A white cloud flew slowly and leisurely towards An He City.
On top of the cloud, You Jin stood gingerly behind Wu Qi with his body bent slightly. He had been staring at Wu Qi for some while, and finally, he could no longer hold back the question that kept troubling his mind. Lowering his voice, he asked carefully, "Senior, do we just let the matter go like this?"
Wu Qi was absorbed in a deep thought with his eyes narrowed. He was thinking about something that happened a long time ago. It seemed there was a patch of black soil in front of his eyes; a large, warm palm was grabbing his hand, and another fair, weak hand was messing his hair. When was that? And what was the creature he was fighting during that time? [1]
You Jin's voice pulled him out of the deep thought. Reflexively, Wu Qi asked, "En? What matter?"
You Jin shuddered. But, he clenched his jaws and quickly gathered some courage to ask the question again, "Grandmaster Hidden Heart and Guarding Heart?"
Although they had only spent a few days together, You Jin had already established a deep relationship with Hidden Heart and Guarding Heart. You Jin was from Green Pill Sect, a sect who devoted themselves to pill concoction. So, it was natural for him to have a compassionate heart. And, that made him instantly click with Hidden Heart and Guarding Heart, who both loved to build Pagoda by saving people's lives. You Jin had accompanied them to harvest herbs in Greenwood Mountain when Daoist Yun Zang killed both monks. Because of that, it was impossible for him to not hold some resentment in his heart.
When an honest man was obsessed with one thing, it could be pretty frightening. Although You Jin was very scared of Wu Qi, but as the matter was related to Hidden Heart and Guarding Heart, he gnashed his teeth and asked again, "Both Grandmaster Hidden Heart and Guarding Heart were good people. Are you going to let this matter go just like this?"
Wu Qi heard You Jin's question loud and clear this time. He clasped his hands behind back, narrowed his eyes as he stared at the indistinct outline of An He City near the horizon. Then, he chuckled suddenly and said, "How is it even possible to settle all the scores under the heaven? You Jin, have you heard of Green City from Xuan Yang before?"
You Jin opened his mouth, but no voice came out of it. He had never heard of Green City before. The Founding Ancestral Master of Green Pill Sect had obtained an opportunity to cultivate Immortality from a nameless Immortal, and was lucky enough to establish himself a foundation. Furthermore, the disciples of Green Pill Sect had never left Pangu Continent before, and they did not even know anything related to outer heavenly realms. So, how were they supposed to know of Green City from Xuan Yang Heavenly Realm or whatnot?
Wu Qi sighed and said, "Green City is the strongest immortal sect in Xuan Yang Heavenly Realm. Their Founding Ancestral Master has inherited the legacy of an unknown ancient Immortal. At present, this Founding Ancestral Master is a Third Tier Gold Immortal!"
Instantaneously, cold sweats rolled off from You Jin's forehead. Third Tier Gold Immortal? For him, a Gold Immortal was already a legend, let alone a Third Tier Gold Immortal, who was considered the supreme existence even among Gold Immortals. Since Daoist Yun Zang came from an immortal sect this powerful, what else could You Jin say? He lowered his head dejectedly and breathed out a soundless sigh. It looked like there was no way he could revenge Hidden Heart.
However, what did Wu Qi's first sentence mean? 'How is it even possible to settle all the scores under the heaven?' So, was Wu Qi going to settle the score or not?
You Jin stared blankly at Wu Qi's back, his expression ever changing.
Suddenly, Wu Qi turned to give You Jin a look. After a brief moment of pondering, he fished out a little silk scroll from under his sleeve and gave it to You Jin. "Give it a good study. There is a cultivation technique in it, and it is much stronger than the one you have from Green Pill Sect. With this cultivation technique, it will most probably take you one hundred years to form your Nascent Soul. There is also some pill concocting techniques and lower-grade spirit pills recipes. If you can attain some achievement in pill concoction, perhaps it will take you less than one hundred years to form a Nascent Soul!"
Over the years, Wu Qi had killed many people and looted many things, among whom, many were Heaven Immortals, and a greater many of them were Nascent Soul and Nascent Divinity cultivators. It was only logical for him to pick some decent cultivation techniques among the loots and consolidate them. You Jin was a good old man. Apart from being timid in nature, the rest of his characteristics were likable to Wu Qi. Therefore, Wu Qi decided to give him an upper-middle grade cultivation technique. As for the technique of pill concoction, it was the elementary pill concoction technique from White Cloud Immortal Sect.
