“Apprentice, move my lounge chair a bit. I’m about to be roasted alive.”
The peach blossoms on Peach Blossom Mountain bloomed and withered. Nine cycles of spring and autumn, cold and heat, came and went. The master remained that same lazy yet handsome master, but the apprentice had stretched out like a willow branch.
Under the guidance of the lazy Tao Mian, Gu Yigou barely managed to stay on the path of a normal person.
As a nine-year-old child, every morning he rose to make breakfast for his master, feed the chickens, chop wood, make lunch, pull weeds, chop more wood, flip his napping master over in the courtyard, make dinner…
Round and round, day after day.
Gu Yigou wanted to protest.
He slammed the vegetable knife onto the chopping board, embedding it halfway into the wood, then whirled around to glare at Tao Mian.
“Master! You said when I turned nine, you’d teach me cultivation techniques!”
“Haven’t I already?”
Tao Mian had a large palm-leaf fan covering his face, both hands pillowed behind his head.
“What have you taught me?!”
Gu Yigou’s eyes went wide with disbelief. As befitting a heaven-chosen child whose parents had been sacrificed-granting him boundless potential-even at such a young age, he already possessed the makings of a face that could captivate countless maidens.
“Besides chopping wood and cutting vegetables, what else do I know?!”
“Impetuous. I’ve told you before-what your master passed down is the Wood-Chopping Sword Technique and the Vegetable-Cutting Saber Technique. Practice them well and you’ll reap great benefits. Young people these days just can’t endure hardship.”
Gu Yigou refused to accept this. He spread both hands open, palms facing Tao Mian.
“My hands are covered in calluses, and you still call me impetuous!”
“‘Impetuous’ refers to your state of mind, not whether you work hard.” Tao Mian lifted the palm-leaf fan from his face and waved it a few times with an air of profound calm. “Good apprentice, every word your master says-you must contemplate it deeply.”
The child turned his face away, sulking. He looked like he hadn’t absorbed a single word.
Tao Mian cracked open one eye, watching Gu Yigou’s thin back. His fan waved a little faster.
Every hair on that head was throwing a tantrum.
This method of teaching clearly wasn’t working. The child wasn’t listening.
Yigou was good in every other way, but his temper was terrible. He needed coaxing.
“How about this.” Tao Mian closed his eyes again. “Go into the house. Under my bed there’s a pair of old shoes. In the left shoe, you’ll find three coppers. Go to Li the Wine Seller at the east end of the village and buy me a jug of wine.”
Li the Wine Seller’s surname was Li. The villagers called various peddlers by their trade, so they called him Li the Wine Seller.
Li the Wine Seller was notoriously stingy and hot-tempered.
Gu Yigou didn’t want to go. His master was ordering him around again.
“You really won’t go?” Tao Mian asked slowly. “Ah, your master doesn’t have long to live. I still have an ancestral Peerless sword technique. If there’s no one to pass it down to, wouldn’t it be lost forever? What a pity, what a pity.”
Yigou’s ears perked up. He shot to his feet and headed toward Tao Mian’s bedroom.
“Master, rest assured! Such a trivial matter-your apprentice will handle it at once!”
Tao Mian kept his eyes closed, the corners of his mouth curling upward. He covered his face with the fan again, clearly plotting something.
Soon, hurried footsteps-thump thump thump-passed by his ears. Yigou, in a rush.
“Little apprentice, bring that stick of yours!”
Yigou was just about to step out when he heard his master shouting from behind. Though puzzled, he grabbed the three-foot peach wood branch he usually carried and took it along.
He’d found this branch in the peach grove. When he had nothing to do, he’d use it as a wooden sword to practice a few moves.
His master only taught him to chop wood and cut vegetables. He couldn’t very well train himself into an excellent handyman, could he?
The footsteps-da da da-faded into the distance. Tao Mian covered his face with the fan and went back to sleep.
An hour later, the apprentice returned.
“Master!”
“Aiyo, you’re back-pfft!”
Tao Mian turned his head and saw Gu Yigou, face bruised and swollen. He burst out laughing.
