What misconceptions do you have about your name?
As thin as a cicada’s wing, easily folded at will.
Although there is no knife here to test whether this treasure armor is truly impenetrable, just based on its brilliant golden appearance, it must be quite valuable.
“How could this thing be here?” Mo Li was full of doubts.
The entire martial world fought and bled to grab the elusive golden silk armor, and he just casually stumbled upon it?
Mo Li subconsciously looked around.
The sun was setting, the wilderness was desolate, and only a group of birds returning to their nests flew across the horizon, heading towards the distant hills.
Meng Qi stared at the golden silk armor for a while, then moved his paw, indicating Mo Li to pay attention to the marks on it.
—There were small brown spots left on the golden silk armor.
Mo Li approached and observed closely, realizing that they were dried bloodstains.
It seemed to be the rumored golden silk armor indeed. Mo Li then retrieved the split piece of the dark wood box, examined it carefully, and his brows furrowed tighter.
“What is this?”
There were knife marks on the bottom of the box, but due to the extremely dark color of the dark wood, they could be easily overlooked.
Mo Li pieced the split box back together and barely made out that it was an eight-trigram diagram.
“These knife marks are very smooth, but they have been submerged in the river for a long time and filled with mud, making them hard to discern.” Mo Li vaguely felt that the carvings were not made by an ordinary craftsman. The direction of the knife’s edge was very sharp, not like decorative patterns, but rather meant to deal with something.
But what could a wooden box withstand?
Darkwood is quite valuable. With just this one box, it could fetch a good sum of money if sold. However, whether it’s the golden silk armor or the wooden box, they are both burdensome to Mo Li.
The box is already partially damaged, and the remaining pieces can only be sold as decorative items. Mo Li suspects that this thing has some hidden mysteries and naturally wouldn’t sell it. What if someone recognizes the box and knows its connection to the golden silk armor? The person who buys the wooden box might end up in trouble.
As for the golden silk armor, it is stained with blood. If he needed it for his life, it would be a different story, but since he doesn’t, there’s no need to use it.
“Perhaps it was thrown into the river by the Chi Can’nu in her panic during her escape,” Mo Li said as he folded the golden silk armor and placed it back into the split box. As long as he didn’t touch it, the box would still look intact.
Mo Li looked at the wooden box with a troubled expression. If it weren’t for the matter of the Emperor’s Tomb, he wouldn’t have cared about this legendary treasure in the martial world. He would have just picked it up and buried it back where it was found. The bloodshed, grudges, and love affairs were all unrelated to him.
But now, with Qingwu Ancestor’s unclear intentions and the possibility that the golden silk armor might not be from the Emperor’s Tomb, could this box be intentionally hidden here by someone? Since he stumbled upon it by chance, taking the item away could break someone else’s secret plan.
“Squeak.”
Mo Li was startled, snapping out of his contemplation. He looked at the fat rat strangely, as it hopped back and forth on his shoulder.
“Do you have something to say, Brother Meng?”
Mo Li asked naturally, but then he realized the awkwardness of the situation. The sand rat couldn’t speak, and this made him feel like he was mocking Meng Qi for not being able to turn back into a human.
However, the fat rat didn’t mind at all and continued to wave its paws, gesturing something.
“…Under the river?”
Mo Li immediately understood. He jumped into the dried-up riverbed and carefully searched the area where the wooden box was originally found.
“Click.”
Looking down, Mo Li saw a broken bowl he accidentally stepped on. It was strange to find a bowl here; the area was desolate with no signs of villages or settlements. Where could the bowl have come from?
Mo Li wanted to pick it up to investigate further, but the sand rat stopped him with its paws.
“Do you know what this is, Brother Meng?” Mo Li asked cautiously. He noticed that the sand rat’s eyes were round and black, and its cheeks seemed to puff up, its nose twitching slightly as if in anger.
Mo Li thought for a moment and decided to wrap the wooden box in an oilcloth from his bag.
“Let’s leave this place first.”
This time, the sand rat didn’t object.
The vicinity of the riverbed remained devoid of sufficient spiritual energy, rendering it useless. Mo Li redirected towards the direction of the Shimo Mountain, utilizing his lightness skill to the fullest. The sand rat struggled to hold back but was forced to roll into Mo Li’s arms.
After about an hour, they were already inside the mountain. This time, they successfully found spiritual energy.
It was a pine forest growing on a sloping hillside. Perhaps due to strong winds, all the trees had grown with bent trunks, leaning uniformly to one side. The sparse forest didn’t offer hiding places for any wild animals.
