Guai Dao Hu Zong Ren

  My name is Li Yifan, and I'm thirty-two years old. Perhaps many people know me because of an unintentional move I made last year, but in the story that follows, please remember that I am not the main character.

  In his world, just as in mine, we are good friends, sworn brothers. Even though we're over 30 years old, we still often get into fistfights, but that can't affect the die-hard relationship between us. We've been through many dangers together and countered numerous unbelievable conspiracies. To me, this camaraderie is precious. I've had countless ideas to write down his story, even though neither of us are saints, and we haven't known each other for many years.

  This story starts from October 2011. At the end of the previous month, I officially stepped out of my 20s as a young delinquent and into the world of being a 30-year-old delinquent. Yes, that year I turned 30. This was originally a very sad thing, but during that month, I received some extremely good news - my wife became pregnant.

  Hu Zongren and Fu Yuni are good friends of mine and Cai Jie's. They got married a few months earlier than us, and the idea for Hu Zongren's proposal was actually given by me. As two families with an extremely close relationship, when I'm going to be a dad, it's only natural that we should get together to celebrate properly.

  So that noon, I personally went to the kitchen to prepare lunch. After everyone had a delicious meal at my house, Fu Yunni took Caijie out for a stroll and sunbathing, while Hu Zongren and I continued drinking and eating at home.

  To be honest, since I got to know Hu Zongren in 2009, my understanding of his background is actually limited. All I know is that he learned from the Yao Shan Daoist sect, and his master was a retired Yao Shan elder. Although Hu Zongren has always been a bit crazy, when it comes to passing on our sect's Daoist teachings, he is still quite reliable. Apart from this, I don't know much about his past.

  Riding on the excitement of that day, everyone drank a lot of wine, slightly drunk but not completely, and we started sharing our childhood stories. It was my first time hearing about his past from himself, previously I had only heard from Hu Zongren's mother, who told me with great relish, about how as a child he accidentally fell into the toilet pit and got a mouthful of shit.

  Hu Zongren told me that he was born into a family of intellectuals. His parents were both middle school teachers, so theoretically, someone like him shouldn't be like me, making a living by dealing with ghosts for many years. Hu Zongren's hometown is in Yilong County, Sichuan Province, which is also the hometown of Zhu De. Hu Zongren said that maybe it was because of his eight characters, from small to large, he had never been fond of studying. However, every time there was an exam, he could somehow pass without knowing how, so although his grades were always at the bottom, he never faced the danger of being held back or expelled.

  Hu Zongren said that until he graduated from high school, he failed the exam. Then his family tried to persuade him to retake the exam for another year, and during that summer vacation, he and several friends beat up a student from another school, causing serious injury.

  He told me that he was just going to help out by adding his presence, but as he started hitting people, he discovered that he really enjoyed the feeling of beating others and couldn't stop himself. He used a wooden stick as thick as his wrist to hit people's necks, and ended up breaking the stick. The stupidest thing is that after he finished hitting people, he proudly threw out a sentence: "My name is Hu Zongren, if you're not satisfied, come find me!" with an air of being a big brother in the underworld.

  Unfortunately, the kid who got beaten up was the son of a local construction contractor in Yilong, who had some connections with underworld figures. That night, his father put out the word that if they couldn't find Hu Zongren and get an explanation from him, he wouldn't let it go. Hu Zongren said that by then his own father had passed away, so there was only him and his mother at home. When Hu's mom saw that her son had gotten into trouble, she quickly tried to use connections to find the other kid's parents and communicate with them, but they refused to talk. So Hu's mom got scared and sent Hu Zongren to stay with his father's cousin (Hu Zongren's uncle) for a while until things blew over. Hu's mom said that as a teacher and a woman, she wouldn't be bullied by the other family.

  At this point, Hu Zongren picked up his cup and took another sip. I understand his character, he probably rarely recalls that absurd period of his life, even with Pei Yuni, it's unlikely he would share so much. He continued to say that his uncle had returned to Sichuan in recent years and was now living in Chengdu. Before that, he was a Taoist hermit, but he refused to tell me where he specifically studied. Hu Zongren said that because of the stormy days, he first came into contact with Taoist culture through his uncle, although it wasn't for long, but his uncle said he had potential, so he secretly introduced him to one of his teachers without telling his mother, which caused a rift between his mother and uncle. This teacher was a master from Qingcheng who initially wanted to test Hu Zongren's nature, so he made him follow him around every day without giving him any tasks or supervision, just observing what he would do.

  I smiled and asked Hu Zongren, "That period of time must have been suffocating for you, right?" Hu Zongren said, "Isn't that the truth? It was like living a year in a day. Later, one day I was feeling very annoyed, and some pilgrims who came up the mountain were making a ruckus in the temple, using foul language. I couldn't bear to watch it, so I went to remind them. As a result, we exchanged a few words that didn't get along, and ended up fighting.

