Chapter 13: Wooden Shadow Gate

In the early morning, Li Yan woke up from his dream. It was already light. He opened his eyes in a daze and saw a strange environment. The roof was no longer the familiar dark wooden beams, but a flat blue-black roof. He was confused and turned his head to look around the room. He realized that this was no longer the old house where he had lived for more than ten years. He couldn't help feeling strange and lonely. He took a breath, sat up expressionlessly, walked to the table and opened the window. A cool breeze blew in from the open window, which made him feel refreshed.

From the window, the valley was surrounded by high peaks on three sides, towering into the dark blue sky. In the slightly bright sky, a few stars were shining down from the sky with a hint of morning. The dark blue vines and shrubs on the ground in the valley spread from the bottom of the valley to the top, layer by layer, like the undulating back of a monster. Birds chirped in the valley, with a hint of emptiness and crispness.

Nearby, behind the stone table outside the window, there was indeed a pond. Above the pond, thin mists lingered and swirled, like a layer of gauze covering it, and like misty cool air rising.

Li Yan stood in front of the window and looked outside. After standing for a while, he felt much calmer. He turned back to the bed, put on his clothes, opened the door and walked out. He looked at the doors of several rooms on the left. Several doors were still closed, so he walked lightly and walked slowly to the pond.

After arriving at the pond, Li Yan found that the pond was about four or five meters wide and oval in shape. One side of the pond was against the mountain wall. There were two or three springs flowing slowly from the top of the mountain, soaking the stone wall along the way. The roots of many vines were exposed, and the roots swayed with the clear spring water from top to bottom. There were lush green mosses on both sides of the water flow, forming several clear spring troughs from the top of the mountain.

The surface of the pool was rippling slightly, soaking the many gravels on the shore, and the water surface was rippled. Above it, wisps of white mist were swirling, just like a few white transparent ribbons. The water was clear, but I didn't know how deep it was. Just looking down, the water became dark and cold.

Li Yan squatted down, scooped up a handful of water, and washed his face. The fresh water entered his skin, and his skin couldn't help but tremble, but it was very refreshing.

Li Yan stood up and looked towards the south side of the pool. Only then did he find that there was a large area on the south side of the pool that looked like a vegetable garden and a flower garden. He was about to go over to take a closer look when a voice suddenly sounded in his ears, "That area is just some green vegetables and a few wild flowers that my teacher planted when he was free."

Li Yan was startled when he heard the voice, and quickly turned around to look for the sound, but saw a man in a black robe standing between two stone tables in front of a row of houses at the back, smiling at him.

"Old teacher" Li Yan saw the person clearly and turned around and bowed, saying, "I am the student who disturbed the teacher's rest. Please punish me."

The man in black robe was Master Ji. Master Ji waved his hand and said, "I got up a long time ago, but I was just meditating in the room."

"This valley is so small. You will have plenty of time to get familiar with it in the future. A servant will bring breakfast soon. After you wash up and have a meal, come to the teacher's room."

Li Yan quickly replied, "Yes, teacher."

Master Ji smiled at him gently and turned back. Li Yan looked at the teacher's back. Somehow, he felt as if he felt the love of his parents in the old house at home, and his heart was warm for no reason.

Not long after he returned to his room, the woman from last night brought him breakfast. The breakfast was light, with a few steamed buns, a few side dishes, and a large bowl of preserved egg and lean meat porridge. Li Yan ate it very happily. Even these ordinary foods were rare at home. He just thought about what the teacher asked him to do, so he ate quickly.

After breakfast, Li Yan hurried to the first stone house at the east side of the valley entrance. When he arrived at the door, Li Yan saw that the door was not closed. It should be the teacher waiting for him, so he stood outside the door and said, "Teacher, disciple greets you."

"Oh, you are here, then come in." A gentle middle-aged man's voice came from inside, and Li Yan walked in as he said. The room was about the same size as Li Yan's. There was also a wide wooden bed on the north side and a four- or five-layer bookshelf on the west side, but it was full of books. There were also some simple toiletries on the east side. The difference was that a low table was placed on a large carpet in the middle of the room. On the low table was a guqin, which was simple in style. There were a few spots on the body of the guqin, but it was very smooth. It looked like it had been touched for a long time.

