Chapter 9 Debt Collector

009 Debt Collector

"Sounds like no one's there?"

He and Xiang Jiannan sneaked to the front yard. Gao Yuan leaned against the door and listened for a while. He didn't look like a master at all. The only sound in his ears was the crackling sound of rain.

He wanted to get his disciple's approval, but he was too embarrassed to say it out loud at this moment. The person who was hiding from the rain might have already left, so it would be better not to open the door.

Ping'an Temple has a very regular daily routine. Under his leadership, it has never received pilgrims at night for decades. Although the main reason is that the number of incense customers is low, there is no need to make an exception at present.

There are a lot of incense sticks burning lately, and opening the door rashly might indeed bring disaster.

"Are you afraid?"

Seeing that the master wanted to run away after he finished speaking, Xiang Jiannan was of course not happy. He mocked him in the sound of rain, with a tone full of indifference:

"A cultivator is still so timid. Master must be feeling very uncomfortable right now."

Although the master acted very genuinely, in my eyes, I still felt that he was pretending.

Some feelings just can't be expressed in words, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. If he hadn't tried several times before and almost lost his life, he would have put them into action again during this period.

The master has great power, and it is hidden very deeply.

No matter how ordinary he behaves in normal times, he cannot shake the conviction in his heart.

Now that disaster seems to be approaching, we must pull this old Taoist priest to share the hardship with us no matter what.

As the saying goes, fathers and sons fight together in battle. In this world, Xiang Jiannan has only this one relative. Once a teacher, always a father. It is impossible for him to run away.

"How can we, as cultivators, be afraid?"

No longer daring to leave after hearing what Xiang Jiannan said, Gao Yuan suddenly became tough.

Under normal circumstances, he would definitely not be provoked by Xiang Jiannan, but now it is different.

The Taoist temple's popularity gradually improved, which unconsciously changed Gao Yuan's mentality. He felt that he should pay attention to his image occasionally, especially in front of his disciples.

As time went by, his disciple seemed to have less and less respect for him. Even though he was a cultivator who claimed to have no desires or demands, he could not stand it after so many times. Besides, he had not reached that level yet, and he still had to maintain the dignity of his master.

"Master, I have the Emperor of Heaven above me and the Earth below me, and I have a teacher standing behind me. Even if a catastrophe is about to happen tonight, I will never be afraid."

"Open the door!"

Why did he suddenly get so excited? Originally he just wanted to provoke the old Taoist priest, but Xiang Jiannan really didn't expect the effect to be so good. It has to be said that his master is indeed a tough person who can be easily provoked. During this period of time, he only paid attention to his miserable appearance when he got into trouble and forgot his once domineering side.

Once, because of a joke made by someone, he was scolded by a shrew in the town and glared at her for several hours. In the end, he returned to the Taoist temple in a miserable victory, covered in spit.

It’s not that the man was frightened by his eyes, but it was getting dark and he had to go home and couldn’t pay any more attention to this crazy Taoist priest.

In Xiang Jiannan's memory, he was only eighteen years old at that time. Although he had not come into this world yet, he still had that feeling every time he thought of it.

I feel embarrassed, helpless and angry.

It is no exaggeration to say that I can empathize with you.

"Wait, open the door a little and take a look."

Retracting his thoughts from his memories, Xiang Jiannan turned around and prepared to open the door.

As the saying goes, blessing comes naturally, but misfortune cannot be avoided. Now that my master and I have finally formed a united front, it is time to face the fear in my heart.

The master said that he has a green dragon on his left and a white tiger on his right, and a clay mountain leaning against his back. As a disciple, I cannot let him down at this moment.

Just as I put my hand on the door bar, I heard the old master seem to lose his temper again.

Now dark clouds are covering the sky, accumulated rain is flooding the earth, and the candlelight in front of the statue of the ancestor is flickering. We should be careful.

So, amidst a series of mutterings from Gao Yuan, such as "You have only reached the first level of Dao Fruit, and have not yet tasted the beauty of Dao, Master, I don't care. I am reminding you only because I am worried about you," he gently opened the door a crack.

It was pitch dark outside the door, and the person who was hiding from the rain and trying to burn incense in the temple was not seen yet.

