Burning people who study Taoism

The group of people in the pavilion eventually reached a consensus, mainly because Gu Qi and Xu Jing both asked the same question: "What exactly is your relationship?"

During the explanation, their positions were switched, but Chen Sizhe still refused to let his noble backside touch a chair that might have been stepped on or sat on by many people; he stood firmly in front of the stone table, while Gu Qi sat alone next to him.

As for Wen Dai, adhering to the principle that she was attracted to women of the same sex, she brought Li Qingyu and sat down next to this woman who had made a very good first impression on her.

It didn't take much explaining. After answering Xu Jing and Gu Qi's questions, the two people, who had been having a lot of internal drama, had some strange expressions.

Faced with such a pleasing and refreshing beauty as Xu Jing, Wen Dai used her talkative nature and approached Xu Jing in a familiar manner, saying, "You also came here to ask the Taoist priest about pills? What a coincidence, because I was also planning to bring this little sister next to me to ask the Taoist priest about pills today."

A common saying among outsiders is that beautiful women can't be in the same environment because they'll clash. But Xu Jing and Wen Dai's actions blatantly subvert this "common sense" that carries connotations of sowing discord.

The question Xu Jing didn't ask Chen Sizhe was passed on to Wen Dai for an answer. She frowned slightly and said, "By the way, I have a question. Why couldn't we go directly to the Taoist priests to buy pills, instead of wandering around this temple?"

Upon hearing this, Wen Dai instinctively raised her eyebrows. She lowered her eyes and glanced at Xu Jing's feet in high heels. Knowing exactly what was going on, she asked instead of answering, "Are your heels blistered? I have some skin-friendly tissues here. You can fold them into small pieces and put them on your heels. It's better than nothing."

Wen Dai wouldn't just talk the talk; she pulled a pack of tissues from her coat pocket and deftly folded them into a rectangle with her slender white fingers before handing them to Xu Jing.

"I've already folded out the zigzag line. Just use this zigzag line to adjust it into an inverted V shape and attach it to the heel of the shoe."

"The reason I wandered around the temple was actually to find the Taoist priest. Do you know which Taoist priests in temples are always stationary? Of course, I'm not saying that all temples are like that, it's just my personal observation."

A dazed look crossed Xu Jing's face as she took the tissue Wen Dai offered. She carefully placed the tissue on the back of her shoe as Wen Dai had instructed, then, with her chin held high, asked, "What? Are Taoist priests stationary? Don't the Taoist priests who sell pills have fixed locations?"

It can only be said that a beauty is indeed a beauty. Even as Xu Jing bent over and tilted her head back to adjust the heels of her shoes, her elegance remained undiminished. Her beautiful curves were encased in a long knitted dress. She covered her chest with one hand, and her toes gently rose, causing the heels to slip off naturally, revealing an unconscious sexiness.

After staring for a while, Wen Dai unconsciously licked her lips, then fluttered her eyelashes and said, "Only the Taoist priests who sell jewelry and incense stay in one place. Of course, being a Taoist priest doesn't mean you'll always be that same priest; being a Taoist priest is just an identity. Jewelry is actually just something people want to buy, like bracelets and pendants."

"The Taoist priest we're looking for can't be one who sells elixirs; he should actually have elixirs available. Elixirs aren't usually sold easily; you have to use your persuasive skills. We can't be sure if such a priest will appear, when he will appear, or where he will appear, so we can only wander around the temple."

A clear explanation finally cleared Xu Jing of any suspicion about Chen Sizhe. This man was too strange; she had never experienced any good treatment from him before. She had thought he was deliberately tormenting her because he thought she liked him.

She turned her head casually and saw Chen Sizhe, whose gaze was fixed on Wen Dai.

The others, and even Wen Dai who was being stared at, probably didn't notice, since Chen Sizhe only silently moved his dark pupils to the corner of his eyes to use his gaze, a seemingly casual look.

But Xu Jing was able to catch her.

"Hey. Wen Dai, you and Chen Sizhe are partners, so that means you both have metaphysical skills, right? But Chen Sizhe, aren't you an atheist?" Xu Jing secretly played a trick, holding a grudge because she had been humiliated by him before and even made to sit in the back seat when they arrived. She used this unintentional threat.

"Having more skills is never a bad thing. Don't tell my mom." Changing one's expression is probably an art in itself; Chen Sizhe's words took an unexpected turn.

