Tao Mian was originally standing, lecturing Shen Bozhou, who was sitting on the bed.
Afterward, Shen Bozhou brought him a chair, inviting him to sit, while he knelt on the ground himself.
His attitude was quite good.
Tao Mian's anger subsided a bit.
The incident began like this.
Early in the morning, Little Tao Immortal was still drinking and playing games with Duke Zhou in his dreams.
He usually didn't like to get up early, and even if he did, he would go back to sleep. After waking up again, he would continue the dreams he hadn't finished. After all this fuss, the sun was already high in the sky.
But this morning, just as dawn was breaking, he was roused by a commotion of chaos and disorder.
The summer heat was intensifying day by day, and even at night, it was hot. Tao Mian had been sleeping with the window open for two days, intending to let some cool breeze in, but it also gave the yellow chicken an opportunity.
In the dim room, the Immortal's breathing was steady, and the thin blanket rose and fell slightly.
Suddenly, a strange clucking sound came from outside the window. A nimble yellow chicken leaped up from the window, flapping its wings and landing precisely in the center of the blanket.
"Ugh!"
Little Tao Immortal was struck in the abdomen by the heavy object, his body jolting up, almost causing him to vomit his dinner from the previous night.
An enemy attack??
The possibility of being killed by a chicken was small, but not zero.
Tao Mian clutched his stomach, his eyes searching for the culprit.
Immediately after, a tall figure jumped in through the window.
Tao Mian: ...
Was his bedroom a tourist spot where anyone could enter?
Following the yellow chicken was none other than Shen Bozhou, who should have been resting on the bed.
Seeing Tao Mian's angry face, he was a bit stunned, seemingly not expecting this to be the Immortal's room.
"Immortal Master, I..."
"Kneel! No, just sit."
Tao Mian got out of bed, still holding the reckless yellow chicken.
Once the oil lamp in the bedroom was lit again, one person and one chicken knelt before the Immortal.
"Confess," the Immortal, disturbed from his peaceful dream, was still angry, "What were you doing instead of sleeping? Do you think you're a three-year-old child... or a three-year-old chicken?"
The yellow chicken was stubborn, full of defiance.
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Of course, it couldn't speak human language.
It was up to Shen Bozhou to explain.
Shen Bozhou admitted his mistake first.
"Immortal Master, I was wrong."
He had accepted the fact that Tao Mian had become his master quite well, whether it was because he was living under someone else's roof or genuinely grateful for being saved.
In any case, his identity naturally transitioned from a fallen young master to the sixth disciple of Peach Blossom Mountain.
After his drastic change in character, Shen Bozhou, as he himself said, was walking the path of reforming his ways.
At least towards Tao Mian, he was still very respectful.
"You're always admitting your mistakes," Tao Mian was still angry, this sixth disciple always admitted his mistakes at lightning speed, but never understood what he did wrong, "Why were you chasing the yellow chicken? Were you planning to stew it too?"
The word "too" was quite meaningful.
Shen Bozhou caught on, but didn't delve deeper, and the angry Tao Mian certainly wouldn't tell him.
As for the grudge with the chicken, he truthfully informed Tao Mian.
"Brother Yellow stole my medicine."
"...What?"
Tao Mian initially thought Shen Bozhou wanted to stew the yellow chicken for nourishment, given past experiences.
Besides, Shen Bozhou was tall and strong, surely he wouldn't be bullied by a chicken.
It turned out the yellow chicken was the one doing the bullying!
There was no need to verify the truth, the yellow chicken's guilty turning of its head said it all.
Tao Mian let Shen Bozhou stand up, poking the yellow chicken's glossy feathers with a small branch.
"Greedy again! Want to taste everything! Stealing the water I use to water flowers is one thing, but you even eat the fertilizer! Do you know where that fertilizer comes from? Ask yourself!
Now you're stealing your junior brother's medicine..."
The yellow chicken twisted and turned, squawking loudly. Tao Mian wasn't heavy-handed, but it was cunning, making a fuss so the Immortal wouldn't torment it further.
Sure enough, after poking it a few more times, Tao Mian tossed the peach branch onto the nearby table.
It seemed he was too angry.
