Part-Time Taoist Priest 29

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Mountain and Water Nourish the Lotus

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Tang Qi went to pick up Xie Lingya and Shi Changxuan the next day. With his help, they brought along all the tools they needed for the ceremony.

Tang Qi was a swift and decisive person, handling affairs with the force of thunder and the speed of the wind. It was easy to tell that he viewed the project with great importance since he had come personally. 

During the drive, he worked remotely on a laptop. He even inquired about Baoyang Temple in between his work.

Xie Lingya suspected that he was interested in acquiring Baoyang Temple. However, because of its small size and the high price of the land surrounding it, he wouldn’t be able to develop it into an integrated tourist attraction like the holiday retreat. Even with the relative popularity of Baoyang recently, it was not a good investment.

After Tang Qi left yesterday, Shi Changxuan had spoken to Xie Lingya. According to Chen Sansheng, Tang Qi had intended to acquire Taihe Temple, but Chen Sansheng had rejected his offer. 

Taihe Temple had done well in conducting and planning their own business operations. In this aspect, Taihe Temple stood out from the many other temples operated by private enterprises.

It was Taihe Temple’s popularity that had caught Tang Qi’s interest. Now that he was developing a new tourist destination, he had chosen to build a Buddhist temple and invited an eminent monk as abbot. Not only were Buddhist temples easier to run, but there wasn’t much demand for new Taoist temples in the area either.

The ride from Baoyang Temple to Tang Qi’s newly acquired land took about an hour. When they got there, the site was still covered with yellow mud and some two-story prefabricated housing was built on the side.

They put away their belongings and rested for a moment. Tang Qi personally served them tea. With some pride in his voice, Tang Qi asked, “Shi Daozhang, what do you think of this mountain of mine?”

Shi Changxuan expressed his appreciation with a nod. “Magnificent rise and fall.”

In feng shui, the topography of mountain ranges was described by likening them to dragons. The shape and features of mountain ranges were like the ever-changing postures of a dragon. To inspect the mountains meant to search for the ‘dragon vein’.

The dragon veins originated from the sanzu—the ‘ancestor of the mountains’. Geomancers regarded Kunlun Mountain as the sanzu from which three main dragon veins extended, and each had many more offshoots. 

Other than the three main dragons, there were also three main watercourses—the Changjiang,¹“Long River”, the modern Chinese name for the lower 2,884 km (1,792 mi) of the Yangtze from its confluence with the Min River at Yibin in Sichuan to the river mouth at Shanghai the Yellow River, and the Yalu River, each running parallel to the mountains.

A feng shui practitioner appeared to only observe the mountain features of the site, but in actuality, they needed an understanding of all the dragon veins under heaven to make a better assessment. 

Most of the mountains in Queshan Province belonged to branches of the middle dragon. The land which Tang Qi bought sat on a ‘Forward Dragon’.²‘Forward Dragon’ has the peaks of the mountains extending from the lair in a low to high manner. Image at the end of the chapter. The rise and fall of the peaks were prominent and full of energy, a structure that brings wealth and prosperity.

Tang Qi had mentioned yesterday that he would be building a hot spring villa here. Shi Changxuan glanced around and asked, “Where is the source of the hot spring?”

The source of the hot spring was probably hard to access because Tang Qi took out a map. He pointed at a spot: “We are here now, the hot spring is over there.”

The old saying went, A lake with water that does not dry out is like a house with wealth that does not diminish. 

In feng shui, water oversees wealth. The hot spring at the front of the site could invite wealth and preserve vitality.

Shi Changxuan nodded, “If you build the villa here, where the water gathers in the celestial core, it’s an auspicious arrangement. For a Buddhist temple, there needs to be life energy. Let’s walk around and see where life energy gathers.”

“Ok, haha.” Tang Qi was elated.

After a brief break, they put on rubber boots and headed up to survey the mountain. 

