Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

After hanging up the phone, Xu Si turned and dialed another number, shouting as he pulled on his clothes, "San'er! San'er! Hurry up!"

At the same time, they ran outside.

Xu San emerged from another room, now a smartly dressed man in a suit, carrying his coat: "What's wrong?"

Xu Si glanced at him: "You don't take your clothes off when you sleep?"

Xu San draped his coat over his shoulders: "Enough with the nonsense!"

"Zhong Kui has been found! Mopan Gou!" Xu Si had already run to the stairwell. "Quickly, call for help!"

……

On this side of the village, Cheng Mo looked around, walked to the front of a house, reached out and pulled down the clothes that the family had hung on the line, along with the line itself. He then carried the pile of things back to the big locust tree.

Zhao Dezhu slept like a dead man.

Cheng Mo tore the opera robe into strips, strung them together with the clothesline, and tied Zhao Dezhu up like a rice dumpling.

Xia He watched from the side, her lips twitching: "Uh... there's no need to be so scared, isn't there? You could have easily taken care of it with a simple earthen cart, right?"

"It's best to be careful." Cheng Mo stood up and dusted off his hands.

Xia He, however, was thinking about something else—

If only the young Taoist priest could have a great time after being tricked, then we could sleep under the open sky and consummate our marriage.

As she thought about it, she started giggling to herself, her face turning bright red.

After Cheng Mo finished tying the knot, he looked up and saw Xia He grinning foolishly. He looked completely bewildered: "??"

He walked over and patted her on the shoulder: "What are you thinking about?"

Xia He exclaimed "Ah!" and grabbed his arm, her voice sickeningly sweet: "Little Taoist priest~~"

Cheng Mo pulled his arm away, only to feel a soft, sticky substance lingering between his arms: "...Be mindful in public."

Xia He slapped him: "Ugh, you always ruin the mood!"

Click-clack—

They both turned their heads at the same time.

Zhao Dezhu woke up under the big locust tree.

He first yelled and screamed, then spun around on the ground like a caterpillar several times before finally noticing Cheng Mo and Xia He standing right next to him.

"You...you're those two from earlier?" His eyes widened. "You're still alive?"

Cheng Mo was amused by this remark: "Why would we want to die?"

"No..." Zhao Dezhu shook his head, the movement too large, pulling at the strip of cloth around his neck, causing him to cough twice. "How did you catch him? I mean—how did you catch Zhong Kui?"

"You don't need to worry about how they caught him," Cheng Mo waved his hand. "Anyway, Xu Si will be here soon, just go with him. Whatever happens after that is your company's problem to handle; it's none of my business. Do you understand?"

Zhao Dezhu remained silent for two seconds.

"Um... young man," he said earnestly, "your English isn't very standard. Of course, I'm not saying you can't speak English, I just think if you're going to speak it, please try to speak it as standardly as possible."

Cheng Mo and Xia He exchanged a glance.

Xia He: "Has this person been influenced by Zhong Kui? Is he not quite right in the head?"

Cheng Mo: "I think he may have always had mental issues."

Zhao Dezhu smiled sheepishly: "Sorry, you two, I have a slight case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Of course, if you insist on speaking non-standard English, that's fine too, I can tolerate it."

Cheng Mo: "..."

Xia He: "..."

Xia He nudged Cheng Mo's arm: "I think the reason Zhong Kui asked whether someone was a human or a ghost might not just be due to their divine status."

Cheng Mo nodded: "Yeah, this guy himself is the main cause."

Zhao Dezhu looked down at the ropes binding him, counted them, and suddenly said, "Um, gentlemen, could you please re-tie me?"

"Um?"

"The knot in this rope is tied incorrectly, and the spacing between each loop is too inconsistent. Given my height, it should be—"

"Waaaaah—"

Cheng Mo used a clay pot to scoop up a lump of mud and precisely stuffed it into Zhao Dezhu's mouth.

Good, the world is quiet now.

Zhao Dezhu was whimpering there, wriggling on the ground like a caterpillar. Cheng Mo then added another set of earthen carts to stabilize his head and feet.

Zhao Dezhu could only move his eyeballs, but after turning them around a couple of times, he gave up and stared straight at the moon in the sky.

