Chapter 237: Seeking the Dao

Zheng Fa had to admit that he was somewhat judging by appearances.

From the moment he first saw Tang Mudao, he actually felt little in his heart—this had nothing to do with beauty or ugliness; for instance, Old Bai's appearance had nothing to do with being handsome.

Zheng Fa simply preferred to be close to simpler people.

And Tang Mudao...

This man kept a smile on his face, and when he met Zheng Fa's gaze, he measured his conduct with extreme precision—he neither ignored Zheng Fa's youth nor showed curiosity by looking around.

This was certainly not a bad thing, it just did not match the image of a scholar in Zheng Fa's mind.

"Mudao, what is the matter with these several carts of instruments?"

"Old Bai, you know what kind of president of a Taoist association I am abroad," Tang Mudao explained, "I have some cooperation with companies that do this, these instruments..."

He pointed outside the nursing home.

"Indeed, I didn't ask for money."

"Why?"

Tang Mudao shrugged: "Our association has some influence abroad, especially regarding traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture and the like; they mainly want to run an advertisement, do some promotion... to put it plainly, not asking for money is also to earn more money."

"Then why send them to our nursing home?"

"Isn't it because I..." Tang Mudao smiled embarrassedly, "have a favor to ask."

Old Bai and Zheng Fa exchanged a glance.

That Tang Mudao looked at the two, and a trace of thoughtfulness appeared in his eyes.

Old Bai asked, "What matter?"

"Brother..." The words in Tang Mudao's mouth seemed directed at Old Bai, but his eyes looked at Zheng Fa, "You also know, I have been mixing for a long time in that barbarian land abroad, it is inevitable that I am somewhat presumptuous."

"..."

"You... received some true transmission, right?"

"..."

Old Bai fell silent.

Then he heard Tang Mudao say, "I won't hide it from you, brother; after we parted last time, I even went to Jingcheng University."

"Jingcheng University?"

"I went to visit some of your former colleagues... and I also saw photos of you from before."

"You..."

Old Bai pointed at Tang Mudao.

"Brother, I know, I was wrong, I was indeed wrong!" Tang Mudao hurriedly apologized, "But you also know, I just have this one thought..."

Old Bai snorted, shook his head, but could not say much.

This matter clearly showed Tang Mudao had some suspicion of prying into privacy.

But Old Bai did have some status and standing in the circle; there were many photos of him from before, some even hung on the internet—in the end, it was hard to define as privacy.

"Brother, you can still say this body of muscles was built through training." Tang Mudao pointed at Old Bai's face, "But this face that is twenty years younger..."

"..."

Such matters indeed could not be hidden from those with a keen eye.

Clearly, the Tang Mudao before him was one such person.

"So you want..."

Plop!

Zheng Fa did not expect Tang Mudao to kneel the moment he spoke.

This man prostrated himself before him, saying, "Since my youth, I have been determined to seek the Dao; I hope the Immortal will show pity!"

Zheng Fa hurriedly helped him up.

"This... Professor Tang, how can you be sure there is an Immortal here..."

"I... also inquired."

Tang Mudao said somewhat embarrassedly.

"What did you inquire about?"

"In the past half year, the Goddess Hongshan has manifested her spiritual power twice..."

"..."

"But these two manifestations of spiritual power actually began when you arrived at Goddess Hongshan."

Zheng Fa could not help but shake his head.

It was still the same saying—the various movements of the nursing home, although not made public, were not deliberately concealed.

If it were someone else, relying merely on these two pieces of evidence, they probably could not be certain, and might even have other speculations.

But Tang Mudao, such a madman who sought gods and worshipped Buddhas everywhere...

... really guessed correctly every time.

Seeing that he and Old Bai were silent.

Tang Mudao said, "Immortal! I sincerely seek the Dao!"

"Those instruments are my gift upon meeting!"

He pointed at the entrance of the nursing home.

"I can also bring some cooperation to the nursing home!"

"Cooperation?" Old Bai became curious, "What cooperation?"

"I also have some connections with certain hospitals abroad... hanging a few plaques for the nursing home is no problem!"

Zheng Fa understood a little.

Basically, it's about hanging a few tiger-skin certificates from famous foreign hospitals in the nursing home to attract some customers.

"I can also introduce some clients to the nursing home!" Seeing no expression on Zheng Fa's face, Tang Mudao added, "Not stupid, but the kind with lots of money."

"..."

To be honest, Zheng Fa could see Tang Mudao's effort and sincerity.

But he grew increasingly puzzled in his heart.

"Professor Tang... you do experimental physics abroad?"

"Uh, to be precise, I work in astronomy."

"Then you..."

Zheng Fa didn't know how to describe this person's various words and deeds.

Tang Mudao blinked, seemingly not understanding what Zheng Fa wanted to say either.

On the contrary, the old man Bai nearby seemed to truly understand Zheng Fa's meaning.

"This kid thinks you lack the air of a scholar."

Tang Mudao looked at his beer belly and said blankly, "I don't consider myself a scholar..."

"..."

"I do research only because I'm good at it; it's my means of livelihood, not because I like it..."

