Chapter 187: Scheming
Daoist Master Qin was calm and natural, completely unaffected by the few words left by Ren Yaozhe.
He calmly expressed thanks to Gong Ziliu, “Good, I understand. Thanks a lot for this trip, Daoist Master Gong.”
“Daoist Master Qin, you’re too polite. There’s nothing worth thanking here.” Gong Ziliu paused, then asked: “So what to do with Ren Yaozhe’s body now?”
This Ren Yaozhe had forcibly clung to life through unnatural means, so once he breathed his last, his body rapidly decayed.
Gong Ziliu had seen too much of this and wasn’t too willing to look at Ren Yaozhe’s body more than a couple times.
Daoist Master Qin gave no thought and immediately proposed a plan: “We’ll still need the Daoist Association to step in and send him back to the Ren Family.”
Using the Daoist Association’s name? Gong Ziliu quickly said Daoist Master Qin had considered it thoroughly, “Then that’s what we’ll do. I’ll contact them right away and send him back today.”
Just as he was about to hang up, Gong Ziliu suddenly remembered another matter.
He changed his tone and said apologetically: “Daoist Master Qin, I’ve failed in my task after all.”
Daoist Master Qin: “What’s wrong?”
Gong Ziliu said: “After last night’s deliverance ceremony, one soul still lingers in the mortal world, unwilling to leave.”
Daoist Master Qin didn’t even need to guess; just from Gong Ziliu’s two sentences, he knew which soul was so stubborn and unwilling to leave.
“No problem.” Daoist Master Qin said: “Does Daoist Master Gong know where that soul is now?”
He sensed for a moment and confirmed that the soul was not in Changsheng Temple, nor anywhere nearby.
“It’s like this.” Gong Ziliu hurriedly said: “Seeing that soul unwilling to be delivered and leave, I didn’t dare leave it alone in Changsheng Temple, so I had to bring it back to Baoyi Temple together.”
“Hey, unexpectedly, it was obedient and cooperative, and really followed me back. But before following me, it said it wanted Daoist Master Qin and the others to pick it up after you’re done with your business, as it still wants to return to Changsheng Temple.”
This was also something Daoist Master Qin hadn’t expected.
A soul that had been refined through sacrifice was actually addicted to staying in the temple.
Daoist Master Qin thought for a moment and finally agreed, saying: “Thanks, Daoist Master Gong. I’ll come over shortly.”
Hearing this, Gong Ziliu quickly asked: “Shortly? Confirmed for today? Are you coming, or bringing your Mr. Xuan along?”
The more he asked, the more excited Gong Ziliu’s tone became.
His purpose was too obvious, so Daoist Master Qin thought again for a moment before satisfying Gong Ziliu: “I understand. I’ll come over shortly with Mr. Xuan.”
“Hey, great! Then I’ll respectfully await the arrival of you two esteemed guests!” With his wish fulfilled, Gong Ziliu immediately burst into laughter.
Daoist Master Qin shook his head with a smile.
After ending the call, Daoist Master Qin told Xuan Xia about going to Baoyi Temple.
Xuan Xia nodded and said: “Then we’ll set off after eating?”
Daoist Master Qin said yes, then continued eating breakfast unhurriedly.
Xuan Xia looked at him and couldn’t help but click her tongue.
Daoist Master Qin raised his eyes: “?”
Xuan Xia was sitting right beside him and, regarding the call content, hadn’t heard everything but had eavesdropped on most of it with her hearing.
The call had mentioned quite a bit about Ren Yaozhe, yet he didn’t mention a word of it.
He called her boss on his lips, but his actions showed no respect for the boss at all.
This was truly too outrageous!
Xuan Xia looked back at him and deliberately asked: “Nothing else? Didn’t Daoist Master Gong also mention Ren Yaozhe to you?”
Daoist Master Qin hummed, then said: “Ren Yaozhe died at dawn. His body will be handled by the Ningzhou Daoist Association and sent back to the Ren Family.”
Xuan Xia said: “I know, I heard. Before he died, did he leave any words?”
If she had heard clearly what words Ren Yaozhe left, she wouldn’t need to ask him directly now.
