Chapter 6: The Gathering of the Young

This stiff atmosphere and this sensitive topic once again became a restricted area that we younger people could not interfere with. Suddenly, everyone stood up straight like a javelin, not looking away, for fear of getting into trouble. We were all Li’s disciples and we all knew that Li’s disciples were actually very strange.

Although I was not looking away, I noticed that my master sitting in front of me was shaking his shoulders. It was impossible for him to cry, but I knew that my master was emotionally agitated.

As for Uncle Li, I don’t know what his expression was, but I heard him say softly, “We should have had a junior apprentice. The junior apprentice should be our substitute for the master…”

Then there was a long sigh.

“What’s the good of being the eldest brother? Does the name of the eldest brother get you food to eat? Or clothes to wear? I don’t understand you two.” Uncle Wang turned his head disdainfully and spoke very disdainfully.

“Nonsense. The eldest brother is like a father. If I were the eldest brother back then, I…” Uncle Li immediately opened his mouth in a reprimanding manner. He still had a lot of authority. As soon as he opened his mouth, Uncle Wang dared not speak.

I saw Master lean back on the sofa and say, “I never wanted to shirk my responsibilities for what happened back then. I was determined to do it, and I still am. But think about it, at the time, you guys were also…”

Finally, Uncle Chen smiled wryly, picked up the teapot, poured a cup of tea, and personally handed it to my master, interrupting my master’s words: “The past is already over, and the little sister has also gone. The many reasons for this matter are like a bad account. Do you and Brother Li still want to settle the score? Why are we in this situation? We are in different places and rarely meet? Isn’t this a big price? It is difficult to dissolve the sadness and resentment in the middle now, but don’t lose face in front of the younger generation. They have grown up. Do you want them to laugh at you?”

I couldn’t see my master’s expression, but I heard him sigh heavily, take the cup of tea, drink it in one gulp, and put it on the table.

Uncle Wang immediately shook his head and said, “What a waste! There are only six mother trees in the whole world, and they all grow on cliffs. Don’t drink it like plain water.”

Then I saw my master turn his head and give Uncle Wang a fierce glare. I noticed that Uncle Wang was actually a little scared and stopped talking.

“Okay, Li Chun, Li Ren, Li Pu, you all come with me to the study. Whether or not we are settling old scores, there are some things that we should talk about carefully. If we continue like this, what kind of brothers will we be? Let the younger generation stay here. Unlike us, this is the first time they have met, so let them exchange feelings.” After saying this, Uncle Li took the lead and went upstairs.

My master stood up in a sloppy manner, grunted in dissatisfaction, and said, “He still likes to give orders.” But he still went up.

As for Uncle Chen, he still had a helpless smile on his face, while Uncle Wang put his hands in his sleeves and looked like a scared old man, saying to us younger people, “You can sit on the sofa and drink tea. Don’t stand there like an idiot.

As soon as the uncles left, my stiff back, which had been tense from standing, immediately relaxed. I let out a satisfied grunt, but then I noticed that the younger apprentices, like me, were immediately swaying back and forth. This moment of tacit understanding suddenly made us feel a lot less strange, and we suddenly laughed and got to know each other.

In Taoism, the meaning of the same vein is like blood relatives. Their existence can make you feel that you are not alone and helpless. This kind of feeling may not be stronger than blood, but it is even stronger than blood.

“Sit down, you’re standing there all nervous, I’m tired too.” It was Cheng Qing who spoke.

When he spoke, we laughed even more happily. Just now, there was a lack of strangeness, but now, a sense of familiarity suddenly rose in our hearts.

I cheered and jumped onto the sofa. Chengxin wanted to maintain his composure, but seeing my appearance, he couldn’t help but jump onto the sofa as well. In contrast, Xiaoshimei’s movements were more graceful.

“You’re acting like a child, you’re in your 20s,” Cheng Qing said, shaking his head, as if he were very composed.

I took off my glasses. The consequence of not wearing glasses when you are nearsighted is dizziness. I can finally relax. I said to Chengqing, “We must be children. Just look at your hair. You should be stable too.”

This made Chengxin and Chengzhen laugh. Chengqing pretended to glare at me fiercely and said, “Don’t tell me you don’t know anything about the two meridians of life and fortune. Injury, disability, and old age are all trivial matters. If you don’t do it right, you’ll be entangled in karma. What’s a little gray hair? I’m stable, or I’ll be the eldest brother.”

I slapped my forehead and gave him a thumbs-up, saying, “You really are Uncle Li’s disciple, and your ideas are all in the same vein. But I won’t let you, haha…”

Cheng Qing suddenly reached out and shook my hand, saying, “I admit in my heart that you are the eldest brother, but on the surface, you must call me the eldest brother. I am older than you, so don’t object. That’s it.”

