CH 3

At the age of twenty-eight, Changming, who was already the Yuhuang Temple’s master, accepted his first disciple.

The Yuhuang Temple was not a big sect, but after Changming was in charge of it for a few years, this Daoist temple became famous. It was well-known in Jianghu. Many people were attracted to this place by its reputation and wanted to enter the sect, but Changming didn’t even give them a glance. Occasionally he would encounter people with good aptitude and roots and send them to be apprenticed to his shidis. He himself set his heart on cultivation and was determined to spend his whole life studying mysterious principles of Dao.

Jianghu: lit. “rivers and lakes”: the world of Martial arts and everyone who is connected with it.

Shidi: aka “younger martial brother”.

At that time, Yun Weisi was just a fifteen year old boy.

A misfortune befell his family, and everyone but him was killed; he was thrown out of his clan, became destitute and homeless, and had to roam the world unconstrained. All the brocade garments, jade meals, poetry, books, and etiquette were gone, disappearing like fleeting clouds. Many sects refused to accept him because of his delicate situation. Some sects, seeing that his bones were just ordinary and his internal organs were injured, didn’t want to make a great effort to rebuild a stranger’s bones.

Only the Yuhuang Temple accepted him.

At first, Changming also didn’t notice this mediocre disciple who was just an errand boy.

Until one day, when the steward arranged morning lessons for all disciples and asked them to carve characters on cooked rice grains.

Engraving on rice grains is a test of martial arts. Cooked rice is fluffy and soft, and it is almost impossible to complete this task. Many students gave up halfway and complained about making things difficult for them on purpose, and some had submitted barely satisfactory works after working on them for two or three days. Even the completion of simplest patterns was quite surprising.

Only Yun Weisi carved on rice grains every night for three months under the moonlight.

By chance, Changming discovered that he had put the carved rice in a bowl, where it was well preserved with the Ice technique. The engraving on the grains, which was not complete in the beginning, actually appeared three months later—a bamboo forest behind the mountain.

The carving was ordinary and even crude, but his determination was rare.

Changming decided to accept a disciple, and Yun Weisi lived up to his expectations. He completed several tests one after another and eventually became Changming’s first disciple.

Except for Yun Weisi, Changming did not accept any disciples during the years he spent with Yuhuang Temple, until he left it and established another sect, becoming the first master in the world. As his first disciple, Yun Weisi also rose to fame, especially after he killed the Snow Mountain Demonic Dragon alone and defeated the Ghost King. Then Yun Weisi finally moved out of his teacher’s shadow, and his name reverberated through the world like thunder, shocking everyone.

Later, the master and his apprentice turned against each other.

The old friendship disappeared, like scattered ashes and dispersed smoke, and ceased to exist.

Yun Weisi openly declared that he would pursue and kill his teacher. He led dozens of famous monks from Daoist sects to encircle and suppress Changming. Although he returned crestfallen in the end, everyone in the world knew that this discord between the teacher and his disciple reached the point where the disciple finally rebelled.

At that time, Changming was known as the strongest person in the world, and his reputation was not flawless. Many people gloated in secret, waiting to see him die tragically under the sword of his disciple, but they didn’t dare to say it to his face. Changming always did everything his own way no matter what other people were saying.

Even if it’s been many years, even if his memory was incomplete, Changming still remembered Yun Weisi’s appearance as a fifteen year old boy—

There was no doubt it was the same with that helpless boy who was chased and fled in embarrassment.

Was it a coincidence?

Or was there something else after this?

He Xiyun said that Yun Weisi was still alive, and had already become the lord of the Nine Layers of the Abyss, so highly placed that common people could not reach him. He could never turn back to his fifteen year old self and be chased down here.

Could it be that this boy is related to Yun Weisi?

Changming frowned.

Before he could ask anything, three or four people jumped out of the bamboo forest.

They were carrying wooden sticks in their hands, and the way they were dressed suggested that they were outer disciples.

They were quite intimidating and did not seem to have any good intentions.

“Drag him away!”

They didn’t even look at Changming, obviously not putting him in their eyes.

The boy was completely exhausted. They forcibly picked him up from a puddle of mud and dragged him into the depths of the bamboo forest.

The leading disciple sneered while walking.

“If you stare at shimei Bixin again, I will definitely gouge out your eyes!”

Shimei: aka younger martial sister.

“No, this guy steals something every day, we should have kicked him away a long time ago! The steward is too kind, let’s help him and teach this guy a lesson!”

They left quickly.

Changming didn’t hinder them.

He was silent for a moment, then took out a piece of paper out of his sleeve, and gently threw it.

The paper flew with the wind and slipped into the bamboo forest silently.

After a while, a scream was heard from that direction.

Anguished wailings and cries for help came one after another, but Changming turned a deaf ear to it. He bent down and used a knife to cut off some bamboo shoots and throw them into the basket. The young boy quickly ran out from the forest, stopped in front of him, suddenly knelt down, kowtowed three times, immediately got up and hurried away, quickly disappearing in the evening twilight.

Changming didn’t take it seriously. The disciples had been long ago chased away by the paper tiger and ran in the opposite direction. Even if they returned, they couldn’t have proved he was the one behind this.

Changming slowly filled the basket with bamboo shoots and returned to the outer circle’s kitchen to assist Chef He in making dinner.

It turned out that Chef He had already finished it a long time ago and didn’t need help. Changming returned just in time for four steaming hot dishes and a soup.

