CH 71
Seeing that he had nothing to say, the airline security personnel said: “Your ID was so good that you almost fooled me.”
Because it’s real!
The corners of Dong Zhi’s mouth twitched: “Don’t lose my ID, otherwise I won’t be able to report in.”
The other party was incredulous: “Report to who?! Yourself?! Do you need to be accompanied by someone to transfer you to a mental institution?”
Dong Zhi: …
It was really impossible to talk about it. He had the urge to overturn a table.
He gave up and said: “I have other documents on hand. Do you want to take them together for inspection?”
The airline security personnel: “That’s just right. We do have to verify your identity. Thank you for your cooperation.”
He took Dong Zhi’s backpack, found the ID documents inside, and also found a pile of yellow paper and cinnabar.
“You’re really devoted to the act. Fortunately, you didn’t bring any controlled weapons. Otherwise, we really would have to turn around.”
Dong Zhi said weakly: “There are controlled weapons. They are in the checked baggage. I have already said that I am from the Special Administration Bureau.”
The airline security personnel did not believe him: “Are you joking? At any rate, this didn’t cause any major disasters this time, or you’ll be looking at three years in prison!”
He rummaged through his backpack, then checked Dong Zhi’s pockets and couldn’t help but sigh.
“You didn’t bring a lighter or matches. How did you ignite it just now?”
Dong Zhi: “It was talisman fire. The talisman paper ignitred spontaneously. Do you believe me?”
The airline security personnel: “I don’t believe you.”
Dong Zhi rolled his eyes: “Then I’m a pyromancer and I can spit out fire when I open my mouth!”
The other party showed him an expression of: “you just said you didn’t escape from a mental hospital”.
Dong Zhi had finally experience what it meant to be indisputable.
Han Qi didn’t wake up and her bodyguard and assistant both agreed that Dong Zhi had done something to her. If it wasn’t for the airline security personnel, they would have pummeled him by now. Dong Zhi told them that Han Qi was fine, but they didn’t believe him, so he could only keep his mouth shut.
The other passengers thought that it was some kind of terrorist attack and could only cradle themselves in fear. They endured the difficult few hours of the plane ride. It wasn’t until it safely landed that they felt reborn. Dong Zhi was taken by to the airline security office while Han Qi was transported to the infirmary for examination.
“Let’s talk about it, why did you create panic on the plane? Do you know that your behavior almost caused a catastrophe!”
Facing the interrogation, Dong Zhi said helplessly: “I am really from the Special Administration Bureau. Please contact them. Either He Yu or Long Shen can verify my identity. I have their number on my phone.”
The person in charge of the integration was a young man who had just graduated from college. When he heard this, he said suspiciously: “How do I know that you’re not all in cahoots with each other? And what is the Special Administration Bureau. I haven’t heard of it at all!”
Fortunately, the person he caught was Dong Zhi. If it had been Kan Chaosheng, he would have turned the security office upside down a long time ago.
In the next moment, the young man watch Dong Zhi break free from his handcuffs. It stunned him for nearly three seconds before he became furious and was about to slam on the table.
Dong Zhi said politely: “As you can see, it’s not like I can’t run away, but it’s not necessary. Would you please verify my identity? Your boss may not know so his boss must. If we have to jump through all these hoops like this every time, when a special event happens in the future, it will heavily the delay the Special Administration Bureau to take action. Do you want to stand idly by and watch as passengers of a whole plane die together?”
The young man stared at him for a long time, and finally called for his superiors.
Dong Zhi lay down on the table, took out the phone and rummaged through his contact list. He originally wanted to call Long Shen, but he was afraid of being scolded for getting into trouble so soon, so he called He Yu instead.
“Hello?” There was a weak response from that end. “Little Dongdong, have you landed?”
“I’ve landed but I ran into trouble. Now I’m in custody and being treated like a prisoner.” Dong Zhi briefly explained what happened.
He Yu listened and said: “I see, it’s just a trivial matter. The Special Administration Bureau have docking channels with other departments. Most likely they haven’t had time to enter the newcomers in the list yet so that’s why you didn’t appear. I’ll just call and explain.”
He spoke easily, and the Dong Zhi also breathed a sigh of relief: “Thank you, don’t tell Master. I’m afraid he’ll scold me.”
He Yu wailed: “When you were here, the boss took care of you and he didn’t have time to bother with us. As soon as you left, he remembered that we still exist. Laozi’s legs are still broken yet he actually had the heart to let me go on a business trip! This is too inhumane! No, he’s not human but does he have any reason left in him!”
With black line covering Dong Zhi’s face, he quickly hung up the phone and stop the continuous wailing from the other end of the line.
As soon as he hung up the phone, Dong Zhi saw the bodyguard who had accompanied Han Qi coming in from outside. He looked around and saw Dong Zhi sitting on the table and strode forward aggressively, looming as most of his body covered the table. His hand reached out and pulled at Dong Zhi’s collar.
Dong Zhi avoided it and kicked the table forward catching his opponent off guard, causing him to fall onto the table. Another bodyguard wanted to rush up and hit him when the staff had reacted and stopped them.
“What are you doing?!”
“How dare you fight in the security office?!”
Dong Zhi shouted: “Brothers and sisters of the police, they want to beat me up!”
Due to the stark contrast between Dong Zhi’s harmless face compared to his opponent’s dressed in suits and sunglasses, security didn’t have time to ponder about Dong Zhi not wearing his handcuff but instead subdued the bodyguards who seemed to be more threatening.
The bodyguard didn’t dare to resist, so he could only yell at the Dong Zhi: “Miss Han hasn’t woken up yet, and it’s all your fault! You must be responsible! Officer, you can’t let him go. This person caused personal injury to Miss Han on the plane just now and should be locked up!”
At this moment, the young man in charge of the integration just now ran back panting: “Dong Zhi, our leader wants to see you!”
The bodyguards thought that they were colluding and was planning to let Dong Zhi go, so they kept hollering and yelling. The scene became chaotic, and it wasn’t until the leader of the young man came over that the chaos calmed down.
The other party was a middle-aged man. He said to the bodyguard: “We have verified that this comrade is indeed a public servant of our system. At that time, there was something wrong with Miss Han, so he had to take action to stop it.”
The bodyguard shouted: “What kind of public servant? Why don’t you dare say which department he’s in? You officials are just protecting each other. Just you wait. We’ll expose this to the media immediately, so that you can’t afford to get away with this!”
“Then you plan on exposing the way Miss Han was acting just then?” Dong Zhi said suddenly.
The bodyguard was taken aback for a moment and said sternly: “I don’t know what you are talking about!”
Dong Zhi smiled and said: “You’ve been by her side all this time. Haven’t you seen her behave strangely? This shouldn’t be the first time she has done something like this on a plane, right? This you should know in your heart.”
