PDLP Chapter 20: Is the Great Master well?
Chapter 20: Is the Great Master well?
Early winter, 212 BC.
The autumn colors of Xianyang have faded, and the north wind is growing stronger.
Inside the Immortal Temple, the courtyard was desolate, and the withered branches of several old trees creaked softly in the cold wind.
"How many is this?"
Feng Zhixue gently nudged Zheng Ze with his elbow, his gaze still fixed on the figure that had been thrown out.
"The eighth one today!"
Zheng Ze's gaze also fell on that disheveled figure, his face expressionless as he coldly spoke.
Feng Zhixue squinted, carefully examining the patterns on the man's clothes, which were covered in dust but still looked luxurious.
A smirk involuntarily crept up his lips, a triumphant smile playing on his lips. "Hey, looks like he's a right-hand man!"
Thinking that he had bet on the "rare find," he straightened his back, and the pent-up frustration between his brows dissipated.
There was a time when such a person was someone he could not even look up to, even if he stood on tiptoe.
"snort."
Zheng Ze let out a disdainful snort from his nose and curled his lips as if it were perfectly natural.
"If it weren't for the fact that he's a right-hand man, daring to pester the Grand Master like this, he would have had his legs broken and been thrown out long ago."
In his view, even His Majesty's level of honor was only roughly equal to that of the Grand Master.
Seeing that the right-hand man finally struggled to get up, brushing the dust off his robes, his face turning pale and then red.
Feng Zhixue and Zheng Ze immediately composed themselves, adopting a humble yet assertive demeanor, and quickly stepped forward to meet them.
They helped the disheartened dignitary out, partly offering assistance and partly 'polite farewell'.
Indeed, their statuses are now vastly different from what they used to be.
From the lowest rung of this immortal temple, a lowly errand boy at the mercy of everyone, he rose to become the attendant of the great master Zou Yun.
Although they weren't like those magicians, they still had to do work.
But don't underestimate this small difference. Even so, many people are desperate to become servants, but none of them have the opportunity.
Those alchemists who had previously spent a fortune to transfer themselves were now filled with deep regret.
You must know that this is none other than Zou Yunyuan, the highly sought-after and favored figure in His Majesty's court, a servant of the immortal Taoist master Zou Yunyuan.
Moreover, in recent days, the Grand Master seems to have completely overcome his hysteria and no longer makes those strange laughs.
This position has become highly sought after again.
If it weren't for the trip to Xianyang Palace that day, where Feng and Zheng accompanied Zou Yun and their names were casually noted down by the Grand Master.
By now, they would probably have been ostracized and sent as far away as possible, and would no longer enjoy their current glory.
Thinking of this, Feng Zhixue couldn't help but look back.
While Zheng Ze was exchanging final pleasantries with Na Yougeng, he quickly glanced at the small courtyard.
In the center of the courtyard, several elite soldiers clad in black armor and with sharp blades at their waists stood guard, silent and vigilant, like cold, solid rocks.
Their sharp eyes scanned every corner.
At the heart of the guarded area, the Grand Master Zou Yun, whom the powerful and wealthy of Xianyang flocked to, sat upright behind a wooden table under the eaves.
He stood tall and straight, but his gaze pierced through the courtyard wall, looking into the depths of the gray sky.
His expression was focused yet ethereal.
That posture made it seem as if the soul had left the body and was roaming freely in the vast void, or as if the person was concentrating on deducing the secrets of the heavens.
In Feng Zhixue's eyes, Zou Yun's every move was imbued with an indescribable and peculiar aura.
It inspires awe and inspires no desecration.
"Master, you must be divining the secrets of heaven," Feng Zhixue said.
Not daring to look any longer, he quickly averted his gaze and focused all his attention back on the guest in front of him.
Just then, a cold object suddenly landed on his bare neck, making Feng Zhixue shiver violently.
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"Is it snowing?"
