Chapter 192: Writing as if Assisted by the Gods

Chen Ping'an and Li Xisheng walked up the stairs and went to the second floor of the bamboo building. They stood there and gazed into the distance.

Meanwhile, the young Cui Ci and the two little children remained downstairs and gazed at each other.

"Do you know the meaning behind Fortune Street and Peach Leaf Alley?" Li Xisheng asked.

Chen Ping'an shook his head in response. All he knew was that the people who lived on these streets and alleys were rich, extremely rich. The paths were paved with bluestone slabs, and there were also stone lions outside the residences. In fact, even the door gods on their front gates appeared more spirited and lively.

Li Xisheng held up the peach wood talisman in his hand and explained, "Fortune is a homonym with talisman, and the first character of the street name represents the character talisman[1]. As for Peach Leaf Alley, the character peach corresponds with the peach in peach wood talisman. Combining the names of the street and alley together, we get peach wood talisman."

A look of realization spread across Chen Ping'an's face.

"This is a huge fated opportunity of the small town, and it's possible that this peach wood talisman is an even greater opportunity than those matters of the Five Elements, such as the golden carp."

Li Xisheng continued to explain the situation, saying, "I had a strange dream near the end of the year, and I can vaguely remember seeing many people and many things. However, I forgot everything after I woke up. I feel like I played a game of Go with someone, and I also feel like I learned about the hidden secrets pertaining to the peach wood talisman. The complicated nature of it is as mystical as can be. It's truly difficult to explain."

Li Xisheng pointed at the bamboo building and said, "I initially wanted to hand this peach wood talisman on the front door of the bamboo building to ward off all evils and defend against all mystical powers. This might sound a little exaggerated, but this peach wood talisman can indeed protect this mystical bamboo building and allow it to become even sturdier and more indestructible. Moreover, as time passes, the presence of the peach wood talisman will also lead to the growth of all kinds of plant and tree essences..."

After saying this, Li Xisheng smiled and asked in amusement, "Chen Ping'an, do you really not want it? Such a good opportunity won't present itself again in the future."

"Since it's such an impressive item, you should leave it for yourself, Brother Li," Chen Ping'an replied without hesitation. "Aren't you going to leave and embark on a long journey soon? I just returned from a long journey, and there are a myriad of bizarre and wonderful things, but also countless lurking dangers. So, you're definitely going to need these powerful immortal tools."

There was a wide smile on Li Xisheng's face, and he asked, "Do you feel like I lack immortal tools?"

Chen Ping'an faltered upon hearing this, and he immediately recalled Li Xisheng's battle with Cao Jun on Clay Vase Alley. However, a thought suddenly occurred to him, and he remembered a saying from some book. "The more the better!" he replied.

Li Xisheng felt slightly helpless, and he had no option but to put the peach wood talisman away. After tying it back to his waist, he said in disappointment, "It would have been a perfect match with the door of the bamboo building."

In fact, Li Xisheng even turned around to look at the front door that was downstairs behind him before remarking, "It would have genuinely been a perfect match."

In fact, the young man was being a bit childish at this moment.

Chen Ping'an wanted to laugh, yet he felt like it would be a bit rude to do so. Thus, he could only hold back his laughter.

In the beginning, Chen Ping'an had been willing to interact with Li Xisheng and be friendly with him because he was Li Baoping's older brother. After interacting with him several times, however, Chen Ping'an grew to like this young scholar more and more. This wasn't because of Li Xisheng's aura of righteousness, nor was it because of his identity as a Qi refiner and his ability to rival Cao Jun even though that had only been his first fight. Instead, it was because this young man's interaction with the world around him gave others a sense of reassurance and comfort.

This was the same feeling that A'Liang gave sword cultivators, and this was the same feeling that Mr. Qi gave Confucian scholars.

Even though A'Liang had never mentioned swordsmanship to Chen Ping'an, and even though Mr. Qi had never expounded grand principles to Chen Ping'an, the young boy couldn't help but feel that A'Liang was the most powerful swordsman and that Mr. Qi was the most knowledgable scholar.

