Volume Two: Inheriting the Family Legacy, Blood on Brocade Robes Chapter 141: Fortunes Adrift

Qi Yu was dressed in clean, brand-new clothes, as if he were wearing them for the very first time. He kept his head lowered, staring intently at the stone steps beneath his feet, seemingly counting the number of steps he had climbed.

Yang Ning did not need to look at his face; a mere glance at his silhouette and the way he walked was enough to confirm that it was indeed Qi Yu.

In an instant, Yang Ning finally understood. The person who had taken his place to become a monk was none other than Qi Yu.

He felt quite surprised. He had assumed they would simply find any random person to take his place in taking vows, as finding a substitute would not be difficult for the Marquis of Jinni's estate.

Yet, he never imagined that the substitute would be Qi Yu.

"How could it be him?" Yang Ning muttered softly, as if speaking to himself or questioning the martial monk beside him.

The monk replied, "The Great Bright Temple stepped in to heal your injuries. If you do not take the vows, one of your immediate blood relatives must take your place."

At this moment, Qi Yu was only a little more than ten steps away from Yang Ning. Hearing the voice, he raised his head and looked up, instantly catching sight of Yang Ning looking down at him from above.

Qi Yu froze and came to a halt. For just a split second, he lowered his head again, following the monk upward until he reached the paifang archway. The martial monk asked Qi Yu, "Are you the benefactor taking Qi Ning's place to become a monk?"

Qi Yu raised his head, refusing to look at Yang Ning, and nodded, "I am."

"Once you pass through this gate, you shall be a man of the transcendent realm, far removed from the mortal dust of the red dust," the monk said, pointing to the archway behind him. "You are taking another's place in monkhood. Once you ascend the mountain, you are a monk of the Great Bright Temple. Can you sever all mortal ties?"

Qi Yu replied, "I have severed my mortal ties. From this moment on, I willingly become a monk of the Great Bright Temple and shall never regret it."

"Since that is so, you need not bring this bundle into the mountain gate," the monk stated. "The temple provides all that is necessary; worldly possessions need not be brought inside." He looked at Yang Ning and said, "Qi Ning, you may descend the mountain on your own." With that, he turned and headed up the mountain. The guiding monk told Qi Yu, "Follow this humble monk up the mountain."

Qi Yu frowned. "These are some things prepared by my mother. Surely...!"

"Having severed mortal ties, you must not cling to worldly objects," the monk said. "Come with me!" He, too, turned and entered the archway.

Qi Yu closed his eyes, then let out a cold laugh. Finally, he looked at Yang Ning beside him, his eyes filled with resentment. He dropped the bundle in his hand, brushed past Yang Ning, entered the archway, and without a single backward glance, followed the monk up the mountain.

Yang Ning watched Qi Yu's retreating figure with great surprise. Upon seeing Qi Yu take his place, he had initially felt a trace of pity, but Qi Yu's venomous glare as he went up the mountain instantly made Yang Ning's meager pity vanish into thin air.

Qi Yu was narrow-minded and inherently vicious. Showing pity to such a person was simply reenacting the fable of the farmer and the snake. What Yang Ning could not understand, however, was why Qi Yu, having been expelled from the marquis's estate by him, would be willing to take his place as a monk.

This man had been single-mindedly obsessed with seizing the title of the Marquis of Jinni; entering monkhood now meant he would have zero chance of ever doing so.

Still, sending such a person to the Great Bright Temple was not necessarily a bad thing. Firstly, it would save Yang Ning a lot of trouble, meaning he no longer had to worry about this person scheming behind his back. Secondly, since the Great Bright Temple was the foremost temple in the world, bathed in the light of the Buddha, perhaps the temple's Buddhist teachings could reform Qi Yu and mellow his temperament somewhat. With time, opportunities for him to be influenced within the temple were plentiful, and his disposition might well be slightly tamed in the future.

Holding the Virocana Sword, Yang Ning walked down the mountain. Before reaching the foothills, he spotted a carriage parked in the distance with a few figures waiting nearby. Spotting Duan Canghai, Yang Ning called out, "Everyone, what are you all doing? This young lord has come down the mountain, and no one even bothers to greet me?"

