Under One Person: I am the Master of Maoshan

At night, Shen Yan tossed and turned in his room, thinking about these things constantly in his mind.

It seemed that all the heads of the families and sect leaders that he had met since leaving the army had different thoughts. On the contrary, most of the disciples were full of passion.

He could understand these people's thoughts, they were all for the continuation of the family and the sect. No matter which sect the leader was, they would chat and laugh with him, but what they valued first was his status in the army. They were all thinking about how much benefit they could get for the family by helping him.

He was a little scared. He was afraid that as he became more powerful and took over Maoshan or reached a higher position one day, he might end up like these people.

The higher you stand, the more invisible shackles you have on you.

"The road ahead is not easy to walk on. People say that they cannot control their own bodies, but if they cannot control their own hearts, how can they control their own bodies?"

Shen Yan silently recited the words of the old Heavenly Master Zhang Zhiwei in his heart. Now he could understand the meaning of these words. It seemed that he was also chained invisibly.

"Boom! Boom!"

Just when he was feeling extremely confused, there was a knock on his door. He thought it was Lu Ren, so he shouted, "Come in."

But after the door was opened, it was Gong Er who walked in. When Shen Yan saw that it was her, he immediately turned over and sat up, tidying up his body.

"It's so late, why are you here?"

"Can you go for a walk with me?"

Shen Yan nodded and smiled: "Okay, I can't sleep either."

The two of them left the room and wandered around the village. It was not yet nine o'clock in the evening, but there were not many people walking on the streets in the village. Almost every house had a lantern with the Chinese character "王" hanging on its door, and the whole village seemed warm and peaceful.

Gong Er lowered his head and whispered: "If you don't want this marriage, I can talk to my father and I won't cause you any trouble."

"Huh? What's wrong? Why do you say that?"

Gong Er's tone was a little aggrieved: "At the banquet today, Uncle Wang said that after we got engaged, I saw that you seemed a little reluctant. If you have someone else in your heart, I won't bother you."

Shen Yan put his hand on his forehead and rubbed his face with a bitter smile: "You misunderstood, I went to the mountains to learn Taoism when I was five years old, so how could I have a sweetheart? In fact, I like you very much."

When Gong Er heard him say that he liked her, her originally aggrieved face turned red: "Then...then why are you still reluctant?"

Shen Yan raised his head and looked at the sky: "I hope that what happens between us is consensual, and not tied to the interests of the family. I am used to being pure and free, and I don't like being treated as a puppet. From going up the mountain to learn Taoism to going down the mountain to fight against the Japanese, I did it all based on my own will, and I also hope that you can keep your original intention. If you like it, you like it, and if you don't like it, you don't like it."

"My father..."

Shen Yan interrupted Gong Er's next words: "I didn't say that my uncle did something wrong, and the same goes for my father. The things they see in their positions are different from ours. Even I may become like this in the future, but I just hope that I can go further on the path of keeping my original heart."

"Have you ever heard the saying that one should preserve one's true nature and not burden one's form with material things?"

Gong Er nodded: "This is what Master Yang Zhu said, and it is also regarded as the truth by Quan Xing and his group."

Shen Yan took her to a platform and sat down: "Satisfy your own life needs, maintain your true nature, and don't be burdened by external things. It's not easy for people who can do it. People's lives will always be influenced by some things, such as wine, sex, money, anger, fame and status. Blindly pursuing true nature will eventually reduce you to the current full nature."

"We are not saints, and we can't do what Master Yang Zhu did. But I hope that at least in terms of feelings, you and I can make our own decisions and give each other some time to think clearly. Our army also has the regulations of the 268th Regiment. If you still like me by then, how about we get married?"

Gong Er stared at him: "It is my luck to meet you at the best time. We still have a lot of time. I am willing to wait with you."

Flowers hid under the leaves once, and I walked on the snow several times in my dreams.

At this time, they heard footsteps in the distance. They turned their heads and saw a group of people holding lanterns and torches rushing over. Shen Yan saw that the leader was the head of the Wang family. He and Gong Er had no time to hide, so they walked up to greet him.

"Hello, uncle. It's so late yet, aren't you resting yet?"

Patriarch Wang looked at the two and said with a smile, "So it's my nephew and Miss Gong. Why are you here?"

"My nephew couldn't sleep at night, so he went out for a walk with Miss Gong."

"Haha, young people just have elegant tastes. I won't disturb you two."

Shen Yan looked at the person in the center of the crowd and saw that it was Lay Buddhist Wu Man, but since it was someone else's private matter he did not want to ask any more questions, so he prepared to leave with Gong Er.

Wu Man looked at Shen Yan and said, "Master Wang, can I have a chat with this young man?"

Patriarch Wang thought about it for a moment and did not refuse: "Please do as you wish, sir."

"What's your name, young man?"

Shen Yan bowed to him and said, "Junior Shen Yan greets Mr. Mo Ming."

"Amitabha, it turns out you are the little mountain master. No wonder. When I saw you in the daytime, your heart was as steady as a rock. Why do you seem a little shaken and confused now? Young man, stick to your own path, you will go further than the rest of us."

Shen Yan took a deep breath, bowed and swept the floor: "Thank you for your advice, sir."

Mo Ming nodded and smiled, then said: "Master Wang, let's go."

"please"

Shen Yan watched his back until he could no longer see him. Gong Er pulled his sleeve and asked, "Where will they take Wu Man? Will they kill him?"

"I don't know, but if you just want to kill him, there's no need to bring him back to the Wang family. And I see that Wu Man has no injuries on his body. Apart from the fact that his Du meridian was blocked, he hasn't been tortured. Let's go."

Shen Yan accompanied her to walk around the village again, but they couldn't find their home, as if they were lost.

It was early winter and the temperature was a little low at night. Shen Yan saw that she was wearing thin clothes, so he put his coat on her.

It was almost midnight when Shen Yan sent her back to her room. When he returned to his room, he pushed the door open and saw Lu Ren sitting cross-legged on his bed, looking at him with a half-smile.

"What are you doing sitting here with me so late at night?"

"How can I sleep if the captain is missing? Where have you been?"

Shen Yan poured himself a glass of water to hide his embarrassment: "I'm going to the toilet."

Lu Ren got off the bed and came close to him: "You've been in the toilet for two hours? You can squat really well, and you still smell like perfume, like Miss Gong! Tell me the truth about what you did."

"She couldn't sleep, so I... I just went out for a walk with her."

Lu Ren nudged him with his elbow and said jokingly, "Hey, you're still strolling around, aren't you doing anything else?"

Shen Yan put down the cup and said, "What are you thinking about? Are you okay? Go back to sleep if you're fine."

Seeing that he was a little angry, Lu Ren got down to business: "I came to look for you in the morning, but you were not there, so I went to my place. You Ke will arrange for someone to pick us up nearby tomorrow, fearing that we can't find our base. The Japanese near the base are ready to move, and the situation is very complicated."

Shen Yan snorted: "This Shinozuka Yoshio just came back from the Jiangcheng battlefield, and he's already rushing to take action in the Henan District without even feeling tired. Damn it, find a chance to give him a beating! Otherwise, we won't have peace before the New Year."

"Okay, now that we're done, I'm going back to sleep."

After Lu Ren finished speaking, he walked to the door, poked his head out and asked again: "You and Miss Gong really didn't do anything?"

Shen Yan took off his shoes and threw them at him: "Get lost!"

The next morning, the housekeeper of the Wang family came to invite Shen Yan to the restaurant for breakfast. When Shen Yan and his friends arrived at the restaurant, they did not see the head of the Wang family, only the eldest darling Wang Ai was waiting there.