The So Called Not Quite Right

Just as she finished speaking, she drew her longsword and pointed it towards Meng Qi, not caring that he had not had a chance to reply.

She figured that Meng Qi was younger than she was, which was why she did not want to believe that he could beat the famous "Ennea Monkey" of Jianghu.

"Such a spoiled child... " thought Meng Qi. He wanted to practice his bladesmanship anyway, so he also drew his Buddhist Commandment Blade and chopped toward the awkward area where Cui Jinxiu felt very uneasy, forcing her to retrieve her sword.

Since youth, Cui Jinxiu had been praised by her father, Elders, brother, and Senior Brothers for her talent in martial arts, which had made her very competitive. She got into stance and displayed her sword art, with her movements quick as a dragon and gold light flashing from her sword.

Meng Qi's bladesmanship was clear and grand at times, but also seemed capricious and mercurial. He could often strike Cui Jinxiu's most uncomfortable spots, causing her to be flurried and making it hard to find a firm stance.

A constant clanging sound emitted from the clash of the blade and the sword. Meng Qi's bladesmanship was fast and fluid—be it the Blade Art of Five Tigers Cracking the Gate style or the Blood Bladesmanship—they were all at his disposal, pressuring Cui Jinxiu to be out of breath. She felt her defense could crack at any moment.

The "Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmanship" was, after all, the supreme art of the Exterior. Meng Qi naturally felt more superior having harnessed the first blade motion and transformation. Hence during practice, he had a deeper understanding of other bladesmanship, and won against quite a few bladesmen who had over 10 years of practice. It was just that he lacked practice, therefore still unable to integrate the art.

He flicked his Buddhist Commandment Blade and the longsword dropped, Meng Qi fell back a few steps and spoke like a Buddhist monk, "Donor Cui, let's not disturb others' peace this deep in the night."

"Where the heck did he come from?" Cui Jinxiu cried, feeling both angry and funny.

Meng Qi replied calmly, "All creations have spirit, and the flowers and grass are living creations. Disturbing them is not a good idea."

The people opposite were all speechless.

A while later, Cui Jinxiu retrieved her sword and muttered, "I'm no match for you."

Meng Qi smiled and said, "Amitabha. You are too modest."

"Um... Master Zhen Ding, how does my Kung Fu compare to that 'Ennea Monkey'?" Cui Jinxiu asked with hope, trying to prove her strength.

"Donor Cui, you are extremely skilled. You possess such strength and yet to have come of age, you are on par with that Ennea Monkey. However, he is sly and cunning, has more Jianghu experience, and hence has the upper hand," Meng Qi replied. He naturally could see that Cui Jinxiu had the strength of advanced success of Qi-cultivation, whose sword art was not bad either, much better than the Zhang Zongxian couple. But she was nowhere near the 'Ennea Monkey', be it from the standpoint of inner force, movements in martial arts, or Jianghu experience. If they were to meet in battle, she would unquestionably lose her life, but Meng Qi was not about to tell her that.

Even Cui Jinxiu's eyebrows showed delight. She nodded and said, "I do lack Jianghu experience, for my family wouldn't let me roam Jianghu alone."

"Miss, Jianghu is dangerous. How could it compare to home?" a gray-haired Elder said kindly, who had not spoken till now.

Cui Jinxiu puckered her lips and said, "Uncle, we martial artists should roam Jianghu to stop crime, have a strong sense of justice, and help the weak, so that we owe it to the skills we have learned. Home is boring anyway, how could it compare to the exhilarating Jianghu?"

After these words, without waiting for a reply, she went to face the Li Xinyu couple and said, "Sister Xinyu, it's not a good idea to chat here. Let's go into town."

Zhang Zongxian, Li Xinyu, and Meng Qi all agreed with this suggestion.

Since the daughter of the Castellan was here, the guards of the gate did not bother them. After checking her token, a guard opened a small door to let them through.

