Chapter 72: Nurturing jade, going to the provincial capital?

“Humans are the most intelligent of all living things. Everyone has a little bit of spiritual energy within them, even if it is weak and cannot compare to the spiritual energy in the world, it is strong and endless as long as the person is alive! Even ordinary people can generate spiritual power by concentrating their minds on something, and if they are sincere and focused, they can generate spiritual power and attach it to the jade. Over time, of course, they can raise a piece of jade. Your master and I are people with spiritual power, and the jade we raise is much stronger than ordinary people’s!

I thought I was unlucky, but I still had a question: “Master, you said that good thoughts and sincere scriptures, but if I spit on this jade every day, what will it become?”

“Spit on it?” The old man turned his head and looked at me strangely. Another slap came down, but after the slap, he continued, “Spitting on it is not a malicious thing. At most, it will not become a spirit jade. Jade is the most sensitive to magnetic fields. Spirit jade is made in a spirit place, and a place of evil spirits is of course full of evil spirits! There are also malicious ways to turn jade into a curse. Moreover, it is best not to wear ancient jade. Some of it is tainted with blood and corpse gas, and it is really hard to say. The point is, don’t you have any bad intentions towards jade. A person who cultivates the Dao, with a heart that does not extinguish even the slightest bit of good thought, is like a lamp in the heart that does not extinguish.

I nodded repeatedly and finally asked, “Master, are all ancient jades bad?”

“Nonsense. If it is an ancient jade from a treasure spot, and it happens to be something that was not in a coffin, and it has been exposed to the aura for many years, it is also good. But such ancient jade is hard to find, and even if you get it, you have to purify it. After all, it has been buried in the tomb for a long time, so even if it has a spirit, it also has a wicked spirit.”

We talked about jade until then. After hearing my master say that, I felt reluctant to part with the jade in his hand, but old Jiang didn’t feel the same way. He just sighed and said, “Selling spiritual jade to people, I hope it’s to a kind person, otherwise I won’t feel good about it if I’m blocking a disaster for a bad person out of thin air.”

I was silent. In fact, I had heard my master talk about Taoist spiritual artifacts before, and knew that spiritual artifacts could help with luck and ward off disasters. I never imagined that this jade had been cultivated to such a degree! Moreover, I knew in my heart that this jade was cultivated by my master, and was truly a treasure that was hard to come by! If it weren’t for this matter concerning my family, he would never have offered such a thing, which was considered a magical artifact to him.

The master and apprentice were silent for a moment, and I looked up and asked, “Master, are you going to tell me about my grandfather?”

Old Jiang was staring at the jade, and when he heard this, he was so shocked that he almost dropped the jade in his hand. He looked at me in disbelief and said, “You haven’t forgotten this matter yet?”

“Of course, how could I forget about my master? It’s the worst thing to do to betray your master and forget your ancestors. Didn’t you teach me that?” This is the experience of struggle. No matter what, you have to get the upper hand first.

“Come on, come on, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you about your master, it’s just that I can’t tell you now.” Old man Jiang was also forced to do nothing.

“Then you have to tell me if my master is still alive. He is so powerful, he won’t just disappear. I just want to know this. By the way, I also want to know how my master lived such a long time.” Originally, I really just wanted to know if my master was still alive, but this curiosity.

But as soon as I finished asking my question, the old man’s face became strange and sad, as it always did. After a long pause, he said, “It’s normal for people who have attained enlightenment to live a long life. Your master’s three hundred years is not exceptional. There are countless people recorded in ancient history who lived a long life, not to mention some hidden masters who never came out. It’s just that people nowadays don’t want to believe it. A simple truth is that people today live longer than people in the past, and people in prosperous times live longer than people in troubled times. This is because nutrition improves the body. If the methods are appropriate and you have excellent supplements, longevity is a matter of course. Do you think that the health preservation of the mountain is nonsense? Is there no basis for becoming an immortal?

“Master, I know, but what’s the point?” I was so anxious that I scratched my ear and cheeks.

“The point is that your master actually didn’t live to be over 300 years old. There was a reason for this.” At this point, the old man Jiang paused again, then said, “Your master… your master… is still alive or not, I don’t know.”

After that, the old man sighed deeply, and for a moment he looked haggard and sad, as if he had suddenly aged ten years.

But I didn’t see it, and I kept asking, “Why?”

This time, the old man was not angry, but turned and looked at me deeply, then said, “Don’t ask that question again.” Then he kicked me out of the room.

Of course I was unhappy, but I dared not argue with such a master.

