Chapter 708: Contracting Wudang Mountain?

After that, Xia Yu didn't ask any more questions, and Li Chunqiu also fell into sentimentality. Everyone kept quiet, and the atmosphere was a bit different.

I don't know how long we walked for, and when the group arrived at the square in front of Zixiao Palace, they saw a group of Taoist priests waiting.

'Mr Xia, Mr Li, these are the Taoist priests from Wudang Mountain. The one in the lead is the head of the Wudang school, Grandmaster Xuanqing.'

The staff member immediately introduced Xia Yu and the others, and led the group towards the Taoist priests.

As they drew closer, when they saw the man in the lead, a flash of memory crossed Li Chunqiu's eyes. The more he looked, the more familiar he felt, and his hands trembled slightly.

'Qianyuan junior?'

Li Chunqiu called out tentatively.

The Taoist priest with silver hair at the head of the group wanted to greet the group, but suddenly heard the old man in traditional Chinese dress shouting his real name and calling him 'younger brother'.

This familiar yet strange address broke the peace in Ye Qianyuan's heart.

He looked at Li Chunqiu carefully, and the image of the person in his memory coincided, so he tentatively shouted, 'You are Brother Chunqiu?'

Ye Qianyuan's words undoubtedly confirmed Li Chunqiu's guess, and he was overjoyed. His eyes brimmed with tears as he quickly walked up to him, grabbed his hand, and said excitedly, 'Qianyuan junior brother, it's me! I never thought that after so many decades, I would see you again. God is merciful!'

'Senior Brother Chunqiu, it's good that you're alive, it's good that you're alive! After all my fellow disciples went down the mountain, I heard nothing from them, and I thought... God is merciful...'

Ye Qianyuan was also in tears, so moved that he could hardly speak. No one knew the torment he had endured over the decades.

At this moment, when a fellow disciple who had been presumed dead reappeared, Ye Qianyuan's heart felt as if it had found a way out of its oppression.

The scene of the two elderly men clasping hands seemed to have taken everyone by surprise.

In particular, Ye Qianyuan's disciples and their descendants had never seen Ye Qianyuan in such a gesture before, and they were all very shocked.

But they all knew one thing: from today onwards, they would have an additional master and grandmaster-level elder.

Fortunately, Li Chunqiu and Ye Qianyuan knew the situation and managed to control their excitement in time.

The group crossed Zixiao Palace and went to Taihe Palace. After arranging their stay, they gathered again in the main hall of Taihe Palace.

Ye Qianyuan and Li Chunqiu sat at the head.

Ye Qianyuan introduced his descendants, and Li Chunqiu also introduced Xia Yu and the others in due course, but did not go into detail about Xia Yu's identity.

'Brother, you're back. This is a joyous event for our Wudang Taoist sect, and we should notify the other sects and hold a ceremony for your return.'

'But nowadays, the various sects are not as strong as they were when Master was here,'

Speaking of this, Ye Qianyuan felt a little sad and lost.

Wudang Mountain is not just home to the Wudang school. Over the years, it has become a general term for the many different schools that have developed there, such as the Wudang Sanfeng school, Wudang Xuanwu school, Longmen school, Songxi school, Chunyang school, and so on.

The head of the Wudang school is actually called the 'head of the association', and is elected by the representatives of the dozen or so schools on Wudang Mountain to represent Wudang Taoism.

Li Chunqiu shook his head and said, 'No need for ceremonies, just show me the people. I don't know how many of my peers are still alive.'

'By the way, junior brother, is my name still on the register? Have any of the other disciples returned?'

'Yes, your name is there. Unless we are sure of the information, all the names on the register are there. It's just that so far, only you have returned...'

'Hey...'

Although he had a hunch, Li Chunqiu still felt sad when he heard this.

...

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

During these two days, Li Chunqiu spent most of the time with Ye Qianyuan. Xia Yu did not disturb them, but was accompanied by staff and some Taoist priests to explore Mount Wudang.

After a while, Xia Yu discovered that most of the ancient buildings on Mount Wudang were still there, although some were in a dilapidated state.

There were also some buildings that were famous in later generations, but they were not there at the time.

