A Taoist Descends the Mountain

On his way down the mountain, Chen Shi'an stopped now and then to linger.

This was the first time he had taken such a careful look at the place where he had lived for eighteen years.

His master was a lazy Taoist who preferred staying on the mountain, and Chen Shi'an was much the same. In all his years, the farthest he had ever ventured was the outskirts of the small town below.

Master and disciple usually relied entirely on their own two feet. Draw a circle around Pure Dust Temple with a radius of a four-hour walk, and that covered the full extent of his travels over the years.

Unlike many of his peers, who had grown up immersed in phones, computers, online socializing, and games, Chen Shi'an had studied Taoist arts, examined doctrines, read scriptures, and cultivated his character under his master since his earliest memories. These things had shaped him to a great extent, making him who he was today.

It would have been a lie to say he wasn't curious about the outside world, but that didn't necessarily mean he was desperate to explore it.

Even though he was already on his way down the mountain, most of what occupied Chen Shi'an's mind was still, I'll look around, get a diploma, then come back and hole up on the mountain.

Chen Shi'an took out his phone to check the time.

The thing was probably the only item on him that didn't fit his air.

When he stayed on the mountain, he could go six months or a year without touching his phone. But in modern society, you really couldn't get by without one once you went out into the world.

Chen Shi'an rarely used his phone, but that didn't mean he didn't know how. His master, on the other hand, genuinely couldn't figure out the little gadget.

It was a very old smartphone with only 32 GB of storage. To a heavy user, that wasn't even enough for two games, but for Chen Shi'an, being able to check the time, make calls, take photos, use maps, and make payments was plenty.

Chen Shi'an didn't have any of the ubiquitous apps like WeChat, Douyin, or QQ. For one thing, he hardly had anyone to contact. For another, he didn't have that much mobile data.

They were lucky to even have electricity in that remote mountaintop corner. Who was going to run an internet cable up there and set up Wi-Fi?

Chen Shi'an did have Alipay, though. Whenever his master wanted some odd item that couldn't be bought nearby, Chen Shi'an would order it online for him.

As for deliveries up the mountain? Forget it. They were almost always left at a little shop at the foot of the mountain, and he had to find time to go down and collect them himself.

Food delivery was even more out of the question. The place was so remote that nobody delivered to the village at the foot of the mountain, let alone the summit.

Strictly speaking, Chen Shi'an had actually attended elementary school.

He had gone to the school at the foot of the mountain, which had only a dozen or so pupils.

But after just one week, he had never gone back.

First, getting to school was inconvenient. Walking from the mountaintop to the village school alone took an hour or two.

Second, perhaps because his mind had developed rather early, Chen Shi'an saw the children his age as some sort of monkey-like creatures. Their clear eyes were full of stupidity. They couldn't understand instructions or questions, and they loved pulling pointless pranks to attract adults' attention. Even the teacher was little more than an upgraded parrot.

Perhaps learning had been so easy that it bored him. He simply dropped out and never set foot in a classroom again.

His master hadn't forced the issue, either. As always, he had let him do as he pleased.

Looking back now, his master might have been a competent master, but he had been hopeless at raising a child. By the standards of modern parents, Chen Shi'an would have had his backside beaten raw for daring to skip classes in elementary school!

He hadn't received nine years of compulsory education, wasn't addicted to his phone, and had spent years living quietly on the mountain. A life his peers could hardly imagine was nothing more than ordinary routine to Chen Shi'an.

Now that he was about to descend the mountain and experience the big city, Chen Shi'an didn't feel the awkwardness, inferiority, or unease that other mountain children might.

The view you saw depended on where your mind stood.

Chen Shi'an even felt, with a touch of arrogance, that he wasn't descending a mountain-he was descending into the mortal world.

After glancing at the time, Chen Shi'an tucked his phone back into his pocket.

There had still been a few scraps of reception on the summit, but halfway down the mountain, the signal bars vanished entirely.

Visitors who weren't local villagers getting lost in mountains like these was nothing unusual.

Chen Shi'an naturally had no need for navigation. It was seven in the morning now, and he had already been walking for nearly an hour without noticing.

Another forty minutes or so would bring him to the village at the foot of the mountain.

The Profound Peak Mountain Range covered a vast area, and the unassuming Pure Dust Temple was tucked into a fold on the northern side of a ridge.

