Please call me Huanxian

Chapter 305: Gods Only Exist in People's Hearts

The autumn air is crisp and the sweet osmanthus is fragrant, and the water and mountains reflect the setting sun.

Taoist Xu walked into Guihua Town with a cloth banner in hand, sniffing the refreshing fragrance wafting from the osmanthus trees on both sides of the street. It was still early, so he decided to stay in the town for a night, going wherever he wanted and taking things as they came.

We arrived under an old osmanthus tree with lush branches and leaves in the town, opened our bag, spread a white cloth on the stall and set out our stuff.

As soon as he sat down, people gathered around him, asking about the Taoist's abilities.

Taoist Xu pointed to the cloth banner on the stall. It was clearly written on it. He looked at it himself. He sat quietly without saying a word, exuding an unfathomable mystery.

The world of martial arts is everywhere, and he learns the way of the world in the complicated world of martial arts.

"Master from a foreign country, ten cents per session is a bit expensive. What if your fortune-telling is not accurate?"

There was a sturdy man with his arms folded across his chest, a fake smile on his face, and he was setting a trap by making some remarks.

Taoist Xu waved his hand, and the cloth banner flipped over to the other side, on which was written "You are not allowed to refuse payment", showing his superb skills. A few young hooligans who were laughing and giggling recognized his power, showed fear in their eyes, and quietly made way to the back.

I often hear the older generation tell stories and warn that "wandering Taoist priests should not be messed with."

A pockmarked man with a red face from drinking, with his chest uncovered to reveal his palm-wide chest hair, walked out of the wine shop at the east end.

"Brother Ma, how's your luck these days?"

"The fire is raging, what are you guys up to?"

"How dare I, Brother Ma? This fortune teller boasts that he will not refuse money. Spend ten cents to ask him to tell you a good position on the card table. You will win big. Tomorrow, we brothers will take advantage of your kindness and have a bowl of good wine."

"I don't believe that. If he really wants to predict accurately, he would calculate where money will fall every day and be busy picking up money. Why would he have to travel around the world in the wind and rain to earn a living?"

The pockmarked man burped, said he didn't believe it, and moved closer to watch the fun.

Several men nearby flattered and instigated the drunken man, who took out a handful of copper coins from his sleeve and threw them on the white cloth stall, saying, "Then count it as one. Don't let him sneak out of our town tonight. If he doesn't count correctly, he will vomit out the money he has eaten and ruin the brand."

"I am staying at the Golden Osmanthus Inn and will leave at noon tomorrow."

Taoist Xu looked at the pockmarked man and shook his head, saying, "Take the money back. I don't want to make money from a dead person."

He saw that the man was surrounded by black energy and had committed many evil deeds. The lamp on his left shoulder had gone out, and the lamps on his right shoulder and on his head were in jeopardy. Although his ancestors' protection was working hard to protect him, he would not be able to survive past three o'clock tonight because he had cut off the ancestral protection that was sustaining the man's life.

You will suffer the consequences of your own actions; when a person dies, all the troubles will be gone.

The dozen or so onlookers suddenly fell silent. The young thug who was arm in arm with the pockmarked man let go and moved away subconsciously as if he was bitten by a snake, fearing that he would be contaminated by his bad luck.

Everyone felt creepy. Even before it got dark, they felt a chill on their backs and got goose bumps all over their bodies.

"You... dare to curse me as a dead man? You must be tired of living."

After being surprised, the pockmarked man suddenly became furious.

Taoist Xu swept his sleeves and said indifferently: "The King of Hell ordered you to leave at three o'clock in the morning, who dares to keep you until five o'clock?"

All the copper coins on the white cloth flew up and landed on the pockmarked man's open palm as he tried to grab someone.

The pockmarked man took the copper coin and staggered back two steps. He was stunned for a while with a blank face. Seeing the Taoist with his back to the setting sun, he felt more and more strange. He felt a little timid. He snorted coldly and said with dignity: "I will go to the Jingui Inn to look for you tomorrow morning. We will see."

