Taoist Master, wishing for a sacrifice-based system

Qin Du woke up very early the next morning.

To be precise, I was woken up by the system panel.

In the corner of my field of vision, the words "[Heavenly Judgment in Progress...]" had changed at some point.

It became—

[The judgment of Heaven is complete.]

[Wish in progress.]

That's it?

That's all?

Without telling him the specifics of how to carry it out?

Qin Du stared at the panel for a long time, trying to find more information.

However, there was nothing there.

The system is like a pager that only sends messages and doesn't receive them.

"...Alright, the way of Heaven is all about mystery."

He rolled over, lay there for another ten minutes, and finally got up.

Wash up, make instant noodles, and start a live stream.

Three-piece set.

The number of viewers in today's live stream was better than yesterday—there were 3 people as soon as the stream started.

Two of them were from yesterday, and one is new.

The comments section quickly filled with messages:

Here they come! Let's see if that chubby driver landed a big order today.

[Surely no one actually believes this? Can you really make a wish at a run-down Taoist temple?]

I'm just here for the fun, purely for entertainment.

Qin Du sat on a chair in the main hall, crossed his legs, and said to the camera:

"Good morning, everyone. The wish of the first worshipper yesterday has already begun to be fulfilled by Heaven."

"As for the result..."

He shrugged.

"I don't know either. I only handle collecting incense; I don't deal with after-sales service."

Hahaha, no after-sales service whatsoever.

This Taoist priest is quite something.

The tone of the comments was mostly teasing.

Nobody took it seriously.

Qin Du wasn't in a hurry.

He played games while streaming, chatting with the viewers in the chat every now and then, and the morning passed just like that.

until--

2:17 PM.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the Taoist temple.

Then came a roar as loud as thunder—

"You stinking Taoist priest, come out here—!!!"

The walls of the entire Taoist temple were shaking.

Qin Du's hand trembled, and his character in the game died on the spot.

He looked up.

Liu Haizhu stood at the entrance of the Taoist temple.

But he was completely different from the smiling, chubby driver from yesterday.

At this moment, Fatty Liu's hair was messy, his eyes were red, his taxi driver's badge was askew, and there were several obvious marks on his shirt—

Bloodstains.

It wasn't his blood.

But it was shocking.

The live stream chat exploded with comments.

[Holy crap, that fat guy is back?]

Is there blood on his clothes?

What happened?

Fatty Liu rushed up to Qin Du in three strides, pointing his finger at his nose:

"You—you explain yourself!"

"What the hell did you burn those three incense sticks for?!"

Qin Du moved his phone to the side to make sure the camera could capture both of them.

"Master Liu, calm down, let's talk this out."

"Take your time and speak slowly???"

Fatty Liu's voice was split in two.

"You want me to explain slowly??? Do you even know what happened?!"

He took a deep breath, as if trying to pull himself back from the brink of losing control, and then began to recount what had happened that day in a tearful tone.

-

At 10:00 AM today.

Fatty Liu was looking for work in the city, but he hadn't had much business.

Just when I was feeling utterly bored, the walkie-talkie rang.

There is a long-distance order.

The starting point is in the city center, and the destination is the emergency center of the city's First People's Hospital, 38 kilometers away.

The passenger was a middle-aged woman, holding a little boy who had been scalded by boiling water in her arms.

The child was crying his heart out, the woman was trembling all over, and she couldn't get a ride-hailing car, so she flagged down Fatty Liu on the roadside.

"Master! Please hurry! Please! My child is burned—"

Without saying a word, Fatty Liu floored the accelerator.

Thirty-eight kilometers.

He ran for twenty-two minutes.

I ran three red lights.

They scratched a police car that was on patrol.

I was photographed by electronic surveillance at least four times.

The child has been delivered.

The rescue was timely, and the patient is not in life-threatening danger.

The woman knelt down at the entrance of the emergency room and kowtowed to him.

Then--

The police arrived.

Running a red light three times results in a deduction of 18 points.

Scratching a police car will result in a 6-point deduction.

The total fine is 6000.

Driver's licenses were immediately suspended, and the business was ordered to cease operations for rectification.

And that fare—

Three hundred yuan.

This is not over yet.

Because of bloodstains and burn fluid seepage inside the car, the seat covers and floor mats were all ruined.

Interior cleaning and fabric cover replacement - 1200.

The fare is 300, minus the 6,000 fine, and then minus the 1,200 cleaning fee—

Net loss of 6,900.

This is the biggest fare Liu Haizhu has received in his ten years of driving a taxi.

That was also the worst loss I've ever suffered.

-

"Three hundred yuan!"

Fatty Liu's voice was trembling.

"I got a fare of 300 yuan! I was fined 6,000 yuan! And I had to pay 1,200 yuan for a car wash! My driver's license is suspended!"

"You're telling me this is a big order?"

There was a two-second silence in the main hall of the Taoist temple.

