Chapter 12
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Nightfall
(Thanks to Grand Alliance Leader Lanniang!)
After receiving their medicine, the nominal disciples in the Heavenly Master Hall dispersed. Perhaps knowing the Sui army’s movements, they visibly felt much more at ease.
Zhou Yi didn’t dare to be complacent. He gazed at the Yellow Emperor statue in the great hall, lost in thought.
‘If the Sui army doesn’t come, Yue Sigui’s empty talk will surely be exposed, which won’t help him persuade me to lead the Taiping Dao in supporting Li Mi.’
‘Also, that letter from Cao Ruinian.’
‘This Old Master Cao not only sees through his grandson but even knows Li Mi’s whereabouts are unknown.’
‘…’
If he hadn’t heard the news from the Giant Kun Gang today, no matter how clever his mind, as an insider, he would have been hard-pressed to discern anything. Now, however, it was different.
“What do you think of Dou Kui?” he suddenly asked the two young Daoist acolytes on their way back to his room.
Yan Qiu answered without hesitation: “He’s diligent in practice. Besides Brother Zhang San in the training room, his external hard qigong is the most formidable, and he practices the relatively difficult Crouching Tiger Qigong.”
Xia Shu tilted her head slightly, responding from a different angle: “Master praises him for being honest and sincere, so he often sends him to do errands down the mountain. When Grandpa Li, who delivers vegetables and rice, fell and got injured this time, he was the one who took him to find a doctor.”
Zhou Yi nodded slightly, a hidden worry quietly dissipating. He casually said: “Hmm, I think he’s suitable to be enrolled in the Daoist register.”
Xia Shu asked, “Is Senior Brother planning to expand the Daochang?” She wasn’t wrong to ask. Master Jue Wuzi only accepted nominal disciples and never arranged for anyone to be officially enrolled, so the core figures of the Taiping Dao were only their sparse few. Master had his reasons, but now things needed to change.
Zhou Yi’s gaze was profound: “Cast your hook when the river rises, cast it deep when the waters recede. We can no longer guard a stagnant pool.”
“What do you two think… if our Taiping Daochang were to raise the banner of rebellion, imitating the righteous armies, how many people in Yongqiu would follow?”
Yan Qiu was quite confident: “We could gather a thousand people in just one day.”
Xia Shu said: “If we set up altars and preach, swearing allegiance to the Yellow Heaven, it could spread beyond Yongqiu. If the Sui army doesn’t come, we’d have at least ten thousand people in half a month, but without money or provisions, we’d have to attack cities and seize territory.”
Zhou Yi looked at the two young Daoist acolytes, a hint of awkwardness on his face. As expected of my Taiping Dao disciples. They discussed rebellion as casually as if it were an after-dinner conversation, calm and unconcerned.
“These next few days, you two are not to go down Fuzi Mountain.”
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
The two then huddled together, whispering. Xia Shu quietly praised: “Senior Brother’s courage is greater than Master’s. Master became a Cult Master, Senior Brother wants to become a King.”
Yan Qiu mumbled: “The courage after devouring the ox-demon…”
They laughed and chatted all the way to Zhou Yi’s room, where he gave them further instructions.
For three consecutive days, nothing happened. Aside from monitoring the situation on and off the mountain, Zhou Yi spent all his time immersed in the cultivation of the Xuanzhen Temple Collection. The second sitting posture had to be practiced at You time (5-7 PM); its effect was too poor at other times. Furthermore, the meridian qi in other meridians couldn’t flow in reverse. This had led to slow progress in his cultivation before.
But since cultivating the first wisp of true qi, the situation was vastly different. True qi came from refining essence into qi, and it could naturally circulate through meridians. Thus, the other nineteen sitting postures could also be practiced. However, there was a slight difference.
For example, the seventh sitting posture was for Wu time (11 AM – 1 PM). The internal method noted: “At the first quarter of Wu time, sit facing north. Left hand forms the Zi Mudra, right hand holds the Wu Mudra. Eyes half-closed, gaze at the tip of the nose. When breath is like a gossamer thread, begin inhalation and exhalation…”
The meridian through which true qi traveled was the Lung Meridian of Hand Taiyin. The first acupoint was “Zhongfu,” and the second was “Yunmen.” Wu time had the strongest yang energy, hence it could condense the qi of the Zhongfu lung meridian into clouds, which then reached the “Yunmen acupoint.” According to the manual, “cloud” signifies qi about to transform into rain. The Yunmen acupoint’s location connects to the four limbs. When lung meridian qi flows in, water vapor diffuses, and damp heat will arise within the body. The manual called this “damp illusion,” which could disturb one’s mind. This was one of the reasons Jue Wuzi said this skill tested one’s mental fortitude.