The security personnel next to him looked weirdly at him when he heard Dong Zhi’s unscientific words.
Dong Zhi narrowed his smile and said stiffly: “If I hadn’t happened to be on the plane and stopped a catastrophe in time, let alone her, even you, and everyone on the plane, would have suffered!”
The bodyguard was frightened by his words, his face turning pale, and he was unable to speak. He didn’t know whether it was because he was too frightened or felt guilty.
Dong Zhi guessed that the it was the latter because what he said just now was also nonsense. He had been with He Yu and the others for a while now, and had picked up on some of their skills, and become quicker witted. Judging from the bodyguard’s behavior, it was possible that what his guess was right.
“Miss Han is fine now. I just put her to sleep for a while and she will wake up soon. I have to verify my identity with their leader, so I won’t leave for a while. If she doesn’t wake up, you can come find me. My documents are still here.” Dong Zhi said.
As he finished speaking, the bodyguard’s phone rang, and a girl was talking hurriedly at the end. The volume was so loud that even Dong Zhi could hear it.
“Where are you? Miss Han had woken up. Sister Zheng said to not let that person go before Miss Han goes to the hospital for an examination and make sure everything is okay!”
The two bodyguards looked at each other, and finally decided that one would go back and the other would stay here to watch Dong Zhi to prevent him from running away.
Dong Zhi was led back into the office by the middle-aged man. He seems to be a leader that was higher rank than the officers here.
The leader took the initiative to get up and shake hands with him and said with a smile: “I’m sorry. As you know, the Special Administration Bureau is not well known to the public. Our colleagues failed to verify your identity for a while, so it had caused you some trouble.”
Dong Zhi hurriedly said: “It was I who caused you trouble. This time it was all a misunderstanding.”
The leader was very satisfied with his calm attitude and became even more enthusiastic: “Is there a confidentiality regulation for this accident on the plane? If so, you can write a report and directly explain it to your leader. If Ms. Han’s side insists on holding you accountable, we’ll try our best to stop it.”
Dong Zhi said: “This time she was the cause of it. There’s something corrupt on her body that caused the accident. If she still wants me to be held accountable, let her come to me.”
The leader has heard of the mysterious Special Administration Bureau, but only in name, as he never seen anyone from it. He only heard rumors that they were hiding talented and powerful people. Looking at Dong Zhi, who had a calm and gentle demeanor, he found that he wasn’t as surprising as he thought.
Listening to what Dong Zhi had said, the leader couldn’t help feeling curious, but he knew that he shouldn’t ask according to discipline, so he had to hold back.
The young man saw that his leader had personally took Dong Zhi in and after a while he was personally sent out. They were talking and laughing with each other that he couldn’t help but feel uneasy, worried that Dong Zhi would be petty and scold him in front of his leader so he hurried forward to apologize.
Dong Zhi smiled: “Now do you believe that I’m not crazy?”
The young man felt very embarrassed: “The incident on the plane happened so suddenly that they had to deal with it urgently. I acted in accordance with the regulations, so don’t hold it against me!”
Naturally Dong Zhi would not make things difficult for him. Everyone had their own duties to perform. He looked at the trembling appearance of the other party and guessed that they had just joined the workforce so he said: “Can I trouble you with one thing?”
The young man hurriedly said: “Of course!”
Dong Zhi took out the registration card Long Shen gave him: “I had checked in an item that needed to go through a special channel, so I have to go to the baggage claim office to get it. With this incident that happened just now, I don’t know where my luggage is. Can you please get it for me?”
With such a trivial matter, the other party agreed immediately and went to help him pick it up.
At this time, several more people came into the security office. A woman wearing a mask and sunglasses, a big hat on her head and a silk scarf was wrapped around her neck was leading them. She was covered from head to toe, and coupled with an entourage next to her, they were more likely to attract people’s attention.
“There he is!” The assistant next to Han Qi pointed to the Dong Zhi, and the group of people walked towards him.
The staff member next to him stepped forward to stop them: “Is there anything wrong?”
Before Han Qi said anything, the assistant girl next to her said to Dong Zhi: “You just caused unknowable personal injury to Miss Han on the plane. Miss Han is going to the hospital for a physical examination, so we ask that you please come with us.”
While the contents of her sentences was polite, her tone was the opposite.
Dong Zhi felt annoyed: “I had saved her just now. How could I cause her any harm? Even if there is harm, she did it herself.”
The little girl raised her eyebrows and said: “Don’t try to avoid responsibility!”
Dong Zhi said to Han Qi: “If you really suspected me of wrongdoing, you wouldn’t come here just to ask the guilty party to follow you. You’re just here because you want to know what you’re entangled with!”
Han Qi finally took off her sunglasses and mask and said: “My assistant was impolite just now. I apologize on her behalf. Would it be convenient to find a place to talk?”
Dong Zhi refused: “It’s inconvenient.”
Han Qi: …
It just so happened that the young man came back with his sword case. Dong Zhi thanked him and then said to Han Qi: “I can’t solve your problem, Miss Han. The person who tied the bell needs to untie it*. You must know who to look for. Also, before the matter is resolved, I suggest you stop flying and implicate other innocent people. Otherwise, your sins will be even greater.”
*(解铃还需系铃人) Idiom referring to who the person who caused the trouble, is the one who has to solve it.
Han Qi’s expression changed, turning red and pale.
Dong Zhi didn’t bother waiting for her to react as he picked up his things and left.
With the delay of the flight, coupled with the incident he just went through, it was almost midnight when he got into the bus to head towards the city.
Lucheng is a famous tourist city, and it was currently peak tourist season. Even this late at night, the lights were still bright, and voices could be heard endlessly. However, he was originally said to report at 8 PM, but now it was past midnight. Feeling annoyed, he quickly dialed the contact number of the branch office, and it rang for a long time before someone came to pick it up.
“Who?! It’s the middle of the night!” The other party’s voice was lazy, most likely due to being abruptly awaken from bed.
Dong Zhi hurriedly said: “Hello, I am Dong Zhi. I’m the newcomer who was supposed to report in today but the plane had only arrived just now due to delays. I’m really sorry. Should I go directly to the office or report back tomorrow morning?”
The other party yawned and said: “Just come directly!”
—
The meeting was a bit long, so when it was adjourned, everyone was hungry. Long Shen didn’t follow them to dinner but went back to the dorms.
When he came to his room, he was about to open the door, when he suddenly remembered Dong Zhi’s words before they parted. He paused the movement of inserting his key into the keyhole for a while before picking up another key and opening the room opposite of his.
The occupant had left, and the building was empty. Everything was all packed up neatly, so Long Shen spotted the item on the coffee table with just a glance.
It was a painting. To be more precise, it was a sketch. The picture was drawn in pencil and had only been colored halfway through.
