Chapter 670
On the Heroes of the World
A boatman looked at Old Ears and brought up the old story again: "Old Ears, I've finished telling my story, it's your turn."
Old Ears sat in the crowd, shelling peanuts and putting on airs: "You're telling this story to me alone, but I have to tell it to dozens of you. No matter how you look at it, I'm losing out big time."
But Chen Ji said with a laugh, "You've traveled all over the country and are much more capable than us, so let us take advantage of you."
The boatmen surrounded the old man's ears and jeered, "That's right, that's right, you're so capable, why bother arguing with us about these things?"
"Even a hero can't resist a turtle's praise," Old Ears chuckled, glancing sideways at the crowd. "So, what do you want to hear?"
A young boatman sat up straight: "Old Li told me you've been to Japan and Korea. Were there any powerful officials there?"
Old Ears shook his head: "No."
Another boatman asked, "I heard that you used to travel between Jingchao and Ningchao, and made many influential people in Jingchao... Do you know Headmaster Lu Yang?"
Old Ears rolled his eyes: "How would I know them?"
The boatman scratched his head: "Then tell us about the officials of the Jing Dynasty, and which ones are the most powerful."
Old Ears rubbed the red skins off the peanuts, looking rather bored: "I thought you guys wanted to hear something, but what's so interesting about this?"
The young boatman's eyes shone brightly: "These are the most exciting things in the teahouse. Whenever the storyteller tells them, the teahouse is always packed... Who is the most powerful official between the Ning and Jing dynasties?"
Old Ears chuckled: "Is that even a question? Of course, it's Lu Yang, the head of the Martial Temple in Jingchao and a grandmaster of martial arts, who is the most powerful."
The boatman laughed and said, "We all know that. The question is, besides the headmaster Lu Yang, who is the most powerful among the rest?"
Old Ears popped a peanut into his mouth: "In literature, there is no first place; in martial arts, there is no second. With Lu Yang around, what's the point of others discussing heroes?"
Chen Ji leaned closer and said, "We peasants don't have your experience, so please tell us about it."
The boatmen chimed in, "Yes, tell us about it!"
Old Ears patted the peanut shells off his hands and said reluctantly, "Besides Lu Yang, the only other person in Jingchao who can be considered a notable figure is Chan Zhao of Kujue Temple. He originally had a brilliant disciple who had the potential to become a Grandmaster, but unfortunately, that monk was held back by a woman named Lu Ye back then, and he is now in seclusion at Kujue Temple, having not left the temple for over twenty years."
Chen Ji was suddenly startled. Lu Ye?
Lu Ye, isn't that his birth mother's name? How is it related to Kujue Temple? Oh right, he had heard before that Xiaoman and Master Hu's official path mandala secret seal also came from Kujue Temple.
Chen Ji hurriedly asked, "Old Ears, could you explain this to me in detail?"
Old Ears glanced at him with surprise, then smiled and said, "You like listening to this kind of thing too? I knew it! Aren't these kinds of grudges and feuds more interesting than official matters?"
Chen Ji hummed in agreement: "Interesting."
But Old Ears changed the subject: "But this story comes at a different price; you'll have to trade it for a more interesting story."
Chen Ji: "..."
The boatman beside him pressed on, "The Ning Dynasty official hasn't spoken yet?"
Old Ear thought for a moment: "The disciples of Huangshan Daoist Temple are so-so, and those who rely on external forces are not worth mentioning. Cen Yunzi of Laojun Mountain Daoist Temple is alright. He accidentally cultivated a Nascent Soul. This person is dull-witted, but he is diligent. Whether he can leave a lasting name depends on how far he can cultivate to become an immortal."
The boatman asked in confusion, "What do you mean? Everyone in the martial arts world says that Cen Yunzi is already a grandmaster, a terrestrial immortal of this era. Why does he still need to become an immortal?"
Old Ears sneered, "You don't know anything. What kind of immortal is he now? Even immortals are ranked. The superior ones ascend to the void and are called celestial immortals; the middle ones travel to famous mountains and are called earth immortals; the inferior ones die first and then shed their skin and are called corpse-dissolving immortals... Even corpse-dissolving immortals are different and have different levels."
The boatmen became interested: "What's the difference?"
