BXBX NOVEL Chapter 378 - The Priest
Chapter 378: The Priest
As the sun rose, the soft light shone through the leaves and plants in the flower forest, making the surrounding flora looked like a fairyland, dangers lurking and hidden from sight.
The flowers in the forest were not packed in a thick grove but seemingly spread out into clusters of plants randomly. Unknowingly, the two of them returned to their original starting place as they walked through the grounds.
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus tried all sorts of ways; they made markings on places they passed, threaded thin ropes to mark their paths and even leapt into the air to get to a higher vantage point to observe their surroundings, but they still could not walk out of the flower forest. There were several times when they were clearly going straight but somehow ended up in the place where they had made their markings less than an hour ago.
Flustered, they decided to remove the obstructing plants. However, Maid Lotus gave up on that idea right after she cut down the first plant. These unknown plants released a unique fragrance from the branches and it made them so dizzy that any more cuts would make them faint.
As a result, the two of them were trapped for three days. They discovered Old Man Mu’s tracks five times in the flower forest. However, they could no longer find him after making a few turns, therefore, they decided to remain in one place instead, for fear of separating from each other.
There were many low-hanging fruit trees in the flower forest, and the fruits looked sweet and delicious, but they would rather starve than eat them.
On the fourth day, Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus still had not found the way out and Old Man Mu was still in hiding. But they met another old man instead.
The flower forest was a maze, it was difficult to walk out but easy to walk further in.
In the vague centre of the flower forest, a dozen shabby straw huts formed a circle, just like a small village. There were no women or young men, just an old man and a dozen children.
Like a pedant who had lived in his study for a long time, the old man looked thin and weak. He sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, lecturing in a strange language to the children, who were in their teens, and turned a blind eye to the uninvited visitors.
The scene was even more bizarre than the flower forest maze.
Shangguan Ru approached holding her wooden saber while Maid Lotus hid in the dark, just in case.
The thin old man who looked weak and vulnerable was actually telling the children about the ways of martial arts. Shangguan Ru could not understand him, but she noticed that the children were listening attentively and gesticulating actively.
After finishing explaining a part of his lecture, the old man looked up and gave a friendly smile, before saying a few words. The children turned to look curiously at Shangguan Ru as well.
This was much more reassuring than turning a blind eye to her.
“What is this place? Who are you?” Shangguan Ru asked and gestured, hoping that the other party would be able to understand her.
The thin old man’s eyes lit up. “Not many people here speak this language.” He was speaking Central Plains Chinese. Although it was not very fluent, it was very clear. “This is the Flower Soul Forest of the Land of Fragrance. I am the High Priest of Flower Soul and I am teaching the ways of strengthening the body.”
Shangguan Ru still could not understand what he was saying. She had never heard of the Land of Fragrance before and did not know what kind of person the High Priest of Flower Soul was. So she said, “Did you set up this maze?”
“No.” The high priest shook his head. “I merely live here.”
“Then, surely you must know how to get out?”
The high priest continued to shake his head, “I have lived here since I was born and have never once gone out.”
Shangguan Ru was confused as she listened on, “What about the rest of the village?”
“There is no one else here, only priests like us.”
Shangguan Ru was beginning to wonder whether the other party was deliberately making a fool out of her, but looking at the high priest’s naive and innocent expression, he really did not seem like he was trying to be funny. So she asked, “What about their parents? What about your wife and children?”
“My parents are outside the forest. I have neither wife nor children.”
Maid Lotus appeared after checking the surroundings thoroughly and making sure that there were no ambushes lying in wait. She whispered to Shangguan Ru, “He was here.”
“Have you seen a short old man before?” Shangguan Ru asked.
“No, but a mischievous monkey came here to steal food.”
“Food?” Shangguan Ru’s stomach willfully let out a growl.
The high priest held up a wooden plate beside him filled with brightly colored fruits. The two of them had already seen these in the forest but had never dared to eat.
Shangguan Ru was very surprised that such a bloodthirsty devil like Old Man Mu actually had not laid a hand on the residents here. “Is there anybody among the children who know the way out?”
The high priest still shook his head.
“Their parents would surely know, right?”
After thinking for a while, the high priest finally nodded his head.
Shangguan Ru looked at Maid Lotus warmly, “When will they come to pick the children up? Tonight?”
The high priest picked up a wooden board that was used to keep records. After counting for a while, he pointed to the oldest child nearest to him and said, “He will be taken away in three years, four months and eight days’ time, that is the soonest.”
It seemed like they had barged into someone else’s dream. They were not able to make sense of the surrounding scenery and could not understand what others were saying.
After seeing the high priest and the children eat the fruits, the hungry girls could no longer afford to be demure and genteel. They gobbled down five plates of food in total.
The high priest did not seem surprised at this but the children slowly gathered around them. They were interested in their clothes, appearance and eating habits.
Shangguan Ru was a little embarrassed and tried to talk to them, but the children did not understand Central Plains Chinese. After a difficult round of communication using hand gestures, they understood what the strange visitor was trying to say and gave the same answer as the high priest: No one here could go out on his own unless someone from outside came to pick them up.
After satisfying their hunger, the two of them tried to ask the high priest for more information again.
The high priest was rather pedantic but he was warm-hearted and would answer whenever they had questions. Sometimes, he would even ask his disciples to bring out some ancient books and look for answers.
But there was not much he could do to help. His vision had never extended beyond this forest and all of his knowledge came from the books. These books were ancient and profound, they talked about the formation of the whole world but did not mention anything regarding the Flower Soul Forest or the Land of Fragrance.
