Chapter 157: Harmony Ritual
At night, after Xuan Xia finished washing up, she hugged the notebook and read a few pages, then suddenly got distracted and thought of the news that Ji Ziyao and the others had mentioned.
She couldn’t read the notebook anymore, so she simply went online to search for related news.
This search revealed that people online were still discussing it even now.
However, it was no longer just about discussing her; more discussions were focused on Daoist Master Qin beside her.
“Family, which temple’s Daoist Master is this? This believer wants to take refuge!”
“I was stunned at first sight! Isn’t he better looking than the male leads in those current ancient idol dramas?”
“I suddenly understand why the female disciples in cultivation romance dramas fall in love with their master. Wuwuwu, if I were to spend day and night with such a top-quality guy, my Dao Heart would be unsteady too; I’d just want to spend money under the moonlight.”
“From now on, reading novels comes with a face to substitute.”
“Can this Daoist Master debut? Look, he wouldn’t even need a fake wig for ancient costume dramas, and his ancient costume appearance fits so perfectly; he’s simply the heaven-chosen male lead for ancient costume dramas!”
Xuan Xia looked at these discussions and couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear.
This was much more interesting than reading discussions about herself.
Moreover, Xuan Xia deeply agreed with all the netizens’ praises for Daoist Master Qin.
As for netizens wanting Daoist Master Qin’s information, Xuan Xia really felt an impulse to switch to her alt account and promote Changsheng Temple.
However, she soon discovered that she didn’t even need to use her alt account to step up personally; the online world really isn’t that big.
There were already netizens from Ningzhou Agricultural University who had come forward: “Wuwuwu, what’s going on! I just took a summer break, and my secretly treasured male god has become known to the world? This is Daoist Master Qin from the temple near our Ningnong. Daoist Master Qin is a really good person; I even considered transferring to a Taoism academy at one point. (Joking)”
Once the agricultural university student appeared, many netizens started chatting with them.
Xuan Xia watched and thought to herself, what reason does Daoist Master Qin have not to go back now? Tomorrow, there might be fans visiting Changsheng Temple.
She had even planned to screenshot all the netizens’ comments; if Daoist Master Qin didn’t leave tomorrow, she would show them to him.
The thought had just arisen, before she could act, a notification suddenly popped up on the screen.
“Ding Lu: Teacher Xuan, are you free? I have some questions I want to consult you about.”
Ding Lu?
Wasn’t this the brand manager who took the talisman she gave her to Chang Zhendong for identification?
Thinking back now, Xuan Xia still felt a bit embarrassed.
But embarrassed or not, Xuan Xia immediately replied to her.
Only because she quickly remembered that Chang Zhendong had mysteriously told her things like good karma resolved.
That must be referring to now, right?
As soon as the message was sent back, Ding Lu’s call came in.
On the other end of the phone, Ding Lu wasted no words, “Does Teacher Xuan have time tomorrow? Let’s have lunch together.”
Xuan Xia hesitated; wasn’t it supposed to be consulting about problems? How did it change to lunch?
Perhaps realizing she was being too pushy, Ding Lu immediately explained: “Teacher Xuan mentioned before that your family runs a temple, right? I happen to have some matters I want to consult with you in person. How about lunch tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow? Sure.” Xuan Xia felt reassured and immediately agreed.
“Great, then I’ll book the restaurant and send you the exact address.” Ding Lu clearly relaxed, her tone much warmer than before.
“Okay.”
Ding Lu clearly didn’t want to say much over the phone and ended the call after confirming lunch.
Not long after, Xuan Xia received the restaurant address and appointed time from Ding Lu.
After replying to her, Xuan Xia stopped wasting time online and picked up the notebook again.
–
The next day turned, and because there were many planned things, Xuan Xia woke up early.
The first priority was to “send off” Daoist Master Qin back to Ningzhou.
Xuan Xia was determined that today, no matter what, she must make Daoist Master Qin return to Ningzhou.
So she planned to go straight to the hotel.
But before she could leave, she first received a reporting call from Li Xinze.
Li Xinze said: “Boss, we’re heading back to Ningzhou now.”
The form of address still carried over from last night’s joke. Even his voice was full of amusement.
Xuan Xia ignored his joking address and exclaimed in surprise, “Eh? Daoist Master Qin is so obedient? Brother Li, you’re not fooling me, are you?”
Li Xinze laughed and said: “The boss has spoken, so Daoist Master Qin doesn’t dare disobey.”
This betrayal was thorough; even the way he addressed Daoist Master Qin had changed.
Xuan Xia repeatedly said “good good good,” but she wouldn’t be swayed by a few “boss” calls from Li Xinze; her mind was clear.
