Chapter 4

On the small path down the mountain, two figures, one large and one small, were walking down. What was amusing was that both were wearing clean Taoist robes but had no shoes on, their bare feet stepping on the muddy path.

Both of their heads were adorned with Taoist crowns, concealing the wounds on their heads. If one didn't look at their feet, the older man truly had a touch of the immortal.

"Master, where are we going?" Ye Tian knew that in the old Taoist's backpack, there were two pairs of new cloth shoes. He also understood the old Taoist's intention for not wearing shoes, but he still couldn't understand the old Taoist's actions. Was he dressed up so nicely to go down the mountain and cheat people?

"Yesterday, when we went down the mountain, I saw a white banner hanging in front of a house, indicating that someone had died. I'm taking you to perform a ritual..." The old Taoist spoke while quickening his pace. The place was closer to the main peak of Maoshan. If they invited the Taoists from there, this trip would have been in vain.

"Perform... a ritual?" Ye Tian was thunderstruck by the old Taoist's words. This seemed to be the job of monks, right? Was it a bit like a dog catching mice for the Taoist to do this?

Seemingly noticing Ye Tian's thoughts, the old Taoist snorted and said, "What's wrong? The Lingbao Wuliang Du Ren Shangpin Miaojing, also known as the Du Ren Jing, can save people from the three paths, five sufferings, and eight difficulties, transcending the three realms..."

The old Taoist's words were reasonable. Both monks and Taoists can perform rituals, especially in the Maoshan area, where Taoism is more widespread than Buddhism. When there is a funeral, people often invite Taoists.

It was just that after the sensitive era and the early stages of reform and opening up, ordinary families didn't have much spare money, so there weren't as many formalities. Ye Tian, being young, naturally didn't know this.

"Master, where does that family live?" Ye Tian asked, a child's concern for his reputation. He didn't want to be seen in this outfit by his classmates, or he would be laughed at.

The old Taoist didn't know Ye Tian's small concern and said, "In Maolu Town. Walk faster, or we won't make it by noon..."

"Okay!" Knowing the destination, Ye Tian happily agreed and quickened his pace. His school wasn't in Maolu Town, and he didn't know anyone there, so he didn't have to worry about losing face.

After reaching the foot of the mountain, the old Taoist and Ye Tian found a stream to wash their feet, put on their shoes, and headed for Maolu Town. Although it was only about twenty miles, they didn't arrive until noon.

"Hey, it's market day today..." Upon reaching the town, Ye Tian excitedly shouted.

In their area, there was a market on the first and fifteenth of every month, where people from the surrounding villages would come to set up stalls. The town, which was relatively spacious, was now crowded with people.

Being in the Maoshan area, the old Taoist and Ye Tian's attire didn't seem out of place, as there were many Taoists in the crowd.

"Master, look, there's a monkey show..."

"Hey, Master, look, popcorn..."

In the crowd, Ye Tian was already overwhelmed. In his mind, this might be the most bustling place in the world.

"Cough, Master, isn't that our colleague? He claims to be a master of fortune-telling. Master, who is better, you or that old man?" Ye Tian, with his sharp eyes, saw a fortune-telling stall and immediately pulled the old Taoist.

"Go away, how can we compare? Your master used to enter high gates and grand mansions. If I ended up like this, how could I face our ancestors?"

The old Taoist's face turned green at Ye Tian's question. As a direct descendant of the Ma Yi lineage, how could he possibly set up a stall on the street? Although fortune-telling and divination are common in the江湖 (jianghu, the world of martial arts and wandering), they are also divided into different levels.

Setting up a stall on the street to read faces and predict the future, charging eight cents to a dollar per reading, is the lowest level in the industry. Most of them lack real talent, and the old Taoist was not interested in such things.

"Brat, you've exhausted me..."

With great effort, the old Taoist pulled Ye Tian out of the crowd, panting and out of breath. He pointed ahead and said, "Hurry up, or we won't have lunch..."

From the east end of the town to the west, the number of people at the market had decreased. Following the direction the old Taoist pointed, Ye Tian saw a two-story house.

In this era of transitioning from a planned economy to a market economy, where food coupons were still used, building such a house was a significant achievement, at least making the family a ten-thousand-yuan household.

Under normal circumstances, such a family would be envied, but now, as people passed by, their gazes were filled with pity, and some even had a hint of schadenfreude.

...

