TDFM Chapter 105

Rules

 

After watching the meteor shower, Yun Qing and Fu Xue returned to their room together. Fu Xue had been quite energetic when they were on the rooftop, but as soon as she entered the room, she began yawning.

 

It was indeed much warmer inside than outside.

 

She collapsed onto the bed, her eyelids heavy as she quickly closed her eyes, mumbling sleepily, “Senior Sister, you should sleep some more too.”

 

Yun Qing sat beside her and called softly, “Junior Sister.”

 

“Mm.”

 

“Baiyu and I are together now.”

 

“Oh.” Fu Xue turned over, then suddenly sat up abruptly, “What did you say?!”

 

Yun Qing repeated, “Baiyu and I are together now.”

 

“Are you together in the way I think you mean?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“When did this happen?”

 

“Just tonight, before I called you to watch the meteor shower. I had originally planned to deal with these matters after rescuing Master, but unexpectedly… well, we ended up together.”

 

After hearing this, Fu Xue gritted her teeth, clenched her fist, and pounded the bed hard, “Even without you saying it, I know that little concubine must have seduced you.”

 

Yun Qing was instantly confused, “What little concubine?”

 

“Baiyu, of course. He’s your little concubine.”

 

What on earth was going through her junior sister’s little mind all day…

 

Yun Qing burst into laughter and asked teasingly, “If he’s my little concubine, then who’s my main wife?”

 

“It was supposed to be me, but now you’re promoting Baiyu to the main position! Sigh, if it weren’t for the fact that Baiyu saved my life, I would definitely call him a little vixen right now.”

 

Yun Qing was amused by her and laughed out loud.

 

In the darkness, Fu Xue sighed softly and said, “Actually, I sensed it long ago, between you and Baiyu. But Senior Sister—” She reached out to take Yun Qing’s hand, her tone becoming somewhat dejected, “I know I have no right to stop you, but I feel a bit sad.”

 

Yun Qing was startled, “Why?”

 

“Wuu, I feel like you’re going to be stolen away from me.”

 

Yun Qing breathed a sigh of relief, thinking her junior sister was opposing her relationship with Baiyu. She grasped Fu Xue’s hand in return and said, “How is that possible? I’m right here. Who could steal me away?”

 

“Once you and Baiyu become dao companions, will you stop playing with me because you’re too busy being intimate with him?”

 

“What are you saying? Am I the type of person who forgets friendship for romance?”

 

“If I follow you wherever you go, will you find me annoying?”

 

“No, haven’t we always been like this? Have you ever seen me get annoyed with you?”

 

“But what if Baiyu finds me annoying?”

 

Yun Qing laughed, “If he finds you annoying, he can just avoid you and find somewhere quiet to be alone. It’s that simple.”

 

Fu Xue also laughed when she heard this, then asked again, “Will you sleep in the same bed with Baiyu?”

 

Yun Qing knew her junior sister wanted to hear her say no, but thinking carefully, she wasn’t the type to avoid human desires. Besides, Baiyu was… quite fragrant, and she felt she might not be able to resist.

 

After thinking, she could only say, “We’ll discuss that question later.”

 

“So you will then. What about me?”

 

“Uh, why don’t you sleep in the middle?”

 

“…” Fu Xue was speechless for a moment, let go of her hand, lay down on the bed, and kicked her legs twice, saying, “Senior Sister, you’re so annoying!”

 

Yun Qing suppressed her laughter, “Then what do you suggest?”

 

“I don’t know what to do either. Ugh, Baiyu is really annoying!”

 

Yun Qing lay down beside her, propping up her face and said, “I think Baiyu has quite a talent for cooking. How about we have him cook for us from now on?”

 

“Fine, that’s at least one good thing. I know, Senior Sister, you’re too charming. Even without Baiyu, there would still be Heiyu or Huangyu. I just… oh, I just can’t bear to part with you.”

 

“I know. We’ve never been separated since we were little.” When Yun Qing said this, her heart also felt tender. She suddenly remembered when they were children, when she first came up the mountain, she had once “competed for favor” with her junior sister.

 

It wasn’t really competition. At the time, she felt that Master favored Fu Xue more, so she wanted to perform well to earn some affection.

 

Like a little wolf accidentally wandering into another pack’s territory, her posture was naturally submissive and humble. She tried to please Master, please her junior sister, please the birds living in the old temple, and even wanted to please the wild grass by the wall.

 

Whether her “care” for Fu Xue was calculated performance or genuine devotion, Master, being an adult, could surely see through it.

 

But he said nothing.

