Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

I highly recommend "Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain"! It's super exciting!

Cheng Mo and Xia He returned to their room to wash up and change clothes.

Xia He called Gao Dazhuang, saying she had something to do and suggested they meet up for shopping later.

Gao Dazhuang seemed slightly disappointed, but didn't say anything.

The two went downstairs to have breakfast.

Xia He took a bite of her steamed bun and asked, "Little Taoist, do you think my uncle is angry or happy?"

Cheng Mo took a sip of soy milk: "How would I know? If it were me, I would definitely get angry first, but only towards my master, not towards the juniors."

Xia He nodded: "That's probably true. Shall we buy something?"

Cheng Mo shook his head: "I don't know what my martial uncle likes, so let's forget about it."

Xia He thought for a moment: "We can ask Deng Youcai. He often deals with these immortals, so he must know."

Cheng Mo waved his hand: "There's no need for that. If he's really angry with Master, giving him gifts won't make up for it; if he's not angry, why would our own Uncle-Master bother with all that nonsense?"

Xia He looked at him speechlessly: "...Fine, give me your phone number, I'll ask Deng Youcai myself."

After dinner, Xia He called Deng Youcai and asked what Cheng Huihui liked.

Knowing that she liked wine the most, Xia He didn't know where to buy good wine in Northeast China, so she asked Deng Youcai: "Brother Deng, could you help us get a couple of bottles of good wine? The price is negotiable, and you won't have made a wasted trip."

Deng Youcai readily agreed, "Sister, you're right. Leave it to me."

……

The two left the hotel and took a taxi to the gang.

When I got out of the car at the parking lot and was about to walk towards the entrance, the window of a taxi next to me rolled down.

Deng Youcai poked his head out and greeted the two men: "Hey, you two, over here. Get in the car."

Cheng Mo asked curiously, "Huh, why are you driving a taxi?"

Deng Youcai: "Hey, when I have nothing to do, I just wander around aimlessly. Plus, I can get all sorts of news from all over the world while in a taxi. It's really interesting."

"You're really something, making money twice from one business deal." Cheng Mochong gave him a thumbs up and got into the car with Xia He.

Deng Youcai gave a thumbs-up: "The wine is in the trunk. Just take it with you when you get out of the car."

Xia He thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your help, Brother Deng."

Deng Youcai chuckled and replied, "Nonsense."

Xia He then asked, "How much is it? I'll get it for you."

Deng Youcai waved his hand: "No rush, let's talk about it after we get down the mountain."

……

When the car reached the foot of the mountain, Deng Youcai parked it and said, "From now on, we'll have to walk; there's no road to go up the mountain."

Cheng Mo and Xia He naturally had no objections.

Deng Youcai opened the trunk, took out the wine, and Cheng Mo took it from him. The three of them then walked up the mountain.

As Cheng Mo walked, he inquired about the situation: "Brother Deng, what was Master Cheng's reaction to the news of our visit?"

Deng Youcai thought for a moment and said truthfully, "I was quite excited, but based on my experience, I don't think there was any malice involved."

Cheng Mo raised an eyebrow at Xia He, exchanging a silent message: See? I told you so.

Xia He rolled her eyes at him.

……

After walking for almost an hour, we finally arrived at the small hill.

Cheng Mo looked at the stone tablet and marveled at it.

But in his heart he thought: No wonder he's my sworn brother, just as narcissistic as my master.

Deng Youcai straightened his clothes, clasped his hands in a respectful bow, and announced loudly, "Deng Youcai, a disciple of the Gray Immortal of Changbai Mountain, along with Cheng Mo and Xia He, disciples of the Liangyi Temple, have come to pay their respects to Master Cheng!"

A voice echoed through the mountains: "Children, invite the person in."

A rustling sound arose. The mice emerged from the grass and crevices between the rocks, forming two lines to guide the group.

Just as Deng Youcai was about to go first, the mice stopped him.

A voice came from the mountains: "You should go back first, Youcai."

Deng Youcai was taken aback: "Huh?"

His heart was pounding – if anything happened to these two on this mountain, wouldn't he have to run away immediately?

Deng Youcai said loudly, "Uncle Cheng, you two are guests from afar, so I'll stay with them and serve you tea and water."

