Volume One, Chapter One: A Talent as Thin as a Pancake

Dusk, the setting sun.

With a sudden whoosh, a round ball zipped across the field path.

Within the woods, four eyes shifted restlessly amidst the tall grass.

“What was that?”

“No idea...”

“Looked like a ball of flesh…”

“Mmm…”

A flickering white dot, a rolling sphere, birds darting here and there—all flashed across the fields.

“The one ahead must be a rabbit!”

“……”

“And the one behind…”

The abrupt silence tightened the air.

As the dust settled, a chubby boy trudged toward the woods, clutching a small white rabbit. He was panting, every bit of his plump body quivering with exertion. The four eyes in the grass widened even further.

“…It’s a fat kid…”

“…Yeah…he runs…damn…fast…”

“Let’s just leave…”

“No, let’s take him!”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, a blaze shot skyward. The chubby boy, unable to hold back, had already placed the rabbit over the campfire.

“Such cruelty…”

“Who cares!”

“…Smells so good…” A rumbling stomach sounded from the grass.

When patience ends, action begins.

Two shadowy figures sprang out. Under the old tree, before the chubby boy could react, his mouth was stuffed and he was swiftly bound hand and foot. A burlap sack was pulled over his head.

“Oh no, my rabbit!” The chubby boy was shocked; his freshly roasted rabbit snatched away! He struggled desperately to escape, but it was futile. Outside the sack, familiar munching sounds echoed.

After the agony subsided, the chubby boy drifted into a muddled sleep. He had no idea how much time passed before he was jolted awake, carried on someone’s back.

“Senior brother, I...I…” someone gasped outside the sack.

“…Got it…” the addressed senior replied begrudgingly.

Then the chubby boy was tossed to the ground.

“S-senior brother…can’t we…find another one?”

“You think I wanted this? Ugh…” The chubby boy felt himself hoisted up again.

“Senior brother, are you alright?”

“…Fine…just twisted something…” the senior gritted his teeth. “It’s dark…before midnight…where would we find another…”

“But this kid is so heavy…”

“It’s all…your fault! Didn’t you check properly…”

“I…just noticed how fast he ran…”

“Damn it! Lucky we ate that rabbit earlier!”

“Senior brother, don’t curse…”

“…If you keep complaining, you’re carrying him next!”

From then on, the chubby boy could only hear distant insects and the senior brother’s heavy breaths.

Every mile or so, the two switched carrying him. After many miles, the pace grew noticeably slower.

“If only we could use magic, this is torture!” The junior, just having carried the chubby boy back, grumbled.

The senior sounded exhausted: “We…practitioners…must endure…earthly hardships…damn it, let’s just throw him out…”

“No, no…senior brother, after this hill, we’ll be there!”

“…You carry him up the hill…”

“Fine, then let’s drop—” The junior’s words were cut short by a sharp slap.

After that, neither spoke, only exchanging the burden in silence.

“My goodness!” The junior finally spoke again, half an hour later.

The chubby boy was thrown heavily to the ground and ignored, while both sat on the earth, breathing raggedly.

Suddenly, the sack was pulled off his head. Blinding lamplight made it hard for the chubby boy to see anything but two blurred figures.

“This kid is really fat!” The junior’s voice trembled. The boy was pale, round—a perfect ball of meat!

“Yeah, couldn’t tell in the dark!” The senior sucked in air.

Both understood—Master wanted a disciple, not a fatty. How could such a portly disciple ever cultivate?

As his eyes adjusted, the chubby boy anxiously sized up the pair. Both wore Daoist robes. One had a face full of rough features, short but burly. The other was delicate-faced, tall and slender.

“Fatty, what’s your name?” the delicate one asked gently—it was surely the junior.

“You ate my rabbit…” The chubby boy’s eyes blazed, his face flushed crimson.

“What nonsense…” The rough-faced senior stepped up and slapped him, leaving a perfect red print across his chubby cheek.

“We’re practitioners—how could we…eat your rabbit! Cough…” He couldn’t help but cough.

“We’re all…vegetarians…” To prove it, the junior quickly held up a flatbread. The chubby boy’s eyes widened.

“Hungry? Behave, and you’ll get plenty!” The junior slyly glanced at the table, piled high with flatbreads.

“My name is Mu Tianzi…” The chubby boy kept his gaze fixed on the bread.

“Oh, for a wild child, your name’s quite refined…” The senior curled his lip.

“Wild child? Not at all! I live in Mu Village, I—” Before he could finish, both seniors clamped a hand over his mouth.

“Don’t shout, or else…” The senior pressed a sword to his throat. The chubby boy bit his lip in terror.

“You’re filthy, your clothes are tattered, roasting rabbits in the wild, covered in dirt—how are you not a wild child?”

“I…I fell in a ditch, tore my clothes…as for the rabbit, I just like wild rabbits…chased it all day…”

“Nonsense, you’re obviously a wild child!” The senior was flustered, shifting his feet.