Mo Li gently took the sand rat out of his clothes and watched the round little creature crawl to a spot where moonlight touched. Relieved, he closed his eyes and began to adjust his breath.
After a whole day of traveling, Mo Li was exhausted. During his meditation, he unconsciously immersed himself until his inner energy circulated through thirty-six cycles. Suddenly, he snapped back to reality, concerned about the sand rat’s well-being.
“Physician,” came a familiar voice from behind.
Mo Li realized that Meng Qi had fully recovered, and he was delighted. Just as he was about to turn around, a pair of hands gently held his shoulders from behind, and a teasing tone echoed in his ears.
“Don’t move, I haven’t put on my clothes yet.”
Mo Li’s earlobes turned slightly red, but he maintained a composed and dignified demeanor, especially his posture.
However, this time his secret was discovered by Meng Qi.
By coincidence, his hair was messy and didn’t cover his ears.
Meng Qi suddenly felt the urge to pinch the blushing earlobe of the physician. It looked soft and tempting. After all, the doctor had touched the fat rat’s belly countless times, so why not return the favor?
Seeing signs that his belongings had been rummaged through, Mo Li realized that Meng Qi’s excuse of not wearing clothes was just to deceive him. His expression turned serious, and he furrowed his eyebrows, asking, “Why must you deceive me, Brother Meng?”
“Physician, you have been deceiving me all along, haven’t you?”
Meng Qi walked calmly to Mo Li’s side and sat down on the ground without any reservations, facing him directly.
Both of them sat with their backs straight, scrutinizing each other without avoiding eye contact.
To an outsider, it might seem like they were challenging each other!
“In what way have I deceived you, Brother Meng?”
“I should correct myself, it’s not deception, it’s hiding, avoiding the important, and focusing on the trivial.”
Now that Meng Qi’s mind was clear, many previously unclear things started to make sense. He spoke confidently, and in Mo Li’s eyes, there was a hint of unfamiliarity.
Mo Li didn’t respond directly but continued to observe Meng Qi.
“We are not daemons, right?” Meng Qi asked firmly.
Mo Li remained non-committal.
Of course, he could directly tell Meng Qi the truth, but he was unsure whether Meng Qi’s symptoms of madness and clarity would be triggered. Mo Li remembered when he had an out-of-body experience in Qimao Mountain and saw the true form of the Black Dragon; the entire mountain shook.
Fortunately, he regained his senses quickly, and subconsciously, he cared about his hometown and never had the thought of destroying Zhushan County.
But what about the dragon vein in Taijing?
With one careless move, not only would Taijing be in trouble, but the awakened dragon vein would also be unable to withstand such an impact.
That was the reason why Mo Li never revealed the truth. After all, Meng Qi’s symptoms were evident – he had said that when his consciousness was unclear, he wanted to kill people, wanted to kill everyone in the world. And Meng Qi had never doubted whether he could really do it or not.
Yes, there is no doubt that Taijing’s dragon vein can definitely do it.
Mo Li’s gaze remained unchanged, his refusal to answer was evident, and yet Meng Qi didn’t become angry.
Normally, if someone constantly withheld the truth, it would be difficult not to feel deceived or angered by it. For Meng Qi, it was indeed uncomfortable.
Before this, he had gone over all the doubts and had made up his mind to force the truth out of Mo Li. He believed that with his skills and eloquence as the State Teacher in the Chu Dynasty for decades, Mo Li would definitely not be a match.
However, now that he faced Mo Li’s unwavering gaze, he realized that he was wrong. Without doing or saying anything, the physician could make him retreat.
Meng Qi felt quite disheartened and let out a long sigh, surprising Mo Li.
“Why do you back down, Brother Meng?” Mo Li asked.
“I have a vague feeling that all of this is because of me,” Meng Qi murmured as if speaking to himself.
Mo Li was taken aback. If Meng Qi had only said that he believed in him, Mo Li wouldn’t have felt much, as patients should trust their physicians. However, even with trust, they still wouldn’t fully understand the physician’s considerations.
“Brother Meng… regarding our identities and origins, there are hidden secrets, and we had no choice but to conceal them,” Mo Li lowered his eyes and explained solemnly, “But there are also some aspects that are not true. The surname I told you is false; I am not Mo, but Mo, as in ‘Mo’ from the study of ink.”
Meng Qi blinked and asked, “And your name?”
“Li.”
While Meng Qi was still trying to figure out the character “Li”, Mo Li straightforwardly told him the answer.
“Li, a fish that swims in water. I am a black (Mo) fish (Li),” Mo Li explained.
Meng Qi was surprised, as a sand rat was quite different from a fish. However, upon further thought, he realized that at least in terms of being afraid of cats, they had found a reason to connect.
