Chapter 13

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“This ridge is indeed barren!”

From the First Ridge to the Fifth Ridge, Chi Liaison could not help but feel emotional.

The trees in these low mountains were all the same, and the small animals were not too bad. However, he did not encounter monkeys, wolves, leopards, tigers, bears, or even wild boars.

However, he also understood.

The provincial town of Ink Ridge County was on the edge of Thousand Emerald Hill. Local hunters had been hunting for many years, and the large animals in the mountains had long been slaughtered.

He was lucky enough to come across a Mountain Drum.

“I can’t find a spiritual root either.” He squatted on the ground in a valley, digging with a small shovel.

This was a medicinal herb known as Fleece flower root. He dug along the rock and soil, and the root of the Fleece flower was dug out in a short time. Unfortunately, it was small and shrivelled.

He could only take it home to dry in the sun and give it to his second uncle.

After evaluating the weightless Fleece flower root in his hand, Chi Liaison shook his head and thought, ‘If I dug up a human-shaped Fleece flower root, wouldn’t I have struck the lottery?’

He had read many adventure accounts of famous people in old newspapers.

One of them recorded the story of a hidden Master Plane fighter in the Doxia Republic. It is said that this hidden Master Plane was born before the founding of the nation and was 150 years old.

When he was young, his martial arts attainments were average, and he was still living an ordinary life in his old age.

Who would have thought that he could have dug up a human-shaped Fleece flower root during an expedition in the wild? After eating it, his white hair immediately turned black, and his martial arts attainments made much progress, breaking through the Guardian Plane and Master Plane in one go.

Because he did not marry and have children, even if he broke through the Master Plane, he did not have the intention of leaving the mountains and competing. So, finally, he chose to hide in the mountains.

No one knew whether he was still alive today.

This story was published on Fox News, and it was difficult to verify its authenticity. Nevertheless, a human-shaped Fleece flower root did exist. In the Pharmacopoeia officially published by the Doxia Republic, it was recorded as one of the top ten magic herbs.

However, most of the magic herbs were hidden deep in the mountains and ancient forests. The Thousand Emerald Hill was full of low hilltops. With so many hunters crossing back and forth, it was assumed that no more magic herbs could be found.

They returned empty-handed.

When Chi Liaison got home, he tossed a few Chinese herbs he picked on the way back onto the bamboo tray in front of the house to sun.

Chi Xiao was about to take her cousin Chi Quaashie to help Mrs. Chi pick vegetables and leaves. Her second aunt poured out a pile of dry goods and got Chi Miaow to help pick them up. Mr. Chi had just returned and had gone to the courtyard to take a bath.

“Since you didn’t come back for lunch at noon, you must be hungry now. I’ve saved a portion for you on the stove,” Mrs. Chi nagged at Chi Liaison.

“Alright.”

Chi Liaison was so hungry that he ate two bowls of rice.

Now that he was at the Wrestler Plane, his appetite had significantly increased. He was fond of meat, and the small animals that he usually hunted had all entered his stomach.

“Second aunt, recently you have been selling dry goods with second uncle. How are your profits?” After dinner, he moved a small stool over and helped his second aunt sort out the dry goods.

The second aunt complained, “I haven’t seen any money back yet. It’s been raining in the past few days, and some of the mountain goods are spoilt.”

“You can treat it as paying tuition fees. In the future, you should harvest the goods depending on the season. In the rainy season, we should collect dry goods that are not easily affected by moisture. When the weather is good, we will collect the dry goods that do not have a long shelf life.”

“Indeed so. Liaison, you have a clever head, and your second uncle is stupid.”

“Second uncle has much potential, but he lacks opportunities,” Chi Liaison said.

Second aunt was very happy after hearing this, but she kept complaining, “What good comes out of potential? He is a big illiterate and can even be fooled by others when calculating the accounts. He went to sell mountain goods a few days ago and miscalculated eighty cents a kilogram of jujubes for fifty cents a kilogram! He lost more than two dollars!”

“Did you manage to recover it?”

“How is that possible? That customer refused to admit it! Hmph, we will no longer deliver goods to the dried produce store on the front street of Xian City. Liaison, you mustn’t go to his shop to buy dried produce.”

