Wandering (Part 1)
In late summer, in the training ground behind Biyun Temple, Xiao Wan'er was practicing with Pei Yingguan.
Ever since Xiao Wan'er entered the Dao realm, Liuyun had established a rule that every ten days, Pei Yingguan and Xiao Wan'er, both at the Daoist level, would practice sparring. In the early days, Xiao Wan'er would often be defeated within a few moves, but now, Xiao Wan'er could fight Pei Yingguan back and forth.
At this moment, swords flashed and magic mingled in the training grounds, the two evenly matched men fighting fiercely. Suddenly, Pei Yingguan seized a flaw and slashed with his heavy sword, shattering Xiao Wan'er into pieces. Then, an arrow flew past Pei Yingguan's ear. Pei Yingguan suddenly realized something and looked behind him.
"Brother, thank you for letting me." The ten-year-old girl looked at Pei Yingguan with a smile, holding a bow and arrow. This was the first time she had defeated Pei Yingguan in a sparring match.
"Junior sister has made rapid progress, which is cause for celebration." After being defeated by his junior sister, Pei Yingguan's expression remained unchanged and he congratulated Xiao Wan'er in a calm tone.
As dinnertime neared, the two brothers and sisters returned to the main hall and found dinner already prepared on the table. It was a richer meal than usual, featuring Hu pancakes, vegetable soup, and pheasant stewed with rabbit. The two, already familiar with Liuyun, knew he was about to embark on another pilgrimage.
But this time is different from the past.
"Wan'er, are you willing to go down the mountain with me tomorrow?"
Xiao Wan'er was deep in her food when Liu Yun suddenly asked her, and the chicken she was holding with her chopsticks fell back into her bowl. Without hesitation, she replied, "Disciple is willing!"
"Then it will be hard for Yingguan to look after the house." Liuyun gently instructed Pei Yingguan.
Xiao Wan'er was in high spirits as she was about to go down the mountain. After dinner, she volunteered to wash the pots and pans. Then she returned to her cabin and excitedly packed her luggage.
The next morning, Xiao Wan'er carried her small bag to the main hall. After breakfast, she and Liu Yun went down the mountain together. Unlike Xiao Wan'er, Liu Yun did not bring any luggage with him and only wore a round-necked robe.
"Master, are you going down the mountain wearing only this?" Xiao Wan'er couldn't help but ask Liuyun as the master and disciple walked down the mountain.
"Master has the art of cleansing and won't feel cold, so naturally there's no need to prepare other clothes." The monks move much faster than ordinary people. In a short while, the two of them had already traveled several miles.
"But what if we need food and shelter?"
"After transcending the mortal realm, cultivators can practice fasting. In the past, my master often didn't eat after leaving the mountain," Liuyun looked at Xiao Wan'er with a gloating smile. "Besides, since we're traveling, we need to go deep into the people to gain insights, so naturally we have to earn our own food and lodging."
At that moment, Xiao Wan'er wanted to go back.
The two of them went down the mountain and arrived at a small village. The people there obviously knew Liu Yun and greeted him when they saw him: "The Immortal is here!"
"Here I am. This time I brought my little disciple with me!" Liuyun immediately brought Xiao Wan'er towards them, and after some greetings, they started talking.
Soon, Muramasa invited the master and his apprentice into his home. As they walked in, he said, "I'm sorry to trouble you with the fields this time, Immortal."
After entering the village chief's house, Liuyun didn't sit for long before he got up and prepared to go to the farmland, and also called Xiao Wan'er.
"Wan'er, come with me."
The two of them arrived at a field where wheat was planted. Liuyun tapped Xiao Wan'er's forehead and poured out all the knowledge about wheat growth into her. He then pointed to a patch of land and instructed, "Use the detection technique to see if there's anything wrong with the wheat. Do you know what to do?"
Xiao Wan'er nodded: "Master, don't worry, I understand."
After entering the Dao, she expanded her magical skills and mastered the exploration technique mentioned by Liuyun. If there were any diseases or insect pests, she could also use wood-based magic and medical magic to solve them.
Xiao Wan'er walked to the plot of land she was responsible for and extended her awareness into the wheat fields, checking each one for any abnormalities. The constant and meticulous inspection drained her energy rapidly, and soon her forehead was covered in sweat. After curing a newly diseased wheat plant, she stopped her exploration technique, exhausted.
Xiao Wan'er, resting mid-work, looked at Liuyun. He was still full of energy, and had already completed a far larger area than she had. She took a deep breath, sat down to rest for a moment, and once she felt refreshed, she returned to her work.
By the time Muramasa called them to dinner, Xiao Wan'er had just finished inspecting the plot of land Liuyun had pointed out to her. Drenched in sweat, she walked towards Muramasa's house and saw the dining table set outside. On it lay corn, rice, boiled vegetables, and, surprisingly, a fish.
"I'm lucky today. I happened to see a wild cat catching fish." Muramasa saw Xiao Wan'er's gaze and explained with a smile. Xiao Wan'er also smiled knowingly.
Muramasa's home only had one guest room. That night, Xiao Wan'er meditated in the room while Liuyun stayed on the rooftop. The next morning, after breakfast, they continued their inspection of the farmland. They stayed in the village for five days before leaving. Before leaving, the villagers packed up their homemade Hu pancakes and handed them to them.
