One person: Senior brother Zhang Zhiwei, the Celestial Master begged me to descend the mountain.

Nine thousand miles above the sky, a fierce wind howled.

But all this noise was shut out by that thin layer of golden light.

The enormous cloud boat broke through layers of clouds, leaving a long golden trail, like a dragon swimming in the sky.

On the bow deck.

Zhang Taichu lay there without any regard for his image, one hand behind his head, the other on his stomach, his face covered by a tattered thread-bound book he had pulled out from somewhere, rising and falling with his breath.

He was sleeping soundly.

But everyone else on the ship was more and more restless than the last.

Chen Duo huddled in a corner of the ship's side, her hands tightly wrapped around her knees. Her white-shoe-clad feet dared not touch the deck completely, as if afraid that if she exerted too much force, she would break through the gleaming hull.

She looked at the rapidly receding clouds outside, then at the white-robed Taoist priest lying asleep in the middle.

After the initial excitement of escaping danger and being reborn faded, a deep-seated sense of unease and bewilderment took its place.

In previous missions, the roles were either to kill or to be transported.

Traveling quietly like this, with companions sitting beside her who are neither guards nor targets, is even more disorienting to her than facing the original Gu poison.

"well……"

Zhang Chulan sat cross-legged on the other side and let out a long sigh.

He glanced at his uncle who was fast asleep, then at his junior aunt who was withdrawn, and finally turned his gaze to Wang Ye, who was resting with his eyes closed.

"Old Wang, stop pretending."

Zhang Chulan stretched out his foot and kicked Wang Ye's shin:

"I know you're not asleep."

"Let's chat for a bit, this atmosphere is so awkward, I'm practically bursting with pent-up frustration."

Wang Ye lazily lifted one eyelid, adopting a typical "Beijing slouch" posture, still clutching the thermos cup he'd somehow acquired.

"What should we talk about?"

"How did you get kicked away like that?"

"Or shall we talk about how our Primordial Lord scared those guys from the All-Knowing Bureau so much they wet their pants?"

"Get out of here, you're just bringing up the very thing you don't want to talk about."

Zhang Chulan rolled his eyes, then shifted his gaze slyly to Chen Duo in the corner.

He rubbed his hands together, a signature harmless smirk spreading across his face, and slowly moved closer.

"Um... Sister Duo'er?"

Zhang Chulan called out tentatively.

Chen Duo's body stiffened slightly.

She turned her head, her clear yet empty eyes staring intently at Zhang Chulan, as if analyzing the meaning of the title.

"No, no, that's not right."

Before Chen Duo could speak, Zhang Chulan shook his head, his brows furrowing into a deep frown.

"Calling me 'sister' doesn't seem quite right."

He stretched out his fingers and began to ramble on like a blind fortune teller:

"Look, let's sort out this relationship."

"That old man sleeping is my master's junior brother, which means he's my grand-uncle, right?"

Zhang Chulan pointed to Zhang Taichu, who was lying on the bow of the boat.

Chen Duo looked in the direction he was pointing and nodded.

"And then, just now in the square, my master personally said that he would take you as his prospective disciple."

Zhang Chulan then pointed at Chen Duo.

Chen Duo nodded again, her hand unconsciously touching the bead on her chest.

"That means..."

Zhang Chulan's expression began to look strange, and his features gradually distorted.

"You are your master's disciple."

"I am from the generation of my grand-disciple."

"According to the rules of Longhu Mountain, our generational ranking is..."

Zhang Chulan's voice grew softer and softer until it got stuck in his throat, and he couldn't spit it out no matter what he did.

That expression, like he'd just swallowed a dead fly, was absolutely hilarious.

"puff……"

Wang Ye, standing nearby, finally couldn't hold back any longer. He spat out a mouthful of tea and, without any regard for his image, pounded the deck and laughed wildly.

"Hahaha! Oh my god!"

"Old Zhang, your seniority has dropped pretty quickly!"

"Come on, come on, give it a shout!"

"Even though this girl looks several years younger than you, rules are rules!"

Wang Ye's expression, as if he was enjoying the show, infuriated Zhang Chulan.

But he couldn't refute it.

Taoism emphasizes lineage and seniority.

If the seniority is messed up, the old master will break my legs when I go back.

Zhang Chulan took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself, and looking at the little girl in front of him who wasn't even as tall as his chest, he forced out two words through gritted teeth:

"Master...Master Sister."

Chen Duo was stunned.

Although she wasn't very good at social etiquette, her computer-like brain processed the logical relationships in these forms of address very quickly.

nun.

Those are elders.

That means... older than him?

Chen Duo blinked, and her body, which had been tense, inexplicably relaxed a little.

She used to feel like an outsider, someone who was to be managed.

But now, according to this logic...

Is she someone from above?

