Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Because of Zhang Daoting’s identity, this news was more memorable than others after it was broadcast, which really helped them.
One was because as Xie Lingya thought, everyone’s trust in them had increased invisibly, and they thought they had good character. The other was that some young people were surprised that a Taoist priest in the Taoist temple was actually young and handsome (don’t giggle), it was completely different from the imagined image of someone with a beard of gray hair!
The latter topic sparked heated discussions in local forums, and some photography enthusiasts took out photos they usually took at Baoyang Temple.
Under their lens, Baoyang Temple looked somewhat independent from the world, and this was more emotionally appealing than news videos.
Some people may have vaguely heard about Baoyang Temple and their talisman legend before, and even knew that it was near Jingui Pedestrian Street, but they had no specific idea. This time, they saw relatively complete news screenshots and photos.
Among the high-rise buildings and busy traffic, a small, inconspicuous main entrance and the courtyard wall could be seen faintly with the upturned eaves and corners of the main hall. Moss was hidden between the tiles, full of traces of time. It was like a rift in time and space had been opened, and this building was revealed, which was completely incompatible with its surroundings.
After entering the door, you could see a circle of bamboo planted around the wall, the bluestone floor was clean and contemporary, and in the corner was an ancient well shaped like Bagua. There were many wooden tables and chairs in the courtyard, and most of the people sitting there were elderly people or middle-aged tea guests.
Just looking at the front yard, you wouldn’t know that this was a Taoist temple. The quiet atmosphere also made people who had been to Jingui Pedestrian Street wonder, was this actually a pedestrian street? If they didn’t tell them, they would have thought it was a tea house in some ancient town.
Further inside, there was the ancient main hall and two side halls, which were crowded with seven or eight statues of gods. From the inside to the outside, they were full of ancient charm. There were several stone tablets in the backyard that were badly worn, and there was even a small vegetable patch, which made people mistakenly think that the people here still lived a self-sufficient life.
In one photo, a young man wearing a monk’s robe religiously lit incense with his eyes closed. As the incense lingered, the face of the statue was blurred.
——These “evidences” all made people sigh. Separated by a wall, it was like two different worlds. Many people had passed by it without even noticing it.
At this time, some tea drinkers also said with a bit of pride: I have known about this place for a long time. I go to get water to drink from there every day. Sometimes I sit there and drink tea with my friends. Look, there is still us in that photo. The Taoist priest doesn’t chase people away, the hot water is free, I can buy a plate of melon seeds, and I take my own tea set, so I can sit there all afternoon.
Some attentive people had even discovered that there was a nameplate there showing that this was a historic site certified by the Cultural Affairs Bureau.
Unlike some restored tourist attractions, Baoyang Temple gave people a “living history” feeling. For such an old building, there were still Taoist priests living here and serving the gods. Although it was not very famous, it made people yearn for it.
So suddenly, Baoyang Temple welcomed a large number of tourists again. This time they came not to see the mosquitoes, but to see the architecture, see the Taoist priests, and drink tea. Of course, they later learned about other features of this place.
Zhang Daoting was busy guiding believers every day, but after the news was released, he suddenly became a model.
A new batch of tourists were coming to visit the old Taoist temple. Besides drinking water from the ancient well, they also wanted to take pictures of the old Taoist temple. How could they be satisfied with just taking pictures of the buildings? It was best to take pictures of the Taoist priest as well.
In the whole Baoyang Temple, Zhang Daoting was the only Taoist priest wearing Taoist robes. He suddenly realized that whatever he did seemed to be captured by someone. He went to light some incense, and there was a series of shutter sounds behind him.
Others came to ask Zhang Daoting if he could do some actions like holding on to the door frame and looking up at the sky.
Zhang Daoting: “???”
Xie Lingya’s position had been moved to the backyard room. Now there were volunteers to help sell melon seeds. He didn’t have to work in the front like Zhang Daoting. He laughed when he saw this.
