Under One Person: The Seeker of the Dao in the Lü Family

Chapter 288 Is it too late to be aboveboard?

"I have a grand-disciple who is going to settle the karmic debts of the Jia Shen year for us. Thirty-three has now returned to being Xu Xin of the Tang Clan."

As the gentle breeze blew, Zhou Sheng excitedly recounted his recent adventures to Feng Ping, "Brother Feng Ping, we can finally be ourselves openly and honestly again!"

"Can I finally be myself openly and honestly?"

Upon hearing Zhou Sheng's excited voice, the originally blazing golden flames froze for a moment, and then a powerful and fierce wave of fire burst forth, instantly evaporating and dissipating the surrounding misty clouds.

In a clear, azure sky, dazzling golden flames illuminated the sky above Huodezong.

"Hahaha, after all these years, I, Fengping, can finally be myself again!"

As the towering waves of fire erupted, the figure of an old man slowly emerged from the layers of swirling flames.

The old man had white hair and beard, and his head was wrapped in an old red cloth. His body was somewhat withered and hunched, but his eyes were bright and piercing, with a light shining within them, as if two immortal flames were burning inside.

"Hahaha, I am Fengping, the Fire Virtue Sect Master!"

His cheerful and spirited voice, along with the ripples of firelight, swept in all directions, as if he were offering a prayer to the heavens and earth.

"I am Fengping, the Fire Virtue Sect Master!"

The echoing voice reverberated in all directions, but the old man showed no signs of fatigue. Instead, he repeated, "Hahaha, I've finally returned!"

Before he finished speaking, the wave of fire enveloped his figure, transforming him into a dazzling meteor that leaped down from the sky and streaked towards the Huode Sect's encampment below.

"boom--"

The scorching flames burned the air along the way, and the silent wind suddenly boiled over, emitting a thunderous roar that shook the heavens and the earth.

"Bang!"

The fiery meteor fell to the ground, crashing from the sky into the tallest, chimney-like tower in the center of the Fire Virtue Sect. Yet, the surging flames did not shatter the stone bricks.

The commotion had already alerted the disciples and members of the Fire Virtue Sect who remained behind. They watched as the old man slowly emerged from the meteor shower, but they withdrew their own abilities and silently surrounded him.

"Master, your unworthy disciple Fengping has finally returned today."

Fengping, who emerged completely from the flames, seemed oblivious to the lingering firelight licking at the hem of his clothes before the flames had even faded. His eyes, burning with intense fire, shimmered with a light that seemed to ripple like water.

In the turbulent water, light and shadow trembled, forming scenes from the past.

"Fengping, you brat, you dare to run away?"

A burly middle-aged man in a brown shirt, his eyebrows furrowed and teeth clenched, chased after a flustered young man ahead.

"Master, I will never dare to do it again next time."

The young man being chased had two spiky buns in his hair and was dressed casually, with his red robe revealing his chest, making him look very unrestrained and dissolute.

"You dare to do it again next time, huh?"

"Master, I know I was wrong!"

The past seemed to intertwine with the present. Feng Ping, now an old man with a white beard, knelt down before the stone tower in front of him, reciting the words between master and disciple from the past.

"Since you know you were wrong, then get up."

Unlike usual, the response to Fengping was not the middle-aged man's angry yet concerned rebuke, but rather a command tinged with a sigh.

"Senior brother, is it too late?"

Fengping raised his head, the shimmering light in his eyes seemed to evaporate in the flames, and the light and shadow in his eyes also dissipated with the flickering flames.

He looked at the old man who stepped out of the stone tower and asked in a deep voice, "Senior brother, is it too late for Fengping?"

"Shh..."

Amidst the sound of shoes scraping against the stone bricks, a tall, elderly man wearing a brown outer robe and a red inner garment slowly walked out of the stone tower and came to Fengping.

"You'll always be Toyohira, so how could it be too late?"

Fengping, who was kneeling in front of the stone tower, raised his head and looked at his senior brother in front of him with his eyes burning with flames. In the shimmering light, he seemed to see that old friend.

This senior brother, who had become an old man, wore the same brown outer garment as the middle-aged strong man from before, but his figure was not as burly as the strong man's; instead, he was rather thin and upright.

The wide sleeves of his crimson inner robe swayed as he walked, like a cluster of burning flames.

The moment he saw the other person's figure and face clearly, the tremor in Fengping's eyes subsided, and he bowed again to the old man and the stone tower in front of him.

"Master, your disciple Fengping has returned home today."

