Chapter 8 – The First Meeting
After admonishing them, the youth surnamed Xu kicked the taller man’s butt: “Go and apologize to him and get lost. Your qualifications will be canceled this year, come back the following year at the sacrificial ceremony of the Eastern Emperor.”
The tall and short men were dripping sweat and their faces were filled with fear. With their clothes wet, they knelt on the ground and kept on kowtowing: “Thanks Senior Brother Xu, thanks Senior Brother Xu… We beg Senior Brother not to tell Senior Brother Zhou, otherwise, we will certainly be expelled from Ying Tian Chuan…”
Senior Brother Xu could not help but raised his mouth and shook the folding fan, saying: “Expelled from Ying Tian Chuan? If Zhou Bei Nan knows that I caught both of you committing such a crime, it will be strange if he did not beat your brains out.”
Both of them shuddered: “…”
Xu Xing Zhi had enough of teasing them and he no longer made trouble for them. He let them apologize to the young boy.
Not getting Xu Xing Zhi’s permission, they kept their head bowed and dare not get up at all, while the young boy only stared at Xu Xing Zhi with curiosity in his eyes.
Xu Xing Zhi asked the young boy, “How? Are you willing to forgive them?”
The young boy did not in the slightest bit looked at them but faced Xu Xing Zhi and obediently nodded his head: “En!”
Xu Xing Zhi bent down and held them each in his hands before pushing them forward: “Scram, don’t embarrass the four Immortal Sects.”
At Xu Xing Zhi’s command, they both took their magic artifacts and left in faze, they ran even faster than rabbits.
Xu Xing Zhi was about to leave but was stopped by a little paw holding onto the backs of his clothes.
The young boy stood on tiptoe and attempted to stuff the Fuyu Fruits into his hands.
“I have no use for this.”
“Sacrificial Ceremony of the Eastern Emperor, don’t you need it?” The young boy blinked and tried to promote, “…Both of them wanted it. For you.”
Xu Xing Zhi happily smiled and used the folding fan to push down the young boy’s paws. “They are competing but I am not. I am the Order Officer of the Sacrificial Ceremony of the Eastern Emperor. “
The young boy could not understand so he grabbed at Xu Xing Zhi’s clothes as if he wanted him to give an explanation.
With nothing else in his hands, Xu Xing Zhi looked down and checked at the jade bead necklace(1) at his neck, making sure that there was no abnormality in the beads before he walked towards to the blue rock where the young boy was seated at. He jumped on it and patted at the side, motioning the young boy to come and sit.
1. Jade Bead Necklace
The young boy waded over and sat down close to Xu Xing Zhi.
Xu Xing Zhi said: “You don’t resign to fate.”
The young boy boldly reached out his hand to check at the jade beads necklace between Xu Xing Zhi’s neck and was caught by him on the wrist.
A spiritual force quietly penetrated into the boy’s body through the wrist meridians, but the boy’s face was, as usual, allowing Xu Xing Zhi’s spiritual energy to wander around among his meridians, without scruple.
Xu Xing Zhi sighed in surprise, “He’s a child with spiritual roots.”
The boy stared with a pair of ignorant eyes: “What’s spiritual root?”
Xu Xing Zhi explained: “If anyone who seeks immortality and enquires about the pathway wants to achieve something, his roots, understanding, and efforts are indispensable. Your spiritual roots are very good. What about your parents, little fellow?
The boy looked down at his toes and said, “Don’t have.”
Xu Xing Zhi was stunned and immediately comforted: “It’s all right, I don’t have any too.”
The boy buried his head even lower: “I haven’t seen my parents since I was born.”
“…Same.” Xu Xing Zhi said with ease, “I only have one twin elder brother. If it hadn’t been for my Master Qing Jing Jun accepting me as his disciple, I would still be scrambling with a group of gangsters in the street.”
Speaking of this, Xu Xing Zhi opened the fan as usual and was ready to fan himself. Unexpectedly, the boy held his palm and pinched it painfully.
Perhaps in order to placate Xu Xing Zhi, the young boy held up the Fuyu Fruit again: “Fruit. For you.”
Xu Xing Zhi laughed and pushed the fruit away again: “When I first came to Lingqiu Mountain, I grabbed two fruits, and ate one secretly. It’s juicy and fleshy, but it tasted like a lot of dregs and it grits the teeth. It’s not delicious.”