A few of Tang Qi’s employees followed along with surprise in their hearts. They had worked with Tang Qi for many years and knew Tang Qi’s habits well. Previously, he had always invited famous priests and monks, and most of them were at least 40-50 years old. This time, the two masters hired were wearing plain casual clothes, and not only did they not look like priests, but they were also as young as students.

Of course, later they learned that one of them was indeed a student.

Xie Lingya didn’t need to follow along but was embarrassed to stay behind by himself. Besides, he could learn something by tagging along with Shi Changxuan.

The vegetation and trees around the site were already cleared, but there were photos and videos from before that could provide information. Normally, places with dried and withered vegetation were not favorable. Tang Qi had excluded those places from development at the very beginning.

The temple was to be built on the mountain, so the first step was to ascertain the topography. Shi Changxuan had done this by observing the mountain’s features on his way there and referencing the map provided.

Next, he needed to survey the terrain, ascertain the flow of qi, and determine the location of the dragon’s lair.

Shi Changxuan held an antique luopan in his hands. Xie Lingya guessed that the luopan was passed down from his family since the Shi family had generations of Taoist priests.

The assets handed down in Baoyang Temple did not include a luopan. Although there was knowledge pertaining to feng shui in the Baoyang notes, feng shui wasn’t the main focus of their practice, so the information was scarce.

The luopan’s function was to determine the direction and orientation. Shi Changxuan took a few glances at it for reference, then focused his sight on the mountain ranges to observe the life energy in the area.

Xie Lingya also gazed at the mountain but did not discern anything. There wasn’t even a hint of a breeze in the air. He had no idea how one could observe life energy.

Shi Changxuan scanned around for some time, then pointed to a spot and said, “Mr. Tang, can you see the light halo over there? That should be the true lair.”

Not only Tang Qi, everyone present stretched their necks out to look at where he pointed.

Tang Qi scratched his head, “Is it over there? Looks like some faint light halo… Isn’t it water vapor?”

The light halo was very faint, fading in and out of sight, but its shape was distinct. Had Shi Changxuan not pointed it out so they would take a closer look, they wouldn’t have spotted it.

“That’s the Taiji Halo, a manifestation of built-up life vitality,” Shi Changxuan explained. “Because it is indiscernible up close but visible from afar, it is known as Taiji Halo.”

“You mean we should build the temple there?” Tang Qi sweated. “That is the highest point.”

Shi Changxuan continued, “Therefore, the location needs to be flattened a little to be able to form the lair. We also need to invite water.”

Tang Qi nodded earnestly. He had long known of the Shi family’s reputation and heard of Shi Changxuan’s temperament from Chen Sansheng. Shi Changxuan’s advice in these feng shui matters sounded simple, but the results were guaranteed.

He was impatient and liked to multi-task. The design was almost complete after he successfully won the bid for the land. Now, they just needed to make some modifications according to Shi Changxuan’s suggestions.

Shi Changxuan instructed them on how to invite water to the temple. From his memory of the map, he advised them on some precautions to take, such as in which direction the temple’s bell tower should be built or which location was unsuitable for the main hall. 

All these were to ensure that the activities in the temple, like sounding the bell, offering incense, and reciting scriptures could be conducted smoothly.

Now that they had ascertained the flow of qi, the next step was to determine the structure around the lair, the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and so on.

Tang Qi only wanted a brief account but Xie Lingya was curious and followed up with his own questions. “Inviting water? Is it to accumulate wealth?”

Shi Changxuan shook his head, “That is just one aspect. The water gathering at the celestial core down south is already enough to accumulate wealth. Inviting water from the north and south is because a Buddhist temple is being constructed here.”

They were choosing the site for a Buddhist temple, so they had to take into account its unique characteristics.

Lotus flower is in full bloom when one is enlightened. Buddhism likened the lotus flower to a person’s stages of enlightenment and self-awareness. 

