Chapter 3: In the Cloudy and Foggy Mountains

  After a sudden winter rain, the sun broke through the clouds and shone all over the earth. The mist on the mountains slowly dissipated, revealing the majestic Taigong Mountain standing tall and clear as if washed clean.

  In the depths of the dense forest on the mountain waist, the Taoist temple with gray tiles and yellow walls appears and disappears. The temple wall surrounded by giant trees is mottled, the vermilion gate peels off and closes tightly, and groups of mountain sparrows shuttle and chirp among the tree tips.

  Outside the small hut in the backyard, a young Taoist priest about eighteen years old wearing a blue Taoist robe squatted in front of the charcoal stove, holding a thread-bound book with his left hand and gently fanning with a long-handled bamboo fan with his right hand.

  The charcoal fire burned vigorously, and the small-mouthed vase on the charcoal stove began to emit a hissing steam, with a strong medicinal fragrance wafting in all directions.

  Inside the house, a charcoal fire was lit. Wu Ming lay on a low couch, his high fever had subsided, and his swollen face had largely returned to its normal appearance. His broken left arm was fixed with three small wooden boards, under the warm quilt, his waist and abdomen were wrapped in clean gauze, and his scarred legs and feet were covered with green ointment.

  Wu Ming woke up from his three-day and three-night coma, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't open his eyes. In the long, one after another nightmare, the past and present life's every detail, like a shadow, repeatedly appeared in his mind, making him feel unbearable pain that wouldn't stop.

  In the complicated dream, Old Song's head was smashed and a bloody horror scene appeared repeatedly. Next was Mr. Zhang's smiling face with black-framed glasses, and then there was the extreme fear of crawling out of the deep pit by pushing open one corpse after another without heads.

  Footsteps sounded outside the house, and an old Taoist priest with a thin build wearing a deep gray robe appeared at the door. The young Taoist quickly put down his book and fan, stood up respectfully and stood upright.

  The old Taoist took a glance at Wu Ming lying on the low couch in the house, his eyes shifted to the ceramic pot on the charcoal stove with fragrance overflowing, and he lightly stroked his half-foot-long white beard, nodding slightly: "How are the patient's symptoms today?"

  "Returning to Master Shifu, the patient can now swallow medicine porridge, the swelling on his head and body has subsided, both bowel movements are smooth and the high fever is receding, the wound is starting to heal, but he still hasn't opened his eyes." The young Taoist priest had a clear and elegant appearance, with a calm and gentle voice.

  "Uh-huh."

  A slender old Taoist entered the room, bent down to examine Wu Ming's injuries, removed the yellow gauze from Wu Ming's head, wiped off the remaining ointment on his right forehead with a swipe of his hand, and nodded in satisfaction after a moment's examination: "The wound on his head doesn't need to be bandaged anymore. This person has a good physique, and it's estimated that he'll recover after a period of recuperation. Tomorrow, adjust the prescription, and have him walk around every day."

  "Yes!"

  After the old Taoist left, the young Taoist brought in a ceramic bowl of medicinal soup and carefully fed Wu Ming with a spoon from start to finish.

  "Thank you..."

  The young Taoist who had just put down his bowl turned around, carefully examining Wu Ming's face with eyes wide open and full of gratitude: "Finally woke up, waking up is good."

  Wu Ming sat up with a grimace, leaning against the headboard and taking a deep breath: "Was it you who saved me? I remember crawling out of the deep ditch in a daze, my eyes couldn't open, and I couldn't see clearly who was carrying me on their back. Later, I didn't know anything."

  The young Taoist smiled slightly, brought over a bamboo stool and sat down in front of the kang, adding a few pieces of charcoal to the brazier: "That day I went down the mountain to buy goods, when I passed by Taiping Mountain col, I saw you crawling out from under the big tree root. You were quite frightening at that time, your whole body was covered in blood, and your head was swollen so badly that it couldn't be seen clearly. Without thinking much, I carried you back on my back. Don't be polite, Master Uncle often takes me down the mountain to treat illnesses for the surrounding incense guests and villagers, saving lives and relieving suffering is our duty as Taoist cultivators."

  "Where is this? What's your name, master?" Wu Ming asked politely.

  "This is the Taijin Mountain Qi Zhen Temple, where my Master Uncle Qingxiu cultivated. My surname is Sun and my name is Chengzong. My Master Uncle's Daoist name is Bingzhen, who was in charge of the ancestral temple of Longhu Mountain. Four years ago, after our Master ascended to heaven, Master Uncle received the order from the Ancestral Temple Tian Shi to repair and renovate Qi Zhen Temple, hanging a pot to save the world and promote Daoist righteousness."