Deep down, Chen Ping'an sincerely hoped that he could become someone like them. However, he had never revealed these ambitions to anyone before. This was because he was afraid of appearing like someone who was overestimating their own abilities.

Li Xisheng suddenly made his mind up at this moment, and he said, "No, I can't leave things at this. My conscience truly won't allow me to do so. I can't leave just like this!"

Chen Ping'an was just about to speak.

However, Li Xisheng suddenly reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. There was a solemn expression on his face, and he said, "Chen Ping'an, I'll be nosy and say something else. When interacting with others in the future, you need to refrain from using your own criteria to measure everyone else. For example, you might feel like refusing to accept the peach wood talisman is a natural and correct choice because you're thinking about what is best for me, Li Xisheng.

"Thus, you don't feel guilty after making such a choice. Is this correct? Yes, it's very correct. However, you have to understand that all kinds of people exist in the world. You might feel at ease, but you also need to consider whether the people beside you feel at ease."

Li Xisheng patted Chen Ping'an's shoulder and continued, "Just pretend that I'm forcing you to do something difficult. You don't need to overthink this. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't have said this to them. However, you're different, Chen Ping'an. I feel like you're a very good person, and you can become even better. In fact, there are even times when you'll cause those around you to feel a sense of shame. Do you know this?"

Chen Ping'an had a puzzled expression.

Am I that good?

Li Xisheng laughed heartily and walked over to the balcony railing. Waving at his scholarly attendant downstairs, he said, "Bring my luggage up for me. I need to use something now."

"Alrighty, give me a second," Cui Ci replied.

The young boy whose appearance was as exquisitely beautiful as porcelain hurriedly ran upstairs. He adeptly shrugged the luggage bag off his shoulders, and this was a bag that held a Hundred Treasures Box, something that scholars had to bring with them when they traveled. Inside this box was an entire set of calligraphy brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone. The items were all fairly old, and they didn't appear very expensive either.

Li Xisheng picked up a calligraphy brush, and this was a slightly small and nimble brush that appeared like it was especially for writing compact regular script and official script. The characters "Wind and Snow Awl" were engraved on the top half of the shaft of the brush, which was made from bamboo. However, after being passed down for many generations and existing for so many years, the brush now radiated with a soft red glow. Even more peculiar than this, the hard tip[2] of the brush was a faint golden color and as straight as a sharp awl.

Chen Ping'an shuffled over after Li Xisheng picked the brush up, and he discovered that there were several extremely small and barely perceptible characters engraved on the bottom half of the bamboo shaft.

"Writing as if Assisted by the Gods."

Li Xisheng clearly noticed Chen Ping'an's discovery of these small characters. He lifted the brush slightly and explained with a smile, "The meaning of a book will become clear if you read it many times. One's writing will be as if they're being assisted by the gods if one reads countless books. A similar saying also applies to practicing martial arts — if the spirit doesn't arrive, the punch won't drive. This sounds extremely vague and meaningless, but this isn't the case at all.

"The essence of these idioms and sayings is the notion of diligence and hard work. Practice makes perfect, and perfect breeds mysticality. Approaching things step by step, one can attain understanding. After understanding one principle, one can understand and master all principles."

Cui Ci attained sudden enlightenment at this moment, and it was as if he had grasped the seedling of some profound principle. He scratched his ear and itched his cheek, and he appeared as impatient and anxious as could be.

Nearby, the little girl in pink who had read countless books ever since a young age became dazed and muddled. She felt as if she had drunk a jar of old wine and become extremely drunk.

Only the little boy in azure remained unaffected as he sat on a railing and picked his nose. In fact, he only became startled after seeing the strange behavior of Cui Ci and the little girl in pink.

Chen Ping'an didn't feel too much after hearing this, but he made sure to quietly commit these sayings to memory.

Li Xisheng lightly breathed onto the tip of the brush, and it was as if the hard golden tip suddenly started to soften. Even though it still appeared as sharp as an awl, it now had an additional sense of spiritual energy.

