That Taoist had an exceedingly peculiar appearance—ugly, even.
Beneath a pair of unkempt eyebrows were large, bulging eyes. The wide distance between them gave him an odd look. He had a high-bridged nose, and two long dragon-whisker moustaches hung casually beside his lips down to his chest.
He wore a green Taoist robe of unrecognizable fabric, draped with a layer of gauze. Upon closer inspection, it seemed perpetually dusty and filthy.
The Taoist held a rope in his hand, tied to seven sheep and three big blue donkeys behind him.
Strangely enough, sheep were normally terrified of humans, yet now they were strung together in a line, obediently following behind the Taoist without making a sound.
Nan Zhi could not help but steal a few more glances at him.
“If you have no money on you and are dying of thirst, it wouldn't be impossible to spare you a pear to eat.”
Hearing the Taoist beg for a pear, the pear seller froze for a moment. He glanced at the sheep driven by the Taoist and frowned, saying:
“When others ask for a pear, they at least know to offer a few auspicious words. You, Taoist, are so rude! Opening your mouth and demanding my pear just like that?”
The pear seller waved his hand, making a motion to chase the green-clothed Taoist away. Unexpectedly, the Taoist stood grinning on the spot, pestering him relentlessly:
“You have several hundred large, fragrant pears in this cart. This Dao Master was passing by, felt thirsty, and asked you for just one. Why are you being so stingy?”
Onlookers gathered around, chuckling as they watched the Taoist pester the pear seller. Some busybodies even chimed in:
“You have so many pears, what's wrong with giving him one?”
“This pear seller is so vulgar and penny-pinching. It's just a single pear.”
“He's clearly a stubborn rogue. You have a whole cartful of pears—just pick the smallest one for him to eat and send him on his way quickly.”
The pear seller refused, shaking his head. “These pears grew on a tree in my yard. That tree hadn't borne fruit for three years!
“Who would have thought there'd be so much rain this year? That old pear tree actually bloomed with a dense canopy of white flowers and produced all these big yellow pears.
“I have a wife and kids back home, and I was planning to use the money from selling these pears to buy winter clothes and some meat to take back.
“If there's any money left over, I'll buy paper money and paper clothes to perform a ceremony for my grandfather during the Ghost Festival so the old man can reincarnate sooner.”
Saying this, the pear seller pointed at the sheep driven by the Taoist:
“If he wants me to give a pear, and you want me to give a pear, how am I supposed to sell my cartful of pears?
“This Taoist has hands and feet and drives so many sheep! How could he possibly be short on money?
“He clearly saw me selling pears here and decided to come over to freeload!
“You call me stingy, but why don't I see him slaughtering a sheep for me to eat? Hey! Taoist, if I ask you for a sheep, would you give it to me?”
The pear seller was not stingy by nature. Back at the foot-shop, he had even been willing to share his pears with everyone.
It was only because he saw how unreasonable and overbearing this Taoist was that he refused to give him one just now.
“This Dao Master only asked for one to eat because I saw how big and yellow your pears were. Yet you, a mere mortal, lack the eyes to recognize greatness.”
Failing to get a pear, the green-robed Taoist was in no hurry to leave. Instead, he put on a profound, mysterious demeanor:
“I asked you for a pear only because I wanted the core as a seed. This Dao Master knows spellcraft to plant pears! The big yellow pears I grow will be even sweeter than the ones you're selling!”
“Whoa! A Taoist who does magic tricks!”
“Hey, Taoist! Are you fooling us? Pear trees bloom in spring, bear fruit in summer, and harvest in autumn!
“Even if you plant a pear, you'd have to wait until next year! If you really can summon pears with magic, hurry up and broaden everyone's horizons!”
“Can this Taoist really use magic? Isn't he just some charlatan?”
Hearing this, the crowd grew interested and began clamoring for the Taoist to put on a performance.
A waiter at a nearby teahouse happened to be slacking off against the doorway. Hearing the commotion, he hurriedly bought a pear and shouted for the Taoist to perform a trick.
