Taoist priests in the supernatural world

Chapter 41 Heavenly Dao Builds a Temple, Maoshan Taoist Priest

"Crazy."

Ah You leaned against the doorway, slowly fanning himself, and couldn't help but chuckle.

In his opinion, the young man in front of him was probably a spoiled rich kid who had run away from home and was being completely fooled by a smooth-talking real estate agent.

Spending so much money to buy a piece of bad land, and then having to go through the formalities, pay the deed tax, build the house, and do the renovations, the money spent is enough to buy a decent villa in a better place.

Why bother coming here?

This public housing complex is old and dilapidated, inhabited by a motley crew, noisy during the day and chaotic at night—it's really not a good place. Any normal person with a bit of money wouldn't consider coming here.

The agent rubbed his hands together, a broad smile on his face, and asked in broken Mandarin:

"By the way, sir, what type of house are you planning to build? We can help you with all the paperwork."

"Temples, Taoist temples, the like," Huang Bai replied casually.

He knew, of course, that these intermediaries would definitely try to cut their own cut. He didn't care about that little bit of money; it was all hard-earned anyway, so he didn't feel bad spending it.

The agent was taken aback at first, then his eyes lit up even more.

"A Taoist temple? Are you a Taoist priest, sir?"

"I suppose so," Huang Bai nodded. "It's from the Jinhua Mountain lineage in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. However, I don't have a Taoist certificate, so I don't know if I can obtain the qualifications to open a Taoist temple in Hong Kong."

The agent thumped his chest loudly.

"Don't worry, sir. In a place like Hong Kong, there's nothing that money can't solve."

Actually, this matter is not easy to handle; he knows the answer perfectly well.

When you encounter a generous benefactor like this, even if it's difficult or challenging, you still have to make sure things are handled smoothly.

Huang Bai smiled after hearing this.

"No problem. As long as this approval comes through, I'll pay double the market rate for the service. The construction and renovation will also be handled by you."

"Alright! Godfather, I will definitely take care of it for you within three days!"

"A Taoist temple?"

Ah You, who had been lazily leaning there, perked up immediately upon hearing those two words. He even opened his sleepy eyelids a little and began to seriously examine Huang Bai.

Taoist priest?

Taoist temple?

These days, let alone young people, even the elderly rarely sincerely burn incense and worship Buddha.

The temple's incense offerings have declined year after year, and the Taoist lineage is almost extinct. This young man in front of me looks to be no more than twenty years old, yet he's opening a Taoist temple in Hong Kong, where land is incredibly expensive?

This is a bit interesting.

Ah-you squinted at it for a long time, but he still couldn't make up his mind.

"Is he really capable, or is he just putting on an act?"

At least from his appearance, Huang Bai was too young and didn't look like a Taoist who had truly endured hardship and years of cultivation.

Ah You stopped staring at the food. Soon, customers arrived at the shop, so he had to put his mind at ease and turn around to go into the kitchen to cook.

After Huang and Bai finished their formalities, it was getting late, so they simply went into the shop.

"Boss, one order of stir-fried beef rice noodles, and a bowl of soup."

"Okay, just a moment."

It was well past lunchtime, and there weren't many people in the restaurant except for Huang Bai, who was the only customer.

Ah-you worked quickly and efficiently, frying a large pot of rice noodles in no time. He first served one portion to Huang-bai, and then placed the remaining portions on the table one by one.

He picked up a plate and sat down to eat, but didn't touch the other three plates. They were neatly arranged, with a bowl and chopsticks placed in front of each plate.

call!

A gust of cold wind swept in from the doorway.

Several pale-faced ghosts slowly walked to the table, sat down, and without saying a word, gently sipped the rice noodles in the plate, swallowing the essence of the food little by little.

Fortunately, mortals cannot see ghosts. If an ordinary person saw this scene, they would be scared half to death.

Ah You was clearly used to it; he didn't even look up and continued to eat his rice noodles, as if he were just one of the few regular customers who had come to the shop.

He did this intentionally.

It's both feeding the ghosts and testing the waters.

If this young man is truly skilled, he should be able to see something out of it.

To Ayou's disappointment, Huang Bai remained calm throughout, sitting there eating noodles with his head down, as if he hadn't seen anything.

"Looks like he's a fake Taoist priest," Ayou thought with some disappointment.

After Huang Bai finished eating, he got up to pay the bill.

"Boss, how much?"

"Twenty-five dollars," Ah-you said casually. "I'll take your twenty dollars, we'll be neighbors from now on anyway. My name is Chen You, but everyone calls me Ah-you."

Huang Bai nodded and took out some change to hand over.

"Thanks, buddy. My name is Huang Bai, you can just call me A-Bai."

He said hello, then turned and left.

Ah You smiled, said nothing more, and continued to eat his rice noodles.

As he was eating, he suddenly stopped.

When Huang Bai was giving out money just now, his hand seemed to... deliberately avoid those ghosts by the table.

While ordinary people could simply walk through the ghostly figures, he genuinely avoided them.

Ayou raised his head and stared at Huang Bai's departing figure, remaining silent for a long time.