Li Xisheng smiled faintly and said, "Give someone a fish, and you'll feed them for a day, but teach them to fish, and you'll feed them for a lifetime. Since you refused to accept the peach wood talisman, I'm left with no choice but to reveal some of my skills. I've yet to obtain profound knowledge from the books, but I regard myself as someone who's relatively skilled at seal carving and talisman drawing.

"Today, I'm going to write characters and draw talismans on the bamboo strips of this bamboo building. Rest assured, these characters and talismans won't be visible to the naked eye after I finish. In other words, they won't affect the aesthetics of this bamboo building. However, these characters and talismans might create some certain phenomena in the future, but you don't need to be surprised at that time.

"The main purpose of today is to teach you how to draw talismans, and I'll only stop when you feel like you've managed to understand some of the process. There's no need to worry, and I'll make sure to write and draw slowly. You can also take things slowly."

Chen Ping'an flushed slightly red with embarrassment, and he said, "Brother Li, I'm a bit slow and stupid, so please mentally prepare yourself."

Li Xisheng gently shuffled over, and it was as if he were facing an empty wall as he faced the bamboo building. Holding one hand behind him and with one hand holding the calligraphy brush, he looked for a place to make the first mark. "If treating others with kindness is stupid, and if being diligent and tenacious is stupid, then what this represents is a problem with the world. Chen Ping'an, I hope you can maintain this kind of so-called stupidity," Li Xisheng said with a faint smile.

Chen Ping'an scratched his head. Due to his relationship with Old Man Yao, he had become accustomed to being scolded ever since a young age. At the same time, he had also become accustomed to witnessing the exciting and wonderful nature of other people's lives. Thus, he wasn't quite able to adjust to Li Xisheng's words of praise today.

Li Xisheng pondered for a moment before turning around and saying, "When it comes to drawing talismans, the talisman branch of Daoism has always been the leader in the field. However, when we draw talismans, there's actually no need for us to rigidly adhere to the branches and principles of Daoism. The paramount principles of the world are ultimately reflected by the transformation of decaying matters into mystical matters. This is just like how you practice your fist techniques..."

Li Xisheng smiled knowingly and continued, "It's very beautiful."

There was a young boy who would practice fist techniques. Where there were mountains, he would gaze at mountains; where there was water, he would listen to water.

Li Xisheng felt like nothing in the world was more poetic than this image.

He lightly shook his head before holding his breath and concentrating his attention. His expression was solemn as he explained, "When drawing talismans, one needs to have talisman paper. Talisman paper can be anything in the world, yet you need to start from the basics and take things one step at a time. It's important that you diligently start with paper first. After we're finished here, I'll give you a stack of relatively good-quality talisman paper as well as an illustrated beginner's guide to drawing talismans.

"You don't need to worry about buying extra talisman paper for the moment, but you'll need to start worrying about this expense after you finish using the stack that I'll give you later. This is inevitable. One of the challenges of cultivation is the requirement to spend exorbitant amounts of money. Sword cultivators need to temper flying swords, and talisman cultivators need to use large amounts of talisman paper. These are all unavoidable things.

"A breath of True Qi imbued into the tip of the brush, a stroke in a breath like the connected fibers between severed lotus roots. The characters can be separate, but the intent must remain connected. Like the peak of two mountains, they must resonate from afar and maintain communication with each other.

"Chen Ping'an, watch me closely."

Li Xisheng suddenly placed the Wind and Snow Awl into his other hand before wiping his empty hand on his sleeve. Only after doing this did he return the calligraphy brush to his writing hand. He smiled at Chen Ping'an and explained, "I learned this from you. When completing some tasks, one needs to show sufficient respect. I was lacking in this area compared to you, so after seeing your attitude, I decided to emulate your virtues."

When meeting Li Xisheng for the first time at the Li Clan's residence on Fortune Street, Chen Ping'an had put the clay pot on the ground and wiped his hands clean before daring to accept the books from Li Xisheng.

However, Chen Ping'an would have never expected for his small action to elicit such a solemn response from Li Xisheng.

Li Xisheng finally started to draw talismans. In fact, it looked like he was simply a scholar diligently writing characters.

Standing atop the building, one could see the magnificent sun in the distance.

