Chapter 53: The Confucian Cultivator
Chapter 53: The Confucian Cultivator
Just as Lei Jun was pondering his own affairs, he suddenly sensed something amiss with the water flow.
With the secondary effect of his Avoid Water Golden Pupils, he observed the outside world through the floodwaters.
To the west of Qingxiao Lake, amidst the mountains, he spotted a figure traversing the landscape with ease.
The raging torrent seemed to pose little threat to this newcomer.
The man was dressed in Confucian robes and appeared to be in his thirties or forties, with a slender build and sharp eyes that betrayed his otherwise gentle appearance.
Lei Jun did not recognize this man, but he did identify a young master following closely behind him—Fang Mingyuan from the Jingxiang Fang Clan.
Several servants accompanied the young master, and among them was a disheveled middle-aged Taoist—none other than the escaped Qin Tao.
"Wasn't Luo Haoran supposed to be here?" Fang Mingyuan frowned.
The Confucian scholar turned his gaze towards the old Taoist, Lu Zhaoqin, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation with an expression of surprise.
"There is a disciple of the Celestial Master's Mansion named Luo Haoran. I wonder if he is currently present?" the scholar inquired.
"Disciple Luo has already left. Only this old Taoist remains here," Lu Zhaoqin replied, his eyes narrowing with suspicion, but his face soon regained its calm as he continued, "May I ask for your esteemed name, sir, and the purpose of your visit regarding Disciple Luo? If it is convenient, I can pass on any messages later."
"My surname is Fang, with the single name of Yue. I am from Jingxiang," the scholar replied, his expression peaceful. "I have come today to seek Disciple Luo as there is some enmity between him and my cousin, Mingyuan, that needs resolution."
"Mr. Fang, you are too kind. I am but a humble Taoist with the surname of Fang, and my given name is Duanfeng. You may address me as 'Cousin Fang.' Additionally, you seem to have misunderstood my intentions. As you mentioned, the matter in Dragon and Tiger Mountain has already been publicly addressed, and I would not wish to prolong it further," Fang Yue explained. "I am here today to express my gratitude for Disciple Luo's rescue of Mingyuan by the Xin River."
Hmm... What?
Lu Zhaoqin was taken aback, and even Lei Jun, hidden by his Avoid Water Golden Pupils, was momentarily startled, almost losing his balance and toppling into the Hanging Sky Lake.
However, the most surprised of all was Fang Mingyuan himself.
"Thirteenth Brother?!" The young master stared at the scholar in disbelief.
The scholar met his gaze calmly and said, "A gentleman repays virtue with virtue and repays grievances with justice. How can one repay virtue with grievances?"
Fang Mingyuan's eyes widened as he stammered, "You..."
Lei Jun, concealed by his Avoid Water Golden Pupils, raised an eyebrow.
Was this deception? Or had Fang Yue sensed some danger and decided to change his course?
Lei Jun glanced around.
He almost thought that his master, Yuan Mobai, had arrived unnoticed, but it seemed that Fang Yue had detected something.
The Fang family had likely drawn the unfavorable lot that led them to the western mountain pass. Lu Zhaoqin was unaware of the lots, but Fang Mingyuan's reaction made him cautious once more.
"This humble one is grateful for your kindness, Young Master Fang," Lu Zhaoqin said. "However, Disciple Luo is not currently present, and if there is an opportunity later, I will certainly convey your message to him."
As he spoke, the old Taoist's gaze fell upon his assistant, Qin Tao, who was injured and appeared to be in the custody of the Fang family servants.
Qin Tao's injuries were not light, and his situation did not bode well for the newcomers.
"As we were coming over, we happened to encounter a group from the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou, led by Shen Si. They captured this Taoist, Qin Tao, and..." Fang Yue waved his hand, indicating for the servants to hand Qin Tao over to Lu Zhaoqin. "I persuaded Shen Si and his companions to leave, but as for this Taoist, Qin Tao, it is only right that your sect or the Purple Cloud Sect should handle his punishment."
Lu Zhaoqin's expression changed slightly.
