Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

Chapter 98 Exorcism and Demon-Slaying Hall

The boys, carrying bamboo baskets on their backs, hurried through the gatehouse and immediately stepped forward to bow to Master Wu, saying, "Greetings, Your Excellency!"

"Master" is a respectful term used by disciples to address the chief examiner of the competition. However, only disciples who have passed the competition are entitled to this title; those who fail are not.

Whether it's the autumn examination for martial arts masters in the mortal world or the autumn competition for disciples in Taoist temples, they are all called "mentors".

Master Wu accepted the offer readily and then gestured for them to be helped up, saying, "Please, everyone, no need for formalities. Please unload your bamboo baskets and go inside to rest. We will proceed with the ceremony early tomorrow morning."

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"Yes, Master."

The young men unloaded their bamboo baskets and, following the guidance of the Taoist boy, went to the courtyard of the Taoist temple to rest.

The young Taoist priest assigned rooms to everyone.

Liang Feng cupped his hands in a polite gesture to the crowd and said, "Fellow junior brothers, from now on we are fellow disciples of the same age. I hope we can look after each other in the future!"

Only disciples who have passed the same major competition will address each other as "fellow students".

"As you would expect!" Everyone returned the greeting, and the atmosphere quickly warmed up.

It seemed that in that instant, everyone formed a small circle, mainly composed of fellow students from the same year.

Lin Yuan felt that this was a bit like a classmate circle. No matter what their background was, as long as they were in the same class, they were considered to be in a small circle.

However, he was not optimistic about such a relationship between classmates. He felt that such a relationship was both useless and useful, depending on one's own strength and the mutual affection between them.

If either one is true, then it will be useful.

Strength is a multi-dimensional thing. Apart from his martial arts skills, Lin Yuan is actually weak in other areas. As for friendship?

Lin Yuan was very easygoing about friendships; he would get along with those he could, and he wouldn't expect to get along with those he couldn't.

The group rested at the Taoist temple for a while and then had lunch together.

In the afternoon, the autumn competition officially ended.

Lin Yuan went down the mountain to move the luggage, but Liang Feng didn't want to go down, so he and Liang Zhe did it for him.

He didn't mind and readily agreed. It was just a small favor; it was simply a matter of carrying a few more pieces of luggage, nothing much for a Bone Forging Martial Master like him.

He and Liang Zhe and others descended the mountain path. Some of the unsuccessful candidates from the Autumn Competition lingered on the path. At this time, a Taoist priest and his disciples drove them down the mountain to return home.

Lin Yuan encountered about a dozen teenagers on his way down the mountain. Some were crying, some were confused, some were indifferent, and some were laughing.

It seems that not everyone cares about this kind of opportunity!

Upon arriving at the courtyard, the Taoist boys were driving the unsuccessful candidates away from the island by boat, preventing them from spending the night on the island.

Lin Yuan learned from Liang Zhe that in previous years, some unsuccessful candidates would hide in the mountains and refuse to leave, and some would even commit suicide. In order to prevent accidents, the Taoist temple had no choice but to forcibly send them away.

It seems that there are still people who really value this opportunity.

Lin Yuan returned to the courtyard, where Xu Bin was waiting for him: "Uncle-Master, have you finished?"

Seeing him smile and nod, Xu Bin immediately exclaimed, "That's great!"

Although Xu Bin had studied at the Bofu Academy since childhood, he had no connection with the Li family's children. Before he entered the Taoist temple, Master Xu repeatedly told him to consult Lin Yuan if he had any questions.

Because of their ancestral friendship, he felt a greater affinity for Lin Yuan and instinctively felt a close relationship with him, thus unconsciously siding with Lin Yuan.

Seeing his polite and well-behaved manner, Lin Yuan instructed him, "From now on, we are both fellow disciples of Master Wu. Since we have entered the Taoist temple, let's address each other as fellow disciples."

Without much thought, Xu Bin immediately nodded and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Senior Brother Lin!"

"Junior Brother Xu!" Lin Yuan returned the greeting. "Let's go, let's pick up our luggage and bring Feng Lang's luggage up with us."

"Wow, he has so much luggage!" Xu Bin exclaimed in surprise.

"A lot? I didn't see many in his room."

"When he moved houses, he still left most of his space in Zhelang's courtyard." Xu Bin often wandered around, but because he was young and polite, no one disliked him.