Hearing the voice, Duan Canghai and the others turned to look. Seeing Yang Ning swaggering down the mountain, excitement washed over their faces, and they rushed forward together. Although Duan Canghai had a rugged, burly build, his steps were swift. While still a few paces away, he cupped his fists and smiled, "My Lordship, you've finally come down! We were just discussing whether Your Lordship had your hair shaved off. Seeing that Your Lordship's hair is still as glossy and smooth as ever puts our minds at ease."

Yang Ning raised his foot to kick him. Knowing it was just a joke, Duan Canghai nimbly dodged aside while listening to Yang Ning curse, "If I had really become a monk, not a single one of you would have escaped; you'd all be following me into the mountains to be monks."

The men all laughed. Duan Canghai asked, "Lordship, this sword of yours...!" Having finally noticed the precious sword in Yang Ning's hand, doubt arose in his mind.

"This is called the Virocana Sword, the sword bathed in the light of the Buddha," Yang Ning said, drawing the sword. "Take a good look, all of you. How is this sword?"

Qi Feng, standing nearby, was startled and blurted out, "The Virocana Sword?" He looked at Duan Canghai and asked, "Second Brother Duan, isn't the Virocana Sword..."

Duan Canghai seemed to know what he was about to say, and nodded, "Indeed. The Virocana Sword is one of the top ten renowned swords in the world. Years ago, there was the Exquisite Pavilion, whose master ranked the famous swords of the world, and this Virocana Sword was placed fourth." With a puzzled look, he continued, "Lordship, as far as I know, the Virocana Sword has always been kept in the Great Bright Temple. It was the personal sword of Master Qingsong from years ago."

"Master Qingsong?" Yang Ning was aware of this. The seniority rankings of Buddhist titles in the Great Bright Temple were arranged according to the sequence: Pure, Tranquil, True, Suchness, Ocean (Qing, Jing, Zhen, Ru, Hai). Since this master belonged to the "Qing" generation, his seniority was even higher than the elderly monks of the "Jing" generation.

Duan Canghai explained, "The Great Bright Temple is a sacred place of Buddhism and has historically rarely produced swordsmen or saber wielders. Those who occasionally practiced swordsmanship were hardly ever famous. However, Master Qingsong was the strongest swordsman the Great Bright Temple had seen in a century. Among the Thirteen Monks of Brightness, there is one named..." He paused to think, then said, "I don't recall his exact name, but he is currently the premier sword-monk of the Great Bright Temple..."

"Are you talking about Jingtong?"

"Ah, yes, precisely, Master Jingtong," Duan Canghai immediately replied. "He is Master Qingsong's disciple..." Glancing around, he lowered his voice, "However, I've heard people say that although Master Jingtong's swordsmanship is not bad, compared to Master Qingsong of the past, he falls far short. Master Qingsong's swordsmanship back then was easily ranked in the top three across the entire realm."

Yang Ning sheathed the sword and asked, "This sword belonged to Master Qingsong?"

"Indeed. Before Master Qingsong, no one even knew of the Virocana Sword. It was only when Master Qingsong shook the world with his renown that the Virocana Sword in his hand became known to the world," Duan Canghai said. "The Exquisite Pavilion originally ranked the Virocana Sword as the fourth among the top ten famous swords, perhaps out of consideration for Master Qingsong's reputation. Even so, this sword is unquestionably a top-tier blade." He asked curiously, "Lordship, how did this sword end up in your hands?"

Yang Ning smiled mysteriously and said, "From now on, the owner of this Virocana Sword is your young lord."

Duan Canghai and the guards were all stunned, and Qi Feng cried out in alarm, "Lordship, you... did you steal this sword from the Great Bright Temple? This is a disaster! Those monks will definitely come after us. Should we send it back, or... or should we run away immediately?"

Yang Ning gave Qi Feng a sideways glance and scolded, "Can you use that pig brain of yours to think for a second? If I had stolen their treasured sword, would I be able to walk down the mountain? What kind of place do you think this is? Stealing something from the Great Bright Temple—what an absurd idea." He chuckled softly, "They gave it to me."

"Lordship, you're saying they gifted you the Virocana Sword?" Duan Canghai was taken aback, asking in wonder, "Why would they do that?"

