Ziwei Immortal Path

Chapter 25 Chen Baochong

"Mother! Mother!"

Old man Chen rushed into the small courtyard of his home in a panic, panting, "People are coming! People are coming!"

"Who's here? Shouting!"

Huang came out of the kitchen, lifted the curtain, glared at him, wiped her hands on her apron, and asked unhappily.

Xu Boyang saw that the old Chen family's house was actually built on the beach, surrounded by reeds. There were no other residents within a ten-mile radius. Looking at the nearest fire, it was probably two miles away. The name Luwei Village was indeed very appropriate.

When I turned around, an old woman dressed in peasant clothes came out with her eyes curved into crescents and a smile on her face.

"Come quickly, Immortal! Please come in! Please come in!"

Xu Boyang pursed his lips, lowered his head, stepped over the threshold and followed him in.

A small square table, four kinds of mountain grass dishes, and a big pot of stewed fish in the middle.

Old man Chen came over happily, holding an earthen jar and two pottery bowls.

"You're welcome, father-in-law! I don't drink." Xu Boyang said hurriedly when he saw this.

"I am happy today. Even the immortals don't drink. I will drink some myself."

Old man Chen sat down and wiped off the seal with a laugh.

The fish meat was indeed plump and delicious.

The meat is sweet and melts in your mouth.

Xu Boyang had not eaten any food for a long time. Although he didn't know whether it would be harmful to eat again after fasting, he was open-minded by nature and didn't care too much. He just took things as they came.

But after finishing a bowl of fish, he put down his chopsticks and said with a smile:
"I eat less, and the old man eats slowly."

After saying this, he stood up and stood in the yard with his hands behind his back, admiring the sunset in the distance. However, another thought came to his mind:

"I've heard that Wuyin Town and Jinguang Town have been fighting for years on the north bank of Xinyue Lake. The people are suffering and refugees are fleeing. But on the south bank, there haven't been so many disturbances. Is this because the Chen family of Wuyin has taken them in, or have the two families called it quits and made peace?"

Xu Boyang did not come here for food and drink. Since he had the opportunity to meet a local, he might as well take a look and ask what was going on with the Wuyin Chen family and the Jinguang Lin family. After all, his Fengqing Town and Dongke Town were both in the south, and would be more or less affected.

"Immortal...but the food is not to your liking?"

Turning around, Old Man Chen was standing behind him, looking somewhat panicked.

"No, no, it tastes delicious, old man. I have learned the immortal arts and no longer need to worry about eating and drinking. I just felt like eating. Please forgive me."

Seeing this, Xu Boyang hurriedly explained.

"That's fine, that's fine!"

Old man Chen felt relieved, laughed, and turned around to bring two small wooden stools.

The two of them sat in the yard and started chatting.

When Huang saw this, she didn't even bother to clean up the leftovers. She quickly wiped her hands, picked up a stool and sat over.

"Is your child cultivating on the Immortal Mountain? He hasn't returned in ten years?"

Xu Boyang was a little surprised after hearing this. He thought that this old couple was just an ordinary family. He didn't expect that they had children practicing in the fairy mountain. In this small village, that was a big deal.

"Yes, it's been ten years. This old man and the child's mother missed him so much. He never came back. I don't know how the child is doing, whether he has lacked food and clothing."

"I'm an old man with a simple heart and a broad mind. Sometimes I feel sad when I think of her, and sometimes I forget about her when I'm happy fishing. But my child's mother is always worried about me and nags me all day long..."

As Old Man Chen spoke with a smile on his face, his eyes turned red. Maybe it was because he drank a few more sips, but his old face was flushed. Mrs. Huang listened silently beside him, tears filling her eyes. She quickly turned her head and wiped them with her sleeve.

“Poor parents in the world…”

Xu Boyang saw this and felt a sense of regret in his heart. However, he had only been practicing for four or five years, so how could he know who the Immortal Mountain disciples were? He was afraid of hurting the old couple by telling them directly, so he decided to ask around first, just in case he had the chance to meet them in the future. He then asked:

"Father, do you know which family took your child away?"

"Old man, let me tell you!"

Huang wiped away her tears, sniffed her nose, and said:
"My son Chong'er has been incredibly intelligent since he was young. He could speak eloquently at the age of four or five. All the teachers in town were vying to teach him. His eldest brother found the best teacher in Wuyin Town, but after only two years, he said he couldn't continue teaching him and that there was nothing more to teach."

"We old couple are naturally happy! But the child is only seven or eight years old. If he doesn't go to school, we don't know what to do with him. We can't let him come back and follow his father fishing! Later, we can let him help out at the ancestral hall in town, and let the children study with him."

