The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 316 The Novelist (3k)

Inside the Xiao family mansion, a richly dressed young man with a bruised and swollen face was surrounding Xiao Qingyan, constantly massaging her back and shoulders.
"Senior, do you think the pressure is appropriate?"

"Hmm, it's alright. I'm focusing on the left side. I've been feeling uncomfortable a lot lately when I'm embroidering."

Xiao Qingyan closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, quietly enjoying the other person's service.

"Hey, okay, okay."

The elegantly dressed young man hurriedly focused on kneading and pounding his left shoulder.

Once she felt the timing was right, she cautiously brought up the previous topic:

“Senior, why don’t you consider others? Take my cousin Cui Shilu, for example. He’s handsome and dashing, and from what I’ve seen, he’s quite talented. If he were to cultivate, he could certainly achieve great things!”

These words made the woman frown involuntarily. How many years have passed, why hasn't anything changed?
Is nothing really as good as 'avoiding'?

Back then, he wasn't so obsessed with the word "avoidance." Now that the great calamity has ended and a new era is about to begin, when all the factions should be taking on a new look, why has he become even more extreme?

Just as they were about to get up and teach him a lesson, they both looked at the courtyard gate in front of them.

Seeing the white-clad man leaning on an old sword, Xiao Qingyan instinctively stood up and blocked the elegantly dressed young man's way.

Now, this fellow has no cultivation whatsoever in order to enter the world as soon as possible. Coupled with his rotten body, he could probably be beaten to a pulp by three or four children, who would run away with their tails between their legs.

After rising, Xiao Qingyan flicked her sleeve, using half of her feathered robe to cover the elegantly dressed young man, while simultaneously demanding of Du Yuan:
"Who are you, and why have you trespassed here?"

Du Yuan pointed to the elegantly dressed young man and said:

“I have come to find him.”

"Why should I look for him? My fiancé shouldn't know someone like you, should he?"

She couldn't fathom the true extent of the person's cultivation level or her current situation.

But she was certain that this person's cultivation level was so high that he shouldn't be running around like this now.

Even if it's not as immovable and majestic as it seems, it should at least be something that needs to be properly concealed and hidden from the emperor's authority.

Therefore, given his nature, he would definitely avoid such a person at all costs.

Unexpectedly, the elegantly dressed young man suddenly pressed down on her hand that was blocking his way, and then stepped forward to stare at her for a moment.

I just tentatively asked:

"May I ask if this gentleman is the one the Taoist priest sent?"

Seeing that they seemed to know each other, Xiao Qingyan fell silent and stood aside, quietly observing Du Yuan.

She had never seen her face before, but her cultivation was exceptionally high, so she couldn't be a 'later generation' like her. So, she must have been living in seclusion for a long time?

Du Yuan nodded and said:
"It was indeed the jar of wine that he asked me to pass on to you."

"In that case, please convey to the Daoist Master that I am deeply grateful for His Majesty's kindness!"

As he spoke, he clasped his hands and bowed deeply towards the southwest.

'You're praying in the wrong direction, I'm right here.'

Du Yuan couldn't help but mutter a complaint in her heart before saying:
"I will pass on the message, but right now, I've come to you about something else."

Xiao Qingyan, standing behind the elegantly dressed young man, tugged at his sleeve before focusing her voice into a single line and speaking:
"What wine? And who is this Taoist priest? You're worshipping the southwest, so don't tell me it's him!"

The elegantly dressed young man smiled wryly:
"It's that Taoist priest. As for the wine... hehe, it's the wine of the God of the Dawn."

"?!"

Upon hearing this, even Xiao Qingyan couldn't help but widen her eyes and look at him, saying:
"How did you get involved with all this?"

The remaining ancestors, the wine of the Dawn God, any one of them should be avoided even if this guy dies.

How come he's offended everyone now?
The elegantly dressed young man smiled wryly:
"I never expected this to happen."

In the end, he still didn't dare to say that he had also offended the Buddha of Qingzhou.

Even without saying a word, Xiao Qingyan subtly turned towards the soft flesh of his waist.

You dare to associate yourself with the three major religions and the ancient divine wine, so why do you avoid me like the plague?

"Alas--!"

The elegantly dressed young man, who almost cried out, jumped slightly but managed to suppress it, and then forced a smile at Du Yuan:

"I wonder what important matter brings you to me today, sir?"

He felt as if a piece of flesh had been ripped out of his lower back; he couldn't feel it anymore, let alone feel it.

Du Yuan sighed softly: "I've come to find you today on behalf of Madam Wang."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qingyan abruptly stopped. The next instant, a wisp of pale blue magic energy condensed at her fingertips and gently brushed across his waist, activating his meridians and repairing the sprain.

The nonchalant air on the elegantly dressed young man's face vanished instantly, and all his thoughts vanished.

He immediately bowed to Xiao Qingyan, his tone respectful yet urgent: "Please, senior, grant me a moment alone with you, sir!" Xiao Qingyan did not utter a word, but simply gave Du Yuan a graceful bow, then lightly touched the ground with her toes and quickly withdrew, leaving the two of them alone.

Watching Xiao Qingyan's figure completely disappear outside the door, the richly dressed young man sighed heavily, unable to hide his bitterness, and said, "She did recognize me, and she really couldn't resist, right?"

Du Yuan also sighed, "What kind of mother wouldn't recognize her own child?"

