Ever since Shen Bozhou confided his troubles to Tao Mian, his spirits had noticeably lifted.
He had more strength for chopping wood, cooking no longer tired him, and he moved swiftly up and down the mountain.
Tao Mian was quite satisfied, as he could now lie down again.
The autumn air was crisp and refreshing, and the temperature was just right today. Tao Mian instructed Liu Chuan to take the books out of the study to air them.
Liu Chuan was the most obedient of the disciples currently at Peach Blossom Mountain. When it came to airing books, Yi Gou would comply but grumble a bit, while Er Ya would endlessly argue that books wouldn't die from not being aired.
If San Tu heard him giving orders so righteously, it would be a good day if she didn't pack him into the bookshelf. Si Dui, being a clever spirit, would definitely run off before he could be ordered around.
Wu Hua was even lazier than Tao Mian. She wouldn't move at all, at most saying, "Little Tao, I surely won't live as long as those books, so why bother?"
It was practically a joke from the underworld.
But Liu Chuan, upon hearing Tao Mian's casual mention, turned and went into the study without a word, starting to move and air the books.
Actually, the best time to air books is during the hottest days of the year. In the season with the highest temperatures, spreading books and paintings in the courtyard allows the scorching sun to dispel the moisture accumulated in the paper, leaving it warm to the touch.
Airing books at this time of year was purely an immortal's whim and a case of mending the barn after the sheep are lost. Having missed the ideal season, they had to take advantage of the still-adequate temperature and sunlight to display the precious ancient books.
Shen Bozhou was methodical and patient. The books needed to be sorted into those that could be aired and those that couldn't. The ones that could be aired had to be spread out or arranged in a fan shape. Some ancient books were so old that pages might fall out, so he had to be careful not to scatter them.
Liu Chuan busied himself with these tasks, going in and out many times. Tao Mian, not helping, lay on a recliner and told Liu Chuan to slow down, lest his old eyes get dazzled.
Half-squatting on the ground, Shen Bozhou was about to open a scripture when he heard his master's voice and turned his head.
The immortal lazily flipped himself over to continue basking.
"Immortal Master, staying in the sun too long can make you dizzy. How about moving to a cooler spot?"
"Little Liu, you don't understand," Tao Mian said, patting his belly with a bamboo fan. "I am also airing books."
"…Airing books from where? This disciple is foolish, please enlighten me, Master."
"Of course... the books in my belly," Tao Mian boasted shamelessly. "As someone so cultured, with a belly full of knowledge, I must air them."
"…"
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Shen Bozhou didn't respond and continued with his work.
The golden-nosed beetle crawled around in its vine-woven cage, spinning in place. A messenger bird flew over, pecking incessantly at the cage, scaring the beetle into curling up motionless.
"Go away, don't cause trouble. Do you want to relieve yourself all over the place?"
Tao Mian waved the bird away and picked up the cage with two fingers, holding it up to his eyes.
The afternoon sun poured through the crisscrossed vines, illuminating the black-shelled insect inside like a black bean.
The day after the bird's perilous attempt to snatch the insect, a letter from Shopkeeper Xue finally arrived.
He told Tao Mian not to worry, just feed the greedy bird some medicine to make it vomit.
Upon reading the letter, Tao Mian was almost frozen in place.
Right.
Why hadn't he thought of making the bird vomit?
Why insist on using the lower exit?
Might as well die of stupidity.
Naturally, Tao Mian wouldn't share this embarrassing incident with anyone. He continued reading the letter. Xue Han also mentioned something else.
That was, the golden-nosed beetle needed time to find the Water of Heaven. It would recognize the scent of the Water of Heaven in the air and follow it to locate it.
The beetle acted like a compass; wherever it crawled, Tao Mian and the others would follow to search.
But since arriving at Peach Blossom Mountain, the little beetle had been spinning in place, indicating it hadn't yet caught the scent of the Water of Heaven.
