A Welcoming Procession

Pan Yun remained silent. While she admitted Xuan Miao and Tao Ji had their strengths, she didn't think they were qualified to be her master. It was perfectly fine for fellow disciples to spar, and besides, she knew many things they could learn from her.

They traveled east from Guangxin Prefecture, their mule cart swaying along for two days before they entered Yushan County. From here, they didn't need to pass through the county town to reach Mount Sanqing. Following the mountain path for half a day would get them there.

At the foot of Mount Sanqing, there was a village. Tao Ji introduced it to her, "This is Fenshui Village. The cart can't go up the mountain, so let's find a local family to store it with."

The village was quite large, built against the mountains and beside the water. Pan Yun could see the signs of human activity stretching down along the river for several miles.

As soon as the cart entered the village, people enthusiastically greeted Tao Ji and Xuan Miao. Tao Ji, in particular, attracted a crowd of children who followed him around, calling him Daoist Priest Tao, Immortal Master Tao, and Uncle Tao.

Tao Ji took out a cloth bag from his pocket and grabbed a handful of candies wrapped in transparent glutinous rice paper to give to them.

The children cheered with delight and bounced around their cart, hopping forward.

Tao Ji handed out candies as he walked. After emptying one bag, he had only crossed half the village. The children called their friends, bringing even more children.

Tao Ji laughed heartily and didn't seem to mind. He reached into the cart and pulled out another cloth bag of candy, distributing it all the way.

Pan Yun sat to the side, watching blankly. A smile also appeared on Xuan Miao's face, softening her expression considerably.

She turned and saw Pan Yun staring blankly at the cloth bag in Tao Ji's hand, so she reached out to Tao Ji.

Tao Ji's eyes lit up, and he placed a large handful into his junior sister's hand.

Immediately, children flocked to Xuan Miao's side.

Xuan Miao picked out three pieces and handed them to Pan Yun.

Pan Yun looked down at the candy in her hand, paused for a moment, then accepted it. She watched as Xuan Miao gave the rest of the candy to the other children.

Ahead, there was a bridge that crossed the river. Tao Ji, afraid the children might fall into the river if they weren't careful, waved them to follow behind.

After crossing the bridge, they were at the foot of the mountain. The houses became fewer. A mountain path was hidden behind the trees. After walking along the path for a while, they saw a small house, half stone and half mud, built there.

In the open space next to the house, a thatched shed was erected. Beside the shed, a bamboo pole held up a piece of cloth. On one side, a large character for "tea" was written. When the wind blew, it flipped over, revealing the character for "food" on the other side.

As if sensing guests were coming, a gentle breeze began to blow through the mountain, which had been still moments before. It turned the banner in mid-air, causing it to occasionally bump and shift the bamboo pole.

The door not far away opened, and an old man emerged. Seeing the cart, he grinned, his wrinkles bunching together. He called out loudly, "Ah, Tao boy and Xuan Miao are back! Wait a moment, I'll make you some tea."

With that, he jogged towards the tea shed. Despite his age, his movements were swift and nimble.

As he added water and stoked the fire, he poked his head out and shouted to the crowd of children, "Xiao Jing, Xiao Jing, come help with the fire!"

From the back of the crowd, a tall, sturdy young boy responded, pushed through the children, and ran out.

The old man patted his shoulder. "You're twelve now, why are you still playing with a bunch of kids? It's time you learned to work."

Wang Xiaojing wiped the sweat from his face and casually replied, "Got it, Great-Grandpa."

Tao Ji stopped the cart and, upon hearing this, laughed heartily. "Elder Wang, Xiao Jing is just a child. Let him play if he wants to."

He pulled over a long bench and sat by the roadside, waiting for the new children to come and get their candy.

The children who had already received candy didn't leave. They didn't reach out for more, but instead gathered around him, asking him where he had been this time and what fun things he had seen.

Tao Ji spoke eloquently. "This time, I went to Beijing."

"Wow—" The children exclaimed in amazement and repeatedly asked, "Is Beijing big? Is it bigger than Nanjing?"

The children's enthusiastic reception made Tao Ji feel quite proud. He pulled them closer and began to describe how big and prosperous Beijing was, telling them where to go when they entered the city to find cheap and safe inns, and which streets sold what kinds of goods...

The children responded with various exclamations like "Wow" to cheer Tao Ji on, and he spoke with even more excitement and detail.

Elder Wang smiled, his eyes crinkling, and turned to find the tea leaves.

Pan Yun sat on the other side of the cart and looked down at the candy in her hand. She unwrapped it and put it in her mouth.

It was malt candy, golden yellow and sweet, tasting just like the candy she had eaten in her two lifetimes.

The sweetness seemed to seep into her heart, and Tao Ji's incessant chatter no longer felt bothersome.

When the water boiled, Elder Wang first brewed a bowl of tea for Tao Ji, then brought a bowl over to Xuan Miao. Xuan Miao quickly got off the cart to receive it.

Pan Yun turned her head to look, and Elder Wang finally noticed the child on the other side of the cart. She had been completely hidden by the items on the cart.

Elder Wang exclaimed, "Oh my!" Seeing that she was wearing a similar blue Daoist robe to Xuan Miao's, his eyes lit up. "There's another little Daoist here. Wait, I'll make you a bowl of noodles."

Xuan Miao quickly refused, "We're going up the mountain after we have tea."

