Chapter 158 The Third Discussion with the Heavenly Master

Chapter 158 The Third Discussion with the Heavenly Master

Chapter 158 The Third Discussion with the Heavenly Master
"Brother?"

Qin Qu looked over there in confusion, and only vaguely saw two people hiding in the alley beside the street, who seemed to be arguing.

"Hush." ​​Zhao Duan had a strange expression on his face. He was holding a candied haws and signaled his lackey to wait with his eyes, then he walked alone.

An old servant who was about fifty years old stopped in front of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy and said anxiously:
"Master, don't come forward!
They are all officials from the imperial court, most of whom are skilled in martial arts. The master has already fallen, and the thieves from the imperial court have come to this private residence. Young master, you have finally escaped, how can you show up?"

The young man was wearing a cloth coat and a bamboo hat.

At this moment, his eyes were filled with tears, like an angry little lion, trying to struggle forward, and heard the words:
"Uncle Wen, but my mother is still in there. Now my father is dying. How can my mother survive in the hands of the court's lackeys? Although I am young, as a son, how can I watch my biological mother being arrested and not risk my life to save her?"

The old servant still pulled him and tried to persuade him:

"Madam is not the master's principal wife, nor does she have a formal status, so she won't be implicated too heavily and may be able to avoid being exiled, but you are different.

Young master, although you are an illegitimate child, you are still the master's bloodline, and the government will not let you go.

Since I have been favored by the master and stayed here to guard the house, I should take you away and leave a bloodline for the Zhou family."

The young man raised his head to the sky and sighed, tears falling uncontrollably, and he had already made up his mind to die:
"Uncle Wen, I have made up my mind. I will not abandon my mother and run away alone. You can go by yourself."

The old servant was deeply moved. He gritted his teeth and made a difficult decision:

"Master, you have not yet mastered the art of martial arts, so you can just wait and see. I have received a favor from the master, so today I will sacrifice my life and forty years of martial arts to rescue your wife!

If you succeed, the three of us will meet at the Nanting Temple in the East City. If you fail, you will know that you are no match for us and run away as soon as possible."

The young man was greatly shocked, his lips trembled, and finally he bowed deeply with both hands:

"Uncle Wen, if this fails, I will flee the city and practice diligently. When I succeed, I will come back to take Zhao Duan's head to avenge today's vengeance!
If I cannot defeat him, I will find an opportunity to kill the women in his family. I will not be a human being if I do not take revenge on them."

The old servant smiled with relief.

He drew the dagger from his waist, leaped forward like a dead soldier, and jumped into the wall of a private residence.

After the people left, the boy's expression turned cold. He wiped the tears from his face, his expression was sarcastic and resentful, he spat and cursed:

"You old dog are so easy to deceive. Humph, do you think I don't know that you made peace with that bitch? You want to be my cheap daddy? Bah, what a thing, you should all die."

Suddenly, a voice of praise was heard:
"Wonderful! It's really wonderful. I didn't expect that the Zhou family is like a dragon. Zhou Cheng is a bad guy, and his illegitimate son is also a vicious person."

The boy was startled.

Turning his head, he saw a handsome young man slowly jumping down from the eaves behind him, with one hand on the hilt of a sword and the other holding a bright red candied haws.

"You are..." The boy's pupils suddenly narrowed and he reached out to touch the dagger under his robe.

Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"You want to kill my whole family, but how come you don't recognize me?"

Without waiting for the other party to reply, Zhao Duan drew his sword from its sheath, and a splash of bright red suddenly splashed onto the gray wall at the entrance of the alley.

The young man's head fell to the ground, slowly turning red, and the surface was covered with a layer of frost condensed from the cold air.

It looks like a huge bright red hawthorn candied haws.

"If you don't remove the roots, the grass will grow again in the spring breeze..."

Zhao Duan remained silent, shook off the blood on the blade of the sword, and slowly sheathed the sword.

He felt that the "Frost Sword" seized last time was a perfect match for the frost energy he had newly mastered.

"what--"

Qin Qu, who came over after hearing the noise, was so frightened that he fell to his knees with a plop and cried out in surprise.