After laughing, Xie Lingya immediately ordered some water tanks, flower pots and the like.
Zhang Daoting: “Boss, what are you doing! We can’t even grow vegetables!”
“Hahahahahahaha! These props are also to make it convenient for you to pose for photos.”
Zhang Daoting: “…”
Xie Lingya also looked online and found that Baoyang Temple seemed to unintentionally highlight the characteristics of ancient architecture, and people started to come here because of it. Believe it or not, when these people came, many of them would also burn incense and buy some tea to go with the water from the ancient well.
Xie Lingya also specifically asked the female classmates, and then bought some plants that matched the style of the Taoist temple as decoration and planted lotus flowers in the tank. Their buildings were indeed very old. If you bought some fake antiques because of wanting to add decorations, they may look the same at first glance, but in fact they would look very tacky. They couldn’t afford real antiques, so they might as well buy some flowers and plants.
This was also very consistent with the image of an enthusiastic Taoist priest. He loved life so much, so he grew vegetables and flowers.
The location of Baoyang Temple was indeed good. Under Xie Lingya’s enthusiastic management, the Taoist Temple gained a new group of regular tourists. They seemed to regard it as a unique place for leisure and tea drinking. Most of them were young people. These people also recommended that Taoist temple to carry more types of dried fruit snacks.
The old men and women who had nothing to do, the middle-aged uncle who liked drinking tea and taking pictures, the young and lively young girls, and the devout believers all occupied the Baoyang Temple, but it did not seem to be inconsistent at all.
….
The popularity of Baoyang Temple had been steadily increasing, but their number one believer, He Zun, had not been here for a while.
After Xie Lingya predicted that he would fail three subjects last time, he crazily gnawed at the books with fear, took extra classes for the three weaker subjects, and vowed to change his fate against the odds. After a period of hard work, he felt his level had improved and he no longer had to worry about failing the exam.
After coming out of seclusion, the first thing He Zun did was… hang out with his classmates.
After all, he was a young man, and he planned to go out for a fun trip, come back to Baoyang Temple, and ask Teacher Xie to see if he was still in danger of failing the exam.
He Zun made an appointment with his classmates to go mountain climbing. The mountain was quite high. They planned to sleep in a hotel in the mountain for one night and then climb some distance to watch the sunrise early in the morning.
They were a group of men and women, laughing and joking all the way. When it was time for dinner, they had not climbed to the expected place. After discussion, they decided to continue climbing for a while after dinner.
It got dark early in the mountains, and they should be more than an hour away from the hotel they booked.
Because the female classmate he liked was also there, He Zun was so excited that he was not tired at all. He ran back and forth to pick up people, and even played a game of guessing.
“Hey, I’m not coming, I’m not coming, let’s calm down for a while,” someone said.
A girl said: “Don’t be silent, it’s too dark, it’s scary.”
Although there were street lights, the surrounding woods were dark and steep, and the mountains in the distance were even darker. So, the girls were inevitably afraid.
“It’s okay, I’m here.” He Zun puffed up his chest to show that he could calm down.
The next second, because he moved too much, a talisman slipped out of his pocket and rolled down the steps.
He Zun hurriedly bent down to pick it up, but the folded talisman drifted into the nearby valley with a sudden gust of wind. He Zun held on to the railing and screamed, “My talisman!”
The classmates looked at each other.
Then everyone witnessed He Zun, who was so wild just now, give up for a second, “Let’s go, go up the mountain, go to the hotel, it’s not safe in the dark.”
Everyone: “…”
Although they knew something about He Zun’s experience, they still didn’t know everything. So, not everyone was afraid, or not everyone was as weak-tempered as him, that even walking at night he was afraid. Everyone laughed and said, “He Zun, are you too cowardly? You turned into a bug without the talisman?”
“There must be a limit to superstition.”
“Hahahaha, I know you are weak in yang, so you go hug Brother Yong.”
