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

"I humbly beseech the Earth God to watch over the path of the paper money and bless our ancestors so that they may receive it in full. Today, my filial great-grandson, Li Mu, burns a certain amount of gold, silver, and paper money for my great-grandfather, Li Fengnian. I humbly beseech the Earth God to have mercy and allow it to pass through so that our ancestors may receive it in full. This is a small token of my respect; please accept it with a smile, Earth God."

After burning the paper money, Li Mu picked up a small stone from the ground and drew a large circle on the ground in front of the tombstone, leaving a gap in the direction of the tombstone.

After drawing the circle, he burned a few more pieces of paper money outside the circle, silently reciting: "This circle belongs exclusively to Li Fengnian; no idle spirit may encroach upon it. The money outside the circle is for bribing the officials; please be lenient."

After finishing all this, Li Mu straightened up and beckoned to Jiang Yiling: "Come on, help with the burning."

Jiang Yiling had been waiting impatiently for a long time. Upon hearing this, she immediately squatted down and helped Li Mu put the gold and silver ingots, jade coins, clothes, carriages, horses, boys and girls one by one into the circle to burn.

Li Mu stood aside, his hands clasped together, and began to recite the Supreme Mysterious Treasure Sutra of Salvation from Suffering.

The deep sound echoed through the empty cemetery, creating an indescribable solemnity in conjunction with the burning flames and rising smoke.

As Jiang Yiling burned paper money, she secretly glanced at Li Mu.

The Li Mu at this moment was completely different from the carefree boy she remembered from college. He was focused and devout, exuding an indescribable aura.

It took almost an hour for all the items to burn completely.

Only when the last wisp of smoke dissipated did Li Mu stop chanting, exhale a long breath, and bow three times to the tombstone once more.

"Great-Grandpa, I've burned all the offerings for you. Please keep them safe. If you need anything, just tell me in a dream, and I'll burn another one for you."

Jiang Yiling also bowed, then stood up, rubbed her legs which were numb from squatting, and looked at Li Mu with curiosity and questions in her eyes.

"Li Mu, why are you making things so complicated... is it really going to work?" she finally couldn't help but ask.

Li Mu tidied up the things on the ground, smiling without looking up: "Whether it's useful or not, my great-grandfather already told me in a dream."

Jiang Yiling opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately didn't.

Looking at the ashes scattered in front of the tombstone, and then at Li Mu's calm face, she suddenly felt a strange, indescribable feeling welling up inside her.

This man seems to really know things that others don't.

"Where did you learn this stuff from?" Jiang Yiling asked.

"I read it in a book," Li Mu said casually.

"You read it in a book?" Jiang Yiling blinked. "What book? I've never heard of it before."

"Some ancient books are hard to find on the market." Li Mu vaguely changed the subject, cleaned up the trash on the ground, and put it into the bag he was carrying.

Jiang Yiling nodded thoughtfully, not pressing the matter further, but instead changing the subject: "You just said your great-grandfather appeared to you in a dream, is that because he used this method?"

"Yes." Li Mu nodded. "It was the first time I used it yesterday, and my great-grandfather appeared in my dream last night, saying that he had received everything and that nothing was missing."

Jiang Yiling's eyes lit up instantly, as if she had seen a glimmer of hope.

"Li Mu, thank you for letting me come. I'll head back now, and I'll treat you to dinner another day!"

After saying that, she waved and turned to leave the cemetery quickly.

Li Mu watched her retreating figure, shook his head, and without thinking much of it, picked up the trash bag and left.

……

The Land of the Dead.

Li Fengnian is in a particularly good mood today.

I checked out of the guesthouse early this morning and started busying myself with moving.

The house has two courtyards, with blue bricks and gray tiles. The courtyard is spacious, and there is a tree of unknown species in the courtyard. Although it has no leaves, its bare branches have a unique charm.

Li Fengnian stood in the center of the courtyard, hands on his hips, looking around and nodding with satisfaction.

"Good, good! This is more like a place for a person to live," he chuckled to himself.

Several porters carried the last box of gold and silver ingots into the main room. Li Fengnian rewarded each of them with a few silver ingots, and the porters left, thanking him profusely.

"Let's settle them down first, and then we'll go pray for them once Li Mu's money arrives," Li Fengnian muttered. "My great-grandson wants to get rich and be free from financial pressure; my great-granddaughter wants to do well on her college entrance exam. We need to get these two things done quickly and without delay."

Just then, a commotion suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate.

"This is it! This is it! Sir, Li Fengnian lives here!"

"Knock on the door."

"Bang bang bang—"

Li Fengnian was taken aback. He quickly put down what he was holding, walked briskly to the courtyard gate, and opened the gate.

Outside the door, a group of underworld messengers stood there, led by the same ghost messenger who delivered the package yesterday, followed by seven or eight lesser ghost messengers, and then...

Li Fengnian's eyes widened suddenly.

Further on, there were more than a dozen large trucks!

Every cart was piled high with gold and silver ingots stacked like small mountains, clothes and silks neatly folded, and there were also carriages, horses, paper houses and courtyards... At a glance, it was vast and magnificent, almost filling the entire alley.

The neighbors were already in an uproar, craning their necks to look in this direction, whispering among themselves.

"My goodness, is this another delivery for Old Li?"

"Didn't you just deliver several truckloads yesterday? Why are you here again today?"

"What do Old Li's descendants do? They're incredibly rich!"

"I don't think it's because the descendants are rich, it's because they're filial! Look at this spectacle, it's even bigger than yesterday!"

"How did Old Li's descendants burn so much paper money? How come he received so much?"

……

Li Fengnian was completely stunned, his mouth agape enough to fit an egg.

He did indeed appear in Li Mu and Li Xiaoran's dreams, saying the following extremely realistic thing: getting things done requires money.

But they never expected Li Mu and the others to burn so much money for him all at once. They really wanted to turn him into a nouveau riche!

"Li Fengnian!" the ghost messenger called out with a laugh, stepping forward. "Congratulations! Your descendants have burned offerings for you again. This time it's much more than yesterday; take a count."

Li Fengnian was stunned for a while before he came to his senses, and quickly bowed, saying, "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

He strode up to the carts, reached out and touched the glittering gold ingots, then squeezed the thick fabrics; the textures were incredibly realistic.

It's not a dream, it really isn't a dream!

"My lord, how much... how much is there?" Li Fengnian asked in a trembling voice.

The ghost messenger took out a document from his sleeve and handed it to him: "Take a look for yourself, your descendants wrote it very clearly."

Li Fengnian took the memorial with trembling hands and read it word by word.

"Fifty bags of gold and silver ingots, twenty bundles of Jade Emperor coins, ten sets of clothing, two carriages and horses..."