Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

The two arrived at the big tree deep in the woods. Cheng Mo took out the Devouring Pouch from the tree hole, then turned around and returned to the Cultivation Hall with Xia He.

After confirming that no one was around, he gently trembled his hand.

Ma Xianhong appeared out of thin air, lying on the ground, breathing steadily, still unconscious.

Cheng Mo squatted down and patted his face: "Old Ma, wake up."

Ma Xianhong did not respond.

Cheng Mo increased his pressure: "Old Ma!"

Ma Xianhong's eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was unfocused, and it took his pupils a while to focus.

"Brother Cheng? Miss Xia?" His voice was hoarse, his lips chapped. "Where...am I?"

Xia He handed over a bottle of water and a rice ball.

Ma Xianhong took it, gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, and then wolfed down the rice balls.

Halfway through his meal, his eyelids started drooping again.

Cheng Mo slapped him on the forehead.

Snapped!

Ma Xianhong shuddered and sprang up from the ground.

He rubbed his forehead, about to say something, when suddenly his expression changed.

His eyes widened further, his pupils contracted sharply, and his lips began to tremble.

Countless memories flashed through his mind.

When he was a child, his grandfather taught him how to forge weapons. Sparks flew from the anvil. His grandfather had big hands and would hold his little hands as he hammered away.

"Xian Hong, the most important thing in weapon crafting is to have a calm mind. If your mind is not calm, your hands will be unsteady, and if your hands are unsteady, the weapon will not be successfully crafted."

Later, Grandpa broke his leg and lay in the hospital, pale-faced, but he still smiled, patted his head, and said, "It's okay."

Then came the unfamiliar environment: gray walls and iron tables and chairs.

When someone asks him a question, he can't answer it. It's just pain that seeps from the surface of his skin into his bones, and then from his bones into his brain.

Then another scene appeared.

On the mountain road, he and his grandfather sat in a van, heading back to the village.

Several cars were parked in front, and a few people got out.

They threatened him with his family, leaving Ma Xianhong no choice but to go with them. It was that unfamiliar environment again, the interrogation, the pain…

A woman appeared before him, with a gentle smile and a soft voice.

She said her name was Qu Tong, that she was his older sister, and that she had found him. She said he had memory problems, but his memory would return naturally once he recovered.

She said she would make something for him called the Body Rejuvenation Furnace, which could help him regain his memory.

The screen continued to flicker.

Qu Tong used her dual-wielding skills to modify the core, teaching him how to encapsulate the fleshy mass into a metal capsule and how to control the transformed aliens.

Every word she said was like a needle piercing his brain.

"elder sister?"

Ma Xianhong's face went from pale to ashen, then to grayish-white, with veins bulging on his forehead and his hands clenched into fists, his fingernails digging into his palms.

wrong.

That's not my older sister.

That's a madman.

It was her; she's been deceiving me all these years.

"ah--"

He let out a low growl, a sound like a stone pressing on his chest, forced out with difficulty.

Xia He was startled and took two steps back: "Village Chief Ma, what's wrong?"

She turned to look at Cheng Mo.

Cheng Mo scratched his head: "This looks like it's been traumatized."

Ma Xianhong squatted on the ground, holding his head, breathing rapidly, and trembling all over.

After a while, his breathing gradually calmed down.

He slowly stood up, turned to Cheng Mo, and bowed deeply: "Thank you, Brother Cheng."

Cheng Mo was taken aback for a moment: "Uh... thank me for what?"

"Thank you for helping me regain my memory." Ma Xianhong straightened up, his eyes red-rimmed, but his gaze was much clearer than before.

"ha?"

Xia He poked Cheng Mo's arm: "Little Taoist priest, when did you do that?"

Cheng Mo looked completely innocent: "I didn't do anything."

Ma Xianhong smiled, a smile tinged with bitterness but also with relief: "Brother Cheng, there's no need to be modest."

"I really..." Cheng Mo stopped halfway through his sentence, "Uh, I think I understand a little bit."

