Seeking the Dao in the Seemingly Mundane Mortal World - Chapter 18
Chapter 18: Minghe
Translator: Henyee Translations
Editor: Henyee Translations
Travelers were being examined thoroughly when they arrived at Li Fire’s gates. Seeing that Li Qinglin was leading his group of people, the city guards went down on one knee with solemn looks on their faces.
The capital city was supposed to be busy and boisterous, but right now, it felt very somber and subdued. White morning flags were flying all over the city, and the army was inspecting everyone on the streets. People walked fast and didn’t dare to raise their voices.
The death of a crown prince had such a significant political impact that it was enough to put an entire city on edge.
Qin Yi suddenly felt lucky that Li Qinglin wasn’t in the capital city when the incident happened. Moreover, the princess could verify that there was no way he could’ve directed the assassination because they were in a remote village at that time. Had it not been the case, Li Qinglin would be the prime suspect now.
No one who wanted to kill their brother would be careless enough to run away into some mountain for days without staying up-to-date on the progress of the mission. They would have to tie up loose ends and cover their tracks if things went south. Nobody would be that reckless, especially not Li Qinglin, who was very meticulous. Now that Li Qinglin wasn’t a suspect, he was going to become the new crown prince.
The first thing the Li siblings did after they entered the city wasn’t showing Qin Yi to their residence; instead, they went straight to the royal palace. Li Qinglin only gave Qin Yi a waist tag and said apologetically, “Sorry, Brother Qin, but we have to go to court immediately. This is urgent. Please take this waist tag and go to my residence. You’ll be received as an honorable guest there. I’m so sorry for the inattention.”
Qin Yi was very considerate and accepted the waist tag with a smile. “I understand. Please do what you have to do.”
Once the Li siblings headed for the royal palace with solemn looks on their faces, Qin Yi sighed and started wandering around the city with the waist tag in hand.
As much as he understood what they were going through, he didn’t want to knock on the door to their residence with this waist tag. It just felt weird. He decided he would go there after Li Qinglin returned, but right now, he preferred to walk around the city. That way, he could enjoy the view of the capital city and have a look at this “Eternal Temple” that the master teacher had built.
The Eternal Temple was very easy to find, because any passerby could point him in its direction with the greatest reverence and admiration. In fact, it wasn’t too far from the royal palace either. From the intersection where Qin Yi parted with the Li siblings, the royal palace was to the left, and the temple to the right. Looking up, he could see the high platforms of the temple and the smoke curling up in the air.
The platform was part of the Ascending Terrace, which was built on a slope and consisted of nine floors. It was the tallest building in Li Fire.
It was even taller than the buildings in the royal palace.
To Qin Yi’s surprise, the master teacher had a very good reputation among the commoners.
“The master teacher is a real immortal man. Last month, my wife was bewitched by some evil energy, and the temple cured her with a single dose of talisman water…”
“The temple can tell your fortune so accurately. The other day, I went to have my future told before I left for a business trip, but the priest told me to stay at home for another three days. Guess what? My wife knocked over a burning candle on the third day and almost started a fire. Luckily, I was there to put it out. Now, if you don’t call that the ability of an immortal then I don’t know what is.”
“I heard that when the barbarians of Xihuang invaded us last month, the master teacher chanted one of his spells on the terrace, making them throw up and have diarrhea for days. That was how General Xie claimed victory.”
Shaking his head, Qin Yi slowly walked away. He could stand the little things, but attributing military victories to the master teacher would certainly have infuriated the army officials. No wonder Li Qinglin, the person in charge of deploying armies, abhorred the master teacher.
Standing outside the Eternal Temple, Qin Yi looked up and saw that 99 stone steps led to the front chamber. The stairs were crammed with people who were all kowtowing with great devotion. The somber atmosphere in the city from the death of the crown prince didn’t seem to have affected this place at all.
Even the patrolman making rounds in the city wouldn’t come this way. Those who occasionally walked past the door would only make respectful bows before walking away.
“It seems that the people of this kingdom care more about ghosts and gods than its living residents,” Qin Yi whispered. “I now understand why Li Qinglin wants to get rid of the master teacher.”
Liusu said, “Immortality does exist. Li Qinglin is biased because he’s limited by what he’s seen.”
Qin Yi nodded. By the standards of the teachings he received in his original world, the master teacher was doubtlessly a swindler and Li Qinglin was a brave and loyal prince. However, immortality actually existed in this world, and that made the conflict between the two men a disagreement between their beliefs, not right and wrong. Of course, be it his historical view or his personal preference, Qin Yi would naturally pick Li Qinglin’s side.
He wanted to climb the stairs to see the front chamber. However, he slowed down after only a few stairs.
A Taoist Priestess slowly walked out of the temple and headed in his direction.
Qin Yi swore that he had never seen a Taoist Priestess as pretty as her before, animation and game characters included!
She stood quietly on the stone staircase. Her exquisite features made her look as pretty as a picture, her expression was so tranquil, and her eyes were as clear as pools of water. People were bustling around her, but for a moment, Qin Yi felt that everything else had faded and she was the only thing left in this world.
