Xuanqing Temple is located on Yuntai Mountain. It covers a vast area and has a huge complex of buildings. There are several hundred registered Taoist priests and other staff members.
Of course, most of these people are just ordinary people, or ordinary Taoists who have studied some Taoist scriptures and methods. The threshold for metaphysics has never been low. Some people may glimpse a ray of light, but they will never be able to enter the door in their entire lives.
Because Xuanqing Temple, especially its front halls, is open to the public and considered a tourist attraction, it has a large number of staff, all of whom are recruited by Xuanqing Temple as a unit.
As Qin Gu walked, he introduced the young Taoist priest without concealing any details, clearly indicating that this young Taoist priest was no ordinary person.
The three of them walked through most of Xuanqing Temple. Weiming took the initiative to say goodbye and leave. Qin Gu said to Ruan Bei, "Weiming is my fourth senior brother's disciple. He is a generation younger than the two of us."
"A nominal disciple?"
"We haven't formally accepted any disciples yet," Qin Gu said. "My fourth senior brother is very picky; he insists on taking on someone with exceptional talent, like someone like me—"
Ruan Bei glanced at him sideways, his expression mocking.
Qin Gu then added with a smile, "And there's someone like Xiao Bei. Actually, Wei Ming's talent is quite good."
"Don't compare me to him. I'm just a complete novice who doesn't know anything right now." Although Qin Gu had always praised his talent for the Yin-Yang Eyes, he wasn't really sure and lacked confidence until he actually started learning.
Before entering the temple, one must first pay respects to the master. Just as one arrives at the courtyard where Xu Ziduan is practicing meditation, one hears a clear baritone voice speaking inside. The voice is strong and the tone is light and cheerful. It is clearly the fourth senior brother, Feng Ningrui.
Qin Gu immediately sensed something was wrong. Sure enough, the next second, Feng Ningrui's pleading voice came from the courtyard: "Master, you already have that kid Ninggu. Didn't you agree to take him as your disciple? Just give me the new guy with the Yin-Yang Eyes!"
"No way!" Qin Gu pushed open the half-closed courtyard gate, his manner aggressive, like someone trying to challenge someone.
Just as Xu Ziduan was about to reprimand him, his gaze swept over the unfamiliar boy following behind him, and his expression immediately softened: "This must be Xiao Bei. Come, let your master take a look at you."
She glared at Feng Ningrui with annoyance and said, "So you came here in such a hurry today because you're here to snatch someone away."
Qin Gu pulled Ruan Bei towards their master. As they passed Feng Ningrui, Wei Ming shrank back under his sharp gaze and hid behind his master.
Feng Ningrui wasn't unaware of the danger, and he wasn't intimidated by his junior brother's sharp gaze. He tried to poach him right in front of him: "Xiao Bei, right? Why don't you become my disciple? Look at me, your master is getting old and can't talk to young kids like you. I'm different. If you become my disciple, I'll take you out to play every day. You can do whatever you want. I have plenty of money."
Ruan Bei blinked his big eyes at him. Sleepy Fourth Senior Brother, he really is a very unique Taoist priest.
Feng Ningrui wasn't very old, and Ruan Bei couldn't tell if he was in his twenties or thirties, but he looked very young, and his clothes were particularly eye-catching.
He wasn't wearing a Taoist robe; he was wearing a graffiti-print t-shirt and ripped jeans. If it weren't for the people present confirming it, Ruan Bei wouldn't have believed that he was a Taoist priest.
"Xiao Bei!" Qin Gu pinched his chin to prevent him from looking at Feng Ningrui: "We made a deal, you have to be my junior brother."
"Mmm, it's a promise, it won't change." Ruan Bei tugged at his hand. He didn't want to be a generation younger than Kun Kun at all. He didn't even want to call him brother, let alone uncle.
