Under the gray, murky sky, the air was thick with the stench of decay.
On either side of the road, several phoenix trees grew in disorder, their cotton-like seeds falling onto the motionless boy, forming a thin layer over him.
Gao Yang squatted at the edge of a simple, ancient well, dazed and staring intently at the taut well rope.
He vaguely remembered climbing up from below.
At that time, a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy had happened to be drawing water at the well. Seeing him, the boy had been so terrified that he fainted on the spot.
Afterward, Gao Yang lost consciousness.
When he opened his eyes again, he had taken on the appearance of the boy. The water bucket had tipped over, and its contents had drained completely.
Creak… creak…
Something below the well rope seemed to be pulling.
Gao Yang slowly walked to the edge of the well and looked down.
"Why are you dawdling while fetching water?" an impatient voice called from behind.
A woman in her forties hurried over, the years leaving deep marks on her face. Her eyes drooped, her body had softened with age, yet her steps were full of vigor.
Two words flashed through Gao Yang's mind: Mother.
"Hurry up and come home. The Immortal Mistress of the Azure Mountain Temple has arrived. Don't keep her waiting," the woman said, pulling him along.
Gao Yang glanced back at the well; the rope had slackened, and whatever had been below had run off.
He tried rolling his tongue and made the first sound since arriving in this world: "Bucket."
The woman said urgently, "Ah, forget the bucket. If you can enter the Azure Mountain Temple, even if you break your ancestral grave, your father wouldn't scold you."
She dragged him over a li or more until they reached a dilapidated courtyard, where a large rooster stood atop the low wall.
Passing by, the woman grabbed the rooster by its neck and pushed Gao Yang inside the house. "Be polite when you meet the Immortal Mistress. Answer her questions properly, understand?"
She picked up a rusty kitchen knife and with a swift motion...
Aow…
The rooster hadn't even finished crowing before its head was chopped off.
The room felt chilly, sunlight unable to reach it. In the corners, piles of cabbage lay, many leaves already rotting.
Passing through the front hall and opening the inner room's door, two pairs of eyes fixed on him.
"Immortal Mistress, look, this is my son," a burly man said, pulling Gao Yang close and asking obsequiously, "Immortal Mistress, what do you think?"
Gao Yang lifted his head, curious, studying the gray-haired woman in Taoist robes before him.
She looked to be in her thirties, slightly plump, beautiful, still carrying charm. A cluster of small paper figures hung from her waist, swaying as she moved.
Gao Yang stared into her eyes.
He felt something odd about her right eye; the eyeball seemed to writhe.
The Immortal Mistress bent down, scrutinized him carefully, pinched his arm, face, and shoulders.
Then she said with satisfaction, "The child is well-formed and sturdy."
As she spoke, the eyeball stretched from its socket, connecting to a plump, fleshy worm-like body, wriggling.
"Unfortunately, he's slightly malnourished. But that's no problem. I have more than enough food and clothing."
The worm pressed almost against Gao Yang's face, dripping slime, its black, eye-shaped head staring at him.
"Ah!"
Gao Yang was startled, stepping back into the burly man.
The man raised an eyebrow and slapped Gao Yang's behind. "Look at you, what are you screaming for?"
Gao Yang didn't dare look back.
The man forced his head back around.
Gao Yang tightly shut his eyes.
"Open your eyes. Move again and I'll kill you!" the man barked.
In Gao Yang's memory, this man was his father, quick-tempered and prone to hitting.
He could only open his eyes and meet the worm's gaze.
"Ugh!"
Gao Yang covered his mouth, but couldn't hold back vomiting.
The mess splattered onto the Immortal Mistress's robe.
Her expression changed immediately.
The man hurriedly tried to explain, "My son was too excited to see you, Immortal Mistress. He always vomits when he's excited…"
The Immortal Mistress waved her sleeve, releasing a white mist from above her head. The filth on her robe vanished.
The man was astonished. "Immortal Art!"
She smiled slightly at his reaction. "A small trick. If your son follows me, he can easily master not just these tricks, but also cloud-riding, summoning wind and rain."
The man knelt and kowtowed, "Please accept my son."
Gao Yang stood dumbfounded.
He clearly saw that when she used her art, the mist came from the worm in her right eye.
The man tugged Gao Yang forcefully. "Kneel! Beg the Immortal Mistress to accept you!"
The Immortal Mistress looked at him encouragingly.
Gao Yang felt a sudden revulsion toward the worm.
He refused, "I don't want to."
The Immortal Mistress's expression darkened, and she turned to leave.
The man shouted anxiously, "Immortal Mistress!"
But she moved like riding a cloud, disappearing in a few flashes.
Her cold voice remained, "If you change your mind, deliver him to the gates of the Azure Mountain Temple before nightfall. Late arrivals will not be accepted."
The man froze, then suddenly drew a leather strap from his waist, striking Gao Yang's back. "Kneel!"
Pain shot through his back, and a memory flashed through Gao Yang's mind.
A boy of four or five, being whipped for accidentally knocking over a plate, hanging from a beam.
He quickly realized the memories belonged to this body.
Another lash, and the man shouted angrily, "Little brat! Being chosen by the Immortal Mistress is our family's blessing. How dare you refuse and anger me!"
Gao Yang, unfamiliar with this body, tongue stiff, tried to explain, "She's not an Immortal Mistress. There's a worm in her eye. If cultivating the Dao means keeping a worm in your eye, I'd rather not!"
"Worm? You're the worm!" Another lash struck. "Don't you know this is our chance to turn our lives around? If you become her disciple, your mother and I will live well. Ungrateful child!"
Smack!
The strap left a bloody mark on Gao Yang's face.
"After giving birth and raising you, don't you think of us?"
Gao Yang bit his lip, holding back tears. "There really was a worm in the Immortal Mistress's eye. Couldn't you see?"
"Stand straight. No crying!"
The man, seeing that it didn't look like he was lying, pulled him upright.
"Could your eyes be broken?" he muttered.
He carefully examined Gao Yang's eyes, then slapped him across the face. "Little rascal! Now you've learned to lie!"
Gao Yang was completely stunned.
He wondered: Could it be that his father couldn't see the worm?
The man, exhausted from hitting, barked, "I don't care what you think. Tonight you're going, whether you like it or not. If not, I'll beat you half to death and throw you at the Azure Mountain Temple's gate. You WILL cultivate under the Immortal Mistress!"