The young boy nodded especially seriously, he took the fruit which Xu Xing Zhi had judged to be “not delicious” and asked the question: “You just said, ‘Order Officer’, what is that?”
Xu Xing Zhi answered patiently: “The four Immortal Sects hold the sacrificial ceremony of the Eastern Emperor every two years. Originally, all the disciples regardless of the rank will compete for the sacrifices together. The more sacrifices they got and the more precious they were will allow them to serve as sacrificial officers for the sacrifices of the Eastern Emperor. I’ve been a sacrificial officer for six years. It’s tiring. Therefore, after the consultation, our four head disciples did not participate in the contest, but served as an Order Officer, in charge of several areas, in order to avoid problems in the competition.
After that, he propped up the jade bead necklace between his neck with his fingertips and pointed out the shining points on it to the boy: “Look, I am in charge of these five mountains Yushan, Lingqiu, Zhange, Gaotu, and Taihua. The sacrificial objects are quite rare, and there is often monster guarding them. If disciples use their spiritual power in these five places and have difficulties fighting, I will go and help.”
Xu Xing Zhi came here half a month ago.
He searched all over the mountain, but found no trace of “Yong”, and the Fuyu Fruits also had no beasts guarding them.
These precious fruits were like a pile of wild watermelons growing in the mountains, waiting to be decay.
Xu Xing Zhi explained: “Originally, I thought that the disciples who came to Lingqiu Mountain to look for Fuyu Fruits didn’t need to use any spiritual power at all. They were considered to gain a big bargain. I didn’t expect that they would use their spiritual power to attack a common person like you.”
The young boy showed a frightening expression in coordination, and Xu Xing Zhi could not help feeling soft-heartened as he saw this. He touched his hair and felt only softness at his fingertips, so he decided to touch more.
The young boy had never been rubbed at his hair like this before. First, he shrugged his shoulders reflectively, then his expression relaxed strangely. Then, uncontrollably, he showed his indescribable expression and squinted comfortably.
Seeing this scene, Xu Xing Zhi was amazed.
If he was a kitten, he should be intoxicated by the rubbing now, snoring and humming.
Perhaps he was touched too comfortably. The young boy lay idly on Xu Xing Zhi’s legs and used Xu Xing Zhi’s knees as a pillow. He asked with a pure face: “… What is “Yong”?
Xu Xing Zhi was surprised at how acting so familiar and poked his tender cheek with his fan.
He poked a pit and it felt great on his hands.
Xu Xing Zhi recalled the ferocious appearance of the monster’s green face and tusks and the horrible appearance of chasing those who touched the Fuyu Fruits without stopping, and he did not want to answer in detail: “Anyway, it is not a good thing.”
The boy continued to ask cleverly, “Then where did it go?”
This question was also a mystery to Xu Xing Zhi, so he speculated on his own accord: “…Maybe they moved? He glanced at the fruits strung on the boy’s feet. “Did you pick it up on the hill?”
The boy dropped his head and rubbed his fingers: “…En.”
Xu Xing Zhi asked: “Aren’t you afraid of the beasts on this mountain?”
The young boy’s eyes were slightly bent, and he laughed sweetly. The more he saw the more he felt it was very jabbing to the heart: “I came here only half a month ago. The people at the bottom of the mountain say there are beasts and also delicious fruits in the mountains. I haven’t seen any beasts, so I’d like to go up and see them.”
Xu Xing Zhi thought that his child without his mother with him was quite brave.
That’s good, he had the same conduct as him.
After a while, he turned over on Xu Xing Zhi’s leg and arched: “Senior Brother Xu, what’s your name?”
Xu Xing Zhi answered with great delight: “He Fang Yin Xiao Qie Xu Xing, Xu Xing Zhi. (2) How about you? “
The young boy proudly raised his chest and said, “Guang Guang.”(3)
Xu Xing Zhi couldn’t help laughing: “Hahahahaha.”
The boy wondered: “Does my name sound bad?”
He explained to Xu Xing Zhi that he used to live on a mountain a hundred miles away and was picked up by a hunter and brought him up to the age of four. When he was hunting, the hunter accidentally fell and died.
The hunter was poor and could not afford to buy clothes. He was always wrapped in animal skins. After the death of the hunter, he was cut off from his clothes and food and lost the animal hide when he went down to look for food.
