Chapter 227: Ning Qing's Vicious Personality (Thanks to the Alliance Leader

This dark-skinned girl is named Tang Ke; her surname is quite long, and I didn't quite catch it. It is said that she used to attend school in Leche. Before the war broke out, Duqin was also a thriving country—backward, but not poor. At the very least, its mineral resources were abundant. Not everyone could afford to go to school, but there were still many who could.

Schools in Duqin require learning a foreign language. Her school required a choice between Chinese and Lan language, and she chose Chinese.

Tang Ke led the group to see the Battlefield of both sides; the corpses and weapons of the Lanya people were still left here, as they dared not collect them.

This Lanya squad was mainly composed of Night People and Barbarians, which shows it was an elite unit. It is said they were equipped with two armored War Chariots, which were fitted with small-caliber cannons. One of them had already turned into scrap metal and lay here, and although the Battlefield had been covered by dust and sand, it was still a shocking sight.

Immediately after, she led the group to see the place where Dharma Master Tongzhi met his end.

A small mound of dirt located on the mountaintop.

Not a single blade of grass grew on it.

Chen Shu could not help but feel a bit emotional.

Counting it up, Dharma Master Tongzhi was in the same class as Senior Brother Ji Guanhe. If calculated by a five-year university system, he would have just graduated this year, at around twenty-five years old. To be able to cultivate to the Fifth Stage at this age is truly a genius. And he possessed a heart of great kindness; if he could have thought it through, he would surely have become a Venerable of the Buddhist Sect in the future, and perhaps even added another Ninth Stage Bodhisattva to Xinzheng Temple.

But it is hard to say which one is better.

It is hard to say which is better.

Did Dharma Master Tongzhi not understand this?

Not necessarily.

The Buddhist Sect is skilled at predicting the future; when that Venerable agreed to let Dharma Master Tongzhi come, could he not foresee this outcome?

Not necessarily.

Chen Shu tried to put himself in his shoes: letting Dharma Master Tongzhi watch the Lanya people slaughter the village, while convincing himself with the excuse, "My future is boundless, I will ascend to the High-Tier, and by surviving, I can save more people in the future," and letting himself pretend he didn't see it. But he quickly discovered that this was very difficult to do.

Accepting his own cowardice, or possessing courage—Dharma Master Tongzhi chose the latter.

The future where he might save many people, versus the village before his eyes that he could definitely save now—Dharma Master Tongzhi still chose the latter.

Who could say he was not a Bodhisattva?

In truth, everyone is merely a mortal, but when a mortal performs an act that transcends the scope of a mortal, at that moment, he is a deity.

The hot wind whistled around them, and Zuo You's voice came through: "When did the battle take place?"

Tang Ke answered in a low voice:

"A few days ago."

"When the sandstorm arrived..."

"During the day."

"What time?"

"Close to... evening."

"That Lanya unit was not completely wiped out?"

"That's right."

"The rest escaped."

"That's right."

"Dharma Master Tongzhi didn't die at that time either?"

"He died a day later."

"Then why haven't you left yet? Aren't you afraid the Lanya people will come back?"

"I have to stay here and wait for you."

"What about the others?"

"A few grandpas and grandmas didn't want to leave, they couldn't walk anymore, and there was nowhere for them to go. There are also a few uncles who are waiting for me."

"Leave as soon as possible."

"We'll leave tomorrow morning."

"Good."

Zuo You nodded to show he understood and fell silent.

The group returned to the village in silence and found a house to stay in.

"I speculate that the Lanya Mercenary will definitely come back here, at least to investigate; they were only delayed by the sandstorm and the interference with Spirit Power," Zuo You said. "To avoid complications, we had best leave as soon as possible."

"You all go first," Zhang Suannai spoke up first, her gaze indifferent. "I'll stay here and wait for them."

"What do you want to do?"

"My hands are itching."

"Don't act on impulse. The current primary mission is to protect the expert, rendezvous with the main force, and follow the orders of the Command Center before doing anything else."

