Chapter 565 - The Taste of Dao
The tent that held Guan Longzi captive was looked after by mere ordinary soldiers, and control was not established. But if he left, these people would surely die since no one dared to harbor any suspicions towards this matter.
Deep down, all the soldiers respected Guan Longzi. Although they dared not to set up the camp with luxury, they cleaned it thoroughly. The books or antiques that were seized from the allied armies of the Dongyi were sent to him, but no one was brave enough to speak to him.
Guan Longzi did not step out as well but merely sat at ease in the tent.
Then nightfall came. A sole brightness emanated from the tent. Emperor Xia had yet to take the Lamp of Yin and Yang from Guan Longzi.
A woman clothed in grand purple came in with an air of elegance. Once the guards saw her, they knelt down and gave her a salute. The woman was Lei Jing. She won the battle with Wuding, and cultivated to surpa.s.s the older generation, with the aim of establis.h.i.+ng authority in the Xia army.
Furthermore, Lei Jing beheaded two seasoned warriors of the Yous.h.i.+"s in this punitive expedition of the Dongyi Allied Armies β those two were Nanqiao and Dongyou.
Nanqiao was a Tree Man. He possessed endless vitality. A number of the Xia army had been strangled to death by his branches. In the end, one blow of Lei Jing"s Lightning Technique was all it took to extinguish his vitality.
Dongyou once learned closely guarded witchcraft techniques. He could incorporate himself into the wind where no person could see, enabling him to silently kill a few of the high-ranking military officers of the Xia army. However, Lei Jing"s Summoning of Wind and Rain forced him into exposing his silhouette, and he died by getting ripped to shreds.
Lei Jing"s contribution was by no means modest. Because Emperor Xia had no woman, it was rumored that he intended to make Lei Jing his princess by virtue of her contributions. This would have the effect of inheriting the position of the High Priest. In the event of this occurrence, the Youhu would be poised to welcome their most golden era yet. That was the reason why many clans wished to be connected to the Lei family through marriage, even if they might have to pay a heavy price in doing so.
However, it was only the Youhu"s who knew all too well that they were already unable to constrain Lei Jing.
Guan Longzi was likened to an untouchable volcano, but Lei Jing still brought him food and met him daily.
Lei Jing brought his food into the tent all by herself. Guan Longzi was carrying and looking at a tortoisesh.e.l.l that had been used to record writings. Those writings were trivial matters, but he looked to be absorbed in them. The expression on his face was peaceful, and he did not let his captivity sully his countenance.
Only when Lei Jing was close to him did he place the tortoisesh.e.l.l down. He peered into the food and said, "Why is there no meat again today?"
Guan Longzi then sighed, "Daoist Shen once said, one rather have a house not made with bamboo, than to have a meal without meat. Now I profoundly accept that he is correct."
As soon as she heard Guan Longzi speaking about her "teacher", a complex set of feelings could be seen in her expression. In reality, she had already understood that her past thoughts were merely wishful thinking. Her teacher was indeed an odd man, different as compared with the crowd, and she had absolutely no way of letting him linger on to anyone. Not even her.
He was like a cloud. With just a turn of her body, she may never meet him again.
All these moods pa.s.sed through like a flash and Lei Jing sternly replied, "Master Guan, I will have you know that in the beginning, uncle was prepared to give you molten metal to drink and copper beans to eat. If it were not for me sneakily ensuring that they never sent it to you and suffering whatever consequences that arise from my actions, you would not so much as to have even these vegetarian meals."
Guan Longzi chuckled, "I do bear some slight discontent, but you need not be angry, Jing."
Lei Jing plainly told him, "If I was angry, I would not have brought you food every day."
A speechless Guan Longzi let out a smile, opened the box, and slowly started to eat. Even though it was a vegetarian meal, it was still incredibly exquisite. There was lotus seed soup slow-cooked by stewing over a small flame, white Dim Sum that looked like a heap of snow, and bamboo shoots that were tender and juicy. These ingredients in particular, all contained soulful aura. Even more remarkable were the cooks behind the dishes. They showed great ingenuity. The delicate heat control used in the preparation of the lotus seed soup was like the life-giving spring breeze, permeating the water as well as each and every ingredient, cooking them evenly. Not only did the flavor and freshness of each separate ingredient remain intact, the separate components of the dish were a complement to each other. It was an experience hard to come by.
