Chapter 27: The Master

  I reckon this is the aftermath of last night's incident, but I really didn't expect it to be so severe. Even my master and I, the culprits, were getting anxious. After hesitating for a moment, I turned to Mu Qing: "You don't have to make such a big fuss about it, actually nothing happened, the yin soldiers just passed by and that's it, no need to be like this, believe me, there won't be any more trouble in the future."

  "What you said is easy, but it's not that simple. You guys are fine, but our department is in trouble. After the case was solved, someone saw Yin Cha taking Wang Kuan's father away. Yin Cha even boasted that our public security bureau has done many unjust things as the law enforcement agency of Yang Shi, and said that tonight we will be tried at the City God Temple. See who isn't afraid? Even our director went to Tianyi Temple outside the city to ask for help from a high-ranking official." Mu Qing's expression was indescribable, but it was especially strange when he looked at us, as if we were the culprits.

  But before the words had fallen, the master sneered on the side: "Tianyi Guan, hey, your director was deceived, that's just a few deceivers, not even a Taoist priest, you're looking for them is like a blind man lighting a lamp in vain."

  "How is it possible, the Tianyi Observatory is a Taoist association's signboard, how can it be a scam?" Mu Qing was stunned, only staring at Master uncomprehendingly, with an expression of disbelief, feeling at least more reliable than Master.

  The master burst out laughing, puffed out his chest and laughed loudly: "You little girl don't understand anything. Even the current president of the Taoist Association, Ren Fā Róng, who is also a fellow Quanzhen disciple, only provides superficial support. In reality, each sect has its internal and external divisions. Those so-called Taoist Association members are all external disciples, they haven't truly cultivated the Tao, they just learned some Taoist methods. Letting them exorcise demons and catch ghosts? Ha!"

  Originally, each sect had a distinction between inner and outer gates. The disciples of the inner gate practiced Taoist techniques and had the ability to subdue demons and evil spirits. The disciples of the outer gate were, on the one hand, the gateway to the outside world, and on the other hand, they only practiced Taoist laws and theories, which would not be inferior to those of a generation of sect masters in terms of theory alone. However, they could never achieve true enlightenment, which was also related to individual talent. For example, the outer gate disciples of the Quanzhen Sect had nearly 10,000 people, but the true inner gate disciples were only about 600 or 700 people, among whom there were only a hundred or so masters like Shifu. This was still the case for the number one Taoist sect in the world; some smaller sects might have only a few dozen people at most.

  As soon as he turned his head, he saw the Buddha statue on Mu Qing's neck. The master snorted: "It's these things you've brought that have never been opened to light, they don't have any effect at all, and they have no effect on ghosts."

  Mu Qing was taken aback, but he had complete faith in his master's words. However, thinking that it would be difficult to find another powerful person to unlock his potential in such a short time, he suddenly had an idea and grabbed his master's sleeve: "Master Dao, you are the powerful one, please, I beg of you, unlock my potential for me!"

  The master grunted, and only then did he take a closer look at Mu Qing. However, after taking one glance, he was stunned, the mocking expression on his face disappeared, and he hesitated for a while before suddenly asking: "Little girl, tell me your birth eight characters."

  Mu Qing was somewhat perplexed by the master's non sequitur, and after a moment's pause, he nodded: "I was born in 1987 on September 6th, at the hour of You."

  "No, no, I think your eight characters should be pure fire, how can there be such a strange thing? From your facial features, you are clearly a person with excessive fire in your destiny, but the eight characters don't match, it's really strange. However, you can rest assured that you don't need to fear ghosts, ghosts are afraid of you instead. But looking at your destiny, you might not make it through this year." The master furrowed his brow, feeling an inexplicable strangeness, sizing up Mu Qing from head to toe, and finding the eight characters of her birthdate to be abnormal, yet without any problems, why was her destiny fire so strong?

  Bu Rui didn't care where Mu Qing was spacing out, and he didn't dare believe what Shifu said. However, Shifu also didn't dwell on it much, and for some reason, after looking at me with a complex expression, he simply waved his hand: "Let's go, we can't interfere in this girl's affairs. From now on, let's pretend we don't know her."

  I don't know what the master means, but I still follow him outwards. In my heart, I'm trying to figure out what he means. Turning back, Mu Qing is still standing there with a dull expression. If she can't get through this year, does that mean Mu Qing won't live past this year? This makes me... I couldn't help but sigh. Is it really fate? Just as I was about to ask the master, he suddenly let out a cough: "Oh, right, where were we? Ah, yes, from now on, my good days will all depend on you, young one. As a secular disciple, you don't need to worry about these things..."

  The master's words suddenly sparked my interest, but I couldn't help but pause for a moment: "Master, what do you mean?"

  I didn't see, the master secretly let out a sigh of relief, only bitterly smiling and shaking his head: "Since it's been said, then I'll say it, Daoist disciples who can become inner door disciples are almost all lonely and poor, with at least one of the five lacks of heaven and earth. And as for me, your master, I have two, that is, loneliness and poverty, a naturally cold and impoverished fate, unable to withstand even a little good fortune, so a lifetime without relatives, and a lifetime of poverty..."

