Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 177 The Land of the Donkey of Wealth
Five miles
Much longer than Li Wushou had imagined
It's not that the road is long, but that the time spent walking it is long.

I feel like I should have arrived by now, even though I'm walking slowly.
He glanced down at the short-legged donkey beneath him, then at the stubborn donkey beneath the Donkey Taoist, which was being controlled by talismans to move forward.

No wonder it took so long to walk five miles!

The two men and their two donkeys walked for more than three miles, and the woods on both sides of the road gradually thinned out, replaced by patches of clearly defined weedy grass.

This land was clearly cultivated in the past, but now it has been abandoned for some unknown reason.

The desolate paths, the reclaimed wild woods, and the now abandoned farmland suggest that Huangmao Village is in a bad situation.

Seeing that there was still some distance to go, Li Wushou asked the Taoist priest leading the way:

"Fellow traveler, you must also be a wandering Taoist? How come you've stayed in Huangmao Village for over ten years?"

His words were polite, but carried a hint of arrogance, as if he looked down on Huangmao Village.

The Taoist priest turned his head to look at Li Wushou, a hint of a smile in his eyes, but then quickly suppressed it, and sighed as he replied:
"Fellow Daoist Li, you may not know this, but a man-eating evil spirit has appeared near Huangmao Village!"

Li Wushou's previously relaxed expression tightened, and he looked around warily.

"Oh? Fellow Daoist Donkey didn't eliminate the other party?"

Looking at Li Wushou, the Taoist priest was speechless. He became more and more certain that Li Wushou was a novice. When a real wandering Taoist encounters evil spirits, his first thought is to get rid of them.
What is the purpose of the wandering Taoist priest's travels to all corners of the world?
Slaying demons and upholding justice?
Only children think that way!

What is needed for spiritual practice?
The saying goes, "Wealth comes first, even more important than one's beloved donkey!"

Therefore, when encountering evil spirits, the first thing to think about is how to create value for oneself; this is the quality a qualified wandering Taoist should possess.

This fellow Daoist Li may have had no worries about food and drink since childhood. Now that his cultivation is not deep, he has not yet realized that his meager family wealth is not enough to support his cultivation needs.

Shaking his head slightly, the Donkey Taoist had no intention of giving the other party a lesson at the moment.

He simply replied with a grave expression:

"It's tough. I've been guarding this place for over a decade, and I'm barely managing to protect Huangmao Village. Once the villagers go far away, they fall victim to that evil spirit. It's truly hateful!"

Upon hearing this, Li Wushou, riding on his donkey's back, cupped his hands in greeting to the donkey-riding Taoist.

"Fellow Daoist, you are truly admirable. If I encountered such a troublesome evil spirit, I would have left long ago. Your years of hard work in this poor and remote village are truly admirable."

The donkey-wielding fellow Daoist smiled again, returned Li Wushou's bow, and said humbly:
"No, no, it's just that my abilities are limited."

This Fellow Daoist Li is really adorable. As expected, all novice Daoists think alike. When faced with trouble, they only think of fighting; when they can't win, they only think of running away. They have no strategy at all.

Li Wushou wanted to offer a few more compliments, but from a distance he saw three people standing by the roadside.

The next moment, the other party seemed to have spotted them and moved to greet them. Before they even arrived, their voices had already reached them.

"Donkey Master, Donkey Master"

The Taoist priest turned around and looked back. The smile on his face froze, and his expression became solemn.

The three walked quickly and soon arrived in front of Li Wushou and the donkey Taoist.

The leader was an elderly man in a long robe with gray hair, followed by two men in hemp clothing. Although they were men, they did not appear strong; instead, they were rather thin, with dark skin and sallow complexions.

The moment the three of them stood still, the old man in the long robe stepped forward and bowed to the Taoist priest.

Upon seeing Li Wushou's short-legged donkey, he was initially taken aback. After realizing it was a paper donkey, he paused for a moment and then bowed to Li Wushou as well.

The two men behind him suddenly knelt down on the ground.

The old man in the long robe was about to speak when the Taoist priest with a sigh preemptively said:

"Village Chief Huang, it was already too late when I arrived at the forest."

The old man in the long robe froze, standing there dumbfounded, while the two men kneeling behind him began to sob.

"It's all my fault. I should have realized it when they didn't believe in superstitions!"

The Taoist priest, listening with a sigh, earnestly addressed the old man in the long robe:
"The children are commendable for their courage, and it's only natural that they don't believe in evil spirits."

However, the evil spirit is ferocious, and my abilities are limited; I can only protect this small area of ​​the village.

"After you return, Village Chief Huang, you must spread the word more. It's such a pity that two fine young men were lost; I cannot bear to witness such a tragedy again."

The old man in the long robe nodded blankly, his eyes slightly red.

Seeing this, the Donkey Taoist understood the other party's thoughts and said no more, only apologizing and saying:
"This is my good friend, Fellow Daoist Li. He will stay at the village inn tonight and will come with me to White Bone Mountain tomorrow to celebrate Master Zhu's birthday. I still have to entertain Fellow Daoist Li, so I will not stay any longer."

The elderly man in the long robe realized what was happening, bowed again, and said politely:
"I have met the wandering sorcerer!"

Li Wushou returned the greeting, but the Taoist priest on the other side took out two silver coins from his chest and handed them to the old man.

“I’m late this time and couldn’t help you, so I’ll return this money to Village Chief Huang.”

