Chapter 13: The heavens move in a strong and self-renewing way; the gentleman constantly strengthens himself without resting.
Rushing to the new person chart, urgently seeking recommendation votes and collections, hoping everyone will generously assist, letting Ten Steps truly take ten steps to kill one person, leaving no trail for a thousand miles, killing all the way to the top ten!
Looking at the approaching Zhao Qianye and the other, Taiyun's expression changed for a moment before quickly returning to calm, a smile appearing on his face: "It's just that several of my junior brothers from Qingxin Courtyard wanted to exchange skills with you two, but unfortunately they got a bit out of hand. I didn't think it would disturb you two seniors, this is all Taiyun's fault."
Zhao Qianye's eyes flashed with a cold glint as he gazed deeply at Taiyun, who couldn't help but take a step back, his face pale with alarm. It seemed that Zhao Qianye's cultivation was not far off from the other two. Knowing that things were getting out of hand, Taiyun forced a smile and said, "If there's nothing else, we'll take our leave first. Qingxin Temple still has some miscellaneous matters to attend to, so as not to delay the two senior brothers." With that, he turned around and was about to leave.
"Wait a minute—"
Tai Yun's footsteps paused, but he didn't turn around, and the three people following behind him also stopped at the same time.
Staring at the backs of the four people, Zhao Qianye said in a low voice: "The same thing, I don't want it to happen again." Although Zhao Qianye spoke calmly, all four people, including Taiyun, felt a deep chill rising in their hearts and didn't dare stay any longer, quickly leaving with hastened steps.
It was night, in front of the Zizhu Courtyard, a large wooden bucket about half a person's height, with mist rising continuously from it. Lu Qing sat cross-legged inside the bucket, the water had almost reached his shoulders, and various newly picked medicinal materials were floating on the surface of the water. By the side of the bucket, Duan Qingyun was testing the water temperature with one hand while putting golden osmanthus, cassia twig, white mustard seed, and fructus aurantii into the water from a nearby medicine basket. These were all medicines that could reduce swelling and warm the meridians, which suited Lu Qing's current condition.
Although two or three hours have passed, the congestion in Lu Qing's eyes has not completely dissipated, and he has not spoken a word during this time. As the medicinal properties of the water continued to penetrate his skin and meridians, his originally swollen shoulders and knee joints gradually began to heat up, and the swelling slowly subsided. The meridians, stimulated by the medicinal properties, slowly began to gather yuanqi, and the Xuanyi Heart Meridian also automatically started operating in Lu Qing's subconscious, drawing in the imperceptible heavenly yuanqi from the surroundings, which entered his body through his skin.
Lu Qing didn't know how he got back to the Purple Bamboo Temple, his vision was a blur of blood, and his mind was even more muddled. The only thing that was clear was the sound of his own labored breathing. As the medicine took effect, the bloodiness in his eyes receded, and Lu Qing stared fixedly at the swirling mist in front of him. Everything seemed so unreal. Why was he here? What was he doing here? Where was this place? Where were his father and mother?
In front of the Purple Bamboo Institute, Zhao Qianye and Yu Jihua stood shoulder to shoulder, looking at Lu Qing's bewildered eyes. Yu Jihua couldn't help but sigh: "After all, he is still a child..." Meanwhile, Zhao Qianye's eyes flickered upon hearing this, lost in thought.
After nearly an hour of fuss, Lu Qing had put on his clothes under Duan Qingyun's treatment. The injuries on his body were only superficial wounds, and with the medicinal properties of Duan Qingyun's medicine bath, they had already healed more than half. The swelling on his face had also dissipated by more than half, and it was almost imperceptible now. However, until now, he still hadn't said a word, and his expression was wooden and devoid of any vitality.
"Are you satisfied?"
Lu Qing only felt a darkness in front of his eyes, and a figure had already appeared before him. His line of sight gradually converged, and he could see that it was Zhao Qianye who had somehow stood in front of him.
"Third Brother---" Duan Qingyun opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped by Yu Jihua's hand gesture, pulling him back to the side of Zi Zhu.
Without saying a word, Lu Qing stared at Zhao Qianye with an expressionless face. "Bastard——" Just as he heard Zhao Qianye's cold shout, Lu Qing felt a sharp pain in his stomach, as if the intestines inside were all tangled together, and his body flew out backwards with great force.
One side's Duan Qingyun suddenly became anxious, wanting to go up and stop him. Beside him, Yu Jihua saw the situation and hurriedly pointed out a few numbers with his right hand, releasing a sword energy that struck Duan Qingyun's body, sealing his dantian's sword yuan. With his left hand, he pressed down on Duan Qingyun's movement, "I know you're feeling guilty, but if you don't want him to sink like this, then you'd better stay here quietly."
Her figure paused for a moment, and Duan Qingyun's face changed color, but ultimately calmed down, only to turn around reluctantly, no longer looking at Lu Qing.
On the other hand, Lu Qing slammed into the railing in front of the house and slid down. His originally injured body was even more like a scattered frame after this collision. With great difficulty, he propped himself up and stared at Zhao Qianye with some disbelief.
"Do you feel wronged?" Zhao Qianye walked step by step, her eyes cold and unyielding without a hint of sympathy. "In my opinion, Gong Yang was still lenient today, do you still feel wronged?" Her left foot kicked Lu Qing's chest again, and his body, which had been barely standing, flew out to the left once more, scraping out a clear mark on the ground before stopping.
A sweetness rose in his throat, and a mouthful of accumulated blood could no longer be endured, spitting it out. Lu Qing's eyes turned red again, and his hands trembled as he tried to get up.