The chat in the live stream was silent for two seconds.

Then Qin Du spoke.

His tone was calm, so calm it was almost irritating.

"Master Liu."

"what!"

I have a question for you.

"you say!"

Qin Du looked at him and asked, word by word:

"So, tell me, did you manage to land any big orders?"

"........."

Fatty Liu opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Three hundred yuan.

This is indeed a large fare for a regular taxi ride.

It was more than ten times larger than the short distances he usually ran, which cost fifteen or twenty yuan.

Thirty-eight kilometers—this distance, under normal circumstances, would indeed be a high-quality long-distance order that he had always dreamed of.

He... couldn't refute it.

Because the wish is simply to "land a big order".

That's right.

Moreover, it's a truly large order. Both the distance and the amount of money deserve the word "large."

only--

The cost is also "high".

"You..." Fatty Liu's lips trembled for a long time, and the anger in his voice had turned into an unspeakable grievance, "Isn't this just being a scoundrel?"

Qin Du leaned back in his chair, his hands outstretched, his face displaying a genuine innocence:

"Master Liu, you can't blame me for this."

"You made a wish, and God granted it for you."

"As for how to achieve it..."

He pointed to the three statues of gods with peeling paint above his head.

"That's fate."

"Not within my service scope."

"........."

Fatty Liu stared at him for a long time.

Finally, the middle-aged, overweight man in his forties plopped down on the ground.

"I fucking..."

He held his head in his hands, his voice muffled.

"...What sins did I commit in my past life?"

Qin Du didn't say anything, but went to the side and poured him a glass of water.

Fatty Liu took it and gulped it down in one go. When he looked up, his eyes were red: "But the child is alright."

"Um."

"When we arrived, the doctor said it would have been dangerous if we had arrived half an hour later."

"Um."

"His mother kowtowed to me."

Fatty Liu lowered his head and remained silent for a few seconds.

"I don't regret placing that order."

"But... this price is just too damn high."

Qin Du squatted down next to him and patted him on the shoulder:

"Master Liu, good deeds are rewarded."

"A reward of six thousand dollars?"

"...That's God's service fee, it's not my responsibility."

Fatty Liu was so angry he laughed.

He stood up, dusted himself off, and glared at Qin Du:

"Okay. You're awesome."

"I'm never coming here to burn incense again! If I do it again, I'll change my name backwards?!"

The sound of the taxi engine gradually faded into the distance.

Qin Du stood at the door, looking at the empty mountain road, and let out a soft breath.

He glanced down at the system panel—

[Ding—Your wish has been granted.]

[Wisher: Liu Haizhu]

[Desired outcome: Secured a large fare (38km long-distance emergency medical transport, fare 300 yuan)]

[Heavenly Compensation: 24 points deducted for traffic violation, 6000 yuan fine, 1200 yuan vehicle cleaning fee, and driver's license suspension]

[Evaluation: Wish fulfillment rate 100%. Compensation level - Moderately outrageous.]

[Gained Incense Points: +15]

Current incense offering value: 15

Qin Du stared at that "moderately outrageous" for a long time.

He is now very curious—

What does "extremely outrageous" mean?

Forget it, I don't dare to think about it.

He turned and went back to the main hall, glancing at the live stream.

Number of people: 43.

It's more than ten times more than this morning.

The live chat is going crazy!

[Holy crap, this can't be real, right?!]

[Holy crap, that fat guy is so pitiful, hahaha]

[To be honest, it's a terrible deal, but it was definitely a big order.]

[This is outrageous, but logically... I can't quite put my finger on it??]

[What kind of monster is this Taoist priest? Can his wishes really come true?? But the way he does it is so underhanded.]

Did anyone notice something? That fat guy took the child to the hospital and saved lives. Even though he had to pay compensation, he still did a good deed.

So is this a blessing or a curse? It's quite complicated when you think about it...

Qin Du looked at the comments but didn't rush to respond.

He waited for the comments to scroll through for a while before slowly speaking to the camera:

"Everyone, you've all seen the result of the first wish made at Qingyun Temple."

"As for the effect... it's 100% effective."

"Side effects... vary from person to person."

He paused for a moment, then smiled.

"Welcome to burn incense."

Another wave of comments erupted:

[Your boyfriend is too creepy!]

[100% effective, but side effects vary from person to person—is this a drug instruction manual?]

To be honest, I'm a little tempted... what should I do?

Then--

Among a bunch of comments, one stood out.

Because this comment wasn't written in a joking tone.

It's for real.

"Can this really be true? I don't believe it. I want to try it."

Qin Du saw this comment.

He didn't say anything, but just gave a slight smile to the camera.

The numbers on the system panel were changing quietly.

Current incense offering value: 15

[Current Taoist Temple Rating: Dilapidated (On the verge of abandonment)]

Only 15.

The road ahead is still long.

but--

The first step has already been taken.