Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

When Xia He arrived home, there was a television in the living room.

Xia Weidong sat on the sofa, looking very tired, leaning against the cushions and panting.

Liu Yuping, on the other hand, was beaming. Upon seeing her return, she immediately asked, "Where did you take your friends today?"

Xia He changed her shoes and came in: "Let's just wander around. We've tried all the famous tourist attractions and delicious food."

Xia He's father, panting, said, "Actually... huff, I'm not against you making friends... but... huff, you can bring them inside, we can have a meal together... huff..."

Seeing that he was panting heavily as he spoke, Xia He couldn't help but say, "Dad, why don't you go to sleep first?"

Liu Yuping also gave her husband a disapproving push: "Exactly, if you're tired, go to sleep. Why force yourself to stay awake? Do you think you're a young man in your twenties?"

Xia Weidong: "..."

He stood up and swayed as he walked towards the bedroom: "I'm going to sleep..."

After the bedroom door closed, Xia He leaned close to her mother and said, "Mom, I want to go back to my hometown to pay respects to my grandparents first, and then go on a trip with my friends later."

Liu Yuping waved her hand and said, "No problem! I'll talk to your dad tomorrow, and you can just set off."

Xia He was overjoyed and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek: "Okay, I'm going to wash up now, goodnight, Mom."

Liu Yuping smiled broadly: "Goodnight, baby."

……

The next day.

Xia He went out as soon as it was light.

She went to several places to pick out a gift for Duoduo.

I need a plush toy, the softest kind.

I want the prettiest Barbie doll.

and also……

Xia He saw a large worm doll in the corner of the toy store. It was shaped like a caterpillar, green, with two big eyes, and was kind of ugly-cute.

This is Duoduo's favorite big bug!

After picking out a whole bunch of things, Xia He packed them all up and went to every online shipping service to send them.

After taking care of the little girl's gift, she arrived at the hotel.

He took out his phone and called Cheng Mo: "Let's go, little Taoist priest."

Cheng Mo's voice came through the receiver: "Where are you?"

He had already packed up and checked out of the hotel and was strolling around the neighborhood.

Xia He said, "I'm in the hotel lobby."

"Wait a minute."

A moment later, Cheng Mo walked in from outside.

Xia He looked at him: "? You checked out?"

Cheng Mo nodded: "Stop dawdling, let's go."

"oh."

The two left the hotel and took a bus to the bus station.

After buying tickets and boarding the bus, we drove leisurely towards Xiahe's hometown.

After driving for more than an hour, we arrived at a town.

The two got off the car first.

Xia He led the way to a shop selling incense, candles, paper money, and firecrackers, and bought a whole bunch of them.

Then, I had to walk. There was no road to Xia He's hometown village; I had to walk along mountain paths.

Looking at the winding mountain road, Cheng Mo suddenly said, "Next time we go to the city, let's get a motorcycle and put it in our bag. That way, if we encounter this situation, we can just ride the motorcycle into the village."

Xia He pointed to the street: "There are motorcycle taxis in town. I used to ride them when I was a kid."

Cheng Mo shook his head: "That's no fun. It's more interesting when I ride the bike and you sit behind me."

Xia He: "??"

She ignored him.

The young Taoist priest often said some inexplicable things.

The two walked along the mountain path for more than half an hour before finally seeing the village.

The two attracted a lot of attention as soon as they entered the village.

After all, handsome men and beautiful women attract attention wherever they go.

An elderly person was sitting in the doorway basking in the sun. When they saw them, the person squinted and sized them up.

A woman came out carrying a basin to pour water, but when she saw them, she froze and forgot to pour the water.

Children playing by the roadside stopped and stared at them when they saw them.

Xia He had no intention of having any dealings with these people in the village.

She led Cheng Mo straight through the village and headed towards the back mountain.

My grandparents' graves are on a flat area halfway up the mountain, with a great view of the whole village, but the graves are overgrown with weeds.

Xia He squatted down and started pulling weeds.

Cheng Mo was helping out from the side.

Soon, the weeds were all pulled up.

Incense and candles were lit, paper money was burned, and firecrackers went off.

Xia He knelt before the grave and kowtowed three times.

"Grandpa, Grandma, I've come to see you."

She paused, then turned to look at Cheng Mo standing beside her: "This is my friend, Cheng Mo. He's a really good person, so don't worry."

Cheng Mo walked to her side, knelt down, and kowtowed three times.

Xia He's eyes widened: "What are you doing? Aren't you monks not allowed to kowtow and offer incense?"

Cheng Mo brushed the dirt off his knees and stood up: "Where did you hear that from?"

Xia He blinked: "Isn't that how it's always portrayed on TV? The monks and Taoists don't kowtow, they say they're beyond the Three Realms and not within the Five Elements..."

Cheng Mo patted the dust off his hands: "Every year, my master would take me to kowtow and offer incense to our grandmaster. When I was little, he even let me set off firecrackers. One year, I threw a firecracker into his Taoist robe, and it almost blew his butt open."