My interest in gambling was completely gone.

The pockmarked man hurried back to the east, not daring to stay outside.

The idle people who were surrounding him looked at the Taoist priest with strange eyes and scattered like birds and beasts.

The town was not big to begin with, but when the sunset glowed dim in the sky, the Taoist priest from outside had asserted that Ma Er would not survive past three o'clock that night. This had become a topic of conversation after dinner, and the Taoist priest was regarded as something miraculous.

Taoist Xu had some vegetarian noodle soup and rested in the simple guest room.

There was a knock on the door and an old woman crying outside: "Ma Er was rude and offended you, sir. As your mother, I failed to discipline you. I kneel down and kowtow to apologize for Ma Er. Please be magnanimous and save his life."

A white-haired old woman led a boy of seven or eight years old and knelt outside the door, knocking their heads loudly.

There were many people gathered in the corridor, all speaking out to plead for mercy.

Some people did not believe in it and quietly questioned whether the Taoist priest from another place was playing tricks.

"I cannot save the damned. Ma Er has committed too many sins, his hands are stained with blood, and there are two wronged souls behind him. Even if you break your head, you cannot save Ma Er's life. Don't mess around here, lest it affect the fate of your grandson. Go."

A Taoist priest's calm and gentle voice of warning came from inside the door.

The old woman was so frightened that she grabbed the boy's hand and held it tightly.

He suppressed his grief, got up and left in a hurry.

The Taoist pointed out that Ma Er was responsible for two murders. As Ma Er's mother, the old woman might know something about the inside story.

As the onlookers dispersed, the bad guys in the town naturally got wind of the news and secretly kept an eye on Ma Er's house and the movements of the Taoist priest in the inn, waiting to start arresting people tomorrow morning after the truth was revealed.

If Ma Er were alive, they would catch the foreign Taoist who was spreading evil words to confuse the people.

If Ma Er died, someone else would be arrested.

It would be a shame not to grab this great achievement that has come to your doorstep.

Before three o'clock in the morning, Ma Er suddenly went mad and scratched his chest and abdomen, causing his stomach to rupture and his intestines to spill out. He then strangled himself to death with his own hands. His death was extremely tragic.

The next morning, Taoist Xu, smelling the fresh fragrance of flowers, came to the old osmanthus tree again to set up his stall. He had already heard the news of Ma Er's death. Many neighbors were pointing and talking from afar, and no one dared to come to see the fortune-telling.

Keep a distance from it, fear it and avoid it, that's human nature.

Taoist Xu faced East Street, closed his eyes, and bathed in the vibrant glow of life.

The joys and sorrows, happiness and hate, pain and happiness of the world seemed to be far away from him at this moment.

The Taoist priest is immersed in the fragrance of flowers, in tune with the heavens, and is free and at ease in his own little world.

There was invisible purple and green air surrounding him, making the Taoist look solemn and dignified at this moment, as radiant as a god.

There was a fifty-year-old woman holding a little girl, dressed elegantly and wearing a golden slit on her head. She looked at the Taoist from more than ten feet away, with a look of joy on her face. Seeing that the Taoist was taking a nap with his eyes closed, and his demeanor seemed aloof and indifferent, she hesitated for a while and did not dare to approach to disturb him.

After walking seven or eight times like this, the little girl looked up and called out, "Grandma, Rui'er's feet hurt. Go sit over there for a while."

He pulled the fifty-year-old woman in dark red silk clothes and ran towards the Taoist priest.

On both sides of the old osmanthus tree, there are old stone benches and stone tables.

Taoist Xu slowly opened his eyes and looked at the delicate little girl and the smiling woman.

"I am disturbing you, Taoist priest, for your meditation. I wonder if you still recognize me?"

"...It's you. I haven't seen you for years. You still recognize me. No need to be polite. Get up quickly. Is this your granddaughter?"

Taoist Xu recognized the smile between the woman's eyebrows as the woman in red who used to travel around the world performing the stone-breaking performance with her chest. He lamented that time is a butcher's knife and that her slim figure has become fat and bloated. He stood up and supported the woman who was bowing.

