nagpurpolice Chapter 50 Seeking the Path
Chapter 50 Seeking the Path
The winter day was chilly, and the sunlight was dim.
It was just past mid-morning when Ye Qingshan saw Meng deep in thought, so he stopped talking and went to tease the sparrows.
Du Ren hadn't forgotten his mission for the day, so he stepped forward again and asked, "Won't the master give us some pointers?"
"What else is there to advise? Do you really think I'm omnipotent?" Ye Qingshan said irritably, "This is just my personal opinion, and it may not be correct."
"What the head of the family is saying is too difficult to understand." Du Ren pressed on, "Is this so-called disharmony due to insufficient talent? Is it because we're destined not to reach the second realm?"
"The more useless a person is, the more they talk about talent. It's just the second realm, what talent do they need?" Ye Qingshan chuckled upon hearing this. "Most people will never even have the chance to compete based on talent in their entire lives."
"How do you explain this?" Du Ren asked curiously.
"Let's compare talent to money, to silver, to family wealth," Ye Qingshan chuckled. "For example, if you have thirty taels, your junior brother has eighty taels, and Yan Long has one hundred taels, you might think it's only natural that your junior brother progresses faster than you, and you might think the title of the number one martial artist in Qingshui County is well-deserved. But that's not talent; it's just that your area is too small, and you lack experience, which is why you think Yan Long has more money!"
"How much money do those with more money have?" Du Ren asked blankly.
"The real talent is this: Yan Long has one hundred taels, but others have eight hundred taels, and some have eight thousand taels!"
Ye Qingshan pointed at Meng Chen and said, "Your brother hasn't even passed the first realm in almost half a year, but forty years ago, the Sword Saint known as Autumn Sword only took half a year to go from the first realm to the sixth realm, and was known as the number one person under the Heavenly Gate. What is talent? This is real talent! You kids are always talking about talent. In fact, Yan Long is a bucket, and you are just old ladles. Compared to his great rivers and lakes, you are nothing! So don't talk about talent when you go out in the future. If it gets into the ears of experts, it will be embarrassing!"
Upon hearing this strange theory, Meng Chen and Du Ren were both stunned.
Meng Chen had thought that with the Yin-Yang Fish Diagram, breaking through the barriers wouldn't be too slow, but he never expected to be such a frog in a well.
"Don't compare yourself to others in terms of money. You can achieve just as much as you have, it'll just be a little more difficult." Seeing the two of them looking at each other, Ye Qingshan quickly added, "Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it!"
"Don't bother comforting us!" Du Ren had come to find a way for Meng Chen, but now he seemed a bit dejected. He looked around the courtyard and asked, "Where did Miss go? I didn't see her when I came to deliver walnuts to my brother last time."
"She's gone on a long trip." Ye Qingshan sighed. "Too many people come to our house to propose marriage, and she finds it annoying. She heard that a bald monk named Wunian is performing in the city, so she went to see it. Who knows, when she comes back, she might be a nun."
"That's a good thing!" Du Renzhen exclaimed, holding up two fingers. "If Miss becomes a nun, I'll donate two hundred catties of sesame oil to support her and offer two ever-burning lamps for my mother!"
"Xiang Sheng really didn't waste his time teaching you; you've learned loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and righteousness!" Ye Qingshan sneered.
At this moment, after hearing Ye Qingshan mention monks, Meng Chen couldn't help but think of the monk Bujie.
Meng Chen increasingly felt that if he wanted to take another step forward, he needed to light up the Yin Fish.
However, to illuminate the Yin Fish, one would likely need to rely on profound cultivation.
But after much thought, while Master Du could guide him in martial arts, where could he find someone to guide him in cultivation?
After thinking for a long time without any results, Meng Chen saw that Ye Qingshan and Du Ren were having a good time playing with the birds, so he went over and reached into the cage to poke the sparrow.
After rambling on for a while, Du Ren finally left with Meng Chen.
They hadn't walked far when they saw a vendor selling candied hawthorns. Du Ren bought one for Meng Chen, coaxing him like a child, and even asking if it was sweet.
"It's very sour," Meng Chen said.
"Life is like a candied hawthorn skewer; you never know if you'll get a sweet one or a sour one." Du Ren actually extracted a profound truth from the story of the candied hawthorn skewer.
"All hawthorns are sour," Meng Chen said.
"...Still arguing." Du Ren asked while munching on a candied hawthorn, "This trip wasn't a waste, was it? Any thoughts?"
