Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

Xu Si choked, almost choking on his cigarette smoke, and coughed twice: "You can't say that. Procedurally, he's legal."

He paused, then added, "And it's related to the local economy. If he were from North China, it would be fine, I have connections here, but it's especially in the Northwest."

Cheng Mo shrugged: "Then you decide what to do. I'll head back now and we'll talk again if there's any progress."

After saying that, he stood up, grabbed Xia He, and walked out.

Xia He turned around and waved to everyone: "We're leaving now."

After walking for a while, Xia He took Cheng Mo's arm and asked, "Why don't we go back first? Anyway, Zhuge Qing predicted that he was in the Northwest."

Cheng Mo thought for a moment, then took out his phone: "It's not impossible, I'll call Lao Si."

He dialed Xu Si's number, and the call was answered after two rings.

"Fourth brother, Xia He and I are heading back to Liangyi Temple now. Contact us if there's any progress here."

Xu Si readily agreed: "Sure, no problem, I'll contact you later."

After hanging up the phone, Xia He also called Xia Liuqing.

"Grandpa Xia, are you still staying there?"

On the other end of the phone, Xia Liuqing's voice sounded hesitant: "I'll go and see, but it's not convenient for me to leave now that the matter isn't resolved."

Cheng Mo leaned closer and said into the microphone, "Actually, it's about time. Old Wei is clearly on his last trip, and the other two aren't going to amount to much."

Xia Liuqing was silent for two seconds: "...You mean the person who tricked me is no good?"

"Anyone who thinks about that kind of thing these days is a complete idiot." Cheng Mo's tone was very sincere.

There was another two seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Bye-Bye."

Beep—the bird is hanging up...

Cheng Mo looked at the screen: "Hey, the old man has quite a temper."

Xia He chuckled and pulled him toward the roadside: "Come on, come on, don't poke Grandpa Xia's lungs."

The two hailed a taxi, went to the parking lot of Na Du Tong, and got into the company's van.

Xia He sat in the driver's seat, and Cheng Mo sat in the passenger seat.

The car started, drove out of the parking lot, and headed towards Zhongnan Mountain.

After driving for more than ten kilometers, Cheng Mo took out his phone, found Gao Erzhuang's number, and dialed it.

beep - beep - beep -

No one answered.

Cheng Mo dialed again, but still no one answered.

He frowned, found Cheng Shou's number, and dialed it.

This time it answered quickly, ringing only twice before connecting.

"Master, we're back."

Cheng Shou's voice came through the receiver, indifferent: "Is the matter resolved?"

"Not yet, but since it's in the Northwest, we'll come back first."

Cheng Shou snorted on the other end of the phone: "It doesn't matter whether you come back or not, we don't need you here anyway."

Cheng Mo smiled and said, "I can cook for you."

Cheng Huihui's voice drifted over slowly: "We have a fully automatic food preparation machine."

Cheng Mo's lips twitched: "That thing is even worse than mine."

Cheng Shou chimed in, his tone full of disdain: "Not much different, enough to eat."

Cheng Mo choked for a moment: "...What, you really don't want me to go back?"

"Bullshit!" Cheng Shou's voice rose. "You called Er Zhuang without even calling your master first. What do you think of that?"

Cheng Mo was both amused and exasperated: "Can't you be a little more understanding? I asked Erzhuang because I wanted to know if she was in school."

"Stop talking nonsense, come back after you've resolved this."

"Okay."

Xia He chuckled beside her, "Little Taoist, you've been rejected~"

Cheng Mo: "..."

……

At the same time, downstairs at the Heng'an County Nadutong branch.

Three black SUVs with their hazard lights flashing were parked at the entrance. Xu Si stood next to the lead car, holding a walkie-talkie.

"Is everyone here?"

A response came through the walkie-talkie: "Two cars are ready." "Three cars are ready."

Xu Si opened the car door and got in, Xia Liuqing followed him into the back seat, and Zhuge Qing sat in the passenger seat.

The convoy started and drove out of the county town. Cola Novels—your personal mobile library, accessible anytime. They got on the highway and headed west.

The scenery outside the window changed from plains to hills, and from hills to mountains.

After passing Baoji, the mountains became steeper and the gullies deeper. The soil was yellow, the ground was yellow, and even the sky was covered with a layer of yellow dust.

