Chapter 185 Debt Collection There were no seals inside the Taoist temple, but except for a main hall, two side halls and two small temples in the corners that were half a person's height and had no doors, all the other doors, whether leading to the backyard, the dining hall, the kitchen, the utility room, or even the chariot room in the backyard, were all locked. I don’t know if it was done by my uncle. If Senior Brother Seven wants to settle down here, it is true that he needs to respect the authority of the local government, but there is no need to be too rigid. The seal cannot be torn off, so there is no need to worry about these door locks. So he pried open several locks in order to put the luggage into the room. There were still four chickens and ducks left that the people of Cuiwei County had sent. Third Senior Brother simply let them roam freely in the yard, and everyone cleaned up the place before it got dark. Since the middle-aged man knew that this Taoist temple would belong to them in the future, he felt embarrassed to stay here for free in front of them, so he also came to lend a hand. There were countless snakes and rats in the temple, and they were all handed over to Fuyao Caili to deal with. By the time the preliminary cleanup was completed, the glow in the sky had disappeared, but the summer night always comes slowly and drags on, and on a clear night there are stars even though there is no moon, so it is never completely dark. In the darkness, fireflies were dancing again.
Lin Jue stretched out his hand and pointed, lit the lamp, and walked into a living room that had been uninhabited for a long time with the light. "call……" The breeze takes away the dust in the house. The flame of the lamp suddenly shrank, and then recovered. Lin Jue took a dry branch in his other hand, cast a spell, and exhaled. Suddenly, seventeen or eighteen pink and tender apricot flowers bloomed on the dry branch. "Ah……" Lin Jue couldn't help but smile. Seeing that the fox beside him was curious, he picked another flower and stuck it on the top of its head, then threw the whole branch on the bed. "I'll sleep here tonight." Then he walked out holding the lamp. "Brother, you've come just in time! There's a mountain spring next to this Taoist temple. The spring isn't big, but it does flow out into a pool of water. I went to take a look and it's very clean and cool. I can use it to cook, so I don't have to go downstairs to fetch water." "Brother, the stove is still usable. I collected some firewood!" "Although it's late tonight, it's the first night that Junior Brother Seven is here. How about we stew a chicken?" The night in the mountains was so quiet that everyone's words sounded extremely clear. In the darkness, there was a little lamplight that could not be extinguished by the wind. Soon a fire started in the kitchen. Five Taoists, a fox and a cat were crowded inside, talking in the firelight. This atmosphere always reminded Lin Jue of his childhood or when he was still on Fuqiu Peak. The yard outside was full of fireflies again. It was a summer night like I remember. A group of Taoists really killed a chicken, stewed it with bacon and medicinal herbs, but unfortunately there was a lack of mushrooms. Fortunately, the moonlight and wine made up for it, and the heat and meat aroma rose. At this time, the middle-aged man had already sat down in the corner of the hall, huddled against the wall. Compared to the liveliness of a few people, he seemed particularly lonely, sighing alone in the dark night. Several Taoists were about to invite him to eat, but when they heard his sigh, they couldn't help but ask:
“Why do believers sigh?” "Nothing. I just thought about going into the city tomorrow. I was worried about my future and livelihood at my age. I couldn't help but sigh. Taoist priests, don't worry about me." "Meeting is destiny. I haven't asked the believers what they are doing in the city yet." "Alas, I'm here to collect debts." "Debt collection?" "When I was young, my family was also wealthy. At that time, I met a good friend who lent him all his money to support his business. Now his family has fallen into poverty and he has difficulty in getting enough food and clothes, while he lives a good life in the city. However, I have been asking him for money for several years, but I have not been able to get it back." "That means the believer didn't know the right person." "Isn't it because I'm young and full of energy? I thought I was worth dating, so I gave my all. How could I know that people are treacherous?" "No IOU?" "Yes, I have……" "Then why are you still worried? At most, you can go to the government to sue! But this kind of worry is better left for tomorrow. Thank you for showing us the way today. My junior brother is a good cook, so please come and eat meat and soup with us, drink wine and chat. It's better than sitting here alone." "This……" Middle-aged people are thin-skinned and embarrassed. However, it was hard to refuse Senior Brother Seven alone, not to mention Senior Brother Three. In fact, he was already starving. Unable to persuade them, he had to put aside his worries for the time being and followed them to the courtyard. On a moonlit night with fireflies, a group of people ate and drank to their heart's content. It was very late before some of them