He Zun hesitated for a moment, and actually ran to the bearded classmate “Brother Yong” In front of him, “Let’s hold hands…”
Brother Yong: “Get out.”
He Zun: “…”
He Zun walked away dejectedly and stood among the classmates, holding onto his backpack and holding the Lingguan Jue in his hand.
Brother Yong looked at it and said loudly: “He Zun, are you dissatisfied with us and secretly showing your middle finger!”
He Zun: “…f**k you, do you understand this is the Lingguan Jue?”
He Zun did not dare to walk at the end. In the meantime, he just stayed in the middle and immersed himself in climbing the mountain, urging everyone from time to time.
“I’ll go!” He Zun suddenly bounced, as if he had been electrocuted, and he covered his lower back and said angrily, “Who touched my waist?”
He felt that someone had patted his waist from behind just now, and his waist was very sensitive, so he scanned the circle cautiously, and found that everyone looked confused, and said dissatisfiedly: “Don’t scare me, it’s not fun at all.”
No one paid attention to whether someone had really touched He Zun just now. After a quick glance, they all agreed: “That’s right, He Zun is so scared, don’t scare him anymore.”
It was not clear who looked wrong at a glance.
He Zun was full of suspicion, not knowing who was playing the prank, and the strange wind just now made him feel uncomfortable as well. At this time, he could only continue walking with his head buried. Fortunately, he could already see the lights of the hotel in the distance, and he felt a little relieved.
At this time, a female classmate from behind also shouted, jumped to the front, and said in panic: “Someone touched my butt.”
Touching a girl’s butt was too much, and it was different from what someone did to He Zun just now.
He Zun asked with an angry face: “Who was standing behind you just now?”
The girl trembled obviously, “Yes, but I was walking at the end…”
For a moment, everyone felt a chill. This girl was usually soft and cute, not the kind of person who would make such a joke.
But if what she said was true, where could the person behind her touch her?
Unless…
He Zun raised his finger holding the Lingguan Jue, “Don’t mess with us, I have someone to protect me!”
He wailed in his heart, was there any mistake? Was he such a bad person that he could meet good brothers even in a scenic spot.
The other students no longer dared to laugh at He Zun, but instead approached him faintly. After all, he was the only person here who had experience in encountering ghosts, and he usually went to a Taoist temple.
There was silence all around, and they didn’t know what was hidden in the dark woods. There was only the whistling of the wind in the deep valley.
The lights of the hotel in the distance seemed within reach, but people knew deep down that it would take some time to get there.
Even a strong man like Brother Yong felt a little numb: “Why don’t we call the hotel security to pick us up? Just find an excuse.”
Everyone agreed. Brother Yong took out his mobile phone to dial but was stunned after a few seconds. He said blankly: “It says that the number is unavailable.”
“…” Everyone bit the bullet and tried one after the other. The number on the official website was still unavailable, but they clearly called this number when they made the reservation.
At this time, the atmosphere suddenly became even weirder.
“I, I want to call my mom…” a girl said, but she didn’t dial the number, as if she was hesitating. Everyone knew that she was afraid that the number she dialed would still be unavailable.
He Zun clenched his fists, formed the Lingguan Jue, gritted his teeth and clicked on a number, chanting the name of the ancestor crazily in his mind.
Everyone looked at him, wondering who he was calling, the hotel, his parents, or the police?
In the quiet scene, the sound of the mobile phone ringing seemed extremely loud.
Beep…beep… after five or six seconds, what finally sounded was no longer a mechanical female voice, but a clear male voice, very relaxed: “Hello, Xiao He?”
He Zun immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said loudly: “Teacher Xie, I came to climb a mountain with my classmates and was going to the hotel when a strange wind started blowing. I don’t know who touched my waist and then someone touched my classmate. Now the hotel phone is suddenly unavailable -“
It seemed silent for a while, and the students held their breath to listen.
After a moment, the clear voice sounded again: “Daoting, get out of the way, Laozi is going to exorcise ghosts remotely.”
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