Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 992: Chapter 36: People and Goldfish

“The Records of the Grand Historian” states: “On the first day of the twelfth month, Jiawu, the Emperor personally offered a sacrifice to Hou Tu at Gaoli.” At Haoli Mountain, there once stood a grand Haoli Mountain Shrine, also known as Senluo Hall.

In findings from Eastern Han tombs, it was often said, “The living belong to West Chang’an, the dead to Mount Tai.”

The deity of Mount Tai governs life and death.

…

At Mount Tai Train Station, Mo Mo, holding two bags of luggage, is carefully examining the travel map guide he just bought after getting off the train.

Although the Taoism-cultivated field hosts a Penglai Conference every ten years, it has always been his master who attended. Now, as Mo Mo steps into the world for the first time, many things he only heard of from his master and never experienced, causing him to feel somewhat apprehensive.

“Hmm… so there are tourist buses going there, that’s good,” Mo Mo said while checking the route. “Zhan, we might not have time to sit down for a meal, why don’t we grab some snacks and eat on the bus? Zhan… Zhan?”

The young Taoist accompanying Mo Mo, brought from Master Yang Taizi, was nowhere to be seen!

This made the young Taoist Master from Dragon Tiger Mountain a bit anxious—mainly because if he lost him, he wouldn’t know how to explain to his master’s friend, Master Yang Taizi.

Mo Mo instinctively opened his luggage bag and took out a paper crane—Dragon Tiger Mountain has many mysterious Taoist techniques, among which are methods for finding people.

However, the train station was crowded, making Mo Mo quite troubled… if the public were to see this, it would be quite a nuisance.

In today’s era, the Taoism-cultivated field is no longer as it was during the era of emperors, with its people detached from worldly affairs and beyond the control of the Imperial Court… now the regulations are quite strict.

This is partly because technology today is so advanced that ordinary people can easily obtain means to counter Taoists—compared to these mass-produced technological products, the Taoism field, which requires immense effort to find heirs, indeed seems somewhat powerless.

Moreover, in today’s human-centric world, the New Kingdom, under the protection of great fortune, makes both the once-flourishing demon world and the ancient Taoism field tread carefully.

Before descending the mountain, Mo Mo received a ‘travel permit’ from his master.

This permit is proof from a state department responsible for management—why even the Taoism field with numerous spells, and the people from the demon world, have to accept such management is naturally because this department harbors a power that neither the Taoism nor demon realms dare to defy.

Because the true dragon of China, the Guardian of the Divine Land, is precisely the chief advisor of this department…

…

Luckily, Mo Mo quickly found Zhan.

Although he had gotten used to this fellow’s character during the journey, seeing Zhan squatting in front of a goldfish stall gave Mo Mo an indescribable feeling.

How on earth did Master Yang Taizi raise him?

“Ten yuan for one! Buy five and get a fish tank!” The goldfish stall owner rubbed his hands and looked towards Mo Mo, “The last five!”

Mo Mo shook his head, but just then, Zhan, who was squatting with his knees hugged, suddenly lifted his head and blinked his eyes at Mo Mo, making Mo Mo feel a bit disconcerted.

How can someone have such bright eyes… so dazzling!

“I… I understand!” Mo Mo couldn’t help but sigh, “I can only buy one, can’t carry any more… fine, fine, let’s buy them all.”

In the end, Mo Mo surrendered.

In fact, he had already succumbed several times throughout the journey to Zhan’s seemingly luminous gaze.

Then, after selling the last goldfish, the owner began to pack up his stall, while Zhan, holding the fish tank, looked quite pleased.

“Are you satisfied now? But do you plan to carry that fish tank with you all the time?” Mo Mo said, somewhat exasperated.

“Heehee, it’s really not a bother.” Zhan chuckled.

Mo Mo was about to say something, but just then, he suddenly felt someone intentionally approaching him. And there was more than one person.

“Zhan, come to my side,” Mo Mo frowned and said softly, then directly grabbed Zhan by the arm and quickly walked into the crowd.

