Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 975: Meet Again

Before Master Wen could ask his three questions, Master Qi Dasheng and Master Wang Xuanyi looked at Wang Zhan. Wang Zhan said with a bitter face, "I had no choice but to come out this time. Firstly, no matter what, Blind Chen taught me and is my master. I have to fulfill my master's entrustment. Secondly, I wanted to see my Master Wang Xuanyi to put my mind at ease. And also, I was very annoyed by the petty scheming of my neighbors and wanted to find some peace and quiet."

Master Wen laughed and said, "Haha, you little rascal, you want to have your cake and eat it too, but you don't want to get involved in either. You don't follow Taoism or believe in Buddhism, and you don't want to be involved in the world. What do you want to do? Grow old alone and find a place to hide from the world? Are you that cowardly?"

Qi Dasheng looked at Wang Zhan and said, "I know about your family situation. Actually, I really don't want people to think about you. Who told you to be a child walking down the street with a gold ingot in your hand? Actually, it's very simple if you don't want people to think about you. Just don't have the gold ingot in your hand."

“Wealth is a powerful motivator, Xiao Zhan. You have truly transcended worldly concerns. When you came back, I thought you would hide your talents, but I didn’t expect that you only hid half of them and still exposed them,” Wang Xuanyi said, trying to comfort him.

Wang Zhan fell into deep thought. He finally understood why he was being targeted. It was because of that huge deposit. It turned out that he was safe and sound because of Uncle Li's protection. Now, after the various policy changes and special events in recent years, the personnel turnover has been particularly serious.

Wang Zhan understood Master Wen's advice and asked, "Master Wen, is there anything you want to ask me?"

Master Wen took a sip of tea and said with a smile, "I guess you can guess the answer to the first question, but you certainly won't tell me, so I won't ask. Let's get straight to the second question: Have you ever met Wang Wenyuan?"

"Hmm? Master Wen knows this person? To be honest, I've never met him. Perhaps it's a coincidence. The two years I spent traveling abroad coincided with the two years Wang Wenyuan lived in Beijing. Perhaps it was fate that we missed each other perfectly, but..." Wang Wenyuan was quite surprised when Master Wen asked him about Wang Wenyuan, but he told the truth.

"But what?" Master Wen looked at Wang Zhan curiously.

Wang Zhan said, "However, I went to the courtyard where he lived, of course, secretly. I saw a letter, which seemed to be written to a two-year-old child in the next courtyard. Later, the child was taken away by the relevant authorities and disappeared for more than half a year, but was eventually sent back."

Master Wen thought for a moment and asked, "Can you tell me the child's name? How old is he now?"

"His name is Yan Jiekuang, he should be fourteen years old this year," Wang Zhan replied, then turned to Qi Dasheng and said, "Master, can I have a cigarette?"

Qi Dasheng was a little angry, but he still took out a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket and handed them over, saying, "How old are you? You're already smoking, kid."

Wang Zhan smiled, lit a cigarette, and after thinking for a while, Master Wen said, "One last question, is there anything special about that child?"

Wang Zhan took a drag of his cigarette and said, "According to Wang Wenyuan's letter, that child should be a reincarnated person, but I don't know if that's true or not. I've met that child, and he is indeed extraordinary and incredibly intelligent."

Wang Zhan paused, stubbed out his cigarette, and then said, "Master Wen, as for the first question, I can only answer you that Wuliang Temple on Qingcheng Mountain will soon be restored to its original state."

Master Wang smiled and nodded. At this moment, Master Wang Xuanyi and Qi Dasheng had no idea what the first question they had asked was. Both of them were completely confused.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Wang Zhan called Wang Li over, and led by Qi Dasheng, they went to the front yard and settled into a room in the east wing, next to Qi Dasheng's room. After dinner, Wang Li felt a little sleepy and went to bed early. Wang Zhan and Qi Dasheng sat facing each other at a square table.

Qi Dasheng prepared two small dishes and a pot of old wine, but he drank alone. Wang Zhan drank his tea and didn't say much before Qi Dasheng impatiently asked, "What was the first question you asked Wen Shi?"

Wang Zhan looked deeply at his master and said, "Master, I can't tell you about this. I'm sorry."

Upon hearing this, Qi Dasheng stopped asking questions and instead kept inquiring about the situation after Wang Zhan left. Wang Zhan gave a general account of what he knew and mentioned that he would be taking the high school entrance exam next year and did not plan to go to university. This was a decision Wang Zhan made after careful consideration in the Jade Void Space.

Qi Dasheng didn't say much, because he knew that Wang Zhan was a very opinionated person, and once he made a decision, probably no one could persuade him otherwise.

In his final moments, Wang Zhan asked the question he most wanted to know: why Qi Dasheng had fled Beijing at all costs.

Qi Dasheng sighed and recounted his journey down the mountain. This time, he was also influenced by his fellow disciples and had no choice but to leave Beijing.

It turns out that there were more than just his master among the monks who came down from Shaodang Mountain. There were a total of eleven monks who came down the mountain. Among them, there were ten fellow disciples and one uncle who was Qi Dasheng.

But not long after they descended the mountain, they encountered a small squad of Japanese soldiers and their collaborators sweeping through a village. Several of the young fellow disciples were filled with rage upon seeing this and, in a moment of impulsiveness, rushed forward.

A group of highly skilled monks and a group of Japanese soldiers armed with firearms—it was no surprise that Qi Dasheng and his men scattered and fled for their lives in no time.

Fortunately, they had some martial arts skills and could move around freely, but the eleven of them were scattered. Qi Dasheng took his two junior brothers and ran to Lu, where he joined a local guerrilla team. In several battles, his two junior brothers died one after another, and he later joined the army directly.

The problem arose with that martial uncle. He led the remaining five men westward and encountered the Skinhead Party's troops. Since they were fighting the Japanese anyway, it didn't matter whose side they joined, so he went straight into that army.

His uncle was also a capable man, advancing bravely all the way from a squad leader to a regimental commander. However, his heart also changed, and he became completely devoted to the skinheads, eventually becoming one of them.

After the end of the War of Resistance against Japan, the civil war broke out. His uncle-master also took the lead and charged ahead. His name was even on our unit's internal documents. He was an enemy with a name and a surname. What was even more infuriating was that the few brothers-in-arms he led all became members of the assassination squad.

Just last year, the martial uncle who had fled to the island actually wrote an autobiography and published it, detailing the situation at Shaodang Mountain at that time. When the relevant higher authorities saw it, they thought, "This won't do. This issue must be investigated." And once they investigated, Qi Dasheng was exposed. Qi Dasheng was not afraid of death, but he was afraid of being wronged. After getting wind of the situation, he ran back to Shaodang Mountain overnight. But when he saw that there were sentries everywhere, Qi Dasheng did not go up the mountain. Instead, he walked into Sichuan and went to seek refuge with Master Wen.

(End of this chapter)