Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Spring arrives, and the year draws to a close. On New Year’s Eve, Zhuyang’s streets and alleys were unusually quiet; most shops were closed, and everyone had gone home for family reunions.
But turning towards Liming Square and heading towards Jingui Pedestrian Street revealed a completely different scene. Between rows of commercial buildings, eaves gleamed with greenery, and layer upon layer of temple buildings were hidden here, bustling with people coming and going at the entrance.
In recent years, the area around Liming Square had seen the most significant changes, particularly the new scenic spot, Baoyang Temple. After the demolition of the old farmers’ market and old residential area behind the pedestrian street, the government allocated a considerable area for the expansion of Baoyang Temple.
The original two-courtyard Taoist temple now occupied seventy or eighty acres, with its layout centered on the original temple, and its regulations and style highly unified. Upon reaching the main entrance, one was greeted by an ancient plaque inscribed with the three characters “Baoyang Temple.” Along the central axis were the Mountain Gate Hall, the Sanqing Hall, the Jade Emperor Hall, the Lingzu Hall, and the Sazu Hall, flanked by side halls such as the Wenchang Emperor Hall and the Taiyi Tianzun Hall. There were also teahouses, guest rooms, dining halls, living quarters, and meeting rooms. The interiors were decorated with colorful paintings of cranes and the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), featuring yellow tiles and red eaves, creating a tranquil oasis amidst the bustling city. Today, Baoyang Temple would hold a New Year’s Eve Dharma Assembly, attracting local believers and even those from afar. Those unable to attend could pray online through the temple’s official website.
In addition to various Dharma assemblies, Baoyang Temple also hosted temple fairs and flower shows, attracting tourists from all over. Its growing fame in recent years had significantly boosted tourism revenue for Zhuyang City.
Furthermore, Baoyang Temple’s teahouse was extremely famous, thanks to an ancient well within the temple grounds. The spring water was sweet and refreshing; last year, an organization even tested the water, confirming its excellent quality and the presence of numerous beneficial trace elements. Because of its rustic and ancient charm, this place attracted many locals and tourists who came here for a cup of tea.
Upon entering the mountain gate, some out-of-town visitors saw several people carrying enormous incense sticks.
In recent years, it had become popular to offer tall incense, especially the first stick of incense offered at Baoyang Temple in the New Year; the first stick was so popular it was practically a scramble. However, the incense these people were carrying was truly extravagant— you could tell just by the sheer size of it. It was about 1.45 meters long, roughly half a person’s height, and so thick it took two hands to encircle it, leaving onlookers speechless.
One out-of-town tourist couldn’t help but ask, “Is this your incense?”
The people carrying the incense shook their heads, “Of course not, it belongs to our boss.”
And they didn’t even share the same boss.
Tourists from out of town exclaimed, “Rich people really know how to have fun! The incense gets thicker every year.”
A local resident nearby, cracking sunflower seeds, said, “Uh, the new abbot took office last month. Didn’t they say that starting next year, incense will be completely banned, whether it’s tall or small incense? Except for some religious ceremonies, all worship will be replaced with a handful of incense from the heart.”
“Huh?? We didn’t know that!”
“I’m so confused, does it start from the Spring Festival?”
“What if they don’t let us burn the incense…”
“The new abbot?” The tourists from out of town actually only knew a little about this. They were just visiting relatives in another city for the Spring Festival and decided to burn incense as a side trip. So they only vaguely knew that Baoyang Temple didn’t seem to have an abbot.
“Yes, it’s Master Wu Liang. He seems to have just received his Taoist certificate and completed the inauguration procedures. I heard that after the previous abbot passed away, the position remained vacant, with the abbot’s nephew handling miscellaneous affairs. Now it’s officially passed to Master Wu.”
The tourist was confused. “Just received his Taoist certificate… and he can become the abbot? Is the competition at Baoyang Temple that fierce?”