Later, after he went down the hill in his clothes, he was surrounded by several children who laughed, threw stones at him and gave him a nickname.
The boy said with grievances, “At that time they all called me Guang Guang. I think the name sounds good.”
Xu Xing Zhi laughed and clapped his leg. “Hahahahaha.”
After chatting for a long time, Xu Xing Zhi looked at the sky and pushed the child’s head: “Get up. Er Guang(4), I’m leaving now.”
Before he could correct Xu Xing Zhi’s address to himself, the boy quickly climbed up and begged, “Senior Brother Xu, stay here.”
Xu Xingzhi felt this was rather funny. He touched his hair and said, “Senior Brother Xu is the head disciple in Fengling Mountain. What can I do here if I stay here?
The boy looked innocent: “Stay here with me. You are very interesting. I want to be with you forever.”
Xu Xing Zhi pinched his nose and laughed: “…I’m afraid not.”
The young boy’s expression changed slightly.
His forefinger and thumb slightly coincided, and more than a dozen vines spiral out of the shadows of the green rock, along the rock surface, like poisonous snakes.
Xu Xing Zhi did not realize what he was doing. He jumped down the green stone and patted the dust on his buttocks, and was about to walk.
At the matter of life or death, the boy’s thoughts suddenly turned, he loosened his tightly pinched fingers, and the vine immediately retracted to the ground, disappearing without a trace.
He squatted down, unfastened the vines on his feet, grabbed Xu Xing Zhi’s sleeve in a few steps and said, “Senior Brother Xu! May I come under your door with this?
He graciously handed over the precious fruit like radish and shook it in front of Xu Xing Zhi.
Xu Xingzhi frowned.
…This child had no family and his spiritual root was beyond expected. He was like a piece of jade, indeed a talent to practice immortality and alchemy.
It’s a pity that to let he wandered alone among the villages and towns in the mountains.
Xu Xing Zhi took this bunch of Fuyu Fruits and thought about it carefully, then he said, “…It’s not impossible either. But we are not allowed to accept apprentices in our generation. I’ll take you back first. You have a good spiritual root and you even brought this bunch of fruits back. All teachers and uncles will like you. You can tell me which one of them you would like to be accepted at in Fengling Mountain.”
The young boy shook his head resolutely, and his eyes were as bright as muntjac: “… I just want to be your junior brother, I don’t want anyone else.”
Xu Xing Zhi said, “You really can choose. My master, Qing Jing Jun(5), is the Lord of Fengling Mountain.
Then he grabbed the young boy’s hand and took him in his arms.
A blue light wheel from his fingertips ignited, Xu Xing Zhi’s arm was revealed and the small as a fingernail of the light wheel was thrown into the air.
The light wheel was like a whale absorbing the water, watching the wind for a long time. In a twinkling of an eye, it had the size of a door.
Xu Xing Zhi embraced the boy and ordered in a warm voice, “Close your eyes.”
The young boy lay in Xu Xing Zhi’s arms, grabbed his clothes on his chest, buried his face in his chest, and put his forehead against his clavicle: “En.”
Xu Xing Zhi jumped into the blue light gate and disappeared with the boy in the wild hills in a blink of an eye.
The scene changed in an instant. It took no longer than an instant for Xu Xing Zhi to move again.
The surrounding scenery was no longer the deep valley forest with sparse smoke but in an elegant place with pavilion and flowers blossoming, the immortal sect disciples dressed in different uniforms came and went, they saw Xu Xing Zhi and called out a “Greeting, Senior Brother Xu” respectfully, without stopping their footstep.
Xu Xing Zhi’s hands held the folding fan and held the boy in the other hand. He accepted the greeting as usual. At the same time, he whispered in his ear, “Er Guang, when you come here, don’t say you are Guang Guang, let alone explain to others how your name “Guang Guang” came from. Do you know?”
The child his arms obediently said: “Okay. Then Senior Brother Xu, what should I be called?”
Xu Xing Zhi scratched his ears with his folding fan. He was stuck.
Very fast, Xu Xing Zhi stopped in front of a person.
Like all the disciple of Danyang Peak, a plain dressing with wide gown and sleeve, a duster with jade handle lay quietly in his arms. The white hairs flew down like stream.
His tone was warm as he greeted Xu Xing Zhi: “Back from Lingqiu Mountain? What’s the situation there?”
