Chapter 33

The Thousand‑Jin Drop is an advanced Daoist martial technique; however, when it is mentioned, many people mistakenly assume it is the same as the martial‑arts version of the Thousand‑Jin Drop.

Translation: "The Thousand-Jin Drop is a superior martial art of the Daoist Sect; speaking of this, many might mistake it for the Thousand-Jin Drop in martial arts."

We need to keep "Daoist Sect" as per glossary. Use "Daoist Sect". Ensure we don't add extra.

In martial arts, the Thousand‑Jin Drop is a plum‑blossom stance training that stresses the harmony of internal and external energy; once the horse stance is set, even a barrage of punches and kicks from several strong men cannot easily move the practitioner.

Translation: "In martial arts, the Thousand-Jin Drop is a plum blossom pile technique that seeks the unity of inner and outer qi; once the horse stance is set, even if several strong men punch and kick, it is hard to shake one's form."

The Daoist Thousand‑Jin Drop is far more miraculous than its martial‑arts counterpart. It can not only bear a thousand jin to stabilize the body, but also bind ghosts and weigh down objects, offering many uses. By drawing floral characters on the hand and lightly tapping them onto a person's body, the victim feels as if a thousand‑jin boulder is pressing down, unable to move; in severe cases the pressure can shatter the five viscera and six bowels. Using a sword finger to draw floral patterns inside an object, each circle adds a weight of a hundred jin; ten circles equal a thousand jin. Even an ordinary stone, if inscribed with a Thousand‑Jin Drop inside, cannot be lifted by ten strong men.

We need to keep the numbers exactly: a thousand jin, a hundred jin, and ten strong men.

Yang Qiye's current Thousand‑Jin Drop is similar to the second type of object‑dropping technique: he uses a sword finger to draw floral characters on beer, infusing the spell into the liquor. Even a hard‑drinking alcoholic who can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk will turn pale after drinking just half a cup of this beer bearing the Thousand‑Jin Drop. Therefore the Thousand‑Jin Drop is also called "Bamboo Leaf Green." In the past, Daoist masters often used this method to test disciples' cultivation, seeing how much weight they could endure.

Translation: "The Thousand-Jin Drop that Yang Qiye currently uses is similar to the second kind of object-dropping; it is done by drawing flower characters on beer with the sword finger, placing the spell in the liquor. Even if a person who can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk drinks this half‑cup of beer laced with the Thousand-Jin Drop, his face will turn bluish‑green. Hence the Thousand-Jin Drop also has the name Bamboo Leaf Green. Previously, Daoist masters often used this method to test disciples' cultivation, seeing how much weight they could bear."

To be honest, as soon as I realized I had been afflicted with a Thousand‑Jin Drop, I was very startled. Especially when that sudden sensation of my whole body feeling as if it were being crushed by a stone appeared, it truly gave me a fright.

Translation: "To be honest, as soon as I realized I had been afflicted with a Thousand-Jin Drop, I was greatly startled. Especially when that sudden sensation of my whole body feeling as if crushed by stone appeared, it truly gave me a fright."

However, I am not just a scared fool; it was only a brief moment of dazedness, and I quickly reacted.

Translation: "However, I am not just a frightened simpleton; it was only a momentary loss of awareness, and I had already reacted."

Moreover, what a coincidence—I just happened to know how to break the thousand‑catty weight, but I wasn't in a hurry to undo it. First, I wanted to see how long I could withstand it with my current cultivation. Second, I absolutely could not just collapse so easily; if a minor spell could knock me down instantly, what face would I have as a disciple of the Yin Mountain Sect, and how could I meet Master Li Feng, who taught me with such painstaking care?

How could the Yin Mountain Sect's law, which strikes terror into countless sects, have a worthless disciple? Even in death, I absolutely cannot bring shame upon the Yin Mountain Sect.

Relying on that belief, I gritted my teeth and held on. As time passed, I could no longer tell whether what flowed over my body was blood or sweat. Even though my whole body felt as if my bones were about to split, I endured it silently, without uttering a sound.

To live, one must have belief and faith; before belief, suffering is nothing but insignificant ants.

