txolops Chapter 61 Plan
Chapter 61 Plan
Shen Qing nodded slightly, "No need for formalities, and no need to refer to yourself as a disciple."
Then Shen Qing glanced at the pieces of childish handwriting on the table: "After you've finished your work and tidied up, come to the quiet room to see me. I have important matters to instruct you on."
As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Qing didn't linger any longer. Without waiting for Zhong Xiu's reply, she turned around and walked out of the lecture hall, disappearing into the night. Only the candlelight in the room illuminated the girl's slightly puzzled face.
Zhong Xiu gazed in the direction he had left, her fingertips unconsciously tightening their grip on the brush in her hand. A strange unease rose in her heart, but she still quickly replied, "Disciple obeys."
Afterwards, Zhongxiu looked at the few remaining lessons and continued to work, but her movements were a bit more hurried than before.
Shen Qing returned to the quiet room and lit a lamp.
About half an hour later, there was a gentle knock on the door of the quiet room.
Shen Qing opened the door, and Zhong Xiu stood outside. The girl was wearing a light blue jacket, and the inner garment peeking out from the collar was clean and dry. Her hair was tied up with a light blue rope, and she looked slender and upright.
"metropolitan."
Shen Qing gestured for her to come in, closed the door, and turned up the lights in the quiet room.
He glanced at Zhong Xiu and decided to get straight to the point. "Zhong Xiu, you must remember what I'm about to say. Do exactly as I instruct you."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Because of my previous preparations, in other people's eyes, I have been in seclusion for several days to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, and I will 'die' in the meditation room after failing to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage."
"What I need you to do is find a suitable excuse and opportunity to accidentally discover that I have 'passed away in meditation.' Then spread the news of my passing."
"Remember, everything needs to be done naturally, and you must not let the news leak out. Not even Fang Xue and Xu Ping should know."
"Furthermore, I need the three of you to go down the mountain, find Zhao Shoucheng and Wang Shouzhou, and inform them of my death."
Zhong Xiu's eyes suddenly sharpened, but she still didn't ask Shen Qing why she did it.
"Next, you will assist Zhao Shoucheng and the others in burying me in the back mountain according to the local funeral customs of Qinghe."
"Choose the thinnest coffin possible; there's no need for a lavish burial. After the burial, Zhao Shoucheng and the others should return to their posts and not linger on Qingyun Mountain. You also need to persuade them not to allow anyone to clash with the Huang family. As for the rest of the details, you can handle them as they come."
"Sect Master," Zhong Xiu finally spoke, "why is that?"
"Because the Huang family is now the new master of Qingyun Mountain. Zhao Yuanlang handed over the red contract to Huang Yuanji, and only three days remain of the ten-day deadline."
"I'm still some time away from breaking through, and I have no chance of winning if I go head-to-head with the Huang family now. Therefore, I need to 'die' once. Only a dead person is not a threat, and only a dead person will not be remembered."
Shen Qing paused, then looked at the girl and smiled, "The burial grounds of the Qingyun Sect's past patriarchs are in that pine forest on the back mountain. My 'tomb' will also be chosen there. Remember, the coffin must be thin; if it's too thick, I won't be able to get out."
Zhong Xiu lowered his eyes and remained silent for a moment: "Sect Master, I have a question. May I ask if you could answer it for me?"
"Oh? What questions do you have? Please feel free to ask."
Zhong Xiu remained silent for a moment, took a deep breath, and voiced the question that had been lingering in his mind: "Sect Master, why don't you take us away from Qingyun Mountain and return when you are capable of dealing with the Huang family in the future?"
Shen Qing stood up and looked at the girl, his smile gradually fading: "Zhong Xiu, do you know what cohesion is? If you think of running away at the first sign of difficulty, where in this vast world can we find refuge?"
Shen Qing walked slowly to the window. The mountain breeze blew in through the window, blowing his clothes and bringing a touch of winter chill.
"You think about leaving, but you never considered that my Qingyun Sect has dozens of people, not including the students from the academy."
