Chapter 17 I Saw a Sword (2-in-1)_2

The monastery here is unlike the bustle outside; or rather, it's quiet within the gates, isolating the noisy clamor from outside.

Chen Yi looks back and silently speculates that this place might be equipped with an array similar to the one used at the Chen Family's Martial Arts Arena.

He scans the area but sees no monks, which he finds somewhat peculiar.

This monastery truly is excessively secluded.

"Mr. Ding, why is this monastery so quiet?" Chen Yi asks.

Ding Sansi shakes his head: "Young Master Yi, I do not know either."

"Then let us take a look inside."

The brick-and-stone pathway is spotlessly clean. Inside the courtyard, two towering and leafy bodhi trees stand, and through the slightly ajar doors, the corner of a Buddha statue white as jade can be glimpsed.

Chen Yi steps over the half-body-high threshold and sees only a small figure sweeping the ground not far away.

It is a child, a bald head peeking out from his kasaya robes.

"Little monk, have you seen two ladies who came to fulfill a vow?"

Hearing a voice, the small figure pauses, turns to face the group, and hesitates a moment before mumbling:

"The little monk just arrived, I haven't seen them."

Chen Yi finds this interesting. It's one thing for him to call the other a little monk, but it's rare to hear someone refer to themselves that way.

"Do you know where they might have gone after entering here?"

The little monk ponders for a while, then points behind the Buddha statue, saying: "Quiet room."

"Thank you."

Chen Yi and the others walk around the Buddha statue to enter a side chamber, and Lin Xueru quietly remarks that he is so pitiful and still so young.

She clearly thinks that such a young monk shouldn't be sweeping the floor.

After they have gone far, the little monk goes back to sweeping for a while longer, then wipes the sweat from his forehead and gazes at the Buddha statue, dully.

His bright, profound eyes seem to penetrate the statue, seeing the little benefactor and the two Bodhisattvas hugging each other at the entrance.

Just then, a tall figure stands beside him and looks at the cleanly swept Buddha statue, then asks:

"Floating Dust, what are you looking at?"

"Master, I, I saw a sword."

"A sword?"

The tall figure is adorned in a red-patterned kasaya, with a handsome countenance but sporting a white beard incongruent with his appearance.

He looks around, then closes his eyes, but almost in an instant reopens them.

Within his wide-open pupils, a half-bloom lotus is faintly visible, reflecting a tiny but towering longsword.

He can't help but voice his admiration: "Floating Dust, you have seen correctly—that is indeed a sword."

"Master, will he also go to Taizhou Mountain?"

"Whether he will go or not depends on his fate."

"Oh." The little monk nods, seemingly understanding yet not, "Then when can I go to Taizhou Mountain to accumulate merit and virtue?"

"When your master has entered Nirvana, that will be the time for you to descend the mountain."

The older monk chuckles as he rubs the little monk's head, his bright eyes flickering with a hint of tiredness.

By that time, it would also be the era of great contention in the Buddhist community!

...

Before long, Chen Yi and the others leave Dakong Temple and, with the night drawing near, head to the prosperous Baohua Street outside the city walls.

Unlike the tranquility of Dakong Temple, Baohua Street is a hubbub of voices.

Despite the nightfall, the streets are lined with shops, and snack stalls dot the roadside, with vendors occasionally shouting to lure passersby out to enjoy the lanterns.

Although Chen Yi has seen skyscrapers and neon lights in his previous life, he doesn't find them much different from the bustling Capital City's commercial district when he sees it.

Especially those open-windowed towers along the streets where singers chant poetry, and music performances play, with the sound of the pipa filled with praise for the flourishing Wei Dynasty.

"The Lantern Festival is really lively."

Zhu Yu and Xia Wanwan walk ahead, stopping from time to time to look at the curiosities on the stalls.

Like jewelry, glittering gemstones, or hairpins with intricate flower designs, the sorts of things women use.

Seeing that Lin Xueru only looks on without approaching, Chen Yi asks, "Don't you like them?"

Lin Xueru shakes her head, her young face showing a maturity beyond her years: "We have many at home, and I don't think Mother would like them."

Chen Yi gives her a thoughtful glance; this girl who was predestined to be engaged to him seems indeed different from other children.

He had noticed it before, during lessons at home.

When Wang Yongnian clamors about not wanting to study, Xue Ru would frown.

When Du Yan acts out in her commandery princess temperament, Xue Ru would also disapprove...

