Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Extra 2: Ten Years Later

Xuanyuan Sect, Main Hall

Zhongli Qian was talking business with Shu Yanyan in the discussion room. He had been ignored by Wenren È for ten years now, over which he would send a resignation slip to Wenren È and Yin Hanjiang every half month. After persistently sending two hundred and forty talismans over the past ten years, he finally got an annoyed response from Wenren È: "If you find someone suitable to manage Xuanyuan Sect, you can hand the position over and leave."

After receiving this message, Zhongli Qian happily touched his hair and hurried to find Shu Yanyan. He passed the regulations he had written over the past years, rewards and punishments, stocks of spiritual stones, the methods of sect members and their potential advancements and bottlenecks in the future, all over to Shu Yanyan. Seeing how she leaned on the desk with no intention of checking the jade slips, he was forced to explain every point to her.

After ten years, Shu Yanyan was still beautiful as a young maiden. She yawned, looking at Zhongli Qian bleary-eyed. "Forty years ago, when I met you at the literature conference, why didn't I realize you were so long-winded?"

At the literature conference, Zhongli Qian had discussed classics and composed poetry, each line eloquent and uplifting even if you didn't understand it. Right now, he was talking about how many first-grade, upper-grade, mid-grade, and lower-grade spiritual stones were in storage, what anxieties the sect members had lately, what the Altar Masters were planning and how to keep them content, and so on. Shu Yanyan couldn't stop her eyelids from growing heavy as she listened.

She pinched Zhongli Qian's handsome face and said wearily, "No wonder the scholars of the mortal world are so distinguished and elegant as students, like a tender bamboo stalk, that you can't help but want to sample. But after passing the exams, they all become gluttonous officials with potbellies and wrinkles, and on top of being ugly, they can't even compose a poem and stink of alcohol. Ah, Zhongli Qian..."

She shook her head with a sigh, as if lamenting a beauty past its prime.

Zhongli Qian, who had been youthful and handsome for many years: ...

After some thought, he replied, "After all these years at Xuanyuan Sect, I'm still a teacher of the Dao and haven't changed."

"I know." Shu Yanyan suddenly stood up. Stroking his chin, she said tenderly, "You've lost weight."

Zhongli Qian was stunned.

Shu Yanyan said seriously, "I celebrate you being a student or a teacher, but don't bother yourself with Xuanyuan Sect's odd jobs anymore. That's not suited to you. A teacher passes on knowledge and values. You make every effort for your disciples, but there are times where you have to take your hand away. Everyone walks their own paths, and you can't do it for them. You're exhausting yourself."

Zhongli Qian stared at the jade slips on the table, one of which recorded each sect member's future path of cultivation. He had written down everything he could think of, but in truth, there were countless possibilities he hadn't been able to write.

"As for me, I follow my heart in everything. I sample everything I like and discard everything I don't like. If I appreciate someone, I'll interact with them more. If I respect them, I'll be honest with them and share my feelings, and not treat them lightly," Shu Yanyan said. "I respect Sir Zhongli, so I'm willing to let someone I desire leave me. But at the same time, I'm happy to let go because I want Zhongli Qian to forever remain a gentleman, a revered teacher. If you let this pack of fools degrade your principles, then I won't be so nice anymore."

Zhongli Qian pondered for a long time, then cupped his hands to Shu Yanyan. "Many thanks to Protector Shu for her guidance. I understand now."

He had given so much to Xuanyuan Sect over all these years, and without his notice, it had become a fetter for him, just like the Zhongli clan, gradually taking away his freedom and causing him to forget his original intent.