Ultimately, things have changed, but fortunately, some old friends are still around.

Feng Ping's calm words, though spoken softly, echoed throughout the silent Huode Sect. After speaking, he did not wait for the vague response, but instead stood up with a smile on his face.

"Senior brother, junior brother went home today."

As Feng Ping's surviving senior brother and the current head of the Huode Sect, the old man also wore the same smile as Feng Ping.

"Disciples of the Fire Virtue Sect, heed my command!"

"Sect Leader!"

He straightened his red robe and brown shirt, and with a smile, he ordered the disciples who were gathering from all directions, "Feng Ping, a disciple of the Huode Sect, is my junior brother. He has just returned from his travels and has not yet met your elder."

"This disciple greets my martial uncle, grand-uncle, and great-grand-uncle..."

The rising and falling sounds resembled layers of dancing flames, and the disciples of the Fire Virtue Sect, dressed in red robes, respectfully greeted Feng Ping, who was surrounded in the center.

Different titles of seniority were uttered by disciples of varying ages, without a trace of contempt for the Jia Shen traitors, but rather filled with respect for their elders.

"Haha, we're all family, why be so polite?"

As the aged-looking Fengping listened to the title that seemed to still echo in his ears, his smile grew even more radiant, and the accumulated wrinkles resembled a blooming chrysanthemum.

At this moment, he was like an old tree that had lived in seclusion in the dark, seeing the bright light again, and was rejuvenated. The flame in his heart that had been somewhat dim was also rekindled.

Seeing Feng Ping's almost maniacal laughter, the Huode Sect leader suddenly stopped smiling, put on a serious face, and said, "Oh, since Junior Brother Feng Ping is so unconventional, then let's cancel the banquet we were originally going to hold for you."

"No, senior brother, we still need to be polite."

Upon hearing this, Fengping scratched his head and looked at his senior brother. He had lost the composure of an old man and acted as rashly as a young man.

"Haha, alright, I'll take care of it for you. Let's celebrate together when the disciples who went out return."

The Fire Virtue Sect leader chuckled and patted Feng Ping on the shoulder, calming the leaping flames back down, and nodded to himself.

The Jia Shen Rebellion was not only a calamity for the world of supernatural beings, but also a calamity for the Thirty-Six Thieves.

For righteous disciples like Feng Ping, losing their sense of propriety and restraint, and rashly forming a sworn brotherhood with the leader of Quanxing Sect, was like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins and lost its restraint.

Having experienced such a great disaster, Fengping has come to understand the importance of restraint and dares not run wild anymore, thus growing a lot.

When calamity strikes and there is no way out, one must save oneself.

Only in this way can one turn calamities into trials and tribulations, and cultivate oneself.

"Alright, junior brother, please come with me to the ancestral hall first. The disciples may disperse on their own."

The Fire Virtue Sect leader led the transformed Feng Ping into the towering stone tower, while the surrounding disciples dispersed, but the fiery atmosphere became even more intense and passionate.

"Hmm, this part is not bad either. Let me think of a title."

High in the sky, amidst the gentle breeze and clouds, Zhou Sheng squinted his eyes in thought, holding a brush in his hand, writing and drawing on the book in front of him.

"The wanderer returns home with his true nature restored; the old friend returns with a bright and upright spirit."

"Shh..."

The ink-dipped brush rubbed against the pages of the book, becoming the past, and the past transformed into a wisp of ink that gradually dried on the yellowed and white pages.

"Wonderful!"

With the final stroke, Zhou Sheng abruptly closed the book in his hands, neatly tidying up the messy ink marks and pages.

He laughed heartily as he gathered his brush and book back into the breeze, the two characters "Jia Shen" on the book cover flashing by in his unrestrained laughter.

"Hahaha, my penmanship is becoming increasingly powerful, and elegant and colorful words can come out of my mouth with ease."

"It's just a pity that it's not the right time for this old man to return to Wudang."

As he laughed, Zhou Sheng suddenly shook his head, a hint of regret and reminiscence on his face. "Brother Fengping is ultimately different from the rest of us."

"Compared to those living dead, we few have long since become monsters."

As he spoke, a gentle breeze rose again, and Zhou Sheng's face disappeared once more into the swirling wind, transforming back into a wisp of cloud and drifting away into the distance.

"This thing that is neither alive nor dead was created by us..."

Amidst the swirling clouds and mist, his sighing and lamenting voice faintly drifted from afar, gradually fading into thin air and finally disappearing completely.

