Chapter 5

After a while, the young man opened his eyes again, took off the clothes that had dried on the branch, put them on, and looked at a mountain peak that had once again disappeared into the mist in the distance. He then turned and walked downstream along the stream.

Compared to when he had first emerged from the lake, his steps were much steadier, as if he had learned to walk or had become accustomed to this body.

The stream bank was misty, but fortunately there were no loose rocks, making it easy to walk. It didn’t take long for him to follow the stream out of the mountains and reach a village.

Farmers tilling the fields, an old man pulling a cart of hay, a woman carrying a meal up the hill, and children playing under a big tree at the village entrance gradually stopped what they were doing and stood still.

The young man in white walked into the village.

The farmer’s hoe fell to the ground, nearly hitting his own foot.

The old man’s pipe fell from his mouth, scalding the donkey pulling the cart, which let out a painful cry.

The woman tightly hugged the food jar in her arms, her mouth open wider than the jar’s mouth.

The children suddenly scattered, running in all directions, and one little girl even burst into tears.

The young man in white stopped, puzzled by what was happening.

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed, and the villagers gathered at the village entrance, their faces filled with awe and tension.

Led by an elder, the villagers awkwardly knelt on the ground, shouting in unison, “Greetings, Master Immortal!”

The young man in white remained unperturbed. Many years ago, he had occasionally walked among mortals and had encountered such scenes many times.

But he soon noticed something unusual. How could these ordinary villagers recognize his true identity?

There was no answer to this question because he didn’t ask, and the villagers naturally didn’t respond.

The villagers looked at him with great enthusiasm, yet with a hint of fear, as if they were looking at the plaque above the county government office.

Being stared at by dozens of people, the young man was not flustered. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Hello.”

“Greetings, Master Immortal!”

Again, it was the elder who led the way, and the villagers responded in a cacophony of voices.

It was as if a ritual had taken place.

The villagers bowed again, and some children who were slow to react were slapped on the buttocks by their parents.

Strangely, the children didn’t cry; they just stared at the young man’s face with wide eyes, as if they were looking at the rarest candy in the world.

Silence fell, and the big tree swayed gently in the breeze, rustling.

No villager dared to speak, maintaining the most respectful posture, slightly bent.

After a long while, the young man in white suddenly said, “I will stay here for a year.”

The elder was shocked, almost disbelieving his ears, and the villagers were also stunned, wondering what the Master Immortal meant.

Seeing their reactions, the young man in white searched his memory and recalled something. It seemed that silver money was very important in the mortal world.

He extended his hand to the elder, and in his palm were dozens of gold leaves.

If it were any other time, these villagers would have been so excited by the sight of the gold leaves that they might have fainted, but at that moment, they just glanced at them and then looked back at the young man in white.

In their eyes, the young man in white was far more beautiful than the gold leaves, and how could they take these gold leaves?

“Master Immortal’s willingness to stay is a blessing for us.”

The elder said uneasily, “But our village is poor, and we cannot find a suitable place for Master Immortal to cultivate.”

The young man in white didn’t know how many things the elder had thought about in such a short time, or what the villagers were thinking.

Of course, he didn’t care. He just knew that the elder had agreed to his request. His gaze swept over the villagers and finally settled on a little boy.

The little boy was a bit dark-skinned, sturdy, and had a simple, honest look that gave the impression of being very sincere.

“Where do you live?”

The young man in white asked the little boy.

The little boy was taken aback and didn’t react until his father gave him a hard slap.

“Genwa, hurry up and lead the way for Master Immortal!”

The elder shouted urgently.

...

...

In a courtyard on the west side of the village, the room was somewhat dim.

The little boy, following his father’s warning, respectfully bowed to the young man in white and was about to leave.

The young man in white suddenly asked, “What’s your name?”

The little boy stopped and said, “Liu Baogen.”

The young man in white was silent for a moment and then asked, “How old are you?”

The little boy said, “Ten years old.”

“Baogen doesn’t sound good.”

The young man in white said, “From now on, you’ll be called Shisui.”

The little boy rubbed the back of his head.

From that day on, he was known as Liu Shisui.

...

...

