Chapter 196

"Brother, did you pay your respects today?"

Niu Er squatted under the eaves of Lao Wang's Tea Stall at the street corner, eating salted boiled peanuts with garlic, and asked Gui San beside him.

His eyes never left the Zhao the Blacksmith's house.

"Of course I did—I paid respects to Caishen Zhao Nangong Ming and the Three Xiao Niangniang. Tonight I'm heading to Busi Gui to test my luck." Gui San grinned.

Ma Dong, a "Green Skin" from the next street, frowned: "I ran into seven or eight good brothers today—each one asked me, 'Did you pay your respects?' Why are we paying respects today?"

"Brother Dong, you haven't heard about Long Wang's adoption ceremony?" Niu Er exclaimed.

"Back in Yingxiang Prefecture, I heard that in Tianmen Town, there's a blacksmith named Zhai whose son became Long Wang's adopted son and was appointed General Wu Tou."

"That General Wu Tou is a filial son—after becoming Prince Wu Long, he still remembered his biological father and sent Zhai the Blacksmith over a dozen gold ingots!"

"Each ingot weighs twenty-five taels—huge ones."

Ma Dong stared longingly toward the blacksmith's shop, his mouth watering.

"Heh, a dozen ingots? You're seriously underestimating the Western Sea Dragon King's wealth," Gui San sneered.

"Not a dozen?" Ma Dong asked, puzzled.

"At least a hundred gold ingots—and a sack full of silver scraps!" Gui San said seriously.

"Whoa~~~" Ma Dong sucked in a sharp breath. "A hundred ingots—that's thousands of taels of gold, plus a sack of silver scraps… how big a sack? Zhai the Blacksmith became Zhai the Wealthy overnight!"

Niu Er gave the two brothers a look of contempt. "Look at the pitiful state you're in! The Dragon King's treasures aren't just gold and silver."

"Aren't gold and silver enough? Don't need much—just one silver ingot, and I'd be satisfied," Ma Dong muttered.

"I suspect Da Er Gouzi gave Zhai Lao San a Treasure-Collecting Basin," Niu Er whispered.

Gui San gasped. "Ah, the legendary Treasure-Collecting Basin? You throw in one gold ingot and it spits out countless gold ingots—you throw in your old mother and it spits out countless old mothers?"

Niu Er glared at him. "Who'd be that stupid, like the rich men in legends, and let their own mother fall into the Treasure-Collecting Basin?"

"If I got the Treasure-Collecting Basin, I'd lock it in a secret chamber and never let anyone touch it—only I'd be allowed to pull out gold ingots."

Li Squire, sipping tea above them, asked curiously: "How do you know Zhai Lao San's house hides a Treasure-Collecting Basin?"

"Hey, you're a regular listener of storytelling and watcher of operas—you've heard the tales, right? Don't you know how they always write it?"

"I'm not saying Da Er Gouzi definitely gave Zhai the Blacksmith a Treasure-Collecting Basin."

"I'm saying all the stories say the Dragon Palace holds great treasures."

"That must be true."

"And if the Dragon Palace truly holds great treasures, and in large numbers, and Da Er Gouzi is so filial, and even arranged a beautiful bride for his father—how could he possibly give his father only a few ingots?"

"Ingots get used up. Da Er Gouzi must ensure his father enjoys wealth and honor for life!"

Li Squire's eyes lit up. "Niu Er, you're no fool—you've studied in private school! Come, come, sit up here, have a drink with me."

"Hmm, you young lads, come up too."

"Xiao Er, brew another pot of Guapian tea."

"Tea alone won't fill the belly, Li Ge—bring two more plates of pastries," Niu Er grinned.

"Fine! Xiao Er, two more plates of rice cakes and a steamer of red bean buns!" Li Squire declared generously.

The several Green Skins expressed their gratitude and lavish praise.

Li Squire lowered his voice. "Niu Er, have you seen Zhai the Blacksmith's Dragon Palace treasures?"

"I didn't see them clearly—only caught a faint glimmer of treasure-light through a window crack."

"But before I could get closer, Xiao Little Fengxian blocked me," Niu Er sighed.

"Xiao Little Fengxian…" Li Squire's face showed awe. He sighed softly and fell silent.

Niu Er's eyes flickered. "Li Ge, did you pay your respects today?"

Li Squire shook his head. "I paid respects to the Jade Emperor as my adoptive father yesterday—I need to wait a while."

"Whoa!" Niu Er's expression turned solemn. He bowed respectfully to Li Squire. "You've got guts, Li Ge—directly adopting the Heavenly Emperor as your adoptive father!"

Ma Dong hadn't understood what "Did you pay your respects today?" meant—but after eating a few red bean buns and listening to their talk, he slowly began to grasp it.

"Li Ye, you adopted the Jade Emperor as your adoptive father—do you want to learn from Zhai the Blacksmith and his son, and have the Heavenly Emperor take you to heaven as a god, and leave your family a sack of silver?" he asked.

