Chapter 185: Joy and Goodwill

By this time, the group was already in the county government office, and they even had time to find an affordable restaurant and eat lunch.

"So it is the Dharma Master and True Man from Mount Yishan, excuse my lack of respect!"

The Magistrate of Mingxia was not a competent official, but such officials were always good at dealing with different people; if you weren't under them, but above them, you would get along with them extremely well.

Hearing that the group were the junior nephews of the Daoist who had the ability to drive away the Green Seedling God, the Magistrate was very respectful, and every time he spoke, he addressed them as Dharma Master or True Man.

"Since the several Dharma Masters and True Men are the junior nephews of that True Man Chen, and the deed to Qingyi Temple is also in your hands, Qingyi Temple will naturally be yours from now on. I will handle the registration matters here, so there is no need for the Dharma Masters and True Men to worry; the county clerks will naturally handle it properly."

"Many thanks."

"Many thanks to you all instead. Qingyi Temple has been abandoned for several years and should have been reopened long ago. With True Men sitting in charge, I imagine the divine beings will be a bit more responsive, and we, as the parents of the people, can rest easy, hahaha."

The Magistrate of Mingxia spoke very pleasantly.

After speaking, he called two bailiffs in and told them to go to Qingyi Temple immediately to remove the temple's seal.

Because the several Daoist priests still wanted to stroll around the city and do some shopping, they didn't go with the bailiffs, but they didn't want to listen to the county official's pleasantries either, so they walked out of the county government office.

But they didn't expect the middle-aged man to still be there.

"Why hasn't the kind-hearted one gone back yet?"

"I have no way to repay the great kindness of the several Daoist priests." The middle-aged man was on the verge of tears. "Besides, the over one hundred taels of silver the Daoist priests lent to that Liu Laizi will likely be hard to get back, how could I have the face to leave?"

"Haha!"

The Seventh Shixiong looked up and laughed: "Don't worry, kind-hearted one, that Liu Laizi has already paid back the silver, and the IOU has been given to him."

"Ah? When?"

The middle-aged man looked puzzled.

After meeting this group of Daoist priests in the morning, he had been with them the whole time, and they had even eaten lunch together, for which he had taken out the silver to pay. Later, he had brought them to the county government office, saying he would go back after bringing them there, but he had actually been waiting for them at the entrance.

When did Liu Laizi pay back the money? How did he not know?

But he only saw the several Daoist priests smile:

"It was paid long ago."

"You don't need to be anxious, foot-guest. Although we Daoist priests practice in the mountains and don't like to fight with people, we have our own abilities."

"You will know when you hear the stories in the city in a couple of days."

The several Daoist priests spoke in very gentle tones.

"What stories?"

The middle-aged man was an honest sort, and his heart was still dazed; he actually didn't understand even now.

"No need to ask, you will naturally know." The Seventh Shixiong said to him, "Remember, kind-hearted one, if you come to the county city again and need a place to spend the night, you can come to Qingyi Temple to stay. I am not a person who can settle my heart, and it is truly too lonely to be in the Daoist temple alone."

"After you go back, remember to keep your money safe, and don't easily trust people in the future. If that Liu Laizi comes to find you again, or if someone else does, no matter what they say, don't trust them again." The Second Shixiong exhorted.

"If that Liu Laizi comes to find you and acts like a scoundrel, just push it onto my junior brother, or pick up a shoulder pole and hit him!" The Third Shixiong said, "You must know that people love to bully the weak and the kind!"

"There are many people and eyes at the scene today, and this money is not a small sum, so be careful on the road when you take the money back." Lin Jue said.

"Take care!"

"Ying~"

"Meow~"

The several Daoist priests all gave him some exhortations, and although the middle-aged man was still dazed and didn't understand, hearing such tones, he couldn't help but feel his eyes grow hot and feel a bit moved.

The Daoist priests didn't say much more to him and all left.

The middle-aged man then clutched his silver and walked back.

He was very careful along the way.

He didn't need to wait two days; just as he reached the city gate, he heard people discussing—

"Liu Laizi..."

"Money..."

"Daoist priest..."

The middle-aged man walked very fast and didn't want to listen, but fragments of words always drifted into his ears; just a few words were enough to stop him and freeze him in place.

He lowered his head to listen silently, his eyes gradually widening.

What those people were talking about was exactly what happened with Liu Laizi at noon.

The middle-aged man was shaken to his core, and only then did he realize that those few Daoist priests truly had cultivation.

Not only did they have cultivation, but they also had magic.

"Junior brother, why are you looking at me?"

"I'm looking at your five qi."

"Oh? Can junior brother also see people's five qi?"

"I can't see it, but I can guess."

"How does junior brother think my five qi are?"

"I don't know about the others, but I know that your fire qi, senior brother, must be turbid." Lin Jue withdrew his gaze. "You must take care of your health while staying here alone, senior brother."

"This..."

Amidst laughter and talk, they had already reached the bustling market.

They bought some pots, bowls, ladles, and chopsticks, and bought a few meditation cushions and grass mats to live a life in the Daoist temple. Seeing rain capes and bamboo hats, they bought a set, and also prepared a paper umbrella to cope with the rain that might come at any time.

Bedding and quilts, brooms and feather dusters.

In short, they bought whatever they saw.

It just so happened that most of the goods were on this street, and those that weren't were just in the small alleys nearby, making it very concentrated and convenient for shopping and comparing prices, which were almost uniform, so no one dared to sell high or low easily.

They even saw someone selling small donkeys, and seeing the Little Xiao Shimei riding a donkey so leisurely, and the Seventh Shixiong not wanting to walk when entering the city to catch the market, he bought one too, preparing to feed it well when he got back.

It could also be considered a way to pass the time and find a place of peace.

