Looking at the murky, cloud-veiled information, Ling Qing understood that it was nothing more than Wang Qi's search for the Dao on Mount Lao.
As the information faded, he was faced with a choice.
This time, the instance still gave him the opportunity to choose an identity.
Swordsman, scholar, lay Daoist, or woodcutter—there were four choices in all.
The swordsman and scholar needed no explanation; they offered skills of either the martial or the literary kind.
In Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, those who encountered immortals, ghosts, and spirits were usually one of these two.
A lay Daoist was probably someone who admired the Dao while living at home, and might know a little of the Daoist Canon and stories about immortals.
As for the woodcutter, whether it was the woodcutter who guided Sun Wukong to Fangcun Mountain and Three Stars Cave in Journey to the West, or the woodcutter in "Rotting Axe Handles at the Temple,"
they seemed to be far more likely to find places where immortal fortunes lay.
Ling Qing thought it over and first ruled out the swordsman and the woodcutter.
Choosing the swordsman would amount to getting a set of martial arts and weapon skills, just like the ones Tian Yong and the others had chosen last time.
But he had already exchanged for a staff technique at the Special Affairs Department, and he had spells to protect himself. He wasn't short on ways to attack.
And although the woodcutter was more likely to encounter immortals, Ling Qing had a clear goal this time and didn't seem to need that.
Besides, in legends, woodcutters might easily encounter immortals, but few went on to cultivate the Dao with them. There was even a saying that the woodcutter was an immortal himself.
Though he didn't know why, that was reason enough for Ling Qing to give up the choice.
That left the scholar and the lay Daoist. One was the steadfast protagonist of strange tales, while the other had a grounding in Daoist learning that would make it easier to study the Dao later.
Faced with these two choices, Ling Qing found himself at a loss for a moment.
After turning it over in his mind, he chose the identity of a scholar.
The main reason Ling Qing made this choice was that he valued the scholar's status.
At any time, even in the modern age, people with knowledge were held in higher regard, let alone in ancient times, when literary culture flourished.
Whether in strange tales or historical records, whether facing demon foxes and ghosts or bandits and robbers, people rarely harmed scholars over a mere disagreement.
They were wary because of that status, and Ling Qing valued it for the same reason.
As long as he wasn't killed by danger outright, his well-stocked Spellbook would give him a fighting chance against whatever came his way.
At the very least, he could escape.
Besides, scholars often read strange tales and yearned for the immortal path, like Wang Sheng in "The Lao Mountain Daoist."
As he made his choice, the landscape shifted, and Ling Qing appeared in a small town.
Compared with Tianshui Town last time, this town seemed much more ancient. Judging by the clothes and appearance of the passersby, it belonged to a far more distant era.
But Ling Qing didn't care about that. He hadn't come to study antiquities.
The most important thing now was to hurry to Mount Lao and learn immortal arts.
Of course, this large instance must contain opportunities besides Mount Lao.
But aside from the dangers they might hold, Ling Qing had already given up on the others simply because they were impossible to find.
Quite a few people had entered this time, and most of them were heading straight for the Shangqing Palace on Mount Lao to cultivate the Dao and study its arts.
He didn't know whether the Shangqing Palace would limit the number of people it accepted. If his fate wasn't sufficient, then there was no one else to blame.
But if someone else arrived first and took the opportunity, he would regret it too late.
At the same time, a line of information appeared before his eyes:
"Character has acquired a large amount of Confucian knowledge (Four Books and Five Classics, etc.), a small amount of Daoist knowledge (Tao Te Ching, etc.), and a trace amount of esoteric knowledge (tales of immortals, ghosts, and spirits, etc.)."
As expected, there were no skills, just mostly textual knowledge, all categorized under knowledge skills.
Ling Qing set aside the knowledge that had flooded into his mind and looked himself over. His long robe had turned into a scholar's gown.
The Medicine Case on his back had become a Book Box, and the cloth on his Medical Banner had been pulled off and turned into a rain cover for the box.
The Iron Birch Wood Staff he carried was thick at the top and tapered toward the bottom, ending in a point wrapped in a cone-shaped piece of iron.
Its gnarled branches and leaves formed an old-fashioned staff head.
"Greetings, old sir. Could you tell me how to get to Mount Lao?"
After briefly checking his appearance, Ling Qing stopped an elderly man who looked knowledgeable and asked.
In modern times, if you wanted to go somewhere, you could search for it on a map app on your phone. It would show you everything and even plan the route.
But in ancient times, you were completely lost.
Without such convenient navigation, the only way to reach your destination in an unfamiliar place was to walk and ask along the way.
He had been to Mount Lao, but he had gone by car.
He barely remembered the places he had passed along the way.
As for why he hadn't prepared a map—
Aside from the geographical differences between modern and ancient times, this was a place where immortals, ghosts, and monsters existed.
If he carried a map and charged ahead without a care, he might end up barging into a demon's cave.
Of course, Ling Qing had still bought a map of the area around Mount Lao from the Special Affairs Bureau. It was a simple map printed on paper brought out of the instance.
It marked the approximate location of the Shangqing Palace on Mount Lao within the instance, making it easier for everyone to find their destination instead of getting lost in the mountains.
"Why is a scholar asking about Mount Lao?" The old man glanced at Ling Qing and asked instead of answering. "Is something urgent?"
"I'm going to visit a friend. I've also heard that Mount Lao has deep cliffs and secluded valleys, beautiful scenery, and many long-lived cultivators who practice immortal arts. I'd like to search for them as well."
Ling Qing answered honestly.
"Since ancient times, the immortal path has been hard to find, while ghosts, monsters, and beasts have been plentiful.
"If your friend isn't in any hurry, scholar, you'd best put the thought aside and stay away from Mount Lao."
"Why is that?"
"See those mountains in the distance? Mount Lao lies beyond them. To get there from Jinshui Town, we have to pass through Miao Mountain.
"But lately, people coming down from Miao Mountain have said that tigers are running rampant there. More than ten fierce tigers come down the mountain every day to devour people.
"Even traveling merchants with strength in numbers and highly skilled guards don't dare pass through. The villages near Miao Mountain are busy fleeing.
"If a scholar went alone, wouldn't he be walking to his death?"
More than ten fierce tigers?
Tigers usually claimed their own territory and rarely traveled in groups.
That was because tigers ate so much that a limited area could hardly provide enough prey for several of them.
But when food was abundant, tigers didn't mind living in a group.
Still, from what the old man said, the tigers had only recently started coming down the mountain in packs to eat people.
And the people nearby hadn't cleared land on a large scale, so there was no reason the tigers would have been driven to desperation in the mountains.
On top of that, the Special Affairs Department had repeatedly warned that the instance was full of ghosts and monsters. Most likely, something strange had appeared in the mountains, or some evil spirit was causing trouble.
"Is there another route to Mount Lao? A friend invited me, so it wouldn't be right to refuse.
"Besides, I've already come most of the way. It would be a shame to turn back now."
Ling Qing thought it over. There was no need to charge headlong into danger; taking another route was an option.
"Very well. If you want to go to Mount Lao, you can skirt around Miao Mountain. It'll take you more than ten extra days, but you can get there by way of Changyang Town."
"Thank you, old sir."
After asking the old man for detailed directions, Ling Qing bowed to him and turned to leave.
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