  The young Taoist replied slowly and then asked with a smile: "Sir, what is your surname and given name? Your accent sounds like that of a local."

  "Wu Ming hesitated for a moment: 'My name is Wu Ming, from Wujia Village in Huanggu Town. I was framed and imprisoned in the county town's prison for colluding with bandits. The Communist Party's Red Guards broke into the county town and set me free. In the chaos, I escaped with a group of people...and ended up here.'"

  The young Taoist gazed at Wu Ming's eyes with a hint of surprise: "So that's how it was! Yesterday, I went down the mountain and into the city to buy some things. At the entrance of the tax office on the street, I saw a row of human heads hanging from the pillars, and there were also notices posted on the bulletin board saying that there had been a violent riot and jailbreak, resulting in many deaths. The city's soldiers were patrolling everywhere, and people's hearts were filled with fear. The county government office and several large households had all been burned down. So it was true after all."

  Wu Ming was helpless about this and knew that the young Taoist did not fully believe in his words. After a moment's consideration, he asked anxiously: "Will I implicate you?"

  "It doesn't matter, we are spreading the teachings of Taoism far and wide, throughout Jiangxi and even across the Yangtze River to the north and south. From high-ranking officials to ordinary people from all walks of life, no one will give us trouble. Many wealthy merchants and officials in surrounding counties and towns are our registered disciples from the Dragon Tiger Mountain ancestral temple, they definitely won't come to Qizhen Temple to bother you, so don't worry and rest here to recover."

  The young Taoist finished speaking and stood up, reminded a few words to bid farewell and went to the middle hall, the door of the scripture room, reported in a low voice, after entering the door, respectfully saluted Zhenzhen: "Master Shu, the layman in the backyard woke up, he claimed to be surnamed Wu, named Wu Ming, from Wujia Village, Huanggu Town, Dongmian, said that he escaped from the city's prison with a group of people."

  He put down his pen: "That's right, otherwise it can't be explained that there are more than a dozen headless corpses on the top of Taiping Mountain. From this point of view, this person is still honest."

  "Shifu, shall we go to Wu's village for a visit?" The young Taoist asked carefully.

  He looked out the window at the sky: "It's not early, no need to rush for a while. Although it's been some time since I went to Wujiacun, I still have some impression of this person, but I don't know why he had such an encounter. I remember that this person is dull and rarely speaks, but he is very filial to his mother and the village elders, not a wicked person. Ah, yes, yesterday your junior brother said that before he broke out in a sweat, he said a lot of nonsense that didn't make sense, seemingly speaking official language?"

  The young Taoist nodded: "Yes, he said it again last night, vaguely and unclearly, but I could make out the local dialect mixed with Mandarin, and no matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't figure it out."

  Adhering to the truth, Dao Chang thought for a moment and slightly shook his head: "Let things take their natural course, no need to deliberately investigate, he's already awake, sooner or later he'll figure it out. Tonight, after you change his dressing, grab five days' worth of medicine and entrust your junior brother to care for him. Tomorrow morning, you come with me down the mountain, first go to Huanggu Town to see a few patients, then take a trip to Wujiacun Village."

  "Yes." The young Taoist hesitated and asked: "Master Shu, won't Wu be a **person?"

  "It's hard to say, everything has to wait until it's clear before speaking. Nowadays, the world is in chaos, with fish and dragons mixed together, wars breaking out and mountains and rivers changing color. Evil is rampant and people are struggling to survive... This world is getting more and more turbulent..."

  The next morning, Wu Ming woke up early and struggled to get out of bed. Cheng Zong Daoist led a twelve-year-old little Taoist boy, holding a bowl of hot medicinal porridge, into the room.

  Cheng Zong put down the bowl and helped Wu Ming up, took him to the outhouse, then to the water pool in the yard for a wash, returned to the room to serve Wu Ming medicine porridge, patiently instructed Xiao Daotong, and then bid farewell to Wu Ming together.

  Last night, it rained in the middle of the night. At this moment, the mountains and fields are shrouded in a thin mist. Outside the Taoist temple, hundreds of birds are singing and roosters are crowing. Wu Ming sat on his bed, feeling unwell, slowly got up, looked around for a while, put on a white Taoist robe that had been washed clean, slipped his feet into cotton shoes, rubbed his sore arm, and walked out of the small hut step by step.

  "Give."

  A clear and crisp voice of a young Taoist sounded, and a cane made from a tree branch was handed to Wu Ming: "Master ordered me to accompany the gentleman for a walk in all directions, morning and evening, to relax his muscles and tendons."

