Chapter 4 Became a Theist

  Mr. Zhuo carefully looked at these things and said: "These are all authentic works of the Tang and Song dynasties, very valuable, but I really don't need them. I saved Han Dong because of the deep connection between me and Han Dong, which is also my responsibility, and does not require reciprocation."

  Over the years, Father has transformed from a thorough materialist to a theist, and Mr. Zhuo's kung fu is also visible in reality. More than ten years have passed, but his face hasn't changed at all, which means that no one can estimate Mr. Zhuo's real age anymore.

  "This is the will left to me by my grandfather before he passed away, you have to accept it! Otherwise, I would be unfilial!" Father Han Tianya still had some illusions in his heart. Even if one was a superior being, in this mundane world, which aspect of eating, drinking, living and traveling did not require money?

  Mr. Zhuo was taken aback by these words and fell into a dilemma, after a moment he said: "If I get it later, I will only donate it too, why don't you help me sell it? Send the money to charity."

  My father saw Mr. Zhuo's serious expression and had no choice but to give up.

  "This time I came to go out and have some fun with Han Dong, but I'll be back soon." Mr. Zhuo said to his father as he sat on the chair.

  "Okay! Don't forget to come back for dinner tonight." His parents had long since lost any wariness of Mr. Zhuo.

  Then Mr. Zhuo pulled me out, and I had long grown weeds in my heart, thinking that I could finally go out and play. As a 15-year-old, I was rushing to take the junior high school graduation exam, so I was almost buried in books every day. My father was very strict with me, but he never talked about his expectations of me. I was indeed smarter than my average classmates, and I could learn anything quickly.

  When we walked to a big elm tree outside the yard, Mr. Zhuo suddenly stopped and asked: "Your father should have made a fortune in these years, and it's a legitimate business."

  "What he said was indeed correct, I asked: 'How did you know? What is a legitimate profession anyway?'"

  "There is a nest of green frogs under this big elm tree, your father saved their lives. What is called 'righteous business' is money that is not stolen or robbed, such money is clean." Mr. Zhuo seemed to have known beforehand.

  "It really is! In the past few years, the elm tree has also grown inexplicably. At first, I didn't pay attention to it, but as it grew bigger and bigger, friends who often came here suggested that my father cut it down because it was a hassle to come in and out. My father thought so too."

  Later, when digging up the roots, I suddenly saw a nest of frogs, my mother wanted to pour boiling water on them to kill them, but my father simply moved the tree back to its original place without touching the frogs. When people asked him about it, he just smiled and said nothing. By then, Mr. Zhuo and I had already walked out of the door.

  I continued: "Later on, no matter what business my father did, it was all smooth sailing, and many customers came uninvited. Our family's life got better and better."

  Mr. Zhuo nodded: "That's it, these red frogs are called Jin frogs, very spiritual, because they have a fate with your family, want to get the shelter of your family, so they live in your house, your father saved them, naturally everything is very smooth."

  I am full of curiosity about Mr. Zhuo.

  "What is Jinwa frog?" I tilted my head, pulling on Mr. Zhuo's sleeve like a child.

  "The Golden Toad is originally a heavenly treasure, the God of Wealth looks at who has accumulated virtue and sends the Golden Toad to that family. Originally, it can't be seen with the naked eye. After this family became rich, they did many unjust things, their virtue didn't match their position, so the Golden Toad wouldn't help them again, resulting in a complete loss of power. It ran to a family with deep roots to recover its energy." Mr. Zhuo seemed to know everything.

  Mr. Zhuo always told me about the word "fate", I was young at that time and didn't understand what fate really meant, and Mr. Zhuo couldn't specifically explain what fate is, he just gave examples to me, saying that my acquaintance with him is fate, and the fate of many lives is very deep, and the hundred-day ordeal I experienced when I was young is also fate, otherwise why did that old witch go after me instead of other babies? These are all heavenly secrets, what is called heavenly secret is actually predetermined by fate.

  I asked Mr. Zhuo about the origin of that wicked old woman, why she specifically eats the essence and spirit of infants. Mr. Zhuo only told me that the old woman was also a human being, but because she practiced evil arts, she became neither human nor demon. In that state, the mortal world absolutely cannot tolerate her, yet she has not fully become a demon either. Therefore, she urgently needs blood and the purest essence and spirit of infants to enhance her demonic powers. Coincidentally, your physical constitution is also extraordinary. If she eats you, she can then run to the Demon Realm and become a real demon.

  It's really creepy when I think about it...

  I was walking with Mr. Zhuo, but I suddenly felt something was off. Clearly visible distant objects were extremely far away, yet in the blink of an eye they appeared right before my eyes, and it wasn't as if we were running, but rather walking. I knew this was a realm, but I couldn't fathom what kind of realm it was.

  I won't get tired on this road, I saw many landscapes that I had never seen before, ancient trees under the vast sky, which would take dozens of people to surround and hug, sometimes with emerald water and blue sky, sometimes racing against time at night, and in some places, there were even blue dragons soaring in the sky.

