This is the true immortal of the Taoist sect.

It took Old Man Youtian a while to come to his senses after watching the tumor disappear.

"Master...Master...where did it fly off to?"

Li Daoxuan laughed and said:

"Naturally, it has gone to where it is needed."

"Brother, stretch out your hand, I have something to give you."

Old Man Yutian was puzzled, but he still obediently stretched out his hand.

Li Daoxuan placed a roll of paper, only an inch in size, into the hands of Old Man Youtian.

Old Man Arita held the little thing in his hand and asked in confusion:

"This is?"

Li Daoxuan pointed at the little thing and laughed:

"This is a treasure. If anyone comes looking for you later, give this to them."

"I guarantee you'll not only get your land back, but your life will be much better from now on..."

Arita looked at the little thing, still puzzled, but since Li Daoxuan had said so, he naturally had no doubts.

"Alright, this matter is settled. I should be taking my leave now, elder brother. Take care..."

After saying this, Li Daoxuan bowed and turned to leave.

Old Man Youtian panicked and quickly chased after him to stop him.

"Master Daoist, Master Daoist, please stay two more days..."

But Li Daoxuan never turned back, and no matter how hard Youtian chased after him, he seemed to be getting further and further away from Li Daoxuan.

Although Li Daoxuan wasn't walking very fast, he quickly became a tiny black dot at the end of the road before disappearing completely.

Old Man Youtian stopped, feeling a sense of loss.

He could only kneel down devoutly and kowtow slowly, imitating Li Daoxuan's bowing posture.

"Thank you for your mercy, immortal..."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Old Man Youtian clutched the small spool of paper as he walked back home. He had barely been home for half a cup of tea when he heard shouts coming from outside the door.

"Arita...Arita..."

The old man was puzzled; everyone in the village usually called him Hunchback.

When he stepped outside, he was even more puzzled.

The person who came was none other than the long-term worker of Master Qian's household, the one who had delivered the land transfer documents to him that morning, named Chang Gui.

"Changgui? What's wrong?"

Changgui looked anxious, craning his neck to look into the Youtian family's house.

"Is that...that Taoist Priest Li still there?"

Arita shook his head and pointed into the distance, saying:

"They've already gone quite a distance. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Chang Gui stamped his foot and slapped his thigh, saying:

"Oh dear...why didn't you keep him for a couple more days?"

He then turned to chase after Li Daoxuan.

Arita, realizing what Li Daoxuan had said before leaving, grabbed Nagataka and asked:

"Changgui, what exactly happened?"

Seeing that Li Daoxuan was nowhere to be seen, Chang Gui could only say helplessly:

"It's Master Qian. Master Qian has suddenly fallen ill with the same strange disease as you."

"I heard that Master Li helped you remove the tumor on your back, so I came to find him."

Arita was taken aback by what he heard, and a sense of panic crept into his heart.

"Mr. Qian... has a lump on his back too?"

Chang Gui nodded and gestured, saying:

"That's right, it's even bigger than the one you're carrying..."

Arita stood there stunned, suddenly remembering the lump that Li Daoxuan had kicked away earlier. He wondered if Li Daoxuan had put the lump on Master Qian's back.

He dared not think any further, nor dared he say anything more.

Remembering the scroll Li Daoxuan had given him, he quickly handed it over, saying:

"Changgui, this is something the Taoist priest left behind before he left. Perhaps this thing can save Master Qian..."

Nagataka took the small scroll from Arita's hand, still somewhat doubtful.

"It looks like a note, could it be a prescription?"

Changgui didn't dare to open it, so he cupped his hands in greeting to Youtian, turned around, and quickly left.

At the north entrance of the village, there was a two-courtyard house with two entrances, which was the home of Master Qian. At this moment, Master Qian, who controlled 80% of the land in Shijia Village and even several surrounding villages, was lying on his side on the bed, wailing in pain.

A group of people sat around the bed, including his children, his wives and concubines, and the doctor he had invited.

Everyone was at a loss and extremely frustrated.

"Master, Master, Changgui is back..."

Suddenly someone announced that Changgui had entered the room.

With difficulty, Mr. Qian propped himself up halfway and looked behind Chang Gui.

Where are they? Where are they?

Chang Gui said with a helpless expression:

"When I got there, they were already gone..."

Mr. Qian's face turned pale, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Ugh...you useless piece of trash...don't you know how to go and bring them back?"

At this moment, he truly understood Arita's suffering.

