Above the Great Dao
Chapter 621 - 283: Careless in Making Friends_2

Chapter 621: Chapter 283: Careless in Making Friends_2

He paused and said, "Uncle Master Chen Shi, yesterday my three master-uncles scolded me and insisted that I must come and explain yesterday’s matter to Uncle Master Chen, to avoid any misunderstanding."

Chen Shi looked at him puzzled, "What misunderstanding?"

Yu Lingzi spoke seriously, "I indeed came yesterday to plead on behalf of the young master, which was my mistake. I apologize to Uncle Master!"

He knelt to Chen Shi on the street, banging his head several times, attracting the attention of passersby.

Chen Shi quickly helped him up and said with a smile, "Since you were pleading for the young master, and I’ve already hit you, why go to such lengths?"

Yu Lingzi said, "My master taught me that in life and in one’s actions, one must not leave blemishes on the spiritual heart, for once there, they will become flaws in the spiritual heart. Therefore, I must apologize."

Confused, Chen Shi asked, "Why did you want to plead with the young master yesterday?"

Yu Lingzi said, "You killed Shen Hongniang of the Red Lady Society, and many other Incense Masters of the society also died at your hands. As we drank and talked about this, as well as your actions in Gongzhou and Yudou, we all felt some righteous indignation, believing that you were overbearing. As the saying goes, ’Three cups of wine, great vows I make; five sacred mountains light as feathers.’ Drunk, I said I would find you, ensuring you don’t contest the top scorer against the young master. Others may fear the demon inside you, Chen Shi, but I do not."

Chen Shi’s gaze flickered, "Who are ’we’? Who are you talking about?"

Yu Lingzi said, "Fan Kongliu from Water Moon Sacred Realm, Daoist Jin Lu from Taishang Haoyuan Palace, and young masters such as Jiang Fangshu, Li Tianqian, Ma Xueqing. We were also talking casually when we gathered at Qixia Temple."

Chen Shi smiled, "Are they still at Qixia Temple?"

Yu Lingzi replied, "Yes. We are all scholars participating in the Imperial Examination, but our statuses are significant, so it’s inappropriate for us to stay in the provincial hostels to avoid disturbing other scholars. Therefore, the court arranged for us to reside in Qixia Temple. Because of his distinguished status, the young master stays at Xiexiu Hall."

In fact, they all had their places in the city. For instance, Yu Lingzi could stay at the Tianguan Taoist temple of Taihua Qing Palace in the Western Capital, and the noble family members from the Thirteen Families could stay at the residences of their families’ senior members. Water Moon Sacred Realm and Taishang Haoyuan Palace also had their bases in the city.

However, staying separately, they missed the opportunities to interact. Moreover, since they were all followers of the young master, gathering together was advantageous for the young master’s coordination.

As for Saintess Xuan, she had doubts about the young master’s actions and hence did not stay at Qixia Temple.

"Can you take me to visit Qixia Temple?" Chen Shi asked.

Yu Lingzi hesitated for a moment and said, "I’m worried that people there, because of the young master, might be disrespectful to you."

Chen Shi shook his head and said, "If I don’t go, how can I resolve the misunderstanding with them?"

Yu Lingzi thought carefully, finding him right, and immediately led the way saying, "Uncle Master, you are a good person. Behind your back, they say you are ruthless, arbitrarily kill the innocent, are ambitiously unscrupulous, and guilty of all sorts of heinous crimes; they greatly misunderstand you. If everything is clarified face to face, the misunderstanding will be dispelled."

A muscle under Chen Shi’s right eye twitched as he asked, "What else do they say about me?"

Yu Lingzi hesitated for a moment and said, "Some things are unpleasant; I’m not keen to repeat them."

Chen Shi said, "Just say it. Our Chen family is known for its broad-mindedness. My grandfather was so, and so is Chen Tang."

"They say you are not human but an evil spirit born from a corpse... you say you won’t get angry."

Chen Shi’s smile remained on his face as he murmured, "I am not angry. Continue."

Yu Lingzi said, "They also say that your grandfather summoned from the underworld might not be your soul; it could be a demon he summoned. Moreover, they say you killed an Imperial Official, harassed men and overpowered women, stole the young master’s Magical Treasure, and collaborated with demons to cause the Demon Transformation in Gongzhou."

At that moment, he heard the sound of teeth grinding from Chen Shi’s mouth and quickly said, "Uncle Master, are you alright?"

"I’m fine!"

Chen Shi laughed heartily, "How could anything be wrong with me? Our Chen family has a great tolerance. Yu Lingzi, then why do you seek revenge on behalf of Shen Hongniang? Who do you think Shen Hongniang was?"

