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正文（in English）

Chapter 1: I’m Bai Xiaochun

Mount Hood lay in the Eastwood Mountain Range, and at its base was a quaint little village. The villagers there lived off the land, and didn’t have much to do with the outside world.

Currently it was dawn, and the villagers were congregated at the village gate to see off a young man of fifteen or sixteen years of age. He seemed thin and weak, but had a healthy, fair complexion, and an overall charming appearance. He wore an ordinary green robe that had apparently been washed so many times it was nearly worn through. Something about the way he was dressed, plus the innocent look in his eyes, made him seem exceptionally quick-witted.

His name was Bai Xiaochun.

“Dear Elders and fellow villagers,” he said, “I am on my way to learn about Immortal cultivation. I shall miss all of you!” The young man wore a slightly pained expression, as if he couldn’t bear to part with his fellow villagers. This made him look even more charming than before. 1

The surrounding villagers exchanged glances, shrugged helplessly, and then pretended to look even more reluctant to see him leave.

A white-haired old man stepped out of the crowd and said, “Xiaochun, ever since your dad and mom left us, oh so long ago, you… you have been, er–” he paused for a moment “–such a good kid!!” Seeing that Bai Xiaochun hadn’t left yet, he continued, “Don’t tell me you’re not interested in living forever? All you have to do is become an Immortal, and then you can live forever! That’s a really, really long time! Well, it’s time for you to leave now. Even a baby eagle must learn to fly eventually.

“No matter what situations you run into out there, you have to hang in there and keep moving forward. Once you leave the village, you can’t come back, because your path will always lie ahead, not behind!” The old man patted Bai Xiaochun kindly on the shoulder.

“Live forever….” Bai Xiaochun murmured. A tremor ran through him, and a look of determination slowly filled his eyes. Under the encouraging gazes of the old man and the other villagers, he nodded his head seriously and looked around at everyone one last time. Finally, he turned and walked away from the village.

As he disappeared off into the distance, the villagers started to look more and more excited. Their forlorn expressions turned to those of joy, and the kind-faced old man began to tremble. Tears even streamed down his face.

“Justice from Heaven! The weasel… is finally gone! Who was it that told him they saw an Immortal in the area? Whoever it was, I’m going to give you a huge reward on behalf of the village!” 2

The village was soon echoing with cries of rejoicing. Some people even took out gongs and drums and began banging them excitedly.

“The weasel is gone,” someone said, “but oh, my poor chickens. He hated the roosters crowing at dawn, so he somehow got all the kids in the village to eat every chicken we had….”

“Today is the beginning of a new era!”

By this point, Bai Xiaochun was still fairly close to the village, and could actually hear the sounds of the gongs and drums. He even caught wind of some of the cries of excitement.

He stopped in his tracks, a strange expression on his face. After a moment, he cleared his throat and proceeded on his way. Accompanied by the faint sounds of rejoicing, he began to make his way toward Mount Hood.

Mount Hood wasn’t a very tall mountain, but it was covered with thick vegetation. Therefore, despite the fact that it was dawn, beneath the trees, it was dark and quiet.

“Double-Dog told me that he was hunting some wild pigs a few days ago and saw an Immortal flying around….” Bai Xiaochun proceeded along, heart thumping. Suddenly, a rustling sound could be heard from some nearby shrubs. It almost sounded like a wild pig, and it immediately caused Bai Xiaochun to grow extremely nervous. The hair on the back of his neck stood up straight as he asked, “Who is it? Who’s there?!”

He quickly pulled four axes and six machetes out of his travel pack, but that in and of itself didn’t make him feel much safer, so he also produced a bit of black incense from within his robe, which he clutched tightly in his left hand.

“Don’t come out!” he shouted, trembling. “Don’t even THINK about coming out! I’ve got axes AND machetes, and this incense can call lightning from the Heavens, and even summon Immortals! If you dare to show your face, you’re DEAD!” Finally, he turned and ran toward the mountain path, simultaneously juggling all of the various weapons in his hands. Clanking sounds could eventually be heard as axes and machetes began to fall to the ground left and right.