"But later, someone from the Chen family, a major clan in Wuyin Town, came to tell Chong'er and his eldest brother that this kid had a destiny to become an immortal and would go to the mountains to become an immortal. Our family was both happy and scared. We were happy because the kid could actually become an immortal, and that would no longer be a statue in the ancestral hall. We were also scared because the people from the major clan said that since he had a destiny to become an immortal, he had to go, otherwise the immortal would get angry and bring disaster."

"Later, the kid was taken away by people from the Dazong sect. They said they were going to the Fairy Mountain, but where is the Fairy Mountain? What is its name? They didn't tell us anything. I wanted to go take a look, but there was nowhere to go. Those people from the Dazong sect were always acting like threatening people in the town. I even got impatient after asking them a few questions!"

Huang had a lot to say, and kept on talking. Xu Boyang listened to the old woman patiently, and then he began to wonder.
"Chong'er? His last name is Chen..."

The image of the Immortal Sect disciple whom I met in a small space a few days ago suddenly emerged in my mind, the graceful sword-riding young man, Chen Baochong.

But since the disciple was from an immortal sect, and the matter was of great importance, he couldn't casually reveal his name. Although they all had the surname Chen, in case they were not the same person, he asked, "I wonder if your Chong'er has a famous name?"

"Yes, I have!"

Old Man Chen interrupted and said, "I asked the town teacher to give me this name. He told me that 'Baochong' means 'empty' and 'humble', so I named him Chen Baochong!"

Xu Boyang couldn't help but slap his thigh and laughed.

The old couple looked at him in bewilderment. Suddenly, Old Man Chen came to his senses and immediately became excited. He stood up and asked in a stammer, "Could it be that the immortal recognized my Chong'er?"

Xu Boyang laughed, grabbed Old Man Chen's arm, and said, "What a coincidence! I saw him more than three days ago. Don't get excited, old man. Your Chong'er is very proud now!"

"Oh my god! It's really the immortal appearing!"

After hearing this, Huang couldn't sit still any longer. She stepped forward and pulled Old Man Chen over. Her knees buckled and she burst into tears, "Did the immortal really see my Chong'er?"

"What nonsense are you talking about, woman? Even the immortals said they had seen it, so how could it be false?"

Old Man Chen suppressed his inner excitement, cursed, knelt down quickly, kowtowed, and asked, "Immortal, my two elders cannot speak, I just want to ask how my son Chong'er is doing now and where he is?"

"Two elders, first up!"

Xu Boyang was moved by the two old men's genuine feelings and their sincere love for their son. He quickly reached out to help them up and then began to tell them about his meeting with Chen Baochong.

Of course, they couldn't tell the old man about anything that happened within the Immortal Sect. They only told him about his extraordinary abilities, how he could fly with a sword, how he was highly regarded by the Immortal Sect, and how he lived a good life. To comfort the old man, they inevitably added some embellishments to highlight Chen Bao's heroic spirit of rising to prominence and bringing honor to his family. These words made the two old men beam with joy and burst into tears.

Huang listened to the recollection for a long time, then laughed to herself for a while. Suddenly she remembered something and asked hurriedly, "Immortal, Immortal, did Chong'er say when he would be back?"

"My child's mother, didn't the immortal say that he went to Chong'er's immortal mountain to do something, and this was the first time he met Ping. How could he know when Chong'er would come back?"

Old man Chen felt very relieved and in a very good mood. His tone changed and he did not scold his wife. Instead, he explained things in detail.

Xu Boyang looked at Huang's eager eyes, which seemed to reveal endless pleading. He naturally understood what she was thinking. He sighed inwardly and said:
"Second Elder, how about this? I will stay here for three months, and after three months my friends will come to pick me up. How about you two write a letter during this time, and when I finish my business, I will deliver it to you on my behalf."

The two old men were overjoyed, praised it highly, and knelt down to kowtow.

"There's no rush for this. We still have three months. You two elders can take your time to think about the contents of the letter. If you have paper at home, I'll come and help you write it before I leave in three months. However, I hope you two elders won't mention my time on the shore to anyone else."

Xu Boyang helped them up again and spoke slowly.

Old Man Chen readily agreed. Although he didn't know what Xu Boyang was doing on the shore, he only asked with concern, "Immortal, it's cold on the shore. Why don't you come back home tonight? Chong'er's room is still empty. I'll ask his mother to clean it up tomorrow, and Immortal can come and stay here."

Xu Boyang smiled and ran back to sleep, so there was no need to collect energy. However, they didn't understand even if he explained it, so he had to wave his hand and refuse.

After the two elders saw him out, Xu Boyang clapped his hands and headed straight for the ferry crossing on the shore, sighing in his heart:
"People often say that cultivating the Tao requires renunciation and severing one's emotions, but how can one sever the ties of blood that are thicker than water?"

.........

Chen Baochong was a little nervous.