It was really too wasteful for the two of them to eat these dishes, but no one could say a word against his boss, Chef He.

“Come, try my new dish, fresh bamboo shoots and fish fillets!” Chef He invited him to sit down, “I received some wine, tut, tonight is going to be just fine!”

Changming sat down and picked up his chopsticks to taste the dishes, readily accepting the good advice.

“How is it?” Chef He craned his neck.

“The bamboo shoots are crispy and the fish is tender. The seasoning is most important for this dish. Without the seasoning, these two are not enough,” commented Changming.

“I knew you would understand me!” Chef He patted his thigh. “Yeah, this seasoning is my own secret recipe. I spent a whole month thinking about it before I had it figured out. I dare to guarantee that a second one like mine doesn’t exist in this world!”

Changming also thought it was good, and picked up bites of food with his chopsticks one after another.

“If there were chefs competitions in the cultivation world, you would have undeniably reached the top three with it.”

Chef He laughed: “Not just the top three, I must be the best!”

After that, he sighed: “It’s a pity ah, the world only cares about fame, fortune, and martial arts cultivation, why would they pay attention to cooking? In their opinion, this is just something despicable.”

Changming waved his chopsticks, as if ordering a new plate: “If you continue grieving over the passing of spring or feeling sad with the advent of autumn, I will eat it all alone.”

Grieving over the passing of spring or feeling sad with the advent of autumn: being sentimental.

There were half a bowl of rice and a few other dishes, and he swept up most of it in an instant.

Chef He finally realised this, and the two of them cleaned out the bowls as fast as the wind.

Chef He got along with Changming pretty well, which never happened with his previous assistants.

Changming worked hard, was willing to listen to him gossiping, and could also make useful suggestions for his new dishes. He was also a good friend to Chef He, and a way better person than those outer disciples who talked a lot and were fastidious but incompetent.

“Old He, I heard that the Jianxue Clan has a long history with this sect. Will their master also come here for the wedding?”

Chef He shook his head: “Don’t talk about him with anyone else, it’s a taboo.”

Changming: “I noticed it, so I haven’t mentioned him before.”

He had been in the Qixian Sect for so many days, but no one even breathed a word about the Jianxue Clan.

“During those years the Jianxue Clan was strong, while the Qixian Sect was weak, so it had to become their vassal. But the Sect Master really feels humiliated about this matter, so no one is allowed to mention it in the sect. Of course, shishu Liu sent an invitation. But the Sect Master himself definitely will not come. It should be his trusted follower.”

At this point, Chef He started to look worried.

“What I am afraid of is that the Jianxue Clan can cause troubles on the day of shishu Liu’s happy event.”

Changming raised his eyebrow: “How can that happen, doesn’t he want to win over his subordinates’ hearts?”

Chef He smiled bitterly: “Why would he want to win over people’s hearts? As long as the Jianxue Clan is in power, and the Qixian Sect does not have a master greater than Zhou Keyi, this sect won’t be able to escape from the Jianxue Clan. Although shishu Liu is a talented person, he only has a few more than ten years of cultivation. How can he compete against this tyrant Zhou Keyi?”

Changming: “Hasn’t the Qixian Sect already surrendered to the Jianxue Clan?”

Chef He: “There are rumors that Zhou Keyi practices a vicious technique and needs to suck human blood and energy every few months. But ordinary people are not enough for him, they have to look dignified and beautiful. Several vassal sects take turns paying the tributes. Last time when it was our turn, a traitor who had killed his shidi or shixiong was offered to Zhou Keyi by our Sect Master. I don’t know who it will be this time… Hey, these things are not for us to worry about, honestly, the food is ready!”

After a few cups of wine, Chef He was finally satisfied and went to take a rest.

Changming took the bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen and cleaned up.

In the dead of night, there was only a lonely moon.

He was absent-mindedly washing the dishes, while pondering about his Sifei Sword.

If he had this sword, he might have been able to find an opportunity to recover his health and cultivation very soon. But where the sword was, whether it was in Yun Weisi’s hands or whether Zhou Keyi took it, Changming couldn’t remember.

Maybe he should visit the Jianxue Clan to look for it?

Zhou Keyi used to have a habit of collecting famous artifacts. If he saw Sifei, he definitely wouldn’t have let it go. Maybe it was with him.

Click.

There was a small sound from the pile of firewood, so small it was hard to notice it.

Changming’s five senses were now a lot worse than before, but it didn’t mean that he couldn’t even hear this sound.

Not turning around, he threw a chopstick over, hitting the wood pile accurately.

There was a crashing sound, and an uninvited guest had to get out of the pile of firewood.

Changming turned his head and saw that it was the boy he had met earlier that day.

The other party did not rush to escape, he just stood still.

This made Changming suddenly remember a little bit of the past—

For a long time, even though Yun Weisi was the leader of the Daoist sect, he was nicknamed ‘the Cold Demon Lord’ behind his back because of his fierce and merciless style, which, however, did not prevent young female cultivators from vying to be the first one to confess their undying love to him.

However, at that moment, the person who had the face of young Yun Weisi was still holding half of a roasted sweet potato in his hand, and there were greasy stains all over his face. It is unknown what the ones who admired him would have thought upon seeing this picture.

Changming was amused, and the corners of his mouth curled into a teasing smile.

The young man looked at him from afar, as if waiting for him to let himself go.

The author has something to say:

Changming: So, the you I saw is really you?

Yun Weisi: Do you think the me you saw is me?