One divination a day, a trainee celestial master

Turning into a slightly wider main alley, Jiang Shou's mood was still as lightheaded as if he had drunk fake alcohol.

At the corner of the alley, there was a huge blue and white striped waterproof tarpaulin, which was densely piled with old books.

The stall owner was an old man wearing a melon-shaped hat, leaning against a stool and dozing off while fanning himself with a palm leaf fan.

Jiang Shou squatted down and casually flipped through a pile of musty old books.

The books on the stall were a mixed bag, with gaudy covers like "Huang Rong vs. Ximen Qing," "Young Woman Bai Jie," "A Quick Guide to Becoming a Qigong Master," and even a few pirated martial arts novels with revealing covers.

Jiang Shou's current goal is very clear. The book "Disposal Record" left by his grandfather records a lot of local spirits and supernatural events. As a complete novice who has only just learned who the Three Pure Ones of Taoism are, he must brush up on his knowledge of local feng shui and folk customs, otherwise he won't even know where to run when trouble comes up in the future.

He rummaged through the pile of books for a while and picked out three: "Qiyun County Annals," "Miscellaneous Talks on Feng Shui," and a somewhat tattered "Records of Folk Customs in Northern Jiangxi." The old man asked for fifty yuan for the three books, and Jiang Shou didn't even haggle. He scanned the QR code to pay and strode away.

Following Lao Wei's directions, Jiang Shou arrived at the stamp and coin market at the end of the alley. He found the shop that specialized in buying old stamps and coins; the owner was a plump middle-aged woman. She picked up the stack of grain coupons, flipped through them, and without even looking up, said, "Three hundred yuan. Keep it if you want, otherwise go somewhere else."

If it were yesterday, Jiang Shou would have argued with her for at least ten minutes, trying to get an extra fifty. But today, with twenty thousand yuan in his pocket, Jiang Shou simply nodded: "Okay, three hundred it is."

After leaving the antique street, Jiang Shou went to the incense and paper money supply store next to the City God Temple.

"Boss, give me the finest yellow paper, the kind that's highly absorbent. Also, a box of top-quality cinnabar and two mixed-hair brushes." Jiang Shou leaned against the counter, expertly reciting the materials for drawing talismans written in the old man's notes.

The shopkeeper quickly wrapped it up for him and casually asked, "Young man, you look unfamiliar. Which Taoist temple are you from?"

"Cuiwei Mountain, Shouyi Temple," Jiang Shou replied casually, his gaze falling on the beautifully packaged incense on the top shelf. "Boss, that smells really good, give me ten boxes."

The Three Pure Ones Patriarch appeared and showed him a path to 20,000 yuan through the wooden plaque. Jiang Shou couldn't be stingy with such a righteous patriarch. Before, the old man was poor and could only afford to give the patriarch cheap incense sticks costing a few cents a handful; now that he was rich, he had to provide the patriarch with the same level of luxury.

……

At noon, Jiang Shou found an authentic beef noodle shop on the street in the county town. "Boss, a large bowl of beef noodles, two portions of beef, and a poached egg!"

After eating and drinking his fill, Jiang Shou let out a burp that smelled of braised beef, then climbed onto his dilapidated three-wheeled motorcycle, twisted the accelerator, and slowly sputtered his way into the mountains.

Once you leave the concrete jungle of the county town, the surrounding scenery begins to change.

The asphalt road turned into a slightly bumpy cement mountain road. On both sides were lush green bamboo and unidentified wild trees, and unidentified purple wildflowers were blooming brightly in the roadside grass.

The sunlight in late summer and early autumn is no longer harsh, filtering through the gaps in the leaves and casting shimmering patches of light on the road.

A mountain breeze carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees blew in, making Jiang Shou's T-shirt puff up.

Jiang Shou held the handlebars with one hand, listening to the monotonous "putt-putt" sound of the tricycle engine, and looking at the rolling green mountains in the distance. Suddenly, an unprecedented sense of joy and tranquility welled up in his heart.

