On a peak of the Taihang Mountains, a young man was running wildly along the winding and rugged mountain path. He was not only running but also watching for any movements in the mountains. Suddenly, he felt that there was a rabbit running about 100 meters away from him. A smile appeared on his lips as he muttered to himself, "I will have meat for dinner tonight!"
He picked up a stone and shot it out with all his might. The stone flew through the air with a sound of wind, and with a loud bang, the wild rabbit hit the ground and thrashed its limbs in an uncoordinated manner before lying still.
The young man ran over to pick up the rabbit on the ground, humming an out-of-tune mountain song as he walked towards the top of the mountain. He arrived at a flat area on top of the mountain and looked out into an ancient and elegant quadrangle courtyard. Standing at the doorway, he shouted loudly, "Master, you have been blessed with good fortune tonight! We will be having meat for dinner!"
A voice came from the courtyard: "You little rascal, where have you been running off to again, and do you even know how to come back?"
The young man walked into the courtyard and said, "Master father, I went to experience the world as you instructed."
Master father was so angry that he turned red in the face and said, "Do you have the face to say this? There are more than ten villagers in the mountain who come to complain every day. You either make their chickens go into deep sleep for a few days or make their dogs stop barking. What's more annoying is that you even gave their sows acupuncture to stimulate their libido, letting the pigs jump around the mountain, and the owner chased them for three days until they stopped. Since you started running, neither the animals in the mountains nor the villagers below have ever had a moment of peace."
The young man, feeling wronged, said, "Master, can you really blame me? The three of you have been teaching me medicine and martial arts every day. Where else could I test my skills but on animals? It's only by experimenting on animals that I've been able to refine my skill with flying needles. How else would I be able to cure diseases and save lives with them? I have to thank those animals! Every night, you make me take a medicinal bath, and I have endless energy every day. If I didn't run around the mountain to exhaust myself, my body would have burst from all the training long ago. Since being picked up by you all these twenty years ago on the mountain, you've taken me out for only three trips in total, and each time wasn't more than three months. Now the animals in the mountains all run into caves when they see me and dare not come out. All alone in the mountains with no opportunity for experimentation, I had no choice but to practice on the villagers' domestic animals. They are ungrateful! When they're sick, I help them treat it. Practicing on their chickens won't kill them, but they still come here to complain—it's not the behavior of a gentleman!"
The second master said, "You little brat, do you think you have any reason now? The three of us have practiced here for decades and have taken a few disciples. Your brothers are all respectful to their masters and follow the teachings of our masters without disturbing the villagers. But you, there's a villager coming to complain every day!"
The young man said, "Come on, talking about respecting teachers and the path of virtue! In twenty years on the mountain, have I ever seen them come to pay respects to the master?"
The third master said, "It's not that they don't come to pay respects to the master, but they are all important positions and if they came to pay respects, it would be discovered. So we don't allow them to come up the mountain. They often call us to ask for well-being!"
Master father said, "Even though they haven't come up the mountain to pay respects to the master, they are well aware of what's happening in the mountains. They know you are their younger brother and that you might be the successor of Jade Dragon Gate. Once you take over as the leader, they will all come to pay their respects!"
The young man said, "I don't want to be the leader, with all these restrictions and no freedom. Let my elder brothers be the leaders instead! I'll just go visit them!"
Master father said, "They are all important positions and cannot be the leaders. This leadership position must be yours. We have already decided to pass it on to you. We, the three of us, are over a hundred years old and no longer want to worry about the matters of Jade Dragon Gate. We want to retreat and cultivate to breakthrough the spiritual realm. Little rascal, I am now passing on the leadership of Jade Dragon Gate to you. This is the ring of leadership, from now on, you are the new leader of Jade Dragon Gate. This is the black card in your second master's possession, where you can spend money freely. This is the dragon king hall token given to you by your third master. With this token, you can mobilize all the power of dragon king hall and have life and death authority. Your third master established dragon king hall originally for your protection when you took over as leader and went through trials in the mountains!"
We are all old and don't want to get involved in those annoying matters. We just want to retreat and cultivate to understand the Tao. We three have protected you for twenty years, and now your strength far exceeds ours. We have nothing else to teach you, so go down and gain experience. The red dust experience may help you break through a higher realm! I am telling you everything now, hoping that after you go down the mountain, you will find your biological parents. You were found by me on my way back from practicing in the mountains and crying loudly at the side of a thatched cottage. I went inside only to find you alone, with no one else present in the cottage. I saw that your bones were extraordinary and a rare talent in cultivation. So I had the desire to take a disciple. I waited outside the cottage for your parents or relatives, but nobody came to look for you during that whole day, so I took you up the mountain. While changing your clothes, I discovered your underwear had inscribed on it with blood your name: Mo Wenjie, and there was also a jade pendant in the pocket of your underwear apart from your name—no other information about your identity was found."
