Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

After saying goodbye to An Baoqing, Xia He nudged Cheng Mo with her elbow: "Have you noticed? Some of their masks are quite peculiar, as if there's a unique energy flowing through them."

Cheng Mo shook his head: "I can't sense the Qi."

Xia He blinked: "I think that Master An is just a trained martial artist who's stronger than the average person, not some kind of superhuman. So, did this exchange give you any insights?"

Cheng Mo pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "From what he said, he was trying to understand the charm of the god represented by the Nuo mask itself, but this method seems to be more inclined to external imitation and emotional immersion, and not deep enough."

"I don't know if this way of experiencing Shen Yun can really touch my soul and help me perceive Qi."

Xia He was initially quite opposed to Cheng Mo seeking out these mystical practices, but after witnessing the Nuo opera performance these past few days, she began to understand them somewhat. Some of these ancient witchcraft practices were indeed quite interesting.

"Then let's give it a try," she said, leaning closer to Cheng Mo, her pink eyes sparkling.

"If we get in touch with a few more groups, we might just stumble upon one with an extraordinary individual. Then we can ask them for advice, or at worst, we can pester them. If all else fails, we can learn from them! Let me tell you, I have several methods for learning from others, and we'll arrange them all..."

As she was getting into the conversation, Cheng Mo suddenly patted her on the shoulder.

"What?" Xia He turned her head in confusion.

Cheng Mo didn't speak, but simply pointed ahead.

Xia He looked in the direction he was pointing and was immediately dumbfounded.

Not far away, on the street, an old man with white hair and beard was shuffling forward with difficulty—simply because a handsome blond man was hanging on his leg.

The handsome young man clung tightly to the old man's legs, practically being dragged along the ground, wailing, "Old man! Please teach me! You can't take all your skills to your grave!"

This scene naturally attracted a lot of onlookers, who pointed and whispered, all speculating about what was going on between the two.

But the old man and the young man were completely oblivious to the stares of others. The old man walked forward on his own, while the blond young man held tightly to the old man's leg. The crowd of onlookers moved slowly forward with them.

Xia He suddenly shivered: "Luckily we shook that guy off, otherwise we might be like that old man now."

Cheng Mo walked straight toward the two people.

Xia He quickly grabbed him: "What are you doing?! Didn't you say to stay away from that guy? Why are you getting closer?"

"Do you know who that old man is?" Cheng Mo asked.

Xia He shook her head: "I don't know. Besides, he's quite old, it's impolite to call him 'old man' directly."

Cheng Mo turned to look at her in surprise: "You actually know how to be polite?"

Xia He grabbed him with one hand and put the other on her hip: "How can you talk like that? How am I rude? When have you ever seen me rude to anyone?"

Cheng Mo thought about it carefully for a moment, and it seemed that there really wasn't any. This girl had always been quite polite in her interactions with others.

"I'm sorry, I judged you by your appearance."

"That's more like it," Xia He replied instinctively, then realized what she meant and said with dissatisfaction, "How can you judge a book by its cover? Does my appearance scream 'rude'?"

Cheng Mo: "...I was wrong, big sister."

Their commotion also attracted the attention of the crowd. One was handsome, the other radiant; they were already eye-catching, but their tussling and pulling made them even more conspicuous.

Even Xia Liuqing and Wang Zhenqiu, who were locked in a power struggle, saw them.

Wang Zhenqiu's eyes lit up, but he quickly turned his attention back to Xia Liuqing. Those two adulterers couldn't escape; he needed to deal with the old man first.

"Grandpa! Teach me! Even just a month will do!" he continued to wail.

Xia Liuqing glanced at Cheng Mo and the other person briefly before looking away.

He's annoyed.

I've been bothered by this jerk for the past two days, so I haven't dared to go to Jin Feng'er, for fear that he'll harass my white moonlight.

If it were anyone else, Old Man Xia would have already gone for the kill. But this scoundrel is extremely perceptive. In ordinary encounters, he would use gentle persuasion and pleading. Once Xia Liuqing shows any signs of exploding, the scoundrel would have already disappeared. After these few times, Xia Liuqing's temper threshold has been raised.

After Cheng Mo finished apologizing, he pointed at Xia Liuqing and said, "That old man is also a member of Quanxing, 'The Fierce Actress' Xia Liuqing, who cultivates the God Mask and specializes in playing gods."

Xia He exclaimed in surprise, "Is this someone who knows Nuo opera?"

"Nuoxi is just one of their schools of thought," Cheng Mo explained. "Xia Liuqing cultivates divine masks, portrays gods as humans, and ultimately wants to become a god. In the circle of extraordinary people, they are called entertainers."

Xia He suddenly realized: "So Nuo opera is what we call changyou (entertainers). No wonder it sounded familiar."

Cheng Mo looked at her, but before he could ask, Xia He said, "That strange old man told me all this. Come on, let's go find that old man Xia."

Cheng Mo realized he was falling behind the girl's train of thought: "Weren't you just stopping me from going?"

"I was afraid that blondie would cause trouble," Xia He said matter-of-factly. "Now that we know the old man can help you, let's help him chase the blondie away."

The two stepped forward, and Cheng Mo spoke directly, his voice clear and bright, like a naive young man: "Grandpa Xia Liuqing, I have some questions about cultivation and would like to ask you for guidance. How about lending a hand?"

Xia He was immediately dumbfounded: "Little Taoist priest, what are you doing? Aren't we supposed to help the old man drive away the golden-haired monster?"

Cheng Mo waved his hand, looking directly at Xia Liuqing: "Old Master Xia, would you dare?"

Upon hearing this, the veins on Xia Liuqing's forehead throbbed.

These past few days, I've been getting increasingly annoyed and irritable because of Wang Zhenqiu. He's too slippery, and I'm somewhat reluctant to take drastic measures against him because I value his talent.

This kid who appeared out of nowhere is so arrogant and ignorant; of course we have to fight him.

Do you really think his reputation as a "fierce thug" is just for show?!

Seeing this, Wang Zhenqiu immediately released Xia Liuqing's leg and added fuel to the fire: "Old man, this guy is not to be trifled with. Don't let yourself be caught off guard."

Xia Liuqing's anger surged, and she yelled at Wang Zhenqiu, "You little brat! You wanted to learn my methods, didn't you? Watch closely!"

Just as he was about to make a move, Cheng Mo suddenly raised his hand: "Wait. There are too many people here, and it's not good to hurt others. Even if you don't hurt anyone, it's not good to damage the flowers, plants, or buildings." He beckoned to Xia Liuqing, "Come on, I know a good place."

Xia Liuqing suppressed her anger: "Lead the way."

Cheng Mo turned and ran, and Xia Liuqing immediately followed.

Wang Zhenqiu chuckled and followed behind the two with great interest.

"Little Taoist priest, what's gotten into you again!" Xia He stomped her foot and quickly chased after him.

The surrounding crowd exchanged bewildered glances. Someone muttered, "Are these guys crazy? Do they think this is some kind of period martial arts movie? 'Skills'... This is a society governed by law!"

A few curious ones wanted to chase after them to see what was going on, but they couldn't catch up after running a short distance. They could only hold their knees, panting heavily, and looking at each other in bewilderment.

"This...this speed...it seems we've really encountered a master?"