Thank You, Little Immortal

Nowadays, Xiushui Village was home to many city folk who had come to settle there, and visitors passed through in an endless stream every day.

So the news that the Lingxian Sect would be handing out mosquito-repelling supplies to the villagers of Xiushui before sunset that afternoon spread like wildfire. Before long, people in the surrounding villages—even as far away as the county seat—had heard about it.

Thus, after the Lingxian Sect’s recruitment of new disciples had come to an end, the steady flow of people in Xiushui Village once again swelled into an extraordinary crush.

Those who lived far from Xiushui had merely come to join in the excitement and watch the immortals at work.

But those who lived nearby had come with the hope that, if the immortals happened to have more mosquito-repelling supplies than they needed, they might be able to get some for themselves.

After all, Xiushui Village was not the only place plagued by mosquitoes. None of the villages in the surrounding area had escaped the infestation.

As sunset drew near, the people who had long since gathered around the Questioning-Heart Path, keeping a respectful distance as they watched, saw a series of long tables fly down from the Peach Blossom Mountain Path.

The tables arranged themselves neatly in rows at the foot of the mountain.

Immediately afterward, a large wooden board flew down as well. Once it landed, it faced the crowd and propped itself up beside the tables.

Everyone noticed that words had been written on it.

Someone in the crowd who knew how to read kindly called out the words:

“Mosquito-Repelling Lamp Oil Distribution Point. Those troubled by mosquitoes may receive it free of charge.”

“It’s free?”

“Hah, I can tell you don’t know much. The immortals of our Lingxian Sect are the very best to us.”

“That’s right. I’m not from Xiushui Village, but whenever our village suffered from insect infestations in past years, the immortals would come help as soon as they heard about it. They never charged us a thing!”

“Exactly. This is a gift from the immortals, so we must treasure it. We can’t take advantage of their kindness.”

“That’s right, that’s right. Let’s give priority to the villages suffering the worst mosquito problems!”

As they spoke, the crowd began organizing itself spontaneously.

The people from the surrounding villages were all neighbors and relatives to some degree. Even those who did not know each other personally were at least familiar faces.

Before long, they had picked out the people from the worst-affected villages and placed them at the front of the lines.

Since ten tables had flown down, the crowd divided itself into ten lines.

Once the villagers from the worst-affected areas had taken their places, everyone else who needed the oil obediently joined the appropriate queues.

In a remarkably short time, the enormous, noisy crowd had been arranged in perfect order.

With so many people joining forces to maintain order, the few who had come hoping to take advantage of the situation did not dare protest. They merely shrank back and meekly followed everyone else’s arrangements.

There were occasionally one or two people who pretended to have arrived late and not heard the instructions, then tried to force their way to the front. The people around them immediately grabbed them and pulled them to a stop. When an entire crowd turned to glare at them in unison, they did not dare utter a word and scurried away with their tails between their legs.

Most of these troublemakers were good-for-nothings and shameless bullies from the surrounding villages—the sort who were always idle and eager to exploit others. There were people like that everywhere.

Under ordinary circumstances, everyone would have preferred to avoid trouble, and might well have let such people get away with it.

But perhaps being at the foot of the immortals’ mountain had given the people in line courage. It had emboldened them to stand united against a common enemy.

Seeing those normally overbearing bullies reduced to slinking away with their tails tucked between their legs, everyone felt a little incredulous.

So resisting people like that was actually this simple.

All it took was for everyone to stand together and oppose them as one.

Once the ten lines had roughly taken shape, the people saw figures descending the Peach Blossom Mountain Path.

It was Liu Yunan, accompanied by eleven new disciples.

The moment they appeared, the entire crowd at the foot of the mountain fell silent as if by unspoken agreement.

Everyone looked at them with reverence.

After coming down, Liu Yunan instructed the first ten new disciples to stand behind the tables in order. The eleventh stood to the side, ready to replenish the supplies of the other ten whenever necessary.

Baizhu took his place behind the first table.

Recalling what Liu Yunan had told him on the way down, he drew a deep breath and called out loudly to the crowd:

“We’ll begin distributing the mosquito-repelling lamp oil now. Each person may receive one portion. If you haven’t brought a container, or if your household has no lamp wick, remember to let us know when you collect the oil.”

With that, he and the other nine disciples each took a large barrel from their storage pouches. Every barrel was filled to the brim with lamp oil.

The mosquito-repelling lamp oil carried a faint, fresh herbal fragrance. The moment it was brought out, the scent drifted softly through the air and brushed against everyone’s noses.

The crowd could not help taking deep breaths.

They felt as though even the dry heat lingering in the evening sunlight had been dispelled.

The ten new disciples then each took a basket of small bamboo tubes and a small basket of lamp wicks from their storage pouches. These had been prepared for anyone who had come without the necessary items.

However, since everyone had already been informed that lamp oil would be distributed, the people from the nearby villages had specifically brought containers with them.

As for the lamp wicks, most people did not need any.

After all, they were not expensive things. As long as there was someone in the household who did sewing and mending, who would not have a few lengths of coarse thread lying around?

The immortals had prepared the wicks out of thoughtfulness.

But everyone understood that they had already received many favors from the immortals over the past few years. They would not take advantage of the opportunity over something so small.

Baizhu stood behind the table and continued ladling out one portion of lamp oil for each person.

After some time, a chipped earthenware bowl was held out to him.

A thin layer of greasy residue from years of holding food clung to the inside of the bowl.

Baizhu recognized it at a glance, because for many years he, too, had used a small, grimy, chipped bowl just like it.

He looked up and saw an old man with a face full of wrinkles. The old man opened his mouth, revealing only a few remaining teeth, and gave him a kindly smile.

“Thank you, little immortal,” the old man said warmly.

He wore a coarse, patched robe and squinted at Baizhu.

Baizhu’s hand, still holding the wooden ladle, paused.

Instead of filling the old man’s bowl, he took a small bamboo tube from the basket beside him and filled that with oil.

“Oh, no, no, that won’t do. I brought a bowl,” the old man protested, waving his hands in a panic as he tried to stop Baizhu. Yet he did not dare actually touch him.

Baizhu simply handed him the bamboo tube filled with lamp oil. Then he reached into the basket at the side, grabbed a small handful of neatly cut lamp wicks, and placed them in the old man’s hands as well.

“Please take them. We cut these bamboo tubes ourselves. They’re not worth much,” he said with a smile.

Holding the items, the old man nodded repeatedly in thanks, his words stumbling over themselves. Then, worried that he was delaying the people behind him, he shuffled to the side on unsteady feet.

Standing outside the crowd, he watched for a while longer as the immortals patiently distributed lamp oil to everyone.

Only after some time did he turn and leave.

He lived in the neighboring village and had arranged to walk home with several old friends from his own village.

Carefully cradling the things in his arms, he thought to himself:

Tonight, the old woman would finally be able to sleep well.