Chapter 2: 2

Chapter 2

Jin Xiu

 

Of course this was not an accident, Hong Ning already knew that someone rescued her, so she was not shocked. It's just that the man's body was exuding an extremely pleasant fragrance, unexpectedly giving her a sense of familiarity. 

 

A young man in a beautiful brocade.

 

锦绣 (Jǐnxiù):

Means beautiful or splendid but it is also the man's name. Not sure if it was meant to be a reference.

 

Saying he's young, you can't tell his actual age. His pair of eyes are clear like water waves, his face so beautiful it is hard to draw. His shallow smile is sacred and noble at first glance, but incomparably gorgeous at second glance, even the hundreds of flowers that bloomed earlier can't compare to that elegance.

 

He smiled and looked down at her: "Hong Ning."

 

For no reason, cordiality arose and Hong Ning couldn't help but respond with "En", followed by a surprised: "Do you know me?"

 

The man in the brocade smiled but didn't answer.

 

Only then did Hong Ning realise that she was lying in his arms and blood rushed to her head. Although her body was just an underdeveloped 12 year old girl, mentally she is not.

 

She tried her best to be calm: "Can you please put me down first?"

 

Sure enough, the man in the brocade put her down.

 

Hong Ning walked over to pick up her clothes and put them on. Even though she behaved calmly, her face still couldn't help but get hot. She deliberated for a while before saying: "Thank you benefactor for saving me."

 

She just experience a thrilling incident. Logically speaking, her performance does not match her age. Ordinary people would find it strange, but the man in the robe did not: "I originally came to save you."

 

Hong Ning listened and felt it was weird.

 

The man in the brocade said: "It's not easy to cultivate, so spare it."

 

Hong Ning finally understood what he meant: "But it will still harm people."

 

The man in the brocade replied: "We are not of the same kind, it will have its own divine retribution, it is not something I should care about."

 

Everything naturally goes with the flow, man and master cultivates a different path. Hong Ning pondered, because her life was saved by him, it wouldn't be good for her to not say more and politely asked: "May I know what is benefactor's name?"

 

The man in the brocade sighed softly: "I don't remember, I really don't remember."

 

Hong Ning was baffled.

 

The man in the brocade raised his right hand.

 

That hand was very beautiful, ten fingers slender and shapely, stretched out at will, as if carved from beautiful jade. Hong Ning was stunned, when she returned to her senses, she found that she was standing in a field of flowers.

 

Beautiful, bright red camellias.

 

Hong Ning naturally likes this kind of enthusiastic colour, which makes her feel happy and warm, so she was in a good mood. She squatted down to pick a flower, who knew that the touch of the flower was real, definitely not an effect achievable with normal illusion magic. Immediately surprised, she probed: "Is this...High grade illusion magic? Or is it transfer magic? You are also a cultivator, right?"

 

The man in the brocade shook his head, but then smiled: "Considered as."

 

Hong Ning was too lazy to think about erudite words and asked directly: "What's your name?"

 

The man in the brocade looked at her: "You don't even remember yourself, yet still so bold."

 

Hong Ning's heart moved: "You know me?"

 

The man in the brocade smiled but didn't answer and asked: "Since you have become human, why don't you cultivate immortality with your Shi Fu? The immortal path is eternal and lives forever, why bear the pain of reincarnation?"

 

Talking about this issue, Hong Ning smiled: "The immortal path is indeed eternal, but in my opinion, reincarnation is not necessarily suffering." She stood up as she spoke: "Reincarnation and rebirth, how is it different from longevity? Instead of cultivating endlessly with a pure heart and few desires, why not stay in the mortal world forever and experience all kinds of interesting things? Moreover, cultivating immortality is too lonely, the human world has affection and loyalty, isn't that good too?"

 

有情有义 (yǒu qíng yǒu yì):

an idiom, having affection(情意) and loyalty(义气)refers to someone who has affection and the willingness to stand with/next to you, or be there for you, always.

Could also be used to praise someone; this refers to a person who is very kind, attaches importance to emotions and is very loyal.

 

The man in the brocade said: "So what if there is affection? There is six reincarnations, and every reincarnation will completely forget the love of the previous life. Just like you, you have already forgotten the root cause of your reincarnation. Isn't that heartless?" (his exact words is 无情, 无 meaning without so this is a wordplay)

 

Hong Ning retorted: "Forgetting, does not mean I did not have it. Since I've had it, it cannot be considered heartless."

 

The man in the brocade said: "There is also hardship and sorrow in love, how can you be free and detached like immortals?"