The yellow chicken buried its head under its wings, clucking softly, pretending to be pitiful.
Tao Mian, still angry, eventually laughed.
"Alright, stop pretending. Show your usual rebellious self."
Hearing this, the yellow chicken spread its wings, puffed out its chest, and regained its usual spirited demeanor.
This change in expression, the Peach Blossom Mountain's best actor, truly lived up to its name.
The Immortal nudged the chicken's hind leg with his boot, sending it back to its nest.
The room was left with just the master and disciple.
After Shen Bozhou got up from the ground, he didn't dare sit. His posture was straight, eyes downcast.
Tao Mian didn't need to use spiritual power to sense it; he could hear Shen Bozhou's forcibly suppressed, chaotic breathing.
Little Tao Immortal sighed lightly.
"If your body can't take it, don't force it. If the wound opens again, it'll waste my good medicine."
He instructed Shen Bozhou to return to his own room.
"I'll come see you after I freshen up. If you're hungry, there are snacks on the table to tide you over."
Tao Mian pointed to the tea table in his room.
Shen Bozhou was indeed a bit hungry, he thanked his master and didn't hold back, taking the whole plate with him.
...
At least leave me a few pieces!
Once the room was quiet again, Little Tao Immortal rubbed a few acupoints on his forehead, calming his mind.
What a morning...
Washing his face, brushing his teeth, tying his hair, changing clothes. He replaced the incense in the burner with fresh incense and filled the vase by the window with clean water.
Tao Mian placed the peach branch he had just tossed onto the table into the vase, and with a flick of his fingers, like magic, the withered branch suddenly sprouted new buds, two or three peach blossoms blooming.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the season for peach blossoms, and these flowers would likely wither by afternoon, but Tao Mian was still pleased.
After finishing these tasks, he left the room, turned left, and entered the sixth disciple's room.
Shen Bozhou had fallen asleep leaning against the bedpost at some point, and Tao Mian walked quietly, but still woke him.
He seemed very alert.
Once Shen Bozhou saw who had entered, his body visibly relaxed.
"Immortal Master."
Tao Mian was a bit puzzled.
"Either call me Immortal or Master. Why mix them together?"
"Is it strange," Shen Bozhou was also taken aback, "But you are both an Immortal and my Master."
The sixth disciple asked how his senior brothers and sisters addressed Tao Mian.
"Some call me Master, some call me Little Tao, others call me Little Tao Master, Banknote... there are many."
Tao Mian counted on his fingers.
"Then I'll call you Immortal Master," Shen Bozhou's eyes curved like crescent moons, "To distinguish myself from the others, so when you hear it, you'll know it's me."
"Alright, if you're determined to call me that, I won't argue."
Tao Mian instructed Shen Bozhou to turn sideways, as he was going to transfer spiritual power to him, as usual.
The Immortal was at ease, urging him to hurry, but Shen Bozhou was a bit uncomfortable.
"Is it really okay to sacrifice yourself to save others like this? Spiritual power is very important for a cultivator."
"Since you know it's important, hurry up." Tao Mian directly turned him around, sitting cross-legged behind him.
The gentle spiritual power slowly flowed into Shen Bozhou's body, and he dared not be careless, carefully receiving this power.
The Immortal's mouth, however, kept chattering.
"Since you've acknowledged me as your master, our master-disciple relationship is established. Every disciple of Peach Blossom Mountain is given a Taoist title by their master. Do you have any ideas?"
Shen Bozhou didn't respond directly but first asked what the previous disciples were called.
Tao Mian was an Immortal, so his disciples should have ethereal names.
At least, that's what Shen Bozhou thought.
He imagined elegant titles like "Flowing Cloud" or "Chasing Moon," but Tao Mian shattered all his fantasies with a single sentence.
"Yi Gou, Er Ya, San Tu, Si Dui, Wu Hua."
"..."
"Don't be surprised, the more rustic the name, the higher the power. How about Liu Wo? Those two nests..."
"How about I call myself Liu Zhou," Shen Bozhou was a bit overwhelmed, "Just take a character from my name."
"Liu Zhou? Too elegant, not good, not good. Let's go with Liu Chuan, it's the same meaning."
"...I'll leave it to you, Immortal Master."
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