  Wu Ming smiled at the young Taoist boy with a childish face: "Thank you! What's your name?"

  "My name is Chengyuan."

  Xiao Dao Tong was very sensible and gently supported Wu Ming as he walked into the courtyard.

  "How did your sleeves and pant legs get all wet? Did you go out?" Wu Ming's observation was very keen.

  The young boy looked down at his wet pants and smiled, "I got up at the fourth watch, practiced with my senior brother for half an hour, then drove the sheep to the mountain and cut a basket of grass on the way back. It's inevitable that my clothes would get dew on them."

  Wu Ming spent some time grinding before he finally understood that "Mao Chu" referred to just after 5 am. He was quite impressed: "You do this every day?"

  "Not that either, if it rains, I don't have to herd sheep. Later, I still need to burn incense and add oil for the three ancestors in the front hall, finish my homework, decoct medicine for you, and then cook dinner."

  Wu Ming nodded with gratitude and asked while walking around: "Master Chengyuan, how many people live in this temple?"

  Xiao Dao Tong heard Wu Ming call himself "Shifu" and laughed with glee: "It's just me, Shifu, and Shixiong, the three of us. I didn't know there were two more senior brothers who had gone down the mountain to travel after turning eighteen."

  "Are there many people coming to burn incense?" Wu Ming asked again.

  Cheng Yuan's smile faded as he shook his head: "I heard from my senior brother that there used to be many incense guests in the past few years, but it has decreased in the last two years. My senior brother said that nowadays the world is in chaos, and many families in the villages and towns at the foot of the mountain can't even afford a full meal, so they usually only come to pray for blessings during festivals."

  Wu Ming felt a pang of sadness: "Yes! This world is indeed chaotic, and it's not easy to get by! Master Chengyuan, where is your hometown?"

  Cheng Yuan was stunned for a moment, his expression turned gloomy and he lowered his head, the two buns on his head were slightly disheveled: "I don't know, I've been following my master since I was young, originally in Longhu Mountain, and later came here."

  "Uh? Oh, sorry!" Wu Ming apologized sincerely.

  Cheng Yuan raised his head, and a rare proud look appeared on his face: "Cheng Zong Shixiong is also a pick-up, just like me. He's really smart, he could recite the 'Tao Te Ching' at the age of five, started learning the 'Baicao Jing' at six, and followed our deceased Shibo to practice internal skills when he was seven. Usually, he would copy scriptures for Shifu and write letters. In recent years, it's been Cheng Zong Shixiong who taught me to read and practice internal skills in Qi Zhen Guan. He also told me many new things about the outside world. Cheng Zong Shixiong has even taken a big wheelboat, and at the beginning of the year, he was lucky enough to follow Shifu and Shibo to towns like Zhenjiang and Hangzhou for a gathering of Daoist friends. His experience is really broad. Shifu said that when I grow up, I'll also be able to go out and travel."

  Wu Ming stopped involuntarily and looked at Xiao Chengyuan with a hopeful face, whispering encouragement: "I believe you can definitely do it, Chengyuan, you're very smart, and you'll have great prospects in the future."

  "Really?" Cheng Yuan's black and white eyes stared steadily at Wu Ming.

  "Honestly, when I was your age, I wasn't as smart as you, hadn't learned martial arts, and stuttered when speaking. I couldn't even cook." Wu Ming showed a smile for the first time, seemingly reminiscing about his carefree childhood.

  Cheng Yuan smiled happily, his red face was really cute, and he looked silly for a while as if he realized something. He threw down a sentence "I'm busy" and turned around to run towards the middle hall. After running a few steps, he suddenly stopped, turned around and said loudly to Wu Ming: "You, you look like a big brother!"

  Wu Ming supported himself with his cane and smiled: "Really?"

  Xiao Chengyuan excitedly ran off, disappearing into the back door of the central hall. Wu Ming suppressed his smile and stood there for a long time before shaking his head and continuing his stroll.

  The warm sunshine broke through the mist and shone all over the ground. Wu Ming, who had been walking around with a sweat-drenched head, arrived at the edge of the pond, put down his cane, sat on the stone slab, gazed up at the blue sky and the drifting white clouds, and suddenly felt waves of melancholy surging in his heart.

  After a long time, Wu Ming let out a deep sigh and wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve. He bent down slightly to scoop up some water to wash his face, but when his fingertips approached the surface of the water, he saw an unfamiliar face floating in the clear water, causing Wu Ming's entire body to stiffen and his mind to become greatly disturbed.

  This reflected face... how can it be like this...