Stitched in the endless undulating mountains at the horizon, they still appear as pitch-black under the sunlight, as if all the light has been absorbed.
On the muddy and rugged mountain road.
A donkey-drawn wooden cart was swaying eastward.
The morning sun was rather gentle, as if reluctant to disperse the chill of the night's rain, causing one to shiver involuntarily.
Chen Yun was curled up at the back of the wooden cart, silent.
"What do you say Master San will take us to do?"
"I don't know."
Two faint sounds came from the side.
Chen Yun casually glanced at the other three or four teenage boys on the cart, all looking nervous.
Perhaps due to malnutrition since childhood, he was a couple of years older than these boys, yet they were of similar stature, even shorter than the tall and slender youth.
He was emaciated all over, looking like he was twelve or thirteen years old.
The three or four boys who were younger than him were sold just like Chen Yun.
Just then, the man driving the cart, Master San, slowly spoke up, "Don't be afraid, kids. Master San won't take your lives; he's taking you to the city to live a good life."
The others don't know where they will be sold.
Chen Yun knew that even if he wasn't the best, he could at least become a bookkeeper, so he wasn't too worried.
The tall and slender boy near the front of the cart asked weakly, "Master San, where are you taking us?"
Master San said, "Xigou City."
Chen Yun knew a bit about this city. The old man would go to Xigou City to find work during the farming off-season, which was hundreds of miles away from the small village.
The tall and slender boy asked again, "What are we going to do in Xigou City?"
Master San turned to look at him, and his round face revealed a humorous expression. "You're more talkative than me, kid. If you ever become a butler in a big family, don't be too talkative or else the master will really beat you."
The tall and slender boy was startled, "Will the master beat people?"
Master San comforted him, "As long as you work hard, the master will not only give you hot and steaming food to eat, but also help you find a wife when you get older. The condition is that you must work diligently."
Another black-skinned boy asked, "Master San, once we are sold into a big family, won't we become slaves?"
"You're talking about the word 'slave' where did you hear that?"
Master San laughed and shook his head. He consoled the crowd, saying, "It depends on your luck. If you're lucky enough to meet a good family, they might help you regain your status as a free man. Whether you're in 'slave' status or 'free' status, at least the master will give you hot food to eat and warm clothes to wear. Isn't that better than living in the mountains your whole life, hungry and cold?"
The several children seemed to be convinced, and they all looked excited.
Chen Yun, however, never opened his mouth.
He wasn't concerned about these matters.
Chen Yun was more concerned about how to make a name for himself.
Just as he was thinking, Master San spoke again, "Before you all enter the city, I must first teach you some rules."
Chen Yun knew little about this world.
Upon hearing this, he straightened his ears.
"Firstly, you must be respectful to your master. Even if your master beats you or scolds you, you must endure it."
Master San spoke slowly, "Secondly, if you have a chance to go out and walk around in a wealthy family, you must steer clear of monks and Taoists on the road. If there's no way to avoid them, remember never to provoke the monks or Taoists."
Yes, you must avoid monks and Taoists on the road.
If you can't avoid them, you should not provoke them either.
Chen Yun found this rule rather perplexing.
Master San was still continuing, "Thirdly…"
"Master San," Chen Yun asked, voicing his confusion, "Why must we steer clear of monks and Taoists?"
Master San grunted and said, "They're all living immortals, each with mystical powers beyond the understanding of gods and ghosts, and the court relies on them. If you don't steer clear and accidentally offend them, isn't that courting death?"
Living immortals.
With mystical powers beyond the understanding of gods and ghosts.
Upon hearing this, Chen Yun hesitated for a moment.
He had a stunned belief.
Is this a wuxia world?
Hold on!
If this is a wuxia world, then the small bronze cauldron I got by chance might really be a magical artifact of a deity!
Thinking about it, Chen Yun decided to get to the bottom of things and ask properly, "Master San, do you mean that these so-called 'living immortals' can perform magic?"