Xu Xing Zhi was not in a hurry to answer and he looked around and said: “What about Fatty Zhou?”
Qu Chi answered: “Bei Nan went to Qingqiu. Xue Chen went to Yaoguang Mountain. I just came back from Zhangyao Mountain.”
Xu Xing Zhi was surprised: “This year is sure busy, even Xue Chen went…Nothing serious happened at my side. Just two foolish disciples from Ying Tian Chuan and I taught them a lesson.”
Qu Chi noticed the young boy lying in Xu Xing Zhi’s arms: “This child is…”
Xu Xing Zhi naturally answered: “I picked this child up. His spiritual root is pretty good.” He turned around and showed Qu Chi his face, “Take a look, he is beautiful.”
The child was praised by Xu Xing Zhi and he tightly clutched at his arms. He rubbed himself against his embrace.
Qu Chi gave a faint smile: “You sure love to raise children.”
Xu Xing Zhi blinked and spoke with pride: “Aren’t you envious? You don’t know how to raise right? Can’t afford to raise right?”
Qu Chi helplessly laughed: “…What’s his name?”
Xu Xing Zhi: “…Hm- Zhong Guang.”
Qu Zhi was close to tears: “…Why does it feel like you just made this up.”
Xu Xing Zhi spoke righteously with his garbage words: “How is this possible. Ask him if you don’t believe.”
Zhong Guang was quick to accept this: “It is.”
Xu Xing Zhi ‘hehe’ with a smile.
Zhong Guang this name sounded not bad. As for the surname…Wait until he flipped the book of surnames.
Qu Chi asked: “You are going bring him along?”
Xu Xing Zhi hugged Zhong Guang and told him as he walked, “Next time I’m afraid I will have to bring you along every time, but currently, I won’t be able to afford to bring you along. There’s too much stuff going on, if something happened to any mountains, I will have to rush there.”
He had yet to wait for Zhong Guang to digest the meaning of his words, Xu Xing Zhi had already faced a group of Fengling disciples wearing the same color as his and called” “…Jiu Zhi Deng, Xiao Deng!”
A youth similar to the age of Xu Xing Zhi turned around.
The youth was handsome but he contained an air of indifference as if the world affair was no significant to him.
But after seeing Xu Xing Zhi, his eyes instantly reflected a human-like aura. The sharp edges instantly soften into water(6): “Senior Brother is back?”
…He basically did not place any importance to Zhong Guang until he noticed Xu Xing Zhi’s action of carrying Zhong Guang single-handedly. The light in his eyes abruptly dimmed.
Zhong Guang tilted his head.
Xu Xing Zhi put down Meng Guang and pushed him towards Jiu Zhi Deng’s direction: “Xiao Deng, this is Zhong Guang. Take care of him first and give and some food and clothing.”
Jiu Zhi Deng’s eyebrows furrowed and he answered with reluctance: “Yes, Senior Brother.”
Zhong Guang did not reveal any emotions fluctuations regarding Jiu Zhi Deng’s performance. He bent over and lifted his head up at Xu Xing Zhi: “Senior Brother Xu, I will be very obedient. When will you come back to fetch me?”
Xu Xing Zhi bent down his body and touched at his extremely soft hairs that bring wonder: “These three days will be before the Eastern Emporer Ritual competition. It will be slightly busier. But I will come and see you tonight at Xiao Deng’s.”
Zhong Guang lifted up his ball of his sole and while Xu Xing Zhi was not aware, he kissed his cheek.
He hugged his hands, his eyes reflected sweetness of a candy and he said: “…Senior Brother Xu, I will wait for you.”
The author has something to say:
The Jiu Zhi Deng after many years: I was the first, it was clear that I came first. Hugging, calling him Senior Brother, and even liking Senior Brother…
Footnotes:
2 . It a poem, english = “Listen not to the rain beating against the trees.Why don’t you slowly walk and chant at ease?” Xu Xing equal to the ‘slowly walk’ part.
3. It means naked.
4. Er = Two, because there is two guang, so Xu Xing Zhi called him Er Guang
5. Jun = attached to the behind of someone’s name, means lord/monarch.
6. 弱水三千 is part of an idiom which means “there are so many potential lovers to choose from, but you only pick one from among those potential lovers”. But it doesn’t fit into the sentence? or i am just bad at deciphering hahah, so i choose a somewhat direct translate. a for effort.
