novelapdf Chapter 216 The Three-Child General?
Chapter 216 The Three-Child General?
Chapter 217 The Triple-Child General? (First Update)
The sun slanted down, bathing the long streets of Huzhou City in a warm orange hue.
The upturned eaves, the tavern signs swaying slightly in the wind, and the shoulders of passersby all seemed to be covered with a thin layer of old silk.
The bustling twilight only served to highlight the cypress trees standing by the street, giving them an incongruous air of quiet elegance.
She was like a newly cut piece of snow-covered paper, which had inadvertently fallen into a cup of aged, bitter tea, where it grew cold and tasteless.
The noise and fireworks of the street seemed to have no effect on her whatsoever.
However, what seemed rather incongruous was that Bai Xiang was carrying several slices of pork belly with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, which she had bought from the butcher shop.
Wrapped in oiled paper, with clear marks left by fine hemp rope.
In her other hand, she was carrying a bamboo basket containing several pieces of tender tofu.
This creates a strange balance between her vibrant, down-to-earth personality and her inherently aloof and detached nature.
It has a unique charm.
At this moment, Bai Xiang lowered her phoenix eyes slightly, listening to the sound of an erhu.
The erhu player was an old blind man dressed in patched and tattered clothes, sitting on a wooden bench at the street corner, playing his instrument with a soft, incoherent sound.
The melody wasn't particularly pleasant, but it had a certain timeless quality to it.
After the song was finished, the few little beggars who had been gathering around to watch the spectacle, seeing that there was nothing new to see, dispersed with laughter.
Bai Xiang stepped forward.
She took a copper coin from her sleeve and casually tossed it into the filthy, broken basin in front of the old blind man.
"Ding-dong—"
The copper coin struck the bottom of the wooden basin with a crisp sound.
The old blind man's ears twitched. He quickly put down his erhu, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed repeatedly towards the direction of the sound, a smile plastered on his face: "Thank you for your generous donation, sir! May you enjoy good health and longevity!"
As he spoke, the old blind man groped for the copper coins in the basin.
However, before his hand could even touch the edge of the wooden basin, Bai Xiang kicked it aside.
"Old blind man, you're lying to me."
Bai Xiang's voice was cold.
The old blind man felt nothing and froze.
He awkwardly withdrew his hand, forcing a wry smile: "Esteemed sir—did you find my tune unpleasant? If you find it unpalatable, then this old blind man will play you a more cheerful tune again?"
"Still pretending?"
Bai Xiang narrowed her beautiful eyes and said coldly, "Believe it or not, I'll burn a pile of paper money for you right now, so you can slowly defecate down there?"
The old blind man smiled bitterly and said, "I'm just a cripple, barely making a living. How could I possibly lie to you?"
Bai Xiang, carrying pork and a vegetable basket, took another half step forward and looked down at him: "You once told me with great confidence that as long as I stayed in Huzhou City, I could find clues to the Twin Fish Jade Pendant."
But so much time has passed, and I haven't even seen a trace of the jade pendant!
At that time, I gave you the only remaining spiritual artifact ingot in the Mirror Kingdom as payment for the divination.
Is this how you divined the secrets of heaven for me?
The old blind fortune teller's aggrieved expression gradually faded. He slightly raised his empty eye sockets towards Bai Xiang and chuckled, "Your Highness, since you've believed in this old man's divination, why not be a little more patient and wait a little longer?"
"Hmph, I knew you'd say that."
A mocking glint flashed in Bai Xiang's phoenix eyes. "Give me a straight answer. How long exactly? You can't expect me to wait here like a fool for the rest of my life, can you?"
The old blind man shook his head, stroked the strings of the erhu, and said slowly, "Everything depends on fate. I, this old man, have already given Your Highness a hint, risking the loss of my lifespan by revealing heavenly secrets. The rest is entirely up to Your Highness's own fortune."
When the time is right, the jade pendant will naturally return to your hands.
If fate hasn't brought you together, even if you search high and low and force it in every way, you still won't get it.
"Do you want to die?"
The woman's cool and aloof aura sharpened.
Clearly, this charlatan-like, ambiguous answer did not satisfy Bai Xiang.
Although she scoffed at these so-called fortune telling and divination from the bottom of her heart.
But considering that the blind man in front of her was indeed one of the world's foremost diviners, she patiently asked until now.
Bai Xiang slightly opened her other free hand.
Her five fingers were slender and jade-like, but a faint dark golden rune flashed across her palm, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze slightly.
An invisible killing intent quietly permeated the air.
Bai Xiang slightly opened her other hand.
Sensing the murderous intent that seemed to crush his very soul, the old blind man coughed dryly, quickly shrinking his neck, and sincerely said, "Cough cough—Your Highness, please calm down."
"How about I give you another free fortune telling? Just because of that one copper coin?"
After saying that, the old blind man reached out and gently plucked the strings of the erhu.
