Super System in the Early Tang Dynasty

The zither was not a zither used by prostitutes to please people.

The zither is the most solitary, fierce, and proud of all things.

Li Xingzhi had also tried learning the zither, and although he could now play something decent, he could never quite capture the solitary and resolute sound of the Wei and Jin dynasties, nor could he even imagine what that sound would be like. Only today, upon hearing the zither music, did he sigh in admiration.

The true hermits and sages live on this mountain, while Li Xingzhi is merely an ordinary person with exceptionally good luck. No matter how powerful he is, he cannot give up various desires and temptations, such as delicious food and beautiful women.

The music was melodious, sometimes like a surging torrent, sometimes like a babbling brook, clear and cheerful; and sometimes like a vast lake or sea, calm and profound...

All of this gradually calmed the restless hearts of the group, and cleared their murky eyes.

The mountain streams murmured and the mountain ravines surged and churned. The mountain winds howled incessantly. Under the blazing sun, led by two grey cranes, a flock of white cranes with long necks and newly spread wings danced in the air like pure and beautiful maidens.

The music of the zither faded away, and finally only a few cries of cranes echoed through the mountains and fields.

Yuan Yi looked at the three people who had been motionless since the music started, feeling puzzled. After waiting for a long time without seeing any reaction from them, he hesitated again and again. Seeing that the two women next to him were not paying attention to him, he approached Li Xingzhi and patted him awake.

"Brother Dao, let's hurry, the sun is getting stronger and stronger."

Li Xingzhi suddenly awoke to find the zither music gone and the crane nowhere to be seen, but the mountain, the wind, the sun, and the faint sound of water remained unchanged.

"Fellow Daoist, did you hear that zither music just now—?"

"That thing is called a zither," the Taoist priest suddenly realized. "That sound was made by my master. He had to play it several times a day to get it to stop, which made me suffer terribly. I've been listening to it for decades." Yuan Yi had a bitter and miserable expression on his face, as if the zither music was a demonic sound that tormented people's hearts.

Li Xingzhi was taken aback by what the Taoist priest Yuan Yi said, but what he found so rare and beautiful celestial music turned into a demonic noise to his ears. However, he then thought that this Taoist priest Yuan Yi had an eccentric sword obsession and probably didn't understand music. In addition, he had been listening to it for decades, which was quite annoying.

As you climb further, you'll find a series of steps made of polished bluestone. However, the path is extremely slippery, as if it had rained on the mountain, making it difficult to find a foothold. Although there are no sheer cliffs on either side, if you were to slip and fall, you would likely lose half your life, if not die.

Even Zhou Rou'er, who had some connections, had to rely on Li Xingzhi to get through it, while only the strong-willed Li Linzhi struggled to climb up with a pale face.

Before long, after turning a few corners, a Taoist temple that didn't look very impressive came into view, but the plaque on the temple that read "Taiqing Palace" was quite eye-catching.

As soon as Yuan Yi arrived at the Taoist temple, he seemed to come alive. He let out a long howl, followed by a clear howl filled with joy, echoing from inside the temple. The voices grew closer, and after a short while, a young Taoist priest emerged.

"Senior Brother Yuan Yi, what good things did you bring me this time?" The young Taoist priest didn't pay attention to the people next to him, and when he saw Yuan Yi, he stretched out his hand.

"Junior Nephew Qingming, you've grown quite a bit since I last saw you."

Yuan Yi looked at the young Taoist's outstretched hand, pretending not to see it, but his face showed a rather embarrassed expression. These days he had been preoccupied with and pondering Li Xingzhi's sword technique, and had completely neglected everything else, even his best friend, his junior nephew.

Seeing that Qingming was about to say something, Yuan Yi's eyes lit up. He grabbed Li Xingzhi and said with a smile, "Junior nephew, let me introduce you. This is Brother Li. His swordsmanship is so good that even I, your senior brother, am drooling. You can call him Uncle Li from now on."

He turned his head and saw Li Linzhi's ambiguous smile. He trembled and quickly pointed to the two women beside him, saying, "You should call these two 'Shigu' (a term of respect for the two women) from now on." As he spoke, he glanced at Li Linzhi's expression.

These days, the girl has figured out the young Taoist priest Yuan Yi's personality very well, and naturally knows what he is afraid of.

