GDC: V1C25. The Precious Cauldron’s Thief, Du Family’s Junior Enters the School
In these two months, while Zhang Yan was closed up and practicing, there had been some changes on Cangwu Mountain.
Zheng Xun, who was summoned back to his Zheng Family, had successfully opened his meridians. And his meridian’s type had also been appraised from top to bottom. He undoubtedly had a great future as he began to tread on the path to immortality henceforth. Soon, he would go to the Upper Court and then practice more superior cultivation laws, and hence, he would neither spare a glance nor had any attachment with the Lower Court.
At this time, there was a stream of people flocking toward the Lower Court. Since Zheng Xun had left, the outer disciple’s position had one vacant seat. Therefore some novice disciples who came from prominent families were flocking here for this reason. As many had expected, Lin Yuan took the head disciple’s position in the Lower Court. And now, the front door of his cave mansion was almost trod broken by someone.
It was Lin Yuan’s brother; to be precise it was his younger cousin, Lin Tong, who also desperately exhorted all of his efforts to take over the outer disciple’s vacant seat. But Lin Yuan actually didn’t pay any attention to him.
Although Lin Yuan was now in the role as the head disciple. But after all, it was not officially decreed. Moreover, Shi Shoujing had long taken a liking to Ai Zhongwen, and the latter also had a vast personal network in the school. If there were no unexpected occurrences, Ai Zhongwen had the biggest chance to be promoted into an outer disciple.
Lin Yuan and Ai Zhongwen’s relationship had gotten worse because of the issue with Zhang Yan’s incident. However, Ai Zhongwen was originally from the Anfeng Ai Family after all [1], which made it inconvenient for Lin Yuan to suppress him.
After Lin Tong realized that he couldn’t change Lin Yuan’s mind, he then went to find Chen Lan, who he also had a good relationship with. But he didn’t know why Chen Lan was also giving him an ambiguous att.i.tude and refused to stand up and speak for him. He instead intentionally mentioned about the lacking of concocting pills’ equipment in an ambiguous manner.
Lin Tong was confused, what and where can he obtain that alchemy equipment?
After asking around, he then understood. Originally, Chen Lan seemed to hint that the Grandmaster Shi Shoujing had given Zhang Yan the Impurity Purification Cauldron.
Lin Tong immediately thought of some plan, “I heard that Zhang Yan and Ai Zhongwen are on good terms. I could as well ask him to persuade Zhang Yan to hand over that precious cauldron…”
Who would have thought that when he just opened his mouth in front of Ai Zhongwen, he was scolded by him at once.
Tasting such bitter rebuff here, Lin Tong couldn’t help but secretly curse in his heart, “I will put you in the spotlight after I become an outer disciple!”
As he was leaving the place, he felt that he would be unable to convince Zhang Yan to hand over that precious cauldron. He then finally steeled his resolution, “If there’s no other way, then the only way left is to steal that precious cauldron!”
Ling Tong was well aware that Zhang Yan was a martial arts expert and didn’t dare to rush recklessly. He also inquired that Zhang Yan lived alone in his cave mansion and didn’t have any servant. He then decided to steal the precious cauldron when Zhang Yan was not in his cave, hide the cauldron in the ravine and take it out at night, and then send it to Chen Lan.
“After Senior Brother Chen receive this cauldron, he would surely stand up for me!”
Lin Tong secretly steeled his heart, he waited for days and nights around the Star Peak vicinity, carefully observing from a distant. However, Zhang Yan didn’t seem to have a plan to leave and just continuously practiced. He painstakingly waited for more than two months and was almost falling into despair. But he suddenly found that Zhang Yan was taken away by a white-robed cultivator, which instantly made him overjoyed. Unwilling to miss this golden opportunity, he hurriedly rushed forward. As he probed and looked into Zhang Yan’s cave mansion, he found no other person’s trace inside. So he rushed toward the big cauldron.
But he suddenly heard a cold voice sounded from his side, “Who are you?”
Lin Tong was startled. He quickly turned his head and saw an enchanting peerless beauty standing there.
This beauty’s eyebrows were skillfully painted, with bewitching and mesmerizing eyes, voluptuous and exquisite curves. Her exposed neck revealed a glittering white jade-like delicate skin, making the blood of the people who looked at her flow faster.
Lin Tong fell into a daze before he finally said, “Are you Zhang Yan’s maid? Tsk… tsk… such a young and beautiful woman, you’d better follow me…”
When the woman listened to these words, her eyebrows twitched as murderous intent flashed in her eyes, snapping, “You court death!”
Zhang Yan was walking down along the mountain pa.s.sageway from the mountain foot while pondering Ning Chongxuan’s intention along the way.
The last sentence Ning Chongxuan had said explained that he was a direct disciple who took the path of apprenticeship. He said that if they recognized his true worth, they would summon him earlier to take him as a disciple. For him, this was not good news, because this meant that the struggle in the Upper Court was very fierce and more intense than he had imagined.
