Please call me Huanxian

Chapter 304: Seeking Peace of Mind, the World is Full of Suffering

Carrying clear spring water from the foot of the mountain, Xu Yuanchang washed himself carefully to get rid of past fatigue and travel dust, combed his hair, and tied it into a bun with an ebony hairpin.

Holding the old dark red bamboo stick that had accompanied him for decades, he walked into the clean and quiet room.

Placing the white cloth with the Nine Palaces diagram painted on it on the ground, Xu Yuanchang had a solemn expression and a calm mind. He held the bamboo sticks in his hands and thought silently for a moment. He was going to start the "Heart Questioning" to question the distant Taoist Master Yanshan with his inner voice.

A real man has things he should do and things he shouldn't do. Lao Li died as a result of a conspiracy by people he believed were his own people. He was almost an accomplice, and this incident was a great blow to him.

He overestimated his own abilities and was trying to find an answer to find peace of mind and direction for the future.

"Xun Palace, the tip is facing upwards."

A soft thud was heard.

The bamboo stick rolled a few times and flew out of the edge of the white cloth.

Xu Yuanchang's mouth twitched twice, and he picked up the bamboo stick again, muttering, "I respect you as a teacher and a friend, but you took advantage of my trust and put Lao Li to death, which made me feel guilty. Today, we must end this, or I will return the Huanxian Ring to you, and I will return the bamboo stick and the Creation Divine Art to you, and we will go our separate ways and have no further contact."

He believed in his heart that Taoist Yanshan knew exactly where Lao Li was through the bamboo sticks.

Little did they know that deep within Lao Li's soul, a spiritual mark had been placed when he was suppressed eight thousand years ago, which would be triggered at a certain critical moment, leading to a fatal disaster.

After muttering to himself for a while, a new divination was drawn, and the bamboo stick was still struggling to get out of the white cloth.

Xu Yuanchang picked up the bamboo stick again, feeling disheartened, and broke it with a "crack". He knew that two times would not be enough for three more, and he would not ask for divination again. Taoist Master Yanshan had already made his attitude clear and was unwilling to give him an answer.

He threw away the two broken bamboo sticks with disgust.

"Snap", the bamboo stick fell on the white cloth and shattered into pieces, and the powder twisted into a line of blurred handwriting.

"Viewers, look carefully, my heart is bright, illuminating the world with light!"

Xu Yuanchang stared at the shameless words that sounded high and mighty. He laughed in anger and shouted, "You have a kind heart, so why can't you tolerate Old Li who risked his life to help Dingzhou wipe out the disaster? Aren't you afraid of chilling people's hearts by doing this?"

The words on the white cloth slowly changed, transforming into new content.

"If you are not of my kind, you should be killed!"

Xu Yuanchang almost cursed. This sentence applies to every alien, big or small, long or short.

I turned and walked towards the door, feeling extremely disappointed. If you want to accuse someone of something, you can always find a pretext for it.

The "Way of the World" followed by Taoist Master Yanshan should not be so narrow.

The line of words made of bamboo powder flew into the air, bypassed Xu Yuanchang and stuck to the wooden door panel, forming new blurred words.

"He has a glimmer of hope if he dies in the lower realm, but if he ascends to the upper realm, he will die without a burial place."

It only lasted for a moment before the words written on the bamboo powder fluttered down and disappeared onto the muddy ground.

Xu Yuanchang was stunned for a moment, and guessed something unusual.

Does Taoist Yanshan mean that Lao Li is not dead?

Recalling the details of the conversation with Gu Yunzhu that day, he narrowed his eyes slightly. Gu Yunzhu's actions had some subtle flaws that could not withstand scrutiny. She left in such a hurry without any emotional fluctuations. It seemed that she had gained some useful inspiration from the words he relayed to Lao Li...

He opened the door and was about to fly to the Soul Calling Forest to verify his inner guess, but suddenly stopped.

