Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Trapped Birds

Looking at the birds around him, Xu Yan was bewildered for a moment before growing confused.

It wasn’t that the birds couldn’t fly—they were unable to fly because they were all trapped in fishing nets, layer upon layer, numbering in the thousands.

Who was catching birds?

‘Strange, there are so many different types of birds here,’ Xu Yan thought to himself.

This place was still some distance from Linshan Town, though not too far. Some people from Linshan Town did indeed catch birds, usually parrots that could mimic speech. After training them, they could sell them for a good price in larger towns. But the birds in these fishing nets were of all varieties—not just sparrows and orioles, but also wild geese and the like.

After examining the fishing nets, Xu Yan knew these were someone’s catch, so he didn’t pay much attention. He went around the nets and down the mountain, soon meeting up with Tiezhu and the others before returning to Linshan Town.

Taking life was indeed not good. Taoism emphasized having few desires, but the Taoists in small towns weren’t so strict—at least Xu Yan ate meat. Besides, he couldn’t just release someone’s hard-caught prey. The birds might live, but who knew if the bird-catcher would starve? Wouldn’t that be harming people?

Xu Yan disliked harming people. Although he felt some sympathy for the birds, once he returned to Linshan Town, he forgot all about them.

‘Poor birds, but I can’t interfere with someone’s livelihood,’ he reasoned to himself.

This mountain trip had taken a day and a night, and the families of those boys were extremely worried. When they heard that the boy named Awang had been killed by a wolf, Awang’s family immediately broke into inconsolable weeping.

In these times, human life wasn’t valued much, especially the lives of children from poor families. The family grieved, but they weren’t desperate, as most families had more than one child.

After consoling Awang’s family with Tiezhu and the others, Xu Yan said goodbye to his companions and headed toward Chengyun Temple.

Xu Yan often went into the mountains, and the old Taoist had grown accustomed to it. One day wasn’t enough to cause too much worry. Xu Yan touched the wild ginseng in his pocket, and his mood improved. When he saw that the Black and White Impermanence were no longer at the temple gate, he became even happier and rushed into Chengyun Temple.

“This is a place of Taoist tranquility. Do not rush in recklessly!”

Just as he entered, Xu Yan heard an unfamiliar cold voice, and then a tall figure blocked his way. It was a robust middle-aged Taoist with a scar at his temple, looking rather unfriendly.

Blocked at the door, Xu Yan scratched his head and stepped back a few paces. He looked up at the three large characters of “Chengyun Temple” and thought, ‘I didn’t come to the wrong place.’

Chengyun Temple had only two Taoists in total. When did they get another one?

“Cough, cough, cough… That is this poor Taoist’s disciple.”

Xu Daoyuan’s weak voice came from the side. The old Taoist approached and bowed to the tall Taoist, saying, “My unworthy disciple likes to play and sometimes doesn’t return for days. Please excuse him.”

“Oh, so it’s the temple master’s esteemed disciple.”

The scarred-faced Taoist looked Xu Yan up and down. His words were polite, but his gaze had a sinister feeling. After examining Xu Yan for a while, he nodded and left.

“Master, has a Taoist come to stay at our temple?” Xu Yan blinked his eyes and asked curiously. The old Taoist shook his head slightly and walked back to his quarters in silence, his steps somewhat unsteady. Xu Yan followed behind.

Along the way, Xu Yan discovered that the temple didn’t just have one more Taoist—it had a group of Taoists, about forty or fifty of them, all gathered in the main hall, discussing something unknown.

When the master and disciple returned to their quarters in the back courtyard, the old Taoist coughed twice before speaking: “They are people from the Taiqing Sect.”

“Taiqing Sect?” Xu Yan was stunned for a moment, then remembered and exclaimed in surprise, “Could it be the first-class sect of the Pu Kingdom, known as the leader of the righteous path?”

When it came to sects, Xu Yan showed great curiosity and even waved his fist.

