Chapter 83
In the grand hall of the Wanfo Temple, under the watchful eyes of many, the one most affected this time was not Shen Qi, but Ru Deng.
After Shen Qi finished and left, Ru Deng sat cross-legged in front of the Buddha statue, eyes closed. He didn't open them until the fierce red in his eyes faded.
This incident was indeed a bit much, and both needed some time to recover. They took nearly half a month to do so. Shen Qi watched Ru Deng closely for 24 hours but found no trace of him monitoring Zhuang Shan and Sang Yunyan, nor any signs of contact with outsiders.
While Shen Qi was puzzled, Ru Deng's expression suddenly changed. He was copying scriptures at the time, and his hand paused, causing the ink to smudge.
With a serious expression, he put down the brush and said, "I need to go out."
"What's wrong?" Shen Qi, who was drawing with a brush nearby, looked up in surprise. Seeing Ru Deng's expression, he realized that Ru Deng must know about Zhuang Shan and Sang Yunyan. He tentatively asked, "Is it Zhuang Shan?"
"Yes." Ru Deng's face was grim. He picked up the page he had just ruined, and as it left the table, it caught fire. Watching the flames, he said, "Zhuang Shan is with my second sister."
Shen Qi showed appropriate surprise and then pretended to guess, "Your second sister wants to use Zhuang Shan..."
The paper turned to ashes. Ru Deng watched the floating ashes in silence, but his expression indicated that the truth was different.
Shen Qi raised an eyebrow but said no more. Regardless of the situation, his task was complete. He didn't need to interfere further; Ru Deng would handle it.
However, seeing Ru Deng's unpleasant expression made Shen Qi happy. In the past, Ru Deng would never show his true emotions in front of him. He would quickly adjust and return to his calm demeanor. But now, he didn't hide his displeasure. This change, perhaps even unnoticed by Ru Deng himself, was Shen Qi's greatest gain.
Shen Qi truly didn't interfere with Sang Yunyan's matters anymore. He even ignored Zhuang Shan. His lazy nature meant he only spent time with Zhuang Shan to make Ru Deng discover the affair with Sang Yunyan. Now that it was exposed, he couldn't be bothered to deal with it. When Ru Deng confronted him, he didn't even show up.
He silently observed the events that followed.
Sang Yunyan had indeed fallen for Zhuang Shan, though not very deeply yet. Initially, as Shen Qi had guessed, she wanted to use Zhuang Shan to get close to Zhuang Liang for revenge. But she didn't expect Zhuang Shan to be completely different from Zhuang Liang, and she fell for him.
Ru Deng's appearance flustered Sang Yunyan. "Brother, I..."
Ru Deng's face was expressionless as he said calmly, "I always remember what you told me when we were young. You wanted me to remember, to never forget, to avenge, and to kill the entire Zhuang family."
He still remembered the look on his second sister's face when she secretly came to see him after he was recognized as the Buddha's child. It was fierce and full of hatred, not towards him, but towards their enemies. She gripped his arm tightly, repeatedly telling him to avenge, fearing he would forget. She made him swear to recite it a hundred times every night before sleeping, or else he would never see her again.
When he was just five years old, he lost his parents and clan. His second sister was his only family. He believed her words, fearing he wouldn't see her again. Every night, he recited what she told him to say, over and over, until he fell asleep.
Year after year, hatred etched into his bones, becoming an obsession. But the person who planted this obsession in him now told him she regretted it. She didn't want revenge anymore.
How ironic.
He almost wanted to laugh.
Shen Qi sighed and silently held his hand. A notification sound chimed in his ear, and the five happiness points he had painstakingly earned instantly dropped back down.
"I..." Sang Yunyan avoided his gaze, biting her lip. "I'm sorry."
She was very beautiful. As Ru Deng's sister, she naturally shared his good looks. However, unlike Ru Deng's restrained and gentle appearance, her beauty was bold and striking, like a wild rose blooming in a field.
At this moment, she frowned, looking sorrowful, evoking pity.
"So?" Ru Deng asked calmly, his face expressionless. "What do you plan to do?"
Sang Yunyan was not a weak woman. She had risen to the position of the Holy Maiden of the Wushen Sect not just because of her beauty. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I will leave the Wushen Sect and start anew with Zhuang Shan in a place where no one knows us."
A hint of sarcasm flashed in Ru Deng's eyes. "Are you sure Zhuang Shan is willing to give up everything to go with you?"
Sang Yunyan couldn't help but defend Zhuang Shan. "Zhuang Shan is not like Zhuang Liang. You know their relationship isn't good. Zhuang Shan's talents don't match Zhuang Liang's, and Zhuang Zhiguan prefers Zhuang Liang. He's suffered a lot since childhood. He's different from Zhuang Liang and the rest of the Zhuang family."
She was very certain. "Zhuang Shan will go with me. He came this time to persuade me to leave the Wushen Sect with him. He's already made arrangements, and I'll help. There won't be any problems."
Shen Qi raised an eyebrow. If that's the case, why were they discovered in the outline? It means Zhuang Shan didn't arrange things well and still attracted attention.
But that's not right. In the original timeline, they were supposed to leave ten years later. By then, Zhuang Shan was a rising star in the Lingxiao Sect. At this time, he was just average, and people tried to win him over more because of his father.
Something must have happened in those ten years to elevate his status and gain attention. Given his personality, he would likely procrastinate, leading to complications. Zhuang Liang might have played a significant role in this.
