My Sword Has a Way

The young man turned his head and looked at the slovenly Taoist in front of him and said seriously: "Old Taoist, do you think people really have an afterlife?"

The old Taoist took a sip of wine and said, "People who practice Taoism only practice this life, not the next life. For me, it doesn't matter whether I have it or not."

The old Taoist continued, "Xu Zhian, don't think too much. In life, there are eight out of ten things that are not satisfactory, but there are always one or two things that can be proud of, right? You should go out for a walk and take a good look at the beauty of this world, such as looking at the mountains from the top of the building, watching the snow on the top of the city, appreciating the moon in front of the lanterns, and drinking tea under the moon. There will always be one or two winds that will fill your dreams."

Xu Zhian said seriously, "Old Taoist priest, tell me the truth, will people without luck die soon?"

The old Taoist stopped smiling and said seriously, "Yes and no. For ordinary people, yes, but not for you. If I say that there are ten kinds of luck in the world, and you, Xu Zhian, have nine of them, and everyone else in the world has one, do you believe it?"

The young man looked at the serious face of the old Taoist priest and couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity in his belief.

The old Taoist continued, "The world's people are so ignorant, they are all blinded by a single leaf, how can they know the true secrets of the great Dao. Xu Zhian, you just need to know that if you don't want to die, no one will take your life, not even God."

After hearing what the Taoist said, Xu Zhian smiled and said, "I'll remember that. Thank you."

Then the young man turned around and looked at the sloppy Taoist priest and smiled: "Old Taoist priest, I already knew that you are not a mortal, you are an immortal!"

The sloppy Taoist was not surprised. He looked at the young man and smiled, "Why do you think so?"

Xu Zhian said, "From the first time I saw you, I knew you were not an ordinary person. You were different from the people in the village. When they saw me, they would just stay away from me, with disgust on their faces, or even curse at me. But you were different. The first time you looked at me, your eyes were very clear, and there was a smile on the corners of your mouth, just like the villagers seeing the crops about to mature, which made people happy."

The sloppy Taoist took another sip of wine and asked, "And then?"

Xu Zhian went on, "Then I remembered you. That was the first time I wasn't despised by others, and the first time I felt like a human being. Later, there was a famine and drought, and other people had problems getting food, but you had wine to drink every day. And no matter how cold the weather was, no matter how many people froze to death, you always lay by the arch bridge in your tattered Taoist robe. Many times I thought you were going to starve to death or freeze to death, but the fact was that you were doing better than me. That's when I knew that you were the immortal monk that the storyteller talked about, and you were different from us."

Sloppy Taoist: "Xu Zhian, do you know how your name came about?"

The young man frowned and said, "My parents did it."

The old Taoist didn't deny it and smiled, "Let me tell you a story. It's a long story, so you have to listen carefully."

The old Taoist looked at the bright moon in the sky and said, "Fifteen years ago, I followed a bead to Xiaolingang, and then I met a couple who were holding a newborn baby and asked me to help name the baby. The man said his last name was Xu, and he hoped that he and his baby would be safe forever. So I said, 'Xu means gentle breeze, and Zhian means peace.' Since then, the bead disappeared in Xiaolingang, and there was a little boy named Xu Zhian in the village."

The sloppy old Taoist took a sip of wine and continued, "Afterwards, the couple was poisoned. Before the man died, he handed me a baby boy and a black sword, asking me to take care of his child. But before I could agree, he died. So I hastily buried them in the West Mountain. Because I had to go to a faraway place for important matters, I left the baby at the gate of the yard of a woman named Qi who had just moved in. When I came back, the child could already call mother, so I stopped looking for him and settled down in the village. I have lived there for fifteen years."

Xu Zhian looked at the slovenly Taoist and said calmly, "Why did the Taoist not want to leave in the past fifteen years?"

The sloppy Taoist smiled faintly: "Actually, I also have selfish motives. After returning from that place last time, I suffered internal injuries. It took me a few years to recover. Now my cultivation has made great progress. To be honest, I should thank you."

The young man was a little confused and asked, "Why are you thanking me?"

The sloppy Taoist said with a little guilt: "Because I borrowed your luck for fifteen years. In fact, you are not without luck. On the contrary, your luck is very deep, but I sealed it under that bluestone well. You go to the wine shop to work, you go to the fields to farm, you go to the restaurant to chop wood, everything you do, every bit of luck you accumulate, as long as you go to that bluestone well, your luck will disappear, but you must go to the well to get water, otherwise you will not be able to live. This is also intentional. Do you hate me?"

Xu Zhian frowned, then shook his head and said, "No, I don't hate you. You can bury my parents' bodies. Just for this, I don't hate you."

The old Taoist joked, "I have caused you bad luck for more than ten years, and you don't have even the slightest complaint in your heart?"

The boy answered truthfully: "A little, but only a little. It's because I'm weak. I can't beat you up. Besides, I can't beat you."

The old Taoist laughed loudly: "That's right, this is Xu Zhian, you should practice well in the future and try to beat me up."

The young man looked at the old Taoist doubtfully: "Can I practice Taoism?"

The sloppy Taoist said: "I didn't say you can't practice Taoism. How can those mediocre people see through my tricks? So, not only can you practice Taoism, but you also have extraordinary talent."

The young man immediately said happily: "Don't be too rebellious, just a little bit will be fine."

The sloppy Taoist laughed and scolded: "You kid also know how to tell jokes, you really have no shame."

The young man smiled and said nothing. The old Taoist stood up and took a sip of wine before saying, "Originally I should have told you about these things later, but the plan has changed a little, so I have to tell you in advance. This is also the reason why I came here today. Please follow me in."

After saying this, the old Taoist stepped into the house first. Although Xu Zhian was a little confused, he still stood up and followed him in.

The sloppy Taoist then threw the pot of wine to the young man and said, "Drink as much as you can. It will be good for your cultivation."

Xu Zhian was confused: "I...I don't drink."

The sloppy Taoist said with disdain: "Just treat it as drinking water. The process may be a little painful, just bear with it."

The young man uncorked the kettle and took a sip, imitating the Taoist's previous actions. As the wine entered his throat, a burning sensation swept over him, causing the young man to cough repeatedly.

The old Taoist said: "Drink slowly, drink as much as you can."

This was the boy's first time drinking wine. Although he had worked in a winery for many years, he had never tasted any wine because of his young age.

The wine went down his throat, and it was like a worm biting him. The boy was sweating profusely from the pain and rolled over on the ground. He clenched his teeth and tried hard not to make any sound, fearing that the old Taoist next to him would laugh at him.

Half an incense stick later, the young man picked up the wine jug and started drinking again. He repeated this many times, each time more painful than the last.

It was late at night, and the moon shone all over the city. The boy didn't remember how much he drank, but he knew that the moon was exceptionally bright that night, and he slept exceptionally well after getting drunk.