Chapter 104: The Mysterious and Wondrous Gate of Profundity

  Shi Jin sat on a pear-wood chair, taking a moment to collect himself while sizing up the study of Li Baicao.

  Actually, from the outside of the study, it doesn't look like a big house. The door is located on the west side, leaving a large square window on the east side that lets in a lot of sunlight, making the entire room bright. In front of the study door is a red lacquer eight immortals table, with two pear-wood chairs on either side where Shi Jin and Li Bai are currently sitting. Behind the eight immortals table is an altar table with a painting on it, which depicts a kind old man with no background scenery, holding a sickle in his left hand and a staff in his right hand, with a large exaggerated basket behind him that contains nothing.

  Shi Jin looked at the old man in the painting with some curiosity, his snow-white beard was extremely dense, and there wasn't a single wrinkle on his face, it was as smooth and clean as a child's face. Shi Jin stared at this painting, looking and looking, as if the old man became less and less like an old man, especially those eyes, which seemed to be getting brighter and more piercing, sharp enough to pierce through one's internal organs, yet kind and gentle enough to melt all the ice in the world.

  In the space of a cup of tea, Li Bai Cao saw Shi Jin staring blankly at the person in the painting like he was enchanted. Li Bai Cao leaned over to Shi Jin's ear and whispered: "This is my ancestor's portrait, since the year we opened the Hundred Maze Gate, it has been passed down through one generation."

  "Only one generation was passed down, so he is also your great-grandfather?" Shi Jin stared at the short old man's face without blinking, but couldn't find any resemblance to Li Bai Cao.

  Li Bai Cao cleared his throat and continued, "This is not it. I was an orphan since childhood, and I don't even know who my ancestors were. What I meant by 'passed down through generations' just now refers to the inheritance within the Hundred Maze Gate."

  "So you're saying that now, the only two people in this so-called Hundred Unconscious Gate are you and your master? And in the future, when you become the gate's leader, it will still be just you and your apprentice?" Shi Jin had never heard of a sect behind Lei Bai Cao before, and he became even more curious when he guessed that there were only two people in this sect.

  Li Baicao looked at the painting and said, "It's not afraid to be laughed at by the master of the house. This Hundred Unconscious Gate is also a signboard in the Jianghu, but there are only three people in the door forever: Master, apprentice, and him." As he spoke, Li Baicao pointed to the person in the painting.

  "He? Ba Cao, you mean he's still... alive?" Shi Jin couldn't help but take another glance at the old man in the painting.

  Li Bai Cao nodded silently and didn't say anything else, her lips pursed tightly as if opening them again would reveal a heavenly secret and bring about disaster.

  Shi Jin didn't ask again, and changed the subject to the lost "Shun Tian Book". "Baicao, is there any copy of that 'Shun Tian Book', or anything else that can be used as a reference?"

  Li Baicao shook his head and said, "When Master left, he said that everything was left in this study. At that time, the house was empty except for the portrait of our ancestors on the wall and the book 'Shun Tian Shu'. Now that 'Shun Tian Shu' is gone, more than half of Master's legacy is lost. The Hundred Flavors Sect has been passed down to my generation, but its medical skills are greatly discounted." As he spoke, Li Baicao couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.

  Shi Jin listened to Li Baicao's sighs and felt a sense of loss for him. Shi Jin patted Li Baicao on the back and continued to ask, "You said your master left you with a copy of 'Following Heaven' and this portrait when he passed away?"

  Li Baicao knew it wasn't the time to be sentimental, so he suppressed his emotions and continued from where Shi Jin had left off: "When Master went out on a journey, he did this. When he left for the last time, he left these things for me. I still remember that when Master stepped out of the door, he turned around and said that as long as I could understand everything he left behind, it would be enough to inherit his legacy."

  What was left behind were this portrait of the ancestor and the "Shun Tian Book". Is this all there is to the essence of Bai Mei Wu Jiao? Shi Jin's mind involuntarily raised a string of question marks, but judging from the current situation, this ancestor's portrait doesn't seem to be the essence of Bai Mei Wu Jiao. Most likely, it was concentrated in that "Shun Tian Book". But since his master An Daoquan left it behind, he wouldn't just leave him with an idea so simple. This painting must have some deeper meaning, especially since it depicted such a mysterious old man.

  "What a big deal!"

  Just as Shi Jin was thinking about something in his heart, a man rushed in from outside the door. Shi Jin took a closer look and found that it was the brother who had been sent to fetch Huang Er Lang earlier. The man hastily bowed and reported: "Master, the Huang Er Lang you asked me to fetch is no longer in Huayin County."

  "What? Not in Huayin County anymore!" Shi Jin and Li Baicao were both shocked when they heard this.

  "Yes, when I went to the Huang's house, they said that their second young master had disappeared since you caused a disturbance there that day. Huang Tianba also said that he was just about to come to our Shaohua Mountain to demand someone." The reporting brother lifted his sleeve and wiped away the dripping sweat on his cheek, and his entire sleeve was stained with yellow soil.

  Shi Jin nodded after hearing the report, and with a slight wave of his hand, he let the brother retreat first. Shi Jin knew that the Huang family was not a good class, and this time Huang Er Lang's disappearance must have been playing tricks. If it was said that he really disappeared after the big disturbance at Kong Ji Dye House, would it be related to the Kong family again? Or, have the two families already formed an alliance, gathering their respective powerful forces, using Huang Er Lang's disappearance as a pretext to provoke a dispute, seeking revenge and hatred.

  The trouble with the corpse poison has not been resolved yet, and now Huang Tianba is again threatening to come and cause trouble. The reality of the government army outside the city is still unknown, and what's even more worrying is that the government army may launch a general attack at any time. Shi Jin began to worry, if the corpse poison spreads and causes a devastating panic, and in the city, Huang Tianba makes a big fuss again, and then the outside launches a general attack, I'm afraid that even with three heads and six arms, it would be impossible to cope.

  Shi Jin was at a loss for what to do, and thought that it would be great if he had several reliable brothers by his side right now. Shi Jin thought about this, and couldn't help but think of Chen Da and Wu Sanlang. Shi Jin let out a deep sigh, stood up, and said to Li Baicao: "Baicao, sitting here won't help us figure things out. Let's go take a look at Chen Da's injuries first before we decide what to do."

  Lí bǎi cǎo ǎn de yìng le yī shēng, zhàn qǐ shēn lái biàn dài Shǐ jìn lái dào hòu yuàn de nà ge piān fáng lǐ, nà ge céng jīng jiù le tā yī mìng de àn shì.