Under One Person: The End of Technique, Company Building

The old Celestial Master wore a dark blue Taoist robe with wide sleeves, the fabric swaying gently in the breeze.

His hair was gray, combed into a neat topknot with a wooden hairpin, and the wrinkles on his face were deep and smooth, like granite patiently sculpted by time.

He was slightly bent over, his right hand making a peace sign. Beside him, a middle-aged woman in a floral dress held up a rear camera, her face bearing that perfectly standard, warm smile.

The middle-aged woman smiled so hard her eyes narrowed into slits, made a peace sign, and snapped a picture.

Before the shutter clicked, someone next to me shouted, "Taoist Master, it's my turn! It's my family of three!"

The old master straightened up, turned around to face the family of three, and still had that standard smile and that slightly bowed posture.

A family of three stood next to him. The father gave a thumbs-up, the mother made a heart shape with her hands, and the seven or eight-year-old boy looked at the camera, seemingly at a loss. The shutter clicked again.

"Me too! Taoist priest, I want one too!"

"Don't push, don't push, line up!"

"Master, is this angle alright for me?"

The sounds of people in the square were like a pot of millet porridge boiling, bubbling and steaming.

The old master maintained his kind and benevolent smile throughout, accommodating tourists' requests for photos and sometimes even adjusting his position.

Zhuge Qi stood at the edge of the square watching this scene, his face expressionless.

The old master has such great patience.

As Zhuge Qi was pondering this, Dou Le quickly stepped forward and coughed lightly from the edge of the crowd: "Old Celestial Master, excuse me."

The old master was bending over to take a photo with a college student wearing a cultural shirt. Hearing the sound, he straightened up, turned his head to look in Dou Le's direction, and then the smile on his face changed slightly.

The smile changed from a "smile specifically for welcoming tourists" to a slightly warmer one, but it was still gentle.

"Director Dou is here." The old master patted the college student on the shoulder, then slightly raised his hand to the crowd. "Please wait a moment, everyone. I have a guest."

Although the tourists were somewhat reluctant, they knew that "official people have arrived" when they saw Dou Le wearing the uniform of Na Du Tong, so they dispersed.

Some people continued to take pictures of the red walls of the Celestial Master's Mansion with their phones, while others rushed to the nearby convenience store to buy popsicles.

The old celestial master walked to the stone steps in the center of the square, his gaze passing over Dou Le and landing on Zhuge Qi, who was a few steps behind him.

His gaze lingered on Zhuge Qi for two seconds, then he narrowed his eyes slightly.

The moment the Celestial Master looked at him, Zhuge Qi had already stepped forward with composed steps and a straight back. He stopped three steps away from the Celestial Master, bowed slightly, and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Junior Zhuge Qi greets Celestial Master."

His movements were standard, his tone was appropriate, neither humble nor arrogant; he neither appeared overly humble as if he were asking for something, nor did he put on airs like a headquarters leader coming to investigate something.

The old celestial master looked him up and down, then smiled: "A young man from the Zhuge family? To have such cultivation at such a young age, truly a formidable young talent."

"You flatter me, Celestial Master."

"Master, Section Chief Zhuge was handpicked by General Manager Zhao. He's the one who built up the Department of Extraordinary People Affairs. He's here to cooperate with our work this time."

"Oh—" The old master drawled out the last syllable, a "I see" expression on his face. Then he looked at Zhuge Qi again, his tone suddenly becoming casual, "Well, consider this a leadership inspection. Everyone, please make yourselves at home."

Zhuge Qi smiled slightly and replied calmly, "Master, you are joking. How could a junior like me dare to come and inspect Longhu Mountain? Today, I am here to familiarize myself with the site with Director Dou and to pay my respects to you."

"The Luo Tian Grand Ceremony is such a grand event; the Celestial Master's Mansion is the host, and the company is here to cooperate, not to interfere."

The old master glanced at him, the cynical look in his eyes slightly fading, then he waved his hand and said with a smile, "Alright, alright, come in and have a cup of tea."

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked into the hall, his steps casual and light, the hem of his Taoist robe trailing a soft arc on the stone steps.

Zhuge Qi took a step forward and followed. When he reached the threshold, he turned his head and glanced at the square.

The tourists were still taking pictures. A little girl was chasing a tabby cat in the square, holding a candied hawthorn she had just bought. The cat jumped onto the stone railing, squatted down, licked its paws, and looked at her impatiently.

The sunlight shone on the red wall, casting long, long shadows at its base.

He silently wondered to himself, "Is this what the Old Master wants people to see?"

Then he looked away, stepped over the threshold, and followed him inside.

Ma Hong, Liu Yanyan, and Feng Baobao waited outside the hall.

Liu Yanyan nervously rubbed her hands together: "Brother Ma, are we just going to stand here and wait?"

"Okay, just wait." Ma Hong squatted down on the steps, took out a cigarette and lit it. "The section chief is going in to talk business. Baby, stay there and don't run around."

Feng Baobao hummed in agreement, leaned against a pillar, and stared blankly at the tabby cat in the square, lost in thought.

The side hall of the Celestial Master's Mansion is not large, but it is decorated in an elegant and sophisticated manner.

In the center was a dark-colored old-fashioned square table, with a mahogany armchair on each side. A set of celadon tea set sat on the table, and an incense burner was lit beside it, the smoke rising and dispersing into a pale blue mist in the beam of light shining in from the window.

The old master sat down in the armchair on the left, then gestured with his chin towards the person opposite him: "Sit down."

Zhuge Qi didn't stand on ceremony and sat down in the armchair on the right, resting his hands naturally on the armrests.

The armrests of the round-backed chair have been worn smooth and shiny by the years. When you place your palm on them, you can feel the warmth of the wood, like jade that has been touched by countless people.

The old master personally picked up the teapot, poured a cup of tea for Zhuge Qi, then poured one for himself. He put down the teapot, took a sip, and didn't speak.

Zhuge Qi didn't rush to speak. He picked up the teacup and looked at the color of the tea. It was a deep amber-colored old tea with a mellow aroma and a warm, aged wood scent.

He took a sip, his tongue first encountering a slight bitterness, then a sweet aftertaste surged up, sweetening from the back of his tongue all the way to his throat.

"Good tea," he said, putting down his teacup.

"Lu'an Melon Seed Tea, aged for eight years." The old master placed the teacup on the table. "Your uncle drank this one when he came last time."

Zhuge Qi smiled and said, "My uncle has better taste than I do. I can only distinguish between bitter and non-bitter tea."

The old master chuckled at his words, then quickly suppressed his laughter and looked at him. Although his eyes had the loose bags often seen in the elderly, the depths of his pupils were surprisingly bright.

"Young man," the old Celestial Master spoke, his tone still casual, "you've come to Longhu Mountain not only for defense, but for something else, right?"

Zhuge Qi did not answer immediately.

He picked up his teacup and took another sip, mentally going over what he was going to say twice before putting the cup down and meeting the old master's gaze: "Master, I've come to ask you for an explanation."

"Oh? What bottom?"

"If Zhang Chulan is truly willing to accept the position of Celestial Master, are you really going to go all the way to the end?"