Chapter 124

Li Miao agreed with Xingchi on the time to meet later, and then got up to say goodbye.

He entered Shaolin at the second watch, and discussing the Dao with Xingchi took longer than expected.

At this time, it was already close to the third watch, not far from the time agreed with Zhu Zai.

Li Miao first climbed onto the roof of the Shaolin Main Hall, looked down at the Imperial Guard camp outside the temple.

The Commander-in-Chief's camp was naturally different in shape from ordinary Imperial Guard camps, and Li Miao easily found where Zhu Zai was.

Before, Li Miao asked Yin Minjun to pass a message to Zhu Zai: if the heavenly being expert from the imperial court was there during the day, hang a lantern outside the camp tent. If he was not there, hang two.

Li Miao looked over, and outside that camp tent, there were clearly two lanterns hanging.

It seems that person is not there, so Li Miao can be slightly relieved.

Li Miao stepped into the air, performed the Quanzhen "Ascending to Heaven Ladder," rose several zhang in the void, and then used Wudang's "Ladder Cloud Vertical," stepping three steps in the air, and flew far away in mid-air.

And then he used the Ming Sect's "Flying Catkin Blue Smoke Skill," and the whole person was like a cloud of smoke drifting in the dark night, falling lightly toward the Imperial Guard camp.

And at this time, in the camp tent, Zhu Zai was sitting in a chair with his eyes closed, as if he were taking a nap.

But secretly, he was listening to the movements around him with full attention.

At this time, it was the third watch.

He heard the camp tent being pulled open, and Li Miao walked in slowly, looking at Zhu Zai who had his eyes closed, but with a light smile.

"Commander-in-Chief, resting?"

"Rest your leg!!!"

Zhu Zai opened his eyes suddenly, shouted angrily, and threw the embroidered spring sword at his waist.

It was easily caught by Li Miao and held in his hand.

The familiar feeling was back.

When they were in Shuntian Prefecture, Zhu Zai would come to this every few days. After being out of the capital for a few months, Li Miao actually missed this feeling quite a bit.

So he dragged a chair and sat down, supporting his face, looking sideways at Zhu Zai, and said lazily.

"Commander-in-Chief, didn't Wang Hai tell you about my martial arts?"

"Before, you thought I was a peak expert, so you used the strength of a first-rate expert to throw at me. Now that you know I'm a heavenly being, you use the strength of a peak expert to throw at me."

"But even if you throw all the swords of the Imperial Guard one by one, you won't hit me; why bother with this effort?"

"Don't be angry; you're old, anger hurts the liver."

Li Miao was teasing the old man.

Sure enough, hearing Li Miao say this, Zhu Zai was even more anxious for a moment.

"If you were afraid of making me angry, you should have confessed to me earlier!"

"Hiding and tucking away in Shuntian Prefecture, and then making trouble after leaving the capital—do you know how hard it is to wipe your butt this time!?"

"If you were seen by that person during the day and he knew your realm, both of us would be in big trouble!"

After saying this, Zhu Zai got up, turned around quickly on the spot, barely calmed his emotions, and turned his head to look at Li Miao suddenly.

"How many paths have you cultivated now?"

"Three paths," Li Miao said lightly.

"How many paths have you completed?" Zhu Zai continued to ask.

"One path. If I fight for my life, I can barely manage two paths, and I have to retreat after fighting."

After Li Miao finished saying this, Zhu Zai was stunned for a moment.

"Retreat... down? Retreat what?" Zhu Zai asked hesitantly.

"Realm, of course. After completing it, don't you die? So I complete it when fighting, and retreat after fighting."

"???"

Zhu Zai was silent for a long while before speaking with difficulty.

"If it weren't for me personally picking you up into the Imperial Guard back then, and teaching you the foundation hand by hand, I would have suspected you were a monster that ran out of some grave."

"With that comprehension of yours back then that was only slightly better than dog urine moss, how did you cultivate it silently?"

"I have natural divine strength."

"Dog fart!"

"I have natural talent."

"Dog fart!"

"I am Bodhidharma reincarnated."

"... Really?"

"No—" Li Miao couldn't hold it anymore.

"Are you a bit senile? You don't believe in natural divine strength or natural talent, but you believe in reincarnation?"

"Nonsense," Zhu Zai said: "If the Heavenly Being Realm could be achieved just by having good talent, there wouldn't be so few in the world."

"It's true that your roots are surprisingly good, but if you only had roots, at most you would be a peak expert."

"With those martial arts collected by the Imperial Guard, most of them are incomplete books; if you can cultivate them by practicing randomly, what other possibility is there besides being a god reincarnated?"

Li Miao had to smile helplessly: "Fine, fine, just treat me as reincarnated and suddenly awakened to past wisdom."

This statement was not wrong.

Reincarnated, indeed reincarnated, just from another world.

Zhu Zai was silent for a moment, looked at Li Miao: "So, are you going to become a monk?"

"No wonder you haven't married a wife at thirty-something, I introduced so many to you and you didn't want any; it turns out the root is here."

"Are you just coming out of Shaolin? Xingchi is going to die, are you taking over as Shaolin abbot?"

These words carried resentment, clearly like an old man who finally thought his son had gone to college and could finally live a life of holding his grandchildren, only to find out the admission notice was for a Buddhist college.

"Hey hey! You old man, you're addicted to talking, I'll sue you for slandering an imperial official!" Li Miao couldn't help but say.

"I don't marry a wife because I don't like being managed; I have quite a few confidantes, seven or eight of them!"

"There are a few I don't even dare to tell you about; if you met them, you would have to pay respects to them."

Zhu Zai listened to this, pondered for a long while, and looked at Li Miao suspiciously.

"Really not becoming a monk?"

"Really not... you old man."

"Sigh... actually, if you really were Bodhidharma reincarnated, it would save a lot of trouble."

Zhu Zai sat down on the chair dejectedly, rubbing his eyebrows.

Li Miao also put away his lazy expression and looked at Zhu Zai seriously.

"What trouble?"

"What trouble?" Zhu Zai sneered: "Heroes violate the ban with martial arts, not to mention heavenly beings?"

"Youthful appearance, seeing god without damage—who doesn't want it? Doesn't the Emperor want it?"

"Three paths combined, without any signs of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man—who doesn't want to explore the secret within? Doesn't that person sitting in the sedan chair during the day want it?"

"You don't have the surname Zhu, you're not a eunuch, and you don't have a family—will the Emperor trust you?"

"Why did Ji Tianrui have to die? Why don't inheritances like Shaolin and Wudang have experts in the Heavenly Being Realm?"

"Some things, I don't know either. But these principles, just think a little and you'll understand."

Zhu Zai concluded with one sentence.

"Whether you are a rebel or not is not about whether you want to, but whether you can."

Li Miao was silent for a while, looking at Zhu Zai.

"Therefore, I didn't tell you about my martial arts."

"If I had told you the truth back then, you might not have let me cultivate."

"I am not a martial arts fanatic; practicing martial arts is not my goal, but the only means."

Zhu Zai looked at Li Miao and asked: "What do you want?"

"Liberation," Li Miao said: "Speaking of which, I have died twice."

"Once was the day you picked me up; I thought I was dead, but I lived inexplicably. Once was fifteen years ago, that incident with the Ming Sect."

"Between life and death, one can understand the heart and see the nature."

"What I seek is the mountains and seas, not a cage."

(End of chapter)