There was no need for Taoist Yanshan to go to such great lengths to deceive him, nor was there any need to consider his feelings. He was just an insignificant Taoist priest in the lower world.

He guessed whether Lao Li could survive was related to Gu Yunzhu.

If he went to the Soul Calling Forest Palace again to satisfy his curiosity, perhaps he would uncover the secret. Wouldn't it be possible that Lao Li died in vain?
Well, the truth will come out one day.

I hope that Lao Li, who claims to be immortal in the underworld, can survive this life-and-death catastrophe.

Xu Yuanchang's face returned to its usual indifferent expression. He walked in the courtyard, basking in the autumn sun. All the dejection in his body had gone. He almost became possessed by a demon because of Lao Li's matter, and he still felt scared when he thought about it.

The path of spiritual practice does not allow the mind to be obstructed by dust and obstacles, and setbacks and hardships often come inadvertently.

The scary thing is that one is deeply trapped in it and is controlled by it without realizing it.

He stretched himself and scanned the village with his spiritual sense. He suddenly discovered that today was the annual Mid-Autumn Festival. His sister-in-law was leaning on a bamboo broom, looking at the sky and muttering about Danwa and him.

"Old man, where do you think Danwa and his uncle have gone? It's been ten years, and there has been no news. Bailin Valley has also been abandoned, and there are no more immortals rising and falling. I'm so worried, I'm afraid that I will fall asleep at night and never see Danwa again."

"You are just worrying because you have nothing to do. You are just talking nonsense. Danwa said that you can live to be a hundred years old and become an old monster with wrinkles on your skin that can kill mosquitoes and all your teeth have fallen out. If you don't want to sweep the floor, just take a rest and ask the housekeeper to arrange for Madam Qi to sweep the floor. Now you are slow and procrastinating when doing your work, and rice is cracking in your mouth..."

"You old man, you are the old monster. You talk more nonsense than an old woman. If I say one thing, you can say ten things. I won't sweep you anymore."

"Sweep it or not, the house doesn't need your help. Go to the door and see if Shenghou and his family have arrived?"

Xu Dazhui, a gray-haired, hunched-backed man, was sitting in the shade of the eaves steps, smoking a pipe and casually trying to comfort the restless old woman, saying that if he didn't give her something to do, her ears would suffer endlessly.

"You have to show your attitude this time and set some rules for Gou Wa. Of the two married children in his family, one must stay in the old house to take care of the family property. Or you can leave the third unmarried child behind. We can't all open shops in town to do business, or the villagers will laugh at us."

Gou Wa's mother put down the broom while muttering to herself, and walked towards the gate of the compound.

"Yes, yes."

Xu Dazhui smoked his pipe even more vigorously.

Those delicate and tender kids are used to the good life in town, how can they endure the hardship of working in the sun and rain in the fields in the countryside?

He was also worried that there would be no one to carry on his huge business, and he had long given up on Danwa.

“Uh… hey hey…”

Gou Wa's mother walked to the door and looked up to see her third uncle, whom she had not seen for many years, standing outside the door with bags in his hands, smiling at her. She was so surprised that she almost thought her eyes were blurry and she couldn't even utter a complete sentence.

"Old man, come quickly... come quickly."

"What's the matter? What's the matter?"

Xu Dazhui thought a thief had broken in, and hurriedly shouted to the housekeeper and the security guard to run to the door.

Xu Yuanchang supported his old sister-in-law who was wiping her eyes with joy with one hand. He had already turned himself into a middle-aged man and deliberately grew a beard to appear calm and less abrupt. He met his elder brother who was running very fast and nimble, and greeted him.

"Uh...it's the third brother who's back."

Xu Dazhu was overjoyed. Seeing that Danwa was not following him, he asked, "When can Danwa go home?"

He repeatedly ordered the housekeeper to arrange someone who could run fast to go to the town to call Gou Wa's family back.

Xu Yuanchang handed a few bundles to the guard, helped his brother and sister-in-law walk inside, and said, "When we are not so busy, let Danwa go home and stay for a few days. He is fine, don't worry."

