Chapter 822 - 247: Old Wang’s Story
Chapter Two Hundred Forty-Seven [Old Wang’s Story] (6200)
Old Wang finally told Chen Yan a story.
A story about himself.
·
Many, many years ago, during a selection for preparatory disciples at the Celestial Demon Yin Yang Joyful Sect, there was a young man named Wang Guishan among that batch of disciples.
Wang Guishan’s background was somewhat better than that of many of the other preparatory disciples of his time.
He wasn’t purely a loose cultivator by birth—his father was an outer disciple of the Celestial Demon Yin Yang Joyful Sect. However, due to limited talent, he didn’t stay within the sect to cultivate. Instead, he was sent elsewhere to manage the sect’s local enterprises, acting as a minor steward.
He also took a wife and had children locally—marrying a woman from an insignificant cultivator family, who was also a low-level cultivator.
Oh, in the cultivation realm, such behavior isn’t called taking a wife, the more sophisticated term is: Dao companion.
Wang Guishan was born into such a family. His father was an outer disciple of the prestigious Saint Sect, as well as a minor steward—an identity that might be insignificant before the great masters but carries some weight among ordinary cultivators.
Fortunately, Wang Guishan had a decent talent, at least stronger than his father.
With a father who was a disciple of a Saint Sect, it was natural for his father to arrange for Wang Guishan to go to the Celestial Demon Yin Yang Joyful Sect to participate in the selection for preparatory disciples.
This was the best future his father could think of for him.
Wang Guishan’s initial journey on the path of cultivation was relatively smooth. His innate talent was good, plus his father was a disciple of the sect, which was a kind of familial bond.
During that batch’s selection, one of the outer disciples responsible for the examination was also an acquaintance of his father, and they took good care of Wang Guishan.
As a result, Wang Guishan didn’t have to exert much effort during the selection and successfully stood out, ultimately becoming an outer disciple.
Wang Guishan had a serene temperament, not fond of conflict. He had a good rapport among the outer sect, with fellow disciples willing to befriend him, and even the mentors liked his calm nature.
He once apprenticed under a good master, an elder in the outer sect who specialized in alchemy and herb identification. Wang Guishan himself wasn’t fond of combative cultivation paths; rather, he was quite diligent when it came to the patience-requiring path of herb identification and alchemy.
Later, he also dabbled in artifact refining and artifact creation.
It can be said that for over a decade in the sect, Wang Guishan followed a "technology nerd" kind of path.
Imagine a peer brother like him, not eager for competition, just enjoying tinkering with spiritual herbs and flowers in the herb field, either secluding himself in the alchemy room engrossed in concoctions or making interesting little magical artifacts in the artifact refining room.
He was kind to people; anyone who had a good relationship with him would find him smiling and attentive to whatever they needed.
In the end, he would hand over one or two pills he had refined himself to brothers facing difficult situations.
Who wouldn’t like a fellow brother like that?
Combined with his truly good talent, both in alchemy and artifact refining, everything went smoothly.
Even his master had high hopes for him: "Your temperament is naturally suited for this path of ours. If you diligently pursue it, in fifty or sixty years, you’re sure to have a place among the outer elders."
Then, a mishap occurred.
·
When Wang Guishan was in his thirties, he once went down the mountain and brought back a person.
A little girl.
Wang Guishan found her in a deserted mortal village that had been ravaged by evil demons, leaving it desolate and empty.
While drawing water from a well in the abandoned village, Wang Guishan saw the little girl lying beside the collapsed wooden fence.
She was so starved that she was barely clinging to life.
Wang Guishan, kind and serene, gave the little girl something to eat, saving her life.
He left a bottle of fasting pills for the little girl, intending to leave.
However, as he walked away, the little girl followed him the entire way.
He walked several miles, and the little girl followed several miles. Finally, when Wang Guishan turned around, he found that the little girl had fainted by the roadside, her feet bloody.
Wang Guishan turned back.
In the next three days and nights, he asked for clues from the little girl’s mouth, took her with him, trekked across three nearby mountains, and personally slew two evil demons plaguing the nearby mortal villages, avenging the little girl’s entire village.
Just as he planned to take the little girl to a populated place to find a good family to take her in, the little girl said something to Wang Guishan.
"You slayed the evil demons and avenged my village; you are my benefactor."
"Please, take me with you. I want to follow you, serve you, and learn your skills—I can be with you for a lifetime, respecting you, serving you, attending to you..."
These words did not move Wang Guishan.
But the little girl finally said one thing.
"That day you left, I followed you all the way. Actually, you are an immortal; if you wanted to shake me off, I couldn’t have caught up with you. You deliberately walked slowly so that I could follow you, didn’t you?"
Wang Guishan fell silent.
He was a disciple of the Celestial Demon Yin Yang Joyful Sect, trained to face the heart demon directly.
Another term for it is "seeing nature, illuminating the mind."
One cannot deceive the true thoughts within one’s heart.
Wang Guishan brought the little girl back to the sect.
He settled the girl at the foot of the outer sect’s mountain, in a nearby village, providing her a small courtyard to live in.
She stayed there for three years.
During those three years, Wang Guishan often went down the mountain to see the little girl.