Mountain boy picks stars

1

In front of a secluded house.

Cheng Hongdou and Shi Xuankai followed their "master" to a secluded house far from Shaolin Temple.

The "master" paused and bowed to Shi Xuankai and Cheng Hongdou again: "Please wait a moment, young benefactors. I must go and pay my respects to the abbot before I can bring you in."

Upon hearing that he could see the abbot again, Cheng Hongdou was overjoyed: "Master, you can see the abbot again?"

He then took a new small notebook out of his bag and handed it to his "mentor."

He pleaded, "Master, please come inside and let the abbot sign your name for us!"

Then he turned to Shi Xuankai: "Shi Xuankai, hurry up and get your new notebook out too!"

Shi Xuankai said with some regret, "I gave my notebook to Huang Xiaoxing too. This small one is all I have left."

After saying that, she handed the small notebook to the long-haired man.

The "master" took the notebook and pretended to be embarrassed, saying:

"The abbot is advanced in years and in poor health. I went in to pay my respects empty-handed this time, I'm afraid..."

Cheng Hongdou understood his master's meaning and immediately and generously took out a wad of cash from his backpack and handed it to his master:

"Master, please take these and give them to the abbot. We truly came to Shaolin Temple with sincere intentions to learn martial arts!"

The "master" took the money but did not turn around.

Cheng Hongdou urged Shi Xuankai, "Shi Xuankai, hurry up and pay! We've all come here sincerely to learn martial arts, we can't let our master down."

Helpless, Shi Xuankai pulled out a small wad of cash from his bag.

Cheng Hongdou said unhappily, "Just hand over all the thousand-plus yuan you brought."

Shi Xuankai reluctantly took out the last wad of money and handed it to his master.

He couldn't help but mutter, "I've spent all my money, I'm afraid I won't even have enough for the fare home."

The driver took the money and calmly put it into his pocket.

He then bowed to them and said, "Young benefactors, you are young but ambitious, sincere and kind-hearted. With the gods above and Heaven's eyes watching, you will surely acquire true martial arts skills. Amitabha! Young benefactors, please wait for me. I will be right back—"

After the master finished speaking, he stepped into the door and gently closed it behind him.

2

Inside the courtyard of a residential house.

The long-haired "master" who had successfully swindled money entered the courtyard.

He couldn't help but gloat and mutter to himself, "What two little fools! I never thought they were so easy to fool!"

As he spoke, he took off his monk's robe and threw it into the grass in a corner of the yard.

He then took out a wig from under his clothes at his waist, put it on his head, and hurriedly slipped away through the back gate of the courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, an elderly woman from the countryside, wearing reading glasses, was sitting on a stool in the corner sewing clothes.

He watched coldly as the long-haired man left.

3

Outside the gate of a residential house.

Shi Xuankai and Cheng Hongdou paced anxiously outside the gate.

They waited for a long time but the "master" never came out.

Shi Xuankai grew anxious: "It's been so long, and Master still hasn't come out. Hong Dou, do you think Master might be lying to us?"

Cheng Hongdou: "No way! I think Master is a really nice person. Shi Xuankai, don't worry, let's wait a little longer."

Shi Xuankai: "I always felt that the abbot should live in the main hall of Shaolin Temple, so why is he living in this ordinary house?"

Cheng Hongdou: "They must be living in seclusion here! Haven't you seen in movies and TV shows that the top martial arts masters all live in remote, deep mountains?"

Shi Xuankai: "I still feel something's not right. We've been waiting for so long, and they still haven't come out. Why don't we go in and take a look?"

Cheng Hongdou hurriedly stopped him: "Don't go in, please don't go in. Master said that to learn martial arts, sincerity is key. If we're not sincere, Master won't teach us the real skills."

Shi Xuankai: "Then let me peek through the crack in the door!"

As he spoke, he pushed open a crack in the door and peered inside.

The door creaked open.

The old woman called from inside, "Who are you looking for?!"

"I'm looking for a master—"

Shi Xuankai answered loudly.

"Who are you looking for? I'm hard of hearing, come in and talk to me."

The old lady answered from inside the courtyard.

4

Inside the courtyard of a residential house.

Shi Xuankai and Cheng Hongdou timidly entered the courtyard.

Shi Xuankai: "Grandma, are the Shaolin monks here?"

The old woman took off her reading glasses and said in bewilderment, "No, no, this is my home. How could Shaolin monks live in my house?"

Cheng Hongdou then asked, "Grandma, is the abbot of Shaolin Temple living in seclusion at your house?"

The old woman said, "We don't have any Shaolin Temple abbots in our family. You've come to the wrong place!"

Shi Xuankai: "Grandma, just now a Shaolin Temple master took our money and said he would teach us real martial arts. He came into this courtyard and told us to wait outside. He asked to see the abbot before he would lead us in."

The old woman sighed, "Alas—where is there any abbot or monk? Is he wearing those clothes?"

The old lady pointed to the monk's robe that was thrown into the grass not far away:

"That's a fraud! He specializes in swindling people from other places who come to Shaolin Temple to learn martial arts."

Shi Xuankai and Cheng Hongdou were both taken aback when they picked up the monk's robe from the ground:

"Ah! That's the outfit! Grandma, where has that person gone?"

The old lady pointed to the back gate: "They ran away from there a long time ago."

Upon learning that he had been scammed, Cheng Hongdou couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Shi Xuankai, we've been scammed! We don't even have enough money for the trip home. What are we going to do?!"

Shi Xuankai: "What's the use of crying? It's all your fault. I didn't want to hand over all my money, but you insisted. Now I've been swindled out of everything, can't I?"

The old lady said, "You should go to the police station to report this right away; maybe you can catch that swindler."

Shi Xuankai clenched his fists: "No, we'll catch that swindler ourselves and take him to the police station. Cheng Hongdou, stop crying, come on, goodbye grandma—"

Shi Xuankai grabbed Cheng Hongdou's hand and ran towards the back door.

5

The woods outside the back door of a house.

Cheng Hongdou picked up a short twig and used it as "Little Li's Flying Dagger".

Shi Xuankai followed closely behind, wielding a long tree branch as a "crescent moon blade".

The two cautiously searched and advanced through the woods.

The two searched the woods for a long time.

I didn't see the swindler either.

Cheng Hongdou was getting scared: "Shi Xuankai, should we give up looking for him? That swindler is so tall and knows martial arts. Even if we find him, I'm afraid the two of us can't beat him."

Shi Xuankai rolled his eyes at Cheng Hongdou: "Coward! Where did all your Little Li Flying Dagger practice go? My Crescent Moon Blade doesn't stand for charlatans!"

As Shi Xuankai spoke, he shook the long branch of the "Crescent Moon Blade" in his hand to bolster his courage.

Cheng Hongdou lowered his head after being told off and continued to follow Shi Xuankai with the short twig in his hand.

My legs were trembling with fear...