 

Fu Xue was young and carefree, so she enjoyed Yun Qing’s attention for a while and ate quite a bit of the candy Yun Qing gave her. Then suddenly one day, when Yun Qing offered her the candy she had saved again, Fu Xue shook her head and refused.

 

Yun Qing was somewhat surprised, “What’s wrong, Junior Sister?”

 

“Senior Sister,” Fu Xue still spoke in a childish voice then, “Master asked me, ‘Is Senior Sister good to you?'”

 

Hearing this, Yun Qing felt uneasy and asked carefully, “What did you say?”

 

Fu Xue answered, “I said ‘yes.'”

 

Yun Qing sighed with relief, as if her earnest performance had finally been seen and appreciated. She asked expectantly, “Then what else did Master say?”

 

“Then Master said,” Fu Xue bobbed her head, imitating Le Chenzi’s manner, “‘Kindness should be mutual. If Senior Sister is good to you, you should also be good to Senior Sister.'”

 

As she spoke, she pulled out half a piece of candy and stuffed it into Yun Qing’s hand, “Here, I want to be good to Senior Sister too.”

 

Yun Qing stared blankly at the half piece of candy in her palm, which still bore her junior sister’s small tooth marks.

 

In all her life, she had received two gifts that made her so happy she wanted to cry: the first was an egg from her mother, which was her last meal before execution; the second was half a piece of candy from a four-year-old girl.

 

She looked down at the candy, tears welling in her eyes. Soon, a teardrop rolled down and landed beside the candy.

 

When Fu Xue saw her senior sister crying, she couldn’t help but burst into tears too, wailing with some guilt, “Senior Sister, I’m sorry!”

 

Yun Qing was startled and hurriedly wiped away her tears, “Junior Sister, what’s wrong?”

 

“Sorry, sorry! I originally wanted to save the whole piece for you, but I couldn’t resist taking a bite!”

 

“…”

 

…..

 

Thinking of past events, Yun Qing felt both amused and moved. She couldn’t help but reach out to pat Fu Xue’s head and said warmly, “Don’t worry, I won’t abandon you. I swear.”

 

Fu Xue had accepted reality by now and deceived herself into thinking that dao companions weren’t worth much—how could they compare to a junior sister? Senior Sister could have many dao companions in her lifetime and change them when unsatisfied, but she could only have one junior sister!

 

So Fu Xue nodded and said, “Alright then. Now tell me, how exactly did you two get together?”

 

The process was somewhat intimate, and if it were daytime, Yun Qing might have been too embarrassed to speak of it. Fortunately, it was late at night now, the room was pitch dark, and her junior sister couldn’t see her blushing, so Yun Qing told her.

 

Fu Xue listened with great interest, but after hearing it, she was somewhat dissatisfied, “You got together just like that? You didn’t test him at all.”

 

“Test him for what? I know his character well enough.”

 

“Did Qingshang actually try to seduce you? I told Sister Muyu about his eyes today, and she was shocked.”

 

Yun Qing shook her head, “I don’t know what he really intended to do. I’ll ask him tomorrow.”

 

****

 

But Yun Qing never got the chance to ask that question.

 

Early in the morning, Yun Qing practiced swordsmanship under the maple tree. Before long, she heard bell sounds echoing in the air and wondered curiously which senior from Shenle Valley was practicing.

 

Judging by the sound, the bell must be quite large. As a specialized instrument, how would it be moved? Could it be like Qingshang, shrinking the bell to wear at the waist?

 

Thinking about it, it was quite interesting.

 

When Cheng Suiyan was having breakfast, she mentioned this to the others.

 

Cheng Suiyan’s breakfast consisted of dry rations prepared by the Shenle clan for members who hadn’t yet achieved bigu. How did it taste? According to Fu Xue, it was “slightly better than pig feed,” which made Yun Qing somewhat suspicious that her junior sister had secretly tasted pig feed behind her back.

 

Yun Qing understood why the dry rations were made so unpalatable.

 

She felt it was precisely because they tasted so bad that it would motivate the children of Shenle Valley—the sooner they achieved bigu, the sooner they could escape this stuff. Wouldn’t that make them work harder at cultivation?

 

….

 

So only Cheng Suiyan ate breakfast while the others sat nearby drinking tea, keeping company with him as he consumed his premium pig feed.

 

Jiang Baiyu felt offended just looking at the breakfast, so although he sat facing Cheng Suiyan, he kept his head turned to the side, hand propping up his face, his gaze occasionally stealing glances at Yun Qing.

 

It was really hard to suppress the corners of his mouth.

 

Regarding the bell sounds, after listening to Fu Xue’s endless chatter, Yun Qing remained noncommittal and asked, “Baiyu, what do you think?”

 

“Mm? You’re right.”

