Chapter 34: The bottom line

She just came in to deliver tea. I was very surprised. How did she know that Master Liu and I had gone back to the room? Could it be that she had been watching us? But there are only three rooms on this second floor. One is occupied by Master Liu’s daughter, one is where we are, and the door to the last room is open. It looks like a bedroom, with some miscellaneous items. I think it is Master Liu’s bedroom. She should be living downstairs.

I had too many questions about her, but I could only think about them in my heart, and I didn’t dare to ask more.

The girl named Qiqi put down the tea and was about to leave, but Master Liu stopped her. At this time, she was obviously in a normal state, her eyes were not wandering, and she did not have any strange movements. When Master Liu stopped her, she stopped and waited calmly for Master Liu’s instructions.

“Shen Xing, next month you will take him to the ghost market. You can also tell him some rules on the way.” Master Liu said.

After hearing this order, the girl named Shen Xing showed a hesitant expression on her face. I found it novel. To be honest, this was the first time I saw a normal expression on her face.

She didn’t say anything, but Master Liu picked up the teapot in front of him, took a sip of tea and said, “I know what you’re worried about. Don’t worry, it’s only a week at most. I’ll take care of everything that needs to be taken care of.”

After hearing this, Shen Xing finally nodded hesitantly.

Looking at her leaving, Master Liu sighed and suddenly said to her, “This is not a solution. When will you leave?”

Shen Xing’s back suddenly stiffened, and she suddenly said, “Let me stay for a year. That’s all I ask.” After saying that very simply, Shen Xing left.

This is probably the first time she has spoken in a normal state. She had spoken to me twice before, but her voice was so strange that it was hard to tell what her normal voice was like. But this time I heard her voice and thought it was clear and crisp, making me think that she must be a very cheerful person.

Her conversation with Master Liu was also inexplicable. I couldn’t understand it, but Master Liu didn’t seem to want to explain.

But I couldn’t help but ask Master Liu, “Is she also a cultivator?”

“She’s not. She’s just an ordinary girl with the same obsessions as me. I admire her. An ordinary girl can actually find the ghost market.” Master Liu simply replied to me.

This sentence made me feel strange. You also understand that you have a strong obsession? Then why don’t you let go of your daughter?

I knew I shouldn’t say anything, but at this point I really couldn’t help it. I looked at Master Liu and said very seriously, “Master Liu, why don’t you let go? When being alive is also a kind of pain.”

With a loud bang, it was the sound of Master Liu’s teacup hitting the table. His originally calm face suddenly became distorted, distorted by anger. His eyes almost looked at me with a fire of anger, and it looked like he wanted to kick me out the next moment.

I had been suppressing my thoughts about my master, but I could not escape the line in my heart. If I could really turn a blind eye to it and pretend to be so-called stable because of my age, then I would not be my master’s apprentice.

“What is the bottom line? It is a line that can surpass one’s own wishes and desires. If you can’t surpass this, then don’t say you have a bottom line. What is the bottom line of our school? Tao and righteousness. Tao is to be realized by oneself, and righteousness is not about loyalty. You can understand it very simply as conscience.”

My master’s words are my driving force. Since I have said it, I have no regrets. Facing Master Liu’s gaze, I am calm but resolute.

The sound of a bellows wheezing rang out in the room. It was Master Liu wheezing in anger. After a long time, he sneered and said, “Your lineage is not small, your temper is not small, and you have a lot of bad rules. You are all like stones in a cesspool, but you like to jump out and tell others what to do! Don’t worry about my daughter’s business. Come here on the 5th of next month, and I will tell you what to do at the ghost market and how to get there! As for that time, if you are still like a stone in the cesspool, I won’t be able to control you. Do as you like. You won’t get any clues from me. You can go now.”

I calmly stood up, bowed to him, and left.

My master once said that he was a great father, living with his daughter at the cost of his own life. But now, what would my master say? “Do not impose on others”? I walked out of the room, looked at the girl’s room, shook my head, and left.

When I got downstairs, Qin Huai was walking back and forth with his arms crossed. When he saw me, he rushed over like a people’s liberation army, asking, “Chengyi, what’s going on? Is there a solution to this?”

“Yes, he has a clue. But I need to go to the real ghost market once. As for what to do, he didn’t say.” I simply said to Qin Huai, there is nothing to hide from him.

“Ghost Market? What is it? Can I go, brother?” Qin Huai was excited. Isn’t this what he and Su Rou were hoping for? I even suspected that this kid would secretly call Su Rou tonight.

These two kids, they never seem to have enough excitement in their lives, and they’re not afraid of really hitting a brick wall one day.

I had too many things on my mind and was too anxious to talk, so I said directly and tiredly, “Let’s talk about it when we get back.”

Back at the hotel, I briefly chatted with Qin Huai, then sent the kid to bed. Because I kept thinking about the circle, I couldn’t help but have a lot of thoughts and nostalgia.

Those thoughts can be summed up in one sentence, just like the complex feelings of a high school student who wants to go to college.

Of course, I miss my master. I know he is not dead, but it is not appropriate to use the word “miss.” But he has really been gone from me for too long.

I tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Finally, I picked up the phone and dialed Cheng Qing’s number.

“Chengqing, it’s me, Chengyi.”

“You’re really something. It’s after 3 a.m. What’s up? If you’re trying to sell me a fortune-teller, forget it.” Chengqing’s voice was not sleepy at all. He was very awake and joked with me.

But I know that this is his helplessness. It is said that fortune tellers have five disadvantages and three deficiencies, and they will always be infected with the same variety of things because of the number of times they have been infected, or some, and some people don’t know. Fortune tellers often have some strange little problems that make people headache.

For example, Chengqing’s problem is that he often has insomnia. It’s a happy thing that he can sleep deeply for four hours a day. This is why I called him alone.

“It’s okay to introduce someone else’s voice, but is it worth my brother’s time? Thanks! Let me introduce you to my business. Don’t I have an important place to go? Can you help me figure out if it will go smoothly?” I also tried to sound as relaxed as possible.

“Where are you going?” Chengqing didn’t joke anymore. A simple sentence, a slightly anxious and serious tone, already contained his concern.

“Ghost Market, I’m a little uneasy, plus… plus… Brother Chengqing, do you know our circle?”

“Tell me more.”

I had no intention of hiding anything from him, so I told him everything, including the fact that whoever got the lead was going to be working with everyone else.

After I finished talking, Chengqing was silent for a while, then said, “Let Chengxin accompany you. His temper is more mellow and gentle than yours. As for the circle, I have heard a little about it, but I don’t have much contact with it either. Are you in Tianjin now?”

“How did you know?” I was curious. How could he know that?

“Oh, caller ID.” Cheng Qing said calmly and briefly.

I broke into a cold sweat and suddenly felt like an idiot. I was about to say something, but Chengqing suddenly said, “Come to Beijing to see me when you have time. Let’s talk about it in detail! I feel sleepy now. I’m hanging up.”

After that, Cheng Qing hung up the phone. I was holding the phone and smiling wryly, but I understood very well that his sleep was much more precious and rare than that of normal people. He was often so strange.

At the same time, I also knew what he meant when he asked me to come to Beijing to talk in detail. He wanted to tell me about the circle.