Chapter Three: Arrival at Upper Clarity

  But Zhang Ping was rescued by Chong Xu from the river and taken to the Taoist temple, where he followed Tian Xu Daozhang to the kitchen to drink porridge. Zhang Ping stared at the porridge in the pot with wide eyes, gazing at it with all his might. To someone who had not seen any food for decades and was starving to death, the porridge in the pot was the most wonderful thing in the world.

  "You must be starving, little guy. Come on, open your mouth and eat some porridge." Tian Xu's serious face looked so kind to Zhang Ping at this moment. Zhang Ping opened his small mouth like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, and rushed towards the spoon in Tian Xu's hand.

  "Slow down, slow down, little guy, no one is competing with you, don't choke." Tian Xu looked at Zhang Ping gobbling his food and quickly pulled back the ladle, afraid of choking him.

  At this time, Zhang Ping was shouting "Eat, eat, eat..." nonstop. When it reached Tian Xu's ears, it became "Wa, wa, wa......" "Don't be in a hurry, little guy, I'll feed you right away." After saying that, he used a spoon to scoop up a small amount of pure broth from the bowl and fed it to Zhang Ping.

  After drinking a full bowl of rice porridge, Zhang Ping felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction. Then, with his good eating performance, he was held by Tian Xu and went to see their master together with Chong Xu.

  In a small room behind the side hall, an old Taoist with a crane-like complexion and youthful appearance sat cross-legged. There was an eight-immortals table, a birch wood bed, an altar for worshiping the Three Pure Ones, with a meditation mat set below. On the wall hung a large Taoist character, perfectly natural, extremely mysterious and profound.

  "Bang bang bang......, no, wrong." "Master, disciple Tian Xu (Chong Xu) requests an audience."

  "In." A stern and low voice came, Tian Xu and Chong Xu had just pushed open the door.

  "I'm already aware of the whole story, your fellow disciple Ling Xuan has explained everything to me. Cong Xuan, you've done a great job this time, saving someone's life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, it's a good deed that will bring you great merit and help to curb your impulsive nature."

  "Thank you for your teaching, sir." He hastily bowed and responded.

  "It doesn't matter, Tian Xu, I'm asking you, what are your plans for dealing with this child from now on?"

  "It's entirely up to Master's disposal, I don't dare overstep." Tian Xu hastily responded.

  "As the master has grown old, seven years later, the reward and punishment will be handed over to you. Tian Xu, your temperament is stable and steady, and among several inner disciples, your skills are the most exquisite. From now on, unless it's a matter of life and death for our sect, you can make decisions on your own. I will announce this soon within our sect, and after I go to Xiake Island, you will officially take over as the leader of our sect."

  "Master, don't go, at worst we'll fight it out with them." Tian Xu and Chong Xu said in unison.

  "Don't be reckless, don't you listen to your master's words? Since the envoy of Xiangke Island who rewards good and punishes evil has been on his way, those who resist and disobey have never had a living mouth in the door. I, Ming Chengzi, have received great kindness from the door, and have lived for more than 50 years, long past the age of knowing heaven's fate. This matter should be my chance to repay the door's great kindness. I have already made up my mind on this matter, you two don't need to persuade me again. From now on, you two should diligently practice martial arts, get along with fellow disciples harmoniously, and strive to make our Upper Clearness Sect prosperous, so as not to disappoint my teachings over the years. Tian Xu, now tell me your opinion about this child."

  "I humbly report to the master, this child was saved by me at the Upper Clearness Temple, which means he has a destined connection. Moreover, I observe that this child is only over one year old, and after being starved for almost a day, his crying voice is still so loud, which shows that this child has an extraordinary innate talent. Therefore, as your disciple, I wish to take this child as my apprentice, raise him until he grows up, teach him martial arts, and hope that one day he can become the backbone of the Upper Clearness Temple."

  "Bring this child over here and let me take a look."

  "Master, please look." Tian Xu respectfully handed Zhang Ping's report to Ming Chengzi.

  "This child came to my humble abode without crying or making a fuss, and upon observing his eyes shining brightly, I also noticed that his bones are well-proportioned and his muscles sturdy. He is indeed a fine jade. Tianxu, you must teach him well, perhaps the task of carrying on the legacy of our Upper Clearness Sect will fall to him one day." With that said, he handed Zhang Ping back to Tianxu.

  "The disciple should use his utmost efforts to teach this child, and will certainly not disappoint the revered teacher's high expectations."

  "Alright, you can go down now."

  "Yes, disciple takes leave"

  Tian Xu and Chong Xu bid farewell to Yu Chengzi, taking Zhang Ping back to Tian Xu's wing room.

  At this time, Zhang Ping was thinking: "The name Chong Xu sounds familiar, I seem to have some impression, only remembering that he seemed to be the master of a very powerful sect, with his Taiji swordsmanship being extraordinary. This counts as me becoming his junior apprentice, and in the future when there's an opportunity, I will definitely learn this sword technique from him. Hehe..."

  Tian Xū and Chong Xū were discussing Zhang Ping in the room at this time.

  "Big brother, I knew he was a good candidate for martial arts training when I heard his loud and clear cry during our morning exercise today."