The lotus flower was a common motif in Buddhist temples. Buddha and Bodhisattva were also often depicted sitting or standing on lotus pedestals. Legend had it that Gautama Buddha was born standing on a lotus, and a lotus appeared with every step he took.

The eminent monk that Tang Qi had invited to be the abbot was from the Pure Land Buddhism Sect. Pure Land Sect was also known as Lotus Sect.

Lotus required water. In addition to considering the preservation and gathering of life energy, Shi Changxuan’s design also considered the ways to guide the watercourse to nourish the symbolic ‘lotus flower’.

This arrangement had not existed previously, so it had no name. After all, to Buddhist disciples ‘Where I am is where feng shui is’. Besides, the practice of feng shui was against Buddhist rules.

As an imported religion, Buddhism had no deep connection to the principles of feng shui, and Taoist feng shui masters had no reason to contemplate the construction of Buddhist temples.

This arrangement was invented by Shi Changxuan according to the requirements.

From his detailed explanations on the topic, Xie Lingya nearly suspected Shi Changxuan of previously practicing feng shui for Buddhist temples. However, when Shi Changxuan further elaborated on how the design made use of the existing terrain features, it became obvious that it was a custom design.

Xie Lingya was impressed. This was astounding!

Shi Changxuan didn’t speak much but his service was excellent. The effort he put into choosing the location for the Buddhist temple exceeded expectations, from inventing this arrangement of ‘Mountain and Water Nourish the Lotus’, to the placement of the bell tower and halls.

Although Tang Qi was the one who came up with the unusual idea of getting a Taoist priest to choose the site for the Buddhist temple, he was similarly astounded after listening to Shi Changxuan, “Thank you for your hard work. Shi Daozhang knows a lot about Buddhism, it seems.”

To come up with such a creative arrangement, aside from being willing to go the extra mile to provide the best service, he also needed to have some understanding of Buddhism.

Shi Changxuan explained plainly, “I major in Religious Studies.”

Although his main focus was Taoism, he also dabbled in the study of other religions.

Tang Qi laughed. “I see. That makes sense.”

His staff sweated profusely in embarrassment. They didn’t expect him to actually be a student. But he majored in Religious Studies, which seemed apt for the job?

Another guy turned to speak to Xie Lingya, “Lil’ Daozhang, are you in Religious Studies too?”

“I am in finance.” Xie Lingya smiled. “And I am not a priest.”

The guy: “……”

Tang Qi laughed heartily, “Teacher Xie, don’t joke. Ole’ Wang, let me tell you, Teacher Xie might not be a priest but he is also an expert!”

Ole’ Wang laughed in spite of himself, “And here I thought Shi Daozhang brings his accountant everywhere he goes.”

Then, Tang Qi said, “I heard Director Gao say that Teacher Xie is good at divination too. Why don’t you show Ole’ Wang?”

He was either bored or wanted to show off Xie Lingya’s skills.

Xie Lingya had nothing to fear. “Give me your hand then.”

Ole’ Wang extended his arm and said, “Are you palm reading?”

To his surprise, Xie Lingya’s fingers pressed on his wrist instead and with another hand supported the wrist to maintain the balance while they walked.

Apart from Shi Changxuan, everyone else was puzzled. They had met many masters, but had not seen such a divination method.

Ole’ Wang said unconsciously, “Why… this looks a lot like pulse-taking…”

“It is indeed pulse-taking.” Xie Lingya laughed.

Everyone: “……”

Tang Qi said, “Oh no, Teacher Xie. I meant to let you read his fate, not his health. We have only done the employee medical check-up last month.”

“No no, this is called the Taisu Pulse Technique. A brother taught me this technique which could deduce a person’s fate by checking their pulse,” Xie Lingya explained.

Tang Qi: “???”

There were many methods of divination. Tang Qi had seen much in his days, but he had never heard of divination by reading the pulse. It sounded unbelievable but Xie Lingya seemed serious enough, so Tang Qi was almost convinced.

