The Taoist’s appearance was exceedingly peculiar, one might even say ugly.
Beneath a pair of unruly eyebrows were large, bulging eyes, and the wide space between them looked somewhat odd. The bridge of his nose was high, and two long strands of a dragon whisker beard hung loosely from the corners of his mouth down to his chest.
He wore a green Taoist robe of an indistinguishable material, covered with a layer of gauze. Upon closer inspection, it looked dusty and grimy.
The Taoist held a rope in his hand, behind which were tied seven sheep and three large blue donkeys.
Strangely enough, sheep were usually the most easily startled of animals, yet they were now strung together on the rope, following the Taoist obediently without even a single bleat.
Nan Zhi could not help but steal a few extra glances at this Taoist.
“If you have no silver on you and are parched with thirst, it wouldn’t be impossible to give you a pear to eat.”
Hearing the Taoist ask for a pear, the pear seller was first taken aback. Then, looking at the sheep the Taoist was driving, he frowned and said:
“When others ask for a pear, they at least know to say a few propitious words. You, a Taoist, are quite rude, simply opening your mouth and demanding my pears?”
The pear seller waved his hand, making a gesture to drive the green-robed Taoist away. However, the other man stood his ground with a grin, becoming persistent.
“You have hundreds of fragrant pears on this cart. This humble Taoist is passing by and feeling thirsty, so I’m only asking for one. Why must you be so stingy?”
A crowd began to gather, all watching with amusement as the Taoist pestered the pear seller. Some meddlers even began to advise the pear seller:
“You have so many pears, what does it matter if you give him one!”
“This pear seller is so worldly and vulgar; it’s just a single pear.”
“He looks like a stubborn character. You have a whole cart of pears; just pick the smallest one for him to eat and send him on his way quickly.”
But the pear seller refused, shaking his head. “These pears grew on a tree at my home. That pear tree hadn't borne fruit for three years.”
“Who would have thought that with so much rain this year, that old tree would actually bloom with a dense canopy of white flowers and bear so many large yellow pears?”
“I have a wife and children at home. I was planning to use the silver from selling these pears to buy some winter clothes and some meat to take back.”
“If there’s any money left, I’ll buy some paper money and paper clothes to have a service performed for my grandfather during the Ghost Festival, so his old soul can be reincarnated sooner.”
Having said that, the pear seller pointed at the sheep the Taoist was driving:
“If he wants me to give him a pear, and you want me to give him a pear, how am I supposed to sell this cart of pears?”
“This Taoist has his hands and feet, and he’s driving all these sheep. How could he be short of money?”
“He clearly saw me selling pears here and wanted to come up and take advantage! You call me stingy, but I don't see him slaughtering a sheep for me to eat! Hey! You Taoist, I’m asking you for a sheep. Are you willing to give one?”
The pear seller was not naturally a stingy or miserly person; back at the foot-shop, he had been willing to share his pears with everyone. He had only refused now because he found the Taoist’s behavior arrogant and unreasonable.
“This humble Taoist saw that your pears were large and yellow, which is why I thought to ask for one. You commoner, however, have eyes but cannot see.”
Unable to get a pear, the green-robed Taoist was in no hurry to leave. Instead, he put on a profound and mysterious air.
“I am only asking for this pear because I want the core to use as a seed. This humble Taoist knows the art of planting pears. The large yellow pears I grow are even sweeter than the ones you’re selling!”
“Ho! A Taoist who knows magic tricks!”
“You there, Taoist! Don't you go fooling us. Pear trees bloom in spring, bear fruit in summer, and are harvested in autumn.”
“Even if you plant a pear, you’d have to wait until next year. If you can really conjure pears with magic, then hurry up and let us all have a look!”
“Does this Taoist really know magic? He’s not some traveling swindler, is he?”
Upon hearing this, everyone became interested, clamoring for the Taoist to perform.
A worker from the nearby tea house happened to be leaning against the doorway slacking off. Hearing the commotion, he hurriedly bought a pear and shouted for the Taoist to show them a trick.
