Chapter 7: Discussing the Seven Emotions and Six Desires with Shizun

Meng Baixu’s gaze searched around the dining hall. When he saw Shen Luoyan come in, he called out, “Shen-shidi, come over. I’ll treat you to tofu pudding.”

The gloom from the day of the morality assessment had been swept away from Shen Luoyan, and he had turned back into a sunny little puppy.

“Thank you, Da-shixiong, but I’m in a hurry to review my lessons. I’ll just take a steamed bun and go.”

Meng Baixu asked, “You’re not sitting down to eat?”

Shen Luoyan said excitedly, “This morning, Shifu came to find me. He didn’t blame me for not being open and honest. He even said that because I have experienced the warmth and coldness of the mortal world, I can better hold all living beings in my heart. He encouraged me to cultivate diligently this year. If I can break through to the next realm, he’ll teach me the Pure Heart Technique.”

Shen Luoyan’s Shifu was the peak master of the Third Peak. For him to value Shen Luoyan like this meant Shen Luoyan’s future was promising.

Lin Yao felt happy for Shen-shidi. Shen-shidi’s hard work deserved all of this.

Shen Luoyan said, “If not for Da-shixiong, I’m afraid I would have lost all face on the spot and asked to leave the mountain myself. Thank you, Da-shixiong, for saying that actions should be judged, not hearts. Only then did I clearly see that I was too immersed in the past and had not accepted my true self. Right, this is a Marrow-Cleansing Pill Shifu gave me. Da-shixiong and I can each have half.”

Shen Luoyan stuffed a bottle into Meng Baixu’s hand. Then, biting a steamed bun, he hurriedly left the dining hall to cultivate.

Meng Baixu: “…”

Damn it. I misjudged you.

Lin Yao looked at the Marrow-Cleansing Pill in Meng Baixu’s hand and smiled. “Shen-shidi knows how to repay kindness. Da-shixiong did not misjudge him.”

Meng Baixu: “…”

Hmph. Mentioning the pot that should not be mentioned.

Although the Marrow-Cleansing Pill was precious, Meng Baixu did not lack it. He turned around and gifted it to Lin Yao.

“Thank you for your pill. Courtesy demands reciprocity.”

Lin Yao was pleasantly surprised. “Then I will respectfully accept.”

As they spoke, Shen Luoyan suddenly turned and ran back. Meng Baixu thought he had figured out that eating was still the most important thing, but in the end, Shen Luoyan only stopped two steps away and gave a small bow to Liu Xishi inside the tofu pudding stall.

“Brother Liu, whatever Da-shixiong eats, put it on my account. Sorry to trouble you.”

Liu Xishi looked up and smiled. “Sure.”

Meng Baixu grew suspicious.

How was Liu Xishi so familiar with Shen Luoyan? Could it be that, like him, Liu Xishi had once planned to turn this cultivator too?

For both demonic sect members to fail—this was too much of a failure.

How strange. The peak master of the Third Peak had always been the hands-off type. Why had he suddenly started picking out the best seedlings?

Two female cultivators ahead bought tofu pudding, and finally, it was Meng Baixu and Lin Yao’s turn.

Lin Yao said, “Please give me a bowl of salty tofu pudding, with minced meat, pickled radish, and pickled beans.”

Meng Baixu said, “I want the sweet one, with glutinous rice balls, osmanthus sauce, crushed hawthorn, and crushed peanuts.”

This was the first time Liu Xishi had the sect leader patronize his business, so he piled the toppings full.

Meng Baixu deliberately glanced at the tofu pudding and said loudly, “Chef Liu’s bean-grinding skills are truly good. At a glance, this tofu pudding looks soft, tender, fragrant, and sweet. I want to learn how to make it for the Sect Master to taste. When Chef Liu is free, please don’t hesitate to teach me.”

Lin Yao revealed another face full of admiration.

Liu Xishi followed his cue. “Simple enough. Once I sell out this pot, I’ll come find you.”

Meng Baixu pointed to a table. “I’ll wait for you over there.”