However, thinking about these matters now was rather too early. He should wait until he opened his meridians first, then he could think about it.
After returning to his cave mansion, just as he was stepping a foot into the front, he was very surprised to see an enchantingly beautiful woman looking at him with a tender and loving expression. When she saw Zhang Yan, she immediately stepped forward and gently pulled Zhang Yan’s sleeves, sobbing, “I have been painstakingly searching for Young Master for many years, I finally found Young Master today…”
Zhang Yang glanced at her, but there was no intention on his complexion that he would go inside. The woman’s eyes turned. She then hugged him from the back. While a pair of soft and full mounds quickly pressed against Zhang Yan’s back, she spoke in a desolate and sorrowful tone, “Young Master Zhang, have you forgotten your slave?”
Zhang Yan’s complexion didn’t change even a bit, “Fellow Daoist Luo, why so? You and I always see each other every day and lived together in one room. How could I not know about you?”
The woman was startled. Instantly, a great embarra.s.sment and shame covered her complexion. She quickly loosened her hands and jumped to the side. As she bit her lower lip, she stomped her foot and angrily snapped, “d.a.m.n! I forgot that you, this little b.a.s.t.a.r.d, can sense and recognize my aura.” Her complexion turned into a discontented expression, “Hey, you little b.a.s.t.a.r.d, who would live together with you in the same room? Don’t you ever dare to recklessly stain an innocent girl’s pureness!”
Zhang Yan helplessly shook his head, cupping his hands he said, “Fellow Daoist Luo has pa.s.sed the disaster safely, I’m very grateful.”
These words are obviously congratulation words. However, listening to the flat tone, it sounded completely lacking in sincerity. Luo Xiao couldn’t help but sharply stare at Zhang Yan bitterly, “I can stay in this form just for the time being, but I still need some practice time to slowly recover my cultivation.”
Zhang Yan strode into the cave, but he immediately became surprised. Because the interior of his cave mansion had changed greatly. It had become neat, clean and bright like a mirror. The floor was spotlessly clean, even large piles of firewood and charcoal had been moved out. Every object here had been neatly sorted out and well placed. The cave’s interior was completely changed from the previously disorderly and chaotic appearance.
Luo Xiao proudly said, “You are a human, but you don’t know how to clean your own cave mansion.”
Zhang Yan didn’t dislike cleanliness, it was just that his cave was large, and he was completely immersing himself in practice and didn’t have enough time. So where would he have spare time to clean? Moreover, in his previous apocalypse world, he had been in constant life-threatening situations everytime and everywhere. In such precarious circ.u.mstances, having safe shelter was an extravagant luxury. Thus, he usually didn’t care about the surrounding environment. He only cleaned up several things he frequently used in daily life.
However, he quickly shook his head, “But as I see it, it’s not completely clean.”
“Where is it?” Luo Xiao eyebrows rose, as she immediately replied in doubt.
Zhang Yan pointed to the big cauldron, and coldly spoke, “Who is in the cauldron?”
Lin Tong was actually determined to steal the cauldron, but he had never thought that the situation in Cangwu Mountain had actually changed into an unexpected direction.
The matter that made everyone greatly surprised was that the Upper Court sent another person to take over Zheng Xun’s position. Of which, made Lin Yuan’s happiness abruptly end in bitterness. He finally realized that the reason Zheng Xun was leaving for the Upper Court, was not only because a.s.suming the vacant position left by his deceased clansman. Instead, it gave way for a new person to take over the Lower Court’s head disciple position.
But even so, people were still waiting for the sake of courtesy. When this new person arrived at the Main Hall accompanied with his attendant in front and behind him, everyone was simply dumbfounded. Because the person that became the Lower Court’s head disciple turned out to be a fourteen-years-old boy.
The boy had crystal bright eyes and handsome looks. Although he tried hard to look older and more experienced than he looked, his naïve look was after all strongly denied it. Every disciple’s heart couldn’t help but feel as strangely irritated feeling even though they cannot say it.
“Where is this boy is running away from?” Some people talked in whispers.
“I heard he’s the son of Lady Du from Du Family.” Somebody else whispered, “According to the sayings, he will be fifteen-years-old this year. He had reached Primordial Qi Establishment Realm when he was nine-years-old, and he only had been waiting and practicing to condense his True Primordial Qi in order to attain the top ranked meridian’s type. It is said that his father is an Upper Court’s elder in a certain sect. His mother is a very famous beautiful woman of the Du Family in Hengnan County [2]—Du Luo!”
Everyone’s heart instantly became cold. Not only did this boy’s father was an elder in the Upper Court, even his Du Family’s influence was also stretched across three Great Sects. It was no wonder that the three Grandmasters in the Lower Court kept quiet about this matter and didn’t say anything but tacitly approved this matter. Instantly, some people who were ready to make some ruckus were silenced.