"I don't really have any particular thoughts. I just feel that Senior Ye is a highly accomplished person, and I want to emulate his virtues and buy some books to read." Meng Chen had already figured it out; he needed to find a way to delve into the mysteries of Taoism.
Although he couldn't find a master cultivator to guide him now, he couldn't let himself be held back by his bladder. So Meng Chen thought he'd buy a few history books and miscellaneous books to read, hoping to glean some insights.
"Buying books is great! Books are good to read!" Du Ren immediately agreed, saying, "Don't worry, I promise I'll pick out two good books for you to cool you down!"
The two wandered around the streets for a while, found a bookstore, and bought several history books, a few miscellaneous notes, and a few classics from Buddhism and Taoism.
Du Ren chatted enthusiastically with the shopkeeper and eventually bought a book called the "Pusuan Sutra," which had beautiful illustrations.
Back at the martial arts school, Du Zhong asked if Ye Qingshan had given any instructions, and Meng Chen naturally told him everything. After learning that Meng Chen wanted to study, Du Zhong even checked the books he had bought.
Du Zhong's face darkened when he saw the erotic letter.
"I've already advised my junior brother and even scolded him, but he just wouldn't listen and insisted on buying it! It's driving me crazy!" Du Ren said with a helpless expression.
Du Zhong burned the erotic book on the spot, and then gave a long talk about the great principles that a man should not worry about not having a wife. He then told Meng Chen to go to the backyard to read.
After that, Meng Chen stopped practicing the Boiling Blood Bone Forging Fist. Every day, besides practicing the Gale Blade Technique and the Eight Harmony Fist, he would read books to broaden his knowledge.
After reading it hastily for two days, skipping over the struggles between dynasties, Meng Chen discovered that the history book not only lacked detailed records of martial arts, but also recorded very briefly about the cultivation of immortality. It only said that ten thousand years ago, a Dao Ancestor descended to earth, took nine disciples, and divided Yin and Yang at Mingzhi Mountain, plucking stars to preach the Dao.
Then the Dao Ancestor ascended to heaven at night. Every sixty years thereafter, he would transform into a giant fish phantom and roam among the stars for people to admire. This spectacle is also known as a miracle.
Most people have heard these legends, but miracles haven't occurred for two or three hundred years, spanning dozens of generations or even a dynasty, so they've increasingly come to regard them as myths.
Meng Chen flipped through several more classics of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, and managed to remember the names of several eminent predecessors, while also catching up on a lot of sleep.
Afterwards, Meng Chen found several tales of the strange and supernatural, which mostly described bizarre events and did not explain the transmission of mystical cultivation. Moreover, having read so many stories about foxes and scholars, he couldn't help but feel a little envious.
Meng Chen found nothing useful in the book, so he visited several Taoist temples and Buddhist temples in and around the county town, but gained nothing and was only cheated out of more than a hundred coins for fortune telling.
Ten days passed in this way, and it was nearly the middle of the twelfth lunar month, and the weather was getting colder and colder.
Meng Chen sought the Dao but could not find it; he didn't even know where the path lay, let alone the way.
"Don't hold it in and get sick. Why don't you find a woman to have some fun with?" Du Ren advised Meng Chen, who seemed a bit down, as if he were an experienced person.
"You're acting a bit strange. Let me take you to find some women to have some fun! Let's make it clear first, we can't afford the brothel, but if you insist, that's fine too. The old woman I found for Yan Zhao last time is still here, and I paid her! If you think she's too old, I have connections in the back alleys!" Qi Yun came to find Meng Chen for drinks, and his method of relieving worries was the same as Du Ren's.
"I've heard that if you fail to break through to a higher realm the first time, it will be even more difficult the next time. I've also heard that there's always a way out, and it's easiest to break through to a higher realm when facing life or death." At that time, Xingzhi and Bushengyan invited Mengchen to chat and spar. Neither of them had tried to break through to a higher realm yet, but they had a lot of reasons to share.
"Why should my dear brother be afraid of temporary setbacks? The path of martial arts is boundless, but life is finite. No one is chasing you, so why not take a break? When my father was disciplining Huanmei and me, he said that people can only settle down after they get married. Haven't you thought about starting a family?" Li Xiangsheng and his wife were a harmonious couple, he was filial to his father, and he doted on his sister, so his advice to Meng Chen was also about prioritizing family.
"Yu Yatou asked me to send a message, saying that the New Year is coming soon and asking when you are going back." The son of the village head of Niujia Village found the martial arts school.
Meng Chen visited many wise men, but in the end, he obediently packed his bags and returned home.