Although there were pilgrims along the way, there were very few of them, which showed the quality of life of the Taoist priests on Mount Wudang.

However, Taoist priests originally emphasised spiritual cultivation, and did not value material things such as money.

In the evening, Li Chunqiu finally had some free time, and in the courtyard he talked to Xia Yu about the past, which he had never mentioned to Xia Yu before.

'Yu, I originally...'

As Li Chunqiu told the story, Xia Yu felt as if he had returned to that turbulent and war-torn era.

Li Chunqiu studied under Xu Benshan, the 11th generation head of the Wudang Mountains and the 16th generation head of the Longmen School. Unfortunately, Xu Benshan was targeted for his conspicuous actions and was finally ambushed by soldiers outside the Wansong Pavilion of Zixiao Palace and fell under gunfire.

After Xu Benshan's death, Wudang Mountain was closed, but when the Japanese invaded, the Taoist priests felt the suffering of the people and went down the mountain to save the people from the fire and water. Li Chunqiu and his fellow disciples were scattered.

In the end, Li Chunqiu came to Hong Kong, but when he wanted to go back, he found that the environment had changed and he could not go back whenever he wanted.

Although Li Chunqiu did not go into detail, Xia Yu knew very well that in those chaotic times, anything could happen. Li Chunqiu was lucky to have survived fighting the Japanese invaders.

Think about it: Dozens of his fellow disciples went down the mountain to fight the Japanese invaders, and so far, he is the only one who has returned to Wudang Mountain.

Ye Qianyuan is still alive because he was left behind; otherwise, if he had gone down the mountain with them, who knows if he would have survived.

'So, Master, do you plan to stay on Wudang Mountain or return to Hong Kong?'

Xia Yu asked softly after hearing this.

Li Chunqiu said slowly, 'I'll return to Hong Kong. Being able to come back and visit has fulfilled a wish of mine for decades. The authorities have also given me permission to return whenever I want.'

'Ah Yu, if it weren't for you, I don't know if I would ever be able to return here in my life.'

'Now that there is a junior brother Qianyuan, I can rest assured. If possible, after you are entered into the inheritance register tomorrow, please donate some money to repair Wudang Mountain!'

Li Chunqiu had already mentioned to Ye Qianyuan that Xia Yu was his disciple. Although he was a lay disciple, he had also learned the true teachings. After learning Xia Yu's identity, Ye Qianyuan was shocked but immediately agreed. Having such a heavyweight disciple, Wudang Mountain will be a lot better off in the future.

Xia Yu nodded slightly and said, 'Master, a donation is definitely necessary, but this can only solve the problem temporarily. From a long-term perspective, we still have to rely on ourselves to be able to carry Wudang Mountain forward.'

'Right now, the mainland has no money. Even if they have money to repair cultural relics in the future, Wudang Mountain will not be able to get much of it, since China is so big.

Li Chunqiu was taken aback, and felt that Xia Yu was right.

He also hoped that Wudang Mountain could flourish, but that was not something he could accomplish. Now that Xia Yu seemed to have an idea, Li Chunqiu's heart rose with anticipation.

'Ah Yu, what do you think?'

Xia Yu spoke out the ideas he had organised over the past two days: 'I plan to propose to the mainland to jointly develop and operate Wudang Mountain.'

'But the initiative is on my side, and the mainland will only enjoy the benefits. In fact, I don't really need the money, but I'm afraid that when the mainland people's lives improve in the future, the Taoist holy land of Wudangshan will be corrupted by money and lose its fundamental basis.'

Master Li Chunqiu had given him a lot of help, and he wanted to repay him in this way.

Li Chunqiu thought for a moment with a serious expression, and nodded, saying, 'What you say is not impossible. I'm just afraid that some people will do anything for money and destroy the foundation of Wudangshan in an instant.'

'I support you in this, and I will help you convince Qianyuan. The main problem is whether the mainland is willing to contract out Wudang Mountain!'

Xia Yu said with a faint smile, 'We have to try. I think there is a certain chance. I will have someone pass on the news tomorrow.'

'Let's give it a try!'