Chapter 56: Cao Zheng Goes All In
Wei Lao naturally saw everything in his eyes.
Seeing Jiang Ce’s expression seem slightly troubled, Wei Lao smiled faintly and said: “That is the Lord of the Gatekeepers, Cao Gong. He just had important matters to handle last night, so he might be a bit tired now. He has always wanted to meet you.”
Jiang Ce came to a realization, finally understanding that what happened just now was not an illusion.
Important matters? That was certainly some important matter.
Was there anything more embarrassing than running into the leader at a nightclub, finishing up, and then calling him brother?
Oh, right, visiting a brothel would be even more embarrassing.
That is, he hadn’t expected to find a drinking companion princess last night.
Jiang Ce covered his face with one hand, lowered his head, and his whole body emitted a dejected and melancholic aura.
Wei Lao, not understanding, asked with concern: “Is your body unwell?”
“Ah, no, no.” Jiang Ce waved his hand and carefully asked: “Did Cao Gong know I was coming before?”
Wei Lao shook his head: “I wanted to tell him, but he was handling affairs all day yesterday and I didn’t want to disturb him. I couldn’t find him in the evening either, so he probably doesn’t know. Is there a problem?”
“Uh, I was wondering if I came at a bad time and disturbed Cao Gong.”
It seemed that yesterday was indeed a coincidence, and not Cao Zheng coming specifically to find him. Jiang Ce finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“No harm done.” Wei Lao stroked his beard: “Just now, you might have broken through a realm and he perceived it, which disturbed him. I called you here just to explain the key points of the White Tiger Secret Teachings to you, not for you to cultivate here. As long as you don’t make any more noise, it won’t disturb him.”
“That’s good.” Jiang Ce nodded.
“But I didn’t expect that one cup of spiritual tea would actually help you enter Sixth Rank. Although I knew it would benefit you, I didn’t expect it to take effect so quickly.”
Wei Lao was in a great mood at this time. With this spiritual tea, perhaps many gatekeepers who had been stuck in a realm for years, with enough merit but unable to advance further, could break through their shackles and reach a higher level.
It was just a pity that the quantity was scarce, so a plan needed to be set for who to give it to.
Jiang Ce deeply agreed and immediately started blowing rainbow farts: “Indeed, this spiritual tea didn’t seem ordinary at first glance. I didn’t expect it to solve the problem that had troubled me for days. It is truly extraordinary.”
“Days…” Wei Lao then remembered that Jiang Ce could not be judged by common standards.
He coughed lightly twice and changed the topic.
“Have you viewed the White Tiger Secret Teachings yet?”
“I’ve skimmed through it once.” Jiang Ce took out the classic from his shoulder bag and carefully laid it on the table: “But there are still many parts I don’t understand, and I haven’t had time to cultivate it.”
“It’s normal not to understand. Confucian cultivators enter the Dao through Confucian classics, relying on reading to cultivate righteous qi corresponding to Buddhist charm, to achieve ‘a great man born between heaven and earth, how could…”
“…he linger despondently below others?'” Jiang Ce spoke quickly, taking over this classic Lü Bu quote.
Wei Lao, who had originally looked kind and benevolent, suddenly darkened his face.
What did it mean to say this in front of me? Are you rebelling, kid?
But having heard Xiao Lin’s evaluation, he also knew that Jiang Ce was purely foul-mouthed with no malicious intent, so he patiently continued:
“…he not embrace the world and care for all things.”
Wei Lao sighed, not intending to pursue the now suddenly enlightened Jiang Ce:
“But reading easily leads to a problem: a hundred people have a hundred ways of interpreting, and a hundred kinds of insights. Although righteous qi won’t go wrong, the intensity and manifestation of righteous qi differ based on each person’s unique experience. I was worried you might take a wrong path, so I had Xiao Lin call you here for me to guide you into it.”
Jiang Ce felt warmth in his heart and immediately stood up, cupping his hands and bowing to Wei Lao: “Thank you, Wei Lao!”
Speaking of taking wrong paths, or simply going berserk, his experience was all too deep.
He could even practice the Golden Bell Shield wrong, and the various terms inside were ones he had learned since childhood. If that could go wrong, let alone the winding Confucian classics.
Without exaggeration, even the Three Character Classic could be interpreted by him as a children’s evil scripture, from which he might cultivate heaven-defying evil qi corresponding to righteous qi.
Wei Lao smiled satisfactorily, pressed his palm downward virtually to signal Jiang Ce to sit, and then continued:
“But it surprised me that you cultivated the Golden Bell Shield first. I originally thought you would first practice sorceries that help elevate your realm.”
“For a boy out in the world, learning to protect himself is most important, so he chose the Golden Bell Shield first.”
Jiang Ce answered honestly.
“Mm, a smart choice. Xiao Lin said you practice it well, even able to block Sixth Rank attacks?”
“Lucky, lucky, not worth mentioning.” Jiang Ce didn’t dare show any arrogance in front of Wei Lao, being extremely humble, which surprised the latter somewhat, feeling it didn’t quite match Xiao Lin’s description.