Qin Gu was satisfied. He gave his senior brother a smug look, then pulled Ruan Bei to stand in front of Xu Ziduan, who was watching the show with a smile: "Master, this is Xiao Bei."
Ruan Bei obediently replied, "Hello, I am Ruan Bei."
Xu Ziduan beckoned to him: "Good boy, come here."
Ruan Bei glanced at Qin Gu, who gently nudged him: "Go over there."
So he took two steps forward, and Xu Ziduan reached out and pointed a finger at his brow.
Ruan Bei saw the old Taoist priest make a strange gesture with his free hand, and heard him chanting incantations. His speech was fast and steady, but the content was hard to understand.
The spot on my forehead where the needle was applied started to feel slightly cool. It didn't hurt or feel uncomfortable, similar to when I had just used the calming talisman, but it wasn't as stimulating.
After an unknown amount of time—perhaps three to five minutes, or perhaps only a few seconds—Xu Ziduan withdrew his hand, his eyes slightly brightening.
Feng Ningrui asked first, "How is it?"
Ruan Bei looked uneasy, and Qin Gu quickly comforted him: "Look at Master's expression, it must be very good."
Ruan Bei subconsciously looked at Xu Ziduan, and the old Taoist smiled and nodded: "You have excellent talent, but don't let your talent make you complacent. Only by being determined and diligent in your studies can you achieve your goals."
You've been praised!
Ruan Bei beamed and bowed to Xu Ziduan: "I understand, Master. I will work hard."
Xu Ziduan nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, Ning Gu, take Xiao Bei to settle in first. Ning Rui, go and inform the others that the apprenticeship ceremony will be held tomorrow."
Feng Ningrui glanced at Ruan Bei with resentment, but even after he persuaded his master, Ruan Bei refused, and in the end he could only give up in disappointment.
Qin Gu led Ruan Bei to put down his luggage first. He stayed here for several months every year, so he naturally had his own place to stay. It was similar to the small courtyard they had just come from, and it looked a bit like a traditional courtyard house, but not as well-organized.
"The main room is where the eldest brother lives, the left wing is where the fourth brother lives, and we'll live on the right side."
It was called the right wing, but it was actually a row of houses connected together. After entering, there was a small hall for receiving guests, and there were doors on both sides. Qin Gu showed him around and found that the study, bedroom, and washroom were all complete.
It looks like an old-style building from the outside, but the interior decoration is actually quite modern. For one thing, there are definitely lights and the wiring is already installed.
“I rarely stay here in the summer, so I didn’t install air conditioning.” Qin Gu knew that Ruan Bei was afraid of the heat: “I’ll go and talk to the logistics department and ask them to install an air conditioner.”
Ruan Bei was too embarrassed to say, "No need, no need, I think it's quite cool here."
He was telling the truth; the temperature in the mountains is naturally lower than outside, and it was noticeably cooler when you came in.
"Okay, if you feel hot, be sure to tell me."
Qin Gu carried the luggage into the bedroom: "Go take a shower first, I'll unpack the things in the suitcase."
Ruan Bei was used to living with Qin Gu, so he thought it was normal to only have one bedroom.
"You go ahead and wash, I'll pack it." Ruan Bei saw that his back was soaked with sweat and didn't want to take it from him: "You go ahead, I'll call my parents to let them know I'm safe."
After he said that, Qin Gu went first. Ruan Bei called home to tell them that he had arrived at Master Kunkun's place and that they didn't need to worry.
While on the phone, she took clothes out of her suitcase and put them in the closet.
Summer clothes are light and thin, and Qin Gu said he had some of his clothes here, so they didn't bring much luggage and put everything away in no time.
After Qin Gu finished showering, Ruan Bei took his turn to shower. He looked around and then wandered off to the other side of the street.
Fourth Senior Brother went to take care of some business and wasn't there, but the main gate was open.
They were fellow students in the same courtyard, and the main gate was usually not locked unless someone like him was going on a long trip.
