Under One Person: I Have a Billion Taoist Gods Within Me

Chapter 59 revealed the hidden attributes of Wugensheng.

Wugensheng scratched his head, making his already messy hair even messier, and said awkwardly, "Daozi, you know... people can be quite strange sometimes."

Li Yuan glanced at him sideways, saying nothing but not interrupting either.

Wugensheng continued, "Over the years, I have traveled all over the country, met many people, and heard many stories."

"There are some things that you should be afraid of, but when you actually encounter them, you're not afraid at all."

"Some things, in theory, should make you happy, but when you actually encounter them, you feel empty inside."

"There are also some people who, even though you are complete strangers, feel... feel very familiar upon first meeting them."

"It's like I've seen it somewhere before."

"But when I think about it carefully, I can't remember."

As Wugensheng spoke, he turned his head to look at Liyuan.

There was an indescribable light in those bright eyes at that moment.

Li Yuan didn't stop walking, but simply said, "Is this what you wanted to ask?"

Wugensheng quickly shook his head: "No, no! This is just... this is just an example."

He took a deep breath and finally asked the question that had troubled him for countless days and nights: "Daozi, what I want to ask is—"

"What should a person do if they don't know who they are, where they are going, or what they should do?"

Li Yuan paused slightly and glanced at Wu Gensheng.

In those gentle eyes, there was now a hint of something unusual that was hard for others to detect.

Wugensheng felt a sudden tightness in his heart when he was looked at, but he still forced himself to continue, "I have no parents since I was a child, and I don't know where I am from or where I came from."

"The old Taoist priest who adopted me said that he found me in a pile of dead bodies. He said that it was rare to find a baby like me with such bright, darting eyes right after birth, so he adopted me."

"So I took the surname of that old Taoist priest Feng, and because I have very sharp eyes, he named me Yao, and that's how I was raised."

"He taught me to read, taught me how to be a person, and taught me all the skills he could, but he never told me who my parents were or why they abandoned me."

He said, "What good will it do to know? Whether you know or not, you're still just one person. Why make yourself miserable?"

"But I..."

Wugensheng clenched his fist, and for the first time, a hint of sadness flickered in his eyes: "But I'm not reconciled."

"I want to know, who am I?"

"I want to know why I am in this world."

"I want to know where I should go, what I should do, and what kind of life I should lead."

"But no one can tell me."

"Some of those extraordinary people who travel all over the country have great abilities, such as being able to summon wind and rain, and to summon thunder to drive away evil spirits, but when I ask them this question, they all laugh at me."

"They said, 'Why do you think so much? Just live. It's good enough to have food to eat. What are you thinking about, who I am or where I'm going? That's just being a busybody.'"

"But I'm not just doing this out of boredom."

Wugensheng raised his head and looked at Li Yuan, the light in his eyes shining again: "I just want to know."

"It's like... it's like there's something inside me, urging me to find this answer."

"If I don't find it, my life will have been wasted."

After Wugensheng finished speaking, he quietly looked at Liyuan.

We await an answer from this legendary Daozi, who is said to be "born with knowledge."

A morning breeze blew by, lifting the hem of their clothes.

Along the official road, the croaking of frogs echoed from the field ridges, and wisps of smoke rose from distant chimneys.

Li Yuan remained silent for a moment.

Then he spoke.

His voice remained as gentle and calm as ever, yet it seemed to carry a certain indescribable weight: "That's a very good question."

Wugensheng's eyes lit up.

Li Yuan continued, "Countless people throughout history have asked this question."

"Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?"

"Some people have asked this their whole lives and still haven't found the answer."

"Some people thought they had found it, only to discover in the end that it was all just self-deception."

"And some people..."

His gaze fell on Wugensheng: "The moment you asked that question, you were already close to the answer."

Wugensheng was stunned. He pondered the words, his eyes gleaming: "Does Daozi mean... that asking this question is already part of the answer?"

Li Yuan nodded slightly: "You just said that there was something on your mind that was urging you to find the answer."

"That thing is your true self."

"The true nature is innate and does not need to be sought externally."

"You don't know where you came from, or where you are going, but your heart is urging you to search."

"That is the answer."

"You don't need to know where you came from, because where you came from is no longer important."

"You don't need to know where you're going, because the destination is right under your feet."

All you need to know is—

Li Yuan looked at Wu Gensheng, his gentle eyes now seeming to gleam with light: "Your presence here is the answer."

Wugensheng was stunned.

He stood there, motionless.

Those words echoed repeatedly in his heart, like thunderclaps, splitting open the fog that had accumulated in his heart for many years.

"The answer lies in the fact that you are standing here right now..."

He murmured the words over and over, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

Then-

Wugensheng suddenly laughed.

That smile wasn't from the embarrassment or the awkwardness of before, but rather a kind of—

It was as if I had finally seen a bright smile.

"Thank you Michiko!"

Wugensheng bowed deeply to Liyuan.

"Feng Yao has remembered Daozi's words."

"From now on, Feng Yao will walk his own path."

