6 Xuan Qi

Jun Xie thought for a while. He then said, "It’s extremely important for you to select people who are trustworthy; especially the ones who’ll be responsible for your massages. This entire matter should remain confidential… Otherwise, both of us will lose face in case the treatment fails."

The Third Uncle laughed and replied, "No one should be informed even if we’re successful. I’m not an idiot! Your only fear is that this matter will invite trouble for us, right? You and I should be the perfect hidden cards for our Jun family… once I’m cured. How can I not know about something like this? You little devil… you even tried to use your Third Uncle’s reputation as an excuse."

Jun Wu Yi let out a laugh, and pinched his face. Suddenly, it crossed his mind that this brat was once his treasured nephew. However, the two of them hadn’t been this close in a long time. But perhaps, it was only because of this reason that he had such a strange feeling when he saw him again.

Could it be that Jun Mo Xie had portrayed the image of a debauchee all these years in order to hide a different face underneath? Jun Wu Yi was overwhelmed with anticipation as he looked at Jun Xie… who had turned around to walk away.

Jun Wu Yi seemed to be more curious to know if his nephew genuinely had a hidden face; in fact, he desired to know this even more than his own chances of getting cured.

"Third Uncle, you’ve reached the Earth Xuan rank, right?" Jun Xie laughed and asked.

"You peeping tom!" Jun Wu Yi chuckled; he felt an incomparable sense of cheerfulness. He continued, "I’ve achieved it just this year… but it isn’t stabilized yet."

"You’re being modest." Jun Xie curled his lips, "What’s above the Earth Xuan rank?"

Jun Wu Yi was startled. He explained, "Xuan Qi cultivation begins with the nine levels. After these levels comes the Silver, Gold and Jade levels. Above them comes the Earth Xuan, Sky Xuan and the Spirit Xuan.

"The released Xuan Qi is noticeable in the first three levels. The colors are light-red, pink-red and thick-red. The color for the next three stages – fourth to sixth – is purple. The color from the seventh to ninth stages is black. Mo Xie, you must be extremely careful about these signs when you go outside. One careless in interpretation can result in a disaster."

"I understand, Third Uncle," Jun Xie smiled and replied with an indifferent face.

Jun Wu Yi continued to speak in a passionate manner, "The Silver level is the beginning… the Golden level is growth… and the Jade level signifies a budding process. But, the ninth level and below are insignificant. Earth Xuan splits everything, the Sky Xuan leaves only the air in its midst, and the Spirit Xuan becomes formless; it can only be compared to the Nine Heavens… an entity that transforms into a soaring dragon.

"These are the recitals for the Xuan Qi stages. One is considered to be a beginner only when he has reached the Silver Xuan. As for you…" Jun Wu Yi looked at Jun Xie with a gentle look in his eyes, "You’ve your own path to tread. Being a man doesn’t necessarily mean killing with one’s own hands."

Jun Xie replied with a smile, "I understand, Third Uncle. I’m not someone who kills people all the time." He added in his mind, [I’m not someone who kills people without any reward. But, there’s an exception to this condition – Don’t mess with me!]

Jun Xie didn’t have any interest in Xuan Qi. So, he didn’t put any effort to understand it. He started to walk with a slow pace after Jun Wu Yi had left for his room. He then changed his route, and started to walk towards the library.

Jun Xie had to visit the library as the previous Third Young Master Jun had too little information in his brain. His head was devoid of any useful information; except for the information related to sensual pleasures, gambling, eating, and drinking. He was a sticky blob of worthless mud. So, it was impossible for Jun Xie to derive any useful information from his memories. Therefore, he needed some time to reorganize his memories. He needed to at least tidy it up in order to understand the state of the Jun family. After all, the Third Young Master Jun’s brain had no useful information in this regard either.

Jun Xie spent his entire day in the library; he didn’t go out even once.

An old man bowed before Jun Zhan Tian in his study to report Jun Xie’s whereabouts, "Senior Master, the Young Master had a long chat with the Third Master after he left your place. The Third Master seemed quite happy after he talked with the Young Master. In fact, he has never looked so happy in the recent years."

