Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
The day was the birthday of Ancestor Sa Lingzu, and Baoyang Temple was holding a grand Dharma assembly to celebrate.
Since it was the weekend, Da Bao and Xiao Bao also came to the temple to help Xie Lingya set out fruit platters for Wang Lingguan.
“Does Ancestor Grandpa only eat fruit? Yesterday, Mom bought me a carton of yogurt. Can I give Ancestor Grandpa a bottle?” Da Bao asked.
Xie Lingya said, “Ancestor Grandpa might not like yogurt. You can keep it for yourself.”
“Oh,” Da Bao nodded, then said, “Today is Ancestor Grandpa’s birthday. Why hasn’t Ancestor Grandpa come yet?”
Xie Lingya wondered how to explain to the children that their Ancestor Grandpa was in heaven and couldn’t come down easily. “Uh… because Ancestor Grandpa is very busy, but he’s happy to know we’re celebrating.”
After setting out the fruit platters, Xie Lingya led the two children outside.
They encountered a group of people moving the statue of Lingguan. It was an old statue of Lingguan, which had finally been given away and was now being moved.
Xie Lingya was leading the children past it when he saw a Taoist priest slip and lose his balance, causing the spirit statue to fall to the side. His expression changed, and he immediately reached out to block it.
The others noticed and rushed to help.
Xie Lingya only felt a sharp pain in his hand, nothing serious, but the spirit statue was too heavy. Because it had lost its balance, they could only try to gently lower it. Xie Lingya stood in front of the two children, telling them to move aside quickly, but he was a step too slow and was crushed under the spirit statue. He felt extreme tightness in his chest and slowly lost consciousness.
….
When Xie Lingya awoke again, he opened his eyes to a clear blue sky and found himself on cold, hard stone.
He thought, “Even if I’m retired, they can’t treat me like this! I fainted and they didn’t even help me into my room?” Wait, how come he fainted from just a little pressure, not from being hit? …Could he be sick?
Xie Lingya sat up and found himself beside a stream. There were no buildings around, only trees and grass. The two children, Da Bao and Xiao Bao, were lying beside him.
Xie Lingya sensed something was wrong and shook them awake. “Where are we? Wasn’t it only Godfather who was pinned down?”
They were equally bewildered, knowing nothing.
Xie Lingya felt around; he didn’t have his phone with him. “Could it be a prank? Let’s sit for a while. We can’t be fooled. I need to stay calm.”
Xie Lingya composed himself and sat calmly on a rock.
He sat there for about half an hour. Da Bao and Xiao Bao started digging for earthworms to play with, but Xie Lingya still didn’t hear anyone jump out and shout, “Just kidding!” But! This was a test of patience!
Xie Lingya refused to believe that after cultivating Taoism for so long, he could lose in a test of patience, so he continued to sit calmly in place.
Until a young man in a Taoist robe emerged from the woods. He had black hair tied back with a wooden hairpin, wore cloth shoes, and carried a cloth bag on his back. He had a handsome and upright face, and although he looked young, his demeanor was very composed.
Upon seeing the Taoist priest, Xie Lingya felt even more certain that his own people were playing a trick on him. Although he had never seen this person before, he couldn’t be sure if he was a fellow Taoist helping him out. Because it was the birthday of the Spirit Ancestor, Xie Lingya was also dressed in a Taoist robe. The young Taoist priest was heading towards the stream, but kept glancing at him.
Xie Lingya glared back, thinking, “That’s enough, I’m starving.”
The Taoist priest bowed by the stream and asked, “Fellow Taoist, how long will it take to reach the nearest house in Fuliang County?”
Fuliang County? What place?
Xie Lingya subconsciously returned the bow and said, “What Fuliang County? Enough already! Are we no longer in Zhuyang?”
The Taoist priest frowned and said, “Where is Zhuyang? Isn’t Fuliang within Xiangyin?”
Xie Lingya: “???”
Xie Lingya was even more speechless. “Which temple are you from? How did they teach you to play me like this? Are they trying to trick me into thinking I’ve traveled through time?”
He took off his Taoist hat, looking utterly dejected.
The Taoist priest’s expression grew even stranger upon seeing Xie Lingya’s short hair. “What time travel? Have you ever been a follower of Buddhism?”
Xie Lingya was speechless. He really had come here?
He picked up Da Bao and Xiao Bao. “I don’t want to play with you anymore! Where are we? Tell me quickly, I want to go back.”
As he picked them up, the Taoist priest noticed that Da Bao and Xiao Bao’s clothes were also strange. He understood and asked, “Are you a foreigner, fellow Daoist? Have you gotten lost here?”
