Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Five Thunderclaps Strike the Head!
Outside Cyan Mountain Village.
After Su Changqing and the others left, Er Niu walked forward for a long distance and waited for a long while, finally catching sight of the person he yearned for.
"Hahaha, Qing Qiu, over here!"
Er Niu waved his hand excitedly and was the first to go up and greet him.
"Still as unreliable as ever."
Ling Si rubbed his brow seeming troubled, but his eyes carried a hint of amusement.
"Greetings, elder."
Though excited, Er Niu didn’t forget his manners and bowed to Wei Cang.
"To be a Sword Cultivator of the fourth realm at such a young age, that’s rare."
Wei Cang’s eyes flashed with surprise, not expecting the suddenly appearing youth to possess such remarkable cultivation.
"Teacher, he is from the Su family, and it’s the elder we are visiting this time that he introduced to me."
Ling Si explained from the side.
"Su family? The South Territory Su family?"
Wei Cang realized it made sense for someone from the Su family to have such cultivation.
Yet, he looked at Er Niu curiously and asked, "Why is a Su family member not in Celestial South City, but here in this remote wilderness?"
"Well..."
Er Niu replied awkwardly, "I hope elder will forgive me, for it concerns the Su family’s secrets, and I cannot divulge it."
"Later, I’ll need to trouble you, elder, when we reach the place, not to expose your cultivation or Divine Sense, otherwise... it will be troublesome."
Surely troublesome, the Patriarch would suppress you at the moment.
Ling Si secretly complained about the rules in the southern region, how could they not freely expose their cultivation.
Wei Cang was much calmer, after all, they were visiting a hermit of the Confucian path, some peculiar hobbies were nothing unusual.
"Lead the way."
...
Cyan Mountain Village, Study Room.
"Teacher, I’ve been out for a day, I’ll first go back and let my parents know I’m safe."
Once almost done tidying up, Su Changqing spoke.
"Wait a moment."
Li Qingchen waved his hand, calling Su Changqing closer, then pulled out an item from his bosom.
"What a beautiful white lotus."
Looking at the lotus, lifelike, and as if made of white jade, Su Changqing couldn’t help but admire.
But then he frowned, feeling his chest heat up, instinctively reaching out to grab a simple compass appeared.
"Strange, why is it so hot?"
Su Changqing’s face showed confusion, but upon seeing the white lotus in Li Qingchen’s hand emitting a faint glow, he was suddenly shocked,
"This... This white lotus belongs to the compass?"
"Is this compass truly a sacred treasure?"
Su Changqing’s face showed joy, not expecting his father to really have picked up a treasure.
"It truly is the Eight-Treasure Compass of the Bodhisattva of Good Deeds..."
Li Qingchen’s eyes held a serious look, he could feel a tremendously powerful energy within the compass.
And the originally lifeless white lotus, upon sensing the compass, seemed to develop consciousness, wanting to detach from his palm.
"Chang Qing, do not easily show this compass to others in the future." Li Qingchen solemnly instructed.
"I understand, teacher!"
Su Changqing nodded earnestly.
He perfectly understood the principle of ’the innocent bystander will be the one to get hurt.’ How could a mere mortal end up with a sacred treasure?
If discovered, others would definitely kill to snatch it!
Li Qingchen nodded, took Su Changqing’s compass, and then embedded the white lotus in it.
Instantly, the room was filled with splendor, the compass’s hub rotated rapidly, complex patterns continuously emerged, as if undergoing a mysterious transformation.
Su Changqing, a mere mortal, had never seen such a scene, for a moment his face was full of excitement, his heart pounding.
After a while, the compass calmed, and Li Qingchen handed it back to Su Changqing,
"This compass has significant connections with Buddhism, in the coming days I’ll get you some Buddhist scriptures, see if you can comprehend anything."
He couldn’t understand the compass, but maybe Chang Qing could, his comprehension... could be considered terrifying.
"Thank you, teacher!" Su Changqing replied joyfully upon hearing this.
"Go now, come again tomorrow."
Seeing Su Changqing’s impatient look, Li Qingchen laughed and waved him off.
Su Changqing happily bowed and then darted off like the wind.
"In these two years of study, it’s rare to see you showing such youthful exuberance."
Li Qingchen chuckled, shaking his head, then looking at Su Changqing’s departing figure, sighed lightly,
"Run slower. After leaving the village in a few days, it will be... rivers and lakes."
...
Outside Cyan Mountain Village.
With Er Niu leading, the trio quickly arrived at the village entrance.
As they approached, an empty space ahead opened a portal like flowing water.
"A barrier?"
Wei Cang was surprised, "What a grand design."
Establishing a barrier isn’t easy, at least requiring the peak of a Great Saint, close to an Emperor’s cultivation.
"Could that Confucian elder be a quasi-emperor?"
Wei Cang was guessing inwardly, subconsciously stepping into the village.
At this moment in the village, because of Su Changqing’s return, the Su family members were all diligently farming in the fields.
Wei Cang didn’t care much initially, but once he looked closely, his eyes widened.
"A Saint?"
"And a King of Saints?"
"Hiss... A Great Saint carrying manure?!"
Looking at the villagers in the fields, Wei Cang was completely dumbfounded.
He had seen many great scenes, but this one thoroughly shocked him.
The people gathered here... were formidable enough to take over a holy land!
Yet they were farming?
"Please don’t mind, they are all members of the Su family."
Noticing Wei Cang’s shock, Er Niu explained.
"You brat, you should have said so earlier!"
Wei Cang exclaimed in a fluster, "You guys go take a look around, I’ll go visit the elders."
Wei Cang initially thought there was only one Confucian hermit here, but it turned out to be a group of hermits!
Among them were a few who were already renowned across the continent when he was young.
A child could be ignorant, but he at least had some reputation, so he naturally needed to pay respects, not missing etiquette.
Thinking this, Wei Cang ignored the mud under his feet, quickly heading to the fields.
Once Wei Cang was gone, the tension holding Er Niu eased significantly.
"Qing Qiu, what happened in that competition, how did you lose?"
Finally daring to ask, Er Niu’s voice sounded.
"Just not as skilled."
Ling Si kicked a stone at his feet, dejectedly, "That person’s talent is terrifying, I didn’t even qualify to compete with them."
"Hey, what are you talking about? Raising the spirit of that jerk."
Seeing Ling Si’s dejection, Er Niu was heartbroken, patting his chest he said:
"I have a brother who also studies the Confucian path, his skills and literary talent are unparalleled among peers."
"Next time, you invite that jerk out, and I’ll let my brother teach him a good lesson, to vent your anger!"
Ling Si found this amusing and looked at Er Niu, "Forget it, don’t let that jerk hurt your brother."
"You practice swordsmanship, you don’t understand how terrifying my junior brother’s achievements in the Confucian path are."
Er Niu immediately felt dissatisfied, speaking out: "Come with me, I’ll show you how strong my brother is!"
With that said, Er Niu grabbed Ling Si and headed to the study room.
It was quite coincidental.
Just as Su Changqing, who was full of excitement, was heading home, suddenly heard a voice from behind.
"Chang Qing, Chang Qing, wait a moment."
Su Changqing paused, turned his head, and was immediately stunned.
"Sis... Sister?"
On the other side, Ling Si was also stunned.
Seeing the familiar face of the young man called by Er Niu, she stood there as if struck by lightning!