In fact, no one was looking at her except for Qin Yi, as though she wasn’t even there.
The Taoist robe she wore wasn’t the type of blue robe one would see in TV shows. It had the Eight Trigrams embroidered on it, and the plain color of the robe was in contrast to the sky blue color of the trigrams. The lower hem of her robe flapped in the wind, revealing long white trousers within as well as her Taoist boots. The outfit indicated she was an intermediate to advanced level Taoist Priestess, but with her impeccable movements and disposition, she could easily be a model walking in a fashion show. Her hair was neatly tied up into a Taoist Priestess style. The Taoist headband hanging on her shoulder and her floating, wide sleeves only added to her ethereal beauty.
In her hand was a sword rather than a horsetail whisk. When combined with her incredible appearance, she looked heroic.
Qin Yi suddenly felt that the word “fairy” was created just to describe someone like her.
He then heard Liusu’s cold voice. “See? You forgot about that necro bug as soon as you saw a pretty face.”
Qin Yi’s stomach lurched. He looked away and quickened his pace.
The Taoist Priestess blocked his way and seemed to want to talk to him.
Qin Yi looked around before meeting her in the eye so he could ensure he was the one she wanted.
This Taoist Priestess had such an otherworldly feeling, but she was also a complete stranger. Why does she want to talk to me? Qin Yi was alarmed, and the image of the necro bug crawling out of its human shell started replaying in his head. He stepped sideways to walk around her.
The Taoist Priestess raised an arm. “Young Master, please stay.”
Seriously? This looks so suspicious! Qin Yi thought, feeling a chill running down his spine. Involuntarily, he took a step back, gently pushed away the hand that was blocking his way, and said solemnly, “My lady, please behave yourself.”
Liusu said and made a mental note: One.
The Taoist Priestess frowned, probably not having expected that. But she only frowned a little before cutting to the chase. “Young Master, is that iron handle protruding from your sack part of your weapon?”
What Qin Yi said would’ve been considered humiliating to most others, but she only brushed it off as if it meant nothing to her and she went on with her own business. She seemed very civilized.
However, what she said made Qin Yi’s stomach lurch, and he was even more alarmed.
I thought she wanted to swindle me, but why ask about my clubbie right away? Can she sense the spirit inside? No matter how annoying Liusu is, I won’t let anyone destroy it. I have to make something up… Qin Yi thought.
The Taoist Priestess didn’t understand why Qin Yi was suddenly on guard, so she went on. “I seem to detect the blood of a demon in it. You destroyed one with it not long ago, right? Was it a… spider?”
Qin Yi could finally breathe again, and his forehead was covered by a cold sweat.
Good. She didn’t detect Liusu.
However, he realized that this Taoist Priestess was very capable as she could smell a dead demon spider from two days ago. Liusu, the glib tongue, on the other hand, couldn’t even smell a demon when that necro bug was standing right in front of it.
Qin Yi relaxed and finally started talking. “Indeed I ran into a man-eating demon spider, so my friends and I destroyed it together.”
The Taoist Priestess nodded, but her voice still sounded aloof. “If you’re against demons, then why are you still associated with Prince Qinglin?”
“What?” Qin Yi frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean? Li Qinglin and his sister were the ones who helped me destroy that demon spider.”
The Taoist Priestess looked into Qin Yi’s eyes in a very serious manner, as if trying to see if he was telling the truth.
Qin Yi suddenly found the look in her eyes very unnerving.
He didn’t know how to describe that look or the seemingly polite tone that made him feel like he was being interrogated…
She was neither indifferent nor arrogant. She appeared calm. But instead of being calm like a clear pool of water, her calmness felt more like the Milky Way in the sky—as beautiful as it was, it was so remote that one could only look up at it.
It reminded him of when he looked down at ants. He saw them but they didn’t invoke anything in him. He might be amazed for a second by how arduous a working ant looked, but that was it. He would simply walk away.
Or he might be in a bad mood that day and stamp on that ant.
Yes, that would sum up the feeling she gave her, which was rather familiar. Who did she resemble?
Liusu?
Liusu’s evil side probably originated from this unapproachable feeling as well. It said earlier that one shouldn’t worry about all the rules of the human world, but that wasn’t because it was an evil creature—it just belonged to a higher dimension that could look down on this world.
Possessing a so-called “virtue of patience” was only a manifestation of how unattached they were to this world.
Qin Yi retorted instead. “My fairy, are you a pupil of the master teacher?”
If the answer was yes, then it would be expected for her to have a bias against Li Qinglin. Probably every member of the Eternal Temple would find Li Qinglin a despicable man.
She shook her head. “I’m Minghe, a travelling priestess who’s taking my lodge here temporarily. I’m not Donghua’s pupil. Young Master, please don’t address me as fairy. ‘Priestess’ will do.”
“The Milky Way is lovely but untouchable.” That poem suddenly popped into Qin Yi’s head.
And it fit her to the tee.
