Chapter 2745: with translation of chapter title

2648.2547 Dragon Sand Prophecy

"Boss, see? Keeping up with the times! This is keeping up with the times!" Su Yun turned and said to Zheng Ren.

Zheng Ren felt somewhat helpless; after talking for a while, Su Yun and Wang Daoshi intentionally or unintentionally avoided the formal topic, chatting about random things.

"Never mind, mainly once my son came back home for a day and then ran off; I asked him what he was doing. He said there's no signal on the mountain, and he still wants to play ranked matches." Wang Daoshi gave a dry smile and said: "You two, what is this?! Going home and not seeing your father, the whole world only cares about ranked matches."

"That's because you're old; in young people's hearts, ranked matches are indeed more important than you." Su Yun laughed heartily.

"Let's talk serious business; we still have to check the rooms later." Zheng Ren said steadily, thinking of Yi Ren's fried eggs in his mind.

Su Yun shrugged and said: "Old brother, you see, this boss only knows checking rooms and Shou Bing every day; you say it's interesting?"

"Zheng Lao Ban, is it Master Yan looking for you?" Wang Daoshi withdrew his smile and asked softly.

"Hmm, they said it's about crossing the tribulation and protecting the Dharma. I don't understand this matter; Su Yun said he wants to consult, so I have to trouble you." Zheng Ren said with a smile.

"No trouble, no trouble, actually I don't understand either." Wang Daoshi said anxiously: "I'm just a medical college graduate who doesn't practice medicine. Since childhood I've listened to my grandfather's Idle Talk from all over, so I know a bit about supernatural oddities, but I'm not sure if they're real."

"Please speak." Zheng Ren pulled over a chair, sat in front of the tablet, and listened attentively.

"Ascending in broad daylight, everyone knows that, but…… according to current saying, it's spiritual energy……"

"Hey, Old Wang, don't go on about spiritual energy revival; in this broad daylight, under the clear heavens, those are all feudal superstition." Su Yun immediately said.

"Hey, no, no." Wang Daoshi waved his hands repeatedly, "The last record of ascending in broad daylight was in the Ming dynasty, coincidentally related to our ancestors; finally…… it was said that eight hundred earth immortals were born to face the tribulation, but in the end no one was seen to ascend."

"You're talking about ascension, while Master Yan told me about tribulation crossing." Zheng Ren frowned and asked: "Are they the same?"

"Pretty much; I have no impression of tribulation crossing, only remembering my grandfather saying our ancestors were also prominent figures during the Wanli era." Wang Daoshi spoke of his ancestors, a sheen appearing on his face.

"Old Wang, stop beating around the bush, who are your ancestors?" Su Yun asked curiously.

"Grand Secretary Wang Xijue." Wang Daoshi hid a proud expression, but the pride welling up from his bones was utterly natural, impossible to conceal.

"Your spirit of clinging to dragons and phoenixes is worth learning from; keep going." Su Yun retorted indifferently.

"Little Brother Su, I'm telling the truth; our family still has a genealogy."

Zheng Ren felt helpless; the two went further and further off topic, although he had vaguely guessed what Wang Daoshi would say, he still wanted to hear him out.

"Don't talk Idle Talk, Wang Xijue, father and son both attained the second-highest rank; I know that. Then what?" Zheng Ren asked.

"Back then, our ancestor Wang Xijue had a daughter named Wang Gui."

"Such a rustic name." Su Yun muttered.

"Not rustic; when she was born, Wang Xijue had just attained second place, which is likened to plucking osmanthus from the Moon Palace, hence the name." Zheng Ren said.

"Zheng Lao Ban, great talent!" Wang Daoshi gave a thumbs-up in praise.

"The official and unofficial histories of the Ming dynasty can't be trusted; out of ten sentences, four are false. Uh, we've gone off track again—please continue." Zheng Ren said.