“What is so difficult about that? This poor Taoist can travel a thousand miles in spirit, going west to the Queen Mother of the West's Peach Garden of Immortality and south to the Bodhisattva Guanyin’s Purple Bamboo Grove.”
“I can go north to the Twelve Mountains of Kunlun and east to the Thirty-six Islands of Penglai. Watch as I go now to ask the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord for a jar of Heavenly River water—”
The Taoist did not decline. He took the pear and ate it clean, leaving only the core, which he buried in a small hole he dug in the ground.
“Though I have good pears, I will not be like this pear seller, who is like an iron rooster reincarnated. The pears I grow will be shared by everyone; everyone shall have a pear to eat!”
The crowd’s appetite was whetted, and they all urged him to cast his spell.
The Taoist was in no rush. He asked a tea-selling old woman for a pot of boiling water, walked over to where the pear core was buried, and poured it out while chanting under his breath:
“Pear, come... Pear, come...”
At first, everyone was dismissive, thinking the Taoist was just boasting. But in the next moment, those watching could not help but widen their eyes.
They saw a bright green sprout suddenly emerge from the ground, growing three inches high in the blink of an eye!
The pear core had actually sprouted!
The crowd was astonished, and the pear seller stared with unblinking eyes.
The Taoist laughed and clapped his hands again, pointing his finger at the small sprout. “Grow! Grow! Grow!”
As if it could understand the Taoist’s words, the small sapling shot upward several more times. Soon, branches and green leaves grew, and in a short while, it had become a tall pear tree.
The pear tree was lush and green, and it was covered with pale white pear blossoms.
Standing close, one could even seem to smell a faint floral fragrance.
Near the busy docks, a blooming pear tree had suddenly grown out of the main road. This was truly a rare and wondrous sight.
“It really is a pear tree!”
“Excellent magic! Excellent magic! Do another one!”
“Do another one for us!”
“Good! That was wonderful! Another one!”
The crowd cheered, clapped, and shouted their approval, nearly blocking the path to the docks entirely.
As more and more people gathered, a hint of pride flashed in the Taoist’s eyes. He patted his robe and released a dusty grey shadow.
Aside from Nan Zhi, who had been observing the Taoist the entire time, no one else noticed this scene.
“That thing that just ran out... was it a hedgehog?”
Nan Zhi squinted her eyes to distinguish it more clearly.
“How could it appear here? Could it be that this Taoist is the owner of the foot-shop?”
Although the size was slightly different, the shape and color were clearly those of the hedgehog demons from the foot-shop.
She immediately suppressed her urge to stand up for the pear seller, intending to see exactly what this Taoist was planning to do.
...
As for the Taoist, seeing the crowd grow larger, he showed no stage fright. He spat twice on the ground and began to scold the pear tree:
“You pear 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! Give us some fragrant pears to eat, or else I’ll pull out your sinews, strip off your skin, and use your branches and leaves for firewood!”
The branches and leaves of the pear tree shook a few times, and the pear blossoms drifted down. Then, plump yellow pears quickly grew on the branches, hanging in golden clusters that looked incredibly festive.
A burst of enthusiastic cheering erupted from the surroundings, making Nan Zhi’s ears ache slightly.
Although she did not know what the common people were seeing, to her eyes, this pear tree had a distinct sense of being fake.
It was as if someone had painted a pear tree in the void. The painting skill was quite poor; the leaves and branches of the pear tree were stiff and lifeless, without a shred of vitality.
Something seemed wrong.
Nan Zhi rubbed her eyes hard. In the next second, she discovered that the so-called pear tree was actually the pear seller’s cart, and the branches of the pear tree were the shafts of the cart.
As for the hundreds of golden yellow pears hanging on the tree, they were exactly the pears from the pear seller’s cart.
But besides her, no one else present seemed to have noticed this.
Everyone stared with wide eyes, scrambling to see the pear tree.
Even the pear seller seemed to truly see a tall pear tree in the empty space, looking up into the void with a face full of shock.
What a brilliant glamour, to be able to deceive so many people at once.
If the timing weren't so wrong, Nan Zhi would have truly shouted her praise.
Rate on N.U.
