Chapter 3: Becoming an Apprentice

  "Don't give me any nonsense, you little scamp. Listen up, when I said I'd pass the shop down to you, it's not just this storefront and courtyard, but also the legacy of my Jin family."

  The old man said with an air of displeasure.

  Jiang Le smiled and nodded, but his eyes were bewildered.

  About inheriting the divine horse, he completely doesn't understand and can't comprehend it. Now the main thing is to comfort Old Man Jin, so that he won't come looking for me every night at midnight. I can endure it, but my old mom can't take it either. If something bad happens because of this, what will we do?

  The old man spoke for half a day, but saw Jiang Le still with an ignorant and flattering expression, perfunctorily nodding along, and couldn't help but shake his head in sighs, with a helpless face.

  "Perhaps I'm just being stubborn, but in today's world, technique triumphs over law. Even if there was a complete Taoist lineage, it wouldn't necessarily be able to produce a true result. What more can be said about my family's transmission, which has undergone great changes and is lacking in many ways? Even if the transmission continues, it would be superficial at best. Why must I force what is difficult for others? Jiang Le, you and I are also fated to have a connection. In the future, this shop will be left to you. Take good care of yourself."

  It seemed as if he had let go of his heart knot, Jin Lao's soul body was dazed for a moment, and it seemed that his soul would separate again.

  Mao Xiaofang sighed and said in a serious tone, "Fellow Taoist, you can't stay in the mortal world for long, you must go to the underworld quickly. But don't worry, the orthodox way of the world will not decline, even if it's this great change in heaven and earth, I will make sure that the Taoist lineage is not destroyed. This child has a wise root, I will teach him, as for the Jin family's Taoist tradition, if it can be passed down, I will definitely not let him lose it."

  The old man Jin looked at Mao Xiaofang with gratitude and gave a big Taoist salute, saying: "In that case, I can also go in peace. Farewell, fellow Taoist."

  After finishing speaking, the old man's figure became vague and gradually disappeared from sight.

  Jiang Le hastily looked around, and indeed couldn't see Old Jin anywhere, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.

  Really gone? That's right, people and ghosts are different paths. Old Jin, the kid blesses you to be reborn as a rich second generation in your next life.

  Then Jiang Le turned to Mao Xiaofang, grinning foolishly and thinking to himself, Old Jin has already gone to reincarnate, what are you still doing here? Come together, it's great that brothers can chat on the way.

  But Mao Xiaofang revealed a strange smile: "What are you looking at? From now on, I'll be following you."

  Jiang Le's smile froze, staring straight at Mao Xiaofang, thinking he had misheard.

  Mao Xiaofang didn't give him an explanation, saying: "Alright, stop spacing out, kid. Quickly clean up, this old man's corpse has a lot of yin energy surrounding it and can't be left here for long, it must be dealt with as soon as possible."

  Jiang Le regained his composure and hastily said, "No, Ghost Big Brother, why are you following me? Humans and ghosts have different paths, we're not on the same road. Why don't you go reincarnate instead? Maybe in your next life, you'll become a rich second generation or an official second generation, living a carefree life, wouldn't that be great?"

  Mao Xiaofang glared at Jiang Le disapprovingly and said seriously, "I'll say it again, don't call me Ghost Big Brother. You can address me as Mao Daozhang."

  "Alright, Mao Daozhang, it's getting late. You can still catch up with Old Man Jin if you go reincarnate now. And you'll have a companion on the road."

  Mao Xiaofang looked at Jiang Ledao with disdain and said, "You're really an ordinary person who doesn't know the power of the family's spiritual energy. Although my physical body has been destroyed, I'm not just a normal soul now, but a Daoist soul. A Daoist soul is formed through diligent practice, bitter training, and enlightenment to the Heavenly Way, and can be ranked among the ghostly and divine professions. Moreover, in my lifetime, I subdued countless demons and monsters, accumulating boundless merit. Now, if I want to reincarnate, I can do so; if not, living like this is also quite good."

  Jiang Le's mouth twitched and his face turned black.

