Chapter 7: The Enigmatic Tao (Part 1)

  I chatted with everyone and felt that sleeping alone in the small courtyard was not interesting, there was no one to talk to. Now there are still a few empty beds in this tent, so I decided not to go back and continue sleeping here. The sky is not early, Xiao Shouren still needs to buy a set of clothes, so he can return to the barracks before sunset tomorrow and also participate in exercises with everyone. Today's return is expected to be able to catch up on dinner. When leaving the military camp, I asked about where Yizhi Wende was being held, planning to find this old guy to chat tonight, and learned that Yizhi Wende was also being held in the military camp.

  At 1.78 meters tall, he wasn't exceptionally tall in ancient times, but he definitely wasn't short either. In a clothing store, he was quite eye-catching, as most of the customers were women, plump or slender, all sorts of females. As soon as Xiao Shouren walked in, he seemed to stand out like a crane among chickens, and for a moment, he felt a bit embarrassed.

  Fortunately, the young man inside was quite sensible. He took one look at Xiao Shouren's appearance and quickly led him to a small courtyard in the back. After asking about the style of clothing Xiao Shouren wanted and the fabric needed, he helped Xiao Shouren take his measurements and told him to pay half of the silver now and the remaining half when he came to pick up the clothes in two days. And so, Xiao Shouren hastily grabbed the receipt and fled the store like a thief.

  If it were in the past, Xiao Shouren would definitely not be embarrassed, but now is ancient times. Moreover, Xiao Shouren had never tried being surrounded by a large group of women staring at him like a monkey before, and they were all sorts of beauties too.

  It was just the right time to return to the military camp, when everyone was lining up to receive food. Xiao Shouren also rushed to line up and received three steamed buns and a small bowl of millet porridge, finding a secluded corner to enjoy his dinner.

  Just as Xiao Shouren had eaten half of his food, he heard a low moaning sound coming from the tent behind him. Driven by curiosity, Xiao Shouren walked over and lifted the curtain. Although the tent was not large, it was quite luxurious inside, with only one bed. It seemed that this person must have some status, as they wouldn't have been able to get such a good tent otherwise. There were two shelves of ceramic jars, one shelf of glass and jade. At that time, glass was not cheap like it is now, as the technique for making glass had not yet been introduced to China, so all glassware was extremely valuable, having been transported from overseas at great cost.

  Just as Xiao Shouren was still guessing the identity of the owner of the tent, he felt a pat on his shoulder.

  "Little brother, could you make way and let me bring in the medicine?" A very kind voice sounded beside Xiao Shouren.

  Xiao Shouren was startled and found himself lost in thought, someone had walked up to him without him noticing, if it were an enemy, he would have been killed several times already.

  The person speaking beside me is not from the mortal world at all, with a three-foot-long snow-white beard and hair that reaches down to his shoulders. Although he wears ordinary clothes, it's hard to conceal his otherworldly demeanor.

  Just as Xiao Shouren was stunned, the immortal-like person smiled and nodded at him, already holding a medicine jar, and with a flash of his body, he had entered. Seeing such a figure, if he didn't go in to get acquainted, he would regret it later. Xiao Shouren hurriedly followed him.

  Only after entering did I discover that the tent was actually carpeted, luxurious, truly luxurious.

  "The medicine is ready, when are you going to drink it while it's hot?" The deity-like figure put down the medicine pot and seemed to not want to stay for a moment, turning around and walking out.

  At this moment, Xiao Shouren walked in and almost bumped into them.

  "Cough! Cough! Thank you, great doctor, for the medicine. I've caused a lot of trouble." A hoarse voice came from under the quilt. It turned out that the sound Xiao Shouren had heard earlier was coming from the bed, and if he hadn't come in, he really wouldn't have known there was someone on it. From the sound, it seemed like this person had suffered a serious injury.

  "What are you following me for?" The immortal being asked Xiao Shouren with a smile.

  "Heh heh, forgive me for that. I just saw you and felt a sense of familiarity, thinking you were an old acquaintance, so I wanted to get closer to confirm. Hope you don't mind." Xiao Shouren scratched his head and quickly found an excuse to step down.

  "Oh? Is that so? I really didn't know there was anyone else like me, with this appearance. Who is the person you're referring to, little brother?" The immortal being heard Shao Shouren say this and didn't get angry, instead asking with a strange expression.

  Xiao Shouren heard him ask this and looked at his expression at that moment, it was very strange. This answer didn't have any loopholes, so why did they look so weird after hearing me say this? Was it because of his unusual attire?