Xia He: "...That's probably because Master is too unconventional."

Cheng Mo shrugged: "They're just some customs, no need to take them so seriously. Look at me, I even passed on my cultivation technique to you, and my master didn't say anything."

Xia He hesitated for two seconds: "Uh... how about I become an apprentice too?"

Cheng Mo glanced at her sideways: "Are you out of your mind?"

Xia He immediately bristled: "Hey! You little Taoist priest, how dare you swear at me like that!"

"Is taking someone as an apprentice a joke?" Cheng Mo patted her shoulder. "Besides, once you become my apprentice, you have to call me senior brother. From now on, if I tell you to go east, you can't go west; if I tell you to beat a dog, you can't chase a chicken."

Xia He immediately shook her head: "Then forget it, let you continue being a little Taoist priest."

The two argued and bickered as they descended the mountain and returned to the village.

Xia He's ancestral home is located at the east end of the village. The courtyard is not large, and the wall is made of blue bricks. Some parts have peeled off, revealing the yellow soil inside. A lock hangs on the door, gleaming silver in the sunlight.

Cheng Mo leaned over to take a look; the lock looked quite new. "Your dad comes back quite often, huh?"

Xia He unlocked the door and pushed it open: "I came back for a visit after my college entrance exam."

A musty smell mixed with dust hit them as they stepped over the threshold, and Xia He closed the door behind her.

The moment the door closed—

The villagers who had been peeking around suddenly erupted in chaos.

"That man looks extraordinary! His build, his looks—you couldn't find many like him in the city!"

"Did Xia He really snag a rich husband?"

"No, how can you keep a woman like Xia He in check? Aren't you afraid she'll cheat on him?"

The old man squatting by the wall, basking in the sun, chuckled: "Maybe she's incredibly capable, unlike your man, who finishes in seconds."

"Hahahaha!" Laughter erupted all around.

The woman's face flushed red, and she slammed a bowl of rice directly onto the old man's head: "What nonsense are you spouting, you old geezer! My husband isn't like that..."

The sounds from behind were blocked by the courtyard wall and became increasingly indistinct.

yard.

Xia He pulled him toward the main room: "Come on, let me show you where I lived when I was a child."

Pushing open the door to the main room, a musty smell hit the nose.

Xia He didn't mind at all, and pointed inside with great interest: "Look at that corner, I used to hide snacks there when I was little. Every time Grandpa came back from the market, he would bring me a bag of candy, and I would hide it there and eat one a day, which would last for several days."

Cheng Mo looked in the direction she pointed and saw a dark corner piled with all sorts of messy things.

Xia He then pulled him toward the east wing: "This is my room."

Pushing open the door, there was an old-fashioned wooden bed with a yellowed mosquito net hanging on the frame. Next to it was a wardrobe with a faded sticker on the door, the kind of small floral pattern that was popular more than ten years ago.

Xia He sat on the bed and patted the bed board: "I used to sleep here when I was little. My grandma would fan me with a palm leaf fan. She would fall asleep while fanning me, and the fan would fall on my face and wake me up."

Cheng Mo could picture that scene, and a smile crept onto his lips.

Xia He pulled him outside again, pointing to a shallow dent in the wall: "This is from when I was six years old, when I shot it with a slingshot."

Cheng Mo looked at the dent: "What were you aiming at back then?"

"My grandma's old hen," Xia He chuckled, "I wanted to spank its bottom, but I missed and hit the wall instead. My grandma chased me all over the yard, and my grandpa was laughing so hard he couldn't stand up straight."

"Did you get beaten up?"

"No, I run super fast." Xia He proudly raised her head. "Later, the old hen died, my grandma made a pot of soup, and my grandpa secretly saved me a chicken leg."

Cheng Mo didn't reply; he just stood there listening.

Xia He then pointed to a small table in the corner: "This is where I did my homework when I was little. My grandfather made it for me. The legs are uneven, and I had to put several books on them to make it stable."

She walked over, squatted down, and touched the small table that was covered in dust: "My grandfather was clumsy, and the things he made were always crooked, but he was always very careful. He measured and sawed again and again, but they were still crooked when he finished them."

Cheng Mo followed and looked at the crooked little table, on which were engraved a few crooked words—Xia He.

Xia He touched the words on the table, her expression somewhat sentimental: "Later, I really kept using this table until I graduated from elementary school."

Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on her face, and something seemed to be gleaming in her eyes.

She stood up, pulled Cheng Mo, and walked outside: "Come on, I'll show you something fun."

The two arrived at a corner of the yard, and Xia He pointed to the overturned vat: "There's a hole at the bottom of this vat. When I was little, I raised a rabbit, but it ran away, and I cried for a long time."

Xia He suddenly turned to look at him: "What about when you were little?"

Cheng Mo thought for a moment: "Master, he talks quite a lot..."

The two were talking—