The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 76 Slip away
If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have argued with my master that the three religions were ultimately heretical, and I would have been lazy and superficial in learning the more prominent teachings of the three religions.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have been unable to understand what this Buddha was saying to me.

His master and grandmaster both told him, "You have achieved some success in various schools of thought, but each achievement is only minor."

For their lineage, it's enough, but that's about it.

Feeling that he truly couldn't understand it, the elegantly dressed young man shook his head and got up from the ground.

He glanced with lingering fear at Qingzhou City, which he had once considered unremarkable and small in his eyes, and thought to himself:
'The karma here is immense; it truly deserves to be called a cursed place for burying the dead and obliterating the heavens.'

"I was foolish and underestimated things before, thinking that with the calamity still looming and Heaven's will in charge, this place couldn't be too dangerous, no matter how fierce it was."

Now that such a high-ranking figure has arrived, it seems we really can't stay here any longer!

So, where should we go?

The elegantly dressed young man looked around, then his eyes lit up as he stepped forward and asked a passing young woman:

"Young lady, would you prefer me to go to the southwest or the capital?"

The other party was just a naive young woman who had never seen much of the world. How could she have ever been so close to such a handsome young man?
She immediately blushed, lowered her head, and whispered:
"The capital is naturally better; I've heard there's chaos in the southwest!"

The elegantly dressed young man bowed knowingly.

"Thank you, young lady. I'll head to the southwest now!"

The startled girl quickly looked up and said:

"Young master, have you misheard? There's chaos in the southwest!"

The elegantly dressed young man smiled, his hands behind his back:

"Young lady, you may not know this, but I am a scion of the Wang family of Langya. When the nation is in trouble, it is only natural for me to step forward, to bring honor to the Wang family, and to share the Emperor's burdens! Therefore, I have gone to the Southwest!"

These words made the girl's eyes light up. She never expected that he was actually the son of the Langya Wang clan, and that he had such lofty ambitions!
The elegantly dressed young man didn't press the matter further; he simply laughed and walked away with his hands behind his back.

Since the chance encounter on the road says that the southwest is more dangerous, it means that the southwest is safer!

But as he walked, he suddenly clutched his kidney and cried out.

"Oh dear, oh dear, my kidneys!"

He got a stitch because he ran too fast!

This scene immediately killed the girl's interest; it seemed to be a pretty but useless sack.
-
After carefully putting away the small seal, Du Yuan poured herself another cup of tea and prepared to leave.

Qingzhou Maojian tea is really good.

But as soon as Du Yuan sat down, she saw a burly man enter through the door. Upon seeing Du Yuan, he immediately cupped his hands and smiled, saying:
"Master, my master lives next door. I hope you will do me the honor of having a seat!"

Who is it?
However, Du Yuan was quite pleased with the Taoist priest.

He's always been called Buddha, Living Buddha, or Master, but now someone's finally calling him a Taoist priest.

Now I should be able to continue to delve deeper into Taoist practices!

But did that person just now unknowingly raise my Buddhist cultivation level a little?

This is theoretically a good thing, but Du Yuan always had a vague feeling that being too unbalanced might not be so good.

There's no particular reason or explanation, it's just a vague feeling.

After shaking her head, Du Yuan smiled at the rugged man:
"Who is your master?"

The man was somewhat disappointed when the other party did not directly reveal the origin and name of his master.

Is this person really the legendary Taoist priest?
But he was just a servant; whether he was or not was a matter for his master to consider.

He cupped his hands again and said:

"Please forgive me, Taoist priest, I cannot say."

Du Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked in return:
"Inviting me is tantamount to treating me to a meal. But what kind of person invites others to a meal without even revealing their name?" The burly man hesitated for a moment before saying:
"I'm truly sorry, I can only ask for your understanding. As for the identity of my master, you will naturally find out when you arrive at the destination."

Want to show off? Okay, I'll show off too.

Du Yuan sat upright at the table with her eyes lowered, and said calmly:

"In that case, I can only apologize. Since there is no invitation card and no God, I have no interest in this 'feast without a name.'"

The burly man hesitated before leaving.

He must have gone to report back to his master.

Du Yuan didn't wait for him; she simply finished her tea and got up to leave the room.

We're getting ready to leave this restaurant.

He still needed to see what was going on with the matter at the Prince's residence.

A person who is unwilling to reveal his name or background has no reason to wait.

But Du Yuan had only taken a few steps up the stairs when she heard a voice behind her:
"Taoist Master, please wait!"

Du Yuan turned around and saw a thin, middle-aged man standing on the stairs looking at him.

Seeing Du Yuan looking at him, he chuckled and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, saying:
"Please forgive me, Taoist priest, for not revealing my name due to my status."

He was just here to eat. The elegantly dressed young man was right; this restaurant was indeed the most authentic and top-notch in the area.

So he also liked to come here in his spare time for a treat. Of course, there was another reason, he had overheard people saying that a noble young master from the Liu family of Hedong had come here.

Although the three prominent families of Hedong were not as prestigious as the five prominent families and seven powerful clans, they were still renowned aristocratic families, and in some respects, even stronger than the Han family.

A noble young man from such a prominent family suddenly came to his jurisdiction.

Whether for public or private reasons, it's only right for people to come and take a look.

Therefore, he never expected to encounter the legendary Taoist priest in such a place.

And because of this, when he heard from the shopkeeper downstairs that the two were together, he couldn't help but make many connections.

For example, does this Taoist priest have any connection with the Liu family of Hedong?
The news he had heard earlier had made him begin to believe that he had indeed encountered a highly capable master.

But now that we're involved with the Liu family of Hedong, things are uncertain!
But to his utter surprise, before he could even fully grasp the idea, the shopkeeper added, "That young master also said that he no longer has the surname Liu, but has changed it to Wang."

These words made him burst into laughter instantly. Noble families would never joke about their own surname; it was their lifeblood.

Therefore, that so-called "young nobleman" must just be someone who wants to use his prestigious surname to swindle and deceive.

Even though the consequences of being exposed are extremely serious, there are still plenty of such petty scoundrels every year.

Thus, all the previous speculations vanished instantly.

As for capturing this person who went from a noble young master to a scoundrel, well, that's not his job, and he has no interest in doing favors for the powerful clans before they even step onto the stage.

He also thought that Du Yuan was probably the same kind of person, rather than the legendary Taoist priest.

However, when the attendants heard a noise coming from the next room and went to check, they discovered the strange behavior of the Turtle Prince, who was stiffly worshipping.

This gave him the idea to send someone to invite Du Yuan.

Then he came here.

The moment he saw him, he felt a chill run down his spine—there was a high chance that the man in front of him was the Taoist priest from Qing County!
Du Yuan turned and glanced at him, saying:

"Why do this in broad daylight?"

(End of this chapter)