Chapter 116: Wooden-Legged Women
Luoyang City was very large, with many caravans coming and going.
Therefore, at the foot of the city walls, inns and post stations appeared to provide rest for the caravans that could not enter the city.
As time passed, the scale at the foot of the city walls grew larger and larger, even larger than Luoyang City itself, and it was called the “Outer City”.
After all, the prices of things in Luoyang City were not low.
So things in the Outer City were very cheap, even though many places looked dirty.
Shi Feizhe passed by the Outer City before entering the city, but this time Guan Shan took him to the edge of the Outer City, almost to a dilapidated small courtyard.
The courtyard was very small, barely a courtyard, with three earthen houses built of loess and thatch.
Behind the earthen houses was a wasteland.
As if hearing the commotion outside, a woman’s voice came from inside the house: “I’m not feeling well today, no guests!”
Her voice was quite pleasant.
“It’s me!” Guan Shan said, carrying a basket on his back and food he had bought on the road.
“So it’s Big Brother Guan! Wait a moment!” The woman’s voice was filled with surprise, and she said, “Sister, Big Brother Guan is here to see us!”
After a while, the sound of “da da da” wood hitting the ground came from inside.
With a “creak”, the small courtyard door opened, and two women, one tall and one short, came out.
The two of them were about twenty or thirty years old, both very thin, as if they had been malnourished for a long time. They were each beautiful in their own way, and both were very delicate. They were very happy to see Guan Shan and curious to see Shi Feizhe.
Surprisingly, they had no feet, only wooden limbs like feet, which they could only walk on by wearing them on their ankles.
This was the “da da da” sound that had been heard earlier.
“Big Brother Guan, this is…” The slightly taller woman asked.
She knew Guan Shan would not introduce clients to them.
“This is a big shot I recently met, Academy Head Shi!” Guan Shan introduced to the two women, “I sold myself, and thinking that I haven’t seen you for a long time, I came to see you!”
“Academy Head Shi, these two are Dan La and Mi Er, they are my friends!” Guan Shan introduced to Shi Feizhe.
Shi Feizhe smiled and said to them, “Hello!”
“Hello, Academy Head Shi!” The two girls performed a curtsy and welcomed Shi Feizhe into the courtyard.
“You two came and even brought gifts, you are too kind.” Dan La was the taller woman, her smile was very gentle, and her voice was particularly pleasant.
Guan Shan brought them rice and oil, while Shi Feizhe bought dried meat, salt, and other necessities of life.
The oil can was only about ten kilograms, and Dan La could barely lift it. Shi Feizhe saw traces of martial arts practice on her.
But the rice bag was very heavy, and Guan Shan put it in the corner of the kitchen for them.
The kitchen was small, but very tidy.
Apart from the kitchen, the other two small rooms were very small, only enough for the two women to live in and store their belongings, so the four of them sat in the courtyard and talked.
“Is Big Brother Guan going to travel the Jianghu with Academy Head Shi from now on?” Mi Er, a short and petite woman, said with a twinkle in her eye.
“No, we’re just going to open a martial arts academy!” Shi Feizhe said.
He already knew that these two women were the Holy Maidens.
In many sects, the Holy Maidens were the exclusive property and playthings of the higher-ups, raised from childhood.
As for the broken feet, it was probably related to the doctrines within the Bright Sacred Cult.
Shi Feizhe had seen all sorts of dirty things in various sects while in the Jianghu.
“Opening a martial arts academy? That’s a big undertaking! We sisters wish Big Brother Guan and Academy Head Shi all the best! It’s getting late, why don’t I cook and we all have something to eat?” Mi Er said.
Although she was short, she seemed to be quite assertive.
“We have something to do later, why don’t we go back first?” Shi Feizhe said, seeing that the two women were not convenient.
But Guan Shan said, “Academy Head Shi, there’s nothing to do back there! Let’s eat here, I’ll go help!”
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With that, he went to the kitchen to help.