Zou Yun, who had just finished daydreaming, was pulled back to reality by the cold touch before she could even come to her senses.
He blinked and then realized that snowflakes had been falling softly from the leaden sky.
Like fine grains of salt, they quietly cover the courtyard tiles.
It also draped a hazy veil over the austere and cold city of Xianyang.
"Ugh—! How boring!!!"
A silent cry churned in Zou Yun's heart.
Ever since that day in the Xing Le Palace, when he revealed the Taiyin Refining Technique to Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the threshold of this Immortal Temple has been almost worn down by a constant stream of visitors.
Those seeking immortality and elixirs, those trying to curry favor, those probing for truth and falsehood...
The various kinds of people bothered him to no end.
However, in order to confirm the taboos and design of the jade burial suit for Ying Zheng, Zou Yun had to stay in the courtyard and painstakingly create the design. Otherwise, he would have wanted to go out for a stroll long ago.
Fortunately, I finally submitted the completed drawings a few days ago.
In addition, Ying Zheng dispatched a garrison of elite armored soldiers to protect or monitor him at all times, which helped him avoid a lot of trouble.
Therefore, Zou Yun was able to spare some time to continue researching his cheat system.
Thinking of this, he listlessly stretched out his hand and made a grasping motion on the wooden table in front of him, as if he were grasping an invisible wisp of air.
Zou Yun's fingers moved deftly, as if he were groping for something.
A moment later, seemingly having found his target, he exerted a slight force with his fingertips, and a strand of invisible thread was slowly drawn from that clump of 'air'.
As he moved, the originally completely transparent 'air' mass was gradually stretched and elongated, turning into a thin, long thread that was invisible to the naked eye.
Zou Yun patiently wound the silk thread into a roll and tucked it into the pouch at his waist.
This special thread, invisible to the naked eye, is the result of his painstaking research over this period of time.
This also led him to discover a new use for cultivation points—creating things out of thin air, and adding additional concepts.
Recalling the moment he first discovered this, Zou Yun was so excited he jumped for joy; he couldn't wait to build a pistol.
He gave these Qin Dynasty old fogies a disdainful smile and said, "My lord, times have changed."
But before he could even properly experience the joy of not eating cows, reality poured cold water on his plans. Perhaps due to insufficient cultivation points, the system showed no reaction whatsoever to his envisioned 'pistol'.
In the end, he had no choice but to settle for second best, spending a full 1000 precious cultivation points to barely create a ball of silk thread.
Instead, adding the concept of "invisible" to this ball of silk only cost 200 points.
The investment is huge, but the output is meager; it's simply not worth it.
Zou Yun had no choice but to give up and temporarily abandon those unrealistic fantasies.
Just as he was looking at the falling snowflakes, he was once again lost in the melancholy of "when will this end?"
Another commotion, unlike that of ordinary visitors, came from outside the courtyard gate. Then, a familiar figure was respectfully led into the courtyard under the watchful eyes of the armored soldiers.
Upon seeing who it was, Zou Yun's spirits lifted.
Prince Fusu stepped steadily into the familiar courtyard, his gaze unconsciously sweeping over the stone steps in front of the house.
There were still some traces of stone powder left behind from when he personally ground the ore.
The familiar scene softened his stern expression slightly, and then a self-deprecating sigh silently spread through his heart.
"Now it seems I was too arrogant and failed to recognize true talent."
Fusu stepped past the armored soldier at the door who bowed and accepted his sword, his gaze falling on the figure under the eaves.
In an instant, countless questions flooded my mind.
"Didn't you categorically declare that immortality is all an illusion? Then what happened on the altar that day? Are you really an immortal? Were you lying to me before?..."
However, a thousand emotions churned and surged in my throat, but in the end, they all turned into a distant greeting.
"Great Master... are you well?"
Seeing Fusu's complicated expression, Zou Yun blurted out almost instinctively.
"It seems a sad, thick barrier has already formed between us..."
"???"