Li Squire smiled bitterly. "If becoming a god were that easy, the whole world would be full of gods."

"Then what do you want?" Ma Dong asked.

Li Squire said: "If I claimed I never dreamed of the Heavenly Emperor accepting me as his adopted son and taking me to heaven as a god, that'd be a lie."

"Even if the hope is slim, isn't it better to have some hope?"

"What if it really happens?"

"Before Da Er Gouzi adopted the Western Sea Dragon King as his adoptive father, didn't everyone think he was delusional?"

"Even if you can't go to heaven as a god, becoming a god's adopted son is still a great fortune—benefits that last a lifetime."

"Worst case, even if the Heavenly Emperor and the Buddhas and gods ignore us…"

"We still offer pig heads, lambs, wine, and fruit to honor the Heavenly Emperor and the gods—it's an expression of filial devotion."

"The more we honor the Heavenly Emperor and the gods, the better."

"If there's no harm, and there might be great benefit—why not do it?"

Ma Dong muttered: "The Heavenly Emperor is the Lord of the Three Realms. Adopting him as your adoptive father—won't that offend the gods and Buddhas? After all, we still have our real fathers and grandfathers—how do we sort out the generations?"

Li Squire, though not fearful, hesitated. "It shouldn't offend the gods and Buddhas."

"Adopting an adoptive father is a custom from the southern lands of the Celestial Court—it's been around for years."

"Besides, we shout 'Old Heaven' every day—nothing bad happens."

Niu Er laughed. "Don't overthink it. You're a mortal—trying to argue generations with gods is the greatest sacrilege and sin."

"Ghosts, gods, immortals, Buddhas, demons, humans—they're not the same kind of 'people.'"

"'Adoptive father' is just like 'Old Heaven'—a term of reverence, not a generational rank."

"You call your real father 'Dad' because he's your father by blood."

"That 'Dad' can carry zero filial love or respect."

"Even a man who's committed ten evil lifetimes, who plans to kill his own father—he still must call him 'Dad,' not 'Son.'"

"When you adopt a god as 'Adoptive Father,' it has nothing to do with bloodline or generation—it's purely a term of reverence."

"Of course, if you're lucky enough to be accepted by a god as his adopted son—then 'Adoptive Father' becomes 'Dad,' like Da Er Gouzi."

"If a god recognizes you as his child, calling him 'Dad' isn't overstepping."

"That makes sense—you've got real insight, Brother Er!" Ma Dong and Gui San nodded in full agreement.

Li Squire also looked at him with admiration and respect.

Niu Er waved his hand. "I didn't come up with this insight myself—it's what Old Li and Sun Sun Ergou in the alley say."

"They probably heard it from Xiao Little Fengxian and the Dog Meat Daoist."

"Didn't Xiao Little Fengxian adopt 'Old Heaven' as her adoptive father?"

"The whole Tianmen Town's craze for adopting gods and Buddhas as adoptive fathers started with her."

Li Squire shook his head. "It's not really Xiao Little Fengxian's fault. I didn't even know she adopted 'Old Heaven' at first."

"After hearing Da Er Gouzi's story, my friends and I at the tavern immediately thought—we should go to Xianyun Temple and ask the Dog Meat Daoist to help us find a god as our adoptive father."

He paused. "All Xiao Little Fengxian did was open our minds. Before, everyone only thought of adopting Dragon Kings. Now, Baolin Zhai on Xianyang Street is printing 'Comprehensive Annals of Immortals.'"

"The Annals contain portraits of countless Heavenly Court immortals."

"They list their names, titles, and stories and legends from the mortal world."

"They're meant to help us choose the right adoptive father."

"Xiao Little Fengxian was right—there's no strongest adoptive father, only the one most suited to you."

、

Gui San nodded firmly. "Tonight I'm going to Busi Gui to test my luck, so I specifically paid respects to Zhao Nangong Ming!"

"Dragon Kings won't bless their adopted sons to win big at gambling—but the God of Wealth will."

Ma Dong asked: "Only Heavenly Court immortals? I'm Buddhist—I want to adopt a Buddha as my adoptive father. Is that allowed?"

"I don't know. Why don't you ask Master Chi Jiu at FaNeng Temple, or go to Bai Long Temple outside town and find Hua Yi the Monk?"

A tea guest at the next table asked: "Does this 'Comprehensive Annals of Immortals' only list gods? What about Guan Chenghuang? I think Guan Chenghuang is mighty too."

"Brother, don't be foolish! Guan Chenghuang already has his own biological sons—even if there were benefits, how could they go to you, an adopted son?" Niu Er dismissed him.

Ma Dong asked: "How do you adopt an adoptive father? I want to too—can I go to the Dog Meat Daoist?"

