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

Chapter 28: Enlightening the Crane, Awaiting the Day to Ride it Down Wudang Mountain

On the mountain path of Wudang Mountain, Zhou Meng, Yunlong, and Lü Qian stood at the exit of the martial arts training ground, craning their necks to look down the road.

Lu Ci, unsteady on his feet, was slowly walking along the mountain path with Lu Xiao's support.

"Hehehe..."

The sound of Lü Ci's somewhat manic laughter could be heard from time to time along the mountain path, sending chills down one's spine.

"Father, slow down!"

"Hehe, this old man is happy today!"

With that, Lü Ci flung Lü Xiao's hand away, strode off, and without caring how many steps he had taken, he swayed down Wudang Mountain, humming a little tune.

Lu Xiao hurriedly chased after him, afraid that the old man would fall on the mountain steps if he wasn't careful.

Zhou Meng and Daoist Yunlong stood with their hands in front of them, frowning as they watched Lü Ci's seemingly drunken behavior.

"Xiao Qian, is your great-grandfather alright?"

Master Yunlong watched as Lü Ci's figure slowly disappeared into the distance, and asked with a mixture of doubt and worry.

In his view, Lü Ci, who was perfectly fine before fighting Lü Qian, suddenly became somewhat foolish after being hit by Lü Qian, with an inexplicable smile on his face, grinning and laughing.

If the head of the Lü family gets into trouble at Wudang Mountain and is injured by his great-grandson, then Wudang Mountain will probably be in turmoil again.

Zhou Meng nodded in agreement, watching with concern as the figures of the Lü father and son disappeared down the mountain path. "Xiao Qian, you didn't go too far and accidentally hurt the Lü family head..."

Hearing their conversation, Lü Qian interrupted Zhou Meng, who was still speaking, "My great-grandmaster, my master, you've both been masters for so many years, didn't you realize that I didn't use much force at all?"

"Besides, I hit my great-grandfather's thigh, not his head."

"My great-grandfather is fine, he's just too happy."

He waved to Zhou Meng and Daoist Yunlong beside him, and said nonchalantly.

"real?"

The two of them turned to look at Lü Qian at the same time, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Just now, Lu Ci's old face was beaming with joy, his wrinkles more radiant than blooming chrysanthemums, as he grinned at everyone present, showing off his perfectly white teeth.

If you told them this was Lü Ci, who had been known for his cold-blooded cruelty for decades in the world of supernatural beings, they would never believe it, even if they were beaten to death.

I just thought it was some idiot who had escaped from a mental hospital.

Coupled with his graceful descent, he slid down several steps in a row, practically sliding down Wudang Mountain.

This behavior is completely out of sync with the original Lü Ci. Are you telling me we're mistaken?

"Master, do you think we should invite some renowned doctors over for Patriarch Lü?"

Master Yunlong turned to look at Zhou Meng beside him, then bent down and whispered in Zhou Meng's ear.

"Hmm, please, let's do it in the name of Wudang..."

Zhou Meng immediately turned his head and spoke softly with the bent-over Daoist Yunlong, without even looking at Lü Qian's face, which was full of black lines.

"Alright, you two can discuss it slowly. I'm going downstairs to rest for a bit. That fight with my great-grandfather was really tiring."

Go!

The two men who were discussing things on the spot ignored what Lü Qian said and waved to him, signaling him to go and rest.

Ignoring the overly tense two, Lü Qian raised the sleeve of his Taoist robe, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and walked along the mountain path toward his room.

Lu Ci's behavior seemed normal to him. The old man just hoped that he could have a successful descendant, especially one who could have the outstanding talent of Zhang Zhiwei. That would be the best!

Now the old man sees that possibility in Lü Qian, which is why he's so happy today, completely deviating from his usual cold and ruthless image.

"Hmph hmph hmph~~~"

Lu Qian walked up the mountain steps in a good mood, humming an unknown tune.

Today's battle with his great-grandfather also demonstrated his remarkable progress and the solid foundation he has laid over the years.

Under the sunlight, a gentle mountain breeze caressed Lü Qian's still slightly agitated body, completely cooling down his still-boiling blood and transforming him back into the calm and composed Lü Qian he always was.