“Physician, your name is too straightforward,” Meng Qi tried to come up with an excuse for Mo Li, saying with a wry smile, “Explaining these two characters would reveal your identity. No wonder you didn’t tell me.”
Mo Li thought otherwise. It was their first meeting when they were not familiar with each other, and Xue Lingjun warned him not to provoke the State Teacher. That’s why he told a lie.
But regardless of his thoughts, Mo Li didn’t want to argue with Meng Qi and could only reluctantly accept the excuse he provided.
Meng Qi continued, “But ‘鲤 (li)’ is a good character, unlike my name… ‘白鼠’ (Bai Shu, White Rat), it’s simply unbearable.”
Mo Li didn’t respond, but in his heart, he wondered: What white rat? What misunderstanding does Meng Qi have about his own name? Shouldn’t it be “庞楚” (Pang Chu)?
After silently criticizing, Mo Li saw Meng Qi take out the golden silk armor and carefully examine it.
“The location where this wooden box was buried is a spiritual cave,” Mo Li casually remarked.
“Spiritual cave?” Meng Qi asked.
“A place where spiritual energy gathers and is connected to the earth’s veins. The tree on Mount Silang grew right above a spiritual cave,” Mo Li explained briefly, then said, “If this wooden box belongs to that Chi Can’nu or someone else who threw it into the river in a hurry, and it happened to land accurately in a spiritual cave, wouldn’t that be quite a coincidence?”
“What happens if the spiritual cave is blocked?”
Mo Li was taken aback by the question and remained silent for a while. Meng Qi misunderstood and asked, “Is it severe?”
“No, I’m thinking about the possibility of blocking a spiritual cave. Probably, it would require a seismic event,” Mo Li said, puzzled. “A spiritual cave is intangible and ever-changing. How can it be blocked? Even if this one is blocked, aren’t there other places? Unless they dig up the entire mountain like they did with Mount Silang.”
“So, this box and that bowl have no use at all?” Meng Qi asked.
Mo Li hesitated and nodded. What’s the use of burying things in a spiritual cave? Unless they are like white ginseng and can grow on their own!
“What is this?”
“I’ve seen this before in the palace of the Chu Kingdom. It’s called ‘dark wood with porcelain bowl’. It’s said to be a method used by alchemists to harm others.”
What misconceptions do you have about your name?
As thin as a cicada’s wing, easily folded at will.
Although there is no knife here to test whether this treasure armor is truly impenetrable, just based on its brilliant golden appearance, it must be quite valuable.
“How could this thing be here?” Mo Li was full of doubts.
The entire martial world fought and bled to grab the elusive golden silk armor, and he just casually stumbled upon it?
Mo Li subconsciously looked around.
The sun was setting, the wilderness was desolate, and only a group of birds returning to their nests flew across the horizon, heading towards the distant hills.
Meng Qi stared at the golden silk armor for a while, then moved his paw, indicating Mo Li to pay attention to the marks on it.
—There were small brown spots left on the golden silk armor.
Mo Li approached and observed closely, realizing that they were dried bloodstains.
It seemed to be the rumored golden silk armor indeed. Mo Li then retrieved the split piece of the dark wood box, examined it carefully, and his brows furrowed tighter.
“What is this?”
There were knife marks on the bottom of the box, but due to the extremely dark color of the dark wood, they could be easily overlooked.
Mo Li pieced the split box back together and barely made out that it was an eight-trigram diagram.
“These knife marks are very smooth, but they have been submerged in the river for a long time and filled with mud, making them hard to discern.” Mo Li vaguely felt that the carvings were not made by an ordinary craftsman. The direction of the knife’s edge was very sharp, not like decorative patterns, but rather meant to deal with something.
But what could a wooden box withstand?
Darkwood is quite valuable. With just this one box, it could fetch a good sum of money if sold. However, whether it’s the golden silk armor or the wooden box, they are both burdensome to Mo Li.
The box is already partially damaged, and the remaining pieces can only be sold as decorative items. Mo Li suspects that this thing has some hidden mysteries and naturally wouldn’t sell it. What if someone recognizes the box and knows its connection to the golden silk armor? The person who buys the wooden box might end up in trouble.
As for the golden silk armor, it is stained with blood. If he needed it for his life, it would be a different story, but since he doesn’t, there’s no need to use it.
“Perhaps it was thrown into the river by the Chi Can’nu in her panic during her escape,” Mo Li said as he folded the golden silk armor and placed it back into the split box. As long as he didn’t touch it, the box would still look intact.