From the grueling all-nighters of high school to the fiercely competitive college entrance exam; from a aimless university life to becoming cheap labor in Shanghai after graduation, constantly being yelled at by HR; and then to becoming a food delivery driver risking his life in traffic for a few dollars...

He seemed to have grown accustomed to life whipping him along, never daring to stop for a moment. Everyone was running, everyone was being swept along, so he could only run along with them.

Ask yourself, what are you doing this for? Is it just to be able to breathe for another two years in that cramped rented room where you can barely turn around?

Now, he rides a dilapidated tricycle, with 20,000 yuan in his pocket, slowly making his way along a mountain road devoid of traffic lights and order reminders. The wind is free, and so is time.

Jiang Shou took a deep breath of the clean air in the mountains and forests, his eyes feeling slightly warm.

He suddenly realized that the meaning of life is not some grand goal, not buying a house or a car; the meaning of life is simply experiencing life itself.

"Old man... thank you." Jiang Shou murmured softly in the wind.

……

As the tricycle rounded the last bend, the dilapidated vermilion gate of Shouyi Temple came into view at the end of the road.

Jiang Shou braked and slowed down from a distance. He saw two people standing anxiously in front of the closed gates of the Taoist temple.

It was a middle-aged man and an old woman. The middle-aged man was probably in his forties, wearing a slightly tight black polo shirt, with a leather bag tucked under his arm, and a very prominent beer belly. He looked like a business owner.

Although this person was fat, his complexion had an unnatural sallow hue, dark circles under his eyes, and he looked listless, as if he had been staying up all night for half a month.

The old woman next to her, with a full head of silver hair, was wearing a simple traditional Chinese jacket and carrying a yellow cloth bag printed with "Namo Amitabha Buddha." She was peeking through the crack in the door.

"Put-put-put..." The tricycle stopped beside the two of them and turned off the engine.

The two men were startled and turned to look at Jiang Shou, who was getting out of the car. "Young man, I need to ask you something," the middle-aged man said, frowning, his tone impatient. "This is Shouyi Temple, right? Is that Jiang the Fortune Teller, Old Master Jiang, here?"

Jiang Shou paused, glancing instinctively at the old woman. "I'm from the neighboring Lingxia Town," the middle-aged man said, rubbing his temples and yawning wearily. "For the past month or so, I've been having nightmares every single night, and nothing I've taken helps. My mother insists I'm possessed by an evil spirit and dragged me to see Master Jiang, saying he's the most effective at feng shui and exorcising evil spirits. Why is this dilapidated door still locked?"

Jiang Shou understood. This was the reputation the old man had built up during his lifetime; people had come seeking him out because of it.

"You two..." Jiang Shou paused, then said calmly, "You're too late. Old Master Jiang just passed away a few days ago."

"Ah? The old immortal has passed away?!" The old woman exclaimed in surprise, her face full of regret and loss. She clasped her hands together and bowed to the gate of the Taoist temple, "Forgive me, forgive me, may the old immortal rest in peace."

Hearing this, the middle-aged man was somewhat surprised, but more than anything, he felt a sense of relief. He turned to his elderly mother: "Mom, did you hear that? They're all gone now. I told you it's all just superstition, useless! Come on, come on, I'm going to the city hospital for a brain scan; this bumpy mountain road is killing me..."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man grabbed the old woman's arm and started to walk down the mountain.

"Hey, wait a minute." The old woman pulled her hand away from her son's and turned to look at Jiang Shou, who was taking out his keys to open the door. She asked in confusion, "Young man, who are you...?"

"I am the old man's grandson, and the current abbot of this Taoist temple." Jiang Shou inserted the brass key into the lock and pushed open the door with a "click".

"Oh, it's you, little immortal!" The old woman's eyes lit up, and she quickly took two steps forward, her attitude extremely respectful. "Little immortal, since we've come all this way, could you let us in to offer incense to the Three Pure Ones and Old Immortal Jiang?"

The middle-aged man rolled his eyes, but seeing his elderly mother's insistence, he could only stand there helplessly and sigh.

"Of course." Jiang Shou pushed open the door, gestured for him to enter, and glanced at the middle-aged man's dark forehead.

"It's fate that we met. Please come in, you two."