The woman still retained some of her forthrightness and said, "You are a deity, you have hardly changed at all. I recognized you at first sight. This is my little granddaughter."

The woman had heard of the miraculous legend of the Taoist priest who could decide life and death with a single word, so she came here to see it for herself. Unexpectedly, it was the strange man she had met before. He touched the little girl’s head and said, “Hurry up and kowtow to the Taoist priest and call him Grandpa.” The little girl said in confusion, “Grandma, this Taoist priest doesn’t look old, we can’t call him Grandpa.”

"Rui'er, be obedient and do as Grandma says."

"Oh."

The girl knelt down obediently, kowtowed and called for help.

Xu Yuanchang was very pleased with the gift, so he pulled the little guy up and asked with a smile, "Do you have a name?"

The girl was not afraid of strangers. She patted the mud on her knees, looked up and blinked her big eyes, and said, "My name is Zhou Xinrui. My great-grandmother gave me this nickname, Rui'er."

Xu Yuanchang touched the little girl's bun, took out a piece of low-level spiritual jade from his sleeve, and rubbed it in his palm.

Use the Yin-Yang flame to silently refine it into a jade pendant, use your finger as a pen to quickly draw on the surface of the jade pendant. Under the slanting sunlight, there is an inconspicuous flash of colorful light, and the jade pendant has a restrained aura.

"Meeting each other is destiny. You can give her this amulet to wear on her body to protect her from evil spirits and increase her fortune and longevity. Remember not to give it to others."

Jade can nourish people, let alone the magical jade he used to cast spells.

However, people with little fortune and bad luck cannot suppress it, and it will have the opposite effect.

The woman witnessed the magic of the jade pendant created by the Taoist priest just now, took the amulet with both hands and thanked him repeatedly. She had heard from her mother that "monks" are secretive, and there are good and bad monks in the world, and the one they met that year was a noble person.

Her mother could live twenty more years, she wouldn't have to go out into the world, she could use the money to buy a shop, and live a happy life with many children and grandchildren.

Xu Yuanchang extended his hand and invited the woman to sit on the small stool opposite the cloth stall, just like meeting an old friend, and they casually laughed and talked about the past.

The neighbors in the distance just watched and didn't dare to gather around to listen to the fun.

They couldn't figure out how Grandma Zhou Er had the guts to let her granddaughter kowtow to a Taoist priest who knew evil magic.

Xu Yuanchang rejected the invitation from a woman named Fan Hongye to visit her at her house. He wanted to stay away from mortals out of consideration for her. He readily took out talisman paper and pen and ink, spread them out on the stone table, and drew three "Earth God Amulets" for the woman.

Fan Hongye accepted the talisman with gratitude. The younger generations didn't believe that her great-grandmother was invulnerable to swords and guns. Not to mention the stone that was broken on her chest, it was too embarrassing. The talisman drawn by the Taoist priest was said to be able to be preserved longer. She wanted to keep a remembrance and pass it down to her descendants as a family heirloom.

The sun rose high in the sky.

Fan Hongye took her granddaughter home and said goodbye, waiting for her to come back at noon with sumptuous food and wine.

A layer of golden flowers fell under the old osmanthus tree, but the Taoist priest was nowhere to be seen.

The flying flowers have all fallen into the mortal world, but the gods only exist in people's hearts.

I sighed, maybe I won’t see him again in this life.

Taoist Xu floated away holding a cloth banner, traveling through the secular world, witnessing the wickedness of human hearts and the beauty of the world, expressing his feelings for the wonders of mountains and rivers, and taking long hikes to practice Buddhism to comfort his life.

When I come across a place that connects with me, it is common to stop for four or five days.

Occasionally he would stare at a dead leaf in a trance, standing there like a clay statue in the cold wind and drizzle in the wilderness for half a month.

Time passed without his noticing. He walked from the densely populated areas into the depths of the endless mountains, experiencing the spring flowers and autumn moons, and the cycle of cold and heat. He did not need to worry about his safety in the wild. With an incarnation hidden nearby, no evil spirits could get close to him.

