Under One Person: The Seeker of the Dao in the Lü Family

Chapter 117 The Betting Game is Unveiled, and the Taoist Priest Cries

"Kid, it's time to tell you something."

Hong Yin looked at Lü Qian, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground below the stone platform, and his voice suddenly became solemn and dignified.

"We were planning to make a bet on you, kid."

"A bet? I'm all alone on Mount Wudang, what's there to gamble with?"

As Lü Qian looked at the four old men who had suddenly fallen silent on the opposite stone platform, he vaguely sensed something as his thoughts raced through his mind.

"Are the seniors betting on the future of the juniors?"

What's past can't be changed, only what's to come can be learned.

The past is set in stone; only the future remains uncertain and unknown.

"yes!"

"Senior Brother Zhou Meng, stop pretending to be mute. You should tell us about this."

Hong Yin nodded and pulled Zhou Meng, who was hiding behind the three mad Taoists, out. "No matter what, you, as the leader of Wudang, have to face this."

Zhou Meng emerged from the shadows with a complex expression. He looked at Lü Qian in front of him, then back at his three fellow disciples who had risked their lives, sighed deeply, and slowly spoke.

"You must have wondered before why the Wudang family's influence could earn you the inheritance of various families, as well as the opportunity to meet... "

"I wouldn't sell my principles for a thousand taels of gold, but I'd give them to an old friend at the crossroads."

"Although each family will not be stingy with its inheritance for qualified successors, because as long as one can succeed, it is a good thing for all cultivators in the world."

"But among the vast number of people in this world, and the many who cultivate themselves, who are the true friends? Who are the truly qualified successors?"

The firelight flickered inside the cave, its shimmering light reflecting off Zhou Meng's blue-gray Taoist robe like concentric waves.

He looked down at Lü Qian and said, "Sometimes, the word 'fate' is truly one of the two indispensable things."

"It is fate that you came to seek the Way, but whether you have the destiny to attain it is another matter."

"Just like the Monkey King in 'Journey to the West,' when he first sought immortality and met the woodcutter who sang to guide him, it was fate."

"But whether the monkey can enter Lingtai Fangcun Mountain and Xieyue Sanxing Cave depends on whether he has enough merit to make Bodhi Patriarch appear."

Unable to bear Zhou Meng's rambling, Hong Yin immediately interjected, "Senior brother, you can say whatever you want later, just don't delay the important matter. After all, we three old men are the ones who are going to be the stars this time, and you can't steal our spotlight."

The two elders, Fang and Lu, smiled slightly and said, "Alright, let Junior Brother Zhou Meng continue."

"The Dao is rare indeed, so we must teach this kid a lesson so he won't underestimate the various lineages."

The firelight shone on the stone platform, casting the shadows of the three old men—some mad, some playful—onto the stone wall. The three men looked quite at ease and happy, without the usual sense of confusion and bewilderment.

Zhou Meng seemed not to hear Hong Yin's shout behind him, nor the teasing of his two senior brothers. He blinked twice, concealing the tears in his eyes, paused, and then continued speaking.

"Your journey east and west was not only paved by Wudang, but also by your own exceptional talent, and more importantly..."

"You still have the lives of those three on your shoulders!"

At this point, Zhou Meng paused. He didn't dare to turn around and could only stare solemnly at the somewhat astonished Lü Qian below.

"Whether they are immortals or immortals, they are all human in the end!"

"It's not that complicated. It's just a group of gamblers, some betting their lives, and others betting the future of others..."

His voice was somewhat ethereal, echoing in the cave, sounding more like a long sigh.

"Gambling with...life..."

Lu Qian looked at the four old men on the stone platform in surprise. Zhou Meng, who was in the front, had a complicated expression and looked worried, but the three old men behind him were smiling and looking at the two of them.

He vaguely understood why each family had such great courage.

Because there were others with greater courage than them, and they placed more and heavier bets on Lü Qian in this gamble.

Wudang is the outward appearance, but the inner essence lies in the lives of the three old Taoist priests!

Thinking of this, for some reason, Lü Qian felt a surge of blood rising from his chest, impacting his nose and eyes.

A sudden sensation of tingling, numbness, and swelling arose, as if a warm current was churning in my eyes.

Before Lü Qian could react, Hong Yin on the stone platform seemed to have seen something interesting. He laughed loudly and pointed at Lü Qian, mocking him.

"Hahahaha... This is unbelievable, unbelievable! Now even you, a monkey, know how to cry..."

He pointed at Lü Qian's face, then turned to the two old men on either side and laughed loudly, "When I first met this monkey, he was like a bristling hedgehog, baring his teeth, showing no respect to me, his senior."

"I never imagined that the unruly monkey from back then would know what it feels like to shed tears today."

He laughed so hard on the stone platform that he bent over backwards, and his hair, which was already loose over his shoulders, became even more disheveled.

Hearing Hong Yin's laughter, the two elders, Fang and Lu, seemed to be infected as well. They looked at Lü Qian and Zhou Meng and also burst into laughter.

In the dim firelight, the three ragged, emaciated old men seemed to have stopped being crazy. Their dark eyes occasionally flashed with a few clear glints, but they quickly dimmed again.

"How exhilarating! How wonderful! Today's performance has completely dispelled all the pent-up frustration in my heart."

"I never imagined that after defeating Senior Brother Zhou Meng once, I would see you, a monkey from the Lü family, shed tears for me. I, Hong Yin, have won!"

"Wow, we won!"

Hongyin sat swaying on the stone platform, looked up at the sky and shouted, "Although I, Hongyin, have been trapped in the inner realm all my life, I have never been able to break free and can't distinguish between truth and falsehood."

"But, Master, you are now at ease and content. Where is not the truth, where is not tranquility?"

His self-questioning echoed in the cave, and no one present disturbed him.

Why be so fixated on truth and falsehood, reality and illusion?

"Grandmaster Fang, Grandmaster Lu, Grandmaster Hong..."

Lu Qian looked at the three people on the stone platform, who were acting carefree and unrestrained. His lips trembled, and he tried to put on a smile, but he failed.

Deep within his eyes, two glimmers of water rippled and undulated against the backdrop of the flames outside.

Ultimately, although Lü Qian was a Wudang disciple, he didn't have much interaction with these three from the back mountain. Now that they were risking their lives to help him, Lü Qian was somewhat bewildered. He was about to express his gratitude.

But Hong Yin, who had been cheerfully speaking on the stone platform, suddenly changed his expression.

"Pooh!"

"What are you laughing at? Go cry for me!"

Hong Yin pointed at Lü Qian's stiff face and trembling lips, and shouted, "You monkey, you usually disrespect your elders, but now that I've finally seen you, little hedgehog, shed tears, I have to let this old man see enough of you."

"I told you I wanted to see Feng Hou Qi Men, and you dared to refuse. Now you've finally had your moment of triumph, giving me a real treat!"