"Om one"
It was accompanied by a low hum.
The copper coin that Bai Xiang had just thrown into the basin jumped out of the basin on its own.
The copper coin flipped in mid-air and landed on the old blind man's knee.
Followed by.
The copper coin split into three and began to spin rapidly.
Seeing this, Bai Xiang's killing intent slowly dissipated, and she watched quietly.
After a moment, the three copper coins gradually slowed down and eventually fell onto the old blind man's legs, forming a strange triangular formation.
The old blind man gently touched the three copper coins with his hand, and a smile immediately appeared on his face: "Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations! The divination shows that you will soon obtain this Pisces Jade Pendant."
"How long is 'soon'?" Bai Xiang pressed.
"Right away."
The old blind man's smile remained unchanged.
"How long exactly?" Bai Xiang asked, her tone becoming more serious.
"immediately."
The old blind man still had a smile on his face.
"6
'
Bai Xiang's beautiful phoenix eyes narrowed again.
Sensing that the chill and murderous aura were beginning to re-emerge, the old blind man quickly waved his hand with a wry smile: "Your Highness, please don't make things difficult for this old man."
You are also a practitioner, so you should know that divination emphasizes "momentum" and "opportunity." This old man can only predict its imminent appearance; that's already the limit.
You have to believe in fate, whether you like it or not.
But at least this old man dares to guarantee you with his own head that as long as you continue to stay in Huzhou City, sooner or later you will get what you want.
Bai Xiang remained silent for a moment, and the chill around her slowly dissipated.
She stopped worrying about the time and instead asked casually, "What are you doing here?"
The old blind man chuckled: "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed."
Bai Xiang didn't bother to ask any further questions.
She said calmly, "I trust you, but I won't trust you completely. So, I will still send people out to search for the whereabouts of the jade pendant. But there's one thing I want to confirm with you."
"Your Highness, please ask." The old blind man listened intently.
Bai Xiang stared at him and slowly said, "Some time ago, in order to go to Yan City, I forcibly used the power of the High Priest. Although I tried my best to contain the causal energy, some aftershocks inevitably still dissipated."
With the abilities of those old guys at the Daqing Imperial Observatory, plus the assistance of the Star Observatory, they would definitely be able to deduce my exact location within ten days at most.
Moreover, I have recently noticed that there are many more imperial guards secretly investigating within Huzhou City.
But they don't seem to have pinpointed my exact location.
Clearly, the calculations performed by the Imperial Observatory went wrong, and they were misled about the secrets of heaven.
"Was it you who pulled these tricks behind my back, covering up the truth for me?"
The old blind man stroked his beard and smiled meaningfully: "Your Highness really thinks too highly of this old man. How could I possibly have such extraordinary abilities to deceive the Imperial Observatory's calculations?"
Perhaps it's because Your Highness is blessed with good fortune and auspiciousness, and Heaven has secretly shielded you from this karmic burden.
At this point, the old blind man paused slightly, his voice becoming a few decibels lower: "However, since Your Highness has said it, the Imperial Guards have already caught up with us in Huzhou City."
With their methods, it's only a matter of time before they find you, Your Highness. You'd better make plans soon.
Bai Xiang's eyes flickered a few times, a complex emotion flashing across them.
She didn't say anything more, but took out another copper coin from her sleeve and threw it into the old blind man's broken basin.
Then, carrying the pork and vegetable basket, she turned and merged into the gradually thinning crowd.
His silhouette remained aloof and solitary.
It was as if none of the conversation had ever happened.
As the old blind man listened to her receding footsteps, he chuckled softly twice, picked up his erhu again, and began to play another tune.
The pedestrians around were hurrying by, and no one stopped.
It was as if he were an invisible person who did not exist in this world.
After a while...
The sun sank a little further, the streetlights were not yet lit, and dusk was deepening.
Another figure stopped in front of the old blind man.
The newcomer wore a plain white Taoist robe and carried a jade-handled whisk. He exuded an ethereal aura, otherworldly and detached from worldly affairs.
Her face was pure and beautiful, without any makeup.
It was none other than Mo Huaisu, the leader of the Dao Sect.
She just stood there quietly, listening to the music.
After the lingering notes of the erhu had completely dissipated in the wind, Mo Huaisu finally parted her lips, her voice ethereal and heavenly: "I would like to have my fortune told. May I ask what you would like as payment, sir?"
The old blind man put down his erhu, his empty eye sockets "looking" at Mo Huaisu, a casual smile on his face: "Hehe, anyway, these are just some old tricks of the martial arts world. If Master Mo trusts me, just give this old beggar something to get rid of him."
Mo Huaisu pondered for a moment.
She stretched out her slender fingers and took out a jet-black spirit pearl from her sleeve, gently placing it in the old blind man's broken basin.
"I wish to attain enlightenment, is that permissible?"
Mo Huaisu looked at the old blind man and asked the question that had been weighing on her mind for a long time.