The old Sword Master did not send anyone to look for him. With his fourth-level cultivation, he had made enough contributions and was no longer important to the war.

He was happy to devote himself to another kind of spiritual practice, walking alone in the wild mountains and wilderness.

"Quick, go to the east side of the hill and don't let it escape again."

"Be careful, that cunning demon can use earth escape technique and is good at making a feint to the east and attacking in the west."

"Don't be alone. Monsters have thick skin and great abilities."

A group of monks were flying at low altitude, very busy.

Two of them hurried to the eastern mountains and suddenly found a Taoist priest strolling leisurely in the nearby valley.

"Fellow Daoist, please show us your ID cards. We are the Xiyuan Law Enforcement Cultists and are here for a routine inspection."

The two men could not see through the Taoist priest's cultivation level, and hurriedly retreated, shouting out warnings vigilantly. It was not so important to destroy the trapped monster. The strange monk in front of them gave them a great sense of danger.

In recent years, there have been three cases of fourth-story monks from other continents fleeing war and sneaking into Dingzhou.

Just two years ago, a team of five law-abiding monks accidentally ran into fleeing monks from another continent. A fierce battle ensued and the entire army was almost wiped out.

As a result, both sides suffered losses. Three of the five law-enforcing monks were lost, and the monk from Biezhou escaped. Gucheng dispatched more than ten fourth-floor monks and two fifth-floor masters to chase them all the way to the sea, and finally captured the monk from Biezhou and brought him to justice.

Xu Yuanchang threw away a piece of dogtail grass in his hand, slowly came back to his senses, and the two-color light in his eyes faded.

The other three law-enforcement monks rushed over with sharp roars.

"Uh...Master Xu!"

One of them recognized the Taoist priest who seemed to have traveled a long way as Zeng Shanlang's master, and hurriedly told his companions to put down their magic weapons, saying, "Greetings, Elder Xu. I have a mission to complete, so it is inconvenient for me to go down and pay my respects. Please forgive me, Elder Xu..."

Before he could finish his words, a gigantic demon pig suddenly emerged from the rocks on the mountain.

Two sharp fangs were exposed ferociously, and a pair of small eyes stared at the Taoist priest and the many monks in the sky ten feet away.

The demon pig was dumbfounded. It seemed that it had fallen into a trap set by sinister humans. It was impossible for it to go back and escape by using earth escape because its escape technique had a time limit.

Xu Yuanchang looked at the demon pig with black hair like steel needles and said, "Chasing the wind!"

He used his spiritual sense to scan the terrain of nearly ten miles. What a coincidence, it was near the place where the secret realm of Huajian was opened that year.

The demon pig in front of him was escorting the pea flower demon Jinzi, and was risking his life to fight against a man and a woman who were chasing him. He left a deep impression on him. Unexpectedly, he met him again. After many years, he had advanced to the third level of strength.

The demon pig also recognized the Taoist priest and grunted a few times.

Xu Yuanchang had lived with the insects, yellow dogs, and golden toads in Bailin Valley for many years, and could understand the simple demon language. He said, "Jin Zi will not come back. Have you been guarding this area all these years?"

Who says wild monsters are heartless and ungrateful?

At least Zhuifeng is so good to Jinzi that he can trust her with his life.

And Jin Zi probably had long forgotten that she had a companion who missed her all the time in the dangerous place.

The demon pig's body was covered in blood and flesh, and its eyes looked a little sad. It nodded and looked towards a nearby hill.

When the five law-enforcement monks saw that Elder Xu recognized the demon pig that they had captured many times, they bowed and took their leave. They were worried that Elder Xu would blame them for hurting the demon pig, so they decided to retreat first.

"What are your plans for the future?"

Xu Yuanchang asked with a smile when he saw several people disappear.

The demon pig suddenly turned its head, dived into the rocks and escaped.

After resting for such a long time, it can now perform earth escape magic again.

……

(End of this chapter)