“Master will be here soon—what do we do?” The junior’s hands trembled. The chubby boy’s eyes followed the bread in his hand.

“Hey, fatty…if you listen, we’ll give you tasty treats…” The senior’s eyes gleamed. “If not, then…” He brandished his sword.

“Yes, yes, just behave and there’ll be plenty!” The junior quickly pushed the flatbread to the chubby boy’s mouth, who bit off half in one go.

“Fatty, do you want to learn Daoist arts and ascend to immortality? Many dream of it, but few get the chance. Follow our master, and you’ll rise to the heavens! At worst, you’ll walk through walls, jump rivers!”

“Rivers!” The senior shot the junior a glare.

“Yes, yes—cross rivers, walk on water…” The junior corrected.

The chubby boy blinked his big eyes twice: “I want to go home!”

“Damn!” The senior slapped him again, now leaving matching prints on both cheeks.

“Boo hoo…I want to go home…” The chubby boy wailed, shaking the house with his cries.

“Hey, hey, stop crying…stop…” The seniors, never having dealt with this, frantically tried to calm him.

“Oh, come on! Just learn the arts—once you’re immortal, you can go anywhere, catch rabbits without chasing!”

“Really?” The chubby boy stopped crying at once. The seniors exchanged glances and nodded vigorously.

“But I still want to go home!” The chubby boy snatched the remaining bread from the junior’s hand and stuffed it in his mouth.

“Easy! Finish your training, and you’ll fly straight home!” The senior quickly produced a rabbit leg from his sleeve—a leftover from last night’s theft.

“Mm, mm…” The chubby boy’s eyes shone.

“Listen first!” The senior hid the rabbit leg behind his back. “Soon, our master will arrive. You must say you’re a wild child and sincerely wish to learn from him!”

“Hmph!” The chubby boy nodded fiercely.

“Right, what’s your name?”

“Mu Tianzi!”

“Others are gifted by heaven, but you…heaven gave you a flatbread!” The senior eyed his rotund form—he really did look like a giant flatbread.

“Oh, senior! Let’s call him ‘One Flatbread’! When master arrives, say his name is One Flatbread!” The junior slapped the senior’s shoulder in delight.

“Good, good, let’s call him One Flatbread!” The senior stared at the chubby boy. “When my master comes, say your name is One Flatbread!” He waved the rabbit leg temptingly. The junior gritted his teeth, cursing inwardly: Damn, so that’s where last night’s rabbit leg went!

The chubby boy puffed his cheeks, about to speak, but seeing the rabbit leg appear before him he swallowed his words and nodded energetically.

They waited half the night, but the master never showed. Sated and content, One Flatbread was deep asleep, traces of tears still on his chubby cheeks.

“Let’s untie him! He won’t get far anyway!”

“True, when master sees him, it’ll be obvious we brought him here!” The senior hurriedly loosened his bonds.

But suddenly, the meatball sprang from the ground and shot out the door.

“Whoa—!” The seniors cried out in unison.

“No wonder he caught the rabbit!”

“Yeah, never seen a fat kid run so fast!”

They didn’t bother chasing, just watched from the doorway. The meatball dashed straight for the gate, slammed into it, bounced up, and crashed down, shaking the whole house. The seniors winced in sympathy.

After a long moment, One Flatbread sat up. He rubbed his eyes, then sprang up again, charging at the gate over and over. Countless attempts later, he turned to the wall.

What followed was a meatball rolling up the wall, then a flatbread sliding slowly down. Again and again, up and down. The junior’s eyes brimmed with tears. It was a divine wall, with a transparent barrier—no escaping without magic.

“He’s heading for the tree now…” the junior said, nearly in tears.

“Mmm…” The senior glanced at him curiously. “Why are you so moved?”

“This kid’s really stubborn…”

“Forget it! That gate is a divine gate—if it wasn’t, imagine the repair costs! Master would break our legs!” The senior grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

The tree was no ordinary thing either! Occasionally, a branch would vanish without warning. The meatball kept falling from the tree, leaving craters everywhere.

“He climbs like a bear…” Seeing One Flatbread clamber up using all fours, the senior’s voice trembled.

After more than an hour of struggle, One Flatbread finally shuffled back in, his head sporting several lumps, his body bruised all over.

“Ah! Still trying to escape!” The senior slapped him twice.

One Flatbread didn’t protest, just pouted at the senior, tears spilling down his face. Before he could open his mouth, the seniors fled, locking the door behind them.

“Waa…waa…I want to go home…waa…let me out…waa…I’m hungry…” His cries were earth-shaking, even the moon seemed to cover its ears.

“He’s hungry…” The junior, lurking outside, almost stepped in, but the senior pulled him back.

“No, no…don’t go…if you soften now, you’ll never control him!” The senior warned, frowning. One Flatbread’s cries were indeed heartbreaking.