Xia Liuqing leaned against the car window, looking at the endless yellow earthen slopes outside, muttering, "Zhuge Liang, oh Zhuge Liang, if you were really alive, I'd really like to meet you. But with your obsession, what are you pretending to be, acting all high and mighty?"

Zhuge Qing turned around and said in a serious tone, "He's not pretending; he genuinely believes he is Zhuge Liang."

Xia Liuqing scoffed, "Isn't that still just pretending?"

Zhuge Qing shook his head: "It's different. The person pretending knows he's not Zhuge Liang. He genuinely believes he is Zhuge Liang, so every decision and action he takes is based on the premise of 'what Zhuge Liang would do.'"

Xu Si, sitting in the front row, suddenly opened his eyes: "Then he will make the same mistake that Zhuge Liang made."

Zhuge Qing looked at him.

Xu Si took the cigarette out of his mouth and flicked off the ash: "Zhuge Liang's biggest problem was that he had to do everything himself. He didn't trust anyone and eventually died of exhaustion at Wuzhang Plains."

At this point, Xu Si himself was stunned.

He had a cigarette dangling from his lips, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, oblivious to the ash that fell onto his trousers.

Isn't this just like my dad?

Xia Liuqing, oblivious to Xu Si's expression, asked Zhuge Qing curiously, "Can an obsession cure this bad habit?"

Zhuge Qing shook his head: "It can't be changed. The reason why an obsession is an obsession is because it will not change."

Xia Liuqing slapped her thigh: "Then let's just wait for him to work himself to death, shall we?"

Xu Si snapped out of his daze and rubbed his temples: "We can't wait that long, but we can make him make a mistake."

The convoy drove for six hours before entering Longyuan.

The landscape is crisscrossed by ravines; the mountains are yellow, the land is yellow, and even the sky is yellow.

Xu Si picked up the walkie-talkie: "Tianshui is just ahead. Let's find a place to stay first and get a feel for the situation."

Several responses came through the walkie-talkie.

After exiting the highway, the car turned into the city and found a hotel to settle in. The group then split up to do their own thing.

Xu Si took out his phone and sent Cheng Mo a message: I'll let you know if there's any progress now that I've arrived in Tianshui.

Xia Liuqing also called Cheng Mo.

"Young Cheng, we're in Tianshui, and that kid from the Zhuge family has figured something out."

Cheng Mo was taken aback: "You guys are here so fast? So you left as soon as I left?"

Xia Liuqing chuckled: "Then you'll have to ask Xu Si and the Zhuge family's kids."

"Okay, I'll be there in a bit."

I hung up the phone.

Cheng Mo stuffed his phone into his pocket and turned to look at Xia He.

Xia He stretched, raising her arms above her head, her waist curving into a beautiful line, making her look like a cat that had just woken up.

"Let me drive, little Taoist priest."

Without saying a word, Cheng Mo put his arm around her waist and lifted her into the driver's seat.

Before Xia He could even react, she was already sitting in the driver's seat, her hands instinctively gripping the steering wheel.

She paused for two seconds, then turned and glared at Cheng Mo: "Little Taoist priest, you should tell me in advance next time."

Cheng Mo had already passed by, and was now sitting comfortably in the passenger seat, fastening his seatbelt: "Okay."

Xia He rolled her eyes, started the car, and turned around to drive towards Tianshui.

They arrived in Tianshui in the evening.

The setting sun bathed the entire city in an orange-red hue, and the streets were bustling with people, with smoke billowing from the barbecue stalls.

Xia Liuqing stood alone at the hotel entrance, wearing that dark blue jacket, her bald head reflecting the light under the streetlights.

Cheng Mo got out of the car and looked around: "Why are you alone? Where are Xiao Qing and Lao Si?"

Xia Liuqing, with her hands behind her back, said, "We've gone to investigate that Liu Shizhou's father's company."

"What did they find out?"

"How would I know?" Xia Liuqing shrugged. "I don't understand any of that stuff."

Xia He got out of the car and closed the door: "So, Grandpa Xia, you called us over to play with you?"

"How could that be?" Xia Liuqing glared at her. "I just think, Cheng, you've always lived in the Northwest, you're definitely more familiar with things here than I am. What areas do you think deserve attention?"

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