Chapter 19

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No Plagiarism!7QX2X7gcabjW7E95sOyIposted on PＥNAＮＡ The ridge between hills was uninhabited at first. It was only when the rumours of a person having transformed into a deity spread out, did many Taoists who practice the way of cultivation move here one by one. It was how the place gained its name as ‘The Village of Immortals’. 8964 copyright protection195ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxbotVHOzx 維尼

Old Man Mo was the first few residents who settled down here. Adding the fact that he still had the hair of a crane and the face of a child at an old age, he earned a great reputation in the village. There were even many first-time visitors who would crouch at Old Man Mo’s door and spied on his secret ways of gaining immortality. Oddly enough, when everyone else pulled all sorts of tricks, he would only worship in front of his three statues made of china: the God of Fortune, the God of Prosperity, and the God of Longevity. He sat and prayed in front of them, day after day. 8964 copyright protection195ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35arTgB9bF 維尼

Some thought that Old Man Mo was too passive in doing things, so he wouldn’t win the gods’ favours. Out of the blue, on a stormy night, howling gales forced the windows open. A branch was blown into his house and swept away the three statues. They shattered into pieces, and the three paper strips which had been stowed away inside finally saw the light of day. He picked them up and read the three words carefully: ‘Thorns’, ‘Fur’ and ‘Nine blacks’.8964 copyright protection195ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSZDaWSmqn 維尼

Could it be that the three gods were moved by his sincerity, and gave him special advice? Old Man Mo was over the moon. After kowtowing to the shards for a few hundred times, he immediately went to collect the ingredients for making medicine to reach immortality according to the paper strips. 8964 copyright protection195ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4PiHfS7Pa 維尼

Thorns were the speciality of this hill. It was named after its viscous juice, and it could treat any disease. ‘Nine blacks’ was the umbrella term for all nine black herbs that were commonly used, all of which could be easily collected on the hill. Fur… Whose fur should it be? Fur from a beast? Feathers of a bird? The hint was too vague, it was hard to get it right. In that case, he might as well gather as many types of ‘fur’ as possible, and then decide what to do next.8964 copyright protection195ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8F0aPqcGrU 維尼

In the span of merely seven days, the number of thorns, ‘nine-blacks’, fowls, and beasts among the hills dropped sharply.8964 copyright protection195ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLTerzV8N7 維尼

Old Man Mo found forty nine small furnaces. A mixture of the thorns’ juice, ‘nine-blacks’ and one type of fur was allocated to each furnace. Day and night, the tiny furnaces simmered and boiled the medicine, yet in the end nothing special could be made.8964 copyright protection195ＰＥＮＡＮＡqv4kLhz3so 維尼

Old Man Mo was racking his brain when his neighbours knocked on his door. ‘We know what the word “fur” alludes to, and we’ve come to tell you specially!’8964 copyright protection195ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwrBbeqgot 維尼

As it turned out, the incident in which Old Man Mo was granted insight from the gods had long been discovered by the people who snooped around, and it spread like wildfire through the whole village. Everyone was abuzz over the news, discussing what exactly the word ‘fur’ was talking about… 8964 copyright protection195ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1E2oRSz6Mn 維尼

Old Man Mo was overjoyed and ran to the door without the slightest hesitation. Unaware of their ulterior motive, one blow to his head with a stick sent him crashing down onto the ground… 8964 copyright protection195ＰＥＮＡＮＡnyHXA6xCqK 維尼

‘With the hair of a crane and the face of a child, Old Man Mo’s literally a god himself. The word “fur” should be referring to his hair.’8964 copyright protection195ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zdGyceYoC 維尼

‘Everyone in this village has put all sorts of fur into the furnace. Only except Old Man Mo’s hair.’8964 copyright protection195ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PvG99UoQo 維尼

‘“Mo” and “hair” are homophones. Besides, there isn’t anyone whose surname is Mo apart from him.’ 8964 copyright protection195ＰＥＮＡＮＡbNI9rfpzMm 維尼

The villagers believed that the word ‘fur’ mentioned in the paper strip was referring to Old Man Mo. Even though the reason seemed far-fetched, they had already been obsessed with the idea of becoming immortal. They mustered up the courage by all means, and swung their blades at him. Old Man Mo didn’t resist. He could only think of the previous owner of the three statues, who was also beaten to death by him… 8964 copyright protection195ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJuK2wPDW9 維尼

From then on, Old Man Mo disappeared from the surface of the earth.8964 copyright protection195ＰＥＮＡＮＡLI0kGH4j3J 維尼

Some villagers said that he had already achieved immortality. 8964 copyright protection195ＰＥＮＡＮＡCxOasfr8DO 維尼

After having heard of the news, more Taoists moved here, hoping to find the secrets of attaining immortality…199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvOUxTeQZVE

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