SFS Chapter 44 The place is deserted
Chapter 44 The place is deserted
Shen Qing raised his hand: "Get up, everyone. Pack your belongings and follow the stewards down the mountain. Remember my words: wherever I am, Qingyun Sect will be there."
The disciples rose one after another and left the Ancestral Hall with their respective stewards.
They returned to the room where they had lived for more than half a year, retrieved their luggage which they had packed long ago, including a change of clothes, a handwritten manual of martial arts techniques, and their respective identity tags.
Most of the bags were light, but each one carried the essence of the mountain.
Shen Qing stood at the mountain gate, seeing off each departing disciple.
Every disciple who passed by him would stop and bow deeply.
Some bowed silently, some whispered "Take care, Sect Master," and some had tears welling up in their eyes before they even spoke.
The crowd filed out from the mountain gate and slowly descended the mountain path, like a silent river.
Zhao Shoucheng was assigned to the Martial Arts Division of the county government as the head constable. He was a bit older and had already reached the fourth level of Qi Refining. His martial arts cultivation had reached the Body Refining Realm, making him the strongest among all the disciples.
The county magistrate personally selected him and appointed him to lead a team of yamen runners to be responsible for patrolling and maintaining security in Qinghe County.
Chen Shouxin was assigned to the Military Division as Deputy Chief of Staff, partnering with Zhao Shoucheng.
The two stood together, looking at Shen Qing, their eyes red-rimmed. Zhao Shoucheng opened his mouth, but in the end, he only clasped his hands in a deep bow, turned around, and strode away.
Lin Shouwei and Lin Shoujing were assigned to the county government's women's prison as jailers, in charge of the Qinghe County Women's Prison.
This arrangement surprised Shen Qing. Although the job in the women's prison was not a respectable one, it was a formally registered position in the county government, with a salary and quota. More importantly, it would allow the two female disciples to look after each other.
Lin Shouwei is calm and meticulous, while Lin Shoujing is down-to-earth and hardworking; the two make a good match.
Shen Qing was sincerely grateful for Zhao Yuanlang's arrangement.
The two stood before Shen Qing, sobbing uncontrollably before they could even speak. Shen Qing stepped forward and patted their heads, saying, "Work hard, and don't bring shame to the Qingyun Sect."
Wang Shouzhou was appointed as the head of the Qinghe County wharf, with four water constables under his command, all of whom were selected from his group of brothers at the wharf.
This is the place he knows best, and it's also the kind of work he excels at.
Wang Shouzhou, whose real name is Wang Ergou, is now over twenty-eight years old. Standing in front of Shen Qing, he stood up straight, but his eyes were a little red.
"Sect Master, this disciple is leaving."
"Go. Remember what I told you."
Wang Shouzhou nodded vigorously and strode away.
Behind him followed his chosen brothers, a large and lively group.
As for the disciples who plan to return home to farm, there are three of them. Most of them are disciples who have parents to support and younger siblings to take care of down in the mountains.
These people are actually quite loyal, but they have no choice in the matter.
"Zhang Dayou, you have an elderly mother and two young siblings at home. Li Xiaoshan, your father injured his back last year, and your family's few acres of poor land are left uncultivated. Wang Laosan, you are the only son in your family, and your parents are old and have no one to take care of them."
Shen Qing took out the remaining money from the sale of magical artifacts and pills, along with the silver notes prepared by Zhao Yuanlang, from his sleeve and handed them to the three of them: "This is the travel expense given to you by the county government, plus a little extra from my own pocket. Although the money is not much, it should be enough for you to get home for a while. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can go to find your senior brother, or you can come back to Qingyun Mountain."
The three knelt down at the same time, sobbing uncontrollably, and said, "Disciples thank the Sect Master."
Shen Qing helped the three of them up, patted them on the shoulder, and said no more.
After all the disciples had left, only Zhong Xiu, Xu Shouzhen, Fang Shourou, Xuanji, and his entourage remained at the mountain gate.
The crowds on the mountain path had gradually moved away and eventually disappeared around the corner at the foot of the mountain.
Xuanji bid farewell to Shen Qing: "Sect Leader Shen, the arrangements have been completed, and I should now return to report. The county government will arrange for yamen runners to be stationed on the mountain as soon as possible regarding the academy. The regulations for the boarding of the children have been drafted by the Household Department and will be sent over soon."