Yang Ning replied, "Let's put that aside for now. Oh right, I just saw Qi Yu heading up the mountain earlier. I heard he's taking my place to become a monk. That's rather strange—how did he suddenly grow such a good heart?" As he spoke, he began walking down the mountain, flanked by the entourage. Duan Canghai explained, "Lordship should know by now, the Great Bright Temple healed your injuries..." Then, remembering something, he said, "Lordship, please lend me your hand for a moment."

Knowing what Duan Canghai intended to do, Yang Ning handed the Virocana Sword to Qi Feng to hold, rolled up his sleeve, and extended his arm. Duan Canghai pressed his fingers against Yang Ning's pulse, his expression solemn. A moment later, his brows relaxed, and he withdrew his hand with a smile, "The eminent monks of the Great Bright Temple truly live up to their reputation. If I am not mistaken, they must have used the temple's Pure Origin Technique to regulate Your Lordship's internal breath."

Yang Ning lowered his sleeve and asked, "Second Uncle Duan, how do you find my injuries?"

"Rest assured, Lordship, they are no longer a serious concern," Duan Canghai said. "The several strands of vital energy within your Dantian have merged into one without conflict, and they will not cause any adverse effects to Your Lordship. Moreover, these energies have now become a treasure stored within your body. Once Your Lordship's Qi cultivation becomes smooth in the future, you will be able to assimilate this vital energy as your own. Lordship, this is a blessing in disguise! If you had to cultivate such vital energy yourself, it would take at least ten years of effort to accumulate it—and that assumes extraordinary talent. For an ordinary person, accumulating such profound internal power without twenty or thirty years would be utterly impossible."

Yang Ning thought to himself that Jingkong's words had indeed been true; at this moment, he truly felt a sense of gratitude toward the Great Bright Temple.

His body had previously absorbed the internal energy of the Wood Sovereign and several guards from the Zhongling Courtyard—especially the Wood Sovereign, that old monster whose internal power was immensely profound. Yang Ning had absorbed all of it, and Duan Canghai's remark that cultivating such power would take decades was certainly no exaggeration.

"For the Great Bright Temple to deploy the Pure Origin Technique to heal Your Lordship is no small feat," Duan Canghai remarked. "As Your Lordship has seen, the Great Bright Temple is no charitable almshouse. Ordinary people cannot even hope to receive treatment here, let alone step foot through its mountain gates. You are the descendant of a pillar of the state, which is why you were granted this opportunity. However, the Great Bright Temple does not offer salvation for free. According to temple rules, Your Lordship was required to stay and have your head shaved to become a monk. But now that Qi Yu has taken your place, Your Lordship is spared from entering monkhood yourself."

As they conversed, the group had arrived beside the carriage.

Refusing to take the carriage, Yang Ning smoothly vaulted onto a horse and turned to ask Duan Canghai, "How did Qi Yu agree to this? He harbors a deep hatred for me and would love nothing more than to carve me up with a knife. Why would he do me such a massive favor?"

"At first, he flatly refused," Qi Feng chimed in from the side. "Third Mistress went to see him personally, only to be lectured by both him and his mother. They claimed that since they had been expelled from the estate, they had no connection to the marquis's family whatsoever, and that Qi Yu was not Your Lordship's blood brother, bearing no responsibility to take your place in monkhood."

Yang Ning frowned. "Third Mother went to plead with them on my behalf?"

Duan Canghai sighed. "Your Lordship's situation was critical at the time, so Third Mistress had no choice but to send us to take you to the Great Bright Temple first. However, since Your Lordship is the heir to the marquisate, the Great Bright Temple would not allow you to leave unless Qi Yu went up the mountain. Third Mistress went to find them several times over the past couple of days, but it was entirely useless. Lordship, you have no idea how frantic Third Mistress has been these past few days—she hasn't been able to eat, and she couldn't sleep at night..."

Yang Ning felt a wave of internal emotion. If there was still one person in this world who cared for him to his very bones, it was undoubtedly Gu Qinghan.

"With no other options left, the Dowager sent us to summon Qi Yu to the estate yesterday," Duan Canghai continued. "She spent less than the time it takes to burn half a stick of incense alone with him. The moment he came out, Qi Yu agreed to go up the mountain." He added, "We have no idea how the Dowager managed to persuade Qi Yu, but that no longer matters. Now that Qi Yu has gone up the mountain and Your Lordship is able to return home, that is what matters most."