The old man in the long robe waved his hand, refusing to accept the offer, and kept saying:
"Donkey Master's act of going to White Bone Mountain in Huang Maocun's place has already been a great help to Huang Maocun. On the way to White Bone Mountain, he also remembered to set up defenses for Huang Maocun, for which Huang Maocun is extremely grateful. This amount of money is already too little for him, but Donkey Master knows Huang Maocun's situation, so please do not refuse."

The Taoist priest declined a few times, but seeing the old man's stubbornness, he sighed and casually put the silver ingot back into his pocket, saying comfortingly:
"Then I will accept it without hesitation. As for Huangmao Village, things will be alright. I am going to White Bone Mountain this time to see if I can get to know some fellow Daoists. I will invite them to see if we can completely eradicate this evil spirit."

Upon hearing this, the old man in the long robe bowed repeatedly, deeply grateful. The Taoist priest waved his hand, spurred his donkey, and led Li Wushou onward toward the village shop.

Li Wushou's mind stirred, and the paper donkey started to follow, secretly thinking to himself, "How interesting."

The donkey that had just been under the Donkey Taoist's crotch kept its head down under his manipulation.

But Li Wushou could see clearly that the donkey's eyes were incredibly complex, and even the blood on its body seemed to be flowing faster.

Moreover, Li Wushou wasn't the only one interested in this donkey.

As the old man in the long robe bowed several times, he also glanced at the donkey several times when the Taoist priest wasn't paying attention.

This made Li Wushou feel a little better.

Although he didn't admit that he was interested in the donkey, it's easy to deceive others but hard to deceive yourself; he knew he was very interested in the donkey.

Therefore, he felt uncomfortable with what the donkey Taoist said, even though he thought he really had a unique fondness for donkeys.

Otherwise, how could a perfectly good horse be broken into the shape of a donkey?

Seeing that the old man in the long robe seemed quite interested, Li Wushou felt a little more comfortable.

It's just that this donkey is strange; everyone likes to look at it, regardless of whether they like it or not.

The two men and two donkeys walked further and further away, while behind them, three people still stood in the same spot by the roadside, gradually disappearing into the faint mist.

After walking for a while, the donkey trailman also seemed to feel that the pace was too slow.

After squeezing the donkey's belly several times, the talisman stuck to the donkey's belly was almost inside the stubborn donkey's stomach, but the speed still didn't increase, and for a moment the donkey Taoist was also embarrassed.

After a while, seeing that the atmosphere was a bit dull, the donkey Taoist simply started telling Li Wushou about Huangmao Village.

After walking another mile, the fields on both sides of the road were no longer covered with weeds.

Li Wushou finally gained a general understanding of what happened in Huangmao Village from the donkey Taoist's account.

It turns out that more than a decade ago, Huangmao Village was much larger in both population and size than it is now.

In the center of the village stands a large willow tree, which Huangmao Village regards as its ancestral deity. Even the dead are buried under the tree, symbolizing service in life and death.

Over time, the big willow tree came to possess divine power and began to protect the village.

Because the village's ancestral god enjoys eating corpses, and there are many births, deaths, illnesses, and injuries in Huangmao Village, there are not many extra offerings, and the village is becoming more and more prosperous.

However, more than a decade ago, an accident occurred in Huangmao Village: the village's ancestral god died!
When the Taoist priest passed through Huangmao Village, the village was once again targeted by a man-eating evil spirit. Therefore, the Taoist priest stayed behind to help Huangmao Village deal with the man-eating evil spirit.

This stalemate lasted for more than a decade.

To this day, Huang Maocun can only eke out a living within the Dharma realm of the Donkey Taoist.

It was said to be the Dharma Realm, but after looking at it for a long time, Li Wushou felt it was just so-so.

At first, he thought it was a large barrier similar to the Five Directions City God Seal.

He became more wary, thinking that this Taoist priest was some important figure.

However, after using his eyes and observing intently several times, Li Wushou finally saw the clue.

Right where the two had just encountered Village Chief Huang and his party, on the ridges between the fields on both sides of the path, every nine zhang (approximately 33 meters) there was a donkey tooth buried three inches underground.

These donkey teeth were clearly soaked in blood; the texture was now blood red.

Between the donkey's teeth, blood and qi are connected in a way that is invisible to the naked eye, like a long line.

Li Wushou raised his perspective, his gaze spreading outwards.

Within a two-mile radius of his sight, the entire village of Huangmao was surrounded by these blood-stained donkey teeth.

Li Wushou's first thought was, "How many donkey teeth must that be?"
No wonder this Taoist priest has such a fondness for donkeys and knows them so well.

Immediately afterwards, Li Wushou began to study the Dharma Realm in detail, but after a long time, he still couldn't figure it out.

What is the Dharma Realm?

It should at least have some level of protective capabilities, right?
However, Li Wushou also failed to discern the power contained within, which seemed to serve only as a warning.

Did they break off so many donkey teeth just to claim a piece of land in Huangmao Village?

This is such a waste of a donkey! It would be better to let Chen Gou'er pee around Huangmao Village.

"Fellow Daoist Li, we've reached the village store ahead!"

The donkey-walker's slightly surprised voice interrupted Li Wushou's thoughts. Looking up, he saw a three-way intersection ahead, and on the side of the main road leading to the right, there was a small shop.

The shop consists of two two-story wooden houses, one in front and one in back, with a courtyard in between.

A sign hangs on the big willow tree at the entrance: "Huangmaocun Village Store!"

(End of this chapter)