However, he showed no sign of asking for help. He casually took out his phone from his pocket and did something, then his gaze, which had been on Wen Dai, slowly shifted to Xu Jing, his eyelids drooping down before he looked up again.

"Don't worry, to be fair, I won't tell your parents about you going to the bar."

Just as she was smugly trying to seize the high ground to restrain Chen Sizhe, Xu Jing's smile vanished. A crack appeared in her composure, and she asked incredulously, "How did you know?"

Without changing his expression, Chen Sizhe flipped the screen and showed Xu Jing the recording. He admitted frankly, "I didn't know. I was just trying to trick you." It wasn't that he knew nothing at all; it was just a matter of using his brain a little. He could have easily figured out the little secret she was hiding from her parents.

Completely unaware that Chen Sizhe had used cheat technology, Xu Jing was furious again.

Completely captivated by Xu Jing's temperament, figure, and appearance, Wen Dai—or rather, the lecherous one—unhesitatingly sided with Xu Jing.

She looked up at Chen Sizhe with her chin held high, and said with dissatisfaction, "Why are you treating her like that? She was just asking out of curiosity. Chen Sizhe, I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill."

Having been betrayed by her "friendly partner" or "cooperative partner," Chen Sizhe really wanted to crack open her head to see if she was genuinely unaware of Xu Jing's provocation and threat, or if she was simply lacking common sense.

"It's just pure self-preservation. You're really making a mountain out of a molehill by calling me an overreaction."

"How could I, as an outsider, make such a big deal out of it? I was simply stating the facts."

"So what you're saying is true? Then I'll say that I wasn't exaggerating just now, I was only acting in self-defense."

Seeing that the two were about to have an endless debate, Gu Qi quickly gave Li Qingyu a wink.

Unfortunately, how could a young girl possibly understand his hints? Moreover, Li Qingyu was watching with great interest these two immature children bickering.

Unable to bear watching, Xu Jing turned her face away and rubbed her temples. She stood up and said helplessly, "Can you guys take a break? Since we need to try our luck to meet the Taoist priest who has the pills, let's get back to work now."

The group of people, resembling a zombie parade, formed a procession. Among them, Wen Dai led Li Qingyu and Xu Jing side by side. The two women, who had never met before, chatted so enthusiastically after their first meeting that Gu Qi and Chen Sizhe were completely relegated to the background.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally shuffled over to Chen Sizhe's side and asked, "Do you... like Wen Dai?" His tone was clearly tense, as if he were fighting with his throat to say those words. Even asking such an ordinary question had a sense of trepidation.

His hands swung awkwardly as he walked, and his clenched fist went unnoticed by Chen Sizhe, but his uneasy gaze was caught red-handed.

Chen Sizhe lifted his eyelids and focused his gaze on the three people walking together not far ahead. His gaze was focused on Wen Dai, and he stopped flying.

A slightly loose but fitted skinny knit sweater is layered over a light gray T-shirt, which accentuates a slender upper body; long hair with a V-shaped end hangs down her back, and her slender waist is just at the end of her hair, outlining her proportions perfectly; the trousers are also gray, with a wide-legged and structured style, the pant legs covering most of the heels, and the backs of the shoes are hidden inside the trousers.

Occasionally, when she gets excited, she will suddenly turn her face to the person next to her, tossing her hair to reveal her profile, which is beautiful and has delicate features.

This is about appearance.

In terms of personality... Chen Sizhe recalled the nearly one year that had passed since they met and walked together.

Hearing no reply, Gu Qi continued muttering to himself, "If you don't like her, please tell me clearly that I like her. Although she doesn't like me now, I believe that one day she will be moved by me."

"Then you'd better not believe it."

Chen Sizhe's unexpected remark left Gu Qi speechless. He glanced at the man beside him in surprise, as if he hadn't yet grasped Chen Sizhe's meaning, or perhaps he hadn't expected Chen Sizhe to say something so rude.

But what follows is even more rude.

The man walking unhurriedly beside him glanced at him casually, his fox-like eyes only glancing at him from the corner of his eye. His tone was gentle: "Do you know what it means to insist on pursuing someone when you know they don't like you?"

Gu Qi, instinctively pressing for an answer, asked, "What does it belong to?"

"That's harassment." The gentle tone turned ruthless.