The boy’s eyes swept a glance toward the disciples present here. Both his hands were crossed behind his back, as he held his head up high and his chest out, acting like an elder on the field, he proudly said, “My name is Du You, I come here today to become your leader!”
All the disciples only stood in silence, not speaking a word.
Du You’s complexion was slightly discontented. The steward at his side hurriedly rushed out and shouted, “Shouldn’t all disciples come to quickly pay some respects to the Lower Court’s head disciple?”
Lin Yuan couldn’t help but loudly snort. As for the rest, they were cold, indifferent and ignored it. Everyone here was also from an ancient family background and many had the same thoughts. “Your Du Family is very powerful. That, we recognize. But a mere servant also dares to shout an order to me, it’s blatantly equal to not give me face!”
Du You also realized that he shouldn’t be too excessive and quickly threw a signal with his eyes to the steward to quickly withdraw. He coughed before speaking, “Today, have all disciples completely gathered here?”
Just as he finished speaking, a man stood up and said, “Reporting to the head disciple, there is one disciple that has yet to come!”
Everyone was looking at the back. It was actually Zhen Lun. This person was also one of the five disciples who had entered the Primordial Qi Establishment Realm. Although they knew perfectly well that the Zhen Family and the Du Family had a rather close relationship, however, everyone felt that the remark of ‘head disciple’ was rather too forced.
“Oh! Doesn’t the Lower Court only have 28 disciples? Even if Senior Brother Zheng Xun has left, isn’t the number just right?” Du You pretended to glance around with a look of doubt while asking.
Zhen Luo replied, “The Lower Court’s Grandmaster—Shi Shoujing—has received a new disciple, named Zhang Yan. So originally, the Lower Court has 29 disciples.
“Surnamed Zhang? From which family does this Zhang Yan comes from?”
“This person has no ancient family background.”
Du You instantly frowned, he lifted his head, and snapped angrily, “He’s not from any ancient family, but he can enter my Lower Court?”
Zhen Lun quickly replied, “This person, at the Dao Convention event, had successfully made the Vast Origin Sect’s disciples drawback, that’s the reason why the Grandmaster received him as an outer disciple.”
Lin Yuan only coldly looked at the two people play-like dialogue like a bystander. His mouth slightly sneered with a mocking expression. “Do you two really think that I and the others couldn’t see your act?”
Du You knew that his age was too young. He knew perfectly well that he couldn’t convince the public, so he needed to set up his prestige first when he arrived at the Lower Court. Originally, he had a mind to punish Lin Yuan for an example. However, since this person’s background was also big and not simple, it wouldn’t be good to act. The other disciples were also originating from ancient families. Without sufficient reason, he was also unable to find any justification to firmly establish his influence and intimidate them.
But he, however, had inquired in advance that there was one disciple without any ancient family background and didn’t have any patron in the sect, of which, was the most suitable sacrifice; to punish him as a warning to others!
Du You then asked something that he already knew, “Today I have called all disciples to come. How come this Zhang Yan doesn’t come out to see me?”
Zhen Lun replied, “This Zhang Yan has always been rebellious and unruly. He even dared to refuse Senior Brother Zheng Xun when he was a head disciple. Senior Brother Lin Yuan also failed to teach him a lesson. Even if the new head disciple comes, he will never place you in his eyes.”
When Lin Yuan heard these words, a slight trace of anger flashed in his eyes.
Du You glanced at Lin Yuan, and loudly shouted, “Senior Brother Zheng Xun had failed to handle this person. Senior Brother Lin Yuan had also failed to control him. But I can handle this. Servant! Come here! Give me my disciplinary ruler!”
Immediately, a warrior walked toward Du You, carrying along with him a translucent white jade ruler, like the one used by the teachers for beating their pupils. He then handed it over to Du You in a respectful manner.
This ruler was a magical weapon given to him by his mother—Du Luo—and was called “Seizing Ruler”. Once this magical tool was released, if one’s cultivation were under the Radiant Qi Stage, no matter how high his cultivation was, once he was. .h.i.t with this weapon, he would immediately be restrained and collapse to the ground. He cannot even utilize his qi and would be similar to an ordinary or disabled person. If one were to be struck at by this weapon for three times, he would be killed instantly and die a violent death.
Du You took up the disciplinary ruler and handed it over to the steward at his side. He then spoke coldly, “Manager Hao Zong, you go to Zhang Yan’s place and arrest him. If he refuses to go, kill him directly!”
[1] Ai Zhongwen comes from a branch family of the Anfeng Ai Family, which is the Ai Family. Judging from the family’s or clan’s name (Anfeng Ai) it seems that the clan is formed from three families.
[2] I decided not to translate this Hengnan County and leave it as it is now.