She immediately asked: “Are you leaving right now?”
Li Xinze said: “Yes. We’re about to set off now.”
Xuan Xia said: “Good. Then I won’t come to see you off. Let me know when you arrive in Ningzhou.”
Li Xinze paused for a moment, then replied: “Okay, we’ll arrive in the afternoon.”
“Got it. Safe travels.” Xuan Xia sounded serious on the surface, but inside she was smirking: laugh, why stop laughing?
Before confirming whether Daoist Master Qin and the others were deceiving her, Xuan Xia first assumed they really were returning to Ningzhou, letting out a long sigh of relief.
The next second thing to do was to report to the company.
Strictly speaking, it was to report to Ji Ziyao.
Staying under Ji Ziyao’s watchful eye until almost noon, Xuan Xia then went to meet Ding Lu.
When Xuan Xia arrived, Ding Lu was already there.
“Teacher Xuan.” Ding Lu greeted her and took a seat.
Xuan Xia chatted while secretly sizing up Ding Lu.
Ding Lu didn’t look much different from how she did at the dinner party a few days ago, except for a bit of displeasure between her brows.
Although she had said on the phone that she had some questions to consult Xuan Xia about, once they met, Ding Lu didn’t rush to ask but instead seemed to simply be treating Xuan Xia to a meal. While eating, she also brought up the materials from Xuan Xia’s filming a few days ago.
Ding Lu said Xuan Xia’s image was very good and photogenic; the filmed materials didn’t need much beautification or adjustment.
Xuan Xia felt embarrassed from the praise and simply brought up the main topic of today’s lunch appointment, “Manager Ding, what questions do you have for me?”
Ding Lu then dropped the topic of the materials, her expression sobering a bit, “To be honest, after the dinner party, the talisman you gave me, I later took it to Qinghui Temple and asked Qinghui Temple’s Temple Master to examine it.”
Xuan Xia already knew about this.
“Sorry, I suspected Teacher Xuan’s intentions in giving me the talisman.”
Ding Lu frankly admitted her mistake and explained that she originally had something she wanted Chang Zhendong to handle, but after Chang Zhendong looked at the talisman, he told her that she had already formed a good karma, and perhaps she could seek help from that person of good karma.
Xuan Xia suddenly understood; Chang Zhendong hadn’t explained it so clearly to her, but she had figured it out. It turned out Chang Zhendong had already told Ding Lu this beforehand.
Ding Lu said: “I hadn’t decided whether to invite Teacher Xuan for this meal until I saw the news yesterday about Teacher Xuan attending the religious ceremony at Qinghui Temple.”
Xuan Xia smiled; she hadn’t expected everyone to be paying so much attention to the news.
“Teacher Xuan.” Ding Lu changed the subject, “Do you know about the Harmony Ritual?”
“Harmony Ritual?”
The Harmony Ritual comes from the Harmony Immortals; it’s an ancient ritual in Taoism. Nowadays, when Harmony is mentioned, everyone thinks it’s used for emotions and marriage. Actually, before, it wasn’t only used for marital harmony but also for family harmony.
However, this set of rituals is complicated, and there are very few who can perform the full set nowadays. Xuan Xia anyway didn’t know how many High Masters still knew this set of rituals.
Of course, there are plenty of frauds claiming to know it.
“Why is Manager Ding asking about this?” Could it be that she had used this sorcery?
Ding Lu gave a forced smile, “My relationship with my husband has been discordant for a long time. I originally wanted to end it and set us free. But he wouldn’t let go and secretly found someone to perform this Harmony Ritual.”
So it wasn’t her, but her husband.
It turned out she was already married, but there was no wedding ring on her hand, and given her appearance, Xuan Xia had thought her marriage prospects were thin; she had misjudged.
Xuan Xia didn’t know what comment to make for a moment, but one thing was clear, “Has something happened?”
Ding Lu nodded and smiled bitterly: “He’s really too stupid; he doesn’t even know he was scammed.”
Xuan Xia didn’t know how to interpret what she meant by being scammed, because as far as she knew, the Harmony Ritual was just a religious ceremony ritual with no other unsafe operations.
If it was just being scammed out of money, she probably wouldn’t come to her.
Xuan Xia couldn’t figure it out and could only ask Ding Lu to explain in more detail what exactly had happened.
Ding Lu thought of her stupid husband, her brows furrowing, “His condition isn’t good now.”
“How bad is it?” Xuan Xia asked patiently.
Ding Lu organized her words and simply started from the beginning.
Ding Lu’s husband is Cheng Qinhua, also in the industry; he’s a musician who specializes in composing for TV dramas and movies.
