This humble Taoist priest wants to take the college entrance exam.

Chapter 4 Chatty Girl
This was the first time Chen Shi'an had ever drunk glucose water.

The initial taste is quite sweet, but it's purer and doesn't have the complex layers of flavor found in sucrose, nor does it have the floral or fruity notes of honey. It's more of a direct and refreshing sweetness.

My magical power didn't seem to increase, but I definitely felt more energetic after drinking it.

Chen Shi'an felt it was good, so he poured some into his palm and gave it to the black cat in the bag to try.

While waiting for the bus, Chen Shi'an took out his phone and used the map somewhat awkwardly to check the time and route to Yunqi No.1 Middle School.

As a Taoist priest in the new era, Chen Shi'an often uses maps to go to unfamiliar places, while his master's method is much more retro. He only needs to know which direction the destination is in, take a compass as a compass, and walk straight there.

It is said that time passes unnoticed in the mountains, and one does not know the year has ended when the cold ends.

Compared to the unchanged scenery on the mountain, the world below is changing rapidly.

Chen Shi'an remembers that when he was a child, there was a small bus station in the town, where many buses were parked; now the buses are gone, the bus station is closed, and long-distance buses have taken their place.

When traveling from the town to the county seat or city, most people choose to either drive themselves or hitchhike. Apart from elderly people who want to save money and have plenty of free time, not many young people are willing to take long-distance buses, since it involves more than twenty stops and is simply too far...

But for Chen Shi'an, it wasn't anything too difficult.

It's much more convenient than him having to travel on his own two legs.

If he hadn't been busy in the mountains these past few days preparing for the funeral, he would have originally planned to set off two days earlier and walk directly from the mountains to the city.

The K301 long-distance bus has arrived.

Chen Shi'an bought a ticket and boarded the bus. The fare to the final stop, the county town, was ten yuan.

At eight o'clock in the morning, there were many passengers, and seeing that there were no seats, Chen Shi'an stood.

To avoid the backpack behind him getting in the way of others, and also to prevent others from squeezing the cat inside the bag, Chen Shi'an turned the backpack to the front and hung it in his arms.

The black cat poked its big head out from the zipper gap, looking around.

While the Taoist priest and the cat were looking at others, others were also looking at them.

Chen Shi'an's Taoist robes stood out conspicuously among the modern casual clothes.

However, for him, wearing Taoist robes as a Taoist priest was a matter of course, and Chen Shi'an was already used to the curious looks from others.

Occasionally, devout men and women would approach him to chat or offer their respects.

Most people use the wai (hands clasped together) greeting.

Actually, it's not quite right for a Taoist priest to use this; a more standard way would be to cup your hands in a fist salute.

Of course, Chen Shi'an didn't mind. Etiquette is just a formality; the sentiment is enough. Besides, the other party was just an ordinary person, so he could accept even a modern wave or handshake.

……

The bus traveled slowly along the road, passing one stop after another, and the scenery outside the window changed again and again.

The black cat got tired of watching and crawled back into the backpack to sleep soundly, but Chen Shi'an kept staring out the window at the ever-changing scenery.

Fifty minutes later, the bus arrived at the county town's terminal station—which is also the starting point for the next bus to the city.

Chen Shi'an got off the bus with his bag on his back and transferred to bus 716.

After standing the whole way, there's finally an empty seat.

Chen Shi'an found a window seat in the middle or back row and patiently waited for the bus to start.

Passengers boarded the train one after another at the starting station, and strangers rarely made a point of sitting next to each other in empty seats. Seeing that there were still plenty of empty seats, most solo passengers, except those traveling together, sat alone.

After one stop, there weren't many empty seats left on the train.

After two stops, if you want to sit down again, you'll have to be quick and nimble.

As Chen Shi'an looked out the window and waited for the bus to start again, he suddenly heard the sound of wind and seemed to be carrying the unique fragrance of a young girl in the air.

The girl moved quickly; her little bottom occupied half of the seat first, and then her silvery voice followed closely behind:

"Hello! Is this seat taken?"

She was slightly bent over, her shoulder-length black hair swaying gently with her movements. The ends of her hair were trimmed like willow branches sprouting in early spring, with a slightly unruly curve that swept past her ear tips. Under her short-sleeved school uniform, half of her slender white arm was still gripping the backpack strap, as if she would immediately apologize and get up to find another seat if Chen Shi'an said "This seat is taken."

"No one is sitting here, please make yourself."

"Oh! Thank you!"

After receiving Chen Shi'an's reply, the girl finally felt relieved and moved the other half of her bottom inside, hugging the heavy backpack to her chest and letting out a very comfortable sigh.
Perhaps feeling she wasn't ladylike enough, she smiled somewhat shyly at Chen Shi'an. Sunlight streamed in through the car window, falling directly on her pretty face as she turned her head, her sharp left canine tooth touching her lip, and her youthful cheeks flushed slightly from exercise.

