Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

Xiangfan.

In Xia He's dining room, Liu Yuping was putting food into Cheng Mo's bowl.

"Xiao Cheng, eat more, you're so thin."

Cheng Mo looked down at the mountain of food piled up in his bowl, then at Liu Yuping's sincere face: "Auntie, I'm not thin."

"Even if you're not thin, you should eat more." Liu Yuping put another piece of pork rib into his bowl. "Men should be strong. Come on, have another bowl."

Cheng Mo: "...Auntie, I haven't finished this bowl yet."

"It's alright, take your time eating." Liu Yuping sat down with a smile, watching Cheng Mo eat, her eyes looking at him like she was looking at her own son.

Xia He chuckled to herself, poking at the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

Cheng Mo kicked her under the table.

Xia He kicked it back.

The two men kicked each other under the table. Old Xia watched for a while, holding his wine glass, then coughed and said, "Just eat properly, don't move your legs around."

Xia He stuck out her tongue.

Cheng Mo looked completely innocent.

Old Xia poured himself a glass of wine, and then poured one for Cheng Mo: "Little Cheng, come on, have a drink with your uncle."

Cheng Mo put down his chopsticks: "Uncle, I don't drink alcohol."

"It's alright, just drink a little." Old Xia poured him a small half-glass of baijiu. "Men should know how to drink a little."

Xia He snatched it away and drank it herself: "Come on, Dad, I'll drink with you."

Liu Yuping slapped Lao Xia hard: "You, why are you drinking alcohol at home?" Then she went to the kitchen.

Old Xia: "..."

He could only take a sip himself, and looked at Cheng Mo with a quiet sigh, saying, "Little Cheng, I only have this one daughter, you have to treat her well."

Cheng Mo said seriously, "Don't worry, I only have this one girlfriend."

Old Xia was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Good, good, I like to hear that."

He picked up his glass again and took a sip: "Xiao Cheng, let me tell you, I won't stand for it if you bully her."

Cheng Mo replied earnestly, "Don't worry, Uncle, if I really bullied her..."

He paused.

Old Xia looked at him.

Cheng Mo continued, "I'll bully you too."

Xia He: "Pfft—"

Xia He kicked Cheng Mo under the table.

Old Xia paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, laughing until tears streamed down his face.

Liu Yuping had just brought a bowl of soup out of the kitchen: "What are you saying?"

Old Xia waved his hand: "It's nothing, it's nothing, we were just joking."

Liu Yuping looked at Lao Xia with some skepticism, then placed the soup on the table: "Xiao Cheng, have some soup. Auntie has been simmering it all afternoon."

"Thank you, Auntie."

Old Xia picked up his glass and took another sip: "And also, you have to protect her."

Cheng Mo nodded: "Of course."

Old Xia nodded in satisfaction.

The meal took almost two hours.

When the party ended, Lao Xia could no longer stand steadily.

Old Xia had drunk a bit too much; his face was flushed. He leaned back in his chair, squinting at Cheng Mo, and the more he looked at the kid, the more pleasing he seemed.

"Xiao Cheng, come often in the future."

"Okay, Uncle."

"When you arrive, stay at home, don't stay in a hotel."

"Okay, Uncle."

"What would you like to eat? Ask your aunt to make it."

"Okay, Uncle."

Old Xia nodded in satisfaction, closed his eyes, and soon began to snore.

Liu Yuping took a blanket and covered him with it, shaking her head: "He's drunk again."

……

Cheng Mo and Xia He stayed in Xiangfan for a few days.

During the day, Liu Yuping accompanies Lao Xia to browse antique shops on Cultural Street. In the evening, Liu Yuping cooks, and Cheng Mo helps out, chopping vegetables, preparing ingredients, and cooking. He does everything.

Liu Yuping was increasingly pleased with what she saw, and praised her to everyone she met: "This child, Xiao Cheng, is good at cooking and housework, and he's also good to our Xiao He."

That day, Liu Yuping asked Cheng Mo, "Xiao Cheng, when are you leaving?"

"The train tomorrow."

"So soon?" Liu Yuping asked, a little reluctant. "Why don't you stay a few more days?"

Xia He took her mother's arm: "Mom, we have something to do, we'll come again next time."

"Alright then." Liu Yuping patted her daughter's hand. "Let me know next time you come, and I'll cook something delicious for you."

"Okay."

