Free Web NovelChapter 82: Chapter 70: Divine Monk Wu Tan’s Disciple, the Time to Claim the Treasure
Xu Lei gently put his palms together and retrieved the bamboo slip.
All his unspent Magical Power returned to his Lower Dantian.
"Second Son, this... this... this!"
His father’s voice trembled as he asked, "What’s going on here?"
"Did you kill those people just now?"
"That incident with the black bear, was that you too?"
"And when your mother was pregnant with your third brother and fell, was that also you?"
"You were only three years old back then, weren’t you?"
’Quick on the uptake.’
Xu Lei nodded. "That’s right, Father. All of those incidents were related to me."
"However, the time Mother fell when I was three, that wasn’t my doing."
"That was the work of Divine Monk Wu Tan!"
"Only the latter two incidents were done by me!"
"What?"
Xu Lei’s father was stunned. "You said... Divine Monk Wu Tan? Did I hear that right?"
"Are you talking about *the* Divine Monk Wu Tan? The one whose fame spread across the lands decades ago?"
"The one who, according to legend, even had a hand in the founding of our Great Shang dynasty!"
"The very same Divine Monk Wu Tan that even the Founding Emperor Shang Yin deeply revered?"
"But according to the legends, didn’t he leave to wander the world, never to be seen again?"
"He hasn’t died of old age?"
"How many years has it been?"
"He’s still alive?"
"And he came to our house six years ago?"
"And saved your mother and your third brother?"
"Then how come your mother, I, and the others knew nothing about it?"
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei put his palms together. "Yes, it was indeed that Divine Monk Wu Tan!"
"Divine Monk Wu Tan is a Divine Monk. How could he simply die of old age?"
"He went off wandering, his whereabouts unknown."
"That is because he needed to pursue his Cultivation, to attain Buddhahood."
"It’s naturally not something ordinary people can comprehend."
"And the reason you, Mother, and our older brother didn’t know is because Divine Monk Wu Tan didn’t want you to see him."
"The Divine Monk only met with me!"
"He said he was passing through our village!"
"He sensed that I had a Buddha Root, so he came to our home!"
"Then he said he wanted to take me as his disciple!"
"Later, I agreed."
The reason Xu Lei pinned the incident from when he was three on Divine Monk Wu Tan was that he felt he had been too young at the time.
If he told the truth, he feared his father might be tricked into revealing details, potentially leading others to guess the truth about his reincarnation.
Thus, it was better to cloak himself in the identity of Divine Monk Wu Tan’s disciple.
And attribute the events from when he was three to the mysterious Divine Monk Wu Tan.
It was a much more plausible story.
"What?"
Xu Lei’s father trembled all over. "Second Son, you... you took Divine Monk Wu Tan as your master?"
"No wonder, no wonder! I was just thinking, when did our family ever accumulate such virtue!"
"To be repeatedly protected by the Mountain God!"
"So it turns out, it wasn’t the Mountain God!"
"It was you, Second Son!"
"Since you were taught by Divine Monk Wu Tan, it’s not surprising you have such abilities!"
"So where is Divine Monk Wu Tan now?"
"Has he left?"
"So, Second Son, does this mean you’ve joined the Buddhist Sect?"
"Amitabha Buddha. That’s right."
Xu Lei nodded. "Father, I have already joined the Buddhist Sect."
"It’s just that all these years, I couldn’t bear to leave you, Mother, our older brother, and our younger brother, so I stayed at home."
"But you’ve probably heard that Enlightened Monks must typically leave their secular lives to practice their Cultivation."
"So in truth, staying at home is rather detrimental to my Cultivation."
"For example, this time with your trouble, I acted, and although I killed them easily..."
"...it ultimately consumed some of my Cultivation."
"Consuming my Cultivation consumes my potential to achieve Buddhahood."
"Of course, you are my biological father. I have no regrets acting on your behalf."
"It’s just that after this, I may have to leave home to become a monk."
"I hope you can understand."
"Leave home to become a monk?"
Xu Lei’s father said, "So from now on, you’ll be a Monk?"
"However, to receive the teachings of Divine Monk Wu Tan is a tremendous stroke of fortune!"
"My son, since you have such an opportunity, of course your father supports you!"
"You have already fulfilled your duty of filial piety for our raising you."
"Now that this huge problem is solved, a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders."
"From now on, there shouldn’t be any more trouble for the family."
"You should go. After you leave, focus on your Cultivation!"
"Only then will you not fail the grace of the Divine Monk’s teachings!"
"As for your mother, your big brother, and your little brother, I will take good care of them."
「Three days later.」
Xu Lei had already left home.
He departed the very next day. As for his mother, older brother, sister-in-law, and younger brother, they knew nothing.
Xu Lei had asked his father not to tell them he was leaving to become a monk, but to pretend he was being sent away to serve as an apprentice for a time.
This time, Xu Lei was heading deep into the Great Xing Mountain Range.
His goal was to seize Robert Keating’s cave dwelling and the Treasures left within.
He wasn’t actually going to a monastery yet.
If he said he was becoming a monk outright, his mother would surely be frantic.
