The chatty girl

This was Chen Shi'an's first time drinking glucose water.

It tasted distinctly sweet at first, but the sweetness was purer, without cane sugar's complex layers or honey's hint of flowers or fruit. It was closer to a straightforward, refreshing sweetness.

His magical power hadn't increased, but he did feel more energetic after drinking it.

Chen Shi'an liked it, so he poured a little into his palm for Black Cat in his backpack to try.

While waiting for the bus, Chen Shi'an took out his phone and, somewhat awkwardly, used the map to check the route and travel time to Yunqi No. 1 High School.

As a Daoist of the modern age, Chen Shi'an often used maps to get to unfamiliar places. His master's method had been much more old-fashioned: all he needed was the direction of his destination. With a geomantic compass serving as a regular compass, he would set off on his own two feet and walk straight there.

As the saying went, time went uncounted in the mountains; winter passed without anyone knowing the year.

Compared with the mountain scenery, unchanged for years, the world below changed by the day.

Chen Shi'an still remembered a small coach station in town when he was little, with plenty of coaches parked there. Now the coaches were gone and the station had closed, replaced by long-distance buses.

To get from town to the county seat or the city, most people either drove or caught a ride. Apart from elderly people with time to spare and money to save, few young people wanted to take the long-distance bus. With more than twenty stops along the way, the journey was simply too long...

But for Chen Shi'an, it wasn't particularly hard to endure.

It was far more convenient than traveling on his own two feet.

If he hadn't spent the past few days in the mountains taking care of the funeral arrangements, he would have set off two days early and walked all the way to the city.

The K301 long-distance bus arrived.

Chen Shi'an bought a ticket and boarded. The fare to the final stop at the county seat was ten yuan.

There were plenty of passengers at eight in the morning. Finding no empty seats, Chen Shi'an stood.

To keep the backpack on his back from getting in anyone's way, and to prevent other passengers from squashing the cat inside, Chen Shi'an turned it around and wore it against his chest.

Black Cat poked a big head through the gap in the zipper and looked around.

While the Daoist and the cat watched everyone else, everyone else watched them.

Chen Shi'an's Daoist robes stood out among all those modern, everyday clothes.

But to him, wearing Daoist robes as a Daoist was perfectly natural. He had long since grown used to people's curious looks.

Occasionally, devout believers would strike up a conversation with him or offer a greeting.

Most pressed their palms together.

That wasn't quite the right greeting for a Daoist. The more appropriate gesture was to cup one hand over the other fist.

Of course, Chen Shi'an didn't mind. Ritual was only an outward form; the sentiment was enough. Besides, they were ordinary people. Even a modern wave or handshake was perfectly acceptable to him.

The bus rolled along leisurely, passing stop after stop as the scenery outside kept changing.

Black Cat grew tired of watching and burrowed back into the backpack to sleep soundly, but Chen Shi'an kept his eyes on the ever-changing scenery outside.

Fifty minutes later, the bus reached its final stop at the county seat-which was also the departure point for the next bus into the city.

Chen Shi'an got off with his backpack and transferred to Route 716.

After standing the whole way, he finally had a seat available.

Chen Shi'an found a window seat toward the back and patiently waited for the bus to leave.

Passengers boarded one after another at the starting stop. Strangers rarely chose to sit right beside someone else. With plenty of seats still free, everyone traveling alone sat separately, apart from those who had come together.

One stop later, there weren't many empty seats left.

Two stops later, anyone wanting to sit had to be quick.

Chen Shi'an was looking out the window, waiting for the bus to start moving again, when he suddenly heard a swish beside him. The air seemed to carry the faint scent unique to a young girl.

The girl moved fast. Half her backside claimed the seat before her bell-like voice followed:

"Hi! Is anyone sitting here?"

She bent slightly at the waist and turned toward him, her shoulder-length black hair swaying gently. Its trimmed ends resembled willow shoots in early spring, sweeping past her ears in slightly unruly curves. One slender, pale forearm, exposed beneath her short-sleeved school uniform, still gripped a backpack strap. She looked ready to apologize and jump up to find another seat the moment Chen Shi'an said someone was sitting there.

"No, it's free. Go ahead."

"Oh! Thank you!"

Only after hearing Chen Shi'an's answer did the girl settle the other half of her backside into the seat. Hugging her heavy backpack, she let out a wonderfully contented sigh.