  Emotions are still an old devil without restrictions, I'm going to strangle him, does this count as being haunted by a ghost?

  "Alright, kiddo. Running into me might just be the biggest turning point in your life. But for now, there's something you should take care of as soon as possible. Otherwise, this turning point hasn't even begun yet, and you might end up going down the same road as Old Man Jin." Mao Xiaofang said with a hint of playfulness.

  Jiang Le was taken aback, this remark was quite piercing! He hastily asked: "Mao Daozhang, what are you talking about?"

  Mao Xiaofang glanced at Jin Lao's corpse on the ground and said, "It was him."

  "Golden Old Man?" Jiang Le was taken aback and asked in a daze, "Didn't he go to the underworld? What can a corpse do?"

  "Some innocent people died unjustly just because of your kind of thinking. I'm telling you, it's the corpses that are dangerous."

  "Unbelievable," said Jiang Le, "How can a corpse be dangerous?"

  Mao Xiaofang smiled faintly: "The corpse is harmless, of course, but if it becomes a zombie, that's a different story."

  Corpse change!!

  Jiang Le was startled.

  This is another terrifying scene in horror movies.

  Imagine a perfectly normal corpse suddenly coming back to life, then irrationally biting anyone they see and not being afraid of pain, it's just extremely annoying.

  My brother won't be so unlucky, will he? Can something like this happen too?

  But what if it really turns into a zombie? That's like cutting ties with all relatives!

  Looking at Jin Lao's corpse again, Jiang Le was no longer in the mood to celebrate Jin Lao's ghost leaving. The soul had left, but could the corpse still harm people? How come he hadn't discovered that this world was so dangerous before?

  "What should I do? I don't quite understand." Jiang Le looked at Mao Xiaofang weakly, seeking guidance.

  Mao Xiaofang smiled slightly and said mysteriously, "This is simple. As long as you learn the Taoist methods and use them to cast a spell on him, you can dispel the yin energy from his body and prevent the possibility of him becoming a zombie."

  "Dao Fa? Are you talking about that kind of Daoist magic from those ghost movies where the Daoist priest captures zombies? It doesn't seem reliable."

  "What's this ghost film? What kind of thing is it?" Ma Xiaofang expressed her confusion.

  Jiang Le simply explained a few sentences, but it made Mao Xiaofang exclaim in surprise, the world is changing so fast.

  "Afterwards, Mao Xiaofang nodded and said: 'It's basically more or less like that.'"

  "If it's like that, then I'm helpless, I won't be able to."

  "I can teach you."

  Jiang Le shook his head, with a gloomy expression: "I'm afraid I'll disappoint you, Mao Daozhang. I've had a problem since childhood - I learn slowly and tend to forget what I learned the day before by the next day. So even if you teach me, I might not be able to learn it."

  Mao Xiaofang, however, was not surprised and instead nodded lightly, smiling: "I had already seen it coming. Your crown is dull, the light of your life is somewhat dim, you must have been frightened by something when you were young, which damaged your soul. However, since you haven't become an idiot after all these years, the problem shouldn't be too big."

  Jiang Le became excited in an instant and quickly ran towards Mao Xiaofang, about to grab him.

  However, Jiang Le directly passed through Mao Xiaofang's body, only then did he remember that the person in front of him was a ghost, no, a Daoist soul, which had no physical form.

  With an awkward smile, Jiang Le looked at Mao Xiaofang with scorching eyes and exclaimed excitedly: "Mao Daozhang, you are really amazing! I remember that when I was a kid, I was hit by a car once and fell seriously ill. After recovering, I developed this condition where I learn slowly and forget things the next day. Many doctors said it's because my brain was injured and current medical technology can't cure it."

  Mao Xiaofang smiled and said, "Ordinary doctors can only treat the body, how can they understand the soul? Your soul injury is not serious, but unfortunately my current magical powers are limited, I don't even know when the damage will be fully recovered. Otherwise, as long as I draw a Soul-Calming Symbol for you, you'll be fine in one day. But now you can only rely on yourself to learn and take care of it."