Then, Zhang Zongxian approached and whispered in Meng Qi's ear, "Master Zhen Ding, we didn't expose your Kung Fu secrets, did we?"

That was Meng Qi's private business, and Meng Qi was their savior, so he did not spread the secrets.

Meng Qi was quite happy about that.

The streets of the town were wide and uncluttered, it looked clean and fresh. This gave Meng Qi a better understanding of the Castellan's abilities as a ruler.

After walking around for a bit, Cui Jinxiu asked excitedly, "Master Zhen Ding, have you heard anything about immortals in the land of the west?"

"About immortals?" Meng Qi repeated, giving her a perplexed look.

Li Xinyu smiled and explained, "Sister Jinxiu loves hearing about mysterious stories of immortals."

"They're not stories," Cui Jinxiu refuted, her face turning red. "Many Jianghu clans have records of their founding masters being enlightened and ascending to the heavens."

"Haha, everyone boasts about their founding masters. Tell me then, where could they have ascended to?" Li Xinyu asked jokingly.

Cui Jinxiu had thought about these questions many times. Since Li Xinyu's words had scratched an itch, she replied excitedly, "Of course to the realm of heaven. I've read about the Snow God Palace clan's records about the realm!"

She knew Meng Qi was unfamiliar with the Snow God Palace clan. After pausing for a bit, she explained, "The Snow God Palace clan always said their ascended founding master had become a God, and bestowed upon them many instructions, including a description of the Realm of Heaven. It was said the realm was full of the energy of heaven and earth, which helped with practicing, so that almost everyone was strong and healthy. Plus, herbs were everywhere, ghosts and evil spirits were servants, and there were even more true immortals who could move mountains and seas, or pick stars and moons out of the skies."

"This... " Meng Qi clenched his eyebrows. He could not tell her that his own abbotship could move mountains and seas, could he?

"Things that happened a long time ago tend to be mysterious and mystical. This is not hard to prove in the recent 10 years. Has there been anyone that has ascended lately?" Zhang Zongxian said, uninterested in any immortal theories.

Cui Jinxiu sighed, "I know, that is why every time I read these records, my heart is full of longing. I keep thinking that it's a pity that our ancestors could control the winds and rain and freeze lakes, but we can't do any of that. Could it be that the path of Kung Fu stops at the three Secret Chambers?"

"Sister Jinxiu, don't believe tales. In the records of the last few hundred years, who has broken through the three Secret Chambers? Or left clues on how?" Li Xinyu brushed Cui Jinxiu's long hair.

Cui Jinxiu shook her head and said, "The Snow God Palace claimed that they had found a way to break through the three Secret Chambers, and break the boundaries of our realm and the Realm of Heaven."

"That is why they've gone insane, mad, and become everyone's enemies." Li Xinyu half-purposely half-truthfully criticized Cui Jinxiu.

Cui Jinxiu's expression became sullen and said, "And that's why I've been so keen on reading the Snow God Palace records on the Secret Chambers. But they've been lost with time, and no one can find them now."

"It's not that there's no chance to read them. Sister Jinxiu, you know why we've been chased by the 12 beasts?" Li Xinyu asked, steering towards the topic.

"Why is that?" Cui Jinxiu was suddenly interested and answered with a question.

"Because we got a treasure map, the Snow God Palace treasure map," Li Xinyu replied, clenching her teeth.

"Really?" Cui Jinxiu felt surprised and happy. "Sister Xinyu, would you let me take a look?"

"Miss, too many people are present. We'd better talk about it when we get home," Uncle He reminded them, while he looked at Meng Qi cautiously.

Zhang Zongxian laughed and said, "Master Zhen Ding has known about this for a while now, but he is like a saint without greed."

Meng Qi watched coldly. He did not want to continue with this topic so he purposely sighed and said, "Speaking of immortals that can control wind and rain, I have witnessed it with my own eyes."

"What?" asked Cui Jinxiu with eyes wide open, looking at Meng Qi with both shock and surprise.

