Super Elation Under the Sun

Chapter 97 They Didn't Know Each Other When They Met

After the Summer Solstice, there were more and more strangers in Qing Town at the foot of Qing Mountain, and the town which was cheerless in other seasons became bustling in an instant. It was not too much to say that the visitors walked in rows like weaving. But it was only early summer now. At the height of summer, the number of tourists in this town would double at least, and it would be crowded with people and vehicles and bustling with noises then.

Although it was still early summer, in fact, the pedlars in the small town had come out in droves. Some food to avoid summer heat which would show up in other places in Dayu in half a month could be seen in Qing Town. The vendors on both sides of the streets sold many kinds of food, which was rare somewhere else in Dayu. And after they accumulated day by day and month by month for so many years, the local people in Qing Town figured out many new kinds of food gradually. For example, the most popular food to relieve summer heat in the town now, the porridge made of watermelon and tremella, was created by the local people. With the watermelon after being cooled in the well water added to the traditional food to relieve summer heat, the tremella porridge tasted good and special. Many tourists would eat one bowl after they came here if there was no accident, and its price was not expensive, only six coins per bowl. However, the vendor would sell three bowls at most to one person if somebody wanted more after eating one bowl. He wouldn't sell more no matter what the buyer said. The watermelon was cold and it would harm the intestines and stomach if people ate too much. The vendors didn't want the customers to have diarrhea, so one person could eat three bowls at most for one day. This was a rule that all the vendors in Qing Town didn't speak out.

There was a small house with a courtyard in ancient style in the east of Qing Town. It had been built by a county magistrate to avoid summer heat after he took office. This magistrate spent his own money on building this courtyard, but after he stayed here for two or three years, he disliked this small town as it was too remote and he wouldn't have a bright future, so he asked his good friend working in the county for help and then he was transferred from this place. He sold this small house to a rich landowner in Qing Town at a low price. After buying it, the landowner considered making this small house a hotel because it was quiet and the coolest place. So as time passed by, it was developed to the best hotel in the town. However, judging from its size and price, this small house was not worthwhile compared with other hotels. The common people couldn't afford to stay here anyway. Probably nobody would choose to stay in this hotel except some rich men.

It was early summer now, so this hotel was certainly not full. In fact, there were merely more than ten customers. This morning, most of them went out to climb up Qing Mountain, and only two customers were left in the hotel at the moment.

One of them was an old Taoist looking like an immortal, and the other was a gentle middle-aged Confucian scholar.

There was a small courtyard in front of the hotel and a pool and rockery behind it. In the middle of the pool, there was a pavilion. When somebody was in it, fish swam around him and cool wind blew him, so it was worth the money he had spent.

At the moment, the two men sat across from each other. They didn't play the game of Go like the celebrities who indulged in empty talk. Instead, they just put a cup of tea in front of each.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar with an ordinary face yet acting like a gentleman was named Li Jingle, the youngest teacher in Luoshui Academy at the border of Dayu. This Master Li had entered the Sanctification Stage at a young age, and he was one of the most learned scholars in the academy. Luoshui Academy was not a big academy. Although it was famous at the border of Dayu, it was hardly worth mentioning in the whole country. Otherwise, Li Jingle wouldn't have become a teacher so easily. He came to the foot of Qing Mountain from the Luoshui River and represented Luoshui Academy to investigate Qing Temple. After all, the Taoist temples and academies at the border paid much attention to the case that demons harmed common people. Several big events happened at the foot of Qing Mountain, at the border successively, and it was difficult for anybody not to suspect Qing Temple.

The old Taoist dressed in a grey robe was one of the three cultivators at the Sanctification Stage in Shouye Temple. He had cultivated for more than one hundred years and was expert in Taoist skills. All people in Shouye Temple took killing demons as a long-cherished wish and never showed mercy to the demons at the border of Dayu at ordinary times. Now something like this happened on Qing Mountain, so Shouye Temple didn't stint to send Yu Zhen away from the temple. They didn't have other intentions except attaching importance to this issue. In fact, nobody knew the truth. After all, the old owner of Qing Temple had entered the Sanctification Stage many years ago, and nobody knew if he had entered the Dawning Stage. The temple owner Yang Haizhi was one of the top ten cultivators on mountains at the border, and ordinary people couldn't compare with him in cultivation.