The two met through a friend’s introduction, then Cheng Qinhua fell in love with Ding Lu at first sight, pursued her for a long time, and Ding Lu was won over by Cheng Qinhua’s romance; they entered the marriage hall.
They have been married for over three years now.
However, the marriage sweetness lasted less than a year; after the first year of newlywed bliss, Ding Lu gradually realized their incompatibilities in various aspects.
By the third year of marriage, Ding Lu had the thought of ending it.
But Cheng Qinhua didn’t think that way; he still loved Ding Lu very much and didn’t want to separate.
Cheng Qinhua knew many people from all walks of life and somehow heard about the Harmony Ritual, said to be able to restore marital harmony and make them even more affectionate than before.
He also heard that many people had used this sorcery with good effects, no backlash, and overall quite reassuring.
Cheng Qinhua was naturally moved and soon asked a friend to find the so-called Harmony Master to perform the religious ceremony.
But the first religious ceremony failed; that master said there was too much resistance between them as a couple and it couldn’t be completed.
Cheng Qinhua wouldn’t accept this result and soon found another Harmony Master to perform it, but the result was the same. In this way, he found nearly four so-called Harmony Ritual masters in total.
The problem naturally arose with the last one.
Ever since the religious ceremony with the last master, the couple’s relationship did ease for the first few days, vaguely like returning to how it was before, but it only lasted not even two days before reverting.
Since Cheng Qinhua felt it was effective, he went back to that master, who told him that to fully restore the relationship to the newlywed period, deeper sorcery was needed; Cheng Qinhua agreed without a word.
But after this religious ceremony, Cheng Qinhua fell ill instantly.
At first, he was just bedridden; Ding Lu thought it was simply from being overworked with irregular days and nights, but soon the condition worsened.
Ding Lu described: “His entire person’s vitality and spirit were like drained dry.”
Now he looks like a terminally ill patient on the verge of death.
Ding Lu really suspected that perhaps one day he wakes up, he won’t open his eyes again.
Xuan Xia controlled her facial expression to not show too much surprise.
This should be tainted with evil sorcery, right?
But she had no experience either.
Xuan Xia thought for a moment and said: “Since you know where the problem is, that last master must be nowhere to be found?”
Ding Lu nodded, “Yes. I had people look for him; he’s long gone, without a trace. I thought about calling the police, but how do you even explain this? Can the police really handle it?”
Xuan Xia lowered her eyes in thought.
Should she first go see Ding Lu’s husband’s condition?
If it’s really been subjected to evil sorcery, the simplest way is to break this evil sorcery.
But the problem is, she hasn’t handled this kind of thing either; can she do it?
But Chang Zhendong told her to handle it… She didn’t know whether to trust Chang Zhendong and thus believe in herself, or suspect that Chang Zhendong misunderstood and she blindly believed him.
After thinking for a moment, Xuan Xia made a decision.
“How about this: give me some time to prepare, and later I’ll go see your husband’s condition.”
Ding Lu was stunned, “You’re coming with me?”
Actually, Ding Lu’s original idea was that since Xuan Xia’s family runs a temple, maybe there was a powerful Daoist Master there who could handle it, so she was willing to be honest with Xuan Xia.
But unexpectedly, Xuan Xia didn’t mention finding a Daoist Master for her; from her words, it seemed she was going to handle it herself.
Ding Lu really wanted to ask, you… can you do it?
Xuan Xia saw the unspoken words in Ding Lu’s eyes, but she didn’t know what to say; she regretted not keeping Daoist Master Qin around longer to at least check the situation first.
Now she could only rely on herself.
However, Xuan Xia suddenly remembered that Chang Zhendong had also told her that if there was something, she could go to Qinghui Temple.
It seemed Temple Master Chang had left her a backup plan.
With this, Xuan Xia’s confidence surged.
“Manager Ding, actually, I sometimes do this job part-time too.” She shyly said to Ding Lu.
Ding Lu: “…” She really couldn’t tell.
But thinking of the scene of Xuan Xia standing among a group of Daoist Masters, Ding Lu decided to accept Xuan Xia’s statement.
Then she asked: “So what preparations does Teacher Xuan need to make? Is there anything I need to do?”
Xuan Xia said no need; she just needed to prepare more talisman paper at home.
She wouldn’t feel safe without enough talisman paper.
By the way, she also planned to call Qinghui Temple’s Temple Master Chang Zhendong first to see if he had any insights, so she could make more preparations.
Oh, right, and also ask Daoist Master Qin.
Doing more homework is always right.
This must be what Qu Xingxuan meant back then by calling in reinforcements.
But to be fair, Xuan Xia suddenly felt that doing this line of work really relies on calling in reinforcements.
