Chapter 3 Preaching

  After dinner, he hastily extinguished the oil lamp and waited for his sister to fall asleep before quietly slipping out of the door. He wasn't used to sleeping too early, but couldn't disobey his sister, so every night he would sneak out secretly.

  But in this world, there were no computers or televisions. The only entertainment at night was probably the brothels and pleasure boats by the lake. Not to mention that he had no money on him, even if he did, he wouldn't dare go to such a place, his sister would probably kill him!

  Just appreciate the moonlight, it's a relief! But today there is no moonlight at all, only the autumn night stars shining with a hint of cold silence. However, Xu Xian also has a fondness for such nights, perhaps only at this time will he reveal his heart's loneliness without hiding it.

  Yes, his sister treated him like a biological mother, but there were some things she couldn't understand. Having lived two lifetimes, how could the things from his past life be easily cast aside? Xu Xian often had this feeling that he was different from the people around him and was thinking about completely different things.

  Although this world is not in Xu Xian's memory of any dynasty, as long as he casually copies a few poems and lyrics, he can be famous all over the world. He has seen such a completely different world.

  Tonight, Xu Xian was destined not to be lonely. On the small bridge he often wandered around, there was a figure standing at this moment. Xu Xian's heart skipped a beat as he knew that ghosts did exist in this world. Fear of ghosts is the most natural emotion, but Xu Xian soon put his mind at ease, only to find it wasn't a ghost, but the Taoist priest he met today.

  "Daozhang, why don't you go home?" Xu Xian walked forward and asked with concern.

  "The world is my home, yet I have no home. Don't blame me for pushing you today." The Taoist turned back and smiled at Xu Xian.

  "Of course it's strange, but as long as you pass on the immortal method to me, I won't blame you." Xu Xian originally wanted to pretend to be generous and coax that Taoist into giving him the book, but when he spoke, his words changed to reflect what was in his heart. He really wasn't a person skilled at pretending.

  The Taoist burst out laughing: "I wanted to give it to you today, but you didn't want it and instead chose those mundane things. Now that you want it, it's gone. But I ask you, why did you help that rustic pear-seller today? Such a coarse and foolish person, he even wants to drag you to see the official."

  He was indeed stingy, but it was a fair deal and he wasn't a bad person. On the other hand, you not only took someone else's pear, but also chopped off their cart handle. You may have felt relieved, but you didn't consider others' feelings at all.

  The Taoist said angrily: "I am just lightly punishing him, hoping that he will be warned and not continue to be stingy because of his own nature. Otherwise, what he loses in the future will not just be pears."

  "That's his nature, just like birds are meant to fly and fish are meant to swim. As long as he doesn't interfere with others, let him be. Why must you force it? You follow your own desires, eating pears when you want, being vigilant when you want, and yet you have the nerve to criticize others." Xu Xian regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth. Not to mention the other's magical abilities, but even a grown man like him wasn't someone he could handle if he got angry.

  The Taoist glared at him, and Xu Xian became nervous, but he didn't expect the Taoist to suddenly burst out laughing. "Things follow their natural course, and cannot be forced. Things follow their natural course, and cannot be forced. Master, master, it turns out that I was the one who had been acting arbitrarily all along!"

  "It's nothing, I'll go back first, you hurry up and find a place to sleep. There is a temple on the north mountain, although it's where monks live, they are all Buddhist monks, they should be able to accommodate you for one night." Xu Xian finished speaking and turned around to leave, but the Taoist's words were like a immobilization technique that kept Xu Xian rooted to the spot.

  "Do you want to learn my way?"

  Xu Xian immediately turned around and said: "Think, extremely think." His eyes were almost brighter than the stars. This kind of thing, it's impossible not to think about.

