Martial Cultivator

After daybreak, the child prepared breakfast as usual, packed a rice ball, and informed his mother before heading out. As he passed by Uncle Mo's bun shop, the kind man called out to him, wanting to stuff a few buns in his hands. But the child quickly retreated and did not take the buns. After thanking him, the child quickly left the town. He still went back to the foot of the mountain, sitting on the bluestone rock, patiently waiting for the immortals from the mountain.

He did not know if it would be another futile day, but the child remained hopeful. At first, he stared at the mountain path, but then he began to turn his head towards the direction of the town, silently counting in his mind. When he counted down from ten to one, each time reaching 'one,' he would abruptly turn back, hoping to see an immortal coming down from the mountain.

However, after several attempts, every time he looked towards the mountain path, it remained empty, with no sign of anyone.

The hope in the child's eyes gradually faded, eventually turning into immense disappointment. However, he quickly suppressed this emotion and continued to harbor hope in his eyes, repeating these actions once again.

As time passed, it was already noon, and the child's stomach had long been rumbling. He took out the rice ball and ate half of it with the mountain spring water. Resisting the temptation to eat it all, he was about to put it away when a voice suddenly came from behind, "Is it delicious?"

The child suddenly turned his head, his face full of hope. However, upon seeing the young man in front of him clearly, his emotions instantly turned to disappointment. Standing before him was a young man who was not wearing daoist robes, not a daoist.

Noticing the change in the child's mood, the young man continued asking patiently, "Is it delicious?"

The child shook his head. A rice ball without any seasoning would not taste good when it got cold. It naturally did not taste good.

The young man smiled, "I haven't had lunch either, I was feeling a bit hungry. Could you give me that other half of the rice ball?"

Hearing the request from the young man, who did not dress like he lacked money, the child was somewhat hesitant. Even if he ate the entire rice ball, it actually would not fill his stomach either. He had planned to eat the remaining half later. Although it would not satisfy him completely, it would at least make him feel a bit better. However, with this stranger asking, the child became uncertain.

The young man chuckled, "It's okay if you don't want to give it."

Ignoring the comment, the child hesitated for a while before handing over the rice ball, feeling a bit embarrassed, "I've already eaten, and it's a bit dirty, if you don't mind..."

The young man shook his head, took the rice ball without hesitation, and sat down next to the child just like that. Eating slowly, he said, "I've seen you waiting here for several days. Are you hoping to get a safety talisman from those mountain gods?"

Eating while talking, the young man continued, "You offered me the rice ball, so I'll give you a safety talisman. It happens to be one I obtained a few days ago."

He handed out a safety talisman from his pocket, but the child did not take it. Turning away, he whispered softly, "I'm not here for a safety talisman."

The young man gave an "oh" and asked with some curiosity, "Then why have you been waiting here for so many days?"

Finishing the rice ball and wiping his mouth, he said to himself, "I passed by here several days in a row and saw you here. I thought you were seeking a safety talisman."

The child shook his head, seeming reluctant to say anything.

The young man did not insist and quickly stood up, smiling. "Alright, since you treated me to the rice ball, I'll treat you to a meal at the biggest restaurant in town."

The young man could naturally tell. It seemed that eating a full meal for this little fellow might be an issue.

The child still shook his head. "I want to wait here for the immortals on the mountain."

The young man paused, asking, "You've waited for so many days without success. Will you be able to find an immortal today? One day won't make much of a difference."

The child shook his head again and said softly, "If I leave with you, and the immortals on the mountain come down while I'm gone... I would have failed..."

As he spoke, the child's voice began to tremble with tears. He thought of this possibility, and he could not help but feel saddened.

The young man did not insist either. He quickly got up, bid farewell to the child, and headed alone towards the direction of the small town.

The child did not care too much and started counting down again and again.

Soon, the sky gradually darkened, and it was already dusk.

Watching the sun gradually disappear beyond the horizon, the child who was already famished, stood up and stretched his body. He cast a final glance at the mountain path with some disappointment before turning back towards the small town.

……

……

The next morning, the child, who had set out early again, arrived at the spot once more. However, from a distance, he could see that someone was already there on the large bluestone rock, and it was not a stranger, it was precisely the young man who ate half of his rice ball yesterday.

The child looked at the young man sitting here, feeling somewhat puzzled.

The young man glanced at him, then took the initiative to smile and ask, "Are you still waiting today?"

