NCCnovel #147 - Seeing the spring is auspicious
#147 - Seeing the spring is auspicious
Chapter 146: Seeing Izumi Daikichi
Xie Lingyun was searching for herbs inside the house when she suddenly heard a familiar voice from the courtyard: "Elder Zhang, are you trying to deceive me? The medicine you prescribed for schizophrenia has absolutely no effect."
"Schizophrenia?" Xie Lingyun in the house was stunned: "Who has schizophrenia?"
At this time, Elder Zhang was attending to the noble lady. Hearing Cheng Yu's loud words, he was shocked, fearing that she would offend the noble lady.
He knew these nobles' temperaments all too well.
"Go and send her away, don't reveal that I'm here." Xie Lingyun casually waved her hand. Elder Zhang thanked her profusely and quickly walked out of the house.
"Impossible? The medicine I prescribed can calm the nerves and help sleep, it can nourish the spirit, how could it not work?" Elder Zhang asked the little bean sprout.
"Don't mention it, I thought he was getting better after taking this medicine for a month, but who knew that today I saw him meditating and cultivating again, he actually started practicing Qi and cultivating immortality again." The little bean sprout said unhappily.
If Zhang Chen had heard Cheng Yu's words, he would have beaten her up. He had been drowsy for the past month, and he couldn't cheer up when he was with Cheng Yu during the day, so he slept when he had nothing to do. He thought it was because he was tired from excavating the divine object in his spiritual world, but he didn't think about the little bean sprout.
He had been cultivating these days, but he just moved the cultivation time to the second half of the night. When the effect of the medicine wore off late at night, he regained consciousness and went to meditate and cultivate. The little bean sprout was already asleep at that time, how would she know?
Today, he cultivated after sending Xie Lingyun away purely on a whim, feeling that he had wasted too much time in the morning.
"It shouldn't be, could it be that the dosage is not enough? Come, I'll add more dosage for you." Elder Zhang said.
Inside the house
Hearing the little bean sprout's words, Xie Lingyun suddenly recalled the scene of Zhang Chen taking the medicine, and the corners of her mouth twitched. In an instant, the truth was slowly unfolding before her eyes like a silkworm peeling silk.
"So… the so-called nourishing the body is just an excuse? Zhang Chen looks like a good person, but he's actually mentally ill?" Xie Lingyun felt amused in her heart: "Practicing Qi and cultivating immortality? He really dares to think."
Xie Lingyun shook her head and continued to look for herbs, pondering the herb recipe.
Meanwhile, Zhang Chen had entered his spiritual world and came to the mysterious ruins again. After summoning the fox spirit, he directly began to dig the soil in the ruins.
Strangely enough, when objects from the outside world are picked up, they turn into runes. However, all the soil near the spring was dug up and thrown away, and it didn't change at all after leaving the ground, it was still just soil.
"This spiritual world is really strange." The fox spirit smeared the soil on Zhang Chen's face, looking at the grains of sand, revealing a look of surprise.
She did it on purpose, to retaliate against Zhang Chen for asking her to dig a hole.
"This world is strange to begin with." Zhang Chen replied, following behind the fox spirit to expand.
The two of them dug holes all the way, and after digging another two meters, their mana was exhausted again, and then their will returned to their physical bodies.
"At this rate, if I work overtime, change from digging once a day to digging twice a day, I'll be able to dig through the underground world in seven or eight days. I want to see what's so special about that spring water." Zhang Chen's curiosity couldn't be suppressed, he felt that there must be a big secret hidden in the spiritual world, especially that spring, it would definitely give him an unexpected surprise.
Afternoon
The little bean sprout started boiling medicine in the courtyard again, but this time the medicinal smell was even stronger, even a little pungent.
"I say, is your herb really effective?" Zhang Chen smelled the herbal scent and couldn't help but walk out of the courtyard to ask.
"Please remove the 'ma' word, my senior sister's treatment is effective." The little bean sprout's voice was full of pride, comforting Zhang Chen: "Don't worry, this herb will definitely work. I know you're in a hurry, but don't be in a hurry."
Zhang Chen was a little confused: What am I in a hurry for? I'm a cultivator, I'm not interested in martial arts at all, okay?
But seeing the little bean sprout making herbs with certainty, Zhang Chen didn't stop her, but walked back into the house to read, pondering the manuscripts left by his master.
He hadn't been down the mountain for some days since the Taoist temple was strictly guarded.
Zhang Chen looked at the manuscript in his hand, and had to admit that Chen Sanliang, although arrogant, still had something. But it was only 'something', the other party's theory was similar to Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind in the 21st century, but it only had a little prototype, and had not yet touched the real core of 'unity of knowledge and action'.