"Thank you, Taoist Priest!"

Xiang Jiannan bravely widened the gap in the door by twice as much. Suddenly, he felt a gust of cold wind blowing towards him. Before he could shrink his neck, he saw a big hand pressing in front of him. After just a word of thanks, the left wooden door was completely pushed open.

The man in straw raincoat was about 1.8 meters tall, with his whole face buried under his straw hat. The chill he brought made Xiang Jiannan and his disciple retreat several steps.

The wind just now was blowing strangely, as if it was carried by a running person. After it passed by, there was still a smell left, which made my nose feel uncomfortable. It was a bit familiar and I had definitely smelled it somewhere.

"The rain from heaven has fallen, and the old Taoist and his disciple have been neglectful for a moment."

After bowing to the man in the straw raincoat, Gao Yuan quickly returned to his normal reaction.

When he opened the door before, he was standing behind Xiang Jiannan and was nearly knocked down after being bumped a few times. Seeing that there was no other problem with the visitor except the sudden appearance, he stepped forward and asked the man in the straw raincoat, "Excuse me, where are you from, and is there anyone traveling with you?"

"I'm the only one there."

He raised his hand and pointed to the northwest. The face of the man in the straw raincoat was still unclear. He only saw that after he finished answering, he stepped over the threshold with one foot, and then took no hurry to step in with the other one. It was not until Xiang Jiannan and his disciple separated to the left and right that he stepped into the Taoist temple without any courtesy.

"I'm here to collect a debt. I'll light some incense and then leave."

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"Please follow me."

Unlike Xiang Jiannan who just stood there and watched, Gao Yuan was able to get into his normal routine. When he heard the man in the straw raincoat say he wanted to burn incense, he immediately set out to lead the way:

"It's dark and the ground is slippery, pilgrims please watch your step."

Just put it in now?

Looking at the master and the man in the straw raincoat walking one after another without looking back, Xiang Jiannan felt that he was redundant. He wanted to close the door but didn't dare to do so. After hesitating for a moment, he gave up.

The door was opened wide to welcome the air from all directions. The man in the straw raincoat said he would light a stick of incense and leave. Judging from the way he followed the master, he seemed to be just an ordinary person.

He was just a little bit bulky and got a little wet on the rainy night.

"Please, I have some trivial matters to attend to, so I won't stay here with you."

Gao Yuan led the man in the straw raincoat into the incense hall, and did not stand by as usual. After Xiang Jiannan entered, he immediately gave him the task of accompanying him: "If you have anything to say, please tell my disciple. Come here, disciple."

It's not appropriate.

Seeing that the master wanted to slip away again after giving the instructions, Xiang Jiannan hurriedly signaled to him with his eyes, he forgot what Li Jin had told him during the day, what if something unexpected happens when you leave, although the man in the straw raincoat seems to be fine for the time being, but you can't just leave like this, I have just tasted the first tasting of the Taoist fruit, and have not yet tasted the wonderful Taoism!

Unfortunately, perhaps because of the lack of light, after exchanging a few glances, Gao Yuan decided to leave.

It looked like he didn't notice it at all, he just held up three fingers as he walked away.

"This rain soaked me all over."

As Gao Yuan left the inner hall, the man in the straw raincoat seemed to suddenly relax. He tore off the straw raincoat and took off his hat to reveal his true face.

He looked like an ordinary rough man. He observed for a long time before he raised his hand and picked up a few incense sticks:

"Master, how long can a stick of incense burn?"

"The two quarters you have are enough."

Thinking about whether he should tell the price at this moment, Xiang Jiannan began to feel a little flustered. No one had ever asked him such a question during all the days he had been guarding the Taoist temple.

"That's good. We debt collectors should have some idea of ​​what we are doing, otherwise we will always feel empty."

After gathering together, they lit a few incense sticks, and the man in the straw raincoat leaned over and bowed first, not to the clay statue of the master, but to the northwest direction outside the house: "It's not easy to collect the debt today."

When he took the incense back into the house, he only looked at Xiang Jiannan in the smoke: "Don't blame me, don't blame me."

I will send the contract tomorrow, happy!

(End of this chapter)