The "Shen Si" that Fang Yue mentioned was likely a figure from the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou.
It seemed that the Lin Clan had set up an ambush at the western mountain pass.
Qin Tao must have stumbled right into their trap.
And then...
"Master, disciple... disciple didn't..." Qin Tao had gained his freedom, but under Lu Zhaoqin's gaze, he felt ashamed.
He had essentially acted as a guide, revealing detailed information about Lu Zhaoqin, Lei Jun, and Luo Haoran's situation at Qingxiao Lake.
Qin Tao wanted to deny it and find a way to shift the blame onto the Fang family, but under Fang Yue's sharp and piercing gaze, he found himself struggling to speak.
"The audacity of the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou truly took me by surprise," Lu Zhaoqin said. Though he was aging, his eyes missed nothing, and he had already guessed most of what had transpired.
With a flick of his sleeve, he brought Qin Tao to the side, temporarily setting aside the matter. Turning to the scholar, he expressed his gratitude once more. "Thank you, Cousin Fang, for your righteous assistance. I am deeply appreciative."
However, out of caution, he still refrained from mentioning anything about Lei Jun and Luo Haoran.
"There is no need for formalities, Taoist Lu," Fang Yue replied, not pressing further. He looked up at the raging Hanging Sky Lake and recited in a melodious voice,
"Amidst the clouds' journey, rain ceases,
And the moon shines brightly above the grand river."
A gust of wind blew around him, and the clear breeze blew upwards, miraculously parting the waters of the Hanging Sky Lake. Through the waves, a faint moon seemed to hang in the sky.
As the moonlight shone through, the raging floodwaters were indeed suppressed.
Lu Zhaoqin watched this unfold with a pounding heart.
He had already secretly prepared a thunderbolt talisman in his palm.
However, Lei Jun and Luo Haoran, who were in the water, seemed to have vanished.
As Lu Zhaoqin wondered about the old Taoist priest, he let out a sigh of relief, his tension easing slightly.
Within the Hanging Sky Lake, Lei Jun continuously summoned his life-bound wind talismans, infused with the spirit energy of the Night Wind Stone. These were high-quality wind talismans drawn with Zhu Fengbi's brush.
Under the cover of the 'Following the Wind into the Night' technique, Lei Jun, Luo Haoran, and the Avoid Water Golden Pupils quietly disappeared into the raging torrent without a trace.
There was a towering mountain peak that reached into the Hanging Sky Lake, half of it eroded away by the turbulent spirit energy. Lei Jun and the others were using the remaining rocks to conceal their presence.
Although Fang Yue's literary aura could penetrate the water, it couldn't cover such a large area all at once.
Lei Jun even had the leisure to observe Fang Yue's actions.
This was the first time he had witnessed a Confucian cultivator in action, and this one was a cultivator above the Triple Heaven realm, no less.
Just like how the Daoist sect had different cultivation paths, the Confucian sect also had various branches and traditions.
Fang Yue's path of cultivation was likely the Confucian poetry recitation lineage.
Within the entire Confucian cultivation system, this lineage was ancient but relatively less orthodox and mainstream.
By the time of the Tang Dynasty, it showed signs of further development.
The combat style of the Confucian recitation lineage was similar to that of spellcasters, and most of them were the stationary, turret-type spellcasters, to use Lei Jun's gaming terminology from his previous life on the blue planet.
If the martial artists who refined their bodies focused all their training on their physical bodies, then the combat power of the Confucian recitation lineage was primarily manifested in their souls and consciousness.
Both the Confucian recitation lineage and the Daoist Talisman lineage emulated the heavens and borrowed the might of nature, but the difference lay in how Fang Yue and his companions used poetry to resonate with the heavens and harness the vast spirit energy for their purposes.
If one were to trace back to ancient times, there would even be some overlap between the two, but they gradually evolved in different directions.
One important manifestation of a powerful soul and consciousness was an exceptionally strong and keen perception.
However, compared to Fang Yue's ability to suppress the flood, Lei Jun felt that he wasn't using this opportunity to search for and capture people under the guise of flood control.