This time, Luoshui Academy and Shouye Temple sent three people for each to investigate this case. In fact, Luoshui Academy didn't gain the upper hand, and the two young disciples were inferior to the two young men from Shouye Temple. Even Li Jingle was not as powerful as Yu Zhen. Luoshui Academy did it intentionally. After all, no matter what happened, it was a matter of the Taoist sect. Even though in Dayu, the two religious sects were not diametrically opposed to each other like Yanling and Liangxi, they still considered some things.

The old Taoist Yu Zhen looked peaceful and asked, "Master Li, I have heard that among the Confucian cultivators, all the young disciples would yield to the gifted scholar in Yanling. Would you scholars learn from the common people to show who is more powerful in fighting instead of competing on knowledge?"

Li Jingle waved his hand with a smile. "It's wrong for the scholars to compete on knowledge. We will learn reasons, read books by ourselves and take our own roads. It is a reason that our Confucian sages spoke out, but in the current environment, all people want to compete, and the scholars can't escape from this. However, nobody knows if that gifted scholar would defeat the young generation in knowledge in the future. Anyway, her talent in cultivating won't be too bad. Otherwise, Yanling wouldn't expect her to compete with that gifted Dao cultivator, yet the latter started to cultivate much earlier than our gifted scholar. Now it appears that it's quite difficult for the gifted scholar to surpass the gifted Dao cultivator."

Yu Zhen stated peacefully, "The temple owner took actions in person, which can show how much importance the people on Chenxie Mountain attach to the gifted Dao cultivator. Otherwise, how would the temple owner have gone to Yuwu Mountain where Sage Chen was from? Now there are many rumors in Liangxi that the temple owner almost destroyed the Tranquilization Pavilion on Yuwu Mountain. The reason is simple. The gifted Dao cultivator almost had been assassinated for several times in Dayu, and the people on Chenxie Mountain suspected that Yuwu Mountain had something to do with it, so the temple owner went to that mountain. Think about it. The temple owner is at the peak of the Ascending Stage and almost becomes a sage. When he started a fight, how majestic would it be?"

Li Jingle sighed. These years, in Liangxi and any other place in the human world, all the cultivators on mountains knew that the Taoist sect was the most powerful in the world, which was a fact. The temple owner was the top one among the Taoists for sure and might be the number one cultivator in the human world, although except the sages. Even so, he was enough to shock people. There were countless powerful cultivators on Chenxie Mountain, and only the temple owner could suppress Yuwu Mountain alone and make all people there almost unable to breathe. At the same time, there was no outstanding scholar these years among the Confucian cultivators. The principal of Yanling Confucian Temple didn't show up in the human world these years and no news about him spread. He showed up in front of the people in the world for only once when the temple owner went to Yanling from afar. In addition, there was no remarkable cultivator in Yanling Confucian Temple, so all people in the temple pinned their hopes on that gifted scholar. However, the gifted scholar had been cultivating for a short period and might be unable to surpass that gifted Dao cultivator, let alone the temple owner who was at the peak since long ago.

Under the general situation, the Confucianism was declining while the Taoism was powerful, which was almost a finality, and one or two outstanding Confucian scholars couldn't change it.

The old Taoist Yu Zhen took several sips of tea and sighed with emotion. "If there is a gifted Dao cultivator in Shouye Temple, I will take him as my son, apart from anything else."