Perhaps whatever it was that had been rustling around in the shrubbery really did end up getting frightened by him. The sounds ceased, and no wild animal burst out of the bushes. Bai Xiaochun hurried toward the mountain, wiping the sweat from his brow. By this point, his face was pale, and he was almost considering giving up this crazy idea of climbing the mountain, but then he thought about the incense stick, which his parents had handed down to him before they died. Supposedly, it had been passed down from their ancestors, a gift bestowed by a down-and-out Immortal they had saved. Before departing, the Immortal had given it to them to pay back the kindness they had shown. Furthermore, the Immortal had even promised to take a member of the Bai Clan as a disciple. He told them that merely burning the incense stick would summon him to their side.

Bai Xiaochun had actually lit the incense stick more than ten times in the past few years, and yet, no Immortal had ever shown up. It had eventually reached the point that Bai Xiaochun was starting to suspect whether or not the story about the Immortal was even true. Finally, he’d resolved to climb the mountain. For one thing, the incense stick was almost used up, and also, there was the matter of the flying Immortal being sighted recently.

And that was how he ended up in his current situation. His theory was that if he could get a bit closer to the Immortal, then perhaps it would be easier for that Immortal to sense the incense stick.

Standing in front of the mountain, he hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and decided to keep going. Thankfully, the mountain wasn’t very high, and it didn’t take long to reach the peak, where he stopped, panting. He looked at the village down below, and an emotional expression appeared on his face. Then he glanced at the finger-nail sized bit of black incense. It had clearly been burned on numerous occasions, and was almost completely used up.

“It’s been three years. Bless me, mom and dad. It HAS to work this time!” Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath, and then carefully lit the incense. A stiff breeze instantly kicked up, and in the blink of an eye, dark clouds filled the sky. Lightning crackled, and deafening thunder boomed in his ears.

The majesty of the entire scene caused Bai Xiaochun to tremble, fearful that he might be killed by the lightning. He very nearly spit on the incense to extinguish it, but managed to hold back.

“I’ve lit this incense twelve times in the past three years, and this is the thirteenth time. I have to let it burn! Come on, Xiaochun! The lightning won’t kill you. At least probably not….” All twelve times that he had lit the incense in the past, there had been lightning and thunder, and yet no Immortal had ever appeared. Each time, he had gotten so scared that he spit on the incense to put it out. He actually found it a bit strange that a supposedly Immortal stick of incense could be extinguished with some ordinary saliva.

Bai Xiaochun sat there shaking in fear as the thunder boomed around him. Suddenly, a streak of light appeared in the air off in the distance.

It was a middle-aged man wearing luxurious clothing. He had the demeanor of a transcendent being, yet he looked weary and travel-worn. In fact, if you looked closely, his eyes seemed to flicker with extreme exhaustion.

“Finally I can see exactly what moron has been lighting that incense stick all the time for the past three years!”

Every time the man thought about what he had experienced during the past few years, he got extremely annoyed. Three years ago, he had sensed the medicinal aura of an incense stick he had given away back when he was in the Qi Condensation stage. That immediately caused him to recall the debt he owed back in the mortal world.

The first time he flew out in response to the incense stick being lit, he had assumed it would be a simple matter of heading out and then immediately returning. He had never imagined that before even being able to find the incense, its aura would suddenly vanish, severing his connection to it. If it had happened only once, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. However, over the course of three years, the aura had appeared more than ten times.

Over and over again his search was interrupted, ensuring that he was constantly leaving his sect and then going back. Back and forth, back and forth. It was torment.

As he closed in on Mount Hood, he caught sight of Bai Xiaochun. Fuming with numerous frustrations, the man landed on the mountain top and waved his hand, instantly extinguishing the sputtering incense stick.

The thunder ceased, and Bai Xiaochun stared at the man in shock.

“Are you an Immortal?” Bai Xiaochun asked cautiously. Still unsure about what exactly was going on, he slipped his hand behind his back and grabbed an axe.

“You may call me Li Qinghou. Are you from the Bai Clan?” The middle-aged cultivator’s eyes shone like lightning as he measured up Bai Xiaochun, ignoring the axe behind his back. To him, Bai Xiaochun seemed delicate, almost pretty, and reminded him of his old friend from years ago. Furthermore, his latent talent seemed suitable. Li Qinghou’s anger gradually began to fade. 3

Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times. Although he was still a bit scared, he sat up straight and quietly said, “Junior most definitely is from the Bai Clan. I’m Bai Xiaochun.”