"Oh? It's nothing, how could I not be able to carry it?" Lin Yuan didn't pay much attention.

But when he asked Liang Zhe to open the house, he was speechless for a moment.

This isn't just a little luggage; it's like they brought their whole house! Not to mention clothes, blankets, writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, musical instruments, chess pieces, calligraphy, paintings, and so on, there's a huge quantity of these items, and what's even more shocking is that there's a whole set of furniture.

They even brought the bed!

He and Liang Zhe each took half of the smaller items as gifts, but the larger set of furniture had to be temporarily stored at the foot of the mountain.

As the group carried their belongings up the mountain, there were no more rejected youths on the mountain path, but they could still see young Taoist boys constantly patrolling.

Back at the Taoist temple, a young Taoist disciple came to distribute disciple robes.

The robes worn by the disciples are only two colors, white and gray, and are mostly made of cotton and linen. Today, a white autumn robe was delivered.

Lin Yuan was tall but not fat. He tried on several outfits, but they were either too short or too loose, and none of them fit. So he had to stuff a silver seal into the Taoist boy's mouth and wait until evening. The boy then got a new outfit from another Taoist boy. It fit him well and was not inappropriate.

The next morning.

Lin Yuan and Xu Bin changed into white Taoist disciple robes and arrived at the front hall of the Taoist temple.

There wasn't much the youths could do except kowtow and worship the statue of the Xuan Tian Dao Ancestor, and listen to Master Wu's instructions.

Master Wu introduced himself, explaining that he was the head of the Taoist temple's management office, in charge of personnel recruitment.

The teenagers listened with great interest.

Lin Yuan felt that this was somewhat similar to the Organization Department of the County Government, which assisted the abbot in managing personnel recruitment, promotion, appointment and dismissal within the temple.

Master Wu also mentioned the benefits of serving his disciples: a monthly stipend of ten taels of silver, free room and board, a single room, and two sets of Taoist robes for each of the four seasons.

This month's stipend is too little. Lin Yuan was speechless with frustration. It wasn't even as much as when he became a retainer. No wonder everyone eventually leaves the temple to become an official. Apparently, there's not much money in the temple, and the only way to make money is to leave.

Since serving disciples does not count as true ordination, and one must leave the monastery at the age of twenty-five, there are some worldly benefits. Each disciple can be exempted from corvée labor for himself and one person in his family, and can also be exempted from taxes on five acres of land in his family.

The Lin family sold half of their land last year, and now there's not much left. This year, half of it was flooded. With this tax exemption, they won't have to pay much in autumn tax. Plus, with the tea and snack shop business now, the Lin family not only doesn't have to worry about food and taxes, but they can also save some money and slowly live a comfortable life.

Finally, Master Wu encouraged everyone to strive for excellence and persevere: "Serving as a disciple also gives you the opportunity to become a registered disciple. If you enter the Dao through literature, those who perform exceptionally well will have the opportunity to be chosen by a Daoist master who studies the scriptures."

If one enters the Dao through martial arts, besides being chosen by a Daoist master, as long as one practices diligently and continuously, reaching the Refining Realm, one can directly become a nominal disciple.

Lin Yuan understood that to gain the favor of a Daoist master, such an opportunity would definitely require maneuvering, which was a slim chance for him. However, he still had a chance to become a disciple through martial arts.

In ten years, one can progress from the initial stage of the Bone Forging Realm to the Tendon Changing Realm, and finally break through to the first stage of the Three Realms of Internal Cultivation, the Cleansing Realm.

It doesn't seem as difficult as I imagined, but the monthly stipend from the Taoist temple is too small to support the expenses of martial arts training.

The path of martial arts is too expensive. In the end, it still comes down to family background. All teenagers from poor families, no matter how talented, will be gradually eliminated in the long-term competition of burning money.

Seeing that his strategy of praising by first criticizing had worked, Master Wu chuckled and said, "Don't worry about not having cultivation resources. As long as you work diligently and follow the rules at the Taoist temple, the temple will provide resources. After you finish learning the rules in the Discipline Hall, you will be assigned tasks in the academy."

Lin Yuan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Fortunately, the Taoist temple wasn't entirely useless; it would still provide some resources. However, he was worried that assigning tasks would require some maneuvering.