He didn’t understand much about sects, but he had heard stories about the current prevalence of martial arts, tales of jianghu figures punishing evil and promoting good, and even some heroes who could leap across rooftops and help the poor by robbing the rich. In his small heart, he had long yearned for the so-called jianghu.

The place where fish swim freely is called rivers and lakes, while the place full of grudges and entanglements is called jianghu. Jianghu is not peaceful. Xu Yan had only heard some rumors and stories; what he didn’t know was the bloody storm within the rivers and lakes.

“Leader of the righteous path? Cough, cough, cough…” The old Taoist seemed to want to laugh. His frail body emitted coughs like a broken bellows. After gasping for a long time, he said, “Righteousness and evil, who can truly distinguish between them?”

“I’ve heard that those martial arts practitioners have extraordinary skills and call themselves warriors, specializing in righting wrongs. Master, is jianghu interesting? Are those jianghu people considered cultivators?”

“Whether jianghu is interesting or not, you’ll know once you enter it,” the old Taoist said with a smile. “Warriors cannot yet be considered cultivators, unless… cough, cough, cough…”

The old Taoist began to cough violently again. Xu Yan quickly patted his master’s back gently. Then he became quiet and asked no more questions. He took out the wild ginseng from his pocket and said, “This mountain trip was quite fruitful! Master, please wait, I’ll go brew the ginseng.”

“No need.” The old Taoist waved his hand to stop Xu Yan, his eyes dim, and said weakly, “I want to rest. Keep that ginseng for now.”

Xu Yan, who had walked to the door, stood in silence with his back to the old Taoist for a long time. Finally, he nodded gently without speaking and stepped out. The moment he crossed the threshold, something flowed from the corner of his eye.

From behind came the old Taoist’s soft recitation, as if speaking to himself: “Since ancient times, who has not died? Foolish child, foolish child…”

Xu Daoyuan was indeed dying. Just now, standing behind him and patting his back, Xu Yan had clearly seen a patch of bright red on the hand his master used to cover his mouth. Xu Daoyuan, whose life was coming to an end, didn’t want to waste a wild ginseng, because he knew his final days were just a matter of days.

‘Master knows he’s dying,’ Xu Yan realized with a heavy heart. ‘That’s why he doesn’t want the ginseng.’

By the vegetable garden, outside the pigpen, under a crescent moon, the little Taoist sat alone, lost in thought. His handsome brow was filled with reluctance and sorrow.

“Little Black, today I met a very powerful demon wolf, and later I encountered a huge, huge spider…”

Sitting outside the pigpen, Xu Yan spoke softly to Little Black Pig, recounting the strange experiences of this mountain trip. The old Taoist had fallen into deep sleep, and Xu Yan didn’t want to disturb his master’s rest, so he came to confide in Little Black Pig. But toward the end, the small Taoist began to choke up, resting his head on the pigpen fence, whispering, “Master is… going to leave…”

Actually, six years ago, the old Taoist should have passed away. It was the wild ginseng, one after another, that had sustained Xu Daoyuan’s life. Six years later, the nourishment of ginseng was no longer effective for Xu Daoyuan, who had already exhausted his life force.

Snort, snort.

Through the fence, Little Black Pig extended its long snout, nuzzling Xu Yan affectionately, as if asking for food, or perhaps offering comfort…

The stars shone brilliantly in the sky, and a crescent moon hung at the edge of the heavens. On this peaceful earth, scenes of life and death played out continuously. Life and death were like smoke, as was the cycle of rebirth. And this vast world was like a giant cage, trapping countless birds of various shapes and sizes. Some of these birds resembled beasts, others resembled humans.

Trapped birds, unable to fly out of their cages, even more unable to change their fate.

For the first time, the young Xu Yan felt the preciousness and difficulty of life. The birds trapped in fishing nets in the mountains became Xu Yan’s nightmare for one night. But the real nightmare would officially begin at daybreak.