After observing for a while, Lu Zhaoqin saw that Fang Yue was focused on controlling the water rather than searching for people, and his worried heart finally settled.
Fang Mingyuan lowered his voice and asked, "Thirteenth Brother, were you just stalling for time and looking for that Taoist priest named Luo?"
Seeing that the Hanging Sky Lake had stabilized and wouldn't erupt again in the short term, the scholar paused in his actions.
With only the two brothers present, Fang Yue turned his head and looked quietly at Fang Mingyuan.
"Thirteenth Brother?" Fang Mingyuan asked again.
Fang Yue calmly repeated his previous words, "A gentleman repays virtue with virtue and grievances with justice. How can one repay virtue with grievances?"
Fang Mingyuan was stunned once more, stammering, "Thir... Thirteenth Brother, you just..."
"I have no reason to deceive others, nor do I have any reason to deceive you," Fang Yue replied.
The young master across from him was left speechless, remembering how he had excitedly invited Thirteenth Brother to come along and help him get his revenge. Yet, Thirteenth Brother had only calmly said, "We should meet this Taoist priest named Luo."
He had heard that Yuan Mobai was around, and worried that he might miss this opportunity, but Thirteenth Brother had told him that Yuan Mobai had a battle appointment and wouldn't be back near Qingxiao Mountain for a while.
And now...
Fang Yue looked at his cousin and shook his head slightly, "Your uncle and aunt have spoiled you too much. You don't even understand the basic principle of a gentleman upholding righteousness and gaining the aid of the Dao."
"Enough!" Fang Mingyuan finally lost his patience. "Don't think that just because you have an old face, you can act like an elder and lecture me. You're only two years older than me!"
Fang Yue's expression remained unchanged as he calmly corrected him, "I am a young man with the wisdom of age, not an old man in his youth."
...As if! Lei Jun and Fang Mingyuan, who were on the same side this time, both booed.
Due to the previous incident with Li Ying, Lei Jun had heard that Fang Mingyuan was around the same age as Li Ying and hadn't even turned twenty this year.
If Fang Yue was only two years older than him, then he was in his early twenties!
With that thirty- or forty-year-old face, are you telling me he's in his twenties?!
When he had first appeared, Lei Jun had thought that Fang Mingyuan had invited an elder from the clan to help deal with Luo Haoran's trouble.
He had even prepared to lead them towards the northern mountain pass and hand them a bad lot.
Later, it turned out that they were cousins.
Considering that there could be large age gaps between peers in the cultivation world, this wasn't unusual.
But now you're telling me that this "middle-aged" scholar is even younger than me...
However, having said that, for someone his age to have such a high level of cultivation in a prestigious family like the Jingxiang Fang Clan was quite rare, wasn't it?
His appearance was really worrying, though... Lei Jun was left speechless for once.
Fang Yue, on the other hand, seemed to be used to it, remaining calm and composed as he looked at his embarrassed cousin, Fang Mingyuan.
"Age doesn't determine the validity of reason, and the wise come first..."
"Boom!!!"
Just as Fang Yue was speaking, a thunderous explosion suddenly shook the northern mountains.
Everyone was stunned.
Lei Jun also looked towards the northern mountains.
Had the bad lot been drawn?
Come to think of it, no one should have triggered a trap over there... Wait a moment.
The Lin Clan of Jiangzhou had set an ambush at the western mountain pass and captured Qin Tao, who was on his way out.
So, did they have people waiting at the northern mountain pass as well?
"(PS: The poem recited by Fang Yue is 'Sitting in the Moonlight with Gao Wanggong at the Same Height' by Zhang Jiazhen from the Qing Dynasty. The full poem is: 'The vital energy is often found in the wilderness, where the autumn wind urges the crickets to chirp. The clouds drift by, and the new rain ceases, revealing a bright moon over the great river. Occasionally, I meet a monk and engage in conversation, which makes me reflect on my life. The cool breeze penetrates the pillow and mat, and tonight my dreams are clear and peaceful.')"
(End of Chapter)
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