“Alright, well tell me this,” Li Qinghou said, his voice cool. “Why did you light that incense so many times over the past three years!?” He very much wanted to know the answer to this question.

As soon as Bai Xiaochun heard the question, his mind spun as he tried to come up with a good answer. Finally, a melancholic expression appeared on his face, and he looked down toward the village at the bottom of the mountain.

“Junior is a sentimental and righteous person,” he said. “I simply couldn’t bear to part with my fellow villagers. Every time I lit the incense, I was overwhelmed with feelings of sorrow. The mere thought of leaving them behind was far too painful.”

Li Qinghou stared in shock. He had never considered such a possibility, and as such, the anger in his heart faded even more. He could tell from this young man’s words alone that he was definitely good material.

However, the next thing he did was send his divine sense down toward the village, and he heard the sounds of drums and gongs and rejoicing. He even heard the villagers talking about how glad they were that ‘the weasel’ was gone. An unsightly expression appeared on his face, and he felt a headache coming on. He looked back at the charming and pure Bai Xiaochun, who seemed like he wouldn’t hurt a fly, and suddenly realized that this kid was a villain to the core.

“Tell me the truth!” Li Qinghou said, his voice echoing like thunder. Bai Xiaochun was so frightened that he started shaking.

“Hey, you can’t blame me!” Bai Xiaochun said, sounding very miserable. “What kind of crappy incense is this anyway!? Every time I lit it, lightning would start crashing around everywhere! I almost got killed on several occasions! In fact, avoiding that lightning thirteen times was quite a feat!”

Li Qinghou looked silently at Bai Xiaochun.

“If you were so scared, then why did you light it over ten times?!” he asked.

“’Cuz I’m scared of dying!” Bai Xiaochun replied indignantly. “Isn’t the point of Immortal cultivation to be able to live forever? I want to live forever!”

Li Qinghou was once again struck speechless. However, he found the kid’s fascination with living forever laudable, and realized that his personality might change a bit after some hard training in the sect.

After a moment of thought, he waved his sleeve, sweeping Bai Xiaochun up into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

“Alright, come with me,” he said.

“Where are we going?” asked Bai Xiaochun, suddenly realizing that they were flying. “Ah, we’re so high….” The ground was very, very far down, causing the blood to drain from his face. He immediately dropped his axe and grabbed onto the Immortal’s leg.

Li Qinghou looked down at him clutching his leg. Feeling a bit at a loss, he replied, “The Spirit Stream Sect.”

Content（中文版）

第一章 他叫白小纯

帽儿山，位于东林山脉中，山下有一个村子，民风淳朴，以耕田为生，与世隔绝。

清晨，村庄的大门前，整个村子里的乡亲，正为一个十五六岁少年送别，这少年瘦弱，但却白白净净，看起来很是乖巧，衣着尽管是寻常的青衫，可却洗的泛白，穿在这少年的身上，与他目中的纯净搭配在一起，透出一股子灵动。

他叫白小纯。

>“父老乡亲们，我要去修仙了，可我舍不得你们啊。”少年满脸不舍，原本就乖巧的样子，此刻看起来更为纯朴。

四周的乡亲，面面相觑，顿时摆出难舍之色。

“小纯，你爹娘走的早，你是个……好孩子！！难道你不想长生了么，成为仙人就可以长生，能活的很久很久，走吧，雏鹰长大，总有飞出去的那一天。”人群内走出一个头发花白的老者，说道好孩子三个字时，他顿了一下。

“在外面遇到任何事情，都要坚持下去，走出村子，就不要回来，因为你的路在前方！”老人神色慈祥，拍了拍少年的肩膀。

“长生……”白小纯身体一震，目中慢慢坚定起来，在老者以及四周乡亲鼓励的目光下，他重重的点了点头，深深的看了一眼四周的乡亲，转身迈着大步，渐渐走出了村子。

眼看少年的身影远去，村中的众人，一个个都激动起来，目中的难舍刹那就被喜悦代替，那之前满脸慈祥的老者，此刻也在颤抖，眼中流下泪水。

>“苍天有眼，这白鼠狼，他终于……终于走了，是谁告诉他在附近看到仙人的，你为村子立下了大功！”

