Leaving home
Winter, the first year of Tianshou.
Emperor Wu ascended the throne and changed the dynasty's name to Zhou. This marked the first winter of the Great Zhou. Every city within the Great Zhou territory diligently prepared for a lively New Year celebration, showcasing the new dynasty's prosperity and pleasing His Majesty. Shendu, the capital of the Great Zhou, was no exception.
This city, first the Eastern Capital of the Tang Dynasty, then the Capital of the Tang Dynasty, and finally the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, was densely populated, with houses scattered across its streets. When the city's markets were open, they were bustling with people: foreign women buying wine, foreign merchants, common people in coarse linen, and nobles in brocade.
At a time of prosperity, the Xiao family in Guanglifang next to the West Market was indeed in a gloomy mood.
"Court keeper, do you think my daughter can be saved?" Master Xiao was standing by, rubbing his hands anxiously.
The white-haired doctor lowered his hand and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do."
Mrs. Xiao, holding her daughter, could no longer hold back her sadness and tears flowed down her face.
"Master, can you please ask a doctor to see Wan Niang again? She is only five years old!" After Master Xiao sent the doctor away, Mrs. Xiao grabbed his sleeve.
Mr. Xiao also looked sad, but there was nothing he could do.
"Given our family's financial situation, we can't afford to hire a doctor, no matter how good he is. Doctor Zhang couldn't even tell what illness Xiao Wan'er has." Doctor Zhang was already the most experienced doctor in the vicinity of West City. If they continued to search, even if they could find a doctor who could cure Xiao Wan'er's illness, the Xiao family, who were just small merchants, would find it difficult to afford the medical fees and medicine.
The couple had no choice but to do their best to prepare some good burial items for their daughter.
That night, someone knocked on the door of Xiao's house. The doorman opened the door with a lamp and saw a young man wearing a lotus crown and a green round-necked robe.
"I am a leisurely Taoist priest who traveled to the capital of gods and wanted to find a place to stay. I wonder if your master could let me stay for one night?" The young Taoist priest was handsome and elegant, so the doorman immediately went to ask Mr. Xiao for permission.
Not long after, he returned and led the Taoist priest into the Xiao residence.
The Taoist priest followed the doorman into the main hall and saw Mr. Xiao sitting in the main seat.
"Master Taoist, you have come from afar to bring honor to my humble home." Even though he was sad, Mr. Xiao was still polite when facing the Taoist priest.
The Taoist priest did not return the greeting. He stared at Master Xiao for a long time. When Master Xiao's body was covered with hair, he said slowly, "There will be a funeral in your family soon."
Mr. Xiao's expression changed immediately, but the Taoist's next sentence made him feel relieved.
"The person in your family who is about to pass away is probably still very young, and his illness is quite strange. Several doctors have been consulted, but none of them can cure him, and they can't even diagnose what the illness is. Is what Xiaodao said correct?"
"That's right," Mr. Xiao nodded vigorously, "Can the Taoist priest save my daughter?"
"Let me see your daughter first." The Taoist priest did not agree directly.
The excited Mr. Xiao asked the only servant in the house to entertain the Taoist priest well, and he returned to his bedroom to wake up Mrs. Xiao. After listening to Mr. Xiao's account of what happened, Mrs. Xiao quickly put on her clothes and carried Xiao Wan'er to the main hall.
The Taoist priest carefully examined her face and asked about her birth date before replying, "Your daughter can be saved, but you must follow me and become a nun. This will end your relationship with you two."
Both Mr. Xiao and Mrs. Xiao had red eyes, but they made the decision without hesitation.
It is better for parents and children to break up than to watch their daughter die.
The next morning, the Taoist priest carried Xiao Wan'er out of the Xiao family's house and walked all the way out of Shendu City. Miraculously, from the moment she left home, Xiao Wan'er, who had been on the verge of death, actually began to recover.
Xiao Wan'er felt as if she had been ill for a long time. At first, she could barely maintain consciousness, hearing the sighs of her father and brothers, her mother's sobs, and the doctors' apologies as they came and went. Later, her consciousness grew increasingly hazy, and she felt like she was asleep most of the time, waking only to find herself in her mother's arms and tears. She didn't know how long ago she had fallen completely asleep, feeling as if everything was drifting away. Only now, she had regained some consciousness.
She struggled to open her eyes and saw the back of a head. She was lying on the back of the owner of the head, bobbing up and down. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she had no strength and soon fell into a coma again.
When she opened her eyes again, Xiao Wan'er found herself lying in an unfamiliar room. The room was small, but the walls, furniture, and ornaments were all elegant, a quality she would never see at home.
She was struggling to get up when a hearty voice came from outside the door.
"Awake?" The Taoist priest, now in a moon-white round-necked robe with the lotus crown still on his head, walked into the room. "I figured you'd wake up by now, so I came over to see you. Sure enough, you're awake."
"Who are you?" Xiao Wan'er looked at him blankly.
"My name is Liu Yunlan. I'm a Taoist priest, also known as Liuyun. I'm also your master." He sat on the chair beside the bed. "Do you know what a Taoist priest is?"
"I don't know." Xiao Wan'er opened her confused eyes and told the truth.
Liuyun sighed helplessly.