Perhaps feeling she hadn't been very ladylike, she gave Chen Shi'an a slightly embarrassed smile. Sunlight slanted through the window, landing squarely on her pretty face as she turned. A pointed canine on the left pressed against her lip, and her youthful cheeks carried a faint flush from exertion.

Perhaps the sight was simply too full of life. Even Chen Shi'an felt some of the heaviness of age lift from him.

The bus started moving again.

The scenery outside began to slide past, and Chen Shi'an returned his gaze to the window.

The girl's reflection appeared faintly in the glass-

She took out her phone, then opened her backpack, apparently searching for something.

After a while, her expression grew troubled, and she muttered quietly, "Oh no, I forgot my earphones..."

A little later, she seemed to give up on listening to music. But the journey was long, and she couldn't sit quietly the way Chen Shi'an could. Following her curiosity, she struck up a conversation:

"Um, are you cosplaying?"

"Hm?" Chen Shi'an turned in puzzlement.

"...You're actually a Daoist?"

"Yes."

"Oh, oh, sorry! You looked so young that I thought you were cosplaying. You're a real Daoist...!"

The girl looked thoroughly surprised. She wanted to examine him, but was afraid of offending him. Unable to suppress her curiosity, she settled for sneaking glances now and then.

Chen Shi'an didn't know what "cosplaying" meant, but from the context, he guessed it was something like dressing up as a character.

Since the girl was so friendly, he answered with interest, "Then are you a student?"

"I'm wearing a school uniform. Isn't it obvious?"

"I'm wearing Daoist robes too."

"It's just so unusual to see... You're really a Daoist?"

"Yes."

"So"

"impressive," the girl said, marveling. "We look about the same age. I thought Daoists all had to be... um..."

"Had to be what?"

"Well, pretty old, at least."

If you weren't old, nobody would believe you when you tried to fool them!

The girl couldn't quite describe what she imagined a Daoist should look like. After all, she had almost no contact with people in that line of work.

Her only "knowledge" came from films, TV shows, and novels. The Daoists in those were mostly ethereal figures with boundless magical power, exorcising demons, catching ghosts, and upholding righteousness.

Come on, this was modern society, the age of technology. She wasn't childish enough to think Chen Shi'an was like that.

"Then can you tell fortunes...?"

"Yes."

"What about blessings?"

"Yes."

"And rites for the dead?"

"Yes."

"..."

The girl's eyes went round, disbelief written all over her face. He claimed he could do all these mysterious-sounding things? At his age?

At last, she asked the question she most wanted answered. "Then are those things... all real?"

Chen Shi'an smiled, unbothered by her curiosity, but didn't answer directly. He only said, "If you believe, they're real."

"I know that one! Sincerity makes prayers work." The girl nodded as if she understood. Finally letting go of those strange questions, she turned her curiosity to more everyday matters. "Then do Daoists have to go to school?"

Chen Shi'an had meant to say no, but then remembered the purpose of this trip. He could only nod and say, "We do."

"Have you been to school, then?"

"No."

"..."

What was that supposed to mean? He said they had to go to school, but he'd never suffered through studying himself!

At that, the girl's face filled with envy. "Being a Daoist really is better. No school, no exams, just quietly cultivating in the mountains every day? That sounds way too comfortable..."

"You don't like school?"

"No. It's exhausting."

Perhaps the air of righteousness lent by Chen Shi'an's Daoist robes had put the girl at ease. Once she got talking, she began pouring out her complaints to him.

"You have no idea. We didn't even get a summer vacation this year. Extra classes went on until the day before yesterday, and then they only gave us two days off. They assigned a huge pile of worksheets and homework too. I worked until past midnight last night and still didn't finish. Then I dragged myself up after seven this morning to rush through the rest and get ready to go back to school. I'm dying of sleepiness..."

"Mm. What year are you in?"

"My second year of high school. What time did you get up?"

"Five."

"...Then, um, where did you come from?"

"I walked two hours along mountain paths, then spent an hour on the bus."

"...!!"

He wasn't a Daoist. He was an iron man!

Hearing Chen Shi'an's answer, the girl turned to stare at him in astonishment. He looked so full of energy that she simply couldn't connect him with "up at five, two hours walking through the mountains, an hour on the bus."

If that had been her, wouldn't she have dropped dead halfway? Could this young Daoist really have magical power?

"How do you do it...? Don't you Daoists get tired?"

"Just drink a little of this."

Chen Shi'an smiled and picked up the bottle of glucose water.

The girl smiled too.

A Daoist drinking glucose water. That picture... was so strange.