"Lin Zitong? Wasn't it Li Qing'er?"
Jiang Qingxue's face showed astonishment. The name of her daughter-in-law was far beyond her expectations.
Yan Shouyi was also stunned. Why would his mother know Li Qing'er?
Immediately, he understood everything. It turned out that his engagement with Li Qing'er was not decided by his grandfather, but by his mother.
His mother was also a descendant of Lu Ban. She must have calculated something that led her to instruct his grandfather to find an opportunity to propose to the Li family.
"Li Qing'er and I were destined to be apart, so we couldn't be together. The Li family no longer exists. West Lake is my stronghold, where I've established a folk sect force," Yan Shouyi said with a slight smile. "As for Zitong, she is now the sect leader of the Lushan Sect."
Jiang Qingxue was only briefly surprised. Then, she noticed the happy expression on Yan Shouyi's face and realized that her son was living a happy life now, so she didn't dwell on those matters anymore.
She smiled and said, "It seems the outside world has changed a lot in these twenty years."
Yan Shouyi took Jiang Qingxue's hand and simply recounted some of the changes that had occurred over the past two decades.
Twenty years ago, flashlights, sewing machines, and bicycles were still the three major items for marriage. Anyone who owned these things was considered very distinguished.
But twenty years later, it was completely different. The once gravel paths had become wide, paved roads, with cars coming and going.
It wasn't just things that had changed, but people too.
"Grandpa passed away and is buried in Chenjia Village; Dad was released from prison last year, but Uncle Zou is gone; we found Grandma's soul; she was sealed in Jianwang Tomb for nearly twenty years..."
Too many things had happened in twenty years to be told even if they spoke for three days and three nights.
Yan Shouyi had never spoken so much in one go. He soon felt his mouth dry and wondered if he had said too much.
But Jiang Qingxue didn't think so. She just watched with a smile, listening quietly, as if accompanying Yan Shouyi through the twenty years of his growth.
She had immense regret, and listening to Yan Shouyi's experiences could somehow alleviate some of it.
However, Yan Shouyi did not forget the main purpose of his visit.
He cleared his throat, his expression becoming serious and earnest:
"Mom, the folk sects and the great prestigious sects are now in a complete conflict. Dad only recently told me about you, which is why I traveled all the way to Changbai Mountain, hoping to find a way to break the deadlock... Dad said you've been working tirelessly to perfect the lower volume of the Lu Ban Book. He said if you complete it, the folk sects might transform into great prestigious sects. Is this true?"
Jiang Qingxue also eased her smile, her eyes becoming solemn. "It is true. This is the method passed down by my master."
As she spoke, she slowly walked towards Tianchi.
While walking, Jiang Qingxue explained, "Although my master has already ascended, he spent his life researching how to break the mortal peril of the folk sects. In the end, he concluded that while Buddhism practices abstinence and worships Buddha, and Taoism meditates and reveres gods, we folk sects, who neither worship Buddha nor revere gods, lack faith and moral constraints in our actions, thus drawing heavenly retribution!"
"Buddhism has countless Buddhist scriptures, and Taoism has numerous collections. We folk sects, however, have techniques but lack the Way, possess skills but lack compassion. Everyone acts based on their own likes and dislikes, leading to extreme good and evil. If we could also possess a classic masterpiece belonging to the folk sects, it could serve to admonish our disciples, restrain their behavior, and temper their thoughts..."
"Shouyi, do you know why our Lu Ban sect, instead of researching our own techniques, has only been thinking about how to steal the skills of the great prestigious sects for thousands of years? In reality, this is the inherent mission of the Lu Ban descendants. We study the classics of the great prestigious sects not for selfish desires, but as references, to learn from them and compile a moral scripture for the folk sects!"
Jiang Qingxue reached the edge of Tianchi and slowly squatted down. Her beautiful eyes looked at the calm water of Tianchi, reflecting the vast starry sky.
Yan Shouyi followed her, his heart already stirred by immense waves.
So, the descendants of Lu Ban had such a mission...
No wonder, whether encountering seniors like Yin Tang and Xu Pingzhi in Qiantang, or Li Chongxi in Chang'an, they all considered me the only one capable of leading the folk sects.
The descendants of Lu Ban, embracing the strengths of all schools, are the chosen saviors, destined to become the backbone of the folk sects!
"Then... Mom, have you perfected the lower volume of the Lu Ban Book in these twenty years?" Yan Shouyi asked urgently.
Jiang Qingxue did not answer. Instead, she gently scooped a ladle of water from Tianchi with her hand and sprinkled it into the sky.
The clear water of Tianchi dispersed, turning into droplets, but they did not fall back into Tianchi. Instead, they hovered in mid-air, slowly forming a celestial scripture under the moonlight and stars!
Thousands of characters, densely arranged!
Yan Shouyi's eyes widened. This scene was too shocking, it could even be described as a divine miracle.
Was this the content of the lower volume of the Lu Ban Book?
Yan Shouyi read carefully, feeling that within the words, there was the naturalness of Taoism, the karma of Buddhism, the benevolence and righteousness of Confucianism, and countless other things he couldn't articulate.
The principles of heaven and earth contained in these thousands of characters were too profound. With Yan Shouyi's experience, he found it impossible to digest. Let alone understand it, he could barely even read through it.
"For the past twenty years, in order to complete the lower volume of the Lu Ban Book as soon as possible, I made a grand vow: I could not leave Tianchi until it was completed. I never expected that this self-imposed confinement would last for twenty years, causing me to miss the first half of your life."
Jiang Qingxue said with regret, "For twenty years, I worked from dawn till dusk, studying countless classics, but I only managed to reach this point. The last four sentences, I have been unable to perfect."
"Now I also understand that perhaps I will never be able to figure out these four sentences because I have been in the secular world for too short a time and have not yet grasped the true essence of the folk sects. Therefore, when your father arrived, I asked him, and he couldn't answer either. In the end, we placed our hope on you."
The four sentences corresponded to four questions. Yan Shouyi remembered what his father, Yan Chou, had told him before he left.
Yan Shouyi looked carefully and indeed found four conspicuous blank spaces at the end of the lower volume of the Lu Ban Book.
The "celestial scripture" before him was incredibly harmonious. Thousands of seemingly unrelated characters were arranged together, yet it felt like a blank sheet of paper.
But the missing four sentences were like four holes in the white paper, directly ruining the integrity of the entire sheet, making them so conspicuous.
"Shouyi, your father has confidence in you, and I also have confidence in you," Jiang Qingxue said softly. "We both believe that these last four sentences should be filled in by you."
Yan Shouyi tilted his head, his only remaining eye fixed on the characters in the sky.
As long as I solve these four sentences, I can break the mortal peril and completely resolve the conflict between the two factions?