177.2 – The Gong Family’s Affairs
In a study, swaying candlelight illuminated Gong Jing’s weather-beaten face. His eyes, which have accumulated nearly 100 years worth of sediment of time, are still as radiant as ever, are bright and abstruse.
The old man is sitting at a desk, and his eyes are reflecting a black figure — or rather, a black robe.
The other party is probably a man.
The figure is tall and slim, and the lines are almost flat. There are no curves indicative of a female. The face is hidden under the shadow of the hood, making it difficult to discern his true appearance. Everything about the man is hidden underneath the robe and shadow, and even the hands sticking out from the robe are covered in a pair of black gloves.
He looks like a specter in the night, with a strange breath winding around him.
However, Gong Jing is facing, unafraid.
The man is black from head to toe. Only his eyes have a unique shade.
The shade of death.
It’s a pair of gray, gloomy eyes.
It those eyes, there are a lot of stagnant happenings. Those happenings have long since withered and blanketed the radiance of life, and even exude a faint sense of decay, giving off an unpleasant feeling.
Gong Jing knows this sort of eyes.
Those are the eyes that can be best described by death, those are the eyes that only the dead or those who have experienced death yet can’t free themselves from its clutches posses.
However, it was this man — this man who lives with death, who brought hope to his grandson.
After lowering his eyes and sighing, Gong Jing finally dispersed the silence that pervaded ever since the man stepped into the study.
“I heard that you are called ‘Tailor’ [4]?”
In that short conversation with his son just now, Gong Jing learned from the servant that the genius doctor is called “Tailor”.
Tailor — this seems more like an alias rather than a person’s name.
Gong Jing can’t be certain that the man in front of him doesn’t have a name in a meaningful sense. After all, there is no lack of nameless orphans no matter the era. This era is no exception.
However, there are also many people who cannot reveal their true name for various reasons these days.
Behind this seemingly calm era, there is a turbulent undercurrent that defies imagination, like the hearts of the people standing high above who cast their eyes on the masses from on high.
“To answer your question, Great General Gong, yes, my name is ‘Tailor’. I don’t have a surname, It’s just ‘Tailor’.”
The black-robed man bowed slightly and answered respectfully.
Surprisingly, both his tone and voice are full of vitality and cheerfulness, without a trace of the breath of death mixed within. This does not matched with his appearance.
This sense of incongruity can only be described as strange.
Is it the voice or the eyes that can better portray the nature of this man? Gong Jing frowned, wondering.
However, the old man did not choose to get to the bottom of it.
Whether the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice, it is a good cat.
With the attitude of “a drowning man will clutch at a straw”, Gong Jing decided to ignore his suspicions about Tailor.
“Mhm, I shall remember it.”
“Great General Gong, for you to remember my name, it is indeed an honor.
Gong Jing, disapproving of Tailor’s flattery, waved his hand indifferently.
“The minimum of respect will suffice.”
After the last word fell, Gong Jing got up from his seat, walked around the desk, and came to in front of Tailor. Despite being this close, Gong Jing still could not clearly see Tailor’s appearance. Tailor’s face seems to be darkness itself.
“I don’t like to beat around the bush, so let’s get to the point.”
“Guests should do as the host sees fit. I naturally have no objections.”
“Very good.”
Gong Jing clasped his hands behind his back and nodded in satisfaction.
Then, he narrowed his eyes abruptly and stabbed Tailor in the eyes with his sharp gaze.
“Can you cure Yang’er’s disease?”
When he uttered this question, Gong Jing’s tranquil appearance was no more. His surging emotions became hard to suppress, his heart beat turned violent, and even his breathing grew chaotic.
At that time, he didn’t notice his voice tremble ever so slightly.
Tailor didn’t answer immediately, but rather fell silent inexplicably.
Although Gong Jing is anxious to learn the answer, but he didn’t urge him. He just waited for the answer quietly.
Tailor’s silence was shorter than expected.
“– I can.”
These simple two words made his heart flutter abruptly. Gong Jing barely managed to remain calm. After taking a deep breath, he exhaled a words.
“Really?”
Tailor clasped his hands, bowed, and said confidently, “I’m speaking the truth. I wouldn’t dare deceive you, Great General Gong.”
“That’s great. Can you tell me the particulars? How should Yang’er’s illness be treated.”
Tailor said “okay”, and then straightened his back.
