This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 90: Inheriting the Orthodoxy of Immortal Dao

Outside Wuling County, a white cloud flew high in the sky, and on it were Zhuang Lin and others who had returned from near Xiangyang.

Zhuang Lin sat half-way on the clouds, with his legs bent and his elbows supported, his eyes gazing at the exposed mountains and rivers below, his face thoughtful, thinking of what he had seen in Hougou Village that day.

In today's world, the way the underworld messengers lead people to the underworld is so simple and crude, and there is no guarantee at all. Even the dead cannot rest in peace.
Behind Zhuang Lin was the still cautious Liu, and the three children who had become much bolder and were clinging to their mother's clothes and looking down.

By now the three children had understood that Zhuang Lin was not really their uncle, but their frustration had long since dissipated, leaving only excitement. However, they seemed to feel the clouds were getting lower and lower.

"Sir, are we going down?"

"Well, it's better to get up soon, otherwise you'll end up sitting on the ground once the clouds disperse."

Zhuang Lin responded and came back to his senses from his contemplation. He looked at the still small Wuling City below and controlled the magic cloud to continue downwards.

It’s a bit inconvenient today, so I decided not to visit Zhao Chenyu. Of course, the same goes for Tao Yuanming, whom I had originally planned to visit.

As he was thinking this, Fayun had already landed on the road not far outside the city. Zhuang Lin had already stood up, but Liu was too afraid to get up. Instead, the three children stood up obediently, so only Liu sat down on the ground.

"Sister-in-law, don't sit on the ground anymore, stand up!"

Zhuang Lin said this with a smile, and Liu uttered an "ah" and stood up with the help of the children, but her legs still seemed a little weak.

"Sir, are we there yet? Is this the city?"

"Of course not, but I have an appointment and need to get the boat back. We'll take the water for the rest of the journey!"

"Oh, it's nice to take a boat, it's nice to take a boat!"

Liu nodded repeatedly, and the three children couldn't help but giggle. Zhuang Lin smiled on the side. The three little guys looked much more lively than before.
-
At Wuling County Wharf, it was lunchtime, and except for a few ships loading and unloading cargo, most people were resting.

Many of the young men watching the boats would not leave, as they could not miss any opportunity. Most of them would eat some dry food and drink some water, then sit on the dock and bask in the winter sun.

Zhuang Lin took Liu and the three children to the dock and immediately saw the dog that was watching over the boat for him.

The young man who had said that Zhuang Lin would be the first to be recognized when he arrived, obviously did not notice his employer at this moment, and was eating his dry biscuits with water from a bamboo pot.

There are also many shops next to the pier, and some stalls selling food. Waves of steaming fragrance are everywhere. Many people gather around the stalls, or squat in some places with bowls in hand to eat.

Zhuang Lin looked at the family of four who were following closely beside him.

"Are you hungry?"

Liu just smiled awkwardly and said nothing. One of the three children nodded at first, then immediately shook his head when he realized what was happening.

"It's not too late to have a hot bowl before continuing on your journey. Let's go over there!"

Zhuang Lin pointed to a stall about ten steps away. There was a sheep's head hanging on it, and a flag with the words "Tangbing" written on it.

"I'll listen to you, sir!"

Liu said this implicitly, and Zhuang Lin nodded and took them there.

When the stall owner over there saw Zhuang Lin coming, he hurriedly cleaned up an empty table and even warmly invited them to sit down.

Soon, several bowls of steaming mutton soup were ready, and wonton-shaped soup noodles and a Hu pancake were served.

Zhuang Lin asked the Liu family to eat first, and ordered an extra bowl of soup noodles for himself. He then walked to the dock with his bowl and chopsticks.

The dog was gnawing on the last bit of the biscuit. After finishing it, he was still not satisfied, so he gulped down the water in the bamboo tube. As he was drinking, a fragrance caught his attention.

Gou'er subconsciously looked around and saw a bowl of steaming soup noodles being handed to him. Then he looked up along the arm and saw Zhuang Lin.

"Sir! You're back!"

Zhuang Lin smiled and nodded, while Gou'er looked surprised.

"You've been gone for so long! I thought you'd never come back. But don't worry, the boat is still there, there's nothing wrong with it!"

"Well, I see, let's eat first!"

"This"

The dog hesitated.

Zhuang Lin on the side saw through the other person's thoughts and added with a smile.

"Don't worry, it's not included in the custody fee!"

"Oh, thank you, sir!"