Before I could react, Chengxin came running over and shook my hand, saying, “I also recognize you as the eldest brother in my heart, but on the surface, you must also call me brother. No objections, thank you.”

I could tell what was going on, and I turned to look at Chengxin. She smiled and poured herself a cup of tea, then looked at me and said, “Thank you. I will admit in my heart that you are the eldest brother, and I will call you brother in my mouth. I will be the younger sister, and you will have to take care of me.”

I was relieved and immediately stood up, looking at Chengqing and Chengxin and saying, “No, you have to give me a reason, or else we’ll fight it out.” The words were actually a joke. Our school emphasizes morality, but not rules. My master is even less of a rule-follower. Under these circumstances, it is impossible for me to say how much I value this big brother.

Moreover, these two kids haven’t broken the rules. They both said that in their hearts they absolutely recognize me as the eldest brother, which means that the rules of the Li family’s lineage are not broken, and the Shan family lineage is the head.

But I still have to ask, why do you want to take advantage of me?

“I’m 24 years old, three years older than you, and it would hurt my pride to call you my senior. People would think I’m not good enough.” Cheng Qing’s words were very brief, and I immediately realized that this kid was even more concerned about his face than I was.

I didn’t say anything, which was tacit consent. I looked at Chengxin with “unfriendly eyes,” and he gave a wry smile like his master’s, saying, “Younger brother, do you think I’m younger than you? Besides, what is the situation in our lineage? Every generation is about being true to one’s heart and nature, so it can also have its own rules. This older brother means that he is older than you.

I’m done. I’m at my wit’s end. To be honest, I’m actually a soft-hearted person, and I’m not too particular about things, especially when it comes to people I’m close to. I sighed helplessly, and I flopped down on the sofa. I’ll just call him my senior brother. I know that they won’t mess with the rules of the Shan School, which is based on the mountain.

“I said to the brothers, you don’t drink such a good Dahongpao?” The little sister smiled and said, “To be honest, she is the one who doesn’t care about this the most, so she didn’t say anything just now.

When it comes to tea, I certainly can’t let it go. I’ve been drinking tea since I was a child, and I’m not saying I’m proficient, but I can always tell good tea from bad tea. Without saying a word, I picked up the teacup and took a sip. I couldn’t think of any more adjectives to describe it, so I could only say four words: “It’s really good tea!”

When I finished saying this, I could still faintly smell the lingering fragrance of osmanthus in my mouth, and there was also an indescribable charm in it, as if it was the breath of a stone. Could this be the so-called rock charm?

“Brother Mu, what is rock flavor?” I asked.

“Actually, I don’t understand. Usually, the master is reluctant to drink this tea, but today is a special situation. But I heard my master say that the Dahongpao tea is only the real Dahongpao tea, and that one or two leaves can be exchanged for a thousand taels of gold. The so-called “rock flavor” is the special flavor of the Dahongpao tea from the mother tree, which is not found in any other ordinary Dahongpao tree. As for the reason, it is because the Dahongpao tea from the mother tree was born on a cliff, rooted in the rock, and has been growing for more than 300 years. Its tea leaves naturally contain a flavor of rock. Cheng Qing explained very seriously.

“Oh…” I held the cup of tea and realized how precious it was. It was indeed as Uncle Wang said, something that could not be obtained just by having money.

Tea is just a small matter, but it can be used as an opportunity to get the younger generation to open up and start talking about everything under the sun. As inheritors of the same metaphysical tradition, our natural insights are different from ordinary people. When we start talking, the topics are naturally extra speculative.

In life, we are of the same mind, and we find that our experiences are so similar. We both met our masters by chance, and we both left our parents at a young age. Qing inherited the fate of the two veins, and she was originally destined to bear the word “loneliness.” If she had kept her relatives around, they would have also been affected by the cause and effect.

This is the consequence of having either of the two meridians, let alone having both.

Chengxin had to travel with her master from north to south to identify and collect medicinal herbs, and she had to practice medicine in the world, so it was impossible for her to stay with her parents for a long time.

As for Chengzhen, needless to say, the line of physiognomy was originally intended for entering the world of medicine. Without entering the world of medicine and seeing all the different ways of the world, the word “physiognomy” can never be said to be accurate. As for physiognomy and geomancy, one must also travel all over the country. It is not for the sake of making money, but for her to better understand various geomantic terrains.

As for me, I am the most helpless. I have a boy’s life! I have little affinity with my parents, and they won’t let me return to the Dao. I have caused trouble for myself and my parents.