Dao Qi Wu Zang Guan Guan: I became a Daoist Master in the 1990s

Chapter 50: White is Truly White (Bonus Chapter for those who love reading, enjoy reading, and keep reading!)
Qi Yun felt that this time, things had really gone wrong.

He first woke up naked in the ruins of the Five Internal Organs Temple.

After descending the mountain, all that remained was a dilapidated official road overgrown with weeds and devoid of human presence, with a cold wind whistling through the air.

He steeled himself, crossed his arms, and trudged along the official road, desperate to find something to cover himself.

Before they had gone two miles, three disheveled men, each wielding a chipped dagger, suddenly jumped out from the roadside!
In the dim light of dawn, the other party only saw someone coming, but did not look closely.

At this moment, both sides were caught off guard!

The air froze instantly.

The three strongmen stared wide-eyed, their eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets.

They had seen all sorts of people in their careers as highway robbers, but this one was different!

He was only wearing a pair of faded underwear that barely covered his body, and his bare legs were sticking out there with mud on the soles of his feet!
What kind of "business" is this?
After a brief silence, the robbers burst into a deafening roar of laughter, doubled over with laughter, and almost cried.

"Hahahaha!" The bearded man in the lead laughed so hard he slapped his thigh. "What the hell is this?"
"Dude, did you just get kicked off some woman's bed? Hahahaha!"

Another tall, thin man clutched his stomach, barely able to hold his knife: "Get out of here! Get out of here now! We're here to rob you of your money, not your virtue, and certainly not your tattered underwear!"

What bad luck! What fucking bad luck!

Qi Yun's face flushed red to her ears, feeling both ashamed and embarrassed.

He glanced at the robbers' tattered clothes, shiny and reeking of body odor, and then at the gleaming knives in their hands. The fierce thought of "stealing their clothes and escaping" that had just arisen in his mind was immediately extinguished by the cold reality.

His basic Xingyi Quan skills might be enough to deal with an unarmed opponent, but what about three knife-wielding thugs?

I'm afraid I'll get stabbed to death on the spot.
He could only lower his head and, amidst the three men's continuous mockery, slink away from the scene in a sorry state.

Walking barefoot on the gravel road felt like torture with every step.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, we found a big black donkey leisurely grazing in a wild forest!
The donkey was plump and strong, with a shiny copper bell hanging around its neck. As it ate grass, the bell jingled "ding-a-ling... ding-a-ling..." making a clear and pleasant sound in the desolate wilderness.

It's obviously a stray animal from a nearby village!

"There's always a way out!" Qi Yun was overjoyed; this was like a godsend!
Having a donkey to walk is better than going barefoot, and the donkey knows the way, so it will definitely take him to a place with people!
The big black donkey was very docile and not afraid of strangers.

Qi Yun cautiously approached, but the donkey merely raised its eyelids, snorted, and allowed him to clumsily climb onto its smooth back.

"Good buddy! Come on, take me to them!"

Qi Yun patted the donkey's rump. As if it understood, the black donkey clattered its hooves and slowly walked out of the woods.

The clear sound of the bells became the most beautiful melody for Qi Yun at that moment.

As expected, the donkey knew the way, and before long, large tracts of cultivated farmland came into view.

With paths crisscrossing the fields and wisps of smoke rising from distant chimneys, the outline of a village emerges in the twilight.

The copper bells jingled, and the sound of the donkey's hooves shattered the morning frost.

Just as Qi Yunhao was pondering his words, he was greeted by seven or eight burly men on the earthen embankment at the village entrance!
Qi Yun remained frozen on the donkey's back, feeling the dozens of gazes at the village entrance as if they were real, burning hot against his bare chest, penetrating to his very bones.

He instinctively squeezed his legs together, the rough donkey saddle pressing against the thin layer of indigo underwear beneath his buttocks—a meager covering, better than nothing.

"My goodness... what... what is this thing?!"

Wang Laoliu's distorted howl pierced the solidified silence like a needle.

The crowd erupted in a cacophony of shock, bewilderment, and anger—a mixture of disbelief and rage—on every deeply lined face.

Several young men stared wide-eyed at Qi Yun's bare upper body, their eyes practically bulging out of their sockets, then quickly glanced at his conspicuous indigo underwear, their expressions like they had just swallowed a live toad.

Old Song's withered body swayed, and he managed to grab the cold stone millstone next to him to keep from falling.

His cloudy old eyes were fixed on the nearly naked body on the donkey's back. The last spark within them had been extinguished, leaving only the ashes and despair of being repeatedly toyed with by fate. His withered lips trembled, squeezing out broken, breathy words: "What...what a tragedy!"

The wind swirled the grass clippings, blowing them through the clouds. Even though Qi Yun was about to master the Five Internal Organs Fist, he still got goosebumps all over.

His scalp tingled, and his anus tightened. He thought to himself, "Why are these people's eyes so terrifying?"

