Chapter 22: Xiaoding

In response to my question, the master, while pulling me forward (my physical strength had already been depleted due to the trauma to my soul), said very directly, “Of course someone is helping us, and you have even seen them.”

“Who?” I actually had a vague idea, after all, I could get a clue from the snake group, but I was not sure.

After all, this time the snake pack had so many snake spirits, and there was even a snake that only existed in Taoist legends. The person who drove them away must be very capable.

I knew the snake repeller, it was the old man and his grandson I saw when I was little. Maybe they were a master and his apprentice, but I can’t remember for sure because it was so long ago.

The master seemed to read my mind and patted me on the head without any reason, saying, “Do you think you are the only genius in the world? Many people will surpass their teachers. It was him. When you were young, you laughed at others and couldn’t make any sound when you played the bamboo flute.”

When my master said that, I couldn’t help but picture the image of that year in my mind. A handsome, quiet, and somewhat shy teenager, wearing a washed-out military uniform, a crumpled, broken military cap on his head, and a bowed head playing the bamboo flute.

Of course, there was also his master, or grandfather? That old man who was a bit scary, the master’s friend!

The master said that the young surpasses the old, and I believe he was referring to the young man. I tried to remember their names, and then I remembered that the old snake-chasing man was called Old Wu, and the young man was called Xiao Ding.

These memories are like a picture scroll that unfolds before me, taking me back to that year, when I was still innocent and full of curiosity, digging out snakes, mysterious snake spirits, and a righteous master… Everything, with a slight yellowish tinge, warmed my heart.

It was also at this time that we climbed to the top of this mountain. The sound of the bamboo flute had become an unusually melodious sound, entering our eardrums. This was a normal tune, with the loneliness of the night, making people warm and lonely.

The master stood at the top of the mountain, looking back down at the foot of the mountain. The pursuers were already halfway down the mountain, and they were moving fast. But he didn’t seem to care. He let out a long sigh and said with emotion, “This Ding is getting better and better. The secret of the Snake Sect has been brought into ordinary life.”

There was a slight breeze at the top of the mountain, and I was sweating. The clothes on my back were slightly fluttering, and I felt an indescribable sense of relief after the pressure.

But I didn’t understand what my master meant when he said that the secret of Snake Gate had been brought into everyday life. My master laughed twice for no reason, and suddenly wiped the sweat off his face and said, “Reincarnation and inheritance are really a wonderful thing. The next generation has grown up, and the era of your vigorous and vigorous times has arrived and is also underway. I am old, but I feel that my apprentice Sanwa has grown up.”

I looked at my master in wonder, but he pulled me by the hand and ran towards the valley below, because the sound of the bamboo flute was clearly coming from the valley, and it was very moving.

“Xiao Ding is amazing. You haven’t forgotten, have you? When he was little, he played the bamboo flute and you laughed at the sound he made. Later you realized that it was for the snakes, and of course people couldn’t hear it. But in the legend of the Snake Sect, there is a very powerful way to drive and control snakes—the sound of the heart. The sound of the heart is only conveyed to the object you want to convey. I think only the two of us can hear the sound of the bamboo flute.” Compared to the uphill road, the downhill road was so comfortable to run. It was a gentle slope, just covered with weeds, but unexpectedly there were no potholes.

I was pulled down the mountain by my master, and I felt a sense of exhilaration as I rode the wind. Is this the great era of the younger generation? I was suddenly filled with enthusiasm, and I was also inspired by hearing Xiaoding’s magical kung fu.

I know that there must be some subtle principles that can explain this. Just as others see the mysterious Taoist techniques and find them amazing, in fact, some things, when you get to the bottom of them, are not inexplicable or mysterious.

However, since this is the secret of the Snake Sect, I don’t think I can understand it. I just think that such a mysterious method, with such a beautiful name, really makes people feel inexplicably happy.

The younger generation, the great era of vigorous activity… Will this little Ding be a part of it? I suddenly felt that every scene of life is connected to everyone.

