"Although you, old sir, said that this place takes in the imperial princes discarded by the royal family, it's not entirely like that. Even those who have been abandoned can become great people. It all depends on whether they have the will to change."
Wei Shuxuan couldn't help but think of Xin Zizhao again. The memories of the time they spent together resurfaced in her mind. Although not all the memories were pleasant, they were the marks of their time together.
Why was she missing him more and more? Wei Shuxuan inexplicably felt that the empty space in her heart was getting bigger and bigger, as if someone was pulling the gap wider. The bigger the gap, the stronger the sense of emptiness.
After seeing Wei Shuxuan talking with the old monk, Wei Wei noticed that something was off about her. "Miss, Miss, what's wrong with you?"
Hearing Wei Wei's voice, Wei Shuxuan quickly came back to her senses. She turned around and saw Wei Wei standing behind her, looking at her with a worried face. "......What's up, Wei Wei?"
"I'm fine, miss. But are you really okay?" Wei Wei shook her head.
Wei Shuxuan temporarily brushed aside the sense of emptiness in her heart and showed her usual bright smile. "Hahaha, Wei Wei, you're really overthinking. Of course I'm okay. Let's go. Let's climb to the top of the mountain first!"
"Let's go then."
After reaching the halfway up the mountain, the path to the top was much steeper than the first half of the mountain road. Although there wasn't much distance left, it would take more time and make them feel more tired to reach the top.
"Sister Xuan, I'm so tired!" Sima Yongheng had only walked for a short while and already started to complain. This part of the mountain road was really too steep. Wei Shuxuan estimated that the slope was about sixty degrees.
Wei Wei, Xin Shang, and Wei Shuxuan were all martial artists. Only Sima Yongheng wasn't, so his endurance was definitely not as good as theirs.
Looking at Sima Yongheng out of breath, Wei Shuxuan smiled. "Okay, let's take a break first and then continue. Anyway, it's still early."
As a result, it took them almost half an hour to climb that short section of the mountain road and finally reach the top. Because Sima Yongheng got tired after climbing for a while, they had to stop and rest every few steps. Wei Shuxuan didn't mind at all. After all, she could rest and eat snacks. It was really comfortable.
"Yongheng, you're a man. Just climbing half of a mountain road and you're already so tired. This won't do. It seems I have to start special training for you."
"Brother Wei..." Sima Yongheng, sitting in front of the gate of the Qiuling Mountain Taoist Temple, looked at Wei Wei in astonishment. "Brother Wei, can't I skip the training?"
"No way. If you want to travel with us, you have to be able to endure hardships. Practicing martial arts is to help you build your body. Because on the way, we don't know what kind of dangers we'll encounter. Knowing some self - defense techniques can help you protect yourself."
Seeing that Wei Wei was serious, Sima Yongheng seemed to know that no matter what he said, he couldn't change his mind, so he had to agree. However, since someone was willing to teach him, he would study hard. His mother had also hoped that he could practice martial arts to strengthen his body and protect himself.
There were almost no pilgrims coming to the Taoist Temple on the top of the mountain. Wei Shuxuan found it a bit strange. Actually, the tourists who came to Qiuling Mountain were here to pay homage at the temple halfway up the mountain, not the Taoist Temple on the top.
"Miss, shall we go in?" Wei Wei looked at the tall vermilion gate in front of them.
"Since we're already here, of course we should go in. But how do we get in?" Wei Shuxuan was a bit confused. The gate was tightly closed and there was no one in front of it.
Xin Shang was also visiting the Qiuling Mountain Taoist Temple for the first time. Because the Taoist Temple on Qiuling Mountain didn't allow outsiders to enter unless they were from the royal family.
"Miss Xuan, this place isn't somewhere you can just enter as you like."
Xin Shang didn't mean to dampen Wei Shuxuan's enthusiasm. But just then, the vermilion gate opened, and a young boy in a white Taoist robe came out. Wei Shuxuan thought the clothes the boy was wearing looked very familiar. It seemed that Xin Zizhao was wearing the same clothes when they met for the second time.
"Guests, my grand - master invites you in as guests."
Wei Shuxuan looked around. "Little master, do you mean the four of us?"
"Yes, it's the four of you. Please follow me to see my grand - master."
"Then let's go in."
Xin Shang never thought that he would be able to enter the famous Qiuling Mountain Taoist Temple in the Yu Long Kingdom in his lifetime, and what's more, he was following the queen.
Following the young boy, the four of them entered the Taoist Temple. Before reaching the main hall, they walked on a path paved with cobblestones. There were extremely rare flowers and plants on both sides of the path. Wei Shuxuan felt that there was a hazy mist swirling around these flowers and plants, giving them a sense of immortality.
While Wei Shuxuan was still looking at those flowers and plants surrounded by the mist of immortality, she didn't even notice that she had already reached the outside of the main hall.
"Guests, this is the place. My grand - master is waiting for you inside."
"Thank you, little boy."
When they walked into the main hall of the Taoist Temple, they saw an incense burner in front, from which a faint wisp of smoke was rising. Judging from the smell, it seemed to be sandalwood. Wei Shuxuan looked up and saw an old man sitting on the main seat. He had white hair and beard, and looked to be in his fifties or sixties.
"Please sit down, guests."
The old man closed his eyes and said to them. Wei Shuxuan felt that this old man was not an ordinary person. His martial arts skills were probably higher than theirs. But was this old Taoist priest Xin Zizhao's master?
"If you have any questions, I will answer them one by one, so don't be in a hurry."
It seemed that the old Taoist priest could read Wei Shuxuan's mind. Why did she feel that this old Taoist priest was Xin Zizhao's master? He was as amazing as if he could read minds.
"May I ask if you are the Taoist priest He Qiushan of the Qiuling Mountain Taoist Temple?" Xin Shang was the first to ask the old Taoist priest.
"Hehe, I am He Qiushan," the old Taoist priest named He Qiushan opened his eyes and looked at Xin Shang. "I know you, Young Master Xin Shang. How is my disciple doing?"
"Thanks to you, Master He, our master is doing very well. Except for some problems that haven't been solved, everything else is fine."
"In my opinion, the problems that Zizhao hasn't solved are not big problems at all. They will be perfectly solved sooner or later," He Qiushan stroked his beard and then turned to look at Wei Shuxuan.