To reach the city, he first had to descend to the village, then ride or walk to town. After that came a forty-minute ride to the county seat, followed by another forty-minute ride to the city. The whole journey would take at least four or five hours.

Walking so far alone without his master beside him had been fine at first, but as time passed, he inevitably began to feel lonely.

Fortunately, he had a lump of cat stuffed in his bag, so Chen Shi'an began chatting away to the black cat.

"Fat Ink."

"..."

"Shi Mo?"

"Meow?"

"Could you eat fewer mice and lose some weight? I can barely carry you anymore."

The black cat made no sound, merely darting out of his backpack and bounding along beside him.

The cat had landed on the ground, yet the backpack felt no lighter.

Only then did Chen Shi'an realize that it wasn't the cat weighing him down, but the set of Five Years of Gaokao, Three Years of Simulation in his bag.

"Don't run off. Once we're out of this mountain, you'll be a city cat. Behave yourself so people don't think I'm keeping a black monkey."

"Meow."

"I hear city cats eat cat food. Want to try some?"

"..."

The black cat had grown tired of his chatter and stopped responding.

Chen Shi'an walked along talking to himself, and gradually, the path down the mountain grew livelier.

A few farmhouses occasionally appeared in his line of sight, with bursts of barking drifting over from afar.

When the big yellow dogs saw the young Taoist approaching, they squinted and wagged their tails. Clearly, they were old friends of Chen Shi'an's.

But as soon as the black cat nearby drew closer, the big yellow dogs immediately bared their teeth and barked furiously again.

The black cat remained utterly composed, even deliberately walking up to the big yellow dogs as though taunting them. Their leashes pulled taut and their barking filled the air, but their teeth couldn't get anywhere near the cat.

"Quit being a pest. Let's go."

"Meow."

As he passed the entrance to the village road, he happened to run into Auntie Li from the western end of the village. She was riding an electric three-wheeler to the market in town to sell vegetables, its cargo bed loaded with winter melons.

"Auntie Li."

"Oh, Shi'an! Where are you off to?"

"To the city to study."

"...Huh?"

The farmwoman didn't quite understand, but that did nothing to dampen her warm enthusiasm

as she called out, "Want a lift? I'll take you into town to catch a bus!"

"No, thanks, Auntie. I'm afraid those winter melons might reach town before I do."

Chen Shi'an smiled and waved off the offer. Everything on that three-wheeler rattled except the bell. The side panels of its cargo bed were tied on with wire, and when Auntie Li twisted the throttle, the entire vehicle shook as though it had the chills. The winter melons bounced along like they were dancing at a club, looking ready to roll off and smash his feet. There was hardly room for a passenger.

In the end, Uncle Wang from the town clinic gave him a lift.

The white van wound along the mountain road as Chen Shi'an and the cat watched the trees race backward outside the window.

"How are you feeling? You're not used to riding in cars. Getting carsick?"

"I'm fine. Thanks, Uncle Wang."

"Oh, it's on my way! Shi'an, how long will you be gone this time?"

"Hard to say. I'll get into university first, then figure out the rest. Oh, Uncle Wang, my master got quite a few medicinal herbs from you on credit. Don't worry. I'll pay you back for all of them."

"No need, no need! Your master prayed for my son and helped arrange my mother's funeral, and he wouldn't take a penny, no matter what I said. All he asked for was a bottle of glucose solution. How could I possibly charge you for those few herbs?"

Chen Shi'an had expected that answer. It seemed the creditors' friendliness at the funeral hadn't been an act. His master had probably repaid those debts with his skills long ago.

"Those are separate matters, Uncle Wang!"

"Ah, you're just like your master..."

Catching a ride spared Chen Shi'an a good deal of effort. Uncle Wang drove him into town and dropped him off right at the bus station.

"Shi'an, this is as far as I can take you. Go to the county seat first, then transfer to a bus for the city's main terminal. I'm not too sure how you get to your school after that, but it shouldn't be a problem for you young folks."

"Don't worry, Uncle Wang. I know what to do."

"Here, take this bottle of glucose solution to drink on the way."

"No need, Uncle. I brought water."

"Take it, take it. A Taoist who drinks glucose will have power that lasts!"

"..."