Shen Qing bowed in thanks and watched Xuanji descend the mountain.
The mountain gate fell silent once more. An autumn wind blew, swirling up a few fallen leaves.
Shen Qing stood in front of the mountain gate, looking at the empty mountain path, and remained silent for a long time.
Suddenly, a child's voice came from the direction of the academy.
It wasn't the usual sound of reading aloud; it was a poem that Shen Qing had never taught before.
"The frosty sky grows late, the north wind stains our clothes. We met, and now we must part again. May your journey be safe and sound; may we meet again someday, and may we never Don't forget our old friendship."
Shen Qing suddenly turned around.
At the entrance of the academy, forty young children, dressed in clean, starched clothes, stood neatly in four rows.
Teachers Sun Wenyuan, Li Molin, and Fang Jingzhi stood in front of the children, leading them in reciting the poem over and over again.
The children's voices were tender and clear, drifting in the autumn wind like a flock of fledglings calling in unison.
This is a farewell poem that Sun Wenyuan wrote especially for today.
He didn't tell Shen Qing, nor anyone else. He only wrote these few lines after learning that the Qingyun Sect disciples were about to leave the mountain.
Today, the academy has specially closed for the day. He brought the children to the academy gate early in the morning to see off the senior brothers and sisters who had taken them up and down the mountain, repaired their dormitories, and taught them to read and practice standing meditation.
On the mountain path, the disciples who were leaving stopped in their tracks.
Someone turned around and looked in the direction of the academy.
They saw those small figures standing at the entrance of the academy and heard the farewell poem that was being recited repeatedly.
Wang Shouzhou stopped in his tracks and recognized the boy standing in the first row.
That was the son of his old buddy at the dock, whom he had personally brought up the mountain after pleading with Shen Qing.
Zhao Shoucheng stopped, Lin Shouwei and Lin Shoujing also stopped, and everyone stopped.
They built this academy brick by brick with their own hands.
The foundation of the lecture hall was laid by them under the scorching sun, the timber for the scripture pavilion was felled one by one from the back mountain, and the yellow earth of the drill ground was tamped down basket by basket in the rain.
Those young children were brought up from the north of the city by them every morning, walking for more than an hour along the mountain path. They carried them one by one across the muddy road in the wind and rain.
Some of them had younger siblings among those children.
And now, they are leaving.
Why? Why did the once-prosperous Qingyun Sect turn out like this?
Why must they have to leave when everything has just begun? They have just built the academy, just learned to read, and just touched the threshold of cultivation?
Because of the Huang family of Qinghe.
Because the Huang family coveted Qingyun Mountain, because the Huang family patriarch was about to return, and because the Huang family used their power to intimidate others, the sect leader had no choice but to dismiss them in order to protect himself.
Over the past six months, Shen Qing had mentioned the threat posed by the Huang family to them countless times.
They heard it then, but they didn't really understand what the third level of Foundation Establishment meant.
Now they understood. When they were called out one by one, bid farewell to the patriarch one by one, and packed their bags one by one to leave this mountain, they finally understood.
The Huang family took away more than just a mountain; they took away the home they had just acquired.
Wang Shouzhou clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking.
Zhao Shoucheng pursed his lips and turned his gaze away from the direction of the academy.
Neither of them spoke, because there was no point in saying anything now.
But they all remembered that on this day, something happened: they were kicked out of their homes.
At the entrance of the academy, Sun Wenyuan led the children in reciting the farewell poem once more.
This time, those who left on the mountain path did not look back. But they walked slower, their steps heavier, and their fists clenched tighter.
Shen Qing stood at the mountain gate, watching the last figure disappear at the foot of the mountain.
His gaze fell on the system panel, where the loyalty numbers next to the names of the disciples who had already left were fluctuating.
What Shen Qing found strange was that their loyalty was not decreasing, but increasing.
Many people saw their points increase by five or ten, and some even by fifteen.
Those who were originally in the sixties or seventies jumped to the seventies or eighties, and those who were originally in the eighties or nineties even jumped to over ninety-five.
Shen Qing didn't know if it was because he had paid homage to the patriarch or because of the farewell from these young children, but it was a good thing for him.
Although these people have left, their hearts remain here.
Zhong Xiu stood behind Shen Qing, quietly watching the end of the mountain path. For her, parting was already commonplace.