Zhou Tao finally breathed a long sigh of relief. He was relieved that the problem he had been worried about had been confirmed. In his heart, he really hoped that his brother truly liked Fu Ying, because Fu Ying also treated them like family. Zhou Qi had noticed this feeling. Although Wei Xiaoqing was also very beautiful, she didn't have the same sincerity as Fu Ying when it came to them.
Zhou Xuan pushed his younger brother down, smiled and said, "Go to sleep early. Tomorrow I'll take everyone up the mountain and have Junjie help us run around the village and town to get the household registration transfer certificate done."
Zhou Tao was indeed very tired and fell asleep after lying down for a while. Zhou Xuan gently called out, "Brother," and when Zhou Tao did not respond, he reached out and placed his hand on him, circulating his icy energy through Zhou Tao's body to activate his self-healing. He only stopped when Zhou Tao's injuries had almost healed.
** and Zhao Junjie, who slept like logs all night, woke up early in the morning and started messing around in the yard.
It was mainly the excitement that made them so excited, especially **, who was about to become a boss and had two cars. He would drive the Hummer himself, and Liu Yufang would use the Sonata. They would use their four million in savings to buy a house worth about two million, and then furnish it. Life was getting sweeter and sweeter!
After breakfast, Zhou Xuan told Zhao Junjie about getting the household registration transfer certificate and asked him to help run around the village and town. He said it shouldn't be difficult, since after yesterday's commotion, no one in the town would dare to make things difficult or do anything underhanded.
Then he called his younger brother Zhou Tao to pick a few large nanmu fruits from the nanmu tree in the field, intending to take them to the mountain to eat.
There were also people picking shoots in the neighbor's field. Zhou Xuan recognized him as Liu's second uncle and greeted him.
Uncle Liu dragged the basket of nanmu seeds to the side, then leaned over and whispered to Zhou Xuan, "Xuan, do you know, not long after you came back yesterday afternoon, a police car came and arrested the village chief, Liu Dagui. His wife and daughter-in-law went out to look for someone last night and haven't come back yet. I heard that his second son was also arrested!"
Zhou Xuan said "Oh" and said indifferently, "Really? I didn't know that."
Uncle Liu and the village chief Liu Dagui are cousins, so Zhou Xuan naturally wouldn't say anything to him.
Zhou Tao jumped around by the orange tree, saying strangely, "Brother, I don't know why, after sleeping with you last night, those injuries on my body don't hurt at all. It's so strange that even the marks have disappeared today."
"What's so strange about that?" Zhou Xuan said with a smile. "You weren't seriously injured to begin with. Young people are full of energy, so it's normal for minor injuries to heal quickly."
"
The two brothers carried the baskets of dishes to their house, then packed four or five more in backpacks, and called on the others to prepare to leave.
Apart from Zhou Xuan's parents, Liu Yufang and her son did not go, and Zhao Junjie went to the village to get a certificate. Everyone else was called by Zhou Xuan to go on a trip to the mountains.
There was a road leading up the mountain. Once we reached the village, we drove a Hummer, and the two vehicles followed some tour buses up the mountain.
Wudang Mountain, also known as Taihe Mountain, Xieluo Mountain, Canshang Mountain, and Xianshi Mountain, was anciently called "Taiyue, Xuanyue, and Dayue" and is a famous Taoist holy site. Spanning 800 li (approximately 400 kilometers), Wudang Mountain is backed by the vast primeval forests of Shennongjia and is renowned as "an unparalleled scenic spot since ancient times, the foremost abode of immortals under heaven." Wudang Mountain boasts seventy-two peaks, thirty-six cliffs, twenty-four streams, eleven caves, three pools, nine springs, ten ponds, nine wells, ten stones, and nine platforms, among other scenic wonders. The scenic area centers on Tianzhu Peak and features treacherous paths such as the Upper and Lower Eighteen Bends, as well as sights like "Seventy-two Peaks Facing the Great Summit" and "Golden Hall Reflections." Tianzhu Peak is the highest peak, reaching 1,612 meters.
Wudang Mountain is famous, of course, because of Taoism. Legend has it that after Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of Wudang Taoism, became famous, he traveled all over the world. When he passed through Wudang Mountain, he fell in love with the place and then founded his own sect, which became famous throughout the world.
Wudang martial arts, created by Zhang Sanfeng and also known as "internal martial arts," has a long history and is mysterious and ethereal. It is a major school of Chinese martial arts, and there is a saying that "Shaolin is revered in the north, and Wudang is respected in the south."
Achang Lede and Fu Ying are both highly skilled martial artists. They arrived at the sacred site of Wudang Mountain with great reverence. There is a gate at the intersection at the foot of the mountain where you need to buy a ticket and have it checked before you can enter.
After driving for another ten minutes or so, we stopped at the square halfway up the mountain. There was no road ahead, and we had to walk up the stone steps.
Zhou Bao and Zhou Tao often come here. They live close by, and when they were kids, climbing the mountain was free. Later, tourism was developed, and the government heavily promoted tourism in Wudang Mountain. A few years later, the area was contracted out, so the current Wudang Mountain tourist area is basically a private enterprise, with no connection whatsoever to the legendary Taoism and martial arts of the Great Mountain. It's similar to the world-famous Shaolin Temple. Now, when you go to Shaolin Temple, you won't see the highly skilled monks from the movies. Instead, you'll find expensive souvenirs, like sword pendants, carvings, and tourist hats. Although expensive, they sell very well. The people selling these tourist items on the mountain are not like those setting up stalls in other places; you need connections because the sales volume is high and the profits are extremely high. You can't get here without connections.
