Wu Zhou.
Ning Province, Dongyang Prefecture, north of Langyu County.
Green hills hazy, mist and clouds drifting. In the distance, the undulating terrain resembled swimming cloud dragons and water fish, like a few strokes of light ink splashed across paper, the poetic mood springing vividly to life.
Though not a celestial mountain of divine veins, it abounded in spirit bamboo and featured nine peaks, hence the name Nine Bamboo Mountain, enjoying modest renown within Ning Province.
Following the mossy stone steps up through the mountain forest, one could find an unassuming Daoist temple nestled on an unassuming peak.
Worn down by wind and rain, cracks ran across the outer walls of the temple, the plaque was long gone, the front courtyard was overgrown with weeds, and a lush green potted plant sat mounded right in the center...
A closer look would reveal that this was no potted landscape at all, but rather a cauldron-shaped incense burner that had been abandoned for years and taken over by vegetation.
To take back what was said earlier, this temple was not entirely inconspicuous—at least the mottled traces left by the passage of time could be seen everywhere.
"Disciple, Master's time is running out, and I haven't much longer in this world. I shall leave you a few last words, so listen carefully..."
Beneath an old tree in the back courtyard, an old man and a youth sat cross-legged on the ground. The old Daoist had a crane-like complexion and youthful hair, stroking his goatee in high spirits. "No need to grieve; birth, old age, sickness, and death are the common lot of humanity. Do not put on a tearful display."
Opposite him, the youth raised a hand to touch the slightly dry corners of his eyes and nodded heavily. "Understood."
"Rest assured, though Master has little time left, I have already sent word to your Senior Sister Bai. She will carefully guide you in the ways of cultivation. Thirty years ago, she was the prime disciple of the Lingxiao Sword Sect, and presumably now..."
"Speaking of the Lingxiao Sword Sect, I rather miss it. What a pity; had I not carelessly heavily injured the sect master senior brother back then, I certainly would have gone back for a look before dying."
"Never mind, times have changed, no use dwelling on such idle talk..."
"..."
An hour later, the youth blinked dazedly, looking at the still-chattering dying man, and secretly stretched his stiff legs and feet.
What the hell? They said it was just a few simple final words, so why was the old man getting more and more energetic the more he talked?
Could it really be a ghost?
"Oh, right, disciple."
Realizing he had been rambling on, the old Daoist coughed lightly into a fist and assumed a solemn expression. "Master knows that taking you on as a disciple was not your wish, and you hold a grudge over this. But Master is certainly not lying to you; with your aptitude, it would be a waste not to cultivate immortality."
The youth's mouth twitched. Forgive him for being straightforward and clever since childhood—it was blatantly obvious that the old Daoist had one foot in the grave and knew his time was short, so he had simply picked a random lucky spectator.
And he just happened to be standing close by.
"Ah, right, disciple, Master..."
The old Daoist coughed repeatedly, raising his sleeve to cover half his aged face. "Time was short, and Master was in such a rush on the journey here that I forgot to ask your name... Uh, what is your name?"
Lu Bei: "..."
Not short at all; just reviewing the revolving lantern of his past life consumed two whole hours in one breath.
"Virtuous disciple?!"
"Lu Bei."
"A fine name. Master is Mo Buxiu, the sect master of the Feathering Sect at Sanqing Peak on Nine Bamboo Mountain. After I die, you shall inherit the position of sect master."
Brushing past the awkwardness with a wave of his hand, the old Daoist pointed all around, trying to restore his previous solemnity. "Doubtless you have already noticed, disciple, that this place is blessed with outstanding people and divine energy—it is none other than the Feathering Sect of Sanqing Peak. From this day forward, you are the master of the house."
Lu Bei: "..."
So the "outstanding people" referred to him, and "divine energy" referred to the overgrown vegetation?
If so, he found it hard to argue.
Clearly, Mo Buxiu's struggle was in vain. The moment master and disciple exchanged names, any solemn atmosphere vanished, and this place of outstanding people and divine energy made the awkwardness reach its absolute peak.
Master and disciple stared at each other in blank dismay for a long while before Mo Buxiu finally offered an explanation: he had a restless nature and spent years cultivating and traveling outside, so weeds growing around the house was entirely reasonable and logical.
"Well, disciple, enough nonsense; Master's time really is running out."
Seeing Lu Bei showing signs of making a run for it, Mo Buxiu dug a Qiankun Pouch from his robes, grabbed Lu Bei's hand, shoved it into his grasp, and spoke at lightning speed. "The sect master's seal and the land deeds are both in here. Inside there is also a copy of the [Embryonic Breathing Qi-Supplementing Formula], which Master obtained in the far west of Kunlun. Although this manual takes an unorthodox path, its concept is exceptionally lofty; it is a rare and marvelous book in this world. Master's realm is too high and I can no longer study it, but since you are just entering the path, it is precisely—"
Before he could finish, the light in Mo Buxiu's eyes scattered, the hand clutching Lu Bei went limp and dropped, and he fell silent without a sound.
His departure was so sudden that Lu Bei couldn't believe it for a moment. Mo Buxiu, who had been full of vigor and yabbering away for two hours just a moment ago, was gone just like that. He raised two fingers and placed them beneath the old man's nostrils.
