The Taoist the School Invited (Thanks to Buyu Chenshi Lihe for the Alliance Leader sponsorship)

Chen Shi'an had grown up in the mountains and was long accustomed to a natural, peaceful, simple way of life.

Now, the hem of his blue cloth Taoist robe brushed over paving tiles baked scorching hot by the sun. He stopped and looked up at the towering buildings before him, feeling almost as though he had stepped into another lifetime.

Mountain streams had become endless streams of traffic;

The chirping of insects and birds had become the clamor of human voices;

The fresh scent of plants had been replaced by smells far more complex and difficult to distinguish...

"Fat Ink, look. See that building? It's almost as high as my spiritual attainment."

"Meow."

The black cat rolled his eyes, agreeing with only half of that statement.

Although he was a country bumpkin entering the city, Chen Shi'an was different from other country kids. He had firm convictions, his own understanding of the world, and a foundation of cultivation. Outside things would not easily disturb his peace of mind, much less leave him flustered or uneasy.

Faced with the enormous contrast between the city and the mountains, he approached it more with calm, observant curiosity, taking it all in.

The glass facade of a shopping mall reflected his blue Taoist robe, placing him beside a mannequin in a suit in the display window.

Every so often, hurried pedestrians overtook him. Chen Shi'an looked up at the sky, sliced into patches by the buildings. What were all these people chasing?

They were like dandelion seeds scattered by the wind, bustling on the surface but lacking the peace of being rooted in the earth.

"Hello! Our new store opens today, and everything is twenty percent off!"

A young woman pulled a flyer from the stack in her arms and held it out to the young Taoist.

Chen Shi'an accepted it and stopped with interest, carefully reading its contents.

The brightly colored sheet was filled with attention-grabbing phrases and heavy, bold exclamation marks, as though missing out would leave him with a lifetime of regret.

The young Taoist's clothes were entirely out of place in the metropolis, and his calm, unhurried air set him apart from everyone around him.

He was clearly on his way somewhere, yet he was willing to stop and study a flyer in detail.

The young woman handing them out, on the other hand, grew a little restless. She had a hefty quota to meet and could hardly wait for him forever. Seeing that he was absorbed in reading without saying a word, she turned to other passersby with the remaining flyers in her arms. It did not go well-most people hurried along as though they did not even have time to accept one.

After quite a while, Chen Shi'an finished reading and politely handed the flyer back to her.

"Thank you, but I don't need anything right now."

His politeness and gentleness left the young woman, whose forehead was still beaded with sweat, momentarily stunned.

It was like a cool mountain breeze blowing into a city trapped beneath a heat island. For that moment, she felt refreshed, and her restless heart settled into calm.

"That's... that's all right..."

She took the flyer back from him in a daze. Before she could say, "You can keep this...," she looked up again and found that the young Taoist had already resumed his unhurried walk...

Over the course of his walk, Chen Shi'an had developed his own rudimentary understanding of the metropolis.

He was not here to judge whether the city was good or bad, only to experience, observe, and feel.

He suddenly understood what his master had meant by "tempering the heart in the mortal world." Reading about things in books or seeing them online on a phone really was entirely different from experiencing them firsthand.

Chen Shi'an was quite looking forward to school life. How would school differ from the world outside...?

As he was thinking about that, the phone in his pocket rang.

Perhaps because hardly anyone ever contacted him, it rang for quite a while before he realized it was his own phone.

He lit up the screen, which showed an unfamiliar number.

When he answered, a middle-aged man's hearty voice came through-

"Hello? Is this young Master Chen Shi'an?"

"Hello, yes, speaking. May I ask who's calling?"

With a friendly chuckle, the middle-aged man on the other end said:

"I'm Lin Ming, the principal of Yunqi No. 1 High School. A while ago, at Old Daoist Master Chen's request, I sent an admission letter to your association. Have you received it, young Master Chen? These two days are registration days. I asked Teacher Liang, who said you hadn't registered yet, so I got your number from the association and called to check."

Once the caller explained his reason for calling, Chen Shi'an understood.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, Principal Lin. I'm on my way to school now. I should be there in about twenty minutes."

"Good, good." Principal Lin's voice was full of concern. "Your master said you'd never left the mountains and asked me to look after you. Young Master Chen, if there's anything you don't understand, just tell me. Do you need me to send someone to pick you up?"

"Thank you for your concern, Principal Lin. I'll be there soon."

"All right, then. We'll talk when you arrive. I've already spoken to the gate guard. Just let him know when you get here, and come to my office first."

"All right. Thank you, Principal Lin."

Chen Shi'an had not expected Principal Lin to call him personally. He had never imagined his master had so much influence. Not only had his master borrowed a considerable sum from the man and secured a place at the school, but even now that he was gone, the man still took his request so seriously.

Of course, that favor belonged to his master, not to him. Chen Shi'an understood the distinction very clearly.

After hanging up, Chen Shi'an continued on his way.

Before long, a sprawling campus appeared before Chen Shi'an.

As the best high school in Cloud Roost City, Yunqi No. 1 High School naturally offered impeccable facilities. Every year, it led the city in the percentage of students admitted to undergraduate programs, the percentage admitted to key universities, and the number accepted by top universities. Its teachers and students were also the best, and places were fiercely sought after. Who knew how many applicants were screened out each year by its towering entrance-exam cutoff?

Chen Shi'an had never attended school and had little concept of any of this. He merely marveled at how huge it was-large enough to fit dozens of Pure Dust Temples...

He had no idea that students like him, who transferred into Yunqi No. 1 High School midway through their studies, either had outstanding grades, wealthy families, or solid connections.

It was the last day of registration for the autumn term, and the school gates were bustling. Students and parents carrying luggage were everywhere, most of them first-year newcomers. The second- and third-year students had started classes early. Occasionally, he also spotted older students in uniform returning ahead of time after a two-day break following their monthly exams.

Chen Shi'an paused at the familiar blue-and-white school uniforms-

Could that chatterbox girl from the bus also attend Yunqi No. 1 High School?

What a coincidence.

If I'd known, I'd have asked her to walk with me. Then I wouldn't have spent fifty boring minutes walking in silence...

Chen Shi'an took a quick look around, but saw no sign of the chatter-

box girl. He did not make a point of searching for her, either. If they were at the same school, they would run into each other when the time was right.

The gates were crowded with parents and new students in stylish, neat clothes, making Chen Shi'an's blue Taoist robe particularly conspicuous. As he approached, quite a few parents and students cast curious looks his way.

"Huh? What's a Taoist doing here...?"

"Is he here to collect alms?"

"It's monks who collect alms, isn't it? Who's ever seen a Taoist doing that...?"

"Did the school invite him?"

"Could be. Maybe they invited a Taoist to pray for the students at the start of term?"

"Probably planning to put up a new building and asked him to check the feng shui. I heard Yunqi No. 1 High School has made quite a bit of money over the years..."

"The school administrators believe in that stuff?"

"But isn't this Taoist a little too young? Is he even twenty?"

"Oh, Dad, you guys don't understand anything. He's cosplaying! He's definitely not a real Taoist!"

While everyone was wondering who Chen Shi'an was and why he had come, he approached the gate guard and exchanged a few words with him. The guard then respectfully led him into the school, heading straight for the principal's office.

"The school really did invite him!!"

(Thank you to Buyu Chenshi Lihe for the Alliance Leader sponsorship! What a generous boss~! Thank you so much for supporting the new book!)