Chapter 1356: Origins of the wandering scholar
“What are the chances that they will call?” Ren Shu asked after Yang Qing shared the parting words he had left with the enigmatic painting’s spirit.
Sighing, Yang Qing said, “If they are desperate enough, it increases the odds of it happening.”
He sighed once more after finishing the statent. It was a double-edged sword. Being desperate ant the situation was highly likely to be bad, and bad, ten out of ten tis, ant it was dangerous or that life was at serious risk. But at the sa ti, Yang Qing believed that only extre danger and the desperation it created would produce the scenario he wanted.
Without the situation being desperate, the chances were high, guaranteed even, that the painting’s spirit would keep hiding itself from him and with it, all that it knew about the situation.
“I could help speed things along if you want?” Ren Shu offered.
“I’ll give it three days. If I don’t hear from it, I’ll call you up on that offer,” said Yang Qing as he nodded gratefully at Ren Shu. “Thanks.”
“Mmh,” humd Ren Shu as he raised his teacup at Yang Qing before taking a sip, with Yang Qing mirroring his actions.
“By the way,” Yang Qing said slowly as he set his teacup down, “did you resolve everything? The thing with those quasi-saint-grade bombs, I an,” he clarified.
Seemingly reading through Yang Qing’s thoughts, Ren Shu smirked. “Are you asking because you’re concerned for the Valley, or because you’re worried about yourself and getting sneak attacked while you’re here?”
“Both,” Yang Qing admitted unabashedly. “So?” he prompted.
“Don’t worry. I can guarantee there won’t be any plants suddenly trying to possess your body. You can heal… and show off as much as you want,” he quipped after a short pause.
Yang Qing’s retort to the slander was a snort as he took generous helpings of the jujube tea. “What about the others?” he asked, his tone and expression now carrying a more serious, slightly worried look to it.
Ren Shu sighed. “I’d like to think, or rather, hope, that we’ve found everything there is to find and that the Valley is as safe as it should be. But…” he paused briefly. “They managed to sneak those things in without our knowledge. And even now, we don’t know who did it, other than the fact that they’re resourceful, both in assets and talented people, and in ingenuity. Everything else is a mystery.”
Ren Shu paused and looked around, his gaze drifting over the plants, the table, the sky, and the walls of his courtyard before it finally settled on Yang Qing. “This place is supposed to be where lives are saved, not endangered, and yet…” he smiled bitterly.
“I can’t guarantee we got everything, Qing,” he said softly as he looked at Yang Qing. “But..” he continued, his smile easing up, “I can promise that the Valley is a hundred tis more alert and more protected now than it was three months ago, and we will continue to do all we can to reduce the risks on the lives of all who co here.”
“Including even a certain gluttonous, leechy coward,” he added, flashing Yang Qing a teasing smile.
“Well, that gluttonous, leechy coward thanks you greatly,” Yang Qing quipped back as he perford a mock bow and toast that ended with shared laughter between the two.
With the ti to leave almost upon him, and said departure heavily influenced by the kettle of tea that was almost empty, Yang Qing felt it was about the right ti to throw out all the other random questions he had, which, though not necessarily tied to the case were born in the pursuit of it.
“By the way..” Yang Qing began slowly in between his dragged-out sips of tea, now more mindful of it since he only had a cup left. “I found an interesting journal in Hebei. It was by a wandering scholar who called himself Wandering Scholar Song Quan.” Yang Qing found himself chuckling as he said the na.
“Have you heard of him?” he continued. “He wrote so interesting things in that journal,” he added.
“Things like?” Ren Shu softly asked, his eyes glimring with interest.
“Dragons, Phoenixes, Kunpengs,” Yang Qing answered in a fascinated tone. “And how mythical races like them have not been seen for a while,” he added in a deliberately slow tone as he eyed Ren Shu to see if a reaction would show on him on account of that statent.
Figures… Yang Qing bitterly thought in resignation when he saw Ren Shu’s face that gave away nothing. It was still the sa casual, relaxed, smiling face, with eyes that had no ripple in them, that horrid posture that Yang Qing so envied, and the punchable chin that seed too heavy for the neck it sat upon, given how lazily Ren Shu supported it with his hand.
“Do you know of so dragons, Senior Ren Shu?” Yang Qing asked with a coaxing smile. With an old fox like this one, it was much simpler just to be direct with them.
“I do know so dragons, actually,” Ren Shu said playfully.
“Really?” Yang Qing asked in surprise, almost standing from his seat.
“Of course,” Ren Shu said casually, as though he were talking about knowing so random skewer hawker and not a dragon. “One of the supre elders of the dical Saint Garden is one; a wood jade dragon actually… a stingy wood jade dragon who likes to borrow herbs and never uses his own. A shaless, stingy wood jade dragon to be precise,” he snorted before his gaze settled on Yang Qing, who shifted awkwardly in his seat when he saw that gaze, as he could clearly tell what it hinted at.
“What?” he asked defiantly, even though he knew.
“You and he are strangely alike. In your personalities and little habits, I an,” Ren Shu said aningfully as he eyed Yang Qing closer, like he was examining a suspect.
“So that ans I am a dragon too,” Yang Qing retorted as he puffed up his chest.
“In terms of shalessness, you are. You’re a dragon among n in that area,” Ren Shu fired back, chuckling as he did.