The dark-skinned boy also curiously asked, "Are there really immortals in the world?"
"Of course, there are immortals in the world," Master San said, tapping his mouth. "The Zhongnsan Mountain, which is the closest to Xigou City, do you know?"
Chen Yun really didn't know this.
Other than the Black Mountain and Xigou City, he only knew a bit from occasional conversations with his father and mother.
Zhongnsan Mountain.
Could this be some ancient dynasty on Earth?
Chen Yun pondered silently in his heart.
The tall and thin boy seemed to have heard something before, "I've heard my father mention it."
"Hm, several immortals reside on Zhongnsan Mountain, including Laozi, the earthly incarnation of Taishan Old Master. Later, Laozi left the world through the Hangu Pass to enlighten the Buddhist cause. Zhongnsan Mountain gradually became the mortal refuge for Xuanxia Han Zhongli and General Zhaoyue of Yigui Xingtang as they transformed into mortals."
Master San, as if listing treasures, said, "Oh, right. The Bodhisattva Guanyin, the Incarnation of Guanyin Bodhisattva in the mortal world, was known as the God of Land. And Wang Xizhi of Qingtian School who was considered as a master and immortal on earth also came from Zhongnsan Mountain."
What?
Laozi, Zhongli Quan, Lü Dongbin, Zhao Gongming, and Wang Zhongyang existed in the same time dimension?
If that's the case, then it's basically certain that this place is some ancient dynasty of the Chinese nation.
Chen Yun found it extremely incredible in his heart.
However, he still had a question in his mind.
In modern society, people who have a slight understanding of Taoist culture know that Laozi was a person from the Spring and Autumn period of the Zhou Dynasty, Zhongli Quan was a person from the Eastern Han Dynasty, Lü Dongbin was a person from the Tang Dynasty, Wang Zhongyang was from the Jin Dynasty, and Zhao Gongming was a fictional character created in "The God-Generated Army."
Now they are in the same dynasty?
He was truly challenged by this.
What kind of magical world is this?
Chen Yun really felt a bit dazed.
And he didn't pay much attention to Master San's following lectures.
He could faintly hear that the current world was divided into many different countries, big and small.
The territory of Xigou City where he is located belongs to the Qin State.
Moreover, Chen Yun also heard about some wars of "Do Taozhi Zheng," or the struggle for power between various schools of Daoism.
It is said that the Qin State was originally known as the Qin Dynasty, and it was the dominant power on the land of Shenzhou.
Because only the dominant power can be called a "Zhao," and other powers can only be called a "Guo," so after the Qin Dynasty was defeated in the war of Do Taozhi Zheng, it became a subjugated power, and is now known as the Qin State.
The current dominant power is a realm called the Tang Dynasty.
As to whether it is the same Tang Dynasty as in his memories, Chen Yun was not yet aware.
He stumbled upon the noon.
Master San suddenly stopped the cart and turned to look at the boys, "Do you eat oil cakes?"
Ah?
You're also Little Black?
Chen Yun was almost going to ask Master San if he also came from the modern era.
Fortunately, as Master San spoke, he took out several oil cakes from his bag.
It's hard for them to feed themselves every day, so seeing oil cakes made their eyes shine.
Master San could also see that they were hungry, so he gave each of them an oil cake.
"Tasty."
"There's meat in it!"
Several boys wolfed down the oil cakes, and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
Chen Yun also received an oil cake.
However, he didn't react as the other boys did, jumping and exclaiming, and instead sat quietly at the back of the cart eating his oil cake.
Master San smiled warmly at everyone, "After you enter a wealthy family, you'll have the opportunity to eat all kinds of delicious food, so you must work hard."
Chen Yun didn't pay much attention to this.
He was thinking about other things.
This world actually has immortals?
Couldn't my accidentally acquired cauldron be a magical artifact of an immortal?
If so, if I have the chance to meet with an immortal, won't there be a chance for me to achieve immortality?