There was a small and exquisite furnace in front of the zither, with three fragrant incense sticks inserted in it. The curling smoke slowly floated up from the tips of the three incense sticks, and there was a faint smell of sandalwood lingering in the room, which made people feel peaceful.

Behind the table, a man in a black robe, with his hands in his sleeves, sitting cross-legged, looking at Li Yan with a smile, was Master Ji.

"Come, sit at the table." Master Ji raised his right hand from his sleeve, gestured to Li Yan, and pointed to the carpet in front of the case. Li Yan hurried to the carpet, took off his shoes, and knelt to face the teacher. These etiquettes were taught by the old scholar before. Master Ji couldn't help but smile when he saw him like this.

"Li Yan, today I will tell you some things about our sect." Master Ji said after seeing Li Yan sitting down.

"Yes, teacher, the disciple is all ears." Li Yan looked at the teacher and answered respectfully.

"Our sect is called 'Muying Sect'. It was founded six hundred years ago, but no one has come out for generations. They usually hide in the mountains and are unknown to the world. Our martial arts are a secret that is not passed on. In addition, the requirements for practitioners are strict. Finding a disciple is like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are only two or three disciples in the past generations, and there is only one master in my generation. Needless to say, our martial arts are very deep. Even if we can't say that our martial arts are unparalleled, they can still be the best of our generation." Ji Junshi spoke slowly in a gentle voice, and he paused when he said this.

Li Yan listened carefully and whispered, "Yes, I heard someone say when I entered the city that the teacher was unconquered in the midst of thousands of troops. This kind of magical skill is unheard of."

Ji Junshi smiled and said, "In the future, if you practice diligently, your achievements may not be lower than yours." Hearing this, Li Yan hurriedly said, "Teacher, you are too kind. How can I compare with you? I think no matter how hard you practice, you will definitely improve day by day, and I will never catch up."

Ji Junshi smiled and said, "We should be proud of ourselves, but you should not be like that."

Li Yan did not dare to say anything more and nodded "yes".

Master Ji continued, "The reason why I came out of the mountain this time is for a reason. In addition to the powerful martial arts of our Muying Sect, the predecessors of all generations have studied herbal medicine very deeply. For hundreds of years, the ancestors of each generation have devoted themselves to studying the way of plants in the mountains. Although they do not come out to the world, they do travel around the world to gain experience. At the same time, they also practice medicine to save people from illness and danger. This is also the practice of our sect for generations. If you can't use what you have learned, it is useless. Martial arts are just a means of self-protection for us in the world." Li Yan heard this and was in awe. He thought to himself, "It turns out that in addition to martial arts, our sect also has such a move to benefit the people. It is really upright." "I, the master, also practiced and traveled in accordance with this path. Unfortunately, five or six years ago, I went into the mountains to collect herbs and was accidentally injured by an unknown poisonous insect. After several months of treatment, my condition did not improve, but worsened. I had no choice but to visit many friends and famous doctors. Although their medical skills may not be better than mine, who knows if they know the origin of this poison? If they knew the origin of this insect, they might know how to remove it. But things went against my wishes and no one knew this poison. As this poison has slowly eroded my internal organs, Master still can't find a way to detoxify. I can only suppress the poison temporarily with my power, but it can only suppress it for seven or eight years. Now it has been about six years. If I can't find a way to detoxify during this period, then I can only say that it is my fate. "

Li Yan was shocked when he heard this. Looking at the teacher's pale face with a faint black air, his face changed and said, "Then I think the teacher has not found a way to detoxify, otherwise his face would not be like this."

Master Ji nodded and smiled, "It doesn't matter. Life and death are determined by fate."

Li Yan said anxiously, "What should I do?"

Master Ji stretched out his hand and waved at him, "Haha, don't be impatient. This is why I came into the world. I want to find a disciple to inherit the sect. Otherwise, if the inheritance is cut off by me, how can I face the masters and predecessors of all generations in the nine springs? Alas! It's just that because our sect's mental method is overbearing, it can't be suitable for those without special physiques. If you force yourself to practice, your meridians will be reversed and you will die without a doubt. Such people are really hard to find. If our sect was looking for disciples in the past, the masters of all generations would travel around the world and help the world while looking for suitable people. Although it is difficult to find people with this kind of physique, it is possible to find one in this world eventually. However, if I were to follow the previous method of finding disciples within the sect, I would not have the time. Later, I could only think of this method. When I came to the army, there were many men in the army, and they were physically strong. I thought that the chances would increase a lot. "

After hearing this, Li Yan thought to himself, "So the teacher came to the army to find disciples better. I think the strange silver needle pulse pricking method that the teacher used yesterday was to find this special physique. "However, thinking of the pain in the abdomen, he felt a sense of fear in his heart.

