"You little brat, how dare you go out and make a fool of yourself!"
As soon as she entered, the old Taoist priest began to scold her, clearly trying to take advantage of Xiang Wan's face.
Looking at the old Taoist priest, he had a mustache on his square face, wore a ceremonial headscarf, and a yellow Taoist robe that hadn't been washed in over a decade, with a whisk slung over his arm. He looked quite intimidating, his voice was righteous and indignant, and his squinting eyes revealed no emotion.
Squinting eyes are great! When you squint, no one can see the expression in your eyes. It's the perfect tool for causing trouble.
Xiang Wan's eyes were clear and bright, without a trace of anger. When it comes to showing off, who can compare to her?
With a soft sigh, Xiang Wan shook her head, her voice unhurried, "May I ask, fellow Daoist, what year is it today?"
"The eighteenth year of the first year of the Great Zhou Dynasty, little one, didn't your family tell you to check the almanac before you went out?"
The old Taoist priest was sarcastic and didn't hold back at all.
Xiang Wan shook her head. “No, no. All things in the world have come to this point, and all people are born with only a pair of clouded eyes. They need to break through illusions and cleanse their hearts of defilement in order to see through all illusions and attain the Great Dao. Ants, snakes, and rats use months to measure their reincarnation, mortals use years to measure the past, but I use cycles to measure length. You and I are both in the mortal world, how could we not know that a day in heaven is a thousand years on earth? Look at my face, I look eighteen, but you don’t know that your age is nothing but an illusion to me. The Great Dao is long and profound. To prove the Dao, we must discuss it, consider aptitude, talk about enlightenment, and also talk about one’s heart and mind. Fellow Daoist, what do you think?”
So what? Isn't this just saying that he's only getting older but not smarter, indirectly criticizing him for being narrow-minded and judging people by their appearance?
A cold glint appeared in the old man's narrowed eyes.
Thinking back to his youth, he was also around this age when he began wandering the world. He didn't even dare to casually enter people's homes to exorcise ghosts. Does this kid perhaps have a death wish?
"Hmph, I'm afraid you only have a little bit of ink in your belly, which you chewed up and scattered to make a show of it."
Xiang Wan lowered her eyes, neither sad nor happy, and said, "The Dao is boundless, saving all sentient beings. Entering the Dao is not about order, and exorcising evil is not about left or right. Fellow Daoist, please!"
Xiang Wan raised her hand and gestured for him to enter, which surprised the old Taoist priest.
Such understanding and tact seem unusual for someone of this age.
Having experienced the ways of the world, the old Taoist priest flicked his sleeve, saying he knew what was good for him!
The old Taoist priest found a stool and sat down. Seeing Xiang Wan frown, he snorted coldly, pinching his half-beard between his fingers and twirling it carefully.
Xiang Wan got up, walked around the room, and went straight to the door. She pulled an older person to sit in her previous seat, while she looked at the layout of the room, shaking her head as she looked, acting like a wise person.
The old man sat on the stool for less than a short while before becoming restless, his eyes frequently gesturing towards the evening.
Ping Datou glanced at Xiang Wan, then at the old Taoist priest, pondering to himself, "Whom should I listen to between these two Taoists?"
"Master, this..."
“Benefactor Ping, there is no need to worry. We met first today, and this fellow Daoist has come from afar, which is quite fortunate. Let him try first, and my disciple and I will be there to oversee things and ensure everything goes smoothly.”
Ping Datou's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected that two Taoist priests would come when he couldn't usually get one.
The old Taoist priest was not happy about this. How could he let others so easily observe his skills for making a living?
“Esteemed benefactor, I do not wish for outsiders to watch my rituals. Please excuse me.”
Are you sure?
Xiang Wan's rhetorical question infuriated the old Taoist priest. Could his years of experience really be doubted by a mere youth?
"If the ghost can't be driven away tonight, I'll write my surname backwards!"
With such a confident guarantee, Ping Datou had already believed most of it.
Xiang Wan smiled. These were just a few tricks; the old Taoist priest had probably used them to fool people quite a bit.
"If your surname is Wang, then don't flaunt it."
After everyone thought about it, their expressions were priceless, which embarrassed the old Taoist so much that he changed his surname.
"My surname is He, and your surname is esteemed, fellow Daoist?"
"A person outside the secular world, using the pseudonym Wuxiang."
The phrase "without appearance" implies looking at the essence rather than the face, indirectly echoing Xiang Wan's earlier sarcasm about the old Taoist's superficiality in judging her solely by her appearance.
It's a pity that people only listened to the literal meaning. It's like Xiang Wan drew a pie in the sky for a blind person; all her efforts were wasted.
This old Taoist's real name is Wang He, but after being provoked by Xiang Wan, he'll probably have to be called He Wang from now on. It does sound a bit domineering.
Xiang Wan called to her young apprentice to come with her, but the apprentice was vague and his cheeks were bulging.
Seeing that Tu Hongye was clever, Yang was delighted and stuffed two more steamed buns into his arms before he left.
Tu Hongye quickly ate the bun in two bites and said to Yang's belly, "May the heavens grant you good fortune, benefactor, you will surely give birth to a son in one go."
Who doesn't like to hear nice things?
Ping Datou came to the backyard and happened to hear this. Overjoyed, he gave Tu Hongye two more steamed buns.
When Xiang Wan saw Tu Hongye emerge from his bulging arms, a pang of sadness welled up in her heart.
To think that she, a respected master, could be less successful than her apprentice, truly shows how unfair the world is and how morals have changed.
When Tu Hongye stuffed the steamed bun into Xiang Wan's hand, she couldn't help but sigh, "The former bishop's apprentice is quite good; he didn't forget his master even while eating."
Unexpectedly, before she could even put the bun in her mouth, Tu Hongye held up three fingers and waved them in front of her, saying seriously, "Eat two, or three. No bargaining."
Xiang Wan angrily finished off the steamed bun in a few bites, deciding that she would never praise her apprentice again, not even in her heart, because it would be a waste.
I wonder where my apprentice got his stingy nature from.
"Master, are we really leaving like this?"
"What the hell? We finally found this business opportunity, how can we let someone else benefit from it!" Xiang Wan said resentfully.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