 

Is he trying to convince her to cultivate immortality? Hong Ning smiled secretly, looked directly into his eyes, and asked back: "It's not a bad thing to be able to feel cold, warmth, hardship and sorrow. An immortal husband and wife should be practising double cultivation together daily, without affection and desires. Isn't that just like two pieces of wood, what's the meaning in longevity?"

 

This kind of words coming out of a 12 year old girl's mouth, doesn't it seem strange? The man in the brocade smiled: "You still think so?"

 

Hong Ning said: "I've always thought so."

 

"Then we'll talk about it in future." The man in the brocade sighed lightly and raised his hand: "My name is Jin Xiu."

 

Hong Ning hurried forward: "You..."

 

The man disappeared.

 

Bolted? Knowing that the other party must have high cultivation, Hong Ning was not surprised, it's just that she felt an inexplicable sense of melancholy. She lowered her head, the surrounding fresh bright camellias also followed the person, disappearing without a trace.

 

She murmured: "Jin Xiu."

 

"Getting more and more slow-witted!" A cold voice sounded.

 

"Bai Ling?"

 

"So rude."

 

Bai Ling soaked in the pond water, but his clothes were not like ordinary people's, sticking to his skin, but as if on flat ground. The wide clothes stretched out naturally, quivering along with the waves. His whole person looked as if it had melted into the water, becoming one.

 

Hong Ning put her hands on her knees and leaned over to look at him: "Shi Xiong is getting more and more handsome, no wonder so many flower demons and tree spirits like you."

 

Bai Ling slowly raised his eyes: "You're really unlike a child."

 

He has said this many times, Hong Ning also didn't mention the time-travel thing. She smiled: "I am a child now, but in a few years, others will think you are my Shi Di (junior brother)."

 

Bai Ling's face sank immediately.

 

A demon that is able to live to 300 years, the corners of Hong Ning's mouth twitched, deliberately looked to the sky and sighed a long sigh: "Seeing that you always don't grow up, don't you now think that longevity isn't so good?"

 

Bai Ling didn't answer, but his body started to become transparent.

 

If it were someone else who annoyed him, they would've been frozen into ice cubes already, but Hong Ning doesn't care: "Don't reveal your original form to scare me, I'm no longer afraid." Thinking back to the first experience, Hong Ning felt amused: "To be honest with you, back then I thought you were melted by the sun, that's why I was anxious. Do you really think I'm scared of you?"

 

Bai Ling was stunned for a while, silent, and indeed returned to his normal appearance.

 

Hong Ning picked up the herb basket next to her and stood up: "You are already an old demon of more than 300 years old. According to age and seniority, it's enough for me to call you ancestor. How dare I want such a Shi Di like you."

 

Bai Ling coldly snorted: "Shi Fu told you to go back after noon."

 

Hong Ning also secretly regretted but said: "Aren't I preparing to go back? It's such a good day, didn't you cultivate?"

 

Bai Ling replied: "There seems to be demonic energy here just now."

 

Hong Ning was touched for a while, although Bai Ling always treated her badly, but she knew this Shi Xiong actually cared about her a lot. Demons are best at feeling demonic energy in the surroundings, he probably felt that something was wrong, temporarily stopped his cultivation and rushed to see.

 

Thinking about this, Hong Ning no longer concealed it: "There really is an evil dragon in this pond, but it has left. It shouldn't be coming back for a while."

 

Bai Ling frowned and didn't ask much: "I think something happened, let's go back first and talk later."

 

Knowing that he didn't see Jin Xiu, Hong Ning nodded, shouldered the basket, and left.

 

On the second day, Wen Xin came out of his retreat and learned about this. He was shocked, but was relieved seeing that she is safe and sound. After careful interrogation, Hong Ning only vaguely explained that she was rescued by someone of the same cultivation path.

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Wen Xin didn't doubt it and pondered for a moment: "This dragon must not be from the skies, but a demon dragon cultivated by chance from something. It has never worshipped the Dragon King, hence it is evil and eats humans."

 

Hong Ning agreed: "Its most likely a snake."

 

Wen Xin noticed another thing: "According to you, it has grown scales?"

 

Hong Ning described the dragon's appearance in detail, and was afraid in retrospect.

 

Wen Xin recalled: "When I first came here, I was skeptical when I heard the name Evil Dragon Pond. After inquiring, I found that the pond was named 50 years ago. Someone once saw a cow herding child being swallowed by a giant snake, pitch black with feet, thought it was a scaly dragon. But after many years, I have never found demonic energy in the pond, nor have I heard of people or animals going missing nearby. I thought it was collected by fellow cultivators, so I didn't take it to heart."

 

蛟 (Jiāo):

Legendary dragon with the ability to control rain and floods.