Zheng Fa grinned and said, "But we... are a research-oriented nursing home."

"Nursing home..." Tang Mudao froze. "And research-oriented?" He seemed to find it hard to understand how those two words could be put together.

Zheng Fa nodded at him.

He then looked at the old man Bai, and the old man Bai nodded back at him.

Tang Mudao opened his mouth: "I thought... you opened a nursing home to make money..."

That idea was actually normal—

The idea of running a nursing home to research immortal techniques was not very normal.

If Zheng Fa were solely intent on making money, the instruments this person brought, as well as his connections, would actually still be somewhat useful.

One couldn't say he wasn't putting in effort.

Only...

"Bringing these things is not as good as bringing two of your own papers."

The old man Bai nearby sighed.

Tang Mudao felt a bit depressed: "How could I know that Immortals recruit people using the same method as recruiting PhD candidates!"

"..."

Papers are easy to talk about.

Tang Mudao might not have works equal to his height, but in the academic world, he was far from an unknown figure.

Although Zheng Fa didn't understand his research topic, judging by the journal tier, impact factor, and citation count, this person's tenure as a professor probably didn't come from some mysterious Eastern power.

Zheng Fa and the old man Bai, along with two others, discussed in the backyard.

Tang Mudao waited inside the main building of the nursing home.

"What do you think?"

"Academic ability should be no problem," the old man Bai said first.

"I just feel that this person..." Tang Lingwu shook her head and said, "doesn't quite match our personalities; a bit..."

"A bit too worldly," Tian Laoshi added.

Tang Lingwu nodded along.

This was also Zheng Fa's feeling.

This person was smart, meticulous, and had a strong will.

The old man Bai had only appeared on camera once in a livestream by a homestay owner.

Yet this person had investigated so much information.

Zheng Fa did not doubt his intelligence or will.

"I'm also thinking about this problem..." Zheng Fa voiced his method's idea, "First, do we need an astronomer? Second... if this person joins us, what impact will it have on the nursing home."

"Actually, I'm more worried that this person wants to use the immortal techniques he learns to seek personal gain in the mundane world."

"His Taoist Association..." Zheng Fa thought for a moment, "has a bit of that meaning."

Hearing this, Tang Lingwu and the other two nodded.

On the contrary, the old man Bai stroked his chin and said, "Actually, I feel that, setting aside academic cultivation, we also need someone like this."

"Hmm?"

Zheng Fa looked at the old man Bai, listening to his opinion.

"Our nursing home is about to open, right?"

"Yes."

"We might attract some people's attention."

Zheng Fa somewhat understood the old man Bai's meaning: "You mean, let him handle greetings and farewells?"

"Yes, I see that none of us four are as suitable for this as he is," the old man Bai continued. "Just like the inner and outer sects in those stories; we do research, but those mundane matters still need to be handled."

Zheng Fa also found the old man Bai's perspective somewhat interesting.

He originally thought this person's slickness was a flaw.

But after the old man Bai spoke, Zheng Fa also felt that perhaps this was actually an advantage.

"The most important thing is whether we can control this person."

Zheng Fa nodded slowly, already forming some thoughts in his mind.

……

"A trial?" Tang Mudao blinked and asked, "What trial?"

"You know the dream of Nanke, don't you?"

Tang Mudao understood a little: "Testing the Dao heart?"

Zheng Fa nodded; his habit was to never embellish what could be said plainly, and he treated Tang Mudao the same way now.

He explained clearly and simply that he would use the Great Dream Talisman on him.

"I accept!"

Tang Mudao, likely understanding this was an opportunity Zheng Fa had given him, immediately nodded.

Zheng Fa tapped the back of his head, and the Great Dream Talisman shot into his brain.

The four of them, including Zheng Fa, watched as a wisp of black mist slowly rose above his head, and Tang Mudao's figure appeared within the mist.

He wore a Taoist robe, walking through a small town—a town that looked extremely backward.

People in the town bowed to him with clasped hands, calling him Immortal Master.

He nodded to those around him and approached a single-story house.

The walls of this house were built of red bricks, already rare in this era.

He pushed open the door and walked into the main hall.

In the center of the hall stood an offering table, with three incense sticks burning on it; the smoke curled around a black-and-white photograph on the wall—the person in the photo was younger than him, wearing an identical Taoist robe.

Tang Mudao gazed at the black-and-white photo and suddenly spoke:

"Father."

"When I was twenty and learned Qigong from my master, I knew he was lying."

"At forty, when I visited those Taoist temples and shrines, I knew they were lying too."

"At fifty, when I became president of the association, I knew I was lying, and others probably knew too... everyone was just playing a role."

"But as you said, the Dao and its methods are not a lie..." Tang Mudao said, "I have sought it and found it."

……

Bai Lao was stunned; he turned and looked at the others, saying:

"This feudal superstition, and yet a family tradition?"

Tian Laoshi shook his head: "Not a family tradition... given his age, if his father had been fond of this, his situation would likely not have been good."

Bai Lao paused, then silently nodded.

"His so-called seeking the Dao..." Tian Laoshi continued, "may simply be that he could not let go. Two generations of obsessed men..."

(End of this chapter)