In the first year after the Fifth Disciple left the mountain, Tao Mian named it the Year of Five Flowers.
Blessed by the phoenix, the village had a bountiful harvest that year.
The village was filled with joy, led by the village chief. The villagers carried bamboo baskets and sacks filled with grains and fruits to offer at the Peach Blossom Temple.
As they gathered outside the courtyard gate, Tao Mian was in the yard, pressing the head of the yellow chicken to drink water.
"If you don't drink water, you'll be stubborn with me!"
Tao Mian squatted on the ground, holding the yellow chicken tightly with both hands. Water splashed everywhere from the flapping wings of the yellow chicken, soaking the ground and even the Immortal's shoes and socks.
"If you don't drink, I'll tie you to a tree to sunbathe and see if you give in... see if you drink water!"
The yellow chicken was the most stubborn of the three chickens on Peach Blossom Mountain. Even after a hundred years, it was hard to change its nature.
It suddenly flapped its wings, slapped Little Tao Immortal, and flew away close to the ground, clucking. The Immortal exclaimed and quickly dodged, but was still splashed with water all over his face.
Little Tao Immortal was furious, chasing after the yellow chicken, determined to catch it.
The chase led to the gate, where the yellow chicken first saw the crowd outside. It abruptly stopped, flapping its wings several times, almost crashing into the village chief's face.
The village chief, in his sixties, was startled and took two steps back, nearly straining his old back.
He steadied himself, patting his chest with a trembling, withered hand. The reckless yellow chicken was caught by a pair of slender hands, and the handsome little Immortal peeked out from behind.
"Oh, the village chief is here?"
The village chief's face broke into a smile, and he greeted the Immortal.
"Little Tao Immortal, I've brought some food for you with a few young men."
Tao Mian had always been close to the villagers, so he welcomed them into the courtyard with a smile to rest and have tea, while exchanging pleasantries with the village chief.
They sat casually at the stone table in the courtyard. Tao Mian, being attentive, placed a blue silk cushion embroidered with floral patterns for the village chief.
The village chief thanked him repeatedly and sat beside the Immortal.
The warm wind blew, dyeing the green mountains, marking the beginning of a beautiful early summer.
The village chief squinted his kind eyes, gazing at the beautiful mountain scenery, and asked the Immortal how he had been lately.
"Quite well, quite well," the Immortal replied, picking up a purple morning glory flower blown down by the wind. "It's just that the water lotuses in the mountain pond haven't bloomed much this year, which keeps me concerned. All the other flowers are competing to bloom, yet the pond full of lotuses remains asleep."
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"The mountain is cold and clear, perhaps the lotuses will bloom later," the old man replied with a smile. "Even after a thousand years, you still care about the blooming of flowers, which shows your clear Dao heart."
Tao Mian chuckled.
"Don't praise me, village chief. What kind of Immortal like me, staying on Peach Blossom Mountain and freeloading in the village?"
"With the Dao in your heart, every place is a place of cultivation."
The village chief held his cane with both hands, his gaze shifting from the distant mountains to the little Immortal's face.
"Besides, the Immortal protects us, and the villagers are grateful. If there's anything lacking or needed, just let me know."
Tao Mian couldn't refuse, so he agreed. The village chief noticed some cracks in the temple walls and suggested picking a good day to have four or five young men come and repaint and repair the temple.
As they chatted, a young man called out loudly for the village chief at the gate.
It was Liu San from the Liu butcher's family in the village, whom Tao Mian remembered.
Liu San was panting, his forehead glistening with sweat. He seemed to have run a long way and was in a hurry.
The village chief scolded him for being reckless in front of the Immortal, and Liu San finally noticed that the one sitting on the stone slab holding a chicken was Little Tao Immortal.
He bowed and greeted, "Greetings, Immortal," then looked anxiously at the old man.
"Village chief, that fool is begging at the village entrance again!"
The village chief frowned upon hearing this, looking troubled.
"Then give him a bowl of rice. He's a pitiful soul, fallen to this state, it's fate."
"But after he's full, he starts hitting people! Two or three of our village brothers have already been injured by him."
"Hitting people?"
Initially, when he heard someone was begging, Tao Mian thought it was just a passing beggar, something the village could handle, so he didn't intervene.
But upon hearing villagers were injured, Tao Mian couldn't help but interject.
"Village chief, what's this about hitting people?"
The village chief was troubled by the matter. He hadn't wanted to bother the Immortal with such trivial issues, so he hadn't mentioned it.
But this had been going on for two or three days, indeed causing some trouble for the village.
He explained that the first time they found the man, he was half-submerged in the creek, discovered by the daughter-in-law of the old Li family who went to wash clothes by the creek.
When they found him, the man was severely injured, the clear creek water stained red, looking quite horrifying.
The daughter-in-law had never seen such a bloody scene and fainted on the spot. The villagers heard and went to help, but by then, only the blood-stained creek remained, and the man was nowhere to be found.
By noon, a ragged young man appeared at the village entrance begging for food.
The young man had a strong smell of blood, wearing tattered clothes he somehow acquired, which didn't fit well but were more presentable than before.
The villagers didn't dare approach him. The braver ones saw him weakly leaning against a tree, pitiful, so they placed two cornbread rolls in an old bowl by his side.
The man, hearing the clink of the bowl on the ground, opened his eyes, took the cornbread, and disappeared again.
The villagers thought he wouldn't return after begging for food, assuming he was a fallen noble unwilling to live under others' roofs in the village.
But the next day, he was wandering at the village entrance again, with an even stronger smell of blood. The villagers, fearing he'd scare the women, children, and elderly, gave him some food and waved sickles to drive him away, telling him not to return.
However, upon seeing the weapons, the man became agitated.
The villagers struggled to subdue him, with a few accidentally injured. Later, the man, in a fit of madness, fled, not forgetting his bowl of food.
The villagers were indignant, feeling betrayed after helping him. They agreed that if they saw the man again, they wouldn't let him off easily.
Now, the man had come uninvited for the third time, in a standoff with the villagers.
Initially, the village chief narrated the story, with Liu San adding details. Later, other young men gathered around Tao Mian, all talking at once, embellishing the tale.
Tao Mian asked them to speak one at a time, as their collective shouting made the Immortal's head spin. After finally sorting out the sequence of events, the Immortal stood up.
"Since villagers have been injured, this is no small matter. Please lead the way, and I'll take a look."
The young men eagerly stepped forward to guide the Immortal. Tao Mian followed the lively youths to the village entrance, arriving just in time to witness the standoff.
Using the large banyan tree at the village entrance as a boundary, on one side were the vigilant villagers, and on the other was a solitary, desolate figure.
With disheveled hair, ragged clothes stained with blood, and fingers caked with mud, his nails were split in several places.
The man had no weapon, yet despite his haggard appearance, he stood tall. He was side-facing Tao Mian, his face obscured by messy black hair, making it impossible to discern his features.
The villagers, seeing Little Tao Immortal, were relieved. Tao Mian raised a hand, silently calming the crowd, then stepped forward a few paces.
The man remained motionless, but the villagers anxiously spoke up.
"Immortal!"
"Little Tao Immortal, don't get too close, it's dangerous!"
Ignoring their warnings, Tao Mian moved closer until he was only three steps away, then stopped.
At that moment, the man turned his head, brushing aside the tangled hair with one hand, revealing his true face.
Upon seeing the face clearly, Tao Mian was taken aback.
"Shen Bozhou?"
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