Chapter 28: Records of the Halls of Ten Thousand Affairs

Records of the Halls of Ten Thousand Affairs: Chapter 28: Mountain Spirit (Part 1)

After getting off the mountain elevator, they walked another ten minutes or so before finally seeing that familiar dilapidated Taoist temple.

The main gate had apparently just been painted, but only the gate. Pushing it open and looking inside, it was still utterly rundown. The wooden doors creaked loudly with every push. Chen Jiu wordlessly opened and closed the door several times before finally managing to shut it properly.

Su Xiaoyu looked around with her mouth agape, murmuring, “Boss Senior Sister, do people really live here?”

“That old man…” Chen Jiu frowned, leading her further inside.

The courtyard floor was covered in blue bricks, with vigorous young grass sprouting between the cracks. In a corner of the yard stood a well, its rim covered in moss. Further in was the worship hall.

The worship hall housed statues of the Three Pure Ones, with incense sticks on the table still smoking, indicating someone was indeed tending to the place.

Chen Jiu brought Su Xiaoyu to bow to the Three Pure Ones, kneeling perfunctorily for a while before getting up to search for people everywhere.

“Where did he run off to in broad daylight?” Chen Jiu wondered.

Chen Xiaoxuan ran around the courtyard. Su Xiaoyu watched with interest and followed to observe it. The girl and cat made their way to the main entrance, where the door happened to be pushed open from outside, hitting Su Xiaoyu right in the forehead.

The completely unprepared Su Xiaoyu immediately fell on her bottom, sitting on the ground staring blankly at the old man standing in the doorway.

The old man was happily drinking a cup of strong tea. Seeing he had made a mistake, he quickly bent down to help her up, patting her pant legs with nimble movements that didn’t resemble someone in his sixties at all. He kept muttering, “Where did this little girl come from, running in here by herself? Whose child are you? Hmm? Does it hurt? Oh my, can’t you speak? Or are you a little mute?”

“This is Little Ten! She can speak! She’s just nervous because she’s never met you!” Chen Jiu shouted from under the eaves.

The old man looked at Chen Jiu in shock, then at the dazed Su Xiaoyu.

Chen Jiu laughed heartily, walking over with her hands in her pockets, “How about it, Master? Satisfied? The new disciple I took in for you. Her name is Su Xiaoyu.”

Seeing her smiling so happily, the old man became furious. Looking left and right, he grabbed the broom leaning behind the door and swept it at Chen Jiu’s calves, “I told you to take disciples yourself! Who told you to take them for me! Other masters at my age have already become great grandmasters!”

Chen Jiu skillfully switched feet, left right left, right right left, perfectly dodging her master’s attacks.

“How would I know how to raise a child! Don’t want to ruin the kid!” She retreated several steps, “I don’t care, I brought her so you have to accept her. I asked the Patriarchs and got approval through proper channels. You wouldn’t dare disrespect the Three Pure Ones!”

After speaking, she ran a bit further away, hiding behind a thick red pillar with peeling paint, only poking her head out to observe the old man and the child.

The old man looked at Su Xiaoyu standing straight as a rod, raised his head and sighed long, “Very well, very well. I can see this little child has some affinity with the Dao.”

With that, the old man brought Su Xiaoyu back to the worship hall, had her bow again. After bowing to the Three Pure Ones, she had to bow to him as well. When offering tea, he couldn’t be bothered to brew fresh hot tea, so he simply poured milk tea into a teacup and had Su Xiaoyu hand it over, which he accepted.

You had to admit, this old Taoist Yunshan was quite a character. Since entering the Dao, he had cut corners everywhere he went, muddling through most of his life, yet he had actually raised nine children to adulthood. With one foot already in the coffin, he now had to raise yet another. Truly, it was fate and destiny.

Yunshan shook his head, twirling his freshly trimmed beard, saying, “Child, your parents are still alive, so I won’t bestow a Dao name upon you. Continue using your worldly name.”

“Yes.” Su Xiaoyu said in a daze, then asked, “Master, what will I do in the future?”

“You? You’re only ten years old, what do you want to do? Just continue with your schooling.” Yunshan stood up, hands behind his back, “Master will fetch some books for you. Wait here obediently.”

Su Xiaoyu nodded, staring absently at the Three Pure Ones statues on the altar, feeling an indescribable peace in her heart.

Seeing the old man walk away, Chen Jiu tiptoed over like a thief, whispering, “Just skim through those books. Anyway, there aren’t many exams. They’re all miscellaneous bits and pieces, this and that. When we get back, Senior Sister will directly get you an advanced comprehensive cultivation compilation for you.”

“…” Yunshan came back and said angrily, “Good for nothing thing, still trying to corrupt your little junior sister!”

Chen Jiu once again made herself scarce, running off without a trace.

A moment later, Su Xiaoyu held books that had already been worn ragged by the senior brothers and sisters before her, including “On the Dao: 600 Lectures on Taoist Introduction,” “Yunshan Temple Daily Morning and Evening Recitation Scriptures,” “Precious Declaration of the Nine Heavens Primordial Thunder and Universal Transformation Heavenly Lord,” “Supreme Old Lord’s Scripture of Constant Purity and Stillness,” and so on. She couldn’t help but scrunch up her face, “Master…”

Yunshan coughed several times and said, “One exam every six months. If you don’t have enough time to come back, Master can come find you too.”

One exam every six months was indeed much more relaxed than school exams, and the content didn’t change. If you really had to memorize it, you could.

But she was still just a ten year old elementary school student!