At this moment, he was standing in a courtyard filled with mist. The flowers and plants around him were red and green, refreshing to the heart. At first glance, it looked quite elegant.

But he had no intention of watching.

It was nothing special. It was just that he had only been in the "Fang Cun Jian" for ten days, and today he was suddenly summoned by the abbot whom he had never met before, and came to the forbidden area "Fuyao Pavilion" at the top of the Fang Cun Jian.

He didn't know what he had done wrong, and he was worried and thinking carefully about what he had done in the past ten days.

There doesn't seem to be any mistakes?
But why did the abbot summon him?
Chen Baochong was born with a keen sense of intelligence and extraordinary talent. He practiced hard in the immortal mountain of the immortal sect for ten years and did not leave the mountain for the entire ten years.

He continued to practice until he reached the ninth level of Ningyuan, with an eye on building the foundation.

Finally, he received the favor of the Immortal Sect and was sent to Xinyue Lake to work in the Fangcun Hall.

Only ten days have passed. Could it be that the Immortal Sect wants to call me back again?
I was originally thinking of taking a leave to visit my elderly parents after I finished my shift. It’s a full ten years since I’ve had such an opportunity. Wouldn’t this cause more complications?

Chen Baochong was a little depressed, but he didn't dare show it.

Especially in front of the famous Huang Ting Yu Shi who he is about to face.

He was even more silent.

After staying in the mountains for ten years, Chen Baochong had more or less some understanding of the immortal sect figures. Although he was in Jiangzuo, the name of this senior [Huai Shang Dongtian] was well-known to him, and his master and great master never mentioned him less.

But he didn't know her name.

Because both the master and the grandmaster only addressed him as "Kun Yu Qiu Shuang" and did not dare to call him by his name.

However, over the years, Chen Baochong has read the classics of the immortal sect, especially the sword manuals, and has learned a little.

This person's surname is Qi.

"Disciple Jiang Zuo, the abbot has ordered you to speak within three steps of the temple gate."

The voice of a beautiful maid woke Chen Baochong, who was thinking with his head down.

"Disciple, obey."

Chen Baochong didn't dare to look up at all, just looking at the maid's swaying skirt, then followed her into the courtyard, climbed the stairs in a blink of an eye, and came to a hall. He stretched his foot over the door frame, took one, two, three steps, and stopped.

"Jiangzuo disciple Chen Baochong greets the abbot."

Chen Baochong's voice was neither humble nor arrogant. Although it was a little thin, there was no panic at all.

The hall is covered with cloud patterns and hanging gauze curtains. Eight bronze crane candlesticks are distributed in front of eight bluestone square pillars, burning with pale yellow spiritual candles, and the light is bright and soft.

"Ah."

The white gauze curtains in the hall were vague and unclear. A woman's voice responded softly and said gently,
"Yes, he is handsome and elegant, with outstanding temperament. He is a good seedling. Jiangzuo is full of talents!"

In an instant, a single sentence left Chen Baochong speechless. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, and he secretly groaned inwardly:

"My master is from Jiangzuo, and the monk is from Huaishang. What does this mean? How should I answer this?"

"Don't worry, I don't mean anything else."

The Lord seemed to have seen through his thoughts and said lightly,

"Don't be afraid. I called you here today not to report on your work, but simply because you're new here. I've heard of your reputation before, as a young genius, exceptional. I specifically called you here today to take a look at you."

The heavy stone hanging in Chen Baochong's heart fell to the ground with a thud. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly bowed his head and said, "I am young, inexperienced, and inexperienced. I have just arrived. If I have done anything wrong, I hope the monk will be willing to give me some advice."

"Ah."

The master of the palace responded lightly, then slowly asked, "How many years have you been in Cangyu? Which peak did you climb? Which immortal foundation did you cultivate?"

Apart from his master and the Grand Master, this was the first time Chen Baochong heard someone directly call out the Immortal Sect's name. He was so shocked that he dared not hesitate and said truthfully:
"Replying to the Master, I have been a member of the Jiangzuo Immortal Sect for exactly ten years. I have climbed to Cuilang Peak and cultivated the [White Water Mirroring Heart]."

"Oh?"

The voice in the palace showed some surprise, saying,
"You are actually a disciple of Pei Shaoyao. So, you also use a sword?"

"Yes, to the Lord."

Seeing that she called the master by his name, Chen Baochong naturally did not want to tarnish the reputation of the master, so he just opened his mouth and said loudly,
"Cuilang Peak embodies the Jiangzuo sword energy and is renowned throughout the land. As a disciple of Cuilang Luyu, it is only natural that I learn swordsmanship from him."

"This child..."

The palace officials could see what he was thinking. Seeing him show some signs of progress, they couldn't help but laugh and said gently,
"I naturally know whether your master is powerful or not. I'm just asking casually, so don't mind it."

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(End of this chapter)