The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

With his hands pressed down on the floor, Heaven-destined Cultivator struggled to move backward as if he were trying to run away from Meng Qi, the evil ghost that violated his common sense. He was too terrified to believe that a man could own five different fate colors!

“Heaven-destined Cultivator, could it be that you can’t figure it out?” Meng Qi snickered and stood up. He paced slowly as Heaven-destined Cultivator moved. Meng Qi tried to joke with him and was curious about this mysterious Taoist’s possible reaction.

Honestly speaking, Meng Qi did not know the reason either. Maybe it was Dominator of Samsara in the Six Realms, the causes and effects of Ananda or the causes and effects of Heavenly Primogenitor. Of course, the reason might be that Heaven-destined Cultivator’s Kung Fu was not proficient enough, so he lost his head once he met a complicated fate.

Heaven-destined Cultivator’s hands alternated as quickly as his feet. He retreated so quickly that his back was soon pressed against the door. He forced the door open with a squeak and then hid behind it.

“Bang.” The door closed at the exact moment Meng Qi arrived in front of the door.

“Hold on for a moment while I calm myself down.” Heaven-destined Cultivator’s scared voice came from the room.

With his hands behind his back and his green clothes waving slightly, Meng Qi asked with a smile, “Heaven-destined Cultivator, why do I have five different fates?”

Fortunately, there were only six fate colors instead of seven or nine. Otherwise, his fate would be a kaleidoscope.

“Indeed, how could…” Heaven-destined Cultivator’s voice was full of confusion.

Through the closed door, he could not see Meng Qi’s fate. He seemed to calm himself down with self-deception.

“I’ve heard that some Tao sects also valued fate, but they argued that fate was not totally destined. More assistants, stronger momentum, the impartation of Divine Skills and the collection of precious objects could all improve one’s fate and change the color of his fate. Could this be the reason?” Meng Qi casually talked about fate with Heaven-destined Cultivator. Meng Qi acted interested in this topic, merely wanting to see how Heaven-destined Cultivator would act, since he was shocked by Meng Qi’s fate.

“I’m just too bored!”

“Nonsense!” Heaven-destined Cultivator seemed to be provoked. He answered aloud, “Everything was predestined from nothing in the beginning. The destined conditions lead to the destined results. The results would be the conditions to transform into other results. How could they be changed?”

“Then why do I have different fates with five colors?” Meng Qi asked in a mild manner.

Heaven-destined Cultivator was hit by the heart of the matter and he had nothing to say.

Meng Qi laughed till his sides split. He pretended to be serious. “Perhaps my fate was destined to have five fate colors in the beginning?”

Heaven-destined Cultivator’s theory about fate was too passive. He believed that it was all destined and no matter how one struggled, it could never be changed. Meng Qi did not like his idea. Comparatively, Meng Qi favored Tao’s theory on fate, because it argued that effort worked.

“Impossible! Five different and contrasting colors cannot coexist!” Heaven-destined Cultivator seemed to be choking out his words.

“But I really have them. Do you want to see them again?” Meng Qi smirked.

Heaven-destined Cultivator suddenly fell into silence again. After a while, he said, “Maybe I’m not proficient enough in my skills. Donor, what about I set off right now to ask for Senior Brothers and Uncle Masters’ help?”

Faced with such a strange fate, he was very curious to learn about it. After all, it was the thing that he had been studying for several years.

Meng Qi stopped joking with him and planned to get to the point. He coughed. “Taoist disciple, since the fate is destined when the universe began, then why did you ask me to visit your Uncle Masters and Senior Brothers? If you were destined to know it, you would know it anyway. If not, all is in vain no matter how hard you try.”

“That makes sense…” Heaven-destined Cultivator inhaled deeply while telling himself.

After expressing his disagreement, Meng Qi said hurriedly, “Heaven-destined Cultivator, I’m looking for a friend. I heard that you adopted a girl around three years ago?”

Since Heaven-destined Cultivator was still thinking about the previous question, he casually answered, “Yes. At that time, she was all covered with blood laying in a secret place in the back mountains. She was discovered by a Taoist child who went to gather medicinal plants.

“Can I visit her?” Meng Qi continued to ask.

“Oh, you want to see Kill-stopping?” Heaven-destined Cultivator seemed to collect himself.

Meng Qi frowned a bit. “Kill-stopping?”

“She chose her title. It was destined.” Heaven-destined Cultivator casually answered, “She is chopping wood to meditate in the backyard. You can ask a Taoist child to guide you there.”

Meng Qi nodded. An evil smile appeared on his face again. “Taoist disciple, since you could not see through my fate, can I save my ten thousand siLyuer taels? I heard that one’s appearance is affected by his heart. Maybe it was because my mind changed, or I connected with heaven or imitated the earth just now? Or do you want to try again?”

“No! Get out now!” Heaven-destined Cultivator was angry.

Meng Qi snickered. He went out of the room and found a Taoist child. Meng Qi asked him to guide him to Kill-stopping Taoist.

Before stepping into the backyard, Meng Qi heard the sounds of wood chopping. The sounds were clear, free of any noise, just like melodic notes.

“Her strength is pretty good…” Meng Qi thought.

He walked into the yard and saw a tall woman standing among a pile of wood. She was in a blue frock, and her hair was curled with a jade hairpin without a hat. She had a sharp nose and a beautiful pair of eyes. She looked cold. She was constantly wielding the hammer to split the wood in front of her.

“Senior Sister Kill-stopping, this donor has come for you.” The Taoist child greeted her.

Kill-stopping raised her head. With a cold but not malicious gaze, she turned to them. “For what?”