Li Xisheng's writing was extremely neat and gentle. In terms of form, his handwriting appeared similar to the bland and tasteless feel of Daoist Priest Lu Chen's handwriting on the prescriptions. In terms of soul, however, his handwriting appeared completely different.

Even though Chen Ping'an had a mysterious feeling about Li Xisheng's handwriting, he couldn't quite explain the reason behind this feeling.

Afterward, Li Xisheng wrote many phrases and sayings from poems, Confucian classics, Daoist scriptures, and the teachings of the hundred schools of thought that he regarded as wonderful.

There were times when he would stand on his tippy-toes to reach the top of walls, and there were times when he would bend down low to write on the bottom of the walls. He continued to shuffle around, and he continued to breathe onto his brush and moisten the tip. When he wrote to his heart's content and felt delighted, he would even get his scholarly attendant, Cui Ci, to bring a chair up from downstairs. He would stand on the chair and write with freedom and joy, and he would sit on the floor and write with wilful liberty.

He wrote, "I dare not speak loud, for I fear astonishing the immortals in the heavens"[3]. He wrote, "To defeat mountain bandits is easy, to defeat the heart's bandit is difficult"[4].

He wrote, "Mortals are unawakened Buddhas, and Buddhas are awakened mortals". He wrote, "The splash of a scull echoes through the emerald mountains and waters"[5]. He also wrote, "The Master's doctrine is simply to be true to the principles of nature and to exercise benevolence toward others"[6].

Chen Ping'an was yet to say "I understand", so Li Xisheng continued to write on the bamboo walls. He wrote enthusiastically, and he wrote tirelessly.

He wrote each character quickly, and upon their completion, the golden glow around them would quickly vanish into the bamboo wall. However, their profound meaning would remain, not dispersing for an endlessly long time.

The little boy in azure had already jumped off the railing at this moment. He walked up to the little girl in pink and asked in a low voice, "What is he writing?"

The little girl in pink kept her voice down and replied, "I recognize all of the characters, but I don't understand the meaning of the phrases... They're far too profound..."

"That's because you're stupid," the little boy in azure chuckled.

Cui Ci turned around and shot a glare at them, scolding, "Don't disturb Teacher while he's writing!"

The little boy in azure pursed his lips and retorted, "Brat, this is my home, so if you continue to prattle, be careful that I kick you out."

"You have eyes, yet you fail to recognize the profound and valuable nature of these characters. What a waste of Teacher's efforts," Cui Ci fumed.

The little boy in azure crossed his arms and leaned on the railing before sneering, "What can you do about me? Only my master had the right to lecture me about these things."

Li Xisheng wrote, and Chen Ping'an observed. Both of them turned a deaf ear to the trivial argument behind them.

The sky was already getting dark, and Li Xisheng was already standing at the other end of the corridor. He stopped writing and asked with a smile, "How is it?"

Chen Ping'an shook his head with a wry smile.

"It's okay, we'll go downstairs," Li Xisheng said in a warm and gentle voice.

They all walked downstairs to the ground floor of the bamboo building, and the little girl in pink and the young Cui Ci held candles in their hands to help illuminate the characters.

Even though the little boy in azure grumbled and complained, it was evident that he was still extremely earnest as he observed the characters on the wall.

Standing by the river, Confucius said, "Time passes like flowing water, unceasing no matter day or night."[7]

Today was a reflection of this.

Cui Ci's hand violently shook all of a sudden. As it turned out, the candle in his hand had already reached the bottom and burned his fingers.This chapter made its debut appearance via n(o)vel(b)(i)(n).

The pretty young boy silently replaced it with a new candle.

When Li Xisheng wrote the characters, "Burning talismans and shattering seals", Chen Ping'an suddenly exclaimed, "Hang on!"

Li Xisheng stopped writing. Turning around to look at the young boy, he laughed loudly and said, "That's right!"

The Confucian scholar was slightly pale, and his face was also filled with exhaustion. However, he was still full of spirit and vigor.

He took a deep breath and stretched his back before handing the calligraphy brush to the young boy. "Chen Ping'an, this Wind and Snow Awl is my gift to you. I'm confident that you won't bring disgrace to it."

