The child didn’t die, which, of course, was a good thing.
But, but this jinx, the village chief was also afraid.
Although the Old Taoist Priest at Guiyuan Temple didn’t have any great abilities, he still occupied the "Tao," which should have made him an expert.
Under his care and with the protection of the Three Pure Ancestors, the jinx going to Guiyuan Temple should not present any big issues.
In this way, they would neither feel guilty about carelessly losing a life nor worry about being dragged down by the jinx—a perfect solution!
"Of course, he is a child from He Family Village, and it’s not that our village truly doesn’t care."
"Let’s do this, every year our village committee will provide Guiyuan Temple with so grain and money as a caregiver’s allowance for the child!"
The village chief had put it this way, and the Old Taoist Priest, feeling sorry for the child, took him back with him.
The Old Taoist Priest was a legitimate Taoist, and Guiyuan Temple was a governnt-certified legitimate Taoist Temple.
But, this place was too remote, and apart from so dical skill, the Old Taoist Priest didn’t have any magical skills.
Therefore, for the past twenty or thirty years, the temple’s incense offerings had always been very ager.
At first, there were two or three temple cats, but in the end, only the temple master remained.
The Old Taoist Priest cultivated farmland and a vegetable garden in the temple’s backyard, surviving barely on what he could grow.
Now with an additional child, although there was so money and grain from He Family Village, the amount was not much.
To provide for He Qingfeng, the Old Taoist Priest picked up the heritage Talisman Collection and tried drawing peace charms and Evil Exorcism Talismans.
Unfortunately, the Old Taoist Priest truly lacked the skill for this, and without cultivating spiritual energy, his drawn talismans were re form without substance, utterly useless.
However, the Old Taoist Priest was a legitimate Taoist, and he had a Taoist Temple, albeit remote, but every now and then he still encountered so "believers."
A talisman for five or ten yuan, accumulating to two or three hundred in a month, and with the Old Taoist Priest also dispensing herbal redies, he managed to raise He Qingfeng until the age of eight, ready to let him go down the mountain to study.
At this ti, the Old Taoist Priest, having overworked himself, and perhaps his rit had fulfilled, passed away due to illness.
He Qingfeng searched the entire Taoist Temple sadly to find that he didn’t even have the money for his master’s funeral.
The Old Taoist Priest was kind and compassionate, and he always taught He Qingfeng to be honest and kind.
But reality was too cruel.
An eight-year-old child, who had lived in the mountain Taoist Temple since he was little, clearly had a real mother, uncles, maternal grandparents, a grandfather, uncles, aunts, and a whole bunch of relatives, yet nobody cared for him.
The only person who loved and taught him, his master, contracted a serious illness, and due to lack of money for the best treatnt, passed away, causing a shift in his young mind.
It wouldn’t be right to say he turned evil, but he could no longer maintain his original innocence and kindness.
To be able to bury his master, to keep the Taoist Temple, the young He Qingfeng started deceiving and tricking people.
It was sowhat ironic; his master was a well-known, honest, and kind Old Taoist Priest for hundreds of miles around, sobody who would clarify when selling a talisman: "It’s a psychological comfort; it can’t really cure diseases or ward off calamities. If you have an incurable disease, you still have to go to a proper big hospital!"
When poor families ca seeking dical help, the master would administer treatnts and give dicine for free.
Such a good person, a true practitioner, passed away because he had no money for treatnt and even lacked the funds for a proper burial.
Yet He Qingfeng, using the sa talismans as his master, by his silver tongue alone, earned enough money to give his master a dignified burial and smoothly processed the inheritance of the Taoist Temple.
In the days that followed, He Qingfeng, thanks to his clever mouth and acting skills, refurbished the Taoist Temple and built a road down the mountain.
Of course, He Qingfeng was able to achieve such results not by fighting alone; he had help.
This helper was none other than his current wife, Su Min.
He Qingfeng was an abandoned child rejected by his relatives, and Su Min was similarly pitiable.
Her parents hadn’t abandoned her directly but had sent her back to her old family under the pretext of "needing to earn money and being unable to care for a child."
Children left behind like Su Min were not uncommon, especially in rural areas, where they were a di a dozen.
However, Su Min was not typical among these left-behind children.
When she was young, Su Min didn’t understand, thinking that her parents really had to earn money, which was why they had to leave her with her elderly grandmother.
But a few years later, her real mother gave birth to a brother, who, unlike with Su Min, was not sent back imdiately after he was a month old.
The brother was always raised by the parents’ side.
When New Year’s ca, and her parents returned ho with the brother, seeing the family of three enjoying themselves, Su Min suddenly felt as if she were an outsider.
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