Zhao Duan felt annoyed and stuffed the candied haws into his mouth:
"Don't make any noise."

"Well……"

At this time, several people jumped out from the courtyard wall, led by an old acquaintance, Zhang Han.

Zhang Han, the king of paralyzed face, glanced at the corpse in the alley and frowned:

"died?"

"He wanted to escape, but he didn't," Zhao Duan explained, and asked curiously:

"Where's the one who just went in?"

After he was promoted to a high-level mortal, his hearing became even stronger and he never heard any sound of fighting.

Zhang Han said indifferently:
"After the Zhou family servant entered the courtyard, he voluntarily dropped his knife and surrendered, saying that he had captured Zhou Cheng's illegitimate son, who was just outside the courtyard, and was willing to use this person to atone for his crime."

Zhao Duan was stunned.

Zhang Han's brows relaxed and he ordered his men to drag the corpse away.

She took out two heavy pearl-studded hairpins from her bosom and handed them to him:
"I wanted to give it to you after I got back to the government office. The government office has an unwritten rule for confiscating property, and everyone has a share. Don't worry, these are all clean items that have never been registered. I heard from Haitang that your two female relatives don't have any good jewelry."

Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, then accepted it with a smile.

He is a humble man who kills people and takes bribes. It is not unfair for people outside to scold him.

On the way back, you will reach the intersection.

Zhao Duan suddenly stopped and looked in the other direction of the street corner.

I saw another pair of master and servant, also quietly watching the Zhou residence being ransacked.

Xue Xuan, who was full of bookish air and a little thin-skinned, was reminded by Uncle Fu beside him. He turned his head and looked over. He bit his lip and suddenly bowed seriously from a distance.

"Brother, do you know that young lady? Do you want me to invite her over?"

Qin Qu held a candied haws in his mouth and acted ferociously.

Zhao Duan glared at him, nodded to Xue Xuan from a distance, then turned and left.

Although both pairs of master and servant were watching the Zhou family being raided, they had completely different attitudes towards him, which were as different as heaven and earth.

……

……

"Did anything happen to Dalang?"

Beside the carriage.

After a stroll through the jewelry shop, the mother and daughter returned empty-handed. When they saw him coming back, Eugene Hua keenly noticed that her stepson looked different.

"Nothing, just... met a few colleagues." Zhao Duan smiled.

"That's good," Eugene Hua breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled:

"After a stroll, it's time to go back."

Zhao Pan, a young, elegant and refined girl, looked at the jewelry shop with a reluctant look in her eyes.

But he didn't say anything and just said "yes" sensibly.

"You guys go back first, I'll go out and relax."

Zhao Duan said, reaching into his arms, and stuffed two warm and valuable hairpins into their arms, saying lightly, "These are given to you by my colleagues. Wear them."

As he said this, he walked straight into the crowd.

Only Eugene Hua and Zhao Pan were left standing there in a daze.

The mother and daughter, holding the pearls, gold, jade and hairpins in their hands, were in a daze.

The collection of the corrupt official Zhou Cheng.

At a glance, you can tell that it is more valuable than all the jewelry in the shop combined.

……

……

Zhao Duan walked through the city holding the black and red sword sheath.

Because it was the Qiqiao Festival, many young women on the street stopped to look at him, and some even blushed.

The empress is in power and the atmosphere is open.

Zhao Duan walked out from the crowd and came to a secluded place beside a small stone bridge, with more than a dozen pieces of women's silk in his arms.

He sighed softly and threw the silk into the bottom of the bridge.

Then I discovered that this stone bridge was the one where Zhu Kui committed suicide.

With a self-deprecating smile, Zhao Duan leaned on the railing and suddenly said:
"Come out, you've been following me all the way, sneaking around like a cloak and dagger. Are you a real person?"

Huh... A gentle breeze blows by, and the willows on the shore sway.

Silently, a figure appeared beside Zhao Duan.

It was a tall old priest wearing an ordinary cloth shirt, with white eyebrows and beard, narrow eyes and a ruddy face.