It was already autumn. The Taisu Pulse Technique took into account the time and season in its diagnosis. Xie Lingya had trained for a period of time and had made much progress in his skills.

The Taisu Pulse Technique deduced one’s fate by reading the clarity or turbidity of the person’s pulse. Generally speaking, a light, clear pulse signified wealth and prosperity while a heavy, turbid pulse was the opposite. Further interpretation depended on specific parts of the body, for example, a man’s liver represented their career achievements.

From the reading, Ole’ Wang’s liver was light and continuous but his lung was more turbid. This implied that his intelligence and ability were limited. This was evident, if he was more shrewd, then he would’ve been Tang Qi’s boss instead.

Xie Lingya did not mention any of this. He took the pulse for another minute then said, “Your medical examination last month went well. Just some minor issues, nothing serious.”

Ole’ Wang nodded, “Yes, just some small issues like chronic pharyngitis and trachoma.”

These illnesses could be easily diagnosed by traditional Chinese medicine physicians. It wasn’t even necessary to take the pulse. Just observing the complexion was enough. So, no one was surprised at Xie Lingya’s words.

Xie Lingya said again, “You can rest assured for your daughter—you have a daughter, right? Her college entrance examinations will go well.”

Ole’ Wang nearly tripped in surprise. He turned to stare at Tang Qi.

Tang Qi: “…I didn’t say that you have a daughter.” He went to look for Shi Changxuan yesterday and had only met Xie Lingya then. He had not told Xie Lingya who would be here today.

The Taisu Pulse could not only read a person’s fate but also the situation with their descendants. Ole’ Wang did not have much to worry about himself, however, the pulse representing his descendant was smooth like jade but the beat was a little erratic. Evidently, this descendant was at an important juncture. Further deducing this descendant’s age, it could be concluded that they were at the age where they would be taking the college entrance examination.

It was seven parts pulse diagnosis, three parts guesswork.

Xie Lingya didn’t know what it would be like for people who had more mastery of the Taisu Pulse Technique, but he could only tell so much. For example, he wouldn’t be able to tell from the pulse if a person would be eating meat tomorrow.

Even so, Ole’ Wang was very impressed. His child was born when he was older, so it was very unlikely that Xie Lingya guessed it from his age alone.

“Teacher Xie, amazing!” Ole’ Wang praised.

“Not at all, I’m only a beginner,“ Xie Lingya replied honestly.

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At night, they would be performing a ceremony similar to the one they performed to venerate the lone spirits. This time, an additional ritual would be added to the ceremony, known as ‘intimidation’. The ritual was to ensure that the area would not be disturbed by wandering spirits in the future.

These types of ceremonies were required when working in the mountain regions. When it was time for the construction, they even needed to bury a few talismans in the soil.

Xie Lingya prepared all the talismans they would require later in the night. For any other Taoist priest, it would take them at least a few weeks to draw so many talismans. Xie Lingya, however, just casually drew them after dinner and set them aside to dry.

Dinner was from a hotel in the city and was delivered to the mountain site. After the meal, Tang Qi eagerly invited them to ‘soak in the hot spring’.

In this day and age, many so-called hot springs in bathhouses were nothing more than regular boiled water. 

The hot spring here was underground and was not developed yet, but the workers had already set up construction to pump water out of the spring. The water they used for bathing every day was authentic hot spring water.

Tang Qi planned to stay in the mountain tonight. On a whim, he even asked someone to send a bathtub over.

The temperature in the mountains was low at night, so Xie Lingya was tempted by the idea.

After he was done with the talismans, Xie Lingya dragged Shi Changxuan along to the first floor. Tang Qi had placed the bathtubs on the first floor as he was worried that the second floor of the housing unit wasn’t sturdy enough.

Before leaving, Shi Changxuan pondered for a moment, then removed Pokeweed from his clothes and left it in the room.

“AAAHHHHHH!” Pokeweed howled in protest but Shi Changxuan left without looking back.