“How hard could that be? This humble Daoist can let my spirit travel a thousand miles—west to the Queen Mother's Peach Garden of Immortality, south to the Bodhisattva Guanyin's Purple Bamboo Grove,
“north to the Twelve Mountains of Kunlun, and east to the Thirty-Six Islands of Penglai. Watch as I go ask the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord for a pot of Heavenly River water—”
The Taoist did not decline. Taking the pear, he devoured it completely, leaving only the core, which he buried in a small hole dug into the ground.
“Though I have fine pears, I am no incarnation of an iron rooster like this pear seller. Everyone who witnesses the pears I grow will get a share! A pear for everyone!”
The crowd's appetite was whetted, and they eagerly urged him to cast his spell.
The Taoist was in no rush. He asked the tea-selling old woman for a pot of boiling water, walked to the spot where he had buried the pear core, and poured it down, chanting under his breath as he did:
“Pears, come! Pears, come—”
At first, the crowd scoffed, thinking the Taoist was merely boasting. But the next moment, everyone watching gasped in astonishment, eyes wide.
A tender green sprout suddenly sprang from the ground and shot up three inches against the wind, growing rapidly!
The pear core had actually sprouted!
The crowd was astounded, and even the pear seller stared unblinkingly.
The Taoist clapped his hands and laughed aloud, poking his finger toward the tiny sprout: “Grow! Grow! Grow!”
As if it could understand the Taoist's words, the sapling shot up several more inches, quickly sprouting branches and lush green leaves. Before long, it grew into a tall pear tree.
The pear tree was leafy and vibrant green, completely covered in faint white pear blossoms.
Stepping closer, one could even catch a faint floral fragrance.
Near the bustling dock, a blooming pear tree had suddenly grown right in the middle of the main road—a truly rare spectacle.
“It really is a pear tree!”
“What fantastic magic! Do another one!”
“Perform another trick!”
“Bravo! Truly amazing! Once more!”
The onlookers burst into applause, cheering and calling out praise continuously, packing the docks so tightly that not a drop of water could leak through.
As more and more people crowded around, a flash of smugness glinted in the Taoist's eyes. He patted his Taoist robe and released a dusty grey shadow.
—Except for Nan Zhi, who had been observing the Taoist all along, no one noticed this scene.
“Was that thing that just ran off a... hedgehog?”
Nan Zhi narrowed her eyes, studying it carefully:
“Why would it appear here? Could this Taoist be the master of that foot-shop?”
Although the size didn't quite match up, the build and color clearly belonged to that nest of hedgehog demons from the foot-shop.
She immediately suppressed her urge to step in for the pear seller, deciding to watch a little longer to see what this Taoist was actually up to.
...
Meanwhile, seeing the crowd grow larger, the Taoist felt no stage fright. Spitting twice onto the ground, he began scolding the pear tree:
“You tree, you truly don't know what's good for you! You've drunk your fill of Heavenly River water, so why are you still unwilling to bear fruit?
“Hurry up and bear fruit! Produce some fragrant pears for us to eat, or else I'll pull out your sinews, skin your bark, and drag your branches off to burn as firewood!”
The pear tree's branches and leaves shivered, shedding white blossoms in fluttering cascades. Soon after, plump, golden-yellow pears rapidly grew along the boughs, hanging in magnificent, festive abundance.
A thunderous cheer instantly erupted from the crowd, so loud it made Nan Zhi's ears ring.
Though she didn't know what scene the common folk saw, in her eyes, this pear tree exuded a strong sense of artificiality.
It was as if someone had drawn a pear tree in midair with extremely clumsy technique; the tree's leaves and branches were stiff and completely devoid of life.
Something seemed slightly off.
Nan Zhi rubbed her eyes vigorously. A second later, she discovered that the so-called “pear tree” was actually the pear seller's wooden handcart, and the “branches” were the cart's shafts.
As for the hundreds of golden-yellow pears hanging from the tree, they were precisely the pears from the seller's cart.
Yet no one else on the scene seemed to realize this.
Everyone stared with wide eyes, jostling and scrambling for a better view of the pear tree.
Even the pear seller looked as though he genuinely saw a tall pear tree standing in the open space, gazing up into midair with a face full of shock.
What a splendid glamour, capable of deceiving so many people at once.
If the timing hadn't been wrong, Nan Zhi would have truly cheered out loud.
Rate on N.U.