  Xiao Shouren was at a loss for words, unsure of what to say next. He had never met someone like this before, even during his time in the military camp. But now, he couldn't help but think about it and could only force himself to continue.

  "Ah, my old friend's name is Sun Simiao, and he's dressed just like you. I made a mistake earlier, sorry about that. I have something to attend to, so I'll take my leave first." Xiao Shouren suddenly remembered that Sun Simiao was also a figure from the end of the Sui dynasty and the beginning of the Tang dynasty, and was even known as the "King of Medicine". He had seen his portrait when he studied medicine before, which showed him to be an elegant and refined-looking man. Without hesitation, Xiao Shouren pulled him out, preparing to make a quick escape by greasing the soles of their feet.

  Just as Xiao Shouren lifted the curtain and took less than three steps, he felt his shoulder being patted again.

  Turning back, it was actually that god-like person standing right behind me at this moment, smiling and staring at me.

  "Little brother, have you seen that old man Sun Simiao?"

  "Of course, I've seen the great doctor Sun half-faced before." As soon as Xiao Shouren heard this god-like old man mention that Sun Simiao was an old acquaintance, the stone in his heart fell to the ground. Judging from the tone, they seemed to know each other and had a pretty good relationship, so now he could play the friendship card or the kindness card.

  "Huh? If you've seen it, then you've seen it. If you haven't seen it, then you haven't seen it. How can there be such a thing as seeing half of it?" the immortal being asked curiously.

  "Alas! Dr. Sun is wholeheartedly saving lives and treating injuries, busy as he is, I've only caught a glimpse of him from afar, not daring to disturb him while he's saving people. If I were to disturb him because of my own reasons, my guilt would be great." Xiao Shouren had initially wanted to use Bai Juyi's "Holding the pipa half conceals the face" to educate this old immortal, but thinking about it, this old man probably didn't know that famous phrase, so he gave up and could only reason with him.

  "Haha, so that's how it is! I've learned something new. Farewell for now, I still have things to attend to." The immortal figure smiled and bid farewell.

  Xiao Shouren rubbed his nose and smiled, preparing to visit that old scoundrel Yizhi Wende.

  Yizhi Wende was imprisoned in the central part of the military camp, guarded by a team of the most elite soldiers to prevent anyone from breaking into the camp.

  Xiao Shouren had already asked about Yizhi Wende's place of detention at noon, so he was now familiar with the road and walked towards the middle.

  The more they walked towards the center, the stricter the guards became. There were three layers of walls inside and out, with patrol soldiers lined up in teams. Due to Xiao Shouren's heroic performance outside the city the day before, everyone had seen it with their own eyes, and almost everyone recognized him, so there weren't many questions asked. Who would dare provoke him when they knew he was about to be promoted?

  All the way was smooth, only when entering the account tent, there were some difficulties. However, after Xiao Shouren's words, he still entered the tent smoothly. The patrolling Jingwei team didn't know whether they disliked Xiao Shouren or what, probably due to jealousy, and refused to let him in, fearing that someone would take away Yizhi Wende. Xiao Shouren was furious upon hearing this, couldn't they find a better excuse? This Yizhi Wende was caught by himself, now the one with no reason to release him is himself, isn't this intentionally picking a fight?

  After a heated debate, the soldiers of Jingwei team who were scolded by Xiao Shouren became silent and let him in.

  Xiao Shouren felt something was off before he even entered, and while still outside the curtain, Xiao Shouren heard a dog barking. No mistake! It was indeed a dog's bark! And it came from inside the tent, which was very strange.

  This old guy still has the mood to walk his dog inside? Or is he bored and pretending to be a dog himself? Xiao Shouren thought with disdain.

  As soon as the curtain was lifted, Xiao Shouren walked in and what caught his eye wasn't Yi Zhongwendu, but a very tall wolf dog. It turned out that there really was a wolf dog being raised inside!

  Yizhi Wende saw Xiao Shouren come in, seemingly not very surprised. After glancing at Xiao Shouren, he didn't lift his head to look at him again. He sat in front of the desk, eating the food on it with gusto. The food was indeed sumptuous, with chicken and fish, filling up the entire small table.

  That big wolf dog stared straight at the food on the table, drooling, and when Xiao Shouren came in, it didn't even glance at him, as if he was a puff of air. The dog's eyes looked down on people, which meant you could still catch its attention, but now even dogs ignored him. In an instant, Xiao Shouren had become someone that not even dogs would pay attention to.