Mo Li looked at the wooden box with a troubled expression. If it weren’t for the matter of the Emperor’s Tomb, he wouldn’t have cared about this legendary treasure in the martial world. He would have just picked it up and buried it back where it was found. The bloodshed, grudges, and love affairs were all unrelated to him.
But now, with Qingwu Ancestor’s unclear intentions and the possibility that the golden silk armor might not be from the Emperor’s Tomb, could this box be intentionally hidden here by someone? Since he stumbled upon it by chance, taking the item away could break someone else’s secret plan.
“Squeak.”
Mo Li was startled, snapping out of his contemplation. He looked at the fat rat strangely, as it hopped back and forth on his shoulder.
“Do you have something to say, Brother Meng?”
Mo Li asked naturally, but then he realized the awkwardness of the situation. The sand rat couldn’t speak, and this made him feel like he was mocking Meng Qi for not being able to turn back into a human.
However, the fat rat didn’t mind at all and continued to wave its paws, gesturing something.
“…Under the river?”
Mo Li immediately understood. He jumped into the dried-up riverbed and carefully searched the area where the wooden box was originally found.
“Click.”
Looking down, Mo Li saw a broken bowl he accidentally stepped on. It was strange to find a bowl here; the area was desolate with no signs of villages or settlements. Where could the bowl have come from?
Mo Li wanted to pick it up to investigate further, but the sand rat stopped him with its paws.
“Do you know what this is, Brother Meng?” Mo Li asked cautiously. He noticed that the sand rat’s eyes were round and black, and its cheeks seemed to puff up, its nose twitching slightly as if in anger.
Mo Li thought for a moment and decided to wrap the wooden box in an oilcloth from his bag.
“Let’s leave this place first.”
This time, the sand rat didn’t object.
The vicinity of the riverbed remained devoid of sufficient spiritual energy, rendering it useless. Mo Li redirected towards the direction of the Shimo Mountain, utilizing his lightness skill to the fullest. The sand rat struggled to hold back but was forced to roll into Mo Li’s arms.
After about an hour, they were already inside the mountain. This time, they successfully found spiritual energy.
It was a pine forest growing on a sloping hillside. Perhaps due to strong winds, all the trees had grown with bent trunks, leaning uniformly to one side. The sparse forest didn’t offer hiding places for any wild animals.
Mo Li gently took the sand rat out of his clothes and watched the round little creature crawl to a spot where moonlight touched. Relieved, he closed his eyes and began to adjust his breath.
After a whole day of traveling, Mo Li was exhausted. During his meditation, he unconsciously immersed himself until his inner energy circulated through thirty-six cycles. Suddenly, he snapped back to reality, concerned about the sand rat’s well-being.
“Physician,” came a familiar voice from behind.
Mo Li realized that Meng Qi had fully recovered, and he was delighted. Just as he was about to turn around, a pair of hands gently held his shoulders from behind, and a teasing tone echoed in his ears.
“Don’t move, I haven’t put on my clothes yet.”
Mo Li’s earlobes turned slightly red, but he maintained a composed and dignified demeanor, especially his posture.
However, this time his secret was discovered by Meng Qi.
By coincidence, his hair was messy and didn’t cover his ears.
Meng Qi suddenly felt the urge to pinch the blushing earlobe of the physician. It looked soft and tempting. After all, the doctor had touched the fat rat’s belly countless times, so why not return the favor?
Seeing signs that his belongings had been rummaged through, Mo Li realized that Meng Qi’s excuse of not wearing clothes was just to deceive him. His expression turned serious, and he furrowed his eyebrows, asking, “Why must you deceive me, Brother Meng?”
“Physician, you have been deceiving me all along, haven’t you?”
Meng Qi walked calmly to Mo Li’s side and sat down on the ground without any reservations, facing him directly.
Both of them sat with their backs straight, scrutinizing each other without avoiding eye contact.
To an outsider, it might seem like they were challenging each other!
“In what way have I deceived you, Brother Meng?”
“I should correct myself, it’s not deception, it’s hiding, avoiding the important, and focusing on the trivial.”
Now that Meng Qi’s mind was clear, many previously unclear things started to make sense. He spoke confidently, and in Mo Li’s eyes, there was a hint of unfamiliarity.
Mo Li didn’t respond directly but continued to observe Meng Qi.
“We are not daemons, right?” Meng Qi asked firmly.
Mo Li remained non-committal.
Of course, he could directly tell Meng Qi the truth, but he was unsure whether Meng Qi’s symptoms of madness and clarity would be triggered. Mo Li remembered when he had an out-of-body experience in Qimao Mountain and saw the true form of the Black Dragon; the entire mountain shook.