"No matter where I go, no matter what I become."

"Feng Yao will always remember how he feels standing here right now."

Li Yuan looked at him and nodded slightly.

They didn't say anything more.

The two continued on their way.

After walking for a while, Wugensheng suddenly spoke again: "Daozi, you just said that thing is called 'original mind'."

"That..."

He turned his head to look at Li Yuan, his eyes full of curiosity: "What is your true heart?"

When this question came up, even Wugensheng himself was startled.

That's a very abrupt and presumptuous question; it's simply incredibly presumptuous.

He quickly waved his hand: "Master Dao, please forgive me! I didn't mean to pry! It was just... just a slip of the tongue..."

Li Yuan simply smiled faintly.

"My true intention?"

He slightly raised his eyes and looked into the distance.

That place is in the north.

There, there is the Daluo Palace.

There, he spent eighteen years in solitary meditation.

There, too—

That impending catastrophe that will burn everything to ashes.

"My true intention..."

Li Yuan withdrew his gaze and looked at Wu Gensheng.

Those gentle eyes seemed to reflect an eternal night.

"Same as yours."

Wugensheng was stunned.

Same as mine?

He scratched his head, unable to understand what the sentence meant.

Seeing his appearance, Li Yuan didn't explain further and simply continued walking.

The moon-white Taoist robe fluttered gently in the morning breeze.

Wugensheng quickly followed behind.

But those bright eyes were no longer looking at Li Yuan, but at the road ahead.

The road was long, bathed in the morning light, which gave it a faint golden hue.

The question he just asked—"What is your true nature?"—

Riyuu Michiko did not answer directly, but only said, "The same as yours."

The more he pondered these words, the deeper they seemed to become.

Same as mine?

My true desire is to know who I am, to find where I came from and where I am going.

Is this also the true nature of Li Yuan Dao Zi?

But he was born a Daoist, born with knowledge, knowing everything. How could he not know where he came from and where he was going?

Wugensheng couldn't understand it.

But he didn't ask any more questions.

Because he suddenly realized that some questions might not have answers at all.

Or rather, the answer isn't in the question, but in—

As he walked, he suddenly spoke up: "Daozi, you just said that what I have is called my true nature."

"Then... will my true feelings change?"

Li Yuan continued walking, and said calmly, "What do you think?"

Wugensheng thought for a moment and said seriously, "I don't think so."

"If things change, will I still be myself after the change?"

"But then again, I feel... people always change."

"What I thought when I was a child is different from what I think now."

"So, has his true nature changed, or...?"

As Wugensheng spoke, he got himself into a mess.

Li Yuan glanced at him sideways and said in a meaningful tone.

"That's a very good question."

My true feelings will not change.

"But people's 'understanding' of their true nature can change."

"Like the bright moon hanging in the sky, no matter if it is covered by clouds or mist, the bright moon is still the same bright moon."

"But the moon that people see after the clouds disperse is not necessarily the same as the moon that they imagined when the clouds were covering it."

Wugensheng seemed to be deep in thought: "So... my true nature has always been there, I just haven't seen it clearly yet?"

Li Yuan nodded slightly.

Wugensheng then asked, "Then how can I see clearly?"

Li Yuan paused slightly, his gaze fixed on the distance.

There, on a hill, the morning light shone through from behind the hill, turning the horizon a golden red.

"You just said you would remember how it feels to stand here right now."

"That is the beginning of seeing clearly."

"When you've traveled enough roads, met enough people, and experienced enough things..."

Looking back at this moment, you'll realize that the answer has always been there.

As Wugensheng pondered these words, the light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He suddenly remembered something and asked, "Daozi, you said you've traveled many roads?"

Li Yuan shook his head slightly: "I haven't been down the mountain for long."

"Oh..." Wugensheng was somewhat surprised, but also felt it made sense.

This Daoist was born and raised in the Daluo Palace, and after eighteen years of secluded cultivation, he has only recently descended the mountain to enter the world.

But his words just now, his penetrating gaze, and his air of seeing through everything—none of them seemed like he had just come down from the mountain.

Wugensheng scratched his head and asked again, "Where is Daozi going after he goes down the mountain?"

Li Yuan did not answer immediately.

He continued to gaze into the distance, at the hillsides illuminated by the morning light, at the earth gradually awakening.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice still gentle and calm, yet carrying an indescribable weight: "Go where you are meant to go."

Wugensheng was taken aback.

This answer, like his earlier statement "Your presence here is the answer," sounds like it says nothing, but upon closer reflection, it seems to say everything.

He suddenly understood.

This Daozi never gives answers when he speaks.

What he gives you is the path to find the answer yourself.

Wugensheng took a deep breath, bowed solemnly to Li Yuan, and said, "Thank you, Daozi."

"Feng Yao will remember what you said today."

Li Yuan nodded slightly and said nothing more.

The two continued on their way.

After walking for a while, Wugensheng suddenly spoke again, this time with a hint of hesitation in his voice: "Daozi... I have another question."

