Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Shi Changxuan came to his senses at the soft scream of the Phytophthora God, as if waking up from a dream, “…I’m back.”
Xie Lingya came over with the box in his arms to look at the night lamps. The remaining oil lamp from the ceremony reached towards Shi Changxuan’s face.
Shi Changxuan did not hide but saw that he just took off the Phytophthora God from his shoulder, then also took off the Liu Lingtong. The two little figures were placed together on the altar table, “Let’s reminisce about the past.”
It was not easy to see each other: Xie Lingya.
Phytolacca God: “…”
Liu Lingtong: “…”
Phytolacca God: “…”
Liu Lingtong: “…”
“Long time no see,” Xie Lingya asked Shi Changxuan: “What are you doing here? I thought you were waiting for me.”
Shi Changxuan said, “Beidou[1].”
Xie Lingya suddenly said, “Yes, today is the Lantern Festival.” Taoism believed that people’s destiny lied in their life and death. At this time, worshiping the Big Dipper meant worshiping the natal star. It was said that if people want to avoid the three disasters and nine horizontal disasters, they should bow to the Beidou in the quiet night.
One such instance that was relatively well-known to the world was when Zhuge Liang prayed to fight to extend his life.[2]
The most common days for worshiping were the Sanyuan Festival[3], Laba Festival[4], etc. The Shangyuan Festival was one of the three yuan festivals.[5]
“I haven’t worshiped them before. Do you have any research on the stars?”
It felt similar to like writing the name of the ghost of weapons “Jian’er” on the door which could drive away evil spirits. And everything in the world, stars and gods, all had names.
Many sects taught the Dharma, and a very important lesson was to tell the disciples the true names of the gods, especially the ancestors. When doing this, you should call out the true name of the god.
For example, Wang Lingguan, whose original name was Wang E, later followed Sa Zu, who renamed him Wang Shan.
When it fell on the talisman paper, the writing method was a secret that was not passed down by each sect.
Xie Lingya had never learned the name of Big Dipper. He nodded, “Is there anything else?”
Shi Changxuan did not look at him, raised his head and said: “The sun means longevity, the moon means Ziguang, Taisui means twilight…”
Shi Changxuan pointed at the stars and told Xie Lingya their names. After a while, Hai Guanchao got up to go to the toilet. Hearing a sound in front of him, he came out to take a look.
Hai Guanchao was speechless for a while, “What are you doing, two men are sitting here watching the stars at night?”
Xie Lingya: “…”
Shi Changxuan: “…”
What was originally a very academic atmosphere was ruined by Hai Guanchao. Xie Lingya turned his head and saw Shi Changxuan turn away his head in embarrassment, and he was immediately embarrassed.
“Don’t talk nonsense. I came back late. It so happened that Master Shi was worshiping Beidou, so I asked him to teach me how to recognize the names of the stars…” Ambiguous.
Hai Guanchao’s eyes fell on the box in Xie Lingya’s hand, and he became energetic again. He didn’t care whether they were looking at the stars or not, “Hey, did you bring back cakes? I’m hungry.”
Xie Lingya: “These are human bones.”
Hai Guanchao: “…”
Hai Guanchao shuddered and walked back, “What the hell, holding bones and looking at the stars.”
Xie Lingya and Shi Changxuan looked at each other in silence and were not in the mood to recognize the stars anymore. So, he picked up Liu Lingtong and said, “Let’s go to sleep.”
As soon as Liu Lingtong was put on his shoulders, Xie Lingya heard it “whisper” and thought it was sighing on being separated from the Phytophthora God. “Why, you haven’t talked enough? Do you want to sleep with Phytophthora God tonight?”
Liu Lingtong: “…No, no need.”
After the holiday, Xiao Dian also came back. Xie Lingya asked him how it had gone with his family.
Xiao Dian scratched his head and said, “They just gave me a good beating…I had a serious talk with my parents about working in my hometown. But I also told them I still want to come back and study for a while, and they agreed.”
During this period, after coming down, Xie Lingya had also discovered that he could endure hardship. His problem was that his brain was not very bright, and he often couldn’t understand the classics when he read them. Even if he was to teach, it would be difficult for him to attain enlightenment.
Xiao Dian was willing to work hard, and it was said that the meaning of a book would be obvious after reading it a hundred times, but even after Xiao Dian had memorized it, he couldn’t understand it, which made Xie Lingya a little helpless. This talent could not be said to be average, but rather poor.
Xiao Dian was also different from other Taoist priests. He had an obsession in his heart to learn magic, but now he couldn’t even understand the basic theory. He probably also knew that he was too stupid, so he said he would study for a while and see. After all, he didn’t have much exposure yet.
Xie Lingya agreed.
