Chapter 146: What a shame to kneel before a god and gossip!
It snowed a few days ago, and the ancient trees on both sides of the mountain road leading to the nameless Taoist temple were covered with snow, looking very beautiful in their silvery white glory.
Xingxing held her small hand warmer in her hand and followed Mrs. Wei up the mountain, panting.
Mrs. Wei carried a large bamboo basket, half of which was filled with offerings for the gods in the temple, and the other half was filled with food that Li Chunhua had made herself for the old Taoist priest.
The bamboo basket is covered with thick cloth to ensure that the food inside is still hot when it arrives at the Taoist temple.
Thanks to the previous families who built the road, even though there is still a lot of snow on the mountain road, the road is not too difficult to travel.
When Mrs. Wei and Xingxing arrived at the Wuming Taoist temple, they found that Huai Ge'er and his friends had already arrived, and there was even another person besides Huai Ge'er.
Xingxing called over one by one: "Big brother, second brother, third brother, fourth brother..."
Finally, he called the extra person: "Brother Fan!"
She heard from her grandmother that Fan's brothers and sisters also helped to look for her at that time.
On the day Xingxing was rescued from the Pang family, Fan Xingru originally wanted to come and see what was happening, but then he thought, the family had finally been reunited and it was a time of family joy, and if he, an outsider, came in, it would be somewhat of a disturbance.
Therefore, this was the first time Fan Xingru saw Xingxing since she was rescued.
Fan Xingru looked Xingxing up and down and nodded with satisfaction: "Well, she still looks plump and white."
That is to say, Xingxing is still young, and she is determined to be fatter to reassure her grandmother. Otherwise, just based on the word "white and fat", the little girl might quarrel with Fan Xingru.
Mrs. Wei called out to her grandchildren, "Why don't you go in?"
When they came over, Huai Ge'er and a few others were outside the wall of the nameless Taoist temple, and no one knew what they were doing.
Huai Ge'er pointed to a mark on the wall and said, "We are looking at this. It looks like it was drawn with a sword."
That is a bluestone brick wall outside the nameless Taoist temple.
There were many scratches on the brick wall, as if someone had painted on it with a sword.
Others were fine, but Huai Ge'er was mesmerized by the scene, and was obviously very envious: "This brick is so hard, but the other party can draw on it. It must be some magical weapon..."
Mrs. Wei didn't understand all this, so she said, "Okay, everyone is here, let's go in and pay our respects." She urged her grandchildren to go into the Taoist temple to burn incense and worship the gods.
Previously, the old Taoist priest and his companions rescued Fan Pingfang who was visiting Hongfenggou. Naturally, Fan Xingru had also come to this nameless Taoist temple with her family to burn incense, so she was quite familiar with the place.
It was the first time for Huai Ge'er and his friends to come here.
Mother Wei took out half of the offering to the gods from the basket and placed it on the altar.
Huai looked around. After being urged by Mrs. Wei, Huai knelt on the cushion in front of the statue of the deity and whispered to Bo, "It looks no different from other Taoist temples. My mother and two aunts seem to believe in this place. They say it is efficacious..."
Bo Ge'er has been helping to run the Yu Family Store while attending school these days. He is friendly and generous to others, and he sells things as if he were chatting with his family. Many aunts and uncles like to come to him to buy things and chat. Bo Ge'er lowered his voice and replied, "I asked a few aunts who often come to buy things yesterday, and they all said they had never heard of this place. I told them that this place is effective, and they will come to worship next time..."
“Ouch!”
Mother Wei came over and knocked on the head of Huai'er and Bai'er.
What a shame it is for two tall and strong grandsons to kneel before the gods and gossip!
Mother Wei glared at her two grandsons and signaled them to kneel down properly. Huai and Bai stuck out their tongues, knelt obediently in front of the statue, put their hands together and bowed, closed their eyes and silently recited their wishes.
"I haven't seen the old Taoist priest either..." Mrs. Wei looked around and muttered, "Could it be that the old Taoist priest is not here again today?"
Xing Xing volunteered: "Xing Xing will go to Brother Yan's place to have a look. Who knows, the Taoist priest might be there!"
Mrs. Wei didn't think much about it. She knew Xingxing was very familiar with this area, so she waved her hand and said, "Go ahead!"
Xingxing climbed up from the mat and ran out with her short legs.
It's cold today and she's wearing thick clothes, so she runs like a little cotton ball.
Wei Shiyan was practicing swordplay in the yard when he saw this scene – a white cotton ball with a happy and surprised smile on its face, shouting “Brother Yan”, running towards him from outside the deserted courtyard gate.
Wei Shiyan couldn't help but smile.
He put away the sword and waited silently for Xingxing to come over.
Xing Xing ran out of breath and smiled at him with her chubby face, which made her look even more childish: "Brother Yan, you are practicing sword again!"
Wei Shiyan put the sword into the scabbard, on which hung the simple insect repellent sachet that Xingxing had given him.
He said, “There’s nothing else to do.”
After a pause, Wei Shiyan continued, "As for you, I heard that you were almost tricked into getting married?"
Wei Shiyan took a look at the little kid who was about as tall as his waist, frowned and said, "You are still so young, you should be more careful in the future and don't let others fool you again."
Xingxing shook her head in confusion: "Xingxing doesn't know either. But grandpa and grandma found Xingxing again!"
Seeing Xing Xing looking silly and clueless, Wei Shiyan felt that his question was indeed a bit silly.
He simply stopped asking and thought about what he had in his room that could feed Xingxing.
Just as I had this thought, I saw Xing Xing looking around: "Hey, why can't I see the Taoist priest?"
Wei Shiyan: "Are you here to see Uncle Tao?"
Xingxing doesn't know yet that the old Taoist priest is the "Uncle Tao" mentioned by Wei Shiyan.
She looked at Wei Shiyan blankly: "Who is Uncle Tao?"
Wei Shiyan: "That's the Taoist priest you mentioned."
Xing Xing suddenly realized and nodded her head: "Yes, yes, yes, Xing Xing came to see the Taoist priest. And also came to see Brother Yan."
Wei Shiyan who was visiting by the way: "..."
He was a little unhappy.
"Uncle Tao should be in the room. I'll go call him." Wei Shiyan pursed his lips and went to call for help with his sword in hand.
The door of a room creaked open.
The old Taoist priest with gray hair and wearing Taoist robes stood at the door with a smile: "Little girl, are you looking for me?"
"Grandpa Taoist priest!" Xing Xing shouted happily, "Grandma brought my brothers to worship the gods. She also brought a lot of delicious food for Grandpa Taoist priest! It was made by my aunt, it's delicious!"
The old Taoist priest's graying eyebrows twitched: "Oh? There is such a good thing."
He put his hands behind his back and walked towards Xing Xing with a smile: "Then I have to go and take a look."
Wei Shiyan pursed his lips and stood aside.
Xing Xing suddenly called out again: "Brother Yan, aren't you going?... Grandma has taken a lot."
Wei Shiyan felt better.
But he still shook his head: "No."
The only person he can touch right now is Xing Xing. What if he accidentally touches someone else and brings misfortune to them?