Qin Gu slipped inside and skillfully rummaged through the refrigerator in his senior's living room, pulling out a pile of ice cream.
He picked and chose a few flavors that he and Ruan Bei liked, and then took them away.
When Ruan Bei came out of the shower, he was greeted with two boxes of ice cream. Eating ice cream in the middle of summer was simply the most enjoyable thing.
"Where did it come from?" Ruan Bei asked, a spoon in his mouth.
"It was my fourth senior brother who invited me," Qin Gu said without changing his expression.
"Fourth Senior Brother is so kind. I thought he would be angry with me." After all, he had rejected him in front of Master, Kunkun, and the young Taoist priest Weiming.
"No, Fourth Senior Brother is very magnanimous and wouldn't get angry over such trivial matters." Qin Gu calmly ate his ice cream to comfort him, "Just remember to thank him later."
"good."
True to his word, Ruan Bei went to thank his fourth senior brother as soon as he returned: "Thank you, senior brother, the ice cream was delicious."
Feng Ningrui: "?"
Qin Gu smiled and added, "Thank you, senior brother, for treating us to ice cream."
Feng Ningrui: "..."
The brat, he could have just eaten it all himself, but now that a junior brother has come, he's taken it all with him.
"Senior brother?"
"You're welcome." Feng Ningrui gritted his teeth inwardly, silently reminding himself to maintain the demeanor of a senior brother and not lose his composure in front of the new junior brother.
"See, I told you my senior brother is very generous, right?" Qin Gu said with a smile, "Xiao Bei, my senior brother loves children the most. He bought a lot of snacks. If you are hungry, just go to my senior brother and don't be shy."
Ruan Bei said embarrassedly, "I'm not a child anymore."
Qin Gu said nonchalantly, "You're the youngest in our generation, so as your senior brother, we should all give way to you, right, senior brother?"
Feng Ningrui smiled and said, "Yes, come and find me whatever you want to eat."
His sharp gaze swept past the clueless younger brother Ruan Bei and landed on Qin Gu. Qin Gu smiled back without changing his expression. This old man, who was already quite old, still liked to eat candy and snacks, and was stingy, not even giving them to his apprentice. He was doing this to share the burden of his senior brother's health.
The next day, Ruan Bei was woken up early. Last night they had eaten in the Taoist temple's large canteen. The sect did not prohibit meat, and there were many kinds of food, which tasted quite good.
Ruan Bei goes to bed early at night. The temperature difference between day and night is large in the mountains. In the height of summer, the evenings are cool and not stuffy at all. It is especially pleasant to sit under the eaves and eat watermelon.
The only downside was the abundance of mosquitoes, but with a mosquito net, it wasn't too bad. In any case, Ruan Bei slept quite comfortably last night.
In the morning, Weiming brought him a Taoist robe. Although it had long sleeves, the fabric was comfortable and breathable, and he didn't feel hot while wearing it.
Led by Qin Gu, they arrived at a side hall, which was not open to the public and was dedicated to the patriarchs of Xuanqing Temple.
There were already quite a few people standing in the hall. There were no more people in Xu Ziduan's previous generation, but there were still six or seven people in the Zi generation. Ruan Bei had already met his second senior uncle Zhou Ziyi yesterday afternoon, as well as several other senior uncles, who were disciples of Xu Ziduan's senior uncles.
Next are the Ning generation. The closest to Ruan Bei are, of course, his fellow disciples under the same master. The eldest brother has a post in Beijing and can't come back in time. He has met the fourth brother. Then there is the youngest brother, whose family is Kunkun.
Of the eldest disciple's disciples, only the youngest, Weiting, remained in the temple to cultivate; the other adults followed him and could not return.
Fourth Senior Brother didn't accept any disciples into his inner circle, but he had a long list of nominal disciples. Ruan Bei also saw several Taoists who looked older than Fourth Senior Brother, standing respectfully behind him.
