Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Zhang Daoting was inside, entertaining a well-dressed guest. He took a sip of tea and said with a smile, “The water from the Baoyang well is sweet and refreshing, perfect for making tea.”
Zhang Daoting, not knowing much about tea, nodded with a goofy smile. Then seeing Xie Lingya enter, he breathed a sigh of relief. “Senior Brother,” he said, stepping forward to shake his hand.
“Hello, I’m Xie Lingya. What’s your last name?”
“No need to ask for my last name, Qu Ming,” he said with a smile. “I’ve heard of you for a long time, Mr. Xie.”
Xie Lingya smiled but said nothing. Something peculiar was appearing in his heart. The man’s first words struck him as a bit hypocritical; his smile barely reaching his eyes. To be a bit shameless, Xie Lingya had met many followers, some seeking his help, and most importantly, he had had admirers from childhood. So he could tell by their eyes whether they truly admired him or not.
Of course, it was just a single word, most likely a polite remark, so Xie Lingya’s thought was fleeting. After all, he wasn’t a renminbi, so he couldn’t expect everyone who believed in Wang Lingguan to share his love for him.
“I heard that Mr. Qu wanted to get a connection with the large Lingguan statue in our temple?” Xie Lingya asked without hesitation.
Qu Ming nodded. “I’ve prepared 300,000 yuan and want to donate it to Baoyang Temple and take the Lingguan statue back with me.”
300,000 yuan was a huge sum, not something an ordinary family could easily give. Furthermore, the Lingguan statue had only cost 10,000 yuan to cast, one-thirtieth of the original price.
Could it be that the founder had anticipated this day and allowed the statue to remain?
He couldn’t help but feel something was amiss. It was a bit disrespectful to the ancestors, but who wouldn’t want to keep Wang Lingguan at home?
Qu Ming saw Xie Lingya deep in thought and added, “I know Baoyang Temple received an eight million yuan donation. It really touched me, and I’ve considered it over and over again before making this decision. Don’t you have a saying? Before you go up the mountain, you should worship Wang Lingguan first. I’ve worshipped Lingguans at many temples, and now I want to have one for my own.”
Xie Lingya’s expression softened. The mention of the eight million yuan reassured him slightly.
The reasoning was convincing. The story of the donors who made fortunes at Baoyang Temple had spread widely, and the temple had attracted many more devotees. It wasn’t surprising to see a few wealthy believers like him.
But Xie Lingya explained responsibly, “Lingzu doesn’t bless people with wealth.”
Qu Ming quickly said, “I know. It just touched me.” He then listed places where he had worshipped Lingzu, Sazu, and other deities of the same lineage. To be honest, Xie Lingya didn’t even know about some of the temples.
At this point, Qu Ming seemed genuinely sincere. So Xie Lingya nodded and said, “This statue is difficult to establish a connection with due to its size, and we hope some believers will take it home.” However, Xie Lingya still had a doubt. “So, Mr. Qu, have you seen our statue? It’s 2.7 meters tall. Where do you plan to place it? Do you need me to check the location?”
Qu Ming paused for a moment, then quickly replied, “I have a garden villa with a dedicated room on the first floor dedicated to the Lingguan. There’s no need to check the location; I’ve already learned how to place and worship it.”
He then proceeded to recount the location and worship details, even reciting Wang Lingguan’s birthday and other festivals.
Zhang Daoting was impressed. He thought this believer was quite good. It had nothing to do with money. Establishing a connection wasn’t just about the amount of money; the thought and consideration needed was evident. Some people took a deity home, only to return it later for various reasons.
Xie Lingya also nodded with satisfaction, “That’s right.”
Qu Ming smiled, “Then, when can I take the statue away?”
Xie Lingya said calmly: “We need to burn incense and pray first and ask for the deity’s opinion through divination.”
Qu Ming nodded with confidence, not taking it seriously. This should just be a formality. He was going to give 300,000 yuan, so how could he not give him the statue as a connection? Fate and money were the same thing, weren’t they!
….
Xie Lingya lit the incense, took out the wild rice cup, and asked the ancestor’s opinion.
But to Xie Lingya’s surprise, the result of the throw was disagreement, “…Don’t want to?”
Xie Lingya threw it three times, and each time it was a disagreement. Finally, he got annoyed and just stood it up to give him a bad omen.
“Let’s talk about it nicely, why are you in such a hurry?” Xie Lingya muttered, and asked, “Ancestor, why is this? Are you not satisfied with 300,000 yuan? Or is it not enough to offer after you take it back?”
After all, guessing the master’s intentions wasn’t a human job. With so little information, Xie Lingya couldn’t figure it out.
However, since the Grand Master said so, there must be a reason behind it.
“Okay, I’ll think about it,” Xie Lingya said, then suddenly thought of something and tossed the Rice Cup aside. “Since I’m communicating with you, I’d like to share this with you. Senior Brother Shi and I are in a relationship, and I hope you can bless us.”
Fang Zhe and Hai Guanchao already knew about it, so it would be easy for them to tell others. But the Grand Master had to be told right away, and he could even ask him to vouch for them in front of his uncle that they hadn’t stopped practicing Taoism just because they were in a relationship!
Xie Lingya’s thought was just as good, only to see the Rice Cup clatter to the ground, breaking into several pieces.
“What kind of divination is this?” Xie Lingya said, “…but Grandmaster! This is an old item!”
He picked up the Rice cup with a distressed look. It had been passed down in Baoyang Temple for at least decades and held a deep sense of history. “My mistake! I shouldn’t have scared you that time.”