Fu Ying and Zhou Ying struggled to climb uphill, passing the stone archway, Nangong Rock, Yuxu Palace, and Zixiao Palace. The buildings were lined with red walls and green tiles, and there was a temple every five li and a palace every ten li. Zhou Ying was panting heavily, calling out, "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, slow down!"
She didn't understand how Fu Ying, who looked so delicate, could have such good stamina.
Later, Zhou Xuan and Achang Ade fared slightly better. Both of them were physically strong, so walking on mountain paths was not difficult for them. Zhou Xuan was protected by ice energy, so his physical exertion was minimal.
Only ** and Zhou Tao were a bit tired. Zhou Tao was a little better. After all, he was a country person who did manual labor often, so he had a lot of energy. It was just that walking straight like that without stopping for a while was tiring. He felt much better after taking a break.
Wei Xiaoqing was also very tired, but seeing Fu Ying doing her job in the distance, she felt unconvinced and gritted her teeth to follow her.
Zhang Xiang was the only one who was overweight and didn't exercise much. Climbing the hill, he was panting heavily, his vest soaked with sweat, and he cried out, "Oh dear, I can't go anymore! I can't climb any further! I'll wait for you here!"
Zhou Xuan chuckled and took a piece of nanmu from his backpack, tossing it to him. He said, "Hehe, boss, you're really useless. Here, eat your spittle."
The architectural complex of Wudang Mountain is indeed enormous, stretching for more than ten miles. It took three hours to reach the main peak, Tianzhu Peak, from one mountain peak to another, and that was without taking a break. Zhou Ying was utterly exhausted.
The summit of Tianzhu Peak covers an area of several thousand square meters. The Golden Hall at the summit is extremely imposing. Looking around, one can feel the grandeur of "I will climb to the top and look down on all the mountains below".
Under the sunlight, the hall glittered with gold, but Zhou Xuan could not detect any gold content. It was all made of copper and platinum powder and was not a real golden hall.
Fu Ying was quite disappointed. Only then did she ask, "Zhou Xuan, why haven't I seen a single Taoist priest? Isn't this a sacred Taoist site and the pinnacle of the martial arts world? I want to witness Wudang martial arts!"
Zhou Xuan paused for a moment and didn't answer, but her younger brother Zhou Tao smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, there are hardly any Taoist priests left now. There are only a few old Taoist priests left in the entire Wudang Mountain, and they are not martial arts masters as you described. They are just a few old men. In Wudang Mountain Town at the foot of the mountain, there are a few fake Taoist priests who have opened martial arts schools and are taking on students to make money. Apart from outsiders, we all know that they are fake."
"Oh!" Fu Ying was greatly disappointed. Looking around, she saw many tourists taking photos. To the left of the Golden Hall were two stalls, one selling snacks and the other selling souvenirs. Many people were buying them. Most of the men were buying stone and wood carvings, while the women and children were buying snacks and swords. Many children were already playing around in the square with plastic swords, laughing and slashing.
Zhou Xuan and his younger brother opened the jar and shared it with everyone. There were many nanmu seeds for sale at the foot of the mountain, but not at the top of Tianzhu Peak.
Some children saw that Zhou Xuan had put a lot of sticks on the ground to record, and they stood by watching with great envy. Zhou Xuan smiled and gave each child a large number of sticks. This action immediately attracted a large group of children to gather around, and Zhou Xuan quickly dispersed them all.
Fu Ying stood there for a while, but lost all interest and walked back listlessly.
Achang and Ade were also eager to see Wudang martial arts, and like Fu Ying, they came with high hopes but left disappointed.
As they descended the mountain, Zhou Xuan noticed Wei Xiaoqing gritting her teeth. Her steps were unsteady, and her legs trembled slightly. He said to his younger sister, Zhou Ying, "Little sister, help Xiaoqing up!"
Zhou Ying responded and went over to take Wei Xiaoqing's arm as they walked down the mountain.
Wei Xiaoqing hadn't paid any attention to anything at first, but Zhou Xuan's open concern for her stirred something within her. She glanced at Fu Ying, then raised her head with a hint of smugness as Zhou Ying helped her up.
Fu Ying smiled faintly, gently approached Zhou Xuan, and reached out to take his arm. Wei Xiaoqing was stunned. She had no intention of doing so, but she was at a disadvantage in every way. She couldn't save face, so she turned her pretty face away and refused to look at them!
Volume 1, Chapter 81: The Abandoned Stone Lion
Outside the parking lot, ** was fast asleep inside with the car door open. The journey down the mountain took another hour, more than half the time it took to go up.
Wei Xiaoqing and Zhou Ying got into another car and sat in the back, leaning back and not moving. At that moment, they felt completely weak.
Achang and Ade drove the car that Wei Xiaoqing and Zhou Ying were in. They woke her up and got off at the side of the road to drive. Zhou Tao sat next to him.
Zhou Xuan and Fu Ying sat in the back. Fu Ying's physical strength and endurance were much stronger than Wei Xiaoqing's, and she didn't feel particularly tired going up and down the mountain.
I didn't go up the mountain, and after taking a long nap, I felt great. I drove around laughing and chatting with Zhou Tao about Wudang Mountain.