“Kill-stopping Taoist, I have a friend who has been missing for several years. His family members are all concerned about him. Recently, we found out that he showed up in Wen An. It was about the time you entered this Taoist temple. So I want to ask you whether you have met Jin Li before!” Meng Qi’s voice suddenly became louder. He yelled Jin Li’s name out. The sound spread in rings, which shocked the Taoist child.

He had secretly used Supernatural Power of Shaking Heaven and Hitting Earth to observe Kill-stopping Cultivator’s emotional reaction with such a sudden yell.

If she had some emotional issues with Jin Li, she would be shocked when she heard his name.

Kill-stopping Cultivator was slightly shocked by Meng Qi’s thunder-like voice. However, she did not show any other emotional fluctuation. She coldly answered, “I don’t know the guy.”

“Maybe he was not called Jin Li at that time. About 34 or 35 years old, he had high cheek-bones and a mole under the right eyebrow.” Meng Qi described Jin Li’s appearance.

Kill-stopping Cultivator shook her head. “I have never seen him before.”

After answering Meng Qi, she left him alone. She resumed wood chopping . She seemed to release her killing intent and keep her mind unaffected in this way.

She had beautiful eyes and thin lips. Her beautiful face and outstanding qualities both indicated that the plain frock didn’t fit her, and that she did not belong in the yard where piles of wood lay. She did not seem to live her life this way. She deserved to live an extravagant carefree life. Or perhaps she was a knightly woman who was ready to help. However, her dedication and sense of tranquility seemed to be harmonious with the surroundings. It reminded Meng Qi of the lyrics, “Becoming a monk to escape the bustles and hustles of life.”

Meng Qi still could not judge her strength. “Maybe she was a famous woman in Jianghu before…” Meng Qi did not notice the emotional fluctuation of Kill-stopping Cultivator towards the matter concerning Jin Li. He shook his head and left.

Such a woman must have a lot of secrets. But everyone has secrets. He had better not dig into them and disturb her.

“I have to ask more about Family Shen’s information…” Meng Qi was thinking while walking.

“Donor, what you said was strange!” A voice suddenly terrified Meng Qi.

He turned his head and saw a semi-black and white beard. Meng Qi was relieved. “Taoist disciple, you scared me to death with your unexpected appearance!”

Meng Qi did not sense his approach at all. Heaven-destined Cultivator’s strength sure was profound!

“You said that my invitation for you to visit my Senior Brothers and Uncle Masters could not have an impact on the results since all were destined.” Heaven-destined Cultivator was serious, but he stared at his feet to avoid eye-contact with Meng Qi. He seemed to be afraid of Meng Qi’s ffive-colorfate. “It made sense at first, but what if it was fate that made me invite you?”

“You just came out of nowhere all of a sudden for this?”  Meng Qi felt awkward. He thought the Cultivator was a freak.

To avoid his invitation, Meng Qi quickly changed the topic. “Taoist disciple, I’m going to Shen Garden. Do you know about the Shen family’s fate?”

Heaven-destined Cultivator frowned. “The Shen family? Their fate color is red, which seems to mismatch the current situation. There seems to be some secret. Dark red, light red, crimson, bright red are all a red fate color. It is complicated. For instance, your fate color is bright red. It is as red as flowers and burning fire fueled by oil. It seems to be lively but actually, it’s an illusion. The same goes for the other division of the green, yellow and white fate colors…”

As long as Meng Qi did not have five fate colors, he was normal.

“So why does he have five fate colors at the same time…” He fell into meditation again.

“Master Lu had some similar words before…” Meng Qi nodded while thinking. He rushed to leave the Taoist temple.

…

Inside Lyu Jian’s study.

“The Shen family has a big deal tonight, so most masters will be sent out. It’s a good chance for us to sneak in to snoop around.” The man in green clothes who stood in front of Lyu Jian said.

Meng Qi nodded gently. “What big business?”

“The Shen family is also invoLyued in human trafficking. Tonight, a boat of women and men will be sent here, and then they will be distributed to different places in River East to be maids and servants.” Lyu Jian explained.

Meng Qi did not linger on this matter. Then he asked, “Do you know where Miss Shen lives?”

“I don’t know.” Lyu Jian felt awkward. “The Shen family is secluded. They never recruit locals. They choose servants and maids from their own people or those they traffic. So it’s hard to know more detailed information about the Shen family.”

“I see…” Meng Qi said to himself. “So is the Shen family really hiding something like Heaven-destined Cultivator said?”

…

It was a quiet night. Meng Qi put on his mask and snuck into Shen Garden through a secluded area.

With the Hallucination Body Movements and Illusion Step Movements, ordinary people would not find his tracks at all.

It was quiet inside the garden. Just when Meng Qi planned to find a maid or servant and use a secret mental skill to ask where Miss Shen lived, he suddenly sensed danger. He immediately jumped behind the artificial hill and held his breath. Through the holes, he observed ahead.

He saw a sedan chair carried by four robust men. They moved at ease while a group of people greeted them. The leader’s face was fat and the flesh of his face vibrated as he walked.

He wore a Fushou Gown. When he smiled, his eyes turned to slits. He was sure to be Shen Qinan, the Master of the Shen family.

“Shouldn’t he be at the wharf to get the ‘goods’?” Meng Qi froze. As he looked on from afar, he saw 70 or 80 percent of the Shen masters that Lyu Jian emphasized were still here.

The sedan chair stopped and Shen Qinan hurried over to do the greeting. He lifted the curtain just like a servant while constantly saying something in a low voice.

In the distance, Meng Qi could not clearly hear his words. He only saw a foot in a leather boot step down. The foot was dainty and cute.

Then the woman stepped out and stood with her back to the artificial hill.

She was in a white dress. She was slim and detached. Meng Qi was kind of familiar with her figure.

“She’s not Gu Xiaosang…” Meng Qi frowned, puzzled. If she were Gu Xiaosang, he would definitely recognize her. So, who was she?