Chapter 13013 Everyone has a bright future

What happened next was natural. I don't know how the old Taoist managed to trick people, but a few days later, before dawn, he arrived with a large group of people at the Yunshui River. He was still wearing his faded blue cloth robe, frayed at the edges. His hair, graying, was tucked back with a wooden hairpin, but his back was straight as a pine tree. It seemed that for Taoists, an unkempt appearance made them particularly trustworthy. This time, he was accompanied by a Taoist child, about eleven or twelve years old, with delicate features, red lips, and white teeth.

I asked Jinniang who that was, and she said that was the Taoist's disciple.

"I heard that she was picked up, and the Taoist priest took pity on her so he raised her in his care. But she was a girl after all, so it was a little inconvenient for him..." When talking about the Taoist child, Jinniang had endless things to say.

She told me that the Taoist priest was not from Chengyun County, but had come from Chang'an a few years ago. The famine in Chang'an had been going on for more than a year or two. After all, the Taoist priest had a child to support, so he left Chang'an when he couldn't stand it anymore.

Arriving in Chengyun County was an accident. That year, he set out on foot with his child, then only seven or eight years old. In the scorching summer heat, the water in their water bag ran out, and the old man and child fainted on the side of the road. Had Jinniang's carriage not passed by, they likely would not have survived. After arriving in Chengyun County, the old Taoist priest and the child continued to make a living by setting up stalls.

So this was what Jinniang had been referring to as a chance encounter. So, the Taoist priest's help to the three of them wasn't simply a casual act.

The Taoist boy was alert and seemed to feel my gaze. His grape-like eyes immediately stared at me, but when he saw me, he let out a short scream.

"There are people in the river!" she pointed at me.

Everyone looked in the direction the Taoist boy pointed, with varying expressions, including the Zhou family's housekeeper. But they saw nothing but a vast expanse of water.

"Where? Where? Why can't I see it?"

"You little Taoist boy, are you talking nonsense?!"

Amidst the discussions, the accused Taoist boy became so anxious that his face turned red.

At this time, the old Taoist held down the Taoist boy's hand, glanced at the few people who had just accused the Taoist boy, and said in a deep voice: "Don't make a fuss, the Queen Mother Yunshui is watching."

The few people who had just spoken fell silent immediately.

I smiled at the Taoist child, who was slightly stunned in disbelief. Then she tugged at the old Taoist's sleeve and said,

"Master, Lady Yunshui is smiling at me."

The childish voice sounds very clear.

The old Taoist stroked his long beard and said with a smile: "Mrs. Yunshui loves children the most, and she likes you."

The old man secretly added some settings to me right in front of me. But it wasn't bad. I don't particularly like children, but I don't dislike them either. I just tend to be more patient with them than with adults.

After hearing what the old Taoist said, the Taoist boy smiled shyly.

After the little episode, everyone began to build the altar. After the simple altar was built, they placed three kinds of animals and fruits on it.

On the next level, there are copper bells, peach wood swords, and a stack of talisman paper painted with cinnabar used by the old Taoist priest to perform rituals.

When I thought about the fact that these were all offered to me, I felt a little embarrassed. After all, I had never cooked before, so I didn’t know how to prepare them… Wait, I don’t even have a kitchen!

Hey, Taoist priest, please at least give me something cooked.

The sky was fading slightly, and steam was rising, shrouding the riverbank in a gray haze. The river flowed slowly and steadily, hardly a river that could possibly devour people. Beneath the calm surface lay an unknown danger.

"Today's ritual is to resolve the wishes of the three ladies and the infant spirits... If Goddess Yunshui is willing to spare the Zhou family and Yunshui County, then I will build a temple and offer sacrifices to them annually..."

The old Taoist priest stood before the altar, slowly fiddling with his ritual tools. On the altar, the three sacrificial offerings appeared vaguely outlined against the gray sky. A Taoist child stood nearby, holding a heavy ritual implement, his gaze fixed on me.

"The time has come!" the old Taoist's hoarse voice cut through the clamor. He took his peach wood sword and, with its tip, lifted a yellow talisman. He muttered something, his feet performing a miraculous movement. With a flick of the sword's tip, the talisman spontaneously ignited without fire. The faint flames danced, like ghostly eyes in the hazy mist. Then he swung the peach wood sword again. The bronze bell in his other hand rang with a sharp, rapid peal. The ringing was like an icy needle piercing everyone's eardrums, and the noisy chatter on the shore suddenly froze.

"Command!" The old Taoist suddenly shouted, his voice like tearing silk, and threw the talisman paper in his hand fiercely into the middle of the river.

I looked at the talisman paper and took it. The turquoise flame didn't burn me at all. I took the talisman paper in the water for a while. The only trace of the flame remained on the soaked paper. And that trace was clearly a single word.

--allow!

"The goddess Yunshui has appeared!"

The old Taoist priest does have some real skills, but this time he was obviously just pretending, and I was just cooperating.

"Goddess Yunshui has already agreed!" the old Taoist said in a hoarse voice, "The River Fairy Temple must be built within 81 days to appease Goddess Yunshui's anger. Goddess Yunshui loves children the most..."

"Then what about the boss's body?"

The old Taoist said, "Don't worry about this. Once the temple is built, Goddess Yunshui will naturally send him back."

Seeing that the housekeeper looked relieved, the old Taoist reminded him: "In the future, accumulate more merits."

"Yes! Yes!" the butler said with a smile. As for how much truth there was in his words, no one knew.

Although I don’t know what kind of deal the Taoist priest made with the Zhou family, it seems that I will soon have a place to live.

Really, starting out as a river fairy, and having someone build a temple for me, this is a cool novel! Even the male protagonists in cool novels don’t have as much fun as me!