With that in mind, Tao Mian naturally continued to lounge around. He didn't like going out. Unless necessary, he wouldn't even wander down to the village at the foot of the mountain.
Shen Bozhou was also someone who went with the flow. If Tao Mian didn't go out, neither did he. His daily routine consisted of meditating, cooking, chopping wood, and turning his sunbathing master over.
The latter three, the immortal called the basic skills of the Tao sect, were compulsory courses for every disciple who joined Peach Blossom Mountain.
Today's book airing was a novelty to him, and he found it enjoyable and not tiring. Shen Bozhou spread all the books out in the courtyard to air, occasionally flipping through the pages.
The book in his hand now was a history of dynasties, and the open page told the story of a young general who gained fame early, achieved great military success, but died from an untreated battlefield wound due to the emperor's suspicion, dying far from home.
The story itself wasn't unusual, but what was interesting were the annotations he found in the margins.
Senior Brother Gu Yuan had written on the right side of the text, only eight characters: "Unfulfilled ambitions, lamentable and sorrowful."
Second Senior Sister Lu Yuandi's note was right below Gu Yuan's, also succinct: "How can one allow others to snore beside their bed?"
Third Senior Sister Chu Liuxue's note was above Senior Brother's: "What medicine was used for the wound? Avoid lightning."
Fourth Senior Brother Chu Suiyan wrote next to his sister's: "So pitiful, died without a partner."
Fifth Senior Sister Rong Zheng's writing was the largest, at the top of the page: "What is this? Can't understand a word."
Shen Bozhou found it amusing and couldn't help but laugh. Tao Mian, with his keen ears, heard his laughter and immediately perked up.
"Disciple, what's so funny? Let your master have a laugh too."
When it came to work, he was down and out, but when it came to joining in the fun, he was full of energy.
Shen Bozhou wasn't stingy and shared with his master the annotations left by his senior brothers and sisters.
Tao Mian was also seeing these small notes in the books for the first time, surprised and delighted.
He took the book from Liu Chuan's hands, placed it in his own, and flipped through it from start to finish, discovering more annotations.
Gu Yuan and Lu Yuandi were very serious about reading. The former was meticulous and had many thoughts, leaving a note every couple of pages.
As for Lu Yuandi, Tao Mian found she rarely expressed her own opinions, instead writing in response to Senior Brother's notes. If she agreed, she drew a small ink circle; if not, she wrote her viewpoint below.
Chu Liuxue and Chu Suiyan's notes were much more casual, with the former usually making sarcastic remarks and the latter more interested in celebrity gossip.
When it came to Rong Zheng...
In the first third of the book, she marked where she didn't understand, but in the latter two-thirds, her handwriting disappeared, likely having given up.
She didn't disappoint her master; Wu Hua maintained her pure state, untouched by knowledge.
That afternoon, Tao Mian led his sixth disciple through the rows of spread-out books, searching for traces left by the disciples.
The ink marks hidden between the lines seemed like the disciples were conversing with him across time and space. Tao Mian could easily imagine them holding books under trees, on rooftops, by oil lamps, in rainy nights and snowy days, at dawn and dusk, pondering and reading quietly.
Tao Mian squatted on the ground, his fingertips brushing the ink marks, and suddenly smiled.
"Our Little Liu is a meticulous person."
"…Immortal Master?"
Shen Bozhou didn't understand why his master suddenly praised him, as he still held a book in his hands.
Tao Mian didn't explain much, instead urging his disciple.
"Little Liu, quickly, write something too."
"Me?"
"Write anything, even 'Peach Blossom Mountain was here' will do."
Shen Bozhou tilted his head in thought, then returned to the first book he had opened. Next to the general's biography, in a spot that didn't interfere with his senior brothers' and sisters' ink marks, he wrote two lines—
"Mountains and forests of dreams, worldly honor and disgrace are of no concern.
Just meet your true self in a place of leisure."
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