Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

Chen Mo patted the dirt off his clothes, looked down to check them, and found that his gray cloth robe was stained with mud and there were bloodstains on the cuffs.

He frowned, took off his long robe, and stuffed it into his bag.

Inside was a blue cloth jacket, which was also dusty, but better than a long gown.

He was shirtless, wearing a jacket, and carrying a wooden box on his back, he strode out of the woods.

After leaving the mass grave, walk east along the path for five miles, and you'll reach the tramway.

There weren't many people on the road yet. Occasionally, a garbage truck would pass by, and the driver would glance at him, see that he was a middle-aged man covered in dirt, and not give him a second look.

Chen Mo walked to the tram stop, where several people were already standing under the sign.

A lady in a cheongsam, wearing pearl earrings and clutching a small handbag, stood far away from the two female students, annoyed by their noise.

Chen Mo stood by the bus stop sign without saying a word.

The woman glanced at him, her gaze sweeping over him from head to toe, from his face to his shoes.

It paused for a moment on his dirt-covered jacket.

He glanced at his muddy shoes again, then moved aside to the other side of the bus stop.

Chen Mo pretended not to see it; people like that exist in every era.

After waiting a while, the tram arrived with a clanging sound.

The first bus wasn't crowded.

Chen Mo stepped onto the bus, but the woman squeezed in ahead of him, plopped down in the innermost seat, covered her nose with a handkerchief, and looked out the window.

He found a seat near the door, placed the wooden box beside him, and held his luggage in his arms.

The tram, carrying passengers, swayed and rattled its way into the city.

After one stop, two old men carrying birdcages got on.

The car gradually became lively, with voices, coughs, and birdsong all mixed together.

Chen Mo leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.

"Ouch, what's that smell?"

A sharp voice rang out.

When Chen Mo opened his eyes, he saw the lady in the cheongsam covering her nose with a handkerchief and looking around erratically.

"Why are they letting just anyone get on this bus? They're covered in dirt, filthy! Are they even letting anyone else sit here?"

She didn't name names, but her eyes glanced in Chen Mo's direction.

The people in the car followed her gaze, and several of them frowned.

Seeing that people were looking over, the woman became even more excited and raised her voice even higher: "This tram is for respectable people, not for peasants."

"You're so dirty, how dare you come up here? If it were me, I'd just walk around by myself and avoid bothering others with the smell."

As she spoke, she fanned the front of her nose with a handkerchief.

An old man carrying a birdcage chimed in, "This lady is right. Young man, you're quite dirty. Be more careful next time."

Another old man nodded in agreement: "That's right, the tram is a public place, we should think about others too."

The two female students didn't say anything, but they moved to the side.

Seeing that someone was speaking up for her, the woman raised her chin even higher: "Did you hear that? Being poor is one thing, but not being aware of it when you're poor is another. That's what you call having no upbringing."

Chen Mo glanced at her, then at the two old men who were chiming in, and grinned.

"Hey, you guys, out for a bird walk? You're in pretty good shape."

The two old men were taken aback, not expecting him to chime in.

"Getting up early to walk the birds is a good thing, it's good for your muscles and bones, but I have something to say to you guys, but I'm not sure if I should."

"You lot are really good at sucking up to people, but the lady of the house didn't even offer you a penny, so why are you all rushing to chime in? What are you hoping to gain?"

He changed his expression, his face showing disdain: "Just because she glances at you? At your age, can your heart handle it?"

The two old men's faces turned red, and they opened their mouths, but couldn't utter a word.

He then turned to the woman in the cheongsam: "And this old lady."

"You said this tram is for respectable people," Chen Mo leaned back in his seat, "but you're so respectable, why are you squeezing in with a peasant like me? You should hire a car, a driver, and have a retinue of servants around you, that would be more befitting of your status."

The woman opened her mouth to speak.

Chen Mo didn't give her a chance: "Oh, I understand, you don't have the money, right?"

"Your cheongsam, it must have cost twenty silver dollars, right? And those earrings, they must be fakes you bought for thirty dollars, right?"

"You've spent all your savings on yourself, just so people would look up to you when you go out. And what did you get? You squeeze in with me and complain that I'm dirty."

"Madam, what you're doing isn't respectable, it's just being a poor tyrant."

He originally wanted to say it was pretentious, but then he realized that at this time of year, the older woman probably wouldn't understand what he meant.

The woman in the cheongsam's face changed from white to red, from red to purple, and from purple to black.

The two female students covered their mouths, their shoulders shaking.

Chen Mo stood up, just as the tram arrived at the station.

"Please take your time, everyone. I'll be leaving now. Oh, by the way..."

He glanced back at the woman and said, "The stitching on the sleeves of your cheongsam is really crooked. Next time, don't try to save money; find a proper tailor to fix it."

After saying that, Chen Mo took his things and got out of the car without looking back.

Behind me, the doors closed, and the tram jingled and drove away.

Through the car window, you could see that the woman's face was still dark, the two old men were turning their heads to pretend to look out the window, and the two female students were laughing so hard they couldn't stand up straight.

The tram clanged and jingled as it drove away, the red light on its tail swaying in the morning mist before disappearing around the street corner.

Across the street, a vendor selling roasted sweet potatoes had just set up his stall. The charcoal fire in his stove was still emitting wisps of smoke, and the aroma wafted over, making his stomach rumble.

I'm hungry, but I have to go back first.

He turned and went into the alley, winding his way through the maze for about fifteen minutes before finally arriving at a wide street.

The plane trees on both sides of the road had half of their leaves turned yellow, while the other half were still green.

The streets are paved with new cement, unlike the bumpy bluestone slabs in the old alleys.

Students who got up early to go to school rode by on their bicycles, the bells jingling as the backpacks on the back swayed back and forth.

Chen Mo pushed open the half-closed iron gate of the courtyard, came to the front gate, took out the key he always carried with him, and inserted it into the lock.

It was darker inside than outside. The curtains were drawn, and only a few rays of light squeezed in through the gaps, falling on the floor in streaks.

He placed the wooden box containing the Tang sword on the coffee table, threw his luggage on the sofa, walked around up and down the stairs, and found nothing unusual before turning around and going to the bathroom on the second floor.

The bathroom is small, with white tiles covering half of the wall and light green paint on the upper half, some of which is peeling.

The ground is paved with small black and white square tiles arranged in a checkered pattern.

Against the wall was a white porcelain bathtub, supported by four claw-like bent legs, with a newly bought towel draped over the rim.

A small window was opened on the wall above the bathtub, the glass covered with limescale, letting in the dim light from outside.

He turned on the tap, and the water gurgled for a while before gushing out a stream of brown, rusty water that splashed into the bottom of the basin and flowed away down the drain.

After a while, the water cleared up, but it was still cold.

He had to use the boiler downstairs to heat water in this house, but he found it too troublesome and had never lit a fire.

In this weather, taking a cold shower is even more refreshing.

He opened the window a crack, and a cool breeze blew in, carrying the aroma of breakfast stalls from the street.

I took off my clothes and stood barefoot on the black and white square bricks.

Chen Mo looked down at his body.

Her skin was still frighteningly white.