Bringing Up A Kidnapped GrandsonThe place that Wen Jing currently lived in was a small village at the foot of the Xun Yang mountain range.
The entrance to this village had a spring of pure water clear enough to see the bottom. Refreshing and sweet, it held a trace of spiritual energy. Legend had it that a pa.s.sing immortal once stopped here to drink water. As a result, this place had come to be known as Qing Quan (1) village.
The people living here were simple and honest. It was a small place. The inhabitants added up to no more than a few dozen people. If a family was to strike their child that night, the rest of the village would know before daybreak. The villagers supported themselves using the mountain’s resources. Most of them relied on the herbal medicine produced by the Xun Yang mountain range to make a living.
Qing Quan village was not particularly outstanding, but it did have a little immortal energy.
Wen Jing has lived in this peaceful small village for ten years.
How had he arrived in this world? It was unclear.
In his first few years, Wen Jing was ignorant like any other infant and had no memories. At the age of seven, the Xun Yang mountain range experience a mild earthquake. In the vibration, Wen Jing’s appearance resembled an imbecile, as before his eyes appeared many disordered scenes. From then on, bit by bit, memories of his past life returned to him.
To his surprise, he was living in the world of 《A Calamity for All Living Things》. This realization was enough to stun him for a time. After he understood his ident.i.ty, he soberly and slowly planned his life.
To be specific, his current problem was: How was he going to survive.
One old and one young sat at a simple table. Lun YunFei kindly looked at Wen Jing, his expression benevolent.
“Jing’er, in the past few days how has your cultivation of《Pure Bright Merit》been going?
《Pure Bright Merit》was an entry-level cultivation merit law consisting of thirteen levels. It could be purchased from the next closest town, Xun Yang, (2) for the price of two spirit stones.
Yuxiang (3) seasoned eggplant along with tender fish, with each bite, Wen Jing had no choice but to admire these heavenly cooking skills. He swallowed two mouthfuls and slowly spoke: “Still at a standstill at the third layer. Haven’t been able to break through.”
Lu YunFei smiled: “Have you been playing instead of practicing?”
“I haven’t been playing, Apparently I’ve run into a bottleneck.”
Lu YunFei turned silent. Then smiling again he said: “In three more months, the Qin Xu sword sect will open its gates for the first time in five years to recruit disciples. Yeye is worried you won’t be accepted.”
“Yeye shouldn’t worry, sunzi (4) will work hard.” Wen Jing hurriedly guaranteed, his whole face radiating filial piety.
Lu YunFei rubbed his nose: “If you break through to the fourth level, Yeye will take you to Xun Yang town to play. If you want something, Yeye will immediately buy it for you.”
“Ok.”
Day after day, Wen Jing perfectly played the role of a filial grandson, conforming to Lu YunFei’s benevolence. He didn’t dare allow him to notice anything strange.
This Lu YunFei actually wasn’t his grandfather.
Wen Jing was actually a child who had been abducted.
This body’s true history already couldn’t be determined. At the age of three, Wen Jing had been brought to Qing Quan village in Lu YunFei’s arms.
Raising him thus far, Lu YunFei had only one goal.
Possession.
Lu YunFei’s apt.i.tude was low. His cultivation so far had only reached the seventh level of the Qi Refining stage. He was already over ninety years old and didn’t have much longer to live. He wasn’t reconciled to dying. By good fortune, many years ago he had picked up a scroll that would allow him after his death to temporarily condense his primordial spirit and then afterwards possess someone. These past years he had continuously sought a child with good apt.i.tude in order to seize the child’s body and live again. In the end, the heavens hadn’t abandoned him and he had by chance encountered Wen Jing. Lu YunFei was overjoyed at his unexpected good luck. Taking him away he settled in Qing Quan village to raise him acting as his grandfather.
If this old ghost seized his body, it would be a dead-end for Wen Jing.
Thus, from the moment he had regained his memories, he had been attempting to find a means of escape.
He at once attempted to run away only to discover that Lu YunFei had used a talisman on his body to prevent him from going further than three li’s away from Qing Quan village. He had also considered fighting back. Unfortunately, Lu YunFei’s cultivation had already reached the seventh level of the Qi Refining stage and Wen Jing even using the limits of his own cultivation was not a match for him.
As for asking for help from the villagers, that was absolute nonsense.
The villagers were good simple people, they didn’t understand cultivation and would never have heard of the matter of possessing a person. If he were to involve them, it would only be a burden on their lives. Moreover, Lu YunFei was a generous old man, educated and well-balanced. He cherished his grandson. How could anyone believe a child like Wen Jing?
The probability of success for the possession ranged from 20% to 50%. The greater the gap between their cultivation levels, the easier the possession would go and the loser would end up with his soul scattered away. Lu YunFei for the past many years until now had been afraid of dying. However, the day that the Qing Xu sword sect would be opening its gates was imminent and he was ready to throw caution to the wind.
As one of the five major cultivation sects, Qing Xu sword sect only recruited those under the age of sixteen and with a cultivation of at least the fourth level of the Qi Refining stage. Therefore, Lu YunFei was anxious for Wen Jing to ascend to the fourth level of Qi Refining. As things stood, Lu YunFei would not meet the requirements to be accepted as a disciple, as after the possession he would be unable to cultivate for at least a year.
In the book, although the opportunity was minute, Lu YunFei succeeded in his possession attempt and using the name of “Lu Jing” he was able to join the Qing Xu sword sect to become a young disciple.
With the circ.u.mstances being so urgent, Wen Jing didn’t dare leave the slightest thing to chance.
He had actually already broken through to the fifth layer of Qi Refining, but Lu YunFei hadn’t learned the “Heavenly Eye Technique” and thus was unable to see the limits of his cultivation. However, hoping to ascend to the seventh level of Qi Refining in the next three months in order to contend against Lu YunFei, was nothing more than a pipe dream.
As a devoted reader of 《A Calamity for All Living Things》, Wen Jing only hoped his knowledge could be of some use.
The rain outside the window became heavier and heavier.
Several of the mountain peaks towering in the wind and rain began to faintly show a trace of malevolence.
TN notes:
1. clear spring
2. as far as I can tell, there’s also a town that shares the name of the mountain range…or I could be wrong and it wasn’t given a name at all.
3. a seasoning of Chinese cuisine that typically contains garlic, scallions, ginger, sugar, salt, chili peppers etc, but no seafood, although yuxiang literally means “fish fragrance”
4. son of one’s son, (grandson)
Pinyin Dictionary
Yeye: Father’s father
Sunzi: Son’s son
Well, looks like the chapters so far are less than half the size of the ones from Founder of Diabolism. Also looks like the author borrowed a plotline from “A Record of a Mortal"s Journey to Immortality” along with the cultivation levels. *cough* not criticism, just thought it was interesting.