Episode 40

  In the second month, there came a summons from the yamen, and not being able to avoid it, he entered the county office with Chuan'er. He saw an official sitting upright on the high platform above, his eyes blazing like torches, staring straight at him and Chuan'er. Who was this Chuan'er? It was none other than the one who had spent many years cultivating her mind and spirit, and her intelligence and demeanor were already far beyond those of ordinary people. The two of them stood there, slightly bowing their heads without speaking. The official exclaimed in surprise:

  "Are you two brave warriors who have discovered the bandits' lair and will join forces with the county magistrate to plot and kill the bandit crowd?"

  "We two just discovered the thieves' den, but as for setting up the plan, it was the county magistrate's father and son who accomplished it, I dare not take credit for it."

  "Oh! You two have been detained in this place for nearly ten years, is there any resentment?"

  "Return to the old master, for the people and for the country, no regrets!"

  "Good! Good! Good! Gong Xian, you deserve it!"

  "Yes, sir. The story is not enough, Jin Chan'er comes forward to listen and appreciate."

  "Yes!"

  Less than two people responded in unison.

  "History is insufficient, Jin Chan'er's merit in suppressing the bandits was great, rewarded with 2 catties of gold, 300 taels of silver, 10 bolts of silk, and a commendation from the imperial court."

  Insufficient, and Chang'er knelt down to thank him and got up. After that, the official in charge said:

  "Are you two willing to follow me, share the country's worries and plead for the people?"

  When he heard this, the county magistrate's face did not change, but a hint of worry flashed in his eyes.

  "Thank you, sir! But our humble grandfather is very old and we need to return home to take care of him. It's been many years, who knows how he's living now?"

  "Excellent! You two go back home and fulfill your filial duties at once!"

  "Thank you, sir!"

  The two of them bowed and withdrew.

  "Here's to congratulating Master Kong on his promotion to the provincial government, and also to congratulate your son and nephew on their appointments as county officials. Two official positions in one family, isn't that just perfect!"

  "Thanks to the sacred grace, I and my son will never betray the holy master's mistaken love. We will work diligently to govern the state, share worries for the emperor, and bring blessings to the people!"

  Mr. Kong bowed and said:

  "Your Excellency has arrived, touring on behalf of Heaven. You must be exhausted from the long journey. I have prepared some water and wine at my humble abode to help you wash away the dust. I hope Your Excellency..."

  "Hah, hah, hah...... Then I'll take my leave."

  The two of them followed the Kong family father and son into the county magistrate's other courtyard. It was indeed simple and unadorned like a poor household, yet it did not lack the elegance of a literary person. The walls of the main hall were adorned with famous calligraphic works, and on the bookshelves were placed classics and miscellaneous notes, exuding an atmosphere of literature! And as for the food and wine on the table, they were also the usual fare found in ordinary households, where was there any exotic delicacy or fine wine?

  "I had long heard that Lord Kong was diligent and frugal, but I didn't believe it. Now that I've seen it with my own eyes, indeed! If all the officials on court were like this, what worry would there be about the world being unstable?"

  "You overpraise me, I dare not accept it!"

  After drinking and eating, Mr. Kong and his son again performed the great ceremonial rites:

  "Your Excellency has arrived, and I am but a humble and poor official. However, I have heard that Your Excellency is well-versed in both ancient and modern knowledge, and particularly skilled in the authentication of antiquities. Our family has passed down an antique for over ten generations. We are unfamiliar with its merits or demerits, so we trouble Your Excellency to appraise it for us."

  Then the young man brought out a box with both hands, and carefully placed it on the table. After that, he opened the lid of the box, inside which was a horse, one foot stepping on a dragon bird, the other three feet standing in mid-air, as if flying! The old man suddenly stood up, concentrated his attention, and after a while said:

  "This is a rare treasure in the world, truly priceless! Even if you offer ten cities, it would be hard to exchange for it!"

  One head said one head just stared at this thing without blinking an eye.

  "A precious sword should be given to a brave warrior, and a bright pearl to a beautiful woman! This thing is wasted in our hands, losing its luster. It would be better to give it to Your Excellency, so that the treasure can find a worthy owner!"

  "What! How can this be?!"

  "Please accept this humble gift!"

  "This! Good! Lord Kong is so kind-hearted, if I decline again, it would be ungrateful."

  Then they chatted a few more sentences, and the adult stood up again, taking the place of the emperor on his rounds!

  After the great man left, Gong Xianling packed his things and was about to take office, his son said:

  "Father, since you have already obtained the treasure, it should be no big deal for me to kill those two little rascals. Those two little rascals, if left alive, will eventually become a source of trouble."

