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

Chapter 206, "Zhang Lü Discusses the Mind," Gu Poison, Western Eccentrics

"If you feel regret when you reflect on yourself, you are denying your past self, and your heart becomes dishonest."

Lu Qian sat on the tiger's back, shaking his head and speaking in a way that seemed to be discussing profound philosophical concepts.

"Looking back on the path we've taken is to help us understand ourselves more clearly in the past."

"That is, sincerity, sincerity towards oneself."

Zhang Zhiwei nodded and was about to speak when he suddenly remembered something and chuckled twice.

"Haha, Lao Lü, you know, our walk and talk sounds a bit like something out of the 'Zhong Lü Chuan Dao Ji' (Collection of Teachings of Zhong Lü)."

"In this book, Lü Zu and Han Zhongli exchange questions and answers, and we are also discussing metaphysics and Taoism here."

"If someone were to ascend to immortality in the future, wouldn't this story also need to be compiled into a book and passed down to future generations?"

Upon hearing this, Lü Qian straightened up from the tiger's back. "So, you're also thinking about writing a book and creating a biography?"

"Hey, this guy just wants a reputation, both in life and after death, he has to consider everything."

"You said that all we've talked about is the path of spiritual practice and the methods of cultivating the mind."

"How about we call our future book 'Zhang Lü's Discussion on the Mind'?"

Zhang Zhiwei slapped his thigh, quite eager to try. He looked down and rummaged through his satchel, pulling out some pen, ink, and paper.

"Found it, I need to write this down first."

"Why is your Zhang listed first, and my Lü listed last?"

"Then let's see who ascends to immortality first; that person will be listed first."

It's a deal.

As he spoke, Zhang Zhiwei spread the paper on his lap. The donkey's steps were rather unsteady, but his life force was profound.

He wielded his brush with remarkable skill, his strokes flowing like dragons and snakes, his writing displaying remarkable structure and order.

"Lu Zi said, 'A practitioner must be true to himself and sincere to himself. The past self is the foundation upon which the present self is built; one must not forget one's origin.'"

"Zhang Zi said, 'Discussing one's mind and cultivating one's nature is also a path of self-cultivation.'"

……

As Lü Qian, perched on the tiger's back, listened to Zhang Zhiwei's self-talk, his lips twitched slightly.

Unexpectedly, the young Celestial Master was not only carefree in mind but also quite free in his actions.

But this is also a kind of unity of knowledge and action.

Only immortals can write books and biographies, so why don't I just ascend to heaven in the future?

Although somewhat arrogant, this is precisely a reflection of Zhang Zhiwei's sincerity; he may lack humility, but he is certainly genuine.

He was confident he could do it, so he did.

It's clear that the Old Celestial Master is also a practitioner who is true to himself.

As for Lü Qian, the Lü family's naming style says it all, doesn't it?

But those repeated calls of "Lu Zi" sounded rather grating to Lu Qian's ears.

He turned to look at the donkey carrying Zhang Zhiwei, and couldn't help but speak as his lips twitched.

"Old Zhang, don't accidentally misspell the Daoist Master's name."

"How could that be? Your Lu is one, oh dear..."

Zhang Zhiwei, who had been writing furiously with his head down, seemed to have made a connection to something. His brush paused, and the character "donkey" appeared on the paper.

"Oh no, your reminder has made my mind wander to other things."

He scratched his head and chuckled twice. His subordinate quickly erased the misspelled "donkey" and rewrote the character "吕" instead.

But before he could continue writing, a whisk flickered before Zhang Zhiwei's eyes, and the sticky, tai chi-like force emanated from the whisk as it danced.

"Whoosh—"

A gentle, flowing force swept through the dust, carrying away the paper from his knees.

"Since this is a book for both of us, how can it be written by only you?"

The whisk receded like a wave, carrying away the draft that had been written.

Lu Qian held the whisk in his left hand, and the force emanating from the whisk controlled the unfolding of the paper.