In the deep underground, the glazed grass grew slightly in the corners. Under the cliff, was thousands of corpses and ghosts which showed a terrifying scene. Standing on the cliff was a man with his back against the mountain wall. He was slender as he held a sword in one hand while looking down to the bottom of the cliff.
His face was cold, but he seems compassionate. In the darkness, he was fearless and held no hint or sorrow or joy, incompatible with his surroundings, as if he was a god who had fallen from the heavens.
Thousands of bones covered the landscape as if it was hell on earth, and he, above the hell, in the corner of the light of that day, was not tainted with any filth.
Long Shen hadn’t thought about that scene when he was in the cave, but it turns out to be like this from his apprentice’s pen. He couldn’t help but be stunned.
Perhaps because it was done in a hurry and the other party didn’t have enough time to put it into a frame, so all he saw a lonely piece of paper, that was almost too thin to hold in his hand.
A white cat passed by his feet and its tail curled along his heel. Long Shen put the drawing on the table and turned to feed it.
When he finished changing the cat’s water bowl, he turned around and saw Longlong had jumped onto the chair and was resting his two front paws on the coffee table, looking at the drawing curiously. His nose was extremely close, as if he was eager to try it.
Long Shen stretched out his hand and pinch the cat’s neck causing it to let out a dissatisfied meow, as if it was protesting his stinginess. He took the drawing away and back to his room, opened a large book, and sandwiched the painting in the middle of it.
The furnishings in the room are as simple as they can be. While it seems like his five internal organs* are complete, there was still a feeling of emptiness. In the past, Dong Zhi had often complained that there was no feeling of home here. He complained that Long Shen lived too simply and didn’t know how to enjoy life, so he bought some pillows and furnishing to put in his room.
*(五脏) Refers to the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.
It wasn’t because Long Shen had no aesthetics. He just rarely cared about things outside of his body, but he didn’t interfere with the layout either and let Dong Zhi tinker to his liking.
Every night before Dong Zhi left Beijing, he would stay here and talked until he was driven back to bed. There was a half open bag of nuts on the coffee table and there were even the indentations on the sofa of where he had sat and laid down.
If he forbade him to eat more, Dong Zhi would act pitiful and said that he was too hungry and couldn’t sleep. Later, Long Shen had bought him nuts that were good for his health, so he ate them as snacks. After dinner, his mouth wouldn’t remain idle.
Long Shen shook his head and picked up the snacks and put them back in the cupboard, thinking that when Dong Zhi returned to Beijing, he would have to look for food all over his house again.
His gaze inadvertently swept across and stopped on the pot of plants, the yulu that was given to him before Dong Zhi became his apprentice.
Since he couldn’t raise it, he could only use a cheating method by forcibly injecting vitality into it to bring it back to life.
Now it only needed to be watered once in a while when he remembers to. There was no need to fuss over taking care of it as it will live happily until it reaches the end of its life. Its leaves were like petals flowing brightly under the lamp, glittering and translucent, telling secrets in silence.
Dong Zhi didn’t know that injecting vitality into the yulu had more than one effect.
At this moment, Long Shen stretched out his hand and touch its leaves gently. The yulu trembled slightly, as if it was awakened from a nap, and couldn’t wait to pour out all the words that was hidden in the bottom of its heart.
The thoughts of someone were held deep within the plant and flowed from it through Long Shen’s fingers, into his mind.
“Boss Long is too good. Do you think I can really catch him?”
“He doesn’t even have a girlfriend. If we just skip directly to a boyfriend, will that scare him?”
“In his eyes, I should be a candidate to be his apprentice. If I confess, will he kick me out of the Special Administration Bureau? Would it be safer to wait until after the training exam is over?”
“If I can gain his favorability again, maybe he’ll understand.”
A familiar voice, a familiar intonation. It sounded a little worried, a little uncertain. It seems that someone was playing with the petals on the yulu and was talking to himself.
Long Shen remained motionless. He looked at the yulu but his eyes became colder and colder, as if he could complete freeze it.
A powerful breath came from his finger that caused the delicate yulu to instantly be covered with a thin layer of frost.
“Meow~”
The doors to both rooms weren’t closed. The white cat who didn’t know what being full of food and drink was had wandered in from the other room. It seemed to be frightened by Long Shen’s breath as it stood by the door, only daring to show one side of its fluffy head.
With its cry, Long Shen’s cold and hard jawline slowly melted. He stretched out his hand and touched the yulu causing the frost to melt, allowing it to regain its vitality.
The cat seems to sense that the danger alarm had been lifted, so it moved towards Long Shen and looked up at him. Long Shen stood there for a moment before he bent over and picked up the white cat and sent it back to its room, then turned around and took the Qingzhu Sword with him to the rooftop.
Pushing the door open, he was greeted with a sky full of stars and the sound of the gurgling streams. In this space there were no season, only day and night.
Long Shen raised his head and stood still for a moment, then suddenly threw the sword up, jumped up, pulled it out of its scabbard while midair, and spun his body as he whirled the sword around.
If Dong Zhi was here, he would be able to recognize that it was the Bu Tian Gang that he had been practicing continuously these days. However, Long Shen’s moves were more proficient and experienced. It matched the sword seamlessly, exerting Bu Tian Gang’s power to the extreme.
Tian Gang footwork, Tian Gang swordsmanship, Tian Gang qi, were all combined into one.
The roping technique which united the heavens, the axis which bound the earth, the brilliance which turned the wheel of the sun, the splendor which blended the stars and the moon, crossing the big dipper. The army order is too weak, beckoning qi of the world, gathering might from far and wide, the plumage of the palace goes under change as the five mountains* collapses.
*General term used for the five famous mountains in Chinese traditional culture. They are Huashan, Hengshan, Tarzan, Hengshan (different [heng] character), Songshan.
This is Bu Tian Gang.
Long Shen’s figure almost turned into light and shadow under the starlight. Wherever he went, grass and leaves would whirl, boulders would shatter, and the waterfalls would flow backwards. Even the stars in the sky began to rotate slowly around him.
In the distant, a bright glow appeared in the sky. Before the long night passed, it was like dawn was approaching. Suddenly, lightning flashed in the sky, as if someone had torn a hole in the night, quickly spreading down.
In the next moment, a pair of hands came out from the middle of the lightning and tore apart the darkness on both sides.
The elegant woman walked over from the other end of the “night curtain” with a smile: “I must say, the weather had changed so suddenly. It seems that you are dancing with your sword here, so I came to quickly stop you. Although there’s an enchantment here, your energy is too large, and it’s can easily affect the weather outside. It’ll cause an uproar if you’re attracting the sun and moon towards you.”
She stretched out her hand and turned two stones into stools and walked over and sat down. Starlight fell to the ground as he stood there. Long Shen raised his hand causing the Qingzhu Sword in his hand to fly out, inserting itself back into the scabbard that was on the ground with perfect precision.