"To hell with the expert; he might even want to stay and fight."

"..." Zuo You glanced at Chen Shu. "Regardless, that is a Lanya unit; we cannot casually have a conflict with them, as it easily leads to a dispute between the two countries."

"I'm not wearing a military uniform. I'm the same as that monk right now." Zhang Suannai spread her hands and paused. "Besides, that girl just said this place is only twenty kilometers from Leche. It's a quick trip, and there's likely no danger. Even if I don't stay here to wait for the Lanya people, once I escort you to Leche, I'll basically be parting ways with you anyway. I'm here for training, not to be a bodyguard."

After finishing, Zhang Suannai didn't wait for Zuo You to speak and stood up: "I suggest you take Chen Shu and go first. I'll stay behind alone. My hands have been itching for a long time, I've been holding back for so long, I really can't take it anymore. If I don't fight now, I'm going to die. It's hard to find an opportunity like this, I can't let it go..."

The Gate of All Wonders said calmly:

"Count me in."

Chen Shu also said with a smile: "Brother Suannai is truly a great man! Count me in as well!"

"What are you doing? You're the expert."

"If you don't stay, I won't either. Since you are staying, and I don't, I would surely regret it later... I have no choice but to risk my life to accompany a gentleman."

"Then let's do it!"

"Do it!"

Chen Shu's smile was radiant.

The unnamed person was silent for a few seconds before saying: "Since you all want to stay, I'll join you..."

Zhang Tengyu and Zhou Cheng both looked toward Zuo You.

Zuo You nodded, knowing their thoughts, but his expression remained calm: "Our mission is to protect the expert. Since the expert wants to stay, we naturally cannot leave either. Tomorrow, everyone should not wear battle armor or military uniforms, and the use of standard-issue weapons is also forbidden. Additionally, put your own safety first, be ready to evacuate at any time, and don't throw your lives away."

"Understood!"

At this moment, a knock on the door came from outside.

Zhong Miao Zhi Men waved a hand, and the door opened.

Tang Ke stood outside holding a kettle and said to them, "I brought you some water..."

"Thank you."

Zhong Miao Zhi Men hurriedly took the water.

Tang Ke then fished a few items out of her pocket and handed them to Zhong Miao Zhi Men: "These are the things belonging to the Daoist Duqin..."

Zhong Miao Zhi Men took them and could not help but fall silent again.

A wooden Nameplate;

A monk's certificate;

An official certificate;

A string of prayer beads;

That was all.

He had come to Duqin alone, not even bringing a communicator, Mobile Phone, Storage Artifact, or money.

Zhong Miao Zhi Men put them away.

Tang Ke left.

Chen Shu let out a long sigh, stood up, and walked outside, saying, "I'm going out to set up some Warning Arrays around the village, then we can take turns standing guard."

"I'll go out for some fresh air too!"

Zhong Miao Zhi Men followed him and stood up.

The sky outside was gloomy, looking as if it were evening.

Chen Shu first walked to the edge of the village, at a certain distance from it, and covertly set up a relatively simple but fully functional Formation.

Zhong Miao Zhi Men watched from right beside him.

Spirit Cultivators are still very useful in special squads, especially in squads primarily composed of Martial Artists; a Spirit Cultivator can not only provide powerful firepower and bring strong functionality, but can also recharge the weapons and equipment of others in the squad, among many other uses.

Just like the current Warning Array.

Chen Shu is quite well-versed in Warning Arrays, and he has already upgraded his own Warning Technique several times.

A Warning Array set up in the wild is naturally different from a Warning Technique; the structure needs to be as simple as possible to be set up quickly, and it must be as concealed as possible to ensure it is not discovered by the enemy. In terms of functionality, as many detection and judgment mechanisms as possible must be used in combination to ensure effectiveness.

After finishing that one, he set up another at the entrance of the village.

Immediately after, he went to a high point further away from the village to set up a Formation specifically for detecting high-spirit, high-speed attacks.

