393 Becoming a Disciple (1/2)

The Blessed Child had never received this much attention before and was afraid of everyone surrounding him. He was fearful and disgusted at Old Man Mu, who was standing on his shoulders. As for the Dragon King and his party, including Shangguan Ru, who had pleaded for leniency on his behalf, they were bloodthirsty and evil people from another world in his eyes.

”I, I...”

”You what? I want you to recite the eighth chapter of Wayless Qigong, is there 'I' in the passage?” asked Old Man Mu as he lifted his feet and stamped on the child's shoulder, showing no mercy even to a child of about 12 years of age.

The Blessed Child could not bear the pain and shouted. Shangguan Ru took a step forward before managing to control her impulse with considerable effort, her hatred for Old Man Mu growing even deeper now.

”The, the path of emptiness...” recited the Blessed Child. He was not too proficient in Central Plains Chinese but he had memorized the chapter by heart, and once he started speaking, the words kept tumbling out of his mouth. As he spoke, the anxiety in his heart diminished a little.

The child managed to remember the word limit of 50 words and stopped in time. He was worried as he did not know if these bloodthirsty demons were satisfied or not.

Upon Old Man Mu's kidnapping of the Blessed Child, Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus remained in close pursuit and they hid in close proximity to the kidnapper and his hostage after they had entered the Flower Soul Forest. As such, Old Man Mu had not got anything of substance from the child, but as the two women listened, they felt that the few words from the hostage seemed to link up well with what Shangguan Fei recited.

”How about that? Good grandchild, this is the supreme technique from your family, isn't it? If the Supreme King should come to know that the eighth chapter would be hidden in such a remote corner of the world, he would be extremely furious, haha.”

Shangguan Ru gave a vague reply. She felt that the words were very similar to that of her brother's, but she could not be entirely sure. She looked intently at the Dragon King, waiting for him to make his judgment.

Gu Shenwei lowered his head in thought before sheathing his Dragon Head Sword. ”Let's go, there's no need for us to be wasting time here. Let's leave the old man and his 'grandchild' to their business.”

The two women did not understand the Dragon King's intentions but went along with him. They sheathed their weapons as well, preparing to retreat.

Shangguan Fei's face grew extremely pale and Old Man Mu's expression changed as well before he began laughing loudly. ”Dragon King, do you think you can fool me with your little trick? Do you dare claim that this is not the eighth chapter?” he asked.

Gu Shenwei had already taken a few steps away before he turned back and replied coldly, ”This is the eighth chapter, but the wrong one.”

Old Man Mu lowered his head to look at the Blessed Child. He then pointed at the Dragon King and laughed. ”Look at you, as if you were speaking the truth. I was nearly fooled by you. There are four people who have practiced Wayless Qigong before, what makes you so special that you can tell the difference just by hearing a few words? Shangguan Fei, speak, is this true or false?”

hangguan Fei's entire body was trembling as he stammered, ”It should, should be true.” He felt that he liked being called ”good grandchild” better.

Old Man Mu was looking conceitedly at the Dragon King before he heard Shangguan Fei add-on, ”But it could probably be fake as well.”

Old Man Mu lifted one leg up and swept it across the face of Shangguan Fei, barely missing it and thereby ensuring that his 'business partner' would continue to live. ”Young fool, you dare to make sport of me? This is the supreme technique of your own family, is it so difficult to tell whether it is real?”

Shangguan Fei was ashen-faced and stuttered like the Blessed Child, ”I, I...”

Gu Shenwei spoke up, rescuing Shangguan Fei, who was having difficulty expressing himself, in the nick of time. ”Coincidentally, I practiced fake Wayless Qigong before and therefore am better suited to tell the real version from the fake one. This child has memorized it pretty well, but there are too many errors in his version. From the dozens of words he said, I can spot at least six mistakes. I believe that it has been passed on from generations to generations over the past century and the previous Chief Priests, not understanding the true meaning of the texts, could've made their own amendments or reductions to it. As such, the errors must have accumulated over the years.”

Gu Shenwei spread his palms open, signifying that the eighth chapter memorized by the Blessed Child was already meaningless. He then wanted to leave again.

Maid Lotus was the one who had caused Gu Shenwei to practice the wrong version of Wayless Qigong and nearly die from the resulting Qigong Deviation, but she remained expressionless. Shangguan Ru was a little surprised and quickly threw Maid Lotus a glance.

”Wait a moment,” said Old Man Mu, growing anxious. He lifted a leg up before continuing, ”Since you've said that this child's version is entirely wrong, what's the point of keeping him? I'll kill him.”

Gu Shenwei did not even bother turning his head back and continued walking out of the woods. Maid Lotus followed closely behind him, but Shangguan Ru was hesitant. She knew that the Dragon King was most likely playing a trick on Old Man Mu, but she also knew that he was ruthless - it was not impossible for him to sacrifice the young Blessed Child.

Shangguan Ru quickened her pace and caught up with the Dragon King. ”The child might be of use...” she said extremely softly.

Gu Shenwei acted as if he had not heard her and continued walking forward. Old Man Mu's eyesight was good and could make out Shangguan Ru muttering in the dark. ”Nice girl, what sweet mutterings are you saying to the Dragon King? Are you telling him that he's only slightly less good-looking than me, or that the child is reciting the real eighth chapter?”

Gu Shenwei increased his pace, and Shangguan Ru did not hesitate any longer. The three of them soon disappeared into the night.

Old Man Mu stood with his mouth agape and eyes blinking as he looked far away at the receding figures of the three intruders. A part of himself thought that his plan had failed, anther part assumed that the other party was up to something while the rest part of himself was shrouded in doubt.

Shangguan Fei, who was standing beside him, began feeling awkward all of a sudden and started shifting carefully backward.

Old Man Mu turned his head violently to face him, addressing him in a voice so sweet that it was nauseous, ”Let's talk, Ninth Young Master.”

”Yes,” replied Shangguan Fei, his legs so wobbly that he nearly sat down on the ground. ”What does Mu, senior Mu want to talk about?”

”Now that my eighth chapter is gone, can you recite the other seven chapters to me?”

”Of course.”

”Of course what?”