>“这白鼠狼终于肯离开了，可怜我家的几只鸡，就因为这白鼠狼怕鸡打鸣，不知用了什么方法，唆使一群孩子吃鸡肉，把全村的鸡都给吃的干干净净……”

>“今天过年了！”欢呼之声，立刻在这不大的村子里，沸腾而起，甚至有人拿出了锣鼓，高兴的敲打起来。

>村子外，白小纯还没等走远，他就听到了身后村子内，传出了敲锣打鼓的声音，还夹着欢呼。

>白小纯脚步一顿，神色有些古怪，干咳一声，伴随着耳边传来的锣鼓，白小纯顺着山路，走上了帽儿山。

这帽儿山虽不高，却灌木杂多，虽是清晨，可看起来也是黑压压一片，很是安静。

“听二狗说，他前几天在这里被一头野猪追赶时，看到天上有仙人飞过……”白小纯走在山路上，心脏怦怦跳动时，忽然一旁的灌林中传来阵阵哗哗声，似野猪一样，这声音来的突然，让本就紧张的白小纯，顿时背后发凉。

“谁，谁在那里！”白小纯右手快速从行囊中拿出四把斧头，六把柴刀，还觉得不放心，又从怀里取出了一小根黑色的香，死死的抓住。

>“别出来，千万别出来，我有斧头，有柴刀，手里的香还可以召唤天雷，能引仙人降临，你敢出来，就霹死你！”白小纯哆嗦的大喊，连滚带爬的夹着那些武器，赶紧顺着山路跑去，沿途叮当乱响，斧头柴刀掉了一地。

或许是真的被他给吓住了，很快的哗哗声就消失，没有什么野兽跑出来，白小纯面色苍白，擦了擦冷汗，有心放弃继续上山，可一想到手中这根香是他爹娘去世前留给他的，据说是祖上曾偶然的救下一个落魄的仙人，那仙人离去时留下这根香作为报答，曾言会收下白家血脉一人为弟子，只要点燃，仙人就会到来。

可至今为止，这根香他点过十多次，始终不见仙人到来，让白小纯开始怀疑仙人是不是真的会来，这一次之所以下定决心，一方面是香所剩不多，另一方面是他听村子里人说，头几天在这看到有仙人从天上飞过。

所以他这才到来，想着距离仙人近一些，或许仙人就察觉到了也说不定。

踌躇一番，白小纯咬牙继续，好在此山不高，不久他气喘吁吁的到了山顶，站在那里，他遥望山下的村庄，神色颇为感慨，又低头看着手中的只有指甲盖大小的黑香，此香似乎被燃烧了好多次，所剩不多。

>“三年了，爹娘保佑我，这次一定要成功！”白小纯深吸口气，小心的将香点燃，立刻四周狂风顿起，天空更是眨眼间乌云密布，一道道闪电划过，还有震耳欲聋的雷鸣在白小纯耳边直接炸开。

>声音之大，气势之强，让白小纯身体哆嗦，有种随时会被雷霹死的感觉，下意识的就想要吐口唾沫将那根香灭掉，但却挣扎忍住。

>“三年了，我点这根香点了十二次，这是第十三次，这次一定要忍住，小纯不怕，应该不会被劈死……”白小纯想起了这三年的经历，不算这次，点了十二次，每次都是这样的雷鸣闪电，仙人也没有到来，吓的本就怕死的他每次都吐口唾沫将其熄灭，说来也怪，这根香看似不凡，可实际上一样是浇水就灭。

在白小纯这里心惊肉跳，艰难的于那雷声中等待时，距离这里不远处的天空上，有一道长虹正急速的呼啸而来。

长虹内是一个中年男子，这男子衣着华丽，仙风道骨，可偏偏风尘仆仆，甚至仔细去看，可以看到他神色内深深的疲惫。

“我倒要看看，到底是个什么样的人，竟然点根香点了三年！”

