Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 4 Grandpa's Heirlooms! [Please add to your favorites]

An hour later, Wu Meiniang heard the sound of a motorcycle coming from the courtyard. She quickly ran out and saw two large bags full of medicine hanging on the handlebars. She exclaimed with delight:
"So many! I'll go back immediately and have Princess Jinyang try them."

Zhou Yi took off his helmet and said:

"Don't rush. Let me teach you how to use these medical devices. When you get there, explain it to the imperial physicians and let them think about it. Officials in the Tang Dynasty can even measure the prime meridian and latitude and longitude. These kinds of simple medical devices shouldn't be difficult for them."

He entered the room and taught Wu Meiniang the steps one by one.

When it was time to measure her blood pressure, Wu Meiniang obediently took off her jacket, rolled up her sleeves, and let Zhou Yi put the cuff of the blood pressure monitor on her fair and smooth arm.

She wanted to say that men and women should not touch each other, but for some reason, she didn't say it until after her blood pressure was measured.

After the measurement was completed, Zhou Yi gave the following instructions:

"According to historical records, Li Shimin liked to eat high-oil and high-sugar foods. Coupled with the so-called wind disease, his blood pressure must have been high. Have the imperial physician measure his blood pressure several times, in the morning, before bed, and before and after meals. Remember these data. I will buy him some antihypertensive drugs next time he comes."

With everything arranged, Wu Meiniang put on Zhou Yi's flight jacket, carried two large bags of medicine and equipment, and arrived at the entrance of the Mahavira Hall:

"I will come to visit again in five days, sir. Take care."

Zhou Yi waved his hand:

"I'll cook you something nice then. Today's meal was too ordinary and I feel I didn't treat you well enough."

Wu Meiniang smiled sweetly, and as soon as she stepped across the threshold of the main hall, she and the two large bags she was carrying vanished into thin air.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi scratched his head:

"With so many grand halls in Hunyuan Palace, why did Wu Zetian choose the Mahavira Hall as a time portal?"

Back in his room, he searched for information about the empress on his computer. As he looked, a bold guess suddenly came to him:
"Could it be related to her Buddhist beliefs?"

Empress Wu Zetian was a Buddhist in history and built many temples. Even the largest Vairocana Buddha statue in the Longmen Grottoes is said to have been carved based on her appearance.

However, simply advocating Buddhism doesn't seem to provide enough evidence, since there have been many emperors in history who were devout Buddhists.

Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, was raised by a monk; Emperor Taizu of Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang, was ordained as a monk when he was young.

Emperor Wu of Liang in the Southern Dynasties, Xiao Yan, not only built temples on a grand scale, but also took off his imperial robes four times to devote himself to temples. Even the practice of monks abstaining from meat and eating vegetarian food originated with him.

Ironically, this emperor, who was so devoted to Buddha, was imprisoned by the treacherous minister Hou Jing in his later years. He couldn't even get a taste of honey and eventually died in thirst and resentment.

Putting his thoughts aside, Zhou Yi began to check the payment bills on his phone.

When I came down the mountain, I had more than two thousand yuan in my card, but now I only have a few hundred yuan left. If I don't find a way to increase my income, I'll be facing northwest and having to swallow the northwest wind by the end of the month.

It was still a bit early for bed, so he pulled out an old-looking rosewood box from under the bed, intending to sort through his grandfather's belongings.

Upon opening the box, the first thing you see is a money sword woven from 108 ancient bronze coins.

I remember when I was in junior high school, someone drove up to pick up my grandfather in a BMW, saying that the house was unclean. When the old man heard this, he took this sword and went there.

Zhou Yi didn't know whether the wealthy family had any evil spirits; he only remembered that the netted melons the old man brought home were really delicious, and supposedly cost several thousand yuan each.

Now, seeing the Money Sword again, Zhou Yi stroked the blade, his mind filled with the image of his grandfather's voice and smile.

Beneath the coin sword was a rare black Taoist robe, brand new, with a standard Tai Chi diagram embroidered on the front. The fine stitches impressed Zhou Yi greatly.
"This workmanship isn't cheap..."

He put the Taoist robe aside and took out another white Taoist robe, which was also embroidered with the Tai Chi symbol.

In the pitch-black night, two sets of Taoist robes, one black and one white, were laid out on the bed, as if a pair of Black and White Impermanence were lying there... Zhou Yi always felt that this was a prank deliberately played by his grandfather.

