Chapter 51: The Sacred Land of Lao Jun (Part 2)

  Xiao Ziyang returned to the inn when it was just past noon, and there were no guests in the inn. Xiao Ziyang sat down, ordered a few small dishes, a pot of wine, and called the waiter over to carefully ask about the situation at Laojun Temple.

  According to Xiao Er, Lao Jun Guan was originally the private property of the head of the largest medicinal herb gathering group in Nanba County many years ago. After that leader died in a fire fight with someone, his family was also exterminated by their opponents. Now the only descendant of that leader is his nephew, who is Zhou Zhanggui, the owner of the inn where Xiaoziyang stayed on his way here.

  It is said that Zhou Zhanggui is now the master of this Laojun Temple, but first, this Laojun Temple has long been abandoned, and second, Zhou Zhanggui is now in a state of decline, with no money or power. Even if he wanted to inherit the Laojun Temple, it's unlikely he would be allowed to do so.

  So now Lao Jun Temple is a place without an owner, as long as he does things properly in this county and gets everything settled, it shouldn't be difficult to get Lao Jun Temple registered under his name.

  Xiao Ziyang then asked some questions about the county's situation, and after settling the account, just as Xiao Er was about to leave, Xiao Ziyang suddenly called out to him.

  "Little brother, I went to Laojun Temple early this morning and took a walk around. It seems like someone is living there, but I don't know who they are."

  "To be honest with you, sir, there are indeed some little beggars living in the old temple, alas, they are all pitiful children."

  "Hey, little beggar! That's right, there's something that has been puzzling me all along. Why are there so many little beggars in this small town of Nanba?"

  "These children are the kids of those herb collectors who had accidents in the deep mountains, especially those from other places. These people only come to Nanba to collect herbs when they have no other choice, and once the men die, the women lose all their support. The kind-hearted ones bring their children along and struggle through life, while the heartless ones abandon their children and remarry."

  Xiao Er is a middle-aged man in his forties, and as he speaks here, he can't help but sigh. "I've heard about the few kids at Lao Jun Guan, there are five of them in total, led by a kid named Zhao Er Zhu. This kid is only thirteen years old, yet he's taking care of four younger kids, the youngest one is only three years old, alas, poor thing! Er Zhu has a stubborn temper and refused to listen to the beggar chief from the city, so he was chased out of the county town. I heard he ended up at Lao Jun Guan."

  "Are all those children brought by Zhao Erzhu his younger brothers?" asked Xiao Ziyang.

  "No, this child is kind-hearted! He came to Nanba County with his father when he was seven years old. The next year, his father died in the mountains, torn apart by a bear, and it was a miserable death!"

  "It's said that his mother passed away when he was three years old, and there were no other relatives left in their hometown. He became an orphan and one of the little beggars in Nanba Town. The medicine collectors in Nanba County have an unwritten rule: as long as they have extra food at home, they will give these orphans something to eat. So this child managed to survive by eating scraps from many families."

  "Some orphans were abandoned when they were too young to take care of themselves, and although there were kind-hearted people who adopted them at first, later on no one took care of them, and many children died like this."

  "This child, Er Zhù, has a good heart. He started taking care of younger children who couldn't take care of themselves when he was only eight years old. Over the years, he has taken in at least seven or eight of them, and now four are still alive."

  "Boundless Heaven's Respect, good-hearted people will surely have a good reward." Xiao Ziyang said thoughtfully.

  "Yes, yes, such a good child will definitely have great prospects when he grows up." Xiao Er echoed.

  Xiaozi Yang and Xiao Er chatted for a few sentences before leaving the inn and heading in the direction of the county government office.

  In the Western Liang State, Taoism was revered, and Taoist priests held a certain status in the region. Taking advantage of this identity, Xiao Ziyang met with the officials of Nanba County, scattering large amounts of silver coins everywhere; afterwards, he also paid visits to the heads of several prominent clans in the city, sending them substantial sums of silver as well. Finally, he even went to Zhou Zhanggui's inn and spent ten taels of silver to obtain the deed for the transfer of Laojun Temple.

  Xiao Ziyang transformed and became the master of Laojun Temple. Under Xiao Ziyang's silver bullet strategy, even the entire Fenghe Mountain became his private property.

  Xiao Ziyang also spent money buying more than 100 mu of land at the foot of Fenghe Mountain as the property of Laojun Temple.

  In these few days when Xiao Ziyang was going up and down, the news of his carrying a large sum of money spread far and wide.

  One evening, Xiao Ziyang was blocked in a small alley; this extremely remote city naturally didn't have any masters; Xiao Ziyang didn't make a move, he just threw the long knife in his hand into the chest of the leader with a bit of force, immediately knocking him to the ground, spitting out fresh blood. Then Xiao Ziyang picked up the long knife and left amidst the stunned gazes of the group of bandits.

  The next day, the rumor that the young Taoist priest was a high-ranking martial artist with a heavy long knife weighing several hundred kilograms spread. From then on, no one dared to trouble Xiao Ziyang again.

  That day, Xiao Ziyang led a group of carpenters and masons to Laojun Temple. As soon as he entered the mountain gate, he saw several children burning a fire in the middle of the courtyard, roasting a few small fish. Xiao Ziyang knew that this was the group of children that Little Er had mentioned, Zhao Erzhu's gang.

  The children saw a group of people suddenly rushing into the room and looked over here with vigilance.

  Xiao Ziyang took two steps forward, looking at the oldest child in the group. Although Xiao Er said that this child was already thirteen years old, he looked like a ten-year-old child in height, extremely thin and weak, with dirty and tattered clothes revealing patches of filthy skin; his face was covered in dirt, making it impossible to see his original features, but his eyes were exceptionally bright. Seeing Xiao Ziyang approach, he quickly hid the other children behind him.

  He stared at Xiao Ziyang, the light in his eyes made Xiao Ziyang's heart inexplicably tighten, and in this thirteen-year-old child's eyes, Xiao Ziyang saw a kind of calmness that seemed to see through life and death.

  "Are you Zhao Erzhu?"

  "Do you know me?" His voice was extremely clear, and there wasn't a hint of panic or fear in it.

  "Boundless Heaven Venerable, I've heard the young master of Fragrant Pavilion on Town Street mention you. I'm planning to renovate the Old Lord Temple and recast the Golden Body of the Old Lord. Currently, the temple is short of a few sweepers, so why don't you all stay here?"

  "Are there meals for the children?" Zhao Erzhu looked at Xiao Ziyang nervously, and as soon as he heard Xiao Ziyang say "yes", several children immediately cheered and jumped up.

  Xiao Ziyang smiled and watched the happy children for a while, then turned around to instruct the craftsmen and several old mothers who were hired to clean up several rooms that didn't leak rain, and set up stoves.

  She also ordered an old mother to take several children down the mountain to bathe, and gave the old mother a piece of broken silver to instruct her to make Taoist robes for the children.