Qin Shi: I went astray in the Heavenly Sect

Chapter 24 Xiaomeng begins her cultivation, and the dilapidated temple recounts past events.

The night was deep, and the bonfire inside the dilapidated temple flickered, illuminating two small figures.

Chen Xiuyuan sat cross-legged, his gaze falling on Xiaomeng beside him. Just now, he had taught her the incantation of the "Evergreen Skill" word by word. He thought she would at least ask a few questions about obscure and difficult terms, but she just nodded slightly and closed her eyes to enter meditation.

"Can you understand?" Chen Xiuyuan couldn't help but ask.

Xiaomeng didn't lift her eyelids, her tone calm: "Is it difficult?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiuyuan was taken aback. Some of the terms in the Changqing Gong practice manual were unique to Taoism. It took him three whole days to understand these terms, during which he also consulted Beimingzi.

Xiaomeng looks to be only seven or eight years old. How did she know those obscure and difficult-to-understand terms? Was she a natural-born cultivator?
This was his first time teaching someone cultivation, and he was still worried, so he asked a few more key questions. However, Xiaomeng remained silent and didn't even lift her eyelids.

His lips twitched slightly as he muttered to himself, "This stubborn brat..."

So he broke down and explained in detail the problems he had noticed while practicing the "Evergreen Skill" and the precautions for cultivation.

Watching the young girl enter a meditative state so quickly, Chen Xiuyuan's gaze flickered slightly. He wondered how Bei Mingzi had taught Xiaomeng after taking her in. Was he just letting things take their natural course? Perhaps he should forget about that.
About fifteen minutes later, Chen Xiuyuan seemed to sense something and turned to look over.

“So fast??”

He muttered to himself.

Xiaomeng's talent was naturally exceptional, otherwise Beimingzi would not have accepted her as a disciple, but her speed in regulating her breath, guiding her qi, and cultivating still surprised him quite a bit.

When he was practicing the Evergreen Technique, he was in a daze and no one else checked the time for him, but he felt that it should take him longer than Xiaomeng did.

Of course, there was also an element of feeling one's way across the river by feeling for stones. After all, back then, Bei Mingzi didn't explain things to me in such detail as he does now.

Just as I was pondering this, a commotion suddenly arose outside the temple.

"Big brother, there's a fire!!"

Suddenly, a voice came from afar. Chen Xiuyuan glanced at the little girl who was still in meditation, and with a thought, an invisible wave enveloped the area three feet around her, isolating her from external interference.

He then looked up at the door and saw a group of people walking in, looking travel-worn.

Most of these people were dressed in short, neat clothes, coarse cloth clothes, and long swords at their waists, surrounding a very well-off middle-aged man.

Of course, this middle-aged man's attire was also clearly different from the people around him, and his clothes were made of the finest silk.

"Lord Zhu, there are two little children."

Pushing open the door, the thin man who had been scouting ahead turned and said, "I see two children inside."

"child?"

The portly man was somewhat surprised to hear this. After all, in this era of war and chaos, even adults could not always go out unharmed, let alone children.

He glanced around the area and sighed softly.

The temple was so desolate and deserted that he assumed they were just two homeless orphans and didn't think much of it before telling the people around him to settle them down.

However, when he pushed the door open and saw Chen Xiuyuan and the little girl beside him, his expression changed slightly.

Although Chen Xiuyuan and Xiaomeng's clothes were not fancy, they were quite different from those worn by the laborers outside. As a businessman, he had a good eye for things.

"These two children are not ordinary people."

Soon, an idea appeared in his mind and took root and grew wildly.

After a slight hesitation, the man slowly spoke, "My name is Zhu Xingye, the manager of Yongtong Cloth Shop in Qin. I am passing through your esteemed place tonight and would like to rest for a while. I wonder if you two could do me a favor?"

Chen Xiuyuan did not miss the change in the other party's expression. Clearly, the other party was a smart person, and dealing with smart people was not so troublesome.

"When you're out and about, it's always good to help others. The temple is quite spacious, so please don't stand on ceremony, Mr. Zhu."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xingye bowed respectfully from afar.

The other party spoke with composure, which made him even more certain that the two children in front of him were not ordinary people. He turned around and went into the yard, called over the laborers who were with him, gave them a stern warning, and told them not to cause trouble for themselves. Only then did he direct them to move the things from the car in.

