Two Realms: Starting with transmitting the Taiping Jing to Zhang Jiao

The Han Dynasty had a vast territory, and the Sichuan region was characterized by numerous mountains, steep peaks, rivers, and large lakes.

Furthermore, because the mountains are often shrouded in clouds and mist, people often fantasize that there are immortal immortals living in the mountains, and the practice of seeking immortality and asking about the Tao has existed since ancient times.

It's no wonder that the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling ultimately chose Sichuan to spread his teachings and established the Twenty-Four Provinces.

It had been a month since they left Lutang Mountain. Yi Chuan and Zhang Jiao had traveled through mountains and streams, descending along the southern foot of Longmen Mountain, passing through Shiting, and crossing the Jianjiang River Valley.

The valley is difficult to traverse, with only a wooden walkway built on the rock face. Below is the rushing, roaring river, and walking on it makes one feel terrified and on the verge of falling.

Yi Chuan walked with extreme steadiness, his lungs brimming with vital energy, and his pupils shining brightly.

He didn't know if it was because of the abundance of spiritual energy in the mountains, but he clearly felt that his progress in cultivating the Qi-eating technique had increased significantly over the past month.

After a month of recuperation, Yi Chuan's cultivation, which had been scattered by the heavenly lightning, has recovered and even improved.

For example, in this Jianjiang River Valley, the cliffs on both sides are about seven meters apart. Yi Chuan felt that if he exerted all his strength, he could easily leap to the other side of the river.

But this was rather shocking, so they followed Zhang Jiao and climbed the plank road.

By the time the two climbed across the plank road to the other side, it was already dusk, and the sounds of monkeys howling echoed from the valleys on both sides, sending chills down one's spine.

"It's estimated that we won't make it to Pengzhou in time; the city gates are probably already closed by now."

Zhang Jiao glanced at the sky, looking somewhat troubled.

Looks like we'll have to camp out in the open again tonight.

"That's not necessarily true." Yi Chuan pointed ahead, his eyes shining brightly. "There seems to be a small temple ahead. We can settle down there."

"A small temple?"

Zhang Jiao frowned and looked in the direction Yi Chuan was pointing. He saw only a hazy, misty landscape, with no trace of any buildings.

"The Taoist priest has excellent eyesight..." Zhang Jiao did not raise any questions, but only admired him. In the past month, he had witnessed Yi Chuan's amazing abilities. In addition to his excellent eyesight, he only needed a few mountain fruits to fill his stomach each day, and he did not get out of breath when trekking through mountains and streams.

"The true men of old did not dream in their sleep, nor did they find food delicious; their breath was deep and profound... This is truly not a lie."

Zhang Jiao sighed inwardly and quickly caught up with Yi Chuan.

Walking along an ancient path lined with pines and cypresses, at this time of day, there was no sign of human presence. Under the moonlight, the shadows of the cypresses were dense and seemed like a chaotic dance of demons.

After walking for several miles, they finally saw a small temple in the distance. The temple was dilapidated, with one wall collapsed. It couldn't provide shelter from the wind and rain, but it could serve as a place to rest for the night.

Upon entering the small temple, one finds it already occupied by people resting. A dark-skinned, thin man stands up warily, cautiously watching Yi Chuan and Zhang Jiao approach. A young child, seemingly asleep, leans against a pillar.

"I am a clerk personally appointed by the imperial court, not a bad person."

Under the moonlight, Zhang Jiao revealed his waist token. The dark-skinned, thin man's expression suddenly changed, and he took a few steps back, as if he wanted to grab the child and run away.

"Rest assured, I am the Sili, and I do not interfere in the military affairs of the local prefectures and counties. It is just a sinecure with little influence."

Zhang Jiao waved his waist token and explained.

He could tell that this was a refugee who had fled into the deep mountains to escape corvée labor. He and Yi Chuan had encountered too many such people along the way.

The dark-skinned, thin man finally breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to Zhang Jiao, saying, "So you are an official of the imperial court. My apologies for my rudeness."

"What official position? In the end, he's just a pitiful person who has nowhere to go and is wandering in the desolate mountains."

Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, the dark-skinned, thin man immediately made room for Yi Chuan and Zhang Jiao, carrying the sleeping toddler.

Yi Chuan and Zhang Jiao sat down cross-legged, fully clothed. The dark-skinned, thin man lit a fire. The dry firewood was warm; it turned out he had heard the commotion from afar and put out the fire.

Yi Chuan remained silent throughout, merely observing Zhang Jiao.

The future Great Teacher was indeed no ordinary person; his ability to read people was almost on par with that of the stern-faced Priest, Shirodoji.

"Does that Dao fruit truly belong to Zhang Jiao?"

"Then why hasn't there been any response yet?"

Yi Chuan pondered, looking at the crescent moon on the back of his hand. A month ago, he had revealed Zhang Jiao's identity and felt hot, but this past month he had been lost in thought again.

One wall of the small temple collapsed, and a cold mountain wind blew in, causing sparks to fly from the firewood.

Zhang Jiao was chatting with the man when suddenly a rustling sound came from the temple gate. The man instinctively tried to put out the firewood, but Zhang Jiao stopped him.

The three looked towards the temple entrance. First, a four-legged shadow was stretched out by the moonlight and shone into the temple. A dozen seconds later, a white cat appeared in the moonlight, carrying a huge rat in its mouth. Its body seemed weightless as it lightly leaped into the temple.

For a moment, the three people and the cat seemed somewhat surprised.

The white cat glanced at Zhang Jiao and the thin, dark-skinned man, then saw Yi Chuan sitting on the inside. Its pupils immediately widened in alertness, and it made a gurgling sound in its throat.

After a while, the white cat turned its head away and gracefully swaggered past the three people, as if it had generously forgiven these humans who had trespassed into its territory.

The white cat nimbly leaped up the stone platform where the statue of the god was enshrined, carrying the mouse in its mouth. Only then did everyone see a nest enclosed by a tattered piece of coarse linen. The white cat stepped on it, squinted its eyes, and curled up into a ball.

"What a white cat!" Zhang Jiao exclaimed. The cat was clearly a wild cat, but its fur was as smooth as silk, and it looked just like snow in the dark night.

Seeing that it was a false alarm, the dark-skinned, thin man finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, the sleeping child in the man's arms woke up. Seeing Yi Chuan and Zhang Jiao, the child was a little shy and clung to the man's trouser leg.

The man immediately picked up the child with great heartache, and Yi Chuan then noticed that the child's face was pale and had no color in it.

"This is... a plague?!" Zhang Jiao's pupils shrank, and he immediately stood up as if facing a formidable enemy, still vividly remembering the plague that had struck Lu Tangzhi.

"It's not a plague, it's not a plague, it's malaria."

The dark-skinned, thin man immediately clarified, his face ashen:

"Although the epidemic is rampant everywhere, Pengzhou has never been infected."

"It was because Hong'er was suffering from malaria that I had to flee into the mountains to avoid the officials. Otherwise, if I left, Hong'er would surely die without anyone to take care of him."

After saying this, the man, with tears in his eyes, embraced the child with deep sorrow.

"Father, don't cry, don't cry..."

The child, unaware of why his father was weeping, awkwardly tried to wipe away the man's tears. Seeing how well-behaved the child was, the man became even more distraught.

Seeing this, both Yi Chuan and Zhang Jiao fell silent.

Yi Chuan knew that malaria was caused by the malignant malaria parasite, which was an incurable disease in this era. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, when Ma Yuan conquered Jiaozhi, "50% of the soldiers died from malaria," referring to this disease.

"Are you from Pengzhou?"

Upon catching the key words, Zhang Jiao exclaimed in surprise.

Pengzhou was his next destination.

The man wiped away his tears: "That's right. I brought Hong'er out here, intending to head north and escape to Longmen and Mianzhu."

Zhang Jiao was taken aback: "Mianzhu? What are you going there for?"

The man's face immediately filled with reverence: "I heard there's a Deer Hall over there, where wandering immortals burn talismans to save people, saving the entire county!"

"I want to try and see if I'm lucky enough to meet that deity and ask for a talisman to save my Hong'er!"