While he was at it, he used the high ground to look for any other paths into the village or places suitable for setting up Warning Arrays; in short, he set up a few more.

Caution is the priority.

When he returned to the village, Chen Shu found that the dozen or so people remaining in the village were all gathered in the temple, first paying respects to the several deities commonly worshipped in Duqin, and then coming to the Reed God's temple to worship sincerely, chanting words he could not understand.

Chen Shu stopped in his tracks.

Zhong Miao Zhi Men also stopped and looked inside.

When Tang Ke came out from inside and looked at them with confusion, Chen Shu asked, "Excuse me, what is the name of the deity in the room on the left?"

"Mengjita."

"What does that mean?"

"As for the meaning... it is the god by the lake."

"Have you been worshipping him for many years?"

"For many years."

"How long exactly?"

"I don't know, it's been too long."

"I seem to have seen his statue in Yiguo as well, so we would like to learn about this deity."

"In Yiguo?"

"Yes, we call him the Reed God."

"Reed God..."

Tang Ke repeated the term, then said, "I don't know very clearly; we have to ask the elders. I can act as a translator for you."

Ten minutes later.

The group arrived at an elder's home.

The elder also had dark skin and a face full of wrinkles; he had Second Tier cultivation and was said to be nearly a hundred years old, mumbling words the group could not understand.

Tang Ke translated for him.

It turned out that when the elder was young, he was the priest here.

According to his account, the people here have always believed in the Reed God; this time might not be very long, but for ordinary people, it is already very distant.

The elder said that in the past, there was a very large lake in front of them, and the lakeside was covered in reeds; every evening when the wind blew, the reeds would lean in one direction, and the Reed God lived there. He was likely a Cultivator, respected and worshipped by the ancient mortals as a deity, and he had always protected the peace of this land.

Until one day later, the Reed God disappeared, and someone came to tell them that the Reed God had become a true god, asking everyone to build a temple for him here.

Thus, the Reed God had a formal temple.

That person became the priest of the temple and remained in this place closest to the Reed God's former residence, passing the role down generation after generation.

At that time, there were Reed God temples everywhere in the country.

This job was quite good; during its peak, it held high status, and one could live without worry without having to labor.

The old man was his descendant.

Tang Ke laboriously conveyed the old man's words: "Mengjita was once the most powerful Cultivator in this world, the human closest to a god. Later, he successfully became a deity and issued oracles to some people. Still later, in order to save the world, Mengjita fell into a deep slumber. The country and the Government could no longer obtain protection through worshipping Mengjita, and gradually, the number of people who believed in Mengjita became fewer and fewer."

The old man said another long sentence.

Tang Ke continued to translate: "I don't know if these things are true or false, but my father told me, and I told my son, and my son told my grandson. It's just that my son is already dead, killed by the people of Lan Country, and my grandson works in Tasha and will never come back."

"Do you often pray to Mengjita?" Chen Shu asked.

"The priest says he does so every day," Tang Ke replied, then added, "When I was in the village, I also prayed to Mengjita every day, praying that my mother's illness would get better, that I could become a Cultivator, and recently, I wanted to stop this war."

"Has there ever been a response?"

"Never."

After Tang Ke finished speaking, he translated for the old man, then translated the old man's words for them: "The priest says that in the past, one could get a response."

Chen Shu nodded, indicating he understood.

Immediately, he exchanged a glance with the Gate of All Wonders, and both of them were somewhat puzzled.

The Reed God seemed to be gone already; this was a more reasonable matter. If he were still here, even if a deity did not concern himself with mortal affairs, Lan Country, out of mere caution, could not possibly act so wantonly in Duqin, and Yiguo likely would not have come to meddle in this either.

People will respect a dead person, but they will not respect that person's country, nor will they abandon their interests to respect that person.

However, the Spirit Sect clearly still had statues of the Reed God, and the Reed God had no successor.

This was very strange.