As if he saw through his thoughts, the third military division said to him, "This special physique is invisible. It cannot be activated without the methods of our sect. Although it is painful when it is activated, it is also a prerequisite for the cultivation of our sect's mental method. I have been in this army for five or six years. I have been searching for this army of hundreds of thousands. It took me a long time to find two people. One was found last year, and the other is you."

Li Yan was stunned when he heard this, thinking, "Two people? Aren't there only me and the teacher in this valley? At the same time, I didn't see Chen An and Li Yin mention it yesterday. Except for the teacher's bedroom and the practice room next to it, the other two I have been in all the houses, and I have lived in one of them. "Thinking of this, there seemed to be some impression in my mind. After thinking about it carefully, I suddenly remembered that I had said yesterday.

When I was daydreaming outside the tent on the training ground, the teacher and Marshal Hong were talking. Marshal Hong seemed to say something like "the people I accepted last time."

When Master Ji said this, he saw Li Yan was stunned, and he couldn't help wondering in his heart, "Hong Linying also mentioned this matter yesterday, why is he still so abrupt?" But after a little thought, he understood the reason, but he didn't know that Li Yan didn't hear what Marshal Hong said yesterday.

"Are you wondering why you didn't see the other person I mentioned? I still need to tell you about this." He took a breath and continued, "That person should be your senior brother. I found him at the beginning of last year, and then he became our disciple. Do you remember that after testing your physique yesterday, I asked you if you had ever read a book?"

Li Yan nodded, of course he remembered this.

"Your senior brother has never read a book. After entering the sect, I thought he could practice under my personal guidance. But I was impatient and underestimated the domineering nature of our sect's mental method. After your senior brother practiced for more than a month, when I went to the city to discuss matters with the commander, he arbitrarily practiced the subsequent practice method he had just learned. However, due to insufficient comprehension, his blood and qi went up. When I came back, he had already... Alas..."

Ji Junshi said this with a guilty and regretful look on his face. "This is also my fault for being a little impatient. The poison in my body has not been eliminated, and my health has been getting worse and worse. I can't help but be a little anxious about the inheritance of the sect. In addition to the personal guidance of the master, our sect's mental method also requires self-comprehension of the secrets word by word, and then combined with the situation in my body, slowly guide the internal qi to move, and proceed step by step. But this time, I was too confident that I could be assured of no worries under my personal teaching, and finally made an irreparable mistake." When he said this, tears flashed in his eyes.

Li Yan was shocked when he heard this, "It turns out that the person who came here earlier has died. Yesterday, Marshal Hong seemed to be talking about comparing talents. It seems that he was talking about how my talent compares to that senior brother who died earlier. This cannot be compared with a dead person. If that senior brother has better talent than me and ended up like this, then I am even more miserable." Thinking of this, he was already sweating on his back.

He looked up at the teacher, mumbling something like he might not be able to practice, but seeing the tears and hope in the teacher's eyes, he was embarrassed again. This was a life-threatening task, and he couldn't help but hesitate. After a long time, he made up his mind, "If I retreat like this, I might be sent back to the village by the teacher. How can I face my parents? Even if it's better, I have to go back to the army and start as a soldier, but I can't avoid fighting on the battlefield. I can't decide whether I live or die. Neither of these two results is what he wants. It's better to fight. Besides, he is familiar with private schools. If he can't understand it when he studies and comprehends in the future, he will never continue to practice rashly. Besides, the reason why the teacher's all-powerful skills can be as invincible as the legend is that this is the domineering part of our martial arts. There is nothing in the world that can be obtained without hard work." Thinking of this, his eyes looking at the teacher have gradually become firm.

Master Ji looked at his eyes and understood his thoughts. He smiled comfortingly and continued, "Since that incident, I no longer have too many expectations. I don't think I have enough time to find the right person. It's too vague. Who would have thought that the heavens would have a bright future before I died of depression."