"Well, you're only five, so it's normal you don't know. A Taoist is someone who follows the Great Dao, whose body and mind are in harmony with nature, who obeys the Dao and acts according to it. Well, this is indeed difficult to understand." Xiao Wan'er's confusion was obvious, and he understood it immediately. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it now. You will understand it in the future."
As she was speaking, Xiao Wan'er's stomach began to make loud noises. Liuyun stopped the topic at the right time and left the room. A few moments later, he returned with a bowl of millet porridge.
"You've just recovered from a serious illness and haven't eaten in a long time. You shouldn't eat too much, and you should mainly eat liquid food. Can you hold the bowl by yourself?"
Xiao Wan'er nodded, took the bowl, and slowly drank the porridge mouthful by mouthful. The bowl was also made of white porcelain.
Liuyun took the bowl and explained the situation to Xiao Wan'er: "You were seriously ill before, and you couldn't be cured at home. Your parents wanted to make you better, so they asked me to take you away and accept you as their apprentice."
When Xiao Wan'er heard her parents let the person in front of her take her away, her eyes turned red and tears began to well up in her eyes.
"Oh, don't cry," Liuyun, who had never taught a child before, was in a dilemma. "Your parents didn't abandon you. They were trying to save you. Don't cry. I'm your father from now on, okay?"
Xiao Wan'er finally stopped crying. After tossing and turning for so long, she was already weak and sleepy again, so Liuyun let her continue to rest.
This time, Xiao Wan'er's sleepiness was significantly shorter. When she woke up, Liuyun had brought her a bowl of medicinal soup in addition to the millet porridge. After Xiao Wan'er drank it with a bitter face, three cherries appeared in front of her.
"This is a reward for children who drink their medicine properly." Liuyun smiled and put the cherry in her hand.
This time, Xiao Wan'er's lucidity lasted significantly longer than the last time. She remained awake for an hour before falling asleep again. Afterward, each subsequent bout of drowsiness became shorter, while her lucidity became longer. A month later, her daily routine finally returned to normal, and she could even walk.
Xiao Wan'er finally left the small house where she'd been recuperating. The house was built on the hillside. Looking out into the distance, all she could see was lush greenery, with no sign of life. Turning back, she could see a Taoist temple. It wasn't large, just a few rooms scattered irregularly along the mountainside. The center room was slightly grander than the others. A plaque hung above the gate, inscribed with the three characters "Biyun Temple" in bold, powerful calligraphy. It was the temple's main hall.
There are several farmlands near the Taoist temple, some of which are used to grow crops and some to grow vegetables. The farmland is not large, and it is not known whether the output is enough for the Taoist priests in the temple to eat.
Xiao Wan'er, curious, walked towards the main hall. Beyond the gate, she was greeted by a completely different world. From the outside, the main hall looked unremarkable, its tiles covered in a grayish hue. Aside from the extended eaves and larger brackets, it was no different from any other house. But upon entering, Xiao Wan'er was struck by the sturdy pillars. The hall's ornaments lacked gold or silver, mostly simple wooden objects or elegant porcelain. The calligraphy and paintings on the walls were mostly cursive script and landscapes. Opposite the gate, an old man was enshrined. Curious, Xiao Wan'er leaned over to examine the statue.
"Are you interested?" Xiao Wan'er was watching when a voice suddenly rang out from behind her. She turned around and jumped to the side, only to see that it was Liu Yun.
She said directly: "Daddy!"
"Call me Master." Liuyun corrected.
Xiao Wan'er stared at him intently. After a moment, she pursed her lips and finally changed her tone: "Master."
"This house is both the main hall of Biyun Temple and my master's residence," Liuyun introduced to Xiao Wan'er. "My master is the abbot of Biyun Temple, which means leader. Our Biyun Temple is different from most other Taoist temples. The disciples here can practice cultivation and are considered cultivators."
"Practice? Cultivator?" These were two words Xiao Wan'er had never heard of before.
"Yes, just like an immortal. He can become stronger and stronger, and after becoming stronger, he can control the clouds and rain, predict the future, use various spells and talismans, have a force more powerful than that of a general, and cure diseases that doctors cannot cure and save people that doctors cannot save." Liuyun introduced the monk to Xiao Wan'er with a smile, like an elder coaxing a child with candied fruit.
Xiao Wan'er was indeed attracted by his introduction, her eyes lit up and she was extremely fascinated.
"Can I become an immortal too?" she asked Liuyun expectantly.
"Of course you can. As long as you practice diligently, you can become like an immortal and possess the abilities I mentioned."
Xiao Wan'er smiled her first happy smile in days. Then, as if something suddenly occurred to her, she asked Liuyun, "Are you the only one here, Master?"
Liuyun's originally smiling expression froze in an instant. After a long pause, he said, "You have another senior brother. We now have three people in Biyun Temple. Cultivators are different from ordinary Taoists. Our Taoist temple does not judge by the number of people. As long as the disciples are strong, it is enough."
"Then how strong are you, Master?"
Hearing this question, Liuyun puffed out his chest proudly.
"I am not a talented teacher, but I happen to be the strongest in the current cultivation world."
When Xiao Wan'er saw him like this, for some reason, she felt that his future in the cultivation world was bleak.
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