The Naughty Man Is Making Trouble: a Strange Encounter in a Ruined Temple

In late spring, three days of continuous rain turned the road at the foot of Qingfeng Mountain into a muddy pond. Goudan, a poor boy whose parents died young and grew up relying on the support of his fellow villagers, heard that an "immortal master" came to the village to select a baby with spiritual roots to take to practice. He crowded forward with great expectations, but was thrown into the mud because of the stench. He was also scolded that "it is difficult to achieve greatness because of the turbid air." He could only watch the immortal master fly away with the fat boy. Goudan, who was hiding in the ruined temple, heard the snoring coming from behind the statue. He carefully looked around and found a sloppy old Taoist priest, holding a wine gourd in his arms and drooling from his sleep. The old Taoist priest woke up. Although his words were harsh, he saw that Gou Dan had good bones and deliberately teased him. When Goudan retorted, the old Taoist priest showed his hand, and with a flick of his finger, the gourd stopper flew back into his hand. Goudan's eyes were bright. After questioning, he learned that the old Taoist priest really knew the magic of immortality, so he knelt down and kowtowed to his master. The old Taoist priest called himself Qingxu Zhenren, renamed Goudan Qinghe, and accepted him as a closed disciple. He also established rules such as not being lazy or lying, and giving good wine to the master first. Qinghe took out the treasured wild sweet potatoes and gave them to his master. Master Qingxu ate them deliciously, which made Qinghe feel warm in his heart. After the rain stopped and the sun shone, Qinghe looked at the sky and clenched his fists, secretly determined to learn his skills and get ahead. Master Qingxu noticed his thoughts and showed a happy and complicated smile. Early the next morning, Qinghe was awakened by his snoring. He went to the mountains to pick wild strawberries and came back to share them with his master. Afterwards, Master Qingxu decided to take Qinghe back to his Taoist temple.