One divination a day, a trainee celestial master

The next morning.

Sunlight pierced through the morning mist of Cuiwei Mountain, shining on the mottled walls of Shouyi Temple.

Jiang Shou stood under the old locust tree in the courtyard, skillfully completing a full cycle of the [Guardian of Oneness] mental cultivation technique. Inhaling the last wisp of cool morning breeze and feeling the surging true energy in his dantian, he slowly opened his eyes, stood up, and patted the dew off his body.

As usual, we entered the main hall.

Just as Jiang Shou was about to grab some incense, his gaze paused. On the edge of the altar of the Three Pure Ones, lay a white letter.

"What is this?" Jiang Shou walked over, picked it up, and took a look.

The upper right corner of the envelope was marked with the logo of a registered postal letter, and the recipient's name was printed in the recipient's column: "Jiang Shou (recipient)".

Jiang Shou tore open the envelope with some doubt and pulled out an A4 sheet of paper stamped with a large red official seal.

He glanced down at the door, taking advantage of the morning light streaming in.

[Dear Mr. Jiang Shou:] [On behalf of XX Loan Company, and in accordance with Article 1161 of the Dongda Civil Code, heirs are liable for the taxes and debts owed by the deceased only to the extent of the actual value of the inherited estate. As the heir of Jiang Daniu, we hereby formally inform you…]

[...Please bring your death certificate, household registration cancellation certificate, and relevant property inheritance documents to our company within seven working days of receiving this notice to complete the debt inheritance and repayment procedures. Failure to do so will result in legal action...]

"Uh, debt collectors."

Jiang Shou quickly skimmed through the document and casually folded the rather intimidating-looking lawyer's letter twice.

If Jiang Shou had received this thing a few days ago when he first arrived at the mountain, he would probably be so worried that he would be losing his hair and wondering if he should pack his bags and run away overnight.

But now...

Jiang Shou remained as calm as a rock.

"Panic? Not at all, not at all!" Jiang Shou flicked the letter with a smug look. "I'm practically a tycoon now, carrying a million-dollar calligraphy copybook. A mere 250,000 is just a drop in the ocean."

"Old man, I'll clean up this mess for you."

Jiang Shou casually stuffed the lawyer's letter into his pocket, lit six sticks of sandalwood incense, and respectfully placed them into the two incense burners.

……

He clasped his hands together, looked at the solemn clay sculpture of the Three Pure Ones, and began to chant fluently again:

"My dearest and most efficacious ancestral master, I'm going down the mountain today to take care of some worldly affairs. Could you perhaps grant me a task to find some hidden gems while I'm at it? Yuan blue and white porcelain, Song Ru ware, Chenghua doucai—I'm a rough man, I won't be picky at all. If all else fails, a few pieces of calligraphy or painting by famous artists would also be acceptable..."

While muttering to himself, Jiang Shou took out the Suihan Token from his pocket.

My fingertip glided lightly across the surface of the wooden sign.

Accompanied by a soft "rustling" sound, several lines of small regular script characters emitting a faint blue light slowly appeared on the back of the wooden plaque.

Jiang Shou looked closely with great anticipation, but his brows gradually furrowed.

[Heavenly Lake, Treading - Line 94] [Treading on the tiger's tail, it will not bite. Seizing the creation of Heaven and Earth, fortune and misfortune are intertwined.]

[It is advisable to do good deeds to transform the situation.]

Jiang Shou stared at the three lines of text, frozen in place.

There are no directions, no specific treasure hunting location, and it's not a hint of unexpected wealth.

"Treading on the tiger's tail...seizing the creation of heaven and earth, fortune and misfortune are intertwined?" Jiang Shou repeatedly pondered these words in his mind.

"Treading on a tiger's tail" means stepping on a tiger's tail, which seems dangerous, but "it doesn't bite," meaning the tiger doesn't bite anyone.

What truly alarmed Jiang Shou was the following sentence: "Seizing the creation of heaven and earth, fortune and misfortune are intertwined!"

"Is this... a warning to me?"

Jiang Shou swallowed hard, immediately realizing what was happening. Over the past half month, relying on this Frostbite Token, he had not only unearthed silver coins and a gold-wrapped jade bracelet, but also stumbled upon a Ming Dynasty calligraphy book worth millions. He had even been "initiated" with a Dao Seed and True Essence that countless cultivators dreamed of!

This incredible acquisition speed is practically exploiting a bug in how this world works.

Various folk tales and notes left by the old man all mention that revealing heavenly secrets and forcibly seizing fortune will bring backlash, and one must have merit to suppress it. The rewards given by the Cold Season Decree these times are more than just revealing heavenly secrets; they are practically stealing food from the heavens' bowl!

If you take too much, your good fortune may reach its peak, but misfortune may follow.

"Do good deeds to mitigate the negative consequences..." Jiang Shou looked at the last sentence. "Does it mean I have to do good deeds and accumulate merit to resolve the hidden backlash caused by 'stealing heavenly secrets'?"

Jiang Shou stroked his chin, beginning to reflect on his actions over the past period.

