Chapter 63: Kunlun Holy Son Jiang Bufan, Trouble Comes Knocking
Chapter 63 – Kunlun Holy Son Jiang Bufan, Trouble Comes Knocking
Hearing these complaints, a woman emerged from the back room.
“Brother Changsheng, your temperament is truly peculiar. When business is slow, you lament the lack of customers.”
“Yet when business flourishes, you complain once more. Do you actually want this shop to thrive or not?”
Faced with A-Man’s teasing, Chen Changsheng clicked his tongue.
“For a trade like selling coffins, I desire neither booming prosperity nor desolate ruin.”
“Birth, aging, illness, and death are all bound to the cycle of the Heavenly Dao. Too much death breeds unrest, yet too little death disrupts the balance just the same.”
“In short, all things must maintain an absolute equilibrium.”
“Speaking of which, where has that brat A-Li run off to?”
A-Man placed the steaming dishes onto the wooden table. “He likely departed with the disciples of the Kunlun Holy Land to excavate Spirit Sources.”
“When we arrived here forty years ago, you confined him to this shop for two whole decades.”
“Since you finally allowed him outside twenty years ago, it is only natural he wishes to indulge his wild nature.”
Listening to A-Man’s report, Chen Changsheng leisurely sampled the food before replying.
“Confining him for twenty years served a dual purpose: first, to let him acclimate to the local customs, and second, to temper his cultivation so he might possess the means to preserve his own life.”
“Once he forged enough strength to survive, I naturally unchained him.”
“Also, begin packing your belongings. It is time for us to depart this realm.”
“My senses warn me that this land will soon descend into chaos.”
A-Man froze, her eyes reflecting deep confusion. “What about A-Li? He will likely not return for quite some time.”
“We must leave precisely while he is unable to return!”
“A-Li’s ambition lies within the boundless heavens and earth, not within my cramped coffin shop.”
“Keeping him tethered to my side will only sever his karmic potential.”
“Only by stepping out of my shadow can he forge a truly grand destiny.”
Hearing Chen Changsheng’s cold logic, A-Man offered a gentle smile. “Brother Changsheng, I will forever support your decisions. I shall begin packing at once.”
“Hold on!”
“There is no need to rush; I do not intend to flee this very second. Sit down and finish your meal.”
A-Man chuckled softly, resuming her place to share the evening meal with Chen Changsheng.
A profound, unspoken familiarity flowed between them; they had shared this tranquil existence for forty years.
A-Man deeply cherished this quiet life of companionship. For her, simply resting by his side was more than enough.
Right at this moment, a clear voice echoed from beyond the courtyard doors.
“Jiang Bufan of the Kunlun Holy Land requests an audience!”
Recognizing the title of the Kunlun Holy Land’s Holy Son, A-Man immediately moved to stand.
Yet Chen Changsheng simply raised a hand, halting her movements.
“Ignore him. He brings nothing but trouble.”
A-Man cast a brief glance toward the young man outside, but ultimately sat back down in obedient silence.
Seeing Chen Changsheng completely disregard his presence, Jiang Bufan showed no trace of anger; he merely stood with quiet grace outside the threshold.
Time slowly trickled away. A-Man quietly cleared the bowls and chopsticks, while Chen Changsheng reclined upon a wooden rocking chair, idly flipping through an ancient text.
After a long while, Chen Changsheng finally waved his hand. “Enter.”
“With a Quasi-Holy Son of the Kunlun Holy Land looming at my door, how am I supposed to conduct any business?”
Hearing this, Jiang Bufan immediately bowed in respect. “Many thanks, Sir.”
“Today, Bufan has come to seek a favor. I wish to humbly request that Sir…”
“Halt.”
Before Jiang Bufan could finish his sentence, Chen Changsheng raised his hand to cut him off.
“Permitting you to enter does not mean I agree to aid you. I allowed you inside solely to pass a message to A-Li.”
“Tell him that no banquet in this mortal dust lasts forever; from this day forward, he must walk his own Dao.”