Chen Sizhe averted his gaze from him and, like a legal lecturing machine, said: "The Civil Code stipulates that natural persons have the right to privacy, and no organization or individual may infringe upon the tranquility of another person's private life through harassment or other means; the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests explicitly prohibits harassing or pestering women under the pretext of dating or making friends. What do you think you will face? And do you think your behavior is correct?"

The series of words could be described as increasingly aggressive: "You act solely out of your own selfish desires and delusions, what do you think you are?"

Speechless and unable to speak, Gu Qi lowered his head in shame.

Having successfully stood on the moral high ground of justice, leaving Gu Qi questioning his existence, Chen Sizhe quickened his pace, gradually widening the distance between himself and Gu Qi, and said, "Stay away from me, I don't want to walk with potential lawbreakers."

Comrade Gu felt as if his heart had been pierced with a thousand holes.

Around noon, they finally encountered the Taoist priest who possessed the elixir—in fact, they had been waiting for him to come to them.

Several people stood at the entrance of the temple's dining hall and waited, but it would be truly strange if they didn't get anything.

His black hair was tied into a bun, and his dark blue Taoist robe fluttered as he walked. The Taoist priest, who was holding a stainless steel rice bowl, encountered an obstacle on his way to eat.

After confirming that the Taoist priest had some pills, he was led by several people to stand under a tree not far away.

The Taoist priest, holding an empty rice bowl, squinted at Chen Sizhe and hesitated for a moment before speaking: "You are... Chen Chiyi? I remember you, but you may not remember me. I know your master. You came here with your master when you were younger, right?"

“I still remember the reason why you were given this Taoist name. I always thought that purity should be zero, but your master said, ‘One begets two, two begets three, three begets all things,’ and you should always keep your original intention. I’ve remembered this for more than ten years.”

Chen Sizhe, whose Dao name had been exposed, remained calm and nodded, saying, "Yes, hello, Uncle-Master."

"Ho, you guessed I'm your senior uncle." The Taoist priest opened his mouth wide exaggeratedly, leaned back with his neck supporting his head, and then smiled brightly. He glanced at the others standing next to him, his gaze lingering on Li Qingyu and Wen Dai respectively.

He first said to Wen Dai, "You're quite an interesting young lady." Then he leaned down to look at Li Qingyu, his clear eyes crinkling with laughter. Although his wide smile created many wrinkles, it was still very endearing.

"Little friend, do you like it here? How do you feel about it?"

Li Qingyu tightened her grip on Wen Dai's fingers, her body leaning towards Wen Dai's back. She opened her large, round eyes to the Taoist priest in front of her and said obediently, "I like it very much. It's comfortable. I want to sleep here."

The Taoist priest's smile deepened, and his next words carried a hint of child abduction: "Would you like to come here and learn something powerful? We can teach you singing and dancing, and even give you some minor magic. My apprentice is currently taking on disciples, so why don't you..."

"Uncle-Master, we came here mainly to ask you for some pills." Chen Sizhe forcefully stopped the Taoist priest's "abduction" process.

He gestured with his chin to Xu Jing on the other side, "She is the daughter of my mother's friend. She wanted some pills. She mentioned this to my mother when she came to my house today. I happened to be there at the time, so I brought her along."

The truth is, he rarely stayed at home, but his persistent mother invited Xu Jing over, saying that she was too lonely and wanted Xu Jing to keep her company and chat.

Unfortunately, the conversation turned to beauty pills, and Xu Jing mentioned that they were supposedly sold here. Unfortunately, he happened to be going downstairs at the time, and as a result, Ms. Qi forced him to become her driver and ordered him to bring some back for her as well.

The Taoist priest, whose mouth had been chopped off, was not in despair. He raised his lips as if to add something more, but then someone else took over Chen Sizhe's interruption—

Wen Dai gave a slightly forced smile. She took Li Qingyu's small hand and pulled her behind her, interjecting, "Daoist Master, this little girl has no intention of joining the Dao. Also, I think we should tell children the truth instead of deceiving them. For example, singing is chanting scriptures and practicing the Five Rhymes and Three Refuges; and dancing should be performing the Gangbu steps, right? As for 'little magic,' is it a ritual or a divination?"

"Master, we still can't just persuade people to join the Tao. She doesn't necessarily have to take this path, so it's easier for her. She has relatives who support her and are there to back her up. If she's not interested, then joining the Tao isn't necessary. As you know, learning the Tao burns money, time, and energy; to put it bluntly, it burns people's lives."