After all, most mothers wouldn’t support their child becoming a Monk.
Xu Lei was still hesitant about whether to let more of his family know that he possessed True Magical Power.
Even if his mother eventually agreed, she would at least want to know which monastery her son was joining.
She would definitely want to know.
But Xu Lei hadn’t yet decided which monastery he would go to for his Cultivation.
His initial plan was to find Hui Ming.
He just didn’t know which monastery Hui Ming was at currently.
Since none of this was settled, Xu Lei didn’t have his father say anything.
He planned to first take the legacy from the mountain cave.
Then find Hui Ming and decide on a monastery.
And only then return home to tell his mother about his decision to become a monk.
At this moment,
Xu Lei rode a horse deeper and deeper into the Great Xing Mountain Range.
His father had given him the money for the horse.
The money his father had gotten from his share of the jobs he’d done in his younger days was far from spent.
In his previous life, Xu Lei had actually buried some gold, silver, and jewels.
Including Wei Qingning’s Jade Pendant, he had buried it all together.
However, it was buried near Anqing.
The Great Xing Mountain Range was quite a distance from Anqing.
He couldn’t go back to get it right away.
Of course, with his father being so supportive, he had nothing to worry about.
On his way into the mountains, Xu Lei encountered many wild beasts, and even venomous snakes.
But the current Xu Lei, naturally, wouldn’t be so easily killed by a snakebite.
「A dozen or so days later.」
Xu Lei finally arrived near the place where he had died in his past life.
In other words, the area around Robert Keating’s cave dwelling.
By this time, Xu Lei had already set the horse free.
After all, the deeper he went, the more impassable the paths became for a horse.
So Xu Lei simply set it free.
Anyway, once he dug up the wealth he had buried in his previous life,
he would have more than enough money.
So there was no need to worry about the cost of the horse.
"Forty years!"
Looking at his surroundings, Xu Lei couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. ’It seems not much has changed here. The birds and insects are still abundant, and the trees and grass are as lush as ever!’
「Three days later.」
Xu Lei had found a small cave and settled in.
He certainly wasn’t going to rush into Robert Keating’s cave dwelling.
After all, he didn’t know if Qi Yang was inside!
It was possible that Qi Yang had been guarding it this whole time!
If he bumped into him while going in, it would be a disaster.
Although Xu Lei’s Magical Power had improved after nine years of Cultivation,
he was definitely no match for Qi Yang yet!
So, Xu Lei had to observe.
Anyway, it had only been nearly forty years since that time!
The lie he had told Qi Yang back then was that the Restriction would undo itself in fifty or sixty years!
Therefore, Xu Lei still had time!
「Another month later.」
A month passed.
Xu Lei hadn’t seen any sign of Qi Yang.
He didn’t dare to recklessly enter the cave dwelling.
After all, even though the Restriction in the cave hadn’t been undone, the Spiritual Qi inside was still richer than outside.
It was very likely that Qi Yang was cultivating in there!
「Three more months passed.」
He had waited for a full four months.
Xu Lei had lived like a hermit for a full four months.
But he remained incredibly patient, refusing to take any risks.
Then finally, on this day!
Qi Yang’s figure appeared!
He emerged from a cave entrance halfway up the mountain where the dwelling was located!
’He really was cultivating in there!’
Watching from a distance, Xu Lei’s pupils contracted.
He knew his cautious decision had been the right one!
And now, his four-month wait was about to pay off!
Because with Qi Yang gone,
it was the perfect opportunity for Xu Lei to go deep inside the mountain, break Robert Keating’s Restriction, and take all the Treasures left behind!
At this thought,
Xu Lei couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.
He had actually been prepared to observe for three or four years; he never expected to only have to wait for four months.
Of course, Xu Lei didn’t act immediately, but continued to lie in wait and observe quietly.
He watched until Qi Yang was well and truly gone, a considerable distance away from the cave dwelling.
He was almost out of sight.
Only then did he finally set out for the cave.
「A dozen or so minutes later.」
After climbing a stretch of the mountain path,
Xu Lei arrived at a cave entrance halfway up the slope.
It wasn’t the same one Qi Yang had just emerged from, but a different one.
Because the caves within this mountain were winding, twisting, and interconnected.
As long as you knew the route, you could enter from several different entrances and still reach the cave dwelling.
And of course, Xu Lei had made a special effort to memorize the route in his past life!
「A few more minutes later.」
Xu Lei reached the end of a cavern hallway and turned a corner.
The cave was pitch-black, with bats and other creatures occasionally flitting about.
Besides them, there were also things like venomous snakes.
These were creatures that naturally inhabited the mountain’s interior.
If Qi Yang had wanted to clear them out, he certainly could have.
But not clearing them was also intentional on Qi Yang’s part.
This was to ensure that ordinary people would neither dare nor be able to enter casually.
Even if an ordinary person did manage to make it inside and reach the location of the cave dwelling, they still wouldn’t be able to get in.
「Ten more minutes passed.」
After making seven or eight turns, Xu Lei finally arrived at the location of the cave dwelling from his memory.
Before him was a cave wall, covered in a mural of text and images.