“Master, you’re still laughing!”
“Your master isn’t naturally fond of laughter-unless he can’t help it.”
“That wine seller beat me up! He said three coppers weren’t even enough to give a beggar!”
“Is the begging trade so competitive these days that they look down on three coppers?”
Tao Mian finally deigned to rise from the lounge chair, stretching lazily.
“Master, you weren’t even listening to me!”
Gu Yigou stomped his foot hard, small fists clenched tight.
Tao Mian glanced at the branch in his hand. There was a clear break in it. His little apprentice had considerable strength, it seemed.
The peach trees here were all thousand-year-old tree spirits. Each one was priceless.
“Yigou, let me ask you.” Tao Mian spoke leisurely. “When they hit you, did you fight back?”
“I did! Li the Wine Seller had two thugs! They were this tall!” He stretched his arms high. “And this big!” He pulled them wide.
“Did you win?”
“I-I won!”
“You didn’t win. You escaped.”
“No, I-“
“You used the branch to protect yourself. That Li the Wine Seller is no pushover. A few days ago, he crippled a thief who stole some money.”
“Then-then I… I’m actually pretty strong?”
The little apprentice looked at his own hands in confusion, flexing his fingers.
“Of course. Did you think your master’s Wood-Chopping Sword Technique and Vegetable-Cutting Saber Technique were taught for nothing? I’m not bragging-once you master these two techniques, you’ll be unmatched under heaven.”
“Really?”
Gu Yigou had a feeling he was being fooled, but Tao Mian’s face was full of earnest conviction. He began to think that perhaps he’d been too arrogant before, underestimating his master.
So his master really was a transcendent expert!
Yigou’s gaze grew firm and eager. He clenched his fists and made a vow.
“Master, rest assured! Your apprentice will diligently cultivate both techniques! I will bring glory to our sect!”
“Good! Ambitious! Then your master entrusts everything to you! Grow big and strong, create glory anew!”
“I’ll do my best! I’ll do my best! I’ll do my best!”
With his apprentice’s assurance, Tao Mian lay back down with a clear conscience.
The palm-leaf fan began to sway.
“Apprentice, in a little while, go to my room again. In the right shoe of that old pair, there’s one tael of silver. Go to Li the Wine Seller and buy a jug of wine.”
Yigou: Huh?
“Master… are you still half-asleep?”
“Your master tells you to go, so you go.”
“I’m not going.” Yigou’s stubborn temper flared. “He whipped my legs with a horsewhip! I refuse!”
“You don’t have to say anything. Just show him the silver. Didn’t we agree to grow big and strong? Giving up already?”
Yigou didn’t want to be someone who broke his word, so he grudgingly fetched the silver and headed down the mountain.
This time, he was back in the time it took to drink a cup of tea. His face was full of disbelief.
“Back already?”
“Master, I’m back.” Yigou showed Tao Mian the two jugs in his hands. “I did as you said-the moment I arrived, I showed him the silver. That Li the Wine Seller acted like he was seeing me for the first time. His smile was so cheap it was worthless, and he even threw in an extra jug!”
Tao Mian smiled with his eyes closed.
“Apprentice, pour some wine. Give it a sniff.”
“Oh.”
Yigou did as told, pouring a small cup and bringing his nose close.
The aroma was so faint it was almost undetectable.
“Master, this is basically water! How much did he water it down… No, I have to go back and demand an explanation!”
Tao Mian lazily turned over to sun his back.
“Impetuous. You have one tael of silver. You should find a better wine shop.”
Yigou nodded, half-understanding. Master was indeed master.
At that time, he was young and didn’t understand that when his master spoke of wine, he wasn’t really talking about wine.
By the time he truly grasped the deeper meaning, the peach blossoms had bloomed red for another seven years.
Yigou was sixteen. Every day, it was still: make breakfast, feed the chickens, chop wood, make lunch, pull weeds, chop wood, flip his napping master over in the courtyard, make dinner…
He had become a graceful young man, his every gesture exuding an extraordinary bearing. The village girls blushed at the sight of him.