Meng Baixu and Lin Yao carried their tofu pudding and found a table to sit down.

Lin Yao said, “I must have benefited from Da-shixiong’s light. Today, Chef Liu gave me three times the usual amount of minced meat.”

As expected of Da-shixiong. Wherever he went, he could rely on his face. Not only could he benefit himself, he was also always thinking about Shizun. The Sect Master truly had not given Meng Baixu the position of Da-shixiong for nothing.

Meng Baixu asked, “Why did Shen-shidi and Chef Liu seem rather familiar just now? He can even put things on his account?”

Lin Yao said, “Chef Liu has a very good relationship with people in the Hengxue Sect. The Hengxue Sect has many assessments, and often, only half the students pass. Whenever there is an assessment, the cultivators who fail are dejected, so Chef Liu will waive their bill to comfort them. Of course, the cultivators who pass also get a free meal as a reward. Many cultivators have no relatives or support here. Only Chef Liu asks after their well-being and cares about their grades like family.”

Naturally, there was another reason: Liu Xishi looked kind and spoke well.

Meng Baixu understood.

So this was how Liu Xishi managed to gather the Hengxue Sect’s secret scrolls and grade rankings every time and pass them back to the Fuguang Sect.

Truly brilliant. The foolish righteous path had actually been bought over by tiny favors!

No wonder he was familiar with Shen Luoyan. Shen-shidi was poor and lonely, yet his grades were excellent. Naturally, he was one of Liu Xishi’s key targets for gathering information.

Poor Shen-shidi. How could he withstand the test of tofu pudding?

Meng Baixu said, “He’s quite a good person.”

Lin Yao said, “Yes. I don’t even know whether the tofu pudding stall loses money.”

Meng Baixu said, “It’s fine even if it does.”

Their Fuguang Sect’s undercover funding was extremely sufficient.

Lin Yao said, “Da-shixiong is right. Everyone sees Chef Liu’s contributions to the Hengxue Sect. Head Zhongli specially gave him the position of head chef, so he can receive a little more salary every month.”

The two sat across from each other and ate tofu pudding. Lin Yao went to class first. His comprehension was not as good as Da-shixiong’s, so he could not skip class.

Meng Baixu waited for a while. After Liu Xishi finished being busy, he sat across from him.

“Good morning, Sect Leader. Have you been hungry for three days? Is the tofu pudding enough? Do you want another chicken drumstick?”

When the sect leader was little, he had been very easy to coax. Whenever he was tired from studying, one chicken drumstick was enough to make him continue learning.

Meng Baixu said, “No need. I held the Sect Master’s yuan core for two days, so I did not suffer too much.”

Liu Xishi was startled.

Your master-disciple relationship has actually reached this level? He suspected that if the sect leader opened his mouth, Wen Tingshu could directly abdicate in favor of him.

Meng Baixu asked, “The Renxu secret realm I wanted—did you pull it here?”

Liu Xishi had traveled through the night and did not fail his mission.

“I pulled it here. Right now, it is at the foot of the mountain east of the Hengxue Sect.”

Secret realms were numbered according to the heavenly stems and earthly branches in the order they were discovered. The Renxu Illusion Realm had been discovered by Meng Fuguang in his early years. It had been recorded, but never used. Even they had almost forgotten its existence, yet Meng Baixu still remembered it.

The reason was none other than this: the Renxu secret realm was far too obscene and chaotic!

Secret realms were formed from the obsessions of great powers. Some people’s obsession was a meal they had missed in childhood, so inside the secret realm there would be cooking smoke curling upward, and a middle-aged woman standing at the village entrance calling her child home to eat.

Some people’s obsession was failing a competition, so inside the secret realm there would be a grand cultivation world tournament.

After cultivators entered a secret realm, they had to possess someone or replace someone with their true body. They could not destroy the order of the obsession. Otherwise, the obsession would become chaotic, the secret realm would collapse, and even calling heaven would not work.

Meng Fuguang had explored and developed many secret realms, but only the Renxu secret realm left him with nowhere to set foot. No matter whose body one possessed, one would immediately have to do that obscene matter.