  Jiang Le nodded repeatedly and said happily: "No problem, as long as Master Mao teaches me, I guarantee that I will learn well."

  His mental illness has plagued him for over a decade, Jiang Le had long been fed up with it, but as long as there was even the slightest glimmer of hope, he would never give up.

  After all, I'm now half-crippled and forget everything I learn. If I don't get better, not to mention fulfilling mom's hope that I can get into college and become a successful son, even if I don't go to school in the future, it'll be hard to find a job.

  Mao Xiaofang said meaningfully: "Is it still called Mao Daozhang now?"

  Jiang Le was taken aback, hastily knelt down and knocked his head three times, then respectfully shouted: "Disciple Jiang Le, greetings Master."

  Mao Xiaofang burst out laughing and said with joy: "I, Mao Xiaofang, have spent my life subduing demons and monsters, but I never left behind a legacy. I thought it would all come to an end, but fortune and misfortune are intertwined, and what is lost will be gained. Fortunately, I've found you as my successor."

  Jiang Le smiled and hastily asked his most concerned question: "Master, how should I treat this illness?"

  Mao Xiaofang restrained her smile and said in a bad temper: "You can't even hold chopsticks, but you're thinking about eating."

  Jiang Le grasped his head and laughed dryly, thinking to himself that he had been suffering for over a decade, how could he not be anxious? Moreover, if this soul didn't recover, the progress of studying Taoist magic would also fall behind.

  Of course, this can't be said, Jiang Leke isn't stupid, and arguing with his master won't end well.

  Mao Xiaofang continued: "Don't worry about your business for now, just follow me first. I'll let you take some things." As he spoke, Mao Xiaofang flew towards a row of spirit tablets.

  These spirit tablets are made of old wood, with golden names written on them, which should be the ancestors of Jin Lao's family.

  Jiang Le also didn't dare to be rude, and respectfully bowed several times.

  This behavior made Mao Xiaofang nod secretly, and he thought that this disciple was indeed a kind-hearted person, and he wasn't afraid of teaching him the wrong things.

  Then Mao Xiaofang let Jiang Le find a small yellow cloth bag from the interlayer under the spirit tablet.

  This yellow canvas bag looks like it's been around for a long time. The yellow color has faded and turned into a dark yellow, and it also appears to be slightly worn out.

  However, the yellow cloth bag was bulging, as if it contained quite a few things.

  Jiang Le's eyes lit up.

  Is this all the money he saved up?

  Brother got his inheritance, looks like he's going to get rich.

  But soon, Jiang Le was no longer happy.

  The yellow cloth bag was opened, and no money was seen, but a pile of miscellaneous things were seen.

  There are copper bells, yellow paper, cinnabar, brushes and some dark red threads.

  The most valuable thing should be a copper coin, but Jiang Le didn't know much about antiques and couldn't estimate the value of these copper coins.

  "Hmm, I didn't think this old man would leave behind some good things. It seems that the world has indeed changed greatly, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to collect these precious artifacts." Máo Xiǎo Fāng looked at the contents of the yellow cloth bag and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

  Although he was known as a generation of Taoist priests at that time, he traveled the world to practice Taoism. Except for the pure Yang Bagua passed down from his master's door, other instruments were ordinary goods.

  Suddenly seeing many top-grade goods among the magical tools, it's hard to avoid feeling a little envious.

  Jiang Le's eyes lit up with joy, and he hastily asked: "Master, are these things very valuable?"

  Mao Xiaofang was taken aback, then angrily snapped her fingers, and a small red spark landed on Jiang Le's head, making a popping sound.

  Gang Le winced in pain, his face twisted in a grimace, and shouted: "Master, why are you hitting me? It hurts so much!"

  Mao Xiaofang scolded in a tone of "hating iron for not becoming steel": "I'm just lightly beating you, but you only know about money. You little brat, from now on, don't have such thoughts again. These things, even if you have money, can't be bought. And yet you dare to think of selling them."

  "Is it very expensive?"

  Kang Le's eyes flashed with a red light, just like a wolf that had been starving for several days suddenly saw a lone fat sheep.