"Originally our ancestor betrothed Wang Gui to Xu Jingxiao, but unfortunately Xu Jingxiao died before the wedding, so Wang Gui vowed to cultivate, calling herself Tan Yangzi, at age seventeen." Wang Daoshi said: "It's said she was an incarnation of the Bodhisattva Tanlan, and at the time many people believed in her."

"Tsk tsk, Old Wang, you've made this up; I almost believed it—keep trying." Su Yun sneered.

Su Yun also doesn't believe in these supernatural oddities.

"No joke, it's true. Scholars like Tu Long, Wang Shizhen, Feng Menglong, Xu Wenzhang and other great literati were her disciples; even her father Wang Xijue and her uncle Wang Dingjue took her as teacher." Zheng Ren said, "Back then there was the Dragon Sand Prophecy, which said a flood dragon would descend to bring calamity to the world, eight hundred earth immortals would descend, and there would be ascending in broad daylight. However the Dragon Sand Prophecy was inaccurate; later none of those people ascended."

Zheng Ren said: "But Wang Gui instead achieved sitting in meditation until death; the first attempt failed, the second time, before a crowd of one hundred thousand, she directly sat in meditation until death, said to be ascending in broad daylight, which is not impossible."

"Boss, you just said you didn't believe it, calling it feudal superstition." Su Yun retorted.

"I'm telling a legend recorded in the histories. You know Wang Shizhen, one of the literary leaders during the Jiajing and Longqing eras; he wrote works such as the 'Biography of the Great Master Tan Yang', 'Record of the Transmission of the Dao Seal by the Former Master Tan Yang to Mortals', and 'Account of the Pure Integrity Shrine', etc."

"Tsk tsk, this isn't just nonsense, is it?"

"Hard to say; maybe it's true, who knows. Wang Daoshi, please continue." Zheng Ren said with a smile.

Wang Daoshi startled, thinking I was about to say what you've already said; what more is there to say?

He gathered his thoughts and continued: "Ancestor Wang Gui achieved sitting in meditation until death, ascending in broad daylight; this is recorded in the histories."

"Hmm, then what?"

"In the Ming dynasty's Journey to the West, many chapters are also allusions. Master Xu Zhenjun, that is……"

"Wang Daoshi, you're going off topic." Zheng Ren interrupted him and continued to ask: "Regarding Wang Gui's ascending in broad daylight, do you have any records at home?"

"None……" Wang Daoshi shook his head, "Our ancestors left nothing behind; I've only kept some cultivation methods and oral formulas in a hidden place. I sent photocopies to Master Yan; perhaps after reading them he gained some insight, who knows."

Looking at Wang Daoshi's appearance, he seems somewhat envious.

"I told you!" Su Yun shouted: "Then what?"

"I lack the talent for this; I can't understand much of it. I'm just a doctor wearing a Daoist robe; over the years I've managed to accumulate a large amount of incense offerings, which is purely luck."

"Boss, Brother Wang says he doesn't know." Su Yun looked back at Zheng Ren with some regret.

"Then what about turning the illusory into the real; do you understand that?"

"I don't understand." Wang Daoshi shook his head, "However, Zheng Lao Ban, I have something I'm not sure whether to say……"

"Hurry up and say it; usually when you say 'should or shouldn't say', you follow with 'but saying it's fine'. Aren't you tired! Getting up early this morning to video chat with you, I haven't even eaten yet." Su Yun said.

"We're all materialists; the incense business here is just a trade, and if spoken of seriously it's akin to a psychological clinic." Wang Daoshi said solemnly: "Talk of tribulation crossing, ascending in broad daylight, and turning the illusory into the real—those empty words, if we can avoid contact, we should avoid contact."

Zheng Ren smiled faintly.

"Wang Daoshi, if we don't make contact, isn't that just believing?" Su Yun retorted using Zheng Ren's earlier words, finding this logic really clear.

Wang Daoshi was left speechless.