"Old Wang?" Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, and his tense heartstrings suddenly relaxed. He said speechlessly:

"why you?"

Zhang Yan, the Taoist master of Tianshi Mansion known as "Old Wang", one of the four "heavenly realms" today, and a god-like figure in the eyes of the people, smiled and said:

"Why can't it be the old one?"

Zhao Duan sighed:
"I thought an enemy had come to my house. I couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched."

"Oh? You have been promoted to a high level? Oh, your perception has become stronger." Zhang Yan pretended to be surprised.

With his level of cultivation, if he had intentionally concealed it, it would have been impossible for Zhao Duan to sense it, so he just revealed it deliberately.

"Of course, His Majesty personally helped me get promoted."

Zhao Duan said proudly:

"Give me another two years, and I might be better than you. Hey, go sit over there and talk."

Better than me... Zhang Yan smiled without saying anything:
"Okay."

……

……

At the tea stall.

"White tea for you two."

The tea seller carried a tin kettle with a long spout, shouted, and turned away.

Zhao Duan and Zhang Yanyi met for the third time.

Compared with the previous two times, I was less cautious and vigilant.

After a few pleasantries, Zhao Duan praised the effectiveness of the "Divine Talisman" and asked whether Jin Jian had brought the words he had asked him to bring last time.

Zhang Yan nodded with a smile and asked a few questions about his recent situation.

"...That's about it." Zhao Duan picked up the tea bowl, took a sip, and said with a smile:
"Don't talk about me. Lao Wang, you came here today. It can't be an accidental encounter, right?"

Zhang Yan smiled and said:

"Last time, my friend talked about the unkindness of heaven and the lofty theory of 'Tao follows nature'. It was quite profound. After I went back, I pondered over it every time and could not add or delete even a single word. I was deeply impressed. Today, I come to ask for your advice again."

Zhao Duan rubbed his fingers with a smile:

"That's fine, but the price..."

Zhang Yan didn't know whether to laugh or cry:

"I just copied a few of your words, why are you so mercenary?"

Zhao Duan said seriously:

"Old Wang, what you said is not right. Since you are cultivating the Way of Heaven, have you forgotten what I told you before? The Way of Heaven is to reduce the surplus and replenish the deficiency. You have surplus, and I am very deficient."

The old Taoist priest was speechless, shook his head and laughed:
"How can the Way of Heaven be explained in this way? When monks discuss the Way, it is a noble matter, but when it comes to you, it seems like a business transaction."

Zhao Duan said seriously:

"Don't think that the way of business is lowly. It is a profound knowledge."

The old Taoist priest said with a smile:
"Okay, I won't argue with you. I've been editing books for my disciples these days and I'm worried about some words. If you can give me some inspiration, you will definitely benefit from it."

All right... Zhao Duan reluctantly said:
"What are you asking?"

If this attitude were known to the world, it would surely make countless people beat their chests and stamp their feet.

Being able to sit and discuss Taoism with Master Zhang is an opportunity that countless powerful people would be eager to have.

Even the empress rarely receives such treatment.

But Zhao Duan not only did not cherish it or feel any fear, he even looked like a miser who was worried about being taken advantage of.

The old Taoist priest was not annoyed and said with a smile:
“It’s not a new problem, it’s just that the young disciples below, although they understand cultivation, still don’t know the key points of cultivation.

As you explained the word "Tao" last time, although I can understand it, most of the young disciples cannot tell the difference between spiritual practice and cultivating the Tao.

I think that practicing Taoism means worshipping the gods of the 'Way of Heaven', and practicing is to use oneself as a vessel to contain the great power of heaven and earth. What do you think of this interpretation?"

"Can't you tell the difference between Tao and Qi?"

Zhao Duan thought about it, and suddenly remembered a sentence from the Book of Changes, which seemed appropriate. He pondered for a moment and then slowly recited:

“What is metaphysical is called Tao, and what is metaphysical is called tool.”

"Just as yin and yang are the Tao, this is my humble opinion."

Thanks to Di Ting Feng Yu for the 1500 points reward!

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(End of this chapter)