“Why is Elder Zong here?”
“You’re making such a ruckus for a while now. How could I not come?” Zong Ling pulled out a tea set from nowhere, scooped some water into the teapot from the stream nearby, then covered it with her hand for a moment. The water inside was immediately steaming hot to boil the tea.
“It’s been a long time since I saw you practicing your swordsmanship. It was truly a feast for one’s eyes. Unfortunately, I’m afraid you’ll pierce through the enchantment, so I had to stop you. What’s going on? You’re in a bad mood?”
Long Shen sat down on the other stone stool and did not deny it: “It’s a bit messy.”
Zong Ling laughed: “How rare. I thought you have never been happy or sad with things concerning yourself. Is it because of what’s going on inside the Bureau? Wu Bingtian? The Japanese?”
Long Shen shook his head.
While the matter of the stone tablet was difficult, he’s not the only one in the Special Administration Bureau that’s investigating it. With the joint efforts of everyone, sooner or later, there will be results.
While Wu Bingtian can seem difficult, Long Shen has worked with him for many years now and knew that it was mainly due to their different ways of thinking.
There are many powerful figures in the Special Administration Bureau. One can say it’s a department that holds a lot of resources and potential, therefore, there are many who pay close attention to it and many who intervenes. It’s inevitable that you would run into numerous opinions and contradictions. Long Shen didn’t want to deal with these trivial things thus he hadn’t made much progress for so many years in the Bureau. Otherwise, with his ability, he wouldn’t just stop at his current rank.
Zong Ling smiled slightly: “Since it’s not a business matter, then is it a private matter? I haven’t heard that you have a girlfriend or boyfriend!”
Long Shen: “Elder Zong is still so humorous.”
Zong Ling: “If you live longer, you should be happier. Otherwise, how can you be worthy of existing in this world. You’re too oppressive and self-suffering. Why bother living so meticulously? When you’re free, just like humans, you should sing, dance, play, and fall in love. Isn’t that a great feeling?”
Long Shen paused for a moment before saying: “Mortals have a limited life span. Their lives are only like a spring and autumn for me. No one wants to see themselves aging, while their lover’s face doesn’t change.”
Zong Ling chuckled: “That’s just an excuse. If that’s truly so, why haven’t you fallen in love with Tang Jing or Yu Buhui? However, recently, I found that you’ve changed a bit.”
Long Shen picked up his teacup and took a little sip, then looked at her when he heard her words.
Zong Ling said: “If I had said this before, you would only say that life is a lifetime of plants and autumn*, and each has its own ways of living. This time though, it’s different. Did you encounter an opportunity?”
*(人生一世草木一秋) Saying referring to one’s life is very short, like a spring and autumn.
Long Shen put down the teacup. There was still half remaining, but he was no longer in the mood to drink.
Zong Ling: “Is it related to your apprentice?”
Long Shen was silent.
Zong Ling smiled and said: “I have seen that child a few times. He has a soft heart, but there is no shortage of determination. With your help, he will definitely be able to become a great weapon in the future. However, I don’t believe that you’re worried because he’s not training hard or is being disobedient, right? Can you tell me?”
Seeing that Long Shen still didn’t answer, she stopped asking questions, and looked up to see the cirrus clouds in the sky being pushed away by the wind.
“If you’re not saying anything, it means that your heart is already a mess. It must be that something has happened to you concerning Dong Zhi.”
Long Shen finally confessed: “He said he likes me.”
Zong Ling raised her eyebrows: “Isn’t this normal? A disciple would normally admire their master. Do you not like this disciple?”
Long Shen’s expression finally showed a trace of discomfort: “It’s not the like between a master and apprentice, but one between a man and a woman.”
Zong Ling’s face showed surprise, which then turned into a smile.
“I see. It’s no wonder that the child was very close to you as soon as he came in. Everyone else usually backs away from you, yet he was wholeheartedly determined to worship you as his teacher.”
Long Shen said lightly: “I’m afraid he worshipped me as a teacher, but he had no intention of learning anything.”
Zong Ling: “Why do you think so? Is he not devoted to his studies? Or did he ever overstep towards you?”
No. He didn’t think so.
In retrospect, the other party did take the initiative to hug him and there were peculiarities in his words and actions. In fact, Dong Zhi had already vaguely expressed his tendencies, but because he had never accepted an apprentice before, hearing Wu Bingitan and Song Zhicun talked about the importance and love for their disciples and children, he inadvertently follow suit and wanted to give his best for Dong Zhi.
Long Shen thought that this was the way to show his love for his apprentice, by being strict and demanding of him in regard to his cultivation, while being tolerant and making concession with him in private affairs.
When he heard the voice inside the yulu, he was so surprised that there was even a trace of anger.
Zong Ling’s tone was very relaxed: “If you think that he is not sincere in worshiping you as a teacher, has no intention of learning from you, and does not study seriously, you can expel him. Why be so angry? With your capacity, there must be many young heroes rushing to worship you as their teacher. Isn’t there one name Liu Qingbo? His qualifications seem to be good. I heard that he was competing with Dong Zhi to be your disciple, no?”
Long Shen looked at the Qingzhu Sword in front of him and unexpectedly remember the scene of Dong Zhi holding it cautiously as if he had obtained a treasure.
“I won’t accept apprentices anymore.”
Zong Ling: “I understand your mood. You feel as if you have been deceived, but what if he had never thought of deceiving you?”
Long Shen was silent.
Zong Ling smiled: “You’re smart. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice anything at all. Perhaps you’re just subconsciously refusing to admit it and didn’t want to think about it. Looking back, why is it just him that’s special to you? There are so many hardworking and talented people, but why did you lean towards Dong Zhi instead of them? Since you mention life expectancy, why didn’t recruit an apprentice that’s like you? In my opinion, it seems your reasons are just trying to convince yourself otherwise.”
She raised her head and looked at the stars, and the flickering light made her eyes distant and deep.
“Even if we have a much longer life span than mortals, we still have many regrets that we can’t ask for and miss in our whole life. Long Shen, don’t be like me. You won’t know regret until you lose it.”
She slowly closed her hand, as if trying to grasp the stars. Unfortunately, the seemingly close distance was as vast as the sea.
“Don’t betray your heart.”
Kinky Thoughts:
Dong Zhi’s busted. This was a very good chapter. Long Shen, listen to Elder Zong. She’s wise.
Long Shen’s concern regarding life expectancy is pretty valid. This reminds me of my other translation I did: When You’re Older. It’s related my other translation project: Your Rival in Love Gets Prettier Every Day. It’s a story about a couple where one person suffers from a disease that prevent them from aging and the other is a normal person.
It’s a short read (only 8 chapters) but it’s pretty dog abusive, but if you can handle sadness, I do recommend you read it as it describes similarly the situation Long Shen envision by falling in love with a mortal.
