Snow swirled through the air, dyeing everything at the end of the sky white.
Amid Granny Mountain's vast, white mountain ranges, a winding trail curled upward to a Daoist temple halfway up the slope, known as Cloud Heaven Temple.
Cloud Heaven Temple looked quite old, but the Daoists within seemed to be in straitened circumstances. The temple had fallen into disrepair over the years, leaking wind from all sides in the bitter cold. Beneath a pine tree before the main hall stood an incense burner that had not burned incense in a long while, making it all the clearer that the Daoists had not offered incense to the Daoist Venerable in the hall for ages. They were lazy to the extreme.
On a poorly built heated brick bed in a quiet side room, a young Daoist sat cross-legged beneath a quilt. One hand stretched out to hold a Daoist scripture while his lips murmured soundlessly.
"Subdue the Restless Mind and Wild Horse!"
"Sever Mortal Worldly Desires!"
"Quietly chant the Yellow Court!"
"Fast and seek immortality!"
"Grrr!" A long sound emerged from beneath the quilt. His stomach was empty, and hunger was unbearable. No matter how boldly his mouth talked, his body remained very honest.
Gao Xian pursed his lips, tossed the Daoist scripture aside, and wrapped the quilt tighter around himself.
Crash!
Just then, a gust of cold wind blew through. The window plugged with dry grass leaked again, chilling the back of Gao Xian's neck and making him shudder.
The Daoist was named Gao Xian. He looked only fifteen or sixteen, yet there was something extraordinary about the mark between his brows. At a glance, one could tell he was no ordinary person.
This Daoist mark between Gao Xian's brows could sense special things between heaven and earth and appoint them as Guardian Spirits.
Once appointed by Gao Xian, such spirits would bear his mark and could not escape his control.
Yet Gao Xian had searched all of Granny Mountain and appointed only two Guardian Deities. With winter's arrival, Gao Xian, who feared the cold, had hidden inside the temple to wait for spring.
Lazily crawling out from beneath the covers, Gao Xian immediately hunched over, clasped his hands, curled into a ball, and took tiny steps toward the kitchen.
The kitchen was empty. The stored dried vegetables and salted meat had long since been swept clean, leaving only rows of hanging ropes and empty jars.
He lifted the lid of a crock and saw a gourd ladle lying crookedly inside. There was nothing at all. Gao Xian's expression abruptly changed. "What? Even the cornmeal is gone?"
Gao Xian propped open the window and looked toward the grass shed next door, where he could see a black donkey tethered inside, its coat gleaming with oil-like shine.
Hearing the noise, the donkey leaped up at once and stared at Gao Xian in terror, only to meet his hungry eyes.
The donkey immediately rose onto its hind legs like a person, its entire body trembling violently.
The first Guardian Deity Gao Xian had appointed was this Donkey Guardian. It was also the Guardian Deity with the highest intelligence. It could even speak human language and was naturally cunning, utterly unlike the other Guardian Deity that had transformed from an inanimate object.
But judging from Gao Xian's gaze, its days were numbered.
Inside the donkey shed, Gao Xian's hand brushed over the donkey's glossy fur. He could practically feel its unease. White vapor puffed from both nostrils as it let out strange whimpers.
"You've grown so fat. You must have eaten quite well every day! No wonder there isn't even a patch of grass left within several miles."
Gao Xian's expression changed at once, and he shouted furiously, "You demon! You have so disrupted the cycle of heaven and earth. How can this poor Daoist tolerate you?"
"Today, this poor Daoist shall Exterminate Demons and Protect the Dao, and collect you on Heaven's behalf."
Looking at the donkey, fat enough to drip oil, Gao Xian thought that if he slaughtered it, cured the meat, and simmered it down, perhaps he could survive this cold winter.
The donkey's front hooves dropped to its knees, and it actually spoke human words. "Great Immortal Kongchenzi, the grass is gone because the ground is frozen in the bitter cold, not because of little donkey! Please, spare little donkey's life!"
