145: Chapter 61: The Thousand Schemes of Old Men 145: Chapter 61: The Thousand Schemes of Old Men Li Dazhi felt like his legs were about to break from running so much.
What was going on today?
Why was everything happening all at once?
His son had just returned from his training and brought back a very troublesome elder, Xu Sheng;
Li Dazhi had just filled his son’s head with “Divine Enthronement,” “Heavenly Dao,” “Order,” and then he was summoned by the Sect Leader for more schmoozing.
He had barely warmed his seat when he received a voice transmission from his master summoning him, compelling him to excuse himself to address urgent matters and retreat to his own Castcloud Hall.
When Li Dazhi pushed the door open, he saw Daoist Kongming looking worried and sipping tea.
Li Dazhi approached with a cheery smile and performed a Daoist bow:
“You’ve left seclusion, and just summoning your disciple to the back mountain would have been enough.
Why bother to come here?
Were you disturbed by Elder Xu Sheng?”
Kongming snorted softly and whispered:
“That old guy, back when I was fighting alongside fellows from other paths, even getting him to fix a treasure would cost me an arm and a leg, and now he knows how to ask for help!
“It wasn’t for such a trivial matter that I left seclusion…
“Just take a seat, this is your domain, isn’t it?”
Daoist Kongming grinned and gestured to a chair nearby.
Li Dazhi sat down properly, then let his gaze drift, staring off into space, seemingly lost in thought.
Daoist Kongming took a few sips from his teacup, occasionally letting out a sigh or a soft click of his tongue, and remained silent for a long time.
In a low voice, Li Dazhi said, “Master, please give your orders.
Your disciple is willing to exhaust all his energy to alleviate your worries and those of our sect.”
It was also the first time he had seen such a rich array of expressions on his master’s face.
“This matter is indeed somewhat troublesome,”
Kongming placed a layer of Dao Charm, leaned his slightly emaciated body close to Li Dazhi, and whispered:
“This must not be spread outside; it concerns your only son, Ping’an.
“In simple terms, there is a Great Ability and Great Divine Power Holder who has taken an interest in Ping’an’s astonishing comprehension and wishes to teach him a method of Artifact Refining.”
Li Dazhi’s eyes lit up: “That’s wonderful news.
My Ping’an truly is blessed!
Daoist Kongming’s eyes dimmed, his smile turning a bit bitter: “My teacher.”
Cough, no, that’s not it!”
Li Dazhi, whose eyes had widened, squinted immediately and asked with a frown:
“I have a great-grandmaster?”
“Don’t call him that recklessly,” Daoist Kongming said firmly, “I’m just a nominal disciple of my teacher, and you can’t call him great-grandmaster.
He never takes disciples.”
“Ah, yes, this venerable elder, the elder…”
Li Dazhi was invigorated, asking with a smile:
“Does Master have any concerns now?
Could it be a problem with seniority?
“Rest assured, if Ping’an becomes your senior brother, then from now on, even calling Ping’an ‘Uncle Master’ is not a problem for me.
These are just titles after all.
“If Ping’an could learn great skills, I wouldn’t mind calling him ‘Master’ either!”
“You’re easygoing, but it’s not as simple as a few titles,”
Daoist Kongming replied with a smile, shaking his head slowly:
“If the teacher wants to impart his knowledge, he will surely test Ping’an’s character first, and that is what troubles me.”
Li Dazhi blinked: “What’s so troubling about that?
How will he test his character?”
Daoist Kongming replied: “Generally, it involves sending Ping’an out to face adversity, to see if his character is resolute.”
Li Dazhi thought for a moment, then his spirits also began to plummet.
“That is indeed troublesome, Master.”
“Ping’an has just returned from the East Sea and is somewhat shaken.
I gather from his words that even if his legs were broken, he won’t take half a step outside the sect again.”
Kongming asked, “Do you have any good friends?
Someone whom Ping’an could deliver a letter to?
And then we could release a few demons on the road, what do you think?”
“Master,” Li Dazhi said in a low voice, “I don’t mean to undermine you, but such a scheme, Ping’an surely wouldn’t believe.
Besides, he would say that for sending a letter, why not just dispatch an immortal from within the sect?”
Kongming pondered for a moment and then asked, “Does Ping’an lack anything?”
Li Dazhi replied softly, “That’s my fault, Master.
I’ve given him too many things already.”
“He deserves it; Ping’an has made many contributions to the sect.”
Daoist Kongming continued to ponder.
He had never found mentoring a disciple to be so troublesome.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been fine, but Li Ping’an had just returned from the East Sea and hadn’t had a few days of peaceful cultivation; assigning him a task now didn’t seem right.
Not to mention Li Dazhi was there.
To effectively test Li Ping’an’s character, they couldn’t let him know about it;
Deceiving Li Ping’an proved to be quite difficult.
Suddenly, Kongming said: “How about this, Dazhi, you pretend to have a cultivation deviation, and then urgently need an herb, so we send Ping’an to gather it!”
Li Dazhi replied with a wry smile:
“If I were not well regarded in the sect, perhaps I might find myself in such a predicament without a single close friend to call on.
“If I truly had a cultivation deviation, at least dozens of elders in the sect would lend a hand.
“Besides, assigning such a task to Ping’an, a disciple in the Void Refinement Realm…
it really doesn’t make sense.”
Kongming nodded slowly, then pondered again, softly saying: “Then how about this, we claim he has a long-lost brother or sister?
Asking him to go and bring them back?”
Li Dazhi replied, “Master, he’s my only child, and he knows that.
Moreover, there isn’t the slightest possibility for that, as before entering the bustling secular cities, we lived in places isolated from the world.”
Kongming continued to frown and think.
Li Dazhi also worried at the side.
An hour later, Sect Leader Yun Mo was also called over, and the three of them—master, disciple, and grand-disciple—mulled over how to deceive Li Ping’an.