After a while, Xiaomeng slowly woke up, feeling a slight coolness in her body, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her lips.

But when she opened her eyes and saw many unfamiliar faces in the temple, her expression changed slightly.

"Senior brother."

"It's alright, they're just traveling merchants who hoard goods and speculate, buying low and selling high." Hearing this, Xiaomeng glanced at the crowd, her gaze shifting between the well-to-do middle-aged man and the laborer. Although Chen Xiuyuan said this, a hint of wariness still flashed in her eyes.

"Click~~"

Just then, a loud clap of thunder came from outside, and before anyone could react, the dilapidated door of the temple was blown open by a gust of wind.

Then came a downpour of raindrops, carrying the earthy smell of the soil.

"It's raining?"

Seeing this scene, Xiaomeng couldn't help but glance at Chen Xiuyuan. Before, Chen Xiuyuan had said that it would rain outside, and now his words had come true.

Upon seeing this, a man opposite them quickly stood up and said, "Master Zhu, there is a thatched hut behind the temple, but the rain is too heavy, and we probably won't be able to leave tonight. Why don't we lead the horses there to take shelter from the rain?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xingye's face darkened, but in the end he could only nod. With such heavy rain, even if they really wanted to continue their journey, the conditions wouldn't allow it.

"I'm sorry to have made you two laugh."

Looking outside, he sighed, turned around and walked towards Chen Xiuyuan, holding a bag of dry food in his hands and some other food in his other hand.

"This is some food we brought. If you two don't mind, please have some with us!"

After saying that, Zhu Xingye took the first bite from the ceramic bowl and then looked at Chen Xiuyuan and Xiaomeng.

"We've already eaten, please make yourselves at home, sir!"

Having been rebuffed, Zhu Xingye smiled sheepishly, understanding the situation. If it were him, he too would never easily eat food from a stranger, regardless of whether the other person had ulterior motives.

However, businessmen are usually good at talking, and seeing that Chen Xiuyuan didn't seem to want him to leave, he sat down and thought he would chat with the little boy.

"Where are you two headed? I'm used to traveling all over the country. If it's on my way, I can give you a ride."

Chen Xiuyuan didn't think much of this man's overly familiar manner, but Xiaomeng, who was sitting next to him, frowned and became even more wary.

Showing courtesy for nothing is either cheating or stealing.

"Daicheng".

Chen Xiuyuan remained calm and replied without changing his expression.

Things are always like that; hiding things might lead to misunderstandings. Besides, he and Xiaomeng aren't any big shots; in the world of martial arts, they're probably no different from ordinary people. In comparison, a wealthy businessman like Zhu Xingye probably knows more people.

In his mind, Zhu Xingye was probably worried that the two of them were plotting against his goods. After all, there were many bandits and robbers in this era, otherwise they wouldn't have needed to travel at night and hide during the day.

"Daicheng??"

Zhu Xingye was taken aback, then he looked at Chen Xiuyuan and the other person with a strange expression.

"has a problem?"

Seeing the other party's attitude, Chen Xiuyuan casually asked.

"You two may not know that two years ago, the Qin state attacked Dai City. If it weren't for General Li Mu's intervention, Dai City would probably have fallen."

At this point, he lowered his voice and continued, "I heard from later people that the Qin state planned this surprise attack, and even went so far as to secretly bribe bandits in the vicinity to massacre dozens of villages. Later, this matter could no longer be suppressed and was discovered by the King of Zhao, who was furious and not only sent General Li Mu, but also stationed more troops in Dai City."

"Although almost two years have passed, conflicts still frequently break out in Daicheng. I've heard that many people in the city have left for Handan."

Chen Xiuyuan's gaze narrowed slightly.

How did Mr. Zhu find out about this?

Seeing that Chen Xiuyuan's expression was normal and showed no change, Zhu Xingye was unsure of Chen Xiuyuan's meaning and could only tell the truth.

"The Zhu family has been in business for three generations, traveling between the Qin and Zhao states to make a little profit. Their information network is fairly good, but news like this is not a secret. The people of Daicheng who experienced the great battle two years ago also know about it."

At this point, Zhu Xingye offered another word of comfort.

"If you two are going to Daicheng to find relatives, you'd better be prepared, after all, the dead cannot be brought back to life. I hope you can accept this loss with compassion."

The temple fell silent for a moment, with only the patter of rain. Chen Xiuyuan looked out at the inky night, a deep look flashing in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)