Yu Lingzi said, "Shen Hongniang was a well-loved matchmaker in the capital."

"So you know nothing."

Chen Shi said, "Matchmaking and proposing marriages are secondary businesses of the Red Lady Society, but their main business is arranging illicit liaisons for lonely young masters, ladies, and noble women, making things convenient for them to indulge."

Yu Lingzi was dumbfounded.

Chen Shi explained the deeds of the Red Lady Society and said, "The young master used me to eliminate Shen Hongniang, removing a major threat to himself. At the same time, he also sent a message to others in the Western Capital that only I know about your dirty deeds; you can rest assured. Others return the favor by helping the young master deal with me. If they didn’t have any leverage over the young master, why would they come forward?"

Yu Lingzi shook his head, "The young master is not that kind of person..."

But a voice inside him suggested perhaps the young master was exactly that sort of person.

He was deeply distressed, "Was I used as a puppet? Fan Kongliu and the others didn’t know your strength, so they dared not act personally, thus they pushed me to test your limits."

He felt as if his heart was pierced with thousands of knives, his nose souring as he said, "I thought of them as friends."

Chen Shi smiled, "Misguided friendships, often so. But you’ve seen through their true colors, and it’s not too late. By the way, Yu Lingzi, how do the core offspring of the noble families you mentioned earlier, like young master Jiang and young master Li, compare to you in strength?"

Yu Lingzi was still distressed; after a while, he said, "We haven’t really competed, but I think our Cultivation Realms are similar, some stronger or weaker than others. Perhaps with more heritage from the noble families, they might be stronger."

"Only a bit stronger than you?"

Chen Shi sounded disappointed, "That’s not very strong..."

Yu Lingzi grunted, feeling stabbed again, wanting to retort but finding no way to do so.

He was of the Divinity Transformation Realm, and had challenged Chen Shi of the Nascent Soul Realm; yet he couldn’t even execute a single move before being utterly defeated, barely escaping with his life.

Confused, Chen Shi said, "Then why did Chen Tang say that the core offspring of noble families are extremely strong, and I’m no match for them? If they’re similar to you, they don’t seem that formidable."

Yu Lingzi grunted again, "Uncle Master, you don’t understand. There are two kinds of core offspring in noble families. Perhaps Lord Chen Tang was referring to the second type."

Chen Shi asked, "Which two types?"

"The core offspring in noble families are often those who possess either a first-grade or second-grade divine fetus, regardless of how they acquire these fetuses, whether gifted by True Gods or transplanted from others. As long as they have a good-enough fetus and diligently cultivate, they can become core offspring. The second type, meant to inherit the position of Family Head or Sect Master, are rarer. Such offspring appear maybe once every few decades in a family; they must have a Divine-given, not a stolen, fetus to be eligible to be the next sect leader. Maybe this is what Lord Chen Tang meant."

Chen Shi inquired, "Are there any of this kind participating in the Imperial Examination?"

Yu Lingzi shook his head, "I don’t know. Noble families who select their next sect leaders will not disclose it; they fear assassination."

Unwittingly, both had arrived at the gates of Qixia Temple.

Qixia Temple was built on a small mountain that stood just over thirty feet high, occupying no more than a few dozen acres, like several large rocks emerging from the earth’s surface.

Although there were many mountains outside the city, it was rare to have mountains in the city, thus Qixia Temple was flourishing. From a distance, Chen Shi noted that the temple housed Divine beings, each over a hundred feet tall, clad in armor, with an eye on each of their foreheads.

"These two powerful gods!" exclaimed Chen Shi in admiration.

Yu Lingzi stopped, "Uncle Master, I won’t go in."

"Why not?" Chen Shi questioned.

Yu Lingzi was still distressed, and said gloomily, "I considered them friends, they thought of me as a fool. If I go in now, they will laugh at me."

Chen Shi shook his head, "You are not a fool. You treat others sincerely, willing to go through fire and water for your friends. If I had a friend like you, I would certainly treat you with the same sincerity. The only mistake you made was in choosing friends unwisely, not finding true friends."

Yu Lingzi was stunned, "I am not foolish?"

Chen Shi said, "Good people should not be regarded as fools. After all, I am your Uncle Master; how could I not seek justice for you? Follow me into the temple; let’s reason with them."

Yu Lingzi followed him, anxiously saying, "Uncle Master, don’t cause trouble because of me..."

Chen Shi entered Qixia Temple, laughing cheerily, "Our Chen family has a great capacity for tolerance; how could we cause trouble? Have you read Confucius’s ’Analects’? You know Confucius’s principle, right? We scholars, who study the works of Confucius, are here to reason."

He turned to the gatekeeper, "Gatekeeper, close the door. Qixia Temple will not receive guests today."