The next morning, I got up early to do morning exercises. Strangely enough, my master had never before failed to get up. I heard his familiar snoring from the room. This was the first time this had happened. In the past, when I got up, he got up too. Occasionally, he would urge me to do morning exercises, and occasionally he would wander off somewhere, but he would never be in the room.

I didn’t want to wake him up. Maybe he didn’t sleep last night? I always felt that he was full of worries when he sent me away last night. I went downstairs and went to the open space for morning exercise as usual. When I passed by the window of the small room, I accidentally found that the window of the small room was half open. I thought that the master didn’t close it properly last night, and there were still a few scattered papers on the ground.

There is always a bit of wind in the mountains, so I think it must have blown from the desk. I picked up the papers and saw that they were in my master’s handwriting. I knew it was his handwriting because I was so familiar with it! His handwriting always had a certain unrestrained, unrestrained, and unrestrained quality, but the handwriting on this paper made me feel a certain heaviness and a certain indescribable sense of confusion.

I can’t say why I have this feeling. There are words written all over the papers, but there are only two words in total: Kunlun!

Kunlun? I know there is a Kunlun Mountain, but is that where the Master’s lover is? I shook my head and put the paper back on the ground. He used to burn his own calligraphy and paintings, saying that his skills were not good enough and he was ashamed to show them to the world.

The master slept until almost lunchtime, and when he woke up, he was hungry and wanted to eat.

It’s easy to find food in the summer. I’ve already prepared it. I’ll just have some cucumbers, some fried potatoes, some chicken and cold noodles, and a pot of old sweet potato porridge.

This is a very hard life, especially when it comes to food. Occasionally, I want to eat something light, but I can’t. I have to eat meat every meal. The master said that when I reach a certain level, I can eat vegetarian food, but I can’t yet. I have to eat meat. Except for breakfast, my stomach can’t be too greasy. I can’t miss any meal.

I can’t blame myself for complaining. Every night, I have a small clay pot of soup, so how can I not get tired of it? Even today’s lunch is refreshing enough. I have to put chicken in the cold noodles, and I take a bowl, at least half of which is chicken.

After a simple wash, the old man began to eat voraciously, slurping the porridge, slurping the cold noodles, chewing the shredded potatoes, and biting the cucumbers. He really had the ability not to choke!

Yesterday, he was full of worries, but today he can eat like this.

“Master, why are you up so late today?” I asked curiously, taking a big sip of cold noodles. In fact, my eating habits are not much better. After practicing, I’m always very hungry. It’s not a lie. I’m famous for my lunch boxes at school. They’re full of two large aluminum lunch boxes! Usually, little boys get full after eating one box, but I’m just not hungry.

“I forgot the time last night practicing my calligraphy, and when I came to, it was already dawn.” The old man replied casually.

“What is Kunlun? Kunlun Mountain? Your calligraphy came flying out of the window this morning. I saw it.”

“I know, I got up and found that the window of the small room was not closed properly.”

“What is Kunlun?”

“Kunlun Mountain, Xinjiang Kunlun Mountain.”

“Master, is that where your wife is? Is that where my mother-in-law is?”

“Well, heh heh, fart! I… I like the scenery there.” Accompanying his words was a loud slap, and I was undoubtedly beaten again.

“Sanwa, come down the mountain with me later and go to your house.”

“What for?”

“Tell your parents that I’ll give you the money a few days later. I’m taking you out.” Old Jiang was very calm. He probably had something in his stomach, so he started pouring wine into a cup.

“Where are you going? The county seat?” I was excited. I had never been out of the county seat in my life. I was sure we were going to the county seat, otherwise he wouldn’t have specifically told my parents.

“Oh, no, it’s to the provincial capital, Chengdu.” The old man was pouring himself a drink.

“Cough… cough…” Now it was my turn to cough violently.

It took me half an hour to cough it out. I was so embarrassed that I was red in the face and even a strand of cold noodles flew out of my nose. Old Master Jiang took a sip of wine and laughed happily, his face full of the pleasure of revenge.

I quickly grabbed a piece of paper and wiped the snot and tears off my face. I then returned to the table with murderous intent and said, “Master, are you trying to get back at me by saying you’re going to Chengdu on purpose?”

“Hey, you kid, don’t judge me by your petty mind, okay?” the old man said in a strange voice.

“Are you really going to Chengdu?” I suddenly felt a sense of unreality and dizziness. What is the concept of this provincial capital? In my heart, it is simply a symbol, and I can’t concretize it at all! Because it is too far away.

“Well, I really am going to Chengdu.” The old man nodded solemnly.

“Go to Chengdu to sell that jade. No one here knows how to appreciate it,” the old man added.