Cheng Huihui's voice came: "Stop talking nonsense and hurry down the mountain!"

Deng Youcai looked down and saw that the mice were staring at him and wouldn't move aside.

Cheng Mo patted Deng Youcai on the shoulder: "Brother Deng, you can go back now, it's alright."

Seeing this, Deng Youcai could only accept it: "I'll wait for you downstairs where the car is parked."

Cheng Mo nodded, took Xia He's hand, and walked up the mountain along the path formed by the mice.

……

In just over ten minutes, we reached the top of the mountain and saw the scene in the valley.

Many mice are busy.

Some carried dried fruit into the cave;

Some of them carried leaves to make their nests, and after they finished, they jumped on them and stepped on them to see if they were soft enough.

Some people squatted by the stream drinking water, taking a couple of sips, looking up, and then taking another couple of sips;

A few others huddled together around a large pine cone, chirping and discussing how to divide it. One of them gestured for a long time, while the others shook their heads, and then they continued to discuss.

Of course, the most eye-catching one is the one sitting in the northwest corner—wearing a Taoist robe, hiding its tail, making the whole mouse look particularly energetic.

Standing there, he didn't seem out of place at all; he truly exuded an air of otherworldly elegance.

There was also a table and three chairs next to it.

Cheng Huihui saw the two people standing on the hilltop, smiled, and waved to them: "Come on over."

In other words, how would you feel if a rat almost as tall as a person smiled at you?

Others might not know, but Cheng Mo found it strangely familiar.

That smile... it's so similar to my master's wrinkled face.

Cheng Mo led Xia He over.

Approaching, Cheng Mo released his grip, straightened his clothes, clasped his hands together, left hand over right, thumbs tucked in, bowed ninety degrees, and said respectfully, "Cheng Mo, disciple of Cheng Shou of Liangyi Temple, pays respects to my martial uncle."

Xia He followed suit and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Martial Uncle."

Cheng Huihui took two steps forward to help the two up, but then felt it wasn't quite right. She cleared her throat, reached out to support them, and used her Qi to lift them up, saying, "We're all family, why so many rules?"

After saying that, he couldn't help but add, "What, are my brothers so particular now? Well, they're getting older, so they start valuing these little bits and pieces."

Cheng Mo placed the wine jar on the table: "Oh, Uncle-Master, you misunderstand. Master isn't that formal, but since it's our first meeting, we had to show our appreciation. I heard you like to drink, so I brought you two jars."

Cheng Huihui was too excited just now, and she was putting on airs, so she didn't hear what the two of them had said.

This time he heard clearly, his tail twitched, and he stared at Cheng Mo with his beady eyes: "Wait a minute, you just called me 'Uncle-Master'?"

Cheng Mo nodded: "That's what Master said."

Cheng Huihui's beard bristled: "Bullshit...cough cough."

He coughed twice to cover it up and straightened his expression.

"Hey, don't listen to your master's nonsense. By age, I'm already over three hundred. Even if we count from when I became intelligent, I'm still older than your master. Besides, I was the one who started learning Taoism from the old Taoist priest first; he was only brought back by the old Taoist priest later."

Cheng Mo's expression was strange.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Mo was reminded of his sworn brothers from his previous life.

However, back then, the argument wasn't about who was younger, but about who was the father.

Cheng Mo cupped his hands in greeting: "Uncle, you should go back and discuss this with Master yourself. I'll just do as Master says."

Cheng Huihui puffed out his beard and glared at his master: "Why are you just like your master, so stubborn?"

Xia He advised from the side, "Uncle, please ignore him. That's just how that young Taoist is; he's so annoying when he talks."

Cheng Huihui then remembered and looked at Xia He: "Oh, I haven't asked yet, little girl, are you also under Cheng Shou's tutelage?"

Xia He grabbed Cheng Mo's arm and said with a grin, "I'm following the little Taoist priest, Uncle-Master."

Cheng Huihui suddenly realized, "Oh, is that so? Then I'll have to prepare a backup gift for you. That Deng Youcai is really something, he didn't even say there were two of you."

He waved his paw, and a large rat carrying a box trotted over, placed the box in front of Cheng Mo, and then went back.