Xie Lingya found this standard time-travel dialogue somewhat amusing. Who orchestrated this whole thing? It was so ridiculous. He simply ignored it and followed the Taoist priest, preparing to leave. The Taoist priest didn’t seem to care, only smiling slightly. “This humble Taoist is Quan Yangzi. How shall I address you, fellow Daoist?”
Xie Lingya found the name somewhat familiar, perhaps he had heard it before. He casually replied, “Then I am called Bao Yangzi. Junior brother, which temple are you from?”
“I’m afraid you should call me senior brother,” Quan Yangzi smiled, adding that he didn’t belong to any temple and traveled extensively.
If Quan Yangzi wasn’t just saying what was in the script but was telling the truth, then it would be quite classically elegant; these days, most people needed to find a job. And Quan Yangzi saying he should call him “senior brother” —could it be just because he looks young?
Da Bao and Xiao Bao were already tired and were sleeping on his shoulder. Xie Lingya was also getting tired carrying the two children for a while, so Quan Yangzi even offered to carry one for him.
Xie Lingya didn’t think much of it and let him carry Xiao Bao.
The two of them hurried on their way, not talking much. Xie Lingya inwardly cursed the planners, wondering which desolate place they’d been dumped in and why they hadn’t been given a car to pick them up. Were they really going to walk all the way to the city?
After walking for about an hour, some houses finally appeared in the distance. Xie Lingya felt something was off from a distance, and when he got closer, he was thunderstruck.
Every house, from its design to every brick and piece of wood, exuded an ancient feel. The people walking along the paths were all dressed in antique-style short clothes. One look was enough to tell that this place was definitely not a film set, and these people were definitely not actors! This flavor was impossible to fake!
Xie Lingya was completely bewildered. What was going on?
Quan Yangzi hadn’t noticed Xie Lingya’s strange behavior at all. He was chatting with an elderly couple by the field, asking if they could stay the night. The couple agreed, letting their eldest son take the two of them to their home to rest. As they spoke, they kept scrutinizing the group, especially the children in their arms.
Although Quan Yangzi was handsome and had delicate skin, he at least looked like he had been exposed to the sun. Xie Lingya, on the other hand, seemed frighteningly pale to them, and the children they were holding were even more chubby and delicate, like dolls from a New Year’s painting. Xie Lingya was in a daze, almost unconsciously following Quan Yangzi forward. This wasn’t a prank, but a real time travel? He had only been pressed down by the spirit statue. Could this be the will of the ancestral master?
When they arrived at the farmer’s house, it was certainly simple. The eldest son of the family made up a bed for them, so the two adults and two children had to squeeze together. He then said awkwardly, “Please sit down first, I’ll go get some water.”
Quan Yangzi placed Xiao Bao on the bed and, seeing Xie Lingya’s absent-mindedness, said, “You’ve been holding him for so long, put the child down first. Do you find this place too simple, fellow Daoist? When traveling, there’s no other way.”
He had seen more than the villagers. This fellow Daoist not only had fair skin, tender flesh and even teeth, but his Daoist robes and headdress, though seemingly ordinary, had incredibly fine and neat stitches, as did the two strangely dressed children. His family must be quite wealthy. It would be strange if he were to be in an ordinary household.
Xie Lingya placed Da Bao next to Xiao Bao, thought for a moment, and then simply knelt down in the room, silently praying to Wang Lingguan: “Ancestor, what happened? You suddenly transported me to another world! Not only did I lose my boyfriend, but I also have two children with me! How am I supposed to live? If this is truly your will, you should at least make it clear why I was transported here!”
After praying to Ancestor Ling, he prayed to Ancestor Sa, “Ancestor Sa, please, please help the Ancestor!”
He prayed to the Ancestor for a long time, hoping he could be quickly transported back. He didn’t know if the two Ancestors could hear him, or if the Ancestor listening to his prayers now was still the same Ancestor from the normal timeline.
After praying to the gods, Xie Lingya got up listlessly and saw Quan Yangzi take out a pen, ink, paper, and inkstone from his bag and start writing.
Xie Lingya had no interest in what others were doing. He just leaned against the bed, constantly thinking about how he had been transported, how to get back, and what to do if he couldn’t get back… No, he had to get back!
Guys, ads are my only source of revenue, so please do not turn on the AdBlock when you are accessing this website…. Thank you, this would be a great help…
You can buy me a ko-fi and sponsor a chapter on: https://ko-fi.com/midnightrambles
Or become a Patron or access advance chapters on: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45665005
If you support me, I would be able to provide more chapters….
Previous • Table of Contents• Next