The elegantly dressed young man nodded with a wry smile, his eyes swirling with complex emotions.
"That makes sense. But you shouldn't have pointed it out, sir. She must have begged you beforehand not to let you come looking for me, right?"

Ever since he struggled to climb out of that stinking ditch in Qingzhou, he knew this moment would come sooner or later.

Therefore, in recent days, he has made many arrangements, both openly and secretly—besides the most important one: to settle the karmic debt with the Langya Wang clan.

What he did most was to quietly restrain Madam Wang, for fear that she might lose control of her emotions and reveal everything, causing the hard-won stability to collapse completely.

Du Yuan nodded slowly, her tone heavy: "She did beg me. But I can't just ignore it."

Before the elegantly dressed young man could ask any further questions, Du Yuan looked up at him and said earnestly:

"If I really agree to her request and ignore her, she will eventually find a secluded place where no one knows her and quietly end her life."

The elegantly dressed young man stared wide-eyed, then abruptly looked up: "How could this be?!"

Du Yuan gently countered with a hint of pity in her voice, "How could it not be like that?"

The richly dressed young man stood there for a moment, then suddenly looked up and sighed, his voice full of self-mockery: "Yes, how could it not be like that? In her heart, she couldn't bear to speak of it, couldn't bear to suffer it, and in the end, she could only follow her child in death?"

"I was so foolish to only realize such a simple truth after you pointed it out to me."

After saying this, he bowed deeply to Du Yuan, his back bent very low, full of solemnity: "Thank you for your guidance, sir. If it weren't for this, I'm afraid I would never be able to repay the karma I have accumulated!"

His karmic ties with the Langya Wang clan were already intertwined and difficult to sever. If he were to cause the death of the other party's birth mother, then this karmic entanglement would be completely severed, with no possibility of ever severing it again.

"Sir, please take me to see her now."

Upon hearing this, Du Yuan turned around, and the two walked side by side towards the courtyard exit. When they reached the front yard and saw Xiao Qingyan, he greeted them before they could speak, his tone calm yet extremely courteous:

"I'll handle things here, so you can leave without worry."

The elegantly dressed young man immediately bowed deeply.
"Thank you, senior!"

After the two left the Xiao family and confirmed that the Xiao family girl had not secretly followed them, Du Yuan stopped and asked with a slight frown, "Do you know the Palace Master of Hanqiu Palace?"

Du Yuan vaguely felt that the fairy she had met by the river last night must have come for this person in front of her.

The elegantly dressed young man was startled by these words and instinctively asked:

"Why did you suddenly bring her up, sir? Have you perhaps met her?"

Du Yuan did not hide anything and recounted in detail what she had seen and heard by the river the night before.

After listening, the elegantly dressed young man pressed his temples more frequently, his face full of helplessness:
"As the saying goes, 'It is hardest to bear the kindness of a beautiful woman,' and today it seems that the ancients were right!"

Seeing his expression, Du Yuan couldn't help but press further: "Are you really not thinking about this at all? Or do you plan to continue avoiding it like this?"

“Sir, you are also a cultivator, and a highly accomplished one at that. You should know better than I how important the word ‘Great Dao’ is to us.”

The elegantly dressed young man shook his head with a wry smile.

People all say that immortals are good, but little do they know that even immortals are not free to do as they please.

Du Yuan frowned even more deeply:

"The great road is not so small."

"Sir, our paths diverge, so our views naturally differ." The richly dressed young man merely smiled self-deprecatingly and slowly shook his head. "You believe the Great Way shouldn't be so narrow, but I feel..."

At this point, he suddenly shed all his glitz and restlessness, even the helplessness in his eyes faded away, leaving only a deathly stillness.

He stared intently at Du Yuan, speaking each word with utmost seriousness:

"The Great Way is vast, capable of encompassing heaven and earth and all things; yet to me, it is as small as a fruit pit, unable to contain even the slightest bit of other people or things."

Du Yuan frowned deeply and said:
How do you view what you've seen, heard, and encountered along the way?

He said with utter composure yet utter detachment:
"All is the great hardship before attaining true freedom. Once this is revealed, one can discover one's true self. The words of the patriarchs and the theories of the Great Dao are undoubtedly correct!"

In the past, the various schools of thought fought amongst themselves, and the school of fiction was directly kicked out of the ten schools by the Yin-Yang School and the other schools, and was no longer included in the nine schools of thought.

Therefore, the founder of his school, after much painful reflection, attained profound enlightenment.

It is said that all the afflictions and troubles of the world are bound by the laws of Heaven. Only by seeing through everything and avoiding everything can one attain great freedom, then seek one's true self, and depart in peace.

In other words, if nothing applies to me, then I am outside of everything. I transcend the three realms and six paths, attain eternity, and seek freedom.

At this point, he even said to Du Yuan with a self-deprecating tone:
"Both my master and I know that avoiding and owing nothing are far from true enlightenment. But this is all there is to my lineage of novelists. We are stuck in the middle, unable to achieve true enlightenment. We can only learn the Hinayana teachings and become self-sufficient individuals!"

Finally, he even looked towards Qingzhou and said:
"In that case, it might be because of this that when we were in Qingzhou, the Buddha made me make a fool of myself and then hoped that I would come to my own enlightenment. After all, only Mahayana Buddhism can produce an enlightened Buddha."

(End of this chapter)