 

This left Yun Qing completely confused, thinking to herself: What did I say that was right?

 

Cheng Suiyan stretched his neck, swallowed that rough, hard dry ration, then laughed, “Yun Qing, try asking him to stand on his head and sing. He’d probably think you’re right about that too.”

 

As they were joking around, Shi Muyu ran in with red eyes, not bothering with greetings. As soon as she entered, she said:

 

“Sister Yun Qing, can you please persuade my mother? Mother wants to cripple Brother Qingshang’s cultivation and expel him from Shenle Valley!”

 

Yun Qing was shocked, “Why?”

 

Shi Muyu explained while crying.

 

It turned out that yesterday, after learning that Brother Qingshang’s eyes had been healed and he could now see normally, she was very shocked and couldn’t keep it to herself. This morning, when she met Shi Ruibin, she secretly told him about it, but Shi Feijia happened to overhear.

 

Shi Qingshang had violated clan rules, so Shi Feijia brought him to Junzhong Hall and was now gathering clan members to discuss how to deal with him.

 

Shi Muyu heard from Grandma Bayin and others that Shi Qingshang might have his cultivation crippled and be expelled from Shenle Valley. She was terrified and went to beg her mother for mercy, but was scolded instead.

 

Not knowing what else to do, Shi Muyu remembered that her mother still owed Sister Yun Qing some gratitude, so in desperation, she ran to ask Yun Qing to mediate.

 

….

 

Shi Mu Yu led Yun Qing and the others to Junzhong Hall.

 

Junzhong Hall was where the Shenle clan conducted daily affairs. Outside the hall was a wide open space, beside which stood a bell weighing over a thousand pounds.

 

At this time, quite a few people had already gathered in the open space.

 

Ding Lisheng stood among the crowd, looking anxious. Seeing Yun Qing and the others from afar, he waved at them.

 

The group walked over and took their positions, looking toward the center of the open space.

 

There knelt Shi Qingshang.

 

Although kneeling, his back was straight as a rod, making his shoulders appear broad and strong. As if sensing something, he suddenly turned to look back, meeting Yun Qing’s gaze directly.

 

His eyes were still bright, but no longer tinged with laughter. Instead, they were as calm as a windless lake surface.

 

Then his gaze swept downward and saw Yun Qing and Jiang Baiyu’s hands clasped together.

 

He lowered his eyes and turned his head away.

 

Before him stood Shi Feijia.

 

Shi Feijia held a bundle of canes in her hand, her brows slightly furrowed. Her eyebrows were thicker than those of ordinary women.

 

“Qingshang,” Shi Feijia spoke, “Your mother and I were childhood friends. Before she died, she entrusted me to take good care of you. All these years, ask yourself honestly—how have I treated you?”

 

“The clan leader has treated me as her own child. Qingshang naturally remembers this in his heart. In my heart, the clan leader is like my own mother.”

 

“You concealed from the clan that you privately restored your sight, violating clan rules. By rights, your cultivation should be crippled and you should be expelled from the valley. Considering this is your first offense and you lost your mother at a young age, I’ll record this transgression but only give you forty lashes and re-blind your eyes. Do you have any objections?”

 

Hearing this, Shi Muyu breathed a sigh of relief, patted her chest, and said quietly, “Thank goodness, Brother Qingshang won’t be expelled.”

 

However, Shi Qingshang, kneeling on the ground, shook his head and said calmly, “Clan leader, you may beat me however you wish, but I will not have my eyes blinded again. I do not accept this.”

 

The surrounding Shenle clan members were in an uproar.

 

People whispered among themselves, and some advised, “Qingshang, why must you do this? This punishment is already quite lenient.”

 

“That’s right, the clan leader is forgiving you for the sake of your deceased mother.”

 

“Don’t be ungrateful, Qingshang.”

 

Shi Qingshang knelt straight and remained silent.

 

Grandma Bayin sat in her chair—she was the only one seated—and tapped the ground with her walking stick, saying, “Qingshang, do you mean you want to keep your sight?”

 

Shi Qingshang hummed in acknowledgment and answered frankly, “I cannot bear to part with this world, the world I experience through my eyes. Even if you kill me, I will not give it up.”

 

Everyone fell silent.

 

Shi Feijia said sternly, “Naive and ridiculous! Do you think what your eyes see is the true reality of this world? Don’t you know that the more specifically you see, the more one-sided your view becomes? You have been deceived by your own eyes!”

 

Seeing that Shi Qingshang remained silent, Grandma Bayin slowly sighed and said, “In that case, we can only ask you to leave Shenle Valley.