Chapter 8 – The First Meeting
After admonishing them, the youth surnamed Xu kicked the taller man’s butt: “Go and apologize to him and get lost. Your qualifications will be canceled this year, come back the following year at the sacrificial ceremony of the Eastern Emperor.”
The tall and short men were dripping sweat and their faces were filled with fear. With their clothes wet, they knelt on the ground and kept on kowtowing: “Thanks Senior Brother Xu, thanks Senior Brother Xu… We beg Senior Brother not to tell Senior Brother Zhou, otherwise, we will certainly be expelled from Ying Tian Chuan…”
Senior Brother Xu could not help but raised his mouth and shook the folding fan, saying: “Expelled from Ying Tian Chuan? If Zhou Bei Nan knows that I caught both of you committing such a crime, it will be strange if he did not beat your brains out.”
Both of them shuddered: “…”
Xu Xing Zhi had enough of teasing them and he no longer made trouble for them. He let them apologize to the young boy.
Not getting Xu Xing Zhi’s permission, they kept their head bowed and dare not get up at all, while the young boy only stared at Xu Xing Zhi with curiosity in his eyes.
Xu Xing Zhi asked the young boy, “How? Are you willing to forgive them?”
The young boy did not in the slightest bit looked at them but faced Xu Xing Zhi and obediently nodded his head: “En!”
Xu Xing Zhi bent down and held them each in his hands before pushing them forward: “Scram, don’t embarrass the four Immortal Sects.”
At Xu Xing Zhi’s command, they both took their magic artifacts and left in faze, they ran even faster than rabbits.
Xu Xing Zhi was about to leave but was stopped by a little paw holding onto the backs of his clothes.
The young boy stood on tiptoe and attempted to stuff the Fuyu Fruits into his hands.
“I have no use for this.”
“Sacrificial Ceremony of the Eastern Emperor, don’t you need it?” The young boy blinked and tried to promote, “…Both of them wanted it. For you.”
Xu Xing Zhi happily smiled and used the folding fan to push down the young boy’s paws. “They are competing but I am not. I am the Order Officer of the Sacrificial Ceremony of the Eastern Emperor. “
The young boy could not understand so he grabbed at Xu Xing Zhi’s clothes as if he wanted him to give an explanation.
With nothing else in his hands, Xu Xing Zhi looked down and checked at the jade bead necklace(1) at his neck, making sure that there was no abnormality in the beads before he walked towards to the blue rock where the young boy was seated at. He jumped on it and patted at the side, motioning the young boy to come and sit.
1. Jade Bead Necklace
The young boy waded over and sat down close to Xu Xing Zhi.
Xu Xing Zhi said: “You don’t resign to fate.”
The young boy boldly reached out his hand to check at the jade beads necklace between Xu Xing Zhi’s neck and was caught by him on the wrist.
A spiritual force quietly penetrated into the boy’s body through the wrist meridians, but the boy’s face was, as usual, allowing Xu Xing Zhi’s spiritual energy to wander around among his meridians, without scruple.
Xu Xing Zhi sighed in surprise, “He’s a child with spiritual roots.”
The boy stared with a pair of ignorant eyes: “What’s spiritual root?”
Xu Xing Zhi explained: “If anyone who seeks immortality and enquires about the pathway wants to achieve something, his roots, understanding, and efforts are indispensable. Your spiritual roots are very good. What about your parents, little fellow?
The boy looked down at his toes and said, “Don’t have.”
Xu Xing Zhi was stunned and immediately comforted: “It’s all right, I don’t have any too.”
The boy buried his head even lower: “I haven’t seen my parents since I was born.”
“…Same.” Xu Xing Zhi said with ease, “I only have one twin elder brother. If it hadn’t been for my Master Qing Jing Jun accepting me as his disciple, I would still be scrambling with a group of gangsters in the street.”
Speaking of this, Xu Xing Zhi opened the fan as usual and was ready to fan himself. Unexpectedly, the boy held his palm and pinched it painfully.
Perhaps in order to placate Xu Xing Zhi, the young boy held up the Fuyu Fruit again: “Fruit. For you.”
Xu Xing Zhi laughed and pushed the fruit away again: “When I first came to Lingqiu Mountain, I grabbed two fruits, and ate one secretly. It’s juicy and fleshy, but it tasted like a lot of dregs and it grits the teeth. It’s not delicious.”