However, just a few steps forward, a man in a black suit blocked the way. Mo Mo stopped, noticing not only in front but also behind and on both sides, similarly dressed men were approaching.

In a blink, he and Zhan were surrounded by these four men.

“Friend, I don’t seem to know you, right?” Mo Mo scanned over the men and then sneered.

The man in front suddenly reached into his clothing—a gesture that immediately put Mo Mo on alert.

But to Mo Mo’s surprise, the man did not pull out a weapon but a mobile phone. The man glanced at the phone and then said, “You are Mr. Mo Mo, the representative from Dragon Tiger Mountain Taoist Master attending the Penglai Conference, aren’t you?”

“You are…?” Mo Mo looked puzzled.

The other responded calmly, “My name is Ling Feng, but you can call me Captain Ling. Here are our credentials; we are from the ‘Special National Land Administration Bureau.ʼ”

Mo Mo opened his mouth, having understood who these people were… The so-called ‘Special National Land Administration Bureau’ is this special department overseeing the Taoism and demon world across the country.

“Oh… is that so.” Mo Mo nodded, then said, “But even though you belong to this department, I’ve neither done anything wrong nor caused any public panic, so even if you… it seems you have no reason to stop me here, right?”

Ling Feng smiled slightly, courteously yet assertively, “Mr. Mo Mo, we have no intention of intercepting you. Our appearance before you is merely to better manage this return from Penglai and, as part of the conference organization, maintain order during this event.”

“… I see.” Mo Mo opened his mouth, intending to say something.

Ling Feng continued directly, “In fact, we have already prepared accommodations for everyone, and this time, we came to invite you, Mr. Mo Mo.”

“Have others already arrived?” Mo Mo thought for a moment and asked.

Politely, Ling Feng replied, “In fact, Mr. Mo Mo, you should be the last batch of attendees. Major sects like Mountain Wudang, Qingcheng Mountain, Quanzhen Daoism, and Zhengyi Teachings have already checked in.”

Mo Mo carefully compared the credentials Ling Feng presented with the steel stamp on his pass, then nodded, “Alright then, please lead the way.”

“This way, please; we have already prepared a vehicle.”

…

Mo Mo and Zhan quickly followed Ling Feng and the others into a domestic Hongqi car, setting off from the train station. In no time, they arrived at a manor.

On this journey, Mo Mo inquired about many things.

For instance, within Mount Tai, a manor specifically for those from the Taoist world attending the Penglai Conference had already been constructed—built after the founding of the country, though the Penglai Conference is held once every ten years, this was already the eighth time the manor had been used.

Wolong Mountain Villa—the destination Ling Feng led the two to.

And not far away, about four or five kilometers apart, there was another manor named Kunpeng, specifically for the gathering and accommodation of guests from the demon world.

“Warm congratulations on the successful hosting of the XX Penglai Tea Gathering and Wellness Forum!”

Upon seeing such a banner hanging in front of Wolong Mountain Villa, Mo Mo finally let out the curse he had been holding in his heart for a long time.

This was not at all the kind of grand event he envisioned happening once every ten years between the Dao and Demon realms!

For example, when Ling Feng took the two to the prepared room and passed a conference room, Mo Mo witnessed the following scene.

A person in a gray robe on stage was holding a microphone and pointing at a passage in “The Zhen Quotes” projected on the screen with an electronic pointer in hand, interpreting a line that read ‘All forms will perish after a hundred years, yet their nature remains undying,’ while a group of people wearing brightly colored clothes were busy taking notes below.

This scene left Mo Mo standing dumbfounded at the conference room door for a good ten seconds.

“Dear Taoist friend, if you are interested, please come in from the back. There are still seats available at the rear, please don’t disturb everyone,” the gray-robed person on stage said with a slight smile.

“Sorry for the interruption!” Mo Mo promptly closed the conference room door.

If it were elsewhere, Mo Mo might have thought this was just a charlatan setting up a show to swindle people. But he could clearly feel that the mana inside this conference room was surging, with at least three individuals not weaker than himself in terms of power…

Ling Feng then said, “Mr. Mo Mo, if you wish to attend the lecture, you can, as your check-in has been completed… here are your room cards.”