The dog smiled and quickly took the bowl and chopsticks, then immediately started eating, sucking up the soup and eating the soup noodles. He was so fast that even the three siblings over there combined could not match him.

"The soup and noodles have already been paid for. You can enjoy your meal here. I'll go eat something and come back to clear the dishes later!"

The dog answered vaguely while eating.

"Don't bother me, sir. I'll bring the dishes over right after I finish eating! Hehehe"

Zhuang Lin didn't say anything, just nodded and left.

It was as if Zhuang Lin had just returned to the stall and sat down to eat a few bites when the boy over there came over with a bowl. The bowl was empty, cleaner than if it had been licked by a dog.
About a quarter of an hour later, Zhuang Lin brought the Liu family to a pier step.

In the river below, Gou'er paddled the boat across to the crowd, then jumped onto the steps with the pole, and while pulling the rope, he handed the pole to Zhuang Lin with a smile.

"Sir, look"

"I can't do without you!"

Zhuang Lin handed over a dozen large bills to the young man, who counted them carefully and smiled even brighter.

"That's perfect! Sir, if you need anything next time, just come find me!"

"Then we'll talk about it next time!"

Zhuang Lin responded, taking the pole and disembarking first. The dog on top quickly tightened the rope to stop the boat from swaying. Liu bowed to the young man, who quickly returned the gesture, grasping the rope. Then, he watched as the mother and her two children boarded the boat one after another.

After everyone was on board, the young man threw the rope back on board. He did not ask any questions that he should not have asked, but just kept saying "Goodbye!"
Zhuang Lin's rowing technique was quite adept. Without even moving the oars, he was already pushing the boat away with the slender bamboo pole a moment later. Then, with a few strokes of the pole, the boat sped away amidst the gurgling water, and Wuling Harbor gradually drifted further and further away.
Although there were not many boats on the river at this time, everyone on the boat could see that the small boat was obviously faster than the surrounding boats.

And the speed was getting faster and faster, it even seemed that many ships traveling in the same direction were retreating like the scenery along the coast, but the people on those ships seemed to be unaware of the abnormality of this small boat.

"Sir, are we leaving the human world and going to the fairyland?"

The oldest little girl couldn't help but ask, and Zhuang Lin turned around and smiled.

"With the world in mind and the mountains and rivers as my love, I can still linger in the mundane world. When the world is my home, I feel the vastness. When the mundane world is my companion, I feel the warmth. It may be a fairyland, but it is also the human world!"

"When we get there, you will learn to read and write together, and you must call me Master from now on!"

Unconsciously, a light mist seemed to rise around him, and Zhuang Lin picked up the long pole in his hand and waved it a few times, and everything in the mist became clear.

A gentle breeze swayed the people on the water's edge, and also blew on the faces of everyone on the boat. The wind seemed much warmer, not like a winter wind, but rather like a breeze from the warm spring.
They stopped the boat in the peach forest and slowly led the group through the gorge. Soon, the scenery of Yinxian Valley appeared before Liu and her three children.

The family of four stood blankly on the ground at the entrance of the gorge, staring blankly at everything in sight. There were green trees dotted with flowers, green peaks standing in the distance, smoke curling from the houses, and the wind blowing through the fields like waves. Everything was like a pink dot of ink, so beautiful that it seemed unearthly.
No, this is not the human world!
What brought the family of four back to their senses was a surprised cry from afar.

"Mr. Zian is back——"
-
The entire Hidden Immortal Valley was soon alarmed, and they learned that Zhuang Lin had not only returned, but also brought back a family of ancient people.

Surrounded by so many people, Liu and her three children were nervous and uneasy, and even forgot that this was a "fairyland". However, the people in Yinxian Valley were very friendly, and were more curious about outsiders than anything else, without any resistance.

After realizing that they had disturbed the family of four, many people, although curious, chose to disperse or were sent away by their elders.

But even so, there were still more than a dozen people following Zhuang Lin, Liu and others. Most of them were aunts and elderly people. They chatted briefly along the way and gave them some fruits, which gradually calmed the four people's uneasy hearts.

Finally, everyone arrived at an empty house. There was no shortage of housing in Yinxian Valley now.

"This is it. From now on, this house is yours!"

Zhuang Lin said this, while Liu and the three children were already outside, staring blankly at the courtyard.

This house was much better than their previous home. The white walls and black tiles surrounded the courtyard. There was a lantern hanging above the door. Green vines were climbing along the wall of the courtyard, and there were flowers they didn't recognize blooming on them. A faint floral fragrance filled the courtyard, and there were even bees flying around.
"This is our home."

