"Mr. Lü, are there any cultivation realms beyond the Celestial Realm?"
Faced with Wen Chaoshen's curious inquiry, Lü Zhiming teased:
"Since you won't ever reach it, why bother asking?"
Wen Chaoshen scratched his head, feeling a bit unsatisfied, his curiosity thoroughly piqued.
"I hope Mr. Lü can enlighten . As you said, these things are beyond the reach of a re mortal like in this lifeti, so I might as well listen for amusent."
Lü Zhiming took a sip of tea, spat the tea leaves under the loquat tree beside him, and said slowly:
"There are very few experts in the Celestial Realm in the world, and ninety-nine percent of them are in the sacred cultivation lands of the Four Kingdoms. For these people, worldly matters hardly stir their hearts anymore. They all lie dormant in places rich with Dao essence, contemplating the grandeur of the natural universe, attempting to advance their cultivation further."
"The old Celestial Beings in the Sword Pavilion have vaguely ntioned that beyond the Celestial Realm, there are realms like 'Confound ' and 'Freedom.' So people in the Buddhist State of the Chen Dynasty refer to 'Freedom' as 'Tathagata,' but those people practice martial arts in such a mystical way that their words may not be entirely credible."
"As for how to sense soone else's realm, it all relies on experience and intuition."
"In the future, as you encounter more, you'll be able to roughly gauge soone else's realm compared to your own without needing to fight."
Wen Chaoshen silently committed today's conversation to mory, then downed the hot tea in his cup and prepared to continue chopping wood.
He had made good progress today, and the afternoon should be sufficient to finally verify the matter of the letter with the address A Shui had given him.
After taking a few steps, he suddenly thought of another question and turned to ask Lü Zhiming:
"Mr. Lü, I have one more question... what realm are you currently in?"
This question was indeed important to Wen Chaoshen. Since neither of them had a dantian, whatever realm Lü Zhiming could reach, Wen Chaoshen believed he could too.
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Faced with his question, Lü Zhiming, sitting in place, shook his head slightly.
"I don't know myself."
Wen Chaoshen opened his mouth, wanting to ask sothing, but in the end, he didn't.
He knew that whether Lü Zhiming was deliberately hiding it or truly didn't know, he wouldn't get the answer he wanted.
After finishing chopping the remaining wood, Wen Chaoshen was drenched in sweat. He went to the backyard, heated a basin of hot water, took a hot bath, changed into new clothes, and, with the address A Shui had given him, left Lü Zhiming's residence, heading all the way to Baisang Street in the west of the county city.
As he walked, he asked for directions from passersby, and finally arrived at the first address A Shui had given him.
As soon as he reached the door, he saw that the gate of the house was covered with signs of decay, and the snow piled on the walls was left uncleared. He knocked on the door and called out a few tis, but there was no response from inside.
Helpless, Wen Chaoshen went to the second address A Shui had given him. This ti, although soone lived there, the residents were no longer the Cui Clan as A Shui had ntioned. According to the current owner, the house had changed hands twice, and the previous owner, surnad Ya, didn't know anything about the Cui Clan.
Wen Chaoshen left there empty-handed, still without any leads. Watching the setting sun gradually fade away, he hesitated for a mont but decided to check the third place.
After all, the third house wasn't too far from there, so he might as well investigate it too.
Light snow began to fall from the sky, and the wind was mild. Wen Chaoshen wrapped his arms around himself and quickly reached his destination. Not bothering to check if anyone lived there, he directly grabbed the door knocker and knocked.
Thud, thud—
Thud, thud, thud—
Wen Chaoshen knocked several tis, but no one ca to open the door. Thinking the place was uninhabited, he turned to leave and buy so wine. Unexpectedly, after taking just two steps, the door of the house across the street opened. A middle-aged woman in an apron ca out with a basin of water, and without caring that Wen Chaoshen was standing nearby, she flicked her arm, scattering the water like a celestial maiden scattering flowers into the alley.
Wen Chaoshen hurriedly dodged and then said to the middle-aged woman:
"Watch where you're throwing that!"
The middle-aged woman gave him a sharp look and sneered:
"Why don't you watch where you're going?"
"I've never seen you in this alley before. What, are you so loafer sneaking around here at night to steal sothing?"
"If you don't leave, I'll report you to the authorities!"
Wen Chaoshen was taken aback by her outburst but didn't argue back. He took out the paper A Shui had given him and said to the woman:
"Don't report just yet. I just want to ask you sothing... Is the family across the street surnad Wang, and is there soone nad Wang Kun?"
The middle-aged woman initially thought Wen Chaoshen was so loafer planning to steal sothing. But hearing his question, she let out a surprised "huh," and her disdainful expression turned curious. She looked Wen Chaoshen up and down and asked:
"Who are you?"
Wen Chaoshen's eyes flickered as he replied:
"You don't know . I'm not originally from Kuhai County; I just moved here recently. I'm looking for Wang Kun because soone asked to deliver a ssage to him."
The middle-aged woman, still wary, continued to ask:
"Who asked you?"
Wen Chaoshen hesitated for a mont before answering:
"A young man."
"I was paid to keep things confidential."
"Just trying to earn a little hard-earned money, please understand."
Hearing this, the previously sharp-tongued woman surprisingly softened, no longer as aggressive as before.
"He hasn't lived there for a long ti."
Wen Chaoshen pressed on:
"Where did he go?"
The middle-aged woman glanced at Wen Chaoshen, then turned back into the house.
"Wait here."
She left him with those words, and soon, a woman's voice could be faintly heard from the courtyard:
"Old Wang, there's a young man outside looking for you."
Shortly after, a man still adjusting his clothes ca running out. His face was pockmarked, with a large patch of white at his temples, and he wore an expression of surprise and a hint of nervousness.
"Are you Wang Kun?"
Wen Chaoshen asked uncertainly, and the man nodded:
"Yes, I'm Wang Kun, the owner of this house."
"What do you want with ?"
Wen Chaoshen looked into his eyes and got straight to the point:
"Is your son Wang Ye the one who joined the army seventeen years ago?"
ntioning his son, Wang Kun was montarily stunned. Then he stepped forward and grabbed Wen Chaoshen, his emotions slightly agitated as he asked:
"How do you know?"
"Wang Ye, he..."
Wen Chaoshen, dizzy from being shaken, quickly broke free and kept his distance.
"Wang Kun, don't worry, your son is fine."
To calm Wang Kun, he began to lie with a straight face. Though feeling a bit guilty, his expression and tone were firm.
Hearing this, Wang Kun finally cald down a bit, slowly patting his chest and gasping:
"That's good, that's good... You scared , oh heavens."
Wen Chaoshen tilted his head slightly, carefully observing Wang Kun's facial expression, and said:
"Over the years, you should have received letters from your son Wang Ye, right?"
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