ATPnovel Chapter 1001 - 1001 247 Cutting Destiny and Enemies is Not as Hard as Cutting Falsehood
Chapter 1001 - 1001 247 Cutting Destiny and Enemies is Not as Hard as Cutting Falsehood
1001: Chapter 247: Cutting Destiny and Enemies is Not as Hard as Cutting Falsehood 1001: Chapter 247: Cutting Destiny and Enemies is Not as Hard as Cutting Falsehood By the time he returned to Autumn Sun County, it was already afternoon.Zhongxuan Laifu was anxiously pacing back and forth outside the clan estate and as soon as he saw Jiang Wang from a distance, he hurriedly went up to meet him.
“Young Master Jiang, you’ve returned!
I thought you were cultivating this morning and did not dare to disturb you.
When I didn’t see you around at noon, I was nearly driven mad with worry.
I even thought I had been disrespectful and angered you away!”
His anxious demeanor wasn’t entirely exaggerated.
Indeed, he feared he might have touched upon a nerve in Jiang Wang’s heart, a string that should not be touched.
He worried that his good intentions might have inadvertently offended someone important.
“I just went out for a walk,” Jiang Wang didn’t elaborate, simply waving his hand, “Take me to your ancestral shrine.
I will offer incense on behalf of your Young Master Xuan Sheng.”
Zhongxuan Laifu was a man who knew his place; if not before, certainly after being reprimanded by Zhongxuan Xin, he had become acutely aware of Jiang Wang’s significance, which seemed to grow more profound by the day.
“Please follow me this way, Young Master.
The incense sticks are already prepared, and the incense burner has been cleaned for you,” he said, leading the way with deference, without asking anything further.
Jiang Wang’s visit to Autumn Sun County was, after all, nominally to perform ritual offerings at the Zhongxuan Family’s ancestral shrine on behalf of Zhongxuan Sheng, a task for which Zhongxuan Laifu was naturally well-prepared.
The entire Zhong Xuan Family’s clan estate was like a small city.
Though lacking towering and robust city walls, the glory of its coexistence with the nation and the heritage of a thousand-year-old aristocratic family were in themselves a formidable barrier.
Zhongxuan Laifu, a clan servant granted the Zhongxuan surname, enjoyed a higher status than ordinary servants.
Moreover, as the saying goes, “the servant rises with his master’s fortunes,” and with Zhongxuan Xin doing well overseas, relying on the esteemed Zhongxuan Sheng’s favorable situation, Zhongxuan Laifu found his own standing within the clan significantly bolstered.
Following Zhongxuan Laifu, they moved unhindered.
Few people spoke along the way, most simply greeted them and stepped aside.
Jiang Wang, with his enhanced hearing, overheard quite a few private conversations among the Zhongxuan Clan members.
“Is that Jiang Qingyang?
He doesn’t seem very murderous, rather scholarly, actually.”
“He’s a hero of his generation, acclaimed even overseas.
You haven’t seen him when he’s killing!”
“So you’ve seen it?”
“I haven’t, but my cousin has!”
Such discussions were plentiful, indicating the extent of Jiang Wang’s reputation.
This could also be due to his relationship with Zhongxuan Sheng, which made the Zhong Xuan Family more attentive to news about him.
Contrary to expectations, the Zhong Xuan Family’s ancestral shrine was not grand and imposing; it couldn’t even be described as ‘large.’
A few clusters of green bamboo formed a small grove.
A quaint little shrine was nestled among the bamboo.
With nothing extraordinary about its gray tiles and blue bricks.
Zhongxuan Laifu helpfully explained, “The Zhong Xuan Family does have a larger shrine, but that is for ordinary clan members to carry out their worship.
This shrine, however, is the true ancestral shrine of the Heavy Mystery lineage.
Since you are here on behalf of Young Master Xuan Sheng, naturally, it is here that you should be.”
Above the shrine’s entrance door hung a wooden plaque with the words ‘Zhongxuan Ancestral Shrine’; the calligraphy was potent yet reserved, with an understated majesty.
On either side of the entrance, two couplets were carved onto the doorposts.
The left read:
The heaviest burden under heaven is not carried by bearing mountains or seas but by bearing responsibility.
The right read:
What is difficult in life is not cutting down fate or foes but cutting down delusions.
Those who have truly experienced life can feel the weight of these lines.
The single character for “person,” when loaded with heavy responsibilities, becomes growth.
Only then does one truly become “great,” the greatness of an adult.
Indeed, responsibility is the heaviest weight in the world, heavier than mountains and seas.
And in the long journey of life, often the most difficult to break through is the character for “false.”
Whether it is delusion or arrogance, wild desires, or unwarranted ambitions.
Because your enemy stands before you, ready to be cut down with a sword.
Even when struggling against fate, there are clues to be found.
But the delusions that arise from within oneself often go unnoticed until death—for some are arrogantly oblivious to friend and foe alike, while others are trapped in fantasy, unable to escape.
The Zhong Xuan Family, with its foundational Monster Art, has the power to bear mountains and seas, but according to the couplets, the heaviest burden in the world is responsibility.
There was a time when the Zhong Xuan Family soared to great heights, sharing in the nation’s glory as one of the foremost noble houses, yet the couplets say that the hardest thing in life is to Cut False.
To bear and to remain clear-headed.
There was no couplet more fitting for the Zhong Xuan Family than this one.
Such lines revealed the family’s ethos.
No wonder Zhongxuan Futu chose to die in battle in the Lost World, dissolving his Dao Body to forge the Floating Map Pure Land.
No wonder Zhongxuan Yunbo, when the family faced grave danger, donned his armor once more, despite his advanced age, and rushed to the battlefield.
No wonder Zhongxuan Chuliang was able to fight and garner fame, slaying his former friends on the battlefield of Qi Yang and standing firm against the War God within the walls of Linyi City.
No wonder it was so…
There were two stone pedestals in front of the shrine.
The one on the left was empty, while the one on the right was occupied by a middle-aged man sitting cross-legged.
The man was dressed in plain gray cloth, eyes closed in silence, even his breath seemingly absent, as if he were a statue.
The approach of Zhongxuan Laifu and Jiang Wang seemed to have no effect on him.
He appeared to be part of the shrine rather than a specific individual.
Zhongxuan Laifu bowed respectfully to the man without calling out to him and then directly pushed open the doors of the shrine.
Jiang Wang followed suit with a bow.
Since he was representing Zhongxuan Sheng, he certainly wouldn’t offend anyone on behalf of Zhongxuan Sheng.
He would not fail in politeness where it could be afforded.
Accompanied by a faint creaking sound, a breeze swirled through the courtyard.
At this point, Zhongxuan Laifu fell silent, making his footsteps as quiet as possible as if fearing to disturb the ancestors.
Jiang Wang, however, moved with ease, his cultivation of the Dream Order granting him the ability to completely silence his movements.
Both men stepped into the Zhongxuan ancestral shrine in succession.
“What are you doing?”
A robust voice echoed behind them, breaking the solemnity and tranquility of the shrine.