“Furthermore, my cultivation is shallow and my abilities meager. I cannot offer any assistance to the Kunlun Holy Land. You should seek a more capable expert.”
Unfazed by Chen Changsheng’s blunt rejection, Jiang Bufan offered a faint smile.
“Sir is far too modest. Few beneath the heavens can rival your supreme methods. If there is a task Sir cannot accomplish, then I fear no one in this world can achieve it.”
“I have heard rumors that Sir has long desired to utilize the Kunlun Holy Land’s grand teleportation array.”
“As long as Sir is willing to lend your strength, I will personally persuade the Holy Land to grant you access to the grand teleportation array.”
Chen Changsheng’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.
“It seems you have probed quite deeply into my affairs!”
“Heh.”
“To beseech a master of Sir’s caliber to act, how could one fail to offer an equivalent price?”
“I merely wonder if this price satisfies Sir’s appetite?”
Noting Jiang Bufan’s absolute confidence, Chen Changsheng spoke with a frigid expression. “You have indeed presented a temptation that moves my Dao Heart. I truly cannot refuse you.”
“Return to seek me in three days. I must prepare certain artifacts.”
“As you command. Bufan shall pay his respects again in three days’ time.”
Leaving those words behind, Jiang Bufan turned and departed the coffin shop.
Watching Jiang Bufan’s retreating silhouette, A-Man asked with a trace of worry, “Brother Changsheng, do you truly intend to assist him?”
She fully expected Chen Changsheng to outline a meticulous, cold-logic rationale detailing why he was forced to agree. Instead, he dismissively waved his hand.
“Assist him with what? I lied to his face.”
A-Man stared blankly.
“Brother Changsheng, did you not just agree to meet him in three days?”
Chen Changsheng rose from his chair and lazily stretched his back. “If I did not promise to meet him in three days, how would I buy enough time to flee?”
“I originally lingered near this Kunlun Holy Land because their unique Spirit Sources picked my curiosity.”
“Spirit Stones are merely excavated from earthly veins, yet Spirit Sources are an exponentially rarer and more precious treasure.”
“Not only do they harbor agonizingly pure Spiritual Qi, but they also serve as amber, sealing away all manner of primordial relics.”
“However, upon unraveling the true genesis of these Spirit Sources, my interest in them thoroughly evaporated.”
“Spirit Sources are exclusively birthed within profoundly ominous and cursed domains. Now, the Kunlun Holy Land has actually dared to excavate the Sacred Ruins—a forbidden death zone among forbidden lands.”
“My mind would have to be rotting to willingly involve myself in their suicide mission!”
A-Man pondered this revelation for a moment. “But Brother Changsheng, if you cannot borrow their grand teleportation array, how will we return to the Eastern Wasteland?”
“We are currently stranded in the Middle Heavens. The two regions are separated by tens of millions of miles!”
“What does the distance of ten million miles matter? As long as we keep walking, we will arrive eventually.”
“I had intended to expend Spirit Stones to purchase usage rights for the grand teleportation array, but that avenue is clearly sealed now.”
“Enough of this. A-Man, begin packing our essentials immediately. I must make a trip to the Butterfly Valley.”
Leaving those instructions behind, Chen Changsheng strode out of the cramped coffin shop.
……
Butterfly Valley.
“Medicine Old Man, I have come to trouble you once again!”
Chen Changsheng’s voice rippled across the profoundly tranquil and elegant valley.
A moment later, a benevolent-looking elder with flowing white hair and a pristine beard emerged from a humble thatched cottage.
“Your timing is impeccable. I only managed to fully decipher the secrets of this Heaven-Mending Paste the day before yesterday.”
Chen Changsheng bared his teeth in a wide grin. “I knew you possessed the skill, Medicine Old Man. It seems my forty years of waiting were not spent in vain.”
“Spare me your hollow flattery. Without your foundational guidance, I could not have unraveled the mysteries of this Heaven-Mending Paste even given another four centuries.”