore you to answer. How should I cultivate my Tiger Subduing True Intent? How do I subdue it?"
Duan Mengjing didn’t even glance at the gold. With a sweep of his sleeve, the golden leaves vanished. "Theravada recognizes sixteen Arhats, but Suppressing the Dragon and Subduing the Tiger are not among them. The root of your Fist Intent lies there. I cannot guide you, nor can anyone else. This path... is one you must travel alone."
The answer was like a Zen kōan, leaving Chen Shouheng with a furrowed brow, feeling as if he understood and yet didn’t.
Duan Mengjing, however, no longer looked at him and said, as if talking to himself, "I hear you’re on duty ringing the bell for the Bell Tower Department?"
Chen Shouheng quickly gathered his thoughts and nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Mm."
Duan Mengjing said casually, "I’ll pay a visit to the Bell Tower tomorrow at a quarter past 5:00 AM. I won’t let you spend those ten taels of gold for nothing."
Chen Shouheng was puzzled but dared not ask any more questions.
Just then, the pavilion elder returned with a thin booklet and handed it to Chen Shouheng. "The Dragon Suppressing Palm Outline. Five hundred taels of silver, or five taels of gold. Return it within half a month. For each day it’s overdue, the fine is fifty taels of silver."
Chen Shouheng hesitated for a moment and looked at Duan Mengjing.
Duan Mengjing said, "Dragon Suppressing and Tiger Subduing are two sides of the same coin. Both embody the concept of subjugation. Studying its principles to draw parallels will naturally be beneficial."
Slightly reassured, Chen Shouheng paid the fee. He then asked the pavilion elder, "Senior, may I ask the cost to view the True Intent of Dragon Suppressing?"
The pavilion elder glanced at him. "One hour per viewing, fifty taels of gold. But let me give you some advice: don’t bite off more than you can chew. Master this Palm Technique Outline first before you try to view the True Intent Map. Otherwise, it will be a waste of time and money."
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior. This junior will take his leave."
Chen Shouheng carefully put away the Dragon Suppressing Palm Outline, gave a respectful bow, and left the Library Pavilion.
Watching Chen Shouheng’s back disappear down the bamboo path, the pavilion elder turned to Duan Mengjing, who had refocused on the Go board. "The lad seems to have a good disposition, and he shares the same lineage as you, Duan Mengjing. Why not take him as a disciple?"
Duan Mengjing sighed softly, a trace of melancholy in his voice. "If I were to take him as a disciple, he would one day fall with me. He must walk his own path."
"’Its rise is swift, its fall is sudden.’"
The pavilion elder sighed, then his gaze fell upon the Go board and he suddenly yelled, "Duan Mengjing, where’s my white stone in this area? Did you steal a stone again?!"
"You old fool, stop accusing me! You were eavesdropping for so long. Did you see me have any time to touch the stones?" Duan Mengjing retorted with a laugh.
...
Twilight deepened.
Chen Shouheng returned to his dormitory.
As he approached the entrance, he saw a slender figure.
It was Zhou Shuwei.
She was dressed in a goose-yellow martial arts outfit that accentuated her fine figure.
Seeing Chen Shouheng return, her bright eyes widened as she chided him playfully, "Where did you run off to? I couldn’t find you in the dining hall, and the Bell Tower was empty. You had me waiting here for ages!"
Chen Shouheng noticed a small food box at her feet and saw that the tips of her hair were damp with evening dew. Realizing she must have been waiting for some time, he felt a pang of guilt and hurried to say, "My apologies for keeping you waiting, Miss Shuwei. I just got back from the Library Pavilion."
"The Library Pavilion? What were you doing there?"
Zhou Shuwei was puzzled, but then she raised the food box in her hand, her expression turning into a grin. "Here, I got all the herbs you asked me to buy! It was a bit rushed, so the age of a few ingredients isn’t ideal. I could only scrape together enough for two portions."
Chen Shouheng was surprised. He hadn’t expected her to gather the herbs so quickly.
The herbs for the Eight Treasures Spirit Nourishing Soup were not priceless treasures, but they were relatively rare on the market.
During his Cultivation last year, Chen Shouheng had visited many apothecaries and sometimes couldn’t even put together two portions.
He took the food box. It was slightly heavy, and he could smell the faint, fresh scent of herbs.
"Thank you for your trouble, Miss Shuwei. I appreciate it," he said gratefully.
He took the food box into his room to set it down, then came back out.
"Are you heading out?"
Zhou Shuwei had just turned to leave when she saw him about to head out as well, so she asked.
"I was just going to the general store to buy a clay pot and a stove for brewing the herbs," Chen Shouheng replied.
Hearing this, Zhou Shuwei smiled radiantly. "Well, I have nothing else to do, so I’ll go with you. I can browse the general store too and see if there’s anything interesting to buy."
"That would be great. Thank you, Miss Shuwei," Chen Shouheng nodded.
The two walked side by side toward the Martial Arts Academy’s general store.
The Martial Arts Academy covered a vast area. The dormitories and the living market district were connected by bluestone paths, flanked by towering ancient trees that made the night seem even more tranquil.
Halfway there, they encountered two women walking toward them, arm in arm.
Both women were beautiful and elegantly dressed.
One wore a willow-green long dress and had a cool, aloof air. The other wore a light-purple ruqun and had a scholarly look about her.
Upon seeing Zhou Shuwei, they stopped to greet her.
"Sister Shuwei, where are you headed?"
the woman in the green dress asked with a smile, her friendly gaze falling on Chen Shouheng beside Zhou Shuwei.