Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

in the hotel.

Cheng Mo and Xia He returned to their room and practiced the Vajra Kung Fu. Xia He stopped allowing Cheng Mo to practice the Vajra Kung Fu outside, saying that he would only be allowed to practice outside after meeting their master.

Cheng Mo didn't know the logic behind this, but he didn't object. Although without guidance, he wouldn't be able to master this Vajra Skill, it wasn't a big deal if he didn't practice it outside.

After washing up, the two went downstairs for breakfast.

The buffet restaurant wasn't crowded. The two grabbed their food and found a seat by the window.

Xia He picked up a small steamed bun and stuffed it into her mouth, asking indistinctly, "What tasks has Master assigned us?"

Cheng Mo peeled an egg: "I'm looking for someone."

"Who is it? Where are you?"

"His name is Zhang Chulan. I don't know if he's nine or ten years old. He lives in an orphanage."

Xia He chewed on a xiaolongbao (soup dumpling), muttering, "Zhang Chulan... Chulan..."

She suddenly froze.

then……

puff--

I almost spat out my steamed bun.

" "?!" She covered her mouth, laughing so hard her shoulders shook. "Hahahaha!"

People around looked over.

Xia He quickly covered her mouth and lowered her head, trying to suppress her laughter; her face turned red from holding it in.

Cheng Mo looked at her in confusion: "What are you laughing at?"

Xia He took a sip of soy milk, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "Do you think the person who named him was out of their mind? They're cursing their child to be a little kid for life!"

Cheng Mo's expression turned strange.

Thinking of Zhang Chulan's virginity mark...

Maybe his grandfather really thought that way.

wrong.

Cheng Mo suddenly turned his head to look at Xia He.

Xia He was still smiling when she saw him looking over and asked, "What's wrong?"

Cheng Mo poked her arm: "How come you reacted so quickly? You're so dirty-minded!"

Xia He raised an eyebrow, leaned close to his ear, and said softly, "I've wanted to help you get out of this mess for a long time."

Her lips brushed against his ear, seemingly unintentionally.

Cheng Mo moved his head away and scratched his ear: "Tsk, your thoughts are not pure. I just want to have a sweet romance with you, but you are actually after my body."

Xia He glared at him: "You...you stinky Taoist priest!"

She was furious and took a bite out of it.

There was still a soy milk taste in my mouth.

a long time.

Xia He stepped back, smugly saying, "Little Taoist, why don't you just not respond?"

Cheng Mo smacked his lips: "...You have a sweet tongue, so I couldn't help but eat a couple more bites."

Xia He hummed twice.

After finishing their meal, the two checked out of the hotel.

As they left the hotel, Xia He followed Cheng Mo without asking where they were going.

Cheng Mo took her to the bus station and bought her a ticket to Zibo.

Get in the car and leave.

……

The bus swayed and bumped along.

Xia He and Cheng Mo sat in the last row, looking closely at the scenery outside the window.

In February 2007, the land of Qilu was still wrapped in winter clothes.

The fields on both sides of the road were bare, with only a few patches of winter wheat fields, their green color appearing dull.

The distant village was gray and gloomy, with houses huddled together and smoke rising from chimneys, scattering into the gray-white sky.

The poplar trees along the roadside were bare, one after another, receding rapidly into the distance.

Occasionally, when passing through a small town, you can see roadside stalls selling fruit, roasted sweet potatoes, and candied hawthorns. The stall owners are wrapped in cotton-padded coats, huddled up, waiting for customers.

The national highway wasn't in great condition, full of potholes, and the car swayed back and forth. It took almost two hours to reach Zibo.

After getting out of the car, Cheng Mo took a deep breath and stretched.

It's time to eat.

He had long wanted to try the local Zibo cuisine.

Shandong cuisine is the most prominent of the eight major cuisines of China. Its origins can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period. It was probably first influenced by Confucius, who said, "One should not be too particular about the fineness of food or the delicacy of meat." It developed naturally from local culture and was not influenced by any foreign cuisines.

The techniques of steaming, boiling, frying, stir-frying, deep-frying, and stuffing recorded in "Qimin Yaoshu" mostly originated from Shandong and can be considered a symbol of the formation of Shandong cuisine.

Thinking of the cooking methods and finished products recorded in those books, Cheng Mo kept swallowing his saliva.

However, Zibo is most famous for its various snacks.

There aren't many proper Shandong cuisine restaurants.

Cheng Mo wasn't picky about food, so he just went to those snack shops.

Before he came, he had searched online to find out which snack shops were good in Zibo.

Unlike future travel and food ordering apps, where every restaurant uses fake reviews and hires online trolls, finding food online is still relatively reliable.