Your second master and third master, seeing that you are a rare cultivation genius, the three of us decided to take you as our last disciple and have decided to pass on the leadership position to you. Your third master will also pass on the position of the Dragon King Hall's hall master to you. Your second master is known as the Medical Immortal of this era, and everyone he has guided is called a God-level physician. His wealth is so vast that he doesn't even know how much he has. This black card is jointly issued by the world's ten largest banks, and with it, one can withdraw money from any bank in the world.
Mo Wenjie said, "Master father, second master, third master, I don't want to be the leader. I want to stay here and accompany you. You three are still young and have a long way to go in life. I'm still too young to take on this heavy responsibility as the leader. I hope the masters retract their decision and wait until the disciple has practiced for ten or eight years before taking over the leadership position!"
Upon hearing this, the master's face turned ugly and he pulled a face with his mouth. He then opened his mouth to scold: "You little rascal, can you talk like a human being? We are still young? I'm 120 years old, and your third master is 109 years old—this is what you call young? Hurry up and pack your things and get out of here! It's irritating to hear you talk. Once you go down the mountain, you will be the new leader of Jade Dragon Gate. Don't come back to disturb us unless the sky falls. Otherwise, it will be breaking the master's command, and we will never see you again! Wait a moment and go down the mountain; we three are going to retreat for meditative cultivation. Don't come to disturb us anymore!"
Mo Wenjie with tears in his eyes said, "Master, please change your mind! I want to stay with you!"
The third master said, "Wenjie, we have already made our decision. It's best for you to go down the mountain now. We need to retreat and cultivate to breakthrough the spiritual realm. We don't want you to stay and watch us stop making progress. If we can't successfully breakthrough, we won't have much time left. Listen to your master and go down the mountain to gain experience!"
Looking at the resolute eyes of the three masters, Mo Wenjie knew that no more words would change their minds. With tears in his eyes, he knelt down and kowtowed to the three masters, saying, "Wenjie is grateful for the three masters' nurturing and teachings. I will not let you down and will carry on the reputation of Jade Dragon Gate. As a disciple, I will go down the mountain to seek opportunities for cultivation. If I am fortunate enough to encounter celestial talents or treasures, I will definitely be able to help you masters break through the spiritual realm and advance further."
The third master said, "Wenjie, go and pack your things. You will be leaving soon. We will not accompany you. If you encounter difficulties on your journey, show the Dragon King Hall token and let the people of Dragon King Hall help you. As for me, I can only help you so much. Your master and second master may be strict with you, but it is for your own good. They have ordered your brothers to treat you like themselves when they see you. Your five disciples have already known that you are the leader. They will protect you on your journey down the mountain. After leaving here, if you want to see them, go ahead; if not, don't force yourself. Let me accompany you to pack your things."
Mo Wenjie said, "Third master, I don't want to see my five brothers when I go down the mountain. I want to challenge myself and try my luck on my own. Regardless of what happens now, I am the leader, letting my brothers protect me is a disgrace to the leadership position."
The third master said, "It takes courage to accomplish great things. The three of us place our hopes on you, and we hope we have not misjudged you."
Mo Wenjie said, "Don't worry, Master. As a disciple, I will definitely not bring disgrace to the sect. Even if it costs my life, I will never dishonor our sect!"
The third master said, "Wenjie, go down the mountain now! The master and you will part ways from here!"
Mo Wenjie said, "Third master, take me to say goodbye to Master and Second Master. Let them take care of their health. The disciple is leaving!"
Mo Wenjie kneeled in front of the mountain gate, kowtowed three times, then stood up and looked at the quadrangle. He turned and walked towards the mountain.
The master father said, "He finally left. We can finally be at peace."
The second master said, "Between the three of us, we may not even be his equals. What can we possibly teach him?"
The third master said, "Let's retreat and cultivate. We hope he can find some precious treasures that can add to our longevity!"
The second master said, "Wenjie's fate is that of a grand destiny. His future achievements are boundless! He has accumulated much karma in the mortal realm!"
