I nodded. "Yes, what you told me down the mountain, I thought your relationship was at least not good. What puzzled me later was that when the divine doctor was in danger, you went all out to save him, which confused me greatly."
The elder replied, "It's not contradictory. Firstly, he is indeed not a doctor, neither Western nor traditional Chinese medicine. He was able to treat Wu Guodong's illness because we have an ancestral secret recipe. He has it, and so do I. This is the wealth left to us by our master. Originally, we had a master's instruction that this secret recipe could not be used for medical practice. Even his treatment of Wu Guodong was free of charge. Otherwise, he wouldn't have lived such a meager life. This is why I said he didn't understand medical skills. Secondly, because I didn't know your background, I couldn't possibly reveal my relationship with him. My deliberate concealment was also for a reason."
I said, "I understand, thank you, elder, for your trust! Elder, I will have many more things to ask you in the future, and I hope you will not hesitate to give me your guidance."
He said, "Don't call me elder. My common surname is Han, and my junior brother's surname is Liu. It would be more intimate to call us Old Han and Old Liu directly from now on."
I said, "How can that be? We must respect those who deserve respect. I was thinking, if you get tired of staying in the mountains and want to go out for a walk, you can come to my place for a few days. Then you can teach me a trick or two, not for anything else, but for self-defense."
The elder replied, "That's great. I was worried that my skills would not be passed down. Since you are interested, I will teach you."
I was overjoyed and couldn't believe my ears. Looking at the elder's sincere gaze, I nodded vigorously. "That's wonderful! Then why don't you come back with us tomorrow?"
The elder said, "That would be good too. I was planning to go to Ruili to have a look, and traveling with you would save me travel expenses."
After saying that, he laughed heartily again.
I said, "It's getting late. Let's all rest. We have to travel tomorrow."
He said, "That's fine. They are already asleep downstairs. You can share with me here. One at each end, we can sleep."
I nodded, went to close the room door, and lay down fully clothed on the inner side. The elder blew out the lamp and also lay down fully clothed.
The night passed without incident, though it wasn't a whole night, only two or three hours. As soon as it was dawn, the birds began chirping noisily outside the window, making it difficult to sleep any longer.
The elder was already out of bed. He made us a pot of congee with some of his own pickled vegetables. We each drank two large bowls, eating until we were full. The elder cleared the bowls and chopsticks, closed the room door, put on a cloth bag, presumably with a few changes of clothes, and then walked out with us.
They say it's easy to go up a mountain and difficult to come down, but I don't think so. Coming down was much easier. We almost ran all the way down the mountain, because at any other speed, we wouldn't have been able to keep up with the elder.
It only took half a day to get down. If we drove faster, we could still make it to Ruili for lunch.
Wen Siqiang got to the car, started it, and turned it around. I invited the elder to get in, and we sat in the back. The elder, perhaps not having ridden in a car much before, despite his agility on the mountain, kept gripping the handle beside him, as if afraid the car would flip over.
I told the elder that the road ahead was better, so he could sleep a little, as I hadn't slept much last night and wanted to catch up on sleep.
The elder said, "I'm not used to this thing. I dare not close my eyes; I have to look outside."
I smiled and said, "You can leap over eaves and walk on walls, and tread on steep places as if on level ground. I didn't expect something so stable to scare you."
The elder replied, "It's true. I'm not afraid of anything, but sitting in here feels like I have no roots, a bit of a dizzying sensation."
I said, "You'll get used to it with more practice. The next time you need to travel a long distance, I'll have Qiangzi come pick you up. You won't have to walk so hard. Aside from the exhaustion, it mainly wastes time."
The elder said, "Waste time for what? Time is for you people. Because you always have endless things to do, you have to calculate time and rush. We just live day by day. Whether we walk or take a car, the result is the same."
This statement was a bit convoluted, and it took me some time to understand it.
After coming out of the mountain road and onto the national highway, compared to the rugged mountain roads, the less-than-ideal national highway felt like today's expressway, appearing wide and easy to navigate.
I glanced at the elder; his hands were still tightly gripping the handle, as if afraid he would be thrown out if he let go.
Knowing he was a bit fearful, I didn't say anything further and closed my eyes to rest.
Today, the divine doctor was to prepare medicinal herbs on the mountain. He would take the bus from Tengchong to Ruili the next morning.
I dozed off vaguely and only woke up when the car entered Ruili.
I told Wen Siqiang to first find a place to eat, and then find a hotel for the elder to stay in.
Wen Siqiang grunted and drove towards the city. He drove all the way to the vicinity of the Great World and stopped at a restaurant. He let us get out at the entrance while he went to park the car.
I suddenly remembered the incident of eating rice noodles on Heshun Street yesterday noon. As I walked the elder into the restaurant, I asked, "Elder, yesterday you went to eat rice noodles. I neither saw you order nor pay. Are you very familiar with him?"
The elder smiled and said, "I don't just go to his place; I go to any restaurant and eat without ordering. As for paying, as a wandering Taoist, I have nothing on me. How can I pay? The businessmen of Heshun are like this not only to me but to all ascetics. That's why the reputation for simple folk customs and embracing all rivers is so widespread."
So that was the case. It seemed I was ignorant and narrow-minded.
I didn't expect that an ordinary village town would have such noble virtue.
Later, I learned that Heshun was also a famous hometown of overseas Chinese. Its indigenous people migrated from several provinces in inland China and have always had traditions of overseas business dealings and residing abroad. After centuries of return and construction, it became the Heshun Ancient Town it is today.
We sat down at the restaurant. I brought the menu and asked the elder to order. The elder said, "Are you trying to humble me? I only need one dish and one bowl of rice; nothing else. Do not break the rules."
Helplessly, I ordered a vegetable dish and a bowl of rice for him according to this standard. The rest of us dared not presume and followed suit, each ordering a bowl of rice and a stir-fried dish.
I asked the restaurant for a pot of boiling water and poured a bowl for the elder. He took it and looked at me with satisfaction, as if saying that my understanding was acceptable.
We wolfed down a large bowl of rice and drank a bowl of hot water each. Wen Siqiang said that the place to stay was right next to the restaurant, and the elder usually ate there. I asked Wen Siqiang to give him a few hundred yuan, which he could deduct for meals.
After eating, I accompanied the elder to check in. I asked Wen Siqiang and Qian Fugui to get a room each as well, so they could keep the elder company.