Cheng Mo then took Xia He to try out different places.

Zhoucun sesame seed cakes are so thin they're translucent, sprinkled with sesame seeds, and have a satisfying crunch when you bite into them.

Vegetable pancakes, with various shredded vegetables spread on top, are fried until golden brown on both sides and smell incredibly delicious.

Braised tofu pudding is smooth and tender. Pour the braising sauce over it and sprinkle with cilantro. It's served piping hot.

We ate at each restaurant one by one.

Finally, we found a restaurant and ate Boshan crispy pot.

Aside from the now-famous Zibo barbecue, I've tried almost every kind of local snack.

Xia He rubbed her stomach and leaned back in her chair: "Little Taoist, I can't take it anymore, I can't eat anymore, or I won't be able to walk."

Cheng Mo nodded: "Perfect, let's split up and look for them, consider it a post-meal digestion."

Xia He was taken aback: "?? Didn't you mean an orphanage?"

"It's an orphanage," Cheng Mo said, "but I don't know which one specifically."

"Huh?" Xia He's eyes widened. "Didn't Master tell you?"

Cheng Mo shrugged: "My master doesn't know either. He doesn't even know the names. I had to figure it out myself."

Xia He was silent for two seconds: "...Master is so unreliable."

She suddenly realized something: "Wait a minute, why didn't you include his address in the calculation?"

Xia He was silent for two seconds: "...Master is so unreliable."

She suddenly realized something: "Wait a minute, why didn't you include his address in the calculation?"

Cheng Mozhang blurted out, "That kid has a lot of karma on him. I almost got trapped in the inner realm just by looking at his name."

He really didn't want to count Zhang Chulan, considering what happened to Zhang Chulan in the original story...

Zhang Chulan is probably already being targeted by Feng Baobao. If I'm counting on him, that thing...

A single fireball could blow up the interior.

Another point is that Cheng Mo discovered he had become a bit too reliant on the interior view device since it was activated.

Essentially, this is just a means, a technique.

Like the Divine Strategist, it belongs to the heretical sects.

If one cultivates internal alchemy and refines one's character, relying too much on these external techniques will dissolve one's will, causing one to fall into the turbulent waves of worldly life and ultimately lose sight of one's true nature.

Therefore, Cheng Mo took this opportunity to temper his character.

Xia He believed his nonsense and quickly said with concern, "Then let's not forget about it, let's look for it ourselves."

……

There are actually not many orphanages in Zibo.

However, Cheng Mo didn't have a proper official identity, and he was so young, so he pretended to be an older man who couldn't get a child and wanted to adopt one...

It's not that it's impossible.

He found a public restroom, went in, and fiddled with it for a while.

When he came out, he had more wrinkles on his face and his hair was a bit messy, making him look like a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties.

Xia He clicked her tongue twice: "Little Taoist priest, your skills are quite good."

Cheng Mo made a gesture, and the two went their separate ways.

Cheng Mo arrived at the first welfare home.

He was greeted by a woman in her fifties who introduced herself as Ms. Yang, the director of the welfare home.

Cheng Mo expressed his desire to adopt a child, preferably a boy.

Dean Yang was quite responsible and asked Cheng Mo to show his identification.

Cheng Mo did not forge any documents.

Cheng Mo did not forge any documents; his ID card shows him as eighteen years old, which is quite inconsistent with his current appearance.

He cleared his throat and began to ramble on: "Director Yang, how many years has your orphanage been established?"

"It's been over twenty years."

"Oh, that's not easy. I've heard that Zibo's welfare system is particularly good, especially public welfare homes like yours, where the conditions are better than in other places."

Dean Yang smiled and said, "It's alright, the government's support is indeed substantial."

Cheng Mo nodded: "Of course. I have a friend who runs an orphanage in the south. He complains to me every day that he doesn't have enough funding and there are too many children. He's so worried that his hair is falling out in clumps."

"The situation is different in the south where there is a large floating population," Dean Yang responded.

"Yes, yes, yes." Cheng Mo nodded repeatedly, "So I thought, if we're going to come, we should come to a well-established, reputable place like ours."

Dean Yang looked at him: "Um, your identification..."

"Oh, the documents." Cheng Mo took out his phone and glanced at it. "Oh dear, I have another call coming in. Excuse me, Dean Yang, I have to take this call."

He took his phone, walked to the side, and said a few words in a pretentious manner.

After hanging up the phone, he walked back with an apologetic look on his face: "Dean Yang, I'm so sorry, something urgent came up and I have to go now. I'll come back another day, another day."

After saying that, he walked out.

Dean Yang watched his retreating figure and shook his head.