Only at this moment did Chen Ping'an recall the biggest problem with the situation. "I'm unable to become a Qi refiner, yet drawing talismans requires one to use their spiritual energy. That being the case, how can I draw talismans?"

Li Xisheng smiled and explained slowly, "I'm going to give you an illustrated guide to drawing talismans in a moment, and this guide contains many different types of talismans. However, the quality of these talismans won't be too high, so the requirement for one's spiritual energy won't be especially high either. Even so, there will be certain requirements pertaining to the corresponding acupoints.

"By learning how to draw talismans, you're essentially walking down an unconventional path of martial arts cultivation. Martial artists also possess True Qi, though this is the complete opposite of the Qi channeling techniques of Qi refiners. Because of this, each talisman that you draw will be like taking a trial. It will be like a clash on the battlefield where the braver party will win.

"Thus, you need to finish drawing a talisman in the quickest time possible with the most stable Qi. Otherwise, you'll fail to complete the talisman even if you're only a slight bit off. As long as you're willing to persist, even dripping water can penetrate stone. Drawing talismans will no longer be limited to just drawing talismans. At the same time, you'll also be tempering your physique and training your soul."

After accepting the brush, Chen Ping'an nodded and replied, "I understand!"

It was already late at night.

Li Xisheng turned around and gazed beyond the mountains. "After this farewell..."

He didn't voice the remaining thoughts in his mind, and he instead brushed away the feelings of melancholy before chuckling, "I've always wanted to take a look at the outside world, and this is simply bringing my plans forward by a little. It's not bad."

Afterward, Li Xisheng didn't choose to stay in Downtrodden Mountain for the night. Instead, he chose to descend with Cui Ci in the darkness of night.

In fact, the young scholar even refused to let Chen Ping'an see him off to the foot of the mountain.

Chen Ping'an felt a sense of loss and despondence as he stood outside the bamboo building.

The little boy in azure grinned and commented, "Master, this person is fairly good. Not only is he powerful, but he's also upright and loyal. I like him! He has the right to become brothers with me."

"You might be willing to, but is he willing to?" Chen Ping'an said with a huff.

There was a confident expression on the little boy's face, and he replied in a proud voice, "Is there anyone in the world who would refuse the offer to become brothers with me? Are they stupid or what?"

"I don't know whether other people are stupid or not, but I'm well aware of whether you're stupid or not," Chen Ping'an chuckled.

The little boy in azure laughed loudly and proclaimed in a smug voice, "I'm naturally as smart as can be."

There was a hint of pity in the little girl in pink's eyes as she looked at the companion standing beside her. In the past, she had always felt like he was decisive, vicious, and ruthless. Now, however, she suddenly felt like he was actually quite slow and stupid.

The little boy in azure had a sharp sense, and he quickly noticed the look of pity in the little girl's eyes. "Silly girl, are you unwilling to accept this? Then let's fight one on one!"

The little girl in pink hid behind Chen Ping'an.

She wasn't stupid, after all.

————

The moonlight was hazy, and Li Xisheng slowly descended Downtrodden Mountain with the young Cui Ci. After leaving the mountain, he bent down by a stream and cupped some water in his hands to wash his face and refresh his mind. After all, concentrating for so long to write each stroke required a huge amount of mental effort.

Li Xisheng looked up and saw an old man standing on the opposite side of the stream, taking large puffs from his smoking pipe.

He stood up and bowed in greeting, saying, "Li Xisheng pays his respects to Mr. Yang."

The old man calmly turned to the side to avoid the young scholar's bow.

After Li Xisheng straightened his back, Old Man Yang finally said, "I need you to perform a divination for Chen Ping'an. Is that possible?"

"Of course," Li Xisheng replied with a nod. He didn't hesitate at all.

"Mhm, I'll definitely repay the favor afterward," Old Man Yang said.

Li Xisheng didn't comment on this, and he directly stated, "A straight path down the Great Dao, clearing mountains in the way and crossing rivers along the path. It is advisable that he embarks on a distant journey as soon as possible, and to the south is where the benefits lie."

