Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

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Zhuge Sheng's hand froze in mid-air, his face turning from red to white.

Old Wei's voice drifted from behind the broken wall on the left: "You're angry again? I'm telling the truth."

The group turned their heads to look, but there was nothing behind the broken wall on the left.

The voice jumped up above their heads again: "Your ancestor grew out of a story, not crawled out of a grave."

Several people looked up, only to see a dark sky and a few stars overhead.

The voice emerged from the ground again: "He can't even tell what he's done—what's real and what's in the fiction, he's mixed it all up."

Fragments of memories flashed through Zhuge Zheng's mind—Aqing's words in the council hall that day.

"If you truly believe him, then you're not believing Zhuge Liang, you're believing Luo Guanzhong."

Old Wei's voice rang out again, this time coming from all directions simultaneously, layer upon layer, like countless mouths speaking: "Your junior sees things very clearly. You old folks are not as good as a little kid."

Zhuge Sheng stepped forward and charged.

Zhuge Zheng grabbed him and said, "Don't move!"

Zhuge Sheng's shoulders twitched, but he didn't move again.

Old Wei laughed heartily, his laughter echoing in the night breeze, sometimes near, sometimes far: "But I really should go now. You can keep searching and see if you can find anything left behind by your ancestors..."

After those last words were spoken, complete silence fell over the surroundings; even the birdsong from the distant fields ceased.

Zhuge Sheng clenched his fists, his face turning ashen.

Zhuge Ping stood before the brick inscribed with "Ninth Year of Jianxing," staring intently at the characters as if trying to discern some other meaning within them.

The other two tribesmen stood behind, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Zhuge Zheng stood still, looking up at the sky.

Before I knew it, it was already bright daylight. The sky was very blue, so blue it was almost luminous, and a few white clouds hung on the horizon like portraits.

He stood there for a long time.

It took so long that Zhuge Sheng loosened his fist.

It took a while for Zhuge Ping to stand up from the ground and pat the mud off his knees.

After a while, someone cleared their throat.

Zhuge Zheng began, "I'll call the clan leader. I'll tell him—"

His voice was a little hoarse: "I was just saying, Ah Qing might have been here before any of us."

……

Zhuge Village, a side hall next to the council hall.

Zhuge Gong sat in a chair with a cup of tea on the tea table in front of him. The tea had gone cold, and the tea leaves had sunk to the bottom of the cup, motionless.

He held a microphone in his hand, and Zhuge Zheng's voice came through the receiver.

After hearing the report, Zhuge Gong simply said, "I understand. You may return now."

After hanging up the phone, he placed the receiver on the landline and rested his hand on it.

The light from the window streamed in and fell on the coffee table. The cool water in the teacup reflected the light, making my eyes sting.

Zhuge Gongsong turned off the microphone, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

The tea had gone cold, and the astringent taste clumped on the back of my tongue, impossible to swallow or spit out.

He put down his teacup, picked up the phone, and dialed a number.

Beep beep beep—Connection complete.

"Old Bi, it's me."

Bi Youlong's voice came through the receiver: "A-Gong, why are you calling again? Have you found your son?"

Zhuge Gong chuckled, his laugh dry and forced: "Found them, found them. They had a great time in Longnan. I just wanted to ask, what projects is your company working on lately? How come my child keeps running into your people on study tours?"

Bi Youlong paused for a moment: "Our people? Impossible. There have been some things happening in North China recently, but they're all minor skirmishes, not enough to warrant going all the way to Longnan."

"Really?" Zhuge Gong's voice was indifferent. "Then you might have mistaken someone for someone else. But Lao Bi, your so-called divine spark research is making quite a stir."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Bi Youlong chuckled twice: "Agong, you're quite well-informed, but that project has been halted. There's been a minor problem, and they're wrapping it up."

"It's stopped?" Zhuge Gong picked up his teacup and put it down again. "Then why did I hear that something else leaked out?"

"Well..." Bi Youlong chuckled, "There was a little hiccup, but it'll be resolved quickly. What, A-Gong, are you interested in getting involved?"