The owner of this secret realm was also absurdly powerful. It was impossible to resist his will.

Wasn’t it infuriating? After spending great effort finding the entrance, Meng Fuguang was immediately driven out by it. He was so angry he cursed that the owner must have been a rootless person, which was why his head was full of filthy thoughts!

This kind of secret realm could actually be hung in the sky curtain for auction, with the highest bidder entering. After all, in a big forest, there were always lustful birds, and there were also people willing to drown in a land of tenderness.

But Meng Fuguang disdained selling it.

Later, Meng Fuguang threw this secret realm into some mountain ditch.

Meng Baixu had read all the secret realm archives and had a deep impression of the Renxu secret realm.

If a cultivator went in and could not find the exit quickly, they would have to do that kind of thing.

More importantly, the owner of the Renxu secret realm had extremely high cultivation, and the secret realm’s field energy was extremely strong.

Spiritual qi had only revived around five hundred years ago, while those great powers from a thousand years ago might have cultivated for more than a thousand years before their bodies exploded. In front of them, five-hundred-year-old Wen Tingshu could only be considered a junior.

Meng Baixu could naturally come and go freely, but he could pretend he could not get out and lure Shizun in to stall him.

Once Wen Tingshu entered the Fuguang Sect’s secret realm, could he still leave without leaving something behind?

Liu Xishi’s expression was hard to describe. “Are we really going to activate it? Would this be too stimulating for Sect Master Wen? What if he refuses to rescue you?”

Meng Baixu said, “He dares!”

Liu Xishi said, “Sect Master Wen is five hundred years old, after all. He may avoid this sort of thing like snakes and scorpions.”

Meng Baixu said, “It’s still all right, isn’t it? I kissed him once, and he didn’t do anything.”

Liu Xishi’s face went blank.

“Ki-kissed him once? With Sect Master Wen’s cultivation, he actually didn’t dodge? Sect Leader, could your Shifu have had improper intentions from the beginning?”

Meng Baixu glared. “You are not allowed to say bad things about my Shizun.”

Could that be made clear? Only he could say bad things.

Liu Xishi: “……?”

Meng Baixu said, “Because he didn’t have his yuan core at the time. It was just mouth touching mouth. I was returning the yuan core to him. How could he dodge?”

Liu Xishi slowly relaxed, then grew somewhat worried again.

The sect leader did not even know how to take the chance to use tongue when kissing. Could he really handle this matter well?

A newborn calf did not fear a tiger.

Back when the Great Elder first told the sect leader about his origins and enemies, the sect leader had impulsively wanted to issue a war challenge to the Xie family and the Hengxue Sect.

Although they praised the sect leader every day as number one under heaven, objectively speaking, the Xie family was a thousand-year aristocratic family with countless magic treasures, and the Hengxue Sect stood above all things. Even Meng Fuguang had once said that Wen Tingshu’s cultivation was unfathomable.

It was known that Meng Fuguang and Xie Tongchen were evenly matched, and twenty-year-old Meng Baixu stood shoulder to shoulder with Meng Fuguang. But in rumors, Wen Tingshu was far above Xie Tongchen.

In short, Meng Baixu most likely could not beat Wen Tingshu.

It had been the Left Protector who softly interrupted the little sect leader’s thoughts.

“When our demonic sect does things, we emphasize darkness, poison, and taking advantage of a crisis. Issuing a war challenge is something prestigious righteous sects do!”

“Storybooks say that great clans like the Xie family and the Hengxue Sect cannot be killed from the outside in a short time. Only by starting from within, sowing discord and inciting betrayal, can they first fall into chaos and collapse without being attacked.”

Thus, the sect leader decided to personally go undercover, able to bend and stretch.

Liu Xishi said, “Sect Leader, the pleasures of fish and water are also a field of study. Has Sect Leader mastered it?”

Meng Baixu said, “No, but I can go back and ask my Shizun.”

Liu Xishi: “…”

If Wen Tingshu teaches you this, then the situation really is a little complicated.