Because it’s real!
The corners of Dong Zhi’s mouth twitched: “Don’t lose my ID, otherwise I won’t be able to report in.”
The other party was incredulous: “Report to who?! Yourself?! Do you need to be accompanied by someone to transfer you to a mental institution?”
Dong Zhi: …
It was really impossible to talk about it. He had the urge to overturn a table.
He gave up and said: “I have other documents on hand. Do you want to take them together for inspection?”
The airline security personnel: “That’s just right. We do have to verify your identity. Thank you for your cooperation.”
He took Dong Zhi’s backpack, found the ID documents inside, and also found a pile of yellow paper and cinnabar.
“You’re really devoted to the act. Fortunately, you didn’t bring any controlled weapons. Otherwise, we really would have to turn around.”
Dong Zhi said weakly: “There are controlled weapons. They are in the checked baggage. I have already said that I am from the Special Administration Bureau.”
The airline security personnel did not believe him: “Are you joking? At any rate, this didn’t cause any major disasters this time, or you’ll be looking at three years in prison!”
He rummaged through his backpack, then checked Dong Zhi’s pockets and couldn’t help but sigh.
“You didn’t bring a lighter or matches. How did you ignite it just now?”
Dong Zhi: “It was talisman fire. The talisman paper ignitred spontaneously. Do you believe me?”
The airline security personnel: “I don’t believe you.”
Dong Zhi rolled his eyes: “Then I’m a pyromancer and I can spit out fire when I open my mouth!”
The other party showed him an expression of: “you just said you didn’t escape from a mental hospital”.
Dong Zhi had finally experience what it meant to be indisputable.
Han Qi didn’t wake up and her bodyguard and assistant both agreed that Dong Zhi had done something to her. If it wasn’t for the airline security personnel, they would have pummeled him by now. Dong Zhi told them that Han Qi was fine, but they didn’t believe him, so he could only keep his mouth shut.
The other passengers thought that it was some kind of terrorist attack and could only cradle themselves in fear. They endured the difficult few hours of the plane ride. It wasn’t until it safely landed that they felt reborn. Dong Zhi was taken by to the airline security office while Han Qi was transported to the infirmary for examination.
“Let’s talk about it, why did you create panic on the plane? Do you know that your behavior almost caused a catastrophe!”
Facing the interrogation, Dong Zhi said helplessly: “I am really from the Special Administration Bureau. Please contact them. Either He Yu or Long Shen can verify my identity. I have their number on my phone.”
The person in charge of the integration was a young man who had just graduated from college. When he heard this, he said suspiciously: “How do I know that you’re not all in cahoots with each other? And what is the Special Administration Bureau. I haven’t heard of it at all!”
Fortunately, the person he caught was Dong Zhi. If it had been Kan Chaosheng, he would have turned the security office upside down a long time ago.
In the next moment, the young man watch Dong Zhi break free from his handcuffs. It stunned him for nearly three seconds before he became furious and was about to slam on the table.
Dong Zhi said politely: “As you can see, it’s not like I can’t run away, but it’s not necessary. Would you please verify my identity? Your boss may not know so his boss must. If we have to jump through all these hoops like this every time, when a special event happens in the future, it will heavily the delay the Special Administration Bureau to take action. Do you want to stand idly by and watch as passengers of a whole plane die together?”
The young man stared at him for a long time, and finally called for his superiors.
Dong Zhi lay down on the table, took out the phone and rummaged through his contact list. He originally wanted to call Long Shen, but he was afraid of being scolded for getting into trouble so soon, so he called He Yu instead.
“Hello?” There was a weak response from that end. “Little Dongdong, have you landed?”
“I’ve landed but I ran into trouble. Now I’m in custody and being treated like a prisoner.” Dong Zhi briefly explained what happened.
He Yu listened and said: “I see, it’s just a trivial matter. The Special Administration Bureau have docking channels with other departments. Most likely they haven’t had time to enter the newcomers in the list yet so that’s why you didn’t appear. I’ll just call and explain.”
He spoke easily, and the Dong Zhi also breathed a sigh of relief: “Thank you, don’t tell Master. I’m afraid he’ll scold me.”
He Yu wailed: “When you were here, the boss took care of you and he didn’t have time to bother with us. As soon as you left, he remembered that we still exist. Laozi’s legs are still broken yet he actually had the heart to let me go on a business trip! This is too inhumane! No, he’s not human but does he have any reason left in him!”
With black line covering Dong Zhi’s face, he quickly hung up the phone and stop the continuous wailing from the other end of the line.
As soon as he hung up the phone, Dong Zhi saw the bodyguard who had accompanied Han Qi coming in from outside. He looked around and saw Dong Zhi sitting on the table and strode forward aggressively, looming as most of his body covered the table. His hand reached out and pulled at Dong Zhi’s collar.
Dong Zhi avoided it and kicked the table forward catching his opponent off guard, causing him to fall onto the table. Another bodyguard wanted to rush up and hit him when the staff had reacted and stopped them.
“What are you doing?!”
“How dare you fight in the security office?!”
Dong Zhi shouted: “Brothers and sisters of the police, they want to beat me up!”
Due to the stark contrast between Dong Zhi’s harmless face compared to his opponent’s dressed in suits and sunglasses, security didn’t have time to ponder about Dong Zhi not wearing his handcuff but instead subdued the bodyguards who seemed to be more threatening.
The bodyguard didn’t dare to resist, so he could only yell at the Dong Zhi: “Miss Han hasn’t woken up yet, and it’s all your fault! You must be responsible! Officer, you can’t let him go. This person caused personal injury to Miss Han on the plane just now and should be locked up!”
At this moment, the young man in charge of the integration just now ran back panting: “Dong Zhi, our leader wants to see you!”
The bodyguards thought that they were colluding and was planning to let Dong Zhi go, so they kept hollering and yelling. The scene became chaotic, and it wasn’t until the leader of the young man came over that the chaos calmed down.
The other party was a middle-aged man. He said to the bodyguard: “We have verified that this comrade is indeed a public servant of our system. At that time, there was something wrong with Miss Han, so he had to take action to stop it.”
The bodyguard shouted: “What kind of public servant? Why don’t you dare say which department he’s in? You officials are just protecting each other. Just you wait. We’ll expose this to the media immediately, so that you can’t afford to get away with this!”
“Then you plan on exposing the way Miss Han was acting just then?” Dong Zhi said suddenly.
The bodyguard was taken aback for a moment and said sternly: “I don’t know what you are talking about!”
Dong Zhi smiled and said: “You’ve been by her side all this time. Haven’t you seen her behave strangely? This shouldn’t be the first time she has done something like this on a plane, right? This you should know in your heart.”
The security personnel next to him looked weirdly at him when he heard Dong Zhi’s unscientific words.