The young boy nodded especially seriously, he took the fruit which Xu Xing Zhi had judged to be “not delicious” and asked the question: “You just said, ‘Order Officer’, what is that?”
Xu Xing Zhi answered patiently: “The four Immortal Sects hold the sacrificial ceremony of the Eastern Emperor every two years. Originally, all the disciples regardless of the rank will compete for the sacrifices together. The more sacrifices they got and the more precious they were will allow them to serve as sacrificial officers for the sacrifices of the Eastern Emperor. I’ve been a sacrificial officer for six years. It’s tiring. Therefore, after the consultation, our four head disciples did not participate in the contest, but served as an Order Officer, in charge of several areas, in order to avoid problems in the competition.
After that, he propped up the jade bead necklace between his neck with his fingertips and pointed out the shining points on it to the boy: “Look, I am in charge of these five mountains Yushan, Lingqiu, Zhange, Gaotu, and Taihua. The sacrificial objects are quite rare, and there is often monster guarding them. If disciples use their spiritual power in these five places and have difficulties fighting, I will go and help.”
Xu Xing Zhi came here half a month ago.
He searched all over the mountain, but found no trace of “Yong”, and the Fuyu Fruits also had no beasts guarding them.
These precious fruits were like a pile of wild watermelons growing in the mountains, waiting to be decay.
Xu Xing Zhi explained: “Originally, I thought that the disciples who came to Lingqiu Mountain to look for Fuyu Fruits didn’t need to use any spiritual power at all. They were considered to gain a big bargain. I didn’t expect that they would use their spiritual power to attack a common person like you.”
The young boy showed a frightening expression in coordination, and Xu Xing Zhi could not help feeling soft-heartened as he saw this. He touched his hair and felt only softness at his fingertips, so he decided to touch more.
The young boy had never been rubbed at his hair like this before. First, he shrugged his shoulders reflectively, then his expression relaxed strangely. Then, uncontrollably, he showed his indescribable expression and squinted comfortably.
Seeing this scene, Xu Xing Zhi was amazed.
If he was a kitten, he should be intoxicated by the rubbing now, snoring and humming.
Perhaps he was touched too comfortably. The young boy lay idly on Xu Xing Zhi’s legs and used Xu Xing Zhi’s knees as a pillow. He asked with a pure face: “… What is “Yong”?
Xu Xing Zhi was surprised at how acting so familiar and poked his tender cheek with his fan.
He poked a pit and it felt great on his hands.
Xu Xing Zhi recalled the ferocious appearance of the monster’s green face and tusks and the horrible appearance of chasing those who touched the Fuyu Fruits without stopping, and he did not want to answer in detail: “Anyway, it is not a good thing.”
The boy continued to ask cleverly, “Then where did it go?”
This question was also a mystery to Xu Xing Zhi, so he speculated on his own accord: “…Maybe they moved? He glanced at the fruits strung on the boy’s feet. “Did you pick it up on the hill?”
The boy dropped his head and rubbed his fingers: “…En.”
Xu Xing Zhi asked: “Aren’t you afraid of the beasts on this mountain?”
The young boy’s eyes were slightly bent, and he laughed sweetly. The more he saw the more he felt it was very jabbing to the heart: “I came here only half a month ago. The people at the bottom of the mountain say there are beasts and also delicious fruits in the mountains. I haven’t seen any beasts, so I’d like to go up and see them.”
Xu Xing Zhi thought that his child without his mother with him was quite brave.
That’s good, he had the same conduct as him.
After a while, he turned over on Xu Xing Zhi’s leg and arched: “Senior Brother Xu, what’s your name?”
Xu Xing Zhi answered with great delight: “He Fang Yin Xiao Qie Xu Xing, Xu Xing Zhi. (2) How about you? “
The young boy proudly raised his chest and said, “Guang Guang.”(3)
Xu Xing Zhi couldn’t help laughing: “Hahahahaha.”
The boy wondered: “Does my name sound bad?”
He explained to Xu Xing Zhi that he used to live on a mountain a hundred miles away and was picked up by a hunter and brought him up to the age of four. When he was hunting, the hunter accidentally fell and died.
The hunter was poor and could not afford to buy clothes. He was always wrapped in animal skins. After the death of the hunter, he was cut off from his clothes and food and lost the animal hide when he went down to look for food.