Failing to find a retort, Yang Qing lowered his face to hide his embarrassnt. “You’ve been corrupted, Senior Ren Shu. You used to be kinder,” he softly mumbled.
But as one who had long grown accustod to taking hits and jabs, developing a thick skin for them, Yang Qing’s spirits imdiately lifted as he raised his face, brimming with interest.
“So they are around,” he muttered dazedly in fascination. “Does the Order have one?” he asked excitedly.
“Dragons?” Ren Shu asked back.
“Yes… I an no,” said Yang Qing, contradicting himself as he shook his head. “Yes, dragons, but also if there are other mythical races,” he clarified.
Ren Shu smiled as he looked keenly at Yang Qing. “Looking to follow in the footsteps of Wandering Scholar Quan and finish his research, are you?” he teasingly asked.
“That’s uncalled for,” Yang Qing retorted in a hurt tone. “You’ve changed,” he softly mumbled, before adding, “I’m just curious, is all. Is there anything wrong with wanting to know if we have dragons and phoenixes at the Order? It would make feel safer.” His voice grew lower the closer he ca to the last word.
“Well…” Ren Shu said slowly, his voice pulling Yang Qing out of his pout as he looked up eagerly. Ren Shu thought of teasing him again with a “what do you think?” but ultimately decided to play the kind senior, having had his fill of teasing Yang Qing for the day. He would save the rest for later. If he pushed further, he had no doubt that this little disciple of his would use that teasing as an excuse to welch out of their agreent, or try to scam sothing out of him for free, or both.
He’d probably use sothing shaless like:
Senior Ren Shu, I’m sorry, I can’t co today. I don’t know what happened, but my ntal demons flared up imdiately after we parted ways, and I kept vomiting blood the whole night. Must have been the dragon discussion we held that shook my weak will. But don’t worry, once I’ve trained myself well, I’ll make sure to fulfill the deal we agreed on… it should take two weeks to a month.
Though if you need back earlier—and this is not trying to make a shaless request here—I’m only making this request as a suggestion because I respect you and the Valley so deeply, and I want to pay my debt. So if you have more of that jujube tea lying around, or so other ascendant grade herb lying around… and this is not scamming you… it’s just that the ntal demons from this ti are deadlier than any I’ve faced. As such, for a speedy recovery, I feel only that ascendant grade nine stan spirit daylily over there will more than do the job.
Only if you want, Senior Ren Shu…
Ren Shu could even hear that little smacking of the lips Yang Qing sneakily did whenever he was about to scam him. It wasn’t my imagination… Ren Shu smiled wryly when he looked up to find Yang Qing moistening his lips on the tea. To soone who didn’t know him, one would think Yang Qing was just enjoying the tea, nothing else. But Ren Shu knew better. Not to ntion, he had seen that restrained half smirk as Yang Qing was taking his sip, the one he no doubt thought he had hidden well. And that glint in his eyes that always showed whenever he was scheming sothing.
Not today, little Qing… Ren Shu thought as he smiled.
“So, are there dragons in the Order?” Ren Shu said leisurely. “No, there are not.”
Yang Qing’s eyes imdiately dimd at the answer, but then quickly lit up from Ren Shu’s next words.
“But there are mythical race mbers among us. You just have to look hard enough,” Ren Shu said mysteriously.
“You’re not about to say you are one, are you?” Yang Qing asked with a snide lift of his brow, shooting Ren Shu a provocative, suspicious look. “Though, given the level of shalessness you’ve been showing lately, I wouldn’t put it past you,” he added, smirking as he took a sip of his tea.
“I’m all human, sadly,” Ren Shu chuckled dryly.
“Figured as much,” Yang Qing snorted. “So what kind are they? Phoenixes, Kunpeng, Qilin, Rocs… what?” he asked, his excitent bubbling back.
“They’ll tell you themselves, should that day co…” said Ren Shu.
“Always trying to act all mysterious,” Yang Qing pouted.
“If you’re that curious, you can always follow Song Quan’s footsteps and seek them out, you know…” Ren Shu said slowly. “Though it is surprising to find his journals in a teahouse in Hebei. Sothing like that would fetch a very high price, you know. After all, it’s an item from a soul formation expert and a renowned one at that.
Then again, if the teahouse has ties to soone from a treefolk tribe, it makes sense that they would have it,” he added thoughtfully.
“Why?” Yang Qing imdiately asked, his curiosity and brows rising at once.
“Rumor has it he was friends with them. Actually, more than friends,” said Ren Shu with a chuckle. “There was a strange rumor floating around that the reason he was obsessed with mythical races was because he was looking for a certain treefolk lady he was enamored with. Sadly, by the ti he got the guts to confess, that treefolk mber was already wandering around the continent… and from that, in his pursuit of her, the Wandering Scholar Song Quan was born,” said Ren Shu.
“I’m not sure how true the rumor is, though. What I do know is that Song Quan did have a relationship with so of the treefolk tribes. I’m not sure if the Aurora Dark Winter Jade Spruce tribe was among them, though.
Zhu Lao would know, though. They were travel companions for a ti,” said Ren Shu. “His brother too,” he softly added, his tone sounding slightly strained as he sighed lancholically.
User Comments
0 comments from readers