Chapter 47: The Immortal Stands Before You Unrecognized

The few of them turned their gazes to the same person by a tacit accord.

Jiang She put down his food, raised his head, and saw a young man dressed in a moon-white unlined gauze gown with a pendant of Qunyu jade at his waist. With an open and clear gaze, the young man descended from an exquisitely carved carriage, looking to be around the same age as Li Bai.

His speech was courteous, suggesting he hailed from a prestigious family.

Jiang She said, "As for matters of immortals, we have heard nothing of the sort around here."

The newcomer sighed, "Could it be that I have missed them once again?"

"Are you someone seeking immortals?"

"Precisely," the newcomer replied. "I heard there were immortal manifestations in Xiangyang, so I hurried all the way here. Regrettably, I did not catch up in time; the immortal has already departed."

Upon hearing this, Li Bai found it rather amusing.

This person had come to search for the Master, yet remained entirely unaware that an immortal was standing right before him.

He nudged Yuan Danqiu with his elbow.

Yuan Danqiu glared at him and asked, "You appear to be of extraordinary birth. May I ask your esteemed name, and do you also have a fondness for the affairs of immortals?"

Wang Wei had no intention of lingering long in a rural village. He had merely seen people resting here, thinking they might have heard some rumors, or perhaps knew a thing or two should an immortal happen to pass by.

Yet he had forgotten how far Xiangyang was from Ruzhou.

Six or seven hundred miles of distance, separated by vast plains and the southern foothills of Mount Funiu.

Many people struggled to cross such a great distance in their entire lives, and these individuals looked to be nothing more ordinary wealthy households out for a spring outing. Even if they possessed an extraordinary demeanor, how could they possibly know of immortal anecdotes from hundreds of miles away?

He had asked for too much.

Wang Wei replied, "I am a man of Hedong, with my ancestral roots in Taiyuan. Forgive my abrupt intrusion upon your meal. Since there is nothing here, I shall take my leave. My thanks to you all."

As he spoke, his tone inevitably cooled by a fraction.

Hearing this, Li Bai gave a cold internal chuckle.

He asked, "A man of Hedong with ancestral roots in Taiyuan—might your honorable surname be Wang?"

"Indeed."

Wang Wei had no intention of mingling further with these people. Even the person in Daoist robes among them appeared to him as merely a mortal in the secular world, entirely incomparable to true immortal beings.

As a Yuefu poem went:
*"Immortals ride white deer, hair short and ears so long. Guiding me up Mount Taihua, grasping glossy ganoderma to harvest red pennants."*

Such carefree wandering was what he truly yearned for.

Wang Wei turned around to leave, intending to return to his carriage and hasten toward Luoyang to see whether the immortal might be waiting further ahead.

Li Bai lowered his voice and murmured to the others.

"He has come to look for the Master."

"This person looks somewhat familiar," Yuan Danqiu remarked. "He ought to be from a branch of the Taiyuan Wang clan, one of the great aristocratic families under heaven."

Seeing that Li Bai was eager to try something, Jiang She smiled.

"He already holds the notion of immortals in his heart. Why bother revealing it before him?"

The Old Deer Mountain Deity stroked his beard, gazing in the direction where the carriage had departed, and smiled as well.

Looking at the mortal, he sighed with emotion:
"An immortal stands right before him, yet he fails to recognize him."

Li Bai felt a slight aversion toward the man. He had never liked the haughty air of those aristocratic nobles, so he remained silent and poured himself another cup of wine.

He drained it in a single gulp.

The few of them chatted in low whispers, discussing the sect of the fraudulent disciples their journey aimed to uncover, as well as the Daoist Jingchen, who fancied himself a match for Luan Da.

Since those people possessed some genuine skills, they surely ought to be found in a major city like Luoyang.

Moving among the houses of nobles and interacting with powerful aristocratic clans.

After talking for a while, Jiang She noticed that the child was still hiding behind a tree. With a large head and a thin, frail body, he looked as though he had rolled around in the mud. The child kept his eyes wide open, peering timidly in their direction.

Jiang She picked up a steamed bun and beckoned, "Come here."

The child hesitated for a moment, fixed his eyes on the white wheat bun in the man's hand, and walked over.

Catching the fragrant scent of the bun, he found his feet unable to move away.

Swallowing hard, his stomach rumbling with hunger, the child heard the man speak in an easy tone, "I will ask you a question. As a reward, this bun is yours."

The child nodded repeatedly.

"As long as I know, I will tell you everything."

Jiang She asked, "What deities do the families in your village worship, or do you worship any clay statues of Daoist priests?"

The child swallowed hard.

Terrified that answering too slowly would cost him his meal, he blurted out in a rush, "Our village all goes to the Daoist temple on the mountain to worship immortals. Sometimes when there's a village market, my mother also goes to the county town; there is the City God Grandfather there, who can keep us safe."