The box also contained some miscellaneous items, such as a peach wood sword, a Bagua mirror, a compass, an ink line, a hammer, and long nails. Anyone who didn't know better would think it was a carpenter's tools.

Turning to the last page, there was a black notebook that looked very high-end, with a Bagua mirror slightly larger than a fingertip embedded on the front of the cover.

As soon as Zhou Yi touched the cover, he felt a heat on the surface.

Ok?What's happening here?
He opened the black notebook and found that the paper inside was thicker than ordinary paper. The notebook only had a few dozen pages, but when closed, it was two centimeters thick, like a photo album.

Strangely, every page was empty; he turned to the last page but didn't see any text.
"There's nothing here. Is this for me to keep track of my expenses?"

After turning a few more pages, just as Zhou Yi was about to close the book, he suddenly noticed that there seemed to be words flashing across a certain page.

He found the page from his memory, only to discover it was completely blank, without a single word. "I must be exhausted; I'm even hallucinating."

Zhou Yi planned to put it away and go to bed early, but as he was about to close the page, he noticed that text flashed by again, as if playing hide-and-seek with him.

Holy crap, is this place haunted?
But then I think it's impossible. If ghosts really exist, how powerful would they have to be to dare to run wild in a Taoist temple where the three leaders of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism are all in charge?

Zhou Yi rubbed his eyes, shook his head, and silently recited the "Purifying Heart Mantra" that his grandfather had forced him to memorize when he was a child, three times.

Soon, his restless heart calmed down.

Looking at the black notebook again, Zhou Yi noticed that the originally blank pages were suddenly filled with many crooked tadpoles.

These tadpoles twisted and turned, eventually forming lines of text:

[Pilgrimage Visitor's Name: Wu Zetian]

[Time of Appearance: Early summer of the year Yi Si]

[Timeline: The 18th year of the Zhenguan era (644 AD)]

[Account redemption progress: 1/365]

[Special Note: Pilgrims who stay at the Taoist temple for a full cycle of one year can obtain a residence permit in Yunwu Town. Specific procedures will require you to figure out on your own.]

There was only so much text on the entire page, but after reading it, Zhou Yi felt like he had run ten kilometers, and was completely exhausted.

Is this the legendary system cheat...? He pinched his brow, trying to relax his mind.

The year of Yi Si is 2025, and early summer is now. This should refer to the time when Wu Zetian appeared at the Taoist temple.

One complete cycle is 365 days, which is a whole year.

Staying for a full year will grant her a residence permit in Cloud Mist Town… For a future empress like her, obtaining a residence permit here wouldn’t be of much use, would it?

However, with a household registration, I can take her to experience the high-speed rail, visit the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, and also take a look at the blank stele she left behind at Qianling Mausoleum.

As for the progress of exchanging the household registration... I've only been here for four hours at most today, is that considered a whole day?

Continuing to flip through the notebook, Zhou Yi found new text on the first page:

[Name: Zhou Yi]

[Tao No.: One Yuan]

[Position: Abbot of Hunyuan Palace]

[Skill: None]

Merit: None

[Ritual artifact: Not authorized to view]

[Beginner's Tip: Wear a white Taoist robe at sunrise and a black Taoist robe at sunset. Repeat this for seven days to obtain the basic exorcism and suppression technique - Lightning Strike]

Lightning strike... Upon seeing these two words, Zhou Yi, who was currently worried about money, instantly thought of a way to make money:

"Ha, I can make lightning-struck wood and sell it to rich people, but... where am I going to find rich people?"

As he pondered, a stunningly beautiful face involuntarily flashed into his mind... Forget it, the rich people here aren't easy to fool, I'd better just wholeheartedly invest in (or seduce) Wu Meiniang.

He put away his notebook and hung the two sets of Taoist robes in the wardrobe. The Zhuangzi scarf, cloud socks, and Shifang shoes were all matching sets, similar in style to the Hanfu rented from the film studio, but of much higher quality.

Zhou Yi wanted to give it a try, but the feeling of fatigue in his body became stronger and stronger. His legs felt light and he was trembling when he walked. It was even more tiring than when he ran a half marathon in Wuxi last time.

He forced himself to wash up, then lay down on the bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep...

----------

First update delivered, please add it to your favorites, brothers!

(End of this chapter)