Li Xinyu and Zhang Zongxian were shocked as well, but they both had doubts.

Uncle He still did not lift his head up, as though he thought Meng Qi was just joking with children.

"I did see an immortal who could control wind and rain in the land of the west," Meng Qi repeated.

"Really? Master, what was he like?" Cui Jinxiu asked. Her face went red, and she felt 50 percent happy, 40 percent excited, and 10 percent doubtful.

While staring at the hustle and bustle of the long street in front, Meng Qi replied, "He hadn't ascended yet, so he wasn't a true immortal. But when he did show his full strength, the nearby winds started howling, dark clouds gathered, thunder and lightning struck, and rain started pouring. His every punch was as if it were backed by the forces of nature, powerful beyond belief."

"This-this is very similar to what I have read? They-they do exist... " Cui Jinxiu actually stuttered because of excitement. "Master Zhen Ding, did you greet the immortal?"

"Of course I did, watching him being killed... " Meng Qi thought. Then he replied, "No, but I've also heard of other immortal legends. It is said two immortals were fighting and the result was that crimson covered hundreds of miles of land, lakes were frozen... "

"Crimson covered hundreds of miles of land, lakes were frozen... " Cui Jinxiu repeated, trying to picture this marvelous scene with her thoughts wondering.

Zhang Zongxian and Li Xinyu collected themselves, both feeling that Meng Qi had made these stories up to make Cui Jinxiu happy. But what did he want? Perhaps to win favor with Cui Castellan?

After muttering to herself for a bit, Cui Jinxiu came to her senses, and started asking Meng Qi about the details. Because Meng Qi had encountered this personally, every detail was very real, and even Li Xinyu and Zhang Zongxian became uncertain. This story seemed too real to be made up, or was it?

Only Uncle He's expression never changed. He thought these youngsters were just boasting and playing around.

"If immortals do exist... then why there are no more paths after the three Secret Chambers?" Cui Jinxiu asked casually. Since she had come from a well-read family, anyone else would not be so knowledgeable.

Of course, she did not expect Meng Qi to have an answer to this question.

"There might be, but perhaps it requires the merging of the inner and outer realms," Meng Qi repeated Jiang Zhiwei and the others' common wisdom.

"Merging of inner and outer realms? It is a somewhat interesting statement… " Cui Jinxiu suddenly stared blankly and soon said with a smile. Zhang Zongxian and Li Xinyu could not taste the underlying meaning and just smiled to echo Cui Jinxiu.

But Uncle He's face suddenly changed. He muttered, "Merging of inner and outer realms... What are inner and outer realms? How do they merge... "

He squinted his eyes, sizing up Meng Qi.

Cui Jinxiu continued her questions about this exciting topic. "Master Zhen Ding, which direction did that immortal go?"

"He went in the direction of death," Meng Qi "honestly" replied.

"What? Im-immortals could die?" Cui Jinxiu asked with horror.

Meng Qi smiled and replied, "He hadn't yet ascended, so he wasn't considered a true immortal."

He emphasized what he had already told her.

"B-but... " Cui Jinxiu "but-ed" for a while but could not come up with anything, so she gathered herself and said with a smile, "Master Zhen Ding, that a monk had said 'the direction of death' doesn't seem right."

These are the words of Taoists!

Meng Qi smiled and replied, "Donor Cui, you probably are unaware that the popular terms are not quite right."

"Not quite right?" Cui Jinxiu blinked confusingly.

Meng Qi replied, "Just like you splash some random colors on a painting, then it doesn't seem quite right. Uh... "

He paused and saw a man walk out of a restaurant. The man had a striking sarcoma on his forehead, and unique features. He laughed and said, "Donor Cui, let me demonstrate what not quite right is."

When he finished, he disregarded their perplexed expressions and walked straight up to the man who had just walked out of the restaurant. He put his palms together and said softly,

"Amitabha. Young donor, I see that your glabella has turned dark."