Yigou remained oblivious. His world consisted only of Peach Blossom Mountain, Peach Blossom Temple, three chickens, flying cockroaches… and his master.
On his sixteenth birthday, Tao Mian made him a cake, sticking sixteen candles into it.
“Make a wish, apprentice. This is your master’s exclusive, secret-recipe Wish-Guaranteed Cake. Whoever tries it knows.”
Yigou smiled. His temperament had changed completely from childhood; he’d grown much more reserved.
“Then I wish for the peach blossoms to bloom red every year, for my three Senior Brother chickens to stay healthy, and for Master-may you have much joy and lasting peace.”
Yigou wanted to make one more wish, but his master had just said only three were allowed. Any more wouldn’t come true.
So he kept the last one quietly in his heart.
The next morning, a strange man and woman knocked on the door of Peach Blossom Temple.
“Master, I’ll get the door.”
Yigou called out to Tao Mian, who was engaged in a battle of wits with a cockroach in the courtyard. Without waiting for a reply, he went to open the door.
Two unfamiliar faces looked at him, eyes unable to hide their excitement and joy.
“Young Sect Leader! Your subordinates have come to escort you back to the sect!”
That day, the youth spoke with the two uninvited guests for a very long time. He barely said a word; only the other two spoke urgently.
It wasn’t until noon that the youth finally spoke.
“I need to make lunch for my master. You two should return for today.”
“Young Sect Leader, how can you do such rough work? Your subordinates can handle-“
“No need.” The youth’s expression softened, rare and gentle. “My master is picky. He dislikes even the food he cooks himself, let alone food from outsiders.”
Then the youth bid them farewell and returned alone.
Make lunch, pull weeds, chop wood, flip his napping master over in the courtyard, make dinner…
After dinner, Tao Mian usually returned to his room to rest, reciting scriptures. Within five counts, the sound of even breathing would drift out.
Yigou would clean up the dishes and return to his own room.
But tonight, Tao Mian didn’t go back.
He hadn’t asked anything during the day, yet seemed to know everything. He asked the youth:
“Yigou, are you leaving?”
The youth set down his bowl and chopsticks, faced Tao Mian, gathered his robes, and knelt. Desolate moonlight pooled on the ground around him.
“Yes, Master. A blood debt must be repaid. Otherwise, when your apprentice descends to the Yellow Springs, I would have no face to meet my parents.”
Afraid of making Tao Mian sad, he added:
“Peach Blossom Mountain will always be my home. Once the great revenge is accomplished, Master, your apprentice will return. I will cook and chop wood every day, without regret.”
But Tao Mian was still sad. The youth had never seen such sorrow on his face.
“Beyond the mountains, there are more mountains. Beyond the peach blossoms, more peach blossoms still. Yigou, you are going to chase the peach blossoms at the edge of the sky.”
“Master…”
The youth gritted his teeth, lifted his head, eyes blazing.
“If Master is willing, come down the mountain with me! Fame, fortune, wealth, glory-whatever I have, I will give the best to Master!”
Tao Mian shook his head.
“I only want the peach blossoms here.”
At the moment of parting, Tao Mian gave his eldest disciple the best things he possessed.
A thousand-year peach wood sword. Two technique manuals.
One called the Cloud-Piercing Sword Technique. The other, the Underworld River Saber Technique.
And his Consort Lu-a great tonic.
Finally, a promise.
“Your master doesn’t wish to meddle in worldly affairs. But if you ever find yourself in trouble, send a letter.”
He gave many gifts, but took back only one thing.
“‘Yigou’ was a humble name I gave you when I pulled you from that wooden basin, afraid you’d be hard to raise. But your master is well-read and has divined that you are destined for greatness.”
“The name-give it back to your master.”
The master’s generosity had not stirred any emotion on the youth’s face. But when Tao Mian asked for the name back, the youth’s eyes filled with tears. He prostrated himself, forehead touching the ground in a deep bow.
“Master, take care!”
From that day on, there was only Gu Yuan in the world.
Gu Yigou was no more.