Meng Baixu said, “If one does not enter the tiger’s den, how can one obtain the tiger cub? Wait for my good news.”

Liu Xishi froze.

This saying was something they often kept on their lips to mock righteous cultivators for being cowardly as mice, not even daring to spend money on a secret realm.

Large secret realms contained endless treasures and could be explored more than once. After the sect leader developed them, the sect members only needed to guard the entrance and collect money.

These twenty years, the Hengxue Sect had cleared dozens of their secret realms. Their income had sharply dropped, and they had almost been unable to afford raising the little sect leader.

He was just about to say something when his peripheral vision flashed. Seeing Zhongli Yun come to the dining hall for a meal, he immediately stood up and said in a fake manner, “The above are my humble bean-grinding techniques. You can go back and experiment a little. If there is anything you don’t understand, come ask me again.”

Liu Xishi emphasized his tone. “You must learn it properly before letting the Sect Master eat it.”

Meng Baixu nodded. “All right.”

In the distance, Zhongli Yun watched Liu Xishi and Meng Baixu separate, a thoughtful look flashing through his eyes.

He had been paying attention to Liu Xishi for a long time, because no matter how one looked at this person, he was not an ordinary figure. Yet this man had honestly made tofu pudding for twenty years.

Aside from caring about grades, he had no deep friendships with anyone.

Zhongli Yun had simply promoted him to the position of head chef to give him a chance to act, so he would quickly reveal a flaw.

He had a feeling Liu Xishi was about to be unable to hold back.

***

“Shizun!”

When Meng Baixu came back from school, he moved a little stool over and sat beside Wen Tingshu.

“Today in array class, Xie Jing couldn’t answer several questions. I knew all of them.”

Wen Tingshu said, “Your comprehension is far above his.”

Meng Baixu said, “The son of the Xie family head is too useless. I really don’t know how he’s supposed to support a great clan.”

Even when it was Meng Baixu’s complaints, Wen Tingshu responded to every sentence.

“The Xie family’s reputation soared when Brother Xie was the family head. It is enough for Xie Shouzhuo to preserve what was established.”

Brother Xie, Brother Xie. Did he want to take that man’s son as a disciple?

Meng Baixu said, “If Xie Tongchen were still alive, and his son wanted to become your disciple, would you accept me or him?”

Wen Tingshu did not hesitate. “No.”

Meng Baixu’s anger extinguished before he could even release it.

Thinking of his great plan, Meng Baixu felt as if a claw were scratching at his heart. He could not help asking a question that had lingered in his mind for a long time.

“Shizun, have you ever thought about having descendants?”

Wen Tingshu answered without thinking, “For cultivators, it is best not to.”

He said it decisively and ruthlessly, expressing absolutely no expectation for it.

Meng Baixu secretly frowned. “Then suppose you had one. Would you pass the Hengxue Sect to him?”

Wen Tingshu said, “There will not be one.”

Meng Baixu said, “But what if…”

Wen Tingshu said, “You are my only disciple. Seeing you in the Hengxue Sect is the same as seeing me. You do not need to overthink it. I will not have descendants, nor will I accept any other disciples.”

Wen Tingshu took this as his disciple’s possessiveness and insecurity acting up. He said a long sentence, feeding Meng Baixu a reassurance pill.

Meng Baixu was both satisfied and dissatisfied with this answer.

The master-disciple relationship might vanish like smoke once his identity as a demon was revealed. Only the father-son relationship was unbreakable. Whether Wen Tingshu acknowledged it or not, he would have to acknowledge it.

Meng Baixu asked, “Shizun, what are you carving?”

Wen Tingshu said, “A bamboo flute. A month ago, didn’t you say you wanted to learn water-controlling arts? I am carving an array into the flute. When it is played according to different melodies, the great water will divide and merge according to your thoughts.”

Meng Baixu had chopped down too much bamboo while catching worms. Burning it all as firewood would be somewhat wasteful, so Wen Tingshu had picked up a piece of bamboo with excellent quality and carved it into a flute.