The dragon used in the rest of the text is 龙 (Lóng)

Difference between Lóng & Jiāo:

Jiao is a kind of Long, but it is not exactly a Long. Jiao generally refers to a scaly generalised dragon that can cause floods, and has a certain kinship with dragons. The Jiao is very similar to the dragon. It has the strength not weaker than the dragon. It can also overturn rivers and seas, damage ships, and cause floods. "Pi Ya" (埤雅, dictionary of the Northern Song Dynasty that documents animals and plants) records the appearance of Jiao: Jiao, which looks like a snake and has four legs, a thin neck, a white mark on its neck, a large circumferences, oviparous, and unibrows. The Jiao looks like a dragon, but the horns are very short or even absent. It has a blue pattern on its back, it has four feet, and there are hard fleshy spines on the tip of its tail. For "Jiao".

 

How to tell the difference between a dragon and a dragon?

1. Dragon Horn

The biggest difference between a dragon and a Jiao is its horns. Jiao's head has no horns, or there is only one right angle. Dragons have two horns, each with a fork.

2. Tail

The tail of the Jiao dragon is bare, similar to that of a snake. The dragon's tail is not only scaly, but also rough and has a caudal fin.

3. Claws

Dragons have four claws, each with five toes. Jiao has only two claws, and each claw has only four toes.

4. Place of residence

Dragons generally live in the sea, but they can also ride the wind in the sky. And Jiao generally live in rivers and lakes, can not fly, can only stir the river.

5. Ability

Jiao, hidden in lakes, deep pools, reservoirs, tributaries of rivers, and underground caves. Legend has it that after cultivating for a thousand years, Jiao "walked" and would turn into a dragon along the river and into the sea. "Walking Jiao" will cause natural disasters such as violent storms, floods and so on. Dragons live in the sea, can go to the sky, can dive into the sea, and can change shape at will. Inhale for cloud, exhale for rain.

6. Meaning

Long are divine beings and have divine status in heaven. The appearance of the dragon is an auspicious omen. It represents holiness, auspiciousness and majesty. Jiao is a monster, and its appearance is often accompanied by natural disasters such as violent storms, lightning, thunder, earthquakes and floods.

 

Sorry this got a bit long but I felt like I needed to explain the differences because there is significance.

 

Hong Ning said: "That hole definitely leads to another place. Nothing happening nearby doesn't mean that it isn't doing evil at other places. It's just that it came here today for some reason and met me."

 

Wen Xin said: "Scaly dragons originally needs to cultivate for 500 years to transform into a dragon, but now, it has only been 50 years. It must have received some divine help, that's why it's so fast."

 

Bai Ling simply asked: "Is it collect or save?"

 

I'm sorry, Bai Ling only says 是收是度 (Shì shōu shì dù)？ and does not elaborate and tbh I have no clue what he means. Based on the context, these are my guesses. 收 is easier, it just means to 'collect' the demon, which means to get rid of it. As for 度, it has many meanings. After much research, I found this thing called 普度众生 (Pǔdùzhòngshēng) which has got something to do with to do with Buddhism and Taoism. I'm really not well versed with all these and I'm not sure if this is right.

From my understanding, it refers to the purifying of sentient beings so that they can 'cross over' to the other side.

I'm guessing 度 in this case would be trying to help this dragon change for the better and 'cross over', in other words, to save it.

 

Wen Xin sighed: "It's rare to cultivate to this point, and it's also its luck. It's just that there is no one to guide it and it went down the wrong path. In future, the heavenly tribulation will be much heavier, I'm afraid it'll be hard to escape. It is better to try and persuade it first, if it is willing to change for the better and stop eating humans, that is also a merit.

 

 

Hong Ning originally thought that this dragon is ferocious and it would be safest to collect it. But thinking about what Jin Xiu said to spare it, she nodded: "That's good."

 

Bai Ling said: "What if it does evil again in the future?"

 

Wen Xin also thought of this: "It's best to seal it."

 

Bai Ling said: "There's nothing on hand to seal it."

 

Wen Xin said: "It became a dragon so fast depending on that divine thing. If I know what it is, I will have a way."

 

Hong Ning said: "It usually cultivates elsewhere, I'm just afraid it has already eaten a lot of people."

 

Bai Ling said: "I'll go and explore that cave."

 

Hong Ning grabbed him: "Are you going alone?"

 

Bai Ling looked at her with slight disdain and turned to go out.

 

Wen Xin smiled: "Might as well, the dragon hasn't cultivated to human form, so it can be seen that its Taoism is still shallow. Not to mention, Bai Ling is more advantageous in the water." After speaking, he stood up: "Let's go take a look too and find a sure fire solution as soon as possible. On the 15th of next month, perhaps that demon dragon will come out."

