Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

South China, the bunker.

Liao Zhong has been very irritable lately.

Having just taken in a woman destined for turmoil, the bunker is now seeing people taking sick leave every day.

Of course, that's alright, since the bunker has plenty of manpower.

The key point is—everyone else is coughing up blood, having heart pain, or suffering a stroke, but Liao Zhong himself is suffering from all sorts of lower body ailments.

It's either benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostatitis, or kidney stones.

Liao Zhongdu suspected that the young men below had misread the situation, or were simply making fun of him.

Just as he was getting anxious, he received another instruction from above—to find some kind of Medicine Immortal Society in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

"This is fucking..." Liao Zhong almost threw the document down.

That godforsaken place, let alone hiding hundreds of people, even if you threw thousands or tens of thousands of people in there, it would be like a drop of water into the ocean. Besides, people are alive, and they will move away as soon as they hear a sound. Where are you going to find them?

But the order had already been given by his superiors, so Liao Zhong had no choice but to carry it out despite his reluctance.

Fortunately, he wasn't fighting alone. Hua Feng from the Northwest provided him with a lot of information, and the scattered clues, when pieced together, actually pointed to several suspicious areas...

Liao Zhong stared at the continuous mountain range on the map, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.

"The Medicine Immortal Society...you'd better not let me catch you."

……

Liupanshui, Biyou Village, Xiushentang.

Ma Xianhong finally put down his pen, rubbed his sore neck, and turned around. "I'm sorry to have kept you both waiting. The last test did expose a lot of problems with the furnace, and I'm redesigning several modules."

"Brother Ma, you're too kind." Cheng Mo continued, "I've been thinking about what I felt last time. I wonder if the furnace's ability to draw in and infuse the Qi of heaven and earth can better match the rhythm of the natural flow of Qi in the human body, which might reduce its stability and the burden on the operator."

"Of course," he added, "I can't sense the Qi, I just have a vague feeling, you can figure it out for yourself."

Ma Xianhong's eyes lit up: "It's more in line with natural flow... That makes sense! If we design the guiding loop based on the rhythm of a certain celestial cycle..." He picked up a pen and quickly sketched in the blank space of the drawing, muttering to himself.

Cheng Mo discussed his observations on internal pressure balance and energy buffering. Ma Xianhong listened attentively, nodding frequently and writing incessantly. The feedback from those who had experienced it firsthand directly opened up several new ideas for improvement for him.

"...That's about it." Cheng Mo finished speaking, patted Ma Xianhong on the shoulder, "Old Ma, don't overwork yourself. Dozens of people in Biyou Village are all counting on you."

Ma Xianhong waved his hand: "I'm just providing a platform for everyone; it's not that everyone has to stay here."

"That's a good point," Cheng Mo laughed, "Without you, Village Chief Ma, could Biyou Village still be called Biyou Village?"

Ma Xianhong's expression turned serious, and his eyes brightened, clearly indicating that he had prepared some heartfelt words.

Before he could speak, Cheng Mo patted him on the shoulder again: "Alright, that's settled then. We should go back and prepare dinner."

After saying that, he grabbed Xia He and left without looking back.

"Huh? Wait a minute—" Ma Xianhong stretched out his hand, the words stuck in his throat.

He had prepared his speech in his mind, and was almost ready to pour out his passion, but... the audience left.

You guys... wait a minute... let me finish speaking before you leave...

Ma Xianhong watched the two figures disappear through the doorway, silently withdrew his hand, and sighed.

Forget it.

Let's continue drawing.

I'll try to finish the drawing tonight and start working on it tomorrow!

On the way back, Xia He skipped and hopped, her ponytail swaying behind her head: "Little Mozi, what are we having for dinner?"

Cheng Mo said lazily, "That depends on how far Qiu Rang and Ding Ziheng can go."

"I wish there were tigers to eat!" Xia He's eyes lit up.

Cheng Mo glanced at her sideways: "Tiger is so cute, how can you eat it?"

