freenovelworld Chapter 507 The Single-Pillar Bridge
Chapter 507 The Single-Pillar Bridge
Lu Yangyang was someone who had personally witnessed how the Fairy of Goodness and the Taoist Priest of Shangqing committed evil deeds.
She truly couldn't take it anymore, and asked through gritted teeth,
"So this is how you clean house?"
Master Qingtan vaguely sensed something was wrong. He had been observing Lu Yangyang for a long time and had never seen her expression change, but after hearing his words, her entire aura changed, as if she was about to slap him.
He was a little confused for a moment, and tentatively asked, "Is it related to this elixir?"
Lu Yangyang knew that if Master Qingtan wasn't lying, then this matter couldn't be blamed on him. But when she thought about how those two siblings had committed evil deeds using their alchemy skills, she wanted to shake the water out of the heads of those people at Sanqing Mountain. Was cleaning up the sect only about sweeping up the big pile? Weren't there piles of shit around?
Lu Yangyang retorted immediately, "You Sanqing Mountain sect really have a big heart! You just send him away after he stole forbidden techniques and that's it? Don't you even know how those forbidden techniques were forbidden in the first place? Did you release him hoping he would reform, or do you think expelling him is his greatest loss? Do you think his greatest honor in life was being part of the sect, and expelling him is the greatest punishment? Don't be ridiculous! Your sect leaders must be hundreds of years old combined, right? How can you be so naive? You expect an evil person to turn over a new leaf and become a good person just by being expelled from the sect?" "Why didn't you consider how he might use forbidden techniques to harm people? And what happened? Not only did he use forbidden techniques to swindle and deceive, but he also recruited a bunch of disciples to follow him in swindling and deceiving. And you, having discovered his use of forbidden techniques to harm people, only cleaned up his own sect, without even considering what he taught his disciples, or what harm those disciples would cause to others when they went out? If you don't want to take action, can't you report it to the authorities? Given the extent of their evil deeds, even if they aren't executed in the autumn, they should at least be imprisoned for a few more years, right? And you just let them go like that? Are you Taoists or Buddhists? Is this how you treat people so generously?"
Master Qingtan was completely dumbfounded by the rebuttal. He looked at Lu Yangyang with a slightly helpless expression, then at Zong Que, and even glanced at Pei Ji, who was standing at the door holding a sword.
Pei Ji wasn't one to talk much, but at this moment, he couldn't help but voice his opinion: "Excuse me for asking, did you burn the banned books?"
Master Qingtan was about to burst out laughing, "This, this..."
Lu Yangyang stared at Daoist Qingtan, "Don't go, you absolutely mustn't go. You'd better write another letter and call all your teachers over. In a few days, Prefect Ling will be hearing Daoist Shangqing's case. You stay here and use your big eyes to see what kind of trouble you've left behind."
Master Qingtan looked to Zong Que for help, thinking that this man should be reasonable.
He really was just passing through!
Zong Que's voice was calm and composed. "The Celestial Master of Sanqing Mountain cares deeply for the world. I once met the Celestial Master and admired him greatly. Do you know why the Celestial Master ordered you to descend the mountain?"
Master Qingtan frowned slightly and became serious. How did he know that he had come down the mountain on his master's orders?
"Three years ago, there was a major case at Qinglian Temple in the capital. I'm sure the Taoist priest had heard about it. The one who produced the prescription and used the brain marrow of a young child as a medicinal ingredient to make the Nourishing Heart Pill was none other than the junior sister of that Taoist priest Shangqing, who called herself the Immortal Maiden Shangshan."
"Nowadays, the elixir of immortality has been obtained by that Taoist priest Shangqing, who used women's heart blood as a catalyst to open up numerous temples of immortals, murdering people for money, and the number of victims is countless."
"Master, you have gone out on your master's orders. Do you know why you have gone out?"
Those few words struck a chord in Master Qingtan's heart.
He didn't actually know why his master had ordered him to go down the mountain. After the news came that the deposed crown prince had been assassinated, he and his fellow disciples went down the mountain one after another. He didn't understand why, so he just wandered around, thinking that his master wanted them to enter the world to cultivate.
But at this moment, a few words were like a wake-up call, waking me from my dream.
Taoism fades into obscurity during prosperous times and emerges during times of chaos.
The master sent them down the mountain not to cultivate themselves, but because the Purple Star was dim and chaos had arisen in the world.
Although Master Shangqing is not considered a disciple of Sanqing Mountain, they are still related. Every word the girl said was correct. This was an oversight on the part of Sanqing Mountain, and they bear the responsibility.
Master Qingtan bowed respectfully with his hands clasped, saying, "This humble Taoist thanks you for your guidance."
Zong Que looked up at Lu Yangyang: "Yangyang, let's go. The Taoist priest is a distinguished guest. Have someone take good care of him."
Lu Yangyang glanced at the Taoist Qingtan but did not refute him. She called over a yamen runner and asked him to take the Taoist Qingtan to rest.
She stepped forward and pushed Zong Que's wheelchair out, "Your Highness... what did you mean by what you just said to that Taoist priest?"
Zong Que looked up, met Lu Yangyang's eyes, and said softly, "Yangyang, you can call me by my name."
"Huh?" Lu Yangyang was stunned for a moment before she realized that she had almost called out "Your Highness" again in her haste, but with so many people around, she had to be careful.
But, call his name?
Zong Que? That seems a bit odd.
A strange look flashed across her face.
Zong Que chuckled softly: "My father named me Que, which means a single-plank bridge. He said that I was born to be the crown prince of the country, but this path is destined to be lonely, like a single-plank bridge. I need to always remember and be vigilant about this loneliness in order to walk forward with clarity. My mother felt that this name was too lonely and didn't like it very much, so she gave me the nickname A Que. The two characters sound the same, but they have different meanings. It means both retreat and rejection. She said that if this path is really too lonely, I can retreat or refuse. Her ideals and her expectations for the world are not her expectations for me, so rejection is also possible."
Lu Yangyang had heard many people call Zong Que by his name, and she had also heard his childhood nickname, but this was the first time she had heard the meaning of the name.
A single-plank bridge is called a "que," but a single-plank bridge is not only lonely, but also accompanied by endless dangers, with the possibility of falling into the abyss at any time and never being able to recover.
It's as if this perfectly confirms the path he's always taken.
The word "but" so directly expresses a mother's love. She knows how dangerous this path is, so her expectation for him is never that he must take this path, but that he can retreat, refuse, and choose the life he wants.
You don't have to exhaust your life for someone else's ideals.
For the first time, she realized that the word "却" (què) was so lovely and had such a warm meaning.
She suddenly understood what His Highness meant when he told her that day that he hoped she could choose freely.
Because he had been treated so gently before, he wanted to give her the best gentleness and expectations in return.
May she live a free and passionate life.