There were many people in the "Wei" generation. Besides those who had masters, there were also some disciples who knew a little about the secrets of the Xuanmen sect, but whose talents were average and who were devoted to the Dao. They looked at Ruan Bei with envy.
There were too many people, and Ruan Bei didn't remember most of them. Yesterday, he had a crash course on etiquette with Qin Gu, and today he asked about the apprenticeship process in advance.
Xu Ziduan was wearing a new Taoist robe today. When he saw Ruan Bei, he said to Qin Gu, "There are still empty rooms in the Weiyuan Courtyard. Why did you take Xiao Bei there with you?"
"He's new here and only knows me, so of course he'll stay with me." Qin Gu had a good reason: "Besides, after he becomes a disciple, he'll be part of the Ning generation, so it's not appropriate for him to stay in the Wei courtyard."
Xu Ziduan thought about it and agreed: "But don't you have no empty rooms in your courtyard?"
"Xiao Bei doesn't mind, right?"
Ruan Bei was very reluctant to live with strangers, so he immediately nodded in agreement: "Yes, Master, I want to live with Kun Kun."
Since they were both happy to agree, Xu Ziduan didn't ask any more questions. However, Qin Gu looked around and asked, "Master, is Uncle not here?"
The uncle he mentioned was Xu Ziqi, the son of his grandmaster. Although he had a Daoist title in the sect, he could only be considered half a disciple of Xuanqing Temple.
Just like Qin Gu's maternal grandfather was a physiognomist, but he had the talent of a celestial master, Xu Ziqi's father was the abbot of Xuanqing Temple, a leading figure among celestial masters, but he had extremely poor talent in catching ghosts and exorcising demons, but he made great progress in physiognomy and the Book of Changes.
The old abbot back then was quite open-minded. He simply swallowed his pride and sent his son to learn physiognomy. His master was Qin Gu's maternal grandfather's senior brother, which means that Xu Ziqi still had to call Qin Gu's maternal grandfather "uncle".
For these reasons, Xu Ziqi was always close to Qin Gu.
“Unfortunately, your martial uncle had to come down the mountain a few days ago due to some urgent business,” Xu Ziduan said.
Qin Gu was not surprised. His uncle was a carefree person, and sometimes when he was in the mood, he would go down the mountain in the middle of the night to take a car to another city. It was not strange at all.
After a few words of small talk, everyone who was supposed to be there had arrived. The auspicious time was approaching, and the apprenticeship ceremony began.
The ceremony was presided over by the second senior apprentice, Zhou Ziyi, who was the oldest among his peers present.
The hall fell silent instantly. Ruan Bei was so nervous that a thin layer of sweat broke out on his back. Following the voice of his second senior uncle, he knelt before the ancestor and master.
Ruan Bei glanced at the ancestral tablets, but only made out the one in the very center, which read "Xu Helai" as the ancestor.
He was distracted for a moment, silently repeating the name in his heart, thinking that the patriarch was indeed the patriarch, even his name had such an ethereal quality.
The ceremony proceeded smoothly without any unexpected incidents. After the apprenticeship ceremony was completed, Xu Ziduan personally recorded Ruan Bei's name in the Xuanqing Temple's genealogy, and he could then address Ruan Bei as his new master.
Qin Gu took the initiative to lead him to pay respects to all the elders, starting with his second senior uncle, and then greeted everyone and received gifts from all of them.
At first, Ruan Bei was a little embarrassed, but Qin Gu was even more enthusiastic than him. The other senior disciples teased Qin Gu a few times with smiles. They were all very kind and easy to get along with.
His fellow disciples weren't spared either. In the end, there were so many gifts that he couldn't carry them all, so Qin Gu called Wei Ming and Wei Ting to help. The two young Taoist priests followed behind them eagerly.
Ruan Bei, who was happily becoming an apprentice and receiving gifts, had no idea that thousands of miles away in Jincheng, someone was terrified and gnashing their teeth because of a photo of him.
