This celestial master cultivates both physical and magical arts; why did you provoke him?

The next day, Fang Zijian saw a message online.

It was a notification issued by Chen Guodong.

The three missing patrol members have been found in a grove of trees in the eastern suburbs.

They are still alive, but they have suffered severe mental trauma and are talking nonsense.

They said things like "a four-meter-tall giant", "blood-red eyes", and "being grabbed by a giant hand".

The doctor said it was post-traumatic stress disorder, which requires long-term treatment.

Fang Zijian showed the message to Xia En.

After reading it, Xia En remained silent for a long time.

"It captured them, but didn't kill them," he said.

Fang Zijian was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"It was waiting for me," Shane said. "It knew I would come. It used those three team members as bait to lure me over."

Fang Zijian felt a chill run down his spine. "And then?"

"Then I killed it."

Xia En spoke calmly, as if he were talking about what he had for breakfast that day.

Fang Zijian breathed a sigh of relief, but then became nervous again.

"The master it speaks of... Xuanming... who is he?"

"I don't know," Shane said, "but anyone who can use something like that as a pawn is no ordinary person."

Fang Zijian fell silent.

He looked at Xia En and suddenly noticed that his expression was a little off.

It wasn't nervousness, it wasn't fear, it was something he rarely saw on Xia En's face.

serious.

Extremely serious.

"Xia En," Fang Zijian asked cautiously, "what are you thinking about?"

Xia En looked out the window and remained silent for a long time. Then he spoke.

"I'm wondering if I did something wrong."

Fang Zijian was stunned.

He had known Xia En for almost four months and had never heard him say the words "Did I do something wrong?"

In his mind, Shane was always right.

His judgments were always accurate, his actions always decisive, and his fists always deadly.

He never hesitated, never regretted, and never said, "Did I do something wrong?"

But today, he did speak.

"What did you do wrong?" Fang Zijian asked.

Xia En turned around and looked at him.

"I could have spared that thing's life. I could have interrogated it and made it reveal more information about Xuanming. But I didn't. I killed it outright."

He paused.

"Because I'm used to it. Used to showing no mercy, used to striking deadly. To evil things, to enemies, to anyone who threatens me. I'm used to it."

Fang Zijian opened his mouth as if to say something, but Xia En continued.

"My master said that the duty of a Celestial Master is to protect people, not to kill them."

"But when I'm killing those things, I sometimes forget that. I only think about how to eliminate them faster, more ruthlessly, and more thoroughly. But eliminating them is not the goal. Protecting people is."

He looked down at his hands.

Those hands could smash a zombie king with a single punch, shatter evil creatures with a single palm strike, draw the most complex talismans, and unleash the most powerful lightning magic.

But these hands are just ordinary hands.

It has joints, lines, scars, and calluses.

I'm afraid that one day...

His voice was soft. "I will become a machine. A machine that only knows how to kill."

Fang Zijian fell silent.

He didn't know how to answer.

Looking at Xia En, he suddenly realized that this person was much more fragile than he had imagined.

His usual carefree attitude, his usual greed, his usual indifference to everything—it's all a facade.

Beneath the facade lies a young person who hesitates, doubts, and is afraid.

"Xia En," Fang Zijian finally spoke.

"Um?"

Do you remember what you told me?

Which sentence?

"Life is a journey of self-cultivation; if you don't move forward, you fall behind."

Fang Zijian said, "You are practicing right now. Hesitation, doubt, and fear are all part of the practice. You are not a machine; you are a person practicing. That's enough."

Xia En looked at him and remained silent for a long time.

Then he laughed.

It wasn't a carefree laugh, but a gentle laugh with a touch of relief.

"You..."

He said, "Sometimes what they say makes a lot of sense."

Fang Zijian straightened his back. "Of course, I'm a reporter."

Xia En shook his head, walked to the window, and looked at the sky outside.

The sun was shining brightly, and the sky was cloudless.

"Young man, you must hold fast to your Dao heart," he murmured to himself.

Fang Zijian was taken aback. "What did you say?"

"It's nothing."

Xia En turned around, his face returning to its usual nonchalant expression. "Let's go eat. I'm hungry."

Fang Zijian watched his retreating figure and smiled.

This person is still the same Xia En.

A few days later, at the Celestial Master's Mansion on Longhu Mountain.

Zhang Jingxuan sat on a grand chair in the back hall, with a cup of hot tea in front of her.

Zhang Jingqing stood beside him, holding her phone, and read Xia En's recent updates to him.

"My junior brother has recently taken on a few business deals, and he's handled them all very well. But..." He paused.

"But what?"