Su Xiaoyu sniffled, never expecting this tribulation in her fate. If only she hadn’t… oh no no no, she was getting paid. She wasn’t working for free.

Thinking of this, her mood finally eased a bit.

Yunshan watched her expression change from sunny to cloudy and back to sunny, softening his heart, saying, “It won’t be too hard. If you fail, at worst you’ll just copy some books. It’s our first day as master and disciple, you can’t shed tears.”

Thinking of the thousand yuan as a safety net, Su Xiaoyu’s expression gradually turned serious, “Yes, Master! I guarantee I’ll complete the mission!”

She meticulously organized these books, carefully wrapping them in book covers, then rigorously packing them into her schoolbag.

Seeing this, Yunshan couldn’t help but show a gratified smile, feeling that Yunshan Temple finally had a successor. This child’s face showed good fortune. If nothing unexpected happened and she didn’t grow crooked, she should accomplish great things.

Meanwhile, Chen Jiu had slipped into the kitchen. After the long journey, she was genuinely a bit hungry. Rummaging through the kitchen, she only found two steamed buns, but fortunately they were still warm and smelled fragrant.

She sat rather unceremoniously on the threshold chewing, her gaze wandering idly across the mountain scenery.

The low wall behind Yunshan Temple was even more broken than the front gate, basically just piled up with random stones. This small temple was already remote. Even if there were thieves, they’d take one look and think it was an abandoned temple, losing any desire to break in. At most, some lost tourist might come in to stay for a night. Normally, it was rare to see outsiders.

Strange bird calls echoed through the mountains, the rustling of wind through leaves, the gurgling of flowing water, and a tragic scream bursting from someone at the brink of death.

That sound pierced through the forest, reaching Chen Jiu’s ears.

Chen Jiu’s chewing paused for a moment. Then she swallowed that bite of steamed bun with effort and closed her eyes to investigate using spiritual vision.

She hadn’t come to live here in two years. This mountain had always given her a very peaceful feeling. Growing up, she had rarely used spiritual vision to examine the mountain beneath her feet.

The last time was when she was very young. She hadn’t intentionally used it, but her innate talent meant that one morning during meditation, catalyzed by the essence of heaven and earth, her spiritual vision suddenly surged. From then on, viewing the mountain with her mind’s eye revealed spirit bodies everywhere, all emitting faint ethereal light. All the spirits floated lazily, leaning against trees, lying or hanging or sitting or reclining, all living out their days in leisurely abandon.

Who would have expected that upon entering spiritual vision now, the sight before her eyes would be utterly shocking.

The mountain was actually shrouded in a faint layer of thin black mist, very light and pale. The spirit bodies were on the verge of death. If one didn’t look carefully, one would mistake it for the miasma the mountain itself carried. Miasma was deep green, which could indeed effectively conceal this layer of thin mist.

What was this aura? And when had it started? Where had that scream just now come from?

Chen Jiu withdrew her spiritual vision, took out copper coins, and began divination.

A few breaths later, the coins landed. The hexagram showed death energy in the southeast, exactly the direction they had come from.

The mountain elevator?

After pondering for a while, she finished the remaining steamed bun, clapped her hands, stood up, and quickly walked toward the front hall.

Yunshan was sitting in a rocking chair in front of the courtyard, watching Su Xiaoyu clumsily wield a small wooden sword.

Everyone in the sect had one of those wooden swords. Each disciple received one on their first day entering the sect, equivalent to a newbie starter pack in a game.

Su Xiaoyu had never before come into contact with any knives or swords. She just waved it awkwardly a few times based on what she had seen on TV. Yet Yunshan was like one of those tolerant, foolish parents, clapping and praising repeatedly, “Not bad, not bad, Xiaoyu. You have quite the form. I think your talent is higher than your senior sister’s. Today you just play with this. Tomorrow Master will teach you a basic set of fist and kick techniques.”

Children were naturally active. This completely hit Su Xiaoyu’s sweet spot. Her eyes sparkled brightly. She straightened her body and properly cupped her fists toward Yunshan, saying respectfully, “Thank you, Master!”

So fun, it’s like acting in a TV drama!

Yunshan stroked his beard and laughed heartily.

Chen Jiu walked to Yunshan’s side, hissing softly as she looked toward the southeast.

Now that Yunshan had a new disciple, he was in excellent spirits. As for this old disciple, he maintained an attitude of blowing his beard and glaring, immediately changing his expression, “Putting on airs, out with it.”

Chen Jiu made a sound of exasperation, smiling, “Master, things haven’t been peaceful in the mountains lately?”

Yunshan snorted coldly. Speaking of this, he had much to say, “Do you know what has happened in this Qinghua area these past few years?”

“Developing scenic areas?” Chen Jiu asked.

Yunshan stood up, his expression becoming quite serious. He also looked toward the southeast, saying, “In two years, dozens of people have died in these mountains, yet the news never got out. Do you know why?”

Chen Jiu said concisely, “Money.”

“Hmph.” Yunshan said coldly, “First a construction crew, then various accidents during facility construction, and in between all sorts of hikers who got lost in the wilderness and died from falls. Who knows how they covered it up, but there’s always a steady stream of people coming to lose their lives.”

Chen Jiu opened her mouth and asked, “So many people died, didn’t the developers think to find someone to perform rituals?”

“They did.” Yunshan pulled a long face.

Chen Jiu suddenly understood. They had indeed found feng shui masters, but they hadn’t approached this Yunshan old Taoist who was the closest by. The money had been earned by other shameless juniors instead.

“…Master, I’ll go help you reclaim your territory.” Chen Jiu patted Yunshan’s shoulder, saying resolutely.