Mountain boy picks stars

1

Shi Xuankai and Cheng Hongdou each carried a schoolbag and arrived at the long-distance bus station.

Shi Xuankai asked, "Cheng Hongdou, have you told your family yet?"

Cheng Hongdou: "I lied to them and said I was going on a school-organized National Day holiday trip. My dad gave me 800 yuan, and I also brought my own 200 yuan of pocket money. What about you?"

Shi Xuankai: "That's what I said too. My dad is so stingy, he only gave me six hundred yuan. I stole another four hundred yuan from home, so it's over a thousand yuan in total. Is that enough?"

The ticket seller on the long-distance bus was shouting, "Those going to Shaolin Temple, hurry up and get on the bus—departure time is approaching!"

Shi Xuankai hurriedly pulled Cheng Hongdou toward a long-distance bus with the words "Shaolin Temple" written on its windshield.

They squeezed onto the bus with the flow of people.

2

Outside the gate of Shaolin Temple.

Shi Xuankai and Cheng Hongdou, holding their tickets, stood curiously in front of the Shaolin Temple gate.

They were all very excited.

Shi Xuankai: "Cheng Hongdou, we've finally arrived at Shaolin Temple! We're so happy! We've only ever seen Shaolin Temple in movies and on TV before, we never imagined we'd actually be here today."

Cheng Hongdou, her face flushed with excitement, exclaimed, "Maybe we'll even see the abbot! Shi Xuankai, once we're inside, we absolutely must find a master to serve us! We won't serve anyone who isn't skilled in martial arts!"

Shi Xuankai: "Yes, yes, we have to let our master perform for us so that we can admire him before we can become his disciples."

Cheng Hongdou: "When looking for a master, it absolutely has to be a martial monk! Other monks who just sprinkle water, sweep, and cook won't do!"

Shi Xuankai: "That goes without saying!"

Cheng Hongdou: "Now my Little Li Flying Dagger skills will definitely improve a lot."

Shi Xuankai: "Then my Crescent Moon Saber skills will definitely not be inferior to yours."

Tourists visiting Shaolin Temple kept turning around to look at the two young martial arts enthusiasts who wanted to learn martial arts at Shaolin Temple.

One of them, a middle-aged man with long, flowing hair and a full beard, who looked like a third-rate artist, kept circling around them.

They were closely watched, and their every move attracted a lot of attention.

3

The main hall where Shaolin monks practice their martial arts.

Shi Xuankai and Cheng Hongdou arrived at the Shaolin Temple's training hall.

I was drawn to the beautiful paintings on the wall.

They watched in amazement, clicking their tongues in admiration.

Shi Xuankai: "Hong Dou, look at the kung fu of these monks, how high must their skill be? We'd be lucky if we could learn even one move."

Cheng Hongdou: "This is fantastic! So many soldiers couldn't defeat these martial monks. If we master this skill, let's see who among those street thugs would dare to bully us!"

Shi Xuankai: "That's right, once we've learned martial arts, who are we afraid of?"

Cheng Hongdou accidentally stepped into a deep dent in the paving stones.

I couldn't help but exclaim "Ouch!" as I almost fell over.

The one with the long hair who had been following them quickly stepped forward to support Cheng Hongdou, preventing him from falling.

"Uncle, thank you so much."

Cheng Hongdou said gratefully.

The woman with long, flowing hair said enthusiastically, "What are you thanking me for? You're all so young, yet you've come to Shaolin Temple to learn martial arts. I wonder if you're truly sincere."

Cheng Hongdou and Shi Xuankai argued, "Uncle, we are absolutely sincere."

The woman with long, flowing hair pointed to the deep indentations in the ground and asked, "Do you know how these were formed?"

Shi Xuankai and Cheng Hongdou looked at each other in bewilderment.

Scratching his head and cheeks, he said, "This...this..."

The man with the long, flowing hair said smugly, "Let me tell you! This is what the martial monks honed when they were practicing their skills. How come you don't even know this? It shows that your desire to learn martial arts is not sincere."

Cheng Hongdou explained, "Uncle, please don't wrong us. We really came to Shaolin Temple to learn martial arts sincerely, and we even brought the money!"

Shi Xuankai was quite clever; he secretly pinched Cheng Hongdou.

He asked, "Uncle, do you know Shaolin Kung Fu?"

Without answering, the woman with long, flowing hair suddenly leaped up and executed several graceful and elegant martial arts moves.

They then set up several martial arts fighting stances.