However, aside from feeling that the true qi was somewhat obstructed due to meridian qi compression when passing through the acupoints, Zhou Yi experienced no mental disturbance. The former was something all martial artists would encounter, leading to the saying “opening the meridians.” The latter was mentioned in the Xuanzhen Temple Collection, but he felt no sensation of it.
Zhou Yi wasn’t sure if he was practicing correctly, but it was smooth and unobstructed, and he didn’t suffer from qi deviation. True qi moved through various meridians; it could flow within the meridians, or it could return to the Dantian as described in the internal method, transforming into true essence. In every aspect, he resembled a deeply rooted martial artist who had diligently cultivated Daoist internal true qi.
The sun rose and set, and two more days passed.
At the Taiping Daochang, inside the training room.
Zhou Yi was looking at various saber and sword manuals related to weapons, as well as body movements and footwork. Although they were all basic, he was quite absorbed. Without a single grain, how could there be a full granary?
“Senior Brother, the Giant Kun Gang’s news was right! The Eagle Yang Guard really went to Jiyang!”
The two young Daoist acolytes rushed in, their faces filled with joy. Xia Shu continued Yan Qiu’s sentence: “The righteous army northwest of Jiyang was utterly defeated. Their great leader, Sun Xuanya, is missing; they say he’s been killed by Yuwen Chengdu. The remaining troops are fleeing towards Yuanju, and the Sui cavalry is hot on their heels.”
Yuanju was southeast of Kuangcheng, completely in a different direction from Yongqiu. If the Sui army didn’t come, the Taiping Daochang was basically safe.
It seems I worried too much. Zhou Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief; he preferred a false alarm.
“Senior Brother, should we tell Brother Feng Si and the others to return?”
“Not yet,” Zhou Yi said with a steady expression, cautioning: “Wait until the Sui army is further away.”
All the nominal disciples in the Daochang had received this news, and the gloom that had hung over everyone’s faces for days completely dissipated. If Zhou Yi hadn’t been holding them back, they would have already gone down the mountain. With the sword no longer hanging over their heads, the atmosphere at the Taiping Daochang instantly relaxed from tension and oppression. When they lifted stone locks, grabbed iron sand, or broke large stones on their chests, they could now chat and joke during their breaks, discussing martial arts events around Yongqiu. They even occasionally mumbled things like, “Senior Brother is too cautious.”
Night fell quietly.
The Taiping Daochang lit its lamps. Inside his room, practicing, Zhou Yi frowned. The candle flickered, and his mood was inexplicably agitated. Thinking of recent events, he felt it wouldn’t be so easy to pass through this safely. Once the thought arose, it was hard to suppress.
He let out a long breath, slowly stood up, and opened half the door, letting some spring wind into the room to clear the stale air. The two young Daoist acolytes should still be counting inventory in the warehouse. Zhou Yi closed the door and, guided by the moonlight and the faint glow of distant lights, passed through the moon gate, heading straight towards the warehouse.
He hadn’t gone a hundred steps yet, not even past the Daochang’s altar. His ears twitched, and he suddenly looked towards the mountain path at the Daochang’s entrance! Ahead was a dense pine forest, and beyond that were the stone steps leading down the mountain. Faintly, there seemed to be a strange sound. He focused, but saw not a single spark of light. According to custom, there should be nominal disciples patrolling the mountain with torches.
Have they stopped guarding because they’ve relaxed? He frowned deeply and quickly walked towards the training room. Yan Qiu happened to turn his head and see him. Just as he was about to speak, Zhou Yi asked first: “Who is guarding the mountain tonight?”
“It’s Jiao Ting and Wang Shi. They went at the end of You time,” Yan Qiu quickly replied.
Upon hearing this, alarm bells rang in Zhou Yi’s heart! If someone was guarding the mountain, why was there only a strange sound just now, with no footsteps or talking?
Something’s wrong! Zhou Yi glanced towards the Daochang’s entrance again. Relying on his improved cultivation, he wanted to investigate, but seeing the pine forest utterly dark, eerie and sinister, he immediately gave up the idea. There was no need to put himself in danger.
“Where are Feng Si and the others?”
“They’re all in the living quarters near the training room.”
Zhou Yi nodded slightly: “You two follow me. Don’t speak along the way.”
Xia Shu and Yan Qiu nodded. Yan Qiu was about to say “Okay,” but Xia Shu quickly slapped him, signaling him to shut up, meaning they shouldn’t speak at all now. Though confused, they knew it was always right to listen to Senior Brother.
Leaving the warehouse, Zhou Yi moved back half a step. He raised his palm and pressed it onto a lamp, extinguishing the candle. The warehouse plunged into complete darkness…
– Mochinuna.