"No wonder this guy dared to directly accuse the founder of Confucianism, Master Kong, of creating a useless avenue. It's normal for him to have such thoughts since he already has the concept of unity of knowledge and action." Zhang Chen muttered.
Confucianism is inherently useless, except for teaching people benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, it is useless. However, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness are inherently against human nature. People are animals, and no animals have been seen to abide by benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness.
It has no use for Legalism, no skill for Mohism, no wonder for Military Strategists, what is it if not useless?
Except for building a good living environment, it is useless. Anyone who follows Confucianism in the process of dealing with people will surely die.
Confucianism says that a gentleman is friendly but not partisan, but in the end, scholars are mostly forming cliques for private gain.
Confucianism says loyalty, righteousness, reason, and trustworthiness, but when foreign enemies attack, the first to defect to the foreign enemies are the Confucianists. It is scholars who are faithless and abandon their wives and children.
"The true core of Confucianism is that the nobles master the shackles of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, and put the shackles on the people, turning them into the people's creeds, while 'I' alone jump out of the creeds, and when everyone abides by the creeds, and I don't abide by them, I can take the opportunity to seize benefits. This is the way of the monarch, the core of Confucianism." Zhang Chen stroked Chen Sanliang's scriptures, only now did he know how precious this true essence of Confucianism was.
"Chen Sanliang is remarkable, but unfortunately he is destined not to develop, he is digging at the foundation of the powerful. The powerful use Confucianism as a creed to teach the ignorant people of the world, and then turn it into shackles, taking the opportunity to seize benefits. And Chen Sanliang created a philosophy of mind, isn't this overturning the table? He wants to abolish the tool of the nobles to rule the world, how could the nobles of the world give him a chance to stand out? This guy betrayed his own class, I'm afraid he won't have a good end in the future." Zhang Chen muttered to himself.
If he were a vested interest, he would never let Chen Sanliang stand out.
Just as Zhang Chen was pondering his studies, at this time, the noble lady in a large red robe walked into the courtyard again and came to the small building.
Zhang Chen quickly put down the books in his hand and respectfully bowed to the noble lady.
The noble lady glanced at Cheng Yu who was boiling medicine, then looked at Zhang Chen, and the books, revealing a look of curiosity: "You can actually read?"
"I'm just looking at it for fun." Zhang Chen quickly explained, but refused to admit that he could read.
He had a general understanding of the attitude of nobles in this world towards commoners learning to read, so to avoid trouble, he chose to do less rather than more, simply denying that he could read.
Upon hearing this, Xie Lingyun looked at Zhang Chen, a hint of pity involuntarily appearing in her eyes: "This child is indeed crazy, mentally unstable. Who in their right mind would look at a book they can't read with such fascination?"
Zhang Chen felt somewhat inexplicable under Xie Lingyun's gaze, sensing that something was amiss, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.
"May I ask what brings you here, esteemed guest?" Zhang Chen respectfully asked Xie Lingyun.
"Oh, nothing much. I was just thinking of checking on your progress this afternoon after guiding your martial arts practice this morning," Xie Lingyun said casually.
Could she say that she came to search for the mysterious light?
Unfortunately, Xie Lingyun was destined to return empty-handed. Now that Zhang Chen had noticed the impropriety, how could he continue to allow the golden light to linger?
Xie Daoyun looked at Zhang Chen: "Perform the True Dragon Grand Stance once, and I'll guide you, to see if there are any omissions."
Zhang Chen was speechless. Wasn't it a bit presumptuous to ask a cultivator to practice martial arts every day?
But the matter of cultivation was top secret, and he couldn't explain it to Xie Lingyun, so he could only squeeze out a smile and then go to the courtyard to practice boxing and martial arts, practicing the True Dragon Grand Stance.
After finishing the practice, Zhang Chen turned his head to look at Xie Lingyun, waiting for her guidance, but who knew that Xie Lingyun was standing in the corner of the courtyard, staring at the elm tree in a daze: "The most outstanding thing in the entire courtyard is this large elm tree. It must be over a hundred years old. If there is anything mysterious, it should be this large elm tree."
At this moment, Zhang Chen walked behind Xie Lingyun, looking at her back, at a loss for a moment. Wasn't this woman here to guide his martial arts practice? Why was she looking at the large elm tree? What was so interesting about this elm tree? Because of the drought, the leaves had all fallen off. What was there to see?
"My lord, I have finished practicing. Please give me your guidance," Zhang Chen respectfully bowed to Xie Lingyun's back.
Xie Lingyun came back to her senses upon hearing this, glancing at Zhang Chen.
She hadn't watched Zhang Chen practice martial arts at all. She had come here to search for the mysterious light, and as for guiding Zhang Chen, it was just an excuse.