Although it was just an elementary pill concoction technique, it was still ten times better than Green Pill Sect's technique which came from an unknown source.
You Jin took the silk scroll and briefly read through it. Instantly, a bright gleam shone from his eyes. The technique of refining energy found in the scroll was particularly superb, and the description to various techniques of gathering and accumulating energy was many times more complex than the cornerstone technique which Green Pill Sect had taken as the rarest treasure. Furthermore, the pill recipes and pill concoction techniques found in the later part of the scroll were exceptional. They had suddenly enlightened him. By just briefly glancing through the silk scroll, he felt his mind was cleared and refreshed, as if an enlightenment that could not be described with words was pouring down into his head. His Gold Core began to tremble, and the surrounding natural energy was flowing into his body.
Right at this moment, Wu Qi spoke again in a low voice, "Keep the incident of Hidden Heart and Guarding Heart deep in your heart. Do not reveal your emotion before Daoist Yun Zang, or I won't be able to protect you. Mm, it will be better for you to not meet him again. Just stay in An He City and do your work diligently. I'll let you manage all the pill shops run by Euphoria Heavenly Palace."
You Jin's heart was stirred again. Could Wu Qi's arrangement be a precautionary measure to prevent Daoist Yun Zang from noticing something? He felt a warmth in his eyes as he bowed and said, "You are right, Senior. From now onward, I'll just stay in the city and not wander around."
Wu Qi made a light sound as the answer. Then, he began to ponder with his finger crooking.
You Xiong Plain was unvisitable, as any Immortal cultivators who stepped into that place would have to face an inevitable death. Even Primordial Immortals were minced. Wu Qi did not have the courage to try his luck. Under such circumstances, there was no way he could visit the place in You Xiong Plain where the Scroll of Stealing mentioned that he could find the innate Yang energy.
Now, there was only one option left for Wu Qi. At the bottom of the Dark Abyss three hundred billion miles to the north of 'Great Huang An Valley', was a place called 'The Land of Seven Yin and Great Yang'. It was the only place he could find another thread of innate Yang energy. But, where was this Great Huang An Valley? And how to go there? Without a proper map, these were tricky questions. Wu Qi could not find Great Huang An Valley in the map which the blind old man sold to him.
An He City was just a tiny place on Pangu Continent. Rarely had any cultivators from this place visited the outside world. So, it was impossible to find out anything from them.
Wu Qi felt a headache. Perhaps, he could only place his hope on Reverend Li Yang.
The white cloud gently and smoothly arrived above An He City. As Wu Qi was about to descend into the City Lord Mansion, he had his divine will scan the area beneath him. Suddenly, he detected a commotion breaking out in a civilian building at the southeast corner of the city. A few women were running out of the building like ducks in a thunderstorm. Two of them had their hands fully stained with blood and filthy things. Meanwhile, a few men were seen drawing blades and swords angrily, about to rush into the building. One of the men shouted, "Kill this monster! What an ill fate for this family. Kill the monster!"
'A monster?' Wu Qi sent his divine will into the house, and immediately detected a faint flash of Buddhist light. A woman who had just given birth was huddling herself on a corner of a big bed placed in the center of the house, weeping and wailing bitterly. A baby covered in blood, with his umbilical cord still attached, was seen sitting cross-legged at the center of the bed, both hands formed into an incantation gesture of Immovable Buddha. Some inaudible chanting was coming out of his little mouth.
The baby had a very ugly appearance. His head was full of birthmarks that looked like scars, and at the area between his brows was mounted a white pearl with a faint light emitting out from it. However, the pearl was full of cracks, and a few of them even spread across the entire pearl. It looked like the pearl could break apart at any time.
The few men who had blades and swords in their hands furiously barged into the house, roaring out loudly as they wielded the weapons towards the baby.
In a twinkle, Wu Qi rushed into the house with You Jin. He backhandedly gave the few men a slap, breaking their swords and blades while the tremendous force pushed them out of the house. Standing before the bed, Wu Qi looked down at the baby and asked lightly, "Little monk, do you still remember me?"
