Chapter 35: The Secret of the Circle and the Rules

Qin Huai and I left Tianjin the next day. When we found Cheng Qing, it was already afternoon. Cheng Qing came to pick us up in his pajamas.

He no longer lived in the small two-story building where Uncle Li had lived, because with his qualifications and skills, he was not yet qualified to receive such treatment. Although he had inherited part of Uncle Li’s work according to Uncle Li’s wishes, he was still just a young man in that special department.

He didn’t like living in the part of the house that was assigned to him, so he simply took the money and bought a small courtyard to live in the suburbs of Beijing. Although it was a suburb, there were still many people. He came out wearing his pajamas, and Qin Huai and I were still quite surprised.

Ignoring our expressions, Cheng Qing yawned and said, “I dress like this to help me sleep. Don’t be surprised.”

After Chengqing said that, I don’t know what Qinhuai thought, but I was a little sad. This is also a price to pay.

A pot of tea and sunlight filling the room.

The three of us sat on the sofa talking. Chengqing didn’t dare to drink tea, so he held a glass of water and said to us after taking a sip, “It’s said that there is a circle, but in fact it is divided into many parts. This is what I heard vaguely in the department. The actual situation still needs you to get in touch with it. But no matter what, Chengyi, we can only be ourselves, and only people from the lineage of Master Li can do it.

I know what Chengqing is worried about. Or as Master Liu told me, there are many people in the circle who don’t care about the means. Chengqing may have heard about some of them, and he is reminding me not to be influenced.

I nodded and said, “Chengqing, we all grew up with Master, and I think it’s hard to change our personalities. Don’t worry.”

“I’m not at ease. I always feel that you’ve become much more indifferent.” Chengqing said in a light tone.

“Heh, I’m not indifferent. I… I’m a person who can’t even save himself.” I said very seriously.

“Don’t blame Master Jiang too much. Even if you blame him, it won’t outweigh your love for him. Why torture yourself like this?” Chengqing obviously understood me very well. Or maybe only people from our lineage can understand certain feelings.

My heart ached, but I didn’t want to talk about this topic anymore. I just said, “Chengqing, tell me more about the circle.”

Chengqing sighed, put down his cup, and said, “This circle is basically made up of people who are different from ordinary people. To put it simply, it is made up of Taoist priests, monks, and even some people from the West, as well as some wealthy people.”

“Rich people?” I frowned, not understanding. Why would there be rich people in this metaphysical circle? It’s like when Westerners come over, I can understand that, after all, the West also has its own metaphysics, or perhaps theology or something.

“Yes, the rich! You can think of them as a group of people with needs who, by accident, found someone who was really capable, and then entered the circle. Then the rich also have their own connections and will inform some friends. That’s it, and there are some rich people in the circle. But they can’t get to the core of the circle. Their existence is more like that of a customer.” Cheng Qingge patiently explained to me.

I understood this explanation immediately, and then asked, “Is the circle that simple?”

“Obviously not. In fact, this is just the composition of a large circle. Within this large circle, there are many smaller circles. To put it simply, people who belong to the state sector are a small circle. This circle is on the periphery of the entire circle. Because the state is behind it, in general, it will not have too much overlap with other small circles. There are several other circles, including those composed of high-level people in the orthodox main vein, those who are scattered in the small veins, and those who have inexplicably inherited some skills. But in any case, the threshold of this circle is very high, and people with ordinary skills will never be able to get in. Those who can get in have at least one or two unique skills. And…” Cheng Qing stopped talking at this point and paused for a moment.

“What else?” I asked curiously.

“There is also a saying that I have never been able to verify, and that is the true core of this circle. I heard that it is some truly high-level people who are maintaining a certain order. For example, you once heard my master say that one of the rules is that people in the real circle cannot touch each other’s families. It’s like, people or forces with real abilities all have a certain record. For example, the Black Rock Miao Village is so arrogant, they don’t dare touch your family. They also dare not move ordinary people in a high-profile manner. They can only use some means to get some ordinary people to enter the village. If there is no such restraint, do you think that the existence of the Black Rock Miao Village will not be reckless? Perhaps they know that the country will eventually deal with them, so the people in the core circle will turn a blind eye.

This shocked me. It was like I had always thought I was free and easy, but then suddenly I learned that there had been a pair of eyes watching you behind the scenes, making many rules that you didn’t know about, silently restraining you. As long as you exceed the scope of the rules, perhaps you will cease to exist.

“What kind of people are they? What are the rules like? I mean specifically.” I asked with a frown.

“What kind of people are they? I don’t know what kind of people they are. Chengyi, you know that our family doesn’t really mix with the so-called circles. I’ve been exposed to some because of my work in the department, but the department itself is a fringe circle, and I’m a fringe person in the fringe circle. How much do you think I know specifically? There’s only a vague description. Those people are a bunch of old monsters. As for the rules, I don’t know, maybe no one who is not in the core circle knows. I only know that there may be intersections and entanglements with ordinary people, but if something really causes anger and resentment, then it’s hard to say. If that’s not the case, do you think it can be so peaceful? Not every cultivator has a pure heart. Do you think that with the abilities of the insiders, they can make things happen without exaggerating, and they can definitely kill dozens of people without making a sound? Chengqing slowly said.

I nodded, my mood was a bit complicated. I always felt that what Chengqing said was just like his own judgment. He only knew some superficial things, and he really didn’t know much about the more specific things.

Perhaps, he doesn’t know as much as Xiao Chengqian!

But I didn’t intend to ask Xiao Chengqian. I thought that I was just going to a real ghost market, and inevitably would come into contact with some people in the circles, but it wasn’t necessary to go deep into the circles. Knowing too much was useless.

And with the education that the masters have given us since we were young, even if there are no so-called rules, we probably won’t do anything.

Hasn’t the fate of our lineage always been just two words? – Kunlun!

In Beijing and Qinhuai, Chengqing spent a few days with his brother and sister-in-law. By the time he left, her and Sheng’s child had already grown up and was in the third grade. Time passes so quietly that it can drown out many things, and before you know it, it’s become a vicissitude of life.

When Jingyi’s sister-in-law sent me to the airport, she said with emotion, “Sometimes I think back to last night, when we were in the village, you were talking to him, and I was laughing and listening. But the distance between last night and now is really far.”

After I returned to where I was, I immediately contacted Chengxin, and we agreed to meet in Tianjin on the 5th of next month.

I don’t know what the ghost market is like, but since it’s called a market, it’s always linked to trading. I have a strong urge to trade, and I hope to get some clues at the ghost market. Although Master Liu told me it was impossible and I couldn’t afford the price, I just wanted to try.

For the first time, I thought of using the things my master left me. I thought about it and went back home. Because the things my master left me were basically all collected in my hometown, except for a few things, I didn’t have much with me.

When I went home, my parents inevitably lectured me about getting married and having children. Now they see me every couple of months for a few days, so they don’t miss me so much, and they naturally scold me more often.

I didn’t dare to argue back, so I just mumbled a few words and went to look for a few things that I thought were suitable to bring with me.

When I got back, my mother said to me, “Ruoxue is a good girl, but your results are just like that. Can’t you just live your own lives?”

This kind of thing makes my heart ache! Live your own lives? But in my heart, I never let go of Ruoxue.