Later, after he went down the hill in his clothes, he was surrounded by several children who laughed, threw stones at him and gave him a nickname.
The boy said with grievances, “At that time they all called me Guang Guang. I think the name sounds good.”
Xu Xing Zhi laughed and clapped his leg. “Hahahahaha.”
After chatting for a long time, Xu Xing Zhi looked at the sky and pushed the child’s head: “Get up. Er Guang(4), I’m leaving now.”
Before he could correct Xu Xing Zhi’s address to himself, the boy quickly climbed up and begged, “Senior Brother Xu, stay here.”
Xu Xingzhi felt this was rather funny. He touched his hair and said, “Senior Brother Xu is the head disciple in Fengling Mountain. What can I do here if I stay here?
The boy looked innocent: “Stay here with me. You are very interesting. I want to be with you forever.”
Xu Xing Zhi pinched his nose and laughed: “…I’m afraid not.”
The young boy’s expression changed slightly.
His forefinger and thumb slightly coincided, and more than a dozen vines spiral out of the shadows of the green rock, along the rock surface, like poisonous snakes.
Xu Xing Zhi did not realize what he was doing. He jumped down the green stone and patted the dust on his buttocks, and was about to walk.
At the matter of life or death, the boy’s thoughts suddenly turned, he loosened his tightly pinched fingers, and the vine immediately retracted to the ground, disappearing without a trace.
He squatted down, unfastened the vines on his feet, grabbed Xu Xing Zhi’s sleeve in a few steps and said, “Senior Brother Xu! May I come under your door with this?
He graciously handed over the precious fruit like radish and shook it in front of Xu Xing Zhi.
Xu Xingzhi frowned.
…This child had no family and his spiritual root was beyond expected. He was like a piece of jade, indeed a talent to practice immortality and alchemy.
It’s a pity that to let he wandered alone among the villages and towns in the mountains.
Xu Xing Zhi took this bunch of Fuyu Fruits and thought about it carefully, then he said, “…It’s not impossible either. But we are not allowed to accept apprentices in our generation. I’ll take you back first. You have a good spiritual root and you even brought this bunch of fruits back. All teachers and uncles will like you. You can tell me which one of them you would like to be accepted at in Fengling Mountain.”
The young boy shook his head resolutely, and his eyes were as bright as muntjac: “… I just want to be your junior brother, I don’t want anyone else.”
Xu Xing Zhi said, “You really can choose. My master, Qing Jing Jun(5), is the Lord of Fengling Mountain.
Then he grabbed the young boy’s hand and took him in his arms.
A blue light wheel from his fingertips ignited, Xu Xing Zhi’s arm was revealed and the small as a fingernail of the light wheel was thrown into the air.
The light wheel was like a whale absorbing the water, watching the wind for a long time. In a twinkling of an eye, it had the size of a door.
Xu Xing Zhi embraced the boy and ordered in a warm voice, “Close your eyes.”
The young boy lay in Xu Xing Zhi’s arms, grabbed his clothes on his chest, buried his face in his chest, and put his forehead against his clavicle: “En.”
Xu Xing Zhi jumped into the blue light gate and disappeared with the boy in the wild hills in a blink of an eye.
The scene changed in an instant. It took no longer than an instant for Xu Xing Zhi to move again.
The surrounding scenery was no longer the deep valley forest with sparse smoke but in an elegant place with pavilion and flowers blossoming, the immortal sect disciples dressed in different uniforms came and went, they saw Xu Xing Zhi and called out a “Greeting, Senior Brother Xu” respectfully, without stopping their footstep.
Xu Xing Zhi’s hands held the folding fan and held the boy in the other hand. He accepted the greeting as usual. At the same time, he whispered in his ear, “Er Guang, when you come here, don’t say you are Guang Guang, let alone explain to others how your name “Guang Guang” came from. Do you know?”
The child his arms obediently said: “Okay. Then Senior Brother Xu, what should I be called?”
Xu Xing Zhi scratched his ears with his folding fan. He was stuck.
Very fast, Xu Xing Zhi stopped in front of a person.
Like all the disciple of Danyang Peak, a plain dressing with wide gown and sleeve, a duster with jade handle lay quietly in his arms. The white hairs flew down like stream.
His tone was warm as he greeted Xu Xing Zhi: “Back from Lingqiu Mountain? What’s the situation there?”
