Establishing a Clan in the Eastern Wilderness: A Daily Divination, Cultivating Longevity in a Grotto

Carrying her wine gourd, Jiang Xiaowan walked briskly through the mountain path back to her own courtyard. The gate was half-closed, and she pushed it open and immediately saw her grandfather pacing back and forth in the yard, leaning on his cane.

Hearing the noise, Old Man Jiang turned around abruptly, his cloudy old eyes filled with anticipation and curiosity. He quickly walked to the courtyard gate, peeked out to look around, and only after confirming that there were no outsiders did he close the gate and pull his granddaughter into the house.

"Little Bowl, what did the clan chief say to you?" he asked impatiently, then waved his hand, "If the clan chief instructed you not to tell anyone, not even your grandfather."

Jiang Xiaowan carefully placed the wine gourd on the table, helped her grandfather sit down, and then moved a small stool to sit in front of him. She recounted the conversation in the quiet room in detail. From the clan chief asking her if she knew how to brew wine, to taking out the recipe for Hundred Flowers Wine, to the division of ingredients, the wine gourd, and the owner of the brewery... every sentence was told verbatim, without any embellishment.

Old Man Jiang was stunned for a long time after hearing this. His lips trembled, his white beard twitched, his eyes reddened, and his voice trembled: "Good...good...good..."

He slapped his thigh hard, excitedly saying, "Little Bowl, the wisest choice your grandfather ever made was bringing you into the Li family! This is your chance to turn your life around, and your chance to establish yourself in the Li family! You must brew well and not let the clan leader down!"

Jiang Xiaowan nodded vigorously, her eyes filled with determination: "Grandfather, don't worry, I will definitely brew the Hundred Flowers Wine!"

She stood up, walked to the table, unfolded the recipe for the Hundred Flowers Wine, picked up the gourd, and gently stroked the fine runes on its surface, her eyes filled with eagerness. She wanted to go inside right now and study the recipe from beginning to end ten or twenty times, engraving every step into her mind.

"Go on, go on," Old Man Jiang waved his hand and said with a smile, "Grandfather won't bother you."

Jiang Xiaowan responded, picked up the prescription and the wine gourd, and went into the inner room, closing the door tightly.

Old Man Jiang sat alone in the main room, a smile lingering on his face. He stood up, walked to the courtyard, faced the direction of the Tianlong Temple, clasped his hands together, and bowed deeply three times.

"By the Heavenly Dragon God, the old man made a wish just now, and it came true in the blink of an eye. The old man keeps his word, and will go to fulfill his vow now."

He leaned on his cane, left the courtyard, and walked down the mountain path.

……

Qilin Town, Tianlong Temple.

Today was neither the first nor the fifteenth of the lunar month, yet the square in front of the temple was bustling with people. A steady stream of people came to worship, including ordinary mortals and cultivators from the Li family. The mortals carried bamboo baskets filled with fruits and pastries; the cultivators mostly came empty-handed, but after offering incense, they would also drop a few spirit stones into the donation box.

Old Man Jiang, leaning on his cane, slowly walked into the temple with the flow of people. The moment he stepped through the temple gate, he suddenly felt a sense of lightness throughout his body—not a psychological effect, but a real physical sensation. The soreness in his shoulders disappeared, the dull pain in his back subsided, and even his breathing became much smoother.

He stood frozen at the doorway, thinking he was hallucinating.

He hesitated for a moment, then turned and walked out of the temple. The feeling of ease immediately vanished, and his body became heavy again. He went back in, and the ease returned. He tried this several times, with the same result each time.

"This temple... is strange," he murmured.

It's not strange, it's divine.

He raised his head and looked at the headless and armless statue of a deity in the main hall. The statue was still broken, but under the influence of incense, its surface had gained a warm luster, and a faint divine aura flowed through it. Old Man Jiang suddenly felt that his questioning was disrespectful to the gods, so he quickly knelt down and respectfully kowtowed three times.

"Forgive me, Gods, forgive me. I didn't mean to offend you, it's just that..."

He didn't finish speaking because he didn't know what else to say. He simply gave silent thanks in his heart, thanking the Heavenly Dragon God for blessing his granddaughter and giving her a bright future.

After kowtowing, he stood up and stood in the hall for a while, when suddenly an idea came to him. He hesitated for a moment, then turned and walked towards the backyard.

In the backyard, the temple keeper, Li Shiren, was arranging incense and candles in a side hall. He wore a gray Taoist robe, his beard and hair flowing, giving him a somewhat otherworldly air. Hearing footsteps, he looked up, saw Old Man Jiang, and was slightly taken aback.

"Brother Jiang, what brings you here?"

Old Man Jiang stepped forward, clasped his hands in a respectful bow, and said somewhat apologetically, "Temple Keeper Li, I have a favor to ask. I would like to stay at the temple and help with cleaning, tidying up the incense and candles, and so on."

Li Shiren stroked his beard and sized up Old Man Jiang. He had heard about Old Man Jiang's story—he had been to the Bloodstained Forbidden Zone, scavenged for scraps on the edge for over a decade, and staked all his savings on the Li family, betting that they could make it into the top five. An old man on his deathbed, risking his life for his granddaughter's future.

People like that are not easy to find.

"Brother Jiang, you're a Qi Refining cultivator. It's a waste of your talents to only do cleaning at the Heavenly Dragon Temple," Li Shiren said after a moment's thought. "How about this? You stay and be my assistant. You'll help me manage the temple's affairs, preside over sacrifices, and receive worshippers. What do you say?"

Old Man Jiang was stunned.

Deputy? What qualifications does he have, an outsider who has only been with the Li family for a few days?

"Li Temple Keeper, old man..." He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Li Shiren waved his hand and laughed, "Brother Jiang, the fact that you were able to enter the Blood Forbidden Land and come out alive shows that you have courage and luck. The fact that you staked your entire fortune on the Li family shows that you have vision and decisiveness. Such a person is more than qualified to be my deputy."

Old Man Jiang's eyes reddened.

Throughout his life, he was called a "ragpicker," an "old geezer," and someone who "didn't know his own limitations." No one ever said he had courage, vision, or decisiveness.

"Master Li..." His voice choked with emotion as he bowed deeply. "This old man thanks Master Li for his kindness. I will certainly do my best and live up to your expectations."

Li Shiren took his arm and said with a smile, "Brother Jiang, there's no need for such formalities. From today onwards, you are the deputy temple keeper of the Tianlong Temple."

Old Man Jiang straightened up, wiped his eyes, and a smile appeared on his face. That smile contained the relief of surviving a calamity, the satisfaction of overcoming hardship, and anticipation for the future.

He never expected that he would have such an opportunity at the very end.

As he stepped out of the temple, the setting sun cast a golden-red glow over the entire Qilin Mountain. Old Man Jiang stood before the temple gate, took a deep breath, and felt that the sky was bluer, the mountains greener, and even the air tasted sweet.

He leaned on his cane and walked step by step up the mountain. His steps were much lighter than when he came.