With a flick of his right sleeve, a brush dipped in ink emerged from the cuff and landed on the paper.

"Master Zhang, which Zhang is it again?"

Coming to his senses, Zhang Zhiwei heard Lü Qian's teasing tone and immediately understood what the other party wanted to do.

"Zhang Gongchang, Lao Lü, I didn't mean it."

As he spoke, golden light emanated from his hands, and five golden rope whips flew from his fingertips, intertwining and enveloping the draft on Lü Qian's whisk.

"Well, I didn't do it on purpose."

Lu Qian glanced at the rapidly approaching light whip, his right hand transformed into a calligraphy brush, which danced across the paper, while his left hand held the whisk motionless.

"Old Zhang, have you forgotten that I have more than two hands?"

Two long arms of lightning and fire emerged from behind him, and two crimson hands reached out to grab the light rope.

"Oops, I accidentally misspelled your name as 'Zhang'."

Lu Qian manipulated the long arms of lightning and fire behind him, intertwining them with the light ropes. He shook the draft in his hand at Zhang Zhiwei with an apologetic expression, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.

Zhang Zhiwei sat on a donkey, about ten feet away from Lü Qian, who was riding a white tiger.

The two were surrounded by flashing Qi, and the collision between the Golden Light Mantra and the Thunderfire Arm seemed like a magical duel, yet also like ordinary play.

"Old Lu, are you forcing me to use my ultimate move?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Zhiwei clenched his fist, and the light ropes that extended from his fingertips merged together. The water-like golden light instantly transformed into a void-like gaseous state.

Several hands suddenly emerged from the expanding golden light, seemingly chaotic, but working together to overcome the obstruction of Lei Huo's arms.

"Oh ho, you've actually gone to learn it."

A flash of golden-red light appeared in Lü Qian's pupils, and a crimson-gold light gathered behind him, spreading towards Lei Huo's arms, which were struggling to defend themselves.

In an instant, crimson-gold light gathered in Lei Huo's palms.

Amidst the interplay of light, a long staff adorned with cloud patterns and formed from crimson-gold light materialized.

"Whoosh—"

He swung his long staff with both arms, and a burst of crimson-gold flames shot out, incinerating all the golden palms that were entwining him.

"Hey, take this!"

On the remote mountain path, the white tiger and the donkey walked very steadily, as if they were used to all of this.

On their backs, fists and sticks flashed incessantly between Lü Qian and Zhang Zhiwei.

The space of one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) became a battlefield in their hands, with various Taoist techniques being performed endlessly and controlled with great skill.

The two of them did a lot of this kind of exchange along the way, after all, the verification of theory still requires real-world practice.

"Bang!"

Amidst the interplay of light and shadow, Lü Qian's draft was completed with the final stroke following their last exchange.

"Alright, let's have our Master Zhang take a look too."

With a flick of his wrist, the whisk transformed into a wave once more, pushing the papers on it toward Zhang Zhiwei.

"Lü Zi said, 'Knowledge and action should be integrated; the path of self-cultivation is also the path of life.'"

Zhang Zi said, "Excellent."

After reading it, Zhang Zhiwei put the draft into his satchel, thinking, "One day, this book will be our sermon collection."

Lu Qian looked ahead at the road and replied with a smile, "Good!"

"Let's go, the journey isn't over yet."

"They're here."

……

As the two walked further and further away, their figures gradually disappeared on this remote mountain path.

On the other side, Qinghe Village

At this moment, the Grand Master of Gu angrily leaned on his cane, the wooden cane striking the stone bricks with a thud.

"That traitor actually colluded with the Western devils and revealed the existence of the Gu Gu."

Over the years, Qinghe Village has been able to maintain its position as the leader of the Gu Masters not only because of its reputation, but more importantly because of its martial prowess and deep-rooted strength.

There is a Gu Gu in Qinghe Village that has been passed down for a long time. It is said to be an ancient artifact that can be used to refine all the Gu that are recorded in the Southern Frontier.

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The author summarizes the outline.