The child nodded without saying anything.

However, when he went over and sat down, the young man did not leave. Instead, he stayed with him all the way until noon. Of course, during this time, the two of them chatted about many things. Except, when he asked why the child was waiting for immortals here, he refused to answer. But by noon, the young man once again asked for half of the child's rice ball. Although somewhat reluctant, the child eventually gave in.

After finishing the half rice ball, the young man said, "Having eaten your lunch twice, let me tell you some news. Before you came today, I saw an immortal."

The child was taken aback, then asked with an eager look, "Where is the immortal?"

But, the young man shook his head and made a request, "How about this, you accompany me for a day, and when it's nighttime, I'll tell you where the immortal is, deal?"

The child furrowed his brows and asked somewhat hesitantly, "You're not lying to me, are you?"

Facing this question, the young man just smiled and said, "How about we make a bet? Trusting me doesn't necessarily mean we'll really find the immortal, but if you don't trust me and wait here today, you might also see the immortal you've been waiting for."

The child hesitated. Indeed, as the young man said, if he left this place, he might miss the immortal, but the young man might also be deceiving him.

But soon, the child nodded and said, "I'll go with you."

The young man smiled, "At least you have some courage."

The child jumped off the large bluestone rock, earnestly looking at the young man, and said, "I believe in you."

The young man shook his head, "I don't even trust myself."

There was still some confusion in the child's eyes again.

The young man asked, "By the way, what's your name?"

"He Liang, my dad gave me the name."

The child quickly answered.

……

……

The two soon left the foot of the mountain and returned to the town. The young man went straight to the largest restaurant in the town, ordered a table of dishes, and then looked at He Liang, "I'll treat you to a meal. After eating, I need to go check out something at the school."

He Liang who was originally focused on the table of dishes, felt a little guilty when he heard the word "school," but he just asked, "Can I take some with me? We can't finish so much food."

The young man shook his head.

He Liang was a little disappointed, but he still did not say anything.

After the meal, He Liang led him and quickly arrived at the school on the east side of the town. The town was not big, and there were not actually that many children going to school. At the moment, the teacher in the school was explaining some basic classics to about twenty over children. Standing outside the window, He Liang did not quite dare to look inside, so he just turned away and gazed at a nearby stream.

After spending some time at the school, the young man asked, "Do you want to study?"

He Liang nodded.

"Then why are you not taking a look? Are you afraid that you'll develop a desire to study, but can't enter the school?"

The young man smiled, "Is this what they call being content with what you have and not thinking about what you can't get?"

He Liang remained silent. He did not want to tell the young man the truth.

The young man did not dig deeper, nor did he insist on the child answering. After watching for a while, the young man and He Liang went to the rice and flour shop in the town. Upon the warm greeting from the stall owner, the young man just looked at the bag of yellowed broken rice in the corner, pondered for a moment, and then shook his head.

He asked a very strange question, leaving the owner of the rice and flour shop confused, but He Liang fell into a daze.

After leaving the rice and flour shop, they walked around and finally arrived at Uncle Mo's bun stall. The young man smiled and asked, "Are the buns delicious?"

Uncle Mo was initially curious why He Liang was following this young man. Hearing this, he smiled confidently, "There are no buns in town tastier than the buns from my shop. Sir, try a few buns?"

In the end, the young man only asked for one bun, and as they walked, he ate it in small bites.

He Liang had enjoyed a hearty lunch, so he was not hungry at the moment and did not have much on his mind. Instead, he was still pondering the question the young man had asked earlier.

When they were at the rice and flour shop, the young man asked what was the difference between rice and rice?

However, he did not expect an answer from anyone, nor did he provide one.

Afterward, the two of them wandered around the town until dusk. It was only then that the young man led He Liang to sit by the stream.

He Liang looked at the sky with a sense of anticipation. After all, as the young man had promised, when night came, he would tell him the whereabouts of the immortal.

The young man suddenly asked, "You took the money meant for school and bought rice instead, your mother would be very angry if she found out, right?"

He Liang was startled, looking at the young man in disbelief. "How did you know?"

The young man did not answer his question, but continued talking to himself. "As a mother, even if she's struggling, she would still want to give the best to her child. But I don't quite understand your mother. She clearly can't even afford to eat, so why refuse those few buns? If she truly cares for you, shouldn't she put aside her so-called pride and make sure that the top priority is that you eat your fill?"