The Unruly Immortals

"Wang Changxu has been dead for a hundred years?" Zhuge Yuan couldn't help but open his mouth wide upon receiving this news.

He really didn't expect such a situation. Clearly, this Wang Changxu was indeed an old friend of Master, but Master hadn't considered that his old friend was human, and human lifespans aren't as long as years.

Going back was impossible; the brag was already made, and going back would be too embarrassing.

But since the person is dead, what should be done now?

"Uh... Honorable Senior." Zhuge Yuan raised both hands toward the elder with hair tied up and wearing a black and white robe in front of him, and immediately thought of a solution.

"Senior, Zhuge Yuan speaks with utmost sincerity. My Master is indeed an old friend of that venerable predecessor. If you don't believe me, may I ask if this Wang Changxu Senior has any descendants? You might inquire to verify."

"My family Master... has a peculiar appearance; as long as Wang Changxu Senior mentioned it, his descendants would surely remember."

Hearing Zhuge Yuan's words, the elder stood there without answering immediately, continuing to skeptically scrutinize the young man in front of him.

It wasn't until the sky gradually darkened that the elder finally relented, saying, "I doubt you would dare to cause any trouble at Bright Wheel Hall; follow me."

Hearing this, Zhuge Yuan was delighted. No matter what, it's best to get in first.

He thought the large door behind him would open, but was surprised when the elder headed toward the small door on the side. "What status do you have? Do you walk through the main entrance of Bright Wheel Hall? This way."

"The rules of Bright Wheel Hall are really numerous," Zhuge Yuan thought silently, following the elder toward the side door.

By the time they entered the large door, it was getting dark outside. The buildings by the entrance had grown very dim, making it difficult for Zhuge Yuan to see clearly, feeling as though the buildings stretched on interminably.

Following the elder, Zhuge Yuan walked into a green-tiled rain corridor, heading deep into the building complex.

As they walked, the surroundings brightened, illuminated by square white lanterns hung on either side of the rain corridor, each lantern inscribed with poems in various scripts.

Some poems Zhuge Yuan had learned from Master, but some he had only seen before, entering a state of amazement as he gazed upon them.

When he came to his senses again, he found himself led by the elder to a two-story, refined courtyard.

"Follow along, don't look where you shouldn't, don't speak what you shouldn't." The elder said icily, then stepped over the threshold and entered.

Upon crossing a small garden, Zhuge Yuan noticed inside the main hall a handsome youth who was writing something, holding a brush in one hand, grinding ink with another, and fanning himself with a third hand.

His lips curved upwards. His facial features were soft, with fair skin, and if not for his scholarly blue attire, Zhuge Yuan would have thought he was a woman.

"Wait, three hands?" Zhuge Yuan couldn't help but get excited.

Before he could eagerly step forward to converse, the elder spoke again.

"Yuting, perform the oracle, probe this boy's foundation."

After saying this to the youth, the elder turned back to look at Zhuge Yuan, "If he's lying, then don't expect to leave once he's inside!"

As soon as he finished speaking, one by one, the white square lanterns outside extinguished from afar, plunging the outside into darkness.

This scene made Zhuge Yuan a bit nervous, prompting him to secretly reach into his back bamboo basket, gripping his self-defense weapon.

"Master, you can't set me up like this, I'm just here to seek learning, why such a grand setup."

But at this moment the elder didn't bother with Zhuge Yuan's concerns; with one palm striking the table, a forked Y-shaped peachwood branch in a pen container beside the table jolted upright.

Before the branch could fall, he and the youth named Yuting each grabbed an end, suspending the branch mid-air over the writing desk.

The floating branch swiftly trembled, causing the ink from the characters on the page to seep out and into the lower end of the branch.

As it soaked up the ink, new sprouts actually began growing on the peachwood branch, and as the sprouts emerged, the ink absorbed began transitioning from black to a ghastly green color.

The room's lighting flickered erratically, as though the light source wanted to split into several portions; moreover, as another hand emerged from the elder's armpit, the atmosphere in the room became terrifying.

"Begin!" Both simultaneously switched hands, using the extra hands to shake the peachwood branch.

But soon, the peachwood seemed to escape their control, quivering as it wrote on a blank rice paper.

"Here even roosters and dogs are Immortals, truly another world beyond Taoyuan. It seems the spring wind is attentive, green poplars like paintings, willows like smoke."

As the writing ceased, everything around them calmed down, leaving only Zhuge Yuan's slightly flustered breaths fluctuating in the room.

He wiped his forehead with his sleeve, then noticed that at some unknown point his forehead had become covered in cold sweat.

"Honored seniors, I really didn't lie. My Master truly was an old friend of Wang Changxu. Even if not, it's just a mistake in finding the right place, at most."

"Hmph," the elder was about to say something, but was interrupted by someone else.

"Oh dear, dear, alright, alright, since Wang Changxu senior's immortal-reverted wisdom says this person is fine, then most likely he is. Shishu, come and view the words." The youth called Yuting spoke for the first time.

His voice was unusually cheerful, contrary to his appearance.

The elder and the youth whispered around the green characters, leaving Zhuge Yuan neglected on the side.

"Did I really find the wrong place? Is this what Master meant? Why does it feel off?" Zhuge Yuan thought to himself, looking at the lights outside that had somehow come back on.

"Surely it's not wrong, right? They all have three hands." When Zhuge Yuan glanced again, he found their extra hands had vanished.

Grumbling internally, Zhuge Yuan wandered around the room, peering at the strange stones on the bamboo shelves and the paintings on the walls, sensing this was different from his ambitious expectations when leaving the village.

"Yuting, tonight you keep an eye on this boy, I'll go invite Master to take a look." As the elder swept his sleeve over the green characters, the four lines floated off the rice paper and landed in his sleeve.

The elder, seeming disinclined to care about Zhuge Yuan, coldly headed out of the room.

Zhuge Yuan wanted to speak but stopped, turning towards the youth named Yuting, offering a somewhat resigned bow, "Could you open the door and let me out? I'll keep looking."

"Ah, no worries, no worries. Uncle Si Gong is just like that." Compared to the elder's demeanor, the youth named Yuting appeared much more affable. "For tonight, stay here, we'll talk tomorrow. Oh, by the way, boy, what's your name?"

"I am Zhuge Yuan, Master found me and gave me this name."

"Pleased to meet you, Brother Zhuge. I'm Li Jinshu, with the style name Yuting. Don't worry, Wang Changxu was a Great Confucian, his reputation matters, you'll be allowed admission tomorrow, and after that you'll be a disciple of Bright Wheel Hall."

After a friendly chat with the approachable Li Jinshu, the unease in Zhuge Yuan's heart slowly subsided.

It seemed he was indeed at the right place; it was just that the elder was particularly harsh earlier.

After chatting a bit longer, an exhausted Zhuge Yuan, having traveled all day, asked Li Jinshu for directions to his lodging and prepared to get a good night's rest.

As Zhuge Yuan was about to leave, Li Jinshu resumed writing,

At the doorway, Zhuge Yuan curiously glanced back from afar, "The pink butterfly flutters, trembling the floral calyx, the dragonfly perches, scenting the floral chamber."

"Uh..."