“What about you?”
Seeing Jiang Tingyue turn his head, Li Qiuchen hurriedly composed himself, lowered his head, and said, “Lord Mountain God, I wish to take you as my master and learn true skills.”
Who didn’t want to enter a proper immortal sect?
The old Daoist dreamed of it day and night, and Li Qiuchen was the same.
Now such an opportunity just happened to be before him. The Lord Mountain God in front of him was clearly far more legitimate than those Medicine Master believers down the mountain.
Of course, Li Qiuchen also knew very well that this hope was rather slim.
What relationship did he have with the man? Why would he take him as a disciple?
But a slim hope was not the same as no hope at all. If he did not open his mouth today, it would be equivalent to giving up this opportunity completely.
Sure enough, Jiang Tingyue shook his head and said, “If I had the ability to teach and educate others, I would not have ended up guarding mountains and rivers here. If you truly wish to study, you will not learn much from me.”
Li Qiuchen was not disappointed, because he knew there was more to come.
“I do not know your origins, but judging by your mind and courage, you are no ordinary child. If you wish to study, the safest course is still to proceed step by step along the proper path. I will give you a token. In the future, when your studies have borne fruit, you may take this token to Changqing Academy. I still have many teachers, elders, relatives, and friends in the academy, and they will make things convenient for you.”
With that, he took out a simply carved jade pendant and placed it before Li Qiuchen.
Li Qiuchen accepted the jade pendant and humbly asked, “May I ask, Senior, how exactly do I… make my studies bear fruit?”
Don’t skip over the most important part!
Who didn’t know Tsinghua and Peking University were good? But, brother, shouldn’t you first tell me where the primary school gate is?
Li Qiuchen had not expected that such a simple question would actually stump Jiang Tingyue.
After pondering for a moment, Jiang Tingyue raised his hand and began calculating with his fingers.
Li Qiuchen was stunned. For this sort of thing, either it was possible or it wasn’t. Why did he need to deduce it?
“I told you, I am not very good at teaching people.”
Seeing Li Qiuchen’s shocked expression, Jiang Tingyue explained seriously, “I entered Changqing Academy at the age of twelve. For you, that may be somewhat difficult… Yunzhong County should have a county school. You can first go there to study. At the very least, you should roughly read through the Five Classics and Six Histories, then focus on one main subject. Once you pass the Child Student Examination… or perhaps some other examination, in short, after your studies have borne fruit, you should be able to take my jade pendant and seek admission to Changqing Academy.”
The more Li Qiuchen listened, the more confused he became. What did he mean by “should”? “Perhaps”? Why had even the Child Student Examination appeared? Was he going to have to take the xiucai exam and then the juren exam next?
“Senior, I want to cultivate immortality.”
“I know.”
Jiang Tingyue said solemnly, “People all say that immortals must see through the mortal world. But if you do not enter the mortal world, how can you see through it?”
“Back then, I once had a similar question. My teacher told me a story.”
“He said there was a scholar with a belly full of learning and knowledge enough to fill five carts. But one day, he was stumped by a question, and no matter how hard he thought, he could not find the answer. Helpless, he went out to travel and clear his mind. By chance, he exchanged a few words with an old farmer tilling the fields, and with a single sentence, the farmer awakened him, causing him to suddenly understand.”
“If the same path of cultivation were placed before the scholar and the old farmer, who do you think would go farther?”
Li Qiuchen thought for a moment and said, “It would definitely be the scholar.”
“Why?”
“Because the scholar only had that one problem to solve. After chatting for a few sentences, he found the answer. But the old farmer has far more problems to face. He still has to worry about firewood, rice, oil, and salt at home. Chatting with the scholar for a few sentences won’t make the crops in his fields grow taller.”
“Precisely.”