Kongchenzi was the Daoist title given to him by Cloud Heaven Temple's previous temple master. The old Daoist was said to have come from some Aristocratic Clan. He had devoted his life to cultivating the Dao and traveled across the mountains and rivers of the Nine Provinces. Though he had witnessed some strange events and uncanny people, that was all. It seemed there truly were no people in this world who had attained immortality through the Dao.
When the old Daoist finally passed away in meditation, he left behind one last sentence.
"At the end of seeking the Dao, all is emptiness. A lifetime of drifting is like dust from duckweed. From now on, your Daoist title shall be Kongchen. Do not follow my path again, seeking that illusory and intangible Great Dao."
"The mountain is bitterly poor and lonely. If you cannot endure it, then go down the mountain and marry, have children, and live your life!"
Then he let go and departed.
The little Daoist wept until tears and snot ran together. When he awoke, he had become a different person. Only then did Gao Xian come to be.
Gao Xian sighed and sat on the dry grass, reasoning with the donkey.
"Donkey, donkey! This poor Daoist does not want to eat you either!"
"But the temple has run out of firewood and food. We are cold and starving. Sooner or later, you and I will starve to death together. Rather than both of us starving to death, it would be better if only you died. That would be boundless merit on your part as well."
The donkey hurriedly said, "Great Immortal! Even if you eat me, it will not sustain you for long. Better to keep me. Little donkey can serve as a mount, highlighting the Great Immortal's immortal bearing and Daoist bones."
"Gongzhou City at the foot of the mountain is prosperous. Why not go down and take a look?"
Kongchenzi Gao Xian found that reasonable. Though the weather was truly too cold, he really could not hold out on the mountain any longer. His plan to hole up for the winter seemed unworkable.
"True enough. After cultivating the Dao with painstaking effort for a year, it is time to descend the mountain, Slay Demons and Exterminate Devils, and uphold the righteous path."
"Willing to serve at the Great Immortal's command."
The decision to descend the mountain was made hastily, but they set out quickly, because they truly possessed nothing at all.
Gao Xian merely packed a few tattered robes and two or three Daoist scriptures. Finally, he swept clean the few pieces of dry provisions offered before the Daoist Venerable Statue, and they were ready to depart.
He grabbed a short blade lying beside the bed. Flowing light reflected across his face as Gao Xian drew the sword from its sheath. Its smooth edge reflected Gao Xian's clean face, still carrying the blessing of youth, while a faint trace of the Daoist mark revealed an air beyond the mundane.
The divine sword gave a soft cry and moved by itself, circling Gao Xian like a swimming dragon.
This was the Azure Dragon Guardian, transformed from an Azure Dragon Sword. Its intelligence could not compare with the Donkey Guardian's, and it could only convey simple emotions.
Yet as the Guardian cultivated itself, both its intelligence and divine abilities continued to grow. Perhaps one day, it would surpass even Gao Xian's imagination.
"Last night, strange signs appeared in the heavens. This poor Daoist Calculated with Fingers and discovered that demons and devils will emerge into the world. I must descend the mountain and save the common people."
"Azure Dragon Guardian, the time has come for your name to resound throughout the world."
Of course, while Exterminating Demons and Protecting the Dao, it was also quite necessary to collect some incense money to repair the temple and gild the Daoist Venerable's body.
Gao Xian tucked the Azure Dragon Sword into his sleeve. From the outside, no one could tell that deadly intent lay concealed within.
"Where is Donkey Guardian General?" Gao Xian shouted.
"General Donkey is here." The donkey came running out from behind in a flash and sprawled before Gao Xian.
Snow began to fall. Gao Xian grabbed a straw rain cape and draped it over himself, locked the temple gates, mounted the donkey, and headed down the mountain.
Amid the heavy snow, the Daoist in a straw rain cape rode his donkey and sang loudly.
"Let a straw cape weather all the mist and rain of life."
"They say there is neither clear sky nor wind."
"..."
Heaven and earth were a vast expanse of white. Beneath the fluttering snow, the scene formed a painting of Great Immortal Kongchenzi riding a donkey down the mountain.
Many people said that the author should explain it. Those last two lines sung by the protagonist were from a song, Zhou Shen's "Deep Affection, Light as You," and were meant as an indirect nod to the protagonist's identity as a transmigrator!
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