"What? You didn't dare to resist in front of Gong Yangyu, but you're being stubborn in front of me?" With a flash of movement, Lu Qing only felt a dizziness in his eyes, and his body flew out again, falling back to the original place where the wooden bucket was placed, facing the direction of the front house.
Sneering at Lu Qing, who was lying on the ground, Zhao Qianye said again: "Don't think you're some kind of so-called successor to the Lu family. The pride you have is nothing but a fart in my eyes. If that's all you've got, then I have to question the thousand-year-old status of the Lu family."
With both hands grasping the mud on the ground, Lu Qing's ten fingers were all bleeding. He lowered his head and let out a roar like a wild beast, then struggled to get up again. "You can humiliate me, but you cannot humiliate my Lu family!" he bellowed, and with an unsteady gait, Lu Qing charged towards Zhao Qianye.
The corner of his mouth revealed a hint of disdain, not to mention that before Lu Qing was injured, there was an insurmountable gap between him and Zhao Qianye. Now that he's been injured and Zhao Qianye's last few kicks almost scattered all the energy he had recovered, how could he possibly hurt Zhao Qianye in the slightest?
Almost without using any of his sword energy, Zhao Qianye slightly shifted his body to the side and dodged Lu Qing's punch. His right palm followed through with a slap, and the sword energy in his palm was released, striking Lu Qing's back. This slap from Zhao Qianye clearly used several points of strength, sending Lu Qing flying an even greater distance than before, crashing into the front door with a loud thud, unable to get back up again.
Suddenly appearing in front of Lu Qing, Zhao Qianye's expression returned to calmness. With a lowered head, she locked eyes with Lu Qing's unwilling gaze for a long time. Finally, Zhao Qianye spoke up: "You must remember, how others view the Lu family is not something you can stop, nor is it something that will change just because you say so. Status and glory are not things that can be self-proclaimed."
Pausing for a moment, Zhao Qianye continued: "If you want to take revenge on me for what I said and did tonight, I'll be waiting. However, the prerequisite is that you must have strength comparable to mine; otherwise, it's just self-inflicted humiliation." After finishing speaking, he didn't even bother with Lu Qing and turned to leave.
Staring blankly at the door panel in front of him, Lu Qing's mind was a mess. Zhao Qianye's words were like a sharp sword that pierced deep into his brain. Although he resented Zhao Qianye's indifference, he couldn't deny that what he said was the truth he didn't want to admit. Indeed, when facing Gong Yangyu's humiliation today, he had given up in the end. Was that the reaction he should have had? Or was he just a weak person by nature?
"Don't you understand yet?" Before he knew it, Yu Jiuhua had already arrived beside Lu Qing. "Look up and take a look at the inscription on the stone slab above the door."
The inscription, Lu Qing murmured a sentence, raised his head to look up, on the door frame was a gray stone slab three feet long and two feet wide. Because it was hung relatively high, plus the eaves blocking it, Lu Qing didn't notice it even after entering and exiting several times.
At this moment, he saw that on it were carved twenty large characters in a square shape: "Heaven moves strongly, gentlemen constantly self-improve! Earth's movement is gentle, gentlemen carry things with virtue!" The words were obviously engraved by someone using a sword to draw each character, every word revealing a deep and profound aura, thick like a mountain. The strokes between the characters were firm and decisive, ending as soon as they began. At first glance, his heart was deeply shocked. "Heaven moves strongly, gentlemen constantly self-improve; Earth's movement is gentle, gentlemen carry things with virtue." Lu Qing murmured to himself.
"Not bad," Yu Jihua responded with a hint of nostalgia on his face, "This was inscribed by an ancestor from the 11th generation. He entered the sect at the age of 16 and due to his low cultivation level, he often suffered bullying, but he never held any grudges or gave up on his pursuit of swordsmanship. With his decent innate talent and rare insight into swordsmanship, under the guidance of our sect's 10th generation ancestor, he made rapid progress over the next 16 years. He built his foundation as a swordsman in two years, broke through to the second realm of swordsmanship in three years, and with the cultivation level of a sword master, comprehended the intent of the sword in ten years. Six years later, he suddenly enlightened and became a Sword King, condensing his sword soul, creating a legendary tale for our Chao Yang Peak and even the entire Purple Mist Sect."
"And these twenty words were written by him when he returned to his hometown four years later as the newly appointed Chief Justice. Perhaps you know this person too." As he said this, Yu Ji and Lu Qing exchanged a meaningful glance, "His surname is Lu..."
His surname is Lu! Lu Qing was suddenly shocked, and his mind flashed back to the scene of entering the ancestral temple every time. The empty spirit tablet on the left side below, the fifth generation of the Lu family, the unworthy son, Lu Tian Shu.
Lu Tian Shu, perhaps people remember the Lu family's five hundred years ago as a generation of sword casting masters, Lu Tian Han, but if it comes to the way of the sword, only Lu Tian Shu can make people remember the Lu family's descendants. He is one of the three great sword emperors of the Purple Mist Sect, which has been built for over 1,600 years, but few people know that these two were originally brothers. Because Lu Tian Shu was infatuated with the way of the sword at a young age, he abandoned his ancestral casting skills and pursued the elusive ultimate swordsmanship. The head of the Lu family at that time was furious and expelled him from the family tree. Even now, the position in the ancestral hall is known to Lu Qing, which was discovered by his father Lu Yun when he was alive and flipping through the family's classics, but due to the ancestor's teachings, he couldn't create a spiritual tablet for him, so he could only burn a few incense sticks for him every five years during the ancestral worship.