This time, he wasn't valued yet, and Sang Yunyan had only been the Saintess for a few years. If handled well, they could still retreat safely.
Ru Deng's face remained expressionless, without even a flicker in his eyes. "I hope you won't regret it."
Sang Yunyan didn't respond, but her eyes said it all.
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Half a month later, news spread that the Saintess of the Wushen Sect was beheaded by the disciples of the Wanfo Sect, her body destroyed. At the same time, no one noticed that Zhuang Shan, the youngest son of Zhuang Zhiguan, the head of a peak in the Lingxiao Sect, disappeared and was never seen again.
Far away in the East Sea, an uninhabited island welcomed a man and a woman. They settled there, living and multiplying, year after year, until they died.
The death of the Saintess shook the Wushen Sect, causing outrage. The sect leader was furious and vowed to sacrifice Ru Deng in blood.
To ensure safety, Ru Deng was ordered to stay in the temple and was forbidden to go out.
Originally, Master Puzhi sent a message asking him to return to the Wanfo Sect, but Ru Deng refused.
Ru Deng shut himself in to copy scriptures. Shen Qi knew he was in a bad mood, so he didn't disturb him and silently accompanied him in copying scriptures.
Scroll after scroll, Ru Deng's expression finally softened. Suddenly, he looked at Shen Qi and asked, "If it were you, what would you do?"
Caught off guard by the question, Shen Qi was stunned. "Do you mean Sang Yunyan or yourself?"
Ru Deng seemed surprised by his own question. After a moment of silence, he said, "Both."
Shen Qi thought for a moment and said, "If it were Sang Yunyan, I might do the same. But if it were you..." He rested his chin on the brush and looked at Ru Deng. "I probably wouldn't do as well as you. Even if I didn't oppose, I wouldn't help her."
As well as you...
Ru Deng paused in folding the rice paper. After a while, he looked up at Shen Qi. "Xiao Qi, would you lie to me?"
Shen Qi was taken aback and shook his head. "No."
Ru Deng couldn't help but stroke his snow-white cheek, his eyes shining with a strange light, but his tone was very gentle. "Then would you leave me?"
Shen Qi's eyes flickered, and he replied, "No."
Ru Deng smiled, cupping his face and planting a kiss as light as a feather on the corner of his lips. He whispered, "That's good."
Shen Qi lowered his eyes, hiding his emotions.
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Time flew by. For cultivators, time was both the most lacking and the least lacking resource. In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed. Ru Deng's training mission in Youzhou had long ended, and he returned to the Wanfo Sect.
Although ten years had passed, Shen Qi and Ru Deng had spent less than half of that time together. Ru Deng spent most of his days in seclusion, especially in the last three years, during which he hardly woke up.
Finally, one day, a phenomenon appeared in the back mountain of the Wanfo Sect. Spiritual light and celestial music filled the air. Ru Deng had finally broken through from the Lingxin Realm to the Shendong Realm.
Reaching this realm meant Ru Deng had ascended to the higher levels of cultivation. It was known that after the Shendong Realm, there were only four realms left, or rather three, as no cultivator in this world had reached the final realm for a long time.
Ru Deng's master, Master Puzhi, was in the second-to-last realm but hadn't broken through in a thousand years. If he couldn't reach the final realm within a hundred years, he would exhaust his lifespan and pass away.
Ten years to go from Lingxin to Shendong wasn't the fastest, but it was within the range of genius. Naturally, Ru Deng received much praise, and the young monks of the Wanfo Sect looked at him with even more admiration.
Upon reaching the Shendong Realm, Ru Deng could expand his cave and accept disciples. For half a month, visitors came in an endless stream.
Ru Deng did not refuse and soon accepted six disciples. However, to everyone's surprise, none of these six disciples became the senior disciple. Ru Deng's first disciple was someone he brought back from outside.
It was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy with very ordinary looks. In a crowd, he was unnoticeable. Standing still, one might almost think no one was there unless he spoke.
Such an almost invisible person became the first disciple of the Buddha's child, attracting much curiosity. Fortunately, the other six disciples were young and did not show much rejection towards their senior brother.
The boy was ranked according to his generation, and Ru Deng gave him the Dharma name Zhen Heng.
Outsiders only knew that Zhen Heng was a child Ru Deng rescued in Youzhou and later quietly brought back to the Wanfo Sect. No one expected this unremarkable child to become Ru Deng's first disciple.
Only Shen Qi knew that Zhen Heng was actually Ru Deng.
Or rather, he was a clone of Ru Deng.
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Author's Note:
For those who think Shen Qi is being overly accommodating, that's not the case. First, he carries memories and has experienced so much. From his perspective, he views Ru Deng and the fire spirits in each world with the tolerance of an elder. Therefore, he doesn't blame Ru Deng for his initial wariness and harm. Moreover, because he likes him, he is willing to be accommodating. In previous worlds, he easily succeeded in his strategies. Only in this world did he face a small setback, which is nothing to him.
Shen Qi is not naive. He won't always be unconditionally accommodating. The initial efforts will require double the return later. He knows this well. This world is slower-paced, being a fantasy world where time spans hundreds or thousands of years. The pace will pick up later, and everyone will understand Shen Qi's intentions.
No matter how cunning Ru Deng is, he can't outsmart Shen Qi, the old monster.
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