novelraw Chapter 14 : Chapter 14
Chapter 14 : Chapter 14
Chapter 14 : Persuasion
The man's intention to refuse was already quite obvious, but Xun Qiu was like a shamelessly persistent beggar on the street asking you for some money, except that a beggar would probably sell a tragic story, while she said:
“If you don't let me try, how do you know I can't do it?”
“This… Young Lady Xun, even in the ordinary martial arts halls of the mortal world, skills cannot be taught casually, let alone in the Tai Xuan Sect.”
It was also the first time in the man's life that he had descended the mountain for experience, and he was lacking in it, so he actually started explaining to Xun Qiu.
“Although the claim of inheriting the lineage of the Great Emperor Zhenwu in our title is close to boasting, we are still a profound sect no matter what. Even inner disciples can only be taught the Tai Xuan Heart Sutra after their character and talent have been tested, and they have made an oath, let alone you two who only wish to enter the Tai Xuan Sect and are not even disciples…”
Xun Qiu seized the key point:
“So, you can't teach it because of that oath? The kind that's in all those immortal cultivation storybooks, where breaking the oath will cause you to suffer a cultivation deviation and lose all your cultivation?”
The man was stunned and said subconsciously:
“No, it's just a verbal oath…”
“Then why won't you teach me?”
Xun Qiu was somewhat puzzled.
“No, ah… erm, Young Lady Xun, what I mean is, the cultivation technique cannot be taught lightly…”
The man was getting a little tangled up by her words, and it took him a long while to squeeze out the next sentence.
“We're all on the verge of death and it's still not allowed? This can't be considered a normal situation, can it. Oh, I get it, you're afraid of being punished when you go back.”
It dawned on Xun Qiu.
“That's not it either, erm, the Sect Master and the elders are all very understanding.”
Now Xun Qiu was truly confused:
“So there's no external force stopping you from teaching it, nor will anyone hold you accountable for it later, so why won't you tell us the Tai Xuan Heart Sutra?”
The man was dumbfounded for a moment, and finally found a reason that sounded very reasonable:
“I don't have the book on me. To teach you the Tai Xuan Heart Sutra, I can only teach you myself, and this will waste my time for healing. In three days, you two might not be able to achieve anything of note.”
“I've already said, I'm a peerless genius. If you don't believe me, then teach me the cultivation technique, and I'll prove it to you.”
“So how are you going to prove that you are a peerless genius?”
The conversation got stuck there.
Su Wantian came out to smooth things over.
He believed that Xun Qiu's talent was astonishing, otherwise Fairy Yun wouldn't have shown such a caring attitude.
And the fact that she could overcome that unknown life-and-death crisis obviously showed that her will was firm.
He knew these things and could say them to the man, but the effect might not be much.
“Um, Xun Qiu is just a bit too direct, she's not the kind of bad person who covets the Tai Xuan Heart Sutra and plans to run off with it. Besides, if she can really achieve something, won't it also be helpful for the battle in three days… Is there any way to verify talent, the kind where you can know the root bone just by touching the wrist?”
“If I could do that kind of thing, I wouldn't have taken fifteen years to step into the Middle Four Realms.”
The man sighed.
Xun Qiu suddenly asked a question:
“What do you think your chances of winning against that Demonic Cult member are?”
“Less than ten percent, if I'm given three days to recover.”
“Then what if you spare one day to teach us the Tai Xuan Heart Sutra?”
“Then it would basically be zero.”
The man pointed at the black aura lingering on his wound.
Two days is only enough for me to dispel the true qi, and during these two days, I will still be eroded and consume true qi.
By then, I'm afraid I won't even be able to squeeze out the strength for a single strike.
“You can always do it if you work hard enough, right.”
Xun Qiu said in a tone of ‘how can you sleep at your age’.
The man shook his head:
“I may be greedy for life and afraid of death, but the true qi won't leave me. I may have the resolve to die, but the true qi won't recover an extra bit. If I can't do it, I just can't do it.”