Chen Yi muses to himself that he hadn't realized she was such an extremely rule-abiding, studious little girl.

He wonders if, when she grows up, she will become the kind of person she dislikes.

The group wanders around Baohua Street, buying snacks and other items, chatting and laughing in high spirits.

At least Chen Yi is quite happy.

Since arriving in this world, limited by his age, he has only had three opportunities to leave home.

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Almost once a year.

He could imagine that after this Lantern Festival, the next time he would leave the Marquis Mansion might be during the Mid-Autumn festival to participate in the Grand Void Sect's entrance examination.

"Grand Void Sect!"

Chen Yi looked at a nine-storied pagoda not far away, knowing that it was the Grand Void Sect's residence in the Capital City.

To be honest, he had never considered becoming a disciple of the Grand Void Sect before.

He only knew that the couple from Duke Wuan's family both hoped he would participate, saying it didn't matter if he was selected, but he must take part.

Of course, his eldest brother Chen Yuan would be joining as well.

"Brother Yi, what are you thinking about?"

At this moment, Lin Xueru tugged at his sleeve and asked.

"Me? I'm wondering how those lanterns fly up into the sky." Chen Yi replied offhandedly.

Although this world had Kongming Lanterns, they were clearly not called that, but "Flying Immortal" instead.

Legend has it that the wishes hung from a "Flying Immortal," once reaching the Immortal Realm in the sky, could fulfill a person's desires.

"I know, it's the immortals' magic power!" Lin Xueru said with conviction.

Chen Yi chuckled a few times, teasing: "Have you seen an immortal before to be so sure?"

"I was going to say it's due to the burning flame heating the air, the expansion and contraction causing lift for the lantern to break free from earth's gravity and fly up into the sky."

Lin Xueru's little face froze, obviously startled by this string of strange vocabulary like "expansion and contraction," "earth's gravity."

Chen Yi was so amused by her bewildered expression that his mood instantly improved a lot.

Whatever about the Grand Void Sect, the Marquis Mansion, those were nothing more than stops on the journey of his life.

Get off at one stop, catch another ride when the vehicle arrives, it's just as simple as that.

After a while, Zhu Yu and Xia Wanwan also bought several "Flying Immortals," calling the two of them to write down their wishes and hang them on the hooks below the "Flying Immortals."

"You can't peek, or else it won't work."

Lin Xueru carefully protected her own tag, writing down two lines of text.

Chen Yi thought to himself, the little miss has learned to have secrets.

Of course, he wouldn't let others see what he wrote: Above is White Jade City, below the ever-living sword.

Crossed out, he rewrote: Above is White Jade City, Sword Dao seeks eternal life.

Chen Yi nodded in satisfaction, admiring his own literary grace.

This was probably the wish that he subconsciously longed for the most.

The wish was hung on the "Flying Immortal," which was then lit and flew into the night sky filled with moonlight and stars.

"Brother Yi, do you think it can really fly up to the Immortal Realm?" Lin Xueru asked, watching her released "Flying Immortal" with eyes wide open.

"It will,"

Chen Yi didn't want to crush the girl's innocent imaginings, and smiled: "Maybe after they see your wish, they will descend and fulfill it for you."

"Descend?"

Lin Xueru was first taken aback, then shyly glanced at him, blushing and looking down.

Huh?

Chen Yi was momentarily taken aback by her rich expressions.

Hey hey hey, how did you learn to provoke such affection at such a young age?

"Sugared water, get your sugared water..."

At this time, a vendor's cry came from nearby, attracting Lin Xueru's attention.

"Brother Yi, do you want some?"

"If you'd like, let's buy some."

Chen Yi saw that Xia Wanwan and the others were still releasing "Flying Immortals," so he took Lin Xueru to buy sugared water.

"How much is it."

"One copper coin per cup." The mobile vendor, a toothless old man, said cheerfully.

"Two cups."

Chen Yi had Ding Sansi pay, and he enjoyed the sugared water with Lin Xueru, each with a cup in hand.

"Ah, it's so sweet."

"Indeed... Hm?"

[At the age of thirty-two, your swordsmanship improved day by day, but you were poisoned with a knockout drug in your sugared water.]

[The toxin is weak, absorbed, Rebellion Point +1]

Knockout drug, sugared water?!

Before Chen Yi could react, he saw the vendor pull out a black bag from nowhere and cover both him and Lin Xueru with it.

"Big harvest, big harvest..."

Ding Sansi witnessed everything, his expression changing drastically.

"How dare you!"

"Let them go!"

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