The Zhou family didn't actually want to build a temple for me. It was Jinniang, Wuniang, and Yanniang who appeared in dreams to their family members, and the three families put pressure on the Zhou family to agree. I also asked Jinniang why she didn't appear in dreams before, and Jinniang smiled bitterly and said, "Before, I was confused and had no strength to escape from the dream... But being by your side, I have gained strength."

Wu Niang and Yan Niang said yes. "I didn't know there was such a saying. I just don't think it has anything to do with me. It doesn't feel real to me."

The Zhou family contributed the most to the temple's construction, with the other three families also contributing some money for their daughters. Wu Niang's family contributed the most, as they had an unborn child.

The Zhou family paid for the three animals, the paper figurines, the coffin, and so on. The Zhou family paid a lot. And because of the temple construction, the wood merchants in Chengyun County who had nearly died were revived. Building a temple requires workers, and young and middle-aged men from across the county came, earning their wages from the Zhou family and working enthusiastically. Building a temple—what a glorious task! Participation is a must! The workers need to eat, and buying food is another expense... In short, despite the Zhou family's huge losses, the GDP of Chengyun County as a whole has increased because of this sacrifice and temple construction.

"As expected, everyone has a bright future..."

Except the Zhou family.

…

The temple construction was proceeding at full speed. The old Taoist priest would often bring his children to the site to observe the progress and offer some guidance. He would also stop by to see me. To be honest, before the temple was built, the old Taoist priest and I had never spoken.

Then when we met officially for the first time, the Taoist priest gave me a big surprise.

He is not a real Taoist priest.

Ha ha.

He just had a pair of yin-yang eyes since he was a child, which allowed him to see things that ordinary people could not see, whether it was ghosts or immortals. Of course, he himself could not tell the difference between ghosts and immortals.

"But I'm not an immortal." I said with a smile.

The old Taoist was stunned for a moment and said, "Maybe it's a monster. But I've never seen a monster before..."

"Hahaha..." I laughed and said, "If you can even identify demons, what do you want Sun Wukong to do? If you ask me, you can see everything in the world!"

He just couldn't distinguish between the world's creatures. He could recognize ghosts, because some ghosts looked different from humans, and he could tell them apart at a glance. If a ghost pretended to be human, he wouldn't be able to tell.

Because he had a pair of yin-yang eyes, the old Taoist was self-taught and could not compare with the real immortal Taoist priests, but he was enough to fool the general public. He only cheated some copper coins and did not hurt anyone's life.

Zhou Yaozong was the first person who consciously wanted to kill him.

Although this fatal method is a bit abstract.

The old Taoist felt very guilty: "Having the help of Lady Yunshui is naturally good, but if it's just Zhou Yaozong, I'm afraid it will damage the Lady's merits."

I chuckled and said, "If killing one person can destroy all merit, then what merit is there in the world? Who do you think kills the most people in the world?"

After hearing this, the old Taoist frowned and then he sighed slowly.

He glanced at Jinniang, who was coaxing the Taoist boy, and said, "Although I killed Zhou Yaozong, I also helped Jinniang, three others, and a baby. Even if the merits cancel each other out, there are still three. You don't have to worry. By the way, what's the child's name? Does she also have the Yin-Yang Eyes?"

The old Taoist said embarrassedly, "She has the same yin-yang eyes as me. I originally thought I couldn't raise her, so I kept calling her a maid and couldn't give her a proper name. I didn't expect to keep her like this until now. So I wanted to wait until she reached the age of marriage, and then give her a proper name."

The old Taoist thought for a moment and looked at me: "Why don't we ask Lady Yunshui to come up with a name?"

"Me?" I raised an eyebrow. "I don't have much knowledge."

I have almost forgotten what I learned before.

The old Taoist smiled and said, "The name was given by the Goddess Yunshui. It was her good fortune."

I don't have much experience in naming, so it was a bit difficult for me to name a little girl. But considering that he had built a temple for me, this small favor was nothing.

I thought about it and said, "Then let's call her Yisheng. I hope she has a smooth life with few setbacks."

How simple, how meaningful.

“Yisheng…Yisheng…Okay, okay!”

The old Taoist clapped his hands, tears glistening in his eyes. His gaze fell on Yisheng and he wiped his eyes. "This is a good name. Thank you, Her Majesty, for the name..."

It’s not really a given name.

I just hope that this girl who was orphaned at a young age can have a smooth life.

"Master, master! This is the willow wreath that Aunt Jin made for me!" Yisheng came over holding a wreath made of willow leaves.

The old Taoist patted the top of her head and said, "Girl, from now on your name will be Yisheng. It was given by Lady Yunshui."

Yisheng was still a little confused, but he quickly realized, "I have a name! I have a name! Thank you, Lady Yunshui!"

She knelt on the ground, ready to kowtow to me.

A stream of water blocked the force of the kowtow, "Don't."

"When you go out next time, don't tell me that I gave you this name."

"Whether you have a good or bad future depends on your own fate. I named you out of gratitude to your master. If you kowtow to me, then I will have gained another favor."

The cause and effect relationship cannot be confused.

The old Taoist understood and let Yi Sheng get up. Jin Niang sighed and said, "Our lives are getting better and better."

The old Taoist looked embarrassed, glanced at the other side, and then said in a low voice: "Actually, there is one thing I don't know whether I should say it or not."

I looked at him with a smile.

He shuddered and said, "On the other side of the Yunshui River is the White Tiger Ridge. I've heard that demons often appear there. Now that Lady Yunshui has built a temple, I'm afraid they might come with ill intentions..."

Oh, White Tiger Ridge...

Hmm? White Tiger Ridge?

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