 

Our Shenle clan is not unreasonable and won’t drive you to complete ruin. There’s only one condition: everything you learned while cultivating in the Shenle clan must be left behind, and from now on, you may never set foot in Shenle Valley again. Do you understand?”

 

Shi Muyu anxiously tugged at Fu Xue’s sleeve, whispering, “Brother Qingshang, don’t do this!”

 

Shi Qingshang shook his head again, “I have nothing to say about crippling my cultivation, but I will not leave Shenle Valley. My relatives and friends are here. This is my home.”

 

“You—!” Shi Feijia’s face darkened as she said coldly, “Qingshang, don’t break the rules.”

 

Shi Qingshang’s statue-like kneeling figure relaxed slightly as he raised his head and said, “Clan leader, I have a question.”

 

“Speak.”

 

“Who established these rules?”

 

“Naturally, the ancestors of the Shenle clan.”

 

“The ancestors of the Shenle clan were former Shenle clan members.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“If former Shenle clan members could establish rules, then can current Shenle clan members also break those rules?”

 

“Qingshang, what do you mean?!”

 

“I mean, whether to keep our eyes or not—why not let the clan members decide for themselves?

 

I brought back friends from the Way of Shennong who can restore sight to our clan. Why not let everyone experience this world through their eyes first, then let them decide whether they want to continue being blind?

 

Each of us was deprived of the right to choose from birth. I don’t think this is just, clan leader. I think it’s pitiful.”

 

Shi Feijia’s face was now cold as frost, “Shi Qingshang! I’ve been too indulgent with you because you lost your mother at a young age, and this has spoiled you into this lawless behavior! It seems I was wrong. I’ll teach you a lesson on behalf of your mother in heaven!”

 

As she spoke, she raised the canes and began whipping Shi Qingshang mercilessly.

 

Shi Muyu’s face changed dramatically as she cried, “Mother, stop!”

 

A sturdy Shenle woman stepped forward—she was the one who had carried out punishments that night. Later, Yun Qing learned from Shi Muyu that her name was Shi Jinse. Shi Jinse said, “Qingshang, quickly apologize!”

 

Shi Qingshang said nothing, beaten until his skin split and flesh showed, yet he didn’t even grunt once, always kneeling upright.

 

After a while, Grandma Bayin stood up from her chair, stopped Shi Feijia, and sighed, “Enough, rest for a moment.”

 

Then she walked to Shi Qingshang and said patiently, “Qingshang, I’ll only ask you one question: after regaining your sight, has your cultivation speed slowed down?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

Grandma Bayin said, “After losing sight, one is better able to cultivate the Way of Silence. This has been true for thousands of years, without exception. Every Shenle clan member spends their entire life pursuing the supreme musical sound.

 

Our Shenle clan has forsaken sight for generations to cultivate the Way of Silence. How can you overturn this with just a word? This is the foundation of our clan’s existence.”

 

Shi Qingshang turned his head slightly toward Grandma Bayin and said softly, “I know. But what if I told you that the Shenle clan no longer has any reason to exist?”

 

Grandma Bayin was stunned, “What do you mean?”

 

“Our Shenle clan exists to play music for the deities, but the last deity in the world, Xi, has also perished. There are no more deities in this world,” he said, turning toward Shi Feijia, “Am I right, clan leader?”

 

These words caused all the Shenle clan members’ faces to change, and even Yun Qing and the others were shocked.

 

Goddess Shen Xi was the most revered faith in the mortal world. If this news spread to the human realm, it would surely cause upheaval throughout the world and cause people’s faith to collapse.

 

Moreover, Goddess Shen Xi had repeatedly eliminated demons and monsters, and her very existence had a suppressive effect on many evil creatures. If these demons learned that Goddess Shen Xi had perished, would they not stir up trouble again?

 

Many people turned toward Shi Feijia. Some whispered among themselves, while others asked directly, “Why does he say this? Clan leader, has Xi truly perished?”

 

This time it was Shi Feijia’s turn to remain silent.

 

Shi Qingshang spoke, and everyone quieted down. He said, “The deities no longer exist, so why does the Shenle clan persist in its obsession?

 

You say I’m obsessed with appearances—I admit it. But clan leader, what you’re obsessed with has already become history. If we’re talking about attachment, mine doesn’t compare to yours.”

 

Shi Feijia turned around, facing the peak wreathed in auspicious clouds, her expression dazed, saying nothing. From Yun Qing’s angle, she could see the corners of Shi Feijia’s eyes were somewhat moist.

 

Grandma Bayin asked, “Qingshang, how do you know that Xi has perished? This matter is grave. How did you learn of it?”

 

“Even if I told you, you might not believe it. Why don’t you all go see the Music Altar for yourselves?”