"Ah?" Jun Zhan Tian had always maintained a calm demeanor. However, his calmness was shattered as he heard these words; he looked stunned. Jun Wu Yi and Jun Mo Xie had always been as incompatible as fire and water; so much so that they ridiculed each other every single time they met. Their eyes would become sore as soon as they saw each other. [How on Heaven’s earth could these two strike a peaceful conversation? In fact, they had a good chat!] What was most surprising was that Jun Wu Yi had ended up becoming happy from that conversation. It wouldn’t have been far-fetched to consider this occurrence as an abnormal incident.

Jun Zhan Tian sipped his tea, and asked in a casual tone, "What were they talking about?"

"The Third Master has cultivated himself to a great place in the recent years… even though he’s disabled. He’s now at the early Earth Xuan stage. So, I didn’t dare to go too close to him… I couldn’t overhear their conversation. I was only able to see the Third Master and Young Master chatting happily… and agreeing with each other," the old man answered respectfully.

"Agreeing with each other?" Jun Zhan Tian stroked his beard, "How is that possible? It was fortunate enough that none of them died after being in each other’s company for so long. And, you say that they had been agreeing with each other?"

"This is absolutely true! Moreover, the Young Master headed straight to the library building after he met with the Third Master. In fact, he’s still in the library. I think it’s of minimal importance since there aren’t many external factors or influences in the library. But, the matter of the Young Master having a conversation with the Third Master is too surprising. So, I decided to report it to you, Senior Master."

"You did the right thing. But wait, did you say that this kid went into the… library building?!" Jun Zhan Tian’s beard trembled. His eyes widened in shock, "Are you sure that the little bastard Jun Mo Xie went into the library building… instead of the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion, the Wafting Fragrance Pavilion, and other such places?"

The old man nodded, "There’s no mistake, Senior Master. It was certainly the library building."

Jun Zhan Tian jumped-up from his seat, and started to pace back-and-forth in the room. His usual calm face revealed a deep frown. He tugged at his beard and asked, "Old Pang, do you have any idea what this bastard plans to do inside the library building?" Suddenly, he stopped walking. "He won’t set it on fire… would he?"

Old Pang restrained his desire to laugh and replied, "The Young Master was reading books inside the library. He was very quiet. I felt that he won’t be leaving from there anytime soon. So, I came here to report the matter to you."

"Reading books?!" Grandpa Jun cried out in surprise, and tugged out a strand of his beard. He then curled his lips and asked, "Is he genuinely reading the books?"

"He is, Senior Master."

Jun Zhan Tian thought for a while. He then waved his hand and said, "It’s good to read; let him read. But, bring the books that he’s going through to me once he has left the library. I’m curious to know what he’s planning. Is that possible that he’s looking for erotic paintings? Well… it’s alright in that case… he’s coming of age now. It’s no big deal. I still remember…hehe.. Old pang, don’t allow anyone to bother that kid."

"Understood, Senior Master."

Jun Zhan Tian continued to pace around the room for some time. Then, he looked at the sky to calm himself down. He thought, [If he isn’t looking for erotic paintings… is it possible that this kid has finally woken-up… and has decided to change himself into a better person?] He shook his head and sighed, [This old man needs to go… and burn some incense sticks and pray to the spirits of the ancestors if that’s the case…]

The butler – Old Pang — rushed to the library in the night in order to fetch the books read by Jun Xie. He found a few dozen books bundled over each other.

Jun Zhan Tian laid down those book on the table; he was frowning.

"Xuan Xuan Continent’s Current Situation, Continental Travelogue, Continental Mountains’ Records, Person of the Year List, Records of Strange Flowers and Exotic Grasses, Continental Wars Discussion, Xuan Xuan Art of War…" Grandpa Jun spent the entire night in looking over the books read by his grandson. His expressions continued to change in confusion, surprise, and happiness. He sighed, puffed, shook his head, and nodded. It seemed that he had used-up half of his entire life’s facial expressions in a single night…