With this thing on my back, it's hard to do farm work, let alone stand up.

I can't even sleep lying down; I can only sleep on my side.

She needs help to get out of bed, yet You Tian can still bend down to plant rice seedlings and do farm work...

Chang Gui quickly stepped forward and handed over the scroll in his hand, saying:

"Sir, the Taoist priest left this behind when he left, saying it could cure your illness..."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Qian quickly snatched the scroll, opened it, and sure enough, it contained a note.

However, the note didn't contain any prescription; it was just a sentence.

"Have a compassionate heart and extend it to others; do one good deed a day and your illness will improve."

After glancing at it, Master Qian immediately handed it to the doctor, saying urgently:

"Doctor, can you tell me what this means?"

The doctor took it and looked at it, his expression somewhat strange, and said:

"What kind of prescription is this? Judging from the literal meaning, it seems to say that if you, Mr. Qian, do more good deeds, the tumor on your back will lessen..."

Upon hearing this, Master Qian immediately became furious and cursed:

"Bullshit...doing good deeds can cure diseases? Then why didn't he let the hunchback do good deeds instead of cutting it off for him?"

After saying that, Mr. Qian tore the note to shreds and tossed it away with a flick of his wrist.

Just after he tore the note to shreds, he heard the sound of tearing cloth behind him.

Immediately afterwards, Mr. Qian's body suddenly sank and he fell down.

"It's gotten bigger, bigger, and even bigger..."

The people around the bed exclaimed in surprise at the huge lump on his back, which was as big as a basket.

Mr. Qian was so pulled by this thing that he had difficulty breathing.

"Sir, why not try anything, even if it's a desperate measure, and see if we can do some good deeds..."

The wife of Master Qian, the matriarch of the Qian family, quickly offered some words of advice.

Master Qian was also feeling a bit uneasy, and could only nod repeatedly before instructing Chang Gui:

"Changgui, go, hurry, tell the hunchback... oh no, tell Youtian that he can continue to cultivate those five mu of land, and don't return the ten jin of rice he was given; consider it a small compensation. Go quickly..."

Upon receiving the order, Chang Gui hurriedly ran out.

Strangely enough, not long after Changgui ran out, Master Qian felt a relief on his back.

He quickly asked his wife:

"Quick, look at my back, do I look smaller?"

Everyone looked behind him and saw that the tumor seemed to have shrunk considerably, and the ripped clothes had loosened a bit, but it was still quite large.

"Sir, it's too small, really too small..."

Master Qian was overjoyed and asked his son:

"Go quickly and see if there are any other families in the village who need help. Write them down and help them if you can..."

The son dared not delay, nodded, and ran out.

From that day on, Mr. Qian from Shijia Village truly did good deeds, just as the note had said.

The reputation of Master Qian from Shijia Village gradually spread, and he earned the title of a great philanthropist.

And the lump on his back gradually subsided.

But as soon as he has an evil thought, the tumor will immediately grow larger.

The Arita family finally recovered. After the old man Arita's back injury was healed, the family's work was taken care of.

His wife no longer had to shoulder all the work herself, and her illness gradually improved.

Over time, Mr. Qian, who initially did good deeds only to treat his illness, gradually got used to doing good deeds. In particular, when he heard someone call him the great philanthropist, Mr. Qian would feel an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

In the end, he no longer did it for the sake of curing illnesses or for charity; doing good deeds had become a daily habit for Mr. Qian.

Strangely enough, since he started doing good deeds, his family business has not only not suffered any losses, but has actually grown bigger and bigger.

The family prospered, and the son, who had been married for two or three years without having any children, gave birth to twin grandsons.

Mr. Qian was deeply moved and immediately decided to build a shrine near Shijia Village. He commissioned someone to carve a statue that bore a resemblance to Li Daoxuan.

He did not know Li Daoxuan's name, so he could only use the three characters "Master Li" as the name of the memorial tablet and sent people to offer incense and light lamps every day, so that the incense could burn continuously.

Most villagers hold the Taoist priest in awe and will come to the Taoist priest's shrine to burn incense during festivals.

The moment the shrine was built and the incense began to rise, the long-gone Li Daoxuan sensed it.

My mind drifted along with this sensation and arrived at the Taoist temple, where I saw the villagers kneeling and praying to the gods.

Li Daoxuan chuckled to himself; he hadn't expected this outcome.

"The offerings of incense and prayers...that does align quite well with the Taoist tradition..."