Chapter 82 Ten Years Later (Extra 2) (1/2)
Ten years later
Xuanyuan sect, main altar.
Zhong Liqian was handling the work with Shu Yanyan in the council hall. He had been delayed by Wen Renhe for ten years. For ten years, Zhong Liqian would send a messenger to Wen Renhe and Yin Hanjiang every first and fifteenth day of the month to ask about his resignation. After ten years of sending 240 messages, he finally received an impatient reply from Wen Renhe: “Feel free to find someone suitable to take over the Xuanyuan Sect and leave after the handover.”
After Zhong Liqian received the message, he felt overjoyed and touched his still long hair hurriedly going to find Shu Yanyan. Explaining the rules of Xuanyuan sect, the system of rewards and punishments, the inventory of spiritual stones and treasures, the ranking of the disciples, the possibility of future promotion and the bottlenecks that may be encountered, were all passed to Shu Yanyan who leaned lazily on the table and had no intention to look at the jade slip.
After ten years, Shu Yanyan who was still a beautiful young girl, yawned and looked at Zhong Liqian sleepily and said: “Forty-two years ago when I saw you at the book reading, how come I didn’t notice you were so nagging?”
At the book reading Zhong Liqian talked about books, composed poems and lyrics, and his every word was a beautiful poem, even if you didn’t understand, it was refreshing to the ears. Now Zhong Liqian’s mouth was filled with information about how many many top grade spirit stones were still in the treasury, the middle spirit stones, lower grade stones… What the sect had trouble with recently, what altar masters were thinking about, how to appease them, and so on, listening to it, Shu Yanyan couldn’t help feeling sleepy.
She pinched Zhong Liqian’s handsome face and tiredly said: “No wonder the world’s scholarly students look so handsome in green clothes, just like a green bamboo. The bamboo fragrance that emits from their bodies make people want to taste them. But after the imperial examinations, with rice and wine makes the belly of each official and their faces full of wrinkles, ugly, that even poetry can’t mask it. They can also not get rid of the wine smell, Zhong Liqian you…”
Shu Yanyan sighted and shook her head, seeming to be mourning for the lost beauty.
Zhong Liqian, who was still young and handsome after many years: “……”
He thought for a moment and said: “Liqian has been in the Xuanyuan sect for many years but his path is still in teaching, it remains unchanged.”
“I know,” Shu Yanyan suddenly stood up, palm touching his chin, heartbroken: “You have lost weight.”
Zhong Liqian was slightly stunned.
Shu Yanyan said with a straight face: “I applaud you as a student and as a teacher, but don’t bother with the miscellaneous affairs of Xuanyuan sect anymore, it’s not suitable for you. The teacher preaches, teaches and solves problems, you do your best for your disciples but you need to know when to stop. The path is their own, you can not walk it for them, you are too tired.”
Zhong Liqian looked at the books on the table, one of them was the possible future direction of cultivation for each disciple. He wrote down all he could think of, but in fact, there are still countless possibilities that he did not record.
“As for me, I do things as I please, try if you like, if you don’t like, leave it. If you appreciate it, you can communicate with each other more, if you respect it, you can treat each other with respect and friendship.” Shu Yanyan said: “I respect master Zhong enough to let go of a person I’m itching and craving for to leave. But likewise, the reason I can let go is hope that Zhong Liqian will always be a gentleman and a respectable teacher. But if your temper becomes ruined by this pile of miscellaneous things, then this protector will not be polite.”
Zhong Liqian thought for a long time before he said to Shu Yanyan with an arch of his hand: “Thank you, Protector Shu, for mentioning this, Liqian understands.”
He had given a lot to the Xuanyuan sect for so many years and unknowingly, the Xuanyuan sect became Zhong Liqian’s shackles like the Zhong family before, causing him to gradually lose his freedom and forget his original intention.
His original intention was to spread the word “Dao” throughout the world, but the “Dao” he wanted to pass on was not fixed, for each person has a different understanding, and realizes their own “Dao”. But now he was close to planning the future “Dao” for everyone in the Xuanyuan sect instead of letting them develop freely.
“It’s good that you understand.” Shu Yanyan picked up a jade slip: “You organize these things, this Protector will read it but as for whether this protector will follow it, that may not happen. This protector also has this protector’s ‘dao’ so you should not be like a fly buzzing in my ear about what I should do. it’s not cool to talk too much.”
“Liqian obeys the order.” Zhong Liqian smiled lightly, as comfortable as a clear moon and breeze.
“You go,” Shu Yanyan said, “spread your ‘Dao’ in the world, so that this Protector can see if the world can be peaceful and carefree. Also, come back once every few years, I’m counting on your face for dinner.”
“The sage said that there must be my teacher in a three-person’s group. The teaching path is not only to be a teacher but to also find a teacher. Everyone in the world can be my teacher. Today, protector Shu was Liqian one-day teacher.” Zhong Liqian said modestly.
Shu Yanyan looked at his face, raised her hand to cover her forehead, and flung the other hand away saying: “Hurry up and go, or I’ll have to force you as your “one-day teacher”.
Zhong Liqian said with a smile: “Liqian bids farewell, after a few years, when Liqian wisdom grows, he will discuss the dao with Protector Shu again.”
Looking at his departing back, Shu Yanyan shook her head and said: “Don’t come back, if you come back again, I really won’t be able to handle it anymore.”