Li Jingle smiled in silence. If a Taoist temple or a Confucian academy wanted to develop, it needed two kinds of people. One kind was a "guard" who could support the Taoist temple or academy. When it was in need, he could reason with others, and even if he couldn't reason things out, he could make others listen to him. This kind was significant to an academy or a Taoist temple. The other kind was the future of the Taoist temple or academy. It was pointless if the sect was prosperous currently. If there was no outstanding disciple in the future, and none of the young generations could take over the job after the "guard" passed away in decades or hundreds of years, then who would reason with others and prevent the disasters of the sect in the future?

They would be like the swordsmen who were glorious for a period of those years, but after a lot of "guards" died, nobody took over the job now, and many places to inherit swordsmanship turned into wastelands, with only Sword Mountain left. In fact, Li Jingle could feel it. Luoshui Academy was once the base of the Sword Sect. Although there was no Sword Immortal from the Sword Sect in the history, there were many swordsmen at the Ascending Stage. It was one of the top swordsman sects at the border of Dayu those years, yet after the great war, it was declining gradually. Later, the last inner disciple who was left died helplessly in the end, and then nobody inherited the sect.

After that, the founder of Luoshui Academy who travelled around came here and chose this place to build an academy, which was the current Luoshui Academy. But then nobody knew the Sword Sect.

Li Jingle didn't say anything useless. He finally talked about Qing Temple with the old Taoist Yu Zhen, yet they talked little about it, as they couldn't make something clear and didn't want to make it clear.

Yu Zhen kept silent for a while and then whispered, "I know well about Yang Haizhi, and he mustn't have done something like this, but it is uncertain if some Taoists on this mountain have other intentions. However, we can make it clear only after the young people go down the mountain. We can't make a judgment now. Nevertheless, Wang Shi always hates the evil people as if they are his enemies, and he won't be partial to anybody."

At the mention of Wang Shi, Li Jingle nodded subconsciously. He had heard about this senior fellow apprentice of the young generation in Shouye Temple. Wang Shi had a good reputation at the border of Dayu and might become the head of Shouye Temple after toughening himself for many years.

Nevertheless, something like this was uncertain. Even after the heir to the throne was chosen by the emperor of an empire, as long as he wouldn't take the throne the next day, the situation might change if there was a period before that, not to mention a sect of cultivators on mountains. There was a period of decades or hundreds of years, and nobody could foresee what would happen.

Li Jingle pondered for a moment. "In fact, nobody cares about this case at the border of Dayu except several sects like us. Everybody thinks that there is a great difference between the common people outside the mountain and the cultivators on mountains, but anyway, Qing Temple isn't like a place where people would do something like this. We came here this time just to feel relieved."

Yu Zhen looked indifferent and his expression didn't change. He didn't plan to say more. Few Taoist temples would stand up for the common people outside the mountain at the border of Dayu, yet anyway, Shouye Temple could be one of them, which was out of question.

They sat opposite to each other for a short while. After the tea was cold, Li Jingle suggested going to taste the local porridge made of watermelon and tremella on the street. Yu Zhen nodded in agreement. So the two got up, passed through the backyard and left from the back gate, going to hang out on the street in Qing Town.

They walked past several streets and finally came to a stall selling porridge made of watermelon and tremella. The vendor was a middle-aged man with an average face. It was not the peak time at the moment, so there were few people in front of the stall. There was no customer except a middle-aged man who looked gentle.

After the old Taoist Yu Zhen and Li Jingle sat down, each of them ordered a bowl of porridge made of watermelon and tremella.

Because there were outsiders next to them, the two didn't continue to talk about Qing Temple, while the middle-aged man drank half a bowl of porridge and then turned around to look at Li Jingle, asking with a smile, "Sir, is Qing Mountain the mountain behind the town?"

Li Jingle nodded and didn't show that he kept a good distance from others. Then he explained in a soft voice, "If you climb up the mountain at this season, it is not crowded, but the mountain path is not smooth, so you need to be careful."

The middle-aged man chuckled. "I have been to many places and climbed up the mountains which are difficult to climb. It's no big deal to climb up Qing Mountain, but if I really can't reach the mountaintop, I can only blame myself as I am old and can't walk freely."

