Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

Enjoy reading "Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain".

After leaving the orphanage, Cheng Mo found a secluded spot, removed his disguise, and took out his phone to call Xia He.

"Hey, how's it going on your end?"

Xia He's voice came through: "Dean Xie is helping me recognize the children."

Cheng Mo was surprised: "How did you get in?"

Xia He asked, puzzled but also a little smug, "Huh? You couldn't get in?"

Cheng Mo sighed, "They wanted to see my ID. I rambled on and on, made up an excuse, and slipped away. By the way, how did you get in?"

Xia He chuckled: "I told them that my little brother was sold here before, and I was looking for someone. Dean Xie was quite easy to talk to, so he led me in to help me identify him."

She suddenly lowered her voice: "But little Taoist priest, I don't even know what the person you're looking for looks like, how can I identify them?"

Cheng Mo thought for a moment: "You should find someone who doesn't talk much, looks a bit pitiful, but is also a little cheeky."

He imagined that Zhang Chulan hadn't been in the orphanage for very long, and his grandfather had just passed away, so he probably hadn't fully integrated into the group yet. However, Zhang Chulan was inherently a scoundrel, so it was impossible for him to be completely pitiful.

Xia He was silent for three seconds: "...Can the thing you're describing even be a person?"

"You'll understand when you see it."

"...Okay, I'll give it a try."

After hanging up the phone, Cheng Mo stroked his chin, deep in thought.

Xia He said she got in by saying "my little brother got lost," so why doesn't she try it herself?

He removed his disguise, put on a Taoist robe, and returned to the orphanage in his true form.

He was received by Dean Yang again.

Cheng Mo said sincerely, "Hello Dean, my name is Cheng Mo. My younger brother went missing when he was little. I wanted to ask if he might be with you."

As usual, Dean Yang asked for identification, and Cheng Mo took it out and handed it over.

Dean Yang looked at his ID, which had an address in Shaanxi Province, and asked in confusion, "You're from Shaanxi, how did you get lost here?"

Cheng Mo sighed: "When we came here for vacation, my younger brother suddenly disappeared. We searched for a long time but couldn't find him."

Dean Yang asked, "When was it lost?"

Cheng Mo replied: "The year before last."

Dean Yang looked at him suspiciously: "It was lost the year before last, and you're looking for it now?"

Cheng Mo sighed again and began to make up a story.

"My parents are divorced, and I live with my mother. After my younger brother went missing, my mother couldn't handle the shock and developed mental problems. She's been in a nursing home ever since. My father's side doesn't care about us."

He paused, his voice lowering, "I was busy going to school and taking care of my mother, so I really didn't have the energy to look for my younger brother. My mother passed away last year, and I became a monk. I only recently received news that someone might have seen my younger brother at the orphanage, so I came to check."

Dean Yang looked at his Taoist robe and asked, "You've become a monk?"

Cheng Mo took out his Taoist certificate from his pocket and handed it over: "Look at my outfit. Oh right, this is my Taoist certificate."

"I thought this kind of outfit was popular among young people."

Dean Yang took it, looked at it, and handed it back to him, sighing, "You've had a tough time too. Come on, I'll take you to see him."

As they walked, she told Cheng Mo, "In the past two years, two children have indeed come to our orphanage, but only one of them is a boy."

Arriving at the area where the children were playing, Dean Yang pointed over there: "That child."

Cheng Mo looked in the direction she pointed.

An eight- or nine-year-old boy was running around in the yard, chasing and playing with another child, laughing loudly. The sunlight shone on his face, making him look incredibly radiant.

Cheng Mo looked at it for three seconds and was absolutely certain—this kid wasn't Zhang Chulan.

How could Zhang Chulan be such an optimistic and cheerful little boy?

At least not during this period!

Cheng Mo shook his head regretfully: "This isn't my little brother. Sigh."

Director Yang also sighed, "Well, why don't you go and take a look at other welfare homes? There are three welfare homes in our city."

Cheng Mo nodded, took his leave, and departed.

……

the other side.

Xia He walked around the orphanage and looked at all the children.

None of them met Cheng Mo's standard of "being both pitiful and lowly".

She said goodbye regretfully, and after leaving the welfare home, she called Cheng Mo: "Little Taoist priest, there's another welfare home in the city, it's privately run, do you want to go?"

Cheng Mo replied, "Of course I'll go."

Xia He stood at the entrance of the welfare home waiting for a taxi. After a while, a taxi stopped beside her.

She reached for the car door, but couldn't open it, so she tapped on the window: "Sir, I can't open it."

The driver rolled down the window and asked, "Where to?"

Xia He gave the address.

The driver glanced at her: "You can't go."

After saying that, he rolled up the car window, stepped on the gas, and drove away.

Xia He stood there, bewildered.

What happened?

She had no choice but to walk towards the last welfare home, waiting for a bus as she went.

During this time, three more taxis came, stopped and asked her where she was going. She gave them her address, and the taxis gave her a taillight.

Xia He walked a long way before another taxi left.

A woman's voice suddenly rang out from the side: "You won't be able to get a taxi like this."

Xia He turned her head to look.

A woman in a blue and white tracksuit squatted by the roadside, her pretty face expressionless, staring straight at her.

Xia He felt a little uneasy under his gaze and asked, "What?"

The woman stood up and walked over with a Sichuan accent: "The taxi drivers have all changed shifts at this time. You, with your small, dark-skinned taxi driver, won't be able to get a ride."

Xia He had spent some time in both Guizhou and Chongqing, so she could understand the language, but she was puzzled: "Do taxis change shifts? I've never encountered that before?"

The woman tilted her head, her eyes still so empty, as if there was nothing in them, and you couldn't see any emotion in them.

Xia He subconsciously took a half step back.

She wasn't scared, but she found it very strange; it was the first time she had ever met someone like this.

As the person approached, Xia He suddenly remembered, "Oh, thank you."

The woman tilted her head again: "What are you thanking me for?"

Xia He thought to herself: I really do seem like I'm thanking a fool.

She said, "Thank you for clearing up my confusion."

"It's alright." The woman nodded. "I just thought you were acting a little strange."

Xia He: "..."

I thought to myself: Shouldn't I be the one to say that?

She coughed lightly, "Um..."

The woman suddenly said, "You must be an extraordinary person."

Xia He was stunned: "??? Huh?"

She had absolutely no idea how this line of thought had jumped to this point.

"You're an extraordinary person."

This is not a question, it's an affirmative statement.

Xia He was a little confused: "Uh... how did you know?"

The woman said, "You smell strange."

Xia He: "..." What kind of description is this?

"It's a little sweet." The woman thought for a moment, then continued, "It's like cotton candy. Xu San made me a rabbit-shaped cotton candy last time, and it tastes a lot like that."

Xia He paused for a second, then said, "...Thank you."

"You're welcome." The woman paused. "Why are you thanking me this time?"

"It's nothing," Xia He said. "I just think those two words sound nice."

"Oh, I see." The woman nodded. "Sometimes I also find 'hey' to be a bit off-putting, but it's not 'thank you,' it's 'melon rind.'"

Xia He: "..."

As if guided by some unseen force, she asked, "Um, can I use my powers on you?"

The woman tilted her head: "Do I need to report to use superpowers?"

"Uh..." Xia He was a little speechless, "This way I'll seem more polite."

The woman thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense. Xu Si said that if someone attacks me without reporting it to me, then they're going to fight me to the death."

"What Xu Si said makes a lot of sense." Xia He really wanted to applaud Xu Si. "Can I use my special ability on you? Tell me how it feels."

The woman thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, then you'll have to wait a bit and treat me to dinner."

"no problem."