Book 3: Chapter 14: Weichen Master Monk
“Master, where are you going to take me?”
Seeing the surrounding scenery quickly passed, Tang Ruowei asked Bai Qiuran, who was pulling her arm.
After receiving the letter from the sect leader before, Bai Qiuran ran down the hill somberly and came back a few days later. After that, he went to the main peak and discussed something with the sect leader and several elders, then looked for Tang Ruowei and, without saying a word, dragged her down the mountain.
Looking at the direction he went, Bai Qiuran’s destination should be Qing Province, which was adjacent to Gu Province.
“Where are we going?”
Bai Qioran’s footsteps did not stop, looking forward.
“Take you to study… are you not interested in those miscellaneous studies now?”
“Um… so you want to take me to learn these things?”
Tang Ruowei asked:
“Aren’t you urgent for these two days?”
“It’s really a matter of urgency, but this is also your chance. This time there are experts who are really good at these miscellaneous studies. Follow him to learn and help by the way.”
Bai Qiuran replied:
“Arrived.”
His footsteps slowed down, and Tang Ruowei looked up and found that there was a tall and majestic mountain in front of him. At the top of the mountain was a huge inward pit, and lava erupted continuously from there, down the foothills, and the top of the mountain spouted. The billowing smoke covered the whole sky in the dark clouds.
The danger was not only lava but also the smoke from the eruption of the volcano that could affect the breathing system of mortals. Ordinary people could not even survive a day in this environment.
However, in front of this volcano, there was still an artificially spiraling mountain road. The stairs of the mountain road are made of some black metal, which could float on the lava without being melted. Bai Qiuran took Tang Ruowei up the mountain road, walked up the mountain gate engraved with the words “Sky Forging Castle”, and passed several flying bridges made of black metal, leading her to a hut which was built on a lava lake.
Perhaps after receiving the notice in advance, an old man greeted him from the house. Bai Qiuran pointed at the man and introduced Tang Ruowei:
“This is Elder Xu from Mystery Academy. He is proficient in various miscellaneous knowledge such as surveying and mapping, formation, astronomical phenomena, and earth veins. He is a research expert in this field.”
Then he turned his head and pointed at Tang Ruowei to introduce to Elder Xu:
“Elder Xu, this is my idiot student. Although she has neither strength nor body curves, there is still a little cleverness in her mind. You can use her as a free laborer during this day and take her with you whenever you have time.”
Hearing this, Tang Ruowei also reacted. She knew Bai Qiuran was finding a professional instructor for her, so she was busy greeting the elder Xu.
“I’m Tang Ruowei, hello Elder Xu.”
“Good.”
Elder Xu looked at her and then said:
“I didn’t expect Sword Patriarch to accept a disciple… but it also works. Sword Patriarch is kind to me at Mystery Academy. I also need manpower to study and analyze the operation rules of the ancient city here. You can be my assistant for the time being. If it’s okay, I’ll go back to work first.”
He looked like an anxious man, looking back frequently when he was talking with Bai Qiuran and Tang Ruowei, as if there was a beautiful woman in his house. Perhaps for these technical geeks of Mystery Academy, the desire to satisfy curiosity maybe even higher than that.
Seeing him like this, Bai Qiuran couldn’t help but smile, and then said to Tang Ruowei:
“You will stay here first. This incident is not trivial. You are not allowed to run around. You have to listen to Elder Xu’s arrangement. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I do.”
Looking at his expression, Tang Ruowei, who knew that things are different, nodded honestly. This time she didn’t talk back to Bai Qiuran again.
“Then I will leave first.”
Bai Qiuran said to Elder Xu:
“Sorry for disturbing your work, please continue.”
............
After leaving Tang Ruowei with Elder Xu, Bai Qiuran ran non-stop to the territory of the Nanling Kingdom in Qing Province.
There was originally only one country in Qing Province, named the Shangling Kingdom, but when Bai Qiuran was more than two thousand years old, it split up and formed the four kingdoms. There, Weichen Master Monk, the representative of Saint Buddha Sect, was waiting for Bai Qiuran there.
After that day’s discussion, the major sects have reached a consensus. They launched the intelligence network, they also sent people to notify Saint Buddha Sect. On the way to come, Weichen Master Monk and others began to pay attention. As a result, they found a trace of the ancient city near the Nanling Kingdom, so he sent a message and stayed at the place where he discovered the trail, waiting for others to join.
According to the message from Weichen Master Monk, Bai Qiuran ran all the way to the place he found.
It was a small mountain village near the river, and there was a certain distance from the nearby towns. Due to the beasts in the nearby forests, the villagers in Pingrili Village did not like to move around. There was very little contact with the official government of Nanling State. The tax staff of the city basically only come here once a year when they collect taxes, so this time when the ancient city appeared, it was not possible to receive the news in the immediate vicinity.
Bai Qiuran came outside the village and found that the village was already uninhabited. Only the disciples of Saint Buddha Sect walked back and forth. These disciples dressed in a monk’s clothes, has a bare top, so they were quite recognizable.
Weichen Master Monk was meditating near the entrance of the village. He sensed Bai Qiuran’s arrival, and got up and greeted him.
Although Weichen has the title of a master monk, he did not look like a monk who spoke Zen at all. He had a flat head with only a layer of light hair, and his face was full of flesh. He looked very bad-tempered and had a wide body. The monk’s clothes were stretched tight by his muscles.
This master monk used to engrave the learned Buddhist scriptures and imitated Buddha idols on his body. A wrathful image of Nether King exposed from his arm. The ferocious expression of Master Chen Chan looked like a gangster who has been in criminal for many years.
“Hello, Sword Patriarch.”
Coming to Bai Qioran, the monk raised his hand and performed a Buddhist salute to Bai Qiuran with one hand.
“Long time no see, Weichen.”
Bai Qiuran smiled at him:
“Skip these greetings, the situation is urgent. You don’t have to stick to these ceremonies… what is the situation here?”
“Yes.”
Weichen Master Monk nodded slightly to Bai Qiuran, as if to salute his eldest brother. Hearing Bai Qiuran’s words, he took Bai Qiuran to the village and said:
“This is the way. On the way we came, we followed the Buddha’s teaching and practiced along the way. We received your notice halfway. Then I heard that something strange happened here and there was a fog. I took the disciples and looked at it. On the way, I met a hunter and said that he saw a city appearing on the river here on the cliff. I came with my disciples and found that there was no one in the village here.”