“Well, it’s not like that. It mainly depends on ability. Master Wu is young and promising.”
“Now that you mention it, I remember the old abbot’s nephew also appeared in the news. What’s he doing now?”
“Well… maybe he’s retired behind the scenes?”
….
The former head of Baoyang Temple, who was being discussed by everyone, was still in bed when Shi Changxuan pulled back the covers. “Sleeping in on New Year’s Eve?”
“Ah—” Xie Lingya cried out, “Senior brother, I finally retired, and I don’t have anything to do today. Let me enjoy my holiday normally!”
Shi Changxuan picked him up from the bed. “There’s a blessing ceremony in half an hour. Are you really not getting up?”
Xie Lingya nestled on Shi Changxuan’s shoulder and gave him a pitiful kiss on the earlobe.
Shi Changxuan’s ears turned bright red. He then placed the boneless Xie Lingya on the table and put a cotton coat on him. This cotton coat belonged to Shi Changxuan; it was actually a winter-style Taoist robe, dark blue with a quilted lining and a diagonal opening. Wearing it actually made him look a bit cute.
Xie Lingya had just finished washing up and was slowly walking out when he saw an old woman leading two crying little boys, with a fair-skinned, round-faced little girl following not far behind.
Xie Lingya sensed something was wrong immediately. Sure enough, the old lady spoke up the next moment, “Xiao Xie, your sister made my two grandsons cry again! Although you can’t hit children during the New Year, you still have to discipline them, right?”
Xie Lingya: “…”
Five-year-old Sisi slowly walked over and said clearly, “I was playing with my brothers.”
The old lady saw that she had actually taken a few steps to the side and said with lingering fear, “I’m telling you, you really have to keep an eye on this child. My grandson said she picked up a snake from somewhere, then she played with it and even used it to scare people.”
A snake?
Xie Lingya then realized what she meant and searched his hands and body but found nothing.
Sisi raised her hand, and a snake head came out of her sleeve, spitting out a snake message in her palm, “Is it this one?”
“Oh my god!” The old lady took the children who were crying louder and turned away without looking back. “Xiao Xie, take a look! Take a look! I’ll come back next time!”
“Why don’t you put it down? I think you deserve a beating!” Xie Lingya couldn’t care less about children’s science education methods, so he picked up a token. This length was just right for a beating.
Sisi turned and ran, shouting, “I’m going to tell Dad you hit me!”
Xie Lingya: “Go ask around! There’s still a rumor circulating in the hospital that I hit our dad!”
Sisi: “…”
Shi Changxuan: “…”
In recent years, Xie Lingya’s relationship with his family has improved a lot because of coming out as gay and the birth of Sisi. So when he held a Dharma assembly here during the Lunar New Year, the Xie family members all came to the Taoist temple to celebrate the New Year together. His younger sister even came to stay during winter and summer vacations. Once she started school, she would probably have to come to the city for better teaching quality.
Xie Lingya really liked his younger sister, but although Sisi was a girl, she was just as mischievous as he was when he was a child. If he didn’t keep an eye on her for a moment, she would be up to no good.
Just then, Sisi was running and lunged over, intending to squeeze through the gap in the railing. But Xie Lingya rushed forward and grabbed her braid as fast as he could.
“Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!”
Xie Lingya picked Sisi up, not taking away the Guai Long. “Hold out your hands!”
Sisi put her hands behind her back. “I was just playing with them. Why blame me if they can’t handle it? They even asked me if I was scared first, with just a bug.”
Xie Lingya now realized there was more to this story. He glanced at her, knowing his sister wasn’t lying, and let her go. “But you can’t just take snakes out like that. They’re not on the same level as bugs. Look how scared those two were… No, you’re not allowed to play with bugs either!”
Xie Lingya lectured Sisi for a long time, then pulled the Guai Long off and hung it around his neck. “I have to go pray for blessings. You’re only allowed to play in the yard, understand?”
Sisi obediently agreed and followed him back.
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