The naked baby raised his head and gave Wu Qi a look. His eyes went wide instantly, and he babbled loudly with two streams of tears trickling down his face. He struggled to get up on all fours, then climbing towards Wu Qi totteringly. But, as a newborn baby who did not have too much of strength, he fell back on the bed after just a short distance, losing all his strength to move further.
Ignoring the fact that the baby was covered in blood and filthy things, Wu Qi cupped him up and burst into laughter, "This is amazing! I thought I'll never have a chance to repay your kindness of saving my life! You've fallen in this morning, but you've reincarnated into the mortal world in the afternoon. Not only that, you are born in An He City! Apparently, there is a fate between you and me!"
After giving the baby's buttock a slap, Wu Qi suddenly frowned and said, "Right, this is strange... How did you manage to reincarnate so fast?"
Standing next to him, You Jin quickly said, "Senior, all Buddhist cultivators are usually quick in their reincarnation. In the past, there are a few incidents that some Buddhist cultivators were killed by someone in conflicts, and as long as their souls were still intact, they would be reincarnated very quickly. Also, they would always reincarnate in the regions around An He City. In fact, not only An He City, it has always been the same situation for any place with Buddhist cultivators!"
You Jin smacked his lips and murmured under his breath, "According to some of my Daoist friends, the Six Paths of Reincarnation in the Nether Hell are constructed by someone from the Buddhist Sect, and that's why all their fellow Buddhists can enjoy such a benefit!"
The Six Paths of Reincarnation was constructed by someone from Buddhist Sect? Wu Qi shook his head disapprovingly. The Six Paths of Reincarnation was a Great Dao Principle born naturally from the Heaven and Earth. Who could control it? And, who dared to control it? Nevertheless, there must be some other reasons as to why all the Buddhist cultivators could be so fast in their reincarnation.
While hefting the baby in his arms, Wu Qi turned to look at the postnatal woman, who appeared to be transfixed by what she just saw, and asked, "What is the surname of the Head of the family?"
Although the woman was stiff with terror, she was quick to answer Wu Qi's question, "The surname of the Head of my family is Zhu!"
Zhu? A monk?
All of a sudden, Wu Qi roared with laughter. He slapped the baby's buttock and cut the umbilical cord with Sword of Greed Wolf, then said happily, "This is wonderful! Guarding Heart, oh Guarding Heart, your previous name was really unpleasant to the ears. From today onwards, you will have a new name: Zhu Bajie, Bajie the Monk![2] Also, I'll be your Master from now on, and I'll definitely teach you all the Buddhist Scriptures found in Golden Pavilion Temple. You were a monk in the previous life, a monk in this life, and you will be a monk for all lives in the future!"
You Jin twitched his lips when he heard what Wu Qi had just said. 'Why does Senior Greed always say something that has a strange flavor?'
Nevertheless, it was a good news to know that Guarding Heart had reincarnated!
'But, where was the old monk, Hidden Heart? He...' You Jin looked at Guarding Heart... no, Bajie's forehead, staring blankly at the broken relic. He could not seem to find his voice.
Right at this moment, an angry roar was heard coming from outside of the house, "Scram the hell out, you evils! Don't you dare to hurt my wife!"
Wu Qi looked over his shoulder. The few men who he knocked out from the house a moment ago had called upon a troop of fifty soldiers from somewhere, and they had pulled their bowstrings to the maximum, aiming right towards the house.
[1] Wu Qi was recalling the moment when he was rescued by Wu Wang and Le Xiaobai. I'll find a time to translate that story.
[2] Zhu Bajie (Chinese: 猪八戒; pinyin: Zhū Bājiè), also named Zhu Wuneng, is one of the three helpers of Tang Sanzang and a major character of the novel Journey to the West. Zhu means "swine", and Bajie means "eight precepts". In many English versions of the story, Zhu Bajie is called "Pigsy" or "Pig". (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhu_Bajie)
Wu Qi was recalling the moment when he was rescued by Wu Wang and Le Xiaobai. I'll find a time to translate that story.Zhu Bajie (Chinese: 猪八戒; pinyin: Zhū Bājiè), also named Zhu Wuneng, is one of the three helpers of Tang Sanzang and a major character of the novel Journey to the West. Zhu means "swine", and Bajie means "eight precepts". In many English versions of the story, Zhu Bajie is called "Pigsy" or "Pig". (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhu_Bajie)