By the side of the small path, there was a tea stand watched over by an elderly man, well past seventy. The path had little traffic, so he sat idly by the table, resting his head on an arm, yawning with his mouth open, so oblivious that he didn’t notice when custors ca to the tea stand.
Fu Lu initially wanted to go up and wake the old man but was stopped by the rune.
He noticed that the old man’s age was quite advanced, fearing that if he was woken too abruptly, he might be startled so badly thinking he had slept to the Yama Hall in one nap.
He walked over and tapped the table with his fingers: "Old man, wake up."
The elderly man opened his eyes groggily. Upon seeing soone standing before him, he was startled and then noticed four others behind them, realizing they were custors. In haste, he stood up and greeted, "Several guests... oh! Several Taoists! Would the Taoists like to sit down and have tea?"
"I have sweet tea to soothe the throat, salty tea to relieve sumr heat, and bitter tea to quench fire. Which would you like?"
Before Zhu Yu and the others could choose, he waved his hand, "Look at my confusion! You Taoists have traveled far, why ask? I’ll just bring three kinds for you all!"
With that, he quickly ran to the side where a cart stood, and behind the cart was a stove, where three shining bronze kettles sat over each fla, seemingly warming tea.
"How does he know we traveled a long distance?" Fu Lu was a bit puzzled.
Just now, his brother said four words, how did this old man deduce where they ca from with just those?
This was a question easy enough for Zhu Yu to answer.
She whispered to Fu Lu, "Because Shuo Country simply has no Daoists."
"Why is that?" Fu Lu was sowhat surprised.
"Father says, monks and Daoists do not produce, yet require substantial gold, silver, grain, and rice for support, which isn’t worthwhile. If you work diligently, heaven will naturally provide." While Zhu Yu spoke, she glanced sowhat awkwardly at Yan Daoxin.
To her surprise, Yan Daoxin, a genuine Daoist, held no grudge upon hearing this and even nodded at her, "Your father speaks true.
Therefore, Master senior early on established rules that everyone in Shanqing Temple cannot go out to beg for alms.
The greens in the temple’s vegetarian als are all grown by our brothers, and grains are bought with money earned through practicing dicine. We do not eat idle als."
He pointed to Lu Qing, "Even this guy, back in the temple, except for during the tis of physical weakness, he was also required to earn his own keep.
Shanqing Temple never supports those who eat idle als!"
Zhu Yu was sowhat surprised, originally thinking that a well-renowned Daoist Temple like Shanqing Temple, with celebrated Qi Yun Mountain People whose reputation even Emperor Jin respected, should have thriving incense offerings and the Daoists should look as dignified as the great monks she witnessed after marrying into Jin Country, in the Capital.
Unexpectedly, such rules existed for this master.
No wonder Lu Qing, despite being a Prince, had no airs of arrogance, whether at the Li State camp or during that previous night at the desolate house in Huazhou, he was neither uncomfortable nor disdainful.
It turns out the years spent in Shanqing Temple underwent far more discipline than the outside world thought.
This newly realized fact marked another question in Zhu Yu’s heart—what was Emperor Jin’s purpose for sending Lu Qing to Shanqing Temple back then?
Initially, hearing Yan Daoxin ntion that Lu Qing needed to send hand-copied scriptures back to the Capital every month to relieve this so-called aura of disaster, Zhu Yu felt it seed Emperor Jin intended for Lu Qing to grow into a reclusive hill dweller, foolish and dull.
But thinking it over again made her feel differently.
When sent to Shanqing Temple, Lu Qing was nearly dead, it was Qi Yun Mountain People’s remarkable dical skills that forcefully pulled him back from the Book of Life and Death.
Following that, Lu Qing stringently adhered to Qi Yun Mountain People’s rules in the temple, avoiding typical vices of noble offspring, learned excellent skills under Qi Yun Mountain People’s guidance.
And not to ntion, Yan Daoxin secretly took him out to broaden his horizons.
Thinking carefully, Lu Qing’s experience growing up in Shanqing Temple made him who he is today.
Emperor Jin sent him to be with Qi Yun Mountain People, seemingly as a form of distancing, yet it seed he had the chance to grow into a better person.
Thus, Emperor Jin’s intentions... are truly difficult to fathom...
While pondering, the elderly man had already returned, wobbling with several bowls of tea, and Fu Lu quickly approached to take them and set them on the table.
"Taoists must be weary from traveling, have so tea to quench your thirst!" Though the old man had dim vision, he could clearly see they were weathered from travel, likely having hurried, "Are you passing through Shuo Land or coming specifically?"
"Old man, we have co specifically to Shuo Country." Zhu Yu spoke up to the elder.
Upon hearing this, the old man’s face expressed greater joy: "Oh! Does His Majesty know about the strange occurrences in the country and specifically invite you Taoists to help Shuo Country drive away evil spirits and disasters?"
Zhu Yu felt sowhat surprised, having only been married for a few months, and before departing she hadn’t heard of any rampant disaster rumors.
Zhu Cheng never believed in ghosts or evil spirits, and Zhu Yu hadn’t caught any hint of such in Prince Shuo Mansion.
Whether recent events had occurred, or because everyone knew Zhu Cheng’s temperant, hence kept it from Prince Shuo Mansion, Zhu Yu was at a loss.
Still, she maintained her cool deanor before the old man, "Indeed, we are here by invitation from Prince Shuo, but due to urgency, the specifics were not discussed.
From what you imply, has Shuo Country experienced any strange happenings?"
"Yes, yes!" The old man hastily pulled a wooden stool over and sat by their table, "You Taoists may not know, our Shuo Country was so peaceful, then about a year ago, strange things happened, clearly fine one day, yet suddenly vanished the next, like disappearing without a trace!
Initially, just one or two people, folks guessed if while hunting or chopping wood on the mountain, they were taken by beasts, but village hunters went searching without finding beasts or people.
Later on, such sudden disappearances grew, nearly half the young n in a village vanished, neither alive nor showing corpses..."
"People disappeared, why not report to the authorities?" Yan Daoxin interjected.
"Did report, but the County Magistrate didn’t believe a living person could vanish like smoke, accused us of making it up, and threatened punishnt for further talk.
The villagers dared not report further."
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