Just then, the phone rang.

Cheng Mo and Xia He both took out their phones at the same time, and saw that it was Cheng Mo's phone.

Cheng Mo first said to Xia He, "Let's change our ringtones, otherwise we won't be able to tell whose is ringing."

Xia He glared at him: "It's clearly because you weren't listening carefully. How could you not tell whose was ringing?"

Cheng Mo turned his head and answered the phone: "Hey, Fourth Brother, where are you guys?"

Xu Si's voice came through the receiver: "We'll be there in ten minutes. Have you got him under control?"

Cheng Mo turned his head and glanced at Zhao Dezhu, who was tightly bound and still whimpering: "He's here. Zhao Dezhu is conscious now. Hurry up and come over, I'm a little sleepy."

Xu Si: "...Okay."

The phone hangs up.

Cheng Mo put away his phone and chatted casually with Xia He.

Before they could exchange more than a few words, a large sound of footsteps came from the direction of the gully entrance.

Xu Si and Xu San arrived with dozens of Na Du Tong employees, their flashlight beams swaying in the night.

When Zhao Dezhu saw his colleague, he was so excited that he kept making loud noises. Even though his head and feet were restrained, his body was still wriggling like a fish coming ashore.

Cheng Mo casually dispelled the spell, and Zhao Dezhu spat out mud.

Cheng Mo casually dispelled the spell, and Zhao Dezhu spat out mud.

Xu Si waved his hand: "Take him away!"

Several employees went up, gave Zhao Dezhu acupuncture, picked him up and ran outside, their movements incredibly swift.

Xu Si stepped forward, his face sincere: "Master Cheng, Miss Xia, we are so grateful for your help this time. If it weren't for you, this person would have caused a lot of trouble. I, Xu Si, will remember this."

Cheng Mo waved his hand: "It's nothing. Just pay the bill properly when you settle the bill."

Xia He patted him on the shoulder: "Little Taoist priest."

She turned to Xu Si with a smile and said, "Let's finish this first. Isn't there still Wei Zhongxian? Do we have any leads on him?"

Xu Si scratched his head: "I have a clue. But didn't you two say you were tired? How about we discuss it in more detail tomorrow?"

Cheng Mo really didn't want to talk anymore, and their car was parked on the side of the road, so walking there would be a long detour.

He waved his hand and said, "Okay, then we'll be going now." He turned around and led Xia He towards the mouth of the ditch.

Xia He turned around and waved to Xu Si: "Goodbye, Fourth Brother!"

Xu Si called out from behind, "Would you two like to ride back with us?"

Cheng Mo waved his hand with his back to him: "We'll drive ourselves."

Xu Si muttered to himself, "Isn't that still our car..."

He turned around and caught up with the group.

Three vehicles with their hazard lights flashing were parked on the road outside the ditch. The lead vehicle was a black minivan, the middle one was an armored truck, and the last one was an SUV. The employees had already shoved Zhao Dezhu into the armored truck.

Xu Si opened the door of the middle car and got in. Xu San was already sitting in the passenger seat, replying to messages on his phone.

"Let's go." Xu Si patted the back of the driver's seat.

The convoy started and drove back along the highway.

After driving for about forty minutes, the lead car suddenly slowed down.

The voice of the lead car driver came through the walkie-talkie, sounding somewhat alarmed and uncertain: "Fourth Brother, something's not right up ahead."

Xu Si grabbed the walkie-talkie: "What's wrong?"

"This isn't the right way," said the driver of the lead car. "This intersection is supposed to be a left turn, but now there are only straight and right turns; the left-hand road is gone."

Xu Si frowned: "Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"Impossible," the lead driver said firmly. "I've been driving for twenty years, I can drive this Heng'an route with my eyes closed. Besides, there should be a bridge before entering the city, but the bridge is gone, and I haven't even seen a road sign."

Xu Si's expression changed: "Stop the car!"

The three cars stopped one after another, their headlights illuminating the road ahead.

The road is paved with asphalt, with two lanes and poplar trees planted along the sides, their leaves rustling in the wind.

Xu Si got out of the car and looked around.

Everything around was normal: a paved road, two lanes, with poplar trees along the roadside, and you could see your own shadow if you looked down.

but--