The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#553 - Qingquan Temple

"What is fate?"

"Fate is those things you are powerless to change but must face." The man said, "If you want to fight fate, you must master power."

"This power can be authority, wealth, martial arts, or the secret power of cultivators... However, these things are too far away from ordinary people. Not everyone is in a high position, wealthy enough to rival a country, or has unparalleled martial arts skills. Moreover, very few people can enter the academy for cultivation."

"Only strange objects are within everyone's reach."

"So you and your subordinates refine those innocent people into strange objects for you to fight against fate? Don't you think that's a bit ironic?" Kui asked.

"I have never refined innocent people into strange objects," the man shook his head. "I can assure you of that, and I will not force anyone to do anything."

"Then what is this?" Kui said coldly. "You used that strange object that can erase a person's existence to lure me here, and then you used this chessboard to trap me. Isn't that coercion?"

"I just wanted to chat with you face to face like this, but knowing you as I do, if I rashly made such a request, you would almost certainly refuse." The man said somewhat helplessly, "So I had to use some tricks."

"Then why involve him?"

Kui pointed to the blue stone on her right. One side of the blue stone was as smooth as jade, and miraculously, it reflected two figures. One was riding a horse, and the other was walking, currently climbing the mountain.

"Oh, that guy. I don't know if our zodiac signs clash, but that guy seems to be causing me trouble lately. Zhao Zong is a very important companion of mine."

"Although, like you, he doesn't quite trust me and is always making his own little plans, in any case, our consensus on the general direction is greater than our differences. I also paid a great price to get him out of Mirror Lake Valley."

"But in the end, that kid intervened and forced Zhao Zong to turn into a tree, which completely overturned my previous plans."

"However, if it were just this matter, it wouldn't be a big deal. After all, we are on different sides. He was one step ahead and broke my game, and I accepted my defeat willingly. But the problem is that he also drove my woman to her death."

"Your woman, that widow named Wang Wan?" Kui frowned.

The man nodded and sighed, "She admired me very much. She was willing to do anything for me, even if I asked her to give her life, she would not hesitate. Unfortunately, she was interested in me, but I was not interested in her. What I have to do is destined that I cannot fall into the infatuation of love like other people."

"So I rejected her, but I took her two children as disciples. Before leaving, I also warned her to find a way to restrain her inner desire for power, because no matter what power, once it loses control, it will eventually bring destruction."

"Unfortunately, I didn't expect to receive news of her death a few years later, and the person who drove her to death was that academy disciple named Lu Jing."

"Although I had already foreseen that day when we separated, I was still very heartbroken when that day really came, even more heartbroken than I had expected."

"I know that Wang Wan is not a good person in the eyes of most of you, but in my eyes, she is just a pitiful woman who admires me. I gave her the power to escape fate in the first place, but unfortunately, I was too busy later and couldn't teach her well, which led her to take the wrong path."

The man blamed himself, "When she was alive, I couldn't do too much for her. Now that she is dead, I want to do something to compensate her, at least to help her avenge her."

"So your target this time is not me, but him?" Kui's brows furrowed even deeper. "But how do you know that he is the one who came this time? The Department of Celestial Observation has indeed been promoting the plan of pairing supervisors and academy disciples to investigate cases recently, but the specific candidates have always been a secret."

"Even I only knew yesterday that the person the academy sent was him. Could it be that there is a mole in the academy and the Department of Celestial Observation, and their position is not low?"

The man smiled, seemingly not caring at all that such an important matter had been discovered by Kui, and not worrying at all that the mole would be dug out.

Kui also thought of something and immediately smiled wryly, "You talked so eloquently before, even mentioning fate and equality. I thought you were really someone, but in the end, it was all nonsense."

"You not only want to deal with Lu Jing today, but you also don't intend to let me leave, do you?"

The man shook his head again, "No, I sincerely regard you as a fellow traveler and want to recruit you. Even if you disagree, I will not harm you, because one day you will understand me."

"Then you will probably regret it. As long as I can leave alive today, the nail you planted in the Department of Celestial Observation will be dug out by me sooner or later," Kui said indifferently.

"Is that so?" The man didn't care. "Who can say what will happen in the future? But for now... it's your turn to play."

As he spoke, he pointed to the chessboard again.

However, Kui's attention was now attracted by the image on the blue stone. Lu Jing and that tall, thin man, like a bamboo pole, had arrived at a temple.

The plaque on the mountain gate clearly read the three characters 'Qingquan Temple'.

"This is the place." Gong Hao looked at the plaque and said to Lu Jing behind him. After speaking, he dismounted, "That strange object is here."

"Can you tell me what that thing looks like now?" Lu Jing asked.

However, Gong Hao still shook his head upon hearing this, "No."

After a pause, he explained, "It's not that I don't want to tell you, but I can't tell you, because once you know what that thing looks like, you will be erased from the world like those unlucky ghosts."

"Of course, I'm going to prepare to deal with that thing." Gong Hao patted the three small deerskin pouches on his waist and said, "Don't worry, as long as we can solve this trouble, you will definitely get the credit. We will split the reward money from the department in half, and the academy should also have some rewards, all of which will be yours."