“…”
Shi Feizhe had no choice but to chat with the petite Mi Er, while Dan La and Guan Shan were cooking.
“Academy Head Shi is not from Luoyang?” Mi Er’s voice was a little crisp.
“How can you tell?” Shi Feizhe said.
“Because Academy Head Shi keeps looking at my feet!” Mi Er said.
“Sorry!”
“It’s nothing, everyone in Luoyang knows about the purity of the Holy Maidens of the Bright Sacred Cult.” Mi Er said in a strange tone, “The Holy Maidens have never walked on earth in their lives, they are the purest.”
“…I think I understand!” Shi Feizhe understood as soon as he heard the words “pure Holy Maiden”.
Just like a mute girl who doesn’t curse, so her soul is pure. A girl without feet naturally wouldn’t walk on earth and be contaminated by the filth of the world, so she was the purest.
Sects always packaged these concepts, and Shi Feizhe had seen a lot of them in the few months he had been in the Jianghu.
“How old were you?”
“Eight!” Mi Er said, “When I was eight, there was a purity ritual in the Holy Cult. You had to cut off your own feet to become a Holy Maiden!”
Shi Feizhe was silent for a while and said, “It must have hurt a lot!”
“I forgot!” Mi Er said with a smile, “If you remember the pain, it will always hurt! So, it’s better to forget!”
“Ha~” Shi Feizhe, who had been feeling a little depressed, suddenly laughed in relief.
In the Jianghu, See the Truth martial artists were treated like beasts of burden, but at least there was an illusory path to heaven.
Most people didn’t even have the qualifications to be beasts of burden.
They were like the wheat stubble in the fields, growing year after year. The farmers only harvested them on time every year, but no one ever cared about their thoughts.
Such people were not even worthy of being called human, or perhaps it would be more appropriate to call them consumables.
Shi Feizhe had seen a lot of bizarre things in the past few months, but Mi Er was the first optimistic person he had met!
“You’ve all practiced martial arts, haven’t you?” Shi Feizhe suddenly said.
“We all practiced before we were eight, but after that, our Blood and Qi were always difficult to perfect, and after a long time, our Blood and Qi declined.” Mi Er said.
A martial artist’s Blood and Qi needed to be exercised, how could they exercise their Blood and Qi without a pair of feet? How could they become a martial artist?
“Have you ever learned the Visualization Method?” Shi Feizhe asked again.
“Every believer in the Holy Cult has learned it. Visualize the divine messenger, forever serving by the Lord’s side!” Mi Er said.
Shi Feizhe squatted down, drew the Φ symbol on the ground with his finger, and said, “Then do you know what Supreme Wisdom is?”
“Supreme Wisdom?” Mi Er had never heard of it, but it felt like it had something to do with a sect.
“Wisdom comes from observation and summation, and also from doubt. Supreme wisdom is born from countless doubts…” Shi Feizhe began to explain the 《Supreme Wisdom Sutra》 to Mi Er.
The 《Supreme Wisdom Sutra》 was about visualizing Φ in the Sea of Consciousness, and then giving birth to Supreme Wisdom.
He hoped that wisdom could bring changes to their lives!
Shi Feizhe’s voice penetrated the earthen house, allowing Guan Shan and Dan La, who were cooking in the kitchen, to hear it.
“Big Brother Guan, who is he?” Dan La asked, hearing Shi Feizhe seemingly teaching scriptures.
“A…good person, I guess!” Guan Shan thought of asking Shi Feizhe to borrow money, and Shi Feizhe didn’t doubt him at all, he said.
“There are no good people in the Jianghu! Big Brother Guan should be more careful.” Dan La said again.
“I’m going this time, and I may not see you for a long time, I hope you all live well.” Guan Shan, who was tending the fire, said.
“The Holy Cult changed drastically in the past, and Big Brother Guan was able to bring us two out, which has already made us grateful, not to mention finding us a place to settle down.” Dan La said,
“We will definitely live well, so as not to let Big Brother Guan’s hard work go to waste!”
Live well.
