Martial Cultivator

A young boy’s worries are mostly about young girls, but there are always exceptions, always accidents.

The little fellow in front of him, He Liang, did not care at all about matters between men and women. What he cared about, from beginning to end, was whether he could avenge his father, and whether he could make his mother feel that in this life, he had truly amounted to something.

So after He Liang thought for a long time, he said, “Master, I’ve heard that among cultivators, there are some people with methods that can find a person’s next life.”

At this point, He Liang stopped abruptly, then looked at Chen Chao with some anticipation and asked, “Master, can I ask you to help me, to let me take a look my mother’s next life?”

Chen Chao looked at He Liang beside him and shook his head. “It’s not that Master is unwilling to help you with this. First, these so-called methods are not something many people possess. Second, whether people even have a next life is hard to say. Even if they do, it’s very hard to find, and more often than not, there simply isn’t one.”

He Liang said nothing. Only after a long time did he softly say, “I understand, Master.”

Chen Chao rubbed his head and asked, “Actually, what you first wanted to ask about was your parents’ next lives. You were afraid of troubling Master, so in the end you gave up one of them and only asked about one, right?”

He Liang nodded.

Chen Chao looked at him, his gaze complicated. This little fellow was, in a very real sense, a good person. He was unwilling to do bad things, and unwilling to make others uncomfortable. But people like this often do not live easily, because they are also called do-gooders, and they will face many troubles.

Chen Chao smiled and said, “Not wanting to trouble others is naturally not a bad thing. But since Master is your only kin, there are some things where speaking up is fine. After all, Master does have some abilities, and it’s not as if I can do nothing at all.”

He Liang looked very seriously at Chen Chao and retorted, “Master, you’re not the only kind. There are also Senior Brother and Junior Sister, and also Mistress.”

Chen Chao gave an “mm,” then smiled as if belatedly realizing it. “That’s right, there’s also them.”

Then He Liang asked a question that gave the current number-one martial artist under heaven quite a headache. “Master, when do you plan to marry Mistress?”

Chen Chao sighed, looked at the disciple in front of him, and thought to himself that this kid was good in every way, except that being so honest was not always a good thing.

So after thinking for a moment, Chen Chao instead asked a question, saying that a woman like your Mistress, how many are there under heaven?

He Liang naturally answered honestly, saying that it seemed like there were only one or two.

Chen Chao said patiently, “Since there are only one or two like that, then they’re very hard to marry, so spending more time is perfectly normal.”

He Liang nodded and said, “As long as Mistress likes Master, then it doesn’t really matter when you get married, right?”

Chen Chao smiled and said, “That’s exactly the reasoning.”

But the little fellow’s mind seemed to keep turning. After hearing this, he seemed to form another thought, and so another question popped out. “If one day Mistress stops liking Master, would Master regret not marrying her earlier?”

Chen Chao frowned, then asked, “Then even if you get married, can you guarantee that Mistress will like Master for a lifetime and never regret it? If she does regret it, then what?”

“It seems that once people get married, they rarely separate.”

“But they can still stop liking each other.”

Chen Chao thought for a moment, recalling a line he had read years ago in a book when he was reading together with Xie Nandu before the Myriad Willow Convention, and smiled. “So it turns out that youthful, deep affection can also end in mutual loathing.”

He Liang asked, “Then what should be done?”

Chen Chao said, “Then you separate. Actually, if you like someone, and that person happens to like you too, then being together is enough. If one day the other person no longer likes you, and you like someone else, you should also let go, because you like her, so you can’t force her. If you yourself no longer like the other person, you should also let go, because you shouldn’t wrong yourself either.”

He Liang asked, “Master, then what’s the use of getting married?”

Chen Chao thought for a moment and said, “It’s to tell others that the girl I like is already mine, so you’d better not harbor any crooked thoughts.”

He Liang suddenly understood and said, “So that’s how it is!”

Chen Chao reached out again and rubbed this fellow’s head. He didn’t know why, but among the three disciples, toward Yu Qingfeng he probably only had the sort of feeling a master has toward a disciple, but toward He Liang, there was likely another kind of feeling. As for his final disciple Ning Qingnian, it was probably a sense of guilt.

“If in the future you run into a girl you like, go tell her that you like her. When necessary, you can mention that your master is me.”

“Master, why do you have to mention you?”

“Because that girl might like you, but her family might think you’re just an ordinary martial artist with no background, not worth entrusting their daughter to. If you mention me as your master, no one will dare think that way. After all, your master is very good at fighting, and like what Little Yu said, has a bad temper.”

Chen Chao smiled, finding it increasingly interesting.

He Liang shook his head and said, “Actually, I think Master is very good. Your temper isn’t bad. Toward outsiders too, it’s always them who provoke Master first.”

Chen Chao thought for a moment, then suddenly said seriously, “Xiao He, if in the future you travel the world on your own and run into something you can’t get through, you must remember to mention my name, and very seriously tell them that if they kill you, your master will definitely make their entire family be buried with you.”

He Liang said somewhat embarrassedly, “Then what if I was the one who did wrong first?”

Chen Chao said, “The same. If you did wrong, as your master I will naturally give them justice. If you really reach the point where you must repay with your life, then Master...”

Perhaps feeling that saying it out loud was a bit too heartless, Chen Chao rubbed his face, let out a breath of turbid air, and smiled. “With your temperament, Little He, you wouldn’t do that sort of thing.”

“Don’t say these words to Little Yu. With your senior brother’s temperament, if he hears this, who knows whether he’ll become emboldened and fearless.”

Chen Chao added this reminder. He Liang then asked worriedly, “Then what if Senior Brother Yu also runs into this kind of situation?”

Chen Chao laughed dumbly. “You think he’s you?”

Chen Chao could guarantee that if Yu Qingfeng ran into something like this in the future, he would definitely say all of this very early on, and would even embellish it further.

He Liang thought for a moment, then brought up another matter. He said somewhat gloomily, “Little Junior Sister seems to always be not very happy, except when she sees Master. I don’t know if she’s missing her parents too.”

Chen Chao shook his head and said, “It’s not that she’s thinking of her parents, it’s just that Master isn’t around. But if in the future your little junior sister says she wants to see her parents, how about you and Little Yu accompany her home to visit them?”

He Liang nodded, a little embarrassed. “Actually, I’ve always wanted to travel and see the world, like Master does. But it’s still best to go with Master.”

Chen Chao smiled. “There will be a chance.”

He Liang hesitated upon hearing this, opening his mouth but not saying anything.

Chen Chao knew what his disciple was thinking - it was nothing more than feeling that his own talent was average, his cultivation progress slow, and that he couldn’t be of much help in many matters.

Chen Chao smiled and said, “Little He, do you know why those people in the Northern Frontier are willing to risk their lives?” ”It’s to make sure their families aren’t troubled by demons, so they don’t have to worry about being eaten by demons. The same logic applies: many things that adults do are to let children live in a good world, in a good environment. But if one day, people like Master and the others haven’t been able to finish or succeed in these tasks, then it will truly be your turn to do them.”

Chen Chao looked at him and smiled. “When that time comes, Master will also be in heaven, watching you. I hope that whatever you encounter then, you won’t give up.”

“Also, if that day really comes, don’t curse your mother, don’t curse me, your Master, for being incompetent, failing to even accomplish such a trivial matter. Forcing you, He Liang, this... slow-witted martial artist to deal with it?.”

He Liang scratched his head and chuckled.

Chen Chao, meanwhile, looked up at the night sky, watching the stars.

Among those stars, would his mother be there?

Would the mother who passed away long ago feel proud of the person he has become now?

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