Fortunately, he regained his senses quickly, and subconsciously, he cared about his hometown and never had the thought of destroying Zhushan County.
But what about the dragon vein in Taijing?
With one careless move, not only would Taijing be in trouble, but the awakened dragon vein would also be unable to withstand such an impact.
That was the reason why Mo Li never revealed the truth. After all, Meng Qi’s symptoms were evident – he had said that when his consciousness was unclear, he wanted to kill people, wanted to kill everyone in the world. And Meng Qi had never doubted whether he could really do it or not.
Yes, there is no doubt that Taijing’s dragon vein can definitely do it.
Mo Li’s gaze remained unchanged, his refusal to answer was evident, and yet Meng Qi didn’t become angry.
Normally, if someone constantly withheld the truth, it would be difficult not to feel deceived or angered by it. For Meng Qi, it was indeed uncomfortable.
Before this, he had gone over all the doubts and had made up his mind to force the truth out of Mo Li. He believed that with his skills and eloquence as the State Teacher in the Chu Dynasty for decades, Mo Li would definitely not be a match.
However, now that he faced Mo Li’s unwavering gaze, he realized that he was wrong. Without doing or saying anything, the physician could make him retreat.
Meng Qi felt quite disheartened and let out a long sigh, surprising Mo Li.
“Why do you back down, Brother Meng?” Mo Li asked.
“I have a vague feeling that all of this is because of me,” Meng Qi murmured as if speaking to himself.
Mo Li was taken aback. If Meng Qi had only said that he believed in him, Mo Li wouldn’t have felt much, as patients should trust their physicians. However, even with trust, they still wouldn’t fully understand the physician’s considerations.
“Brother Meng… regarding our identities and origins, there are hidden secrets, and we had no choice but to conceal them,” Mo Li lowered his eyes and explained solemnly, “But there are also some aspects that are not true. The surname I told you is false; I am not Mo, but Mo, as in ‘Mo’ from the study of ink.”
Meng Qi blinked and asked, “And your name?”
“Li.”
While Meng Qi was still trying to figure out the character “Li”, Mo Li straightforwardly told him the answer.
“Li, a fish that swims in water. I am a black (Mo) fish (Li),” Mo Li explained.
Meng Qi was surprised, as a sand rat was quite different from a fish. However, upon further thought, he realized that at least in terms of being afraid of cats, they had found a reason to connect.
“Physician, your name is too straightforward,” Meng Qi tried to come up with an excuse for Mo Li, saying with a wry smile, “Explaining these two characters would reveal your identity. No wonder you didn’t tell me.”
Mo Li thought otherwise. It was their first meeting when they were not familiar with each other, and Xue Lingjun warned him not to provoke the State Teacher. That’s why he told a lie.
But regardless of his thoughts, Mo Li didn’t want to argue with Meng Qi and could only reluctantly accept the excuse he provided.
Meng Qi continued, “But ‘鲤 (li)’ is a good character, unlike my name… ‘白鼠’ (Bai Shu, White Rat), it’s simply unbearable.”
Mo Li didn’t respond, but in his heart, he wondered: What white rat? What misunderstanding does Meng Qi have about his own name? Shouldn’t it be “庞楚” (Pang Chu)?
After silently criticizing, Mo Li saw Meng Qi take out the golden silk armor and carefully examine it.
“The location where this wooden box was buried is a spiritual cave,” Mo Li casually remarked.
“Spiritual cave?” Meng Qi asked.
“A place where spiritual energy gathers and is connected to the earth’s veins. The tree on Mount Silang grew right above a spiritual cave,” Mo Li explained briefly, then said, “If this wooden box belongs to that Chi Can’nu or someone else who threw it into the river in a hurry, and it happened to land accurately in a spiritual cave, wouldn’t that be quite a coincidence?”
“What happens if the spiritual cave is blocked?”
Mo Li was taken aback by the question and remained silent for a while. Meng Qi misunderstood and asked, “Is it severe?”
“No, I’m thinking about the possibility of blocking a spiritual cave. Probably, it would require a seismic event,” Mo Li said, puzzled. “A spiritual cave is intangible and ever-changing. How can it be blocked? Even if this one is blocked, aren’t there other places? Unless they dig up the entire mountain like they did with Mount Silang.”
“So, this box and that bowl have no use at all?” Meng Qi asked.
Mo Li hesitated and nodded. What’s the use of burying things in a spiritual cave? Unless they are like white ginseng and can grow on their own!
“What is this?”
“I’ve seen this before in the palace of the Chu Kingdom. It’s called ‘dark wood with porcelain bowl’. It’s said to be a method used by alchemists to harm others.”