Dong Zhi narrowed his smile and said stiffly: “If I hadn’t happened to be on the plane and stopped a catastrophe in time, let alone her, even you, and everyone on the plane, would have suffered!”
The bodyguard was frightened by his words, his face turning pale, and he was unable to speak. He didn’t know whether it was because he was too frightened or felt guilty.
Dong Zhi guessed that the it was the latter because what he said just now was also nonsense. He had been with He Yu and the others for a while now, and had picked up on some of their skills, and become quicker witted. Judging from the bodyguard’s behavior, it was possible that what his guess was right.
“Miss Han is fine now. I just put her to sleep for a while and she will wake up soon. I have to verify my identity with their leader, so I won’t leave for a while. If she doesn’t wake up, you can come find me. My documents are still here.” Dong Zhi said.
As he finished speaking, the bodyguard’s phone rang, and a girl was talking hurriedly at the end. The volume was so loud that even Dong Zhi could hear it.
“Where are you? Miss Han had woken up. Sister Zheng said to not let that person go before Miss Han goes to the hospital for an examination and make sure everything is okay!”
The two bodyguards looked at each other, and finally decided that one would go back and the other would stay here to watch Dong Zhi to prevent him from running away.
Dong Zhi was led back into the office by the middle-aged man. He seems to be a leader that was higher rank than the officers here.
The leader took the initiative to get up and shake hands with him and said with a smile: “I’m sorry. As you know, the Special Administration Bureau is not well known to the public. Our colleagues failed to verify your identity for a while, so it had caused you some trouble.”
Dong Zhi hurriedly said: “It was I who caused you trouble. This time it was all a misunderstanding.”
The leader was very satisfied with his calm attitude and became even more enthusiastic: “Is there a confidentiality regulation for this accident on the plane? If so, you can write a report and directly explain it to your leader. If Ms. Han’s side insists on holding you accountable, we’ll try our best to stop it.”
Dong Zhi said: “This time she was the cause of it. There’s something corrupt on her body that caused the accident. If she still wants me to be held accountable, let her come to me.”
The leader has heard of the mysterious Special Administration Bureau, but only in name, as he never seen anyone from it. He only heard rumors that they were hiding talented and powerful people. Looking at Dong Zhi, who had a calm and gentle demeanor, he found that he wasn’t as surprising as he thought.
Listening to what Dong Zhi had said, the leader couldn’t help feeling curious, but he knew that he shouldn’t ask according to discipline, so he had to hold back.
The young man saw that his leader had personally took Dong Zhi in and after a while he was personally sent out. They were talking and laughing with each other that he couldn’t help but feel uneasy, worried that Dong Zhi would be petty and scold him in front of his leader so he hurried forward to apologize.
Dong Zhi smiled: “Now do you believe that I’m not crazy?”
The young man felt very embarrassed: “The incident on the plane happened so suddenly that they had to deal with it urgently. I acted in accordance with the regulations, so don’t hold it against me!”
Naturally Dong Zhi would not make things difficult for him. Everyone had their own duties to perform. He looked at the trembling appearance of the other party and guessed that they had just joined the workforce so he said: “Can I trouble you with one thing?”
The young man hurriedly said: “Of course!”
Dong Zhi took out the registration card Long Shen gave him: “I had checked in an item that needed to go through a special channel, so I have to go to the baggage claim office to get it. With this incident that happened just now, I don’t know where my luggage is. Can you please get it for me?”
With such a trivial matter, the other party agreed immediately and went to help him pick it up.
At this time, several more people came into the security office. A woman wearing a mask and sunglasses, a big hat on her head and a silk scarf was wrapped around her neck was leading them. She was covered from head to toe, and coupled with an entourage next to her, they were more likely to attract people’s attention.
“There he is!” The assistant next to Han Qi pointed to the Dong Zhi, and the group of people walked towards him.
The staff member next to him stepped forward to stop them: “Is there anything wrong?”
Before Han Qi said anything, the assistant girl next to her said to Dong Zhi: “You just caused unknowable personal injury to Miss Han on the plane. Miss Han is going to the hospital for a physical examination, so we ask that you please come with us.”
While the contents of her sentences was polite, her tone was the opposite.
Dong Zhi felt annoyed: “I had saved her just now. How could I cause her any harm? Even if there is harm, she did it herself.”
The little girl raised her eyebrows and said: “Don’t try to avoid responsibility!”
Dong Zhi said to Han Qi: “If you really suspected me of wrongdoing, you wouldn’t come here just to ask the guilty party to follow you. You’re just here because you want to know what you’re entangled with!”
Han Qi finally took off her sunglasses and mask and said: “My assistant was impolite just now. I apologize on her behalf. Would it be convenient to find a place to talk?”
Dong Zhi refused: “It’s inconvenient.”
Han Qi: …
It just so happened that the young man came back with his sword case. Dong Zhi thanked him and then said to Han Qi: “I can’t solve your problem, Miss Han. The person who tied the bell needs to untie it*. You must know who to look for. Also, before the matter is resolved, I suggest you stop flying and implicate other innocent people. Otherwise, your sins will be even greater.”
*(解铃还需系铃人) Idiom referring to who the person who caused the trouble, is the one who has to solve it.
Han Qi’s expression changed, turning red and pale.
Dong Zhi didn’t bother waiting for her to react as he picked up his things and left.
With the delay of the flight, coupled with the incident he just went through, it was almost midnight when he got into the bus to head towards the city.
Lucheng is a famous tourist city, and it was currently peak tourist season. Even this late at night, the lights were still bright, and voices could be heard endlessly. However, he was originally said to report at 8 PM, but now it was past midnight. Feeling annoyed, he quickly dialed the contact number of the branch office, and it rang for a long time before someone came to pick it up.
“Who?! It’s the middle of the night!” The other party’s voice was lazy, most likely due to being abruptly awaken from bed.
Dong Zhi hurriedly said: “Hello, I am Dong Zhi. I’m the newcomer who was supposed to report in today but the plane had only arrived just now due to delays. I’m really sorry. Should I go directly to the office or report back tomorrow morning?”
The other party yawned and said: “Just come directly!”
—
The meeting was a bit long, so when it was adjourned, everyone was hungry. Long Shen didn’t follow them to dinner but went back to the dorms.
When he came to his room, he was about to open the door, when he suddenly remembered Dong Zhi’s words before they parted. He paused the movement of inserting his key into the keyhole for a while before picking up another key and opening the room opposite of his.
The occupant had left, and the building was empty. Everything was all packed up neatly, so Long Shen spotted the item on the coffee table with just a glance.
It was a painting. To be more precise, it was a sketch. The picture was drawn in pencil and had only been colored halfway through.