Tang Qi watched the staff fill the tub and saw Xie Lingya coming over with a towel. He joked, “Teacher Xie is really fair, does your skin not tan?”

“Yes, I don’t tan.” Xie Lingya smiled.

“……” Shi Changxuan was reminded of what the broken whispering sprite once said. He was somewhat speechless.

Even though Pokeweed was not here, its presence still lingered. Shi Changxuan could almost hear Pokeweed’s tiny voice screaming in its off-key voice, “Xie Lingya is really fair!” 

Suddenly, Ole’ Wang came running past the room window. Seeing Tang Qi inside, he stopped and said, “Director Tang, that, that…”

His face was pale and there was visible fear in his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Tang Qi walked over to the partially opened window and pushed it wide open.

Ole’ Wang swallowed hard and peeked at the two behind Tang Qi before saying, “I told someone to organize the bones we’d previously found for the upcoming ceremony and we found out that the cranial bones are missing.”

Xie Lingya knew about the bones that were excavated at the site. They had planned to properly inter them after the ceremony. It was for this reason that Ole’ Wang went to collect the bones. 

Human remains were frightening for many people, hence they were not kept in the housing units, but placed in a corner of the construction site instead.

Tang Qi felt goosebumps prick his skin. With a gloomy expression, he asked, “All of them are gone? Did you check the surrounding area? How were they kept previously?”

Ole’ Wang replied weakly, “There were five skulls originally. Three of them are missing the cranial bones. I’ve asked, they were kept in a basket and covered with tarpaulin.”

“Who would steal such a thing?!” Tang Qi was frightened and angered.

Ole’ Wang suggested shakily, “Could it be that ‘they’ don’t want to leave, so…”

“So they took away their own cranial bones?” Tang Qi thought that was ridiculous. “How could that be!? Go ask around— see if any children from nearby villages came over in the last two days and snatched them.”

He knew well that children were the timidest and yet the most audacious. When they were mischievous, they could do just anything.

“Ok…” With a heavy heart, Ole’ Wang left to make the inquiries. If they couldn’t find the bones, then the ceremony tonight had to be canceled.

The bathtub was finally filled, but Tang Qi was not in the mood to soak anymore. He was an impatient man. He paced around a few times and broke down to ask, “Teacher Xie, it isn’t really ‘them’ not wanting to leave, is it? When we were clearing the land, ‘they’ didn’t show any objections.”

“That’s unlikely.” Xie Lingya felt it was strange too. “As you said, even if they don’t want to leave, they didn’t need to take away their own bones.”

“Yes, yes. I think it is some person’s handiwork.” Tang Qi paused to think. “No, let me go ask around. I hope you won’t mind. Please have fun first, if there are any delays I will compensate you.”

As he finished speaking, he rushed out of the room.

“Everything seems fine, right? I didn’t feel any strong grievances at this place,” Xie Lingya said. 

From his experience of heading down the mines with Shi Changxuan previously, he knew that one must not assume that everything was caused by supernatural forces, otherwise, it was easy to lose face.

Shi Changxuan thought so too. Even though some bones were excavated, the feng shui in this area was not bad. The area wasn’t a mass burial spot either, ferocious spirits wouldn’t form in such a place.

“I won’t be bothered by it then. I was sweating when we went hiking during the day. Let me soak for a moment first,” Xie Lingya said. He had showered in the room before, his hair was still wet and he was all set for the soak.

Xie Lingya took off his clothes quickly and sat in the bathtub. He was so fast that he was in the tub before Shi Changxuan could react.

There were two more tubs, which were obviously for Shi Changxuan and Tang Qi. Tang Qi had left, while Shi Changxuan was standing idly in place.

“Damn, it is really hot. Hurry, get in!” Xie Lingya teared up from the heat. He was not willing to be the only one who got scalded, so he urged Shi Changxuan to get in too.

He leaned over the side of the tub with his shoulders and arms exposed. In the white mist of water vapor, his fair skin was blushing from the heat, and water droplets left trails as they slid off him.