The best thing about this feeling is that we have grown up, and one day, we will be able to protect the older generation. In front of the beliefs and principles that we protect together, we will become the mainstay. This feeling is really amazing.

So, Master also felt such a sentiment. Reincarnation and inheritance are really a wonderful thing, just like the endless cycle of life in nature…

Perhaps it was the same thought, an inexplicable understanding that did not need to be expressed in words, but could only be understood by the heart. My master and I could not help but burst out laughing on the downhill road because of this, feeling a kind of unrestrained abandon, and we had left behind all the pursuers and the holy king.

Life is lived in the present, and a moment of joy is also the present. Why think so much?

We soon ran down the hill and into a long, narrow valley. Because of the terrain, it was even darker here, and for a moment, my eyes couldn’t adjust, and I was a little confused.

“It’s been many years, Grandpa Jiang, Chen Chengyi.” Just as we were groping around and following the direction of the sound, we found a direction and moved forward for less than three minutes, when a clear voice came from above.

At this time, my eyesight had finally adapted to the darkness, and when I suddenly heard the voice coming from above, I couldn’t help but look up.

Under the moonlight, I saw a figure with long hair tied back at the back of his head. He had no beard on his face, and his face was pale but unusually clean. In the moonlight, I could vaguely see some lines on his face, adding some vicissitudes of life, but the handsome eyebrows and eyes kept overlapping with the boy in my memory.

His temperament has changed a lot. The shyness of the past has turned into the calmness and composure of the vicissitudes of life.

He used to have a youthful heart, which is why he chose to wear the most popular military uniform of the time, even though it was washed white… Now he is wearing a long, open-fronted jacket, which is a bit old, but adds a touch of elegance to his whole person.

In keeping with his temperament, he is now standing on a tall rock, smiling at us as he holds a green, shiny bamboo flute.

“Xiao Ding,” I couldn’t help but call out. Although we rarely interacted, when people meet as teenagers, the memories are always warm, indelible, and inexplicably intimate.

“Do you still remember me?” Xiaoding’s face showed a hint of surprise, and then he jumped down from the rock with his sleeves fluttering, looking somewhat dashing.

“Don’t you remember me?” I scratched my head.

“Haha, actually, Grandpa Jiang used to always come to see me and Master. He couldn’t help but mention you every time, so of course I remember you. I thought you didn’t remember me.” Xiaoding laughed again, but this smile was full of the shadow of that boy, appearing shy and slightly embarrassed.

But it is fundamentally different from Tao Bai’s ‘neurotic’ shyness.

“Okay, don’t rush to catch up with the old days.” Just as Ding and I couldn’t help but chatter, the master, who had been silent, suddenly interrupted our conversation, and then looked at Ding seriously and said, “Ding, you know that if I use this ‘snake medicine,’ I will be in great trouble. Can you help? If not, show me the way.”

“My late master, who was also my grandfather, once gave Grandpa Jiang this snake medicine. What did he say? Does Grandpa Jiang still remember?” Xiaoding glanced at my master, his eyes full of sincerity, but when he mentioned the old Wu, he couldn’t help but show a hint of sadness.

I was also inexplicably saddened, thinking of the old Wu who gave me the bamboo tube, and he had actually passed away? And my master didn’t tell me about any of this.

“He said…” When my master said this, he hesitated a little, but Xiaoding grabbed me and then grabbed my master. He listened as if he was listening to something. At this time, I noticed a black and shiny snake that I didn’t know at all suddenly winding from the ground and winding up Xiaoding’s leg and climbing up to Xiaoding’s shoulder.

This snake was not long, but it gave off an extremely fierce feeling. It hissed and spit, and its eyes were full of a strange kind of spirituality, as if it was telling Xiaoding something.

Xiao Ding was silent for about five seconds, then his face became a little serious, and he said to me and the master, “Grandpa Jiang, Sanwa, the pursuers seem to be very powerful. Let’s not talk about it for now. You follow me.”