Miraculous Taoist priests ; Yan’er Seeks Master
The Mystery of the Red Gourd
Zhou Chun and Yan'er stepped into the House of Flavors tavern when Zhou's gaze suddenly locked onto an object hanging behind the counter—a red lacquered wine
His pupils narrowed. This is the same gourd carried by that disheveled Daoist we met at the foot of Mount Emei!
Yet scanning the room, the man was nowhere in sight—unless he'd turned invisible after one too many drinks.
"Master, could it be a coincidence?" Yan'er whispered, eyeing the gourd as if it might sprout legs and run.
Zhou Chun ignored him and beckoned the waiter with the urgency of a man who'd just spotted free dumplings.
"Where did you get that gourd? It looks… handy."
The waiter grinned like a fox who'd found the henhouse key.
"Ah, sir, that's not ours! Five days ago, a shabby Daoist stumbled in—looked like he'd wrestled a mud demon, but boy, could he drink! Ten pounds of liquor a day! He'd pass out, wake up, and start guzzling again. Odd duck, that one. This morning, he claimed he 'forgot his purse'—classic move—and pawned the gourd, saying someone would come to settle his tab within two hours. Guess you're his fairy godmother?"
Zhou Chun listened, and thought about it for a while.
"How much does he owe? We'll cover it."
The waiter hesitated for a moment and stared at Zhou, afraid that he would take the gourd. "Uh... Taoist priests are regulars. We don't mind..."
Yan'er opened his mouth—likely to ask why they were funding a stranger's bender—but Zhou silenced him with a glance sharp enough to slice tofu.
"No need for suspicion," Zhou said coolly. "The Daoist is an old friend. We'll pay his debt. Keep the gourd safe until he returns—don't let anyone else take it. ."
The waiter realizes his mistake and accepts
Once outside, Yan'er burst out, "Master, that Daoist—"
"Hush! Move!" Zhou quickened his pace.
He had a hunch that this sloppy Taoist priest was definitely not simple.
Secrets in the Cotton Robe
At Yan'er's humble cottage,
Yan'er rushed into her arms, while Zhou stared at a bundle on the table—a familiar cotton robe lay atop it.
"Master, isn't that the robe you gave the Daoist?!" Yan'er exclaimed.
Zhao Granny trembled like a leaf in a typhoon.
"A few days ago, a strange Taoist priest came to me, and he said that Lord Zhou 'it is inconvenient to bring money on the road', and help you bring this bag of things and cotton robes. Also claims that you will be here soon this time today... Sure enough, I just came out to wait for you, and you're here!
Zhou unwrapped the bundle—
"It's him!" Zhou slapped his thigh fiercely, shocked.
"I met him in Mount Emei, which is more than 50 kilometers away from here, and he is a few days faster than us? He is really not an ordinary person.
Zhao Granny muttered prayers loud enough to be heard in the next province as Zhou broached his plan:
"Yan'er is talented. I want to take him to the Sword Immortal for apprenticeship."
Tearfully, the old woman agreed.
"Without you, we'd have starved. Let him learn from a true master!"
Zhou returned to the tavern the next day, hoping to meet the enigmatic Daoist.
The waiter replied,
"Yesterday the man came back, as if in a hurry, went in and took his precious gourd and left." I told him that someone had returned his wine list, and he said he already knew about it, and said he would meet you in Chengdu. After saying that, he disappeared. "
Disappointed but undeterred—much like a man who'd lost his umbrella but kept walking in the rain—Zhou and Yan'er set off for the capital.
Peril on the Mountain Pass
A few days later, he encountered a fork in the road, and Zhou Chun hesitated.
The road is safe, but it's far away; Although this trail can save nearly 400 kilometers... But there are rumors that there are man-eating yokai here in the trail.
"Let's take shortcuts!" Zhou decided that he felt that his martial arts were good and that he was not afraid of these.
As they trekked through the ancient forest where the sun did not dare to tread, Yan'er gulped water from the stream, while Zhou Chun saw a
When he looked up, the crane was gone.
"It's the third time." Since he came out, he has met the crane three times.
It's been a long time.
"Master, look!" Yan'er pointed at a boulder, his voice squeakier than a rusty hinge.
An eight-foot-tall white crane stood regally, crimson-crowned and golden-eyed, looking like it had just walked out of a mythological painting.
Suddenly, a seven-foot green serpent shot from the rocks.The white crane pecked away like lightning, but the snake body "slipped away" into the stone cave.
The crane's beak pecked at the stones, and the boulders shattered into slag in the blink of an eye! The green snake had nowhere to hide, and as soon as it poked its head out, it was caught.
The snake body instantly wrapped around the crane's legs, but the white crane was not in a hurry, first pecked off the snake's head, and then shook its wings, the snake's body was broken into dozens of pieces, and all of them were eaten into the crane's belly!
With a long scream, the white crane flew into the clouds in the blink of an eye and disappeared.
"This white crane is incredible!" Yan'er was in great shock.
Zhou dragged him away. "We need shelter before dark.
A Haunted Night
At dusk, they found a dilapidated house Zhou knocked the door.
A weak voice groaned, "Leave... This place is dangerous!"
"We seek shelter—"
"I've been poisoned! If you get close, you will die! "
The man gasped heavily, "If the guest officer wants to stay overnight, go southwest to more than five miles, where there is a thatched hermitage where a Baiyun master lives, you can go and beg her to spend the night."
And then he did not hear a word. Seeing that there was no sound, Zhou Chun, who was curious by nature, jumped over the wall and entered.
Moonlight revealed a man sprawled on a vine bed, his arm marked by seven crimson moles arranged like a cursed constellation.
"Why won't you listen? I'm cursed! Bring food… then flee! Unless you fancy becoming snake chow!"
Zhou Chun wanted to help him, but he kept refusing, saying that Zhou Chun would die if he stayed.
Zhou Chun thought for a moment, and then left him food.
But when Zhou Chun came out, he froze.
The air thickened with dread.
Yan'er was gone!
"Yan'er! YAN'ER!" His shouts echoed through the valley, unanswered except by the mocking chirp of crickets.