In the deep underground, the glazed grass grew slightly in the corners. Under the cliff, was thousands of corpses and ghosts which showed a terrifying scene. Standing on the cliff was a man with his back against the mountain wall. He was slender as he held a sword in one hand while looking down to the bottom of the cliff.
His face was cold, but he seems compassionate. In the darkness, he was fearless and held no hint or sorrow or joy, incompatible with his surroundings, as if he was a god who had fallen from the heavens.
Thousands of bones covered the landscape as if it was hell on earth, and he, above the hell, in the corner of the light of that day, was not tainted with any filth.
Long Shen hadn’t thought about that scene when he was in the cave, but it turns out to be like this from his apprentice’s pen. He couldn’t help but be stunned.
Perhaps because it was done in a hurry and the other party didn’t have enough time to put it into a frame, so all he saw a lonely piece of paper, that was almost too thin to hold in his hand.
A white cat passed by his feet and its tail curled along his heel. Long Shen put the drawing on the table and turned to feed it.
When he finished changing the cat’s water bowl, he turned around and saw Longlong had jumped onto the chair and was resting his two front paws on the coffee table, looking at the drawing curiously. His nose was extremely close, as if he was eager to try it.
Long Shen stretched out his hand and pinch the cat’s neck causing it to let out a dissatisfied meow, as if it was protesting his stinginess. He took the drawing away and back to his room, opened a large book, and sandwiched the painting in the middle of it.
The furnishings in the room are as simple as they can be. While it seems like his five internal organs* are complete, there was still a feeling of emptiness. In the past, Dong Zhi had often complained that there was no feeling of home here. He complained that Long Shen lived too simply and didn’t know how to enjoy life, so he bought some pillows and furnishing to put in his room.
*(五脏) Refers to the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.
It wasn’t because Long Shen had no aesthetics. He just rarely cared about things outside of his body, but he didn’t interfere with the layout either and let Dong Zhi tinker to his liking.
Every night before Dong Zhi left Beijing, he would stay here and talked until he was driven back to bed. There was a half open bag of nuts on the coffee table and there were even the indentations on the sofa of where he had sat and laid down.
If he forbade him to eat more, Dong Zhi would act pitiful and said that he was too hungry and couldn’t sleep. Later, Long Shen had bought him nuts that were good for his health, so he ate them as snacks. After dinner, his mouth wouldn’t remain idle.
Long Shen shook his head and picked up the snacks and put them back in the cupboard, thinking that when Dong Zhi returned to Beijing, he would have to look for food all over his house again.
His gaze inadvertently swept across and stopped on the pot of plants, the yulu that was given to him before Dong Zhi became his apprentice.
Since he couldn’t raise it, he could only use a cheating method by forcibly injecting vitality into it to bring it back to life.
Now it only needed to be watered once in a while when he remembers to. There was no need to fuss over taking care of it as it will live happily until it reaches the end of its life. Its leaves were like petals flowing brightly under the lamp, glittering and translucent, telling secrets in silence.
Dong Zhi didn’t know that injecting vitality into the yulu had more than one effect.
At this moment, Long Shen stretched out his hand and touch its leaves gently. The yulu trembled slightly, as if it was awakened from a nap, and couldn’t wait to pour out all the words that was hidden in the bottom of its heart.
The thoughts of someone were held deep within the plant and flowed from it through Long Shen’s fingers, into his mind.
“Boss Long is too good. Do you think I can really catch him?”
“He doesn’t even have a girlfriend. If we just skip directly to a boyfriend, will that scare him?”
“In his eyes, I should be a candidate to be his apprentice. If I confess, will he kick me out of the Special Administration Bureau? Would it be safer to wait until after the training exam is over?”
“If I can gain his favorability again, maybe he’ll understand.”
A familiar voice, a familiar intonation. It sounded a little worried, a little uncertain. It seems that someone was playing with the petals on the yulu and was talking to himself.
Long Shen remained motionless. He looked at the yulu but his eyes became colder and colder, as if he could complete freeze it.
A powerful breath came from his finger that caused the delicate yulu to instantly be covered with a thin layer of frost.
“Meow~”
The doors to both rooms weren’t closed. The white cat who didn’t know what being full of food and drink was had wandered in from the other room. It seemed to be frightened by Long Shen’s breath as it stood by the door, only daring to show one side of its fluffy head.
With its cry, Long Shen’s cold and hard jawline slowly melted. He stretched out his hand and touched the yulu causing the frost to melt, allowing it to regain its vitality.
The cat seems to sense that the danger alarm had been lifted, so it moved towards Long Shen and looked up at him. Long Shen stood there for a moment before he bent over and picked up the white cat and sent it back to its room, then turned around and took the Qingzhu Sword with him to the rooftop.
Pushing the door open, he was greeted with a sky full of stars and the sound of the gurgling streams. In this space there were no season, only day and night.
Long Shen raised his head and stood still for a moment, then suddenly threw the sword up, jumped up, pulled it out of its scabbard while midair, and spun his body as he whirled the sword around.
If Dong Zhi was here, he would be able to recognize that it was the Bu Tian Gang that he had been practicing continuously these days. However, Long Shen’s moves were more proficient and experienced. It matched the sword seamlessly, exerting Bu Tian Gang’s power to the extreme.
Tian Gang footwork, Tian Gang swordsmanship, Tian Gang qi, were all combined into one.
The roping technique which united the heavens, the axis which bound the earth, the brilliance which turned the wheel of the sun, the splendor which blended the stars and the moon, crossing the big dipper. The army order is too weak, beckoning qi of the world, gathering might from far and wide, the plumage of the palace goes under change as the five mountains* collapses.
*General term used for the five famous mountains in Chinese traditional culture. They are Huashan, Hengshan, Tarzan, Hengshan (different [heng] character), Songshan.
This is Bu Tian Gang.
Long Shen’s figure almost turned into light and shadow under the starlight. Wherever he went, grass and leaves would whirl, boulders would shatter, and the waterfalls would flow backwards. Even the stars in the sky began to rotate slowly around him.
In the distant, a bright glow appeared in the sky. Before the long night passed, it was like dawn was approaching. Suddenly, lightning flashed in the sky, as if someone had torn a hole in the night, quickly spreading down.
In the next moment, a pair of hands came out from the middle of the lightning and tore apart the darkness on both sides.
The elegant woman walked over from the other end of the “night curtain” with a smile: “I must say, the weather had changed so suddenly. It seems that you are dancing with your sword here, so I came to quickly stop you. Although there’s an enchantment here, your energy is too large, and it’s can easily affect the weather outside. It’ll cause an uproar if you’re attracting the sun and moon towards you.”
She stretched out her hand and turned two stones into stools and walked over and sat down. Starlight fell to the ground as he stood there. Long Shen raised his hand causing the Qingzhu Sword in his hand to fly out, inserting itself back into the scabbard that was on the ground with perfect precision.