returned to their rooms or to the main hall. It's not that the Taoists were not hospitable enough to let the middle-aged man sleep alone in the cold hall. It was really that they had just arrived at the Taoist temple, and the temple was empty without even a straw mat. Even if they invited the middle-aged man to live in the chapel or the guest hall, he would still be sleeping on the floor. They were all strangers, and he might not be more comfortable living in the main hall. Only Lin Jue had a bearskin rug. He placed the lamp high up and lay down against the wall, holding only a small corner of the bearskin rug on his belly, then took out the ancient book from his arms. "Wow..." There is only one more page in the book - The art of immobilization is a method of confinement. This method has an ancient heritage and is mysterious and difficult to learn. Practitioners need to have a high level of Taoism. It is difficult to practice if there are too many distracting thoughts. Practitioners also need to concentrate when performing the technique and must not have any distracting thoughts. Casting this technique will imprison a person, making them unable to move. The strength of the imprisonment depends on the depth of their cultivation and attainments. It may delay the person for a moment, or freeze them for a few breaths, or for days or months. Lin Jue pinched the page of the book, and a voice suddenly rang in his head. So I held my breath and listened carefully. He has been learning this magic for two or three months.
Only since leaving Cuiwei County, I have had no time and no private space on the road, so I relaxed for a few days. It's not slack either. This method is difficult in itself. If you cannot comprehend the mystery after a long time and cannot see any effect from your practice, taking a few days to empty your mind may lead to new insights, which will be beneficial. This is the truth that more haste makes waste. As for the skill of slapping the table that the City God of Cuiwei used when he was beheaded, it might be the magical power of Shintoism, or it might be related to divine power. In any case, it had nothing to do with magic, so the ancient books did not mention it. I pondered hard by the camplight and fell asleep late at night. When I woke up, it was already the next morning. Bright sunlight shone through the window covered with some spider webs, and outside I could hear birds chirping and the unique rustling sound of a bamboo broom sweeping across the ground. Both were very clear and clearly woke me up, but not at all abrupt. When Lin Jue got up, he felt refreshed. He pushed the door open and went out. His junior sister had already cut small bamboos from the mountains, tied them into brooms, and started to sweep the Taoist temple more carefully. "Brother, I used last night's chicken soup to cook a pot of porridge. It should still be hot." The younger sister heard the voice, her hands did not stop, and she did not raise her head, but added, "This time, the chicken soup is delicious when cooked with porridge." “Where is the devotee?” "I left early in the morning." "Where are the brothers?" "On the roof." The little sister didn't even raise her head, concentrating on sweeping the floor. "She said that after you have breakfast, we will go to the city, report to the county government, and buy some things by the way." "Okay." Lin Jue heard some tiles clinking. Standing further away and looking up, I saw that the third and seventh senior brothers were indeed on the roof, arranging the tiles. Because this Taoist temple had been haunted by an evil spirit, the local people were very afraid of it. Especially since they didn't know whether the evil spirit had been eliminated or not, they dared not touch even a brick or tile in the temple. It's just that no one has taken care of it for a long time, and the wind and rain alone have caused some tiles to move. In addition, the rain mud accumulated by the fallen leaves has not been dealt with, so tile flowers have grown. When the sun shines on them, the colors are bright and delicate. It looks good, but it leaks when raining. At this time, the two senior brothers were arranging the tiles on the roof. They pulled out all the tile flowers and threw them downstairs, but the young junior sister deliberately avoided them when she was cleaning. Lin Jue guessed that maybe the seventh senior brother thought they looked good and was going to move them from the tiles to somewhere else. If there were broken tiles, the Qingmiao Temple next to the land temple was still there, but the statue of the god was gone, and there were dozens of tiles on it that could be used. The second brother was cleaning the house. This is one of the benefits of walking together as a group: Those who settle down in the front can always get help from their senior and junior brothers and sisters, and plan and renovate the Taoist temple together. If you do it by yourself, it will not only take time, but also be boring and unbearable. "Haha..." Lin Jue couldn't help but laugh twice, lowered his head and said to the fox, "It's us two who got up the latest." "Fuyao! Good morning!" The fox turned and said to him. "Fuyao got up a long time ago and had breakfast, but went back home after eating." The junior sister said while still sweeping the floor.