  "Alright, stop being poor. He is indeed a good material for martial arts training, but how to raise him is a problem. You know that in our Upper Clearness Temple, basically no one has experience raising a one-year-old child. In our Upper Clearness Temple, the youngest ones who can be accepted as disciples are usually around six or seven years old. It seems I still haven't thought it through." Tian Xu sighed while speaking.

  "Senior brother, why don't we send him to Min Shimei's place instead? Min Shimei will definitely be able to take good care of him. Besides, Min Shimei and Shi Shixiong had that thing happen between them two years ago, so sending this child over might make Min Shimei a bit happier. When he grows up a bit more, we can bring him back to the temple to learn martial arts, it won't be too late."

  "This is a good idea, I'll discuss it with Shi Shidi and Min Shimu before making a decision."

  "Alright, I'll go do my morning exercises first." Chong Xu said as he turned to Zhang Ping and added: "Little guy, you have to behave yourself, wait for me to find a good mom for you in a few days."

  "If you're going to leave, then just leave. What's with all the nonsense? Besides, can a child as young as him even understand?" Upon hearing Tian Xū's serious scolding, Chong Xū hastily left Tian Xū's room in his best lightness state.

  Tian Yu put Zhang Ping in a small basin filled with soft cushions after Zhang Chong left, and found that Zhang Ping's hands were clasped on his abdomen, his legs stretched out straight, as if he was asleep. After touching Zhang Ping's little face, he went out to find Yuan Xū, the junior brother who was in charge of miscellaneous affairs.

  "Tianxu asked as he entered Yuanxu's room, 'Yuanxu, junior brother, are you busy today?'"

  "Big Brother, what brings you here? I'm not aware of any pressing matters. I know you wouldn't come to the Three Treasures Hall without a reason, so what's on your mind today?" Yuán Xū said with a smile, addressing Tiān Xū.

  "Junior brother, the main reason I came this time is to ask you to pass on a message to Shi Shifu and his wife. Please tell them that they must come to Wanjian Lou recently. Just say that I have important matters to discuss with them."

  "But brother, what's the hurry? Why did you have to rush and summon Shi and his wife back?" Yuan Xū asked in puzzlement.

  "Did you know about the child that Jiong Xū Shīdì brought back this morning?" Tiān Xū replied.

  "I see, what's going on? Is it related to this child? Are you thinking of letting Shi Shixiong and his wife adopt this child?"

  "Almost, I have decided to take this child as my apprentice. However, he is still young and it would be inconvenient for him to live in the temple, so I think I will first entrust him to Shi Shidi's family to raise until he grows up a bit before bringing him back to the temple to learn his skills."

  "I see, then I'll pass on a message to Shi Shidi for you. Is there anything else, Shixiong?"

  "That's all, then I'll take my leave first, Junior Brother Yuan Xū."

  "Alright, take care, senior brother."

  But our Pig Foot Zhang Ping was thinking at this time "What Shi Shidi, Min Shimu, no impression at all. What's his name again, can't remember. Anyway, should be a person who is not worth mentioning, my Chongxu Shushu, my Taiji Swordsmanship." Then, another burst of infant crying sounds came from the Tianxu wing room.

  The Taoist temple spent a peaceful day after Zhang Ping's arrival, and after sunset. Zhang Ping eagerly awaited this exciting moment. So, his soul made a mighty leap, reappearing above his body once again. This time, his body was well-fed and had nothing urgent to attend to. Thus, he could carefully observe his own body.

  After his soul left his body, it still maintained its original way of functioning. His breathing was the same, his posture was the same, just like he was asleep.

  Zhang Ping's soul arrived in front of Tian Xu, who was meditating with his five hearts facing the sky. He touched Tian Xu's forehead with his hand, and as expected, he passed through without any resistance, while Tian Xu seemed to feel nothing. After circling around Tian Xu a few times, he discovered that besides blood, there was another substance flowing through Tian Xu's body.

  Then, Zhang Ping carefully observed this thing. This thing was probably the so-called "qi" that he couldn't practice to death before. In that mysterious space, although there was qi circulating in his body in its own way, at that time his body was made up of qi itself, which was very different from now. Moreover, the properties of the two kinds of qi were also quite different.

  To verify his idea, Zhang Ping flew around the Taoist temple again to find other people. After verification, most of the people in the Upper Clearness Temple had this energy flowing through their bodies. Especially an old Taoist priest, whose body gave Zhang Ping a particularly strong feeling.

  Zhang Ping wandered around and arrived at the main hall of Shangqing Temple. Suddenly, a strong tremor sensation came over him. The Three Pure Ones statues in the main hall transmitted a sense of oppression, and for an instant, it seemed as if countless devotees were whispering in his ear, making his soul feel like it was about to explode.

  Then, Zhang Ping's soul body drummed up the horsepower and rushed back to his own body. However, those voices still did not disappear. Helplessly, Zhang Ping had no choice but to repeatedly recite the Lu Zu hundred-character stele in his heart, which was the only long piece of text he could remember clearly. In the sound of reciting the stele, the low whispers of the followers beside Zhang Ping's ears seemed to lighten a lot.

  Thus, Zhang Ping's night slowly passed in whispers, the hundred-character inscription, and the pain of his soul.