That day, when Zhu Siqi arrived at school, he was no longer carrying his backpack. In his hands were only two packets of health-preserving pills. He planned to give them to Principal Du and Teacher Liu, explain his situation to Principal Du, and then officially leave the school.
When he reached the principal's office on the third floor, Principal Du was chatting with several other teachers. Seeing Zhu Siqi come in, he asked with a smile:
"Zhu Siqi, I haven't seen you come to my office for quite some time. What brings you here today?"
"Principal Du, I'd like to stop attending classes starting today."
"Why? Everything has been going well. Did something happen at home?"
"No. I'm leaving here and returning to my hometown."
"You're not from here? Where are you from?"
"I'm from Hunan. Actually, my father is also a teacher. I came here because I had something to take care of. Now that it's done, I want to go home."
"Oh, I see. Since you've made up your mind, that's fine. But don't leave at noon today—I want to treat you to a meal. You cured my illness, and I haven't properly thanked you yet."
Principal Du was a little reluctant to part with him. Although Zhu Siqi hadn't stood out particularly in class, his intuition told him that this was no ordinary child—at the very least, he was exceptionally intelligent.
"That's fine, but let me do the treating," Zhu Siqi replied. "At noon today, I'd like to invite all the teachers—Teacher Liu and my subject teachers as well. Consider it my farewell banquet to thank you all."
Hearing this, Principal Du couldn't say much more. Since Zhu Siqi insisted on thanking his teachers, it wouldn't be appropriate to argue.
"Alright then," Principal Du decided. "We'll eat at the restaurant in the market at noon. All the teachers will come."
"Principal Du, this is the health-preserving pill you took last time. I made some more—this pack is for you, and the other is for Teacher Liu."
Seeing the pills, Principal Du was delighted. After taking them, he had felt much better—better than any supplements from the pharmacy. Two days earlier, he had gone to the county hospital for a checkup. The doctor told him that his stomach and liver were recovering rapidly and would be completely healed in a few months.
Thinking back to the doctor's expression, Principal Du still found it amusing. The doctor had compared his old scans with the new ones, looking utterly shocked and muttering to himself, "Impossible… impossible… how could atrophied, necrotic organs recover like this?"
Principal Du hadn't explained much, simply taking the scans and leaving with a smile.
So this time, he didn't refuse politely—he took the pills straight away.
Zhu Siqi then went to Teacher Liu's office. Teacher Liu happened to be there. Zhu Siqi told him about his departure, gave him the health pills, and invited him to lunch at noon.
Liu Xuanwen nodded in agreement.
After that, Zhu Siqi went to the homeroom teacher's office on the first floor to inform Teacher Tan. Among all the teachers, Teacher Tan understood Zhu Siqi best. He knew how intelligent the boy was, how remarkable his memory and comprehension were—especially evident from his performance in mathematics.
He said earnestly, "Zhu Siqi, after you go back, make sure you continue your studies, understand? You're very talented. In the future, you'll definitely be able to get into a prestigious university."
"I will," Zhu Siqi replied. "Teacher Tan, actually my father is also a middle school teacher, and he teaches mathematics as well. I'm sure he'll arrange everything for me."
After lunch with the teachers, Zhu Siqi didn't return to school. He felt reluctant to leave, but people had to face the future eventually. If fate allowed, they would meet again someday.
During lunch, he also told Teacher Tan that he was donating his table tennis paddles and volleyballs to the class. From then on, they would be class property, and students could borrow them from Teacher Tan during their free time.
At a shop in the market, he bought a small travel bag and returned to the mountain. He packed the two books written by his master first, then added the four plastic bottles of health pills he had made recently—intending to bring them back for his parents. After that, he packed a few sets of his usual clothes, his saved money, and the map of China. He didn't bring anything else.
Only when he saw the tape recorder did he remember that leaving it on the mountain would cause it to rust. He decided to make another trip to school the next day to give it to the class. He took out the tape recorder and the junior middle school English tapes and put them into a separate bag. As for the other foreign-language tapes, he decided not to take them—he didn't want others to know he was studying additional languages, as that went against his principles.
Early the next morning, he got up again. After tidying the room, he carried several stones weighing hundreds of pounds each from the mountainside and blocked the doors of his own room and his master's room. Finally, he sealed the entrance to the stone cave outside as well. Only then did he turn around, carrying his travel bag and the bag with the tape recorder, and walk down the mountain.
Looking at every blade of grass and every tree along the road, he silently said his goodbyes.
Goodbye, mountain animals—you can roam freely to the mountaintop now. No one will hunt you anymore.
Goodbye, medicinal herbs.
Goodbye, primeval forest.
Goodbye, mountaintop.
He walked slowly, wanting to engrave everything deeply into his memory.
When he reached the school, Teacher Tan was already up. Seeing Zhu Siqi come again, he was puzzled at first. But when he noticed the travel bag in Zhu Siqi's hand, he realized that this was a farewell.
