Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

The hard-seat carriages present a completely different scene.

The seats were packed full, and the aisles were crammed with luggage and people who were simply sitting on the floor. The air was filled with the mixed smells of instant noodles, sweat, sunflower seeds, and various other foods.

The crying of children, the chatting of adults, the shouts of people playing cards, the sound of cell phones playing loudly... it's so noisy it's giving me a headache.

Xia He, however, was like a fish in water, weaving through the crowded aisles, gathering here and there to listen.

Seeing a group of young people who looked like college students playing cards, she stood by and watched with great interest for a while, even offering a suggestion: "He played a pair of Kings, he definitely doesn't have any higher ones!"

The boy playing cards looked up and saw her. His face turned red, his hand trembled, and he dropped a card.

As they walked to the connecting area between the train carriages, several migrant workers were squatting there, smoking and chatting. Xia He joined them, blinking her big eyes, and asked, "Uncles, did you see a bald man in his thirties walk by just now?"

The migrant workers were taken aback by her question, looked at each other, and shook their heads.

As Cheng Mo followed behind, he noticed various gazes focused on Xia He, but found no one suspicious.

The two walked through several hard-seat carriages and arrived at the dining car, where there were far fewer people. Only a few passengers were buying things, and some were sitting and eating.

Cheng Mo asked in a low voice, "Did you notice?"

Xia He nodded, lowering her voice even further: "It just went into the dining car."

Cheng Mo looked around: "Who?"

Xia He shook her head, gesturing for him to look at the end of the dining car: "I saw him go into the toilet. Our sleeper car is over there, but there are fewer people there, so we can't follow too closely."

Cheng Mo glanced at her: "You know quite a lot."

"That's right~" Xia He said with a hint of pride, "I shook off that weird old man several times."

The "strange uncle" she mentioned refers to Tu Junfang.

Cheng Mo estimated that Lao Tu would never be able to shake off this title from Xia He's perspective for the rest of his life.

Cheng Mo walked towards the restroom.

Xia He quickly grabbed him: "Don't rush, if you scare them away, it will be difficult to follow them."

"I told you I was waiting to use the restroom," Cheng Mo said, offering a perfectly valid reason.

Xia He thought about it and agreed, so she followed behind him.

The two walked to the toilet door, which indicated that it was occupied.

Cheng Mo listened intently; the clattering of the train was incessant, but there seemed to be... no sound from the toilet? He wasn't quite sure.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door: "Hello, could you hurry?"

Xia He stared wide-eyed at him from behind, mouthing silently: What are you doing?!

Cheng Mo frowned, knocked twice more, and raised his voice: "Hey, aren't you done yet?"

Xia He also sensed that something was wrong.

She immediately turned around and ran to the attendant at the other end of the dining car, her face instantly switching to a sweet yet anxious expression: "Sister, sister! That toilet seems to be locked, and there's been no sound from inside. Could someone have fainted?"

The middle-aged female flight attendant softened at her call and, seeing the worry written all over her face, immediately picked up the keys: "I'll go check."

The flight attendant walked to the restroom door, knocked, but received no response. She then decisively used her key to unlock the door and opened it.

Hurala!

A strong wind suddenly rushed in, blowing the flight attendants' hair wildly. The toilet window was wide open, but there wasn't a soul in sight.

Cheng Mo strode forward, leaned out and looked outside. The train was traveling on a relatively straight section of track, with fields on both sides.

He strained his eyes to the limit before he could vaguely see a dark shadow rapidly shrinking in the distance before disappearing at the end of the field ridge.

"Young man, are you crazy?!" The flight attendant was terrified and quickly pulled him back, slamming the window shut. She was still shaken. "That was so dangerous!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Cheng Mo quickly apologized.

After leaving the restroom, Cheng Mo immediately took out his phone and called Hua Feng.

After a few beeps, the call was connected.

"Uncle Hua, that guy had accomplices who just jumped off the train." Cheng Mo spoke quickly, "We are currently at approximately..." He quickly reported the train's current location.

Hua Feng's voice immediately turned serious on the other end of the phone: "Xiao Cheng, don't be impulsive! Under no circumstances should you jump out of the car to chase after them! Stay in the car and ensure your safety. I'll immediately coordinate with forces along the route to conduct a search!"

Cheng Mo: "I don't plan to pursue her."

Hua Feng paused for a second, then replied, "...Okay, stay in touch, and be careful."

After hanging up the phone, the two said goodbye to the train attendant and returned to their sleeper car.

"How did we lose them..." Xia He said listlessly, her pink hair looking somewhat wilted. "Little Taoist priest, are we just going to wait here like this?"

