The section from Nanxuan Palace to the Golden Summit is all mountain path—you can only rely on your legs.
"Now I finally understand... why... why they had to make a whole movie called ’Daoist Coming Down the Mountain’..."
Zhang Fan leaned on his hiking stick, gasping for breath, his clothes already soaked through with sweat.
"Wh... why?" Li Yishan asked mechanically.
"Because... coming down the mountain as a Daoist... is way too damn hard..." Zhang Fan lifted his head, looking at the endless steps, feeling utterly dizzy.
"Are you still upset now?" Li Yishan asked.
"I finally get why people feel bad... it’s because they have to climb the mountain for pilgrimage..."
"Why’s that?"
"My brain’s low on oxygen—who the hell has the energy to bother with their worries?" Zhang Fan bent over, unable to go on any further.
"No wonder it’s a famous Daoist mountain—haven’t even reached the top and I’ve already gained enlightenment."
Just then, Li Yishan suddenly stopped, gazing up at the mountain peak, a look of great realization overtaking his face.
"So what did you achieve?" Zhang Fan panted, head raised, staring up at the suddenly towering figure of Li Yishan.
"Do you still remember that girl from our department, the one raised by her grandpa?" Li Yishan retorted.
"Raised by her grandpa? Who? What do you mean?"
"..."
"Oh... Xiong Zhenxiao, right? What about her?" Zhang Fan pictured a consistent figure in his mind.
"When she came back to school last month, she wore a very fancy, beautiful brooch... Already graduated, and I just wanted to compliment her... so I casually said, ’Nice brooch you got there’..."
"Who would’ve thought she’d just slap me without saying a word..." Li Yishan rubbed his cheek, the sting still vivid even now.
"I’ll be damned if I can figure out why she slapped me..."
At this point, Li Yishan turned back, looking oddly happy. "Just now, it hit me... turns out she..."
"Get your ass moving up the mountain—does this really need enlightenment!?" Zhang Fan took a deep breath, grabbed his trekking pole, and started a final sprint upward.
"W-wait up for me... What, are you trying to kill yourself here..." Li Yishan panted and shouted from behind.
Three and a half hours later, the two of them, dog-tired, finally reached the summit of Zhenwu Mountain’s Golden Summit.
"Let’s check in first. I went through all sorts of trouble to snag this room," Li Yishan panted.
You can spend the night on Zhenwu Mountain, but most people have to stay at a homestay near the Nanxuan Palace gathering area. There’s only one hotel at the Golden Summit, and after 5 p.m., tourists are only allowed down the mountain via cable car.
"After they clear the place out, we’ll have it all to ourselves."
Saying this, Li Yishan followed the map and soon arrived at the only hotel on the Golden Summit—the Welcome Building.
Just a simple two-bed standard room, and it’s 1,800 a night.
"Check in for us."
At the front desk, Zhang Fan and Li Yishan took out their IDs and set them on the counter.
"Weren’t we supposed to keep outsiders from coming in?"
Just then, a cold voice sounded from behind.
Zhang Fan turned to see a young man walking over. He looked about the same age as Zhang, tall and thin, wearing sportswear, eyes narrowed in clear annoyance.
"What do you mean, ’outsiders’? We have a reservation," Li Yishan grew indignant at the remark.
"Mr. Qian, these two reserved before you booked out the entire place, we really can’t..."
The front desk manager rubbed his hands apologetically, wearing a sycophantic smile.
"Fine, let them check in. Don’t let anyone else in,"
At that moment, a young man with gold-rimmed glasses walked over. Despite being on the mountain, he was decked out in a crisp suit. He looked refined but unsettlingly out of place.
"Brother Wu..." The sporty youth shot Zhang Fan and Li Yishan a glare, wanting to say more.
"Drop it, what’s the point of arguing with ordinary people?" The gold-rimmed glasses man lifted a hand dismissively.
"Who are you calling ordinary? So you’re rich—big deal? Being rich means you can do whatever you want?" Li Yishan couldn’t hold back his anger.
"Sorry, but yes—being rich means doing whatever I want."
The man in gold-rimmed glasses pushed his spectacles up, tossed out the sentence without even a glance their way, and walked off.
"Burn incense and pray for luck."
The sportswear youth sneered, hands in pockets, following the man with the glasses at a leisurely pace.
"Manager, who the hell are these two? Mouths stink worse than athlete’s foot," Zhang Fan grumbled, watching the two receding figures.
"Keep your voice down. Big clients—they booked all our rooms. Haven’t seen anyone come stay, either... weird types." The manager lowered his voice.
"Bunch of show-offs." Li Yishan spat to the side.
"Gentlemen, your room’s 2013, to the left..."
The manager raised his hand, showing Zhang Fan and Li Yishan the way.
...
Meanwhile, inside room 3027—
"Brother Wu, you were way too polite back there..." As soon as Qian Shaokun walked in, he shed his sportswear, revealing a muscular build underneath, and plopped straight onto the bed.
"Commoners, like mayflies—born in the morning, gone by night. Seasons pass them by... What’s the point in stooping to their level?"
Qian Shengwu spoke quietly, his tone serene. Facing the mirror, he removed his glasses—within the mirror’s reflection, his eyeball suddenly writhed as if a worm squirmed inside, then instantly looked normal again.
"Don’t forget why we’re here."
"Brother Wu, what’s up with Zhenwu Mountain? The Jade Scroll Transmission is a huge deal—they didn’t invite outsiders to witness at all?"
Qian Shaokun lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, confusion etched across his face.
The Jade Scroll Transmission is no small thing; it’s the inheritance of the Daoist Sect’s Dharma Lineage, as well as the certificate for exorcising demons—a matter of a lineage’s glory and decline.
Traditionally, for matters as important as lineage succession, the news is made public, and respected figures from all over are invited to bear witness.
But this time... Zhenwu Mountain hasn’t made a sound—everything’s been quiet and secretive...
"Because this time is different," Qian Shengwu said blandly.
"Different? What’s different?" Qian Shaokun wondered aloud.
"Zhenwu Mountain is one of the Ten Great Daoist Mountains. Legend says Zhenwu attained enlightenment here and left behind a prophetic verse about the inheritance of the mountain’s Dharma Lineage..."
Qian Shengwu leisurely sat down, picked up a porcelain teapot, brewed some tea, steam rising, the fragrance spreading around the room.
"What was the verse?" Qian Shaokun sat up, looking intrigued.
Qian Shengwu pushed up his glasses, set down his teacup, and spoke quietly and solemnly.
"Never destroyed, never extinguished; in the seventy-third generation, it will pause..."
"In the seventy-third generation, it will pause!?" Qian Shaokun repeated the phrase, deep in thought.
"Counting now, Zhenwu Mountain’s lineage has reached its seventy-third generation." Qian Shengwu’s gaze sharpened slightly, his tone still mild.
"Are you saying..."
"Zhenwu Mountain’s... lineage ends with this generation!?"
The startled question exploded in the room, a look of shock and disbelief spreading slowly across Qian Shaokun’s face.