Like clouds blown away by a strong wind, the food was gone in an instant. A happy and satisfied Guan Longzi muttered, "I have forgotten how meat tastes like."
Lei Jing knit her eyebrows and asked him, "Is it really that good?"
Guan Longzi replied, "This meal is delicious not only in the normal sense of the world but also in the Dao sense of the world. Ruling a large nation is like cooking a small delicacy. Whoever the cooks are, they must surely be extraordinary people."
His words were not empty. Just from that bowl of lotus soup, it was as if Guan Longzi saw a Daoist that had a thorough understanding of the Great Way. That Daoist was vastly different from Shen Lian and he was also a person who possessed an extremely bright secular characteristic.
Lei Jing said, "Are you talking about the chef? He is quite an oddity indeed. He may just be a slave, but many of the aristocrats were willing to befriend and engage in scholarly conversations with him. Just a few days ago, my father beckoned him to take an official post. He refused and instead offered to be my entourage. Father said that even if a person like him did not take an official post, he would not be able to go anywhere. It was better for him to stay here, and so I accepted his offer.
Since Master Guan did not find vegetarian food to be appetizing, I thought of finding a better cook from the army. I did not expect that he would offer himself for the job and even managed to cook up meals that were very delicious indeed. That is why I brought his dishes for you. It never crossed my mind that you would look up to him."
In his heart, Guan Longzi knew that this person was certainly a genius. Nonetheless, he felt quite pitiful. If Emperor Xia could not accommodate Guan Longzi, then surely the emperor could not accommodate this genius. A thing or two could be understood from the unwillingness to take up an official position. Furthermore, Guan Longzi himself understood that the Prefect Grand Usher was a person whose circ.u.mstances not many people understood in the current Xia. And under the Prefect Grand Usher"s flattery of Emperor Xia, there was a firm killing heart. Evidently, the genius saw through this and decided to decline the official post, choosing instead to give himself to Lei Jing, avoiding a disaster capable of taking one"s life in the process.
Wisdom is no small matter and must be taken seriously. Guan Longzi"s soul-searching and knowledge was as vast as the sea. But as for the ability to survive, he might fall short of the other party.
Guan Longzi said, "Enough about him. Today"s meal was extremely delightful, and my salute goes to your charitableness, Jing. I, Guan Longzi, have nothing on me but some old ideas and advice 1 that can be used to return your favor. It seems untimely, but within those old ideas there still some crudeness. If Jing is in no hurry, is it possible for you to listen for a bit?"
Lei Jing wanted to decline at first, but after seeing that sorrow was the reality behind his seemingly unaffected state, she thought to herself, "How could uncle do this to him? Uncle has crossed the line. I should talk to Guan Longzi and keep him company for a while."
What she did not understand was that Guan Longzi"s sorrow arose not from his situation, but rather because he was mulling over the fact that the genius at Xia was unwilling to take up an official post. It was clear that Emperor Xia had already broken the hearts of many in Xia. There might be layers upon layers of goodness, but one wrongdoing might just cause one to be sent to the flames.
Guan Longzi might be buried with Xia Kingdom, but at least the knowledge on him would be pa.s.sed on.
Although he had given Lianshan to Shen Lian, the truth was that some of the knowledge within it could not easily be understood in its true meaning by anyone, unless Guan Longzi himself personally explained it to them.
Perhaps Guan Longzi wanted, even more, to entrust his Confucian orthodoxy to the people of Xia. If Xia Kingdom collapsed in the future, Lei Jing was also one of the few who would survive it. Naturally, no one was more befitting of receiving this entrustment than Lei Jing.
Lei Jing did not understand the complicatedness within Guan Longzi"s heart. She only felt that her current divine thoughts knew that Guan Longzi"s words are so, but did not understand why they were so. All she could do now was use a tremendous amount of memory power to remember everything that he told her, and think deeply about it later on.
After speaking for a long time, Guan Longzi still had not fully expressed himself and wished to continue, but he was afraid that if he did continue, Lei Jing might not remember it all.
Guan Longzi paused, then told her, "Jing, if there is anything you do not understand, you can ask that cook of yours. It is inevitable that you will gain something from him." θΏθ
- Literally means "old ideas", or outdated. However in this case, it is Guan Longzi speaking with some form humbleness.