Xia He pressed, "What do you mean?"

Cheng Mo thought for a moment: "Perhaps the complete loss of consciousness while locked in the Devouring Sac accelerated the self-repair of Old Ma's memories."

Xia He frowned: "This doesn't seem to make sense."

Cheng Mo shrugged and said, "I don't know either."

Ma Xianhong looked at the two of them, his lips twitching: "...Can you two be serious for once?"

Cheng Mo coughed. "Okay, seriously. Old Ma, what came to mind?"

Ma Xianhong's smile faded, his expression turned serious, and he told Cheng Mo and the other person about the part of his memory that he had lost.

Cheng Mo and Xia He both fell silent.

Ma Xianhong laughed: "No matter what, I have to thank you. If you hadn't locked me up, I might still be under that woman's control."

He paused, then continued, "But on another note, Brother Cheng, why did you lock me up?"

Cheng Mo coughed twice: "Speaking of this, you might have to scold me."

Ma Xianhong said with a smile, "Don't worry, I won't swear."

"Before that, let me tell you what happened in the village while you were away."

Cheng Mo told Ma Xianhong about the chaos that had been happening in the village these past few days.

It started with ordinary people causing trouble, then splits up among those with superior abilities, then Qu Tong's people blocked the village entrance to prevent anyone from leaving, then Liu Wu Kui and his sister left, then those who watched him practice wanted to steal his skills, and then he knocked everyone unconscious.

After listening, Ma Xianhong remained silent for a long time before finally sighing, "I was indeed too idealistic."

Cheng Mo patted him on the shoulder: "So, I've chosen a path for you."

Ma Xianhong turned to look at him: "What road?"

Cheng Mo checked the time: "Is it about time?"

Ma Xianhong frowned: "What do you mean, 'almost'?"

Cheng Mo said, "The person who's here to pick you up has arrived."

Ma Xianhong didn't understand: "Huh?"

Cheng Mo added, "I misspoke. It's not just about picking you up, it's about picking up the whole village."

Ma Xianhong's expression changed from confusion to wariness: "What do you mean?"

Cheng Mo sighed: "You'll hate me if I tell you."

Ma Xianhong frowned: "What you just said was an insult."

Cheng Mo waved his hand: "It's all the same."

Ma Xianhong asked anxiously, "What exactly happened?"

Cheng Mo leaned against the tree trunk, arms crossed: "Old Ma, you have to understand, superhumans are actually the same as guns. Our country bans guns because if people had guns, they would really dare to use them to do things. In the 1980s, two villages could even bring out homemade cannons when they fought."

Ma Xianhong urged, "Brother Cheng, what exactly do you mean?"

"If the number of superhumans exceeds the safety threshold, many unpredictable changes will occur." Cheng Mo's tone became very calm.

"One or two superhumans can't cause much trouble, but if there are a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand, that's a different story. So, your abilities are only suitable for places where they won't affect social stability."

Ma Xianhong trembled: "You notified Nadutong?"

Cheng Mo shook his head: "No one can handle it."

Ma Xianhong's voice suddenly rose: "I don't understand!"

Cheng Mo waved his hand: "You should think about how to replace the core of the Body Cultivation Furnace first."

Ma Xianhong's face darkened: "If you have already betrayed me to the official institutions, I have no reason to improve the cultivation furnace for the court's lackeys."

Cheng Mo shrugged: "Whatever. Even if you don't do anything, I'll destroy it anyway."

Ma Xianhong glared: "You dare?"

Cheng Mo raised his hand, palm up: "What do you think?"

Ma Xianhong was about to make a move.

Cheng Mo snapped his fingers.

A very faint sound came from the direction of the Cultivation Hall.

boo.

Like a bubble bursting.

Ma Xianhong was taken aback and turned to look.

Although he had been sealed in the Devouring Pouch for many days and was somewhat sluggish, he could still sense the location of his magical artifact.

There was nothing left in the direction of the core of the cultivation furnace.