“Why is Elder Zong here?”
“You’re making such a ruckus for a while now. How could I not come?” Zong Ling pulled out a tea set from nowhere, scooped some water into the teapot from the stream nearby, then covered it with her hand for a moment. The water inside was immediately steaming hot to boil the tea.
“It’s been a long time since I saw you practicing your swordsmanship. It was truly a feast for one’s eyes. Unfortunately, I’m afraid you’ll pierce through the enchantment, so I had to stop you. What’s going on? You’re in a bad mood?”
Long Shen sat down on the other stone stool and did not deny it: “It’s a bit messy.”
Zong Ling laughed: “How rare. I thought you have never been happy or sad with things concerning yourself. Is it because of what’s going on inside the Bureau? Wu Bingtian? The Japanese?”
Long Shen shook his head.
While the matter of the stone tablet was difficult, he’s not the only one in the Special Administration Bureau that’s investigating it. With the joint efforts of everyone, sooner or later, there will be results.
While Wu Bingtian can seem difficult, Long Shen has worked with him for many years now and knew that it was mainly due to their different ways of thinking.
There are many powerful figures in the Special Administration Bureau. One can say it’s a department that holds a lot of resources and potential, therefore, there are many who pay close attention to it and many who intervenes. It’s inevitable that you would run into numerous opinions and contradictions. Long Shen didn’t want to deal with these trivial things thus he hadn’t made much progress for so many years in the Bureau. Otherwise, with his ability, he wouldn’t just stop at his current rank.
Zong Ling smiled slightly: “Since it’s not a business matter, then is it a private matter? I haven’t heard that you have a girlfriend or boyfriend!”
Long Shen: “Elder Zong is still so humorous.”
Zong Ling: “If you live longer, you should be happier. Otherwise, how can you be worthy of existing in this world. You’re too oppressive and self-suffering. Why bother living so meticulously? When you’re free, just like humans, you should sing, dance, play, and fall in love. Isn’t that a great feeling?”
Long Shen paused for a moment before saying: “Mortals have a limited life span. Their lives are only like a spring and autumn for me. No one wants to see themselves aging, while their lover’s face doesn’t change.”
Zong Ling chuckled: “That’s just an excuse. If that’s truly so, why haven’t you fallen in love with Tang Jing or Yu Buhui? However, recently, I found that you’ve changed a bit.”
Long Shen picked up his teacup and took a little sip, then looked at her when he heard her words.
Zong Ling said: “If I had said this before, you would only say that life is a lifetime of plants and autumn*, and each has its own ways of living. This time though, it’s different. Did you encounter an opportunity?”
*(人生一世草木一秋) Saying referring to one’s life is very short, like a spring and autumn.
Long Shen put down the teacup. There was still half remaining, but he was no longer in the mood to drink.
Zong Ling: “Is it related to your apprentice?”
Long Shen was silent.
Zong Ling smiled and said: “I have seen that child a few times. He has a soft heart, but there is no shortage of determination. With your help, he will definitely be able to become a great weapon in the future. However, I don’t believe that you’re worried because he’s not training hard or is being disobedient, right? Can you tell me?”
Seeing that Long Shen still didn’t answer, she stopped asking questions, and looked up to see the cirrus clouds in the sky being pushed away by the wind.
“If you’re not saying anything, it means that your heart is already a mess. It must be that something has happened to you concerning Dong Zhi.”
Long Shen finally confessed: “He said he likes me.”
Zong Ling raised her eyebrows: “Isn’t this normal? A disciple would normally admire their master. Do you not like this disciple?”
Long Shen’s expression finally showed a trace of discomfort: “It’s not the like between a master and apprentice, but one between a man and a woman.”
Zong Ling’s face showed surprise, which then turned into a smile.
“I see. It’s no wonder that the child was very close to you as soon as he came in. Everyone else usually backs away from you, yet he was wholeheartedly determined to worship you as his teacher.”
Long Shen said lightly: “I’m afraid he worshipped me as a teacher, but he had no intention of learning anything.”
Zong Ling: “Why do you think so? Is he not devoted to his studies? Or did he ever overstep towards you?”
No. He didn’t think so.
In retrospect, the other party did take the initiative to hug him and there were peculiarities in his words and actions. In fact, Dong Zhi had already vaguely expressed his tendencies, but because he had never accepted an apprentice before, hearing Wu Bingitan and Song Zhicun talked about the importance and love for their disciples and children, he inadvertently follow suit and wanted to give his best for Dong Zhi.
Long Shen thought that this was the way to show his love for his apprentice, by being strict and demanding of him in regard to his cultivation, while being tolerant and making concession with him in private affairs.
When he heard the voice inside the yulu, he was so surprised that there was even a trace of anger.
Zong Ling’s tone was very relaxed: “If you think that he is not sincere in worshiping you as a teacher, has no intention of learning from you, and does not study seriously, you can expel him. Why be so angry? With your capacity, there must be many young heroes rushing to worship you as their teacher. Isn’t there one name Liu Qingbo? His qualifications seem to be good. I heard that he was competing with Dong Zhi to be your disciple, no?”
Long Shen looked at the Qingzhu Sword in front of him and unexpectedly remember the scene of Dong Zhi holding it cautiously as if he had obtained a treasure.
“I won’t accept apprentices anymore.”
Zong Ling: “I understand your mood. You feel as if you have been deceived, but what if he had never thought of deceiving you?”
Long Shen was silent.
Zong Ling smiled: “You’re smart. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice anything at all. Perhaps you’re just subconsciously refusing to admit it and didn’t want to think about it. Looking back, why is it just him that’s special to you? There are so many hardworking and talented people, but why did you lean towards Dong Zhi instead of them? Since you mention life expectancy, why didn’t recruit an apprentice that’s like you? In my opinion, it seems your reasons are just trying to convince yourself otherwise.”
She raised her head and looked at the stars, and the flickering light made her eyes distant and deep.
“Even if we have a much longer life span than mortals, we still have many regrets that we can’t ask for and miss in our whole life. Long Shen, don’t be like me. You won’t know regret until you lose it.”
She slowly closed her hand, as if trying to grasp the stars. Unfortunately, the seemingly close distance was as vast as the sea.
“Don’t betray your heart.”
Kinky Thoughts:
Dong Zhi’s busted. This was a very good chapter. Long Shen, listen to Elder Zong. She’s wise.
Long Shen’s concern regarding life expectancy is pretty valid. This reminds me of my other translation I did: When You’re Older. It’s related my other translation project: Your Rival in Love Gets Prettier Every Day. It’s a story about a couple where one person suffers from a disease that prevent them from aging and the other is a normal person.
It’s a short read (only 8 chapters) but it’s pretty dog abusive, but if you can handle sadness, I do recommend you read it as it describes similarly the situation Long Shen envision by falling in love with a mortal.
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