Chapter 673

The mountain climbing path was quite steep. It looked like it would only take half an hour to climb, but in fact it took everyone almost an hour.

Gu Nanxi was panting, but the scenery he saw the next second made all the fatigue from climbing the mountain disappear.

The gate of the temple was open, and the icicles hanging from the eaves looked like inverted hexagrams, reflecting the green light of the eternal lamp in the hall.

The stone steps in front of the Sanqing Temple were buried in the snow into a round ridge. The frozen moss in the cracks of the blue bricks glowed faintly blue in the moonlight, as if emitting spiritual energy.

The northwest wind swept through the branches of the big trees in the temple, shaking off the snow and hail in the air like flying butterflies. Before it hit the ground, it was melted by the heat from the iron pots placed under the trees.

"Senior Brother Qingning, Senior Brother Baopu, you are finally back." The young Taoist priests who were stirring the iron pot with wooden spatulas were almost crying with joy when they saw the tall and thin Taoist priest and the older Taoist priest.

"Brother Qingning, please help the child. My hands are about to break." The young Taoist stared at the tall and thin Taoist pitifully.

Taoist Priest Qingning looked at the three large iron pots in front of him, and his eyes went dark: "Weren't there only two iron pots before we left? How come there is one more?"

The young Taoist priest pursed his lips, his eyes reddened, "Several villages in Shaxi Town were flooded by snow, and the villagers had no way to survive, so they came to our Jiucheng Palace to ask for shelter."

Taoist Qingning's chest heaved violently. He took several deep breaths before swallowing those outrageous words.

Based on the virtue of the temple master, he would definitely not reject those villagers.

The young Taoist puffed up his cheeks and complained in a low voice: "Our brothers who were responsible for curing diseases with talismans and water were all sent to treat the villagers. They were so busy that my junior brother had a fever and only got a pill."

Taoist Qingning frowned tightly. There were only twenty Taoists in Jiucheng Palace who were responsible for curing illnesses with talismans and water. How could they handle it?

“Where do the villagers live?”

The young Taoist lowered his head and said dejectedly, "Live in the temple. The Sanqing Temple is full."

Taoist Qingning's expression became even uglier.

Temples are where statues of gods reside. Normally, they are kept spotlessly clean to show respect for the ancestors.

I couldn’t imagine how noisy it would be with so many villagers living in the temple.

Taoist Priest Qingning couldn't help but complain: "Don't you know how to stop us? Even if we want to help people, we must do it within our ability! We are not the Duke of Yun, who can bring peace to a region by ourselves!"

The little Taoist priest felt aggrieved. Was this something he could persuade him to stop?

At this time, a Taoist priest with a fairy-like air and a long white beard was about to leave the Taoist temple. When he saw the figure of Taoist priest Qingning, he paused, not knowing whether to turn back immediately or continue to go out.

"Master!" Taoist Qingning called him and kept talking. "Do you know how poor our temple is? More than 300 brothers and sisters have to wait for food! There have been frequent disasters this year, and the fields don't produce much, but you exempted the rent. As for the incense money, it's not as much as in previous years."

"The price of food has increased four or five times! We are almost starving!"

The master of the temple was grabbed by Taoist Qingning and couldn't get away. He said helplessly: "The boat will naturally straighten itself when it reaches the bridgehead. Qingning, don't panic."

Taoist Priest Qingning was not so easily fooled: "How can you relieve my anxiety? Either give me money or food. Master, what can you do?"

The temple master stroked his beard and said profoundly: "Tao follows nature, we just need to let nature take its course."

Taoist Priest Qingning sneered: "In this case, I think it is only natural for the old master of the Wang family to invite you to handle the funeral. And Madam Tao, Old Master Yao..."

The master of the temple felt veins popping on his forehead when he heard this. He hated dealing with this group of people the most.

"Qingning, you are so capable. You brought back so much food this time. It is enough for us to use for a while. If it is not enough, I will find another way."

The temple master calculated in his mind that this food should be able to last for one or two months.

Taoist Master Qingning folded his hands across his chest and glanced at Senior Brother Baopu who remained silent.

Taoist Baopu got goose bumps all over his body when he was stared at, so he had no choice but to speak.

"Master, we met a group of lost outsiders at the foot of the mountain. They wanted to come to our Jiucheng Palace to rest for a while."

The abbot thought this was normal and didn't understand why Baopu was so nervous: "If they don't mind the simple food in our abbot, let them come."

Taoist Qingning chuckled twice. How did the three hundred brothers come here? That's how they came here!

Taoist Master Baopu's heart was beating like a drum, and he was very nervous: "Master, they have too many people."

The temple master laughed and said, "How many more can there be? Where are they?"

"Wait at the door."

The temple master said in a somewhat reproachful tone, "It's freezing and snowy, and they don't know how long they have been freezing and hungry. Since they have come to our Jiucheng Palace, why are they still waiting at the gate of the temple? Please come in quickly! Forget it, I will go with you."

The temple master followed Taoist Baopu out, followed by a long line of Taoist priests and villagers who came to watch the fun.

Gu Nanxi and others were standing at the door.

There were many of them, so even if they had been invited by Baopu Dao, it would not be appropriate for them to enter the temple so rashly. They had to inform the abbot first.

The road outside the Taoist temple is swept very clean.

Some people were wearing tattered clothes, their hands were red and cracked from the cold, but they were carrying bundles of firewood on their backs.

They did not enter through the main gate, but through the side door.

Presumably, they are the disaster victims that Taoist Baopu mentioned to have taken in.

Old Man Geng chatted with the victims for a few words, then came back to report: "Sir, as you expected, Jiucheng Palace is indeed a good Taoist temple. It has taken in hundreds of victims, all of whom have been arranged to live in the temple."

Someone in the team was puzzled: "Guangde Prefecture has a dense network of rivers and rich fishery resources. Even if the river freezes in winter, you can dig holes to fish. Why are they so hungry and skinny?"

Live by the mountain, eat by the mountain; live by the water, eat by the water.

There are so many fish in the river, yet someone still starves to death by guarding the river.

Old man Geng looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the person speaking was Wan Huyun, so his anger subsided a little.

Wan Huyun is only fifteen years old this year, but he is tall and strong, and is a good material for martial arts training.

He had just graduated from Yunzhou Military Academy this year and was selected by Old Man Geng to join the army.

He changed his name himself when he was studying in the academy, which means to protect Yunzhou.

"Life in Yunzhou has been good in recent years. You may not remember the hard times before. Apart from our three routes, which section of this thousand-mile river does not have an owner? Even during the reign of Emperor Taizong, when there was a severe drought in the two lakes, local people were not allowed to go near the river to catch fish."

Wan Huyun was puzzled: "Why? Isn't it said that Taizong is an eternal wise ruler?"

Old man Geng curled the corner of his mouth. In his heart, the only one who could be called the wisest ruler of all time was Duke Yun!

"Because Taizong was worried that the people on both sides of the river would go into the river to fish, which would affect the grain transport ships to Kyoto."

Wan Huyun was stunned. This reason sounded too outrageous. It was completely different from what he had learned in the academy.

"What this old man said hits the nail on the head. Every mountain, river, grass and tree in the world has an owner." The temple master sighed.