"Have you ever heard of any very famous Daoist priests?"

"They're all just priests from the temple. The most famous one is the temple abbot—he's so greedy! Every time my mother goes, he demands money, five coins at a time, and if she has no money, he takes eggs instead. He's the worst!"

The others could not help laughing out loud.

Jiang She asked, "Why does your mother always go to the temple to worship? Is there some difficulty at home?"

The child lowered his head.

He mumbled, "My little sister hasn't been in good health since she was born. The doctor said she needs to be fed goat's milk or honey water, and can't just drink rice gruel all day... How could our family have money to buy goat's milk and honey every single day?"

"My mother was afraid she wouldn't survive, so she liked to go to the temple to worship the Heavenly Venerate, hoping my little sister would get better sooner. All our money went to the Daoist priest."

"There are two nanny goats in the temple... The priest isn't entirely bad, either; he said he could let us collect some goat's milk to take back. My mother collected it a few times and even told me not to speak ill of those Daoist masters..."

The child rambled on incoherently.

Hearing the boy's bellyful of grievances against those Daoist priests, Jiang She could not help smiling.

It seemed the boy truly despised those priests.

"And there's more!"

The child remembered something else and said, "I heard there is also a Temple of the Fourth Young Lord. My mother has never been there because they demand a lot of money, and our family can't afford it. But plenty of people who went to worship there have struck it rich..."

Envy appeared on his face.

"My father told my mother to save up some family wealth so we can worship there when the time comes. I don't know how high the threshold of that temple is, though..."

Jiang She nodded and handed him the bun.

"I understand now."

The next moment, amidst the child's joyful gaze, Jiang She stood up and brushed the wrinkles from his garments.

He offered a slight, formal salute.

"Where is the City God of this place? Jiang invites you to appear for a meeting."

...
...

A middle-aged man clad in red robes and a jade belt, his figure slightly illusory, suddenly appeared. He glanced around left and right, still clutching a writing brush in his hand.

For a moment, the City God could not make sense of the situation.

Just now, he had heard someone calling out, the sound ringing clearly in his ears. Reasoning that it must be an adept of profound Dao, he had intended to manifest and meet them.

Yet he had never expected it to be in such a distant place—a desolate wilderness, God knows how far from the City God Temple.

How formidable must this person's Daoist magic be?

He did not dare to look down upon him.

The City God looked around and fixed his gaze upon the speaker.

His tone grew several degrees more respectful.

"Greetings, Immortal Master!"

"City God, no need for such formalities."

The City God felt himself being gently lifted by a force, filling his heart with shock and uncertainty. He was a legitimate deity enfeoffed by the imperial court and had served as a divine official for decades, yet he had never encountered such a phenomenon. He carefully sensed the energy being used, and it was not any of the spells with which he was familiar, but rather the azure vitality of heaven and earth.

Who on earth was the person before him?

Such extravagant power!

Jiang She detailed the matter of the fraudulent group in Xiangzhou, mentioned their lineage, and asked, "Has the City God ever heard of Daoist Jingchen?"

"It seems he once came to Ruzhou. That fraudulent disciple claimed that Daoist Jingchen had a fourth disciple who was a native of Ruzhou."

The City God nearly thought the Immortal Master had come to punish him.

His hair stood on end.

Listening carefully a moment longer, he realized the visitor was only asking about someone. His heart thumped wildly with fright.

The City God clutched his chest, earnestly scouring his memories, carefully confirming that he had never heard of such a person.

Yet he did not dare to flatly deny it, fearing that if something truly went wrong later, the blame would fall upon him.

"This minor deity has not heard of him, but upon returning, I shall investigate thoroughly."

Jiang She raised a hand to stop him from taking an oath.

"Is there also a Temple of the Fourth Young Lord nearby? I hear many people offer sacrifices there and donate considerable funds. Do you know what the situation is?"

He had just mentioned a fourth disciple, and now a Temple of the Fourth Young Lord had popped up.

And it was right within his own jurisdiction.

Cold sweat broke out on the City God's back. He hurriedly said, "This minor deity shall go investigate right now. If anyone is playing the ghost, making trouble, acquiring wealth, or even harming human lives within my jurisdiction... as the City God, I certainly will not spare them!"

The City God put on a stern expression.

"I will surely bring them to justice!"

Jiang She cupped his fists. "In that case, Jiang expresses his gratitude."

Once the City God took his leave and turned back to investigate, the smoke of his transformation dissipated.

Clutching the white wheat bun, the child remained in a daze for a long time, unable to utter a single word.

After standing blankly for a moment, he cried out in shock:
"An i—immortal!"

Li Bai felt utterly refreshed.

He raised his eyes. On the imperial highway, the carriage of the aristocratic scion was no longer visible.

In the end, they had missed each other.