They say that being a teenager means being a little foolish.
Everyone, to some extent, goes through that phase—some people show it openly, while others keep it buried deep inside. It's the difference between being overtly flamboyant and secretly quirky.
Scholar Song seemed wise beyond his years; that phase hit him hard and left just as quickly.
So, by the time he reached the second year of middle school, while the boys around him were still caught up in dreams of martial arts heroes, superheroes, and immortal beings, swinging imaginary swords and pretending to fly, he had already given up on such fantasies entirely.
The laws of physics in this world were just too precise. A mere human jumping three stories high? Clapping hands to summon golden dragons? Wearing underwear outside and soaring through the skies? All those things were impossible!
Yet, he still found solace in xianxia novels and superhero movies. Perhaps deep down, he still hoped that one day, a superhero, an alien, or an immortal would appear before him.
It was strange—knowing full well that it was impossible, yet still harboring a peculiar hope. That must be a unique human trait, right?
With a smile, Scholar Song shut the group chat window but didn't leave the group.
He found the people in the Ninefold Land No. 1 group fascinating. The shy yet amusing chat records made for entertaining reading from the sidelines. So, before the group owner kicked anyone out, he decided to lurk and enjoy the amusing exchanges, helping pass the time during his boredom.
On his computer screen, a movie continued to play—a horror film, it seemed. The chilling plot twists unfolded one after another, and this film was said to be the pinnacle of a genius horror director. Many older viewers had reportedly cried from fear, with some even too scared to go to the bathroom alone.
Unfortunately, Scholar Song felt nothing frightening at all. After rewinding the progress bar for a moment, he yawned again and gradually shifted from sitting to lying down, his eyelids growing heavier by the second...
If that genius director knew his film had such little effect, he'd probably cry, wouldn't he?
In his drowsiness, Scholar Song drifted into a beautiful dream.
A delightful dream, filled with immortals, superheroes, and various realms of wonder.
Immortal freedom, moving mountains and seas, wielding a sword among mortals—how many people throughout history have longed for that? Yet, as people age and reality shatters their dreams, they bury those aspirations deep within, no longer daring to think about them.
But dreams are ultimately just dreams...
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
The next day, May 21, Tuesday, 1:00 AM.
In the chat group, the group owner, Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain, finally came online.
As soon as he logged in, Hermit of North River asked, "Sage, who's that 'Book Mountain Pressure' you added yesterday? Where's she cultivating?"
"Added someone yesterday? Didn't you talk to her? That's an old friend's daughter who was born in this era. Seems to have great potential—already at the peak of the third rank at such a young age, and soon to reach the fourth rank innate level. Quite impressive!" Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain chuckled in response.
Born in this era? She must be under forty? To reach the peak of the third rank at such an age was indeed a sign of genius. Hermit of North River nodded secretly, but the name 'Book Mountain Pressure' was still rather strange for an immortal name.
Just as he was pondering this, Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain suddenly said, "Wait? The name of my old friend's daughter isn't 'Book Mountain Pressure'. What is this 'Book Mountain Pressure' nonsense?"
"..." Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain felt embarrassed.
It wasn't nonsense; it was just some unknown person you added yesterday!
He tentatively asked, "Sage, you didn't accidentally add the wrong person, did you?"
"Let me take a look."
Moments later, Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain sent a string of cold sweat emojis in the group chat: "I really did add the wrong person. Just one number off—typed an 8 instead of a 9. I can't believe I made such a foolish mistake."
Hermit of North River chuckled, "I told you! No matter how well you integrate into modern society, no one would name themselves 'Book Mountain Pressure'!"
Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain continued to send cold sweat emojis.
He quickly scrambled to re-add his friend's daughter to the group.
Group message alert: 'Fay Yu of Lingdie Island' has joined the Ninefold Land No. 1 group.
Now that's a name that fits the vibe of the Ninefold Land No. 1 group—a strong aura of xianxia radiated from it. That 'Book Mountain Pressure' name was definitely an oddball.
As soon as the newcomer joined, Wild Blade of Three Tides immediately piped up, "Hey, new friend, you're an immortal! Show us your picture, share your stats! If you're pretty, wanna meet up?"
Wild Blade of Three Tides had been lurking for a long time—though he was a bit of a goldfish, his memory was longer than three seconds. After being reminded yesterday, he was careful to observe the situation today.
Hearing Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain say that the newcomer was a friend's daughter and at the third rank, Wild Blade of Three Tides felt at ease. Since she wasn't an elder, he could flirt a little and satisfy his playful side.
There were so few newcomers in the group; he had been holding back for too long.
As soon as he spoke, Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain's face darkened.
"..." Fay Yu sent a string of ellipses and then softly typed: "It's late, so my daughter has already begun her meditation practice. Her number is temporarily logged in by me, waiting for the Sage to add her to the group. Cough... I've heard about the charming Wild Blade of Three Tides, who is eloquent and witty. It's a pleasure to see you in person. I admire you, and I'll treat you to a drink someday."
Wild Blade of Three Tides instantly felt awkward; trying to flirt with a girl only to find out he was talking to her father—there was nothing more embarrassing in the world. He wished he could find a hole to dive into.
Luckily, this elder seemed easygoing, and the matter was brushed aside lightly.
After that, the elder greeted everyone online and asked them to take good care of his daughter in the future. Then he went back to lurking.