Hearing Zhang Chen's words, Xie Lingyun fabricated an answer: "Not bad, you practiced well, you still need to continue to work hard. Go practice, I'm thinking about something, don't disturb me."
Zhang Chen glanced at the noble lady in front of him, and hearing her perfunctory tone, he felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't find what it was, so he could only continue to practice martial arts.
At this time, Xiao Douding's Chinese medicine was ready. He came to Zhang Chen with the bowl of medicine: "Junior brother, quickly drink this bowl of medicine. I guarantee that you will soon cultivate Ming Jin and unleash the power of your entire body's meridians."
"Is that so?" Zhang Chen replied indifferently, showing no interest. He didn't want to drink the medicinal soup at all, but facing Cheng Yu's earnest gaze, he still downed the soup in one gulp, and then wiped the soot off Xiao Douding's face: "Why does this medicine taste more and more bitter? It's many times more bitter than the first time I drank it."
"Good medicine tastes bitter, and it's good for the disease. In order to prevent you from developing drug resistance, of course I have to enhance the medicinal properties," Xiao Douding said plausibly, not blushing or skipping a beat when telling lies.
Seeing this, Zhang Chen didn't think much about it, but after practicing boxing for a while, he was suddenly overcome with sleepiness, which made his brain a mess. Finally, unable to bear it, he went directly into the house and fell into a deep sleep.
Zhang Chen slept for three hours, and when he woke up as the sky gradually darkened, he saw that Xiao Douding was nowhere to be found, while the noble lady was still standing under the large elm tree, as if pondering some difficult problem.
"Strange," Zhang Chen muttered to himself again.
At this time, a bell rang in the mountains, startling the pensive noble lady. Xie Lingyun looked at the sky as if waking from a dream: "Have I been standing here for so long?"
"Would you like some tea?" Zhang Chen walked over and asked Xie Lingyun.
"No need, it's time for me to go back for dinner." Speaking of this, Xie Lingyun seemed to remember something, took out a bundle of incense from her sleeve, and handed it to Zhang Chen: "This is incense that I made myself. Light one before going to bed on weekdays, it can soothe the soul and nourish the mind, which is of great benefit to you. Don't forget to light one every night before going to bed."
This incense was a replica she made when she was studying the recipe for calming incense. Its efficacy was less than one percent of the genuine version, so it was not considered precious.
The reason why she kindly gave Zhang Chen incense was just because she thought this little Taoist was pitiful, suffering from mental illness without knowing it. Just like when she was initially invaded by the Heavenly Demon, she didn't know it at first, and thought that there was something wrong with her own spirit, but as her cultivation realm became higher and higher, she began to feel uneasy in her heart, and finally discovered the damned demon.
After Xie Lingyun finished speaking, she turned and left, leaving Zhang Chen standing in the courtyard with the incense, feeling somewhat inexplicable.
"When did the nobles become so easy to talk to? This girl is not bad, she doesn't have the arrogant airs of a noble at all, and she doesn't look down on me because of my humble background. This person is good!" Zhang Chen muttered to himself, looking at Xie Lingyun's departing figure.
That night,
Zhang Chen lit the incense and once again entered the state of meditation.
Digging soil and practicing Qi in meditation seemed to have become Zhang Chen's daily routine. Apart from chatting with Xie Lingyun, life seemed to have calmed down.
Of course, apart from Zhang Chen feeling more sleepy every day, and sometimes even falling asleep directly while practicing Qi in meditation.
Time flew by, and on this day, deep in the night, in the state of meditation, Zhang Chen and the fox spirit were digging soil in the state of meditation, when suddenly at a certain moment, the fox spirit let out a cry of surprise: "I dug something! There is actually an underground secret room here. Zhang Chen, come down quickly, there is actually spring water in this spiritual world, how is this possible?"
Fox Fairy Nannan exclaimed, and then the whole person directly drilled in.
"Did you dig it out?" Zhang Chen was also excited. After digging day and night for seven or eight days, he finally dug through the underground soil and came to the spring.
What came into view was a stone chamber made entirely of jade. The stone chamber was not large, only thirty square meters. In the center of the stone chamber, there was a pool of water, the pool was three meters in size, and in it there was a spring, constantly flowing out with gurgling spring water, but the color of the spring water was not normal, it was actually yellow spring water, which looked quite foul-smelling, and also very viscous, making people think of some bad things.
"Why don't you come down?" Fox Fairy Nannan shouted, seeing that Zhang Chen was still lying outside without moving, she turned her head and asked, her voice full of doubt. Logically speaking, the opportunity was right in front of him at this time, shouldn't Zhang Chen be afraid that she would snatch it and enjoy it, and run down to compete with her?