Chapter 71 - 69: The Tao Follows Nature

Chapter 71: Chapter 69: The Tao Follows Nature

Raising a child these days isn’t easy. You have two parents and four grandparents doting on a single kid, the whole family pooling their efforts to raise them to be successful. If an Alien Species logged into them halfway through... just the thought is devastating.

No wonder parents were frantically running around, praying to every god and buddha they could find.

Feng Ling returned to the RV, first sending her location to Su Yuqing. Then, she opened the Pet Box to let the Cat Cat Spider and the Kitty Hawk out for some air.

They weren’t exactly conventional pets, and being cooped up in a cage for nearly two hours was their limit. The moment they got out, they started lashing out to burn off energy. If Feng Ling hadn’t deliberately suppressed them, they probably would have torn the RV apart by now.

She had chosen to rent an RV precisely because she’d considered that her two little ones needed room to move around.

Raising cubs isn’t easy.

If the cubs she raised were suddenly logged into by an Alien Species, with new personalities inside, she’d probably go crazy too.

Huangfu Miaomiao asked from the side, "Are we heading up the mountain now? Or should we wait for the crowds to thin out before we go looking for the Maze?"

"I need to find someone first," Feng Ling said. "I met him on a forum. His name is Li Qing, and he’s a Daoist here. Having him guide us after we find him will be much better than us wandering around the mountain on our own."

Huangfu Miaomiao immediately said, "Then call him and arrange a place to meet."

Feng Ling: "..."

"What’s wrong?" Huangfu Miaomiao blinked. "Don’t you have his number?"

Feng Ling frowned, biting her lip in frustration. She said to Huangfu Miaomiao, "You stay in the RV and watch these two. Don’t let them get out. I’m going to go ask around for some information."

"Oh..." Huangfu Miaomiao nodded obediently.

There were too many people outside, and she wasn’t keen on leaving the RV anyway. Last time, at the hotel, Feng Ling’s slap had knocked her skull mask off. Now, being bare-faced felt like walking around naked; it was utterly mortifying.

Feng Ling left Huangfu Miaomiao and the two cubs in the RV and headed toward the scenic area alone.

Sanqing Mountain was right in front of them, but there was still a long way to go before the ascent. It was a pedestrian street lined with souvenir shops.

Only after passing through the pedestrian street, which was packed with all sorts of shops on both sides, would you reach the cable car station for the mountain.

Feng Ling strolled down the street.

She walked into a unique gift shop, casually bought a couple of fridge magnets, and pulled out her phone while checking out. She showed the clerk the photo of the sunset she’d taken over the river and asked if they could identify the location of the bright flash of light.

The clerk looked at it from every angle, then said uncertainly, "It looks a bit like Yuhua Peak, but it could also be Goddess Peak..."

’Fantastic,’ Feng Ling thought wryly. ’South, west, and now north. I’ve almost made a full circuit of the mountain.’

Feng Ling then asked the clerk, "I have a friend who’s a Daoist here. Do you know where I could find him?"

"Oh, the Daoists are all at the Three Pure Ones Palace. Head toward Yujing Peak; it’s on the north side of Sanqing Mountain," the clerk replied.

Feng Ling: "..."

Great. She’d nearly completed a full tour of the cardinal directions: south, west, and now north.

"If you’re not here as a tourist, you don’t really need to go up the mountain. The Daoists come down anyway," the clerk added.

Feng Ling was taken aback. "Come down?"

"That’s right," the clerk said with a grin. "It’s tough spending the night on the mountain. When they get off work, they’ve got to go home and sleep, of course. But they do leave someone on duty to tend to the incense."

"I see..." Feng Ling mused. It made sense.

The Dao models itself on nature; one should be at ease with whatever comes.

’My perspective has been too narrow,’ she thought. ’Some Daoist sects allow their members to marry and have children, just like ordinary people. I need to broaden my horizons. For all I know, they probably drink bubble tea, too.’

...