It was shattered to pieces. Perhaps at that moment, Grandmaster didn’t know what divination could possibly express his feelings; he probably couldn’t even react.
Xie Lingya felt lost. He had assumed Grandmaster was a deity, different from the others in the temple, so he hadn’t taken his apprehension into account. Unexpectedly… at this moment, the incense Xie Lingya had lit suddenly burned rapidly again. He could tell Grandmaster was feeling agitated, but he couldn’t tell what exactly it was.
The Rice cup also fell. Xie Lingya looked at it for a long time and said, “Thank you for the blessing, Grandmaster. I’ll buy a new Rice cup and come back to consult you. I’ll also tell you about how we got together then.”
The incense burned quickly to the end, and the ash fell weakly, as if symbolizing Wang Lingguan’s disappointment at being unable to gossip.
“Teacher Xie, why are you asking for so long? Is there something wrong?” Zhang Daoting asked Xie Lingya in a low voice, a bit surprised.
Of course, it was unusually long. First, he confirmed several times, then reported on his relationship problems.
“Grandmaster won’t allow it…” Xie Lingya said. Zhang Daoting was also surprised, not understanding what the problem was.
Qu Ming, still gazing at them with confidence, asked, “Mr. Xie, I’ve already contacted the moving company.”
“Excuse me,” Xie Lingya gave him an apologetic smile. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he changed the subject, “Mr. Qu, can I take your pulse?”
Qu Ming: “???”
Xie Lingya remained calm. “Taking your pulse, as in Traditional Chinese Medicine. I noticed you’re sweating a lot, and I wanted to help you.”
Qu Ming hesitated. “Let’s get down to business. Why would a pulse…”
“We can’t offer services to believers with poor health, lest they only pray for good health and not exercise,” Xie Lingya rambled.
Qu Ming, as expected, looked skeptical.
Xie Lingya: “Just taking your pulse, isn’t that okay?”
“That’s not the case.” Qu Ming thought about it and didn’t seem to think a pulse was a big deal. “Then after you take my pulse, can I take the statue away?”
“Hmm,” Xie Lingya replied casually, placing his hand on Qu Ming’s wrist.
Zhang Daoting, beside him, was mortified. Others didn’t know, but he did. Teacher Xie’s physiognomy research wasn’t as extensive as Tai Su’s—appraising aptitude was another matter—but once he felt Mr. Qu’s pulse, he could tell him more about his life than a resume.
It seemed Teacher Xie had his suspicions set on this Qu Ming.
Qu Ming still asked, bewildered, “Am I ill?”
Xie Lingya determined. The liver meridian governs a man’s fame and fortune. This man’s pulse was relatively light and clear, consistent with his physiognomy. He was likely to have achieved success through hard work and wealth, but not great wealth.
But that wasn’t the point. Xie Lingya detected a combination of liver qi and climatic factors. He had studied diligently, but he was independent-minded, dependent and submissive, resulting in a fate tied to others ending in a dangerous situation. When his benefactor was favorable, he prospered; when he was unfavorable, he was trapped. He then carefully felt the faintest, most imperceptible of the five yin meridians. His expression suddenly changed, and he glanced up.
The area he felt, the dominant of the five yin meridians, sank like a stone dropped into water. This man likely had no affinity with immortality, meaning he had no interest in gods or Buddhas.
Saying that he wanted to establish a bond with someone was completely false. He was asking for it on behalf of someone else.
Xie Lingya took his hand away and said coldly, “Mr. Qu, who are you asking for this statue on behalf of?”
Qu Ming’s face changed. “What are you talking about? Of course I’m asking for it on my own.”
He didn’t understand why Xie Lingya’s face suddenly changed after taking his pulse.
“That’s boring,” Xie Lingya said after looking at Qu Ming carefully. “If you can’t deceive people, how can you deceive ghosts and gods? Whoever wants to establish a bond with the deity, let him come in person!”
After Xie Lingya said this, he ruthlessly had Qu Ming kicked out. After sending the others away, Zhang Daoting returned, anxiously asking, “Teacher Xie, who is he here for? Can you figure it out?”
“I can’t, but I can guess.” Xie Lingya pulled out his phone and made a call, further reaffirming his thinking. “Cheng Xin and the others have made significant progress in their case. Ning Wanlai helped break the skull spell. That Bao Yuesheng, probably fearing retribution, decided to summon the spirit statue to suppress the situation on his behalf.”
Bao Yuesheng had asked for his help before, but he’d refused. Ma Xiaochuan and the others also had a grudge against Xie Lingya; they might even know that Xie Lingya and Cheng Xin knew each other, so they didn’t dare to approach him on their own.
It was hard to say whether this idea was clever or foolish.
Even if they managed to trick the spirits initially, how would they handle their wrath afterwards?
“I’ll go buy a new Rice Cup first. Tell everyone to be careful these days and keep suspicious people out of the backyard,” Xie Lingya instructed, hurriedly leaving to buy more.
On the way, he ran into Hai Guanchao and asked him what he was doing.
Xie Lingya said, “I need to buy a Rice cup. I just came out to the ancestor, and the old one got broken.”
Hai Guanchao: “…”
He felt a little regretful. Why did he ask so much?
Xie Lingya told Hai Guanchao, who already knew the truth, “I’ll buy a new one and then go talk to my ancestor.”
Hai Guanchao’s eyes were complicated. It’s okay for you to cheat us, but you even cheated God…
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