"That's it." Lin Jue shook his head. He didn't think he was lazy and just went to eat. After dinner, I fetched some water and washed the dishes. Then everyone went out together. The younger sister summoned the paper donkey, sat on its back, and walked shakily. Lin Jue did not do that, because he still had the third brother's horse and cart, which were enough to carry no matter how much they bought. Walking out of the path at the foot of the mountain and onto the official road, one can see Mingxia City in the distance. It is about two miles away and it will take less than a quarter of an hour to walk into the city. "Gentlemen, we are Taoists from Huizhou." The seventh brother showed his certificate of ordination and asked, "May I ask how to get to the county government office?" "They are real people. Just walk straight in." "Thank you." When everyone entered the city gate, they heard a sudden noise, which made them feel much more excited. Many cities are like this these days. There is a main street at the entrance of the four square city gates, which are connected to form a cross. The two horizontal and vertical main streets are the busiest streets. The county government is basically located in the middle of the main street, so it is easy to find. However, it was obvious that Senior Brother Seven was very interested in this city where he would live for many years to come. As soon as he walked in, he kept looking around, examining every building on both sides of the street. The same goes for the others. "There are straw mats for sale in this alley. You can buy a few when you come back from the county government office." The second brother said, "We can also buy a few. There are fewer people now anyway, so we can carry a roll of straw mats with us. It will be more convenient to stay somewhere else or in the wilderness." "We can also buy a few cushions," said the third brother. "But now the autumn harvest is over, if you don't mind the trouble, you can buy some straw from the farmers and take it home to weave it yourself." "I'm afraid Seventh Junior Brother doesn't have that intention." Several people chatted about plans as they walked. "There are several places selling dishes here." “This shop sells pots…” "Here you can sew your blankets." "Seventh Senior Brother..." Lin Jue poked Seventh Senior Brother’s arm. "Ok?" Seventh Senior Brother turned his head and looked in the direction he was looking, and saw a building with carved beams and painted buildings, which was very elegantly decorated, but it was still closed this morning. "Seventh Senior Brother!" The voice of Junior Sister was heard from the other side. Seventh Senior Brother turned his head again. Looking in the direction of the little junior sister's finger, I saw a beautifully built building diagonally opposite with many big red lanterns hanging on it.
What's wrong, Junior Sister? Senior Brother Seven was stunned. He turned his head to look at the junior sister, but saw that she had a serious face with no expression at all. Just as they were stunned, they suddenly saw a lot of pedestrians gathered on the street ahead, all blocked there, unable to move. Some faint shouting came from inside, attracting the attention of several people. "what?" Are there magicians and gimmicks here too? Senior Brother Seven was very curious and immediately walked towards that direction. When I got closer, I realized that it was not someone performing magic tricks, but the middle-aged man I saw yesterday. He was grabbing the clothes of a short, dark man who was shorter than him but dressed in rich clothes, and shouting for a debt. The middle-aged man was almost crazy, with tears streaming down his face. It seemed that the people around him had seen something similar before and they all knew the situation. They sympathized with the middle-aged man and blamed the short, dark man. …… The last day of this month! Please give me double the monthly pass! (End of this chapter)