"Right," Tao Ji said, standing up with his tea. He smiled and added, "Elder Wang, we brought too many things to carry all at once. We'll store them here with you, and we'll come down to get them when we have time. We'll also leave the cart and the mule with you. If anyone in the village needs to use them, you can let them, as long as they feed the mule."

Elder Wang agreed and asked his great-grandson to help move the items while he went to make the noodles.

Tao Ji quickly stopped him. "Really, there's no need. We ate on the way."

"That's for you," Elder Wang said, shaking off his hand. "You adults aren't hungry, but can the children not be? It's a long mountain road ahead. You can endure it, but you can't let the children endure it. You go ahead and move your things, I'll make the noodles."

He scooped some flour and began to knead the dough.

Pan Yun, standing by, watched silently, eating her candy.

Although Elder Wang said he was only making noodles for Pan Yun, he kneaded a large basinful. In the end, he made three bowls of noodles. Fortunately, the water was kept boiling, so they could be cooked as soon as they were put in.

The children helped Tao Ji and the others move their belongings while sniffing the fragrant aroma and occasionally swallowing.

The children were very curious about Pan Yun and had wanted to join them for a long time. But seeing her sitting beside Xuan Miao, with a cool and aloof demeanor like Xuan Miao's, they were too intimidated to approach.

As she helped them move things, everyone jostled each other, eventually pushing Wang Xiaojing out.

He held a cloth bag full of medicinal herbs and grinned foolishly at Pan Yun, "Little sister, are you going up the mountain to become a Daoist too?"

Pan Yun nodded, "Yes, are you familiar with the mountain?"

Wang Xiaojing replied, "Quite familiar. I've been up the mountain a few times with my dad and the others. Your mountain... it's quite cool. Oh right, my family's apricots are ready to eat. I'll pick a basket for you later and ask you to take it to Miao He."

Before Pan Yun could even ask who Miao He was, he had already stuffed the cloth bag into her arms and run off excitedly, "I'll go pick them now, you must wait for me."

Wang Xiaojing called his friends, and with seven or eight other big kids, they grabbed two bamboo baskets and sprinted away.

Pan Yun: ...

Tao Ji, who was passing by, sniffed and took the cloth bag from her arms, "No wonder I couldn't find it. This is for taking up the mountain."

He and Elder Wang borrowed two large carrying baskets and one small one. They picked out the most urgent items and put them into the baskets, leaving the rest in a small room at the Wang family's house.

This room seemed to be used for storing miscellaneous items. It was raised about a hand's width off the ground with stones as a base and wooden planks laid on top. Placing things on it would protect them from dampness and cold, allowing them to be preserved for a longer time.

Tao Ji organized the items by category. Seeing Pan Yun looking around, he explained, "This is where Elder Wang keeps his tea and rice. Our Daoist temple often borrows this room to store things too. If you ever leave the mountain or come back and can't carry your belongings, you can store them here."

Pan Yun took note.

After everything was put away, Tao Ji handed her the small carrying basket, "This is what you need to carry. Put your luggage in here too. The mountain path is difficult, it's more convenient to carry a basket."

Elder Wang invited them to eat noodles. Just as they were about to leave, Wang Xiaojing and the others arrived with the bamboo baskets.

Tao Ji's head spun when he saw so many apricots mixed with fresh leaves. All of these, did he have to carry them up the mountain?

He wanted to refuse, but thinking of Miao He's round, chubby little face and her bright, sparkling eyes, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

Xuan Miao said, "Leave them with me."

Tao Ji replied, "No, I'll do it."

He forcefully stuffed a roll of cloth into Xuan Miao's carrying basket, creating some space before finding a large cloth bag and filling it with the apricots.

Wang Xiaojing didn't care about his family's apricot tree at all. He didn't know how many he had picked. After Tao Ji filled one cloth bag, there were still quite a few left. He picked it up and weighed it; it was at least twenty pounds.

Tao Ji resigned himself to putting the cloth bag into the carrying basket.

A large section of the carrying basket bulged out, secured with a rope net so that the items inside wouldn't fall out.

Tao Ji stood up with the carrying basket on his back and waved, "Let's go."

Pan Yun gave him a sympathetic look and put on her own small carrying basket.

The children followed behind, enthusiastically seeing them off for a while. Tao Ji only sent them back down the mountain when the path ahead became narrower.

He promised to bring them candy and visit them again in a while.

The children ran off, laughing.

Wang Xiaojing ran back to his family's tea stall. While helping his great-grandfather clear bowls, he found money by Pan Yun and Xuan Miao's bowls.

He grabbed it and said, "Great-grandfather, look."

Elder Wang exclaimed, "Aiya, why is Daoist Xuan Miao still so polite?"

"And that little sister, there's money by her bowl too."

Elder Wang couldn't help but mutter, "She has a similar temperament to Daoist Xuan Miao. Aiya, they paid for three bowls of noodles. We've benefited from this. Xiaojing, make a note. When they come down the mountain again, be sure to cook them three bowls of noodles to repay them."

Wang Xiaojing acknowledged.

Elder Wang still liked Tao Ji the most. He never paid for food or anything, and he was very close to him, never treating him as an outsider.

Wang Xiaojing said, "If they don't want it, I'll cook extra noodles for Miao He, two bowls as one."

Elder Wang: "..." Don't always feed Miao He like that, what if you ruin her stomach?"

"It won't happen. Her medical skills are excellent, how could she ruin her own stomach?"

Today's lucky number is still a number ending in 1, screenshot as proof.