The mountain steps were long, and Lü Qian walked slowly, soon arriving near his room.

"唳~~"

Suddenly, a crane's cry rang out, its clear and resonant sound immediately attracting Lü Qian's attention.

He turned his head toward the direction from which the sound came, and saw a crane standing in a puddle next to his room.

The mountain has varied terrain, and the rain a few days ago washed away a shallow puddle next to Lü Qian's house.

The puddle was about a foot deep and covered an area of ​​six or seven feet, which, in Lü Qian's opinion, was a perfect place to raise fish.

When Lü Qian went down the mountain last time, he specially bought some small carp and put them in this puddle. He was thinking that it would be even better if he could raise a turtle as well.

There are no turtles now, but a crane has been attracted.

The crane was about five feet tall, with a broad gray-black stripe on each side of its neck, white feathers and a black tail, and two slender, straight legs standing in the middle of a puddle.

It tilted its head back to the sky, spread its broad wings, flapped them a few times on the puddle, and then retracted its wings to its sides.

"Wow, what kind of karma have I accumulated?"

Lu Qian watched the crane perched in the puddle from afar and slowed his pace to approach it.

In Taoism, the crane is regarded as an auspicious symbol, and is known as a messenger of the celestial realm; moreover, the crane is also a symbol of longevity.

In Taoist mythology, the crane is often seen as the mount of immortals and deities due to its elegant appearance, longevity, and ability to fly, and is regarded as one of the typical characteristics of immortals.

In modern novels, immortals traveling without a decent mount are considered outdated.

Thinking of this, Lü Qian looked at his hands, then slowly looked up at the cranes playing and eating fish in the pond, and a bold idea popped into his mind.

At this moment, the crane was gracefully catching the small carp that Lü Qian had released into the puddle, eating them one by one with great pleasure.

Every year, cranes roost in Wudang Mountain. This year, when the white crane took flight in the mountains, it accidentally discovered this quiet puddle and played around there for a while.

"唳~~"

But at this moment, it was unaware that someone had a wonderful idea for it.

"This white crane perched at my doorstep and even ate my fish. There must be some debt we owe each other."

Lu Qian channeled his Qi into his hands, causing red and blue lights to illuminate them respectively, and slowly walked towards the puddle.

Over the years, Lü Qian's understanding of "Double-Handed Technique" has not progressed much. This is probably because Lü Qian does not understand medicine, and "Double-Handed Technique" is a medical wonder, which makes him somewhat unable to grasp its essence.

However, he also grasped some special uses of the "Double-Handed Technique".

In the original work, Qu Tong used the Double-Handed Technique to forcibly elevate the life cultivation level of others and to deeply brainwash them.

This practice reminded Lü Qian of a Taoist myth, namely, enlightenment by a celestial being!

An immortal touched my head and bestowed upon me longevity.

In some myths and legends, the so-called immortals would grant mortals various divine powers with a mere flick of their fingers.

This kind of "enlightenment" is similar to Qu Tong's behavior, but it is also fundamentally different.

Qu Tong's behavior is similar to "pulling up seedlings to help them grow," which directly limits the upper limit of human cultivation. Although it can make great progress in a short period of time, it will be impossible to make any further progress in the future.

Spiritual practice is a slow, cumulative process, much like the growth of the human body.

Although the human body has its limits, these limits are constantly raised through continuous training. Cultivators make continuous progress, pursuing ever-increasing limits.

Each accumulation allows practitioners to better control their own power, thereby gaining complete control over themselves and achieving further progress.

Qu Tong's method directly grants cultivators powers that do not belong to them. These powers are difficult for them to control, and they cannot make any progress until they fully digest these enhancements.

However, excessive power often leads to bad things, not only for others but also for oneself.

When cultivators suddenly gain immense power, they not only cannot fully control it, but may also become slaves to it and sink further into depravity.

Enlightenment from a sage is more like opening a door for someone and pointing out the direction to the person standing in front of it; the beneficiary has their own consciousness.

Now, what Lü Qian wants to do is not to control like Qu Tong, but to enlighten like a celestial being.

He wanted to try to enlighten the crane, to help it gain vital energy, and thus begin its cultivation.

Then I will try to tame this crane, and wait for the day when I can ride it down Wudang Mountain!