Jiang Tingyue nodded and said, “The people of the world only say that immortals are wonderful, carefree, long-lived, and without worries. Yet they do not know that the path of cultivation is difficult by nature, and can only be grasped by those with great perseverance and great wisdom. Just like those remnants of the Medicine Master. They received blessings, yet do not know how to use them correctly. Rather than calling it cultivation, it would be better to say they are relying on the instincts of beasts to survive. In the end, they will only bring harm to others and themselves.”
To put it plainly, it was just like households that got rich from demolition compensation—becoming wealthy overnight, indulging themselves to their heart’s content, and spending all the money in just a few short years until they were back where they started.
Li Qiuchen deeply agreed with this.
“Then, Senior, could you recommend me to the county school?”
“I am not familiar with them.”
Aren’t you acquainted with the county commandant?
Li Qiuchen was just about to retort when he suddenly realized that Jiang Tingyue and that County Commandant Ma might not be very close either. Otherwise, with some divine ability like thousand-li voice transmission, he could have explained things clearly at once. Why would he need to specifically send someone over with a letter?
This was a matter of official procedure.
“However, you need not worry. This small matter is still not difficult for me.”
Jiang Tingyue took out a talisman paper and tapped it lightly in front of Li Qiuchen. The talisman instantly burned to ash, and the magical power contained within poured directly into Li Qiuchen’s body.
“This is a Wish-Fulfilling Talisman. It can add a measure of fortune to you. I calculated your fate just now. There is no need to be anxious. Let things take their natural course, and within half a year, you will be able to achieve your wish.”
Your hands are way too fast.
Why don’t you just give me that talisman directly?
I suddenly feel that taking a master and seeking study doesn’t seem quite so urgent anymore.
After giving him the benefit, Jiang Tingyue said solemnly, “There are heretical evildoers causing chaos in the county. Strictly speaking, this matter should fall under the county commandant’s jurisdiction. I have sent the letter over, and there will certainly be a response in three to five days. However… matters in this world do not always go as one wishes. I must trouble the two of you to keep watch for a while longer. If the county does not dispatch soldiers, and those Medicine Master remnants continue to stir up trouble, then we will make further plans.”
…………
Li Qiuchen opened his eyes and found that he had returned to his original location. There were two additional bottles of pills in his hand.
Senior Jiang was a good person.
He was sincere as a person and sincere in his actions. The pills he gave were no ordinary goods, either. Li Qiuchen had only pulled out the stopper and taken a sniff before he could feel the powerful medicinal force.
For such a good person to come to a godforsaken place like Jiguan Mountain to serve as a mountain god was truly a bit of a waste of talent.
“The county will be sending people over soon. There’s no need for us to act. These Medicine Master believers will be caught in one net.”
Li Qiuchen poured out two pills and chuckled. “Have one, to celebrate?”
The white crane nodded, held the pill in its beak, raised its neck, and swallowed it.
The flowers, grasses, and trees all around began to sway slightly. Spiritual energy of heaven and earth, visible to the naked eye, gathered from all directions across the ground.
Good grief, the effect is that immediate?
Jiang Tingyue had not explained the specific effects of these two bottles of Spirit-Gathering Pills. He had only said they were for assisting cultivation.
Perhaps in the eyes of a big shot, these minor details were not worth caring about.
But Li Qiuchen absolutely had to experiment. Otherwise, he would not even know how this thing was supposed to assist his cultivation.
Now he knew.
Once a single pill entered its belly, the white crane’s efficiency in absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth instantly increased by more than tenfold. With it at the center, a vortex of airflow formed from gathered spiritual energy actually appeared.
No wonder Jiang Tingyue had specifically warned that at least three days had to pass between taking each pill.
Forget the spiritual energy of heaven and earth—even if you inhaled oxygen like this, you’d easily poison yourself.
The medicinal power of this Spirit-Gathering Pill was unimaginably fierce. Li Qiuchen ran more than a hundred zhang away and could still sense the abnormal flow of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Come to think of it, this stupid bird really wouldn’t be stuffed until it exploded, would it?