Beipai Tomb Raiders Notes

Chapter 553: Where to Go in Such a Big World

early morning.

The small clinic has basically returned to normal. Except for the damaged rolling door, there is basically no trace of what happened here last night. Shit Wuchang and I sat side by side on the steps at the door.

Dr. Song brought us two cups of hot tea. I took them, but Shi Wuchang didn't. He just stared blankly at the passers-by who came by.

Doctor Song gently placed the teacup on the steps, sat down next to Shi Wuchang, and said, "You should also take care of your own health."

Shit Wuchang still looked ahead without saying anything.

He looked very bad, sloppy, with withered hair, thin features, sallow complexion, and yellow eyeballs. In addition, he happened to be sitting at the door of the clinic, and people passing by gave him strange looks from time to time.

"Sister Song, are you alright?"

"No, those people last night..."

"They're all dead. No, that's not right... It seems like one person ran away. I don't know his name. I don't recognize him. Anyway, they are all members of the Puppet Society."

Doctor Song frowned. "Whose faction is the puppet? My sister and I have lived in seclusion in Qiandao Lake for many years. We are strangers to each other and have no grudges against each other. Why would they target me?"

"No, Sister Song, the Changchun Society came to Qiandao Lake because they wanted to get rid of the thorn in their side, the Crazy Taoist Priest. So far, it seems they have failed and have not been able to do so. The Puppet Society is another underworld force that can compete with the Changchun Society. Their goal in coming here is not for my aunt. My aunt was temporarily taken away by the Jingmen. And this Jingmen is closely related to the Old Martial Arts Society. I have talked to the leader of the Jingmen, and we agreed to his conditions. He should not harm my aunt."

I could tell from Dr. Song's expression that he didn't understand. I thought about it, scratched my head, and said, "This matter involves the interests of many parties, and the situation is complicated. All we can say is that we are only seeing the people in the open. There are several powerful people behind the scenes playing games with each other. Including me, and my little aunt, she just happened to be involved."

At this moment, Shit Wuchang, who had been in a daze, suddenly spoke up: "That's right. I suddenly feel that practicing martial arts is useless. Even if you become the strongest, it's still the same. It's like chess pieces. The only difference is whether it's a pawn or a rook."

"That's right, I'm glad you knew it. I was just worried that you wouldn't wake up after going through so much.

"There's an idiom called 'the courage of a common man,' which means that no matter how skilled or brave a common man is, he won't make a big difference. The ones who truly determine victory or defeat in battle are often those who hide behind the tent, planning and using their brains."

"Zhuge Qing is such a person, the leader of Jingmen is such a person, and the leader is also such a person. The leader sternly advised me not to get involved in your affairs more than a month ago. I now doubt whether the leader predicted the current situation at that time."

"Then why are you still getting involved?"

"Because I'm stupid, because I'm mentally retarded, is that reason enough?"

Shit is impermanent and speechless.

I drank the tea in one gulp, put down the cup, and said, "The difference between me and the boss is that he is always absolutely calm, and I can't be as calm as him, and I may never be able to do so. I can't just watch someone who has done me a favor fall into trouble without helping him. Many times, things happen too suddenly, leaving no extra time for reflection."

Everything I said came from the bottom of my heart. I think people are far more important than money. As long as I'm alive and as long as I still have the ability to make a living, I can always make money. But if the person I care about is gone, I'll never see them again.

After hearing this, Shit Wuchang patted me on the shoulder and said everything.

Dr. Song buried her head between her legs. I patted her back and buried my head like her.

After a while, there was a sudden "clang" sound.

I looked up.

I saw a little girl who looked about ten years old holding a biscuit in her hand. She threw a coin into the teacup in front of me and ran back to the adults.

I poured out the coin and looked at it. It was a fifty-cent coin.

Shit Wuchang laughed at himself, "Is it for you or for me? I'm being treated like a beggar."

"It must be for you. Look at you, you look like you have late-stage liver cancer. Is it because you ate too much shit in the past that your skin looks so yellow?"

"Get lost. I'm in this state now because the Ren Zhong Huang hasn't suppressed the cold poison yet. It will be fine after a while."

"Cold poison? Is it because you ate those tongues?"

He acquiesced.