"Junior Brother Li Qing, come down the mountain with us to get some bubble tea."

"Yeah, going up and down the mountain is a form of cultivation too. The incense isn’t going to burn any stronger just because you stay here all day."

Two Daoists appeared in neat formation behind Li Qing, inviting him to go down the mountain with them.

Li Qing had been feeling an inexplicable sense of dread all day, a bad premonition.

"Senior Brothers, allow me to perform a divination first."

He took out the turtle shell he always carried, skillfully placed the Ancient Bronze Coins inside, and shook it a few times.

JINGLE JANGLE—

A few Copper Coins fell onto the tabletop.

The Daoist beside him exclaimed, "How is it the Bō hexagram again?"

The other Daoist was also shocked. "A magpie, belated, nests in the woods, / Unaware an eagle already waits within. / Though they share one space, malice takes root; / To draw this sign foretells no small strife. Junior Brother, your fortune is truly terrible! The Bō hexagram for two days in a row... Five yin lines below and one yang line above. The yin is flourishing and the yang is isolated. This is perilous!"

Li Qing stared at the hexagram, his expression turning ugly.

"Since it’s dangerous for you to go down the mountain, Junior Brother, I guess you’ll just have to stay up here. Sigh."

"Wait, Junior Brother, why don’t you cast another one? See if anything will happen if you stay on the mountain."

"That’s right, Junior Brother. Your divinations have always been accurate. Why not cast another? Maybe you can find a way to break this curse."

"Junior Brother, cast another hexagram."

The two Daoists went back and forth, and Li Qing, whose habit was to perform only one divination a day, felt his resolve waver. He wanted to try again.

He calmed his mind, picked up the turtle shell again, placed the Ancient Bronze Coins inside, and then took a deep breath—

JINGLE JANGLE, JINGLE JANGLE.

The Copper Coins scattered across the tabletop.

For a moment, all three of them fell silent.

Li Qing’s expression grew even uglier.

The Bō hexagram was inauspicious, but it was only a moderately bad omen. This one, however, was the worst of the worst!

"This is... the Kǎn hexagram..." one Daoist said, looking at his companion. "Do you remember the judgment for Kǎn?"

"A full moon shines upon the water; / The reflection is seen, but the real thing is not. / A fool reaches for it, thinking it treasure, / And fumbles about, grasping only emptiness," the other Daoist sighed. "This hexagram is formed by doubling the same trigram. Two Kǎn, one on top of the other, means danger piled upon danger, endless obstacles! Junior Brother, have you offended someone recently? How else could you have such rotten luck!"

Li Qing genuinely wracked his brain.

’Even though I’m from an Alien Race,’ he thought, ’I haven’t harmed a single human life since I logged in. Even this body I’m using now was just a corpse I found. How could I possibly have offended anyone?’

"I haven’t," Li Qing replied sincerely.

The two Daoists exchanged a helpless look.

"Well, it’s unlucky either way. Might as well come down with us for bubble tea."

Li Qing thought about it and could only nod.

His body was a living corpse; he couldn’t eat or drink. But to fit in, he sometimes had to keep up appearances.

The Daoists didn’t use the cable car to go up and down the mountain; they relied entirely on their own two feet. Thus, the trip itself was a form of training.

When they reached the foot of the mountain, the three of them made a beeline for the bubble tea shop.

The pedestrian street at the foot of the mountain was especially bustling today, with many parents strolling along with their children.

Li Qing couldn’t help but feel a little emotional at this scene, so full of human warmth.

Suddenly, a line of bright red characters appeared in his vision!

Right above the bustling street, it was clearly displayed: Hidden Boss!

Li Qing’s breath hitched. Without a second thought, he turned and fled!

"Junior Brother?!" the two Daoists cried out in alarm.

The shout caught Feng Ling’s attention. She followed the sound with her eyes and saw a Daoist running away at top speed.

An unbelievable suspicion flashed through Feng Ling’s mind.

Both shocked and furious, she shot after him!

"Li Qing! Stop!!!"