Su Wantian suddenly interjected:
“So that is to say, as long as there is a way to make up for the true qi lost in this one day, you are willing to teach Xun Qiu the Tai Xuan Heart Sutra?”
The man hesitated for a moment, not understanding why Su Wantian was asking this, but that was indeed his meaning.
Three days, a very opportune amount of time.
If he only had two days, he would not be able to recover the strength for a single strike no matter what, so he might as well bet on Xun Qiu's talent.
And if he had one more day, making it four days, he wouldn't be able to recover much after dispelling the true qi, which would give him enough leeway to teach Xun Qiu and bet on her being a peerless genius.
It seemed as if there was a “fate” like existence in the unseen world, trapping them in this awkward situation, forcing them to make a choice.
“But ordinary medicinal herbs won't do. It has to be medicinal herbs containing sufficient spiritual energy, magical artifacts with miraculous properties, or even the inner cores or flesh and blood of demonic beasts.”
The man said, “There is no spiritual energy on Martial Aunt Yun's jade pendant, and even its miraculous properties have completely disappeared, otherwise I wouldn't be so troubled.”
Su Wantian's gaze was deep as he said:
“No problem, I will have it ready for you within three days… So, is that acceptable?”
The man looked at him quietly for a few seconds and said in a low voice:
“There is one more problem. Why should I believe that you can do it?”
To him, Su Wantian finding spiritual herbs and demonic beast inner cores was an uncertain event, and Xun Qiu having peerless talent and cultivating sufficient combat power in three days was also an uncertain event, while his being able to recover a certain amount of strength in three days was a set-in-stone matter.
To ask him to give up the latter to bet on the former two, this was really not a decision that could be made easily.
No one likes to gamble, especially when the stake is one's life.
“Because we don't want to gamble either.”
Xun Qiu said with a calm face, “In my opinion, trusting you is far less reliable than trusting myself. I think you probably think the same way but none of us have a choice.”
“……?”
The man tilted his head slightly.
“I will definitely die alone, and it's the same even with good-for-nothing… Su Wantian.”
Xun Qiu said simply and directly.
“And it's about the same for you. A ten percent chance of winning sounds much higher than none, but that's just a theoretical chance. In reality, if the same scenario happened a hundred times, that Demonic Cult member wouldn't give you a single chance to sneak attack. If you're alone, you'll die too.”
The man tacitly acknowledged that she was right.
“But heaven has gathered the three of us here at the same time, do you understand? I don't want to trust you, but I can only trust you…”
Xun Qiu's gaze narrowed slightly.
“It's the same for you, you also hope to trust us.”
“Hope” to trust us, not, trust us.
The man heard the difference between the two sentences and said with a bitter smile:
“Of course I hope to trust you, I hope you are truly a reincarnated exiled immortal who can beat that madman into a pulp after cultivating for three days, but, what use is hope? Mere sentiment cannot change anything…”
“It can change one thing, and that is your choice. And your choice can decide our fate, and even the fate of everyone in Xinyang City.”
Xun Qiu said.
The man fell silent.
After thinking for a full quarter of an hour, knowing that he couldn't delay any longer and waste time, he slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, raised his head, and said:
“If the King of Hell asks me how I died, I will definitely say that you two killed me.”
Xun Qiu's lips curved into a smile:
“Someone said the same thing to me the day before yesterday, but he survived in the end.”
“I hope so.”
The man glanced at Su Wantian.
“Then I will now tell you the contents of the Tai Xuan Heart Sutra and my cultivation insights.”
Su Wantian shook his head and stood up:
“I don't have the confidence that my talent is astonishing. It's more appropriate to focus my energy on collecting medicinal herbs.”
Xun Qiu said with a grin:
“Could it be that you have some at home? Dog Tycoon, I knew you were reliable.”
Su Wantian's gaze shifted, from the direction of the Su Residence all the way to the distant mountain forest.
After a while, he also followed up by saying:
“Yes, how fortunate.”