"Master, I'm starving! Is it ready yet? I really can't take it anymore."
Zhang Anle stared hungrily at the wild vegetables boiling in the pot, swallowing repeatedly. Master Zachary Wu shot him a glare.
"It's all your fault! I told you to eat less. Master, you too—my junior always does this. As long as he doesn't starve, that's enough, but he eats everything! Master, say something!"
Master Zachary Wu yelled at Zhang Anle. Elder Peach sat nearby, smiling and sighing helplessly. They had been investigating in this town for three days, eaten all their steamed buns, and, out of options, the four had to gather wild vegetables from the mountain forest to stave off hunger.
Elder Peach had experienced days like this with his master, but never as outrageous as these three. The master and his disciples always ate wherever they went, never planning for food or money. It's a wonder they haven't starved.
Finally, it was time to eat, and once again, the master and his disciples put on a comic show.
Elder Peach ate only a little before stopping. He now understood why Zachary Justice wanted him to follow the master and disciples—perhaps to help him resolve the knots in his heart.
As night fell, the four settled in a dilapidated house outside the town, planning to visit the town tomorrow to tell fortunes for some travel money.
In the deep of night, Elder Peach woke from a nightmare, drenched in sweat. The three disciples slept soundly. He quietly left the house and sat cross-legged on the ground outside.
Elder Peach knew he was still trapped in the past and unable to let go. Even if he continued to follow Zachary Justice, there would be no resolution. He decided to leave, having made up his mind earlier that morning.
But thinking carefully, even if he left, there was nowhere in this vast world for him to belong. He wanted to return to Clearview Mountain and fulfill his master's last wish—to find the right people to pass on the traditions of the Mount Mason Order. Yet, resistance rose in his heart.
Elder Peach raised a trembling hand, fear gripping his heart. Just thinking about fulfilling his master's last wish made his body react with resistance and start to shake.
Over the years of training with his master, he had visited many places and met many people. Whenever he encountered a problem and sought his master's guidance, the master would answer, but Elder Peach never felt truly enlightened. Even after pondering the issues himself and telling his master, he would be quickly dismissed.
His mind in turmoil, Elder Peach stood up, picked up a branch, and began to swing it around in erratic movements—just like the confusion in his heart.
This heavy feeling of wanting to break free but not knowing where to go weighed on him like stones, his body stiffening as if turning to stone. Elder Peach's movements grew increasingly erratic.
"If you give up halfway, you'll never see the destination."
At that moment, a clear voice rang out. Elder Peach stopped, panting, and looked over. Zachary Justice walked over with a smile and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Get some sleep. We need to go to town early tomorrow to earn some travel money."
Early the next morning, Zachary Justice and his group arrived in town. It was market day, so they found a corner, and Zachary Justice set up a fortune-telling stall. Many passersby glanced at them curiously, uninterested in fortune-telling and suspecting them of being frauds. Few in town had seen them before.
By noon, Zhang Anle was dizzy with hunger, leaning against the wall and tilting his head back.