He said that when the donkey grew up, whenever he got drunk, he would sit on the donkey and let it carry him back.

A few days later, next to the Daoist temple.

A fox stood by the water pool; the fox was white all over except for the tip of its tail, but its two front feet were grayish, and upon closer inspection, one could tell it was gray.

Lin Jue stood to the side, pinching a magic formula.

"Whoosh!"

A column of water as thick as two fingers flew up from the pool, continuous and endless, hitting the fox and focusing on washing its front feet.

The fox had a serious expression, standing obediently and upright, not moving at all.

"Tell me, in just these few days, how many holes have you dug in the bamboo forest nearby?" Lin Jue said helplessly.

"Can't count!" the fox answered honestly.

"Still can't count? You might as well just sleep in the hole!" Lin Jue couldn't help but deepen his tone.

A colored civet cat stood not far away, staring straight at this side, its body stiff, its expression looking exactly like a child who had come to find a playmate, only to see the playmate being disciplined by their parent.

The fox didn't know this, and upon hearing this, its eyes lit up instead, and it turned to look at him seriously:

"Ying? Can I?"

"I've provided you with a new idea, have I?" Lin Jue was almost amused by it.

"Huh?"

The fox thought for a moment before answering:

"It's fun!"

"... Don't you consider yourself a cat? What cat thinks digging holes is fun?"

"Fox!"

"A fox again at this time?"

"You said it! I'm not a cat, I'm a fox!" Fuyao remembered his words clearly, but after finishing, it turned its head again and looked at the colored civet beside it. "Do you know? You're not a cat, you're a fox!"

The colored civet stared at it with a look of astonishment.

"Dig fewer holes in the future."

"Foxes like digging holes!"

"You..."

"It's fun!"

"Sigh, digging holes is fine, but you can't dig them on the roadside, you can't dig them in other people's soil or fields, you can't dig them on grave mounds, you can't dig them at home, and you must wash your hands clean after digging!"

"Know!"

The fox answered briefly and crisply, very obediently, but then asked: "What does that mean?"

"..."

Lin Jue had no choice but to explain it to it slowly.

While explaining, he reached out and scrubbed it.

The fox was really like a child, with infinite energy, but at critical moments, it was sensible and obedient, standing still and letting him scrub it as he pleased.

Even if it was pushed so its head nodded, it didn't care. When water flowed into its eyes, it closed them. When the scrubbing force was too great and pushed it off balance, it stepped to the side, stood firm, and then stood back.

At the same time, it listened carefully to what Lin Jue was saying.

If an ordinary person saw this scene, plus the automatically flying water column, they would probably feel amazed.

After working for a long time, he finally washed it clean.

Lin Jue was satisfied, and when he looked back, he saw the colored civet cat was still beside him, so he beckoned to it:

"Little Flower, come here."

Clearly, this was the name the Xiao Shimei had given it.

The colored civet looked up at him blankly.

"Come here, come here!"

Seeing him beckon, the colored civet could feel the joy in his heart, completely devoid of malice, and since it was also very familiar with him, it couldn't help but walk toward him, wanting to see what was making him so happy.

"Swish!"

A hand reached out like lightning and grabbed the back of its neck.

"It's so hot today, and you don't take a bath, you smell like a cat, so I'll do a good deed and wash you too, otherwise it won't be easy to wash when the weather gets cold!"

"Splash..."

A column of water shot toward it.

"Meow-woo!"

The colored civet was shocked, but it was already too late to escape.

Only the Daoist's loud laughter could be heard, shaking the treetops.

Only then did the colored civet realize—

So that's where good, evil, and joy come from!

So it resisted the instinct not to move once the back of its neck was grabbed, while kicking its legs and squinting at the fox on the ground, wanting it to save itself.

The fox looked ignorant, staring back at it.

A long time later, the person, the fox, and the cat returned to the Daoist temple.

Except for the cat, the person and the fox were very happy.

At this time, Qingyi Temple was like the Yangxin Temple in Qiuru City, looking more and more decent, and even the originally dirty walls had been repainted, matching the sunlight and bamboo shadows, with stonecrop planted on the withered wood stone trough, quite elegant.

The Second Shixiong, the Third Shixiong, and the Little Xiao Shimei had already packed their things, placing them under the eaves of the corridor.

This time, the luggage included a few more rain capes and bamboo hats, a few more rolls of grass mats, and some rice, flour, and jars of salted vegetables. Previously, the Seventh Shixiong's puppets had occupied half the space of the cart, but now that they were unloaded, they could naturally carry more things.

There were also more stone tables and stools in the temple courtyard, all newly touched out by the Little Xiao Shimei, and the Seventh Shixiong was writing with a brush at the table.

Lin Jue walked over to take a look, and it was a couplet:

The moon on the night islet, thoughts are not far;

The bamboo shadows, the path is winding, wonderfully natural.

"Junior brother." The Seventh Shixiong turned to look at him. "What do you think of using this couplet for the entrance of Qingyi Temple?"

"It's very fitting, it's just that the calligraphy is a bit lacking."

"That's a small matter. After you leave, when I'm free, I'll take a small stool and guard the official road, asking who is going to Biluo County. If someone is going, I'll ask them to bring a letter to the Fourth Shixiong for me, report the location, and the Fourth Shixiong can ask his crow and falcon friends to send the letter. I'll ask him to write a pair for me then."

"That's good..."

Lin Jue nodded and pondered.

This place should be one or two thousand li away from Biluo County, and flying birds might take a shorter time.

If it were any further, I'm afraid it would be difficult for flying birds to send letters.

Lin Jue didn't say much, and seeing Fuyao and the colored civet already lying in the light spots between the bamboo shadows, basking in the sun on their fur, he went to cook.

... ===== CHAPTER 186 =====