Chapter 213: Unwavering and Resolute

Looking at the distant gate of the Liu residence, Mei Qing felt a sense of melancholy. Twenty years ago, he had been born in this remote mountain village. Twenty years later, he had finally returned, yet everything had changed.

Mei Qing could not help but feel confused and helpless about his own identity. It was said that cultivators pursuing the Dao, upon reaching a certain level, inevitably face confusion about who they truly are, where they come from, and where they are going—not merely pondering life and death, but questioning the self, the Dao, the “true self” and the “other self.”

Was I born from the Dao, or was the Dao born from me? If I vanish, does the Dao vanish too?

Mei Qing had entered the Dao unknowingly and without clarity, and thus unintentionally surpassed the initial confusion of cultivation. His progress had been astonishingly fast. Yet as he advanced to higher levels, many doubts inevitably began to disturb his mind.

Who am I? What is the Dao?

Am I the avatar of Zhang Liusun? The son of Mei Wudu? The hereditary Wude General? Or am I merely a passing stranger, constantly revealing strange words and thoughts without knowing why?

Which of these is truly me? Are these different “selves” my true being, my original heart, or merely my “identity”?

Is the Dao my heart? The heart of others? The heart of the universe? Or is it the supreme law?

If I do not cultivate the Dao, is it still my Dao? If I am not myself, then is my identity who I truly am?

As Mei Qing gradually uncovered the truth of his origins, trying to piece together a complete picture of himself, his confusion did not lessen.

It was as if a detached observer were watching another version of himself, striving to dig and discover, constantly busy. Then he coldly smiled and said, “What will you do if you find it? Will what you find truly be yourself?”

“If what I find is not myself, then who is the real me?” Mei Qing, feeling strangely unsettled, paused and asked.

“Nothing,” Mei Qing shook his head. “I just feel I am getting closer to the truth of the past, yet somehow, I feel further from the true reality.”

After leaving the Zhen family, he had left alone. Mei Qing did not ask why, but with his spiritual awareness, he sensed fluctuations of energy all around them, subtly following. It seemed that this time Lu Bing had come to Anlu, and surely others had come too.

Mei Qing suspected that the preparations might not be fully ready yet. Seeing the big man leave, he understood that the man was likely shifting to a hidden position to continue arranging things. Therefore, Mei Qing pretended to know nothing.

Both Lu Bing and Mei Qing had attained high cultivation, but when visiting someone’s home, certain etiquette was still necessary. Thus, they did not display any supernatural abilities, but instead began walking toward the Liu residence from a distance. As they turned onto the mountain path and approached the gate, they suddenly saw a nun in a green robe standing there with hands on her hips, shouting loudly:

“姓柳的，你给老娘滚出来！”

“Mr. Liu, come out here for me, right now!”

“姓柳的，你给老娘滚出来！”

“Xing Liu, come out here for me right now!”

“Old man Liu, come out and face me!”

Lu Bing and Mei Qing were both startled. Yet this nun, though clearly quite beautiful, now had her eyebrows furrowed in anger, hands on her hips, looking utterly fierce and unbecoming of a nun.

“Hmm… Venerable Master,” Lu Bing, surprised, noticed she was blocking the entrance and thus spoke up, “may I ask who you are looking for?”

Seeing the two men, the nun’s face reddened slightly with embarrassment. She softly said, “Please forgive my rudeness. I have come to find Liu Shuxing, that heartless man.”

Then she turned back toward the mansion and shouted again, “Liu Shuxing, if you don’t come out, I won’t leave this gate! If you stay shut in for a day, I’ll stay here a day. If you hide for a year, I’ll wait a year! I won’t leave until I see that good-for-nothing son of yours!”

Mei Qing smiled and asked, “Venerable Master, if you have come to find someone, why block the gate and shout curses?”

The nun angrily replied, “That coward has set up some kind of barrier at the gate—I can’t get in, I can’t break through, so I just shout a few curses to vent my anger!”

Then, somewhat embarrassed, she softly added to Mei Qing, “I didn’t mean to speak like that to you. I’m just angry at him. Actually, I’m not really a nun, so please don’t call me ‘Master’ or anything.”

Seeing her dressed in nun’s robes, Mei Qing asked, “Then how should we address you?”

“You two seem to be cultivators too, so let’s just call each other Dao companions,” the nun politely replied. “I have long cultivated in Wudang and rarely appear in the world. My name is Sun Bu’er.”

Excellent, powerful indeed.

Mei Qing’s mind involuntarily recalled two figures from his past—one fat and one thin. The fat one was tall and bald, wearing Buddhist robes yet claiming not to be a monk. The thin one constantly said, “A sin, a sin,” while arguing with the fat one. They were the brothers Busan and Busi, assigned to protect him in his childhood.

He remembered how the two brothers had made him guess their elder sister’s name—Sun Bu’er.