He was terrified of being manipulated; every time he tried to pull a fast one, it cost at least several hundred taels of silver.

After thinking about it, he decided to take advantage of the time he was learning the rules to go find Wu Yong and Liang Yingxiao, firstly to thank them, and secondly to inquire about them.

In the morning, Lin Yuan and the others completed their entry to observe the ceremony.

In the afternoon, I went to the Law Enforcement Hall to report for duty.

There were thirty teenagers in total, enough to fill one room. The Discipline Hall sent a Taoist priest to give a lecture, which was actually just reading the "Taoist Temple Precepts" one by one.

Most of them were minor precepts, specifying what offenses would result in what punishments, making everyone drowsy.

Lin Yuan looked at the thick book of precepts, which was dry and boring, and immediately felt a headache coming on.

Xu Bin, on the other hand, was very energetic and listened attentively, occasionally taking notes.

Lin Yuan gave him an encouraging look.

Classes ended in the evening.

Lin Yuan asked curiously, "Junior Brother Xu, why do you like listening to this at such a young age?"

Xu Bin spoke frankly: "Grandpa said that our family has no talent for martial arts. If we want to get ahead, we have to study more. We have to learn everything. We shouldn't look down on mathematics or law."

"My teacher is right! Then take more notes and let me borrow them later." Lin Yuan had found a good study partner.

"Alright!" Xu Bin suddenly tilted his head and said, "Senior brother, can I learn martial arts from you in a few years?"

"Sure," Lin Yuan said nonchalantly, teasingly adding, "Didn't you say your family has no martial arts talent?"

"I want to give it a try. My grandfather told me to stay at the Taoist temple as much as possible. Learning martial arts seems to offer more options. Even if I don't succeed, it won't interfere with my studies." Xu Bin had his own plans.

Lin Yuan nodded. Indeed, the rise of a family is the result of the relay and efforts of several generations. The Xu family is quite good.

Just then, a familiar voice suddenly called out to Lin Yuan; it was Wu Yong.

"Wu—" Lin Yuan blurted out, then realized it was inappropriate and quickly changed his address, "Daoist Master, I was just about to look for you. It's great that you've suddenly arrived."

Wu Yong shook his head and smiled: "Just call me senior brother, it sounds more friendly."

Lin Yuan, feeling obliged, quickly introduced Xu Bin: "Junior Brother Xu, please greet Master Wu."

"Greetings, Master Wu." Xu Bin bowed.

"No need to stand on ceremony." Wu Yong helped Xu Bin up, and then chatted with Lin Yuan as they walked. "I heard you were also taking classes at the Discipline Hall, so I came to check on you. I'm taking the precepts there. There are a lot of rules at the Taoist temple, and I have to do room checks at night, so I haven't had time to visit you these past few days."

"It's alright." Lin Yuan didn't avoid Xu Bin's gaze. "I heard Master Wu's instructions today; is he from the Wu clan of Jiuling?"

Wu Yong nodded and smiled helplessly: "He's considered an uncle of mine. But he's been in the temple since he was young and rarely interacts with his family. I've never met him before. Besides, my father's relationship with them—"

He didn't finish his sentence, but Lin Yuan understood what he meant: although they were of the same clan, there was no affection between them.

Wu Yong changed the subject: "After you finish learning the precepts, won't you be assigned tasks?"

"Senior brother, do you have any ideas?" Lin Yuan asked directly, without any hesitation.

"The best place in a Taoist temple is the General Manager's Hall, where the head of the temple is in charge of personnel appointments and dismissals, holding the greatest power and responsibility. Next is the Ritual Hall, which has three classes for ceremonies, prayers, and fasting rituals; this is the most prestigious place, where one interacts primarily with local gentry families. Then comes the Discipline Hall and the Treasury—"

Lin Yuan felt that these academies were either in power or had money, and everyone wanted to squeeze in. He didn't have that much money to operate, and even if he could operate once, future operations would definitely be a bottomless pit.

My greatest advantage is that I can see a mirror.

Lin Yuan inquired, "Are there any shrines or clinics that perform rituals for the deceased?"

"Yes, there is. It's the Exorcism Hall, which has four classes: Demon Exorcism, Demon Removal, Evil Resurrection, and Spiritual Reincarnation. The Spiritual Reincarnation class is in charge of the rituals for the deceased—"

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