"Moving our families to the county seat like this, let alone how we'll make a living, how could the magistrate of Qinghe County possibly trust us to take us in?"
"Secondly, there's the issue of sect cohesion. As the sect leader of Qingyun Sect, I am the backbone of the entire sect. If I were to abandon the mountain and flee first, leading the way in escaping danger, how would my disciples view me?"
"If I were to do that, their faith would crumble instantly. What do you think of a sect leader who doesn't even dare to uphold the sect's principles?"
"Even if Qingyun survives for the time being, it will eventually be a disorganized mess with no hope of recovery. The Qingyun Sect, founded by the ancestors of all generations, will truly be destroyed in my hands."
At this point, Shen Qing paused, revealing a helpless expression: "As for the most crucial point, the Huang family has been scheming to take over my Qingyun Sect. What they want has never been this mountain, but the secret hidden in Qingyun Mountain."
"But to this day, I have searched through all the sect's records and every corner of the mountain, yet I still have not found out where this so-called secret is hidden or what it is."
"The Huang family is ambitious and ruthless. If they were to raze the Qingyun Sect to the ground and find nothing, do you think they would give up so easily?"
"They will only assume that we are hiding the sect's secrets. At that time, they will never let any Qingyun Sect disciple go and will definitely exterminate them and eliminate them completely."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Xiu's expression changed drastically, and his whole body stiffened. He finally understood the danger involved.
"Therefore, I am going to disband the Qingyun Sect and let the disciples shed their sect identity, hide in the city or return to their hometowns. From now on, there will be no more Qingyun Sect disciples in the world, just ordinary people. Even if the Huang family has doubts, they will not have a reason to attack."
"My feigned death is to give the Huang family an explanation, to make them believe that the Qingyun Sect Master is dead and the sect has collapsed, thus completely extinguishing their hopes. Only in this way can the lives of everyone in the sect be preserved."
"Zhongxiu, remember this saying: As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn."
Zhong Xiu curtsied slightly, his eyes reddening, and said respectfully and earnestly, "Disciple...understands."
"Remember, you must not tell anyone about this. No one is an exception. You must do this alone."
"Disciple understands," Zhong Xiu repeated.
Shen Qing looked at the girl in front of him. She didn't ask him why he was doing this, nor did she ask if the Huang family would find out.
She listened quietly and then agreed, a composure far beyond her years.
"Go, and make sure you don't miss my whereabouts. Proceed according to plan. Tomorrow, spread the word that I am in seclusion."
Zhong Xiu got up, walked to the door, and suddenly stopped, turning back to look at Shen Qing.
"Sect Master, you will succeed, won't you?"
Shen Qing nodded: "Yes."
Zhong Xiu pushed open the door and went out, her footsteps gradually fading into the distance.
Shen Qing sat alone under the lamp, going over the plan again from beginning to end.
The two biggest flaws are: first, the fluctuations in spiritual energy when the system extracts spiritual energy every morning; and second, the realism of the feigned death state.
The first question is that after seven days of arduous training in the back mountain, he has been able to suppress the spiritual energy injected by the system into his dantian in an instant using the Qi Concealing Technique, without leaking even a trace of it.
The second question is that Shen Qing's mastery of the Qi Concealing Technique is nearing perfection.
It can change the strength of its aura at will, and cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage and below cannot see through it.
Simulating death simply involves suppressing one's aura to the minimum, making the heartbeat and pulse indistinguishable from those of a dead person, and with the presence of earth energy, it is entirely possible to simulate the appearance of a dead person.
That's enough!
After Zhong Xiu left, Shen Qing extinguished the oil lamp and hung a sign indicating that he was in seclusion on the door.
Zhong Xiu inadvertently revealed that he had asked Shen Qing for guidance on cultivation the day before, only to find that the meditation room where the sect leader Shen Qing was located had a sign indicating that he was in seclusion.
So, the news of Shen Qing's seclusion spread quickly, and within half a day, it reached the ears of those who were interested.