When Liu Shisui stepped out of the courtyard, he was immediately surrounded by the entire village.

The elder asked with concern, “What did Master Immortal ask you to do?”

Liu Shisui, still dazed, said, “He asked me my age... and gave me a new name.”

The elder was slightly surprised, while the boy’s parents were overjoyed, rubbing their hands together.

Liu Shisui, however, didn’t like the new name and said with a pout, “What kind of strange name is that?”

His father raised his hand to strike him but stopped, remembering the Master Immortal inside the house.

The elder scolded, “Being given a name by Master Immortal is a great blessing, something ordinary people can only dream of. Don’t speak lightly.”

Liu Shisui suddenly remembered the last few words he had said in the house and quickly added, “But he said he’s not a Master Immortal.”

The villagers were puzzled, wondering what else he could be if not a Master Immortal.

“I think he looks a bit like a fool.”

Liu Shisui said honestly, “He even asked me to teach him things.”

The elder hesitated and asked, “What... did Master Immortal want you to teach him?”

Liu Shisui said, “How to make the bed, fold the quilt, wash clothes, cook, chop wood, and farm. Yes, that’s it, I didn’t forget a single word.”

The villagers were very surprised, thinking, “If he can’t even do these things, could it be that the one inside isn’t a Master Immortal but a fool?”

The elder, however, laughed and said, “In the Great Green Mountains, Master Immortal has sword boys to serve him, drinking dew and eating immortal fruits. Why would he do these things?”

...

...

In the following days, the Master Immortal who stayed at the Liu family’s house became the center of attention and discussion for the entire village.

The villagers naturally accepted the elder’s explanation and firmly believed in the Master Immortal’s identity.

The only thing they couldn’t understand was why the Master Immortal didn’t return to the Great Green Mountains but chose to stay in this small village and have the Liu family’s lucky little boy teach him these things.

Liu Shisui, envied and even envied by the villagers, couldn’t understand why someone wouldn’t know how to do such simple things.

That night, he began teaching the other person how to make the bed because the other person needed to sleep.

The next morning, he taught him how to fold the quilt.

Then he realized that the other person had never done such things before!

When he discovered that the other person didn’t know how to do other things either, he was truly stunned.

“Don’t spill the rice when you pour water!”

“Don’t chop the wood too finely; it won’t burn well!”

“Don’t keep the fish scales, gills, or the black parts.”

“Cut once on the left, once on the right, don’t cut through, and there you have it, yes, yes, yes.”

“That’s not a sweet potato, it’s a bitter melon... put it down, Mom doesn’t like it.”

“Don’t plant it too deep!”

...

...

Liu Shisui had always found it hard to believe that there were people who couldn’t distinguish between the five grains or do any physical labor, as he had read in books.

Until he met the young man in white.

But after nine days, he began to doubt his thoughts.

Because the young man in white learned everything he taught in just nine days.

On the first day, the young man in white learned the simplest tasks like making the bed, folding the quilt, chopping wood, and boiling water.

On the second day, he learned more complex household chores, and the Liu family’s courtyard was cleaned to a spotless shine, as if it had been reborn.

On the third day, the young man in white started cooking. After watching for a moment, he learned how to kill chickens, clean fish, chop onions, and peel garlic.

On the fourth, fifth, and sixth days...

On the ninth day, the sun rose as usual, and the young man in white chopped some bamboo and made a reclining chair, even better than the old bamboo craftsman’s work.

...

...

Now, the young man in white could cut the bitter melon into strips two feet long, each slice of the same thickness. The wood he chopped was so beautiful it was indescribable.

Using the same stream water, the same rice, the same sweet potatoes, and the same stove and iron pot, the young man in white cooked rice that was more fragrant than any Liu Shisui had ever tasted.

The young man in white even rebuilt the courtyard wall and repaired the long-neglected eaves, making them look as good as new.

Liu Shisui found it hard to doubt the other person’s identity anymore.

Who else but a Master Immortal could do such things?

Moreover, he had never seen the young man in white wash his clothes.

He couldn’t understand why, after doing so much, the white clothes remained so white, like the best rice.

...

...

(Suddenly thinking of the garlic-peeling girl in white mink from our Northeast...)

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