Inside the luxurious villa, a handsome young man in a clean white shirt stared intently at a small photo on his phone. The young man in the photo had delicate and striking features, and his youthful aura seemed to emanate from the photo itself.
But the handsome young man had no desire to appreciate it. His fingers gripped the phone so tightly they turned white, and his otherwise pretty face became distorted with jealousy, resentment, and other negative emotions.
"Sibai? What are you doing sitting here?"
The voice came from behind him. Lu Sibai subconsciously turned off his phone screen, adjusted his expression in a second, and naturally put on a gentle smile. He turned around and said in a soft and gentle voice with a hint of cheerfulness, "Brother, you're back. You must be tired from work. Would you like some tea? I'll make it for you."
His younger brother's caring words warmed Lu Siyuan's heart like a gentle bath. He walked over with a smile and pulled Lu Sibai to sit down: "Don't be busy, what were you doing just now?"
"Nothing much, just chatting with classmates and talking about studies and stuff." He took Lu Siyuan's hand and naturally massaged his wrist: "But you, brother, have to go to class and work at the same time. It must be really hard. Luckily, you are smart and capable, so you can manage to do so well."
Lu Siyuan smiled and shook his head: "You, all you know is how to make me happy. You even got a scolding from Dad yesterday."
"That's because Dad has high hopes for my brother, so he's a bit strict with him. Actually, my brother is already very capable." Lu Sibai looked up, her bright eyes filled with admiration.
It's too late, time is running out! Why can't that annoying guy just stay quietly in the corner? Why does he have to show up in front of everyone and get in the way?
Lu Siyuan's heart skipped a beat. He felt that his younger brother's eyes were different from usual, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.
He was indeed busy. He hadn't graduated from university yet and was interning at his own company. He still had work to do, but his body seemed to be consciously unwilling to leave.
"How's your studies lately? By the way, I heard that this year's top scorer in the college entrance exam is from No. 1 High School?" Lu Siyuan randomly picked a topic. He didn't remember who had mentioned it, but he figured his younger brother, who was also a high school student, must have been aware of it.
Lu Sibai's smile froze, and a sinister glint flashed in his eyes, which he concealed by lowering his head. He said nonchalantly, "I'm not too sure, brother. You know, at our school... many students plan to go abroad. They don't place much emphasis on the national college entrance examination."
Lu Siyuan didn't attend this high school, but he knew some of his younger brother's curriculum and that it was indeed more focused on holistic education, so he didn't ask any more questions.
The two brothers chatted for a few more minutes, but Lu Siyuan hadn't finished his work and couldn't sit still any longer. He told Lu Sibai that he was about to leave.
Lu Sibai got up to see him off. When he stood up, he accidentally bumped into the kettle on the coffee table. He reached out to steady it, but lost control, and half a kettle of tea spilled onto his chest, and a lot of it also spilled onto Lu Siyuan's clothes.
Lu Sibai wore a white shirt with a great drape. After getting wet, the thin fabric clung to his skin, and the white shirt became semi-transparent, revealing everything that should and shouldn't be revealed.
Lu Siyuan glanced at him and immediately turned his head away as if he were an eyesore. He was clearly his own younger brother, and they had bathed together when they were little. They had seen each other before, but at this moment, he felt more embarrassed than if he were naked.
Lu Sibai, oblivious to everything, anxiously grabbed a tissue and started wiping Lu Siyuan's body, her voice pitiful and aggrieved: "I'm sorry, brother, I didn't mean to, I... I'll wash you, okay?"
"It's nothing, I'll go upstairs to change my clothes." Lu Siyuan grabbed Lu Sibai's hand and hurriedly said, "You should go change your clothes too."
Then I went upstairs.
As Lu Siyuan's figure disappeared, the smile on Lu Sibai's face gradually vanished. He had been too hasty.
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