Li Yuan glanced at him.

Wugensheng scratched his head and said awkwardly, "This question might be a bit presumptuous."

If you don't want to answer, just pretend you didn't hear me.

Li Yuan didn't speak, but just looked at him quietly.

That gaze seemed to say: Ask away.

Wugensheng took a deep breath and finally asked the question that had been lingering in his mind: "Daozi just said that your true nature is the same as mine."

"Then... Daozi, do you also not know who you are, or where you should go?"

When Wugensheng asked this question, he was startled.

What is he asking? Is he questioning the innate Daozi?

But the words had already been spoken and couldn't be taken back.

He could only grit his teeth and wait for Li Yuan's answer.

Li Yuan was lifeless.

There wasn't even a hint of displeasure.

He simply watched Wugensheng quietly, observing this disheveled young man with eyes full of curiosity.

After a moment, he neither nodded in agreement nor shook his head in denial, but slowly said in a meaningful tone...

"Who am I, where do I come from, and where am I going?" "I know all of these things."

"Knowing is not the same as understanding."

"Understanding does not mean one—"

His gaze fell on Wugensheng, and the light in his eyes grew even deeper: "He lived."

Wugensheng chewed on these two words:

I've lived.

He suddenly understood.

I understand what this Daozi meant when he said "the same as yours".

It's not that I don't know, but rather—

We are also searching.

They're walking too.

Also in—

live.

Wugensheng suddenly laughed.

That smile was unlike any he had ever shown before.

That's a kind of—

It felt like I had finally found someone on the same path.

"Michiko."

He spoke, his voice carrying an unprecedented seriousness: "Feng Yao has a favor to ask."

Li Yuan looked at him.

Wugensheng took a deep breath and said, word by word, "Feng Yao wants to follow Daozi for a while."

"I don't want Michiko to teach me anything, nor do I want Michiko to give me anything."

"I just want to..."

He paused, as if searching for the most suitable word: "I just want to walk with someone like Michiko."

"Look at the scenery through Daozi's eyes, and see how it differs from the scenery through Feng Yao's eyes."

"Let's see if the path Daozi is taking is the same one that Feng Yao is going to take."

After Wugensheng finished speaking, he quietly looked at Liyuan.

Those eyes, now devoid of the earlier unease and embarrassment, held only one thing—

Pure expectation.

Li Yuan looked at Wu Gensheng.

Looking at this future leader of Quanxing.

Looking at this greenhorn who is still just starting out.

Looking at the innate light in his eyes.

a long time.

Li Yuan nodded slightly: "As you wish."

Only two words.

But to Wugensheng, those two words were like a sudden clap of thunder in spring.

He was completely radiant.

The light in those eyes was almost overflowing.

"Thank you Michiko!"

He shouted loudly, and then bowed deeply to Li Yuan.

After straightening up, Wugensheng resumed his scratching-head pose, awkwardly asking, "Then... Daozi, which way do we go?"

Li Yuan did not answer, but continued forward.

Wugensheng quickly followed, but after walking for a short while, he suddenly spoke again: "Daozi, the way you walk is different from anyone I've ever seen."

Li Yuan continued walking, and said calmly, "Oh?"

Wugensheng scratched his head, seemingly pondering how to describe it: "When ordinary people walk, their feet move."

"But when you walk... it's as if the whole world is supporting you."

"Every step I took was incredibly steady and natural, just like..."

He paused, then suddenly slapped his thigh: "As if that place was meant to have your footprint!"

After saying that, Wugensheng was stunned.

This description sounds a bit strange.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan glanced at him sideways, a faint smile flashing in his eyes.

"You have a good eye for things."

Wugensheng was a little embarrassed by the praise, scratched his head and laughed, "I was just looking around and thinking randomly."

"I've been like this since I was little, I always have to think about everything I see."

"That old man said I was just wasting my time, but I think... if I don't think about things, life is so meaningless."

Li Yuan didn't reply, but continued walking forward.

Wugensheng didn't seem embarrassed at all and continued talking to himself: "For example, when I see a flower, I wonder, why is it red and not blue?"

"When I saw a bird, I wondered, why did it fly that way instead of this way?"

"When I see someone, I wonder what they're thinking, why they're laughing, why they're crying, and why they're angry?"

"But no one can answer these questions for me."

The old man said, "Why are you asking all these questions, kid? A flower is a flower, a bird is a bird, a person is a person. Why are there so many 'whys'?"

"But I just want to know."

As he spoke, the light in his eyes grew even brighter: "It's like... there's a reason behind everything in this world."

"Once you find the 'why,' everything will become clear."

Li Yuan paused slightly in his steps.

He glanced sideways at Wugensheng.

In those gentle eyes, there was now a hint of something unusual that was hard for others to detect.

"Those eyes..."

He meditated in his heart.

Sure enough, he's no ordinary person.

Wugensheng felt uneasy under that gaze: "Daozi? Did I...did I say something wrong?"

Li Yuan shook his head slightly: "No."

What you just said was very good.