Xiao Dian asked Xie Lingya, “Teacher Xie, I saw in the book that Tao, Jing, and Master are the three treasures, as are essence, qi, and spirit. I can understand these, but I don’t quite understand the three treasures of kindness, thrift, and letting.”
Xiao Dian finally asked the right person. Xie Lingya had some understanding of the latter three. He took down the Three Treasure Swords and showed them to him. He talked about the three words for half an hour before stopping and letting Xiao Dian understand them on his own.
As usual, this guy held the book and started learning it.
Xie Lingya went back and continued to work on the questions, preparing for the re-examination, the March exam. Moreover, the exam in their school was relatively early, and there were only a few days left after the festival.
He was sitting in the yard doing questions when he saw Shi Changxuan coming back in a hurry and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Pei Xiaoshan,” Shi Changxuan raised his head and said, “The last time they met, he summoned the ghost king from all directions, and my father was injured.”
“Uncle, is he okay?” Xie Lingya couldn’t sit still for a moment. “Didn’t I tell everyone to go with him when he found his whereabouts?”
He was always ready to fight again.
“Pei Xiaoshan used the form-shaping technique to lure people away, while he went to the provincial capital and raided the Taoist Association. It was in a meeting at the time. No one expected it.” Shi Changxuan explained briefly. The mainstays of each family went to follow him. Some leaders and old masters were in a meeting. Who knew that Pei Xiaoshan was making troubles in the east and west, and many of them were injured in order to protect ordinary people.
“Pei Xiaoshan’s Substitution Technique has been able to deceive so many mages’ divination?” Xie Lingya thought of his uncle saying that Pei Xiaoshan must not be underestimated. He didn’t expect that everyone valued him so much, but they still underestimated him. Not only that, Pei Xiaoshan took the initiative and retreated completely. He may have completely mastered the Du Gong Seal, if the ghost kings from all directions came at their call.
This guy was so crazy even after being bitten by a dog… “Someone is following Pei Xiaoshan. He is going to flee to other provinces. I will go now.” Shi Changxuan said, they must catch Pei Xiaoshan as soon as possible, otherwise as Pei Xiaoshan became more and more masterful in the Du Gong Seal, he would become more difficult to deal with and they would have to pay a greater price in the future.
“I’ll go too.” It was the first important case since his uncle took office, so Xie Lingya was determined to go.
“You still have to take the exam…” Shi Changxuan didn’t know that he had another concern, and he was a little worried, “I have already inquired that the Taoist Association and the provincial government have support quotas, you can apply.”
He thought Xie Lingya was working hard to make money—— There are rewards for providing clues, and of course there are even more rewards for catching the person.
Xie Lingya was stunned, then laughed out loud, “It’s okay, it’s okay, I’ve already reviewed it!”
Shi Changxuan looked at his question, and Xie Lingya quickly picked it up and showed it to him, “Look at my accuracy in answering the questions.”
Only then did Shi Changxuan believe it, but he still said, “You can go after the exam.”
“I’m afraid we might have lost him again by them! What’s wrong with us going together now!” Xie Lingya couldn’t wait any longer, and now Pei Xiaoshan was in harmony. While his strength had improved, it needed to be saved. If the evil spirits from other provinces got involved, his uncle would lose face. If he didn’t follow, he won’t be able to review with peace of mind.
Shi Changxuan heard the second part of his sentence and went silent for a few seconds, “Okay.”
Xie Lingya hurriedly went to tell Zhang Daoting and others that he was going to pack his things and go out urgently.
“Senior brother is going to make money again…” Zhang Daoting said reluctantly, “Take care, don’t get hurt again.”
“I’ll try my best,” Xie Lingya said.
At this time, there was a muffled sound of thunder in the sky.
Zhang Daoting had also read some books under the guidance of Xie Lingya. After hearing the thunder, he said sadly: “Hearing thunder before the awakening of insects is a sign of a bad year.”
“Stop fu**ing setting flags for me.” Xie Lingya glanced at him, “He heard thunder before Jingzhe because the farmer was not good at farming, so it became a bad year. I’m going to fight Pei Xiaoshan, can’t you say something nice?”
Zhang Daoting: “…”
“I made a mistake, I made a mistake,” Zhang Daoting apologized, “This must be Mr. Xie’s clarion call for victory.”
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[1] Big Dipper.
[2] Reference to the drama Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
[3] The Double Third Festival, also known as the Washing Festival, is a traditional Chinese holiday that is celebrated in China and other East Asian countries. The festival is also known as sānyuèsān in Chinese.
[4] Laba Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the eighth day of the month of La, the twelfth month of the Chinese calendar. It is the beginning of the Chinese New Year period. It is customary on this day to eat Laba congee.
[5] The Lantern Festival is also called the Shangyuan Festival or Yuan Xiao Jie.