Sun Bu’er was the name of the “Tranquil Wanderer,” one of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen. In the cultivation world, who would dare to use such a name? Mei Qing had no doubt that the woman before him, dressed as a nun, was indeed the elder sister of those two mischievous brothers.

Mei Qing secretly examined this elder sister, whose name he had long heard. Judging from her appearance, she looked no older than thirty—much younger than her brothers, Sun Busan and Sun Busi.

“Ah, so you are the famous Sun Bu’er,” Mei Qing bowed. “Might I ask if you have two brothers named Sun Busan and Sun Busi?”

“You know those two scoundrels!” the nun suddenly flushed red with anger, grinding her teeth. “Where are they? They took my food, drank my tea, said they would help me find my husband, and then disappeared without a word! Not even a single message in all these years! If I find them, I’ll lock them in the attic and starve them for three days!”

Mei Qing was stunned. Recalling the brothers’ words from years ago, he thought to himself, no wonder those two always paled at the mention of their sister—she was indeed formidable.

Sun Bu’er continued angrily, “Complete failures! All these years I’ve searched in vain, not knowing that this coward was hiding here all along! If it hadn’t been for that transmission I received last night… Oh no, I shouldn’t have said that!”

Mei Qing and Lu Bing were both startled. Suddenly, Sun Bu’er straightened her waist, looked around, and shouted loudly, “Busan, Busi! You two scoundrels, come out and face me! I know you’re here!”

Mei Qing was astonished and immediately extended his spiritual perception. Earlier, he had sensed people nearby but assumed they were Lu Bing’s men, so he hadn’t paid much attention out of politeness. Now, upon hearing Sun Bu’er’s words, he scanned the area and indeed found two familiar spiritual presences not far away—none other than Sun Busan and Sun Busi.

Yet as Sun Bu’er looked around, she clearly hadn’t pinpointed their exact location. Judging from her cultivation level, she was only average. How could she have known they were here?

Lu Bing frowned slightly, clearly curious about this woman who claimed to be Sun Bu’er.

Just then, a familiar sharp voice trembled, “Oh no, Brother Three, we’ve been found!”

Another deep voice, also slightly trembling, replied, “A sin, a sin… Brother Two, you must be mistaken. I think Sister is just bluffing us.”

“Silence!” Sun Busan scolded. “Just now I clearly saw her glance in our direction. You must have missed it. Tell me, did she look at you first or me first?”

Sun Busan’s voice, which had been trembling moments ago, now became firm as he scolded Sun Busi.

“You two scoundrels!” Sun Bu’er’s eyes flared. “If you don’t come out right now, I’ll lock you both in the small tower on the peak of Tai Shang Rock and starve you for seven or eight days, then break your legs and throw you down the mountain!”

“Sister, have mercy!” “A sin… Sister…”

Both voices spoke at once, and soon a gray mist appeared in the distance, swirling and flickering with dim light. Gradually, two figures emerged, pushing and shoving each other, clearly unwilling to step forward—none other than Sun Busan and Sun Busi.

“You two scoundrels!” Sun Bu’er gritted her teeth. “You left me alone on Tai Shang Rock, and not a single message in all this time! Now how did you know to send word telling me that Liu was in Anlu’s Bishan? I thought you were both dead outside…”

She hesitated, then pulled Sun Busi from behind Sun Busan. “Brother Three, you quickly explain everything to Sister!”

“A sin…” Sun Busi struggled for a while, finally pushed forward by Sun Busan. With no escape, he lowered his head and softly said, “Sister, it’s not that we didn’t try. That Liu fellow is extremely slippery—no matter how hard we searched, we couldn’t find him…”

“That’s right, that’s right!” Sun Busan sharply added. “We couldn’t find him anywhere. He must be hiding like a turtle…”

“Don’t call him a turtle!” Sun Bu’er shouted angrily. “If he’s a turtle, what does that make me?!”

“A sin, a sin,” Sun Busi quickly said. “Brother Two, you’ve committed the sin of speaking ill of others. That’s very wrong. Of course, Master Liu is no turtle—he’s just very hard to find. Later, Brother Two and I discussed it and decided to join the Embroidered Uniform Guard, thinking that everyone says they are very capable at tracking people down. Surely they would find a way to locate Liu Shuxing…”

“The Embroidered Uniform Guard?” Sun Bu’er looked suspiciously at Sun Busan and Sun Busi, then glanced at Lu Bing and Mei Qing before continuing, “What good can come from government officials? You two useless good-for-nothings are getting worse and worse. You’ve actually become members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard! You’ve disgraced my name…”

Mei Qing looked up at the sky, Lu Bing’s face darkened, and the two brothers nodded repeatedly.

Sun Busan sharply said, “Sister, you’re absolutely right. The Embroidered Uniform Guard is completely useless. They couldn’t even find a trace of Liu Shuxing… Ah, Lord Lu, it’s not that we’re incompetent, it’s just that Liu is too cunning, too cunning…”