“Got it.”

In the following days, Chi Liaison divided his time between his home and the Military Academy.

Because he had already attained the achievement attribute for the 12 Paths Spring Kick, he had no intention of continuing to practice his kicking with Kong Hongdae. Instead, he decided to announce his Wrestler Plane breakthrough a few days later.

Then, he would learn more advanced martial arts.

He took a fancy to Song Xingu, another martial arts teacher who taught physical martial arts. Song Xingu was a master of the Knight Plane. Among the martial arts he had mastered, a move called the Gust Swift Knife was truly majestic.

Those in the Wrestler Plane could practice the Gust Swift Knife to a high level and use it to break through to the Knight Plane.

So he found an opportunity and gave Song Xingu a gift. He first wanted to make an impression so that he could subsequently ask for guidance.

Of course, he did not ignore Kong Hongdae. He often gifted Kong Hongdae dry goods. After all, Kong Hongdae also had some excellent martial arts, such as the 6 Joint Mantis Hands and the White Rainbow Sword.

Since he had a bay tree with spiritual roots, he could practice martial arts as much as he wished to, so long as there was enough fertilizer.

“You’ve been slacking lately.”

Kong Hongdae accepted the dry goods and lectured, “Whether it’s the 12 Paths Spring Kick or the Crazed Bull Heavy Fist, I just have one word for you: Practice! Practice ten or a hundred times a day; otherwise, based on your qualifications, it would be hard to even enter the Wrestler Plane!”

“I practice martial arts in the mountains and occasionally hunt. I feel that it’s more effective than in the Military Academy.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, you can decide for yourself. When it concerns martial arts training, the master leads you through the door, but the training is up to the individual.” Kong Hongdae only gave him advice because of the gifts he received.

Seeing that Chi Liaison did not think much of it, he decided not to continue.

In the afternoon, Chi Liaison continued to take energy skill classes, and a few more students quit, leaving only ten female students and three male students, including him.

Liu Chun, who wore a Taoist robe, did not care about this. He received payment from the Taoist temple and the Military Academy and lived a very comfortable life.

Every day, his teacup was filled with wolfberry, which made his face flush a healthy red.

At first glance, he really looked like a great sage.

“The rays of light in the sky are like a rag. When you imagine it is in your hand, you pull it and wipe the sky constantly, and your heart will naturally be clear when the sky is wiped clean.”

Occasionally, Liu Chun would talk about his comprehension of the Purple Cloud Serenity.

The Internal Sects of Martial Arts warmed and nourished the inner Qi, which was quite mysterious.

Whether you can comprehend it or not depends entirely on individual opportunity and understanding.

Chi Liaison meditated cross-legged under the stage, mulling over Liu Chun’s words over and over again. He thought he had realized something, but when he tried to catch it, he realized that his mind was in chaos.

He did not understand anything.

“The glow of the sky… A rag… Wipe the sky clean, and your heart will naturally be clear…”

He thought of many things like the Bodhi was not a tree, and a clear mirror was not a stand. What was originally nothing would rest as dust, and the Buddha was in one’s heart.

The more he thought, the further he could go.

And then.

The bell rang.

Liu Chun seemed to have a spring installed under his buttocks. He lifted his teacup and stood up, leaving with a resounding “Class is over” before disappearing around the classroom door.

Chi Liaison was still in the mood and sat on the mat without moving. He just felt that he had found his state, but it was destroyed by the bell.

“Hey.”

A female student came over and patted Chi Liaison on the shoulder.

Chi Liaison turned his head to see who it was.

She wore a sky-blue jacket with a diagonal opening to the armpits. Its cuffs were flared at the wrists, and small flowers embellished the rounded hem of the cuffs. Under a black knee-length skirt, her two legs were fair and straight. She wore white socks and canvas shoes and had short black hair that was neatly clipped back.

This was the new civilized clothing launched by the Doxia Republic in recent years.

It was traditional and elegant.

“Is there anything?” Chi Liaison asked indifferently.

“Are you free tonight? I received two movie tickets. Let’s go to see it together.” The female student looked shy, and her eyes darted around evasively.