When Qingming first saw Li Xingzhi, her tender face was still flushed from what had just happened. But when she saw the two women beside him, her face turned deathly pale, and she said in a trembling voice, "Uncle-Master, Uncle-Master, why did you bring two women up here?"

His appearance was even worse than Yuan Yi's; he was almost crying out in fear, leaving the two women beside him completely bewildered. They were definitely not man-eating beasts.

Despite his fear, the young Taoist priest still upheld etiquette and led the group into the temple.

Although Taiqing Palace on Heming Mountain is a Buddhist temple, it's practically a hereditary temple. The only elder generation is Abbot Ruyi Zhenren Li Jue, and all his disciples and grand-disciples are his followers. The reason is simple: without someone to guide you, very few can actually climb the mountain; and those who are truly capable wouldn't bother with such a dilapidated temple. Over time, while Taiqing Palace gained some fame due to Zhang Daoling's erection of a stele, it paled in comparison to places like Longhu Mountain and Qingcheng Mountain, thus enjoying a quiet and peaceful existence.

The rosy clouds painted half the sky as the sun gradually set.

In the backyard of the Taoist temple, there was a wide and flat stone platform; beside the cliff, there stood two evergreen pine trees. Under the pines, there was a huge, smooth-surfaced rock, and next to the rock sat an old man, who was none other than Yuan Yi and his companions' master, Zhenru Zhenren.

This was indeed an old man, his face streaked with age, his hands withered and claw-like. He wasn't the reclusive master Li Xingzhi had imagined; on the contrary, he lacked any semblance of one. His Taoist robe was loose and disheveled, and he leaned haphazardly against the boulder, holding a large bowl in his hand. The bowl was murky, and a faint aroma of wine wafted from it. His eyes were cloudy and lifeless. He was utterly out of place in his surroundings.

This person is clearly old and frail.

If Li Xingzhi hadn't been able to sense the same pure and honest aura emanating from the old man that shared the same origin as Yuan Yi, he would have truly believed that Yuan Yi was deceiving him.

This is so different from the image of a Taoist master that Li Xingzhi had in mind! He looks more like a slovenly old man who is just trying to make a living.

The old Taoist priest still had a fairly clear sense of smell and hearing.

His hoarse voice came through, "Are you the one who killed my disciple?" Without waiting for Li Xingzhi's reply, the old man began to mutter to himself, "He was my first disciple, but unfortunately, his mind was fickle. He was unwilling to come up the mountain with me, but he was greedy for worldly riches. Now that he has fallen into your hands, he must have done many evil deeds." As he spoke, he took another sip of turbid wine and gave a self-deprecating hum.

"Has a guest arrived? It's a pity there's only a pot of turbid wine. Come and have a drink with this old man, how about it?"

“How can I disobey the senior’s order?” Li Xingzhi disregarded everything else and sat down casually on the other side of the boulder.

The old man glanced at Li Xingzhi, and then, with half a bowl of turbid wine, he slid a shallow mark across the stone toward Li Xingzhi.

Li Xingzhi reached out and caught it, immediately feeling a powerful force like a surging wave pushing against his palm. Fortunately, he was prepared and easily took the large bowl amidst the old Taoist's slightly surprised expression.

He rolled up his long sleeves, about to drink a bowl of slightly sour, cloudy wine, when the old Taoist priest's trembling voice suddenly came from beside him, "You... let me see your arm."

Li Xingzhi glanced at the old Taoist priest with some curiosity, then looked at his own arm, which was completely white with nothing on it.

The old Taoist priest stretched out his large, claw-like hand, grabbed Li Xingzhi's arm, examined it, and a strangely complex expression appeared on his face. He sighed dejectedly, folded his arm, and said, "Hold it up to the sun and see what's on my arm."

Li Xingzhi looked at the old man's withered arm and noticed that, under the sunlight, a five-colored thread appeared on his otherwise dry and yellow arm. He then raised his own arm and looked at it in the sunlight, and a five-colored thread also appeared.

"What is this?" Li Xingzhi asked, puzzled. Having seen many strange things, he wasn't afraid at all.

"This is not from the Central Plains; in the southern borderlands, it is called a Lover's Knot."

----

Tomorrow's going to be awful again—classes in the morning, and a whole afternoon of grueling labs. I've decided to skip the election tonight. Ugh, that's the only word to describe it.

Dear friends, please forgive my laziness~