"I don't have that kind of time." Zhuge Gong leaned back in his chair. "I just want to remind you that some things are better left untouched. Our Zhuge family has been researching for 1,700 years and we still haven't figured it out. How can you possibly create something like some kind of divine weapon?"

Bi Youlong was silent for a few seconds: "Agong, that's not a very meaningful way of putting it. Times are changing, and research methods are changing too. Your approach may not be the only way."

"Is that so?" Zhuge Gong smiled. "Then I wish you success soon."

The phone hangs up.

Zhuge Gong put the microphone back, you old fox.

The headquarters of Nadutong in Beijing.

Bi Youlong put down the phone and muttered "old fox" under his breath.

He picked up the folder on the table, flipped through it, then put it down. He picked up his phone, found Xu Si's number, thought for a moment, and then put it down again.

Take your time.

Let's see how things go over there first.

……

Heng'an County.

It was just getting light in the hotel room.

Cheng Mo and Xia He stood facing each other by the window, slowly moving. The light outside the window changed from gray to light blue, shining on the two of them.

After completing one set of Vajra Kung Fu, I performed another set of Longevity Kung Fu.

Finish the movement and exhale.

The two went to wash up, tidy up, and then went out for breakfast.

I had just sat down and ordered breakfast when Xia Liuqing arrived.

The old man had changed his clothes today—a dark blue jacket, black pants, looking like a retired cadre, and he was carrying two black plastic bags.

He put the plastic bag on the table: "Put it on later."

Cheng Mo opened it and saw a drab gray jacket, a pair of dark pants, and a pair of black cloth shoes.

Xia He's bag contained a floral cotton-padded jacket and a pair of black trousers.

Xia He peeked out and asked, "What's going on?"

Xia Liuqing pulled out a chair and sat down, looking smug: "I specifically went to a clothing store to buy secondhand items, so I'd look like a local."

Cheng Mo picked up the gray jacket and looked at it: "When everyone else is dressed in new and trendy clothes, and we're all dressed in black and gray, won't we stand out even more?"

Xia Liuqing's face darkened: "Can your Master Xia be this unreliable?"

Cheng Mo folded the jacket and stuffed it back into the bag: "If you were reliable, the company wouldn't have caught you doing something wrong."

Xia Liuqing's face darkened even more: "You brat, all you do is expose my shortcomings."

Xia He quickly smoothed things over: "Oh dear, little Taoist priest, let's just wear it for now. If everyone else is dressed like this when we get there, we can change into it."

Cheng Mo nodded: "Okay."

Xia Liuqing urged, "Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and finish eating before we leave."

The two of them calmly and leisurely finished their porridge and steamed buns before getting up.

Following Xia Liuqing to the next street, Cheng Mo didn't drive the company van—who knows if they'd been targeted.

Xia Liuqing found a dusty car, covered in mud, which didn't look very impressive.

Xia He drove, Cheng Mo sat in the passenger seat, and Xia Liuqing nestled in the back seat.

It takes about two hours to get from Heng'an to Liulin Town by provincial highway.

In March, on the southern Hebei plain, the wheat seedlings have just turned green, stretching as far as the eye can see. The poplar trees on both sides of the road have not yet grown leaves, their bare branches pointing towards the sky. Occasionally, a few magpies will land on them and cackle.

Xia He drove slowly, keeping the speed at around 60 km/h. There were quite a few cars on the road, and occasionally she would pass a coal truck coming from the opposite direction, raising a cloud of dust with a rumble.

Xia Liuqing closed her eyes to rest in the back, but her mouth didn't stop talking: "Liulin Town only has one main street. Qian Wanli has booked the entire second floor of Hongyun Restaurant, which is located at the east end of the town. There are about ten cars that can be parked in front of it."

Cheng Mo looked out the window and said, "Wow, quite the show."

Xia Liuqing opened one eye: "Anyway, from what I've heard, seventy or eighty invitations have been sent out. I estimate fifty or sixty of them will actually make it to the destination. They must all be influential people, either with resources or capable of getting things done."

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