Li Jingle laughed loudly. "You are not old. At least this Taoist next to me is much older than you."

The middle-aged man turned around and glanced at the old Taoist Yu Zhen. Then he smiled and didn't say more. After he finished the porridge, he took out six coins from his pocket and put them on the table. Then he got up and said goodbye.

When the vendor put away the bowl, he saw the six coins and murmured, "He said that he didn't know where Qing Mountain is. How did he know the price exactly?"

Li Jingle smiled casually and didn't take it seriously.

That middle-aged man was nowhere to be seen.

Yu Zhen remained calm, but it seemed that he had the feeling, and he turned around, looking in the direction where the middle-aged man had disappeared.

The owner of Qing Temple Yang Haizhi said that he would go down the mountain, but he didn't walk fast when he went down. After he left the bamboo cottage at the mountainside, he walked down along the mountain path and looked peaceful. On the way, he met many tourists who climbed up the mountain. When he met some people who greeted him, he nodded slightly and didn't ignore them, which made the tourists think much more highly of Qing Temple.

However, Yang Haizhi wasn't in the mood to think about this. Not far away from here, several cases happened successively that demons hurt people. Yang Haizhi had sent a few Taoists to go down the mountain and investigate, but they almost found nothing. After a demon hurt somebody half a month ago, they finally found the victim who stayed alive in a village. As a result, that victim said that a Taoist dressed in a robe of Qing Temple was with the demon. From the beginning, Yang Haizhi paid much attention to it and ordered the disciples on the mountain to prevent the news from spreading, but it spread the next day unexpectedly. In the past half month, several cases were found successively, and all of them said that a Taoist from Qing Temple was on the spot. Even if Yang Haizhi was brainless, he knew that somebody framed Qing Temple, yet on second thought these days, he felt that some Taoists on the mountain were suspicious. However, he didn't act rashly to alert the enemy probably because his little disciple would get married recently, and he didn't want to mess it up.

To be frank, the disciple Yang Haizhi loved most was this one, although he was idle and casual.

Yang Haizhi sighed and raised his head, moving on. After he took just a few steps, he saw a middle-aged man in the distance.

There was fog on the mountain, and the face couldn't be seen clearly. The old Taoist didn't want to look at it again, but when he was about to pass by, the middle-aged man stopped and greeted, "Master Yang."

Yang Haizhi with an old face was stunned. This voice sounded familiar.

Then Yang Haizhi opened his eyes wide and looked at the middle-aged man's face. After he saw it clearly, he thought that it was inconceivable. At last, his lips and teeth trembled and he couldn't speak a word.

The middle-aged man laughed. "What's wrong? We haven't seen each other for so many years. You are so old?"

Yang Haizhi had tears in his eyes and looked emotional. He finally shouted, "Sir!"

Everybody knew that the current owner of Qing Temple was one of the top ten cultivators at the border of Dayu and he liked to travel around the world when he was young. He had been to Yanling and Liangxi, but nobody knew that when he went to Liangxi, he met a Taoist who was as young as him.

That Taoist was at the height of his youth and vigor and talked with him happily. They travelled in Liangxi together. In the beginning, they didn't tell each other their names and just called the other party Master Yang and Master Liang. Till they were about to get parted, they told each other their names. He was Yang Haizhi.

And Master Liang was named Yi.

Liang Yi was the owner of Liangxi Dao Temple then, but in fact, he was not as famous as he was now. Yang Haizhi who was in Dayu didn't even know that he was that temple owner.

However, now, Yang Haizhi was the owner of Qing Temple, while Master Liang was the top Taoist since long ago.

This time, they met for the first time after decades, and Yang Haizhi had never expected that they would meet on Qing Mountain.

And the temple owner was still willing to call him Master Yang. It was Yang Haizhi's honor, and it certainly excited him.

The temple owner patted Yang Haizhi's shoulder and said with a smile, "I didn't specially come to see you. I came to hide myself on the mountain."