  I listened to Master's words silently, although I was a bit skeptical, but still kept silent for a moment. This master had only been my master for a few days, but he had treated me with great kindness, just like an elder, and had paid out a lot for me, so I was very grateful in my heart. When others are good to me, I will be good to them too. I gritted my teeth and sighed: "Master, rest assured, Liu Hai has few good places, but one of his advantages is that he values loyalty. You have treated me well, and I understand it in my heart. Although I dare not say that you treat me like a parent, I will definitely treat you with the respect due to an uncle from now on. From now on, you have a relative."

  His words were very solemn, making the master's face both delighted and bitter at the same time. After a moment, he suddenly burst out laughing: "I've never had family in my life, but from now on I'll get to experience what it's like to have one. You little brat, be good and filial to me, or you'll regret it."

  I didn't understand what he meant at the time, and just took it as a joke. But later I realized that Master had actually called me earlier, but I hadn't caught on. I even asked Master, "Master, you said you have no relatives, then who are they?"

  No sooner had I finished speaking than I knew I had asked the wrong question. Sure enough, Master's face fell, as if recalling something, and after a long while, he let out a sigh: "They're all dead, every last one of them..."

  Although it sounds calm when saying, the heartache can be felt. I really want to slap myself hard, isn't this looking for trouble? Unconsciously sighing, but not knowing what to say, unexpectedly Master is open-minded, just self-deprecating and smiled: "Young one, don't worry about me, a person's fate is predetermined by heaven from the moment of birth. When my mother gave birth to me, it was difficult, and at that time, there were no conditions for rescue. Later, when I was two years old, I accidentally pushed my sister into the river and drowned her. My father didn't blame me, but became depressed. Not long after, a Taoist priest came and said I was a heavenly calamity star, so he took me away. That's how I met my master Chen Tian Sheng. Even though they sent me away, my father was still killed by bandits when I was six years old. After that, my brother was conscripted into the army and never returned. Our family only had me left. Unfortunately, I didn't believe in fate back then. At 17, I fell in love with a girl, but she died too, and even implicated Master. This skill of mine was taught by your ancestor..."

  Master is really miserable, I suddenly thought of a question, since Master's fate is so hard, what kind of heavenly calamity and lonely star would it be? Could it be... My heart tightened, hesitantly saying: "Master, you won't also be suppressing me, will you?"

  Listen to the master's words carefully, this kind of thing is not nonsense, the master is simply catching whoever he wants, I'm just an apprentice, will I... - But the master understands my meaning, looking at me with a strange smile: "With your fate - heh heh -"

  He paused, and I felt a bit tense. What's going on with my life? Am I going to die young or something? Just as I was about to ask again, the master let out a snort: "Don't worry, kid, you're going to live a long life, no one can take that away from you, your fate is solid. You've got a lucky destiny, you'll have a happy family with parents and children all around you... three kids, wow, what great fortune! You won't even have to suffer poverty, it's just that there will be some disasters along the way, but they'll all turn out okay in the end. It's really true that some people are born lucky, look at others who aren't even worth mentioning."

  I was stunned for a moment. My life is so good, I couldn't help but look up and down at my master: "Master, don't try to deceive me with those words, is my life really that good?"

  "Don't believe it, kid. From now on, you'd better be good and filial to your master. Your master's poor life has been tough enough. In the future, we'll rely on you for good food and drink. Hehe, today we should celebrate, let's go have a good drink." As soon as the master mentioned drinking, his eyes lit up, as if he hadn't had a good drink in ages.

  As for Master's skills, it's not something that any ordinary person can match. To say that being a millionaire is not necessarily possible, but he must have money in his hands. However, thinking about what Master said, "I only have 28 yuan and 50 cents on me", I don't know if it's true or not, but I'm skeptical: "Come on, Master, with skills as great as yours, can you really not even afford a drink?"

  When it comes to this, the master is simply very helpless and can't help but sigh: "You won't believe me if I tell you. Alas, just talking about it makes people annoyed. Being poor is one thing, but I'm not much better off than a beggar. I didn't even make as much as those beggars who ask for money nowadays. In the past, I foolishly helped someone read the feng shui and made 20,000 yuan in one go, only to be hit by a car and hospitalized for over three months. Calculating it out, I spent just a bit more than 20,000 yuan, which was exactly my living expenses for those three months. Heaven wants you to suffer poverty, and no matter how great your skills are, you can't change that. At the time, I saw the car from far away, but unfortunately, even with this skill, I couldn't avoid it. Luckily, I didn't die, just stayed in the hospital for over three months. Later, not believing in evil spirits again, I tried once more... Ah, never mind, I won't say anything else. Now, I do collect money, but only to donate it immediately and accumulate some merit. There's never been more than 100 yuan on me, and if I spend too much myself, I'll also suffer retribution."