Seeking the Dao in the Seemingly Mundane Mortal World

Chapter 23: The Kingdom of Chechi

Translator: Henyee Translations

Editor: Henyee Translations

He decided to wait for a bit longer. Upon hearing Qin Yi’s question, he took out a pill and said, “I’m here today to show you this pill. I was wondering if Brother Qin could examine it for me.”

Qin Yi took the pill from him. It was a red spherical pill the size of a ping-pong ball. The outer layer was smooth and glossy. It felt hard to the touch, but it was pliable and tough as well. It felt more like a piece of red jade than a pill.

Liusu made a snorting sound. “It’s a typical failure. External elixirs don’t work this way. That pill could pretty much make a person sick if they ate it.”

“It contains a lot of metal…” Qin Yi was able to reach this conclusion himself without Liusu’s input. “It can lift one’s spirit and make one feel full of energy in the short term, but in the long run, it will definitely have some detrimental effects to one’s health.”

Li Qinglin looked happy, which was very rare of him.

He smiled all the time, but Qin Yi never thought those were happy smiles. However, the fading smile on his face just now gave Qin Yi the impression that the man was actually delighted.

That simple conclusion was enough to make Li Qinglin reveal his true feelings, which just proved how much he wanted Qin Yi to see the truth about Donghuazi’s pills.

“By the way…” Qin Yi asked curiously, “This pill is huge. Your father, the king, doesn’t swallow it whole, does he?”

Li Qinglin said in resignation, “Actually, that’s always been how he takes them. It hurts my throat just to watch. I have no idea how he does it.”

The two exchanged looks, and both shook their heads and smiled.

Qin Yi said, “Are you going to tell that to your father? It won’t work, will it?”

“No, it won’t. I just had to be sure first.” Li Qinglin smiled. “Plus, I’ve just confirmed that you can see through some of Donghuazi’s tricks, and that’s very important.”

Qin Yi suspected that the peach wood sword’s “automatic demon-searching function” had probably further convinced Li Qinglin about his capabilities. Still, Qin Yi asked deliberately, “What if I wasn’t able to?”

Li Qinglin said casually, “Then you could’ve become Qingjun’s personal storyteller. Your stories make her happy, and I like them too.”

Qin Yi sighed, tossed the pill back to Li Qinglin, and asked, “I still don’t know what you want me to do? I don’t think I’d be a match for Donghuazi if you want him and I to cast spells at each other. After all, I know too little of him.”

“Cast spells at each other? I might let you do that, but it wouldn’t be so straight forward. I’ll make some arrangements in the future.” Li Qinglin smiled. “You’ll have to start learning more about Donghuazi as well, and that’s why I came here with Night Wing today.”

“What does she have anything to do with it?”

“Actually, even if your peach wood sword hadn’t acted out, I was still going to tell you about her. Night Wing knows Donghuazi better than most people, and she can tell you pretty much everything you want to know.” The smile on Li Qinglin’s face became suggestive as he spoke. “That was why I was going to let her stay here with you. Are you sure you don’t want her here?”

Li Qinglin’s smile and choice of words reminded Qin Yi of a certain music video he watched before…

The male character in the video said no, and so did Qin Yi now.

“She’s not exactly your servant, and you can’t just order her around without asking her opinion.”

Night Wing, who had remained silent so far, suddenly said, “My answer is yes.”

Li Qinglin sighed inwardly. He knew Night Wing didn’t agree with a lot of things he had done, and her allegiance to him wasn’t sincere. Now that she was given another option, she grabbed the chance without even trying to show him any respect.

Of course, it could also be the result of Qin Yi offering a seat.

One thing could be trivial to one person but vital in other people’s eyes. Li Qinglin knew how much Night Wing had been touched by Qin Yi’s courtesy—the man didn’t treat demons differently and was as casual around her as he was around any other human being.

Night Wing hadn’t been a demon cultivator for very long, but she had experienced a lot of unpleasant things.

However, Li Qinglin didn’t let any of those thoughts show. Instead, his smile only looked more suggestive.

He had expected Qin Yi to say yes, but Qin Yi said decisively, “No, thanks. A gentleman shouldn’t rob other people of the things that are dear to them.”

Li Qinglin cleared his throat awkwardly. “She’s only my guard, not someone ‘dear’ to me.”

They suddenly heard Li Qingjun’s voice outside. “Are you giving him a bodyguard? Who is it? They’d better be reliable.”

Li Qingjun strode into the room as she spoke and immediately spotted Night Wing. She said, “I see, it’s Night Wing. She’s very quiet and doesn’t speak much. Good. Qin Yi likes quietness. Although, isn’t she a bit too young?”