"Don't be afraid, sister. The Master has spoken. This is your home!"

"Yes, my house is not far away, so come visit more often!" "That's right, big sister, come to my house when you have time. Just go straight out and turn left, and it's the house!"

The elders nearby were all smiling kindly, and everyone was happy, with no prejudice against outsiders. Liu kept responding, and couldn't help but choking up several times.
At this time, there was another burst of messy footsteps, accompanied by a series of calls.

"Master!" "Master, you're back!"

"Master!"

The sound of these clear and crisp sounds coming one after another attracted Zhuang Lin and others to look at the roadside. It was Liu Hongyu who came with the students of the school.

All the students were very excited, but after calling out "Teacher", they were subconsciously attracted by the three children from the Wang family.

"Are they the ones the Master brought back?" "They are so small!"

"I'm not that old!" "That's great, I'm finally not the youngest anymore."

The children were all very excited, but Zhuang Lin and some others also noticed that the three Wang children were extremely nervous at the moment, each holding onto the corner of their clothes and lowering their heads.

The three children of the Wang family looked at their own black, skinny little hands and dirty clothes, and then saw the other children who came over. Each of them was fair-skinned and had a rosy face. They looked like the children of important people. They felt that they were from two completely different worlds.
As if sensing the embarrassment, the children in the cram school lowered their voices, subconsciously stopping and scratching their heads, as if they felt they had done something wrong.

Zhuang Lin saw this scene, but he was not in a hurry, as he needed a period of adaptation.

"Don't scare them. Tomorrow is a day off. The day after tomorrow they will all be in school together to study and learn to read. You all must take responsibility for helping them with their lessons. Don't bully them!"

After hearing Zhuang Lin's words, the children rushed to speak.

"Yes! I will do it!" "Me too!"

"My home is nearby, I can take them to the cram school!" "I can also teach them how to fold paper cranes!"

“So can I.”

Kindness is something that is easy to feel sometimes. In this environment, the Liu family also relaxed a lot. At least this kind of "fairyland" is easier to adapt to than imagined.
Liu Hongyu also walked up to Zhuang Lin at this time and took out the seal from his arms with a bit of pride.

"Master, I have accomplished my mission!"

Zhuang Lin was happy. What a big thing you have done. Look how capable you are!

However, despite his thoughts, Zhuang Lin nodded, but did not take away the magic on the seal.

"As my direct disciple, the restrictions on this seal will not be taken back from now on. Please do not use them recklessly!"

"Yes! Disciple will keep it in mind!"

Liu Hongyu was overjoyed and quickly agreed solemnly!
-
That night, Zhuang Lin returned to the school where he lived and spread out the four treasures of the study at the desk in the room.

After grinding the ink, Zhuang Lin held the pen and pondered for a long time. If he had only considered things from the perspective of the Dharma lineage he had obtained before, now he felt that the sense of responsibility on his shoulders was even heavier.

We should shoulder the responsibility of inheriting the orthodox way of immortality!
Regardless of whether the current and future disciples will lack "that thing", at least at this moment Zhuang Lin wants to lead people onto the orthodox path of immortality!
Teach what you can teach first, and worry about other things later. Well, let’s do the things at hand first!

Thinking of this, Zhuang Lin began to write.

First, record what you have gained from this trip, and write down what you have realized and verified in the brocade book one by one. Then record the necessary things, but do not record the specific things that happened, but some necessary information.

For example, there are wall maps left in the mountains outside Wuling, and there are monsters in the mountains who are meditating and watching over it, so we need to see what happens next;
For example, there is a special Yang tree planted in Hougou Village, which may become a big tree in the future, so you can keep an eye on it;
For example, there are four people in the Jianghu who have some affinity with Zhuang Lin;

For example, what is the sky's strong wind, which is divided into the changes of the five elements, what is above the strong wind, and the various doubts about the location of the Tianmen
As for the specific communication with Xi Miao, Zhuang Lin only kept it in his mind and had no plans to record it for the time being.

Combining work and rest, Zhuang Lin wrote in the first half of the night and took out all the books given by Xi Miao in the second half.

After searching for a while, Zhuang Lin chose one of the books and began to read. It was a book that recorded matters of the underworld, and it also contained information about the Dangzhong Mountain he had encountered.

"The Western Ghost Emperor of Mount Dangzhong."

(End of this chapter)