Chapter One: The Profound Mystery
In mid-July, Jiangzhou entered the autumn rainy season, and the rain had a slight coolness to it. The Xuanmiao Mountains outside the city were shrouded in rain, making them appear even more lush and verdant, with two Taoist temples hidden at the foot of the mountain, appearing and disappearing in the mist.
Like other places, where there are mountains, there are immortals. Xuanyao Mountain has Xuanyao Temple, but when it comes to Xuanyao Temple, there is a distinction between large and small.
The Grand Miao Temple is located at the foot of the mountain, built in the Jin Dynasty, with two gates and three halls, as well as a stage. The Small Miao Temple is located on the mountain waist, built along the mountain, only with a mountain gate and one hall, narrow but very scenic.
The same is true for the two Taoist temples, both of which are Kun Tao. The Da Xuan Miao Temple has one temple master and five female disciples, while the Xiao Xuan Miao Temple originally had only one temple master but adopted two orphan girls as young attendants a few years ago.
Xuān Miào Mountain is beautiful, but it's not a famous scenic spot. Logically speaking, one Taoist temple should be enough for this kind of place, yet there are two temples here. The incense offerings can be imagined, especially since one of the temples has a bad reputation.
A short, fat, dark-skinned woman rushed into the mountain gate and saw a fairy maiden walking out from under the corridor, her eyes reddening as if she had seen an enemy.
"You shameless bald donkey, I'll hit..." The woman shouted as she rushed over.
The fairy maiden's face was calm and serene, apparently having seen it all before.
"Good sir, this is the Grand Mystic Observatory." She bowed and said. "Are you looking for the Lesser Mystic Observatory?"
The fist that was about to hit Xianggu's head stopped in mid-air, and the woman glared with a gasp.
"You're all no good anyway!" she said finally, turning and running out.
The fairy maiden looked at the woman's back with a helpless bitter smile. A forty-year-old fairy maiden walked out of the hall, and she hurried forward to pay her respects.
"Look at him," she said.
The host nodded in agreement.
"Look at him, if we let that little scamp's antics continue, our reputation will be completely ruined." The fairy maiden said with a bitter smile.
The host sighed.
"What can be done? That's the Cheng family's view on supporting, not relying on incense and fire to survive. Moreover, there is the support of the Cheng family, what can be done? She said, standing under the corridor looking towards the direction of the half mountain, "It's just a pity about that good place."
A thunderbolt flashed across the sky, frightening the Taoist nun so much that she covered her ears.
"Recently, there have been more and more thunderstorms," she said.
"It's been like this every year." The hostess said with a smile, and then she turned around and went in.
The Taoist nun looked again at the half of the Taoist temple exposed on the mountain.
"Year after year it's like this, why doesn't a thunderbolt strike it down?" she muttered.
"This place was settled by our great-grandfather, who prayed for his wife's blessing and invited the fairy from Qingcheng Mountain to preside over it. Indeed, everything has been going smoothly." The maid said, "It is even more effective than the Da Xuanmiao Temple at the foot of the mountain, so people have forgotten its original name and simply call it Xiao Xuanmiao Temple."
The wind with rain threads is a bit cool, she stretched out her hand to pull the window up, and the crow blue curtain that was blown by the wind settled down like rolling clouds, revealing the clear figure behind.
The girl lifted the curtain and walked over, looking at Jing Yiniang reading quietly as usual, one hand holding the book and the other slowly stroking the armrest.
It can't be said that it's a matter of one day, but compared with before, the daughter's handwriting movements have become much more fluent.
As she finished writing the last line of characters, Cheng Jiaoniang stopped her hand.
"Isn't it the fairy maiden of Qingcheng Mountain who is in charge now?" she asked.
"Of course not, it's been a hundred years, that's not becoming an immortal?" The girl smiled and knelt down, holding up a cup of water. "Later, the fairy maiden passed away, and no one was invited for a while. The Cheng family also exhausted their wealth due to digging canals and irrigation, so this Taoist temple fell into disrepair. It wasn't until Old Master's time that it was renovated again. Nowadays, the abbot of the temple is from our own Cheng family clan, a woman from the southern branch who voluntarily cultivates herself, so she came here."
