Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

A room in a guesthouse.

Three pairs of eyes were fixed on Liao Zhong.

A couple who looked to be close to forty, the man was holding the woman's shoulder, and the woman was clutching the man's clothes; both of them were trembling.

There was a young woman sitting next to him, who looked to be in her twenties, with red eyes, clearly having just cried.

Liao Zhong nodded: "You must be Wang Jianguo, Li Xiufang, and Zhang Xiaoyan?"

The middle-aged man nodded, his voice trembling slightly: "Yes, we are."

The young woman nodded without speaking, but her eyes remained fixed on Liao Zhong, as if waiting for an answer.

Liao Zhong silently reviewed the documents in his mind.

Wang Jianguo and Li Xiufang were looking for their daughter, whose nickname was Tiantian.

Zhang Xiaoyan is looking for her son, whose nickname is Xiaobao.

He was about to speak when the woman named Li Xiufang rushed up and grabbed his arm: "Comrade, have you really found my daughter? Is she alright? Has she...has she been wronged?"

As she spoke, tears began to fall.

Wang Jianguo quickly stepped forward and gently put his arm around his wife's shoulder: "Xiufang, don't be like this. Since the comrades have notified us, they must already have definite news. Don't get so excited."

His own voice was trembling, and his hands, which were holding his wife, were shaking even more violently than hers.

Zhang Xiaoyan also stood up and took two steps forward: "Comrade, where is my son Xiaobao? Where is he? When can I see him?"

Liao Zhong raised his hand and pressed it down: "Please don't get excited, everyone. Sit down and let's talk slowly."

The three of them reluctantly sat back down in their chairs, but their eyes remained fixed on him.

Liao Zhong organized his thoughts: "The children are all doing well now. We will arrange for a professional psychologist to provide guidance and help the children adapt to family life as soon as possible."

The middle-aged woman started wiping away tears again.

The young woman bit her lip and nodded vigorously.

The man took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Thank you, comrade, thank you all. We will definitely cooperate."

Liao Zhong nodded, then suddenly looked at the young woman: "By the way, there's something I'd like to ask. According to our investigation, you've been searching for Xiao Bao all these years. Why are you the only one here today? Didn't your husband receive any news?"

Zhang Xiaoyan paused for a moment, then lowered her head, her voice soft: "I... my husband is cooking at home."

Liao Zhong: "???"

Wang Jianguo and Li Xiufang couldn't help but look at her, their faces full of curiosity.

The young woman explained, "We've been preparing clothes, pants, and shoes for Xiaoguang every year for the past few years, for spring, summer, autumn, and winter, thinking that he can wear them as soon as we find him."

She pursed her lips: "Last time, a comrade came to our house to tell us about the child. We found out how tall the child is now, and all the things we bought before are no longer needed. My husband said we should burn all the old ones to get rid of bad luck and welcome the new one."

Liao Zhong was stunned.

Burning clothes?

He racked his brains but couldn't figure out what kind of custom this was.

However, some local customs are indeed quite strange, which he doesn't understand, but he respects.

"Alright, then we won't wait for him." Liao Zhong stood up. "The children are playing on the playground right now, let's go over there."

The three of them jumped up and eagerly followed Liao Zhong outside.

The four of them left the guesthouse and got into a car.

The car started and drove towards the playground.

On the way, Liao Zhong briefly explained the children's situation.

He concealed the unspeakable secrets of the Medicine Immortal Society, only saying that the children had been abducted by human traffickers, suffered a lot, and had severe psychological trauma.

After hearing this, Li Xiufang burst into tears again, covering her face and crying uncontrollably.

Zhang Xiaoyan also cried, biting her lip to keep herself from making a sound, tears streaming down her cheeks, no matter how much she wiped them away.

Wang Jianguo clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging, his eyes blazing with fire.

Liao Zhong glanced at them in the rearview mirror and said seriously, "Gentlemen, there's something I need to tell you beforehand."

The three of them looked at him.

"Because the children have lived together for so many years and value each other very much, I hope you can let the other children feel your love for your children and let them understand that when a friend leaves, it doesn't mean they've disappeared, but rather that they've entered a warm family."

Li Xiufang was crying so hard she couldn't speak, she could only nod frantically.

Wang Jianguo took a deep breath, his voice hoarse but firm: "Don't worry, comrade, we can definitely do it."

Click to begin your wondrous journey in "Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain".

Zhang Xiaoyan wiped away her tears: "I will never leave Xiaobao's side again. I will never let him suffer any more harm."

Li Xiufang held her husband tightly, saying similar things intermittently.

……

The car was parked next to the large playground.

The car door opened, and three people got out.

Before us was a wide, paved area with various colorful playground equipment. A group of children were running around in the middle, laughing and shouting, seemingly no different from ordinary children.

Tears immediately streamed down the faces of all three.

The middle-aged man, who had been holding back, finally broke down, turning his face away as his shoulders trembled violently.

"Go and bring Tian Tian and Xiao Bao over here."

The employee nodded and ran towards the playground.

……

The children noticed the unfamiliar car and the unfamiliar adults next to it quite early on.

They played while secretly glancing over there.

The employee walked into the playground, past the playing children, and found two little ones playing on the slide.

"Sweetie, Little Treasure, come here for a second."

The two children had just taken two steps forward when the other children suddenly started moving.

In a flash, they surrounded Tian Tian and Xiao Bao.

The employee paused for a moment, then laughed.

He crouched down, looking directly at the group of children: "Those over there are Tian Tian and Xiao Bao's parents. Don't you want them to be reunited with their parents?"

The children didn't say anything.

They've been watching a lot of cartoons lately, so they know what "parents" means.

Mom and Dad will take care of the child, cook for the child, play with the child, and kiss the child's face.

but……

What is the relationship between "parents" and oneself?

They have never met their parents.

From as far back as I can remember, there were only people wearing gray clothes, only dark rooms, only beatings and curses.

Only these companions, only each other.

……

The three adults on the other side panicked when they saw the children huddled together.

"Comrade! What's going on?" Xiao Bao's mother ran forward a few steps. "Isn't the child there? Why are they surrounding him? Aren't they preventing our child from leaving?"

The middle-aged woman also rushed over and grabbed Liao Zhong's arm: "Comrade, you have to think of something!"

Liao Zhong wasn't in such a hurry.

He looked at the children gathered in a circle, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

This shows that the children's minds have been freed.

They learned to resist.

This is much better than just being obedient.

"Don't worry," Liao Zhong patted the middle-aged woman's hand, "our people will handle it."

……

Over there on the playground.

The employee, surrounded by children, thought for a moment and changed his approach.

"Don't you all have cell phones? After Tian Tian and Xiao Bao leave, you can call them anytime. They haven't disappeared; they've moved on to a new family. Just like you will have your own families in the future."

The children started looking at each other.

Someone whispered, "But... once it's gone, we'll never see it again."

"We will see each other," the employee said. "We just won't be together every day anymore, but you still have us, Brother Cheng, Sister Xiahe, and each other. In the future, you will have your own parents to pick you up, and you will have your own homes."

Another silence followed.

half an hour.

The circle slowly parted to make way for a path.

Sweetie and Xiaobao stood in the middle of the road, looking back at their companions.

"Will you...call us?"

"Of course!" DouDou shouted the loudest. "We all have your numbers!"

Little Swallow chimed in, "Yes! Let's fight tomorrow!"

Lele held up her phone and waved it: "Ten times a day!"

Sweetie and Xiaobao smiled.

Two employees walked over, each taking a child's hand, and slowly walked towards the edge of the playground.

Behind them, a group of friends followed silently at a distance of about ten steps.