Xu Xing Zhi was not in a hurry to answer and he looked around and said: “What about Fatty Zhou?”
Qu Chi answered: “Bei Nan went to Qingqiu. Xue Chen went to Yaoguang Mountain. I just came back from Zhangyao Mountain.”
Xu Xing Zhi was surprised: “This year is sure busy, even Xue Chen went…Nothing serious happened at my side. Just two foolish disciples from Ying Tian Chuan and I taught them a lesson.”
Qu Chi noticed the young boy lying in Xu Xing Zhi’s arms: “This child is…”
Xu Xing Zhi naturally answered: “I picked this child up. His spiritual root is pretty good.” He turned around and showed Qu Chi his face, “Take a look, he is beautiful.”
The child was praised by Xu Xing Zhi and he tightly clutched at his arms. He rubbed himself against his embrace.
Qu Chi gave a faint smile: “You sure love to raise children.”
Xu Xing Zhi blinked and spoke with pride: “Aren’t you envious? You don’t know how to raise right? Can’t afford to raise right?”
Qu Chi helplessly laughed: “…What’s his name?”
Xu Xing Zhi: “…Hm- Zhong Guang.”
Qu Zhi was close to tears: “…Why does it feel like you just made this up.”
Xu Xing Zhi spoke righteously with his garbage words: “How is this possible. Ask him if you don’t believe.”
Zhong Guang was quick to accept this: “It is.”
Xu Xing Zhi ‘hehe’ with a smile.
Zhong Guang this name sounded not bad. As for the surname…Wait until he flipped the book of surnames.
Qu Chi asked: “You are going bring him along?”
Xu Xing Zhi hugged Zhong Guang and told him as he walked, “Next time I’m afraid I will have to bring you along every time, but currently, I won’t be able to afford to bring you along. There’s too much stuff going on, if something happened to any mountains, I will have to rush there.”
He had yet to wait for Zhong Guang to digest the meaning of his words, Xu Xing Zhi had already faced a group of Fengling disciples wearing the same color as his and called” “…Jiu Zhi Deng, Xiao Deng!”
A youth similar to the age of Xu Xing Zhi turned around.
The youth was handsome but he contained an air of indifference as if the world affair was no significant to him.
But after seeing Xu Xing Zhi, his eyes instantly reflected a human-like aura. The sharp edges instantly soften into water(6): “Senior Brother is back?”
…He basically did not place any importance to Zhong Guang until he noticed Xu Xing Zhi’s action of carrying Zhong Guang single-handedly. The light in his eyes abruptly dimmed.
Zhong Guang tilted his head.
Xu Xing Zhi put down Meng Guang and pushed him towards Jiu Zhi Deng’s direction: “Xiao Deng, this is Zhong Guang. Take care of him first and give and some food and clothing.”
Jiu Zhi Deng’s eyebrows furrowed and he answered with reluctance: “Yes, Senior Brother.”
Zhong Guang did not reveal any emotions fluctuations regarding Jiu Zhi Deng’s performance. He bent over and lifted his head up at Xu Xing Zhi: “Senior Brother Xu, I will be very obedient. When will you come back to fetch me?”
Xu Xing Zhi bent down his body and touched at his extremely soft hairs that bring wonder: “These three days will be before the Eastern Emporer Ritual competition. It will be slightly busier. But I will come and see you tonight at Xiao Deng’s.”
Zhong Guang lifted up his ball of his sole and while Xu Xing Zhi was not aware, he kissed his cheek.
He hugged his hands, his eyes reflected sweetness of a candy and he said: “…Senior Brother Xu, I will wait for you.”
The author has something to say:
The Jiu Zhi Deng after many years: I was the first, it was clear that I came first. Hugging, calling him Senior Brother, and even liking Senior Brother…
Footnotes:
2 . It a poem, english = “Listen not to the rain beating against the trees.Why don’t you slowly walk and chant at ease?” Xu Xing equal to the ‘slowly walk’ part.
3. It means naked.
4. Er = Two, because there is two guang, so Xu Xing Zhi called him Er Guang
5. Jun = attached to the behind of someone’s name, means lord/monarch.
6. 弱水三千 is part of an idiom which means “there are so many potential lovers to choose from, but you only pick one from among those potential lovers”. But it doesn’t fit into the sentence? or i am just bad at deciphering hahah, so i choose a somewhat direct translate. a for effort.