Daoist Master Qin was momentarily speechless, his face showing helplessness, and finally said: “We’ll talk about it in the car later.”
Fine. Xuan Xia nodded; now she could continue eating breakfast.
–
After breakfast, the two set off for Baoyi Temple.
Once in the car, Daoist Master Qin, as promised at breakfast, told Xuan Xia the full content of his call with Gong Ziliu.
It was definitely not okay to not tell her; Daoist Master Qin knew full well that if he didn’t say, Xuan Xia would definitely go ask Gong Ziliu indirectly later.
She wasn’t easy to fool, and was getting harder and harder to fool.
After getting what she wanted, Xuan Xia thought thoughtfully for a moment, “These few words left by Ren Yaozhe sound strangely familiar.”
Daoist Master Qin hummed, indifferently saying: “The divination Mr. Xuan did for me.”
“Ah, right.” Xuan Xia belatedly remembered.
No wonder the words sounded familiar.
Back then, curious why Daoist Master Qin couldn’t leave Ningzhou, the reason boiled down to these words: as long as he stayed in Ningzhou, there would be fewer troubles, and he would be safe.
Unexpectedly, now Ren Yaozhe had said the same words.
Daoist Master Qin continued: “So no need to pay too much attention to what words he left.”
Xuan Xia, however, had a different idea from him.
But she had no intention of continuing to discuss it.
After a moment of silence, she said in summary: “Since Ren Yaozhe is also dead now, let’s consider all those previous matters finished. Next is to properly expand the temple.”
After saying that, she glanced at him, hoping he would respond so she could extend on the topic of expansion.
In the end, Daoist Master Qin did respond, but not on the temple topic, leaving Xuan Xia quite frustrated.
With this frustration, she also quieted down. And once quiet, she couldn’t help but feel sleepy.
The distance between Baoyi Temple and Changsheng Temple wasn’t short, and they happened to hit the morning rush hour on the way, making traffic terribly congested.
Xuan Xia had barely slept all night and really couldn’t hold on now; for the rest of the journey, she simply dozed off until Baoyi Temple.
Gong Ziliu calculated their arrival time and personally came to the temple gate to welcome them.
“Welcome, welcome! Welcome Boss Xuan to visit our Baoyi Temple for an exchange.”
Gong Ziliu enthusiastically greeted Xuan Xia, making her almost really think she was some big shot boss specially coming to inspect Baoyi Temple for investment.
“Daoist Master Gong, you’re too polite.” Xuan Xia replied embarrassedly.
Gong Ziliu laughed heartily, “Come, come, please come inside.”
Led by Gong Ziliu, Xuan Xia first toured Baoyi Temple, taking in the grandeur of Ningzhou’s Daoist temple.
While touring Baoyi Temple, Xuan Xia became even more determined about expanding Changsheng Temple.
Whether Qinghui Temple or Baoyi Temple, look at their palace temple scale, especially their personnel structure—how prosperous.
However, expanding Changsheng Temple would inevitably involve construction and land, so she still needed to discuss it with Daoist Master Qin.
But how to discuss it?
Because she couldn’t settle on what to say, Xuan Xia couldn’t help repeatedly casting glances at Daoist Master Qin.
Seeing her looks so often, Daoist Master Qin also became thoughtful.
However, Daoist Master Qin didn’t connect with Xuan Xia’s train of thought; he thought her repeated glances were asking about Gong Ziliu—what kind of person he was.
Daoist Master Qin thought Xuan Xia was scheming to poach from Baoyi Temple.
Just like how she had brought Yan Wentao from Qinghui Temple into Changsheng Temple.
However, Gong Ziliu was different from Yan Wentao; to successfully poach Gong Ziliu might require doing something else.
Gong Ziliu still didn’t know that the two guests he was hosting each had their own plans; after all, he was also unrealistically scheming.
Having rarely invited these two to Baoyi Temple, he naturally wanted to show Xuan Xia Baoyi Temple’s strength; if such a talent wanted to take refuge in the future, she was welcome to come to Baoyi Temple to become a nun.
Of course, if Daoist Master Qin wanted to jump ship, he was also welcome at Baoyi Temple.