She then answered the question herself. “Well, being young is good…”

Before Qin Yi could reply, she sat down by the table and patted his shoulder. “Stop nagging and accept your new bodyguard!”

Qin Yi stared at Li Qingjun with his mouth agape.

Li Qingjun was in a women’s outfit today.

She came back to the capital city in men’s clothes. Once she had taken a bath and got dressed properly, she couldn’t wear those outdoor men’s clothes anymore.

She wore a plain silky top with a long white skirt and some pendants on her belt. There was no trace of makeup on her face, and her long hair hung loosely on her shoulders with a white flower as a hairpin, which paid tribute to a family member who had passed. Her outfit was very simple compared to other women of her social status, and it doubled as a mourning gown as well. However, the simplicity did nothing to cover her stunning beauty.

But Qin Yi noticed that she was still quite flat-chested even after she changed back into her women’s clothes. Well, she was only 15.

The day before, Qin Yi had considered Minghe to be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and her otherworldly quality probably had something to do with it. However, he now saw that Li Qingjun didn’t look any less beautiful than Minghe, if not better.

Oh god, how can this reckless girl keep getting prettier? She’ll probably blow my mind if she dresses up next time! Qin Yi thought.

Li Qingjun had no idea that Qin Yi was attracted to her because his gaze hardly ever lingered on her. As a result, she thought Qingjun had been gulping so hard because of Night Wing. She said contemptuously, “Gosh, why are men always like this? Cut it out and tell me more about that monkey. That cliffhanger kept me awake last night.”

Do you even know what I’m thinking about? Qin Yi thought. He felt awkwardly amused, but considering the occasion, he had to drop the subject. “Your brother and I were discussing some serious business. The monkey story will take too long.”

“No more serious business.” Li Qinglin sipped his tea with a smile. “I love that monkey story too.”

He had come today to introduce Night Wing to Qin Yi and decide what to do about that travelling cultivator after seeing Qin Yi’s reaction. But now, he didn’t think it was necessary anymore.

Qin Yi’s reaction was a lot more interesting than he had expected.

“Fine,” Qin Yi said in resignation. “Don’t call it a ‘monkey story’. It’s ‘Journey to the West’, and it was written by an old gentleman named Wu Cheng’en.”

…

Given Li Qingjun’s curiosity, Qin Yi understood why she liked Journey to the West, not to mention that she had projected her own self into it. However, what surprised Qin Yi was that Li Qinglin seemed to be even more absorbed than Li Qingjun. He listened very carefully and asked Qin Yi about little details. Sometimes, he could even point out the inconsistencies in Qin Yi’s story.

It drove Qin Yi nuts. How was he supposed to remember every single detail about the book? Sure, he could tell it from his memory, but there were bound to be mistakes!

“I thought you heard the story from someone else, but now I see that you made it up yourself. There’s no such old Mr. Wu.” Seeing that Qin Yi was rendered speechless, Li Qinglin chuckled. “That’s a great story. I can see how you came up with all the demons and monsters, but what about all those gods and buddhas?”

Qin Yi snapped. “Do you want me to tell the story or not?”

“Yes!” Li Qingjun threw a dirty look at her brother. “Don’t interrupt! You were saying that some kingdom named Chechi had kidnapped the monk, and the monkey went to ask around. What happened after that?”

“Well, the kingdom had been suffering from a great drought for 20 years. The commoners were full of despair when three great cultivators descended from the sky, started a rain with their spells, and saved everyone. The king made them master teachers of the kingdom for their contributions…” Qin Yi’s voice trailed off, because he saw the brother and sister’s faces stiffening.

Li Qingjun sounded displeased. “You can’t make fun of Nanli just because you’ve run out of stories.”

Qin Yi was speechless. How was he supposed to know that Donghuazi had become the master teacher in the same way? He didn’t know how to tell them the rest of the story, because the casting spell competition was exactly what Li Qinglin was going to ask him to do.

Leaning back in his chair, Li Qinglin said casually, “You need to stop nagging this time. Why can’t he use Nanli in his stories? Brother Qin, please continue. I’d like to hear more.”

Qin Yi said, “What’s there to say? The monkey defeated the master teachers when they competed, and all three of them died.”

“What happened then? Did the king convert to Buddhism and start arresting Taoist Priests?”

“Of course he had it both ways…”

“Huh?”

“Well, the monkey told him to respect monks and Taoist priests as well as talented people. That way, his kingdom would last forever.”

“Haha…” Li Qinglin laughed and rose to his feet. “I think that’ll be all for me today. Thank you, Brother Qin, for your great story. My trip to Immortal Deeds was worthwhile even for that monkey story alone.”