The New Taoist Descends from the Mountain

The autumn wind swept across the wilderness, carrying a faint, delicate fragrance. An old man in a Daoist robe walked at an unhurried pace along a mountain path, a bamboo basket on his back. He wore a smile and looked refreshed and full of vigor.

The old man was called Daozhang, a well-known Daoist in the area. He traveled through the mountains, seeking out people who needed his help. He was not only a Daoist who had achieved great success in his cultivation, but also a respected figure, which was why people honored him as “Daozhang.”

One day, Daozhang arrived at a small village at the foot of the mountain. He noticed something was amiss: the villagers looked worried and utterly exhausted. He asked an older villager what was wrong and learned that the village’s elders had all come down with a strange illness. Their bodies were weak, and they had to struggle just to get through each day.

Deeply saddened by what he heard, Daozhang decided to stay in the small village, in an old town called k_scence. To the people, Daozhang was a mysterious figure. Whenever the locals encountered a strange illness they couldn’t understand, they would seek his help.

One day, a young woman suddenly developed a high fever and could barely speak. When her family heard that Daozhang could treat illnesses, they decided to seek his help.

After asking about the patient’s symptoms and making a few inquiries, Daozhang gave them a prescription for some herbs and explained how to prepare them. He told the family that the medicine would remove the toxins from her body and restore her health.

The family followed Daozhang’s instructions. Three days later, the woman’s fever had gone down, and she had regained her ability to speak.