"Okay, okay, don't worry."

With the return of the third brother, Xu Dazhui's house suddenly became lively.

The relatives almost broke down the doorstep. Wei Donghe, the clan leader of Xiahe Village, and his eldest son, daughter-in-law and their families came to visit.

Taking advantage of the excitement at the banquet, Xu Dazhu asked his prestigious brothers to keep Xu Shenghou's second son and daughter-in-law in the old house to prepare for them to inherit the family business and become rich in the future.

For more than a month, Xu Yuanchang lived a quiet life in Bailin Valley. He would go to his eldest brother's house for dinner every now and then, drink two cups of homemade wine with him, and listen to his eldest sister-in-law's chatter about trivial matters. He also went to Doushan Village with gifts to visit his second sister who had enjoyed a happy old age for more than 20 years. His brother-in-law, a stonemason, died of lung disease a few years ago.

At the end of September, Xu Yuanchang said goodbye to his elder brother and sister-in-law and left.

Qingping County City, beside Leshui Bridge.

Under the tree where Taoist Priest Yanshan's fortune-telling stall was located, there sat Taoist Xu, a middle-aged man with a long beard. In front of him was a simple fortune-telling stall, and on the tree trunk behind him hung a cloth banner with the words "Fortune-telling, ten cents per time" written on it.

Taoist Xu's stall was located relatively far back, blocked in front by long-standing stalls selling jugglers, sundries, snacks, fortune-telling, etc. Naturally, his business was slow and deserted, and the price he quoted was three or two cents more expensive than the market price.

Master Hu, who was also dressed as a Taoist priest, was always looking at his colleagues from the side. After closing his fortune-telling stall in the evening, he deliberately walked around to Taoist Xu, who had been sitting on the bench for a long time, and smiled condescendingly, "How is your business, Brother Xu?"

Taoist Xu closed the old physiognomy book in his hand and said, "It's just enough to make a living."

Master Hu secretly despised it, thinking it was a lie. No business came for three days, so he would just starve. He sat down on the stool and said, "I have nothing to do anyway, so please, Brother Xu, calculate my fortune for the next three days."

Taoist Xu took a closer look and said, "Within ten steps, Master Hu will be in danger of seeing blood. I will give you ten cents."

There are some similarities between spiritual practice and unorthodox practices. After being instructed by Lao Li in "careful observation", Xu Yuanchang figured out the technique of "observing qi", which he used to read people's fortunes and predict good and bad luck, and he was almost always accurate.

He felt that his practice had reached a critical point.

He wanted to stay away from the war, spend a few years at the bottom of the world, get closer to the real life of the world, roll around in the mud, and experience the "worldly" life that was not stained by the mud.

Master Hu looked as if he had stepped on dog shit. His colleague was his enemy, but how dare he curse him like that?

He took out ten coins, weighed them in his palm, threw them on the cloth stall, and sneered, "Master Xu, if Hu took ten steps and no blood was seen, what would you do?"

When it comes to skills such as physiognomy, fortune-telling, and divination, three parts experience and seven parts speaking skills are required. Even if you have mastered them, you should avoid being final and leaving yourself room for maneuver.

If you are not careful and smash the signboard, how can you survive on this street?
He knows how to read faces, so how could he not know the profound meaning behind it?

Taoist Xu said with a firm look on his face: "If you are not sure, I will not charge you a penny and will just pack up and leave."

"Okay, that's what you said. Hu didn't force you."

Master Hu stood up, glanced around, and walked towards the empty space on the left step by step, taking a deep breath.

When the vendors who were packing up their stalls heard the two Taoists fighting, they stopped their work and watched the excitement. Some of them counted loudly: "One step, two steps... five steps, six steps..."

It was only ten steps away and he reached it in a blink of an eye. Master Hu took the last step carefully and nothing happened.

The setting sun shines obliquely, and the years are peaceful.

