Legend of the Great Sage (Chapter 101-Chapter 200)

Li Qingshan said to himself inside, Farewell, my homeland!

He had already thought it through; whether it be dying and becoming part of the dirt or soaring through the sky, he would never return again. From today onwards, wherever he was would be his hometown.

They travelled during the day and rested at night. After travelling through the mountains for three days, the surroundings suddenly opened up. Vast plains laid ahead of Li Qingshan.

The golden fields of wheat spanned as far as the eye could see, and the summer breeze kicked up ripples among them. Various villages and towns were interspersed among the fields, with smoke rising up into the sky. It differed from the Crouching Ox village very much.

Yan Song said, “We’ve left the boundaries of Qingyang city. If we travel for another three or five days, we’ll reach Downstream port. We’ll be able to switch to ferries and directly ride down to Jiaping city, or even the prefectural city of Clear River.”

Li Qingshan took out the map that Gu Yanying gave him. With a thought, a speck of light lit up. Downstream port was only a few dozen kilometers from their present location.

Yan Song said in surprise, “A mental map, and a mental map of the Green province at that; this is worth quite a lot. Qingshan, where did you obtain it?”

Usually, the greater the region a map covered, the less detailed it would be, while the smaller the region, the greater the detail. However, mental maps could cover thousands of kilometers and remain extremely detailed, condensing thousands of kilometers into a single square inch. Although it was only a low grade spiritual artifact, it was very valuable, let alone a mental map that spanned the entire Green province.

Li Qingshan said suddenly, “Protector Yan, sir Ye, I’ll be parting with you here!” He had already gained a rough understanding of the jianghu and this world from the two of them over the past few days. At the very least, it was information they knew, so when he travelled alone, he would no longer be completely clueless.

Ye Dachuan said, “What? Didn’t we agree on going together?”

Li Qingshan shook his head. “I plan on travelling by myself and going out for a spin. I’ve made you wait three days for nothing, so my sincerest apologies.” The reason why he chose to set off with them perhaps might have only been due to a certain fear. He was a person who had remained in a village for over a decade, but was now suddenly going to see the outside world. Such a matter was basically like entering a large city. He would always have some fear about this, even going as far as relying on these two people who were not as powerful as him, just so that they could look after one another along the way.



Every single person had an urge to roam, and urge for freedom, but when a boundless, free world was actually presented before them, every single one of them would feel fear and be left at a loss as for what to do. Li Qingshan was the same.

But now, it was time for him to throw these emotions aside. When he left the mountains and saw the vast plains, the glistening fields of wheat and the limpid, gurgling river water, the faint markings on the map all flashed across his mind. They were so beautiful and vivid, yet he had not even covered one ten-thousandth of the area depicted in the map.

They looked at each other, uncertain as to how to convince him. Suddenly, they heard Li Qingshan spread his arms and say to the vast plains, “I want to travel through all corners of the world, across the entire universe! I want to taste all of the delicacies and drink all of the finest alcohol the world has to offer! I want to practise the fiercest abilities, fight the strongest foes, and sleep with the most beautiful women! World, I’m coming! Hahahaha!”

His voice grew louder as he spoke, such that his laughter became thunderous. When he mentioned it, it did sound like a stupid declaration. Was it foolish? Perhaps. The ox that had listened to his foolish oath was no longer here, but he no longer needed to ask anyone, “Will my dream really come true?”

He did not need anyone to answer him. He did not need anyone’s recognition. And obviously, he did not care about other people’s gazes either. The answer was already in his heart.

After agreeing to rendezvous in Jiaping city, these people watched Li Qingshan’s large, tall figure travel off into the distance from the hill. As they watched him enter the golden plains, he seemed like a large child rolling through the wheat, vanishing very quickly.

Li Qingshan’s choice originally seemed rather ridiculous and childish, but in their minds, they all thought of a few phrases together. Dragons swim through the vast ocean. Tigers enter the depths of the mountains.

Li Qingshan did not follow the main path, running madly through the open fields. He arrived at a small speck on the map very soon. It was a city that was much more prosperous than Qingyang city. He did not bother to remember its name. Instead, he directly rushed to their largest establishment and ordered a table of the best food. Every single dish was a local specialty. He had not seen or even heard about many of them before. Every single jar he ordered was fine, aged alcohol of twenty years. Although they were not as great as the spiritual alcohol, they had their own unique taste.

The shopkeeper saw how he was a major client, so he personally came to receive him, even drinking a few cups with him. He suddenly smiled. “There’s no fun in drinking alone. Young master, would you like a few beauties to accompany you?” From how Li Qingshan acted, he seemed like a wastrel who had managed to escape from his clan after quite some difficulty.

Li Qingshan was surprised at first before smiling. “Of course! Why wouldn’t I want any? I have plenty of money!” He acted like the most vulgar upstart there was.

He wanted to work hard on cultivation. He wanted to travel beyond the Nine Heavens. However, he did not plan on being an ascetic. He had sworn that he wanted to marry a woman like Gu Yanying, but before he actually took the oath of marriage with a woman, he had no plans to act like an ascetic monk.

Living in the world was not suffering. Otherwise, people would be better off dead. The distant dream planted seeds of hope in his heart. There was no point to turn it around against him and cause torment.

As a result, around a dozen seductively-dressed women, wonderfully adorned, sat beside him. They giggled as they spoke to him, constantly referring to him as ‘master’ or ‘young master’. They boldly extended their hands into his bosom.

At first, Li Qingshan felt rather unnatural and was teased by a few of the escorts, but he relaxed very quickly. He hugged and touched them without minding it at all, smiling from ear to ear. However, his eyes remained as clear as water the entire time; he was just like a child playing an extremely new and interesting game.

However, it was very easy for children to become bored. He did not actually plan on doing anything. It was not because he had any disdain towards these escorts, but because it was extremely easy for him to grow sick and tired of a game-like thing after having seen the almost perfect beauty of people like Gu Yanying and Xuanyue.

He did not know before, but only now did he understand the meaning of ‘When she smiled she was an extremely charming female. By comparison, all other bower maids became pale.’

TL: Comes from the Song of Everlasting Sorrow. https://www.ancient.eu/article/888/song-of-everlasting-sorrow/

Bang!

Suddenly, someone flung open the door to the room and yelled, “Can you quieten down!?” He was a young man in expensive clothes, carrying a treasured sword and wearing a treasured head ornament. Just as the saying went, three women made quite the chatter. It was impossible for dining with a table of escorts to be quiet.