"Speaking of good deeds, I helped the little boy named Zhouzhou in Nanxi Lane to have his soul stabilized the day before yesterday, and yesterday I helped Chen Sancan summon his soul at the county hospital. Shouldn't that be considered doing good deeds?"

But then he thought about it again and shook his head. "No. Zhou Guodong gave me five thousand yuan as a donation to the little boy's family, along with a bunch of high-end fruits, and even offered to rent the gate of the Taoist temple. This is a matter of equal exchange, a clear settlement of cause and effect, and can't be considered a pure act of charity."

"As for Chen Sancan's dissociative identity disorder... although his family didn't give me any money, I received double the True Essence reward from the system because of it, so that can be considered as receiving compensation."

After thinking it over, I realized the problem must lie with that Wen Zhengming calligraphy copybook I snagged yesterday.

This kind of pure windfall or unexpected wealth is a one-sided acquisition without any cause and effect, and is most likely to attract trouble.

"Doing good deeds...where should one do good deeds?"

Jiang Shou leaned against the offering table, stroking his chin as he fell into deep thought.

"Help an old lady cross the street at an intersection? No way, these days you need millions in assets to even think about helping someone. What if someone tries to scam me? I probably wouldn't even have enough money left to buy these calligraphy books."

"How about..." A thought suddenly flashed through Jiang Shou's mind, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.

"How about I go to a bathhouse or KTV in the city and do some 'targeted poverty alleviation' to help those fallen girls?"

Classic lines from certain short videos automatically popped into my head: a gambling father, a sick mother, a younger brother in school, and a broken woman...

"Go and spend 388 minutes talking to them about the principles of Taoism and guiding them to reform. Wouldn't that be a great act of merit?"

Jiang Shou thought about it more and more and felt that although this line of thinking was unique, it was inexplicably self-consistent in logic. "Hmm, only once a day, too often and my body can't take it..."

Jiang Shou was somewhat tempted, feeling that this "resolution of the secret" plan was highly feasible, and even the street to go to had been planned.

Hmm... I can't run into Dad.

"Meow!"

A meow, clearly tinged with displeasure and urgency, interrupted Jiang Shou's wandering thoughts.

Jiang Shou snapped out of his daze and turned to look.

Sometime during the night, the orange tabby cat, Fat Tiger, had jumped onto a high stool next to the offering table. It was staring at Jiang Shou with an expression that said "I'm an idiot," its thick tail slapping irritably against the stool behind it.

Why is this guy standing here grinning like an idiot instead of going to the kitchen to prepare breakfast so early in the morning?

"Cough cough..."

Jiang Shou felt a little guilty under the cat's gaze, as if it had seen through all the filthy thoughts that had been swirling in his mind. He chuckled dryly and waved the registered debt collection letter in his hand.

"Hey, Fatty Tiger, I have some important business to take care of down the mountain today. It's a matter of whether our Shouyi Temple can continue operating."

Jiang Shou pointed towards the kitchen in the backyard and said in a consultative tone, "I'm short on time this morning, so I won't cook. There's a bag of cat food in the corner of the kitchen; you can make do with that for now and grab a handful to tide you over. I'll fry you a big, fat fish when I get back tonight!"

Hearing the words "cat food".

Fat Tiger's eyes instantly filled with disdain. Was that kind of industrial garbage, costing fifty yuan a big bag and full of palatability enhancers and low-quality starch, meant for its noble cat owner?

It rolled its eyes wide, turned around, and faced Jiang Shou with its rear end, making a disdainful gurgling sound in its throat.

"Hey, you've got quite a temper." Jiang Shou ignored it; making money to pay off his debts was the top priority right now.

He turned and ran quickly back to the side room, took out the "sandwich" that was tightly sandwiched between two thin wooden boards and a thin hemp rope from the drawer of his desk.

This is a fragment of Wen Zhengming's writings worth millions.

Jiang carefully stuffed the wooden board into the compartment of the backpack, making sure it was flat and wouldn't be folded or crushed.

After changing my shoes, I went out and hopped on that brand-new blue three-wheeled motorcycle.

"Rat-a-tat-tat..."

Following the winding mountain road, and facing the early autumn morning breeze, we drove all the way to the Chengnan Antique Street in Qiyun County.

The wind blowing on his face made Jiang Shou feel not heavy-hearted, but rather very relaxed.

My mind involuntarily drifted to the tattered ancient book I bought yesterday.

"There's a page in that book with a drawing of the 'Thousand-Mile Talisman,' the name alone sounds incredibly powerful. If only that diagram hadn't been damaged by insects, it would have been truly amazing to be able to draw it."

Jiang Shou gripped the handlebars, daydreaming with a touch of regret: "With this Thousand-Mile Talisman, my running speed would be like flying! If I used this skill for my old job, delivering food in Shanghai, it would be a game-changer! While others climb stairs, I'd scale walls; while others wait at red lights, I'd leap over buildings… Wouldn't I be a top-performing delivery driver every day? Earning 100,000 a month wouldn't be a dream!"