  After a while, we stopped in a forest, and Mr. Zhuo said to me: "Today I'll take you to catch the Golden-winged Warbler."

  "What is oviparous golden-winged bird?"

  "The great roc has golden wings, with egg birth, fetal birth, damp birth, and transformation birth. One realm is higher than the other, and the egg-born golden-winged bird is often underground, and can be found by searching for a golden cave." Mr. Zhuo finished speaking and then pulled me to start searching.

  I don't know what a golden hole is, but I relied on my intuition to point out one spot. Mr. Zhuo searched for half a day without success, so he decided to try his luck and see if the golden hole I pointed out was accurate.

  Mr. Zhuo's hands moved continuously in that area, and suddenly the surface cracked open, revealing a golden egg-like spiritual object emitting a faint golden light inside. The golden egg was transparent, with a bird quietly lying inside.

  "You really can! It's actually a golden egg." Mr. Zhuo stretched out his hand, and the golden egg slipped into his sleeve, which was truly amazing.

  I asked Mr. Zhuo: "I heard from my mother that a blind Taoist priest once took us to find the dragon cave, what is this dragon cave?"

  Mr. Zhuo nodded and said, "The so-called dragon cave in the world is the natural formation of the five elements of heaven and earth, while what we call a dragon cave is not like that, it's really possible to find a hidden dragon underground, called a terrestrial dragon. Dragons are also divided into four realms: egg, fetus, moisture, and transformation. The level of the terrestrial dragon is the lowest, and the golden cave we just found is the birthplace of the Golden Winged Bird, which is also the lowest."

  "Be my master! You're really awesome!" At that time, I simply admired Mr. Zhuo too much.

  "Don't call me Master, I'm not qualified to be your master." Mr. Zhuo said very seriously, which reminded me of the blind Taoist who made three kneels and nine bows in front of me when I was still an infant, making me curious about my origins. But at that time, I was too young to think so much.

  But this still can't stop me from wanting to call Mr. Zhuo "Master" every time I see him, and after a long time, Mr. Zhuo also took it as a title, so slowly he didn't mind anymore.

  After returning home in the afternoon, the meal was already prepared. Knowing that Mr. Zhuo didn't eat meat or fish, they had made a table full of vegetarian dishes. Mr. Zhuo looked somewhat at a loss.

  "Come on, come on! Let's eat, Mr. Zhuo." His parents were warmly entertaining him.

  Mr. Zhuo seemed a bit constrained and unnatural when he came to the table to eat with everyone, my father and Mr. Zhuo chatted quite congenially, it turned out that both of them liked releasing animals, since the last time's hundred-day-old event, my father used the money he earned to buy some fish and then release them into the sea.

  Afterwards, Mr. Zhuo told me that he usually doesn't eat much, and only eats a little after a long time, or it's okay if he doesn't eat at all, because his stomach is full of energy and he won't feel hungry. But eating other people's food increases the karma, which may not be beneficial for liberation in the future. However, I couldn't say these things to my family members, seeing how warmly they were treating me, it wouldn't be good if I didn't eat.

  Mr. Zhuo solemnly told me that calling him "Shifu" was just a title, but absolutely not his real role as my master. It wasn't that he didn't want to accept me as his apprentice, it's just that his qualifications were completely unsuitable for being my master, and the opportunity for me to find my true master lay elsewhere.

  In the Taoist tradition, recognizing a master is a very formal matter. If there are no special circumstances, it is not possible to change masters. Once you have recognized a master and started your practice, you naturally develop your own spiritual body in the Dharma realm. When you die, you can ascend to heaven and merge with your spiritual body. However, if you randomly recognize different masters, your spiritual body will become confused. At the time of liberation, neither side of the heavenly realm is willing to accept you.

  I just realized that it's really not okay to randomly acknowledge a master, the practice of the deity is also the practice of the true self, if the true self is confused, neither side can accept it.

  After Mr. Zhuo left, he pulled me out again. I thought Mr. Zhuo was going to take me out to play and broaden my horizons. Unexpectedly, he took me to the place where I was about to be buried as a child. He said that the feng shui here is the best, and it's more suitable to open the primary level of Tianyan here. I didn't understand what he meant.

  This location leans against two high mountains, with a waterfall flowing straight down. Mr. Zhuo and I stepped on the water, situated between the two mountains, a heavenly scene where the water flows naturally.

  Mr. Zhuo's fingertips transformed into a large golden-winged bird, which I recognized as the same one that had hatched from the golden nest he took me to find in the afternoon, now shining with dazzling golden light like a dot on Mr. Zhuo's fingertips.

  "Oral spirit Zhu Dan, tongue spirit Zheng Lun, teeth spirit Luo Qian, throat spirit, heart spirit Dan Yuan, eye spirit Tian Yan."

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