"Don't even think about it. The Dog Meat Daoist won't take clients anymore—too many people are chasing him. You can't even see him at Xianyun Temple now."

"Actually, to adopt an adoptive father, you just need a monk or Daoist who knows how to summon the True and descend the Holy, invite immortals and guide the phoenix."

"Have them perform rites to burn your birth details and your adoption prayer to the heavens."

"If the god feels your birth details match his, he'll accept you as his adopted son."

"Of course, to invite immortals and guide the phoenix, you'll need a grand ritual."

Li Squire winced, holding up three fingers. "Yesterday's ritual—Master Huitong charged me thirty taels of silver!"

"Whoa! Thirty taels? That's robbery!" Ma Dong cried out.

Li Squire waved his hand, sighing. "From dawn till dusk—burning incense, opening the altar, fetching holy water, raising banners, proclaiming the decree, purifying the space, summoning the holy, calling the spirits, aligning the stars, submitting the petition, lowering the banners, sending off the holy—it all took all day."

"Add eight monks, all worn out like dead dogs—and thirty taels isn't even too much."

"Brothers, did you go through all that too?" Ma Dong asked Niu Er and Gui San.

Niu Er chuckled awkwardly. "Li Ge's rich—how can we compare?"

"Then how did you adopt your adoptive father?"

Niu Er lowered his head, embarrassed, muttering: "I wrote my birth details on red paper, sealed it, and asked a monk or Daoist to write a petition."

Find a temple or Daoist monastery, burn two sticks of incense, pray to the Three Pure Ones or the Buddha for protection, then burn the red paper and the petition—done.

After saying this, he himself felt it sounded too pitiful, so he quickly added: "Even Mu Xiaofeng Immortal, now a Qin Shangzao of Great Qin, has considerable wealth—and she still does exactly this to worship her sworn father!"

Li the Merchant widened his eyes in doubt: "So Mu Xiaofeng Immortal just worships 'Lord Heaven' like this?"

Niu Er shook his head: "The ceremony to take Lord Heaven as sworn father is very formal—it's conducted at Xia Yun Monastery, personally overseen by Dog Meat Daoist."

But she also said that if Lord Heaven ignores her, she has no choice but to turn to the Divine Mirror of Immortals and seek another immortal as sworn father."

At that point, it certainly couldn't be as formal every time."

"Dog Meat Daoist is the most authentic—he helped Big Dog succeed, proving he has great influence with the immortals."

"Someone with influence can get things done easily, so Mu Xiaofeng Immortal choosing him to worship 'Lord Heaven' is correct," Ma Dong said.

"You're talking nonsense! If Dog Meat Daoist would help me even once, I'd gladly pay three hundred taels—not thirty!" Li the Merchant sighed.

"Why won't Dog Meat Daoist help his fellow villagers? Didn't Zhai the Blacksmith properly repay him after getting the Treasure Basin?" Ma Dong wondered.

Niu Er's eyes flickered: "On the morning Big Dog appeared in Zhai the Third's dream, Mu Xiaofeng Immortal had already summoned Dog Meat Daoist."

Right at the front gate, Zhai the Third knelt down and banged his head nine times, offering to give him all the gold ingots in his arms."

Dog Meat Daoist refused them, only instructing him to go to the western city in two days and buy a fat dog."

Then Dog Meat Daoist pulled Zhai the Third inside the house and whispered to him, no one knowing what he said."

Zhai the Third immediately decided to move house and build a temple to the Dragon King of the Western Sea—inside, besides the Dragon King, he would also enshrine his son, 'General General Wutou.'"

Li the Merchant's eyes held both envy and disappointment: "Once the Dragon King Temple is built and General General Wutou manifests his divine power, even if Zhai the Third truly produces the Treasure Basin, no outsider will dare covet it."

Niu Er fell silent.

Ma Dong asked: "Where's Dog Meat Daoist? Why won't he help everyone conduct the sworn father ceremony?"

"Too many people are seeking him—not just our neighbors, but I've heard even the Prince of Qinghe County wants to take the Dragon King as his sworn father!" Gui San said.

"What? Even His Highness the Prince wants to be the Dragon King's sworn son? Is that really necessary?" Ma Dong exclaimed.

Before Gui San and Niu Er could answer, a tea drinker at a nearby table laughed: "You sound like His Highness is being humiliated by becoming the Dragon King's sworn son."

"The Dragon King is, of course, a great deity—no one would dare say it's a humiliation to be his sworn son. But now even common folk are taking the Heavenly Emperor or the Buddha as sworn fathers, while the Prince only takes the Dragon King—"

It's a bit low-class!

"Isn't the Dragon King inferior to the Heavenly Emperor and the Buddha?" Ma Dong asked.

"Maybe His Highness simply prefers being the Dragon King's sworn son. As Mu Xiaofeng Immortal said: there's no best sworn father, only the one most suited to you."