The next morning, Cheng Mo and Xia He said goodbye to Lao Xia and Liu Yuping at the train station.

Liu Yuping held Xia He's hand, her eyes a little red: "Take good care of yourself while you're away, don't go hungry."

Xia He hugged Cheng Mo's arm: "Don't worry, Mom, with the little Taoist priest here, I won't go hungry."

Cheng Mo chimed in, "Don't worry, Auntie, you won't go hungry."

Old Xia opened his mouth, but in the end only said, "Come visit often when you have time."

Cheng Mo and Xia He entered the station and boarded the train.

The train slowly started moving, and the platform outside the window gradually receded. Liu Yuping and Lao Xia's figures grew smaller and smaller until they finally disappeared from sight.

Xia He leaned on Cheng Mo's shoulder, looking out the window at the rapidly receding fields, and whispered, "Little Taoist, my mom likes you very much."

Cheng Mo put his arm around her shoulder: "Yeah, I can tell."

Xia He looked up at him and said, "Then why did you say that you were bullying my dad too?"

Cheng Mo laughed: "Isn't that just to make Uncle happy?"

Xia He slapped him: "Are you kidding me? My dad almost didn't realize what you were doing."

Cheng Mo chuckled.

……

The Two Elements View.

Cheng Shou sat in the yard, holding the lynx Dali, and changing channels with the remote control.

A variety show was playing on TV, with several celebrities laughing and joking around. Cheng Shou glanced at it for a couple of seconds and then changed the channel.

I tried seven or eight channels but couldn't find anything I wanted to watch, so I just turned off the TV.

Cheng Huihui squatted on the stone stool next to him, swishing its tail and looking at him with a smile.

"I think Xiao Mo is much better than you were back then." Cheng Huihui poked Cheng Shou's back with the tip of her tail. "Look, she not only helped the sect get revenge, but also stood up for that little girl Xia He. Unlike you, you can't do anything."

Cheng Shou snorted: "That's because I taught you well."

Cheng Huihui chuckled twice, wagging its tail even more enthusiastically: "You taught him? You taught him for fifteen years and he still couldn't sense Qi, but he suddenly became enlightened as soon as he came down the mountain. Are you sure you didn't delay him?"

Cheng Shou's face darkened: "What do you know? That's the result of years of hard work and gradual accumulation!"

"A late bloomer after years of hard work?" Cheng Huihui tilted her head and looked at him. "Then why didn't you have a late bloomer after years of hard work?"

Cheng Shou didn't want to argue with him anymore, so he turned around and went inside.

Duoduo and Erzhuang were sitting at their respective desks, each with a computer, their fingers tapping away on the keyboard.

"Duoduo! Erzhuang! Let's go, let's go down the mountain," Cheng Shou said. "We'll go back to school tomorrow."

Duoduo immediately shut down the computer and jumped off the chair: "Okay, okay!"

Erzhuang shut down his computer and pushed his chair back under the table: "Finally, I can go back to school."

Looking at the two little girls' excited expressions, Cheng Shou felt a pang of unease: "Isn't it fun up in the mountains?"

Duoduo ran over and grabbed his hand: "It's fun on the mountain, but there are so many kids at school."

Erzhuang also came over: "That's right, there are only Master, Uncle Master, Big Fox and Big Yellow on the mountain, but there are many classmates at the school."

Cheng Shou: "..."

Erzhuang packed his schoolbag and asked, "Master, can we take Dali with us?"

Cheng Shou glanced at the lynx dozing at the gate of the courtyard: "It won't go; it thinks it's too noisy down the mountain."

The big fox's ears twitched, but its eyelids remained closed.

Duoduo ran over, squatted down, and hugged Dali's neck: "Dali, I'll miss you."

The raccoon's tail tip twitched, and it let out a muffled "meow" from its throat.

Erzhuang went over and patted Dali's head: "See you next week."

Cheng Shou led the two little girls along the mountain path.

The big fox opened one eye and glanced at them, then closed it again.

Cheng Huihui squatted on the courtyard wall, watching the three figures disappear into the woods, her tail swaying slowly.

Big Yellow circled around the yard twice, then lay down on the ground, resting its chin on its front paws with its ears drooping.

Cheng Huihui glanced down at them: "They're all gone."

The big raccoon meowed.

Big Yellow barked.

Cheng Huihui sighed, rushed back into the house, and turned on the computer...

"You jerk, can't you aim a little better?!"