Under One Person: The Seeker of the Dao in the Lü Family

Chapter 363 Tiger Descending the Mountain - Five-Person Prostration

Tourists flocked to Wudang Mountain, but there were few people on the road leading to the martial arts training ground at the back of the mountain; they were mostly Wudang disciples coming and going.

Looking at the listless Wang Ye and the beaming Zhuge Qing, the fellow disciples pondered for a moment and could vaguely guess the cause and effect: Wang Ye had been tricked again.

As for who tricked him, his fellow disciples all knew the truth. When they passed by Wang Ye, they ignored his pleading look and instead offered him encouragement with smiles.

"Junior Brother Wang Ye, cheer up, don't embarrass yourself today."

"Senior brother..."

"Don't worry, we'll be waiting for your good news in the dining hall. Good luck!"

Before Wang Ye could finish his greeting, his fellow disciples kindly interrupted him. They hurried past him, then turned and gathered on the mountain path, quietly watching Wang Ye's increasingly pale figure.

"Senior Brother De'an, looking at Junior Brother Wang Ye's miserable expression, do you have any news?"

"Hey, there's no need for any information, anyone with eyes can see it."

De'an, who is always outspoken, didn't hold back and casually raised his chin at Wang Ye, who hadn't gone far, saying, "Junior Brother Wang Ye must have been tricked by Junior Brother Lü Qian again today."

"Zhuge Qing is quite a celebrity in the circle. You all saw how Wang Ye was hiding from disaster and refused to go out a while ago."

"I just went out to stand guard for the past two days and was surrounded by the Zhuge family. Who would believe it wasn't premeditated?"

The fellow disciples standing around covered their mouths, trying to hide their barely suppressed laughter. They cleared their throats and lowered their voices, saying, "It's still Junior Brother Lü Qian who's amazing. Even though he's thousands of miles away, he can still make the lazy Junior Brother Wang Ye take things seriously."

Upon hearing this, De'an seemed to perk up, slapped his thigh, and began to talk animatedly, completely unaware of the figures vaguely appearing on the other side of the mountain path.

"You know, our Master Yunlong usually only sighs and clicks his tongue when he sees Junior Brother Wang Ye."

His voice grew louder and louder, this time echoing throughout the nearby mountain path. Not only did the two sorcerers, whose ears were filled with the [Whisper of the Gentle Breeze], hear every single word clearly, but the figure walking on the opposite side of the mountain path also heard it clearly.

"The atmosphere at Wudang is truly one of unity and harmony, wouldn't you say, Master Wang Ye?"

Zhuge Qing glanced at Wang Ye's upturned lips beside him and could tell that he didn't intend to remind the group of fellow disciples behind him.

"Of course, greetings to Master Yunlong!"

As they walked, Wang Ye, who was ashen-faced, suddenly straightened up, stepped forward, clasped his hands, bowed, and paid his respects in one smooth motion.

"Greetings, Master Yunlong"

The sounds of bowing and greetings finally startled the group of Wudang disciples who were watching the commotion. Instead of looking up at the opposite side, they reflexively bowed and sang along.

De'an, who had just been so bold and magnanimous, immediately straightened his posture and, without hesitation, prostrated himself in a deep bow to the person opposite him.

"Greetings, Master Yunlong."

"Yes, everything is fine."

Master Yunlong, dressed in a white coarse cloth training uniform with some dust still clinging to his sleeves, walked over unhurriedly with his hands behind his back. If it weren't for the faint twitching of his mustache, he would have looked every bit the master.

He first passed by Wang Ye, forced a stiff smile, nodded to Wang Ye and Zhuge Qing, and then walked expressionlessly toward the group of disciples who were still bowing.

"Aren't these my disciples? They were complaining about being hungry when they saw me at the training ground earlier. A quarter of an hour has passed, why haven't they gone to the dining hall for lunch yet?"

Master Yunlong slowly walked up to the group of disciples, took a deep breath, and silently repeated several times that they were his direct disciples, not just those under his name, before expelling his anger.

He put his hands in his sleeves and looked at De'an, who was prostrating himself on the ground, with annoyance. Although he really wanted to kick De'an's butt, he still patiently asked.

"And De'an, weren't you so tired you could barely lift your arms? How come I could hear your loud voice from so far away?"

"Master, you are unaware of this!"

De'an raised his head, but his hands and feet remained on the ground as he propped himself up, revealing a sincere expression on his face, with what seemed like tears glistening in his eyes.

"After the disciples left the training ground, they were halfway through their journey when they suddenly remembered their master's hard work. You patiently guided your disciples in their cultivation every day. In terms of hard work, you are the hardest-working person on Wudang Mountain."

At this point, tears welled up in De'an's eyes and almost spilled out. He lowered his head again, his voice deep and sincere.

"Disciples should not be so eager to satisfy their own appetites and forget Master's hard work. Therefore, we have stopped here to wait and respectfully invite Master to take the first step, and we disciples will follow to serve you."

"Absolutely, absolutely! Senior Brother De'an is right!"

Such a performance of singing, recitation, acting, and fighting with "sincere emotions and honest words and deeds" truly stunned Zhuge Qing, who was seeing it for the first time. He turned his head to look at the only Wudang disciple on the field who was smiling.

"Master Wang Ye, is this how it is in Wudang... respecting teachers and valuing the Way?"

After a brief pause, Zhuge Qing carefully considered his words and used a rather tactful and polite term.

"Come on, believe it or not, those few tears from Senior Brother De'an were purely from his improper operation, his knee slammed hard on the stone slab, and he was in pain."

Wang Ye raised his sleeve, half-covering his face, and secretly pointed at De'an's trembling legs, unkindly exposing his performance.

However, before he could continue to undermine him, Daoist Yunlong suddenly turned around and glanced at him. This glance was neither sad nor happy, but it made Wang Ye shudder. He quickly turned around and left with Zhuge Qing.

"Alright, Master Zhuge, the atmosphere at Wudang is just like this. If we don't hurry up and start the competition, I won't be able to have lunch."

Watching the two figures suddenly accelerate and disappear from sight on the mountain path, Daoist Yunlong snorted coldly, walked past the disciples who were bowing, and continued walking towards the dining hall with his hands behind his back.

"I am not so old that I need you to serve me even when I eat. I will add three more incense sticks to the chanting during evening prayers, and five more for De'an. This will help you hone your quick tongues and prevent you from talking nonsense all day long."

"Yes, Master!"

The disciples felt as if they had been granted a pardon. Their sincere expressions vanished abruptly, replaced by laughter, as they chased after Master Yunlong's retreating figure.

"Senior Brother De'an, why aren't you up yet?"

De'an tugged at his junior brother's sleeve and shakily got up from the ground. He stomped his feet to relieve the soreness and swelling in his knees, wiping away tears as he dejectedly helped his fellow disciples up.

"Try not using any internal energy for protection and just crashing straight to the ground. Do you really think that the 'Tiger Descending the Mountain - Prostrate' style passed down by Junior Brother Lü Qian is so easy to master?"

"Although it hurts terribly, it's still better than being punished by my master."