Xia He shivered and rubbed her arms in disgust: "...You're disgusting."

The two returned to the cottage laughing and joking, where Qiu Rang and Ding Ziheng were already busy in the kitchen.

There were no tigers, of course, but there were several cleaned sparrows and rabbits on the stove, their fur plucked, just waiting for Cheng Mo to come back and cook them.

"Brother Cheng! We've been waiting for you!" Qiu Rang said with a grin, handing over the kitchen knife.

Ding Ziheng handed over an apron: "We've prepared all the seasonings. See if we need anything else?"

Cheng Mo tied on an apron, lit a fire, and set up a pot...

Dinner was very plentiful.

The tits were skewered on bamboo sticks, grilled over charcoal until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and sprinkled with cumin and chili powder.

One wild rabbit was braised, and the other was made into spicy rabbit cubes.

The four of them ate with their mouths full of oil.

After the meal, Qiu Rang and Ding Ziheng took turns clearing the dishes, packed up the leftovers, said goodbye to Cheng Mo and Xia He, and left happily.

On the way back.

"The cult leader has already tried them all, so let's not let him have a taste," Ding Ziheng said softly.

Qiu Rang had no objections at all: "We'll heat it up and eat it at noon tomorrow. I just finished making a microwave oven, let's test it out."

Night falls.

Cheng Mo and Xia He moved bamboo chairs to the courtyard and sat up in front of them, looking up at the starry sky.

Xia He suddenly spoke up: "When do you think we'll find out?"

Cheng Mo knew she was referring to Zhao Guizhen's matter. After a moment of silence, she said softly, "Perhaps... we'll never find out."

Xia He hummed in agreement and then said nothing more.

The night breeze rustled through the distant woods, and the stars twinkled overhead, quiet and bright.

……

Two more days passed peacefully.

That day, Cheng Mo and Xia He came to the Cultivation Hall again. Ma Xianhong was squatting next to the newly renovated Cultivation Furnace, making a final check. Hearing footsteps, he turned around and immediately smiled.

"Brother Cheng! I was just looking for you!" Ma Xianhong stood up, patted the furnace wall, and said, "The cultivation furnace is modified. Let's give it another try!"

Cheng Mo walked over and examined the stove, which hadn't changed much in appearance: "Oh, it's done so quickly."

"The blueprints were almost finished. If it weren't for your new suggestions last time, we could have started yesterday," Ma Xianhong said excitedly, rubbing his hands together.

Cheng Mo noticed the dark circles under Ma Xianhong's eyes and asked, "Do you want to rest for a day? Don't get completely drained like last time."

Ma Xianhong straightened his back and patted his chest: "Don't worry, I'm well prepared this time! I've strengthened the energy reserve module, and I've adjusted my own Qi to its optimal state. There will definitely be no repeat of the last situation."

Cheng Mo nodded, said nothing more, and reached out to open the hatch of the body-cultivating furnace.

"Little Mozi." Xia He suddenly grabbed his arm.

Cheng Mo turned around.

Xia He frowned slightly, her eyes full of worry. If it were before, she would at most worry that Cheng Mo's body couldn't take it.

But didn't they just kill a villager a few days ago? Who knows if this white-haired guy is just fooling the young Taoist priest, tricking him into going in, trapping him first, and then dealing with him slowly.

Cheng Mo knew what Xia He was worried about, but he had his own considerations.

First, the cultivation furnace has not been contaminated by Qu Tong; second, the village did not suspect Zhao Guizhen's disappearance, and everyone thought that the kind Taoist priest had gone on a long trip - that Taoist priest often left the village alone to travel, and it was common for him not to return for several days.

He patted Xia He's hand: "Don't worry. If you feel something's wrong, just hit Old Ma's head." He turned to Ma Xianhong, grinning, "Old Ma, you don't mind, do you?"

Ma Xianhong chuckled: "No problem, Miss Xia, if you tell me to stop, I'll stop immediately. If I can't stop, you can smash it on the cultivation furnace, and I'll take responsibility if you break it."