He had just tested it!
Slap!
Mo Buxiu batted Lu Bei's hand away, took a deep breath, and said, "Continuing on, where was I? Ah yes, although Master has little time left, I have already sent word to your Senior Sister Bai. Regarding cultivation... Wait, why is that Qiankun Pouch in your hand?"
Lu Bei: "..."
"Oh, I remember, I already said that part!"
Mo Buxiu slapped his own forehead in sudden realization. "Look at Master's brain; it stops working even before I'm dead."
If you slapped yourself a little harder, it really might stop working for good!
Lu Bei rolled his eyes. If he hadn't put up some resistance on the way here and found out he couldn't beat the old man, he would have given Mo Buxiu a fierce punch right in the face.
Oh well, forget it. The dead deserved respect, and Mo Buxiu was essentially dead for all practical purposes; as a living man, bickering with a corpse was just asking for trouble.
"Disciple, although Master cannot teach you cultivation, cultivating immortality is about more than just cultivation. Master has a saying here that you must keep firmly in mind."
Mo Buxiu withdrew a wooden box from the Qiankun Pouch and placed it in Lu Bei's hands. "Harbor no intentions to harm others, but be ever on guard against others harming you. Keep this copy of the [Embryonic Breathing Qi-Supplementing Formula] safe, and tell no one—not even your senior sister."
What did that mean? Was his senior sister not a good person?
Lu Bei frowned, nodded without saying anything further, and right in front of Mo Buxiu, stuffed the book from the wooden box into his robes.
"With this, Master has no more regrets, except..."
As he spoke, Mo Buxiu stared unblinkingly at Lu Bei. "Disciple, have you noticed that since taking me as your master, you haven't called me 'Master' even once?"
Stared at by those affectionate eyes, Lu Bei shivered. Was it his imagination, or were those eyes brimming with greasy affection?
For a moment, he felt thoroughly sick to his stomach.
Thinking back on the process of being forced into discipleship, his heart was full of reluctance. But then reflecting that Mo Buxiu really didn't have much time left, and this was likely a flash in the pan before death, delaying a moment longer might cause the old fellow to pass away with unresolved regrets.
He was rather pitiful, after all.
Ultimately, facing that gaze full of hopeful expectation, Lu Bei took a deep breath and said solemnly:
"Master."
"Good! Good! Good..."
Mo Buxiu clapped and cheered, then lowered his head with a smile, going completely still once more.
Lu Bei: "..."
Having the previous precedent, he wasn't entirely sure if history might repeat itself, so he waited a moment before cautiously testing Mo Buxiu's breath.
To his surprise, before his fingertips even came within a palm's width of Mo Buxiu, the old Daoist's body rapidly turned to sand, scattering into a pile of white ash across the ground.
As Lu Bei stood in a daze, a vortex stirred up beside him from the wooden box, sucking the white ash neatly inside. The entire traditional funeral was completed in just a few breaths, leaving only the celebratory banquet missing from the conclusion.
"Well, that's..."
Lu Bei was momentarily at a loss for words. "That's... convenient."
He tucked away the Qiankun Pouch, picked up the wooden box, and wandered around the Daoist temple. After searching for a while, he finally found an ancestral offering table inside the dilapidated main hall.
The rear wall looked sturdy enough, and the roof didn't seem like it would suddenly collapse; it was just that he had come at a bad time—there were already occupants living beneath the table.
A litter of foxes darted out, yelping frantically for a moment, attempting to scare off the uninvited guest with sheer numbers.
However, it was completely useless. With a fierce stomp of Lu Bei's foot, the four foxes immediately shut up and fled, diving into a hole in the wall and disappearing into the mountain forest.
"Foxes in this world can cultivate into demons. If I chase this batch of tenants away, will a vixen sneak in tonight to seduce me?" Lu Bei put down the wooden box, reflecting that he had been careless before. Considering he couldn't carry heavy loads or lift anything heavy—the standard template of a frail scholar—figuring out how to spend the night on the mountain was indeed a difficult problem.
Go down the mountain?
Going down the mountain was out of the question. He had seen clearly on the way up: the mountain paths and stone steps were rugged and steep, which was deeply unfriendly to someone with acrophobia.
Most importantly, he was starving.
After failing in his attempts to open the Qiankun Pouch, Lu Bei made the tragic discovery that he was trapped on the mountain. For now, aside from the Senior Sister Bai he had never met, the only thing he could count on was a vixen returning tonight to seek revenge.
"I hope Senior Sister comes soon..."
Lu Bei muttered to himself, closed his eyes, and brought up his status panel.
Name: Lu Bei
Race: Human
Template: NPC
Level: 3
Experience: 250/900
Cultivation: 30/30
HP: 22/30 (Hungry, Frightened, Fatigued)
Main Class: None
Secondary Class: Farmer Lv1
Attributes: Strength 2, Speed 3, Spirit 3, Stamina 3, Charm 3, Luck 3
Evaluation: Have some self-awareness, is there anything even good about this evaluation?!
Newbie with a new book! Begging for bookmarks!