The young man is clearly very good. Although he doesn’t think before speaking, he seems to have no other flaws.
“No more on that. I have matters to handle this afternoon. This morning, I’ll first explain the outline of the White Tiger Secret Teachings to you. Since you’ve also received the Sage of Literature’s blessing, it shouldn’t be hard for you to master this sorcery. Stay here these few days to study the entire book thoroughly before going back.”
Wei Lao spoke very naturally, as if it were only right.
But if outsiders knew that Wei Lao had turned into a nanny for a junior, they would be shocked.
No matter the sect or school, with his experience and strength, he was qualified to be a sect’s founding ancestor.
Jiang Ce had no intuitive feeling about this, so he just thought the old man was nice, a respectable elder, completely unaware of how exaggerated his treatment was.
“Open the first page. I’ll explain it sentence by sentence. Listen and look, and ask me later about anything you don’t understand.”
“Alright, sorry to trouble you, Wei Lao.”
Time passed bit by bit. Without doubt, Wei Lao was a good teacher, explaining every point Jiang Ce didn’t understand in exhaustive detail before moving to the next part.
And Jiang Ce was equally a good student, with strong memory and high comprehension ability. He could quickly draw inferences from Wei Lao’s explanations and fully integrate them, making Wei Lao feel very gratified.
It was only when Wei Lao left for something and left Jiang Ce to study alone that he finally put down his always-suspended heart.
“Wei Lao said to master it but not practice immediately, must first read various Confucian classics thoroughly, cultivate righteous qi before practicing. Is this something I’m suited for?”
Jiang Ce looked troubled, already pondering that Confucian cultivators all had sharp tongues, big talkers, wondering if he could try entering the Dao through cursing.
And at that moment, Cao Zheng appeared before Jiang Ce like a ghostly figure, but the latter didn’t notice at all.
Until Cao Zheng broke the silence: “Who are you? How did you become Wei Lao’s student?”
Jiang Ce was stunned, and a bold and frightening guess appeared in his mind.
What did this mean? Could he be pretending not to know me? If I don’t play along, will I be silenced?
“Cao, uh, Cao Gong, I offended you greatly last night. I really didn’t know that was you.”
But unexpectedly, confusion appeared in Cao Zheng’s eyes: “Have we met?”
“Mm, we haven’t met, right?” Jiang Ce probed suspiciously.
Seeing Jiang Ce’s appearance, Cao Zheng thought for a moment, then asked: “Did you go to the bar downstairs last night?”
“Mm, I did.”
Jiang Ce nodded with confusion, not knowing what medicine Cao Zheng was selling in his gourd.
“I see.” Cao Zheng smiled with raised brows: “You probably saw my younger brother and mistook him for me.”
Jiang Ce’s eye twitched. He can’t even lie properly?
“Uh, Cao Gong, are you sure that was your brother? But why have I never heard anyone else mention you have a brother?”
Cao Zheng sighed: “My brother has poor talent and very low realm, so he can only help me handle headquarters affairs. He’s not well-known, likes drinking and crowds, completely different from my personality.
He often goes to the bar downstairs to drink and has made many ordinary person friends. You probably happened to see him and thought he was me.”
Jiang Ce’s gaze grew even more suspicious.
“Are you treating me like a fool?” was almost written on his face.
“Elder brother!”
Hearing the voice, Jiang Ce whipped his head around and really saw another Cao Zheng in a black suit standing by the rockery not far away.
Turning back, he saw short-sleeved Cao Zheng smiling helplessly.
“You borrowed my name again to make friends. If people who know me find out, how am I supposed to handle it as your brother?”
Jiang Ce’s eyes widened. He really has a brother?
Suit Cao Zheng smiled embarrassedly: “I heard from Wei Lao that the friend I met yesterday is from the same sect, so I came specially to see him. If it’s convenient, I’ll take him out for a stroll.”
“Go ahead.” Short-sleeved Cao Zheng waved his hand.
And just like that, Jiang Ce was bewilderedly taken away by suit Cao Zheng.
Once Jiang Ce entered the dedicated elevator and the doors closed, short-sleeved Cao Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, relaxed, took a clean cup, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it contentedly.
“If people knew I usually like clubbing, how could I maintain my majesty?”
There has always been a legend among cultivators that the Lord of the Gatekeepers has a top Daoist sect secret technique found in an ancient ruin, called One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones.
Relying on this method, one can cultivate two incarnations: past and future. The three bodies are one source, three-in-one, sharing cultivation results.
This is not just a legend; One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones truly exists, and Cao Zheng has truly mastered it.
That’s why he can be busy with mundane affairs without cultivating and still remain at his peak.
Because the future body is always seeking opportunities in various secret realms, while the past body remains in seclusion at Gatekeeper Headquarters, directly receiving data to comprehend the Dao and cultivate.
So Jiang Ce didn’t know that the “Cao Zheng brother” he thought was just Cao Zheng’s past body, which had been in seclusion for over a decade, specially summoned to cover his tracks. He even forcibly severed the connection between the two clones, damaging his own cultivation to create a fake identity.