In the courtyard of the two-story house, there was a shrine. A woman in her twenties, holding a nine-month-old boy who was already asleep, looked worried.

"Brother-in-law, why don't we take Xiao Jun to the county hospital? He cries as soon as he wakes up, and this can't go on..."

Seeing the pale face of the child in her arms, the woman was heartbroken. If her husband was gone and the child had any more problems, how could she go on?

It was already the fifth day. In the past few days, there were many visitors, so she didn't have much time to think. Now that the funeral was over and everyone had come, the courtyard was quiet, and the baby's cries were even more heart-wrenching.

A man in his thirties was smoking, and upon hearing the woman's words, he crushed the cigarette butt on the ground and stood up, saying, "Alright, let your sister-in-law take care of things here. We'll eat something and then go to the county hospital..."

Miao Lao Da was somewhat depressed. Since he started transportation business two years ago, his life had improved day by day. Not only did he become a well-known ten-thousand-yuan household, but more importantly, his second brother's wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy last year.

For the Miao family, this was a significant event. Miao Lao Da had four daughters, and the birth of his second brother's son made the whole family extremely happy.

However, who could have predicted that life is full of ups and downs? Just as their life was getting better, his second brother was involved in a car accident, and his body was not even intact.

Worse still, since the accident, his nephew started to fall ill, crying all day and refusing to eat. The town hospital couldn't find anything wrong.

The series of events at home had added a few strands of white hair to Miao Lao Da's head, and at thirty, his back was already slightly hunched.

"Ah, Xiao Jun is awake again. Brother-in-law, what should we do?"

Perhaps the sound of their conversation woke the child in the woman's arms. The little one opened his eyes and started crying, and the woman shed tears.

"No, we'll go to the hospital now!"

Miao Lao Da threw the lit cigarette to the ground and reached out to pick up the child. Just as he was about to leave the courtyard, he saw two people standing at the door.

"Sir, may I ask... what brings you here?"

As one of the first to become wealthy during the reform and opening up, Miao Lao Da, though anxious, did not lose his manners. He comforted his crying nephew while looking at the old Taoist, ignoring the young Ye Tian beside him.

"From Wuliang Temple, greetings to this layman..."

The old Taoist looked at Miao Lao Da, raised his right hand, bent his index finger (symbolizing the transformation of one into three), and placed it in front of his chest, saying, "I and my disciple were passing by and noticed that your house has a heavy yin sha. This is a Taoist holy land. Why haven't you sought help to resolve it?"

The old Taoist's words made Ye Tian roll his eyes secretly, "Seek help? Why did you run so fast like a rabbit? Weren't you afraid of being beaten to it?"

However, when the old Taoist mentioned yin sha, Ye Tian became curious and looked around the courtyard. He had learned about geomancy from the old Taoist, but he had never seen anything like dragon qi or yin sha.

"Hmm? What... is this?"

As Ye Tian used the knowledge taught by the old Taoist to observe the courtyard, the turtle shell that appeared in his mind earlier suddenly reappeared, startling Ye Tian almost to the point of shouting.

Unlike earlier, the turtle shell in Ye Tian's mind spun around, and the lines on its back glowed brightly, suddenly transforming into a stream of energy that flowed into Ye Tian's eyes.

"Is... this what Master calls yin sha?"

When the energy filled Ye Tian's eyes, the scene before him seemed different. On the right side of the shrine, there was a faint gray mist.

Although the sun was high, this spot was blocked by the shrine's canvas, and the mist remained, clearly distinct from the surrounding sunlight.

"Could this be the ancient explanation of yin and yang?"

Looking at the strange scene, Ye Tian had this thought. As a Young Pioneer raised under the red flag, he certainly didn't believe in ghosts and spirits.

The mist was only slightly cold and not like the ghosts and spirits in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. It was more like the ancient character "侌," which means "rotating and gathering mist," representing cold, darkness, and aggregation.

"Kid, what's wrong?"

Just as Ye Tian was searching his mind for explanations, he felt someone pull his arm. When he came to, he realized he was already in the courtyard.

"Nothing, Master, I was observing the yin sha you mentioned..."

Interrupted by the old Taoist, the scene in Ye Tian's eyes returned to normal, and the faint mist disappeared.

"Little Master, did you see it too? Is there really a problem with my house?"

Hearing Ye Tian's words, Miao Lao Da looked at the young Taoist with some doubt. The old Taoist indeed had the air of a master, but what did this young boy know?

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