"But he's getting increasingly ruthless. Last week, he dealt with an evil spirit, smashing it to pieces with a single punch, leaving not even a trace. The day before yesterday, he dealt with a possessed wandering soul, blasting it to smithereens with lightning magic. Yesterday..."

"What happened yesterday?"

"Yesterday he dealt with a minor leader of an evil cult. The guy had already surrendered and was kneeling on the ground begging for mercy. But my junior brother still killed him with a single punch."

Zhang Jingxuan paused slightly in the hand holding the teacup.

"Master, hasn't my junior brother gone too far?"

Zhang Jingxuan remained silent for a long time.

Then he put down his teacup, stood up, and walked to the window.

Outside the window are the peaks of Longhu Mountain, shrouded in mist and clouds, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

"Call him," he said.

Zhang Jingqing dialed Xia En's number and then handed the phone to Zhang Jingxuan.

"Feed? Master?" Xia En's voice came from the other end of the phone, sounding a little tired.

"What's wrong with you lately?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. "Nothing much."

"That's a lie."

Zhang Jingxuan's voice was calm, "From childhood to adulthood, your voice always changes whenever you have something on your mind. Your voice now is different from usual."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Is it because of that minor leader of the evil cult?" Zhang Jingxuan asked.

"Um."

Do you think you did something wrong?

Xia En remained silent for a long time.

"He surrendered. He knelt on the ground begging for mercy. But I still killed him with one punch."

Zhang Jingxuan didn't speak immediately. He was silent for a few seconds before speaking.

"Shane, do you remember what I told you when you first started learning?"

"I remember. You said that the duty of a Celestial Master is to protect people."

"Yes. The duty of a Taoist priest is to protect people."

Zhang Jingxuan said, "But protecting people doesn't mean protecting everyone. Some people are not worth protecting."

Xia En didn't say anything.

"How many people did that cult leader kill? How many families did he ruin? How much innocent blood is on his hands? He surrendered not out of remorse, but out of fear of death."

"If you let him go, he will continue to do evil and harm people. By killing him, you are not doing evil, you are eliminating evil."

"But……"

"But what? But you are a Celestial Master, shouldn't a Celestial Master be compassionate?"

Zhang Jingxuan's voice suddenly turned stern, "Compassion is for kind people. To be compassionate to evil people is to be cruel to kind people."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Xia En, do you remember when you were little, I asked you why you wanted to become a Taoist priest?"

"I remember. I said it was because I wanted to protect people."

Are you still protecting people?

"exist."

"That's enough."

Zhang Jingxuan's voice softened, "Your Dao heart has never changed. You're just too tired. Rest for a few days and don't think about so much."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

Then Xia En's voice came through, carrying a hint of relief.

"Thank you, Master."

"What are you thanking me for? You're my apprentice, if I don't help you, who will?"

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Jingxuan stood by the window, looking at the distant mountain peaks.

Zhang Jingqing cautiously asked from the side:

"Master, my junior brother..."

"He's alright."

Zhang Jingxuan said, "He was just too tired. Cultivating both physical and magical techniques sounds impressive, but it's incredibly taxing. It takes a lot out of him, both physically and mentally. He was carrying too much on his own."

Zhang Jingqing fell silent.

"Give him some money," Zhang Jingxuan suddenly said.

Zhang Jingqing was taken aback. "Transfer money?"

"Okay. Just say it's a bonus from the Celestial Master's Mansion. Let him rest for a few days, go out and have some fun, and stop thinking about work all the time."

"How many?"

Zhang Jingxuan thought for a moment. "Five hundred thousand."

Zhang Jingqing's lips twitched.

The Celestial Master's Mansion does indeed have money in its accounts now—because it's all earned by Xia En.

But giving out a 500,000 yuan bonus in one go is just too much...

"Go ahead and hit him," Zhang Jingxuan said. "He's worth the price."

That evening, Shane received a text message from the bank.

Your account has received a transfer of 500,000.00 yuan.

Note: This is a prize from the Celestial Master's Mansion.

Xia En stared at the text message for a long time, then smiled calmly.

"This person, Master..."

He shook his head. "Really."

He placed his phone next to his pillow and closed his eyes.

Moonlight streamed through the window, casting a silvery-white glow on the floor.

He recalled his master's words: "Your resolve to follow the Dao has never changed."

Xia En rolled over and buried her face in the pillow.

"Never mind, what's done is done, I'll just go to sleep," he said sullenly.

Renowned author Gu Yudongcheng has joined Cola Novels with his new work, "This Celestial Master Cultivates Both Physical and Magical Abilities, Why Did You Provoke Him?"