Cheng Hongdou was stunned: "Wow! Uncle's martial arts skills are so high! Uncle, can you teach us martial arts too?"

The woman with long, flowing hair deliberately piqued their interest: "I'll teach you Shaolin Kung Fu? Learning martial arts begins with martial virtue, but your hearts aren't sincere..."

She gave them a deliberately mysterious smile with her long, flowing hair.

Then, with his hands behind his back, he leisurely walked out of the main hall.

Cheng Hongdou grew anxious and grabbed Shi Xuankai's hand, saying, "Shi Xuankai, let's learn Shaolin Kung Fu from him and see just how good he is!"

Cheng Hongdou: "Maybe he was the abbot, and later became a monk. He deliberately let his hair grow long and loose to test us."

Shi Xuankai was still hesitating.

Cheng Hongdou rushed out of the main hall, shouting, "Uncle—please wait a moment, we are truly sincere in learning martial arts—"

After saying that, she took Shi Xuankai's hand, left the main hall, and followed the woman with the long hair.

4

A small grove of trees near Shaolin Temple.

Cheng Hongdou and Shi Xuankai followed the man with the long hair to a small grove near Shaolin Temple.

"Uncle—wait a minute—, Uncle—wait a minute—"

Cheng Hongdou called out anxiously.

With her long hair flowing down her back, she walked through the grove of trees near Shaolin Temple and finally stopped in front of a small tree, turning around to wait for the two of them.

Cheng Hongdou, panting, ran up to the man with the long hair and said, "Uncle, we really came here sincerely to learn martial arts."

"If you don't believe me, look—we've brought all the money, we're giving it all to you..."

As Cheng Hongdou spoke, he reached into his small backpack to take out money.

But Shi Xuankai grabbed his hand and pressed it down:

"Hongdou, don't be in such a hurry. Let your master show us a couple more skills."

Seeing that Shi Xuankai still harbored doubts about him,

Suddenly, the woman with long, flowing hair lifted her shirt and drew a soft knife from her waist.

He performed extremely graceful slashing and thrusting movements in the air.

Each move was quite captivating.

Shi Xuankai was stunned: "Wow! Uncle, you're practicing a real crescent moon blade! That's amazing!"

Cheng Hongdou's eyes widened in surprise as he watched the long-haired man wielding a knife.

Suddenly, the woman with long hair put away her knife and struck a graceful horse stance.

With a flick of his right hand, two throwing knives with red tassels flew out from his sleeve with a "whoosh."

They were stuck to the trunk of a large pine tree next to them.

The throwing knife stuck in the tree trunk was still shaking and making a buzzing sound.

Cheng Hongdou watched with even greater fascination: "Wow—, Master even knows the Little Li Flying Dagger! The real Little Li Flying Dagger!"

Shi Xuankai was also stunned: "Really, really, that's amazing! The Little Li Flying Dagger is absolutely incredible!"

When Cheng Hongdou and Shi Xuankai shifted their gaze from the pine tree where the throwing knives had been thrown to the spot where the long-haired man had been standing, they discovered that he was gone!

"Where is Master? Where did Master go?"

"Has Master become invisible?"

"Master, why did you leave? We were so sincere!"

"Master, we'll give you all the money we brought, we just beg you to teach us martial arts!"

…………

5

As the two were sighing with regret, they looked up and found that their "master" had become bald.

Dressed as a monk, he bowed to them and said, "Amitabha, well done, well done!"

It turns out he was wearing a wig.

Cheng Hongdou recognized his master: "Master, how did you become a monk?"

Shi Xuankai pressed, "Master, where did you go just now? Where's your long hair?"

The "master" continued bowing: "Amitabha, sincerity brings results, and the mind connects with the divine; only when the mind connects with the divine can one attain true skill..."

Cheng Hongdou grew anxious and hurriedly said, "Master, we're all sincere, we'll pay you right away!"

As he spoke, he took a wad of cash out of his bag.

He urged Shi Xuankai again, "Shi Xuankai, hurry up and pay! What are you waiting for?"

Although Shi Xuankai was skeptical, under Cheng Hongdou's urging,

Reluctantly, I started taking out my money.

Just as the "master" was about to take the money, he suddenly saw several tourists walking towards him from not far away.

He immediately extended his hand in a salute and said, "Amitabha, well said, well said. This place is not peaceful and quiet, and it is difficult to learn true skills. If you wish to learn true skills, please follow me."

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the woods.

Cheng Hongdou and Shi Xuankai followed their "master".