People worship their ancestors: I'm just burning some paper money, how did I become a Taoist ma

After Li Mu helped Jiang Yiling complete the memorial service for her great-grandfather, the two moved to her maternal grandfather's grave.

Jiang Yiling's maternal grandfather's surname was Chen, and his tombstone is inscribed with "Tomb of Chen Gong, whose given name was Wenyuan". Next to it is her maternal grandmother's tomb, and the two elderly people are buried together.

"I was very young when my maternal grandfather passed away, so I don't remember him very well, but my maternal grandmother was very good to me." Jiang Yiling squatted in front of the tombstone, gently wiping the dust off the surface, her eyes slightly red.

Li Mu didn't speak, but silently divided the sacrificial items he had brought into two portions.

The process is the same: write the petition, draw circles on it, send off the local deities and underworld officials, and finally burn it...

It took some time to burn the remaining offerings!

"Thank you, Li Mu!" Jiang Yiling said sincerely at the end. "Whether I dream of them tonight or not, I thank you."

"You're welcome!" Li Mu said casually as he cleaned up the trash on the ground. "Sincerity is key. Your sincerity today is enough; you should receive a reply."

"Okay! I'll treat you to lunch as a way of thanking you," Jiang Yiling said.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony!" Li Mu said with a smile.

……

Then, the two packed their things and walked out of the cemetery together along the path.

The two quickly left the cemetery area and walked along the stone path towards the spirit hall.

As soon as Li Mu reached the edge of the plaza in front of the Spirit Hall, he sensed that something was wrong.

A huge crowd had gathered in front of them, several times larger than when they arrived in the morning.

Even more strangely, the crowd did not freely enter and exit the shrine as usual, but was instead separated on both sides by two walls of people.

Two human walls stretched from the main gate of the Tongling Temple complex all the way to the entrance of the main hall, forming a straight passage!

The human wall was made up of security personnel in black uniforms. They were all burly, expressionless, and exuded a cold and aloof aura that kept strangers at bay.

"What's going on?" Jiang Yiling stopped and craned her neck to look inside. "What happened?"

Li Mu also frowned.

This kind of scene doesn't seem like an accident; it's more like... some important person is coming.

He stopped a middle-aged man who was also blocked outside and asked, "Brother, what's going on? Why aren't they letting us in?"

The middle-aged man glanced at him and sneered, "What else could it be? The Wang family came to pay respects to their ancestors, so they cleared the area."

"The Wang family?" Li Mu was taken aback.

"The Wang family of Tianhai, this Spirit Hall is their property," the middle-aged man explained, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction. "They come every few days, and each time they seal off the entire Spirit Hall, only allowing their family members to go in and worship, while everyone else has to wait outside. I don't know what kind of airs they're putting on."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yiling immediately became displeased.

"This is too domineering!" she said, frowning. "Even if this Spirit Hall is a property of the royal family, it's still a place open to the public, isn't it? Suddenly clearing it out without any prior notice—what are we supposed to do? Just come all this way for nothing?"

The middle-aged man shrugged, looking helpless: "Who can argue with that? But they're rich and powerful, what can you do? Just put up with it."

Jiang Yiling wanted to say something, but Li Mu pulled her aside and shook his head.

"Forget it, we've already finished our prayers for today, there's no need to go into any spirit hall," Li Mu said. "Let's go back."

Although Jiang Yiling was unhappy, there was nothing she could do but follow Li Mu outside.

However, the two had only taken a few steps when a commotion suddenly broke out at the entrance of the square.

Li Mu looked back and saw a train convoy slowly entering the Tongling Temple area.

Leading the way was a black Maybach, followed by several other black minivans. The convoy slowly drove along the cleared passage toward the main hall of the Temple of Necromancy.

The car door opened, and several bodyguards in black suits got out first, looking around warily. Then, one by one, well-dressed people stepped out of the car.

The leader was a middle-aged man whose hair was mostly white, but he still looked energetic. He was dressed in a suit and exuded an extraordinary aura!

He was followed by seven or eight people, men and women, young and old, all dressed in fine clothes, clearly not from ordinary families.

The onlookers on the periphery of the crowd began to whisper among themselves.

"That must be the person in charge of the Wang family, Wang Zhengbang?"

"Yes, that's him. The chairman of the Tianhai Wang Group, I heard his net worth is over 10 billion."

"Tsk tsk, look at their pomp and circumstance. They treat their ancestral worship like an emperor on an imperial tour."

"It's none of your business if they have money."

……

Li Mu looked at the group of people, his gaze lingering on the middle-aged man for a moment before shifting away.

He didn't have any particular feelings about the Wang family, only that they were extremely famous, but he felt that this practice of clearing out the entire area for ancestral worship was a bit excessive.

However, it's their own business, and they're free to do whatever they want with it; he can't be bothered to interfere.

At this moment, several young people who were also stuck outside were complaining in hushed tones.

"What the hell? They didn't even tell me beforehand that they were clearing the area. I came all this way."

"Exactly, the Spirit Hall isn't their family shrine, so why can't others enter?"

"That's not how it works. This Spirit Hall originally belonged to the Wang family, so they can use it however they want."

"Industry is industry, but can the Spirit Hall be the same as a regular shopping mall? This is a place for worshipping ancestors! The Wang family is creating a monopoly, excluding everyone else—is that acceptable?"

"If you're not happy about it, go open your own spirit hall. Nobody's stopping you."

"you--"

……

The group became increasingly excited as they spoke, and their voices grew louder and louder.

Li Mu originally didn't want to get involved, but when he heard someone say, "Worshiping at the Tongling Temple is more effective than elsewhere. This is a rule passed down from our ancestors. The Wang family building the Tongling Temple is an act of accumulating merit," he couldn't help but laugh.

If that were the case, so many people wouldn't come to worship their ancestors every day, only to be disappointed time and time again!

It's just a building constructed by people, how could it possibly affect the worship of ancestors!

Li Mu's laughter wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear amidst the noisy crowd around him.

Several people nearby all turned to look.

"What are you laughing at?" the middle-aged man who had just said "Wang Jia Ji De" asked, frowning.

"Nothing, I just find it funny. I don't know who started the idea that the Temple of Spirits is more effective for worshipping ancestors. If man-made structures could really make worship more effective, the Wang family would have ascended to heaven long ago. Why would they need to clear this place for ancestral worship?" Li Mu shook his head and said casually.

The moment he said this, the surroundings fell silent.

Then, as if a pot had exploded, discussions arose everywhere.

"That's right. It's just a building constructed by people; how could it possibly make worship more effective?"

"You're wrong about that. The belief that the Spirit Hall is a place of spiritual communication has been around for hundreds of years. How could it be wrong? The Wang family simply built the hall in accordance with tradition!"

"Tradition is tradition, but think about it carefully, what's the difference between praying in a mortuary and praying in a cemetery? Aren't they both burning paper money and reciting prayers?"

"How can that be the same? The Spirit Hall has been enlightened by a master; it possesses spiritual energy!"

"A master enlightened you? Have you met that master? Or do you have evidence?"

"This...does this even need evidence? Everyone's saying it!"

……

Li Mu hadn't expected his casual remark to cause such a big reaction, and he couldn't help but feel a little amused and exasperated.

He was about to pull Jiang Yiling away when he suddenly felt a sharp gaze fall on him.