Cheng Mo shrugged: "Otherwise, do you have any other clues?"

Xia He sighed, "Really, why did they just run away?"

Cheng Mo: "Don't rush. The clues have been submitted to the company. They're much better at finding people than we are. We'll take action once we have news from them."

He comforted Xia He verbally, but his mind was racing with plans.

There are many schools of thought among the supernatural beings, but only a few are proficient in Gu techniques. Using Gu and engaging in such shady dealings... it's hard for him not to think of the "Medicine Immortal Society".

Cheng Mo remembered that the Medicine Immortal Society's stronghold should be in the Raojiang area.

The problem is, according to the timeline, the Medicine Immortal Society should be busy cultivating the Gu Body Saint Child right now, so how come they have the spare energy to come here and cause trouble?

Is the cultivation process simply requiring more materials, or is there another branch or imitator?

I can't figure it out. But no matter what, I have to expose the Medicine Immortal Society and its dangers to the authorities first.

Cheng Mo pondered how to tell Hua Feng about this in a way that would seem natural...

Hmm... let's just pin it on Master. Anyway, the old man is knowledgeable and knows some old stories, so it's reasonable.

……

Zhongnan Mountain, Liangyi Temple.

Cheng Shouzhen held the lynx Dali and watched the melodramatic family drama on TV with great interest.

Suddenly, his nose itched, and he sneezed loudly.

"Achoo!"

The old man rubbed his nose, chuckled, and buried his face in the big fox's fur, rubbing against it: "Hey, big fox, that brat missed me. Tsk tsk, he's quite filial."

The big fox had a sullen face, its eyes full of disdain, and it flicked its tail impatiently.

The big yellow dog at the old Taoist's feet was very excited, rubbing its head against Cheng Shou's calf and wagging its tail like a propeller.

……

Raojiang, deep in the Ten Thousand Mountains, inside a hidden cave.

A few oil lamps flickered with a dim yellow light, illuminating the figures of several people sitting around. They all had their heads and faces wrapped in thick cloths, with only their eyes showing.

A deep voice came from the person sitting to the side: "One of the Gu slaves died, and Yan Lang escaped. Those two were not ordinary superhumans; they were very powerful."

The leader was silent for a moment before slowly speaking: "Don't make any more moves. The company is definitely watching them; we can't expose ourselves."

The others bowed their heads and said, "Understood."

……

On the train.

Ring ring…

Cheng Mo's phone rang; it was Hua Feng calling.

After the call connected, Hua Feng's voice was somewhat grave: "Xiao Cheng, since we haven't caught them, you must be careful on your end. They might make another move."

Cheng Mo then picked up the conversation: "Uncle Hua, I thought about it later and remembered that my master mentioned in a casual conversation that there was a heretical gang called the Medicine Immortal Society in the old days, which specialized in Gu poison."

Based on his memory and speculation, he gave his analysis: "My master said that those people were created by a group of fanatical Gu practitioners. The earliest leader proposed that Gu poison was supreme and regarded Gu as the master of the world. He wanted to create the most powerful Gu and hid in a remote mountain village for a long time."

Finally, Cheng Mo added the most crucial information: "Master also said that the thing the Medicine Immortal Society most wants to create is something called the Gu Body Holy Child, which they will select and cultivate using all sorts of vicious methods."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, with only the faint sound of keyboard typing.

After a while, Hua Feng's voice rang out again, this time more serious: "Xiao Cheng, the situation your master mentioned is very important. Coincidentally, a message came from a brother unit in South China—"

"Recently, some people have been purchasing medicinal herbs on a large scale in different regions, many of which are related to Gu magic. Now it seems that they are very likely engaged in the cultivation of Gu-body Saint Children that you mentioned."

Cheng Mo was a little surprised: "Uncle Hua, can you just tell me something like this?"

Hua Feng laughed on the other end of the phone: "Normally it shouldn't be allowed, but you are now very likely to be the Medicine Immortal Society's direct target for retaliation, and you have already provided key clues, telling you that some of the information is compliant."

Cheng Mo always felt that Hua Feng's words had a hidden meaning, but he was never too lazy to think about such things.

Hua Feng reminded Cheng Mo: "The Medicine Immortal Society mainly operates in Raojiang. They must have important business to attend to in their visit here. You must be extra careful, as they may have further actions planned."

Cheng Mo immediately stated, "Then you should hurry up and arrest them, lest they go out and cause more harm."

Hua Feng seemed to choke for a moment on the other end of the phone, then let out a few dry laughs: "Hehehe... Of course, the company will handle it with all its might. Stay vigilant and contact us at any time."