Celestial Taoist

At that time, Li Mofan was a senior in high school. His hometown had a well-known key high school, and the school implemented a schedule of two weeks on and two days off in order to ensure academic performance.

It was a rare day off, and Li Mofan, as usual, rode his electric scooter to the internet cafe in the county town to play a few games.

The country roads in his hometown are winding and lined with dense poplar groves. When the wind blows, the leaves rustle and occasionally a few birds chirp. He hummed a pop song, turned on the scooter, and rode along when he realized something was wrong—he had clearly seen that crooked old poplar tree ahead three times already.

The mud-brick houses by the roadside, the stacks of firewood in the corners, and even the pile of broken tiles on the ground were exactly the same as what he had seen just a few minutes ago. Li Mofan was shocked and suddenly braked his electric scooter. He looked around and saw that the poplar forest was still dense and the path was still winding. No matter which direction he went, he would always end up back under the crooked poplar tree.

"Something's not right, is this... a ghost wall?" Li Mofan felt a chill run down his spine, and his palms became sweaty. He had heard from the elders in his hometown since he was a child that one could occasionally encounter a ghost wall on remote country roads, getting trapped in one place and unable to find a way out. The more anxious he became, the more confused he got, and the more confused he got, the less he could find his way out. He suppressed his panic, turned off his electric scooter, and slowly pushed it forward, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. But after a few steps, the road beneath his feet seemed to be spinning. When he looked up again, the crooked tree was back in front of him. He took out his phone, but it showed that it was out of service.

Just as he was pacing anxiously, a low cough came from the poplar grove, hoarse and aged, unlike the voice of an ordinary person. Li Mofan froze, slowly turning his head to look, and saw a figure slowly emerging from the depths of the grove.

The man was dressed in an unfamiliar outfit—the fabric was a dark blue, the collar and cuffs were embroidered with fine cloud patterns, a black jade belt was tied around his waist, his long hair was tied on top of his head and secured with a jade hairpin, his face was old, and he was leaning on a wooden cane as he walked slowly.

Li Mofan trembled with fear, instinctively taking a step back, his voice shaking slightly: "Who...who are you?!"

The man walked up to him, stopped, and looked him up and down. He uttered a string of obscure words that sounded somewhat like a southern dialect, but it was not quite the same. Li Mofan couldn't understand a single word. He wanted to turn and run, but his legs felt like they were made of lead and he couldn't move. He was extremely panicked and felt like he was about to die.

He asked tremblingly, "I don't understand what you're saying. Can you speak Mandarin?"

The man shook his head and continued muttering in an unintelligible language. As he muttered, he took out a small object from his sleeve—a translucent stone the size of a quail egg, shaped like a magatama.

Before Li Mofan could react, the man stretched out his withered fingers and pinched his wrist. The grip wasn't strong, but Li Mofan couldn't break free. Then, he gently pierced the tip of the translucent stone into Li Mofan's palm. The moment the stone touched Li Mofan's blood, it burst into a dazzling array of colored light, so bright that Li Mofan couldn't open his eyes.

Seeing this, the mysterious old man danced with excitement, shouting and yelling. He didn't even care that his cane and the stone in his hand fell to the ground, which frightened Li Mofan so much that he trembled. After a moment, the man seemed to have a moment of lucidity before stopping his movements, looked in a strange direction in the sky, and then his body exploded, turning into streaks of light.

The immense impact knocked Li Mofan unconscious.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Mofan slowly opened his eyes. The glaring sunlight shone through the gaps in the curtains and fell on his familiar desk, which was piled with his senior year review materials. His favorite sports star posters were on the wall—this was his room, and he was at home.

He sat up abruptly, and the eerie scene in the poplar grove flashed through his mind: a maze of ghosts, a mysterious old man, glowing stones, and the image of the old man exploding into streaks of light—all so vivid it seemed like a dream. He subconsciously raised his hands and examined them carefully. There were no marks on his palms, and no pain on his body, as if the previous scenes were all figments of his imagination.

"How...how did I end up at home?" Li Mofan muttered to himself, his head still spinning and his body feeling weak. He threw off the covers and got out of bed. Just as he reached the doorway, he heard his mother and their neighbor, Aunt Zhang, talking in the living room.

"Thanks to you, Aunt Zhang, otherwise Xiao Fan would have been lying outside for who knows how long." The mother's voice was full of gratitude, and also a little scared.

Aunt Zhang's voice was cheerful, with a hint of concern: "Hey, it's nothing. I went to pick vegetables in the fields this afternoon and passed by the poplar grove at the west end of the village. I saw this child lying by the roadside. I called him several times but he didn't respond, so I quickly called you and together with your husband, we carried the child back."

Li Mofan stood at the door, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly went out. In the living room, his mother was holding a glass of water, and Aunt Zhang was sitting on the sofa. When she saw him come out, they both stopped. "Xiaofan, you're awake? How are you feeling? Is anything bothering you?" His mother rushed forward and touched his forehead, her tone urgent.

Aunt Zhang stood up with a smile: "It's good that you're awake, it's good that you're awake. When I found you, you were lying under the crooked old poplar tree, your eyes closed, your face pale. I was so scared. You wouldn't say anything when I asked you anything. I thought you had heatstroke, so I fanned you for a while. When your dad came, we carried you home."

Li Mofan opened his mouth, but swallowed the words back. Looking at Aunt Zhang's sincere face, he knew she wasn't lying, but the experience in the poplar grove was so real he couldn't ignore it. He looked down at his palms, recalling the earlier scene, and tried to reassure himself that it was probably just heatstroke and a dream.

"I...I'm fine, just a little dizzy." Li Mofan forced a smile, avoiding his mother's gaze. "Aunt Zhang, thank you so much, you've gone to so much trouble."

"Don't be so polite with your auntie." Aunt Zhang waved her hand. "You just woke up, so rest well and drink plenty of water. If you're still not feeling well, have your mother take you to the village doctor. Senior year of high school is tiring, so don't sneak out to play around anymore. Make sure you get plenty of rest."

After Aunt Zhang left, his mother gave him a few more instructions before letting him go back to his room to rest.

Later, he went to that place several times, but there was no trace of what had happened. As time went by and he felt no unusual symptoms, he gradually forgot about it.

Even today, when I see the jade plate in Elder Zhou's hand, the stone looks exactly like the one I remember. It is the same style of stone!

"Give me your hand." Elder Zhou's voice broke Li Mofan's daze, his tone more solemn than before, his fingertips still caressing the jade plate.

Li Mofan subconsciously raised his right hand, his palm slightly clenched. Images from his senior year of high school flashed through his mind, and his hand trembled involuntarily. Master Zhao stood to the side, gently reassuring him, "Don't be nervous, it's just a aptitude test."

Elder Zhou said nothing more, placed the jade plate on Li Mofan's palm, and stirred it a few times. A warm, gentle sensation slowly seeped into Li Mofan's palm and spread throughout his arm.