Hermit in the Mountains

Hearing his father's aged voice, Che Bing shouted to the beer-bellied boss, "Boss Xu, seventy thousand."

The beer-bellied boss turned around, sized up the two men, a shrewd businessman's glint in his eyes, and raised his right hand, palm open. "Fifty thousand, sell... and I'll pay."

He continued to put pressure on them, saying, "If you don't sell, I'm leaving. I'm leaving today too."

Che Bing's expression changed, and he said with a forced smile, "Boss Xu, didn't we agree on 70,000?"

The beer-bellied boss smirked, offered no explanation, and bent his right thumb down. "Forty thousand now."

Some people around were gossiping, while others were jealous that the Che family father and son were making a quick buck. But they were all from the same hometown, and the boss from the provincial capital was now behaving rather unseemly.

An unknown, well-meaning person called out, "Boss Xu, you're a respectable person from the provincial capital, why do this? If word gets out, it won't be good for your reputation."

The middle-aged man with a beer belly, known as Boss Xu, had been in the business world for many years. How could he be morally blackmailed? He retorted.

"I can buy the same water buffalo for around 10,000 yuan. If it weren't for the fact that this buffalo seems to understand human nature and has blue skin, I would still think 10,000 yuan is too expensive."

The beer-bellied boss's retort left everyone around him speechless.

The beer-bellied boss pretended to lose patience and asked urgently, "Thirty thousand, this is my final offer. Sell or not? I need to hurry back to Chang'an to discuss some matters."

Just as the Che family father and son were at a loss, a loud voice broke the beer-bellied boss's imposing manner.

"I'll offer 100,000 for this cow."

Gu Changsheng watched the whole thing from behind the crowd and spoke up at the most crucial moment.

Hearing the sound, the crowd turned their heads and looked in the direction of the sound, their eyes falling on Gu Changsheng.

The beer-bellied boss's expression turned fierce. Who had ruined his plans? He turned to look at the young man walking out of the crowd.

Seeing that the newcomer was a young man, he retorted disdainfully, "Young man, don't you know the rule of first come, first served?"

Gu Changsheng remained calm, hands tucked into his sleeves, and casually stepped forward. "I'm just a country bumpkin; I certainly don't know anything about the rules of first come, first served."

"I only know that the highest bidder wins; you can bid higher than me."

The beer-bellied boss looked Gu Changsheng up and down. He was wearing an oddly matched Taoist robe, a woolen hat, and sandals.

Judging from his clothes alone, which were worth only a few hundred yuan, he didn't waste any words arguing with Gu Changsheng. Instead, he turned to the father and son who were buying the cow and said, "This young man offered 100,000 yuan, but whether he can actually come up with that amount is another matter."

Che Bing looked at the young man in front of him, unsure of what to do.

Gu Changsheng walked straight past the beer-bellied boss and stopped next to the old man and the old ox. "I'll offer 100,000, but there are conditions."

The beer-bellied boss seized the opportunity and said with a smile, "I knew someone was putting on a brave face, haha."

The surrounding crowd was pointing and whispering, and Yang Dashan and his son heard it but couldn't say anything.

Seeing the sincerity in Gu Changsheng's eyes, the old man buying the cow couldn't help but ask, "Young man, what are your conditions?"

"Dad..." Che Bing walked to his father's side, but before he could speak, his father stopped him. He could only frown and stare at Gu Changsheng.

Gu Changsheng said softly, "First, I need you, father-in-law, to personally state that you will sell this cow to me for 100,000, and from then on, this cow will have nothing to do with you."

"Secondly, you will need to personally remove the reins, nose ring, cowbell, and collar from the cow on the spot."

"Third, this cow willingly walked ten meters to my side."

"If all three conditions are met, I will immediately pay 100,000 yuan; if even one condition is missing, it won't work."

Gu Changsheng wasn't trying to make things difficult for the father and son; he sensed an invisible thread connecting the old man and the water buffalo.

He thought of the causal connections in the cultivation world; whether they were real or not, he needed to sever this link.

He could only sense the existence of this line, but he had no means to forcibly sever it. He did not want to leave behind something he could not control.

After stating his three conditions, he slowly retreated ten meters.

The surrounding crowd looked bewildered upon hearing such outrageous conditions. Seeing Gu Changsheng backing away, they quickly made way for him, afraid of being knocked down.

The beer-bellied shop owner looked puzzled, thinking, "Could this young man be a Taoist practitioner?"

Many spiritual practitioners have special, unspoken requirements.

Yang Xiaoshan, who was in the crowd, saw that the old man had not spoken for a long time, so he spoke up, "Grandpa, Uncle Gu also bought a big yellow dog from my house. He's taking good care of it. Big Yellow is very smart now."

He spoke up because Gu Changsheng's request sounded like something a reclusive sage would say.

He wondered if Uncle Gu was some legendary reclusive master, otherwise why would he have lived in the mountains for four months without ever coming down once?

He's doing Uncle Gu a favor in this way.

If Uncle Gu is truly a master, he might give him an elixir in a moment of joy, and he could become an immortal.

Yang Dashan slapped his son on the back of the head with a big nose, "You talk too much."

Yang Xiaoshan rubbed the back of his head, pouting, "Dad, you patted the back of my head again. My sister said patting your head too much will make you stupid."

Yang Dashan's face twitched, and he was furious. "With your grades, you haven't passed a single subject. How stupid can you be?"

"Your sister got into Chang'an Normal University, look at you."

Thinking of his daughter's admission to a top university, he didn't want to say anything more about his son. He looked up at the old man and spoke up for Gu Changsheng, "Father-in-law, since Brother Gu said 100,000, as long as we can fulfill his request, Brother Gu will definitely keep his word."

Fearing the old man wouldn't believe him, he added, "Brother Gu rented mountain land in an outside village for ten years, and the rent has been paid in full."

"I also spent over 100,000 yuan to renovate the house, so buying your cow is no problem." He believed that Gu Changsheng could come up with 100,000 yuan.

If Gu Changsheng knew what Yang Dashan was thinking, he would be grateful to his elder brother for trusting him so much.

He couldn't come up with 100,000 yuan after finishing the house repairs, so he took out a 100,000 yuan online loan on the way.

The old man looked at the young man ten meters away and repeated the other man's request, "Young man, I'll sell you my dog, Da Niu, for 100,000 yuan. After that, Da Niu will have nothing to do with us."

After saying this, the old man squatted down next to the old ox's head and slowly removed the reins, collar, cowbell, and nose ring from the ox.

Gently stroking the bull's head, in a final farewell, "Big Bull, I'm so sorry."

My wife is still in the hospital, waiting for the medical bills.

"I hope you meet a good person who will treat you well."

Suppressing his reluctance, he patted the bull's head and said, "Stand up and go find your new master."

As if understanding the old man's words, the old ox slowly got up and walked towards Gu Changsheng.

The people around and the beer-bellied boss saw Niu walk towards Gu Changsheng, but none of them said a word.

The beer-bellied boss, thinking it was better to avoid trouble, knew he couldn't afford to offend Gu Changsheng if he was truly a cultivator.

Although modern society does not have the legendary magic, who can say for sure whether there are any evil spells that he doesn't know about?

The old ox stopped halfway and turned back to call out to the old man.

"Moo—"

In an instant, tears welled up in the huge bull's eyes. When the old bull saw the old man waving, it turned back and continued walking towards Gu Changsheng.

Gu Changsheng saw the old ox walk up to him and lower its head. He patted the ox's head and said, "From now on, you'll follow me. I won't treat you badly."

"Moo—" the old ox responded softly.