Shi Changxuan’s mind went fuzzy. He thought it was lucky that he didn’t bring Pokeweed along, otherwise its voice would crack from screaming again…

“Cough.” Shi Changxuan’s throat itched. He turned away to undress, then without a word got into the bathtub. His cheeks reddened from the steaming heat, appearing less cool than his usual persona.

But he was a person who normally didn’t speak much anyway, so Xie Lingya didn’t notice anything off.

“It- it is still quite comfortable. It was just a bit too hot when I first got in.” Xie Lingya wiped off some tears that formed due to the heat. 

Then, he said, “When they finish building this place, I’m going to bring everyone from the temple to come for a soak… Hey, do you think they would mind that there is a Buddhist temple here? I think it should be fine, it just happens to be in the same scenic area.”

Shi Changxuan was just a meter away from him. Staring at his watery eyes for a moment, Shi Changxuan averted his gaze unnaturally. It was as if the heat from the water had seeped into his heart, almost boiling it.

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“I’m back.” Tang Qi trotted in. He took off his clothes in a flurry and entered his bathtub. “Oh damn, the water is still so hot. It’s burning my pecker!”

Xie Lingya: “……”

Shi Changxuan: “……”

Tang Qi glanced at them and said awkwardly, “You youngsters are really healthy to be able to bear the heat.”

Xie Lingya replied with similar awkwardness, “Maybe everyone’s tolerance towards heat is different…”

It was just too embarrassing discussing such matters with strangers. Tang Qi was at ease, but Xie Lingya couldn’t continue on the subject.

Shi Changxuan awoke from the somewhat amorous atmosphere from before when he saw Tang Qi. He asked with an indifferent tone, “How are things?”

“Oh, it seems that some children from the nearby village came to play. I have arranged someone to ask in the village and make sure that they return the bones,” Tang Qi said unhappily. He hated it when his plans were disrupted.

It was quite warm in the room, so Tang Qi moved his face closer to the open window. There were only men on the site, so it was not an issue.

Xie Lingya nodded, “It is best if we can have them back tonight so as to not delay the ceremony.”

“That’s the plan. Otherwise, we will need to wait again.” Tang Qi shook his head. “Ai, such is fate.”

Tang Qi sulked and looked outside the window.

“Those children are too daring, aren’t they? Even more so than me when I was a kid,” Xie Lingya said.

Shi Changxuan: “……”

Tang Qi was silent.

Xie Lingya then asked, “Hey, Mr. Tang, do you want some water?” Bottled water was placed on the side. Xie Lingya was reaching for a bottle and asked if the other wanted any.

Tang Qi was still silent.

Xie Lingya felt something amiss. He glanced over at Tang Qi, whose eyes were fixated on a spot. Tang Qi was sitting in the scorching spring water, but his face was pale green and his jaw was clenched tightly.

“Mr. Tang?” Xie Lingya wrapped himself with a towel and stood up.

Tang Qi didn’t dare to turn his head. His breathing was light and his lips parted slightly to speak in a trembling whisper, “C-come and see, are those… That… that… “

That? Maybe not a ghost? Xie Lingya got out of the bathtub and peered out the window.

Behind the housing units was a dense patch of vegetation. The land was elevated, forming a low cliff. Moonlight shone upon the terrain, letting Xie Lingya see the strange scene amidst the bushes.

Three ochre-colored wild foxes were squatting on the rocks with their front paws clasped in front of their chests, facing the moon. Each of them had a palm-sized, white, and slightly curvy shard on its head.

Even from this distance, judging by the size of the objects, they were obviously the pieces of crania they were searching for.

In the dark of the night, the scene in front of them was eerily frightening.

Standing next to him, Xie Lingya could clearly hear the sound of Tang Qi’s teeth clattering.

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Translator: Velvet
TL checker: Darkchocolatesan
Editor: Miiya
Proofreader: Taalia
QC: Eques

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