Seeing the elder leave, Wild Blade of Three Tides sighed in relief, cheerfully saying, "Thank goodness! Looks like this elder isn't someone who can't take a joke. Who knows, maybe I'll get a chance to chat with Fay Yu in person one day."
"..." Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain.
"..." Hermit of North River.
The Alchemical Sage rarely spoke up, but this time he managed to type four words: "Self-seek your blessing."
"What?" Three Tides was confused.
But the succinct Alchemical Sage clearly wasn't going to elaborate.
"Look at the prefix of the newcomer's name," Hermit of North River explained. "If you don't ask for trouble, you won't find it. Why can't you ever understand that?"
"Prefix? Lingdie Island?" Wild Blade of Three Tides seemed slow to catch on.
"Yes, Lingdie Island! And she's an elder. Have you thought about who that might be?" Hermit of North River hinted.
After a moment of dawning realization, Wild Blade of Three Tides sent a series of 'kneeled' emojis: "Is it that meticulous Lingdie Zunzhang?"
Lingdie Zunzhang was a powerful elder, known for his righteousness and chivalry... but he was also notorious for nitpicking trivial matters and had reached the pinnacle of being finicky. While others were merely picky, he was obsessively so!
Hermit of North River felt his jaw twitch in annoyance: "I didn't remind you like that!"
Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain sighed, unable to watch anymore: "Three Tides, my old friend is just logged in but hasn't gone offline yet."
In other words… the chat logs were likely being seen.
No, they would definitely be seen!
Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain couldn't bear to see Three Tides dig his own grave; after all, he was still a junior in the group.
"Oh no, this is bad." Wild Blade of Three Tides felt the dread of an impending future, imagining Lingdie Zunzhang showing up to torment him. His eyes went moist—had he just entangled himself with a more troublesome elder?
Three Tides cried out, "Sage, please help me plead for mercy!"
Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain sent a cold, indifferent emoji.
The group ignored Three Tides' whimpering and calmly changed the topic.
Hermit of North River asked the group owner, "Sage, what do we do about 'Book Mountain Pressure'?"
Sable Seven chimed in, "Should we kick them out? After all, they're just an ordinary person and might not fit in with our conversations."
"Cough, since I mistakenly added them, I suppose it's a kind of fate. Let me take a look and see how to handle it," Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain replied—mainly because he felt embarrassed about adding the person without thinking, and now saying to kick them out would be rather awkward.
So, he decided to read the fortune first as an excuse before kicking them out.
Moreover, he had recently developed an interest in divination and had been practicing for a month. He loved to calculate before doing anything.
Saying that, he picked up a copy of "Tang Poems and Song Lyrics" to cast the fortune, flipping through the pages while activating his divination technique. An unseen force helped him pull out a line of poetry, forming the hexagram.
This time, the fortune-telling went smoothly—he felt great about it for the first time since learning divination!
He looked at the hexagram result with delight.
And then…
Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain's expression darkened.
His face turned sour.
Looking at the hexagram: "In the sky, I wish to be a pair of winged birds, on the ground, I wish to be branches entwined."
He recalled that this line of poetry was written by a poet called Bai Juyi in the Tang Dynasty, a classic often quoted to describe love?
Instantly, Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain felt like everything was going wrong.
"Pair of winged birds, what the heck? Branches entwined, what the heck! I'd rather hang myself from the southeast branch than go through this!"
Could it be that he, the esteemed Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain, was meant to act out a tragic love story with the male 'Book Mountain Pressure'? This thought reminded him of the legendary Longyang Jun from the Warring States period—he felt utterly disgusted.
"This must be due to my insufficient divination skills, having only learned for a month... I should cast another fortune!" Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain activated the divination technique again.
This time, he felt even better, convinced that his divination skills had reached new heights!
He lowered his head to check the hexagram: "If two hearts are truly long-lasting, why should they care about day and night?"
"Damn it!"
"I don't believe in evil!" Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain cast the fortune once more.
This time, he felt even more triumphant, believing his divination skills had peaked at this moment!
Looking down at the hexagram: "When I turn around suddenly, that person is there, in the dim light."
"…"
"Deep breath, deep breath." Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain calmly closed the "Tang Poems and Song Lyrics," gazing melancholy at the sky from a forty-five-degree angle—what a sorrowful feeling it was!
Then, with composure, Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain tore apart the exquisite edition of Tang poems and Song lyrics, nodding vigorously as he did so: "Clearly, I don't have a knack for divination. I'm just not cut out to be a fortune teller! So, what I've divined must all be wrong!"
He tossed the torn pieces of poetry aside, swearing to himself never to be foolish enough to divine again!
With the torn pieces scattered, he typed in the group: "As for 'Book Mountain Pressure'... let's keep them for now. I just divined and found that they and I have a destined connection. Adding them to the group wasn't a coincidence, but rather a necessity! What happens next depends on their own fortune."
Using various terms related to divination to dodge the subject, Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain vowed to never reveal the outcome of his hexagram!
Damn it, even if there was a connection, it definitely was a cursed one!
"Then we'll keep them, I suppose. They will probably leave the group on their own soon enough. By the way, what was the result of the Sage's hexagram?" Hermit of North River was curious about what Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain had calculated.
"..." Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain: "Uh, you all keep chatting. I have urgent matters to attend to."
With that, he quickly logged off, leaving Hermit of North River staring in confusion.