The two of them were leisurely, not rushing like they had done when they took Xiao Wan'er to visit the Xiao family, nor were they able to slow down to the speed of ordinary people. They walked and looked around along the way, and after noon they entered a medium-sized city. After entering the city, Liuyun took Xiao Wan'er straight to the open market, walking and looking around inside.
Xiao Wan'er was puzzled by this, but he soon found his target. He led Xiao Wan'er to a shop where a notice recruiting security guards was posted in front of the door.
"Sir, what would you like to see?" As soon as the master and disciple entered the door, a waiter came over to greet them.
"Are you still recruiting guards?" Liuyun's words stunned the waiter. He looked at Liuyun, then at Xiao Wan'er, and replied, "Sir, please wait a moment," and then went back to report to the owner.
Not long after, the shop owner came over with the waiter. He was also stunned when he saw the two people, one big and one small, standing in the shop, but he quickly calmed down.
"Please follow me." He bowed to the two of them and then led them to the backyard.
Two guards were already standing in the backyard, one holding a knife and the other holding a spear. In the corner there were two training stakes and a weapon rack filled with various weapons.
"These two are our shop's own guards," the boss introduced Liuyun, "You can go and have a competition with them."
Liuyun grabbed a knife from the weapon rack and walked over to the two men. The two guards turned to look at each other, and just as they were about to decide who to send out, they heard an extremely arrogant voice: "You two, come together."
The two men were furious and rushed forward with weapons in hand, but they were completely defeated in just five moves.
The boss looked at the two lying on the ground, overjoyed. Without questioning Xiao Wan'er's strength, he immediately assigned both the master and the apprentice to the escort team. With such powerful people joining, the boss didn't plan to recruit any more guards and set off with the caravan that evening.
The destination of this trip is the capital. Occasionally, we will see gorgeous carriages along the way. Just by looking at the guards and servants, we can tell that they are the families of officials.
On the second night of the caravan's journey, as they stopped to rest, they happened to be approached by a group of officials' families. Resting in the wilderness, they ignored the law and spontaneously hunted game and roasted it over the fire. Xiao Wan'er was enjoying a rabbit leg when she noticed her master repeatedly glancing at the official's family.
"Master, what's wrong?"
Liuyun did not respond immediately. He counted with his fingers and finally got the answer.
"This family happens to be the descendant of my elder brother."
Coincidentally, a boy among the official's family, younger than Xiao Wan'er, caught Liu Yun's gaze and looked back curiously. Liu Yun smiled kindly at him and looked away.
Xiao Wan'er, who was sitting nearby, was frightened by the kind Liu Yun. Before she could complain, she saw Liu Yun counting on his fingers again, and then his face became solemn.
"Master, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Liuyun shook his head and said nothing more.
The next morning, when the caravan set out again, the officials and their families had already left. The group, carrying their cargo, was not moving very fast, and they eventually encountered bandits in the latter half of their journey.
With Liuyun present, the fate of these bandits was foreseeable. They were quickly defeated and tied together with ropes. When passing through the next city, the caravan took them directly to the government office, and several robberies were solved directly.
The caravan, having done good deeds, did not stop and continued to advance towards the capital. Finally, on the evening of the tenth day, when the city gates were closed, they arrived at the capital. Turning left and right, they unexpectedly arrived at the gate of Xiao's house.
The door opened quickly, and the doorman was the same one from before. He saw Xiao Wan'er in the caravan at a glance.
"Miss Wan'er!" He didn't even care about the goods, and rushed directly into the main room, shouting, "Master, Madam! Miss Wan'er is back!"
Mr. Xiao and Mrs. Xiao hurried over. When they saw Xiao Wan'er, Mrs. Xiao rushed over and hugged her.
The other members of the caravan looked on in amazement, and Xiao Wan'er felt a little embarrassed. She poked Madam Xiao, who was holding her in pain, and whispered, "Mother, I'm here as a temporary guard for the caravan. I have a lot of goods to collect from my family."
After a brief excitement, Mr. Xiao recovered and invited the caravan in. Xiao Wan'er followed Madam Xiao to the back house.
"Wan'er, weren't you taken away by the Taoist priest back then? How come you became a caravan guard?" Mrs. Xiao couldn't wait to ask as soon as she returned to the house.
"My daughter did indeed take the Taoist priest who took me away that day as her master. This time she is serving as a guard for the caravan just to gain experience while going down the mountain." Xiao Wan'er then recounted her experiences over the past few years. After hearing that her daughter had embarked on the immortal path, Madam Xiao finally let go of the worry that had been hanging in her heart for so many years.
"Mother, is everything alright at home?"
"All is well, all is well," Madam Xiao said repeatedly, "Your brother is married, your sister-in-law is pregnant, and after you left, your father and I had a little daughter who is almost four years old now. Do you want to see her?"
Xiao Wan'er naturally wanted to go and take a look.
Meanwhile, Master Xiao inspected the goods and paid for them. The shop owner then paid Liuyun and his apprentice their salaries and left. Master Xiao then arranged for Liuyun to stay in the guest room of the Xiao residence.
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