……

The atmosphere at the North China branch of the company, the base of Feng Baobao and Zhang Chulan, was somewhat heavy.

"This is troublesome. Why does it feel like our connection with the world of supernatural beings is getting weaker and weaker?"

Looking at the food in front of him, Zhang Chulan's expression was somewhat worried. "Since the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, although we have completely faded our presence in the world of supernatural beings, it has faded a bit too much."

"Isn't this better?"

Zhang Lingyu, who remained calm as she ate her food, asked with a puzzled look, "Judging from your behavior at the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, you shouldn't be someone who likes to show off, right?"

"Yes, you clearly hope there's a hole where you can bury yourself."

Faced with Feng Baobao and Zhang Lingyu's answers from the left and right, Zhang Chulan helplessly took a bite of food and said somewhat vaguely, "But we still need to investigate the old events related to the Jia Shen Rebellion."

"The company has no records of these old stories, so we can only find a breakthrough by talking about those senior colleagues."

"But since our trip to Tongtian Valley, we haven't seen any of our seniors, let alone any of our peers. How are we supposed to investigate?"

"It's impossible for a diary to just fall out of thin air and contain details of the events and people involved in the Jia Shen Rebellion."

Zhang Chulan finished his meal listlessly, then sat back down and looked at his two calm teammates, sighing repeatedly.

"No need to rush, Gouwazi was about the same age as you back then."

Seemingly moved by Zhang Chulan's mournful gaze, Feng Baobao slowed down her frantic eating and said with her cheeks puffed out, "I want to find someone but I'm always locked out. I can only stare helplessly in frustration."

"Former General Manager Xu Xiang?"

Zhang Lingyu picked up the conversation and started talking about some old memories. "Back when I was accompanying my master to banquets all over the place, many seniors complained about him, saying that he was too stubborn. Then those seniors discussed it and reached a consensus on their attitude towards him: they would refuse to see him."

His originally calm expression and tone paused suddenly when he said the word "master," then he continued as if nothing was wrong.

"Junior Uncle, you still haven't let go?"

Zhang Chulan now understood the difficulty of the task at hand. He sighed and temporarily set aside any thought of a way to break the deadlock. Instead, he looked at Zhang Lingyu with concern.

"We've heard about your situation, Xia He..."

"Alright, I understand everything, so you don't need to try to persuade me."

Zhang Lingyu interrupted Zhang Chulan's hesitant words, put down the clean bowl and chopsticks and let out a long sigh of relief, "I don't resent Master and Junior Brother Shima An at all, on the contrary, I am very grateful for their help."

"The trials of love are difficult to overcome. Once you are unable to make a decision, lingering desires will entangle you and lead you into a love tribulation."

"And Xia He is also my emotional tribulation, a tribulation I created myself."

"My previous cultivation was too shallow, and I was trapped in appearances, failing to face the true nature of body and mind. As a result, I deceived myself and the world."

He looked at Zhang Chulan, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes, but then it disappeared. He straightened his voice and continued speaking.

"Zhang Lingyu is not actually that extraordinary and beautiful jade, but a stubborn stone with a golden exterior but a rotten interior."

"I am very familiar with the precepts and rituals, but I do not know why we must observe them or what their purpose is."

"Faced with Xia He, I know I have to break the law, yet I find it difficult to choose. Thus, our love has turned into a karmic debt."

"In my eyes, Xia He is no longer that beautiful woman, but a shackle formed from a regretful resentment."

"I dared not break free from these shackles before, so I could only let them become heavier and heavier, dragging me into the abyss, sinking deeper and deeper."

"Perhaps one day I will be able to break free from these shackles and escape the abyss, but that version of myself will definitely not be the person I want to be."

Zhang Lingyu shook her head, a look of relief and gratitude appearing on her face. "The so-called precepts and rituals are all for self-discipline, not for self-restraint."

"Adhering to the precepts is not about following them for the sake of following them, but about finding oneself better and more genuinely."

"The real Zhang Lingyu wanted to become a master like the Celestial Master, not a Celestial Master like his master."

Seeing that Zhang Chulan was almost completely confused by his explanation, he stopped talking and asked the two of them apologetically, "Do you understand?"

"Master... Celestial Master... wait, let me sort this out."

Unlike Zhang Chulan, who was rubbing his head, Feng Baobao swallowed the food in her mouth and said to Zhang Lingyu with a sudden realization.

"It's simple, you want to be a jerk!"

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I've finished yesterday's update. I'm sorry I fell behind because I have exams coming up. I'll try to update more frequently when I'm busy.