"Um."

Chen Duo nodded solemnly, and a kind of elder-like kindness appeared on her usually expressionless face (although it looked quite incongruous):

"good."

Zhang Chulan: "..."

Wang Ye: "Hahahaha! I can't take it anymore! Old Zhang, you're too pitiful!"

"Laugh! What's so funny!"

Zhang Chulan, enraged and embarrassed, pointed at Wang Ye:

"You're just an outsider. If you really think about it, your seniority in Wudang might not even be higher than mine!"

"That's different."

Wang Ye wiped away the tears of laughter, looking completely content.

"I was expelled from my sect. I am a wild man. I have no baggage."

"You are a legitimate descendant of the Celestial Master's Mansion, this is fate, my nephew!"

Just as the two were arguing.

Chen Duo was constantly thinking.

She found Zhang Chulan's embarrassed expression amusing.

This feeling is different from eating ice cream, and it's different from buying clothes.

Is this a kind of... interactive joy?

She thought for a moment, then suddenly reached out and, mimicking Zhang Taichu's gesture, tried to pat Zhang Chulan on the shoulder.

But because he wasn't tall enough, and Zhang Chulan was jumping up and down there.

She could only manage to pat Zhang Chulan's arm by standing on tiptoe.

"Nephew."

Chen Duo's voice was crisp and earnest, without the slightest hint of joking:

"In the future, if someone bullies you..."

"tell me."

"I'll go bury him for you."

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

Zhang Chulan stared wide-eyed at his junior aunt, who was earnestly offering to help him bury people.

Wang Ye's laughter stopped abruptly, and his lips twitched twice.

This is...

Is he still that Gu-body Holy Child?

Are you sure you're not possessed by Bao'er?

"Um... Auntie."

Zhang Chulan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and chuckled dryly:

I appreciate your kind gesture.

"Burying people is one thing, but we live in a society governed by law; we need to be civilized, civilized..."

"What's all the noise about?"

Just then, a lazy voice came from the side.

Zhang Taichu removed the book from his face, stretched, yawned, and sat up.

"They can't even let people sleep in peace."

"Zhang Chulan, are you asking for a beating again?"

"No! Absolutely not!"

Zhang Chulan immediately stood at attention, his face full of obsequiousness:

"Master Uncle, I was just trying to... get closer to Junior Aunt!"

"Where are we?"

Zhang Taichu ignored him, stood up, and walked to the bow of the boat.

at this time.

The cloud boat has passed through the last thick layer of clouds.

The view below suddenly opened up.

All that could be seen were vast, misty mountains shrouded in clouds.

A winding river, like a jade belt, winds its way through the mountains.

At the highest point of those mountains, a magnificent ancient architectural complex appears and disappears in the distance.

Red walls and yellow tiles, with upturned eaves and corners.

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, the entire mountain seemed to be enveloped in a sacred golden light.

That is the ancestral home of Taoism, which has been passed down for thousands of years.

That is the ultimate holy land in the world of supernatural beings.

Longhu Mountain, Celestial Master's Mansion.

"arrive."

Zhang Taichu looked at the familiar mountain gate, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Chen Duo lay on the gunwale, staring blankly at the magnificent view below.

She had never seen mountains like these before.

So tall, so big, so... reassuring.

The overwhelming Daoist aura emanating from her, even from a distance, instinctively calmed the restless primal poison within her body.

"This is...home?"

Chen Duo muttered to herself.

"Yes, this is home."

Zhang Taichu patted her head and made a hand seal with one hand.

"fall!"

Om-! ! !

The enormous golden cloud boat began to descend slowly, heading towards the plaza in front of the mountain.

……

Longhushan Front Square.

Although it was already evening, many tourists still lingered here, taking photos to commemorate the occasion.

Sudden.

Someone pointed to the sky and exclaimed:

"Look! What's that?!"

"Holy crap! Golden light?! A huge ball of golden light!"

"Special effects? Is this a movie shoot?"

Amidst the astonished gazes of countless tourists, the golden cloud boat slowly lost its light, finally disappearing as streaks of light.

Several figures appeared out of thin air in the center of the square.

And in front of the mountain gate of that square.

A young Taoist priest dressed in a white robe with long, flowing silver hair had been waiting for some time.

He stood tall and straight like a pine tree, with a cool and handsome face, and an otherworldly air about him.

Many female tourists were secretly taking pictures of him, but he kept his eyes straight ahead, as if all the noise around him had nothing to do with him.

Until they saw Zhang Taichu and the others appear.

A slight ripple appeared in the Taoist's originally cold eyes.

He straightened his clothes, strode forward, and respectfully bowed deeply to Zhang Taichu:

"Zhang Lingyu, a disciple of the Celestial Master's Mansion."

"Welcome back to the mountain, Uncle-Master."