Old Ears peeled another peanut and said with an air of self-assurance, "The 'dissolution of weapons' means that when weapons are used against you, your mortal body dies and your nascent soul sheds its shell; the 'dissolution of water' means that you drown and use the water to escape, your true body entering a celestial realm; the 'dissolution of fire' means that you use pure yang fire to refine your mortal body and your nascent soul sheds its shell... These three are the most useless."
What constitutes success?
Old Ears popped a peanut into his mouth: "Sword dissolution, this is the orthodox way of Taoism. One dies with a sword in his arms, the sword becomes his body, and his primordial spirit flies away with the sword. In the coffin, only the sword is seen, not the person. Staff dissolution, one takes a bamboo or wooden staff in place of his body. After death, the staff remains but the person is gone. Clothing dissolution, only the clothes and hat remain, the physical body disappears, which is the cenotaph... But this is not the most bizarre one."
Old Ears, like a storyteller, always added a twist at the end of each sentence. The boatman, kept in suspense, asked, "What's the most puzzling thing?"
Old Ear chuckled: "The most bizarre Taiyin Refining Form involves placing the coffin on top of an emperor's coffin after death, using external objects to prevent the body from decaying, and being reborn after a hundred years. This is called Earthly Liberation."
The boatmen exclaimed in surprise, "Is this really so strange?"
Old Ears suddenly lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "Although the Jing and Ning dynasties made an alliance at Chongli Pass, agreeing that each dynasty could only have two Grandmasters, the Ning dynasty actually has more than just the two Grandmasters mentioned earlier. There is another one who is very well hidden. The Jing dynasty should also have one hidden in the palace. This person has mastered an evil art, which only someone with a physical disability can do."
The boatmen were skeptical: "Really? We've never heard of that before. You're not making this up, are you?"
Old Ears chuckled and said, "Take it or leave it, believe it or not. But if you want to hear this story, there's a different price, which you can't afford."
The boatmen whispered among themselves for a moment, then asked curiously, "What you just mentioned are all Grandmasters, what about the lower-ranking officials below them?"
Old Ears glanced at everyone and said, "How many questions have been asked already?"
The boatmen shamelessly said, "We'll make it up to you tomorrow, please tell us your story first."
Old Ear pulled out a handful of roasted peanuts from his sleeve: "What heroes are there below the Divine Realm? Xu Shu, the Deputy Director of the Imperial Observatory of the Ning Dynasty, is a life of debauchery; Hu Junyan, the Director of the Imperial Observatory, is incredibly shrewd, always suppressing his cultivation level and hiding his whereabouts..." The boatmen asked in confusion, "Why suppress your cultivation level?"
Old Ears chuckled: "All the heroes in the world are being suffocated by the mountain of Headmaster Lu Yang. Many who are capable of entering the Divine Realm are actually holding back their cultivation, afraid that Lu Yang will come knocking on their door. They only dare to enter the Divine Realm when Lu Yang dies of old age."
The boatmen suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. If it were me, I would also avoid the sharp edge of the mountain."
Old Ears continued his inventory: "The Ning Dynasty originally had a Liang Gou'er who was quite comprehension, but unfortunately he was troubled by love... There was also a little monk named Luo Zhui Saga who was alright, but I don't know if he can achieve enlightenment in this lifetime."
Chen Ji suddenly asked, "How is it cultivated?"
Old Ears turned to look at him and sneered, “There are 84,000 questions in this world, and not everything can be taught. He has to experience it himself. Rather than chanting scriptures and practicing Buddhism, he should enter this mortal world. Love is the best Tantric master. Padmasambhava is not one of them.”
Chen Ji then asked, "What about Jing Chao? Are there any powerful figures in the dynasty?"
Old Ears thought for a moment: "There's a girl named Jiang Liuxian who's not bad, and that one named Yuan Henglizhen is alright too, but they're both restless. That Yuan Xingzhi, the instructor of the Twelve Imperial Guards of the Jing Dynasty, is interesting. He doesn't seem remarkable, but I think he's better than Yuan Henglizhen. There's also Wu Kezhi in the Martial Temple. Although he's dull-witted, he has the advantage of being carefully taught by Headmaster Lu Yang..."