I showed no weakness, locking eyes with Elder Yang Seven. This time it was not a clash of senior and junior, but a standoff between two different sects.

At first, Elder Yang Seven merely glanced at me with a smiling squint, but as time went on, he could no longer hide the hint of surprise in his eyes.

A cracking sound came from my shoulder; I knew it was my clavicle giving way under the weight, already displaced.

"Hai Sheng, are you alright?" Pangzi came over in a panic to help me up. Elder Yang Seven also rose, forming a sword seal with his hand, apparently preparing to dispel the spell on me.

But he was fast, and I was faster.

"Heavenly sovereign, earthly sovereign, a woman enters the master's chamber… I obey the decree of the Supreme Old Lord"—with each stomp of the foot after the incantation, I felt the pressure on my body ease; repeating it more than twenty times, I finally shattered the thousand‑catty weight pressing on me.

Once the thousand‑catty weight was broken, I instantly went limp, all strength gone from my body; speaking was difficult, and I could only gasp heavily.

Having to dispel the spell more than twenty times does not mean Elder Yang Seven placed a two‑thousand‑catty weight on me; rather, our spiritual power is vastly different, so I had to go through many times the effort to undo the simple spell he had cast.

"Good… this youngster is not bad; he actually withstood my three‑hundred‑catty weight for five minutes. And even with a wounded collarbone he could still chant to dispel my spell—excellent, truly excellent." Elder Yang Seven's words held no concealment of his praise for me, yet that sentence filled my heart with bitterness.

It was only three hundred catties, yet I spent nearly ten times the time to break it; solving a single spell is this troublesome—how then can I defeat Xuan Ku?

"Is he the disciple of that rotten‑tree fellow? That rotten‑tree fellow isn't much, but he's picked up a decent disciple with some spirit." Elder Yang Seven grunted in approval, and he was quite pleased with me.

"No, he's not my father's disciple; he's my brother, a disciple of my adoptive father Li Feng." Pangzi put his arm around me proudly.

I gave a hollow laugh, steadied my posture, and said in a low voice, "Disciple of Li Feng of the Yin Mountain Sect, Chen Hai Sheng."

I hadn't expected Elder Yang Seven to be startled; he stared, eyes wide, and asked in astonishment, "Are you the disciple of that lunatic from Yin Mountain?"

I looked at him, puzzled. What lunatic? Was he referring to Li Feng? Elder Yang Seven seemed to know both Master Li Feng and QingSongShu, yet I didn't know how they were related, and just now he had called QingSongShu "rotten bark." That nickname was new to me, and it was the first time I'd heard anyone dare call QingSongShu that.

"Now I understand—no wonder I felt as soon as you walked in that your aura clashed with my Huaguang cultivation method; I never imagined you were that lunatic's disciple."

Elder Yang Seven stared at me for a long time, then patted my shoulder and said solemnly, "Hai Sheng, if you can put the arts you've cultivated to righteous use, your future attainment will surely not fall short of mine. I hope you keep in mind the karma of good and evil, and do not stray onto the wrong path into heresy. Otherwise, you will only harm yourself for life, and it will become a calamity for my Xuanmen."

I took a deep breath, looked straight at Elder Yang Seven, and said word by word, "Elder Yang's teachings, I will keep in mind. But the good and evil of this world are not for me alone to decide, nor for you alone. Since ancient times, good and evil have been turned upside down by the gossip of the masses. I dare not claim that my actions are good in everyone's eyes, but I act only seeking a clear conscience."

"Good… good, a clear conscience." Elder Yang Seven burst out laughing after hearing my words: "Do you know? In my life I have seen countless fools who spend their whole lives defeated by those two words, 'foolish goodness,' believing that Daoists are born to renounce anger and fury, to spare ghosts and not punish the wicked. They do not realize that cultivation is a gradual process; one must have wept and laughed, scolded and hated, before one can see through. People constantly spout the nonsense of 'going with the flow,' but in reality it is just an excuse to do nothing when trouble arises, treating those four words as a pretext. How many people cloak themselves in the guise of leading others to goodness while committing deeds worse than beasts? The former cultivate appearance, not mind, stubbornly twisting their thoughts into the will of deities and wandering off the path all their lives. The latter cultivate only for desire, never asking for a clear conscience. That you, at such a young age, could have such insight is truly rare, truly rare!"

