Chapter Twenty-Three: Insights

Qin Yi was not surprised to see a group of Daoists secretly indulging in meat and wine. Although at Qingwei Daoist Palace they mostly kept to a vegetarian diet, now that they were outside, no one was watching over them. More importantly, while the Daoist sect emphasized a vegetarian diet for health and the principle of following nature, it did not forbid marriage or having children—an aspect that was much more lenient than the Buddhist order.

"Senior Brother Chen, have you ever heard of the Scarlet Sect?" Qin Yi poured a bowl of wine for Chen Jie, asking casually.

"The Scarlet Sect?" Chen Jie paused to think before replying, "I’ve heard of it. It’s said to be a major sect in the Western Lun Empire. You rarely see any of their members here in Dayong."

"The Western Lun Empire?" Qin Yi frowned slightly. The Western Lun Empire lay to the west of Dayong, a vast nation in its own right.

"Yes. Why do you ask?" Chen Jie inquired with curiosity.

"It’s nothing. I overheard someone in the teahouse today saying the Scarlet Sect was powerful, so I just thought to ask," Qin Yi replied casually.

"I don’t know how powerful they are," said Liu Haibin with a grin, "but I once read a secret about them in an ancient record."

"A secret? What kind?" The group’s interest was piqued.

"Some five hundred years ago, the Scarlet Sect was said to be here in Dayong, counted among the greatest sects of the time. But for some reason, they were purged by Dayong and ultimately fled to the Western Lun Empire."

"Why were they purged?" Qin Yi asked.

"No idea. The records didn’t say."

"I see," Qin Yi nodded.

Whatever the reason, from this tidbit alone it was clear that the Scarlet Sect had a history with Dayong, and evidently still bore a grudge even after all these years.

Suddenly, Qin Yi recalled what Uncle Master Qingsong had told him about the main lineage, the Taiqing Daoist Palace.

"Senior Brother Liu, where is the main line of our Qingwei Daoist Palace, the Taiqing Daoist Palace?" he asked.

"The Taiqing Daoist Palace? They say it ceased to exist centuries ago. As for why, I don’t know. After its fall, some surviving disciples established their own sects, forming the nine branches of Daoism in Dayong today—Qingwei Daoist Palace is one of them," Liu Haibin explained.

"So that’s how it is," Qin Yi grew more curious. How exactly did the Taiqing Daoist Palace meet its end?

After several rounds of wine and food, Qin Yi turned to Chen Jie. "Senior Brother Chen, which of the Seven Great Arts have you learned?"

Now that he had accumulated energy points, he was eager to learn a new martial art. The situation was growing ever more chaotic; he didn't feel safe at all.

"Only the Celestial Pivot Palm," replied Chen Jie.

"And you, Junior Brother Wu?" Qin Yi asked another disciple. He had already mastered the Celestial Pivot Palm and needed something new.

"I… also only learned the Celestial Pivot Palm," Wu replied drunkenly.

"And you, Senior Brother Zheng?"

"Me too, just the Celestial Pivot Palm~"

Qin Yi was speechless. "Didn’t any of you try to learn other arts from Senior Brother Zhao?"

"Ha! Junior Brother Qin, our talents are mediocre at best. Even one art is a struggle; who would want to learn two? If we ever do, it’ll be in the future," Chen Jie chuckled.

"That’s right," someone teased, "You haven’t even reached the first stage of the Celestial Pivot Palm, and you already want to learn another art?"

Qin Yi could only sigh. He had forgotten that most people’s talent was average; even those with some aptitude rarely learned more than one or two arts in their lives. The rest were merely dabbled in. Not everyone was as gifted as the previous abbot—or as fortunate as he was.

"I know my talent is ordinary, but I still want to learn one or two other arts," Qin Yi replied honestly.

"Heh, why haven’t you asked me? I never learned the Celestial Pivot Palm—only the Celestial Jade Step," Liu Haibin said proudly.

"Celestial Jade Step?" Qin Yi’s eyes lit up.

"Yes. As a child, I was always bullied by the neighboring village. The worst part was, I couldn’t fight back or outrun them—it was miserable! When I joined the Qingwei Daoist Palace, I chose the Celestial Jade Step without hesitation. In a fight, it doesn’t matter if you can’t win; the key is making sure the enemy can’t hit you. That way, you’re invincible!" Liu Haibin shared his story with a tipsy laugh.

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

"That actually makes perfect sense!"

"Senior Brother Liu, your words are gold!"

"In the future, I want to learn a movement technique, too!"

The group began chattering all at once.

"Senior Brother Liu, if you’re free, please teach me the Celestial Jade Step. I really want to learn it," Qin Yi said sincerely.

"You really want to?" Liu Haibin looked surprised.

"Absolutely," Qin Yi nodded.

"My cultivation is only at the first stage and I’ve only scratched the surface of the Celestial Jade Step. To be honest, I barely understand some of the energy flows and training techniques myself. If I try to teach you, I can’t guarantee you’ll actually learn it. You might even run into problems during training, and the advice I give could be wrong. Usually, only those at the second stage or above can reliably teach others," Liu Haibin said gravely.

"Exactly—if you go astray in your training, it could be bad," Chen Jie said, shaking his head. "Even if you do manage to learn it, it’ll take you much longer than if Senior Brother Zhao taught you. It’s safer to wait until we return to the Qingwei Daoist Palace and let Senior Brother Liu teach you there."

"I still want to try," Qin Yi insisted.

As long as he could grasp the fundamentals of the Celestial Jade Step, he’d manage just fine. For most people, learning a martial art required an excellent teacher, someone who could share their experience, keep them from going astray, provide rare herbs, and even spar with them. But Qin Yi didn’t need that—he had his own advantages.

"I’m willing to pay five taels as tuition."

No matter what was said, money spoke the loudest.

"Are you serious, Junior Brother Qin?" Liu Haibin slapped his thigh in delight. That was enough for several nights at the brothel!

"I’m serious."

"Then it’s a deal!"

"Deal!"

The next day, the second supply convoy Qin Yi was assigned to had another task—not transporting grain this time, but weapons and other materials. This time, twenty city guards and ten soldiers were assigned to lead the convoy. After the trouble the other day, everyone was wary of further rebel actions.

They departed at dawn. The journey was uneventful, and they reached the front lines without incident before hurrying back.

After completing this mission, they were granted another day’s leave.

In front of the house, Liu Haibin began his lesson. "Junior Brother Qin, I’m sure Senior Brother Zhao has already told you the traits of the Seven Great Arts. The Celestial Jade Step is known for its explosive acceleration in an instant—its straight-line speed is especially remarkable. That’s different from our Qingwei Daoist Palace’s other movement art, the Shaking Light Technique."