  I gave Hu Zongren a thumbs up and said, "Brother, you're really something! You dare to fight in front of the ancestors, it's a pity you don't become a gangster!" Hu Zongren said that he had been depressed for a long time, Master didn't teach him anything, nor did he stop him from doing anything, not even mentioning taking him as an apprentice. He was fed up and felt that running away after fighting was already unlucky enough, but coming to this mountain temple, he still wasn't welcomed, plus his own temper was like that, wherever he went, he easily got into trouble.

  I asked Hu Zongren how the matter was handled afterwards. He said that Master Zhang came out to defend himself at the time, and although those few incense guests were arrogant, they didn't dare make trouble in the Taoist temple after all. At that time, Hu Zongren was still a young child, so it wasn't very proper for him to hold grudges against those people either. So as far as those people were concerned, the matter was dropped. However, Master Zhang said that he didn't dare take in such a child again, and planned to send him down the mountain instead.

  Hu Zongren said that this matter had a particularly great impact on him, and at the time he thought he was maintaining the serenity of the Taoist temple, so he got into an argument with those incense guests. He was wearing the clothes of their Taoist temple's young disciples, but unexpectedly, the master of the temple wanted to drive him out because of this. He couldn't understand it, and at that moment, an old man in a white Taoist robe walked out from the side room and said to the master, "This young man is hot-blooded and strong-willed, we who study the Tao should keep those whom we think have potential, but why do you so resolutely reject those who can be changed through education?"

  That white-robed Taoist said to the then Master of the Palm Observation School, "If my fellow Taoist doesn't mind that I'm young and inexperienced, with shallow learning and low abilities, let me take this young man away and have him follow me on my travels, visiting various places. Is that acceptable?"

  Hu Zongren said that at the time, he was full of grievances in his heart, feeling that he might not be so disliked by others. Being punished by Zhang Guan Shifu made him feel resentful. But now, a white-robed Taoist stood up and spoke for him, making him feel a sense of relief, and his stubborn temper flared up. Originally kneeling on the ground to admit his mistake, he suddenly raised his head and stood up, saying disdainfully to Zhang Guan Shifu, "If this temple doesn't want me, then I won't stay here either! The world is vast, who would be willing to stay in a Taoist temple that doesn't even put salt in its dishes?"

  I burst out laughing. After all these years, this guy's personality hasn't changed in the slightest. To be honest, he's become even more extreme now.

  Hu Zongren also laughed and continued to say that the original palm observation master was entrusted by his uncle, so he temporarily kept Hu Zongren by his side. Originally, he didn't think much of keeping him, but after Hu Zongren caused trouble, he had a legitimate reason to get rid of him. With the white-robed Taoist stepping forward and offering to take over Hu Zongren, it was probably thought that this would be good too, so as not to offend anyone. Unfortunately, Hu Zongren will likely hate himself for some time to come. When the white-robed Taoist said this, the palm observation master also readily agreed.

  Hu Zongren said that at the time, he was just a young man with a shaggy head. Although he had been in contact with Taoism for some time, it was still a short period of time, and he hadn't met anyone who was willing to teach him seriously. Therefore, before that, his understanding of Chinese Taoist culture was very superficial. However, after the white-robed Taoist took Hu Zongren away, they went to several famous mountains such as Emei and Tiantai. During this time, the two men lived and ate together, but the white-robed Taoist didn't teach Hu Zongren anything about Taoism or Taoist magic, nor did he mention anything about becoming a disciple. He just kept asking Hu Zongren questions about his past life, such as why he didn't go to school, why he ran away from home, and if he missed his family.

  Hu Zongren said that the most impressive time was when the White Robed Taoist took him on foot along the old road up Mount Emei. The White Robed Taoist asked him a question, saying if no one had paid attention to you that day and you were really driven down the mountain, what would you do? Hu Zongren replied without thinking, at most I'll find some temporary work to do, I'm young and strong, they can't starve me to death.

  The Taoist in white said, "In today's world, no one will starve to death. But you have nothing in your chest and no skills in your body. Even if I find you a job, with your personality, it's hard to last long. Because you are still far from becoming mature." Hu Zongren thought the old Taoist was making excuses again and wanted to drive him away, so he was about to argue back when the white-robed Taoist pointed to the pond in the mountains and said, "Look at this pond, there are water snakes, loaches, and eels inside. Some are strong and some are weak. But these creatures without hands or feet know how to survive. You have hands and feet, can't you think of anything but relying on odd jobs to live?"

  Hu Zongren took another sip of wine and told me that it was the first sentence that the white-robed Taoist had said to him, which shocked him. Because making someone like Hu Zongren understand reason is not an easy task. He told me that at that moment, he felt a kind of unprecedented respect for the white-robed Taoist in front of him.

  Hu Zongren told me that later he came to know, the old Taoist in front of him belonged to the Yao Mountain Sect of Folk Taoism. He spent most of his life traveling around the country, not participating in any religious management organization, free and easy-going, content with a simple life. The Yao Mountain Sect is affiliated with the Xuan Yuan Association of Folk Taoism Societies, worshipping Xuan Yuan Huangdi, determined to revive the national religion.

  And this white-robed Taoist priest eventually became Hu Zongren's master, who was Xing Yaizi.