Legend of the Great Sage (Chapter 1-Chapter 100)

“Oh, it’s Erlang. Have you eaten? If you haven’t, you can come to my house.” At the entrance, an old man plowed a vegetable garden with his hoe. He greeted Li Qingshan warmly as soon as he saw him.

What happened yesterday in caretaker Liu’s courtyard had already spread across the entire village. The unrecognised second son of the Li family had already become someone famous. Both the young and old felt some respect towards this young man.

Li Qingshan responded to all the greetings he received. He passed through most of the village until he eventually arrived before a small yard that had a few willow trees planted in front. A small, old man in rags leaned against the tree. He was already as drunk as a fiddler despite it being the morning, which surprisingly, made him seem a little like a great hermit beyond worldly affairs.

Li Qingshan knew that this was no hermit. He was an ordinary farmer and Xiao Mao’s father. His name was Li Fugui. He was actually still in his thirties, but he seemed like he was in his fifties or sixties already. Ever since his wife passed away, he had basically stopped doing farmwork. He would drink away his sorrows everyday and act in a deranged manner.



Seeing Li Qingshan approach him, Li Fugui slurred, “Come, drink, drink.” The stink of alcohol assaulted Li Qingshan’s nose.

Li Qingshan frowned and grabbed Li Fugui, dragging him into the courtyard. Without a single word, Li Qingshan scooped up a ladle of water and poured it into his mouth, which choked him into a coughing fit. He leaned over the threshold of the door and vomited.

Li Qingshan studied the courtyard and the house. It was a mess everywhere. Spider webs covered all the window lattices. It was truly run-down. In the past, Li Fugui’s family had been renowned in the village for their wealth, and the amount of fertile farmland in their possession was second to only caretaker Liu’s family. He had lived up to the name his parents had given to him. The whole family lived happily.

TL: Li Fugui—Li is his surname and Fugui is his given name. Fugui also means wealthy. It’s a rather crude name.

However, who could help that the world was unpredictable? It had all been reduced to this after sudden misfortune, which made Li Qingshan sigh emotionally. The mere happiness of ordinary people was just too fragile. However, with his unswerving determination and great ambitions, he despised people who sank into depravity and dejection and let themselves go the most. As a result, he was not particularly kind to people like this either.

Li Fugui was furious. “W- w- what are you doing?”

“Uncle Li, are you sober?”

Li Fugui saw Li Qingshan’s hostile gaze and shivered all over. He was not blind or deaf. He knew exactly what Li Qingshan had done in the village over the past few days. He was a real person of misfortune. “W- what’s the matter?”

“Do you know how Xiao Mao’s mother died?” Li Qingshan got straight to the paint.

“I don’t know, I know nothing.” Li Fugui paled from fright as soon as he heard that, making his way out quickly.

Li Qingshan grabbed his skinny wrist. “Is this what your wife would have wanted you to become?”

Li Fugui halted. “Erlang, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you. That’s trouble that you can’t afford to get involved with. Do you want to just lose your life for nothing?”

“I don’t want trouble either, but the trouble has already come knocking. If I have to live like you, I would much rather lose my life. I just want you to tell me what happened in the past.”

Li Fugui was startled by that. “What? It has already come knocking?” After quite a while of hesitance, he exhaled deeply and began narrating.

“After Xiao Mao’s mother shouted abuses in the streets outside the witch’s home, she came home and went to sleep. She was unable to get up the next day. Her body became cold and blue. So many strange things happened that night, a- and I saw…”

“What did you see?”

“A child!”

Li Qingshan finally confirmed that the murderer really was the witch.

Moreover, the witch had even said to Li Fugui sinisterly that not only did Xiao Mao miss his mother, but he also missed his father as well. It scared Li Fugui into giving a huge offering.

Li Qingshan slammed the wall with his hand. “She has gone too far. Haven’t you ever considered avenging your wife?”

Li Fugui reddened from frustration due to the contempt in Li Qingshan’s voice. He rushed into the house and pulled out a long, wrapped package from the bottom of a great big wooden box.

He opened the package and inside was a blade, a well-made blade of steel.

Li Qingshan drew the blade from its sheath and a certain coldness flooded out. The blade reflected his face perfectly.

The hilt was around a foot long, slightly curved and wrapped in black silk. It felt extremely pleasant in his hand. The single-edged blade was around two feet long and four inches wide. Compared to Li Qingshan’s knife that was only a foot long and had been made with shoddy craftsmanship, this blade was far superior.

The back of the blade was very thick, and it felt heavy in his hand. It was fantastic for hacking and chopping. He casually swung it and the whistling of air rang out. He could not help but praise it, “Good blade!” He had never seen such a good blade on the market. If it were sold, it probably would have cost quite a bit of fertile farmland.





Chapter 13: Seeing Ghosts with an Ox's Tears | Legend of the Great Sage




Li Fugui said, “This is a blade forged from hundred-folded steel I bought from the Arsenal of Arms.” He was not an idiot. How could his wife’s death not affect him, and how could he not develop any hatred for the witch? This blade was evidence, evidence that he was still a man.

However, he was still a regular farmer at the end of the day. One side was alcohol and the other side was a blade, but he never managed to make up his mind to lift the blade. Instead, he passed each day drunk and dejected. In the end, he discovered he even lacked the strength to wield the blade. However, he had always kept it. He never exchanged it for alcohol.

Li Fugui thought of the past and became covered in tears. “I don’t have the courage to sell this blade, nor do I want to sell it. If I sell it, I have nothing.”

Li Qingshan’s emotions surged, but he showed none of it. He silently sheathed the blade again. “If you trust me, then give the blade to me. I will definitely settle this matter.”

Li Fugui turned around and waved his hand. Li Qingshan made his way out of the courtyard and walked rapidly. He was tempted to just go up and cut down the witch. Only when he returned to his house and practised a little did he manage to calm down.

“What level of ability do you need to control ghosts? How does it compare to my Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers?”

“The powerful can be revered by a myriad of ghosts, claiming the title of emperor of ghosts, able to associate with gods and demons. The weak can only harass some ordinary people, not only bringing no benefit to themselves, but even bringing detriments instead. Yin qi will eat away at their bodies, leading to a clouded mind and eccentricity.”

“The witch is obviously the latter.” Li Qingshan eased up. Such a situation was what he had been anticipating as well, or the witch would have never taken so long to seek revenge after he kicked her to the ground.

“But don’t underestimate him. A ghost you cannot see can easily catch you off-guard.”

Li Qingshan came up with an idea. “Brother ox, I’ve heard that it’s possible to see ghosts if you drip the tears of cows into your eyes. Is it true?”

“Don’t look at me. This old ox has never shed any tears before.”

“They say a man sheds no tears, but that’s only when they’re not grief-stricken. Brother ox, haven’t you ever been grief-stricken before?”