"Zhu Siqi, come over here. Sit in my office for a moment."
"Alright."
After handing over the tape recorder and tapes to Tan Tian and exchanging a few words, Zhu Siqi left.
He hurried to the bus stop in the market. The bus was just about to depart. There wasn't even time to eat breakfast before he boarded. The bus sped all the way to the county bus station. There, he immediately bought a ticket to the provincial capital. After grabbing breakfast outside, he got on the bus and waited for departure.
By the time he arrived in the provincial capital, it was already afternoon. Outside the bus station was a large open area filled with taxis and buses. While still on the bus, he had asked the driver and learned that Bus No. 8 went directly to the train station. He boarded it, and the bus set off at once.
Watching the streets of the provincial capital, he saw that it was far larger than the city he had visited before. Tall buildings stood shoulder to shoulder on both sides. Large advertisements hung on walls, the roads were clean, and shops lined the streets endlessly. Although the bus moved quickly, it still took nearly forty minutes to reach the train station.
After getting off, he saw a large building labeled "Ticket Hall" next to the station and knew that was where tickets were sold. Inside, it was even more crowded than a market day in the mountains. Long queues stretched everywhere. He joined one and waited about twenty minutes before it was his turn.
"One ticket to Zhengzhou," he said.
"Seat or sleeper?" the ticket clerk asked.
"How much for a seat? How much for a sleeper?"
"Seat is forty, sleeper is ninety. Hurry up," the clerk replied impatiently.
Zhu Siqi thought for a moment. Zhengzhou was thousands of li away; the train ride would take a full day. He handed over ninety yuan and bought a sleeper ticket.
After squeezing out of the crowd, he checked the ticket. The departure time was 10:30 p.m., more than three hours away. He went to a restaurant near the station to eat and only then realized how little money was worth here—a single stir-fried dish with two bowls of rice cost him sixteen yuan.
After eating, he didn't feel like wandering around anymore. Everything here was several times more expensive than back home. He decided to go early to the waiting hall. Since this train originated here, ticket checks began around 9:30 p.m. He followed the crowd through the gate and onto the platform.
It was his first time traveling alone by train. When he was younger and rode trains before, he never really understood what was going on. His ticket said: Carriage 9, Bed 3, Lower Berth. He noticed small signs with numbers hanging at the doors of the carriages and found Carriage 9. After locating his berth, he placed his bag on the luggage rack and sat down.
Others around him carried large bags and guarded their belongings carefully, keeping them within sight. Zhu Siqi, however, wasn't worried at all. With Yi Jin Yi Yuan Gong already at the sixth level, even without actively circulating his qi, he could sense everything within a hundred meters. The entire carriage was well within his "field of vision."
Not long after departure, the main lights in the carriage were turned off. Passengers settled into their berths. Zhu Siqi lay on his own bed, thinking quietly. After reaching Zhengzhou, he would still need to go to Dengfeng City at the foot of Mount Song. His master had said that the Shaolin Temple was more than twenty li west of Dengfeng.
No need to think too much, he told himself. I'll figure it out when I get there.
The night passed quietly.
By morning, passengers began to wake up, wash their faces, and take out the food they had bought on board. Zhu Siqi hadn't bought much, fearing the high prices at the station. When the attendant came by pushing a cart, he bought a cup of instant noodles—five yuan. Back home, that money could buy two cups with change left over. But he had to eat.
By then, the passengers in the middle and upper berths climbed down and sat on his lower berth, chatting with him. One looked like a businessman who had bought the cheapest upper berth. The other, from the middle berth, appeared to be on a business trip, dressed in a suit and tie. At first, they were surprised to see that the person in the lower berth was only in his early teens—and traveling alone. But as seasoned travelers, they didn't ask directly, instead chatting about various interesting stories they knew.
Zhu Siqi didn't speak much, mostly listening, thoroughly enjoying the conversation.
Time passed quickly. At dawn, the train pulled into Zhengzhou Railway Station. Following the crowd, he exited the station and saw the Zhengzhou Long-Distance Bus Terminal directly across the street. When he went in, he found a dedicated bus line to Shaolin Temple. The ticket cost twenty yuan, and the bus departed once it was full.
Since many people were traveling to Shaolin Temple, the bus filled up quickly. It set off without delay. The journey took about three hours. Along the way, the driver introduced several scenic spots they passed, such as the Han tomb at Dahu Pavilion, Zhongyue Temple, and Songyang Academy.
After getting off, Zhu Siqi saw the bold, vigorous characters "Shaolin Temple" before him. His heart surged with excitement. At last, he had arrived at his sect's ancestral ground. Though his master was no longer there, his grandmaster, uncles, and seniors should all be inside.
He quickened his pace and walked straight into Shaolin Temple.