Perhaps the vitality of this scene was too strong, even Chen Shi'an felt that the weariness on his body had faded a bit.

Public transportation has resumed.

The scenery outside the window came to life, and Chen Shi'an continued to look out the window.

The girl's silhouette was faintly reflected in the glass.

She took out her phone and opened her backpack, as if she was rummaging through something.

After a while, her expression turned troubled, and she muttered to herself, "Oh no, I forgot my headphones..."

After a while, she seemed to give up listening to the music. But the journey was long, and unlike Chen Shi'an, she couldn't calm down, so she followed her curiosity and started talking to him:

"Um, are you cosplaying?"

"Hmm?" Chen Shi'an turned his head in confusion.

"...Are you really a Taoist priest?"

"Yes." "Oh, sorry, you look so young, I thought you were cosplaying, but you're actually a real Taoist priest...!"

The girl looked quite surprised and wanted to examine him closely, but she was afraid of offending him. However, she couldn't resist her curiosity and could only steal glances at him from time to time.

Chen Shi'an didn't know what 'kuo si pu lei' meant, but he could guess from the context that it was probably a word related to role-playing.

Since the girl was so outgoing, he asked with interest, "So you're a student?"

“I was wearing my school uniform, so it’s obvious, okay?”

"I was also wearing Taoist robes."

"It's because it's so rare... Are you really a Taoist priest?"

"Yes."

"Wow, that's amazing," the girl clicked her tongue in amazement. "We look about the same age. I thought all Taoist priests had to be... um..."

"how?"

"Well, he must be quite old, at least."

—Nobody believes a young person's lies!

The young woman couldn't quite describe what a Taoist priest should be like, since she had almost no contact with this kind of profession in her life.

My limited 'understanding' comes from movies and novels, where Taoist priests are generally portrayed as otherworldly, possessing boundless magical powers, capable of exorcising demons and ghosts, and promoting righteousness.

Please, this is a modern society, a technological age. She wouldn't be so naive as to think that Chen Shi'an is like that.

"Can you tell fortunes...?"

"meeting."

"Are you praying for blessings?"

"meeting."

"What about performing a ritual for the deceased?"

"meeting."

"..."

The girl's eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief. These things sounded so unbelievable, and he actually said he knew them all? And at such a young age?

She finally asked the question she had been wanting to ask: "So... are all of these true?"

Chen Shi'an smiled, not minding her curiosity, but did not answer directly, only saying, "If you believe it, then it is true."

"I know that! Sincerity moves mountains, right?" The girl nodded, looking enlightened. Finally, she stopped worrying about these strange questions and turned her curiosity to something more mundane, "So, do you Taoist priests go to school?"

Chen Shi'an initially wanted to say no, but then he remembered the purpose of his trip, so he could only nod and say, "Yes, I'll take it too."

"Have you ever been to school?"

"No."

"..."

What a joke! They say they want to go to school, but they've never experienced the hardship of studying!

Upon hearing this, the girl looked on with envy, "Being a Taoist priest is definitely better. No need to go to school, no need to take exams, just spend every day cultivating in the mountains? That kind of life is too idyllic..."

"You don't like going to school?"

"I don't like it, it's exhausting."

Perhaps it was Chen Shi'an's righteous Taoist robe that made the girl lower her guard, and once she started talking, she began to grumble and complain to him.

"You have no idea, we didn't even get a summer vacation this year. We had extra classes until the day before yesterday before we finally got two days off, and then they assigned a ton of tests and homework. I was working on them until after midnight last night and I still haven't finished. I had to get up at 7 a.m. this morning to catch up on my homework and get ready to go back to school. I'm so tired..."

"Hmm. What grade are you in?"

"You're a sophomore now. What time did you get up?"

"Five o'clock."

"...Then, where did you come from?"

"We walked for two hours on mountain roads and then took a one-hour car ride."

"...!!"

This isn't a Taoist priest, it's an iron man!

Hearing Chen Shi'an's words, the girl turned to look at him in surprise. Looking at his energetic appearance, it was hard to associate him with 'getting up at five o'clock, walking two hours of mountain road, and taking a one-hour car ride'.

If it were her, she would have died halfway there. Could it be that this little Taoist priest really has magical powers?
"How do you do that... Don't you Taoist priests get tired?"

"Drinking this will make you feel better."

Chen Shi'an smiled and picked up the bottle of glucose water.

The girl smiled too.

A Taoist priest drinking glucose... that's so weird.

(End of this chapter)