一想到自己这三年的经历，中年男子就气恼，三年前他察觉有人点燃自己还是凝气时送出的香药，想起了当年在凡俗中的一段人情。

这才飞出寻来，原本按照他的打算，很快就会回来，可没成想，刚寻着香气过去，还没等多远，那气息就瞬间消失，断了联系。若是一次也就罢了，这三年，气息出现了十多次。

使得他这里，多次在寻找时中断，就这样来来回回，折腾了三年……

>此刻他遥遥的看到了帽儿山，看到了山顶上白小纯，气不打一处来，一瞬飞出，直接就站在了山顶，大手一挥，那根所剩不多的香，直接熄灭。

雷声刹那消失，白小纯愣了一下，抬头一看，看到了自己的身边多了一个中年男子。

“仙人？”白小纯小心翼翼的开口，有些拿不准，背后偷偷捡起一把斧头。

>“本座李青候，你是白家后人？”中年修士目光如电，无视白小纯身后的斧子，打量了白小纯一番，觉得眼前此子眉清目秀，依稀与当年的故人相似，资质也不错，心底的恼意，也不由缓了一些。

>“晚辈正是白家后人，白小纯。”白小纯眨了眨眼，小声说道，虽然心中有些畏惧，但还是挺了挺腰板。

>“我问你，点一根香，为什么点了三年！”中年修士淡淡开口，问出了他这三年里，最想要知道的问题。

白小纯听到这个问题，脑筋飞速转动，然后脸上摆出惆怅，遥望山下的村庄。

>“晚辈是一个重情重义的人，舍不得那些乡亲们，每一次我点燃香，他们也都不舍得我离去，如今山下的他们，还在因为我的离去而悲伤呢。”

>中年修士一愣，这个缘由，是他之前没想到的，目中的恼色又少了一些，单单从话语上看，此子的本性还是不错的。

可当他的目光落在山下的村子时，他的神识随之扫过，听到了村子里的敲锣打鼓以及那一句句欢呼白鼠狼离去的话语，面色立刻难看起来，有些头疼，看着眼前这个外表乖巧纯朴，人畜无害的白小纯，已心底明朗对方实际上一肚子坏水。

>“说实话！”中年修士一瞪眼，声音如同雷声一样，白小纯吓得一个哆嗦。

>“这不怨我啊，你那什么破香啊，每次点燃都会打雷，好几次都差点霹死我，我躲过了十三次，已经很不容易了。”白小纯可怜兮兮的说道。

>中年修士看着白小纯，半晌无语。

“既然你这么害怕，为什么还要强行去点香十多次？”中年修士缓缓开口。

“我怕死啊，修仙不是能长生么，我想长生啊。”白小纯委屈的说道。

>中年修士再次无语，不过觉得此子总算执念可嘉，扔到门派里磨炼一番，或可在性子上改变一二。

>于是略一思索，大袖一甩卷着白小纯化作一道长虹，直奔天边而去。
>“跟我走吧。”

>“去哪？这也太高了吧……”白小纯看到自己在天上飞，下面是万丈深渊，立刻脸色苍白，斧头一扔，死死的抱住仙人的大腿。

>中年修士看了眼自己的腿，无奈开口。

>“灵溪宗。”

结束语

看完英文版，再回头来看中文版，真他么。。怪怪的。总感觉像是考试完对答案的时候看阅读的翻译一样。但是我感觉这玩意稍微多看一点，会对语感单词之类的英语技能有比较大的提升，所以推荐给大家。好吧，我这儿的内容引用并未征得作者同意，不过本文旨在传播看英文玄幻小说的乐趣，应该仅此一次了。所以，希望耳根大大不要介意我的借用啦。另外。Wuxia World 我算是帮他们拉了点流量的说，虽然人家在国外的浏览量大的要命，不过给他们推开一下中国市场的大门也是不错的嘛。广告费久不收了。容我借用一章就OK！～～对了。上一个很有意思的手打表情，佩服开发出这个表情的人。。。～（--T）凸
另外，对于下面的这些介绍，我也是笑崩了。好像我这么一个看了十年网文的老司机都没往这么深去想过～～外国人脑洞真大

Bai Xiaochun’s name in Chinese is 白小纯 bái xiǎo chún. Bai is a surname which also means “white.” Xiao means “little.” Chun means “pure”
The word for weasel is literally “white rat wolf,” the first character being the same character as Bai Xiaochun’s surname
Li Qinghou’s name in Chinese is 李青候 lǐ qīng hòu. Li is a very common surname, also the same surname as the Li Clan in ISSTH. Qing means “green, blue, black, azure, etc.” Hou means a lot of things including “time” and “wait”