However, the next moment, Master Hu's feet slipped, and he lost his balance with a cry of "Ouch". Master Hu fell heavily. When he got up, his forehead was broken and his nose was bleeding. He was covered in mud and urine, and looked in a miserable state.

Some spectators exclaimed: "Master Xu is really amazing, his predictions are so accurate."

"Master Hu, are you okay?"

"Which kid peed here? It's half-dry, so it's very slippery."

Amid the crowd's onlookers and discussions, Master Hu picked up his bag and ran away. His fall smashed his own sign to pieces, so he had no face to stay and let others laugh at him.

Master Xu put away the ten cents and had vegetarian noodles for dinner. The next day, he still set up his stall at the old place under the tree and did not occupy the space vacated by Master Hu.

The days passed by like this.

Business has its ups and downs. He reads every day and observes the coming and going of people.

The lower class has its own oppression and violence. They fight for a copper coin, and bullying the weak is endless. When a thug came to collect protection money, he gave him ten cents as an exception.

People in the world are busy, but most of them don't cause trouble.

It seems to be a matter of course that kind people are bullied and honest people often suffer losses.

Occasionally, there would be an honest man who had been exploited so badly that he would draw his sword and cause blood to splatter within five steps. The ending was usually not good, as the bailiffs and messengers would always arrive afterwards to clean up the mess and bring the honest man to justice.

Taoist Xu gained new insights into the advice that “if you leave the sufferings of this world, it will be difficult to understand the way of the human world.”

Before he knew it, a year had passed, and Master Xu, who had not practiced hard, had become one of the common people in the world. His platform of creation rose to the second level on its own without any nourishment.

The great hermit lives in the city, and Taoist Xu has gained some fame by the Leshui Bridge.

There were wealthy people dressed in silk and satin who condescended to come and have their fortune told, because Taoist Xu refused the invitation to his mansion. As a master, he had some quirks.

Regardless of whether you are rich or poor, official or commoner, you are all treated equally, and fortune-telling costs ten cents per time.

The benefit of fame is that you no longer have to pay protection fees.

After closing the stall, Taoist Xu carried his bag and walked into the small shop he often visited. There was no need to ask the waiter, as he brought a plate with a dish of salted beans, a dish of braised meat, a dish of dried tofu, and a pot of old wine.

Taoist Xu was in a shop full of noise and hustle, enjoying a quiet and peaceful moment amidst the hustle and bustle of the city.

A man walked up to the table, took out a silver ingot and placed it in front of Taoist Xu with a smile on his face.

"Master, my master would like to invite you to his house to read the young lady's fortune. Please forgive me, as it is not appropriate for the young lady to show her face in public."

Taoist Xu looked up and said, "There is a teahouse nearby. Your master is not short of money, so he can take your daughter to the teahouse. I have broken my rules and cannot read the fortune accurately. Please forgive me."

The man pleaded a few more times, but seeing that the thin Taoist was not moved, he had no choice but to say goodbye and leave, but he left the silver ingot behind.

Taoist Xu ignored him, ate and drank, settled the bill, and walked out with his bag on his back.

"Master, you forgot your money on the table."

"not mine."

Taoist Xu said this and walked into the dusky street, leaving a group of people staring at the silver with burning eyes.

While passing through an alley, Taoist Xu was blocked by several people from the front and back. He had no chance to resist and was invited into a sedan chair. Before the curfew, a group of people carried the guest into a magnificent mansion in East City.

However, when the middle-aged man dressed as a wealthy man apologized politely and lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, he was stunned.

It was an empty sedan.

Taoist Xu has long disappeared.

"Open the door, open the door, the government is investigating a case, someone has exposed you for trafficking women."

There were knocks on the door and fierce shouts outside.

Everyone in the yard suddenly panicked, complained to each other that they shouldn't have provoked that Taoist, and fled in all directions.

Taoist Xu was already leisurely lying on the bed in the inn, resting with his feet up.

I will leave Qingping City tomorrow and travel around the world.

……

(End of this chapter)