“No, no need, I’d rather go to the room first…” Mo Mo shook his head, “I want some peace.”

“Hmm, where is your companion?” Ling Feng looked around in surprise, realizing the young man carrying a goldfish bowl who had been following Mo Mo had disappeared at some point.

Mo Mo displayed an expression that said it was a regular occurrence.

Even he didn’t understand how, despite Zhan’s low cultivation level, he always managed to slip away unnoticed from Mo Mo’s aura tracking.

“Sorry, my companion can be a bit playful and hard to keep an eye on,” Mo Mo chuckled wryly, “but he usually doesn’t wander off too far, so he should still be within the villa.”

“That’s not good,” Ling Feng expressed concern, “Mr. Mo Mo, you know the guests this time are not ordinary people; some have peculiar temperaments and many rules, and even we have to tread carefully.”

“Let’s look for him, he should be nearby,” Mo Mo resignedly suggested.

…

In fact, Mo Mo quickly found Zhan again, in the villa’s ornamental garden.

When Mo Mo and Ling Feng found Zhan, they saw him crouching by a small lotus pond in the garden, pouring the goldfish from the bowl into the pond.

“Why did you wander off again without a word?” Mo Mo tapped Zhan on the head.

But this only resulted in a silly smile from the guy, making it hard to get angry.

“What are you doing here?” Mo Mo sighed and asked, puzzled by Zhan’s actions, “Didn’t you just buy them? Are you giving them up already?”

If you didn’t want them, why buy them in the first place… money doesn’t come easy, man!

Zhan replied, “Yeah! I don’t want them anymore, they can stay here.”

“Why?” Mo Mo was taken aback.

Zhan blinked, answering as if it were obvious, “Because this pond is much, much bigger than the fishbowl.”

“You…” Mo Mo frowned, “You didn’t plan to release them from the start, did you?”

Zhan nodded and, watching the small goldfish swim away, rested his chin in his hands, “I feel they seem a bit happier now.”

“They must be,” Mo Mo commented with a sigh of mild exasperation.

Zhan suddenly asked, “Mo Mo, why does that owner catch them and sell them?”

“It’s business, making a living,” Mo Mo instinctively replied, “There’s a demand, so there are suppliers. People like keeping goldfish, so there are those who sell them, it’s just natural.”

Zhan puzzledly continued, “But in saying so, don’t goldfish have needs too, so who fulfills theirs?”

“Goldfish…” Mo Mo frowned, “They can’t be compared to humans. They lack intelligence, functioning only on basic instincts without making demands or needing anyone to fulfill those. Besides, even if they had thoughts, no one would really care. Hmm… didn’t you also catch crickets for fun? Have you ever considered if those crickets wanted to be caught?”

“Huh? Them? I eventually let them go,” Zhan tilted his head, “And I did ask them; they were willing to play with me, that’s why I caught them.”

“You asked… you asked?” Mo Mo was caught off guard, realizing there might be important insights to uncover in that statement.

“Yeah, is that a problem?”

This Zhan seemed somewhat unusual. His intellect appeared normal, yet at such an age, he acted like a clueless child… it was unclear how Master Yang Taizi had taught him.

However, with the Management Bureau’s Ling Feng present, Mo Mo didn’t plan on delving deeper into the matter, “No problem, let’s go inside, our rooms have been arranged.”

“Okay,” Zhan nodded, then suddenly asked, “Mo Mo, if one day we turned into goldfish and were caught and sold, would no one care about our feelings too?”

“Silly, who would capture and sell people? We’re not in a slave society anymore. Besides, we’re not going to turn into goldfish, and goldfish won’t become us.”

Zhan pondered, “But you said as long as there’s demand, people will act upon it. If there are those who like to keep goldfish, why can’t there be those who like to keep people? If people liked keeping others, wouldn’t we be caught and put in fishbowls too? And then no one would care about us?”

Mo Mo opened his mouth, but suddenly couldn’t find the words. He glanced at Ling Feng, who had walked over, noticing a slight frown on his face as well.