  The Taoist couldn't help but secretly laugh, after all, he was still a child. However, this kind of genuine and unpretentious nature was what he liked about him. He had traveled to the three mountains and five peaks, seen all sorts of people, and if someone's words didn't match their heart, they couldn't escape his eyes. And for someone with such abilities, the most unbearable were those who pretended to be clever and deceitful.

  During the day, everything about Xu Xian fell into his eyes. He saw that Xu Xian was mature and kind-hearted as a young man, but not a fame-seeker, so he had the intention of accepting him as an apprentice. Tonight's conversation also made him aware that Xu Xian was discerning and not just a muddle-headed good person, which made him even more pleased.

  "Although you have a precocious mind, your talent is only average, and your intelligence is just mediocre. This is the first difficulty. To practice this way, one must be willing to make sacrifices like dripping water on stone, but I observe that you are not someone with great perseverance. Furthermore, it's even more difficult, in the end, perhaps you won't achieve anything, and will have wasted your time in vain. And yet, you still want to learn."

  "Want to learn, want to learn." Xuxian thought to himself, even if it doesn't work out, performing magic tricks isn't bad either! Xuxian thought this way, but didn't think of stealing, didn't think of robbing.

  "When I was young, I abandoned my wife and children to devote myself to this way. But now that I've ended up with nothing but a tattered reputation, do you still want to learn from me?"

  "Want to learn, want to learn." Xuxian thought: My future wife is a thousand years of cultivation, did I throw it away?

  "Alright, let's establish our master-disciple relationship and I'll teach you this way."

  Xu Xian was overjoyed in his heart, but when he looked at the Taoist master, he saw a sorrowful expression on his face. His heart skipped a beat as he asked, "Taoist Master, are you regretting now?"

  The Taoist furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, then resolutely said: "This is what I have sought all my life, no regrets."

  "Any regrets?" Xū Xiān murmured. These two words, yet unknowingly containing so much determination and heartache, but in this life, no matter how one ends up, as long as they can ask themselves with sincerity, leaving behind the words "no regrets", then it's not a life lived in vain.

  Xu Xian sighed inexplicably from the bottom of his heart, but he was happy for him. At this moment, he also wanted to ask himself, did you regret it? The past events flashed before his eyes, but he couldn't figure out whether he was regretful or not. However, since heaven has given him a new life, he should live it well without complaints or regrets.

  Just as Xu Xian was lost in thought, the Taoist pointed at him like a sword and swiftly touched his brow. Before Xu Xian could react, he felt as if the sky had collapsed and the earth had cracked open in his mind. He wanted to cry out in pain, but his body couldn't move on its own. The feeling lasted for what seemed like an eternity, but was actually only a brief moment. In that instant, Xu Xian felt like he had been pulled out of water, with sweat soaking through his entire body. He felt as if many things had appeared in his mind, but they were elusive and couldn't be found. He raised his head to ask Master...

  The Taoist simply said: "Go away!" and wouldn't look at him again.

  Xu Xian's head was muddled, and he mechanically walked towards home, but after just two steps, he suddenly came to his senses and turned back. "Master, the book?" He was still thinking about that secret manual.

  The Taoist listened and was slightly stunned, then laughed and scolded: "You won't be satisfied until you've made me lose all my old capital." He took out a book from his bosom and threw it to Xu Xian. Xu Xian caught it and looked at it, the cover had three ancient seals, which he vaguely recognized as the characters for "Tao Te Ching".

  Just wanted to discuss with the master, but found that the bridge was empty, and the Taoist's shadow had long since disappeared. Helpless in my heart, I felt like I had been working all day, my body heavy with fatigue, only wanting to fall asleep. Could only force myself to walk home.

  At this time, the lights of the Wan family were extinguished one by one, and only the stars in the sky remained forever. The Taoist priest looked at Xu Xian's stumbling figure leaving, and pondered silently.

  "Misty mountains, vast human world. Who led you to this path, right or wrong? Xu Xian, Xu Xian, are you truly a man like your name, willing to devote this body to the immortal way?"

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