Old Daoist Liu usually went down the mountain at noon to carry water.
Originally, there was a spring behind the Mountain God Temple, but unfortunately, it had gradually dried up a few years ago. So, Shi Kuizi would carry two buckets of water up the mountain every few days.
But since Old Daoist Liu arrived these past few days, they used more water. So now he went down the mountain every day to carry water.
He had almost beco a different person—he originally had a loose topknot and a long beard. But in the nearly ten days he had been at Shi Kuizi's place, his beard had been trimd. Not shaved off, of course, but trimd into a short beard. In addition, these few days, he did almost nothing but focus on cultivating the Water Cloud Strength that Li Yunxin had taught him, making him look slightly younger.
So the current Old Daoist Liu—probably wouldn't be recognized by soone who wasn't very familiar with him.
Three days ago, Shi Kuizi had gone to Weicheng and returned, telling him that Prefect Zhao and the three Prefectural Governors had left Weicheng, and a neighboring prefectural official was now in temporary charge. That official didn't want to stir up trouble in Weicheng, so many cases were casually closed—surprisingly, no one was investigating the cause of Captain Xing's death.
This news brought so relief to the dejected Old Daoist Liu.
But he still didn't like to talk much.
He carried two heavy wooden buckets down the mountain path, but he didn't feel tired. He just thought about the events of the past month in Weicheng, which felt like a dream—the cultivators, the demons… they ca and went like a revolving lantern in that month. Now, looking at the mountain scenery, the tree branches, the small path, the sunlight, the spiderwebs between the blades of grass, and the freshly washed clothes that still slled of soapbeans…
It felt even more like a thousand-year dream.
He felt that he was ultimately a mortal, who had accidentally gotten involved in the struggles of so many gods and immortals. But that was not a world that belonged to him—a man as brilliant and talented as Brother Xin had been killed, so that world was now far away from him.
Once the dream ended, there would be years, decades of ordinary, mundane days ahead.
Drinking so coarse tea, knocking the dried yellow mud off the soles of his shoes, looking up at the sky—
And this life would pass.
Old Daoist Liu couldn't help but sigh. Although he knew this was the kind of life an ordinary person like him should live, he always felt an emptiness in his heart.
After all… he had seen that world.
Unconsciously, he walked to the stone tablet at the foot of the mountain and habitually glanced at the intersection. He saw that a couple on a journey seed to be asleep in the distant post pavilion, looking unremarkable. So he walked west—to the west was a small river, its water clear and shallow. It had a hint of sweetness when drunk and was best for brewing fragrant tea.
After a few steps, he suddenly heard the faint sound of singing. It sounded like a child's song.
Old Daoist Liu was cultivating the Water Cloud Strength, so his hearing and sight were already sharper than ordinary people's. The singing child also seed not far from him, so he heard it even more clearly.
The child repeatedly sang four lines—
"An old soul on the Three-Life Stone,
Don't speak of enjoying the moon and wind.
Ashad that an old friend has co to visit from afar,
Though this body is different, the spirit remains."
Hearing these four lines was like a giant hamr striking his heart.
Old Daoist Liu stood stunned for a mont, and the wooden buckets in his hands clattered to the ground. Then he strode past a clump of trees in front of him and finally saw the scene ahead.
By the small river, a child sat on a large blue stone in the shade of bamboo, singing while waving a green bamboo branch in his hand.
Old Daoist Liu stared at him intently and slowly walked up to him.
When the child saw him coming, he stopped singing and threw down the bamboo branch in his hand. He stood up on the blue stone, bowed to Old Daoist Liu with a grin, and said, "Old friend, why are you so late?"
Old Daoist Liu was speechless for a mont, only managing to stamr, "You… you… you are…"
The child said again, "I am eternally grateful for your care in my previous life. Worried for your safety, I specially pleaded with the Yama King to be reincarnated into the body of this dying child to see you."
"I caused too much trouble in my previous life and must suffer all kinds of hardships in the underworld after death. Therefore, I wish to ask a favor of an old friend."
By now, Old Daoist Liu was in tears. He wanted to go forward to touch and hold him, but he felt it was inappropriate. He could only nod repeatedly, "Brother Xin… speak, speak!"
The child continued, "The Wei River Dragon King I killed was the ninth son of the Divine Dragon, Chiwen. I violated the laws of heaven. Therefore, the Dragon King's resentnt will not dissipate, and I will suffer. If my old friend can get people in the living world to worship that Dragon King, he will receive incense offerings in the underworld and will no longer bla ."
"I have calculated that my old friend will have another opportunity in the future—if you can gather so popularity and believers through that opportunity, I can be liberated sooner. If my old friend one day establishes a sect and takes disciples, since you will be worshipping the divine dragon Chiwen, let's call it the Divine Dragon Cult."
Old Daoist Liu was choked with sobs and couldn't speak, only repeating, "Good, good, good!"
After the child finished speaking, he stood on the blue stone and bowed to Old Daoist Liu again, then abruptly fainted.
But before Old Daoist Liu could catch him, he woke up on his own. Seeing a stranger in front of him and the stone being cold, he burst into tears, and with a flip, almost fell off the stone—luckily, Old Daoist Liu caught him.
He held the child, and the child kicked and struggled, crying incessantly.
The old man, rembering his previous appearance and also his own children who died young, couldn't help but feel a surge of grief. After coming to his senses and thinking for a mont, he figured this must be the couple's child. So he carried him over to them.
When the couple was woken up and saw Old Daoist Liu and the child, they were naturally alard. But Old Daoist Liu had a kind face and wore a Taoist robe, so the couple asked him if he was the Temple Keeper of the Mountain God Temple and told him everything that had happened recently.
Old Daoist Liu had also experienced poverty. Hearing the reason for their troubles and rembering what Brother Xin had said about being reincarnated into the body of this "dying child," he said that the child's life was ant to end, and there was no need to waste money on worshipping gods. It would be better to save the money, either to arrange for the funeral or to have another child in the future, so they wouldn't be short of funds.
But the carpenter had a son late in life, and the woman doted on her own child, so how could they listen to such words?
They cursed the Taoist priest for his unlucky words, for cursing their plump and lively child to die for no reason. In a fit of anger, they didn't even go to the temple and just turned and left.
Old Daoist Liu stood stunned by the post pavilion, watching them carry the child away, and tears stread down his face again.
Li Yunxin stood beside him, watched him for a mont, sighed softly, and also left.
It wasn't that he didn't want to et this old Daoist, but it was for his own good.
The task he wanted him to do now was risky. Only by doing it this way could the risk be minimized.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought of letting him live on this South Mountain with Shi Kuizi for the rest of his life. But he had been coming to investigate these past few days and realized that was not the life the old Daoist wanted now.
Since that was the case… he would grant him his wish.
What was the fun in just surviving?
Besides, the couple returned to Bailuzhou, angry and tired. It was almost dinner ti in the afternoon.
When the neighbors on the street saw them, they were all curious about what had happened—the carpenter's family of three borrowing things in the middle of the night and heading for the Mountain God Temple had already spread during the day and had now beco another strange event in the town.
The couple was both angry and scared. But since everyone already knew, they weren't afraid to talk. So they told the story of eting a Taoist priest at the foot of South Mountain with embellishnts, both to vent their frustration and to share so of their fear.
The carpenter was already a well-liked person in the town. Seeing that sothing had happened to the carpenter's family, and it being a leisurely ti, more and more people gradually gathered around.
Li Yunxin stood right next to the carpenter's family of three, listening to them talk—
He knew the ti had co.
So he suddenly pounced and possessed the child's body again. (To be continued.)
***
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