"Back in Jiamusi, Daowazi's body was sent to the freezer, and within a night his tongue was gone. I only now know it was you who did it. Didn't you feel sick when you ate it?"

Shit Wuchang shook his head: "The combination of power and medicine, and the killing of the middle-burner corpse, has long since eliminated my appetite. For me, as long as I can become stronger, eating anything is the same. The so-called "crossing the six jia" is just overdrawing my body. I didn't expect that even with that, I still couldn't beat that old Taoist priest."

I shook my head. "Crazy Taoist Priest's realm has surpassed that of Jianghu masters like you for countless years. You've been severely damaged after this battle. If I were to say who could surpass him in the future, I think that person would be Xie Qirong."

"I thought you always hated that lunatic. Why do you have so little confidence in me?"

"It's not that I don't have confidence. I came to this conclusion based on theoretical analysis. The characteristics and approaches of your two martial arts are completely different. You focus on your external body, while he relies on his internal energy. You've already reached your upper limit, while he hasn't yet."

Shit Wuchang looked serious and shook his head in denial, "How can it be as simple as you say? At our stage, there's no one left to learn from, no one to teach. Every step forward is like crossing a river by feeling the stones. The slightest mistake will lead to eternal damnation. That madman's Soul Refining Return to Void has certainly not reached its end, but every step he takes is harder than ascending to heaven. Because if you want to ascend to heaven, at least you can take a rocket."

I frowned and asked, "What does it mean to refine the spirit and transform it into emptiness? What do the words 'spirit' and 'emptiness' represent? I've never been able to figure it out."

Shit Wuchang thought for a moment and replied, "I don't have a concept. 'Shen' refers to spirit, it refers to divine light. 'Xu' refers to emptiness, it refers to nothingness. It's a general description of inner spiritual power. I'm not qualified to summarize it. According to the descriptions recorded in ancient Dan Gong, refining the spirit and returning it to emptiness is also called the upper level. After passing these nine levels, people can enter the ultimate stage of Dan Gong practice. They all enter a state of great tranquility, inward contemplation, and transfer their spirit to the valley of heaven. They hide themselves in the mysterious and pure yang body, and become invisible and self-destructing. At that time, they will be filled with innate essence, and the body will be full of vitality. Everything will return to the starting point, just like a newborn baby."

"Ah! What you mean is...Xie Qirong will turn into a baby after refining it?"

Shit Wuchang was amused by the sudden words. He waved his hands and laughed, "How is that possible? What I said was just a record in the alchemy book. You can also regard it as a beautiful fantasy of the ancients."

I said seriously, "But...he's definitely looking younger and younger in recent years. And not just him. I've seen many truly skilled Taoists look much younger than their actual age. Doesn't this prove this path is the right one? It's just that no one has yet reached the level you're describing."

Shit Wuchang waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. There's no point in talking about such vague things. If you're really interested in this, you can give up the worldly affairs and become a Taoist priest."

I rubbed my face and said, "I can't let it go. I can't let it go at all. My life in the mortal world has just begun. You agreed to the conditions of the Jingmen. I think it won't be long before the news about your "affair" spreads all over the world. What are your plans for the future?"

Shit Wuchang thought for a moment, then stood up and said, "I'm not going back to the Changchun Club. I don't care what people in the martial arts world think of me. I plan to buy a good car and take Yuyu with me to travel around the world."

I stood up and said, "The crazy Taoist priest said she can't wake up, and no one in the world can save her. She can't see."

Shit Wuchang looked at me and said seriously, "She will definitely see it."

At this time, Doctor Song also stood up, the wind blowing her bangs aside. She looked at Shi Wuchang and said, "If Junior Sister is awake, I won't care. If Junior Sister doesn't wake up, I won't agree to let you take her away."

I nodded. "As the saying goes, the eldest brother is like a father, and the eldest sister is like a mother. It's reasonable to say that Sister Song, you do have this right."

Shit Wuchang was obviously anxious, but he was not good at expressing himself, so he immediately bowed to Dr. Song.

Doctor Song had a blank expression on his face and was unmoved. He flicked his sleeves and turned away.

Looking at Shi Wuchang's sad face, I felt mixed emotions.

The two of them...where should they go?