Before he could finish speaking, Old Ears suddenly said meaningfully, "I forgot to mention, there was a talented man named Chen Ji in the Ning Dynasty, but unfortunately he died young."
Chen Ji rolled his eyes.
The boatmen, unaware of Chen Ji's death, looked at each other in bewilderment: "Chen Ji is dead?"
Old Ear glanced at Chen Ji, seemingly casually: "Dead, he just married a beautiful wife and he's already dead. It's a pity that woman saved him in front of the Qi family's gate, and now she's a widow at such a young age. Tsk tsk, but guess what? This matter isn't so simple..."
Chen Ji, standing to the side, scoffed, "It's a real shame you don't become a storyteller."
Old Ears laughed loudly: "Storytelling is not as interesting as traveling all over the country on a ship. You have to see all the world to live in!"
Old Li, standing on the stern, teased, "Old Ear, are you some kind of high-ranking official, pointing fingers at the country like this? What level of understanding do you have?"
Old Ears laughed heartily: "My skills are so amazing, they'd scare you to death if I told you. I just didn't get a chance to fight Lu Yang, otherwise I would have changed my title as a grandmaster of the world."
Old Li laughed heartily: "Then why are you still running a ship? I haven't heard you brag in so many years, I actually miss it."
At this moment, the river surface became rough.
Looking at the swaying sails, Old Li stood on the sterncastle and cursed, "The port sail rigging is loose! Who the hell tied it? Gousheng, go up and tighten the rigging! Stop chatting and get the hell out of here!"
On the deck, Gou Sheng, without saying a word, grabbed a piece of rope from his mouth and scrambled up the rope ladder on the mast in a few steps.
He used both his hands and feet to climb up like a monkey, making the rope ladder rattle as he swung it.
Beneath the mast, four boatmen stood in a row, each holding a sail rigging and crouching. Old Li counted the beats from the sterncastle: "One, two, lift!"
The four men exerted force simultaneously, their back muscles tensing up sharply, the canvas making a dull rustling sound, like a great eagle suddenly spreading its wings.
Before the boatmen could catch their breath, Old Li's curses came crashing down from the stern: "Starboard, the starboard sail is too slow!"
A young boatman frantically pulled at the rope, his face turning red, but he couldn't budge it.
Chen Ji saw Old Ears run to his side, take the rope, and quickly tighten the sail rope. The canvas snapped open and caught the wind.
The large ship sailed into the narrow mountain pass.
After pulling the starboard sail ropes, Old Ears ran to help secure the cargo on the deck. Once the cargo was secured, he ran to help steer. After stabilizing the rudder, he climbed to the lookout at the top of the mast and gave orders loudly.
very busy.
Everyone worked all night, and it wasn't until dawn that the Anlan entered a wide river. The wind gradually subsided, and the sky in the distance began to brighten.
All the boatmen were exhausted and slumped on the deck, panting heavily, too weak to speak.
A misty fog hung over the gray river. Old Li shouted at the top of his lungs, "Tie the sails tight, Gou Sheng, get the pot ready and cook, everyone else come and collect your wages."
Old Li was weighing silver coins on the stern with a scale. All the boatmen lined up to go up to the stern to collect their money, earning a day's wages for each day they worked.
One hundred and twenty coins a day; if he works all night, he gets an extra sixty coins, converted into small change, with no delays in payment. If there is any delay, the boatman will pack his bags and leave at the next dock, ready to find another boat at any time.
As Chen Ji was queuing to receive his silver, he heard Old Ears' voice behind him: "Running a ship is quite interesting, isn't it? There's no need for power struggles or scheming, no need for backstabbing. You reap what you sow. You just have to wait for the wind to come, but you never know when the storm will come; it all depends on the whims of God."
Chen Ji turned around in surprise: "Are you talking to me?"
Old Ears smiled and said, "If you want to make great progress in your cultivation, you must be single-minded. You can't calm your mind if you stay in the world of fame and fortune."
Chen Ji asked calmly, "What should we do?"
Old Ears chuckled: "Why not be like a mischievous child, running wild and rolling around in the mortal world, getting covered in mud and then jumping into the river for a bath, eating when hungry and sleeping when tired, living a life of clarity and understanding, without so many twists and turns?"
Chen Ji hummed in agreement, "I understand." (End of Chapter)