"That's interesting..."

Just then, a muffled cough came from outside the door.

"Cough, cough..."

A pale-faced, tall and thin man slowly walked in, exuding an aura of illness.

It was Zhong Jiu.

"Hey, what's with that look?" He sat down at the table and casually said, "Give me a plate of fried rice."

"They're here."

Ayou responded and, while pouring oil into the pan, said:

"A new neighbor just moved in, and he's quite interesting."

"What neighbors?"

You'll find out later.

Ah-you didn't continue speaking, he just smiled.

After saying this, he glanced at Zhong Jiu again. The other man's face was gloomy, his cough was getting worse, and he looked like something was about to hollow him out.

Ah-you knew in his heart that Chung-kau had been messing around with some shady things lately.

But he himself had already left the industry many years ago and was too lazy to get involved anymore.

The police handle illegal acts, and the underworld officials handle matters in the netherworld.

Why would someone who has already given up go out of his way to cause trouble for himself?

For the next two weeks, the construction site was bustling with activity.

Huang Bai was very generous, throwing money into the project like water, so the construction progressed rapidly. Before long, the outline of the Taoist temple was already in place.

The neighbors were talking about it during their leisure time, saying that a new Taoist temple had opened up here and that an incredibly young Taoist priest had been hired to oversee it.

At the restaurant entrance, Zhong Jiu, with a strangely smelling cigarette dangling from his lips, looked at the Taoist temple that was gradually taking shape in the distance, his eyes somewhat gloomy.

"Ah You, have you found out anything?"

"What god is worshipped there?"

Ah You leaned against the door, fanning himself, and lazily replied:

"I asked around, and it's not Maoshan, nor is it any local temple. I heard it's from the Jinhua Mountain lineage."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Jiu couldn't help but laugh.

"So it's from the Wong Tai Sin lineage."

"At such a young age, instead of learning something proper, he tries to start his own school of thought. He's got some nerve."

Ah-you looked at the signboard that was still under construction, but his tone was more serious than Chung-kau's.

"This kid has some skill."

"I can't tell how deep it is yet, but it's not just an empty shell."

After saying this, he turned to look at Zhong Jiu, his tone becoming more serious.

"Ah Jiu, I don't object to you raising ghosts."

"Our lineage has always possessed this skill. You must never take shortcuts or get involved in illegal or harmful activities. Once you get involved in crooked paths, it won't just harm yourself, but it will also ruin the reputation of our sect."

Zhong Jiu grew impatient and waved his hand.

"Okay, okay, you talk too much."

He coughed a few more times as he spoke, then turned and left.

Ah-you watched his retreating figure, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes, but ultimately he said nothing more.

A few days later, the Taoist temple was finally officially opened.

Huang Baiqian simply set up several tables and hosted a lively banquet for the nearby neighbors.

"Please help yourself, don't be shy, and feel free to ask for more if you're still hungry."

Huang Bai stood at the door greeting people with a smile on his face, looking quite like a newly opened temple.

The layout inside the Taoist temple is somewhat similar to that of the ancient temple.

On the altar, there was no specific deity enshrined, but rather a memorial tablet.

The tablet did not bear the name of a deity, but rather a talisman shaped like a bird or insect, or cloud pattern, exuding an ancient and awe-inspiring aura, the more you looked at it, the more mysterious it seemed.

Huang Bai stood before the altar, looking at everything, and was fairly satisfied.

According to the information provided by Tiandao Temple, as long as enough incense is accumulated here, the ancient temple will also generate corresponding incense power.

He still needs to try this method slowly.

Just then, Ayou's voice came from behind.

"What a strange temple."

"There's no idol, and no name of any deity. Ah Bai, which sect are you worshipping?"

Huang Bai turned around and saw Ayou and Zhong Jiu standing one after the other at the door.

This time, Ah-you didn't speak casually as before, but instead made a respectful gesture of bowing first.

"Chen You, a Taoist priest from Maoshan, greets fellow Taoist."

"Zhong Jiu, the Taoist priest from Maoshan!"

Huang Bai did not delay and returned the greeting with clasped hands.

"Jinhua Mountain, yellow and white."

After saying this, he glanced at the memorial tablet on the altar and explained:

"Tiandao Temple does not worship specific deities, but rather the Way of Heaven, so it does not use statues of deities."

Ah-you's eyes visibly flickered after hearing this.

"I didn't know there was such a saying. This is the first time I've heard of it."

Zhong Jiu stood to one side, observing the layout of the Taoist temple ever since he entered.

He looked around and gradually felt a sense of relief.

There was no familiar altar, no altar soldiers, no grand formation, and no strong divine power fluctuations here.

Apart from that strange memorial tablet, it doesn't look like any major sect or mountain gate at all.

It seems that even if this Taoist priest Huang does have some skills, they probably aren't that profound.

Thinking of this, Zhong Jiu's expression relaxed a little.

The three chatted idly at the door for a while before the two brothers got up to say goodbye.

Before leaving, Chung Kau added politely:

"Come visit me sometime."

Huang Bai smiled meaningfully and said, "There will be opportunities."

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