However, unlike his previous seriousness towards Bai Xiang, this time the old blind man didn't even bother to calculate, simply shaking his head and uttering two words: "No way."
Why?
A look of astonishment appeared on Mo Huaisu's face.
The old blind man grinned, a hint of mockery in his smile: "Because you haven't even entered the path, how can you talk about achieving enlightenment?"
Upon hearing this, Mo Huaisu's eyes turned slightly cold: "Does the old man mean—that the path I am currently cultivating is all in vain? Is it an illusion?"
She entered the Taoist sect at the age of twelve.
From the moment she entered the sect and received the true teachings, she focused on cultivating the "path of asceticism" that transcends all emotions.
The primary prohibition is on sexual desire between men and women.
Because she was born with a rare and exceptional "Innate Absolute Heart".
This makes the body clear and pure, the seven emotions faint, and the six desires not manifest.
Cultivating this path is incredibly efficient, leading to rapid progress. At a young age, one can already reach the peak of the twelfth realm.
He was revered as the most promising genius in the Daoist sect in the past century to attain the "Heavenly Dao of Forgetfulness".
How could such an astonishing achievement be nothing but a dream?
The old blind man shook his head, reached out and touched the black spirit pearl, and sighed, "Empty or not empty, illusory or not illusory, this old man doesn't know."
After all, this is your own path. If you believe your path is correct, then you can continue to cultivate it diligently.
only----
Worldly desires are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, endless and boundless. Whether it's abstaining from sexual desires or eliminating greed, anger, and delusion.
To put it bluntly, the true essence of this path of abstinence lies in abstinence itself.
Whichever you forbid, you should first enter into and understand.
But what about you?
You were born without emotions or desires, like a blank sheet of paper.
How can you empty a cup that is already empty?
In the end, isn't this path just a form of empty confinement?
"Without desires to restrain, how can one attain enlightenment?!"
Mo Huaisu was startled and fell into deep thought.
yes----
She always thought her spiritual practice was going smoothly.
But in the past year, she has clearly noticed that a barrier has appeared on her path.
No matter how much she secluded herself to cultivate and comprehend the Daoist scriptures, that invisible barrier remained unbreakable.
Her path has become increasingly difficult to advance.
This is also why she was willing to lower herself, break the ironclad rule of remaining aloof from worldly affairs, and make a deal with the imperial court.
First, he went to Yancheng to deal with the Peacock Demon King, and now he has agreed to stay in Huzhou City to quell potential unrest.
She wanted to engage with the world and find an opportunity to break through this bottleneck.
We need to rely on external "calamities" and "changes" to temper our resolve and seek opportunities for breakthroughs.
But listening to what this old blind man on the street is saying, he has never truly "entered" desire, so how can he talk about "abstinence"?
The so-called "Supreme Treatise on Forgetting Emotions and Restraining Desires"—after all the revisions, is it really just carving flowers on a castle in the air?
This is both ridiculous and ironic.
In the past, Mo Huaisu would have scoffed at these words, but now he felt that the old blind man's words were not without reason.
She was abstinent, yet she was born almost without desire.
What she "forbids" may have always been just a concept, an imagined "enemy".
How can you let go of something you never truly possessed?
How can one transcend something they've never experienced?
They have never tasted the bitterness of lust, nor have they ever been tempted by worldly desires.
The seemingly perfect path of abstinence is nothing more than a castle in the air without a foundation; it may look beautiful on the outside, but it is fragile and easily destroyed.
"so----"
Mo Huaisu murmured to himself, "If I wish to attain the true path, must I first indulge in desires and then practice abstinence?"
Much later.
Mo Huaisu closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the everyday world's hustle and bustle.
She picked up her whisk with one hand and bowed to the old blind man in front of her: "Thank you for your guidance, sir."
Having said that, Mo Huaisu straightened up, turned around, and left.
The aloof and otherworldly figure blended into the deepening twilight and fireworks, seemingly carrying a greater weight of mortal significance than when it had arrived.
The old blind man picked up the erhu again, but didn't play it; he simply gently stroked the cold strings.
It was as if I were caressing the threads of fate.
"Entering the path—attaining enlightenment—is not that easy."
After a while.
Another swirling mass of purple snowflakes swept in.
Shangguan Luoxue stared at the old blind man with her cold purple eyes. Before he could finish playing the tune, she waved her hand and threw the broken basin in front of her far away.
The old blind man said helplessly, "General Shangguan also wants me to tell his fortune?"
Shangguan Luoxue's expression was aloof and cold as she said, "Calculate when you will die?"
The old blind man said, "When I die is not important. What is important is to congratulate General Shangguan first."
"Congratulations?"
A cold glint flashed in Shangguan Luoxue's eyes. "Congratulations on what?"
The old blind man chuckled, "General Shangguan's aura carries the signs of 'spring rain gathering and a mountain peak rising,' indicating he will surely have three children in the future."
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