The high priest’s lower limbs were paralyzed and he lived on the meditation cushion all year round, supported and taken care of by his disciples.
Every few years, people from the outside world would send in some children as well as varying amounts of items to the forest. At the same time, they would fetch the children who had completed their learning and ensure that the high priest always had twelve disciples in total.
This old man, who relied on his disciples to carry him around for his daily routines was actually teaching real Kung Fu, but he had never practiced any of it. He was just indulging in empty talk.
After asking a few questions, Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus no longer paid attention to the Kung Fu in the mysterious flower forest. The high priest was a kind person but he could be quite stubborn when it came to the knowledge in the books. He believed in all the unrealistic records, and would often come up with specious theories to explain the contradictions if there was any.
The two of them decided to focus on finding a way out. A few days later, however, something happened that caused them to change their impression of the high priest.
Old Man Mu was here. He was not able to get out of the Flower Soul Forest as well. Initially, he was not in a hurry and felt that this was a good place to hide and practice his Kung Fu. But he could not wait to seek revenge on the girls once he had restored about 80 percent of his Kung Fu. Old Man Mu did not launch a sneak attack but challenged them in the open instead.
He hated and feared Maid Lotus the most, so he named her as the first one to fight.
It was a close battle. The Five Hole Punch was brutal and domineering while the Death Scripture swordcraft was swift and merciless. The 12 children were stunned when they saw them strike their first blows.
Only the high priest was not surprised by the scene. In his imagination, Kung Fu should be exaggerated like this. The disciples were unable to reach this level simply because they did not study hard enough, so he discussed his views with Shangguan Ru in a light-hearted tone.
“This is the Five Hole Punch and it is a very rare type of fist technique. The short one is a disciple from Yuqing Sect…”
“This is… Dajue Book of Swordcraft. It is much rarer. Are you two from the Reborn Fort of Xuandu Peak? Then our fate is not shallow after all. ”
“Hey, seems like the two of them did not practice correctly. ‘Through the hole’, here, it means, to comprehend the meaning thoroughly. It does not mean making holes in a person. The short one, his moves are too brutal, and therefore, he loses the original intention of combining the five elements. Maid Lotus also has some problems with the Dajue Book of Swordcraft. Although it isn’t too far off, it’s at a lower skill level…”
Shangguan Ru grew more surprised the more she listened to him. She could not imagine that in such a remote place like the Flower Soul Forest, this high priest who was pedantic and weak could actually recognize the two unique Kung Fu of the Western Region and was even able to comment on it.
But she could not be more surprised than the two people who were fighting to the death. Both Old Man Mu and Maid Lotus heard what the high priest had said, and after exchanging more than 10 blows, they separated from each other.
Old Man Mu looked at the high priest, as if he had just seen a ghost, then he pointed to Shangguan Ru and said, “You told him about the Five Hole Punch…”
Without waiting for Shangguan Ru to rebut, Old Man Mu denied himself, “No, I have never once mentioned Yuqing Sect, surely you don’t know about that.”
Then he turned to the high priest and asked, “Who are you?”
“The High Priest of Flower Soul.”
“What a strange and ugly name. Where did you hear about Yuqing Sect? You can even recognize my Five Hole Punch?”
“It was written in the book, the five elements are related but it also inhibits each other, all your moves were never far from your opponent’s heart, that means you have already mastered until the Fire level, of the heart. Fire can restrict metal, so your real intention is…”
“Shut up! Shut up!” Old Man Mu cried out, flustered, trying to prevent the high priest from revealing the most important secret of the Five Hole Punch. “Old fellow! If you dare to talk again, I will beat you into pulp with one punch!”
“Beating someone into pulp will only be more inconsistent with the original intention of the Five Hole Punch.” The high priest did not care about anything else but would argue about the slightest detail when it came to martial arts.
In fact, he need not say more. Both Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus suddenly came to the realization that Old Man Mu’s act of taking out a victim’s heart was just a ruse, his real deadly attack was aimed at the lungs which were the metal level.
Although the Five Hole Punch was still very powerful, it was much easier to ward off the blows once they understood this logic.
Maid Lotus snorted slightly and did not make a move immediately. She was worried that Old Man Mu would still have other Kung Fu to protect himself.
Old Man Mu retreated several steps, then he pointed to Maid Lotus and asked the high priest, “What about her? What is the loophole for Dajue Book of Swordcraft?”
“Why would the Dajue Book of Swordcraft have loopholes?” The high priest seemed confused.
Old Man Mu’s face flushed with anger. Feeling cheated, he said, “I knew it. You went to do a background check on me secretly just to scare me. Hehe, I am not so gullible.”
After he finished speaking, Old Man Mu turned and ran into the flower forest. He was well aware that the person’s words were all true and he was not bluffing. The only thing that he was unaware of was, not only was this high priest physically disabled, he also had no Kung Fu.
Shangguan Ru looked at the thin old man with an incredulous look. “Who are you… exactly?”
“The High Priest of Flower Soul.”
“But how did you know about the name of Reborn Fort of Xuandu Peak?”
It was impossible for Shangguan Ru to not be surprised. Many years ago, the Reborn Fort of Xuandu Peak was the old name for Golden Roc Fort, and this was something that she heard Zhang Ji, the teacher mentioned unconsciously. She also remembered Zhang Ji clearly mentioning that this name had already died out and no one outside the castle would even knew about it.
The high priest had never met someone with such poor knowledge, but he still explained patiently, “I am the fifth generation High Priest of the Flower Soul Forest, and also the eleventh successor of the Reborn Fort of Xuandu Peak, of course, I would know about all these, it’s all written in the books.”