Could it be...?
The thought had barely formed when it was suppressed by the overwhelming, impenetrable disappointment that filled the room.

That's definitely not the way you look at "young and handsome" guys!

He felt a little calmer, but then a wave of shame washed over him.

He took a deep breath of the cold air, which carried the fresh scent of wheat stubble, and steeled himself, squeezing his legs together to encircle the donkey's belly.

The donkey understood, and with a few clattering steps, it came to a steady stop at the edge of the threshing ground, about ten feet away from the crowd. Qi Yun stopped, trying to straighten his back and appear calm and composed. His gaze swept over the blank and astonished faces, finally settling on the old man at the front who was panting heavily.

He cleared his throat and tried his best to keep his voice steady: "Fellow villagers, my name is Qi Yun. I was robbed of everything by bandits while traveling."

He paused, then pointed to the sleek, shiny donkey beneath him: "I found this animal in the wild woods over there; I suspect it got lost from your village."

Now that the item has been returned to its rightful owner, I only ask that some kind soul donate an old garment to shield me from the wind and cold, and to cover my body. I would be eternally grateful!

His words were sincere, and his posture was extremely humble.

After a brief silence, the crowd erupted like boiling porridge.

"You damned bandits! They've ripped your hearts out!"

Old Song slammed his fist into the sack full of grain, causing the golden grains to fall in a flurry. His eyes were bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth, "He didn't even leave them a decent piece of clothing! Beast! You damned beast!"

"How utterly heartless! In this freezing weather, are they trying to freeze outsiders to death?" A villager looked at Qi Yun with a hint of pity and muttered a curse under his breath.

"Absolutely! Those scum from Black Wind Stronghold deserve to be struck by lightning!"

Wang Laoliu also came to his senses and joined in cursing, spitting everywhere, as if he wanted to turn all the embarrassment and frustration of mistaking "Daoist Master" into a curse on the mountain bandits.

For a moment, the crowd on the threshing floor was filled with righteous indignation, and the shouts of cursing the bandits drowned out the autumn wind. Qi Yun, riding on the back of his donkey, listened to this unexpected "support," and while embarrassed, he felt a little relieved.

At least, the focus has shifted.

Old Song sighed deeply, as if the sigh had drained his last bit of strength, and his back hunched even deeper.

His cloudy gaze lingered for a moment on the gleaming copper bell on the donkey's neck, then looked at Qi Yun on the donkey's back, and finally tremblingly raised his withered hand and beckoned to Qi Yun.

“Young man, this donkey looks unfamiliar. It’s not from our Song Family Village. It probably ran away from some village up ahead.”

He paused for a moment, then said, "But who cares which village the donkey comes from! I can't let you walk around naked. Come with me."

After saying that, he leaned on a jujube wood cane that he had somehow produced, and walked unsteadily toward a low mud-brick courtyard wall on the edge of the threshing ground.

That figure exuded an indescribable weariness and desolation.

"He's not naked, there's another layer here!"

Qi Yun offered a weak, whispered rebuttal, and then immediately followed after them.

Then, amidst the insults directed at the bandits, a discordant voice was heard.

"But I must say, this kid is really fair-skinned!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Yun felt a chill run down his spine and quickened his pace!

Pushing open the creaking wooden door, a smell mixed with firewood, dust, and a faint musty odor wafted out.

The yard wasn't big; firewood was piled up in one corner, and a few skinny speckled chickens were scratching at the ground.

Old Shuan walked straight into a lower-ceilinged side room on the west side.

The room was dimly lit, with only a small window letting in some natural light.

Against the wall was a kang (a heated brick bed), its mat worn smooth and shiny. Opposite the kang stood a dark, peeling wooden cabinet.

Old Shuan, his back hunched, opened the cabinet door with trembling hands and feet and rummaged inside for a moment.

A musty smell of old cloth wafted out. He struggled to pull out a reasonably neatly folded indigo coarse cloth jacket, a pair of wide-legged trousers of the same material, and a pair of cloth shoes.

The fabric was thick, but it had faded from washing, and the cuffs and trouser legs were frayed.

"Here you go!" Old Shuan handed over the clothes, his withered hand trembling slightly. "My good-for-nothing third son went into the mountains two years ago and never came back."

My height is about the same as yours. Don't mind, it'll at least cover you up.

Qi Yun was slightly startled and quickly accepted it with both hands.

"Thank you so much, sir! You saved my life!" Qi Yun bowed deeply, his tone sincere.

Old Man Shuan waved his hand, his cloudy eyes seemingly unfocused, and murmured, "Put them on. Life is hard, and living is difficult. It's not easy for anyone!"

After saying that, he stopped looking at Qi Yun, leaned on his cane, and turned to leave the small house with faltering steps. His hunched back blended into the bleak light in the courtyard, like an old tree stump eroded by wind and frost.

Qi Yun quickly changed his clothes and immediately felt much more relaxed.

The cloth shoes fit surprisingly well.

(End of this chapter)