Elder Yang Seven laughed heartily, greeted me and Pangzi to sit down, and poured us two fresh cups of wine.

Pangzi looked at the two cups on the table and still felt a little afraid.

Later, Elder Yang Seven said, "Don't worry, Xiaoqiang, this is just ordinary beer, with no thousand‑catty weight."

After hearing Elder Yang Seven's words, Pangzi gave a hehe smile and coaxed half‑teasingly, "Uncle Seven, I know you treat me the best; how could you possibly bear to use a thousand‑catty weight on me?"

A 150‑catty person acting all cute and coquettish in front of me almost made me unable to hold back the wine I'd just drunk.

I quickly changed the subject and told Elder Yang Seven about Li Xun.

Who would have thought? After hearing that, Elder Yang Seven froze for a moment and gave us a suspicious look.

"You two—can't you even solve such a simple problem?"

"Uh…" we were at a loss for words, "Is this problem really that simple?"

"Of course it's simple," Elder Yang Seven slapped his thigh: "I merely gave that swindler a minor punishment, sealing his qi apertures for a while. All you need is a dose of medicine that invigorates the blood and dispels stasis, plus an herb to clear the meridians; drink it and the qi will vent out—problem solved. Even a street‑side tea vendor knows how to handle this."

I: "……" Pangzi: "……"

Does this mean we're not even as good as a street‑side tea vendor?

Elder Yang Seven looked at our dazed expressions and laughed heartily: "It's not your fault; in the arts of mountain physiognomy, medicine, and divination, you at your age can't be expected to master everything."

Having said that, Elder Yang Seven ran to the room where the medicinal herbs were kept, wrapped two doses in yellow paper, and handed them to us, saying that as long as Li Xun took these two doses and vented the pent‑up qi in his body, he would be fine.

I took the medicine and handed over the money.

Who would have guessed? Elder Yang Seven waved his hand and said, "In that case, I won't take the money. You and Xiaoqiang go buy me a fine piece of jade to bring back; just don't delay my granddaughter's birthday."

I and Pangzi agreed, but then I couldn't hold back my doubt and asked Elder Yang Seven, "Elder Seven, to be frank, with your abilities you shouldn't be short of money, so why do you live here…?" After saying that, I glanced at the dilapidated surroundings of the house; the meaning was obvious.

Elder Yang Seven gave a faint smile, hands behind his back, gazing out the door—as if asking himself, or as if speaking to us.

"You say, how big a house does one occupy in a lifetime, and how much space does one take up after death? Even if one possesses great wealth in life, how much can be spent in the netherworld after death?" Having said that, he gave a hearty laugh, pointed to the medicinal herbs in the room, and told us, "All my life I have loved this line of work; don't think each herb is just dead matter—in fact they all possess spiritual essence. Every herb is my child; together they wholeheartedly follow me to save people. The joy in this far outweighs the pleasure of money."

Seventh Master's words made me instantly understand; he wasn't poor, but rather indifferent to money, detached from life—this is a state of mind that ordinary people simply cannot achieve.

When we were about to leave, Pangzi again turned around with a strange expression, scratching his head and asked Seventh Master: "Um, Seventh Uncle, are you really married? You even have a granddaughter?"

Who would have thought that after hearing that, Seventh Master's face flushed red, and he hurriedly explained to Pangzi: "Seventh Uncle, I'm not married; I just took on a dry kinship—that's my adopted granddaughter. You know, Seventh Uncle, my heart has always only..."

Halfway through his sentence, Seventh Master seemed to realize he had let something slip, and he forcibly took back the words he had just said.

"Get lost, why does a kid worry about so much? If you're willing, whenever you have time just come see Seventh Master with Hai Sheng; don't bother with all that nonsense." Seventh Master waved his hand, impatiently issuing Pangzi an order to leave.

Pangzi gave a hehe laugh, pulled me, and ran out of Seventh Master's house..