The Wayward Disciple Stirs Up the Azure Clouds: A Strange Temple Encounter and a Laughing Path to Immortality

In late spring, three days of steady rain turned the road at the foot of Qingfeng Mountain into a muddy quagmire. Goudan, a poor child whose parents had died young and who had grown up relying on the villagers' charity, heard that an “immortal master” had come to the village to select children with spiritual roots and take them away to cultivate. Full of hope, he pushed his way to the front, only to be shoved into the mud for smelling bad and cursed as someone “overcome with foul energy, destined for nothing.” All he could do was watch helplessly as the immortal master flew away with a chubby boy.

Taking shelter in a dilapidated temple, Goudan heard snoring from behind the statue. He cautiously peeked around it and found a disheveled old Daoist, clutching a wine gourd and drooling in his sleep. When the old Daoist woke, he spoke harshly, but saw that Goudan had good natural gifts and deliberately teased him. When Goudan talked back, the old Daoist showed off his skills: with a slight twitch of his finger, the gourd's stopper flew right back into his hand.

Goudan's eyes lit up. After pressing him with questions, he learned that the old Daoist really did know immortal arts. He promptly dropped to his knees with a thump and kowtowed, asking to become his disciple. The old Daoist introduced himself as Perfected Qingxu, renamed Goudan Qinghe, and accepted him as his personal disciple. He also laid down some rules: no slacking off or lying, and any good wine had to be offered to the master first. Qinghe brought out the wild sweet potatoes he had been saving for his master. Perfected Qingxu ate them with relish, warming Qinghe's heart.

After the rain stopped, sunlight spilled down. Qinghe gazed at the sky, clenched his fists, and secretly vowed to learn real skills and make something of himself. Perfected Qingxu sensed his thoughts and smiled, looking both pleased and pensive. Early the next morning, snoring woke Qinghe. He went into the mountains to pick wild strawberries and brought them back to share with his master. After that, Perfected Qingxu decided to take Qinghe back to his Daoist temple.