“Great General Gong, as a martial practitioner, you should know where the source of martial arts, ‘true qi’, comes from.”
Gong Jing nodded with a “mhm”, confirming Tailor’s words.
The source of martial practitioners’ strength — true qi, is not born from nothing, but is converted from spiritual qi, which is drawn into the body from heave and earth, via inner force cultivation methods.
“The source of martial practitioners’ strength is ‘spiritual qi’. As long as you are a living being, you will accumulate spiritual qi inside the body. Great General Gong, you may not know this, but just like the body needs to breath, so does what is called as the soul inside the body, and what it breathes is spiritual qi.”
“Oh–?” Gong Jing raised his tone, rather surprised, “This is the first I hear such a statement.”
“It’s not surprising, because this is a theory of ancient Daoism.”
Gong Jing raised his eyebrows.
“Ancient Daoism? Not the current, One Dao Church’s Daoism?”
“Not exactly. Since the Contention of the Hundred Schools of Thought [5], ‘Martialism’ and ‘Confucianism’ have become mainstream in the fields of martial arts and literature respectively. Daoism of today is based on the Daoist philosophy and incorporates the theory of ‘Martialism’. As a consequence, Daoism has lost some of its core ideas. Daoism of today respects martial arts, but ignores the Daoist doctrine that was famous in the past.”
“Well, there seems to be such a thing.”
Gong Jing has studied the art of war and is familiar with martial arts, but he is not too familiar with the unorthodox learnings of the Hundred Schools of Thought [5]. As such, he isn’t sure whether Tailor’s statement is true or not.
However, it is rumored that in the Contention of the Hundred Schools of Thought era, there have been many unimaginable arts and theories. Among them, the mechanical art of “Moism” [6] is the most famous, leaving many popular legends.
“In ancient times, Daoism studied mainly a spiritual qi application art called the ‘Immortal art’. This art has irreconcilable differences with the current martial art theory and has already been lost. However… recently I heard that someone in the Merak Temple has reproduced a similar art.”
“Are you referring to ‘Natural Disaster’ Xue Qilin?”
Even though Gong Jing was far away at the northern border, but he still heard about the deeds of the Merak Temple’s Young Master and her unique “technique” — magic.
“You are well informed, great general.”
Tailor praised with a look of admiration on his face.
“It’s not a big deal. The fact that she broke into the Heavenly Sword Gate by herself has spread throughout the entire Hua dynasty.”
It is not a self-effacing excuse, but an irrefutable statement of facts.
Tailor smiled, noncommittal.
“To be honest, Young Master Gong’s illness is a kind of ‘spiritual qi’ illness. People are born with ‘martial root’. Martial root, which was called ‘spiritual root’ in the Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thought era, is the key to absorbing ‘spiritual qi’. However, Young Lord Gong was born with weak spiritual root, which cannot bear to hold a large amount of spiritual qi. Great General Gong, imagine what would happen if you fill a bowl full of cracks with water? Needless to say, it won’t be able to bear the strain and collapse — Young Master Gong’s circumstances are rather similar to this analogy.
“Hmm, how do you heal it?”
“Although this disease is rare and complicated, it is not without precedent. I have traveled all over the world and have seen several similar cases. Although most people suffering from this disease won’t live to be twenty years old. But after researching it, I concluded that the disease is not completely incurable. Young Master Gong still has a glimmer of hope.”
“Where does that hope it lie?”
“Great General Gong, I remember that you still have a granddaughter, right?”
Tailor asked this inexplicably.
Although Gong Jing is puzzled, but he still stated as it is.
“Yes, I also have a granddaughter.”
“That’s great.”
For some reason, Tailor’s voice suddenly became profound.
“– the hope lies in your granddaughter, Great General Gong.”
— Rumble!
All of a sudden, it started raining heavily outside.
A bolt of lightning struck in the night sky and illuminated the entire Chang’an, followed by deafening thunder.
The thing that he saw made Gong Jing widen his eyes.
Although it was only for a split second, but Gong Jing did see Tailor’s face hidden in the shadow.
A face as pale as a dead person’s.
The most eye-catching thing is that the neck, which connects the head and the rest of the body, is full of suture scars.
At this moment, as if he fell into an ice cave, a chill gripped Gong Jing’s body.
*
[4] – Tailor, as in the occupation of making or altering garments
[5] – Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thought
[6] – Moism