A flute was short and a xiao was long. Meng Baixu had seen that Wen Tingshu was making a flute, but he had not expected it to be for him.

In a single day, he could chatter with Shizun about many things. Some things he forgot right after saying them.

“So that’s what it is.”

He circled around Shizun and shared some gossip.

“Shizun, I heard a piece of gossip today.”

Wen Tingshu said, “Mn.”

Meng Baixu said, “Zhao Qing of the Second Peak and Wang Yue of the Eighth Peak are a couple! Everyone is saying Wang Yue has very good stamina—seven times in one night!”

How outsiders knew about such things, Meng Baixu did not understand.

Wen Tingshu frowned slightly. The Hengxue Sect did not oppose cultivators forming Dao companion bonds, but publicizing bedroom matters was also inappropriate.

Meng Baixu asked, “That kind of thing must be very comfortable, right? That’s why they did it seven times in one night. Shizun, what do you think?”

Wen Tingshu closed his eyes.

He had long known there would come a day when Meng Baixu would become curious about matters between men and women. He simply had not expected it to come this early, nor for the question to be so difficult to handle.

Meng Baixu called, “Shizun?”

Wen Tingshu did not completely avoid it. Meng Baixu had no father or mother. He had to teach him everything. If he brushed him off here, Meng Baixu would turn around and go find other crooked paths to understand it.

“When you meet someone you love, and your feelings are mutual, you may become Dao companions. When emotion arises, it should stop at propriety. When that time comes, you will understand.”

Meng Baixu said, “I’m very curious about what it feels like right now. Do I have to wait until I meet someone I like?”

Wen Tingshu said, “Mn.”

Meng Baixu said, “What if I never meet one? Shizun never did.”

Wen Tingshu said, “You are still young. The cultivators under heaven are as numerous as carp crossing the river…”

Meng Baixu said, “The only ones I can look upon favorably are strong people. If someone who was not even one ten-thousandth of Shizun stood before Shizun and said they wanted to bond with me, would Shizun agree?”

Wen Tingshu was silent for a while. “I would not.”

“You are still young. It is not impossible to wait for a genius to appear out of nowhere. He must be able to protect you before he can bond with you.”

Meng Baixu said, “But Shizun waited five hundred years and only got me as a disciple. Do I have to spend five hundred years waiting for someone I like?”

The vein on Wen Tingshu’s forehead twitched.

“If you want to marry, I will choose a suitable match for you.”

Meng Baixu immediately jumped up. “Suitable match? Is it the Xie family? Are you and Xie Tongchen really that close?”

Wen Tingshu: “…”

Again, it began with something else and somehow transitioned to Xie Tongchen.

“I did not think that,” Wen Tingshu said gently. “Hengxue Mountain is only this big. It cannot house too many people.”

Meng Baixu huffed. That was exactly what he was thinking. A suitable match—if not the Xie family, could it be their Fuguang Sect?

Meng Baixu turned back to the main topic.

“Fine, fine. Don’t mention unrelated people. I just want to understand that kind of thing. Shizun, will you teach me or not? Shizun, you’re not avoiding this like snakes and scorpions just because you’re old, are you?”

The usually bright and upright Wen Tingshu was somewhat flustered.

“No. Everyone has seven emotions and six desires. They should be treated calmly. There is no need to regard them as a flood or fierce beast. It is just that you are still young—”

Meng Baixu said, “I’m not young anymore. I’m already twenty.”

What annoyed him most was when others thought he was young. He was already old enough to shoulder a blood feud, roam the cultivation world, and fight two great powers alone, all right?

Wen Tingshu compromised. “Lanshe, the books on the second shelf of the second row on the eastern side of the library—you are twenty now, so you may read them.”

Meng Baixu was shocked.

There were actually books!

Then he had to study properly. One look at Shizun and he knew Shizun had no experience. He needed to read more!

Wen Tingshu wanted to end the topic by advising him to read.

“Go read.”

Meng Baixu asked innocently, “Then after I finish studying, does Shizun want to test me?”

Wen Tingshu: “…”