Jiang Nang was silent for a moment, and when she entered the house that day, there were naturally masters to greet her. However, the master was busy talking to the steward's wife and didn't come over to her. She glanced at him absent-mindedly, about 34 or 35 years old, not particularly good-looking, but his eyes were clever and nimble.
A thousand thoughts turned over in his mind.
"Hmm." was all that Jingniang said.
The girl got an answer and dared to continue speaking.
"Daughter, want to have some snacks? There are fresh honey tangerines for sale at the foot of the mountain. I bought a small handful," she said.
Jiang Nang's hand rested on the book, and she fell silent for a moment.
The girl knew she was thinking, so she also remained quiet and silent.
"Wrap it in dough and eat it." said Cheng Jiaoniang.
The food that came out of Nangzi's mouth was always something she had never heard of before, but Yaotou didn't ask any questions.
"Good." The maid said with a smile, "Tell me what to do, mistress?"
The small temple of Miao Guan was built on the mountain, with limited space. Apart from the main gate and the main hall, there were side houses on both sides, with two round doors leading to them. On one side lived the master of the temple and two young boys, while on the other side lived Cheng Jiaoniang and her maid, each having their own kitchen fire, and they didn't interfere with each other.
The little girl walked over here, and two small children were clearing weeds and dead leaves from the water dragon's mouth while getting rained on. Their old clothes remade into Taoist robes were already soaked through, and they looked very thin and frail.
"Why don't you take an umbrella?" she asked involuntarily.
The sound startled the little children, they got up in a flurry, looking at the maid who was holding an umbrella and coming over, too timid to speak.
"This rain isn't even heavy, and you two are just slacking off, that's why it took so long." A woman's voice came from inside the house, followed by someone walking out.
The host's face was smiling, and he glanced at the two little children.
"Still not going to cook?" she shouted.
Two little children ran away in a flurry.
The master looked at Ya Tou again and smiled.
"What instructions does the young lady have?" she asked.
"Come and borrow a few pieces of crystal sugar from the fairy maiden." The maid said, for some reason, she felt uncomfortable smiling at the master, so she spoke briefly.
"What's with the borrowing? They're all from the Cheng family." The shop owner smiled and turned around to fetch a few pieces of sugar.
The girl thanked and turned to leave, holding an umbrella to look at the road. Unexpectedly, she bumped into a big and tall man wearing a raincoat and a conical hat at the gate of the courtyard.
The girl was startled.
This is a nunnery, how can there be men coming in!
"Firewood seller, you've finally arrived! Why didn't you deliver firewood yesterday?" said the master from behind.
Selling firewood? The girl lowered her head, feeling the unbridled gaze sizing her up, and she hastily walked away.
"It's just come to tell Xianggu, the weather is bad, yesterday's firewood has run out, and it will definitely be delivered tomorrow."
A man's rough voice came from behind, walked over to this side and closed the courtyard door, and then the sound was gone.
Looking at the courtyard gate closing, the man withdrew his gaze and looked up at the master's eyes that seemed to be smiling but not quite.
"Can't even get it out?" The host said, leaning against the door, with a few parts of laziness and charm on his face, where was the half-point maintenance just now.
The man chuckled and put his arm around the master's shoulder.
"It's just tender and doesn't grow well," he said.
The hostess pouted.
"Is this the daughter-in-law who was sent over?" the man asked. "I heard about it and came to take a look, I'm afraid it won't be convenient to come again in the future."
"That girl is a fool, she's just a maid." The hostess smiled and turned into the house, "If there's anything inconvenient, you don't want to come, just say so."
The man chuckled and followed closely behind, casually closing the door.
"This girl is really ugly, not even as good-looking as those two little boys you're raising..."
"I know what you're craving, but you'll have to wait a bit longer, you're still too young..."
The laughter of men and women came out from behind the window, two little children in the kitchen lowered their heads and hugged their knees, shivering. The fire in the stove had been lit, but it seemed to dispel the chill on their bodies.