The old priest chatted with them for a few more sentences, asking about their relationship with Dharma Master Tongzhi, asking about matters concerning Dharma Master Tongzhi, asking about the Buddhist Sect and Xinzheng Temple, and also chatting about Yiguo and the war. Finally, when the two were leaving, the old man said to them:

"My ancestors were also powerful Cultivators. The words they left behind say that in order to save the people, Mengjita's World Origin has shattered, which is to say, he is dead."

……

Yujing, Zhilan Garden.

The little girl sat cross-legged on the sofa, Taozi lying beside her, one person and one cat watching the television with rapt attention.

In the documentary was a vast, deep blue sea, two dragon whales swimming unhurriedly, accompanied by the narrator's voice: "It is autumn again. At this time, the fish are at their fattest of the year, yet these two dragon whales have no heart for hunting. They are on a journey, but their destination is unknown to anyone."

"Every adult dragon whale disappears for a while about every five years. No one knows where they go or what they do. If all goes well, we might encounter it again in the same place next spring; that means it has returned. There are also those that will never return."

"These two dragon whales have begun to accelerate..."

"Click..."

The little girl heard the sound of the door opening at the entrance. She turned her head to look; it was her sister, who had just gone out, returning.

Her sister was holding a file bag in her hand.

The little girl blinked her eyes.

Taozi also turned its head and blinked its eyes.

Ning Qing paid them no mind at all, sitting down on the other side of the sofa on her own. She tore open the file bag; inside was a kraft paper envelope. She tore open the envelope as well and took out several sheets of paper and a stack of photos, only then tossing both the file bag and the envelope onto the coffee table.

The little girl adjusted her sitting posture and reached out to grab them.

"Slap!"

The little girl silently retracted her hand and turned her head to look at Taozi. It just so happened that Taozi was also looking at her. One person and one cat exchanged a glance, neither speaking—on the surface, she had not seen the sender on the folder and envelope, but in reality, she already knew who the sender was. Rounding it up, it was equivalent to having successfully seen it, and it even saved the effort of reading the words. By this calculation, she had even gained a little.

The sound on the television was still playing.

Ning Qing lowered her head to read the letter, looking very carefully.

A full three sheets of paper, two or three thousand characters, but in fact, there was not much substantial content.

It was mostly nonsense and sharing about life, occasionally interspersed with a bit of teasing that begged for a beating, no different from what they usually chatted about online. The only thing that could stir ripples in her heart was Chen Shu expressing his longing for her, but even that was only a little bit.

But the form of expression for love is nothing more than this: being unable to help wanting to say some meaningless words to that person, being unable to help wanting to share one's life with him.

"October 15, 5021

"Old Man Chen"

Ning Qing finished reading it in her heart, looked at the photos again, and then took the three sheets of paper and read them through once more.

The little girl beside her watched her with eager eyes:

"Is there anything for me?"

"No."

Ning Qing answered very coldly, but she glanced at the little girl out of the corner of her eye. She pursed her lips and changed her words: "But not all the content was meant specifically for me to see. He was just sharing his life over there; he didn't say it was only to be shared with any one person. He mentioned you in it."

"Let me see!"

The little girl reached over to grab it.

"Slap!"

Ning Qing looked at her expressionlessly.

The little girl rubbed the back of her hand, her brows tightly furrowed:

"Why won't you let me see?"

Ning Qing rolled her eyes, too lazy to pay her any mind.

The little girl's expression immediately turned serious, and she pointed at her sister:

"Your personality is terrible!"

"……"

Ning Qing was already immune to this sentence.

The little girl had no choice but to ask: "What did Brother-in-law say about me in there? Did he tell you not to hit me?"

"He said—"

Ning Qing glanced at her out of the corner of her eye: "Bring him a branch of a saxaul tree when the time comes."

"You're lying!"

"I do not tell lies."

"You're lying! You just lied a moment ago!"

"I do not lie."

"You're lying again!"

"Can't be bothered with you."

"!!"

The little girl clenched her fists tightly; she did not believe it!