  "Nonsense! Although the adults have accepted the treasure, they are proud and will not care about us even if something happens. But if we don't cause any trouble, it can be very helpful for our official career! Besides, those two people are from thousands of miles away, and have been under my control for many years, they are already timid, how dare they come back to this place again? Don't make things worse by adding unnecessary details! What about that little third one, did you do it?"

  "Father, rest assured, he won't escape my grasp. That scoundrel has been under surveillance for a long time now. The other day, I didn't dare make a move, fearing the imperial envoy would investigate. Now is also the time to report."

  As expected, after a while, someone came in and said:

  "Your Highness, the thief Xiao Sanzi has been executed! His head is now presented before you for your inspection."

  "Good!"

  Insufficient to accompany Chang'er out of the government office, they headed in the direction of Gucheng. However, it was not known that the young master at this time actually wanted to kill them again. On the contrary, it was learned that the county magistrate had been promoted, and his son also got a job as a county magistrate, shaking his head and sighing:

  "Is this how the ways of the world have declined?"

  Chang'e gazed out at the insufficient and silently thought to herself:

  "What can practitioners do? Isn't it just you deceiving me and I competing with you? Isn't it all about achieving goals by any means necessary? Pitifully, when we arrive at Fanjia Town, how will we face each other?"

  "Chang Er, why are you staring at someone's house like that? Hurry up and quicken your pace to get to Guzhou City earlier!"

  "Brother, you look great in your new clothes! When you were younger, I didn't notice how handsome you looked. Now that you're so tall and big, with new clothes on, you look really dashing! Just like people need fine clothes, Buddhas need golden decorations!"

  "Hum, hum, hum...... You're all grown up now, yet you still speak in such a soft and gentle tone!"

  Chang'er smiled and said:

  "Insufficient brother, I'm like this, can't you just start from scratch?"

  Buzi also smiled and said:

  "It's better this way, Qiang Wei is indeed like this."

  Two people chatted for a while, but both of them had already released their divine aura. Having cultivated the Insufficient Golden Body Technique and the Taiyi Mysterious Divine Technique together for many years, even Lian'er felt that this method was extraordinary. Day after day, he practiced diligently, carefully pondering the mysteries of the large formation created by the five divine auras, and with Lian'er's guidance, his understanding became extremely profound. In just a few short years, his divine aura formation had become intricate and complex, much like the realm of Yuanyuan's cultivation. The layers of his divine aura formation were stacked on top of each other, intertwined and resonating with one another, enveloping everything within its boundaries, making it seem as if all living things' auras were returning to his divine realm, just like witnessing it with one's own eyes, or feeling it with one's six senses.

  "Insufficient, brother! The grand formation created by your five elements' divine consciousness is now so subtle that it's almost imperceptible! It can be seen that in the path of cultivation, your innate talent is indeed excellent. However, I don't know how many realms this cultivation has? How much time does it take to break through each one? What kind of assistance is needed to make progress easier? If someone were to guide you, advancing would be even more effortless."

  "Alas, many things are unknown to our family! My grandfather is a cultivator, his magical powers are extremely high, and he must have deep knowledge. When we two hurry to see him, he will surely be able to satisfy our cultivation needs and provide guidance. As for the realm of cultivation, I do know about it. This realm is divided into nine layers: the initial layer is Body Refining and Law Body Refining, most cultivators spend their entire lives stuck in these two layers and cannot progress. The next two layers are Yuan Condensation and Mind Gathering, very few cultivators can reach these two layers, but there should still be some. My grandfather once said that many people in our old clan have reached this level of cultivation. Those who cultivate to this level can live for hundreds of years, five or seven hundred years is no problem! The next layer is Small Perfection and Great Completion. This layer is a major watershed, only one in ten thousand can reach it! It's clear how difficult it is to cultivate to this level. However, cultivating to this level is considered truly entering the realm of Land Immortals, with a lifespan of over a thousand years! The next layers are Entering the Dao, Yin-Yang Harmony, and Great Perfection. My grandfather said that in this entire world, those who can cultivate to these three layers can be counted on one's fingers! As for the final layer, it is Breaking the Void, there has been no one who has achieved it in ten thousand years! Moreover, each layer of cultivation is divided into Initial Realm, Middle Realm, and Peak Realm, the difficulty of cultivating through these realms is like climbing to the sky!"

  "Heavens! When will our family's strength be insufficient for Brother to reach that final layer?"

  "The last layer? Ha ha ha, how dare I think! It's just never-ending!"

  The two of them walked and cultivated together, verifying what they had gained and resolving each other's doubts as they headed towards the ancient state city.