"I trust you," Old Man Yang said with a smile.

Li Xisheng was slightly puzzled, but he didn't question the old man about this.

Old Man Yang glanced at the peach wood talisman hanging by the young scholar's waist, and a complicated look flashed across his eyes. His figure also vanished like a puff of smoke. Indeed, it turned out that the old man had only been a wisp of purple smoke.

The young scholar and his scholarly attendant continued on their way.

"Teacher, can you bring me with you if you embark on a distant journey?" Cui Ci asked.

"Of course," Li Xisheng replied with a smile.

"Huh?" The young boy was deeply astonished.

Cui Ci had initially thought that it would be extremely difficult to convince his teacher to bring him along. However, it was actually this easy?

"This is because someone wants you to follow me. As for me, I don't feel like this is something bad either," Li Xisheng explained softly.

The young boy fell silent for a long time. His head was lowered, and he was slightly downcast as he asked, "Teacher, I want to know where I came from."

Li Xisheng sighed and replied, "That's not an easy question to answer. Why don't you contemplate where you want to go first?"

Cui Ci suddenly became happy, and he said, "Where else can I go? I'm going to follow Teacher around and go wherever Teacher goes!"

Li Xisheng smiled and remained silent.

The moon bright and the stars few, feeling refreshed and reinvigorated. Having met the person on one's mind, the world becomes beautiful once again.

Cui Ci could clearly sense his teacher's mood at this moment, and he also became happy just like his teacher. His footsteps became light and joyful as he walked down the mountain path.

————

In one short night, Downtrodden Mountain was slowly crushed more than three meters into the ground.

During this time, Wei Bo had been standing on some nearby mountain and observing Downtrodden Mountain slowly sink down little by little.

As it turned out, truly profound characters in the world were actually this hefty.

Wei Bo smiled and remarked, "Impressive, how very impressive. Even I'm slightly curious about who you really are, Li Xisheng. Is there genuinely no relationship between you and the Chen Clan's model tree? Then just who are you?"

Night turned into day, and Wei Bo involuntarily looked at the bamboo building in the distance again.

A relationship complementary, the sun and moon vying for brightness.

————

Outside the bamboo building, since Chen Ping'an and the two little children weren't feeling sleepy, they sat on three bamboo chairs that were lined up in a row and waited for the sun to rise.

"One ordinary snake gall pebble for 10,000 taels of silver... Is this too expensive?" Chen Ping'an suddenly asked the little boy in azure.

The little boy in azure was stunned.

"Is it too expensive?" Chen Ping'an asked nervously.

The little boy in azure suddenly leaped up and shouted, "Only 10,000 taels of silver? Master, are you trying to humiliate me?!"

Chen Ping'an felt at ease, and he asked, "Then what about 11,000 taels of silver?"

"Master, I'm going to run away from home if you keep this up!" the little boy in azure huffed in anger.

Chen Ping'an naturally wouldn't take his words seriously, and he asked in curiosity, "What currency do cultivators use when buying and selling things?"

The little boy in azure chuckled and replied, "Give me a second, Master, I'll show you the currency used by cultivators. I'm quite wealthy, you know?"

With a flick of his sleeve, the mystical pocket treasure that he always carried with him started to rain all kinds of dazzling jades onto the ground. There was a small mountain of them, and they were all carved into the shape of copper coins. There were approximately three different types, and each one was a slightly different size.

The little boy squatted down and started to introduce the different types of jades to Chen Ping'an, telling his master about the origin of these jades and also their different values.

This was the currency used by immortals!

Chen Ping'an, the little miser, hurriedly stood up from his chair and ran over to squat down beside the small mountain of jades. He carefully listened to the little boy in azure's explanations.

In the end, he suddenly asked, "I want to give Treasured Scripture Mountain to Ruan Xiu. Do you guys think this is appropriate?"

The little girl in pink blinked in response. She was at a complete loss.

The little boy in azure plonked to his knees and exclaimed, "Master, does this not hurt your soul? You have to restrain yourself, you definitely have to restrain yourself! Master, please don't be rash! Ruan Xiu is th-->>

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