 

The cold pond was like a mirror, Bai Ling disappeared upon entering the water and Wen Xin checked the shore.

 

Hong Ning stood afar, remembering the spell that Jin Xiu cast yesterday, couldn't help asking: "Shi Fu, if I want this place to be full of flowers, what spell should I use?"

 

Wen Xin didn't understand why she asked this and casually answered: "Naturally it is illusion magic, a way to deceive the eyes." After speaking he waved his hand, all the surrounding scenery immediately disappeared, turning into a beautiful peach forest with an abundance of fallen petals scattering and flying around like snow flakes.

 

Hong Ning raised her hand to catch a petal, yet there was no realistic feeling like yesterday: "All these flowers are an illusion, they are fake."

 

Wen Xin said: "Naturally they are fake."

 

Hong Ning said: "What if I want real flowers?"

 

Wen Xin did not hesitate: "Plant it yourself."

 

Shi Fu is really concise, Hong Ning wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry and wondered: "What if you use the Five Ghosts Transfer Technique to move it from somewhere else?"

 

It is rare for her to be so eager to learn, Wen Xin kept back the spell and the surroundings returned to its original state: "The Five Ghosts Transfer Technique can indeed move what you want from other places, but the flowers and trees themselves have aura and spirit, and they are connected with the mountains and rivers, belonging to the flower god. Even the high immortals can't easily overstep their authority to summon them. Because the grass and trees are different from us, they are nourished by the Earth's Qi. Qi will be cut off if it leaves the soil, the spirit will disperse once Qi is cut off, and roots will wither when the spirit is extinguished. Therefore, plants and trees that have been pulled out of the soil can no longer become spirits."

 

Hong Ning said: "Then we eat vegetables and collect herbs, aren't they very innocent?"

 

"This is heaven's will, it is also their fate. Otherwise, wouldn't this world be full of demons and spirits?" Wen Xin laughed: "Even us mortals, not everyone has fate with immortality. If immortals can't endure through the tribulation, they will lose their cultivation and even get beaten back into their original form. This is the way of the heavens, it is fair to all things."

 

劫 (jié):

Tribulation, in this case referring to heavenly tribulations that is usually in the form of lightnings. Immortals must go through these tribulations in order to ascend to high immortal, god/goddess, high god/goddess, etc. They will need to go through a tribulation for each ascension, the higher the level, the more the number of lightning strikes.

 

Immortals also have to be tested, Hong Ning sighed: "What's so good about being immortal?"

 

Wen Xin smiled and did not answer.

 

Hong Ning returned to the original topic: "That is to say they can't leave the soil, so the Five Ghosts Transfer Technique will not work."

 

Wen Xin nodded: "Leaving the soil, the attached spirit will disperse. Although plants and trees will not enter the cycle of reincarnation, if it is not for the needs of livelihood, it is detrimental to merits to pluck them up randomly. Not to mention that the ghosts are unwilling to help you, even if cultivators personally travel a thousand miles to collect them, they must also be very cautious. If they cut off their path to immortality on a whim, they will be punished by the flower gods. If it is an immortal, they will aggravate a heavier heavenly tribulation in the future, not to mention you still need a lot."

 

Hong Ning said: "Then isn't it fine if I move them along with the roots and soil?"

 

Wen Xin smiled and said: "Then you will need to command the land and mountain gods, how can this supreme magic power to move and shake mountains be possessed by mortals?"

 

Hong Ning was stunned: "Mortals can't?"

 

Wen Xin smiled: "There is, but I have never seen it before."

 

Hong Ning asked: "You can't?"

 

Wen Xin shook his head.

 

The magic power to move and shake mountains, Jin Xiu was able to display it easily. Could it be that he is already several hundred years old? Hong Ning found it hard to imagine, but then was suspicious , back then he summoned  a lot of camellias at the wave of his hand.

 

"Aside from moving mountains, is there no other way?" 

 

"You might as well try setting up an altar and worshipping the flower god and all flower immortals, there was once someone who borrowed it, but this method may not necessarily work." 

 

Hong Ning simply asked: "Is there one that can effortlessly summon flowers?" 

 

Wen Xin said: "the clan of flowers and trees, flower god, all flower demons, they control the spirits of flowers and trees. They can do it." 

 

Flower god and flower immortals? Hong Ning looked at the sky, all these years she has gained a lot of knowledge following cultivation. Ghosts are common, but she has never seen a living immortal. How could she be so lucky, having most likely encountered a high level demon, a flower demon? 

 

While thinking about it, she suddenly heard Wen Xin said: "Could it be this?" 

 

Hong Ning hurriedly asked: " What?" 

 

Wen Xin raised his hand and pointed to the stone wall on the opposite bank. 

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